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cosmicjoke · 22 hours

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"Bad Boy" Analysis:

Alright, “Bad Boy” analysis, here we come! Strap in guys, because this one is going to get long.

So, we open with a shot of Levi and his mother, drinking tea while looking out over the Underground City.

The first thing you notice is how filthy Levi’s and Kuchel’s clothing is, and indeed, the first thing Levi mentions is how he was “born in the Underground” and then he says that he’s only “ever seen things that are Underground”. Right away, this sets the tone for the story, and will be vitally important to understanding what we realize about Levi’s worldview as the story continues.

He talks about how “hopelessly dirty” the Underground is, and says even the air is “rotten”.

And then he talks about how, the more he realizes this, the more he feels that his mother’s posture is “so elegant”.

So we see right away how Levi is idealizing his mother. We also never have a clear view of Kuchel’s face. We see her sitting beside Levi from behind, and then we see her smiling at him, but it’s just an impression. A sense of her, more than a fully formed picture.

Levi’s memory of his mother is probably vague at best. I think he was likely too young when she died to really remember her clearly. He remembers her as “elegant”, and he remembers this of her particularly in contrast to the filth and despair of the world he lives in, that being The Underground City. A single point of light in all the darkness surrounding him. Again, this will become important as the story develops. But we see from this first page that Levi has latched onto this memory of his mother, this picture of her as elegant, as the only good in his life. Something represented by his memory of her containing a single shaft of light pouring down from above, directly onto them. Again, the one point of light in a world of darkness. Again, that will become significant as the story goes on.

We immediately cut to the next scene, and it’s a sharp contrast, because we go from the relative peace of the moment with his mother, the single point of positivity in his life, to a scene of him being severely physically assaulted in the streets. We also have it confirmed for us that, indeed, Levi’s memory of his mother is vague, and truly only an impression. He narrates:

“That’s the only thing I remember clearly. I absolutely did not want that to be lost.”

Levi is telling us here that the only thing he remembers clearly of his mother is her elegance, and it’s that single thing that he “absolutely did not want to be lost.”

Frankly, what this tells us about Levi’s life is that it’s nothing but a world of hurt and pain, suffering and despair. He has no joy in his life, no hope, no warmth, other than this single impression of his mother’s beauty and grace. And as such, it’s the one thing he doesn’t want to lose. The one thing he’s desperate to hold onto. Again, this will become deeply significant as the story continues.

We then cut to a wide shot of what exactly is happening, as Levi narrates these thoughts.

He’s being brutally attacked by a full-grown man, kicked in the chest and/or abdomen so hard, that it sends him flying bodily across the ground. We also notice that Levi is bleeding profusely already from the nose and mouth, meaning he’s already taken blows before this first shot of him being beaten.

The next panel shows us Levi curled on the ground, obviously in severe pain, arms curled around himself, hand gripping his chest as if he can’t breathe, his face twisted in agony. He’s severely beaten up, his face a bloody mess, and we can also see from the puffs in the air that his breathing is obviously labored.

Now I feel like what’s really important to note about this scene, is when the men doing this to Levi start talking about him, and particularly, the way they start talking about him. The way they regard him.

The man in the glasses points out that Levi is the kid that “Kenny the Ripper” looks after, and that if he finds out, they’re “finished”. And the man beating Levi up says in response:

“Just chop it up like usual and feed it to the pigs, no problem.”

They refer to Levi as “it”, not “he”, which already shows a shocking amount of dehumanization toward Levi. They speak about him as an object, not as a person. They’ll refer to Levi like this more than once as the story continues. They also say “like usual” while talking about chopping Levi up and feeding him to the pigs. That means they’ve done this before, either to other children, or adults, or both. That tells us exactly what kind of people we’re dealing with here. From this line alone, it’s pretty obvious who Levi was referring to when he told Eren on the airship in Liberio that he reminded him of the “scum” he grew up surrounded by in the Underground.

These men are truly vile, truly the worst humanity has to offer. They’re talking here about murdering a little boy as casually and easily as one might talk about the weather. And we see as the scene progresses that this isn’t just talk. They’re fully capable and fully intending on either killing Levi or, as we’ll see, doing him other great harm.

We also find out from the dialog of the man beating Levi up that Levi was the one who sought these men out, in an attempt to retrieve an item that belonged to his mother. And this detail becomes hugely important to note, as it really encapsulates the tragic core of this story from Levi’s childhood.

On the next page, Levi asks the men to “give it back.”, saying “it was my mothers”. Levi isn’t attempting to fight back here, and this is also a really important detail to note, which I’ll go into soon. He’s asking them to give him what should rightfully be his, and the man in the glasses answers that it doesn’t belong to Levi’s mother, because she pawned it when she was sick and struggling to find food. He refers to Kuchel as “Olympia”, which tells us that Levi’s mother was a fairly well-known prostitute in the Underground, and that it’s known that Levi is her son. This is also important to note, because it reveals to us that Levi was treated as the son of a whore, with all the expected disregard and disdain that usually applies to that kind of treatment. Something we see tragically play out with the way these men treat and speak about Levi, specifically.

The man in the glasses continues:

“You’re a filthy thief who snuck onto a cart headed for the surface. You know what’ll happen if you get caught, right? Or was it too much to expect a whore’s child born Underground to consider the consequences?”

I want to break these lines of dialog down, because they demonstrate what I mean about the treatment Levi receives for being the son of a prostitute, and, further, for being born Underground.

First, I think it’s clear from what this man says that these men themselves aren’t from the Underground. They clearly operate down there, because they’re criminals, and the Underground is a largely lawless district, ignored by the above authorities, and so exists as the perfect environment for these sorts of people to practice their brand of criminality.

But the way they refer to Levi as a “whore’s child” that was “born Underground” shows us a kind of blatant disregard and disdain for people who are actually from the Underground. This reflects the general status of people from and living in the Underground as non-citizens of Paradis itself. They have no rights, they enjoy no protections or any of the privileges of the people from the surface, because the residents of the Underground, and particularly, those unfortunate enough to have been born there, are considered as less than human.

The way this man speaks to Levi, the dehumanizing and derogatory and belittling language testifies to that. Levi is seen as “lesser” by these men for not only being the son of a prostitute, but also for having been born Underground. He asks if it was “too much” to expect a “whore’s child born Underground” to consider the consequences, which is a direct insult to Levi’s intelligence. It’s obvious this man considers Levi to be inferior to him and all the rest of them, simply due to the circumstances of Levi’s birth.

I think it’s fair to extrapolate from this, and from how we see Levi regard his own worth as the story continues, that this was the general treatment Levi was met with all throughout his youth.

He’s treated as less than human. He’s treated as inferior and stupid.

And then things get really horrific.

One of the other men says:

“Hey… more importantly, I think this one might sell.”

And then the one gripping Levi by the hair says:

“I think so, too. Selling anything is our motto, after all.”

And then he says:

“We should make him do the same job as his mother. He might have inherited her talents.”

They’re talking about selling Levi into a human trafficking ring, here. They’re talking about selling him into sexual slavery.

They say “we should make him do the same job as his mother.” This is a direct and obviously very real threat of sexual assault and rape made against Levi.

Remember, this is a little boy they’re saying this about.

Now something really significant happens next, because it’s this comment about his mother that finally spurs Levi on to fight back. It’s important, because of what it tells us about Levi’s own state of mind.

The next panel shows us Levi at last getting angry. He punches the man in the face and screams:

“Die!! Pig.”

What’s so important to note about this is that it wasn’t for himself that Levi got upset. It was for his mother. Again, the same mother whose memory is the only good thing Levi has in his entire, wretched life.

He’s defending her honor, here. It’s only when her character is under attack that Levi feels compelled to fight. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

The same way Levi is motivated to fight for others throughout the entirety of “Attack on Titan”. The way we see throughout the main story how Levi never fights for himself, but always for someone else. This is going to become super relevant in a moment.

Because all Levi gets for his attempt to defend his mother is the man beating him nearly to death.

He starts smashing down on Levi’s face and head with a hammer fist. If anyone has ever watched mixed martial arts, they’ll know what that is. It’s when you form a fist, and use the edge of it to hit someone on the ground, rather than the knuckles. If you want to know how awful that is, form a fist and smash the edge of it into your open palm as hard as you can, and that should give you an idea of how much damage this can cause.

This man starts beating Levi like this over and over.

The man in the glasses says:

“Hey… what happened to selling him?”

He says this in a manner that makes it clear he doesn’t actually care. And the man beating Levi says:

“If you don’t discipline him, you won’t get any customers.”

It’s painfully apparent here that this man is using the idea of “discipline” as an excuse simply to hurt Levi. He goes on to say:

“We’ll teach him a lesson so he won’t think of going against us again. We’ll jack up the price for the added value.”

This entire scene displays such a vicious sadism, that I honestly had to stop reading for a moment, it was so disgusting. This man is clearly enjoying beating Levi like this.

Then the man in the glasses says, with the same, uncaring casualness:

“We can’t sell a corpse though… That’s no good.”

Again, I think it’s important to note the way these men are speaking about a child, and about the horrific things they’re doing and planning on doing to this child.

They literally feel nothing. No remorse, no guilt, no sympathy or empathy of any kind. Levi is just a thing to them that they can use for their own satisfaction. And, again, given what we’ll soon realize about Levi’s sense of self-worth, it seems clear to me that this was the general treatment he was met with up to this point in his life.

Another man says:

“It’s pig food.”, while another says “Hey, let’s leave”

All while, in the background, we see this man beating Levi over and over and over.

He’s going to kill Levi, that’s clear. He’s going to beat him to death. And the other men care so little, they don’t even pay attention. It isn’t worth their consideration, even.

Now here is where we get to the real heart of what this story is telling us about Levi.

While he’s being so brutally beaten, and we see the man from Levi’s perspective, hitting him again and again, his expression murderous, Levi’s narration continues, and he says:

“I knew it was reckless. I never thought I would be able to get my mother’s belongings back. I just wanted to rebel. I wanted to spit… on this shitty world…”

Why this is important, why this is so significant to understanding Levi’s character, is because it tells us what Levi’s mental condition was growing up, and that condition was one of such deep despair and depression over the state of his existence, that he believed a single act of guaranteed to fail rebellion against that state was preferable to the thought of his life continuing at all. It means Levi’s life was so bad, so hopeless and so without any light or joy or goodness, that he was okay with dying, and even actively sought out a situation in which there was nearly a guarantee that he would, for a single moment of defiance against the hellish reality he was living. It means Levi saw no real value in his continued existence at all.

It means Levi was suicidal.

As a young child.

It should be obvious why this is so significant in regard to Levi specifically.

Because Levi is a character that is literally defined by how much he values life. By how much he believes in the inherent value of life, to the point that protecting and saving life, and, bar that, proving the worth of those lives by imbuing their loss with meaning, is the main motivator behind all of his actions.

We see this play out with Levi attempting to retrieve his mother’s belongings in the first place. Beyond the suicidal intent within that act, it’s reflective of Levi’s deep desire to prove that his mother’s life mattered. That her existence was of worth. He wants to remember her because he believes her life was important, even as he believes his own life is worthless and that he would be better off dead. And here we see demonstrated what will really be Levi’s most defining characteristic throughout his life. That breathtakingly tragic selflessness by which he’s always operated.

For all of Levi’s unwavering belief in the inherent value of other people’s lives, he doesn’t believe in that same, inherent value with regard to his own life.

Again, we see Levi here ready to throw his life away just to spite what he feels is the worthlessness of his existence. Just to “spit on this shitty world”, as he says.

These aren’t the thoughts or actions of a boy who thinks his own life is worth fighting for, or saving.

He goes on to speak about how, when his powers awakened, he didn’t feel anything. He didn’t think it was strange, or significant. He says:

“I didn’t think it was strange that something had happened to me at the time. The pain in my head disappeared, and I felt calm, as if my head was submerged in water. And the idea of what to do came to mind. But I just followed the instinct and acted accordingly."

So it wasn’t a will to live which drove Levi to fight back and kill these men. It wasn’t a fear of death, or a desire to go on. His Ackerman powers awoke because he was in mortal danger, and it was with the awakening of those powers that he was infused with the sudden knowledge of how to fight back. He was simply doing as those powers dictated, almost as if it wasn’t even Levi’s own will which moved him here, but the will of every Ackerman before him, showing him the path.

Now I want to talk about why all of this is so important for how it relates to Levi’s inherent goodness as a person.

Because here’s the thing.

Levi’s belief in the worthlessness and wretchedness of his own life, so powerful as to drive him to intentionally seek out placing it in harms way, to intentionally seek out doing himself harm, all as a giant ‘fuck you’ to the existence of a world that would make his life so horrible, should, by rights, have also informed the way Levi regarded the life of everyone else.

Because that’s what informed Zeke’s disregard for everyone else’s life, wasn’t it? The idea that, because of the wretched state of his own existence, Zeke was conditioned to believe that life was nothing but pain and suffering, and therefore, utterly worthless. And so, he believed, life should therefore be extinguished, not preserved.

And yet, Levi believes in exactly the opposite. He believes that life is precious. That it should be preserved and protected and cherished. So much so, that he joined the Survey Corps because Erwin’s philosophy of being able to eliminate meaningless death through the fulfillment of people’s dreams appealed to him so greatly. Because the reality of meaningless death wasn’t something Levi could ever reconcile with his own belief in life’s inherent value. He couldn’t understand how something so precious could be so easily destroyed. It had never seemed right to him. It had never made sense.

What this shows us, then, is that it wasn’t because of Levi’s life, or because of any outside influence, that he saw value in life, or believed in the value of life. It wasn’t because he was conditioned by the state of his existence, or taught by his circumstances growing up, that life had value. Clearly, Levi was taught and conditioned to believe the very opposite, as evidenced and even proven by the disregard with which he treats his own life. As evidenced and proven by Levi’s life being so devoid of anything good or hopeful, that he thought it would be better to die in one, last act of defiance against the injustice and cruelty of it all, than to go on living.

Because Levi fully believed he wouldn't succeed in getting his mother's belongings back, and he fully believed he was almost certain to die. And so it wasn't truly even about getting his mother's tea set back, so much as it was about holding on to that last memory of her. That's what I mean when I say a last act of defiance against the ugliness of the world. He wanted to retain the memory of his mother's beauty, something her tea set represented to him, as an act of rebellion against the bleak hopelessness and despair of the rest of his life. It was Levi's way of telling the cruelty and ugliness of the world that it could go fuck itself, by exiting from it while remembering his mother's elegance. As if to say to that cruelty and ugliness, you may win, but at least I still fought back.

How then is it, though, that Levi is able to see life as worthwhile and inherently valuable, when his own life growing up did everything in its power to prove to him otherwise?

The answer is simply Levi’s nature. Levi’s inherent goodness.

He and Zeke were each driven to regard their lives as worthless through the conditions of their childhoods. And yet, while Zeke used that as an excuse to treat everyone else’s life as worthless, too, Levi in turn didn’t allow his feelings regarding his life to inform his feelings of anyone else’s. Levi, in spite of his great suffering and despair, still saw the worth in the lives of other people.

That’s true selflessness. True compassion. True empathy. True goodness. Something not rooted in external forces or influence, but something that comes from within. Something innate to ones nature.

And that’s what “Bad Boy” really demonstrates. How it is that Levi’s inherently good nature overcame the horror and despair of his life. How he came out the other side a kind, caring and compassionate man, not because of, but in spite of his own, wretched existence.

Moving on, and now understanding Levi’s depression and suicidal ideation leading up to this event, I also want to talk about how Kenny’s abandonment of Levi directly following must have impacted his already fragile will to live.

Kenny leaving Levi at this point in his life could scarcely have caused more damage. And there’s absolutely no way in hell Kenny didn’t recognize or notice to some extent how depressed Levi was. We see that depression ourselves, plain and marked on Levi’s face, when he later goes back to his and his mother’s room, while he’s brewing the tea.

I’ve spoken before about how what people often mistake as stoicism in Levi’s expression is actually despondence. Is actually sadness. I’ll go over that same expression we see on Levi when I get to that part of the story. But I bring it up now to highlight the travesty of Kenny abandoning Levi in that state, and the impact it had to have had on Levi’s will to live moving forward.

Because I don’t think he could have had much of one.

Levi finally awakens his power, and thus, becomes strong. Thus becomes what Kenny taught him he needed to be to matter.

And it results in nothing but his being left alone. All it results in is further trauma and despair, with Levi experiencing the horror of having taken multiple lives.

Levi can’t have developed anything but negative feelings regarding his own strength, at this point. He’ll have started to associate it, even, with abandonment and his own monstrosity. And maybe he would feel it’s that very monstrosity that leads to his abandonment. His mother died, and he probably thinks that’s his fault, because if she hadn’t had to take care of him, she would probably still be alive. Kenny left him, and that’s also his fault, because being strong wasn’t enough to keep Kenny around, so there must be something else about him that made Kenny leave. I think Levi likely felt he was left alone because there was something inherently lacking in him, something that made him destroy what was good (his mother) and something that made him unwanted (Kenny). And I think that feeling must have been reinforced to him by the brutality of his own violence in killing these men. He became what Kenny told him he should be, but it wasn’t enough, or maybe it was too much. Because what kind of message does it send to Levi, when he finally becomes what Kenny tells him he should be, and instead of it winning him Kenny’s approval, it earns him Kenny’s rejection? It sends the message that Kenny must think he’s a freak, or a monster. That Kenny must decide he’s bad or wrong in some way.

So what, in the face of this utter despair and hopelessness, in the face of this total rejection of his person, compounding an already existent wish to die, could have compelled Levi to go on living?

What I think it was, was the thought that his strength must be for something more than himself.

Isayama has said before that Levi wondered what his strength was for, when with Kenny’s abandonment, he was shown it wasn’t meant for his approval. And we’ve seen demonstrated already Levi’s own lack of will to live. His own disinterest in fighting for himself, and thus, in using that strength for himself.

So he must have wondered, if his strength wasn’t meant to win him Kenny’s love or approval, and it didn’t matter to him if it could be used for himself, what could it be used for? What was it meant for?

I think it was his desire to find out what that could be that kept him going. And once he realized he could use his strength to help people, that's when he decided his life might be of some value. Not for himself, but for others.

When he finally figured out that he could use his strength for that, that he could use it to save lives and better lives, this thing which previously had only seemed to bring him grief and trauma, this thing which he couldn’t understand the reason for having at all, finally made sense. In discovering his strength could help, that was the one thing about it that finally made it make sense to him.

And I think that’s also testament to Levi’s inherent goodness.

That, despite all that negativity, all that horror and suffering, pain and loss, despite his strength seeming to be nothing but a curse, a point of confusion and grief, he still sought an answer to its reason. He refused to give in to the bitterness of accepting it as meaningless, and he still held enough of a belief in the lives of others mattering, in the lives of others being worthwhile, and in people being worth saving, to decide that the reason for his strength was to help them, to save them, to use it to fight for them. Levi decided that, on his own.

That it only made sense to him at last as an instrument to aid others, that proves Levi’s inherent goodness.

Now, getting back to the story, I spoke before about how I find the man in the glasses to be perhaps the most vile of the group, which is saying a lot, since they were all obscene human beings.

After Levi kills them, the man in the glasses in the only one left, and what he does, what he says to Levi, I think, probably caused Levi more harm, and more lasting damage, than what any of the others said or did.

Because this man lies to Levi, and attempts to manipulate him to save his own skin, by painting himself as the only one to have cared about Levi’s well-being, claiming himself to have tried to stop the assault against Levi (something we know is a blatant and cruel lie), and by using Levi’s love for his mother against him. This, in the worst way, reminded me of how Zeke tried to use Levi’s compassion for his comrades as a weapon against him, too. It’s such an ugly, cynical and cruel thing to do.

The man blubbers on about how he tried to tell the man beating Levi that if he kept it up, he would meet with a fate worse than the death penalty (again, a blatant lie), and then he attempts to frighten Levi into thinking the same will happen to him, because he’s just killed all these people, and the man in the glasses is the only one who can save him.

All through this, Levi only stands and stares at the man, giving brief, monosyllabic replies. The man’s desperation increases, his fear mounting as Levi seems almost non-responsive, and then he says:

“So! Hey! Stop doing things that will make your mother in heaven sad! You don’t want to do that, do you?!”

I can’t even begin to put into words how horrible this is.

This smarmy, heartless, disgusting piece of human refuse actually tries to leverage Levi’s love for his mother against him, the same mother that just minutes earlier, this man had spoken of in such derogatory terms, and who had shown such open disregard and disdain toward Levi’s desperation to preserve and hold onto the memory of her.

What’s particularly significant in this exchange, is how I think it impacts Levi’s self-image later on, and how it impacts his ability to find solace in the memory of his mother.

Levi shows no feeling toward what the man is saying in this moment. Levi’s lack of response or expression at all indicates a state of shock. Of not truly absorbing what’s just happened, or what continues to happen.

He takes his mother’s tea set, and tells the man:

“Well… I don’t know.”, in response to the man’s question about not wanting to make his mother cry. And then Levi says:

“But Kenny won’t let you live.”

And the man says, now in tears:

“I want to save you… Believe me…”

To which Levi replies:

“Nobody will believe a kid like me killed all these men, don’t worry. You bastard.”

This shows Levi hasn't fallen for a word this bastard has said. His line "Nobody will believe a kid like me killed all these men, don't worry." is Levi letting the man know that his ploy of being the only one who can "save" Levi from his friends didn't work. All those friends whom he supposedly wanted to save Levi from won't believe Levi killed any of these men, anyway, so, "don't worry". Levi is calling him out on his lie and manipulation. He's calling out his duplicity. That he knows he's completely full of it and only saying what he thinks will save his own skin. It's Levi being sarcastic.

The big mistake the man makes, as well, is in saying what he does about Levi’s mother. Because he invokes Kuchel’s memory, again, the only thing in Levi’s life that he considers good, and particularly, threatens Levi with her memory by saying he’s going to make his mother cry in heaven because he's become a killer, that pushes Levi deeper into anger and disgust.

Levi is fully aware this man wasn't trying to "save" him at all, and further, that he will with certainty go on to traffic and murder other children if he's allowed to live. That he'll go on to do the same to other children that he was trying to do to Levi. All that contributes to why Levi decides to kill him, too.

The next page continues Levi’s narration. He says:

“I awakened the power. Kenny disappeared. The only thing that hadn’t disappeared… were the memories of my mother.”

This is hugely significant.

We see Levi return to the room he and his mother once shared, carrying her tea set. And we then see him make a pot of tea, his expression one of almost desperation as he goes through each step carefully, boiling water, crushing the tea leaves, and then timing carefully how long he needs to steep them in the hot water.

He attempts each step with utmost care. This is something obviously deeply important to Levi that he get right. And yet, we see him struggle to do so. He crushes the leaves in his bare hand, and ends up spilling them all over the place when he tries scattering them into the pot. He spills the boiling water over the pots edge when he pours it in, too. He's clumsy and unsure, a child trying to mimic an adult. Trying to mimic his mother. And we're reminded brutally here that Levi is just a little boy. After everything, he's just a young child who's gone through a level of trauma scarcely imaginable to most people.

And we wonder, why is this so important to him? Why does he try so hard to get this right?

Because Levi is attempting here, I think, to hold on to the one good thing he has left. That idealized image of his mother. This picture of beauty and grace and elegance among a world of filth and despair and rottenness. This one good thing in an otherwise hopeless and meaningless life.

Levi stares despondently at the cup of tea as he sits at the same table he once shared tea with his mother, his face still bloody and beaten from his encounter with the men, and he remembers. He again sees the image of him and his mother, that romanticized memory of light shining down on them, illuminating them, bringing them warmth in an otherwise cold and desolate world.

And then we see Levi in the present again, sitting alone, in the same spot, but the light is gone. There’s nothing but darkness and decay and filth.

Levi picks the cup up, and begins to bring it to his lips to drink, and in the next panel, we see the handle snap off, and the cup fall, shattering against the floor.

And then Levi bursts into tears.

I said in my first analysis post that the cup shattering is what I think snaps Levi out of his state of shock, and I still think that’s true. It's the moment we see the emotion of everything that's happened to him finally come crashing down onto his head. When we finally see the true depth of his devastation. The depth of his psychological distress.

And the cup shattering is also symbolic of Levi losing the last and truly only good thing he’s ever had in his life. The memory of his mother. It’s been ruined by what he’s just done.

This is where the true damage of the man’s words to Levi about making his mother cry reveals itself.

Levi’s tears, I think, are tears of shame, and tears of despair.

I think Levi fully believes what the man had told him, that he’s made his mother cry by becoming a killer, and in so doing, he’s lost the ability for his mother’s memory to bring him comfort.

From here on, the only thing remembering his mother will bring Levi is a sense of self-loathing. A sense of repulsion, for how his own brutality and violence contrasts with so much ugliness against the beauty and elegance of her memory. Now every time he thinks of her, it will be with the belief that she would have hated him and been ashamed of him for killing. And that's what the title of the story refers to. Levi sees himself as a "bad boy".

Because I think Levi believes himself to have become a part of the filth and rottenness of the Underground that he spoke of at the beginning. I think Levi believes, through that, that he’s sullied and destroyed the memory of his mother. That he's no longer worthy of her memory. That the one thing he “absolutely did not want to be lost” is now lost to him completely, and he’s left with nothing but the bleak hopelessness and worthlessness of his own life. With nothing but the “shitty world” he was born into.

In the final panel, we come to the actual present, with Levi sitting with Gabi and Falco. He says:

“Since then, I vowed to never hold the handle of a cup… ever again.”

And we see Gabi in tears, apologizing to Levi for making fun of him for the way he holds his cups, and Falco begging him to stop talking because he’s going to cry, too.

These are two kids who have seen some true horror in their lives, but even they can’t handle the wretched nightmare of this one story from Levi’s childhood. And that’s just it, it’s only a single story. A single story about a life spent in total darkness. A childhood without a single hope, without any light or warmth or goodness. About a man who lost the one, good thing he had because of the world he was born into, and the violence he was forced to learn as the only way to survive. A man who, against all odds, and even against the worthlessness he saw in his own life, still managed to have a greater kindness and compassion and respect towards the lives of others than anyone else. Who still believed, despite it all, that those lives were worth fighting for, and protecting, and remembering.

Levi’s life is such an utter tragedy.

I think “Bad Boy” demonstrates to us, once and for all, the true depth of that tragedy, and beyond that, the true miracle that Levi Ackerman is.

It's the miracle of Levi's inherent goodness overcoming the devastation of his life.

#Levi Ackerman #Bad Boy #bad boy spoilers #analysis #commentary #meta #attack on titan #shingkei no kyojin

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🌈CM Pride Challenge🏳️‍⚧️

Hey everyone, I’m back with another monthly challenge! For the months of May AND June, I am formally challenging any willing writer to take a stab at writing fanfiction including LGBTQA+ PRIDE using their choice of Criminal Minds characters! Reader, Original Character, Character/Character ships, Gen/Platonic fics are allowed!Please check out the Rules below the Keep Reading.

There are a LOT of prompts below the cut, so keep going!

(**This is NOT a request list for me—this is a prompt list of other writers! Feel free to request from someone else, and be sure to let them know about the challenge!)

General Prompts 🏳️‍🌈

Coming out is so much harder the second time

Describe Character’s first kiss with the same gender

Describe Character(s) spending a day at a Pride parade

The team realizes that A&B were more than roommates

Penelope goes a little overboard on rainbow decorations at Characters’ wedding

Character's marriage mutually comes to an end when they come out... now what?

Character comes out at the same time they announce their new relationship to the team

Character A fears it’s too late for them to live authentically, and B assures them that’s not true

Character A gifts B something colored like their pride flag because “the colors reminded me of you”

Child realizes that not every kid has two moms/two dads and they have a lot of questions about it

Queer characters have a hard time deciding what their child should call them and come up with fun ideas

Character A goes to a LGBT bar with B as a wingperson (or maybe they want them, themselves?)

Anything else you can think of!

More prompts (transgender, assorted, dialogue) below!

Transgender Prompts 🏳️‍⚧️

Character A helps B get their first tailored dress/suit

Character A helps B shave and/or put on makeup

The couple is looking for gender neutral nicknames

Character A buys B specialty gender affirming lingerie

Character is casually referred to with an appropriately gendered nickname for the first time

Characters are renewing their vows and redoing their wedding photos following a coming out

Character A walks in on B wearing a new gender-affirming outfit and surprises them with an enthusiastic compliment

The team throws Character an impromptu first birthday party following their coming out (how did they get a banner so fast?!)

Character A buys B a gender affirming but stereotypical gift (sports jersey, neon pink purse, etc.) that they would otherwise hate (but find absolutely hilarious)

Specific Prompts 💝

[Bisexual] Character gets irritated when people reduce their sexuality to their current partner

[Bisexual] Character A is in a M/F relationship with B and worries that their queer identity will become invisible dating them

[Asexual] Characters explore different forms of non-sexual intimacy

[Asexual] Characters are both asexual but too nervous to tell one another. They awkwardly attempt to have sex but end up laughing at how ridiculous they feel.

Dialogue Prompts 💐

“Are they… flirting?” “Big time.”

“I got to fall in love with you twice.”

“To be seen is to be loved." "I see you.”

“Be gay, do crimes.” “Aren’t you a cop?”

“There is no heterosexual explanation for that.”

“Life is very different once you find your people.”

“Cardinals and hydrangeas can change. Why not you?”

“You're still the person I love. Nothing will change that.”

“We both wear pants. Makes it easier to kick your ass.”

“It’s never felt like this before. I've never felt like this before.”

“I guess it makes sense now why it never worked out with my exes.”

Am I allowed to look at her like that? Could it be wrong when she's just so nice to look at? ("She" by Dodie)

“You can kiss a hundred boys in bars, shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling ... Well, good luck, babe. You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling.” ("Good Luck, Babe!" by Chappell Roan)

Rules ❤️🧡💚💙💜🖤🤎

The fic can be a Reader insert, an Original Character, a character/character ship, a platonic ship, or a Gen fic. It can feature any Criminal Minds character. AUs and crossovers are more than welcome.

Tag me in the fic, or send the link to me in a Direct Message. It can be already written, or you can write it for the challenge - I’m collecting both! You can also tag it “#mentioningmargins” which is a tag I track.

The fic can be any genre, but ONLY send me smut if your bio states you are 18+. I DO NOT WANT smut written by minors. Ever. At all. I will check.Platonic ships and pure, fluffy fics are 100% allowed.

Please include Content Warnings and a one-sentence Summary of the fic in your post.

Have fun!

The Masterlist of fics will be posted around June 30. If you finish after that, no problem - just send me the fic once you’re done and I’ll add it after-the-fact!

Feel free to message me if you want help developing a plot, have any questions, or just want to gush about your fic. I’m happy to help, and I’m happy you’re here ❤️

🌈Happy writing! 🏳️‍⚧️

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zukosdualdao · 19 hours

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hakoda being a genuinely loving, supportive father to katara and never invalidating her feelings but still comforting her is something that can be so important <3333

especially, as many as have pointed out, as it contrasts with zuko’s hollow reunion with ozai, getting conditional and tenuous praise while still nervous, knowing he’s on thin, dangerous ice, and on his knees in a pose that more or less looks like he is awaiting judgment.

one of the ways this really gets highlighted is that katara spends the episode needling hakoda. just a little, just here and there—he just heard me call you dad didn’t he? and it’s sokka’s invasion plan both spring to mind—and i don’t think even she understands why she’s doing it. she seems sincere and surprised when aang suggests katara’s mad at her dad. but it’s definitely there, and it maybe was there for a while, because there was a weeks-long time skip we didn’t see.

but there is never, not for one moment, a point at which katara thinks needling hakoda in this way might put her in danger, or a point at which the audience is supposed to be worried for her on that level. it doesn’t even cross her mind (because hakoda is a good and non-abusive dad), and the only reason it crosses mine now is because of how it contrasts with the zuko and ozai scene.

there is tension between them, sure—we see hakoda reacting with some sad/confused expressions but still appeasing her—but even as hurt and confused and angry as she does feel, katara feels 100% safe to express it all to hakoda without any fear of retribution or danger.

contrastly, zuko is… you know, i said nervous before, but terrified would be a more apt word. everything from his expression, to the ominous music, to the staging as ozai looms over him is supposed to show us that. he’s terrified. and the audience absolutely is supposed to be worried that zuko is in danger here because we’ve seen why he’s terrified and know he has every reason to be and that the situation is inherently tenuous at best: zuko would never and could never poke at his father, the way katara does hers in this episode, because it wouldn’t be safe to do so.

zuko spends most of his interaction with ozai completely silent, in fact, and when he does speak up—what did you hear?—he’s walking on eggshells to navigate the lie azula’s told, and the danger he’s finding himself in anyway.

also, just to be clear, this is not katara hate, i literally love her. i love that katara gets to act this way because it’s such an honest portrayal of a teenage girl with complicated emotions, and i find her reconciliation scene with hakoda to be one of the most cathartic scenes in the entire show. and like, i’m glad that she never has reason to even consider that hakoda might harm her in some way, because that’s not a situation that any kid should ever be in. the point is the parallel with zuko, who very much does have reason to worry about what his father will do, is as fascinating as it is tragic.

#atla rewatch ‘24 #the awakening #katara #hakoda #katara & hakoda #abuse //#zuko #ozai #zuko & ozai #zutara #For Reasons #narratives running parallel. etc

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dancinglikebutterflywings · 2 days

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Ghosts are Real | Lee Felix

Pairing: Lee Felix x Ghost!Reader

Request: No. This is a repost from my old account and part of the Halloween special I did last year.

Synopsis: Felix doesn't want to believe ghosts are real until Hyunjin mentions Y/N, the resident ghost.

Warnings: I tried making this one spooky but it just ended up sweet because, after all, it's Felix. Mentions of death, exhaustion. Reader has a little brother.

Word Count: 1,303

Requests: Open.

Stray Kids Masterlist | Tag List Sign-Up | Requesting Guidelines

©️ 2024 dancinglikebutterflywings - do not copy/modify/repost anywhere. reblog instead.

A chill runs down Felix’s spine as he hears a whisper that sounds right by his ear. He pauses the game he’s playing with Jeongin, causing the younger man to groan and drop his controller on the couch in annoyance. He was just about to beat Felix at Mario Kart for the 1000th time.

“Did you hear that?” Felix asks his friend as he looks around the room for someone else. He knows that it’s just him and Jeongin in their dorm. Minho is out visiting his family and cats and Seungmin is out filming a vlog with Changbin and Hyunjin.

Jeongin, slightly annoyed and thinking Felix is trying to distract him from winning this race, replies, “I didn’t hear anything.” He un-pauses the game only for Felix to pause it again causing Jeongin to become even more frustrated with his Hyung. “What the hell, Hyung?”

“We’re still the only one’s here, right?” he asks making sure no one had come back when he went to use the bathroom or when he went into his room to grab something.

Jeongin nods his head and stands up before disappearing into his bedroom. He comes back out a minute later holding his shoulder bag. “I need to go grab a few things. Do you need anything?”

“I’m good,” Felix shakes his head, exiting the game before switching it off.

After Jeongin leaves the apartment, Felix questions if he should have gone with him as an unsettling feeling falls over the apartment.

“Ghosts aren’t real,” his voice comes out soft as he tries to convince himself that the spectral beings don’t exist. His mind travels back to all the times someone has told them about their experiences with the paranormal.

The sound of something clattering on the floor causes him to jump and spin around, searching for what could have made the noise. He finds a metal chopstick laying on the kitchen floor. Confused and frightened, he picks it up, cleans it off and places it where they keep the chopsticks.

“Ghosts are still not real,” he tries to convince himself again and looks for ways the chopstick could have moved from the sink to the floor.

“-very real,” he hears a whisper. It was so quiet that if there was any other sound, he wouldn’t have heard it.

“No, you’re not,” he finds himself arguing with the faint voice. “You’re not real because ghosts don’t exist.”

Rushing into his room, he turns on his computer, grabs his headset and puts it on as he sits in his desk chair. As he’s about to load up his game, the computer switches off and reboots. The words ‘I am real.’ come across the black screen. Terrified he throws his headset off and hurries out of the room. He’s about to leave the apartment when Seungmin and Hyunjin make their way through the front door, causing him to scream in fright.

“Are you okay?” Hyunjin asks coming across his terrified friend, who is on the verge of tears.

“I think we need a new dorm,” he tells them, calming down and feeling a little better that he isn’t alone anymore. “I think this one is haunted.”

“I thought you don’t believe in ghosts?” Seungmin says as he moves into the kitchen to get himself a drink.

“I don’t want to,” he groans. “But too much weird shit goes on here. Things are moved, doors open and close and now I’m hearing voices. Maybe I’m going crazy.”

“Or you’ve finally met Y/N,” Hyunjin says like it’s no big deal. As someone who’s had sleep paralysis, he’s seen some weird shit and wasn’t all too surprised when he found out that the dorm the youngest three occupy with Minho is haunted.

Felix’s fear turns into confusion, “Y/N?”

“She’s your ghost,” he explains. “I’ve seen her a few times. She’s around our age and seems nice. But I think she’s a little lonely. It would be quite lonely being a ghost. No one can see, hear or touch you.”

Both Felix and Seungmin look at him stunned.

“Have you talked to her?” Seungmin asks, not sure if he should believe it himself.

“No, but I see her out the corner of my eye sometimes,” he says and turns to Felix. “If you’re noticing everything than maybe you should talk to her. Has she tried to reach out?”

“Something weird just happened with my computer and I know there’s no fault anywhere in it. I built it myself,” he admits. “What should I do?”

“Get a Ouija board,” Hyunjin suggests.

“I’m not getting one of those,” Felix shakes his head. “I’ll just download one of those apps.”

Later that night, Felix is in his bedroom, earphones in his ears as the static from the ghost talking app plays in his ears. All afternoon he’s been debating with himself whether he should do it or not. But his curiosity won out over his fear, and he downloaded the app he’s now bravely using. He wanted to know what was causing all the strange occurrences that’s been happening in the dorm and if any of what Hyunjin said is true.

“I don’t know why I’m doing this,” he sighs out loud.

“For me,” a faint woman’s voice cut through the static, surprising the blonde.

“Y/N?” he asks, his voice shaky and heart pounding against his chest. He looks around his bedroom trying to find any hint of another person being there. There’s nothing and no-one.

The same voice cuts through the static again. “Yes.”

He pulls his earphones out of his ears not quite believing what he’s hearing. He takes a minute to settle his racing heart and his mind before he puts the earphones back into his ears. The static fills his head again.

“Is your name really Y/N?” he asks wanting confirmation.

“L/N... Y/N...”

“Hyunjin’s right about you,” he says more to himself.

“Yes... Hyunjin... good.”

“He’s going to lose his mind when I tell him about this,” after he says that he hears a giggle come through. He can’t help the smile that makes its way on to his lips. She has pretty laugh. “What happened to you?”

“I... died,” he hears.

“Obviously. How did you die?” he asks.

“...Exhausted...”

“Were you young?”

“21.”

“Way too young,” he suddenly feels sad. He’s only a few years older than she was. He feels like he still has so much to do and couldn’t imagine what it would be like having your life cut short before you can even live it fully. It makes him realize how truly blessed he is to be alive and living his dreams and reaching accomplishment after accomplishment. “I’m sorry you never got the chance to live a full life.”

“Me... too...” her voice comes through again. “But... I lived... good... life... in years... had.”

Feeling more at ease than earlier, he settles on his bed and spends the rest of the night talking to Y/N as if they were two new friends getting to know each other.

Y/N told him all about her life when she was alive, her baby brother who she often goes and watches over, that Seungmin’s bedroom use to be her bedroom, but she always liked Felix’s the best because of the view and the way the sunlight and the moonlight would shine through the windows. He told her he doesn’t mind sharing the room with her and told her about how he’s living his dream with his seven best friends, how he gets to travel abroad, and do everything that he does. He even told her about his family and Australia.

Eventually, he falls asleep with the static from the app still playing in his ears and making a mental note to talk to Hyunjin, telling him everything he learned about Y/N.

Likes, comments & reblogs are welcomed and appreciated, thank you.

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lucysarah-c · 24 hours

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id honestly love it if ud write abt where u think levi would be toxic in terms of relationships, both romantic and platonic

Hi! How are you? Well, that silly reply got more attention than I anticipated, so here goes nothing.

Once again, when I mention "Levi's toxic traits," I don't mean anything like him being abusive or similar. Mostly certain aspects of his personality that may be challenging to deal with in a relationship with him. I think my whole headcanon about the idea could be summarized in two points: Controlling and Stubbornness.

The first one, I think I would summarize Levi's whole personality about it in a quote I think he says extremely frequently: "I trust you. I don't trust them." Because I'm confident in saying that Levi is a person who believes that relationships are based on trust—he trusts you, he trusts his partner… He doesn't trust the rest of the world. Levi is a person who has seen how evil humankind can be, and he simply does not trust people. You are the apple of his eye, someone who is allowing him to open up, etc.

This man only gets into a relationship if he basically already planned the names of his kids, if you two would have pets, and he had seen a house he likes. You are his cherry blossom tree flowering in the middle of a cruel winter. And that's where the controlling and possessive traits come in.

I think it would bring out the best in him. "Did you arrive safe?" "Levi, I went to the store that's at the corner of the street." "So you did?" "When is the night out with your friends? When are you coming home? At what time? How are you coming back? Who will be there?" Levi can't help but think that perhaps the second he's not looking after you, something may happen (I mean… this literally has happened to him multiple times across his life). If you explain to him that this attitude could make you feel like he's trying to control your life or it can be a bit suffocating, he would try his best to work on it… but don't expect miracles haha.

Stubbornness… Levi is used to doing things his way and his way only. The unluck of his life has forced him to grow up alone, nobody to be there for him but also nobody to tell him otherwise haha. I have this feeling that arguing with Levi may be like arguing with a wall. Once this man has made his mind about something, ugh, good luck with it. Is he mostly right? …yes, sadly yes haha, but even when he's not, god, the arguments. I think that if he was wrong at some point, he may take a day or two, go through it, and admit it.

As a side note, I think Levi can be possessive. Not jealous, but possessive. He's not "scared" someone would win you over… but you're his precious. If someone is getting too close to you, they can wash their hands and then fucking cut them off before laying a finger on you… Good luck if he gets bad vibes from a coworker or a friend, he simply doesn't like them, and that person could win a Nobel Prize of peace and Levi would look at them as he looks at Zeke and be like "… they are planning something, I know."

I'll think in more if I come up woth them! But I hope this was good enough!!

Link to my masterlist and my other works if you feel like checking them out. Tags!: @nube55 @justkon @notgoodforlife @nmlkys @humanitys-strongest-bamf @quillinhand @thoreeo @darkstarlight82 @i-literally-cant-with-this @angelofthorr @aomi04 @levisbrat25 @l3visthighs @hum4n-wr3ckag3 @hannieslovebot @starrylevi @rithty @mariaace @ackrmntea @emilyyyy-08 @levisfavoriteteashop @katestrophes @levistealeaf @an-ever-angry-bi @youre-ackermine @fxnnyackerman @secretmoneybearvoid @trashblackrainbow @feelingsandemotionsnotexplored @flxrartsstuff @katharinasdiaryy @kikarouflames @levisecretgfblog @searriously Wanna join my tag list? Here!

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naompspsps · 2 days

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If I need to burn it for you, I'd burn it.

Villain!Leona x Mythical creature Gn!Reader

Summary: Being born as a creature that everyone thinks is strange and villainous, That the news travel all the way to a lab, which the scientists take you away. Maybe this is your end.. Hold on, Who's that guy in a lab coat from the distance?..

A/n: im gonna cry leona i love you (but ruggie beats you kheeheehee)

! do not repost or translate my works anywhere. do not copy or use my works in any site, Reblogs are appreciated alot though !

Being a creature is hard. People always think of you as a villain, when you're secretly just the villain's boss' secretary. Oh! Also, How ironic, you're secretly in a relationship with a villain.

Leona rarely shares his love towards you, but you know he loves you very much, he just doesn't know how to show it. You can tell with the way he allows you to cling on him, but the others he would push away and almost use magic to them.

The others better thank you for being able to control his temper. You both have gone through alot together. Without you making Leona have less temper, The villains would've gotten destroyed by then. Just walk closer to him as some random person's body and you're already thrown off.

Oh, And not to mention he laughs at the corner of the room secretly whenever you become chaotic around others. Then he drops his laugh when he sees you very close with someone else. You know when to get away from someone and when to go near, it's just pure instinct that you were born with.

He calls a few random quite insulting nicknames, but when it comes to you? Well.. "Oi, Pikachu. Boss is askin' if you can use your little pikachu magic to start this dumb game he wants to play like a lil' kid instead of helping injured villains." He yawns softly. Well, Aside from him. There's your boyfriend's boss, Crowley. Leader of the villains.

Around Crowley, Sometimes you feel like he's just using you. You have lightning powers. He just uses your power for random stuff. And he calls himself a generous boss. Hmph.

You sigh softly. Before you walk away, Leona grabs you by the wrist and spins you so you face him, and he pulls you closer. "Do it later. I'll just tell 'em I'm sleepy and I need you to be my pillow." He yawns again.

"Leona, You know what could happen if you lay on me, I could accidentally electrocute you. I still don't know how to control my powers.." You whisper disappointedly. And he.. Sighs, Frustrated. "And I could turn you to sand, Then say it was an accident, Pikachu. Now lay down before boss nags me to call you again."

There's one thing you didn't tell him though. The scientists are on you. They're hunting you down. You don't want to tell him, no, Those people can find out about Leona, A villain, and still manage to capture him. You don't want that. Atleast you know that.

That's what you think about him and if he were to compete against scientists.

If only you were never careless in the past. You always remember that this only happened because of being so reckless. If only.. You didn't keep on going out despite the circumstances.

You write everything in your diary. It's like something else that comforts you if Leona isn't there to cuddle with you. You write very long rants, that your fingers start to hurt. That's how bad you sometimes feel about the world.

If there was anything you had to wish to not happen, It's be Leona finding out about your rants of scientists.

But damn does God despise you.

You enter Leona's room. "Leoonaaa, Have you seen my-" Your words get cut off with a pillow almost hitting you, instead it hits the wall beside you. "You goddamn liar. You said you were already safe."

You open your eyes, spotting your diary in his hand. "You.. You looked at my diary?!" You yell. "Well it ain't my fault you left it opened on this damn page!" Wait, That was in your room.. And Leona messaged you around 1 hour ago asking if you were in your room. The whole day, discard waking up, you haven't been entering the room.

"And you entered my room knowing well I wasn't even there?!"

This is bad. Really bad. You thought you would always hide that from Leona. "How about You know better than to hide these dangers from me?! Then I would get the point you're going on!"

You've never really heard Leona yell. It hurts you and your heart. You can feel your chest clench, trying to catch your heart from falling in its place. "What happened to admitting everything, hm?"

You try your best to not burst into tears. Leona was somebody that genuinely cared about you even if he sucked at showing it. "I.." You stutter to speak. "You look at me, and tell me this is the only lie you told me!" He threw the diary across the room.

It's too late to save you, those people have probably already gotten as much as information they need. They're making their final move to bring you somewhere, You're sure of that.

"Don't you know privacy?! If I don't want to tell you, then I don't! You can't force me into saying things I don't want to admit!"

Leona laughs sarcastically, putting a hand on his forehead. "And that's all you say? Don't think I didn't see you mention about me getting hurt if I confronted those morons." Crud.. He also read that part?! You look away. "That I'd get hurt? That you think I don't stand a chance against them? That you would rather sacrifice yourself for me?"

"Yeah, I don't damn think so." Leona adds with a growl. "God, Leona.. You never leave me alone with these stupid questions, Why don't you just leave me alone?!" You shout, before anything worse can happen, Crowley rushes in the room with Ruggie and Jack. "Hey hey! Calm down!" Crowley pushes you both away from each other.

"Tch. Fine, You want to be alone? Be alone then." Wait, That's not what you..

You freeze. Is this.. Are you both done? A million thoughts start to spread in your mind, causing you to be unable to think anymore. "What is going on with you both?!" Crowley holds two fingers on the bridge of his nose. You scoff. "Just some dumb lion that pretends to care when he only strives for personal information."

You manage to whisper. You turn your back, preparing to run off. "[Name]! Wait!" Ruggie shouts, chasing after you.

You need fresh air. You sigh, then running outside of the base. Just a few more blocks and you can blend in the crowd so Ruggie can be unable to see, and the crowd would start panicking that a villain is here.

Yeah, That's what you plan. But to your reality, you feel yourself get shot by something. A syringe? You don't know, but it doesn't feel like a bullet. It feels like someone shot you some kind of chemical.

Because you can feel your body soften, and your vision getting blurry, and your ears starts to ring intensely.

It doesn't take long with your consiousness disappearing.

Where are you?

You're unable to move.

Are you even alive?

You open your eyes to spot the most traumatizing, room ever. The lab. A white room with a well-secured door. There's restraints at the middle of the room, where you currently are.

Your expectations have come true. They were making their final move. This is it. You can't use your magic, it's like they sealed it in the restraints. It hurts you with every movement you do. You doubt Leona would even care about you.

You did something wrong, anyways. And even if the rest cared, would they even be able to track you down?

This place is probably in the middle of nowhere, somewhere far away. You can already sense scientists coming in.. And you know what they would do to you.

Is it too late to get rescued?

---

Leona huffs. "What do you mean you can't find [Name]?" He looks at Ruggie. "I was searching for them and only saw a van approaching and boom! They're gone!" White van?..

"Those morons..-" Leona grips the pencil that breaks into half, as it suddenly turns into sand. Leona stands up, walking off and grabs Ruggie by his hood. "Wha- Hey, Hey, Where are we going?!"

---

Idia hums. "Hm, I'm not sure if I can do that.. It'll be illegal if I do it that's one." He shrugs. Everyone in the room goes silent. "Are you being stupid or serious." Leona growls. "What?" Idia looks at him. "Nii-san, Are villains not illegal to the law?" Ortho reminds.

It takes Idia seconds to realize what he said. "Oh. I am so sorry. Yeah Okay I'll do it." Idia nods. Leona scoffs and crosses his arms. "Finally, For God's sake."

"Damn Kingscholar, What got you so desperate to want this?" Idia asks, Typing into his keyboard. Ortho looks at Leona. "It's [Name] we're talking about here, who wouldn't be..-" Idia cuts off Ortho's sentence, turning his chair and looking at him with a shocked expression.

"[NAME]?! WHAT HAPPENED?!" Ruggie stands in the corner, sobbing. "Dumbas-" Ortho gets cut off by Leona this time. "[Name] got kidnapped by some stupid scientists, Were you even listening to me?"

Idia looks back at his computer, getting a flashback..

"[Name] got captured. Find out about a lab that they could be in."

"Yeah cool, I'll do it. Gimme 5 minutes."

Idia nods softly. "Ah.. I was too busy playing games I wasn't even listening to half of it.." He whispers. "Yeah, So hurry up." Leona leans against the wall. It's clear he was worried, He's tapping his shoe against the floor every second.

"Well look at that, The cold Lion isn't actually cold." Idia laughs softly. "Point that out one more time and you'll be like the pencil I was holding 20 minutes ago."

"Leona, It's okay.." Ruggie whispers. "I'm going. Report back to me when you get the location." Leona turns away, Ruggie only chases after him.

It just leaves Ortho and Idia. "He's actually pretty caring, Don't you think, Nii-san?" Ortho smiles. "Hmm. Yep. Only to [Name] Though. Which is a bummer cus' that meant I had the chance to mess with Leona. But no, I can't." Idia continues hacking into all system cameras from the places near the van before you got kidnapped and try to locate the van itself.

---

...

....

It's been four days since you're in this damn lab. You feel yourself slip off everytime you're forced to let out magic you don't even know how to control yet. They could've been atleast kind to you, by leaving you in this room without the restraints stuck on you against the wall.

You can't even move around the room. What kind of scientists are they? Definitely not kind ones that's for sure. You sigh softly. Day four.. Another day of pain and torture.

You lost hope in the villains saving you. Why would they even save you? They're villains. Heroes should be the ones saving the day. Still, Why hasn't a single hero rescued these experiments once?

Why does it have to be you that gets captured? Are you really that rare? Are they gonna kill you? Are they gonna.. No. They won't sell you. They'll just continuously use you as their 'special case' experiment until you die.

You sigh softly, hearing faint footsteps going closer to your room. You look out the window to see a scientist.. Wearing a mask? You shake your head and look down. Another day..

You look up to see someone familiar. "[Name]? Holy- What the hell did they do to you.."

"Leo- na?.." You mumble out. He walks up to you, turning your restraints into sand as you were finally set free. You jump in Leona's arms, hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry I hid all of these from you. I didn't mean to say all those stupid words."

Leona sighs. "Now's not the time to apologize, pikachu. We have to go." Leona grabs you by the wrist, and his other arm hooking the back of your legs, carrying you in bridal style. "How are we gonna escape?.." You ask. You've seen millions of guards in the lab that you know Leona can't stand a chance alone. He could start getting tired just fighting them non-stop.

"Simple. Look up." Leona gives you a soft smirk. You look up to see the roof where a small window is, Ruggie is there opening the window. He waves at you. You wave back. "Enough pausing, Let's do this."

Leona leaps up, it doesn't reach the window, but he just wall jumps all the way up. Of course.. He's a villain, Villains get these kinds of jumping tricks in their sleeves. He perfectly lands on the roof, and still keeps you in his arms.

Ruggie rushes to you and grabs you by the shoulders, shaking the spirits out of you. "Oh my God, Don't even ever ever EVER RUN AWAY FROM US."

"Oi. Ruggie that's enough." Leona pulls you away from Ruggie. "We don't got much time until they realize they're gone. We have to hurry to that blue boy." Leona walks down the roof, jumping off with Ruggie following and safely landing on the floor. You look at the car that they're going closer.

But Leona stops walking.

"[Name]." You look up at Leona.

"Hm?.."

"Do you want me to burn this place down?"

"Wha- No! There's still innocent experiments in there, We can't do that!" You shake your head. "Fine. When we get to rescue all of the experiments then can I burn it down?"

"Yeah.." You nod. Leona carefully places you down. "Alright. If I need to burn it for you, I'd burn it. Now go sit at the back seat. You need to rest. Ruggie, Go sit at the passenger's seat."

"Shotgun!!" Ruggie opens the door and sits in the car. Leona enters in the back seat while you follow, closing the car door. Idia locks it. "[Name], How was it there?" Idia asks. Leona pulls your head down on his lap. "Uhh.. Not good. I met a few friends there but like, It's not really what I'd call immediate friends. Just a few eye contacts of communication."

"Good for you." Idia nods. "Are you saying that cause you can't make a single friend if Boss were to put you in a spy mission?" You point out. "Shut up, he would never. I'm just the villains' hacker."

You laugh softly. "Stop talking, go to sleep before I knock you out myself. It'll be a long ride." Leona flicks your forehead. "Ow!- Fineee-" You sigh, closing your eyes and enjoying the freedom you finally got back, maybe there was hope, after all..

You open your eyes. "We're here." Leona mumbles, Did he also fall asleep? You took his hand and drag him out of the car, pulling him closer to the base. "Come on, After we're done with all of this let's go nap!" You smile.

You enter the base, With all of the villains asking if you're okay, Trey taking the medkit and bandages you up, Jamil getting you food, Ah.. They're so nice. You look at Crowley. "Oh, Thank you, You're back safely! Now- Can you be able to-"

Leona pulls you in a protective hug. "No. We're gonna be busy sleepin'. They literally got forced to do abuse to their power." You look at him. "You know about that?" You ask.

"You didn't see the cameras of the lab repeatedly turning to the side as if the person controlling it was trying to inspect where the lab was located?" Idia takes a bite of his lollipop.

"You managed to hack in?"

"I say it's victory I managed to." Idia laughs. "Oh, Yes, Shroud! I have a spy mission for you-"

"WHHAAAAT?!" Idia yells, And you laugh with Leona. "And the fact that you said that he would never put you in a mission with full confidence!" You point at him. "Ahaha!- I was joking, You are never capable of doing those." Crowley turns away.

"Okay- That kind of hurt." Idia clenches on his chest and looks away. You chuckle, and Leona drags you away from the other villains. "You wanna go now?" You ask.

"Mhm." Leona walks to his room. "Oh. Yeah. [Name]." He calls you. "Yes, Leona?"

"Don't hide anything from me. Do you have any idea how much you worried me?" He turns to face you. "I- Uh.. Sorry.. I was just afraid of losing you because of my problems." You look away, guilt filling up your mind. "Well next time you should know that I would never lose." He sighs.

"We'll just let go of this. I'm tired. Don't even try to hide anything from me next time." You nod softly, walking closer to Leona.

"'Kay.. I'm sorry."

Author's End Note: I wrote this before I knew what 'let the world burn' song was, thanks to tiktok i managed to get more ideas to finish this story! 💪💪 (That lab coat he was still wearing 'till the end was definitely a coat he stole from some scientist he killed)

! do not repost or translate my works anywhere. do not copy or use my works in any site, Reblogs are appreciated alot though !

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #gn reader #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland x yuu #leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #leona kingscholar x yuu #leona kingscholar x mc #twst leona

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orionsangel86 · 1 day

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I’m not sure how much sense this will make since it’s almost midnight, but am I crazy for thinking how insane it is for Charles to go “I can’t say that I’m in love with you back or anything” and then immediately follow up with “but there’s no one else who I’d go to Hell for”? Cause like, my brain doesn’t know how to not interpret that as Charles reciprocating Edwin’s specific type of love, but not realizing it. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a super religious household so I already have some predispositions about Heaven and Hell, but my point of view for that is just thinking that someone better be pretty damn special for me to go to Hell for them. Like a wife or kid kind of special.

I don't think its crazy to interpret it that way at all. I think its rare to find that level of devotion among two people and when used as a trope it is usually related to extreme romantic love - see the OG Orpheus and Euridice as the prime example. Charles comparing himself to Orpheus in that moment (however naively because he didn't know how the story ended) is far more telling than he seems to realise.

That's not to say that only people with romantic/passionate feelings for someone can experience that level of devotion. Familial and forms of queer platonic love can also certainly be that devoted, and I have seen a lot of people talking about how they view the boys relationship as a queer platonic one, where Charles in particular, doesn't need to feel romantic love in order to be completely devoted to Edwin. I think that's a really great form of representation and can go someway to explaining how much of a deep and profound bond the two have (as a SPN fan I do not use that term lightly lol).

Though I think throughout the series we see Charles display forms of jealousy towards Edwin's connection with Monty and the Cat King, and he does also confirm he likes Crystal because she reminds him of Edwin - even he was joking at the time. I also think it was lovely that in the confession he doesn't once say that he isn't into guys, or that he doesn't think he could ever feel something more romantic for Edwin. He just says he isn't in love with him at that point. Whether or not that particular statement was the whole truth or just Charles' own form of denial and inability to properly process the confession since they were literally running away from a horrible giant spider doll demon from Hell at that point in time remains to be seen.

I think enough hints have also been dropped during cast and writer interviews that if they get a season two, it will go some way to explore Charles' own feelings and build on the aftermath of that confession. Whatever the situation between them is, it is the primary relationship of the show and it is quite clearly built on love and devotion regardless of what forms they or we interpret that as. They have literally forever to figure it out, and I really hope we get to watch at least some of that!

#dead boy detectives #payneland #charles rowland #edwin payne #asks

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mystycalypso · 2 days

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I'm gonna go on a mini rant here.

TW: p3d0ph1lia, and child s/@

God, I shouldn't have to put a TW like that on a blog where I post Hello Neighbor content with my bff, but I need to just- let off steam about this because it's something that seems to happen every time there's a franchise centering around kids facing a big bad adult where- people assume that said big bad s3xually @ buses one or more of the minor characters.

A main big example of this is obviously FNAF, with the P3d0philia William Afton being popularized by PinkiePills with her comics to the point where a large chunk of the fandom believes that it's canonical. Despite that not being the case.

The example that has pushed me over the edge to talk about this today is Theodore Peterson. I have been worried since Episode 6s release that people were going to claim that Peterson S/@ ed Nicky. And today, low and behold I see a post (not gonna name drop them for obvious reasons) saying

"At this point it's obvious what Mr. Peterson did to Nicky" with the teaser image tinybuild recently posted

Now, at first my autistic ass said, "...What?" And I couldn't figure out for the life of me what they were referring to because I mean, we don't even know when this shot is from

Then I open the comments and see people talking about whether or not it was infact s/@ . I know I said I was expecting and dreading this, but it still shocked and bewildered me because- there's genuinely nothing in the show that actually makes it seem like this.

Thankfully, a lot of the comments were openly disagreeing with this idea and sentiment. But- I need to discuss why it's a problem to me, ESPECIALLY with this franchise, which I've already explained is very near and dear to me.

But good FUCKING GOD, especially with WTRB

THIS IS A KIDS SHOW

Is WTRB able to go much darker than most kids' shows because it isn't run on tv or owned by a network? Absolutely. But would TB go that far? FUCK NO.

I've seen this person using moments from the show like this

To call Mr. Peterson, a p3d0phil3, and I need to clearly explain the purpose of this image. It is to show the power he has built in his lies. Trinity witnessed Mr. Peterson kidnap Nicky before her own eyes, but he has built up such a persona as this pathetic old man in the town that even when she can see behind his lies and see his actively horrific behavior, no one else can.

We see this same back and forth in all their interactions in episode 5. From the moment he offers cookies based on Nicky's goggles to the framing of him looming while her parents work the printer. He believes he has won and can flaunt it because there is no one in Ravenbrooks who believes these kids. No one even notices or is suspicious of Nicky going missing in the first place.

And if Trinity was also an adult or even if Mr. Peterson was say- a woman this wouldn't be coming up or a theory/hc. It is only because Theodore is an older male antagonist.

Now, why is this a problem? Why do these hcs and theories urk me so much every time I see them?

It adds nothing. All they do is make the story "edgier" and "darker" in a way that's so- flat and dimensionless. There's nothing gained by saying "oh Nicky was s/@ ed" if anything you have taken so much from the actual story of Hello Neighbor and the themes of feeling helpless to the horrors you see going on around you. You're not taken seriously as a kid, especially after doing something others see as a slip up like Trinity or by not being the model student type like Nicky. You're young and can see through the lies of others easier but no one believes you.

Not only that, but the supernatural theming of Hello Neighbor is lost because of this. The Guest, The Thing, the Cult, everything is lost or disregarded all to make the series dark on a very surface level.

I'm tired of actual themeing and good writing getting thrown to the wayside for hcs that do nothing for victim representation and do nothing to add to the story and I say this with utter genuineness

If you believe in these p3d0 hcs and theories, do not interact with our work.

Kaydin and I are both VIOLENTLY disgusted by the things we saw written by that poster and by the comments agreeing with their sentiment and we don't want to be associated with the parts of the fandom that twist the series that way.

Thanks for reading.

#welcome to raven brooks #hello neighbor #hello neighbor welcome to raven brooks #non art post #non art #hello neighbor theories #nicky roth #theodore peterson #serious post #vent #personal rant #I hate even having to write this because it's so disgusting

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joshlmbrt · 2 days

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YOU’RE NOW ON THE LINE WITH … EDDIE MUNSON | ‘MY GREATEST FEAR’

CW; this is part of my truck driver!eddie au - link here if you’d like to read about this little family, reader is afab - but i try not to speak to much on looks, clothing, weight, or use pronouns, mentions of feeling like a bad dad, eddie’s thoughts, nightmare, mentions of death/forgetting, maybe projecting with my deep deep fear of death

an; this one :( this one :( my apologies.

-> 1-800-799-DADS!

‘YOU ARE NOW ON THE LINE WITH EDDIE MUNSON.’

“Hi, Mr.Munson. How are you?”

“Hello. I’m doing okay. How about you?”

“I’m great, thanks. I wanted to ask, what’s your greatest fear?”

That question makes Eddie’s brain overload with multiple answers to that one question.

Yet, one sticks out the most.

It’s rare that Ron lets Eddie have a weekend off - but he’s glad that it was doable. Especially with Chance’s 8th birthday coming up and Lily having already taken her first steps. You had filmed it for him.

It wasn’t the same.

He wasn’t there.

He would replay the video over and over - just to hear your squeal and laughs mixed in with Lily’s. She’d fall into her padded bottom, bouncing on the ground slightly, clapping with her chubby hands.

It was late and the kids had already been put to bed. The bathroom door opens and you hear the sounds of Lily’s giggles floating from the small device in Eddie’s hand. You smile softly, making your way over, crawling up the foot of the bed and lying beside him.

He glances at you over the rim of his glasses, smiling softly when he notices you wearing one of his shirts from his teen years. You must’ve been hiding it somewhere in your own clothing.

“Haven’t seen that thing in ages,” He huffs out a small laugh, fingers picking at the sleeve of the shirt, tugging slightly. “Must’ve been hiding, hm?”

“Must have,” You say innocently, tilting your head and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Grew legs and walked offâ€¦ must’ve grown tired and dropped to the ground.” Your teeth then nip at his skin.

He laughs softly, lifting his hand and placing it atop your head, scratching at your scalp as he presses play once again. Your eyes leave him and watch the video, before hearing the small chuckle that leaves his throat. You sit up in bed - hair mussed in the back - and lean against his arm.

Your own arms wrap around his bicep of the arm that rests across your legs, hand rubbing over the skin of your calf softly. Your head tilts and leans against the wall.

“What’s wrong?”

He hums, hesitant to turn away from the video. He knows it will still be on his phone when he looks back. “What?”

“What’s wrong?” You repeat softly. Your thumb rubs against the skin of his arm that had slightly become buffed. “And don’t say nothing,” You watch him slightly deflate. “I know you. I know you better than yourself, handsome.” Your hand runs through the curls that had grown out since the last time he had cut his wild hair.

He sort of misses his long hair.

“I justâ€¦” He trails off, leaning the back of his head into your palm more, turning his head. “I missed it.”

“Missed what, baby?”

“Her first steps,” He says. “I-I missed Chance’s too. I’ve missed a lot. I even almost missed their births.”

“But you didn’t.”

“But I almost-”

“I know. I was there, remember?” You laugh softly, letting him know you aren’t mad at him. That he shouldn’t be mad with himself either. “Andâ€¦ okay, so you missed their first steps. I have them filmed though, you can always go back and look.”

“It’s not the same,” He shakes his head. “It’s not the same as being thereâ€¦being in the moment. I-I wanted to be there for both of their steps.”

“But they're gonna have a bunch more firsts that you can be there for, honey. I know you wanted to be there for all of them, but sometimesâ€¦that’s impossible. And that’s okay,” You reiterated again - you know he’ll still beat himself up over this. “It’s okay because you’re always there when we do need you. They’re growing up with the best dad. I’m glad I chose you - I couldn’t imagine anyone else who would do such a wonderful job with Chance and Lily.”

He smiles, nodding slightly. “Okay.” It’s a way to get out of a long filled conversation about his emotions and he knows it. You don’t want to pressure him into talking about it, so you don’t. You know how scary it can be putting your heart on your sleeve and telling someone how you actually feel.

You press three kisses on his cheek before tracing your nose over the stubble that prickles against your skin. “I love you. You know that, right?” You press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

He nods. “And I love you. Even if I don’t tell you every day.”

“You do. And you show me too.” Your lips press to his bicep now, inhaling the scent of faded cologne and the lingering smoke from the cigarette he had.

He smiles softly, pressing his lips to your forehead. “I love you.” He repeats.

You grin against his skin. “I love you. Let’s get some sleep.”

Lights off and cuddled up, his hand runs through your hair. He knows it helps you fall asleep faster, so staying up an extra couple of minutes won’t hurt him.

That night, he wishes he wouldn’t have fallen asleep.

Woken up in a cold sweat, he’s reaching for you but he can’t seem to find your body. The light leads you back into the bedroom quickly when you hear his sobs and heavy breathing.

“Eddieâ€¦ Eddie, honey.” You're quickly sitting in front of him, his hands immediately reaching out and gripping onto any part of you that he can reach. His fingers are pushing back the hair that falls in your face, thumbs pressing into your cheek.

“You’reâ€¦You’re still here, right? You’re not-“ Your worried eyes never leave his tearful face. “You’re notâ€¦” He can’t bring himself to say the word, another sob leaving his throat as he moves to his knees.

He needs to be closer, see your face, know that you’re here and not dead.

His heart aches when he sees your worried face, pretty features contoured into fear.

“Areâ€¦” He shakes his head, standing from the bed. You watch as he rushes out of the room and down the small hallway. You’re quick to follow him, watching as he peeks into Lily’s room before shutting the door as quietly as he can before walking to Chance’s and doing the same.

Your hand meets his back, eyes still wide with worry.

“Baby, I need you to talk to me. What’s wrong?”

He heaves out a shuddering breath, eyes filling with tears once he realizes everything’s okay - that you’re here, that Chance and Lily are here and not with some other parents.

It’s a strange feeling because the dream seemed all too real.

It seemed real when Lily cried when he started to come towards her and Chance stared at him with a bewildered look - and he spoke. He spoke in the dream.

Chance spoke and he wasn’t there for his first words.

And when he took a step back, he fell deep in the hole that had your headstone, two figures watching him fall down, down, down until he woke up and was here.

In reality.

He shakes his head, rough palms cupping your cheeks as he stares at you. “Iâ€¦I don’t want to lose you.” His words are whimpered, weak, scared.

“Baby, you’re not-you’re not gonna lose me. What are you talking about?”

“I don’t want you to die.” The words are broken.

Eddie’s scared watching the people he loves grow, change in the different seasons of life because that means it’s only closer til everything and everyone is gone and it’s all dark.

He doesn’t want anyone he loves to be stuck in the dark.

Eddie doesn’t want to be stuck in the dark.

“Eddie, honey,” You whisper. You notice how his chest heaves with panicked breaths. “Babyâ€¦ Hey,” You hold his cheeks, pressing your forehead to his.

His knees buckle and you help lower him to the ground, sitting with him with your back against the wall.

You don’t mind that Eddie’s breaking down in the hallway. You’ll sit here however long he needs too, holding him, reassuring him you’re okay.

That you all are okay.

It’s silent over the phone and Eddie thinks maybe he shouldn’t have spilled everything to a stranger.

‘TIMES ALMOST UP!’

“Thank you, Mr.Munson. Thatâ€¦ That, uh, meant a lot to me that you shared that.”

“Yeah. No problem. Have a nice day.”

“You too. Thank you.” The line goes dead and Eddie sighs, rubbing at his face.

The mattress dips underneath him and he feels your hand rubbing at his arm. “You okay?”

He drops his hand into his lap, staring down at you. You’re wearing the same shirt.

He smiles, scooting down and turning to face you.

“Better than okay.”

🪦 thanks for reading! comments, reblogs, & feedback is all encouraged & deeply appreciated!

#call 1800799dads!#cherry writes ✿#dad!eddie munson x mom!reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson angst #joseph quinn x reader

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the-knight-of-destiny · 18 hours

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FHJY Episode 17 Spoilers Big big big meta trying to place the Nightmare King plot and Ankarna Conspiracy, Jace Stardiamond and Porter Cliffbreaker's places in it. Short version? I do not think these plans started intertwined.

So the Ratgrinders are getting their pre-existing anger spiked by Ankarna corruption, and Porter's motives have been very explicitly spelled out, but what is Jace getting out of this, why, and when did he start? This I feel is the point that cracks open how these plans eventually connected. I'm going to open by saying this isn't Jace apologism, because that'd be weird as hell, but it might look like it for a second. An important piece of the puzzle is he clearly died and was infected by a rage star same as the Ratgrinders at some point. Jace is noted/characterized as being very lax and chill in Freshman Year. He has not acted this way in all of his appearances in Junior Year. Now one may point to Jace and Porter in the cafeteria after the first combat in the series, but here's the thing. Porter WASN'T in on the plan of Kalvaxus. Near the end of Freshman Year he is one of the staff who is captured in a Palimpsest. But we do know someone was much closer to that plan, Jace Stardiamond. While Ragh's testimony about Porter and Jace has already been played, people forget that Jace was mentioned outside of just being with Porter. Ragh mentions seeing Jace AND ONLY Jace talking with Arianwen Abernant and a figure Ragh could not yet see (presumably Kalina), this is without Porter present, and as established Porter was actively targeted in the Kalvaxus plot.

We can safely assume two things from this, Jace was one of the only unaccounted for staff members at the time when the Nightmare King's crown disappeared, and he was seen talking with the people who later had it, so he's likely our culprit in swiping it from Arthur Aguefort's office. Also, Porter, while always plotting the Ankarna situation, was genuinely in the dark about Kalvaxus' plan. This leaves us with two questions. One we have pretty likely answers to, one we don't. Question 1. When did Jace die and get revived? He likely isn't acting entirely of his own will in the Ankarna plot, as evidenced by his red wound and heightened anger compared to previous appearances. This has a likely answer, he probably died at the same time as Kipperlilly Copperkettle, presumably in the Mountains of Chaos. I sincerely do not think this was planned, at least not by Jace though it could have been in some roundabout fashion. Question 2. When does Porter contract Kalina? We know he had been plotting Ankarna stuff for a long time, likely before he even met the Bad Kids. While it's technically possible he always knew about Kalina, I do not consider it likely. We know Kalina had a big hand in the Kalvaxus plot (she specifically worked with him to kill Pok Gukgak, and manipulate Aelwyn Abernant), but signs point to Porter not knowing about the Kalvaxus plot, he's explicitly taken out of the picture by Kalvaxus. But Porter later works with Kalina to attack Lydia Barkrock and infect Ragh Barkrock, pretty soon after. The only connection to the Kalina infection he explicitly has is his seeming friendship with Jace. I posit that Jace intentionally brought Porter into the fold. Soon after Kalvaxus' death. Jace can't object to the plan changing to Ankarna now, because he died and was resurrected by Ankarna and Porter sometime during Sophmore Year (most likely). (Side note, this implies Jace either gave Porter a blood transfusion or form of healing, implying his subclass is Divine Soul, or like, the two of them had sex at some point? This part of the timeline baffles me.)

#fhjy #dimension 20 #fhjy spoilers #jace stardiamond #porter cliffbreaker #meta #fhjy meta #fhjy theory

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dazymaisy · 1 day

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Birthday

Mum pulled all the stops for Harry’s eighteenth. She had even dug out the little red pennants she’d used for their birthdays as kids. They were strung between the trees in the garden, faded and creased with age – Ginny hadn’t seen them in years. She’d forgotten they existed, really.

It was a considerable effort to remove herself from conversation with Fleur. It was a bit more like a lecture than a back and forth, really, about the cookie-cutter trim she had Bill put up at Shell Cottage. Ginny wasn’t paying attention. She was busy watching the birthday boy, holding a red cup and sitting on a picnic bench, letting Teddy crawl all over him.

Ginny felt warm and lost – her own cup contained cider and a fair amount of Firewhisky.

“That’s lovely, Fleur, I’m happy you’re making the place cozy,” she said distractedly. “Listen, I’m gonna –” she jerked her head in Harry’s direction and left it at that.

Harry smiled benignly at her when she approached. She grinned mischievously back. “I was wondering if you’d like to go someplace else.”

“Yes, please,” Harry said quickly. “Not that this isn’t all very nice –”

“I know.”

He fixed her with a strange expression. Teddy was dangling off his shoulders, tugging at his collar – he didn’t seem to register any disturbance.

“Listen, Ginny…”

Suddenly she recognized it, that faraway, contented sort of look. She smirked. “Have you been drinking too?” she asked abruptly.

Harry blinked slowly. “A bit. It’s my birthday, isn’t it? It's a rite of passage.” His eyes trailed to the cup in her hand. “Have you been drinking?”

Ginny smiled softly, knowingly, and took his hand. “Come on.” She tugged him away from the bench.

Harry shrugged Teddy off. “Go run and find Uncle Ron, alright? Tell him you’d like more cake.”

They tipped the rest of their drinks into the grass before going inside. Harry followed her up the creaking steps to her bedroom. Neither of them were drunk enough to stumble on the stairs, but they were giddy enough to giggle about the idea of being caught sneaking off.

“Mum would have a fit,” groaned Ginny.

She watched in quiet amazement as Harry stood in the center of her bedroom, looking around at the posters. A slant of white sunlight warmed the rug.

He stared at her suddenly. “Last time I was in your room, it was also my birthday.”

“Yeah, I remember,” said Ginny. How could she forget? It had been a year now, she supposed. Just thinking about it brought back the tension and the stress of that summer. The sense they were all on the edge of impending, irreversible disaster. It didn’t feel like that anymore. Things were slower, now.

Harry grinned weakly. “Remember Ron…”

“Oh, he was furious,” Ginny said, lackluster.

It was all coming to a head now, everything she’d felt about Harry for the past year. Something hot pricked her throat. The liquor was making her braver, she realized. “Listen, Harry –”

“No,” he cut in. She looked up, surprised. Harry was wringing his hands together anxiously. “Ginny, I…”

His voice trailed off. Ginny remembered the summer prior, how desperately she’d needed a moment just like this one. The corner of Harry’s mouth turned up in a smirk. Ginny nudged the door shut with her toe and pressed the lock.

Before she could act logically, they were up against the door, kissing passionately. She wasn’t entirely sure who initiated it – they’d drawn together like charged magnets. Ginny ran her hands over his back, over the prominent angles of his shoulder blades. Harry slowly, gently traced the soft curve in her waist. A hot breath of July air blew in through the window as they moved to the bed.

Soon Ginny was helping Harry guide her shorts over her hips. As much as she hated to do it, Ginny forced herself to stop. They’d gone below the waist before, sure – handies and whatnot – but this felt like something more.

Harry froze. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, yes. It’s great,” Ginny breathed. The words tumbled out of her. Her own voice sounded strange. “I just need to know one thing, please. And then I won’t ask anything else for a while, okay?”

Harry nodded silently.

“Did you think you would come back?” she whispered.

“No,” he said.

Ginny sucked in a breath. Some part of her had hoped he would lie, though she knew he wouldn’t. “So you thought you were going to die.”

She could tell Harry was battling with himself, trying to decide how much he should tell her. Ginny didn’t press – not yet. Only if she thought he was holding something back.

“Well, I did die, technically –”

“No,” she cut in, softly. “You thought you were going to really die. Stone cold dead. And we’d all have to bury you.”

Ginny was surprised by her own composure.

Harry looked perplexed. “Well, yes.”

“Okay.”

Harry squirmed. She looked over at him. It was then that she noticed a familiar-looking lightning shaped scar on his bare chest, red and raised and angry looking. “I don’t… that’s all you wanted to know?”

“For now,” she said.

They laid on the backs for a moment, shoulder-to-shoulder, in a strip of sunlight on the bedspread. Ginny wondered idly why she wasn’t crying, why she wasn’t more emotional. This felt like the sort of thing to get emotional about.

“I thought about you, you know,” Harry said suddenly. She turned her head to look back at him – he was still staring at the ceiling. “You were the last thing.”

“What?”

He smiled oddly at her. “Before the – when I was in the forest, before he threw the curse. When I didn’t think I’d come back. I thought about you.”

It felt like something heavy had both settled and lifted from her chest. “What about me?” she said dumbly.

“Just… you,” said Harry. “You know.”

Ginny’s heart swelled. It was obviously a very esteemed compliment, but not the sort you accepted with gratitude. She couldn’t very well say, Thank you Harry, that’s so sweet, that I was the last thing you thought of as you walked to your death. So she crawled on top of him and looked down directly into his face. Confused green eyes met hers. She pressed a firm kiss to his forehead.

“I love you,” she said matter-of-factly.

Harry was quiet for a moment. His nose scrunched, as if he wasn’t entirely sure how to receive this information, and for a moment her stomach sank. But then he grinned at her, lopsided and beautiful.

“Yeah. I love you too, obviously.”

Ginny barked out a laugh. She had that rare feeling that she was exactly where she was supposed to be, in this moment – one she hadn’t felt since she was a kid, running back from the frog pond with Ron for dinner.

It was a wonderful, warm sensation.

#hinny #hinny fluff #i love them sm #harry potter's low emotional iq

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kyu-piddy · 1 day

Text

To be a man in your eyes

Fem reader x Ace Trappola

Tw: Age gaps (reader is seven years older), light yandere behavior, implied non-con

1.2k words

Ace could remember many moments in his life with you in it. It was actually harder to remember moments without you.

From the moment Ace had been born, you had been there. His brother's best friend.

You had seen him in diapers, learning how to crawl, how to speak.

As he grew slightly older he used to go into his brother's room and demand he play with him. His brother would roll his eyes and tell him to go away, but you’d smile at him and grab the small plastic figure of his hand, ready to entertain his childish whims.

Eventually he started doing it on purpose. Going into his brother's room when he knew you were there, and demanding you play with him.

He also started stealing the stuff you’d bring over. Hair ties, hair clips, jackets.

You were always sweet and calm in return, indulging him and appeasing his brother, saying “Oh, he’s just a kid.”

At the time it felt great, to have your eyes on him instead of his annoying brother, but it quickly turned sour.

He’d huff and puff at you, saying “I’m not a kid! I’m nine years old! Almost a teenager, Nee-san!”

“You’ll be in a few years. But, for now, you’re still a kid.”

And you’d smile, that sweet motherly smile of yours you reserved for him.

But he didn’t want that smile. He wanted the one you gave his brother, a smile meant for someone of equal standing, an almost adult like yourself.

When his brother went to NRC, he thought he’d have you all for himself. No more pesky older brother to try to take you away. But you stopped showing up as much to his house. You still came by from time to time, but it was much less than before.

The few times you came, you played with him, but it wasn’t the same. You always longingly stared at his brother's bedroom door, as if waiting for it to open and for him to come out.

It infuriated him.

Why couldn’t you pay attention to him?!

“Nee-sannnnnn! Stop staring at stupid Nii’s room!”

“Sorry, Ace. Got a little distracted there. Where were we?”

You’d keep playing as usual, but he still felt furious. He started stealing more of your things in retaliation, and keeping them in his room. One day, he stole a half used lipstick. It was dark red, and the packaging made it look really fancy. It had been on your lips.

He put it on his lips and tasted it. Was this how your lips tasted?

He stashed the lipstick on his bottom drawer.

His brother returned later that year, now a full on graduate and with a job prospect on the line.

The first thing you did was hug him with all your might, and he returned fully, embracing you tightly.

Ace ran towards you both, grabbing a fistful of his brother's shirt.

“Stupid Nii. You’re suffocating Nee-San!”

You laughed and ruffled his hair, saying you were okay.

You really didn’t see him as more than a kid.

But he wouldn’t be a kid much longer. He was becoming a teen soon enough.

But disaster struck.

“I have this really great job opportunity!” You excitedly shared with his brother and him your plans. Your plans of moving away.

This was so unfair. He was so close to being a teenager. To be old enough for you to not see him as a kid. And now you were going to move away? You really were cruel.

His brother was really happy. Of course he was. You were going to be near his stupid Nii-san and not him.

You smiled at him. He ignored it and left the room.

You left, but just like his brother, kept contact.

At least tried to. During the first months he’d ignore your calls, sending you a quick text about how he was so busy, and having so much fun. But the feelings of longing grew stronger.

You’d send him texts, call him, even write him letters.

He couldn’t help but crack, the collection of your many knickknacks not enough to keep him satiated.

After that he tried talking to you everyday, even if it was just through a small text message.

Visits were difficult. Your job required you to work the time he was on holiday, so the only way to see each other was through photos.

You’d sent him some, and the others he’d find from stalking the social media of all your friends.

You looked radiant. And that drove him mad. You were so happy around all these people who weren’t him. You should only smile around him. You should only be his.

Is this because you only saw him as a kid? He couldn’t accept that. You’d have to see him as a man once you saw him face to face.

During the holidays of his third year at NRC, you came back to visit.

You didn’t look much older than the last time he had seen you five years ago, but he had changed immensely. He had the face of a man, and he was now taller than you.

Surely you’d see how much he had grown and stop the childish treatment.

And yet, when you saw him, you still gave him that motherly smile and pat on his head, and he was back to being 9 years old and throwing tantrums for your attention.

Couldn’t you see it? How much of a man he was? He was finishing his studies. He could provide for you. You didn’t need anyone else. He would just have to prove it to you.

“Hey, ___. Can ya come real quick with me to my room? So we can chat one on one like good old times.”

You eagerly accepted, so used to his house that you went in front of him.

You sat on his bed as he locked the door without you noticing.

“Ya know,___, I had a girlfriend when I was in middle school.”

You hummed in recognition.

“But she was so boring. I never even liked her. I never really liked any girl for that matter.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. You’re still young. You have plenty of time to figure it out.”

He sat by your side.

“I already figured it out. There’s one exception.”

He leaned closer to you, and you instinctively leaned back a little, a slight uncomfortable look in your eyes.

“An exception?”

“Yeah. A girl who is so dense, so stupid, that always preferred someone else. Do ya know any girls like that, Nee-Chan?”

He hadn’t called you that since he was 13, trying to distance himself from his former child self.

You looked like you were about to bolt out of the room, arms crossed.

He kept creeping closer to you on the bed and you kept leaning back, until you slipped and hit your back on the mattress.

He grabbed his pen from his pocket, and with a swift gesture your wrists were tied together.

Your eyes widened in horror, the rope becoming tighter as you tried wiggling out of it, a scream stuck in your throat, the shock of it all keeping you from truly screaming.

He smirked at your defenseless position.

His parents had left for the night. You were both truly alone.

After tonight, you wouldn’t see him as a kid anymore.

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #x reader #x fem reader #twisted wonderland x reader #Ace Trappola #yandere #twst #kyusbasement

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