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ravenna-reid · 2 days

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Your Demons Know Mine

Jason Todd x fem!reader

Canon typical violence and revisiting some of Jason's trauma

It was safe to say you and Jason got off to a rocky start. Even after all these months of fighting and investigating together, the two of you get along as well as oil and water.

It all began when Batman had interrupted you one night during patrol. The conversation wasn't really a welcome to Gotham and the vigilante life, nor was it a complete interrogation. But over time, he ended up warming up to you. A little. If that's what you could call it. And you got the idea that he wanted you to join him and his 'team.'

Initially, you were confused beyond hell as to why he came to you. But Huntress told you it was probably because Batman didn't like anything he couldn't control or at least keep an eye on in Gotham.

You gave a nod, turning over everything she'd told you about the Dark Knight in your head. "Interesting."

So working with the Bats here and there wasn't so bad, as long as you followed one very important rule. Amongst others. Obviously, you couldn't try and discover anyones secret identity or jeopardise their safety, but more importantly, you were never to take a life. You considered this, then agreed to his terms.

"No murder, got it." He didn't seem completely convinced, but you weren't about to piss off Batman. And so you began helping out the other 'bats.'

Nightwing, the Robins, Orphan, you name it.

And that's when you met the 6 foot something tank of a man that was Red Hood. Tall, intimidating and pretty aloof, the two of you soon clashed.

He was aggressive and rather impulsive at times, and you couldn't understand why he had to make such a mess during patrol. He made it pretty obvious that he didn't enjoy your covert tactics, never giving you the chance to prove your trustworthiness as a partner, which really pissed you off. One day he made a quip about how cunning you were. You scoffed.

"Sorry, let me just go grab a page from your book and buy a semi-automatic."

He gave a humourless laugh before turning to face you.

"What should I do first?" You mocked, hand on chin in thought, "Shoot up a building or just bash the criminals with it?"

Then he was only inches before you, figure looming over yours as he peered down. "Should I be sly like you? At least I don't pull the wool over people's eyes."

The tension was thick. Real. Suffocating. You couldn't see his eyes, but you could imagine the glare behind that insufferable red helmet.

The worst part was, even though you've never seen his face, you just knew he was handsome. He was probably drop dead gorgeous the asshole. Tall, sculpted, there have even been times when you caught him slipping that helmet back on, catching glimpses of his dark hair. And he was awfully protective of everyone, especially the innocent. But he was still a brash asshole.

This continued on, and it was soon pretty obvious to the rest how you two viewed each other. And you were sure the Bats were pulling your leg, because now you were on a mission with Red Hood.

"Are you kidding me." You murmured to yourself. But you nodded along and took in everything Oracle told you guys. Luckily you wouldn't be completely alone with him, given Nightwing would be in the area.

He gave you a nudge before whispering, "Maybe this will help you two to finally get along."

No comment from you.

Once the meeting was finished, you waved goodbye to Red Robin, Nightwing and Orphan and sauntered out of the cave. Hood lifted his leg over his motorbike before watching you head towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" He asked, already sounding like he was done with your shit.

"I have a license Red. Meet you there." Then you disappeared into the darkness before an engine roared to life. A single headlight lit up the entrance to the Batcave, and he was a little surprised to see you on your own motorbike. His gaze brushed over your usual braid as it fell down your back. Then you turned and rode off into the distance.

You took off down the backroads and short cuts before you made it to the location Oracle sent you.

A secret lab.

A secret lab the company you work for owned.

For the past few weeks, you'd been picking up the suspicious activity occurring at work between those higher up and began investigating. They were trying to create something illegal. Sell it to big time criminals for a chunk of money. It was some sort of chemical warfare plan and you had to act on it fast. So you were kind relieved to find Batman was onto it now, since you would most defiantly found out what's going on tonight.

Hacking into the system once again, you were able to find tip of the ice berg information, such as the guards time table. There were only two guards on tonight at this odd warehouse, so your plan was simple.

You'd set up your little tear gas traps in front of the breaker box. Once you cut the electricity, they'd head to the box to figure out what the problem was, and then you'd attack.

You couldn't believe how well the plan was working. Thank the Lord you decided to become a Chemist and knew what chemicals to mix and use.

The guard triggered the small bomb, releasing tear gas into the air that began to eat away at his eyes. Quickly slipping your hands into the pouches attached to the side of your belt, you manoeuvred your hands into your chloroform gloves before rushing behind him. With the burning sensation in his eyes, your legs restricting his arm movement and chloroform soaked gloves over his nose and mouth, he was out in seconds.

You slipped away from him and began down the hall towards where the second guard was until you heard a whack. There were sounds of struggles, grunts and heavy thuds. You froze and pressed yourself against the wall, a confused frown on your face. "What on Earth?"

Someone hit the ground hard.

"Scumbag." A voice bellowed.

You immediately rolled your eyes. Turning the corner, you were met with Red Hood with his bloody hands and the guard knocked out on the floor. He took you in; your dripping gloves and that bewildered look in your eyes.

"Sorry princess, was this too much for you?" He asked, gesturing to the guards crumpled form.

"Let's just get on with it." You snapped back, removing your gloves and tossing them back into their pouches. You eyed the guns strapped to his thighs, thankful he hadn't used them...yet.

"You handled the other guard?" He asked, falling into step behind you.

"Mhm. Hence the gloves."

"Right, your little poisons and what not."

You soon came to the door of the lab room Oracle needed you guys to break into. Using the information you'd found whilst investigating, you lifted your goggles from your eyes and went through various passcodes.

You were curious as to what you'd find in there. Jason was curious about how you knew what pins to sift through, watching you from behind as your fingers danced along the key pad. "You only get three attempts you know."

"I know." Third times a charm, because the door suddenly gave a hiss before slowly opening.

You both entered the cold, dark room, but not before something grabbed your arm and pulled you in. You turned on your heel only to find Red right behind you. His hold was a lot softer than you thought it would be. "What are you-"

"How did you know the pins? Oracle didn't even have that information?"

He tried to focus. He really did. But your mask only covered the bottom half of your face, and with your goggles sitting on your forehead, those eyes of yours were sending him into a coma.

"Because I'm familiar with this company." You spat back, a little taken aback. "You still don't trust me, do you?"

"Like hell I trust you."

At the mere mention of it, Jason felt something heavy in his stomach. Why did that statement effect him? Why didn't he like saying it?

"You're with them, aren't you?" He asked, voice low as he desperately ignored the guilt that began to stir deep down. Because the paranoia was just as strong.

"What?"

"You must know what they're doing. What, are you tryna lure us in?"

"Get the fuck outta here Red. You can't be serious-"

Before you could finish what you're saying, something flashed behind him. A figure. A crow bar.

"Red, move!" Using all your strength, you gripped onto his arms and tried to shove him out the way before the crow bar swung, the end of it just hitting your arm.

You let out a pained yell and quickly tumble away from the attacker, hand gripped around your aching forearm.

Jason didn't hesitate, instantly lunging towards the figure. Ignoring the pain in your arm you got into your fighting stance before someone else caught your eye. Someone to your side. Another man covered in black launched towards you, sword in hand.

Your heart leapt into your throat as you ducked out of the way. Swiftly, you slipped under one of the tables and came out on the other side. Draws surrounded you and you quickly yanked one open. It was filled with bottles of half used chemicals and jars filled with...alkali metals. Your eyes practically lit up when you saw them. You grabbed the potassium jar, and just as he made his way around the lab table, you turned the tap of the sink on and chucked the plethora of metals inside it. Next thing you knew, an explosion as loud as thunder went off, smoke decorating the air as he ran straight into it.

Your ears began to ring and a coughing attack creeped up on you, but you could only imagine how he was feeling. Slipping your knuckle busters over your fingers, you began to throw hits. It's not really your forte though, so once he was on his knees, you pulled the cloth from one of your pouches and wrapped it around his head, holding it there with all your strength. He went out like a light.

As you disregarded his body, you turned to see Jason was now fighting two men. You caught him quickly looking over at you before realising his guns were somehow tossed across the room during the fight. Now he was relying heavily on his fists, and that might have been even scarier. He was quick and concise, strong with his hits, and it was obvious he wasn't holding back. The second man went down hard, his face bloody and bruised. The first attacker, however, was swinging that crow bar like his life depended on it. And suddenly you noticed the Hood falter. You quickly raced to Red Hood's side.

Already mixed with such sickening anxiety and adrenaline from the use of the crow bar against him, that panic suddenly grew ten fold once he realised you were coming to help him.

"No!" His voice was laced with desperation, completely foreign to the Red Hood you knew. His large arm came up and suddenly pushed you back. And as he did so, the curved end of the crow bar collided with the side of his helmet. The force broke it, separating the bright red so that you could see one of his eyes and half of his domino mask.

Jason was stunned. He was back in that warehouse with the clown.

"I'm gonna beat you until you're unrecognisable."

Those words sent a shiver down Jason's spine. Why, when he was so much taller than the man, was he suddenly feeling so small?

You saw Red's eye, and the fear that flashed across it. You couldn't understand what it was that was getting under his skin, but it hit you hard in the chest. Because you knew that look all too well.

Eager with determination, you slipped your daggers into your hands and got ready to take out this asshole, when suddenly Hood tackled him to the ground. But it wasn't Red's usual tactic or fighting style. No...this was animalistic. In seconds, Jason had the man pinned to the ground and the crow bar in his hand.

You hadn't realised Nightwing was yelling in your ear, that he could hear what was happening through the comms. Shit, you completely blanked out.

"Hood? [Vigilante name]? What's going on??" Nightwing urged.

But you couldn't respond, because Red Hood was now beating the life out of the man before you. It was violent. Confronting. Harrowing. You knew he was violent, weren't we all? But not like this...

This was the product of something deeper. Something horrible imbedded into Red Hood.

"Red..." Your voice was too quiet, travelling right over his head. But each blow was becoming worse as Jason got lost in his thoughts and fears. Got lost in the past. So this time you yelled out.

"Red Hood! That's enough!"

He kept going though. It wasn't until the harrowing echo of a gunshot ringing through the room that he stopped. Jason snapped his head over his shoulder to look back at you. You stood there, grimace evident on your face even with your mask on, with one of his guns in your hold and aimed at the ceiling.

"That's enough! We gotta go!"

A deer in headlights. Jason stared back at you, the one eye you could see glassy and absent. You lowered the hand gripping onto that awful weapon he treasured so much. You never touched a gun, and you hoped you'd never have to touch one again.

Creeping towards him, you surely, gingerly slipped the crow bar out of his hold. He flinched, his muscles tensing as he watched you. Nerves ran through your body as you slowed down your movements. You tossed the crow bar to the side before crouching down to his eyes level.

A part of you felt sickly relatable to him. Like you were staring at an older version of yourself.

"Come on," you urged. "I know where the files are. Let me grab them and we can go."

Jason slowly came to again, giving a nod in response. You left to search for the folder and Jason's eyes trailed down to the man beneath him, his breath slow and laboured. So many emotions were coursing through Jason. Rage, hate, fear. He looked over to you as he got to his feet, thankful that you were here. But also resentful that you were. That you had to see that side of him.

Nightwing and the others talked through the comms, evidently worried about you and Red, and Jason could only imagine the shit show he'd have to face when he got back to the Batcave.

You quickly walked back to him, thick folder in hand.

"Alright, let's go Red." Your heart was still pounding in your ears as you rushed past him. But he didn't follow. You turned to look back at him; a man so vicious and large, and yet all you saw was someone who was broken. "Red, what's wrong?"

His deadset stare was back, the mask was back up, but his voice was soft. "You hate using guns..."

part two ya'll? lmk in the comments <3

#jason todd #jason todd imagine #jason todd x reader #jason todd x y/n #jason todd x you #jason todd x fem!reader #jason todd angst #red hood angst #red hood imagine #red hood x reader #red hood x fem!reader #angst #dc comics #dc universe #dcu

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dunmeshistash · 1 day

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So... is the above-ground world "all the dungeon" by the end of the story? I know that's how everyone was referring to things once the Demon 'breached containment' but I don't know if the world stayed that way after the Demon "left".

It brings interesting ideas like 'is resurrection magic possible outside of the dungeon' and 'how will the people of Melini fair?' since their existence was tied to the dungeon.

As pattadol's fairy so eloquently put

They don't really give an objective answer

From the Kensuke monster tidbits we learn that they're still going strong so I imagine its dissipating slowly if at all, I don't think resurrection magic would still work tho? It's pretty confusing.

#dungeon meshi spoilers #ask #nohriantomatoes

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dead-enby-detective · 1 day

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To continue my comparison of the Dead Boy Detective show and the Doom Patrol episode with them in it, I wanted to talk about the exploration of Charles’s aversion/fear of water in Doom Patrol, I thought that was an interesting way to give him some more depth in the short time frame (especially since we get to see more of Edwin’s depth with his pain being used to open the door to the afterlife and Larry reaching out to him to discuss his feelings for Charles).

In the scene above Charles has to work himself up quite a bit in order to cross the lake and continue their case.

DBD Charles, in comparison, doesn’t seem to feel the same way about water.

In episode 2, he’s delighted by the enchanted ocean container.

In episode four, he even calls the view “pretty brills” while staring out into the ocean.

He doesn’t hesitate to run to Crystal when she’s dangling over the ocean.

He walks on the ocean side later (probably partially to ensure she doesn’t try to throw herself into the ocean) and even walks toward the water without any fear.

And when the Night Nurse has him relive his memories she sends him to the lake.

To me he seems more confused, maybe frightened because he doesn’t know where he is or what’s going on and than is far more scared when he gets attacked by the boys again rather than afraid of the water itself.

Then after the Night Nurse lectures him he’s angry,

and willing submerges himself to get away.

Then when he returns he, in his anger, sends her over the wall into the water.

To me, if he was afraid of the water, he’d be less likely to want to go towards it, or he’d at least hesitate before putting his plan into motion.

In my first post comparing and contrasting the Agency from the two show, I said the Doom Patrol Boys feel far less reactive to violence, especially their own. They doesn’t seem scared of it or using it themselves. But while DP Charles isn’t afraid of violence, though it did cause his death, he is afraid of water, which also played a role in his death.

In the DBD show Charles is scared of violence (especially his own) - as violence impacted him greatly in live with his abusive father and bullies but doesn’t seem to be of the water which also played a part in his death.

It’s very interesting to me which parts of his death the writers focused on for each show, the DP writers focused on the water/hypothermia and the DBD writers, the bullies.

As I said in my first post, obviously there’s far less time to explore the boys in the Doom Patrol episode than in the Dead Boy Detectives show so that absolutely could have been part of it.

I haven’t yet read the comics so I’m unsure which version of Charles’s fears is more accurate to the source material, if there’s an exploration of it at all.

It makes sense, in the Doom Patrol episode to show his fear of water. It naturally introduces his death, just as the door to the afterlife being opened by open naturally introduces Edwin’s experience in Hell.

The actor handles it really well. Just as the DBD actor handles his fear of violence really well. Both feel natural and important within the context of their shows.

Additionally, I tired looking up to see if Charles’s father was also abusive in the comics and I couldn’t find anything (please let me know if you know otherwise) and according to his wiki Charles actually died from burn injuries - though he did have to spent time in the icy lake as well.

So it’s definitely interesting that both shows focused on the hypothermia from the lake rather than the burns and it makes sense that if there’s isn’t a major storyline about his father in the comics that DP Charles has less negative feelings about violence than DBD Charles and thus, going back to my first post, reacts differently to it even though he too was bullied to death.

It’s incredibly interesting to me to see how the same character can be played/written in two very different ways based off the same source material and the ways the writers chose to focus on their traumas and fear differently.

What do you all think about how the shows chose to handle Charles’s fears?

#dead boy detectives #charles rowland #edwin payne #crystal palace #niko sasaki #dead boy detectives meta #doom patrol #edwin paine

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mayghosts · 18 hours

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Little Gold Top: (3) Kate Martin x Reader

Summary: A game of hide and seek and a tense practice

(First Part) (Previous)

Warnings: kinda drama tbh, langauge, bad grammar

AN: This chapter has been re-written so many times in loosing my minddddd.... Also loving the new Billie album 🩵🩵 expect flashback chapter next bc i need to actually provide context

Kate felt like she was loosing her mind (and her best friend.) She flipped her phone over for the third time in the last five minutes, checking to see if you responded. She was met with the text message she had sent you yesterday. No reply. Groaning she let her head slump back against the couch pillows. The dim light from the tv flickered across the dorm room, the sun had set a while ago and Kate hadn't found it in her to turn a light on yet. The noise and colors from the TV seemed to just float by her as she stared at the wall behind the TV.

She couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the parking lot. The dim orange-yellow street lamp that highlighted the tip of your nose, reflecting off the gold sequins. Your wide eyed expression as she stood just a but too close. You guys hadn't done something like that in a while. Kate always knew you were pretty, she always knew that she needed to be careful. Self control is not a quality that drunk Kate posseses.

Teams don't work without communication and right now Iowa Womens Basketball would flop on the court without you. She already missed the opportunity to pretend the parking lot incident didn't happen. She rolled off the dorm couch, searching for a hoodie and a pair of shoes. If you weren't going to reply, then she would simply just hunt you down. She was just being cautious. Careful. It was for the best interest of the team.

As she stalked through the halls of the science building she tried to formulate a good excuse for just running into you in the science building at 6:53 PM. She had already went to your dorm, but she didn't hear you inside and it was still too early for you to be alseep. As she passed more empty rooms she could feel her breath picking up, she quickened her steps. She couldn't help but feel like she had royaly fucked everything up again. Just like sophmore year. What if she can't find you? What if you guys can't move past this? Shes graduating this spring its not like you guys will ever get the chance to play for the same team again. She reached the last classroom, swinging the door open, she was met with another empty lab. She slumped against the hallway wall, sinking to the ground. She could feel the tears prick in her eyes as dropped her head into her hands.

POV SWITCH

You felt your phone buzz against the matress. You had a long day of successfully dodging both Caitlin and Kate. You even skipped practice. You told coach it was the frat flu, she deffinately knew you were lying. Your strategy was to let it all blow over. No need to be dramatic, or turn it into something its not and never will be.

You loved Kate, she was your very best friend. But she could fuck you up to no end. Freshman and sophmore year were stained with confusing feelings and multiple parkinglot-esque interactions that were all just swept under the rug. So why she was trying to talk about it now was beyond you.

You wouldn't even call it a situationship, you two never kissed. If you had you couldn't remeber it. You would deffinately remeber kissing her. Flipping your phone over you were once again met with the same text from Kate, and something new from Gabbie that caught your eye.

"I just ran into Kate in the science wing?? She seemed pretty upset so I am going to bring her back to her dorm. I will be back in like 20!"

Deffinately an odd text for a monday after 7. Why would Kate even be in the science wing? Unless she was looking for you? It really wasn't that big of a deal you guys were fine. Right? You slumped back against your pillow clicking off your lights. You didn't sleep much that night.

TIME SKIP

CAITLIN POV (bet you didn't see this coming)

"What the actual fuck" was the only though floating around Caitlins head. She knew she wasn't alone in this thought as she made eye contact with Gabbie from the bench. Cait knew she was in for a long practice when Kate came in with headphones on and nothing to say. Gabbie had told her about her run in with Kate in the science hallway last night. Cait couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in her gut as she watched you walk through the gym doors, make eyecontact with Kate, and promptly look away.

The gym was on the quiet side as Caitlin ran through streaches and warmups. The tension was heavy, and it wasn't the fun type. After a quiet streach and warmup, Caitlin watched Kate airball four easy shots in a row and throw a handful of easliy intercepted passes. However, Its not like you were doing much better as you seemed to be intentionally avoiding Kates passes and not going for any of her rebounds. Shortly after you nearly ate shit during conditioning.

Coach Lisa was not happy, and neither was Caitlin. The whole situation just reminded her of how the two of you were during the last few weeks of Sophmore year. Not speaking, avoiding eachother at all costs and consequentially dragging your team through the mud. Cait was sick of you two behaving like children, but more than anything she wanted to know what happened in the parking-lot.

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oliversrarebooks · 1 day

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corporate retreat 3/4

Previous > Masterlist

tw: brainwashing, drugging, dehumanization, hypnosis, amnesia

"Quinn? Can you open your eyes for me, please?"

Somehow, they managed to get their eyes cracked slightly open. The lights in the room had mercifully been dimmed, and everything seemed fuzzy and indistinct.

"Good. Follow the penlight with your eyes, please."

Quinn did their best, but it all seemed like a big confusing blur.

"Reactions very slow but perceptible. Subject just barely able to respond to stimuli. Twilight sleep state achieved. Based on the results of the tests and their psychological makeup… recommend… and fifty milliliters… around two hours…"

Quinn felt the mask being taken off their face, and the cool rush of fresh air untainted by sedatives was a relief. They cracked their eyes open again as their arm was grasped by one of the assistants. She wiped the inside of their elbow with a cotton swab soaked in cool liquid, and then began to insert an IV line. They were still far too out of it, their limbs much too heavy, to resist.

The IV line was attached to a big bag of light blue fluid. Quinn watched as the drug went drip-drip-drip down the tube and into their arm. The assistant used the IV port to inject a dose of what looked like the same drug.

"We'll give you a little time to adjust to the new medication," said Dr. Moon. "You can just relax."

They assumed they were going to be put back to sleep, but instead they just lay there, staring at the slow drip of blue liquid, in a kind of tranquilized daze. Whatever this new drug was, it wasn't bad. They couldn't remember the last time they had felt so peaceful. Actually, they were feeling pretty good. The all-consuming sleepiness they'd felt from the gas had melted away into a drowsy calm, and their thoughts were gradually returning.

"Quinn? Are you awake? How are you feeling?"

Quinn turned lazily to Dr. Moon. "Good. Really, really drowsy… but good," they said.

"That's excellent to hear," Dr. Moon said. "You're on the good stuff now. We gathered enough data to understand how best to adjust your mind."

"The good stuff…" Quinn's gaze traveled back to the IV line. "What is it?"

"We like to call it cleaning fluid -- but don't be alarmed. It's a nickname, because it's for washing your brain." She laughed. "We have many different components we can use to make it. It's highly customized for the individual, their needs, and our needs."

They really couldn't have been alarmed even if they tried. "What's in mine?"

"Cleaning fluid always starts with Influence Serum. That's our proprietary control medication that removes your mental defenses and inhibitions and increases suggestibility, leaving your mind delightfully pliant and malleable. Then we add Liquid Lullaby -- that's what's keeping you drowsy and docile," she explained. "Your custom mixture also has Pacifier, our anti-anxiety agent, and a little False Paradise, to induce mild euphoria. Plus a few interesting other traces."

"That seems like… a lot of drugs."

"Don't worry, it's especially formulated for you, and completely harmless," she said. "You were so anxious coming here, weren't you?"

"Yeah," they agreed without hesitation.

"And you seem so exhausted. Aren't you exhausted from all the work you do?"

"Yeah, I am."

"And I bet you're so tired of thinking, too. Solving problems. Making decisions. Your poor, tired mind needs a break from all of that."

She was right, that sounded heavenly. What had they even been so worried about? The Brainwashing Department was so nice, and Dr. Moon was so friendly and helpful. "Yeah, I guess I really did need a break." They relaxed into the comfortable chair, resting their arm with the IV on the armrest. Dr. Moon was right. These drugs really were the good stuff.

"Well, it's a good thing you've got a month long vacation, then, isn't it?" said Dr. Moon.

Quinn smiled. "I can't believe it, but I'm actually glad I came here."

"Oh, that's just so lovely to hear you say! I really do think we do great work here. We help people," she said. "And I've got another treat in store for you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I'm going to turn on the screen and you're going to watch a fun movie for the next couple of hours. It's going to hypnotize you and help you be so obedient. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Um…" Quinn furrowed their brows. They dimly remembered that they hadn't wanted that, but they didn't really feel like making a fuss when instead they could just relax in a blissful daze.

"Great, let's get you all situated." Dr. Moon reclined their chair a little bit more, then turned on the screen and placed it in front of Quinn's face.

The screen burst to life with a pulsating rainbow spiral, one that drew Quinn's eyes right to the center as the colors shifted and swirled. They couldn't look away. They didn't want to. Something about it was so, so… compelling… like it was the greatest and most fascinating thing Quinn had ever seen, like they could watch it forever.

"There we go. Just watch the spiral. You're too sleepy to resist, aren't you?"

"I'm… I'm not…"

"Oh yes you are. You're much too sleepy to resist."

"I'm… too sleepy to resist…" Quinn heard themself agree.

"The spiral is going to open your mind up very nicely," she said. "You're going to keep your heavy eyes open and watch the spiral, but your mind is going to go to sleep, okay? Deep, deep sleep… a deep hypnotic sleep where you can listen and absorb everything."

They could feel it. They could feel themselves falling asleep in the heart of the pulsating spiral. "I can listen…"

"So obedient, aren't you? Just like you should be. What an excellent subject."

Quinn couldn't help but smile. "…Thank you…"

"Oh, you like the praise, don't you? You're the type that wants to get a good grade in being brainwashed."

It felt like so long since they'd done anything right, really. "Yeah…"

Dr. Moon draped a warm blanket over Quinn's body. "Then be a good little test subject for me, stare in to the pretty spiral, and let yourself be hypnotized."

Quinn nodded slowly. They didn't want to do anything else. They felt a pair of headphones being slipped over their ears. Through them, they could hear soft music playing and Dr. Moon's voice coaxing them to fall asleep, to be obedient and docile, to love the experience of being brainwashed.

They were much, much too sleepy to resist. Besides, they wanted to please Dr. Moon.

They should just listen, let Dr. Moon do all the thinking for them, and fall deep into trance.

"Sleep and obey…" they heard their own voice saying. "Deeper asleep and deeper entranced… too sleepy to resist… I love being brainwashed… I must obey Dr. Moon…"

Their eyelids were getting heavier again, the entrancing spiral a colorful blur, as they repeated the mantras and fell so deep into hypnotic sleep.

They weren't sure how long they remained there, eyes half-open, staring into the spiral. Time seemed to have no meaning. It could've been five minutes and it could've been five months.

"…so happy that you were brainwashed. Three. You'll be docile and obedient. Two. You'll be relaxed and refreshed. And one. You can open your eyes and wake."

Quinn opened their eyes just as the screen turned off, yawning and rubbing the sleep from their eyes. They felt so, so utterly relaxed, like they'd just had the world's finest spa treatment. Like that was the first really good sleep they'd had in years.

They were still in their chair in the clinical room. The machines were quietly beeping, and the bag of drugs attached to the IV looked mostly empty. They were more than content to just rest for a while and see what would happen next, floating in a cloud of bliss.

It didn't take long before Dr. Moon entered. "Why, hello Quinn. Welcome back to the waking world. Did you have a good nap?"

"The best," they said. "I feel amazing."

"Oh, I'm so glad. You really needed that sleep and mental readjustment," said Dr. Moon. "Here, have some water and a nutrition bar."

Quinn eagerly took the food and water. It hadn't really been something they had thought about, but they actually were hungry.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" asked Dr. Moon.

"It was wonderful," said Quinn. "It feels so right to be hypnotized and not have to think for myself. I didn't realize how badly I needed that."

"Oh, you're such a model subject. I think you might be one of my favorites," said Dr. Moon as Quinn beamed in pride. "You're taking to the brainwashing so, so well. I agree, I really think it's exactly what you needed. And you're going to get another round with a new movie -- but first I wanted to give you a little break."

"Thank you," said Quinn through a mouthful of nutrition bar. They couldn't wait to see what the new movie would be like.

"First, though…" Dr. Moon nonchalantly pulled a capped syringe from her lab coat pocket, injecting the contents into the IV line. "We call this one Loose Lips. It's a truth serum. You're probably too hypnotized to really need it, but I want to make sure you're completely honest with me when I ask you embarrassing and invasive questions about your personal life."

Quinn nodded. "That makes sense."

"First off, how do you feel about your boss?"

They frowned, annoyance just barely managing to push through their drugged calm. "She's driving me insane with their unreasonable demands. She's constantly calling me in to work on nights and weekends because we're so short-staffed, and then she acts like it's my fault that I'm burned out. She wastes my time with boring, pointless meetings, and when there's some kind of problem, she micromanages me and keeps asking for status updates when I just need to concentrate on fixing it." The grievances poured out of their mouth easily.

"That sounds really rough," said Dr. Moon sympathetically. "You should tell me everything you know about your boss. I'm very interested. And after that, maybe you can tell me all about your insecurities, secret fantasies, and embarrassing fetishes."

"Sure!" said Quinn, so eager to be obedient and useful.

Dr. Moon questioned Quinn for a while, and Quinn found that they could answer all of their questions easily and in great depth without a hint of shame. It was really nice to be able to speak so freely. Dr. Moon was such a kind, understanding person.

"You've done so well for me," said Dr. Moon. "I couldn't ask for a better test subject. I think it's time for you to get another round of brainwashing, don't you think?"

"Yes, please!" said Quinn with a big smile. "I'm so lucky that I get to spend an entire month in the Brainwashing Department. Do you think I could transfer permanently?"

"I think that would be an excellent idea. We'll see. But for now, I need to change out your IV medication, okay?" Dr. Moon switched the nearly empty bag for a full one. "This formulation is a little different. I've reduced the Liquid Lullaby and added a little River Lethe. That's our best and most gentle amnestic -- a medication that interferes with memory formation and produces amnesia."

"Amnesia…?" said Quinn, feeling a strange bit of anxiety, the first they'd felt since waking.

"You'll be less sleepy this time, but don't worry, you'll be every bit as hypnotized and blissed-out. You're not going to remember the next few hours, though. You probably won't remember much of this conversation, either," said Dr. Moon. "This new medication will leave you feeling pretty fuzzy for a while after your treatment, too. Is all of that okay with you?"

The anxiety was dissolved by their desire to please the doctor. "Of course it's okay. Whatever you think is best." The new drug was already dripping steadily into their veins. It was strange to think that it was already at work in their brain, that they wouldn't be able to remember any of this.

"Then you can just sit back and enjoy your new favorite TV show," said Dr. Moon, turning the screen on again. This time, it was a scene of slow moving clouds floating by.

Quinn barely noticed when Dr. Moon dimmed the lights and left the room, the drugs and the voices in their headphones already turning their mind into useless mush, fit only to listen and obey. After all, they were so sleepy, and the hypnotic program was far too good to resist.

Previous > Masterlist

#whump #whump writing #hypnosis #brainwashing #drugging #corporate retreat

54 notes · View notes

mochalate · 2 days

Text

[4] new notification! [end]

msby!atsumuxreader || w/c: 1.3k Is this how it ends?

[<-chapter 3] ||[start from intro][masterlist]

The box sits in front of Atsumu, unopened.

And behind them, on the other side of Atsumu’s small kitchen table, is you.

(Atsumu hasn't quite managed to shake off the spirit of his mother, and so you’ve got a steaming mug of tea in front of you. The mug was a gift from one of his younger cousins, and it says best big brother ever, in a ring of pretty flowers. Not the words you ever want to see next to the girl you’re interested in, and kind-of-sort-of friends with. It felt dangerous.)

He can see the hazy suggestion of cookies through the translucent plastic. They look like chocolate chip, and it feels like a chocolate chip kind of moment. But he’s worried he’s got it all wrong. He’s scared to take the lid off and find out that they’re just raisin bran.

So he waits for you to offer him one.

You take another sip. The words on the mug float in front of his eyes like a threat from the universe. Atsumu desperately tries to recall if your birthday is before or after his.

Then you open your mouth to speak.

Alarm bells go off inside Atsumu’s head.

You’re like a brother to me.

Also, I’m seeing your brother.

“... told me about those pictures going around.”

Atsumu realises you’re saying something else entirely.

“Huh?”

“Oh, you didn’t see?”

Atsumu has seen. “No— I, uh, did ya want me to do somethin’ about it? Post for people to quit sharin’ them?” He asks, with a sinking heart.

It’s the exact opposite of what the publicist told him to do, but if you asked, he’d do it.

If you want privacy with Osamu, he’d do his best to make sure you have it; even if it killed him to know and not know at the same time.

You sigh. “She said to just let it pass. And she’s the professional, I think we should listen.”

There’s silence again.

Atsumu can’t take it anymore. “Are ya datin’ Samu? I mean, genuinely?”

Your eyes widen in shock. “No! Why would you think that?”

“The pictures—”

“Why would you believe the pictures? Osamu is my friend.”

A weight is lifted off his shoulders. “I don’t believe them, but if there was anythin’ to them, I didn’t want to come between—”

You have a strange expression on your face, somewhere in between looking like you’re stopping yourself from crying, but also fighting off a smile.

(It’s impressive, really. Atsumu would give anything to be able to take a picture of it.)

“Why would you have come between, Atsumu?” You sound as if you already know the answer.

Atsumu realises you still need him to say it. “Because— because I like ya.”

As soon as he says it, it feels like the moment after a serve, where the ball is so close to the net there’s no way he can tell if it’s going to go over or not. If it will just fall. The moment stretches into an eternity.

And then the smile wins the battle on your face, and Atsumu swears he can see the flowers on your mug blooming and twirling.

“I like you too.”

You look so hopeful, so relieved, Atsumu can’t help but feel a little guilty. “It’ll happen again.”

“What will?” You brows are knit in confusion.

“The pictures, the harassment. People say some real mean shi— stuff.” He takes a deep breath. “You’d be better of datin’ anyone else.”

Your smile falters. “Are you saying you don’t want to—”

“No! I do. I want to date ya,” Atsumu says, reaching for your hand. “But I don’t want ya to regret it. I don’t want ya to end up hatin’ me.”

“Atsumu—”

“Did ya see what they were sayin’? Under those pictures?”

There’s a flash of pain across your face. Atsumu's heart twists.

“I— I did.”

“It’ll keep happenin’. Maybe not about this, but they’ll always find somethin’ to rag on about. Can ya really live with? Knowin’ that’s happening every day?” Atsumu swallows nervously. “I’m just sayin’... think on it.”

You anxiously squeeze his hand, head bowed.

You don’t say anything.

r/relationship_advice • 1 hour ago

u/fattytuna95

FINAL UPDATE: I want to ask out my twin brother's girlfriend.

I thought I owed everyone a conclusion to this whole thing.

A couple of you DMed me to ask how it went. I left you hanging, so first of all, sorry about that.

It didn’t go well.

Yeah, that’s right. It didn’t.

I know I set it up like some kinda romcom eleventh hour, running through the airport type of scene; but it didn’t work out like one.

I don’t know what else to say.

She’s not dating my brother, and she does like me, but we talked it out like adults (thank you for the advice, u/unicornpoodle lol) but realistically it would be a lot of stress and trouble for something we’re not all that sure about; so we decided to keep our relationship formal.

I feel alright, I suppose. I just feel bad that I might have made my brother and her’s friendship awkward.

I think that’s it.

Thanks again, for sticking with me.

Bye.

↑ 254 ↓ •••

u/msbygirlie_13 • 30 minutes ago

oh nooooo :(

i don't know what to say, i'm so sorry. :(

please check your inbox, i sent you a giftcard code for onigiri miya. small consolation.

↑ 205 ↓ •••

u/fattytuna95 • 20 minutes ago omfg, you didn't have to do that!! thank you though. ↑ 100 ↓ •••

u/guiltyassassin_ • 30 minutes ago

You tried, man. That's all any of us can do. Go drinking with your buddies and forget about it.

Might even meet someone there lol

↑ 150 ↓ •••

u/fattytuna95 • 20 minutes ago I'm doing pretty okay actually. Not really in a drink my sorrows away kind of mood. ↑ 83 ↓ •••

u/unicornpoodle • 10 minutes ago

So uh, I think I might have come off pretty rude and heartless this whole time. But I never wanted you to actually feel bad. I want to say sorry about that. And sorry it didn't work out. You seem like a cool dude even if you're kind of dramatic. Thanks for the shoutout. Better luck next time. And there will be a next time, don't worry.

And you're handling this really well, congratulations.

↑ 55 ↓ •••

u/fattytuna95 • just now lol you're a pretty cool dude too. thanks. ↑ 24 ↓ •••

“So you’re scammin’ people on the internet now?” Osamu scoffs. “Just straight up lyin’ for sympathy donations?”

“I only did it because the Jackals’ publicist told me to!” Atsumu cries. “Someone sent my post to her. She glared at me all scary after I fessed up.”

“Still a scam,” Osamu says, deadpan.

“Do ya want me to pay or not?” Atsumu scoffs. “Ya know I’m not givin’ ya cash. Take the giftcard.”

“What if I throw ya out instead? That’s what I usually do to people who don’t pay.”

Atsumu rests his elbows on the shop counter, and gives Osamu the most charming smile you’ve ever seen.

“Ya wouldn’t do that to me in front of my girlfriend.”

The word makes your face heat up like you’re still in highschool. You make an embarrassed noise and try to hide your face, but Atsumu’s still got one of your hands in his. He turns that charming smile toward you, and you really think that thing should be classified as a weapon.

“Don’t you look shy. Do ya have a crush on me, or something?”

“Atsumu!” you squeal.

Osamu just groans. “I’ll take the damn code if ya stop flirtin’ in front of me. I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Atsumu slings an arm around your shoulder and laughs triumphantly, as Osamu rolls his eyes and heads back into Onigiri Miya’s kitchen.

Once he’s gone, you playfully smack Atsumu’s hand. “I can’t believe you didn’t turn down the giftcard.”

“Who am I to deny someone the opportunity for a good deed?” He winks at you. “Don’t ya know those come back to ya ten fold? Sometimes in the form of winnin’ a season ticket giveaway.”

“So you’re saying those are rigged.”

Atsumu sighs. “Yer as bad as Samu.”

You just giggle, and rise on your toes to peck his cheek.

Did Atsumu get you with that last post? 🤭🤭 Dont miss -> [bonus chapter ft. Osamu] [new notification- end notes]

please leave a like/reblog/reply/send me an ask if you enjoyed! <3 divider @/cafekitsune

#miya atsumu fluff #atsumu miya x reader #atsumu x reader #haikyuu x reader #my fic

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k1ngpin42 · 3 days

Text

This one's actually wild- Ghoul x Reader Fic

𝔾𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕖 (𝔹𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤 𝕋𝕣𝕦𝕝𝕪)

WARNINGS: Part 1 of 2 (Part 2 has all the smut but read this first u won't regret it :) (unless u do)

You have been travelling for weeks. Taking meaningless jobs for people for not enough caps and spending them on drinks and a spot of food every now and then. You promised yourself you wouldn’t end up like this. That you’d use your skills in craftsmanship and explosives to help those big organisations clean up the helpless towns you’re always coming across.

You took a seat on a rusted bench in the center of town, next to some skinny, middle aged man. You eye the synth bartender who has been scrubbing the same mug since you got here.

“Do you have vodka?” You ask it, and it reaches down, picking up a dusty bottle filled with clear liquid. You nod.

“Good, how much?” The synth replies in inaudible dialogue and the man besides you smiles.

“He says, 35 caps.”

“For one drink? Pretty steep….”

“It’s the good stuff.” The man tries. You glare at him.

“‘Good stuff’ huh? It’s got a layer of dust….”

‘It’s…aged.” The man returns with a smile. You roll your eyes.

“Fine, here.” You say, pouring a small bag of caps into the robots hand.

He pours you it and you drink it straight without flinching. The man watches you intently.

“Tough day?”

“Tough life.” You reply, grimly. He nods.

“I hear that.” You nod back, thankful that that unneeded conversation in your life had concluded itself. “I’m not having the best day myself.” You sigh, having just jinxed yourself.

“Really?” You ask, acting mildly interested.

“The group I run with, we protect this town but we’ve been having a time of it lately. This one guy we’re after is relentless. In fact, he’s not even a man he’s a fucking ghoul, and a horrific one at that.”

“Feral?” You question, tapping on the side of your glass to indicate another drink. The robot looks at you, unimpressed. Or at least that’s how you depicted it’s synthetic, lifeless face. You sigh, placing another bag of caps into its hand and getting another swift poor in result.

“No, but he’s the worst type there is. He’ll take out anyone who gets in his way by force.” You tilt your head in confusion.

“Wait, you’re after a man-“

“Ghoul.” Corrects the man. You sigh at the unneeded correction.

“Ghoul, because he got some people killed in a crossfire? That’s kinda how life is, law-lover.”

“A man he had conducted business with hadn’t delivered his end of the bargain, and he fed his son to him in soup.” You smirk, surprised.

“Sheesh. Hardco-“ You return your face to a neutral expression when you notice his look of outrage. You clear your throat.

“How do I find him?” His eyes widen.

“Y- You’re offering?” You roll your eyes.

“No, I said it for shit’s and giggles. There’s a reward I take it?”

“Oh a handsome one- but I’d need proof before the payment can be delivered.” You continue glaring at him.

“I know how a fucking bounty works, Mr…?”

“Flint.”

“Your last name is fli - you know what I don’t care. What’s the reward?”

“1000 caps.” Your ears perk at this, a warm smile coming to your face.

“I want 200 now. I need money for my weapons and such.”

“200…”

“If you can’t even cough up 200 how am I meant to believe you’ve got 1000?”

“Fine, here.” He pulls out the caps. “And a drink, on me.” He tells the robot. It nods and you let out an annoyed sigh.

“Knew that fucker could understand English. Why are you trusting me anyway? You don’t even know me.”

“I do, actually. Beautiful young woman in road leathers with a big bag on her back. I take it filled with explosives?” You eye him cautiously.

“How do you know me?”

“It’s my job to maintain connections in other settlements. I’ve heard you help the odd person with your unique explosives. You build traps, turrets, dirty bombs and such. I trust them, and even if you do just run away with my caps, better than having no hope at all.” You sigh.

“That’s stupid. But I’ll get you your ghoul.”

Even with your advanced tracking skills, the ghoul wasn’t hard to find. He wasn’t exactly subtle, and when he walks in everyone turns, eying him like he’s nothing. He was more handsome than you expected, and to be fair, you hadn’t expected him to be attractive at all. This man wasn’t like any ghoul you had encountered. He looked more put together, and he had a cowboy hat like he had just stepped out of a fucking movie.

“I’m looking for Adam.” He yells, and you notice the shotgun doing tricks in his hand.

“To anyone who tries to stop me, I hope today is a good day to die. Although, I suppose it’s as good a day as any…” His accent was unexpected to you. It was deep and real pretty. You wondered why he was the way he was. You always wondered about ghouls, but had never met one you could exchange a sentence with before you had to blow them limb from limb in self defence.

The bombs were already in place, set to detonate when he got into a certain building. It was made with a fluid ghouls were particularly prone to, and not even a ghoul can survive being transformed into pink mist. Now all you had to do was lure him up there. You had gone with Mr flint from earlier, and were now using him as a cover story.

“You cock-sucking bastard! I know you took my sister.” He goes along with your story.

“Took her? She wanted to go.”

“Anyone could want to do anything when their blood is pumped with jet you fuck.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about”

“I know you took her, and I have proof-“

“Oh yeah?” He asks, grabbing you and putting your body against his, running his hands along yours.

“What if I did take her? You wanna join, hm?” The ghoul tilts his head, watching this unfold in the distance. You grab the mans arm and twist it backwards, making him scurry away from the floor. The ghoul smiles.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” He asks, stalking over to you and putting the cold, cracked skin of one of his hands upon yours, kissing your body with goosebumps in consequence. Flint scurries off to the ambush location, leaving you alone with the ghoul. If there were any others in the town, they certainly weren’t making an appearance with him around.

“Please don’t hurt me.” You pretend to cry, and he lets out an uninterested groan.

“I’m not even here for you I-“ He looks at you a little longer and something in his cold eyes change.

“Fine, what happened, anyway? This man messed with your sister or something?” “He took her, I know he did!”

“Just calm down sweetheart.” He says, putting his hand on your arm.

“Any idea where?” You nod, positively surprised that the ghoul fell for the bait. You had heard he had a soft spot when it came to women, children, animals, that sort of thing, at least in certain scenarios, if he cared enough.

“Yes…that building over there.” You say, pointing at one of the higher buildings. He nods.

“Well….I gotta take care of some business first. You right to stick around? I’m always happy to helps when insects…” He shoots his shotgun from his hip, killing a roach you hadn’t heard approaching. “Needs crushing.” He adds. You tense up a little. The plan was to get him to that building as soon as possible, if anything else triggered the explosion the ghoul would know you had planned to take him out and would likely respond in ways that wouldn’t leave you in one piece. The ghoul becomes more wary at your reaction.

“Everything…alright?” He questions, taking a step away from you. You nod.

“Just…worried about my sister. But I guess I have no idea what’s in that building…I’d probably be dead if it’s filled with giant mutants or gunners or something…” He just stares at you, unimpressed.

“What makes you think your sister survived then?” You hesitate, maybe you should have expanded your backstory a little before you got here…

“Well…she’s much more equipped at self defence…”

“If that was the case she probably wouldn’t be trapped in a building, now would she?” The unbearable silence is cut short by a machine turret firing at the ghoul. You step back, shocked. He tilts his head, taking it out with a single shot, along with 4 men who had been aiming at him.

“You know, it’s not nice being interrupted.” He exclaims, storming into the building. You follow him, hiding behind a nearby counter.

“Adam owed me chems…information….ammo…” The ghoul explains to some scared folk, slowly.

“We had a good thing going, until he ran away with the caps. At least…he thought he could run away, but a little birdie told me he just had to stop by his hometown and visit his family before he left isn’t that sweet?” He asked, grabbing a woman and putting her into a headlock, aiming his shotgun at the other man. The woman lets out a frightened sound and he puts his hand over her mouth.

“Shh, it’s okay darlin, I’d never hurt an innocent woman.”

The situation is so tense you’re not sure whether or not you’ve let out a breath since you first saw him.

“However, Adam is your son, and as his mother of course you’d never sell him out or…put him in harms way, but what situation does that put me in gorgeous? M’ I supposed to let an accomplice of a scammer go?”

“Please…I didn’t know, I promise-“ She muffles into his hand. He shakes his head.

“It’s no problem, really….” He mocks, letting her go.

“Bring me Adam, or the next time you see him will be only his head. Or maybe an arm…or leg, some part of him anyway-“

“You’re sick!” The man besides him spits. The woman doesn’t say anything for a while and the man looks at her in shock.

“Honey, you’re not seriously gonna-“

“He’s upstairs.” She says. The ghoul smirks in a way that sends foreign feelings to areas of your body it probably shouldn’t be sending to, but you try to ignore it as you watch the rest of the situation unfold.

When you head up there, Adam makes eye contact with you from your hiding spot, grabbing you and putting a gun to your head. You let out a sharp breath. The ghoul rolls his eyes.

“Oh jeez- you can’t just stay out of my way hm?” The ghoul asks you. Your hands are up and you feel helpless. In any other situation, you would have the element of surprise and could take him out with your knife, but you knew if you tried anything, either Adam or the ghoul himself would have your head. You open your mouth to say something. An apology, a plea, anything, but instead you close your eyes, accepting the very real reality that this could be the place you die, the shit hole where some boy too foolish not to know double crossing Cooper Howard was a death sentence, lived. He sighs.

“Let the girl go.” He says, nonchalantly.

“If…if you leave my family alone, I will.” Adam begs, weakly. Cooper rolls his eyes.

“Your family did the commonwealth an injustice through trying to help your sorry ass. You think I’m going to give free passes to every bum I meet? I could put a bullet right between your eyes right now, and you wouldn’t even have the power to beg me not to.” The ghouls words make Adam sweat even more.

“If you do that your girlfriend will be dead.” Adam says, and you let out a shaky breath. As if the ghoul would give two shits if you were alive or not. And why would he? Even if you weren’t lying to his face right now, and you actually did have a sister who did in fact need saving, why would that be any of his business. So when the words, “Fine, you have my word.” Leave his mouth, you’ve never been more shocked.

“I- how can I trust you?” Adam questions. The ghoul groans.

“Adam, Adam….you speakin of trust after stealing my caps? That’s brave. And real fuckin stupid.”

“D-drop your gun. And I’ll let her go.”

“You really think I care if this smooth skin girl I barely know lives or dies?” Cooper asks, and you sigh. There it is. The ghoul signing your inevitable death warrant. This is what you get for trying to help the commonwealth, you supposed. He shrugs, cocking the gun. This causes Cooper to drop his own, immediately.

“I’m really starting to dislike you Adam. Give me the girl.” Demands the ghoul, and you can tell Adam was equally as surprised as you are. He hesitantly lets you go, not wanting to cause more bloodshed than needed either. You let out a breath, falling from Adams tight grasp and into the ghouls arms. You quickly push yourself off of him, straightening yourself up and apologising tremendously. He sighs.

“Don’t fucking mention it. Let’s leave this prick. I believe we have a sister to save.”

“You’re just going to leave him here?” You ask him, softly. He rolls his eyes.

“Unlike some people, I keep my word when I give it.” He doesn’t say anything else before darting straight past you and to the exit of the house.

“Sorry for disturbing you, ma’am.” He tells Adams mum before leaving.

He still hasn’t said anything, bolting towards the tall building where Mr flint and a room of explosives was awaiting him. You stop walking, partly because you believe if you do not, you would run out breath and surely die to a lack of oxygen, but also partly because you couldn’t stand anymore silence. He saved you, someone he didn’t know, and was now helping you further. He was a harsh being, you weren’t blind to that, but the thought of sending the ghoul to his death right now wasn’t a thought you found very welcoming. He notices you have stopped and gives you a confused and unimpressed glance.

“You don’t seem to be in much of a rush to save your sister from these ‘giant mutants’ you’re so afraid of seeing.” He exclaims, not looking at you. You shrug, eyeing only the ground at this point.

“I guess I’m a little shaken. Never been held at gunpoint before. Had guns pointed at me, many a time but- well it isn’t quite the same. And then you saved me so I- well I guess my thoughts are elsewhere.” You admit in one clutter of words. He nods.

“I…guess that’s understandable.” He replies, coldly. You nod, continuing to walk now but at a more reasonable pace.

“Why didn’t you shoot him?” Cooper glares at you, then back at the empty land ahead.

“I told you. I gave my word.” You sigh at his answer.

“Yes, but why…surely I ain’t worth saving. I’m nothing to you.” He laughs at your comment.

“Spoken like someone who has lots to live for.” He remarks, sarcastically. You can’t help but smile at this.

“I suppose that was a little dull, I just meant….I’ve met ghouls before and they all tried to eat me.” You confess, and he laughs the most gorgeous laugh you’ve ever heard.

“Well, we ghouls can be unpredictable. I still may eat you yet.” He teases, and you can’t help but put this into a different context in your own mind.

——————————————————————————————————

As you two get up to the building, your heart is racing. All of a sudden your mind is foggy, you feel nauseous. This whole thing is a bad idea. This man-ghoul….who knew at this point, had only been in your life a few hours and already saved you twice, spared an entire family and was now about to be sent to your death for what? 1000 caps? Flint could kill him if he must, you were not taking a part of it. The ghoul hadn’t just saved you either. He was attractive, kind enough, and brought a type of adventure and heat that you thought had turned to ash like the rest of the world.

“Well, no ‘gunners or something’ yet.” The ghoul remarks. You nod.

“Uh, wait here a moment, I’m gonna check this room.”

“Okay, but look out for traps.” He says. You smile at this.

“You worried about me?” He shakes his head.

“I’m worried you’re gonna do something dumb and set off a series of explosions that will get us both killed, but whatever floats your boat sweetheart.” Sweetheart. The nickname repeats itself in your head as you question why it makes your stomach churn in the best way possible. You hurry into the room and see Flint.

“Amazing work at getting him here, which room has the explosives?” He asks, eagerly. You bring your hand to the back of your neck anxiously.

“About that…what if we just forgot the ghoul? I mean he didn’t harm that family even though they were the ones who had robbed him so-“ “I will NOT hear of this!” Flint exclaims. “He is a mutant, a terrible reminder of the fuckups people from his time have made. Bring him to me, I’ll kill him myself.” You’re stunned by Flint’s aggression to you, especially after it was your life on the line. He can walk away from this with an injured hand and you walk away knowing you were almost a corpse on Adams floor? This man was seriously starting to get to you.

You couldn’t believe what you were about to do. It had never occurred to you that you would stoop this low, but after all the shit you had been through in your life, this was the one asshole to push you over the edge. To make you do and say shit past you wouldn’t have been able to fathom like….

“He’s in the room on the third floor. The passage on the right should take you there.” You explain. Only that room would have no ghoul, and rather all the explosives instead.

“Good. Are you coming?” He asks. You shake your head.

“Fine, but I’m keeping the caps then.” He declares. You nod. What a prick….

——————————————————————————————————

You quickly run to the ghoul, grabbing him by the hands.

“We need to go.” You exclaim, pulling him. He looks at you, confused.

“You found your sister?” He asks.

“What? Oh- yeah…come on.” You say, and thankfully he follows. You hear a booming explosion behind you and you shut your eyes tight. Cooper looks at you, bewildered.

“Care to explain to me what the fuck that was?” He demands. You stare down at the ground.

“How…about I tell you over a drink?"

#fallout #fallout tv series #fallout 4 #fallout 4 inspo #cooper howard #the ghoul #smut #the ghoul smut #the ghoul x reader #the ghoul x you

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 1 day

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I often wonder what was that one particular thing, ingredient X, if you may, that made Harry succumb to Meghan in June 2016?

I understand that he had psychological trauma from his mums death, from his dad's bourgeois parenting style, from the very fact that he was Windsor male for that matter. I also agree that he is quite simple minded, so now in hind sight we can say he is increasingly motivated by resentment towards his perfect brother, his own greed and need for adulation etc. But back in 2016, he was on a good path. Settling into his job. Enjoying the perks of his popularity. And it's safe to assume that both William and Harry, were used to the fact that women threw themselves at them both. So they also had some sense to know that not everyone had good intentions.

It's also been speculated that Harry did meet Meghan a year before in 2015, at Soho Istanbul (according to many bloggers). And may even have met her in 2014 at Miami (according to Shauna, Vintage Reads). So he had enjoyed her company and still evaded her clothes then.

And not just her, he probably had come into contact with many wannabes who he hooked up with and managed to shake off.

So why 2016? When everything seemed to be going so well for him? His family circle was fairly well grounded. He had an independent profile of his own royal work. He had a good team and loyal, competent staff. He had a great, extensive friend circle. He could have anything and anyone he wanted. He seemed nice, engaged with people, showed empathy and some commonsense when out and about. So I am so perplexed as to how and why, that "blind date" at Soho in May/June/July/whenever led to his spectacular downfall.

I know this isn't really the blog or the platform where we can psychoanalyse Harry correctly and succinctly. But it's just a question that I'm fascinated by. In 3 years, he lost every single thing he had - his family, his relationships, his work, his friends, his honour, his glory, his legacy, his prospects at any royal relevance. How were mental defences so down, so ineffective, how was he so walled-in into his trauma that he had no chance at being saved? It sure couldn't be as simple as greed for more money or a Hollywood lifestyle?

And let's be honest, Meghan isn't that great a catch where someone like him would just lay down everything at her feet and be like "here queen, feed on my guts, eat my flesh raw". Urghhh

I'm so confused and so perplexed.

All of Harry's friends and cousins were getting married and settling down in 2015/2016. That's a lot of peer pressure and expectations on him, even if it wasn't overt and directly applied.

And when everyone around you is coupling up, settling down, getting married, and having babies, that can give you beer goggles because now you're rushing through relationships to catch up with them. We've all seen it happen in our own friend groups, I'm sure. I've got a few friends who were so bothered by being in their 30s without partners and families while the rest of their friends are planning weddings and having babies that they marry the first guy who shows interest. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.

That seems to be what happened to Harry. Everyone was settling down. He was feeling left out. So he met someone that suited his needs, said "to hell with the rest" and married her ASAP.

And also this: "He could have anything and anyone he wanted." isn't true. He wasn't getting the girls he wanted. He wanted someone like Kate - pretty, British, media-trained, from a good family, and well-off - and all those girls were staying far, far away from him. They knew what he was really like behind closed doors; needy, paranoid, cheap (he once made Cressida buy her own plane ticket for a trip he had invited her on), and heavily partying. The 'anyone he wanted' that Harry was going after wasn't into that.

Also, anon - if you haven't already, you might want to give Tom Bower's Revenge a read. Specifically Chapter 13, "A Troubled Prince," has a little bit of psychoanlysis of Harry that you might enjoy.

#sussexes #theories

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dragon-kazansky · 15 hours

Text

Heart of the Dreaming

Morpheus x Female Reader

Soulmate AU

You are the daughter of Rodrick Burgess. You find out about the "demon" in the basement and decide you want to see it. Things take an unexpected turn when your soulmate connection is made with the man you find down there. You are the one he has been waiting for, and you're being taken away from. Not for long. Dream will protect his soulmate.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Chapter Nine - Piece of me

☆☆☆

You stand beside Dream as you stare at the old depleted building. On your way here, Dream had explained to you Hob Gadling. Once a century, they would meet in this pub. Dream would ask Hob about his experiences and his life, seeing if he really wanted to continue living.

You were fascinated. It dawned on you that you and Hob had something in common. Both of you would live forever.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologise for." Dreak looks at you curiously.

"Still, this place meant something to you."

"The pub wasn't going to last forever."

"I suppose not..."

As you look around the fence, you spot a red line drawn right across the metal. You reach out and trace the words 'The New Inn' with your finger. "Do you think this is important?"

Dream reads the words and then follows the line with his eyes. He begins to wall in that direction. You follow him.

You end up outside a very pretty building. A little pub. There are people sitting outside in the garden having a drink in the sun. You smile slightly at the sight. It was fascinating to you.

"Do you think he's in there?" You ask.

"Perhaps."

Dream walks slowly toward the building, and you continue to follow him. Inside was nice and cool. You look around. The pub wasn't huge, and you liked that. The woman behind the bar smiles at you as you walk past.

Dream leads you further into the pub and comes to stop. You look up at him and then follow his gaze. There's a handsome man sitting by himself at a table grading papers in front of him.

The man looks up slowly and then smiles. "You're late."

Morpheus smiles, too. "It seems I owe you an apology. I've always heard it impolite to keep one's friends waiting."

Hob gestures to the chair opposite him. Morpheus pulls the chair out and then looks at you, offering it to you instead. You seem a little startled by that, expecting him to just sit down. You take the seat and watch Dream pull up another chair.

"And who's this?" Hob asks, smiling at you.

Dream speaks your name. You smile softly and feel rather bashful under Hob’s gaze.

"Nice to meet you."

"You too," you smile at him.

Hob turns to Dream and raises his brows up with a smile. Morpheus smiles back, not giving away anything else.

The two old friends catch up. Hob talks to Dream about many different things, and you listen with great interest. You had missed out on so much.

Dream shares his story with Hob. You find it hard to look at either of them while Dream talks. You're ashamed for what your family had done to him.

"Hey." You look up when Hob calls out quietly to you. "You're safe now. I'm sure he doesn't hold any malice toward you for what happened. Right?" Hob looks at Dream.

Morpheus looks at you. "I do not. You are not the reason I was trapped there. But being trapped there was the reason I found you."

You don't really know what to say to that. You stare at him. Your mind is riddled with thoughts and feelings.

Hob looked between the two of you and smiled softly. "Are you two together?"

You both turn to him.

"Yes." "No!"

You turn to Dream. "We're not... together."

He looks at you. "Are we not?"

"Of course not."

He leans forward a little bit and looks at you a little closer. "Are we not bonded?"

"Well, yes... but..."

"That is enough for me," he says.

"But..." The words die on your tongue. You feel a little confused by what he thinks. Did he assume that automatically meant you were both a couple?

"I think you've still got some things to figure out. Forgive me for asking," Hob says softly.

"It's alright..." You assure him.

Hob gets up to order a round of drinks, and you sit next to Dream awkwardly. He keeps his eyes on you while you both wait for Hob to return.

"Do you dislike me?" He asks suddenly.

"What?"

"Do you dislike me?"

"No." You shake your head. "I'm just not sure what it is you want out of this."

"I thought that was obvious," he replies.

"I meant we could be friends. Being soupmates doesn't mean we have to be in love or anything." You look at him. He sits there quietly, staring at you. "You're looking for a lover?"

"I've had lovers before. I want something... different."

"Different?"

"More," he clarifies.

You drop your gaze to the table and sigh softly. He wants someone he can love unconditionally without dear of them leaving him. You glance up to see he's still looking at you, and you're not sure what to do. Luckily, Hob returns. He places a drink in front of each of you and looks at you both.

"Are you against me having feelings for you?" Dreams asks softly.

"No. I just... I'm still learning about you. I haven't even really spent much time in your realm. It's kind of overwhelming being a human one day and then the soulmate of a cosmic entity the next."

Dream's lips curl into a tiny little smile.

Hob looks between you both again. He's kind of amused by his old friend. He never really imagined him as a romantic type, but it's clear he wants something with you.

"Do you hold no feelings at all for me?" Dream then asks.

"No, I... I'm curious about you, but I can't say I'm in love with you or anything. Are you lonely?" You ask.

"Perhaps."

"It makes sense why you want this to be more, but I don't think we're compatible like that."

"No?"

"You're just so... different." You look at him with a sorry expression. He can tell you're trying to be sincere.

"Because I am not mortal?"

"Because you're so closed off."

He stares at you for a good few long moments and then casts his eyes away. It's not like he doesn't know what you mean. He's just ashamed it had to be said out loud.

He just wants you to like him.

"You will stay in the Dreaming with me, yes?"

"Yes."

"Then I shall ask no more lf you," he says, looking back at you once more. You look into his pretty blue eyes and find your heart skips a beat.

Hob picks up the conversation with Dream again, and they talk between them some more. You listen and chime in every so often, but for the most part, your mind drifts.

You wonder what will come of this bond you share with the Sandman.

☆☆☆

Once again, you stand in the palace within the Dreaming. This time, you have time to actually take it in. You can tell just by looking around that Dream himself designed every little part of his realm.

He was obviously proud of his work. The rook he gave you was designed by him, too. You can tell he went to a lot of effort to make sure you would be comfortable here. He clearly wanted you to like your new home.

Home.

The Burgess mansion never really felt like home. It became your prison. Now you had a home. A home unlike anything you could have imagined before. It made you feel warm.

A knock on your door makes you snap out of your thoughts. You turn and call out, letting the person know they could enter. Dream steps into your room and your heartbeat picks up.

"How are you settling in?" He asks kindly.

"It's a very nice room. I'll be quite comfortable in here."

"Good." He walks over to the bed where you're sat and stands about a foot away. You can see the cogs in his brain turning, trying to work out what he wants to say.

"Are you alright?" You ask.

You see the way his posture straightens slightly. There was clearly something he wanted to say.

"I have a proposition for you."

"What kind of proposition?"

"A declaration if you will. I want to give you a piece of myself as a sign of my loyalty and devotion to you."

You stare at him in a mix of shock, confusion, and awe. "A piece of you?"

"A portion of my power. I offer it to you as a gift."

"You don't need to do that," you tell him, worried about what that would entail.

"I want to."

You look at him, really look at him, and see the way his eyes subtly plead with you to do this for him. You realise then just how much he holds you in high regard.

"Alright..."

Dream lifts his chin up a little and then holds out his hand. You stare at his pale hand for a moment before taking it. He pulls you up to your feet carefully and then pulls you a little closer to him. His hand remains clasped around yours. You keep your gaze on his face and watch as he closes his eyes. Your hand starts to tingle, and you look down to see what looks like golden sand around your entwined hands. You gasp softly as you feel a strange warmth bubbling in your chest and then as quickly as it came, it vanishes.

Dream opens his eyes and gazes at you. He holds your hand in his, his thumb lightly brushing over your skin.

"How do you feel?"

You look up at him and take a moment to think, to feel. "I don't know."

Dream lifts your hand slowly up to his lips and kisses your knuckles gently. You can't seem to tear your eyes away as he lowers your hand and let's go. You feel his fingers slip from your grasp like sand.

"I will teach you how to use this power if you will let me."

All you can manage to do is not quietly, unable to use your voice right now. You feel warm. You feel safe. You feel his love through your veins.

This was his way of telling you how he felt.

You look down at your hand. The sand is gone. The tingle is no longer there. However, you can still feel the phantom warmth of his hand in yours.

"What do I do with this power?" You ask softly.

"You help me here in the Dreaming." He smiles slightly. He is proud of this step He has taken.

You close your hand and look up at him. You offer him a smile.

He looks relieved.

This new life of yours starts now.

☆☆☆

@deniixlovezelda - @missdreamofendless - @kpopgirlbtssvt - @meganlpie - @thoughtsfromlayla - @ladyjbrekker

@mwaaaaaugh - @bluespecs14 - @intothesoul - @lady-violet - @navs-bhat - @krahk - @oldsoulmagic

@rubyrose2014 - @lorkai - @roxytheimmortal - @star-maker-rain-dancer - @intothesoul - @gemini-mama - @whotperlinda

@dreamingblueberries - @the-shadow-of-aurora - @novavida - @blackgirlmagicforever

@permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 - @hopshusushi - @sloppyzengarden - @thecraziestcrayon -

#heart of the Dreaming #morpheus x reader #dream x reader #female reader #the sandman #dragon writes

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erikahenningsen · 2 days

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46 fetchen

46. “Dance with me.”

For approximately two minutes after effectively telling Jason to fuck off, Gretchen feels amazing. Powerful. Like she could run a marathon—or at least a 5K—or punch through plywood.

Then the gravity of finally shutting the door on Jason comes crashing down, and she's paralyzed by the fear that she's just kicked to the curb the only person who's ever expressed romantic interest in her. She presses shaking fingers to her lips, debating running after him.

Karen, who seems nothing but thrilled by this development, grabs her arm and looks at her with concern. "What's wrong?" she asks. "You look like you did after we got off the Giant Drop at Six Flags."

"Should I apologize?" Gretchen asks, craning her neck to see where Jason went.

"To who?" Karen frowns. "Jason?"

"Uh-huh," Gretchen says. She finally spots him, drinking punch with Taylor Weddell. Embarrassingly, tears start welling in her eyes. It's been ten minutes, tops. Is she that easy to move on from?

"No," Karen says firmly.

"But—"

"No," Karen repeats, grabbing Gretchen's hands and turning her so they're facing each other. She leans forward, eyes intense. "He's a dick, Gretch. Every time you were with him he made you feel like math homework."

Gretchen stares at her in confusion. "What? Math homework?"

"Yeah," Karen says, like it makes perfect sense. "It always makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know how to fix it. It's not your fault, Gretchen. It's the math."

Gretchen nods in understanding—or, at least, she's pretty sure she understands. All of a sudden, she feels exhausted, but also... relieved. It's like she's been running for forever and someone finally told her she can stop, the increased oxygen to her brain making everything clearer.

If she's honest with herself, Gretchen never really had feelings for Jason. She's never had someone pay attention to her in an explicitly romantic way like Jason did. The being wanted was more attractive than he ever was. And he was a good distraction from her tangled-earbud-wires mess of feelings that rolls around her stomach like a tumbleweed when she looks at Karen.

Gently, Karen cups Gretchen's face, and for one terrifying, amazing second, Gretchen thinks Karen is going to kiss her, but she just brushes the tears that have escaped from under Gretchen's eyes with her thumbs.

"So fuck him," Karen concludes, grabbing Gretchen's hand. "Dance with me. Let's show him how much more fun we have without him."

Karen's hand is warm and soft in Gretchen's, and for a moment under Karen's gaze, she is the only person in this entire gym, maybe in all of the world.

The music switches to a Lil Nas X song and Karen screeches excitedly, not waiting for Gretchen to reply before she drags her onto the dance floor, throwing her arms around Gretchen as she bounces up and down.

Reflexively, Gretchen finds herself grinning. Happy, carefree Karen is her favorite sight in the world, and the way her dress hugs her curves certainly doesn't hurt either. Gretchen feels butterflies in her stomach—the ones she desperately tries to step on whenever she looks at Karen.

"See?" Karen says when Gretchen laughs at her goofy dancing. "We only need each other."

"Yeah," Gretchen agrees, hoping Karen means it in the same way she does.

#fetchen #mean girls #mean girls 2024 #mean girls the musical #mean girls broadway #gretchen wieners #karen shetty #karen smith #ask #anonymous #prompts

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nekropsii · 21 hours

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Hiiiiiiii! Insane your iceberg post and was wondering if possibly i could have the sources for: the one about horrus being a system, the cronus abelism one as Well as the one about kurloz talks cronus out of being the hero if its not too much of a bother! Have a lovely day and Take care!

Oh, sure! I absolutely can do that! Easy-peasy!

------

On Horuss Being a System...

Horuss's Plurality is quite an easy one. He references it multiple times! It verges on interesting, but every time the bait is taken, we get hit with the switch of it being a really cruel punchline against an extremely vulnerable group of people.

Yikes!

------

On Cronus's Disillusionment...

We mostly get this one from Aranea's infodump on Cronus. Here it is, verbatim, with the relevant portion in bold:

The 8ard of Hope may seem a little jaded these days, 8ut once he had a deeply abiding faith in magic, and dedicated himself to 8ecoming a great wizard. He 8ecame convinced he was hatched to defeat an extraordinarily evil magician, one he swore the angels foretold of. Though when pressed for the name of the man, he would not say it, claiming it was too dangerous to even enunciate. Part of his self-aggrandizing mythos was that this magician once somehow from afar tried to strike him down at a young age, so he would never have to face him. But the evil spell was deflected, sealing the magician's spirit away in a series of unassuming vessels until he could find some other cunning way to enter our universe. The attack supposedly left him with his distinctive scar. 8ut at some point he became disillusioned with magic. Any truth to his far fetched vision, the legacy of defeating the evil magician would have to 8e passed on to his descendant, or if his descendant proved to be as much of a failure as he did, then perhaps on some other Hero of Hope. I'm unsure why he suffered this crisis of faith, aside from the obvious reasons having to do with an overall lack of character, or any other redeeming qualities. Perhaps someone talked him out of his 8eliefs. Maybe a friend close to him. Or, if one is to 8elieve his fantasy held any water, perhaps someone who was in league with the evil magician.

Yep! It's just fucking Harry Potter, with a twist! But it's implied that Kurloz did that. He is pretty well known for colluding with the "Evil Wizard" in question, being Lord English, as well as mysteriously being there at every major event, ever... And Cronus is terrified of him, so. I think the only reasonable assumption is that Once Again, Kurloz Did It.

------

On Cronus's Ableism...

And finally... Wait. Wait, hold on a minute...

Did you just ask me for evidence that Cronus is Ableist?

The other two things are understandable, but... Really? You need a source on Cronus Ampora being Ableist? Are you... New here? Have you ever actually read anything Cronus has ever said? Brother, Cronus being Ableist is just about the most obvious trait he has. This is one of the key takeaways most people get from the Openbounds. His ableism is so fucking bad it's what made most people stop reading the Openbounds. His ableism is so bad it's genuinely triggered people before. It's so bad it's made people physically nauseous.

Well... You asked for it. I appreciate you seeking out knowledge, even if I'm a little confused by it. Here's a compilation of SOME - stressing, SOME, not ALL - of the vile things he's said to Mituna, who's mentally disabled due to a Traumatic Brain Injury.

Presented without further comment. Do I really need to make one?

------

You have a lovely day, too, Anon. Take care. May fortune find you, in mind and in wallet. Lol.

#homestuck #alpha trolls #icebergposting #horuss zahhak #rufioh nitram #cronus ampora #aranea serket #kurloz makara #mituna captor #cw ableism #horuss.prtsc #rufioh.prtsc #cronus.prtsc #mituna.prtsc #nekro.pdf #nekro.sms

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thelikesoffinn · 2 days

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hiiiii so have you heard about astarion actually having DID? (dissociative identity disorder in case you don't kno) ive seen that a few times on tiktok now and i thought i finna ask you about it because that shiz is wiiild to me. like girl wtf.

TW: Dissociative Identity Disorder He's got...what. Just what.

What in the world is TikTok cooking up now? Like, what in the world? I myself don't use TikTok, so I've never heard this before but damn. Damn.

Flower, I'm not gonna lie, this confuses me more than the 'his crying is a sign that not ascending is the bad choice'. Because this? This is wild, you're so right. This is more than wild, this is the wildest shit.

DID is such a highly specific disorder, why would anyone get the idea Astarion could have that? (Once again, I'm not standing in the way of anyones headcanons, play around as you like, but heavens, no. I don't see that at all.)

Over the entire game, I haven't seen a singular sign that could point towards DID. And yes, sure, one could say 'well Alters are meant to protect the system to the shift is not obvious so Astarion's alter called Astorian could just be hiding it really well' which...yeah, okay, that's true I'll hand them that but there's other signs apart from the shifting alters that Astarion simply doesn't display.

He might have some common comorbidities, but if we go just by that he could have pretty much any other disorder known to man because so so many of them come with the same comorbidities. That is why diagnosing people accurately is so difficult.

Also - DID is developed in early childhood. Mostly in children before the age of nine who experienced extreme trauma. And yes, while Astarion WAS abused and his abuse would definitely be enough for that, he wasn't a child. I mean, come on, he was 36. And yes, that is young for elves but it's still a blown arse adult. It just doesn't make sense.

And, can I just step away from my social worker self and into my writer self for a hot second? I usually try not to, but it's necessary here.

Astarion's trauma and the resulting behavioural patterns exist to add complexity and depth to his character. They are devices used so that he isn't just the campy cunty vampire. We are supposed to see his layers, to see that he is more than just the rude pretty boy. We are supposed to make connections between his behaviour and how Cazador treated him, which is why his behaviour is as obvious and textbook as it is. It's a glaring neon sign made for us so that we understand the character and endear him to us.

That is why they are there.

Anything used in a story is there for a reason. Everything is used to drive the story forward and carry it into the authors chosen direction. It would make absolutely zero sense to give Astarion a disorder as rare, as misunderstood and as interesting as DID and not mention it. That would be so. much. wasted story telling potential.

It just doesn't make sense, absolutely not.

And I'm not saying DID wouldn't make for an interesting story - quite the opposite. I think the community could thrive on some destigmatisation because all the DID characters I've ever seen were crazily homicidal maniacs and it'd be nice to see a character that is displaying DID in the proper way, but Astarion simply isn't it.

He really really isn't.

TikTok is throwing around wild theories every day it seems, I'm really truly baffled!

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate #baldurs gate #astarion #astarion ancunin #the dark urge #DID #dissociative identity disorder #I wrote a thesis on that one back in uni #such an interesting topic really really interesting #but also wtf

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coraniaid · 3 days

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🔥 - Cordelia

Cordelia is a character I generally like without actually thinking about her very much, if that makes sense? Maybe I would care about her more actively if I were more invested in Angel; or maybe knowing what that show will ultimately do to her is what stops me from getting invested in it. Not really sure either way to be honest.

As far as hot takes go ... well, I don't think I really buy into most of the Cordelia fanon I sometimes see on Tumblr. Can't really put why better than I did last year. Like I said in my recent Faith hot take: I don't like the fanon instinct to try to make characters nicer and more sympathetic than they're presented as in canon, especially when they have some kind of canonical redemption arc. You're getting rid of one of the more interesting things about them! Why?

On the other hand, I do like the headcanon (not originally mine - I think I got this from @all-seeing-ifer) that Cordelia is ace, or at least that she's accidently ace-coded. I mean, I certainly don't think it is at all deliberate on the part of the writers, but when you go to look there sure are a lot of scenes in which Cordelia either expresses disinterest in (sometimes even disgust at) the very idea of sex (in Faith, Hope & Trick for example: "not the horny thing -- yuck!") or admits to being confused by the thought that other people might want to have sex (in Innocence, for example, she asks Xander with seeming genuine puzzlement: "does looking at guns really make girls want to have sex? That's scary.").

Oh, and although the show is really not clear on this at all, I think the high school Scooby dynamic is slightly more interesting if Willow and Cordelia were (briefly) friends when they were both much younger. To borrow a term I saw recently, this is more canon compatible than canon compliant -- I don't think anything in canon rules it out, but it's a bit of a stretch to say this something that actually comes from canon.

Certainly Xander and Cordelia knew each other from a very young age (they've known each other for at least twelve years in Season 2, as per The Dark Age). And as Willow and Xander were friends as early as kindergarten (which is confirmed in Grave if not before), I think it's safe to assume Cordelia knew Willow at that age too. In Innocence Willow reminds Xander of the "We Hate Cordelia" club ("of which you are treasurer!"), but we don't know exactly when this was formed (I'm guessing a while ago though, given the childishness of the name). What if said club was something Willow formed only after she and Cordelia stopped being friends? After Cordelia met Harmony, say (who we also know, from Graduation Day, is somebody Willow has known for at least a decade: "she picked on me for ten years") and chose being popular over her previous friendship?

Again, I suspect this isn't intentional but it's a take I rather like, and one that I think makes a bit of internal sense. Willow and Cordelia do actually seem to get on better than you might think in the early seasons -- when there's nobody else around for Cordelia to try to impress by putting Willow down, anyway (among other examples, see their intereactions throughout Prophecy Girl). And while Willow obviously doesn't like, say, Harmony -- in fact she hates her "with a fiery vengeance" according to Graduation Day again -- there was apparently no "we hate Harmony" club. What makes Cordelia different (beyond being a main character when Harmony isn't, which is probably what the writers actually had in mind).

Well, what if Cordelia isn't just one of the many people who bullied Willow in high school: what if she was her friend until she ditched her to be more popular? Wouldn't that sting just a little bit more?

We know that Cordelia is actually pretty smart, even though she tries to play it down ("I have some experience of covering these things up," she tells Xander after he sees her SAT scores in Lovers Walk; and don't forget she'd previously said she was "looking forward" to taking the SATs because she "does well in standardized testing" and was accepted into multiple good schools she just couldn't afford to attend). In fact, Cordelia basically has to be academically successful in high school in order to fulfull her primary role as Buffy's shadow self.

But if Cordelia consciously realised at some point that she should hide how smart she is from her peers in order to be popular, is it that much of a stretch to think she also decided to cut off her existing friendship with Willow, who Principal Snyder describes in Doppelgangland as represenative of "the pinnacle of academic achievement at Sunnydale High"?

Also, in the spirit of this post about parallels between Willow and Cordelia (which I really like), it's interesting to compare Willow's nightmare in Restless -- being back in high school and somehow being Found Out -- with Cordelia's fear in Season 1's Nightmares of being dragged into the chess club (which, at least in the language of television) is easy to read as a metaphor for being exposed as somebody who is secretly brainy and perhaps enjoys stereotypically academic or nerdy things. Just like Willow does, in fact.

Remember what Cordelia tells Buffy all the way back in Welcome To The Hellmouth when they run into Willow: "if you want to fit in here, the first rule is: know your losers". That is: Cordelia tells Buffy, the girl who she serves as a mirror of all season, that if she wants to fit in she'll have to choose not to be friends with Willow (and instead performatively belittle and bully her whenever she has an audience). Is it that much of a leap to suppose that a much younger Cordelia once learned that lesson herself?

#btvs #thanks for the ask!#sorry I don't have one clear Hot Take to offer

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marksbear2 · 1 day

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David Mcall x Male Reader

So I’m going to post at least one or two more times and just to get myself warmed up and just to get more ideas. I recently watched Fear, so David really interested me.

⚠️Warnings— Clueless and slightly unbothered Y/n. Creepy and weird David , smut, and affectionate. Frotting, humping, skin to skin, grinding, nipple play, cumshot, cum on face and Manipulative werido David, porn with plot, stalking implied basically canon like David. ⚠️

David and your bestfriend Nicole has been dating— more specifically on and off. You thought David was a bit weird, but you just didn’t care much and just wanted to deal with your own life and love life.

You were unaware, you always thought that David and Nicole were a regular couple, you was one of the only few male friends Nicole had since she started to date David. You never noticed how David’s eyes were never on Nicole…in fact his eyes were burned into you. To David you was perfect, he thought that you was the one for him not Nicole. In his sick and twisted heart he knew that you belonged to him.

So, he began to show up almost everywhere you went with or without Nicole by his side. He showed up at the parties you went to, waiting to pick up ‘Nicole’ after school but really he’s wanting to look and see you. It’s like you saw him at every corner. But you thought it was an strange coincidence and never over thought about it. You didn’t tell Nicole about the coincidences to avoid unnecessary drama or an argument and just went with it.

You and Nicole and a few other friends had planned on having a last minute group study since the finals was next week and you all wanted to pass and don’t have to be stressed out about it.

You was getting the snacks out and blankets, books, blank sheets of paper and other things you and your friends need for the study.

Music was playing in the background, to help staying focus while getting everything, before suddenly the door bell rings…weird. It was a hour and a couple minutes left before everyone should had came. So your mind wondered at who the hell came a hour earlier then what the group time planned on.

You got up and went to the door and looked through the peephole and saw…David? You was confused as to why the hell david was here. Who told him? Did Nicole tell him? Why was he— your thoughts was interrupted with another knock on the door with David looking directly into the peephole. You immediately flinch back with your heart racing from the shock and unexpected action.

You slowly unlocked the door and trying to gather yourself back together before giving David an awkward smile. “Y/n, hey what took you so long to open the door?” David asked as he had his signature charming smile as he tilted his head looking at you. “Sorry, the music is pretty loud and I was busy so I didn’t hear the doorbell ring the first time.” You said with a small apologetic awkward laugh before adding. “Why are you here did Nicole invite you?”

“Yeah she did is that okay with you? I figured I should come by early and help you get everything ready.” David said before uninvitedly stepping inside your home.

That bothered you, but since you didn’t wanna make a huge deal you closed the door after him and quickly went back to the living room where you saw him holding a picture frame of you when you were little. “Wow, I never knew you always liked superhero’s as a kid. I know your room has superhero posters around it but I didn’t know you always liked it.” David said as the picture was you and your dog in superhero costumes for Halloween.

“…How do you know that I have Superhero posters around my room?” You ask you was confused and starting to feel uneasy. David quickly just laughed it off and looked over his shoulder. “Nicole told me about it, she told me a few things about you. I’m protective of her by nature and I wanna make sure it was nothing going on between the two of you but she made it clear.” David said as he put the frame down and walked back over to you smiling.

You hated his smile, it was charming, it suited his handsome features. You heard over a million times about Nicole gushing over his smile and you see why.

“I also heard that you like guys.”

“What.” You said as your thought process was broke. How did he know that, you was a bit irritated since it was the biggest secret you told Nicole and somehow her boyfriend knows!? Before you got respond he already began to speak again.

“Aren’t you? Nicole told me that I didn’t have to worry about you since you were gay. And I’m glad…so since your gay does that mean you think I’m attractive?” You rolled his eyes at his comment and crossed your arms.

“No I don’t find you attractive. Just because I like guys doesn’t mean I—“ David cuts you off.

“So you like other guys? Who? What’s their name?” *David questions stepping closer and closer as his expression and body language began to change. Before you could speak he started again. “I thought me and you had something special? I mean you always look at me with those eyes, at the carnival you took my hand so I wouldn’t get lost. Even when we were at Nicole’s house getting ready for the body you didn’t leave or get change you stayed in the room and took your clothes off right in front of me. You want me and you know it.”

You took a step back as you gotten more and more confused. Why was he being so delusional and weird.

“Look David, it’s nothing going on between us. Just drop it and I won’t tell Nicole about this or whatever fucked up feelings you have for me.” You said before turning around and walking away back to the set up you was preparing before suddenly David grabbed your wrist and pushing you down on the couch.

“Cmon, Y/n…stop playing all hard to get. I know you want this…I know you want me.” David said taking a hold of both of his wrist.

You thought David was attractive, but you would never actually do anything with him right? Your mind was racing with millions of things as you felt David run his hand on your clothed chest and stomach poking and pinching your nipples through your shirt. You didn’t know want to do, this was your best friend’s boyfriend touching you right now now. You shivered with pleasure as he played with your nipples through your shirt.

“David…ngh.- stop!!~ please. This is wrong.” You said with a small bit of shame. You hated this feeling, the way he was making you feel good. Your nipples were never really sensitive and now with bud hands on them touching them through your shirt and the way he was breathing in the crook of your neck it excited you.

David ignored your words as he slipped one of his hands inside of your shirt touching your nipple as he used his free hand to undo your belt. You gripped onto his shoulders, to ‘Stop him’ but you didn’t make a actual effort to push him away.

Once he threw your belt to the side he zipped down the fly to your pants, and pushed his hand inside of your underwear touching your soft cock.

You let out a gasp as you felt his cold hand wrap around your cock.

“Your cock fits so good in my hand.” David moved his hand against and jerking the semi-soft cock in his hand. Your body tensed as you felt his hand wrap around your cock. You started to get aroused causing your dick to harden. Everything was catching up, the lust, the thrill of being jerked off to your bestfriend’s boyfriend. David kissed and peppered your neck with small kisses as he stroked your cock until you got fully hard.

David laughed softly as he felt your cock grow and grow in his hand until you were fully hard. He let go of your nipple and used the now free had to tug your boxers and pants down low enough for your cock and can spring free from the pants.

You shivered as the cold air in the air reached your cock. David stared at your shaft for a while slightly admiring the size and the color taking everything in. David reached his own hand to his own belt and threw it to the side as he pulled down his boxers and pants he was already hard.

David went back to stroking your cock as he used his free hand to jerk himself off as well. He leaned closer and closer as you tilt your head and squeeze your eyes shut so you don’t have to face him.

You feel his eyes burning into your skull, studying you as if you were kind of animal. You can feel his breathe against your skin.

Soon David let’s go of your cock and his own, before grabbing your waist and pushing down more into the couch as he rubbed his own cock against yours.

Both of your cock’s rubbed against each other’s, both tips grazing one another’s. It made your face and body hot from arousal. David stood in between your legs on top of you humping his own cock with yours.

Your tip began to leak out precum it leaked, you began to groan as he thrusted his dick against yours. Sometimes he would pull away and rub his tip against your hole teasing you. David spit into his hand and took both of y’all’s memebers into his hand jerking the both of you off at the time.

Your head fell back as your toes curled as you moaned. David looked down at you admiring you. He smirked and leaned down pushing his own tongue forcefully in your mouth.

You moaned and kissed him back, moving your tongue back against his own. You two’s tongues swirled and moved around one another’s. You began to move your hips into his hand humping into his hand as both of your cocks got wetter and wetter from both precum. David squeezed his hand, it felt so good.

You were lost in pleasure with everything, lust consumed you as you felt the knot in your stomach tighten. You let out heavy and erotic moans with small whimpering. Your body began to jolt and tense as your eyes roll back into your head, your legs shaking as the tip of your cock shot just cum.

You gasped and held onto David’s shoulders to gather yourself. Your cum got onto your shirt and David’s own cock and hand. You were panting as your cock leaked out all the cum.

David watched as he pulled away and stood up tall watching you slump down the couch. David stood above you jerking his cock off. He was biting his lip with a smirk as he stroked his cock at a fast pace looking down at you while he did it. You looked up at him…oh how pathetic you looked in his eyes. David grabbed a fist full of your hair pulling your head up until you allied with his cock.

David jerked off to he let out a laugh with a grunt and groan. He began to get vocal with the noises of pleasure as he shot the white streaks of cum onto your face. He painted your face with his cum. He held your face in place as you tried to move away yanking your head back down on the couch as he rode off his orgasm.

He rubbed the cum he had left on his tip onto your lips and shoving the tip into your mouth so you could taste him.

Once he was done he let go of your hair and stepped back to admire you.

He felt himself getting hard again and opened his mouth to speak but it was interrupted with a knock on the door. David looked up and picked up his belt from the ground and stuffed his now hard cock back into his boxers and fixed himself and pants before going to the door. You quickly sat up to fix yourself and fumbled around with your pants trying to gather yourself.

David opened door and smiled inviting his girlfriend and her friends to come inside.

You quickly got up and went to the bathroom and shut yourself inside.

“Where’s Y/n?” Nicole asks and David laughed and shrugged before answering.

“He’s in the bathroom, he’s been inside there since I got here. I should probably go check on him.” David said kissing Nicole’s neck before walking away into the hallway Y/n went into

The house was quiet until the door of the bathroom is opened and shut.

THE END

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