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#you have your own suffering yes but when it threatens my own well being i swear ill protect myself against it.
verstappen-cult · 1 month
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Hi! I saw you taking request for Max and I just got this idea for a scenario where Max and reader got into a fight so the reader opted to drive on their own and got into an inchident nothing serious or whatever floats your boat HAHAHAHA just looking for angst Max
Max was trying to call you to when he received the call that made his world stopped.
You’ve been in an accident.
He can still hear the nurse talking through the phone as he grabs his keys and flies out of his apartment. He doesn’t understand a single thing the woman says because all he can think about is you, and how things were between you two when you decided to go out.
Max feels stupid. He doesn’t even remember what your fight was about anymore. If it was something important it doesn’t matter; you’re all that matters.
He arrives at the hospital in record time and is pretty sure he will receive a ticket for running red lights.
Max hates hospitals. And now that you’re here, he hates them even more.
“Hey, hello?” He walks to the counter where he can see a few nurses. He’s shaking and feels like crying, he needs to see you right now. “My girlfriend had an accident. Her name’s Y/N.”
The nurse smiles softly at him and grabs a notebook. “Are you related to her?”
“I’m her boyfriend.” Max taps his fingers on the counter, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. “Can I see her, please? I really need to see her.” Max doesn’t care if he comes across as whiny and annoying, he just wants to see you.
The nurse's expression is one of pity as she nods and guides him to your room.
“The doctor will be with you in a few minutes.” She says before turning around and leaving.
Max stares at the door handle for an eternity, feeling nervous and worried. He doesn’t know how you are going to react. You were pretty angry when you left.
Well, he doesn’t care how angry you are. If you want to scream and push him away you have every right to do it, but he won’t leave you. Not now, not ever.
When he opens the door his heart stops beating.
You have a gauze on your temple and your bottom lip is a little swollen, but he doesn’t see any more injuries, which is good.
You meet his gaze and everything happens in slow motion; you start crying, repeating his name between sobs as you open your arms. Max doesn’t hesitate and runs towards you, being careful to not hug you so tightly, even though that’s exactly what he wants to do.
“I’m sorry, I’m so—so so-rry.” You cry against his chest and Max's heart breaks a little more.
“Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay.” Max doesn’t know if he tries to reassure you or him. “Where does it hurt? Are there any more injuries or bruises?”
You shake your head, pulling away and wiping your tears. “No, just my head, really. My side hurts a little but nothing more.” Max cups your face, his own vision blurry due to the tears threatening to slide down his cheek. “It wasn’t big but… your car was actually the one that suffered all the damage.”
Max didn’t think about that. He didn’t even remember you had taken his car in the first place.
“That doesn’t matter.” You open your mouth to complain but he shuts you up with a kiss to your forehead. “I was so scared. I thought I’ve lo—”
“Hey,” You take his hand, squeezing tightly. “I’m here, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”
“It was a stupid fight.”
You smile, eyes softening. “It was, yes.” You place a kiss on his knuckles. “Would you lie down with me? I want you to hold me, please.”
Max waits for you to move and climbs in the hospital bed. It’s very tiny and uncomfortable but he doesn’t care, not when he can feel you and know that you are okay. You rest your head on his chest, sighing.
“I want to kiss you,” You confess, looking up at him. “but my lips hurt so bad.”
Max grins, his soul returning to his body.
“I’m sure we can think of something.”
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asmosmainhoe · 5 months
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KAYA LISTEN TO ME-
Idk if you will feel this as much as me BUT
First you have to listen to "Get in the water" from Epic the musical. (If You didn't already xD)
Second:
How will the obey me boys react to seeing the MC in the position singing this/threatening the person that for example did something terrible to a person dear to them or even killed a loved one? Would they let them do it? Would they stop them? How would they feel about it?
For the past day I can't keep thinking about anything else and now I need your help because you always get the point that I want aaaaaagskyhskdh help
MC kills someone
MC has their magical abilities here and is manipulating the ocean
I really recommend to listen to Get in the Water by Epic the Musical, but you don't have to to understand this. It's mainly for the vibes
Gender: neutral
Warnings: threats, death, angst, MC is murderous, slight spoilers about what happens after you free Belphie from the attic in Mammon's and Belphie's parts
Lucifer
He knows what you're feeling right now, but he doesn't want you to do something you might regret later on
"Are you absolutely sure?"
As a response you only shoot him a glare full of rage and sorrow. That is answer enough
"Fine then. I won't stand in your way."
The person responsible for your grief has brought this upon themselves and Lucifer refuses to intervene
He will have your back the same way his brothers had his back during the Celestial war
Maybe he should. Maybe he should keep you from taking a life, but would he react ant different if they had taken you from him? It wouldn't be fair
So he stands still at a nearby cliff, silently watching the tides rise and listening to your angry roars
The other person falls to their knees, begging for mercy which only fuels you
Lucifer can't do much except be there for you once you finish the deed and he intends to stay by your side for as long as it takes
Mammon
He's very well aware of the fact that nothing in the three realms is going to talk you out of it, but he doesn't want to see you go down this path of destruction
"MC, you're better than this!"
"What if that person had killed me? Huh, Mammon? What would you do in my position?"
He knows what he'd do. After all he once held your dead body in his arms. The image still haunts him everytime he closes his eyes
Mammon is all for making people who take things dear to him pay, but you're his sweet MC. It pains him to see you go from the kindest person he's ever met to...this
He wishes he could take all the suffering from you and go through this hell himself
The last thing he wants is lose you so he quickly pulls himself together and decides to stand by you when you do it
"You really don't have to, Mammon."
"I do. I won't let ya go through this alone."
Because wherever you go he will follow you even if you're leading him to the deepest pits of hell
Leviathan
Like Mammon he's hesitant to let you do this at first
It's just that you've never been a killer in his eyes. You're his innocent human who occasionally kicks ass when the ass deserves it, but this is entirely different
"I want to do it by the ocean."
"W-what will you do there?"
"...drown them."
Yes. Drowning. One of the most painful deaths one can experience
Levi knows it, because he feels every single life that is being taken by the tides fading. They're his tides after all
Only then he realizes how serious you are about this and how nothing will stop you from doing it
"If you do it then I want to be with you. In the water."
You stare at him silently for a few seconds until you nod
He desperately wants to be there in case you drown yourself in your own grief
Satan
No one understands the rage that you felt the day this person took the thing most dear to you like Satan does
That day he felt it through the realms. It woke him up from his sleep and made him nearly tare down the entire house of lamentation
Your wrath still pulls on him to this day. It's making him go insane and he has no idea how long he's going to be able to keep calm. If this goes on any longer he might destroy the entirety of the devildom
That's also why he doesn't disagree with you when you tell him about your murderous plans. Maybe you both will have some kind of relief
Nothing could prepare him for the day
Not only does the sea rage under your hand. Satan does as well
It's as if something knocked out all the air in his lungs and he falls to his knees, desperately trying to control his shaking body
"Get in the water!"
He can hear your screams inside his head and he is so close to kill that person with his own two hands, but he wouldn't take that from you. He couldn't
"Get in the water."
Asmodeus
People might think that Asmo doesn't understand love. That he only understand desire and attraction on a physical level
But truth be told, no one loves the way he loves
So when you tell him what you plan on doing his expression turns completely blank and he takes your hands
You can see your own determination in his eyes
"Do you really want this?"
He whispers the words, but they're still hanging loudly in the silent room
"I do."
"Very well, love. I'll go with you."
"You don't have to, Asmo. It's my business."
"Oh, my silly MC. How do you intend to raise the entire ocean without channeling a demon's magic?"
You usually channel the brothers magic on accident, because you don't feel comfortable using their powers for your own gain
Asmo's offer is different. He has a point and looks just as sure about this as you are
If you wouldn't have decided to kill the person who hurt you the most then he would have done it himself
Beelzebub
Ever since grief took over you Beel has been eating less. Seeing you in so much pain makes him feel sick to his stomach. All he does all day is worry about you so there isn't really the time to eat something either
He's of Levi's and Mammon's opinions when it comes to this. Beel doesn't want you to walk the dark path of revenge and self destruction
Belphie is living proof that the hatred doesn't end and only takes over everything that makes you...well you
Seeing his brother in such despair was bad enough, but he can't handle seeing you like this as well
But he gets it. He felt the exact same when he lost Lilith. There were less murderous intentions though
"MC, please don't. You saw what it did to Belphie-"
"And none of you stopped him."
Ouch. Even though your words hurt, Beel won't hold them against you. He knows it's the anger in you speaking and not you
Nothing will change your mind so the only thing he can do is support you and make sure you don't kill yourself in the process
Belphegor
He knows. He knows it too well and is just waiting for you to come up to him. To come up with a plan similar to his during the time he was locked up in the attic
Belphie is the last person to stop you. It simply wouldn't be right if he did, considering how he lashed out on you back then
"Use my power, MC."
"Are you sure?"
Of course you know that you don't have to ask him. If anyone would help you with this then it was him
"I owe you. For forgiving me."
You don't think twice about taking him up on his offer and the two of you immediately get to work
The sound of crashing waves is deafening, but Belphie can hear your screams loud and clear even though there is quite a distance between you and him
The murderous look on your face, the rage you wield the tides with and the lack of life in your eyes remind Belphie of himself
And the day he killed you
---
Masterlist
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coralinnii · 1 year
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I love the villain scorned by the world feat: Malleus genre: drama, hurt/comfort, romance note: part 3 continuation of Being Reincarnated into a New World as the Bad Guy AU Malleus ver, not gender specific reader, no pronouns used, villain/ess!reader is human, insecure villain/ess!reader, use of non-canon characters, 1.6k word count
I'm scared that people aren't gonna like how the villain/ess!reader is portrayed but I wanted to write people who are hurt and are afraid, cuz that's what being alive is like, to sometimes be afraid. So, hope you enjoy!
There are requests with more specific topics or aspects of the story so they may get their own story post. I'm not ignoring you, I'm more story pacing ^^"
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In one night alone, you’ve met your ex-fiancé and your former friends while you were with the fae that has asked to marry you. Then, said fae went on to antagonize your ex-fiancé who was a prince and low-key threatened to ruin him, his lover and those who supported the couple. 
You were not built for this stress
In his defense, Malleus only did it because your former fiance started to mock you and your family over a crime that was proven false. You certainly weren’t ungrateful enough not to thank Malleus for his assistance. The powerful king simply smiled.
“This is but a mere glimpse of the things I would do for you, should you finally accept my proposal” 
“T-this is not a decision you can rush” 
You were hesitant and gave excuses to refuse the dragon king but he made efforts to rebuke your reasons one by one, destroying whatever obstacles that kept you from saying yes. Soon, it came down to one reason, your real reason. 
You were scared
Not of Malleus, he has never done anything to warrant fear from you. But rather, his status as a “route target”. 
Before the arrival of the heroine, you were friends with the other route targets and even felt happy enough to be engaged with the prince despite having only platonic feelings between each other. But the moment they all met her, your world became hers. 
Your former fiancé grew irritated with you, then full out ignoring you. It was no better with the others as well when you expressed your worries to your mutual friends. Rather than consoling you or hearing you out, they took the heroine’s side and started ignoring you as well, calling you delusional and unreasonable. 
Everyone changed (or perhaps you changed and this was how it was meant to be) and you were left ridiculed and soon villainized by those you felt close to. The look of disgust on their faces whenever you attempted to just speak to them, it hurt you.
Would Malleus be the same? Be kind to you then break your heart when the heroine comes in? You suffered because of it the first time but if it was Malleus…your last and maybe closest person in your life since reincarnating to this world… you don’t know how you could come back from that. 
So you started to give up on your happy ending, refusing to answer Malleus’ proposal, avoiding to engage with the heroine at all, even escaping the party and retreating to your old hiding spot… in the royal garden. 
Alone with your thoughts, you berated yourself over your cowardice as you hid in the tall rose bushes. Gently, you fidgeted with the rose petals and you reminisced about the past. You met Malleus here, didn’t you? 
You were so clueless over your future. Back then, you still held hope that your fate was not predestined, that you could be content with stepping aside for the heroine and live happily with them. Yet despite your conflicted feelings, you managed a smile as you recalled one fateful night in the garden. It was the night that you met with your closest friend… 
“Lord Malleus!” 
…Did you say that out loud? 
You looked around in confusion to see if you were truly alone as you thought and to your surprise, you saw beyond the tall hedges the very fae you were just thinking about and the person who called him…
The female protagonist. 
“Do you like flowers, Lord Malleus?”
Your heart clenched painfully as you saw your worst nightmare come to be, the female lead with your friend(?) and they were alone in the gardens, where you realized where the player was supposed to meet Malleus in order to enter his route. Was the baron’s daughter aware of this? Did they meet like it was meant to be? Should you stay…or run away? 
You could. Your engagement has been annulled and your family was cleared from accusations of treason. You haven't accepted Malleus' proposal so nothing is holding you or your family back from leaving this kingdom forever and starting a new life away from here. No need to follow this cursed story to the end. No need to ever see your ex-friends or the protagonist ever again. 
No need to see Malleus again. 
Just run away.  
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Malleus internally thanked the elders and Lilia for their lessons to conceal his emotions, or he could have done something as drastic as burning this garden to ashes due to the annoyance he felt at this moment. He noticed your escape from the party and assumed you wanted some fresh air so he left you on your own. But soon, the party attendees bore him and he soon ached to be by your side once more. So, he made his way to the one place he immediately thought of when thinking of you, the royal gardens. 
It was his curiosity borne from boredom that brought him to the gardens that day. He found himself attracted with your kindness and obliviousness to his true identity. He found you charming, a delight and later an optimist when learning of your situation. He knew right away who you were, the child from a noble family betrothed to the young prince of this kingdom since young but that piece of information did not bother him…at first. 
But you were turned from charming to tempting as time went on. He craved your attention, envisioning your smiling face with each letter he received from you via his attendant Lilia. He couldn’t count how many times he wanted to visit you personally but couldn’t. He was sure that if you knew his identity, you may cease your correspondence with him in fear of a scandal between the kingdoms. He at least could appreciate your tactfulness. 
But he was greedy as any dragon fae would be once he heard your engagement was annulled. He may curse the foolish prince for his actions but Malleus suppose he should count himself lucky that your ex-fiancé was a fool. If he were a decent man then he may have to declare war by stealing you away. 
But Malleus encountered another greedy individual, and she’s standing right in front of him. 
“Do you like flowers, Lord Malleus?” The baron’s daughter asked, fluttering her eyelashes cutely. 
“This garden and its flora has its charm” Malleus curtly replied, he can’t hate this garden afterall. He met you here. 
“So do I! I guess fae and humans aren’t so different, huh” 
Well, that’s a stretch of a comment. He couldn’t comprehend this human’s agenda. Constantly surrounded by young men, Malleus assumed she had better ways to spend her time, and not waste his. 
Wait…was she reaching her hand to him? 
“My wish is for humans and fae to get along. Wouldn’t that be great?” The female lead sweetly said with her best smile, stretching her fingers to reach for Malleus’ crossed arms. 
To dare attempt to lay hands on him without his permission. No one would fault him for burning this woman’s audacious hands off, right? 
“King Malleus!” 
The dragon fae’s pointed ears perked up at the sound of his name. He turned immediately to the source, knowing exactly who just called him. 
“My dear human” he responded back with a smile as he saw you walking quickly towards him. 
In spite of your nervousness, you walked up to the duo and looked to share a gaze with the tall dragon fae before cautiously moving to hover your hand on his arm. Malleus did you one better and guided your hand to firmly rest on his arm, with his large hand kept over yours. 
“Good evening, lady” you nodded your head at the heroine who seemed displeased with your presence but curtsied back, as is custom. You barely gave the woman’s much of your attention (your confidence may waver if you did) and turned directly to face Malleus.
“King Malleus, I had planned to retire early tonight and leave this party” you looked to Malleus, taking a deep breath before speaking once more. To let yourself be selfish and fight for the only man that mattered to you now. “Would you like to leave…with me?”   
“Aren’t you being rude?” The female lead argued, barely hiding her annoyance with you. “Not only did you interrupt a conversation, you’re shamelessly asking Lord Malleus to leave-“ 
“Where would you like to go, my dear human?” Malleus’ deep voice interrupted the baron’s daughter, not that Malleus cared as his striking green eyes focused solely on you. 
“If you’re willing…perhaps your manor’s garden?” You shocked yourself with your boldness, but you kept at it. “I much prefer your garden above all others, especially during our dates” 
Whoosh
Your senses couldn’t keep up with the sudden shift as you were suddenly lifted by Malleus who quickly scooped you up into a bridal carry. You and the female lead both had looks of shock by the fae king’s sudden actions but Malleus paid attention to only one of you.
“I had made the false assumption that all humans were charming” Malleus’ eyes glinted a bright green, you compared them to gems, as he smirked amusingly at you, his fangs peeking from his lips. “But only you could evoke such feelings of greed within me"
Ignoring this world's protagonist, Malleus began to shroud the two of you in specks of green lights, a sign that you were going to be magically whisked away at Malleus' whim.
But before you did, you managed to meet the female lead's eyes which were filled with nothing but indignant rage. She looked ready to destroy you and everything you love, but you steeled yourself. Instead of flinching under her glare, you smiled at her while wrapping your arms around the dragon king's neck. Without a word, you made your decision.
I'm not giving him up
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abbyfmc · 18 days
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Yandere Emperor! x Opera Artist! Reader Headcanons:
Warning: This section is a continuation of the previous one, so you have to read the other one to understand this one.
Topics to talk about: Mention of kidnapping, abuse, murder, obsessive and yandere behavior, manipulation, and anything involving yandere behavior. Also, as I said before, I am NOT describing any Asian emperor in particular, so I have created my own; Not to mention that I have used the Chinese imperial harem system as a base, as well as the forbidden city itself. I will name (Y/n)'s children, so I warn you that I am not describing any prince or princess in particular.
Enjoy it!
1. Yan Li knew that because of having such fast promotions the concubines were mostly jealous of you, so to prevent any attacks, he kept an eye on every corner you went to.
2. He also watched over the princes and princesses he had with you, who were the following:
-The third prince, Li Chen (your first child). -The sixth prince, Li Song (your second child). -The eighth prince, Yong Li (your third child). -The ninth prince, Li Yon'er (your fourth child). -The tenth princess, Yan'rong (your fifth child). -The fifteenth princess, Hua Li (your sixth child).
3. Your children also suffered from palace intrigues, so you had to protect each one of them tooth and nail. Yan Li saw this and decided to severely punish any concubine or consort who dares to harm you or your children.
4. To protect (and harass) you, Yan Li selected a specific group of servants for your palace, among them is the one who became your "right hand", a servant in charge of cleaning, named Yuhou.
5. Zhou, meanwhile, was devastated to learn that you were kidnapped by Yan Li in a golden cage, so he tried to enter the palace and enlist in the imperial army, which he succeeded after a few years. If he can't rescue you, he would at least watch over you from the shadows.
6. One day, when you were in the middle of your third pregnancy, you were walking with your maids when they saw each other. One of your maids, Lili (yes, your old friend), noticed this. He was shocked to see you not only dressed as one of Yan Li's consorts (at that time you were still a consort), but he felt her heart break at the sight of you pregnant. You felt like running towards each other, but you loved your children too much to challenge Yan Li like this.
7. --He… forced you?-- Zhou asked after remaining silent in surprise. You could only nod at that moment.
8. --Yes, isn't it obvious?-- You answered and left, being very devastated just like him, not knowing that Yan Li himself was watching them, angry and jealous.
9. Yan Li made sure you would never see your loved one again, taking him out of the forbidden city on super difficult military missions, basically sending him to die multiple times on purpose.
10. You suspected that Yan Li would find out sooner or later, so you purposely avoided meeting or talking about Zhou, no matter how sad it made you. You didn't even mention it to your children.
11. The few times Zhou was in the forbidden city, Yan Li tried to set traps for you to see how far you would go or whether you would be unfaithful to him, and the best thing you did in hoste traps was… stay in your palace and quietly go on with your life. , which Yan Li did not expect.
12. Yan Li has never hurt you physically, rather he threatened or manipulated you, followed by controlling how long you could sing and dance (like when you did before) or not, which discouraged you a lot. He only allowed you to do it for him.
13. I forgot to say that Lili entered the Mese Palace after you were kidnapped, but Yan Li wanted to make sure that she didn't help you escape, so he sent her first to work in the laundry house, the embroidery department, the flower department and gardening and finally in the workhouse where Lili had some acquaintances, both good and bad, and endured a lot of work and humiliation.
14. Each time Yan Li locked you more and more to himself, with the excuse that it was to take care of you, but he only wanted to control you.
15. Yan Li even had every gift that came to you or your children checked. He also appreciated any gift you gave him.
16. You watched your eldest children grow up, marry, and leave your palace for their own princely mansions, one after one. Li Chen was the first of all of them.
17. After you gave birth to Hua Li, you were unable to have children again, but Yan Li didn't care about this and still forced you to stay with him every night he could, now threatening to harm Zhou if you didn't comply with his whims. and you gave yourself to him.
18. Yan Li forced you to spend time with him, and not only at night but also visiting you in your palace, taking walks with him (sometimes with the Empress Dowager as extra company) and even accompanying him on trips and festivals.
19. Speaking of the Empress Dowager, she quite likes you and Yan Li is glad that you get along with her since… well, she's his mother. She is the only person who forgives you for spending a lot of time with her aside from your children and harem problems; He likes that you get along with the highest ranking woman in the empire.
20. Yan Li really likes your son, Li Chen, so much so that he secretly made him his heir to the throne; so neither you nor Li Chen himself knows.
21. In the event that any of your children or one of his consorts helped you escape, Yan Li would banish them from the forbidden city and condemn you to house arrest.
22. During festivals, he would control even who can talk and who can't talk to you. Among the people who can't even get close to you would be your beloved Zhou.
23. A drunk minister once insulted you, and as a result, Yan Li burned his tongue.
24. Yan Li is the one who had all your crowns made to your liking, demonstrating the deep love (or rather, obsession) he had for you.
25. Sometimes during the nights you were forced to give him back massages after a stressful day, and on other nights he would do this with you.
26. The servants even had to be careful not to bump into you, because depending on Yan Li's mood… he may simply punish them, or kill them.
27. As time went by, you became a grandmother thanks to your prince's children, but you couldn't always see your grandchildren since Yan Li liked to keep you prisoner in the forbidden city.
28. Every time Yan Li goes to bathe in his own private hot spring lake, he forces you to bathe with him, even if you don't want to. Likewise, if he knows that you are bathing alone in said waters, he will bathe with you even if you don't want to and he will make you be close to him.
29. He makes sure that every birthday of yours is fantastic.
30. Every time he got sick, he asked you to take care of him. Conversely, every time you got sick he took care of you and by doing so I mean not only getting you the best medicines, but also watching over everything that your maids or the imperial doctor do.
31. The Empress Dowager became ill over the years due to old age, and when she died, you were very sad since she was somehow the closest thing to a mother to you. Your princesses also mourned her a lot, not to mention Yan Li himself. Due to the close relationship Yan Li had with his mother, he was devastated and declared three years of mourning; It was the only time you felt truly sorry for him.
32. Yan Li has given the order that if something happens in the palace or during a trip, they must save you and your children first, since he does not want to see you hurt, injured or in the worst case scenario… dead. That is a nightmare and a terror that has haunted him day after day since he met you, which is why he believes that he is protecting you but in reality he manipulates you, locks you up and isolates you from the world.
33. He admired how you managed the imperial harem and all the internal servant departments with an iron fist, even if he didn't tell you directly.
34. The only excuse Yan Li accepts for you not wanting to sleep with him is if you or one of your children is sick.
35. The only visits Yan Li allowed to you were from your eldest children, either alone or with their wives and children. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Yan Li noticed the pressure your parents were putting on you, so he sent his guards to "talk nice" to them, and from then on they stopped bothering you.
36. Yan Li saw you meeting Zhou secretly, which made him angry, so that night he threatened you that if you didn't say goodbye, he would kill him in a cruel and painful way. The next day she made you say goodbye to your loved one and then took him out of the forbidden city so that one of his guards would cut his neck, killing him quickly and throwing him into a mass grave. Needless to say, you really hated Yan Li again after that.
37. As the years went by, Yan Li became sicker and sicker, mostly from stress, which you took advantage of to start getting revenge on him, poisoning him.
38. His health deteriorated more and more, until on his final day, when he was dying, you dismissed all his servants from his main hall and then confessed to him. Yan Li was very angry and felt very betrayed, but he could do nothing but listen until he died at the hands of the person he loved so much.
39. During Yan Li's funeral, you pretended to cry, not knowing that your real happy days began from that moment. Yan Li's trusted eunuch read the emperor's will, which stated that Li Chen would be the new emperor, and you would be the empress dowager. Long story short, your son ascended the throne, reshaped your living conditions, and the other consorts became "widow consorts." You no longer had to worry about anything, you would just live in peace from now on, taking care of your daughters until they grow up.
40. However, Yan Li was waiting for you in the other world. He has told you years before he died that even if he passes away first, he will be waiting for you in the next life where he will find you and make you his again.
-Fin. So, what do you think about this part two?
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estro-gem · 5 months
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Jax x Ragatha: Touch
The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis
Author's note: Hey guys! It's bunnydoll time! I hope you have the patience to work your way through this one. I wonder if there are any of you who can remotely relate to the way I wrote Jax to be in terms of his aversion to touch.
Oh well, it's just a story about some fictional characters who aren't even mine. Credit goes to Gooseworx, for creating such fun characters for us to play with.
Hope you enjoy this one! This story was suppose to go into a completely different direction, but that idea can always be explored in the future - when I have the guts to put it on paper.
I'm sure that you don't need the context from my previous work to understand/enjoy this one.
Warnings: None... I think.
SUMMARY:
Jax is suffering from the frustrating effects of touch-starvation, despite his touch-aversion rendering him from doing anything about it. After meeting up with his fellow circus-members, a good laugh and a brief on their new adventure, Jax is given the chance to confide in Ragatha.
TOUCH
It was going to be one of those dreaded days.
Jax was lost in a dream only moments before – one of silky, living fabric with the softest stuffing that rang with a hushed, pleading voice for him and only him. For him to give more and more; and in the dream, he was willing – eager – to provide. He’d rattled the mountains to kneel before a ragdoll only to be brought to his knees himself, all for his little doll to just look at him.
To really just look at him.
Jax closed his eyes again, seeking the warm, fuzzy afterglow of the caresses shared in his lost dream. He desperately tried to sink deeper into his mattress, as he was pressed into the softness of his doll only moments before.
But now he was burning from the inside out.
Red-hot fire nipped and crackled on his skin and yet, Jax wanted to curl into himself and burst into shivers as his heart bashed into his ribcage, threatening to jump out from his throat. The sensations caused him to forget to reign in his breathing, so he was left almost panting, until the sound of his own voice riled him up even more. He sounded so pathetic and desperate in the confines of his own room.
Suddenly Jax’s attention was drawn to his claws, now ripped through his yellow gloves, and digging into his pillow. He pulled back his hands and forced himself to relax his digits enough, to allow the claws to sink back into place; tucked away and safe. The rabbit spied the little holes that his claws left in the plush bedding, feeling the sour taste of guilt invade his being.
That could’ve been Raggs.
Just like that, the sour was drowned in the glowing, shivering heat that trembled through him again. He groaned as he rolled over to sit up on the edge of his bed. He tried to force the thoughts of her eyes out of his head, only to be thrusted into the intrusive impulse of crushing her against him, stealing her breaths.
The bunny laid his face into his hands and felt the sting of tears at the back of his eyes. It’s been a while since he felt like this, and the frustration was getting to him in ways that was almost too embarrassing to acknowledge. Jax knew that he was only going to suffer more once he left the safety of his room and he desperately tried to muster up all the reasons why he shouldn’t leave.
But someone would come knocking at his door if he didn’t – and heaven forbid that it would be Ragatha calling his name from the outside…
Because he might not be able to stop himself from dragging her into his depths only to screaming his name from the inside…
No.
This had to stop.
He was going to be fine, frustration been damned! It was just a bit of an off day, but nothing like he hasn’t lived through before. Yes, Jax was well equipped to handle the tug of war between touch-aversion and touch-starvation for the day. Just one day.
Just like he’d done all the mere handful of times he felt like this since he got here.
Jax lifted his arms to stretch, hearing the ring in his ears as he groaned at the pleasure of relieving his tense muscles. Speaking of stiffness, Jax felt the overall form of his body being a tad bit more defined and firmer than usual. Intrigued by this discovery, he poked at his bicep to confirm that it was as solid as it appeared, before rolling his eyes in annoyance. He must have really been tensed up and… invested… in that dream of his for him to notice it – or maybe his mind was just trying to occupy himself to forget the yearning for his doll’s hands to glide over his skin.
Ugh, it was going to be a rough day…
Whether Jax wanted to or not, he eventually left his room and dragged himself down the empty hallway of many doors. Voices buzzed from the main area, but he was too distracted to single them out, so the bunny was left to the element of surprise. He didn’t mind it too much, as he believed that any conversation would stimulate him beyond the confusing war between the contradicting needs of his body versus his mind.
The itch that only another’s touch could soothe, versus the itch of the unbearable residue that the touch would leave in its wake.
It was pathetic.
Finally met with the familiar figures in the main area, the rabbit’s eyes were pulled and fixed onto a specific scene. He narrowed his eyes, as his mind raced through multiple thoughts, not quite knowing what to make of what he saw.
Pomni and Kinger were off to the side of the main group, seemingly in a conversation that held the keen attention of the jester. She was practically fixated on the oversized chess piece, who by no doubt was talking about something deeper than the ramblings of a madman. Jax spotted mismatched eyes of the king dulled and muddled – and for once, sober. Just then, Jax decided to steer clear of those two, not wanting to rain on the royal’s parade.
It’s been so long since Kinger was as aware as he was now.
Even Jax wouldn’t want to knock down that precious house of cards. When Kinger was oriented, things were just… better in the Circus. It wasn’t something that anyone could explain, but something about Kinger holding out for so long, made life in the Digital Realm seem possible – even when surrounded and inflicted by anything and everything that was impossible. Granted, those sober moments were few, brief and far in-between, but they were there, rooted, and present. Jax recalled many instances where he was met with the elder’s sobriety, only for it to crumble to ash when he attempted to delve into it.
A genuine question asked by Jax in attempt to encourage the continuation of Kinger’s clear mindset, only met with the abrupt cut-off of another startled question by Kinger about whatever was happening at that moment, as if it never happened in the first place.
The snake’s charms were also proven to be ineffective against the royal, barely acknowledging his baiting and deliberate sabotage, but Jax kept hissing and striking regardless. In fact, everyone included Kinger in the happenings of the oasis, regardless of the effectiveness of it all. Anything that anyone could do for another precious moment of clarity from the king, was considered a worthy effort, because if he could make it this far and still have his mind…
Who’s to say they couldn’t make it either – even if only in small, precious increments?
What a shame to see such a precious moment of clarity to be wasted on a stupid waste of space. She had no idea how lucky she was to have that gem in her grimy little grasp.
Jax scoffed; deciding to look to where the rest of the group was situated. His heart clenched at the sight of his girls, watched over by none other than Zooble themself.
Gangle was happily wrapped around Ragatha’s slim frame. He could tell that the ribbon continuously squeezed the doll with a firm, but gentle pressure, just as Ragatha liked it. He heard Zooble mumble teasing comments about Raggs 'stealing their girl' as Gangle nuzzled her face into the top of the doll’s head, burying her face into the red wooly locks with an admittedly cute smile on her face. Sometimes, Jax wished for them to be living another life, where the bunny would be free to just pinch and tug the masked ribbon’s cheeks. He’d make it hurt, that’s for sure!
And then, there was his doll, also smiling and content – at ease in the crushing grasp of Gangle’s magic touch. The doll often sought out the ribbonoid for her infamous squeeze, as they found that Gangle was the best at practicing Ragatha’s occasional need for deep-pressure therapy.
Sure, some time ago, it was a case of desperation on Jax’s part to indulge his doll with his weighted cuddling, but Gangle was the ideal option. He didn’t mind the rare time with his dolly one bit, though. The annoying itch and bother prickling at his skin for the few hours afterwards was all the more worth it to have Ragatha melted and helpless beneath him.
Where she belonged.
Jax felt a warm, but not exactly unpleasant tingling ghost over his lips when his needy thoughts pushed back into his head upon remembering the sensual kiss he left on the inside of her wrist. It was when she wordlessly begged him to have her caress his cheek as her shaking hand hovered in offering for him to accept or reject. He couldn’t ever say no then – he doubted that he’d ever be able to say no to her ever.
Her face… her voice… pleading his name like a prayer...
Stop it.
 It’s just worse because of that stupid, unrealistic dream he had before! It didn’t matter how much he dreamt about him sinking and drowning into his doll, because in the waking world, he was just a broken snake that felt the need to shed his skin every time anyone had the mere thought of touching him.
Why couldn’t he just be normal?
For the time being, he’d be happy to just live vicariously through Gangle securely holding Ragatha as she sat cross-legged on the floor, while Gangle playfully blew raspberries at Zooble, who could only shake their head in mock-disappointment. It was written all over the ragdoll’s face and evident in the melody of her bright laugh; Ragatha felt safe and content.
That was more than enough for Jax to be happy.
Right?
“Jax! Took you long enough!” Jax was pulled out from his thoughts upon the sound of Zooble’s bored, bossy tone, “You’re lucky Caine’s not here yet. Where were you anyway?”
Jax’s sleazy grin was fixed on his face, trained and trimmed as the snake he was, “Oh, you know… definitely not snooping around you rooms or anything – but hypothetically, if I were, I’m pretty sure I forgot something in one of them, so if you find it, be sure to give me a shout!” He winked.
“Jax, I swear…” Ragatha’s face was pulled into a scowl, but the fire she possessed proved her spirit to shine as bright as ever, “If you rigged my room with firecrackers and smoke bombs again, I am going to lose it.”
“What?” Jax exclaimed in false expiration, “Didn’t you hear me say that it was hypothetical, Dollface? You might wanna get your ears checked, because it seems I left one too many centipedes in your room to crawl into them at night.”
“Oh my lord, Jax stop. Just stop.” Ragatha squirmed to get her arms free from Gangle’s grasp and cover her ears while shutting her eyes, “You are tricking me into thinking that I can actually feel them in my head!”
“I just got her to calm down, Jaaaax!” Gangle whined, switching out her masks to frown properly.
Jax wanted to laugh, but the girl’s whining rang an alarm.
Why would Raggs need to calm down?
He had to be smart about this – the coldblooded snake couldn’t show that he cared, so asking about it was out of the question. He considered using his silence – that always got someone talking.
He raised an eyebrow for good measure.
To his luck, Gangle just knew, as she always did, “She’s feeling a little touch starved today.”
Ragatha opted to cover her face instead of her ears. Her cheeks were glowing red with embarrassment, and she groaned out Gangle’s name to shut the ribboniod up, but the damage was done. Zooble saw Jax perk up more than he probably should have, followed by him sinking into himself like he was dragging dead weight with him. He was struggling to maintain his composure, Zooble thought to themself, surprised that even they were able to read him so easily today.
Meanwhile Jax was suffering from the internal fire that just didn’t seem to leave him be today.
What dumb luck for him and his poor little dolly to be suffering the same fate. He consoled himself that the solution was at least easier for Raggs than it was for him. He had other issues that prevented him from getting the help he wanted. He only wanted his doll’s touch – but even then, he didn’t really want it, either. It felt a bit comforting to know that Ragatha was suffering alongside him, but it killed him that he couldn’t do anything about it!
If he were to indulge in her touch like he did a mere week before, he would probably want to skin himself by the end of it all. The whole situation was bizarre to begin with! It was rare that he craved touch so quickly after such an invasive encounter, but here he was. And there she was.
Even though he knew that they were so different, it hurt a little to think that his touch only satisfied her until now, before she felt near distressed with need again.
And it also hurt that Gangle could replace his touch so well.
It actually hurt a little more than he was willing to admit.
Someone’s eyes were burning into his face and it was enough to have him jump out of his own head, looking over his fellow circus mates to see who’s eyes it was. He was surprised to find his dolly’s eyes peeking through her fingers. When he looked to her, she didn’t avert her gaze, so he had a chance to get a read on her, only for the bunny to find something he didn’t expect.
Ragatha had that yearning look again.
She watched his face very closely, as she slowly lowered her hands from her face, never once glancing away. The doll was calling out to him – he knew she was! His core was invaded with butterflies as she entranced him with that look that she seemed to reserve for him alone. He fell in love with how she silently pleaded for him, only to realize that she was, in fact, silently pleading for him.
He blinked but didn’t stir otherwise, trying to uphold his careless façade.
‘What do you want?’ a single, swift scrunch of his face was all he needed for her to understand.
Ragatha blinked in turn, and after a moment of her tossing her gaze around in search for an answer, her eyes fixed on him… or rather… his legs. His thighs? ...His hips?
Jax wanted to be set ablaze with that thought alone, but at the same time, he couldn’t stop the chuckle that bubble up from his chest. He knew it was unlikely but the thought of Ragatha being vexed by his hips was a hilarious thought at the time.
When Ragatha’s face became adorned with confusion, he flashed her a cheeky smile and swung his hips playfully, if not a tad suggestive. Her eye widened to resemble a dinnerplate before the dam broke and she burst into explosive laughter. It was so sudden that Jax could only bend over and wheeze as Gangle squeaked in surprise.
“I’m sorry!” Ragatha squeezed out in apology to her, but with one look to Jax’s face, laughter erupted from her with a new vigor. As Jax sunk onto his hands and knees, it seemed that he couldn’t risk looking at the doll without laughing either. The situation left Gangle and Zooble glancing between the 2 in the utmost confusion, but they didn’t get the chance to ask anything.
“My, my! It’s sure is a jolly occasion we have here!” Caine’s voice boomed from above, suddenly floating in the space between Jax and Ragatha, “Care to share the joke, folks? The audience would be dying to know!”
“Oh, Caine, hey buddy!” Jax managed to say as he desperately tried to just breathe again, “Don’t- don’t worry about it-” Jax cut himself off with a something in between a whine and a suppressed giggle.
“Yes, it was all just-” Ragatha caught her laugh and offered a moment of silence, before trying to continue in a shaking voice, “Just a misunderstaNdInG.”
Laughter erupted again, though it was more of a chaotic jumble of wheezes and heavy breathing between the bunny and the doll. It was a challenge for Gangle and Zooble not to feel left out, but they found themselves smiling at their friends who were finally blowing off some steam.
For whatever reason they were unaware of…
The laughter eventually died down as Caine enthusiastically explained the adventure he had cooked up for the crew. When he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, the team reluctantly divided themselves into groups of 2, purely based on whomever wanted to team up. The only two who didn’t team up willingly, was Kinger and Pomni, who were the last two left after Gangle clung to Zooble and Jax slide beside Ragatha.
They were chummy before, right? Who better to be paired together than the 2 local nutjobs?
There was a brief commotion of protest and complaining, before the teams departed and split up to perform the silly tasks that were set out to complete the adventure, as Caine described. It wasn’t long before the silence between the bunny and the doll was broken by Jax right after they lost sight of the others.
“So, Dollface, I didn’t take you as the blunt and forward type of gal!” Jax wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, “Unless it’s just ‘cause it’s me and I’m just too irresistible to be taken out to dinner first.”
“Oh, quiet you! I told you that it was a misunderstanding.” Ragatha blew him off, much to Jax’s dismay.
He pressed on with his signature grin fixed on his face, determined to understand, “You told Caine that. You didn’t tell me squat. So? Out with it! What were you looking at? Whattaya want, Doll?”
Ragatha sighed, much like a tired mother would, “It’s fine, Jax, it’s over now. We can leave it be.”
“Nuh uh, it ain’t over. We’re bringing it back, toots!” Jax dismissed her immediately.
But the doll didn’t seem to budge.
“You’d never be able to handle it! You’ll live with the eternal regret for even considering asking.”
Was that a challenge?
“Oh ho ho, darlin’…” Jax tone shifted to a menacing one, causing Ragatha to audibly gulp when he moved to stop her from walking on, looming over her, “You have no idea what you just started.”
She recovered quickly, thinking that Jax was messing around as he usually was, “Jax, we should forget it ever happened. I’m serious!”
“So am I.”
It turns out he was actually serious for once.
“What do you want, Ragatha?” Jax asked in an ominous tone, not giving the doll the chance to digest just how serious he was to use her full name.
It turns out was actually really, really serious for once.
“What does it matter?” the ragdoll breathed, hardly intimidated, yet greatly stunned.
“What do you mean ‘what does it matter?’” Jax shuffled closer to stand inches away, causing for the doll to crane her neck to look up at him, “When you beg for me with that pretty little eye of yours, what makes you think it wouldn’t matter?”
Ragatha felt the familiar rush of heat bite her cheeks as Jax blown pupils pinned her in place. His words could easily just be the words of the snake, but something within Ragatha’s depths wanted to believe that it was only the words of the man before her.
Her man.
 “If I tell you what I want, you have to deal with the regret of knowing by yourself.” Ragatha spoke with a calm, steady voice as she prepared for the moment to wither away with the diminished sound of her future confession, “Are we clear?”
“Crystal.” Jax murmured, not once breaking his gaze from her face.
Ragatha took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eyes, steeling herself for the disappointment to drag down his spirit. She took only a second longer to appreciate the churring sound of Jax’s teeth grinding within his mouth.
“Your hands.” Ragatha sighed in defeat, “I was looking at your hands.”
Jax didn’t stir or change his demeanor, silently processing the information, “My hands…”
Hands. What could she want with his hands?
Hands grab.
Hands carry.
Hands hold.
Hands touch…
Oh. Oh.
OH!
Realization must have washed over his face, because Ragatha allowed her head to fall forward in regret.
“Do you see now?” she asked with sorrow lacing her voice, “You regret knowing now.”
Jax was silent for a moment, only to softly speak up – almost to himself, “Do you know why I was late this morning?” a beat of silence, “I was dreaming about your hands too.”
Ragatha’s head flung itself up, to look at him in shock, but was met with the saddened expression of the bunny as he continued to speak, “In my dreams, I can’t get enough of them. I can’t get enough of your touch, Raggs.”
The doll’s eye started stinging with tears, but her face remained stuck in shock.
Jax wasn’t finished, “Seeing you enwrapped with Gangle makes me so happy, Raggs. I love seeing my girls take care of each other, but believe me when I tell you that I’m selfish enough to wish that you came to me instead – even if I can’t hold you like she can…”
The silence that followed, stretched a bridge between them.
The ragdoll blinked once before taking the chance to speak, “May I touch you right now? Please?”
More silence deafened them, but a lot was said in the looks they shared.
Jax sighed, bracing himself for the confusing tingles his doll tend to leave on his skin, “...Go on.”
Without knowing what to expect, Jax eyed the movements of her hands, only to see them fold into each other behind her back. The rabbit’s breath hitched as he saw the whole of Ragatha's body move closer to stand against his frame with her forehead resting right under his chin. He violently shivered when he felt the doll’s breath caress his upper chest.
His brain malfunctioned when he felt her soft, warm lips place a long, tender kiss on his sternum.
No itching. No tingles. No burning.
Fireworks.
He huffed out an aspirated breath and allowed his shaky hands to grab at her shoulders to keep her in place when he felt her hastily back away. He proceeded to wrap his arms around Ragatha and crush her against his body, as he did in his dreams, suffering the onslaught of firecrackers and sparks erupting from everywhere their bodies met. Her cheek was pressed against his chest, and she could hear the thundering beats of his heart bashing to break free from its cage.
The sound that left his dolly’s mouth would haunt him for years to come and he couldn’t care less. For the first time since he was trapped in the Digital Circus, Jax was overwhelmed by the white-hot bliss of touch.
...Until it became all too much, all too soon.
And the dreaded itch crawled back into his skin, causing Jax to grab Ragatha’s shoulders again and harshly shove her back and away from him. The poor bunny was panting and trembling as he looked at Ragatha’s face in shock.
She was as frazzled as he was but she recovered quicker to tend to the poor, overstimulated bunny.
“I just want you to understand one thing.” Ragatha spoke between a few harsh breaths as she calmed down, “At times, I may need someone else's touch, but…”
Jax fought to focus his eyes on the woman before him – to indicate that she had his utmost attention, just before she blew all thoughts from his mind as she completed her sentence;
“I will always want you more than anything.”
She didn't need to say more, trusting that he understood her words perfectly.
Unlike a 'need', a 'want' can not be fulfilled.
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eddo-tensei · 1 year
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More thoughts on Derision (Spoilers, obviously)
I think it's amusing that the default counter-argument to anyone who criticizes this episode boils down to "Well, you're just a Chloe Stan!" Which is something I had to deal with myself recently. Apparently, you can only hate this episode if you're a Chloe apologist. First off, hi, I'm Eddo. I wrote a fanfic where Chloe literally gets thrown into the dirt and suffer an allergic reaction to cacti, both times being her own fault. I feel like my Chloe Stan license should be revoked after that.
Anyways, I'm not surprised with the direction they went with Chloe in Derision. It's been stated since around Season 4 that Chloe was on a "Damnation Arc", so they've been doing everything they can to make her worse and worse. So, I'm not surprised or even angry that they continued this here. I'm annoyed, but not angry. What I AM angry about would be the other characters who got mangled in this shitshow.
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Writers? Could you please stop having Chat threaten people with Cataclysm after he's shown regret doing it to people by accident TWICE?! This has happened three times now, counting what happened with Scarabella. Yes, I know he did this before with Darker Owl, but that just makes it worse because that happened right AFTER he regretted doing this to Monarch. You know, the guy who's been tormenting and attacking everyone for over a year? I guess to Chat, Damocles and Kim deserve it more for ripping away a fantasy and pulling a shitty prank respectively.
I know I complained about this a lot already, but this needs to be stressed upon. If we're going to take Cataclysm seriously, especially with what later episodes showed us, maybe DON'T have your hero threaten people with it for relatively petty reasons? "BUT IT'S FOR TRUE LOVE!!!1!!" Yeah, no. When he tried to do it on Darker Owl, Ladybug told him to cut that crap. It then happened again with Dark Humor with Ladybug telling him not to do it. It doesn't matter if it's for "true love." Both times he did this so far, Ladybug made it clear that this was a bad idea. So, maybe you guys should stop trying to encourage it. I refuse to believe that Chat believes that Monarch is more deserving to live after everything that he did than Kim after what he did. Speaking of Kim...
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My friendly neighborhood dumb jock, why would the writers do this to you? When we only had the leaks to go by, I actually tried to scour for any interactions Kim had with Marinette and I can confirm that with the revelations we got in Derision, they REALLY don't make sense. Yes, Kim was a bit of a douche in the first season. Origins had him push Ivan around to the point of being the trigger for the Akuma. But he wasn't THIS much of a douchenozzle. Moreover, I have a hard time believing Marinette would be as friendly as she is with Kim throughout the series given what he did to her as revealed in this episode. Also, I know this is going to sound offensive, but...Kim was Marinette's first crush? Really? That's what you're going with? I'm not trying to insult Kim, but there was NOTHING that hinted to this. I can't help but think this was the thought process of the writers when they brought this up:
"So, we need to have Chloe do something to Marinette that would explain why Marinette struggles to be with Adrien. It has to be something big and traumatic. More importantly, it has to involve Marinette actually having a past crush that Chloe ruined and it has to be a character we're familiar with, so we can't make up an OC for it. We can't use Nino because he had a crush on her and it wouldn't make sense for her to reciprocate. We can't use Nathaniel because his crush went almost completely unnoticed by Marinette and he's also gay now. We can't use Ivan because he likes Mylene and we can't complicate that. We can't use Max because most people think he's ace and subverting that would piss a ton of people off. Oh, and we can't have it be any of the girls either because our show would get cancelled if Marinette isn't straight. So, let's just make it this guy."
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"This. Fucking. Guy."
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I'm having a hard time thinking of any other reason. I know some people theorized in the past that Kim and Marinette might've had a thing, but I don't think they held any water. Even now, however, I really don't think people should be happy it was canonized in this way.
I always held the belief that Chloe was responsible for Marinette's behavior, but my idea of it was that Chloe had been bullying Marinette for a long time and those years of sustained bullying took its toll on the poor baker girl that made it difficult for her to not only open her heart to people she loves, but have difficulties making friends in general until Alya came along. Yeah, Chloe doesn't look good in this case either, but it would've been more reasonable and would probably resonate with a lot more people who probably had to deal with bullies messing with them for a long time because these effects usually aren't instant. They get built on for a long time and it can really mess up their perception on things.
I think a good story would've been Marinette having to heal from that sustained trauma and while it is difficult since nobody can just quickly heal from trauma, it'd be a good journey for Marinette to be able to open up again with Alya and Adrien being just the first two pieces Marinette needs for her recovery.
But now, instead of all that, it turns out Chloe just pulled a prank that just unleashed a cavalcade of trauma on Marinette all at once that is hyper-specific to how she handles her crush that Adrien and ONLY Adrien can heal. All the while, it turns out that the prank was actually pulled by a guy who I really thought was just kinda fun and cool, but now I can't talk about him in the same way again because he's been thrown under the bus for the sake of this nonsense plot that's difficult not to call a full-on retcon. Do you know what I can call a retcon, though? Or rather who?
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I am sorry to all of the people who are probably stanning Socqueline right now, but I CAN'T vibe with her. I'm not saying you're not allowed to like her either, because that would be dumb, but I DON'T like how she was presented in Derision. First off, to get this out of the way, we're no strangers to characters being introduced out of nowhere. Felix and Zoe are both characters that come to mind. The thing is you can at least explain their respective absences easily. Felix had likely been distant from Adrien for a long time with him only coming in out of obligation with Amelie. Zoe is actually even more easy to explain given that she was shoved into a boarding school by Audrey and wouldn't really be able to connect with any of the characters until she was forced to transfer. Socqueline, however, does not have that luxury and cannot be easily explained away not only with how we found her, but for the fact that there was NO hint to her existing until Season 5 and that is inexcusable given how much importance this character now has. To put it in perspective, this is how we are introduced to Socqueline in Jubilation:
Marinette: That fake Ladybug from this morning, I think it was Socqueline, a school friend from last year. Knowing her, I’m sure she means well. But I have to convince her to stop putting herself in danger like that.
That's it. She just calls her a school friend. Yes, it's clear that she's at least important enough for Marinette to remember her name, she was just called a school friend. At the very least, she did have an interesting story with her trying to be Ladybug in order to help people. Of course, she had to be talked out of it because it's causing issues with the real Ladybug, but it's a decent story and Socqueline had only made a few appearances here and there.
And then Derision.
Yes, Socqueline referred to Chloe as "that monster", so it's clear that they planned her to have something against Chloe since her first appearance. However, Derision showed us that Socqueline wasn't just a school friend. She was Marinette's closest confidant in the school years prior to the start of the series. She actively protects Marinette from bullies, particularly Chloe, and was clearly a huge inspiration for her until Chloe got her suspended from school.
First off, in case I haven't made it clear, we haven't seen Socqueline AT ALL until Season 5. Not even a hint to her existence. So given how significant she was made out to be in Derision, WHY HASN'T SHE MADE ANY APPEARANCES IN THE SERIES BEFOREHAND?! She doesn't even have the excuse of being outside of Paris like Felix and Zoe do because she's STILL there and in an arts and crafts store no less, which probably would've been a great place for Marinette to hang out in with her friends if the writers thought this through. But they didn't and Socqueline's debut comes off as severely jarring because we have this character who was really important to Marinette's life just not show up until she started cosplaying as Ladybug.
Secondly, it muddles Marinette's own backstory as well as severely hampering the significance of Alya. Now instead of being alone with nobody to help her against Chloe, which makes her friendship with Alya all the more stronger, Marinette just had this super cool friend who was always there for her until mean ol' Chloe got her kicked out of school. Doesn't that sound like something you'd see in a fanfic, specifically one that's salting Alya given how Socqueline was depicted as Marinette's BFF?
Thirdly, if Chloe was able to get Socqueline suspended so easily, then why hadn't she been able to do that with the other students? Yeah, she got close with Alya, but that didn't stick. If Chloe really had the ability to just make students disappear even if it happened once, she would NOT hesitate to try and do this again with any other student who slighted her, ESPECIALLY Marinette. But she doesn't. Once her attempt on Alya failed, she didn't try again. Hell, LILA had more attempts to get Marinette kicked out of school than Chloe did and actually got closer to doing it than Chloe would ever get, which is weird since she doesn't have the title of "Mayor's Daughter" to throw around like Chloe would. This just feels like something done to explain away why Socqueline didn't show up in the series which doesn't work because she's STILL IN PARIS and I'm pretty sure Marinette would be more than happy to meet with Socqueline given how close they were, but that never happened.
Fourthly, I'm guessing nobody felt like pointing it out because it felt too obvious, but doesn't Socqueline just come off as the writer's answer to Bridgette? You know, the older Marinette based on the anime PV that some fan writers implement into their own stories? Yeah, she's not one-to-one similar to Marinette like Bridgette is, but it definitely feels like another instance of the writers pulling stuff out of fanon just to put a canon spin on it. And like all the other instances, it's a bad spin.
Lastly, this whole incident with the prank and Socqueline's suspension took place a few months before Origins. Not even a year at the earliest. It was specifically stated that Socqueline was suspended three weeks before the end of the school year. Given how close that time gap, the way everyone behaves in Origins makes almost no sense. Marinette would be a lot more horrified of Chloe if Derision was anything to go by and Chloe would be more willing to try and cast Alya out so Marinette doesn't have any allies given that Derision showed Chloe REALLY wanting to make sure nobody helps Marinette. The only point I could even give any leeway to is Kim and even then, again, he's not that much of a douche in Origins as he was in Derision. So, really, it all just comes off as a blatant retcon specifically to try and explain the new direction the writers are taking with certain characters. And do you want to know the dumbest thing? Apparently, Socqueline was such an inspiration to Marinette that the latter changed her hair to be more like Socqueline's.
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No, seriously. That's also how they explain why Marinette has different hairstyles. I know Expository Hairstyle Changes are a thing in fiction, but this is just awkward as hell given how traumatic and melodramatic the whole thing is. You don't need to say that Marinette's hairstyle came from someone who she considered a hero because nothing about Marinette indicated that her hairstyle is important. This isn't like Josuke changing his hairstyle to be based on the man who saved him as a child. It's a purely cosmetic change that's suddenly given a shit-ton of significance because now it's connected to this horribly traumatic incident. In fact, you know what this reminds me of?
Actually, the whole segment where this Linkara clip came from seems to sum up a lot of things wrong with Derision. It's not just bad because it makes some characters look bad or introduces stuff out of nowhere. It's bad because now everything in the flashback is now part of all of the characters! Every prior episode will now have to be viewed with a lens tinted by the events of this episode. Now nobody can discuss Kim without people salting on him for the prank, now nobody can talk about how important Alya's friendship with Marinette because of Socqueline's sudden boost in significance (In fact, it's very likely that Alya salters will try to use Socqueline as a replacement friend), and now nobody can speculate the intrigue of Marinette's past because EVERYTHING about her behavior is linked to this specific incident and nothing else. That's what pisses me off about this episode. That's why I share that Double D meme so frequently. I could care less about how much of a monster Chloe was depicted to be in this episode, but I am going to complain when other characters are butchered in the process. I will complain about one thing concerning her, though.
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Isn't it amazing that you can tell the writers are trying DESPERATELY to squish any and all positive interpretations of Chloe, even trying to downplay parental neglect because "this character also didn't have a mom and they didn't turn out this way" even though Mylene's and Chloe's situations are still VASTLY different? You can make the argument that Audrey's absence doesn't excuse Chloe's actions. In fact, I don't think it really does either, but saying that there's only one valid response to an absent parent is EXTREMELY insensitive to people who might be going through similar situations.
Oh, and to cap this all off? This is the favorite episode of one of the main writers. Said writer possibly being considered to be the new director for Season 6 of Miraculous and onwards. I'm not gonna name which one for obvious reasons, but it's been confirmed.
I feel like this is a good indication that you need to hop off this series.
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suzannahnatters · 11 months
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Till the End of the Moon: Unconventional Enemies to Lovers
A few months ago I posted my own personal thoughts on enemies-to-lovers that don't cross my own personal red lines. Since then, I enjoyed watching the absolutely next-level cdrama TILL THE END OF THE MOON, which is a uniquely complex and delicious take on the enemies to lovers trope which goes way harder than any other ETL I've ever seen. In this post I'd like to break down how TTEOTM addresses each of my points in turn, and I think this will highlight two unique features of this story: the wonderful complexity of the characters' alignment between good and evil, and the way that the ending, while flawed, unconventional and not completely satisfying, nevertheless makes a certain amount of dramatic sense.
In case that wasn't obvious right away, SPOILERS AHEAD.
Remember that evil is not misunderstood.
This point is about keeping your moral categories straight and not treating something genuinely problematic as though it's just a misunderstanding. One of the really fascinating things about TILL THE END OF THE MOON is that you couldn't quite call Tantai Jin either evil OR misunderstood. Instead, he's a complex mixture of both - a man who uses demon magic, wears black, and tends towards vengeance and mayhem when he feels attacked, yes, but who deep down very profoundly just needs to be loved. The show proves this over and over. Tantai Jin only acts out when he feels threatened or betrayed, when his belief that no one will ever love him is validated by the actions of those around him. On the other hand, when people show love towards him, he responds with wary but genuine trust, affection, and self-sacrifice. Our heroine Li Susu and others are quick to misunderstand Tantai Jin, but this is mainly because of the sinister vibes that surround him on account of him being picked out as the Devil God's future vessel. So, is he evil or misunderstood? He's a bit of both, and the really delightful thing about this show is that it does a beautiful job of keeping its categories straight, resolving misunderstandings quickly but doing the hard yards when it comes to addressing Tantai Jin's propensities towards vengeance.
Enemies doesn't need to mean hatred or toxicity.
Every romance needs reasons for the characters to love and trust each other, despite the things that are keeping them apart. TILL THE END OF THE MOON, again, takes a super complex approach to this point as well. Both Li Susu and Tantai Jin have incredibly mixed feelings towards each other. Li Susu deeply hates the Devil God and throughout the show, the major obstacle standing in the way of her learning to love Tantai Jin is her hatred of what she believes he will one day become. This provokes her to whip him, betray him, and plan his death. But she also sees very clearly that Tantai Jin is a pitiable outcast who has only ever known hatred and suffering. When she defends him, he quickly warms up to her. Tantai Jin, meanwhile, has heard Li Susu's vows of undying hatred and hostility, but has no defences against her practical acts of kindness and self-sacrifice. When she starts telling him that she loves him, he believes it because he so desperately wants to. Then, when she betrays him, his hostility is born of desperation: he thinks her cruel and heartless for toying with him. And when she comes back to him, he's so desperate for her love that he accepts her without reservation, making himself wholly vulnerable. Is there hatred between these two? Undoubtedly. But it's allied with an equally irresistible love and compassion. Like all the best enemies-to-lovers stories, and more than most, TILL THE END OF THE MOON gives the characters a choice between a hatred that will destroy them and a love that can heal them.
Remember that ETL is a fundamentally transformative relationship.
Normally what I mean by this is that enemies-to-lovers will usually involve a profound character arc for at least one of the characters, often from evil to good. TILL THE END OF THE MOON tackles this particular element with incredible complexity. When Li Susu gets to know Tantai Jin, he's cunning and manipulative, but just trying to survive. The two of them embark on a deeply transformative journey, but it is nothing so clear-cut as a journey from villainy to goodness or vice versa. Tantai Jin flirts with villainy before ultimately drawing away from it. By the time he actually does ascend to become the Devil God in the final quarter, it isn't because he's become evil - rather, he's playing the long game, positioning himself and Li Susu to destroy the Devil God once and for all. The important part of Tantai Jin's character arc is learning to accept love from himself and from people around him, to the point that he no longer responds to perceived rejection with vengeful rage. Similarly, the show also brings Susu to a point where she is able to let go of her deap-seated fear of the Devil God. By the end, she has become able to trust her beloved and make herself vulnerable to him even AFTER he's become the Devil God - a truly incredible arc.
I've heard a lot of people saying that the show TTEOTM differs from the book TTEOTM sharply in that Show!Tantai Jin is much less of a villain than Book!Tantai Jin. Normally, this would impair my enjoyment - I'm usually the one shouting at the screen to LET your baddie be a baddie, for heaven's sake. Not having read the book, I can't actually compare the two, but I CAN say that I'm so impressed by how the show revels in shades of grey. Instead of simplifying the male lead's morality, the story allows it to be messy and complex. Neither Li Susu nor Tantai Jin can fit easily into good and evil categories. I appreciate this immensely.
The characters should be a match for each other, especially when it comes to power and to morals.
Similarly, I'm fascinated by how TILL THE END OF THE MOON treats Li Susu, our token "good" half of the couple. She's the Lady of Light, but in the midst of her crusade she's stubborn. She's cruel. She's vengeful. She spends SO MUCH of the story refusing to believe that Tantai Jin can defy fate, and when she meets him again after undergoing 500 years of suffering to find her, she still refuses to acknowledge that she is the woman who loved him, because she fears it will give the Devil God a new foothold in the world. Throughout the story she lies to him, betrays him, and wields or withholds her affection like a weapon. (This, combined with the long stretches of the show in which she is far more powerful than Tantai Jin, reverses a lot of common gender tropes in some really fun ways). In fact Li Susu is kind of terrible, and I love that for her and for the show because now it's not about a pure and good person suffering for the love of a villain - it's about two dark and deeply flawed people hurting each other equally. Similarly, Tantai Jin just isn't a villain, despite the aesthetics.
There doesn't need to be a HEA.
I don't think that every romance needs a happy ending - look at WUTHERING HEIGHTS. While it's imperfect, I don't think that TTEOTM has an unhappy ending per se. I trust that our boy is going to cultivate himself right out of that Heart-Guarding Scale. Tantai Jin and Li Susu definitely deserve their happy ending if any couple does - they've worked through their differences and are now totally vulnerable with and accepting of each other. However, it's fascinating that they don't quite get a HEA - or need to wait a long time for it - for reasons that actually sit pretty well with me. Namely, it was Tantai Jin's fatal flaw all along that he pinned all his sense of self-worth to Li Susu and couldn't face the thought of a life without her. This is that oddest of all things: a love story which cannot end happily until the hero is able to find love and security in people who are NOT the heroine. His feelings for Li Susu are not enough to cure him, because on the deepest level Tantai Jin still doesn't consider himself worthy of love and is willing to settle for whatever crumbs he can pick up off the floor. It takes the love of his shifu and sect brothers showing him that he is worthy APART from Li Susu, before he can learn to be healthily in love WITH her. By the end, it is this acceptance of himself and all the love shown by people who are NOT Li Susu, which enables Tantai Jin to consume the Devil God rather than to be consumed BY him. It is this which gives him the strength to accept death at Li Susu's hands without seeking to avenge or defend himself, and Li Susu the ability to trust him enough to follow through with it. Again, this is an incredibly complex take on a standard romantic scenario.
Love should be what the villain needs - but not what he wants.
What I mean by this is that if the villain is driven to villainy primarily in order to possess the heroine romantically or sexually, he ought not to get her. But TTEOTM is much more complex than, say, LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL*, in which Orchid represents the moral growth the Evil Overlord needs rather than the world domination he wants. For one thing, Tantai Jin is not a villain when he first meets Li Susu, he never quite becomes one, and many of his most villainous actions are are direct response to her perceived enmity. They are self-preservation or revenge. Also, for much of the story, there is nothing Tantai Jin wants as much as Li Susu, and all his actions, good and bad, are either attempts to win her favour or retaliation for perceived or actual betrayal.
In retrospect, perhaps this was always an indication of how the story was going to end. Tantai Jin WANTS Li Susu to love him from very early on. But his need is quite different. He NEEDS to accept love and esteem from himself and from others, because so long as he pins all his sense of self-worth to the murder wifey he will never be stable or sane. One of the really beautiful things about the final quarter of the story, despite its messiness, is seeing Tantai Jin flower into someone who is finally able to accept his own worthiness. After so many episodes in which he's been suffering, paranoid and hurting, he's finally able to achieve an even keel - not through the Heartless Way, but through experiencing love. This time, when he feels threatened by the rejection of one person, he has the love of others to fall back on. Thus, the ending of this show was never going to be about whether Tantai Jin could love Li Susu: he has from the beginning. It was going to be about whether he could learn to see himself as worthy of love.
For Tantai Jin, additionally, getting what he needs doesn't mean that he can't also get what he wants. Tantai Jin has never been SO villainous - so cruel, selfish, and obdurate - that getting what he wants would be a grave injustice. And, getting what he needs - the love of others - is not incompatible with what he wants - the love of Li Susu. Indeed it's the only condition upon which he CAN have a healthy relationship with Li Susu. I think this is why the ending, as messy and flawed as it is, is not a dealbreaker and even makes a weird amount of sense. The fact that Tantai Jin clearly gets what he Needs prevents it all from feeling as utterly wasteful and stupid as, say, TROS did. And then the door is left just a crack ajar for him one to day to get what he Wants, too.
In conclusion, then, TTEOTM is an incredibly ambitious, complex story which goes harder than just about any other enemies-to-lovers story I can think of and sets itself up for an unconventional ending in making the core of its story about whether the hero can learn to love himself. While it's not perfect, I feel like it's an enemies-to-lovers masterclass which I'll be revisiting early and often.
* As a footnote, when I say that TTEOTM is less complex than LBFAD, this isn't meant as a ding. LBFAD is simpler and less ambitious, but also more successful. It's often the way.
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kingmagnificoofrosas · 3 months
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Hello! So I figured I should probably share my two cents on this since you seem pretty open for discussion. I understand a previous anon brought up the fact that this isn’t excusing it’s just explaining and I also understand that Magnifico mainly went all villain when that rat book took control, but I also feel like there may be a slight… I’m not sure how to describe it honestly so I’ll let the rest of my ask speak and see if hopefully my point tangible.
Magnifico did hold a weapon to Amaya’s face to threaten her into agreeing with him, and based on her reaction to seeing him with the evil magic (rapid breathing, shaky speech, flinching, instant fawn + freeze reaction) it’s possible she likely has some form of trauma that I personally believe may have been a abusive relationship.
I should say I am NOT a Magnifico hater, I don’t believe he was a villain at all but I’m not sure about hero. Of course I’m open to hearing others out and I’m entirely open to learning new things and changing my opinions! So this isn’t me saying ‘No you’re wrong I’m right’ it’s just intended as me giving my own personal views and asking for yours in return! Sorry for the three paragraph ask and I hope that you have a great day! 💙
(Also to people who hate on Magnifico that are coming to this account, just why?? Just leave instead of throwing a hissy fit in this persons asks whose just being kind and sharing their personal views, it’s that easy 😒)
Hey anon!
First of all, thank you for being so nice and defending me! Absolutely right! It's beyond me how someone who doesn't like him comes to my blog to nagg at me for loving and defending him, make me a bad person and furthermore accuse me of things .... crazy, anyway! Don't apologize for this long ask! 😆 I appreciate you wanting my opinion! I also wish you a great day! 💙
Now, let's begin this, shall we?
I can actually explain this as well!! 😃 (and no, it doesn't have anything to do with me loving and defending Magnifico. (Well mostly. *Eherm*) this is based on logical observations!
Soo, Amaya's reactions ... I'm absolutely sure they're not because he's been abusive. Magnifico had been nothing but a sweetheart to her. The explanations are much simpler and relatable.
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Amaya knew that Magnifico was able to do great magic, she knew he was very powerful. But she also knew the evil book was powerful. She didn't know to what degree but what do you think happens to someone who's already powerful and gets posessed/controlled by an evil force?
Exactly. They become dangerous and unpredictable. The more power someone has the more dangerous they'd be if posessed by evil. Think of the nicest, sweetest dog, who'd never bite, never do anything bad. If this dog was to get posessed by an evil force, it could maul someone to death. It has teeth and a very powerful jaw to begin with.
The other thing is, who wouldn't flinch if someone pointed a weapon at them? This is a natural human reflex. Yes, some people are jumpier than others (I am 🤣, truly! Sometimes my coworker sneaks up on me while I work on a client to whisper something in my ear and I squeal in shock every single time. It's funny for everyone but me.) But we're talking about Amaya here! It's normal for the body to react if threatened. So we have our reasons why she went fawn mode.
Also, one of the first things she says to him is "How could you!" So, he's already in a very bad place, traumatized, suffering and on top posessed by evil now, and the first thing he's confronted with by his "wife" is blame. Nice. Blame! Guilt tripping and cornering him even further! Bravo Amaya 👏🏼
So Amaya being scared is relatable and justified. But does her being afraid justify her dumping and backstabbing Magnifico? No.
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Just look at her smirk as she gives the guards the order to put him in the dungeons! I'm fine with Amaya x Magnifico shippers but I personally will never ship them! Poor man was desperate and shocked at how quickly and with how much ease she was writing him off.
If Magnifico had been her soulmate, she would have fought to death to get him back. Just imagine, if she had stood up and defended him, pleading her people to help her, saying something like : "Listen to me! Magnifico isn't evil, he's posessed by evil! I know he's dangerous and unpredictable right now but I know he's still in there somewhere and if we can reach him, we can get him back! I know you're scared, I am too, but together we can make it! Please, stand with me!"
I mean, she's the queen, alright? The people of Rosas are to obey and follow her command right after Magnifico. One right word of her and her people would follow her and not Asha. Btw. She could have also asked Asha and her friends to help her. I don't think they would have disagreed if she'd pleaded with them. She's their queen! Or would Asha have turned against Amaya as well then? 😐
You cannot tell me they wouldn't have been able to reach and save Magnifico by standing together in love and bold compassion! We literally saw how the wishes and (star) were set free from the evil force just by singing and standing together! Only imagine they had done this to free Magnifico! Saying he wasn't savable because the evil book said so is bullcrap.
I don't believe the evil book! A evil book is well, evil! And light will always be more powerful than darkness! Love will always be stronger than hate! Imagine a room full of darkness, then light a match, that tiny speck of light is still glowing! The dark cannot consume it! Because in light there cannot be darkness. And what does a evil book do besides destroy and corrupt?
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Also, this looks painful! 🥺☝🏻this is nothing but incredibly tragic and sad!
Also, in the past, every single heroine has managed to break curses by true love and compassion! I was reminded of Moana and Te fiti for this!
Do you guys remember that scene, where Moana realizes that Te Fiti is still inside the posessed evil monster? Was Moana afraid? Sure she was! But did that stop her from reaching out to get her back? No!
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Te ka (evil Te Fiti) could have burned Moana to a crisp in the split of 2 seconds but Moana still bravely approached her! She willingly faced death because she knew Te Fiti was still in there and by her immense love and compassion she'd get her back! She went "this is not who you are!" And boom!
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There's more!
I also remember a scene from the 2 Maleficent live action! When Maleficent was consumed and controlled by hate, anger and revenge. She was all hiss, roar, I'm evil and Aurora stood up to her and told her "This isn't you! There's another way! I know who you are! I know you!" And Maleficent replies "You do not!" And Aurora in tears, in pain but 100% certain, says "Yes I do! You're my mother!"
And just like that the evil in Maleficent crumbles. True loves overcomes all evil! It's always been that way.
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And even if no one would have helped Amaya, we'd still have the (true love breaks every curse!) But she did nothing. Well, she did run to Asha and her friends to sing about how bad he's always been like a pop star. She gave Magnifico up over the course of minutes, didn't even try fighting to get him back and wrote him off with a smile!
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Magnifico was deeply hurt, the betrayal stung and he suffered inside. He had so much pain and anger and his anger is justified! Please, put yourself in his shoes for a moment. One doesn't even have to fully understand trauma and the whole complexity of the different forms of ptsd.
He only ever tried his best to have everyone happy and content. He only ever wanted to protect and keep safe. That's always been his goal. He held onto his power because he wanted to be strong enough to keep whats dear to him from harm at all costs! If someone wants to protect that fiercly it only means that person loves immensly 1 and 2 has suffered unbelievable painful loss. He loved his people! He cared for his people immensly. So much so he was willing to get himself posessed by evil even if he never wanted to! He felt forced by his desperation and utter fear.
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And what did his people do in the end? Can you imagine how badly it must have hurt to realize you've only been loved for what you can do and give? How used he must have felt? He's been celebrated more for being handsome and a limitless genie than a loving king who established an amazing kingdom and ruled it well! He's bent backwards and all it took his people to turn on him was a teenager who thinks she knows better than anyone with a strange cute looking creature from the sky, they btw. knew just as little about!
Everyone backstabbed and betrayed him. Here he is, at the peak of all his suffering and posessed. His soul surely cried for help, hoped for anyone to reach out to him but no one did. He got kicked into his wound even further. Quite literally, this was the thanks he got.
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archiveikemen · 9 months
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'Black Wedding' Story Event: Premium END
Roger's Route
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I do not own any of the Ikemen Series content being uploaded on this blog, everything belongs to CYBIRD. Please support them by playing their games and buying stories. Not 100% accurate, expect mistakes.
read this before interacting with my posts
≪ This story is in Roger's POV ≫
The believers suddenly collapsed to the ground on the spot, one after another like dominoes.
Only Kate, the Leader, and I were left standing.
Leader: What on earth… is going on…
Roger: They had a strong sleeping pill for breakfast. Ah, it’ll have some effect on them, but they won't die.
Roger: I’m a former doctor. I’m confident that I gave them the right dose, I think?
Leader: Then, this woman…
Kate: Yes, I’m a former postwoman. I’ve never dated a boxer in my life.
I couldn't contain my laughter at Kate’s words.
Roger: Hahaha. You’re so cold, young lady.
Leader: … Hahaha… haha
(... What the?)
The man had his life threatened, and yet he was still laughing.
Leader: Hahahahaha! You two are the police, aren't you?
Leader: I knew that the police have been sniffing around lately!
Just then, my ears picked up some noises.
Roger: … There are two people on the second floor.
Kate: …!?
(Footsteps coming from the second floor… over there.)
I confirmed the locations of the men pointing the muzzle of their guns at me from the second floor.
— One on the right, and one on the left.
(If I shoot one of them, there’s a chance the other will shoot me.)
I quickly assessed the situation while pulling out the gun hidden in my pocket.
(... Tch, If this goes on, Kate will get shot. I have to sacrifice myself and get hurt.)
When I decided to shoot one of the men—
Kate: Roger, I’ll take care of the one on the right!
(...!?)
I fired at one of the men, and at the same time, Kate pulled a gun out from her garter belt and fired a shot at the other man.
The bullet I shot went right into the man’s heart.
Kate shot the other man in the leg, and he remained standing with his gun pointed at her.
(... I won’t let you.)
Roger: Well done, young lady. — Good job.
With my own hands, I shot him down.
Leader: … Wha… how…
Leader: How did you notice them hiding in the shadows…
Roger: Unfortunately for you, I have good hearing. Also—
Roger: Isn’t my bride the best? But she’s mine, so don’t fall for her.
Leader: Ah… ah…
I approached him as he lost all strength and crouched on the floor in an undignified manner.
Roger: What? Are you unarmed?
Roger: After manipulating people into believing in you, you never expected to find yourself in such a dire situation, did you?
Roger: Did you really think you’ve become some kind of heavenly being?
Leader: … Save me… I’ll give you money! So…!
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(... Money?)
It made me nauseous to know how that arrogant man placed money and human lives on the same level.
Roger: You stole that money from the couples you killed. Don’t mess with me.
I put the gun in my hand to the man’s forehead—
Roger: — Suffer even when you’re dead.
The familiar smell of gunpowder didn’t suit the atmosphere of a church.
Roger: Crown will come to collect this man’s body, as well as the ones in the basement.
Kate: … What will happen to the believers, who are still alive?
(... You’re still worried about other people, even in times like this.)
Roger: They’ll receive treatment at a hospital Will is supporting.
Roger: It’ll take a very long time for them to heal mentally—
Roger: But as long as they keep on living… they’ll be fine.
Ironic that I was saying that right after I took a life.
However, I was determined to continue living on the path of evil.
(I didn’t expect the young lady to shoot, though.)
I almost couldn't believe that she was the same young lady who looked like a lost puppy not too long ago.
(... Hm?)
I noticed that Kate’s fingers were trembling slightly.
(Ah… this girl…)
Without much thought, I placed my hand on her head and ruffled her hair.
Roger: The mission is completed, thanks for your hard work.
Roger: And now I shall enjoy my rare beer—
Roger: Quite a pity that you’re not receiving any reward, don’t you think?
Fortunately, Kate didn't get any blood on her, so I could still take her out while she was in her wedding dress.
One reason was that returning to the castle was too troublesome.
The other reason was that I wanted to see her in the black wedding dress for a while more.
The place I wanted to take Kate to was…
Kate: We’re at the theatre… why…
Roger: My bad. The first class seats were sold out.
I sat down on my seat, and Kate hurriedly did the same.
Kate: That’s not what I was asking, I meant to ask why did you take me to a theatre?
(Seriously, this girl wants me to say it to her directly…)
However, it wasn't my thing to outwardly express things from one to ten.
Roger: I’ve already told you. This is your reward.
Kate’s little look of protest that resembled a small child made me laugh on the inside.
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Roger: Ah… young lady, I must make it clear to you about one thing.
Kate: Yes…?
Roger: As I’ve mentioned before, I have zero interest in the arts.
Roger: Therefore, I won’t be able to give you any insightful commentary or talk about my impressions after the play. I hope you won't mind.
Kate’s eyes widened for a moment before she gave me a gentle smile that looked like a flower blooming.
Kate: I’ll give you a hundred points if you manage to stay awake throughout.
Roger: I feel relieved hearing you say that.
Roger: Anyway, do plays usually take this long to begin?
Kate: Waiting and wondering when the curtains will rise is one of the joys of watching plays.
Roger: … I can never understand the reasoning behind that.
As I turned to face the front, I noticed that Kate was staring at her hands.
Her hand that had pulled the trigger of a gun earlier was no longer trembling—
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(...)
(... Kate, I know you're not a strong person.)
(However, Kate. You’re not one to let your weakness affect you.)
Not only that, she even pushed herself to help me.
(I think that’s one of her strengths, but—)
She must be feeling so guilty.
She wasn’t strong enough to take a person’s life yet.
(... Goodness, she’s still the same lost puppy as before.)
Roger: Remember when we talked about my ideal type of woman?
Kate: …? Yeah.
Roger: I like a woman who can think for herself and looks good with tears flowing down her face. Now I have one more thing to add.
Roger: I also like a woman who motivates herself to be strong.
Roger: I mean it, sincerely.
Kate blinked at me and her voice shook.
Kate: … Is it acceptable if she’s not a strong person?
Roger: Yeah…
Being able to bring yourself to take someone’s life was not a sign of strength.
Moreover, blood didn’t look good on Kate.
Roger: I believe that someone who tries their best to be strong and face their obstacles head on are the truly strong ones.
Roger: Kate.
(I always acknowledge your strength.)
(.. So smile.)
Roger: Thank you for trying to help me.
Kate bit her lower lip and nodded in response.
Kate: … Alright.
(I can’t help but want to dote on her. Goodness, she IS such a lovely bride.)
A smile appeared on her face as the stage curtains rose and our surroundings dimmed.
Although my ears picked up the sound of Kate crying next to me, I pretended to not have heard it.
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tearskillstardust · 3 months
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helllooo dear,hope you're faring well,if not,i wish your days to become brighter as soon as possible!
I have come with a special request after witnessing your skill in writing, you're good at this!
It will include some mental stuff,not so heavy and dark though,fret not!
It's not so clear in my head either but,rather the reading being a friend of Lyney and Lynette,having have known them for a decent while.And on this fateful day,our reader who is already not so stable mentally, suffers from a panic attack in the corner of a gap between the buildings in the city of Fontaine.And as Lyney was passing by, noticing this,he of course,lends a hand because the reader seems to be in a very bad state.I will leave the rest to your imagination and powerful hands!
Take great care dear,and hopefully you'll be amused with this request<3
🎭 MASQUERADE OF MASKED VICES... lyney
—gn! reader; blood and slight gore, very slight. angst with no comfort. reader-centric.
—summary; lyney is the one person you never thought would snatch your sister away.. but when he does, can you come to forgive him?
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You staggered in your steps—head spinning as you sauntered alone.
Fontaine was always the land of mysteries much beloved, and you had always been used to the world's truest shades having grown up as the child of a spy. A few summers of sword dance and mastery over secrecy you joined the Fortress of Meropide yourself, and had seen numerous mysteries confusing and gruesome alike—but none could shock you any more than this one did.
The pictures were as clear as could be, Charlotte would never lie, nor would she insist so much for your attention should it be inauthentic—then why did you find it so hard to believe your eyes? Even Clorinde stepped back at your outburst then, more confused than scared.
'Is he still your family?', she asked, but no love, he was so much more.
It was clear as glass, it was him. Lyney the great magician had finally fallen and shown his colours, but when you never doubted him for even a second, how could you come to suddenly accept this?
He was a child of the House of the Hearth, this much you knew. You had watched Arrlechino from shadows and sidelines through rains and summers, and almost always knew their next five steps—always staying in the lead. You knew to keep a beloved one out of trouble but to think Lyney would go so far almost threatened to make you throw up.
The report and dead body flashed in your mind.
Wriothesley's frown deepened until it could no more. Clorinde's shouting came to you on the loud wind as she pushed back reporters and citizens who dared to breach the limits of the crime scene—but regardless of how many sensations you were feeling in the moment, none could hope to tether you back into your body. It was helpless moments like these when you felt like a puppet watching from behind mechanical eyes, dancing endlessly in life's petty show. Blood pooled beneath you, flowing endlessly with the endless rain. And she rested there, the young girl who you promised to protect with your own life. Her eyes weren't closed, you had to gently pull the shutters down for her, for pale red eyes to find eternal peace. But then a sigh prised her mouth open, and strangely enough, she seemed more like your own corpse than anything, and you felt like bringing your own gun to your head and to end this show— But Clorinde refused, and the masquerade continued.
'It's clear whose hand was behind it.' Clorinde said, gently placing her gloved hand on your shoulder and you retracted further, crying and shaking. 'I can't bear it,' you said, violently shaking your head as though suddenly the truth would change. 'The boy I looked after for six years...' you choked out, your hand instinctively coming up the rest against the table and you leaned in further, unable to stand on your own feet. Clorinde remained silent, though the upset look in her eyes was evidence enough of her own intention. Her baritone voice reached out to sever your sobs, 'Yes. He has killed your sister. And now you must— 'No, he has not!' you shouted, yanking her hand off and slamming the door shut in her face. No he hadn't because I wouldn't believe it. I could not believe that I had been so stupid to believe that just because I spared Lynette's life once, he would spare my sister too. You thought, but merely rushed out until you reached somewhere no one would ever reach, where no one would find you crying.
These quiet alleyways were always the most dangerous, you knew, but who did you have to fear when the biggest killer you knew was your once brother?
Unable to walk further due to the unbearable pain in your chest, you sucked in a deep breath and staggered inside the alleyway, stopping to lean against the walls through closed eyes.
Suddenly, pale red eyes flashed into your memory.
'Promise, you'll always protect me?' the young girl asked, innocently extending her pinky. You stared slightly confusedly. It was a funny sight—the girl was seven, you were eleven. Both dirty and barely on the edge with breads in your hands; but even then you nodded quietly, extending your own pinky which she linked with her excitedly, her soft laughter ringing in the quiet night. You blushed then, slightly and unnoticeably, moved by the fact that you made someone happy.
You sobbed loudly, unable to stop the onslaught of tears as you sunk further into the ground. Your shoulders shook with the motion, but you found yourself choking back a cry when a shadow loomed over you.
'I'm sorry,'
He was sorry.
You laughed, 'You're sorry?'
Lyney's gaze shifted from your tear-stained cheeks to meet your eyes.
'A killer is never sorry. Bet you loved sucking the life out of her, didn't you?'
Lyney frowned, 'She was like my sister too, I really loved Cher—
Your gun against his head, hands circling his throat, body pinning down his own—he suddenly understood all the boundaries that weren't present. 'Do not take her name with your filthy mouth.' You seethe, voice cracking and shaking with anger.
'And what do you suppose I should have done when she came between a crossfire of the Fatui and the guards?'
Anger danced in your eyes, 'What would you have done if it were Lynette, you asshole? Stabbed her to death?'
Lyney flinched at your tone, 'She was already shot thrice when I found her. I wanted to save her but—', he stopped abruptly, hesitating to get the words out.
'But your sister was at priority.' You finished for him, nodding. If you could cry tears of blood you would, but sad and hurting you could only clutch his neck tighter, just enough to make him splutter slightly.
'Answer me, coward.' your voice reduced to a deadly whisper.
He frowned slightly. 'She wouldn't have lived, y/n.' he answered, voice soft until it could lower in pitch no more. 'I could bring her to you, but she handed me the blade. Asked me to end it.'
Tears fell on his cheeks from your eyelashes as you tried not to break in front of him. 'And you ended it? Because her life was only her own? Because I wouldn't have mattered, right?'
'And would it have been better if she died in your arms? Would you have rather watched the life drain out of her?' he asked right back, voice as frail as your own was.
'I wanted to wish her goodbye, you moron,' you said, harshly shaking his collar as the gun fell out of your hand and you fell against his chest, crying uncontrollably. 'I wanted her to know I was sorry. That I remembered her,'
A tear slipped through his own eyes but he found it difficult to speak any words of consolation when the blood was on his hands. A killer was a killer, whether or not he meant it.
You rose again, gaze red with anger. 'Why don't you fight back?'
'I have guilt in me, regardless of what transpired y/n.'
His gaze almost seemed apologetic from your position above him, but you did not have much time to dwell on it when blood again flashed into your vision and your breathing suddenly seemed constricted as you fell at his side, clutching your chest in extreme pain.
His eyes widened, 'Are you, wait is it a— shit, here,' he said, stumbling on his words as he sat up next to you and pat your back, rubbing it. You coughed out, trying to take deep breaths but the blood pooling underneath you wouldn't leave your vision. Your tears increased as you tried to calm down but to no avail.
'Y/n? Can you hear me? Hey?' his voice seemed more and more distant as time passed. Holding your head in your hands you tried to rise but fell right back with a stagger, a loud clink of metal falling resounding in the alley.
And Lyney did not have much of a choice when you suddenly fainted, nothing he could have done other than taking your body into his arms and rushing to the one place you had once regarded as home.
'Is she alright?'
'She is much better, yes.'
Sigewienne's soft voice greets you to consciousness, Clorinde's familiar lavender purple coming into vision. The pale blue walls were familiar and you quickly recognized Neuvillette when he came into view.
'I hope you're much better now, y/n.'
You nodded, trying to sit up but Sigewienne eased you back into the bed. 'Don't rise,' she warned softly.
Neuvillette nodded back at the affirmation before sighing. 'Madame Clorinde certainly seemed quite upset about finding you in the cold of the Fortress. Defenseless and unconscious at that. I do hope on her behalf you would be more careful about your duties from now on.'
Careful about my duties? You thought but answered in the affirmative regardless and the Iudex left and then followed Sigewienne at Clorinde's request.
She then placed your gun next to you, gold lined and marked with an eagle shape—your division's symbol. You cautiously looked up to find her staring at you with a sharp gaze. Sighing then, she tiredly looked down. She shuffled closer to you. 'Will you now tell me what actually happened?'
Your gaze refused to turn towards her even though you weren't angry. Upset and disappointed, never angry. Struggling against whatever would've been right, you sat up on the bed as Clorinde put pillows behind you to ease you into the position.
'Nothing, I just fainted.'
She seemed unamused. 'I saw that. I also saw that you weren't already in the Fortress. And I also saw Lyney leaving.'
You eyed her from the corner of your vision. 'Why are you asking if you know already?'
She sighed, for once showing any true emotion with her wilted posture and upset eyes. 'I just hoped you'd stopped holding on to that boy and his sister. They'll never be your family.'
Never be my family. Hating how true it was you wished to disregard her words, but knowing how true it was you could only lower your gaze.
You turned and stood, with a protest from Clorinde who pushed you back on bed only for you to rise again. 'I'm fine,' you told her, slowly walking over to the balcony that provided a pristine clear view of the city. Even from this height, you could spot a small board in the distance, its charm inescapable—Lyney and Lynette's magic show—but cruelly deceptive in nature nonetheless.
It was where you met these orphans first, and they had since become the source of your tears. You had forever regarded Lyney as the source of your security, the only one to whom you could entrust your sister's safety. You always saw him as your trusted friend, a close person whom you would always share your thoughts and opinions with. But now that the faith had been breached, you no longer had any reason to stand with him and let his crimes be lost to the wind.
Lyney had been trusted for far too long by far too many—every sinner must know that his curtain call shall come.
A small colourful explosion caught your eye, and if you were any more delusional you would've almost thought that the magician clad in red responsible for the nuisance had turned to stare at you. Your gaze hardened.
You turn to Clorinde.
'I know where the House of the Hearth keeps its smuggled drugs.'
And you knew there was no turning back when she smiled.
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hmmmm... i think the anon wanted a more fluffy approach but i felt like sending lyney to jail lmao
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gffa · 1 year
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Hi!  I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be because my view of the sequel trilogy lives in kind of a nebulous space, where I really like the characters and I actually like a lot of the potential of the storyline, but I dislike TFA, greatly dislike TLJ, and was actually pretty okay with TROS all things considered. I don't want to dig too deep into the negativity of my feelings but they're basically - TFA was too much of a repainting of ANH for me, the initial shine of it was through its potential, but when that didn't pay off in the other movies, the shine came off TFA, too. - TLJ was set too close to TFA, Finn's character should have been tied into the Canto Bight plot (which was exhausting as it was), as a stolen child soldier he has the most reason to hate the rich, but absolutely nothing was done with him, Luke being on that island for that long was out of character for him, Rey's entire story became wrapped up in Kylo Ren, neither of those characters had nearly enough connections with others despite having very good reasons to, like why do we not spend more time on Luke & Kylo?? and it played at being subversive but it absolutely was not, it's all been done before (and I really hated the way Force abilities worked in the movie) and killing off your main villain in the second act was a baffling decision - TROS' biggest problem is that it should have been two movies instead of one, it was a series of trailers rather than a story with breathing room, and it suffered the most from the lack of planning + the main villain being killed off in the second movie But here's why I still like The Rise of Skywalker the best:  The bones of what's there are a pretty good Star Wars story!  Yes, Rey Palpatine came out of nowhere and was very silly, but if you can't handle silly, I don't know how you can make it as a Star Wars fan, it's such a silly franchise! I'm not afraid to love a scene I laugh out loud at--and, yeah, I laughed RIGHT OUT LOUD the first time Kylo dramatically said, "You're a Palpatine."  I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes and let me tell you, I fucking LOVE that scene now. Or how the last words of any Skywalker, the last word Ben Solo/Kylo Ren ever says in the movies' franchise is, "Ow."  I am laughing RIGHT NOW, please, p l e a s e, that is so on-brand, I can't handle it, it's too funny. But I also like the basic storyline because Rey's story in TROS is her struggling with her own inner darkness, that she feels there's something dark in her soul because she's Palpatine's granddaughter.  The movie isn't saying that's true, but that Rey struggles with thinking it's true, and she has to wrestle with her dark side, just like every Jedi before her has as they're coming into their power. Anakin wrestled with his dark side and lost in Attack of the Clones and even worse in Revenge of the Sith. Luke wrestled with his dark side in the vision he sees of himself in Vader's helmet in the cave in ESB and in the climactic scene of ROTJ, where he nearly hacks his father's arm off in rage after his sister and friends are threatened.  He has to claw his way back out of that. Ezra Bridger struggles with the dark side in Rebels as he comes into his power and he has to claw his way out of it as well. Rey has to struggle with her own lure towards the dark side as she comes into her power--she rips a ship apart in the sky because she was so determined that Chewie was hers, she was so angry at Kylo that Force lightning burst out of her.  She's seeing Sith visions of herself on the wreckage of the Death Star.  This is a theme that has been there since the very beginning, that Jedi have to struggle through a temptation to the dark, and her relation to Palpatine preys on that. That's kind of why I wound up loving Ben's scene with Han as well, because that was an entirely imagined scene, but it represents that the way the Force works, you have to dig yourself out of the hole you're in, that Ben using the memory of his father, the last moments of connection he had with his mother, to pull himself out of the dark, really worked for me.  And I'm okay with his death, because this is Star Wars, people die before they should all the time. I even liked the political message of the final movie, yes, Rey vs Palpatine was the big Jedi vs Sith showdown, but the main galactic battle?  Had people showing up.  Just... people.  One of the themes I've talked a lot about, especially because The Clone Wars kind of has it as a running theme is that the average galactic citizen doesn't do jack shit about the state of the galaxy they live in.  The Rebellion had people starting to stand up, but it was an organized effort, it recruited people. TROS had just people showing up, that Leia and the Resistance had been trying to rally the cause, but ultimately it was the galactic public finally, finally saying, "We have to stand up and fight for ourselves, not depend on other people to do it."  Was it ham-fisted and not nearly as polished as it should have been?  Oh, no doubt.  But the message.  Just people showing up to fight against the First Order that was trying to bring back the Empire.  That meant a lot to me. And I loved Luke's character here, that he admitted when he was wrong, and gave us that banger line that's spot on:  "Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi."  Yes.  Yes.  FUCKING YES.  LUKE SKYWALKER AND JEDI PHILOSOPHY.  MY HEART.  Nailed it. Does this movie hang together as well as it should?  Absolutely not.  It needed a stronger writer, it needed more time than it got, and it needed better build-up.  But the bones of what was there were actually pretty good and, man, any movie that has Daisy Ridley in that white outfit with the hood where she looked practically ethereal cannot be all bad, in my opinion.
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distort-opia · 1 year
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I have always asked myself why do you ship batjokes? What is the appeal for you with this ship? You like bruce a lot, so why ship him with joker? I am just very, very curious.
Hi! From your question it seems like you associate having a favorite character solely with wanting them to be happy or wanting them to have nice things, which... yes, but also you have to keep in mind that half of Tumblr means this when they say they like a character:
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Which I very much relate to, personally. Bruce Wayne is my favorite character of all time, but I specifically like to read/write about him going through the Horrors.
Shipping Bruce with Joker... well. Perhaps you're familiar with Hannibal NBC, and Hannigram? Death Note, and Lawlight? Or more recently, Interview with the Vampire and Loustat? I could list some more enemies-to-lovers, but it's the same principle. Two bastards who deserve each other and should not inflict themselves on anyone else, hand in unlovable hand.
Still, I appreciate that you're asking me this in good faith, so I'll try to explain in more detail. I got long, so I'll put my answer under the cut. Just a heads-up: there's mention of abuse, depression and some discussion of suicidality (stuff that tends to come up with more in-depth talk of Batjokes in comics), so take care.
While the ships I mentioned also have a portion of fandom going "But A is the good guy! Why would he care about B, who kills people and only seems to make them suffer?", that portion is larger when it comes to Batjokes. Bruce Wayne is Batman-- he's supposed to be a hero, the father figure of a large family, a symbol of hope. And there's a lot to be said about a more idealized or fanon version of Bruce, and the gap between it and the one depicted in comics. But I'm mentioning this gap because it tends to be connected with an unwilligness to deal with, or even acknowledge, Bruce's dark side.
Bruce struggles with violent tendencies, with an unbelievable amount of anger, with control issues, with paranoia and self-hatred and issues with intimacy. He's terrifyingly intelligent and also incredibly manipulative when he wants to be. He's canonically been abusive to his adopted children and he's canonically been shown to have quite the sadistic streak. And while I understand why some fans see this as bad writing (to be fair, sometimes it just is), reinterpret parts of it or pretend it doesn't exist... it is there, and it is a pattern. Many of these darker aspects of Bruce's personality are a result of how he's processed his trauma-- refusing to heal is literally the fuel for being Batman. But refusing to face his grief has consequences, and some of them inevitably end up ricocheting off his loved ones; though I am saying this as an explanation, not an excuse.
The way he's been written seems to have spawned two larger attitudes in Tumblr fandom, varying in degree and nuance: either refusing to deal with Bruce's dark side, or only seeing his dark side and hating his character entirely. And obviously, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and preference, as long as they respect others'. But to me personally, it's never been black-and-white. One of the best parts about Bruce's character is the very conflict at the heart of him... because despite everything I mentioned, Bruce always tries to do better. He's also empathetic and compassionate; he hungers for love and for connection, and he constantly tries to help people and do good. In my eyes, that's what Batman is about: never giving up. You fail, but you get back up and you try again. You might be struggling with so many things threatening to drag you under, but you make the effort to do good. To me that's deeply inspirational, specifically because it's not second nature to Bruce.
If you prefer a version of Bruce that doesn't have much of a dark side, Batjokes is likely not something you'll enjoy. Bruce caring about Joker is very much connected to it. He deeply relates to Joker because their identities are both born out of their traumas. They could have become the other, and that's a level of closeness and intertwining that cannot be understated. In the face of their loved ones being taken away, Bruce and whoever Joker used to be made choices in the opposite direction. Bruce chose to force meaning onto the world and be defined by his past. He chose to channel his anger into ensuring no one else goes through what he went through. Joker had the same anger, but he chose to erase his own past and burn the world down instead. He chose to ensure everyone else goes through the same horror he went through, to prove nothing has meaning.
And this is, at the end of the day, the reason why Batman never lets Joker die, even when it doesn't make sense. Joker's existence makes Bruce feel less alone-- and yes, it is very selfish of him to choose this over the lives of others and despite what Joker has done, but it is what it is. I've seen people discredit this notion of Joker being Batman's friend as stupid, because Bruce already has so many allies and such an extensive Family; how could he feel alone? He already has so many relationships, people he cares about and who care about him. But... that's never how it works, is it? You don't choose to feel the way you feel. Bruce loves the people around him, and those relationships ground him in very meaningful ways, but that doesn't make the darkness disappear. He wishes it did. But his choice to be Batman is a choice to keep hurting, like I just described. It sets him apart. And the line it puts him on, the things he's balancing, are things Joker intimately understands. Joker is his shadow and his creation, his negative. Bruce's anger and his sadistic violence get channeled in his relationship with Joker, and the worse Joker gets the better Batman has to become, and viceversa. I see it a bit like magic (and Bruce does too, when he talks about how he's afraid that if Joker disappeared, Gotham would send him someone worse). You cannot perform magic without it exacting a price, and the price for Bruce's good is Joker's evil. Lives are saved, but then lives are taken away.
What I am describing here is the appeal of the ship to me. In many ways, romantic is not nearly enough to describe it; I'm just fascinated by their dynamic, any form it takes. Batman and Joker have been opposites and narrative foils for almost a century, and I'll probably never run out of stuff to analyze (yay!). There's so many stories with them, so many different incarnations of them, so many layers and complications that their dynamic has accumulated, simply by virtue of how old and mythical they have become.
The more accurate description for them is probably soulmates, but the most painful kind-- destined to always meet but to always be at war, never able to kill the other or let the other go, because they are two sides of the same coin. And there's an attraction to not being able to let go, no matter how high the bodies pile up. Bruce can't kill Joker without losing himself, and he can't let Joker die. Joker can't kill Batman or let him die without losing his life's meaning. No matter what, the other is always there. They hate and resent this connection plenty, but at the end of the day, the other's existence is an essential comfort they can't run away from.
And thing is, Bruce sacrifices so much for his crusade as Batman. He sacrifices his very childhood and self, his potential happiness; he distances himself from his loved ones and he pushes them away. He represses as much as he is able to so he can go on, so he can save as many people as possible, so he can rewrite the trauma that broke him. But he chases Joker. He obsesses over Joker like over no one else. He chooses to keep Joker alive, even when it hurts his Family and even when it leads to more and more death.
Joker is a connection he selfishly chooses, and doesn't run away from, especially because it hurts. Both Bruce and Joker are self-hating and suicidal, so they allow themselves this one thing precisely because it's destroying them both. Yet, no matter what, part of Bruce sees in Joker someone who suffers, someone who understands, and he keeps trying to reach out to him because of it. It's not just the worst parts of Bruce that resonate with Joker. It's also his hope. Somewhere deep down he can't let go of the idea that maybe, Joker could be better, and if Joker could be better, maybe he could be better too.
...I guess I ship them because I want Bruce to get what he wants. Whether it's dying alongside Joker in a cave, or them helping each other heal, in spite of everything (both of these are plots for stories Scott Snyder has written, hah). Because the thing about Batjokes is that they're perhaps the only people on Earth who could get the other to stop. The easiest way is the way they've already chosen-- by being the one to kill the other. They both see death as the ultimate form of peace, a laying down of arms. But there's also the reverse; the possibility of a world in which neither of them has to die. A world in which they're not each other's preferred method of suicide, but in which they actually learn to live again, helped by the other.
I tend to oscillate between the two. I like Batjokes as an unmitigated tragedy with a course that cannot be diverted, and I like Batjokes as the most unlikely path to a form of peace. Both can provide catharsis in different ways. On a symbolic level, Joker is fighting for meaninglessness and Batman is fighting for meaning; Joker asks, "What is the point?" and Batman answers, "The fight is the point." On an individual level, they're both depressed and suffering from PTSD and always a hairbreadth away from self-destruction, but they keep each other alive, no matter how much it hurts. You can probably imagine how this ship can be a comfort, for people with similar struggles.
I do hope this satisfied your curiosity, Anon. Batjokes might still not be your cup of tea and that's okay, but as someone who likes to read about other ships and the psychology behind them, I hope this was at least a fun read. You seem like you're familiar with my blog already, but just in case you want to seek out canonical instances of what I am describing, I can point you to this compilation of Bruce's side of things that mentions part of what I say here, but also delves into comics. And my Batjokes meta tag is full of similar stuff, some detailing Joker's side too.
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boredmezzosoprano · 4 days
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In defence of Catherine Earnshaw
I just wanted to take this time to talk about the heroine of my all time favourite book Wuthering Heights. She is often described as "selfish" by a lot of readers and yes this is true, but there are reasons for why she acts the way she does. It bothers me how much quicker people are to defend Heathcliff than her when if you ask me, Heathcliff has done worse things than her i.e manipulating and abusing Isabella Linton, abusing his own sickly son, abusing Hareton and robbing him of his inheritance, manipulating Catherine Linton into marrying his son and then robbing her of her inheritance and kidnapping her so she couldn’t be with her dying father and then there’s the little matter of him being the last person to see Hindley before he mysteriously dies (admittedly Hindley was an a$$hole, but still). Don’t think I’m unsympathetic to Heathcliff’s own pain and suffering - I am, it’s just that you cannot judge Cathy harshly while whitewashing Heathcliff’s character🤷🏼‍♀️ Anyway the points I want people to keep in mind are thus:
Like Heathcliff, nobody ever really raised Cathy as her parents both died when she was a child (and even then she wasn’t the favourite of either of them) and Hindley and Nelly couldn’t have been less bothered. Even though the Linton's tried to tame her spirit and mould her into "a lady" it makes sense that her default mode will always be that of a feral child.
People often accuse her of being a gold digger and yes she did plan on marrying Edgar for his money in the hopes of using that money to get Heathcliff out from under Hindley's tyranny, it should be remembered that Cathy really did love Edgar too just not as much as Heathcliff. Also how was she to know that Heathcliff was able to make his own fortune? Given that he never reveals how he made his money and nobody ever finds out how could she have known. It’s speculated that he became a highwayman i.e a glorified thief, most people would choose to avoid living such a precarious lifestyle if given the choice and its hard to blame for not wanting to live a vagabond existence, even Heathcliff admits that he "struggled". As a woman living in the 1700s the only honourable way she could make any kind of life for herself was by getting married!
When she marries Edgar she had no idea where Heathcliff was and when or if he was ever coming back and her choices were limited to marrying into a family who treat you well or stay in your own chaotic and miserable household with your violent drunk if a brother and a maid who’s made it clear she hates you and does not see you as worth her time. So yeah…
Catherine seems to suffer from some sort of disease that’s only ever described as "brain fever". Some readers have described it as encephalitis and others have called it epilepsy. In any case anytime she’s aggravated or upset in anyway she becomes violently ill and this ultimately kills her. With that in mind it becomes understandable that she would actively avoid anything that would cause her any distress as it could (and did) kill her!
There were moments in the book where Cathy with her mood swings came across to me as being bipolar or at least having some kind of personality disorder. Nelly describes her as "having seasons of gloom" during her marriage and she self harms a couple of times in the book. She also threatens to kill herself if it would get a reaction! She seems to place her own sense of value on the men in her life which shows a fundamental lack of self esteem. As someone with BPD these things all hit home for me very deeply, but unlike Cathy I have the freedom to back away from situations that trigger me (well most of the time) and access to medications that even my moods.
While it was undeniably harsh of Cathy to humiliate Isabella by revealing her feelings for Heathcliff with both of them in the room but at the same time she wasn’t wrong to try to snap Isabella out of this naive fantasy. Isabella is a character I care about deeply but it’s obvious that she was in way over her head when it came to Heathcliff! Cathy knew better than anyone that he hated Isabella and would only hurt her. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. Poor Isabella does ultimately learn too late that Cathy was right. Even Nelly has to begrudgingly agree with Cathy on this one.
Speaking of Nelly, it should be remembered that everything we learn about Cathy as well as many other characters, we learn only from Nelly who it is clear is quite biased against the characters whose story she is telling. Because she can’t relate to the intense emotions of the other characters she tends to assume that it must be because there’s something wrong with them. It’s entirely possible that Nelly made Cathy out to be far worse than she actually was. It has to be said that Nelly is a character that I tend to back and forth on…
Anyway that’s my take on Catherine Earnshaw. If you disagree that’s fine but please no rude comments cuz we’re all adults and we can agree to disagree😉
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lycanlovingvampyre · 1 year
Text
MAG 187 Relisten
Activity on my first listen: taking a bath.
Lol, that elevator music xD
HELEN: "So, where’s the old ball and chain?" Fucking Helen... Always talking about others in a degrading way... Also typical narcissistic behavior, pushing others down in order to feel like they’re better.
JON: "You hoped that by nudging us past his domain, Martin would still be there when I arrived… so I would have to pass through on my own. Apparently, you were right." HELEN: "I thought you said you weren’t going to look inside people’s heads?" JON: "I thought you said you weren’t people." HELEN: "Touché." JON: "Well, for what it’s worth, I have tried not to look inside you." By now Jon has seen enough of the Distortion's behavior as Helen, it has become easy to predict what she's up to.
HELEN: "… He’s still so new to all of this, caught up in ideas of justice and ‘solving’ things. Sure, he can wave away the theoretical idea of people suffering…" JON: "But if he sees it up close, he might try to get his boyfriend to smite you?" I feel like Jon likes the sound of that. His boyfriend.
JON: "I’m trying to ‘know’ if there’s another route I can take." HELEN: "And?" JON: "Turns out there is, actually. But it is rather full of spiders." Coincident? I think not!!! The Web wants Jon to pass on the Fears.
HELEN: "The tape recorder feels more, um… awake." Hmmm, I wonder in what sense... The tape recorders have already been very actively clicking themselves on (or appearing at all) in S4. Is it just because the Web is now in this world instead of lurking at the edges?
HELEN: "Even though I saved you from Michael." The Distortion saved itself from Michael. Suddenly putting itself clearly on the side of "I am not your friend" is not what the Distortion is about. Besides, if it had killed Jon, the "Wonderland" of an Eyepocalyse, which is oh so loved by the Distortion, would have been delayed.
JON: "I liked Helen." HELEN: "I am Helen." JON: "The real one." It is consistent for his character, but I find it funny that Jon seems to bond with people rather quickly. He knew Helen for 20 minutes. He knew Jordan for 20 minutes. 
JON: "True. But as you’ll recall, I was pretty paranoid myself at that point." HELEN: "So what? You saw yourself in her? A sad reflection? A possible future?" Hmmm, maybe it's the same with Jordan. He bonded with him over his experience with the Corruption.
HELEN: "Oh, Jon! This existence can be wonderful, if you just let it." JON: [Sadly] "I know." :( He could just give up. Resign himself to his role as Archivist... Reminds me of working in retail, for example. Other people get sent to ware house duty because they're too rude be around customers. While I have to do the dirty work with customers because I care too much about not being an asshole. Or like working in a team with the same pool of work load. Others put their feet up, after all the work gets done by the others. But I don't want to be someone like that. I don't think I could be someone like that... 
JON: "I see. How long have you been working with Elias?" HELEN: "I’m not." JON: [Faux-shocked] "Helen! Is that… a lie?" HELEN: "No! No, it’s not. I don’t know him. I’ve never even – Look, I’m happy here, all right?" Changing the subject, hehe... We know, that it was Elias who sent og!Helen to the Institute. Did he also suggest that Helen will probably be confused after her statement so there’s high chances of her finally walking through his door? Was it also Elias who sent Michael to Sasha, so they could find out to use CO2 extinguishers against Prentiss?
HELEN: "You are so difficult to like sometimes. I’ve been nothing but nice to you." JON: "Maybe that’s why I never trusted you." Ohhh, yes, I've talking about this in another post already. I'm super wary of people who are immediately over-the-top nice to me. That's very often a facade which hides a very ugly personality. (Also, that was a lie again. Helen threatened him in MAG 157, so not very nice. But very typical for that personality again. Stating untrue things in a beneficial and factual way, suggesting you should believe it.)
(STATEMENT) "Well, not a dead end. It’s a door that says ‘Honeymoon Suite’." HELEN: [Saucy] "Currently unoccupied…" (STATEMENT) "I turn to retrace my steps. I must have taken a wrong urn." HELEN: "Just in case you and Martin were looking for a room." Pfff, Helen is so pushy and nosy regarding things which are absolutely none of her business.  
"How long… How long has Alex been alone now? " Ha! Another character called Alex!
The sound of laughter during the statement. So mean...
"She’d love nothing more than to help me, although she does hate to see me check out, it’s always so hard on her when guests leave." Making you feel bad for a totally normal thing...
VICTIM: "I don’t know how long I’ve been here." JON: "Look. I’m so sorry –" VICTIM: "You’ve got to help me!" JON: [Angrily] "Don’t touch me!" It's a stressful situation, but you're always allowed to set boundaries. No one gets to touch you when you don't want to. Again, it's just a shitty situation all over like so many others in TMA. Also, especially understandable that it’s Jon who doesn’t want to be touched... So many have hurt him..
HELEN: "Oopsie. Not so easy, is it? Keeping up your humanity?" Oh yeah, and then making you feel bad for setting boundaries...
JON: "You’re dangerous because for all the torture and cruelty, you still somehow got us to think you’re our friend." Mentioned it in MAG 183 (I think?) already that I'm not sure, what's more dangerous. More straight up hostile Helen. Or fun Helen. The one that makes you laugh about all her little manipulative comments. Schrödinger’s douchebag: Come on, don't be like that, it was just a joke!
JON: "No, you are the question of “What lurks behind a smile?” Is a friendship true, or is it reaching out with hands that cut you?" Being wary of the people who are over-the-top friendly... JON: "And when one face finally stopped smiling, you just changed the face." Helen taking over from Michael.
HELEN: "Fine. So if that’s all true… why? Why would I do any of that? What’s my actual motive?" JON: "I don’t think you even have one. It’s just what you are." I have asked myself this question so many times. And I've come to the same conclusion. There is no grand motive behind that. Just doing it over and over again, torturing others, they like that. The feeling of being able to make a person so submissive, so obedient that they will do everything to stay your friend. It makes me sick... I have once asked one of my “Helens” if she knows that those things she did are horrible. She got all smug and said yes and that she likes it and is proud of it. Fucking hell..
JON: "I will end you." [SILENCE BUT FOR SOME CREAKING] JON: "What, nothing? No smirk? A laugh? I’ve got you rattled." HELEN: "I’m not scared of you." JON: "Helen… Was that… a lie?" Smug and badass Jon is back, yaaaaaaaaaay!
JON: "Urgh!" [A STRANGE SOUND RINGS OUT AS THE ARCHIVIST REAPPEARS IN THE WASTELAND] MARTIN: "Christ, Jon!" JON: [Groggy] "Oh, Martin! Good." MARTIN: "Wh– Wh-wh-what… What happened? Th-th-there was the hotel and then…" Hmmm, I like the headcanon that Martin saw (and heard) something in the sky shifting and and suddenly, like "the sky ate him" but in reverse, it spits out Jon and Martin catches him^^ The soundscaping suggests otherwise though. After "Christ Jon" and during "Oh, Martin! Good." there's rubble to be heard, like climbing over debris. And only after "What happened?" we hear fabric rustling. So sounds to me like Jon fell out of the sky in front of Martin, then gets up and they hug.
JON: "Do you? Want to mourn?" MARTIN: "… A bit, I guess. I-I mean, she was our friend. Sort of. A bit." It's okay to be upset losing a "friend" like this. After all, there most definitely were fun times too, if it was just awful, you probably wouldn't have become their friend, after all.
@a-mag-a-day
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gremlin-bot · 3 months
Text
That ain't happening Thursday!
we are back baby!!
I was working on a lot of stuff for fandom events so I really couldn't share a lot. Now that most of that is done I can start on other things! Starting with the sfw part of a Nsfw Brain Dead ship Fic!! it is affectionally named "smut fic, yes the one with star wars" in my wips folder.
Danny had been friends with Tim for over half a year and he has been pining after him for just as long. He is so gone for this boy it's not even funny. Sam and Tucker had been dealing with his lovesick ass the whole time and he can tell they are at their limit.
"Danny, I swear to the Ancients if you don't ask him out or something soon, I'll start growing plants in your dishwasher." Sam lightly threatened after his half an hour long rant about the other boy.
"Sam, no!" Danny pleaded with her from his spot on the floor.
"I'm with Sam on this one, dude. If she doesn't go through with it then I'll keep giving you viruses. You'll be forced to talk to him to get rid of them because I'm sure as hell not doing that for you." Danny cringed at hearing Tucker. Yeah, maybe this was going on too long if Tucker was making threats.
"Fine, if I don't ask him out before the end of spring break you guys can go through with ya threats" The cheers this got from them was in his opinion a bit much.
So here Danny is, with two days left before classes start up again and still too much of a coward to say anything to Tim. He even is tired of his own bullshit at this point, but he is going to fix it today! 
Tim had asked him to come over to watch Star Wars later that night. He planed to ask the other out afterwards, let's just hope he doesn't chicken out. He really doesn't want to hand wash dishes and find a way to fix his computer without Tucker or Tim. 
---------—x—---------
Tim couldn't wait for later tonight. Danny and him were supposed to continue their rewatch and light roasting of Star Wars, with Attack of the Clones being next, it should be a great night. Danny's roasting and general presents always made the nightmare of getting someone to cover his patrols worth it.
His missed patrols did have the side effect of making him a bit restless. He ends up having to workout beforehand to settle himself. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but this damn proposal meeting is taking forever. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to change out of his workout clothes. Well, guess he can use this as an opportunity to flirt with the other man. He’ll wear some booty shorts and a crop top then. If it doesn't drive Danny up the wall nothing else will. 
Tim really should just ask the other boy out at this point. His crush was getting ridiculous, and it was really a matter of time before he said fuck it and kissed that hot nerd. He almost did before he was interrupted by Danny getting a call. He was going to find the coworker that called Danny in to cover for them that day and steal their left shoes.
Tim internally sighed as another person talked about something that could have just been an email and was barely relevant. God, when will this suffering end.
---------—x—---------
When Tim opened his door, Danny knew he was going to die. 
He was going to die of blood loss because all of his blood is quickly heading to his dick, and it’s all Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne’s fault. Tim was in bright fucking red booty shorts with white trimming. His shirt did not help either! The black hand-cropped top with the cartoon ghost on it was bisected by its uneven cropping. Tim’s slim torso displayed the efforts of his clear workout. A bead of sweat dripped down his torso to his waist line. 
Ancients, he wants to follow it with his tongue. 
Danny snaps his gaze up to Tim’s face, hoping he didn’t get caught with wandering eyes. The other man smirks and steps out of the doorway to let him in. Danny was a fucking goner. A dead man (more than usual) all because of the man in front of him. 
Danny quickly slips his sneakers off and stumbles after Tim. So many questions running through his mind, none he can ask without giving his exact feelings away, if his dick didn’t give half of them away already. 
Fuck, he was pathetic.
He takes a deep breath. He can do this, survive the movie and ask that gorgeous genius out. He just hopes that Tim feels the same.
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luv4-liv · 9 months
Text
❝In exchange of..❞
Pairing: Pietro Maximoff x Reader
Warnings: Smut. +18. Oral sex (fem receiving). Kidnapping. Shower sex. Unknown. Fast sex (so fast, we are talking about Pietro). Unprotected sex (do not do it please¡!).
Summary: Leah is held in Avengers Tower by force. Pietro says that he is going to release her in exchange for a favor.
The plot of this One Shot is totally mine and my imagination.
You can find it in Spanish on my wattpad account (piscessbabyy)
Remember that English is not my language so it may contain several errors, please be patient with me
▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱
Leah was a girl who wanted to be as far away as possible from the Avengers and the dangers they faced every day.
Coincidentally, she was now locked up against her will, in one of the rooms of the Avenger tower. And to make matters worse, she was sitting on the floor, with both feet tied to the leg of the bed, and her hands tied with a rope.
She was in a rather uncomfortable position, and had been that way since six o'clock in the morning. He had had nothing to eat or drink since then.
Why was he there? For lying about his age. Pretty stupid, compared to the dangers the Avengers had had to face. But the great Tony Stark was very paranoid lately.
Leah had gone to buy an alcoholic beverage, and the store she was going to, didn't sell alcohol to anyone under twenty. She was eighteen, but it wasn't the first time she had shopped there, so she had a fake ID, lying about her age.
Unfortunately, she crossed paths with Tony Stark, in his fantastic suit, who accidentally scanned her and the billionaire could tell she was lying.
And that brings us to the moment where we started. The Avengers, upon hearing Tony's story, knew she was exaggerating, she was just a teenager buying booze.
But Tony turned a deaf ear. He entered the room a couple of times and asked questions like "Who do you work for?" or "What were you really going to buy?". To which the girl answered him with total sincerity and he ignored.
Wanda was very sorry that Leah had suffered like that all day. So she got together with the other avengers. Stark wouldn't even let them near the room.
So, they agreed to go out to dinner, all except Pietro. He would fake a headache and when they left, he would release the girl until they returned and talk to Tony, this time, being able to protect her.
So, they set the plan in motion. They were all already on their way to Tony's favorite restaurant, while Pietro was already on his way to the room where Leah was, which in fact, was next to his own.
He had seen her when Stark brought her in.
She had caught his attention, her little face looked so innocent, he wouldn't believe she faked her age to buy an alcoholic beverage.
And he was curious to know if that innocent face could prove anything else to him.
Opening the door to the room, the girl looked at him at once.
"Thank God, I'd had enough of Stark's face."
Maximoff smiled at the sound of her voice.
He crouched down in front of her and could see her confused expression.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I'm being kidnapped by a superhero and his super friends How are you?" sarcastically replied
"Do you want me to untie you?"
"Yes! Please, I swear I won't be able to walk tomorrow because my legs will be numb from this awkward position."
Maybe so, but not exactly because of the bad position....
"I'll untie you, in exchange for a favor."
His sokovian accent, curiously made Leah pay more attention to his words.
"Look, I have no money, parents neither so you can't threaten me, if you want to burn down my house, I live in apartment and you would burn down the whole building, which would be frowned upon since you are an avenger.."
Pietro laughed at her witticisms.
"What's your name, cutie?"
"Leah..."
"Well, Leah, I'm Pietro."
"I know who you are, everyone knows who you are."
"Oh yeah? "
"If you're going to untie me?"
"You know the rules, I untie you in exchange for a favor."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you, what do you want?"
"Well..."
The look on the Sokovian's face made Leah instantly understand what he was talking about.
She thought about it for a moment, under the boy's gaze.
But at last she made up her mind, and held out her bound hands to Maximoff, as a sign for him to untie her, feeling her cheeks redden.
He smiled and began to untie her quickly.
As she stood, Leah staggered, she had been on the ground for a long time.
Pietro placed his hands on the back of her thighs, lifting her up. She grabbed his shoulders and the Sokovian went quickly to her room.
As soon as he locked the door, the girl was pressed against it, while he left kisses on her neck to kiss her lips.
Pietro left her on the floor without stopping kissing her and began to unbutton the blouse of the chestnut.
"Is this your first time?"
"No, with an avenger? Yes."
He let out a laugh as he tossed Leah's blouse somewhere and pulled off her shirt.
"What about you, do you do this with all the girls that your tin can superhero friend kidnaps?" she spoke again
"Only with you." he smiled before kissing her neck again as he picked her back up and walked to the bathroom.
Once inside, he closed the door and turned on the warm shower. To then walk over to the sink and set Leah down on the counter.
He unclasped her bra while pulling her shorts down, so she lifted up slightly so he could pull them off.
He removed her shorts along with her underwear and she finally felt the coolness of the counter against the back of her thighs.
Though that coldness quickly vanished when she felt Pietro's large hands slowly pulling her legs apart.
"Spread your legs for me, love.."
Maximoff's accent, the tone in which he spoke to her, melted her completely, she obeyed immediately, feeling him sink his fingers lightly into her thighs.
"What are you going to-, Oh my god..." she moaned in surprise, when the boy ran his tongue over her intimacy without warning.
"Look how you are.." he said, running a finger around her entrance, to which she gasped in response, making him smile.
The next thing she felt, was the platinum guy's tongue making circles around her clitoris, but without touching it, which started to make her desperate.
"Don't be an asshole will you?" he demanded.
"I don't speak in that language, pretty girl."
She hesitated, but she seriously needed to calm that burning she felt.
"Please.." she gasped
Then he moved on to making circles directly on her clit and she pulled her head back.
Leah tangled her hand in Pietro's hair to keep him from pulling away, while with her other hand she squeezed the edge of the counter and closed her eyes as if that would imprison the sensations.
When she thought it couldn't get any better, he slipped two of his fingers inside her.
Leah opened her mouth, unable to even let out a moan.
He curled his fingers inside her, as he moved them incredibly fast and increased the speed of his tongue. He tightened the grip of his free hand on her hips even tighter.
Surely there were going to be marks left on her, just like on her neck, but neither wanted to worry just yet.
Leah opened her eyes, letting out moans that could not be controlled. She felt herself getting closer and closer, that knot in her stomach that wanted to let go.
The counter under her thighs was already warm, the mirror had fogged up from the steam of the shower, but she could still see the reflection of the marks on her neck.
And he, Pietro Maximoff, kneeling in front of her, making her scream.
She had many sensations both in her chest and in her stomach.
And with that image, she let that knot loosen.
He slowly pulled away, as he went up to kiss her while groping her breasts.
When she was calmer, he lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist.
Pietro stepped into the shower with her, both feeling the warm water cover them.
"Ready?"
"I'm offended by the question."
He laughed to then stick the girl's back against the wall, and slowly sink into her.
"You're so...perfect." she gasped.
He dropped his head on Leah's shoulder as he sped up his movements.
He carried an incredibly fast speed, he was in and out with such ease....
Their bodies colliding made a really obscene noise. And the situation even worse. He, an avenger, sleeping with a stranger. And she, letting herself be handled by an avenger, a famous one, that she just met.
Plus the other avengers could arrive at any moment. And that made it even more fun.
At the next thrust, Pietro reached a point where Leah felt something she would never have thought to experience.
She let out a loud groan and dug her nails into the platinum-haired man's shoulders.
He smiled, hitting the same spot over and over again.
"Shit..."
"So there, huh?" he teased.
He went faster, if that was possible, hard, hard, carelessly, on that spot that drove her crazy.
She threw her head back, to which he took the opportunity to leave more marks on her neck.
"Oh God damn it, I think I'm going to..." Maximoff silenced her with a kiss, hitting her spot one last time, before releasing next to her.
Leah closed her eyes, regulating her breathing. Her chest heaved down and up, trying to calm the sensations.
They both ended up showering, her somewhat embarrassed.
He gave her clothes that Wanda had left for her, she was really tired.
Although Leah was quite embarrassed, because she never thought she would do that with someone she didn't know, Pietro talked to her and made silly jokes, which gave her much more confidence.
She was sitting on the platinum guy's bed, her eyes wanting to close.
"I'm going to get you some food, then you can sleep until the others get here." he said in his very striking accent.
God, no, he couldn't notice someone who was probably just a lucky lay, and he was an avenger to boot.
Unless he noticed her, too...
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