#also fyi i mentioned game characters only

[beingsuneone]

Sunset & Vine

PART ONE | PART TWO

SYNOPSIS: one year was all you had, and the winners of the previous hunger games. You didn’t know them that well, but they were still youre only friends. Now you’re thrown back into the Games with some new confusing feelings.

FANDOM: The Hunger Games

PAIRING(S): Peeta Mallark x Victor!Reader

RATING: G

CHARACTERS MENTIONED: Peeta Mellark, Katniss Everdeen, Haymitch Abernathy, Coriolanus Snow, Johanna Mason, Finnick Odair, Effie Trinket, President Coin, Gale Hawthorne

GENRE/AU: Dystopia, Angst, a very small amount of comfort,

WORD COUNT: 5.2k

WARNINGS: Katniss is slightly OOC, Canon divergent in some ways but not others, CATCHING FIRE AND MOCKINGJAY SPOILERS, Reader won the 74th hunger games and Peeta and Katniss won the 73rd.

A/N: Jjj, I’ve really got to stop writing stories with ending like this. Lemme know if you want part two. FYI!!! Changed a few words that completely changed the context and set up for the next part.

DEDICATIONS: Peeta my beloved

CREDITS: Taylor Swift for the name (Gorgeous - Taylor Swift)

It’s a woman, standing with her back to you— she has similar hair to yours and an almost protective stance to her. A haze of colour surrounds her… oranges, purples and yellows swirled into an indescribable but beautiful mess.

Peeta Mellark may be a fellow victor, and he may be one of your neighbours, but you know nothing about him. Except for this beautiful painting that he gifted you.

She wears a dress that flows in some sort of assumed breeze, and has a hand tentatively braced in her hair; there’s something so familiar about this scene that you can’t place— something familiar about the woman in particular.

You can’t place it.

You run your fingers along the small note that Peeta had left with the painting, hovering over the loopy cursive of his signature; it’s the same on the painting but it’s too beautiful to touch like that.

Last year, you won the seventy-fourth annual hunger games, and became a legend for getting district twelve two wins in a row— right alongside Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, Who won the seventy-third hunger games.

Thank god the months of parading you around were over and you could settle happily into your gigantic house by yourself.

Well, happily might be an over statement— you had no family, and certainly no friends… unless Haymitch counts but you don’t think he does.

So this painting feels extra special— a warmth in an otherwise cold and unfamiliar home.

“Where should I put it?” Muttering to yourself, you mentally scan the layout of your house; you’d want it to be in a place where you could see it often, but also somewhere where any house guest would be able to see it… yeah. House guests.

After shaking your head uselessly, you settle on hanging it in the entryway. For sure people would see it there.

You’d been putting off doing this for a couple of days, just because you hadn’t had a whole lot of energy to do anything but sit in a chair and half-read a novel.

So, after a few minutes of fiddling and messy calculations, the painting is hung in the entryway.

You take one last glance at the swirling coloured background once more, and then turn away, leaving the comfort and fantasy behind.

……

Victors are supposed to have immunity, they’re supposed to be done with the games for the rest of their miserable, trauma ridden lives.

But the seventy-fifth hunger games brings back all of the worst parts of last year— you know that out of the three other victors, you’re the female they want to get picked. You’re the easy decision, the loner that nobody cares about.

You know the Capitol loves Peeta and Katniss far too much, and you, not enough.

This, stacked on top of everything else the Capitol has put you through… it’s too much.

You’re pulled from your thoughts when there’s a knock at your door.

“Hello?” You say as you open it; Peeta Mellark is standing there with his lip turned down just slightly, his eyes center behind you for a moment before his face softens and lightens.

“Hey. You got the painting.” A smile melts onto his face, and you swear he looks… beyond words when he smiles.

After a long moment of silence, you clear your throat. “What brings you here…?” You stammer awkwardly, cringing at your choice of words.

He sort of— laughs? Chuckles? at you. “We’re talking strategy for the Quarter Quell and we figured we should include you.” His face falls again, and he looks like he’s holding something back.

Your back straightens. “The Quarter Quell isn’t for another few months—”

He nods slowly. “But we’re going to have to do the pre-tour… and they’re pulling names in just a couple weeks.”

The band around his ring finger gleams brightly in the sun, which sends some sort of jealous feeling rolling through you.

You shake your head because you don’t know Peeta Mellark, and, even if he is gorgeous, you don’t get crushes on people you don’t know.

Plus he’s in love and engaged to Katniss Everdeen, even if you did know him well enough to develop a crush.

He glances down, and then quickly yanks the ring off. “It’s, uh— just for the camera’s.” Then he gestures to the painting behind you. “That’s you, you know. I know you’ve never worn a dress like that, but I saw a screencap of you in The Games and inspiration just kind of… hit me.” he trails off at the end and fiddles with the ring in his hand.

“It’s… me?” You say slowly. “We barely know each other, why would you paint me?”

He takes a small breath. “You’re really beautiful, Y/n, I’ve always thought so.”

A breath hitches but you genuinely can’t discern if it’s him or you over the roaring of blood in your ears.

“So…” he starts again. “If you want to join us, we’re heading over to Haymitch’s now.”

“Okay.” You say, sounding more winded than you did before; you stare at him for a few more moments before you step out of the front door and shut it.

You walk silently beside him, trying not to take in his messy blonde hair or pretty blue eyes—and also, failing miserably—

Just as you reach Haymitch’s doorstep, you stop and tug on Peeta’s sleeve to get his attention. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Peeta.”

He looks down at you, the air around you charged with some kind of something that you can’t name, and just as he’s about to reach over to you, the door swings open.

“Why are you guys just standing out here?” Katniss says with her nose scrunched, she eyes you up and then eyes Peeta up in a similar fashion.

At least it wasn’t exclusively you.

Both your heads snap toward her, while Peeta smoothly comes up with a reason. “Y/n was feeling nervous, I was just trying to help calm her nerves.”

Haymitch raises an eyebrow from behind Katniss, and gives Peeta a look.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” He says, as Katniss steps aside and lets the two of you in. There’s a tenderness to his voice that you hadn’t realized you missed so much.

“Hi.” The three of you shuffle into what you think was once a living room but it’s chillingly messy in Haymitch’s house.

“Couldn’t we have done this at someone else’s house?” Peeta says, eying the empty bottles on the floor.

“No.” Katniss shakes her head, shooting Haymitch a glare. “Because everytime we have to talk to him, we have to wake him up with a bucket of water.”

You snort. “I’m sorry— a bucket of water?”

Haymitch cuts in. “Why do you think my hair’s wet? I definitely didn’t take a shower.” There's a water stain that makes his shirt sag, and you wonder how you didn’t notice before. Haymitch clears his throat. “Moving on; if it’s Katniss and Peeta then we can still milk the whole star-crossed lover thing— if it’s me or Y/n… that won’t work.”

“Y/n shouldn’t go.” Peeta interjects; you’re taken aback by it.

You fidget with the hem of your shirt. “I really thought I was the best person to go.” You pause, looking up at the three of them. “It’s not like there’s anyone here that will care if I don’t come home.”

Haymitch gives Peeta a scrutinizing look. “Look, Lover-boy, we know you have a crush but that isn’t enough for Katniss to volunteer herself if Y/n gets picked.”

Peeta looks to you and then back to Haymitch. “Katniss and I are the Capitol’s favourite couple right now, if we went we’d probably be much better off in terms of sponsors and parachutes.”

“And you don’t want her to go.” Haymitch gestures in yours and Katniss’s direction.

Peeta sighs but doesn’t deny it. It makes sense that he wouldn’t want his fiancé to go back to the Games.

“Peeta is right,” Katniss starts, “but, Haymitch, if you get picked… Peeta should stay. Either way.”

Peeta shakes his head. “No. I’m not staying.”

You cut in. “There’s no good reason why I should stay.” You’re basically the only clear answer; if you get picked you’ll go, and, if Katniss is picked, you’ll go. “I won’t.”

Now all three of them are staring at you. “If I get picked, Katniss can’t volunteer and if she gets picked, you can’t stop me from volunteering.”

Katniss huffs. “You can’t stop me from volunteering either.”

Really, you could all argue this for hours.

…..

The four of you had never come to a conclusion, and now it’s the day of the Reaping.

Effie stands uncomfortably at the bowl; she doesn’t seem happy about having to pull your names, despite her chipper facade.

“The female tribute for District Twelve is…” she says, digging around in the two slips of paper in the bowl. She finally pulls one out and reluctantly reads it out. “Y/n L/n.” She almost sighs your name.

Katniss’s fingers twitch nervously, like she wants to say something but you shoot her the strongest glare you can muster.

She doesn’t volunteer, and you’re glad for it.

You walk up to the stage, head held high; you know this is the start of the end of your life, so you might as well act more confident than you truly are.

Effie looks at you sadly once you’re settled behind her, and then turns back to the audience. “And… the male tribute for District Twelve is,” she spends another five minutes routing through the two names. “Haymitch Abernathy.” This time her sigh is one of relief.

But the relief does not last long.

“I volunteer!” Peeta says, stepping forward; Haymitch grabs his arm and says something too quiet to hear, and Peeta says something back. His face is full of determination as everyone watches him walk up the stage and stand next to you.

Everyone in your little group wears a look of defeat. Even you.

Only one of you can go home, and you’re going to do your damn best to make sure it’s Peeta Mellark.

…..

“I’m not ready for this.” You say quietly, as you walk down the corridor to your bedrooms on the train. “It’s hardly been a year, Peeta.”

He nods solemnly, not looking at you as you arrive at your door. His is just across the hall.

Peeta gently takes your hand in his and squeezes. “I know. It’s too soon.” He looks angry. “We were never supposed to have to do this again.” He drops your hand before you can reciprocate in any sort of way.

You do feel a little less nauseous though.

“It‘s okay.” You whisper, twitching your fingers and slapping it onto the doorknob. “It’ll be okay.”

Peeta’s eyes rove over you in a scrutinizing manner as though he’s trying to figure some meaning behind your words, but there isn’t one to figure.

Just that it will be okay. Peeta will, if you really just be specific. Peeta will return home, happy and safe.

Ready to live his life with the woman he loves… Katniss.

And you will fade into false glory and distant memory.

…..

“Finnick, Right?” You fidget with your fingers in front of you; Finnick Odair was an attractive man who oozed with confidence and smooth words.

“Want a sugar cube?” He asks slyly, holding one out to you. “They're supposed to be for the horses but— we’re going to die anyway, it won’t matter after that.”

You nod carefully. “Of course, because that would obviously matter if we weren’t already set for death.” You still take the sugar cube from his hand and pop it in your mouth.

You almost gag from it. Pure sugar was… a lot. “Ugh. That’s disgusting.”

Finnick chuckles. “But liberating.”

You shake your head but a smile still spreads across your face. “Liberating indeed, Finnick Odair. My last act of rebellion is eating a sugar cube.”

“Devastating, really. To the Capitol, I mean.” He smiles easily at you, before someone catches his attention and he saunters off.

Claudius Templesmith stood not far from you, crooning about something with one of the older tributes.

The older man— Betee, you think— stood, looking indifferent but also invested in Claudius’s ramblings and unnecessary questions.

You were dreading the questions he’d ask you during your second round of interviews.

The last time was time enough for you.

“What’d he want?” Peeta asks, walking up behind you and pulling your attention away from the other party-goers.

“Oh, you know,” you say flippantly, “sugarcubes, secrets, and sarcasm.”

Peeta’s eyebrows furrow in confusion but the smile remains on his face. “Sounds like an interesting conversation.” He extends his arm to you. “Shall we?”

You sigh. “Not like we have much choice.”

….

“I’d give anything to know what’s going on inside your head.” Peeta says softly, fidgeting with the rope in his hands. You’d both decided that learning how to tie some knots would be beneficial.

You chuff, an awkward laugh. “What do you mean?”

His fingers work steadily, and somewhat clumsily, with the rope; there’s something alluring about how sure he can be with his hands.

It makes you think of the painting in your house— the one that you’ll never see again— how patient he must’ve been to complete such a beautiful piece, how still and sure of himself.

“What are you thinking right now, Y/n?” He looks up at you, with those beautiful blue eyes of his.

You shrug. “I was thinking about…” you trail off, because you absolutely cannot say that you were thinking about his hands. A half-truth will have to do. “Your painting. How I’ll never see it again.”

Hip lips pull into a frown. “You’ll see it again, I’m going to make sure of it.”

Sighing deeply, you stand. “You’re the one who has to go home, Peeta, not me.” He opens his mouth to speak but you cut him off. “It has to be you.”

….

You don’t have the time to argue about it for the next couple of days, you hardly even see each other.

Now, Cinna is preparing you for the arena. You know that everything he gave was meant for Katniss, he had obviously expected it to be her, or that he wouldn’t style you.

He hadn’t been your stylist, but yours had opted out of this year’s games, claiming it was too painful to watch you go back in.

You hadn’t liked her much the first time around, wanted to change you too much in ways that you most definitely did not like.

Cinna, though, you liked him. Though this would be the last time you saw him.

You were dressed in whatever mandatory suit that they designed for this game, a skin tight suit that looked like you were about to go scuba diving.

“It’s time.” Cinna says, glancing back to the tube at the back of the room. You turn back to it.

“Thank you, Cinna.” You say, bowing your head for him. “It was nice getting to know you.”

He smiles half-heartedly. “It was a pleasure, Y/n.”

You exchange a final goodbye and step into the tube. The sixth second countdown begins as the tube starts to ascend.

It's all water, just water and water and water in a large circle around them. There was also thin sand bars that connected the tubes and the Cornucopia, but you knew you wouldn’t be braving that.

Peeta stands three tubes down, with a morphling, a Career and Johanna between you two.

Twenty seconds.

You stare at him desperately, hoping he’ll stick to the plan and swim towards you; you catch his eyes and he smiles reassuringly. It’s not a genuine smile but it still calms you all the same.

Ten seconds.

You ball your fists, clenching hard.

Nine.

Eight.

God, it’s going to be difficult to get out of the water.

Seven.

Six.

You’re not the strongest swimmer, maybe you should go to the Cornucopia.

Five.

Four.

And it’s a long way to swim, even for someone who does know how. Only experienced swimmers, like Finnick, would have an easy time of it.

Three.

Two.

Then, it occurs to you, maybe those sandbars go all the way to the shore; if you get to the Cornucopia, Grab, well, anything, and then flee via the sandbars, you just might be okay.

One.

The pads everyone stands on recede into the water and dumps everyone straight in.

It makes you realize that most of your competitors do not know how to swim.

Peeta is just barely floating thanks to the bright purple belt that had been strapped around all your waists.

You know how to swim at least a little bit , so you unbuckle yours and swim over to him; once it inflates fully, you give it to him and try to drag him towards the sandbars.

It dawns on you all over again that Peeta is a tall guy, and he’s not exactly small either.

He’s strong and his weight definitely shows that; he tries to keep himself afloat but ends up making it worse.

Eventually, you make it over there, and he pulls himself up onto the loose sand; it takes a bit of effort because it’s slippery and keeps moving under your weight.

It’s barely stable enough to be a viable option. Just barely.

You leave him there for a minute and swim to the cornucopia. There's fighting going on on its small platform, but you just snag a small waterproof bag that sits a few yards away; a knife comes flying in your direction, and knicks your face.

The salt of the water stings as it mingles with blood.

When you spin back towards Peeta, he’s struggling and Finnick is approaching him.

You race back as fast as you can.

Finnick already has some pretty gnarly weapons strapped to him.

You’re about to draw the knife on him when shakes his head. “Relax, Y/n, I’m saving his ass.” Then he lifts a hand out of the water and flashes some sort of bracelet at you.

It’s the alliance bracelets that Haymitch had mentioned.

Oh.

“I-”you start, but you never really had a sentence to begin with.

You just lag silently behind as Finnick helps Peeta to the shore. The closer you get to the shore, the wider the sandbars get, and the sturdier they are as well.

Until they're eventually higher than the water, and wide enough for both Peeta and yourself to walk side by side.

You collapse onto the sand when you finally reach the shore and stay there for only a second.

That’s all you have before the three of you are up and running into the forest in front of you.

….

When Peeta’s heart stops, you're sure that yours does too— you’re sure that, as you stand there in a state while Finnick tries to resuscitate Peeta, you’re also unresponsive and silent. Dead.

True enough, in a way.

The longer you stare at Peeta’s face, still twisted in pain from the shock, the more you feel like dropping to the ground and sobbing.

You tried to imagine the way he painted with camouflage training stuff, drawing intricate designs onto both his and one of the morhpling’s arms.

It had washed off by the next morning but you had spent the whole night longing to touch it, run your fingers along his arm, trace the shapes and swirls.

Beyond the paintings, you recalled his magnetic smile and the way he always made you feel safe and calm, the steady air that he radiated.

You weren’t ready for him to die, he was the one who was supposed to win this, after all. You had resolved that Peeta Mellark was going to be the winner of the 75th Hunger Games and you were going to do whatever you needed to to make that happen. You were even prepared to turn into somebody you weren’t, just to make sure Peeta went home. Or at least, you thought you could if you had to come to it.

But now, you’re ready to give up. Finnick or Johanna could win— and they should. Literally anyone else but you. Everyone who had a life now that Peeta is gone.

You’re just about to collapse to the ground when Peeta starts to cough erratically, and he manages to sit straight up.

“Peeta!” You cry as you fall to the ground next to him, and wrap your arms around his neck. He seems disoriented for a moment before he hugs you back, right. “I really thought you were gone.”

He gently strokes your back, as you fuss over him, double checking that he’s okay and checking his burn.

…..

You hear a loud sickening crack from somewhere else in the arena that makes everyone but Johanna and Finnick jump. You feel Peeta’s hand wrap around you protectively and pull you closer to him in the single instant that you’re all reacting to the noise.

It takes a few delayed seconds before each one of you realizes that it’s just the lightning in 12, before you realize just how having Peeta’s hands on you makes you feel.

His fingers slip from your waist, brushing softly as they fall away and leaving you feeling just slightly feral.

You pull yourself away, and dig your nails into your thigh to ground yourself. Getting used to this clock thing was going to be agonizing.

You’re waiting patiently as the lot of you— You, Peeta, Finnick, Johanna and Beetee— come up with a plan to take down the force field and take out the Careers at the same time.

You can barely focus on the conversation because you itch to have Peeta’s hands on you again, to feel his fingers against your skin again.

In fact there’s so many things you’d like to say and do with Peeta that you know you will never have the chance to; not to mention that he is in love with someone else and would never be interested in any of those things with you anyways.

You’re pretty sure you’d been staring at Peeta but you only notice because Finnick shoots a look at you— you can’t tell exactly what he’s thinking but it must be something about that.

You try to zone back into the plan.

….

Trying to trap the careers failed miserably, and the person most experienced with a bow was you, but only thanks to Katniss’s training.

Everything was a blur as the force field came down; chaos, fire everywhere— you couldn’t see or hear Peeta.

You worried about him and you laid pathetically on the ground, half out of your mind. You wondered if he was having trouble with his prosthetic leg, or having run from Enobaria or one of the other careers. You wondered if he’d make it out okay, even though it was obvious you wouldn’t.

You wondered and worried for what felt like forever until an airship appeared above you.

Great. You thought, the Capitol has come to torture you and everyone you’ve ever loved until the couldnt anymore and all of you was nothing more than a shell of a person. Until the only option was avox or death.

You can’t move, or fight it as the giant claw, scoops you up.

All that effort and you still managed to condem each and everyone of you to torture.

…..

“Relax, Y/n!” Haymitch snaps, as Finnick restrains you.

Katniss sits on the other side of the table, looking just as devastated as you.

“What do you mean, you didn’t get Peeta? You can’t just leave him there, they’ll hurt him worse than any of us could ever imagine!” You say, still struggling to get away from Finnick.

Katniss actually argues in your favour. “I did say I would only do this thing if you got both her and Peeta.”

Plutarch, the game maker shakes his head redundantly. “Peeta and Johanna were just to far away for us to locate before the Capitols airships came; I’m sorry, we’ll get them back eventually.”

Finnick finally lets you go once you’ve calmed down. He has a solemn look on his face. “I’m sure they’ve got Annie too. We need to save them as soon as possible.”

….

As soon as possible turns into several weeks, several heartbreakingly, agonizingly long weeks.

You can’t help but think about Peeta every moment of every day . You imagine all the terrible things Snow is doing to him, you wish it was you in his place.

Peeta was the one person who never deserved any of this, over anyone else. You and Katniss had been willing to do whatever you needed to to survive, you’d done things maybe you weren’t particularly proud of. But Peeta? He had never let the Games change him.

He had always been the same.

Safe, steady, comfortable, strong.

You don’t even have any hope that they’re showing him any mercy.

They aren’t.

You know now, you know by the way that last interview they aired went— how he was struck just as the cameras shut off, how your heart broke when you looked into his eyes, when you saw just how much they’d hurt him already.

You were just about ready to burst into Coin’s office and tell her that you were getting Peeta now, regardless of the consequences to Thirteen.

Gale and Katniss were fighting a lot lately, tension was heavy between them; and not in a good way. You didn’t know Gale well, but the comments he made about Peeta made your skin crawl and your hands itch to throw a few punches.

Actually they were arguing now, about Peeta, and you were listening.

Gale’s head snaps to you randomly and he barks at you; “and you! Why the hell are you so invested in Bread Boy?”

You startle for a moment, but then narrow your eyes. “What do you mean why am I invested? He’s my— friend.” You say, sounding unsure even to yourself.

Katniss huffs. “I mean, come on, Gale, you know that our relationship has been fake from the start and we—” she gestures between the two of them. “—we’re friends, Gale, we always have been.”

He scoffs, and says something else in a bitter tone but all you can hear is Katniss’s words replaying over and over in your brain.

Our relationship has been fake from the start.

“Shut up for a second!” You snap at Gale, and turn back to Katniss. “Your relationship was fake the whole time? Yours and Peeta’?” You almost feel like an asshole for asking, just in case it is real; but so many things Peeta has done and said make so much more sense recontextualized like this.

Like when he said their rings were ‘just for ten cameras.’ Or when he told you he always thought you were beautiful. Or even the way he tried so hard to convince not to go back into the games.

Both of their faces fall flat, Katniss’s in disbelief. “You didn’t know?” She says.

You shake your head slowly. “No, I-” you stop yourself because you're at a loss for words.

“Y/n, we didn’t try to hide it from you, how did you not know? Even Haymitch said right in front of you that Peeta had a crush on you!”

You deadpan once again. You had blatantly misread everybody’s words in that conversation. “I just assumed that was about you!” You stare at each other for a second longer before you stand up abruptly. “I have to go.”

There was a lot of thinking you had to do and then a lot of planning— and a bit of yelling too.

…..

You were deemed too invested in the mission to actually go on it, and Finnick was too distressed over Annie to be allowed.

So you had been sitting together in silence; the silence was comfortable but the insane amounts of stress running through your veins was enough to make the tension in the air as sharp as a knife. Not between each other but to any other person.

Especially since Gale was allowed to go on the mission, and you felt that was entirely unfair— Gale doesn’t even like Peeta.

It had turned into a whole day of waiting, and only twenty minutes ago, they had returned with Johanna, Peeta and Annie.

The anxiety had grown tenfold when you were both informed you weren’t allowed to see them yet.

Now, you’re standing outside the door where Annie was resting, watching her through the one way window.

Finnick’s eyes are filled with so many you can only pick out one or two; you wonder if your eyes will look similar when you enter Peeta’s room.

You wish him luck and watch as he enters the room; Annie looks like she screams his name and then jumps him. He holds her up, looking like it’s the happiest moment of his life.

Watching them makes you much more excited to see Peeta, although you're not sure it will be quite that exuberant of a reunion.

You walk a couple doors down, glancing in the windows as you do; but you stop when you see Katniss and Johanna in one of the rooms before Peeta’s.

Why in the world is Katniss in the Hospital? What happened?

You push open the door gently, and Katniss doesn’t stir— you take note of the morphling drip in her arm, that must be keeping her knocked out.

You see Johanna is also asleep, her head is shaved and she has the worst tortured expression on, even though she looks to be sleeping soundfully— physically, anyways.

If she’s looking that bad, you can’t help but wonder about Peeta. You’re always wondering about him.

You don’t want to disturb either of their healing so you quickly leave the room, shutting the door as quietly and calmly as you can.

Finally, as you walk out, you spot the guards in front of Peeta’s door; you think it’s a little strange, considering neither Johanna nor Annie had security at the door but you walk towards the door anyways.

The guards hold out a hand as you approach.

“Restricted access, you can’t go in there.” The guard says, almost heartlessly.

Just as he finishes speaking, the door opens and Haymitch steps out and away. You would look through the window but the blinds are down.

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart, you can’t see him.” Haymitch takes your arm and leads you back down the hallway. “The Capitol… they tortured him so bad he—” Haymitch stops, and looks away for a second before looking back. “He tried to strangle Katniss, and kept yelling about how Katniss was a liar. He’s not himself right now.”

So much for your heartfelt reunion.

All content belongs to @beingsuneone , do not repost, copy or post on other platforms without my permission.

[kikyan]

Yandere Diasomnia Headcanons

TW/CW: Dark content up ahead!! Yandere headcanons means yandere content y’all! Mentions of abuse and violent acts either towards the reader or the character!! Mental instability, gaslighting, manipulation, stalking, possessiveness, obsession, emotional whiplash, etc. (Don’t think I’m missing anything but if I am, please do let me know!)  This is your TW please proceed with caution!!

ALSO FYI!! A minor spoiler warning, it’s during the last paragraph of Lilias Headcanons! It’s slightly mentioned in book 6 but emphasized in book 7!

DISCLAIMER: These are my interpretations of his/her/their persona and none of these is 100% accurate. I don't condone any of these actions in real life and all of this is purely fictional and should be taken as such! Underage characters will ONLY  be given SFW headcanons, please respect this decision!

As always, banner made by the lovely bestie @herestrish​ thank you for making all of these, you’re literally the best I love you so much! 

Malleus Draconia  

THIS IS MY DORM. THIS IS MY SHIT RIGHT HERE Y’ALL! I was and STILL am rooting for them!! Clearly, I have a bias and saved the BEST for last. Anyways, moving on! Malleus as a yandere is so popular because of how he’s literally pursuing the MC when TWST is not an otome game. Breaking the boundaries of the game fr. Not to mention, he’s so mysterious in the first chapters until you discover more and find out he’s quite sad :(( sorry babes </3. The main traits I see in him are possessive, clingy, obsessive, and overprotective. I will however start off with the main trait and the biggest thing that distinguishes him (book 7 spoilers really enhanced this headcanon), he wants a fairytale-like romance/story. 

Malleus is known as one of the (top 5 I wanna say?) wizards in the world of TWST. I’m sure his magic capabilities surpass his teachers so while he has no need to attend the school, I’m sure the main goal was to get him to socialize which he does with the MC. He wants to make friends, he wants to have a relationship with his fellow peers that isn’t the “strongest mage in NRC” or “future king of briar valley”. I honestly think he wants others to see him as Malleus Draconia (mostly Malleus because his last name has power), which will make sense with the rest of these headcanons. When it comes to Malleus, his relationship with his S/O is different than any relationship out there. Think about it, we got to call him Hornton/Tsunotarou because it was a name we picked for him because he did not want to reveal his name. I feel like he had the chance to speak with us because we’re not from this world. We don’t know the rules, the powerful families, and shit, we didn’t even know who Malleus was. Someone could say his name but it wouldn’t affect us because it holds no meaning. So when Malleus found out we didn’t know him, this was his way of testing the waters which I think is really cute. He wanted us to see him as himself, not as the all-powerful malleus and future king. 

He’s possessive with his S/O because you’re his friend(hopefully something more soon) and someone who saw him for himself. I think he cherished the nickname we gave him because it’s something from us to him. He’s possessive of us because we’re the only ones he has this important connection with. Sure he has one with Lilia and the others but with us it’s different. Leading me to a tiny headcanon I have that apparently isn’t that uncommon. Nice to know we think alike y’all! I feel like Lilia treated Malleus and Silver differently. I always saw it as Lilia feeling it was his duty to take care of Malleus as opposed to choosing to raise Silver. Malleus was probably raised as the future heir of briar valley, he probably had to attend many boring classes that prepared him for this role while Silver got the fun parent. I feel like Lilia raised Malleus with the intention of him growing to be a leader whereas he raised Silver with the intention of making Silver’s childhood the best it could be. Letting Silver be a child and then slowly bringing in the responsibilities, same with Sebek. So sorry for this analogy but I feel Lilia was the “daddy who was always working and never had time for me” with Malleus while it was different with Silver. Granted he didn’t treat Malleus with malicious intent, it was just that at a glance it was clear to see who got more of the ‘fun parent’. THIS IS ALL A HEADCANON BTW NOT CANON! These are just angsty times with Kikyan! So that being said, this is a very close and personal relationship that Malleus has with just you, so forgive him if he’s a little jealous. Malleus is well aware that it’s not right, but he can’t help but feel like this. He does what he can to prioritize your time, always being there in the evening for a nightly stroll. Sometimes, when he’s brave enough, he’ll try to plan something other than a nightly stroll. Maybe coming into your dorm and talking for a bit, maybe even inviting you to his? Maybe a small picnic at night because why not? Maybe a cup of tea? 

While that’s partly a reason why nobody approaches him (and a part that he dislikes), I can see him using his title as a way to intimidate others. When we called him by his nickname in book 5, everyone was stunned. I think Vil even accused him of taking advantage of our ignorance, but when we still called him by that name even when knowing who he really was, he “allowed” it. I already know he was kicking his feet, twirling his hair, and giggling when he left the stage. If you’re with him and standing by his side, nobody would dare approach you nor look at you differently. You have the protection of Malleus Draconia after all, who would even DARE approach? Even if he’s not physically there, his influence makes up for it. Everyone knows you hang out with him and honestly, nobody wants to take that risk. I don’t think you’d lose friends because he still wants you to have friends (maybe even open up his circle too?). However, if it’s just you two I think he could live. This goes in hand with his unique trait, the storybook romance. Think about it, it’s so romantic that even in his cursed world you will always have your lover by your side. Imagine it, just you and him in a castle all alone, just feeding off each other’s company. Who needs the others when it’s just you two? 

Obsessive and over-protective. I think they go hand in hand. Malleus would be a gentle lover, the one who wipes your tears away as he softly asks, “why do you weep my child of man” (crying, throwing up, and contemplating he sounds so pretty wtf and this is my writingDFJS). He thinks that you’re made of glass, a porcelain doll (don’t mind me I think I created possible fic ideas I’m carefully jotting all of these down) to be exact. If he looks away for even a second, you’d wither in the air. He’s so obsessed with you and so intrigued with what you do. You’re so lovely, you’re so unique and so precious. You came here from a foreign land and have no knowledge of him and his abilities. No knowledge of this world and its rules, yet suddenly you managed to rescue 6 over-blotted students and befriended so many people. Just how on earth did you do that? You don’t look at him with fear and I’m sure prior to knowing his real name if someone said “Malleus Draconia” you’d probably look confused. You probably wouldn’t have cared (I know I wouldn’t). You’re you, he’s probably head over heels for you. Absolutely smitten! He’s probably somewhere right now plucking flowers, “They love me, They don’t love me” and imagining what your reaction is. He’s probably the one keeping an eye on you, when he’s not busy he’s either taking your time or just nearby watching your peaceful life. Nobody will harm you, not while he’s alive and babes, he’s living for a LONG time. 

I added that he was clingy because I feel like he would be. He seeks out your attention and love, honestly, it’s so cute. The storybook romance, it’s unique. It’s something you two have and it’s something that keeps him going. He’s a gentle lover and if you give him attention, he turns to putty in your hands. He would change the time just to have your nightly strolls come faster. He really only has eyes for you, in Book 5 when Vil over blotted, he asked US what happened. He didn’t care for the others, he looked at us and asked us to explain the situation. His eyes are on us and only us. If he’s sad or annoyed, ask him what's wrong and if you place a hand on his or on his cheek to make him look up, it’s over bro. You’ve ignited a fire that cannot be contained. He’s the perfect partner, he listens to you, he does what he can to protect you, he puts YOU above him, and you’ll always have a place with him. HOWEVER, drumroll, please! Do NOT think for a second that he’s willing to let you treat him and this relationship with disrespect. He does not WANT to act out because he does want that fairytale romance, that attraction where you both are content with the other but if he’s pushed he will. I don’t want to say he’d hurt you because he doesn’t want to, but if you fight against this relationship he too will fight. Put your boxing gloves on because it’s about to get real. He’ll understand if you don’t quite accept it at first, but once he shows you the PowerPoint on why you two belong together and why he’s the better option and you’re still not getting it, he may be a bit upset. 

Wrapping off these headcanons, he’s a 9/10 on my danger scale and he’s a chain-turned saw on the rope-chain-saw scale. He’ll start off tame, he won’t take too many restrictions and he won’t say it like that. He’ll just say “that area is restricted because of construction or because they have so many dangerous magical items out in the open and it’s a huge risk! This is your room, he read that even when people are together they may need space away from each other (as much as he dislikes that) so you have that. Honestly, he’s super lenient right now that it seems like he doesn’t pose a threat but, keep in mind that he doesn’t like repeating himself. If he says that area is off limits and you’re wandering he’ll worry for your safety but then proceed to tell you off. “I did warn you that it was dangerous, I don’t like repeating myself. Perhaps I need to clip your wings to prevent you from wandering off, as much as I love that curious nature of yours. A joke, I assure you.” Babes. . .I don’t think it’s a joke anymore. Which is why I say chain-turned-saw. While he isn’t too strict on you and genuinely wants that romance between you two, he can turn strict to the point where you may find yourself with a broken limb or a cut-off one but it’s okay because he loves carrying you around! He’s the most powerful wizard (one of them at least) in the world and while he doesn’t want to hurt you, he’s not above using that strength to get you to behave. He’s a 9/10 because as much as he loves you and wants those fanfic moments doesn’t mean he’s powerless and that you can get the jump on him. He gives you ONE warning and that’s it before he takes matters into his own hand. He’s been so patient with you, this is the thanks you give him? Fae live for a long time and if putting you to sleep is the only way he can do it, he will. After all, he’ll invade your sweet dreams and turn them into a nightmare if you choose. Another last measure would be branding, he once set Briar Valley ablaze but your skin is such a pretty canvas. 

Lilia Vanrouge 

Lilia, my beloved. The love of my life. I love him so much he’s so quirky and his aesthetic? To be honest, I hated neon green, like the highlighter colors. He changed that, the black and magenta is such a great combo. The green on their uniforms and their overall aesthetic. I love Diasomnia, I feel like I’m betraying Heartslabyul because I love Alice in Wonderland, but their styles never called out to me. Regardless, I am biased because I love him so much and I hope I can do justice to his character. The main characteristics that I see him having are manipulative, possessive, and overprotective. 

I was tempted to say that he was obsessive, but he and Rook share some qualities where they make it a game to find out about their S/O. He wouldn’t stalk you like prey but instead, he’d create a situation where you reveal that information about yourself to him. I do have plans for a Lilia fic (again bias) but without revealing too much information I’ll get into my personal headcanons of him. I truly think of Lilia fitting the troupe where he was emotionless at first, especially during the war but eventually toward the end came to appreciate life. Something happened to him during the war, that’s my biggest headcanon. It’s not something huge and over the top, but I think this is what caused him to have a change of perspective on life which will significantly change how he sees his S/O. 

He has a very quirky personality and he’s definitely unique. I love that about him! In order for this to connect, we need to talk a bit more about his personality. It’s very unique and he enjoys putting smiles on others’ faces. He gets along with the others for the most part and even teases them, especially when he hangs upside down (he's so cute omg I love him). I remember in his normal card Vignette, the one with Trey they were choosing a topic for their paper and Lilia was talking about magical pens and how they went through changes. As Lilia was explaining, Trey assumed it was a joke, and when he casually mentioned “I have the hardest time figuring out what's true and what isn't”, Lilia smiled and went “who knows”. He knows more than he’s letting on but then again, nobody believes him so that’s partially their fault too.  When Epel was getting bullied and Lilia saved him, his whole mannerism was that of someone who was trying to fit in with the ‘young folk’. He gave Epel advice on how to take care of himself and mentioned that in a fight, it’s about winning unlike in a sport where you have to adhere to the rules. He’s strange, but he truly means well. This leads me to connect Lilia and his overprotectiveness on his S/O. 

Lilia cares for his S/O. Though he doesn’t seem like much, he packs quite the punch that may soon come to understand if they try to take something that’s his. Possessiveness comes into play as well! If someone ever tried to hurt his S/O, they better start preparing their funeral arrangements because it won’t end well. Underestimating Lilia is what leads to their downfall and honestly, these headcanons would sound smoother if I just led with his unique trait. I want to say he mirrors Rook where he will never trust his S/O, but it’s the opposite. It’s US who CAN’T trust him. Well, we can, but we can’t take anything he says without a grain of salt. You may think Lilia is petite and a cute harmless guy, but then suddenly he’s handing out ass-whoopings left and right. You may think Lilia is joking, but his devilish grin might be one of malice as opposed to humor. Again, he cares a lot for you but he’s not above scolding you and treating you like a child, which should get on your nerves. Nobody but him is allowed to tease you but him! 

Your safety is his priority, without a doubt. You mean the world to him so again, nobody will mess with you. His possessiveness is something that’s brought by his teasing nature. He may refer to you as ‘his’ and may do it in a teasing nature. He’ll do anything to get a reaction out of you, maybe even call you by some cringe-ass name. “So how’s my little snuggly wuggly piggly wiggly baby pie”. “Lilia, don’t ever call me that please”. Overly cutesy names to tease the fuck out of you. Though it’s embarrassing, he means well. He also prioritizes your time by filling up your schedule, suddenly you’re at the dorm playing online games with him and Idia (though they don’t know that which lowkey stresses me tf out). You’re trying out another dish he makes because Silver and Sebek are beyond horrified to try something else. He’s inviting you to the music club to listen to them play and to give them advice. He might even ask you to help him dye his hair. His relationship with you is so wholesome that it’s almost hard to believe he was once a war general and can scare the shit out of many. 

I want to touch on his manipulative side, it’s because of the lack of trust. You think it’s silly old Lilia (emphasis on old) playing games on you. Maybe one day when you promised to hang out with him you had to stay behind for an assignment. Apologizing and here he is, “Oh well, it can’t be helped! Don’t want you to fail now do we?” Thanking him for understanding, you turn to leave only to miss out on his eyes lowering, half-lidded before smiling. That devilish grin that you can’t forget and you can’t read. You can’t read him and that comes to be your downfall. He has the element of surprise, to the point where you’d start being on edge with him (like the leech twins). He may pop out and scare you or he maybe pushes you only to cause you to tumble. He certainly underestimated his strength, are you okay? Spoiler alert, it wasn’t an accident. If you start to ignore him, he’ll get aggressive. Scaring you, causing you to fall, your books to fall to the floor, spilling drinks, etc. He’s so silly and clumsy, must be the age huh? It only gets worse when you confront him, “Hey Lilia, did I do something to make you upset?” 

Eyes wide, “Why ever would you say that?” He’s surprised, what brought this on? Of course, he knows, he’s not stupid. He listens to you explain, eyes full of worry, reassuring you that it was only a joke and he never wished for you to feel like that! You believe him because when he looks at you like that he must be telling the truth! This is how it is at first until you start to realize that maybe he’s hiding something else. It gets even worse when his yandere traits start to come through. You could be crying and questioning why, why you? Why does he love you and why does he do what he does? That gentle look, those beautiful eyes are softened and he answers in pure confusion, do what? He acts surprised, are you sure you have the right guy? That doesn’t seem like Lilia does it? Oh well, the cat is out of the bag and while he had fun playing around with you, guess it’s time he gets serious (book 2 serious). His devilish grin is back and instead of it being of a playful nature, he’s hiding some ill intent toward you. His smile that usually would bring one to your face strikes fear, is this all a game to him? When he warns you of the consequences of defying him or escaping, he still has the grin on his face and that friendly tone, but the words he says are a bit frightening. Is he joking with you? Is it worth the risk? Like Rook, you never know if he’s telling the truth so should you risk it? Is it beneficial to stay put as he says and not fight him? Just like Rook, it’s about the thrill of your actions. He sits back and enjoys your reactions and how you handle the little tests he gives you. 

His character is hard, I hope you know I struggled for a GOOD while when writing this despite how much I love him. As far as the scaling goes, he’s a 10/10 (dare I say 11?). He has the magic to back it up (well had is more like it) and he’s open to change. Darwin once said that a species' chances of survival are not determined based on strength but rather their ability to adapt. This is Lilia, he’s strong but given the situation, he can adapt to the circumstances. His sweet words are laced with poison and spread doubt inside your mind. He could say the next time you decide to flee it’s off with your legs, but he does his adorable huff, “I don’t think I need to worry about that though, you’re so well-behaved right now.” He seems to be serious, but the last time he threatened that he didn’t do it, so was it a fear tactic? Do you want to risk it? If you do and get caught, I see him approaching you with a hum, a smile on his face as he stares at your pitiful form, apologizing and struggling to speak. He shushes you as if you are a child. Softly petting your hair, giving you false hope that you can talk your way out of this. His hands softly trail to your ankle, you’re panicking but he continues his antics. You know well then to underestimate him, no? I can see Lilia being all three, rope because at some point he does enjoy the taste and thrill. The hunter being hunted is a delicious trope. He could be chain, he’d scold you like a child and take away your favorite toy until you think about what you’ve done. He could be saw, he could be tired of your futile running and while he’s been so nice and caring you’ve really pushed his buttons and if he needs to take away your freedom he’ll do it. Do you want to see someone other than him? Too bad, you have no one to blame but yourself. 

Sebek Zigbolt 

I’ll be honest, I didn’t like Sebek at first and I lowkey still am not a huge fan, but I still love him. Let’s start at the very beginning, Sebek struggles with some identity issues. He’s very prideful of his fae side, despite being half-human. When I read how much he idolizes his mother but not his father, shit lowkey brought me to tears. I don’t know if his other siblings feel the same way, but his father tries his hardest and he’s a good father, loving, caring, doting, and always makes time for them. I truly believe that Sebek grew up around people shaming his parents, specifically his father and he fell into that hole as well. As a yandere, his traits would be that of overprotective, possessive, and manipulative. 

Continuing, Sebek hates humans despite being half one himself. He’s very prideful when it comes to that fae part of him. I know he talks down to them and makes it seem like he’s superior to them because he’s a fae, but deep down he probably knows better than anyone that he’s not all that. I want to curse the people who made him feel like that, they’re nothing but a bunch of gossiping hoes. If his S/O were a human, he would probably have a hard time accepting that. He’d probably hate himself for liking them. As an overprotective yandere, he’d care for his S/O. If you’re a human, everybody knows how fragile you guys are so expect him to do everything but not without belittling you. “You humans are so forgetful, fine I’ll help you find what you need! Just know I’m wasting precious time I could be used to get stronger to protect Malleus, wait don’t go!” He would probably tell you everything he could be doing instead of being here with you, but he dreads the idea of you leaving him. I think Sebek would see his S/O as a stress relief, but not in that way. He’d be like Malleus who thinks you’re the only one who can understand him to some extent but don’t expect any special treatment. He’s very contradicting, “A human like you wouldn’t understand what I mean! W-wait, but what were you saying?” 

You’re so fragile, try not to double down and break! You’re only holding him back from his true potential, but don’t think about leaving! He needs to show you how amazing he is! The type who would see you get picked on and save you from them only to say, “who wouldn’t pick on you? I mean look at you! W-wait! Typical humans, won’t thank someone who saved them!” Honestly, if you see him coming your way just turn your ass around. Save yourself the emotional whiplash. This is where his ‘manipulation’ side comes out, he’ll try to get you to depend on him to boost his ego, only to realize you want nothing to do with him. Sure, you’re thankful that he’s there to help but if he’s just going to berate you for being yourself then what's the point? He’ll show signs of weakness that get you to think that he needs you but then proceeds to act the same. It’s not worth it in the long run but if Sebek is struggling, then we should help. Going back to him seeing you as someone who can understand him, this goes hand in hand. At times yes, you understand what Sebek is going through. The need to be the best and somehow stand out, the feeling that he needs to make up for what lacks, that being his other fae side. 

Trying to get him to understand that it’s all an external factor that is making him feel that way isn’t helping. He’d shout and say that you nothing, so no point in helping someone who doesn’t want to help. Regardless, he does try to help you or at the very least love you in some twisted way. He cares for you because despite not liking humans, he’ll give credit where credit is due. He thinks you’re very strong but also very stupid. You managed to handle over 5 over-blots which is impressive but the fact that you’re always smack in the middle of them, how reckless! Soon you’ll get the title of “his human”, doesn’t that sound great? Silver would be confused and Lilia would be somewhat content that Sebek is changing for the better! Malleus would probably be content knowing that Sebek isn’t always there and is finally directing his energy somewhere else. While he has the support of his dorm, Sebek would constantly deny his feelings. He does love you, but he hates that he loves you. He tells you he hates you, that you’re going to hold him back, that you’re not worthy but at the same time he can’t stand the idea of you spending time with anyone else. 

While his possessiveness isn’t like the others, he tries to make it like a training regiment. He’d push his S/O to be better, to be the better version of themselves. While he loves you, he wants to be proud of the person he’s next to, again emotional whiplash. He’d explain how he’s doing this because you need it! He’ll take over your time and try to mold you into someone whose traits stand out more than their human side. You’re his responsibility and under his care, so he’ll take care of you to the extent of educating you. I think he would isolate you from your friends, after all, they’re a bunch of good-for-nothings who aren’t fit to protect Malleus. So this is what it’s really been about, it’s never been about what Sebek likes but rather being someone who Malleus could approve of. Sebek would not understand you, he’d call you silly humans for harboring such feelings and how you’re so complicated, it’s annoying. Your feelings are so strange, you should be glad that Malleus approves of you. All his hard work is finally paying off! 

As far as danger level, he’s a 5/10. He’s not a danger to you at the start, he’s really just annoying. Sebek has some things that he needs to work on but they’re not something he can do on his own. This is why he needs you and as much as you hate the idea or could care less, there is someone about him that guides you to him (or Lilia and Malleus causally threatening you). He could care less about you (or so he says) but as much as he says that, he cares for you deeply to some extent. You’re his support and he doesn’t want you to leave him, to add insult to injury he’s probably delusional and created this friendship/rift with you. On the rope-chain-saw scale, he’d be a chain leaning to saw. It’s not his restrictions but his training regiment on making you a better person that keeps you trapped. He’s basically in control of your life, dictating what’s the best course of action to mold you into someone others can be proud of. Let’s be honest, it was never what he wanted because if it was, you’d be perfect the way you are. It’s about the social pressure of others and maybe something he created that makes him strive harder to shape you into a pretty gem that he can show off to others. Towards the end, he becomes more aggressive because what is the point of this futile fighting? You’ve come so far, now you’re just throwing it all away? At first, he was strict but a bit lenient, you’re a human so, of course, your capabilities are limited. After a while, he’s frustrated. Like when you’re teaching someone and after 30 minutes of them not getting it, you’re frustrated and ready to give up. He’d insult you, yell at you, and he may hurt you. It’s for your own good he reminds you, it’s your fault he’s doing this. He’d get stricter if you’re not getting it through your skull and start taking away your freedom little by little. I don’t want to say it’s like a doll that he gets to dress us because he’s a bit more aggressive, but it’s like a soldier and his general. He leads, and you follow. You don’t question him because he’s doing this for you. 

Silver (no last name :( ) 

My adoptive son, my boy! So I’m going to go ahead and say it, he’s not meant to be a yandere. Like the theory that he’s supposed to be in RSA and that he’s a hero as opposed to a villain? Yeah, I believe it. For that reason, he’s hard to see as a yandere (ironic because I can see Neige as one and possibly Chenya but not him) and if he does ever show traits like that, it’s because he has Lilia and Malleus to push him to that. One thing I didn’t mention at the start, is that Diamonia see each other like family, that being said this is one dorm (like Pomefiore) that stick together and actually encourage their yandere behavior. His main traits would be overprotectiveness, manipulative, and possessive. 

Starting off strong, I don’t see him as a yandere, in fact, he’s the only sane mf up in this dorm! He would never hurt you nor would he ever want to. If anything, he’ll save you from danger and care for you. Even if he wasn’t a yandere, he’d still be overprotective of his S/O. He’d be a sweet lover, he’d walk you to and from class and would ask special permission from Malleus to be able to leave his side for a little bit. Sebek might yell at him and call him irresponsible, but Malleus is intrigued so he allows it. Lilia is ecstatic! They really do grow up so fast, he remembers seeing Silver as a young boy and now he’s all grown up, even ready to date someone! Not to mention, he feels comfortable sleeping around you. He would use your lap as a pillow, sleeping peacefully as he has sweet dreams of you and him. It’s such a peaceful life. He’d help you study any subjects, telling you stories of his past and his life, and he’d even invite you to Diasomnia to meet his family. What could go wrong? 

Well, it’s under the influence of his family where it goes wrong. Maybe, just maybe you and Silver aren’t together just yet, he was a bit shy. Did someone else start to put the moves on you? They started to ask you out, and take up your time and the time you spent with Silver begins to diminish. Little by little, eventually Silver begins to accept that this is fate. If this made you happy, he’d protect you from the shadows and would let you be happy. Only thing is, Lilia didn’t let that slide. What do you mean you aren’t in love with Silver? Oh, that won’t do! After all, if you love each other why would you ever want to leave? Silver is another person who wants that storybook romance, he’d be such a gentle and caring lover, but Lilia and Malleus are the poison that taints him. His father would never be wrong and even Malleus is agreeing, so there must be something Silver isn’t seeing. He’d start to be a bit more assertive, offering to walk you to class again and spending time with you. He’ll steal you back from the others who took you away in the first place. Soon, you’ll start expecting Silver and patiently waiting for him. 

Just like how he cares and wishes to protect Malleus, he’ll hold you in the same regard. You’re special, you mean the world to him. As his father says, you’re the sun that greets his day! So don’t be surprised when he suddenly starts showing up to everything. Silver would never see you as something to own, sure you’re “his crush” but aside from that, it would be immoral to claim you as if you were a prize. Lilia seems to think differently, I mean you’re practically together no? If Silver truly does love you, then surely he would fight for you no? Lilia would remind him that if he lets you go, someone will take him. If he seems weak, who is to say someone won’t come and steal you, much less hurt you to get to him? He needs to be on that ASAP! Though Silver doesn’t want to keep you on a leash like that, it’s hard to go against his father’s and future king's advice. Surely they speak from experience. Silver would start small, continuing to take up your time without it interfering with his club or other duties. When someone notices that you’ve been spending time with him, they’d ask if you’re together or not. Before you have the chance to say anything, Silver is beating you to it and answers, “yes we are.” He’s a bit of an air-head at times so maybe he’s not aware of what that means. Aside from taking up your time as his, he wouldn’t do or say anything too drastic unless pushed towards it. 

Unlike the rest of Diasomnia, Silver has morals. Unlike Malleus or Briar Valley which happens to be a dark and foreboding place, Silver is different. He was raised under Lilia’s influence but I’m sure that he also wants to cultivate his own path, which is why I say he’s not a yandere of his own free will. He wants to protect you, he wants to love you, but he’ll also respect you and your decisions. Lilia on the other hand will push and brainwash Silver to believe it HAS to be him. Silver is training to be a knight for Malleus, but he can be a knight for you as well! It has to be Silver, nobody else will treat you the same. Lilia is no fool and can see that Silver is fighting his inner demons so he redirects his doubts. Sure, Silver doesn’t want to claim you nor force you, so he won’t. Instead, Lilia convinces him that nobody else but him is suited to take care of you. He’s already a knight in training but he’s been around you for so long, there is no one better. He starts to tell Silver that it has to be him, nobody else. Maybe even exaggerate and say, “not even I could be suited to take care of them, Silver don’t you see? You’re their knight.” Silver would see it like that, the relationship switching to that of knight and royalty.

His love would be suffocating. You’re wrapped around his arms and he’s not letting go, “You’re safe with me my love.” There could be no real danger, but he somehow believed that if there ever was, he was the only one qualified to protect you. You two have a bond unlike any other, you trust him so much and he’s not willing to break it. I don’t want to say he’s manipulative, but he can guilt-trip you. He knows he’s not perfect, his narcolepsy sometimes holds him back and while they tried to cure him, it just wasn't enough. He’s here to repay a debt, the debt he somehow thinks he owes to Lilia and Malleus for raising him. He doesn’t mean harm, I mean he’s such a kind soul. He cares for his father and Malleus, no doubt he means well. Then again, has Silver ever once hurt you? He probably doesn’t even know he’s guilt-tripping you, he just assumes he’s confining in a trusted friend who happens to be so nice. I can see an instance where you’ve had enough, telling Silver that you’re fine and he doesn’t need to be hovering over you. There’s no danger and nobody is out to get you, but he so stubbornly scolds you saying that the moment you lower your guard they’re there. He’s here so you can lower it, if you were someone of royalty, he’d become the very castle walls that protect you. You don’t need to fear, he’s here. 

He’s a 3/10 on the danger scale, the only thing he’d be is suffocating by how much he hovers over you. He doesn’t mean to, want to, or plans to hurt you. Any and everything he does is for your safety (or so he believes). If he ever believed that your reckless behavior posed a threat, he would probably keep you locked in a room or chained. He constantly reminds you, “it’s for your safety, please understand”. So he gets some points because he can be unpredictable, but the bottom line is he does it out of love and the need to protect. Not as a selfish desire, yet. He’s a rope on the rope-chain-saw scale because he’s not one to take away restrictions and make you feel like you have to earn them. He’d only ever resort to those methods if he felt like you were a danger to yourself, because of this you could probably get the drop on Silver but his dad and future king are right there ready to alert him. You managed to get Silver out of the room while you plan your escape through the window, but there Lilia is, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You’d be hurting Silver’s feelings after he went through the trouble of caring for you. Not to mention, you wouldn’t get that far.” Over time, he would start to be more alert and you won’t be able to get the drop on him, sure his a bit of an air-head but you can’t fool him twice. In the end, your safety and protection matter the most and I see Silver being the person who starts to see what Lilia means. You’re safer tucked away in a tower than so be it. If you must suffer the same fate he does and sleep, so be it. It was never about keeping you, it was about protecting you.

[frickinsleepdeprived]

Interesting First Dates with the Demon Slayer Hashiras

Just wanted to compile a little something else for y'all teehee- (some of these will be more on the modern side than others, all of these headcanons feature pre-established relationships fyi)

......

Text Key:

Normal text: you, the reader

Italicized text: the character in question

......

......

Muichiro

He's an antisocial person, not to mention he's pretty aloof to begin with. So naturally you don't want to make him uncomfortable, and frankly neither does he.

So when you guys are discussing first date ideas, you both didn't want to go with the generic dinner or movie, hell staying in sounded boring also.

"You know what I just thought about Muichiro?"

"Hm? What's up (y/n)?"

"I heard that there's an orchard nearby, and it's open to the public-"

"Say less let's go."

So you guys went, turns out it was an apple orchard. So that means you'll have fresh apples for you both and maybe some of the other hashira.

Once you both returned to headquarters, you both had two baskets each filled to the brim with apples and you didn't know what to do. So you both decided to just make cider out of some, give a basket to the mess hall, save a basket for each of you. And whatever was left you both divided equally among the other hashira.

......

Mitsuri

Mitsuri, obviously, is the love hashira. Love is practically her brand.

So you expected something extremely lavish, like a five star four course dinner or something. Hell maybe she might get some help from Uzui who knows?

But instead, she decided that for your first date, you both are gonna go to a wine/sake tasting.

"Mitsuri where are we going?-"

"You'll see soon enough, I promise!"

So you guys get to the winery and distillery, you looked at her rather confused. What were you both doing here?

But as you went inside, you realized what this was all about.

And Mitsuri was about to put you onto some really good wine and sake?

Say fucking less.

"You liking this so far (y/n)?"

"How come I haven't known about these types of events before? Or what good wine is?"

Needless to say you guys had a really good time, and went home a little tipsy.

......

Obanai

The serpent hashira isn't really one for dates.

Moreover, Obanai didn't believe in them at first simply because he didn't think they were a necessary requirement to court with someone.

However, he noticed that you went to the cemetery dedicated to fallen demon slayers a lot.

He was always curious about it, so he asked if he can accompany you.

But he wouldn't outright say he wants to be with you, he'd probably make up some kind of excuse.

"Obanai it's okay if you just want to be with me when I go, I don't mind."

"W-what're you talking about? I just want to go with you to ensure your safety. There's no telling who can be out there..."

And you can tell he's lying because his face gets red, and his snake hides it's face.

Nevertheless though, he went with you and when he saw you at one of your relatives graves, he couldn't help but feel a little grateful he decided to go with you.

It's something he'll definitely never forget, and afterwards he felt bad not only for lying but also your loss. So you guys decided to explore the rest of the cemetery for the day.

......

Sanemi

Given that he's on the more competitive side, it's only natural that Sanemi would want to make your first date a fun challenge.

What better way to get a fun competitive spirit going on in your relationship with him than video games?

"Soooo what're we playing Sanemi?"

"Uh, well what do you want to play? Your choice not mine I'm indecisive as fuck."

So you picked up an iconic guitar.

Yes, you're gonna play guitar hero.

Sanemi was surprisingly really good... on the easiest difficulty that is.

You on the other hand have been playing this for so long that you can play it on almost max difficulty.

"oh yeah, it's on. You pick the song we're putting that shit on max difficulty."

So you chose a song you knew by heart, whatever that may be

And the way that this man was closed in on the game, it gave you chills.

Needless to say his determination paid off and he won lol.

......

Kyojuro

You guys didn't want to go out but at the same time you didn't want to stick with the generic movie and eventual make out session.

Luckily, in your boredom, you started thinking about all of the art supplies you've accumulated over the years.

Then you remembered something you recently bought.

"Hey Kyojuro I'll be right back, just need to grab something real quick."

"Alright my darling flame, take your time."

So you came back not even five minutes later with a huge pallet of face paints and brushes varying in size. Along with some water in a glass and a paper plate

"Hey Kyo I need you to take off your shirt and tie your hair up for me."

"Um, okay? What do you have plotted my little flame?"

"You'll see, now hold still."

So you painted on his back, seeing as how you didn't have any other canvases available at the time.

And he was really still too, it was truly a testament to his own discipline. Which was pretty strong in your opinion.

"Okay, now don't move... alright you're good, just don't lean back."

You showed him a picture of the landscape you painted on his back, and his jaw just dropped in pure awe.

"You like it?"

"I must say my sunflower, you definitely have quite the artistic expression! Well done beautiful."

"... you wanna try?"

He didn't even hesitate, he had you raise your shirt and he just started painting. You could tell by the strokes he was pretty skilled.

After that he took a photo of what he painted on you and showed you.

"Oh, wow. T-that's beautiful, how come you never told me you painted?"

"Well, I just figured it wasn't necessary, why? Are you that enamored by my artistic skills, my love?"

......

Shinobu

Truth be told, she had a few errands to run for the butterfly estate

You decided to tag along and make it more enjoyable for her, she never really liked going out alone anyways.

"Where are we heading out to?"

"I have to pick up some stuff from the apothecary, who knows, maybe we'll find something we'll both enjoy for later!"

So you guys went in, found everything you needed for the butterfly estate, and ended up picking up some bath bombs for a bath later at night.

"Shinobu, my love my light, that one has glitter in it-"

"Oh don't worry dear, this isn't for us."

"Please don't tell me you plan on glitter bombing Giyuu again-"

She simply smiled, knowing damn well she had not the purest of intentions

Nevertheless you both returned home and put one of the bath bomb to use

It was always relaxing for you guys, after all, you both wouldn't mind just basking in each other's company if the day would allow for it.

......

Tengen

This man... has three wives.

And now that you're in the mix you kinda felt out of place a bit.

Little did you know that you'd be scooped up from training with Obanai that day and taken elsewhere.

"Babe I was training-"

"That's unflashy of you, let's go do something fun. Besides I've already got something aligned."

"I- okay by all means."

Yeah there was really no protesting this one.

He noticed that you've been becoming a little closed off so he decided to take you on a date. Just you and him.

Once you both got to where you needed to be, you noticed it was a dance studio.

"Oh god I'm gonna trip over my own two feet-"

The class entailed lessons in bachata, which is a type of Hispanic dance similar to salsa and rumba.

And knowing you, you didn't have any dance experience, like at all.

However, you know you're a fast learner, and so is Tengen.

And you soon realized that dancing with this hunk of a man you called your boyfriend wasn't so bad after all.

Matter of fact, it was exhilarating knowing that the both of you could be this intimate without ya know, doing the do or even without words.

"You enjoying this at all? Your face is pretty red there."

"I- hush, it's not like yours isn't either."

"Darling, my face is red because I'm sweating. Yours is red because you're embarrassed. I gotcha, don't worry."

And with that said you decided to just let go of any concerns you had. Allowing Tengen to take the lead with the dance.

Overall it was a good time, also really good exercise seeing as how you both kinda nodded off after you got home.

......

Gyomei

Given how he's blind, there are many things that you kinda felt like he missed out on, despite being able to see the transparent world.

However, you knew one thing that brought him comfort was his faith in his religion.

He never really talked about it, but when he did, he'd become so overwhelmed with emotion that he'd just cry.

Which you didn't mind, it's his faith and he's allowed to get as emotional as he needs to.

"(y/n), there's a place I want to show you. Why don't you join me?"

"Oh, okay, lead the way Gyo."

So he takes you to a grand building, one made of gold and beautiful teakwood. The sight taking your breath away as he smiled at you.

"Gyomei, is this the temple you always talk about?"

"Yes, it's a beautiful sight. But there's something in the back I want to show you."

So he takes your hand, greets the monks, and quickly leads you to the back where a beautiful butterfly garden resided. A huge Buddha statue in the middle of a koi pond.

You stood there flabbergasted, how could one small area be so beautiful?

Gyomei motioned for you to sit next to him, which you did, leaning your head on his shoulder as he took this time to pray.

You were never the religious type, but something told you to come here more often. With Gyomei by your side of course.

......

Giyuu

He's rather reserved, kinda like Muichiro however he's willing to interact with people if he has to.

However asking you on your first date with him was so unfathomably hard for him that he had to pull the rizz duo (Kyojuro and Tengen) to help him out.

And boy did they help, well, aside from Tengen picking you up like a sack of potatoes and running to the beach.

But once you got there, Kyojuro told you to close your eyes. Which you did.

And by the time you were set onto the sand you were like "Okay what the fuck is going on more importantly where is my boyfriend?"

"I'm right here, my treasure."

So you open your eyes to see Giyuu, at this point Kyojuro and Tengen were running away giggling like schoolgirls. Your boyfriend's faint smile, however, distracted you from the fact that you were basically kidnapped and taken here.

"Giyuu, are those horses?" You asked, looking at the two beautiful mares that stood before you.

"Yes, they are... I'll admit, Rengoku-san and Uzui-san did have a hand in helping me plan this. But I hope you'll enjoy everything that's in store for tonight. So come on, ride with me for a few."

On the outside, you're stunned.

But on the inside you're jumping up and down with glee, knowing that you'll be able to ride a horse for the first time in a very long time.

And it didn't take long for Giyuu to find out you're a skilled equestrian.

It made him proud though, knowing that you like doing something else other than training all the time.

"I see that someone's enjoying themselves?"

"Yes, I very much am. Thank you Giyuu, this means so much to me."

Afterwards you got off your horses and gave them back to their handler, which Giyuu thanked him immensely.

"So... what now?"

"I figured maybe we could walk along the shoreline? If that's okay with you?"

My GOD this man is flustered beyond comprehension. But through his insecure words, you knew he meant well and what he says, he means wholeheartedly.

You guys walk the shoreline until sundown, then afterwards he treats you to a nice dinner on the beach. Albeit it was small but it was still super intimate and nice.

Truly, you wouldn't rather spend your time any other way. As long as you were with Giyuu, nothing else mattered.

......

OMFG MY BACK HURTS-

Regardless though, I truly hope you all enjoyed these interesting headcanons! Feel free to leave a request!

[val-in-the-underdark]

Introductions

Hi everyone!

My name is Amber and for the past couple of months or so, I've been posting threads on Twitter (@/rosellasweet89) going into Astarion's character analysis (I like to study stories for fun and have an English degree). It's been fun to meet people and talk with other writers about games (and let's be honest, this game is a huge hyperfixation at this point because I've played every day since November).

Val in the Underdark refers to my favorite Tav so far, Vallista, my green tiefling Circle of Spores druid.

Someone mentioned that Tumblr might be a better place for these threads, so I'm hoping to continue some stuff here. I also like to take and edit screenshots, as well as take videos and clips.

I started screenshotting because my memory can be pretty bad (ADHD/ASD/PTSD) when I'm referring to things, so I like to back up what I say with specific lines or clips. Please note that anything I say is my opinion only, and your opinions are totally valid and your own.

I've seen too many people made to feel bad over the way they play a video game or things that make them happy (and hurt no one else). Choices in games are there for a reason and it's part of why I started playing this game!

Lastly, I like to talk about Spawn Astarion and Ascended Astarion (particularly because I find him a good tragic literary figure) so just FYI.

Anyway, that's me and if you followed me here from Twitter - thank you so much!!!! I've met some really great and kind people who love stories as much as I do.

[girlfromthecrypt]

i'm so glad in this IF that we can have high relationship stats with all of the characters without being railroaded into developing feelings for/romancing them. i think it's funny my highest relationship stat is with anita even though i have no plans romancing her i just love her a lot :') but also yay for trans rep \O/ <- that's me cheering

Thanks so much!! Yeah actually you remind me of my very sweet, very close irl friend who is one of, if not the first person I ever told about my plans for this IF when I was starting out. She's ace and doesn't enjoy romance, but sometimes likes it in fiction (only sometimes) so she wasn't immediately convinced it would be for her, but after playing, she told me she loves Anita so much she just wants to hang out with her all day.

Also, fyi: you're gonna have a choice to pick a "best friend" from among the four main ROs in chapter 5! As of right now, that's mainly for flavor text but still, you know. I hope it will please.

Yes the trans rep is important, and at this point I prolly ought to mention another IRL friend of mine who's anonymous on here... he's ftm, and also awesome and incredible. He's been acting as my (and Basil's) sensitivity reader at a bunch of points throughout the story and DAMN that reminds I gotta text him see how he's doing....

Ok yeah excuse me, seems I'll take any opportunity to ramble haha 🤣 thank you very much for playing my game and for the kind words

[rhaenella]

You & Me - Rhys Montrose x Reader - Masterlist

Summary: What happens when reader assassin is tasked with killing the possible future mayor of London; Rhys Montrose. Politician by day, Eat the Rich Killer by night. But he isn’t the only person wearing different masks. 

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Violence, murder, immoral sociopathic behaviour, mentions of alcoholism, drug abuse and neglect, (eventual) smut

Total word count (so far): 102k

A/N: Multi part Rhys Montrose x Female Reader fic. FYI, this fic will incorporate the use of Y/N. I have decided to also post this fic on AO3 (same username as on my Tumblr) and to change the x Reader to an Original Female Character over there using a fictitious name. That will be the only difference. So, if the use of Y/N isn’t your thing, go ahead and look the fic up on AO3 :)

Below you'll find the links to all the parts that have thus far been uploaded. I will try my best to upload a new chapter each week. Every part is also accompanied with a 'soundtrack', these are all listed below as well. Finally, a little preview of what's to come... I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it! There aren't a lot of Rhys x Reader fics out there, so I hope I can bring some extra flavour to the table.

Ps don't forget to watch the trailer/edit I made for the fic! x

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23

Soundtracks: 00. Feeling Good – Nina Simone 01. Royals – Lorde  02. Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene – Hozier  03. (I Just) Died in Your Arms – Hidden Citizens  04. Secrets And Lies – Ruelle  05. No Good – KALEO  06. …Ready For It? – Taylor Swift 07. Meet Me In the Woods – Lord Huron 08. The River – Daisy Jones & The Six 09. The Silence – Manchester Orchestra 10. Power – Isak Danielson 11. wicked game – Jessie Villa 12. Beautiful Crime – Tamer 13. Toxic – 2WEI 14. Cherry – Lana Del Rey 15. In the Air Tonight – Natalie Taylor 16. Whole Lotta Love (Dermot O’Leary) – Hozier 17. Lavender Haze – Taylor Swift 18. Don’t You Know – Jaymes Young 19. One For My Baby – Frank Sinatra 20. Run Baby Run – The Rigs 21. Sinnerman – Nina Simone 22. And so It Begins – Klergy  23. Darkness In Your Heart – Cowbell

Preview

Song: Feeling Good – Nina Simone

The sound of the heavy door opening as it noisily scraped the floor made you look in his direction. 

Rhys entered slightly out of breath, looking positively dishevelled as he ran a hand through his unruly curls.

“What happened to you? Killed another person?” You couldn’t help but teasingly joke, taking in his state as your eyes roamed freely over his physique. 

Rhys had put his hands on his hips, taking some deep breaths to slow down his heart rate. When he looked up at you, head tilted to the side, he shot you his charming smile that feigned innocence.

No way.

You stared at him. 

No way the man was truly this brazen.

He started to move closer to you, his eyes mischievous as they betrayed his wicked actions. You marvelled a little at how quickly you were getting better at reading him. Perhaps you recognised the murderous tendencies from the mirror. 

[drchenquill]

Seven Deadly Sins Tag Game~

thank you @thecomfywriter , @leahnardo-da-veggie for the tag!

Rules: which of your OCs would you assign to which of the seven deadly sins and why?

I might talk about OCs I never really mentioned, just to answer this as honest as I can. (i've also taken antagonist. They're evil, but still my OCs).

PRIDE

Azul - Azul is very prideful. He likes to show himself off and to decorate himself in golden jewelry just to rub it into other people's faces how great he thinks he is.

GREED

Atlas. - Altas is an OC from a WIP set in a dystopian world where there is basically no water for some otherwordly reason and the earth has turned into one big desert. Humanity changed as a whole, humans coming together as clans, fighting, killing each other for tanks of water distributed by the higher ups. Atlas needs to be greedy, gather as much water as possible for his little group of people. He doesn't back away from killing either, just to gather enough. The problem is, it's never enough.

LUST

Azul - I know, I know. I already chose him for pride, but he is the only one out of all of my OCs that would fit this. He is very comfortable in his sexuality and has often taken customers to bed if he felt inclined to (his job doesn't require that, just fyi). What can I say, he likes to be desired and to desire.

ENVY

Leon. - He would never admit it, but he is a very envious person. He's envious of the lifes other people live, of his students having a great relationship with their parents, of Kiki and Margaret who can openly show affection towards each other. He is very envious and he hates it.

GLUTTONY

Izrail. - He grew up wild, only trained to kill. He often needed to fight others for food so he tends to overdo it. He eats as if it was his last meal.

WRATH

Arke. - Arke is one of the antagonists of my story "The Shadow of Her Dreams". She is filled with rage and hatred. Her main goal is to take revenge of those who wronged her, wanting to see them in pain.

SLOTH

Brutus. - He is the brother of the main character of "The Shadow of Her Dreams". He is a lazy fuck, there's no bigger explanation.

~~~~~

Tagging with no pressure @theink-stainedfolk , @paeliae-occasionally , @finickyfelix , @kaylinalexanderbooks , @inseasofgreen ,

@the-golden-comet , @rivenantiqnerd , @gabeorelse , @differentnighttale open tag~

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

All Along the Watchtower (Chapter 3)

Pairing: Captain John Price x Fem!OC (3rd person POV)

Word count: 3K+

Warnings: mentions of violence, human trafficking, morally gray characters, CIA Black missions = shady shit, swearing

Summary: The first flashback chapter for Rory regarding her time in Iraq working operations for the CIA (will tie into the overall story fyi, no ship stuff this chapter)

A/N: Rory Sinclair is a dual citizen (both Canada and the UK) who's been living in the UK since she was 14. She is 28 at the time of this fic, Price is 32. This series is set in 2017 before the events of the first MW game. Rory's thoughts are bold and italicized, other italics are used for emphasis. Will also be available to read on AO3.

2016 - Anbar Province, Iraq / Syrian Border 

“All right, people, you have your orders. This ain’t gonna be pretty. So get your shit on right.”

Rory tried her hardest to ignore the droning voice of Officer Walker, the CIA operative assigned to the squad sitting in the front passenger seat, giving his best military impersonation for the crowd of soldiers jammed together in the armored vehicle. Crammed so tight her shoulders barely had room to bump against her fellow passengers as they drove along the rocky road. They were sardines in a tin can being boiled together on a hot stove – a pressure cooker – and the situation they were about to find themselves in only made it worse. 

“We are fifteen minutes out from the Syrian border. I repeat one - five minutes. This is known home turf for ISIS. We’re expecting heavy resistance. I will remind you all that this is unsanctioned. We are heading into the Black. There will be no questions. There will be no reports. There will be no crying to your mamas on the phone when you get back to base, ‘cause believe me, we’ll be tracking it. That goes for you limey fucks too,” he said with a smirk, looking up into the rearview mirror with his amber eyes. “ God Bless Homeland Security. ”

Walker’s wry smile was enough to turn Rory’s stomach, but she didn’t get to choose her bosses in the middle of warfare. She had to nod her head with a ‘yes, sir’ and a ‘no, sir’ to make her way through this. He might have been American, he might have been CIA, but right now, he was in charge. 

“We are dealing with a serious piece of shit in one Abdullah Al Ghulam, he is our target. I want him kept alive at all costs. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

She said nothing while the other soldiers around her offered their oath of fealty to the man. Instead, Rory kept her head down and her mind focused on the mission. Her mind always had to be on the mission. In situations like these, knowing she was about to see some shit, she did her best to block out the conscience her mother had instilled in her – doing good things for the right people . Out here there was just getting your hands dirty and hoping that it would be for the best, that it paid off in the long run and wouldn’t come back to haunt. The end justifying the means when things went dark like this, Machiavellianism at its very peak. There were no heroes out here, no matter who was patted on the back and awarded medals. 

Across from her Lt. Andrew Owen kept his eyes on her, his blue stare darkened by the brim of his helmet. The corner of his lip curled as he noticed her looking back at him with a ‘can you believe this guy’ flick of her brow, his head shaking slightly in return. He was the second in command of her unit, they seemed to never be too far away from one another, having fought in enough foxholes together to trust that the other had their six, and despite what the mission was expecting to serve them, seeing him there in the vehicle with her did add a certain sense of relative calm to the situation. There was a face in the crowd of strangers that wouldn’t just see her as some waste of space. Andrew knew what she was capable of. All too well . 

As the stream of armored vehicles came to a stop, the soldiers completed their final weapons check as the sun began to fade down into the horizon, streaking the sky in deep orange and red like the hellfire they were about to rain down. Readying their thermal scopes and night vision, making sure their tac gear was strapped on tight, the doors opened, and shadows crept out into the evening. 

Rory swung the strap of her rifle over her head and across her shoulder, looking out at the sky turned purple, the sun nearly completely gone down except for one lingering sliver of light along the horizon line. Pulling down on the goggles that would help lead her into the dark, seeing only in green and black as she marched forward, she followed her Lieutenant into battle. He was quick to give her a bump to the shoulder, that last little bit of comfort from a friend before hitting any possible SNAFUs. 

“You good, Sinclair?” he whispered into the comm.

“Yeah. Same old, same old. Right, Andy?”

Chuckling at the nickname, a smile cracked his otherwise serious face, “Fuck you.”

Tensions were relieved for only a moment, building right back up as boots crunched slowly through the sand and small bits of gravel towards the munitions bunker American intelligence had confirmed the existence of several klicks across the border with the use of drones. It was up to her and the rest of the squad to clear out the guard of enemy combatants, neutralize the weapons, and then collect the intel that would lead to who had actually shipped them in. Weapons didn’t come from nowhere, there was always a trail that led back. 

Silently stalking into the night, radio chatter was kept to an absolute minimum, hand signals being used instead. They’d crossed the border into enemy territory, they were no longer within the boundaries they were meant to maintain, they were in a country they weren’t at war with – not yet anyway. The squad broke up into two units, flanking the building in a pincer movement that would leave the resistance fighting from two opposing directions. Rory was split off with Walker and Lt. Owen, coming in from the rear of the bunker along with several other NATO soldiers of different rank and file, while the others stormed the front with charges to the doors. 

Shock and awe . 

Explosions rang out into the night, flashes of white light sparking from the corner of Rory’s night vision, the heat blurring her view for just a moment. She gripped her rifle a little tighter as they moved forward, heading down towards the opposite entrance of the complex. The heavy doors were locked tight, so C4 was strapped on in order to breach. Flying open along with a blast of sand, the doors were left to creak on their hinges as the soldiers entered before the ringing in their ears could quiet. 

Black figures stormed through the halls lined with flickering fluorescent lights, the sounds of gunshots and yelling echoing as the B squad moved to meet them in the middle. Bullets ripped through the air, bodies falling. This wasn’t a precise operation, a striking opposite from the way Rory usually worked. Shifting from shock to all out bedlam for the enemy, the dead littered the bunker as the force pushed through the halls. They weren’t taking prisoners here, no hostages, this was meant to be a clean sweep except for the target, clearing all rooms of anyone armed or considered dangerous.

Room after room, corridor after corridor, this place seemed to go on forever. Some passages ran tighter than others but would lead into expansive rooms and from them more men would appear, gun spray missing the soldiers as they fired haphazardly. There would only be casualties on one side tonight as the enemy seemed to swarm like insects, wave after wave, protecting what lay at the heart of the labyrinth of tunnels. Cut down as the soldiers expected more to rise from their place. 

Heading down one of the tunnels, it steadily grew darker as Rory’s squad moved away from the main hall. The lamps above glowed with warm, golden light, yet shadows still bloomed against the walls of the corridor. Another heavy steel door blocked their path at the end, and Walker was sure that was the entrance to Abdullah’s private area, sectioned off from everyone else like the queen in a nest. 

Taking point at the door, Walker motioned for one of the other soldiers to come forward with the charges to breach, and the blood in Rory’s ears began to thunder with each pump of her heart, the sweat starting to form on her brow. It didn’t matter how many times she was in a situation like this, how practiced of a routine it had become, she still had that frantic moment just before hell was about to break loose. When the anxious prey animal in her head was set free before the chomping jaws of the wolf would clamp back down again and she’d return to calm. Battle readiness swept over her as the adrenaline spread through her body, keeping her head on a swivel. 

With a massive bang and a gust of rushing air, the door was breached and once more they dove headfirst into the unknown. The darkness dissipated and the lights of sconces on the walls lit their way to Al Ghulam who threw himself down on to his knees without an order, wasting no time in placing his hands behind his head, as if he already knew he wouldn’t be sacrificed despite his crimes. 

Rory’s hawklike gaze travelled over their newly acquired prisoner, surprised to find a man who was still clean cut and wearing a well-tailored shirt and pants and smooth leather boots, despite having been in a bunker for apparently some time, using this as his headquarters. He was a man who still held onto his ties to the West, despite working with terrorist organizations that actively despised the nations that made up its colonial powers. 

Stalking up to the man, Walker grabbed the zip ties from his vest and slapped them around Abdullah’s wrists. “Well shit, you went down easy, huh?”

“Allaenat ealayk." <Arabic: Fuck you.>

“You gonna call me an American pig while you’re at it?” He looked down at the prisoner, his brow raised waiting for an answer, but he was met with only silence. “That’s what I thought. So, Mr. Al Ghulam I think you already know why we’re down here, so why don’t you save us nice people some trouble and lead us to your stash, ‘kay?”

Dark eyes rose to look at the American through a furrowed brow. “There are no weapons here,” he said confidently. 

“You can fuck right off with that bullshit; I know for a fact –”

“You know nothing, fucking CIA.” Abdullah’s eyes scoured the officer with a glare. “You are led by your masters, but you don’t know anything at all.”

Grabbing Abdullah by the collar of his shirt, Walker lifted him to his feet and looked him in the eyes. “I know what I need to. And right now, you’re gonna play your role and lead me to the containers I know you have kept here.”

“Containers yes, but there are no weapons.”

“Sure there aren’t.” Walker shoved the man forward, causing him to stumble as he was pushed past the soldiers. 

Rory’s stare followed him out of the room, focused on Walker and Al Ghulam. Containers, but no weapons – what was that supposed to mean? She looked to her Lieutenant, the question caught on her tongue, but it came through in her furrowed brow. Andrew gave her no answer, he didn’t have any more to go on than she did, but his jaw sat clenched. 

They followed the CIA operative down, further down into the bunker. Metal stairs clanging as the boots of a dozen soldiers stomped upon them. Finally entering a massive room with a large roll up bay door at the end of it. Storage space, a delivery system, this base was well-established. Placed in the middle of the room were six large metal shipping containers and Walker’s eyes went wide at the sight. 

“Alright, people, I want those doors opened. We’re taking inventory and then sweeping for intel.”

Using large bolt cutters, the locks on the containers were removed by the soldiers, but upon opening the doors it brought no peace. There weren’t any weapons as was promised, just as Al Ghulam had said, there was something else. Something that made Rory’s stomach drop and her eyes go wide with horror. 

Inside each container sat women and children. Weeping and starving, treated like cattle. Their clothes dirty, the smell of body odor near unbearable as it wafted throughout the room.

“ Jesus Christ… ” Rory could only speak in a whisper, eyes glued to the sight before her. 

Bolt cutters fell to the cement floor with a heavy bang. Soldiers stood, shocked so quiet they could hear a pin drop. The flashlights of a dozen rifles travelled over the tear-streaked faces of innocent people caught in the crossfire of a war that had been going on for too long. Herded into pens, treated like property, to be sent off to God only knew where. 

She seethed, a deep-seated anger in her making her blood run cold. Violence she’d seen and dealt with, able to manage it and push it down to where it no longer kept her up at night. Such abhorrent behavior towards human lives however, that was something she couldn’t shut out. Her gut twisted, the stoic exterior breaking as her mouth hung open and her eyes began to sting. 

Children and women reached out towards the soldiers, seeing their captor pushed to his knees and a gag shoved in his mouth. They thought the forces were there to save them and it broke Rory’s heart. They weren’t heroes, they weren’t here to save the day, if Walker had his way these civilians would likely be left here for some clean-up crew to deal with. Lives didn’t matter, just having the upper hand in the fight did. 

Walker stood, his hand pressed to Al Ghulam’s shoulder as he forced the man to stay on his knees, but his face never seemed to change. Even as his amber eyes travelled over the countless faces that sat before him, the sickening sight had little effect on the man who had filled his life with secrets, lies, and deception, all to keep the power imbalance for the empire of America going strong. 

“What the fuck is this?” Rory looked to Walker, her lips drawn back in a snarl. “What the fuck is this, Walker? I thought we were coming down here for weapons.”

“Yeah, we were. Intel was wrong,” he said with a shrug.

“How did no one know about this?” She tossed her arm out towards the half dozen steel cargo containers filled with women and children. 

“Calm down, soldier. You think in an active war zone we got the time to be looking for missing persons? You think that’s what we’re here for? You think we give a shit about that? We are fighting terrorists, we are not the fucking UN,” Walker snapped.

Rory took off her helmet and held onto it by the straps, stabbing her tongue into her cheek if only to compose herself. “I think that whatever the fuck this asshole has going on –” Her attention turned to the man on his knees currently bound and gagged before her eyes darted back to Walker. “It’s a lot worse than whatever you or anyone else has been led to believe.”

The CIA officer stared her down, his face growing harder as he glared at her from under his brow. Unmoved by her compassion for humanity, he had a job to do and she was hindering those efforts. 

“Don’t go pulling any heroics, Sinclair,” Andrew hissed, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him until he could talk low enough for only her to hear. “We don’t need to go any deeper than this. This is above our paygrade already. We’re just here to shoot, remember ?” His glare stabbed into her as if to caution her next move. “I'd like to keep it that way.”

Her brow knit together, her jaw tightening ever still. It was like she was the only one who could see what was happening, the only one with clarity of mind to know that something monstrous was going on here and it sunk deep into the bowels of things. There was an unseen side to war, and she had yet to have gotten a stomach for it. “There are women and children locked up in steel boxes like cargo. I don’t care if this isn’t the weapon shipment we were sent in for. You think I'm going to turn a blind eye to that?”

“I think we shouldn’t push our CIA friend.”

It was a warning. Andrew had been around this block more times than she, he knew how bad things could get, but still she couldn’t understand how he wouldn’t object to what was happening here. “ Andy ?” She was taken aback by her Lieutenant’s sudden willful withdrawal of his conscience. They were at war, weapons were something she expected, a human trafficking ring was not on her list of things to discover in a bunker.

“Listen to me, Rory. We let Officer Walker do what he needs to with our target, and you and I stay quiet. Do you understand me, Sergeant?” Rory’s eyes drifted away from Andrew and back over to Walker, still holding onto Abdullah like a hostage before Lieutenant Owen grabbed her arm and brought her attention back to him as her superior. “There’s a reason the CIA wants him kept alive when it would be so easy to just put a bullet in his head. I’d prefer not to be privy to all that. Clear?”

“Rog’,” she said sullenly.

“Good. Now then let’s say we help Officer Walker here find a private room where he can hold a discussion with Mr. Al Ghulam. The sooner we can get out of here, the better.”

Rory nodded, her face sunken into a scowl. She hated being beholden to a law that didn’t even truly exist, a shadow of the rule of justice that was meant to be carried out, where war crimes and human rights violations were swept under the rug so long as the right hands were greased and information could be swapped between hands. It was dirty, stained in red, and going into the black meant it would never come to light. 

[thoughtsandbones]

Time for Tea?

Simon 'Ghost' Riley x F!MedicDoc OC (codename: Blue) 💀💙

WARNINGS: Mention of profanity, self harm scars, scars, fluff, medical inaccuracies and just getting the POV of our friendly neighbourhood masked menace.

Plot: Doctor Ruhari Hari Kaur (OC is South Asian ☺️) joins the 141 again, but this time as their doctor. After the betrayal of Shepherd and Graves, Task Force 141 begins their hunt on his whereabouts and locating Makarov.

PLEASE reblog and like! Hope folks are enjoying the series, I am building up characters and plots, cos I have a lot ideas and just been enjoying writing :D

Song inspo: Across the Spider-Verse playlist basically only Spotify

Word count: It's long... sorry, not sorry.

A/N: Flashbacks are getting messed up when I am indenting them and I am getting lots of errors when publishing the work, please bare with some mistakes and spelling issues.

I grew up with the OG MW2 game, so there are some references to the old one, so kind of a mix of both the OG and the new timeline... (Also I'm ignoring the OG Shepherd betrayal and keeping in line the one with the new timeline..)

All rights reserved to the rightful owners of Call of Duty Modern Warfare.

spelling and some grammar mistakes as I am bad at times... :/

(FYI: bold sentences... that are like this... are supposed to describe redacted data/info to the plot... ;] .. )

Please do let me know how you all are finding this fanfic! :D

PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5, PART 6, PART 7, PART 8, PART 9 and PART 10

Part 11

<CUE FLASHBACK> Siberia, Russia, October 12 2010 Day 3- The storm was making it difficult to see where you were going; the harsh sharp wind was piercing through your morf snood, cold needles prick your skin. You breathe out, the moisture cooling the cold around your mouth. "Yer drifting right Blue, come to your left a bit" The Captain said over the radio Looking over to your left you could no longer make out the silhouette of the Captain. "Copy Cap" You say back and change your direction walking left, you see the outline of the Captain emerge. "Stick close, we are nearly there" He said over the radio again "Yes sir" Both of you walked, slightly crouched. The storm bringing in snow, being the perfect cover for the two soldiers infiltrating the base. Up ahead you see barbed wire fencing appear, the silhouette of the buildings of the base coming into view. The Captain puts his hand up, signalling you to stop, you do so. "Here we are Blue" He says "Hanger on the right hand-side of the tarmac Cap?" you say "Aye, make our way through to the left and head to the tarmac where the MiGs are." "Copy Cap" The Captain crouched down, looking left and right, and you followed him "Blue, yer nervous?" The Captain says You look at the back of his head, he doesn't turn, because you know he's looking on the look out. "Staying focused Cap" You respond, trying to keep a cool demeanour. "It's alrigh' to be nervous" The Captain teased "Nervousness produces adrenaline, which is keeping me on high alert for any Russians sir" The Captain chuckled through the radio "Aye, yer nervous" he said "Yer got me, so yer'll good" The Captain added You laugh back "Aye Cap" you mimic his Scottish accent which earned another chuckle over the radio.

"This is Major Perov! Come up with your hands...."

The hiss of that memory electrified your whole body awake. Hot sweats lathered your body, your baggy t-shirt clung to your back and chest making those parts of your t-shirt damp. You can smell the sweat coming off you as you turn to lie on your front.

Not another dream like that again You think, groaning into the pillow. The sticky sweat had seeped through your t-shirt and onto the bed. Running your hand through your hair and down the nape of neck, you could feel the droplets resting on the surface of your skin as they were squashed against your fingertips.

Gross

Getting up, you sit crossed legged on the bed, the sweat on your body going from hot to cold. You shiver. Grabbing the duvet you wrap it around you. You feel the cold within your marrow.

You grab your phone. It was 3:46am. Laying back down on the bed all snuggled with your blanket and sweat ridden shirt. Pondering at the thought of going back to sleep. The bad odour coming off you made you abandon the thought.

Unraveling yourself from the blanket you head to the bathroom, turning the shower on and wait for it to get warm. Taking off your shirt, still damp with sweat and chucking it in the laundry basket. Catching your naked body briefly in the mirror.

Your torso a lighter shade of brown than your arms and neck. You turn your body admiring the right side of your arm and shoulder, flexing the muscles under the skin. The bullet scar curved over the top of your shoulder, the black humerus bone tattoo standing out. These markings make you, you.

The mirror began to steam up from the heat of the shower, stepping in, bracing yourself for the onslaught of hot water droplets that somehow pierced into your skin and warmed your bones directly.

Once you dried yourself and got ready it was 4:26 am, you were hungry but the mess hall wouldn't be open. Price did say he had a small kitchenette next to his office you could use. In your second drawer you grab a mug along with a small bag that contained your emergency stash of tea, sugar and milk sachets. You hoped Price would have fresh milk and tea, but you brought yours just in case.

You put on a black hoodie over your clean grey shirt that was tucked in your black joggers, trying to keep you warm, and your trainers, walking out with your mug, whilst stuffing the your home tea kit in the large pocket of your hoodie.

Damp strands of hair clung to your face as you walked to the kitchenette, putting your AirPods and playing music to drown out of the echo of your dream.

Meanwhile in Price's kitchenette/break room, Simon sat on the sofa, head laying back with a cup of chamomile and lavender tea, it was the smell of this brewed tea that helped calm him from another restless night, he held the mug close to his chest, giving warmth to his heart.

The steam from the mug drifted to his naked face, his mask hitched above his brows. He brought the mug to his lips and took a sip of the tea, savouring the warm bitterness of the lavender and sweetness of the honey. His ears perked at the sound of approaching footsteps outside the break room, he quickly pulled his mask down his face with his left hand, holding his mug steady with his right.

The doorknob turned and the door opened. There you walked in, your long damp brown hair reflecting in the dim light, you did not turn the light on.

Ghost froze, he had not expected you to come here, especially at this time in the morning. He watched as you headed over to the kettle and placing your hand on it's side.

The kettle was warm, it had just been used, and someone was in here, as you heard movement come from behind you.

Price? You think and then turning around expecting to see a grinning gentlemen.

Nope. It was the masked menace, Ghost, sitting on the sofa, holding a mug of tea. Through the little natural light that lit the room, you could make out his blue eyed-balls widening at you.

"Morning Lieutenant." You say turning back round, and switching the kettle on.

"Mornin' Doc" Ghost gruffed, he cleared his throat. He watched as you took out a bag from your black hoodie, and take out a Tetley tea bag along with a spoon. You didn't even flinch.

Tetley girl eh? Ghost thought gazing down you, wearing black joggers. His eyes went back to your brown hair draped over your shoulders, some parts still damp.

The kettle began to shake as the water within boiled. You placed the string around the handle of the mug and plopped the tea bag into the mug. The kettle boiled as the switched flipped up. Waiting a few seconds then pouring the water into the mug, watching the colourless water become seeped with dark amber.

"Is there milk in the fridge that I can use?" You ask, your back still facing away from Ghost.

"Yeah, blue top on the bottom shelf" Ghost says watching as you move to the fridge

"Thanks" You say, opening the door and grabbing the milk.

Ghost watched as you set his pint of milk next to your mug, you stirred the teabag with a spoon you brought out from the little bag. You take out a sugar sachet, ripping it and placing its contents in the mug, then swirling the tea. He watches as you squeeze the teabag against the side of the mug and toss it in the open bin. You take his milk and pour a dash of it in, stirring the contents, you add a bit more.

Ghost wondered how milky you liked your tea...

You screw the cap back on and then put it in the fridge, grabbing your mug you sit on one of the four chairs surrounding a small square table, where you place your mug of tea. You look over your shoulder and see Ghost still staring at you. Looking down at your wrist, noticing you forgot to put your watch on so you couldn't count the seconds of how long he was staring at you this morning. You let out a sigh, delving back into the music that sprang from your earphones.

Ghost diverted his gaze back to his mug. He then watched you take a sip of tea in the corner of his eye. He looked back down at his tea, the mugs warmth bringing him a sort of comfort as you sat there. Ghost noticed you move your left arm up, like a magnet his eyes were drawn to your movements, you pushed you hair back, he noticed you had those wireless ear buds in, he scanned your body noticing your left leg resting on the chair opposite and your right foot tapping the air gently.

He was frozen in his seat. He felt like he could not move or get up. Ghost was drawn to you again as you raised your arm and placed your elbow on the table, resting your head in the palm of your hand.

You take another sip of tea. Gulping another sip of the hot liquid down, trying to warm your insides that felt cold, warming the nerves.

If only you could make some chai but you didn't have the spices with you.

"This is Major Perov..." echos in your left ear but faintly this time, you try and focus back on the music..

Should've brought my jar from home you think. You lean back into the chair sighing again. You turn your head to the left and see Ghost looking at you, he moves his head down, to look at the tea in his hand.

There was no heavy tension between you two... or so you could tell... He could've left when you went in but he didn't. You wonder how would you bring up a subject like Siberia to him. You don't even know him. He's just a masked enigma.

Wish the Captain was here. You think, worse case, Sergeant Riley would do, the distant memory of him awakens in your mind He'd surely tell you to leave him be but throw in the sarcastic comment to see how'd he'd respond and go off that. 12 years since they've been gone. 11 and 10 years for MG and KD. Your former mentors and comrades. Gone.

Now you've got new ones to get to know. And one currently sitting in the same room seemingly hates your guts or has some major trust issues.

You clear your throat, pausing the music, taking the left ear bud out, taking your shot...

"Did you get the email sir?" You ask, turning slightly towards him, bring your left leg down from the chair opposite.

Ghost looked up "Yeah I did" he responded whilst nodding, his the fingers on his right hand drumming against the mug. Lump forming in his throat again.

You nod back, bringing your mug in your hands and close your chest, and then take a sip. The insides of you cold still. Perhaps cocooning yourself with your blanket will help? You think

Ghost watches as you bring out your phone, taking your other earbud out and placing them back in your pocket. His eyes stuck to you as you get up and take your mug and little tea kit bag, stuffing it back in your pocket.

"See you later Lieutenant" You say not smiling

Ghost nods back at you and watched you leave, closing the door gently behind you. He glanced at his watch. 5:15am... In about 9 hours you both were going to have another interaction together... Why were you up so early? Training perhaps?

The stoic face you had flashed across his eyelids when he blinked.

You were annoyed, who wouldn't be? Ghost retorted to himself, slightly scoffing. The looped voices bouncing across his cranium.

He leaned back on the sofa, his tea now lukewarm, he lifted his mask and took a sip.

"Bleurgh" He said as the barely warm liquid ran down his throat. He gets up, takes the teabag out and tosses it in the bin and pours the tea in the sink, washes the mug and places it on the drying rack. Ghost stands by the counter, looking at the seat which you sat at moments ago.

He had a chance to apologise but missed. He left the break room and headed back to his room, his mind more clouded than before.

Later on that day

"Hope my blood pressure isn't too high" Price said as you wrapped the cuff around his right arm.

You smile slightly and shake your head at Price's remark

"Shall find out soon enough" you reply pressing the start button on the blood pressure machine, the cuff fills up with air, the machine whirrs, the numbers on the machine rise up.

Once you hear two beeps the reading is complete: 125/80

"125/80, that's perfectly good for someone your age" You say

"My age?" Price chuckles

"41 is a good age sir"

"You're 9 years younger than me Doc"

You look up "Don't look it though" You smirk.

Taking off the blood pressure cuff, you write the reading down on your chart for the Captain.

"Your med kit is good, I just put more Celox, the haemostatic gauze, and saline in there" handing him his med kit, zipping it up.

"That shellfish stuff?" Price asks as he takes his kit giving you a semi-disgusted look.

"Yes sir"

"Not a fan" He added looking at his kit

"Good thing you won't be eating it for rations" You retort

Price chuckles, and checks his watch 10:55 am.

"Right, I'll leave you to prep for the next patient" Price says, you get up and take the tissue paper where Price sat and placed it in the bin. Spraying the bed with disinfectant and wiping it down with blue roll. You wait for the remaining disinfectant to dry and go to the bathroom and wash your hands.

For the duration of the 30 seconds it takes you to thoroughly wash your hands you scan your reflection in the mirror. Drying your hands and turning the tap off you head back in the main room.

Laying new tissue on the bed, you hear footsteps approach, checking your watch it was 10:59am. Perfect timing you think

Gaz appears in the doorway, you propped open after Price left, you look up and force a smile

"Morning Gaz" You say

"Morning Doc, you good?" Gaz asked, he carried his half empty med kit in his hand, sort of hoping you won't scold him. He looked around the infirmary, it was done up well. Clean. Organised. A laptop on your desk, along with a few files stacked neatly next to it. A small brain statue lay next to the lamp.

"Good, how are you?" You say gesturing to the med bed as you closed the door.

"Very well doc, er.. my med kit is a mess" Gaz says handing over his med-kit.

You take it, and examine, a little worn and torn, but expected when out in the field, somewhat similar to Price's bits of sand trapped in the edges, unzipping it you see it stocked with a few plasters, one ambulance dressing and gauze. Looking back up, you see Gaz's concerned face.

"I can stock this up fully, don't worry" you say smiling, "Fill what you can on the chart, don't worry about address" you add, heading to the cabinets behind your desk and place med kit on the counter. You turn back to see Gaz and walk back over.

You take out your equipment and move over to where Gaz sat, placing the clipboard with the pen to the side.

"Temp check" you say placing the IR thermometer to his forehead. The screen turned green, 36.4 ℃, normal. You grab the chart and jot this down.

You place a pulse ox monitor on this forefinger on his left forefinger.

"What's this for?" Gaz says flickering his finger where the oximeter was clipped.

"Measures pulse and percentage of oxygen in your blood"

"Cool gizmo"

"98%, good" You say checking the screen and scribbling the number down. "Pulse at 88 bpm, also good"

"Why not 100%?" Gaz asks looking at the oximeter, he breathes in sharply and holds his breathe, the oximeter changed by 1%.

You let out a small laugh "Not always, as we have a little carbon dioxide in our blood" You say

"Interesting" Gaz says continuing to look at the oximeter.

Taking the oximeter off his finger you proceed with the other checks; blood pressure, height and weight check, general well being, medicine enquiries but mostly refilling his med kit.

You hand it back to Gaz and explain what new stuff you packed. Gaz nods and thanks you and leaves.

It was 11:45am, Soap will be here soon, you follow the same procedure, strip, wipe down and set up.

Never did you think you'd be doing the job of a GP, seeing patients one after another, no surgeries, no rotations and no other doctors, least no friendly doctors yet...

There was a knock on the door. Getting up and opening it, you see Soap grinning.

"Morning Doc" He said

"Morning Soap" You reply back, making way for him to enter as you stood by the door, he walked and looked around.

"How are yer?" He asked turning facing you as you closed the door.

"Good" You say "How are you?"

"Been alrigh' Doc, Ghost beat me in target shooting this mornin'" He adds, awaiting your reaction when he mentioned Ghost's name.

You walk over "Ah, better luck next time" You say

"Take a seat on the med bed and fill out the chart on the tray" You gesture to the clipboard.

Soap picks it up and starts to write down his details, he notices are large x in pen over the personal details section apart from name and date of birth.

He fills out what he can and places the clipboard back on the tray.

Walking over, you begin with the your check list of check-ups. Soap took his shirt off, you stare at him blankly, trying not to ogle at the toned and defined muscles of his upper body.

"Ergh what are you doing?" You say apprehensively

"Don't yer need to put those electric cables on my chest?" Soap said looking at you confused.

You meet his confused face with yours. Your cheeks feel hot as your eyes dropped to his abs and down his snail trail, Soap followed your eyes and grinned. Swiftly turning on your left heel I cannot believe I looked you cling to your white coat.

"I'm not doing an ECG, please put your shirt on" You say closing your eyes trying to shake the image, now realising what Soap thought.

"Alrigh' doc it's on" He laughed "Sorry, I genuinely thought.." he trailed off as your turned back around, your cheeks showing a tinge of pink. He saw you biting in your lips and your ears going red.

You proceeded with the checks:

Pulse oximeter on; 98% and 97bpm

BP: 126/70

etc etc etc

You finish by asking Soap to step off the weights.

"Got your med-kit?" You ask

Soap's face dropped, the one thing he completely forgot that he should not have forgotten.

Taking in his shocked face, you smirk

"Get it to me when you can. I have Lieutenant Ghost at 13:30 so before then please" You say and Soap nods as he leaves the infirmary. Glancing at your watch, 12:40pm, enough time for a quick lunch.

Heading down to mess hall, it was busy of course, you wait in line for food along with other soldiers. You felt like you stood out with your blue scrubs, it's not like you were actually working in a hospital. Should've worn my black fatigues and sweater you think as you move along with the line.

Lunch was a steak and ale pie with chips. You felt full after half-eating the pie, you check your watch 13:10pm. You swiftly stop eating and get up, putting the food in the food bin and placing the plate and tray on their associated piles.

Heading back to the infirmary, you spot Ghost and Soap talking outside, Ghost looks at you and lowers his voice, Soap also looks at you and nods, you see him holding the med kit in his hand.

As you approach, they both stop, both looking at you as you open the door.

"Afternoon" You say to Ghost,

"Goo' afternoon doc" Ghost said, taking a deep breathe as he stepped inside the infirmary. He looked around, it was nice, orderly and clean. A better state than before you came.

"Got the med-kit" Soap said, bringing out out of his pockets of his fatigues, it was rolled up and empty. You take it off him, "I'll give it to you once it's ready" You say, Soap nods but doesn't move

"Here's mine" Ghost said as he uncrossed his arms and brought his kit, it was fuller and heavier as it was placed on your hands.

"Right, I'll have a look in a bit." You say looking up at him and then to Soap who was still hovering.

"You alright?" You ask Soap

"Yeah, just..." Soap started looking at Ghost.

"Johnny, you had your check up, now bugger off" Ghost said turning to him, knowing exactly why he was lingering

Soap grinned at Ghost and then at you, he began to walk away but turned slightly

"Lt, if you wanna make the doc blush, all you gotta do is take your shirt off" Soap winks and teases closing the door

"Wa-What?!" You say stammer as Soap closes the door, you could hear him laughing on the other side.

Ghost whips his head from the door to see your wide eyed shocked face, you turn your head to meet his eyes, he taken in your doe-eyed expression.

"He took his shirt off on his own accord" Υοu blurt "Thought he was getting an ECG done" you say motioning to the empty space between you with your right hand as if to swat the memory away.

"It's alrigh' Johnny likes teasin'" Ghost says, he watches your face return to normal, and head to the back counter placing both med kits there and opening them up, examining the contents.

Ghost watched your back, like he did this morning.

"Sorry about yesterday" He says looking at your back, he watches your head come up, listening.

"I was out of line, you're good.." He added "Just was.. cautious" Ghost added slowly. He felt his right hand reach up out to you, wanting to tell you it's...

You take in his words.. inhaling for four, you turn around and head back to where Ghost was, exhaling for four.

Ghost swiftly brought his right arm down in his back pocket of his jeans. He looked at you and you smiled, he relaxed a bit more.

"Thank you lieutenant" You say, accepting his apology, you still feel like he somehow... For some reason he still despises you...

You look up at him and smile, he nods back, you his eyes crinkle a bit, hopefully smiling underneath that mask...

Ah the mask and the clothes... You always observed him wearing long sleeve shirts or sweaters, no t-shirt in site so far...

"So.. I'm going to check your blood pressure, pulse, weight, height..." You trail off looking at his blue eyes grabbing the clipboard on the tray.

Ghost blinks and looks back at your deep brown eyes, framed by your black mascara'd lashes "Yes doc..." He says slowly

"I understand the mask stays on, but need to take a neck reading for body temperature if that's okay?" You add looking down from his eyes to his shoulders then to your clipboard.

"Of course" Ghost says, lifting the hem of his mask to reveal is neck. You were entranced by the sudden willing nakedness of his neck, the hem stopping under his chin with his ungloved hand; snapping out of the haze you grab the IR thermometer and press the button, you look back at his neck and notice a mole on the pale skin covering his jugular.

The thermometer beeps, screen turning green, 36.8 ℃. Good. Placing the thermometer down, you grab the chart and jot it down.

Ghost pulls his mask down, watching you scribble out parts on the form. He unzips his jacket, revealing his own black pullover hoodie.

You look up and notice your lieutenant take his jacket off, and then reach for the hem of his hoodie. Leaning on your heal you turn your back.

Please don't strip down like Soap you plead trying not to imagine what his naked torso would look like.

After taking his hoodie off, and folding it on top of his jacket. He looks and sees you've turned fully, your back facing him, smirking slightly under his mask, he wonders if he should tease you and take his shirt off too...

Turning back to face the Lieutenant, you see him wearing a black t-shirt which hug snuggly to his muscular torso. Grabbing the blood pressure cuff you bring it next to him. You notice on his left fore arm a myriad of different tattoos.

Ghost watches as you move towards with a blood pressure machine, he rolls up his sleeve of his t-shirt, he gazes at your brown hair now braided, slightly messy, as few strands have fallen out are now tucked behind your ear, he notices two small silver hoops hugging your cartilage.

Unravelling the cuff, you wrap it around his chiseled bicep, you noticed a few scars up and down his arm, even a few on his hand, but you didn't say anything or linger on them too long. Not when you knew how awkward it is when people stare and make remarks of your own scars.

Looks bigger than my thighs you think, admiring the muscles laying underneath the flesh of his upper arm.

The cuff did not fit fully. You look up at Ghost, he was looking at you, your eyes widened slightly.

"Good thing the machine came with an extra large cuff" You smirk, taking the cuff off the machine and heading to the drawers he cleaned last week.

"Good thin'" Ghost repeats, sitting up taller, observing the way your white coat glided with your movements. Your left breast pocket filled with pens, he noticed some writing underneath the pocket, but couldn't decipher it.

Walking back to Ghost with the XL cuff, you plug it in the machine, unravel it and placed it around his arm above his elbow. You swiftly look at the tattoos again on his left arm; a black monochromatic piece, a wonderful chaos of skulls, a dog tag, guns and other army related pieces.

Your cold fingers grazed his warm skin, Ghost felt the cold ripple all the way to his chest. He watched on as you adjusted the cuff.

"That alright?"

"Yeah" Ghost says

He watches as you press the machine and watch the numbers go up, he felt the cuff tighten as it filled with air around his arm. The air hissed and he watched the numbers fall down. 137/88

Grabbing the clipboard and the pen, you jot down the numbers, and you frown slightly.

"You've got high blood pressure"

Ghosts huffs Great he moans in his head

"How old are you?"

"34" Ghost grumbled

"How's your diet?" You ask looking up at him

"Alrigh'"

"Are you taking any drugs, legal or illegal?" You ask

Ghost looks at you, stunned by the wording of your question

"Legal?" He asks narrowing his eyes at you. You gotta be pullin' my leg

"Paracetamol, simvastatin, antibiotics, opioid based pain relief etc" You say

"And illegal?" Ghost asks perking up, curious as to where this will go...

"Cocaine, cannabis and other not so fun things" You add smirking at him.

"Only done the legal kin', paracetamol and hold up - opioid based pain relief? Ghost whips at you, now realising what you said.

"Morphine, codeine and oxycodone" You say "They're legal but addictive like heroin."

Ghost takes it in, of course, he had his own familial experience with that dark side of drug addiction. Tommy...

"Just paracetamol and antibiotics from injuries in the field" Ghost said quietly

"Okay" You say, jotting that down.

"Any new stress in your life?" You say looking back up to him

Ghost looks at you, and then back at the reading of the BP monitor, 137/88 flashes at him.

You observe Ghost, looking at the monitor

"High blood pressure is not worrying if we can correct external factors like diet, exercise and maintaining any stresses" You roll off your tongue.

Jeez you sound like the pamphlet you remember your mum getting from the nurse about high blood pressure You slide back slightly on your chair turning your head, manoeuvring yourself to the trolley tray, rolling your eyes to yourself as you aimlessly fiddle in the tray.

Of course these guys would have a few health issues, they are super elite soldiers, they've dealt with so much...

Ghost looks at you. He's been here before, doctors telling him to change this, do that, etc etc...

You grab the pulse oximeter and move back over to Ghost.

Alright, Sergeant Riley taking your advice; sarcastic comment, time to throw that..

"Look, I sounded like a damn pamphlet, but I'm here for all your health needs" You say bringing your hands up to your sides, foolishly giving him jazz fingers and you smile with teeth.

Ghost scoffs a laugh out, then clears his throat turning his head to the side.

"No new stresses" Ghost says, his gaze back to you, he watches you raise an eyebrow and tilt your head.

"Not even me?" You add, remembering the encounter yesterday after the target course.

Staring into your narrowed brown eyes Ghost knew it was you who was slightly causing stress. Ghost shook his head and then looked at the BP monitor again.

You get up and take the cuff off his arm. You show him the pulse oximeter, and he brings his hand up, you clip it on his forefinger.

"What time do you usually get up?" You ask, remembering the encounter this morning at around 5am.

"Couldn't sleep last night if you're referrin' to this morning" He says looking up at you

You nod back at him, your lip curved slightly. 98% and a pulse of 72bpm. Strong heart

"Not able to get to sleep or wake-up in the middle of the night?" You ask writing down the readings of the oximeter.

"Both" Ghost grunts

"Have you tried any medicine for sleeping?" You ask

"That herbal stuff, calm, from Boots" he said

He watches as you wrinkle your nose. "Didn't work?" You say

"Yeah"

"I'll give you zopiclone, just one, for tonight, see how it goes and we will have another check-in tomorrow" You add, heading to the small locked cabinet and cut out one tablet from the sheet. Locking the cabinet, you head back and give it to Ghost, he places it in his jean pocket.

He continues gazing upon your movements, your hand flicking back a strand of hair that got near your amber brown eyes.

"Take it an hour before sleep, avoid going on your phone and alcohol and should help with aiding sleep. Keep water or squash nearby as it can have metallic aftertaste" You command softly whilst writing away on the clipboard sitting on the stool.

Ghost looked at you, all this seemed so natural coming out of you. He nods along, mesmerised with your poise and assertiveness. That's the rookie you remember from all those years ago. He smirked under his mask and leaned forward a bit.

"How was the herbal tea?" You ask looking back up

"Eh?" He guffles, how could you know?

"This morning, I could smell lavender, was that your tea?" You say, eyes becoming doe-eyed.

'Course, the smell of lavender was soothing, especially after that... episode... nightmare

"Yeah Doc"

"Does it help?" You ask

"Sort of, chamomile and lavender tea..." Ghost begins and then pauses.

Gazing upon his eyes, which shifted left to right as he spoke to you. His cool blue eyes strike yours, they were even icier against his blonde eyelashes.

Ghost looks at you, he notices the writing on your white coat, Dr Hari Kaur Neurosurgery threaded in black cursive under the pocket full of pens.

"What abou' you?" Ghost asks, he notices your eyes narrow.

"What do you mean?"

"You were up early" Ghost retorted

Tilting your head back, your roll your head around. Maybe if I open up, he'll too...

"Bad dream woke me up." half-lying to him. You didn't want to talk about Siberia, not now..

Ghost watched as your eyes lost a bit of brightness, becoming dull.

"Tea help?" He asked, trying to bring that brightness back in your eyes

"Tea always helps" You smirked

"What one you have?" Ghost asked, knowing full well you had Tetley.

"Tetley, but I prefer PG tips" You grinned, eyes twinkling again.

"Oooh" he sucked in some air "Yorkshire is best" he sighed

"Tetley is from Yorkshire!" You snapped

"Was from Yorkshire" He retaliated "Run by an Indian company now, Yorkshire Tea is still based in Yorkshire" He added crossing his arms and puffing his chest out.

You scoff at him, looking away and then back at him, admiring his chiseled torso.

"Actually prefer chai, with PG tips" You quipped

"Hmm" Ghost says "Maybe you could use my Yorkshire Tea next time and I'll judge" he added

Nodding back at him you get off the stool. "Next time for tea then?" he nods back.

Ghost watches and listens as you ask him to step on the weight balance, and checks his height. He continues to gaze at you as you complete other checks needed, obliging your every command willingly. It was the least he could do after the way he treated you.

You would understand if he told you later convincing himself that now is not the right time.

You would understand, bad people are out there

He gives a nod and a yes comes out of his mouth, as you say something about his med-kit, his eyes drawn in on your back as you walk to the counter checking their contents again.

You would understand, it's safer for Simon Riley to remain dead to you.

Ghost looks at you, wondering if you ever thought about Simon Riley...

"I am the death of everything you know and love" Roba's voice echoed faintly in his skull

You would understand

[internetmisfitsworld]

I know Call of Duty Mobile comics are not canon (at least to my knowledge), but it's nice to see some crumbs of Makarov contents. Most importantly, there's a hint of "Makarov being a girl dad" moments in the comic that had me screaming.

We get to see more of his personality, though some of it were a bit OOC to me. But most of the time, they got him right. More russian quips and all, something we don't see much back in MW2 and MW3.

His sassy bitchy side. We got glimpse of that back in MW2 and MW3 but in the comics? Deadass he's such a sassy little shit, that at some point I couldn't even be mad at him 😂 .

We also get to see him sort of, kind of, but not really, have this odd sometimes wholesome, mostly questionable, father-daughter vibe with Sophia Couteau. This bit was probably that caught me off guard the most, mostly because we know him as this cold heartless bastard that he is. It was mentioned that he took her in as his protege after her father died. She became part of his crew along with another character Wraith. Funny enough, Sophia even slightly defend Makarov against Dame (her mother) here.

"I know how much you long for big strong parental figure to make things right for you"

"Big Daddy Vladimir" (The way I cackled when I read this line agagahhaha we get it Dame ✋️✋️✋️Makarov is big and strong lmaooo she so real for that)

"As much my mother as Makarov is" (Confirmed. Makarov is mother 💅🏻)

Anyway, back on the topic.

Interestingly, Sophia's father, Edouard "Templar", once tried to kill Makarov. Sooo, you can see why I label Sophia and Makarov father daughter vibe as "questionable", since well... it's Makarov we're talking here. Trusting Makarov is a deathwish.

So, what was Makarov's intention of taking Sophia, whose father tried to kill him, under his care?

Personally, I believe there's a thin line between genuine care and using her for his own cause. I do believe he initially took her in to use her for his personal agenda. But overtime, he grew to care for her a little bit. Maybe he sees himself in her, reminding him back in his days when Zakhaev took him in (different circumstances but still there's similarities). But of course, I don't believe his growing care for her diminished any thought of using her as a pawn for him to use. But damn it he did had me thinking that he genuinely, truly cared for her.

Another thought I had is that, he might took her in because he sees it as some kind of twisted way to get back at Edouard? Maybe he thought; "You tried to kill me? Imma steal yo kid and be a better dad than you then lmfaoo *runs away with adoption paper in his hand*"

But not really though. Considering at the time, Edouard was considered dead (turns out to be alive sometimes later though agaaag this comic really kills me because anyone can never be truly dead). So, him doing this in the name of "getting revenge" on Edouard, is pointless. Unless of course, he's always known Edouard is alive the whole time.

Yeah all in all, it was really a treat to see Makarov being nice and affectionate with someone. A treat and kinda astounding sight too. Especially since we know what he's like in the game agagaa. Like yeah we know who he is and what he is, we know if push comes to shove, he will probably betray Sophia in a heartbeat. But still, it's heartwarming to see their interaction.

Makarov Parenting 101: Gives manipulation tactics advice

Makarov Parenting 101: Be the first to cover your kid's back. Also, keep your kid's close.

Makarov Parenting 101: Teach your kid your language

(FYI Sophia is French. And yeah I know that it doesn't really mean anything considering that a) it's a pretty simple and common phrase so maybe she doesn't really know russian and only knows a couple of phrase or b) maybe she learned the language herself. But still, it's fun to consider that maybe she pick it up from Makarov. Bet she learned a few curse words as well 🤣 Mak disapproves at first but overtime he finds it amusing and snickers whenever she said it)

Makarov Parenting 101: Gives reassurance to your kid (even if you have to lie)

Yeah I'm on the fence on this one, because as much as I want to believe it, part of me have a feeling that he had that family killed. Also,

"I'm not a monster" The audacity of his ass to say this line lol 💀

Bonus:

It's a funny sight to see him helping someone up. Because we know what happened the last time he did that (rip allen you should've never take that hand). Also, he didn't have to help her up. She's more than capable to do that. Not just Wraith but Sophia too. But here he is giving his hand to them. Notice that Sophia was ahead of them, so I'm gonna assume Mak went up first then wait out to help Sophia up the roof then help Wraith. "He really said "I might be a mass murdering psychopathic terrorist but at least I'm a gentleman 👍"

Also another Makarov Parenting 101: Always help your kid up first in high altitude situation.

So yeah. In the comic, they seem to tone him down a little. Shows his light and sometimes dark, humorous side (a nice change though I'm not complaining). A little flirty too ("never darling" "Freya my dear").

"Never, darling" (SWOON GAGAHAHAGA)

[utilitycaster]

FYI, I'm away for the weekend and shall have very limited availability once I reach my destination but here is WoTC's first official statement re the OGL. It is short and in fairly simple language, and I recommend under the strongest terms you read it for yourself and draw your own conclusions from it rather than relying on others.

Takeaways I have are:

They will be clarifying that this is specifically about the creation of TTRPGs. Livestreams, cosplay, etc. were always unaffected but given the response from the community I think this is a useful statement to make. They have also stated that this is not intended to touch on VTTs. I will admit, I feel like the conversation surrounding VTTs has been by far the most poisoned by unfounded speculation, and I also have not liked VTTs when I've used them, so I'll wait for the final OGL 1.1 to have any conclusions, but at the very least this is what they are saying now.

It appears the royalty structure is not being pursued, which was one of the biggest legitimate concerns.

The OGL 1.0 will not be invalidated for existing content. I would presume that this does imply it will not be permissible for future content the moment that 1.1a is released.

The registration system has not been mentioned, and I am keeping an eye on that. It seems that if royalties aren't going to go forward this would not make any sense to have and would almost certainly cost them money to pursue, but I'm waiting for 1.1a to make that clear.

The language surrounding content that uses the SRD as being something that can be used by WoTC at any time for free will be clarified to indicate that this is a provision to prevent lawsuits over unintentional coincidences rather than as a means for WoTC to use commercially available unofficial content for free. (This is part of what was widely stated by people more familiar with IP law to be boilerplate. Basically: let's say a third party publisher came up with the idea of a fire-based druid class shortly before the Circle of Wildfire came out but after it had legitimately already been in development at WoTC. This would basically say "hey, we did not steal your IP; both of us came up with fire-based druid subclasses independently and neither of us will sue each other and both of us can continue to sell our material.")

Obviously this went through PR for a large company, and, you know, sounds like it. The responsible thing to do is to wait for the final document. With that said I do not think it's unreasonable to consider things with a measure of good faith, which is to say: the leak was a draft, it was not intended to be released as it was, and there was intended to be a (far more controlled) comment period for creators once a public-facing draft version was ready.

For what it's worth: More generally, I do recommend being very thoughtful about what subscriptions you maintain, which is why I use D&D Beyond in a fairly limited fashion and only because a DM of mine requested it - I do not use it for DM planning nor did I use it for previous characters. Part of that is because, as you can see in the film/TV industry and music industry, your favorite show or song can be taken off a streaming service on the whim of said service or at the behest of the artist or for many other reasons, but content you actually own will still exist. I think it's worth criticizing this as an ongoing business practice, and I do suspect WoTC will be pushing it for D&D Beyond.

I also think a lot of opportunistic people preyed on people's fears regarding games or shows they have deep emotional attachments to, and that multiple parties in all of this ongoing mess (one of which, to be clear, is WoTC/Hasbro) can all be wrong at once. Also more generally, I do not think this kind of fearmongering is productive, and I do think it's outright harmful to genuinely pragmatic anticapitalist efforts. Lies or even the not necessarily malicious wide dissemination of misinformation are far more dangerous when they validate what you already believe, because you're far more likely to fall for them.

[fancy-feast-official]

instead of doing anything normal (like taking ibuprofen for my headache) i just spent the past four hours of my life writing an essay on why manfred von karma is abusive. kind of proud of it ngl.

also i tagged all quotes from the original post i'm talking about to their actual [user].tumblr.com site which has really bright colors fyi. i'll link the tumblr.com/[user] site at the end of the essay if bright colors don't work for you. also if ppl start sending me hate i'm just gonna block them.

In a Tumblr post by Wendy/Jessie Rose Rocket (referred to from here on as Wendy) on their interpretation of Manfred von Karma (MvK) in the Ace Attorney series, they argue that there is little canon evidence that MvK could have ever abused his children.[1] This however, is not the case, as there are various examples which they cite themselves that include traits of emotional abuse, including a hyper-controlling nature, manipulation, and invalidation of the victim’s feelings.

Before I get into the various examples given in the original post which indicate emotional abuse, I will say that I am not going to attack the more personal aspects of this argument, nor do I wish to attack any people who believe that MvK is not an abuser. I only want to look at the facts of his characterization and dissect the argument itself. Ignoring or overwriting the signs of emotional abuse in fictional characters can pose some threat to real people – if they’ll excuse emotional manipulation in fiction, they may be willing to excuse when they themselves are emotionally manipulated. I also think that it is misleading for Wendy to state that they are alright with abuse victims writing MvK as an abuser, before spending several hundred words explaining why they don’t think that MvK is an abuser, and that Ace Attorney fans are wrong in interpreting him that way.

Also, I will mention that both my own essay and the original post are triggered somewhat by the Filter Bubble Effect,[2] where content filtering and selection leads to a person only seeing one opinion or viewpoint. Wendy mentions that, while they see differing viewpoints on MvK on Tumblr, Twitter, and AO3, they do not see interpretations of him as abusive on other sites. I personally disagree with this statement as entirely factual, as before this post was made I had never seen interpretations of MvK as anything other than abusive. There is likely a split between these two interpretations, and I’m not willing to hazard a guess as to percentages in each camp.

With all that said, Wendy also mentions that both Miles Edgeworth (Edgeworth) and Franziska von Karma (Franziska) are “incredibly queer & nd coded.”[3] This is somewhat untrue. Both Edgeworth and Franziska are written as stuffy, calculating, and believing themselves to be entirely logical. While these are considered traits of neurodivergency, it is stated within the canon of the games that these traits have been trained in them by MvK. There’s an argument to be made on nurture versus nature (especially in the case of Edgeworth), but for the purposes of my argument I am going to say that this is more due to their upbringings than anything else.

While Edgeworth is somewhat queer-coded, it is only really present as a joke (Implications that Edgeworth isn’t aware that women find him attractive[4]), or because of his relationship with Phoenix Wright.[5] Franziska is not queer coded, though she is written as somewhat masculine compared to other female characters. This characterization is more a result of her being a female version of MvK and Edgeworth, and less to do with any alleged queerness.

The first piece of evidence which Wendy gives, under the context that it is “the one single piece of evidence that team fanfred brings to the table,”[6] are three lines from  Ace Attorney Investigations, both in the fourth case. The first is a conversation between Franziska and  MvK,

Franziska: Papa! You’ll come and watch my courtroom debut next, won’t you?

Manfred: Hmm… I’ll consider it.[7]

This conversation is rather innocuous, though it shows that MvK can be dismissive of his children at times. The more damning line is the second one which Wendy includes, where MvK says to Edgeworth, “A worthless person like you has no right to claim such a thing as perfection!”[8] This is one of many examples of MvK expecting nothing but perfection from both of his children. An expectation of perfection leads to Franziska and Edgeworth doubting themselves, and feeling worthless.[9] MvK places high importance on perfection, leading to his care for his children being conditional, reliant on their ability to be perfect.[10] Among other things, instilling self-doubt and worthlessness, and making acceptance or care conditional are signs that someone is being emotionally abusive.[11]

MvK is shown in various media to have a constant need for perfection and control of everything around him. in Ace Attorney Investigations, he manipulates aspects of cases so that he is guaranteed to win,[12] something he also does in “Turnabout Goodbyes.” It is completely reasonable that, when his own protégé does not display this inhuman perfection, he would be upset and lash out, as he does in the above example. Wendy notes that the word used in the original exchange, 半人前, does not translate to “worthless,” but instead to “an amateur / someone without experience.”[13] This, of course, is much more accurate to the context of their situation, but stating that the translation must have been made in bad faith is besides the point. There is no reason that MvK should be putting such high expectations for perfection on someone who, in real life, would not even have finished college yet. While it does not hold much weight as evidence for my own argument, it holds very little weight for their argument as well. However, it is important to cover this exchange, as they believe it is the only evidence a so-called “Fanfred” might be able to find indicating an abusive characterization.

Wendy continues on by listing the many ways in the anime that MvK is shown to be a good father. While they can be seen as evidence that he is not abusive, abusers can be nice to their victims, for a myriad of reasons. This can be done for any number of reasons, including: Bolstering the abusers image to the victim or outsiders, or to convince themselves they are a good person; As a manipulation tactic; And because the abuser is in the recovery phase of the abuse cycle.[14] I am going to focus on the former of these two reasons, as they are more likely in the von Karma situation. 

The most striking of the initial examples from the anime is Edgeworth’s statement that “he considers [MvK] the only person who was there for him after his father died.”[15] While this can seem like a positive thing, it is important to note that MvK very clearly isolated Edgeworth from his friends by moving him out of his house, away from his friends (who are not provided with any information as to why he’s gone). Social isolation is a tactic of abuse, used to tether a victim to their abuser so that they are more reliant on them.[16] The next examples of MvK complying with Franziska’s demands in an effort to make Edgeworth smile after he first moves in with them could be an example of him wanting to cheer Edgeworth up after the death of his father (who, I will remind you, was killed by MvK). However, this could have underlying motives, where MvK wants Edgeworth to open up to him, so that he might have more control over him. By killing Gregory Edgeworth, and raising his son to be as ruthless as himself, MvK takes care of the “curse” that he believes the Edgeworths to be.[17]

In the anime, MvK reacts rather calmly to Edgeworth’s first ever defeat during “Turnabout Samurai.” Wendy states that he seems “perplexed,” but is not in any way “cruel and unusual” what he says during that conversation.[18] Taken out of the context of MvK’s behavior, this is plausible. However, over the 15 years that he raised Edgeworth, he emphasized perfection over all else. Edgeworth’s reaction to losing is so negative because of MvK’s influences on his ideas of self-worth. In the conversation, MvK also advises Edgeworth to not have feelings, invalidating any feelings that Edgeworth might have about the cases he works on, feelings which can be necessary in determining the truth.

I agree with Wendy that MvK is, as they put it “a despicable fucking human being.”[19] In “Turnabout Goodbyes” alone, he:

Commits aggravated assault, including assault against a minor

Steals and tampers with evidence

Engages in conspiracy to commit murder, and is shown to have committed murder himself

Frames two people for murders that he was involved in

Due to his propensity for physical violence, it is no stretch to assume that he is physically violent with his own family members.[20] Even if he is not physically abusive, it has been shown time and time again that he emotionally abuses his children, and even despite that they look up to him. It is not uncommon for an abuse victim to love or care for their abuser. This can lead to blaming oneself for the abuse, and normalizing the abuse that is happening.[21] The reactions that Wendy wants to see in fics are plausible reactions for abusive victims to have when their abuser dies. It is possible for someone to understand they are being abused and yet still love the person doing the abusing.

Now, the lead poisoning business. Yes, it is possible for someone to get lead posioning from a bullet wound.[22] This is a plausible excuse for MvK’s behavior in later years, however, his tendency towards manipulation and hyper-control are present in “The Inherited Turnabout,” before he’s shot.[23] While lead poisoning does cause irritability, it also causes memory difficulties,[24] something that would hinder MvK’s ability to write his detailed plan for payback which he sends to Yanni Yogi.[25] This removes any plausible deniability for MvK in the murder of Robert Hammond – he very clearly knew what he was doing, and knew the consequences, which is why he tried to frame Edgeworth and Yogi. In a real court of law, he would be competent to stand trial for his crimes.

In conclusion, while he is not explicitly shown to physically abuse his children, Manfred von Karma canonically emotionally abuses his children, forcing them to adhere to his strict sense of perfection and morality. When both Franziska and Edgeworth fail to live up to his impossible standards, they doubt their own abilities and self-worth. Excusing this behavior in any person could lead to people not realizing that they’re being abused, and therefore having more difficulty getting out of abusive situations. It’s alright to like MvK as a character, but deliberately overlooking his abusive tendencies is to overlook a major part of his character, and his relationship with Edgeworth and Franziska.

"I'm Going to Change Your Mind About Manfred Von Karma"

[dixidin]

Genshin impact hcs for every nation pt.4

Sumeru edition!

Info: OOC? Mentions of other characters, writing sucks, sorry if I get some lore wrong with some characters! Fyi, none of this is cannon besides the occasional lore mentions (also I was a bit lazy near the end)

Alhaitham: Alhaitham is surprisingly good at color theory, despite not using it often. How did he learn about it? No one knows

Kandace: Kandace always insists that you should keep your weapons in top shape so they don't stay dirty or break, that being said. Kandace will go out of her way for hours, just polishing/cleaning every single weapon she owns

Collei: Whenever Collei's Eleazar gets out of control, she'll have to use crutches for the time being, of course only if she's slightly stable. If it was any less, then she would immediately be put on bed rest. Collei also decorated it with stickers and bracelets to make her feel a bit better

Cyno: Since Cyno has white hair, one time when Tighnari was getting really fed up with his jokes, he emptied out his shampoo and instead put in black hair dye. For about a couple of weeks, Cyno had a weird black mop on his head that looked like roots

Deyha: On a rare occasion, when someone underestimates Dehya, she'll immediately pretend to be bad at something. When she's finished, she'll point out a flaw she made before going wild and showing off her skills

Dori: Dori used to have extremely bad handwriting, but when she started becoming a more popular merchant. She upped her game and practiced with her handwriting for days until she was proud of the result. She's even dived into calligraphy

Faruzan: Whenever Faruzan has time to herself, she absolutely loves learning about fossils and what animals or creatures used to walk on Tevyat grounds

Kaveh: Kaveh has a very long skincare route and will feel uncomfortable for the rest of the day if he wasn't able to do it in time

Layla: Surprisingly, Layla is secretly really good at ballroom dancing, but not tangoing

Nahida: Nahida has a very soft and unique singing voice, and during the time period when Wanderer was healing, she would use her voice for lullabies to lull him to sleep. Most of the time, she would sing to him when he was asleep, having a nightmare, but it would quickly turn into a dream when he heard Buer's voice

Nilou: Nilou is secretly really good at theater, but since she's put up a more confident persona when dancing, she gets really nervous and shy whenever she has to play pretend since she's not as confident

Tighnari: When Tighnari was growing up, he absolutely loved making fairy houses, and as he grew up, he got better and better at making them! He's even now taught Collei how to make some

Wanderer: Wanderer absolutely sucks at cutting hair, but since he's so used to his usual bowlcut, he's much faster at cutting his own hair

If you repost this on another website, please give credit. Any like or repost is greatly appreciated -dixidin

Tags:

[princesscolumbia]

hmmm

spess ships, but mmos not the vibe...

hey do you like slight jank and... look i dunno how to describe it so I'm just gonna hand you the name Nebulous Fleet Command and go

upcoming update:

Amusingly, that type of game play would be available in the VRMMO in the game, you'd have to select the "Naval Captain" class on character creation instead of Independent like Diane does.

As far as "Why MMO?", it's because the series this work is intended to be part of is all based on some variety of VRMMO:

Trouble with Horns - CORA, fantasy MMO

Illegal Alien in a MMO World - CORA

Witch of Chains - CORA

Coven's Rebellion (Patreon Exclusive, unfinished) - CORA, but most of the book takes place outside the game

Lieforged Gale (unfinished) - Rellithesh, fantasy MMO

Esmie the Calamity (Patreon Exclusive, unfinished) - CORA

Digital Galaxies - Digital Galaxies (yeah, they used the game's name for the book)

Digital Exodus (Patreon Exclusive, unfinished) - ...surprisingly no VRMMO

Most of the books have different MCs, though the MCs of the earlier books will appear or be mentioned in later books. They all take place in the same "100 years in the future" setting, all of them feature transfemme MCs, all have some sort of romance sub-plot, and all have a specific "feel."

Basic "universal" plot is:

Egg doesn't know they're egg

Egg goes into VR

Shenanigans Ensue, Egg plays as woman

Egg feels really good about playing as woman

Egg 'comes out' and becomes woman in either digital form or IRL

Digital Exodus is the odd duck (heh...duck, egg...geddit?) because it's intended to be the last book in the series. It's going to bring in it's own plot threads (there's a [SPOILER] storyline that seemingly comes from nowhere) but it's all about wrapping up the meta-story introduced in "Trouble."

"Code of Ethics" follows the same formula as the others, but it's "feel" is "spy thriller," so the "MMO" part is only backdrop, not the primary driver of the story.

If you happen to play Star Trek: Fleet Command, you might just recognize a lot of "Galaxies Unlimited: Master and Commander" if you tilt your head and squint. 😉 I'm on the constant lookout for stuff that would keep it from being a carbon copy, so I might have to take a look at Nebulous Fleet Command if I feel like my writing of the setting is getting stale. 😊

While QuietVallerie hasn't endorsed my book as canon (yet...hopefully...knock on wood), I'm intending for it to fit with everything else she's written without altering her timeline or plot events. The idea is the events of "Code of Ethics" are spycraft, nobody is intended to be aware of them on the same scale as, say, the events of Coven's Rebellion.

(And for anyone reading this that's unaware, the subject of this post is Code of Ethics, currently being written and published on Scribblehub.)

Also, @meme-archivist, I keep following your blog but Tumblr keeps unfollowing you for reasons I haven't tracked down yet. Just FYI.

[bleepbloo]

In Stars and Time Review/Rant

Spoiler Warning, and full disclosure, I spoiled myself on the ending, and some of the parts, and I gave up on it. Just FYI.

I want to start this off by saying this isn't a bad game.

The core of the gameplay loop, combat, characters, soundtrack, and basic story narrative - all work within the bounds of the game and the narrative.

But I have some (big) issues with it.

But first the basic plot:

(Spoilers and full review under the cut.)

Edited on 1/3/2024 to finish the sentences I missed and correct spelling

The basic plot goes like this. You are Siffer, a rogue in an adventuring party that needs to take down the King that had come out of nowhere to threaten the country, because the King has been freezing people in time to protect the country.

You make a wish, and then - after entering the he dies in the deadly room due to a trap, before resetting back to when you started the game, laying down on the grass. There's a Star that informs you that you are stuck in a timeloop, and that they (the star) informs you that they are there to help and be an ear to you.

Eventually you do beat the king, time resets, and Sif is back where he started; clearly, defeating the King doesn't work by itself, so clearly there must be something else you have to try.

During the entirety of the time loops, not once does Sif communicate with his party about the situation. Eventually, you reach a breaking point, lashing out at your friends in a flawed attempt to rush things along, and go on to take the King down by yourself, because there's nothing else left for you to try.

The party - with help from the star - was able to follow and locate you, and it all culminates in a big moment where the pressure valve is released and it's revealed that Sif wished to be able to spend more time with his friends, his family.

And it's a big moment, because he's finally communicating with the team, and they're with him, he's with them, and the story ends there.

By itself, with the gameplay being as tight as it is, that is not that bad.

The combat is basically rock, paper, scissors, with each member of the four party members have some utility towards that, and it's really good! The fast forward and looping mechanics are also handled well, and it just ties everything together nicely, on a surface level.

What bothers me is the set dressing, it's the extra details thrown in, it's the King's backstory, it's Sif's backstory, and it's an NPC who sometimes does and does not have a sister-

Because a sizable element to the story is that there are things Sif cannot read, there's an NPC who's sister left to go to a foreign country but the NPC can't remember the name of it before the world resets itself to allow the NPC to be an only child, and the King mentioning - when you beat him - that he can't go, because he can't say the name of it yet.

As you go through the game, it's revealed that there is an island that just - straight up and down, unironically, disappeared from the world, within the last eight years in game story, given that Bonnie - youngest member of the party who's about 11 or 12 at most - is able to remember people talking about it for weeks when it happened. What's more, is that no one is able to remember anything from the island. Not the culture, the language can't be read, and - most telling of all - the name of the island cannot be said. It's both implied and then outright confirmed that the King and Sif are both from that island, hence why the King is trying to hard to preserve the closest neighbor and why Sif has no real past to speak of, because they can't say/remember their home; that NPC's sister I mentioned earlier? The NPC's sister was almost certainly on that island when it disappeared.

Additionally, remember when I mentioned earlier

The Head Priestess, she would - after to talking to Sif, thanking him for his help - immediately state that the world was 'breaking apart' that the world was dying prior to Sif resetting back to the grass.

There was also a tiny detail of like the world not having color as it disappeared slowly, day by day, until it was just gone and the world was in black and white.

All this, in my mind, while I was playing it, was building up to us being able to bring back the island, bring back color, and basically fix the world of whatever was wrong with it.

I was in the later half of Act three at this point? And that's when I looked up a video, just to try and find where the secret room was.

It's ten hours long, but it was the only one up at the moment, and beggars couldn't have been choosers.

So I watched it, at the point where Sif and Mirabelle were talking and saw where it ended at like Sif talking to the Head Priestess, at the very end of the game.

And I was hyped! I was like, wow, what an ending, the art direction was sound, the music was nailed, everything was very cool and interesting and I couldn't want to wake up the next day to get to it myself.

But I kept turning, turning, and turning it over in my head, and the more I did that, the more I was realizing - I don't really like how it ended. Maybe I had too high expectations, maybe if I had actually played it through to that point I would have seen the vision, but like.

Why were those extra details in there that didn't amount to much? Because like. The island - everything about it, from it being unable to be named, from it just disappearing one day, from the NPC's sister who was on the island country when it was wiped from existence - didn't actually come back? Like. That's still not fixed? Not to mention the chehov's guns that never fired. I mean, yes, the team was there for Sif, but none of them were ever able to realize something was wrong with Sif, at least not to the point of actually confronting him about it until the last go around (there were hints, but there was never any follow through, again, from the point I played and the point I watched - I fully realize I missed things as a result of my skimming).

The King was unable to say it's name, even as he died/was frozen in time?

Sif still doesn't remember any of his past - and he can't remember the island/old home at all, or his own childhood, because the island is still gone! The block is still there! There's no explanation for why that happened to begin with!

And the NPC's sister is still also gone! The NPC will never fully remember their own sister, because the foreign country she went to was wiped from the world and from memory! The color is still gone! Why include what the Head Priestess said about the world rotting and being corrupted when it was just the wish magic functioning? Shouldn't she have been able to do or say something different when Sif interacted with her?

Like, ok, the color thing about colors fading from the world - cute detail, nothing crazy.

The book series in the world - nice detail, not much to mention.

It's the disappearing island that is the biggest offender of this. That is the one thing that needs to gtfo, that's the one detail that is PLOT RELEVANT and stupid!

(Edit: I failed to mention; it's only not the island disappearing part I have an that much of an issue with, it's more the context I take issue with more. The fact that not only was the island was just gone, but that anything even tangentially related to it were suppressed, from the language, to the culture, to the memory of it, to the extent anyone that was still on the island was forgotten about, except in tangential glimpses and stone hops. And that's not going to the people that actually LIVED on the island, like the King and Sif, where they can't remember their past - their parents, their friends, their loves, the food that comforts them - ANYTHING, it's suppressed and rewritten over by the universe. That is demented - that is dark and heavy sci-fi dystopian level stuff, and for the take away to be 'let it go'? To forget the crumbs that you have of your life before, your family, the life you lived, the decisions you made? I don't know, that feels bad, and that doesn't feel satisfying to me, particularly. I admit bias here. Especially because that one NPC, even after everything, won't be able to remember their sister, whom they clearly really really loved.)

If you've read this far, come take a walk with me down a hypothetical scenario, on another path.

Consider if you will, instead of just - fucking disappearing and being blocked from memory for some reason that is NEVER EXPLAINED - it is instead destroyed by nature (think Earthquake and/or Tsunami). Many people die, the island is just destroyed/gone, and what's left of the people get scattered to the winds because who wants to live by the place where your life was destroyed?

And that way, it be less about this weird block on the memory and more about Sif actively avoiding any mention of his old home or Sif not remembering the name of his old home due to trauma, and the King's motivation would make more sense; he wants to protect the people of his country that still exist, and the majority of them are in the main story's country, as well as preventing any changing nature to affect the country that houses most of the people! ( I don't care enough to look up the name)

It would have been 1) more fulfilling, imo, 2) would have given him more depth and more of a religious crisis, 3) he would have to confront the King, this person from the home he can barely remember, every time, and kill a real part of his past, 4) it would give him more reason to want to not lose the family he currently has because he's already gone through it once, 5) It would actually be relatable to people who have/are currently losing their culture to time and just not being able to practice it, 6) it wouldn't be so fucking bizarre!

And the fact that it didn't is...not bad? The developers were still able to tell the story they wanted to. And on a basic character level and overarching, they did succeed, I won't discredit them that! But like. The setting lore - feels like cardboard, like you poke at the setting hard enough it'll break. Especially with the disappearing island that's just- blocked from people's memories, again, for reasons that the story never explains how or why that even happened. Especially with all the other details in the game it's just. Bad. It tastes like Ash.

TD;LR: This game is not a bad game, but it's not internally strong enough to be considered Indie peaks like Hades, Slay the Princess, Undertale, and I personally would not recommend the game.

[izunias-meme-hole]

My Top 20 Favorite Characters (Remastered)

(FYI: just because a character is low on the list doesn’t mean I don’t like them)

Number 1. Ganondorf/Ganon (The Legend of Zelda) - Honestly after so many years, Ganondorf still holds up as a villain. Ganon was the biproduct of a curse created by Demise to ensure that his hate is reincarnated just so he can destroy Link and Zelda’s descendants, and Ganondorf himself was born as the only male in a desert that belonged tribe to warrior women known as The Gerudo, eventually ending up as their king thanks to Gerudo traditions. Ganondorf had a huge presence in Ocarina of Time, manipulating you into locating the Triforce and immediately took over Hyrule during your time skip. In Hyrule Warriors, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and A Link To The Past, he adapts in some form either that be because of genuine character development, an ego increase, or a desire for revenge. However in Breath of the Wild, the end of all three timelines, he fully succumbs to Demise’s curse and uses his hate to create an entity known as Calamity Ganon. In short, Ganon started out as an intelligent and ambitious king, a man to be exact, but eventually he turned into a beast fueled by hate. Then in Tears of The Kingdom he returns, and not only so we learn that he DIDN’T succumb to Demise’s curse after all, we learn that 1,000 years ago, he reincarnated and began to EMBRACE it becoming the new Demon King in the process, and  he came back to life to continue his reign. HE ALSO WAS BEHIND CALAMITY GANON! Overall Ganondorf is a surprisingly versatile and interesting take on a evil king, combining power with intellect, tragedy, anger, class, inevitability, and pure EVIL which is why he’s the greatest villain in gaming history and fiction in general.

Number 2. Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Star Wars) - In retrospective, Palpatine is easily the best villain in cinematic history. In the first two movies of the original trilogy, he never appears once, he’s only mentioned as “The Emperor,” and based off what we heard from Vader after he chopped Luke’s hand off, The Emperor sounds like a bigger and scarier dude than Vader. Then Return of The Jedi happens, and we see that he’s just a frail old man, yet he somehow manages to not only have Vader under his thumb, and based off what we see in the climax of the movie, it was primarily based off manipulation and not the force lightning he shoots out of his fingers. Then the Prequels happened, and The Clone Wars happened, which is honestly the exact moment that young me liked him more than Vader, and the moment current me rediscovered just how well written Palpatine is as a pure evil, card carrying dark lord, and as a politician. Sure he’s one of the strongest sith lords in the series, but that alone isn’t what makes him scary. It’s his careful planning, and the best part of it is that he rarely appears onscreen, yet his presence can be felt 24/7. I am not as much of a Star Wars fan as I used to be, but I will admit that I LOVE Sheev Palpatine and I’m not afraid to say it.

Number 3. Sauron (Lord Of The Rings) - A classic example of a villain who is rarely on the field, but has such an impact on the world he inhabits. Sauron has a heavy amount of lore, the right amount of impact, the perfect fear factor, and literal omnipresence to back it all up. The creator of The One Ring is not a being to be trifled with.

Number 4. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy) - Sephiroth is one of the hardest bosses in gaming and a genuine horror villain. He is a tragic monster born from science, and a loyal “son” fo his alien mother, Jenova, but he’s still scary as hell thanks to his god complex, unlimited strength, ethereal vibes, years of experience, his ability to live off of pure spite just so he can make the lives of his enemies (and Cloud) complete hell. His appearance in of itself is creepy due to how beautiful, yet unsettling it is, thanks to his silver hair, green snake-like eyes, and perfect physique which is complimented by a black coat. However the most dangerous things about him are that he’s completely delusional, and just how far he’s willing to go to distort peoples sense reality, specifically Cloud’s sense of reality. Sephiroth a good character and phenomenal villain.

Number 5. Edelgard Von Hresvelg (Fire Emblem) - I would repeat several points about why her fans like her, and also explain just how in the wrong she is, but there’s a simpler way to explain why I love Edelgard. She’s the best take on the Rudolf Archetype in the entire series. She’s calculated, arrogant, and self-righteous, yet she’s also very charming, likable, self-aware, and had a good end goal that can resonate with some people, despite the way she intended to go about it. Her character basically mixes parts of what made SoV’s Rudolf, Arvis, and Walhart good, and places them into a single character, without making her seem unoriginal. Overall, Edelgard is the most well done villain the series has ever had. Long Live The Flame Emperor!

Number 6. Bowser (Super Mario Bros) - Bowser is a genuinely great villain and fun as hell. Sure, there are a crapton of underrated villains in the Mario series, but no matter what you cannot really hate this guy. He’s a giant fire breathing turtle-dragon who’s a evil king, but he’s also a meathead, arrogant as hell, has very cool boss fights, is a surprisingly good father to his kids, an amazing protagonist and ally, as shown in games like the Paper Mario Series, and Mario & Luigi Series, not to mention he’s one of the more likable villains in gaming. So yeah, Bowser’s a cool character and fun villain.

Number 7. Venom (The Spiderverse) - This thing. THIS FRICKIN’ THING!! To sum up this abomination and his variants throughout the Spiderverse, Venom is a gooey, parasitic being known as a symbiote that basically increases aggression in a person, eats brains and stuff found in chocolate, and gives them access to some broken ass shit, and they just so happened to bond with Spider-Man, slowly turning him into a closed off jackass and influencing his every action. That was until Spidey dumped them into the trash. Then Venom meets a suitable host that is all for ending the Web Slinger, and then boom, what we get is an angry alien out to settle a score with Spider-Man. Who their host is changes depending on the universe or point in the timeline, but the most prominent host for Venom and has been Eddie Brock, a literal loser. So that’s the lore for Venom, but if you want a summary of their character; Venom is Spider-Man’s toxic, non-binary, alien ex who is fun as hell to watch. He’s also funny as shit in some of his appearances.

Number 8. Ghetsis (Pokemon Adventures) - Ah yes, the worst father in Pokemon and the greatest villain the series has ever known. Ghetsis is Team Plasma’s founder, the father of N, and the greatest embodiment of evil this series has seen, so that kinda makes him the perfect foil to N. Ghetsis is cunning, manipulative, abusive, banal, psychotic, self-righteous, and narcissistic, not to mention that his plan was actually put together pretty well. However the best part about this guy are his BREAKDOWNS, like good lord it’s satisfying to kick this rancid old man into the dirt and watch him mentally not take a loss. As for why he’s this high, I just love knocking an evil old man down a peg with maxed out pokemon, and I love watching him be shitty just to see karma hit him like a truck. And the Adventures manga adapts all of these things PERFECTLY, with the only actual change being that he constantly puts up a gentlemanly mask, even when he should be loosing it, which makes his eventual breakdown in the final chapters of the Unova Arc so SATISFYING! So yeah, Ghetsis is entertaining as all hell, and easily the best villain in the entire series.

Number 9. Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney) - I’ve grown to love Phoenix Wright, Mia Fey, Damon Gant, Fransika Von Karma, Godot, and like a majority of the most well done characters of the series, but Miles Edgeworth is truly the best out of all of these guys. His relationship with Pheonix is amazing, he’s very charming, and overall Miles has one of the best examples of character development a rival to a protagonist has ever had.

Number 10. Amity Blight (The Owl House) - If you had to ask me who my favorite Owl House characters were in no particular order, my top 5 are Eda, Hunter, Luz, Belos, and this girl. Amity in season 1 seemed like she was going to be a rival character, she definitely had the makings of one, primarily due to her demeanor, but after her first encounter with Luz, being humbled by her ex-BFF at the time, and a witches duel with Luz where her “mentor,” Lilith augmented her strength without her knowledge, we began to see Amity be more and more vulnerable, and Luz managed to help her through it a lot of the time. Heck it got to the point where she got a crush on Luz! Then as soon as you reach Understanding Willow and Season 2, we learn that Amity’s whole familial situation was a Harry Osborn situation, complete with a controlling parental figure that is genuinely evil to the brim and Alador, so as you see Amity’s positive growth as a character and see her relationship with Luz grow, you celebrate her happiness. In short, Amity rocks, and by extension Lumity!

Number 11. King Dedede (Kirby) - From a greedy penguin to a worthy rival and ally on some occasions. I swear, despite the amount of times Dedede gets possessed or brainwashed by some eldrich horror, I think we all forget that he is dank when he needs to be. Also he’s extremely funny as well.

Number 12. DIO/Dio Brando (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) - After rewatching the older parts, my love for DIO resurfaced, but if I’m being honest here, it’s because of how Part 1 portrays him as a character, and how Part 3 portrays him as a villain. In Part 1, he’s still one of the greatest evils the series has ever seen, but we also saw a human element to him in a very negative way. He was bitter, envious, and straight up angry at the world for making him the bottom of the barrel, but after becoming a vampire he’s becomes sick, scary, and pitiable. In SDC, the re-emerged DIO is out to get the Joestars, not just for revenge for Jonathan constantly humiliating him, but because he KNOWS they’ll be a threat in the long run. He’s fully embraced the Novel Dracula vibes, and he’s matured by a lot, making him a lot less egocentric, angry, and erratic, and more power-hungry, paranoid, and controlled. Like DIO was not really sane, but he did a damn good job of holding himself together, until he experienced near-death yet again. As far as I can tell, DIO’s two major outtings in the series show viewers a man who can’t live with being at the bottom rung because he was born there, and as a result he’s willing to do whatever he can to ensure that he becomes untouchable.

Number 13. Xemnas (Kingdom Hearts) - This doesn’t require much explanation, but allow me to explain. After replaying KH2, I’ve come to realize after all this time Xemnas is an amazing villain. Xemnas is the nobody of Apprentice Xehanort, his husk, an entity that can feels nothing and wasn’t meant to exist, yet he’s quite the specimen. He’s a very sinister figure due to his nature, the fact that he’s a special nobody like Roxas, his inability to feel emotion, and his belief that negative emotions are what give the heart power, but at the same time you somehow manage to feel pity for him because of these things. While what he does is his own choice, you can clearly see that while he’s a different entity from his human self, he still chooses to go in that hollow shadow because it’s in his own nature, and it ended up being his downfall. That and his boss was truly a test of your skills. TL;DR: Xemnas is amazing.

Number 14. Death/The Wolf (Puss In Boots) - The best take on The Grim Reaper. Inevitable, terrifying, enigmatic, cruel to those who try and delay the inevitable, etc.

Number 15. Jin (Xenoblade Chronicles) - Shoot me dead for this take, but Jin was a great part of a decent game. If you want an easy summary of him, he’s a living weapon that was once connected to a driver, a blade, then said driver died on battlefield, he became immortal in a sense, and lost all value in life, thus why he spends a lot of the story helping out the main villain, and his former enemy, Malos. Still, Jin is genuinely interesting, mostly because of his history with the ally blades in the game, his sense of comradary with his crew, Torna, and overall how he’s written is pretty good. There’s nothing stellar about him, but he’s still effective as a tragic villain who has a firm presence in the story.

Number 16.  Dark Pit (Kid Icarus Uprising) - This angel has grown on me as a character. Dark Pit is a copy of Pit from The Mirror of Truth, and a rival for a majority of the game, however there’s a small twist. Instead of being just a “evil doppelgänger,” Dark Pit is just the equivalent of a maverick who doesn’t like being held back by anyone, which is the opposite of Pit’s whole loyal good boy soldier shtick. Still, he does help out once in a while, but Pit went missing inside a ring for a couple of years, Dark Pit vanished too, which basically drilled into his head that “Oh shit if this guy gets screwed over I get screwed over.” Heck, HE ends up being the one that saves Pit after his wings got scorched! To basically sum up Dark Pit, he’s a right way on how to do an edgy rival or a dark counterpart.

Number 17. Samus Aran (Metroid) - To summarize this lovely lady, she’s basically Nintendo’s Boba Fett with a few differences. The similarities, they both have dead parents, are skilled bounty hunters, have a similar color palette, and just look plain cool. The difference, Samus is a great protagonist, while Boba is a good one ensemble darkhore antagonist that easily could work as a one scene wonder.

Number 18. Dracula/Mathias Cronqvist (Castlevania Games) - Not the most terrifying incarnation of Dracula to exist, but he’s very close because of just how insane, persistent, and downright hateful he is. However this hatred did spawn from two tragedies, one that was his motivation for becoming a vampire, and one that finally drove him mad, but both involved a woman that he loved dying. So yeah, this Dracula is a very good tragic, yet irredeemable villain.

Number 19. Dr Eggman/Dr Robotnik (Sonic The Hedgehog) - Been lookin’ at sonic stuff again and looking at the games in retrospective… Eggman is honestly the most entertaining part of each part of the series. He’s a saturday morning cartoon villain, and he knows it, but he’s also unironically one of the most charming, versatile, and egotistical fiends in gaming. Sure he gives a little bit of a crap about Metal Sonic, Sage, and his other successful machines, but they’re his crowning achievements, so of course he’s going to treat them with “care,” while his lesser mechs get sent to the scrapyard. I also really like how out of all the Sonic characters, he’s kinda the hardest to mess up personality-wise, so you can always expect him to be stealing the show. Aside from all of that, Eggman’s just a simply a twisted take on the magnificent bastard trope, with some traditional cackling supervillain elements thrown in for good measure. I may not be a huge Sonic fan, but Dr Julian Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik is AMAZING!

Number 20. Meruem (Hunter x Hunter) - The best way to summarize Meruem without spoiling his arc is this. A monster becomes a king, and the king dies like any other person.