#and i did not want to watch despicable me 3

[angry-kid-with-no-money]

actually, medical gaslighting is when you’re stuck in the hospital and a nurse comes in and says “okay we’re just gonna run this one test and talk to the doctors and then we can probably discharge you in about ten minutes, okay?” and they do the test and they leave and then about FOUR HOURS LATER the nurse comes in and repeats the exact same pantomime and this goes on for about 3 days and every single day they tell you you’ll almost definitely be allowed to leave that night but you stay there anyway and never once does anyone tell you what was wrong with all the other damn tests they just ran and why those weren’t good enough to let you leave.

[nackrosor]

~Your Wish~

(Part 3/3)

Part 1 - Part 2

Brahms Heelshire x nanny!Reader

warnings/tags: nsfw, smut, dub-con (with very dubious p in v), power dynamics, mommy issues, Brahms is a perv through and through

word count: 2,9k.

author's notes: this is the filthiest thing I've ever written, I swear. I tried to imbue this with all my naughtiness lmao I hope it was enough! Also, here's some art I made 'cause I'm that generoussss. I hope you enjoy the food! Bon appétit! 🤤🌹

"Did I scare you, Y/N? I didn't mean to..." 

He grimaced at the way his child voice came out broken and less convincing than usual, but in his state, even simply speaking was a feat.

You had been sluggishly fighting against his persistent grip on you, yet once you heard him speak, a loud gasp of shock escaped you, and your body stiffened under his. The way you tensed up made your back arch and your ass stick out even more. His focus shifted to your half-clad bottom, which was hovering only inches from his face. The drenched fabric of your panties had somehow stuck to the side, teasing him - torturing him - with that mouthwavering sight of you. 

Oh, what a struggle it was for him to refrain from seeking your heat again and then shoving himself inside you, once and for all. He was shivering with restraint while proceeding to keep you pinned to the mattress. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold himself back, though.

He wanted you to know who he was before he finally and thoroughly claimed you as his. His pride somehow exceeded his yearning.

"B-Brahms...?" You hesitantly whispered his name, hoping to catch a glimpse of him behind your shoulder. You could only make out a dark silhouette in your peripheral vision, for both the darkness of the room and his tight clasp prevented you from seeing anything else. "How-? W-what?"

Your voice was a little louder this time, and you sounded sharper. He also noticed with satisfaction that you were now remaining still under his hold. That was good. It would make things easier. He'd prefer not to fight you, not to force you... But if you were to refuse him... He would not hold back... He couldn't...

"You don't have to be alone anymore in this big, scary house." 

He made sure to stress out the last words, the same ones you used when you had confided your wish to the doll. He wanted you to understand… That wicked side of him wanted you to realise that he had always been there, watching you, listening in on you... That you have never truly been alone.

"Aren't you happy?"

He couldn't hide the impatience in his voice. His palm pressed harder onto your spine, imperceptibly rubbing up and down, seeking your touch. He found himself edging closer to you, his mask nearly touching your asscheek, his other hand ready to commit another despicable sin, the worst one yet.

“Let me see you? Please?"

He stopped in his tracks, momentarily stunned by your words.

You had asked so sweetly, your voice such a gentle caress to his ears, how could he have declined your request? After all, he had longed to have those gorgeous eyes of yours fall on him, finally seeing him, since the first day. And what would have been better than having you looking at him as he ravished you? Watching lust twist your features, the pleasure - he was igniting in you - flooding your lovely eyes. A shuddering breath escaped his lips as the vivid image arose in his mind, aggravating the torture.

Brahms loosened his grip, allowing you to turn around and lie on your back. As soon as your eyes met his, you let out another loud gasp. His gut flipped at the way your wide eyes flitted across his mask, chest, thighs, taking him all in.

You saw him. You were looking at him. Ah, what a dream... What a dream come true...

He wondered what was going through your pretty little head. How did it make you feel to know that the kid's voice you've occasionally heard reverberating through the mansion over the past few weeks hadn't come from a possessed doll or an imprisoned spirit... But from him. Your Brahms, in flesh and blood.

“B-Brahms…”

The way you tentatively called his name while looking up at him like a deer in the headlights was pure bliss.

He nodded enthusiastically in response and drew closer to you. His gaze flickered from your face to your hand, which he noticed slowly reaching up in his direction. He jerked back instantly out of reflex, frightened like a beaten dog meeting a loving hand for the first time, but as soon as he realized there was no threat in your intentions, he leaned back in and allowed you to touch his mask. Oh, how he yearned to feel your soft palm caressing his wounded cheek... to feel your gentle touch skin on skin… But that would have to be enough for the moment.

Now that he had your full attention. Now that you knew who he was and that no harm would come from him… with your eyes staring up at him with such awe and wonder… 

He couldn't wait any longer. 

His hand eagerly slipped between your thighs, fingers greedily seeking your heat. He caught with utmost satisfaction the way your eyes widened again, your lips parting to let out a shocked cry; you looked so adorable… so desirable… so vulnerable…

He kept his ever-attentive gaze fixed on you, desperate to catch your every reaction, as he stroked your wet folds and teased your entrance.

“W-what are you… Ah!~”

A tremor pierced him as he felt your body tremble so sharply when he easily entered you, triggering a loud whine from you as he drove his fingers deep into your walls.

His breathing was extremely shallow, and he could see your chest raise and fall as you began panting as well; the sight only served to add fuel to his burning desire, leaving him eager to make you cry and shiver just like that over and over again. 

His movement against you was firm but frantic, fueled by his long-repressed need, which was causing him to shudder and whimper as he fingered you. He had no idea what he was doing, but your moans and squeals were guiding and urging him to keep hitting that spongy spot deep inside you which seemed to make you scream the loudest.

“N-no… W-w-wait…”

Your hands shakily reached down to seize his and halt his actions, but he quickly grasped your wrists and pinned them both on your belly, holding them down with one palm while continuining on driving his fingers back and forth, unrelentingly, into you. He could tell you liked it, the lewd sounds you were making told him as much. He knew his actions were pleasing you. Your cunt was so wet, and your walls welcomed his long fingers with such hunger, swallowing them fully with each push.

How would it feel to sink inside you? To have your tight, spongy walls suck and squeeze his cock dry? Would his cum leak back out? It always did when he used his doll, the one he had turned to look just like you… He constantly had to push his fluids back inside the hole…

“Brahms... S-stop… Ah!”

Your broken whimpers sounded so cute. You were so cute. What were you asking of him? Certainly not to stop. Not that he would or could. The feeling of making you squirm under his touch was intoxicating, a feeling he had just discovered and yet couldn't get enough of. He had already grown addicted. The sight of you laying there completely vulnerable, completely his, was filling him with such a rush of euphoria. 

He released your wrists, disregarding the way you immediately but weakly started tugging at his hand again in protest. Instead, he reached down to his trousers, letting out a deep guttural grunt when he felt the dampness of the material, soaked with his seed. Leaked precum? Or did he burst into his pants without even realising? It didn't matter. His cock was hard and throbbing when he grabbed it, ready to slip out of the restraining cloth and finally sink inside you… He couldn’t wait, oh no, he couldn’t wait anymore-

“I said stop!” 

His entire body shuddered violently, and his senses suddenly sharpened as if he had just awoken from a trance. Both his hands abruptly came to a halt.

He wasn't sure if he was shaking more from the thrill your imposing tone caused in him or the excruciating hunger that was gnawing at him, demanding to be satiated. Possibly both combined given the intensity of the tension that had taken hold of his body.

Brahms stared at you with bated breath and childish fear, like a misbhehaving boy caught in the act of some deplorable deeds by his strict mother. He didn't dare to make a sound nor move an inch as he waited to be scolded.

A strange glint passed your eyes, one that he could barely catch, let alone decipher. However, your entire demeanour seemed to alter abruptly in response to his reaction.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He gasped. A flood of dread shook his entire being and made his stomach churn upon hearing your stern tone. Did he upset you? Were you angry at him? He couldn't bear it. Oh no… He only wished to please you... Only ever wished to please you...

"What were you doing, mh?" 

Brahms vehemently shook his head, his panicked gaze glued on your hard look. 

“Brahms.”

Your commanding tone made him shudder again. He cowered, crouching down and dropping his head on your lap. He didn't dare admit what he was about to do, what he had been doing long before you woke up.

"Brahms!"

He felt your hands pull on his arms, but he only pressed his head further against you, burying his face in your womb, his whimpers muffled by your skin. His hands reached to your sides, holding you vehemently but not threateningly. He wanted to show you how good he was. How good he could be for you. He was sorry. Yes. He was terribly sorry. He would never upset you again.  

"Please…" He pleaded in his childish voice, nuzzling his forehead into your belly.

"Please, what?"

He tightened his grip on your sides and cried again, "Pleaseee… I need you…" 

His meekness only increased as you delayed to answer. His hands cradled your body, fingers clutching desperately at your nightgown and creasing the material. His head anxiously swayed back and forth as he rubbed his mask against you.

"Use your real voice."

Another tremor shook his body and he quickly obeyed your command. 

"I need you."

His voice came out low and hoarse, such a stark contrast to his childish tone. It caused a vibration in your tummy. He could feel how your body shivered in reaction. 

Raising his head to meet your gaze, he noticed that your eyes had widened significantly. Was it because of his voice? The way he begged? Did you like it? He could beg you again and again in his real voice, if it pleased you so. If that meant you’d let him have you.

"I need you, please…" 

His fingers travelled slowly along your sides, gingerly getting closer to your panties again, quivering with impatience and constraint. He kept his imploring look on you as he stroked his fingertips on the damp fabric before slipping them inside to rub against your folds once more. 

He saw your eyelids flutter and your chest rise harshly as you took a deep breath.

He whimpered as he felt your fingers weave into his curls and then capture them abruptly in a tight clasp.

"Lay down, Brahms." 

He merely lingered for a moment to process what you had requested of him. Then he did it. He lay down on the mattress without question. Eager to please you. Desperate to be in your good graces. He would do anything for you. 

His entire body was trembling with anticipation, a deep-seated urge to be touched threatening to overtake him as you climbed on top of him, claiming his former position. His body craved your touch so badly, yet he had to wait until you decided to put him out of his misery.

“You’re such a naughty boy. You know that?”

When he felt your weight on him and your groin sitting directly on his bulge, he felt his breath catch in his throat and his hips buck up instinctively. Only his unbuttoned pants separated his arousal from your heat.

He was losing his mind…

"Nobody ever taught you that's not how good boys are supposed to behave, mh?"

More whimpers flowed from his parted lips as you began to grind against him, painfully slowly but with force. He struggled to keep his eyes open and locked in yours; his quivering hands went up to hold your hips, seeking to control your movements, but you intercepted them and forced them down on the pillow on either side of his face. He let you keep them still.

"Please…"

"I will teach you… Yes, yes... I will teach you. Bad boys never get their way, no matter how much or how long they beg."

Brahms had always obtained whatever he wanted since he was a little boy. If he couldn't have it, he'd take it himself. But he wasn't going to admit it to you. He merely groaned and twitched in response, every inch of his body ignited by your leisurely and frustrating movement against him.

He craved being inside you... To spill his load deep within your core... but he was so worked up… he had been holding back for so long, too long… and the way you moved was so rousing, provoking him just enough to…

His body abruptly convulsed underneath you, a deep sigh of relief escaping from his lips as a dark and large wet stain appeared on the material of his trousers. All of the desire coursing through him reached a fever pitch that consumed every inch of his body.

He had never experienced such an intense and violent orgasm before. He had jerked off numerous times, but cumming never felt so good... 

Brahms was still trembling and panting when his eyes opened again to meet yours. You had stopped moving when he started spasming. Even in the dark, he could see the blush on your cheeks, the way your eyes were wide and glazed as they stared down at him, your own breath coming in short. 

"F-Fuck-"

His eyes were fixed on you, watching you as you gulped and shivered, clearly shaken by what had just happened. Your gaze kept darting back and forth between his pants and mask. When he felt your hands release his wrists, he pulled yours back, drawing you forward and causing you to fall on top of him with a yelp.

Brahms buried his face into the crook of your neck. Your scent was stronger than before, his nostrils filled with your natural aroma. His fingers trailed over your skin, feeling how clammy it was and relishing the way you shivered at the touch. He moved on along the curve of your neck until he reached the edge of your nightgown and peeled it down without hesitation, this time dragging it low enough to prevent it from rolling back up. The sight of your breasts made his stomach flip, just like it had done the first time. His body started to become stiffer once more. 

“Again…” he whispered breathlessly as he lifted your torso so you could sit on his lap just like before, straddling his groin. He could feel himself getting harder all over again. He could not possibly resist you.

"B-Brahms?"

His hands greedily mapped your body, groping every curve and dip they found. His touch soon became frantic and urgent.

"Again, again, again!"

He hastily freed his growing erection from his pants and without giving you time to register what was happening, he seized your waist and pulled you down onto him. 

At last, you had become one. 

The quiet room filled with both his and your moans of pleasure, which only grew louder as Brahms started guiding your hips up and down, each time with greater force, allowing him to fully sink into you. You were so warm, and the way your tight walls clenched around his cock was more intoxicating than he could have anticipated. It was maddening. The sound of your cunt slapping against his groin was the the best sound he had ever heard. He mentally added it to the list of pleasures he had so quickly become addicted to and sought to experience again and again and again...

He was a mess of sweat and whimpers and tremors, and so were you. 

Ah, to finally have you! To finally take you as his! This was everything he had ever dreamed and yearned for. You would never be alone or feel lonely again, and neither would he! 

Please you night and day, whenever and wherever! That's what he intended to do.

Oh, yes. 

He will be such a good boy for you.

MORE STORIES 🥀

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[Should I make a nsfw version of my fanart? 🤔 I'd like to try my hand at nsfw art. Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing it.]

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[caws5749]

hiii i saw that you were looking for fluff requests so could u do something like natasha and reader both busy and not looking while walking through stark tower or soemthing and y/n obviously knows who natasha is has a bit of a crush on her and nat is like teasing her. later on they keep bumping into each other until nat is like “i’m done with the meet and greets” and asks reader out on a date. (nothing specific lol take and pick at if if you’d like, i just wanted to pitch in! :))

WARNING: THE BAREST HINT OF THIRSTING AND MENTION OF BREASTS IM SORRY I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF

A/N: you know that part in despicable me where she goes "IT'S SO FLUFFY" ?? yeah that came to mind reading this because ITS SO FLUFFY AND CUTE AND SUCH A GREAT IDEA THANK YOUUUUU <3

Consulting with the Avengers team was something you still couldn't believe you had the privilege to do. You had more been consulting with the brand itself versus the actual humans, but it still felt like a privilege.

You were a bit rushed leaving the compound, face glued to your phone looking at the plane tickets for the upcoming weekend. You were set to visit a friend but hadn't even bought your ticket yet. With one strap of your bag hanging off your shoulder, you rounded the corner and bumped right into someone...hard.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry," you quickly got out, eyes finally moving up to meet lively green ones. Your jaw dropped a bit.

"Are you alright?" Natasha asked softly, eyes scanning your form for obvious injury. When she found none, she focused back on your face. She didn't even seem fazed by the collision.

"I'm fine, I'm so sorry, are you?" You questioned quickly, nearly slapping yourself in the face once you realized you asked an Avenger, hell, the Black Widow, if a bump into you had injured her.

"I'm alright, thank you. You seem like you're in a hurry, I won't hold you up."

All you could do was nod as she walked around you and you let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding.

++++++

Somehow the exact same thing happened again, though this time it wasn't your fault.

Natasha was exhausted, just returning from a mission that drained her both physically and mentally. While it was only just after five in the evening, she couldn't wait to go straight to bed after a warm shower. She exited the elevator as soon as the doors opened, walking right into you.

"Oof," you muttered in surprise.

"Are you- I know you," the red-head stated, her eyes scanning over your form for injuries as they did previously, even after just a simple bump. "I'm sorry, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Natasha," you replied as you sent a reassuring smile. The corner of her mouth quirked upwards.

"And you are?"

You blushed. "I'm Y/N L/N. I consult for the Avengers."

"Nice to meet you, Y/N. I'll see you around."

You entered the elevator, your legs feeling like lead. You turned just in time to watch her continue her walk down the hall. It just might have been the greatest sight you'd ever seen.

++++++

The universe must have been against you because it just seemed utterly impossible for you to not run into the widow.

It was just after midnight and you couldn't wait to leave. You were trying to finish up a big project and you knew having it done as quickly as possible would be a good thing, especially because you believed in the project so much. So you stayed in a conference room working later than normal. But you were exhausted and it was time to go home so you quickly tossed your things in your bag and headed out the door. You reached the door to the hallway and pushed it open with all of your might, eyes widening when a certain red-head had to jump out of the way to avoid it.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Again," you rushed. "Are you okay?"

"It didn't hit me, I'm okay," Natasha responded, before tilting her head. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Just trying to finish up a project. I hadn't really realized what time it was, to be honest."

She hummed thoughtfully. "You know, we do have guest rooms if you want to stay the night. You might not want to be out driving this late."

God, you knew it wasn't her protecting you or being worried about you because there was no way, but you couldn't help the flutter in your chest and the red that creeped into your cheeks.

The woman across from you smirked at your pink cheeks. She wasn't sure if you were like this with everyone or just her, but she loved it.

"Oh, I'm fine, but thank you. That's really nice of you... guys. That's really nice of you guys," you babbled, feeling the heat spread to your entire face.

"Just don't tell Tony I offered, he's picky," she laughed, before pulling the door open and walking through.

"Might want to check your temperature, Y/N, you're flushed like you have a fever," Nat yelled back, amusement in her tone.

No chance she hadn't noticed then. You were certain you couldn't make any bigger a fool of yourself.

++++++

The next time you ran into her, thankfully there were no close calls for injuries. Natasha had just finished her workout and was heading to the kitchen for a snack, where you had just finished a conversation with Sharon Carter, who had helped you on your latest project. She had told you to grab anything you wanted from the snack drawer, something that was somehow empty by the end of each day.

You searched the drawer for something that seemed appealing, jumping out of your skin from a smooth voice that came from behind you.

"Find anything good in there?"

"Natasha," you breathed as you whirled around, heart pounding in your chest. Your eyes widened as you took in her sweaty appearance, skin glistening, the top of her breasts just visible with the sports bra she had chosen.

"See anything you like?"

You flushed a deep red. "I, uh-"

"In the drawer, Y/N," she interrupted, eyes sparkling with humor.

"I- not really."

She walked up to you, the distance between the two of you now nearly nonexistent. You could see the dimension in her green eyes, the sweat bead slowly making its way down her right temple, the gentle pink to her full lips. You gulped, trying to steady your breathing when her arm reached around you, grazing your skin as she grabbed a snack from the drawer.

"I'm tired of these little meet and greets. Meet me here later at 8."

She gave you a wink and walked out.

You weren't quite sure what you'd done to deserve a date with that woman, but boy were you grateful.

[hufflegruff]

girl the way i RAN when i saw you asking for requests as a break from a knowing look!!! if youre down to maybe do something like hurt comfort vibes? with sebastian x MC? like mayhaps they’re fighting and MC gets hurt and protective Sebastian comes out? literally in love with everything you’ve written!!! you’re amazing! <3

I was meant to write a drabble but somehow this became a NOVEL?! Good lord. I really wanted to do it justice!!! I hope you guys still enjoy it!!!

It takes a disaster

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x F!Reader Word Count: 5k Contains: Fluff, angst, making out!!! Requested: The lovely @ithinkweallsing and @musicbecky had similar requests about protective Seb x hurt MC so I combined both :)

Summary:

“And why didn’t you think to tell me that you were struck by a bloody unforgivable curse before you fell lifelessly onto the fucking floor!” He yelled. She winced at the loudness of his voice.  “Do you have any idea what it’s like to watch the love of your life almost die in your fucking arms?” His deafening voice echoed through the chambers of the hospital wing.  She stared at him, mouth agape.  Sorry, was she dreaming? What was that he just said? 

It takes a disaster

When she first resigned to the pitiful fact that she was very likely in love with Sebastian Sallow, she accepted her fate. Doomed to suffer in an unrequited love she held for her best friend. 

Merlin, it was such a cliché. 

Honestly, she would have laughed at herself if it didn’t also feel so pathetically miserable.

Somewhere along the way, amid catacombs and restricted sections and ancient relics, she found herself becoming dissatisfied with just friendship. And before she could even catch herself, she had already fallen. Buried ten feet underground by the weight of her own despicable, cavernous feelings. 

Because they’d been best friends for long enough for her to know that Sebastian Sallow flirted like his livelihood depended on it. If courting witches was a sport, he’d be a professional. It came to him as naturally as breathing. 

That was why Cressida Blume battered her eyelashes so feverishly everytime he was near. And why Samantha Dale had been so Goddamn adamant on being her potions partner, so she could siphon hints on how best to charm the Slytherin for herself.

And why she would never entertain the idea that any of Sebastian’s pretty words could be anything more than lip service. 

So she went out of her way to find reasons to keep herself busy. Taking jobs and doing favours for townsfolk in the vicinity, so that she wouldn’t have to sit with her own feelings. Or Sebastian himself. Hoping that by the time it came for them to leave Hogwarts, that she would find peace and leave her feelings for him in the deepest depths of the castle. 

The distance would help. It just had to. 

Unfortunately for her, when she had said that she was heading to the poacher camp up in the Poidsear coast by her lonesome, Sebastian insisted that he absolutely had to come along.

“Don’t be daft. Of course I have to come with you. Who else is going to swoop in when your sorry arse needs saving?” He teased.

She was almost offended, “I don’t need a babysitter, Sebastian.”

“Not a babysitter,” he clarified, “A knight in shining armor,” with a dashingly flirtatious smile.

She felt her heart flutter, and cursed his annoyingly perfect fluffy hair for it. What business did it have looking so attractive? Honestly, the cheek of these Slytherin boys to say such rousing things.

Ominis, Sebastian and herself had been lazing in the grass in front of the main school grounds. But with a deft wave of his hand Seastian beckoned over his broom, and it zipped obediently over. 

“Come on. Let’s go.” Sebastian said easily.

“What? Right now?” She replied in disbelief.

“Well, I don’t see anything better to do. Do you?”

From beside him, Ominis piped up annoyed, “Um, excuse me. Did we not agree that we needed to finish our group project today so as to not suffer the wrath of Sharp’s horrid temper?”

Silently, she thanked Ominis for the diversion and prayed Sebastian would take it.

“Like I said. Nothing better to do.” Sebastian reiterated shamelessly. 

Ominis rolled his eyes, “Absolute moron you are. Whatever. Take him off my hands for all I care.”

Well that didn’t go at all the way she hoped.

“But I’ve… not even stocked up on my potions.” She said weakly.

Sebastian wasn’t having it.

“Come on, it’s just a routine poacher clear out! I’ve got a couple of Wiggenwelds on me. You know it’s going to be a cakewalk for the both of us.” 

She could never say no to him. Not when he looked at her like that. She imagined that most girls couldn’t either. An ugly, decrepit feeling bubbled up in the pit of her stomach. But she willed herself to push the unhelpful thought down and out of sight. 

“Fine.” She caved with a haughty flip of her hair, “But try to keep up. I don’t want to have to take care of you out there.”

In a ridiculously exaggerated display of chivalry, he offered her his hand and led her onto the broom with a coy smile.

“Ladies first.”

This boy was going to be the death of her. The ride to Poidsear would all but confirm that. 

Sebastian had insisted that she sit in front of him to steer — and for the life of her, she couldn’t understand how she had willingly agreed to put herself in this position. His breath was right in the crook of her neck, and his warm hands were wrapped all too tightly around her waist. Did he really think that she could steer like this? She was appalled at how totally inconsiderate he was by being so oblivious to her feelings. 

She could hardly hear her own thoughts — not even the intrusive ones — let alone focus on the fly.

Was he doing this on purpose? Because it was annoying.

The singularly, most vexing thing he could do in fact. She had a mission to concentrate on. She didn’t need to be sidetracked. She hadn’t even wanted him and his distracting face to come along in the first place.

“Merlin. Hold me any tighter and I might burst, Sebastian.” She tried her best to make it sound casual. With the light cadence of a joke, and not the high stakes affair it felt like.

“Well, I can’t risk having you falling to an untimely death under my watch. I’d never hear the end of it from Ominis. Or Samantha. For killing her potions partner at such a crucial time in the academic year,” He joked. 

His tone was teasing, but she hated that his words sounded so… carefree. Completely unbothered. It bruised her heart more than she liked to admit, but it hurt her to know that he probably thought that this was the same as being in close proximity to Anne. 

And why the bloody hell did he have to mention Samantha Dale at a time like this? Unprompted and all. Teenage boys really had no tact. If that had been a glimpse into Sebastian’s mind, she didn’t want to see it. Lock it up and throw away the keys and unleash it into the depths of the black sea to never be found. 

If she just ignored it, and never faced it head on, maybe her heart would break a little bit softer. 

“Right.” She replied curtly, willing the dejection she felt to go away.

“What? Did I say something wrong?” 

“No.” 

He paused in contemplation, before declaring, “You’re upset.”

He had said it so matter of factly she almost couldn’t disagree with him. Almost. She cursed herself for not being able to hide the bitterness in her voice better. She cursed him for noticing this of all things.

“Don’t be silly. I’m not.” She retorted harshly.

When the words left her mouth, she quickly regretted them. She felt guilty for how unnecessarily rude it sounded. But she couldn’t talk about this. There was objectively no good way to explain why she seemed so irrationally bothered without emotionally vomiting her feelings onto him.  

But before she could apologise, he chose to let it go. 

And she didn’t know if she felt relieved or even more devastated.

The rest of their journey to Poidsear was endured in silence. When they finally arrived, they landed just at the precipice of the poacher camp. It was time to get serious, she mentally chided herself. There was simply no time to torment herself with such frivolous nonsense.

They kept out of sight behind a mountain of crates next to a tent. Making sure to stay hidden, she briskly surveyed the scene. She could see from the corner of her eye, a family of hippogriffs chained in cages by the Eastern front. But getting to them would be no easy feat; the area was littered with Ashwinders at every corner. 

“God. There’s more of them than I thought.” She whispered to herself.

“Worried? How very unlike you.” Sebastian raised a brow in response.

“Not at all. It’s just you would think that these degenerates would have more productive things to do with themselves than taking magical creatures as prisoners.” She whispered with a scoff.

She had not even one ounce of respect for the Ashwinders, especially those of the poaching variety. Those who made a nefarious career out of hunting innocent, majestic creatures for blood sport were the worst of them.

To her surprise, when she turned to look at Sebastian, he was looking straight at her with an enigmatic smile.

And then suddenly, she felt self-conscious.

“What?” She whispered nervously.

Sebastian murmured warmly, “This is a little nostalgic is it not?”

“How so?”

“You. Me. The exhilarating thrill of getting caught at any moment. Feels like fifth year doesn’t it?” His voice was lower than usual, quieter, with a hint of something dastardly alluring. 

It made her heart skip an alarming amount of beats and her skin shiver at the sound of it. She felt an outrageously girlish impulse to snog him and hex him and run far, far away from him all at once. What she would give for him to have a taste of his own medicine. Even if he wasn’t in love with her, maybe she still could grab him by the collar and kiss him silly until his lips were bruised. 

Maybe that would finally fluster him. 

Because by God, he deserved to be put in his place for all the bloody grief he unknowingly gave her.

He was looking at her so affectionately, and that was just so uncalled for. Honestly, she didn’t know how he managed to flirt so skilfully even in the face of imminent danger. In the near vicinity of bloodthirsty dark wizards. If she wasn’t so conflicted by it all she would be impressed. She imagined that Sebastian Sallow could probably flirt with Death himself and get away with it. 

Perhaps that would be a rather useful quality in an Auror. Perhaps, when they were back in the safety of the castle, she would suggest it as a fitting career path for him—

“Look what we have here. A little far from Hogwarts aren’t we?”

She felt her blood freeze over at the sound of the new voice. Sebastian stiffened. A sinister chill ran up her spine.

When she turned, she was greeted by the menacing smile of an Ashwinder, cloaked in shadows. And almost as if the Hermes had struck her himself, the girl wonder retaliated at reckless speeds and pointed her wand with venomous hostility at the dark wizard in front of them.

Fuck. She cursed internally. Her guard had been irresponsibly down. She hadn’t even heard him approach them.

Sebastian probably sensed her panic, and squeezed her hand twice.

Once to comfort her, the second to ask her to follow his lead.

Raising his hands up in mock surrender, Sebastian said sardonically with a wry smile “Sir, we were just passing by the area. We didn’t know that this was private property. Terribly sorry for the intrusion. If you allow us, we’ll be on our way now.” 

The Ashwinder scoffed, “Save it kid, I know exactly who you two meddlesome brats are.”

“Oh well that’s unfortunate.” Sebastian said patronisingly.

Her grip on her wand tightened. She wasn’t entirely sure where he was going with this, but she knew that she had to be ready. 

“Why’s that?” The Ashwinder asked with a laugh.

“Because that means I have to do this.” 

And suddenly, with a swift motion, Sebastian lunged forward with his wand. And almost as if by blind, brazen instinct, her own hands followed suit. 

“Confringo!”

“Expelliarmus!”

“Protego!”

Red, green, and blue. The colours of their spells cackled at lightning speeds against the howling wind. 

But soon enough their commotion caused a ruckus, and it became an army against two measly bodies.

“Shit!” Sebastian cursed under his breath.

And frankly, she had to give it to them to their credit, these Ashwinders proved to be pretty formidable adversaries. They moved faster than the others did. And their spells missed her more narrowly than they normally did. But still, actually hitting her was the aim. Close enough wasn’t good enough, and she was determined to make sure that they would never achieve it. 

She’d make sure of it — they didn’t call her the girl wonder for nothing. 

Spells collided and echoed around her, the acrid scent of fire filling her nostrils. If peril were a smell, this is what she imagined that it would smell like.

And in the midst of the chaos, without a surge of power erupted from one of the Ashwinders. Like a strike straight out of God’s hand — with a single, severe flash of light — a calamitous spell was unleashed, enveloping the camp grounds in a sheathe of blinding white. 

And when the light became less blinding, she found herself separated from Sebastian. 

Panic welled up within her as she searched the battlefield, her heart pounding in her chest. 

"Sebastian!" She called out.

Where was Sebastian?

Fuck. That wasn’t good. She needed to find Sebastian. 

Like insidious tendril vines, fear crept into her veins. Yet she willed the anxiousness in her brain to focus; willed it to calm down. Sebastian was a capable wizard. He could handle a few pesky Ashwinders. 

Just as capable as she was. 

Because with a flick of her wrist, shields shattered and hexes were deflected. With every spell she cast, the wind sang as her curses hit bodies, like a force of nature answering her call. One by one Ashwinders fell under the weight of her unyielding assault. 

But then a piercing hex sliced right through her defences. 

Her protego shattered, and she was thrown backward into a mess of limbs onto the ground. 

“Crucio!”

The sound of the spell sent chills down her spine. It brought her back to the scriptorium. It brought her back to a shadow of Sebastian that she had been trying to forget. 

But before she could run, scream, dive or react — it reached her. 

And just as torturously as it had the very first time she endured it, pain erupted through her body as she was thrown backward, limbs contorting as she crumbled in agony onto gritty soil. Back then, it had felt as if lightning had struck every single nerve ending in her body. This time it felt like she was burning under a flame that was twice as brutal.

The pain was relentless. Her mind screamed for respite, for any brief release from this torture. She clawed at the ground, gripping her nails deep into the dirt, as if seeking solace in the earth itself. But there was no escape. No reprieve.

Through the haze of pain, she caught glimpses of the Ashwinder that had casted the curse. Even through her blurry vision, she could see that they were gloating. Content at how they had reduced her to nothing more than a writhing, broken vessel.

And God, that pissed her off immensely.

If they could sense the literal thunder in her veins, she wondered if they would be so cavalier?

She didn’t think so.

Through gritted teeth; through sheer determination, she struggled onto her feet with her body shaking in defiance. Summoned the last remnants of her ancient magic, her wand trembling in her shaky hand. A surge of energy flowed through her veins. The air above the tips of her fingers crackled with raw power as she channeled her magic, focusing it into a singularly devastating spell.

And when it hit the Ashwinder, it eviscerated them in waves.

In between all the fighting and screaming and surviving, she didn’t remember much of the details.

But all of a sudden, it was silent. 

And all of the sudden, it was just her standing alone in plumes of dust.

When the air finally settled down, she felt herself start to cave. The adrenaline had done its job and was quickly leaking out of her blood stream. As if she had exerted and drained every last ounce of her spirit and was on the verge of collapse.

Was it just her, or were the skies starting to fade?

The pain in her chest was still excruciating. This cruciatus curse felt different from the one that Sebastian had casted on her before. 

This one was lingering. 

Like it was clawing onto her heart and gripping onto it in a chokehold with a resentful vengeance. Despite having just won, she didn’t have a spare moment to feel relieved. The pain was quickly growing and air couldn’t seem to reach her lungs fast enough.       

But Sebastian… Where was Sebastian? The panic began to rumble within her. She had foolishly let her own guard down, and let him out of her sight. She mustered what little energy she had left and moved her head frantically in search of him. 

How could she ever forgive herself if she let him die? 

But when she saw a figure barreling head first towards her, even through blurry eyes and the crackle in the depths of her tired limbs, she knew that it was him. And like an oasis in the blistering desert, the comfort she felt from seeing his face was a brief solace to the pain. 

If this was where she was destined to meet her end, she hazily deliberated, at least she could draw her last breath in peace knowing that he was safe. 

(Not to be dramatic or anything.)

When Sebastian finally caught up to her, he laughed and bursted out breathily, “Merlin… Whatever you and your ancient magic did back there was insane.”

He was safe, and that was all that mattered. She didn’t have the energy anymore. Not for a conversation, let alone banter. She needed to preserve her last scraps of her battered stamina to make it back to the castle and patch herself up in solitude.

And one thing was for certain: Sebastian could not know.

“I think we managed pretty well.” He said with a tired smile.

“Yeah,” she replied breathily, “W-we did good.”

She sounded a mess. She hoped that he wouldn’t notice.

To her dismay, the look on his face immediately switched into that of deep concern. 

He interrogated hurriedly, “What wrong? You sound a little off. Are you hurt?”

Everything was wrong. The discomfort that gripped her chest was getting worse with every passing second. Standing was starting to become too taxing of an undertaking for her. 

But needless to say, she didn’t want another thing to worry about, and Sebastian would always make an unnecessarily big fuss anytime she was hurt. Even if it was just a minuscule scratch. He was always too distraught; too tender. It was one of the things she adored most about him. 

And she absolutely loathed him for it.

So her stubbornness was persuaded that suffering in silence was the easier of two fates. 

Indignantly, she retorted, “How rude. I’ll have you k-know I’m perfectly f-fine.”

Her words were starting to slur, not that she noticed. But Sebastian clearly had. Assertively, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards him.

“You’re not fine.” He declared demandingly.

As he frantically searched her eyes, arms, back, legs for signs of what was wrong, she found herself nuzzled in the nook of his chest. She felt her willpower wither slightly in his flustered hands. 

In the shallow breaths that she took, she could smell him. The musk of pinewood and sputtering fireplaces and late nights drifting in the restricted section. An aromatic cocktail that was overwhelmingly intoxicating. 

Now she was getting angry. And drowsy. And dizzy. Why couldn’t Sebastian tell that he was being so selfish by being so considerate? He needed to stop touching her so carelessly. She was lightheaded enough as it is, she didn’t need his excessive gentleness to add fuel to the flames of her absurd delusions. 

But maybe if she just closed her eyes and rested for this brief moment. Sebastian would take the hint and just leave her be. Maybe all she needed was a quick lie down and he would see that she was perfectly fine. 

“Oh fuck, there’s so much blood— hey, hey!”

She could see Sebastian calling out her name, but she couldn't hear it. And soon enough she realised, she wasn’t fighting it anymore. And soon enough, Sebastian was no longer in sight. Soon enough, she found herself alone in a quiet, soothing darkness. 

Something was twisting at her to give into slumber. Into solitude. Into emptiness. She vaguely remembered from one of Sharp’s more riveting lectures that when poisoned - one should always fight the urge.

But she could still feel the warmth of Sebastian’s hands on the small of her back, and the comfort of it lulled her to relinquish control. After a few ambivalent moments, drifting in and out of awareness, she surrendered to sleep.

When she woke, she was greeted by a horrendously pounding headache. She had no sense of place, but a low groaning ache in her bones. Her eyes struggled to open, but she could feel the warm sun on the tip of her nose, and the tips of her cheeks. The softness of the sun quelled a little bit of the soreness in her body. 

She deduced that wherever she was, it was warm and safe. Despite the ache in her bones, there was also a weightlessness to her body. Therefore, she somehow rationalised with herself that this was very likely heaven. 

Or any other religious equivalent afterlife. 

She wasn’t picky. Any one would do, really.

When her bleary eyes finally pulled themselves open, the fragmented parts of her vision pieced together a faint picture. Of pristine white linen and crisply casted grey brick. A peculiar blend of sickly artificial peonies and concentrated chemicals flooded her nostrils. 

Which was odd. Because she hadn’t imagined that the afterlife would feel quite so sterile.

“Fucking hell,” spoke a voice she could never not recognise, and she was shocked. 

Did heaven include conjuring up a phantom Sebastian from the figment of her deepest imaginations to keep her company for the rest of eternity?

“Sebastian?”

“You’re awake.” His voice was hoarse.

When her eyes finally focused, she saw him properly. It was definitely Sebastian Sallow, the boy that had her heart leaping acres across the Hebridean seas. But in all her years of knowing and pining for him, she’d never seen him look so terrible. His hair was disheveled as if it had endured a torrid storm. His eyes were heavy and solemn, as if they had tolerated an eternity of grief.

This seemed all too real. Too visceral. 

Maybe this wasn’t heaven.

“Am I dead?” She thought to confirm.

He laughed a humourless laugh.

“No. You’re in the hospital wing.”

So this was real. She was in pain because her body had been bruised like a peach. 

When she finally looked around, she found herself neatly tucked into the covers of an infirmary bed. She couldn’t recall how she got here, and only remembered a few little scraps of the event that led up to Poidsear. But if she had to be certain of anything, Sebastian must’ve brought her back to the castle.

“I guess that makes sense,” She said with as much mirth as she could muster, “Heaven couldn’t be this quaint.”

Clearly Sebastian hadn’t found it funny at all, which is why she was met with silence. 

As she cleared her throat, she asked, “What happened?”

For some reason, Sebastian was doing everything in his power to avoid her eye. 

“An Ashwinder hit you with a modified version of the cruciatus curse. She tampered the spell and combined it with a blood poisoning hex. You… could’ve died.” He said through gritted teeth. It seemed as if he struggled to even get the words out. 

In an attempt to diffuse the graveness of his tone, she made a joke.

“Unlucky. Maybe next time they try to kill me they’ll actually get it right.”

But once again, Sebastian didn’t laugh. If anything, he only got more aggrieved. She felt his grip on the edge of her bed frame tighten so fiercely, she could see his veins pop and his knuckles turn red. He was being so serious — and she was not at all used to serious Sebastian. She had only seen this side of him once or twice, and only ever because of Anne. 

“Are you … upset?” She asked cautiously.

“I’m fucking furious.” He said. 

She was gobsmacked.

“Why?”

Finally, he looked at her straight on and her stomach flipped at the sight of it. He looked absolutely distraught. Like the splintered shell of a boy who had been cracked open and drained dry of his will to live. Behind the hard look in his eyes, radiated something cloudy, tempestuous and devastating. 

“It was my fault that we were even there.” He said

She hadn’t known that a voice could carry such grief and anger simultaneously. But Sebastian’s voice was laced with insurmountable despair. And it broke her heart irrevocably to think that she could’ve caused him so much pain.

Did he think that he was to blame?

That was ridiculous.

“I thought-” he started to say again, but his voice cracked. 

I thought I lost you? I thought I’d left you for dead? She wondered if that was what he was going to say.

“Sebastian…” She finally began “It’s not-”

“And why didn’t you think to tell me that you were struck by a bloody unforgivable curse before you fell lifelessly onto the fucking floor!” He yelled.

She winced at the loudness of his voice. 

“I didn’t think-”

“Do you have any idea what it’s like to watch the love of your life almost die in your fucking arms?”

His deafening voice echoed through the chambers of the hospital wing. 

She stared at him, mouth agape. 

Sebastian himself looked shocked by the words out of his own mouth. 

Sorry, what was that he just said? 

Was she dreaming? Was she hallucinating? Had Sebastian Sallow really said that he loved her? Her? Complicated, chaotic, haphazard her? Even if her brain couldn’t quite process what she was saying, her heart had certainly understood. It was battering against her ribcage so firmly that she swore it would no sooner burst out of her chest.

“You… love me?” Even as the words sat in her mouth, even as she tasted it meticulously on the edge of her tongue — she still couldn’t believe them. 

With his head buried in his hands, Sebastian groaned. 

Obviously that wasn’t what he had wanted to say, and that terrified the living shit out of her. He looked as if he considered going back on it. Saying that it had just been an emotional slip of the tongue. 

But to her surprise, he stood firm. 

“Fuck.” He cursed, “Isn’t it fucking obvious?”

His words still weren’t fully sinking in. Her brain was running so fast that it was on the verge of failing her entirely. There were so many things she wanted to ask him. Was it obvious? To who exactly? By what egregious definition? And did he expect her to just take his word and say that this little detail was always hidden in plain sight for her to find? 

Then there were other more intrusive thoughts she couldn’t shake. Like what about all the girls that fawned over his every word. What about all the other girls that were softer, prettier, more endearing than her? She just hoped that whatever she chose to say, that she wouldn’t let out the intrusive ones first.

“...What about Samantha?” She blurted practically incoherently.

Oh Merlin. Why did she say that? Why was that the first thing she said to him after she had just been on the verge of death? After he had just confessed his love for her.

Never had she felt so exasperated with herself for being so dumb.

Unsurprisingly, Sebastian looked at her as if she’d just grown three heads. She also considered that maybe she had enunciated so poorly that he hadn’t understood a single thing she said. Either way, just as she was about to laugh it away - change the subject - he responded.

“... What about Samantha?”

Suddenly, she felt too shy to ask. But she knew she had to follow through.

“... You’re not in love with Samantha?” She asked meekly.

Sebastian stared at her in absolute disbelief. 

“Are you crazy?” he began incredulously, “You think I fancy Samantha Dale?”

It wasn’t that crazy of a thought, she wanted to retort. 

But before she could even get a word in, Sebastian bulldozed on.

“Fucking hell. I think I’ve mentioned her name all but three times in the last six years I’ve been in this castle. All I talk about is you all day everyday, which makes Ominis go absolutely livid! All you have to do is say my name and I’d stop everything at the drop of a fucking hat to do literally anything you ask for me—” 

Did he know what he was saying? She wanted to scream. The feelings in her chest were so intense she feared that she might just throw up. 

Could he hear the absolutely ludicrous and inconceivable things coming out of his silly mouth? Did he know what in Salazar’s name he was saying to her? 

And he wasn’t even done yet.

“—I look for you in every hallway, every classroom, every corner in this bloody castle! For Merlin’s sake, I can’t even begin to fathom how you could not know that I’m stupidly love with you—”

Despite herself. Despite the stabbing pain in her chest. Despite the stitches in her lungs. She lunged her body forward and pushed her own chapped, split and desperate lips onto his.

And when their lips met — good God. 

She had no idea how she had waited so long to do this.

And she hoped for his sake that Sebastian hadn’t said any of that lightly, because now that she had finally had him, she was never ever letting him out of her shaky, unpracticed hands. 

At first, Sebastian had been taken aback. His mouth unmoving, eyes open in disbelief. It was as if he was observing the scene from outside of himself.

But then soon enough — he was all in, and he had his hands cupping the curve of her cheek to pull her closer to him. Soon enough, Sebastian was kissing her like he was looking for something. Pushing, pulling, scouring the shape of her mouth like she was a puzzle to be deciphered. Gripping tightly onto the sides of her waist and the small of her back like she was a prized to be possessed.

And she obliged. 

Whatever he wanted to know she’d tell him. If she were a prize, she'd use every cheat every ruse in her arsenal to make sure he'd win.

She just hoped that her needy moans conveyed her willingness to be compliant in his competent hands.

Her limbs ached, her bones groaned. This kiss was too wild, too strenuous, too demanding for her worn out body. But she didn’t care. The floodgates had opened now, whether either of them knew it, and this feeling was unquenchable. 

He tasted like home and aftershave and salt and all those silly peppermint candies he ate all the time. If she could fasten herself to him with an irreversible stitch, she would. If she could seal herself into a perfect mould of his arms, she would. If the shivers that raced down her spine could etch themselves permanently into her nerve endings in her skin, she’d gladly bear the mark.

In between peppered, sloppy kisses, she managed to gasp, "I'm in love with you too."

There was no time for pauses. She had no use for breathing; no use for air. She had no use for anything that didn’t include his lips. 

His laugh was gravelly and tired and breathy. But it was filled with relief and tenderness all the same.

“Thank fucking god,” Sebastian murmured.

Her hands instinctively found their way to his hair, fingers tangling into the strands of his. She revelled in the texture of him. In her daydreams and her undisclosed fantasies, she had always wondered what it would feel like. Would he be as gentle as his charms implied? Or was he as abrasive as his words could be?

But despite his devouring intensity, despite how ardently he consumed her — everything about Sebastian was soft. His lips were soft. His body was soft. His hands were soft.

She leaned in to kiss him again, but he pulled back. Which immensely disappointed her. And she wasn’t shy to let it show on her face.

"Be careful. You're still recovering." He managed to get out, but it was weak.

Yes, that was true. It was very lovely and sensible of him to say.

But frankly, she couldn't give two fucks.

"I wouldn't mind dying today," she replied breathlessly, her voice laced heavily with longing.

He groaned into the edge of her mouth, "Way too soon."

She smiled wryly. Was it wicked of her to take delight in how protective he was being?

Silence hung in the air. 

"Please just... just be careful next time?" he said, his voice wavering slightly.

She looked into his eyes, "I will."

With a gentle squeeze of his hand, she hoped that he knew that she truly meant it. That by definition, her feelings for him meant that her assurance was very much real. Because if not with words, she needed him to know through this gesture that she too looked for him in every inch of this castle. That she too would drop everything at his beck and call.  

He squeezed her hand back in return.

Message understood?

“And as much as I’d love to keep kissing you," he whispered with a playful glint in his eye, "I would hate for Nurse Blainey to shun me from the infirmary for so shamelessly accosting one of her patients."

A soft chuckle escaped her lips, the tension easing between them. "You're right. We wouldn't want that," she replied, a fond smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

—

A/N: This is deffo a little different from the normal soft/simpy Seb that I write. I tried to go for overly flirtatious and wildly charming Seb and a pining MC this time to shake things up!! I still think they're cuties.

Gosh, I hope you guys liked it!! I'M STILL WORKING ON OTHER REQUESTS and of course my bb A Knowing Look! They will be taking a while but I promise I will be putting my heart and soul into them.

xoxo gruff

[webslingingslasher]

I LOVE ETHAN SM like that’s the goat right there <3 I love the friendship he has with trouble 🥹

also when/if Ethan had a partner they’d for sure team up with reader so they can double attack Peter and Ethan with their combined wit 🤝 and the boys are just like…wtf did we do…

both of you giggling, half running into the game room. peter and ethan sat next to each other on the couch, a playstation controller in their hands.

you share a look with taylor, the girl next to you. both of you clasp your hands behind your back and bounce on tiptoes.

“hi boyfriend,” peters eyes leave the screen for less than a nanosecond to look at your face, already suspicious. “hi.”

“hi boyfriend,” taylor mimics, ethan pokes his tongue out the corner of his mouth, pressing buttons harder like it’d save him. “sup?”

“we were thinking…” you tease the words, neither boy shows a reaction. it’s time to double down, glancing at each other for the go ahead you approach peters side and start to mount his lap.

“no, no, no! don’t do this to me, trouble.” his heads bobbing around your body for a clear look at the screen, his character desperately trying to scramble to hide before he was shot.

ethan’s girlfriend hiking her leg over his lap at the same time.

“tayl- oh god damn it, your big ass head got me killed.” ethan drops his controller to his lap while he watches his killer dance on his body. taylor smiles and kisses at his cheeks, pushing her face away he talks to peter as he’s collecting kills.

“you gotta win this for us, don’t let the estrogen win. this is what they want, power through it, parker.”

you kiss at peters sweet spot, he leans ever so slightly into your mark but straightens up and focuses on the approaching storm.

“peter,” you whine out his name, tugging at the curls around his ears. “pay attention to me! we have to talk to you guys.”

ethan celebrates when peters down to three other players, taylor frowns at the lack of attention, she brings it to a whole new level.

“i guess they don’t care about the pregnancy pact, oh well.” taylor starts to scramble off, ethan wacks peter a good one, before hunkering her to his lap.

peter smirks, building a quick wall to hide behind before looking at his friend. “don’t let the estrogen win.”

last effort, like an annoying toddler. you both rapid fire their names.

“ethan, ethan, ethan, ethan, eth-“

“peter, peter, peter, peter, pe-“

peter drops his controller, his hands squeezing tight around your waist and pulling you into him. “you’re being a real menace today, trouble.”

ethan silences his girlfriend with a hand over her mouth, “my brain is melting and i’ll kill you.” taylor tugs at his wrist, ethan rips it away with a gag, “you licked me!”

“this is your fault, parker. you see what your girlfriend has turned mine into? she’s made her into trouble 2.0, it’s despicable.”

taylor stopped him with a kiss, “this is why you always win, it’s so unfai-“ another kiss.

your turn, tapping on his shoulder he gives you his full attention. “what is it, my baby? you have my full attention.” you give him a peck.

“taylor and i have come to the agreement that you’ll take us to see the barbie movie and get dinner after.”

“i’m so glad you’ve decided for us.” sarcasm on peters end.

“is this a watch the movie movie or make out movie movie.” taylor tucked some hair under ethans hat.

“oh no, we’re watching it, lovie.”

“i’d rather eat glass, lovie.”

you frown and tsk, “i told you they don’t care about us. we can just go taylor, maybe we’ll find some boys that wouldn’t mind seeing the barbie movie with us.”

“ugh, you’re so right. ethan told me he loved me but i guess he was lying.”

“same with peter, he actually hates me. he loves making me unhappy.”

peter and ethan stare at each other while taylor and you bounce between a ‘who’s boyfriend hates them more’ contest.

in tandem, your thighs are slapped, taylor jumps slightly, you pout.

“alright. barbie movie. let’s go.”

it’s clear you’ve been showing taylor the ropes, because peter can hear you mumble out as you walked out behind them, “i told you the ‘you don’t care’ thing works every time.”

[literaryavenger]

Broken - part 5

Summary: You and Bucky keep bonding.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Warnings: Minimal use of Y/N. Language. Innocent and broken Bucky. Mentions of Bucky's past and nightmares. A lot of fluff. My poor attempts at being funny.

Word Count: 2.2K

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

A/N: I decided on the ending for this story, and I have only one more chapter to go! Enjoy, the last one will probably come sometime tomorrow. Also, again, it's 4:30 am and I can't help myself lol.

Masterlist

Spending time with Cassie you couldn’t help but feel better.

The more you have fun and laugh with the little girl, the more you forget about your anger against the team.

It also helps that you spend most of the day away from them, eating lunch with Cassie and Scott, who you didn’t stay mad at for too long. To be fair to him you didn’t even know him when everything happened so you don't blame him too much.

As promised, Bucky comes looking for you as soon as he and Steve get back to the tower, finding you still on Scott's floor while you guys watch Despicable Me inside a huge blanket fort Cassie insisted on building in the middle of the floor of the living room.

Thankfully the other occupants of this floor, Bruce, Thor and Loki, are still in New Asgard. He’s just about to turn around and go back to his room when you notice him.

"Hey Bucky! Where are you going, how did it go?" he looks uncertainly at Scott and his daughter before answering.

"I was just gonna…" he trails off, pointing behind him towards the elevator.

"Nonsense, come here." you tell him, patting the seat next to you in the fort.

He’s a little hesitant, but slowly comes further into the room, sitting on the ground, leaving a little space between you.

You give him a smile that he shyly returns before you hear a little voice clearing her throat, which brings your attention to the little girl on your right. "Yes, Princess Cassie?"

"And who would this be, Queen Y/N?" Bucky’s a little confused by the interaction, but says nothing.

"This is Bucky. What title would you like to give him?" Cassie thinks about it for a second while staring very intently at Bucky, narrowing her eyes at him, and you can’t hide your amusement.

That is, until Cassie suddenly lands on a role for Bucky.

"He should be the King!" she says, looking from him to you a couple of times "You guys look good together." you’re about to say something, when Scott beats you to the punch.

"She’s right, I can see it." he says putting his hands up and looking through them to frame you and Bucky together, clearly much more amused than you are at the situation.

You sigh, knowing you can’t escape this. "Well, what Princess Cassie says goes. I’m sorry, King Bucky, you’re stuck with me now."

You turn to Bucky who's still very confused, and is now also starting to turn slightly pink, so you decide to explain.

"We’re playing make believe. Cassie is the Princess, Scott is the Jester and I’m the Queen. I’m sorry to inform you you’ve been crowned King of the castle." you gesture to the fort with your hands.

"And also Y/N’s husband!" Cassie feel the need to shout, making your head snap to her with wide eyes while Bucky turns even redder, your own face starting to change color now.

"He gets it, Princess." you try not to snap at her, she’s just a kid and doesn’t mean anything by it, but it’s still pretty embarrassing.

You see Scott snickering behind Cassie and glare at him as much as you can trying to go unnoticed by her, but Cassie's attention is on the super soldier now.

"You're going to play with us, right?" she asks him in a  sweet voice, making the biggest puppy eyes you've ever seen. She certainly knows what she's doing.

Bucky, who hasn't said anything until now, doesn't know what to do. He looks at you for help and you give him an encouraging smile.

He then looked at Scott, worried that the man might want Bucky anywhere near his daughter, but Scott simply nods his head with a smile.

Bucky relaxes a bit and turned his attention back to the little girl, trying to find the right thing to say.

"Of course I'll play with you. After all, the Princess’ word is law." Cassie starts giggling at the bow he gives her, and you're almost giddy at seeing this side of Bucky, more relaxed than he's been since he got here.

Granted, it was just a couple of days ago, but he seems to be making a lot of progress really fast, so far, just like Steve said after he hugged you yesterday morning.

You keep watching the movie, then the second one and you get halfway through the third when Maggie comes by to pick up Cassie.

So, with the promise not to finish the movie without her, you and Bucky say goodbye to all three and make your way to your shared floor.

"You were right, she really is adorable." Bucky says with a smile as you get into the elevator.

"I know, it’s pretty hard to stay mad at Scott when he lets me hang out with her." you smile back at him. "So, how did your meeting go?"

You see Bucky tense and feel a little bad. You really didn’t mean to make him uncomfortable, but you were genuinely curious and also wanted to support him. After all you know having a hearing isn’t certainly gonna be easy.

"I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to." You quickly reassure him and he seems to relax and gives you a nod.

When he doesn’t say anything else, you let it go. But Bucky had a question himself.

"Why are you ignoring everyone but me?" you sigh.

You don't blame him for being curious, you yourself are as nosy as they come. Always in a respectful manner, of course.

"I’m mad at them." You simply say. "They selfishly kept a pretty big thing from me. They made me feel bad, knowing they were lying to me. They’re my family, they should trust me more than this. I’ll get over it, eventually, but for now I’m happy avoiding everybody." you shrug. You know it’s kind of childish, but you also don’t care.

"Okay, I understand that… But why are you not avoiding me?" Now you’re confused.

"Why would I avoid you?" he bows his head in shame, not meeting your eyes as you exit the elevator and you already know you’re not going to like his answer.

"I’m the reason it all happened in the first place… it’s all my fault." You can feel the sadness in his voice, you can see he actually feels bad about causing this.

You, on the other hand, don't agree.

"Bucky," you start, stopping right in front of him, forcing him to stop too, looking up and quickly putting his hands on your arms to make sure you don't fall after almost colliding with you. "you can’t blame yourself for other people’s choices. Steve chose to help you, Tony chose to fight it, everybody else chose a side. None of it was on you. You didn’t ask anybody to do anything. So, please, stop feeling guilty."

Bucky looks at you silently for a few moments and you feel like he's searching your face for any hint that you might be lying, that you don't really believe what you were saying.

But he doesn't to find any so he nods and says "I’ll try." with his hands still on your arms and it's like you're suddenly registering just how close he is and how warm his touch is on your skin.

He’s about to say something else, when you hear someone clear their throat behind you.

Bucky drops his hands from you like they burned and you turn around, almost feeling like you got caught doing something wrong when you see Steve and Sam just standing there looking at you two.

Steve has that stupid grin on his face that he doesn’t seem to be able to wipe every time he sees you and Bucky together, but Sam looks more concerned than anything.

"Everything okay here?" he says and you can’t help but roll your eyes at his insinuation that something might be wrong just because you’re alone with Bucky.

You turn back to the brunette super soldier and smile at him "I’m gonna go to my room, I still have some reports to finish. See you later?"

You wait until he nods and then get on your tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek like this morning, smiling a little more when you back away and see a little pink hue coming back to his face, but with a smile nonetheless.

You turn around and pass the other two men without saying a word, hearing them sigh behind you as you walk away towards your room.

Maybe you’re being a little dramatic, but you don’t feel like forgiving anybody else just yet.

So that’s how you find yourself spending more and more time with Bucky.

It feels like you spent all your free time with each other, only being apart at night and when Bucky joins the team for dinner.

He tried to get out of it multiple times to join you when you would eat in the kitchen of your floor, but Steve insists that it would be better for him to be around the team, even if just for an hour a day, and you fully agree.

That, however, doesn’t stop him from joining you afterwards just so you won't have to eat alone, for which you're grateful.

Initially Bucky's pretty content just following you around like a lost puppy, a fact that Sam and Steve never fail to mention as it amuses them to no end.

But Bucky doesn't care, and neither do you as you enjoy each other’s presence, even in silence.

Bucky likes watching you go about your day, still amazed by everything you do and you like having him near you. It makes you feel safe.

Still, the more time you spent together, the more comfortable he feels around you.

The real turning point comes when one night you open your door to find a disheveled looking Bucky, and you know immediately that him knocking at your door at 3 am meant nothing good.

Which is confirmed when he sniffles and you realize he has tears streaming down his face.

Without saying anything you hold out your hand, which he instantly takes as he lets you guide him inside, shutting the door behind him.

You walk to the bed and sit down, hand still in his and, when he just stands there you tug on it, silently letting him know that it's okay for him to join you.

You expect him to sit next to you as he’s done countless times now while leaving a respectful space between you, always the gentleman.

What you didn’t expect is him crawling into your bed, taking you to lay down with him, and hugging you as tightly as he can without hurting you, his legs also wrapping around yours.

To say you're shocked right now is an understatement. You always made a point to keep physical touch to a minimum when it comes to Bucky, not wanting to do anything to make him uncomfortable.

But here he is, clinging to you like a scared little kid, crying his eyes out with his head buried in the crook your neck.

You wrap your arms around his shaking body, hugging him as tight as he is, rubbing his back to try and soothe him, whispering what you hope are words of encouragement in his ear. 

You stay like that for a while until he finally calms down and stops crying.

You don’t rush him to let go or to talk about it, letting him decide if and when he's ready to talk at all.

After a few minutes of total silence you think the poor guy cried himself to sleep, but he proves you wrong by moving his head away from your neck and placing it on your chest.

You feel him play with your necklace as he starts talking with a quiet voice that reminds you of the first day you met him. "I’m sorry, doll. I didn’t want to bother you, but I didn’t want to be alone and had nowhere else to go." and your heart breaks for him.

"Don’t apologize, Buck. You can always come to me, it doesn’t matter what time it is."

He looks up, looking at you like you hung the moon and stars just for him, and seems like he's about to say something else but thinks better of it, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times.

He settles for giving you a gentle squeeze and moving his head back to lay on you, but you don't need words to know he's grateful for your understanding.

He's seemingly unashamed of the way he's still clinging to you and you’d be lying if you said you mind being so close to him either.

You start running your hand through his hair, which he seems to appreciate, and, after a few more minutes of silence, he starts speaking again.

He tells you about the nightmares he’s been having ever since he escaped Hydra, and that tonight, after a particularly gruesome one, he just couldn’t stand being alone.

He doesn't go into too much detail about the dream but tells you enough for you to want to take a few firearms and track down every single person connected to Hydra so you can put as many bullets in them as you can carry, then light them on fire for good measure.

But, Bucky being your first priority, you stay where you are and try your best to comfort him, eventually changing the subject to keep his mind off the nightmare.

You talk until the sun comes up, birds chirping, but neither of you make a move to get up at any point, eventually falling asleep for a couple of hours in each other’s arms.

Part 6

Taglist: @aesthetic0cherryblossom @buchi91 @sapphirebarnes @ordelixx

[acuteobserv4tion]

One of the reasons I love Elemental.

They literally never once in this entire movie ever said that "We're all the same." Never even hinted at it. The point was that the two main characters wanted to be together despite their fundamental differences.

There's literally 3 whole dedicated scenes about it. Where they touch for the first time. Where they talk about Ember's future. Where Wade tries one last time to reach out. I'm so confused why people just ignore this.

Everyone keeps saying it's "Zootopia dressed like Avatar" even though that's not true. It's that same type of thinking that left Dreamworks' Megamind in the dust after Illumination's Despicable Me came out. Just cause they both have a "bad guy" as the protagonist who "talks funny."

It's that same mindset that would have left Coco (2017) out to dry simply because Pixar's "Coco" and 20th Century Fox's "The Book of Life" (2014) both revolve around The Day of The Dead and the main characters like music. Yes, that was a thing.

Remember when people accused Coco of being a Book of Life Rip-off? It's like nobody cares about storytelling, development, execution, or any of that stuff.

This movie isn't black and white rascism like Zootopia. Elemental focuses on immigration. It focuses on sacrifice. It focuses on family. It focuses on preserving culture. And it focuses on love.

It's not a girl trying "to make the world a better place" or a cop case. There's no main villain. Prejudice is just a part of their life. It's just something they have to deal with. And they also appreciate each other's differences.

Another thing that I see pop up again and again and again is, "How are they touching?" "That ruins the rascism allegory." "It's a bad allegory cause the elements will literally destroy each other if they touch."

I just sit there thinking, "Did they even watch the movie? Did they not see that beautiful scene under the bridge where they addressed that issue?"

If you notice throughout the movie, each element has to consciously keep themselves together. The only exception being Earth. (Unless I forgot some earth person in the background who was falling apart)

Air, Water, and Fire will also all change with their emotions. Yet people, both within and out of the movie, only care about what Fire could do. "How come Fire isn't burning this right now? The thing with the flower flashback doesn't work."

Fire isn't the only one capable of being dangerous. Water can cause accidents when they cry and even floods if they lose control. Gale was literally a lightning storm when she was upset.

The Vivisteria was said to be capable of surviving in any environment, even Fireland. Yet the water security guy was still afraid of what Fire could do. The only ones who don't have to work to control themselves are Earth. (Which I guess is why they're kind of just there in the movie living their lives)

That's why it's so amazing what happens under the bridge. Wade and Ember both make a conscious effort to be gentle with each other. They make the effort to find an in-between. It was a whole thing. Why do people just ignore that whole scene?

This rant really got away from me.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

The Happy Couple 6

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

I make no promise and am just following a whim.

Summary: Your father makes a deal to marry you to his top capo. (mob au)

Warnings: dark elements such a mob business and intimidation, spanking, threats. More to be added as they become relevant. You know what I write typically so you know what to expect.

Thank you all for the encouragement and I hope you enjoy.❤️

"Get out, sweetheart," Bucky rests his hand on the car door, his other on his belt.

"You can't," you whine, "please…"

"Baby, I thought you understood–"

"Oh my god," your eyes are bleary as tears prick, "no, please," you cling to the seat as he grabs your other arm, his men swarming behind him in endless activity, "I can't– my father–"

"Get out of this car right now, princess, or I'll be happy to help you out."

"No," you snarl as your disbelieving grief spikes to hot fury, "no! You're despicable! A monster–"

"Your puppy dog face and tantrums aren't going to work on me," he huffs and bends, grabbing you by the back of your neck and dragging you out of the car, "you better clean up your act fast."

You stumble in your heels and fall against him. You pull your hands away from his chest and hit hit, "no! I won't behave! I won't! You lied to me– aah!"

You squeal as he lifts you suddenly, hauling you over his shoulder as you squirm and kick. Cool air flows up your skirt and tickles across your bare ass. You whimper and claw at the back of Bucky’s jacket.

"I gave you a chance to be good," he curls an arm around your legs and his other hand crawls higher, feeling along your smooth skin, "don't worry, I got a thing for taming the stubborn ones."

"Ew, get– let me go!"

"Where you gonna go, princess?" He climbs the steps to the front door, a man standing watch outside, "all your daddy's men who didn't flip got the same treatment he did."

"But–" you tug at the bottom of his jacket futilely, "why– what about me?"

He crosses the entryway and climbs the left arm of the double stairway. You jostle with his motion, your head pooling and pulsing with the rush of blood.

"I told you already. You're mine and I'll take care of you," he slaps your ass as your skirt rumbles above, offering a generous view of everything, "one way or the other."

He takes you past your bedroom and into the master, your father's room. He carries you to the bed and throws you down. You bounce and bite your tongue as you tug your skirt down to hide your naked pelvis.

"So, I'm gonna ask you one last time and I want you to think about it because this isn't something I usually ask. Let alone twice. Do we do this the hard way," he shuts the door, keeping his hand on the handle as he turns back to glance at you, "or the…harder way?"

You push yourself to the edge of the bed and pout, "Bucky, please, I'm so scared–"

"Ah, don't you try that with me," he wags his finger at you as he comes near, "I've seen it before, remember? 'Oh, daddy, please, you don't understand. I need this purse! Please can't I have your credit card?'" He mimics in an exaggerated cadence, "I got no problem with you calling me daddy but you won't play me like him," he grabs your chin and forces your head up, "got it?"

You push your bottom lip out and bat your lashes, "Bucky…"

"Shhh," he hushes you as he drags his thumb up to your lower lip, "you're only making me harder."

He pokes his thumb into your mouth and hums. He pushes down on your tongue as you stare up at him. He only wanted to get you out of the house so he could tear apart your life. It's all a trick.

You bite down on his knuckle and he yowls as he rips his hand away from you. He shakes his fingers and curses as you stand and clack on your heels around him. You hurry as fast as you can for the door but your Louboutins make each step a task.

He catches you around the waist and lifts you off your feet. He flings you around and you land once more on the bed, nearly bouncing back off. You're left dizzy by the motion and sit up quivering to face him.

"Oh, princess, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into," he unbuckles his belt and pulls it free of his pants. He folds it and snaps it between his hands, "show me that precious little ass and I'll try not to make it bleed."

"No!" You lean back on your elbows and kick out, your shoe jabbing his side. You roll over and fall off the bed, kicking free of your clunky heels.

He coughs and snarls, "you little– you're asking for it."

You turn on your knees and grab your stiletto, "leave me alone!"

You whip the shoe at him and he barely blocks it as it nearly pings off his head, "hey!" He points at you again, "settle down!"

"No, I'm not listening to you! You're just a liar!" You get to your feet, your other heel in hand, "I'm not your princess."

"You're a spoiled fucking brat," he slaps the belt against his hand as he closes in.

"No, you!" You swing and catches the heel of the shoe before it can meet his chest. He snaps off the red stiletto and you cry out, "hey! That's designer!" You swing again with the amputated sole, "how–" you hit his hand, "dare–" you hit his forearm, –you!"

He sweeps your strike away and throws out the belt like a lasso, tugging it down as it hits your head, and tightens it to the buckle. You gasp and grab the leather as it draws your fingers tight to your neck. He jerks you forward. You stumble and flail out as you collide with him.

He yanks on the belt and forces your head up. You whimper and your fingers tingle numbly as the leather digs into your neck. He smirks and snarls down at you, "this is going to be fun, baby. You just made damn sure of that."

[athene-owl]

Dream Video Bullshit

I decided against my better judgement to watch Dream's latest video. Here are the main things I wanted to say - if I don't mention something it's probably because I actually agree with what Dream said or don't know/care. A lot of this is rambling and venting because I'm annoyed and refuse to give him/his fans anymore of my energy or time to polish up this post.

1:16 - Dream says his accusers will make it harder for 'real victims in the future' to be believed and I just need to say that this felt like a really brash and entitled thing to start the video up with. Now you wanna care about victims Dream? After what happened last year? We'll get to that.

3:40 - This is a very small thing but Dream says here that in one video while he was playing Minecraft muted, he was being 'interviewed' by a SWAT Team member next to him in the room and I just can't help but question the validity of this because how did this happen? You were swatted and had someone in the room with you asking questions and you divided your attention between that and still playing Minecraft? You didn't just stop playing to focus on the SWAT Team? This barely matters but it fascinates me.

5:09 - Dream really goes out of his way here to point out that his speedrun cheating was discovered by a cheater and plays a clip showing how illegitimate this guy's speedruns were. This absolutely feels like him shifting blame and trying to paint this rando as a bad person to somehow excuse his own cheating which he says was unintentional. At 5:30 he says him and a developer had ruled out him using a mod - how did they determine this when he WAS proven to have used a mod and insisted he didn't realize? He doesn't elaborate.

6:30 - Here Dream acknowledges his behavior towards the speedrunning mods was bad and takes responsibility for it which is good but does not erase all the drama and bullshit he caused. When that whole thing went down, his stans passionately took his side but now that he's admitted to acting wrong they are fawning over his maturity - you guys sure didn't have a problem with it back then. At 6:40 he makes the point that the speedrun was 3 years ago and a lot has changed and I just don't see that change when he's still causing dumbass drama every week. Good on him for taking his videos down and apologizing to the mods but, again, his stans were all enthusiastically on his side then so I don't want to hear them now praising him for doing the right thing when clearly his behavior wasn't enough to turn them away from him 3 years ago. This is a trend with Dream's stans.

10:02 - Here Dream admits he was wrong to immediately and publicly disregard the info dug up about his domestic abuser friend which OK, good to admit, but 2 things - 1. Why, only a year ago, were you so quick and eager to disregard reports of abuse and 2. How did the fandom react to this. Again, if people took his side and disbelieved the victim, they can't now be so proud of him for admitting he was wrong. This does NOT instill confidence in me that him and his community would take later allegations against Dream seriously. Hot take, but I really think his initial response was despicable, irresponsible and I just feel sorry for the guy's victim in all of this. At 11:48 he pats himself on the back for how he handled the situation (besides initially brushing off the evidence) and ends with "I made it clear I didn't support domestic violence even at the detriment of one of my oldest friendships" and I'm sorry but given how Dream conducts himself, that feels like a manipulative little ploy to look good and garner pity for doing the bare minimum. Again, how many of his stans leapt at the chance to brush aside abuse reports and documented evidence and what did he do?

EDIT: Previously I thought the info on the friend was revealed by the victim herself speaking up but I was corrected on this and now know it was the friend's info being leaked and people snooping. Check my reblog for more info.

15:00 - He defends his Snapchat use with the fact that he promotes content on there but the photos consist of him doing random shit in his day-to-day life so I fail to see how that promotes his content rather than feeding his fans' parasocial relationship with him lol. At 15:20 he admits he isn't the one liking weird fanart on his account and 1. He's just admit he's been lying about running his own account for years and 2. Did he ever speak against the weird sexualisation in his community? Why did he allow his friend to keep liking weird shit, only messaging her to unlike it after the fact rather than laying the rules out? Idk this is just weird man. At 15:23 he shows a tweet by a defender of his stating that clearly he runs his account because if he had someone else running it, there would be a disclaimer. His fans gave him the benefit of the doubt and chastised others for not doing the same only to be proven wrong themselves lmao

17:08 - Dream claims he 'doesn't take himself too seriously' and I do not fucking believe that. This man has the ego of a planet and is lashing out at others every fucking week over it. Be fucking for real.

20:10 - Here Dream admits that him calling his fanbase 'kittens' was weird and he regrets it but also insists the whole 'Discord kitten' meme wasn't big back then and, this is purely anecdotal, but I absolutely think it was. Anyway, again, I wonder how many of his fans defended this back in the day and how many of those same people will now agree with Dream it was embarrassing and weird solely because HE now says it is and not because they can critically look at his behavior themselves. I'm skeptical of him insisting it wasn't meant in a weird way and he randomly chose the term 'kitten' because everyone back then instantly connected it to the Discord kitten thing but ok.

21:29 - Dream discusses the whole 'selling baby photos of himself' thing which I had never heard about before and am a bit gagged by. Anyway, here he specifically points out that celebrities have sold their baby photos before as if that helps his case at all, he explains the hard drive wristband thing was the product BUT it is still insanely weird and egotistical to me to include baby photos on that drive. He compares this to a biography but, again, this does not help the parasocial allegations because what the fuck has he done in his life to warrant a biography and what sort of audience needs this? I know this might be sacrilege to say but uhh this was objectively weird of him to do and he cannot sway my mind on that. Also for someone who doesn't take himself seriously, he sure was happy to quote himself on the hard drive???

36:09 - Finally into the more serious shit. Here, Dream points out the fact that Amanda was defending him when the whole face reveal happened 10 days before her allegations came out + liking his tweets 2 days before the allegations. I just wanna say this really means little, victims can be in denial or have complicated feelings. Also, at 36:18 he then says that she made her accusations because of the hate train following the face reveal and she wanted to get in on it even though he just said she was supportive of him and defending him? He's spinning this both ways - saying she was supportive to discredit her claim and then saying she suddenly hated him to also discredit her claim.

38:05 - He gets his mum involved to prove a point and I cannot emphasize enough how meaningless this is, even if its the truth you expect me to think your mother is unbiased and wouldn't lie to cover your ass?

40:06 - Bold of Dream to criticize Amanda for not treating the situation seriously when Dream stans are running around calling this shit a 'drontroversy'. At 44:20 he even says this isn't online drama. He also uses the image below as proof of her wanting him or whatever which 1. Doesn't matter when discussing underage exploitation because her behavior would never warrant her being taken advantage of and 2. Also shows him making weird sexual comments which he vehemently denied doing earlier.

42:12 - Dream asks how, if Amanda is dishonest about some things, how can anything she says be trusted? Why can't that same logic be applied to Dream for things he has no actual evidence for? He makes this argument again at 43:20 - if she's lying about the photo, how do you know she's not lying about everything else? Not a great argument from Dream of all people.

44:00 - AGAIN this man relies on victim-blaming rhetoric to make his point - "Go to the police. Or sue me. The standard of proof for you suing me is only proving that it's more likely than not that you're telling the truth. 51%. Come take my money." The insinuation that it's easy or simple for women to take men to court and sue them for sexual crimes is laughable and shows a real arrogance and ignorance to Dream. Again, regardless of how true the allegations were, women have gone to court with every type of evidence under the sun and still got nothing so what makes Dream assume this is an easy process? Do victims need to sue their abusers to be telling the truth? With all of his money and privilege, would Dream not be at a huge advantage in court? Weak argument that really feels disrespectful. At 44:15 he makes a little remark about how in court, her 'weird comments' and 'character' would have to be questioned and answered for. Despite the fact that any comments she made as a minor would be irrelevant in this case, despite the fact that someone's 'character' doesn't automatically determine whether they're a victim or not, this is also a funny comment because he's right - yeah, in court the female accuser would be picked apart and judged for shit that doesn't matter. Good thinking there Dream, really making your case!

44:25 - Here he gives a little lecture to Amanda about her hurting 'real victims' and again, as a reminder, this man publicly disregarded those concerned about intricate reports of abuse, has watched as his fans doxed and abused countless people and yet positions himself as an authority on deciding who is a real victims and who isn't. What also makes shit hard for victims is highly popular men like him convincing people to instantly disbelieve women, send them endless hate and make ignorant comments about how victims act. I don't want to hear any moral lecturing from Dream of all people about others 'hurting real victims'. Argue with the wall.

He then has a whole section on Nick Cantu and let me make this clear - Nick being a violent asshole has nothing to do with Dream's behavior or the allegations so I don't care and I do in fact think he focused on it to make himself look better.

57:50 - Dream wants to talk about the dangers of swatting and doxxing. You know, his own stans have doxxed people and once endangered a black person by sending police to their house for a welfare check in an area where welfare checks had resulted in black people being murdered by cops. He says that he always condemned this behavior but shows no proof of this. What actions did he directly take to discourage and stop this and help the people his own supporters had hurt? If anyone has receipts on anything he's done to help, feel free to show me because he provides no evidence of doing anything and I am really not amused by him skirting around his own community's doxxing of people.

1:00:20 - So here he plays the infamous moaning video in it's entirety but has it muted? I get it's gross but when the audio is the whole point, it seems so useless to play it muted. Just a weird choice but it is easy to find elsewhere.

1:09:28 - Makes another statement here that if something is disproven in court then that means it didn't happen which is blatantly untrue, esp when we're talking about sexual crimes. Very ignorant thing to say and really annoys me with how much he's positioning himself as a champion for victims.

After this Dream does a lot more talking about how people treat victims and it's mostly good stuff but AGAIN this is coming from the guy whose fans have doxxed countless people and who instantly mocked people for caring about serious abuse reports. He never makes this parallel, he never points out that he has undoubtedly done more harm to victims with his bullshit, he just puts himself on a moral high ground and its really obnoxious. I cannot emphasize enough how fucking annoying and self congratulatory this man is holy fuck.

EDIT: Initially I had a point here about how little Dream went into the 24 page document released compiling evidence against him, but I was informed this came out right before the video's release, a day before or on the same day it appears. I thought incorrectly it had come out earlier, I will say I still believe he needs to address this in the future, check my reblog for more details.

1:17:00 - This is a doozy and will be my closing point. Dream spends a bit talking about 'false allegations' and calls it a popular trend, happening to hundreds of online creators. IRL, false allegations for rape are severely exaggerated and, if anything, rape is horribly under reported. Women are significantly more likely to be raped then men are to be 'falsely accused' and, when you factor in how horrible the justice system is towards victims, rape culture, how difficult it can be to prove something like rape and how low the rates of successful convictions are, the truth is that a lot of 'disproven' cases are true and were just brushed aside. Furthermore, all crimes have 'false allegations' yet the only one to ever be discussed is rape because it's an easy out. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that rape has comparatively low rates of 'false allegations' compared to other crimes but idk. I know the internet is different, I know people make up lies all the time but I am NOT fucking keen on how much Dream emphasizes false allegations as a common thing when IRL they are not. I am NOT looking forward to every content creator from now on claiming its just 'false accusations' and people falling for it because their favourite Minecraft YouTube insisted it was an epidemic. I am NOT keen for discussions of victims and rape culture to be dominated by this shit and for victims to continue to be silenced and disbelieved. I think you have to be very, very fucking careful when talking about 'false allegations' and I do not think Dream of all people is remotely capable of giving this the nuance it needs. This is gonna be so fucking unbearable in the future to deal with and every single fandom will latch onto this to brush off potential red flags, I guarantee.

[oceanlue]

[Daycare]

Part 2

alphonse who takes care of them when there doing arts and crafts

seth who watches them out side during play time

finn who teaches them of how to take care of plants and takes care of the little garden that they have outside

lucien who takes care of the snacks and make sure that they're all healthy

Charlie who reads the kids stories when it's story time

auron the boss of the hole thing he still is in the daycare but he's doing his paperwork on a clipboard and thanks to the kids being a little scared of him so he has time for himself.

-----------

1 whole month has passed since the opening of the daycare Alphonse teaches them how to be clean after part time Seth takes them outside so he can play with the kids and make sure that they're all safe overall it was a good month, but the only problem is that little rookie does not want to ever do anything fun all little Rook wants to do is just stay by auron and he has no problem with this it's just that Little Rock needs to interact with kids. So auron is going to spend some time out of his office with Little Rock since they didn't feel safe.

*meanwhile*

Alphonse was just finishing up cleaning the Arts area and little boo came over because they wanted to help they did get distracted by a couple things but they were a good helper

Litte boo: *puts a pink sticker on his face* "you look pretty in pwink"

Alphonse: awwww thank boo *pats boo's head*

And over the time that boo was helping alphonse decided to Award them with a cookie but told not to tell anybody.

And Seth came in with the kids as Alphonse was putting some stuff away and then decided to take over bringing in a book about plants and a couple of plant stuff since they're going to grow their own tomato a fun little project for the kids.

As they were getting ready to start with the basics auron came over and said that Rook needed to be with kids so he is going to be with them for the time being.

Auron: rookie need to have some time with kids instead of being with me all day so today I will be joining you guys in your plant making thing

Then handed out the pots for the soil and told them not to fill it up too high or too low and everyone grabbed a small little toy shovel and scoop some soil into their pot where they will plant the seed rookie was doing it very slow cuz they were nervous so Aaron helped then the bit and everything was ok

After a wild day finished putting their soil into their pots and finally they got to choose what seed there were a flower seeds tomato seed and a cucumber seed so....

Boo/sugar got flower seed

Orchid got cucumber seed

Little mouse got tomato

Angel got tomatoe seed

And rookie got flower seeds

And told them exactly the instructions on how to plant them and then get a spray bottle and spray some water so they can have water to drink after that they put their names on the pot and put him on the window sill where the sun shines and they were done with that activity of the day

And for the rest of the day auron stayed with rookie outside of his office keep an eye on them and to make sure everything was doing okay in the daycare.

And so when they was time for the parents to pick up their kids auron told Rookie's mom what happened today and what was going on with them turns out their mother told him that they have some social anxiety and they've been trying to work things out and trying to get them out more.

He nodded and bid farewell to rookie and as they were walking away rookie waved bye to auron and he knows that tomorrow that it's going to be more chaotic again like everyday care is.

End of part 2

Should I do a part 3

--------

I hope you like it also here is part 1

Peace out

💙💙💙

[gregorovitch-adler]

A date after the crisis has been averted, at least temporarily.

You know you're down bad, completely fucked up in love when THAT is your reaction when your crush has (jokingly) called you a bastard. What's even the point, now? You're doomed!

So, I've finished watching Season 1 for the first time and here are my thoughts:

1.) I love the writing of this season overall. I haven't read the book, so can't make a comparison, but Satire is one of my favourite genres, and I love it when things like Religion and Righteousness™ are questioned and satirised.

Also, I loved how witty some of the dialogues were. This one, for example:

"I don't see what's so wrong with them (Adam and Eve) knowing the difference between good and evil." (Crowley says).

"It must be, otherwise you wouldn't have done it!" (says Aziraphale).

It effectively calls out the lack of reasoning and blind faith in the real world.

I love how nuanced these two are. Crowley is a demon and pretends to be the Big Bad but time and again proves that he does care. Even when he doesn't want to.

As for Aziraphale, he's a good person overall but it's not like he always makes the right choice. He's fucked up too. And he has said hurtful things to Crowley. For eg. he didn't have to say, "We're not friends and you and I are on the opposite sides," to Crowley. I know he was trying to protect Adam Young at first, but still.

Aziraphale is quite stuck in his own prejudices. He wants to be with Crowley but still feels compelled to be loyal to his own side - even when the other angels have been nothing but arses to him the whole time.

Crowley is more open-minded in that sense. He's got greater vision and clarity about what he wants and the things that matter to him - he's been pretty much upfront about wanting to be with Aziraphale and ditch this nonsense about the good side and the bad.

I guess that was the whole point they were trying to make in this show.

2.) Aziraphale and Crowley are head over heels in love. I know, old news, but let me as a new fan just gush about it for a second.

Ever since they meet for the first time - when Adam and Eve are escorted to Earth - their chemistry is off the charts and it looks like they're perfect for each other.

Since Episode 2, it's clear that they have feelings for each other but they don't talk about it.

I love how even with his prejudices, Aziraphale is totally with Crowley when they want the Antichrist to be a completely normal child. Aziraphale wants the same things as Crowley but doesn't want to say it out loud.

The scenes where Aziraphale dresses up as a gardener and Crowley shows up as a nanny are hilarious. That too with the wrong child because of that mix-up eleven years ago!

This is my favourite scene:

It's ... nothing needs to be said. He's practically glowing with his love for the Demon.

Their banter, and the way Crowley playfully teases him sometimes - it's absolutely perfect. I love them.

3.) Coming back to my point about the other angels, can I just say I hate Gabriel? Fuck that guy.

He's the most despicable character of this show. I don't know if he gets better or worse in the next season, but for now, fuck him.

I guess I hate anyone who bullies and is condescending to Aziraphale lol.

I hate him even more than Hastur. Hastur is at least supposed to be cruel because he's a proper demon. People like Gabriel - who're supposed to be good but are actually assholes - can fuck off.

4.) I don't know if I missed it when it was being explained, but why is Crowley stuck in traffic in E5?

I know there's a huge demon prayer ring of fire set up by Adam Young but Crowley is a demon, and demons aren't bound by Physics, or so the God narrator told us. Couldn't he go to Tadfield any other way?

Also, why did Hastur burn to death in that episode? I thought the only thing that kills a demon is Holy Water.

Maybe I was being dumb when I watched the show lol. Would appreciate it if someone clarified this point for me in the notes.

5.) Whoever did the voice acting of God did a fantastic job. She had a lot of sarcasm in her voice at many points and I loved that.

Also, seeing Michael Mckean as Witchfinder was such a pleasant surprise! I'm a huge Better Call Saul fan.

6.) I loved the humour of this show. These two scenes were the funniest:

7.) Crowley's walk was my absolute favourite thing:

That's all for now. See you again once I'm done with Season 2.

[effervescentdragon]

The ending of The Penumbra Podcast's The Second Citadel is the most disappointing ending to me since Avengers Endgame. I'd probably compare it to Game of Thrones, if I'd watched that.

I got some things to say. Heavy spoilers ahead.

I genuinely haven't been this disappointed in writing in a long time. I don't know what happened - from season 3 or 4 or so onward both Second Citadel and Juno Steel seemed to change, and althought I haven't really been suoer excited about the path Juno's story has taken, I was actually pretty invested in the Second Citadel. I thought the whole war with the offworlders plotline was good. Even more, in the world we live in right now, seeing the way human-monster conflict was done was very inspiring. Humans finding out their legends of great victories are just massacres of monsters commited in the names of Saints who were actually standing for the exact opposite of what they've been made into, the way propaganda works, it was very dear to me ans it was something I was convinced was important to say. So many characters and their developments were written so well that I was enjoying the fifth and final season immensely. And then, that finale.

Despicable. Hollow. So badly written. Not honest for a moment. Underwhelming. Lazy. Nonsensical.

When you have a magic world in which anything can happen, you cannot use the excuse of "I wrote myself into a corner". When you make the Universe a deus ex machina capable of making a half human-half monster child, you do not have an excuse of not resolving the story in a way that's satisfactory and that makes sense for the characters. Whet the writers have done is lazy, and cheap, and so unsatisfying that for a whole day, I have been reeling from how much disappointment I feel.

Let me go one by one character and try to put my thoughts in order and explain why this finale falls short of everything I expected and everything that could have been done.

So the Universe needs more magic to defend itself, and it's spending too much on keeping Olala alive. Alright. You have a thirteen year old kid whose first home was torn apart by a warmongering zealot, who is the only one in the world of her kind, who is the Chosen One. Sometimes, the Chosen One needs to die for the story to make sense. But to have a thirteen year old commit suicide in sacrifice to save the world, after ripping her from one home, then giving her another (Silvershore), only to raze that one to the ground too with zero payoff, after giving her a parental father figure who promised her a life where she would be taken care of in the future (Sir Lamorak) and then killing him in front of her, which directly follows her parental (mother-ish but not rly, more of a mentor) figure of Caroline also dying in front of her, which drives Olala into despair of knowing both her caretakers are gone and then having the Saints Relics destroyed not be enough... the emotional toll of that has no payoff. The cheap card of "maybe someday Olala will come back" is unsatisfying and callous in a most horrifying way.

And since I already mentioned Lam and Caroline, let's delve into that. Lam's death was very neatly set up and it's the only one that makes sense, somewhat. He was a Knight of the Citadel who did horrible things, fell in love woth a mermaid and changed his ways. The conditions of his duel with the Tengu (not to pick up a weapon again lest the Tengu comes back and devours him) are a piece of very good writing, because how could a Knight with a child not pick up a weapon in the middle of the war to defend that child? That, I understand. (A deus ex machina of Universe asking him of he wanted to come back would not go amiss, and as his wife once said, she is your child, and you have responsibilities. But maybe that's just my wishful thinking.)

Caroline need not have died. Nor did Quanyii. Quanyii absorbed the Universe's magic, yes, but a sacrifice for her would be to live without magic anymore. One whole moment in the story was Quanyii lamenting how bad she is at healing magic. She could have given all the magic to heal Caroline, and they both could have lived, fundamentally changed by the experience. No, instead, they died. Pointlessly, pathetically, with some cheap reassurances that were supposed to sound deep and meaningful. All of Olala's caretakers taken away right before she goes to the heart of the Universe to kill herself.

The rest.. I don't even know where to start. Ale spouting some reassurances to a grieving Angelo felt completely dishonest after he spent years chasing his own revenge, whose unsstisfying conclusion he is now suddenly alright with. All the floscules about building a new future fall flat in the knowledge of what the sudden end of the war means. Queen Mira being absolved of all her incompetence and not being Queen but urging democracy now, as if she didn't hold as much responsibility as the bloodthirsty knights she enabled, ignoring all advice to the contrary. What a cop-out. Much like with Sir Mark, who actively participated in genocide and who has been miraculously absolved by his brother (without even properly apologizing, because Talfrin does it for him) and they ride off into sunset together. Despicable.

And Rilla... goddamn it. The worst piece of writing I've seen in a long time. A magical ot3 child for a woman who is, above all, a scientist. That line, "I don't even have time to go through my notes of the knowledge I lost because there is so much new magic", and then they use that magic to make a child, although Rilla has never indicated wanting one. What to do with a female character when you don't know how to handle her? Why, give her a child, of course! So disappointing, so cheap, so out of character.

The Universe in this story is a deus ex machina in itself. It could have brought Olala, this child everyone claims to care so much about, back. This story could have gone a million other ways. The characters could have stayed true to themselves and the message of the story could have been poignant and memorable. There are ways of writing a story rife with logical, necessary sacrifice while still giving the audience adequate payoff and giving them hope and belief in good things. While still completing the journey and staying true to your characters and your message.

This story did none of that. It relied on cliches, empty sayings and hollow moralising to justify a sacrifice of a child for some bigger cause. It betrayed all its female characters and either turned them into caricatures of themselves, or killed them. It absolved everyone of responsibility and closed its eyes from the gruesomness of its actions and pretended it cannot see, because look, the war is over and all is well! It disappointed so heavily with its hollowness that it soured everything, the whole story for me, and I won't ever relisten to it.

The most important thing to ask yourself when you're writing is "what story do I want to tell". And given that this was the story the writers chose to tell... well. That says enough, I think.

I shudder to think what Juno Steel finale is like. I don't think I want to listen to any it anymore, to be honest. And isn't that the most disappointing thing of all?

[nellycanwrite]

A Vow: a Fic Preview

Preview of Part 3 of “A Request” || Attuma x Talokanil!Princess!Reader

Summary: A war has been waged in your name. When all hell breaks loose, and when you have just risen from a week long coma, you are Talokan’s hope to turn the tides of battle to defeat the enemies who had hurt your people once and for all.

Or, in which you and Attuma were not happy with the King’s decision for allegiance.

Rating: 16+  ||  Viewer Discretion is Advised.

Note: It is worthy to note that I have not included any deep Yucatec Maya phrases (besides the terms of endearment) despite the Talokanil speaking in their native tongue as respect to their language. Therefore their mother tongue shall be labeled with italics.

More notes because the author can’t stop talking: Hi hi! Super sorry this took a while; I’m currently in the middle of moving from province to the (big, very very big, it’s literally the capital) city for college! Huzzah! It’s gonna take a week for me to fully settle in so I might be a tad bit slow on responses as well, so super sorry in advance if I can’t get to you in time. Nevertheless, the love I’ve gotten for this fic and my other BP:WF works have been nothing but heartwarming so I took the in-betweens of my move to update! Love you all so much! Muah!

Part 1 ||  Part 2 ||  Part 3 (Fic Preview)

“We have failed her. I had failed her,” he bowed his head in shame, “how dare I call myself her beloved—her sword, her shield—when she had been attacked by those people? How can I show myself to K'uk'ulkan when I have failed so miserably? I promised I'd be with her, but she—! But I just…”

Attuma must still be frustrated that the Wakandan princess isn’t dead, Namora thought.

Their warning to Wakanda was of great scale. K'uk'ulkan's righteous fury had so taken the life of the queen of their home nation. The life of a queen was the retribution delivered for scarring the crowning glory of Talokan's most precious treasure.

Hardly a fair exchange, one would argue, but you were the Radiant Pearl of the Sea. A drop of blood from your skin from the atrocities of a fiendish foe was worth a thousand deaths of their enemy's kin. 

Namora patted Attuma's back twice, her lips pressing into a thin line as she held back her own heartbreak. To see her childhood friends in such a state…it was eating her up from the inside out.

“You are still those things, Attuma. Her sword, her shield, her beloved,” Namora felt her own guilt weigh her down, but she held her chest up high to set an example for Attuma to see, “what happened in the caves was not your fault. K'uk'ulkan knows that. The princess knows—”

“It doesn't matter!” His voice was strong and mighty, the waters around then shaking by the anger and the frustrations from his voice. Attuma was grateful that they were still in the sea—his tears were hidden and drifting away with the currents.

“Attuma…”

“If that is all, Namora, then I'd appreciate it if you leave. I'll be there as soon as I am done.”

Namora sighed. 

Attuma's stubbornness was getting on her nerves.

“Have you so little faith in the princess?” The female warrior could hardly believe that those words had escaped her mouth. But the damage had been done; and it was something that needed to be said.

Attuma snapped his head to Namora in shock, but it slowly morphed into a warning glare.

“What are you instigating?” He asked with gritted teeth. Namora stared at him passively.

“You know her more than anyone. She will not blame you nor would she want you to practically weep whilst we prepare for our next battle. What would she say if she saw you despicably wallowing in self-pity?”

“You watch your mouth.” Attuma stood up, his frame towering over the female general and covering her whole. Despite the waves of rising anger, Namora did not stand down.

“Am I wrong?”

“You dare—”

Namora swiftly raised her spear and pointed it towards Attuma's neck. He glared daggers at his fellow general, but Namora's piercing gaze had left him speechless. Was this the power of K'uk'ulkan's own blood, he wondered, for such eyes would ground him and lower his gaze in their presence?

“You promised to burn them down in her name, correct? She will rouse in due time, but you were given an order. She has faith in you to carry her will; now it is your turn to have faith in her to do her part in recovery.” 

Attuma stayed silent.

Namora kicked his spear up and caught it mid-air. She lowered her own spear and shoved the shaft into his chest, her eyes burning with a new resolve. Attuma could only accept it while gripping the weapon with such strength that would have left dents in the metal if it weren't made of raw vibranium.

Namora hit the butt of her spear on the ground.

“You are wasted here. Instead of weeping for a circumstance that you cannot control, you have the power to fulfill her orders this instant. 'Burn the world,' was it? Well then—a battalion awaits your command to burn it with you, General Attuma.”

Attuma looked down on the weapon in his hands. It gleamed with an imminent danger, the inscriptions of his name carved into the metal. Along with it were delicate paintings of sharks and waves, something that you had so meticulously drawn for him as a joke, a playful way to annoy him, you always said. But he kept it there; you made it, after all. 

He glanced at you, your body incredibly still. His eyes lingered on your face, and like a helpless catch to a fisherman's bait, he slowly bent down to kiss your forehead and inhaled your scent one last time before he went to battle.

“I will follow your will to the ends of the earth. And though you lay still with no signs of waking, know that my heart lays with you, my love. My world…”

Namora stared impressed at Attuma as soon as he straightened himself with a newfound determination. There were no more signs of that pitiful man who stayed by your bedside while waiting for a miracle, no more signs of an estranged soldier who'd rather rot at your feet until you woke. 

In Namora's eyes he saw a steeled warrior. A king candidate who would fight to the death for his world.

And that world was you, his beloved.

“For the princess.” Namora raised her spear towards him, her chin held up higher in pride. Attuma followed suit, his spear drawn and spears clinking with a new promise.

A new vow.

For the first time since you had been bedridden, Attuma showed a sliver of a smile.

“For the princess.”

Taglist: @w0niecult @abbyeliza28 @fckwritersblock @chaoticevilbakugo @cascadingbliss @erisandra-noir @queen-bee-32 @rheannaaaz​ @antisocial-architect​ @lunamoonbby @kellzsthings @sodonuthideout @vilentia @llamayom  @violet-19999  @f-ergj @daddyslittlevillain @omgsuperstarg @liz776 @zeeader @atssukoo  @idontwannabeherenow @halalalalalalalala  @shebeast7121scared @spookymicrowave​ @nyainterlu4ee @blushsage 

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 22 thoughts

i am actually the bravest human alive for surviving this episode

(lmao i joke. MOSTLY. but op lore: i suffer from a chronic illness that gives me terrible nausea and MAN this was NOT the episode you want to sit down and unwind with if you’re feeling ill. for the plague be upon them all. and yet! here we are. my love for these agents must be quite boundless.)

“diseaseee episode… okay so it is probably body horror time maybe idk” <- first thing in my notes, and yes. yes, it was body horror time.

(we open with a fellow in the rainforest catching bugs) and to me it’s giving “he was in the amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders just before she died” which was such a funny meme. we moved on from this too quickly. those words will always make me giggle.

that is a turkey vulture… do they have those in Costa Rica? yes they do! wow, bird facts <3

ohh nasty, we see a dead hog in the rainforest, being consumed by bugs… bug scientist takes some of them while it pulsates… and my nausea strikes!!!

AUGHHH the boil blew up on his face. this is eeeeevil!! i was diverting my attention AWAY from the screen at this point and really staring at my notes in the hope they could shield me from the nastiness

NOOOO now the bug scientist’s face is covered in the boils… the vultures got him and so did the bugs, and i am getting the impression this is gonna be a tough watch, but i’m in too far now!!!! (it had been like. 5 minutes lmao but i meant it!)

scene change: prison time.

(is this the outside of the prison they used to film the Please Please Please music video or do they all just look the same?)

a prisoner has been sent a package. it is…. some kind of meat??? can you send meat in the mail…? just wrapped up in newspaper? i find this hard to believe, but maybe things were different in the 90’s, or we can suspend disbelief for the sake of the alien show

the meat is pulsating and now the prisoner who received it has the same boils…… deeply unfortunate for all parties involved

and now boil disease is spreading in the prison!! two guards escaped on a cart carrying the infected man's dirty sheets. so they are pretty much gonna die. but will they spread the sickness to the outside world before they do so?

enter our agents!!

this dude who claims to be in charge is a real jerk. and the agents don’t even know why they got sent there beyond to help with a manhunt, which seems beneath them. but there are some people in hazmat suits, so it’s not adding up.

the convicts are hiding in a rest stop and stole a camper from a poor family :( way to ruin vacation.

scully can tell everyone is LYING and she hates lies and bursts into the hospital area, despite the doctor trying to keep her out… it’s a serve, but at what cost to her health???

here, we learn what is at stake: 14 men have been infected, and 10 have died so far. YIKES! this is not good news.

she always answers the phone with “mulder, it’s me” and idk why I find that so endearing. but maybe I’m just at the point where everything these nerds do wins me over 

NOOOO the dad from the camper was killed…  vacation ruined even more than previously thought 

back at the prison, a dude in a hazmat suit tried to kick scully out by saying that she is violating federal orders by being there, and she says “i’m a federal agent”…. a queen of dealing with nonsense. she needs to know if the escaped men are out and about spreading this!!

“you see what I let you see”, says a man drunk on the power of a lot of people dying around him. and i love that these men think they can handle whatever this disease is without any help whatsoever (/s) the arrogance of men has no limits. 

the convict is coming home… to his gf and baby… SPARE THE BABY from the bubbling disease!!!

one of the dudes who escaped is on the floor of the gas station bathroom, moaning and groaning and covered in boils, and the other convict smacks the poor cashier helping him on the head with a wrench... truly despicable behaviors. and he was probably doing all of this for minimum wage!!

scully in da incinerator room... what is she doing there! she has a mask and some gloves and some bodies to investigate. she cuts one of the bagged bodies open. 

NOOO the doctor tries to stop her and the juice gets in his eye… he runs away. rip doctor. your fate has been sealed.

(rolling up to the gas station w the marshals and a million dudes in sunglasses that look like horrible people to catch the escaped convicts)

mulder finds the poor cashier that got whacked and says “kid’s got a lot of hair, probably absorbed the blow” which is a crazy thing to say 

now he is trying to track the phone call the convict made to figure out where he went, but he’s using the same payphone as the sick man, and the germs... i’m scared!

mulder gives his badge number to the operator. It’s JTT-047101111. will this information be of any use at any time? no. but I still wrote it down <3

woah loud noise! a helicopter arrives to put the cashier in some sort of incubator. this cashier has really had a bad time. and no one is explaining anything!!!! so he doesn’t even know where they are taking him or why!! transparency has never been anyone in the government’s strong suit, i guess.

convict cam. he is reunited with his gf. they are smooching. and that is not good for her survival rate i would guess. after they make out a lil, he shows her the other mostly dead guy in his car. i assume he will be joining the family but not for long. i'd be pissed if my man brought someone home after his prison escape. this was supposed to be about US and not some dude i don't know named paul dying in our bed...

okay the package of the meat was sent from kansas… sus…. from a pharmaceutical company?? could it be a fake return address… (spoiler: no, it was not!)

OUGHHHH the camera cuts to dead flesh and boils and blood BLEAGGHH and scully extracts a BUG from it…. 

back to the convicts. the woman is trying to help the guy who is filled with pus, and she bends down to try and cool off his fever, and just as this happens the boil bursts!!! her face is splashed with nastiness and i moaned “nooooo” and hit pause so fast because I nearly gagged... but this was not a foolproof plan, because it paused on all the stuff getting on her face, so i saw it even more, which was SO NASTY EVIL EVIL NASTY GROSSSSSS JAIL. she’s trying to scrub it off. 

just as she tries to get it off, the marshals burst in and get her. so now they might get the boils… also someone scoops up the baby… put him in a better situation… but the other prisoner is gone!! where did his slippery ass sneak out to?!?

(we see an outside shot of the prison again and AGAIN I think this is the same one from the please please please mv. sabrina carpenter can you confirm or deny? i know you read this blog)

the doctor who was earlier splashed upon has revealed his boils to scully. but this is not all he reveals: he was LYING about the CDC being involved!!! it’s the pharmaceutical company that sent the package to the prison that did all this, and he works for them!! they finance discovering stuff in the rainforest to use in drugs… and they found the bug. and the bug has a parasite on it that makes the boils and the larvae are in the explosion. so explosion = infection.

NOOO she was there when his boil blew up so she might also be infected..... lord her medical history is complicated enough. let her escape the clutches of these damn bugs.

talk with skinner time!!!!! BUT... CIG MAN IS IN THE CORNER. mulder goes over to talk to him directly. is he trying to get them killed!!!!! because it looks like cigarette man put them on this case involving lethal infectious diseases because he wanted to get rid of them. oh, mulder is ANGRY about them lying to the public

meeting with skinner was NOT a success. he angrily fumbles with his seatbelt when scully calls to report the latest in plague news 

they disagree on what to do here: he says the public has to know about the situation, and she says that they don't because the panic will spread faster than the contagion. oooo, juicy moral conflict! but i must admit. pandemic questions interest me less having lived through one of my own.

despite his frustration that she is making a point about not being able to tell the world just yet, he asks "are you okay in there scully?”, and she says yes, tells him to catch the fugitive, and to "take care of yourself out there"... and her not knowing if she is gonna live or die, so she tells him to take care of himself...... has me very emo

now, she is locked into quarantine with the infected doctor, who is testing her for the disease, which involves trapping a bug to her arm and waiting for it to bite her. which is quite hellish. she looks truly disturbed by the event and frankly so was i.

mulder interrogating the woman whose bf is the escaped convict. trying to find him, but being distracted by her moral questions on who deserves to know the truth... not now, ask these heavy things later. success! convict boil man is on his way to the bus station.

cutscene to the convict trying to buy a bus ticket. and coughing all over the ticket woman. another minimum wage worker victimized by disease. wear ur masks people!

back at the lab, the bug has FINALLY bitten her, but the doctor from the company is going down. he says she has to tell the world if her test is negative because it WILL happen again. way to push your guilt onto someone else, mister pharmaceutical man!

cut to her extracting blood from bugs. how in the hell did they film that scene??? she takes a deep breath and looks at the blood to see if she’s gonna die or not. and she sighs but that isn’t an answer for us, the audience. (spoilers: it was negative...... thank god)

in the incinerator of the prison, they are destroying all the evidence!!! by tossing all the bodies into a fire!!! the pharmaceutical company is covering its tracks!!! they say it was unavoidable but she says “we'll leave that up to others to decide!!!” oh he pulls the “no one will believe you” card… but she’s sneaky, maybe she’ll think of something that can prove it all to the rest of the world

back to the marshals and mulder at the bus station. no pressure but the prisoner who is about to die HAS to make a statement or else everything will be entirely covered up by the pharmaceutical company that killed these people. again, no pressure!! 

mulder going on the bus with the infected convict.... nooo mulder, be careful, i whisper softly to the screen. and sensing his tricks, the sick man holds a boy with a gun to his head once he gets on there!!!

mulder's voice is all growly- you know how it gets when he’s serious. but the sick man is coughing all over the little boy. and foaming at the mouth. mulder convinces him to let the kid go, and tries to get that statement that will prove everything... but....

NOOOOOOOO!!!! the marshals shoot the guy before he can learn what was in the package!!!!!!

so, in all: the pharmaceutical company was using the prisoners as guinea pigs to get their drug on the market without FDA testing… truly sick and twisted!!!

mulder is reporting this to skinner, and he’s gonna tell the public!!! mulder says that covering the truth makes skinner just as guilty as the men who infected the prisoners (which i'm not sure i agree with but i love a man obsessed with the moral weight of his actions)!! but scully bursts in and says they can’t prove anything because the tracks were so thoroughly covered.

mulder is adding things up... that’s why they were given the assignment, so that if they tried to expose the whole thing, they would be discredited!!!

skinner says “you never had a chance, mulder; for every step you take, they’re three steps ahead” “where do you stand?” “i stand right on the line that you keep crossing” <- OHHHHH zinger.

but i'm conflicted... i thought skinner and i were tight after he intervened to save mulder a few episodes ago, but now I don’t know… skinner, my feelings towards you are complex and unnavigable 

“i’m saying this as a friend: watch your back. This is just the beginning” <- WHAT DO YOU KNOW SKINNER!!!!!

there are questions here- such as, to what point does skinner knowingly go along with the corruption in the government? if the government was involved with killing prisoners on behalf of a drug company, what other evil twisted things are they hiding? to what extent can skinner, and every other person in the FBI, be blamed for complicity? is it at all possible to make positive change in a corrupt system?

also, are these the same guys who are hiding the aliens, or do you think that 's a different evil government department?

what was cig man doing there and why does skinner keep letting him into his office like a stray cat that gets one free meal from a nice human? (but that stray cat is evil and was involved in kidnapping scully) should we send skinner to the cancel chambers or is he a real mfer deep down? also, where the hell is krycek? not that I give a fuck. he sucked. 

much to ponder, but i end there for now, because. bleurgh. flesh.

[winged-wolf-dreamer]

Alt-text: [Home? The word made her feel sad. Ser Jorah had his Bear Island, but what was home to her? A few tales, names recited as solemnly as the words of a prayer, the fading memory of a red door... was Vaes Dothrak to be her home forever? When she looked at the crones of the dosh khaleen, was she looking at her future?]

-A Game of Thrones, Daenerys VI

Reading this paragraph made my analysis brain go brrr, so here's some under the cut

One of the central themes of Dany's whole arc is the search for home, among the Free Cities, the Dothraki, Qarth, Meereen, and ultimately Westeros, but ultimately, what is home to Dany? And it made me think of this in relation to the other heads of the dragon, who I believe, ultimately, to be Dany, Jon Snow, and Tyrion (who I do not think is a Targaryen, but that's a different discussion).

(Side note: While I can see others claiming the dragons beforehand, like Aegon with Rhaegal, I believe these 3 will be the final dragon riders.)

What is home to Dany? It's something she's constantly chasing, searching for. The closest thing she ever had to a home was the house with the red door, the home of a brief childhood of innocence, and she constantly searches for it again as it constantly appears in her chapters. She's terrorized by Viserys even as he does what he can to keep her safe, always fleeing for safety. What's home to her? The Dothraki, a people she was sold into by her dear brother, a people who turned on her as soon as her husband died? Qarth, a city of people who lust over her dragons for the sake of gaining power? Meereen, a city full of those who despise her, even as she does her best to rule and make peace with and compromise her ideals for, even as she seeks to stop the despicable slave trade? Is it Westeros? Westeros, the place she wants to go to, yet a place that is only a collection of names to her, a place of promises, a place of dreams? And what will she bring to Westeros, after her rebirth on the Dothraki Sea? Dragons plant no trees, after all, so what will she bring? Fire and blood? More war and death and destruction, is that what she will bring? Will the people love her for it?

What is home to Jon? He was loved in Winterfell, but not by all. Robb and Arya and Bran and Rickon loved him, and his father did too, fiercely, and let him be raised as equal to his other sons, but how could he be equal? Catelyn hated him, Sansa was cordial with him, for one thing, and even among the family who loved him, what then? "I'm the Lord of Winterfell," Jon shouts when he and Robb train as kids, only for Robb to reply, "You can't be, you're a bastard!" and Jon knows this isn't his place. His father will not even speak of his mother, so she, and by extension, Jon, must be a source of shame, even as the bitter truth lies in the crypts beneath his feet. Winterfell isn't his home, no wonder he joins the Night's Watch first chance he gets. But what is home there? Sure he eventually makes friends, but he is still highborn, the class division lies between them, he is groomed for command, he gets to remain informed of what happens with his father in King's Landing, he gets a second chance when be attempts to desert. And no sooner does he begin to be accepted does he go on the Great Ranging and ordered to turn his cloak and spy on the wildlings, forever sowing doubt in the hearts of many of the order as to where his allegiances lie. Nor can he find a home among the wildlings, among Ygritte and Tormund and Val and Mance, for he seeks to betray them, and no one will thank him for it, no one will love him for it, least of all himself, so there is no home there. And when he is named Lord Commander, even among whispers of being a turncloak, he orders his friends away, Sam to Oldtown, the others to various castles, and buries himself in his duty, even as he compromises it by aiding Stannis, and seeks to abandon it when he hears Arya is a prisoner, for ultimately the Night's Watch isn't his home, his family and his friends are, not a place, and he is killed for it. But when he returns from the dead, what will home be for him? Will he even remember those he loves?

What is home to Tyrion? Casterly Rock? There father is, a father he is so alike, yet the shadows of Joanna and Tysha forever lies between them. His sister? Hates him. His brother? Beloved, but a lie there is between them. And when his brother is named to the Kingsguard, his father doesn't name him heir despite, by all rights, being the heir to the Rock now. And when Tyrion finally asks about it, what does his father say? Never. He will never have the Rock. It will never be his home. And what about King's Landing, the city Tyrion saved from Stannis and the red demon he worships? They hate him, they blame him for Joffrey's actions, they mock him in his trial. Tyrion snaps, he kills his father, flees the country, persuades Aegon to bring war to Westeros and seeks to do the same with Dany. He can't have a home now, so he will instead reduce everything to ashes, and will even sell out the gold of Casterly Rock, the home he wanted, to mercenaries in order to do so. Is that all he is now, one who brings death and destruction in his rage?

Bran and Sansa and Arya, their roads have always been pointed back to Winterfell, to their home. North of the Wall, in the Vale, in Braavos, their journeys will take them home, stronger from their hardships, difficult journeys, but journeys with a destination in mind.

But for Dany and Jon and Tyrion, three lost souls searching for home? What is their goal?

Perhaps they won't find a home.

But they can make it so homes of everyone else, the people they love and the people they hate, the innocents, will remain safe.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

I have been procrastinating finishing this one for weeks. Because I love them so much and because I didn't want to see the hurt that I knew was coming and I didn't want it to end.

I just finished this show and already it occupies a top place in my kdrama list. I watched the last 3 episodes today and it was quite the journey. Episode 19 made me cry almost all the way through. And it was made to do just that. The stretched goodbye of Mr Oh was efficient in that regard. It was so good. It was a good balance with the injustice of it all.

Unjust. So many of the thing that happened were unjust. But not at all surprising. As Suk Yool so eloquently put it in the last episode when Young Yi asked if his manager would keep his job after the beating he took, "Since he's a psychopath, absolutely". Much like him I was never under the delusion that things would work out for our team and the company would do the right thing for them, or for GeuRae.

But the rage at some of the behaviour was almost impossible to contain. I wanted to scream and punch something more times than I can count. There are despicable humans here and I wish more than anything that I could believe, this is just a show, there aren't actually people like this, that they'll get what's coming to them.

But every episode there was another side. People who are doing their best, trying to be good colleagues and cheering for each other. And this is, for me, where the biggest strength of the show lies. In this balancing act that even when I wanted to press pause and shout at my screen, there was a moment of hope. But in a real sense, not in an wishful thinking way. The perseverance of these characters gave me hope, that somehow, they would find a way to be okay. No matter the circumstances. If nothing else they had each other.

Even as GeuRae time in the company was coming to an end, and even believing that it wouldn't work (as much as I wanted him to stay, because he wanted to stay, it just wouldn't make sense at that point), watching some of the others come together to try and change the system for him made me emotional and it was a real testament to how GeuRae affected everyone around him.

I was not sold on the other three interns from the start. I couldn't decide If I loved Suk Yool or just found him annoying, although I think both might be true. I did think he has it worst up until the end, even when Young Yi and Baek Ki started to have an easier time in their respective teams, he was still being treated like garbage. The letter he wrote for GeuRae at the end made me cry. Yes he could be a bit too much at times but his heart was in the right place.

I really liked Baek Ki's journey. I hated him so much in the beginning, his ego and his superiority complex towards GeuRae pissed me off so much. But by the end I respected him because he finally respected GeuRae and saw that they had different strengths and he didn't always have to have the competition mode on.

Young Yi was different. Her scenes with her team made my stomach turn but I don't think I ever connected as much to her. Which is strange. For some reason I wasn't invested in her family drama or her past with the other company. I wanted to be, but I just wasn't. I don't know if it was me or the show but as much as I liked the scenes where all of them were together, when it was just her I just felt disconnected.

Them. I love them. I cried tears of joy in this moment. I just wanted them to be okay and together and as much as it could go either way, I am thankful that this is how it ended. Mr Oh is so dear to me. When he got sick I almost lost it. If anything were to happen to him... Anyway he was fine and so was I. He cared so much about his team but always needed to keep that manager image that inevitably faltered when he got drunk, which was a lot. Bless his wife. She was truly his rock through everything.

I adore him. From the very first moment I was just cheering for him all the way. His journey was wonderful. He was kind, he persevered and was always grateful for the opportunity he had. Loved to see him all grown up by the end. If I had just a wish was that he actually got to play baduk with Mr Choi and had completely obliterated him.

As usual, I don't really have the words to express my complete feelings about this show. Which is weird considering this is way longer than I thought it would be. Anyway. My heart is full but it was hard getting here. But the journey was definitely worth it.