#everything. and the fact that he would die for it. but instead chooses his family (and us) before that

[nya-vivi]

Vagueblogging a fandom in one of my side-blogs but damn. Some takes are a bit,,,,, well. Are we really playing the same game?????

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Spooktober Prompts Masterlist 2023

"They are calling us…" "Don't listen to them. Do you hear me? Don't listen to a word they promise you!"

The cameras show five people enter an elevator, but only four of them leaving it. Those four never remembered a fifth passenger.

"Aww, are you so afraid of the dark that you need me to hold your hand?" "I'm not holding your hand." "Then whose..."

At first, they believe it to be a bad joke, but when more and more graves of people who haven't died yet appear in the graveyard, they start to panic.

The camera she bought at a flea market already has photos on it. Since the people are wearing clothes from centuries ago, they believe them to be from a play. But they soon realize that those photos and events were real.

A child actress turned cult leader feels her power slipping and she needs to gain control over her following again.

When they started building the new school, they had expected to maybe find unexploded WWII bombs, but what they found instead was nothing they could have expected.

She heard footsteps behind her coming closer, but when she turned around, holding her breath, she could only see the dark and empty alley.

"Why did you choose the cemetary as our meeting place for tonight?" "Because only the dead can keep our secrets."

Going to your own funeral and see who would cry - it sounded almost fun. If it wasn’t for the fact that they could hear and see everything, but could not make a sound to stop them from closing up the grave around them.

A medium without a voice of her own, can only speak when a ghost speaks through her.

They had always felt that shadows seemed to beckon to them. But this time, when the shadows beckoned, they wore a sinister grin. (Submitted by: tumblebumblebee-63)

"I'm not haunting a filthy public bathroom, I'm a ghost with class."

A fun survival game TV show on a remote island becomes a reality when one contestant after the other turns up brutally killed. Right in front of hundreds of cameras and millions of watchful eyes.

Waking up to a child that you've never seen before, but that everyone assures you is your own that you've raised for years, is terrifying.

"Did you see that?" "Did I see what?" "That man... he touched the leaves and they immediately blackened and fell off. Please, let us go back before he sees us!" "Too late." The man in the dark cloak suddenly stood right in front of them and slowly reached out his hands to them.

What started as a fun midnight activity suddenly turned into one of them missing and the others running for their lives, trying to escape freaking zombies.

He always dreamed about being in a kdrama. He didn't imagine it to have a horror side plotline that feels way too real.

They said that when you die, you return to earth as your one true self. Why then, when he opened his eyes after being killed, were his teeth long and he hungered for blood? (Submitted by: ouilah)

She didn't think it would come to this point. She felt the cold stone of the gravestone in her back and before her the red glowing eyes of the creature crept slowly closer.

There are perks of being a ghost. Walking through walls was fun. Or haunting annoying people. But nothing was quite as nice as being able to just fade out of a conversation that you didn’t want to be a part of.

"I dare you! Come on, stop being a coward. There is no such thing as ghosts."

Someone wakes up to a text saying 'It's your lucky day!' and it turns out to be the worst day ever.

A family of vampires that lives unidentified in human communities, becomes paranoid and starts to believe all their neighbors are also supernatural creatures.

There are stories and superstitions abound about the seaside bluffs, but that's to be expected in a town of fishermen. One night, from the bluffs' direction, you hear someone singing, softly. (Submitted by: someoneoffthestreet)

Astronauts coming back to earth keep talking about hearing songs from outside the space shuttle. What they don't say, is that those songs followed them home.

Someone stared at her through the window. She had always felt safe in her own home, shutting out the scary, real world. But a window is just glass, and glass… oh it breaks so, so easily…

A plane disappears from the radar and then reappears multiple hours later at the exact same location in the middle of the ocean with no place to land and not enough fuel to just fly around for hours.

"We shouldn't enter! This place was abandoned for a reason!" "Come on, don't be a coward. We will be the only ones here!" "Okay, okay... I'll follow you. You don't have to push me!" "I... I didn't push you..."

A session of reading tea leaves ends in chaos when every single participant reveals a bad omen.

Something tells the home owner that the kids trick-or-treating in front of his house are not wearing costumes - and are not human at all.

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[writersblockiskillingme]

I Bet You Think About Me | Coriolanus Snow

Pairing: Coriolanus Snow x fem!reader (District12!reader)

Summary: On the day of his wedding he had everything... except for the bride that he wanted.

Warning/s: angst, kind of like hurt/no comfort kind of thing, wedding, marriage without love, Coryo is drinking alcohol, reader is basically Lucy Gray in this situation, possible grammar and spelling mistakes

Author's note: I'M BACKK!! I missed writing so much, to be honest. All those Coryo and Lucy Gray edits to this song, plus the music video, inspired me to do this. Enjoy!

3 AM and I'm still awake, I'll bet you're just fine

Fast asleep in your city that's better than mine

And the girl in your bed has a fine pedigree

And I'll bet your friends tell you she's better than me, huh

Coriolanus Snow. The young president of Panem. He truly now felt like he had everything. He did an outstanding job as the Gamemaker. In fact, not long after, his work was praised so much that he could finally take that last step to get what he always, truly wanted. And he, in fact, did it. He was the newest president of Panem, and he knew that that was going to last for a very long time.

He had the title. He had the riches. He never had to starve ever again. He never had to wear poorly made clothes. He had the trust of the people in the Capitol, and he had the control of those in the Districts.

But as a president, everyone expected of him to choose his First Lady of Panem as quicklyaspossible, and he knew that it couldn't be just anybody.

So here he was today. Dressed up in a traditional but quite modern black tuxedo with a white undershirt and a purely white rose tucked into his suit on the right side of his chest. Standing in front of the mirror in his bedroom, preparing his wedding speech that he will have to say once he and Livia Cardew are standing on the aisle.

Livia Cardew. She was truly perfect for him. He didn't love her, of course, but that was also his own choice. That's what made her perfect for him.

Once he was forced to find himself a bride because every elite in the Capitol kept pushing, he realized that he truly had no choice. He had to keep up his reputation respectable. So, of course, he knew that his wife, the Future Lady of the Panem, couldn't be just anybody.

Livia Cardew was rich. Her family was too, of course. Their family was respected and considered quite important. Plus, she was pretty. He couldn't really deny that, really.

He chose power, money and reputation that Livia had instead of the love, kindness and compassion that came with you.

He chose it that day that he left you in the woods of District 12. He never knew what happened to you. Did you die? Did you manage to run away in the storm that somehow messed up his head. And perhaps High-as-a-kite-Bottom was telling him some sort of truth when he said that mysteries had a way of driving people mad. And perhaps, if he stayed with you, he would marry someone for love.

Coriolanus let out a groan, shaking his head in a poor attempt to shake those thoughts away. His love for you made him weak. Weak in a way that he never wanted to experience ever again.

Livia didn't have his heart like you did. He doesn't love her. Therefore, he shall never feel weak ever again. He wanted that. He wanted to never love Livia. It was easy, though. It was easy not falling in love with her. Easy compared to you.

But no! He simply refused to think about you on this day. The day of his wedding. He refused the thoughts of you to consume his mind once again. Coriolanus wouldn't let that happen.

So he turned back to the giant mirror that stood in front of him and started to go over his vows once again.

"My darling Livia. You are the most beautiful person I have every encountered." Coriolanus felt his breath shorten at his own lies. "And today, I am honored to be your husband."

It was so fake. It was so cheesy. It was so untrue.

He had to prepare the speech for his bride. For the bride that he never loved.

"Mr. President?" One of the servants came in and addressed him shortly. "It's time."

"I will be there shortly." Coriolanus replied coldly, and the servant closed the door behind him.

Once the door was closed shut once again, he let out a quite loud sigh. In just a few minutes Livia will become a Snow and he will have to proudly show off his little wife that tormented and made fun of him for years during his academy days.

With that thought, President Coriolanus Snow stepped forward towards the door. On the doorway, he lingered. He looked out of the window across his room. He looked out on the city of the Capitol and its glamor and riches and he once again came to a realization that Livia was a perfect fit for his lifestyle unlike you. But he won't ever think of you again.

With the thoughts of you that once again swarmed his head, he loudly closed the door behind himself. Slamming it shut.

Well, I tried to fit in with your upper-crust circles

Yeah, they let me sit in back when we were in love

Oh, they sit around talkin' 'bout the meaning of life

And the book that just saved 'em that I hadn't heard of

After the priest said everything that needed to be said and after Coriolanus, and Livia, did everything that needed to be done the young, freshly married couple walked towards the reception, quickly being surrounded by the Capitol's elite that eagerly introduced themselves like they were one of the most important people there.

Perhaps they were, not that Coriolanus cared even a slightest bit.

Livia was standing in the middle of the circle made by the numerous Capitol's elite while he was standing next to her, a glass of posca in his hand. He knew that drinking that liquid in his glass was not the smartest thing for him considering the fact that the alcoholic drink was perhaps a bit too strong.

Not like he considered it worth giving a damn. He needed something very strong to wash away the feeling of Livia Snow's lips on his once the priest said that he can now kiss his bride.

And now, as he took yet another sip from the tall glass, he still felt disgusted by her. Himself. The whole situation.

A few more minutes, that to Coriolanus felt like hours, passed by. The people's excited chatter. The joy of the new President and the Panem's First Lady was over-the-top evident on everyone's face, except for his.

Livia was bathing in attention that were given to her, smiling, quite pleased with the whole situation. Coriolanus felt like he was going to throw up as he watched the scene unfold in front of him as he, too, had to pretend to be happy with everything.

And perhaps it was to much of the posca that he drowned that night or perhaps it was all of the whiteness of the entire reception that made him think what he thought. Hear what he heard.

As he took another sip from the glass, he could have sworn that he heard that melodic voice that haunted both his dreams and his worst nightmares.

But now that we're done and it's over

I bet you couldn't believe

When you realized I'm harder to forget than I was to leave

And I bet you think about me

Coriolanus watched with wide eyes as you stood a few feet away from him, dressed in the blood-red dress that reached the floor barely as it hugged your frame perfectly. You, in your red dress, stood out so perfectly among the white clothes that every guest was required to wear. You stood out so much, he wondered how nobody but him noticed you.

You stood tall and proud by the enormously big wedding cake, which required the front door to be taken away so it could be placed where it was. Snow remembered watching the staff bringing in the cake, the door laying on the grass behind the servant as they carried the said cake. It was ridiculous.

You turned towards the cake, not noticing his ever so blue eyes trailing on you as you moved.

Coriolanus felt his breath shorten once again as he watched your everlasting beauty. He was suddenly very aware of the cool glass that contained posca in his hand and the cold sweat that was sliding down his spine. Was it panic? Was it anticipation? He didn't know.

He watched you as you stretched your hand out towards the top of the cake as you stood on the gigantic table where it was placed, your red heels clicking as you did so.

Suddenly, you knocked over two figures, one of himself and one of Livia dressed up for their wedding. He let out a quiet, barely audible, gasp as you did so and then slowly lowered yourself to the ground.

A little girl, dressed in white, a guest, appeared you as Coriolanus watched. You quickly froze, standing completely still. After a very short while, you slid your finger over the icing of the cake and put the finger in your mouth, tasting the cake.

The little girl smiled and did the same. You and the girl shared the smile before you struck your hand into the cake, ripping one piece out revealing the red color under the purely white cake before you shoved it into your mouth, eating it. The little girl ran off after getting the taste of the delicious cake as you chewed on your piece.

As you did so, Coriolanus and you established eye contact. You made a grimace that clearly indicated that you were disappointed that you had been caught.

Coriolanus Snow allowed himself to blink for a moment to compose himself, and once he re-opened, you were gone.

You grew up in a silver-spoon gated community

Glamorous, shiny, bright Beverly Hills

I was raised on a farm, no, it wasn't a mansion

Just livin' room dancin' and kitchen table bills

Coriolanus and Livia sat down at the front of the reception as the entertainer did his job. He entered the guests of the Capitol’s elite with the microphone in his hand, tight grip on it, which showed Coriolanus that he was nervous.

Coriolanus brushed it off because, all things considered, he was doing quite a good job. He even found himself laughing along to the jokes that were being made.

After one more joke, he turned to one of the Capitol’s elite to quietly, with a smile on his face, discuss the joke that was made. However, the moment he turned back around, his smile disappeared at the sight in front of him.

You were standing there, in a red suit, with a red microphone on your hands, making jokes.

"And then," you spoke in the fit of giggles. "He left me in the woods to die after he told me he loved me."

You laughed after it, and every single Capitol’s elite followed. Coriolanus felt like he wanted to die at that moment, the look of pure horror planted onto his face.

"And best of all was that he HIMSELF tried to kill me with a gun!" You smiled as you tapped a few times on the table near Livia as you pointed at him with a smile, and every single guest of the wedding reception broke into laughter once again.

This can't be real, can it? Coriolanus thought to himself as he watched you.

But you know what they say, you can't help who you fall for

And you and I fell like an early spring snow

But reality crept in, you said we're too different

You laughed at my dreams, rolled your eyes at my jokes

After that, you, out of nowhere, pulled out a little red box as you made your way towards Livia, who was looking at you with anticipation and excitement.

You handed her your gift as Coriolanus found it harder and harder to breathe.

Livia quickly, but gracefully, opened the box as she removed the ribbon on top.

And as she pulled out the shawl that belonged to Coriolanus' mother, he felt like he was going to scream at the top of his lungs.

It was the shawl that Coriolanus gifted to you back when the two of you took off into the woods. That was the only thing that he found once he started to chase you through the woods. He never found you, though.

Livia placed it around her as she thanked you for the gift. Everyone around you swooned at your sweet gesture as they clapped pleasingly.

You bowed your head down slowly after you drowned the glass of alcohol, falling into the crowd of guests. Disappearing once again.

Now you're out in the world, searchin' for your soul

Scared not to be hip, scared to get old

Chasin' make-believe status, last time you felt free

Was when none of that shit mattered 'cause you were with me

Coriolanus chased after you, trying to catch you. He was suddenly blinded by the light because of the photographer that was taking pictures.

After the photographer went away, Coriolanus rubbed his eyes as his vision, thankfully, turned back to normal. He looked ahead.

And there you were. In a while wedding dress. The back of the dress was trailing behind you. The dress was also graced by white roses all over it. Your hair was in a type of hairstyle that was holding it all up. Your eyes were watching his every move as you stood in front of him.

Coriolanus felt like he couldn't breathe, and so, for a moment, he felt himself longing to cherish every moment of this.

It was just like Coriolanus had imagined it. You as his bride, himself as your groom. It was everything that he truly needed. Everything he ever wanted. Just you and him. You two of you having your first dance as a freshly married couple.

Suddenly, all lights but one went away. The white light above you shined as Coriolanus tried to catch his breath.

He slowly stepped forward, and you immediately followed his lead. Soon, you were standing in front of each other. Chest to chest. So intimate. So perfect.

He slowly reached for your hand, placing it onto his as he soaked up the feeling of your soft skin against his.

He slid his other hand around your waist, bringing you closer to him as you placed your other hand on his shoulder. For a moment, everything stood still. For a moment, the only thing that Coriolanus could hear was his breathing and the beating of his heart.

Coriolanus and you leaned your foreheads against each other, noses brushing. Coriolanus closed his eyes. He never wanted this to end. Then you started to dance.

You were moving with such grace as he spinned you around. His hand in yours as you slided around the dance floor.

"Coryo," your soft voice that whispered in his ear broke the peaceful silence, and his eyes snapped to yours. His eyes. His ocean blue eyes that were always so cold now looked at you with so much gentleness and pure adoration.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, my love." Coriolanus answered without any hesitation.

"Does it make you feel sad that the love that you're looking for was the love that you had?"

Coriolanus was speechless. The look in your eyes caused the lump in his throat to be stuck there forevermore. He didn't say anything. He didn't protest to your claim. How could he? You were right. On the day of his wedding, he wished to marry you, not Livia. He never found in Livia what he did in you, and he, let's be honest, never will.

Suddenly, before he could stop you, you moved away from him, letting go of his hand and shoulder.

But now that we're done and it's over

I bet it's hard to believe

But it turned out I'm harder to forget than I was to leave

And, yeah, I bet you think about me

You lifted the front of your dress a little bit so you could walk without tripping over. You gazed over your shoulder at Coriolanus before you continued to walk away.

Once you were far away from him, you turned around, quickly causing your hair to fall down your shoulders as you leaned towards him.

All of a sudden, your dress turned red, and as you took a hold of your guitar that he knew all too well (hihi, get it?) the white roses on your dress were painted red.

The white curtain behind you fell, revealing the red light and the Covey as you played your guitar, softly swaying to the music you made.

"I hope you get what you deserve, Coriolanus Snow," you spoke softly, meeting his eyes once more. "But I don't need to worry. You will get what you deserve one day."

With a soft smile, you started to sing.

I bet you think about me when you're out

At your cool indie music concerts every week

I bet you think about me in your house

With your organic shoes and your million-dollar couch

I bet you think about me when you say

"Oh my God, she's insane, she wrote a song about me"

I bet you think about me 🌹

->

->

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TAGLIST:

@hellonheels-x @especiallythewomenandthechildren @prettyinsatiable @10ava01 @regulusblackcore @writesleah @thecrowdedstreetin1944 @caroline-books @runningfrom2am

[leviscolwill]

something in the way you put your hands on my waist ★

pairing: bsf!levi colwill x reader

req: congrats to 600 followers! 🩷 may i request number 8 with levi colwill? ("arms wrapped around your lovers neck")

note: what can i tell, i love a good cliché trope. thank u for requesting anon 🫶🏻

now playing killer by fka twigs...

of course being levi's fake date for his cousin's wedding was a terrible idea. so, of course, you accepted.

if there was any person you would follow blindly, even if they had the worst idea, that would be your best friend.

it was just a small favor after all, saving him from a stupid bet he did with his cousin back when he got engaged; if he didn't have a girlfriend to bring as his plus-one to his cousin's wedding, levi would have to give away his insta password for a whole day.

he had a couple girlfriends during that year between the engagement and the wedding, but nothing too serious, surely not anyone he could take to a family wedding. and you couldn't say no when he said there was no one he'd rather go with.

your thoughts were interrupted by levi's hands finding their way to your waist, pulling you closer. your hands instinctively wrapped around his neck when the beat of the song got slower, the first notes to just the two of us played out and brought a smile on both your faces.

he had been dancing with you all night, very aware of how he was pretty much the only person you knew at the wedding, despite introducing you to every family member and friends, putting extra emphasis on the fact you were his girlfriend, for the night at least.

but something about this song, about the way his hands were the perfect fit for your waist. made all the laughs and small talks all around you subside, and you could somehow, in all the noise, only focus on the man standing dangerously close to you.

your giggles were levi's favourite sound, and he felt like he could die a happy man like this, making you twirl, your laugh floating in the air before your fingers found their place back to his neck, rubbing circles softly.

you knew what was going to happen next, something you found yourself daydreaming of quite often. his eyes flickered between your eyes and your lips while yours bore in his, unrelenting, silently daring him to make a move.

one of his hands left your waist to let his fingers brush against your lips ever so softly, as if he was scared to break you.

ever the pessimist one, choosing to put levi in charge of the positive side of your duo instead, you always complained about the obvious realism in your romance books whenever the main character mentioned something about feeling like you were 'the only people on earth'.

but that's how it felt, perpetual nothingness in your mind if it wasn't for levi's touch.

"can i?" his voice brought you back a bit closer to reality, although everything about it still felt like a dream.

you didn't trust yourself to speak right now, instead opting for a small nod, big enough for levi to get the green light.

his fingers tilted your face up, but he still had to bend a bit to be at the perfect distance to finally kiss you, he made you wait a couple more seconds though, scanning your face, to count every single freckle, every beauty mark, every little thing that made you, you.

and he then leaned in, connecting your lips. standing on your tippy toes desperately chasing more. your fingers slightly scratching the skin at the back of his neck, if you let go of him your knees would probably give up on you, so this only gave you more of a reason to hold on to him for dear life.

everything was better than in any of your dreams, or in any of levi's dreams for that matter. it was a kiss that left you breathless, literally. you had to push levi's chest to catch your breath seeing as he wouldn't stop anytime soon.

the small trace of common sense remaining urged you to check if anyone in attendance had an horrified look on their face at the unexpected pda, but everyone was just enjoying the wedding. the world around you didn't change one bit, but you knew this action changed the course of your relationship with your best friend.

when you looked up at him, his eyes were already on yours. you couldn't help the laugh at the smudged lipstick on levi's lips, quickly wiping it away with your thumb.

your little moment was interrupted by levi's cousin playfully slapping his back, “not gonna lie, i thought you were gonna pull a trick to get out of the bet, but it's nice meeting your girlfriend still."

[specialagentlokitty]

10th doctor x reader - can’t leave you

I would like to request more angst/comfort with the tenth doctor, preferably when they are in an established relationship! No smut! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 - @nyxiethesimp 💜

You had never experienced a love like you did with the doctor, you had never had someone love you so wholesomely or so deeply before him.

He was everything you could ever ask for in a partner.

Words couldn’t describe how much you loved him, which is why you had to end it with him.

He was a time lord, you were human.

You could spend your whole life with him, but he couldn’t spend his with you, and you couldn’t bare the thought of him being left behind after you passed.

You couldn’t do it to him.

So despite all his attempts to call you, him going around to your flat to find out you weren’t there, him begging you to talk to him.

You didn’t.

But he wasn’t going to give up so easily on you, he would never give up on you that easily.

He spent months trying to find you, and finally he did, back at your family home, it took some time and research, but he finally found the home you had grew up in, and that’s where he found you.

Sat in the front on a bench, reading a book while you sipped some tea from a cup.

It was your favourite way to relax, and it made him smile a little bit, knowing he had seen you and that you were okay.

Part of the doctor debated leaving now he knew you were alright, but he couldn’t bring himself to walk away from you, so, he walked over to you instead.

“You’ve read that book so many times I’m shocked you can’t recite it by memory.” He said.

You snapped your head up, slowly setting your book down.

“Doctor..”

He gave you a sad smile.

“Can we talk now?”

You sighed, slowly nodding your head as you gestured for him to come with you.

Grabbing your cup and book, you made your way inside, sitting at the kitchen table and he sat opposite you.

“Why have you been avoiding me? I’ve been so worried..”

“I’m sorry.. it’s just.. it’s for the best..”

“Can we not talk about it at least?”

You shook your head.

“There’s nothing to talk about doctor.. you’ll live way beyond me.. I’ll die in maybe 50 or so years if I’m lucky..”

“You’re scared of dying?”

“No.. I mean yes.. everybody is..”

He looked at you in confusion.

“I’m scared of what will happen to you after I die if we carry this on doctor. It’s not about knowing you don’t love me, because I know you do. It’s knowing this can’t go on forever… and eventually you’ll have to live on without me.. and I can’t do that to you.”

“But I’m prepared for that, I know that darling, but I don’t care. I would give you every second I can find and hope it wasn’t you who was left behind, I’d rather it be me.”

You shook your head at him.

“I can’t do that to you, you’ve lost so much already..”

“But either way I would be loosing you. No matter which way this goes. I either loose you now or I loose you head down the line, and I know which one I would choose.”

You sighed a little, looking down at your hands.

“I love you.” He said.

You stayed quiet.

“I love that you protected your fragile heart for so long, but you trusted me enough to see it. I haven’t experienced a love like this in so long, and maybe if death was a joke we would laugh at all the lovers around us, but we don’t. I want to hold your hand, I want to travel with you, or just stay here with you if that’s what you wanted.”

You glanced up at the time lord in front of you and he was grinning from ear to ear.

“You loved me with my previous face, and I was too scared to tell you i felt the same. You still love me despite the fact I changed, I know you’ll always love me.”

“Of course I will… you’re my doctor…”

He beamed and got up, walking over he placed his hands on your face and leant down.

“I will love you until the end of time, and I’ll love you even after that.”

He kissed your forehead.

“But if this is what you want than that’s okay.”

He kissed your forehead again and stepped back.

“Promise me you’ll call me if you ever need help okay? And I’ll come check on you every now and then.”

With that, he began to leave.

You thought you were doing the right thing, but you couldn’t stand it.

Quickly getting up, you rushed after him and wrapped your arms around him to stop him, resting your head on his back.

Maybe it was selfish of you, but you really loved him, and you couldn’t picture yourself with anybody else but him.

The doctor covered your hands with his, and he held them gently.

“Don’t go…”

“I wouldn’t dream of it darling.”

He turned around and hugged you tightly, and you hugged him back.

“We’ll be together until the end of time..” he whispered.

He loved you, and he didn’t want to leave you, so he wasn’t going to because he had never loved somebody as much as he loved you

[evilbihan]

There is good in Bi-Han

People all too often forget that bad things can be done with the best intentions at heart. Take Jax in MK11 for example. He wanted his daughter to live a normal life and sided with Kronika just for a chance to give her that. He ended up betraying all his friends and allies, even his own family, because his trauma and loneliness led him to make some bad decisions and he only came to his senses after Fujin sat him down for a talk.

Believe it or not, but Bi-Han's story in MK1 is similar to that of Jax in the previous game. Bi-Han did some pretty awful things, but none of them out of malice. Deep down, he always had good intentions. He never meant to betray his brothers. He wanted a better life for them, for their clan and for himself. He's convinced that he was acting in their best interest, even when he made the decision to let their father die. If he was a selfish or bad person, he wouldn't have bothered lying to his brothers about the circumstances of their father's death. He could have simply offered Kuai Liang and Tomas the choice of either following him regardless of what he did or being banished instead, but by choosing to lie to them, he thought he was protecting them from the truth. Messed up as that is, he thought he was doing them a favor.

The fact that Bi-Han wanted Kuai Liang to rule by his side speaks for itself. He never accounted for the possibility that his brothers might betray him because he thought they would all benefit from his choice to no longer follow Liu Kang. Bi-Han believes Liu Kang is oppressing them. Yes, he might be wrong in that assumption and he might misunderstand Liu Kang's intentions, but at the end of the day, his doubts about Liu Kang are valid. Liu Kang did keep the truth about his role as keeper of time from them, even Kuai Liang and some other characters criticized him for that. Smoke is also upset that Liu Kang let his family die, Baraka asks Liu Kang why he won't cure Tarkat etc. Do I believe Liu Kang deserves the blame? Absolutely not. I don't think he had control over all of these events, but I also see why Bi-Han finds it difficult to trust him.

SPOILERS: To get back to the comparison with Jax I made in the beginning, what Bi-Han needed was also someone to sit him down and simply talk to him. Liu Kang will apparently do that in the dlc, telling Bi-Han that he was always meant to be Earthrealm's defender and Bi-Han does indeed help defend Earthrealm. At a point in time where he already lost everything, no less. Were he evil, he could have chosen to sit down and watch Liu Kang's timeline burn along with all his enemies in it. But that's not what he's going to do and I doubt that Bi-Han's only motivation to help is vengeance against Havik. Bi-Han is not Kuai Liang, he's not vengeful.

He will try to do the right thing in the end, because doing the right thing is what he thought he was doing from the start.

[bunnyuki]

UNSAID WORDS. toge inumaki

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ) gift for: @darlingspeach

CW!! AFAB READER, she/her pronouns. au fantasy/medieval. toge is a dragon, reader is a human. mentions of slaughtering/people dying/hunting. mentions of blood and injuries. he doesn't understand much of human language. this is very short and silly, i apologize. SFW, FLUFF.

YOU DON’T SEE as many dragons around as you used to. the kings of the earth and the heavens were destroyed by greed. their wings were struck by spears and cannons, their blood was collected and tested as a product. the rich wear their scales at dinner parties, because they become necklaces and delicacies. their teeth became hunters’ trophies. dragons had nothing against humanity, but humans had a desire to have everything. their ruin brought that of other peoples.

and so, the remaining dragons fled. running from the world, choosing the loneliest places to call home. deprived of reliable companions, of their companions with wings, dealing with the losses of their loved ones. nothing was left for them but memories and bones. so disappeared that they became merely legends.

fantastic stories that parents told their children to amaze them, or scare them. false and lying stories for merchants desperate to sell their products cheaply. one of the strongest, most influential and powerful races in the world. reduced to nothing more than tales. a small belief spread among the dragons. humans were dirty. rotten, spoiled. disgusting creatures that cared about nothing. the sick apple that would rot the rest of the basket. by extension, hatred for those creatures that had barely sustained themselves for a century grew. humans who encountered dragons and their treasures did not come out alive to tell the story. and no one heard from them again.

life in a village is not easy. taxes are merciless, and nobles drown in champagne while families in your village count coins to find out if they can eat. you are not exempt from this. the marquis who controls the region is obsessed with more amounts of money. the village has been going through difficulties, and with winter approaching, some have already said their goodbyes. people will die. that is a fact. for the king and his court, nothing more than numbers.

the sweet embrace of death comes to seek everyone, eventually. this is the mortal life. but that’s not how you’ll end up. huddled in a bed, on a cold morning, praying to a god who wouldn’t listen to you. you refuse. that will not be your end.

plantings have been disappointing. food becomes scarcer every day, and from what it looks like, this will be a year with lots of snow and abundant hunger. and for this reason, a good deal of adapted hunting became the main source of food and income.

the local forests are dark, specks in the middle of nowhere that is your village. full of trees and animals that need to hide from people like you. like a squirrel collecting dried fruit and nuts. all you have is a rusty knife, a crossbow with five arrows, and faith. not in god, not in greater forces. all you need is yourself.

the traps you planted exist in strategic points. hidden by grass and branches, abusing the natural environment to create the illusion of safety. merely for a noose to tighten around the body of a small animal, or a bear trap to bend into a cruel bite.

checking the traps daily has become part of the routine. just as many other villagers were forced to adapt, so were you. the skins are usually removed and worn by you. or sold.

instead of finding a small animal split in half by your bear trap, what’s in front of you now is a boy. a young one. maybe your age. his purple eyes seem to contain decades of wisdom you couldn’t dream of. his hair has an abnormal tone, like a very pale shade of blonde. he turns over and groans, his ankle caught in the trap. the metal teeth dig deeper into the flesh every time he moves, and the blood is thick and red.

but what really draws attention to him are his horns. and the tail. highs rising from the forehead and rising, white like the snow that will soon fall, with purplish tips. the same pattern for the long, tail full of scales. his nails are sharper than normal. when he opens his mouth to groan in pain, his teeth look like fangs. around his mouth, there's a strange pattern that doesn't seem to be a painting, but his skin. snake eyes and fangs.

he raises his arms to try to open the trap and free himself. the skin on the forearms has traces of scales of the same whitish tone.

his first instinct seeing you is hissing. actual hissing. like a scared snake, ready to pounce. the reaction of a scared, injured animal. you— pity him.

of course, you shouldn't. legends about dragons make it very clear what they think of your species. this boy would make you a forgotten corpse once he had the chance. but that didn't seem true. he was scared. alone, lost. his ankle caught in a trap that hurt more every moment. contrary to common sense, you choose to put the beast down and follow your instinct. approaching slowly, with your hands raised.

“easy there.” another hiss. it's a clear message. stay away. your steps are slow and you show that you are not holding any weapons. “i'm not going to hurt you. i'll help.”

no matter how sweet and loving you force your voice to be, the distrust in his eyes doesn't go away. you crouch before the stranger, staring for a moment. he is a pretty boy. you can't deny that.

your hands grip the bear trap, and you look him in the eyes. “I'm going to open this, and you're going to take your foot off. all good? on three. one. two. three.”

at the end of the count, you muster the strength your hungry muscles allow you to open the bear trap. the stranger quickly understands the message and moves away from it, allowing you to let the metal go without consequences. his hands release the trap, and it closes again with a click. the metal resonates as it strikes itself. there is fresh blood on his fingers and on the trap, and his face turns to look at the boy.

he's sitting by a tree, grabbing his injured ankle with a groan. you approach slowly again, and he nearly jumps out of his skin. his eyes narrow in suspicion.

“hey. hey, i'm not going to hurt you. okay? i promise. just let me help.” he frowns at your words, his lips parting to reply in a language you do not know. oh, well. this can be complicated.

“i don't— i don't understand.” you pause, moving to sit besides him. he furrows his brows, but doesn't say a word. “can you understand what i am saying?”

by his pout and frown, you think the answer is no. okay. what to do now, then? you quickly point to yourself, pronouncing your name out loud. then again, slowly. he repeats, the sound beautiful on his tongue. his pronunciation is a little bad at first, but the third time he's repeating it, he seems to have understood.

he follows the example, pointing to himself. “toge.” he states, and your eyes narrow.

“toge. okay. i think that's your name. you are injured.” you point out to his ankle, and he stares at you for a moment. if he could speak your language, you are sure he would be sarcastic right now. oh, don't say.

you gesture nervously, trying to sign you wish to help. after almost ten minutes of denying and hesitation, he holds out his injured foot to you. your hands are gentle, and you don't touch the injured area unless you have to. he hisses and groans in pain.

toge stares at you, decided to say something. his lips part, and he sounds confident when he says. “salmon.” you frown.

“what?”

he repeats again. salmon. seaweed. tuna mayonnaise. he only talks about...ingredients? toge is desperately trying to tell you something, confused why you don't understand the message. then it clicks. oh.

“you only know ingredient names. that's all you know in my language.” you murmur. he nods slowly, and you sigh. communicating like this won't be impossible, but it will prove itself as a challenge. but these thoughts are for later. he is injured. because of you.

it's your obligation to help this young dragon — secretly. the people in the village would take every last drop of his blood for gold coins. you'll have to improvise. “okay. uhh. does it hurt much?”

he pauses. “salmon?” another sigh escapes your lips.

this will be complicated.

[artist-issues]

I find your analysis on the Disney movie “Wish” movie rather interesting. The fact that there are actually a considerable amount of Christians working on Disney movies is actually really cool. I heard from people that the concept art for the movie was “better” than the movie itself and I was curious about your thoughts if its fine by you. I actually have no intention in watching the movie, but I am interested in the reviews. I personally find the idea of a villain couple really interesting and unique. Star having the ability to shape-shift into a humanoid would be interesting too, especially since the movie already has the goat for a marketable toy. Thank you for reading my ask!

Here is a screenshot of a YouTube video about the concept art:

I totally agree that basically anything would’ve been better than what we got. I think having Star be a character that Asha can actually talk to and have a human interaction with would’ve been great.

If they wanted to have a heroine who believed in everyone getting to have the chance to make their wishes come true for themselves, they needed to explain where that idea comes from. Having her realize that that’s what she believes, out loud, in preachy exposition during a two-minute interaction where she suddenly understands that King Magnifico doesn’t grant everybody’s wishes, (why all of a sudden? She’s lived her whole life in Rosas. She knows Wish Granting Ceremonies only happen once a month—didn’t she or anybody else ever think “hey why doesn’t he give them back if they’re not going to be granted this month?” But I digress) fell totally flat in the movie.

They should’ve given us a background for Asha, or at least hinted at how she came to be the bright, blandly-caring character they keep telling us over and over that she is.

They started to, with the mention of her dad. But it was super halfhearted and undercooked. Who was her dad? What was it about him that supposedly inspired her to care about everyone’s wishes getting granted? If it was the fact that she wished he would not die of illness, and it didn’t happen, and she doesn’t want anyone else to “feel grief” (which is an iffy message, but whatever) then show that to us. Show us evidence of how much her dad meant to her beyond her sketchbook drawings. Maybe he was an inventor and he lived by the philosophy of making life better for the people of Rosas. Maybe he came to Rosas when he was a child, because his family home had been destroyed, and they took him in and treated him so kindly that he spent the rest of his life trying to return the favor by creating new toys and tools that the people of Rosas could use to better their lives—and he taught his daughter to feel that same level of “care for the people” that he did before he died! Then, when she realizes Magnifico came from a similar background as her father and chooses to protect wishes instead of risking them destroyed, she would have an opposite role model in the memory of her father, who chose to work toward wishes even though he’d had his own destroyed at a young age.

But no. There’s none of that shown. Just a throwaway conversation, where the characters just outright say, “Your father was a philosopher always talking about the stars; he used to say the stars were there to guide us and make us believe in possibility!”

But if they had a Star character that shapeshifted into a human?

Suddenly, an alternative to Magnifico’s magic takes shape in the form of a person, with his own set of beliefs and a worldview that could directly inspire and change Asha’s.

It would have been better for her character development to have m than a mute icon to interact with. It would have been better for appeal, too. Instead of just…talking out loud and using exposition to outright say what’s going on in her head, like she’s Batman in an old comic strip narrating everything she thinks about, she could’ve had someone to converse with, argue with, be convinced by.

She starts the movie wanting everyone’s wish to come true, for no well-demonstrated, compelling, human reason. And then she ends the movie still wanting everyone’s wish to come true. There’s no well-done character arc. The only thing she learns from Star is that she has his same power if she really believes she can use it. (But like I said, she’s never shown doubting herself in any real way in the movie before meeting him, aside from nerves before an interview, if you can call that self-doubt.)

But if he’d been human? She could’ve been different. She could’ve started out the movie with the seeds of someone who can work toward her dream and take risks, but maybe tragedy from losing her father has made her pessimistic and she no longer “believes.” But then Star, he can come and wake back up those feelings. People are more inspired by a person who teaches them something through a human relationship (like Rapunzel teaching Flynn to want something more than a life of ease alone, or Jasmine teaching Aladdin that royalty can make you feel trapped too if you’re always having to pretend to be something you’re not) than they are by a pet-like, silent glowing ball with a “loving light.”

I wonder what their idea was. Maybe the Star she wishes on is the youngest star in the heavens. Maybe the “stars” are a community of watchers—they all chronicle human lives as stories, and when people need those stories most, the stars remind them and inspire them of why it’s good to dream and take risks. But Star? He’s young, and he naively believes that the stars should do more, fix every problem that mortals have, and so he breaks the rules and comes to earth to help Asha when she wishes on him.

Obviously there’s got to be some limit on his power, and some thematic indication that Star was wrong; you shouldn’t do all the work for people and give them whatever will make them happy in the moment. They need to work for it themselves. So maybe he was slowly getting weaker and losing his power the longer he was on Earth, but didn’t realize it or didn’t worry about it.

Anyway, he’s determined to help Asha with whatever she’s wishing for, but she (kind of like Tiana,) really just wished on him in a moment of vulnerability, and is usually pretty pessimistic. Maybe she almost-instantly gets in trouble with the King for Star’s appearance, and regrets wishing on him.

Either way, they have a difference in views; Star is a hopeful, bright guy who believes mortals can achieve anything they set their mind to if they try, and that’s why he believes in helping them—Asha is a pessimistic teen who’s faith got strangled by tragedy, but he starts inspiring her to keep trying anyway. Eventually Star and she, even though they become friends, reach a low point or failure in the adventure, and they have their big argument, and Asha starts to backtrack and go back into believing “there’s no point in wishing on stars—it’s crazy to think anything will get better; I’m not going to take any more risks, I’ll lose what little I have left.” and Star learns his lesson; yes, mortals can achieve their dreams, but there has to be a part of them that wants to work for it and has faith; he can’t do that part for them. He can’t just positivity-talk her into it.

And then maybe the King captures him and Asha has to take action again or lose him forever, and doing that teaches her that she’d rather try than live a life of no wishing, or whatever—

—Again, I’m not meaning to do rewrites here. I think the main point of the movie was flawed or too vague to begin with, but I DO think they could’ve made something that was at least interesting, even if the main point was problematic. And the concept art proves it, yeah. Thanks!

[novembermorgon]

hihi not sure how fond myrielle and aerion are of each other (would love to know more about their dynamic if you are willing to share <3) but they remind me of the “who tf is burning down my kitchen” “making breakfast for my beautiful wife” twitter meme

anon ... i giggled .

as for marriage dynamics well .. i feel like by default any relationship with a guy everyone hates for good reason is going to be a bit strained . but somehow they're both kind of deranged enough to make it work (er.. well... somewhat...).

ive talked very briefly about it in my little myrielle post already but it kind of had to grow into anything beyond hating each other . right when myrielle gets to court she holds a lot of resentment toward him, mainly because he's the second son of a fourth son - not really heir to anything, and even when she's young she wants to aim higher than that with her betrothal. she spends a lot of time pining after the concept of another man that she deems 'better' (valarr, matarys, even daeron etc - the actual people matter less than the fact that they're further up in the succession than aerion) just because she's decided to herself that she deserves more. a little girl playing into the idea of being a wife and centering her whole worldview about that ala really twisted westerosi expectations and societal structures

it's kind of what you'd expect from two very willful very spoiled preteens; a lot of petty squabbles and little disagreements that have them bickering and squabbling and it's a bit of a mess . in time though it breezes over kind of because they both grow up and 'mature' in the sense that they aren't calling each other stupid and pushing each other over in the yard anymore LOL

by the time they're married ... well . it's .... . myrielle is fond of him and finds him handsome and dashing while they're in public and in private he at least treats her well a couple days a week which is enough . i think it's very shallow in the sense that ... i'm not sure if they ever truly know each other fully . myrielle projects her ambitions onto him and steadily heads down her path to making sure he becomes king (after the tourney at ashford meadow and the great spring sickness when things get a little crazy in how many targs are dying off) and aerion projects some idea of the wife he'd imagined himself to want onto her . in my mind he's kind of giving targ man too caught up in the idea of his ancestry and his family traditions given his whole deal with the dragon delusions etc so its lots of hey what if you pretend like you're (targ woman of his choosing) and ill be (her evil husband) and then we'll be a Proper Couple instead of a Fake Arrangement between me (perfect prince) and a lesser non-targ woman . you can see that there might be some issues here .

definitely not good . they hold resentment for each other mutually for a variety of reasons but theres also some deep seated dedication there especially from myrielle . she gets so deep into the thought of the both of them rising further than they're expected to that she in turn essentially drops everything for him and makes a lot of questionable choices and does a lot of questionable things to keep him happy and to assist him in whatever way she thinks he needs . i feel like she gets very caught up in the idea of really feeding into the idea aerion has of their marriage . tries to play into the thought of being more of a targaryen and tries to shift and change herself which never really works because she does treasure her own family and her identity but also because things just don't go the way she wants .

errr. ride or die i guess but it's weirrddddddd . which is funny to say because in practice they both cheat on each other and lie to each other and fight and bicker but they keep going back for more . why...? well.. maybe duty maybe genuine care maybe a third more evil option. me when i go out and cheat on my wife but its okay because i come back and bring her nice gifts and we do our historical targ roleplay which isn't weird at all guys i promise please guys listen its not weird its not w

rubs my chin. a lot of thoughts but i'm bad at putting them into words. i hope this is anything . probably not. one day you'll get something better from me .... .... <3

[khaosrealms]

I love the Syzoth X Princess!Reader so much I can't even- ❤️❤️❤️ Is it alright if I request something similar but with the Lin Kuei trio? Syzoth falling in love with Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and Smoke's younger sister? I imagine her joining the Outworld investigation bc "Lord Liu Kang, you're sending two of the least stealthiest people in our group for a covert op? With all respect, why in the world did you think this was a good idea?" Basically pressuring the local demi-god into letting her tag along, and the mission going to hell anyway. Super-ninja be damned, the chaos cannot be contained. I also imagine Johnny isn't going to let that fact go anytime soon.

NUWA’S RAZOR. / SYZOTH X LIN KUEI! READER.

a/n: of course it is alright to ask for such a request, that is why i’m here! thank you so much for sending the ask— i am happy to respond 💚

- Perhaps it comes with the territory of being the sole sister of a family of boys. A sense of responsibility likened to that of a mother coordinating a group of toddlers. Younger than your brothers you may be, but hardly inept and hardly easily swayed enough to be told by your Lord when your presence is unneeded. What else was he to expect, when you spent the many of your living years upon Outworld’s soil doing everything in your power to prevent your brothers from slaughtering one another where they stood? If there was anyone more capable of investigating Outworld with discretion, it is you.

“Look at them, my Lord.” You utter, gazing upon his champions. A cabbage farmer, a former yakuza, a deadbeat stage fool. Men who can hardly so much as breathe before taking a bite at one another’s necks. Well, at the very least— with Kung Lao, it was more to take a nip at your own. Easier to control. “If it is recognition you fear, you know you may trust me to remain hidden much better than these… Earthrealmers you have chosen.” You do not miss the gasp of insult that escapes Johnny’s lips; rather, you choose ignorance. Searching for answers in Liu Kang’s glowing eyes. Yet nothing speaks, so it is words you are forced to accept. Words that come in what you imagine is a form of sigh from your Lord’s lips. “No one is to know that you are Lin Kuei.”

- And also, perhaps, you should have simply chosen to let the Earthrealmers suffer their own given fate. The bickering, the clumsy coordination, Tarkat, Shang Tsung, by god, Kenshi’s own eyes. By the time that you awake in a cell, dank and filthy with the smell of corpses and gore, you feel as if that day, you’d been better suited to remaining at home. Continuing your daily training as you’d had for years on end. But instead, waking with an ache in your head so deep it rushes to your spine and forces you up, you realize you no longer had that privilege. Here, instead, you were residing within Shang Tsung’s true laboratory— soon to be faced with the horror of being taken apart and made into whatever greeted your eyes through the cell’s bars.

- You’d been the second in the cell to awake, after Kenshi, woken by virtue of true and utter pain, gouged of his sight; and Baraka, awake since his capture, there to fill the hours alongside you both while you stew in your fate. You’d learned from the former merchant that your jailer had passed prior to your awakening. And now, all five of you await for his return, well— some of you. Johnny and Kung Lao were deep sleepers, it seemed. For now, the ones in the waking world, Baraka, Kenshi, and yourself, filled the rancid air with words. Jailer, you wondered. A chance to flee, bars wide enough to wrench a hand through, threaten for freedom. Options, all waiting for you to spring upon the man who chose to align himself with Shang Tsung and would die for his choice.

- Nearly, you do it. When Johnny finally rouses, stumbling to Kenshi’s side, your jailer appears. Dressed in green, red fabric tied around his bicep, and a tattooed arm that reaches in just enough to be held and twisted around. But it is Baraka who makes the first move, his word that gives you enough pause to listen and discover the true nature of your jailer. Not a herald for Shang Tsung’s cause— a slave to it. His family in the clutches of a man who would slaughter them if so much as a whisper of betrayal left him. A shapeshifter, a Zaterran. Syzoth, a name you only learn due to Shang Tsung’s arrival after fighting the hoards of his creations. A sorcerer who revealed your jailer’s only purpose for remaining in enslavement was a lie. His family dead “many moons ago”. Suffering for no cause but for Shang Tsung’s cruel ambition. Here to die alongside the five of you; suffocating in toxins.

“I should’ve simply stayed with my brothers.” You can’t seem to get the rancid smell of Shang Tsung’s labratory out from your lungs; no matter how hard you breathe in the air of Outerworld. Johnny cackling out a laugh. And too, that smell sitting in the newfound companion of Syzoth. But rather, more so— the scent of despair. Enough to give you pause; to bite back Bi-Han’s insults and instead lean towards Kuai Liang’s guidance. “…He will get what he is due.” A momentary sentiment, but you can see his eyes flicker. Heard, even in the abyss of his mourning. “I am sorry, for your grave loss.” For a moment, he reminds you of Tomas. A sort of kindness in a place where it should have no place coexisting. “Thank you.” “Thank me once we get what you are owed.”

- From that time forth, an agreement formed between you both. To seize the moment, to make Shang Tsung fear the hour for which his own actions would smite him, and you would be there— to assist in that vengeance. A blood pact, almost; shaken hands on even. A source of comedy for Johnny, who found nothing but delight of the thought of the ‘big bad serious ninja’ actually shaking someone’s hand. Syzoth simply shared in your confusion. A mutual link of attitude towards the odd Earthrealmer. If a bit more lenient of his callousness than yourself.

- In Syzoth, you suppose what you find is a… reasoning for balance. You’d cared for your family, always, yes— but you never considered what truly was at stake had someone taken them away. If, like your father, all those you loved were slaughtered. Would you still find the determination to keep going once they were gone? Would you still fair with that kindness he holds when the two of you speak during the night? Still passionate about living beyond vengeance against Shang Tsung— enough to laugh with the Earthrealmers where you failed to join. Too set in Lin Kuei ways; the silence of it, the tight grip of it that these days Bi-Han holds over it as grandmaster. You’d never considered it before. That it was possible you could be swayed. That it would be a Zaterran who would make you question the way of the Lin Kuei as it was.

[brandnewhuman]

Upon seeing the new ghost zombie skin I've drawn some angsty conclusions AND YOU ALL WILL HEAR ME OUT.

Ngl broskies, this one hurts me too FR FR. From the trailer it almost looks as if he's still sentient (I could be wrong but compared to the other zombies in the trailer he still acts very much like his human self) which makes sense with Simon's survival pattern in life. He's always the one that remains, the one that outlives everyone else, the man who neither himself or others can get rid of.

It's so tragic to think that beneath all the stuff the body undergoes when you get zombified, he's still there and he can see and feel everything but can't do anything to stop it. I think what hurts him the most is not just the fact that he's losing himself but that, like I said, yet again he's forced to outlive everyone.

Now, I don't know much about the codmw lore (AND BEFORE YOU COME HERE AND START FLEXING YOUR KNOWLEDGE, JUST KNOW IM NOT GONNA CHOOSE PEACE) but for what I know soap, in the original timeline, died and roach and a bunch of Simon's teammates too. With that in mind, I imagine that if he's a zombie and, taking a few creative liberties here, this zombie timeline could be placed a little bit before mw3 where everyone fucking expires then babyboy here is really going through it.

He's a monster now, and not in the "I feel like a monster because I think of myself that badly" no. He's quite literally a fucking rotting corpse walking and running around at full speed, body slamming the shit out of everyone. He has lost his friends, he has possibly had to watch that happen and once again, just like with his family, he couldn't do anything to prevent it and somehow ends up being the only survivor.

There's no amount of therapy that could ever fix that fucking shit bro, like he's doomed to real life plot armour where it doesn't work in his favour but instead just takes away everything and everyone he cares about. And now, even if he manages to gaslight himself into thinking he could make it work for once, that he could fr be happy with the next person that enters his life, he still wouldn't be able to be with them cause now he's a fucking zombie.

My brain likes to torture me with the thought that him retaining his self awareness and stuff wasn't on purpose and surely wasn't his choice, that the way the infection works on him is different. He feels so tired of dragging around his body and the mental tool it takes on him makes everything so hard. I could actually see him just deciding to cave in to the need of just...letting go, like to stop holding onto whatever is making him sentient and just kind of die inside his mind (?) Idk if it makes sense but since he can't physically die he would be content with just kind of switching himself off.

That's it. That's my painful brain fart for you to enjoy and suffer with. Unfortunately I can't pay for anyone's therapy, you are free to end my existence instead.

[spoonful-of-citrus-flowers]

Crossroads of the Usher Children (& Grandchild), Pt. 2

Part One here!

Victorine LaFourcade: Verna is pretending to be a patient with heart issues (Pamela) to see what Victorine will do – if she’ll try to push this patient into human trials when they’re very much not ready or not. We know that she does try to start those human trials, leading to her argument with Alessandra where Victorine kills her in a crime of passion and tries to “save her” by installing the heart mesh, only to be driven insane by the sound of it (ironically, the heart mesh still beating in a dead person’s chest would have been exactly what would’ve happened if the patient wasn’t actually Verna.)

Rather eerily, this would also have been similar to what happened with the bodies Fortunato was hiding during their own human drug trials, and I think this is why Verna chooses to possess Victorine just before her death to speak to Roderick (“success is everything”), who was working in Fortunato at that time. (It’s also no accident that Vic specifically says Ali wasn’t a ‘team player’ – the same phrase Rufus Griswold said to Roderick when confronted over the missing bodies.)

Tamerlane Usher: Her crossroads was two-fold: that moment when Verna is acting as the sex worker who is supposed to look and act like Tamerlane, and Verna proceeds to talk about her grief over her (now 4) dead siblings – making both Tamerlane and BillT look rather uncomfortable. Instead of hiding behind others, I think the choice Verna wanted Tamerlane to make was to send her away, to reach out and talk to her husband herself about what was going on.

But Tamerlane never did, and in fact, chased him away. After her failed Goldbug launch, BillT tries to call her, and Verna even says that Tamerlane should talk to him. Again, Tamerlane refuses, attacking Verna in the mirrors until her death via mirror shards.

Frederick Usher: This one is pretty obvious – Verna herself spells it out. She would’ve chosen a different way, but that changed when Frederick chose to bring Morella home against medical advice and chose to torture her.

(Putting a keep reading here because Lenore's section is the longest)

Lenore Usher: Lenore’s crossroads is really one I had to think about, not because it’s subtle (her breaking into her mother’s room, calling the cops when she sees how her father has abused her mother, and refusing to shy away from the truth of that, even when it would benefit the company – and thus her, since she stands to inherit everything now that her father and aunts/uncles are dead), but because Lenore is so upstanding, there really wasn’t a crossroads for her at all – which is why I think Verna never actually shows up in Lenore’s life until it’s time for her to die. At no point could Verna have presented her with an alternate choice because Lenore would never have made another choice. This determination is something we later see Verna react positively to with another character: Arthur Gordon Pym. Now, obviously Pym is nowhere near as morally upright as Lenore, but he also refuses to compromise on whatever/whoever he cares about to make things easier for himself at that other person’s expense. (I took the line about him not having collateral and not being leveraged not to mean that he has nothing, because Verna wouldn’t even bother if that were the case, but that he will not let them take the fall for his crimes.) Similarly, Lenore refuses to sit down and say what Pym will tell her in order to make sure her father died an upstanding man and benefit the company/Usher family.

Back to Lenore, though – Verna openly regrets having to take Lenore’s life, but that was the deal she’d struck with both Roderick and Madeline – their bloodline ends before they die. As a last parting gift to Lenore, Verna tells her of all the lives she’d indirectly helped save when she rescued her mother and got her help. It’s certainly a painful scene, more so now that I realize that due to the deal, Roderick killed all the good that Lenore might’ve done had she survived – helping undo some of the damage he’d caused with Ligodone. But her choice to save her mother ensured that it wasn’t all for nothing: her mother would recover from her injuries, and go on to do just that. It's also a neat parallel with all of the other deaths (the other deaths ultimately making their lives/last goals futile), which I’ll list out here.

Prospero/Perry: seeks to prove himself by gathering blackmail material on all the famous people at his party – but he dies with no one else knowing of his goal, and even if they’d known, all the people he’d sought to blackmail are dead anyways.

Camille: fires her assistants, who were the only other people who knew of Victorine and her sneaking out the dead chimp bodies, and then gets mauled to death before being able to tell anyone her suspicions/what she’s learned.

Napoleon/Leo: buys a new look-a-like cat to cover up the fact that he thinks he’s killed his fiancé’s cat Pluto, but Pluto was never actually dead to begin with – just wandering nearby after being let out accidentally.

Victorine: insisting on getting a possibly life-saving heart mesh to human trials led to an argument resulting in the death of the inventor of said heart mesh (Alessandra), preventing it from being further developed and marketed by Fortunato.

Tamerlane: deeply insecure about herself, constantly latching onto others to be better by association with them – her figurative self-destruction/erasure becomes literal when she dies by destroying a mirror reflecting Verna (who was representing the ‘better’ Tamerlane).

Frederick: was secretly torturing his helpless wife under the false belief that she’d been unfaithful, while wanting to keep the appearance of a good, caring husband – shortly after his death (watching helplessly as a pendulum slices him in half), his daughter exposes him for the horrible man he was, destroying any reputation he may have had.

Lenore: wanted to put Usher/Fortunato money to good use as philanthropy, but though she dies, this is still carried out by Juno and Morella.

[very-straight-blog]

Unpopular opinion (spoilers)

Well, I've read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and I really can't understand why everyone is so pissed off about Snow. First of all, let's be clear - we're not talking about Snow from the trilogy, but about Snow from this book, from the prequel. This boy hasn't killed Finnick, tortured Peeta, etc. yet. Before reading a book, I found various reviews and was expecting something like a story of becoming a villain, but instead I got the story of a boy trying to provide security for himself and his family. Since when did that become something bad? I got from the reviews that there are actually two things imputed to him - Sejanus's death and his relationship with Lucy Gray. Let's talk about it.   So, Sejanus. I don't understand at all why he's supposed to be a positive character. He's an infantile child who craves attention. Shortsighted, ungrateful and rather stupid. His father did everything to save him from the reaping and he can't show even the slightest gratitude? He and his potential wife and children will never have to participate in the Hunger Games, and he acts like his father is the worst person on the planet? Really? Next, there's a big difference between questioning the social system you're in, pondering ways to change the situation, and protesting openly on your own, obviously having no effect on anything. The second is stupid, and on top of that, you frame people close to you, your family and friends. We saw it when Snow was sent to the arena to save Sejanus. In fact, Coriolanus made his first murder because of Sejanus's stupidity. Sejanus doesn't understand that in a totalitarian state, the best thing you can do is to nurture your plans quietly, and he doesn't know how to control his emotions. After the arena story, he was even given a second chance, which he ignored and started helping the rebels. This guy chose to die from the beginning, it was his choice to take the risk, he should have understood the potential consequences of his decisions. The good old argument - "And why was Coriolanus allowed to escape" - well I don't even know, maybe Coriolanus wasn't rescuing captured rebels along the way? And yes - I'll remind you - Coriolanus and Sejanus were not friends, it was Sejanus who saw Snow as a friend, because no one else interacted with him. Why would Snow frame himself because of a man he essentially didn't care about? And yes - Snow was right - these men had no weapons, no money, not even a proper plan. This rebellion made no sense and was doomed beforehand.   Now, Lucy Gray. I think Coriolanus really was in love with her. I don't think it was a healthy feeling, but still. He defended her in the arena while endangering himself and essentially lost everything because of it. I really don't approve of the fact that he shot her at the end of the book - but for the world he lived in, his paranoia is logical (not to be confused with approving). I've seen people talking about choosing between love and power - but what kind of love are we talking about? A teenage passion that was born in extremely unhealthy circumstances? They spent a total of three days together, no more. It is normal to prefer the well-being of yourself and your family, comfort, security, stability and prospects to such "love". Also, I've seen many people having fun because of his behavior in the wildlife - but it's perfectly normal, isn't it? It's normal to be disgusted at the sight of worms, normal to realize that the idea of looking for some imaginary people in the woods is stupid, normal to realize that they will die here from any disease/cold/attack by wild animals. And what would they do out there alone, even if they managed to survive? These are all the adequate thoughts of a normal person.

  In conclusion, I will say that I still have a lot of thoughts about this book, here I have shared only the main ones. However, for me it was a book with the most obvious message I've read lately. Even if the author tried to show us the formation of a villain, she failed. The result is a book with a wonderful character, who is finally in no hurry to give up his life for the sake of a meaningless idea, but thinks first of all about himself and his family. Coriolanus's choices in the book are not easy, but logical, and I would like to see more such realistic characters in literature.

[hyperactivewhore]

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people claim that it’s Marcel’s fault that Klaus was missing from Hope’s life. First of all, Klaus deserved everything he got after all the suffering and trauma he put Marcel through. Marcel is a saint compared to Klaus, who has done unspeakable things not only to Marcel but to thousands of others as well. If Marcel had kept Klaus locked up in a sewer until the world ended he would be more than justified.

Secondly, absolutely no one stopped Klaus from picking up his phone and calling his daughter. No one stopped him from sending birthday cards or Christmas gifts to his daughter. In fact, many people encouraged him to talk to Hope, including Hayley, Caroline, and Hope herself. He was the one who decided not to call Hope. He was the one who decided to cut off all contact with his daughter. He was the one who thought that the best course of action was to go no contact with Hope. But while he had no problem practically abandoning Hope (who was only a child at the time), he continued to seek out his brother knowing that being in close proximity to Elijah could hurt Hope.

So many people try to say Klaus wasn’t a bad father by blaming Marcel, Hayley, Hope, and everyone else in the entire show. But the reality is, Klaus was a bad father because of his actions alone.

And even to the every end of his life, he continued to be a bad father. He chose to flirt with Caroline when Hayley (Hope’s mother - practically Hope’s only parent) was missing and was in grave danger. He chose to spend his last remaining days showing Caroline around New Orleans as if he didn’t have a heartbroken, devastated daughter back at home who was grieving the loss of her mom and preparing for the loss of her dad. This man, who willingly chose not to contact his daughter for years, decided to spend his last remaining hours with his one night stand instead of Hope - and people have that audacity to say that it’s Marcel’s fault that Klaus was missing from Hope’s life?

Don’t get me wrong, I love Klaus. He’s a very interesting character. But I hate it when people justify his actions - especially because they will occasionally vilify Marcel to do so. Marcel and Hope deserved a better father. Marcel and Hope simply deserved better.

I'll never understand why people are surprised Klaus was a shitty father.

Loving your kids is the bare minimum and treating them right is like the least thing you can do, yet Klaus already failed miserably step two with Marcel. Klaus never respected Marcel as a person and let alone as his son, I don't care what people think. He liteally brought Marcel to that bridge in season three to remind him of his slavery, mocked his whip wounds, laid his hands on him in season one, and didn't even care to have a special goodbye with him when he was gonna die.

He literally told Hope she was meant to be broken by him, constantly jeopardized her safety when she was a baby, practically ghosted her most of her life, probably told Hope that Elijah didn't save Hayley, purposefully leaving out he was whoring around with Caroline, and was ignoring her the day he was gonna die choosing to spend his last hours with that same woman, and literally left Hope all in her own after losing her mother like the week before because he couldn't live without his brother.

Marcel had every single right to take revenge against the Mikaelson, and so does Hope. Their supposed family never gave any damn about them and yet people blame everyone but Klaus simply because they think Joseph Morgan is hot.

[an-annyeoing-writer]

bloodline. - ch. 1/5: bloodline.

Story info:

Pair: Byun Baekhyun x Reader

Rating: +16 for mentions of violence, death, chronic illness, kidnapping

Genre: mafia!AU, angst, action

Chapter info:

Release date: 26th August 2023

Word count: 4 012

Warnings: mentions of death & violence

Bloodline Masterlist || Fanfiction Masterlist

You sat in the bedroom of your brand-new residence. The bed was rather soft, with lots of pillows, and the room was pretty itself, although not so much in the style you’d normally choose, yet – simply pleasing to look at, with attention to detail that soothed your perfectionist senses. The sight outside – two or three stairs below, through the windows – should be beautiful, with snow-covered gardens and forests that spread for miles ahead, since the mansion was in the middle of nowhere, far from anyone’s curious eyes. However, even though the windows were also a part of the design, you were aware that they were made of tempered glass, and the handles were locked with a key.

In other words, you were a prisoner, and the clicking sound of the door lock clicking served to remind you of that very well.

The door finally opened, and you refused to look away from the window, sitting in the bed with your posture just a bit too proud as for your position.

It didn’t take long, however, before the curiosity took better of you and you glanced at the man at the doorstep. You felt as though you glaring daggers at him was the exact mirror of the daggers he glared at yourself. Although he remained stoic, there was visible hatred in his eyes that your own reciprocated.

“Come for the dinner, or would you rather starve?” His voice was so cold you felt chills go down your spine. There was nothing stopping him from letting you remain hungry, you realized, for as long as you stayed alive for the future purposes – whatever they could be.

“Thank you very much, I’ll eat at home soon” you talked back, going back to watching the outside as if you were fully confident in your words.

The man didn’t say anything, just let out a wordless huff and left, locking the door behind.

You exhaled shakily.

You didn’t really think you’d go back home any time soon. In fact, you were very certain that you would not, that no one would come save you, that you were doomed to die here, because the reason you were kidnapped was completely out of your power.

You didn’t choose the family you were born in. No one did. Through all your life, you had thought your bloodline was just smart and lucky to be this well-off. And, honestly, you didn’t want to know more. You didn’t feel all that close to your family members, you were planning to go your own way as soon as it was possible, because you expected that otherwise, at some point, someone would choose for you instead.

It was barely months ago that you started discovering that the possible wrongdoings of your ancestors that led to your family acquiring wealth was not something that was left behind centuries ago. Although the business of your family was far too developed and broad to resort to violence on daily basis, you knew that inflicting harm in one way or another, as to acquire wealth even greater, would be something that you would need to get used to, were you to stay there.

So you decided to leave, slipping out from underneath the umbrella of the powerful custody, safety measures and bodyguards. You never considered them necessary, anyway.

And how wrong you were to think that someone wouldn’t take advantage of that.

The Byun family was not unfamiliar to you. Ever since you were a child, you attended those grand parties, where everyone behaved as if everything was good and innocent, and where you actually believed no one had ill intentions. Yet, from the perspective of current events, looking back to those parties, you realized how well written farces they were. Behind every smile and politeness, stood the will to acquire someone’s sympathy. Behind every small handshake, laid a promise of future cooperation. You never would have thought there would be this level of hostility between families.

Knowing your own, you suspected that it was them who unlawfully extended their influences beyond unspoken rules of diplomacy. You were just guessing, basing on Byuns’ attitude towards you – in their eyes, you were liars, untrustworthy and disgusting.

But were they any better? Would they not take chances if the prize was precious? You were almost certain that they still would. So you stood for yourself and refused to acknowledge it as your own fault; you were merely a pawn, not a decision-maker, someone who only tried to escape this reality anyway. Choosing you to pay for your family’s wrongdoings was unforgivable.

You didn’t know details; you had no idea what was it, that made Byuns this angry. But Baekhyun’s hatred towards you said it all. You refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing you all humble and defeated.

It was getting dark and you laid in the queen-size bed of yours, listening to the sounds outside out of pure curiosity. The mansion was really big with not so many people in it, so you didn’t hear many pass by your room. But you heard some sounds coming from further areas – rarely ever would it be actual conversation, but sometimes, you’d hear steps, noises of metal hitting against metal (possibly from the kitchen?) and all the sounds of the pipes in the walls. After some hours, even the buzzling of electricity in the outlets became a thing. Your stomach was already grumbling from hunger, but you couldn’t say that it was uncomfortable. Heaters hung below the windows were always turned on, and were you to change your preference, the knob was there for you to adjust the temperature as well. It was the middle of winter, and as such, you didn’t mind the heater being on the highest setting.

You didn’t know what hour it was, but you were certain that you’d been woken up, with the darkness all around you and no light coming from the outside – not even from the garden lights, although you remembered the yard being well lighted the night before, when you sat by the window, watching different faces come and leave even at a late hour like this.

But now, there was nothing. You got up, your eyes slowly adjusting as you walked towards the door to your small bathroom, pressing your sleepy fingers into the light switch.

Nothing happened, though. You turned it on and off a few times – there was no light, not even a spark. You walked to the door of your room and tried to turn this light on as well – there was still nothing. Seemed like a total blackout, and explained the lack of lights outside. You let out a sigh, sitting back on your bed out of no better things to do.

You stared at the ceiling thoughtfully; your eyes made out the shape of a crystal chandelier.

A blackout seemed like such a simple accident, a silly occurrence. You wished your door or the windows were locked electronically, maybe it would give you an opportunity to slip out. But they weren’t – the locks were rather traditional, and you didn’t possess the skills of a burglar to break through them with a hairpin, would that opportunity even arise. Probably not – modern locks didn’t have the keyway wide enough for a hairpin to fit in.

You swore that you fell asleep again in the short time that you spent in bed, when a loud noise erupted somewhere downstairs, and the whole building shook, the crystal chandelier clinging above your head, making you shoot up on your bed, looking around cautiously.

Explosion? It did sound like one, or at least like you could imagine it, having not experienced it in your life before. Low rumble passed through the walls as a follow-up, and you jumped off the bed, running to the window.

Your breath got caught in your chest at the sight of fire somewhere below; the glow brightened up the garden around, but its source must have been inside of the building. You shuddered. You should leave; this was dangerous, you needed to leave, just for your own safety. But you were locked in here with no possible way out. There was still no single person in your sight.

Another sound of explosion tore through the mansion. The construction shook so hard that you stumbled, falling on your knees. How many more would come? You trembled. Getting to your feet, you ran to the entry door, putting on your boots in a rush and pulling on the doorknob – to no avail. The sound of fire eating at the mansion reached your ears, along with different sounds and even yells of people below. But you failed to hear any steps in the corridor.

“Let me out!” you screamed, realizing that you were the last thing anyone here would worry about. “Please, let me out!” You could only pray so that your voice would reach someone passing nearby.

You didn’t know how long you’d been banging your fists on the door, hands all red and bruised. It could have been just seconds, or minutes, but the fear only strengthened with the smoke that crept in through the vents, starting to fill your lungs.

It was when tears started to run down your cheeks, that the lock suddenly let go and the door opened.

You wrapped arms around yourself, shaking fearfully. The face that appeared was familiar – but the familiarity didn’t bring any comfort. Byun Baekhyun’s face was unreadable and covered with sweat.

He stared at you for less than seconds, before grabbing your arm and pulling you out of the room without a word.

Where he was taking you? Different thoughts passed through your head. What if it was your family that caused the fire, wishing to wipe Byuns off the earth, angry from having their family member endangered? Would he want to trade you for the family’s safety then? You didn’t mind that, at all. You just wanted a way out.

The corridors were dark from smoke, but the fire danced on the lowest floors only. You were dragged to the emergency exit instead, at the back of the mansion, with metal stairs that led safely to the ground. From the heated up building, you went out straight into the winter, the sudden change of temperature making your head spin. Or maybe it was just the smoke…?

You followed Baekhyun down. But, to your surprise, instead of taking you towards the main gate – where someone else should certainly be – he pulled you towards the gardens and the forest further ahead, his hold on your arm so tight that it was clear your obedience was not optional.

Your thoughts started to ease. Was it tiredness or trauma, that caused you to look at him closer instead of thinking of your own woe for a moment? But he was shaken up too, probably not thinking clearly either, so you took your chance and pushed him off to get out of his grasp. You should have ran straight to the main gate, you thought, but he didn’t waste a second before catching you by the back of your collar and pulling back to him.

“You don’t want to go there” he spat.

“But…”

“It’s not your family. Shut up and don’t be difficult.”

Could he be lying? Could he be trying to trick you into coming with him, then hurt you, maybe even kill you?

Listening to him must have been a bad idea.

But you had no clue what would happen if you didn’t; at the very least, the forest seemed less terrifying than the inferno behind.

⁂

Everything was dark and cold. Your head was pounding, and you had no energy left as you tore through the deep snow that covered the ground. You had your winter boots on from when you’ve been brought to the mansion, but no jacket or coat, your sweater providing very little comfort when the snow started falling down, quickly covering your hair in a layer of white ice. You trembled, walking with your arms wrapped around you protectively. Baekhyun did the same, no longer bothering to keep you by his side. His blazer, thrown over his turtleneck sweater, seemed to provide a bit of warmth, but leather loafers appeared even less suitable for the weather than your sweater. There was no way not to walk through the snow, as there was no road, no path, nothing that the two of you could follow.

“Do you know where we’re going?” you decided to ask finally, growing too tired to keep up the pace.

Baekhyun let out a small huff.

“There’s a road if we go straight forward.”

“How far?”

He glared at you as if he was about to snarl at you again, but it seemed that he’s also too tired to do as much.

Soon, you stumbled upon a small cave engraved in a rock, not too deep as to potentially have a wild animal hiding in it, but sufficient for it to be dry and block off the snow.

Baekhyun didn’t think twice before walking into it and sitting on the cold ground, leaning his back against the wall. You followed the suit.

Out of the inside pocket of his jacket, he took out a phone; your eyes widened, realizing that he’d been keeping the device by himself all along. In how dark it was around you, the light of the screen blinded you for a few seconds. You shuffled to sit next to him, watching as he opened the maps app and GPS.

Looking at your current localization, you realized there’s literally nothing in the range of miles. It was just a plain, green area, with not even as much as a river, a mountain marked, or a road.

Baekhyun zoomed out and you started noticing some shapes; you had no idea what direction the mansion was in, but, basing on the arrow that showed above your location, it seemed that, just as he said, you were walking in the direction of a road that would eventually lead you to a town, and from there, you’d be able to find your city as well.

The issue was that, when he marked the route to the road, the app said clearly: three hours by feet. You breathed out shakily. There was no way you could walk for three more hours, not in this weather, not while this exhausted. You suspected that the time estimation didn’t consider the pace of two worn out young adults that had to tear through the snow to get there. It could as well take six hours to get there, and then, if there was no one to give you a ride, it would take even longer to get to the town. You were so, so doomed.

“Can’t you call someone?” you suggested. “To pick us up.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes.

“Are you seeing any roads that anyone would drive through?”

“Then at least…”

“Calling someone would be a suicide now” the man huffed, turning off the phone to save the battery and hiding it back in the pocket. “We need to rest anyway. We’ll leave in an hour, so just… Do whatever.”

Not waiting for you to voice your thoughts, Baekhyun pulled his knees to his chest, leaning his side against the wall, with his back to you, making it clear that he was not interested in continuing this conversation.

But exhaustion was eating at you, too. Even if you stayed here for just an hour, you were still in trouble; what would happen once your bodies would lose the remaining warmth? You knew that once you take a nap, your body will stop caring about the temperature. You’ll stop shivering, you’ll… just freeze.

“Don’t sleep” you put hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, realization coming all at once. “We can rest but don’t sleep.” You shook his shoulder. “Baekhyun, Byun Baekhyun!” You shook him more vigorously and he glanced at you weakly. “Don’t sleep! You can’t sleep.”

You should have held so much hate for that man, with all that happened, with how he’d been treating you. But you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself, if he just died here and you had to leave his body somewhere in this forest, maybe to never be found again. The perspective of being left alone terrified you.

He didn’t oppose when you leaned into his side, trying to preserve as much warmth as it was only possible, even though your bodies barely radiated any. He didn’t look at you, his eyes still half-closed and fixated on something far away, but the knowledge that he was awake was enough for you.

Even if you were to die here, to freeze to death, you’d rather have someone to die with. Even if he hated you, even if he would most likely stab you in the back if it was to save himself, you really just didn’t want to be alone.

You didn’t know how long had passed before he suddenly turned to face you. You realized you were slowly falling asleep yourself, but the motion managed to shake you awake. The snow outside finally stopped falling, but the stillness made you even sleepier. The world became so awfully quiet.

“Let’s talk” he said. “Or we’ll both fall asleep.”

You were surprised with him being the one to come up with the idea, but you were quick to follow.

“Who was there?” you asked. “If not my family, then what happened?”

Baekhyun was silent for a few moments, but you could tell he was just gathering thoughts.

“Just… another family. I don’t think they’re on good terms with yours, too.”

“Why did they attack?”

Baekhyun shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’m not interested in the business.”

A deep frown appeared on your face. You would have never thought that Baekhyun, out of all people, was not engaged in what they were doing. He may have not been the one to kidnap you, but he did guard you, and his hatred towards you was too deeply rooted to be over a matter irrelevant to him.

Reading the doubt on your face, Baekhyun huffed.

“I mean it, I’m leaving this hellhole at the first occasion I get.”

“Where will you go?”

“Wherever.”

He didn’t seem willing to continue this topic, so you didn’t pry. You weren’t sure what other question to ask. But he was faster.

“Where were you going?” You frowned, confused about the context of his question. “When you were heading to the airport. That’s where they got you, right? You didn’t have anyone with you. That was reckless of you.”

You pursed your lips.

“I was trying to leave, too. I got into an university, half of the country away. I didn’t want to stay in this… business… either” you elaborated carefully. “But my parents didn’t really enjoy the idea of their daughter attending a school that’s not half as prestigious as everyone else attended. So they didn’t really… know that I’m leaving.” You shrugged. “Or maybe they did. Maybe they just didn’t care.”

“Would you really be able to live with yourself, leaving all of this away after what your family has done?”

“That’s the fun part” you laughed dryly. “They never told me what they’re doing” you scoffed. “You seem to know much more about this stuff, but I really just… I have no idea how they wronged yours, either. I don’t even know if I want to know.”

Baekhyun stared at you with his face completely unreadable. You frowned slightly; you didn’t want to seem insensitive, but you felt as though you just came out as such.

“You… know” you spoke carefully, weighing each word. “That’s why you hate me so much. What was it?”

He pressed his lips together.

“You said you don’t want to know” he huffed.

“But now I think I should.”

He breathed in and then exhaled with a huff, finally looking away from you, right when you felt you could not take any more of that gaze.

“They kidnapped my sister.” Your eyes widened in shock, but you noticed he’s trying to elaborate, so you didn’t speak a word. “Our families had this idea, of marrying your brother with my sister to extend the influence. But another family was invited into the negotiations, and my family chose them instead. So your father got pissed, and decided to blackmail us into the marriage. By kidnapping her.” He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists on the fabric of his pants. “That bastard just…”

“I’m sorry” you finally uttered. “Damn. I’m so sorry…”

The sparks of anger in Baekhyun’s eyes suddenly ceased, and in their place, appeared sadness and regret. The more you pondered on what you just found out, the more you felt tears fill your eyes.

He nudged your chest.

“Don’t waste energy on crying” he commanded, his voice strong and all serious again, like it used to be. “We need to get going.”

But this time, when he pushed himself off the ground, his hand wasn’t there to force you along, but to help you instead.

⁂

If it was only your stubbornness that kept you going after all this time, then you must have had quite a lot of it. You didn’t want to think of all the possible damage to your body that the cold had caused, but you worried for Baekhyun with his leather shoes way more. Fortunately, as the morning came not long later, and there was no snow falling on your heads anymore, it became just a little bit warmer, just a little bit less straining.

You managed to reach the road, and it seemed that cars used it regularly, with tracks clearly engraved in the snow.

You were certain that, with the use of Baekhyun’s phone, you would be able to get somewhere safely. Yet, about an hour of the walk had to pass before two black cars appeared, coming from behind you. The two of you stood cautiously on the side of the road as the vehicles stopped nearby, and you could swear one of them looked familiar.

The door opened and out came a man whose face you knew very well. Your eyes widened when he rounded the car and opened the passenger’s door.

That was when you came face to face with your own father, a man dressed in a suit and a thick coat that you really envied at the moment. Your eyes widened even more, but a smile appeared on your face unwittingly and you walked forward, not noticing Baekhyun’s face tensing as he stepped back instead.

“Are you okay?” the man spoke when you approached. The words were ridden off emotion, although some care was evident; your dad was never a man of heartfelt gestures. You nodded with a small smile, relief evident on your face.

“How did you find us…?” you asked.

“We tracked you with satellite some time ago. Get in the car, you need to warm up.”

You nodded. The other car opened and you let out a gasp at the sight of your brother.

“Chanyeol!” You would have ran to his side if not for your bones almost too cold to move at all. But he came out to see you instead, throwing his own, warmed up coat over your shoulders and leading you to the car of his own.

You turned around, glancing at the Baekhyun. His eyes were on your dad, his face tense, but unreadable.

And so your father’s gaze laid upon him, filled with condemn and clear hostility.

“Don’t worry, you’re okay now” Chanyeol said, pulling you towards the car despite your hesitation and making you sit inside. You tried to peek through the window, but he was quick to cover your sight with his body. “Don’t look, just warm up. You’re safe, they won’t hurt you anymore.”

You felt your heart drop at the meaning hidden behind his words; your body trembled.

“No… No, no.”

The echo of a gunshot tore through the forest.

Please, reblog if you enjoyed, it’ll help me a bunch!

Author’s note: It's such a relief to be back to writing! I'm going to make my posting schedule a bit more relaxed, so the next chapter may take about a month to post. In the meantime, I'll greatly appreciate your feedback, and have a great day!

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

Hi, I just want to say this well I don’t like angel dust all that much I do think their is some hope in him. If the show is willing to dig deep. We can’t forget that Angel was a closet gay mafia guy in the 1910-40’s who have fun killing people and die by OD then gotten SA in the after life.

What I’m saying is Angel’s Sa is only tip of the iceberg for the reason why he takes drugs because he clearly have issues and what can cause him to fall of the wagon if one of those issues ever comes back again . In fact what if Angel went with Charlie and Vaggie to heaven for his trial, now Angel if off drugs so now he is in his most vulnerable.

During the trial we are given testimony with all the victims one by one that have gotten their life’s ruined by Angel’s actions. Each given gruesome details, some gotten so bad to the point that the victims begs the princesses of hell to keep angel in hell. This will lead to the final victim that one that broke the camel back which is angel’s boyfriend. ( let’s name him Jack).

Now Jack much like Charlie did everything he could to help angel out with his addiction and problems a roof in his head, hot meals, and a steady part time job working with him in his family small shop. Everything goes well but as Jack soon will find out old habits dies hard and again and again and again. It gotten so bad to the point that money and stuff will go missing from the store. Stranger in the front door demanding money , drug hidden in the sofa it can go on and on. It gotten to the point that when Jack does try to kick Anthony ( Angel’s real name) out guess what Anthony does he tries keeping Jack in line by using sex, drugs, and saying stuff like “ I’m sorry it won’t happen again please forgive me or I have change.” This relationship will randomly in the worst ways by Angel choose his abusive family respect over his caring boyfriend and well he made his choice.

Jack last words before he goes will also be a  warning for Charlie to understand “ He left, with the respect of the of people that he told he hated the most ,I was left in the cold ground slowly dying,alone so be careful princess because that man is only gonna you drag you down with him.” 

This would be both Charlie and Angel wake up call

A; he have to understand that redemption doesn’t mean doing it for yourself so that you can better life, but to understand that your actions have a hurt so many people and that you where a toxic person when you were alive and if you want a better afterlife you need to take responsibility for you own actions.

C: she is going to learn the harsh reality that her plans might under developed that Sinners have layers in them , that teachers them sorry isn’t going to help because where was that apology before? That should sinners will devise to go to heaven and that if they truly are sorry then they should accept their punishment.

Maybe season 2 will tackle that  subject or not we just have to wait and see. Sorry for the long rant injoy the rest of your day.

I really like the concept of tackling repenting as in actually accepting you did bad stuff in your past instead of just trying to be good now, but also I have no idea who Jack is and this is strangely worded like Angel SA’d this random guy?😭