#its a deeper kind of horror because...well

[jinuaei]

Alastor x Fallen Angel! Reader

Accidentally getting 'married' to Alastor

Part 2

You fucked up.

You don't know what you did but you know you fucked up somewhere. One moment you were in heaven doing something, the next you see a red sky in front of you. The feeling of air rush behind you as you finally realize that you were falling, the smell of something burning and rotten eggs surrounding you as you fall deeper and deeper to your demise. Or what you thought was your demise, what you instead fell onto was a roof that momentarily broke your fall, before face planting to the ground. That wasn't graceful of you.

Groaning in pain you try to sit up before a sharp burning sensation spreads through your back, at where your wings was supposed to be. The sound of dripping enters your ears and your vision is blurry when you try to open your eyes, you can only see blobs of colours and the most prominent one was red as well as... Gold. Pupils dilating, your eyes finally take in the view in front of you. White feathers fall around you as golden blood seeps into your white clothes, the pain, you realise came from your wings, getting ripped apart and burning off when you fell. You try to decipher where you're currently at, from what you see, you seem to be in an alleyway, behind you is a dumpster covered in your blood and feathers, following the trail of blood you see the roof you hit when you were falling.

You hypothesize where you're supposed to be, with how adamant Heaven is in teaching angels not to do any sins nor question the higher ups, its kind of impossible not to know what will happen to those who defy heaven as well as where they will go. A pentagram encompassing the whole red sky, the scent of sulfur, blood, and brimstone flooding your senses, with this in mind you now know where you are.

"I'm in hell..."

"Yes you are, my good fellow!"

Startled, you scream and cover your head in hopes of protecting it.

"Well that's quite rude! You're not supposed to scream bloody murder when someones trying to be friendly you know?," his voice was odd, staticy, akin to an old radio.

You sheepishly drop your hands down to your lap and look up at the man in front of you. He's quite the tall demon, dressed in red... well actually everything about him is red, save for the black accents in his outfit and ends of his hair. Speaking of hair you keep glancing up at the tufts of hair attached to his head, and if you look closely, the antlers hidden behind his fluffy bangs. Is he supposed to be a deer? That's actually really cute.

"Erm... Sorry, just I was just surprised someone popping out from nowhere," you reply, hands fidgeting with one of your broken feathers.

Eyeing the golden blood and the broken wings behind you, the demon grins, showing off his sharp yellowed teeth. Nevermind that's TERRIFYING.

"Now what's an angel doing in hell? Not to mention a bleeding one! How tempting," he licks his teeth, already thinking about how delicious your angel meat would be.

Something tells me that this demon is NOT here to help. Now think! Make something up so you wont get killed by this red deer thing!

"I'm your spouse assigned by heaven!," you blurt out, not even thinking properly due to the fear of death.

Both of you froze as you stare at each other, one with horror, and one with disgust.

"And why do you think I would believe that?," sneering, he starts to creep closer and closer.

"Because... That's the reason why I fell! How can I meet my husband if I'm in heaven and you're in hell? I was so eager to meet you that I turned myself into a fallen angel just to be with you!," you smile widely, desperately trying to convince him.

He raises an eyebrow at that, mulling over whether you're telling the truth or not. Even if you are lying it'll be good to have a fallen angel on his side, and it'll be quite hilarious seeing the expressions of the hotel staff reacting to you being his spouse.

"If I am your fated one, what's my name? Surely heaven must have given you my name at least?"

Oh Gabriel's trumpet he got you there. "Alastor...?," unsure, you gave out a random name. If you're wrong, hopefully he kills you quickly.

...

"Hm. Perhaps you truly are who you say you are. Forgive me for being quite rude earlier, it's unbecoming from your husband to be." Holy cow you are lucky. You breathe out, the nerves simmering.

"Come on then let's get you cleaned up! What kind of husband will I be if I don't provide for you my dear?," he grabs your hand and leads you somewhere. His shadow cleaning up all the blood and feathers in the alley.

Now that's out of the way... What the fuck did I do to become a fallen angel???

[kaiser1ns]

𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘅 𝗳𝗲𝗺!𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

╹synopsis :: it doesn't take much to say or show you love someone even with the simplest of actions.

╹contents :: can be read as fem/gn reader; characters from blue lock, jjk and honkai star rail, FLUFF, ooc maybe?

╹notes :: as i was walking to go home at like 10pm i thought of this, hope you enjoy! added hsr specially for @okkalo ♡

ITOSHI SAE immediately takes you out to visit the sea when he gets some days off. The sounds of the waves, the relaxing atmosphere and you in his arms calm him down causing him to flashback to his childhood memories of when he was just a small and carefree child wanting nothing more but to play football with his little brother and personal cheerleader.

Not only he is known as the strongest but GOJO SATORU is also known for having a very strong sweet tooth. So what does he do to reduce the sugar? He shares it with you because there is nothing better than sharing his favourite thing with his lover, so let's say he gets a double dose of chocolate and candy from just seeing you and that's enough.

AVENTURINE is not afraid to take the risk and his constant smile makes it difficult for people to guess his true intentions. Not with you though, he lets his guard down, your voice soothing him to help him relax and as he gets lost in your touch. He is not Aventurine of the IPC or the Ten Stonehearts, he is just Kakavasha the little boy who once dreamed of love and now he won the biggest treasure in his life — you.

ITOSHI RIN knows how much you don't like scary movies, and that's why when you come over for the weekends you watch movies or series of your choice, be it Barbie or The Lion King. He will swallow his ego and stop watching the weekly uploads of his favourite scary games just so you can't fall asleep on purpose because of the horror films.

GETO SUGURU can't stop talking about how beautiful, amazing, and kind you are. Mimiko and Nanako are tired because they are the only ones who get to hear all his murmuring when you are away even for only 5 minutes. But they know how much he loves you and how you breathe life into him, and he wishes that someday they will become like you — strong and good-hearted.

ARGENTI thanks and prays to Idrila every moment of his life for obtaining the biggest blessing to ever exist and that is meeting you. The Knight of Beauty makes sure to give you one red rose every day to express his profound love and admiration, it's a small gesture that symbolizes his devotion to the relationship. He should protect his lover and like flowers, the tender petals are directed to you, with the thorns to the cosmic and its danger protecting you

It may seem that he is spoiled, but in fact, NAGI SEISHIRO is not, well not that much. Sometimes he takes charge of the household chores, giving you, a well-deserved break. He washed the dishes, cooked you a meal (instant noodles), and even tried to fold the laundry. And you, pleasantly surprised, sank into the couch, embracing the rare luxury of relaxation as familiar songs from your shared playlist were playing on the TV. Even if it doesn't happen often you are forever grateful for your lazy boyfriend to do something like that.

ITADORI YUJI shows genuine interest and actively listens to you talking about your current obsession be it a series, celebrity, book, food, or anything. He loves your voice, seeing your beautiful smile, and how your eyes seem to sparkle as you talk, he is so lovestruck that he sometimes just stares at you with the most soft and genuine look. Just don't be surprised when you find some merchandise on your desk with a little love note, okay?

Engaging in meaningful conversations and connecting on a deeper level with DR. RATIO seems like every other normal day for him. He approaches every interaction with a thirst for knowledge. And you take him by surprise every time and he doesn't know what to do, the great genius suddenly stops functioning. The way you hold his hand, kiss his cheek, make him stutter — he goes crazy and questions himself about how there is no logical explanation for this, but there is, it is called love.

SHIDOU RYUSEI doesn't like to share his material possessions with anyone, he worked so hard to get the last volumes of Chainsaw Man as they are now put on the shelf in his bedroom. And imagine his reaction when he sees you reading volume 10 which has Makina on the cover, cuddled nicely with his blanket on the bed. How dare you read it without him? And so he jumps onto the mattress, squishing you because that's your punishment for not telling him. You apologized to him of course but for him to fully forgive you, next time you will be on anicon cosplaying Makima and Denji.

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI remembers the small details about you and your preferences. If you don't like a certain ingredient in the food, he will order the dish without it. You like to sleep on this side of the bed, no problem he will sleep on the other side as you both cuddle and drift to Dreamland. He will immediately notice the change in your mood and even if he is not so good with words, he will always be there for you offering his warm embrace.

As a Galaxy Ranger BOOTHILL tends to travel around the cosmos a lot and sadly he can't spend time with you. But when he's with you, one of the things you do is his hair and to put cute stickers on his metal hands or guns. The scary cyborg cowboy is now a pretty princess with pigtails, heart stickers and with a very happy lover. He watches you having fun with his makeover — and will do everything possible to spend more time with you.

©2024 kaiser1ns do not copy, repost or modify my work.

[tyuns-world]

do you have any thoughts abt ghostface beomgyu? sounds so hot….. match so well w him…

This hatched the hugest idea ever and I rewrote this like three times till it was perfect. I may rework it again and make it an actual and better work.

Warning: stalking, mentions of blood, killing

Ghostface! Beomgyu, obsessed with the movie Scream and eager to create his own films, found that his attempts lacked the gore and realism he craved. Despite his charm and popularity, his supposed friends tormented him daily for his unusual interests but kept him around because of his wealth and connections. His home life was no better; his single dad would consistently beat him whenever he was stressed. This pushed him to figure out exactly how to make his movie real.

You were the one who saved Beomgyu from your friends' bullying with a simple, "Alright, guys, that's enough, let's get out of here." He mistook your fleeting empathy for a deeper connection. Your intervention was a rare moment of compassion amidst the cruelty, so he became obsessively attached to you.

Your kind eyes, curly hair, and sweet voice captivated him. When he devised his killer plan, he spared you, setting up cameras in your home as well as your shared friends' to gather dirt and intel, waiting for the right moment. He focused mainly on your place, intrigued by your secret love for horror films and the scantily clad way you dressed to sleep.

He wanted you in more ways than one and he was determined to have you.

Ghostface! Beomgyu began his plan, steadily taking out his targets without getting caught. With each victim, he left romantic cryptic messages for you—anonymous notes, unsettling silent phone calls—testing your loyalty and curiosity.

You were driven half-insane by the killer's interest in you, feeling both special and on edge.You always did have a thing for the masked killers in your movies.

After his latest kill, Ghostface! Beomgyu got injured and went home instead of visiting you. Blood ran down his face from a hit to the head, hair sticking to his sweaty face, his jaw clenched in anger for letting his target land a blow. In his rage, he went overboard, stabbing the victim more times than intended. He decided to put together a little gift as an apology for not seeing you immediately after his kill.

A hard knock on your door woke you up that night. The sound echoed through your quiet house like a gunshot. Heart pounding, you slipped out of bed, casting nervous glances at the clock—3:00 AM, the witching hour.

You opened the door to find a small package lying on your doorstep, wrapped in black paper with a blood-red ribbon. Trembling, you picked it up and unwrapped it carefully. Inside was a VHS tape, old and worn, with a handwritten note attached: Watch me.

Your hands shook as you inserted the tape into your parents' old VCR player. The screen flickered to life, displaying grainy footage of familiar places—your friends' homes, the places you frequented, even snippets of your own daily life.

The camera angles were voyeuristic, as if someone had been watching you for a long time.Then, the scene changed—a masked figure appeared on screen, clad in the iconic Ghostface mask, holding a knife. The figure turned to face the camera, and for a chilling moment, you could swear its eyes met yours through the screen. The perceived eye contact sent a shiver not only down your spine but somewhere else also.

A distorted voice echoed from the speakers, "Do you like scary movies, darling? Because this is just the beginning. Check your phone right about... now."

Right on cue, your phone received a message from an anonymous texter: "So, do you like scary movies?" Your heart raced, a mix of fear and excitement flooding through you. You replied cautiously, "Who is this?"

The response was instant: "Your new favorite horror movie villain."

[weepingchronicles]

platonic yandere hunter headcanons

tw/cw: yandere behavior, stalking, creepy(?), drugging(tranquilizers), guns mentioned, hunting obviously, cussing, kidnapping

a/n: i guess this is my first yandere oc? I don't know if he'll ever have a name or background but I'll just call him hunter

He acts like a friendly neighbour at first and for right now that's all he is.

To be honest, there is something slightly off about him.

The way you've never seen him without a weapon of some kind draped across his back. Or the way he leers and asks you questions slightly too personal.

"Where are your parents?" "Oh, are you close with them?" "Aw, that's a shame."

Still he was nice, enough. He never crossed a line. If he saw you getting uncomfortable his teasing and questions immediately stopped. So, that must be a green flag?

During winter, you had stopped hiking and going out to the trail you normally would. I guess the time spent away from you made Hunter fall deeper into his obsession with you.

He'd follow you to the grocery store, dentist, whenever you'd leave your house. He'd justify thinking it's just to keep you safe but didn't clarify on what.

During this, he'd learn more about you. Your habits, schedule and personal life.

You didn't have a good home life as far as he can tell. Sometimes he'd hear shouting within your house right before you burst out and slam the door to walk off some steam.

He thought he could treat you better, give you the home he thought you deserve. He had begun to think he knew you better than anyone else did.

Once you're back in the forest again is when he'd slowly force himself into your life.

He'd somehow "bump" into you whenever you're hiking and escort you. Saying "It's too dangerous for a kid like you to be walkin alone out here." You were creeped out to be honest but he was somewhat right.

Although he was actually pleasant to be around, one time he took you to the river and helped you catch a fish. He offered to help you cook it back at his place but you declined.

Other times were more silent but eventful, you'd both sit and enjoy the nature breeze, the birds. Sometimes when you were lucky a deer would run by, blessing you with its innocent presence.

You asked why he hadn't shot it, considering his job is to hunt.

"Because I'm with you, kiddo."

The more time you spent with him, coincidental or not, you slowly began to open up. He somehow knew your likes and dislikes in which you couldn't help but ramble about when brought up, he found it entertaining.

All your baggage too began to untangle. You'd talk about your problems with your family and how you go out into nature to get away from it all. It becomes your only safe space.

Hunter understood easily, he was always attentive when you talked of your parents but you failed to notice the murderous look in his eyes whenever he heard something that ticked him off a little too much.

You began to see Hunter as a father figure. I mean, he'd comfort you when you were sad, took you out fishing. He was more of a father than your biological one.

One day after fishing, he asked you if you wanted to go back to his cabin and cook it. He'd always ask you but always declined, but this time you actually felt safe enough to accept.

Hunter was delighted and drove you to his cabin further into the woods.

It was a lot nicer than you expected, you think it would look like a cabin from a horror movie or something but it was newly furnished or just well kept.

Hunter told you sit down and get comfy while he prepared the fish.

You did so in the living room. He gave you some hot tea but you never actually drank it, being far more interested in his home.

Hunter never talked about himself or family, you thought maybe it was because he was divorced or just secretive about personal things.

But as you roamed around the living room you noticed there were no framed photos at all.

Well, there was one. It was a photo he has taped on his window above the sink with him and you. You had caught your first fish and he wanted to take a photo to celebrate which you begrudgingly complied.

You roamed around more, careful with your footsteps to not make any creaking. You didn't want him to think you're snooping, I mean you are, but not in a bad way!

You came across a room that was slightly ajar enough to peek in. It was his bedroom.

His bed was messily made and on the dresser were empty or half empty beer bottles. Leaning on the wall were a couple shotguns, you didn't know if they were loaded or not. The only innocence misportraying his room were these lilacs in a vase you had collected on a hike with him. They were slightly dying, hunched in posture while a couple petals fell.

You roamed around more, you found the bathroom down the hall and passed the kitchen without Hunter noticing as he was cooking.

You had looked in every room so far besides the basement.

It was sketchy you will admit, but maybe that was your guilty conscience punishing you for snooping around.

You had went down a couple of steps and there was a hall. Most of the rooms down the hall were normal, for extra storage, that kinda thing.

You made your way down to the final door. It had a slide bolt lock and was probably the only door where the paint was peeling.

You figure it was just another storage room or maybe a place to keep his guns..(why would he need that kind of lock anyway?)

You open the room and peek inside, you find a light switch and turn it on. The room is ghostly cold, making you scrunch up your shoulders in chills.

What... the fu-

Your mouth fell slightly agape. The room had posters of your favorite media and characters plastered on the walls. On one side was a dresser and on-top were some of your childhood plushies that mysteriously went missing awhile ago.

"What the fuck is this.."

The most scariest part to you was that in the center was an old mattress covered by a thick blanket and few pillows. Alongside was a long chain connecting to the wall, it was meant for someone.

Your heartbeat sped up, Hunter was not who you thought he was.

You quickly ran out and went upstairs again, standing in the hall where you could hear Hunter humming to himself while cooking.

You froze there for a couple seconds, debating on what to do. You could just make a run for it but you don't know the way back home and it would take forever to get back on foot. Plus, he has guns. The other option was to pretend everything was fine, all good. You didn't know how well you could that, putting a hand to your chest made you feel your frenzied heartbeat. What if he knew something was up and killed you? What if you pretend and stay but he kills you anyway?

Your thoughts began to blur as if you were a deer caught in headlights, you only snapped out of it once you heard Hunter calling your name.

"There you are! What's wrong?"

You felt your lip twitch, control yourself.

"I- I was looking for the bathroom." You felt your throat suddenly dry up, like you've just been in the sahara desert.

Hunter chuckled at this and gestured to the bathroom that was just further down the hall.

His smile faltered when he realized you wouldn't move yet when he reached out to your shoulder, you instinctively backed away.

"Kiddo?" He said, slightly confused and panicked. He looks down to the basement and saw the door was still open.

Realization hit him and he was trying to muster up an explanation, anything.

But you were already running, you didn't have enough time to put on shoes so you were running on only your socks.

You tried to remember the path you came from, you couldn't just run down the road he'd easily drive by and catch you. Everything in the woods looked different as the sun began to set and the sky was cast with an orange hue, it was almost more alive than in the daytime.

You didn't stop to look behind you, only running as fast as your wobbly knees could take you but you could hear your name being called in the distance which somehow urged you to sprint faster.

Fuck, maybe your parents were right in saying to do Track and Field. You were panting, your chest felt itchy and your cheeks burned yet felt cold all at the same time. You knew you couldn't yet stop though.

Finally, once you couldn't hear your name being called is when you stopped by a large stone.

You tried to contain your breaths but they came out in only puffs as you regained control of yourself.

How the fuck were you supposed to get home now!?

In a state of hopelessness you began to softly cry. You came into the woods because it was your safe space but all you want to do right now is be back home on your bed.

Before you went into a full breakdown, you heard the familiar call of your name again.

Hunter.

You gasp and hide behind the large stone, accidently falling in a small river and biting your lip at the freezing water.

You peek out the best you can without revealing your hiding spot.

You see the blurry image of Hunter walking, is he...

Is he holding a gun!?

"Kiddo!? Come here, I'm not going to hurt you. Let's just go back to the cabin and get you warmed up."

'Um, I think I rather freeze to death out here, thanks.'

You knew he was getting closer as the creaks in the twigs and leaves louden.

Feeling you have no choice but to make a run for it, you do. Either he finds you hiding, shoots you or you run and he tries to shoot you.

"(Y/N)! Come back here now!"

Is this guy really trying to get you to come back willingly? Why is he not shooting?

"Come back or I'll shoot!" Oh, there it is.

You don't stop running however, you run in a zig zag motion to make it hard for him to shoot but I guess he never told you how good of a shot he was.

A shot came to your left calf and another at your shoulder, making you crash into the dirt and solid ground in front of you. You thought it would hurt more, a bullet ripping into your flesh like a fucking parasite. But what you felt was stinging.

Yeah, it still fucking hurt but it wasn't a pain you expected from a bullet wound. In that last moment you have consciousness, you turn over peering down at your calf and seeing a dart poke right into it.

A dart?

Hunter rushes by your side, finally catching up to you.

Your instincts urge you to escape but a numbness spreads throughout your body, making your eyelids so very heavy.

He lifts your head in his hands, caressing your hair and brushing away dirt on your face.

"Shh, it's okay now. Just go to sleep, everything will be okay once you wake up."

You tried to move, run, protest, anything! But it felt like someone put a weighted blanket over you, or more like ten blankets.

You began to lose consciousness and your eyesight blackening. You could feel your wrists and ankles getting tied together. You were pulled over what felt like Hunter's shoulders, as if you were a freshly caught deer. Maybe that's how he saw you.

You didn't have much of a say either way as he trudged further into the woods again, carrying you.

a/n: woop yay!! my first original character! feel free to ask any questions bout him, if you have any. I might make a part 2 to this when I feel like it but I have a bunch of other requests to do at the moment. also let's not talk about how it's almost 6 am and I'm writing this

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hello! I have seen this question debated many times and I wanted to know your take on it cause I find your theories very compelling. Do you think harry should've been in Slytherin? Does he have what it "takes" to be a Slytherin? Is it because of voldemort's soul in him that lead the sorting hat to even suggest he could be in Slytherin? I know this is not one question but I would like to know your opinion on this topic in general!

First of all, thank you for the kind words! 😊

As for the questions, well, you've asked more than one question, but this ask kinda gives me a good reason to talk about how Harry isn't some golden Gryffindor. He actually has some anger issues and he most definitely has what it "takes" for Slytherin.

I'll start with the last question and then go backward, actually.

Did the hat consider Slytherin house just because of the Horcrux?

I don't think so.

I mean, Harry is incredibly clever, magically powerful, and has a cunning streak a mile wide all on his own. I'd actually go as far as to say he's more cunning, ruthless, and resourceful than many of the Slytherins we see in the books. So his own traits definitely are in line with a Slytherin sorting, Horcrux or no Horcrux.

We can try and discern if the Horcrux has an effect on Harry's personality then, and if its influence is seen like that. I'd say that I don't think so either.

Tom and Harry, while they have their similarities, are very different people. They both have a bad temper (although they react to anger differently), but Harry has low self-esteem whereas Tom thinks he is the best (while still hating himself). They're both stubborn, but Tom is much more obsessive than Harry in pursuit of his goals. Harry cares for justice and isn't willing to hurt innocents, Tom doesn't really care about any of that he cares for efficiency. If the Horcrux was influencing Harry's personality, I'd expect to see more similarities between them that go deeper than that.

So, I don't think the hat only offered Slytherin because of the Horcrux. Harry is a Slytherin in his own right.

Does Harry have what it "takes" for Slytherin?

So, I honestly got really excited at the sight of this sentence. See I love Harry, that's no secret. But one of the things I love about him is that he isn't the perfect noble hero. He can be angry, and cruel and ruthless. But he has a sense of justice, he wouldn't wish harm on someone innocent, but someone who did harm to him, or was mean to him or someone he cares for... then Harry can be terrifying when he wants to be.

So, now I'm going to go through some (I have so many more examples of this, and the examples here are mostly books 1-5 since that's what I had on hand) of my collection of quotes showing Harry Potter's vindictiveness and anger.

Harry's response to "have a good summer" at the end of his first year:

“Oh, I will,” said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face. “They don’t know we’re not allowed to use magic at home. I’m going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer.…

(PS, page 221)

This is Harry's (very justified) vindictiveness we see towards the Dursleys many times in the books. He uses the idea of magic to scare them and is gleeful at the thought of Dudley's fear. Harry is very much chill with vengeance.

“…He likes to keep in touch with me, though . . . keep up with my news . . . check if I’m happy. . . .” And, grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon’s face, Harry set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of him, for what looked like a much better summer than the last.

(PoA, page 435)

Same as above, just Sirius Black as the threat instead of magic.

Yes, thought Harry, that looked all right. There was no point putting in the dream; he didn’t want it to look as though he was too worried.

(GoF, page 25)

Harry can and does lie and conceal information, even from people he trusts (like Sirius) if he thinks it'll be better not to tell them something. Whether that is for his own image or for what they would think.

“Potter! Weasley! What are you doing?” It was Professor McGonagall, and her mouth was the thinnest of thin lines. “We were — we were —” Ron stammered. “We were going to — to go and see —” “Hermione,” said Harry. Ron and Professor McGonagall both looked at him. “We haven’t seen her for ages, Professor,” Harry went on hurriedly, treading on Ron’s foot, “and we thought we’d sneak into the hospital wing, you know, and tell her the Mandrakes are nearly ready and, er, not to worry —” Professor McGonagall was still staring at him, and for a moment, Harry thought she was going to explode, but when she spoke, it was in a strangely croaky voice. “Of course,” she said, and Harry, amazed, saw a tear glistening in her beady eye.

(CoS, page 259)

And he clearly can lie well, even at 12.

But Harry wasn’t going to stand for this. Gone were the days when he had been forced to take every single one of the Dursleys’ stupid rules. He wasn’t following Dudley’s diet, and he wasn’t going to let Uncle Vernon stop him from going to the Quidditch World Cup, not if he could help it. Harry took a deep, steadying breath and then said, “Okay, I can’t see the World Cup. Can I go now, then? Only I’ve got a letter to Sirius I want to finish. You know — my godfather.” He had done it. He had said the magic words. Now he watched the purple recede blotchily from Uncle Vernon’s face, making it look like badly mixed black currant ice cream.

...

He stopped there to enjoy the effect of these words. He could almost see the cogs working under Uncle Vernon’s thick, dark, neatly parted hair. If he tried to stop Harry writing to Sirius, Sirius would think Harry was being mistreated. If he told Harry he couldn’t go to the Quidditch World Cup, Harry would write and tell Sirius, who would know Harry was being mistreated. There was only one thing for Uncle Vernon to do. Harry could see the conclusion forming in his uncle’s mind as though the great mustached face were transparent. Harry tried not to smile, to keep his own face as blank as possible. And then — “Well, all right then. You can go to this ruddy . . . this stupid . . . this World Cup thing.

(GoF, page 33)

Again, vindictiveness and manipulation of Vernon through fear. Not only that, but Harry can keep his calm and keep his face blank even at 14 for the sake of getting something he wants.

“Get stuffed, Malfoy,” said Harry. “C’mon, Ron. . . .” “Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren’t you, Potter?” sneered Malfoy. “So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?” “You know your mother, Malfoy?” said Harry — both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy — “that expression she’s got, like she’s got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?” Malfoy’s pale face went slightly pink. “Don’t you dare insult my mother, Potter.” “Keep your fat mouth shut, then,” said Harry, turning away.

(GoF, page 204)

Harry has a bark (all of the above quotes are Harry having a bark). He can and does shoot back as good as he gets.

Harry isn't all bark though, he's got a bit. Harry's anger is palpable and so very real and I love seeing it:

just as Uncle Vernon burst out of the dining room, his trouser leg in bloody tatters. “COME BACK IN HERE!” he bellowed. “COME BACK AND PUT HER RIGHT!” But a reckless rage had come over Harry. He kicked his trunk open, pulled out his wand, and pointed it at Uncle Vernon. “She deserved it,” Harry said, breathing very fast. “She deserved what she got. You keep away from me.”  He fumbled behind him for the latch on the door. “I’m going,” Harry said. “I’ve had enough.”

(PoA, page 30)

Again, Harry has his vindictive strike. (Obviously, Marge had it coming, but that's also what Harry is thinking).

A boiling hate erupted in Harry’s chest, leaving no place for fear. For the first time in his life, he wanted his wand back in his hand, not to defend himself, but to attack . . . to kill.

(PoA, page 339)

“You killed my parents,” said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, but his wand hand quite steady.

(PoA, page 341)

Harry, at 13, was fully willing to kill who he believed led to his parents' deaths. And more:

So what if he had to kill the cat too? It was in league with Black. . . . If it was prepared to die, trying to protect Black, that wasn’t Harry’s business. . . .

(PoA, page 342)

He's willing to kill Hermione's cat if it stands in his way.

Harry stood there, feeling suddenly empty. He hadn’t done it. His nerve had failed him. Black was going to be handed back to the dementors.

(PoA, page 343)

Harry Potter, at 13, laments that he didn't have the nerve to kill Sirius himself. He thinks he should've killed himself. He sees it as a failure that justice would be served by someone other than him.

Harry sat there staring at Snape as the lesson began, picturing horrific things happening to him. . . . If only he knew how to do the Cruciatus Curse . . . he’d have Snape flat on his back like that spider, jerking and twitching. . . .

(GoF, page 300)

Harry felt oddly separate from everyone around him, whether they were wishing him good luck or hissing “We’ll have a box of tissues ready, Potter ” as he passed. It was a state of nervousness so advanced that he wondered whether he mightn’t just lose his head when they tried to lead him out to his dragon, and start trying to curse everyone in sight.

(GoF, page 347)

The above quotes are both situations Harry was willing and wishing to curse people. Even Crucio Snape. He's not as noble and righteous and golden as many fans and characters in the books make him out to be...

If Dudley’s friends saw him sitting here, they would be sure to make a beeline for him, and what would Dudley do then? He wouldn’t want to lose face in front of the gang, but he’d be terrified of provoking Harry. . . . It would be really fun to watch Dudley’s dilemma; to taunt him, watch him, with him powerless to respond . . . and if any of the others tried hitting Harry, Harry was ready — he had his wand . . . let them try . . . He’d love to vent some of his frustration on the boys who had once made his life hell —

(OotP, page 11)

And sometimes, Harry wishes for an excuse to fight. An excuse to take his anger out on someone. (He has a lot of anger in him)

Smirking all over his pointed face, Draco Malfoy leaned across Harry and seized the largest bowtruckle. “Maybe,” said Malfoy in an undertone, so that only Harry could hear him, “the stupid great oaf’s got himself badly injured.” “Maybe you will if you don’t shut up,” said Harry out of the side of his mouth.

(OotP, page 260)

He's threatening and witty.

“Oh no,” said Hermione, quaking so badly that her knees gave way. “Oh, that was horrible. And he [Gwamp] might kill them [the centaurs] all. . . .” “I’m not that fussed, to be honest,” said Harry bitterly.

(OotP, page 759)

And when it comes to people he doesn't consider innocent, or ones he doesn't care for, even if they never harmed him, Harry is still vindictive. The centaurs mistreated Firenze and Hagrid, so Harry doesn't really care if Gwamp kills them all.

That being said, he is more concerned about Sirius in the above scene.

And he can and does cast unforgivables easily by the later books:

Hatred rose in Harry such as he had never known before. He flung himself out from behind the fountain and bellowed “Crucio!” Bellatrix screamed. The spell had knocked her off her feet, but she did not writhe and shriek with pain as Neville had — she was already on her feet again, breathless, no longer laughing. Harry dodged behind the golden fountain again — her counterspell hit the head of the handsome wizard, which was blown off and landed twenty feet away, gouging long scratches into the wooden floor.

(OotP, page 809)

Harry raised the hawthorn wand beneath the cloak, pointed it at the old goblin, and whispered, for the first time in his life, “Imperio!” A curious sensation shot down Harry’s arm, a feeling of tingling, warmth that seemed to flow from his mind, down the sinews and veins connecting him to the wand and the curse it had just cast. The goblin took Bellatrix’s wand, examined it closely, and then said, “Ah, you have had a new wand made, Madam Lestrange!”

(DH, pages 152-453)

As Amycus spun around, Harry shouted, “Crucio!” The Death Eater was lifted off his feet. He writhed through the air like a drowning man, thrashing and howling in pain, and then, with a crunch and a shattering of glass, he smashed into the front of a bookcase and crumpled, insensible, to the floor. “I see what Bellatrix meant,” said Harry, the blood thundering through his brain, “you need to really mean it.”

(DH, page 502)

So, I think Harry definitely has what it takes. He's clever, he can be ruthless, and he's capable of lying and hiding secrets when he feels it's the best option. He can hide his emotions when he really needs to, even if he rarely does. Actually, only in book 6, Harry starts sharing everything with Ron and Hermione on Dumbledore’s advice. Up to that point, he kept quite a bit to himself. And when someone wrongs him, he can and often will swing back.

And last but not least, should he have been in Slytherin?

So, this is an interesting question, because "should" can have two meanings.

1. Should've for the story — as in what is best for the narrative.

2. Should've for the character — in universe, which house the sorting hat should've picked.

So, for the first one, my answer is no. Gryffindor was the right choice for Harry for the narrative of the books as they are. Gryffindor is essentially the opposite of Slytherin and represents a choice more than just the traits and values the house represents. It represents Harry's choice even though he could've been a Slytherin he chose Gryffindor. And it's a constant choice with every heroic act. (personally, I'm not the biggest fan of equating school houses with morality, but it's effective in creating a clear narrative)

And while not all Slytherins are evil and not all Gryffindors are good, a Slytherin Harry Potter would've resulted in a very different story than what we have. So, for the story we ended up getting to happen the way it did, yes, Harry needed to be a Gryffindor.

For the second, maybe. Personally, I believe people (even if they aren't hatstalls) have more than one house they can fit into. Harry is both a Slytherin and a Gryffindor, and neither of them is more wrong or right for him as a person. I think deciding which one of them is best for him is up to a coin flip (and when in his life the question is asked).

He can be ruthless and cunning like a Slytherin. Selfless and courageous like a Gryffindor. He values justice like a Gryffindor. But he also has the selective loyalty of Slytherin to their own.

Point is, there isn't really a "should", because both suit him and he would’ve done well in both. Do I think Slytherin Harry is an incredibly fun concept to consider? Yes. Did I read way too many fics with this premise and would read more? Yes. Do I think he might've fit into Slytherin better than Gryffindor? Well, not necessarily.

Harry is much quieter than most in Gryffindor, but I think the constant scheming and image-keeping in Slytherin would be exhausting to him. He just doesn't care about all the gossip and politicalizing (something that occasionally leaves him out of the loop also in Gryffindor). So, again, both suit him about equally. The difference is that we get a very different story depending on his house.

[kotoku]

not exactly a request, but…

Imagine being a sort of half-blood monster humanoid, perhaps even one of a handful, and spending most of your life feeling as though you don’t belong anywhere, like you just came out wrong and there’s no cure for it...

And then you meet Laios and he absolutely freaking adores you and will not let you forget it.

imagining reader just hiding every single part of their appearance that shows their half-monster side, always walking with their head bowed down in shame. they have experienced so much hate, disgust, and horror to the point they don’t have much mirrors so they can avoid looking at themself. it’s truly sad.

i could see the reader usually spending most of their days down in the floors scavenging for some items that could be sold for money, considering it’s pretty detached from the surface world. maybe the reader is like senshi, who makes the dungeon their makeshift home, navigating the ecosystem and surviving all by themself. i think a floor that may be more deeper or less populated with adventurers is where reader can safely show their more monstrous appearance/self.

and then one fateful day, the reader meets laios. whether its through helping him and his party escape a monster or simply stumbling across them by accident, you’re now bound to his little gang of weirdos. he’d enthusiastically ask if you’d like to join, not knowing your true identity since you immediately sealed yourself away beneath a hood/etc… the reader, who has nothing much going on and figured they could use a change, would join (mostly due to laios’s pestering because you were pretty petrified of these people finding out what you are).

skipping ahead, lets say during a fight your identity was revealed. your appearance shocks the entire party, some feeling a little wary of you (their suspicions were already developing because whatever the situation, you always had that damn hood/cloak on). but nonetheless, they’re accepting. especially a certain blond tall-man who had a undying love for monsters.

ahh, count your days because this man is going to be the death of you. he’s so stunned, happy, fascinated, and angry because why didn’t you tell him !? what do you mean you hated what you are !??! WHY WOULD YOU HIDE SOMETHING AS COOL AS THIS FROM HIM !?!??!

laios is so envious of you, goddamn.

he’ll use every chance he gets to study your anatomy, your biology, your whatever. he’s obsessed. the others are interested too but not as much as laios… often having to wack or chase him away from you when you start feeling overwhelmed.

besides laios’s excited self, the rest of the gang are open to hearing about your insecurities and are a great support system. senshi would like to learn more about you so that he has an idea of your diet and what nutrients you need. chilchuck, a stern fatherly figure to you, would make sure laios isn’t getting too handsy with you. he’s also there to nail it into your head that you arent weird or anything (tough love huh..). marcille, if she doesn’t have any information on your species/monster, would like to learn more about you as well. like chilchuck, she’d be sure to drag laios away when he’s got a little too close and up in your personal space.

one night, you’d explain to laios about your insecurities in detail and your history. he wouldn’t really understand it because you’re so cool ??? but i think he’d get it because he’s been in that kind of situation back in his home town. he may not exactly know what you went through, but at least he’s able to understand and if you let him, he’ll gladly help/support you.

bye, you’d cry from happiness/relief from the party, especially laios’, acceptance.

group hug ensues**

sorry this was so long, it’s a lovely concept and i love just imagining it ^^

[childrenofcain-if]

Does C follow MC on social media, watch their insta stories, and/or cyberstalk them? Have they ever accidentally liked a post from like 57 weeks ago?

C was, by all accounts, not the type to make mistakes. every move they made was well-thought-out, methodical—right down to the way they positioned their phone on the desk so the screen caught the light just so. so when they accidentally liked a post from 57 weeks ago on your instagram account, it was as if the world had tilted off its axis for a split second, before snapping back into place with an intensity that left C breathless.

they’d been scrolling through your feed, ostensibly on a break from studying—though, if they were honest, the break had stretched on far longer than intended. each image was a puzzle piece, a fragment of a life that C found themself wanting to understand, to piece together in a way that made sense. there were pictures of you at various places, some familiar, others foreign, but all of them tinged with a kind of quiet, unspoken longing that made C’s chest tighten.

and then, with a flick of their finger, it happened. the screen froze for a heartbeat, a moment too long, before the notification definitely popped up on your screen: theclacroix liked your photo.

panic shot through them, hot and sharp, and they scrambled to undo the like. but the damage was done—you probably saw it, and what now? what would you think, knowing that C had been digging through your history, had been looking at you this closely, this obsessively?

but there was no time to dwell on the horror. C’s phone buzzed in their hand, and for a split second, they wondered if it was you, calling them out, mocking them. but it wasn’t. it was nothing, just another useless notification in a sea of notifications, and the world continued spinning, indifferent to C’s spiraling thoughts.

they exhaled, leaning back in their chair, the phone screen dimming in their hand. it was too late to change anything, too late to take back that fleeting moment of vulnerability. the post was liked and then unliked. there was nothing they could do about it. so they did what they always did: composed themselves, pretended it didn’t matter, that it didn’t mean anything.

but deep down, in that secret part of themselves they rarely acknowledged, C knew it did. because for all their poise and control, all their carefully constructed façades, they’d slipped—just for a moment. and that moment was enough to remind them of the truth they’d been avoiding: they were not immune to this, to you, and the more they tried to convince themself otherwise, the deeper they fell.

just as C was about to put their phone down and pretend like nothing had happened, it buzzed again. this time, it was a direct message—from you.

[@you]: enjoying a trip down memory lane, lacroix? didn’t know you were such a fan 😉

the winking emoji at the end didn’t do much to soften the embarrassing blow, and it only made C’s cheeks flush harder. they could almost hear the smirk in your words, that teasing edge that always seemed to needle them in just the right way.

[@theclacroix]: just making sure you were still as insufferable as i know now 🙄

they sent it, the words both biting and annoyed, a balance C had perfected over years of verbal sparring with you. and then they waited, their breath caught in their throat, for your reply.

it came almost instantly, another sign that you had been watching them just as closely.

[@you]: insufferable? you liking one of my pics prove otherwise lol 🧾 denial much?

C felt a flush creep up the back of their neck, a mix of embarrassment, irritation and something they couldn’t quite name. they knew you were enjoying this—pushing them, prodding at the cracks in their armor—but despite themself, C found that they didn’t mind it all too much. it was a game, one you were both all too familiar with, and as much as they hated to admit it, there was something thrilling about it.

so they typed back, with a smirk on their lips that matched the one they were sure was on your face.

[@theclacroix]: don’t flatter yourself, star kid. i wouldn’t have touched you with a ten foot pole even back then 😒

and with that, they put the phone down on silent mode after blocking you, the last word theirs—at least for now since they knew they’d unblock you later to check on your account again.

but the warmth in their chest lingered, and as they leaned back in their chair, C realized that maybe, just maybe, they didn’t mind the possibility of losing this particular game. not if it meant staying close to you, even if only through a screen.

[charrlote365]

One Step Deeper

Reference Idol: fromis_9 LEE CHAEYOUNG Word Count: 10.513

Tags: Pranks, feet, Kpop idol, fantasy, fromis_9, Lee Chaeyoung

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, the kind where the sunlight filters through the curtains just enough to cast a golden glow over the room. I had been lazying around in my living room, surrounded by my collection of Marvel action figures, each meticulously assembled and proudly displayed on the shelves. The doorbell rang, breaking the silence.

"Coming!" I called out, pushing myself off the couch and heading towards the door.

As soon as I peeked from the door hole before opening it, I could see there stood Chaeyoung in front of my door, her bright smile lighting up her face. She was wearing a casual outfit, and a straw hat. Yeah, summer has arrived, and she already look hot in her outfit. Ehem, hot, I mean literally hot since its 38C outside today. Yet, still managed to look effortlessly chic, as always. Fate works in a mysterious way, and somehow Chaeyoung and I had been 'close' for years, long before she became an idol. It feels like as if I'm her guardian angel. Despite her busy schedule, we still made time to hang out whenever possible.

"Hey there, stranger danger," she greeted, stepping inside. "I brought some snacks!"

"Hey! Stranger danger?? You're even more dangerous person here," I teased back, stepping aside to let her in. "Snacks, huh? Aww you really know the way to my heart."

We settled into the living room, munching on chips and catching up on life. It wasn’t long before Chaeyoung, ever the prankster, suggested we play a game to spice things up.

"You don't have games around to play? Boring. How about Truth or Dare?" she suggested with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Alright," I agreed, knowing full well that with Chaeyoung, this game could go anywhere.

We took turns, the questions and dares starting off innocently enough. She dared me to sing a snippet of one of her songs in the most dramatic way possible, and I dared her to do a silly dance routine. Laughter filled the room, each round bringing us closer to the inevitable escalation.

It was Chaeyoung’s turn to dare me again. She grinned wickedly, and I knew I was in for it.

"I dare you lay on the floor and my feet right on your dick," she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief holding laugh.

I raised an eyebrow, a sense of foreboding creeping in. "What did you just say????"

"You don't dare?? Huh, pussy," she replied, her grin widening.

Reluctantly, I stood up, and laying on the floor. This situation is really bad for me, because although it's degrading, I found it to be sexy and exciting. I dont know what Chaeyoung is thinking, she maybe went crazy after walking under that hot weather outside.

Chaeyoung stood up, slipping off her casual shoes to reveal a pair of sleek, brown heels with some leather laces around it and I could see her toe nails painted black, making the whole feet set looking elegant yet deadly to my heart.

"Since I'm in good mood now, let me spare you this time, but if you lose the next round, I’m stepping on your dick," she declared, her tone both playful and serious.

My heart raced. This was a high-stakes game now. We started the next round, the tension palpable. The question was simple, but my nerves got the better of me, and I gave the answer.

Chaeyoung burst out laughing, seeing my defeat. "Looks like I win!"

I watched, half in horror, half in excitement, as she positioned her heel above my delicate junior. With a teasing glance in my direction, she applied pressure, the crunch of my pepe echoing in the room. My beloved junior is being crushed by her heels, and I couldn't help my self to let a moan out.

"Ahh.. Chaeng ahh.. No, Chaeng! Stop! Please, I'm begging you!" I yelled, as I reached out my hand and gripped her legs, feigning desperation.

She paused for a moment, her heel still on the top of my dick. "Oh? Are you really begging me?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Yes! Think of my future! Our future! Our kids!" I pleaded dramatically, my hands clasped her legs even harder.

Chaeyoung laughed, a bright, infectious sound. "You're so dramatic! I know you're enjoying it right," she said, pressing down even harder slowly.

"Chaeyoung, nooo!" I continued, my voice a mix of genuine concern and playful exaggeration. "You're a monster!"

I could feel her heels from my dick skin, the texture is hard, and the way she was stepping hard on it while rubbing them on my junior making me more excited, the pain was turning into tickles, which slowly grew into ecstasy. Without even realizing it, my body arched back as I push my crotch even harder on the surface of her heels and matching the rubbing rhyme of her foot on my crotch. I've reached my limit and my eyes started to roll back as my body twitched hard, I finally came. I had never come that hard in my whole life, that's the most satisfying thing ever. And you know what? She realized what just happened.

"Ohh..You actually look like you're enjoying this," she teased, stepping back and surveying the damage. My cum was over all the places. It squirted out from my short pants onto the floor and all over her feet temple.

I, who still trying to catch a breath, shaking my head. "Maybe I am. It's weirdly satisfying, but sorry, I messed up your heels and my cement is now all over your feet."

She raised an eyebrow, her grin widening. "Yeah? and whose fault is that? Now lick clean them up"

I nodded, still feeling the adrenaline rush. "Okayy!! Bring it on!", I then licked her starting from her thighs. She was holding herself from laughing from the tickles. Oh my good lawd she's indeed an idol. Her legs were shaved clean so they were so smooth and pale white. My tongue was surfing on her skin like I was licking a giant soap bar mixed with her skin pheromones.

"Ahh.. that tickles", she said with her breath getting faster. She must be feeling it too. I continued licking to her feet, there's mixed aroma of my cement, her sweat, her perfume and her feet odor. They all combined together as a cocktail of sensation that's beyond words, hitting my taste and smell buds and I could feel my dick getting bigger again.

"Hey, I saw that". She said while looking how big my dick got big again even after all that just happened. "Let me kill it again", she said with a grin on her face.

I swallowed hard, knowing what's going to happen (again). "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?", I teased her.

She nodded slowly few times while looking straight at me, her grin mischievous. "Absolutely. Ready?". I quickly laid down on the floor again with my pepe standing up hard rock. Her face clearly showed she really enjoying to tease me… with her feet. She placed her feet around my dick with a deliberate, almost with love care, as if mocking the very fragility of it. My dick, wrapped in her delicate feet, I could feel her skin wrapping them, it kind of feel cold, despite the heat of our situation right now. My cement from before added the sticky feeling to it and acted as grease to smooth out the friction between our skin. Chaeyoung’s grin widened, and I could see the glint of mischief in her eyes.

Slowly, she started grinding my dick with both of her feet, clamping them up around as if she wanted to strangle down my dick. The sharp feeling suddenly raised within it, my delicate dick. I couldn't help myself from moaning again. "Begging won't help you now," she teased, her voice a sing-song taunt that sent shivers down my spine knowing how crazy she could be. She held the position, allowing my tense to build.

From my point of view from the floor, I could see every muscle in her leg and the blue veins bulging from her feet, and the way her feet strangling my dick slowly seemed almost like suspended in time. The heel hovered graciously, casting a small shadow to the side of us, away from the sunray shining through the window. My heart pounded in my chest as I watched, caught in a mix of excitement and fear of my dick getting crushed by her big feet as she's is grinding them even harder and faster. I couldn't hold it anymore, I wanted to let her know how good it felt.

"Chaeyoung, pleaseee, It feels so good now so please don't stop. I'm going to come againn very soonn" I pleaded, my voice cracking with a blend of genuine concern and playful desperation. I knew she wouldn’t stop anyways, but part of the thrill was in the act of begging, in the slim, tantalizing hope that she could feel the excitement together with me.

She glanced down at me, her eyes twinkling with delight. "You're really going to make me do this, huh?" she asked, her tone both teasing and triumphant. Her foot descended deeper slowly, then.. out of nowhere, as if it's a jump scare from a cheap horror movie, she gripped my dick with her feet much harder and even put her weight on them, as I didn't expected that to happen, I shouted so loud I feared the whole neighborhood could hear my scream.

"Chaeyoung ahhhhhh!" I cried out loud, as I finally came the second time, a strange exhilaration coursed through me like a lighting. I couldn't tell apart between the pain and the feeling of ecstasy anymore as they both were overwhelming me at the same time.

I was twitching like a broken doll on the floor. "You're a monster!" I yelled, half-laughing, half-serious. She found it exhilarating that I was in a such pathetic situation.

"And I know you're loving every second of this," she replied, stepping back to enjoy my pathetic face. She wiggled her toes, as if to spread out my cement which now covered her feet even thicker. She then suddenly sat down on the floor and bowed down towards me and started cleaning my dick with her mouth. I could feel the deep warmth from inside of her mouth since her feet was kind of cold earlier. She licked and sucked the leftover cements from my dick tip like its the last sip from the boba drink. I Couldn't help myself not to put my hands on her head and push her head down to my crotch to keep her doing whatever she's doing right now.

When she finished, she looked up to me with her puppy eyes and gulped everything she just licked from my dick and asked, "Happy now?".

I looked at her, then changed my view to all the mess we made. "Maybe?," I teasingly answered, a grin spreading across my face.

Chaeyoung’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction as she took her place back on the couch. "I knew it. Ready for more?"

I was frozen. I thought this already ended but now she asked to do even more. I nodded slowly, still feeling the tickle-ness on my dick. "B-Bring it on, Chaeyoung. But please, be gentle this time with me!"

She laughed hard, nodding. "Aight, Deal. But now, it's your turn to show me what the feet of yours can do to me." -End note: -I'm not into feet so I dunno if this considered good for feet lovers. Can comment if you're one of them lol. -Picked Chaeyoung again this time as reference since somehow I feel most comfortable with her in my head and heart with different kind of plots. -My next work will be about Hayoung! A sweet one almost like fluff like.. hopefully.

[pacifymebby]

You’re imagines are so good! Love the character accuracy. Imagine the peaky blinders boys having a s/o who is super into self care, and wants to pamper them as well. Like skin care, body/scalp massages, baths, etc.

This is so cute i love it, i did it as kind of modern au centered because i feel like self care is probably way more varied now than it used to be?

Tommy

🌿I feel like he looks after himself and isn't going to be as opposed to this as you might expect a bloody-minded toxic masculinity gangster to be.

🌿Especially not the candlelit baths, the back rubs and anything else which involves close physical contact with you...

🌿Both 20s Tommy and Modern! Tommy are very serious men, their brain is always set in overdrive, his thoughts buzzing and whirring like a broken machine at all hours. He never switches off and you worry about him.

🌿"Ain't good for you Tommy, you're always lost inside your own head... Driving yourself crazy, you need to switch off every now and then... Let me help you..."

🌿 You know exactly the tone to take to get him to leave his work and come to you, oh so slightly suggestive, tempting... And when it comes to you Tommy doesnt have much resistance...

🌿You probably have a really fancy bathroom with a sunken in tub, jacuzzi jets and all, which Tommy had built for you but which you always intended on sharing with him. I'm picturing this but with more house plants, more candles...

🌿 You put his favourite record on and soak in the tub with him, he holds you in his lap, definitely tries to take the vibe somewhere else

🌿But you are determined that this is going to be more than just a steamy afternoon of shower sex... You promised to help him relax and you're going to.

🌿 "Oh angel no... I don't need that..." he says when you present him with a facemask, its a sheet mask and he just looks at you all "we look like something out of a horror movie y/n" "yes but its going to make your skin feel heavenly..." "already heavenly love..." he smirks making you smile a little embarassed. "Well yeah, I mean you are..." you start but he just shakes his head, "was talking about you angel..."

🌿Tommys been through a lot and has a lot of pent up stress stored in his muscles, he doesn't realise quite how much trauma he's holding in his body until he starts to relax, and when he realises everything he's carrying with me, all these emotions he shuts out to survive, he panics a bit... He can't let himself unwind completely or he's sure he'll fall apart.

🌿So he tries to make up excuses to cut short your pamper session, standing up to get out of the bath, taking his face mask off with some excuse about having an important call that needs to be made...

🌿You're not stupid though, you know what he's doing and so with one puppy dog eye look at him, you beg him to stay just a little longer. And he can't say no to you when you look at him like that so he returns to you.

🌿You wash his hair and massage his head, you tell him to close his eyes and you treat him so delicately. He's never felt this kind of care before, this good goosebump feeling, the hairs on his neck standing on end at the slightest touch from you. He loves it.

🌿You give him a little face massage too, telling him to close his eyes, sitting in his lap and very gently, delicately massaging his temples, his cheeks and jaw. He didn't even know you could carry tension in your face like that but your touch is magic. And when you finsih it with a kiss pressed to his lips he pulls you in for a deeper one.

🌿 Tommy also likes to live the life of luxury, he always aspired to reach the levels of those higher social classes, he always wanted what they have and so when you beg him to go on a spa week with you he obliges. Its one of those things the rich do after all.

🌿He gets a taste for massages and takes you on many spa weekends. If he has a particularly troubling problem he needs to mull over he will often lie on his back in the sauna and think things through.

🌿Loves an ice bath/plunge pool because he's a fucking sociopath.

Alfie

🐻 Alfie has never had someone try to take care of him like this, he's not really used to having people take care of him at all but this is even more unfamiliar... As far as Alfie is concerned "self-care" is just "womans stuff ain't it"

🐻 "Well no Alf its not really, anyone can do it and well yknow... Youre always spoilin me aren't you," "rotten zieskiet, absolutely rotten," "well yeah, exactly... I wanna make it up to you, wanna look after you for once..."

🐻 He will argue, "But you see my little zieskiet thats just not how this works yeah, you and me yeah... You're my little girl ain't you," "yeah but..." "right, exactly right, you're my little girl and there ain't no buts about it zieskiet, I take care of you.. You don't want for anythin... You don't need to look after me, I do that myself right..."

🐻 "But Alfie," you whine fixing him with a pout and the most irresistible puppy eyes, "I want to look after you..."

🐻 So he lets you do it to make you happy... Of course he grumbles about it anyway, even if he's enjoying it. He can't drop his grumpy old man act now...

🐻 He lets you run him a hot bath, let's you use your essential oils, lets you wash his hair and condition his beard... On the condition that whilst you wash him you sing for him, something nice and sweet and low. When you're singing for him thats when he really lets himself relax, closing his eyes and feeling the heat from the water soak into him.

🐻He finds that he's able to relax and enjoy it but he can't actually admit to that, he rolls his eyes, tells you he's only doing it so that you'll stop hastling him about it, only doing it because it makes you happy...

🐻 But he secretly loves when you climb into the bath with him and massage his sore muscles, he loves feeling you comb your fingers through his beard and his hair.

🐻 Will not let you put a facemask on him, uses his beard as an excuse, also tells you he's got really senstive skin which is definitely another excuse... Five minutes ago he was pretending he didn't know what a skincare routine was, so how on earth he'd know whether he had sensitive skin or not you don't know...

🐻 You definitely teach this man the power and divine pleasure that is ✨moisturising✨ he gets dry skin and it gets worse when he's stressed so you teach him all about how to wash his face and how to moisturise properly, you make him promise he'll follow his routine every day, "happy skin means happy everything else..." you tell him and he just rolls his eyes and chunters away.

🐻 He will always insist you join him in the bath, he'll tell you he can't possibly relax if his little zieskiet isn't close by.

🐻 I feel like a lot of your self care tricks would be really good for his sciatica as well, relaxing when thats playing up, letting you take care of him. It's what he needs but it all has to be done under the pretence that its to make you happy and that hes the one looking after you.

🐻 At first he is definitely a little wary of letting you see him naked in a non sexual way, in a way where he is the vulnerable one and you're really paying attention to him... When you're not having sex being naked together makes him a little self concious, he thinks a massage will draw attention to his injuries ans scars, is worried you'll see him for the broken/breaking down man he really is

🐻 You tracing the ridges and lines of his scars, kissing them lightly when you're massaging him. Nuzzling into his neck and kissing him as your fingers trail the marbled scarring on his waist and his shoulder.

🐻 Theres one element of self care that Alfie really can get behind and thats meditation. He really enjoys sitting peacefully, letting his mind calm and settle, letting his thoughts wash over and away one by one. He believes it enhances his intelligence and insight, believes that by calming his mind he's making himself sharper.

🐻 He loves a hot stone bed more than he cares to admit but when his back is playing up lying on one of those feeling the heat relax his body slowly, its so soothing... He'll never go to a spa alone however, he always takes you as an excuse to be there.

Arthur

🍂 "You fuckin what? You're gonna make me feel better with some nice smells?"

🍂 Will not let you put "mud" on his face. "Darlin that's just fuckin wrong int it... Fuckin mud on your face? Like mud... From the ground..."

🍂 Arthur is completely baffled by the whole thing and honestly a little bit scared. It all just sounds like "girl stuff" stuff that his mates would take the everloving piss out of him if he admitted to trying it.

🍂 But you know Arthur, he might have that tough guy exterior, might come across as harsh and angry and well, rough... But underneath it he's hiding a delicate side, a side that you know would benefit from just a little self care.

🍂 You have to trick him into it, set some kind of trap because he won't conciously go near anything ylang ylang scented.

🍂 Is genuinely petrified of the shop Lush, crosses the street so he doesn't even have to walk past the front door. He's scared one of the shop assistants will lure him in with a polite hello and then drag him inside kicking and screaming, smothering him in all sorts of oils and bath shite. Once when you were just dropping in to buy a facemask he caught your hand and very very seriously told you to "be careful in there love, don't let anyone grab you" he even shuddered/had a nervous twitch as he watched you go in.

🍂 He doesn't know how to be taken care of, as the eldest son its always been his responsibility to take care of everyone else, he hasn't really been shown much love or care from many people. Most people are terrified of him, his brother who he should be closest to doesn't let him talk about feelings, and he's too embarassed about admiting "failure" to go to his aunt or anyone else for comfort.

🍂 From the first time you spoke to him you've been determined to show him that care. You looked at him, his nervous eyes, that lack of self confidence he was doing so well to hide, and you just thought "this is a man who needs a hot bath and a really good head massage"

🍂 But Arthur is so awkward and standoffish whenever you try to look after him. He hates it if you're "soft" on him because he thinks its imasculating and patronising. He finds it all so embarrassing and he'll go the most adorable shade of bright red whenever you so much as kiss his cheek.

🍂 The first time you suggest a nice candlelit bath he gets interested but thats because baths are literally just for fucking as far as he's concerned and he's dissapointed to realise that you have something else in mind.

🍂 Lots of protests, "y/n come on now we don't have to do this... This is just... I don't need to relax i am relaxed..." "Arthur you haven't been relaxed since your umbilical cord got cut..."

🍂 But once you're alone together in that bath he finally begins to relax. You tell him to close his eyes and at first he refuses or asks why. "Cause its better for relaxing..." "You're gonna do somet to me aren't you... Gonna use one of them fuckin mud potions..." "Promise I'm not..." you try to take his anxiety seriously but "mud potions" is a difficult thing not to laugh at.

🍂 He does his best to relax though and grows to love the feeling of your fingers in his hair, it really does feel like a weight being lifted.

🍂 His favourite thing is to close his eyes and lie back against your chest, the skin on skin contact, the steam and warm water doing wonders to slow his racing mind right down.

🍂 You give him hand massages a lot and he really likes learning how to give them to you too. You teach him where your pressure points are and he concentrates really hard on learning exactly how to take care of you too.

🍂 And sometimes when you're in the bath together you let your hand travel a little lower than usual, you let his idea of bath time win out.

🍂 You take him to a spa and he's so unnerved, he's worried he'll be recognised by someone and his reputation of being a ferocious gangster will be ruined. But he does like the sauna, trouble is it puts him in the mood for fucking...

🍂 Doesnt like a steam room, he feels too vulnerable in there because its dark and steamy and he gets claustrophobic not being able to see so well. If you go into the steam room he will stand guard outside so that nothing bad can happen to you in there.

🍂 You teach him lots of different breathing exercises and try to get him into stretching. They're such effective ways of relieveing tension and you know they'd do him the world of good. But he's not very flexible and he just grumbles. He is however astounded by how bendy you are and will often ask you to show him certain poses just so he can get a good look at you.

🍂 He does try to remember the breathing exercises and they do actually really help him with his ptsd.

John

🌼 I feel like John would be down for doing facemasks with you, you painting his face with some ugly green clay mask, him painting yours with a glittery gold one, taking silly selfies with you.

🌼 He definitely strikes me as a "splashes face with cold water and dries it on an old tshirt" kind of skin care routine boy but you're determined to change his primitive ways.

🌼 He also definitely loves a spa day and you two frequently dissappear to some fancy spa retreat for the weekend.

🌼 Loves a steam room/sauna combination, especially when you join him, theres something really sexy about watching you lie on your back in a bikini, lit up by the dim orange glow of the sauna. That musky essential oils smell lingering in the air... The little beads of sweat on your breasts as your chest rises and falls... "Lie down John, stop starring at me you're supposed to be relaxing..." "Oh I'm relaxed flower don't worry about me..."

🌼 Loves a massage, especially when you go all professional on him with the essential oils. When you get him to lie face down on the bed and climb on top of him to massage his back. Feeling your hands all over him, feeling your legs straddling him...

🌼 You know what else is a good stress reliever love? An orgasm.

🌼 You put cucumber on his eyes when he's in the bath and he immediately thanks you for the snack and eats it. You're speechless, how do you even begin to tell him thats not what thats for.

Bonnie

🍀 Perfectly happy to be silly with you and will let you do whatever you want to him if it makes you happy... So he lets you work out his skin type and prepare the perfect face mask...

🍀 Actually sometimes he'll acompany you out into the forest to find the berries and plants you need to make your little self care rememdies with, its a good excuse to spend time with you and he finds it incredible how knowledgeable about plants and herbs you are...

🍀Does point out that this facemask you've mixed up for yourself is just a really fancy overnight oats recipe... Does eat a spoonful and imediately regrets it wincing and spitting it out.

🍀 It does take quite a lot to convince him that self-care isn't the same as make up and stuff, he's always telling you not to "buy into all that wellness shite" because its just a new capitalist method of getting your money off you...

🍀 And you know, he's not completely wrong, but self care isn't just about buying stuff and you have to try and teach him that before he'll really let you show him stuff. Showing him how you make natural face masks, moisturisers and bath salts does help this process.

🍀 He has to take care of his body for his boxing and he's no stranger to a sports massage, actually more often than not he's the one trying to get you to let him give you a back rub... Whenever you offer he always starts on you, squeezing your shoulders, telling you you seem tense. He's such a smooth talker you don't even realise he's derailed your plan until he's smoothing warm lavender oil over your back, working your muscles skillfully. And when you do realise you don't want to ask him to stop.

🍀 After his fights you want to take good care of him and you always insist he spends the following day with you, relaxing... You spoil him with a hot bath to sooth his sore muscles, scented candles and nature sounds asmr music, massages, he even lets you put a hair mask in his curls.

🍀He's always been torn about things like spa days, hes always thought they were something for posh people, wives of men who play too much golf... But again, he'll do anything if you ask him enough times, so he comes with you one day and he's adorably awkward and hesitant about everything.

🍀 You pick his treatments for him and he really really has to trust you because he's not sure what an "all over body sugar scrub" is but it sounds, intimidating? Afterwards when you ask for his review he just grins, "I'd have liked it more if it was you in there with me..."

🍀 Ultimately though Bonnie's idea of self care is a day in the woods, or by a river with you. Somewhere peaceful, quiet. Lying back against a tree trunk with you in his arms.

🍀 "Really dove, takin care of my girls what makes me feel good, enough with your scented candles now eh, let me look after you, it's not like i ain't good at it..." he says whispering the last sentence in your ear, kissing your neck as he starts to massage your shoulders.

🍀 You're literally never winning this battle sorry.

Isaiah

🐀 Will roll his eyes when you suggest a self care night, calls it your "hippy dippy bullshit" teases you and asks if you're going to do his birth chart whilst you're at it... "Maybe I should Si, might find out why you're such a snide git eh?" You'll probably regret flashing him that cheeky smile.

🐀So aye, he's not exactly easy to convince, he has the same opinion on self care as most the other men... That its girls stuff, that it ain't manly to smell like lavender and camomile.

🐀But, a little wine, a few candles and a hot bath... You with your legs wrapped around his waist, your fingers massaging his scalp gently... Whats not to like about that... He really likes how close it makes you feel, the connection between you strengthening.

🐀Thats more to do with the fact he's being vulnerable with you and his vulnerability is being met with care and love, rather than down to the fact you've sugar scrub massaged his back and legs.

🐀He will let you do facemasks with him but it will come accompanied by many threats, "you tell anyone about this mousy and I promise you you'll regret it..." but you're not scared of him and so you tease him with the threat of telling his touch guy gangster friends all the time. You start getting your own way much more often.

🐀I think he probably enjoys the tension of letting you shave him with an open razor blade, i don't know if this counts as self care so much as just a personal hygiene thing but either way, its a very intense and intimate experience and you're the only person he trusts to do it because you're so gentle and delicate with it that you never cut him.

🐀He fancies himself a social climber and enjoys the status of being able to "treat his girl to a relaxing weekend away" he definitely enjoys taking you to spas and baths, but he tends to let you go off for all the fancy treatments and just enjoys swimming in the pool and relaxing on the stone beds or in the sauna.

🐀Another man who needs to be taught about the power of moisturising. His skin gets dry and you buy him moisturisers and give him little face massages. He's much better at remembering to do his little skincare routine than alfie is because he cares a lot about the way he looks.

🐀"Fuckin drop it with the meditation shit love, i go to church I say my prayers, I don't need to do deep breathing to cleanse my soul..." he just won't do it, won't try your stretches either because "I go to the gym don't I, yogas for girls love..."

🐀Pulls stupid faces at you when you put cucumber on his eyes.

Michael

☘️Out of all the men he takes care of himself the best. He already has a skincare routine, has several serums he uses too.

☘️ So it doesn't take much to convince him of other self care activities. However, don't you dare call it self care. "Look I'm all for lookin after meself like i just don't see why we've got to give it some soft girly name now..."

☘️ He really loves being pampered, kind of likes being treated like a king... His cousins take the piss out of him for it but he doesn't care... "Don't really see whats embarrassing about having my girl massage me back after work... Don't it make me more of a man that I've got a woman who's obsessed with me..." you never let it slide when he talks about you like that but you also know why he's doing it. He's just trying to get his cousins off his back.

☘️ Would probably spend every weekend at the spa if he thought he could get away with it. He likes to throw his cash around and receive special treatment.

☘️ He really really loves a salt scrub and he's a secret fan of a facial too.

☘️He's never the one to suggest that the two of you have a self-care evening together but you can always tell when he needs one and he never refuses your offer.

☘️You have a mini spa built into your house, a sauna and a hot tub, sometimes when you're having once of your self care nights you find yourself next to him in the hot tub, your mood changing.. Your mind drifting to other things, but when Michael is relaxing he's relaxing and theres no disturbing him.

☘️"Not now love eh, later maybe..." his little spa is sacred to him. You're astounded because he must be the first man to turn down the offer of a hot tub fuck.

[gogandmagog]

I just want you to know that the Thematic Implications of Ken Ford dying in WWI instead of Walter lives in my brain now. The way it would so subtly change the story! That being the Hero won't save you, that being the Heroine doesn't mean you get your prize at the end, that "the white flame of sacrifice" doesn't mean you will get to be the sacrificial lamb--that the sensitive genius will have to live with the horrors anyway. Rilla being the symbol of all those girls who were left without sweethearts instead of Una--who might instead by a symbol of all those girls who found their sweethearts irrevocably changed. Obsessed.

SO WELL SAID, @sparrowsarus!!!!   VERY MUCH. All of this, very much.     Obviously, I understand why it had to be a Blythe, for the simple fact that it cuts the reader ever so much deeper than the converse option of losing the very negligible Ken Ford... Walter is a loss that stings everyone, because we are so profoundly attached to him, and if not to him, then to his family. What hurts them hurts us. But everything you say does feel thematically more attractive to the after-shocks message underlying in the story, because of the occasional inference to the still-coming uphill battle of post-war recovery. Maud can be quoted as personally saying, “If ever peace comes again, we will not know how to live in it.” And really, I think of Rilla were to have ever to’ve had a sequel, this thought, together with what you’ve outlined would’ve been far more realistic to grapple with. Rilla’s ending, as it stands, is rooted in an idealistic ‘return’ to innocence, as we see demonstrated with the coinciding return of her childhood lisp... but to me it’s also another semi-contrived signature fairytale ending that we often see in LMM’s classic wrap-up scenes. And for me, this is the only time I actually do clock her classic quick wrap-up as contrived. Usually, I fully recognise that her books were meant for children; that she herself calls them fairytales, and states that the rules laid out in her books would never work in real life. That the natural adult world and the natural adult questions that come with them, don’t have a place or belong in these fairytales. Kids have an effortless trust in happy-ever-afters that grownups struggle with. But Rilla spent so long being seeped in harsh reality, and the pain of a very ugly War... that really, if not for x-ray vision we get from TBAQ that shows us the Blythe’s (and Una’s!) residual struggle, the ending Rilla got would almost feel unequal to the pain in its pages.

The sensitive genius having to live with the horrors anyway? Could’ve been an even stronger message of hope and resilience, in some ways. Learning the hard parts of Keeping the Faith. Faith put to the test, faith contending with survivors guilt.

Rilla, in Una’s spot, though! I kind of waffle with the idea of her as being a lifelong leftover sweetheart, the way Una is. Right before Ken comes back, Rilla’s coolly resigned herself to the notion of him never coming back for her, and in the very next moment shrugs it off and has decided to go to Redmond after all, lol. 😅 Of course she would’ve had an appropriate period of mourning for Ken, but I honestly think she would’ve married someone else, in the years following.

[clawbehavior]

we're five episodes into Shogun, which means we're halfway through the series and all the major plotlines have been introduced and the characters characterized. and i'm starting to notice things. 

namely, toranaga is becoming increasingly unlikeable. it started when he abandoned blackthorne to die after being saved by the man hours earlier, but it reached its peak with the return of the young heir's mother and the reveal that she's using the council against toranaga to protect her son. because then what is toranaga going to war for? we were told via the dead king's widow that toranaga needs to protect the young heir against the council, but clearly that's not true. so what's he doing? it bothered me that toranaga could be so kind to the young heir, playing with him and advising him, while neglecting his own son, whose insecurity around his father was so transparent that he was easily manipulated into starting a war. but then i wondered if toranaga was showing his true self (his third heart) to his son. that scene where he says "you categorize everyone as enemies and friends when you only have yourself" implies that he sees everyone as a potential enemy, which can only happen if his self-interests are at odds with everyone else's. seeing the end of episode five, i think toranaga is not what he seems. we know he can be duplicitous. he plays uncle and nephew against each other so easily, getting rid of the problem of their growing power by doing so. i think the falcon motif that's ever present in the show represents toranaga, flying against the sun so his prey can't see him until it's too late (episode one). he's fooling everyone, including his allies, which brings me to my next point. 

mariko's story is not going to end well. i didn't know why this was a limited series with no chance of a season two until we got her backstory. mariko is straight up suicidal, just looking for a purposeful/honorable way to do it. if blackthorne can see this within days of meeting her, across a huge cultural divide and despite language differences, then toranaga has clocked this about her too, which doesn't bode well for her life. the mariko-blackthorne-husband love triangle subplot serves a deeper function of revealing her psyche to us.  she can't let go of her feelings of injustice and dishonor from her family's deaths. (the flashback we get of her past shows her father's haunted expression because that's how she remembers the event, with horror rather than disgust for his actions.) this is why she tells blackthorne the truth about her family when ordered to by her husband, even though blackthorne tells her to lie and tell him something else because her husband won't know. mariko can't let go of what happened to her family (and her husband doesn't let her). she's been spiritually dead for ages and the return of her husband from the dead not only means she cheated, which someone with her honor code can't live with, it means she cannot be happy with blackthorne. her tragic past coupled with her strong feelings towards honor/dishonor makes her easy for toranaga to use, though it's unclear for what.

interestingly, mariko and blackthornes' opposing ideologies are why they survived and found each other. mariko resists quietly, inside her soul (the eightfold fence), turning to her Christian faith and becoming devout and learned in Portuguese to speak with the priests. this is how she ends up as blackthorne's translator, a position of power and later romance. blackthorne, in contrast, resists outwardly and every step of the way. that scene where toranaga tells him to give up because he's outnumbered and blackthorne replies "unless i win" captures his character perfectly. he's going to fight until the last second, which is why he survives the journey to Japan, and why he gets separated from his men and integrated into a foreign culture, and why he steers the ship to safety rather than being left behind to die. that stubbornness to live shows up as a tendency for breaking all the rules, the result of which is meeting mariko and unintentionally getting her to fall in love with him. it's so fascinating how their ideologies have set them apart from their own people and brought them together while indicating their incompatibility. 

the show does a good job of layering characters and keeping them consistent, so i have faith that they'll return to yabushige's scary character. him torturing a sailor to death in pursuit of an existential question in a way so barbaric that it scares even the villagers did an excellent job in setting the tone of the show in episode one and setting the show apart from other historic period dramas. so it's disappointing to see him turn into a conniving goofball. hopefully this is a short term thing. 

i haven't been so intrigued by the political machinations within a show in a long while, probably since GoT. can't wait to see how the rest of it plays out 

gif below courtesy of @yocalio. look at toranaga's face shadowed in the sunlight. we don't fully know him.

[bibibbon]

On the bluesky saw a post talking about the flying nomu.

And...it hits me how Shig saw a nomu going especially after Izu and ....did nothing. He didn't find that odd.

Did Izu recognized the flying nomu as the lackey?

Once again, the Nomus are wasted in this damn story.

So my ask here is

1) how possum/shig controls the Nomus? Bc if we go with "they have animal mentality" well, you can dominate a lion but you need to put work and shig didn't show us that

2) what happened after? Like the flying nomu was killed by Stain(if I remember right) and then...no one makes any investigation or smth??.bc I have two theories here either people did some research and find out who the kid was and opt to be silent or no one knew not even Izu and the bk's lackeys died completely unknown and uncared. Not even his grandpa gave a fuck.

Hi @mikeellee 👋

Agreed the nomu's do have a lot of wasted potential within the series and its a shame horikoshi didn't expand on them more whether be the horror, social and societal aspects surrounding the nomu's.

To answer your questions izuku didn't recognise that the nomu that attacked him was one of bkaugo's childhood friends. This seemed to be just a tiny easter egg for the readers and its a shame that it's never brought up again because

1)it would of played well into izuku's characterisation since he is really observant

2) would of added the horror into mha early on. You could have izuku doubting himself and saying oh this nomu kind of reminds me of tsuaba but then trying to brush that concern of until its brought back up

3) it would of connected early links to Dr garaki and important and underutilised plot point in the series

(Its weird hori did say that he would delve deeper into the nomu's but never truly did)

I don't think shigaraki sought to particulaty control the nomu's in the hosu arc he wanted them to cause chaos and bring awareness to his ideals and himself which is something that both the nomu's and stain helped achieve for him.

Now in terms of controlling nomu we know when they are given a lot of quirks they practically become braindead and their intelligence is significantly reduced. Some including I speculate that a brainwashing type of quirk or Dr garaki wires their brains to take instructions (however none is confirmed).

Yet this process is interesting because it suggests that a nomu can break out of that thought process like kurogiri and then what?

We know within the series that research was done on who the nomu's are and detective naomasa reports to all might about the nomu's identities. Iam assuming that this should be done for all of the nomu's discovered but this information was kept secret and never leaked to the public and therefore never leaked to izuku.

When the information was leaked after the war arc it was labeled to be so big to be the final nail in the coffin of hero society in general and ended up taking away any trust people had in heroes and hero society.

Nomu's could of been explored in multiple ways like:

Blurring the line between people and easily discardable puppets. It would make society question what it means to be a person since it can't be established by looks and it could tie in heteramorphis discrimation

Can heroes kill nomu's would society allow that? (Ending does talk a bit about this)

How are nomu's created?

Imagine one of your loved ones is a nomu and the way it would damage people like the situation to do with tsuaba and kurogiri

Puppets that can kill maybe the hpsc would want them if they can train them?

How are they created? What does Dr garaki do and how does he use them? Maybe they can be an ultimate super weapon of his that he uses to do his work

[doofus-and-dragons]

Thoughts on Malevolent e1:

Starting off strong with amnesia

Who is this echoed robo Stanley parable mother fucker I like him?

Rip Arthur

"What is it?" "A book" Thank you Narator who's voice keeps getting progressively deeper

Arthur seems pathetic little man he's cute

WHO IS THIS ANGRY ROBO BITCH GODDAMN THE MAN HAS NO MEMORIES CHILLAX

"Your whimpering is awfully distracting" Maybe don't posses a pathetic little bitch (lovingly)

Bound? Seems kind of gay if you ask me

WHO ARE YOU GAY ROBO BITCH

Watch it there's a... piano? Angry keyboard dog?

I need Arthur carnaly. First episode and he whimpers. WHIMPERS WHILE BEING TOLD WHAT TO DO BY AN AGRESSIVE VOICE

AND HE PLAYS PIANO

HE WILL BE MY WIFE

Ah yes, best first date idea: hide the body of your busniess partner and best friend while plotting a possible murder together.

Eddie is fair. I would also be suspicious of this whimpering buffoon.

Who the hell is this demon robo dude? He's kind of toxic and I love him.

"Look at him" "I cant" Dude forgot he took Arthur's eyes XD

Arthur baby I love you so much please don't let Eddie beat you up

"Look in the mirror I want to look at you." Kinda gay bro

"I do not like to be pushed around." Sound like something a guy who likes to be pushed around would say

"...noted." note the sarcasm in that echoed tone.

Demon voice, you seem like you keep forgetting Arthur is a very good detective.

Oh? Lore drop already? Fucking awesome

YES INTRODUCING ALTERNATE TIMELINES ALREADY! IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS SHIT!

DEAD VOICE GUY YEEEAH

ITS 1934!?!? FUCK YEAH!!!!

Someone is avoiding the questioooon

Mayhaps it is because ye voice has trauma?

Oh yeah. Trauma dump already.

It must be 1934, taxi fair is less than 3 bucks. Damn

"Describe everything to me." Arthur you are so cute.

Yessss 1934 music! I love it.

This voice guy is really trying to push his emotions down and it isn't working that well. Babygirl we can all tell you're troubled. Do you need a hug? A cup of cocoa?

"Crouch low and put your back against the ckunter." "Arthur: *old man groaning sounds*" babygirl that's not very sneaky

"Relax. That was a close call. it won't be the last." That's reassuring.

That "well done arthur" sounded awfully suspicious

Arthur is so smart and this traumatized voice keeps forgetting that.

Oh shit he already has an enemy he doesn't know. This escalated quite quickly

These two are already bickering.

This guy is surprisingly angry about him not helping the police investigate a murder he was already investigating the disappearance of the victim. Chill out dude he's a PI not a criminal investigator.

"Arthur it's another small room!" It sounded so aggressively excited that I had to stop because I started laughing that was so cute what.

Hm. Sounds creepy...and hot.

What was that name again??? Asking for a friend ofc.

Dint turn random stones have you learned nothing from horror movies? Oh, wait, 1934. Right.

Arthur would be the horror movie girl who survives because she wants nothing to do with the stupid false solutions.

PORTAL TO HELL PORTAL TO HELL PORTAL TO HELL!!!

AAAHH THAT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD!! HELL YEAH!!!

[writeriguess]

The world outside the Umbrella Academy was dark and cold, the night casting long shadows over the street. But inside, where the two of you sat, there was warmth. A small fire crackled in the fireplace, its light dancing off the walls. The sound was soft, barely audible over the silence that hung between you and Five.

He sat next to you on the couch, his posture rigid, eyes distant as if he was staring into a past that refused to let him go. You knew that look well. It was one of the many he wore when his mind wandered back to the countless horrors he had witnessed—the kind that left scars not visible to the naked eye.

You reached out, gently placing your hand over his. The touch brought him back, his green eyes snapping to yours, surprise flickering in their depths before they softened. He didn’t pull away. Instead, he turned his hand over, lacing his fingers with yours.

“Five,” you began, your voice just above a whisper, “you don’t always have to be strong, you know. It’s okay to let someone in.”

He sighed, the weight of his years—much more than his appearance suggested—seeming to press down on him. “I’ve lived so long, seen so much… Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m supposed to feel anymore.”

Your heart ached for him, for the boy who had seen too much too soon, who had been thrust into a world of chaos and violence, yet still managed to find his way back. To you.

“You don’t have to figure it out alone,” you said softly, squeezing his hand. “I’m here with you. Always.”

He studied your face, his expression unreadable at first, but then it softened into something almost vulnerable. “I don’t deserve you,” he murmured.

You shook your head, moving closer until your knees touched. “You deserve someone who sees you, Five. The real you. And I do. I always will.”

For a moment, there was only silence, the crackling fire the only sound between you. Then, he reached up with his free hand, gently cupping your cheek, his thumb brushing against your skin.

“I’ve spent so long trying to save the world,” he whispered, his breath warm against your lips, “that I forgot what it was like to just be with someone who made it worth saving.”

Your heart fluttered at his words, a warmth spreading through your chest. Slowly, he leaned in, his lips brushing yours in the softest of kisses. It was tender, almost tentative, as if he was afraid you might vanish if he held on too tightly. But you didn’t. You leaned into the kiss, your free hand resting against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart.

When you finally pulled back, you rested your forehead against his, your breaths mingling in the small space between you.

“I love you,” you whispered, the words feeling so natural, so right.

His eyes closed for a moment, as if savoring the sound of those words. “I love you too,” he replied, his voice hoarse with emotion. “More than I ever thought I could.”

You smiled, pressing another kiss to his lips, this one longer, deeper, filled with all the love you had for him. And in that moment, as you held each other close, the world outside could have ended, and it wouldn’t have mattered. Because right there, in each other’s arms, you had everything you needed.

[transhoverfish]

OK SO IM LATE BUT. MORE SUB3 NEWS!!!

so a few days ago, krafton (their publisher), apparently had this like presentation of their plans over the next like 2 years. and during that they talked a bit about sub 3!

and this obviously creates a LOT of questions. not to worry, though, because unknown worlds added on to this:

im honestly not surprised by this. iirc, when below zero released they said it would be a WHILE before the next game, and they only announced this back in like... january? now, the first game's release was in january, and bz was in may, so it's definitely possible early access with be in spring of 2025. those games did not have multiplayer aspections tho! its possible we'll wait until mid 2025, and full release will likely not be until 2026. but who knows? the first game took like ten to be fully finished!!

and honestly. THANK GOD. i can't imagine any subnautica game having BATTLE PASSES or LOOT BOXES. i would have just straight up ignored this game 😭

i do wonder what these updates will entail! "many years to come" is definitely something interesting to me, because other than bug fixes... i dont remember sub or bz getting many updates post full release. is this referring to bug fixes, or is it implying that it will be in a state of early access for much longer? are they going to just keep adding new things (like the building update for sub1) and taking fandom suggestions? very interested!!

maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but i actually,,,, dont want multiplayer. now i do like bz, and these games arent really intended to be horror games, but also bz is very noticeablely less scary than sub1. and some of it i think definitely has to do with all the extra characters and dialogue. its hard to feel isolated when you know al-an and marg are nearby. so im very happy that it's optional, bc i know i will probably enjoy single player a lot more enjoyable!!

so now... SPECULATION.

so the first thing im curious about that the development team didnt mention:

"uncover the mysteries on an entirely new alien planet"

apprently we are NOT returning to 4546b. which im kind of sad about!! ik the story is very obviously done there, but it feels weird that its going to be some other planet this time around. THERE WONT BE PEEPERS!!!! (well there could be but it would be weird if some other random planet had the exact same lifeforms)

now my next immediate thought is: is this a direct continuation of below zero? my opinion is: no. probably not.

mostly because it mentions up to four players, and robin and alan are, if you look very closely, only two people. now they COULD just create two new characters to go alongside them (my fanfic brain loves the au idea of marg and ryley 🥺) but im just going to assume that with the addition of a new planet, we're going to drop the old storylines. which means no more degasi, sunbeam, aurora, or ayou sisters. we might move away from architects/precursors altogether! (my basis on this is absolutely nothing and i could be wrong, this is 100% just theorizing)

also, i imagine that it would be difficult to keep the plot the exact same with two established characters and then two new ones, depending on how this multiplayer aspect works. if its another crash, it would be a lot easier to just have the extra players die/survive, then try to work in a balancing act of one guy playing al-an.

(also i like keeping the ending of bz vauge. if they show up again, they would have to mention what happened to the rest of the architects, and i think it's much more fun if thats a mystery!)

((also also, im gonna drop a bomb on u all for a second. i actually,,, dont like al-an. i have a deeper connection to probably every single other character in bz. i think they really fumbled al's character and story and he is so incredibly bland to me. it feels like they go nowhere with how he was responsible for the kharra outbreak because the game ends immediately after he confesses! it would be nice to give him another chance, sure, but i personally dread the idea of even more al-an. sorry everyone for this horrible news))

HERE'S A CONCEPT IMAGE

i hope they bring back some cut content creatures for this!! i noticed this new area looks VERY similar to the safe shallows, and several of the fish seem to be variations of ones we've already seen (im already seeing bladderfish and hoopfish color pallettes, and the shark resmbles some early concept art for the shadow leviathan, but with the ice worm's colors...)

will there be more land areas?? is it going to entirely underwater?? more kharra?? NO DISEASE AT ALL?? AAAAAA!!!!

[a-goumang-ripoff]

My Thoughts on the Character Writing of Nine Sols

Alright, it's finally time to autistically rant on this account to my heart's content because HOLY FUCK I LOVE NINE SOLS!!! It has such amazing gameplay, and I don't think I could ever forget the Lady Ethereal fight in my life, easily one of my favorite bosses ever (and I love how she's written but that's a rant for another day).

I think my favorite thing about Nine Sols is the fact that it's such a densely packed game where literally everywhere you look you can find some kind of underlying message, even in small areas. And every Sol has its own underlying message and you bet your ass you'll be seeing rants from me on probably every one of them eventually.

For now though I'm sticking with rambling about the general writing of the game because I love it but also hate it sometimes and I love this game so much that I need to rant about how much the parts I despise piss me off. Before I start ranting off though, I should preface with this: if you aren't aware, RedCandleGames is a Taiwanese game company whose previous game, Detention, contained an easter egg which mocked a member of the CCP, I think it is safe to say that Nine Sols can easily be interpreted as a massive hate letter to China wrapped up in a beautifully gruesome story with amazing gameplay.

This isn't something that screamed out to me when I first played, but I had a suspicion something like this might pop up because of the storyline with the humans, they're shown to be livestock to these Solarians with only Lady Ethereal objecting to them being harvested for their brains (and eventually Yi but it was also his idea). They're treated as lesser beings, subhuman if you will, that are feared, hated, and stereotyped, but shown by the game to not warrant any of that treatment and be entirely capable people. Something was going on but I was quite unsure what it was.

It wasn't until the Fengs, who I fought after Ji, that it really set in what a lot of these messages I've been noticing could be about. I am very well viewing all of this through a specific lens and I don't think I'm right about everything but I am certain to say that the Fengs are absolutely a hate letter to Chinese nobility, between the Fengs' lack of care about anything besides profit/entertainment and the fact that Nuwa has clearly endured the horrors of foot binding (mishappen feet + entirely unable to walk) while still being a spoiled brat, not to mention the incest.

Everything after that kind of fell into place, it's not all about Chinese culture and government, but things definitely started falling into place when I started thinking back on everything. It started to make sense why they made Goumang a fascist who quite literally owns slaves before giving her easily the most disturbing fate in the entire game.

I do really love Nine Sols for all these little messages, but I also feel like sometimes they entirely give up on writing a unique character in order to send a message with them. Yanlao, Goumang, Jiequan, Nuwa, and Eigong are all very basic tropes that either lack deeper character, or their deeper character motivations don't seem to line up with their character.

And what do I think these characters all have in common? They're all being used to send a message about culture and/or government. Yanlao's demand for respect and power just because he's old, Goumang's fascist ideologies, Jiequan's dynastic bloodline, Nuwa's wealthy apathy, and Eigong's drive for immortality and tendency to lie or bend the truth. It feels like their characters were made secondary to the message they were attempting to send. I can say this about Yi as well, he's a very typical edgy protagonist trope I see a lot in East Asian media, though his character development is really well written so I can overlook that.

Another thing I've noticed is that the characters I think aren't sending as strong of messages, or at least not messages geared towards criticisms of government and aspects of East Asian culture, seem to be a lot more well written, and a lot of the stuff I've seen in the Nine Sols community confirms that. People tend to love Ji and Lady Ethereal and enjoy Kuafu. Ji and Lady Ethereal are so amazingly written in my opinion, maybe it is just that I relate to them a bit too much, I just feel like their stories are really enjoyable and make you feel something other than "what the fuck just happened." Kuafu I feel is just inoffensively written, he's not super tropey, but he's not amazingly written either, so he's kind of just this inbetween spot that makes him enjoyable.

Also note that I haven't talked about any of the non-sol characters, most of them I have not thought about nearly as hard (except Heng but I will break down and sob if I ever try to talk about her in length lmao) and thus don't feel like I can safely comment on them with the same confidence as I've had for the sols.

I am not saying that RedCandleGames should've forgone writing the messages into their characters that they did write, I just feel like there could be more effort put into the actual characters themselves and going about these messages in different ways to majorly improve the experience of this game, not that it isn't already amazing. Well now that that's out of my system, I'm probably gonna be making more rants about different parts of Nine Sols because I love this game and I also enjoy ranting about the parts I dislike lmao, easily one of my favorite games ever.