#oh well see you again in love syndrome the beginning

[ddejavvu]

i was using Spotify and I realized how u could see what ur friends are listening to atm on there and it would be so fun to have hotch discover this, and be surprised that the reader is listening to songs like “or nah” or j any explicit songs like that and is into it😋 could lead into something more like playing that song while they’re doing it later on

OKAY THANK YOU LOVE UR WRITING!!!

i love you! i just left this vague and open to whatever song you want to insert!

this post is 18+, minors dni.

Being Spotify friends with Aaron Hotchner only came about because of Penelope's insistence on team bonding. And because she wanted to send everyone the personalized playlists she'd made for them, and sharing became much easier that way.

All it's yielded for you is the knowledge that, very infrequently, Hotch remembers he has a music app on his phone, and that he plays 2-3 Beatles songs before he inevitably gets called to another task and has to shut off the music.

Aaron is even less frequently informed of your tastes in music than you are of his, because the few times that he's used the app, he forgets to check what the other members of the team are listening to. Not that he really cares; Spencer's listening to classical and Derek has too-loud EDM playing in his headphones that Savannah teases him for. Rossi prefers records to his phone, and JJ plays mainly kids' songs for her boys. Emily is always listening to some mid-2000's rock song, but you, you he hasn't gotten a read on. You're all over the place, switching from singer to singer, genre to genre, language to language. All in all, his team's music taste doesn't affect him, but Penelope is far more eager to snoop on you all than he is.

"Ooh, nasty girl," She gushes, head bent to look at her phone as she waits in Aaron's office. He'd instructed her to let him have five minutes to finish a report before she briefed him on a new case's details, but she's proving very distracting. With a glance up at her, half-scathing, half-incredulous, he asks, 'What?'

"Oh! Y/N's Spotify," She holds out her phone as explanation, showcasing your profile with unfamiliar album art displayed over it. It's black and red, but Aaron doesn't recognize the song or the artist.

He raises an eyebrow at Penelope, and she huffily gives into his demand.

"It's a song about sex," She informs him, "Like- feral, sweaty, hungry, clawing-at-the-sheets, scratching-up-his-back, mouth-open-so-he-"

"Alright! Enough," Hotch snaps, glaring disapprovingly at her rather vulgar language, "I think I get the picture, Garcia."

"Sorry, sir." She looks only mildly sheepish, talking more to herself than she is to him as she muses, "Didn't know she was into that kind of thing."

Aaron doesn't think about the title of the song again until well after Penelope's gone, and he's taking his lunch alone in his office. He's more a fan of songs that, if they are about sex, don't outwardly mention any vulgarity, and he's not sure if he could handle explicit material being spewed at loud volumes directly into his ear. Call it morbid curiosity, call it Disapproving Boss Syndrome, but he fishes near-new headphones out of his desk drawer to find out what you've been listening to while filling out government paperwork all day.

He has the good sense to look it up on youtube without logging in. He doesn't want this attached to him in any way, and he certainly doesn't want eagle-eyed Penelope catching him on Spotify.

The beginning of the song seizes the ear right away, a unique beat that definitely doesn't sound sexually appealing. But when each different instrument filters in and the lyrics begin, he realizes that Penelope's description was not very far off.

It's filthy.

It's twenty kinds of vulgar, words that he's never even heard before being used to refer to genitalia. The only way he figures out their definitions is through context, and he thinks he may have been better off without knowing them. He's floored by the contents of the song; he knows sexual songs exist, even at this level of vulgarity, but he'd have never expected you to indulge in them. Certainly not in the workplace.

The song finishes out at three minutes and nine seconds, and Hotch feels a slight heat to his face as he unplugs his headphones and closes the tab. No one had caught him, but he feels mortified anyways, and decides he no longer has an appetite.

He puts the lid back onto the container of leftover pasta that he'd brought from home, keeping his head down as he treks to the kitchenette to refrigerate it.

Of course, his luck fails him as he nearly bumps into you, rounding the corner to the small, closed-off kitchen and finding you in front of the microwave in the doorway.

"Oh! Sorry, Hotch." You laugh, stepping out of his way to let him through. He notices an earbud in your ear and pushes away the knowledge of what song you're probably listening to, heading for the fridge instead.

"It's fine." He grumbles, electing to stay silent for the rest of your impromptu meeting if he can manage. He feels slightly guilty for being cold towards you, because it was his own curiosity that led to his embarrassment, but he can't look you in the eyes right now.

You see fit to fill the awkward silence with the tapping of your nails on the counter, and with a jolt of recognition, and something else far more intense below the belt, he realizes that you're tapping out the beat of the song.

He ignores your sharp gasp as he slams the refrigerator door perhaps a tad too hard. He doesn't have time to feel bad about startling you, though, not when he so desperately needs to be back in the confines of his office, away from the prying eyes of the team.

His sharp memory comes in handy as he calls upon the name of the song later that night, pretending to himself that he's only doing it because it's been stuck in his head. Not because every time he thinks of it, or rather, of you listening to it, his pants tighten slightly. He chooses youtube first, but something drags his thumb towards the spotify button instead, and he swallows the saliva that's suddenly pooled in his mouth when his suspicions are confirmed: you're listening to it, too.

At eleven-thirty at night, probably beneath the covers on your bed just like Aaron is, you're listening to a song about sex, and as he sinks a hand beneath the waistband of his pajama pants, he knows without a doubt that you're doing the same.

[destructive-path]

Patrol Partner Protection Syndrome - E.W.

summary: Ellies habit of going above and beyond her duties as a patrol partner causes you to question her motives.

tags: patrol partner!ellie, slight innocent! reader, ellie is older than you in this, swearing, a kiss is shared at the end, no smut in this one folks just good ol fashion yearning :)

a/n: as usual i wrote this very spur of the moment and its not proofread but you love me anyways so j shut up and enjoy

“Yep, that sounds like a classic case of the 3PS.”

“3PS? That sounds like a fucking star wars character.”

A loud laugh leaves Jesses lips at your remark furthering your frustration visibly before Dina smacks him on the shoulder gently.

“Patrol partner protection syndrome.” Dina says plainly.

“What the hell is that?”

“Its why Ellie threatened that guy that was flirting with you at the bison last night.”

The look on your face is still riddled with confusion. Dina sighs deeply, your innocence was always something that was a little difficult for others to adjust to. Explaining certain topics always took a little longer when it came to you.

“Sometimes, when two people get paired up on patrol they begin to…how should I say this? Okay look. Usually in a pair theres one person who feels a strong obligation to protect the other. It doesnt always have to be the stronger person per say. On patrol you and this one person go through some serious shit together. You both become more and more venerable the more you put your trust in them and let them protect you, aaand sometimes the lines blur between them protecting you to keep you alive and them protecting you because they think they are meant to. All the time.”

You slowly begin to understand.

“Its what happened with me and Jesse…Tommy and Maria too.”

“Wait but you’re all couples.”

Jesse and Dina look at each other then look at you. A grin fights its way on both their faces, then your eyes grow wide.

“Oh my god….OH? MY GOD? Are you saying Ellie likes me?”

They both burst out into laughter, once again making you feel extremely embarrassed. You cross your arms in frustration and slump further in your chair.

“Hey. Hey hey. Im not saying she HAS a crush on you, because thats not my place to assume how she feels completely.”

“Buut she did mention her heart beats faster anytime you smile at her, and thats like pretty gay.”

“JESSE.”

Jesse throws his hands up in defense, then shoots you a sympathetic look.

“Sorry! Look am I wrong? You two would be great together. Plus i’m sick of hearing about you every time Ellie comes over.”

“JESSE!”

“What? WHAT?”

“Your killing them.”

You felt exhausted. Ellie had feelings for you? She consoled in her best friends about your smile? This changes everything. How were you supposed to see her casually or for patrol, knowing what you knew now.

“Jesus im losing it.”

“Well, do you feel anything for Ellie?”

You thought about it for a moment.

“I-I dont know. I mean I like having her around. She always makes me feel comfortable…safe. I really like when she cooks for me or plays me songs on her guitar. She always looks so cool when she plays, and her voice is sooo pretty. I mean shes also really pretty too. Well not pretty…more like-“

As you search for the right word to describe Ellie you notice the way the couple looks at you. Like you just said something incredibly obvious and extremely oblivious to you. Then it sinks in.

“Oh my god I like Ellie.”

They both nod in unison.

“I gotta go.” You shoot up and grab your bag then rush out Dina and Jesses place, not bothering to say your goodbyes. You only had one thing in mind.

Ellie.

—

As you run as fast as your legs can muster, you think about the events of last night that led you to Dinas and Jesses inquiring them for advice.

It was all very trivial and cliche. You had been dancing at the Tipsy Bison after a few shots of whiskey, on your own. The usual gang was there minding their own except for Ellie. She always had her eyes on you whenever your presence was near. Glass in hand as she leaned on the bar watching while you spun around the room. Ellie couldn’t bring herself to join you, so she settled for being an audience member. She always admired your outgoing nature, never concerned on what others think of you. As Ellie thought about other attributes you had that made her fall for you, someone else had decided to take it upon them to impede on your dance party of one.

Some man tall in height but skinny in stature stood uncomfortably close to you. Uncomfortable for Ellie that is. The grip had tightened on her glass so that if she clenched any harder it would break. The sight of the mans arm slithering around your waist and pulling you close had Ellie swallowing the rest of the contents of her drink and slamming the glass on the bar counter and making her way over to you both.

“Ellie-“ Dina tried to stop her due to the angry nature of the glass hitting the wood making a sound loud enough to pull the couple away from whatever they were having, but its no good.

“Save it.” Ellie snaps, then makes her way over to you. As she advances closer she can tell you weren’t one hundred percent comfortable with this random mans advances on you. She knew you were too nice, too innocent to understand that his intentions were not pure and that you didnt have the strength to push him away. But Ellie sure did.

“Thats enough of that.” Ellie says as she rips the mans arms off of you and grabs your wrists to pull you away from him.

“Woah woah who the fuck are you?”

“Im Ellie, and we are leaving.”

“I think they can make that decision for themselves huh?”

Ellie looks at you with a deep frustration. One you had never seen in those eyes before. Not even on patrol, this was something by different. If you weren’t so tipsy you could swear it was laced with a heavy amount of possession.

“Ellie.” you slur slightly.

“We are leaving. Now.” Before the man can protest you were being pulled out the door and into the cold jackson night.

The walk back to your place was silent. Ellies grip on your wrist had morphed into a waffling hand hold sometime after you exited the Tipsy Bison. The warmth of her fingers intertwined with yours made you heat up inside, blushing extremely prominently due to the alcohol running through your system.

When you had finally reached your door Ellie pulls you face to face with her. Hand still together. She uses her free hand to push some loose strands of off your face to see you better. A soft smile twitches on her lips for a moment then she finally speaks.

“Go inside and go to bed, you’re drunk.” Its not the farewell you hoped for, but it’s soft. Ellie utters the words with care in her own way. You can’t help but stare at her through lidded puppy eyes and nod slowly.

You turn to unlock the door then turn back around.

“Goodnight Ellie.” You whisper in a way that makes her heart ache.

“Goodnight.”

It’s only when she turns around to walk away does she finally let go of your hand.

“Ellie? Ellie please open up I know you’re in there.”

After knocking for what felt like forever you were finally graced with the sounds of locks being undone. You take a step back and watch the door swing open revealing a slightly disheveled looking Ellie. Still she renders you speechless for a moment her appearance making you shy, as it always has.

“What’s up?” She says genuinely concerned. You see her face soften when she realized the interruption of her personal time was you. The difference making you blush.

“I-Can I come in?”

Her eyes grow wide, you hadn’t been inside of her space yet. The vision of you and her in her room alone flashes through her brain. She steps aside and opens the door fully to make room for you to enter.

“Oh yeah of course please come in. Sorry.” She laughs shyly. You make your way into her space and can no longer hold your questions to yourself.

“Sorry its kind of a mess I wasnt really expecting any-“

“Ellie do you like me?” Its silent for a moment before Ellie speaks up.

“Of course I like you kid, you’re my patrol partner.”

“No not in that way I mean, you’re always looking out for me and making me things. Even when we aren’t on patrol! You act like my bodyguard sometimes…”

Ellie knows exactly where to is going. Your confrontation of her actions makes her smile a bit.

“I feel the need to protect you outside of patrol sometimes, sure.” Shes looking right in your eyes, observing the look on your face so she doesn’t say the wrong thing. Right now you look as if you had just been hypnotized eyes devoid of much thought.

“3PS.” You whisper, just loud enough for Ellie to hear. It’s quiet for a moment then an involuntary scoff comes from Ellie as she raises her arm to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“You’ve been talking to fucking Jesse.” She laughs and turns away from you. You watch her in awe of what you felt like Jesse and Dina had prophesied. Was it really that simple? The act of protecting someone equating to love was a thought that made your heart swell.

“Ellie…I like you. Alot. But I need to know if you like like me or if you just like me enough to protect me. Like you would protect Jesse or Dina. Because I thought I just liked you but then I started thinking about your voice-“

“My voice?” Ellie had turned back around and was still while watching this confession spill out of you. Her question driving a step closer to you, the advancement unbeknownst to you due to the rambling of your thoughts.

“Yes your voice, and the way you sing and play guitar for me and how much i like it-”

Another step.

“-and how pretty you sound when you sing-“

Step.

“-and how pretty you look, well- not pretty but-“

With this last step you had only now realized how close she had gotten. Speech dying at the lack of a word to describe Ellies appearance. You were certain there wasn’t a word so great.

“You don’t think i’m pretty?” Shes pouts, lost on your words. The praise of her leaving your lips so easily is something she would soon crave often. Your breath begins to pick up slightly at her question. The look on her face causes you to whimper slightly. A look of hurt adorns her face, exaggerated to make you feel bad for her.

“No.” You protest meekly.

“No?” Ellie shakes her head in offense.

“No! I-I mean…I think you’re very pretty Ellie.” You shakily admit. The words make you feel a wave of embarrassment in this situation. Her proximity not making this confession any easier.

“Yeah?” She questions rising her hands to push your hair out of your face as she did the night before. The feeling of her fingertip makes you lean into her touch, closing your eyes at the soft stroke of her digit on your forehead.

“Mhhm” You nod and sigh simultaneously. As your head falls due to your loss of strength at her touch, she takes your head into her hand and strokes your cheek with her thumb. This delicate action causes your eyes to open slowly meeting Ellies green ones. Everything about her exudes admiration. She cant get enough of how at her disposal you seemed to be in this moment. The sight of you had coaxed out the need to protest admitting her feelings. No longer afraid that you might deny her.

“I..like like you too.” She whispers while staring at your lips, licking her own at the sight of them. The new shine of her lips brings a heat to your cheeks, Ellie notices this and inhales deep. Her confession has you reeling. The sound of her voice as she admits her likeness towards you radiates need. For once you are certain it’s because of you. Ellie needed you. Ellie wanted you.

“Stay with me today. Hmm? Let me show you.” The softness of her request is as comforting as a pillow. You can tell she so desperately wants to rid you of any doubts that Ellie was completely and utterly infatuated with you.

“Show me what?” You ask curious of what she had in store. She licks her lips again. Then brings your face so close that you can feel Ellies breath on your lips as she whispers-

“How much I like you.”

before placing a desperate kiss on your lips.

~

[silly-writes]

Camper(s): Courtney, Gwen, Heather, Jasmine, Zoey, etc.

Prompt: Camper falls for a reader who suffers from Imposter Syndrome (person is successful at things they do but doesn't acknowledge it themselves and think they're unworthy of their achievements or skills due to strong self-doubt and fear of exposure as a fraud which they aren't) with said camper being the only person to realize the self doubt of the reader yet still falls in love with reader. How'd things develop?

Contestants with reader who suffers from imposter syndrome

Tysm for the request, I hope you enjoy :]

Courtney

Everyone knew you were amazing and gifted, everyone.

A fact not gone unnoticed by Courtney. (She’s got an eye for these things, she used to be a CIT after all).

At first she uses you for a little bit of extra leverage during the challenges, but after a bit felt too guilty to continue to do so.

So as a sort of apology she wanted to spend more time getting to know you as a person, rather than just a tool that everyone in the competition had been utilizing.

She sat beside you on the cabin steps one night, after you had absolutely crushed it yet another challenge.

“Really great work today, I’m impressed,” she said, putting a hand on your back.

You couldn’t help but recoil just the slightest bit, but tried to play it off with a smile “uh. Yeah, sure.”

It wasn’t great work, not to you. You saw all your little slip ups, your stress. No less than anyone else’s, you saw it when you fell, or when you tripped. It was an awful effort.

Courtney mistook your self consciousness as humility and so she smiled at you brighter “oh you don’t have to be modest around me you know? You’ve earned a bit of gloating.”

You chuckled a little albeit a bit emptily “do I? Really?” You just couldn’t help that self doubt seeping through a bit.

Courtney’s face changed at that, maybe it was your tone, or something in your eyes. But her expression softened.

“Hey- don’t be like that. Of course you do. You’re great, I mean- you’d have to be stupid to disagree with me on that,” she says with an assured expression.

You chuckled again, this time more amusing dances in your tone “stupid huh?”

She crossed her arms and gave you a pointed glare “I know a worthy competitor when I see one. And I definitely know refined skill when I see it too. You better not be getting cold feet on me now.”

You smiled at her, leaning towards her hand which was planted firmly on your back “no. No, of course not.”

“Well-“ she looks a little flustered, but beyond determined to keep her footing in the conversation “-good then. Better be on your A game again tomorrow.”

You watched her walk back into the cabins. Maybe if she thought you were something great, maybe you were.

Courtney goes out of her way from that conversation on to compliment you (something that is rare, and hard for her to do).

But she really likes you, and she wants you to see yourself the way she sees you.

Gwen

Gwen mainly hangs out with you for your snappy witty sense of humor.

She couldn’t stand to deal with anyone who couldn’t match her social wit.

But it’s not like she hasn’t seen you during challenges, you’re good, too good.

She’ll tease you about it to no end, you could never tell if it’s because she’s actually upset with you for winning challenges for the team, or if she just likes to get on your back about stuff.

“Wooow,” she deadpanned after watching you do one challenge that was particularly physically taxing.

“What?” You said lifting a brow at her.

She scrunches her face a little at you for a moment and then begins “oh nothing, but do you have to make the rest of us look bad while doing the challenges?” She laughs (somewhat evilly from your point of view)

You know she was just teasing you, she always is, but it hurts a little more.

“What?” She asks.

“Nothing.”

“No, seriously. Why do you have that look on?” She presses again, leaning over on her knees to get a good look at you.

“Nothing it’s just- it’s stupid,” you admit.

She snorts a little “from you? I doubt it.”

“It kind of freaks me out when you say stuff like that?”

She makes a face at that “why?”

You shrug “makes me feel like everyone is expecting something great from me that I can’t give.”

She stops chortling at you then, because she can see it plain as day written on your face. You’re not kidding.

You of all people worried about not being great? She could hardly believe her ears, she thought the world and moon of you, you were the only person at this shit hole camp who she could stand.

She punched your side lightly “you better not really believe that you know?”

“What, that I’m a fraud?” You say darkly.

She scoffs “you’re ridiculous you know that. You work harder than anyone else here to compete in these mind numbing challenges, and still you can’t see?!”

“Well I guess-“

“No, you guess nothing. Don’t you dare believe you’re anything less than what you are any longer.”

She said it with such a sense of finality it was hard to argue back with her. Impossible even.

“I knew you had a heart in there,” you smirk at her.

She goes red (which doesn’t take much honestly she’s paler than fresh printer paper) at that, and pushes you a little. “Shut up.”

After that she lays off comments like that, and you don't hear much teasing from her to anyone.

It feels a little weird at first, not getting teased, and even more shockingly getting a few compliments from her.

But the two of you slump into it after a while, and it becomes the new natural for your relationship.

Heather

Heather can read you like a book.

She knows right away that you’re useful, skilled, and have a strong self doubt about yourself.

(Sorry but yk our girl is evil, she definitely manipulates you especially if we’re talking island)

She definitely somehow pulls you into an alliance, and you kind of just float along with her for the most part.

You know it’s wrong the stuff she’s making you do to the other campers sometimes, but you glom onto her praise a little bit.

“You, I need you to go find Lindsay for me. We need to have an alliance meeting,” she demands hands on her hips.

"What for?" Heather seemed to get tripped up sometimes on even the smallest of things, sometimes it seemed like stupid things, but what did you know?

"What for? What for? Excuse me, hello, earth to _______! We totally bombed that last challenge in case you're not paying attention!"

"Right, sorry," you said in response.

That wasn't totally true though, we weren't right, more like they.

Not that you would ever correct anyone to say something that conceded, much less Heather (she'd kill you).

"What's that look for?" She demands.

"What? nothing," you assure.

She scoffs "So then what are you doing still on your butt? Go get Lindsay!"

Lindsay going against Heather in the end makes you turn on her the same, if it's someone Lindsay hates, they must be bad news. Not that you didn't already realize that, I just imagine that to be the final straw.

Oddly enough, after being with Heather makes your self worth increase.

Despite the fact that she verbally assaults you on a daily basis, it's easy to feel good about yourself since in comparison to Heather not only do you look even extra adequate in challenges, but you seem nicer too.

Jasmine

It doesn't take much to warm up to Jasmine, she's wildly easy going, kind, smart, and good at everything she tries.

You two click based on skill alone.

Being in Pahkitew requires a lot of athleticism, and a lot of survival instincts.

Being good with Jasmine is just common sense.

She's always giving you praise and compliments about everything you do, she's always delighted and amazed by your skill.

"Wow! Look at you, you're better than a bear on December first at foraging!" She said over her pile of berries.

"uh... sure," you shrug.

She gives you a look "What's that face for?"

"Nothing," you shrug, not wanting to give yourself away for the fraud you are.

"You should be proud, not everyone is a master forager right out of the gates."

You shrug again "it's just picking berries."

"Not quite, its picking the right berries,"

"...yeah" you say.

She stands up and looks at you with her hands on her hips "what's wrong?"

Jasmine is very good with people's emotions, she can always tell when something has shifted with someone. So there was no real use in hiding it.

"It's just... I feel weird accepting compliments from you sometimes," you admit.

"Why's that?"

"Cause I just feel like they're never really... deserved I guess."

Jasmine frowns down at you, and puts a hand on your shoulder.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. I get it, you know? It can be hard to get to a point where you feel confident enough in yourself to accept that stuff. But you should know by now I'm not a liar, you wouldn't really think I'd say that stuff about just anyone, would you?"

"No... I guess not. But-"

"Right then, we'd better get these back to the team then, huh?"

She said and then pulled you along.

From that point on Jasmine would take extra note of when you were feeling particularly off and would try and nudge you into the right direction.

She'd always give you extra support, but it never sounded forced, or fake, with her things are always very natural I imagine.

With her things truly are a team effort especially after your heart to heart.

Zoey

Zoey always knows you will be there to save her, or help her when she needs help.

She is caring and sweet, and super cute, so of course you would go to great lengths to know and understand you.

I do think (solely based on how long things took with her discovering Mike's system) It would probably take you spelling anything like that out for her.

She's always impressed by your work, be it social, academic, physical, she's just impressed by you, through and through.

It was another night of lengthy praise from her, after you had rescued her from yet another fatal situation (why had you come on this show again?).

You could feel yourself growing more and more uncomfortable as compliment after compliment ticked on, you just couldn't live up to what she thought of you.

How could you? She over and over told you she thought the world of you, how could this pressure do anything but build and fester?

"Zoey! Please," you interrupt, trying not to let your outburst cost you the challenge.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Nothing, it's just... It's kind of a lot," you admit. And you hate how weak it sounds, but you knew you needed to be direct with her.

"Oh no I'm sorry. The pressure is a lot for you I'd bet..." She said sort of sadly, shaking her head.

"Yeah, a little bit," you nodded.

She rubbed your back comfortingly "I promise I won't do that to you anymore. How about from now on we decide to expect less from each other?"

It sounded a bit strange, expecting less from your teammates should sound like a bad deal, but it's what you needed. On top of the fact that you felt like a big huge liar, you didn't need everyone expecting the world of you on top of that.

Things run a little more smoothly with your team from then on. Zoey finds unique ways to praise you that go unnoticed to you sometimes, and gives you as much support as you give to her.

[woso-fan13]

Sicktember 2023: 9

White Coat Syndrome

“Y/L/N,” Dawn shouts across the locker room, “my office, now.”

“Oooh,” your teammates say sing-songily together, “Y/N’s in trouble.”

It’s like you're instantly transported back to primary school, the principal calling your name over the loudspeaker. Without a doubt, your peers would tease in the exact same way. The only real difference is that your teammates are adults and should definitely know better than second graders. The punishment would almost definitely be the same too- missing out on recess is pretty much the same as missing practices and games. 

With a hot blush across your cheeks, you quickly head to Dawn’s office. You knew better than to keep her waiting. You knock lightly, waiting for a response before you enter. 

“Hey, Dawn, how are you? You look great, you’re absolutely glowing. Are you using a new skincare routine, you’ll have to tell me your sec-“

Dawn cuts you off by clearing her throat. 

“Hello, Y/N, it’s been awhile since we’ve had some good one-on-one bonding. I was thinking we could play a game,” Dawn says, surprisingly meeting your energy and excitement. 

“Ummm,” you hesitate, confused, before sitting down and nodding, “okay, yeah! It’ll be fun! Which one do you think?”

“How about 20 questions? It’s one of my favorites.”

You know Dawn must have an ulterior motive, but you can’t figure it out.  

“I know that one, I’ll start. Dawn, what’s your favorite color?”

“I like light blue. Y/N, who was your soccer idol growing up?”

“Oh, that’s easy: Mia Hamm. If you played on the team, what position would you play?”

“Probably goalie, less risk of an ACL injury. How about this, if you could be any member of the staff, who would you be?”

“Coach, I love all of the tactics behind it. Oh, it’s hard to think of questions. Umm, what’s your favorite drink?”

“Water,” she answers bluntly, “do you think I’m an idiot?”

“What?” you respond, about to continue when she interrupts. 

“Y/N, you’re supposed to answer the question before you ask one. So, again, do you think I’m an idiot?”

“No, no of course not. What are you talking about?”

“Well, I’m not sure if you remember, but you missed camp two months ago because you had covid. And you missed camp last month because you developed asthma from covid and you had to go to the emergency room multiple times. So, my next question, did you think I would forget that you’re required to have a full work up from a pulmonologist before you’re allowed to train or were you simply hoping to avoid me?”

You freeze, eyes wide. You knew that you were supposed to see the doctor, but the doctor scared you. The only reason that you had even gone to the emergency rooms those times was because you couldn’t breathe and one of your teammates had to drag your blue-lipped form in. 

So you put off the appointment, hoping that everyone would ignore your lack of medical approval if you played really well. Besides, you had brought the emergency inhaler that you had gotten at your most recent emergency visit, so you would be fine. 

Dawn sighs, “go get your bag, you’ve got an appointment in 30 minutes. If you get the all-clear, you can practice tomorrow.”

You know better than to protest, going to grab all of your things. You stop for a moment and watch your teammates warming up, jealousy filling your body. 

You walk back towards Dawn’s office, expecting her to pass off car keys and directions. Instead, you find her standing with her bag, keys in hand. 

“Are you ready to go?” She asks. 

“You’re coming with me?” You question, “I thought you would have to stay for practice.”

“I thought you would like the company, but I could be wrong. I guess I’ll go back to practice and you can go alone.”

It was almost comical the way your face instantly paled, the blood draining. Your hand reached out automatically, trying to stop her from leaving. 

“Please, no” you say quietly. 

“Alright, come on then. We have to go.”

You quickly follow Dawn as she begins heading towards the exit, afraid that you would be left alone. You couldn’t decide which was a worse option- having to go to the doctor alone or never being able to play soccer again. 

[actuallysaiyan]

OMG CONGRATS ON 6K FOLLOWERS BACON 🥓💙. So for my first request I would like #14 (how much do you want to c*m?) with person A being let's see...Goku Black 😳please? and can it be Goku Black asking the reader that said question?🥺👉👈

event here.

warnings: smut, vaginal fingering, mentions of blowjobs, Stockholm syndrome, kidnap victim, victimhood, rough vaginal fingering, orgasm denial. word count: 0.9k pairings: Goku Black x Fem!Reader prompts: Person A: How much do you want to cum?

You never wanted to convince yourself that you were okay with this. You wanted to protest against it and make it known you’d be rescued. But the more the days would go by, the more you were coming to terms with the fact that nobody would hear your cries for help and that nobody would be coming to bust you out of this room. This is where you were going to stay here forever. 

Goku Black had taken a liking to you the moment he laid eyes on you. He knew he’d never find another good plaything like you. While you believed yourself to be killed the second he grabbed you, he surprised you with lewd whispers and caresses to make your body shudder.

You were thrown into a room filled with a bed and a few things to keep you entertained. It became quickly known that you were Goku Black’s little plaything. He intended to keep you as a sexual partner, a hole to use. Nothing more, nothing less. The only issue with all of this is that you made it difficult for him to do more than to get you to give him a blowjob. You weren’t ready to give yourself up to such an evil person. Yet you were beginning to enjoy the so-called torture he was inflicting upon you. You were finding pleasure in the way he would groan and growl as you learned how to pleasure him with your mouth. It had been so scary the first time, but the more you did it, the more you found yourself wanting to make him cum so good.

Goku Black hadn’t intended on developing some feelings for you either. It surprised you that he actually seemed to care about your purity. You had told him the first night that you didn’t want to have sex, and he actually listened to you. Something about that pitiful pout made his heart wrench in guilt. He decided to wait it out, show you all kinds of different ways to pleasure him at first. If he got you comfortable with pleasuring him, maybe you’d come around wanting to have sex.

You thought about your strange relationship with this man as you soak in the tub. Strange as it may be, you find yourself wanting to make him happy. That’s why you’re soaking in this tub full of rosewater and the lovely scents of other flowers. You’re trying to make yourself desirable. It’s such an odd feeling for you, but you know that deep down you’ll never leave this place. So it’s only natural that you try to enjoy this.

He enters the room while you’re resting on your bed. You’re not wearing anything, which makes him smirk. He’s quick to grab you by the ankles, pulling you down to the edge of the bed. Your head whirls with emotions as he plants a searing kiss on your lips. Your tongue can barely keep up as he shoves his own into your mouth, rubbing against yours.

“Such a sweet little thing,” he says with a cackle. “You did all this for me, huh?” he asks about the sweet scent and the softness of your skin.

You swallow hard, “yes, my lord…”

He smirks at you again. He’s trained you so well. You’re becoming his little fucktoy, and it won’t be long before you’re just begging to have his cock deep inside you. For tonight, he was going to show you pleasure so that you may slowly become more comfortable with all this. Goku Black spreads your thighs, grunting at the sight of your little cunt.

“Mmmm…” he groans as he leans in to get a whiff of your scent.

Two of his fingers rub up and down your wet folds, making you jump up and yelp. Just the reaction you made makes his cock throb. Oh this is going to be so much fun for him. He knows he’ll render you into a whimpering and begging mess. He can’t wait to see your face all flush for him as he brings you to your peak.

Before you can even sink into this pleasure, he brings those fingers to your lips. Your eyes widen at the gesture.

“Suck!”

You don’t even hesitate, your lips part to suck on his long digits. You can taste yourself on them, making you part your legs a little more. You’re desperate for this attention and pleasure now, which makes Goku Black laugh at you. Then he shoves those two wet fingers deep inside your waiting cunt, thrusting them in and out at a brutal pace.

“I knew you’d become my little whore,” he grunts in your ear. You cry out as he bites down on your neck. Already your walls are clenching around his fingers, and you cant your hips forward for a little more pleasure.

Your head falls back as you fuck yourself on his fingers. Your breath comes out shallower as the pleasure builds more and more. It’s like someone has lit a fire in your tummy. Goku Black has you exactly where he wants you, and he’s about to pull out his best move. Just as your walls begin to clench around him signaling your orgasm, he violently pulls them out of you and leaves you panting.

“W-why’d you do that?!”

Goku Black laughs, “I wanna hear it…how much do you want to cum?”

[myth-of-light]

Sorry to bother you a second time with an ask(none of my friends know kid Icarus so I got no one to talk to about)

But when hades pokes fun at pits inability to fly palutena states “his wings just don’t work right”

I googled “wing deformities” and the first thing that came up was angel wing, a deformity where rapid wing development causes the wing to outgrow proper bone support, causing the wing to bend out at an unnatural angle and a permanent inability to fly

And what’s it caused by?

An unhealthy diet of rich protein and carbohydrates.

And we know pit loves food. Specifically things like sweets and fast food, based on his distaste for veggies as stated in Palutenas Revolting Dinner

I rest my case

Well apologies, but I am going to challenge your case! A year late! (I am always happy to receive ask dw)

And if anyone notices mistakes below please comment! espically with formatting.

Angel Wing Syndrome

Angel Wing Syndrome is a deformity that effects aquatic birds, such as ducks and geese. Angels, like Pit, are typically inspired by the Dove and other birds that are typically non-aquatic birds. But let's say Pit is a swan or something, this still doesn't fit.

Angel Wing Syndrome also limits or completely restricts a bird from flying, which isn't the case for Pit, he can flap/glide on his own and with assistance from the Gods, can fly. If he had Angel Wing Syndrome he would mostly likely not be able to fly at all.

Not to matter that was make Angel Wing Syndrome so recognisable it the physical deformity is has on the bird. Having vitals feathers pulled to the rear. Pit clearly does not have this.

Though I will agree Pit doesn't have the best diet.

There are 10 possible food to have for health, this includes:

Fruits: apples, melons, grapes,

Meaty Foods: meat, hamburgers, sushi

Junk food: cakes, ice cream, doughnuts, bars of chocolate.

There is no vegetables! Unless you count anything in the burger haha.

But this ask did make me wonder, why can't Pit fly? And if there is any evidence in game to why.

I seem to find in an answer in by comparing when Pit can fly vs when he cannot.

Pit's Wings

In the original game he looks like this (oh gods the quality I apologise)

His wings go along his upper back, though pretty small right? Only reaching the neck when stretched out.

But now look at him with the Wings of Pegasus, they reach his head. Now while this could just be a visual to show the Pegasus' Wings Superiority, but perhaps Pit's wings aren't big enough to carry his weight.

But before I came to a conclusion, I looked at Uprising

First two (top layer) are Pit's wings normally where as the last two (bottem) layer is when the Miracle of Flight is activated. It may be hard to see but his wings are bigger when the Miracle of Flight is activated. You can see this when Pit jumps out at the start of a chapter, but can also see this in the cutscene in Ring of Chaos , when Viridi activated Flight.

You can see his wings grow. As seen in the images below and at the beginning of the clip.

I also looked at the pegasus wings for Uprising, but they are turned off because of potential unreliability, according to Palutenas(see image one below), hence they aren't any bigger than normal miracle of flight(image two below).

Note: when Pit is extracted from battle his wings do not change. (image three below)

So when Miracle of Flight is activated, Pit's wings grow? It that just a special detail or does Pit need bigger wings?

Dark Pit's Wings

To figure this out we can also use Dark pit for when he gets Pandora Power.

Pre-Pandora, his wings are similar to Pit's(see first image), but when he gets Pandora they almost double in size (see second image), you can really feel the difference.

But what is fascinating, is that when you fight him again, his wings are back to the average size (see third image). At first I thought this was an inconsistency, but no, as after the battle he seems to activate his wings, become big again (see fourth image).

Dark pit doesn't gain/have better wings, he gains power to activate his own infinite Miracle of Flight, which also make his wings bigger. He seems to prefer smaller wings for flighting (as they probably make them both lighter on their feet).

This makes me think that the Pits don't have big enough (or at the very least strong enough) wings to carry them. So the Miracle of Flight acts as an aid that give them these things while in flight (as Dark pit chooses to deactivated on the ground).

This is probably the answer.

(more speculation below)

But if that is the case, the biggest question is

Why does Pit's Wings Burn/Why is there a limit to the Miracle of Flight?

This part now is just speculation. (Also I am ignoring the last scene of 15min flying for this post, as I just think it's just a credit thing.)

Is seems that if the Miracle of Flight is used for too long Pit gets burnout both metaphorically and physically, his wings catch aflame due to the limit. So why is there a limit, and why does Dark Pit not have it?

The only difference between Pit and Dark Pit is how they gain their miracle of flight.

Dark Pit absorbed Pandora's power, making it his own. Therefore the power he uses to fly is (temporary) his own that he can control and regulate. Whereas Pit has someone else acting upon him, gods for that matter. Who cannot regulate their power being exerted upon him as well as Dark Pit can on himself.

I think it's the different between external vs internal regulation that is the difference between Pit and Dark Pit here. Dark Pit can know exactly how much power/usage he needs for flight whereas the gods made be just shoving a bunch of power in Pit's wings, not knowing how to regulate it correctly to Pit's needs. For the Miracle of Flight to be safe and unlimited, Pit has to be the one giving power to his wings.

But in order to get that power he has to steal it, which has been shown to be unsustainable as Pandora lived on in Dark Pit's wings. Not only that but it had to be all of Pandora's power, who was a goddess. So I don't think Palutena can simply give this power to Pit, as is has to be the power of an entire deity, but if you absorb that power, the deity lives on. While the circumstances of Pandora's revival were rare, there no certain way to know that there isn't other ways an absorbed deity can get their power back.

This makes in unlikely that Pit could one day fly on his own indefinitely. Though can offer explanation on why Dark Pit can fly. But alas, this part is more speculative than the other (hence under the cut). But it is interesting to think about.

Thanks for the ask!

[brandnewhuman]

Hi dad. I got an angsty one for ya.

How would the slashers (anyone you wanna write for, as many or few as you want) react to a reader who they've kinda fallen for and acts comfortable around them, but is really just putting up an act to stay alive? maybe the reader could fall for them, but they're scared out of their mind and Stockholm syndrome isn't happening. 😈😈😈

Trigger of love

Headcanons

☆STARRING☆

☆Brahms Heelshire☆

☆Michael Audrey Myers☆

☆ Jason Voorhees ☆

☆ Jesse Cromeans ☆

Tw: major character death, description of injuries and bones breaking, canon violence, mature language, toxic relationships, mentions of blood, description of mental illness

A/n: THIS IS THE JUICIEST TASTIEST ANGST REQUEST EVER BRO. so happy to finally have the opportunity to write it, even tho it has taken me ages but I'VE DONE FINALLY. That's my shit right here, really tragic stories with really tragic endings and never ending dramas ANYWAY ENJOY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BRAHMS HEELSHIRE:

I genuinely think brahms would end up killing you

LET ME EXPLAIN OKAY? DON'T COME AT ME

he wouldn't do it on purpose, it would be something accidental. Your behaviour would bring out the worst tantrum ever in history 

Not your fault bro I know but it is what it is

The fact is that everytime brahms does something bad it has some sort "justification"

Like Idk if it makes sense but take greta for example

He did all those things at the beginning cause she was breaking the rules, and he killed Cole cause he was hurting her 

You're not doing anything wrong but at the same time he's hypersensitive to people's behaviour so he knows you're not really doing it because you love him but more because you fear him

It's like living with his parents and even tho there's some sort of comfort in it because it's all he knows, he still wants to feel truly loved 

You don't try to escape but don't let the Stockholm syndrome kick in either and you don't even give a chance to actually believe he's not going to hurt you

Which again, not your fault cause his tantrums are enough on their own to make someone shit themselves, and he knows it 

We love a self-aware king

So he finds himself in this shitty in between where he can't say he doesn't has what he wants but neither that he's happy

For once in his life, having his own selfish need of you staying ecc it's not enough and he wishes for you to be happy as well

You do everything and beyond to keep him happy 

Never once broke a rule, never once tried to get away, never said no to giving him affection or anything he asks for

You have even taken care of him when he was sad ecc

But he can still see it in your eyes how scare you are of him

You flinch away everytime he just as much as lifts his hand, you always tremble slightly around him, your eyes has never stopped being glossy 

The only time he sees any other emotion in you besides fear is when you're alone and he's not really sure how much better that is cause you look so defeated and sad and overall depressed 

Needless to say the guilt is eating him alive, to know he's the one who has ruined you like that will never leave him a moment of peace 

It's literally driving him crazy

At first he was like 'yeah whatever, fuck you. You'll stay anyway and I'm not going to say sorry' 

Oh boy if he did regretted it

Once again, he feels like he felt while living with his parents all over again and after a while he develops this fear of you killing yourself like they did

My man here is collecting trauma like pokemon cards 

He tries everything like everything for real

He becomes more patient, he tries to take care of you instead of making you take care of him, he treats you like you could break if he's not careful enough

At this point my boy doesn't even fuckin wants you to be in love or for you to get the Stockholm syndrome, he just wants to show you he's sorry and that he has learned his lesson 

It's like living in some sort of loop from hell where he can't fucking make it right even if he really wants to

He has even stopped spying you and invading your privacy without you having to ask for it

Has even considered to let you go but he has found out about this underlying fear of someone telling the police everything and making him end up in a much worse situation than being a prisoner in his own house 

Funnily enough his insecurities about his face ecc are subsided by how much of a monster he feels on the inside

Like you have made very clear you're simply scared of him as a person, not because of his face.

And that's something he will never be able to get over 

After countless months of trying and being in his best behaviour he just kind of snaps 

You haven't seen him all day and you didn't felt observed either which made a very appreciated break from your hypervigilanting and stressing routine 

Just when you thought everything was calm and you decided to head up to go to bed, there he was waiting for you at the top of the stairs 

He seemed calm but you could seem the slight trembling of his body, one you recognise from numerous fits of rage he had in the past

He didn't straight up started to yell but you sensed there were like wrong and right answers to each question he was making 

He kept asking you if you loved him truly, if you were happy or if you wanted to leave 

To everything you always answered what he wanted to hear even tho the feeling that you were saying the wrong thing was only growing more and more

'You're scared of me, aren't you? You'll never want to be here'

At this point he knows you're lying and for a second something seems to switch in you

He has stopped wearing the mask around you so now you can freely see how pained he actually looks

You have never noticed before how tired he looks too

You have spent so much time being scared of him that now that you see it and you like really look at him you can see how defeated and miserable he has been

There's no trace of pretending or lying or trying to manipulate you in any way 

Now you're still scared but not as much and for once you actually decide on your own to try and help him 

You can't stand to look at him crying like that, it looks like he's going to die from a heartbreak anytime soon 

You start to go towards him with your hands up forwards so he knows you mean no harm

It's really like trying to get a stray animal to trust you

He has his hands covering his face and you can see how violent are the sobs, you actually take a minute to let yourself be amazed by the fact that even with such a hard and brutal crying he's able to conceal the noise 

He's used to do it since he was a kid and it shouldn't surprise you that much but in some way it does 

When you finally reach for him that's when he pushes you away screaming

Which scares the shit out of you and makes you lose your balance

It's a cliché but he swears it all happened so fast but at the same time so slow

He saw how you made yourself trip backwards and your face contorted in panic as you felt the void behind you, realising you were about to fall down the stairs

He tried to grab you but you were trying to hold on the rail so you just completely missed his hand 

You basically flew down the really long staircase and all he could do was watch 

He had that paralysing feeling of guilt and fear clawing at his guts as he watched you fall 

But when he heard the disgusting sound of your neck basically snapping against the hardwood floor, that's when he really felt sick 

He almost wanted to run away and pretend nothing has happened cause in his mind, if he got near you now that would make you dead for real

For now as he watches from afar you could still be alive 

BTW baby bro here is not stupid and I'm not talking basic level of knowledge nono

I'm talking he has studied and read about a lot of stuff including books about medical things like injuries ecc 

Basically he's like really smart 

That being said, and I know you know where I'm going with this 

From the moment you fell he knew you wouldn't survive.

Either that or you would end up disabled 

He knows too that when you snap your neck you don't die on the spot but you feel a ridiculous amount of pain until the injure does its course of action

That's yet another thing he feels guilty about your death

He should've put you out of your pain at least but he didn't, he just stared at you while shaking and crying silently 

He didn't even dared to move in case some invisibile and unnoticed force of the universe would notice what he has done and decided to punish him for it

Which thinking about he felt like he was already being punished 

It's kind of sad cause he didn't actually meant it, it was truly an accident but he will always blame himself for it as if he was the one actively pushing you 

Now he knows that no matter what he does or how much he changes he's always destined to be the cause of the death of the people he loves. 

Which he should've seen coming since not even his parents could bear his existence 

MICHAEL MYERS:

Tbh he's not that shocked about it

I mean bro at least acknowledges the fact that he is the fucking boogeyman and everyone will always find him scary

He doesn't even tries to excuse himself because he knows he kills and he's a overall unhinged man and that's something a normal person will never get over 

What bothers him is the acting nice 

When you both met, you really didn't knew who he was

He happened to have been badly injured and was like bleeding the fuck out on your backyard 

yes, you basically just took him inside as if he was some sort of stinky and pitiful ugly cat

That and the fact that you're taking care of him stirred him away from the idea of killing you

No shame in being oblivious to the most juicy gossip in town but bro was really just waiting for you to recognise him

When you did, and you started to act all nice and scared ecc he has to admit he took advantage of it

He knew how to scare you into never running away and never snitching him to the police so he could use you for food ecc

At some point he was impressed by how well you're able to keep up with this 

No lashing out, no crying and you have never broke down 

He could tell tho that you have never been this stressed 

Your hands are always trembling, you don't sleep well at night so you're getting clumsier by the minute 

When you drop stuff, burn food ecc he doesn't mind much but as time goes by it's hard for him to not get attached to you

Which it frustrates him cause he it makes him even more aware of how you see him

He has come to know you by invading your privacy a little bit

He had to since you were not exactly open to let him get to know you

The more he finds the more he likes you

And the more he likes the more he realise he has basically killed you from the inside 

It's hard to think all of those things he has found out are about you cause now you look more like a shell of what you used to be

And he definitely feels the guilt of being responsible of you losing your spirit

You're the first person he really cares about and loves like really truly loves

But that goes against everything he is now cause he can't possibly choose between be with you or killing

He starts to dwell on the past too much and the more he thinks about it the more he gets mad about the situation 

Before you he has never really care too much about the injustices he has suffered 

As a matter of fact he has never really grasped the fact that so many people have failed him and that's why he will never have a normal life

There was a time where he kind of did but that was long ago when he was just a kid 

At some point he just accepted what everyone said he was, that he's only purpose and role in life was to be a monster to everyone

Whether he wanted to or not it wasn't really important 

No one would help him nor he could make people change their minds

Besides, his reasoning is that if so many people is saying it then it must be true

And in his own selfish way he thought that the only one who got the consequences of it was him and the idiots who happened to be killed by him

Now that he sees the result of what everyone and himself has done with him on you he just feels sick

He finds himself spending hours observing you and daydreaming about how a normal version of him would've lived a normal life with you

He tries really hard to show you he can be gentle 

Spends hours observing other couples and what normal people do with their loved ones to understand better how he should act in order to get closer to you

It's so frustrating for him cause he literally doesn't has a choice anymore and he sees in you everything that's wrong with him that he can't change

He feels for the first time as broken as he really is 

At some point he wishes you could just drop the act of being nice, treat him like trash so he can tell to himself you're like everyone else therefore he doesn't need you 

But even if you were to do that he knows he would never be able to kill you

Everytime you touch him even if it's by mistake he gets a bubbly feeling of hope inside that maybe you're starting to see him as something different than what he is 

But then he looks at your eyes and he sees the same glossy and sad scared stare looking right back at him

He knows there's like nothing else he can do and for the first time he just gives up 

He needs to like get used to not be able to see you so he starts with small steps

He starts to staying out for a couple of hours more than usual, then hours turn to days, days into weeks, weeks into months and months into a year 

Everytime he comes back and you see him he can immediately see the shift in your behaviour and how you lose all the already weak sparkle you have gathered from knowing he was far away from you

That's the worst part of it for him

He needs to see you, he wants to spend time with you and looks forward to see you for the last few times before going away fr 

But you on the other part seem to flourish when he's not around, to count the minutes and seconds until he's gone 

It kinda makes him feel like he felt when he was a kid and he wanted to see his parents 

The day he finally came back for the last time after a year you were asleep

He didn't even sit on the bed, nor did he woke you up or did anything that could steer you away from your sleep

He sat on the floor near your bed in complete silence 

He took off his mask knowing that you would never see him and he just stared at you

He wanted to look at you, take in every detail of your face to burn it in his brain so he would never forget you 

He just wanted to look at you not as the shape, but just as Michael. Even if just for one time he wanted to pretend he was just that and that you were being stared by a person and not a monster 

For once his difficulty in expressing his emotions was useful because if he were to let go of all the things he was experiencing he could swear he would just explode or melt away 

The only thing that came out of him was a tear, which he swiped away slowly before getting up and putting on the mask again

After that he never came back, obviously you were over the moon and he was just well going on with it 

He occasionally stalks you but after some time he stops cause it makes him feels sickeningly alone 

Here something to think about if you need to cry: sometimes he thinks back at when he was trying to get closer to you 

One of the things he wanted to do the most was holding hands but you always looked so scared when he tried to do that he just dropped it 

He understands how it might look to you that this tall ass bastard is trying to hold your hand 

That and the fact that he wasn't really good at being careful and gentle didn't help his cause 

So from time to time, when he thinks about it he stares at his hands 

You know when you like pretend to be holding someone's hand while holding yours? 

Well he does that and finds ironic the fact that he has learned to do it gently now that he will never be able to do it with you

JASON VOORHEES:

Listen, LISTEN

I DON'T GIVE A FLYING FUCK, IM A JASON APOLOGIST FIRST AND A HUMAN SECOND

jason my beloved what are this foul gremlins making me do smh

He is one of the few slashers I genuinely think could change for you and try to make things better

Jason doesn't kills just for funsies 

He kills because his sense of duty and to protect himself and his home and all that jazz

I don't really think he genuinely wants anyone fearing him

If anything it's the opposite. He has been treated like a monster his whole life, no one has ever gave him the opportunity to be something else

Like why would he enjoy ending up being what everyone has always thought of him? Doesn't make any fucking sense mate

Like I said he has to, he genuinely thinks there's nothing else for him to do and there's no other place in the whole world for him

IM GONNA CRY BUT LIKE HE'S AT LEAST GRATEFUL OF HAVING A PURPOSE CAUSE HE GENUINELY THINKS HE'S SOME SORT OF SICK JOKE OR MISTAKE 

 So my Wild take of the day for which I'm ready to bet my own ass is that if he could he would very much appreciate to just be left alone and live a normal life, not bothering or harming anyone

The fact is that much more like so many other slashers he can't really communicate to tell you at least his reasons for being a murderer 

That's something that torments him daily, to know that in your eyes he's merciless and overall really evil

Assuming you survive being hunted down by him, he would do near to everything to show he's not a threat for you

You must have been someone who he didn't deem fair to kill 

Like you were respectful, you didn't seem to be a fucking moron messing around and ruining his home 

Once again, I'm gonna assume you just don't know about him and crystal lake ecc

cause otherwise for you to be there is pretty much a death wish from your part

That being said, if you don't know anything about him there's a good chance that the scariest part of Jason (sadly) it's his appearance and behaviour 

JASON BABE YOU'RE HUGE LIKE SCARY BIG, WHAT THE MCFUCK IS ONE SUPPOSED TO FEEL SEEING YOU CHARGING AT THEM LIKE A FUCKING GRIZZLY BEAR 

The whole being chased around like a fucking animal is not a vibe i guess 

LET ME BE DELUSIONAL ABOUT THE FACT THAT WITH ENOUGH TIME HE COULD BE QUITE NICE TO BE AROUND 

I won't let anyone ruin my mental image of him being a sweetheart once you know him

THAT MAN CAN'T BE THAT EVIL. YES, I CAN FIX HIM. IF YOU THINK YOU CAN'T THAT SOUNDS LIKE A YOU PROBLEM

Now, jason may be shy and a gentle giant but he's not stupid

He knows very well how you think of him and how does he looks like to anyone who sees him

He can see through your act, you can't fool him

He can see the same scared look in your eyes he used to see on other people's face when he was a kid

The only person who has always looked at him like he's just well a human being with feelings is his mother

And maybe it doesn't makes sense and It may be controversial but deep down jason appreciates the nice act 

Like he just can't bring himself to care anymore. At least someone is trying to be nice 

Keep in mind this man has known nothing from the world beside humiliation, pain and loneliness 

Idk if anyone ever thinks about it but it torments me a great deal the thought of Jason's miserable life

Being stripped away from your humanity, having to choose a path of violence to protect yourself, having to witness how they kill the only person in the whole universe that could ever love you 

That shit it's just not fair and even if he knows you're scared of him he sees it as the most caring and thoughtful anyone has ever been with him in a long time

Think about it, anyone who has ever seen him has either tried to kill him or has been incredibly cruel 

The fact that, even if out of fear and self-preservation, you try to still reach to his human side and treat him with respect at least it's already enough

I think he could be one of those slasher that could make you fall in love without falling for the Stockholm syndrome type of infatuation 

HE IS, OKAY? I WILL TAKE NO FUCKING CRITICISMS. YOU WILL GENUINELY FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM OR ELSE I'LL STEAL YOUR FUCKING PET

Jason would literally try everything to get you to feel less stressed around him

It breaks his heart to see your eyes glossy or your body shaking because of fear 

In the process he gets clumsier by the minute so at the in of the day you're both stressed 

He is because he's scaring you just by breathing and you bc obvious reasons

You can notice how different he acts tho and somehow, his efforts manage to go through your thick layer of fear 

You could swear he almost tries to make himself look as harmless and gentle as possible

You can see him trying to take as little space as he can or bringing you things that might cheer you up 

He cleans up from blood and gore before getting back home 

He even makes his cabin more homely for you so you feel more at home and less kidnapped 

And at some point it works 

That plus you somehow piecing together what has happened to him it's starting to make it easier for you to not relax but overall feel less terrified around him

He would spend so much time watching you from afar because he knows he will never get to know you or see you without fear 

The days where he can observe you without you noticing anything are his favourite. He gets to see a version of you more relaxed and natural

He would literally spend an eternity being far from you if it means you can feel better 

He would spend his free time improving the cabin and daydreaming about what it would be like to be liked by you

Not even like dating you because he feels it would be wrong for him to even think about it

Please for the love of God, try to be friendly with him

Having the opportunity to know him better is taking away some of the fear

You know very well it's not Stockholm syndrome cause it feels genuine

One day you take a good look at him while he's taking care of his flowers I'm the garden 

You observe every part of his rotting being and you can't exactly explain why but you feel your heart ache and your eyes glossy 

Not for you, but for him

It's almost like some sort of illumination comes to you and makes everything painfully clear

You have obviously noticed he's not alive cause we're stupid but not that much 

You take a really good look at his clothes and body, at his mask and everything you look at to get more details about him

Everything in his appearance screams hurt, wounded and mistreated. A whole life and a afterlife filled with getting hurt and abused by the world 

His bright blue eye has always a layer of sadness in it even when he's doing something that makes him happy

It hits you just now how little human he must feel. 

And that leads you to realise that he has not only changed so much just to please you but has distanced himself as if he's very own existence could be offensive to you

From that day you started with small steps like saying good morning or good night to him, keeping him company when he tended to his garden, trying to get closer to him even if that means just being in silence and standing next to him

That grows into "talking" with him, taking walks around the woods, spending evenings reading inside the cabin 

You insist in eating together, tending his wounds, mending his clothes and overall doing anything that could make him feel less like the shell of a human being 

At first he doesn't really get it but the more you do it the more he silently realises how much he craves those types of things. 

I personally think that with enough patience you both could build a good relationship and you could even talk him out of killing people and settle for just scaring them away

He's favourite thing to do is curling up next to you in bed, his head on your chest so he can listen to your heartbeats while you mindlessly caress his back while telling him about anything you want 

JESSE CROMEANS:

🎶DADDY LET ME KNOW THAT I'M YOUR ONLY GORL🎶

Some funzies before doing some emotional terrorism

Since you all want to be a menace with this requests I'm going to use post accident Jesse

To say this man is on the verge of tears every single day is an understatement

So long story short you were jesse s/o

He was like the love of your fucking life and you were his

His whole world goes around you, you're the only thing that makes him genuinely happy besides his work

You found out about the whole chromeskull thing in the worst way possible

He was scared of coming back after the accident with his face so he just kind of distanced himself

Everytime you would ask when he was coming home he always had an excuse

You both went a long time of just calling each other's, spending time on calls and sometimes even falling asleep with the phone still on

He missed you so much but he couldn't bear the thought of you looking at him like he was monster

It was killing him to know he was so close to you but couldn't reach you

You find out who he really was on accident

Cleaning around to distract yourself you ended up gathering many things that needed to be put in the attic so that you did

Once you were there you found some tapes. You checked them out of curiosity and oh boy you regretted it

You felt so sick you almost threw up

All those girls, there were some many of them in each tape and each one of them different from the other

It was horrifying to watch the love of your life mercilessly torture and kill helpless and innocent people

Now everything made so much more sense and It actually made you feel even worse to know that this whole time, while you were talking with him, Jesse was killing people

What hurts the most is feeling like you've been played, like you were something he has used to entertain himself until he finds a new victim

Needless to say you didn't stayed in your shared apartment a day longer, you didn't even take with half of the things you own

Most of them were gifts Jesse bought you so bringing them with you was only going to make it worse

You were scared out of your mind. So scared that in fact you couldn't even find the courage to go to the police, afraid that maybe that would end up with your being another one of Jesse victims

Obviously no one told Jesse what was going on. They all collectively agreed their boss was dealing with enough shit to keep adding more

They all needed Jesse to focus on work

That didn't worked well cause as soon as you stopped answering the phone he decided enough was enough

He needed to check what was going on so he found the courage to overcome his insecurities and go find you

He was heartbroken when he found you left

He immediately thought that you just got tired of waiting for him, that he has drawn you away

Long story short he went after you to find you and try at the best of his abilities to explain everything and win you back

He did not see the coming all that panic and terror in your face when he knocked at your door

He did think it was bc of his face so he tried to calm you down and explain

Needless to say you didn't calm down and he being the man he is, just kind of kidnapped you

Now onto business here

He knows you have every right to feel like this but it still upsets him deeply to know that he will never get the chance of being with you like before

He thought that you being scared and acting crazy every time you saw him was the worst but now he is kind of rethinking it

You started acting like this after he "snapped" at you

You were panicking and screaming while he tried to tell you something, that lead to you taking his mask off accidently which ended up in him pushing you off too hard

After that things went really fucking downhills

It wasn't like you were still out of your mind but the look in your eyes is unbearable

The first time you started the whole acting nice thing he almost thought you were starting to at least tolerate him but then he saw it

It's the same look some of his victims had while trying to gain his trust, seeing it on you was the worst thing he has ever experienced

He just couldn't stand it anymore, his face, you hating him, his favourite victim who was the one that has damaged him so badly killed by that cunt of Preston and now this? Mate is done

He has tried everything and anything but now he just kind of gives up

You notice the shift in his behaviour, how he comes by just to bring your meals or things you may need, he doesn't even goes near you or talks and his eyes are always anywhere but on you

I gotta be real with you guys, I don't think there's like a way to make this up

HE'S HURT OKAY? BRO'S EMOTIONAL DAMAGE IS BIG AF

He would even start sending his assistant to take care of you so he doesn't has to face you at all

It's just painful cause he already feels like his life is ruined and everything is falling apart with him not being able to fix it

You know what? I'm gonna fix it cause I can't take it anymore

You have probably grown used to be basically trapped at home, it's not like you're suffering with god knows what kind of abuse cause you basically have all you need to distract yourself aside from going out

Jesse comes home very rarely and as much as you hate to admit it you have been feeling less and less scared of him

You still think what he does is horrible but the thing that bothers you it's him lying to you

You do have to admit you miss being with him. Not like when you were scared but like when you didn't knew and he was just Jesse

You wonder from time to time if he's angry at you for how you have reacted since he hasn't shown himself for quite sometimes

As if on clue you hear something break in the bathroom and what seems like someone crying

That would be another of Jesse's mental breakdowns about his face. He thinks he looks so bad he can't even bear the sight of himself in the mirror

You slowly try to approach the bathroom and putting your ear against the door, you try to hear what's going on

You have never heard Jesse crying nor making any sort of noises come out of his mouth so it's actually quite shocking to hear him sob so hard

When you open the door the scene breaks your heart and in that moment you don't see chromeskull or the homicides, you just see your Jesse, the same one you have always loved and that has always helped you when you were down, on his knees bawling his eyes out and shaking

You just do what comes naturally aka you get closer and you just hold him as tight as possible

He tries to hide away, panicking bc he doesn't want you to see what he has become, but you just keep hugging him and saying that it doesn't matter

The moment you hold his face on your hands and look at him with the same understanding gaze you used to have it's the moment he feels his heart beating right again

It's not gonna be easy to accept everything but at least you're coming around it and he makes sure you know how grateful he is for it everyday

[gerdi-ringbell]

What is Sleep Token's trilogy of albums about?

This is my own take on the story behind the album trilogy. First of all, special thanks to Daria Urbanovich for translating this article into English.

Author’s note

Above all, I would like to state a few crucial aspects:

Everything that is written in this essay is solely my perception, the author's reflection and understanding of it. I do not claim to be aware of the truth.

I shall focus entirely on the characters and images, without in any way involving the personalities of the people who stand behind the project. I perceive the whole story as fiction, and I do not mean to speculate on the relation to the actual life of any of the members of the group. Vessel is the narrator here, the lead character in the songs, and the stage persona, not the person under the mask.

This essay would not have existed without a few pieces of material written by others, which I referenced in one way or another. Namely: a breakdown of "Aqua Regia" from the Genius website, as well as song translations and album decodings from the Sleep Token Russian community that deal with aspects that I shall touch upon in no detail.

Preface

Like many other people who are interested not only in the music, but also in the lore of Sleep Token, from the very beginning I have been trying to understand the story behind the fine words.

I read other people's articles and analyses, dug through the lyrics and created my own theories, but the picture just would not come together. Still I had the feeling that something was missing. This was very much the case with the debut album ‘Sundowning’. However, when ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ was finally released, everything fell into place. The last piece of the puzzle had been found.

While reading the breakdown of ‘Aqua Regia’ and ‘Rain’, I figured out what exactly was the missing piece. It is commonly believed that all of Sleep Token's songs are about Sleep (presumably the goddess). However, I shall say that they are about three (or rather, most of the time about two) different women. For my own convenience, I shall call them Sleep, Eden and Rain (I will explain why these names were chosen later on). I shall make it clear at once that Sleep is here precisely as a woman, a character in the story, not as the goddess the band allegedly worships.

With a sudden awareness, the picture rapidly became clearer. It is worth taking a step back and point out that the narrative of the albums is not entirely chronologically accurate. It is designed in such a way that the whole story can be fully understood only when all three albums can be juxtaposed together. Thus, this is what explains the seeming disorder. Now, let us cut to the chase.

The way I see the story

It all begins with Eden. She is Vessel's first (at least in the context of this story) lover. The relationship with her is perfect and harmonious, like heaven (hence ‘Eden’). She is the one whom Vessel sees as the lifelong sweetheart. But, alas, there is a break in this dream-like story, allegedly Alzheimer's disease (as ‘The Night Does Not Belong to God’ tells us, alluding to the ‘sundown syndrome’ that can be observed in someone with the disease). ‘The Night Does Not Belong to God’ is the first one on the album, and it begins the theme of memory loss that runs through the other songs dedicated to Eden.

“And you remember everything Only 'til the sun recedes once again”

And with it begins the theme of a premonition of death.

“I know for the last time You will not be mine So give me the night, the night, the night”

It all drifts into ‘Levitate’, filled with despair at the awareness of imminent loss.

“Will you levitate Up where the angels inhabit? Will you levitate Where I won't reach you?”

Here also starts a significant imagery line that runs (to a greater or lesser extent) through all three albums love and relationship are compared to water.

“Like water, a perfect flood Engulfing me again, oh”

Once again, this all ties in with a line of loss of memories – paradise crumbles as Eden loses more and more of herself to her illness. It becomes increasingly difficult to live as before.

“And we imitate A story of perfect days A ballad we fabricate As you forget your words again, oh”

And.

“And I can tell you won't Remember my cracking bones The trauma we can't regrow Just as you leave again, no”

By “leave again” may be meant another loss of memories. Each time the oblivion becomes longer, the memories are fewer and fewer, and the point of no return is closer.

The theme of loss reaches its climax in ‘Drag Me Under’. For Vessel, it is a kind of farewell. The moment when even the angels find no words and when the gods leave heaven is the moment of utmost despair and silent grief.

“And I know The angels tonight are As lost for words As I am”

Moreover, one can observe here another feature characteristic of the tracks dedicated to Eden, a different form of divine theme. Gods and angels seem as faraway supreme beings, and the lyrics themselves are more ‘down-to-earth’.

“And I know The Gods will Abandon the heavens just to find us”

In the lyrics connected with Sleep (that is, in most of them) one gets the impression of the presence of some supreme being, which Vessel seems to try to reach, it is her image that is most ‘deified’ (hence the choice of name), despite the fact that Eden is juxtaposed with paradise. An excellent example is, for instance, ‘High Water’:

“And I choke myself on sacred vapour Waiting on some holy favour”

However, we shall talk about Sleep a little later.

The tipping point for Vessel is ‘Atlantic’. Unable to cope with the loss of his beloved, and probably partly blaming himself for her death, he attempts suicide, but survives.

“I woke up surrounded, eyes like frozen planets Just orbiting the vacuum I am They talk me through the damage, consequence And how it's a pain they know they don't understand Sobbing as they turn to statues at the bedside I'm trying not to crush into sand So flood me like Atlantic, weather me to nothing Wash away the blood on my hands”

It is the beginning of his vicious cycle of suffering, from which he shall not be able to break for a long time. In a sense, ‘Atlantic’ is the starting point of the story, the beginning of a journey deep into Vessel’s mind, his hang-ups and traumas, his self-reflection, expressed in the music and lyrics on all the albums. This is where his darkness begins.

And it is right here where a new phase begins. Although Eden is dead, for Vessel himself life goes on. As time passes, he begins a new relationship with the one to whom most of the tracks are dedicated, Sleep. And their romance is revealed with a genuinely dark side. The tracks dedicated to her flit between two edges – a morbid obsession (like ‘The Offering’, ‘Take Aim’, ‘Hypnosis’, ‘Mine’) and cruelty and toxicity (like ‘Dark Signs’, ‘Higher’, ‘Like That’, ‘Granite’).

In some ways, Vessel is trapped in this relationship. Sleep does not like him, which she does not even particularly hide, but continues to take advantage of him when she needs to. There are plenty of hints, for example, in ‘Say That You Will’.

“And you've got me up in a frenzy again And I know you're planning to leave in the end”

In ‘Higher’.

“Cause you can remember only when you're alone I am granting you more than the debt that I owe”

And in ‘Like That’.

“I stumble into your tar trap An addition to your collection”

And an interesting moment in ‘When the Bough Breaks’.

“You don't really love, you just hate to be alone”

Both the EPs ‘One’ and ‘Two’ are also tied to the story, as we can see with ‘Take Me Back to Eden’, but more on that later.

Perhaps the most vivid examples in this regard are ‘Fall For Me’ and ‘The Love You Want’, both of which speak entirely of Vessel's one-sided love, but the second song is quite interesting lyrically.

“You lie an inch apart on your own continuum Now keep the freak show talk to a careful minimum I'll find a different harbor to lay my anchor in And you'll find a different way to keep from setting sail again, no”

Just as in ‘Jericho’, the theme of physical but not emotional intimacy is touched on here. To put it crudely, in this relationship Vessel occasionally acts as somebody to spend the night with, which Sleep turns to when there is no one else to go to (here again one might think of ‘Higher’). The relationship theme develops through aquatic metaphors (here as ‘harbor’ and ‘sailing’).

“Seems your heart is locked up and I still get the combination wrong Or are you simply waiting to save your love for someone I am not? Too many swallowed keys will make you bleed internally someday”

Vessel is well aware of the futility of his attempts at making himself solid with Sleep, but he is unable to stop – he is addicted. Vessel is obsessed with this relationship. To be more precise, he is obsessed with the idea of what they can be. Here we look into ‘Telomeres’.

Later on we shall analyse this track in more detail, but for now let us think again about the comparison of relationship to water.

“Rivers and oceans We could beckon, no Your eyes and your limbs Are instruments to pick apart The distance within”

Eden was the perfect match for Vessel, the kind of soul mate that many of people can only dream. Their relationship became for him the eminent example, the etalon of what he strives for. It is through the lens of their love with Eden that he perceives all his subsequent relationships. Roughly said, he is not looking for a new partner with whom he can build a future, but someone who can replace his missing love.

Trapped in an addictive bond with Sleep, Vessel desperately tries to make this relationship ideal, even as he realises how unrealistic his desire is. He is split between aggression when Sleep does not meet his expectations once they are together and obsessive despair when they are apart again. That is the picture of their mutually toxic relationship.

As I mentioned, most of the tracks on the first two albums reveal this very issue, but ‘Blood Sport’ is particularly interesting to me in this context.

Overall, the song is a remorse and a plea for another chance, another attempt. Despite the harshness of their relationship, Vessel begs for forgiveness. Nevertheless, I want to draw special attention to these lines.

“And out there Stuck in a quantum pattern Tangled with what I never said You say it doesn't matter”

Frankly, it seems to me like a gaslighting to which Vessel was subjected by Sleep. It also ties in with his mental condition, which is better revealed already on the album ‘Take Me Back to Eden’. Thus, in general, we have understood the first two albums. Let us move on to the third one.

Unlike the first two, ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ is much more (though also not completely) linear in its story (although in general terms ‘Sundowning’ can be perceived as a slow prologue and ‘This Place Will Become Your Tomb’ as the main part) and is the final chapter. I shall not examine in detail the songs ‘Chokehold’, ‘The Summoning’ and ‘Vore’, as they simply continue to look at the general theme of the relationship with Sleep from different angles.

The turning point is ‘Granite’. It is a moment of realisation about the nature of their relationship, with all their mutual grievances, recriminations and manipulations. It is as if Vessel is reading the room for the first time.

“When you'd sit there acting likе you know me Acting like you only brought me here to get below me Never mind the death threats, parting at the door We'd rather be six feet under than be lonely And if you had a problem, then you should have told me 'Fore you started getting all aggressive and controlling”

Vessel, for the first time, truly decides to overcome his addiction and break free from the vicious cycle in which nothing good awaits him. His relationship with Sleep is doomed, they could never be happy together, but he realises this only now.

“Between the second-hand smoke and the glass on the street You gave me nothing whatsoever but a reason to leave You say you want me, but you know I'm not what you need But I am”

Speaking briefly about ‘Aqua Regia’, the song metaphorically refers to dating apps and the short-lived romances. From the perspective of the story, it can be seen that Vessel has indeed broken off his relationship with Sleep, but still feels the necessity to be loved, which causes him to fall into a cycle of such affairs. However, one important detail for understanding some of the things that follow.

“Gold rush, acid flux Saturate me, I can't get enough”

The desperate chase for a relationship that never leads to satisfaction. In these temporary acquaintances, he does not find the one who becomes his lover.

Move on to ‘Ascensionism’. In its structure, it creates a kind of picture of struggle, of withdrawal from previous painful relationship. The song begins with longing and regret.

“Well, I know what you want from me You want someone to be Your reflection, your bitter deception Setting you free So you take what you want and leave”

It is the pain of having to break up with Sleep. Vessel realises the necessity of it, but cannot cope with the longing, like a man with an addiction trying to cure himself. But suddenly the melody becomes cheerful and energetic, and musings about their romance are mixed with impressions of the new fast-paced affairs he throws himself into, only to overcome these feelings. The song flow from one line to the next rapidly, like a chaotic stream, underscoring attempts to drown out one thought with another.

“Who made you like this? Who encrypted your dark gospel in body language? Synapses snap back in blissful anguish Tell me you met me in past lives, past life Past what might be eating me from the inside, darling Half algorithm, half deity Glitches in the code or gaps in a strange dream”

Then a sudden breakdown – rage, pain, resentment – as one of the experience stages.

“You're gonna watch me ascend”

The storm dies down, replaced again by humility, almost acceptance. But this time Vessel is more focused on himself and his own feelings.

“And I know what you want from me You want the same as me My redemption, eternal ascension Setting me free So I'll take what I want then leave”

And then, the final breakdown.

“You make me wish I could disappear, no You make me wish I could disappear”

The whole ‘Ascensionism’ is just a picture of the emotional rollercoaster that Vessel goes through, having to cope with the break-up alone. Although their relationship with Sleep was toxic, he was addicted, which makes the break-up so traumatic. However, this time he does not attempt to return, he moves on.

Here I shall take a slight step back from Vessel's relationship with Sleep and come back to Eden, because herein lies a little internal trilogy from ‘Telomeres’, ‘Are You Really Okay?’ and ‘The Apparition’, revealing the effects of their relationship on Vessel himself. In all honesty, this is probably my favourite part of the jigsaw puzzle.

Return to ‘Telomeres’ for a second, especially to these lines.

“Let the tides carry you back to me The past, the future Through death My arms are open”

Even though Eden is dead, Vessel still loves her. He misses her and longs to be reunited, so that even death will not be an obstacle for them. But you have to be careful what you wish for, because it can come true.

This is where we come to ‘Are You Really Okay?’, which draws us a picture of Vessel's dream, which begins with a beautiful image of his beloved in the dawn sun, but soon it all turns into a nightmare.

“You woke me up one night Dripping crimson on the carpet I saw it in your eyes Cutting deeper than the scars could run”

Memories of Eden's self-harm and suicidal tendencies haunt Vessel at nights. The illness probably aggravated her already difficult emotional state (as the single ‘The Way That You Were’ also hints at). I mentioned at the very beginning, when analysing ‘Atlantic’, that Vessel might have blamed himself for her death.

“So flood me like Atlantic, weather me to nothing Wash away the blood on my hands”

Knowing Eden's tendency to self-harm and her suicidal thoughts, one day he might simply not have saved her in time, making him feel responsible for what happened because he did not see the red flags in time or take enough action (from his point of view) to stop her.

“And I I cannot fix your wounds this time”

‘The Apparition’ is a moment of awakening from a nightmare. As Vessel wished, his beloved returns to him, albeit only at night, even if only in nightmares.

“Why are you never real? Whenever you appear You leave me with that grace I am trembling with fear But I know that you will disappear Just as I awake”

No matter how much time has passed, he cannot recover from this loss.

“No matter what I do This scar will never fade”

Although these dreams are a kind of torture for him, Vessel is pleased with them because he briefly reunites with Eden, seeing her end up committing suicide.

“I make the most of the turning tide It just split what's left of the burning silence Don't wait, 'cause this could be the last time You turn up in the reveries of my mind I wake up to a suicide frenzy Loaded dreams still leave me empty”

“I make the most of the turning tide” ties in directly with ‘Telomeres’ – “Let the tides carry you back to me”. Just as Vessel wanted, the waters brought his beloved back to him, even if not in the way one might have wished. However, the awakenings are painful for him, because they remind him that in reality, Eden has long been dead. It is an endless cycle of nightmare dreams and an equally nightmarish reality. Vessel is caught between the desire to be free and the unwillingness to let go.

“Just let me go or take me with you”

‘DYWTYLM’ is a ballad about Vessel's self-reflection, his attempts to figure out his own feelings. Many of the songs on the album show his complicated relationship with himself, but this one makes the issue a centerpiece. The pain of loss, guilt and a long toxic relationship broke him down.

“Do you pull at the chains? Or do you push into constant aching? Each and every day Do you wish that you loved me?”

I do like the theory that the whole track is he, talking to his own reflection in the mirror.

“Is there something you give That you will never receive in return? Do you know what it is? Do you wish that you loved me?”

In many ways, it echoes his reflections on unrequited love, particularly ‘The Love You Want’. These two songs have both many slight opposites and are very similar thematically – love for oneself or for another, the desire to love or to be loved.

“And my reflection just won't smile back at me likе I know it should And I would turn into a stranger in an instant if I could And there is somеthing eating me alive, I don’t know what it is Maybe not that you conceal your feelings, they just don't exist”

The whole track portrays a picture of Vessel's dark and traumatised inner world. In a way, here he is looking back at his past and trying to figure out who he has become. ‘DYWTYLM’ is on this place on the album for a reason, because the next song is ‘Rain’.

‘Rain’ is, in a sense, the finale of the story, as both ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ and ‘Euclid’ are a kind of conclusion, although in different ways. And this is where she appears – Rain (where the name comes from, obviously), Vessel’s new love.

Now, in order. Time passes after the break-up with Sleep; amongst the myriad of new fast-paced affairs, none can lead to anything.

“For so long, I have waited So long that I almost became Just a stoic statue, fit for nobody”

Exactly until the moment, he meets her, Rain.

“And I don't wanna get in your way But I finally think I can say That the vicious cycle was over The moment you smiled at me”

She shows reciprocity, and it is not some little affair. In Vessel’s eyes, she is the one, who becomes his hope for a new serious (and healthy) relationship, for breaking the endless cycle of viciousness. However, we ought not to forget that he himself, as we see in ‘DYWTYLM’, has enormous difficulty accepting himself, and therefore finds himself unworthy of a partner (“And I don't wanna get in your way”).

Nevertheless, he believes that Rain is the woman who can become ‘the one’ for him. That is why she is like the purifying rain (remember the constant thread of comparing love to water). Beside her, Vessel becomes the best version of himself.

“And just like the rain You cast the dust into nothing And wash out the salt from my hands So touch me again I feel my shadow dissolving Will you cleanse me with pleasure?”

However, he is not forgetting that he is far from an ideal partner. Mutual toxicity, demanding the impossible, manipulation – all the things he has done and been in the past relationship.

“A dangerous disposition somehow Refracted in light, reflected in sound I'm coiled up like the venomous serpent”

He is caught between his fear of returning to this darker side of himself, being the cause of his new lover's suffering, and his desire to give himself another chance and enter into a new relationship. In doing so, he openly warns her of his dark sides. The last line is especially important.

“And I know, I know the way that it goes You get what you give, you reap what you sow And I can see you in my fate And I know, I know I am what I am The mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb So darling, will you saturate?”

Here we return to ‘Aqua Regia’, to the line “Saturate me, I can't get enough”. The endless chase for a relationship ends. Rain is the one who can ‘saturate’ him, meaning an affair with her can lead to a serious long-term relationship.

Here, through a wonderfully subtle reference to ‘Blood Sport’ and the subsequent repetition of “Rain down on me”, we see that despite all the worries and fears, Vessel finally decides to start a new chapter of his life together with a new love.

“Nobody can say for certain If maybe it's all just a game When I open my eyes to the future I can hear you say my name”

‘Take Me Back to Eden’, it seems to me, is not even so much an epilogue as a kind of ‘confession’, leaving some hint of an open ending to the story. It is Vessel's reflection on his past with both Eden and Sleep, and the leftover longing and pain, which he has not been able to let go.

“I dream in phosphorescence Bleed through spaces See you drifting past the fog But no one told you where to go We dive through crystal waters Perfect oceans But no one told me not to breathe And now the weightlessness recedes”

Even in the new chapter of his life, his past relationships and the pain he has endured continue to drag him down. After the rather encouraging ‘Rain’, ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ seems rather bleak and despairing.

“My, my, those eyes like fire I'm a winged insect, you're a funeral pyre Come now, bite through these wires I'm a waking hell and thе gods grow tired”

His morbid desire for a perfect relationship has not gone anywhere.

“I will travel far beyond the path of reason Take me back to Eden”

The song in many ways shows the vivid image of introspection from ‘DYWTYLM’, but in a more aggressive and desperate way.

“Well, yeah, I spit blood when I wake up Sink porcelain stained, choking up brain matter and make-up Just two days since the mainframe went down and I'm still messed up Room feels like a meat freezer I dangle in like cold cuts Missed calls, answer phones from people I just don't trust”

Mostly the song draws a rather gloomy picture of the recognition that there is no going back, what has been done cannot be undone, and the pain caused cannot be taken away.

“And I don't know what's got its teeth in me But I'm about to bite back in anger No amount of self-sought fury Will bring back the glory of innocence”

Coming right after ‘Rain’, ‘Take Me Back to Eden’ seems to hint at the continuation of the vicious cycle. The vivid reference to ‘Chokehold’ at the end of the song is especially evident – we go back to the beginning of this cycle: addiction, pain, break-up, suffering. Yet, the song does not give an obvious answer as to where the relationship with Rain comes to, as the whole picture is drawn as if from ‘inside’, through inner fears and concerns, rather than through what is going on.

Then, here is the long-awaited ‘Euclid’. To be honest, I think that the song has almost nothing to do with the story. It sums up the whole Sleep Token oeuvre (that is why it consists almost entirely of references).

There is a surprising change of mood again. After the dark and heavy ‘Take Me Back to Eden’, ‘Euclid’ sounds like a new hope, though with a touch of quiet melancholy. It is a kind of what-will-be look into the future, a desire to move forward, no matter what lies ahead. It is a lovely picture of ‘walking off into the sunset’.

“If my fate is a bad collision, and if My mind is an open highway Give me the twilight two-way vision Give me one last ride on a sunset sky lane”

I should be honest – I like the theory that this song is an appeal to the audience, a thank-you for being part of this journey.

“The night belongs to you This bough has broken through I must be someone new”

The repetition of the lines from ‘The Night Does Not Belong to God’ is a wonderful way of putting the lid on the matter and pointing out that this story is over. It is the end of a fragment of the band’s history, and only a few people know what is ahead.

***

So now, the picture is complete. I want to bring up one more question – so what is really the message of Sleep, for the spread of which Sleep Token came into being? I have wondered for a long time, would this ubiquitous ancient god really preach about such down-to-earth things as unrequited love or toxic relationships? But what if we've all been misunderstanding the very concept of the message all along?

I believe that what it is all about is not hidden in the texts at all, as one might think. God's message is much broader than that, and is not something that can be wrapped up in words like that. Because it is about healing through music. Yes, just like that.

Have you ever felt that any of the songs touches your heart, touches a definite string of your soul? If yes, then congratulations, you have received and understood the message. It is not about love and relationships at all, it is about letting your emotions, your hidden pain flow out through your music and giving yourself permission to move on. The theme of love in this context becomes very clear, as it is familiar to many of us. I remember that when I first have to know the band, I described my feelings this way – "they are opening up wounds in my soul that I didn't realise I had, to let them bleed and finally heal".

I feel like this is the very essence of the band’s idea.

So why exactly was Vessel chosen as the ‘preacher’? Precisely because he has been through so much and the story that this narrator told us in the three albums was a heavy burden for him. Throughout Sleep Token's existence, he gradually healed, became more confident, showing by his example the influence of Sleep, which is not at all present in the songs, as is commonly thought.

***

Finally, a couple of words about the EPs ‘One’, ‘Two’, the singles, and their relation to the story. Here we are going a little bit beyond the lore, because I think the concept of the story that is told on the three albums was already formed closer to ‘Sundowning’, and the first EPs could have been just first steps. The direction in which the band was going to work was already clear, but the details were still unsettled. So the songs on those albums, while related to history (as we understand from the references to them in various places on ‘Take Me Back to Eden’), but the connection is more abstract and blurred.

Thank you, if you have made it through.

Worship.

[championleonsslut]

Got anything for a yandere Leon like headcanons or a fic?

OHOHOHO ANON THE CAN OF WORMS YOU HAVE OPENED

Yandere Leon

WARNINGS: kidnapping, Stockholm syndrome, kinda nsfw, murder, manipulation. Reader is female

DONT DO THIS IN REAL LIFE ITS REALLY BAD KIDS

Leon gets what he wants. He always does eventually. He’s the champion.

And what he wants right now is you. The prettiest girl in all of Galar according to him. So sweet, so kind, so clever, so good with Pokemon.

He’s madly in love with you, even though you guys are only friends. There’s just one problem.

The boyfriend.

Leon has some competition in his way, as you’ve told him over and over again how madly in love with this man you are. Leon has to watch him kiss you and make you giggle. Disgusting! You should be in his arms, kissing his lips instead.

He draws the line when you tell who you think is a good friend that you want to give your boyfriend your virginity.

So Leon “runs” into your boyfriend in the Wild area, and challenges him to a Pokemon battle with Charizard. Your poor boyfriend… Charizard just… burned him right up! What a freak accident! Naturally Leon deposes of the body before anyone stumbles upon it. He throws it into a cave, careful to keep his fingerprints off it.

His body is found a few days later, and it’s all over the news. You come running into Leon’s arms, crying your pretty little eyes out. Leon pretends to be all upset and comforts you as you cry.

That’s when Leon starts the manipulation. He starts twisting your brain to see him in a better light, to maybe even fall in love with him.

And it works! From what he can tell, you have a crush on him. Finally. Now he can begin the second step of his plan.

He decks out a room in his private penthouse just for you, and breaks into your apartment that night. The house is peaceful, and you’re wearing such short shorts and such a short shirt while you sleep peacefully… how is Leon supposed to resist you?

He sees you sleeping with your mouth open, and pops a few pills in there. He helps you swallow them too, how sweet. Those will make sure you stay unconscious for the next few hours.

And once he makes sure you’re out cold, he lunges his new prize over his shoulder, and carries you out to the car to rest peacefully in the back seat.

You awake in a very strange place. You don’t remember being here. Then Leon appears, to welcome you to your new home! You put two and two together and start screaming at him for kidnapping you, but he doesn’t bat an eye. He says once you’ve calmed down and gotten used to the place, your restrictions can be lifted.

And just like that he’s gone.

Your room is nice to say the least… he made sure to decorate it to your tastes. A large king sized bed, bookshelves, a desk, a video game system, anything else that may have interested you…

And of course a massive closet filled with all sorts of clothes… but especially lingerie. The sluttiest cuts you’ve ever seen! You even spied a few sex toys in the drawers…

Leon brings you fresh food and water very often, making sure you’re well kept. You’re still mad at him for kidnapping you, but pleased he’s taking care of you so well.

You eventually ask him why, and your suspicions are confirmed.

“Oh, love. Well I couldn’t let anyone else have you, now could I? You were made for me! So I had to start keeping you here… so I could have you all to myself. We’re meant to be together, don’t you know?”

At first you reject him, and he’s disappointed, but just thinks you need more time. So he gives you more time, and manipulates you more, until you finally tell him you love him after countless nights of being denied.

That’s when you gain a bit of freedom. Now you’re allowed to walk around the entire penthouse! Leon officially starts calling you his girlfriend too, and takes your virginity on a night you chose to wear lingerie for him.

You stay happily cooped up in his apartment for about a year, while still taking good care of yourself, before he finally sets you free. He knows you won’t leave his side, and you’ll always come home, but now you can start leaving the penthouse… as long as you always come back. (Which you do!)

After being his precious little darling for a few years, he presents you with a beautiful ring one night, and asks you to be his queen. Of course you say yes, and reward him that night with the lewd pleasure he loves to get out of you.

The wedding is wonderful, and he’s so glad to finally have you as his bride. Stolen, maybe. But his nonetheless. You’re a wonderful wife to him, no matter if you stay at home or have a career of your own.

But a few years into your marriage, Leon wants a little more than just you. He wants you to bear his children. Of course you say yes! Actually, you say yes many times, as you two end up having five little babies of your own.

A girl, another girl, a boy and a girl (TWINS!) and another boy.

Your children and husband are the lights of your life, just the way Leon has always wanted it.

Becuase you belong to him.

I’m totally willing to go into heavy detail about the five children you have with Leon just fyi

[sunshinecherryblossom]

Ok, a friend of mine sent me the original Naruto databooks and there are some things I'd like to discuss with you now. Focusing on the characters of Sakura and Hinata we see that their favorite thing is literally the boy they claim to be in love with. Oh my God, not even Minato and Kushina or the other couples are at this level! Even in the case of Hinata he says that since she was little she has always loved Naruto and liked to look at him from afar (going by logic to the exclusion, how the heck can you already love at the age of 4??! and yet they want me to believe that Naruto in OG only had a crush on Sakura while with Hinata we already talk about love without even knowing the person or having interacted with him a few times. Oh well, we've said it all). Regarding Sakura we see that her favorite thing is Sasuke enveloped in black flames? That is, basically, the darker Sasuke is, the more he loves him? what the hell? This is literally called obsession or rather, a psychologist would say the so-called "Stockholm syndrome", I always wonder what Sakura's parents would have thought in seeing their daughter choose the man who tried to kill her over the one always at her side ( no, I don't care if Sasuke wasn't himself, it's still an attempted murder and ok, you may even be willing to forgive but no self-respecting woman would continue to love a man who tried to kill her several times) and yet, d' on the other hand, we see that in the side with Naruto the relationship between the two is always described in a positive way until the end, that from an initially annoying person he ended up being important to her and that she wants to protect her dream until the end to thank him for having her always loved and protected (oh right, it was just a red herring and the two were just supposed to be friends in the end; ironic given that in Gaiden and Boruto they aren't even that anymore and can barely call each other acquaintances. Anyone who watches Naruto and then follows Boruto can seriously think of watching two totally different series). Furthermore, returning to the NH and NS in the Naruto databook only Sakura's confession in the land of iron appears, nothing is mentioned regarding Hinata's confession or the handshake for Neji's death (this already makes it clear how much the character is was important in the protagonist's life but ok, he was a NH from the beginning, the salty fans are us who read the wrong manga). Ironic that Naruto's favorite thing is Ichraku's ramen (NaruRamen canon since the beginning ehehe) and Sasuke's is him as a kid (I knew Sasuke was a narcissist and only loves himself ahahaha). I have nothing else to say, just state the obvious once again that pro-enders try to justify everything just because their ship is canon

[utageboyz]

𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕 (𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒑𝒂𝒅) ─ ❝ 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓(𝒔) 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒇𝒂𝒓 ❞

CW (content warning) : slight honkai impact 3rd spoilers (?), Manipulation, hints of Stockholm syndrome

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𝒂𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒙 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 / 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 ! 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

Having to become a dimension traveler wasn't the easiest for you to completely handle, at least that's what you thought.

After the incident where the honkai caused a great calamity to your beloved world, it was your decision to become a dimension traveller to find a place to make a new life, with the disadvantages of having to abandon being a valkyrie. Even if all the times and efforts of attempting to get your hands on the imaginary tree were hard, you managed to gain access to its power as you began your search. And here you are now! In a place very unknown to you and the only things you have is a bag with your belongings and a singular communication device.

"Mei, RAIDEN MEI!! C'mon please pick up..." Your voice was only filled with that of defeat as you didn't seem to receive any reply through the small ear piece, until a sound of sneering became deafening in your ear.

The screeching sound seemed to become less loud as a voice spoke, familiar yet almost strange sounding (possibly from how far the connection was), "apologize, y/n. I just didn't think you would really end up well 'here' out of all places"

As you hear her voice, your eyes start to wonder off while admiring the beautiful-like view; it was more colourful compared to the more chaotic scenery you have grown used to, forgetting what your home use to look like.

Though you continued to daze off aimlessly to no end, you could hear the voice once again as the connection seem to soon disappear before you could answer her and say goodbye.

"y/n, just stay safe whilst your there and stay out of any sort of danger or threat you might find"

'i assume I'm now on my own now...' you sigh to yourself quietly whilst you begin to walk along the grass that was beneath you, almost paying no mind to the new environment. It's strange obviously yet almost new and fresh that you found it almost comforting slightly, but you can't think like this for long to your dismay. You could encounter anything that might be a harm you, maybe even a herrscher-!

*Thud*

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't seem to see you there, are you alright?" opening your eyes slowly from the sudden fall, you avert your gaze up to look up at the male who looked at you worried.

While you observed him for a moment, his amber eyes looking down at you as his long, braided hair swayed in the wind, he looked strange but somewhat "familiar" though you couldn't completely put your finger on why. (maybe the blonde hair, perhaps?)

What are you thinking?! Have you begun to overthinking more ever since you decided to become a traveller? That couldn't be true, at least that's what you had tried to believe.

Rubbing your head with the palm of your hand, you look at the boy who continue to stare at you with worry before you hesitantly nod your head in reply. With a small sigh of relief he, smiles sweetly before helping you up onto your feet while asking you, "I've never seen you before, what's your name?"

"Oh, OH right! I'm y/n, it's nice to meet you... Um"

Out of the blue, you suddenly get cut of the boy as he continued to smile at you, even if you had never met before, "You can just call me aether"

He wouldn't cause much harm, he wont pose much of a threat, right? It's clearly impossible for him to even be similar to Otto. Once you think about it more, he didn't even have any similarities to him at all excluding the fact he has blonde hair. Then why are you acting like this...?

Ugh, your not even in your home world now! Just stop thinking about Otto, besides he will never cause you any worries anymore with all the experiments he had tested to revive his loved one.

taking a deep breath, you smile at the seemingly young boy, soon noticing the sun set in which aether releases along with you.

"It seems it's turning really dark... Since you don't seem to have a place to stay I guess I can let you stay in the Serenitea pot"

"Sereni- pot what now?" Looking at him, you raise an eyebrow at the rather confusing sentence.

"Don't worry, besides I'm sure its best for you to find somewhere comfortable to stay instead of having to camp outside. Here take my hand" he leaned you his hand once more which you hesitantly take. What a weird encounter....

.

Though you had barely stayed in "teyvat" for a week now, you seemed to get along with the traveller suprisingly well than you had thought in the first place. Relating to the fact you had travelled to world(s) as you both tried to find a place to finally live in after the destruction of your own.

Often, he would let you meet some of his friends, including his (non) edible companion, which was quite an experience since some did look similar to the ones you are more familiar with. Even if that was the case, you have seem to grow more used to everything that was around you and how they worked.

As you peacefully wrote inside the book that you had brought with you since day one, the sound of the door creaking open was audible before you see aether standing close to the door. Approaching you slowly, he sat on your bed besides you while the same smile he had the same smile he always had around you.

"Y/n I want to tell you something"

Looking at him you simply nod again before you ask, "what do you want to tell me aether?"

His gaze soon averts away from yours as he looks away from you for a small moment, leaning slightly against the bed as he uses his arms for support. His voice became slightly more distant than it usually was as he turn his head to the side to look at you, "i don't think you should continue adventuring with me and paimon anymore"

You could instantly feel your heart sink as you stop writing in you note book, the ink slowly spreading from the pen unable to answer.

"But w-why? I'm capable enough of defending myself you know this!" As you look at him, you could somehow feel tears welling up in your eyes. Soon, you could feel a gloved hand against your cheek as aether pulled you flush against his chest, "I'd never think of you as useless, but this world is to dangerous for you that you will never understand"

breathing out, he looks down at your broken form as before kissing your forehead as he whispers comforting to you, "I know you want to travel along side me, yet I don't want you to get hurt by anything else than you already have"

Why were you believing him? Maybe he was really was telling the truth since he would never lie to you if he had truly meant it.

"Y/n don't worry, I only tell you this because I have seen the truth of this world. We don't want you to get hurt, don't we?"

Who would know one of the strongest ex valkyries would fall into a trap like this. He was almost hipnotizing and at this point, you would start to believe that you needed him and only him

[hummingbird-of-light]

Twenty-fifth (and therefore last) story for @badthingshappenbingo ~ (Thanks so much for the nice card, it was a pleasure to write ✍️)

Title: Satisfied

Fandom: Star Trek (AOS)

Character(s): Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Khan Noonien Singh | John Harrison

Relationship(s): /

Rating: T

Words: 841

Prompt: Stockholm Syndrome

Warnings: Spoilers for "Into Darkness", Not Canon Compliant, Gaslighting, Swearing

(You can also find this story on AO3)

~ Satisfied ~

"Mr. Scott, I see you still haven't started your assignment."

Montgomery Scott looked up when he heard the familiar voice and his expression darkened.

This man. Every time he saw him, his hatred for him grew.

Khan, who had somehow managed to escape from his cryotube and steal an old freighter, had kidnapped him! He had torn him away from everything that was familiar to him. Everything he loved.

His crew. His friends.

And then he actually believed that Scotty would help him with this insane plan to take revenge on the Federation! What was that bastard thinking?

Scotty wouldn't lift a finger. He would just sit in the room where Khan had locked him every damn day and wait for Jim and the others to find him.

Surely it couldn't be much longer.

"Leave me alone," Scotty grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He sat on the bed, which was in the right-hand corner of the cabin, and let his eyes wander out to the stars.

"Oh please, Mr. Scott. You know very well that I won't do that. I need your inside knowledge."

Scotty just grunted and a bitter smile formed on his lips.

"Well, Khan, I'm not going to help ye. I'll just stay here and do my time. My crew will rescue me."

A cool chuckle made Scotty's head whirl around and he saw that Khan was standing right next to the bed by now. Slowly, the dark-haired man sat down next to him.

"They'll try, but they won't find you. This ship is invisible. I've made sure of that. And even if they do find us, it won't be so easy to free you. After all, we are already in Klingon territory."

Khan whispered the last words with relish into the Scotsman's ear and he pulled his head back only to survey the shocked look on Scotty's face.

"Quite right, Mr. Scott. So don't waste your precious life. Help me and maybe I'll spare the Enterprise when I have my vengeance."

Scotty swallowed hard. Then he regained his composure and shook his head.

"I'm not going to help ye. Never!"

Khan just sighed.

"That's... a real shame. Well then... I'll see you for supper."

~

Weeks passed and slowly but surely Scotty began to doubt that anyone would come to rescue him.

Every day was the same.

Khan came to his room - or rather his cell - and ate with him. He told him about all the things the Federation had done to him. Of all the heinous acts. Of the crimes. And of how much sorrow it would spread if Starfleet was not stopped. Day after day, he made it clearer why he hated the organization so much.

And indeed, Scotty's perfect world was slowly beginning to crumble. When he just sat on the bed and stared out of the window, as he did every day, he thought again and again about the stories Khan told him.

He thought about Admiral Marcus, who had threatened not only Khan but also Jim and all his other friends. He thought of all the stories that told of 'the lives of the many', as if not every single life had value and mattered.

And with each passing day he wondered more and more how much good the fleet - hell, the entire Federation - was actually doing.

He thought of the Prime Directive and how many lives and planets had been destroyed by those laws.

There... was just so much hate in this world he lived in.

Khan said that it could be changed. He said that if one destroyed Starfleet - at least all the top admirals and captains and officers - one could save this universe.

And Scotty couldn't deny that he was beginning to believe the augment more and more as time went on.

With each passing day, Khan became more transparent to him. Every day he could see more behind the façade, could recognize a broken, desperate man who wanted nothing more than to save his family.

Was it really so wrong? Were his plans really as cunning and sinister as they appeared at first glance?

Scotty kept remembering a conversation he had had with Khan a few days ago and the statement the man had made.

"As long as you're part of this broken system, you'll never be satisfied."

Aye. Maybe Khan was right. Maybe there really was no place in this current world where Scotty could be content.

Maybe... they really would have to work for justice. Together. Side by side.

When Scotty's hands finally gripped the PADD Khan had provided him, he knew he was about to set something big in motion. Something good. Something earth-shattering.

And he couldn't help but smile when Khan entered the room, as usual, and looked at him in surprise.

Scotty had never seen such a look on the Augment's face before. It was beautiful.

And when Khan returned the smile, Scotty knew that together they would make the world a better place. So that everyone could be satisfied.

[redstripstrawberry]

Bounded | Yandere Childe x Reader

Warning: Yandere Themes. Vulnerable mindset, Self-deprecation, hints of a past kidnapping, hints of torturing, and stockholm syndrome. Beware. Thank you.

Summary: You lost your wedding ring, you stupid idiot. Childe is coming home soon. WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU GONNA DO JFHSKDXSDFH—

Holy fuck.

Holy shit. Oh god no. Shit shit shit!

You lost your wedding ring. The ring that symbolized your cherished love for each other for the past 4 years! Out of all things you’ve lost, which is a lot to say the least, the one thing that you should’ve kept safe is gone.

Oh god, he’s going to kill you and dump you in the river at noon when he comes home from work.

When did you lose it? Was it the gardening? The cooking? The laundry? You remember fiddling with it when you were watering the tulips though. The gleam of the gem shined brightly when you were washing your hands in the kitchen, you know it. The laundry?

Feet dash into the bedroom. Neatly folded clothes were stacked in the laundry basket, still not put away. You seize the clothes, shaking each garment to see if a golden band would fall out.

No ring. 

Hold on, you cleaned the living room before you folded the clothes. Gosh your stupid memory will be the death of you. It has to be there!

You checked under the coffee table, the couch, and the cabinets. Nothing. Moved the books around on the shelves. Nothing. Pulled out the cushions and shoved your hands in the cracks. Wait a sec—!! 

It’s a single coin of mora. Still no ring.

You tidy the living room again. Back to square one: How the heck are you gonna fix this? The anxiety is creeping on you. There’s sweat drops on your forehead. You’re beginning to panic. But an idea struck you. 

You should get a replacement. But how am I gonna hide my ring finger from him until it arrives? Not to mention the big chunk that will be missing from our savings...

I’ll just buy him another ring! I’ll make an excuse that our rings are so worn down that we need new ones. Like renewing our vows! Yes, that’ll make sense and it’s not suspicious at all...

Who are you kidding? That’s too damn obvious.  

You search throughout the morning. Every nook, every cranny, every mouse hole in the walls was not left unchecked, but it was no use, that ring is gone for good. You check the time: 12:43pm. Uh oh.

You hear the front door open. It’s over, Just tell him. Assign yourself to your fate.

“I’m home!” Childe yells out.

You peek around the corner, shy and terrified. “Hello, honey.”you peep out. You walk towards him with your hands behind your back. Gosh this is nerve-racking. 

A smirk appears on his face. “Dearest, I didn’t know you were still so shy around me. The honeymoon phase is still going on huh?” He laughs at his joke. Gosh, your stomach is not feeling itself right now. He’s in a good mood too..

“Uuhhhh... not exactly, I have to talk with you about something important. I kinda messed up big time,” You blurt out, not even letting him set down his jacket and bag on the high chair like he always does. 

“What happened?” Childe asked, his eyebrows pinched together, eyes turning dark. Your anxiety is picking up. 

“I....” Your voice is stuck from the stress, “I...” Just tell him! He’ll give you a lesser punishment for confessing! Just tell him!!

“IlostmyweddingringandIdon’tknowhowwhereitwentsoobviouslyIretracedmystepsbutIlookedalloverthehouseforitandIevencheckedthecouchesbutitwasn’tthereandI’msoterriblysorrythatIlostmyweddingring,IknowitwasimportantandIhatemyselfforlosingsuchanimportantthingcouldyoueverforgivemeChilde?”

“You lost your wedding ring?” He summarized, trying to understand your jumbled confession. Childe knows you so well to be able to understand the demon spell you were chanting. He’s gotten pretty good at decoding the words you say during your voice-cracking, breath-choking, hands-flailing, panic-stricken state.

Childe sets down his bag and pulls you into his arms, squeezing you. He pats your hair down, which calms you right down, but your tears still keep falling.

“[ ] it’s ok, love.”

You refuse to believe him. He’s so mad at you right now.

“No! I lost our wedding ring! Our wedding ring, Childe!” You scream out, using his shoulder to cry on. You’re really so stupid, it’s unbelievable. This is why you can’t do anything. Gosh, why are you like this? “It’s a symbol of our love and I lost it!"

Childe rubs your back and kisses your hair. “Honey, look at me.”

You raise your head. Your faces are close. He could see the tears slowing making its way down your cheek. 

“It’s ok because that’s just it, love, just a symbol.”

“What do you mean? Why aren’t you mad at me?” You squeak out. The tears are making your voice crack. What is he on about again? 

He holds your face in his palm, his thumb wiping a falling tear from your eyes. Childe’s eyes were gentle, so, so gentle. He’s comforting you. Childe really is too good for you. 

“Honey, the symbol of our love could be anything: a painting, a song, or even those damn tulips you love so much. Maybe even more than me,” he grumbles out of jealousy, but the smile on his lips and the light in his eyes say otherwise.  You lightly laugh at him. Your breath is evening out slowly. Just the tone of his voice relaxes you, it’s amazing. 

“It doesn't matter what it is. Only the meaning matters to me. Even if you lost it, the symbol’s meaning is still there. It’s always been there, hun. You love me, and I love you. We are still bounded together even if you don’t have that symbol anymore.” 

You show a smile at him as your heart warms up from his words. “You’re making me swoon for you again, Childe.”

This time, Childe laughs at you. “That’s good.”

The two of you chuckle together, still wrapped in each other’s arms.

“I thought you would be mad at me, and we’d have a really big fight.” You explain, “I thought you are going to punish me again, even lock me up in that place.” 

Just thinking about that makes you shiver. Your anxiety is coming back, but Childe rubbing your back disperses it instantly. He knows how you feel about it. 

“Losing a ring sucks, but you’re much better than you were before, so this isn’t something we’d get heated up for a while. We are bounded for life after all. There’s no escaping me.”

You laugh. “Is that a threat?”

“You betcha.”

You laugh even more. It’s funny how your sense of humor matches his as the years go by. “I love you, Childe.”

“I love you more, [ ]. Why don’t we get new rings? Ours are old anyway, 4 years made quite a dent on them don't you think? Liyue has new styles out that are far better than ours, in my opinion. I’ll bring some catalogues for you to see, hmm?” Childe waits for your answer. You smile at him.

“Yeah, I’d like that, honey.” 

[carinavetreblogs]

Okay so I'm not though the game or Astarion's romance yet, but I am past the Cazador plotline and I've done some playing around with different options, and no matter what you pick or how it goes I have one beef with the way the romance is done overall:

Astarion just isn't into you enough.

(spoilers below)

So right from the beginning Astarion seduces you specifically to gain your favour. And that's fine! It's interesting to see how a relationship can develop from that! Except ... we don't ever see it develop. Given the right dialogue options, Astarion eventually tells you how your relationship started and that he eventually caught feelings for you, but we never see that process. We never see anything between the initial sex scene and the feelings confession. There's literally no acknowledgement that you're even together, or any confirmation that this is a continuous thing rather than a one-time thing. We get to see in his eyes when he lies to you about having to "hold back" -- and major kudos to the animators for pulling that off so well -- but we never get to see when the way he looks at you changes.

So when he says "Oh yeah I totally seduced you for my own gain and also it was really easy but it's all cool because I like you now!" it just feels ... cheap.

[And there isn't even an option to acknowledge how hurtful that information, and the way he presented it, is! If you want the romance to continue at all, the only options you can chose next are "I care about you" and then some way to assure him that you care. Which, yes, he does need that assurance because nobody has ever cared about him before, but right at this moment, I could use a bit of assurance too! Part of that comes down to the player character having a bit too much of blank slate syndrome throughout the game, but it's still really irritating.]

And then once he gives a bare minimum confession of vague feelings for you, he immediately starts calling you "my love". And then there's the dryad scene where you reinforce your "love". But ... we're not there yet. We've barely acknowledged feelings, much less figured out what they mean. Literally if you ask him he just says he doesn't know what you're doing or what you are to him, just that you're important and this is nice. And so again, it all just feels cheap. It feels like we're going through motions.

The scene where he takes you to his grave feels more genuine, at least, but again, it would feel more genuine if there'd been any real relationship development up to that point. Shit, just giving me the option to hug him literally at any point in Cazador's quest would've done wonders.

(Side note: hell yes to banging him on his own grave, omg. But then, of course, the one sex scene where he's not just going through the motions is the one that fades to black before anything really happens.)

But then on the flip side, if you let Astarion go through with the ritual, he goes back to being weirdly detached and going through the motions.

Now I realize, dear reader, that this is done on purpose, to show how the ritual affected him, so I'm going to preface this next bit by saying: I am really, really into fucked up relationships in fiction. I love a villainous love interest, and I love it when the woman is either trapped in his clutches, extremely into how fucked up he is, or that fun combination of "this is so fucked up so why is it so hot?!"

So, like, I get that the game is trying to show you that he's currently not really capable of love. But I personally would enjoy that so much more if that love were replaced with obsession rather than indifference. Once in the initial seduction scene and a couple of times in the post-ritual scene he offers you something that sounds really good and then ruins it by asking, "Isn't that what you want?" in a detached sort of way. He isn't offering because he wants to give it to you; he's offering to keep you compliant, even now. In the post-ritual scene, he offers to turn you into a vampire, he says that you'll be his forever in an extremely sexy voice, and then he ruins it by saying "Isn't that what you want?" He starts calling you things like "pet" but in a degrading way rather than in an "I'm going to keep you forever" way.

The entire scene where he makes you kneel, where he describes what he's going to do to you, where he tells you it'll hurt and you have the option of saying "Yes, please"... All of that would be so much hotter if he were actually into it at all. Instead it's just ... patronizing.

[chucklepea-hotpot]

Okay you asked for asks and i'm desperate for dfk 2023 crumbs so like. Tell me everything. The best part, the worst part, something you really weren't expecting, how the characters changed, some memorable lines or scenes, anything you want to talk about

I need to talk about them so desperately, so thank you for this ask! My answers are hidden unter the cut in case someone wants to avoid spoilers :)

i had a long ass essay prepared but my app broke down so now i'll try to get the most important stuff together, so sorry <3

the best part:

- the music and the sets plus landscapes in general? i loved it, it gave me a warm nostalgic feeling, felt very childhood comforr movie

- the nichtraucher's relationship to the children, we see how the meet him for the first time and how they get closer with each other and how fond he grows of them (aka how he becomes their dad)

- the justraucher relationship. it was gay. very.

- little hints and details that referenced the book, i got very excited about it whenever i spotted some

the worst part:

- making headmisstress kreuzkamm a little bit a comedic relief? i felt like they didn't do hannah herzsprung justice by that, she is actually a very good actress and the re-interpretation of her as professor kreuzkamm could have been better

- some changes to fot the movie's narration better but to me they somehow still felt off, idk how to explain this in better detail

- i think it was sad that they changed the dynamic between justus and the children, at least in the beginning. i kinda missed their trusting bond, think of matz saying that he would literally die for him in the book, he would definitely not say it in this version. but they had the martin and justis scene from the end of the book somehow in there <333

something you really weren't expecting:

- the nichtraucher being so so funny?

- he is the movie's narrator and there's a scene where he says to get his mind free, he likes to smoke, play piano or go for a swim. and then he advices the viewers to do the same, except for the smoking because he also tried quitting several times already. iconic.

- while the kids are fightibg he's randomly walking through the scene because he wants to go for a swim. i love him.

how the characters changed:

- martina: she now has the eldest daughter syndrome and is mainly sad that she doesmt get to spend the summer holidays with her little brother (oskar <333), she and jo don’t go along immediately because martina wants to keep s low profile since she doesnt want to lose her scholarship (scholarship martin truthers unite!!!!). oh, ans she can skate now (very cool!)

- matz: he is called matze and i fucking hate it. but he is very matz, very kindhearted and his main priority is still taking care of uli, so very in character. his main goal however now is not to become a boxer, he just loves training for becoming one and dislikes the fighting part (dunno how to feel about that but well)

- uli: he is basically the same? he bow climbs a wall and falls down because the rope isn't secured well enough and the nichtraucher takes care of him :))

some memorable lines or scenes:

- jo: her forster parents are djs????? that really caught me offguard ngl. she is a troublemaker now and dropped some very cringy anglecisms, which was funny to me at least. martina ans her becole eventually friends, sadly no justraucher paralellism for them :(

- justraucher ofc, but i'm sure i'll talk about that seperately again and again

- "noch 11 tage bis sylt" (only 11 more days until sylt)

- "als ich fünf wad haben meine eltern mich in einer disco ausgesetzt" (when inwas five years old, my parents abandoned me in a disco)

- "wir zwei hatten doch pläne!" (But the two of us had plans!)

- literally everyone who also watched the movie please comment more, there were so many one-liners

anything you want to talk about:

- der schöne theo?? so very book accurate?? he was such a disgusting little boot-licker who looked like he votes for the fdp, he was perfect

- the outfits for the grown-ups were so cool? i loved headmisstress kreuzkamm's whole wardrobe, it was giving art teacher and justus had very very nice plaid pants on that made him look very queer tbf

I hope that answered some of your questions, please always come to talk to me about dfk <3

[rainstormcolors]

For the meme:

YGO + 2, 12, 15

Tristan + 8, 9, 10

Hello! Thank you for the ask!

Yu-Gi-Oh!

2) …my three favorite characters and why I love them so much.

Seto Kaiba has been my favorite from the start. All the versions of him have their value and I enjoy them all, but my personal favorite version of the batch is the manga’s version of the character. The loneliness, his internal struggle that seems viscerally painful, the maladaptive behaviors and the search for understanding, and how it’s apparent he does want to connect with other people but he can’t understand this about himself or accept it. He’s so layered and yet the ambiguity is also relatable --- the way emotions cloud and blur, how we don’t have the words for things. And he’s fascinating and morally grey and allows an outlet for the heightened emotions we sometimes need to see, to connect with to understand this feeling is shared, even as he seems achingly alone, even as he achingly reaches out to others. The theme of grief is also very intense within this character while having a kind of subtly, the way these emotions fold into and hide in other emotions.

Mokuba Kaiba is next. Again I enjoy all the versions of this character but the manga’s version is my personal favorite. I feel he’s a very complex character in the manga’s canon with layers of emotion and a history which he carries and it’s only overshadowed due to him not being a duelist character. He’s so headstrong and loyal and he harbors anger, resentment, loneliness, love and devotion, and he’s incredibly proactive. Something that feels a little overlooked about him in canon is that Mokuba *also* explodes at Seto at Death-T, which is not to remotely excuse what happens later on at all, but rather it shows how the strain of everything had worn both of them down and left neither of them able to handle this.

Noa Kaiba is my third favorite character. A dark isolated attention-seeking and self-destructive doomed character who doesn’t really know what love is and is shocked to discover his capacity to love, that he can love and does love. There’s a certain desperation within Noa’s initial plan, abruptly kidnapping everyone with this hopeless idea that maybe he can just walk back into life as the Kaiba heir when that was never going to be possible, and really he just needed needed needed to interact with people from the outside even as all this hatred burned inside him.

12) …what attracted me into checking it out.

I’ve been a fan for a long time, since the show first aired Duelist Kingdom in the United States, although I can’t recall what exact episode I started with but I know it wasn’t the very start. I also read the manga as it was translated and published by VIZ.

15) …which character I would choose for the chopping block if I knew the writers wanted to kill someone.

If I’m entirely honest, even if there are issues in the writing, I kind of get the impression death was an important theme to Kazuki Takahashi, something he wanted to explore in some form, and he quite literally said this in an interview as well. Which is to say that despite the problems, I feel Yugi saying farewell to Atem as Atem left the world was something meaningful to KT in some form even if I feel I shouldn’t make guesses beyond that. I do think it’s very fair to dislike this ending or to discuss and point out the issues, but previous discussions could also be guilty of neglecting the personal angle this storybeat may have carried and how people do indeed have to say goodbye sometimes or watch someone they love die. Which is to say, I don’t want to change what may have been meaningful.

Tristan Taylor / Hiroto Honda

8) …a headcanon I have about this character.

I think he was kind of the family baby while his sister had “eldest daughter syndrome” in some form. I think he helped keep Jonouchi stable before the beginning of canon.

9) …which of their relationships I would have cultivated more if it were up to me (both romantic and platonic).

Honda’s kind of left in the background of the story but he’s also a constant presence through the story. He’s given personal relationships with Jonouchi and Otogi. I very much like the quiet loyalty he felt towards Mokuba. I wouldn’t mind more Honda and Mokuba content in that way, the way people can come to care about each other quietly. Also – Blankey! Imagine more Blankey scenes!

10) …if I liked them immediately or if took a while before I warmed up to their character. Alternatively, if I disliked them immediately or if they lost my trust as their story progressed.

I was neutral towards him for quite a while. I could appreciate him as a loyal friend but it wasn’t as if I personally gravitated towards trying to understand him particularly. I think fandom discussions have been very good for me engaging more with the text, the characters inside the text, what they mean, and how we relate to them, how other real people relate to them, and in turn I’ve been able to understand others as well.

Thank you again for the ask, and I wish you a nice day.