headcanons: dating spencer reid ♡

(i’m so totally normal about this man)

ship spencer reid x gn!reader

warnings mentions of schizophrenia & alzheimer’s

a/n thought this would be a good first post! interaction would be appreciated, but your readership would be enough! enjoy~

★ he regularly gives you books he has read, completed with small annotations.

★ to go with the previous headcanon, you would give him more modern books you enjoy as opposed to the classical/foreign ones he gifts.

★ expect for your first couple of dates to be more awkward (he has definitely asked derek for advice on more than one occasion).

★ he makes it a point to learn all that he can about whatever you like at the moment, even if he himself isn't into it/doesn't understand the appeal. it's mostly just so he can connect with you more and to share fun facts about your interests.

★ he's awful at cooking, but once or twice, he has definitely attempted to cook a homemade meal for you two as a romantic gesture. you both decided that what he made wasn't edible, but you appreciated the attempt and ordered takeout instead.

★ weekly bookstore visits! half of the time you would go to barnes & noble for your literary needs, but you two also enjoy supporting local bookstores (+ they tend to have rare books too).

★ when you two are cuddling, he loves it when you run your fingers through his hair and give him a head massage; it really helps with his migraines.

★ convention is in town? best believe that you two are wearing matching cosplays, especially if the characters you're dressing up as is canonically a couple.

★ spencer doesn't just ask derek; he also asks penelope and jj for advice too.

★ on the first couple of dates he generally avoided touching, but now? he can't get enough of you, how warm you are and how soft your hands are.

★ much like how he tends to go on a tangent, he loves it and listens intently whenever you infodump about a topic you're interested in.

★ antique stores! you both find the atmosphere lovely and you would get gifts for each other there.

★ his love language is praise, both giving and receiving. he wants to make sure you feel loved and wanted. even when it's something small, like getting him coffee for example, he'll go on and on about how wonderful you are, how good you are to him and how much he loves and adores you.

★ on the receiving end, he'll absolutely melt if you give him reassurance that you reciprocate his love. and if you hold him — cup his cheeks or wrap your arms around his waist — while whispering praises? as emily said, IQ of 187 slashed down to 60.

★ the first time he said "i love you" was sort of an accident. he had just come back from a case and he was so tired that he collapsed into your arms and you had to drag him to bed. you were making sure he was comfortable and in his delirious state he mumbled "love you" in the sleepiest voice imaginable.

★ movie nights! whenever it's his turn, he either picks some pretentious, foreign language, criterion collection, 3+ hour film...or he just puts on reruns of star trek or doctor who.

★ when you moved in with him, you both had to buy another bookshelf. both because of the books strewn around spencer's apartment that were unable to be shelved due to overcrowding, and to fit your books there too.

★ he's super worried about doing something wrong. this is probably his first actual serious relationship, so he's being extra cautious to not accidentally insult or hurt you. over time, he learns to relax around you but the worry is still there, just in small doses.

★ he doesn't really like PDA, but he makes up for the lack of it with tons of hugs, kisses, and close contact in private (specifically at home, but anywhere private will do).

★ whenever you two go out and you want to wear formal attire, he'll help you with putting it on! he'll zip up your dress, help tie your tie, fasten your necklace, maybe help with cuff links. he absolutely loves being able to assist you with anything, no matter how small.

★ he was definitely worried when he brought you to go meet his mom for the first time, so he made sure to pick a day where she would be in one of her good moods and also told you everything he knows about schizophrenia and alzheimer's. he was thankfully relieved when his mom liked you and vice versa.

★ a bit corny, but he loves reciting love poems to you. this can also extend to passages from books that discuss romantic love; he has an eidetic memory after all and he's going to put it to good use!

Mistake

Diego Hargreeves x reader

Summary: After you turned 18, Diego and you pretty much distanced from the other members of the academy, so when you all meet for Reginald’s funeral you have some explaining to do.

A/N: I kinda love this concept but I changed a few details of this request so the reader is not raised as a sibling and her relationship with the others is in no way familial. I missed writing, specially for Diego, so thanks anon! This is quite long too, so sorry about that. I had a lot of fun too, so let me know if you’d like me to make this into a series, cause I might do it.

Warnings: cursing, mentions of homelessness, but overall just fluff and a bit of angst.

You liked to say that the life you made by yourself happened because of a simple mistake, because you had come across the Umbrella Academy on a very particular way.

You could say you had a decent upbringing, your mother wasn’t abusive but she was pretty much the definition of overprotective, and as a child you were never told that it was because a man had literally tried to buy you on the day you were born, in fact, you didn’t know anything about him or the children he managed to adopt because your mother and grandparents wouldn’t let you get anywhere near any piece of information of whatever existed outside your little hometown.

They told you they were doing it because your father had left you when you were just a baby and they wanted to protect you from the dangers of foreign men, of course you thought that you were born from a normal pregnancy, and you believed everything, that and the fact that you could control any element to your will, which they said was wrong and kept hidden. You were homeschooled, and you could only socialize with the kids from your neighborhood which was good, but it wasn’t enough, and we all now overprotectiveness can really mess with someone’s mind.

And so, even though you went along with it for many years, when one of your only friends suggested you both snuck out for a party on the big city for your sixteenth birthday you couldn’t say no, and that was the mistake, if it is possible to call it like that.

On the best Rapunzel style you went out your bedroom window, got on a bus and drank so much alcohol you completely passed out on a strangers lap and woke up on an unknown bed with a beautiful woman smiling down at you. Well, maybe that wasn’t Rapunzel’s style, but it sure felt like it at first.

The next series of events happened so fast it almost felt like a dream. You met a handful of strange children, one of which you later remembered had brought you there while being just as drunk as you were, his name was Klaus, and he later became the best friend you ever had; then you had the most overwhelming conversation of your life, in which an incredibly mean old man explained how you were actually born and made you understand just how different and important you were, but not in the wholesome way.

About an hour later your mother stormed through the academy looking for you, but one of the girls whispered something in her ear on her dad’s command which changed your mom’s entire attitude, with her allowing you to stay as if it was a boarding school, or so she told you, but she only visited once every few months and she didn’t seem as caring as before. According to Allison, that was in no way her fault, and you believed her, because at the end of the day you trusted your newfound friends much more than the woman that lied to you your entire life.

And so, you learnt to control your ability like never before, while also enduring Reginald’s cruel treatment, but it didn’t matter at all, because in the midst of everything you found Diego, and with him came all the things you never experienced before. He brought you happiness, love, trust and overall, lust for life.

Two years later you were living your best teenage secret romance. You snuck out at nights to visit all the parts from the city that he wanted you to meet, and you shared tiny kisses whenever Reginald and the kids weren’t watching. But Diego left, just like he had planned since he was a kid, and you weren’t brave enough to follow him. It wasn’t until his other siblings started leaving too that you realized that no matter how hard it was to be outside on your own, holding on to life with him was better than anything else. It was actually thanks to Allison, the smart girl had noticed you two holding hands under the table and knew just how heartbroken you were without him. “Chase him, Y/N, you won’t have this opportunity ever again.” She said right before she left, and she was absolutely right.

It took you less than a week to find him on a motel, bruised as ever and with barely enough money to pay for another night, and in between hugs, kisses and forbidden touches you promised him that you’d both get out of there. He told you he had been on that place for three weeks and a half, but the first few days after leaving the academy he had to sleep on a park bench until he gathered enough money by playing with his knifes to amuse people on the street. It had been hard, but now that you were together everything was so much better.

After many years living in the back room of a rusty gym, both of you taking turns in wiping it’s floors while also trying to study and save people at nights, because the one thing you learned from Reginald was that you loved helping people, and Diego’s vigilantism was just as appealing to you as it was to him. Diego was accepted into the police force and you finished your studies on a cheap school, which allowed you both to get a job you liked, and when you were finally able to buy a house for yourselves Diego proposed.

“Y/N, before you arrived my life was a nightmare, and all I ever wanted was to stay as far away from that place as it was possible, and everything that reminded me of it I planned on cutting from my life, but you arrived with your sweet smile, your shy eyes and those damn legs, and you completely switched my view of the world because I knew right there that I would love you forever, and I do. I love to see you in your weird ass robe, making potions-”

“I’m a chemist babe, not a witch.” You corrected him laughing.

“Let me finish Y/N!” He laughed with you. “I love how you treated me and my siblings, and I love how you helped mom, and god! I love how you used to beat bad guys with fucking wind on our nights out! I love everything about you sweetheart, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” By then you were both crying, and of course you said yes, how could you not?

Cut to ten years later and the day you had silently both dreaded and hoped for came. Reginald Hargreeves was dead, and you couldn’t even tell if you were sad about it, after all, the man had saved you from Mother Gothel, as Diego and you started calling her after watching Tangled with your daughters, but he saved you at what cost? You now had quite a few burn scars in your body from his dangerous training, you loved each one of them because they reminded you just how powerful you were, but still, no teenager should have to go through that.

And you couldn’t even get started on Diego. You wondered how and when he would take the news. He was out on his monthly vigilante night, which was kind of a gift you gave to each other, you were allowed to leave for the night once every month on different days because now that you had kids you could no longer risk your life everyday like you used to before. The kids, oh boy, what were you gonna do with your beloved girls? You weren’t sure if taking them to the funeral with you was the right decision, you wanted to shelter them from death and all the evil things in the world, but then again, you weren’t your mother, and you had no one to leave them with.

Just as you were thinking about maybe even staying, your husband entered your home, and he looked destroyed. It was one in the morning and you had been waiting for him while thinking of Reginald, and clearly he had been thinking about the same thing. You quickly stood up and wrapped your arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“He’s d-dead.” He stuttered on your shoulder. He didn’t even sound sad, he just seemed shocked.

“Shh, I know baby, I know.” You stood there for a while, just comforting each other in the middle of your kitchen before going to bed, you needed to rest for the next day because you knew it would be anything but ordinary.

And in the blink of an eye you were ringing the bell of the academy, each of your girls holding their father’s hand, the three of them standing behind you in your small, useless effort to protect them.

Grace opened up, and you couldn’t be happier to see her. You gave her a small hug and then gave Diego some space so he could properly say hi to his beloved mother. He introduced Luna and Amber and she was delighted to see Diego in a stable, loving family, she just seemed a bit off, but you’d talk to Diego about that later.

And then... Lord help you, you entered the livingroom and ran headfirst into Klaus who instantly hugged you, twirling you around and making you laugh as you both landed on the floor.

“Y/N, love! How have you been?” He sat up, looking at the doorframe, as he seemed to notice the two pair of eyes that stared in curiosity. “Oh I see you’ve gotten busy! Hello my little munchkins, I’m your uncle Klaus!”

“Wait Y/N/N, you’re with Diego now?” Luther asked from the other side of the room. Despite his rivalry with your now husband, you were quite close to him during your small time on the academy.

“Honestly Luther, I love you, but you can be quite oblivious sometimes.” You stood up with his help and hugged him tightly, getting a comforting feeling from his embrace.

“I’m here too, you know, your brother, Diego?” He finally entered, still holding your daughters’s hands and analizing the scene.

“It’s not our fault that you can’t say hi to anybody.” Allison came from behind him, scaring him, which made the girls laughing.

“Hi Allison.” He mumbled, rolling his eyes at his sister.

“I always knew you liked keeping your secrets but this two are way too big to hide” Se kneeled down to pinch Luna’s cheek, who smiled bashfully at her aunt.

Amber, your youngest, ran towards you and pulled your hand. You kneeled to her height as she whispered in your ear. “Mommy, I want to meet uncle Spaceboy.” You smiled softly at her sweetness, carrying her towards him. She instantly jumped in his arms, which took both Luther and you by surprise, she wasn’t the most sociable girl after all, but you kinda understood, his big frame and natural akwardness made him look quite huggable.

“Damn bro, you’ve gotten big.” Diego joined you, leaving Allison to play with Luna, who was now excited to know that she had a cousin her age, and you left before the two started bickering, but much to your surprise, the presence of your daughter seemed to retain them from fighting like they used to. Maybe bringing them was a good idea after all.

“Well, this is is quite the frame” Pogo entered the room with Vanya right behind him. You all waved at them, tired already of all the hugs already.

“Hi everyone.” Vanya entered uncomfortably, allowing Allison to hug her and having a small talk.

You turned to Diego and looked at him, a warning in your eyes. You knew your husband all to well, and you could see how much the book had hurted him, but you weren’t going to let him start a fight in the middle of a family meeting.

But of course, he wouldn’t listen to you.

“Why did you do it?” He started walking towards her as you mentally facepalmed. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Really, Diego? This isn’t the right time.” Allison scolded him, standing between him and her only sister.

“Then when is it, Allison? The next time we see each other? Should we wait another twelve years?” Allison just scoffed and stormed out of the room, Luther following after her, Vanya left silently, looking hurt, and Klaus snuck out in the heat of the moment, probably looking for money.

You sat on the biggest couch in the middle of your daughters, surrounding them with your arms. “That went well.” You stared at Diego, who pocked his tongue at you.

And it was about to get worse.

After having a tiny dance party, thanks to Luther’s incredibly loud turntable, you heard a thunderlike sound and watched as a bright blue light appeared outside. You looked at Diego, knowing what to do from all the years of practice that you had together. Each of you grabbed one of the kids, running outside to meet the others, who surrounded you in a protective manner, protecting their newly met nieces.

There was a portal in front of you, which Klaus tried to close with a fire extinguisher, but you could tell it wouldn’t work, because that wasn’t made of fire, or any other element that you were familiar with, for that matter, and you were an element bending chemist, for christ’s sake.

“What the hell is that babe?” Diego yelled, trying to understand.

“I have no idea, but there’s something coming out of it!” You yelled back, and everyone turned to look at what appeared to be an old man coming out of the portal. And in a flash of blue, a small boy landed at your feet, he looked incredibly similar to the portrait of the lost sibling that hung on top of the fireplace.

“Does anyone else see little number five?” They all nodded at Klaus, who clearly wasn’t sober enough for this, or maybe the poor thing thought that was the ghost of him, and you knew he already had enough with one dead brother following him around.

“What on earth is wrong with this family?” You said, looking at the odd teenager.

                                                             --

Minutes passed as you all stared at Five, who was preparing a goddamned sandwich, in the middle of one of the most confusing moments of your life.

“You’re new.” He simply stated, looking at you.

“Umm yeah, we haven’t had the chance to meet before, I’m Y/N.” You extended your hand, which he didn’t take, the tiny bastard.

“Oh we’ve met. You were the one with the girls, holding his hand.” He pointed at Diego, sandwich in hand.

“I don’t understand, you weren-”

“Look kid, I’m sorry, but I can’t trust you, you need to leave.” Diego was ready to jump at him, but Luther stopped him and you grabbed his arm softly.

“It’s ok honey, I get it.” You whispered and left to look for Grace who was taking care of the girls.

You let out a sigh as you walked by your old room. You had been wanting to scream ever since you got there, but this was your first alone moment in the whole day, and a sigh was just as effective as a scream, it helped.

                                                            --

Then came the funeral, and it was hard. Luther scattered the ashes and you manipulated the wind so they wouldn’t look like a pile of grey shit, which actually, was an accurate depiction of Reginald, but you did it for him and Pogo, it was the right thing to do.

And after a few out of place comments, Diego and Luther started fighting right in front of your daughters, so much for the agreement. Luna and Amber started crying, hiding behind Five, who, much to your surprise, covered them with his body as he slowly took them inside. It was infuriating to see the men fighting in front of you, but you couldn’t help but smile looking at Five.

It was that moment that truly made you feel home, like you really were in family, and it warmed your heart.

-End of maybe part one?-

Antipode

✂ Pairing: Yandere! Alastor x Reader

✂ Word Count: 1,6k+

✂ Trigger Warnings: Manipulation, possessiveness, death, murder, slight violence

[Edited]

***

As always, I can’t get enough of this guy.

If you like my writing, please support me on ko-fi!

“I'll lure your carelessness. If you stop thinking, that would be the end. With a face that says I don't know a thing, I'll bring you down.” - Deal With The Devil [Tia]

You’d always been a give and take person.

You refused to give anything to anyone without a ‘payment’ of some sort because you didn’t want them to start taking advantage of your kindness. Looking back at it, you realized that you’d been quite paranoid. Unfortunately, or fortunately, your paranoia wasn’t unfounded. Not all people were grateful for just one favor and ended up asking for more without so much of a thank you, often using your so-called friendship as a bribe. Other than that, you tended to reject gratitude because you considered it as insincere and ingratiating at best. You’d only trust words if they came in ‘tangible’ or ‘palpable’ things such as earnest support or a gift. Though, there were times when you had to compromise with your few closed ones and begrudgingly accepted gratitude. Even so, you couldn’t deny the gnawing feeling of wanting to challenge its veracity.

It wasn’t a bad thing, was it? You just wished to see if people truly loved and appreciated you like they said they did.

On the other hand, you felt uncomfortable with taking without giving something in return. You deemed it unfair to the concerned subjects, even if they didn’t seem to mind or were ‘brainwashed’ to think that way. Although you weren’t the most moral person, you just couldn’t understand why some people were willing to manipulate others, especially for the sake of personal amusement. Didn’t they have anything better to do than playing with people like that?

Unfortunately, manipulation was rampant even in the most ordinary household. And in Hell, it was a hundred times worse. From high ranking officers to petty thieves, from employers to employees, from adults to kids, everyone always tried to use each other for various purposes. Anyone had an upper hand, be it embarrassing shenanigans, hidden trauma, dirty secrets, basically everything they could get their hands on or learned from someone else. You abhorred this place and if possible, moved to a better one. But you supposed this was your retribution for being too easygoing and ended up involved in the underworld, despite knowing the consequences.

Still, was it bad to wish for a break from constantly annihilating people who had tricked you? Preferably, forever? You knew you weren’t the kindest woman, but even you were far from the worst one here. You just wanted people to be accountable, goddammit!

“Die, you bastard!” you snarled, plunging the cleaver into the chef’s chest. This was, by far, the second man you’d killed in a week. You’d only agreed to work for him because of the high salary, but after countless rough treatments and failure to pay you in time, your temper eventually exploded. Other chefs and waitresses immediately escaped the moment you tackled that greasy man and racked his insides, though some lingered to take a picture of your recent murder.

As long as they didn’t disturb your rage – or God forbids, alleviate it – you paid no heed to what they were doing. They could eat his carcass for all you cared about.

Sighing, you flung the knife across the building and fished out a wad from his pockets. You squinted when you counted the less than satisfactory amount, and your mind instantly played a scenario of him spouting another lie to cover it up.

“Asshole,” you grumbled. Well, at least he already paid half of your salary with his life. It was enough for you to be able to sleep peacefully at night if you didn’t infuriate yourself with his imaginary lie that is.

“Well, well, well. Look who I found here.”

You slowly raised your head when you heard a static-like voice. Or, should you say, radio-like? Peering over your shoulder, you spotted a tall man with red apparel grinning behind you. Just from his demeanor alone, you could deduce that he was bad news, and now you regretted throwing the knife earlier. It’d be handy if he decided to attack you somehow unless he was stronger than you. There were many things you still didn’t know from this place, after all, one of them included the most powerful figures.

He cocked his head, piercing eyes narrowed slightly. “Having fun robbing him, sweetheart?” he asked in a tone that you couldn’t decide whether it was mocking or curious or both.

“Who the hell are you?” you squinted charily. As tempting as the option to retreat sounded, you had a feeling he wouldn’t let you go that easily. And now that you thought about it, the onlookers had vanished since his appearance.

Was he… truly that scary until they couldn’t even bear to breathe the same air as him? Or did they simply disappear because they were bored?

You gasped when he abruptly grabbed your wrist and pushed his face close to yours. “I’m so glad you asked, my dear! My name is Alastor and I’ve witnessed your wonderful ability in handling that man earlier.”

“W–what?”

“Although he’s twice your height and weight, you effortlessly toppled him and pierced his stomach as though it was a huge meatball!” he chuckled at his reminiscence. “How amusing. To think that it came from such a harmless woman…”

“I…” you stammered, oscillating between thanking or insulting him for underestimating your abilities. “Thank you…?”

Alastor's impish features softened somewhat. “No need to thank me, sweetheart. I was merely stating the truth.” There was a gleam of candor that promptly vanished when his default creepy grin emerged. “Now, the reason why I’m approaching you is that I’d like to offer you shelter.”

Now, this was suspicious, and a little concerning. “And why’s that?”

“Why not?” He simpered as he wrapped his arm around your lower back and opened a portal to a huge living room; presumably his residence since it was your current topic. “A random act of kindness never hurt anyone, no? Besides, you won’t just live in my house without doing anything. You must help me too, as a return.”

“Help with what?” you inquired, examining the place in case there was something even more suspicious than its owner. Or any kind of trace to inform you about who you were dealing with, honestly. He had to be anything but a mere denizen, right?

“Well, anything,” Alastor replied, calmly observing you touching and inspecting whatever interested you. It was quite amusing how curious you were with his belongings, and how blatant you were at seeking information about him. He couldn’t have picked a better entertainment than you. “So, how is it?”

You stared at his open palm. A deal, he was asking you to make a deal with him. And you, being a loyal supporter of taking and giving belief, immediately accepted.

“Deal.”

Alastor’s wicked grin widened as a green aura zapped from your clasped hands and sealed the exit. You swiftly retreated and stared at him wide-eyed, trying to comprehend the sudden event that occurred just now.

“… What happened?” you whispered fearfully. “A-Alastor, what just happened? What was that light? What did you do?”

He looked away, humming apathetically. “Just a little magic to ensure that you don’t try to break our deal, even though I know you won’t.” He peered through his lashes and simpered. “Taking and giving, no?”

Your heartbeat accelerated as you darted towards the doors and tried to pull them. To your horror, they didn’t even budge. “You bastard, let me out of here!”

“No, can’t do. We’ve made a deal, after all.” Alastor smiled, watching your futile attempts at busting the doors and windows. “Surely you won’t back down from your belief, right? This is the time where your loyalty is tested, you know?”

Sliding down the windowsills, you gazed at his shadow. You’d seen that shape before, at least half of it, from your peripheral vision. The shadow seemed to enlarge whenever you murdered someone but always receded before you could fully identify it.

For the longest time, you’d chalked it up to mere illusions. Why would anyone want to stalk you anyway? Because you were new in Hell? Well, you were certain you weren’t the only one. And they’d surely be more interesting than you ever could.

When the shadow wavered and took a shape of a guffawing man, you began to realize that this guy, this flamboyant guy had been in your life for a very long time. And you’d ignored that flagrant sign just to save your thinning sanity.

“You stalked me,” you murmured, shoulders sagging. “That wasn’t just my…”

Alastor vigorously nodded, dilated eyes piercing your tepid ones. “Indeed, and now you’ve entered my snare. And willingly, too!” He chuckled before sneering. “You sure are a gullible one, hun, more so than that charming demon belle. But I suppose that’s where your appeal lies!”

Clenching both fists, you snapped your head in his direction and growled. “You son of a bitch, you’re gonna pay!”

The shadow materialized from his coat and thrust you against the wall before you could leap towards him, the impact left a couple of cracks behind your head. Alastor tutted and stood in front of your slumping figure, one hand on his hip.

“Has anyone ever told you how futile it is to fight one of the Overlords? Oh, wait. Of course, you don’t, because you’re still new in here.” He leaned forward, twirling a strand of your hair. “But it’s okay. You’re bound to me now, so there’s no need for you to learn so much about this world. In fact, I prefer it if you don’t. A little innocence goes a long way, you know?”

Alastor whirled his finger and nodded approvingly at your current attire; a red knee-length dress, dark stockings, and a pair of flats. A stark contrast to your earlier choice; a plain shirt and torn pants.

“I’ll make some jambalaya once you wake up, my dear~”

Terminator: Dark Fate

I have no idea how TSCC came up with two seasons’ worth of innovative scenarios about Terminators and these cinematic universe motherfuckers can only redo T2 with more CGI.

This movie is plotless. It has no real plot. It’s like Now That’s What I Call A Terminator Movie! There are so many callbacks and borrowings from all the other Terminator movies that it passes the point of homage and just becomes plagiarism. The bad Terminator is the same as the T-X, metal endoskeleton with a T-1000 shell. They kill him with a Terminator power core. They say Come With Me If You Want To Live and I’ll Be Back (twice! It’s the first thing Sarah Connor says and it makes no sense in context, it’s just something people say in Terminator movies). In fact, it has anti-plot, since it undoes a lot of the story developments in Terminator and T2.

The premise is basically just we’re going to remake Terminator 1, but people don’t like reboots, so we’re going to bring back Linda Hamilton and make it a technically kinda sorta sequel (sure, Skynet was wiped from existence, but another, completely different, yet exactly the same AI called Legion was created and did the exact same thing. Which also happened in T3, but they had the decency to still call it Skynet). But otherwise, it’s entirely people being chased by an evil robot from the future and trying to destroy it. 

That’s it. That’s all there is to it. T2 had the whole thing about preventing Judgment Day before it happened. T3 had Judgment Day actually happen. This one, nothing. There is nothing going on under the surface other than a bunch of action sequences and explosions. Even T3 got some mileage out of the idea that Judgment Day was inevitable. Here, our cast learns that Judgment Day was already ‘averted’ once slash that it’s destined to be repeated and they basically go “Eh. Figures.” I’m not kidding.

Wait, that’s not fair. Let’s count out the TWEEESTS.

1. In a very contrived way, the script waits an hour and a half to actually explain why heroine Dani has been targeted for termination--you know, the thing Kyle Reese explained to Sarah Connor the moment they were out of danger--all to set up this big ‘reveal’ that Dani isn’t the NuSarah, she’s the NuJohn (yes, they actually say this aloud, just so you soup sandwich motherfuckers in the audience get it). Hear that, neckbeards, John Connor is now a woman! And Mexican! And she’s got a bit of a gay vibe, because it’s 2019 and God forbid we have a heroine that isn’t a bit bicurious. If she has a cock and balls, my bingo card will be a winner.

2. Months after killing John Connor and thus completing his mission, an Arnold-model Terminator started a family (wow, that was quick) and learned the value of human life and eventually switched sides. This is a crazy new idea that also happened in Terminator: Genebissss, so it’s done and dusted in ten minutes, even though Arnold is the most engaging character. (He’s saddled with a lot of yuk lines about how he’s a comically serious Terminator, yet (teehee) works as an interior decorator, but at least he has a personality.)

3. The other good Terminator is Grace, who needs meds to keep up her cyborg strength or she’ll crash (this never affects the plot) (it’s like they read something about Rey Palpatine having no flaws and so they decided to give Grace the ‘flaw’ of literally having her own Kryptonite). She’s not a Terminator, she’s an augmented human, which means she can make MCU-style wisecracks every five minutes. (”I didn’t hear anything.” “That’s because you’re not a cybernetic super soldier from the future.” Actual dialogue.)

4. Linda Hamilton is back, baby! Yes, that’s right, they dragged her away from doing guest spots on Lost Girl! Can you believe???? She’s become a Terminator hunter that ambushes Terminators as they come back from the future and destroys them, because Skynet was both able to send back an infinite number of Terminators AND because now they can easily be destroyed by one five-hundred-year-old woman. 

This makes it a bit confusing why they have so much trouble taking out Ghost Rider, given that he’s a T-1000 skin with a creamy T-800 center. It seems like if you hammer him enough, he’s got no endoskeleton, and that’s all she wrote. That’s what happened to the T-X. Can his liquid metal skin just walk around without the other half of him? If so, what’s the point of the endoskeleton? The T-1000 managed without it and that seemed a lot harder to kill. At one point, Sarah hits the bare endoskeleton with a bazooka, which seems like it should’ve been a mortal blow, but it’s the first act, so I guess not.

And is it supposed to be funny that the opening takes place in a car factory where (in 2019!) the human workers are losing their assembly line jobs to machines? Because they’re all Mexicans? None of them ever look at a Terminator and go THEY TOOK OUR JOBS, but man, that one is all teed up for the Rifftrax boys.

For a movie with, as I said, no plot, it’s very rushed. They seem to be saying “yeah, it’s a dumb Terminator movie, you know the score,” (even tho it’s halfway aimed at people who aren’t Terminator fans; more on that in a minute) because it seems to take all of ten minutes for both good guys and bad guys to find Dani and start getting into CGI stunt double fights, which means the story has very little time to breathe and we have very little time to get to know any of the characters. The bad guy spawns practically at Dani’s front door! And pretty much does everything by massacring a bunch of people and then hacking a computer. The T-1000 had some intelligence, some charisma. This guy’s a big nothing.

And the Dani character is useless. She starts the story already super assertive, is barely traumatized at all by her loved ones being killed and her own life being endangered. There’s none of that relatable feel of an everyman suddenly being told they have a grand destiny and an incredible responsibility, because right from the start she’s standing up to her mean boss and doing the Nevertheless She Persisted thing. And all this while being literally five feet tall and looking all of twelve years old. 

I love these Spy Kids movies.

And at least the original two movies were smart enough to leave the future John Connor mostly to the imagination. This one actually shows us Dani as grizzled military badass, beating up guys and delivering inspiring speeches (would it surprise you to know that humans fighting among each other “is exactly what Legion wants”?), and it’s just--oh man. If ever a political leader is enough to make people think back to the good old days of Trump and Biden...

And if we’re going to talk shit (rightfully) about Jai Courtney’s Kyle Reese not being at all scruffy or traumatized or feral, it should be noted that Grace seems pretty well-adjusted for a post-apocalyptic guerrilla fighter (who all wear Starship Trooper uniforms). Aside from a tendency to smash the face in of everyone she comes across, whether they’ve done anything to deserve it or not (Sample dialogue, to a doctor who is looking at her X-rays after performing life-saving surgery on her: “Did I give you permission to look at my private parts?” SMASH. No, really!)

They really go all in on this cringey, woke af “You’re not the mother of some MAN, Dani. YOU ARE THE FUTURE!” And yet, there’s a hilarious amount of toxic masculinity in this movie, just without the dongs. About every other line Sarah and Grace have is generic tough guy bullshit about how they’re going to kick someone’s ass, how they’re suspicious of someone, how they’re hostile towards someone. If they had dongs, you would think they were the smallest dongs possible, because they are compensating for something, BIG TIME. Between the T-800 and Sarah and Grace, everyone in this movie seems to outright hate each other, to the point that Arnold’s killer cyborg is one of the more pleasant characters. It gets to where you just want someone to order a fucking decaf. Does the fact that Sarah Connor has a vagina keep it from being ridiculously over the top how she spends all her time either blowing up robots or drinking herself into a stupor? C’mon. You can’t complain about male characters having ‘man-pain’ then give Bad Grandma a pass over her ovaries.

And that’s it. It’s a Brundlefly shit between yet another dumb girlpower reboot for the people who’ve never seen a Terminator movie and a sequel with Sarah and Uncle Bob to try and get that last drop of blood outta this stone. They’re trying to make something that appeals to both people for whom this is their first Terminator and people for whom this is their latest Terminator and it just doesn’t work. The newbies don’t have any emotional investment in these characters and the Terminator fans don’t like it that all the old movies were rendered meaningless to prop up Grace and Dani.

Hilariously enough, I actually played Terminator: Resistance recently, which is a fun little mid-tier shooter that was meant to tie in to this movie... and it completely ignores all the Dani/Grace/Legion BS to take place in John Connor’s future war and tie in to the first two movies. That’s how forgettable this movie is. Its own damn video game adaptation pretends it doesn’t exist. Fuuuck.

Oh! Oh! Oh! And in that big, bad, sexist original Terminator, which was so unwoke and problematic, Sarah saved herself and finished off the Terminator herself. Here, Dani has to be saved by Arnold at the climax. The 35-year-old movie is more feminist than this one. Fuck you very much.

Ghost of Tsushima: Thoughts, Ideas and Hopes for DLC and Sequels

So I recently Platinum’d Ghost of Tsushima, I finished the story last week after 30 entries of livestreams which saw a whopping viewership of at most 2 people including one asshole that decided to spoil the end of Act II before I got there because I was playing stealthy and the way I wanted to play. But then wrapped up the Achievements on my own time. After a bit of stewing I’m ready to talk gush about it, including what I liked, a small bit of stuff I disliked and stuff I would suggest for future DLC and Sequel(s)

Spoilers for the Game, unlike that Commenter on my Stream I will not Spoil you on this, it is truly something you should experience for yourself

Because Good Lord, What A Game. Easily my Game of the Year, which compared to all the big hitter titles released is amazing, I mean Crash Bandicoot could still blow me away and Cyberpunk, Watch Dogs, Godfall, AC Valhalla and Miles Morales in waiting but probably not in this way. It is a magnificent game, one made with fantastic care and beauty, but before I go all out, let’s get the negatives out of the way 出る杭は打たれる。: A Flawed Masterpiece Ghost of Tsushima is brilliant but not without its faults. Most of these faults are admittedly minuscule and fixable, but until they are fixed they remain flaws. The biggest disappointment for me with the game was the lack of Japanese lip syncing. I loved the Japanese track, it also highly appealed to me to hear One Piece’s Roronoa Zoro voice Jin, but you have to kinda avoid looking at the mouths because it doesn’t match up, the models still speak in English and it’s a heavy shame that can kill some immersion. I guess they didn’t have the finances for it, because they could’ve done the lip syncs at the same time as they did the English ones if they had the Japanese track too. Combat for the most part was great, aiming could be wonky at times and Jin’s attacks didn’t carry on to a 1 foot ledge, but my main gripe with combat was the Camera getting in the way. It was adjustable most times, but other times it was not. Doing standoffs in the tall grass was night impossible at the later stages without the knees giving us a tell, one standoff I had was completely obstructed by a tree - I’m not making it up, a tree was literally all I saw for the Standoff. You lose so much health for failing a standoff too, bit harmful in later levels. The remaining issues are probably more personal, I didn’t quite like some of the sword kit designs - the ones with fluffy sleeves and I didn’t really like the armor dye you get for 100%ing the achievements, some weapons seemed to lose their luster in later parts of the game (particularly the half bow and Explosive Arrow, the former was only good for killing the angry doggos and the latter only killed Mongols if near another explosive to stack), that one Masako quest mission where you have to follow and pick off Straw Hats one by one without being seen, but will fail if you pull a triple assassination before the outpost where Masako’s lesbian lover was leading them all to so there’s more Straw Hats to blow my cover! (it wasn’t difficult it just annoyed me that it failed me for killing them all early) and the completionist in me hates that there are empty slots in the arrow and blowgun sections, but they can be worked in what I’ll talk about a bit later down the line, alongside some minor loose threads. Also you killed my horse man!

Your horse will accompany you on your entire journey - Ghost of Tsushima UI Message

Don’t you dare lie to me like that again Sucker Punch! Just because you’re named that doesn’t mean you can live up to it, we already lost one horse at the beach! Had to spend the final act with Not-Sora and Kaze with a hole in my heart never to be filled. But with that dealt with, let’s talk about some things I loved about the game

花は桜木人は武士 :  Living into a Legend With these games it is very easy to fall into the Elder Scrolls prototype of an array fun side quests and exploration and a so-so main story. Ghost of Tsushima though decided to have both the array of side quests and exploration and a great, complex and partly tragic story. There were many times I wanted to get back to the main story but held off because I wanted to be prepared. Long distances didn’t feel too bad to travel when the roads were uncharted either thanks to radiant battles, new settlements, vanity gear and side missions to ease you on the way. Additionally, the characters are for the most part fantastic, I cared for the safety of most of my allies and Jin himself, I wanted the Khan dead in a cerebral villain (albeit one whose final battle fell into cowardice) and I was open to the complexities of Ishikawa and Tomoe. I did feel that Shimura was being a tad ungrateful but I think it was intended for us to be frustrated to the edicts of the Samurai code - my frustration led me so much to deep dive to prove myself justified since the code was subjective and many agreed to aspects of ‘win no matter what’ and ‘do what protects the people the most’. Along with the main quest was paired with the character journeys of our allies as well as the Mythic tales which granted some extra strength and challenges to overcome in order to expand Jin’s arsenal. I particularly liked the observation and killing of leaders to learn new stances, as well as the widely acclaimed Stand-Off and the duels. The Arkhamverse fan in me did appreciate the focused hearing for stealth and that assassination speed could be upgraded. The idea of collecting vanity gear, armour dyes and equipment that are remains of the conflict showed that SP had completely immersed their plot into the world of Tsushima, with a great amount of exploration and nuances nodding to Japanese folklore And Tsushima is certainly stunning, it’s amazing that the PS4 can hold this much when we know how the PS5 is meant to be with ray tracing. The landscapes are beauteous which makes exploration and travel much more fulfilling, as well as the photo mode and the scenic builds to some of the major battles. What’s also wonderful is the calligraphy cutscenes for Mythic Tales and the loading screens, some wonderful artistry. Artistry which is added to by the brilliant uses of Haiku spots, Bamboo Strikes, Lighthouses, Shrines, Altars which you bow to, Fox dens where you can pet the Foxxos and even the Hot Springs for some ‘Man-Butt Action’, each positions that fit to Japanese media in soaking in a moment without killing any pace, especially added to the fact that each one contributes to a purpose. I will admit, I chose wrong at the end, I was thinking more of Shimura (said ungrateful uncle)’s honour rather than what Jin would what, feeling that Shimura would’ve done it himself had Jin not. But seeing the spare ending made me wish I chose that one and it’s something I’ll touch on later. But both endings are fitting and tragic for Jin’s journey from Samurai to the Ghost, being inspired by his allies and his connection to Yuna, there has been conflict throughout regarding the line of protection, honour and vengeance explored through other people’s tales that blend together perfectly with the main plot.  It is pretty political as well with the argument presented by Jin and Shimura’s conflict. Samurai while still romanticised were still shown to be bound to the blind loyalty towards the Shogun and Jito, you did not defy because it inspired others to think freely. Jin became a champion of a people by defending the people rather than listening to the jito - represented by the shogunate - and their stringent ideas that the Samurai who failed on the beach would be able to out-muster the force and brutality of the Mongol invasion regardless of the collateral and yet still call that honour. In the current climate in 2020, that hits a chord a little closer than expected. And the main story certainly has their stellar moments, the ups and downs really hit you - like killing my freaking horse! I had to lose Yuriko, Taka and Sora in a single playthrough. Losing Taka was inevitable, but still heartbreaking because of how much we struggled to save him and how much we want to still be Yuna’s friend, but then the highs just blow you away from the opening act, Ghost Stance, raiding Castle Kaneda and Shimura and the final raid at Port Izumi. Also did I mention that you can pet the Foxxos? Because that’s very important, also NPCs walk at your pace most of the time, which is a fantastic addition. I could probably go deeper but there’s other stuff I want to cover, but understand that the world and the story is wonderful and if you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed, Arkhamverse and just Japanese culture in general this should tick your boxes. And hopefully there’s more to come.

石の上にも三年 : Strait to DLC The sad thing that happens when a good game is over is the void. Even if its days, having nothing left of the game to play is still a shame, and I know that Legends DLC is announced, but multiplayer involving fighting Oni as mythic legends isn’t my pace, I’m still not done with Jin and I feel like there are things we could still do. There are still 3 conflicts Jin’s story never resolved that could still be resolved now, each as multi-layered quests. The first is this ‘Ghost Army’ mentioned by the wagon guy in Omi, we are not leading this so who is? We may not be able to stop them but we could reduce the amount of people thinking we’re leading them to fight. The second is Daizo, if you don’t know that name it’s because the guy is never seen in the game, you only read about him in the Records of ‘Conversations with the Khan’. This Japanese Monk clearly has a thing for the late Khotun and he feels that the Ghost is being a dishonorable monster, this Khan lover is still at large and a confidant of Khotun, we could link with Norio in a quest to ensure he doesn’t rally or try to spread his appreciation of the Khan to others to try and complete Khotun’s work. The final conflict is one that eats me up: How did the Mongols Know About the Poison? Yuriko died showing me how to make the poisons, made more potent from her own herbal poisons which were crushed down, if she didn’t tell and I didn’t tell, who told? Because the Mongols drank the evidence and we could make a story of an Omi village traitor or even someone from Shimura’s camp leaking the info to the Khan to try and preserve ‘honour’. On top of these loose ends I’d very much like to see our allies again, even if they’re just at their home doing their own thing, as well as some other minor side characters like the Tadayori descendant Kaede, Flame Swordsman Bettomaru (who would’ve both been mighty useful with this Mongol affair beyond their sole missions) and the Yarikawa Archer Daikoku, I also would like to see confirmation on Jin and Yuna - there is clearly something there but that could be just me. What is also just me would be the suggestion of a shrine that can let you redo the Shimura decision, it’s not a too ‘out-there’ thing to do either considering we fought a Tengu. The shrine could be for Omoikane, Kami of wisdom and intelligence or Ame-no-Koyane, the ‘First in Charge of Divine Affairs’ which’d subject the player to a gauntlet of bosses past; Ryuzo, Kotun and Shimura, if the player goes against their initial decision, they will trade their ghost armour dye for the other and get a Charm of Pondering, if they stick to their guns they get both ghost armour dyes and a Charm of Strengthened Stance. In similar vein we could have a master Mythic Tale that stacks the duels of those tales into one for another special attack, weapon or armour. It’s also possible that we could add more duels, some remnants trying to avenge Khotun or even some Samurai sent by the Shogun in promise of becoming Jito. Likewise we can use this to complete the weapons set; for the Half Bow, take the Mongols’ poison arrows (which can be a reward for finding who leaked the poison to them) which can just eat at lesser enemies’ health and take a chunk of stronger enemies’ health before resolving out of it, as well as a sticky arrow that could slow enemies or weaken their armour, or a perfume arrow that can mess with the falcons and angry doggo’s senses. For the Long Bow we could have...okay I’m drawing a blank here but I’m not meant to do all the work XD For the Blowgun at least you could have a Blinding Dart to aid in stealth and a Panic Dart to increase chances of Terrify. We could even have a few more upgrades to our ghost weapons and stance combats, even increase the amount of kills Ghost Stance can yield. In addition to more Fox Dens, Shrines, maybe new resources to bolster upgrades, Sword Kits, Haikus, Banners, Flute Songs, dyes and so on. But I know what you’re thinking, we can’t put that all in Tsushima? We’ve covered the entire island and it’s unlikely that SP would make a fictitious island. And to that I say, I have that covered. In the Tsushima Strait between the island and the mainland there is Iki Island, part of the same prefecture and equally ravaged by the Mongols during the invasion, it’s also the base of pirates which can offer a stop point for a Tomoe reunion or simply travel via Umugi Cove. A small bit of expansion wouldn’t hurt, as long as Iki isn’t planned for something else that is.

能ある鷹は爪を隠す : Hopes for a Sequel Now part of me would be content if this was a one and done, the game shines perfectly on its own. But I would not turn one down. Though many would feel that Jin’s journey is done (I even heard a suggestion of Tomoe, I could see that but not right now, maybe for a third) but not me, there’s still a few glaring issues at hand. For one, the Shogun now wants you dead, new clans are moving in on you and there will probably be a new Jito regardless of the ending choice because of Shimura’s failure, Adachi will also need to look at another clan taking its land. There’s also the vacuum left behind by the clans’ subsidiaries; Nagao particularly but also Adachi’s rival clan Kikuchi, there’s easily possibilities to use canon Sō, Abiru, Shōni and Imagawa, there’s also room for Kikuchi Takefusa, who survived both Mongol invasions  . A sequel could offer some clan territorial tensions in that regard as the people of Tsushima side with the Ghost over the mainland. That conflict is one we have touched on in the end of the first, Jin has fought for his country’s safety so how will he act when his country wants him dead? The first was a story of sacrifice perhaps the next can be a story of maintaining his legend, inspiring the mainland Samurai and even redeeming himself in the eyes of the non-Tsushima natives. It’s also worth remembering that Komoda was the beginning of the invasion, and there was a second invasion 6 years later where Tsushima was attacked once more, the death of non-canon Khotun could spark other higher ups of Kublai’s ranks to avenge or clean up for Khotun, Kublai also had counsel from different nations to understand his enemy so we could have an even more vicious and cerebral enemy be made, or even a group of enemies led by advisors like Liu Kan or Yao Shu, maybe even Marco Polo if we move the time after the first invasion. In terms of gameplay we could also see Jin expand from Tsushima to Iki and maybe some more naval warfare, growing in his equipment (like Caltrops, Kusari-Fundo and Suntetsu) and maybe even his weapon, an Ono, Jitte or a Naginata to rotate with his not-yet-made Katana to combat with Samurai or the army of a Mongol threat, maybe even use the Bo-Hiya for ranged fire archery learned from the Hwacha. And like the Mass Effect games (or Dragon Ball Xenoverse if you wanna pick a franchise that didn’t end in a bitter aftertaste) you could have the option to transfer over some data from the PS4 save to the next one, which’d inevitably be on PS5 at the least - also don’t be surprised if this gets a PS5 remaster too, especially if it does win Game of the Year. What I suggested for DLC could be used here too, if there is a sequel with Jin I really, really hope that SP don’t opt for the route of killing Jin (or Yuna) off for effect, I was nervous about the current game ending with Hara Kiri and I’d rather not have that or a downer of a death for the legendary Ghost (I am a happy endings guy after all). An alternative route to go (other than following Tomoe to the mainland to rip off the Ghost) is to work backwards, call it ‘Ghosts of Tsushima’ working towards a story of a more ancient time, where a thief could become a samurai clan. A clan Sakai or Shimura origin would sell in that way too and avoid the idea that we have to start again from zero but still have the more ‘dishonorable’ stealth tactics.

義は険しい山よりも重く、死は大鳥の羽よりも軽い : Conclusion In the end, this game was worth the wait, worth the delays and worth the price tag. I feel like this will be one of the games I’ll fondly remember when thinking of the PS4, which has truly had a stellar library of awesome games like Spider-Man, God of War, the Crash, Ratchet & Clank and Spyro Remasters, DMCV, Jedi: Fallen Order and more. This truly ticked the boxes for the anime nerd within me and the history buff, even the Haikus spurred the poet in me a little too. If anyone hasn’t played this game, they should, and I hope that Sucker Punch realises that people like me want to see more. If it stands alone so be it, but I’m not ready to leave Jin or Tsushima just yet. いってらっしゃい

A/N: Request from @alpaca-obsession and @bubblesbeemily. Have fun! <3

Words: 2484 Warnings: (angry) smut

For as long as you could remember, Eric and you had kept your relationship a secret. It was long before the aptitude test that he got involved in Janine’s questionable schemes to overthrow Abnegation and take over the government. But just because you had been raised in Erudite, that did not mean you agreed with what they all pretended to be or not to be.

The day had come on which he had broken up with you, announcing that tomorrow at the ceremony, he would choose Dauntless and leave your faction forever. Salty tears had rolled down your cheeks and then, after one last, passionate kiss which resulted in heated sex in his soon former apartment, he had left.

You had never heard of him again until the day it was your turn to choose a faction to live in.

The results of your aptitude test had indicated one thing—you did not belong in Erudite either. Whether it was your loose mouth that you were not afraid to use or the fact you despised learning and doing research, the one faction that had rather appealed to you was, for so many (and some of them inexplicable) reasons, Dauntless.

You had convinced yourself that you had no other choice. This was not who you were but it was what you wanted to become and when you sealed your fate by letting a drop of your warm blood spill on the steaming coals representing Dauntless at the Choosing Ceremony, your decision felt right—deliberating. Not once when you jumped on and off a train did you think about the one person who had broken your heart so long ago. A person that you would, undeniably, meet again soon… and sooner, than you thought.

Your injured yourself on your left knee when you landed on the hard gravel ground. The blood was running down your leg and calve, wetting your socks and shoes. Well… from now on, you would have to get used to pain and the red liquid.

“Listen up, initiates. I am Eric, one of your leaders.” But it was then you froze. His voice had not changed. Stern, commanding and slightly arrogant it echoed over the rooftops. Had he said he was a leader? Nothing less had you expected from him. You almost didn’t dare to look up—when you did, it almost felt like a fist clenched around your heart, making you gasp for air.

Eric’s curious and mocking blue eyes roamed over this year’s yield curiously. Most of them wouldn’t make it, they were too tender, too soft and lacked ambition and toughness. He did not need to train them to know this already. Eventually, his gaze wandered over a young woman with (Y/H/C) hair and (Y/E/C) eyes. Funny. She reminded him of you.

It took him a second to realise that his mind wasn’t playing a trick to him. You really had come to Dauntless.

The other initiates around you were still bickering and chatting happily. Soon, he would teach them proper respect and punish anyone who stepped out of line but for now, all he was able to percept was you. Gnashing his teeth, he turned to his colleague.

“Get them under control,” he mumbled grumpily. His speed surprised you. Within a second, he had reached you, wrapping his hand around your arms so tightly you winced in pain as he pulled you away from the rest of the initiates.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” He hissed.

“Becoming Dauntless? Let go of me!” You demanded, attempting to free your arm. Apparently, Eric’s muscles had turned to steel.

“Let go? I make the rules now and you don’t get to make requests here. You should have stayed in Erudite or even better, transferred to Abnegation.” The coldness in his voice was fake—it had to be. Surely, Dauntless had not turned him so… cruel?

“Eric… I know that we used to be a couple, I don’t think I’ll ever forget this. But that is no reason to treat me like vermin.”

The Dauntless leader scoffed. “This is how I will treat all of you, so you better get used to it.”

“Eric! Come on, I wanna get this over with!” His colleague called out, still attempting to calm the initiates.

Angrily, you glared at him. But what made it even worse was that you still had feelings for this crude and severe boy who had turned into a dangerous man in your new home.

He avoided you like a particularly contagious disease. He came by every day to watch the initiate’s progress but left the actual training to Four. During “Capture the flag”, he picked the weakest boy over you and even though you quickly managed to secure yourself a spot among the top ten in the rankings, he never bothered to exchange even a word with you.

And it hurt. It hurt so incredibly much you started to suffer. During fights, you got distracted easily, losing you points repeatedly and then, when the second half of training started, testing your mental durability and perception, you barely made it through the final test.

It was the day you were all supposed to celebrate becoming true members of Dauntless while all you wanted to do was curl up in the apartment you had been assigned to and cry yourself to sleep. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to come here, after all.

When Eric and you had broken up, it had not ended in a fight that had destroyed your relationship. In fact, you had fucked like animals before his departure and now you were supposed to believe that these feelings he had had for you never existed?

Loud voices erupted around you, music playing faintly in the background. There was a feast, with lots of alcohol and muffins and most of all, cheerfulness. The cafeteria was huge. The chances of spotting Eric were low and yet, when you got up to leave for you couldn’t bear the happiness around you anymore, it was him you ran into in the hallway.

“Congratulations,” he choked out dryly.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to let me pass, given you seem to hate me so much.” Like we never even mattered. Even though Four had warned you several times, you still hadn’t learned to keep your mouth shut. Talking to one of your leaders like that was a serious offence of Dauntless politics.

Eric took a deep breath. You were prepared for him to lash out and scold you but what he replied instead made you swallow.

“I don’t fucking hate you, (Y/N).” It was probably the nicest thing he had told you since your arrival in Dauntless.

He had looked like he had wanted to say something else but chose not to. You pondered over what it could possibly be when you suddenly heard the loud noise of footsteps in the hallway. An escort, maybe? Not at this hour, possibly?

Curious, you rose from bed. Overnight, your apartment had gotten rather cold. You were freezing in your panties and tanktop, still, you decided to peek out of the door only to find masses of Dauntless members heading to the pit to arm themselves. You could barely recognise them, for it was dark both inside and outside your apartment but their empty glances made you uncomfortable.

Something was wrong—terribly wrong, you could feel it in your very veins. Your heart pounding, you quietly closed the door again as to not raise any attention. Mere seconds later, you heard a ferocious knock on your door.

You swallowed thickly but before you could even decide whether you would open the late and probably unwanted visitor, he opened the door and started at you like a predator.

A hand clamped over your mouth to keep you from screaming, making you flail and attempt to scratch or bite your attacker. Where was your self-defence now that you needed it?!

“Stop struggling.” A familiar voice growled into your ear. Eric?! “Not one fucking sound. We’re gonna move through the opposite hallway so no one sees us.”

What was this supposed to be, a kinky roleplay, of some sort? You had done these quite a lot back when you had dated, only now the threat felt real. You realised with a start that Eric had the strength to kill you with his bare hands only when he dragged you across the hallway like a ragdoll, only to then push you into another room.

It took you a moment to realise that it was his apartment.

He shut the door close with his foot aggressively before releasing you. Gasping for air, you stumbled into the dark studio flat, muttering under your breath.

Your heart was beating like a steam hammer. You didn’t want to admit it but you were afraid of him. Eric had changed so much over the years you were unsure you still recognised him. But for now, it was anger that boiled in your stomach. It hurt how he treated you—it wasn’t like you had been in love, after all.

“What the fuck is this, Eric?”

“The tracker, were you injected?” He started without answering your question. His blue eyes were cold, like daggers twisting in your heart.

“What? What tracker, what the hell are you talking about?”

“That’s what I thought. You left earlier.” Was this what he had wanted to tell you? What was this all about? “It’s a serum. Erudite and Dauntless are working together to attack Abnegation, that’s where everyone’s going. They’re being mind-controlled.” And you had escaped this fate. Forced to kill innocents…

Swallowing thickly, you looked up at him, your fear returning with a start.

“Please don’t tell me you are part of this.”

Eric glared at you with his lips pressed together. There was no need to reply. Your heart skipped a beat.

“And now what? You can’t just keep me here!”

“Yes, I can. It’s either my apartment or death and I’m pretty sure you have a preference. At least I hope that you do after everything you’ve put yourself through during initiation.”

“For Fuck’s sake, just admit it! You still love me! Eric, you just kidnapped me and intend to keep me a prisoner in your own fucking apartment so Janine won’t kill me, tell me to my face that you don’t have any feelings for me anymore!”

“Fine! I do. Why do you think I tried to stay away from you? I’m not right for you, (Y/N). Neither are you for me. We have no future. You might even be a Divergent.” Divergents. You had heard about them in Erudite. Individuals who threatened the faction system and the government. You doubted they were as dangerous as Erudite made them out to be and yet, when you spotted the hatred in Eric’s blue eyes, you swallowed thickly. But there was more than just that. There was lust. Tension.

“Take your clothes off,” he suddenly commanded. Your eyes widened. He sounded like he always had during training, allowing no contradiction. Only this was different and, even if your common sense disagreed and begged you to resist, you could already feel your body reacting to him. Wetness pooled between your legs, along with the familiar tingling spreading in your entire body.

Your skin longed for his firm touches he used to pamper you with…

“Excuse me?” You choked out indignantly. “You haven’t properly talked to me in weeks! You treated me like shit and now you expect me to—“

His lips landed on yours before you could finish your outburst and even if you had wanted to, despite your training you were barely strong enough to stop him from tearing your clothes off your body. Your panties and tanktop were gone in no time. Greedily, Eric pushed you against his black leather couch, his hard body pressed against your naked skin. His hands came up to explore your curves, groping your breasts and cupping your buttocks with a growl, his lips never leaving yours.

His dominant kiss had you melt way too fast. The way his tongue slipped into your mouth to claim you never ceased to enchant you. By the time you felt his aching hard member against your thigh, you had already fallen into some kind of delicious trance.

You both knew this wouldn’t take long—this was going to pose a vent to your sexual frustration, the cure for all this time you had spent apart.

Eric pulled down his trousers hastily, lining himself up with your dripping cunt. Instinctively, you spread your legs wider to give him more access as you hovered in the air leaned against the couch. His body was all that kept you from falling; you had to claw your fingernails into his back when he thrust forward, burying himself deep inside you.

A pleasured moan escaped your lips. You had missed him so much…

Wasting no time, the Dauntless leader began to move frantically. His pace was all but calculated, he was as desperate to fuck you as you were to fuck him. Again and again, he slammed his thick cock into your pussy until he turned you into a moaning mess. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head, silent whimpers mixing with hearty screams.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum,” he announced out of breath.

“N-not yet…” you chirped, unable to control your shaking voice. Eric understood. Never stopping to thrust inside you hungrily, his right hand travelled down to where your bodies met. With skilled and strong fingers, he began to fondle your clit like a marble, massaging, circling and teasing until you almost couldn’t take it anymore. Thrashing wildly against him, you came undone screaming his name, your walls convulsing around his throbbing member as he emptied himself inside you in the very same moment, twitching and spilling himself until he was utterly spent. Fireworks seemed to erupt inside you.

Panting, you both stilled after riding out your orgasms. You flinched, not expecting Eric would be so gentle as to rest his forehead against yours.

“Bedroom?” He whispered.

“Uh-huh.” You whined when he pulled out, his warm seed dribbling down your inner thighs.

He scooped you up in his arms like a bride, carrying you through his dark hallway. Yet, as soon as he had tucked you in tenderly, you felt something cold around your right wrist—and then, a suspicious click.

“Eric, what the fuck!” You exclaimed when you realised that he had handcuffed you to the bedpost.

“You’re my prisoner, I kidnapped you, remember?” He grinned, rolling back onto his back in a relaxed manner. “I know you too well, (Y/N). I won’t have you running off while I’m sleeping.”

“I hate you.” You spat, not meaning a single word.

The Dauntless Leader chuckled.

“I kinda missed you too.”

A/N: Guys, you can help me publish my first novel! It’s easy, it’s anonymous, you can do it from all over the world and it’s just 3€! Your help counts too, I’d appreciate it so much if you helped me fulfil my dream! ♥ ko-fi.com/sserpente