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entitled-fangirl · 1 month

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A predicament.

Will Graham x reader x Hannibal Lecter

Summary: Will is behind bars and pleads for the reader to not get involved. She never listens.

Warnings: literally Hannibal being Hannibal.

Masterlist

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Will gripped the bars in an iron fist.

"Y/N, listen to me. I didn't do this. You know me. You know I didn't do this."

She nods in thought, but her eyes show no emotion.

He tilts his head, "I promise you. Please."

She looks up and gives him a definite nod now. "I do believe you, Will. I just don't know what to do."

Jack Crawford poked his head around the corner, "Thirty seconds, Grahams."

Y/N turned and nodded at him, "Yes, sir."

Will pushed himself against the bars and his voice dropped to a low register. Though his voice was low, it came out rushed, "It was Hannibal."

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows, "W…What?"

"Hannibal. He framed me for everything he has done. I have the evidence. I know it's him."

She studies his face for a few moments to really see if he was telling the truth. "Oh my god. It is Hannibal."

Will leaned back a bit as if he was debating whether to say something or not. He decided to. "Hannibal is in love with you. With us. He is in love with us."

The woman tilts her head, "I don't understand. Why would he frame you if he's in l-"

"-I don't know that much yet." He explains through slightly gritted teeth. "I'm sure he finds pleasure in it. Knowing he's my only hope to get free. And he knows I wouldn't let him fucking touch you if I was out of here." He takes a breath to calm himself down. He reaches out of his holding cell to grip her hand, "I need you to promise me something."

She nods, "Anything, Will."

"Promise me if this gets too dangerous, you'll abandon me."

"What? No, Will. I'm not-"

"Promise me you'll leave everything if your life is in imminent danger. I'll find you, I promise."

She shakes her head quickly, "I-"

He cups her cheeks, "Baby, I need to hear you say it. I have to hear it come out of your mouth, please."

"Time's up, Grahams."

Y/N turned quickly to Jack, then back to Will with a debating expression.

Will notices the look and his eyes widen in panic, "Please, baby. Please!"

She steps out of his reach with a guilty expression, "I'll always choose you first, Will. You know that."

She walks out of the room with Jack following behind. It hurt her to not look back at him even as she left, but she knew she would break down if she did.

"Y/N? Y/N! Baby, Please!" Will called out as she left. She could hear his pleading of her name as she walked down the hall in shame.

…

"Y/N. I wasn't expecting you." Hannibal said as he opened his front door.

She looked up at him, masking every thought she was having at the moment. "I know. I just… needed someone to talk to, I suppose. I can come back if it's not a good ti-"

"-It's a great time." Hannibal quickly interrupted in poorly hidden excitement.

He was slipping up, and she was quick to notice.

She smiled and walked in, shrugging off her coat.

"I was going to make dinner soon, if you're interested in staying," he explained.

"Oh, no. This won't take long." She stated.

He gave a brief nod and led her to the sofa in his living room. "Is this about Will?" He asked as his therapist mask came on.

Her face hardened, "I know you framed him."

Hannibal's lips parted and his tongue darted out to wet them. He tilted his head and let out a sigh, "That's why you're here." It wasn't a question or observation. It was a direct statement.

She nodded. She tried to sound confident, but she just couldn't. "You manipulated him to take the hit for everything you've done. You're the Chesapeake Ripper! You were no friend to us!" She gave a fake sniffle as if she would cry, "I thought you loved us-"

He sat forward, "I do!" He quickly made himself relax when he realized his outburst. "I do. I care for you and your fiance greatly." His gaze was almost pleading, "You must know that."

"Then why do this to us?"

Hannibal looked away in thought of how to explain his process. "Some things are too good for us mortals."

She took a moment to study his expression. He was so hard to understand. "What do you mean?"

He let out a small breath, "You and Will are too beautiful for the others to enjoy."

She felt a small shiver go down her spine.

Maybe she really should have made that promise to Will.

"Hannibal?"

He turned to her with a new expression.

Desire? Lust? Admiration?

The look an avid art museum goer looks at their favorite piece of art.

With most, that look would bring a blush to the viewed person's cheeks.

But when Hannibal gave that look, it meant anything but safety.

He cares for art so much, that he breaks every canvas he loves to keep others from enjoying its beauty.

As if it's for his eyes only.

Y/N stood up cautiously, as if she could set him off with the slightest move.

He quickly stood too.

She made a split-second decision and ran for the door.

It was the wrong decision.

Her hand grasped the handle as his arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her away.

She let out a scream and kicked at him in a panic.

His voice was soft and calm as if he wasn't keeping her against her will. "Darling, you must calm yourself."

She knew if she didn't get away now, she may as well consider herself dead.

"Hannibal, please! Let me go! I didn't… I didn't do anything! PLEASE!" She begged out at him as she pried at his gentle but firm grip around her waist.

He pushed his head against hers so his lips were next to her ear. "You must relax."

Relax. She made herself do so to gain traction.

"Good." He praised. He dragged her stiff body a little further into the house. "Come on, now."

"Wh…where are… what"

"Shhh," he cooed. "I don't like that you meddled with the plan I had. And while I was going to compliment you on your efforts…" he sighed. "…you were quite foolish to come see me alone. Did you not think I could overpower you so easily? Silly girl."

Y/N studied her environment quickly then pushed off of him and made another run for it.

She never stood a chance, and she cursed him for his tall frame and quick reflexes.

She ended up cornered in the kitchen, quite literally.

Her back was pushed to a corner of the room, and Hannibal stood in front of her mockingly.

His grin returned to him face, "You know, I like seeing fear. It reminds us that we're alive. However, I don't believe I like it on you, my dear."

Y/N pushed herself further against the wall as if she was trying to blend in with it.

Hannibal took calculated steps towards her, cherishing this moment of power he had over her.

Her eyes wandered down to his hand, and finally saw the small knife that was firm in his grip. "H… Hannibal…"

"It'll be over soon. Maybe Will will take this as a lesson not to disobey me. So sad, too" He said as he cocked his head in amusement, "You were a pretty bird."

His next two steps were quick and swift, and it sent her into survival mode.

"H…Hannibal.. you can't… you CAN'T I'M PREGNANT!" She screamed as her eyes closed.

Hannibal's hand froze with the knife in the air. The man who knew no surprises found himself shocked. "What?"

She opened her eyes, revealing them wide as saucers. "I… I'm pregnant. With Will's baby. Please." Her voice dropped, "Please, Hannibal."

He took a step back and lowered the knife, "And Will doesn't know."

She wasn't sure if it was a question or not. And she wasn't sure what answer would save her from the killer's wrath.

"W…Will knows.." She went out on a limb and lied.

Hannibal considers her words and reaches up, gripping the back of her neck firmly to pull her to him, "We find ourselves in a predicament indeed."

Will was going to be furious.

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#fanfiction #will graham imagines #will graham x reader #will graham fanfiction #will graham imagine #will graham #nbc hannibal #hannibal fanfiction #hannibal fandom #hannibal lecter #hannibal #hugh dancy x reader #hugh dancy #mads mikkelsen

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balanceoflightanddark · 1 month

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The fire nation's defeat was technically Azula's fault.

Zuko and Iroh were branded traitors and failures. Azula was given specific instructions to capture them, dead or alive. Azula had them both red-handed in Ba Sing Se. Instead of doing what she was told, she asks for Zuko's help and she clears his name in return.

Now, it could be argued that without Zuko's help, she would've been pummeled into submission by Aang and Azula. Well, then after his usefulness was used up, she had a chance to pull yet another fast one and apprehend him without having to lie to Ozai.

Zuko acted suspiciously. He made Azula doubt that Aang really died and she began to think that Zuko may have had something to do with his survival. Instead of searching for proof of Aang's survival and informing her suspicions to Ozai, she puts unnecessary risk on herself and sets up a gambit that was ultimately pointless in more ways than one.

If Azula did what she was supposed to do, Zuko and Iroh would be dead or put in prison which leads to Zuko never finding out about the plans with the comet, Aang never finds a firebending sifu, the FN gains victory unopposed, and Azula can reign as Fire Lord.

In short, by choosing to lend Zuko a hand more than once, she indirectly did Team Avatar a huge favor.

Boom: Butterfly Effect.

The FN's MVP was also Team Avatar's MVP. I do enjoy the irony.

I wonder though, what would the Gaang's, Azula's Zuko's, Iroh's, Ozai's, and all of FN's reactions when realizing this epiphany?

It would break Azula.

...no seriously. It would break her.

While I think it would be a bit of a stretch to say that the defeat of the Fire Nation was her fault (cause there's no way in hell she could've seen bringing Zuko home would end up with his betrayal of Ozai), I do think she was hurting already with Zuko betraying her. If she was torn up about Mai and Ty Lee turning on her, I have no doubt she'd feel the same about Zuko regardless of what her relationship with him is right now. Add on to the fact that this is a girl that is hoisted with way too much responsibility than she is able to handle (being driven to become perfect at any cost), a revelation like this would destroy her.

And the fallout wouldn't be pretty. At all. It would probably rival her breakdown at Sozin's Comet, if not be worse. Hell, I think Zuko and Iroh would be a bit concerned for her. Zuko did seem somewhat regretful at her state after the Last Agni Kai and Iroh (while not Azula's biggest fan) probably wouldn't be that callous to brush her off.

Ozai would hate her though. Hate hate HATE her though. He puts on so much pressure for her to be perfect. What do you think the abusive piece of shit is going to do when he puts two and two together. Might even disown her on the spot, which will cause her to spiral even more. And she'd probably lose a lot of support in the Fire Nation for indirectly letting an unpopular successor on the throne, which would cause her to spiral even further.

...kind of why I don't really want to put the blame on the Fire Nation's defeat on her since the poor kid doesn't need that on top of her failures already. Besides, I think the defeat of the Fire Nation can better be laid on Ozai's feet. I mean, he was the one who banished Zuko and mistreated both him and Azula. If we want to go indirect, he set up a domino effect. And directly, he wasn't able to consolidate the Fire Nation's gains at the end of the war which led to a huge rebellion movement. And he certainly didn't seem to want to get involved with fighting Aang during the Day of the Black Sun which could've stacked the odds further against him when the firebending was turned back on. Mind you, this was before Zuko showed up. Like he was sipping tea while Azula was holding the Gaang off.

That being said, I could see him pass the buck off on Azula for the Fire Nation's defeat. Which would lead into the scenario I just outlined above.

#azula #princess azula #azula meta #zuko #iroh #ozai #fire lord ozai #ozai's grade a parenting #fire nation #atla #avatar: the last airbender #atla meta #anon ask #anon answered #ask answered #ask me anything

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a-dauntless-daffodil · 30 days

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so it's actually maybe kinda IMPORTANT that Vaggie took her exorcist mask off that one day in hell??

it's a realllllly tiny act of individualism, or maybe discomfort with what she is or is doing, the exorcist gear a bit stifling feeling maybe- it's soooooooo smallllll, like the difference in the number of stripes on her wings. And Yet. It might have mattered. It might have mattered a Lot

'cause see.... the exorcist masks have HORNS on 'em.

So normally, if an exorcist was looking around and saw their shadow while down in hell murdering people, if that shadow ALSO had horns- well, of course it would! Right?

Ah. But.

Vaggie's shadow had horns even when she Wasn't wearing her mask.

and sure, there's a lot of ways to see this image-

1.) Purely meta, a visual to let the audience understand what Vaggie is feeling about herself as she looks down at this terrified kid. Not something that she or anyone else actually saw. Just a way to make us understand why she does what she does next when she lowers her spear and spares the kid

2.) Vaggie's guilt making her see herself like this in a trick-of-the-eye kinda way, manifesting as the horned shadow.

3.) Animation error. Someone somehow forgot Vaggie's mask wasn't on in this scene, the scene key to her character and backstory and why she's even doing all of this anyway. Or.

4.) It's completely Literal

if 4, THEN it's a contrast to Lute a moment later, with her mask still firmly on, casting her own horned shadow over Vaggie- and not getting what it could mean about what she is or is about to do. Shielded from the truth of what an Exorcist is

a sinner in all but name

the uniform protects Lute from that. Not "facing" what she's doing, like Vaggie did when she pulled hers off, keeps a shield of deniability between Lute- all the exorcists- and what an extermination day really involves

they only LOOK like demons because they cHOOSE to, obviously! it's only a mask, only for show!

just like sinners aren't really people. so, it can't be bad to kill them

it can't make you bad, to be killing them

it's just such a JUICY parallel to what just happened, the winged and horned horned shadow looming, the fear of the one suddenly under it. Only this time there's no moment of Oh.

well

other than vaggie's OH SHIT when she's sees the exorcist behind her is Lute, anyway

unbelievably bad timing there- or maybe Lute saw Vaggie take off her mask a moment ago and was following her to order it back on. Which would just be. So ironic

i suppose Lute's mask did kinda come off too, metaphorically

this is when Vaggie gets an eye full of just how much of an asshole Lute really is

sorry. sorry vaggie, im sorry, sorry- i couldn't. the pun. i couldn't resist

#hazbin hotel #vaggie #lute hazbin hotel #exorcist angels #.#im so so so so so so sorry vaggie #i REALLY couldn't resist

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valiantroeagleangel · 7 months

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Hatefuck.

Ryan Sitkowski x female reader

Kintober day 27. Hate sex, hook-up, unprotected sex, cheating.

This one feels a bit wrong since some hate sex and cheating are involved. Don't cheat on your partner and don't break people's marriage, it's bad. But I had this headcanon of Ryan in my head and I like it very much. Please don't come at me if you don't like this trope. It's just fucking fiction and shitty porn.

That being said, enjoy my loves <3

-Go to hell Ryan it's not my fucking problem. You shouted, slamming the door as you left the recording studio.

God how much you hated Ryan. He was insufferable with you, always making you remarks and picking fights. He was so convinced that he was superior to you, always degrading you and making bad comments about you to the rest of the band.

Why the heck was his problem?

Since you started to work as a sound engineer for the band six months ago, there have been constant arguments between the two of you. The atmosphere was always so heavy that now you were just running away from him, choosing to only interact with him when it was strictly necessary.

-It's not my fault if you suck at your job. Spare us your incompetence and just quit for good. He screamed louder, not sure if you were even hearing him now.

He sighed, sinking into his chair as the other guys looked at him in disapproval.

-What is wrong with you for real? She is doing a good job on the album. Chris pinched his nose, exasperated.

-No she's not. She's a pain in the ass, always whining about everything.

-She's not Ryan, and you know it, you're just unfair to her for god knows what reason.

Chris shook his head, standing up to open the door of the studio.

-What side are you even on dude?

-Hers. Now go apologize, we have a song to finish. He paused but Ryan didn't move. Now.

Reluctantly he got up and left the room, Chris slamming the door after his passage.

Ryan looked for you through the building, complaining and cursing until he found you, taking a coffee in the break room. You turned back as you heard someone coming, your brows furrowing when you knew who it was.

-Do you really think it's time to take a coffee break? You can't capriciously leave a session like that, we're all waiting for you to come back.

Wasn't he supposed to apologize? Yeah, right but seeing you like that just made his blood rush. He did not want to apologize, he wanted to ruin you, spit out his venom on you.

You saw red, will he never let you alone?

Slamming your cup on the counter you took a few steps in his direction. Your index finger pointed in his direction in a threatening way.

-You know what your problem is, Ryan? You're weak. You're the weakest person I know. You see me as a threat for a reason that I still don't get. You want me out of your life because you feel inferior. Because you're insecure.

Unconsciously you stepped closer to him as you continued your monologue, finding yourself inches from him.

-You call me a whiner but you're the one always whining about everything. I'm not going to destroy your life so peace out, dude.

He swallowed hard, looking at you as you kept your angry gaze on him. A long silence settled between you before he decided to speak again.

-But you are fucking destroying my life. He spoke in a low voice, not sure if he was supposed to say that.

You laughed as you stepped back a bit, throwing your arms in the air.

-How the fuck am I supposed to destroy your life? I won't take your job I'm a sound engineer, not a rockstar.

You were hallucinating as you kept laughing bitterly at him.

-God, you're a mad man Ryan. How could you make it so far in life when you think like that?

Rubbing your hands on your face you went to sit on the counter, throwing your feet as he followed you closely.

-You have no idea of what you're talking about. He retorted as his fists clenched.

-Certainly not but I think that you don't know either. You're just trying to cover how much of a coward you are.

His breathing was erratic as he stepped even closer, making you swallow this time. His gaze was menacing you, his arms resting on either side of your body as he bent over you a bit.

You shut down, intimidated by his dominating figure as your stomach squeezed.

-Don’t talk about things that are beyond you.

He was so close that you could feel his hot breath against your face. Leaning on him you kept your gaze on his.

-Fucking coward.

Why were you provoking him like that when he was so close you had no idea, but the tension between you switched. Your heart started to race but not from anger, your cheeks getting hot as you realized you were only inches away from his lips.

-I'll show you how weak I am.

Without letting you have the time to protest he collapsed on you, his lips crashing on yours as his hands came to grab your hips.

Confused and taken aback you pushed him away as he bit your lips, making it bleed.

-What the fuck dude? You started even more angry than before. You're married, why are you even- Oh.

It was at this moment that you realized it. You weren't going to destroy his job, you were going to destroy his marriage.

Your eyes widening you didn't say anything more, looking at him incredulously.

-Don't you fucking dare call me a coward again. You have no idea what I've been through the last months, trying to keep you away, trying to keep me away. He sighed, leaning more on you as he lowered his voice. Trying to avoid that fucking tempting ass of yours.

You squeezed your legs together at his words, your heart racing in your chest.

-You're completely mad, Ryan. You bit your lower lip, the taste of the blood diffusing in your mouth.

-Yes I am. And it's your fault. He breathed out, nearing his mouth to yours as kept staring at your lips. You make me insane.

You didn't move, holding your breath as you saw his lips slightly brushing against yours.

-You can't do that. Your tongue came to moisturize your dry lips as your breathing accelerated. Provocation again? Really?

-You're right, I can't.

But he did it, his tongue coming to caress yours as he kissed you again.

This time you didn't push him away. You don't know why but your hands came to his hair as you let him kiss you, uncertain. Maybe you were as mad as he was. The tension between you was confusing your brain. Ryan was hot, you never just admitted it to yourself as you were blinded by the hate.

His hands quickly came to your waist, pushing you against him as his lips kept kissing you passionately. He waited for this for so long that he thought he was going to explode. But you broke apart as you pulled his hair brutally.

-Stop it, we're not doing this.

He was panting against you, his pupils were dilated looking straight at you as his chest rose violently.

-Get your shit back together Ryan, you're married for fuck sake. You breathed out, his lips already losing themselves against your neck.

But he kept coming for you, pressing himself a little further between your legs making you whimper softly. You were not even sure that he listened to a thing you said. Fuck. That was wrong.

-God, I hate you. You rolled your head back as his lips became more persistent on your skin.

Leaving your neck, they came back to yours as he started to roam his hips urgently, getting needy.

-You're not going to answer a thing I say?

-Just shut up already. How annoying you can be.

He groaned, one of his hands coming to your face, grabbing it as he kept your lips against his, kissing you again.

You didn't know what to do. The anger consumed you as his touch made you go crazy. However, you knew you needed to stop before it was too late. The image of his wife coming to your head. You already had done too much.

Still, the words disappeared in your throat as Ryan's hands came to undo the button of your jeans, quickly working himself before he could think about what he was doing.

He was going to cheat and break his marriage but right now the only thing he could think about was how much he wanted your lips back on his. The feeling was too consuming as the tension of these last months dissipated, turning into pure passion.

You were the only thing playing in his mind, your complaints the only thing he would hear and the only thing he wanted to hear.

Settling a pace rapidly, he came to pull your pants down your legs, lifting you a little. He didn't want you to think, he wanted you to give up on his touch, wanted you to help him release his obsession with you, maybe that after it would stop and you both could go back to a normal life.

-Let me touch you, just for a bit. Hoarsely he asked, his lips kissing under your ear.

You nodded, not wanting to let the words out of your mouth. All of this was becoming way too real.

At your approval one of his hands came to caress your underwear, brushing his fingers on the wet spot that was forming.

-Fuck Ryan. You moaned a bit, surprised as your hand came to cover your mouth quickly.

He smirked against your skin, starting to rub you more.

-You want this as much as I do, don't you? He laughed a bit, mocking you.

Your head rolled back as you squeezed your eyes shut, his hand passing through your underwear as he started to caress you, rubbing your clit urgently, his lips biting to the skin of your shoulder as he lowered his head.

-Stop playing you, asshole. Just fuck me already. You whined, your hips roaming against his hand as you tried to grab his belt.

Yes, you wanted this, and you wanted it now. The more he was waiting the more you thought about his marriage and you didn't want to. You were fucking up real good this time.

He chuckled bitterly, quickly helping you to take his belt off as he opened his pants, putting them and his underwear down a little bit in a sure motion.

-See? You're always whining. He groaned in your ear, pumping himself before thrusting inside of you, not losing time.

You clung on him, your arms surrounding his neck as you pushed yourself against his body. The feeling of him inside you made you dizzy, your stomach tightening on how much you liked it.

After some time of peace, he started to move again, pushing in and out as he firmly grabbed your waist.

Shit, this was good, HE was good. You couldn't think about anything else than the feeling of him filling you up, your hips starting to rock against his, eager for more and more.

You heard him moan, his lips coming for yours as he tried to cover your sounds, fucking you restlessly as he enjoyed himself a bit too much.

-This doesn't change anything. I'll hate you 'til the day I die. You breathed out against his lips.

-Continue to hate me and I will fuck you until I'm the only thing you can think about. Accentuating each one of his words with a deeper thrust making you whine under his touch.

You gasped his name, feeling him throb inside of you. The hate between you was making all of this so hot, creating a suffering pleasure. It needed to end, you were losing your mind as the passion in your stomach was rising.

Ryan was pushing himself deeply, caressing that sweet spot every time making you cry his name. You were overwhelmed by everything that was happening, his hot breath against you making your head buzz.

He was getting closer, you could feel it, his movements becoming more messy and needy. He was fucking you like a beast, his mind completely gone as he was chasing his orgasm simultaneously to yours.

And god it was working, you felt your orgasm wash over yourself, leaving you completely drained under him as you shivered in his arms. His hips still twitching as he cursed, fucking you through your release.

Instinctively he grabbed your hips firmly when you clenched over him, feeling himself lose it all inside of you as is own orgasm left him panting.

Trying to catch your breath you pushed him out of you.

-God Ryan what have we done?

You started to panic as you realized what just happened, the sweet feeling of your pleasure disappearing leaving room for guilt.

He didn't answer, stepping back as he pushed his underwear back on, the door of the room slamming open.

-Ryan what is taking you so long to apologize for god’s sak- Chris appeared, looking at you both incredulously.

Ryan turned back, looking at him shocked as he didn't even put his pants back on.

-Sorry. That was the only thing Chris said before slamming the door back violently.

You were fucked.

#motionless in white #miw #miw band #miw fic #fanfiction #fanfic #smut #kinktober #ryan sitkowski #ryan sitkowski fanfic #ryan sitkowski fanfction #ryan sitkowski fic

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bobcatmoran · 2 years

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Against my better judgement, I'm watching the GBBO Mexican Week since the following week's episode will be coming out here in the US tomorrow. Disclaimer that I have zero Mexican heritage. I just like me a pan dulce and am an award-winning baker for non-Mexican bakes.

We start off on a "high" note, with Noel and Matt in eye searingly bright ponchos and sombreros, saying, "I don't think we should make Mexican jokes, people will get upset."

"What, no Mexican jokes at all?"

"I don't think so."

"What, not even Juan?"

This seems to be setting the tone for the episode quite nicely.

Or something.

More beyond the cut for the sake of everyone's dashes who haven't turned on the annoying thing where it cuts off long posts. This is gonna be LONG. And very spoilery. Fair warning.

Signature: Pan Dulce

After 2 bakers being off for "illness" (covid?) last week, everyone's back in the tent.

The little clips from the bakers as they walk in do nothing to instill confidence that anyone is coming to this from a perspective where they actually know anything about Mexican baking or that they've done much in the way of research to prepare themselves.

"I don't really know much about Mexican cuisine, so this is an absolute adventure."

"When someone says Mexican food, my mind goes only to fajitas."

"Mexican food's fun, but Mexican baking? What do the Mexicans bake?"

Carole at least acknowledges that she did do research, because she wasn't familiar with Mexican sweet bakes. I salute her for choosing pan de anise, something other than the conchas most other poeple are doing, even though she can't pronounce it to save her life.

Abdul straight off the bat says he's never had any sort of pan dulce before, so he's not sure what they're supposed to be like. I can't entirely blame him because I don't think Panaderias are as common in the UK as they are here (even in suburban Minnesota I have at least two within a 5 mile radius). I do salute him for doing as much research as he could for his besos, though Paul is like, "No, your research is wrong, they're supposed to be a completely different texture, I have just been to Mexico."

Prue decides that it's a good idea to correct Janusz, who was born in Poland, that "cacti" is the correct plural of "cactus," not "cactuses." Because that's what's important.

I'm quietly dying inside at how the scriptwriters clearly decided that craquelin was the best term for the topping on conchas. (later addition: oh gods, the judges are calling it that, too)

Sandro, I love you, but that's PUSHING the definition of conchas, having a filling and a salted caramel base.

Break while the hosts decide that Mexico is definitely a real place. Like Oz.

I'll admit that I've never made conchas, but I've made the close Japanese cousin, melon pan (got a couple awards for them yay), and much sympathy for all the bakers going that route because getting the tops rolled out to the right thickness and scored nicely is sooooo fiddly. Not all of them manage it. Sandro, I love you again, but those "conchas" are. Tall. My dude, did you look at any photos of what those are supposed to look like? (later addition: given all of Paul's comments on shapes, apparently this is what Paul thinks they're supposed to look like? Taller than they are wide??)

Paul complains that Carole's pan de anise "aren't Chelsea bun shape."

Techinical: Tacos

Tacos, which as everyone knows, require baking.

Oh, wait. No they don't. What the heck, Paul Hollywood. Why did you set that as the technical.

Corn tortillas made from scratch, steak, "spicy refried beans," guacamole, and pico de gallo. So many baking skills involved in this. Wow.

Paul: It's Mexican Week, Prue. It has to be tacos.

He then goes on to mispronounce pico de gallo, which Matt somehow managed to get mostly right.

I am dying over how everyone, especially Paul, is pronouncing "taco."

Instructions are brutal, including steps that are "Make the Pico de Gallo." [capitalization as though it's a proper noun] "Make the refried beans." "Make the guacamole." It looks a bit more involved for the tortillas, so there's a bit of mercy there.

Oh gods, at least 3 of the bakers have never even heard of pico de gallo.

Oh noooooo, Janusz has the "cilantro tastes like soap" gene. Nonetheless, he goes ahead and adds it to his pico de gallo mixture since it was on the ingredients list for it. "Spicy, soapy, salty, and sour. Great," he says, tasting it.

Carole, bless her heart, is peeling the avocado for her guacamole like it's a potato. Her tortillas are. Uh. Well, she tried. In her defense, how could she know that Mexican Week would have a technical that involved ZERO baking.

Syabira, who seems to be the only one in the tent who's made Mexican food before, is unimpressed that they are not provided with a tortilla press and are instead asked to flatten the dough with a casserole lid.

Kevin says the most true thing ever, "Everyone's got an opinion on steak, and everyone thinks you've done it wrong."

As the judges approach, Matt mentions that the bakers have been asked to make a taco that include, among other things, "a tangy guacamole," which is not an adjective I'd have thought to apply to guacamole.

Paul complains that there's some color on some of the tortillas, and that's a garbage statement right there.

Prue states that one of the tacos has too much salt "in the taco." She clearly means "in the tortilla," but. Y'know.

Showstopper: Tres Leches Cake

Ok, first of all, the bakers are required to make a cake that has at least 4 layers, which is not something I've ever seen any one do with a tres leches cake. Its very form lends itself to a single layer cake, since it's so moist. I'm getting shades of Jürgen, Actual German from last season, who pointed out to the judges that they'd assigned a traditional German cake to be made in layers which is never ever made in more than a single layer.

At least this requires baking.

Dangit Sandro, you were my favorite coming in, and here you are, being like, "Oh, Mexican? Ok, I will put a GIANT MOUSTACHE on my cake." My dude, did you do your research for this week by watching Speedy Gonzales cartoons? Like, I know he has serious baking chops, knowing why certain things work the way they do. But. Yiiiikes.

Matt suggests to Abdul that since he's making a Dia de los Muertos themed cake that he'll get him some poison. Abdul points out that the holiday is about honoring the dead, not making more of them. Noel is excited for this theming.

Paul is BEWILDERED by the very concept of Syabira incorporating sweetcorn into her cake. Corn??? In a baked good?????? (my Midwestern soul wants to crawl into the TV and punch him)

Quietly dying at how everyone pronouncing "tres leches." Like it has a "z" at the end of the first word.

Kevin, quite sensibly, points out that tres leches sponge is not made for stacking. He is right. He loses points when he says he's making an Aztec temple for his cake, Paul asks him if it's Mayan or Aztec, and he then replies, "There's a bit of overlap, isn't there?" (no, no there is not. Not geographically, and not temporally).

I do wonder now, seeing which types of chili peppers the bakers are choosing (a lot of birds-eye chilis, which I personally associate more with Thai food than Mexican), what sort of availability you get in the UK. Like, they're all developing these recipes at home with the ingredients they can get. And I'm fully aware that Mexican ingredients are lot less available there than they are in the US.

Carole is using an angel food cake as her base to be soaked in the tres leches, and oh boy. She's another baker who, going in, I loved, but she's really struggling this week.

Further discussion amongst the hosts as to whether Mexico is a real place, and omg can we please stop doing this bit.

Janusz says what we're all thinking. "It's a four hour bake. You're not gonna make it perfect, will you?"

The judges are stunned and bewildered at how Syabira managed to have sweetcorn in her cake and make it taste like sweetcorn. Inner Midwesterner continues to scream. Especially after Paul says, "it's not for me."

Ready to shove both Prue and Paul off one of those Aztec pyramids where they used to do human sacrifices after all their complaints about uneven soaking for making a layer cake out of a cake that, by definition, includes a saturated crumb, which is not a thing that is structurally sturdy.

Paul continues his theme of being unable to stand anything much spicier than ketchup. For Mexican Week. Prue is in the same boat.

Two bakers eliminated this week to make up for last week, apparently. Ugh.

Anyway, even with German Week last year, they effed up some stuff, according to the Actual German in the tent. For the love of little green apples, they need to bring in someone who's actually from that country or at the very least someone who's deeply studied that country's baking tradition for these Ethnic Weeks. No, sending Paul Hollywood to the country for, like, a week does not count.

#gbbo #mexican week #sure did happen

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spaceyaceface · 10 months

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I should have specified that it wasn't just your writing that put me off on you, but if I ever said anything to your face in the server, everyone would be clamoring to defend the "Patron Saint."

Which by the way, whoever said that? Was it in the DMs for you to repeat with pride like a badge of honor to feel special? I'm all for people spending time talking, drawing, or writing about the things they love, but every other message that comes from your finger tips makes me feel exhausted. Like I don't even want to be apart of this fandom and accidentally support someone like you.

You've misrepresented disabled peeps, gone off on rants for them when hello - let us speak for ourselves maybe? With attention seeking behavior of bragging about your organization skills, only speaking to those that are popular, and by creating an entire archive as if us writers will disappear. If we do disappear, that's none of your business and not your job to preserve what we put out. Ao3 and Wattpadd exist anyway for us to use if we choose to.

You can pretend all you like that you're living rent-free in my head, that you're speshul to get hate, but truth is - I've seen what kind of person you are and I'm fucking tired of you. I'm tired of people like you, who have the loudest voices and refuse to let others speak for themselves. Who can't allow the conversation to drift off away from them in group settings, and I'm tired of everyone who would have a heart attack if I said one bad thing about you as though you are a literal saint. You aren't a nice person, you're just as bad as me - but at least I have the balls to be fucking honest with people and know when to shut up.

???? I am genuinely confused by a majority of what was said here, and please know that this is the last time I'll respond to you, anon.

Let's get the first thing straight. You don't like what I do? Block me. I don't care. The fact that you said server inclines me to think that we may have crossed paths on discord, and if so, please feel free to block me there, too.

Second, the whole "patron saint" thing is a joke because a while back, there was very little Ominis fanfic being written, so I started writing a bunch. Someone left a comment jokingly calling me 'the patron saint of ominis fics', which I thought was funny, and a couple other people also commented. So, as I joke I added it to my bio. End of story. It's not because I'm better than anyone or perfect or anything like that. It's a joke that I went along with.

While Ominis is disabled, I truly do my best to represent him the best I can. If I've ever said anything hurtful or wrong, then I am sorry about that. I would have greatly appreciated a kind critique letting me know what I've done incorrectly, to better that in the future. Besides Ominis, I have written ONE (1) other fic with a disabled character, which was specifically requested by a disabled person in which I did my best to follow their prompt exactly. I don't know what rants you're talking about. I have actually tried by best to stay away from most things regarding disability, because I myself am not disabled, and therefore have no experience in those conversations. I've made a conscious effort not to get involved in that, besides being a listening ear when others speak on it. However, it's inevitable that I'd touch on it briefly in the fics I write, as Ominis is fucking blind.

Again, any sort of pointers or comments on how to improve these interactions I've written would have been appreciated. How was I ever supposed to learn when no one has told me I'm doing something wrong?

As far as the archive goes, I just randomly suggested putting together lists of all the fics I could find---IT'S NOT THAT DEEP. I have no clue why this would annoy you, but once again, BLOCK IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE IT. I've seen it done in other fandoms, thought it would be fun, others seemed to like the idea, and tada. Fun fact, if writers delete their writings, it the links won't work. They can still make it disappear if they want. I've said it on the sideblog, if people don't want their work on there, I will take it off, no questions asked. I just figured that since they're publicly posting to the internet, it's pretty much fair game.

I also do my best to interact with each and every person who does the same to me---I'm bad at initiating interactions because I have fucking awful anxiety and OCD, which also accounts for the "organizational skills" I brag about. I try to be as genuine and show my appreciation for all the people who are kind to me, because I am absolutely baffled anyone would take the time of day to say a nice thing to me. If you feel I talk about myself too much, then whatever. I use the internet to vent, whether on here or on discord.

And here I'm about to say the rudest thing I ever have on the internet, and it's this: I am not nearly as bad as you. Never in my life have I left anyone a nasty message full of personal attacks and accusations under the guise of "honesty." Nor will I ever do that, because there is enough hate and heartache in the world already. This behavior that you've displayed is the worst part of internet/fandom culture.

I'd like to bring this back full circle: Block me. If you check my blog again to see if I've responded, then obviously I'm at least somewhat living in your head. For the sake of both your mental health and my own, eliminate the tension by stopping here. You have no idea who I am so don't pretend for a second that you do.

For everyone else who had to read this, thanks for your support. I won't stop talking about myself or writing things I love, even if they're meaningless. I will never be replying to another hate comment on this blog.

#ace talks #hate comment #thanks for clearing that up

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minustwofingers · 9 months

Text

exoplanet post-finale discussion

this is a post that goes over some things that i briefly touched on in the tags/mentions some plot points i wasn't able to expand upon! SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS after the cut. so dont look unless u want it to be spoiled

ok so! i want to first of all start out by thanking everyone reading/the ellie community this for being so patient and wonderful and just lovely in general! writing long fics can be so draining for me, especially when i start making poor plot choices and start writing parts that are over 10k words (i at least have the decency to be ashamed of it). i hope that you all have enjoyed reading p7/the rest of the series. i did want to offer a little more elaboration on some points/why i made some of the plot choices that i did. so spoilers under the cut!

petra

petra's character might seem super random, and it's because she actually used to play a much bigger role in this story. my original outline included petra actually coming back to jackson as well as a few cutscenes away to her time working at a bourbon plant in kentucky, detailing exactly how the goods were contaminated/how they actually got past quality control. i cut these scenes bc i was like literally no one came to read about this random oc.

how did terranova get infected (in other words: what petra's story would've told)

she used to have a monologue talking about how everyone in the plants—even the commanding officers—were frustrated with the poor conditions and managed to infect weaker members, tie them up, and drop their saliva into the vats of aging bourbon. this slipped past quality control because you'll recall that 1) the prices were skyrocketing in terranova and 2) there was a festival that involved hella drinking. petra was supposed to explain that since the prices of liquor were so high and quality control could be overly cautious, flagged bottles were smuggled off by guards and sold in a black market. so that's why it was so fast/why it got through the borders!

why didnt u write a smut scene between ellie and y/n smh

i honestly planned to—i had a whole scene where y/n has her little top moment, but i just couldnt integrate it into the last final scenes. to me it just felt too much for ellie to be like yes im opening up 2 u emotionally....now lets fuck in the span of like 20 mins when they hadn't been speaking beforehand. and also i think it speaks to how ellie kind of used sex to put distance between them in the first few parts and tried to avoid any sort of emotional intimacy, so this was a big step for her. also if i were y/n id be sleepy as hellllll at that point and would not have the wrist stamina for any sort of activities that didn't involve tucking into bed after the day she's had!

what next?

so of course there's the epilogue, but that doesn't have to be all. i was thinking of writing an alternate ending that adheres more firmly to tlou 2 canon and involves joel's death + ellie's spiral, where y/n actually chooses to leave terranova with dina to try to find her once she hears from her father about a girl with a fern tattoo that's causing a disturbance just a bit south of terranova. i didn't want that to be the actually legit ending, because i do think it's important for ellie's conscience to know that she's not keeping y/n from somewhere safer.

so in conc: epilogue for sure, maybe an alternate ending, and potentially a few "deleted scenes" (including the smut scene i cut)

why did you choose to do that to terranova instead of having ellie find her or y/n leave?

ellie was never going to terranova to get y/n because she'd never try to take her from there unless she had a genuine belief that she'd be better off outside. so i suppose that there could've been a storyline about ellie finding out about terranova possibly getting infected, but idk how she would know that when communication is so private and tommy wasn't even able to get in contact with any terranovan authorities with his connections.

i didn't go with my alternate ending idea where y/n actually chooses to leave, partly because of ellie and mostly because i felt like terranova needed to get blown up anyway. i was hoping that part of the message i sent with this was that overconsumption is never sustainable and that it will always have consequences, and terranova falling apart because of and not in spite of its resources and suppliers seemed like a good way to get the job done!

this may not be something anyone is particularly interested in but if you have any questions about any things i didn't cover in the finale, feel free to ask ! now that the actual plot is mostly complete and i can't really spoil anything, i have a lot more flexibility with answering things!

#ellie williams x reader

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justalilhime · 2 years

Text

Cw: (fictional) physical and emotional abuse

I find it so amusing that a lot of people when discussing YZY'a abuse of WWX either claim that it wasn't that bad (in fact, it was that bad, and it's even clearer in the lotus pod extra), that it was acceptable in that society's culture/is historically correct (ignoring the fact that the author is a modern person with modern values telling you through the text how fucked up that was and how in the text no one else exhibited the same behavior as her despite it being supposedly their right to; they had better morals and ethics than her) or that WWX was supposed to be singled out and endure the punishment because he was the Head Disciple and this is the point that really gets to me because... Why do people think YZY has any right to punish any disciple?

She forced her way into marrying JFM, then made it her personal mission to make everyone's lives hell with her entitlement and abuse (a side note: I do think most of JFM's passiveness and apathetic nature is actually a result of said abuse, a self-preservation mechanism of sorts, but that's both personal and topic for another post). YZY married into the clan and gave birth to two children, one of them the heir, but that's literally the only thing she does for YMJ. She rarely spends time at Lotus Pier, what little she spends there are unpleasant to everyone involved. Her vitriol poisoned JC against the values of his own clan, the one he's supposed to inherit, and made it impossible for JFM to even try to teach him (and I honestly commend him for still trying anyway, as seen post-Xuanwu incident). She disrespects the dead and drags their names as though they're trash — one of them being WCZ, who used to be a part of YMJ and (possibly) made good contributions to the clan, as he was let go peacefully. And, the most important of them, she rejects the title of Jiang-furen. She always goes by Yu-furen (a title that belongs to her older sister, not her; at best, by logic, if she was still in Meishan Yu, she'd be third madam Yu, instead of simply Yu-furen). While some may argue it's her way to fight patriarchy and show love for her natal clan, it's still downright insulting to the Jiang clan and her husband.

She chooses not to associate herself with them by name and behavior. She doesn't even share the same servants and lives in completely different quarters. But of course, despite all this, she still enjoys the power of being the madam of the Jiang clan. All because no one dares go against her, lest they become the next target of her hatred. That, too, is another form of her abuse. But she doesn't have the right to when she chooses to reject everything the Jiangs stand for.

So yeah, what she did to WWX was fucked up beyond imagination, because 1) he was a child, 2) it was abuse, and 3) she was using an authority and power she shouldn't have the right to after everything.

If you read this and come saying any "buts" I will block you, btw 😂 Unless you're a mutual, which we shall agree to disagree, but I won't discuss further if your opinion differs. I have no patience and no will to hear/read abuse apologism of any kind (again, for personal reasons). I just wanted to type out some thoughts. Thanks for reading I guess 😂

#anti yu ziyuan #can you tell I'm frustrated with fandom #because I am #YZY had nothing and deserved nothing #and still everyone hadto suffer because of her #I hate her #oh also #what the actual fuck is happening to the eng translation of volume 3 #YZY would kill someone for the audacity of removing her 'I hate you' to WWX #she didn't tell him to die for JC's sake for people to twist her words #thank goodness I'm not obligated to stick to seven seas #Brazilian translation is 10000% better #thank you very much

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nottapossum · 4 months

Text

⚠️Very important trigger warnings!!⚠️

Character death, abuse, neglect, toxic relationships, manipulation, abandonment, forced age regression, talking about murder, threatening to kill your own child.

Stay safe ❤️And please don't hurt me over what you're about to read. It's very messed up. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to post this one 😢 but I worked so hard on it! Lol

'I'm sorry that I did this.

The blood is on my hands.

I stare at my reflection,

I don't know who I am.

Practice my confession,

In case I take the stand,

I'll say I learned my lesson,

I'll be a better man.

I'm packing up my things,

And I'm wiping down the walls.

I'm rinsing off my clothes

And I'm walking through the halls.

I did it all for herSo I felt nothing at all.

I don't know what she'll say

So I'll ask her when she calls...

Would you love me more If I killed someone for you?

Would you hold my hand?

They're the same ones that I used...When I killed someone for you.' ~If I killed someone for you, Alec Benjamin.

~~~Stolas and Blitzø, The next day:~~~

Stolas got up early the next morning to prepare some breakfast, he hoped it could possibly make up for what happened last night.

He hoped Blitzø wasn't too upset with him, hopefully he understood why Stolas needed to do this.

“Stolas!”

Nope. He supposed not.

Blitzø stomps into the kitchen, in his regular attire once again. “What the fuck?!”

“Blitzø! Good morning! Would you like some breakfast?” Stolas asks. He sets two plates of pancakes down on the table.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Blitzø asks. “I told you Moxxie is in danger, I said I needed to find him. And you took that as please take me home with you?”

“Blitzø, I am sorry, darling. I really am! But, Loona called me. She was worried about you.” Stolas says. “I couldn't just ignore her. She sounded like she was crying because she was so worried about your safety.”

“She did?” Blitzø asks. He felt a little guilty for worrying her, but he didn’t have a choice! Moxxie was in danger, he had to save him before it was too late!

“Yes. And I’m worried too.” Stolas says, taking Blitzø’s hand. “You pushed everyone away and tried to solve this on your own, why? What is going on?” He asks.

Blitzø sighs. “My-” He stops himself before he can continue. “I- I’m not getting you involved in this.” Blitzø says.

“Well, too bad! Get me involved, Blitzø! I’m asking you to!” Stolas says. “Please!”

“I can’t!”

“Blitzø-“

“No no no, you can’t, you can’t!”

“Blitzø-“

“I CAN’T LET YOU GET HURT TOO!” Blitzø shouts.

Stolas and Blitzø both go silent…

Taking a moment to calm down and let the words sink in…

Stolas points to one of the chairs at the table. “Sit.”

“Stolas, I can’t just-”

“Blitzø…please?” Stolas asks.

Blitzø sighs, then does so, reluctantly.

“Why won't you let me help you?” Stolas asks.

Blitzø shakes his head.

“Blitzø…what’s going on? Please talk to me.” Stolas asks, placing his hand on Blitzø's.

Blitzø inhales sharply, moving his hand away. “Moxxie’s disappearance is my fault…My father has him somewhere.”

“Your father?”

Blitzø nods. “Yeah.”

“Why does everything always come back to him?” Stolas asks.

Blitzø shrugs. “I don’t try to make it like that, believe me. He’s trying to take I.M.P from me as revenge for burning down his circus. He has a contract and everything. He’ll only give me Moxxie if I sign it.”

Stolas hums, cursing Cash under his breath.

“This is my fault, just like with Fizz and Barbie, I ruin the lives of everyone I care about.” Blitzø says.

“That's not true.” Stolas says. “You've done nothing but improve my life since we've become friends.”

Blitzø shakes his head. “It's only a matter of time, Stolas.” He says.

“If something happens to me, it won't be your fault. The fire was an accident and what your father chooses to do is not your fault, it's his.” Stolas says, taking Blitzø’s hands. “We'll figure this out together, being my friend means you won't be alone, my dear.”

Blitzø blushed slightly, but looked down so hopefully Stolas didn’t see it (he did). “So, if I hypothetically let you help, what would you suggest we do?” Blitzø asks. “We can't make him tell us, he hates me more than he values his life.”

Stolas thinks for a moment. “Well, one thing’s for certain. You are not signing that contract.”

“No shit.” Blitzø crosses his arms. “I don't know what I'm missing here, this doesn't seem like something Cash would do, he's never put so much effort into anything..” As hard as it was to admit, it was true, he was at a loss.

“May I see this contract?” Stolas asks.

“It’s back at IMP.” Blitzø says.

“Let's eat some breakfast, and I'll look it over.” Stolas says, sipping his tea all smugly.

Blitzø glares at Stolas. “Stolas, I'm not hungry.”

“Loona told me you haven't eaten in days. You're eating something.” Stolas says.

“Stolas, what are you doing?” Blitzø asks.

“I'm taking care of you, I'm your caregiver, it's my job.” Stolas says. “And if yesterday taught me anything it’s that I haven't been strict enough with you.”

“Stolas-”

“This is called the consequences of your actions. You worried me and Loona, and now I fuss over you.” Stolas smiles.

Blitzø groans. He doesn't have time for this shit!

“We're not leaving until you eat something.” Stolas says.

Blitzø sighs, then reluctantly starts eating.

He's not very hungry, but he knew Stolas was right.

He'd be no help to Moxxie if he wasn't taking care of himself.

~~~Moxxie:~~~

Moxxie was on the floor still, holding his legs close to his chest…

He was going crazy. He couldn't do this anymore. He's been in the same position for hours, not knowing what to do. Too afraid to move!

How long has he been in this room?

How long has he been trapped in this house?

He wasn't himself anymore, something was wrong! It was all wrong!

He just wants to go home…

Alessio suddenly walked into the room. “Your father wants to speak to you in the living room.” He says simply.

Moxxie’s chest suddenly throbbed with anxiety. “Why?” He asks.

Alessio doesn't answer, just walks away wordlessly.

Moxxie stood up, his breathing becoming quicker and his head getting lighter, but his legs forced him to move to the living room.

~~~Stolas & Blitzø:~~~

Stolas read through the contract carefully, pacing around the office.

“Well?” Blitzø asks.

“Checking the fine print here, it says if Cash dies, all of IMP goes to one…Crimson knolasname.” Stolas reads.

Blitzø takes the contract. “What?!” The writing was so miniscule, he's surprised even Stolas could read it, he couldn't even see it. “So, Crimson does have Moxxie?” He asks.

“It appears so, or at least he knows something about it. But, why the hell would your father make a deal like this anyway? Isn't Crimson dangerous?” Stolas asks.

“It’s Cash, okay? If someone offered him a thousand dollars to off himself, he probably would.” Blitzø exaggerates.

Stolas hums. “I could spare a thousand dollars.”

“We checked Crimson’s place already.” Blitzø explains. “Wait- what about that spell you use to spy on me?”

“Spy?” Stolas asks. “I never spy on you. What gave you such a silly idea, Blitzy?” Stolas laughs awkwardly to cover up the obvious lie.

Blitzø raises an eyebrow.

“Okay, fine. I may have a spell. But I would need something that I can use to connect to Moxxie. Usually, a lock of hair, blood, or even a piece of skin would work best. But, it may work if we have something that belongs to him that has a significant impact on his character.”

Blitzø nods. “I can get that. Out of curiosity, what did you use for me?” He asks.

Stolas blushes. “Uhh, well. You know how we…well I still had some of your DNA on me.”

Blitzø blinks. “You…you know what? Who am I to judge?” He says. “If you can use that to find Moxxie, we won't need to negotiate. Only blow some mother fuckers up.” He smiles.

Stolas leans in close to Blitzø. “Also, as it turns out, there is a way to remove scent from Imps, there is a substance called nonodorem. It's a purple or sometimes blue substance that is created with hellberries and other magical substances that is used by injecting it into someone's body to prevent them from being tracked. With Crimson having so much resources, it wouldn't surprise me if he was able to get his hands on some.”

Blitzø nodded. “I fucking knew it.”

“It's interesting, it wears off every 10 hours, so you'd have to keep injecting them every-”

“Stolas, I know you love research and reading and learning new things, but I really don't have time for it right now, okay?” Blitzø says, trying to sound as nice as possible.

“Oh right, sorry.” Stolas says. “So, where do we start?” He asks.

Blitzø was about to answer when there was suddenly a kick at the door.

The door broke and two Imps walked inside. “Blitzø, you are going to tell me what's going on, right now!” Millie shouts after destroying his beloved door for good. “I'm not playing games!”

(That door was nothing more than a pile of splinters now. Rip.)

“Millie…hi.” Blitzø says awkwardly, knowing how Millie is when she's angry.

“Hello, Millie, hello other imp.” Stolas says.

“Ooo, who's the fancy bird?” Sallie asks.

“I'm Stolas. Nice to meet you.” Stolas offers his hand.

“Sallie Mae.” She shakes his hand.

“I've been calling you and you've ignored every single fucking call! What is the matter with you!?” She asks.

“Millie, look I'm sorry okay? I should have been more honest with you from the beginning. Things just got- complicated.”

“He's my husband, Blitzø. I have a right to know these things.” Millie says.

Stolas and Sallie Mae were engaging in casual chit chat while Blitzø and Millie talked.

“You're the bird at the harvest moon festival!”

“Yes. And you play every year.” Stolas adds.

“That's right!” Sallie says.

“I know, I'm a dick.” Blitzø says. “I just couldn't let myself be responsible for another friend.”

“What do you mean?” Millie asks.

“It- it doesn't matter. Butz Stolas may have found Moxxie.” He says.

“I need more information than that.” She says. “Where the fuck is my husband?” she asks, her eyes promising harm if they don't comply.

“Let's just say Crimson planned a lot more than we thought.” Blitzø says. “We just need to confirm where Moxxie is exactly. Stolas?”

Stolas and Sallie Mae stopped talking as he looked over at Blitzø. “Yes?”

“How long will it take you to perform the spell?” Blitzø asks.

Stolas thinks. “Not too long, thirty minutes?” He suggests.

“Great, I got a plan.” Blitzø says. “Millie, we'll need to stop at your apartment.”

~~~Moxxie, Present:~~~

Moxxie walked downstairs until he saw Crimson. “S-sir?”

“You should have known I'd figure out where you got your information from regarding the littles.” Crimson says.

“What are you talking about?” Moxxie asks.

“Look who's hanging out next to yer buddy Chaz.” He smiles.

Moxxie looks over at the shark jaws that his father had plastered on the wall.

Next to ‘Chazwick Thurman’ was ‘Quint Corleone….’

Moxxie couldn’t breathe…“You…Quint?” Moxxie asks. “You killed him?!” He asks.

This couldn't be! No! Not Quint! No!

For a moment, he couldn't see anything in front of him…

Quint- he didn't deserve this!

“He got himself killed by going behind my back.” Crimson says. “He knew the consequences of crossing me.”

He did…and yet he risked that just to tell Moxxie about the littles-

It's all his fault…

~~~Past, Moxxie age 17:~~~

Rain was a wonderful thing. Moxxie loved it, he loved the smell, the moisture, the way it made the atmosphere so fresh. It was something he couldn't really describe.

He was sitting on the back porch of the mansion, marinating in the cool breeze when Quint decided to join him.

“Hey.”

Moxxie smiles at him. “Hey.”

“What's happening between you and Chaz?” Quint asks, not bothering with any sort of small talk. Quint doesn't believe in beating around the bush.

Moxxie rolls his eyes. Quint always had an opinion about everything, he always felt like his opinions mattered when they often didn't. “What's going on between you and Stu?” He asks back.

Quint rolls his eyes back.

“Hey, if you're going to ask me, I can ask you.” Moxxie says.

“Stu and I meet up, we hang out, we…” He doesn't continue his list. “It could never work out between us. I don't know how to be with anyone, not after…”

“What?”

“Do you know how I became a loan shark?” Quint asks.

Moxxie nods. “Yeah, you wanted to help your mother who was struggling financially.” He says.

“My boyfriend helped me get the job. He told me he'd do anything to take care of me, he told me everything was going to be okay…”

“But, then he became greedy. He stole money from Crimson and tried to escape, leaving me behind… Crimson almost killed me too, but I begged him like there was no tomorrow, promised him that I'd do anything if he spared me…and so he did. If I ever tried to escape, if I ever thought to betray Crimson…he promised me a special place on his wall.”

Moxxie felt a chill down his spine.

“That's why me and Stu can't be together, I can't trust anyone.” He explains. “When I look at you and Chaz…I can't help but see me as Jasper. I don't want you to make an ass of yourself and do what I did. Chaz is just like him, he seems nice but he's so selfish, he'll never choose your safety over his happiness.”

“You don't know him. Chaz is a great guy, he loves me.” Moxxie says. “Even if he was as selfish as you say…he's a lot better than you are, or…him.” Moxxie says. “I'm sick and tired of everyone telling me that I'm not capable, that I can't be with Chaz if I want, like I'm a child who can't make my own decisions, I can. And I will.”

Quint sighs, his eyebrows furrowing. “You're right, I don't know him. But, I know you. I don't want you to do something you'll regret!”

“You don't know me.” Moxxie says. “I'm fine, and I never asked for your input!”

“I'm only trying to protect you!” Quint defends.

“No, you're not. You're projecting on me to make up for your own fucked up life, you never cared about me!” Moxxie shouts.

Quint looks at Moxxie, almost looking hurt by the comment made, but he says nothing about it. Instead he takes a breather and he nods. “I hope you're right. I hope he's actually a decent guy and cares about you. I'm just saying, I don't see it.” Quint gets up and walks away, leaving Moxxie to his own thoughts.

~~~Present:~~~

Quint was right about Chaz…and right about Moxxie. But, Moxxie was wrong…wrong about everything. Especially Quint, and he-

He never told him that he was sorry. Despite everything Moxxie did, despite Millie killing Stu and ruining his life…Quint still sacrificed himself to make sure Moxxie knew what Crimson was doing…

He knew he'd be killed, but did it anyway. Why?

“How- how could you?” Moxxie asks.

“You're lucky it wasn't you. Honestly, I should have gotten rid of you a long time ago. You've never been grateful no matter how much I've tried to make this work, tried to understand you” Crimson sighs. “I should have killed you a long time ago.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Moxxie asks softly.

Crimson’s eyes widened, as well as Moxxies, he clearly didn’t mean to say that out loud.

“Excuse me?” Crimson asks.

Moxxie starts shaking, he couldn't believe he just said that!

“What did you fucking say to me?” Crimson asks.

“N-nothing, S-sir!” Moxxie stammered.

Crimson walked slowly towards Moxxie who was walking backwards until he hit the wall. “Oh no, you said something, I heard you!” Crimson says, grabbing the smaller imp by the collar and lifting him up. “Answer me, now.”

“I-“

“I’m waiting!” Crimson shouts.

“I-I asked…” Moxxie tried to speak while also trying to catch his breath.

“I am not a patient man, Mox. You should know that better than anyone.” He says.

“I asked: why didn’t you kill me then… Sir.” Moxxie answers.

Crimson threw Moxxie onto the hard floor once again. “You ungrateful bitch!”

Crim grabbed Moxxie by the collar again. “You really want to know why?” He asks, “I’ll fucking tell you why.” He dragged Moxxie all the way to his office and threw him inside.

Moxxie hits the ground hard, his breathing quickens as he regrets his choice of words.

This was it… he was done for!

Crim closed and locked the door while Moxxie crawled away from him.

“As you could probably tell, your mother and I weren’t exactly in love; Far from it actually. We got married purely for her family to be protected, and mine to have some financial gain. No matter how much I hated the idea of marriage, they forced us to do it anyway.”

Moxxie looks at Crimson, wondering what this had to do with anything.

“I didn’t want to marry your mom, but we needed the money, not to mention someone needed to take over the business after me… so we did what we had to do to get you. The more she and I were together, the more we resented each other, and the more she disrespected me.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Moxxie finally asks.

“No one has ever loved me, Mox.” His father admits. “Not my parents, not my wife. At least that's what I thought. Until your mother died… and you started regressing.”

Moxxie was shocked. “What?”

“You were just so small…so helpless. All you wanted was for your daddy to hug you and protect you.”

“Your mom kept you as far away from me as she could when she was alive, it was like I finally had the chance to really be your father. I was finally loved by someone, respected…wanted.” He added.

Moxxie was not expecting that to be the explanation…

“You-“

“Your mother always made me out to be the bad guy, and sure, I am far from a good person… but, raising you made me think I could be close.” Crimson admits. “No matter what you did, no matter how mad you made me… I could never kill you.”

Moxxie sighs. And yet here they were. His father was as far from good as he could possibly be.

“I should have been there more, should have been a better father…I just wanted you to be as strong as you could be. But, I did care…I do.” Crimson says. “I want to be here now.”

Moxxie couldn't stop the tears that were pouring down his face without permission. “Of course I wanted that…” he says. “I was a kid! All kids want is protection, love, and comfort, they just want you to be there! But, you never gave me that! I was in constant fear my entire life, and you act like I owe you sympathy and respect! And why? Because you didn't kill your own child? That makes you some sort of hero? I gave you your chance, I gave you every day of my life, I gave you my entire childhood and innocence in hopes you would change, that you would care about me. I did everything you ever asked of me so you'd love me, so you'd care…it's too late for that now!” Moxxie says. “You already broke me.”

“Look, I know I fucked up-”

“Did you kill her too?” Moxxie asks.

“What?” Crimson asks.

“Mom…did you?” Moxxie asks again.

Crimson sighs. “Mox-“

“Answer the fucking question!” Moxxie demands.

Crimson sighs. “She threatened to turn us in, she went against the oath! Therefore, I had no choice!”

“Right.” Moxxie scoffs. “No choice.”

“I didn’t! I kept her alive longer than I wanted to for your sake!” Crimson admits. “She left me with no choice!”

“You would have taken any excuse!” Moxxie shouted. “You took my mother because she cared about me, while you couldn't even care about me enough to let her!” Moxxie says.

“She made her choice!” Crimson shouted.

Moxxie backs up into the wall, wishing he were anywhere else right now, or dead. Anything was better than this.

Crimson looks down at Moxxie. “Now…you make yours.”

Moxxie hugged himself tightly.

“You can stay here with me and Alessio, we'll make things right, take care of you the way we should have. You'll get back to your rightful place in the organization,” he lifts Moxxie's chin. “Right next to me.” He says.

“Or…you can remain regressed for the rest of your life. Even if your friends come for you, who's to say they won't turn away once they find out what you really are?” Crimson says. “What little use you'd serve them. Do you really think they'd want to deal with such an ungrateful brat?”

Moxxie blinks away the tears left in his eyes…

Crimson’s right.

He served no purpose, he only messed everything up!

How many times did Moxxie get Millie and Blitzø in danger? How many times would they have been better without him?

And that was without regressing, without being such a huge burden on Millie…

“You know something kid?” Crim walks over to his desk and lights his cigar. “You and your little self? You ain’t so different.”

Moxxie looks at Crimson again.

“Always changing yourself so people would like you. You need everyone to like you all the time. That's why you never regressed, that's why you were working for that dumbass. It's why anyone has ever liked you.”

“Like your mother…”

~~~Past, Moxxie age 5:~~~

Moxxie was being dragged back inside the house by his mother harshly.

“Moxxie…” She says angrily as she lets go of him. “What have I told you about running off on your own?” She asks.

“M'sorry, mama.” He says.

“I know.” She says, a tear falls down her face. “Sometimes I- I just don't know what to do with you. You are too much like your father. Do you want to be like him?” She asks harshly..

Moxxie knew the right answer. “No.”

“Then you have to stop. There is an order to things, you need to learn to do as you're told without question.” She says. “Understand me?”

“Yes, Mama.” He said.

His mother holds him close. “I love you very much, Chip. I only want to protect you. You know that, right?”

“I know.” He says. “I love you too.”

~~~Present:~~~

“Chaz…”

~~~Past:~~~

“Come on, Moxxie. Why won't you just tell me what’s going on?” Chaz asks him. The two of them had snuck him out of the mansion so they could hang out just the two of them. It was really the only way to be together. “What's the big secret?”

“You'll make fun of me.” Moxxie says.

“I won't make fun of you.” Chaz says. “I already think so little of you,” he rolls his eyes sarcastically. “Nothing you say will make me think any less.” He says, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I'm…a…” Moxxie hesitates to say…he doesn't want to ruin such a good thing- the only good thing he has! His breathing increases, but he's trying to calm down so he can speak-

“Are you trying to tell me you're a little, Moxxie?” Chaz guesses.

Moxxie looked up at him. “You- you knew?”

“I…figured it was…something.” He says. “Your family is soooo secretive. Even for the Mafia.”

“Oh.” Moxxie doesn't know what to say.

“Also, I'm forty percent caregiver, So, I have a knack for these things.” Chaz shrugs.

Chaz looks at Moxxie closely, realizing that he's freaking out. “Hey, relax, babe. I don’t care. This doesn't change a thing.” Chaz says.

“R-really?” Moxxie asks.

“Of course not. You're my boyfriend. You really think I'd leave you over that?” He asks. “That hurts.”

“I'm sorry.” Moxxie says. “It's just hard to trust people with it, especially when my dad acts like it's some kind of disease.” He explains.

“You know, I wouldn't looking after you sometime…if you want.” Chaz says.

“I don't know, Chaz. I don't even know anything about my little self.” Moxxie says. “I'd rather keep it that way.”

“What? They've never told you about your little self?” Chaz asks.

Moxxie shakes his head. “Not really, no. And I don't ask either. What if I'm annoying or more trouble than I'm worth?”

“You're already annoying and more trouble than you're worth, babe.” Chaz says. “It makes no difference to me. Just let me in, come on. Don't you trust me?” Chaz asks.

Moxxie nods. “Of course I do.”

“Then let me in! What makes you regress?”

“I'm not like other littles, Chaz. I was hypnotized and there are words to activate my…little headspace.” He explains.

“Nice, that makes things easier.” Chaz says. “What are the words?”

Moxxie gulps. “Uhm- I- I don't know, Chaz. I-”

“Come on, Moxxie, what's the problem?” He asks.

Moxxie curls into himself. “I just don't think it's a good idea, Chaz.” He says.

“Relax.” Chaz says, ruffling his hair. “I won't hurt you. I'm your boyfriend, I want to take care of you.” He says.

“I just-”

“I guess you just don't really trust me then.” Chaz says.

“No, I do. I just-”

“If you can’t even trust me, why are we even together?” Chaz asks.

Moxxie's heart sinks…

He loves Chaz! He can't lose him! He can't!

Chaz was the only one who actually seemed to want him around…he couldn't lose that!

“I do trust you! I promise!” Moxxie says.

“Prove it then.” Chaz told him.

Moxxie nods. “Do you promise you won't use it unless I give you explicit permission?” He asks.

“I promise.” Chaz says.

“Okay.” Moxxie writes down the words and hands it to him.

Chaz smiles.

~~~Present:~~~

Chaz did not keep that promise…or any promise actually. He never could, and yet Moxxie always believed him when he said he would!

He never hurt Moxxie…at least he doesn't think so. He just didn't respect him…at all.

Until that day…where his boyfriend and potential caregiver betrayed him and left him in that awful prison…

He gave Chaz everything he had, there was very little left of him…

Quint was right about him.

But he wasn't Quint, he trusted again.

He had a family, he moved on…

But, maybe he shouldn't have…?

“Your boss, Blitzø…” Crimson continues to list.

~~~Past:~~~

“Thanks again for the help, Mox. Let me give you a lift home. My van should be around here somewhere.” Blitzø says.

They had just escaped prison with Blitzø's chaotic plan. He handled worse thought out plans before, but he was surprised by how easy they made it out despite Blitzø's ridiculous scheme.

“Ah, here it is. Hop in.” Blitzø instructed once they found the sketchy vehicle.

If Moxxie felt he had any future at all, he’d be more hesitant about entering a stranger who he met in jail’s van. But he did anyway. If he really was a terrible person, he'd have a better chance than at home.

“So, where do you live?” Blitzø asks.

“Well… I used to live here but- but-“ Moxxie starts breathing heavily.

“Woah, you good?” Blitzø asks him.

Tears pour down Moxxie’s face uncontrollably. He shakes his head. “I-I can’t go back, he’ll kill me.” He says. “But I have nowhere else to go…I don’t have any friends or family! I’m alone!” He says.

“Okay- okay, geez. Please, calm down.” Blitzø says. “Christ on a stick you’re giving me a headache!” He complains.

Moxxie calms down as best he can. “M’sorry.” He says. “This has been the worst day of my life…and it has a lot to be compared to.”

Blitzø thought for a moment…”Tell you what, I’ll take you home with me tonight, then we can figure out what to do with you tomorrow, kay? That sound fair to you?”

Moxxie was shocked, this guy was seriously going to help him? “Really?”

Blitzø groans. “Yes, really. Don’t get all sappy on me, alright? You’re just so pathetic I can’t allow you to wander the streets like a lost puppy.”

“Thank you, sir.” Moxxie says. “I really appreciate this!”

“You’d better.” Blitzø says. “I have a lot to explain to my daughter. She's not going to take this well.”

And she didn't.

~~~

Blitzø took him in…he took care of him. Of course he cared about what Blitzø thought…

Of course he wants to impress him! He hated disappointing Blitzø!

‘I'm hard on you because I know what you're capable of, Mox.’ He had said to him.

Blitzø was…he isn't always the nicest or the best person…but he never gave up on Moxxie, and as annoying as Blitzø can be, he was always there to help and defend him when he needed it.

They fought together. No matter what the situation.

Blitzø has always been there, even when he didn't want him to.

But…how long would that last? Would he stick around if he knew who Moxxie really was?

~~~Present:~~~

“Your beard…” Crim says. “Mildred.”

. . .

~~~Past:~~~

“My DVD player broke, do you have one at your place?” Millie asked him.

They had planned their very first date, they were supposed to go to Millie’s to watch singing in the rain and some zombie movie.

“My place? Uh- yeah. Sure. Let me just talk to Blitzø.” He says.

“Alright.”

Moxxie hung up the phone and braced himself .

“Um, sir?” Moxxie asks.

“What's up?”

“I was wondering if it would be okay if this Friday I could borrow the DVD player…and the apartment.” He says.

“Why? Got a date?” He asks.

“I have…a friend coming over.” Moxxie says.

“Who is it?”

“None of your business.” Moxxie says.

“It is if you want to use my DVD player.” Blitzø says. “And my whole apartment.”

Moxxie sighs. “It's…Millie.

“Fucking knew it! Loony, you owe me twenty dollars!”

“Fuck!” Loona curses.

“I'm so happy for ya, Mox. I knew there was something going on with you two.” Blitzø elbows him as a form of affection.

“She's only coming over to hang out. It's nothing serious.” Moxxie says.

“Oh sure.” Blitzø nods. “Just remember when you two get married, I get to be the best man.”

Moxxie rolls his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”

~~~Days later:~~~

There was a knock at the door, so Moxxie and Blitzø raced to open it.

Moxxie won and opened the door. “Millie! Hi!” He says.

“I brought snacks!” Millie says. “To make up for the change of plans.”

“Now isn't that nice?” Blitzø asks. “She's a keeper.”

“Don't you have someplace better to be?” Moxxie asks him.

“Okay, hint taken, I'm leaving. Just want you to know, I'll be back at ten. Don't do anything I would do.

“Okay, Blitzø.” Moxxie rolls his eyes. “You can leave now.”

“Love ya, Mox. Use protection.” Blitzø teases before closing the door behind him.

Millie turns to Moxxie who laughs awkwardly. “I'm sorry about him.” Moxxie says.

“Oh, that's alright. I have an older brother too. It's cute that he cares so much about you.” Millie says.

“He's not my brother and he doesn't care, he's just an annoying asshole.”

Millie chuckles. “Could have fooled me.”

~~~~~~

As they watched the movies, they slowly moved closer together. They discussed both of them for hours, giving their critiques and opinions.

“Gene Kelly has a way of making me love a self centered asshole.” Millie says.

“I know right? He has no right being that adorable.” Moxxie says. “And don't get me started on Debbi Reynolds.”

Millie smiles. “Why not? I want to hear it.” She says.

Moxxie chuckles. “She's just…amazing. That's all.”

Millie nods. “I agree. They're all very talented. Personally I love the friend.”

“Donald o’ Conner. Very underrated. I could watch him dance until hell freezes over.” Moxxie says.

Millie smiled at him, and suddenly everything made sense.

Suddenly, Moxxie felt safe with someone, felt his opinions mattered, that he mattered. He wanted to keep Millie safe because of it, make her feel like she mattered.

He wanted her to feel the way she made him feel.

He wanted this feeling of being okay, of being secure to stay as long as possible…

For that to happen, he knew he couldn't tell her the truth…

Moxxie never regressed after leaving his father's house…he's never told anyone about it.

Not even Millie.

He just couldn't.

Even if he wanted to- which he really didn't. He couldn't. He couldn't put that on her, his little self had to be locked away for good for them to work! It had to!

But what would Millie have done if she knew about him? Would she have left…?

~~~Present:~~~

Would she have abandoned him and found someone else?

Would she have been ashamed?

Moxxie looked up at his father with determination. “No. No, not Millie! I love Millie, and she- she loves me! For who I am not for what I do!” He says.

“She loves you? No, she loves to control you, Mox. Can’t you see that? She likes telling you what to do and you just let her; that’s why she stays with you!” Crimson explains.

“That’s not true!” Moxxie says. “You don't know her!”

“No? Then why didn’t you tell her about your regression?” He asks. “Why didn’t you tell her about us?”

“I-“ Moxxie’s eyes tear up. “I just couldn't.”

“Was it because you were scared she wouldn’t like you if she knew your pathetic little secret? Were you scared she might’ve rejected you?” He asks. “Or maybe you were scared that she would use it against you.” Crimson suggests.

Moxxie’s tears fell faster, Millie loved him! She never would’ve used his regression the way his father did! She never would have hurt him!

She never would! She was everything.

The only reason to live.

Why did Moxxie think he could be happy…? Why did he think he deserved her?

He should have listened to his mom! He shouldn’t have dragged Millie into this!

He loved Millie so much, it hurt.

It always hurt!

And now that he can’t hurt in a way that made him feel alive, there was nothing left in him. He was lifeless and life was pointless.

He wasn’t strong enough for her.

He could never be worthy of her.

Her perfect glowing soul.

There was no one like her.

No one…

He wished he could have told her that more before everything fell apart…

At least one more time.

He was so sorry.

But he knew they couldn't stand a chance if he let his past hurt her…

Let his little self out.

He had to kill that part of him.

Kill the child that loved his father, who wanted to please his parents.

He had to kill the man who loved Chaz, the one who trusted those who hurt him…

He had to kill the weakest parts of him.

She didn't deserve that pressure, that weight and responsibility.

He had to lie! He had to!

“I’m the only one you can trust, Moxxie.” Crimson says, bringing the smaller imps attention back on him. “I’ve lost more from you than I’ve ever gained. I have nothing to gain from you, but I love you anyway. I know you better than any of them ever could. Do you understand that?” His father asked.

Moxxie froze…

He's never heard Crimson say that before…

“You…you love me?” Moxxie asks softly.

“Of course I do, kid.” Crimson says. “Come here.” He says, pulling his son close, setting him on his lap and holding him.

Moxxie accepts the hug, holding his father close despite the fact he knew what was coming…

He felt weak…like there was no point in fighting it anymore…

“Dad?”

“What?”

“If this is what you really want and you promise to let the other little’s go… I'll stay willingly.”

“Really?” Crimson asks.

“Yes, just-”

Crimson raises an eyebrow.

“Keep me little. I don’t want to fight it anymore, I'm done trying.” Moxxie says. “At least my little self can still believe in his heros. I can't believe in anyone.”

Crimson pet Moxxie’s hair gently.

“Quiet time.”

'You have to understand that

The one I killed is me,

Changing what I was

For what you wanted me to be.

I followed your direction,

Did everything you asked,

I hope that makes you happy,

'Cause there's just no turning back.' ~Alec Benjamin, if I killed someone for you.

TAG: @todayimfour

#itty bitty imps #father knows best

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synergysilhouette · 1 year

Text

I miss Fictif, but it was far from flawless

I actually got into this series because of "The Arcana" (plus romance games don't often let you play as anything other than a female lead), but I found that even though I liked it's potential, it fell short a lot of the time, either romantically or story-wise. I'm obviously disappointed that I can't customize my character's appearence, but I think I'm in the minority with that one. Allow me to list my grievances and nit-picks with the app.

In general--Female routes are short and underdeveloped. I don't even romance women IRL, but this was just sad. Anika, Tess, Valentina, and Celia are the only female love interests to have solo routes while the rest are in one-route stories--and Valentina didn't even get a route before Dorian took over and effectively stopped updating the app!

"Two Against the World"--As much as I love Nicky, this story turned me off as a gay male player. The writing feels female-coded, and no acknowledgement of the stigma of two men being in a relationship in 1920s New York is ever mentioned. It'd make more sense if the setting was INSPIRED by 1920s New York, but in reality was a completely different location--but that wasn't the case. It felt like a big mifire in storytelling.

"Heir to Love & Lies"--I cannot overstate how much of a disappointment this story was. In both Sergio and Chava's route, Chava starts off very friendly and sweet before becoming aggressive and secretive. This doesn't really make any sense since he's your childhood best friend and (spoiler) he doesn't kill La Dama Rosa in either route. Plus in Chava's route, Aurora becomes very cruel and blames us for getting her family (re)involved with the cartel, even though in actuality she involved us--a point Chava tells us to let go, and then we apologize. For what?! And the end of Sergio's route is confusing, as you go through a dream sequence where he either kills you and takes your money or you get him arrested for killing La Dama Rosa. I think it's supposed to represent your fears and mistrust of him and symbolize how you need to let your concerns go if you wanna marry him, but it feels uncomfortable since it's not explained well at all. It felt like we just saw the future and we said "I don't care." Plus he asks us stuff about kids, our wedding, and where we'd live, and he took NONE of my decisions into account for the final chapter.

"Roadkill"--I was SO confused on what was the result of the wish and what wasn't. Did Douglas' wish create werewolves, vampires, and witches along with zombies? Or did they already exist before the zombie wish? If it's the latter, there's no need to involve zombies. Plus Howie's amnesia arc in the last chapter was rushed and unnecessary, while Poe came off as judgmental and snarky and Tess' route was short and rushed.

"Catch Me in Miami"--I couldn't get into Miguel because he was so obviously a bad boy and I don't do bad boys. Maybe if he was more coy about it like Nicky than being obvious about it, I'd be into him.

"For the Love of Gods"--Great potential, but rushed and I DESPISE how we're forced to romance everyone. Why can't I just choose how many people I'm interested in?

"Ghosted"--Probably my least favorite story. Jesse's ghost story does sound interesting, but his personality and how rushed it was ruined it for me.

"Hollywoodland"--Rushed, but it had great potential.

"Snow Falling in Love"--It felt like a waste not to tie this with "Roadkill" due to Sawyer's involvement, and Elise was CRAZY obsessed with us.

"Courting the Crown"--Beautiful Potential, but again, rushed, rushed, rushed.

"The Last Legacy"--Probably the best plot of them all, but Felix and Sage weren't my type physically or personality-wise; I'd rather go for Felix's dads.

I didn't include other stories because they either weren't finished or I didn't complete them.

#fictif #dorian #nix hydra #the arcana

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amaya-writes · 2 years

Note

hí, hσw hαvє чσu вєєn? 💞 чσu αrє ѕuch α ѕwєєt pєrѕσn αnd α vєrч tαlєntєd αnd ínѕpíríng wrítєr, í'm hαppч fσr чσu вєcαuѕє чσu'rє fínαllч rєcєívíng thє fσllσwєrѕ чσu dєѕєrvє. 😁 fσr thє 2k єvєnt, wσuld чσu mínd íf í rєquєѕtєd α juuzσu х rєαdєr whєrє thєч'rє ín α ѕσulmαtє αu?

Event Masterlist About The Event

Notes: thank you!

Warnings: n/a

Characters involved: Juuzou Suzuya

Gender-neutral reader, you/yours

Juuzou never thought he would actually have a soulmate.

It wasn't because he thought he was unloveable or damned to be alone, but more that he never even considered the idea of being fated to be with someone.

Having a soulmate had just never been on his agenda.

That was, of course, until he saw his initials hidden away on your wrist.

The cursive JS neatly scrawled on the inside of your hand would have never caught his eye had it not been for the matching initials on his hand, initials that belonged to you.

At first, Juuzou didn't know what to do.

The fact that you had been hiding your mark with makeup and long sleeves made it clear you either didn't want to be with him or were unsure what to do about the situation, but he couldn't find it in himself to get angry. Not when he had done the same.

Juuzou supposed he should have figured it was you since he didn't really know anyone else with the same initials, but he had never bothered to chase after the identity of the person imprinted on him.

Not until he found out it was you.

Your hand lightly shuffled against the desk as you shifted in your sleep, with the sight making Juuzou quickly retract the hand he had previously used to tug back your sleeve.

He couldn't help the small giggle that left his lips at the sight of your cute sleeping face leaning onto his desk.

For once, Juuzou was thankful that one of his colleagues had decided to drop by his office unannounced because it allowed him to see a vulnerable side of you he had never thought of.

A small smile ghosted over his lips as the excitable agent took to leaning against his desk with one of his hands slowly dropping to ghost over your hair.

He certainly had never anticipated you to jerk awake at the soft touch.

"Juuzou? What-"

"You fell asleep."

You let out a small hum at his words; seeming to visibly relax the second you realised it was just the two of you in his office.

"You're also my soulmate."

He could see the way your eyes widened the second his words actually registered, with the sight making Juuzou let out yet another giggle as he watched you lean back in his chair and flick your gaze between your wrist and his eyes.

"Well- now what?"

He shrugged.

The motion seemed far too nonchalant for the situation the two of you were in, but it somehow helped quell the nerves both of you no doubt felt.

"Why did you hide it?"

"Why did you?"

Of course, you would answer his question with one of your own.

"I was scared I guess. Didn't know how you would react."

You turned away from him as you spoke, choosing to instead focus on fiddling with your shirt's sleeve as you awaited a response.

"I don't mind-"

He abutted from the table as he spoke, leaning forward to let his hand drop to your chin so that you could lock gazes.

"I'm glad I was mated to you."

Juuzou really meant what he said, even if his words were paired with a comically large smile.

He wasn't fortunate enough to be surrounded by the best people throughout his life, but you were different. You were kind yet not awfully so. Someone who was a part of the darker side of life but also connected to the light.

"Now, about that report you were here to talk about-"

An airy chuckle escaped your lips at his sudden change in conversation, but you were quick to sit up and address the reason you had really visited his office.

As he watched you trail on about topics he would probably have to ask Shinohara about again, Juuzou couldn't help but feel a soft smile ghost over his lips.

You were so similar yet so awfully different to him.

And perhaps, that was why he didn't mind the idea of ending up with you. Eventually. But for now, he was happy to watch from afar as you waltzed through the light and dark.

#juuzou drabbles #juuzou x you #juuzou suzuya fluff #juuzou x reader #juuzou suzuya x reader #juuzou fluff #tokyo ghoul juuzou #juuzou x y/n #juuzou x reader fluff #juuzou hcs #juuzou scenarios #juuzou suzuya imagines #juuzou suzuya drabbles #tokyo ghoul fanfiction #tokyo ghoul x y/n #tokyo ghoul drabbles #tokyo ghoul x you #tokyo ghoul x reader #tokyo ghoul hcs

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princeescaluswords · 1 year

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#35 🤔 for the ask the writer game

#35. What is one essential thing to remember when writing a villain?

This is an excellent question. There is one thing, when writing villains that I feel an author must never forget, because to me it's the literal difference between a villain and an antagonist or even a morally-gray or morally complex character.

THEIR VICTIMS.

Conflict is the soul of stories, and in conflicts, characters are going to be hurt either emotionally or physically, sometimes by others, sometimes by themselves. Heroes can be forced into situations where they have to kill another person or they can be forced to choose between two equally unpleasant outcomes. Antagonists can have legitimate reasons to hurt others or even kill their enemies. A character with deep flaws can make decisions that hurt the people who care about them or are part of their lives. But villains have victims: individuals who are hurt as a means to an end, whatever that end might be, who would never be involved in the story without the villain expressing their will-to-power.

Let's look at some examples. Teen Wolf is my fandom, so I'll use the villains of that show.

If the lies that Peter Hale had told in Season 1 had not actually been lies, i.e. "I was out of my mind" and "Only the responsible ones," he would not have been a villain. Scott may have felt that he had to stop Peter's plan for revenge, but that would have made him an antagonist. But if Peter truly had bit Scott in a fit of moon madness and then said "Oh, shit, I involved a perfectly innocent boy in all this" and not mentally and physically violated him repeatedly, there would be a legitimate argument that he wasn't a villain. If he hadn't murdered the school janitor or savaged Lydia or tried to force Scott murder his friends, then there might be grounds for arguing that he was just an antagonist. But he did Bite Scott on purpose and he did murder people who had no knowledge or involvement in the Hale fire, and he did use Lydia in a degrading and sadistic manner. He's a villain.

This distinction is why I consider Derek Hale an antagonist in Season 1 and a villain in Season 2. In season 1, Derek manipulated and bullied Scott, but Scott was already involved. Derek was doing what he thought was necessary -- avenging his sister -- though I have to stress that he certainly wasn't "trying to help" Scott. The only lead he had was Scott McCall, and while his behavior was downright reprehensible, he didn't create the situation in which he found himself. This changes in Season 2 with Jackson, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd. He knew that Kate's death would bring repercussions, he knew that the Alpha Pack would be coming, he watched Gerard declare war, he had the means to avoid it, but he went and involved four teenagers anyway. Their deaths, and the deaths they caused, are an expression of his will to get what he wanted, when they wouldn't have been involved without it. Boyd might be lonely, Erica might be dealing with epilepsy, Isaac might be in foster care, and Jackson might be nursing a bruised ego, but they wouldn't have faced what they did without Derek's decision to manipulate them into getting the Bite. That is what makes him a villain.

What does that mean for other villains? Theo was manipulated and kidnapped by the Doctors. Monroe crossed the line out of ignorance. Meredith suffered from true mental illness. None of these stories are simple. It's not supposed to be simple, which is why the key always comes back to the victims: Carrie, Zach, Edgar and the people like them who never chose to get involved, who weren't the protagonists, but were hurt anyway.

That's why fandom vanishes the janitor from Night School (1x06) when trying to turn Peter into a morally-gray character rather than a serial killer. That's why fandom vanishes Jackson's claws to Allison's throat when they try to make Scott into the villain rather than Gerard in Master Plan (2x12). Fandom cannot deny that the victims are what make the villain.

When I want to make a villain in your writing, I ask myself which people are they hurting who would not have been part of the story without the will of the character I am identifying as the villain?

#my writing #ask game #teen wolf meta #scott mccall #peter hale #derek hale #scott mccall defense squad #teen wolf fandom problems

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tiger-moran · 3 months

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I'm still thinking about Moriarty: The Devil's Game and sorry this isn't going to be complimentary about it.

One of my fundamental issues with this is just Moriarty is so 'nice' and ordinary effectively, aside from his mathematical brilliance he's just... some guy, until shit happens to push him into criminality. Just... I don't like the way it's gone to the extreme of 'what if Moriarty was a nice totally innocent and actually rather boring guy while Holmes is absolutely depraved'.

And why can't Moriarty just... be a criminal because he wants to be? Why has there got to be some 'deeper' reason for it and, worse, the same sort of bullshit reason that often gets ascribed to Holmes too to explain why he's the way he is, namely it's some tragic incident involving a woman (either by breaking his heart or also like in Young Sherlock Holmes for instance, where the girl the young Holmes loved was murdered). There doesn't have to be a reason for Moriarty being a criminal, he can just be one anyway? And that reason certainly doesn't need to involve killing a woman or having a woman 'break his heart' (or you know, not, as the case may be).

I like alternate takes on Moriarty that paint him as something other than the 'depraved evil villain' (though incidentally he isn't even that in the canon), I like stuff like Kurland's stories, even though I have issues with them and how Moran was largely replaced in them in particular, but the basic idea that Moriarty is not simply the 'evil villain' people assume he is but at the same time he is still someone who breaks the law and can be morally questionable at times is something I genuinely really like. But this story went so far to the other extreme, not only with Moriarty but also with Holmes and some of the other characters too, and I just... don't get what I'm supposed to find interesting or enjoyable about that.

And Moriarty is just so nauseatingly and heteronormatively romantic in this, not only going on and on and on about how much he loves 'Rose' but also about the marriage and having kids in the future (plus that ending. God, that ending, urgh). What is there in that take on Moriarty that I'm supposed to recognise or care about? There's nothing in that I, someone who loves Moriarty so much, can recognise or care about. Moriarty is just far too 'nice' and basically ordinary and also so romantic and sentimental it doesn't feel anything like Moriarty to me, and once he's basically pushed into criminality... he's still too nice about it even then. Yes I appreciate Moriarty having some morals and some limits on his behaviour and I absolutely agree he does have these even canonically, but in this he's still too conflicted about it, too obviously pushed into it rather than freely choosing to do this, and I just think that's a very boring take on the character. Moriarty can be a complex villain or antagonist or protagonist depending on the story without... all of that, without making him sickeningly romantic and 'lovey-dovey' (and straight) and basically a nice (and actually rather dull) man.

There were a few elements that I liked. I did kind of like Watson, though it's a very dark take on Watson and unpleasant in some ways, but while he was one of the 'bad guys' in effect, he was much more nuanced than most of the others and I found him far more interesting than Moriarty or Moran (or anyone else) but I do think a big factor in that is... he felt more like Moran than Moran did, really.

I liked that Moriarty had respect for a woman who characters such as Holmes just dismissed as a "whore" and I liked Charlotte whenever she wasn't being shoved in as Moran's 'love interest' (which was most of her appearances/references to her unfortunately).

I liked Moriarty's brother being brought in including with the train stuff, even though he sounded like a kid so it was hard to buy him being a stationmaster.

And I appreciated them actually calling Moran Moriarty's partner and friend, actually using those words. But... even that was still done in a way that let it down and ultimately that was wasted on me, it still wasn't enough to make me like them or care about the relationship.

And Moran... Moran was just... he's fine? But that's all. I don't feel anything much for him beyond... yeah he's OK. I mean for one thing I cannot register him as being Moran with that accent, I just can't, and another thing was again with him we got too much emphasis on him liking women (because god forbid anyone suspect Moriarty and Moran might be queer I guess).

And Irene Adler, who I love so much in the canon, well... the less said about her in this the better I think.

I just don't really get who this was aimed at, it made both Holmes brothers absolutely hateful and villainous (but not even interesting in their villainy), it made Watson practically one of the villains even if he was better and more interesting than others, it killed off one of the police inspectors and basically ruined the life of the other main one from canon. It completely screwed with Adler. So... was this aimed at people who actually hate the character of Sherlock Holmes? Or who hate the stories and all the characters in them? Or was it aimed at people who already care about Moriarty and Moran? But that's not many people really, and I already care so much about Moriarty and Moran and I didn't like it at all so...?

And I'm feeling like it was aimed mostly at people who don't care or know anything about Sherlock Holmes overall at all? Like the Adler thing, like Porlock's identity, these are SO obvious if you know anything about the canon and that does spoil the ~dramatic twists~ many episodes later. But what was the point of doing any kind of Sherlock Holmes adaptation in that case, if they were basically catering for people who don't like or know the stories?

AND ANOTHER THING

Yes they used the words partner and friend to describe Moran in relation to Moriarty and had him being very loyal to him (although with that shit ending it doesn't exactly make it look like Moriarty cares so much about Moran after all) but a lot of their relationship was just... us being told stuff, not actually being shown anything, like we're told they're friends, we're told Moran is his "partner" but it's like... it started off at point A where they've never met before and jumped to point Z where they're apparently partners and best friends and we barely saw anything in between, it skipped right over most of the other points. Whereas we got endless bloody 'James and Rose' flashbacks, we got other scenes that dragged on pointlessly for no reason, but there was almost nothing shown of Moriarty and Moran interacting as friends, or developing an actual close bond, it was just... said to exist and that was it. And that was really not enough to make me care about them in this universe. So Moriarty didn't leave Moran behind when he could have done so when they escaped from the prison which I guess is partly why Moran latches on to him but that only goes so far I think, and most of their scenes together are action scenes or them dealing with business stuff or whatever, there's very little to show them becoming close, coming to care about each other. There was so much bloody 'James and Rose' stuff that I absolutely hated and so much of Moriarty being nauseatingly romantic over 'Rose' but realistically almost nothing actually shown for Moriarty and Moran and their personal relationship.

I'm sorry I just did not like any of this or understand realistically who they were trying to target it at but whoever their target audience was it clearly wasn't me, despite me being one of the biggest fans and champions of Moriarty and Moran in existence, the one who has poured my heart into writing many, many thousands of words about both of them, of fic and character analysis and meta and all of that. I still wasn't the target audience for something that was meant to be about Moriarty and that actually not only remembered Moran exists but made him a major character and explicitly called him Moriarty's friend, and I didn't like it at all. And that just really sucks.

#James Moriarty #Sebastian Moran #Sherlock Holmes #Irene Adler #Dr John Watson #Professor Moriarty #Moriarty The Devil's Game

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