#like... maybe it's my oldest sibling complex talking

[mellowmin]

Idc what people say, they'll never make me sympathize with a character that has a sibling that they KNOW is being mistreated/is suffering and choose to ignore that for whatever reason, I'll never respect someone who accepts being a witness to their sibling's pain

[heelsofboreas]

So here's my essay/rant about how I think parentification can be incorporated into your c!Punz and how you can use that to give c!Mercenary duo a tense and fun complex relationship.

Helios, you might be asking, what the fuck is that word? Parentification? It sounds like a disease and I'm an audience stand in.

tw for child abuse. discussed and not in detail, but as a concept for plot and mentions of long term impacts

Great point. I genuinely want to discuss what parentification is from a psychological perspective to make sure we're on the same page. So, basically, Parentification happens when a child (teens included), intentionally or not, is forced to take on developmentally inappropriate roles and responsibilities often because an adult won't/can't. If it's developmentally appropriate it's not parentification. Its been primarily divided into emotional and instrumental. Emotional is when a child is handling the social/emotional needs of family members in a way that isn't appropriate. Instrumental involves physical tasks like cooking, cleaning, and even providing financial support. A child fetching something from the fridge for an adult making dinner is not parentification. A 10 year old having to wake up in the middle of the night every night to change a diaper is.

Genuinely take some time to research it before you write it. I don't have time to get into things like the gender bias, but trust me there is a huge gender bias. Eldest daughter syndrome is a phrase for a reason, but it's not an issue restricted to being the oldest or being the daughter.

So, how can you utilize this to make a less black and white Punz was just awful to Purpled and abandoned him vibe? You make it so for some reason, Punz was the parentified caretaker of Purpled and there was no one to support Punz. Not anyone that would be able to fix things, anyways. This makes it so Purpled can have been very hurt by the situation, because the reason this would be so awful is that Punz was Also Just A Kid. Punz would not be fully equipped to raise another even younger child. It becomes a tragedy that they had to endure together but with a power dynamic that Punz can still have botched as the older brother.

This is also a very flexible situation. Did Punz pick a child up off the street to keep baby Purpled from freezing to death? That's what I write. You can also write them as bio siblings with absent/neglectful parents. Or bio siblings on the street. Maybe Punz is too young to understand the consequences of running them away from a shit life. Or maybe even from help he doesn't understand as safe. Either way, Purpled is now left alone in the hands of someone who isn't prepared to take care of him. What's next?

A few options. In my version Purpled gets incredibly sick and is for a while because Punz is like 10 and doesn't know how to treat a sick infant. In the end Punz takes Purpled to a church, where Punz starts doing work in exchange for Purpled's medical care and a place to sleep (he does this a lot). But they ditch the place when the grown ups start talking about getting them placed with a family. Specifically a placement that might split them. From there Punz is determined to make it work alone regardless of the cost to them.

You could also do Punz is playing protector and caretaker. With one or two parents that are in a sense useless or abusive. My Punz only really has parentification involving siblings, but you could easily make it even more complex by involving one or more shitty and/or passive parents. I sometimes do this in modern aus because it's just more realistic in that setting.

Additional things you can do with this:

Purpled gets taken away from Punz/their family, and resents the perceived abandonment

Punz gets taken away/put a in a position where for Purpled's safety they can't interact (kicked out by family, job things, abusive situation)

They just don't like each other. They can always just not like each other. Maybe Punz was too hard on Purpled. maybe Punz is just not the kind of caretaker Purpled needed and failed him (but they were a kid/teen too so there's nuance)

It's an act. They pretend to hate each other and not be related for safety concerns, but at the end of the day they do care (some of that fake resentment could even be actually real resentment that leads to some miscommunication issues)

So now the fun part for me, why your c!Punz should have been parentified:

Parentification can lead to difficulty establishing boundaries - this can be improved upon but often it becomes difficult to say no (which can contribute to enabling others, see: the criticism that punz enables dream's destructive tendencies)

I think it just makes any post-prison recovery arcs more interesting because Dream is going through all of that while Punz is quietly falling into a familiar role just one they chose this time instead of one that was forced on them

Parentification does increase your risk of long-term mental health issues. I don't know how I would even begin to write a neurotypical Punz and I'm happy for the clear justification to not have to

"No one can/will help me. I take care of myself." the whump potential. are you hearing me?

also the potential for a caretaking role swap

Punz is overall a pretty angry person and quick to act on perceived threats. Being in a protector role in childhood would establish that tendency early and make it concrete. Especially since Punz is CLEARLY a protective person (cough "don't touch dream" cough)

So that's just about my thoughts on that. Maybe this will make me write more Mercenary Duo once I finish like real people do.

[faynthearted]

is this a safe space? because I need to have a (positive) rant but I might seem a bit unhinged in the process

but please, for the love of god, if you're a tianshan and/or He brothers fan and you're dying from the lack of 19 days content lately, let me put you on to something.

I've been trying not to talk about it because this show is a guilty (and nostalgic) pleasure of mine, but for the last week or two I've been obsessively rewatching teenage mutant ninja turtles (2012)

HEAR ME OUT. 🫵🏼

it's a nickelodeon show, yes, I know, but please. hear me out before you make a face, lol!

tmnt is one of those shows that had an established fanbase before its release so not only is the quality of the animation excellent, but the voice actors and writers do such an amazing job. the plot is well-planned and intentional, the show gets notably better as it goes on because of its growing success with its audience (it gets very obvious budget increases for each season lol), and the relationships. oh my god the characters' relationships. they're so top tier.

if you know me from my tianshan fics, you know that I'm obsessed with strained, resentful, angsty relationships that slowly improve as the characters learn to trust each other while experiencing strife and mutual trauma. it's practically the foundation of tianshan, and it's also the definition of the brother-brother relationship between raphael and leonardo in tmnt. and it's so fucking delicious every single time.

I don't want to spoil too much in case anyone actually reads this post and decides to watch tmnt for the first time, but basically at the beginning of the show (and in all other adaptations of tmnt, as far as I'm aware) raphael resents the fact that leonardo is made the leader of their team. they butt heads all the time, they can never agree, raph is a stubborn/reckless hothead and leo is (occasionally) an insufferable, self-righteous golden child in their family. they’re literally red vs blue — their dynamic could not be more oppositional.

but at the same time, they're each other's right-hand man??? it's complicated. as the two oldest(?) siblings in the family (as well as the most skilled siblings), they kinda need each other and they hate that they do — at least raph does. and for a while, their relationship goes up and down over and over again until bam — ✨trauma✨. and I won't spoil what the trauma is. but it's so fucking delicious. the cinematography and voice acting of certain scenes in the season finales keep me up at night

for a nickelodeon show, I'm impressed by the depth of the plot and characters. it's very reminiscent of the complexity of atla's plot and characters. and yes, I've only mentioned raph & leo's relationship so far, but that's only because I tend to hyperfixate on two characters in every fandom I'm in, lol. but all the characters are so meaningful and the brothers' relationships with each other make me want to slam my head against concrete because it makes me feel so much. especially raphael and michelangelo's relationship, too. iykyk.

the show is so silly but also so angsty and also so stupid but also so sincere. the vibes really do remind me of 19 days in so many ways. the boys in tmnt are 15 years old, much like the boys in 19 days. michaelangelo is basically jian yi and raphael is basically guan shan. leonardo is kinda like zheng xi, if zheng xi was more assertive and expressive. but no one's like he tian, lol. sorry. he's a beast of his own. (unless, maybe, another character named karai is comparable to him? you tell me).

anyway. whatever the voice actors, writers, and animators were getting paid throughout the show's production wasn't fucking enough. there was clearly so much heart put into the show because tmnt has been a beloved franchise for a long time and nickelodeon was not messing around when they decided to take it on.

another bonus point is that the episodes are only 20ish minutes long, there are 20+ episodes in every season, there are 5 seasons, and the show is completed. you won't be left on a cliff hanger. you can binge to your heart's content like I've been doing. and usually the season finale episodes are longer than the normal ones (they're split into two parts), which always means shit goes down. god it's so fantastic.

if you decide to watch tmnt and know nothing about it, I recommend you do not seek out spoilers. because there are many spoilers and plot twists. push through the cringe and silly moments (much like we sometimes have to do with 19 days lol) and eventually you'll get to the heart of the characters/plot. and my god, it's so worth it!

tmnt was the first fandom I ever wrote fanfic for, over a decade ago. I was watching it as episodes were being actively released on a weekly basis. and it's been so long since I've touched the tmnt fandom, so it feels like I'm watching the show for the first time again. I only have vague memories of significant plot points/scenes, so it's been such a ride to slowly remember how everything plays out. and I'm kicking myself for not rewatching tmnt sooner, because I clearly forgot how special it was to me at a certain point in my life!

the show is so feel-good and relaxing (but it does have its stressful moments, don't get me wrong). if you've got time to spare, give it a shot and let me know what you think! I'm only at the beginning of season 3, so I'm still working through the episodes myself! :)

if you want to know where you can watch it for free, DM me! <3

[eggthew]

The whole "youngest child vs eldest child" thing is something I think about a lot. I'm not denying that the eldest child often gets a lot of responsibility pushed on them, made to take care of younger siblings when they shouldn't, and are treated different by parents. like I get that, I'm not denying that, it's awful and I cant imagine dealing with that

but the whole "WE are the ones that raised you and ALL youngest siblings are sooo spoiled and always treated better by parents" thing always pisses me off, like that's not the experience I had. me being the youngest didn't stop my parents from abusing me. they just abused me in a different way than they abused my oldest sibling. and hearing all of that talk, especially when I was younger, just made me feel so bad and guilty about the ways my parents treated me better, as if it was MY fault and I didn't deserve any of the kindness they did show. and that had led to some complexes lmao. being told I'm a spoiled brat when my parents did the bare minimum of parenting. yes its not fair and disgusting that they didnt do the same for my sibling, but it wasnt my fault.

also the whole thing of "all eldest siblings, especially Eldest Daughters, who were responsible/raised their younger siblings were so so nice and nurturing towards their Baby Siblings" or whatever, Im very brain foggy and cant word it right now. but once again, in my experience that wasnt the fucking case. due to the abuse and stress my oldest sibling was dealing with, they lashed out and bullied me n my other sibling (middle child) for years. I legitimately thought they hated me most of the time. I'm not blaming them at all, I have no hard feelings towards them, but I have never felt the "youre my baby sibling and I need to look out for you 🥺" thing ever.

idk its the whole thing of like. not all experiences are universal, yes there a lot of eldest siblings who were treated like shit bc they were the eldest, but maybe instead of shitting on the younger siblings, get mad at the parents lmao. and I see so many people make it into their entire personality in a way thats incredibly toxic but treat it as a good thing, and not something that should be addressed or healed from, and that all younger siblings should fall down at their older siblings feet and beg for forgiveness and be eternally greatful. Especially when all siblings are well into their adulthoods. go to therapy or something this isnt healthy or fair on anyone involved

[zelphin124]

I hope nobody else sent this yet- But here, for you~

1. who's your favorite oc?

2. who was your first oc?

3. how many ocs do you have?

4. have you kept all of your

ocs since the beginning?

5. are any of your ocs based

off of a show/book you like?

if so, who?

6. what is the species of the

majority of your ocs?

7. are any of your ocs an

original species? if so,

what's the species and who?

8. if you can, draw (oc name)!

9. write a few sentences as

(oc name)!

10. are any of your ocs part

of a story? if so, what is it

about and who's in it?

11. do you have any twin ocs?

12. are any of your ocs

siblings?

13. what is the gender of the

majority of your ocs?

14. make up a new oc right now

based on (concept/show/color/

etc.)!

15. would you ever give up any

of your ocs?

16. who is your oldest oc

(age-wise)?

17. have you ever roleplayed

as your ocs?

18. how many of your ocs were

adopted from someone else?

19. who is your least favorite

oc?

20. which oc do you think has

changed the most since you

made them?

21. who is your newest oc?

22. have you ever cosplayed

your own ocs? if so, who?

23. which oc do you think has

affected you the most as youve

grown with them?

24. have you gotten cosplayers

of your ocs? if so, of whom?

25. do you have any ocs that

you havent drawn/written as/

talked about in a long time?

if so, who?

Aww! Thank you skele-things! I appreciate it! And no one has asked me this yet (:

DISCLAIMER: I have many many many many many many OC's... especially outside the Undertale fandom. BUT- I'll try to center around Undertale as those are known best! Questions below!

I mean, I love all my boys equally what do you mean- Winter Sans. Outside of UTMV? Garrison, a character in my novel.

For the UTMV - Iro!Sans. My girl has been with me for... six months now.

Too many. UTMV-wise, eight 6. I have six, for now.

For the UTMV yeah! I've kept all of them!

I got inspiration for SeasonTale based off one Game of Thrones clip I saw with a dragon, a man, and a woman, and the bad sanses. It was literally only one scene, and it sparked a story!

Heh, Sanses... Outside of UTMV? I love writing elves, creatures I make myself, or humans! Humans are so interesting when they're powerless in a powerful world.

Unless you count a girl Sans original... nope! As for my other books, I've made a TON of fantasy species! The main character in my novel, The Fergen, is a Fergen! Which is an elf with dragon wings and can breathe fire! Lmk if you wanna hear more.

aaaaaa sadly I am not confident in my art enough to draw my characters... I will learn someday, I hope!

Winter: "Must you cause yourself pain to get revenge? It isn't worth it! This is only hurting you!"

Oh yeah! SeasonTale and IroTale have very complex and intricate stories that I am in process of writing! You can find more info on their masterposts!

Oh, good question! Although some come close, nope!

Yep! Winter Sans and Summer Sans are brothers! That's why Summer's eyes can sometimes be seen as snowflakes!

Male. I make a lot of females outside the UTMV though; it's been really interesting to learn about how the male mind works when writing them!

Crap ya didn't give me any concept to go off of! Haha! I am a creative dumpster, if you give me some concepts, I can definitely spit out some ideas!

Yes, I have given a ton up outside the UTMV, so I am sure it could happen with my Sanses, unfortunately. But I don't plan to anytime soon (:

If Cocoa!Sans doesn't count, as I made it with a community, then probably Iro!Gaster, who is timeless. W!Gaster is like... 250 years old too.

Oh yeah! All the time! It's how I flush out some of the lore! Usually, it's on discord.

I was about to say none but then I remembered Reformed!Error, haha! So I guess 1?

Like I said I love all my boys equally- there's Chester from my novel... as for my UTMV? Hmmm... Maybe F!Gaster (Fall!Gaster). He's very cowardly and I don't like his character, but it serves a purpose.

Definitely Iro!Sans. She went from a maintenance Undye to who she is today. She's developed a LOT.

I created all my Season Sanses together... probably Solstice!Asgore. He's a new edition to the story!

Nope! I don't have the money to cosplay ;'/

Iro!Sans probably, mainly because of how her villainhood is from her brokenness, and honestly... she just needs a big hug. I relate to some of her brokenness and needing a hug so she's always been a character that in every scene I write with her, it hits deep.

Nope! None that I know of! If you have please let me see!

Probably Cocoa!Sans! I don't get to talk about my jolly old pal and his cafe a lot! He's super sweet and loves serving coffee from CoffeeTale, and his cafe is a universal hotspot! I've heard there's a lot of similarities between him and Ccino, though I've never read Ccino!Sans' story before.

WOW! What good questions! Thank you for allowing me to answer them!

Always feel free to ask whatever questions you have! (: Have a splendid day!

[casspurrjoybell-32]

*Warning Adult Content*

LONG LOST SIBLING - Chapter 16

Adyen

After the meeting that afternoon, I spent most of my time myself to think.

Len did keep messaging me but I either ignored him or sent quick short replies.

I used the excuse of midterms to avoid him and I was too tired to care about my grades since my mind was occupied with so many other things.   

I moved through the week feeling drained.

My mates at track practice noticed and when they offered to head out with me for fun downtown, I panicked and got up from the bleachers.

What if the biker werewolves stopped us to get to me?

What would I do if things got dangerous?

I didn't have a wolf and I didn't know two shits about fighting or protecting myself.     

"I'm sorry..." I trailed, realizing that all eyes were on me now.

It was a Thursday evening and practice had ended about half an hour ago. 

 "What's wrong with you, man?" the oldest person on the team said, narrowing his green eyes at me as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Half of the team had left and the other half, including me, had decided to sit in the bleachers.

They had been having a conversation and I had zoned out before they made their random offer. 

I shook my head, letting out a sigh.

"Nothing," I insisted, letting my eyes flicker towards the exit. 

Usually, my teammates didn't talk to me but my lack of focus had been bothering my coach.

I was the fastest person in the team and even though people weren't my friends and were mere acquaintances they depended on me doing well on the team, so they cared in very specific cases when I was acting 'off.'     

"I'm going to leave, I need to study for tomorrow's test," I announced before making my way through the crowd of sitting boys before heading down the stairs on the side. 

There was a groan.

"What's wrong with him?"     

"I don't know, man. Ayden's always weird, maybe he's just tired."   

"Do you think it's that native kid that he's been hanging around recently?"     

I swallowed the spit in my mouth as I walked out of earshot.

I didn't want to hear my teammates theorize about my personal life.

I blocked them out for a reason.     

I didn't bother changing out of my track clothes and I just wore my trousers over my shorts and put on my winter coat.

It was snowing today and had been somewhere in the twenties in the below zero measurement scale.

As I walked out and shivered as the cold wind dried up my face, I wondered what Len was up to... what he was doing.

I didn't sit with him at our classes for the past few days and he had tried to talk to me at first but had respected my wishes and back away.     

Trending on the snow-covered paths was bothersome.

My shoes got soaked and so did my socks and they put me in a worse mood than I was already in.

I wondered if Len could feel it. 

I wondered if Len could feel my frustration and tiredness.   

My lips quivered when I stepped into the apartment complex with my dorm.

A part of me was both comforted and irritated at the new fact I had learned.

Yes, if Len could feel what I felt it made me feel less alone but at the same time, I was frustrated that I couldn't do the same... that I couldn't tap into what worried and bothered him.

What made him happy. What made him relax.

I felt like we were both approaching our budding relationship differently.

Len acted as if he knew me and maybe he did but I didn't know him well enough and it frustrated me.

I barely knew myself. 

Hey, don't go in.     

I blinked, squinting when the voice filled my head.

I farrowed my brows, staring at the entrance of the building as I thought about stepping inside. 

I told you not to go in.     

My eyes went wide when I heard the voice again but this time I could recognize it.

It reminded me of my time at the pizzeria.

I remembered it from when Alpha Georgiou was having a back and forth with the biker pack's leader.     

It was the Alpha. It just had to be. He was looking for me.

The young werewolf at the meeting had said so.     

A shiver ran through my spin and I swallowed the air in my mouth to stop myself from yelping from fright.   

You're acting like a deer caught in front of headlights. Aren't you going to turn? the voice wasn't menacing or demanding.

It sounded almost playful, even but that didn't stop my hands from shaking and that didn't encourage me to turn to find the source of it.

Even at that, I still wasn't reaching out to open the door.

My body was frozen in place and my mind was buzzing with too many things to draw up a proper escape plan.     

"I just want to talk to you," the actualization of the voice as an actual sound made me turn my head to the side, I stared out into the path through the side of my eyes.

At first, I didn't see anyone but then a figure in faded black jeans, high tops and a jacket with a hood they had over their head stepped out from behind a parked car.   

The figure approached me and the sound of their shoes crunching the snow below filled the air.

I stayed still, deciding not to leave the porch in case I needed to make a quick run for it inside.   

"I just want to talk to you," the person repeated, stopping at the edge of the stairs before reaching up to pull down their hood.

I felt my throat clog up when I met face to face with the werewolf from before.

His short hair was soon dusted with flakes of snow and his dark skin was dry, yet his smile was bright.

Why was he smiling at me?     

I wondered about that, confused by the contrast of his behavior when compared to how stern he was at the restaurant. 

"Adyen?" he asked me like he was testing the name. 

"How do you know my name?" I asked instead of answering him.

He raised a brow at me, licking his lips before letting out a sigh.   

"You don't remember me?" he tucked his hands into his pocket.

"I thought memories would come back after you spotted me at the parlor," he added, rubbing the back of his neck before casting his eyes to the ground.

At the pizzeria, he had looked tough... a bit scary even but now he looked like I had hurt his feelings by saying I had no clue about what he was talking about.     

"I don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled, taking a step back.

If I moved any further back I would be up against the door.

I tried to remind myself that I needed space to reach for the handle if I needed to make a run for it.     

The taller dude sighed, staring at me with confusion in his eyes.

"You don't remember anything. Anything at all?" he asked and I felt myself shake.

"No dreams, nothing?" 

My shoulders relaxed and my lips parted.

I frowned, wondering if he was referring to my dreams.

Len told me they probably were a result of trying to connect to a past life... that there was a high chance that they were just false memories.   

"You do remember something," the older boy said, making me blink before looking up at him.

He had an awkward smile on his face and he had buried his hands in the pockets of his jacket to hide them from the cold.

"Do you remember me?" he asked.     

The older boy cut me off by shaking his head.

"No, not that. Do you remember me and mum?" he asked and I narrowed my eyes at him until the dream about a woman and two toddlers flooded my mind.     

"I'm Naylan," he said, not waiting for me to give him my answer.

I wanted to say something.

My lips were parted and my eyes were staring into his brown ones.

I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask.

I wanted to ask him about the woman he claimed was my mother.

I wanted to ask me if they ever looked for me after that night.

I tried to vocalize my thoughts but nothing came out.   

"You seem shocked," the older person said, walking up the stairs until he was standing right in front of me.

He was taller.

I had guessed as much when I had looked at him from the distance.

This time instead of trying to capture just his looks, I began to search for the similarities that would hint at us being brothers.

Sure, he was black like me but aside from that, I don't think we looked very similar.

I wanted to ask if we maybe had different fathers but I guess that would be an odd thing to bring up now.     

"H-how old are you?" I asked, not being able to stop myself from stammering.     

"I turned twenty last month," he said.

I reached out my hand but I pulled it back, not sure what I was trying to do.

I guess I wanted to reach out and touch him.

Reach out and figure out if this was all real and he wasn't a figment of my stressed-out brain.     

"So, just about a year and a handful older than me?" I said and he nodded.     

We both went silent, not saying anything as we stared at each other.

He seemed like he had a lot to say but was giving me time to process things.   

He opened his mouth but closed it again before shaking his head and speaking out...

"Mum's in Nova Scotia..." 

"Adyen."     

We both turned towards the sound and my eyes went wide when I noticed Len's figure making its way towards us in the drizzling snow. 

"Let's talk later," Naylan said, reaching out to give my shoulder a squeeze before turning to walk away.

Before Len reached me Naylan had climbed into a motorcycle he had parked and drove off.     

"What was that about?" Len asked, panting as he took hold of my arm. 

I didn't say anything.

Everything he told me had me excited yet anxious.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell Len any of it yet.

I had always wanted to know about my family and here this werewolf was, telling me I was his brother and that our mother was now in Halifax in Nova Scotia.   

"Nothing," I said, not focusing on Len who was panicking on my behalf.

Instead, my gaze was focused on the dot in the distance that was Naylan's motorcycle.

[nikibogwater]

Final Daniel Spellbound Blethers (season 2):

In terms of overall quality, it’s like Season 1+. All of the stuff I love about the show has gotten even better. But unfortunately, a lot of the things that didn’t work for me in season 1 were done even worse in season 2. Or, maybe they just looked worse because the good stuff was better? Yeah, let’s go with that, I like that better.

Anyways, I’m gonna be bouncing all over the place here (more so than usual, I mean) so apologies if this is a little jumbled. 

Spoilers below the cut!

My biggest positive from this season was the new characters and their involvement in the story. Shak is an endearing little brat in the way that only kids can be, and Jayce is a deliciously tragic villain with all the swagger and charisma of a main protagonist. It genuinely broke my heart a little bit to see Shak reunite with her brother, only to realize that he’s not the person she once knew and loved. 

On the flipside, I also often felt like the show wasn’t giving this situation the emotional weight it should have had. Shak and Jayce reuniting played off more like old classmates running into each other at the grocery store. And Jayce being able to temporarily fight off the Dread Magic within him because of the love he still had for his sister seemed more like an afterthought than a serious character moment. 

Looking back on it, I think this was more to do with how the scenes were directed and edited than with the script. Like I said, the characters and the story they are part of are enthralling, it’s just something about the way it was delivered in the final product that felt a little....I don’t wanna say half-assed, but more like the directing/editing team were skittish about making things too serious. Which is a real shame because they had everything they needed to make a really emotionally compelling arc here. 

Jayce as a character is surprisingly complex and oddly sympathetic. I loved that there were often no clear visual cues to let you know who was talking at any given moment--you’re left guessing as to whether this is really Jayce saying/doing these things, or if it’s just the corrupting force of the Dread Magic. 

I’m anticipating a redemption arc for him somewhere down the line. There were just too many hints that the real Jayce is still in there for this to be the end of him.

Shak is just as fun to watch as her brother, and speaking as a little sister who loves her big brothers, I think the writers nailed her personality and motives. Her bit about touching all of Jayce’s belongings when he’s not around to yell at her felt particularly true-to-life, haha. She’s also allowed to be vulnerable, and I like that the show never lets you forget that she is just a child.  

Daniel getting a little sister in Shak is everything I could have asked for from this show (sans Hoagie being turned into bacon) and I can die a happy woman now.

I really loved Daniel’s character as a whole this season, even more than last season. He’s clearly grown a set of morals since we were first introduced to him, and he constantly gives off these wonderful Exhausted Oldest Sibling vibes. I love seeing flawed characters change and grow to the point that they can start guiding other characters through their arcs. 

Hoagie was slightly better this season, but not enough to really change my opinion of him (I detest him and I’m always extremely disappointed any time he escapes from a near-death experience). He had a handful of moments where he acted more like a genuinely likable character, which is a marked improvement over season 1, where he had literally zero. But he’s still unbearably loud and obnoxious and just overall despicable, and I’m afraid no amount of self-aware jokes about his general awfulness is going to fix that. They’d have to either send him through one hell of a character arc to make him clean up his act, or turn him into lunch meat. Personally, I’m voting for the latter.

This second season also delved into darker visuals and implications, which really lent a feeling of weight and tension to the story. I’m of the opinion that antagonists/antagonistic forces ought to be at least a little unnerving, but Dread Magic and the way it manifests is downright scary, and I love it. 

I adore Elyse. She exudes massive amounts of raw Karen Energy, and Julie Sype sounded like she was having a blast voicing the character. She was a really fun minor antagonist. 

Alright. I’ve put it off long enough. I have to address my biggest negative with this season: the character drama. 

The conflict between Daniel, Lucy, and Hoagie felt as forced as a toddler jamming a circle into a square-shaped hole. In order to establish conflict, one or more of them had to act in a way that is painfully at odds with their established personalities. And what’s even worse is the way this retcons all of the relationship development that happened in season 1. Lucy is constantly assuming the absolute worst about Daniel and flat-out refuses to hear his side of the story. Like, Luce, honey, I thought you guys were friends. I thought you cared about him and valued his friendship, why are you suddenly so determined to push him away???

Then there’s poor Daniel, who is constantly being treated like he’s the one who needs to learn a lesson here, but given the circumstances, he’s really not the one who should carry the blame. Yeah, of course he can’t help Lucy find her scepter, he has a literal bounty on his head. He’s not actively putting off finding a way to turn Hoagie human again, he genuinely has no idea where to even start. The show keeps painting this as Daniel putting his career as a Tracker before his relationships, but in an effort to keep him from looking irredeemable, they kind of forgot to have him actually do that. In fact, it’s always his supposed friends who push him away first.

If anything, the lesson Daniel needs to learn here is how to end toxic friendships, because my LAND, Lucy and Hoagie spend the entire season treating him like trash when he’s not done anything that even comes close to warranting such behavior. And then they have the gall to make him feel like he’s at fault??? I’m sorry, but no matter how much this show tries to convince me otherwise, the fact of the matter is that Lucy and Hoagie were the ones instigating every negative interaction with Daniel. Why wouldn’t he focus more on his job instead of his toxic friends? The whole Friends Before Career thing only applies if your friends are actually, y’know, your friends.

I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking this, maybe I missed some crucial detail, or maybe it was just the ten-episode limit that kept the writers from being able to tell the story they actually wanted to tell. Whatever the case, the whole thing left me with a very bitter taste in my mouth, and I’m actually a little concerned about the kind of influence this could have on young kids starting to form friendships of their own. Like, I think it’s great to show kids protagonists who screw up and do or say awful things, but if you then forget to portray those protagonists realizing that what they did was wrong and working to fix it, then you’re just telling kids that it’s actually okay to treat people like this. 

I feel like I should clarify that I really only notice this show’s flaws because it does so much so well. It’s like when you love someone, and then that person does something stupid that only hurts themselves, and you want to take them by the shoulders and shake them because DANGIT, STOP SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE FOOT YOU BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL FOOL!

So yeah. In conclusion, season 2 was a very fun time for me, but also as frustrating as it was fun. But I will definitely take strong feelings of fondness and frustration over apathy and anger any day. So go watch Daniel Spellbound if you’re even a tiny bit interested. This is an original IP floating in an ocean of soulless reboots and cash-grabs, so even if it’s not absolutely perfect, I still want it to get as much attention as it possibly can. I will always want a flawed but inventive story over tasteless, risk-free rehashes. 

[ridiasfangirlings]

It is me the anon who for some reason only talks about Dewa. I was watching "My Sister's Keeper" and started wondering if that type of situation actually happens in real life, turns out it happened before, I don't know how common it is but I'm not doing all that research for something that will only live in my head... Anyways, this is like golden opportunity for angst.

Like imagine he spent his whole life as just his siblings live in organ donor and then going no contact as soon as he hits 18, and years later his parents try to contact him only because said sibling needs idk a kidney or something like that and they're really insistent that Dewa has to donate his, going as far as harassing him for it.

Perhaps Dewa was born to be his sibling’s hat donor o_O Maybe Dewa being like the youngest son then instead of the oldest like in some of the past asks, where he has this older sibling and there’s a considerable age gap between them. Dewa’s sibling has some kind of complex medical issue that will eventually require marrow donations and maybe also like liver and possibly even eventually a kidney. His parents aren’t matches and so as a last ditch effort they have Dewa, born to be a close match and to help his sibling survive. Dewa resents it from the start but feels like it’s not something he can vocalize, that he has to keep up this family ideal because he’s a proper child, a responsible child and doesn’t he care about his sibling. I imagine when he meets Chitose is when he starts to let that resentment boil over more and he ends up going no-contact at eighteen, he and Chitose deciding to join Homra and like to Dewa this is his way of rebelling against what he was born to be, something he’s chosen for himself (and similar to how Gora once said the intense parts of Fushimi’s personality are what made him able to obtain the Red power I could see that being a reason for Dewa too, the part of him dissatisfied with the sterile world he was born in just to be someone else’s spare parts and a desire underneath it all to smash that world to pieces).

Then years later he hears from his parents again and it isn’t even to apologize or mend fences or anything, no it’s that his sibling finally needs that kidney donation and his parents aren’t a match but they’re sure Dewa will be. Dewa’s just pretty disgusted by the whole thing and I could see Chitose being irate on his behalf, like lemme have the phone if you won’t yell at them I can. Dewa’s parents go so far as to start calling him constantly and harassing him and obviously Homra has to notice this at some point. I like the idea of Totsuka sitting down and talking to him about it, Dewa admitting that he doesn’t want to do it but also it makes him feel shitty knowing someone could die because he said no. Totsuka considers that and asks if Dewa feels bad when strangers die, like there are a lot of people Homra could help but it doesn’t happen and does Dewa take all that weight too. Because these people aren’t really much family to him are they, so if they’re strangers he shouldn’t feel bad, if he’s going to agree it should be because he wants to right. 

This helps harden Dewa’s resolve and imagine he tells his parents to meet him at Bar Homra to discuss. They immediately start harassing him when he tells them he’s decided he doesn’t want to do this and that’s when Mikoto gets to show up and be all intimidating as he tells them to leave. Bandou and Akagi help make sure their numbers are blocked on all Dewa’s devices and Chitose promises to burn any mail, like if his family wants to harass him more they’ll have to go through Homra to do it and good luck, they like Dewa as he is with both kidneys and a dorky hat.

[lunmelia]

I’m gonna rant for a bit, because after thinking about it for a solid 1 minute Supernatural had so much potential to make Sam and Dean’s relationship with Mary extremely strange, but in a “I just came back from the dead and to a world I don’t know, I cannot handle being a mom to 2 grown adults who are older than me so actually we’re siblings now” kind of way. Hear me out.

Just... imagine. You’re 29, you have 2 sons, one who’s 4-years-old and the other who is only 6 months. You die. 33 years later, you’re alive again but you’re still 29, and you’re faced with your 2 now adult sons, one who is now 8 years older than you, and the other 4 years older. Your sons are literally now older than you. They have experienced life for longer than you have. Your oldest has wrinkles and you don’t. How fucking weird is that!!

Just the... complexity that kind of relationship would have. I did love how they approached Mary in the show, how they had Dean confront her and how we later find out that Amara brought her back just so Dean could face reality and not paint his mum as a saint but like... it could’ve been so much more weird. That kind of situation just calls for weird. 

That scene where Mary ordered them dinner should have been so much more awkward and not as comfortable and light-hearted as it was. What if Mary just outright told them “I don’t cook” and they’re like “uh... okay, well, we could order?” and she perks up like “order?” and she’s thinking oh cool they’ll just call the nearest pizza place but no, her sons pull out a mobile phone and they try to teach her how to use the app but she just gets frustrated and doesn’t get it so they give up, Dean orders and they spend the time waiting teaching her how to use a phone. And okay kids are usually teaching their parents how to use technology but this is just weird because her sons are older than her. Then the food gets there and she’s like “why don’t I serve it?” because that’s what mothers do, right? But it feels weird and awkward and wrong because they’re grown men so she shouldn’t have to mother them, right? And they eat in silence and it’s so fucking awkward and all of them know it’s awkward and after a moment Mary goes “... Dean, do you uh... do you still like pie?” and he says yes and it’s a huge fucking relief but at the same time it’s fucking not because that’s all she knows!! that’s all she knows about her son and thank fuck he still likes pie but that’s all she knows.

And just- Mary having a full breakdown because she always wanted to be a mother, that’s all she wanted. She just wanted to drop the hunter life and be a mother and just live a normal fucking life for once and she can’t. She can’t. That life was ripped away from her and now her sons are adults and older than her and she didn’t raise them and they’re hunters and she’s a hunter again and she can’t be a mother. Her sons are hunters and she never wanted that and it makes her nauseous and makes her head hurt. And Sam and Dean find her sobbing in one of the bathrooms next to the toilet and they hold her close until she stops shaking. They comfort her because she can’t comfort them. She only knows how to be a mother to a 4-year-old and a baby, she can’t be a mother to them. 

And you know what? Sam and Dean are oddly okay with that. All they wanted growing up was a mother to care for them, to cook them food and be there to hold them when things got bad. But now that they have their mother in front of them? They realise that they don’t really... need her. Not Mary sepcifically, but just a mother. They’ve survived the past 33 years without a mother, and sure it was shitty but it happened and they’re used to it. They’re grown men, they don’t need a mother. Sure, it would’ve been nice but when Mary tried again the next day by making them scrambled eggs with a forced smile they just cringed. They don’t need a mother. It sucks, and they wish so bad that they had one growing up, maybe things would’ve been better, but they’ve dealt with this for the past 33 years and they’re good. 

So, okay, she’s not their mum. She is, but she’s not. Really, they’re just strangers trying to get to know each other. And so they do. They spend time together, so much they eventually become insperable. Not in a separation anxiety kind of way, but when Mary isn’t desperately trying to play the mother role the three just click and make a kickass team. They can’t call her “mom” in public because she obviously looks younger than them so when they’re out shopping or anywhere else they just call her Mary and introduce her as their sister. It works, it’s believable because they look related, they are, but no one blinks when they refer to her as a sister. 

And eventually they stop calling her “mom” and start just calling her Mary. And “mom” becomes a rare word, a word used in dark moments where one of them is frantically putting pressure on a wound that won’t stop bleeding, or when Mary finally breaks free of the British Men of Letters’ brainwashing. But one day Dean takes a sip from a beer, puts it down and is quiet for a moment before saying “... I think we’ve accidentally adopted our mom as our sister” and Sam just goes “yep” and cue John Mulaney ‘you know those days when you’re like “this might as well happen”? adult life is already so goddamn weird’ and it’s just. that just becomes their dynamic. 

She’s not their mum, they’re not her sons, so the relationship dynamic they adopt is siblings. And the concept is so fucking weird but it feels more normal to them than her being their mum. She’s just now their little sister and they’re her big brothers and it’s like “huh. okay. didn’t expect this to happen but okay” 

Like it’s STRANGE but I think their situation calls for it!! This is SUPERNATURAL!! Let it be fucking weird!! She’s their mum but no! Now she’s their little sister!! Imagine the humor opportunities! 

Mary starts to date and she dates a hunter who isn’t aware of the situation and it’s like Sam and Dean act like protective older brothers and give the person the “you hurt her she’ll hurt you, good luck” talk but also

Hunter: so... ever thought of settling down and having kids? Mary, immediately panicking like should she tell them?? is this an appropriate topic to introduce on the third date? she can’t even wikihow this! she tried and nothing came up!: uhhhh

And also after Jack is born and I’m just gonna sprinkle some baby!jack AU in this, after Dean is like *points to Jack* this is my son and *points to Cas* this is my husband Mary’s like

Mary: damn... I’m a 30-year-old grandmother. I don’t wanna be a 30-year-old grandmother Sam: technically you’re 63 Mary: technically I died when I was 29, was dead for 33 years, got brought back to life and was still 29 so you can shut your face I’m a 30-year-old grandmother Dean: I thought we all agreed you’re more like our sister Mary: not when it comes to being a grandmother. I can’t handle being your mom but I can certainly handle being Jack’s grandma Cas: I’m confused... I thought you just said you don’t want to be a grandmother Mary, holding Jack up: I’m a grandma now

[pencilofawesomeness]

Fandom ask: 003 - Mirajane from Fairy Tail

Alriiiiight, license to ramble about Fairy Tail let's goooo

How I feel about this character: Mirajane is (or at least had the makings to be) one of the more complex characters in the series and I respect her for it. We meet her shaped by grief, and she (and the Strauss family in general) serve as a one of few examples of the actual real dangers of mage work and their world and Mirajane especially serves as a tangible reminder of that. She could be powerful, but her heart isn’t in it anymore. She does the exact opposite of what most anime protags (like Elfman) do in the face of loss, because instead of ~getting stronger~ she just shuts down, and that’s a very real response. But she’s not driven into a locked-in-her-room state, but rather, a type of repression that’s more functional—more façade. It’s interesting and I remember being so hyped to see her snap and go bat-shit on Freed in the Battle for Fairy Tail arc, because she needed that breaking point, but also that was just a step in her figuring out what to do with herself. In fact, it’s never a clear answer, and I think that’s fine. She never goes back to being “herself”—not completely. She’s changed irrevocably, and she keeps changing, but in subtle ways. And she keeps pretending her way through life, and I find that fascinating, in a way. 

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Uhhhh right them shipping questions. I don’t actively ship her with anyone, really. Maybe Erzajane if I had to pick one? 

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Okay okay but actually the rivalry/not-rivalry dynamic is really interesting here. We see in some backstory that they fought a lot as kids, both because they were both powerful slightly-older kids on the block, but Mirajane was going through her wild phase and Erza was the one who took it upon herself to keep everybody in line. They both wanted freedom, but they sought it in ways that clashed with each other. Then, Mirajane backed off, and Erza calmed down, and they are sort of on the same page but also...not? Erza is all about doing what’s right, and Mirajane will do whatever necessary to make sure her people are safe, even if the means to do that are not...ideal. That, or Mira’s just an enabler sometimes. I don’t know. Honestly that backstory dynamic was the more interesting part, because the few times those two interact later, there’s normally a really distracting crisis or something.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Her magic is whack. Like, it’s interesting, don’t get me wrong, but it’s disturbing. She steals souls?? And uses them for power?? Lisanna’s is one thing, because it’s animals, but demons are thinking, sentient beings as we see. Zoldeo was an absolute creep and got treated as one, but Mirajane low-key does the same thing and it’s okay??? It’s not really clear whether she kills their spirit or if their spirit is just trapped in the background somewhere (like what is implied with Seilah) but that’s not great? Did they give consent to that? (Like with Dimaria, it’s implied that Chronos consented to that arrangement, but Mira—especially baby Mira—trash-talked demons a lot so I dunno man.) Is she technically? Enslaving them? It’s um.... It’s whack. I’ll leave it at that.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Man there’s a lot of things. Addressing the moral dilemmas of take-over magic would have been nice, but also, I reallllly wanted Mirajane to have a moment when she realized that she didn’t need to pretend to be put together, specifically with Lisanna. Just an ugly crying, oldest-sibling breakdown. Because she faked her confidence and she faked her nonchalance and she tries to be everything for her siblings and it would have been nice if that got reversed. And not necessarily in the “I’ll protect you in battle” sort of way (though that would be poignant) but also in a “let me make you dinner and you sit down” sort of way. Or something like that. I don’t have anything specific in mind, to be honest.

Favorite friendship for this character: See that’s the neat part about her repression: she has no friends and— So it would have been neat if we got to see Natsu and Mira interacting literally somehow post Lisanna’s death. Like if she did that subconscious thing where she scooped up Natsu and projected Lisanna on him because they were friends and also somewhat similar, but his unique brand of rambunctious honesty would have been really good to make her not shell in on herself as much and actually address some things, and she could have made him slow down enough to properly address his own grief, and I dunno, I think it would be cool. Plus, she’s the calmer sort, and Natsu does have that capability but he normally matches or exceeds the energy in the room, but he and Mirajane could chill a bit. Perhaps. 

My crossover ship brotp: Mirajane and Nightwing. They’re both totally innocent golden child older siblings with simmering rage beneath the surface that is 100% dedicated to tearing apart anyone who hurts their little siblings, but they hold it down pretty well and they get away with it. I just think it would be neat for them to swap stories of the chaos they witnessed or enabled over some cups of tea. I could probably come up with other pairs too but I hadn’t thought about it before and this was the best I could do on the spot.

---

Fandom Ask Game

[microsuedemouse]

OXENFREE my beloved. Would you mind sharing your thoughts? It's always a pleasure to hear what people think of the game, especially to have a Before and After reaction to a normal vs NG+

HELLO I'M SO SORRY I KEPT FORGETTING TO ANSWER THIS

anyway uhhh. yeah. Thoughts. okay well for starters, I haven't actually started a NG+ yet bc I wanted to let the story percolate for a few days before I launched back in, so I was playing something totally different in the meantime. I finished that a couple days ago though so I think I'm gonna head back to Oxenfree next

my first play was a kind playthrough, because... that's just what I'm like lol. I really want to do a silent run bc I think that's an interesting concept and also bc anytime my dialogue choice interrupted one of the other characters I was like... NO I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THEY WERE SAYING lmao. I also like... kind of want to do a mean run, for the sake of learning as much of the story as possible, but I also don't know if I have the heart for it lmao?? there are many games that give you the chance to be a dick and I am ALWAYS bad at taking that option. it makes me feel terrible hahaha

I absolutely loved the game's mechanics and setup. video games are most interesting to me personally as a vehicle for narrative, and Oxenfree tells the story so well. dialogue being a major portion of the gameplay? listening to conversations as you move and choosing not only what to say but when to speak or stay silent... is such an interesting and engaging gameplay device. like I said before, sometimes I almost didn't want to choose a dialogue option, because I wanted to hear out the rest of what the other characters were saying.

and the story itself is so good. I am SUCH a sucker for character-driven stories, and on top of that, the family relationship(s) absolutely got me. Alex is a youngest sibling and I'm an oldest, so we differ in that regard, but it's still true that I'm incredibly close with my siblings, so stories that deal with siblings who love each other will always pull at my heartstrings. (this one, I'm sure you can guess, broke my heart.) even the very fresh but developing relationship between Alex and Jonas was really interesting to me.

I'm also a huge sucker for supernatural horror, and horror that effectively explores interesting human themes without being All Highfalutin Metaphor. Oxenfree pulls off both with an incredibly charming and straightforward, low-tech sort of mechanic for exploring said horror. I love that you don't even have to go looking for the backstory if you don't want to; all the explanations and history are pretty much secondary to the main plotline that you're made to follow. (which has interesting RP implications, too - are you playing Alex as curious enough to go looking for all the weird broadcasts and letters, or as too angry and/or scared to care?)

I love the game. its scope is perfect. just a few characters to care about, but enough that there are complex relationships to unravel and not quite enough time to delve into all of them. this weird little island that you can explore in pretty much any order and direction you like, with lots of secrets to be found if you want to look. the really effectively spooky atmosphere. the weird implications about ghosts and possible afterlives, about time and maybe time travel, about the relationships between life and death, between the living and the dead... PLUS great, vibey art, and gloriously realistic branching dialogue with great voice acting, and weird scary ghosts(?), and emotionally intense choices to make...

I'm sure with more time my thoughts will crystallise further - not to mention with more plays. I'll try to remember to come back and share any further feedback I have! it's the kind of game that I think I'll have intelligent things to say about in another like, month or two, once I've mulled over it for longer and/or talk to someone else about it, hehe. I'm trying to get my youngest sibling to play it, bc they'd LOVE it.

[theyreonlynoodlesmike]

Melting Wax, Crawling Vines: Part 4 (Vincent Sinclair x Fem!Reader)

<- Previous Chapter Next Chapter ->

Warnings: mild cursing, paranoia/anxiety

Word Count: 3062

We love exposition in this house

Vincent had only seen you for a few moments. You'd been carried in by his brother, Bo. He'd placed you on the couch, and, naturally, Vincent had peaked out from upstairs to investigate. He thought that perhaps you were someone to add to their collection, or a new toy for Bo to mess with. Bo, usually, kept the pretty ones like yourself to himself. His twin was good at charm, good at smooth talking almost anyone. And he was good at not caring about whether or not they wanted to be kept. When he saw the way he'd laid your head carefully back on the pillow, a million thoughts were going through his head. 

Bo usually took any outsiders to the basement underneath the auto shop. But here you were, being gingerly placed on their living room couch. He reached for one of the knives at his hip just before Bo was heading straight for him. He relaxed his hand, letting it sink back into the hilt. Bo had explained quickly and quietly. 

They were going to keep you for him . Vincent had stared at him with one blue eye, gratitude and surprise filling it. Never before, not even technically with the wax figures, had they had someone who was for him. The wax town was their mothers dream. 

He'd stared at you, peeking around the corner to take in your unconscious form. You had piqued his interest completely, even if he knew your sleeping form would soon contort into horror and screaming. That the peace would leave your features the second you realized they didn't intend on letting you leave Ambrose. 

Bo had to snap in his face to make sure he was listening, make sure that he understood that you were going to be his teacher. Not one of his wax figures. He'd nodded. He wasn't stupid, but his brother seemed to forget that sometimes. Bo hadn't had time to explain much more, as you'd started to stir.

"Go on, get. Stay out of sight." Bo told him, and Vincent had reluctantly retreated out of sight and back down to the depths of his work shop. As he returned to the wax figure in the center of his room, his head was now filled with distracting noise as he tried to force himself to focus. He wanted to know more about you. You were the only new face that he would see and not become wax. The mysterious figure laying on their couch. 

Eventually, he found himself listening in the middle of the hallway, leaning against the wall as he heard your voice filter through the house. He listened to your story, finding that it didn't sound too different than something their victims would describe. But that one thing you'd said struck him, and he knew it probably struck his brothers just the same. I should've killed that sonovabitch , you'd said. The Sinclair brothers had long ago made their peace with what happened inside of this town. Perhaps, eventually, you would be able to make peace with it too with an attitude like that. It could take awhile, but the brothers would have time. However, when you agreed to stay, a strange feeling of relief had crept into his chest and he'd finally been able to force himself back down to his workshop.

***

It didn't take long for the three of you to part ways. You'd called your apartment complex, letting the woman that worked the front desk know that someone was going to pick up your storage unit for you. When she'd asked why, you'd told her that you just didn't feel comfortable parting with it for an entire night. When she tried to insist that it'd be safe, you cut her off and told her to expect him. You didn't mean to be rude, but you hardly had the patience to argue with her knowing that your ex could be there any minute. Lester had offered to take the longer drive, as he'd said he knew where the town was anyways. So, it was up to you to show Bo where you'd left your car.

You leaned with your head against the window of the tow-truck, secretly relieved that Lester hadn't suggested you come to get the unit with him. You wouldn't be able to stomach the anxiety that trip would've induced, and it was nice to ride in a car that smelled like motor oil and grease instead of roadkill. Bo smoked, one hand resting out the window and the other on the wheel as the Louisiana heat competed with the a/c inside the tow truck. You looked over, watching as Bo brought the cigarette to his lips. He looked over at you, catching your stare and smiling to himself. You looked away, shyness and embarrassment filling you from having been caught.

"So," Bo started. He paused for a moment. "This might be a little too much to ask, and I don't mean to offend." You turned your head back to him, arching a brow to show that you were listening. "Which one of you was older?" He asked, and you stared at him in confusion for a moment before you realized what he was asking. It wasn't what you were expecting, you'd give him that. Given his flirting nature, you'd expected a much different question. Instead, you ran a hand through your hair and softly said,

"She was." You smiled to yourself for a moment, turning to look out the windshield before you added, "By ten minutes. She always used to joke about having to wait for me for everything." And Bo smiled at that as well. You watched him take another drag of the cigarette, changing his grip on the wheel, before he said,

"I'm the oldest," And you found yourself looking at him over in surprise. You didn't know he had any siblings. Well, you figured you could blame that on the fact that you'd only met him that day. "Born less than a minute before my brother, Vincent." And your eyebrows shot up. The news that he had siblings and that he was a twin surprised you.

"I didn't see him back at the house." You commented, trailing off. You wondered when you'd get to meet him, and hoped he wouldn't mind your intrusion. You were going to be staying with them, after all.

"Oh, he's just shy. Stays mostly to himself." He said, and you nodded. But the news didn't stop you from biting at your lip. You didn't want to cause any waves between the brothers, especially because you were sure that Bo hadn't asked Vincent before he offered to let you stay. You bit at your thumb, and Bo looked over to arch a brow at you. You pulled it from you mouth, realizing that he must've noticed the anxious habit. His brow lift was questioning, and you could guess what he wanted to know.

"Vincent," You paused. "Vincent won't mind me staying with you, will he?" You asked, and you watched the way he broke out into a grin. He laughed to himself, taking a drag of his cigarette. 

"Is that what you're worried about? No, no. Vincent won't mind a bit. Having someone as pretty as you around the house? He won't mind at all." He said, and you had to turn away to hide the smile creeping up your face. You shook your head lightly, choosing to ignore his flirting remarks. You looked out, pointing down the road. You didn't even need to say anything, as Bo was already remarking, "I see it." And stopping in the road before making a three point turn. You were relieved from the sight of your car, and to see that it hadn't been stripped or broken into.

You'd gotten out with the intent to help Bo, but, just like Lester, you thought you were slowing him down if anything. Eventually, you just ended up sitting on the hood of your car and eating a bag of chips that you'd packed for the ride. You offered him some, and he took off his cap to wipe his brow before he took the bag. He'd hooked your car up, and now all he needed to do was lift it to tow it back to Ambrose. He chewed for a moment, before he said,

"So, Lester told me you teach sign language, right?" And you were quick to nod. That you did. You wondered where this was going, but Bo didn't keep you in suspense. He was just like Lester in the way that he wasn't one for long silences. "Well, my brother, he," He rubbed his face, as if he might not know how to put this. Or maybe he was debating how much he should tell you. "He's got a facial deformity. Wears a mask to cover it up. Bit of a freak. Might scare a little lady like yourself." He said with a laugh, looking as though he expected you to laugh with him. You didn't. You didn't like the use of that word, but you didn't say anything and waited for him to get to the point. "Anyways, he can't speak too good because of it. Since you said you wouldn't be able to pay for your car, do you think you could teach him?" He adjusted his stance, and the look he gave you already told you that he expected you to accept. Truthfully, you couldn't find a single reason as to why you'd refuse.

"Of course. I've- I've taught adults, and I'll try to teach him as much as I can before I leave. And, well, you'll probably need to take lessons too so you can understand him." And Bo nodded along with that, even if he looked away and seemed reluctant with the idea. He didn't seem like the type to particularly enjoy school, but he agreed nonetheless.

"Sure, sure. Well, we can start tomorrow if that's alright with you." And you gave him a nod. It seemed like the best idea to you too. "Alright, well, if you don't need anything else then let's go." He said, rapping his knuckles against the hood of the car and passing the bag of chips back to you. You threw it back into your car, before you were shutting the door. As the pair of you each walked to your respective sides, he asked, "You hungry?" And after you replied,

"I could eat." It didn't take long for the pair of you to decide to get something for dinner. It'd been about a fifteen minute drive, and, even if it wasn't the town you were moving into, you were still nervous about the potential idea of your ex finding you. So, you stuck to Bo like glue, practically hiding behind him every time you saw someone who looked a little too much like your ex. You'd gotten a couple of pizzas. By a couple, you meant that you'd gotten three large pies. At first, you didn't even know how the two of you were supposed to finish them until you went back to Bo's house and watched him devour over half a pizza by himself. You'd eaten two slices, and you almost thought that Bo would've finished yours as well if you hadn't been there. The pair of you had been watching TV, eating, drinking, and waiting for Lester to return. It took less than an hour for his truck to pull up, your storage unit attached to it. Lester walked inside the place like he lived there, and Bo simply said,

"There's pizza in the kitchen." Before Lester was heading that direction. He came back with two slices on a plate, and suddenly the three pies made a little bit more sense. He sat in-between you and Bo and asked,

"What're we watchin'?" Right before he stuffed his face full of a slice. After a full episode of whatever Bo put on and several slices of pizza later, you figured there had to be some sort of relation between the two of them. Their mannerisms were too similar, and they were just too comfortable with eachother not to be related. You figured they were cousins, maybe even brothers. The thought of brothers brought the mysterious Vincent back into your mind, and you wondered where the third of their little family may be. Soon, Lester was wiping his face and asking, "So, do you need help unpacking?" And you realized that you hadn't talked about your sleeping arrangements yet.

"Oh, do you have a guest bedroom?" You asked, but Bo shook his head as he pried a beer bottle from his lips.

"Nah, you'll take Vincent's room." And you were flustered by the bluntness of the statement. You quickly shook your hand out in front of you, saying,

"Oh, I couldn't." Earning a glance from the brunette. With the way he looked at you, you guessed he wasn't used to being argued with. Quickly, you explained. "I mean, won't Vincent mind?" Being in his house, taking his room. You knew you would. Bo chuckled, seeming amused by your statement.

"He won't. He barely uses it." And you bit your lip. You looked between the two of them, before giving Lester a shrug.

"Sure then." You said, and Lester took your plate to take to the kitchen after giving you a smile. You'd only needed one of your suitcases, really, but you searched for a box to carry to make yourself feel a little less bad about Lester carrying the suitcase. You heard the door open, and Bo announced that he was gonna head down to town to finish up some things. You'd watched him leave for a moment, before you went back into the unit and found the box you were looking for. 

You didn't know how long you were going to be in Ambrose, and you didn't imagine there'd be much space in Vincent's room. But, as Bo had eluded, it was practically empty. There was a dresser, a pre-made bed, a bedside table, a mirror on the wall, a rug on the floor, and that was about it. Lester had carried your suitcase for you, and you set your backpack on the bed. You looked over at him, telling him, 

"The bed is fine." And you watched as he lifted it up onto the bed. You opened the box, revealing the contents inside. It was mostly books and folders, but there were two picture frames inside. One was a family photo when you were young, one with both of your parents. The other was a more recent one of you and your sister. You didn't look at either of them long, and went to set them on the bedside table. Lester looked over your shoulder, glancing at the pictures. 

"That your sister?" He asked, and you gave him a nod as you went to unzip the suitcase. Luckily, you'd stored your unmentionables in the pocket on the top, so you didn't have to worry about Lester seeing anything you didn't want him to.

"Yeah. We were identical." You told him, and pulled out some of your shirts. You went to the dresser, pulling out a drawer. You weren't surprised when you saw it was empty, and you tucked your clothes inside. You knew Lester was just looking for a topic of conversation, but you didn't feel like lingering on your sister. So, instead, you asked, "Anything fun to do around here? The house of wax any good?" And you watched as he chuckled and nodded,

"Yeah, Vincent's a hell of an artist. It was our mothers originally though," And your ears perked at his words. So, they were related. He was biting at his nails, and you hummed. 

"I'll have to check it out- If that's alright with Vincent." You quickly added the last part. At this rate, you weren't sure Vincent was going to end up liking you. You didn't want to intrude any further. You turned your head for a second, hearing a creak of a floorboard. Lester, however, was quick to steal back your attention.

"Nah, Vincent won't mind." And your attention was stolen from the sound. You looked back at him, not quite sure if you wanted to take his word. You took out some of the books, placing them on top of the dresser. If not to just give yourself something to do. "That house of wax though, that was our mothers pride and joy. She had big ideas for this town." And you hummed. You bet that she did, but you guessed the same thing happened to Ambrose as every other small town. The interstate. You arranged your books on the dresser, a question burning in the back of your mind.

"Any idea when I'll meet him?" You asked, looking over your shoulder at the man. He grinned, chuckling to himself as his eyes flashed to the wall. Just for a moment, almost too quick for you to notice.

"Soon, you'll meet him soon." He'd said, and you found his words strangely cryptic. But, you resigned yourself to the fact that your first meeting probably wouldn't be until your first class. And, while you could've sworn you heard footsteps, you blamed that on your mind playing tricks on you. 

Seeing that you seemed to have everything handled, Lester excused himself. You'd invited him to the lessons before he left, and he'd accepted before he said goodnight. You'd smiled to yourself, hearing the door click as Lester shut the door behind him. You finished packing away your things, before you decided to shrug off your clothes and change into your pajamas. Even if your bedtime was far away, you thought you'd be more comfortable. You pulled your suitcase off the bed, kicking it under it before you climbed on top. It felt a little weird to be sitting on top of someone else's blanket and sheets, but you'd forgotten your set in your car. You pulled some of the folders out of the box, taking out the ones that were filled with the lesson plans for your adult class. All you really had to do was shorten the class size. You let your evening pass by as you began prepping for the next night.

[readyandnot]

alrighty let’s kick this off with the ones i relate to the most-

freelancer and darlin (my self inserts and hcs)

Freelancer- “Charlotte”

* HIGH anxiety

* also main caregiver and have been since they can remember

* they have a big family, two brothers two sisters, freelancer is a middle child

* when they were 13 their powers manifested, their family did not know what to do, they were encouraged to push it down so they did, but stuff still happened

* first it was just wind flying papers off of tables, then it was the garden getting messed up with potholes, then it escalated to fires and water coming out whenever emotions spilled

* this leads to freelancer going into a catatonic state whenever they are confronted with something really serious (and if it’s about them) because their parents blaming the problems on them and for their family going corrupt

* their oldest brother can’t talk to them but when freelancer ran away he financially supported them without the family knowing

* freelancer also uses will money from her dead grandma to support herself hence why they have an apartment

* anyway freelancer ran away when they turned 18, still trying to ignore their powers and have been living on their own for three years, they did it in the middle of the night but left a note for their siblings

* they at first stayed in a motel for a week but before they ran away they contacted an apartment complex and they’ve been living there ever since

* also has a part time job, they work in retail so they definitely know how to deal with all kinds of people

* caelum visits them later and you all know the rest (they should be around 21-22 when he first visits)

* (also i feel like if gavin wasn’t the canon romantic interest [and my first pic as well] mine would pick Huxley)

* i mean CMON think about how trusting the freelancer was with him AT THEIR FIRST MEETING

* they trusted him to hold their hand and talk about the kody situation like BRUH THIS DUDE IS THE BEST (plus there are some flirty moments in his vids DONT EVEN TRY ME)

* with gavin- jawbone kisses, sitting on lap/laying on top of him in bed

* with huxley- forehead kisses, spooning (him being big spoon mostly)

* with lasko- cheek kisses, spooning (her being big spoon)

* with damien- temple kisses, straight up hugging in bed

* also i can definitely see the damn boys in a polycule in the future maybe? idk but i feel that people can love multiple people

* do i feel it SHOULD be canon? no, but can i see it? ABSOLUTELY

Darlin- “Cara”

* SEVERE anger issues

* grew up in an illegal boxing ring led by her father who was the “only” family member she has left

* one day got busted and powers manifested that day, when she saw her dad being taken away (she would’ve been 12)

* department took her in, brought in Gabe Shaw to talk to her about her powers and the pack

* hesitant at first, mute until he brought some food and then she took the offer to join the pack after some talking of her life

* only trusted gabe at first but then gabe basically adopted her and started getting closer to david

* constant sparring matches, video games, cooking (and darlin watching)

* darlin meets a new friend, Paisley, unempowered at a coffee shop she goes to on her own

* they start to get closer and she even sees her as a sister, none of the pack knows about her except david and gabe

* hang out after pack meetings to just hang out and even teaches her to make coffee, which is a skill darlin retained

* slowly darlin gets close to asher and milo, more to asher though, they also start to fight together and train and went on camping trips as well

* gabe dies while coming home from a meeting, but got desserts for the small family as a surprise, which just twists the knife into the whole situation

* david got distant from darlin as he became alpha, wanted to have darlin as beta but knew she wouldn’t take it especially after gabe died

* Darlin and David (pre Sam and Angel) having feelings for each other, both being vaguely aware of it.

* This happens as Darlin is pulling away from the pack and towards Quinn, Darlin and David get into an argument about it.

* darlin wanted him to confess but only said he cares because he’s her best friend and alpha

* after hanging out with quinn some more, his group got into shady business which reminded darlin of her father

* darlin finally saw the monster quinn was, after manipulating, gaslighting and convincing her the pack didn’t care for her

* called the department and all the canon fighting with quinn happens

* paisley’s memory is wiped but the two are still friends, just more distant which is for paisleys safety

* while darin’s injuries are severe, she goes to washington after doing research and realizing her aunt and cousins live there

* once they’re better they return, not telling anyone so they can hunt down quinn

* and they finally meet sam and everything changes (darlin is now 25)

* a bunch of forehead kisses are involved in this relationship

* sam bites/drinks from darlin the second time they get together “like that” and it is the BEST feeling

* he also loves the fact that darlin ALWAYS looks in sam’s eyes with full trust, not minding there could be trancing (quinn used on them before), because he knows he would NEVER do that

* darlin give sam her jacket to wear, especially at pack meetings to show him off in her own way

* they have crossed paths before, but nothing where they would be introduced, for example- once darlin was outside crying and sam almost went to check on her but was called by william

(btw i’ve taken some inspiration from other people’s ideas and thoughts so props to them for coming up with it first)

[razputin-vodello-au-archives]

This one goes out to the author. What are your thoughts on Raz's siblings since their debut in Psychonauts 2?

 Sure, but it's gonna get a little analytical. so get ready for a long read.

Frazie, my queen. Second oldest Aquato child. Psychic. Raz's older Sister. While she maybe has the most interaction with Raz in the game, she is also the least complex, in my opinion. A lot of her interactions with Raz tell me she clearly loves him, despite some of her harsh words. But something in the tone of her voice tells me she doesn't really mean those words. Her "Later Traitor" sounds way to cheery to be an insult. She more like wants to let Raz know he still is in trouble, despite everything. A lot of the things she says, to me, feel like she wants to educate Raz, make him realize what he has done to the family. To make him know there are consequences. like a pinecone to the head.

She's a Psychic, but hides it. She gets angrily defensive when Raz confronts her about that. But there was a time she and Raz were open to each other with their Psychic-ness, playing their brain games. But she fears how the family would react, even when it's all in the open during Psychonauts 2.

I think she's secretly jealous of Raz, that he was able to do what she was to afraid to. To embrace his Psychic-ness, be open about it. Nona herself said she considered Frazie as well as Raz. That tells us something.

Dion has a bit a bad Rep amongst the fandom, with reason. He was very, very harsh against Raz, using some bad, almost cruel words against him. Clairvoyance shows he sees Raz as a Punching Bag. He hates Psychics, but flirts with Gisu the moment he sees her. But let's take a look behind the scenes, shall we. The eldest of five wakes up one morning to see his baby brother missing, finds out he managed to find his way to a summer camp with the people he had been told all his life were bad. Then his father goes after his brother, only to return without him, reveal that he had been a Psychic all his life and that Raz is now with those people and then he must come and 'show support'? And then the little squirt has the gal to act like has done nothing wrong and acts like everything is a-okay now? I'd be a little ticked off too.

But, there are redeeming qualities. Dion showed remorse when he basically says to Raz they'd be better off without him. He doesn't act on that remorse, but he visibly shows that he knows he has gone too far. After the game we find him with Gisu and has been talking about his misconceptions about Psychics. That shows he is willing to learn.

Dion is the eldest child, who wants to protect his Family and must be scared of the changes happening around him. But like Norma (on which I did an 'analytical' a while ago), his role in a lot of fanworks is just the bully older brother. Something he doesn't deserve.

Mirtala is just an absolute sweetheart. A cheery soul who clearly loves her big brother, as we see when we use Clairvoyance on her. She sees Raz as someone capable to take over the circus. Both she and Queepie has no quarrel with Raz being Psychic, even enjoying the little pick-me-up (pun intended) Raz does on her. I think her role in the game could've been expanded. Raz could've had more big brother moments with her.

Queepie ...is a bit of an enigma to me. He's the baby of the group. Like Mirtala, he looks up to Raz, as we see when using Clairvoyance on him. I don't have a lot to say about him, just the fact that I didn't realize he was Psychic until Hollis mentioned it at the end of the game. Seriously, it went right over my head. I didn't realize he was making the radio dance. With the way the game looks, I must've thought it was a 'cartoon thing' it was doing, Y'know what I mean. And that he probably subconsciously uses Telekinesis for his 'super strength', like Raz uses Hydrokinesis to create the Hand of Galochio.

General conclusion? The Aquato children have been underused in the game. They could've had more interactions with Raz, maybe some side missions that would show their relationship with Raz. Maybe something for the third game?

But, like I said, this is all based on my experience with them in the game and are completely subjective from my point of view.

[mystaracrosstheuniverse]

Last Piece 2.

title. Last Piece pairing. GOT7 JB x Reader genre. slice of life, romance, attempts at comedy, angst warnings. cursing, jb being a cute cat dad, reader is hella awkward but so is he, mentions of anxiety, GOT7 members being hella extra bc they are summary. As an English teacher from abroad, you get a lot of perks. One of the best ones is that you live in an apartment for free. Another perk seems to be the elusive, attractive man who lives two floors above you… Though his cats seem to prefer your apartment over his. And so does his mail, which makes you travel to his place pretty often regardless of whether he wants to see you or not.

new beginnings master post.

part one. part two.

______________________________________________________________

Ever since that first package drop off, you’ve run into Jaebum quite a few times. Living in the same building and occasionally getting each other’s mail definitely attributed to the frequency, and you were thankful for it. While you’re sure the male wouldn’t really consider the two of you friends, you liked to call him a “not quite but almost friend”... Not to his face but to your own friends and to yourself. Maybe occasionally to his cats. Speaking of his cats, you’ve met more than just Odd and Nora at this point. Nora seemed to be the jealous type, wanting her dad’s attention to herself, and would push the younger ones out of the apartment as Jaebum would come and go. The amount of times you’ve found Odd or Kunta wandering around the hall made you wonder how the man didn’t ever notice his oldest child bullying her siblings.  Other times he gets your mail, having it been delivered to him on accident somehow. You’d never live down the time he got a huge package from your grandparents, an amused smirk across his face as he brought it to you.  “Forget some things back home?” He had teased, setting the package down on your counter. Your face was bright red, unable to string together a coherent sentence because you didn’t want him to think you were forgetful, but then again you kind of were but what if -- “Hey, I’m just teasing, Y/N.” He had said, gentler this time, “I know it must be nice to have someone back home who cares about you.”  You had just nodded, your heartbeat evening out slowly as you chatted for a few more minutes before he hurried off. He was a bit gentler for a few days after, as if scared to get that reaction out of you again. You appreciated it. You hoped that one day you’d be able to not have that instant reaction to panic over a small comment. Since then, you’ve been trying to gather up the courage to ask if he wants to hang out for lunch or something. Every time you get close, you end up chickening out. And every time you cursed yourself, because you just wanted to be his friend -- something about him made you want to be around him. Today, though, you just wanted to get to work. You had planned a big interactive activity for your class today and you wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Hurrying down the stairs, you made sure you had everything in your bag before leaving the building. As you looked up, you noticed someone just barely walking ahead of you. Jaebum. Immediately your mind went through possible scenarios, from saying hello to quietly avoiding him, maybe even -- “Do you want to get lunch or something later Jae???” Oh no. Oh no. Your mouth decided for you. Not only that, you addressed him so casually even though he’s older, he’s definitely going to hate you -- Was... that a laugh? You focused her attention back on him, seeing him looking amused and a half smile on his face. You ignored the small catch in your throat and pushed away the thought of how nice he looked.  “Sure, give me your phone and we’ll plan something.” You don’t even remember handing over your device or him adding himself to your contacts, but a few minutes later he gave you a little finger salute and a promise to message you later for planning.  “Im Jaebum” the contact read in kakaotalk, simple and to the point, much like the man you were hoping to befriend. As you mentally patted yourself on the back for not crying, you glanced at the time on your phone before cursing loudly in your native language and running off to the subway. You were going to be late.  Despite you thinking that you totally had your excitement under control, your co-teacher and students definitely thought otherwise.  “Teacher, why can’t you sit still? Don’t you ... much sit down?” Sangmin, one of your fourth graders, attempted to ask. You smiled and gently corrected him, saying you liked to sit down very much, but don’t ‘always’ do it. He bashfully nodded and bowed his head down to talk with his desk partner about the dialogue you’d given out for discussion. “They’re right you know,” You jumped before recognizing the voice of your co-teacher, Taeyeon, “You’re acting like you’ve drank the Ediya shop out of stock.”  Oh. Perhaps you were flitting about the room more, babbling a little to yourself and to your students, and constantly looking over at your desk where you kept your phone while class was in session.  “I just... I made a friend.” You admitted, “You know, the guy from my apartment building?”  Taeyeon raised an eyebrow, looking at you skeptically. “I know I’ve asked this, but you sure you don’t like him more than a friend? It’s not like we’re not friends and you don’t have friends, Y/N.”  See you KNEW this but one of your biggest anxieties and fears was that you’d never be able to make friends outside of work or your past. Because, like Christian had always reassured you, you were a wonderful sweetheart but you were so hard to talk to because you were always so nervous. It made it hard.  “I really just want to meet his cats... Except Nora because she seems mean.” You noted, not really answering the question but in your mind, it was sufficient. Having worked with you and had recently made herself your friend, Taeyeon knew this was probably the best she was going to get out of you and just left it be. You’d figure it out eventually and she knew she’d be one of the first to know. She still couldn’t help but question it when she saw you light up at a notification on your phone.  ‘Want to meet up after your work and eat some chicken? I know a good place.’

___________________________________________________________ You forgot why you were so worried about hanging out with Jaebum in the first place. Talking with him, after the initial awkward greeting, was coming really easily to you. You only hoped he felt the same, it seemed so.  “So why Korea, hm?” Jaebum had asked, looking over at you as he drank his water. You chewed your food thoughtfully before swallowing. It was a question often asked, but it never bothered you to answer it. “I fell in love with this country the first week I came here, back in school.” You explained, “I’ve only ever felt at home in one other place, and it was with my grandparents. But when I came here... it just felt right, you know? Like fate was telling me to come here. So I wanted to come back after figuring out what I wanted to do.” Jaebum listened well, nodding along as you spoke. “I see. And you found teaching was it?” You nodded. “I love what I do, even more so that I get to do it in the place that feels like home.”  A small smile creeped along his face, and you coughed to distract yourself from staring. “So what do you do, Im Jaebum?”  After finding out that he HATED being addressed by his full name, especially by someone younger than him (which you were by a year), you couldn’t resist. You had to. “I’m a freelancer. I do a lot of music production work or lyricist support.” He rolled his eyes at your antics, but didn’t say anything. You lit up at the mention of music. Your father loved music, and you had fond memories of growing up with him playing everything from Mozart to The Eagles while your mother was gone. “That’s so cool! Did you go to school for it or is it just... apart of you?” You struggled to find the words to describe what you meant. While you were confident in your Korean, some words just... didn’t translate well in your opinion. He chuckled lowly, “I’ve been making and doing music since I was young. Never thought about doing anything else once I found it. I learned along the way.” The conversation continued, talking about favorite genres of music, eventually leading you to ask how his cats liked his music or if they preferred a certain type, to you demanding to know why Nora keeps trying to bully Odd. It was nice. Really, really nice actually. Jaebum smiled so much at you and even joined in your weird reactions or antics and it just made you feel warm and happy on the inside. He even insisted on paying since he was older and who were you to refuse free food? You were to excited -- you made a friend! The talking lulled while walking back to the apartment complex, but the silence wasn’t an awkward one. It was gentle and understanding. You didn’t need to fill up the space with idle, unneeded chit chat to be with each other. As you came to the doors of the building, Jaebum opened the door and allowed you to go first, and you might’ve missed it because of how bashful he sounded. “It’s been a while since I’ve had fun with someone who’s not my group.. Thanks, Y/N.” You smiled brightly. “Well, consider me apart of your group. We’re friends now Jae!” There you went with no honorifics. He scowled at you, pinching your neck as you tried to avoid him on your way to the elevator. “At least call me hyung or something if not oppa, you disrespectful brat!” He called out, only getting your childish giggles as his response. Hanging out with Jaebum wasn’t really easy or often. He’s really busy and his schedule is… not consistent. You knew it was due to his job and not because he hated you, so you weren’t as worried about it as you could be. Especially since he tried to talk to you at least once a week, even it was just a brief conversation in the stairwell, or on your way out to work. It was enough for you. Of course you see each other a little more often than usual because of the mail situation. For some reason, the mail person could not understand that just because you were one of the only foreigners from the U.S. in the building does not mean that every package from the U.S. is for you. But it did give you an excuse to go see Jaebum after a week, so you head up the stairs, package in hand, and you hear Jae’s voice -- and a few others, it sounded like? Huh? “Jae??? Is that you???” You peer up the stairwell to see if you can catch him, and soon you see Jae leaning over his own railing, catching sight of you and waving, but looking over to where you couldn’t see and looking a little pissed off. Oh... That was new. Was someone bothering him? Were you bothering him? You started apologizing, “Hey sorry if this is a bad time -- I got another package from your friend and I just --” “Yoooo Who’s that?! It sounds like a girl OH are you in love?!” A loud, excited male voice shouted over you, startling you and almost making you drop the package in your arms. “I told you her name is Y/N and she’s a friend!!” Jaebum’s chin seemed to stick out in reaction to your startled state -- you hoped he wasn’t too mad at you. Or his friend. It’s not his fault you’re easily scared.  You decided to call out once more, “So... the box?”  He looked down at you, his arm pointed and pushing someone, supposedly his friends, as he responded. “Yeah, bring it up, I’ll grab it from you -- Just let me get my friends into the apartment.” “I want to meet her!” “Bring her to us!” “Let us see her!” The loud, rambunctious voices all decided to loudly protest at once, making you shake a little in your boots, letting Jaebum disappear from your sight before sitting down to regain your nerve. You didn’t know Jaebum had... such loud friends. Feral children was the phrase that came to mind... Gathering your nerve, you walked up the stairs and into Jaebum’s hallway, where he’s already waiting for you, leaning against the door as it bumped against him at times, the sounds of whining and demands to see you seeping through the solid door. “Thanks, Y/N.” Jaebum smiled gently, taking the box from you. You managed a smile back, jumping at the sudden movement of the door that jostled him forward. “Sorry, I didn’t want to overwhelm you.” He apologized, kicking the door, “Hopefully you can meet them later, but right now I can tell they’re going to be too much for you and I actually want you to still be my friend after meeting them.” His explanation was a little rushed at the end, pink tinging his cheeks. Was Jaebum embarrassed? Well that was kinda cute.  You quickly pushed that thought aside. But you couldn’t help but flush. He noticed that about you? “Sorry, Jae...” “Don’t apologize! When you’re ready we can set something up. I think you’ll like them when they’re calmer.” His smiled widened, “Then I’ll have someone calm and not evil to combat these brats.” “I thought I was a brat, though?” You tilted your head, feeling more at ease. He rolled his eyes.  “You’re all brats and I suffer. But I guess I enjoy suffering.” He shrugged. “Well, I’ll see you around Y/N. Promise.” You nodded, scurrying off before Jaebum’s friends could break the door down. After getting into the apartment, you smiled to yourself. Jaebum liked you enough to want to meet his friends. You were friends.

[narrans]

Everyone needs a little Hero | Rings and Memories

The apartment complex wasn’t the newest and had few features that could be identified as the “latest and greatest.” Sometimes there were problems with the water and sometimes the lights flickered at odd times of the day and night. Every so often, things would go missing or just get misplaced.

One thing this apartment complex did have, however, were stories. Each of its dozen floors held people from different places and backgrounds. Some people were thriving, others trying to make their way. Some were going through hardships and a few just need a friend – someone to talk to.

One other thing this place had among its labyrinth of walls and wires was a whole other world – a smaller world consisting of dozens of families. Some of them big, some of them small, but all of them little – these were the Borrowers.

The four-inch folk live in quiet solitude, surviving by taking what they need in pieces, parts, fragments, and segments. Rarely did something of significance go missing and, even then, it was the humans’ fault for being so clumsy.

There were rules for keeping themselves undiscovered by the humans and, for the most part, these rules were upheld. There were times where humans spread rumors or asked if there were mice and such in the building. Thankfully, the Borrowers had managed to steer clear of the exterminators and their traps.

It was one of their biggest fears – to be seen and caught by a human.

Hero grew up with two older brothers, an older sister, and a younger sister. He also had his parents, grandparents, and even a great-grandfather. His family had never immigrated, a rarity among their kind, and had always been careful. Subtly, the young Borrower with sandy brown hair and bright green eyes had always feared the humans, but also found them fascinating.

Humans were dangerous, yes, but were also ingenuitive and forward thinking. They had creativity and passion as well as the means to do so. Hero knew they had the ability to do horrendous things, but they also had the power to do good.

Every once in a while, he would venture through the walls and listen to the humans watching that big flat thing called a T.V. or a screen. They watched scary things, but the thing Hero was fascinated with was the show about villains and, like his name, heroes.

These heroes had powers and would fight against injustice, whatever that was, and the bad people hurting other people. Some could shoot lasers while others could fly. Some were strong. Some could use their hair. One thing that hero noticed about all of these people was that it didn’t matter who they were or what they looked like – they were all heroes.

Some of them, he noticed, didn’t even have powers. There was one boy who was drawn with green hair and cried a lot that talked about what it meant to be a hero – and somehow the young Borrower found this inspiring. He knew from that moment on he had to live up to his name.

Now, how he was going to go about this he wasn’t sure. He had only just had his thirteenth birthday and was three or so inches on a good day. Needless to say, height was going to be a slight issue, but it wouldn’t stop him. According to some people on a thing called the “inner-net,” you didn’t need to save lives or stop buildings from falling down to make a difference in someone’s life.

This is the notion that Hero clung to one night as he debated for the hundredth time with himself. He didn’t need to be big to make a difference. In fact, some guy by the name of “Gamdalf” said that it was the ordinary actions of small folk that made a difference.

It was settled – and Hero knew who he wanted to help first.

On the third floor, there was an elderly couple who loved each other very much. Hero liked going down and listening to them talk. They were hilarious, mostly because they were forgetful from time to time and would move things without telling the other.

“Where are my glasses?” asked the woman. “Well, I don’t know dear. They were on your head. Did you check there?” the man would respond, all the while wearing them on his head because he thought those were his glasses.

Hero could watch them for hours and be amused. There were a few times, accidentally, where he was laughing so hard that they stopped and looked up at the trim near the ceiling. “Those neighbor kids must think something’s pretty funny.” A handful of those comments made Hero well aware he needed to be careful even when they had a hard time remembering.

The final straw in his debate on helping them first in fact came from the saddest of events. The elderly man, on night, had fallen and went to some place for him to get better called a “hospital,” but that didn’t happen.

The woman came back so very sad and Hero wanted nothing more than to cheer her up. He had to come up with something, and he had to do it quickly as he began to hear rumors that she was immigrating and could see boxes being loaded up.

It was just after dinner and his siblings were out borrowing except for his younger sister Winnie, who was far too young to go borrowing being only six. Hero stood in his room with all of his necessary supplies laid on his bed.

He had a fishing hook, a safety pin, one band-aid, a pin, battery lamp with a new borrowed bulb, a piece of razor, and a strong line which he had checked a dozen times. There were a few moments where he paused to breathe, staring at his muddled reflection in a piece of tin foil he kept in his room.

“Heroes usually have some kind of outfit or a cape. Do I need a cape? I don’t know. Capes get in the way. What about a mask? Naw, that won’t work. It might get in my eyes. This is fine for now.” Hero puffed out his chest, grabbed his backpack of supplies, and headed out through the halls.

He made sure to wave to his grandparents as he ran past their hallway. His little legs carried him at a steady pace past the pipes to the wires he had to lay on to cross from one wall joist to the next. The drop was at least a floor and would certainly be a problem if he were to slip, but the wires were coated with rubber and were nice and thick. Hero had also learned the pro-tip from his oldest brother, Atlas, of hooking the safety pin from his backpack onto the line. Since it was strapped to him, it added an extra safety measure.

Hero slowed his jog to a brisk walk as everything began setting in for him. Was he ready for something like this? He was only 13 after all. He had been borrowing on his own, but this would be different in that now he was going to purposefully move something for the human to notice and become curious about.

Hero cupped his palms and smacked his face lightly to snap himself out of it. It wasn’t like he was going to be seen or anything. Plus, the elderly woman was forgetful. Even if he were seen, she would most likely forget. Right?

The labyrinth of walls passed by quicker than expected. Before the young Borrower knew it, he was standing above one of the ceiling fan tiles that they used to observe. He could already hear the daughter and the older lady talking.

“Mom, what are you looking for?” asked the daughter.

“I… well… I’m sure I saw it in here somewhere,” the older woman replied.

“Dad’s ring?” prompted the daughter. “Mom, you looked in there already. It’s been lost for years.”

“Pish posh I remember seeing it just the other day,” the mother responded as she continued to rummage through the next box. She started taring the tape off of another when the daughter intervened.

“Here, mom, why don’t you check this box,” she suggested, but the mother shook her head.

“No, I distinctly remember seeing it by the couch. These boxes must be on top of it.”

Hero listened for a few more minutes, saddened by the encounter, now knew what he had to do – he was going to find that ring. He pulled himself from the ceiling tile, ensuring it was secure, before heading for the nearest wall that could take him to the ground, which was not a far walk. The path to and from this apartment was well used and so had a permanent line anchored to it.

The sheer drop down was enough to makes his knees weaken and his head spin with vertigo. Heights weren’t always an issue, but that little bit of nervousness was something Hero took as a good sign. If he weren’t nervous, he might miss checking something before climbing the line. There was darkness below where there was usually light. Must be a bad bulb. He wrapped his hands around the line, checked his footing, and descended the line knot after knot.

It took some time, but he finally reached the ground by the floorboards. The walls absorbed the light on his hip lamp. Small dust particles drifted around in the air, lingering as the footsteps above knocked them loose. The Christmas lights which usually illuminated most of the main hallways they traversed were still hanging on the walls on top of the thumbtacks.

Something about the air didn’t set right with Hero. There was an eerie stillness under the floorboards of the older woman’s apartment. Hero felt himself freezing. There was a nervousness in his chest. His heart was beating so incredibly fast now. When did that happen?

The determined boy couldn’t let these things bother him now. He puffed out his chest with a deep inhale and stepped further into the darkness. The joists towered above him at a whole seven inches and effectively had him surrounded on his left and right. Hero began walking up and down the floor joists, starting where he was at the entrance and working his way to the sitting area.

Hero knew where the old woman’s couch was in the apartment; and he also knew there were several wide floorboards and some holes the other Borrowers had left in case they needed to make a hasty exit. Maybe it was unlikely, but Hero suspected that if something had been knocked into the floor, it could have fallen through one of their hiding holes.

He passed by a few more unilluminated lights and noticed a few of the wires were exposed – chewed through. Suddenly, his keen ears picked up something. If he hadn’t been on edge, he might’ve missed it. The light on the hip lamp only illuminated a foot or so in every direction, but sound didn’t need the light to be heard.

A skittering sound of clawed feet scraped just on the other side of one of the joists. It stopped. Then it started again. Immediately, his heart leapt into his throat and the Borrower boy stopped dead in his tracks. Hero instinctively pulled his pin from his side and held his hip light in his right hand.

He peered around the corner and could see with his bright green eyes the small tail of a mouse skittering away from the little bit of light from Hero’s lamp. He exhaled shakily. Maybe he wouldn’t need to fight it today. He glanced down the passage and decided to follow behind carefully.

Cautious step after cautious step, Hero eventually heard the mouse head back down through the walls as he turned down the next corridor. Sadly, there were only three left for him to check.

As he walked down the next hall feeling discouraged, he realized that there was a slight glint up ahead. Still brandishing the pin, Hero stepped forward with the light extended until he recognized the shape of a circle – a ring. He had found it!

The tarnishing silver ring was thick and heavy with writing Hero didn’t recognize. Reading was something his parents insisted that he learn, but even that didn’t help him with these words. There was also some kind of glittery rock in the middle. Now all that needed to be done was get it to the humans without getting caught. This was going to be interesting.

First and foremost – move it. It took some time, but the ring was eventually wrestled into the borrowing bag. The weight was significant and made normal borrowings feel light as a feather. Still, this would not stop the mission.

Hero now had to determine where to put it. Both of the humans were still at home and, from the sound of it, things were being moved around. Hero was usually very dexterous and quick, but he was incumbered by the weight. So, going up right then and there was out of the question.

While he walked back through the halls, he made his decision. He would wait until nighttime and put it in the woman’s bedroom where he knew she could find it – her bedside table. The thought of being so terribly close to a human made his insides flip anxiously. Still, he knew he had to persevere.

The trek to the elderly woman’s room was a long one and one that was taken with caution. That mouse was still roaming around and the last thing that Hero needed was a confrontation when he was debating how to get on top of the table with the ring in tow.

While he walked, he thought of scenario after scenario. I could climb it, obviously, but the weight on my back may make me tired before I reach the top. I could try to pull it up once I climbed to the top, but that leaves me on top of the table for a bit longer than I would want. I could try and tie one end to the ring and one end to me, jump, and have it slingshot up to the top.

Before he knew it, he was under the floor of the bedroom. Hero let his pack slump off of his shoulders and onto the ground, rubbing the aching muscles and tendons in his shoulders. Up above, he could hear the sounds of feet shuffling against the ground. She must be getting ready for bed. Earlier than normal.

The teen waited until the shuffling stopped to make his move, which he finally figured out. He was going to pull the ring up onto the desk. Climbing would be too tiresome and he weighed more than the ring, even if his shoulders argued otherwise, and couldn’t control the descent.

The pack was back on his shoulders again and he was on his way. Up through the opening in the baseboard under the bed, Hero tread lightly up to the immense bedside table, extinguishing his light before arriving. His keen ears picked up on the light sound of breathing just above him. Perfect. Completely quiet.

He tied the line onto his bag tightly before removing his hook. Pause for a breath. Aim. Swing. Swing. Hero let the hook fly from his hands and heard the hook sink in with a firm knock. Perfect. He shimmied up the rope in no time, glancing over to see the sleeping woman barely two feet from him. A shiver ran down his spine. It was completely involuntary and it was only then that Hero realized this was the closest he had ever been to a human before.

Everything about them was so much bigger than him. Their faces. Those eyes. It made his head and insides flip and swirl at the very notion of their hands. Don’t think about that now. You need to get the ring back on the table. He began pulling his bag up with the line. It tapped the table a few times on its ascent, which made him freeze and watch. Not a single stir.

It wasn’t until Hero had pulled up the bag and began pulling out the ring that he heard the older woman stir, shifting under the sheets that could easily smother him. His heartrate spiked, forcing him to swallow dryly as he finished pulling the ring free from the satchel.

The ring was right there in view next to the clock and the lamp. It wouldn’t be hard to find. Hero had almost reached his line when he heard something.

“What the… what is…” the voice of the elderly woman, still saturated with a groggy tiredness. Hero’s breath hitched in his throat. Every impulse shrieked. He almost threw himself off of the table when he saw a hand beginning to emerge from beneath the quilts and covers. Instead, he threw his bag over one shoulder and grabbed the line.

The rope burned his fingers and palms and he landed on the ground with a definite thud just as the light came on. There was no time. He back peddled as fast as he could from the line, regretting using his best hook. He was halfway to the hidden entrance when he heard her speak again.

“Oh… my… Stuart’s ring…” Hero stopped in his tracks. Stuart? Was that his name? The older man? “Oh… thank you little sprite.” Hero’s breath stopped completely. Was she able to see anything? Would she look?

All he knew was he heard the clattering of his hook on the ground, a sniffly sob, and then the lights turned out again. It was a risk, but Hero needed his hook. He quickly darted back and retrieved the hook; however, just before he left, he uttered the smallest “you’re welcome” before darting back into the cover of the walls.

Mission – success! Maybe he was seen. Maybe the old woman believed in such things. He didn’t know. What was certain was he had made someone’s day a little better; and that’s all that really mattered to him.

~Thanks for reading. Have any humans Hero needs to help? Suggestions and prompts welcome down below. Stay awesome!

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