#(or if they only learned it AFTER finishing the show and forming opinions)

[darkfire359]

Ed is a brilliant character. He’s maybe even beating out Lucius as my 2nd favorite now. I’ve written more OFMD fanfic with him as a protagonist than I have for any other fandom in over a decade. I’ve put an Ed-inspired character in a D&D campaign I’m in. I’ve forgiven him for things that I would have a priori considered dealbreaker traits in my favs (making someone kill their own pet). I don’t want to understate how excellent Ed is here.

But I feel like some Ed fans are very gatekeepy about it. Like, one of my favorite things about Ed is that he is dangerous and unhinged! It’s a great contrast with him internally being a cinnamon roll who just wants to be cuddled and held. Him being scary only heightens the cuteness of the scenes where he’s vulnerable, IMO. But I see a lot of takes that are like, “writing Ed as being violent or quick to anger is BAD and RACIST.”

Or like, talking about Ed’s flaws (especially with respect to his relationship with Izzy). Flawed characters are interesting! Ed is impulsive, and this leads to interesting plots. Ed has mood swings, and this something a lot of people find relatable. Ed doesn’t communicate very well with Izzy, and this combos with Izzy’s general social cluelessness to some exciting disasters (Izzy not getting the “no really, Ed doesn’t want Stede dead now” memo, e.g.) But again, I’ve seen takes that equate bringing up Ed’s flaws (even if only in response to someone else bringing up Izzy’s flaws) as meaning that the person dislikes Ed and also is racist.

(It’s worth noting that I think I’ve seen like, one person who actually says they dislike Ed, and they said that it was for personal issues. At no point have they indicated that they think other people are wrong for liking Ed.)

I *have* seen people write Ed and/or Izzy in OOC ways, with Ed being way more of an asshole to Izzy (while Izzy is way more innocent and selfless) than he should be. Sometimes I stop reading these fics, sometimes the fic is good enough that I just deal with feeling kind of annoyed. But I don’t assume that the author is malicious or racist just because of OOC writing. It turns out that OOC writing exists for all characters in all fandoms, and this is a general property of fanfiction.

[thebeesatemyknees]

141 with a gf who has been cheated on in the past and it kind of destroyed her confidence?? Like just how they would prove themselves as true and how they would go about a relationship with her. Love your writing, friend!!!! <3

141 with a (fem)partner who's been cheated on in the past

Some headcanons about things that Simon Ghost Riley, John Price, Kyle Gaz Garrick and Johnny Soap MacTavish do to reassure you after learning that your previous partner/s cheated on you.

Word count: 1k || No warnings. || Reader: FEM reader. Pronouns "you", but feminine terms used ("missus, girl, lady") [I could make a gender neutral version too if anyone would want it!]

Simon Riley, who, half joking half serious, reminds you that he’s a difficult bastard to get close to. So you don’t have to worry. I mean, look how much time it took you to make him open up and let you become part of his life. He has a hard time openly admitting how he feels about you and how he only has place for you in his heart and mind. So instead, he jokes that you’re the only person on this planet, crazy enough to approach him. Though sometimes, when you have late night conversations, he admits in a hushed voice, that as much as he enjoyed the solitary life, leaving it behind for a lifetime with you was the best decision he's ever made.

Although he prefers to avoid crowded places, he starts taking you to pubs more often to prove that he’s right about being unapproachable. It also gives you a reason to dress up all pretty, so he can shamelessly compliment you and tease you about wanting to show you off.

If someone is silly enough to walk up to you two and try chatting him up, he immediately cuts it short, not even trying to be polite – “No, we’re alright. We’re busy.” And if they’re persistent, he uses his “Lieutenant Ghost” voice on them – “You’re interrupting my date. With my girl.” He keeps his hand on you for the rest of the night.

He asks you if he should get your name tattooed on his arm and you can’t tell if he’s joking or not. But he is dead serious. Have you seen his tattoos? Not to be judgemental, but… He wouldn’t mind tattooing your name on himself once he thinks you’re the one.

John Price, who relies on communication. He asks you to talk to him whenever something feels wrong – whether it’s caused by your thoughts or something he’s done. But he doesn’t just wait for you to bring the issue up either. He’s a true leader and he’s very observant. Sometimes he notices the heavy thoughts starting to cloud your mind before you can even cotton on. He’s also really good at reading between the lines. If you ever do that self-sabotaging thing, where you ask his opinion about other women on the street or on the internet, he immediately gives you a stern look and, without even looking at the lass you’re pointing at, gives you a lengthy pep talk. Why would he even need to form an opinion about another woman’s appearance, when he only cares about you? 

He’s got the patience of a saint when it comes to you. He’s told you what he feels towards you and how you are the only one for him many times already. And he would repeat himself, over and over again. Until he loses his voice.

If he got approached by someone and offered a drink, while you’re hanging out in a pub, he would point towards you and say “I’m alright, but you can buy my lady a drink if you insist,” with a cocky smile on his face.

Kyle Garrick, who attacks you with “I love you”-s and compliments whenever you start doubting yourself. Literally. Won’t let you finish your self-derogatory comments, even if they’re well hidden in what you’re saying. Starts yelling ILYs from afar. Then once he gets closer, he grabs you and holds you close, repeating it against your ear until you laugh from the sensation. But he doesn’t ignore your worries. He often sits you down so that the two of you can have a conversation about your feelings, your boundaries, behaviours and things he can do to assure you of his loyalty.

He has pictures of you everywhere and he’s proud to show you off. There are polaroids of you alone and both of you together in his wallet, in his car’s sun visor, in the pocket of his uniform. You’re his phone’s wallpaper. He posts pictures of you on social media. Obviously, he does all that while making sure it won’t affect your safety. And as for him bragging about you, you probably learnt about that from Price. What you don’t know though, is that he went out of his way to introduce you to his captain in hopes of Price telling you how often he talks about you. And only you.

If someone tried to chat him up while he’s with you, he would give them the nastiest, most offended glare possible. He looks at them, at you, at them, at you… He throws a simple “Uhh, no thank you,” while he grabs your hand and pulls it to his chest, using it to ground himself. Before the person can even turn away, he’s looking at you with a “can you believe this shit” stare. He gets upset for the both of you.

Johnny MacTavish, who’s physically glued to you.While off duty, he doesn't give you much space for doubts or anxieties cuz he follows you everywhere. You’re going to run some errands? He’s coming with you. He’s going to run some errands? Can you please come with him…? One time, when you went to the toilet in the middle of the night, you found him sitting half-awake on the floor next to the bathroom door. Later, he can’t even explain why he did it. He wasn’t even fully conscious. It was pure instinct – you go, he follows.

He takes you to buy matching rings. You can take your relationship at your own pace, but others don’t have to know it. He’s more than happy to pretend to be already married to you. Especially when he’s deployed away from home. And when he comes back, he proudly shows you a tan line on his ring finger, proving he’s been wearing it the whole time.

If someone approaches him and offers him a drink, he scoffs and tells them that HIS MISSUS can buy him his drinks just fine, thank you very much. If you’re there with him, he turns to you and, before the person can walk away, he starts playfully flirting with you, saying you can take him home if you buy him a drink. If you’re for some reason not there, he immediately calls you (or at least texts you if he’s with the lads) and proudly tells you about how clever his response was.

I hope that some loose headcanons like these are alright.

Also, if this happened to you – I'm really sorry and I wish you all the best! And if anyone needs to hear it: remember, the fault is never in the person who got cheated on but the one who cheats. Screw them. You deserve to be treated kindly.

[kindestegg]

You know, even for just two months, Collector and King's friendship has already developed into something special.

When he and King first meet, Collector can barely keep their hands off of him, dragging him by the hand all over and grabbing him extremely close.

Come present day when our heroes have actually made it back, however, and Collector barely touches King. The only two times they initiate contact are when King chooses to offer a pinky promise to go talk to the Owl Beast and later when Collector leads King into their shared bedroom. This is good! It shows they learned boundaries and to keep their hands off of King and not smother him.

Collector's also learned boundaries when it comes to François! Although it was very devious of them to kick their plush under their bed so they could ask for François, they still respect King's decision to not let them hold him, and never touch François during the entire episode.

And hey, remember how King used to get so sick flying around with Luz that he couldn't help but throw up?

Look at him riding around with Collector now! Not a green face to be seen. It's likely through gradual exposure and a lot of encouragement and accomodation from Collector he was able to lose his problem with flight.

Speaking of which, what were the two even doing that they somehow took until nightfall to get to the Archive House? King comments they've "been gone for a while", but Collector declared they should return way back when they had just finished the play session with Terra.

...Were they just doing tricks and flying around having fun? If so, that's kind of cute to imagine, and a nice break from them just playing pretend with those poor puppet-people all the time. It shows they're confident enough to play together in other ways and have a good time.

I've also touched on this briefly, but it's also cute when you realize that Collector asking what mortals eat was his attempt at joking around with King, who also isntantly recognizes this and doesn't even need to say a thing to show it. That alone says a lot about what stage their communication skills with each other has gotten to.

King's also starting to trust Collector to the point that he straight up tells Eda and Lilith that he could get Collector to turn Hooty back to normal as if he trusts he can easily sway his opinion by just asking.

A side note on this, it's interesting to me immediately after being told no King brings up missing Luz.

It's probably just there for pacing convenience but part of me likes to think it's because he thinks Luz of all people would be the one to see things his way and agree that they should befriend the Collector. She WAS always the optimist of the trio after all.

And Collector doesn't actually seem to mind seeing Eda out of her beast form talking to King, the only thing he really cares about is whether his best friend is looking out for him or not. Being tricked about the Owl Beast situation seems to not matter to Collector as long as King is happy by his side.

Their relationship isn't perfect. They aren't best friends, despite what the Collector says, because King doesn't see them that way. Collector wants them to be equals and sees them as such, but it takes King almost up until this very episode to realize this and stop fearing a punishment that's not going to come.

Even after things are resolved, they still probably aren't going to be able to call themselves best friends, or even good friends. But they have a budding friendship at the very least, they've grown and learned a lot from each other, specially Collector who was desperately in need of a good role model (and it's funny only titans so far have provided that by pure coincidence).

With dedication from both parts, maybe in the future they can say befriending each other was one of the best decisions they've ever made.

[corrodedcoffins-blog]

First impressions

main masterlist

older!eddie munson x popstar!reader

note: takes place october 2023

word count: 1 k

Y/N L/N’s voice was a constant in Eddie’s house with his daughter, Isla, being a huge fan. He most likely listened to Y/N’s album more than the singer herself had. And as soon as Y/N L/N had announced her tour Isla had been begging for tickets. And one thing about Eddie is that he would do anything for his little girl, so he patiently waited for when the tickets would go on sale. And when they did, he was busy. Of course.

Eddie, even though he has been out of the limelight for a decade now, he never stopped working in the industry. He now was a producer, and god he loved it, he may have loved it even more than being a recording artist. 

So of course he was working with one of his favourite clients, finishing a song they had been working on for a while now. Working past their set hours of today. 

He had only learned he missed the tickets, completely forgetting it was today, when Isla comes barrelling down the stairs of their New York penthouse.

“Dad! Tickets were today! Did you get us some?” Isla said, hastily, clearing having been waiting hours for her Dad to get home. 

Eddie on the other hand can’t believe he forgot, it’s just been the only thing Isla had been talking about for the last few weeks. He felt awful, he never wanted to disappoint her. So he lied. 

“Of course I did, Sweetie!” What else was he supposed to do? When Isla jumped into his arms in joy, he almost didn’t even feel guilty. Almost, because now he had to think of a way to get himself out of this. 

“Oh, my god! Thank you, Daddy! I have to go tell Jenna!”

As soon as Isla was out of Eddie’s sight, his slime slipped right off his face. He had to jump right into action. Being in the industry helped, but being a legend to the industry helped more. Eddie emailed his team, to try their best to get tickets, spare the cost. When they all came back empty handed, he went onto his next order of business, getting in contact with the woman herself. Now he couldn’t exactly get into contact with her directly, he messaged her team. Which in his opinion was close enough. 

Y/N’s team had responded first thing the next morning, sharing a more than enthusiastic response, saying he and his daughter could even have backstage passes. At that Eddie couldn’t wait to tell Isla, not only would she be going to Y/N’s concert, that would also get to meet her idol.

-

Today was the long awaited day, the day of Y/N’s concert. It wasn’t only Eddie and Isla that were excited for tonight's show, Y/N’s team had told her today that Eddie Munson, a rock legend, and his daughter would be attending her show. Y/N always gets nervous before shows, but knowing that Eddie Munson would be in the crowd and that she would be meeting him after the show, caused an unforeseen amount of worry to form in Y/N’s stomach. 

But as usual all the nervousness and worrying thoughts left as soon as she played the first note of ‘emails i can’t send’ as the concert began.

-

Eddie did not expect to enjoy the concert that much, the music itself wasn’t exactly his style, but it was the presence that Y/N had on stage that captivated him. And it was at this point Eddie realised he had never seen a picture of Y/N before, and god was she gorgeous. She had this beauty that ran deeper than just her looks, her smile redacted warmth and her kindness shown through when she talked to the crowd. 

Eddie naturally felt awkward about his attraction towards her, she was easily 20 years younger than him, his son had a better shot than he did. But that sure as hell didn’t stop the thoughts that came into mind when Y/N sang her more explicit lyrics. 

And with Eddie’s new found attraction towards Y/N, it only made him nervous for their meeting after the show. 

-

Eddie and Isla were currently walking down the hallway they were directed to, with Isla leading the way. And when Y/N came into their view standing at the snack table, drinking a bottle of water, Isla ran up to Y/N not being able to contain her excitement. Eddie in the meantime, having a reaction to seeing Y/N of his own. Eddie froze, his breath caught in his throat.

“Hi! Oh god, I can’t believe I’m meeting you! Can I have a hug?”

“Of course, sweetie. You’re Isla right?” Y/N said, pulling Isla into a tight hug.

“Yes. I can’t believe you know my name.” As Isla was having an existential crisis, Eddie spoke up, finally having the courage.

“Hi, I’m Eddie. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yes, you too! My parents love your music.”

“Oh, that aged me.” Eddie joked back, with no real offence in his voice. Though he did place a hand on his heart to seal the deal.

“No! Please, you’re not that old. You’re what 35- 40” Y/N said, looking into Eddie’s eyes, her cheeks spread in a wide smile.

“Now I know you’re kidding.”

“No, really I’m not. How old are you?”

“46.”

“No!”

“Yes.”

While the two had their little back and forth, Isla recovered from her crisis, and watched the two adults that were clearly both into each other. So of course in true Isla fashion, she did everything she could to make her idol, a possible new step-mom.

“He’s single too.” Isla blurted out, she’s never been good with filters.

“Isla-”

“Is he?”

“Oh- I- I’m not- you’re not-” Eddie stutters, not knowing exactly how to respond to that.

“Well, I’m staying in New York for a couple weeks, you could call me?” Y/N says, having no idea where this new found confidence of hers is coming from. But nonetheless runs with it, grabbing a napkin from the snack table the trio was standing by and writing for number on  it before handing it to Eddie.

“Um, I have to now. It was so lovely meeting you Isla, and it was great meeting you Eddie..”

[t3ag3rs]

g e n s o - 1 0.

you lift your hands up to gaurd your face as you get into a fighting stance.

lets hope those years of taekwondo come in handy now.. you nod to show bakugou your ready and wait for his confirmation as well.

not soon after he gives you a curt nod, signaling the start. you pace yourself around quietly, moving side to side ocassionally. 

if im not wrong izuku always says he starts off with a right hook so i can move to the left and land a side kick at his open side... just as you had predicted, he came in with a right hook.

you duck to the left and lift your front leg up to land a quick blow as his ribs. you put your foot down repositioning yourself as he regains balance. you smile a bit at the fact you landed your kick.

okay.. now if he thinks competitively hes gonna wanna take back that point by coming in with a kick..

just as you had suspected he came in with a roundhouse kick to your ribs. you push his leg down and throw a punch at his torso quickly before snapping back into defensive position. "hm. youre quite easy to read bakugou" you grin as he seethes.

"shut it genso!" he growls before lunging at you. you quickly side step trying to avoid him, but he grabs on to your left wrist with his left arm pulling you towards him. you widen ur eyes before flipping ur wrist upward and placing ur right forearm on his now twisted arm. you push down and get him down on a knee as his arm is against your thigh. quickly you shove him off before placing his arms behind his back and placing your body weight on top of him to secure him in place. 

"got you.." you say catching your breath, "happy now that we've fought?" you say looking down at him for his response.

"get off me dammit!" he yells, "since when did you even know all of this?!" he asks agitated.

you climb off him wiping the sweat off your cheek, "we didnt see each other during junior high- theres a lot you dont know." you spit still sour on how he didnt meet with you after all those years. 

"i achieved my black belt in taekwondo and learned some other forms of martial arts to pass my test; including jiu-jitsu.." you motion to his position before lending a hand only for it to be slapped away.

"i dont need your petty help" he grunts before sitting up and looking away face slightly red.

"damn did i reslly make you that frustrated that your turning red??" you ask looking at him grinning a bit. he rolls his eyes, "dont give yourself any credit- im just hot.." he says wiping some sweat off his brow.

"yeah ill agree with you about that.." you say before grabbing your water and chugging some quickly, "i suggest you get off your tiny ass and start getting changed, lunch is about to end.." you pick up your bag and walk to the locker room waving him off.

"you little-" he starts but you slam the door behind you before he can finish, grinning to yourself.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

you sigh happily as class ends getting ready to walk out before you hear uraraka, "um.. why the heck are you all here??" she exclaims as you walk over to see what was happening. you widen your eyes at the sight of the hoard of students in front of you. "um.. can we help you..?" u ask questioningly.

"theyre scouting us you idiots.." bakugou grunts walking towards the door. "they wanna see the students who survived a real villain attack-" he pauses as he stops in front of them. "take a good look at what a future hero looks like!"

you grumble at his commentary before walking up and placing a hand on his shoulder smiling at the crowd a bit, "we're very sorry for his comments.. anything he says is his own opinion and not what the rest of class 1-a thinks.."

"so this is class 1-a.. i heard you guys were impressive but this guy is an ass.." a guy with purple walks up, "is everyone in the hero course delusional or just you?" you slap your forehead, and bakugou growls. 

"how sad to see all of you are ego-maniacs.. I wanted to be in the hero course; like many students here. i didnt cut it the first time, but now i have a second chance. if i do well in the sports festival the teachers can have the option to exchange me to a different class, maybe others are scouting you all but im here to remind you all to do your very best or ill steal your spot from under you. consider this a declaration of war.." he finishes as the rest of the students behind him agree.

bakugou just turns and walks away, "bakugou apologize to them! because of you all of them hate us!" you exclaim frustrated, "these people dont matter.. the only thing that is important is that i beat them." he states before finally walking away.

you sigh before letting out another apology and finding your way thought the crowd.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

you started your training during the several days before the sports festival. everyday was spent trying to elongate your time spent using each element without facing the drawbacks. by the end of the week you could use your water bending for almost hour, you air bending for 45 minutes, and your earth and fire bending for 30 minutes before feeling the drawbacks. 

but of course that wouldnt really matter if you used your fire or earth to an extensive amount in blasts. i just have to be wise and not impulsive when using those two elements... this is my time to show heroes that im capable of being a hero...

next thing you knew it was the day of the sports festival. 

you quickly grab your bag and start putting on your shoes, "im off..!" you exclaim to your parents. "wait!" called your mother before running over to you with your dad right behind. 

"y/n.. show em what l/n blood is made of." says your dad as he gives you a proud smile, "and whatever you do.. just know we're proud of you.." whispers your mom as she hugs you.

"i wont disappoint you two... be sure to record the festival so i can see it when im back." u add before opening the door and turning a last time to wave before walking out.

you walk to ua with only one thing in mind,

i will show these heroes who i am and what i can do- whether or not that means me or someone else has to struggle in the process..!

previous parts: pt. 0 0 / pt. 0 1 / pt. 02 / pt. 03 / pt. 04 / pt. 05 / pt. 06 / pt. 07 / pt. 08 / pt. 09 next part: pt. 11 / pt. 12 / pt. 13

[janus-cadet]

Tarot Project - N°36

Last drawing of the year, already! Which is why this one has some not-so-necessary holidays vibes.

So! Let's finish this year with one last tarot card, one last Doctor... to maybe start the next year with the new one :>

Here is the 12th Doctor, as the King of Cups!

(He does not have a crown but he has BETTER, he has reindeers Christmas horn like Wilf)

Explanation under the cut, and also, the rest of the Doctor Who cards made so far!

Upright, the King of Cups represents mastery over the realms of emotion. It means you have gained control of your feelings and can accept them without allowing them to get the better of you. Like this Doctor managed to do over the course of his era- going from the lost, gloomy Doctor to the one with, in my opinion, the most compassion, humanity, of all the Doctors. You have reached a form of emotional maturity and stabilty to help you navigate the challenges you face; you have reflected on your past challenges, and drew lessons from them.

(Which allows you to have some of the best speech of the whole show, I mean come on, come on-is it obvious he's one of my fav Doctor?)

You learned to choose an calm approach to problem, like talking, bargaining, before acting. You uses your intellect to make smart decisions, and does not let other circumstances or whims sway you from your central beliefs and morals. Who you are is where you stand, and where you stand... is where you fall. The King of Cups embodies the perfect balance between the executive and the heart. Not only are you able to assess a situation logically, but you can also draw upon your intuition and understanding of human interactions (which you worked veeeery hard on, and congrats, you don't need tiny cue cards for that anymore!). Mostly, the King of Cups upright really fits to the 12th Doctor at the end of his run- a fatherly, mentor figure, who offers wise advice when it comes to feelings (like guiding an old, old friend to redemption...), emotions and relationships- someone who can see the human dynamic in its entirety. It's someone who knows emotions deeply, like the grief of loosing someone, and who can guide other through similar feeling- taking pictures of a long lost mother, because pictures do help, doesn't they? He is compassionate towards others, which he achieved by learning to navigate his strong feelings and emotional triggers. It's a card that acts like a guide through your feelings, and encourages you to look for a sens of peace.

Reversed, the King of Cups fits more the 12th Doctor at the beginning of his run. It means you are focusing your attention on your innermost feelings, discovering emotions stored in your subconscious mind- emotions that are affecting you, perhaps even changing the perception other had of you. The perception you had of yourself. You need to work through them to gain a stronger sens of control over your emotional well-being, so that your feelings don't get the best of you- you are more than a Good Dalek, after all. You may be prone to emotional upset, and you worry you might lose it too easily. Anger is so much more present than it used to be, and you have a hard time controlling it. You may feel moody, and unpredictable. You lack compassion, especially for yourself : you need to find your emotional balance, and your place of calm and compassion. Perhaps it's through the song of someone you once knew? Who knows...

The King of Cups, reversed, is someone who represses ther emotions and are withdrawing from the outside world out of fear of what might happen. At worst, he can represent someone who is vindictive (at least against, like, who knows... the daleks), and is able to punish other through emotional manipulation (don't leave your companion on the moon all alone to make a very freaking hard decision, for example...). It means that if someone in your life showcases this kind of traits, and is unwilling to change, you might need to take some distance from them- like Clara almost did with this Doctor.

And that's it for the last card of the year! Here are all the rest of those I already did through the year- the first almost being three years old, now. I kinda teased who would be the next one...

Have a lovely end of the year, guys, and see you next year! :D

[jamiebluewind]

Shubble and Wilbur situation

This is a post compiling links to all the information on the Shelby Grace aka Shubble (formerly lilshortysgs, she/they) and William Patrick Spencer Gold aka Wilbur Soot (formerly SootHouse Wilbur and current lead singer of Lovejoy, he/him) situation that I have found. I tried my best to keep my language neutral and put all the data in one easy to look through place so that everyone can see it and make their own decisions (I also attempted to reblog most of it myself so that the version linked is frozen to the one that existed when I read it). I've included a post with the public reactions of content creators, which - while decidedly not neutral - show the public reactions of a lot of people who knew one or both of them at the time.

That being said, I'm one person. I probably missed plenty of stuff and there is most likely new information that has came out since I posted this, but I tried my best with what I had while also sick with bronchitis. The post I personally made on the subject is linked at the very bottom (I wanted to be as transparent as possible).

Anyway, here is everything I've gathered.

(Also, for anyone who is still learning English, bias in this case means something that sways opinion one way or the other)

The re-upload of Shubble's video on YouTube (Post where video was taken from is at the bottom of this post due to containing the opinion of a tumblr user)

Post that describes Shubble's video in text form for anyone who can't watch the video

Note: Text concerning the video is fairly neutral and accurate (other than Wilbur's name being used which was not stated in the video and was revealed later), but the last paragraph at the bottom contains @mysticalblue09 's opinion as someone who does not personally know Shubble or Wilbur (as far as I am aware), so be mindful of that.

Link to Wilbur's appology on Twitter/X

https://x.com/WilburSoot/status/1762505851699380353?s=20https://x.com/WilburSoot/status/1762505851699380353?s=20

Post with image of Wilbur's appology and a compilation of reactions (bias warning). Original post by @raixkim with additions by @galaxyempire-lilith (both all verified by me) and myself (all images save a link to one reaction and embedded video of another)

Note: I went through various minecraft roleplay wikis and former and current members of Lovejoy and added as many screenshots as I was allowed to in my reply (image limit) on March 4th (then I got to sick to finish the post). This is only to show how people in their circle at the time and former and current Lovejoy members publicly reacted to the news and not to gossip or shame someone for what they did or did not say. (Also, I genuinely attempted to find public posts by someone who knew one or both of them that was supporting Wilbur or even not supporting Shubble to keep my addition neutral, but I found none on my own after going through multiple discords and over 70 Twitter/X profiles, so I had to eventually give up)

Shelby's full statement on Wilbur's apology (just images)

Direct link to it on Twitter/X

https://x.com/shelbygraces/status/1763623249416704219?s=20

----------

Below are links to a couple how tos, links to posts by tumblr users that contains personal bias, and my own post on the topic. These things are all by people not directly affiliated with the parties involved. While most of them are not actively combative, most show some level of bias towards Wilbur Soot/Gold. I put all of them at the bottom because I wanted readers to make up their own minds without being influenced by my opinions or the opinions of people not connected to Shubble or Wilbur. Hopefully by this point, you'll know if you want to read more or stop here.

My personal reaction

Ideas on what to do with merch from things you no longer like/want to support by @elfchaos

Bands similar to Lovejoy by @st4rryskiescO

Tip: You can block an artist on Spotify mobile (some sites say it doesn't work on desktop) by going to the artist profile, clicking the 3 dot menu, and selecting "Don't play this." As of this time, I could not find a similar feature on Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, or Pandora other than individually disliking songs.

The post I found the Shubble video embedded in with a list of what @proudfreakmetarusonniku felt they learned during the video

Post that contains the opinions of @mor-starz on Wilbur's influence going forward. Includes a link to a video that summarizes everything (video wasn't linked in the previous section because while it is the closest to neutral I found, there was still bias in the video and thumbnail)

A post with reactions of Wilbur's reddit community and some of his mods by @megastrangeskeleton

Since then, all twitch mods have been removed/unmodded by Wilbur as well as the bot that linked to charities. According to multiple former mods (including kalli which can be found on twitter/x), someone made a new account on May 1st that is a Simpson's reference (jebediahspringfield12345), followed Wilbur, and was modded by Wilbur within minutes of following, leading them to believe that Wilbur made an alt account (named after a show he's known to enjoy) and then made that account a mod to avoid getting banned for having an unmodded account.

[yandere-to-express]

Goth and the thembo

Chapter 2


cw for obsessive behaviour and stalking, but, well, you guys knew that was coming, right? maybe the cw should just say "peter",,
(there's also some misgendering, but i promise it's very brief and non-hostile/unintentional!)

Dog barking. Microwave beeping. Smell of the instant meal they just pulled out. Big stretch...  

Breathe.  

“Be quiet, Blossom,” they sighed half-heartedly, already drained only 10 minutes after getting home. The little chihuahua sneezed confrontationally, staring out into the hallway, alert. It was probably the neighbour’s kids getting home from whatever sports club they usually attended. That, or their brothers were coming home after visiting whatever new friends they’d made at their own schools.  

They decided they were too tired to care.  

Legs weaving through the suddenly interested cats and dog now they were holding a plate of food with careful practise, Y/n carried it upstairs to their unfinished room, the blank walls staring at them almost accusingly with boxes of things that still had yet to be unpacked as they clicked the light-switch on.  

Speaking of unpacking...  

Y/n sighed as they sunk into their mattress, spoon in hand as they half-heartedly ate the curry on their plate, the events of the day almost dulling their usual favourite flavour down considerably, cheap chicken tikka masala not covering their taste buds in a comforting embrace the way it used to. Maybe it’s just the way it was made over here.  

Anyway.  

Yeah, they made a new friend in the least likely place, but that was nerve-wracking enough. They thought...They thought that because they got detention something terrible would happen. And when it didn’t...They didn’t know, the impending sense of doom still hadn’t left entirely, so it was exhausting enough just processing it from the comfort of their home. It was a miracle they hadn’t devolved into tears at school, especially with how loud it was in the cafeteria today.  

They couldn’t let that happen. They wouldn’t , this was a new start. They weren’t going to blow it like they did back in Year 7.  

...No, they weren’t thinking about that right now. They’d unpack that memory when they had the mental capacity to do so.  

...What were they thinking about again? Oh, right, school today.  

So yeah, double-period History was boring until Peter showed up, French 2 was a wash (seriously, they were thankful they took it as a GCSE before they left England, they were further ahead than they thought they’d ever be), Graphic Design just went over the same old stuff they already learned back home, and Algebra 2 was even easier like, c’mon! Algebra wasn’t supposed to be easy! At least move them up a few classes if it was like that! They were so worried about the past two years of GCSEs (as well as the three months of Sixth Form that they promptly – and gladly – abandoned when the family moved overseas around Christmas) being earned would be useless now they were here, but it just meant they were too far ahead! And they weren’t allowed to join the Seniors so late into the year either! Back in England they’d been so worried about having enough intelligence, but now they apparently had too much of the stuff, and it was irritating! They’d rather keep being a “gifted” student back in Years 1 to 6, thank you very much. At least AP Physics was more of a challenge, but, well, it was AP Physics . It didn’t get much harder than that, in their opinion.  

Why was all this a problem? Because without work that would take more than 25 minutes to complete on average, Y/n was terrible at focusing. Worksheet finished? You’d think that they would ask for more, right? Wrong , they just stared out the window absently, maybe doodling in a book that they brought for that purpose if they remembered, trying their best to keep their cool when the class got rowdy and the teacher had to shout over the noise to call the class to attention again. It was worse than back home, honestly. The classes were bigger, for one thing, so that immediately meant more noise.  

Man, maybe they should have just gone straight to college. Oh well, too late now.  

They licked their spoon clean as they finished their meal, just opting to leave the cutlery and plate on one of the piles of boxes to take down in the morning, closing their curtains (their parents insisted that they at least hang those up) as they shrugged off their zip-up hoodie, tiredly undressing ungracefully and throwing on some pyjamas. After leaving the room for a few minutes to brush their teeth (hey, they were an idiot who ate unhealthily and kept dirty dishes in their room, but oral hygiene was still one of their top priorities! ...thanks for scaring that into them, Mum), they reached into a small box by their bed, pulling out an old pink DS, checking the cartridge and settling on the game inside, ignoring Blossom’s barking as they heard their brothers return.  

Pokémon Platinum would help them out for now...  

Y/n woke up with a start, eyes snapping open as they heard movement outside. They wiped their bleary eyes as they looked around. They’d fallen asleep with their DS, it seemed, the melody of Jubilife City at night out of place as their anxiety rocketed. Was this the beginning of a robbery?! Were they being robbed?! They scrambled to pick up their DS, tapping the Pokétch a few times to get a sense of how late it was and-  

Oh. 11pm. That was when their dad got home from work, which was confirmed by the door creaking open downstairs, his mumbles of greeting to what Y/n assumed was their Mum or a brother muffled by the floorboards beneath them.  

Man, were they dumb, huh? They let out a shaky chuckle at their own stupidity, shutting their DS and putting it on the makeshift nightstand (you know, just a stack of boxes, like what anyone else has in their bedroom) next to their bed. They lay back down, screwing their eyes shut in an attempt to sleep.  

Surprisingly, it actually worked!  

...Unsurprisingly, they missed the way the moonlight cast a shadow on the figure sitting in the tree just outside their window...  

Ok, that was way too close for comfort.  

That old dude who went inside almost saw him, apparently there was a family dog that hated people walking by, and poor Y/n looked terrified! They looked as though they were about to die (no, not them, they’d never die, he’d make sure of it)! But, fuck, if the streetlight was just a few inches closer to the house...  

Peter shivered as he looked back into his darling’s darkened room with his huge, almost luminous, cerulean eyes, safe in the knowledge that not many other people would be out at this time, and none of them would see them from the sidewalk. He waited for what felt like an eternity, watching as the rest of the lights shut off before making his next move.  

His mother and sister picked on him for looking scrawny, but he hardly felt it as he lifted himself up on the branch above and hoisted himself onto the balcony and into the doors that they must have left open by mistake (honestly, it was February! Never mind the dangers of the world outside, what about the cold?! Oh, he’d have to take care of them, help them stay safe and healthy)…  

Unless they were expecting him...?  

He felt a shiver race through him, caused by the excitement and the chill (it was 23 degrees out there, ok?!) as he tip-toed into the room cautiously, praying to whatever deity out there that he didn’t step on some old, creaky floorboard. Thankfully, his darling’s room didn’t seem to have any (good, they deserved the best room in the world, he couldn’t bear to let someone as adorable as them to live uncomfortably, and they were so small! He was actually a little worried some of the piles of boxes would topple over and crush them!), and he was right by their side in a flash.  

He stood, watching over Raine with a little uncertainty of what to do now, looking at the rise and fall of their chest. They were wearing some pyjamas with some yellow fantasy animal thing on it (Pikachu, right? So adorable ...), and they gave a little snort as they slept, a little bit of drool escaping their mouth.  

If Y/n knew they looked like that while they slept? They would’ve been mortified.  

But, to Peter?  

They looked like an angel sent from the heavens. His darling angel. Fuck, how could anyone look so adorable and beautiful?  

...Well, the cold was no longer an issue for him, it seemed.  

Peter knelt down, placing his chin onto the mattress as he continued watching them breathe. Watching as their face scrunched up a few times, muttering nonsensical things out loud as they dreamed (he had no idea what a cookie cat was, but fuck, they were just so cute!) . He stayed there for hours, ignoring the plea for rest from his eyes as they drooped more and more. After the first half-hour, he’d gotten bolder and moved his face closer to theirs, able to smell their wavy brown hair (they must have used coconut scented shampoo before school, he realised, but God , it was addicting, he’d have to get some of his own just to be reminded of the scent of them ) and gently wipe away the line of drool leaking from their barely parted lips.  

...Deep within him he knew it was gross, but he licked the liquid away in a flash and, stars above , that was even better than their smell!  

He whispered praise to them as the night dragged on, petting their hair and caressing their cheek tenderly. He even got a little absent, sleepy nuzzle on the hand back (he was never washing that hand again)! His darling kept mumbling stuff about ice cream from outer space, and choosing something called a Bidoof (whatever it was, they giggled in their sleep about it being God, and, in case you hadn’t guessed yet, he did another mental bluescreen at how adorable they were being) to fight something called an Arceus?  

But then, they said something that made his heart (and, ok, maybe his pants) swell and his face turn bright red.  

“Mmph, Peter...Bite me...Sharp teeth...”  

Oh.  

Oh boy.  

The goth kind of just...sat there, staring at Y/n in bewilderment.  

Yesyesyesyesyes darling, he could do that!  

He cursed under his breath, averting his gaze out of bashfulness (somehow, he had some shame still left inside!), and pausing as he noticed the sky outside was brightening.  

Fuck , he’d been there all night!  

Peter hesitantly got up, looking back at Y/n as he made his way back to the balcony. The sun was only just peeking up behind the horizon, but it was enough for some golden rays to hit his darling’s body.  

Yeah. He was right. They had to be an angel, they looked so fucking beautiful and peaceful like that.  

He wouldn’t mind waking up next to them like that in the bed, some day.  

He shook his head, brushing his ebony hair out of his face, gazing over Y/n face and body one last time, before hopping out the balcony and back into the tree, scaling down it carefully and landing a little clumsily onto the wet grass. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and hesitantly walking away, back towards where the school and his own house was.  

He was going to be so exhausted today.  

...It was totally worth it, though.  

“Someone’s chipper today,” Lucy noted as Y/n skipped into the classroom, sitting next to her with a smile. “You’re even in on time! Did Detention really scare you so much that you didn’t wanna be late again?” 
“Good morning to you too,” they frowned teasingly, pulling out a little sketchbook and their pencil case. “Nope, I just...I dunno, I didn’t sleep in for once. I actually slept great for the first time in, what? Ever?” 
“You look it, your eye-bags are basically gone!” 
“Oh, no, that’s makeup. But! I actually had time to put some on for once!” 
“Aww, Y-Y growin’ up!” Lucy teased and wiping pretend tears away and, patting them on the back and jokingly wiping away a tear. “But, how was Detention by the way?” 
“Oh, great, actually. I got some work done and I made a new friend,” Y/n admitted, beginning to doodle. Lucy smiled widely, seeming to be genuinely happy. 
“Good for you! I’ve noticed that my crowd seems to put you off – don’t give me that look, I’ve seen your face, I’ve worn that face, I’m only still around those loud assholes because they’re Vio’s friends, so I know how you feel – but, seriously. I’m happy for you, now you’ll have someone less obnoxious than the soccer team!” 
“You’re talking to me as if I have no friends other than you,” Y/n raised an eyebrow at her, grinning. 
“You know what I mean! You only really hang out with me and Vio, as well as that nerd in your History and Physics classes. TJ?” 
“TK, and they’re a sweetheart, I’ll have you know.” 
“Yeah, yeah, I know, but, anyway! Who’s your friend?” 

Y/n glanced down at the doodle and realised that without thinking, they’d drawn the new friend himself.  

“Oh, take a look, I just finished a drawing of him,” they pointed. Lucy followed their finger, their smile dropping as her violet eyes widened, pupils contracting. 
“No,” she hissed quietly, whipping her head back to face the other, panicked. Y/n groaned at her expression. “Not him! You can’t be friends with him, he’s- well HE FUCKING CURVE STOMPED A JOCK AND TEEETH ARE ALL GONE!” 
“Trouble? Yeah, I know, TK told me, but he was nice enough to me!” Y/n whispered back, frowning. Lucy shook her head violently, ignoring how her earrings bashed against her cheeks as they swung on her ears. 
“You can’t! Peter King is- He's-” 
“If he ends up being horrible, I’ll just back off! I’ll be fine, Lulu!” 
“But!-” 

“Excuse me, girls,” came Mrs Stewart’s voice and, ew, there’s only one girl here, Y/n grimaced, Lucy frowning as she caught on too. “Could we have some silence whilst I do roll-call, please?” 
“Sorry Miss,” Y/n slumped, staring down at their paper. Lucy continued to look on with irritation at the teacher, absently squeezing their hand in comfort. 

Soon enough, registration passed, and the class continued with its noise before the first bell went off to signify the change in classes. Lucy looked at Y/n, eyes worried.  

“She’s a shit teach, huh?” 
“I’m used to it, it was worse back in the UK,” Y/n shrugged, packing their things away so they wouldn’t have to hurry when the time came. Lucy sighed. 
“I’m sorry, y/n, I- Fuck, not just that old bat, but about Peter. I’m just- I don’t want you getting hurt, ok? And, well, he makes others hurt a lot. But, if you wanna try, I won’t stop you. You’ll tell me if he does hurt you though, yeah? Vio and the boys’ll kick his ass for you, heck, I’ll join in! It’d put my brown belt to good use!” 
“Thanks, Lulu,” Y/n smiled, picking up their bag as the bell rang. “And, hey, I can beat him up too if I have to! I do swimming! I have the muscle!” 
“You’re a bit small compared to him, Y-Y.” 
“So’s everyone else!” 
“You’re 5’4!” 

They paused as they walked, before laughing loudly.  

“Ah, whatever, you probably won’t need to, anyway. See you at Break?” 
“See ya, good luck in the halls!” Lucy shouted over the noise, grinning as she made her way to her Business class. Y/n sighed, looking back at her momentarily before pushing on through the crowds. 
“I’ll fucking need it,” they grumbled getting pushed to-and-fro by all the taller students, pulling up their hood and tugging on the cord to block out the smell of deodorant and teenage sweat as they made their way to a hopefully quiet classroom. 

Media had better have some sort of challenge today.

[thornybubbles]

Can't Fight This Feeling: Yandere Speedwagon

Note: This is another short story I came up with using the picker wheel method. Just like with Santana, I had the wheel pick a random prompt from a list of yandere prompts from Tumblr and then had it pick a character from a list of JoJo characters I haven’t written for yet. The character was our favorite Best Waifu Speedwagon and the winning prompt was: “Yandere watches darling sleep and imagines their future together.” I wrote most of this while I was sick so if it sounds weird in some parts, I’m sorry. This is lighter fare as I don’t really see Speedwagon as the hardcore yandere type. I’m honestly not happy with this at all. The ending isn’t very satisfying in my opinion, because I just wanted to finish it and get it posted. Again, sorry for the poor quality in this one. 

Robert listened to the slow ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway as he gazed down at your sleeping face. Something as lovely as you simply shouldn’t exist in this world, and yet, here you were. Robert had seen his fair share of ugliness. Ogre Street was where ugliness in all of its forms thrived. It’s where he learned all of life's cruelest lessons. That’s where he learned that someone could stab him to death and leave him to bleed out in the streets and not a soul would care. It made him bitter. 

When he met Jonathan Joestar, most of that bitterness went away, but it left a hole in his heart where it used to be. Jonathan’s rare show of true nobility and kindness was not something that he was used to. He was so used to being looked down on by those in the higher class and always having to watch his back around his peers. He had his allies, but he had made it a point not to get too attached to any of them. He never knew when a street fight would go wrong and he’d end up losing them. 

Robert couldn’t handle losing people. He’d only known Zeppeli for a little while, and he spent most of that time arguing with him, but watching the man die such a gruesome, painful death nearly destroyed him. Then getting word of Jonathan’s death only a short time after, when they all believed that the nightmare was finally over… It was almost enough to make him return to thuggery. 

He’d gotten drunk the night after Jonathan’s memorial service. He just wanted to drink himself into such a stupor that he couldn’t even remember his own name. If he drank himself to death that night, then all the better. Life had taught him another of its cruel lessons… the cruelest lesson of all: Genuinely good people were rare and it was even rarer for them to live very long. It seemed the world couldn’t handle even an inkling of kindness, bravery, or love before it snatched it all away. Zeppeli and Jonathan didn’t deserve their miserable deaths. If he’d had a chance to take the place of either one of them, he’d die in their stead in a heartbeat. Death like that should be reserved for people who hurt people, like Dio… like himself.

He wandered far away from Ogre Street and the miserable hovel he called home until he found himself in a neighborhood he didn’t recognize. Or at least he didn’t think he recognized it. His vision was so blurry that he could only follow the streetlights at this point. The lights were the only things that he could see properly. His wobbling steps caused him to step wrong and he staggered off of the sidewalk and tripped over someone’s front steps. He bumped his head on the railing and yelped in pain. He ended up sprawled across the steps, his bottle of liquor smashing on the cobblestone walkway. His head was spinning and he wasn’t sure if it was due to the bump on the head or the alcohol. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw a light go on in one of the second story windows of the home whose steps he was laying on. He supposed he’d wake up in a prison cell in the morning, probably pinched for trespassing, vagrancy, public drunkenness, or all three. 

He was more than a little surprised when he woke up in the most comfortable bed in the world with the worst hangover in the world. Once his blurry eyes managed to focus on his surroundings, panic started to settle in. Instead of cold stone walls, he saw polished wood. Instead of iron bars on the windows, he saw lacy, poofy pink curtains. The more he examined his surroundings, the more he thought that this looked a lot like a woman’s room…

Oh.

OH!

OH NO!!

He needed to get out of there! He could hear someone coming up the stairs. His heart nearly burst out of his chest. HE NEEDED TO GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!!! This was the worst possible outcome. Worse than waking up in a jail cell! He had no idea how he came to be in some woman’s room, but it was an enormous taboo for him to remain there. He glanced around the room, his panic-filled eyes desperately trying to find a means of escape. He could hear the footsteps on the top stair. All he could see was the open window. Out the window it was, then. He quickly sat up… and regretted every decision he’d made that led up to that moment. His head felt like it was going to split in half. He clasped his hands to his temples, hoping to soothe his hangover somehow. That’s when he noticed the bandages wrapping around his head. 

Huh?

Someone bandaged him? Who would do that? Who would waste good bandages on a lowly goon like him? 

That’s when you came through the door. Robert froze holding his head and looking at you with a horrified expression. You set the tray you were carrying down on the nightstand, placed your hands on your hips, and glared at him. 

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” you demanded. 

“Ah! I-I’m s-sorry! I--!!” Robert stammered but then he realized that he recognized you. You had spoken those same words to him the first time you met. 

“You lie back down right now.” you said firmly, gently pushing him back down onto the overstuffed pillow. The pillow billowed up around him, causing his shaggy blonde hair to floof up around his face. You chuckled at him as he looked at you with those same worried, confused eyes he’d given you when you first met him. 

“Y-you’re… you’re the nurse…” he mumbled as the pain in his head was starting to make him dizzy. 

“We just keep running into each other, don’t we, Mr. Speedwagon?” you said as you uncovered the bowl of soup on the tray. 

“Do you think that you feel up to eating something?” you asked him. 

Robert didn’t answer, he just stared at you as he was caught up in the memory of the first time the two of you met. It was the night he came to visit Jonathan, after he’d been injured after the first fight with Dio. You caught him trying to sneak in after visiting hours, scaling the side of the building like some kind of cat burglar. 

“Just what do you think you’re doing?!” You yelled up at him. He looked down at you, realizing he’d been caught, and slowly descended the ropes back down to the ground. He blurted out some excuses, saying he realized how bad it looked, but he assured you that he wasn’t trying to rob the place. (Who’d rob a hospital, anyway? He wasn’t that much of a lowlife!) He just wanted to see his friend. You asked him why he hadn’t come during visiting hours and he explained that he tried, but they wouldn’t let him in. You looked at him in his desperate, watery eyes, then glanced down at his shoddy sling. You scolded him, not for trying to break in, but for trying to do so with an obviously injured arm. 

“Come with me.” you commanded. 

Stunned, he followed you into the hospital where you led him to a room. To his delight, the room was right across from Jonathan’s. You explained to him you couldn’t let him into Jonathan’s room due to his delicate condition, but he was being treated by one of your best nurses, and that while he hadn’t revived yet, he soon would. If anyone could break him out of his unconsciousness it would be her. You promised to let him take a peek at Jonathan before he left. You then proceeded to treat his arm. Robert winced and hissed as you did so. He realized that you had essentially snuck him in as a patient so that he could check on his friend. None of the other staff had been willing to do that for him and he didn’t know how to feel about it. He protested when you began to prepare his arm for a more professional sling, saying that he couldn’t pay for it. You sent him a silent glare, he yelped and shrank in on himself, but didn’t bring up the cost of treatment again. 

“Mr. Speedwagon? Did you hear me?” you asked, dragging him off of memory lane. 

“Oh… yes. Thank you…” he mumbled. 

You reached over and propped up his pillow so that he was sitting up slightly. When you put a spoonful of soup to his lips he realized that you planned to feed him. 

“Y-you don’t have to d-do that!” he sputtered, moving his head away from the spoon like a fussy toddler. 

You huffed and fixed him with that same glare you gave him when he mentioned being unable to pay for you treating his arm. His face flushed, not only from the idea of you feeding him but from the fact that he rather liked that glare. He couldn’t say what it was exactly, but the expression brought something out in your eyes that made him feel warm all over. Noticing the sudden color in his face, you set the spoon back down into the soup and placed your hand on his cheek. His eyes closed out of reflex and his face heated up even more. 

“You seem to have a bit of a fever. I’ll give you something for that in a moment. First let’s feed you. Having something in your stomach will help to ease that hangover of yours.” you told him. 

Robert allowed you to feed him, pointedly avoiding looking you in the face as you did so. You scolded him for wandering the streets in a drunken state at night, not because of any societal rules, but due to how dangerous it was to be inebriated in the middle of the night with no one around to keep him out of trouble. It seemed you simply couldn’t stop thinking like a nurse no matter what. He normally hated it when people told him what to do, but he found that he rather liked it when you scolded him. You didn’t do it to boss him around or give yourself reasons to feel superior to him. You did it because you actually cared about what happened to him, though you had no reason to. He could feel that empty space inside of him that used to be filled with bitterness begin to fill up with something that he never felt before.  

It didn’t take long for him to realize that he was in love with you. How could he not fall for someone who treated him with such tenderness? Even when you chided him for one thing or another, you only did so because you wanted him to stay healthy and out of trouble. Robert realized that he’d been lucky enough to find another rare gem of a human in you. Jonathan and Zeppeli were gone, cruelly taken from a world that didn’t deserve them. But you were still here. You could still spread your kindness freely… but Robert knew that as soon as the Universe caught a glimmer of the light in your sweet soul, it would do everything in its power to snuff it out. He wanted to protect you. In the same way that he vowed to protect Erina and her child from the cruelties of the world, he wanted to do the same for you. 

But it wasn’t the same with you. When Robert realized that he was in love with you, he also realized that the feelings he had for you seemed to keep growing. That empty place inside of him was not only filled up… it was overflowing. There wasn’t a moment that went by that he didn’t think of you. Even when he was helping Erina out, he was thinking of you. 

Now here he was, standing next to your bed, watching over you as you slept, unaware of his presence. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and oh so inappropriate, but he couldn’t help himself. He just wanted to make sure you were safe. He found out that you had no family to speak of. You had no one around to watch over you. It wasn’t fair. Not that he didn’t admire your independence, something unheard of for women of the time, but… what if something happened? What if you got hurt? What if you got sick? No one would be there to help you. Would anyone besides himself even know or care? He hated the idea of no one being there for you if you needed them. 

Robert wanted to be there for you. He figured that if he married you, then he would always be able to watch out for you, but…. He was still just a lowly street thug with a criminal background. You deserved someone far better than him. So he decided that he would have to make something of himself first, before he could attempt to court you. It was only right. He would find a way to earn lots of money, legitimately, and become someone you would be proud to have by your side. He would use that money to help people as well as make a better life for you. If you wanted to continue to be a nurse, he would let you. You could work together to make this horrible world a better place. You could help him watch out for Erina and the future Joestar descendants. 

The Grandfather clock in the hallway chimed. It was 1 am. You sighed softly and turned over in your sleep. Robert felt that it was time for him to leave. He would be back the next night to watch over you again, knowing that one day, he could watch over you without having to break in. 

[1stupidrat]

Learned Mortality Artwork Thread | Episode 17-20

Spoilers ahead for the artwork that appeared in these episodes of Learned Mortality; please watch them first before you read this post!

Learned Mortality has been really heating up as of late so you should really check these episodes out, they're some of my best work ^-^

Starting with episode 17, we saw the retrieval (or rather, discovery) of the care package requested in the early game, crashed into the Marine Lab.

The only new artwork in this episode is the red form of the Jellyfish frostbitten, as seen below.

These frostbitten are found leeching from electrical wires and machinery, their polyps containing a threateningly high level of stored energy. To quote the party; they suck.

Next up we have Night 10's artwork. The good doctor has come to negotiate, and the party engages in a tense but very revealing conversation. To ensure things go well, a new frostbitten appears alongside the good doctor.

This being, warped in coral and holding a bright white flag, appeared by the Doctor's side in the encounter. Nothing else is currently known about it.

Despite the Doctor's cease-fire, Elessar and Val found their way into the Garden of Chains, the Good Doctor's base of operations. Within the large chamber, they found two new sights... a massive frostbitten and the real form of the doctor himself.

Hundreds of rejected forms of the Good Doctor, either broken beyond repair or currently regenerating, all forced into infinite life by the Millenium AI. The Good Doctor has gathered them here in one place in the Garden of Chains.

Next up, day 11, the party goes to the 25th hour to get Bolt's opinion on the situation.

Since Bolt was never supposed to be a visual aspect of the campaign, I never finished his design. This update visually defines him a place in the world and fully realizes how his personality ties into his design. I'm quite happy with it.

And after another Duncan rolls a 1 moment, we rush right into the Mad as Hell ACT 3 encounter. Here are all of the artworks that showed up at the end of episode 19 and during episode 20.

Mad as Hell ACT 3, earth and lightning, the miasma of static electricity, and the one controlling the giant class to act out as a rogue frostbitten.

The hands were confirmed to be part of the giant, now known to be [In the Year 2525].

In its head stands a projector equipped with tragedy from all over time. One of those tragedies stays close.

Professor Black Ice, or "the virus", is a self replicating computer virus from the future. For some reason, it is attempting to look just like Milli...

And finally the party encountered the mental forms of the Good Doctor within the 25th hour. What appears to be Camilia's original personality, and a much more serious and humorless Bliss.

And finally some concept art.

Thanks for reading the post, hope you all enjoy the rest of Learned Mortality, see y'all in the next one ^-^

~Tali

[moonsorchid]

Cdramas I finished watching in March 2024:

• Miss The Dragon: 8.5/10

It's my life's mission to watch all (or almost all) cdramas Dylan is in, so I couldn't possibly miss Miss The Dragon. I read all the bad reviews and as I started watching I was ready for disappointment. But I loved their love story immensely. Dylan did a decent job in my opinion (he was supposedly a dragon after all learning the human ways) and I had no issues with the FL or with the secondary characters. I enjoyed watching it, it was fun. So, I was like, since I don't agree with the reviews, then the ending must also be good, right? Right? (Insert Anakin and Padme meme) Nope, even for me who enjoyed the rest of the series and overlooked plot holes, lore inconsistencies or silly explanations, the ending was bad. I mean really bad. I want to write a fanfic just to erase that ending from my mind. But all in all, I loved it and I would watch it again - apart from that last episode.

• Love Is Sweet: 9/10

It was not on my Drama List. I was not planning on watching it, at least so early in my cdrama journey. But, I learned that it's one of the side-effects when one finishes watching Till The End Of The Moon. Because a. I couldn't get enough of Bai Lu and Luo Yunxi and b. I needed my happy ending and I was not disappointed. It was everything I expected and more. "Then why did you rate it with a 9 and not with a 10?" you'll ask. Well, it suffered from the the-plot-is-over-but-we-need-to-drag-it-for-some-more-episodes-who-knows-why disease, which is prevalent I have come to realize in many modern dramas. In general though, I loved it and I would watch it again.

• My Boss: 8/10

Uff that's a tough one. I'll be honest, I started watching because of some gifs of Chen Xing Xu running and being half-naked. The first episodes were enjoyable for me, they were funny and cute. Although I disliked the ML's behavior towards the FL (so much yelling, I hate yelling and personally I find it a form of abuse) and FL's-let's call it-naivete. But there were sweet moments and I wanted them to get together. However, when they did get together, I wanted the show to end. Yes, it suffered from the aforementioned disease (see Love Is Sweet), dragging unnecessarily with no actual plot. I would only rewatch the first episodes mainly for the funny parts.

Currently watching:

• Burning Flames

• The Legend of Shen Li

• The Story of Kunning Palace

• When I Fly Towards You

• Meet Yourself (yes, still watching it)

[pomplalamoose]

dilf luke thoughts for you to ponder:

i can definitely see him as a pianist, and quite a talented one! he likes to have you sit next to him on the bench so he can serenade you <3

what does the 'end goal' for a relationship with him look like? what level of commitment--marriage, maybe even kids--would he be comfortable with? would he be hesitant to do anything that reminds him of his previous marriage?

how does reader's friend really view reader's relationship with their dad? are they weirded out by the potential of reader technically becoming their stepmom?

Anon, I love this ask so much🫂 is it weird to thank you for thinking about my Dilf!Luke AU enough to ask detailed questions? Idk man but it makes me super happy and you should definitely know MWUAH🩵

To everyone else currently waiting for their request to be answered, know that I see and appreciate you and will do my best to get to it as soon as work allows me to! <3

⭐) Okay so most importantly I was so on board with this idea after just the first few words. You had me sold IMMEDIATELY!

I think it fits him really well, especially taking into account that I just recently talked about how much I'm sure he enjoys classical music and is a great dancer. 

In general, this headcanon as a whole has so much potential for more pining and swooning on the reader's side (and his as well of course), I can practically feel my head bursting with it.

Like, competence is SO incredibly attractive and just think of all the situations I could put the reader in!!!

Imagine your crush on Dilf!Luke is already in the midst of developing and then, to make it worse, you find out how talented he is. Not that you ever thought otherwise but really witnessing it is still kind of taking your breath away.

Since I can see how he probably views playing the piano as a form of meditation, as a way to decompress after a stressful day or to deal with his emotions when they become too much, it would be something you find out rather later than sooner.

Maybe he used to play for his late wife and now only does so when he thinks he's alone.

Maybe it's such a private thing for him to do, he rarely lets those around him take part in it anymore.

So imagine you're staying over at your friend's later than usual and just as you're leaving their room, as they bid you goodbye you hear soft music drifting to you from somehwere in the house.

Imagine sneaking down the stairs and across the hall to listen at the door.

Maybe it's slightly ajar, leaving just the smallest of crack for you to peek through.

Imagine seeing his face, usually so stern, serene for the first time.

Imagine yourself falling even harder for him and feeling like you could stand there and listen to him play for forever.

Then imagine him slowly opening up to you.

Imagine him shyly and slightly bashfully telling you about his most treasured and secret hobby.

Imagine his joy when you react with awe, with such eagerness to learn more.

Imagine him letting you listen in on his practice for the first time (the first that he knows of) and being so awfully nervous, though hiding it well.

Imagine staring at his long and beautiful fingers as they wander along the keys and wondering about what they'd feel like against your skin, your lips, in your hair.

Imagine yourself slightly out of breath when he finishes, your cheeks flushed and him chalking it up to you just really liking piano music.

Imagine him asking you if you'd like to learn how to play a little song yourself?

Imagine sitting down in his seat while he bends over you from behind and then spectacularly failing to concentrate due to very obvious reasons.

Imagine him gently positioning your fingers where they need to be and laying his hands over yours to play, to show you how it's supposed to sound.

Imagine him softly laughing into your ear when suddenly you're nothing more than a spluttering mess.

⭐⭐) I had to really think about this one and still I'm not quite able to tell whether my opinion on this will change in the future or not.

As of right now though, I feel like even Luke wouldn't be too sure about his answer, which would surely stress him out.

It wasn't always like this, HE wasn't always like this, as he used to be one to dream big and plan far into the future.

Though I think that with what happened in his past he has reverted to taking on one day at a time and to not moving too fast ahead.

Accordingly his biggest and only wish, his "end goal", was to simply be with you. 

It got fulfilled and now he doesn't need more than that to be happy.

However he's aware that you could have certain expectations about a shared future that differ from his, which has him pondering what he does and does not want, what he's willing to leave behind and overcome for you.

And while he'd do about anything (potentially even overstepping some of his boundaries) to keep/make you happy I think that marriage and especially children are where he draws a line.

At least at first.

I already talked a little bit about his personality and things he struggled with since his first wife died and despite pursuing a better, healthier outlook for himself, I can't help but think he wouldn't want to lock anyone in a marriage or trap them with a child  ever again.

Look what that led to the first time! 

In his mind the accident wouldn't have happened were it not for the fact that his wife may have felt trapped with him.

Maybe she would have acted differently if she felt comfortable leaving?

Maybe the outcome could have been a different one?

Of course he will never know for sure as she can't tell him anymore and so he eventually came up with his own explanations over the years.

Speculations caused by guilt.

Without doubt though he'd buy you a ring anyways.

Because this he's very adamant about: if things had turned out any other way he would've married you on the spot and as soon as he would've had the chance. That he won't has absolutely nothing to do with you as a person and how much he adores you.

Trust that he'll think about it a lot though, especially if he knows marriage is something you want.

Maybe, some day, he will feel ready to try again though he'd never even consider having kids with you.

Not only for the reasons already listed above but also because of his child and because he thinks he's too old for a baby. (The man may only be in his early 40s but he's tired)

⭐⭐⭐) Oh they are definitely weirded out but it's not like they're against the relationship as a whole; I think up to a certain point they even are quite supportive.

Naturally they do have their reservations, especially when it comes to topics like you moving in with their dad, marriage or potential siblings and even though they know they don't have a say in any of this, they are secretly relieved that, for the time being, it doesn't seem like steps will be taken in any of these directions.

Still I'm sure that at some point they will insist on sitting the three of you down for a talk because especially when it comes to their opinion about their father dating their best friend, they have a LOT to say.

I don't think this would be a very comfortable conversation to have but because you, as well as their father, are very important to them, they will do the most to not hurt anyone's feelings.

Mainly they just want you to be on the same page regarding each other's expectations, wishes and boundaries and most importantly make use of the occasion to set some of their own.

• no moving in together as long as they're still living with their dad and haven't found a place of their own yet

• no obvious displays of affection when they're around, please, they're not interested in third-wheeling their DAD

• (they guess holding hands from time to time would be okay, BUT NOTHING MORE!)

• no including them into fights, they dread being forced to pick a side 

• under absolutely no conditions will they ever consider you their "new mom" or "step mom" or literally anything close to the idea 

This one they're especially adamant about because the concept alone is just too outrageous.

You might be fucking their dad (at this it's the first time you're seeing Luke blush) but that's it and as long as it stays that way it's okay.

• above everything else they hope and wish for you to remain their friend 

• don't abandon them in favor of their father 

• they don't mind you being in love and going on dates or spending time with him (only a little bit) but if they invite you over they want you to

[matt-the-radar-techncian]

Ship opinion bingo: Elias x Chise, if you've finished AMB. If not, feel free to disregard lol

Where to even start with these two

They are both such interesting characters and after 24 episodes it seems like they’re just starting to realize the potential of their relationship

Elias is a mystery. He’s clearly somewhat upset by his nature as a half-demon and his inability to completely control his darker side. He’s clearly very protective of Chise and cares for her deeply, but this sometimes turns into a desire to control her and go against her wishes. When he’s onscreen you’re usually at ease since you know he’s pretty capable and he really just wants to help, but the alarming part is how when he does take things too far he doesn’t even seem to realize there’s anything wrong. He tries to be conscious of the effect he has on people but sometimes he’s just blind to it

He also just looks so fucking cool. The image of an erudite well-spoken gentleman in a formal distinguished robe with a fucking ram skull for a face is just so pleasing and he looks so good in the anime. He’s basically the sequel to Al from FMA since he has a rigid mask for a face yet the animators are still able to make him so expressive and emotional

And then you have Chise who I just feel so bad for. At the beginning of the series she’s so traumatized that it feels like she’s just numb to everything. Between all of the crazy stuff that happens to her, meeting all these magical creatures, almost dying multiple times it can feel like she’s underreacting to everything, but I guess she’s just overwhelmed by everything in life. She has to really try to let people in and form bonds with them, as well as act on her desires, which might not make for as exciting of a character on the surface, but it’s a really poignant depiction of someone who just doesn’t know how to be more confident. A lot of times while watching my only thought was “god this poor girl…”

And that’s why it’s so satisfying whenever she’s able to stand up to Elias and make her feelings known to him. She’s able to be more assertive and confident, and he’s able to learn more about humans and his relationship with them and with Chise

Even though Chise and Elias are sometimes at odds their relationship does have this warmth and comfort to it, as if they’re family and they’ve known each other forever. The moments when Elias is able to get it right and help Chise or do something nice for her. It really shows both characters at their highest and that’s really what I look for in any ship. I still don’t know exactly what to think of them yet, but I just want to see characters being cute and happy together, and that’s the kind of ship I gravitate towards (like the ones in SU). Chise and Elias aren’t quite there yet but hopefully we’ll get to see more of that from them going forward

[windslar]

People You'd Like to Get to Know Better

i was tagged by @druidberries. Thank you!!

Tag under the cut because I went on a whole spiel about a popular novel that catches a lot of flak online and I don't know how to shut up (spoiler: it features 20-something-year-olds who open up brick-and-mortar businesses in downtown Boston like it's nothing, and trash in the form of a man named Kyle with an R).

Last Song: From the Start - Laufey

Favorite Color: Sage Tint by Benjamin Moore

Currently Watching: Only Murders in the Building and Modern Family (I watched the first couple seasons but never finished it. It's such a good background show).

Last Movie: Last one I watched in the theatres was Oppenheimer, but the last one I watched on streaming was Disenchanted (lol). I need more James Marsden in my life, especially after his performance in Jury Duty.

Currently Reading: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. Before you get the pitchforks, I'm only reading it because of the ~discourse~. Besides, I had it downloaded in my Kobo long before it really blew up on tiktok and my curiosity was reignited after I saw the uproar about the casting. I have a lot of problems with this book: (1) it's not well-written and I should've put the book down the moment she started writing letters to Ellen Degeneres and thought she was a good celebrity for being charitable, (2) it doesn't delve into the systemic issues that play a role in why women stay with their ab*ser, (3) the marketing for this book ain't shit for categorizing it a romance novel. BUT, all my problems aside, I don't think the story itself romanticizes domestic ab*se and I think most readers recognize this (see this Slate article that talks about it better than I could). Here's an excerpt:

It seems like this part of the novel’s plot could be read in two very different ways: one, which the Mary Sue seems to pursue, is that Lily doesn’t react to ab*se in the appropriate way, and the book endorses all of her choices, and therefore both deserve condemnation. The other is an exercise in empathy: Hoover wrote an imperfect book on domestic violence, but if we require all of these narratives to be morally unimpeachable, there’s no room to acknowledge that there is no such thing as a perfect victim.

I haven't finished the book, but I read Kyle with an R doesn't get a satisfying comeuppance proportional to his actions. And while it would be nice to see the trash taken out, isn't this ending plausible and representative of a common experience among families with a history of ab*se?

I think my big criticism with the backlash surrounding this book and others like it is the assumption that their readers are "impressionable young girls". Not every work of fiction needs to portray the protagonist as a hero in every sense of the word. Not every positive quality assigned to a villain is "making the character redeemable". Not every work of fiction is meant to be didactic and scrutinized as if it were instructions on how to live a perfect life. Maybe I'm giving more credit where it's due, but I really think most readers are able to think critically. People love reading about complicated characters in messy situations. And while I think the characters in Hoover's book could be written better and fleshed out a lot more, that is neither here nor there. My point is: stop assuming women are stupid and incapable of forming their own opinion. Enjoyment of fiction is not endorsement of the actions exhibited by deeply flawed characters.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Savory. But after writing all that and posting it here on tumblr, maybe SPICY.

Last Thing I Googled: That Slate article so I could link it and before that I googled Blake Lively and learned that she has 4! children.

Current Obsession: Rowing! But only if I have an episode of Modern Family playing.

Currently Working On: TJOLC posts, Lightflower is kind of on the back burner right now on account of I-hate-posing-sims and the next few scenes require a lot of it. I just wish there was AI that would pose my sims for me based on dialogue I've written. I would betray my principles, climb up the paywall if I have to.

I'm tagging anyone who sees this and

(ETA: look at me getting cut off by my own self. Sorry I was distracted and heating up some food while typing this, but yeah, I tag anyone who sees this.)

[halokarii]

///BSD Spoilers

In view of the last episode of the anime dropping tomorrow and the fact that this will likely be the finale of the DOA arc, I want to share something I have been thinking about for literal months now.

I think Fukuzawa dies in this arc and I want it to happen.

Listen, I love this man as much as the next person (I mean, one of his defining personality traits is that he adores cats - how can you not love him?!) but I still think that his death would bring many benefits to the plot of BSD going forward.

One, it would actually raise the stakes. So far Asagiri seems to be afraid of killing off his characters and at this point, seeing the tenth death bait of this arc adds nothing but some cheap shock value. Actually killing some characters that have a bigger relevance to the story (and aren't "just" antagonists whom the readers might want dead anyways) would raise the stakes for future arcs. It would show that no one is safe and make the plot armor that some characters have (*cough* Dazai *cough*) less noticeable. Plus, I think an arc as big and disruptive to the Bungou world as this one shouldn't just end with zero casualties. Like, yeah, the ADA has Yosano as their overpowered healer (by the way, where is she??) but it would just feel awfully convenient for her to just step in and undo all the stakes built up in the past several chapters.

Fukuzawa's death would end this arc on a devastating note (even if the ADA can secure a win overall) and emphasize how much this battle has shaken the very core of our cast and their support structure - the Armed Detective Agency.

Which brings me to my second major point. Fukuzawa's death would further the character development of several people. He has had a positive impact on so many characters, not only in the present like with Atsushi but also in the past with Ranpo and Yosano. All members of the ADA would be forced to grow through his loss.

Especially since many of them so far have predominantly been developed through flashbacks (eg. Ranpo, Yosano, Kunikida too if we count the first LN as a flashback).

Yosano and Ranpo would have to deal with the loss of a father figure, someone who quite literally saved both of their lives. Kunikida has been hinted as a potential successor to Fukuzawa since very early on in the manga and would regain a more active part in the story (since he has kinda been serving as Fukuchi's kidnapping victim for the current fight...). He would have to come to terms with what it means to be a leader and how he can deal with the fallout of the current situation while simultaneously handling his grief over his well-respected boss.

Tanizaki could receive some much-needed development.

Kyouka and Atsushi would have to deal with the fact that All Men Are Equal no longer assists them with controlling their abilities. They would have to re-learn how to handle them, at least partly.

Given that he survives, Dazai would face grief of a man who gave him a chance even though he knew of his past. Dazai and Fukuzawa haven't interacted much but he is the first person Dazai loses after Odasaku so this is bound to be interesting in some way.

My third point is that, let's be real, Fukuzawa's character arc peaks in this fight with Fukuchi. We know of his past with Ranpo and how he founded the ADA. We see how he went from being someone who preferred to fight alone to someone who leads a strong organization and supports others with his ability. We have learned of his past with his exes Mori and Fukuchi.

In my opinion, his story is finished, he has had his character arc. I think it would be very fitting for a character like his - a fighter in nature and yet someone who so deeply cares about others - to die in a battle to quite literally save the world.

The fourth reason is more or less speculating where the story will go next. After a long, tension and action laden arc like this, I think it would make sense for the next big story point to start with some form of "cooldown" where everything settles back into its New Normal after the recent events. As bad as this may sound, something like a grieving period for the ADA to mourn their beloved president would be perfect for that. The Agency has to build itself and its reputation back up from the ground after having been accused of terrorism. Also, I'm like 80% sure the events of the DOA arc happened in a week or two - let all of them have a breather.

Plus Asagiri needs time to build up the next big villain (given that Fyodor is defeated, which I really hope because as entertaining as I find him, I cannot bear to see him as the mastermind in another arc. It does get boring after such a long time).

A weakened ADA without its experienced leader could also potentially throw the city's balance off. Especially since Mori still has that deal with the ADA that one member will transfer over to the Port Mafia (food for thought, if Mori and Fukuzawa were the only ones who knew about the condition that Mori cannot pick Yosano but Fukuzawa dies - Can Mori just be an absolute asshole and pick her, now that no one could call him out?).

I was honestly a little bit disappointed after seeing Fukuzawa alive and well in the teaser. But the visuals as well as the title of the episode - Twilight Farewell - could potentially hint at the fact that both Fukuchi and him might die in the episode. And I could live with that just fine.

Anyways, thanks for sitting through this way too long post.

(And if anyone got scared reading this, don't worry, so far all of the predictions and theories I have made about BSD have always been 100% wrong. So writing this might just save Fukuzawa's life lmao.)

[sweetestlamb]

Lonely no More

Summary: Young-woo and her father finish their conversation.

Author's note: Now while I completely understand why both Young-woo and Jun-ho said it's hard to love her, I really wanted to flip that narrative a little with this because I desperately need someone to tell her that she's easy to love even if she can't show that love in return in the same way and regardless of the opinions of ableist around her. This is just to fix my soul because I want to go back to the happy times in this drama.

"Wouldn't I make him lonely?"

His breath hitches at the almost perfectly enunciated words of his daughter- his world and his sun, he's been revolving around her since she came screaming into his life on that rainy night. The light hitch in her words can only mean one thing, her eyes are pooling up with tears and her lip must be quivering now, her fingers nervously twitching as emotions ravage her body.

It was an image he had seen several times. But more recently than ever before and it never failed to cut him deep.

He has to blink away the moisture from his own eyes. Her suffering was his suffering. It had been that way since she was young.

But beneath that pain is guilt. Her words are oddly familiar. He hadn't thought that she would have been listening so closely that time, was achingly used to the way she would dismiss him when a new idea popped up in that brilliant mind even as he bared his soul to her.

There were times that he felt tremendously lonely, drowning in a sea of his own misery and Young-woo would look at him like a stranger, refusing to hold his hand when they walked together. He had seen other parents and their children and he'd selfishly wondered.... wished..... imagined.

But he knows that he shouldn't have shared that not when she was clearly grappling with her relationship with others. Not when the world already shunned her for her very existence, his love needed to be louder than their hate.

"Young-woo, my daughter appa was wrong. I only told you about the times that you made me feel lonely. But there were other times, times when you were the only thing that kept me going. You made me feel loved just because you were there, needing me. I didn't need anything else, knowing that you would be home made it easier to get through the day. Having you made it easier to get through life."

He remembers her taking her first steps, racing down the hallway as he crouched low with a proud grin on his face with arms wide open only for her to storm past him and clutch at her dolphin plushie. There had been a pang and a grimace but seeing those huge eyes light up erased any jealousy he felt immediately.

"I'm your father but I'm still learning to understand you."

Her silence was deafening on the other end. The sounds of crickets and other creatures echoed outside his window.

"But you still love me?"

"I do. Love is just another form of understanding. I don't always understand your head but I know your heart."

He takes a deep breath, this will be the most difficult part. It would be the same for any father he's sure. Letting go.

"Do you think Lee Jun-ho ssi understands my heart?"

He smothers the petty urge to reply that the punk better if he was willing to play tongue hockey with his daughter on his doorstep.

"I think he wants to. So you can't decide if you make him happy or not."

"So how do I know?"

It feels nice. To have her come to him and ask him these questions, to know that someone else is looking after her when he's not there.

"You ask him or look into your heart. Does he seem unhappy with you or are you unhappy with yourself?"

Another soft hitch on the line and it breaks his heart because it can only mean one thing.

He blinks another tear away.

"Young-woo, do you think someone can love you?"

He has to know the answer, but simultaneously wants to hang up before she can answer.

What he truly wanted to know was if she loved herself.

Her breath is thick on the other line, her tears more than obvious now. Not that he's faring much better.

"No. Loving me is hard."

He inhales and exhales deeply, feeling like this conversation has drained him of all his energy.

"I'm sorry if I made you think that way too. Loving you isn't hard, it was the easiest thing I've ever done in my life. I've never met this boy but if he's everything you said he is then it's easy for him too."

"It's for Lee Jun-ho ssi to love me?"

He can hear the disbelief in her voice and he regrets not saying all this earlier.

He nods his head, a smile spreading on his face as her voice starts to brighten. It's only because of the quiet of the night that he hears the foreign voice through the phone, it's decidedly male.

"Yes."

Then everything is a blur as Young-woo gasps loudly in his ear before stuttering out a quick goodbye and he's left clutching the device with tear streaks down his face.

He grins at his phone.

That punk was coming over for dinner his daughter was no harlot after all.