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ladykailitha · 1 year

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Can Anybody See Me? Part 21

Executive dysfunction is a bitch and can go to hell. I had something I could have posted yesterday while I was working on this, but no...

I am starting to wonder if maybe I shot myself in the foot with my tag rant as engagement for the last Reconnect AU was WAY down. But oh well. I can only continue to move on and hope I find new people who like my stuff.

All righty, my lovelies. We have gotten to the part where I was going to end it originally before you absolute menaces said you wanted me to continue it through season 4.

But here’s the deal, this story has reached nearly novel length of 40k. So what I’ve decided to do is call this the end of book one. And then I will start up book two, which will be through to the end of the school year and probably through the events of season 3. And then book 3 should take us the rest of the way.

I hope that’s acceptable to all of you. I want to continue it, but I think from here on out the title doesn’t fit Steve anymore and he needs a new one.

Now if you’ve followed me long enough, you know that I don’t start putting out a story until it’s done (if it’s short enough) or if I’m three to four chapters deep. So hopefully by the end of the month (if not sooner) you should start seeing book two.

I will run a poll on how you think I should do the tag list for it. But thank you all for coming with me on this absolutely wild ride. And hope you’ll stick around for the next two parts.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20

***

Word had been handed down, Mindy Jones, Ollie Anderson, and Kyle Carver had been suspended with word that Kyle being the instigator might be expelled. For sure he wasn’t going to be able to walk in his cap and gown at graduation.

Steve felt a sense of relief and strangely justice too. Yes, all right suspension wasn’t getting expelled, but the kids had been punished. They didn’t try to hand wave it away.

Steve had heard that Mr Vinke, the math teacher, Mr Cole, Miss Lucy, and Chief Hopper had all gone to the principal and superintendent for all three of them to be expelled.

The suspension was a given, but the school district wanted to do their own investigation and then expulsions might be handed out after it was complete.

Steve didn’t have much hope.

Marty, Gethin, and Janice all sat with the Corroded Coffin boys at lunch, something they didn’t normally do.

“Fuck,” Janice swore. “Why I am more nervous about tonight than I have all week?”

Steve nodded, poking at his food. “I haven’t been this queasy since I took a plate to the head.”

Everyone winced and murmured sympathetic platitudes and other noises of sympathy.

“I think it’s because it’s your last performance,” Gethin murmured. “Your last chance to completely biff it on stage.” Steve and Janice looked at him in wide-eyed fear. He waved his hands placatingly. “Not that I think you will. Just that your brain thinks you will.”

Steve and Janice looked at each other and then nodded.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “That tracks.”

Eddie slid his hand under the table and gripped Steve’s knee. Steve covered his hand with his own and gave it a squeeze of thank you.

Steve scanned the crowd the second night. He spotted Jeff and all his family, Gareth and Gethin and their parents, Brian and all of his younger siblings, and what looked like his dad. Wayne shuffled in his seat nervously, having never been to a musical before. But still no sign of his parents.

His mom promised that at least she would be there, even if his dad refused to come. And he held on to that. He managed to make it through the show and held it together.

He went out to be congratulated by his friends and their families. Wayne brought him flowers.

“You did good, boy,” he said gruffly, after giving him a hug. “I looked it up and flowers are the gift you give someone after a well-done performance.”

Steve looked down at the bouquet of wild flowers and smiled. “Thank you. I love them.”

Jeff clapped him on the shoulder. “They might be a tad wilted by the time we’re done, because we’re taking you out to eat in celebration.”

Steve teared up a bit. “Thanks, guys.”

Gareth smiled. “You deserve it, man. That was awesome!”

Gethin nudged his shoulder. “We’re just waiting for Janice and Eddie to get done.”

Steve nodded. Eddie had to reset the stage for tomorrow and Janice had to get out of a corset and that took some time.

“Yeah, no problem!” he enthused.

Eddie finished first and came out to meet them.

“Hey, Steve!” he said. “Feeling famous yet?”

Steve laughed. “I’m going to get fat if this keeps up. First ice cream last night and then dinner tonight.”

They all laughed. “It’s impossible for you to gain weight, man,” Brian huffed. “I’ve seen you eat a whole pizza and didn’t even get bloated.”

Steve laughed. “Playing three sports does that to you. Hell, I still life guard at the rec center every summer.”

Brian eyed his lean form skeptically. “I suppose so.”

“Swimming’s fun,” Steve said. “And it’s not just for us jock types.”

Janice finally came out. “Sorry to keep you waiting guys. Sharing with Tammy Thompson is hell let me tell you. I don’t know how someone so tiny can take up so much room.”

“At least you don’t have to share the choir room with twenty sweaty dudes that wouldn’t know deodorant if it bit them in the ass,” Steve grumped.

Gethin shook his head. “Shouldn’t you be used to that from sports?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “At least there are showers after basketball. Can’t say the same here.”

Gethin’s lips curled. “Fair.”

Wayne clapped his hands. “All right, I’ve got us a place reserved, so we need to hustle. Eddie and Steve are coming with me.”

Eddie and Steve filed out with the rest of them and followed Wayne out to his truck.

Steve slid into the middle between Eddie and Wayne.

“Thanks for this, Wayne,” he murmured. “And the flowers, too.”

“You’re welcome, Stevie,” he said. “I didn’t see your parents. Did they show up last night?”

Steve shared a glance with Eddie and then shook his head. “There’s still tomorrow.”

Wayne and Eddie shared a glance of concern over Steve’s head.

“I’m sure that’s the case,” Wayne agreed.

An uneasy silence settled on them as they drove to the restaurant. Wayne parked and turned to Steve.

He pulled him in for a great big hug and then opened the door. “It’ll be all right.”

Steve nodded and slid out after Eddie.

The dinner was just as ruckus as the ice cream parlor the night before. With just as many people. Steve looked around and smiled.

Yeah, 1985 was his year and it was just getting started.

Steve looked out to the audience and knew, even in the dimmed lights his parents weren’t there.

“Tell me, Mr Thomson, out of curiosity, do you stand with Mr Dickinson, or do you stand with me?” Vince asked.

Steve could feel the sting of tears in his eyes. He held up the dispatch. “I stand with the General. Lately–I’ve had the oddest feeling that he’s been–writing to me…”

He slowly rose to his feet as he sang,

“I have been in expectation Of receiving a reply On the subject of my last fifteen dispatches. Is anybody there?”

His voice cracked with emotion as he stepped half out of the spotlight.

“Does anybody care? Does anybody care? Y’r humble & ob’d’t–”

The drum rolled and Steve looked up into the eagle’s nest where Eddie was doing the spotlight. A single tear ran down his cheek.

Steve looked down at the paper in his hand and then back up at Eddie. And then he exited the scene on cue.

Eddie swore he saw more tears in that moment then for ‘Mama Look Sharp’ that night.

But that performance of Steve’s brought out something in Vince in that moment. Vince’s John Adams bid Hancock good night, but then it changed. All the emotion and fear of not being seen or heard. The loneliness that Adams must have been feeling in that moment, borrowed from the loneliness of both Washington and Thomson.

“Is anybody there–”

Silence.

“Does anybody care–?”

Again, nothing.

“Does anybody see–what I see?”

And then Kenny came on and delivered the line with a sharpness that hadn’t been there before.

“Yes, Mr Adams, I do.” As if to banish all the fears and insecurities that John was having in that moment.

And Steve could almost hear it as though it was coming from Eddie. As if it was coming from his friends. The party. Wayne.

Yes, his parents weren’t there. They never were. And probably never were going to be. But that didn’t mean that no one was listening to Steve. That no one cared.

They all cared. Every last one of the dozens of people that showed up the last two nights. They cared. They brought their families. Brought flowers. Thought he was worthy of celebrating. Worth treating.

For the boy with the bat.

The boy that never knew what love really was until he looked up from a god damned garbage can into those warm and friendly brown eyes. A warm hand on his back and a gentle ‘Are you okay?’

In that moment, Steve’s life had become changed. Different. Better. All because a teacher took pity on Steve and chose Eddie Munson of all people to be Steve’s protector.

And he looked up at Eddie in the rafters and though he couldn’t see him, he knew that Eddie was looking back at him. Smiling back at him. Loving him for all his worth.

And if you had asked Steve what his worth was back in December he would have told you nothing. He wasn’t worth anything but being the baby-sitter. But now?

Now Steve was a baby-sitter, chauffeur, groupie, actor, chef, swimmer, friend, brother, and most importantly boyfriend. And maybe if he was really lucky, someone’s son.

***

Fin.

Fuck, rereading this to add back in the formatting made me cry. My apologies if it makes you cry too.

Tag List: @shrimply-a-menace @strangersteddierthings @throwbackthrowaway @novelnovella @cursedfoxteeth @babyblender @garden-of-gay @anaibis @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @swimmingbirdrunningrock @steve-the-hairrington @winterbuckwild @spectrum-spectre @matchingbatbites @thing-a-ling @fandemonium-takes-its-toll @artiststarme @sundead @nelotegreitic @gregre369 @butterflysandpeppermint @thedragonsaunt @kodaik97 @messrs-weasley @scarletzgo @deadlydodos @renaissan-vvitch @evix-syne666 @emly03 @justforthedead89 @ashwinmeird @huniibee @phantypurple @stevesbipanic @shucks-yuckyuck @lovelyscot @awkwardgravity1 @bookbinderbitch @reportinglivefromsoda @jinxjinn @chasinggeese @be-the-spark-bitch @kohlraedirectioner @cr0w-culture @xjessicafaithx @whimsicalwitchm @jaywhohasthegay @estrellami-1 @dangdirtydemons @howincrediblysapphicofyou @the-redthread

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #canon divergence #the boy with the bat #ladykailtiha writes

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marshmallow-bg3 · 5 months

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30 QUESTIONS FOR YOUR DARK URGE by @eeldritchblast (most of them I posted before, just want to put them all together)

1. What circumstances led to your Dark Urge becoming their Class/Subclass? Answered here

2. Did your Dark Urge have any romantic and/or sexual relationships prior to their illithid adventure? If yes, who was it with and what was it like? If no, how did they feel about being single? Answered here

3. What would your Dark Urge consider to be their greatest skill? Is this accurate? As a Bard he wants to believe his greatest skill is Performance - he has a lovely singing voice and a decent albeit silly sense of humor. But his real greatest skill is Murder. He knows how to make it quick and painless, slow and agonizing, and everything in between.

4. What would your Dark Urge consider to be their greatest flaw? Is this accurate? He's not smart and he knows it (INT 10 before the lobotomy and 8 after). He'd been called dumb and retarded most of his childhood and it left a mark. He struggles to understand what Gortash or Gale are talking about and feels very self-conscious about it despite the latter being supportive and the former downright flattering about it. But the real flaw is that 8 WIS - the boy is so easily manipulated it's tragic.

5. What opinion does your Dark Urge have about the Gods? Before and during the events of the game - he respects the Gods. Tries not to antagonize them if he can help it. Roux experienced divine intervention in the worst possible ways for years and has no illusions about the Gods' powers. While his companions all want to fight Mystra, Shar etc in the pit, Roux would rather not unless he absolutely must. After the game he wants to distance himself from anything divine. He accepts Jergal's patronage as a given but he doesn't turn it into any kind of religious devotion.

6. How does your Dark Urge react to waking up with memory loss? Answered here

7. Did your Dark Urge recall any childhood memories? If yes, how do they feel about the revelations? If no, was it by choice or lack of options? Answered here

8. How does your Dark Urge feel about the wilderness? He doesn't remember the weeks in the pod and the years in the sewers, but he's happy to be outdoors. Throughout the journey (and with Halsin's help) he discovers he's quite fond of nature and feels at home in the wilderness.

9. How does your Dark Urge feel about the city? He wants to murder people more often there, and it's not the Urge.

10. What motivates your Dark Urge to either embrace or resist the tadpole? It's revealed pretty early that tadpoles are an instrument of control and Roux doesn't want that. Not more of that for certain. Enough tenants in that red head of his as it is.

11. What motivates your Dark Urge to either embrace or resist the Urge? Answered here

12. How does your Dark Urge feel about being a Bhaalspawn? Answered here

13. How does your Dark Urge feel about killing? Answered here

14. How good of a liar is your Dark Urge? How do they feel about lying? Answered here

15. What is your Dark Urge’s greatest fear? Before the redemption - Bhaal. He knows that death is a hard-won mercy (which Father only grants him after Roux kills Orin and thus proves worthy), but the real punishment would be the Urge taking over. He had been punished like that before. After the events of the game - becoming disabled/demented due to all that head trauma.

16. What is your Dark Urge’s greatest desire? To love and be loved: romantically, platonically and in every other way possible.

17. What is your Dark Urge’s greatest regret? Killing Gortash. He has way too many complicated feelings about him, Bane, Karlach and the entire chain of events leading to that. It haunts him.

18. How does your Dark Urge feel about love? Answered here

19. Has your Dark Urge become particularly close to anyone romantically and/or platonically in their journey? If so, who, and what is the relationship like? If no, why not? Answered here

20. Is your Dark Urge open about their Urge or do they try to hide it? Why? Answered here

21. What are 2-3 songs that your Dark Urge would relate to? I'm terrible with songs, not doing this.

22. What first impression does your Dark Urge give off to strangers? Answered here

23. How does your Dark Urge feel about what others think of them? Answered here

24. Does your Dark Urge have a treasured item with them? If yes, what is it and why is it special? If no, how do they feel about item sentimentality in general? After the lobotomy he collects everything - every note, every letter - with his and/or Gortash's name/mantion on it, but it's desperate attempt to reconnect with his past rather than true sentimentality. He used to have a few prized items - mementos from his foster family, gifts from Gortash, murder trophies - but Orin got rid of them as soon as she moved into the Chosen's room.

25. How does your Dark Urge feel about Sceleritas Fel? Answered here

26. How does your Dark Urge feel about Bhaal? Answered here

27. How does your Dark Urge feel about giving and receiving orders? Answered here

28. How well does your Dark Urge function under pressure? Answered here

29. What advice would you give to your Dark Urge? Can't think of anything. Maybe later.

30. What are your Dark Urge’s intentions/goals after the end of the game? He promised Astarion to help him find a way to walk in the sun again. Because they both need a new purpose and an excuse to keep adventuring (and killing). Roux can't quite imagine himself settling down. Just migrating between new friends - BG, Waterdeep, Avernus, Reithwin - and exploring more of Faerûn sounds perfectly fine. Sounds like living.

#baldur's gate 3 #the dark urge #resist!durge #roux the murderbard #precious little bhaal-babe #ask game

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blindrapture · 4 months

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SUNDAY MAY 29TH, 2011 (Everyone's Benefit)

7:05 AM I’m happy. "I'm happy too." Hi, Mistress. "It says here you want to 'deal with' me." I, uh. I just want to make sure that Donnie and I can be safe. "Well said. I want that too. I need you in top form for your job on Wednesday. I'm looking out for you, you know? I'm trying not to grow too attached, but I am looking out. And I have a small errand for you to run today." Anything, I'll do anything you ask!!! "I know you will." something like a kiss on the cheek "I want you to go to the top of Blackpool Tower. You want to go up there, don't you? Every tourist does, and you, my pet, are just a tourist here. You need to be up there at noon, not a minute later. I'm having a package delivered right to that spot, and the postman must not be kept waiting. I'd get it myself, but I have other things to do today. You can give the package to me tomorrow morning." Okay. o: "And I want to be crystal clear on this: Under no circumstances are you to open the package. Don't go reading my mail. Don't go poking your nose." I won't! I can do this! "I know. I know. But I also know you often think you're too kinky to be punished. I assure you, I will accept that challenge if provoked. I have ways. Do not doubt my power. Did you know that my Puppets can all still think and feel? That they're aware of what I force them to do? I can do that to you." I won't disobey, I promise! "I need. To make. This. Clear. You do not 'deal with' me. I deal with you. I can replace all of your skin with wood. I can lock you away for eternity, or rather, until you get used to it." grabbed my head pulled it closer to hers. she's. staring at me. with her painted, unblinking eyes. "Do you understand?" I understand!! I obey!! "…" I obey, Mistress!!! "I'm sure you won't disappoint me." she let go of me "I also don't want to leave you so scared, as much as it's making me so fucking wet to do that to you. A scared pet isn't loyal. So I'm going to cheer you up." How are you going

(These pages have been removed. For everyone's benefit.)

11:34 AM I’m at Blackpool Tower. Now I’ve just got to go up.

11:48 AM THERE MADE IT. ..fuck, now I have to wait.

11:50 AM For posterity: Last night, when I got in bed, Donnie just immediately hugged me and asked me if I was really alright. After all the zombies. Journal, I’m beginning to think she likes me.

11:53 AM I wonder how the postman is gonna get up here. I mean, Blackpool Tower may not be a very tall tower, but it’s certainly far from ground level. Maybe he’ll go up the stairs like I did.

11:58 AM I’d better start keeping a lookout.

11:59 AM Nothing yet.

12:00 PM NothMOTHERFUCKER He’s gone he left a box what what what what. That. But that. That was, that had to be, I mean we're already dealing with the Rake, why wouldn't that faceless man have been... Why am I still alive, he was right there, I don't even feel a light cough! That was the slender man!!!

12:11 PM Anyway, um, he left this package. It’s labelled “To: Harlequin.” Harlequin?

12:34 PM Back to the main street. This package smells a lot like rotting meat.

12:57 PM God, the stench. It’s worse than shit. I think I can smell shit in it.

1:11 PM strings in your head don't open it

1:30 PM HOME

1:31 PM Package safely put under the bed. The terrible stench is gonna get it spotted, for sure, but at least I won’t be the one who opens it.

4:56 PM Donnie complained about the smell in our room. I insisted it wasn’t me. Troper 1 suggested it was the smell of the zombies drifting in. Fuckin’ saved my bacon, pal.

6:28 PM YEAH I KNOW RIGHT, WHAT IS THAT??? god this is so awkward

7:12 PM Gaaah, I just wanna go to beeeed. I want to be a good boy and not be killed please please please.

8:30 PM THIS DAY IS TAKING FOREVER

10:02 PM Dinner was beans and hot dogs.Yummy.I suggested an early night. Donnie agreed. With a wink. Holy fuck, my life might just be good.

11:15 PM We cut the cuddling short because the stench was getting unbearable. Mistress pretty much cockblockedme. D:

(Attached: "I'm a piece of shit, I'm a miserable little piece of shit. That's how finding my father's notebooks affected me. I had so fixated myself on living large and being a rockstar that I hadn't bothered with restraint or self-reflection, and all this time my father had been wrestling a crippling depression. I didn't even know. He spent his childhood fleeing one government, finding the next country's government not much better, and migrating more. This brought more perspective on the reasoning behind my family's move to America when I was just a little boy. In his later years, he saw his son taking a musical talent and running it into the ground, and yet none of his notes criticize me. He saw what he believed to be American corruption turn his own spawn into an apathetic alcoholic, and he turned not to his son's faults but to the system at large. And my father never once turned to drink, himself. He was a man of a certain kind of constitution: That of self-harm. I had no idea. My mother did. This is why she grew more stressed in the years leading up to his death. She cared too much about him, and this only made him feel guiltier. When I joined the Sunsetters and we released The Mythology of Empathy, my father's notes are nothing but glowing praise and adoration. He described our music as 'the inalienable victory over the greedy eagle.' Yet at the time I kept partying hard and refusing to give a damn about my family.")

[PREV LOG] [TABLE OF CONTENTS] [NEXT LOG]

#ogtrib #oh god the rapture is burning #ogtrib act 1

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ginza-division · 1 year

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"God seems to have left the receiver off the hook and time is running out."

Timeline:

Age 0:

Is born to two unknown people in Tokyo, Japan.

She has little memories of her time with them.

Age 4:

She is, for some reason, placed in foster care by her parents with no explanation.

She begins to dislike the foster care system because of the children, who make fun of and bully her, and the adults, who consider her a nuisance.

She finds that she likes things a certain way, and likes counting things by '10'.

Age 5:

She is adopted by another couple, who wants a daughter for their estranged son, Chihiro.

Though she tries to appear friendly to her new older brother, he ignores her and verbally abuses her when their parents aren't around.

Though the daughter tries to tell her parents, they assume she is joking and don't believe her.

Chihiro's abuse towards her starts to turn physical.

The daughter finds it easier to stay out of his way.

Age 6:

One day, she loses it and beats her brother to an inch of her life, leaving him badly disfigured.

She is sent back to foster care by her ex-parents, who are now scared of her.

She spends her time in solitary, being kept away from other kids.

Age 7:

She is once again adopted; this time, by a single parent, Uehashi Torajiro.

He is, in fact, a criminal involved in sex and slave trafficking.

She gets punished for the smallest of infractions.

She learns to be quiet and do as she's told, less she gets punished.

Unfortunately, she gets punished even when she has done nothing wrong, as Torajiro is a sadist.

She is frequently locked up in a dark room with only a red lightbulb as a light source.

She begins to love the color 'red'.

Age 9:

Eventually, the police get an anonymous tip about the girl's father.

They make a raid on his house, and he is killed in the process.

The blood splatter reminds the girl of all of the abuse she has suffered, thus far.

She loses her mind and attacks the police as they are trying to help her.

She is given a sedative, which instantly knocks her out.

She is sent to a psychiatrist to elevate her for any mental defects.

She is, unfortunately, sent back to the foster care system.

She beats up an older boy who was bothering and was wearing a red shirt.

She is, again, put in solitary, away from the other kids.

Her 'dislike' for the foster care system turns into a 'hatred'.

Age 10:

After a year of psychiatric treatment, she is deemed stable and is allowed to be put up for adoption again.

She is adopted once more by a couple who, unfortunately, cannot have children.

She instinctively doesn't trust them, due to not having good memories of foster families.

The couple proves themselves to be nice and trustworthy, though the girl still doesn't fully accept them.

Due to previous trauma, she tries to flirt and "please" her father.

She is later instructed that that is not appropriate behavior, and that she shouldn't do that.

Age 11:

After a year of staying with them, she begins to open up and trust them a bit.

For the first time in a long time, she is happy.

Age 12:

She calls the couple 'mom' and 'dad', accepting them as parents.

Her mother frequently plants flowers and gardens around the house. The young girl finds them pretty and calming.

Age 14:

Despite being homeschooled for most of her life, she is deemed smart enough to start high school.

Her parents are tragically killed one day while they are in a government building.

The perpetrators behind the bombing call themselves "Scorpion Den".

The girl spots one of the members fleeing the scene, burning her face into her mind.

The girl refuses to go back to foster care; instead, she makes a living on the streets.

She is frequently beaten and hurt for stealing and shoplifting.

Age 15:

One day, she is about to be beaten and abused by a bunch of older kids.

Before they can do anything, she is suddenly saved by a mysterious boy with a 'wolf-like' appearance, who kills the kids.

He looks back at her, throws her some money, and then walks off.

She falls in love with the boy at first sight and wants to know more about him.

Later, she is approached by a strange priest who offers her home and food.

She is initially suspicious but is won over by his kind words and appearance.

He introduces himself as 'Masa Judice' and asks if she wishes to be his daughter.

She doesn't answer right away, but Masa allows her to stay for as long as she wants in his church.

After a week, she agrees to be his daughter.

The priest begins molding her mind, turning her into a corrupt and remorseless killer.

Age 16:

After months of training and molding her, he pits her against some other street kids.

She effortlessly kills them all, which makes Masa name her the leader of his gang, "The Crossroads."

She names herself "Juu" because it means '10', which she loves.

While on a job, she comes across the boy who previously saved her. She learns his name is 'Max'.

As she approaches him, she spots him staring at a girl whom Juu immediately recognizes: the girl who killed her parents two years ago.

Doing research, she learns her name is "Sumire Shinomiya".

She swears revenge against Sumire and her group, "Scorpion Den".

She meets her father's partner, Eiji Noguchi, whom is slightly afraid of her.

Age 17:

Present.

She actively works with "The Crossroads" to disrupt any operation Scorpion Den is working on.

She meets her father's other teammate, Oki Teagan, whom, for some reason, she admires. She dubs him her "big brother".

Her father makes plans to join the Division Rap Battle Tournament.

She does research on the tournament and on the HypMics.

She kills a thug who has an illegal HypMic.

She has Ippei Fujimoto, a.k.a. "The Scientist", try to create a genuine HypMic from the Illegal HypMic.

She secretly joins the Ginza Division rap battle team, Last Judgment, alongside Masa Judice, Eiji Noguchi, and Oki Teagan.

Schedule

12 a.m. - 2 a.m.: Doing work with "The Crossroads"

2 a.m. - 2:30 a.m.: Returns home and reports to Masa

2:30 a.m. - 6:30 a.m.: Asleep

6:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.: Freshens up and gets ready for school

8:30 a.m. - 9 a.m.: Eats breakfast on the way to school

9 a.m. - 12 p.m.: Class

12 p.m. - 1 p.m.: Lunch

1 p.m. - 2 p.m.: Class

2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Stalks Max

2:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.: Returns home

3 p.m. - 5 p.m.: Does homework

5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.: Helps and eats dinner with Masa

7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.: Free time

9 p.m. - 10 p.m.: Prepares for night with "The Crossroads"

10 p.m. - 12 a.m.: Doing work with "The Crossroads"

Character Hashtags

Regular Hashtags

#Everything for the Father

#Max & Juu sitting in a tree

#Diabla burns in Hell

Trauma Hashtags

#A building in smoke and flames

#Used and abused

#I LOVE THE RED LIGHT

Other Info

Hobby: Sharpening Tools

Weakness: Bipolar Disorder

Trauma: "This world is cold and unfair; I give and give, but never get anything back."

Twitter: @10ismyfavoritenumber

Drinks: No

Smokes: No

Special Skill: "I'm a master of torture. It's no fun killing them right off. You have to make them wish they were dead. Hehehe~"

Intro Quote: "Oh, new a toy to play with! Try not to break as easily as the last one, okay? Hehehe~"

Trauma Quote: "Let me go! My parents are in there! I have to save them! Let me go! ...Mommy! Daddy! Noooooo!"

Ending Quote: "...8...9...10! Ready or not, here I come! Hehehe~"

#hypmic #hypmic oc #hypnosis mic #hypnosis mic oc #hypnosis microphone #ginza division #last judgment #juu judice #paradox live #trauma #get more info #tw: mentions of murder #tw: mentions of rape #tw: mentions of abuse

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casicroaks · 10 months

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At the insistence of his new friends, Woody finally opens up about his life previous to Andy. Meanwhile, as Bo discovers there was so much that was left unsaid between them, she resolves to follow his example -and tell him what she truly went through, between being taken to a new family and finding her own capacity for independence.

CHAPTER 4

[ CHAPTER 1 // CHAPTER 2 // CHAPTER 3 // CHAPTER 4 // CHAPTER 5 // CHAPTER 6 // CHAPTER 7 // CHAPTER 8 // CHAPTER 9 // CHAPTER 10 // CHAPTER 11 // CHAPTER 12 ]

Soon Jenny was spending almost all her after-school afternoons at Billy Davis' house, with Woody and Barbara Ann and their respective horses under her arm. She and Billy made up detailed backstories to all the little plastic cowboys, and so they created the Eight Ball Gang, a team begrudgingly armed by a ragtag group of miscreants and all-around bad fellas who realized strength was in numbers: and so, through their organized efforts, they managed to escape all attempts of capture. Since Barbara Ann's attempt to join them was unsuccessful –since all members of the Eight Ball Gang were also notoriously vulnerable to girl cooties, the sickness that was decimating the local population –even Barbara Ann had declared war upon them, partly to recuperate her turf but mostly to make them pay for the humiliation they had subjected her to.

And, what Woody was the most excited about, Jenny always lent him to Billy. She had quickly resumed to him all the character quirks she had made up for Woody, of how noble and heroic and upright he was, how he was uncle to Sophie, how he had won Ginger in a bet long ago, how he never drank nor cussed, how he was a rather good guitar player but had lost his instrument in a bet long ago. With all that (which Woody thought wasn't that deep of a characterization), Billy spun magic. He made up more details: Woody Pride was the orphaned son of a mineworker, who had died in the job deep in debt; he had gone to work in the mines as an attempt to pay his father's dues, and the mayor of his small town had recognized his hard work and dedication, and paid the debt –in exchange of having the young man serve as the town sheriff as the last one had been killed by the local bandit; Sophie was the daughter of Woody's sister, who had vowed to never marry and yet had turned up pregnant, and so was rejected by the rest of the townspeople, forcing her to seek fortune somewhere else, and Woody accepted to take care of the child until her mother could return to take Sophie with her. Since then, Woody raised his niece as well as he could, while also fighting for peace and order in his community.

Not wanting to be any less, Jenny also broadened Barbara Ann's backstory; she had been the only female daughter of a drunken, cruel prospector and a frail, sickly seamstress. As the oldest child she had tried her best to protect her younger brothers, yet two of them had died to malnutrition and disease. While her father was punishing one of her brothers, in another of his drunken bouts of anger, Barbara Ann had taken his old pistol off his nightstand and told him to leave the boy alone. The father did not listen; he continued beating the boy, and when Barbara tried to fire a warning shot, she somehow managed to shoot her father right in the heart. Barbara's mother, terrified, told her daughter to run away before someone found out about it and she was tried for murder. The last she saw of her family, just before taking Bella, her father's horse, was her mother burying her dead husband on the back of the little shack they lived in, while her brothers waved at them from the dusty windows. Since then, she tried to find a job but was constantly rejected; what little money she managed to have was stolen from her; and so, one night, after being beaten out of a bar after starting a fight, she decided she would no longer go hungry, nor homeless, nor pummeled; she still had her old father's pistol. If crime was her only path to survival, it would be the path she'd take.

"That's amazing," had said Billy, his eyes shining, looking at Jenny when she finished telling her concept. "I got chills."

This was certainly a pretty dark backstory, Woody thought, as Billy said so, but it felt appropriate for an ever-more-complex character like Barbara Ann Barlow. Billy and Jenny planned several storylines to follow, like Woody's sister's return, or Barbara's reunion with her grown-up brothers. None of them came through, mostly because neither Billy nor Jenny had any toys either could use for their heroes' families, and Billy's older sister, Vivian, had already disposed of her old toys by the time they considered using them. It didn't matter, anyway. With the toys they had, they still could make up hundreds of stories, of conflicts and unlikely teamups and ultimate shootout showdowns at midday in the main street.

"And then the bullet ricocheted on the town hall clock," described Woody one evening, while Jenny was having dinner, back at her room. "And then a bell was rung and it fell, scaring Bella, and distracting Barbara Ann; and then, then I—"

"They get it, sheriff," said Barbara Ann, with a tired sigh. "Get a grip and have some rest."

Rosy, Sunny and Tiny, who had been attentively listening to Woody, looked at Barbara Ann and then at him. Woody thought it was better not to argue, to calm himself down a bit –he knew he was a bit overexcited –but he couldn't stop himself.

"I can't!" he said, excitedly. "Didn't you had the fun of your life?"

"It was fun, yeah…"

"It was great!" he exclaimed.

"Can it, man!" cried Barbara Ann. "Can't you just shut up for a second!?"

Felicity, who had been helping Annie-Lou braid her hair, stopped what she was doing. Startled, Rosy, Sunny and Tiny hid behind Woody; even Polly, who was often too busy reading by the desk lamp, peeked to see what was going on.

"Barb, what's wrong?" asked Felicity, approaching her.

"Nothing –I'm just tired of all his yammering."

"Why does it bother you?" said Woody. "I'm telling your stories as well as mine!"

Barbara Ann huffed, pulled Bella by the reigns and, with his help, climbed up through the nightstand to get to the bed. Woody gazed at her. What was her problem?, he thought. Why did she had to ruin his fun?

"You haven't answered me," he called out.

As soon as he said this, Woody could feel how the other toys stared at him. He had done something reckless –but he didn't regret it –at least not yet.

Barbara Ann looked down from over the quilt. Woody couldn't read her expression, as her wide black hat was shadowing her face.

"Come again, sheriff?"

"I said you haven't answered me," he repeated, and now he could hear a few gasps. "Why does it bother you?"

Silence. There was the faint sound of conversation and clinking silverware from downstairs. There was a soft sigh, and Barbara Ann came down from the bed in one jump, landing perfectly on her worn brown boots. Woody moved aside, almost instinctively.

"I'll tell ya why it bothers me," she said, and began walking towards him. Woody walked back, as it dawned on him that she had never seemed so mad at him before. "Because you only now get all this manic enthusiasm, only now you chat your voicebox away, and all because of that boy, Billy Davis."

Woody frowned. "What?"

"Don't act stupid, sheriff."

"I mean, yeah, I'm really happy that Jenny's playing with Billy. They clearly like each other, they're very good friends. What's wrong with that?"

"You know that's not what I'm talking about!" cried Barbara Ann. "I listen to you, sheriff –I can't not listen to you, with how loud you talk, how much you like to brag. You pride yourself on being Billy's favorite, don'tcha? Always talking 'bout him, like he's your sun and stars or somethin'…"

Woody let out a nervous chuckle. "I mean, you know, he certainly likes playing with me… And can you blame me for liking being played by him?"

"Can I? Oh yes I can," she said. "Tell me, what were you doing the night before yesterdays?"

Woody looked around –at Ginger, at Sophie, at anyone for help.

"Well? You've not answered me, sheriff Woody Pride."

"I was…" Woody began to say. "… I was by the window."

"Out of the toy box."

"Yes… But Jenny was already asleep."

"Yeah –I know," grinned Barbara Ann.

"So?" Woody shrugged. "What's the matter with that?"

Barbara Ann glared at him. "What were you doing by the window? Watching the stars?"

"I was… I just wanted to know what was Billy up to."

There was whispering and gossiping. Woody would have been sweating if he could… Barbara Ann was about to make him talk.

"Why? Billy isn't your kid, now, is he?"

"No…" he said, quietly.

"Is he?"

"No, he isn't."

"Come again, cowboy."

"No, he isn't!" snapped Woody. "But I dang wish he was!"

Now all the toys –even serious Bella, even quiet Sophie –let out a shocked gasp. Barbara Ann smirked, less glad than relieved; she finally knew, as well as everyone else in the room. Felicity gave a few steps towards Barbara Ann –but she raised her hand to stop her, still with her eyes fixed on Woody.

"Alright. The cat's out of the bag. Now let's talk about this, shall we?"

"There's nothing to talk about," said Woody.

"There is. So listen up, now, sheriff, because I won't tell you this twice: your kid is Jennifer Oakley. You are hers," said Barbara Ann, dropping her Southern drawl for a sudden clear, loud and commanding voice. "And you cannot –you are forbidden –to go over and stay at that boy's house unless Jenny herself gives you to him."

"If he likes me more than Jenny does, why couldn't I?"

"Because you can't!" cried Barbara Ann. "Because you'd be a thankless, ungrateful goddamn toy!"

Absolute shocked silence. Polly and Annie-Lou covered the ears of the babes. Woody had heard plenty of cussing in his day –they were commonplace when Davy's parents used to argue –but no toy he ever knew had dared to say these sort of words. Felicity seemed to really want to step in and try to calm things down, but there was no way she could safely get between the two. Barbara Ann was fuming, her gloved hands curled into fists, all her body tense and about to tear Woody to pieces.

"She has chosen you to play with her –she plays with you every single day –and you're planning to run away?" she exclaimed, getting more and more fired up. "What sort of toy are you? How can you even think about leaving someone as sweet and loving as Jenny?"

"She'll grow up, you know?" he tried to retort. "Jenny'll grow up, like all kids do. Then what makes you so sure she'll still want to keep me? What makes you so sure she'll still want to keep you?"

Barbara Ann grabbed Woody by his neckerchief. But Woody wasn't afraid anymore. He had spoken the truth –and besides, he realized, what could she do to him, say to him? He had already spent years waiting on the shelf. He had already lost dear friends. He had already had to see his kid grow up. All those experiences had made him stronger. The reason Barbara Ann did all this angry-bull display of power was to feel in control, and it was already slipping from her. And so, Woody couldn't help but smile a bit.

"When you end up in the garbage, with no kid to save you, because you've been too self-centered to even take your kid's feelings into account –then you'll feel sorry," said Barbara Ann in a vicious low voice. "Then you'll truly know pain."

She shoved him aside and climbed, on her own, to the bed, and with that the fight was over. Felicity went to Bella, and they tried to ask Barbara Ann to talk to them, but she wasn't listening. Let her masticate her anger, thought Woody, serves her right. He had no reason to be her chew toy.

As he was on his way to the toy box –after what Barbara Ann had made him confess, he wouldn't stay out at night anymore –Ginger approached him and lowered his voice.

"Hey, Woody…"

"Hey," he said, wondering why he was talking like that. "Is something the matter?"

"No, no, I just wanted to ask you…" Ginger cleared his voice with a short neigh. "Um… You did hear about Billy's older sister disposing of her toys, right?"

Woody blinked. "Yeah… Yes, he mentioned it."

"Well…" the horse whispered. "So you know."

"What do I know?"

"That… Well… Barbara Ann heard that, too."

Woody scoffed. "Yes, I sure hope she did."

"Sheriff, you've been here for longer –you're older –you know what that whole being disposed of thing is all about…" said Ginger, even lower. "But most of us aren't familiar with that. We're… Most of us aren't really looking forward to that. We don't know what will happen to us…"

"Don't worry, Ginger," smiled Woody, lowering his hat to cover his eyes. "You're still in good shape. You'll surely go to another kid, you won't be thrown away nor anything like that."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Ginger asked nervously.

Woody raised the brim of his hat and looked at Ginger, or more like his barely distinguishable silhouette, in the dark.

"What makes you so sure all of us will be okay?"

Woody had no response. After a while, Ginger went to sleep –but his question remained in the cowboy's mind. By the time he could not keep awake any longer, Woody still had no answer.

A few months passed since that incident; Barbara Ann started avoiding Woody, only speaking to him when necessary. Only then did it dawn on him how much they usually communicated –again, even after five years since he came to Jenny's room, Woody didn't think he could really consider Barbara Ann a friend –since, despite everything, he still was one of Jenny's more played with toys –and he was head of security and rescue missions –and that meant Barbara Ann needed to tell him whether she knew anything that the other toys needed to know, whether there were news like if someone was coming for a playdate or if there was a laundry day or when spring cleaning was nearing. Now, Felicity had to be the intermediary. None of them was really happy with the deal, but Felicity tried to put on her best face.

Jenny's tenth birthday came, and since the weather was good, Mom and Dad arranged to celebrate the party in the back yard. Ann and Julie came, along with a couple other girls from school; there were only two boys –Alan, Jenny's older cousin, and Billy, who seemed rather uncomfortable under the vigilant gaze of Jenny's friends –who had heard a lot about him, and all tried to assess what sort of relationship they had. All the toys were pressing their faces against the glass of Jenny's room's mirror, staring down, trying to see what the gifts looked like. Most of the bigger gifts were from Jenny's uncles and grandparents, and even those didn't seem like toys. Woody was a bit surprised: the last few birthdays most of them had been happy to see new arrivals –though they were very few and often just things like little dresses and accessories for her Barbie, which Jenny didn't thought would fit Barbara Ann's style. But now no one wanted more newcomers. Woody felt there was a sort of tension beyond the one between him and Barbara Ann –since the fight, there was also a certain strain in the way the other toys talked to him –talked to each other –as if each knew something and couldn't spit it out. Nobody wanted Jenny to have any new toys, but nobody said it outright.

"Do you think you'll get another sparkly disco dress, Barb?" asked Felicity with a wink.

Barbara Ann smiled, stifling a laugh. "I bet Princess Anneliese would love one of those," she answered coyly.

"Well, it's not her birthday…"

"What's Billy doing?" said Woody, leaning closer to the window.

He had been standing in the corner, eating potato chips on his own for most of the time, while Jenny and her friends chatted and played party games. But, while the gifts were handed and opened, just after the candles were blown and the cake slices were handed, Billy went to Jenny and gave her a small box he had been carrying in his pocket. Ginger also came to the window.

"It's very small… I don't think it's a toy."

Annie-Lou let out a loud gasp. "What if it's a ring?"

All the toys turned to her.

"A ring?" asked Whitelace.

"Yes –you know, like boys do," said Annie-Lou with a shrug.

"They're children, Annie-Lou," said Leguizamo.

"Wait, look –Ann is giving Jenny her present," said Polly.

Woody kept his eyes on Billy and Jenny. She had slipped the little box in her pocket, returning her attention to the rest of the guests. Billy then went on to eat his piece of cake while, occasionally, turning to glance at Jenny.

"What is it? What is it?" asked Whitelace, trying to move closer.

"It's a necklace," said Barbara Ann. "With a little silver heart."

"A heart?"

"Yeah, like a heart shape with a little shiny stone in it."

"That's just odd."

"Julie's gift, now!" said Polly, calling everyone's attention. "What'd you reckon it is?"

"It's… Earrings?"

"It seems like that."

"Hm…"

After that, most gifts were either books or clothes. Grandma did bring a hand-sewn, doll-sized prairie dress: at the sight of it, Felicity burst out laughing, imagining Barbara Ann in it. Jenny forced a smile, said thanks and went on opening presents.

The sun was setting, and the sky was already changing colors. Jenny said goodbye to all her guests. Mom came inside, bringing all the scraps and leftovers and decorations. Jenny helped her for a while –all the toys went back to their places –and afterwards Jenny went upstairs to her room, still in her colorful floral dress and neat braided hair. She took off her new shiny shoes and let out a sigh. Her cheeks were flushed. She seemed to have had a great time.

The toys remained still but alert as she took the little box out of her pocket. Barbara Ann and Woody, both laid on the quilt, got the best vantage point. Jenny opened it cautiously, taking care not to break the little crepe paper bow that kept it together. Inside, as finally revealed, was a little notebook with a thin cardboard dustjacket, drawn by Billy's scraggly hand –with a pattern of horses galloping over a blue sky full with fluffy white clouds. Jenny smiled. The horses were clearly crude representations of Filbert, his toy horse, and all six of Jenny's –Bella, Ginger, Leguizamo, Whitelace, Smithy and Hazel. On the inside of the dustjacket was another pattern, this one of several colorful flowers. Jenny smiled widely. She closed the little notebook and left it on her nightstand.

After that birthday, the status quo began to slowly change. There were still playtimes, but instead of each afternoon after school, Jenny limited it to twice or thrice a week. The highlight of Woody's week remained the playdates with Billy, and even those became a weekly event. At first, the cowboy was sure it was only because of Jenny's heavier load of homework: she spent most afternoons sitting by her desk, reading books and writing essays for English class and solving equations for Math. It was normal, it was to be expected. Barbara Ann, through Felicity, advised him to avoid mentioning the garbage bin or the possibility of playtime being over. In fact, for the first time in what could have been seven or eight months, Barbara Ann in person asked him if he had seen something like this before. Woody had told her that they needn't worry, it was just natural for school to start getting a bit more difficult.

However, soon that assumption proved to be wrong. While yes, he and Barbara Ann and Bella and Ginger still were taken to Billy's house to play from time to time, the rest of the horses –and more distressingly, the three babes who didn't like being in the dark for too long –were spending longer and longer periods of time inside the toy box, there, available but forgotten. By Jenny's eleventh birthday, when again no more toys were added, the horses, the babes and the ragdolls had been shut in the toy box for a whole month. Woody, Felicity and Sophie had to act as chaperones to each of the babes during the night, to take them out of the box so they could at least be entertained and play a bit between themselves. Annie-Lou and Polly spent the time Jenny was in school reading her old childhood books, over and over, and gazing out the windows and making up stories for the passersby. Smithy, one of the youngest horses, got so restless that as soon as Jenny left to take the school bus, he began to run in circles around the carpet until he got himself too tired to move. While things seemed to be sort of patched up between Woody and Barbara Ann, the tension lingered. Woody knew that everyone in the room was thinking of obsolescence, of how long they had before being thrown away.

Jenny's thirteen birthday came and went without any news. Barbara Ann, Woody and Felicity kept watch by the window, making sure the rest knew what the girl had been gifted. But no one cared anymore.

The first casualty happened a month before Christmas. Joey, the crazy haired troll who cared for the horses –but didn't have much to do in quite a while –had slept the night outside the toy box without anyone noticing: when Jenny woke up the next morning, she accidentally stepped on him. She picked him up, combed his hair a bit with her fingers, and sighed quietly. Jenny went downstairs, had a short talk with Mom and, before any of them could do anything –before Woody could deploy one of his rescue missions –Joey was thrown in the garbage, just by the time the garbage truck came to take it away.

This was, expectedly, followed by chaos. The babes, crying loudly, embraced each other and refused to be comforted; Polly and Annie-Lou surrounded Felicity and demanded for her to give them explanations, to ensure that they would be spared the rejection; the horses neighed and stomped and fought each other, insulting the other, splitting into the team of the eldest and the newest –the ones in better shape –the ones who had been loved for longer. Woody tried to make Ginger and Bella reason with each other and solve their differences, but none would yield.

Only when Barbara Ann, standing on the edge of the bed, whistled loudly and called everyone's attention it was that some semblance of peace returned to Jenny's room. Woody let out a relieved sigh. If someone would be able to calm everyone down, that would be the room leader.

"Is this the way we behave here, fellas?" asked Barbara Ann, with her hands on her hips. "Fighting, crying, overwhelming your friends?" she said, now looking directly at Polly and Annie-Lou. "Ain't you ashamed of yourselves?"

"Joey was thrown away –who's to say who's next?" cried Whitelace.

"We're just trying to survive here!"

"We want answers!"

"We need certainties!"

"Well you're not getting' any of that, my friends," said Barbara Ann. "I'm not tellin' you anything because we just don't know anything about this situation. And yeah, I get it. It's scary, to find yourself in this place. In the dark… Without knowing how much longer you'll be here…"

Felicity raised her eyebrows and cocked her head. Barbara Ann cleared her throat.

"What I mean to say is that all this bedlam will achieve nothin' but get us all even more worked up," continued Barbara Ann, slightly, just barely, softening her tone. "If there was ever a situation in which we need to stand together, help each other out and support one another –this is it."

Woody smiled. Despite her surly attitude and short fuse, Barbara Ann managed her flock quite admirably.

"So I hope to see y'all in your best behavior. All of us elders here must take care of the youngins in these tryin' times. If you see someone in trouble, tell someone else. If someone needs a word of advice or a shoulder to cry on –try your best to supply it. And… If any of y'all need anything…" Barbara Ann took off her hat and scratched her nape. "I'll try to help you with what I can. We all knew this time was coming. And I need to apologize to y'all, for not havin' prepared you properly for this."

Woody turned to Felicity. She was gazing up at Barbara Ann with a little smile, her eyes bright.

"Felicity, dear," said Barbara Ann, as she climbed down the bed. "Please, can you manage the night watches? I need you making sure that everybody greets the morning inside the toy box, so nobody will end up like Joey –stayin' out late, bein' found in a strange place…"

"Got it, Barb," said Felicity.

"Great. Polly, Annie-Lou, I need you both to keep your hysteria down a notch. You gotta be there for Rosy, Sunny and Tiny. They're just babes, they're scared and they need your help. If you panic, they'll panic even more," said Barbara Ann, glaring at them. "I give you two this responsibility. Will you take this seriously, girls?"

"Yes, Barbara Ann," said Polly.

"You can count on us, Barbara Ann," said Annie-Lou.

"Wonderful. Sophie, I'm promoting you to be in charge of the horses. I know you're a calming presence: please, help them if something comes up. All of yous," she said, now facing the horses. "Keep in mind to care particularly for the littlest ones."

Sophie nodded, straightening her flat back. The horses neighed in agreement. Barbara Ann then turned to Woody.

"And you –you know what your job is, sheriff," she said resolutely. "But now you've to make sure everyone's absolutely up to date with the rescue missions' plans. If someone's taken away by accident, then we need all the hands we can get."

"Yes, miss," said Woody.

Barbara Ann let out a little exasperated smile. "That's just what I wanted to hear, sheriff."

The reunion was mostly successful: Woody went straight to teaching the horses and the ragdolls all they needed to know about rescues; how to climb over the furniture as easily and as quietly as possible, how to use ropes and curtains and whatever they could find as a way to move forward or to hide; the horses had some difficulties –hooves and a mostly stiff form made it hard to do the sorts of movements dolls could do with ease –but workarounds were invented.

Barbara Ann was the busiest of them all. She seemed to never take a break. Polly and Annie-Lou weren't really good at consoling the three babes, and so Barbara Ann –who had had plenty of experience dealing with a young child –taught them how to comfort and distract them. She talked to the horses often, chatting away the afternoons, laughing at their jokes and making her best to put on a brave face. At night, most people went into the toy box without a word; but when Sophie or Polly or Annie-Lou started weeping from the nightmares, Barbara Ann slipped away from Jenny's arms, had a quiet chat with Felicity, and then she'd know exactly what to say to them, just by the time Barbara Ann returned to bed.

And weeks, months, went on mercilessly. A new routine had been established, but Woody could still feel the tension when simply conversing with Sophie, or with Ginger, or even with Bella. Every time Mom entered the room, either to pick up something or to make the bed and vacuum, everyone hid –nobody was out of the toy box, nobody left laid on the carpet or by the windowsill.

Sometime just before Jenny's fourteenth birthday, Woody was counting everyone at the toy box –something he didn't really need to do anymore, nobody broke the curfew; but just before closing the lid, he heard a small, restrained sob. He opened the lid a bit more, to let the light in –trying to see who was it that was crying, who was needing comforting and a moment of companionship –but then he realized the sound came from outside. Woody looked over to the hall. No, that wasn't it. The bed. Was Jenny crying? And if she was…

Woody stepped out of the toy box. Felicity peeked out and gasped.

"What're you doing, sheriff?" she exclaimed in a whisper. "You're gonna get lost!"

"I'll be back in a minute," he answered quietly, moving forward.

He stopped by the nightstand, trying to get a look of what was happening on the top of the bed. Jenny was sleeping soundly, breathing normally. She wasn't the one crying. And where in the world was Barbara Ann?

Woody finally noticed where the crying came from. He slowly walked to the hem of the quilt, lift it up, and, in the darkness from under the bed, he saw a figure.

"Barbara Ann?" he asked. "What's wrong…?"

The bandit turned around –and at the sight of Woody turned her back to him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is there anything the matter—?"

"Go back to the toy box…"

"You're –you're crying…"

"No I'm not!" she exclaimed, furiously, her voice cracking. "Go back to your post, cowboy!"

Woody didn't know what to do. He knew he had a responsibility to her –as she had said, to help each other out and support one another –but it appeared that if he tried to do that, Barbara Ann would tear him to pieces. But then again…

He kneeled beside her. He was already expecting the glare she gave him.

"I said—"

"It's alright, Barbara Ann…" said Woody. "You needn't worry; I mean, look at you! You're still in mint condition, you're… you're quite pretty, if you don't mind me saying so, and any kid would love to play with you… This isn't the end, not really. After all, you've always been Jenny's favorite. She'll surely find a place for you."

Barbara Ann turned her cold blue eyes to him with an increasingly murderous look.

"You'll live a new life, with another kid. Just you wait," Woody insisted. "Listen, I went through this; I can help you, if you want me to—"

"I want you to go back to the toy box. That's where you have to be!"

"Well –you should be up there with Jenny!" he said, trying to smile, trying to remind her how much Jenny loved her. That usually would make her smile a bit, at least. It didn't this time.

"Just leave, or I'll—"

"Barb?"

They both turned as light softly poured into the darkness of under the bed. Felicity was rushing to them.

"Barb, what's wrong?" she asked her, putting her ragdoll hand on the bandit's shoulder. She then glanced at the cowboy. "Go back to the toy box, Woody. Really –just go, I got this."

Woody looked at them both, at how Felicity sat beside Barbara Ann, hugged her and whispered something in her ear. He walked away –he got inside the toy box –and closed the lid.

A few days later, during which Barbara Ann did not sleep in Jenny's bed nor in the toy box –she was sat on a bookshelf, besides elementary school textbooks –and she did not attend the daily meetings –she relinquished her authority to Felicity –finally she came down the shelf, while Jenny was at the movies with her parents. Everyone gathered around her, asking her what had happened.

"Jenny no longer sleeps with me," she said matter-of-factly. "And, well, she no longer plays with me either. It's a truth we need to acknowledge. Our girl, our Jenny… She's no longer the child she used to be."

Having someone say it out loud clearly dissipated some of the tension that had been mounting up those last years. Bella went to Barbara Ann and nuzzled her arm. She smiled and stoke his soft black hair.

"But she's still our Jenny, after all. And we're her toys –we need to be here for her. Who knows… perhaps in a few years she'll decide to donate us to some other kid. Or even better –like with our local sheriff, who was Dad's… Perhaps we'll get to see Jenny as a parent."

Woody smiled. Barbara Ann glanced at him, gave him a little apologetic smile and a head nod.

"A lot of time has to go by for that to happen… So I guess all we fellas need to do is wait."

"But –what if we're taken?" asked Hazel, nervously.

"What if Mom finds us and throws us away in the garbage, like with Joey?" asked Smithy.

"Then…" Barbara Ann began saying, but stopped herself. Woody knew that look –that lack of answers, that difficulty to find the right way to soothe people's anxieties. "Then we'll deploy our rescue missions, but… If Mom or Jenny decide that our time is up, then…"

"Then we're done for?"

Silence. Barbara Ann let out a sigh. Only then Woody realized how tired she seemed. She no longer held herself with her head high, her legs stiff, her hands on her hips. She stood rather skewed, head slightly hanging, her black hat drooping over the right side of her face.

"I'm afraid so, my dears. But we all knew this time would come. Yes, our halcyon days are past behind us, but…" said Barbara Ann. "We need to keep in mind that we were made for this –to be played with, to be our kid's toy—"

"And we all have Jenny to thank for the best years in our lives," said Felicity. "We were nobody before –and since we first arrived here, we were nothing but loved."

An agreeing mumble ran across the crowd.

"Jenny still remembers us. If she didn't, she wouldn't have kept us in her room –she wouldn't have held on to us," said Barbara Ann.

"And Jenny has been playing with us for several years," added Woody. "I'm sure a lot if not all of us will be kept in the family, probably in some attic or in some box –just stored for when Jenny has her own kids."

Polly and Annie-Lou exchanged an excited look. Felicity held Barbara Ann's hand.

"I just needed y'all to hear it from my own mouth," said Barbara Ann. "I wanted everyone to know –we're together in this. We've come this far –and we'll stay together till the end."

Everyone let out a Hear, hear!, and with that, the meeting was over. Polly and Annie-Lou took the babes to play by the bookshelves, while the horses run a few laps to stretch their legs. Barbara Ann and Felicity, however, went to the windowsill, apart from everyone else. Woody, by Sophie's side, kept his eyes fixed on them.

"What d'you reckon they're talking about?" he asked Sophie. She raised her eyes from the running horses, looked at the window and shrugged, not very interested. "You know, when I heard Barbara Ann crying, Felicity was the one who got to help her –not me…"

And then, out of a sudden, Barbara Ann let out a short loud gasp and hugged Felicity. Woody was startled, but no one else seemed surprised.

"Whatever was that?" he asked Sophie. She, again, raised her eyes and saw Felicity and Barbara Ann, wrapped in a tight embrace. She turned to Woody and smiled knowingly. "What?"

Sophie just shrugged and looked back at the race, with a goofy grin on her face. Woody looked back at the bandit and her friend, still hugging, still keeping the other as close as possible.

What had happened, as Barbara Ann herself announced to the rest of the toys, was that she and Felicity were now officially a couple. Everyone cheered –especially Bella and Polly, who had known Felicity had had a crush on the bandit for quite the long time. Woody, who was completely unaware of this, was surprised but quite glad to see Barbara Ann openly smile out of pure happiness.

Annie-Lou, absolutely delighted about the news of a romance in the room, immediately got to organize a mock wedding. Bella and Woody were to be the best men, while Sophie cut and sewed –from an old black t-shit that Jenny didn't wear anymore –a custom-fitted tux for Felicity to wear; Polly contributed with the tulle from her favorite dress to make a veil for the bride to wear, and Tiny, Sunny and Rosy managed to make, with their tiny hands, several colorful paper flowers with which to make decorations, garlands, crowns and, of course, the bouquet. It was an unexpected but needed joyful event, all things considered. All the toys were kept distracted and enthused. Even the horses, practicing their marching and synchronization were all busy and excited for the grand event.

The wedding was celebrated on the bed, with all the toys climbing up together, taking advantage of the fact Jenny and her parents were out of town visiting some relatives. The three babes, assisted by Annie-Lou, tied the paper flowers all around the white wire headboard, and gave each "guest" a flower crown to wear. Polly and Sophie managed to make Jenny's music player work, and they all danced and bounced on the bed, many of them for the first time in their lives. Barbara Ann, in her prairie dress, and Felicity, in her makeshift tux, danced with each other, jumped around and laughed, with their flower crowns –Felicity's lopsided on her big ragdoll head, Barbara Ann's safely fixed around the band of her black hat, with the tangled vail pinned to it. Woody danced with Sophie and with Ginger, and despite not being playtime, despite him not being the hero, he had a really grand time, and finally understood why people liked getting married.

After the dancing, Felicity threw her bouquet and Annie-Lou, being the tallest one of all the toys, easily managed to catch it. The night was coming, and with it the car bringing the family home; Woody and Annie-Lou managed to pick all the paper flowers, rewind the music cassettes and make sure nothing was left on the bed just before the Oakleys arrived. As the toys scrammed and ran off to their places, Felicity and Barbara Ann quickly pulled their wedding costumes off, trying to help the other and help themselves, and then –when they hastily got into their normal clothes –there was the question of where to put them…

"God, I'm exhausted…" said Jenny, yawning and entering her room. Woody was closing the toy box lid –just when he saw Barbara Ann, still on the bed, just as Felicity jumped off. Jenny threw herself on the bed –which was getting smaller, as she was a lot taller than she used to be. Woody wondered how old she was now –fifteen, sixteen? He had forgotten when her last birthday had been. The doubt left him a pang of guilt. It was grand to have fun even when their kid was older, when they were to wait for their next opportunity to be played with; and yet, she was still their kid. They still were hers. And truly, having such a big party –all the toys on the bed, jumping around, with all those delicate paper flowers that they surely hadn't cleaned away completely –had been a great risk. While Jenny sighed, breathed and rested for a moment, Woody kept his gaze on the black hat of Barbara Ann, still on the bed. Should he have told her something, tried to make so that the wedding was made on the carpet, where it would be safer? Should she have been more cautious? If Jenny found someone out of the toy box, someone just slightly broken or chipped from jumping and dancing, who was to blame?

Jenny groaned and raised her head. She saw Barbara Ann –the girl frowned –and sat on her bed, picking the doll up. Jenny blinked, scratching her head, and turned on the lamp on the nightstand. As Barbara Ann's face was lit up, and Jenny saw her, and recognized her, she smiled. Woody, from his hiding place –as well as the rest of the toys who were also peeking through the barely-open crack of the toy box –smiled too.

Then, Jenny left Barbara Ann on her bed, went to the bathroom and washed her teeth and changed into her pajamas. Barbara Ann didn't move yet –how could she, after being held again, after so many years? And Jenny came back, sat on the bed, and picked her doll once more, stroking her knotty blond hair.

"Public enemy number one…" she said quietly, to herself. "Notorious thief and outlaw Barbara Ann 'Bandit' Barlow."

Jenny straightened the black hat on Barbara Ann's head, put her black coat properly over her shoulders, and raised her doll higher, so her scratched plastic skin would catch the light better. And then, Jenny lowered her voice and gave it a bad Southern drawl. "If crime's my only path to survival, it'll be the path I'll take."

She laughed out loud, lowering Barbara Ann and resting her on her lap. She continued fidgeting with her, pulling at her white top, her hat, her worn coat, the coarsely-made brown boots. Woody wondered what was going on in his kid's head. Was she noticing that, after all that time, her doll was that –a doll, nothing more, nothing less? Or was she remembering everything, every time she held her doll and made her voice and made her fight against the law? Was she remembering every playtime, every game, every movie night, every moment she played and laughed and was happy with them, as Woody was?

She took Barbara Ann's hat and boots off, sighing deeply. Jenny tucked herself into bed, and left Barbara Ann next to her, carefully settling her on the pillow. She didn't hold her like she used to do, when she was a child; but as she turned the light off and slowly dozed off into a deep sleep, Jenny gazed at her old favorite, with the tenderness of when someone reunites with a best friend one hadn't seen in the longest time –to find that friend to have remained just the same.

Woody wished Davy had done something like that once, just once, before putting him on the shelf.

Next morning came, and Woody and Barbara Ann, without really saying anything to each other about the topic, both started to dig into Jenny's backpack, her notebooks –Barbara Ann even dared to unfold the small ripped pieces of paper she passed to her friends during class, which Jenny stored on the little pocket on the side. Like two detectives, bandit and sheriff investigated who their kid had become.

Jenny Oakley was, indeed, in the tenth grade; she had great grades in Math, English and Art; was somehow lacking, however, in History, Gym and Biology. She was quite sociable: besides little notes from Ann, she had from other girls named Lisa, Nancy, Diane. There were a few notebooks filled with stories written in tiny words, chapters for unfinished novels, character ideas, several concepts yet to develop, brief poems, quotes from other books.

"She's become quite the storyteller," Woody commented one lazy Saturday, while reading Jenny's notebook.

"Yeah… It's strange –I was rather expecting her to become a lawyer, a doctor, something of the sort… She's always seemed so smart and so determined…" said Barbara Ann, quietly, reading her English essays. "But it appears Jenny has the soul of an artist."

Woody nodded. Of course, there was no way to know what she would become –she was still young, still a child –but he hoped Jenny never lost that enthusiasm that moved her to fill so many notebooks with ideas of stories. He and Barbara Ann were quite pleased to find a notebook with the Story of Sheriff Pride and Barlow the Bandit –one of the few stories made in collaboration with one Billy Davis –but the story was not finished, and it had a wide open ending –Barlow was holding on for dear life on a rope, all that was left of the wagon in which she had been escaping from the law, which fell off a cliff she had intended to jump. Almost all of the cavalry had fallen to their deaths, but Woody had managed to stop Ginger before reaching the edge. And then, after years of fighting, he had the choice to help the criminal he had hoped for so long would stop terrorizing his town, or to let her fall to her death –since, after all, she had gotten into this situation out of her own greed. It would seem like a clear moral choice –Woody would always help those in need, no matter how wicked they were –but after so long, after all the threats to his friends and family, after all the opportunities he had given her to redeem herself, after all that time… The Sheriff wasn't so sure she deserved another chance anymore.

"Would you let me fall, sheriff?" Barbara Ann asked him with a smirk.

"Of course not," he said, closing the notebook, rather offended she even had to ask.

"I know that, Woody," she said. "I was just joking…"

He kept on reading through other notebooks, and soon found more stories written in collaboration with Billy. A few were draft chapters of the Sheriff and Bandit stories, but many were about young investigators, corrupt cops, unsolved crimes and conspiracies revealed. One afternoon, Felicity read one of these stories out loud for the rest of the toys to hear; it was like watching TV again –or perhaps even comparable to the most motionless playtime ever.

So, in this way, even as time went on, the toys tried their best to be a part of Jenny's life. They always made sure her textbooks were ready in her backpack –to throw away any forgotten apples or sandwiches to the bin –to always put an extra hair tie and ink pen in her pencil case –and to leave her empty water bottle in sight so she could remember to refill it. When the next birthday came, Woody's usual rescue missions were refashioned so that most of the toys –horses still had difficulties being quiet and nimble –could see the party nearby, see the celebration and her friends and family gathered with her. Woody would look at Barbara Ann and notice, as clear as a full moon in the deep of night, how she felt so proud of Jenny –of how she was growing, of who she was becoming.

And after the party, Woody would tell the horses and the babes all about the get-together, all about the gifts and the jokes and the guests. He was getting into the toy box, opening the lid so everyone could get in, when Jenny came into the room. Woody had to let the lid closed –and play dead, still, against the box. He cussed his foolishness, reminding himself that by bedtime Jenny walked around in her slippers and she was much quieter than usual. Fortunately, Jenny didn't seem to notice him. She got into bed, leaving Barbara Ann on her pillow, beside her. She turned the light off and went to sleep.

As soon as the snoring started, Woody stood up and tried to get in the toy box. And then –there was a soft muffled sound of fabric –and he petrified, terrified by the possibility of Jenny having woken up all of a sudden. But it was a much lower sound than that that could be caused by a grown person. He turned around slowly. Barbara Ann was slipping out from under the sheets, carefully walking over the quilt, and getting off the bed.

Woody decided to stay out for a little while.

Barbara Ann then climbed through the desk drawers to the desk, and then to the windowsill. There, almost immediately, Felicity appeared from out of the shadows. Woody blinked, and wondered if there was something wrong –if there were having a secret nightly meeting, if there was something the matter that Barbara Ann deemed only safe to discuss with her partner.

But no. Barbara Ann and Felicity sat by each other's side, they held hands and gazed out the windows, chatting quietly between them. They seemed to have no hurry, no pressure, no concerns. It was just a little date.

What was Barbara Ann doing?, wondered Woody. She had been back in Jenny's bed! She was Jenny's favorite once more! That was nothing short of a miracle! Why would she slip away from that? Woody understood the bandit loved Felicity –it was clear, and it was wonderful, and he felt that their love was truly pure and true –but like she always said, they were Jenny's toys. What if Jenny had a nightmare? What if she woke up and didn't find her doll by her side?

Woody couldn't help feeling bitter anger at the room leader. What wouldn't he give to relive those moments of feeling so appreciated by his kid? Felicity's feelings towards her wouldn't change, they'd have plenty of time together. Jenny's feelings could very well change tomorrow, the very next day she could easily put Barbara Ann on the shelf, or worse, put her in a box and lock her in the basement. Everything could change suddenly, they were all at Jenny's whim, and Barbara Ann wasted her time with her by sitting on the windowsill?

Woody considered slipping into the bed, thinking of how Davy would find comfort in holding something tight and close to him. But no, of course that wouldn't work. He was not Jenny's favorite. That wasn't his place. And yet…

The sheriff quietly opened the toy box, got inside and closed it. He stayed in the darkness, unable to sleep, too angry at Barbara Ann to get some rest. So all her words about him being selfish for wanting to be Billy's toy –it had all been hypocrisy.

She was now the thankless, ungrateful gosh-darn toy.

The next morning –the next morning for several weeks Woody avoided talking to Barbara Ann; she would have the same treatment he got, after all. However, Barbara Ann was so busy with other things that it would be hard for Woody to say for sure that his behavior was even registered.

Since things got quite more relaxed –the toys played around, got themselves distractions for the long wait –and nobody seemed to follow each other's actions too much –which Woody knew was a hazard, and yet said nothing to Barbara Ann about this, since after all he was not in speaking terms with her –Woody ventured downstairs more often. While Sophie played with the babes, Annie-Lou and Polly braided their hair, Felicity and Barbara Ann were in their dates and the horses played races, he could easily slip out the room and just pass some time in the living room, watching TV. There were reruns of the shows he had liked from when Davy was growing up, so he rewatched those, chuckling at the jokes and punchlines he already knew. While watching the ads absentmindedly, he thought, I am so much older than all of them, all of the toys in Jenny's room. Woody had been around in that house ever since Davy was a boy. He had been there before the color TV, before the lamps, before the photos on the mantle. Days passed by, as he went down the stairs, up the stairs, watched TV, ignored by the rest, just letting time go through him. The bitterness never truly left. He stayed up for a while after getting back into the toy box, just long enough to check and yes –every night, invariably, Barbara Ann went to the window. And so he went back downstairs, upstairs, while Mom was out shopping, Jenny was in school, Dad was in the office. If he turned off the sound of the TV, Woody could easily imagine he was the only one in the whole house. It certainly felt like it.

By the time Jenny was seventeen, it had been a while since she had put Barbara Ann back into the toy box –Dad had found her sleeping with her doll, and he hadn't stopped joking about it ever since –and, while Woody still didn't really talk with her, Barbara Ann's initial newlywed bliss was evidently gone. Nobody said it –once again, nobody had to say anything –but the time in the toy box felt less like waiting for some grand event, less like the nervous expectation that comes before some amazing miracle, and more like serving their sentence. They were let out during the day, and did their activities and routines, quietly, which had all become stale and tedious, and then when Jenny returned they went back into the toy box, their cell.

"At least it isn't like time just stopped," commented Barbara Ann one day, trying her best to lift everyone's spirits. "At least the months and years go by… At least soon we'll see Jenny all grown up, ready to give us away to a new kid."

Felicity nodded, with a tired smile. Barbara Ann turned to Woody.

"What d'you say, sheriff?" she asked him. "How much longer do you reckon we'll have to wait?"

"Beats me," said Woody quietly. Barbara Ann frowned –good, he thought. "It could be quite a while. And to be quite honest—"

"What type of honesty's that?" asked Barbara Ann, interrupting him. "The one that says good things, or the one that's eager to make everyone as miserable?"

Woody glared at her. Barbara Ann glared right back at him.

"Any of these days," he said even more quietly, so that only she would hear him. "Who knows who of all of us'll end up in a new home, or in the basement, or in the garbage…"

Barbara Ann shoved him away. Woody, impassive, simply straightened his hat.

"I guess then there'll be no kid to save us," he said. Barbara Ann looked at him not with her usual glare –but with a gaze of pure terror. Good, he thought, about time she became as afraid as the rest of us.

Woody walked away from her and onto the window above the desk, the place that had been too long Barbara Ann and Felicity's spot. They had no reason to hoard the view of the outside for themselves. There was not much to see –the weather, the backyard where Dad tried to make several projects that never came to fruition –like a swing Jenny was too old to use, or a barbecue with too many assembly parts –though sometimes Woody did manage to see Billy by the window, either busy with his homework, reading or chatting with someone on the phone. During those moments, when he could see the boy, Woody wondered how things would have changed if he had tried to stay in his house. Perhaps he would have ended up being the room leader. Perhaps Billy would still have him around, not in a toy box but on the nightstand, like Davy did when he was growing up. Perhaps Billy would not forget about him, and keep him close by, and still play with him. What rule said that older kids couldn't play with their toys?

Anyways, that was the place he stayed in for the following months. When Sophie wanted someone to play cards with, he would accept the offer, but beyond that he became a hermit. By the window, watching the world outside, and downstairs, watching the TV, Woody spent Jenny's eighteenth birthday. None of the toys really did anything for the occasion –Barbara Ann mentioned it, but that was it.

But a few weeks after Jenny's birthday, Woody saw something –and he immediately stood up –and gasped loud enough to break the silence and call everyone's attention.

"What is it?"

"What happened?"

"Was there an accident?"

Woody had no words. He looked down at the toys on the carpet, then at the window, then back at the carpet, unable to speak. Barbara Ann rushed up the desk and onto the windowsill, and looked to where Woody was pointing.

"What in the…"

Barbara Ann gasped. It was all the rest of the toys needed –as they hurried to reach the desk, to see out the window.

And, as they all witnessed, Jenny was next door –in Billy's arms –and they were kissing. Polly immediately covered the babes' eyes. Barbara Ann's eyes were wide open like windows in the middle of summer. Everyone was too shocked to say anything –until Felicity let out a brief chuckle.

"Well –would you look at that!"

"We are looking, Felicity," said Leguizamo.

"It was… I was sort of expecting it, to be honest," commented Annie-Lou. "I've always been of the opinion the two of them had plenty of chemistry."

"Chemistry?" exclaimed Barbara Ann. "She's a child!"

"She's a teenager," said Bella matter-of-factly. "Teenagers go on dates and kiss other teenagers and do all those sort of things."

"But –she's our kid…!"

"Now, come on, Barb," said Felicity, taking her hand. "Really… It isn't that surprising that she has a boyfriend already."

"And it's Billy!" said Ginger. "There's not a better boy she could have landed."

"I agree," said Woody, when he managed to regain his speech. "I mean, it's… It's a strange sight, but… If they're happy…"

Barbara Ann continued looking out the window. Jenny and Billy had stopped kissing for a moment, and were now simply hugging each other, sitting on his bed. Billy's hand stroked her hair, touching it tenderly. Barbara Ann sighed.

"Yeah… Guess you're all right."

"C'mon, everyone… It's rude to stare, y'know," said Felicity, and everyone climbed down from the desk. Woody was the last one to leave, as he gave a last glance at how, once more, his kid had reached another milestone that pushed them closer to adulthood, and pushed him back into obsolescence.

#toy story #toy story 4 #bo peep #woody pride #fanfiction

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captainswanapproved · 2 years

Text

An Indecent Proposal-Chapter 17

A03,Prologue, Chapter 1,Chapter 2,Chapter 3, Chapter 4,Chapter 5,Chapter 6,Interlude,Chapter 7,Chapter 8,Chapter 9,Chapter 10,Chapter 11,Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16

Daemon x Rhaenyra Multichapter AU:

Daemon leaves Rhaenyra at her wedding feast. Rhaenyra marries Laenor. After a year of trying to do their duty and produce an heir, Rhaenyra writes to Daemon.

She needs a true Targaryen heir.

It only needs to be an arrangement of business, she says. And it would result in Daemon’s child one day taking the Iron Throne.

Daemon accepts the proposal and returns to court.

Only, ventures like these are never simple. As much as they would wish to, Daemon and Rhaenyra cannot let go of the past, or the feelings they once had for each other.

123 AC

“Drink more wine, my love, it will help you sleep,” Alicent said.

Viserys obeyed. “You take good care of me, my dearest,” Viserys said, leaning to kiss her.

Alicent tried not to recoil. The benefit of Rhaenyra and Daemon being away at Dragonstone was that it had given Alicent ample time to bring her husband back under her thrall. But this also meant that she had to bed him every night and endure his attentions during the waking hours as well. Yet, she had still not managed to become pregnant again.

Viserys finished his wine and she kissed him again before returning to her own chambers. She idly wondered how many years this poison would take to work its magic. By now she understood more of her father’s intentions, but he had still failed to reveal all his plans to her. She simply knew she had to keep Viserys on her side.

There was a letter waiting for her when she arrived in her chambers.

Daughter,

You have been doing well to take advantage of our enemies being away from court. But you must continue to pray to be blessed with child again. Your rival has six children, whilst you only have four.

Aegon and Aemond have been gathering the allegiance of sellswords in the North and in the Vale. I continue to send them gold so they can properly arm those interested in supporting our cause. Tyland Lannister has been procuring pilfering the funds from the royal treasury.

I have received information from Dragonstone that the boy, named Aegon, is nearly identical to his elder brother. Once they return to court, you can use this to spread doubt. If we can get Viserys to realize that Rhaenyra has given birth to five bastard children, he will surely dismiss Daemon as his Hand and make our Aegon his rightful heir.

Start spreading your whispers now.

Your Lord Father

Alicent burned the letter and cursed Rhaenyra as she did. She would punish that impudent bitch for naming stealing her son’s name.

Criston Cole appeared some time later, eager to do her bidding. He always was, so long as she spread her legs for him. Keeping him on her side demanded certain sacrifices. After their encounters, however, she drank moon tea. She would not produce another bastard. Though it did occur to her that continuing to sleep with Criston while taking moon tea could jeopardize her chances to have another child by Viserys. So she sent Ser Criston to spread her message throughout the Seven Kingdoms and return at the end of the year.

He gladly went after a swift coupling. She sent for her moon tea and swallowed it down. With him gone, she would be free to focus all her efforts upon Viserys.

***

When Daemon and Rhaenyra returned to King’s Landing, they received a grand welcoming feast. They presented Aegon the Younger to Viserys and the king declared him delightful.

The lords and ladies of Westeros congratulated them on their swift blessings. But they started whispering to one another when the proud parents turned their backs. Rumors about Rhaenyra’s children had started to circle again. And with Prince Aegon looking almost identical to his elder half-brother, well, suspicions were confirmed.

On their second night in King’s Landing, Jaela, their loyal and unofficial Mistress of Whisperers stole into the Red Keep and took the passage leading to Rhaenyra’s royal apartments.

The young woman was not so easily intimidated, but as she looked at the Princess and the Prince Consort, she felt certain she would be punished.

“Forgive me for disturbing you, Princess, My Prince. Only highly concerning rumors would compel me to do so.”

“Jaela, as always, we appreciate your service,” Rhaenyra said kindly. “Now please, say what you came to say.”

“Queen Alicent and her supporters are saying that Prince Daemon is the father of your children. She means to tell the king that they are bastards in hopes that he will confine you to Dragonstone and send Prince Daemon to the Wall.”

Daemon laughed and Jaela’s eyes widened.

“That will never work. That stupid bitch is growing desperate.”

“Prince Aegon the Younger does look exactly like Prince Jacaerys,” Jaela said. “That is compelling evidence to many in King’s Landing. The small folk, of course, care not, for the Queen does nothing to curry their favor. But the minor lords who are allied with House Hightower are a different story. And I have heard rumors that the Master of Coin himself believes the rumors.”

Daemon snorted. “I can deal with the Lannister cunt. He is bitter that Rhaenyra refused to betroth Jacaerys to his granddaughter.”

“Thank you for bringing these rumors to us, Jaela,” Rhaenyra said, crossing the room to a chest and removing several gold coins. She gave them to Jaela and sent her away.

She continued to pace, though, twisting the fabric of her skirt in her hands.

Daemon rose and put his hands on her shoulders. “Surely you don’t think your father will believe the rumors.”

“They are the truth,” Rhaenyra said.

“Yes, but when it comes to his family, my brother is blind.”

“His loyalty is divided. Do you know how often I’ve had to read about Alicent’s kindness in his recent letters. She has drawn him back to her side in our absence, pouring her honey in his ears.”

“By brother is a cunt struck old fool,” Daemon said.

“We have to circumvent this, Daemon. We should tell him the truth. He will legitimize them, and then it will not matter.”

“Do you think that wise?” Daemon asked. “We would lose the support of some of the Lords.”

“These Lords swore their fealty to me. If they break their vows when the time comes for me to take my throne, then I will simply burn them as traitors and offer their children an opportunity to bend the knee.”

Daemon kissed her, long and hard.

“What was that for?” Rhaenyra asked, a little breathless.

“I love it when you are ruthless.”

“You are a bad influence,” Rhaenyra said.

“Mmmmm, the worst,” Daemon agreed as he kissed her again, and they lost themselves in each other. After, though, Daemon said, “If you wish to tell Viserys the truth, I will not question your judgement.”

“All will be well, Daemon, and do not act as though you do not wish to publicly claim our children as your own.”

Daemon could not fault his wife for making such a claim. He was weary of his five eldest being addressed as Velaryons, no matter how much respect he had for Laenor.

***

“Lord Tyland Lannister is here to see you, Your Grace,” Ser Harrold said.

Viserys nodded and Ser Harrold opened the door. The Master of Coin entered the chamber and said, “Thank you for seeing me, Your Grace.”

“What is it, Lord Tyland?” Viserys said. His head was throbbing and his body was aching. His sleep continued to be plagued by discomfort.

“A most serious accusation has been heard from the mouths of many of your loyal lords and ladies. I am afraid in concerns Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon.”

“Tell me,” Viserys said, tiredly.

“Many believe that Ser Laenor was never the father of any of Princess Rhaenyra’s children. Prince Jacaerys and Prince Aegon look like brothers, not half-brothers.”

“Tread carefully, Lord Tyland. You are verging on treason.”

“I beg your pardon, Your Grace. I am simply reporting what I have heard from many of your subjects.”

“Daemon and Laenor are both of Velaryon blood. As is Rhaenyra. It is not shocking that her children by Laenor would resemble her child by Daemon.”

“But Your Grace, the Prince came to court and suddenly the Princess was with child. ”

“A mere coincidence. The gods work in mysterious ways.

“The Prince treats them as his own children.”

“As he should. Prince Daemon is now a father of six. It is natural for him to dote upon his stepchildren, who are in truth, his great nieces and nephews.”

“But—"

Viserys cut him off. “I will not entertain notions such as these, Lord Tyland. Now leave me in peace.”

The man seemed to lose his courage. He bowed and departed.

“Aemon, some more wine, if you please.”

The silver haired boy rushed to do his bidding. Viserys drank deeply, enjoying the burning sensation of the wine and its strangely sweet aftertaste.

However, he was not meant to have an afternoon of peace, because not an hour later, Rhaenyra and Daemon unceremoniously entered his chambers. Their hair and clothing was slightly mussed and rumpled.

“I am tired,” Viserys said. “We can speak tomorrow.”

“Father, this is important,” Rhaenyra said, her voice steely. She had grown so much in the past few years, becoming more queenly and commanding with every passing moon.

“Very well,” Viserys said, taking a chair beside the fire and gesturing for his daughter and brother to join him. “What is it you need to tell me?”

Rhaenyra faltered for a moment. Viserys watched as Daemon took her hand. She seemed to draw strength from this simple act. “King’s Landing is filled with vicious gossip and rumors, but on occasion, the naysayers stumble upon the truth. Daemon and I have been lying to you, Father.”

“You have? About what?”

Rhaenyra looked to Daemon, who nodded. Rhaenyra took a deep breath and said, “Ser Laenor was incapable of fathering children. We tried for a year to do our duty, and when that failed, I begged Daemon to return to court. He is the father of all my children.”

Viserys gaped at them. Neither expression bore any hint of shame or regret.

“You cannot be serious. Ser Laenor claimed them as his children. They have his features.”

“They have Valyrian features,” Rhaenyra corrected. “That is why I asked Daemon to father my heirs. After Alyssa and Jacaerys were born though, we already loved each other too much to to be parted. Laenor knew the truth. He carried on his own affair with Ser Qarl Correy. Unfortunately that ended in tragedy.”

“This cannot be,” Viserys said.

“It is true, Brother,” Daemon said, speaking for the first time. “But that does not change the fact that they are true Targaryens. The line of succession goes through Rhaenyra. It does not matter who her husband was. They are legitimate.”

“The realm will not see it that way.”

“Fuck the realm. You are the king. Defend your daughter and her children. Our children.”

“By doing what, exactly?”

“Naturalize them. The king’s word is law. Allow your grandchildren to take the Targaryen name. It is their birthright.”

“Please, Father. I know this is difficult to hear, but my children are innocent in all of this. They do not deserve to be the subject of vicious speculation.”

Viserys groaned. He could not believe that his family had been deceiving him for all these years. But his beloved grandchildren were innocent, and for all their flaws, he loved Daemon and Rhaenyra. Alicent would be furious. She would claim that Rhaenyra deserved to be punished.

But the blood of the dragon ran thick. After all he had done to hurt his brother and daughter over the years, he could not deny them this request. And hiding from the rumors would only make the consequences more difficult and dangerous.

“Very well,” Viserys said. “I will naturalize them all. It is my fault that you wed Laenor to begin with. Had I known then what I know now, I would have blessed your union.”

“Thank you, Father,” Rhaenyra said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Daemon thanked him as well, though Viserys could see the words pained him.

“I do not require thanks for doing what is right. The House of the Dragon must stand strong. Now please, leave me to rest. We will need all our strength to face court tomorrow.”

***

“Muña, why do you look so concerned?” Alyssa asked.

“Remember the serious discussion we had at Dragonstone?”

Alyssa did remember. “Yes. Why?”

“The King knows the truth.”

“But he is our grandsire,” Alyssa said. “Won’t he protect us.”

“Yes, my little dragon, he will,” Daemon said, joining his family in the courtyard. “But you will have to be fierce and strong today.” This, he said to all of his children.

“Like you and Muña?” Alyssa asked.

Daemon nodded and kissed his daughter’s brow. “Yes. You will have to be an example to your siblings.”

Alyssa nodded, and straightened her ebony and scarlet gown. Then she surveyed each of her siblings. After a moment she said, “We are ready, Kepus.”

They filed into the throne room, heads held high, save for baby Aegon, who was being held by his mother.

Alyssa took note of how the amassed crowd surveyed them with intense expressions. Alyssa mimicked her mother’s proud, undaunted expression and took Jace’s hand. As always, her brother was her strength.

Their grandsire, King Viserys, sat on the Iron Throne, with Blackfyre in hand. His Green Queen stood to one side at the foot of the steps, an ugly expression on her pretty face. Alyssa recalled her father’s name for the woman, though the word was not ladylike.

Viserys stood and called for silence.

“I, Viserys Targaryen, First of His Name, King of the Andals, and the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, welcome my grandchildren to the Red Keep.”

Alyssa raised her chin and caught her grandsire’s blazing eyes.

“Princess Alyssa Targaryen,” Viserys said. As she had been instructed, Alyssa approached the throne and knelt before the king.

“Prince Jacaerys Targaryen.” Jace followed suit.

“Prince Lucerys Targaryen.” Luke copied his brother, though appeared distinctly nervous.

“Princess Visenya Targaryen.” Visenya, bold and brash as her name sake, even at the young age of four, knelt before the king, her amethyst eyes blazing with pride.

“Prince Joffrey Targaryen.” Joffrey toddled up and joined his siblings.

“And finally, Prince Aegon Targaryen.”

Rhaenyra and Daemon joined the line of children.

“They are all true Princes and Princesses of the Realm. They are the blood of the dragon.”

And people in the hall began to applaud, though Alyssa noticed that not everyone appeared happy. Still, the court honored her and her siblings, and Alyssa knew that they would be treated as true born sons and daughters. She also knew, though, that those who disapproved of her mother would work to discredit them. She could tell by the grave expression on the Queen’s face, and her emerald green dress. Her children, Helaena and Daeron were dressed in green as well. It was such a stark contrast from the colors of House Targaryen that it had to mean something.

#daemon x rhaenyra #daemyra #hotd #hotd fanfic #hotd an indecent proposal #my writing

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sparklinpixiedust · 3 years

Text

Am I the only one who thinks bullies, regardless of how old they are need to face consequences of their actions?

Like I don't care if you're 11 years old, if you and your friends have bullied someone to the point of actual death, something needs to be done.

A group of kids literally drowned a 12 (?) year old Muslim girl in Canada a year or 2 ago, recently I saw a post of a 12 year old boy who committed su!cide because his friends kept bullying him.

And again recently, a teenage Muslim girl and her friends were beaten up by their classmates.

Pretty sure there are tons more examples but these were at the top of my head.

And it's not just physical abuse. So many people have been mentally and emotionally scarred by their classmates.

I don't know why bullying is pushed aside. I don't care if the bully is 7, punish them. I don't mean beat them up, but do something about it. Give em extra homework, send them to juvie, find a therapist, idk! If they troubled, then help them come out of it. Teach them basic human decency so they don't ever attempt that ever again with anyone. It's not just " a phase of life everyone goes though", no.

You are endangering the lives of children and the future adults who grow up with these bullies.

Because the lack of action towards the bullies just further encourages them to continue this behaviour into adulthood.

Some might grow to realise their mistakes, but who knows how many people would've lost their lives till then?

And I'm sorry, but wtf are parents doing when your child is out there doing these horrible things? I get everyone has their issues in life and parents have it tough, but come on! You're child is literally out here being a murderer and you're not going to do anything about it?

Schools and institutions care waaay too much about their reputation. But acknowledging this issue and showing they are handling it rather than shushing the matter down shows they're a good school, but laws I guess would say otherwise. If you run a school for children you need take responsibility for these kids safety. ( And all the kids safety, not just the white ones.)

Schools, institutions, governments need to focus on educating children and teaching them to be good, accepting citizens. They need to stop focusing on stupid things like dress codes, banning hijabs, like what are you even doing? How is all this helping anyone other than creating tension?

Focus on developing personality, focus on peace, focus on the actual safety of the people.

I swear it's like when your studying something but you end up staring at wall cuz it's more fun type of thing. Instead here, people are focusing on stupid, useless ideas instead of the real issue that is ending up with people/ children dying.

#text #important #unicorn rambles #blm #politic #social justice #hate #school #black lives matter #hijab

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crybabytoy59 · 3 years

Text

The ultimate backwards way forward….

1. The day had finally come all the hours, days, weeks, months and years even.....That had lead to this one intrepid moment. Tonight He (Mark) stood before Her “Chrissy”....Shaking whilst doing as instructed, he was to put his Big clothes into the black bags in front her. She would decide what if any we’re to be kept. All things related to his Big life went in…

Next She sat him down in only a cartoon disposable & a onesie ! He sat & listened as she reinforced her Will as the midnight deadline approached !...

She spoke very gently, a deep love of genuinely wishing to take him to his “little place”, Yes his Big had pushed back and fought at times but this was IT her words would be final ! No turning back whatsoever no wriggling out. A new life lay ahead as Chrissy delicately spoke….

2. “Now sweet-pea all your big things are away and in fifteenth minutes you will be My Bunny, my BabyBoy & I your Mommy I will treat you as a baby always & this you will come to accept through Mommy’s intense retraining of you to become that infant baby again we will take you back mentally & physically to a small child, Mommy’s cute toddler In nappies 24/7 ….

This will not be easy at first but please trust Mommy, she is going to help you mentally to be the baby that hangs on to every one of Mommy’s kind nurturing words….. So Bunny are you ready hmmm, Are you ready my darling baby boy?

3. Mark took a huge breath but still the words came out at a tremor…..“Yyes am rready Mommy, I realise my fears will at times test you for that I am truly sorry… but I do wish for this deep inside, so any fears I have, I gladly hand them to your care & compassion, to regress and nurture me into who & what we Both wish for…So yes Mommy your “Baby boy” wants this with all his heart.... Mommy hugged him tightly, anticipating the clock in the nursery awaiting for it to strike Midnight !! ...

4. The nursery was a work of art they had both built together a room where Baby Mark was dwarfed by the furniture within the nursery ! .......As the big hand met the little hand of midnight…Mommy began to speak almost in a whisper…“Baby? give Mommy her “Gift” of your submission.”

5. She smiled warmly watching the mirror as her baby began wetting the cartoon disposable, she could see it changing colour through the soft white plastic pants, she stroked his hair soothingly as the nappy began to swell outwards…“Clever Baby All done Sweet-pea?” (he nodded into her soft shoulder welling up slightly in the knowledge that this was his “Gift”, his submission to her, the first act of remaining in nappies 24/7 at Mommy’s will)

The very smell of her soft flesh had always made him feel a Deep want of regression ! But tonight she smelt Devine. Chrissy had taken a shower before this chat, washing her hair with Johnston’s Baby shampoo, she then oiled her whole body with baby oil! Knowing the effect it would have on Mark, pushing him over the sensory edge....After all the Hot pulsing between her legs drove her want of complete control over him! …“Clever Boy let’s get you changed & down for the night in your onesie and blue booties, then I'll read you a nice little story”….

6. As he waddled slowly forward, suddenly Mommy barked “And what do you think you are doing Mr? ” ...He was puzzled by this remark & Mommy’s new stern tone? Mommy simply smiled saying “Are you a big toddler yet Crinkle Butt? No, you are not ! All fours baby... Now! As what did Mommy say to you about obedience? (He got down on all fours, as she wished, knowing soon he would have the blue crawling booties on with the nasty studs that made walking near impossible anyway! )

That and the ankle cuffs with the tiny locks would make removing them a futile task!)… As he crawled Mommy patted baby’s botty “Much better see you can be a clever Bunny for Mommy! ” Baby jolted forwards as Mommy spanked him full force ! “Pardon Baby? ”... Yethss mommy ! ...

“Much better think we just earned our first “redstar” baby Yes?” …. “Wess mommy sworry…” “Clever Baby you can put it on the naughty behaviour chart after Mommy changes that soggy bott bott of your’s ehy? Up on the changing table then Mr, let’s get that wet nappy off & your special night time dipee on!”

7. As baby got up on the table he could feel the soggy thin cartoon nappy sagging! ... Complete humiliation overcoming him at his new lot in life, a true baby boy status started to hit home. God how he loved this girl so much, knowing he would now no longer be able to touch her in a Big way he felt that new part of the Humiliation was ever looming and yet to come pressing closer. Mommy was very clever, astute and thorough, she would have a lot in store for her new charge.…Mommy tugged the plastic pants down “Someone has a soggy bumbum! look at this wet nappy Mr! (He couldn’t miss it in full view from the mirrored ceiling over the changing station ! This had been Chrissy’s idea as she loved the Humiliation element that it brought! )…“Aaawww don’t fret your going to be doing this all the time now Crinkle Butt!...As Mommy is going to make sure you become such a dribbling dependant little boy”….she chuckled lightly...There seemed to be a glint in her eyes too.

8. The clean up was very intense & had baby stirring underneath her! She reapplied the thick white cream paying just enough attention to all the right spots then she delicately but quickly slid the night time pluggie in. This was Very large & could be adjusted to vibrate with a very intense level if was required… baby gasped as Mommy pushed it all the way home! As Baby moved she chuckled lightly and playfully spanked the huge night time nappy to a dull thud once she was done! “Mommy's little drum.” she cooed. “ All that padding is going to make sure you will stay safe till morning Sweet-pea… “Now come to Mommy”. He instinctively crawled towards her open lap, she guided him to rest his head in her arms and his back against her leg.

Mommy stretched across to her right side, reaching for the giant glass night time bottle, full with the formula she had earlier prepared.

10. “Take hold with your mittens Sweet-pea, Mommy wants to see how you do, if its to heavy then I will hold it too” She now began to playfully stroke and tease his nipples as he held the bottle unsteadily! The gurgling was instant behind the milky teat as baby had developed very sensitive little nipples, just as she had designed! Straining in his bulky nappy wiggling gently on the spot between her, the whimpering and soft moans started up as the bottle continued to empty. When baby finished the last drops of formula she began to rub and stroke his back, gently massaging him encouraging those little burpies out... Baby squealed as he nearly had an accident at the same! “Ok Sweet-Pea off to Beddie Byes.” She gently held and led his shaking hand. “But first please put the star up on Your chart!” Baby took a red star off the pad & put it onto the first square of naughty chart… (The red stars were for a Sunday evening’s end of week “punishment time” If he had gold stars that would bring a reward) But red !...............Mommy patted the mattress on the double bed sized Cot. “Ok Bunny Boy hop up into your cot now.” He would sleep with Mommy Bear at ni nights time (but unbeknown to Baby, he'd be napping in the day time as well, part of her new routine she had in store for him)! She patted again “Position Baby !”…or do you want a second Red star “!...She chuckled as He scrambled into the cot positioning himself for Mommy!

11. Mommy lifted up the little blue booties to his new horizon line. She took the first swiftly and deftly to his toesies slipping it on his right foot, click the ankle cuffs latched shut. Next was the left, it too had the same bemusing locking system, designed so the Baby (him) could not free himself from the deceivingly cute little slippers. He'd never seen how the locks worked. Click... She smiled at him gently, knowing that the spiked shoes would limit his ability to now stand unaided and maximise her ability to retrain him to a more appropriate babyish crawl. Yes they would make life much easier outdoors too... “Clever Boy, almost done, then we can have that chat and Mommy will read you your bed time story after… ok baby?” ( “Wess Mommy” ) Clever boy Mommy does so love those manners Sweet-Pea well done!”

12. Now a little afraid realising he was properly in Mommy’s world. Things would continue to happen now that he would have no control over. Next Mommy lifted his brand new dummy, he had not seen this one before! It must have been a recent purchase, this one was an extra large sized red yellow and blue primary coloured affair. She knew it had been designed specifically to help him dribble (just a little) and make his big boy words very difficult !!

Putting it into his mouth she moved to his ear and whispered softly “Mommy wants you to nurse on this dum dum sweetie, I won't fasten it into place just yet unless you show me that you can't be trusted, OK?” It was a rhetorically phrased question that didn't need an answer, but there was that same look in her eyes.

13. “Now Sweet-pea first we'll have our wee chat then Mommy will read you a nice story before ni-nights. Your going to need lots of sleep Bunny Boy as Mommy has lots of adventures in store for you tomorrow ! … Now listen very closely as I will say this only once….Mommy is going to have you fast for five days ....This is to strengthen baby’s immune system and also induce a bit of a body reset, then on day six we will start your new baby food regime… This will be all fruit and vegetables as Mommy is going to have a very health baby… So then Baby, you can get adjusted to those adorable nappies nice & easily...Your only going to be drinking fluids for the next five days first though, so Mommy is focusing on those soggy bum bums to begin with, then we will work up to your mushies…Your such a cutie for sucking on your new binkie like a good boy. Well done!

14. “She chuckled lightly lifting the story book to begin…

The alternate “100 Acre Wood”......

God she was so dam hot there and then, in her best condescending cooing Mommy voice. She began “Once upon a time there lived a boy who was very very lonely inside, he desperately wanted to have a friend. Out walking one day in the woods he found a small bunny, it hopped right over to him and began hugging the boy tightly.....The rabbit started to gently speak to the boy! “Hello Crinkle Butt ....The boy protested to the Rabbit “Am a not a Crinkle Butt!”....But the Bunny simply chuckled “I know who you really are Silly! The boy looked around but nobody was there? As he turned around the rabbit stood beside him again swatting his bottom Thwack !!... “I suppose this isn't your nappy then Crinkle Butt?” The boy stayed quiet as he felt embarrassed. But the Bunny Smiled gently and hugged him even tighter. Bunny the Rabbit then took Crinkle Butt’s hand ....“Best we get back inside or Mommy will be angry with us & we will get the hairbrush! The boy took the rabbits hand, as he too hated the hairbrush spankings.....“Ok Bunny we best hurry then as it’s getting dark & Mommy will want us fed & then to Nigh nights”.....They both skipped through the puddles getting Mud all over their legs! ...On the porch Mommy was already waiting standing with her arms folded....Babies look at the colour of you !.... She held out her finger pointing to inside, that’s when both Babies noticed Mommy already had the hairbush!”....oh bother.

15. “Now Sweet-pea I think that’s enough for tonight, Mommy can see you are looking tired I'll read you some more tomorrow if your a good boy. She gently stroked his face “Off to sleepies now.....She began to start the lullaby mobile that hung overhead and the cute little noises and lights softly sprung into action and gently soothed her precious little one into the land of dreams...Mommy lifted the plug remote and set it to the night time precycle with the hypnotic recordings ! These would play all night as the monitor recorded his sleep & dream patterns, it would match the patterns playing the recording & pluggie vibes to their best effects.....Night after night she would subliminally reprogram his brain to be a contented infant Baby Boy... To her will... to her wants... to her Deepest held desire over controlling him, but also letting him be the baby he was destined to become! This would be Absolute !! Her new hypnotherapist friend would help with new insertions of “trigger words” that would become instant in there use over him, no matter where, no matter when or who they were with !.....Fuck every inch of her was tingling with her desire to further his regression......

She looked down at him all safe in that cot with an oversized dummy bouncing in and out. Fuck he was already hungrily sucking on that dummy! Her Chest ached with anticipation....This was just the start, she held all the cards, she had everything ready for the morning & for the day’s events......Time to sleep though, putting her arm over his chest a small whimper came......She smiled to herself...Tomorrow he would go through so many trials and emotions. Day by day his emotional state would become much easier to control due to her fasting retraining, first hunger & loss of energy...then as the energy started to peak later on in the week she would simple take a sense from him so as to have more control mentally over his nappies!....awash with thoughts flashing through her mind she settled down to sleep knowing the “Hypno-Mommy” tapes would be working there magic on him....These she would use as she put him down for his afternoon nap too!

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kim-poce · 2 years

Note

Bloodbag Neo and Celeste

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26

(CW: pet whump, broken bones, fear of punishment)

Alex grabbed three bags of blood from some kind of refrigerator and gave the boy a reassuring talk before heading out.

"I'll be back really quickly," he said before closing the door behind himself. Tobias heard the click of a lock engaging.

The boy crawled—it was just as disturbing watching him crawl as it was seeing the girl do the same, if not more so. She at least had a physical reason preventing her from walking—across the room and knelt, staring up at Tobias.

Oh shit. He definitely hadn't forgotten his question that Tobias still didn't have a good answer for. With Alex gone, he was going to ask again. Then Alex would come back to a distraught human pet, and the dumbass human who upset him.

Fuck his life. If he upset this kid, Alex was going to break his skull.

“W-why is the girl a pet?” he asked.

That... was not what Tobias had expected. Hm... this one he might actually be able to answer without upsetting the kid.

He mulled over how best to answer the question as he lowered himself to the floor. He might not be an expert on these things, but he knew that height differences made power differences. If he wanted to talk to the kid—without upsetting him, at least—that would be best done as as close to equals as he could manage. So, he ignored the way his joints creaked as he sat on the floor.

"Well," Tobias said, voice as gentle as he could manage, "the short answer is that she's a pet because someone made her that way."

The boy considered that for a moment before asking, "And t-the long a-answer?"

Tobias sighed. "It... it isn't a pretty answer. Do you still want to hear?"

The boy nodded.

"People are afraid of things they can't control," Tobias said. "And they don't like being afraid. So, for some people, they would rather find a way to control those things than accept the fact they're afraid. People like that... it gives them a thrill, I think, to have control over something as powerful as a vampire. They're willing to pay a lot of money for that kind of thing."

He shrugged, mouth twisting wryly. "It isn't right. It's a horrible thing, turning people into pets." He carefully said people rather than humans or vampires. "But if someone is willing to pay enough money, there are people out there willing to do horrible things in exchange."

Crossovers - Masterlist

=-=

Neo thought about it for a while, "D-doesn't make sense," it said quietly. So many things don't make sense in this. How can humans fight a vampire to begin with? Neo saw vampires fighting. They are strong! It's impossible.

And things had even less sense the other way around. Fighting what one fear doesn't explain why vampires make some humans into pets and other not. "H-humans are weak," it said with a voice full of certainty, it felt in its own body how weak humans are, "W-weak and easy to control why- why then?" How did they take control of the girl? And why did they take control of me? "W-w-why did them... to me? A-a-and how how with with her?" Can humans be strong? Could it have fought back and won? Could things be different?

Neo lowered its head further, hiding the tears streaming down from its eyes, but it couldn't do much about the noise its sobs were making.

=-=

@neverthelass, @latenightcupsofcoffee, @rose-pinkie

#Bloodbag!Neo Au #Bloodbag!Neo and Celeste #whump #vampire caretaker #lady whump mention #pet whump #bloodbag whump #Tobias be screws now

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seattlesea · 4 years

Text

Why Percabeth Isn’t a Good Ship (Sorry 2x)

I’m definitely getting cancelled-

1. Annabeth is physically abusive. The fandom makes this point seem controversial and debatable, but it’s really not. The definition of abuse is hitting someone. Annabeth hit Percy. Therefore, Annabeth abused Percy. Is that really that hard to understand? Annabeth hit Percy for the first time in The Titan’s Curse when she, Percy, and Thalia were looking for the di Angelo siblings. She punched him in the gut when he asked her who he should ask to dance with him. Annabeth knows that Percy can be oblivious at times...but punishes him when it benefits her? The second time was in The Mark of Athena, when she judo-flipped him because she missed him. That’s...what?? Usually when people are worried about someone else, they hug or kiss them, not flip them over their shoulder. And yes Annabeth kissed him first, but the judo-flip was completely unnecessary. Annabeth punished Percy for ‘leaving’ her despite him being kidnapped and his memory wiped. And everyone’s like ‘But Percy didn’t feel any pain!!11!!1!’ The chapter wasn’t in his point of view, so that claim is a guess. Just cause he didn’t say ‘Ow’ doesn’t mean he wasn’t in pain. Also- Annabeth slammed him on a stone pavement on his back. That definitely hurts, even if Percy is a demigod, physically strong, and has gotten hurt a lot. There’s a difference between ‘playful hitting’ and actually hurting someone. Yes they trained a lot, but this isn’t training. This is Annabeth punishing Percy for being traumatized with yet another life-threatening quest and being kidnapped. I don’t remember Percy judo-flipping Annabeth after he saw her again when she got kidnapped in TTC. Besides, the Romans were about to take out their weapons when they saw Annabeth attack Percy, so if all of them thought it was an attack...it was most likely an attack. Even Annabeth said herself “I only attack my boyfriend like that”. The thing is, if it was Percy who flipped Annabeth over his shoulder and slammed her on her back or punched her in the gut, all the fans immediately would’ve freaked out and cancelled him, calling him a horrible and abusive boyfriend, but because it’s the girl hitting the guy, it’s fine apparently. Nothing wrong with it, right? And then Riordan (and the fandom) had the audacity to romanticize that abuse. Abuse isn’t a sweet, romantic gesture. Stop making it seem like it is. That’s disgusting.

2. Annabeth is also verbally abusive and toxic. Annabeth canonically lowered Percy’s self-esteem, constantly insulted him and his intelligence despite knowing he was insecure about it and always getting kicked out of schools and getting bad grades (even with her so-called ‘endearing’ name for him ‘Seaweed Brain’), and the overall idea of Percabeth is a super smart, pretty girl making a guy with below average intelligence feel insecure about himself. Percy’s self-esteem has plummeted since he met Annabeth and her behavior is never called out or even noticed, which implies some manipulation going on. Annabeth is shown to be extremely capable of manipulating her enemies and anyone else she pleases, and there are quite a few signs she’s using it against Percy (his feelings of obligation, fear, and guilt of and over her, questioning himself, having strings attached, always only thinking of her and no one else in his life, etc.), especially since Percy begins to gradually stop noticing Annabeth’s wrong and toxic behavior as the story progresses.

3. Annabeth only likes Percy cause he’s the chosen one. Annabeth only hung around Percy since The Lightning Thief cause she thought he was ‘the one’ and so she could finally go on a quest. She literally used Percy to go out to the mortal world and ‘prove herself’ cause really, all she cares about is glory, which is shown multiple times throughout the series with all her pride and ambitions. Plus the fact that Chiron made Annabeth swear on the River Styx that she would keep Percy from danger is a pretty clear sign she didn’t stick around him just cause she wanted to, but because she felt obligated to and cause it would benefit her. Take all of this and it’s kind of obvious Annabeth only hung around Percy cause he was the chosen one of the prophecy, a son of one of the Big Three, and was destined to go on multiple quests and play a big part in the mythological world, which is what she always wanted since book one.

4. It was forced. Since the beginning of book one, it was so obvious that Percy and Annabeth were going to get together that their relationship ended up being boring, dull, and flat. Riordan made it so obvious they were going to be a couple that nothing that happened to their relationship really mattered, cause everyone knew it would work out in the end (which is probably why everyone *wrongly* hated on Rachel) so what happened in between didn’t matter. Their relationship was the typical ‘male lead and female lead’, ‘bad boy trouble-maker skater and nerdy good girl’ power couple that was way too clear. And Riordan made it worse by pushing their relationship and shoving it into the readers’ faces way too much. In MoA Annabeth states that she’s always had a crush on Percy (since they were twelve) which immediately rips all the development their relationship (which was supposedly ‘friends to lovers’, but not anymore) had away. Riordan made up a bunch of honestly dumb scenarios that were legit cringe to make Percabeth seem like ‘OTP’ that really didn’t make sense.

5. It ruined their characters. Percy and Annabeth would’ve been way better off as just friends. After they got together in HoO, all their personality and everything else that made them independent was destroyed to make room for more ‘Percabeth’. All of Annabeth’s skills, bravery, intelligence, pride, ferocity, judgmentalism, and all the other traits and flaws that made her a well-written character were never utilized or even mentioned. All she thought about was Percy, and the same goes for him. His loyalty, sarcasm, humor, obliviousness, etc. disappeared to make room for arrogant Annabeth fanboy. In PJO, they were amazingly well-written and great role models for younger readers (especially Annabeth), but in HoO their characters were exclusively ‘Annabeth’s boyfriend’ and ‘Percy’s girlfriend’. Their characters were completely dependent on each other, and they were way better off as just friends.

6. Annabeth is way too possessive. And creepy. It’s fine and honestly normal for people to get jealous when another person likes someone they do, but Annabeth’s jealousy was downright creepy. Not only did she not know if her feelings for Percy were reciprocated or not, but she also didn’t know if Percy and Rachel liked each other, either. The very first time she met Rachel she immediately hated her. That’s not ‘I’m jealous cause this girl likes the guy I do’, that’s ‘I’m jealous cause the guy I like has another female friend’. She had no reason to believe that Rachel and Percy liked each other and has no say in who they can like, either. She thought that she and Percy absolutely had to be in a relationship and that he couldn’t even have friends with different genitals than him. And remember when Annabeth literally stalked Percy in The Sea of Monsters? Like when she creeped by his window, constantly watched him, and kept tabs on him just cause she ‘couldn’t find the right time’ to tell him something cause he was ‘never alone’ despite him being alone multiple times and despite the fact that she literally could’ve just knocked on his door like a normal person instead of creeping around his cabin and staring at him through the windows? Again- switch the roles. If it was Percy who was stalking Annabeth, everyone would’ve immediately called him a creep. If- according to Tumblr and almost everyone who read Twilight- Edward is a creep for stalking Bella, then Annabeth is a creep for stalking Percy.

7. It’s mostly fan love. Honestly, the fandom is the only thing that fuels Percabeth. Riordan just destroys it. He shoved it down the readers’ throats, forced it way too much with really dumb and honestly unrealistic scenarios, and made it abusive and toxic. On its own, Percabeth freaking sucks. The fandom’s version of Percabeth is 1000x better than whatever the hell Riordan was doing, but even that version is toxic. Like, I’ve seen way too many jokes about Annabeth hitting Percy (as if abuse is hilarious and amazing meme fuel and not an extremely sensitive topic that triggers multiple people who actually went through it). Half the time, the fandom fixes Percabeth and the other half of the time they over-glorify and ruin it. The fandom over exaggerates and over glorifies it way too much. It’s not that great of a relationship, to be honest. Most of y’all only like it in the first place cause Riordan made it canon.

8. It was cringey. Like I said above, Riordan wrote some really dumb scenes for Percabeth. I mean- the matching gray streaks in their hair despite Atlas and Artemis not getting any? Percy’s tie to the mortal world while bathing in the River Styx being Annabeth and not his mom, Grover, etc.? Percy only remembering Annabeth, the girl he’s only known for four years and not his mom, the only woman who actually cared for and took care of him or Grover, his best friend who protected and continuously cared about him? Percy turning down immortality only for Annabeth and not even bothering to mention the pain of leaving behind his life, friends, family, memories, etc. behind if he accepted it? The romanticized judo-flip? The whole ‘dark-haired rebellious bad boy/nerdy blonde good girl who can be bad’ trope? Even the boring predictability of Percabeth is cringe.

9. It’s a bad influence on younger readers. Basically the lesson of Percabeth is ‘Once you get a love interest nothing else in your life matters’. Besides that one single scene that took like three lines in The Son of Neptune, Percy never even thought of his own mom, nor did he think about any of his friends or passed allies like his dad, Rachel, Grover, Paul, Silena, Luke, Ethan, Bob/Iapetus, Tyson, Calypso, Charles, Michael (whose death he accidentally caused), Bianca, Zoë, etc. Even when in Tartarus with the curse of the Arai being forced to remember all the people he forgot and feeling guilty about abandoning Bob and Calypso, all he thought about was Annabeth. Even when faced with the man who broke the heart of the girl who sacrificed herself for him, Percy didn’t even think of her, only his jealousy of Jason. Same thing with Annabeth. She never thought about her mom, Luke, Thalia, her step-mom or step-brothers, etc. It was all about Percy. Cause yes, Riordan, that’s exactly the lesson you should teach your younger readers- forget everyone you ever knew the moment you get a partner. Besides that, it also teaches readers that being rude to people who like the same person as you is completely okay cause no one will care and once you start being rude, bitter, and possessive you’ll get exactly what you want (that’s literally what happened, with Annabeth and with Calypso, too). He also teaches that after you get a partner, everything that makes you you will disappear and you’ll be completely dependent on them and nothing in your life will matter, even your own independent life and personality.

10. The fandom tries to excuse and explain Annabeth’s behavior??? What??? Since when does explaining and excusing hitting people put you in the right again? And the excuses aren’t even good, too! Percabeth fans use- Annabeth was full of emotions/mad and doesn’t know how to deal with emotions. Annabeth really loved Percy. It was only one time. Annabeth was worried about Percy and mad that she left him. Annabeth didn’t mean to hurt him. Annabeth didn’t know what she was doing cause she was full of emotions. ??? Annabeth was full of emotions/mad and doesn’t know how to deal with emotions- Annabeth was seventeen years old, the daughter of the wisdom goddess, and is supposedly the smartest character in the series who is shown to be extremely good at reading people and their emotions. And y’all are really trying to say she doesn’t know how to deal with her emotions? Annabeth really loved Percy- SO? A mother might really love her child, does that excuse her for hitting them for dumb reasons? It was only one time- actually, it was twice, and so what? If someone was slapped across the face ‘only one time’, does that mean they weren’t abused? ‘Abuse’ doesn’t mean ‘hit constantly’, it means ‘hit’. If someone was hit, they were abused. Is that really not a known fact in this fandom? Annabeth was worried about Percy and mad that she left him- last time I checked, people didn’t hit others when they were worried about them. If I was worried that my friend was going to get hurt, I wouldn’t hurt them myself. That literally makes no sense. And again- Percy didn’t leave Annabeth. He was kidnapped. Do y’all not know the definition of that, either? Annabeth didn’t mean to hurt him- yes, cause that’s why she decided to flip him over her shoulder, slam him on a stone pavement on his back, and punish him for ‘leaving her’. Annabeth didn’t know what she was doing cause she was full of emotions- Annabeth??? the daughter of the wisdom goddess??? not knowing what she’s doing??? huh??? I mean, would any of you really, legitimately try to use any of these dumb excuses to excuse a man from hitting his wife? Hopefully not. And if you did, you would immediately get hated on and legit cancelled. So what makes this any different? Also- I see the excuse ‘Annabeth didn’t know Percy lost his Achilles Heel and thought he was still invincible’. Under different circumstances I’d accept that, but Annabeth knew that Percy’s Achilles Heel was on the small of his back...BUT SHE SLAMMED HIM ON HIS BACK. If Percy hadn’t lost the Achilles Heel, Annabeth literally would’ve killed him. Abusive enough for y’all? Or is attempted murder excusable and still ‘OTP’?

11. They had no chemistry whatsoever. Was I the only one who felt...absolutely no chemistry between Percy and Annabeth? Like some of their moments were cute, their friendship was really good, and they had a lot of potential, but they didn’t feel right for each other. Remember- opposites don’t attract (they just argue, and no one has ‘another half’ that needs to ‘complete them’, everyone is their own person), they cancel each other out. I mean, Reyna and Annabeth had more chemistry in that one chapter of the New Rome tour in MoA than Percy and Annabeth had in 12+ books. They’re just...not right for each other, I guess.

I’m definitely getting cancelled-

Edit 2: Sorry if I offended anyone with that last note. Just wanted to let y’all know that I am not here to start any drama, hurt anyone, or disrespect any Percabeth shippers. I respect your opinions 100% and only ask you do the same for me. Like I literally only wrote this at 12 am when I was bored and had nothing else to do and couldn’t sleep (same goes for pretty much everything else I write about PJ). Besides, why argue and start drama over dumb stuff like that when we can just find something we agree on? Don’t like Piper McLean? Let’s talk about that. Think Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano is a queen? Let’s talk about that. Think Nico di Angelo is freaking amazing? Let’s talk about that. Think Theyna would be adorable? Let’s talk about that. Want someone to vent to about writer’s block? Why the hell not? Want random writing advice and tips for writer’s block? Sure, I got plenty. Instead of arguing and starting beef over trivial fictional ships.

#sorry #not really but whatever #percabeth isn't that great #stop acting like it is #it aint otp #percabeth is toxic #percy jackson #annabeth chase #annabeth sucks #ship #ships #heroes of olympus #demigods #anti-percabeth

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ukaiknowsbest · 3 years

Text

breaking down Ace of Diamond - the "Hero's Journey."

Using the model/guide presented by Overly Sarcastic Productions in their youtube video Trope Talk: The Hero's Journey, I will attempt to discuss how Sawamura Eijun's story in DnA is his Hero's Journey to becoming an ace pitcher in the Japanese HIgh School Baseball environment.

Blue from OSP put forward the 12 basic parts of the Hero's Journey Cycle. The illustration below will be our reference. I simplified a graph made by Signy Wilson in order to match OSP's less rigid guide.

disclaimer: I am by no means any kind of expert. I was just fascinated when I learned about the Hero's Journey as a general trope/framework when it came to writing stories. I want to apply what I learned by breaking down the story created by Terajima Yuuji in Ace of Diamond.

A. ORDINARY WORLD

STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Hero: Sawamura Eijun. Captain and Ace Pitcher of middle school baseball team. He has no formal training in baseball whatsoever but was the one who gathered and convinced his friends to start a baseball club. He's the best player in their small team. Good at sports but bad at academics .

He is generally a baseball idiot and quite a naive/simple guy with a strong heart. He does not have any idea what competitive and pro baseball looks like because not only does he not have experience but also he does not watch the broadcasts on tv/radio at all.

Ordinary World of the Hero: rural town in Nagano Prefecture, where Sawamura formed a small baseball team with his childhood friends. Acording to him, as long as they all stay together they can always play baseball anywhere.

STAGE 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

2.1 Problem/why hero's ordinary world is going to crumble: - He lessened his chances of being scouted/accepted in a good baseball school after he btchslapped an entire opponent team and the umpires in their first and only match as middle school team in Saitama Stadium.

He also has low chance of being accepted into the high school in their area (where his friends are all going to) because he struggles with his academics a lot.

Unless he does something he won't be able to be together with his friends and/or play baseball at all.

2.2 Caller of the adventure - Takashima Rei pursues Sawamura into Nagano Prefecture in order to scout him as a sports scholar for Seido High School, a baseball powerhouse school located in the West Division of Tokyo Prefecture.

2.3 medicine/ solution to hero's crumbling world: being a sports scholar for Seido. This would solve almost all of Sawamura's highschool enrollment problem and also give him the chance to play as much baseball as he wants.

STAGE 3. REFUSAL TO THE CALL

3.1 reluctance to go: Sawamura refuses to leave Nagano despite Rei's "sales pitch" to him and his family. He doesn't want to leave his friends just to play baseball in a stronger school far away because he had promised his friends that they would always stick together.

3.2 hero punished for this - his grandpa literally smacks/slaps him in being stupid and doubting his friends.!!! / technically circumstances are already punishing him for being a hotblooded baseball idiot in the first place.

3.3 do you think you have a choice - this is probably the only chance he'll get to play baseball with all his strength AND finish highschool.

B. EXTRAORDINARY / UNKNOWN WORLD

Venturing out into more competitive/pro baseball is a world beyond him. It's scary and unknown and he'd rather defeat bigger teams than leave his friends.

STAGE 4. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

4.1 crossing physical threshold - Rei persuades him to at least check the school out with his own eyes. They leave Tokyo together for one visit.

4.2. crossing a metaphorical threshold - in that visit, sawamura, picks a fight with a senior who's bound for baseball drafts, works together with a nationally acclaimed catcher in defeating the senior player, thus changing his worldview because he had so much fun.

4.2. conscious and irreversible decision - Because of the experience he goes home conflicted. His family encourages him in their own way to follow his guts and heart and go to Tokyo.

STAGE 5. REALM OF ADVENTURE

5.1 hero learns to navigate the unknown world - Sawamura learns the harsh realities of being in a baseball school once he actually starts to live there. Our boy also gets educated in Baseball and Pitching 101. He also finds out the true personality of the catcher he played with before.

5.2 meeting allies/rivals/mentors - he learns about the team better when he meets a whole bunch of people: batchmates, coaches and senpais. He builds interesting dynamics with all of them.

5.3 trials and initial failures - Sawamura undergoes difficult initial training and is barely allowed to play in matches.

5.4 meeting enemies - Sawamura being allowed to play as relief pitcher in the games and face talented pitchers and scary batters mostly in tense situations.

5.5 growth, new skills - Sawamura grows with each match, thus bolstering his confidence. Sometimes he falters but he learns from his mistakes.

5.6 first major success - striking out scary batters with each new thing he learns.

5.7 major challenge that leads to downfall - seido vs inashiro finals match where he goes in full of confidence and courage but then he and his team gets defeated in a devastating way.

STAGE 6. BELLY OF THE WHALE

6.1 lowest point of hero where hero physically or metaphorically goes down - one month after their major defeat, a lot of intense practice matches and change in team dynamics, the team find out that Sawamura has the YIPS. This condition took away Sawamura's ability to pitch in his trademark style/ the only thing he was good at.

6.2 hero's darkest hour - without the ability to pitch, Sawamura questions his reality and why he is still on the team.

6.3 Face and overcome inner demons - with a lot of help from allies and mentors, Sawamura finds a way to bring back a bit of his ability.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS

7.1 Discarding old self - In the duration of his downfall and eventual healing, Sawamura turns to books, meditation and becomes even more careful in maintaining his form and body.

7.2 Accepting the new role - instead of fixating on the ace position like before, Sawamura is just glad that he is still allowed to pitch as relief.

7.3 Finding path out of the belly of the whale/The road back - After figuring out a solution to fix his pitching, he focuses on it and regains some of his ability. Sawamura is then allowed to play in matches. Just like before, he improves little by little as he recovers from each failure. He gains fresher mindset and new weapons, thus becoming an even stronger pitcher than he ever was before.

7.4 more trials - they face new opponent schools and old but improved opponents which test the best of Sawamura and the team's ability

STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

every major match in ace of diamond has this part of the story but usually the most critical breather episode is the one before the final match.

8.1 show humanity of other characters - Somethng bad happens to the other mc without Sawamura knowing. This could absolutely wreck their chances of winning the final match. This shows that the other guys are not 100% invincible after all.

8.2 last chance to relax. - calm before the storm. It is also the time where they finalize sawamura's weapons.

8.3 quiet moment to reminisce - usually happens before each match. However the night before the finals was the major one because their old senpais went to visit their practice and encourage them.

STAGE 9. CLIMAX / STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE

9.1 Final Showdown - Sawamura helps in the team defense with the best of his ability and weapons and he succeeds. Their team eventually wins Fall Tournament even with a few setbacks.

9.2 Apotheosis - Sawamura's worldview changed once he realises that even with his improvement and skill, his goal of being the ace is still out of reach for him.

9.3 Ultimate Boon - Sawamura gets to be a pivotal member of their baseball team and can play baseball as much as he wants with his team.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS start again after the Fall Tournament Act 1 because Sawamura faces new challenges in Ace of Diamond Act 2.

Meiji Jingu Tournament - Play in matches without Miyuki

WInter camp and break - Intense Physical Training and development and improvement of his weapons which he will use and improve on throughout the rest of Act 2.

Spring Koshien where he realises that he has to do more in order to surpass the current ace which was Furuya.

Start of New Term/ Practice Matches - Sawamura and co. meets their new kouhai and team dynamics shift once again.

Spring Tournament / Summer Tournament - Sawamura meets old foes and new enemies. He also becomes the Ace Pitcher of the team, which adds more pressure on his part.

ACT 2 STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

This is the big and long one before Summer Tournament Finals match where injuries and problems were discussed and feelings were explored.

ACT 2 STAGE 9. CLIMAX

Final (Or most hyped and awaited rematch) Seido vs Inashiro in order to qualify for Summer Koshien Nationals.

**everything after this point will be prediction and just my opinion

STAGES 7-9 start again

Koshien Nationals Arc.

STAGE 10. CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD

Miyuki/3rd years retirement/graduation. Sawamura and his batch will have to lead the team.

STAGE 11. THE REWARD

Sawamura gets to play with his team as ace pitcher.

STAGE 12 / STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Sawamura may become both ace and captain, same as his role back in his middle school team, albeit in a stronger school. Even if he won't be the next captain, as ace he will still be in a strong leadership position.

CONCLUSION

That's how Ace of Diamond is written in the style of A HERO'S JOURNEY.

Act 1 writing especially followed the trope quite rigidly.

Notes:

I still don't want Sawamura to be the next captain. I hope that does not happen. However if it does, it means the story will have gone back full circle. That would be quite poetic ngl.

Gotta applaud Terajima's pacing. Can you believe that the story only reached its lowest and most pivotal point at around episode 70 of the anime???? thank godt that after ep 63 I read spoilers about yips arc in tv tropes or else i would have dropped the series completely.

I had difficulty in classifying the events after the climax stage into hero's journey stages because technically sawamura has not gone "home" yet. Moreover the challenges and trials just kept on piling up after Fall Tournament.

In this whole story, Sawamura has experienced only one true "Belly of the Whale stage" during his YIPS arc. I don't think he really came to a low point in Act 2 other than his first official match as Ace Pitcher. I treated that in the same vein as the effects of Raichi's first homerun off Sawamura back in Act 1.

I realized that having stages 7-9 recur starting from Meiji Jingu to the current summer tournament is what made reading Act 2 quite frustrating for me. That's at least 5-6 arcs of endless roller coaster ride loops.

I consider Miyuki's departure to be the "CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD" moment because playing with him was the major reason for Sawamura's decision to study and play in Tokyo. Something will change Sawamura when this eventually happens.

As Blue from OSP said, the Hero's Journey is just a general guide/framework to writing stories. It is flexible, writers don't even have to use it or all of its parts to make a good story. Terajima just seemed to have adopted A LOT of the hero's journey trope in his baseball series.

I wanted to add more pictures tbh but tumblr is a killjoy :(

This was a fun thought exercise. There were probably even some parts which I have used the tropes wrongly. Please feel free to dispute me.

I talked about Sawamura's mentors here (x).

#sawamura eijun #sports anime #ace of diamond #daiya no a #daiya meta #daiya discuss #hero's journey #long post #daiya thoughts

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