#am not good with captivity scenes cuz like how do?

[aria0fgold]

Whumptober day 11 prompt: Captivity

Character: Xavier Age: 24

Xavier leaned his head on the bars keeping him caged within the small room that is now his own “home,” for however long his captors wished to keep him alive. He glanced around his cell, if not for the lone mattress by the corner, it would be completely empty. He surveyed the outside, what little he can see from his position.

Guards stationed beside each cell, prisoners young, old, and ones he knows. Some were crying, others were still unconscious, the rest were quiet, like him. Throat dry and body numb, with his hope destroyed defeat was the only thing left to accept. A needless war that spanned for years, no matter how hard he fought alongside his brothers in arms, it was useless. Completely useless. Scars and wounds sustained from such a battle meant nothing, it wasn't glory, it was an ugly reminder of the many lives he had taken.

He looked down at himself, clothes tattered and worn, several wounds littered across his body, stained with a mixture of his own blood and others', from his own allies to his enemies. Death is surely a mercy he didn't deserve.

Xavier heard footsteps coming near, saw a figure at the corner of his eye, yet he didn't turn his head to look.

“Not even a greeting? How cold.” The person on the other side of the bars spoke. “Even after I went through the trouble of getting you this?”

A tray with soup, bread, and a glass of water was pushed in through the small opening at the bottom. There was still steam coming off of the soup and water.

“What's your goal?” His voice was hoarse, it was hard to speak, but that didn't matter to him anymore. Nothing did.

“That's a surprise. Wouldn't want to ruin it now.”

Xavier let out a quiet sigh. What a predictable surprise then.

“Oh, and since I'm in such a good mood. I'd even let you send your last words to your loved ones. How nice of me, right?”

“No need.” No one will look for me anyway.

“Huh… Well, enjoy your first and last night in there then. Sleep well, soldier.”

For the first time in a while, Xavier chuckled bitterly.

[smuttykdrama]

I AM SO SINFUL Y'ALL.

ok so I was rewatching the scene where Hyunsu is held captive from season 2, and I'm like...??????????? I HAVE AN IDEA

filth beneath the cut yall. You have been warned, I am wild.

So what if y/n was a scientist sent to do some tests on Hyunsu? And she's like WOAH this test subject is hot...I sort of want to test other things on him...??? Like mean, mad scientist girl gets obsessed with half human Cha Hyunsu and pretend he escapes sooner like bc y/n says she'll get him out of there if he passes all her tests...🤭 and the tests are like can monsters still ejaculate? Can he keep going bc of his healing ability? 💀 Wait what if he's totally chained up and she just uses him for whatever? Lets not forget how hes totally naked and looks GORGEOUS even covered in blood. DAT ASS TOO!!! HOW GOOD IS HIS MONSTER IN BED????? Is he able to fuck her with that wing- too far? Ok. 😩😩😩😩 And how Hyunsu secretly is attracted to y/n too, and actually wants to be used? Like he hasn't had a good fuck in ages cuz I mean 💀 he's been having a lot of other problems like being a monster etc and is like hell yeah I'm shameless but whatever imma yeet tf outta here.

I am so sorry. I am a messed up person. I wanna write a Hyunsu x Scientist!Reader where this happens and then they actually escape...and then have a little quiet peaceful life together (apart from nights they gon be wild).🤣

[fratboykate]

Just a desperate anon, politely asking if this was ever posted 👀👀👀 or if it could be added to the potential writer-strike queue if it wasn’t. I am crossing my fingers it wasn’t eaten by tumblr or notes…

https://www.tumblr.com/fratboykate/711128923636908032/papi-we-need-the-stepmom-angst-its-a-matter-of

You must've crossed those fingers really hard because you sent this two weeks ago and are now getting it three whole days before the strike lol. Here's almost 10k of...them. Mom!AU is officially back from the war too.

///

"Do NOT bring those boots into the apartment, Ri. Off by the door. I mean it. You're cleaning it if you track all that dirty slush around."

Kate abruptly halts her twelve-year-old daughter’s hasty rush toward the entrance with a firm yank on the hood of her brightly colored parka and deftly transfers the stroller she’s pushing to Ereka. In the same single, graceful, and fluid motion, Kate skillfully juggles the diaper bag, empty coffee tumbler, and cell phone freeing her dominant hand to dig through her purse for her keys. A palpable imperativeness hangs in the air as they make their way down the hallway because Russell, who currently tries to squirm his way out of the stroller straps, is on the brink of a meltdown. With each passing second, his patience wears thinner, and Kate endeavors to avoid him going nuclear in public.

"And take your brother's boots off too, please. You know where the stroller goes. Don't just leave it blocking the door. Did momma text you back about dinner?"

"No...Any day now would be great, mom."

Kate's eyes narrow with stony intensity as she shoots Ereka a dirty look.

"I’ll leave you out here. Don’t try me."

"Top-notch parenting. I'll be sure to add that to the CPS file I'm compiling."

"Mommy, druck!"

Two-and-a-half-year-old Russell unleashes a series of frustrated hollers from within his rolling prison. His annoyance is palpable.

The boy is an undeniable carbon copy of his mother, a living reflection of Yelena. Kate has never once laid eyes on her son and seen anything other than an unmistakable resemblance to her wife. This moment isn’t an exception. Kate can't help but notice the striking parallels between them. Every feature screams Yelena, from how his nose scrunches when he smiles to his green eyes to his vibrant blonde hair to his Short King status. Even his breathing issues, which lend a raspy voice and a crackling laugh, serve as a constant reminder of the deep link that those two share. Kate could complain about the fact that he also inherited her rotten temper, but instead, she finds herself captivated by this portable embodiment of her darling wife.

"Yes, baby. Riri will get you another truck as soon as we're inside."

"I WANT RED DRUCK NOW! RED DRUCK!"

"Okay, woh. Tone, sir. You're the one who threw it out the car window. You're gonna wait until we get inside and give zero attitude because this is a problem of your own doing."

Russell furrows his brow, a visible display of his discontent, followed by an exasperated huff. The air between them hangs momentarily. This could be the moment when he finally loses his cool. Then…after a beat…

"A druck is a wectangle, mommy."

"It is. What shape is this?"

Kate holds up the face powder she's holding.

"Circle! Cuz it wound. Like this..."

The little boy traces a circle in the air with his plump toddler fingers.

"Good job!"

"Oh my god. Do we live in the hallway now? Open the door."

Kate continues digging through her purse while simultaneously turning to Ereka and contorting her face into a humorous expression. Ereka quickly mirrors her mother's mischievous look, sparking a shared moment of amusement between the two. Laughter escapes their lips, affording them a moment of levity amid the chaotic scene. As their chuckles subside, a triumphant glimmer sails through Kate's eyes — she’s finally found the keys!

"There's no reason this thing should be able to swallow my keys into another dimension. It's not that big."

Kate swings the door wide open with a determined push. Without missing a beat, she dumps the bags that dangle from her shoulders onto the table by the entrance while slipping her waterproof boots off. Once her hands, arms, and feet are free, she heads to the jacket closet to begin taking layers off.

"Ri! Come on! You're smarter than that. Take your boots off first, THEN his. Moving around and look at the mess you're making."

Kate is too busy chastising her daughter to notice Yelena's coat is already hanging in the closet.

"You said to take his off too. I'm doing that and you get mad."

"I didn't think I needed to give you a detailed step-by-step on how to do it right, but I'll be sure to next time."

"Next time, I just won't do it if you're going to scream at me either way."

"There was no screaming. Just pointing out the obvious."

"...while you screamed."

Kate offers a vexed eye roll then strides into the apartment, leaving Ereka to wrestle with the challenge of removing Russell's stubborn boots in the foyer. Kate moves with purpose, her footsteps echoing as she navigates through the familiar space. Once Ereka successfully frees her brother’s tiny feet from the damp shoes, she proceeds to unstrap him from the stroller.

"Riri, druck!"

"I will get you your dumb truck, but I need to take this off you so mom doesn't flip a lid." Ereka tells her brother while deftly unzipping the small, purple coat.

"DRUCK NOW, RIRI!"

The little boy squirms as Ereka wrestles with his jacket.

"I will hide all your trucks if you scream at me again."

A deep frown creases Russell’s face, his features contorting into an expression of displeasure and frustration.

"No! Druck Wuss!"

"Yeah, they're your trucks, but I can also put them on the top shelf where you can't reach them if you don't stop being a brat." Ereka slides his gloves off, stands, and heads for the door a few feet away. Ereka opens the closet and immediately catches Yelena's coat. She hastily hangs her brother's tiny parka, throws the gloves into the corresponding cubby, and stares at Yelena's jacket once more before turning to Russell. "Don't move." Ereka darts to the back of the apartment, disappearing momentarily from Russell’s sight. She returns to the hallway that connects the foyer to the rest of the apartment a few seconds later. "Mama's home."

From her position by the kitchen island, Kate gazes at her daughter with confusion etched across her face.

"What?"

"Her coat's in here, so I went and checked and she's in the room. I think she's sleeping though, because all the lights are off."

Kate turns to glance at the clock on the microwave. 5:28 PM. Yelena is never home before them, let alone before 5:00 PM. At least not unless she's feeling unwell. Kate closes the cookbook she perused for dinner ideas and heads for the bedroom.

"Please keep an eye on him and get him one of the trucks from his chest. Thank you."

Kate tells Ereka as she kisses the top of her head in passing.

"Come on, Russellsprout. Let's get you a truck."

Kate suppresses a smile and instinctively rolls her eyes, a reflexive response to Ereka’s talent for assigning people terrible (and often food-related) nicknames. This might be one of the most annoying traits Ereka inherited from her father and Kate can’t help but find it both amusing and exasperating.

---

Kate enters the pitch-black room, stepping closer to the bed as her eyes gradually adjust to the darkness. The air is nice and toasty, meaning the older woman must be running the small space heater she’s permanently moved to her nightstand. As Kate approaches, she can see Yelena is, in fact, in bed. Her back is turned to the door and her shoulders rise and fall in a slow, steady rhythm. A wave of concern washes over the brunette as she realizes that her wife must be feeling truly awful to be in bed this early.

"Baby...Yel..."

Kate whispers but gets no answer. She debates letting Yelena sleep but can't resist the urge to be close to her wife, even if it's just for a moment. Kate crawls into bed and nestles herself against Yelena’s warm form. Yelena instinctively responds, her body pushing back into Kate’s.

Kate's lips find Yelena's neck, leaving a trail of soft, affectionate kisses. Her arm delicately snakes around Yelena's overgrown midriff, cradling the ever-growing twenty-two-week pregnant belly.

"You okay?"

Kate whispers into Yelena's ear and places a gentle kiss on her earlobe. Yelena softly shakes her head, indicating her disinterest in engaging in conversation at the moment.

The most accurate way to describe Yelena's pregnancy thus far is: miserable. The first trimester was a nightmare, marked by persistent malaise and bouts of morning sickness that had her bent over a toilet for hours on end, leaving her feeling drained and weak. And those were the good days. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Yelena’s body is rebelling at every turn. Run down any list of pregnancy symptoms (and add a few more most people had never even heard of), and Yelena went through all of them. Her body seems determined to manifest every ailment imaginable and magnify its intensity. The dizziness has become a constant companion. Exhaustion has settled in her bones, claiming all of her energy. Frequent nosebleeds interrupt her daily routine, keeping her perpetually on edge. There’s also the hormonal mood swings that leave Yelena feeling like a stranger in her own body. Crippling headaches punctuate her days with throbbing pangs, constantly forcing her to seek solace in the darkness…like now.

Throughout the madness of this pregnancy, Kate has risen to the occasion, stepping up as a pillar of emotional support and embracing the role of caregiving, devoted partner with unwavering dedication. Day in and day out, Kate has done everything she can to make Yelena's life easier, including taking on the lion’s share of household chores and errands. Additionally, Kate has done everything in her power to anticipate Yelena's needs. She cooks meals to soothe Yelena's queasy stomach, researches remedies and alternative therapies to alleviate symptoms, offers calming teas and massages to ease aches, ensures Yelena stays hydrated and gets enough rest, or is simply around to provide a comforting touch along with words of consolation when Yelena is feeling down about the toll that pregnancy is taking on her body. Kate has become a constant presence by her wife’s side, ensuring Yelena feels loved and cherished throughout this challenging period. Overall, Kate has made it her mission to turn Yelena's difficult pregnancy into a somewhat manageable experience.

With tender affection, Kate runs her palm over Yelena's growing belly.

"I thought we had a deal that you were going to be nice to momma, baby girl. What's going on in there, huh?"

"Your stupid genes...trying to kill me." Kate chuckles, a jovial response to their now recurring conversation. Since Yelena is carrying a baby conceived with Kate's egg and the donor's sperm, Yelena has started to (halfway?) joke that Kate’s genes must be “toxic” to her and that they’re the root cause of Yelena's endless pregnancy woes. "You drive me crazy every day. Why did I think putting a literal piece of you inside me would go any better?"

"I'm sorry. So evil of me. Bad, BAD genes. I'll have a talk with them later." Kate's lips graze Yelena's shoulder, leaving behind a trail of soft kisses. In an instant, Yelena's body surrenders to her touch and loosens up as a result. "What are you feeling for dinner?"

"The last thing I want near me right now is food."

"You need to eat, Yel."

"I need this baby out of me. That's what I need."

Yelena lets out a discontented grumble and Kate's smile blossoms against her skin.

"Three more months. You just have to cook the nugget for three more months and you're done."

"That sounds like forever. Don't like it."

"How about some Mac and Cheese? Would that make it somewhat better?"

"Kate Bishop...are you trying to bribe me out of bed?"

"Maybe. I think there's lobster in the fridge. I think I got some when I went on Monday. If not, I can have some delivered. Lobster Mac. Super ooey and gooey and cheesy and yum."

"Why are you trying to sell it to me like I'm two?"

"It's how I convince your son to eat. Figured it might work on you since you're both grumpy little gremlins." Restless and dissatisfied, Yelena grunts in discomfort and shifts in bed, struggling to find an agreeable position to no avail. Eventually, she ends up half-facing Kate, seeking some semblance of relief in the brunette’s proximity. Kate offers her a warm smile. "That's the face of someone who could do with some ooey gooey cheesy yum in their life."

Yelena's lips curl into a merry smile and she indulges in a slight eye roll.

"I hate that it's actually working."

"My job is to sell things for a living and..." Kate plants a delicate kiss on Yelena's lips. "...I'm good at what I do."

"You..."

The door bursts open, unleashing a flood of light that fills the room. The little blonde toddler charges inside with a whirlwind of energy while proudly showcasing the truck his sister procured for him.

"MOMMA, LOOK! RIRI GOT RED DRUCK!"

Russell hops onto the bed, forcefully wedging himself with determined enthusiasm into the nonexistent space between his mothers.

"Your son...he had the genius idea to hurl his truck out the moving car window on our way here. Blue truck no more."

"Russ...that's dangerous. We don't do that."

"Blue druck went...FRUMMMMMMM"

The little boy offers Yelena an animated demonstration of the flight his toy truck embarked on with uncontainable excitement.

"RUSSPBERRY!"

"He's in here!"

Kate shouts at her daughter, who promptly appears at the door seconds later.

"Sorry. I went to the bathroom and I told him to stay."

"It's okay."

"Did he wake momma up?"

"Your mom woke me up."

"WITH KISSES. It was the most gentle wake-up ever."

"Still woke me up."

Kate shakes her head, purporting to be piqued.

"Come here. There's room."

Ereka's face lights up with a broad smile as she dashes to the bed and jumps onto it, somehow also forcing herself between Kate and Yelena.

"Easy. Momma's not feeling great."

"Sorry. Hi."

Ereka settles herself snugly, resting her chin on Yelena's hip and tenderly placing her hand on the gentle curve of her mother’s stomach.

"Hi. How was school?" Yelena asks with genuine curiosity.

Ereka shrugs nonchalantly, a hint of facetious defiance in her expression.

"Same as every other time you ask."

Kate and Yelena exchange amused glances before bursting into laughter. Yelena leans closer to Ereka, a warm grin on her face.

"Humor me."

Ereka huffs dramatically, her eyes rolling with jocose petulance. A small, roguish grin tugs at the corners of her lips, giving away her underlying amusement.

"Classes are boring. Everyone is stupid. The rules don't make sense. It's always going to be the same thing. So…fine, I guess. Tolerable.”

"Oh, you're going to be a FUN teenager." Yelena responds, her tone lighthearted and teasing.

"If I'm as precocious as everyone says I am, then technically, you could assume I've been a teenager for a while now."

"Yeah, that's it. The moment you hit thirteen, I'm packing your bags and finding you a new place to live, or I'll start graying early.” Kate playfully warns while simulating seriousness.

"Wow. Threatening to rescind my housing for exercising my right to free speech? I'm sure some case worker out there is salivating at the thought of it."

Kate rolls her eyes.

"Mommy, hungwy. I has milk?"

"Have, baby. Can I have milk?"

"Yeah. Can I haves it?” The little boy insists eagerly and with a hint of distress.

Kate chuckles.

"Close enough. But we're having dinner in a little bit, so no milk right now." Kate places a final peck on Yelena's lips and starts to stand. "Mac and cheese for dinner."  

"Yesssss. Can you put bacon in it?" Ereka inquires excitedly.

"If you guys haven't gone through it already, then sure. Last I checked, there were like two pieces left, so not making any promises."

"Tell Lila to make less bacon for breakfast then."

"OR...you could do what I ask and write it on the list when you see we're running low. She already has enough on her plate with you two. You could help out more."

A few times a week, a dedicated housekeeper arrives early in the morning to help with the kids and the upkeep of the house. She quickly becomes a lifeline for the family, offering an extra pair of capable hands and a much-needed boost of organization and support. This arrangement means Kate and Yelena have less to juggle and can focus more of their time on the children.

"You also saw we were running low and didn't put it on the list, so..."

"I did put it on the list when I realized I just haven't gone shopping again. But it wasn't on my last list because YOU, the bacon fiend in this house, didn't put it there."

"Whatever." Ereka grumbles, feigning annoyance.

"Keep her busy...but don't drive her crazy. It's a delicate balance. I'll scream when it's ready. And...I might need you at some point, so don't pretend like you don't hear me calling you when I do."

Kate punctuates her words by tapping Ereka on the shoulder as she stands and walks away.

"I have bad ears." Ereka tries to play it off, but Kate doesn't let her off the hook.

"Not according to the doctor, you don't."

Ereka has gotten so proficient at selective hearing that Kate took her to the otolaryngologist to get her checked, only to prove a point.

Ereka repositions herself to lie on Kate's pillow, her face ending next to Yelena’s. She lovingly presses her head against the blonde’s.

"I like it when you're home early."

Yelena offers a faint smile while keeping her eyes closed.

"Me too."

"WUSS LIKES, MOMMA." Russell exclaims. He has an adorable habit of referring to himself in the third person, which always makes the outlandish things he says objectively funnier.

The little boy clambers up Yelena's body, unknowingly jabbing her sides with the hard plastic of his toy truck. Yelena winces and hisses in pain, prompting her to extend her arms and lift him off.

"Why are all your toys deadly weapons?" Yelena gripes, readjusting Russell so he's lying against her chest and carefully removing the toy from his hand. He immediately snuggles his cheek against hers and allows his entire body weight rest on her. Yelena lets out a groan, a mixture of mischief and genuine fatigue. "You guys are so clingy. Where are we even going to fit a third?"

Yelena fake complains, although deep down, she loves every second of it.

"She can go right here."

Ereke facetiously places her open hand over Yelena's face, covering most of it. Yelena chuckles.

"Yeah. Perfect place to sit a dirty diaper on."

Ereka's chuckles echo around the room as Yelena tries to shake her palm off her face. With a bit of effort, Yelena succeeds in removing Ereka's hand and turns to face her, offering a weak but earnest smile.

"I'm sorry you're not feeling good."

"It's okay. I'll suck it up...but I'm going to complain the entire time."

Ereka snickers and slides impossibly closer to Yelena, their bond evident in their proximity.

"Thank you for a little sister."

Yelena presses a loving kiss to Ereka's temple.

"Are you happy about it?"

"SO MUCH!" Ereka’s genuine excitement and gratitude shine through her words. "...Unless you're lying to me again and it's actually another one of these..." Ereka pokes her fingers all around Russell's body and the toddler giggles uncontrollably. "...in there."

Yelena guffaws.

"Promise it's a girl. For real this time. And she's a very lucky girl to have you as a big sister."

"I think so too."

"We have to work on your modesty." Yelena teases her daughter with a smile.

"I'm the right amount of confident. I know I'm a good big sister. Right, Russpaghetti?"

Ereka looks at her little brother for validation. The boy eagerly nods his head as he pats his tiny hands all over Yelena's face.

"Mama, milk pwease."

"Mommy is working on dinner. No milk right now. Milk later."

"Milk pwease." Russell persists, his fussiness escalating.

"No milk right now, Russ."

The boy begins to fuss and instantly works himself up to the brink of a tantrum.

"MILK, MAMA!” Russell insists, his volume rising.

"No no. Shhhhh...let's all just...Shhh...quiet time until dinner is ready. How about that? That sounds so much more fun and better for my head."

"NO!"

Ereka rolls her eyes at his protest and rises from the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"To get him milk. He's not going to stop until someone does and it'll make your headache worse if he doesn't. Just a little and he'll chill."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah."

Ereka disappears out the door.

"Milk."

"Ri, went to get you some."

“Milk. Okay." Russell acknowledges, reassured that his request is being taken care of.

"So stubborn. Definitely get that from your other mom, not me. Definitely not me."

Yelena pulls the boy close and covers his body in kisses. His sour mood instantly shifts and he devolves into a fit of giggles.

---

An hour later, the foursome sits around the table, settled into their usual seats. Russell is perched in his high chair next to Kate, who patiently feeds him his meal. Ereka is to the other side of Kate, absentmindedly moving the food around her plate, seemingly lost in her thoughts. Yelena, determined to fend off her nausea, takes slow, deliberate bites, willing herself to keep the food down.

"Can I ask you something? And you'll promise you'll at least think about it before you say no?"

"Uh oh," Kate utters.

"I'm serious, mom."

"Me too. I can't possibly see how this is good, so I was bracing."

"Momma, promise you'll at least think about it."

Ereka turns towards Yelena, her expression brimming with seriousness and sincerity. Yelena meets her daughter's gaze, responding with a warm smile that conveys her openness to listen and engage wholeheartedly in anything Ereka is about to share.

"Whatever it is, mom and I will think about it and have a fair discussion before we get back to you.”

Following Yelena’s reassurance, a brief silence fills the room as Ereka gathers her thoughts. Kate and Yelena maintain their focus on her.

"I don't want to go stay at dad's anymore...ever."

Ereka declares confidently. Kate and Yelena instantly exchange worried glances.

"Did something happen?"

"No. Yes. No. I just...it's not that I don't want to see him. I just don't want to sleep over. Or be gone for days. Whenever I'm there, I'm missing here and Russtachio and you guys. And baby sister is coming soon and I'll miss her too. You always end up doing something fun without me and I hate it. Nothing I'm doing there is better than being here."

"Ri, we can't take days away from your dad."

"Why not?"

"It would...be a problem."

"What problem?! Just tell him I can…I don’t know…come hang out during the day for a few hours and then he has to bring me back."

"It doesn't work that way."

"Why not?!"

"Because we have a court-ordered agreement that we need to stick by. He gets you 30% of the time. That's how it works."

"Fuck court."

"Ereka!" Kate and Yelena exclaim simultaneously.

Ereka responds with a nonchalant shrug, seemingly unfazed by their reaction.

"See? That's what happens when you send me over to dad's house. I learn curse words. Bad influence."

"Honey, your dad loves you. You're the light of his life and he loves spending time with you." Kate tells Ereka matter-of-factly, her tone filled with unwavering certainty.

"All they do over there is be angry, argue with each other, and drink until they make up more reasons to keep arguing. Then it usually goes to fighting and breaking things. I hate it."

"How long has this been going on?" Yelena inquires, her voice laced with worry.

"Since I was little. That's what grandma's house has always been like."

"Who argues and breaks things?"

"Everyone. Everyone is always over for dinner and definitely on weekends. Dad and Uncle Billy get into it every time they start drinking. Aunt Viv drinks even more now that she's getting divorced. Her and dad argue all the time too. And then Aunt...it's a lot of people and I don't want to sleep over anymore."

"Ereka, did something else happen that you're not telling us? Something bad?" Yelena doubles down on her line of questions.

"No. I just want to come back home every night. I want to sleep here. Always."

"You can tell us anything. You know that, right?"

"I'm telling you right now!"

"Okay...hey...let's take a breather." Kate interjects, attempting to calm her.

"Ri, look at me," Yelena asks firmly. "Did anything inappropriate happen over there and you're scared to go back? Because if something did, we will..."

"Oh my god! No one like...touched me or did anything weird! Ew. Don't go there. I just don't like them. That's it. Nothing illegal. I mean, I have seen illegal things, but...nothing illegal involving me. I swear. Truly...that's not it."

"Promise?"

"Promise. It's not that. Really."

Yelena nods, her gaze shifting between Kate and Ereka, silently acknowledging the weight of the situation.

"We'll talk about it and get back to you.“

"There's nothing to talk about. We can't do that."

"We'll talk." Yelena insists, her voice firm yet gentle. "Give us some time, okay?"

Ereka nods and Yelena reaches across the table, placing a heartening hand on Ereka's.

"Thank you."

The girl whispers and finally takes her first bite of food, her appetite slowly returning. The table falls into a solemn silence as they continue their meal, each of them deep in their minds.

---

Yelena lies in bed, her hands absentmindedly caressing her stomach. Her eyes remain fixed on Kate, who moves around the bathroom finishing the last few steps of her nightly routine.

"Yel, we can't take this on,” Kate asserts firmly.

"Why not?"

Kate walks to the doorway, rests her shoulder against the jamb, and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Because we went to court for almost TWO YEARS to get the agreement we have now. How do you think it's gonna go over if I call him tomorrow and tell him we're breaking it? Do you really wanna go through whatever that brings up? Now? In the middle of this?"

Kate's hand gestures to Yelena's stomach, emphasizing their current situation.

"My feelings aren't more important than hers. If she doesn't want to go back, we shouldn't force her."

"Yes. You're correct. Absolutely. We should always take her feelings into consideration. But think about it like this, what she's asking is for us to get full custody and he gets SOME visitation rights. Under nebulous circumstances. What is she actually asking for? She gets to see him for two hours every other weekend and then comes home? We don't know what she wants, but whatever it is, I know that we don't have legal grounds to take her away from him. He's gonna fight it."

"And we can fight him."

Kate lets out a tired groan as she switches off the bathroom light. She moves to the bed, slipping under the covers, sitting up, and leaning her back against the bed frame. Her eyes are glued on the darkened TV screen across from her, her mind seemingly lost in serious contemplation.

"You two would fight all day if it were up to you, but *me*...I'm over it. This isn't something that's realistic and as much as I hate making her do something she doesn't want to, no judge is going to take his partial custody away. We don't even have any reason to take him back to court. Nothing's changed."

"She said she's seen illegal things...We should ask what that is."

"Yelena..." Kate turns to face her wife, her expression showing both fatigue and vulnerability. "...I don't have another two years of court in me. I don't have even another second of his tantrums and his shit in my body. I can't do it. Especially knowing we're not going to win. He's been...better???"

"That's a stretch."

Yelena reaches out and takes Kate's hand in hers, intertwining their fingers, and grounding her. Grounding each other.

"It has been better. You can't deny it hasn't. Why do we want to poke the bear?"

"For her. I would poke the bear for her."

Kate's shoulders slump as she exhales a heavy sigh, the weight of their situation bearing down on her. Yelena squeezes her wife’s hand gently.

"What happens when we go through a long, miserable custody battle over this, then she's suddenly sixteen and wants to go sleep at her dad's because we did something to piss her off?”

"Nothing. She goes to sleep at her dad's. Because that's her choice. As long as it's her choice, it's fine. But we shouldn't force her into a situation that makes her clearly unhappy." Yelena takes a beat, thinking. "What if we don't have to go to court? What if we all sit down and talk about it?"

Kate lets out a bitter laugh.

"Yel, please."

"It could work."

"When have you two ever been in a room where the situation doesn't end with me stopping you from killing each other?"

"I can't exactly kick his ass right now, so...different circumstances. I mean, I probably still could, but unless I had to, I wouldn't."

"I love her and I love you, but I'm not doing it. I'm not going to detonate a bomb we don't even need to touch."

---

The next morning. Yelena finds herself perched on a booth in a bustling café, the air filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the animated chatter of the early lunchtime crowd. She grimaces and shifts restlessly, her hand instinctively soothing the spot where her daughter just delivered a formidable fighter-style kick.

"You need to cut it with that."

Yelena mutters, chastising the baby before taking a cautious sip of her decaf concoction. Her eyes remain glued on the café entrance as she anxiously awaits the arrival of the person she's meeting.

Thankfully, Yelena's anticipation is short-lived. The jingling bell above the door heralds the arrival of Tom, who enters the busy room and immediately starts scanning the patrons. Spotting Yelena, he makes his way to her booth. Their eyes meet and they exchange perfunctory nods before muffled, forced greetings escape their lips. Tom drapes his coat over the back of his chair and slides into the padded bench. Yelena's gaze remains fixed on the table, trying to conceal her agitation.

This close to him, Yelena can smell the alcohol on his breath. He doesn't appear visibly intoxicated, yet the unmistakable odor of Vodka taints the air around them, lingering like a cloud and a troubling reminder of his choices. It's barely 11:30 AM. This meeting is already off to a bad start.

"Hi. Thank you for meeting me."

"What's this about?"

"Look, I know things haven't always been easy between us." Tom remains silent and stoic, his expression guarded as he waits to see where this will go. Yelena’s attempts to conceal her unease only amplifies it. She's never been good at masking her genuine emotions or engaging in fake pleasantries, especially in situations like this. "All we've both ever wanted is the best thing for our daughter."

"MY daughter. She's nothing of yours. Ereka is MY daughter."

Yelena bites back her tongue and fights the urge to respond to Tom’s provocatory dig. If they start getting into it less than ten sentences into the conversation, this isn't going to go anywhere.

"All we want is the best for Ereka."

"I know that's what *I* want, yeah."

Yelena's phone screen illuminates, signaling an incoming text. She glances at it briefly. It's from Kate. Aware that her wife is oblivious to the current situation she finds herself in, Yelena decides to ignore the message for the time being, already anticipating Kate's displeasure when she eventually finds out.

Tom's eyes fly to the screen. His expression hardens and he locks his jaw as his eyes zero in on the background image. It's a photograph taken during the pregnancy announcement shoot Kate insisted on having. The still captures Kate, Ereka, Russell, and a pregnant Yelena standing in a vibrant field of fall-colored trees, radiating pure joy. It undoubtedly gets under Tom’s skin.

"What do you want? Why did you call me here?" Tom presses.

"We had a conversation with Ereka last night. More like she had a conversation with us where she made a request. We...I....*I* thought maybe you and I could talk like adults about it and deal with the situation. Parent to parent."

"You're not her parent, so...if there's anything going on with my kid, Kate can talk to me about it."

"Whether you like it or not, the judge granted me legal guardianship too."

"That fucking bitch judge fucked me over. I deserved full custody."

"Tom, I don't want to fight about that. That's not why I'm here."

"Then why are we here? Why is Kate not here?"

"I told you. Because I thought you and I could have a grownup chat."

"The fuck is going on with my kid?"

"I need you to listen to me. Before you respond or do anything, I need you to listen to me. That's all I'm asking for."

"If you don't tell me right now, I'm calling Kate. She'll tell me."

"Ereka wants to modify the custody agreement."

"What?"

"Ereka doesn't want to have overnight visits anymore. She doesn't feel comfortable being in your home, witnessing your family's behavior, and also just being away from us and her siblings. She made that very clear."

"My baby's twelve. She can't want or have a say in anything." Tom pounds his fist on the table violently, rocking everything and forcing all eyes in the room to turn to them for a split second. "If I find out you've been filling my kid's head with crap...I swear to fucking god I will end you."

"Ereka's happiness and well-being should be our priority."

"YOU…" Tom’s pointer finger comes within an inch of Yelena’s face. She musters every bit of self-control in order to not grab it and break it clean. "…don't get to tell me what my priority with my daughter is. She's MY kid and she comes home to me."

"That's not going to happen anymore."

“What? What’s not gonna happen?”

"I'm not forcing Ereka to do something she doesn't want to do."

"Try to take my kid away from me...see how that goes. You already stole my wife. You try to take my kid too and that's the last thing you ever do."

Yelena's demeanor takes on a sharper edge, her expression a mix of fury and defiance. Tom sneers, his eyes narrowing as he fiercely locks his eyes with Yelena.

"Are you threatening me?" Yelena asks, her tone challenging.

Tom leans forward, his voice dripping with venomous assurance.

"I'm telling you what's going to happen if Ereka isn't at my house this weekend. ALL weekend. Just a very clear warning."

"If she doesn't want to go, she's not going to go."

Yelena holds firm, unwavering. Tom's face contorts with rage, his entire body giving off menacing energy.

"If you come between me and my kid, I will fucking end you. I'll fucking kill you."

The remark hangs heavy in the air.

"That's a threat.” Yelena retorts, her voice calm and steady.

"Take that however you fucking want, but Ereka better be at my house at 10 AM on Saturday."

Tom abruptly stands, frenziedly ripping his coat off the back of the chair, and storms out of the café.

---

Kate's fingers fly across the keyboard and the rapid clacking of keys punctuate the silence of her office. She’s fully immersed, pouring her focus into crafting this proposal.

A firm knock on the door jolts Kate out of her flow. She recognizes the cadence of the thumping instantly - it’s her assistant. Annoyance flickers across her face, knowing this interruption will disrupt her momentum.

"What's up, Ash?"

Her assistant pops her head in while offering a courteous grin.

"Your wife is here."

Kate looks at her confused, with her brows furrowed in surprise.

"What?"

"Lobby just called. I told them to let her up so she's on her way. Should I let her in?"

"Yeah. Of course. Yeah. Thank you."

---

A few minutes later, a second knock reverberates through the office. Kate also recognizes this rapping without reticence - it unmistakably belongs to Yelena. The corners of Kate’s lips curl and her face lights up as she watches the door swing open, revealing her visibly pregnant wife standing there.

Their eyes meet and the mere sight of Yelena erases any trace of the stress and preoccupation Kate felt moments ago. She promptly pushes her chair back, eager to greet her wife.

"This is a nice surprise." As soon as the door closes behind her, Kate presses her lips against Yelena's in a tender, affectionate kiss while her hands instinctively come to rest on either side of Yelena's stomach. Kate steals a second kiss. "Hi."

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

"I did something...and I could've waited until tonight, but I also didn't know if you were going to get a call or text before that, so I figured it might be best to talk in person."

Kate's smile fades as she reads the somber expression on Yelena's face. Concern fills her eyes as she responds.

"What happened?"

"Can we sit? My back is killing me."

"Yeah. Yeah. Of course."

Kate places an allaying hand on the small of Yelena’s back, guiding her towards the two-person couch opposite her desk. They settle on the sofa and Yelena shifts her body slightly, opening herself up to face Kate directly.

"Not going to lie, I'm kind of very nervous right now. You never just show up at my office, especially not being cryptic."

A touch of humor paints Kate’s voice as she tries to ease the tension. She surveys her wife’s face, searching for answers.

"I talked to Tom."

"You did…what?" Kate asks, aghast at the mere idea.

"I called him and asked him to meet me at a coffee shop earlier. We talked about the custody situation because I don't think..."

"Why would you do that?!"

"Because I don't think she should go back if she doesn't want to."

Kate's voice rises with frustration and disbelief.

"No, no. What you want, what you REALLY want is to 'beat' him. That's what you want...You should've stayed out of my kid's custody business."

"YOUR kid?" Yelena scoffs bitterly. "Are you taking talking points from him now?"

"It was NOT your place to do that." Kate's eyes narrow as she retorts, her tone sharp and accusatory.

"He threatened to kill me."

"Yeah, I'd do the same if someone showed up talking about taking my daughter away from me. What would you do?"

"If I were an incompetent, insane drunk, I would want what's best for my children."

Kate's vexation intensifies, and she stands up, putting distance between them. She walks to her desk and starts to pace in front of it. The room feels tense, the air heavy with unspoken indignation from both sides.

"I asked you to leave it. I told you to leave it alone."

"She shouldn't..."

"You can make unilateral decisions about what kind of jelly you pick up at the store. You don't get to make unilateral decisions about custody shit, Yelena. I can't believe I'm having to even say this to you."

"I was doing what's best for her."

"No. NO, this was your chance to have another pissing contest with him and use her as an excuse. She's not a thing you use to get back at him."

"That's not what happened."

"That's EXACTLY what happened. She's my daughter and you are WAY out of line. Neither of you has claim over her."

Yelena's expression becomes steely.

"I only wanted to fill you in before I went to the police."

Kate's eyes shoot up and widen as she stares Yelena down.

"What are you talking about?"

"He made pointed threats against our family, so I'm filing a police report and requesting an emergency restraining order against him. For all of us. I already called the school and let them know he's not allowed to see her until further notice."

"If you don't wanna be signing divorce papers too, you leave this alone. I'll talk to him and this'll be done. We'll pretend it didn't happen."

"I can't do that, Kate.” Yelena’s resolve strengthens and her voice is firm.

"Yelena, I'm being so beyond serious right now. Drop it."

"I'm sorry, Kate, but I can't in good conscience leave it open for him to harm our family."

Kate's frustration boils over, and she strikes her hand down on the desk.

"WE WOULDN'T BE HERE IF YOU HADN'T PULLED THIS SHIT! I told you...I asked you not to touch it. And what did you do? Go behind my back and blow our entire lives up. For what? FOR WHAT?!"

"For Ereka."

"Don't. Do not use her as an excuse. This is all on you."

Kate reaches for her phone, her fingers negligibly trembling as she taps on the screen. She brings the device to her ear, determined to undo whatever Yelena just set in motion.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling him. Controlling the situation before this gets out of hand."

"Kate, that's..."

Kate interrupts her curtly, her words teeming with aggravation.

"Don't talk to me right now."

The call goes to voicemail. Kate's impatience grows, but she tries once more.

"Katherine."

The utterance of her full name makes Kate glare at her wife, her eyes flashing warning signs that Yelena is willingly ignoring.

When the call goes to voicemail once more, Kate jumps into action. She reaches for her purse and heads to the door, her movements swift and purposeful.

"Where are you going?"

"To find him. And Yelena...if you file that report or a restraining order, you might as well also start looking for a divorce attorney because I'm not playing this game with you. I won’t. We are OVER if you do."

Without uttering another word, Kate stomps out of the office, leaving Yelena alone. The weight of their strained relationship hangs heavily in the air, thickening it with unresolved tension.

---

A few hours later. The front door to the apartment swings open with a burst of energy, and Kate ushers her lively children inside. Laughter and the pitter-patter of tiny feet fill the air, infusing the space with a tangible joy and warmth. Like a conductor orchestrating the symphony of their homecoming, Kate deftly navigates the chaos and issues detailed instructions, guiding Ereka and Russell through their tasks for the evening. As the children settle into their respective activities, Kate makes her way to the bedroom to change into more cozy clothes.

Kate turns the doorknob and freezes in her tracks. Not only is her wife already home, but she’s immersed in an intense flurry of activity. Once a sanctuary of peace, the room is now a battlefield of chaos. Clothes and shoes are strewn haphazardly across the floor, like casualties of a tempestuous storm. Before a symbol of order and serenity, the walk-in closet now stands open, its contents spilling out in disarray, mirroring the turmoil that has taken hold of their lives. The atmosphere crackles with an electric tension, as if the very walls hold their breath, knowing they’re about to witness the unfolding drama.

There, in the thick of the chaos she created, stands Yelena. Her movements are frenetic, driven by an urgency that cannot be ignored. She hastily stuffs clothes into a suitcase, the rustling fabric punctuating the charged silence that fills the room. As their eyes meet, a kaleidoscope of emotions dance across their faces. Upon seeing Kate, Yelena's hands momentarily freeze before she resumes her frantic packing. With firm resolve, the rhythmic zip of the luggage bag serves as an intransigent punctuation mark, echoing with profound finality that pulsates throughout the living quarters.

"What are you doing?"

"When it actually came down to me and him, you picked him." Yelena utters, cold and distant.

Kate explosively thrusts their bedroom door shut and charges over to Yelena, feeling a wave of anger detonate within her.

"I didn't pick ANYONE. I picked sanity and peace. For them. They will always be my priority." Kate crosses her arms over her chest and stares at the floor, mind racing. A long beat and a million thoughts later, she scoffs. "After everything...'you picked him.' If *this*..." Kate spiritedly points around their room. "If THIS is what 'picking him' looks like Yelena, then I'm curious what you think 'picking you' would entail. Because fuck...WOW."

Yelena crams one last pair of pants into the already overstuffed duffle bag that sits next to the hefty suitcase she just filled. Her tense body struggles to force the zipper halves to meet; its bulging shape evidence of her lack of thoughtfulness while packing. The fabric strains against the zipper, resisting her efforts to contain its contents. After a few firm yanks, the metallic teeth reluctantly interlock, sealing her belongings within. Yelena grabs the handle of the large rolling bag before slinging the strap of her duffle over her shoulder, and a sudden surge of adrenaline propels her forward in the direction of the door.

Before she can make her escape, Kate's hand shoots out as Yelena storms past her. Her fingers find their mark, latching on to Yelena's forearm, their grip like a vice, anchoring her in place. Their eyes lock in a fiery exchange, a tempest of emotions brewing within their depths and threatening to consume them both.

"Where are you going?"

Yelena points to the envelope resting atop the dresser. Kate retrieves it, her jittery fingers slowly tearing it open. Inside lies an emergency restraining order against Tom accompanied by a police report.

"I'm keeping them safe. At any cost." The women glare at each other. Kate takes a step back, willingly putting distance between them. Her heart pounds in her chest as she meets Yelena's gaze. They’re now locked in a battle of wills. "I'm taking him with me."

"You're not taking him anywhere."

"We're just going to the Ritz for a few nights. Until we can figure out what's happening next."

"Yelena, my son's not leaving this apartment."

A clash of emotions thunders through the room, their conflicting desires colliding into a torrent of raw feelings.

"If Ereka is YOUR daughter, then that's MY son. That's how it works, right?"

"You're being petty about this?"

"I'm being logical."

Yelena's words cut through the air, her tone shifting to cold and calculated. Each syllable carries a sharpness that slices through their relationship's already fraying threads, leaving an icy tension behind.

"You're not even in the same universe as logical right now."

"Must be pregnancy brain, I guess." Yelena bites back.

Kate’s patience officially reaches its breaking point. She truculently strides to where Yelena stands, her steps exuding steadfastness. In a display of unyielding and assertive belligerence, Kate snatches the duffle bag from Yelena's shoulder, ripping it away without hesitation. With a single speedy motion, Kate hurls the bag several feet away, the velocity causing the already tenuous hold the zipper had to give way. The contents spill out, scattering haphazardly across the floor.

"Sit." The word hangs in the air, pregnant with authority. What Kate uttered wasn’t a request; it was a command and one that left no room for negotiation. When Yelena doesn’t move, Kate's tone grows more forceful, compelling her to comply. "Sit down." Kate reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. She dials a number with exigency. "I'm calling Landers, see if he can squeeze us in as an emergency right now."

"I don't need a therapy session. I need to go lie down."

"Bed's right there. Help yourself." Kate snaps at Yelena with a venomous undertone. "Hi Janey. This is Kate Bishop-Belova. I have a bit of a serious situation and I'm wondering if there's any way Joy can see us tonight? It's an emergency...Uhum...Uhum...Yeah. Please. That would be so helpful...Yeah. This number is fine...You're incredible. Thank you...Okay. Talk soon." Kate hangs up. "She doesn't know if tonight will be possible, but she'll talk to Landers and see if maybe tomorrow morning might work."

Yelena scoffs dismissively, her irritation evident.

"This is stupid."

"Yeah, I agree. Everything you've done today is BEYOND stupid."

"I already made a reservation."

"I couldn't give two shits about your reservation. Sit down. You are not blowing up our lives tonight. I'm not letting it happen."

"You're the one who brought up divorce."

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S BEING INSANE!" Kate screams, her voice cracking with emotion. "I can't talk to you right now, or I might say some things that I don't actually mean."

"Then let me go to the hotel."

"You're not going anywhere." Kate's words carry the significance of an ultimatum as she makes for the door. "I need to figure out dinner. What do you want?" Kate asks in an attempt to shift the focus away from their escalating argument.

"Nothing." Yelena's response is curt and indifferent.

"Pizza it is."

With that final declaration, Kate exits the room and shuts the door with a bang.

---

The sound of rushing water fills the air. Kate stands at the kitchen sink, dangling Russell in front of the open tap as she diligently works to wash away the splatters of paint that have found their way onto his tiny hands. The colorful streaks mix with the swirling water, creating a mesmerizing spectacle and carrying away the colorful remnants of his artistic escapade. Lost in her task and the words of the babbling boy, Kate momentarily forgets the apprehension that saturates the apartment.

But then she hears adult footsteps approaching from behind, disrupting the tranquil rhythm of the moment. Kate turns, her eyes widening as she sees Yelena purposefully making her way to the entrance, her duffle bag slung over her shoulder and her suitcase clutched tightly in her hand. A surge of panic courses through Kate, pushing her to act without a moment's hesitation. She swiftly shuts off the water and sets Russell down, his little feet pattering on the tiled floor as he toddles away, overjoyed that his paint-streaked hands are forgotten for the moment. Filled with a sense of impending doom, Kate compels her bare feet to glide across the kitchen tiles as she chases after Yelena.

"Hey. Hey. Was I not clear?"

"I'm not your child, Kate."

"You're acting like it." Refusing to let Yelena slip away unchallenged, Kate corners her wife in the foyer and plants herself firmly mere inches away from her. "Go back to the room. Pizza's going to be here in forty minutes."

"I'm going to the hotel."

"No, you're not."

Kate’s voice hardens, drawing a line in the sand. They glare at each other.

"Are you going to back me up on this?"

"No. You're wrong, so I'm not. I'm still not letting you leave because you're being beyond unreasonable. I'm not letting this get worse than it already is."

Yelena tries to push to the door, but Kate stands her ground, blocking her path with her body.

"Katherine..."

"I'm trying to stop you from fucking up this marriage."

"What if I don't want you to?"

They lock eyes, each searching for answers in the depths of the other’s gaze.

"Now you're just trying to piss me off. I know you too well. Go lie down. I'll send one of them to get you when food is here." Yelena doesn't move. "Who do I call to get rid of that stupid restraining order?"

"You can't end a protective order I requested."

"Then do it. Take care of it."

"No."

Yelena is resolute. Kate takes a measured, deep breath, making a concerted effort to keep herself centered.

"Yelena…”

"We've done it your way for years. It's never worked. It's about time we try it my way."

"I'm not backing you up on this. Get rid of it."

"No." Yelena repeats, somehow even more unwavering.

"You know what...fine. You want to destroy our lives this bad...be my guest." Kate finally relents. She steps back, giving Yelena all the space she needs to open the door and leave. After a beat of stillness, Yelena opens the door and walks out. Kate stands by, flummoxed, her heart heavy with incredulity and heartbreak. "I want you to be so very clear that you're the one doing this. You're the one walking away. Again. You're leaving a second time." Kate's voice quivers with a mix of anger and hurt. That stops Yelena in her tracks. "You said you'd never do that again. You promised and I believed you, so what is this? You promised."

With a heavy sigh, Kate steps away from the entrance, retreating back into the apartment but leaving the door wide open.

---

As Kate attends to the remnants of Russell's mess, the faint sound of the front door closing reaches her ears, stirring her from her thoughts. She turns her head, her attention abruptly drawn to the entrance. Her heart withers at the conclusive thud that reverberates through the air. To her amazement, seconds later, Yelena emerges from the foyer. Their eyes briefly connect in a charged moment before Yelena clenches her jaw tightly and strides deeper into the apartment, vanishing down the hallway that leads to their shared bedroom. Not long after, a resounding boom fills the air as the door is violently slammed shut, further emphasizing the growing chasm between them.

Lost in a maelstrom of emotions that threaten to engulf her whole, Kate's eyes linger on that hallway. Russell takes advantage of her distraction, seizing the opportunity to indulge himself. In a sudden burst of movement, the boy leans forward with a rascally grin and his tiny hands break the water's surface. The cold liquid splashes in all directions, showering the immediate area, including a generous dousing directly onto Kate's face. The shock of the gelid liquid snaps Kate back to reality with a gasp, her senses jolted by the sudden and unexpected intrusion. The temperature forces her breath to catch in her throat while droplets cling to her skin and drip down her face. It is a moment of undeniable clarity, a gentle reminder that life persists even in the midst of turmoil.

At least there's still a way back. It's cracked but not shattered. There's still a way to fix it.

[sukifoof]

My goodness this is such a captivating AU, my mind is racing with different possibilities. Flowey follows us all throughout the game, I'm not sure if Asriel would be able to do the same without attracting attention? His friendship with Papyrus might not come to pass. How would his reactions to our different actions in the Ruins change? Would he defend Toriel if we tried to kill her? What about Asgore. Would he even know his son woke up in the most recent reset or would he assume that he finally died? And how would Asriel's/Flowey's involvement in the Asgore boss fight change? Would he still kill him, and still take the Human SOULs? Or the True Pacifist ending, since he's still a Monster in this AU he wouldn't be able to take the SOULs of other Monsters to equate that 7th Human SOUL, completely changing how shattering the Barrier could work. Perhaps he would discover over the course of the fight or in the leadup to it that he still has Chara's SOUL, and then coming to accept that have to let go of it at the end to destroy the Barrier (and also free himself, more metaphorically)?

Or the entire Genocide Route, Asriel's involvement in it would be different from Flowey's, simply due to them having different forms. He would obviously have a greater capacity to fight back, would he be the final boss after sans? Or replacing the sans fight altogether?

Or even the simple question of what happens to him in the various Neutral endings?

This is an AU with such great potential for anything and everything to change, it deserves to be developed into a full thing

(Although the question of how Asgore's and Toriel's aging was affected during Asriel's coma would also have to be addressed, since Undertale as it is takes place at least 100 years after Chara's death)

HI I MEANT TO ANSWER THIS EARLIER but this week has been so busy </3 my General Thoughts on it is that it pretty much just stays the same and asriel is just an elusive guy.... like.. u know how the amalgamates are gooey?? he just kinda learns how to slip out of sight after who knows how many resets. so if it were to come down to papyrus or toriel or whoever else everything would pretty much have the same dialogue and scenes, except for Specifically Toriel who would probably be. really worried about asriel all the time. especially if u tried to kill her. she would probably be like "Oh God My Son Has Already Lost So Much Oh My Baby Boy" and then asriel would show up at the end of the ruins like "ok Wow u didnt even Try to spare her! u kind of remind me of myself ahaha" and then he follows u like flowey does via amalgamate goo. i think sans would probably be mildly worried about this Goat Friend papyrus talks about but overall i think he would be like "oh sick my brother has a pal. even if hes imaginary"

BUT as for the true lab i think some things would be different. asriel was kept there for a VERY long time and since he was on the verge of death he didnt take much Soul Power from his parents so they barely aged, just like him. toriel and asgore figured there wasnt much hope and everything goes pretty much the same way as it does in canon. but asriel wakes up alone in the lab and FREAKS OUT cuz hes like "oh my god how long have i been out where am i is chara dead what happened to their soul whats going ON" and when he sees asgore and feels numb he immediately thinks that there MUST be something wrong with his soul. that maybe he died and hes living off of charas soul and theyre gone because of him or that charas soul is gone and that Did something to him. he doesnt know but hes pretty much convinced that theres just something Wrong with him now. and thats when he realizes he can reset and he goes about all his resets and whatnot

i think what really happened is that after he went into a coma, charas soul stayed but they pretty much disappeared kinda similar to how chara "wakes up" when frisk falls, but asriel cant tell. i think he wouldnt find out about his soul until he kills asgore and absorbs the six souls and turns into an abomination and the six of them revolt... like he Knows charas soul is There Now but hes convinced that its frisk hes sensing, so he still ends up believing frisk is chara especially after frisk goes through the true lab. i think the true pacifist end would be different in like.. a way that he just uses his Various God Powers to isolate him and frisk like in the photoshop flowey fight. he breaks the barrier after accepting that chara is gone and he Literally has to let them go to break the barrier and hes just a Regular Monster now who is mildly fucked up and dripping cuz of the dt. at least those are my rough thoughts

im sure theres a lot of holes cuz im still trying to think of how i wanna go about it...... i might just have charas soul be gone if i think about it more but either way i wanna try to keep that idea of him having to let chara go to move on from his trauma... most of his issues with his parents would probably be a post game thing where he still avoids asgore but lives with toriel and frisk cuz of his time in the ruins with her. i hope my rambling makes sense i think about asriel so very much

[miintsprigz]

Ohio RTC live-blogging

I watched the Saturday stream, and I documented my thoughts because hyperfixation goes brrrr

HEADS UP

there was a lot of ableism in the chat (I do discuss what it entails below so you’ve been warned) so I was distracted at the end of the stream

-Karnak’s frantic tone during the accident + freeze frame moment, very cool

-them holding up the prizes

-Constance’s mumbled “sorry”

-post-possession Noel and Mischa stuff is so good (the o.e face and shoulder shake)

-I don’t like Ricky’s disability being stolen again, but I do like the fact that they’re happy that he’s happy, seems to be “bro”ing it up with Mischa a bit, I do love that

-JANE! (OVERANALYZES LIKE CRAZY) The way she tips her head a lot like it doesn’t fit her body comfortably. She sounds so timid…awww, honey…she moves a bit like her body is off-balance from the new head, I love the details

-I see evidence of platonic (at least) spacedolls already. Ricky waved at Jane!!!

-BREASTMILK CHEESE SANDWICH EATING BLEGH

-even in the “ocean’s life” segment Jane’s movements are just a BIT off. I think it’s cool when the Jane is taller in the cast, makes me think of a Barbie/pos

Poor gal seems real uncomfy in those lenses tho, can’t blame her

-all of the cast looks like they’re having the time of their life

-Mischa’s mannerisms are already cracking me up

-I am appreciating Noel very much in this production tbh, very sharp-tongued and excellent emoting in the face

-Jane’s delivery of That One Line (I hear it gives you an—)

-despite the small theatre and tech limits because of that, they really do well getting the point across with the props

-gosh props to Noel that change takes too long even in the main show, but he works it

-RICKY’S LIL SHIMMY IN THE BEGINNING OF NOEL’S LAMENT AND HE SEEMS TO ACTUALLY BE PLAYING ACCORDION!!!

-CAN ALL MISCHAS EVERYWHERE STOP BEING SO PRETTY, RESPECTFULLY!!

-THAT NOIR FILM IN THE BACK, I LOVE!

-ngl I’m in love with this Ricky

-these dances are so fun!

-not a ton of Nischa in here with the end of the lament but—

-Constance’s “w h y” after the F word joke

-B O N S O I R

-them adding improv in ESGAL is a bit silly, but oh, RuPaul ref. That blindsided me lol

-RICKY AND JANE ARE GROOVING TO MISCHA’S INTRO TOGETHER AWWWW THEYRE HAVING SO MUCH FUN!!!

-they seem to be sort of un-possessed in TSIA, and Mischa seems a bit more friendly in this production so I think that fits decently

-RICKY HAS A LOW RANGE HEYYYY (Debby Ryans)

-I love how they try to make it like he can’t remember his rap—or can he actually not remember? Either way they played it off like it was on purpose and I appreciate that

-interesting how Jane’s a stand-in for Talia, cuz she could be anyone, she’s a blank body sorta

-I love the dances so so much, how they seem to be fencing Mischa in, and HE SINGS SO WELL, they did their best with the projector and got it across

-The way he just SITS DOWN AWWWW HON HE LOOKS SO SAD

-NOEL AND MISCHA HUG? NOEL AND MISCHA HUG!!!! AWWWWW IM CRYIN they seem so genuine about that whole part! person I’ve tagged said they noticed Mischa is audibly crying for quite a bit, poor dear

-again, Mischa encourages Ricky, I appreciate this! They see the Ricky and Mischa friendship supremacy!!!

-Mischa and Jane acting like generally strange parents and tHE FAKE ACTION SCENES which I genuinely think should have been in the original

-the implication that zolar daydreams came from food poisoning, this poor lad, I know it’s not exclusive to this version but dang

-this Ricky is just very captivating, I think this is a part that takes a lot of…uhhh, chutzpah, to play

-(sees Jane being a very passionate kitty) … (adds to spacedolls evidence folder)

-hehe I love that Mischa is Count Dogula

-also that black hole sound frequency reference made me so happy (“68 octaves below the middle C”)

-this Mischa has ADHD imo and I live for it

-AW JANE HAS SUCH A TINY MEMORY BOX. …big enough for a head. Cruel.

-they really worked with what they had for the background on Jane’s song. The way she blends into the scenery fits. That’s what she’s been doing this whole show. Also her trying so hard to grab her memory box and it’s always out of reach ;A;

-HER VOICE IS EXCELLENT this is impressing me in a bigger way than I thought it would

-the shadows moving!!! the way she can kind of recall knowing them, but not enough to know their faces or names

-the circling with the lights does make me think she’s falling, and the fact that she’s holding an umbrella…and sounds like she’s crying at the end…she’s so alone dude, I care her

-that last note was like a final scream

-Noel and Jane interaction!!! something I never see!!! I love it!

-Ricky is so gentle with Jane ;-;

-THEYRE HAVING FUN!!! SO CUTE!!!

-(chat is ableist about someone either ticcing, stimming, or having a meltdown in the audience and distracts me)

-Sugarcloud was excellent sorry I was too busy being full of rage

-Piano go breaking noises

-“you will soar to great heights” o u c h

-THE GROUP HUG AND THE BACKWARDS ROLLERCOASTER SOUNDS

-AW CONSTANCE AND OCEAN AND RICKY AND NOEL SPINNING EACH OTHER

-MISCHA AND NOEL DANCING!

-THEYRE SO HAPPY

-ACAPELLA DREAM OF LIFE WITH GROUP HUG HITS REALLY DIFFERENTLY

Do I have criticism? Uhhh well it wasn’t perfect but hey, from what I saw they didn’t have a ton to work with (nobody’s fault there) and they used their resources well.

I also constantly have to remind myself of the fact that this show has a cast of at most eight people acting, and it makes sense that it’s difficult to remember all of your lines, and the fact that everybody has a solo song!!!

I dream of some day playing an alto Jane, although I doubt it will ever happen, but I’m not sure I’m talented enough to do with this cast attempted

Also frick the people in chat who were being jerks about that audience member. git gud, Ricky would hate you you’re breaking the one rule

[alexbutrandomthoughts]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Boy oh boy where do i even start. Honestly it's always hard to pin down my favorite characters across all the fandoms cuz I've consumed a LOT of media,but I'll try to name the current ones (warning, i am such a basic bitch this list is gonna predictable afffff. Probably.)

10. Ai Hoshino (Oshi no ko)

Ngl if you ignore most of the weird shit that happens in oshi no ko, it is such a goddamn captivating story, Ai in particular. Idk i guess i really like the idea of this "ultimate idol" who is a pathological liar (due to honestly unfortunately circumstances) having to maintain this picture perfect image, to the point where people don't even perceived her as a real person. And it's really tragic considering all she ever wanted to is to actually say "i love you" and mean it for once.

9. Killua Zoldyck (Hunter×Hunter)

Was he start of my obsession with white haired characters? Nah, but he definitely contributed. Honestly, sassy brat with a soft spot that can absolutely fuck shit up? Yeah there was no way i wouldn't have been obsessed with Killua the second he got introduced. Honestly i like Gon almost as much, but i prefer moodie baddies to sunshine characters. I would genuinely dedicate another 10 hours minimum to talk about him, but i don't think ppl will care enough to read so yeeah

8. Sunset Shimmer (MLP)

I wasn't really in the mlp fandom, so i have no idea how Sunset was perceived initially (i would assume negatively, but then again idk) so i am going off of the fact my lil sisters used to haTE on her in the first movie, but MAAAAAN I LIKED HER BITCHY SELF EVEN BACK THEN. The former star pupil of princess Celestia???? That left to another world cuz of her own hubris???? AND SHE'S PUNK ROCK???? I mean she got redeemed and joined the main six and all, but overall, probably my favorite mlp character (still mourn the bitchy attitude tho, in that regard i prefer Starlight but i digress)

7. Sans Undertale

I mean. Yeah. I already said I'm basic as fuck but like. At least i don't wanna fuck him. Anywaaay, i guess it's the air of mystery to this seemingly chill guy, who just hangs around and tells bad jokes and somehow aware of the timelines more than the rest, probably related to Gaster in some way, and maybe he's not even a monster cuz monsters don't bleed and he fucking does, what does this all mean TOBY FOX I NEED ANSWERS- and he has arguably the best fight in the entire game, so yknow. Cool guy

6. Gwen Stacy (Spiderverse)

I liked her in "In to the Spiderverse" but i absolutely loved her in ATSV. Her struggles and mistakes felt so real and I'm so glad they decide to focus on her this film (the opening sequence dead ass my favorite scene in the whole movie) and explore her backstory with Peter's death and her father, it's just adding the depth to a character that was already great just UGH chef's kiss

5. Tooru Oikawa (Haikyuu)

God he has such a slappable face, i love him. I knew from the second when the fangirls screamed, i would either hate him or love him. Every scene he was in, he served (pun intended), he slayed and made me cry. I know decent junk of the fandom are avid Oikawa haters but they can honestly suck my dic-

Anyway yeah he is my boy

4. Osamu Dazai (Bungoe Stray Dogs)

Goofy ass detective with a dark past, homosexual rival and who's also a suicidal maniac? Yeah this was tailor made for me. Can you tell i have a type because i definitely do. I just really like mfkas with slappable faces. I am a sucker for redeemed bad guys, who are now try to be good cuz 💫reasons💫. AND i am also weak for mentor apprentice trops (Atsushi/Dazai shippers back off, i bite and definitely have rabies)

3. Satoru Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Speaking of my obsession with white haired guys. Yeah, I'm not sure what can i even say that haven't been said abt this guy and reasons to love him (fuck u gege) honestly will i ever stop loving side characters who are often silly mentor figures, with lots of baggage, a gay rival and too much angst? I can only say one thing.

Nah I'd win

2. Maomao (The Apothecary diaries)

BSODGWOWBSHSOSNS9WHSOSBISGWJWVSVDIWJWJEJIEHEIEHJEBEIS. Ahem, okay so hands down my favorite female protagonist of all time. God she is just perfect. Istg all u people who never watched Apothecary diaries I BEG U TO WATCH IT PLSSSS IT'S SO GOOD. Even if you don't watch anime, i promise you this show is absolutely worth the time. Maomao is what happens when you write a good no, GREAT female character without the whole anime bs. Like???? She has her own strength and weaknesses and she doesn't need to be physically strong (full offense, marvel) or be "not like the other girls" to be great.

1. Kaveh (Genshin impact)

So uhhhh, you can really blame Will Stetson for this one. I genuinely couldn't have cared less about genshin or this random blond if it wasn't for "Writing on the Wall". It started with a banger ass song, and ended with arguably my favorite character in all of media ever. I think one of my favorite things abt Kaveh, is that compared to some of the other characters in genshin, he's really just a guy. Like bro missed the entire archon quest, mfka was just minding his own business. He is tortured architect and honestly bro has taken so many Ls in life it's kinda crazy. And well the fact that he has "a roommate" just adds more to him. Gay rival and all

Aaaaand that's 10 characters. Honestly i wouldn't call it my top 10 favorite of all time. I probably forgot some of the characters that i used to be obsessed with at some point. I just picked the ones that came first to mind :3

[avocadoguru]

Feedback time my beautiful masterminds ❤️❤️ i wanna start off by saying how perfect i thought this chapter was. No matter what you write or what direction you take the story or what choices you make with it, it always ends up perfect and beautiful because you guys are the ones writing it! And when someone is as good at writing as you are, it is quite literally impossible for it to not turn out good, no matter what some might «expect» or «wish» for (talking about the negative feedback i saw you talking about 🥺 im so sorry), it always turns out wonderful no matter what! I promise ❤️ Please dont let yourselves be discouraged by all that fuss that some people are saying (u deserve better my loves!).

Anyways, to the story 🫶🏻 The chapter started out so so so soft, with them sleeping next to eachother and him feeling the comfort of just her prescence and being able to relax in a totally new and unusal way for him! Such a beautiful detail by the way, the description of how his body felt more at ease than usual 🥺 and the first dirty scene, my gosh it was everything i could ever dream of !! Dirty AND beautiful !!

(So sorry that my feedback isnt in chronological order, my heads a mess haha) And the parts where Harry is so nervous and uneasy about taking her to Nialls place pretending its his, was so good because i felt like it gave us even more of an insight on his soft and more vulnerable moments, like the big, strong, powerful wolf suddenly feels anxious and restless about her thoughts on everything about «his» place and how he tries so hard to maintain this facade because in his mind, its a way to not lose her. So so beautiful and vulnerable and soft and cute and painful and just every emotion at once! All those emotions takes some extremely good writers to convey, which i am not at all surprised that you amazing writers are able to do in such a descriptive and well formulated way ❤️

And another soft moment for me, is when she made him dinner and he connected what he knew about what cooking «means» to humans, and how he thought that could mean that she was showing affection towards him in her human ways !! aw 🥺

And the second steamy scene….no words !!! I loved how much he was struggeling to keep his self control and how desperate he was as she sucked him off and just….my brain turned into the most positive form of absolute mush !!! 🌟 Him struggeling to, quite literally, not unleash the beast, leaves me so giggly but hot its hard to even describe !! 💗💗

And i also want to add that i thought the ending of this chapter was the PERFECT ending. Like, no complaints at ALL. I loved the way it leaves you wanting to just indulge yourself into the future chapter cuz of how much you want to see what happens next. Could not ask for a better ending !! It left me satisfied and excited for the next one <3 Just like stories and chapter should do! Right? 🙌 I feel bubbly just thinking about chapter 8 !!

I have so many more thoughts about every little detail in this, so many thoughts that i can’t even type them all, but just please please please know that i, and hopefully maaaany others too, notice all the little details you put in your work. When i read this story, i am so invested and captivated that i read every line as slow as possible, so that i can consume every last letter of art you write. I notice everything, and stop many times just to admire a single line or a single word or detail or idea og dialouge or storylines and characters and backstories and just everything. So just please know that your hardwork does not go unnoticed !! At least not by me ❤️

I am so sorry if this was obnoxiousely long and difficult or exhausting to read btw !! i just wanted to give some love and encouragement and appreciation to you beautiful people that i am so grateful for <3 have a beautiful day 💗

(@fkinavocado here) just wanna say that i first read mermaids instead of masterminds 😂i dunno which is more out there lol.

regarding the "negative feedback-" we never said it was negative. some people just choose to focus on the wrong things, and we can't understand why- some people insist on them having babies, pups etc- and it's odd to us, because we made it abundantly clear that it's physically impossible for them to procreate, being different species essentially. and we did so very early on- just to give everyone a heads up and have them decide if they wanna stick around or not. i get why this might be an important thing to some. and not to say that we are under any obligation to forewarn ppl about plot keys like this, but we thought it would be nice of us to do so, since we know it's a touchy subject for some. so yeah- it was disappointing to see people insist on this when we've made it clear that it won't be happening.

second, a lot of people put a lot of emphasis on "poor eddie"- which is fair, it was a cute/sad thing that he was moping for harry, but some only commented on that. which was a bit odd? like there were so many things happening in that 20k chapter and some literally just commented "poor eddie" at the end of it x_x lol

so, it was never that it was negative feedback. and we're not trying to tell people what to write us, either. we were just expressing our slight disappointment with what some ppl chose to leave as feedback (well, i was, on my own blog, but then it snowballed and oh well.)

anyway---- back to your lovely feedback ❤️❤️❤️❤️ i can't tell you how much it means to me and both of us to have you take the time and write all of this down. truly, it made our day when we saw it in our inbox, especially after we were feeling a bit disheartened after reading some of the others. and it's not to say we expect every bit of commentary to be this long and in depth- we appreciate that not everyone has a way with words etc. but just letting us know you enjoyed it is what we love to hear ❤️ we don't need the praise!!!!! we just wanna know you liked it 🥹

"please please please know that i, and hopefully maaaany others too, notice all the little details you put in your work. When i read this story, i am so invested and captivated that i read every line as slow as possible, so that i can consume every last letter of art you write. I notice everything, and stop many times just to admire a single line or a single word or detail or idea og dialouge or storylines and characters and backstories and just everything. So just please know that your hardwork does not go unnoticed !! At least not by me ❤️"- THIS BIT LITERALLY MELTED ME 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ literally, i could never express how much that means to me! thank you from the bottom of my heart lovely, and have an amazing day too 💋💋💋

[mavspeed]

Hi! I just have to say I’ve been truly, genuinely been loving your stories “Cloaked in the bruises of our failures” & “slithered here from eden (just to sit outside your door)”.

Your writing is so beautiful and captivating! I love love the way you capture Maverick and Iceman on a deeper complex layer in “Cloaked in the bruises of our failures”- this story is just truly SO GOOD! I’ve literally been re-reading cuz ur writing is just *chef’s kiss* and I feel like I learn a new perspective/character motive/trait each time around. I hope you truly continue to write more in the future - whenever u can and have the time! I will def be ur long time supporter here ☺️

As well, if you have the time I would just love to know what is it like to write for “Cloaked in the bruises of our failures”? Do you have an outline planned or you just go with the flow as it comes? Do you change ideas/choices last minute? Do u know what the ending will be like already? I would love to just know how your writing process is like?

OMGGG this is such a sweet ask thank you so much!! thank you for reading my fics and the support and for this lovely ask lmfjdjdn I don’t have it on me rn but please imagine that I’ve attached a gif of the nicole kidman hug from big little lies

as for your questions re: bruises of our failures- LMAO Nah I don’t have an outline, because I Used to have one for my fics then gave it up as a lost cause because I’d literally change what I initially planned the second I started actually writing the scene. that being said I do have a general idea of how I want each chapter to go.

also yeah, I do come up with idea/scene changes last minute!! I got a pretty recent example- the last chapter ends with mav simply holding ice’s hand and saying thank you. ice takes this as an opportunity to kiss the side of his temple. it’s far more toned down than the original ending where mav actually flew at ice for a hug and ice let him. idk sometimes when I’m going through a fic I just keep thinking is this something the character would Actually do in-movie if this was a movie or am I just Extra-woobifying him. hence the change lol

the ending!! yes I do have an idea of what the ending is going to be. I will be shattering some hearts (sorry 😈) but I will fix it nevertheless 🙏🏼 it Is angst with a happy ending after all it just takes some time to get there

my writing process is honestly not pleasant it consists of screams and tears and ripped up drafts (online bc I don’t write shit down lmao) and blood. I have like..... idk six wips rn bc I am always starting and abandoning new ideas whenever I get them 😭 I have no idea why the writing for bruises of our failures has been so smooth I think the writing block demons just abandoned me for this one.

but yeah I’m so sorry it’s not a good process LMFJDJSNSN please do not follow my way of writing whatsoever. if you’re thinking of starting a fic do what works for you! for me flying by the seat of my pants and doing shit at 10/10 impulsivity works so 💀

[jd-loves-fiction]

hiii I'm not sure if I'm doing this right yo be honest but can I request koko + inui ; jealousy, smut for your event? thank you <33

🦊you did it right hun :3

◈ Seething ◈

◈ genre: smut

◈ pairing: Kokonoi x fem!reader x Inui

◈ a/n: threesome car sex is impossible? We'll see about that :] (i need a spread sheet to understand where everyone is goddamn) also sorry this got so much exposition i was in a lore mood i guess🥴 also i cut it off at the end cuz brain dried up so sorry hun

The best way to describe how your 2 pets/lovers behave when jealous would be 'seething'.

Kokonoi's slitted eyes lock onto your figure from afar so intensely it's like you can feel his claws digging into your shoulder.

Even the calm and collected Inui, looks at you with pale blue eyes, burning bright like the fire he feels building up in his belly, threatening to overflow, it's like you can feel the pale flames of his breath licking at your back.

It's only a friendly coworker, making conversation after work hours are over, unaware of the dangerous figures watching, waiting. But it's not like he's inviting you out for a drink, so what's their deal?

"You uh, wanna go for a drink sometime?" Bad move.

Before you can politely deny them, an arm wraps around yours, pulling you away from the scene as Kokonoi grabs them by the collar, whispering vicious words no doubt, even if you can't hear them.

You look to the one pulling you along towards the car, Inui, who smiles when he catches your eyes, a hint of frustration in his captivating blue hues. And yet he remains as outwardly composed as usual, opening the door for you before getting in himself into the back behind your passenger seat.

You sigh as Kokonoi approaches, much more visibly affected, sitting and strapping himself in after slamming his door closed, "Am I in trouble?"

The furrows his brows, turning his confused expression towards you as he starts the car, "What? No, of course not."

Inui's hand rests on your shoulder, silently reassuring. "It's not your fault at all."

Despite his soothing words, you can see his sharp nails digging into the leather of the wheel, "Then, who are you mad at?"

He doesn't even try to deny it, given the dents he leaves in the wheel once his hands relax, "It's that gutsy fucking idiot, that I'm mad at." You blink at his tone, burning nearly as much as his simmering tongue usually does. "Who does he think he is? You're all marked up, he saw that and he still went for it."

"Koko..." You coo, hand attempting to smooth out the tension in his arms and doing so successfully as he lets out a heavy sigh through his nose. Your worry returns when a devilish smirk bends his lips back upward.

"Inupi," Kokonoi calls out, grinning wider when he finds those bottomless blue eyes already on him, "what do you say we make a stop somewhere, I need to stretch my legs." the knowing glint they share makes you gulp.

The sky is half orange already as you turn towards a tree filled street, almost completely barren. You shuffle your legs together nervously as the car comes to a stop. Hajime gets out, running his hands through his hair outside before coming around and opening your door, "In the back."

You listen without question, watching from inside as he ties up his long white hair into a ponytail before Inui pulls you closer with an arm around your shoulders.

"Know that it's not your fault, but you know how he gets. Koko just needs some reassurance." He whispers, lips pressed to your ear as his breath washes down your neck. You nod in understanding, eyes locked on Hajime as he enters the back of the car on the other side of you.

You sit in silence for a moment before he sighs, cold hand resting on your thigh gently, placing a kiss on Inui's hand still over your shoulders, sharing a meaningful look behind you. His soft, plump lips travel over his lover's pale hand and towards your ear, "Be a good kitten for us, will you?"

You nod immediately, shivering at the low, hot chuckle that crawls down your neck, "Good."

Your legs are pulled up onto his lap while both men readjust around you, your back against Inui’s chest as he sits against the door while Koko moves his hands up your legs. Inui’s hand dives into your hair, pulling your head back to kiss you while Hajime kisses up your inner thighs, taking skin between his teeth as he goes. You can’t see his movements from this position so every time his lips land on your skin you jump, whimpering as Inui’s hands move up your body toward your chest at the same time.

You could combust from how much you’re feeling all at once.

“Who does he think he is? Thank fuck we got here at the right time. He won’t be making that mistake again, that’s for sure.” Kokonoi growls, biting becoming rougher with his anger, while Inui does the same on your neck, silently in agreement. The plentiful marks that will surely litter your skin after this is over will be enough to deter any other idiots from making a move on you, your partners make sure of it.

“Wait, don’t tell me you hurt him,” You gasp, realizing you never saw the end of their conversation, “Do you really think I’m some amateur? No, verbal intimidation was enough.”

His consequent smirk and wink make you scoff, before the tightening of Inui’s grip takes your attention off of the white haired man, "All he needed were a few harsh words to lay off. Turns out he didn't actually want it that bad."

His scoff is just as cruel as Kokonoi’s tone.

“Would you stop talking about some guy when we’re about to have sex?” You exhale sharply with an eye roll and a pout, that immediately gets you bitten on both ends.

"Tone down the attitude, kitten. Don't forget who's in control here." Hajime growls, nails digging into your thighs while eyeing you sharply.

"You know how... Territorial we can get. You're ours, just like we're yours. And if some dimwit has something to say about it, it's going to affect us."

"Dragons are hoarders by nature. Once we have our treasure, we make sure to guard it well." Kokonoi continues, grinning with sharp teeth, hand reaching for the collar around his neck. "Even if these things help hide our true nature to the outside, you get to see it all."

Inui's hand crosses your field of vision, grasping Kokonoi's, "Just not right at this moment because there's nowhere near enough space to let all of it out," he speaks sternly to which his lover answers with a scoff that feels hotter than normal on your skin.

"'Letting it out' doesn't just mean wings, horns and a tail," a long slitted tongue runs over Kokonoi's teeth teasingly, "But that's enough chit chat, don't you think?"

You gulp.

His hands are cold as they snake up your thighs to take your panties off without ceremony, dropping them somewhere behind him, before spreading your thighs as far as possible, “Thank god we got a bigger car.”

“I don’t know if this is the best way to do this.”

“There is no good way so this is the best way."

[papers4me]

Don't you think it is weird that you would fan over the teenage couples in furuba (kyo-tohru), ( yuki-machi) & then hate on the adult couples (Uotani-kureno), (shigure-akito) ? The adult's couple brand of romance might not be vanilla but it is valid.

Hi anon. I’ll answer your question but it seems that there’s a mistake. Uotani (Arisa) is not an adult. She’s in her 2nd year in high school. Only Kureno is an adult, he’s 26 years old. I don’t think one partner being an adult automatically makes the pair labeled as an (adult couple). so, I think you either missed sth or forgot the ages of one of two characters.

Back you your question. You can’t label the romantic couples in furuba as team adult & team teenagers & team kids cuz (a) Each type of romantic love is unique to the characters themselves & their story line. (b) The only proof I have that they’re official final couple is the ED since I’m an anime only. (c) I think the writer tried to explore all types of romantic love, thus, we have different types, or at least that’s how I want to look at these types of romantic love. While I might not like a couple, I don’t hate any character at all! They all make the show fun & worthy of analysis!

Tbh, I can only speak abt my perspective, & my consumption of the characters’ feelings & how they seem to me. I can look at things that are “weird” to me as “perhaps it isn’t weird to others” or “ each has their own taste” , while understanding others perspective, it won’t necessarily erase my feeling of “ weirdness”.  After all, my blog is called “Papers-for-me”.

-Regarding: (kyo-tohru): to me washing her scarf & caring for it, noticing her fake mask despite all the laughs & approaching her to open up & unload her burden & cooking together is all romantic. Fro ( yuki-machi): to me breaking the chalk to sooth her panic attack, promising to walk on snow together, understanding her fear of perfection without her saying is all romantic. It might not be romantic to you & that’s fine. This brand might be “too vanilla” for you & that’s fine too.

-Regarding: (Uotani-kureno) even with leaving the age gap out of it, him leaning to kiss her on the lips in their first unplanned dinner is “ weird” to say the least. His monologue abt “ tasting her lips” is even weirder! But that’s just me, who cares what I think. If you like it & see it as very romantic & captivating, then that’s fine. After all, this is fiction. Not reality, so choose what you fancy, no one will be harmed.

-Regarding: ( shigure-akito) To me, they are both toxic & rather than feeling romance, I feel sadness. It is so sad to see Akito having a break down cuz he slept with her mom. It was also sad seeing Shigure intentionally hurt his beloved. To me, the scene is meant to evoke negative feelings as it is meant to put the two characters in closer comparison. We saw Akito (toxic aggressive) with Kureno (toxic passive), now we have shigure (toxic aggressive). You can say, match made in heaven? I duno which I find sadder, the fact he slept with her mom, the fact that he forgot? abt it, or the fact that she slept with him to keep him! or the fact that she’ll do whatever to keep them all whether by using her body or her violence. As if competing with her mom, trying to prove her mom wrong, No, I am Loved! see? he slept with me, too. Kureno, as well. They all want me! I’m loved & our bond is real. I personally don’t view their entire relationship (so far ) as romantic. especially with the weird “ unwavering truth” flashback shown in middle of their sex scene. Why?! If him promising to love her when she was a child was due to the curse, then why show it again in the middle of a heated adult scene as if it concludes his promise??

Look, I might find ( shigure-akito) relationship  “weird” but I’m enjoying it so much. It is good drama! full of layers of toxicity, abuse & complicated feelings. I don’t feel guilty enjoying it cuz it is fiction. So, If you feel their couple is romantic, that’s fine, while I disagree with you due to personal preference, we are both enjoying it, right?

I’m sure a lot will be uncovered abt ( shigure-akito) as the final season go on, So, while I so heartedly welcome discussions, kindly don’t reveal things to me that aren’t shown in the current aired episodes. If you like things in furuba differently from me, you are welcome to talk abt them with me as well. It is fun to see things differently from different perspective, even if I dont agree with it.

Have a good time in furuba, anon, Thank you for the ask!

[escapewriter]

oh god😭 this request will be exciting and will probably take forever.

~

svt reaction to finding out you write fics about them

scoups : cheol would kinda just stare at your laptop with a confused look on his face. he’d be intrigued tho and keep reading and would frankly like his character (sometimes cuz he doesn’t like being mean). when you see him on your laptop, you kinda jump on him and try to take it away from him, but him being stronger cuz of dem muscles, he holds you back.

“So, you read fics about me?” He didn’t realize that it was a google doc until you stumble over your words and he looks back at it, “OH SHIT NO YOU WRITE FICS ABOUT ME!”

jeonghan : he’d definitely tease you about it. you’d be hiding in his room out of embarrassment and he’d leave you alone after being unsuccessful in getting you out of the room. when you do go out tho (stupid hunger) he would reenact a scene by pushing you against the wall and you just hid your face from him.

“My little fan came out of her nest.” Just to tease him back, you said, “Jokes on you, I write more about Mingyu.”

joshua : lowkey, he’d find it very funny. he’d just read what you’ve written about him and laugh cuz some of them are just so stupid. you guys would be eating lunch and he’s just casually bring it up to you like “so you gotta put us having lunch in your next fic?” you’d choke on your food and just stare at him, blushing as he’d smirk at you.

“But really? Me as a vampire? Come on YN, I’m more of the superhero type.” *Flexes his arms*

jun : he’d be in shock. probably wouldn’t know how to process this information and is just freaking out. well of course he’d freak out, you, his best friend, writes fanfics about him. he didn’t realize you came home until you called him out. he immediately slammed the computer shut.

“Y-You y-you write f-fanfics, about m-me??” Your eyes went wide in panic before you kinda just bolted back out the door. “YN WAIT, I CAN MAKE IT A REALITY.”

hoshi : hoshi wouldn’t find out. the man is terrible with technology, what makes you think he’d find it? you could have your computer out, the whole page open for him to see and he’d accidentally delete everything. he’d probably find out from you freaking out about it.

“HOSH YOU JUST DELETED EVERYTHING!!” “What??? What did I delete??”

“MY FANFICS ABOUT YOU!” “YOU WRITE FANFICS ABOUT ME??”

wonwoo : he would be a bit awkward. he wouldn’t want to approach the situation because he’s embarrassed. but you notice something’s wrong and you try to get it out of him but he doesn’t want to tell you and just avoids you. you kinda set it aside because it seems like nothing serious before you go on your computer and see your page open to all of your fics. you kinda sit there just regretting life.

“WONWOO!” “YEAH?”

“YOU SAW NOTHING!” “GOT IT!”

woozi : kinda disturbed about it, but also finds it adorable because he never knew you thought about him that way. he’d get captivated by it and would read everything you had on him, AND HIS MEMBERS, which was a bit disturbing but, it was all amusing to him.

“Babe, you write fanfics about me and the boys?” You kinda just stand there like🧍‍♀️ “Why does hoshi have more than me?”

the8 : he’d probably not care about it. he’d be shocked but he’d just respect it because he knew you were a fan when you both met. he cant help but get a little curious and read more of it. he came across a series that wasn’t finished yet so when you came home, he begged to know what happened.

“YN, please, please tell me what happens in the end. DO WE END UP TOGETHER?”

“HOW THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT??”

mingyu : mingyu would walk in on you writing and ask what you were doing. obviously you wouldn’t want him to know so you said nothing but him being the curious little shit he is, he takes your computer or phone or whatever youre using and just runs for the hills. you run after him but he locks himself in the bathroom and looks at everything, meanwhile you’re just contemplating life.

“YOU WRITE FICS ABOUT ME?” “Mingyu please come back outside.”

“NO WAY IN HELL AM I GOING OUT, THIS IS SOME JUICY SHIT.”

dk : would most likely just yell as he’s reading it. has that terrified look on his face because he didn’t know what fanfics were. you’d just come home to him screaming in his pillow and when you walk in, you’re confused until you see your computer in front of him. quickly you turned it off and put back on your desk.

“Seok, why the hell would you read that???” you whined, “WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WRITE THAT???”

“YOU ACT LIKE I WROTE SMUT!”

“OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!”

seungkwan : when he found out, he told you to do better💀 give him longer stories and more romantic onces that make him look good. he’d even reenact everything so you could write it down perfectly. HE’D END UP SECRETLY TAKING OVER YOUR BLOG.

“HOLD ON, IS JOSHUA YOUR FAVORITE??? OH HELL NO WE DELETING ALL OF THAT, NO.”

vernon : man’s does not care. frankly his ego would boost up a bit. he wouldnt tell you for the fun of it, so when he knows you’re writing, he’d be more persistent with asking what you were doing.

“Whatcha doing there YN hmm?” You look at him weirdly, “...Nothing.” He’d just smirk and nod his head, silently walking away.

“YOU KNOW SOMETHING HANSOL VERNON CHWE!” “Maybe, maybe not.”

dino : he would be shy about it but would slowly grow confident after reading more secretly. he’s subtly pull some of the moves you wrote. eventually you pieced everything together, so you decided to mess with him and write something stupid but say that it was attractive.

“Hey YN, how was your day?” Chan stood by the doorframe of the room, “Chan,” “Hmm?”

“Please tell me you only rented that banana costume and didn’t actually buy it.”

[exo-raskreia]

Renji’s Cowardice

So this is something I've been wanting to talk a bit about, even though I've commented on it to other fellow fans, but decided maybe I should make a post about it. This got longer than expected, so long post ahead:

I'm one of those few people who don't believe Renji had feelings for Rukia, or if at all, they were so subtle, they were barely there - ‘cause they can easily be interpreted as that of friendship or siblings.

We know he certainly cared about her, they were childhood friends, helping each other through hard times, the ONLY survivors from their friend group in the Rukongai, & the only ones out of them who had reiatsu. So, obviously, they had a tight bond.

But...there was nothing more. That scene in the anime (ep. 32) where Renji stares at Rukia in the lake during his childhood memories? Filler - like most of the episode. It wasn't in the manga. Check out chapter 98 (which also has a lot of the scenes I will mention here).

When I first watched that, I thought maybe he liked her (so then why did he hurt her?), but as I got further into the anime, no such scene ever happened again, nothing else that indicated he might like her. Then eventually I read the manga, & bam! - obviously there'd been nothing else, since the scene hadn't been there to begin with.

So if you believe Renji was deeply in love with Rukia... Well, that’s not what I saw in the following scenes.

Let’s start off with a little scene in his childhood, where Rukia showcased her reiatsu abilities. Their friends found it so cool, whereas Renji seemed...bothered by it:

And down here, where he shouts at the guys, one could interpret him being a bit jealous that they’re captivated by Rukia, but it can also be interpreted as him being a bit jealous of Rukia, like, “Meh, she ain’t all that!” 

Even so, they all became so close, like a family

Years later, once in the academy, Rukia was adopted into the Kuchiki Clan. Renji encountered Byakuya for the first time & felt an immense fear. Any confidence he’d had up until that point (such as being in an advanced class) faded. 

When Rukia tried to discuss with him if she should accept it, because DUH, they only had each other at this point & were basically family, but of course Renji let his insecurities get the better of him, & basically told her how lucky she was & to go for it, without showing concern or worry. Thus, beginning the end of their friendship.

Renji’s excuse for letting her go was that he didn’t want to get in the way of her happiness... Was it? Not something else like, I don’t know, feeling insecure, possibly inferior, afraid when he had encountered her adoptive brother for the first time? Ah, that's it...cowardice? It's as if he was even trying to convince himself otherwise:

Yep, sounds like it, Renji. Always hiding your fear, masking it with ego, or in this case, thinking you’re “happy” for her.

He didn’t want to admit what he had been feeling in that moment. He didn’t let her go out of the goodness of his heart...but because he didn’t have the guts to stop her. He didn’t have the guts to go against Byakuya for her sake. Or more like...for his own sake.

You could say he didn’t feel “worthy enough” being her friend, now that Rukia was part of a prestigious clan... Or simply...too scared. He made it his goal to surpass Byakuya, & once he did, then he would feel "worthy" or strong enough to talk to Rukia again.

Just...why? Did he not see that it wasn’t what Rukia wanted? It’s not like she would have looked down on him or anyone else for that matter. He didn’t understand her like a certain someone. Actually, doesn’t it sort of parallel the scene in which that certain someone was telling her to go back home with him, & she told him she’d stay in SS, & he actually saw she was happy about it & let her go because of it? She wanted to stick together like family, but he pushed her away. For the next 40 years, he never attempted to talk to her, make sure she was doing well, wasn't there for her, nothing.

But he hadn’t realized the true reason for his actions...yet.

Cowardly Renji was then going to tell Rukia about his promotion to lieutenant after he was encouraged by his friends (ch. 205.2/Side-B ‘The Rotator’), but then he was sent to arrest her in Karakura Town. Instead of trying to make up or let her know he didn’t want to do this, he certainly acted pretty villainous towards her, & did NOTHING to try to stop her from getting executed, not even trying to vouch for her to her brother (I mean, if someone as freakishly strong as his captain wasn’t going to do a thing, then why should Renji The Coward™, amirite?). Some "tight bond”... 

Is this how a man shows he loves a woman?! Is this the kind of man you want for strong, kind, selfless Rukia?!

When Renji decided to visit Rukia in her cell to tell her about a certain orange-haired guy being in SS, he hadn’t expected her to react the way she did:

(Renji then thought that maybe he shouldn’t have given her hope, because the rescue gang might not make it. So even in her final moments, he still wasn’t going to try anything? Instead, regretted giving her some comfort? Oh, boy...)

After hearing about said orange-haired guy defeating strong opponents on his way to save Rukia, his bruised ego sent him to go pick a fight with him against orders.

He went as far as to blame that one person for Rukia’s demise. Like, what the heck? He wanted to break his resolve, because Renji himself had none.

But obviously...things weren’t going the way he’d planned. Ichigo, the man who would stop at nothing to save Rukia, was underestimated. Heck, Renji even got triggered when Ichigo shouted this & blocked his attack:

U mad, bruh?

Eventually, Alpha™ Ichigo defeated him, & made him realize his faults. Cue Flashback no Jutsu & then we got Renji saying this:

Ooh, boy, this is right after the panel where he was trying to convince himself that he let Rukia go for her happiness (ch. 98).

Let’s start off with the first part: "Now that I think about it... I was probably just scared...”

So this does confirm that Renji had been lying to himself, & that his real reason was that he was afraid to confront a stronger opponent for his friend. Afraid to do something about the situation. He was a coward through & through.

Then he continues with this: “I am really a tramp down to my bones. I hate myself. I bark at the star, but...I don't have the courage to jump and grab it."

Is this another way of him saying Rukia is the star & he's the tramp? So basically, he felt inferior to her? A lowly creature who’s all bark & no bite?

Let’s see... You could say that since childhood, Renji had always felt a bit jealous of Rukia, or simply admired her, cuz she had higher reiatsu, their old friends looked up to her more & she became their leader of sorts. And then when she was adopted into the Kuchiki Clan, she was “farther away". 

He made it his goal to surpass Byakuya...because it would mean he had finally “reached” Rukia? You could almost see this as romantic, feel bad for him cuz he doesn’t feel worthy of her, even though he’s tried so hard (fake ‘aww’). But it’s still not enough. Up until this point, Renji hadn’t done anything to help her. Like I said before, he even tried to obstruct the one person who was trying to save her, & tried to blame him for her eventual demise.

Just how insecure were you, Renji? Of the fact that someone else, who hadn’t known her as long, was risking his life to save the one girl you weren’t brave enough to help? That someone else would reach the star, & not you? That someone else proved himself Top Dog™ & you’re still the tramp?

Well, Rukia is more referred to as the moon, while Ichigo as the sun (White Moon, Black Sun). So to Renji, she's a star, but in regards to Ichigo, she's the moon. An unreachable star to one, & the moon to the other... Interesting...

In some translations, he says "stars" in plural, so if that, does it mean Renji is calling himself a coward in general, who doesn't have the courage to stand up to those stronger than him? And/or to get what he wants? In others, he says "moon", & Rukia has been referred to as the moon, so it still applies.

After this, he BEGGED Ichigo to save Rukia, because he himself couldn't. Once again, he felt unworthy. And this time, he had good reason to, because the man Rukia wanted to see wasn't even him, & he knew this. Like I said, he hadn’t expected her to look so happy when he’d informed her that Ichigo was in town.

Renji had a change of heart. He later helped Ichigo in what he could, having formed the resolve to work harder after recovering from the fight against him. After this, we saw him become friends with Ichigo, having his acknowledgement, his respect, his trust. Never once do we see Renji feeling jealous towards Ichigo regarding Rukia (nor anyone else for that matter). Not like Orihime being jealous of Rukia. Renji supported Ichigo in everything, & both considered each other one of their closest comrades.

Remember the scene in Hueco Mundo (ch. 248) where Ichigo didn't want the group to separate in Las Noches after Rukia suggested it, then Renji got in the way & told him it was an insult to her as a warrior? He knew this wasn't about the group, it was about Rukia (dang, was Ichigo that obvious?). Ichigo didn't say that because he didn't trust in her abilities...it's his general care & worry about her. He has to have Rukia in his sight at all times. She obviously means a lot more to him than he realizes (and more than his other friends). Renji doesn't see Rukia the same way Ichigo does...hence why he wasn't concerned like Ichigo. This already shows the difference in their feelings for Rukia.

(Poor Ichigo must’ve later regretted this when he didn’t feel Rukia’s reiatsu anymore & Ulquiorra had said she’d “died”, then Ichigo turned around to go to her, without giving a second thought to Orihime’s whereabouts and-)

Heck, even in the Fade To Black movie, everyone had forgotten about Rukia, including Renji...except Ichigo. He was the only one who fought tooth & nail to get her back. Renji was one of the last people in the movie to remember her, some "bond". Well, she already established a stronger bond with Ichigo, so Renji lost his status as the man closest to Rukia long ago.

Then in the WDKALY fanfiction novel, in the sketch of Renji at the wedding, he doesn't seem very happy? And in the one with him & Rukia announcing their engagement, their Soul Reaper friends seem so shocked, as if they would have never seen this coming? If it was obvious they “loved” each other, why even their closest friends didn't see it? Seems sketchy, doesn't it?

To add to this, as someone had pointed out before, just look at Renji’s expression here while Rukia is injured:

Seems like the typical battle-hardened look someone would have over their injured comrades.

Meanwhile, look at Ichigo, leaning forward anxiously...& then we get a wonderful closeup of his face

So, all in all, what I'm trying to say is that there was never really a critical moment in which made me go, "Wow, Renji really does love Rukia." His feelings just weren’t really...there? Or not noticeable romantically, not like Ishida’s for Orihime - now THESE I can believe. He felt like a coward in general, that not even his childhood friend's life being in danger, had been enough to get him to act. It took someone else, someone much braver than him, to give him the push that he needed to move forward. And that person is the one he came to respect & support, never showing jealousy. He even thanked Ichigo (ch. 682) for restoring his friendship with Rukia, & said he'll always have his back. Some "rival", huh?

(Thinking about it, since we never got to see more of Renji's insecurities again after the SS arc - I think - & had his friendship restored, does this mean surpassing Byakuya wasn't his goal anymore? Did he ever mention it again?)

Kubo really wasn't playing when it came to who cared more about Rukia out of these two (or more like, the differences in how they cared about her). Too bad this all went out the window.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

TWD 10x14: Look at the Flowers - Character Journeys

All right, so after watching this episode like three times, I started to notice patterns in the different character arcs. Each of them is on a similar journey in this episode, and while they’re all different, they all parallel one another.

The characters are Carol, Beta, Ezekiel, Daryl, Negan, and then Eugene/Yumiko/Ezekiel. The reason I put those last three together is that their “journey” is physical. It’s them journeying to meet Stephanie. For the other characters, the journey is internal.

So I’ll try to go through this quickly. I just want you to notice the pattern here. This is the journey of these characters to make a decision that will affect things moving forward. And it’s important to understand what that journey is so we know where their arcs are going and how they will react to things. By the end of the episode, they’ve made their decisions and are ready for action.

***As always, spoilers abound below for 10x14. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

Phase 1: each journey starts out with a negative, destructive mindset.

Carol – listening to Alpha (herself) who is telling her how terrible she is, how it’s her fault each of the kids died, etc. Very negative mindset.

Ezekiel – he’s down on himself for not saving the kids and is being more negative than positive about his future. Probably because he believes he doesn’t have one.

Beta – we see him find that Alpha is dead, kill one of the Whisperers, and then destroy his room in the western saloon.

Daryl – For Daryl, it’s about him not believing Negan. He’s mad at Carol, but he also doesn’t trust Negan or believe they’re on the same side, now. It’s understandable, but he’s just not having much “faith in people.”

Negan – His is more subtle but he’s trying to convince Daryl he’s a friend and is obviously terrified that Daryl is going to kill him at any moment. Which he’s probably right about.

Phase 2: The negativity culminates in some sort of disaster or major event that forces them to make a decision about their future.

Carol – the boat falls on her, and she’s faced with whether she’ll fight to live or just let the walker bite her.

Ezekiel – his horse dies, and he wants to turn back because he’s afraid his lack of stamina might put Yumiko and Eugene in danger.

Beta – I’m convinced he contemplates suicide by walker a few times. The big event is when all the walkers come toward him and he has to decide what he wants to do next.

Daryl – Taken captive by the Whisperers, when they bow to Negan.

Negan – Same thing. Not a disaster for him, but he’s given the opportunity to go back to his old, Negan-ish ways, and he has to decide whether to do that or continue to ally himself with Daryl and the Alexandrians.

Phase 3 – They make a decisions to either slide back into old, negative patterns, or move forward with faith and hope.

Carol – kills the walker, decides to live and return to Alexandria, rather than running away.

Ezekiel – convinced by Yumiko to continue on toward the city. And that’s super important because him going there will probably ultimately save his life. So, deciding to move forward with faith and hope will allow him to live.

Beta – he’s the only one that doesn’t exactly move forward with positivity. You could argue that he doesn’t go the route of death by walker, so he chooses to live. But he also wears Alpha’s face and leads the horde to make war on Alexandria, so…

Daryl – For him, I believe it’s deciding to believe Negan. At first, he didn’t believe him. Then he had to trust Negan to kill the Whisperers and be on his side. And he makes a point of saying he still doesn’t like Negan, but I don’t think Daryl will go out of his way to kill Negan moving forward either. And his acceptance will go a long way toward others in the community accepting Negan as well. Probably far more than Carol’s acceptance of him would.

Negan – He chooses not to return to his negative, dictator-like ways, which earns Daryl’s trust and gets him back to Alexandria, which is what he wants.

So none of these are super TD or Beth-ish in nature, though we certainly see plenty of signs and symbols of her along the way. But I think the point is that all of them moving forward with positivity will affect their arcs moving forward.

And it also mirrors Eugene’s journey to find Stephanie. We certainly didn’t reach the end of that journey, but I noticed that right after Carol says, “It’s never too late,” the next shot we see is of them arriving at the city with triumphant music. So that’s purposeful.

Eugene says their on a journey to the hope and future of mankind. Makes us think we’ll see a cure arc here and this journey of Eugene’s is going to change everything. So, it mirrors what these individual characters are going through, because their choices here will change everything moving forward.

How do I think they’ll change things? 

As I’ve already said, I think Ezekiel will live, rather than die of his cancer. For Carol, though I think Zeke’s death fake out will send her into a tailspin, I also think that, like Daryl, Maggie, and Michonne, she’ll have to choose to be positive and move forward before she’s “worthy” to get Ezekiel back and find happiness. She basically chose that here. 

So while obviously thinking he’s dead will greatly affect her, I think her choice here will help her keep from sliding into hermetic, homicidal existence when it does happen.

Beta? Yeah, I don’t have much in the way of details to offer, but he’ll probably die eventually. But then, he didn’t exactly choose the most positive path. Many of us got Phantom of the Opera vibes with his “new” mask. 

You know, the story of a monster with a mask who kidnaps a beautiful, young, singer? And the phantom has an amazing singing voice as well? Now, I don’t know if that’s what they’re going for. But I gotta say, Ryan did talk on TTD about how Alpha’s ghost will very much remain with Beta moving forward. The opera ghost is a big part of the Phantom tale.

And yes, I totally have a head canon about Beta kidnapping Beth and Beth choosing Daryl instead. But we’ll leave that in head canon land for now. ;D

For Negan, the obvious thing is that maybe he’ll get to live at Alexandria and be one of the good guys, now. But I really like this Negan thing in terms of Daryl. I still think Negan will figure in Beth’s return in some way, and maybe he needs to be part of Alexandria (not just as a prisoner) to make that happen. So I like to think that, much as with Dwight, Daryl’s mercy will aid in bringing Beth back to him. But I’m not exactly objective on that count. ;D

So yeah, just wanted you guys to see this so we can refer back to it as we get farther on in the story.  

Another thing? I was originally going to discuss the lyrics of the songs we her in tomorrow’s Details post. But then I realized I need to put them here.

So here’s the thing. We saw three different scenes in which Beta is playing music. In the first scene, he’s playing Emily’s The Turtle and the Monkey song. In the second one, a different song is playing that I haven’t identified yet. And then in the third one, her song is playing again. I’ve typed out the lyrics below.

Even before I realized that the song in 2 out of 3 scenes was Emily’s, I looked at the lyrics and realized they represented the three phases. 1 – Negativity, 2 – Imprisonment 3 – Staying the course and, kind of, being in love? The first set of lyrics sounds really self-deprecating. The second set of lyrics starts out, “Cuz if I knew they’d lock me up…” Yeah. Imprisonment. And in the third we get sticking to the path (i.e. making the right choice), talk of love, and staring into one another’s eyes.

Check them out for yourself:

First Scene:

“I’m a miser when I’m rich

But a gambler if I’m broke

And if we’re gonna be laughin’

I would wanna be in on the joke.

Sometimes I think You show me the scabs

Just to temp me to tear ‘em away

Makin’ me draw blood

Will never make me want to stay.

Second Scene:

‘Cause if I knew they’d lock me up

Then I would surely run

Killed so many in your name, girl

That I’d never see the sun

Was invited down to hell

Drank from the glass, it felt just fine

I asked him, “Where’s that girl of mine?”

The Devil just smiled and left me behind

I smiled back and finished my bear

and said adios. I didn’t shed a tear

Joy descended with the flames all around

‘Cause the Devil, he sure likes to gamble

I tried to stand tall

And knock down that big old wall

I tried to stand strong

But suppose I guessed all wrong.

I tried to stand tall

And knock down that big old wall

I tried to stand strong

But supposed I guessed all wrong.

Third Scene:

Just sticking to the path

Your like a monkey in the trees

Jumpin from branch to branch

I love the way you move

You love the way I rock ‘n’ roll

But if our worlds collide it’s bound to take its toll

Oh, oh it’s sad but true

Love is never enough

And after just a few months, we’re not immune

Oh, we used to stay up late

Starin’ in each other’s eyes

So, I didn’t realize it was Emily’s song because I’ve only listened to her Turtle and the Monkey song a few times and am not that familiar with the tune. In my defense, I did google and figured if it was one of her songs it would come up. It totally didn’t. But I think I know why. The first few lines in Beta’s song are different than in Emily’s song. And those are the only ones I Googled (eye roll). So that’s why it didn’t pop up for me.

But I gotta say, it being her song, and especially the fact that she’s in the first and third scenes, is awesome! Think about what I said last week about the 15 season arc. Beth was in the first 5 season (S2-S5), but not in the middle 5 (6-10) but we’re thinking she’ll return for 11-whenever. The songs…kind of reflect that.

Thoughts?

[ironwoman359]

Becoming unusually clumsy and fumbling simple tasks. Logicality ( I love all of your amazing works)

Too Close for Comfort 

Summary: This is for @sugarglider9603​‘s Mario AU, cuz I’ve had it on my mind and I love it so much. Patton is kidnapped yet again by Bowceit, King of the Koopas, but the Super Bros Logan and Virgil are there to save the day. So why does Patton still feel so wrong?

Content Warnings: Kidnapping, being tied up/gagged, cartoon violence, cartoon villain Deceit, crying, dealing (poorly, at first) with emotions. Logicality, side Prinxiety. Word Count: 2,226 (This got longer than I meant it to be, oops.)

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“Do you, King Bowceit, take Prince Patton to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

“I do,” Bowceit said with a chuckle. 

“And do you, Prince Patton, take King Bowceit to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

Patton didn’t answer, but that was probably because he was tied up too tightly to move and had a gag stuffed in his mouth. A hammer bro next to him grabbed his hair, trying to force his head to nod yes. 

Suddenly, the door slammed open and the air filled with heat as a fireball soared through the chapel, colliding with the hammer bro and blasting him away. Patton’s knees nearly buckled in relief as Logan stormed into the room with fury in his eyes, Virgil hot on his heels. 

Bowceit hissed, and pulled a lever that was next to the altar. The floor beneath Patton’s feet dropped away, and he fell into a dark abyss. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for a hard landing, but before he hit the floor someone reached out and caught hold of the end of the ropes that were wrapped around his arms. He peeked out through one eyelid just in time to see Bowceit Jr. toss him into a cage with a chain hooked over the top. The little snake pulled another lever, and hopped on top of the cage as it rose back up out of the pit and high above the party’s heads. 

“Good luck getting to your Precious Prince Patton now!” Bowceit cackled, and from his new vantage point, Patton could see Logan staring up at him desperately. Patton tried to send him an encouraging smile, but he wasn’t sure how much of it translated through the gag. He saw Virgil tug on Logan’s shoulder, and the brother’s must’ve said something to each other that Patton was too far away to hear, because they suddenly sprung into action. 

Logan ran forward and threw a pair of fireballs at Bowceit, knocking him off kilter. Virgil dashed after him and jumped, landing squarely on the snake man’s head. Logan then spun around in a roundhouse kick, his foot colliding solidly with Bowceit’s backside. The koopa king went flying into the air, Virgil hanging on for dear life. At the peak of Bowceit’s arc, Virgil pushed off, using the snake’s head as a springboard to enhance his own jump height. 

Even with all of that, and with Virgil being the better jumper of the two plumbers, he only barely managed to catch the lip of Patton’s cage with one hand, and for a few tense seconds Patton couldn’t breathe as Virgil scrambled desperately for purchase. But the plumber managed to find his grip, and after a moment Virgil pulled himself up with a grunt, flashing the prince a grin. 

“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” he said, reaching through the bars of the cage to pull off Patton’s gag. Patton giggled, then coughed, trying to get the taste of rope out of his mouth.

“Oh boy, Virgil, am I glad to see you. For a minute there I thought–” Patton was cut off by Bowceit Jr. as the child leapt forward, trying to throw Virgil back down to the ground. Patton held his breath as the two tussled for a moment, but Virgil was easily stronger than the little snake, and after a moment a cry of surprise could be heard from below as Bowceit Jr. landed on his father’s head.

Virgil grinned, and pulled a key from his overalls pocket. A moment later, the cage was unlocked and Patton was rubbing feeling back into his newly freed limbs. 

Bowceit roared when he saw that his prize was once again escaping his clutches, and he summoned a giant fireball to throw, but Logan grabbed his tail from behind, swinging him around and forcing his attention to remain on the ground for a few moments longer. 

“I need to help him,” Virgil said as he took the rope that had a few moments ago been keeping Patton captive and secured it to the bars of the now open cage. “You’re going to have to climb down yourself, alright?” 

Patton nodded, taking the end of the rope that Virgil offered him. The plumber gave him a quick, encouraging smile, then he turned and jumped down, landing with a perfect kick to the back of Bowceit’s head just before the lizard managed to push Logan off into a pit of lava that was conveniently located right behind the altar in the wedding chapel. 

Patton swallowed, peering down at the scene below him. Virgil was now fighting off the last of the minions who had bothered to stay this long, and Logan was spinning Bowceit around by the tail again. He let go, sending the kidnapper careening into the wall, which shook the whole building. Patton yelped as the cage trembled, catching him off balance. He found himself mirroring Virgil’s position from only a few moments ago, hanging on for dear life to the door of the cage as it swung back and forth. 

“Patton!” he heard Logan shout from below, and despite the danger, Patton couldn’t help the butterflies that leapt in his stomach everytime Logan said his name. “Hang on, Patton!” Logan called again, and Patton squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to look down. 

Get me down, he silently begged. Get me down, get me down, get me down…

“Patton, can you pull yourself up?” Logan urged him. 

Patton tried, he honestly did. But when he shifted his grip, he felt himself slipping, and he froze, fear spiking through his heart. 

“I–I can’t, I’m sorry, I can’t, I–” 

“Okay, okay then. It’s okay, honey,” Logan soothed, and Patton managed to peak open an eye to glance down at him. The enemies were gone, Bowceit was out cold in the corner, and Logan’s full attention was up on Patton. “If you can’t pull yourself up, then you’ll have to let go, okay?” 

“W-what?” Patton choked out, but Logan held out his arms. 

“I’ll catch you sweetheart, I promise. Do you trust me?” 

Patton nodded. 

“Of course…of course I do, Logan.” 

“Then let go, baby.” 

Patton squeezed his eyes shut, then let go of the cage. For a terrifying moment, he was falling through the air, then he felt Logan’s arms catch him bridal style, solid and safe and secure. Patton’s arms went around Logan on instinct, and he buried his face in his boyfriend’s neck. 

“Thank you,” he whispered as Logan pressed a kiss to his hair. 

“Let’s go home, m’kay?” Logan murmured. Patton nodded, nestling deeper into Logan’s hold. 

The plumbers and the prince left Bowceit’s kingdom, and headed back towards their home. Usually, Patton would listen to Logan tell him stories of his and Virgil’s adventures on their way to rescue him, but the next thing he knew Logan was softly saying his name, and he was waking up to Logan setting him on the front lawn of his castle, back in the Mushroom Kingdom. 

“H-huh? When did we–” 

“You fell asleep before we’d even reached Dry Dry Desert. You seemed so exhausted, so we didn’t want to wake you.” 

Patton nodded blearily, wiping sleep from his eyes. He looked around for a moment, then frowned. 

“Where’s Virgil?” 

“He stayed in Sarasaland with Roman. Ro worries while he goes off on adventures like this, but you know Virgil. He insisted Roman stay behind when we went to get you.” Logan smiled fondly. “He’ll probably be by tomorrow to check on you, he was very upset when we realized you’d gone missing again.” 

Something heavy lodged itself in Patton’s heart at the word again, but he smiled and nodded. 

“It will be good to see him after all that, I missed him.” He smiled up at Logan. “I missed you too, Lo-Lo.” 

Logan blushed, and Patton laughed. He never tired of seeing his boyfriend get embarrassed; he was the absolute cutest thing Patton had ever seen. He leaned up and kissed him on the lips, giggling at the surprised noise the came before Logan pulled himself together enough to kiss back. Patton pulled away and smiled, expecting to feel himself grow lighter than air, like he did whenever he kissed Logan, but something was still sitting unpleasantly in his gut. He almost frowned, but Logan was smiling down at him and he pushed the unpleasant feeling away. 

“How about we go bake a cake?” Patton suggested. Logan agreed, and Patton nodded to himself. Yes, baking. That would get rid of this strange weight he was still feeling right? Baking always calmed him down. 

The two of them went to Patton’s kitchen, and on autopilot Patton started pulling out supplies and ingredients. He’d baked in this kitchen so many times, he didn’t even have to think about what he was doing, so it was surprising when he found himself fumbling with his measuring cups. 

“Whoops!” he giggled as he dropped his wooden spoon. “Wooden you know, I’m being very clumsy today!” 

Logan raised an eyebrow at him, but Patton breezed past, opening his tin of flour and scooping out a few cups. He ended up missing the bowl on his second pass, and flour scattered across his counter. 

“Oopsie! If I keep making mistakes like this, this cake will take flours to bake!” He grinned over at Logan, but Logan wasn’t smiling. Patton shook his head and pushed ahead. He tried to crack an egg into a bowl. 

“Patton…” 

The egg fell to the ground, and Patton stared down at the splattered mess on the floor. 

“Ha ha…I just…can’t catch a bake today, c-can I?” he chuckled softly. Patton made to turn away again, but Logan caught his shoulder, and slowly turned him around, forcing them to face each other. 

“Patton?” Logan’s voice was like his eyes, soft and gentle and full of concern, and something inside Patton broke. 

He choked on a sob, and Logan caught him easily as he pitched forward, clutching his boyfriend’s shirt as he cried. Logan rocked the two of them back and forth, stroking Patton’s hair, rubbing gentle circles on his back. Patton felt more than heard the words of comfort that Logan was murmuring into his hair, and his heart ached with…something, he wasn’t sure what. 

Sadness? Love? Guilt? Some strange combination of the three that Patton couldn’t describe, but couldn’t stand? That sounded right. He sobbed again, and he felt Logan press a kiss to his forehead. That only made the feeling worse. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and Logan shook his head, kissing Patton again. 

“No, honey, you have nothing to be sorry for.” 

“I do though,” Patton insisted, pulling away from Logan’s embrace just enough to meet his boyfriend’s eyes. “I…I’ve been kidnapped loads of times, it’s silly that…that this time would make me this upset…” 

“It’s a perfectly understandable reaction, Patton. You…” Logan’s hold on him stiffened slightly, and Patton knew that meant Logan was angry. “You should not have to be so accustomed to being placed in danger. It is alright to be upset if Bowceit takes you.” Logan wiped a tear from Patton’s cheek with his thumb, and smiled gently. “Especially today, I know how much you dislike heights. It’s perfectly alright to be shaken– what is it, dear?” 

Patton could only shake his head, fresh tears spilling from his eyes. 

“It…it’s not the heights…” he managed to choke out. “It….” he looked away, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. 

“Patton?” 

“It’s…it’s silly, forget it…”

“Patton.” Logan caught Patton’s hand, and Patton looked up, meeting Logan’s eyes. “Do you trust me?” 

Patton’s breath caught in his throat, and he nodded. 

“Of course…of course I do, Logan.” 

“Then let go, baby.” 

Patton sighed, and looked down. 

“I…he just…he got so close that time, Logan.” His voice was barely above a whisper, and Logan frowned, leaning forward. 

“What?” 

“In…in the chapel. With Bowceit…he got…it was…so close…” 

Logan’s eyes widened with understanding, and he pulled Patton close again, letting the prince hide his face in his overalls. 

“Oh, Patton honey. I’m so sorry,” he whispered. 

“I…I almost thought…t-that you wouldn’t m-make it in time,” Patton admitted, and he felt Logan’s arms tighten around him. 

“Patton, I will always come for you, you know that right?” 

Patton nodded immediately, wrapping his arms around Logan’s waist. 

“I know you will Lo, I never doubted that for a second. But…just…what if you…if you’d been too late?” 

Logan paused for a moment, and Patton looked up at him, suddenly feeling very small. 

“I…Patton, I want more than anything to promise that I will never ever let that happen,” Logan started. “But…realistically–” 

“You can’t,” Patton whispered, laying his head on Logan’s chest. “I know.” 

“But even if the absolute worst should happen,” Logan continued, his voice like steel. “I will never stop coming after you, I will never stop fighting for you, and I will never stop loving you. That I can promise, and no matter what happens Patton, I will never break that promise.” 

“I know you won’t.” Patton looked up and smiled, a small, but real smile, and Logan smiled back. “I know you won’t, Logan.” 

“I love you so much, my prince,” Logan murmured, and Patton giggled. 

“And I love you, my hero.” 

They leaned towards each other, and this time when their lips met, Patton felt a little lighter. 

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A/n: So if you guys haven’t seen @sugarglider9603‘s Mario AU yet, what are you doing with your lives? Check it out, it’s absolutely adorable. Her art is SO good and cute and nice, and there’s headcanon posts, other stories people have written, and all kinds of stuff! It’s got so much fluff, but just enough angst or hurt/comfort for those of us who like to watch our favorite characters suffer before the hugs begin. I’ve been having trouble being creative lately, but I really enjoyed writing for this AU, I think writing for a universe that’s not mine is very freeing creatively? I dunno if that makes sense, but yeah. Either way, this was super fun to write, hope it was fun to read! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in my writing, and I’ll add you to my list! 

-Taylor

[joannalannister]

I recently saw an answer to an ask where you said the Lannister are small people, probably ever since The Hedge Knight. Do you think Joanna was small as well?

First, I really like this question, it’s a good one! Thank you for asking it!

Second, I assume you are referring to this post? (My friends, it really helps me if you supply the post number please!) 

“you said the Lannister[s] are small people” Let’s elaborate on that before we proceed. 

While the Lannisters are, on average, physically tall, I was using “small” metaphorically to indicate small moral stature and refer to character flaws, to indicate a person who is, on average, mean, or petty, or malicious, or lacking integrity, or contemptible, or bigoted, or pathetic, etc. 

(Note that I am saying “on average” to indicate a general tendency which allows for exceptions.) 

Tywin is a prime example of a man who is of small moral stature. See also. Basically the polar opposite of Brienne, who is a person of great moral stature. 

Also, I think something is lost in the paraphrasing, because I think this tendency toward “smallness” predates THK. I said previously, “Even in the days of Duncan the Tall […], House Lannister would not stand for a cause that was right and just, and they have only grown smaller since.) It’s THK which gives us a very concrete historical example that we actually “see” happening in real (story) time, with the Lannisters refusing Dunk’s call, but if the histories can be believed, examples abound. 

Now, do I think Joanna exhibited this tendency toward “smallness”? Sure, at least initially. 

That’s just how I personally imagine her, given that GRRM isn’t particularly interested in exploring pre-series female characters, especially ones who are not Targaryens. 

We don’t know a lot about Joanna, but we know something about the people around her, like Tywin and Genna and Kevan, and these people are … not … shining beacons of light in the series. 

Personally, I think Tywin’s love is conditional, and if you oppose him or if you disappoint him or if you’re not largely on board with his program of dehumanization and Lannister Superiority, he finds that very, very frustrating. If Tywin is frustrated, he tells you to fuck off, to get away from him, he disowns you, he won’t speak to you (ask Jaime (who frustrated Tywin’s ambitions), ask Tyrion (there is not enough parenthetical space here to tell you all the ways Tyrion is at odds with Tywin), ask Genna (who, in her own words, disappointed Tywin)). 

If you’re not on board, you’re not compatible with Tywin, in Tywin’s mind. That is who Tywin is in the books. 

“Ser Kevan was his brother’s vanguard in council, Tyrion knew from long experience; he never had a thought that Lord Tywin had not had first. It has all been settled beforehand, he concluded, and this discussion’s no more than show.”

(From my understanding, the people in the vanguard are the people at the front of your army, leading the way. In more modern terms, Kevan is like Tywin’s tank, advancing Tywin’s ideas in the political arena and drawing enemy fire without taking significant damage, which allows Tywin to follow up with a kill shot from relative cover. In short, this is a concerted effort.)

Like … Tywin isn’t just a person, he’s also an ideology. And Kevan is on fucking board, ride or die, a true believer, loyal to the end, and this is what makes Tywin trust him and rely on him.

(This is why I’m not a fan of those “oh, poor Kevan” interpretations… but that’s just me.) 

Genna was on fucking board too, she still resents Ellyn Tarbeck “that scheming bitch”

One of the few things we know about Joanna is that Tywin allowed himself to be vulnerable around her. The walls came down for her, the drawbridge lowered. For her, and only her. “Only Lady Joanna truly knows the man beneath the armor.” It’s only for Joanna that Tywin allowed his soft underbelly to be exposed. That implies a level of trust that we never see again in Tywin. 

Also consider marriage vows in Westeros: “One flesh, one heart, one soul.” 

I live in a largely secular place, so it’s easy to brush something like this off, yeah yeah yeah w/e. But to a Westerosi, these mean something - you’re combining two people into one. (These wedding vows are taken directly from Milton’s Paradise Lost, about Adam and Eve.) 

So when Tywin, a literalist, marries Joanna, he is allowing her to become a part of himself. 

That’s why I have a really, really, really hard time believing that Tywin fell in love with someone who was not “on board”. At least, initially. 

I think that – initially – Joanna was a very bigoted person - someone who was classist, racist, misogynistic, etc. 

But the reason that Joanna – or at least the Joanna that I imagine, cuz idk wtf george thinks, if anything – the reason that Joanna captivates me in a way that Tywin never can is because I’m interested in exploring the question, can Joanna change? 

Can Joanna grow? 

In the series, GRRM is interested in exploring how Jaime and Tyrion change throughout the books, and he has these men court Heroism and Villainy both, and they straddle the line between them. 

But GRRM really isn’t that interested in exploring that kind of thing with Cersei in the text, imo, and that always seems kind of sad to me. 

So I suppose, in my own writing, I make up for that with Joanna. 

Like, in my fanfiction, the first scene where Tywin and Joanna interact is basically Tywin scandalized that Joanna is seemingly not dehumanizing this person, and Joanna reassuring him that it’s not what it looks like and basically “don’t be an idiot, Tywin, of course i’m not treating This Person like a human being, this is just the most convenient thing for me” 

And I want to know how she grows from that - how does she eventually come to see This Person as a friend? 

And we know that Joanna and the Princess of Dorne became friends, but how did they start? 

Aerys was obviously racist, and I think Tywin was racist, but eventually we get to a point where, imo, Joanna wanted to marry her son to the Princess’s daughter, Elia, so how do we get there? 

And what about Tytos’s mistress, what about Lynora Hill, what about Ellyn Tarbeck? What do these people mean to Joanna, how does she see them, what does she do? 

What of Toad? 

GRRM has seeded this era with so many interesting people, so many people for Joanna to run up against and push back against.

So I suppose, IN MY OWN WRITING, I imagine Joanna as small, and I find that the interesting thing is to watch her grow, and also to explore the limits of her growth. 

Because her relationship with Tywin is a big factor in her life. If Joanna can see the Princess of Dorne as a human being, and Tywin can’t …. 

And how does that make Joanna see herself, how does that change her…

…Joanna’s growth, Joanna’s disillusionment, her own realizations …

…I’m trying to find the right words, because I haven’t written this part yet…

Tywin ruled, and Joanna willingly assisted him in bricking up her own cage. Because Tywin is the living embodiment of Westerosi patriarchy, and Joanna helped him. She was complicit. And even a love as “deep and long-abiding” as Tywin’s can’t save her. 

I suppose that’s why I find Tywin/Joanna so sad. 

Sadder than GRRM imagined.  I don’t think this is a story GRRM could write, tbh. 

So yes. Small. But growth is possible. 

[twilightvolt]

Twilight Thoughts (BEASTARS Episode 10)

Ok, now that i can relax for today and NOT have to unload a truck in the cold, pouring rain, i can type this up formally!

Also as a side note, i saw the box art for the Blu-Ray release in Japan and i REALLY hope that when this show comes over here next year that we’ll get a chance to obtain that DVD cuz ngl that key art is F I R E . <3

Episode 10: As Long As I’m With You...

Here we are back in the black market. after Legoshi and Louis have a little bit of a fistfight, he goes off to gather intel on where this Shishigumi might be keeping Haru captive. and yeah, he straight up asks around like a dingus, but in his defense, he doesn’t know anything about the Shishigumi’s reputation aside from their name from what i could tell from the last episode, so i’ll let it slide. lmao

Then he almost gets killed in an ally by some “helpful” cat people only to be saved by PANDA-*cough ahem* I MEAN uhh, Gouhin. yeah.

So he tries to talk him out of it, Legoshi ignores him as usual, and he goes to their hideout anyway. Gouhin decides to help him, they “storm the castle“ and he finally reaches Haru at her darkest hour, only to cut off right when the final battle is about to begin. gdi Orange, qUIT TEASING ME LIKE THIS. >_<’

One thing that gave me those “oh no” vibes was when he snapped toward that first lion who initially kidnapped her, and he got so carried away that he said Haru was his prey.

Like, i’m not saying there really is no genuine love for her, cuz there is. but i have a feeling there’s two sides of him at play here. the genuine love side, and the hunting instincts side with which the genuine love might’ve sprung from if the first couple episodes were anything to go by.

He doesn’t want to bite anyone or, y’know, kill even if it’s to save those he cares for from what i can infer, but he still wants to save her. so as him throwing them aside and running rather than killing the various lions he comes across has shown, i get the feeling he might try to end this is own way.

Or, y’know, he might actually give the boss a big ol’ chomp, but we’ll just have to see about that.

Before i forget, i should talk about Haru for a moment considering we get more backstory to her.

While i am probably still not used to seeing naked animal people like this though i think i might’ve gotten desensitized at this point cuz i care more about everything else, i think i might like her a bit more now. like, i liked her from the start, but clearly she seems like a very real character than i thought she’d be.

She has problems. like, she’s got a lot of learning to do considering how she feels about herself and her feelings toward Legoshi and Louis and how she figures things out we have yet to know. but she seems like a really strong person despite her baggage. like, she can tell you off no problem like a true fighter even though she’s still trying to find herself. like “If anyone’s gonna hurt me, it’s gonna be me!” kinda situation. needless to say, this is the only thot in existence that i actually can’t pull out the thot destroyer on cuz she too good of a character. lmao

Also thAT SCENE WHERE LEGOSHI CRASHES IN AT THE LAST MINUTE WITH THE SHATTERED GLASS AND THE STARK CONTRAST IN LIGHTING AND THE EMOTIONAL VOCAL TRACK IT’S ALL JUST SO BEAUTIFUL AND GOOD I’M ADSGSDAGSDAD I WANNA FAST FORWARD TO NEXT WEDNESDAY N A O .

My boi’s ready to kick some ass, and i’m SUPER hype. he’s come so far in the last 10 episodes and it was only just that. 10 episodes. like, is anyone feeling that this show’s progressing really quickly? just LET ME BREATHE, DAMMIT.