#apparently they actually consider me their sibling. weird i mean good but weird

[tgirljoker]

my distant stepbrother just called me drunk as hell and im high as shit and guess what. shes my stepsister now i fucking knew it

[ebonysplendor]

Infatuation 💰🏞️

TL;DR: What's worse than running away from one psychopath? Running away from six psychopaths. Even worse than that? They're rich psychopaths, with shmonies. Also, can we make a damn plan and stick to it please?!

Game Link: https://aspenglen.itch.io/infatuation

Notable Features: Self-Insert, Customizable (somewhat), Multiple Endings, Multiple LIs, Yandere LIs, 4+ hours of gameplay Spiciness: 2/5 -- It can get a little flirty and a little spicy here and there, but the main "spice" is when there's an unwanted advance from some of the LIs LI(s) Red Flags: 3.8/5 -- Kidnapping, drugging, nonconsensual sexual advances, tied up, branded, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, physical force

Wanna know more? Meh...I say not unless you're at least 16. There's not an age restriction, buuuuuuuuuut I don't feel like anyone's 12-year-old sibling should be playing this. That being said, I can't do much from behind a screen, so let's get into it!

Just a heads up, the game was long as shit, so this review is going to be long as shit;;

Oh hey. Didn't see ya there. Oh this? This is just my first post in about a month. Thought I'd just...sliiiiide on in here, get thangs swangin' again. Lol but no seriously. It has been a pretty crazy month, but I've finally got enough time and rest at the same time to finally make this review, and aha...

Respectfully...I understand that all good things must come to an end, but damn, I really miss that phase where I was running into all the really good visual novels...

That being said, I know what I said, but hear me out! The game isn't...awful...but I didn't really vibe with it. Like, I know why I didn't vibe with it, but I'd rather wait and get into all of that during the review portion. Hopefully, based on the summary I give you, the review and criticism I have will make sense.

Anyways, this game, interestingly enough, is actually a rendition -- am I using that word right? I believe I am...? -- of a story that was written on Wattpad, and don't act all brand new like you don't know what Wattpad is! You know damn well what Wattpad is because here you are playing and reading visual novels and reviews of visual novels about toxic ass men being a (forced) love interest. Don't try to play me. I'm getting distracted though!

So the name of the story on Wattpad, like the game, is Infatuation, and it's about...well actually, I'm gonna give you a summary of what it's about because this visual novel is based off of it! I was going to give the actual story a read after I finished the visual novel but, uh...

Almost a 24 hour read???? Yeah, no thanks, and you'll hopefully understand why I didn't have much motivation to give it a read after my review.

I'm pretty over yapping in the intro, though, so let's head into the actual game, yeah? As per the usual, I'm going to tell you as much about the game as possible without ruining the game itself. Without a better transition sentence, let's get into it!

So boom.

We're on our way to school, and we meet up with our -- quite frankly -- thirsty ass friends. They're pretty much raving about this new group of boys that had just transferred to our school, because, not only are they super rich, they are, apparently, extremely attractive.

We pretty much brush this off, though, because we're not looking for anything romantic. Honestly, we're barely looking for anything platonic; however, we agreed to be their wingman since we're essentially God-tier at picking up men that we don't want.

That being said, by some weird stroke of luck -- or misfortune, considering we know that this is all going to go very left as the story progresses -- we proceed to run into every single one of them. And I mean

every.

single.

frickin.

one.

of.

them.

Well, kinda? The blond one had a class with the blue-haired guy, us, and the bestie. The purple haired one -- even though it's more of a burgundy? -- was in the vicinity after we had pretty much asked the other boys about him because this was the one that the besties were simping over the most. But the rest? Pretty much had a one-on-one moment with all of them, even if one was extremely douchey.

Anyways, we're kind've going about our days and the besties are still thirstin', and, admittedly, we're getting closer to these guys -- too close. One of our other friends -- his name is Hiroko -- pretty much warns us about them because something just seems real sketchy to him about these guys. That being said, we just kind've brush him off, because it's, like, sir? Who are you to talk about someone being sketchy? Like, lmao mans is a full on delinquent with a whole ass gang and a criminal history with the police, and they can't stand his ass.

He's a good sport about it, though, because even though he's like "You're a full blown dumbass for that", he's like "True, true..." and just warns us to be careful around them. Now mind you, his concern is totally fair, because it's discovered later on that they pretty much fucked up this one kid's world -- you'll have to discover how during your own playthrough, though. I ain't tellin' you all that lmao.

Now, fast forwarding a lot here, shit lowkey starts hitting the fan because the bae comes back in town -- not official bae, but still bae -- and conveniently enough, he is the brother of our two besties

Everyone. This is Kenzen; the man that we're pretty sure is gonna be our husband and baby daddy one day, maybe not even in that order, but those things exactly.

Now, the reason why shit starts hitting the fan is because all of a sudden, the school boys are starting to realize that we already have our future husband picked out. Shit proceeds to get super tense once this knowledge it learned, and the boys are start to slowly but slowly lose their shit. Allow me to show you

Exhibit A: A most vicious side-eye competition

Exhibit B: The OG death grip and growl

and Exhibit C: The comply or choose death, but drunken

Oh, and let's just throw this one in for some added flair.

And definitely this one.

And why would we not add this one?

Yep, the fan was pretty much hit with shit so...yeah lmao. Go ahead and give it a go so you can see how we ended up with the most romantic gift of a necklace and a finger.

Lmao I wasn't joking about the finger by the way.

And now to air all of my grievances...

Lol nah, I'm joking, but also...there's a lot to unpack here.

First off, let's talk about the good!

So...our psychopathic LIs. Can we just acknowledge the diversity? Like, you had your pale guy, your dark guy, your tan guy, your fair skin guy, like...? I seriously appreciate that time was taken out to actually make all the LIs look different from each other and not some copy-paste, change the eye color and hair thing. I absolutely LOVED the diversity of the LIs.

Not to mention, the MC is diverse a well! Granted, like typical, we can't really SEE it except in the occasional CG, but it was just dope that there was even an option, ya know?

Also! The concept of the story was actually pretty solid! Some of the things that happened were interesting, and I definitely had a "...Well, damn ._." moment here and there.

Now for the...not so good.

This flowed like a stereotypical Wattpad story. That's obviously no fault of the dev, but, for me, the point of renditions is to take something and make it a little better or give it some extra flair without ruining what the OG creator intended -- that didn't really happen, and that was honestly what bugged me the most out of everything.

I didn't really care that there'd be strings and strings and strings of dialogue before the next choice finally came up nor did I care that, while it appeared to be choice heavy, it was actually just an illusion on choice where it didn't really matter how you responded to certain things; it just was. But yeah, the pacing was...well, let me expose myself a little (don't come after me. I'm a tiny and cozy blog lol)

If you make posts on tumblr, then you know what this is. For those that don't know and/or can't guess what it is, this shows the interaction that my blog gets or my "activity" more accurately. The reason why I brought this out was because...this was how the story's pacing was.

First, it'd be on a steady progression, and then it'd drone on and on and on into a plateau, but then -- out of no where -- shit will randomly escalate and just take off into this fit of drama...but then it'd quickly drop. There was no real flow, and when there was, it'd be super inconsistent. Not to mention, the wishy-washiness of the MC and the unpredictability of the LIs (which duh, right?), the pacing would just take off and then would come to a dead stop. It's like there was no balance between the narration, the drama, and the transitions to the next scene. Like, yeah, you've gotta story tell, obvi, but don't drone on for-- actually I can show you that as well.

Did you notice how long that clip was? Imagine how long it took to read...

That was just straight up narration, and there was multiple times where this happened. Nothing really happening, no choices to make, just straight up narration. Well, no, I lied a little. Things did happen, but once again, it'd come out of no where. It, quite literally, will go from having a normal conversation, and then the yandere side just comes out totally unprovoked. Like? It's honestly more for shock factor than for story, and it got to a point where I was honestly just tired of the game itself and was wanting it to end...but it ended up being 3 hours longer, and I'm not even joking about that. Once again, I can show you.

This was the point I started getting ill with the game but felt that I was towards the end and pushed on to finish it out

This was when I realized that I was clearly wrong about that being "almost the end" and took pretty much another 3 hours to get through.

And yes, for the most part, I played it in one sitting with the exception of when I got me a little snacky snack and went to pee. Oh? You're curious about what time I started playing?

Around 5 hours beforehand...

Notice that that all says 19 June 2024. I have never been so glad to see the ending screen...

It wasn't even because it was bad! It was just. so. extremely. long. And for, what felt like, no reason to be that long. Granted, I could've stopped and saved and came back, but it always felt like I was either getting to the end or to a good part, and it just never came -- not that there wasn't any good parts, but...never mind, I feel like I make it worse the more I try to explain...

Anyways, the game wasn't awful by any means, but it definitely could use some improvement. The whole thing had good potential, the pacing of it really just killed it for me, and had that been better executed? This would've been a great game, but it's honestly just...decent. It had multiple endings, but outside of each of the yandere LIs' ending? I didn't bother trying to get the others.

Even still, while I don't recommend the game, I think it's still worth giving it a casual playthrough! There's plenty of material to read, and there are some interesting parts! Like I said, it's just a pacing issue. Not to mention the MC was pissing me off with that wishy-washy bullshit. Like, bro, survival is at the top of the list. Why are you making a plan and doing the exact opposite of what you were gonna do? Like, what the fuck is you doin'?!

You'll understand it when you play it yourself so...give it a fair try? Here, I'll even put the link here! Heck, and give the dev some encouraging words and, even though I didn't see it, some monetary support! The game itself was honestly fine! It was just the storytelling needed some work, which lowkey isn't even their fault because it was based off of a Wattpad story (I'll link that again here, by the by).

Okay, this review is about to be the same length as the game. I'm going to go ahead and head out of here. Just to reiterate, the game is free! Giving it a casual playthrough never hurts! I mean, what've you got to lose except about 4 - 6 hours?

Okay, really, I'm out of here now! Remember! Drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

Infatuation

[radabeast]

A Character Analysis of Mohg

Okay. so this started as a ramble in response to tumblr/twitter talk i’ve been seeing, and then branched off into an entire multi-para analysis… bear with me. or not. TL;DR: i feel mohg is a very compelling and even pitiable character in the overall story of elden ring, but also he is very not a good person. And well, duh

i do agree that mohg having any sort of sexual misconduct toward miquella ISNT canon and doesnt Need to be considered as such, however. to say that “there is no implied incest here at all” also is honestly not quite right.

in his very introduction cutscene, mohg takes miquella’s hand, calls him “my dearest”, and presses his forehead against it. says “miquella is mine and mine alone”, implying that, you know, he values him as more than just a replaceable key to assuring his own rule. and while “bloody bedchamber” is agreeably too vague to canonize any sexual contact… it’s also definitely a curious term to use in regards to half-siblings?

i agree that you can be a mohg fan and it doesn’t have to be Weird. i agree that mohg is a very compelling, VERY intriguing, and even sympathetic character. but i also think it’s a bit of a disservice to the full brunt of his role, as well as a naive sort of de-fanging to him, to think he would be capable of like. a whole blood cult, but not incest or even worse. or god forbid, that he’d even NEED to be BEWITCHED in order to kidnap miquella

mohg’s whole origin is of someone who was forsaken, abandoned by god herself, and then found a new mother, one who has promised him love and purpose. he is very capable, but also very starved. this starvation of love, appreciation and praise has led to him creating an entire cult around himself, devoted to his supposed future dynasty.

clearly, he’s got the drive to conquer, and a very apparent disregard for a good amount of life. he didn’t just approach miquella and try to manipulate him into a partnership— he stole him, while he was cocooned, and while he was helpless and unable to even possibly consent. he did not care at all for miquella’s beloved haligtree, and the denizens within it that saw it as their very hope; mohg forsook them from even his own presumed form of salvation, and left all of the haligtree without their own savior, their greatest hope. they know not who took him, or even presumably who could’ve possibly done it; all they know is that he is gone.

i will go so far to call this not only callous of mohg, but also cowardice. instead of a diplomatic attempt, he pulls a secretive kidnapping and retreats down to his palace hidden beneath the earth. not by any means a forthcoming fellow, but we also honestly shouldn’t expect that of him. and like, come on. the corrupting blood? the blood that gets put inside of you and corrupts and infests? i could make a whole analysis on that too. it’s insidious!

but circling back around. mohg is someone who is starved of love and family, so in addition to his desire of praise and power (as a direct offspring of marika herself, no less!), he has made his own warped, corrupted version of one— a cult, as well as positioning himself a consort of his own half-brother. miquella is not a beloved sibling to him, but a tool and a key to his rule; the formless mother told mohg that he was needed, and mohg took him. he is not treated as a person by him, awake and able to converse with his own thoughts (and we are outright told mohg receives no answer at all, ever). miquella is dehumanized, and placed within a role he wasn’t able to consent towards. (varre and the other non-surviving surgeons also shared a very similar fate, as well.)

so with that— while i actively abhor the idea of incest or even so far as rape, yes— why WOULD it be outside of mohg’s known character to behave as such, though? even the potentiality of it. i’m not going to get on a soapbox, i’m not SAYING you should accept a canon that he’s an incestuous rapist. all i’m saying is that, yes, it actually could very well track, and feed into his character further?

mohg is a sympathetic character indeed, abandoned by his mother, god herself, for his very appearance outside of anyone’s control, and then left clinging to the one and only hope he’s ever found in the formless mother. of COURSE he’d listen to whatever that mother says. of COURSE he’d have a warped view of personhood and family and love. even if mohg was capable of those detestable things— and he’s already a murderous kidnapper with a blood cult, mind you!— that doesn’t disregard that we can see where he was coming from, how his upbringing would lead to this!

i respect mohg fans, and mohg fans also need to be treated with respect. but i also think we can’t just say it’s crazy to say that mohg isn’t morally detestable, or potentially capable even of those things, even if with a pitiable bent. and that’s fine if he is! he is a story character and he fills a very intriguing role

[zu-is-here]

Hey zuuu, I've been thinking about studio dream and his behaviour.

I see that most people are calling him just a mean guy right? Well idk, I might just be spit balling but hear me out.

A lot of the times he's been rude in the comic so far haven't seemed to be on purpose, he seems unfiltered and even reprimands himself for bringing up the girl.

I might be projecting here, but did you ever consider the idea that he could be on the spectrum. I can recognise behaviours in him that I exhibit sometimes. A lack of social awareness and a lack of filter.

As with epic, when finding out he was 'just a janitor' and had a hard time with even getting that job, he responded rudely. However to someone on thr spectrum saying something like that could be down to a genuine confusion and a lack of understanding on social interaction.

His short temper can also be a sign, as another factor can be a difficulty with emotional regulation. I can especially struggle when negative emotions are involved. They can hit me very harshly.

The moodiness as well, in high stress times it can be harder to find the strength to mask and a more moody and un social look can slip out. And I'd say getting kicked out is that.

Sheldon Cooper may not be a very good example of representation, but one thing he said 'it's like an inch in my brain I can't scratch ' is apparent.

Thoughhh, this is not all ASD people as it is a spectrum for a reason, there are alot of factors and these can just be signs in some cases. Representation of the condition isn't something that's often done well in the media so this might be a sensitive topic.

I just can't help but wonder, if these character flaws could indicate that, because that could be an amazing angle. I'm not trying to say that his behaviour isn't his responsibility, because it still is.

If he was, then it acts like someone who might not be aware or hasn't yet learnt how to manage his condition. Learning coping mechanisms could help him improve his behaviour and filter. If he grew up with people constantly excusing his behaviour because he 'can't help it', then it can also factor into narcissism or compared with sibling thing you mentioned. So him accepting that there are things he can't help, but also things he can do to manage the symptoms, he could have a complete character arc in that way.

All that being said, I know this is most likely not at all what you intended, and you probably have no interest in pursuing this idea. But idk it's been on my mind and I can't help but feel like it could be a interesting angle. You can tell these boys live rent free on my head lol.

It does sound like him actually, thank you very much for your suggestion and explanation, Gayfish! (*ﾟ∀ﾟ*) I'm glad to hear that his flaws feel so real, guess I'm on the right track with "exploring" him ᕦ(òwóˇ)☆

"He seems unfiltered and even reprimands himself for bringing up the girl" is just what I felt when trying to see more of him, not Dream *^*

In this story, I'm a mere observer just like you, and they're still a bit of a mystery to me (ò_óˇ) It may sound weird since I'm the one who draws, but to be honest, I just "open" them up more with each new page and try to find the way they would act, not how they should / I want them to act.

That's why I'm still not sure what they'll end up with... "A complete character arc" would be the best outcome indeed, but who knows? Not me x)

UPD:

That's it! :'D

[loosingmoreletters]

1. Thank you and That One Anon for making the English speaking fandom for Weapon Creator!

2. In the name of bullying Yun Taeheon, I need his reaction to Mun Doyun- aka the B rank assassin that was Shin Junseo’s guild leader. Cuz objectively, Yun Taeheon knows a lot can happen in a year and stuff, but also he’s an S-rank leader of a top guild that is willing to give Shin Junseo just about anything and he still cannot recruit him. And then there’s this B-rank nobody (to him) who specifically hired Shin Junseo - as a D rank weapon creator who could only make an average knife every 20 seconds - BC HE HAD A SKILL THAST DESTROYED THE BLADES HE USED. Literally the same reason!! But no, somehow Yun Taeheon is losing this race.

Even better if he somehow gets more backstory or through some time shenanigans he meets the other Mun Doyun, who is basically the reason Shin Junseo is even as good as he is. Like, the reason sjs learned all he could and stuff. Anyway, yth being objectively, obviously on a higher level than this dude and yet still absolutely seething at the very idea of how much he apparently is not measuring up. How do you think that should go?

also, looking at the firsts chapter and think the first chapter and I think Sjs could be the little kid at the very beginning? Meaning that he has grown up in he world of hunters and gates, giving some cool world building to how this is a whole generation of ppl growing up with gates and magic.

However, for the sake of getting more of your sugar daddy au, I am ignoring that. Or maybe it could be incorporated, like- yth was trying to figure out how to ask sjs for just, an actual relationship. And sjs had stopped their contract after signing onto the guild. Extra tension!! Cuz obviously yth wasn’t gonna reach out and be like, “Hey, so that didn’t work out…”

glad to be of service!!!!! taking it from the bottom here, you mean this kid?

Huh! Now that you mention it, that could track! Would be rather interesting too as I'd put this kid somehwere between 8 and 12, which implies dungeons have been a thing for much longer than just a couple of years. Tho I assumed the adult in the next panel was YTH, so hmmm. But also what does this say about the state of his family. where the fuck are they. I need answers. And also I'd love some worldbuilding around growing up in such a world. In SCTIR, one of my fave things is to linger on like, the first weeks after the dungeon breaks. how did legislation change, the government, the way people reacto to this-

"In the name of bullying YTH" man we really all just took a look at this guy, who is probably meant to be like a cool badass character and decided we shall treat him like our sibling's new boyfriend and thus make fun of hinm. huh. god given right to bully the man.

But yeah, do you think YTH assumed just a little bit that SJS had like weird trauma. and also like- okay full confession time. when I started reading this, I assumed this guy would be our love interest second protag. I mean. look at him and SJS reaction to praise

and the way SJS also thinks of this guild in the future memories he receives? a place where he was accepted, found friends, where they kept pushing forward together- Listen. also the way it lingers on MDY's body there. I'm just saying, the vibes are accurate. to me.

Anyway, YTH does have the vibes of somebody who is incredibly understanding but privately also has beef with a dead man. he knows it's unfair and stupid, but also he could buy SJS a god damn pent house apartment. he would. that and any item he wants. actually I just realized while typing this would've been really fucking great to insert into my little soulmate fanfic given I did toss in like one sided bonds existing there. something to consider for the future.

But man, I think it would be interesting if SJS is confronted with him again also in the context of like, SJS not recognizing MDY's brother despite his future memories, which sure has some implication. I told a friend that like my assumption is that Mun Dojin died in the other timeline and I desperately need him and SJS to talk because even if the memories SJS has never actually existed here, that still sort of makes him the only person MDJ can talk to.

actually, man. this would make anything SJS/YTH even funnier. here's your crush. there's your crush's vampire familier and his ex guildmaster's (former bf's??????) little brother. god I need MDJ and Elizabeth to show up more often. slkdfhsldkh sorry got entirely off track here.

OKAY BACK TO SUGAR DADDY AU- I just realized how fucking hilarious this would also be because like. SJS manages to bag one man and it's this big shot guild leader. and instead of signing up with his guild, he goes to these small nobodies. like, it probably just makes sense to SJS. This was a job, now here is another, newer job. Life goes on.

YTH meanwhile is the math meme. Min Huisu told him to get a social life. he paid someone for that, but the guy turns out to be actually cute and fun, so he'd like to have a relationship that is not just superifical. and this guy just. mcfucking signs on to a guild he hasn't even heard of. f in the fucking chat

[ramzawrites]

Dream World - A Sibling!Mutant!Reader Story - Part 8

GEN

Part 1| Prev Next

Pairings: None

Characters included: Raphael

Warnings: n/a

Series: Part 8

Summary: A small moment with Raph

Word count: 2938

Authors Note: I really had trouble with this chapter plus me being close to graduating and having to write my finals also got in the way, but I hope this means I can slolwy get back into this as well.

I really wanna finish this story, and don't worry things really will take on speed next chapter. Enough family fluff, it is time for some actual story beats, I am so sorry for being so slow with that haha

Y/N groaned as they let themself fall down on the soft bed. Their muscles were still screaming at them, even after the warm shower and all Y/N could do was try to roll themselves further into the mattress and blanket. It took a good moment for them to settle down more comfortably between the pillows, not only due to their aching muscles, but also because of the shell on their back.

Once they were somewhat comfortable, they felt like they were sinking into the bed. Their eyes were fighting to stay open and honestly sleeping to avoid the pain sounded really nice about now.

When Leo realized that Y/N wasn’t putting on a brave face but was actually feeling up to train and work out, he really put them through the paces. He made them do all kinds of things to apparently test their reflexes, strength and so on. Hell, he even tested their grip strength.

At some point Mikey tried to intervene with the reasoning that they could test Y/N’s abilities over the course of the next days but no. No, Y/N had to interrupt him and assure him that it was fine. Well, it was fine at that moment.

Now, Y/N really wanted to strangle Past Y/N for this.

Their urge to prove themself seemed to be a constant. It made sense, they wanted to not waste time and get to the bottom of this weird mix up of a situation, but they still realized that this was probably not the best attitude to have.

A problem for future Y/N then.

Present Y/N’s job right now was to lay in their comfy bed and just rest. They had a warm shower, Mikey made some pasta that really hit the spot after the torture that was training, so, prime condition to just fall asleep and ignore all their worries for at least a few hours.

Yet, they couldn’t fall asleep.

It was inevitable, they supposed. After all they were currently laying in the bed of Y/N Hamato. This wasn’t their own room. It somehow felt like they were doing something forbidden.

Mikey must have some sort of sixth sense for these kinds of things when they hesitated to just walk into the subway car. He basically pushed them inside and while it wasn’t that late yet, he still wished them a good night.

And sure while they didn’t want to fight sleep in this instance, they still were a bit exasperated with how often they were currently sleeping. Leo said that this was something common for people when they were out for a while, especially considering that they were still not sure what exactly happened to them.

With a new huff of annoyance Y/N turned around so they weren’t staring at the metal wall anymore. Instead their eyes landed on the keyboard that was standing at the opposite side of the room. They were able to spot a few signs of wear on the buttons. Clearly the instrument was well loved.

If some of Hamato’s instincts for fighting got transferred to them, would they be able to play some of these instruments? That’s probably not how that worked.

Okay then, if sleep decided to elude them they might as well satisfy their own curiosity. This was their room after all, right? If they decided to take a closer look at the notebooks on the desk it shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Right.

Actually, they were sure the others in lair would support them doing this in hopes of probably triggering some sort of memories.

The word memories was slowly becoming the bane of their existence.

Either they apparently are loosing memories, or others keep telling their current memories were wrong or some foreign memories keep inserting themselves into their mind.

Stop. This was not the time to keep thinking in circles about things they wouldn’t be able to figure out anyhow. No, right now was snooping time.

Even as their poor muscles protested, Y/N kept their brave face on and slowly untangled themself from the green and supremely fluffy blanket. They were so brave to fight against the urge to just vegetate away on the bed until unconsciousness found them after all.

Once their feet hit the ground and they stood upright, they made sure to stretch themself. It was a fruitless motion to try to relief some of the soreness. Well it wasn’t entirely fruitless, stretching helps the blood and oxygen flow in the muscles which in return can help with the sores. But it wasn’t a cure that would solve the problem immediately.

Y/N walked over to the desk. The medical books, the notebooks and the laptop were still strewn about on the surface. A pen and one notebook were still laying on the desk next to the laptop as if someone just recently wrote in it. Y/N Hamato probably did.

They took in a deep breath and sat down on the office chair . Tentatively they pulled the notebook closer. It was the same they took a look in once before.

The writing on the first page displayed the name of the owner of this notebook and what it was for.

Y/N Hamato.

Research notes on biology and medicine.

Volume 35 … I think, most definitely not.

It was so weird to see these foreign words in your own handwriting. The next pages were a wild collection of all sorts of notes. The words mutagen, mysticism, ninpo and empyrean stood out to them. They were basically found on every page. Apparently these things were intrinsic to their own biology.

They would have loved to actually dive deeper into everything but their tired mind fought against it. Still, their eyes flew across a page to skim it.

And to their utter surprise; it made sense.

Sure, there were words they struggled to understand but they understood that this was particularly about the effect of a mystic overload on the body and how it can tear apart the body and theories on how exactly this happened. They were definitely more loose theories since there was a note right beneath, highlighted with green that said “Need to talk to Draxum! Important! Establish concrete connection of mysticism to biology!”

Right, Draxum created them. Made sense he would know a lot about their whole biological situation.

Y/N’s eyes wandered away from the page to land on the laptop in front of them.

Would it be rude to also snoop through the laptop? Wait, no, according to the others this was their laptop to begin with. No moral problems here.

When Y/N opened it up and clicked on the on button, they were pleasantly surprised with how fast it started it up. They just saw a purple logo for a small moment before the login screen appeared.

And their breath hitched.

The background picture of this screen was a selfie that Y/N Hamato took. There they were being held up by Raph who smushed his face against their cheek. Both Leo and Mikey pushed themselves into the frame from below, while they were smiling there was some strain visible. Probably due to the awkward angle and height of the phone camera. Donnie looked into the lens from above, he was sitting on Raph’s shell, a smile of his own decorated his face.

It was rare to see him show off a genuine smile instead of his smug one.

The picture radiated joy. A kind of weightless joy, shared by all five of them. And Y/N just stared. A sudden pang shot through their heart. They couldn’t explain what they were feeling. If it was jealousy or grief.

What were they doing? Snooping through this stuff was not okay. It really felt like they were invading Hamato’s privacy. All they did was just satisfy their own curiosity. This wouldn’t give them their answer.

And yet…

They should stop. Get their mind off this.

Y/N closed the laptop slowly. The room suddenly felt way too small. Too empty.

They pushed themselves up. Ignoring how once again their muscles screamed at them. The lair might still be a bit confusing to them but they knew where the kitchen was. Surely they would be able to grab a glass of water.

Exiting the subway car, Y/N slowly made their way towards the kitchen. From one corner of the lair they could hear a TV, they were sure they heard Leo giggle and some metal banging on metal, that was Donnie working probably.

When they entered the kitchen, they were surprised to spot Raph hunched over a huge plate of pasta. Y/N couldn’t help but stop in their tracks and stare at him. Him being a trained ninja and all, he immediately noticed Y/N as well and stopped chewing. His eyes going wide. With a loud gulp he swallowed the food down and pointed at Y/N with his fork “Don’t tell the others I’m the reason the leftovers are already gone.”

Y/N snorted “Alright, Raph. My lips are sealed. Promise.”

They will definitely hold up the promise but something told them the others will figure out the truth of the situation anyhow.

“Anyways, what’s up, Spots?”

Oh, yeah. They had a reason to be here.

“Just wanted to get a glass of water.”

Raph immediately got up from his chair.

“No! Raph! It’s fine I’m sure I can fill a glass with water myself.” They chuckled awkwardly at the end. It was nice that he wanted to help but they really didn’t want to interrupt his forbidden meal.

“Sit down. It’s just a glass of water. Let your big bro do this for you. We’ve really missed you in these two week, ya know.” His voice was gentle and the smile accompanied showed off his snaggle tooth.

He really was a gentle giant, huh?

“Sure.” Y/N slowly sat down on the chair opposite from where Raph sat before.

Raph grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it up with water from the sink. He walked back over and gently placed it in front of Y/N before sitting back down in front of his meal with a big smile.

Y/N grabbed the cool glass and took a slow sip from it. And here they thought they had drunk enough water after training for today.

Raph poked his pasta with his fork “So, what’s botherin’ you?”

Were they that easy to read? They looked up to be met by a knowing grin from Raph. It was almost like he was telling them that there was no room to wriggle out of this. He knew that something wasn’t right and he wouldn’t let this go.

Then again obviously Y/N was going through something at all times at the moment.

They sighed “I don’t know?”

At this, Raph only raised one side of his brow ridge. He really won’t let this slide, huh? But explaining exactly what was going on meant that they had to admit to snooping.

Embarrassed Y/N looked to the side, their right hand massaging their left “Well, uh, I couldn’t sleep. So, I thought I could maybe look at the, you know, my things? Like the notebooks or the laptop.”

Raph nodded encouragingly, egging them on to continue. Though Y/N had to suppress a small chuckle when they saw Raph immediately shoveling more food into his mouth. He seemed so encouraging and trusting only to sheepishly eat more of the off limits food.

“I really don’t know what I expected but when I saw the lock screen on the laptop I just kind of felt alone. It was a selfie of you a- of us all and I don’t know. It’s so weird. I don’t know what I am feeling besides that it’s not a nice feeling.”

“Actually,” Raph begun after once again swallowing the food “I can kind of relate? Not in the same sense obviously but kinda. You know how I- wait no you don’t, right. Uh, I get angry real easy and while I can identify the emotion I can’t always tell why I get angry. So I guess we are on the opposite end of the spectrum. But usually when I struggle with this I talk with you all about it to help try to figure out what exactly is going. Not all the time but when it feels distressing enough, it helps to talk it out. Wanna try it? I can get Mikey for this as well, he is really good at it.”

Y/N shook their head after taking another sip from their water. While it definitely wasn’t the same problem as they had, it did feel nice to speak to someone who could relate somewhat.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t sure what I was trying to accomplish by going through it all anyhow. Just gave in to my curiosity.”

“Don’t worry about it. I mean if we believe Donnie’s theory then there is a chance your actual memories are buried beneath the memories you have at the moment. Maybe looking through your things would have triggered for some to surface more.”

Man, they really hit the nail on the head before, huh. Seems like they were slowly getting a real read on these people. Not that it helped their guilty conscience.

“Besides,” he continued “we kind of keep telling you what you are supposed to know, so I can understand wanting to look into it all more. Don’t feel guilty about it.”

Y/N’s eyes widened “Guilty?”

Raph let out an amused huff “It’s written all over your face.”

“Oh.”

“Those are literally your things but if it helps you, the Y/N I know would be more than okay with this.” He dropped the fork in favor of getting up from the chair once again only to step over towards Y/N this time.

“It still feels weird. The Y/N you know just seems like a completely different person to me.” Because they are but Y/N didn’t have the energy to debate that with Raph or any of the others.

“Can I give you a hug?”

Y/N just nodded. They just felt so emotionally drained.

He immediately enveloped them with his arms and Y/N couldn’t help but nuzzle more against his plastron. He was just so warm and comfy and safe. It was like nothing could get to them or hurt them. The weird pang in their heart seemed to dull as Raph squeezed them softly.

“Things are confusing and probably will stay confusing. You can talk to us though and we can try to decipher what is happening but if you don’t want to do that right now, we can do something else. Do you wanna try sleeping again?”

They shook their head “No, I’m not sure what I wanna do.”

While they couldn’t see Raph at the moment they could feel him nodding while slowly beginning to rock them. A quiet churring noise seemed to emanate from his chest that lulled them even deeper into this sense of safety. It was as if he was assuring them that they were safe and okay with just this noise alone. His hugs have to be magic. They can’t explain this sudden calmness inside them. It was as if he just squeezed the anxiety right out of them even if they didn’t even know where it came from in the first place. Magic. That had to be the reason.

Was this what it felt like to have an older sibling? If so they really could get used to this.

“Hey Raph.”

“Yeah?”

“ ‘m got a question. Do you know my password for my laptop?”

Somehow this made Raph chuckle “Even after this you wanna try again? Want to learn more about yourself after all?”

Y/N didn’t even get to answer before Raph spoke again. It was more of a rhetorical question after all.

“But no I don’t. Donnie can help you probably. Want to ask him and when you get access to your laptop, do you wanna go through it together? I can maybe give context to some things, I know you saved a lot of medical information on there and Raph is definitely not smart enough for that but if we look at pictures or so I can tell you when we took it and so on.”

That actually sounded inviting. Ignoring that they were simply just trying to understand Hamato more and satisfy their own curiosity, it would give them something to do. A small, quiet part of their mind also supplied, that this way they could maybe try to calm some of the families worries as well. There were probably plenty of things Y/N and Hamato had in common, maybe that could settle some of the anxieties and fears of the others. But then again that felt very much like lying and just generally amoral.

Agh. Emotions. They suck.

Still, maybe something would come out of all of this. Raph’s idea really sounded like… a solid thing to do, yes. Though, they couldn’t help but wonder.

“Can- Can you hug me like this when we do look at it together?”

They were so happy their face was currently pressed against Raph’s plastron because they could feel the heat of embarrassment spread across their face and neck. They didn’t mean to blurt that out like that. Sure, they liked the hug but asking for another like that just felt embarrassing. It made them feel like a little child.

He squeezed them for a moment “Always. What else are big brothers for? If I can help, I will. No matter what, when or how.”

“That so?”

“Yep. That’s a promise.”

[sciralta]

just thinking about this, do you think TPA will be in some way determinant to the chance of male mcs in future books? TPA has a default male mc and i wonder if tpa flopping will have any affect here.

Well I think we need to clarify. The Phantom Agent is not a default male book*, it’s a gender of choice book. Most Choices readers are women, and that understanding is evident in how PB writes. I don’t think most GoC books can be considered to have a ‘default’ gender, but I do think there are some books where it’s apparent they were written with a certain MC in mind, and how that changes according to different MCs sometimes slips by them. A clear example is Untameable—despite all of mlm side of choices tumblr’s flag-planting that ‘this one’s for the gays!’—where Austin’s overprotectiveness of his sibling, especially in regards to who they date, is smoothly understood under the context of sexism when playing with an f!MC. But when playing with an m!MC, it’s just weird to be doing that to a grown adult man, even if he is your little brother who you once kinda had to be a pseudo-parent to.

Side note: this is why I still firmly believe they should’ve made Austin homophobic if you’re playing a gay MC. That weirdness experienced with an m!MC could be plausibly explained away if Austin’s ick around MC dating and dating Kit was actually because he’s homophobic and was fine to keep his mouth shut about it as long as it was ‘out of his house’, but once MC and Kit start seeing each other he feels like he can no longer ignore it.

Is there a book with a male ‘default’? I don’t know. What are we even judging ‘default’ by—who’s on the cover? I’ve been using default to mean what kind of MC it feels like the book was written with in mind. If we’re going by covers, I genuinely can’t even tell if that dude on the TPA cover is meant to be the MC or the LI or not.

But I guess a good question is: is TPA flopping? How do we even know? The VIP split release model has basically decimated engagement, at least on tumblr. Gone are the days of Choices occupying a place on the trending page, so we can’t use nobody talking about it as a metric for flopping, because well nobody now’s talking much about anything compared to before. We also can’t say that people panning a book’s quality is any indication, because The Nanny Affair was pretty widely declared as trashy on here, and it still got three books.

As for it influencing the future of m!MCs—possibly? I personally wouldn’t think so. PB have started to dip their toe into having some of the more erotic books be GoC, so it wouldn’t quite make sense to so quickly do a 180 on expanding the scope of which books get to be GoC. In any case, I don’t think TPA will be a smoking gun in the event of PB deciding to reduce GoC books. I don’t think it’ll be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Basically: yeah us homos still have our place in Choices and I really hope Pixelberry doesn’t turn around and make me eat these words and look like a clown.

*At least I think it’s not? I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve kept up with the discussion around this book or even what PB has said about it lol. Hell for all I know, it could be written with a male ‘default’ and I haven’t picked up on that because I’m playing with an m!MC, so if that was the case it wouldn’t stick out or be apparent during my play-through, and also I wouldn’t know if certain things in the story change according to the MC’s gender.

[more-cardigan-than-woman]

Rumors

Summary: The gossip circle has never let you down before.

Pairing: Reader x Dick Grayson, Batfam & Co.

Words: 1.3k

Warnings: Fluff, swearing, annoying siblings.

AN: I need the fluff. Euphoria made me cry and I need fluff

“Oh my god! Oh my god,” you shout excitedly, exiting your building and running straight into your favourite tall and handsome man, clad in his very best jeans and t-shirt.

"Oh my god!" He mimics you, jumping up and down, "what is it honey?! Why are we so excited!" Dick says, taking your face in his hands to give you a quick kiss.

"I heard from Steph who heard from Tim who saw-" you stop, remembering what Dick had warned you about and your terrible gossip habits, "actually it's nothing."

"Come on, you can't leave me hanging like that,"

"No, you told me no gossiping and I promised," you say, glancing at the crosswalk and swaying your pointed tow in an attempt to look innocent

"Well clearly you've already spoken to Steph so spill, "He says, his hand dusting on your back as he guides you down the street to your favourite café. You take a seat at your regular booth and order your shakes. You fidget in your seat, twirling the straw between your fingers, picking at the plate of fries in front of you.

When he raises his eyebrows at you, over the straw in his banana shake you can't help but spill the beans.

"So you know how Mr Wayne-" you start.

"Bruce," he cuts you off.

"Right, Bruce," You say the name still feeling weird on your tongue, "he's having a big party for his birthday,"

"Yes, I am aware of his birthday," he says, wondering where you're going with this.

"Well, apparently Damien is bringing a date!" You squeal.

"A date? My little brother? He's 12, why does he need a date?"

"No, Love, don't you see what this means?" you say, beginning to bounce on the spot.

"That you think a 12 yr old should be dating?"

"No," you say, leaning across the table to playfully slap him in the arm, "he made a friend! A real friend! A friend he likes so much he wants the whole family to meet them!"

Dick looks at you awestruck, he hadn't even considered… "good for him, it's about time people starting appreciating him,"

"My thoughts exactly, I wonder who it is?"

--The Night of the Party.--

"The party has arrived!" Dick announces as you both enter the manor, him clad in his best tux and your in your favourite black dress.

The family is all mostly here gathered around the food table. Squished together in a little circle, while the piranhas circle the room looking for a stray Wayne to accost.

"Ah Mr Dent," Dick says holding you next to him when you try to step away towards the safety of the group, "have you met my beautiful girlfriend?,"

"No I don't believe I've had the pleasure," the man says, taking your hand and you resist the urge to pull away. Remembering you need to be polite to these people, even when the urge to flinch when they touch you is overwhelming, "lovely to meet you,"

"Same to you," you say. hoping on your foot as you try to inch away but Dicks hand holds you steady.

"Sorry, family to greet," Dick says, nodding at the man and escorting you away. Until someone else approached you and you let out a groan. You could hear the chuckles coming from the corner as the family laughed at your situation.

"Mr Grayson, nice to see you again," the woman says and you try to find an out. God you hated how polite he was sometimes. You made eyes at Tim, begging him to come and save you. But he just smiled and waved at you, traitor. You looked at Jay, but he was to busy shoving food unto his mouth.

"Miss," the woman says, trying to grab your attention.

"Oh sorry, excuse me," you say, "my mind wandered off,"

"Miss Sutton, was just telling us about her new business venture. She's entering the fashion industry, thinks you would be a great model for her works."

You place your hand over your mouth to hold in the laughter, "Thank you, but I'm actually quite busy at the moment. You know how it is," you shrug.

"I'm sure," she says, eyeing the blank way Dick and yourself were staring at her, your eyes flicking over to the ruckus being caused in the corner.

"Love," you say looking up at him, ignoring the way the woman was eyeing you in your tight dress, "I need to-" you make eyes at him, telling him silently that you want to leave.

"We best be off, you know how families are," Dick apologies to the woman, pointing at the how Stephanie had Jason in a headlock. You smile at them and thank them silently for the distraction as Dick escorts you off towards the safely of the corner.

"Nice of you to join us," Tim jokes, handing you a cupcake.

"Thanks for the rescue," you deadpan, glaring at all of Dicks evil siblings.

"Hey!" Jay says raising his hands in surrender, "you're the only who wanted to date a goody to shoes,"

Dick rolled his eyes, "where's Bruce?" He asks them and they all point to the crowd of people in the center of the room, "oh no. You guys, you're meant to be helping,"

"We are helping, we're staying very quite and pretending we don't exist," Steph chimes in with a laugh.

"Well, we're gunna go help. You losers stay here," Dick says taking you by the hand.

"We?" You whined, why did you have to go?

"Yes we," he says, rolling his eyes. He leans down to whisper in your ear. "Please, honey, I'll do that thing you like,"

You pull back, raising your brow at him and he gives you a small nod. "Ok," you plaster a big smile on your face and grab two glasses of champagne. Strutting your way over to the dance floor with your arm linked with dicks.

You managed to lull the crowd and somehow even to get Bruce hidden in the safe corner with the kids while the band started playing.

"Where is Dami?" You ask Bruce, "I haven't seen him,"

"He's around, probably hiding somewhere," Bruce says, squishing into the corner behind Jason when he notice's someone looking for him.

"B this is your party, don't you want to talk to your guests?" Jay teases, peering down at him over his shoulder.

"Not really,"

"Look over there," Dick says pointing to the two little hands creeping out from under the table cloth across the room, "bet that's them."

"Probably", Bruce says, "Damien and his friend are going to be quite to trouble makers, put you and Roy to shame," he claps Jason on the shoulder.

You look up at Dick and he reads your mind, "want to dance pretty lady?" He whisks you away and the family all make puking noises at you from behind. You pay them no mind, focusing on his hands as they sweep you across the floor your dress fanning put behind you. "Are they looking?" Dick whispers in your ear.

"They're eating again," you say with a quick glance over your shoulder.

"Let's go," he takes your hand, leading you behind the curtains that adorn the large walls giving you a quick kiss, "time to join the real party."

"Hey kids," you say sneaking up behind Damien and his friend, only to be greeted by a knife to your knee,

"What's up?" Dick says, kneeling down beside you, taking the knife from Damien and sticking it to the roof of the table. You both audibly gasp when your eyes move from Dami to the dark haired boy seated next to him.

"Grayson, This is a private party," Damien says, pulling his dagger from the table and sliding it back into his ankle holster.

"Hey, this is your oldest brother right? Dad talks about him all the time. Nice to meet ya," he holds out his little hand and you shake it. Eyeing the treats these two who had been hoarding under the table.

"Wow strong grip," you say, not nearly surprised as you smile at Jon.

"Last time I saw you, you were so Little," Dick says making little heart eyes at his brothers new friend

"Got any snacks?" You ask leaning around them and nearly falling over.

"These are not for you," Damien glares at both, "Please leave,"

"OK ok, sorry buddy," Dick says taking your hand and pulling you away,

"What did I say about the nicknames Grayson," Damien scolds his eldest brother and if it isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen. But you know that he hates when you say that, so you just hold in the coo's for the moment.

"Nice to meet you Jonny, can't wait to see you around more." You wave ducking your head from under the cloth before retreating into the curtains once more.

You waited until Dick had lead you into the hall until you both squealed and began jumping up and down. "Jon! Jon!" You both screamed, "Jon, fucking, Kent!"

"He made a real friend! A super friend!" Dick beamed, proud of his brothers progress.

"I know! I can't wait to tell everyone!"

"No," Dick said stopping you, his hands holding your throat while his thumbs caressed your jaw, "Damien will tell them when he's ready,"

"But love-"

"No buts honey," he leaned down capturing your lips in his kiss.

"I won't tell," you promise surrendering yourself to his touch.

"Want to go home?"

"Yes, but what about Bruce?"

"The others can handle it for one night,"

"What are we waiting for then? Let's fukin go."

[anotheronechicagobog]

I want to ask you about something : I love Stellaride’s wedding, it was sweet, a little bit chaotic and quite perfect, but there is one thing that still bothers me. Katie. I mean, I know that with covid restrictions they probably couldn’t have her on set, I really get it but at least they could mentioned her. Like, Stella telling Kelly that it’s so bad that his sister couldn’t make it to their wedding and him saying ‘she couldn’t leave work but she’s sending all the best’. One minute and I’ll be glad! Because she’s his sister, she should be with him on that day and if they couldn’t bring her, they definitely shouldn’t forget about her and never mentioned her once. Am I the only one who thinks that?

The one Chicago writers are terrible at remembering their own storylines. It wasn't just Katie with the stellaride wedding.

Casey's mom gets out of prison in season one and is never mentioned again (I don't even think when Casey's uncle died and left him a watch, though his sister gets brought back after being forgotten for basically the entire series).

Alvin had another daughter Michelle get introduced in season three but after a few episodes she's gone and never mentioned again. Never meets Lexi. Doesn't go to his funeral. Nothing.

Dr. Charles abandoned Robin and got remarried at some point, had another daughter (Anna) then stopped showing up for Anna when Robin was around. I think they brought her back in season 6 for a few episodes but it was awkward and weird.

Boden has an ex-stepson, James, who he supposedly loves and still considers family, but we hear about and see him once and then never again.

Griffin and Ben Darden were, iirc, 10 and 8 in the first season, so when the characters came back they should have been 20 and 18, but the writers decided to make them minors instead for some reason.

Voight has a grandson. No idea what happened to him after Justin Voight was killed.

Kevin Atwater has multiple younger siblings. We only ever see two on screen Vinessa and Jordan, but in the first season it's implied that there's more (I can't recall the specific episode, but Kevin asks Vinessa to get her brothers and sisters or something) and they're literally never mentioned again.

Hailey's dad was in the hospital. Never mentioned again.

Jay committed a war crime apparently. After that episode was over its like nothing was ever said.

Connor implies that his dad took part in his mom's death and suggests it wasn't a suicide... Not brought up ever again after that.

Will violated the DNRs of two women. It's been almost completely forgotten and he never faced actual consequences in the show (insurance hikes don't count), irl he'd be in prison.

Honestly I could go on.

I have come to the conclusion that the one Chicago writers are not very good at their jobs.

They also use the same first name more than once... A lot.

Violet Casey (Matt's niece) and Violet Mikami (paramedic at 51)

Vinessa Atwater (Kevin's sister) and Vanessa Rojas (officer who used to work in intelligence)

There's more but I can't remember at the top of my head and I think you get the point.

[girlwiththegreenhat]

hey stupid post incoming (i don’t usually post theories cuz i’m dum as shit) but my horrible little ADHD brain can't stop thinking about this now what the FUCK does this mean

i thought there was weird emphasis on that symbol in that last episode but that last post made it super obvious, except now im wondering beyond the fact that they're similar. it's pretty common for important families to have some sort of family crest, could this have been the wittebane family crest? or more specifically, something pertaining especially to the brothers - and then, considering that possibility and the rearrangement of some of the elements, really had me wondering. so. hear me out-

this leans on the 'belos is phillip' theory, but the wings represent each of the brothers. the larger pair is phillip, the smaller pair represent this ~ * ~ mystery brother ~ * ~. it's interesting that the brother's wings are on the top in the original symbol, above the pair that would represent phillip. perhaps this brother was more well-regarded than him, more notable, leaving phillip in his shadow? that's sort of even backed up by the position of their statues if you want to look at it that way, with the brother boldly placed in front and phillip in the back, not looking as much of a 'leader type' than his brother

in the coven badge, the larger pair of wings is now on top, and the smaller pair on the bottom - and notably, there is a sword through the bottom pair of wings. this just seems like a cool design choice, but i think it might be a metaphor for the fact that Phillip killed his brother. it's already been said that it’s extremely suspicious there’s no mention of his brother in his journal at all, and it's suspicious that there's a second pair of boot prints leading to Eclipse Lake (but not returning) in his retelling that match his own. Phillip obviously didn’t like his brother very much.

My theory?

The Emperor's Coven badge represents making an example of the first person that opposed the man who would become Belos - his own brother.

What reasons would he have to kill his own brother? I can think of a few possibilities.

1. We know Belos' hatred of wild magic supposedly stems from the fact that it took his family, and we know he himself is cursed under mysterious circumstances. He and Eda have some parallels, could it be that, much like Eda, his own sibling was responsible? Except, he found out about it much sooner than she did, and either lashed out in rage, or lost control of himself and killed him by mistake? In both cases, intentional or not, wild magic caused the death of the brother with Phillip as the catalyst.

2. Could it be that Phillip saw natural dangers to wild magic and thought up the coven system, or a similar way to restrain magic? His brother disagreed, saying magic should be kept the way it is, and eventually causing a fight that would lead to the brother’s death? In this case, it wouldn’t necessarily be wild magic directly that took his family, but rather his family’s attachment to it.

3. The other brother was dabbling openly with magic, but his inexperience or cockiness with it caused the death of friends and family they had made in the demon realm, leaving only the two brothers. (Maybe even also cursing his brother in the process?) Phillip has a damn good and direct reason to hate wild magic now, and kills his brother in revenge.

4. FOURTH IDEA I’M THROWING IN HERE REAL QUICK BEFORE POSTING: A twist on the previous idea, Phillip was also dabbling in wild magic, and it was his own inexperience with it that caused the death of his brother, and he shifted the blame to wild magic as a whole to cope.

To take a quick tangent, if we consider the "Rascal was the other Wittebane brother's palisman" theory - it would be interesting if Rascal's scar was from trying to defend his original witch from Belos in the fight that would ultimately claim his life. It would parallel Hunter’s scars too, or at least the one on his face which is implied to have come from Belos.

None of these theories account for why Belos would bring back his brother as Hunter if he wanted him dead so bad though (unless you take #4, in which his death was truly an accident), or his connection to the titan, or why he wants to get back to the human realm 🤔 (magic doesn’t work all that well in the human realm, it would be Really funny if he was just trying to get here in hopes that his curse would go away once he did asdkfljskldf. “bye losers, i’m off to the realm where magic cancer can’t catch me”) But I keep thinking about Dana’s line from the AMA, that “witch & human lifespans are identical, unless they find a way to extend them...” implying that people have done that before.

Like Phillip.

Except my only problem with that is why the hell did Phillip wait like 350 years before becoming emperor?? What was he doing that whole time, sitting in a cave somewhere?? It’s strange that he doesn’t seem to like wild magic because it took something personal from him, implying he thinks he’s keeping people safe and doing them a favor - but at the same time it’s sort of set up that the real reason they’re restricting magic is to keep people weaker and give more power to the covens, which they apparently need for the “day of unity”. The whole “wild magic killed my family :^(” shtick might be a lie entirely, or a severe twisting of the truth. We know Belos is manipulative as hell, who knows if his fondness of the human realm is even genuine? Something, somewhere about what he says is horse shit, but we don’t have enough pieces yet to figure that out. But I’m getting ahead of myself, I meant to just ramble about the connections between this symbol and the Emperor’s Coven badge asldkfkjldf. There’s more mysteries here obviously and we’ve got a whole half season and a mini-season to go.

tl;dr the symbol from the historical society is very directly connected to the Wittebane brothers, Phillip is Belos, Phillip killed his brother and this fact is represented in the Coven badge as what happened to the first person to truly oppose Belos and also what arguably kicked off the empire in the first place.

It’s 1:30 AM and I can’t wait for the third person to see this post go “oh actually,″ and say something that absolutely disproves everything here lmfao. anyway-

[chaos-burst]

questions and answers

He had meant to be rude. And it had not worked even a little bit. Eodwulf is sure that anyone else would have been offended. Hell, he’s even sure that the other members of this weird group were absolutely offended on behalf of their friend. But Eodwulf can’t say he has ever met a person like this.

There was no malice, no ill intent, no anger.

When you work with Trent you have to be aware of every little shift in the mood. The slightest twitch of an eyebrow can mean the weather is about to turn foul. Eodwulf knows what to look out for. It had been his intent to rev this weirdo up and it had backfired spectacularly.

Damn.

No meat. No booze. And balls of steel, apparently. Eodwulf had never seen anyone talk to Trent like that. And while Bren‘s—Caleb‘s—words of wanting to kill Trent outright had been more than Eodwulf would ever admit to his mentor, it somehow felt less crazily reckless than to call Trent Ikithon, Archmage of Civil Influence for the Cerberus Assembly and one of the most powerful mages in the Empire, a fucking fool.

To his face. With a smile. In a complete sincere manner.

Eodwulf doesn’t want to replay the words in his head over and over again but his dumb brain has latched onto them and he can’t stop. Only this time it’s not one of Trent’s lessons that forces him to obsessively repeat something until you have internalized it to the point where you can cite it in your sleep.

No.

“Pain doesn’t make people. It’s love that makes people.“

Eodwulf has it on repeat in his head the whole way back to the tower and it is still going when he lies down hours later to sleep.

“What are you“ had not been meant as a serious question when Eodwulf had asked it. But by the time he finally falls asleep he feels like it has become a very vital question indeed, because who or what would dare to speak to Master Trent Ikithon in a way like this with an honest smile on their face.

*

Because for some reason his thoughts have decided to betray him, Eodwulf’s brain makes his tongue and lips form the words again when they see the Mighty Nein the next time. This time, Astrid and Eodwulf have been invited to dinner—Trent has very specifically not been invited, you could say he was uninvited with quite a few flowery words in a strange accent.

And as soon as Eodwulf sees Caduceus he remembers the weirdly polite scratching of a chair, the wide smile that indicates that this is a person Eodwulf possibly can not force to lose their composure through careful placed rudeness. And his mouth betrays him.

“So. What are you, really?“

Caduceus blinks mildly surprised before his unfamiliar features shift into a warm smile that has Eodwulf feel quite a lot of inappropriate things he didn’t expect to find in a place like this.

“Gardener. Maker of fine tea. A decent cook. Keeper of graves“, Caduceus lists of and he uses his long fingers to count the things that are important to him about himself.

“Very powerful cleric“, Jester chimes in from the right. She has Astrid next to her in a chair and Eodwulf is pretty sure that Jester has started to put flowers in Astrid’s hair. But surely he must be mistaken. Who in the Nine Hells are these crazy people?

“Oh, yeah. Well, that too, I suppose“, Caduceus says, his smile still warm like honeyed wine.

“Huh“, Eodwulf says because he can’t for the life of him think of something else to say. But Caduceus is yet again pulling out a chair for him so Eodwulf straightens his shoulders and sits down next to Caduceus. Across the table from him the angry one throws herself into a chair and stares at him.

There’s no fear there either, but she can be easily angered, something Eodwulf is good at. He gives her a canine smile and she holds up her middle finger.

This group is full of people with an enormous lack of self preservation.

And they are so loud.

Eodwulf almost doesn’t hear it when Caduceus turns to him to ask him a question.

“Huh?“, he says again, like a fool.

“And what are you, was what I wanted to know“, Caduceus says, his lazy grin open and honest. There is no malice in his words. He actually wants to know.

Eodwulf thinks “Murderer, wizard, protégé, spy“ but he doesn’t say any of these things. “Maker of graves“ comes to mind, but it seems like too dark of a joke to make.

“Enthusiastic about both meat and booze“, he says in the end and Caduceus laughs.

“Yeah, as are most of my friends.“

The implication these words bring is probably only in Eodwulf’s mind but it makes him swallow and look away to find Astrid’s eyes. But Astrid now has pink flowers in her hair and a look of absolute confusion on her face as Jester rattles of compliment after compliment about various of Astrid’s features.

Eodwulf can’t help but look at Bre—Caleb. And he sees that there is a soft, barely noticeable smile on his old friend’s face as he watches the scene unfold.

What am I, indeed, he thinks.

*

Trent’s orders have been clear. Get close to the group called the Mighty Nein to find out what they are working on with Lady Vess DeRogna.

Eodwulf allows himself to think that Caduceus might have been right. Maybe Master Ikithon is indeed a fool.

Because being in the presence of these people is like nothing Eodwulf has ever experienced and it makes him think, wonder, question—

“Here we are again“, Caduceus says after, yet again, Astrid and Eodwulf have been invited for dinner. Eodwulf wonders if this group just wants to make it very easy to spy on them, or if they have an agenda of their own—but it’s hard to believe that there might be any coherent agenda behind anything these people do.

He has watched the buff one called Yasha try and play what looked like a harp made of bone and when the angry one, Beau, told her that she looked hot playing the harp Yasha had torn two of the strings which had led to a whole scene of apologies and various tries to fix the harp.

Jester has drawn dicks on pretty much every surface this magical mansion has and she delights in the fact that Caleb brings the dicks to life in various colors. At some point he made glowing sparkles shoot out of one of the dicks Jester had drawn and Jester had laughed as if this was the best joke she had ever witnessed.

Eodwulf notices Astrid’s eyes on Jester.

Eodwulf also notices that while there seems to be no agenda or efficiency behind anything, they are still being watched.

Beau and Fjord look at them. And Eodwulf is pretty sure Caduceus watches everything as well, but he does it without crossing his arms and glaring so much.

“Looks like it”, he answers. Caduceus offers him tea and Eodwulf’s first instinct is to decline, but then he remembers that “maker of fine tea” had been very high on the list of descriptors so he takes the cup he is offered while somewhere in the background people start screaming something that sounds like “FLUFFERNUTTER”.

Eodwulf tries the tea. He’s not a fan of tea, but this tea is absolutely delicious and he finds himself impressed.

“I believe this one comes from the Hollburns’ graves. Those remains made the tea grow quite fast, it was impressive.”

Eodwulf blinks at his tea and then at Caduceus. For a second his brain wonders if this statement should register as a threat, but it had been delivered with such honest delight and a sense of pride that Eodwulf discards that feeling.

“What?”, he asks. Caduceus points at the tea.

“Oh, well, my family grows tea on those graves we’re keeping. In case you wanted to ask me again what I am. Or—hm, I think I already mentioned that I am a keeper of graves?”

Caduceus trails off and looks thoughtful and Eodwulf stares at him.

“Keeper of Graves. That make you a follower of the Matron?”, he asks.

Caduceus looks at him and smiles.

“Not quite. My family serves Melora. But we are descended from a champion of the Raven Queen.”

Eodwulf can’t help but wonder if this was some kind of weird joke. But his goddess usually isn’t one for joking.

Eodwulf considers for a second, then he pulls out the raven feather pendant from under his cloak.

Caduceus nods. “So”, he says and smiles widely. “What are you?”

Eodwulf snorts.

“For real?”, he says.

Caduceus’ smile widens.

“For real.”

*

It feels like this has become a sort of game.

“What are you?”

“Moral compass. Middle sibling. Eccentric. Amateur flute player.”

Eodwulf finds that through this question he himself posed the first time, he’s been forced to think more about himself than he feels comfortable with.

“What are you?”

“Decent chess player. Dog person. Sportsman. Only child.”, are the things he says out loud.

“Self-made orphan. Patriot. Volstrucker. Torturer.”, are the things he thinks to himself.

Eodwulf has the impression that Caduceus is somehow aware of the things he doesn’t say.

*

“So. This is the crew you’re running with now?”, Eodwulf asks Bre—Caleb one night before the Mighty Nein will leave with Vess DeRogna to who-knows-where. Neither Astrid nor Eodwulf did get very far with their planned infiltration work. Eodwulf is not even sure how hard they even tried.

It’s very easy to get swept away by the chaos and the weirdness and the complete lack of fear that the group displays when it comes to him and Astrid. They are dangerous people in a lot of ways.

The Mighty Nein are also dangerous people in a very different way. A way that Eodwulf doesn’t know anything about.

“This is my family, ja.”

He says it, just like that, without looking at Eodwulf.

Family.

The word tastes bitter in Eodwulf’s mouth as he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.

“Weird people”, he says. Caleb huffs.

“You can say that, yes. But they grow on you very quickly”, he answers quietly and with a small, fond smile that makes something inside Eodwulf ache. For a long time Eodwulf pitied Bren for breaking, for not making it, for failing, for being locked away and discarded. Now he realizes that maybe, in a very macabre sort of way, Bren becoming Caleb through failure was the better end of the bargain.

It feels blasphemous to think that.

“The pink one is especially weird”, Eodwulf finds himself saying and he takes a big swig of whiskey from his flask before handing it to Caleb.

“Ja, I noticed that you seem to have a... uh... particular kind of interest in him. And, if I may add, he in you.”

Eodwulf takes the flask back after Caleb drinks. He contemplates the different sorts of feelings inside his gut as the words sink in. Then he tucks it all away very carefully, just as he learned through many years of being in Trent’s presence.

“Still don’t know what he is”, Eodwulf says. Caleb snorts and shakes his head.

“His people are called Firbolg”, he provides.

“Not sure that’s what I mean. Not anymore, at least.”

It seems dangerous to admit that. Caleb turns his head and looks at Eodwulf with a shimmer in his eyes that Eodwulf can’t read. Many years ago he was able to read Bren like an open book, but Caleb is another book entirely.

“You deserve to have some nice things, you know. You deserve friends. A chance of—hm. A chance of peace. A chance for redemption, if you want it.”

Eodwulf gets up and tugs away his flask.

“Pain doesn’t make people. It’s love that makes people. Pain is inconsequential, it’s love that saves them.”

Eodwulf understands the truth in these words now. Bren was broken, Caleb is being healed. Eodwulf doesn’t think that there’s anything left in him that can be saved. Or should be saved.

“Good luck on your journey tomorrow. Don’t die”, Eodwulf says and he leaves Caleb behind.

What are you, he thinks. A sentimental fool.

*

Astrid sits next to him on one of the balconies of her house and looks up at the stars above them. The Mighty Nein have been gone for six days and it has been very quiet.

They sit in silence and share a bottle of whiskey, passing it back and forth instead of words. It’s been like this for many many years that they’ve allowed themselves to just be. Today though, Astrid breaks the silence.

“I’m going to be the one who kills him.”

She says it quietly, without remorse, without indicating that this is a scandalous statement. She says it just how other people would say “I’ll go to bed soon.”.

Eodwulf stops breathing for just a moment. Then he inhales the cool night air and turns his head to look at her.

“Could kill you for treason”, he says. She looks at him and cocks her head slightly, the analyzing gaze of a murderous spy meets its equal in silence.

“I’d love to see you try”, she says. Eodwulf grins. It feels reckless.

“Don’t die”, he says, the same thing he’s said to Caleb before. Astrid regards him for a long moment and Eodwulf takes another sip. “Will you help me or try to stop me?”

Eodwulf considers this for a moment. Would he try to stop Astrid should she try to kill Trent? No. Would he help her? He doesn’t know that either.

“Can’t you just wait for Bren to do it for you?”

“I won’t lose to him again.”

Eodwulf snorts.

Always so competitive.

“That’s some fucked up shit, Astrid.”

“Shut up, Arschloch.”

Eodwulf grins before getting up to stretch. He puts his hands on the railing of Astrid’s balcony and wonders what Caleb’s new family is up to.

Making a new family never came to mind before. It sounds like something out of a fairy tale. While he contemplates the question whether he would help Astrid kill Trent Ikithon, a slow, familiar voice pops up in his head.

“Hey. Uh—Jester told me to send you an update. We’re still alive. Hope you’re good. Got  a new question for you. What will you become?”

The rustling of Astrid’s clothes as she stands up as well somehow tells him that she received a message in her head as well. She steps beside him and puts her hands on the railing next to his.

“They’re persistent”, she says quietly.

Eodwulf nods and inhales.

He doesn’t know what he will become. He didn’t even know that was a question to be asked. The path is clear. It always was.

Pain doesn’t make people.

“Not going to answer?”, she wants to know.

“Don’t have an answer yet.”

It’s unclear to him whether she means her own question or the message Caduceus just sent him.

He answers the sending spell with a simple “I don’t know.”. It takes a few minutes before another message comes in.

“That’s good. Uncertainty is good. It’s the first step in a better direction. I’m going to kill a dragon now. Wish me luck. Good night.”

“I’ll keep you posted on the answer to that question of yours. I’ll see you tomorrow”, he says and leaves Astrid behind on the balcony. Eodwulf thinks about something he hasn’t thought about in a very long time. A priestess in his Matron’s temple once told him: “Death is the only certainty in life.”.

He thinks that Caduceus would agree.

And Eodwulf hopes that the next time he sees that weird, reckless man, he’ll have an answer for him.

[trackermons]

yknow what i am subjecting tumblr to this as well

ID/plain text ver under cut

(image description: multiple discord messages by user possiblytracker)

ok no i lay down and rolled over to go to sleep but then i got blindsided by thoughts so are you ready for a short ramble

i think the evolution scene this episode really hammered home the fact that it is about the bond you have with your digimon. 100%

hiro and gammamon have been doing it since episode 2 because they got really close really quickly. hiro's looking after him, they're allegedly Siblings™️, gammamon fucking loves hiro and hiro loves gammamon! they get along! but that's not exactly hard to do and it wouldnt take as long to build a strong bond as the others evidently did, all things considered. kiyoshiro and ruli are different because their digimon arent like, younger than them, or like some kind of weird dog or a five-year-old- they're individuals in their own right and they have their own interests and lives outside of their partners (i mean APPARENTLY apart from angoramon but i'll get into that i promise)

jellymon thinks kiyoshiro is fucking hilarious and is basically going "i could fix him but whatever the fuck is wrong with him is funnier". their whole relationship started out on her fucking with him relentlessly and finally getting attached after he proved himself capable under extreme stress, and i think that's most likely what she thought was endearing about him in the first place dhjdfv.. earned him her respect if you will. up to this point i think he's come around to her quite slowly- like, it's probably initially hard to become good friends with someone incredibly intent on causing problems on purpose everywhere you go- but they have been bonding! and the evolution this episode was the culmination of that! they really do care about each other, despite all the shit she puts him through, and this episode lowkey made me slightly emotional dshdnb like thats LOVE. not in the romantic sense (please god not in the romantic sense im still glaring daggers at the writers room DO NOT MAKE IT WEIRD) but they're PARTNERS. they're not just vaguely comfortable with each other (not that these two ever were in the first place hgSHDJ) but they've got a real dynamic going on and care about each other so much despite everything

if you hadnt noticed i get real fucking sappy about digimon-partner dynamics this is not a new thing i have been on this bullshit for years anyway leading onto my next point. ruli and angoramon Apparently are just around each other all the time. they don't argue, don't butt heads, angoramon just kinda follows her around and protects her from danger and listens to her music and recites weird poetry at the end of every episode like huh. they're super comfortable with each other's presence. but at the same time that's literally all it is. unlike with kiyoshiro and jellymon- jellymon is pushing, kiyoshiro pushes back, creating Problems and being endearing and giving them meaningful interaction with each other no matter how based around messing with people it is- ruli is the one doing the pushing (into dangerous scenarios, digimon hunts, etc) and angoramon is just going with it. he's not pushing back. they've never actually been in a situation in which conflict between them has been created and i think thats actually what's holding them back from evolving yet. They're comfortable with each other but have they bonded? are they partners? i don't think so, and i do think next episode it's that bond that's finally going to be tested before angoramon can evolve

anyway yeah that's my theory thanks for coming to my ted talk

/end ID

[rococospade]

Okay i need to bitch a minute. rant about the game with the ring we’re all obsessed with (fandom stuff not canon) under the cut

general warning for violence and mention of consent violations.

caveat: i don’t care which characters you like or hate, i don’t care who you stan: all of this is fiction. my beef is with people acting like two incredibly similar acts from characters in this game are wildly different in terms of harm inflicted while they’re talking meta.

don’t click below the cut if you don’t want to see negative opinions about your potential fav. thanks.

--

yeah, so. even mostly avoiding The Discourse, i am so fucking tired of reading about how mohg is the worst thing in the lands between. putting aside that it’s performative nonsense — because it is, no one is helping real victims by saying the weird demon guy is irredeemable — it’s also ridiculously myopic. it’s like people cannot recognise violation of bodily autonomy as a problem unless the context is overtly sexual. holy shit

malenia tried to spread her rot to the entire country. do you understand what that means. her army is cool with rotting, yeah, but everyone else? they didn’t consent to that. it’s a painful, debilitating, fatal illness. and yeah she didn’t ask to have it, but she sure was happy to inflict it on everyone else.

you know who else wants the whole world to be sick whether they consent or not? dungeater. not seeing a lot of posts talking about his redeeming points but i guess because he didn’t get an army it’s cool.

like… we all have personal tastes for characters, but seeing mohg put down as the literal worst in a setting where his siblings:

eat their followers with little to no warning

get their followers killed and fuck up DEATH ITSELF, a fate considered to be abhorrent by the characters in the setting, to judge from the dialogue about living in death instead of going back to the erdtree’s roots

pile up bodies outside the city wall

tried to give most of the country a painful, fatal illness

And his parents:

Committed genocide, enslaved other races, were happy to off/betray/dump their loyal companions once they were no longer of use, and dumped their own kids in the sewer… like, marika even betrayed maliketh despite him being totally loyal to her. that last bit is not speculation. that’s lore from maliketh’s remembrance.

even if you take all of this as well-intentioned extremism — how is that different from mohg? how can you write off the level of death and destruction and ”i know better” of every character in this setting except his? why are you comfortable with that? i just genuinely do not get it. i don't need people to think mohg is a good guy, but seeing the difference between how he and his siblings are treated is staggering

i can’t tell if people cannot find female characters to be as horrible as the men, or if it’s just this concept that sexual violence is the worst thing you can do ever, like... i’d argue knowingly inflicting someone with cancer is about as fucked? honestly.

and don’t @ me about how sexual violence is unique and horrible, i’m not saying it isn’t, i’m saying that in a world where ‘fuck up your afterlife’ and ‘make you die of end stage fantasy cancer’ are also options, it isn’t really in its own class.

no matter how strongly you feel about one person, their violation is not on par with fucking up the whole country. just... no. a lot of the arguing honestly feels to me like “it’s okay to violate people if you’re charismatic” and just... no. either it’s wrong when everyone does it or actually we’re okay with it.

edit: malenia’s shit was to deal with the stalemate against radahn and not to make everyone around her sick, apparently. this is fucked up in different ways. the point about being okay with some kinds of bodily autonomy violations and not others still stands. wtf

[youwerenevermeanttofeelalone]

Payback | Dean Winchester

✦ pairing — Dean Winchester x female!Plus Size Reader

✦ word count — 2.2k

✦ request — I was wondering if you could do a dean winchester imagine that is like the reader is like young and has been with the boys since she was 18 and now she’s like around 21 or 22. She lives at the bunker with them and helps with research. So, basically she’s fallen in love with dean and has been in love with him for years. She never says anything because she watches him go after all these skinny girls and thinks she will never be good enough since she’s big and doesn’t think he’d ever like her. Then one day she basically just reaches a breaking point and it comes out to dean, and after some angst they get together. Then maybe some fluff or smut?

✦ warnings — angst, age gap (reader is in her twenties while Dean is in his forties), reader is kinda insecure at times, language, mentions of past sexual partners, mentions of a past ilegal relationship, a twinge of jealousy, suggestive stuff, some fluff.

════════════════════════

You heard laughs on the other side of the bar, right under the Bud Light neon sign. Unable to stop yourself, you looked that way.

A small friend group had erupted in laughter. There was a tall guy in the middle of two redheads — you couldn’t see very well, but you could tell he had caught you staring.

So you deviated your eyes to the right, where the bartender served one of your companions another beer. A couple of beers in fact. Dean was talking to a woman, undoubtedly charming her as he rested his elbow on the bar and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

You couldn’t look any longer, you would be sick if you did. He should’ve been doing that to you.

Realistically, you were probably twice her size or more, but you still could dream.

That was the problem, truly — you only could dream. Dean would quit hunting before even considering seeing you as a potential conquest. By this point, you should have been used to it.

Your eyes went back to the friend group from earlier. The tall guy held your gaze for a moment — you couldn’t figure out his eye color, or what his eyes showed under the uneven light, but you damn well could see he was handsome.

Not wanting to give him the wrong impression, you turned to your side and picked up your jacket.

Maybe you should also start to pay attention to the men who were actually interested.

But they weren’t Dean Winchester.

Comparing every man you met to him was a reflex, just like comparing yourself to the women he picked up at bars.

The Bunker was eerie every hour of the day, but there was something especially uncanny about an empty Bunker in the middle of the night. Devastatingly so.

Turning on the lights as you made your way towards the library, you made a beeline towards the kitchen. You weren’t in the mood for drinking anymore or for food, but you knew you needed to drink water.

Taking refugee in the library, you looked around a few news sites to see if you found something. It wasn’t difficult to find something shady or weird going on, but filtering out conspiracy theories was a pain in the ass.

Eventually, you found just what you were hoping you would. Dean and Sam rarely took you with them for hunts, but perhaps you could convince them this time to at least let you watch from the car.

Sam came home a little later, tipsy enough to be in a good mood. You told him about the case you had found, he said he would check it out in the morning and wished you a goodnight.

Dean didn’t come home. Why would he when he could have literally anybody he wanted?

You didn’t get any sleep. You had hoped that listening to an audiobook would lull you, but like most things, it wasn’t enough to even entertain you.

You were sick of this, of being into somebody who would never be into you. And who the fuck loses sleep for somebody who doesn’t see them as anything more than a sibling? You, apparently.

You needed coffee and a hug, but coffee by itself would have to do.

To your luck, Dean was already in the kitchen when you entered. His hair was wet which meant he was, thankfully, fresh out of the shower.

Instead of greeting you, he asked, “Where’s Sammy?”

You shrugged. “I haven’t seen him since last night.”

“He took the car.”

You didn’t even know Sam had brought the car home the night before. “He must have found the case interesting.”

“There’s a case?”

“Kind of. It’s not too far away from here,” you explained, “but I wasn’t sure it was something up our alley. I guess Sam thought it was.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you weren’t here.” You could tell your answer offended him. Good.

“You should have called.”

“Babying you isn’t my job, Dean.”

“Funny you say that when babysitting you isn’t mine and yet...”

“Can you stop treating me like a fucking child for two seconds?”

“Stop acting like one and I might.”

“God, you’re fucking insufferable. I can’t believe I’m in love with you!”

You didn’t know whose eyes were wider, if his or yours.

“Shit,” you muttered under your breath.

He tried to be nonchalant, but Dean couldn’t even move. “Sweetheart, come on. It’s okay.”

You effusively shook your head. “It’s isn’t.”

“You’re overreacting.”

“No, you don’t get to tell me what to do or how to fucking react.” You were yelling now. Why were you yelling over this?

“I— well, I don’t know what to say.” He stuttered. “I mean, you are a kid. I could be your dad who had a kid at a young age, okay? This is fucking crazy.”

“You weren’t supposed to know. It’s humiliating.”

“I’m not going to give you shit about it.”

“No, you are. And then you’re gonna go and fuck somebody who’s actually hot and interesting and you’re gonna make me feel worse.”

“Hey, you’re interesting.”

“I’m not. And even then, you don’t go for them because they’re interesting, do you?”

“What do you want me to say?”

You wanted him to say that you were attractive too, that he would go for you in a heartbeat.

“Nothing.”

Both of you remained silent then. He had many chances to make it right, to have enough pity for you to at least apologize for not realizing you were in love with him sooner.

“ I’m gonna go,” you announced, having decided that this wasn’t worth it. The humiliation hurt, but his reaction stung.

He reached over and stopped you. “Wait, wait, wait.”

“What now?” Your voice broke and your lip trembled. Not now, you thought. But now it was.

“Don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it.”

He hugged you to his chest. “I hate seeing you cry.”

His arms were tightly wrapped around you, a hand on the back of your head and the other on your upper back.

“You’re making me feel even more stupid,” you admitted through tears.

Dean sighed heavily. His hand twitched against your clothed skin as he tried to keep himself from rubbing his face. “You know, maybe you need a break.”

“Are you really trying to get rid of me already?”

He didn’t deny it. So you pushed him off you and stormed out. You couldn’t even get a fucking consolation hug.

════════════════════════

You liked to think you were doing a good job avoiding him. It wasn’t like he spent that much time at home either way.

Expecting him to care had been too much, it seemed. You hadn’t wanted him to beg, or even fantasized about him chasing after you — you just wanted him to care, to at least told you he would forget about it or pretend you hadn’t said anything.

Sam entered the library, feigning interest in the stack of books you had piled on the table two nights ago.

He stalled, opening the one on top as though he hadn’t seen it before.

You shuffled in your seat. Waiting for whatever he would say.

He cleared his throat so you’d look up. You did.

“Dean and I are going out for a drink or two. Want to come?”

“No, I’m gonna watch something on my laptop and go to bed early.”

Sam gave you a worried look. “Well, if you need anything...”

“Have fun.”

Maybe Dean had been right, maybe you needed a break, and maybe —just maybe— this wasn’t the place you were meant to be at.

But you wanted to be there, and you wanted him. It fucking sucked that you would never get what you wanted just because you weren’t thin.

Story of your life.

You stayed in the library longer than you planned and eventually your tv marathon was held there. You had everything you needed and the chairs were comfortable enough.

Your laptop rested on the other side of the table as you leaned onto said table with your forearms and laid your head on your arm.

A knock on the thick door startled you. Looking up, you found green eyes.

“Did I scare you?”

You pressed the space bar to pause your show. “I wasn’t expecting you guys to come back early.”

“Sammy left with somebody so he’s not coming home tonight.”

You hummed, unsure as to what you were supposed to say. Should you say that you were happy for Sam? Should you ask why he hadn’t left with somebody too?

Dean spoke before you could come up with something. “Can we, uh, talk?”

Seeing you nod, Dean approached the table. He didn’t sit down, forcing you to crane your neck.

“I’ll find somewhere else to live,” you assured him.

He frowned, looking down as he searched for your now shifty eyes. “You’re leaving?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted to talk about?”

“No.” He rubbed his palm against his forehead. “I don’t want things to be awkward between us.”

You twisted your mouth. “It’s a little late for that.”

He hurriedly said, “I don’t want you to leave. You’re part of the family.”

“I think I deserve space to move on.”

A groan slipped past his throat and lips, rumbling in his chest. He was growing desperate. “Look... I’m trying to be the responsible adult here because God knows you won’t be.”

“So now I’m an adult?”

“It was never my intention to treat you like a child. I just wanted to put some distance between us.”

“You could have said so.” You didn’t think you would need to state the obvious to somebody as smart as Dean.

“I didn’t want things to be weird or to give the impression that I could take advantage of you if you were too close. I would never do that.”

Not proud enough to pretend you knew what he was talking about, you admitted, “I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

“You’re pretty,” he blurted. “Really fucking pretty and interesting and so attractive that’s kinda unfair. And you’re also too young.”

“Dean.”

“Mmmh?”

“Kiss me.”

“Weren’t you listening to me?”

“Just kiss me,” you insisted. “We’ll forget about it if it doesn’t feel right.”

Dean took the chair beside yours out and pulled it to the side. His eyes didn’t meet yours as he leaned in, but they did when his nose brushed yours.

He softly placed his lips on top of yours. You saw his eyes screw shut before you closed yours. It was short and sweet, and when he parted from you, you feared you would have to go back to hide the way you felt about him.

Grabbing you by the waist, Dean made you stand up. He wrapped an arm around you while you rested your hands on his sides as a reflex.

He kissed you again, hard. So hard he unintentionally pushed you against the table. His tongue tasted of whiskey and those bacon-flavored chips you had never had the heart to tell him weren’t that good.

You brought a hand up to the back of his neck, kissing him deeply.

Dean took advantage of the fact that he had you trapped between the table and his body to caress yours. He started with your back and dragged his hands down to your ass.

His hands traveled to your torso, where he could surely feel your belly up, fingers toying with the hem of your black t-shirt.

You stopped his fingers from lifting your top and pulled away from the kiss. “Wait.”

“Having second thoughts?” he breathlessly asked.

“I’m not what you’re used to,” you explained through ragged breathing. “At all.”

”Really?”

You nodded, ashamed. One thing was him knowing how big you were and other was him seeing it for himself.

“Don’t take this the wrong way...”

“That’s a great way to let me know you’re about to insult me.” Fuck. You were getting defensive again — what a way to kill the mood.

“I’m not!” he defended himself. “I was going to point out that you’ve been around for a relatively short amount of time to know what I’m used to.”

“I’ve never seen you with a fat person before.”

“And I’ve never seen you with somebody older than you before.”

Was he playing dumb? “Of course you have.”

“Huh? When?”

“That guy in Texas was well in his thirties. And I dated somebody in their twenties when I was 16, I’m not too proud of that one, but—“

He interrupted you. “Nevermind. Shut up.” Dean kissed you again, bringing you flush against him.

You smiled against his mouth. “Is somebody jealous?”

“Maybe.”

“Good. Serves you right.”

“You’re evil.” He bit down your bottom lip and pulled on it.

“It’s just payback, I promise.”

Dean snorted. “Can’t say I don’t deserve it.”

You remained silent, allowing him to dissipate the tension. You would let him do whatever he wanted, regardless of the outcome, but you were too scared to say it.

You didn’t have to.

“Hey.” He cupped your face. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with,” he assured you. His voice was uncharacteristically soft. “We can take our time.”

[ironhusband]

🥺🥺 ironhusbands + your card declines and the person behind you offers to pay ??

France, I can't believe you literally read my mind, this is exactly what I wanted to write.

~~~

Tony had a bad week. Well, a bad month, really, coming up to a bad year. Maybe even a bad life. But that would be too dramatic even for him.

On the first day of Christmas, he told his dad he didn't want to make weapons when he takes over the company. On the second day of Christmas, his dad told him he was out of the will. On the third day of Christmas, his parents left. On the fourth day of Christmas, the police knocked on his door.

On the seventh day of Christmas, his card got declined at the grocery store.

"Run it through again," Tony pleaded. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, he chanted in his mind, hoping it will keep the tears at bay. Good 'ol dad, Tony thought, not even giving him a week to mourn before he completely cuts him off. If you cry now, he wins.

"Sir, I already ran it through five times," the cashier said apologetically.

Tony looked down at what he was buying. It was nothing major; shaving cream, milk, pasta. He didn't want to risk it in cause, well, this happened, but he thought he would still have some money left. That he would have something left. Apparently not.

"I..." he should leave. Beg Obie for some money maybe and come back. Get a job. Maybe he could sell DUM-E or patent JARVIS. That would take time. He never thought he'd be seriously considering dumpster diving until now.

"I got it," someone behind him said.

Tony turned around. As far as heroes go, he pretty much looked the part. Around his age, very good looking, with a charming smile, a confident stand, and warm, soft eyes. Too bad Tony didn't need a knight in shining armor.

The humiliation stung and stubbornly, Tony turned to the cashier. "No, I got it. Run it through again."

The smile vanished. "You got nothing, man," the man rolled his eyes, "just let me pay."

Tony didn't look at him, "you're not going to pay."

"Am too."

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Sirs," the cashier interrupted, "you're holding up the line."

Tony glanced back at the people behind him, ranging from annoyed to symaphtic. They were whispering between themselves. Maybe talking about how this crazy guy looked a lot like Tony Stark.

Tony considered his options. Letting this guy pay might hurt his pride, but it will mean he will get out of here faster than someone can recognize him. Judging by the look in the guy's eye, he managed to stand right if front of someone as headstrong as him. He wouldn't give up without a fight. And plus, oh yeah, he would eat.

"Fine," Tony grumbled.

The guy grinned winningly and turned to pay for Tony's three items. Tony took them, quickly thanking the guy, and exiting the store as soon as possible.

Luckily for him, the other guy seemed to be competing for athlete of the year, being surprisingly speedy for a man shorter than even Tony.

"Hey, do you have anywhere to stay?"

Tony jumped at the sound of the guy creeping behind him and let out a frustrated sound when he recognized him, "what, is it national pity day? I don't need your help."

"Kinda seemed like you did," asshole pointed out.

"You don't know me."

"My question seems to be a good way to get around to it."

After a beat, Tony said, if only to make that guy get off his back, "yes, I do." He wasn't kicked out of the manor. Yet.

"Where?"

"Manhattan."

The guy's eyebrows raised, "you can't afford to pay for pasta, but you can to live in Manhattan?"

Tony glared at him, "as I said, you don't know me."

The man stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. Tony didn't want to make a scene by shaking him off. "Most people are nicer to their savior."

"You do this a lot?" Tony sneered, "bet you just wait for people's cards to decline so you can be the hero. What did you even buy, anyway?"

The man offered him some gum, "want some?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "of course that's what you bought."

He shrugged, "didn't have enough cash for more than gum. And your things."

Guilt wretched in Tony's gut. He didn't want this guy to pay, and now he skipped buying his groceries. Great going, Tony. Now his patheticness was affecting others. "You shouldn't have-"

"Let me drive you home," the guy cut him off, "swear if you see my car, you won't think I'm some hero who gave up his lunch or whatever you're thinking."

Even though this was the start of a very special episode, Tony asked, "would you leave me alone, then?"

The guy nodded.

"Fine."

~~~

The guy's name was Rhodey, and apparently he did what he did because his mother was some kind of nagging moral compass in his mind. Tony tried not to think of his mom - he knew if he did he would cry in front of this stranger.

Rhodey actually wasn't as talkative as Tony expected, but he did ask question after question, until Tony eventually gave up and told him, that yes, he did graduate high school, no, he already finished college, yes, he was some kind of genius, and his name was Tony. Rhodey, apparently, also got into MIT young, graduating last year, and he was working at NASA GISS now. Tony told him he was unemployed, but he was sure it wasn't for long. That would at least relax this guy.

When Rhodey pulled up at the manor, he gaped, "you're the Stark kid."

"The one and only," Tony said bitterly. He was only ever an only child, after all. He wondered if his siblings would help them out if he had them.

"Didn't inherit the fortune?"

Tony grit his teeth and didn't answer, "thanks for the ride, Rhodey."

"No problem," he said, recovering rather quickly from the shock, "check their sock drawers. Rich people have weird ass sock drawers."

Tony snorted, shutting the door of the car behind him.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Into The Unknown, Part 2

First

Interdimensional travel? Awful. Don’t try it at home. It’s a lot like how one would imagine getting sucked up a straw: you get squished and pulled until you come out the other side a goopy mess.

Speaking of goopy messes: Tim keeled over and threw up.

He ignored the yelling right next to him because, honestly, he couldn’t even bring himself to look up at the moment. The bright light of this world -- apparently it was daytime here, ew -- hurt his eyes even through his sunglasses and he really didn’t want to move from where he had curled up in what seemed to be grass.

But, eventually, he did. He pushed himself up onto his knees and squinted over at her.

Ladybug had detransformed at some point and was now wearing an old t-shirt and some sweats… and she was apparently fighting off a baby. Damian kicked, screamed, and wiggled in her hold as she tried her hardest to trap him in the blanket again.

“... how are you losing to a baby?”

She sent a glare at him and then mumbled a curse as a tiny fist connected with her face and Damian wriggled away from her.

“Let me think about that, Red. What could go wrong if I, a meta used to fighting other metas, tried to use force against a human child?”

Okay, yeah. It was probably for the best that she hadn’t tried anything.

Oddly enough, when Tim walked over and replaced Marinette, Damian started behaving immediately.

He frowned, tipping his head to the side confusedly. He picked up his younger brother and stood up. “Why’d he start freaking out?”

She did the exact opposite of standing up, opting to spread out in the grass and glare at the sky. “I don’t know. He just started freaking out when I tried to put the watch around his neck.”

“Weird,” he mumbled.

“Yeah.”

He took the time to look around properly for once. They were in a park but it must have been a weekday because there was hardly anyone around. The only people that had paid them any mind were a group of teenagers -- probably ditching, he thought -- that were staring at them with wide eyes.

Tim glanced at a street sign to make sure the common language was English before sending them a glare. “It’s rude to stare, y’know.”

The teenagers quickly looked down at their phones. Tim knew better than to believe that they were actually paying attention, they had the same posture that a lot of lookouts did, but whatever. No one would believe them, anyways.

He gave her a few more minutes before he adjusted his hold on Damian and offered a hand up.

Ladybug took it with a faint smile and he pulled her to her feet. She grabbed their discarded suitcase and they started walking aimlessly.

“Okay, we’re here… but we still need a cover.”

“Um… you’re the one that’s good at hacking, right?”

He nodded. Damian reached a hand out of the blanket and began touching his hair. He was too busy wondering what to do to really mind.

“Great. How about… we’re the kid’s siblings?”

“We can pass as his parents. I mean, it’d be a teen pregnancy but it wouldn’t be bad,” said Tim. “We still had him at eighteen-ish.”

She shook her head. “He’s darker than both of us, it wouldn’t make sense. Maybe I had him with some… darker guy and now you’re my boyfriend? No, that feels racist for some reason. I’m his half-sister, our parents died, and you’re my boyfriend.”

Tim frowned. “Why am I always the boyfriend? He’s my brother.”

“Well, frankly, you look nothing like him. He and I, at least, have similar noses.”

He scowled. It made sense but it still annoyed him. “Fine. I’m your husband, though. I want to have at least some rights.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sure. Guess that’s good for tax benefits, too. Better get me a cute ring.”

“Okay, but the diamond is going to be fake.”

“Cheapskate.”

“Cheskae,” Damian said, yanking Tim’s hair like the little shit he was.

“See, he agrees,” Ladybug said with a victorious grin.

~

They went up to a hotel (Red Robin had tried to talk her into a five-star one but she managed to bring it down to a two-star when showing him the cost) and tried to reserve a room.

“May I have a name for the reservation?” The nice lady at the front counter said, smiling at them.

Red Robin glanced up from where he was awkwardly bouncing with the baby in his arms to shoot her A Look. It was unfortunate that she had no clue what the look meant. She considered the question for a moment before eventually saying:

“Dupain-Cheng.”

Red Robin relaxed a little so she was pretty sure she had gotten it right.

She hesitantly took the baby from him -- the kid had apparently forgotten about his earlier freakout because he was just as weirdly still as he had been back in Gotham -- so he could pay.

The moment they got into the hotel room she fell back in the bed. The baby squirmed a little on her stomach to get comfortable before joining her in her laziness.

Red Robin sighed and sat next to them, resting his head in his hands. “Okay. We’re going to need supplies for him. Do you want to do a supply run or should I?”

She shrugged a little, much to the baby’s dismay. Have you ever had a baby babble angrily at you? It’s very cute.

“You’re so helpful. Thanks, Ladybug.”

“No problem,” she said as if she couldn’t hear the blatant sarcasm in his tone. Then she pushed herself up to squint at him, the baby sliding down to her lap smoothly. “Wait, are we still going to be using codenames?”

He frowned. “Obviously.”

“... for fifteen years?”

“Obviously.”

She rolled her eyes. “Great, so when we take the kid back we’re going to explain to him that, on top of all the adjustment of moving to a different dimension, he needs to now use a different name for you, and messing up isn’t an option. Also, I feel like people are going to question two random people called ‘Red Robin’ and ‘Ladybug’ at some point.”

Red Robin frowned, clearly thinking hard, and then nodded slightly. He removed his glasses and looked at her with an awkward smile. “This is Damian, I’m Tim.”

She raised her eyebrows because he was looking at her expectantly and she really didn’t know what he wanted from her. “Uh… am I supposed to know you?”

“I mean… kinda?”

She squinted at him for a while before shrugging. “That one guy? Timothy --.”

“Yep!”

“-- Chalamet?”

He looked oddly hurt now. “You think I look like Timothy Chalamet?”

“I mean you both have the same sickly Victorian boy look about you.”

“... for the sake of our fake marriage I’m going to pretend that you didn’t say that. I’m Tim Drake.” She still didn’t show any hint of recognition (probably because she didn’t recognize him) so he groaned and motioned to Damian. “This is Damian Wayne.”

“Wayne? Like Waynetech?”

“There you go,” he said.

She grinned at him. “It’s not my fault you made me guess.”

He huffed a little. “Alright, fine, then who are you, then?”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“... who’s that?”

“A nobody. Like secret identities should be,” she said, giving him a smug look.

He rolled his eyes. “I feel like this is going to be a long fifteen years.”

“Shouldn’t have dragged me into your mess, now you gotta deal with the consequences.”

He stuck his tongue out at her. She returned it. So did the baby.

~

It was decided that Marinette should be the one to go on a supply run since Tim needed to start making identities for them.

… it would be a lot easier if there wasn’t a baby crawling all over him. She’d better get a crib while she was out because he didn’t know if he could deal with a baby smashing the keys for much longer.

“Dami -- no, stop, I -- I swear to god -- you’re a baby okay I can literally just drop you and you would -- please stop --,” Tim cut off his irritated rambling when Damian nearly got them on a good few government watchlists by smashing the keys at the wrong time.

Fed up, he grabbed the kid and set him on the ground. It’ll probably be fine. He only needed to do a few quick things, anyways.

He was shocked to find that there was a version of him in this world. The idea of a Tim who didn’t do vigilante-work was foreign to him. He had apparently stayed with his parents and was now working towards a business degree. This dimension’s Tim wasn’t nearly as famous as he was and the three of them had landed in Texas so it was unlikely that he would be recognized but he would prefer not using the name if he didn’t have to. Just to be safe.

Damian didn’t exist, as far as he could tell, but Bruce Wayne did and he was still famous so it wouldn’t be a good idea to use his last name either.

There was a version of Marinette, too, but she was currently in France helping her parents run their bakery. Very little chance of her getting recognized.

So, he decided to use her last name for all of them. Quick and easy. He’d have to tell her that he changed her birthplace to New Jersey when she got back to the hotel but he doubted she’d have much of a problem with that.

… oh. His phone was ringing. Apparently he could tell her now.

He picked up and wedged it between his ear and his shoulder as he worked at finding them a few social security numbers to… ‘borrow’.

“Yeah?”

“How big is the baby?”

Tim blinked a few times. “... baby sized?”

“No. Like… what size diaper do you think he would use?”

He scoffed. “Do I look like I would know the diaper sizes?”

“Do I look like I do? Just… how old do you think he is?”

Tim looked over the edge of the bed to where Damian was currently shaking Kaalki like she was a maraca. Kaalki, for her part, only looked vaguely annoyed as she bounced around in his tiny baby fists.

“I dunno. Like… a year-ish? Just buy one of everything we can see what fits.”

“Fucking hell I forgot you were rich. You said a year? I’m using that.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay -- OH SHIT DAMIAN NO!”

He tumbled out of bed and raced over to Damian before he could stick his finger in a socket. He didn’t really know if that was enough to get shocked but this was not the way to find out.

Damian was apparently very annoyed about him foiling his attempt at dying because he squirmed around in his grip and yelled incomprehensibly. Tim ignored the baby fists trying to knock his teeth out -- his teeth had faced far worse before -- and scooted across the ground to his phone.

“-- to god, Tim, what happened if you don’t answer I will run over there --.”

“It’s fine. Just get… you know the things that cover electrical sockets? Make sure to get some of those,” he said, tipping his head back to rest against the bed so he could kind of relax despite the ball of anger in his arms.

Marinette groaned. “Fuck, you can’t just scare me like that.”

“Yeah, you were the one that suffered the most during that.”

She scoffed but he swore he could hear a tiny laugh hidden under her mumbled ‘shut up’.

He smiled a little.

She didn’t hang up, probably expecting to ask him something else soon, so he listened in idly as he tried to calm Damian down enough to start working again.

She mumbled to herself while she looked for things. Some of the speech was normal but most of it was pretty much as incomprehensible as Damian’s babbling (admittedly, it probably didn’t help that he was only half paying attention).

“... tty trai… now?... oh... alright… oh, great, does she work here?” She murmured to herself. Then, louder: “Hey, lady --!”

“We’re in Texas,” he reminded her. “People are expected to be more polite down here.”

He was too late. Someone started yelling on Marinette’s end and, if the tiny sigh of annoyance was anything to go off of, it wasn’t her.

The yelling lasted approximately five minutes before someone intervened.

He heard her speak in rapid Spanish to the employee and, to his surprise, he could actually understand every word of them talking shit about the lady who had screamed at her. He didn’t know what to think of this outside of pulling the phone away from his mouth so he could try and roll an r. He was delighted to find that he had gained that ability as well. He continued rolling his tongue.

Damian stopped his squirming and gave Tim a confused look… and then he started to giggle. He twisted around in Tim’s lap and started trying to mimic the sound.

He tried to hide his smile as the two of them kept making r sounds at each other. He didn’t think he’d succeeded at keeping his face relatively neutral, but he didn’t really mind.

~~~~~

Next

@nathleigh @peachmuses @unoriginalmess