#but enough to mess with his perception of who or what a family is and further screw with his already distorted sense of self 😌

[ianthedebonair]

I thought your Damian in the Ortega PinUp post was Hollow Ground for a hot minute!!!! I was all “Ah, Ricardo has finally accepted that Daddy Ground kingpin of the city is in FACT, very Hot and charismatic,” but it was just Damien smiling and looking more mature and confident!!

God bless Ortega's heart, these two brothers are destined to look more like each other as they age…

Ortega's therapist is being put in the trenches every time he talks about his ███friend's relation and semblance with the man who killed his father figure. Hopefully they're paid enough by the Rangers lol.

I can't wait to have the three of them face each other in the book. It's going to be so messy 🥰🥰

[igotanidea]

Cracking: Damian Wayne x reader

part 5 of "Family rules" series.

He was going mad.

For a girl.

Nothing he ever thought would happen to someone like him.

A guy raised by assassins and Batman, who was used to putting his feelings at bay if even having any.

And now he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

It was impossible for someone as perceptive as Robin himself to miss her paleness and sadness. At least whenever he was near. 

And avoiding him at any cost.

And – as it usually happens – the teachers were completely oblivious to the situation and that was about to be the source of a hell of a problem for both Damian and Y/N.

“Pairs? What do you mean we’ll be working in pairs?!” she exclaimed at one history lesson upon hearing the great idea of their tutor.

“Is that such a horror for you, Y/N?” the teacher smiled through the glasses and in any other situation it would be almost benevolent but not this time.

“Yes!”

“Well I am afraid the class has already divided so you just have to comply.”

“But—”  she spun around and groaned both internally and externally upon realizing that her little outburst only left her one person to work with. “Fucking great…” she muttered noticing Damian swinging casually on his seat, not having a single care in the world.

“Miss Y/L/N!”

“I’m not working with him!”

“Getting scared, Y/L/N?” Damian smirked, knowing well how to use the opportunity. He’s been trying to talk to her for the last two weeks since that little beating in the hallway but she was surprisingly skilled in disappearing in thin air. And since he was also a teenage boy, mocking and teasing seemed the only way to reach his goal.

“Pff!” she scoffed, crossing arms over his chest. The need to prove herself superior to him was fighting with an iron resolve to forget his existence.

“Y/N, sit down now and do not make a scene. I do not understand what’s been happening to you lately.” The teacher instructed, clearly losing patience with one of the best students.

“Fine…” she muttered, plumping on the chair as far from Damian as possible, still grumpy, hardly even listening to the teacher’s instructions on the task.

“Fate definitely has a wicked sense of humor huh, Y/L/N?”

“Can you just shut up?”

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

“Yeah, no shit genius.”

“Why?”

“Why do you care?”

“Well I am asking so clearly I do.”

“You don’t really strike me as a caring type, Wayne.”

“Maybe not by your definition. Not my fault you are so conceited you mess up care and selfishness.” He mocked.

“What did you say?” Y/N hissed

Damian smirked. This was the exact reaction he was trying to get out of her.

“You call me selfish, you little prick?” Her eyes flashed with anger. “You piece of shit. You look down on everybody because you are fucking Wayne and you dare reflect all your fucking traits onto me!?”

The girl didn’t even notice how her voice got louder and how she was suddenly standing instead of sitting and quietly working on the task. She missed the fact that she was making a scene for the whole class to see, once again dragging all the attention to herself. And once again the reason for her emotional outburst was Damian Wayne. Who she hated with all her heart. Who made her act like a fool and clearly – bring out the worst of the good girl she always considered herself to be.

“Who do you think you fucking are?!” Her self-control was now completely gone “You think you can just do whatever you fucking want and have zero consequences coming from it!?”

Thank god the phones were not allowed in classes cause at this moment she would definitely end up being a meme on social media.

“Y/N!” the teacher finally woke up from the shock that her transformation brought upon everyone. “Enough! Principal’s office. Now. In fact – “ he looked around, his gaze landing on Damian. “Both of you.”

“I’ve done nothing wrong. There is no basis for me to go –” Damian stated with the most cold voice he could produce.

“I don’t care!” the teacher seemed to finally lose his cool “you two are trouble and I’m not having either in my class. Now off you go. Out!” he pointed to the doors and with exchanged hateful glances Y/N and Damian decided to obey. Part of the reason was also the fact that they both knew they were in full capacity to drive the principal crazy just by showing up on the doorstep to his den.

***

“The hell is wrong with you?” he muttered as soon as they were out the door and on the empty hallway.

“Oh, me? You are the one who seems to be constantly looking for my attention.”

“And why do you think that is?” The sudden change in his tone took her by such a surprise she stopped and dared to do something that did not happen in a few weeks. She looked at him. More precisely, into his eyes. And in them, she saw something she did not like. At all.

Emotions.

Pain.

Confusion.

Embarrassment.

Affection!?

“Damian…” she gulped heavily trying to clear her head and calm her rapidly beating heart.

“You are annoying. Unnerving.” He hissed, his eyes fixed on hers “Messed up. I don’t understand you. You are a mystery I cannot crack. And it’s making me angry.”

If he was a normal person he would probably clench his fists right now.

“Then why don’t you just leave me alone?!”

“Stop yelling.” Damian grabbed her hand and dragged her into the nearest empty classroom so that no one would catch them causing disturbances in the hallway. “How come for years we didn’t care about each other and now we can’t seem to be within five feet distance without fighting?”

“Oh please!” she scoffed leaning on the door “Care? Have you been reading a dictionary and learning new words?”

“You are getting on my nerves here Y/L/N.” Damian took a step closer to her trying to look menacing and as much Robin-like as possible.

“Then let me ask you again – why don’t you fucking leave me alone!?”

“Because I can’t!”

There. The armor cracked and even though he barely said anything it felt awful. He exposed himself. Showed his weak points to the enemy.  Lost on his own wish.

For a moment his words seemed to echo from the empty walls of the classroom, the air filled with tension.

“You’re not even trying are you? Damian?” her voice was surprisingly quiet and soft, even to herself.

“No…” he confessed, unable to fight against those e/c eyes fixed on his face “no… no, I am not trying.”

“Damian…”

“Please…” now he was so low as to stoop to begging. And it was humiliating. Downgrading. Scary. “Please don’t run from me, Y/L/N. You are driving me mad.”

All it took was one more look. One more exchange of glances filled with mixed emotions.

And they were back to that gala night.

The classroom was gone, the school forgotten and all that mattered was holding her close, preventing her from running away and that strange, strange, unknown feeling in his chest.

Everything important in this moment came down to the feeling of his arms around her, hearing his heartbeat against her ear and calming the storm of the emotions neither of them understood.

For some reason, simply holding onto each other felt like a peace amongst the storm. Like a lighthouse guiding them to safe haven amongst the families feud and last-names competition.

“What are we gonna do-?” he was the one to cut the silence, the weight of questions pressing onto his shoulders making him speak before he could think about the consequences of his doubts.

“I don’t know-“ said implications took form of her pulling back from him “I don’t know Damian-“

“Don’t go-“ with the reflex of a vigilante Damian gripped her arm causing her to whimper in pain. “Y/l/n? You good? What happened?” The strength he used was definitely not enough to make her react like this.

“Nothing. Nothing. It’s nothing!” she responded quickly trying to wriggle away. Too quickly. Quickly enough to make him suspicious and ignoring her protest to push him to roll her sleeve a little.

“What--?” the words died in his throat as he noticed the purple bruise on her forearm.

“It’s nothing!” she yanked free “you had no right!”

“I’m –” Damian stuttered. He messed up again.

“You’re a prick!”

“I’m sorry! But if we’re about to do- this-“ it was impossible to use the word concerning possible relationship or anything of sort – “you need to tell me. What happened?”

Y/N hesitated, torn between a lot of mixed things. Could she tell him? Could she not tell him? Every move came with the consequences, almost like she was reduced to a figure on the chessboard, constantly moved by someone else. Without any power to control her own life.

But one thing was certain.

Some things and some feelings were worth protecting.

And that’s why she had only one way of surviving.

“I can’t.” she whispered with a sad, apologetic smile. “I can’t, Damian.” Without missing a beat she leaned forward, kissing him as if trying to sweeten the bitter words. Pulling everything she had into the brief contact of lips on lips, like a silent apology of putting him through the mess.

Before Damian realized what was happening he was kissing her back, pulling her close, caressing her back, in his own way trying to show her he was going to protect her. But what did he know? He was only 17 with zero power to shape reality. And when he felt her slip from his grasp and losing her warmth against him that realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

But it didn’t mean he was going to give up.

Not now. Not ever. Not until she explicitly told him she didn’t want him.

***

 “How was school today?” her father asked her as soon as she stepped over the door to home. There was no denying Mr Y/L/N became very interested in his daughter's progress at school.

“It was normal.” Y/N couldn’t care less about his fake concern, trying to walk past him and get into her room.

“Ah! Not so fast, young lady. Did you do what I asked of you?”

“No.” The girl frowned, putting hands on her hips in a poor attempt at a power pose.

“No?”

“No!”

“Then I suppose we have to have the talk again, don’t we, little girl?”

She was in deep trouble that seemed to have no end….

@6000-fandoms @beyond-your-stars @mikyapixie

@heartz4miz @crookedmakerfury @mariam12344 @celestair

@faimmm @hornyslasher @urdarlingali @emmalove1111 @crookedmakerfury @herondale-lightworm @itzjustj-1000 @ginger24880 @anonymousmuffinbear @adharawitch @jasons-little-princess @sharkybabydoll @cupids-diner @whydoyoucare866 @ladychibirae

[faislittlewhiteraven]

Been thinking this a while but

You ever think about why the House and King in SASASAaP is so much worse than it is in ISaT?

Like, at first I put it down to just 'different timelines/different worlds' but the more I think about it, the more I've realized it is very much the same world and King and the difference specifically lies with the two game's respective Siffrins.

Why the House is so different: In Act 5 of ISaT when Sif 2.0 is running around losing his mind, the House very clearly warps around him. At first this seems to be just Sif's perception of events but when the friends come to rescue him, they bring up that the rooms were warped around, which means that Sif's Wish Craft doesn't just warp time but also space. Because ISaT Sif on some level didn't want the loops to end, the House grew longer, pathways stopped making sense, they were lead to every room of the house where they had any kind of precious memory with their family (but notably not the rock trap room) etc...

And clearly the same thing is happening to the House in SASASAaP, the difference is Loop/OG's mindset: They want to get through the house as fast as possible without 'distractions' like the very helpful Hidden Library they don't know exists but at the same time they dread the king (dread their friends dying over and over and over) so the path is short and free of bosses (including those 'Nostalgia' star crest Sadnesses), but full of time consuming and tricky puzzles to delay them -even just a bit longer- from what they see as the inevitable end. ...Also the path no longer requires the Keyknife and OG Sif gets outright angry at the Change Statue when the others pray at it so make of that what you will.

Ok, so the Houses are affected by Sif's mental state, but what about the King? The King is a totally different kettle of fish. He very much is not effected by the respective Sifs' Wish Craft but he can pick up on it. And well, how does he react in ISaT when he realizes Siffrin 2.0 is using Wish Craft?

... *Thinks about a hand, squeezing*

So yeah. My theory for why the King is so much worse, especially in the Perfect Route in Start Again is simple: Loop/OG Sif had been looping so long that their reek of Wish Craft's sweet smell was basically covering the whole party and the King, not knowing who to torture directly, responds by trying to kill them all especially horribly, especially on the 'Perfect' route where Sif likely continues hiding their looper status even as they are dying. ...Trying to mentally break them just as he tries to break Siffrin 2.0 in ISaT.

...Which is also why he doesn't auto kill everyone in the 'True' route - because that's the route Sif gives up pretending they're not a mess, meaning the King can identify that Sif is the Wish Crafter by the party's concern for them and their lack of reaction (much like the King did in ISaT), can see that Siffrin is already breaking, and thus being the 'merciful ruler' he is, decides to toy with them a bit, only going for the killing blow when he gets lower on health and starts getting concerned he might lose (which in turn means most of his attention in the fight was on the clearly not ok Sif, the party likely noticed and that's probably why Isabeau was able to jump in and block the King's fatal attack in time).

So um. YEAH. That's my thoughts on SASASAaP's King; he's the exact same as ISaT's King the only difference is that by the time OG Sif reached him the first time, they'd already looped a horrific amount of times and reeked so strong of Wish Craft that the King never even entertained the 'talk them down' facade and went straight for the kill/'torture them into submission' option every time.

Not sure these details matter too much really but I figure it might be helpful to all the Loop lovers out there making wonderful fanfics to consider (circumstances Odile can theorise about if Loop ever gives her enough hints to try, perhaps?) so... yeah. Hope my thoughts were interesting and would like to hear your thoughts on the stuff I didn't manage to figure out like the skill differences between the two parties, and various people frozen in the House having different pronouns and things (currently going with: Loop/OG Sif is not really listening to anything and is possibly misremembering details they don't care about for the later but the former is very much 'I know this is probably because refined mechanics but what if-?!' area for me and I'd love to see in-setting reasoning for it) <3

Edit: Realized I forgot to mention a thing: A sweet scent is never brought up in SASASAaP probably because that might've been a later addition to the plot but I like to think it's more because everyone in the prologue is just so used to it at this point that the party are putting it down to being part of the 'King altered' House while OG Siffrin is completely numb to it at this point, and the King's not interested in talking so... yeah. No one brings it up. ...Might also explain why Bonnie doesn't offer the Melanga fritters: the sweet scent could potentially alter the taste (and also they're not 100% sure Sif likes them) so instead they offer sweets like the candy and Palmiers that would be less effected, the burnt samosas which are 'already bad' and the fish head which probably tastes so strong that Bonnie's less worried about it's taste being masked. But that's just my spitballing for excuses so hope that's helpful for anyone wanting to use this info? XD

[lewmagoo]

Ok ok ok hear me out

Smut prompt #3 (I don't care who is outside or something like that) with BOB???

Can you imagine how far he'd have to be pressed to get there?? 🤤

3. “do you want them to hear you being such a slut?”

it took a lot to push your easygoing husband over the edge. he was very patient, although he was no pushover. some assumed he was, because of his mild mannered nature. however, he was very sharp and perceptive, and even when it appeared that he didn’t know what was going on, he knew. just like he knew how you were trying to get a rise out of him tonight.

you’d been invited to a halloween party hosted by javy. all the daggers and their significant others were in attendance, as well as extended friends and family. the music was great, the food was fantastic, and everyone was having a wonderful time. you, however, we’re preoccupied with seeing how far you could push bobby before he decided that enough was enough. you were subtle about it, because you knew that he didn’t like to draw attention to your very private dynamic. certain things were meant to stay between the two of you.

you were covertly teasing him. brushing innocently against him when you walked past. placing your hand on his bicep and giving it a squeeze. purposely dropping something and kneeling down in front of him to pick it up. little things throughout the night that kept building and building. he knew what you were doing. he’d clocked you from the very beginning. especially with your outfit. you’d decided to do a couples costume this year. he was rick from the mummy, and you were evelyn. you’d suggested the costumes, knowing that bobby had admitted to having a childhood crush on evelyn when he saw the movie as a young boy. you were simply playing into that crush.

you thought perhaps bobby wouldn’t acknowledge your teasing until you headed home for the night. it was likely that he didn’t want to draw attention, and would let you continue on until he could pull you aside and take you home to deal with your behavior properly. however, he surprised you by pulling you aside, both hot against the shell of your ear as he spoke. “i know what you’re doing, you little minx,” he warned. his hand was tight against your bicep. not to the point that it hurt, but enough to show you he wasn’t messing around. “and i’ve had about enough of it.” he turned your face toward his, and in the purple tinted lighting, you saw the narrowing of his eyes. “go upstairs and lock yourself in the bathroom. in five minutes, i’ll come up and knock. i expect you to let me in.”

his voice was low, but commanding, and it sent a rush of warmth between your legs. “o-okay,” you peeped. in a daze, you slipped away from him and headed upstairs. away from the music. away from the people. when you reached the hallway bathroom, you tiptoed inside and closed and locked the door behind you. your heart was racing in your chest as you thought about what was to come. in fact, you were giddy. you hadn’t expected him to do this here, at the party, but you certainly weren’t complaining. your mind was flowing with all the possibilities of what he was going to do. would be punish you? would he fuck you? perhaps both.

sure enough, five minutes passed, and you heard three distinct knocks at the door. with trembling hands, you unlocked it and within seconds, he was inside, sure to close the door back behind him. you took a step back, gasping slightly at his disheveled appearance. his hair was mussed slightly, and his chest heaved beneath his partially unbuttoned shirt. “i have half a mind to bend you over this sink and spank you until your bottom is so sore you can’t even sit,” he breathlessly told you. “but you’d like that too much.” then he was yanking you toward him, and you nearly lost your footing, falling right into his arms with a squeak.

one large hand came up to cup your cheek, and his thumb rested against your bottom lip. “turn around and bend over.” his voice was wrecked. it made you weak in the knees, but you did as he said. “and lift your dress up so i can see.” with trembling hands, you pulled the hem up, exposing your panties and tights underneath. bobby smoothed his hand over your ass before he very gently tugged your tights down, carefully not to rip them, although he wanted so badly to tear them off you in a moment of animalistic desire. he still had some decorum about himself. and once your underwear and nylons were pulled down far enough, he paused to very quickly rinse his hands off in the sink so he’d have clean fingers to touch you with.

you waited, bent over the counter, and when you felt him nudge your legs apart, you complied without hesitation. he hummed before he knelt down behind you, hands parting the roundness of your ass. “all night, i’ve been thinking of this. waiting for the perfect moment to drag you up here so i could get a taste of you.” he leaned in, nose running along the back of your thigh before he brought his fingers up to delicately part your folds. you couldn’t help but whine at the feeling, slightly ashamed that you were already dripping wet. you had been since the night began, thinking about what he was going to do to you.

“it’s pathetic, how wet you get when you misbehave.” without warning, he licked a stripe along your warm, inviting pussy. when his tongue swirled deliberately around your clit, you jolted and let out a choked cry. bob pulled back, offering a warning tap to the back of your thigh. “hey now, can’t get too loud. everyone’s just downstairs. do you want them to hear you being such a slut?” at his salacious words, a shock of white hot desire flashed through you, and you clenched your jaw to keep yourself grounded. “n-no sir,” came your reply, labored as it was. bobby hummed in satisfaction. “that’s what i thought. now be a good, quiet little girl and let me taste you. i might even give you my cock when i’m finished.”

join sleepover weekend!

[best-nun-tournament]

Round 3, Match 4

Clary Fairchild and Sebastian Morgenstern (The Shadowhunter Chronicles) vs Zeus and Hera (Greek Mythology)

Propaganda under break

Clary Fairchild and Sebastian Morgenstern

TW for incest

Children of divorce (except technically their parents never legally divorced dad faked his death and raised Sebastian while mom ran away while she was pregnant with Clary). Sebastian was fed demon blood in the womb and that plus his dad’s A+ parenting plus his mom wishing she’d killed him as a baby gave him a twisted perception of love. Clary on the other hand received angel blood and was raised without knowledge of her brother or any magic stuff. Sebastian has an unhealthy view of Clary where he sees her as someone who is supposed to love him, and not just as a sister. His plan to raise a demon army and rule the world also involved her ruling alongside him despite her absolutely not wanting that. Clary in the end kills Sebastian with a magic sword that burns away all the evil in him, leaving behind not enough ‘good’ to survive any longer than is necessary for some last words that fuck Clary and their mom up by showing an alternate version of him that isn’t an evil demon prince.

--------

When Sebastian/Jonathan first found out about Clary he hoped she would be like him & was disappointed she wasn't. He changed his mind when she killed their father & didn't lose a wink of sleep over it. They're on opposite side of a war that they basically inherited from their father. Who btw experimented on them in the womb by giving Jonathan demon blood & Clary angel blood (accidentally). Clary is the only person Jonathan cares about & when he was at the height of his power he wanted her to his queen (yes in a weird way) & she pretended to join him. Instead she betrayed him & killed him, and she quoted Judas betraying Jesus when she did.

---------

It's been a while but from what I remember: Sebastian first introduces himself under another identity posing as a good guy and seduces Clary (yes, his sister) only to betray them all when he reveals who he is. When he returns two books later, he has kidnapped Clary's boyfriend, forcing him to carry out his evil plans, He threatens the lives of people Clary cares about several times, makes continuous attempts to seduce her (I'm pretty sure he tries to rape her at one point) , and in the last book he kidnaps Clary's stepfather. You know, the basic things you'd expect from an evil older brother that you didn't know you had 🤷🏻

Zeus and Hera

Do I need to explain

Poll Runner's Note: I'm surprised the rest of Cronos' children aren't here, or the next generation of Olympians. That whole family's a mess.

[purrology]

KYOJURO RELATIONSHIP HCS

a/n: a little long,, im very passionate abt him <3

fluffy fluffy fluff, a bit of angst in there

PASSIONATE. he’s loud and proud abt u

everyone he sees gets to hear abt u

YOU get to hear about u

u most likely fell first and he fell harder

can, will, and is actively giving u bear hugs from behind and pressing a hundred kisses to the back of ur neck and head the moment he sees u

aaaand then he picks u up and spins u around <3

a very affectionate lover, but he tones it down in public

believe it or not, he’s not all that into PDA!! too modest and respectful

most he’ll do is handholding and a kiss here or there or a hand on the knee if ur sat beside eachother

he will put his hand on ur lower back if he’s guiding u through a crowd, things along those lines

but he will not hug and pick u up and spin u around in public unless it’s been WEEKS and he missed u SO BAD

he misses u. so bad. it’s been an hour and hes missed u.

he’s clingy.

he follows u around wherever u go, holds all ur stuff, makes sure ur beside him

man cannot get enough of ur presence

he loves u so much he barely wants to be apart!! please write to him when he’s on missions :(

knew u were his soulmate immediately, no doubts

he thinks about his future with u everytime he holds ur hand, everytime he thinks of ur face in his thoughts

praise and compliment KING!!! he praises every accomplishment u complete and encourages u to strive for even more!!!

compliments every feature on u, every single feature- ur knuckles, ur legs, ur nose, ur forehead, ur wrists, he adores every part of u

don’t think he forgot about ur personality either! he compliments u on all ur actions- u talk a lot? he loves to listen and thinks ur voice is amazing!! u don’t talk much at all? that’s fine too- he loves to talk and will do all the talking for u!!

he’s everything u need him to be

service boyfriend

u ask, he gives, no hesitation

CONSTANTLY tries to impress u

many ppl say this abt him: he’s the type to be like one of those kids who go “hey watch this!!” and then they jump and do a spin

u better compliment him back

he’s very perceptive, he knows so much about u from little things you’ve mentioned like once

he noticed you were upset after a long day- first he tried enthusiasm and optimism and hugs- then he tried quiet cuddles and kisses on the head- if all else fails he’ll make u a 5 star meal (don’t let him, he’ll make the kitchen an actual mess he can’t control himself)

not everything he does is big, loud and eccentric

he can be quiet and listening and observative when u need it

he’ll be whatever u need and he swears by that til the day he dies

oh, speaking of death do u part- he’s marrying u fast as possible!!!

it’s canon he moves to decisions and conclusions very quick, he made the decision to marry u within the first year

he just loves u!! he can’t envision a future with anyone besides u and his family

he asked u to marry him when u we’re out on a picnic date- he asked it suddenly because he forgot his original plan (this was one of the few times he was nervous! he was confident you’d say yes but the little nagging part of his mind was scared you didn’t love him as much)

obviously,, u said yes (he’s jumping up and down and laughing and spinning u and kissing u he doesn’t care who sees)

one of his vows involves being at your service and will until the very end of your lives, and even after that he promises he’ll continue on being exactly what u need him to be, death won’t even do u part

he’s scared when u get sick,,,

u got sick one time, stuck in bed with a terrible cough and fever

it terrified the life out of him.

he tried to stay positive for you, he tried not to cry as he remembered his mother’s illness and her passing

he dotes on you hand and foot- hell, he took off some of his longer missions so he could stay

when he couldn’t, he had senjuro take care of u

he won’t admit the fear that breaks his poor heart when he sees u cough and groan with a rag over ur forehead, it terrifies him to his core

he can’t lose u too, especially not in the same way he lost his mother

strongly believes his mother would’ve loved you, no matter how u are

if he loves u, he’s confident his mother would too!!

he introduced u to his brother and father one time, took u over for dinner

(his father wasn’t pleased but he barely stayed at the table for 5 minutes sooo)

his brother senjuro adores u tho!! be his pen-pal do it

senjuro won’t admit he was a little intimidated by u at first, he told kyojuro- kyojuro laughed and hugged him and reassured him u were GREAT!!!

how do u comfort a man who puts everyone above himself in priority??

kyojuro may be a bit easier to get to talk about his issues and comfort than others

if u ask, he may push it aside once or twice- but he breaks by the third time u ask “are you sure ur okay, kyo?”

he rarely cries, not from physical pain, not from mental or emotional- but sometimes, we all need that tear flow to let out emotions out

hold him. hold him tight. let him hold u. it’s ur turn to be whatever HE needs in his time of need

tell him he’s okay, tell him ur proud of him, tell him he’s someone who deserves nothing but happiness

he clings onto every word u say, no matter what

it doesn’t take long before his smile returns, then he takes u out to eat as thanks- or he cuddles u the rest of the day, ur decision :)

overall, a passionate, loving, bold lover who will be everything u need him to be at all times

THANK YOU!!

[empressgeekt]

Trolls - Burning Branches au - Part 3 Aftermath

Okay so if anyone has not read the other posts on this AU, I highly suggest you do. Believe me this will be much more fun with context. The previous posts are by the same title, minus the "Part 3". I will also be tagging all of them with the title after posting this.

Char = Branch

Lets get into it...

When we last left of the Family Harmony was complete and the V-Twins were being carted off to jail. Char and Poppy kissed and wondered if they could finally get married now.

Then Floyd collapsed. The troll literally had the life drained out of him for two months, he is not walking away from that with just a new hair style. This sends the happy moment into one of panic. Floyd does not wake up when prompted, and not even when the other moved him on to Rhonda. It's clear he needs a doctor, but none on Mount Rageonus know troll physiology, so they need to leave as soon as possible.

But where will they go? Anywhere is still few days drive, and there is barely any supplies on Rhonda. No food. There was water but not enough for everyone. And most importantly no medicine beyond a very old, very basic first-aid kit John had for gotten about. Barb and Bruce stay behind to make sure Floyd doesn't die (and make sure Tiny takes a nap). Floyd has a seizure and Barb steps in taking control of the situation with Bruce freezes. Bruce asks her how she knew to tend to someone who's sick, and Barb explains that Char used to have them as a kid and she was usually the one who nursed Char through his head aches, and when he got sick from the volcanic fumes. This leads to bonding between the two of them, and Bruce starts to think of Barb as his little sister too.

When the others get back, John and Clay kind of freak out about the seizure when told. Trips home can wait they need a doctor. Rock territory is closeted and the doctor that treated Char originally is still around and on call. Still few days drive, but it's the best guess they got.

When Floyd finally wakes up he's a mess. Exhausted, nauseous, with a killer head ache. It's also in the middle of the night, and everyone is still asleep. Well, everyone except Poppy and Char. They were still up due to some shared insomia, and discussing their re-do wedding plans. Floyd's perception of things are still hazy, so he's calling Char by Branch and not noticing the latter's discomfort over the name. Still Char helps alleviates Floyd migraine so he can go back to sleep. Floyd asks how Char would know that it would work, Char says it works for me. Floyd would continue to ponder that, until he passes back out.

When they get back into Rock Kingdom territory, Floyd is taken into the hospital rather quickly, and is put on supportive devices, to combat server malnutrition, dehydration, and oxygen just incase. Brain scans, reveal scaring on his brain from several concussions that went untreated. The source of his seizures, and possibly other symptoms that have yet to show themselves. Once he's conscious he reports of, numbness, pain and tingling in his legs and is looking at possible nerve damage.

During this time, with the help of Barb, Bruce manages to get a letter out to his family explaining what was going on and it would be little longer until he was home. Char and Barb re-unite with their Dad and Riff. And the rest are just trying to make sense of everything.

Floyd has, at least one of his brothers with him at all times. When he's awake they talk and bond, and when he's asleep they comfort his nightmares. He notices that Char isn't there most of the time (he's out making princely announcements explaining the situation and dealing with some back-lash about "returning to his own kind" from some of the less accepting citizens), and is worried that his Brother is mad at him for not coming back. He practically breaks down upon hearing about Char amnesia, and asks to see him.

Char comes, but is very awkward when he first arrives. Floyd takes in all the difference, and mentions the green vest. Char says he can't remember being without it, Floyd says he gave it to him, before beginning to apologize for leaving him. Char shuts it down, telling Floyd his injury isn't his fault, maybe a few days ago he'd have been mad, but he doesn't regret how his life turned out. He hugs Floyd and wipes his tears. Floyd tells Char that comforting was his job, Char says no matter who's older siblings comfort each other. Floyd wants to know how Char's life turned out. Char, eagerly tells him about Barb and Thrash, how he grew up as a prince, and his betrothal to Poppy. Floyd is shocked his brother grew up as a prince, but is happy his brother grew up in a good home, and wanted to meet Poppy, Thrash and Barb as soon as possible.

Eventually, Floyd is released. He's on crutches, with braces on his legs and has physical therapy routine he needs to follow to walk again. They stay at Char and Barb cavern (their royalty they have the room, and Thrash is loving the company, he's convinced their all his kids and no one corrects him) during this time and for a few days after the release, but tension with the public is spiking and they can't stay for long. Barb stays behind to control the crowds and the others go to Pop village. Viva would re-unite with Peppy, and begin preparations to move the Put Put trolls to the village, with an escort of Rock guards off course.

The saga would end, with Poppy and Char finally getting married and Char coronated as king of pop...with an epilogue of years alter when they had twins trollings, named Rosie and Ash (named after Grandma and Thrash).

---

Part One and Part two

And those are my currently plans. I'm going to outline this, but Not sure if I should fully write this thing out now or later. What ya'll think?

[leychin]

PLAY NICE by @sugoi-and-spice may be the best thing ive ever read and im going to talk about it. I binged it all today. its so good please read it

TW: Mentions of r4pe, panic attacks, abus3, and many other traumas

This may be the best characterization of Shigaraki in fiction ive ever seen. Its realistic and it starts off like he does in season one. A brat, untamed, violent, and impulsive. When we meet him its clear he has no goal and hes throwing shots in the dark, waiting to see what hits. But its deeper than that, and i think spice shows that its shigaraki used to getting what he wants, hes never "failed" before and he doesn't intend to start now.

Its messed up, its all a fucked up situation darling lands herself in. She cant say no, she cant do anything, and in many ways shigaraki is no different. He's doing as his sensei instructs, and its what hes been raised to do and he cant do anything about it either, but at he tries to enjoy what he can.

The relationship is built off of him holding this over her head, she has a good life, good family, friends, and a boyfriend. Shes smart but shes not happy, and even early shigaraki may have been a brat but he was perceptive at least. In the short time they spend together he's learned her quirks, what makes her tick, and how she really is.

they both really do bring the worst out in eachother, but it's also the best isnt it? As the story progresses we see Shigaraki give crumbs of his past or what he remembers of it, and we see her learn to let go of the facade she puts up for everyone else around her. Its not even a healthy relationship, its not like theyre "getting better for eachother" its just a passive effect. Their relationship is still founded on shigaraki very openly r4ping the poor girl and holding her fathers job over her head.

Call it stockholm, but she gets too caught up in the routine of being with Shigaraki and its adorable to see, he can fuck her brains out and then tell her to play black ops 2 with him like its nothing. Its a welcomed click because theyre both lonely, they both need someone, and even if they arent the best people, they end up becoming better i cannot stress that enough.

i dont want to spoil too much of it for anyone who reads my little ramblings on it, but shigaraki opening up to her as time continues, learning, and not just seeing her as an npc is something you need to read and i cant possibly hope to explain. He falls so hard its so good. His thought processes, his panic attacks, his itching, its all so perfect.

Spice you need to pursue a career in writing bc you've made something raw, something real. You wrote a story about two bad people, two people who are bad but better and its gross but its also gross in a cute way. i love you and i love this mwah.

[dallina17]

Some Velvette headcanons

Velvette was not her name as a human. But she didn't like her real name, it made her feel week and powerless, so she started to introduce herself as Velvette once in hell.

The only one who knows her real name is Vox. Not even Valentino. Not because she doesn't trust Valentino, but because she didn't want anyone to know her name. Vox finding out was an accident, but he doesn't tell anyone. Not even Val.

Vox only calls her by her real name when she really messes up and he is really mad at her. But that doesn't happen often, is more common to find Velvette mad with Vox or Valentino.

Speaking of mad, Velvette is the only one capable of shutting Valentino up with a scream when she is really angry with him and make Valentino feel in #danger. Like if she screams "VALENTINO" very furious, Valentino knows he really fucked up this time, it's better to shut up, ask for forgiveness and do what she says before she gets angrier.

That is the reason why Angel likes Velvette a little more than the other two Vees. He says, quote "Anyone capable of shutting Valentino up with a scream has my respect". Still, Angel doesn't exactly trust her and wouldn't want to be around her that much, but it's not exactly rude to her.

On the other hand, Velvette thinks that Angel is cool, but she doesn't think too much about him. He is Valentino's business. They are friendly acquaintances.

Velvette is not only the youngest Overlord, but in all the history of Overlords (except maybe for Alastor, but Alastor is weird) she is the one who became an Overlord in the shortest time.

She is very perceptive and knows what to say to make people do as she says and convince them, that's why she got her first soul just 6 months after arriving in hell. The average is five years.

It only took her a year to have a good amount of followers, deals, and starting to have a reputation and getting sinners to know her name. She started to rise to power faster than anyone, but in a normal way, not like Alastor who one day appeared out of nothing and started to kill Overlords and become powerful. Velvette was more progressive and in the shadows. Her turning powerful was pure due to her hard work and easy way to influence others. Still, it was unusual enough so demons and Overlords were wary of her because they experienced Alastor's grab of power not so long ago. They weren't thrilling for an Alastor 2.0. But she is nothing like him.

Vox was the very first to notice her potential and approach her with a proposal to join his team (this was after Alastor refused the same proposal). Velvette wasn't so sure at first, but she knew that, even if she got to the position she wanted, it would take her more time to do it alone than it would with a team, so she said yes.

The first meeting with Valentino was very uncomfortable. Valentino, of course, being Valentino wanted to lick Velvette's arm as he did with Charlie. But Velvette doesn't take shit of anyone and using her weapon, she basically perfored Valentino's shoulder and made him back off.

"If you ever touch me again like that, I will fucking kill you"

But they have left that episode in the past and now they are like siblings who love to annoy each other. Valentino and Vox are his family and the ones she loves the most (for now). She would do anything for them.

She loves to express her love to her loved ones, especially with gifts and pet names.

Her primary love language is giving gifts. The second one is words of affirmation.

Her weapon is like a big needle that she can control with her mind and cross her enemies' chest, hearts, or any part she wants. Picture Yondu's weapon in Guardians of the Galaxy, something like that.

She knows so much about business, enterprises, making deals, being perceptive, and using psychology to convince others to do what she wants because her human family was rich, and made her get involved in the family's business.

Her role in her family's enterprise was marketing, principally through social media, another skill she learned due to her family, and that has helped her in her time in hell.

She is the youngest of three siblings. She had a bad and tense relationship with her sister. But she was very close with her brother (her brother was the member she was the most close with). Maybe that's the reason why she can connect more with Valentino and Vox than, let's say, Carmilla or Rosie. Val and Vox are her new big brothers.

Her sister is also the reason why she hates pussy people so much, especially if said people have power. Her sister had so much power, and she wasted it, being afraid and shy and kind. She hated it.

She is adopted. So she felt she had to earn her place in the family. That's why she got the most involved with the business.

The family business had to do with drugs, both "legal" (medicine that was addictive and killed you slowly but you couldn't stop buying it because of how addictive it was) and illegal (other types of drugs). Even if passively, she is responsible of the death of thousands so yes... That's one of the reasons she is in hell.

Her family had many enemies. One of them hired a hitman to kill them and he succeeded. His whole family is in hell, except his sister, but he only talks to his brother sometimes.

Even if she has some knowledge of drugs thanks to her family business, in hell is something she doesn't want to have anything to do with. Drugs are the business of her parents, she would get to power by her own means.

Her true passion is making clothes. Both design and stitch.

She has two notebooks with clothes designs. One with designs for the regular demons, and one with designs specially made for her loved ones. So Vox and Valentino (and later Emily).

She has a pretty good sleeping schedule, but when for A or B reasons she can't sleep, she doodles clothes designs.

She hates crying. Crying is a weakness.

She loves sweet food, but she loves even more sour ones.

She absolutely can't cook, wash clothes, clean the house. She always had people to do it for her. So yeah, esteriotypical rich kid.

That will be all for today! I hope you like it. I got a little carried away with this but is just because I love Velvette so much 😂♥️

[altocat]

I have been thinking of that ask in what is Lucrecia ran off to make a new family, and your answer to how that would impact Sephiroth.

It was scary, to think that one event, a topple of one’s perception could really change someone, to lose their ideals of compassion and kindness. The thought terrified me, that he was one bad event away to change.

Then I remembered the Nibelheim incident and that’s almost exactly what happened. Almost, I say, because every thought had its own influences. Him becoming a bitter and hateful person in this alternate universe would also have its influences.

Did it mean that he was ‘bad’ all along, that there was a ‘dormant madness’ all along waiting to be triggered, making him a monster in the end?

No…

To view others like this would strip them of their own humanity and it is a very limited, unforgiving, and rigid lens towards the weaker parts of ourselves.

If something like that happens to me, I wonder how I would change? If I let my emotions take over me, let myself forget…

It goes to show that there’s strength that needs to be exercised to be conscious of those things, so that you’d be strong enough to hold on to what you believe in, your kindness and compassion, when it’s really hard.

And that is my reflective tangent.

You're talking about the One Bad Day Principle lolol Which has its relevancy in lots of villain backstories. Sephiroth's is no exception.

And before anyone suggests that Sephiroth HAD some level of dormant evil within him, I'd like to point out that his set of circumstances were highly abnormal and the factors leading to Nibelheim were already a million layers of severely traumatic and messed up. The fact that he held on for as long as he did really says something about who he was as a person beforehand. It doesn't excuse his actions of course. In the end, he still becomes an irredeemable monster. But there is a necessary component within narratives that lead into the beats that constitute madness or self-destruction. And I think there would have been many opportunities, AU or otherwise, for Sephiroth to snap.

[closetsof-backlogged-dreams]

what would’ve happened if azula was the one who had an iroh and zuko stayed back? (their characters and personalities would be the exact same as in canon, but their roles would be reversed)

love u<33

TAKING A BREAK FROM STUDYING = azula breakdown time <333

im ngl, we're prob gonna be looking at a longer post today bc this is a lot to breakdown😭 so buckle up chickies we're going IN

THINGS WE HAVE TO COVER IN THIS ANALYSIS:

how Zuko leaving did affect Azula

how being forced to leave did affect Zuko

how being forced to leave would effect Azula

how Azula leaving would effect Zuko

how Iroh's effect on Zuko would translate to Azula

the literal changes this would have had on canon

so let's get into it!!

Zuko leaving and it's effect on Azula

So, we know Azula has a problem with abandonment, starting with her mother and ending with Zuko. To try and keep this as short and readable as possible, I'm just going to say that this obviously resulted in a constant need for control over the people she loves, very obviously shown in her relationships with Mai and Ty Lee and even Zuko in season three.

She also just has a very convoluted perception of love (obligatory azula love-fear-control analysis plug), that largely stems from never having it readily accessible to her. Now, even when Zuko was around, they never had a good relationship and she was always his tormenter, but what if they had reconciled? What if they had been able to heal that broken relationship? We'll never know if that could have been a possibility, but Zuko leaving ensured all true familial had been removed from her life.

How being forced to leave affected Zuko

We all know that being forced to leave his home and his family had a huge impact on Zuko as a person. It made him rash, angry, and determined to find the Avatar so he could return home at the cost of anything—even his own life.

Iroh became his anchor, guiding him through the worst of his turmoil and always steering him in the right direction. Iroh kept him human, and stopped him from killing himself trying to capture Aang.

Pre-banishment, we did still see that Zuko was snippy, and still had a temper that could be brought out at times. But post-banishment, all his childhood sweetness was abandoned. Anger became his default setting and his source of power. He was definitely struggling with at least some level of self-resentment and a simultaneous lack of confidence (never being good enough) and over-confidence (required to believe that he could find a man that had eluded the world for a hundred years)

Overall, his banishment made him fueled by anger and constantly at war with himself

How being forced to leave would affect Azula

Azula is a very validation-motivated creature. She has to be perfect, at all times, at all costs. There is never a misstep with her, never a miscalculation. So much as a negative word from her father could destroy her and push her off the edge.

So, imagine this girl, this super-perfectionist, messing up so badly that she is banished from her entire nation? Her father disapproves so much that he disowns her and threatens death in the event that she ever came back?

In the (honestly unlikely) event that she doesn't immediately kill him/overthrow him or try to harm herself in any way, and follows Zuko's storyline of leaving to find the Avatar... yikes. However angry and obsessed Zuko became with finding the Avatar, Azula would be a hundred times worse. The psychological breakdown she had at the end of the show? Yep, that.

She would tear through research and the entire world, leaving death and destruction in her wake. She would become a monster. (Of course, having a support system like Iroh with her would help immensely, but we'll get to that in a bit.)

There is also the question of: would Mai and Ty Lee come with her? If we're following Zuko's banishment to a T, then she should be banished at age thirteen, around a year before we meet her in canon. I'm not going to lie, that's a whole other analysis in and of itself, so maybe I can do a separate post on that later?? Send me an ask if you're interested😭😭

How Azula leaving would affect Zuko

There are two things we have to remember here: despite being the oldest sibling, Azula was always the favorite and most accomplished of the two. He was always ridiculed and looked down on due to being so far behind his sister, in raw power and cunning both.

But at the same time, this means that all the pressure to succeed was put on Azula's shoulders. It's why she became such a perfectionist. She always was perfect, so now she had to perfect enough for both of them. Now, where Zuko had been mostly given up on, they would be pushing for him to step up as heir and become the perfect one.

This is a pressure he's never had to experience before. Azula was the way she was for a reason—she became a perfectionist because of that pressure, and Zuko would probably become the same way.

Of course, I still think he would keep his sympathy and genuine humanity that Azula often lacked, but he would be forced to push it down most of the time. Where he had been grounded by Iroh in the show? Gone. He would have absolutely no one to turn to, absolutely no one to support him. If we're sticking to canon, maybe he would have Mai, but that's where it stops. And he would probably be the over-controlling POS he was in the first half of season three, maybe even worse.

Overall, Azula being banished would absolutely destroy Zuko, and probably push him to that same psychological brink Azula was teetering on the entire series. It wouldn't be pretty, that's for sure.

Zuko & Iroh -> translated for Azula & a mother figure

Okay, in order to fully answer this question, we have to take note of all the things that made Iroh and Zuko work:

Iroh losing his own son, and Zuko filling that cavity in his life

Zuko having an abusive father and Iroh becoming his father figure

Zuko needing and Iroh being an anchor in Zuko's life to keep him human

Zuko being given up on his entire childhood and Iroh being the first person with genuine faith in him and willing to help him

So, let's translate these things into Azula, and a hypothetical mother figure (disclaimer!! no hate to Ursa; this is just all from Azula's perspective and how she views her relationship w her mother <3):

Azula's mother figure potentially having once had a daughter that she was too hard on/did not treat well and wanting the chance to do right with Azula

Azula having a mother that believed she was a monster, and her mother figure reassuring her that she is human and does have the capacity for good

this mother figure also being an anchor in Azula's life, and saving her from absolutely destroying the world trying to go home

Azula being forced to be perfect her entire childhood and her mother figure being the first person to genuinely help her and allow her the space to make mistakes and reassuring her that it was okay

(Okay, not gonna lie here, this idea of a mother figure for Azula is really getting to me—the urge to write a fic I'll never finish is STRONG)

Overall, a mother figure that would support Azula and genuinely care for her would have had a colossal effect on her. I really believe that Azula would have been able to have a happy ending. idk this is really getting to me😭

AND FINALLY:

the literal changes this would have on canon

For one, I genuinely think Azula would have succeeded. Azula has always been a prodigy, and while Zuko was able to become powerful with the guidance of Iroh, Azula started out that way. I also think that while Azula's mother figure may have been able to steady her and keep her from the brink, she never would have been able to quell Azula's ambition. Her ambition is just too much a part of her, the same way Iroh was never able to quell Zuko's fury.

Also, Zuko did have Aang a few times! But he also had the sympathy to let him go, or was just not powerful to stop him from getting away. Azula was different. Genuinely nothing could of stopped her from capturing season one, inexperienced, little kid Aang. It may have taken a few shots, but she would have done it.

I really think Azula would have succeeded and returned home as a new woman, with the support of her mother figure, and now with the capacity to genuinely love people (at least to some degree.) I think Azula and Zuko would have been able to repair their broken relationship. Azula would have become Firelord with Zuko as her advisor, and the Fire Nation would have reigned in a new era. The Fire Nation also most likely would have been successful in conquering the world, now.

So, happy ending for Zuko and Azula and most of the Fire Nation, but... no one else lol.

wow! this was actually such a fun idea to play with. probably one of my favorite asks you've ever sent me<3 i love u sm we are unstoppable

[beom1e]

tomorrow x together as rare tropes !!

pairing ot5 x gn! reader. genre mostly angst, some fluff. warning toxic relationships. author’s note this is not a reflection of the real txt. it’s purely fiction, i just liked the idea.

yeonjun, the hardest breakup ★

true love, or at least that’s what you called it. he wasn’t your first love, nor was he your most recent, but he was always in the corner of your mind. you always stayed in touch, the friendship you promised each other occasionally went stale whenever either of you fell in love with somebody else, but he was always there. on every social media, in your contacts, and your camera roll, and sometimes on the other half of the bed. a part of you would always love yeonjun, maybe because he was your soulmate or maybe because nobody else could ever offer you what he was able to. the breakup had sent you spiralling at the time. you were a mess of trying to find a version of yourself that was satisfactory enough to fill the void left behind. it angered you that it couldn’t work, you really wished it could. and as much as you wished you could just take him back, you knew it would hurt more than to move on.

he told you he loved you more than anyone else in his life. you both worked harder than ever to spend time together, to make agreed decisions, to balance life with each other. in the end, it became exhausting. relationships need more than love to work, like a car needs fuel but it won’t just drive smoothly if nobody is steering it. he loved you hard, but he couldn’t communicate that love in the way you needed. it was hard to talk things out with him, everything turned into a fight because it was all emotion and no rationale. if only the fuel was enough to allow the car to navigate steep roads and sharp turns, maybe it wouldn’t be this way. maybe you wouldn’t drop new partners after a few months because they just didn’t love you as hard as yeonjun had. maybe you wouldn’t spend every waking second talking to him, making plans with him, inviting him over and doing every other thing that points to a relationship without ever putting a label on it. maybe, or maybe you were just too afraid to let go.

soobin, simply passing through ★

you’d heard a lot about the second-love phenomenon, but you stopped believing it after you fell for someone who ruined your perception of love. and then you met soobin, and you had so much love for him. but deep down, you knew he wasn’t going to be the one. you weren’t going to get married, he wouldn’t be invited to family vacations or featured on your yearly christmas cards. he was your love of the ‘now’, back then. he made you happy and safe, you knew that you’d cherish him and your relationship for the rest of your life. it would hurt, losing him, but not too much. you’d cry, do something mildly impulsive like buying something you definitely didn’t need, and then you’d move on. and that’s exactly what happened.

it was pure bliss. an instant connection, and you both fell quite quickly. he held your hand and took you on the best kind of dates, you spent hours of the morning just cuddling and chatting between kisses. there was a peacefulness about your relationship, the comfort of walking around barefoot to find each other in the small space of your apartment. he knew your order for every fast-food place, he could read you like a book even if you tried hard to hide the feeling you were experiencing. he never had a problem with you crying on his shoulder, he’d simply hold you tight and help you heal. he fixed your view on love, and you thanked him for that. but one day, you woke up feeling stuck. it was repetitive, and you were bored of living the same day over and over knowing he’s not the one you saw in your future. and he felt the same way, he didn’t see himself ring shopping and not once did he ever mention starting a family with you. so when you drifted apart and slowly fell out of love, neither of you were too upset. there were some tears shed, you messily wiping them away with your sleeves as soobin taped up a box and tried not to wrap you up in his arms. you were forever thankful for the experience, but you weren’t going to wait around mourning a relationship destined to end. so you looked back with a smile on your face, all while searching for the one stood beside you in that christmas card photo.

beomgyu, love bomber ★

the first time you met beomgyu, he was introduced to you as ‘mr. first love’ and the ‘epitome of sweet, true, puppy love’. so you played the game, tried to be as sweet and as innocent as the love everybody had promised you — the love beomgyu had promised you. at first, it was sweet and true and you certainly felt that puppy love in the air. however, it was just the steady chain lift of a rollercoaster before the main event — the steep drop, followed by twists and turns and a couple of those loop-the-loops. he took you on sweet dates, walked you home and kissed you goodnight, spent his spending money on small gifts for you, gave you t-shirts to wear around his apartment, breakfast in bed, loving affirmations, cuddles through the night, coffee on your lunch breaks, walks in the park, kisses you would never forget. and then, you said yes to a relationship with him. and you quickly noticed the lack of him in your day-to-day life after that. he would rarely text you back, claimed he didn’t have time for you, brushed off your worries, told you he was too tired for you to stay the night, forgot about every milestone.

he wasn’t hurt or surprised when you broke it off. in fact, he was just waiting for you to break up with him first. you felt like a fool, having held tightly onto somebody who was constantly loosening their grip. you’d never made it onto his social media accounts, it was like you hadn’t even existed. in your case, you had countless photos in your snapchat memories, a number of posts and even an instagram highlight, all that you struggled to erase for weeks following the breakup. for you, it was messy and painful and you knew it would impact every future relationship. for beomgyu, you were just a pastime. there was nothing of his for you to return to him, no way for you to contact him. it had been so perfect and beautiful, and then suddenly it was nothing and only one broken heart. because beomgyu didn’t know how to love, and he refused to let anyone teach him. he’d gave up when it got hard, and he never wanted to experience that difficulty again.

taehyun, too hard to love ★

heartbreaks are no joke. at first you didn’t understand, having never fallen in love. every relationship was short-lived, and there was always something missing. the something always seemed to be love, because you were never dating the right people. you didn’t even cry after the break-ups, you just got back up and went out searching for the next one. as awful as it seemed, that was the way you thought it had to be. when it came to taehyun, though, he wasn’t going to be just another one of your exes. you were sure of it at the time, that he’d be the one that stuck. but of course, life was never that fair.

taehyun’s heart had been shattered. not just broken, shattered into a million different pieces that he didn’t know how to stick back together. he was always hesitant with you, he didn’t like too much affection and always wanted space. even as the relationship matured, he was always so cold. but you were blinded by the love you had for him and his smile, that sometimes he could be sweet and that was enough. it never really was enough, because you were suffering from a heartbreak you’d never experienced. it wasn’t your fault that his trust was broken, yet you were the one being punished for it. every attempt you made to try and piece back together his heart, he would tell you he was sure he’d lost a few pieces and he wasn’t sure you’d ever be able to fix it. and it hurt too much to keep working on that puzzle, your fingers started to hurt from rubbing against the harsh cardboard. so you gave up, picked up the table with the puzzle on it and tipped it onto the floor. and just like taehyun had predicted, you went and broke his heart. even worse than the first time, because you wanted to be important to him. if he couldn’t love you enough, then you were sure to make him hate you enough. you wanted to break his heart in the way that he had broken yours.

huening kai, the one ★

you were a late bloomer when it came to relationships. you’d dated a few times, experienced some of the simpler firsts with people who were just wasting your time. you longed to experience love, but it never seemed to be coming around. when you tried, it always failed. and when you didn’t try, you weren’t even giving yourself a chance. so as you grew into a young adult, you began a social life that was friendship-motivated. you treated your friends like lovers, because that kind of love was as close as you were going to get. every birthday was a huge celebration, you spent many weekends drinking and clubbing with your closest friends, you even went all-out on christmas gifts. and when you met kai, it was completely by accident. you weren’t trying to meet him, the idea of relationships had been completely scratched out of your to-do list.

it was scary at first. neither of you knew what to do, just that you had love for each other. there wasn’t a single worry in the world. no competition, no chance for cheating, and definitely no break-up in sight. you didn’t even long to go out and earn more experience, you were as happy as you were going to get. nobody would ever love you like kai, and you weren’t going to give up your home for a hotel. the first love discourse sometimes worried you, but just seeing the way he excitedly ran towards you after some time apart put all those worries away. you had all of your biggest firsts with him, ranging from the first experience of love to the first time living with a romantic partner. first trip away together, first promise rings, first valentine, first romantic winter, first matching couple costumes, even all of the embarrassing firsts. but the most important part of it all, that he was going to be your first and last of everything.

[thedoodlerreturns]

Reread thoughts part 3 (with a more reasonable time difference between the two)

I've finally reached the point in which shukichi has appeared. And just like every member of the Akai family, I love him so much.

Cuz like, he's so smitten with Yumi and everything, but he's also a really intelligent and observation person. He's the person Akai trusts enough to tell he is still alive even when no one else knows.

But honestly I just think him and Yumi are really cute lol.

Yeah girl, keep telling yourself that.

And now we have the local cone being a menace and terrorizing his friends.

Not that I wouldn't do this with my own friends. What good is friendship if you can record them indirectly confessing and play it back to them over and over and over again.

Then if course he does the same the haibara. Dude is a menace when he wants to be. Which is about 90% of the time honestly.

Yeah can't say I blame you, a 7 year old that is able to solve complex murder? I would be absolutely terrified. especially when he also seems to know how to operate every vehicle to ever exist, use a gun, and a million other things. I too would consider a kid on par with a member of a special police force, terrifying.

I also like how this is referred back to in the 22nd movie, Zero the Enforcer where he says that there are 2 people in the world more terrifying then him, and it's implied as Akai and our cone

Back to Yumi and Shukichi, I love them so much.

Like he keeps a little picture of her in his pocket. They're literally so cute. He loves her so much. And she tries to deny it (I dunno why honestly) but she cares for him too.

For this panel, I just like it a lot lol. No comments. Just a nice panel

Oh the irony. Also I don't know what this child has against glasses that he despises them that much. I mean, what have they ever done to him??

Also how has no one questioned why he wears glasses. Cuz I feel like it fairly obvious that they're perceptionless since haibara takes them all the time. And she doesn't use glasses. And wearing perception glasses you don't need messes up your vision (ie you can't see properly with them)

Okay thats all I've done so far, gotta clock out now, might reappear in a few days, who knows. Word vomit is indeed fun.

[sirenjose]

Lily Backstory Analysis

Lily’s family is an old and wealthy one. Her father is the “unappreciated and unloved” 2nd son but has enough wealth to give Lily a carefree childhood. Her parents and older brother are passionate about sports, with her father’s dream being to organize a “world-famous horse racing event”, which is likely a major part of the reason why her brother becomes a highly anticipated jockey as soon as he reaches adulthood. Lily as the only daughter is pampered by her brother and parents, causing her to develop a “naïve, stubborn, and arrogant personality”.

Eventually, Lily’s father is able to establish the “Barriere Family Sports Show” by the time Lily turns 16.

Unfortunately, the day (which may also be Lily’s birthday) the “lavishly funded new horse racing series” begins, “a horse went out of control, causing a stampede”. As a result, Simon ends up falling off his own horse and is seriously injured: “he was left paralyzed on one side, regressed to the mental capacity of a young child, and lost the ability to speak”. He’s sent to a care facility by his parents afterwards.

It isn’t specified whose horse it is, so there’s a good chance it wasn’t Simon’s horse, but his horse was affected by what was going on.

Considering the Kreiburg Racecourse also reference a horse going out of control and causing a (fatal) stampede, and how Lily’s father was never said to own the track, only that he hosted it, there’s a good chance the Kreiburg Racecourse is where the “Barriere Family Sports Show” took place. According to the headline for the Kreiburg Racecourse incident, as well as from Ashes of Memory part 1, it’s likely that the horse that went out of control and started the stampede was a white horse, and Simon’s horse was brown.

Due to the incident at the track, Lily’s father was “ousted” from the family. He couldn’t accept this, and turned to alcoholism in his anger at being kicked from the family, sorrow over his son’s accident, as well as frustration with his new financial problems. In his drunkenness, he subjects Lily and her mother to physical abuse, though he “repent[s] remorsefully when sober”, turning Lily’s “once happy family… into a living hell”.

Lily’s father is the source of several of the scars we see on her, including the fairly visible one we can see across her nose.

Lily’s only respite from this “hell” was when she went to visit Simon at the care facility, cheering him on “just as she used to at the racetrack”. We can see clearly how much she cares for Simon, as well as how traumatized she was over his accident and subsequent events based on Lily’s trait “All Thumbs” stating “The Cheerleader suffers from early psychosis caused by childhood trauma and is unable to accurately discern her surroundings” (aka, her perception of reality is messed up).

While she’s visiting Simon, she ends up befriending “a child of the same age who, after learning what Lily was going through, offered her some advice as a ‘peer’”.

Based on what little we can see from Lily’s trailer, it is highly likely the person she met was Galatea, based on similarities including the wheelchair, IV wrapped around their arm, and similar material where we can see the person’s knees/legs (as well as a similar build it seems).

There’s also how Lily after meeting with this person changes her appearance slightly so she has very similar marks under her eyes and similar lipstick smear (on the same side of her face even).

Galatea we know ended up in that wheelchair after her father threw her statue "off the terrace" and she jumped after it. Following this, as her parents noticed her talking to her statues, they put her in an asylum. There’s a good chance she might’ve been at the same facility as Simon, at least before being sent to the asylum.

We see it is after this meeting that Lily puts on Simon’s cap and, in the trailer, begins to dance around.

Regarding the “peer” advice, it is right after this that it states “shortly after, Lily’s father met his demise, breaking his neck while drunk on his way home”. Considering what we know about Galatea, as well as what we see in Lily’s trailer as she’s dancing around, I do believe it’s possible the “advice” Galatea gave involved suggesting Lily kill her father, or do something that’d lead to his death.

Especially as, in Lily’s trailer, as she’s dancing around, we see her toss 1 of her pom poms into the air, see it turn into a bottle, at which point the shadow of her father appears as if he’s falling, and the bottle shatters where his head would’ve been, before turning back into her pom pom.

The reason I find this suspicious is because of several points. First because of how the bottle breaks right where his head would be. Second is because the “bottle” that used to be her pom pom, which she was holding, and after the bottle disappears, it turns back into a pom pom in her hand. Which makes me think its possible Lily had been “holding” that “bottle” and broke it over her father’s head while he was drunk. Third, there’s also how Lily is seen smiling in a bit of a crazy manor as this is happening (happy at finally being freed from him?). Finally comes again from the trailer and how we hear, after she comments Simon can no longer hear, that she cant hear either.

This relates to how, in the trailer she commented about her father, who she refers to as a “monster, “growling at me”, as well as how the official announcement for Lily’s trailer (https://twitter.com/IdentityVJP/status/1690181309518508032) says her home was a "castle", destroyed by Simon's accident, ending her happy life. Her father was a "monster" in that "crumbling castle", just like we hear in her trailer. It ends by saying, one day, she no longer heard the "voice" of that monster. Aka, her father is dead, and the way she phrases it feels like there’s a good opening that she is the reason her father has finally been silenced.

I mean, calling her home a castle that a monster lives in, and with how her perception of reality is messed up, she might want to kill the monster in her castle, like in a typical fairy tale.

With her father dead, her mother is asked to identify his body at the morgue, but she never returned, leaving Lily alone to fend for herself and take care of Simon.

We know Lily’s parents (and then her and Simon once they were gone) had been in debt and desperate for money by the papers in her trailer that say “Final Notice", "Final Demand", "Account Closed", and "Override".

Simon’s medical bills were a major source of their financial issues, as well as any lawsuits from the scandal at the horse track, combined with Lily’s father alcoholism. I also wonder, if Lily began taking some sort of drugs after the accident based on the bottles and pills we see lying all over the floor by the end of the trailer, if the drugs Lily was taken contributed further to their worsening monetary problems. Maybe these were drugs for Lily’s psychosis. Or maybe they were for Simon. We can’t be certain.

Lily contacts her grandfather and uncle in the hopes of receiving financial support from them to sustain her until adulthood and cover Simon’s medical bills. Her uncle, likely the 1st son, ignores Lily, but her grandfather responds, though he only gives her enough money to “barely suffice for 2 years, along with a peculiar promissory note” (aka, an IOU). The creditor on the note had been changed from the grandfather to Lily herself, with the debtor stated to reside in Oletus Manor.

This seems confirmed to be a set up to force Lily to go to the manor and attend the games there based on how the backstory summary from Lily’s gameplay trailer states “Until [she] heard Grandfather’s cold voice, ‘Go to that manor, get back the thing which belongs to me, and I’ll help you redeem the thing which belongs to you’”.

Based on what we’ve managed to learn about the Barriere family, it seems very likely that Lily’s grandfather is the “Count Barriere” from the Golden Cave and Moonlit River Park backstories.

Count Barriere is the owner of the mountain where Golden Cave, as well as Oletus Manor, are located. He likely also owns the land Lakeside Village is on. And as I’ve said, we know he build Moon River Park. By being the owner of the land Oletus Manor is on, that means the “debtor” that owes Count Barriere, and then Lily, money is Orpheus, who we know bought the manor at some point after Manus sells it.

Lily’s essence backstory also contributes to this idea, as it mentions the “phosphorescent ore” in the mine (Golden Cave) brought “wealth to their ancestors”. As we know their family is “ancient” (aka old and has a lot of wealth), it would make sense based on the essence backstory that much of it may have been due to Golden Cave.

“Barriere” is also referenced in Freddy’s 4th letter as part of the “Keogh & Barriere” law office. This is the 1 time it doesn’t say “Count” Barriere. As the 1st son, the uncle should own something and be considerably wealthier than Lily’s father by the way it’s phrased in Lily’s backstory, so I think there’s a chance the uncle runs this law office alongside Keigan. And as a lawyer, especially one from a wealthy, potentially well-known family, that would likely help him to better achieve financial success. If this is true, in Keigan's backstory, it mentions she "followed her brother into the city and helped out with administrative matters in his law office". Freddy in his letter just says "Keogh & Barriere". That could mean initially that law office was initially Keigan's brother and Lily's uncle, but Keigan replaced her brother to work with Lily's uncle after she took over for her brother.

Going back to Lily, as she’s the now the person Orpheus owes money to, and with her connection to what is likely Kreiburg Racecourse, there’s a good chance we may see her appear in the final game alongside Frederick and the others.

Speaking of which, Lily is described as having an “arrogant” personality. That means she could potentially be the female that Norton was ordered (by someone) to kill, as he described the individual as “arrogant” in his 2nd letter.

Going back to the backstory summary from Lily’s gameplay trailer, the Grandfather is asking Lily to “get back the thing which belongs to me, and I’ll help you redeem the thing which belongs to you”.

We know Lily cares about Simon and that she asked her Grandfather (and uncle) for money to sustain her and fund Simon’s medical bills. So, my thought is the thing he’ll help her “redeem” may be the promissory note aka Lending Certificate for Orpheus’ debt (as it now “belongs” to her after the Grandfather transferred it to her) and with the money from that she’d have enough to likely to fund everything she needs.

That just leaves the question of “the thing which belongs to me” (the Grandfather).

Mostly we know Count Barriere owns land, including the land Oletus Manor is on (and thus maybe the manor itself). As he is originally who Orpheus owes, it could be he’s asking Lily to get the manor back for him, though it doesn’t feel quite as the previous line is “go to that manor”, as it makes it sound like 2 different things. It’s still possible though, especially based on the tragic history of the manor, which is stated in Oletus Manor’s original backstory, as well as from what we know happened to both Dennis and his wife, as well as Manus and Mary de Capet, not to mention the disappearances that occur while Orpheus is the owner. With how the Grandfather sets up Lily to go to the manor, it makes me think again about the theory that Count Barriere may have a hand in causing many of those tragedies to the other owners of Oletus Manor. Though we don’t know why (beyond greed, especially with Golden Cave involved in Lily’s essence, or maybe jealousy/something personal since the paper implies Count Barriere and Dennis DeRoss did know each other to some degree) he’d be doing this just yet, but it still feels like its at least somewhat possible. It would fit with what little we do know about Count Barriere, who we know has death seemingly following him everywhere (built Moonlit River Park but then later Hullabaloo tragedy, owns both Golden Cave and Oletus Manor, both which had tragedies).

Then there is the pocket watch shown during the Ashes of Memory part 1 trailer with Count Barriere’s name underneath (with likely Denis DeRoss’ name above his). Though I’m doubtful of this option too. According to the image shown, it implies 3 of those watches were made, 1 of which we know Alice owns, as we see her use it during Ashes of Memory part 1, with 2 others somewhere else. As there’s more than 1 of these watches, as well as the lack of any indication of these watches being significant beyond the ability to tell the time, I don’t see why he’d want that watch bad enough to send Lily.

My last thought relates to Golden Cave, which we know is important, especially as the setting for Lily’s essence backstory is Golden Cave. We know from Golden Cave’s rumor that “despite that not a single piece of gold was ever found, Count Barriere still got what he wanted with this land”. The mine was abandoned after its collapse based on Alice’s corkboard from Ashes of Memory part 1.

From the collapse we know, besides death, only Norton and his meteorite chunk came out of it. So, if Barriere never got any gold by the time of the collapse, the only things to come out of the mine that Barriere could “want” are Norton or his meteorite chunk.

Could be he wants Norton, but at least regarding the meteorite, there’s a chance the “phosphorescent ore” from Lily’s essence is meant to parallel it. The ore in the essence backstory is what was said to have “brought wealth to their ancestors” (aka, likely Lily’s Grandfather and the Barriere family in general), as well as “eroded” their skin and mind, making them “yearn for confinement” (aka, seems like they have a desire for it). If the ore does parallel the meteorite, this could relate to what Barriere “wanted” according to Golden Cave’s rumor and the backstory summary in Lily’s gameplay trailer.

Going back to the headline on Alice’s corkboard, it does mention “rumors of precious metal ores”. It says these are “false rumors”, but what if isn’t as false as some (such as Barriere) would want people to think? He may just want to keep people away from it so he can have it all for himself. Though I do think people would have to put themselves at risk to get into the mine at all considering we know its unstable, but I do think there’s a chance those rumors aren’t completely false.

From these ideas, the options so far are that Lily is after Alice due to her watch, Orpheus due to his debt and being the current owner of Oletus Manor, or Norton due to his ties to Golden Cave and/or his meteorite chunk. If Barriere is sending Lily after one of them, that could mean the one that ordered Norton to kill could be Orpheus. Even if Count Barriere did just want Norton’s meteorite chunks, Orpheus still might want Lily gone due to her coming after him and his debt, and he likely doesn’t want anything to get in the way of his experiments or keeping him from the manor. And Lily is specifically described as arrogant, so it seems to fit the female Norton is ordered to kill may be Lily, and that Orpheus may be the one who made that order. Though we still need a lot more information to really figure out Count Barriere.

[mad4turtles]

Can I get some Uncle Tello- Baby/Toddler Casey Jones Jr bonding fluff? Their bond is just so cute and funny to me & I just keep thinking about Donatello "I don't like kids, but if anyone even breathes wrong in Casey Jr's direction I will not hesitate to take someone out" Hamato aka 'the grumpy, protective uncle who grows to love his nephew very much but would never willingly admit it outloud (especially to his twin. Too bad for him Leo most likely already knows. again. twins lol ). Cause I can imagine poor guy had a hard time coping with the fact that CJ can destroy anyone's "emotionally unavailable bad-boy" image with little effort if you give him the time. And Donnie learned the hard way 😂

I am SO sorry this took so long! This prompt is golden and I love it, here you go!

--

Donatello tolerates children. He doesn't hate them because, believe it or not, there is a difference between the two.

He understands from a logistical standpoint that children function differently from adults. They're still navigating the world, cry when a need isn't met, laugh when you tickle them or someone falls on their face, and put everything and anything within reach in their mouth to figure out what it is and if they can eat it. Most of the time, the answer is no. 

Donnie understands that, so he tolerates children. And as the world caves in and he's forced to intermingle with more humans and Yokai than he'll ever see (the numbers dwindle daily, but who's counting?), his tolerance builds. Though his position in the Resistance—Keeping Everyone Alive Under Six Feet of Earth and Limited Oxygen—keeps him cooped up in his lab and limits his interaction with people in general, on the odd days he's not locked in there with a sign that reads 'Keep Out or Get Bit', he'd say he does a decent job. Take that, autism.

It's on one of these odd days Cassandra Jones kicks the door of the mess hall down with enough force to send it flying, holds up a dirty bundle with a squirming thing inside and screeches. “I have acquired a child!”

And that was that.

Well, not really; there was a lot of screeching, demanding, explaining and even more frantic demanding involved. But Donnie barely remembers most of it. He'd been busy staring at the little pink face peeking out from the ragged cloth wrapped hastily around a tiny body, wondering how and why anyone would abandon him.

Logically, he knew why. Babies smell, they're defenceless, needy and loud. All recipes for disaster—death—in the alien apocalypse. Logically, he knew it was better to cut your losses and ditch, lighten the load, ease the burden and raise your chances of survival. 

Emotionally, irrationally, he wanted to find the blood mother and kill her himself.

Regardless, Cassandra had claimed him, named him—Casey Jones Jr, of course—and the Hamato's had a new family member. 

Cass was a mother, and Donnie was suddenly an uncle.

Cassandra, despite herself, is a great mother. She feeds, clothes, bathes and teaches Jr with the ferocity and vigour she's always had in spades but dipped in a new warmth and love Donnie never would have associated with her. It's unexpected, but Cass wouldn't be Cass if she weren't screwing Donnie's perception of reality in her every waking moment.

April and Raph dote on him something awful with baby voices and whatever toys they find or have donated to them by other understanding and indulgent parents. Mikey cries when he takes his first steps. Draxum gifts him a Yokai necklace made from dragon teeth and scales.

(“He can eat them once his feeble infant teeth fall out,” he explains while stoically cradling the giggling infant on one clawed palm, outwardly indifferent yet impossibly gentle. “They will harden his skin and strengthen his bones to iron. No Krang would dare stand in his way.”

“We are not,” April says, “feeding dragon teeth to my nephew, Draxum.”

“As his grandfather, I should have some say in his dietary requirements. Cassandra agrees with me!”

“I will bury you, Draxum,” April growls in a tone that promises unspeakable violence. “I will bury you deep.”

“... understood.”)

Leo lets him chew on his mask tails while rocking him to sleep. He also cries like a bitch when the little pink thing looks him in the eye, drool dribbling down his chin and his gummy smile miles and miles wide and says—“Weo!”

(Donnie thinks Splinter would have loved him just as much. Shared with him the stories and legacy of their clan, sang to him the same old Japanese lullabies, enthralled him with the tales of Lou Jitsu, everything he'd wanted to do should he ever become a grandfather.)

Donnie doesn't see Casey much. Not by choice, but he's a busy freaking turtle and one-year-olds are notoriously for being loud, distracting little things that Donnie cannot afford, now more than ever.

He knows their chances of winning the war are slim at best and impossible at worst. Hope can only take you so far, crazy mystic powers or not. They've already lost so much of their world. They've already lost Dad.

So Donnie needs to focus, work and keep working so they won't lose anyone else. Anything less than the best possible outcome is not a thread of logic he is willing to follow.

Then there's a knock at his door.

Without turning from his multiple screens, mystic or otherwise, Donnie grunts, “It had better be good—”

Cassandra bursts through the door, blazes across the room, dumps something on Donnie's lap—“HOLD THIS I WILL RETURN SHORTLY SHUT UP AND THANK YOU FAREWELL!”—and slams the door behind her on her way out.

Donnie sits bamboozled in his chair in the aftermath of her whirlwind. He stares at the scorch marks her feet left on the floor, the angle his door sits at after she'd slammed it near off its hinges—

“Ba!”

—and at the one-year-old pink thing she'd left to drool on his lap.

“Oh hell no, hell no—Cassandra Bernid Jones!” he hollers to no reply.

How in the shit could she do this to him?! Why in the shit?!

Junior giggles at Donnie's misery, kicking his bare feet madly and clapping damp hands. He must've had his fingers in his mouth. Joy.

“Cassandra, come back for your child or I will feed you to the nearest Krang Hound!” Donnie shouts. Unsurprisingly, his only answer is more of Junior's incessant giggling. Pudgy fingers reach for Donnie's face and Donnie lifts him higher, further away. Junior shrieks with joy.

Growling, Donnie activates the mechanical arms in his shell to carefully lift the child off his lap as he stands, holding him at a fair distance. The child is delighted by this and kicks harder, screaming with unbridled joy and having the time of his life. Donnie stares, fighting a scowl and a flinch because dear god how can something so small be so ungodly loud?

Donnie wants to smash something. Ironically, the indirect source of his ire keeps that desire at bay, but it doesn't stop him from grinding his teeth.

He's busy running updates on their freaking security system, the only thing keeping the Krang from finding them and killing everything that breathes. Cassandra knows this, everyone knows this, he'd sent them an email about it! So why, in the ever-loving shit, would Cassandra literally drop her child off with the one person who has a history of only tolerating children? Sure it's his adopted nephew, but he can only last so much in the presence of his own blood relatives for Christ—

He doesn't realize he's hissing, a low guttural thing rivalled only by Raphael at his angriest, until Junior stops laughing.

As much as they postured and played with fashion, aesthetics and trends as teenagers, Donnie and his brothers are mutants, and by (non-freaky)human standards, they are not conventionally 'pretty'. And according to many honest human comrades, April included, they can be downright unnerving sometimes. Mostly when they're pissed off, their animal roots seeping through the cracks of the humanity instilled in them by a loving father. They growl, hiss, click and roar, bearing their teeth and snarling like beasts. It's worse for Donnie and Raph, the carnivores of the family and most prone to biting; Raph's size doesn't help, and Donnie has easily frightened some of their biggest and strongest Yokai allies with a flash of fangs or a warning hiss.

It's not something he likes about himself these days. It never bothered him until they were forced to interact more and more with humans who had no qualms pointing shit like that out, even now with literal aliens prowling their ruined world. Still, he's learned to roll with it like he does with everything else.

But Casey Junior looks at him—his peeled lips revealing sharp fangs grit tight in a snarl and a hiss he can't curb fast enough—and he starts crying.

Oh shit.

“Oh shit,” Donnie says, flapping his hands, ire forgotten as panic takes over. “Oh shit, the child is crying and I am the cause. Cassandra will kill me, then Draxum will bring me back as a zombie so Raph can kill me again.”

What the hell does he do? Make funny faces? Pretend to trip over and fall flat on his snoot? Kids love physical comedy, pain is always funny! Or maybe he—or—oh who is he kidding, he's screwed. And the baby is still crying, kicking his feet and red in the face. Donnie lowers but doesn't touch him, biting his lip as his thoughts race. Not even five minutes and he's proven he cannot handle a child. How does Raph do this? How did Dad put up with this for seventeen years—

Oh wait, there's an idea. What did Dad do?

Trick question: Donnie knows exactly what Dad did when they were younger, and eight times out of ten it worked. The problem lies with Donnie and his intense aversion to all things stinky and gross and loud, all of which Casey Jr is.

But Donnie has seen and lived with worse even before the world went to shit. He lived with Leo and Mikey as his little brothers; they piss him off like it's their personal mission, but he loves them so fiercely it's painful. He'd look death in the eye and double-dog dare it to do its worst for them.

This is his baby nephew. He's not been around nearly as long but surely, surely, Donnie can get over himself for him, too.

(Even if he is a busy turtle working his ass off at the end of the world. But family is different. Family trumps everything.)

So Donnie swallows, takes a deep breath, takes Casey from the mechanical arms before dismissing them into his shell—“I'm doing it, I'm freaking doing it—” and pulls Casey into his arms, holding him tight against his chest.

The crying doesn't magically cease as Donnie had hoped, but it dies down into kitten-like sniffles that do—something to Donnie's heart, squeezing and twisting it in a way he hasn't felt since Mikey was this small, maybe smaller. Whatever it is, it compels him to cup the back of Casey's ebony head and press his (grossgrossgross) face into the exposed crook of Donnie's neck.

“Um... there there,” he says clumsily, patting Casey's back with his other hand. “Cease your crying. It's making my knees hurt and my chest do weird, fuzzy things I don't have time for.”

Casey turns his head at Donnie's voice, frighteningly alert. 

Hm.

With a claw from his battle shell, he pulls his purple hood up, shielding Casey from the neon glare of his computer screens and LED lights around the lab. 

“I apologize for scaring you,” he says a decibel softer. Casey turns his head again in response, still sniffling but significantly calmer. “I am angry, yes, but I am not angry at you. It was unfair of me to show my ire that way, especially in front of you, child who is easily frightened by loud noises and yet is scarily perceptive of the moods of the people around you...”

Casey lays his head against Donnie's shoulder, blinking up at him with big watery eyes. Donnie blinks back.

This is... not awful. It's progress. Progress is good. This is good.

He tears his gaze from Jr's—as deadly a weapon as Mikey's eyes for sure—and sways from side to side the way he used to do for Leo when they were young and scared. He hums a tune under his breath, one from that Ghibli movie about little people; he can't remember the film's name but the song at the end was cute and catchy as it was corny. Even years later, he remembers the words—

“I'm 14 years old, I am pretty. I'm a teen tiny girl, a little lady. I live under the kitchen floor. Right here, not so far from you.” 

The sniffles die off, Casey's pudgy fingers grasping Donnie's torn hood, tiny nose buried against cool scales. Donnie keeps going, softly rubbing Casey's back the way Dad would rub his shell during Donnie's worse days. The memory brings tears to his eyes, so he shuts them before they can fall.

“Sometimes I feel happy, sometimes I feel blue. In my dreams O I wish I could... Feel my hair blowing in the wind, see the sky and the summer rain, pick a flower from the garden for you. Beyond the lane there's another world, butterflies floating in the air. But is there someone out there for me?”

By the end, Donnie looks down to see Casey fast asleep, sucking his thumb and drooling on Donnie's shoulder. For a breathless moment that lasts an eternity, Donnie is spellbound, staring at the little pink thing—a biological miracle someone had so quickly discarded on the barren streets of a dying world, a little life that had persevered despite every odd stacked against it, Cassandra's son, Donnie's little infant nephew—he cradles in his arms. For the first time he doesn't care for the slimy drool coating his shoulder, the bacteria or anything his body and brain would outright reject.

Donnie stares at Casey Jones Jr and finally pins a name to the fuzzy feeling in his chest.

Oh.

“Oh,” he says. Jr snuffles in his sleep.

---

When Leo turns a corner to find Mikey, Raph, April and Cassandra huddled outside Donnie's lab doors, he almost turns around to avoid the oncoming storm of Donnie's short temper. The gossip in him wins out in the end as he squeezes between Raph and Cassandra to peer through the crack in the door.

What he sees has him gaping like a fish.

Donatello Hamato—the Resistance's resident genius and hermit—sits languidly at his desk surrounded by screens, one hand tapping away at holographic screens, breezing through emails. The other arm curls around a babbling Casey Jr, grubby hands clenched tight on one of Donnie's old rubber fidget toys as he gnaws on it like a dog with a bone.

“The shipment from Asia's remaining base in Hong Kong should be arriving at the port between noon and sixteen hundred hours tomorrow,” Donnie rambles, eyes scanning a long wall of encrypted mystic text.

“Ba!” Casey cries around the toy, kicking his legs.

Donnie nods with a hum, scratching his chin. “Yes, I agree. Krang activity has intensified alarmingly at the Old Port since the refugee extraction six months ago, but there's no time to plan a safer route...”

“Ba dee ba!” Casey blows a messy raspberry. Not missing a beat, a mechanical arm pops from Donnie's shell to wipe the baby's mouth with a cloth before discarding it.

“You're right, Jr. I suppose there's no helping the matter. We must brief the teams as soon as possible to discuss the matter, rally what factions we have at our disposal—”

“Eeeee!” Casey screeches before bursting into giggles.

Donnie brightens. “Of course! We could send the drones! They're stealthier and won't incur a needless massacre at the hands of psychopathic aliens. If anything, we shall be doing the massacring once I've outfitted the drones with my newest Genius Built trademark mystic weaponry! Excellent idea Casey Jones Jr, what would I do without your added brilliance.”

“Don-NEE!” Casey cries.

“Yes yes, I'll send the email and hopefully one of those dumb dumbs will actually read—wait, what did you say?” Donnie drops the screens and plucks Casey off his lap to stare him in the face with wide eyes. “Did—Did you just—did you just say—?”

“Don!” Casey giggles, wiggling in Donnie's grip. “Don don don don don! Don-NEE!”

Donnie stares and stares and stares. A stupidly happy grin splits his face in two. “Oh my god.”

“Oh my god,” Mikey breathes with a matching grin.

“Would'ja look at that,” Raph chuckles, his smile a proud, fond thing.

“Knew he had it in him,” April nods.

“Which means Leonardo owes me fifty bucks!” Cassandra quietly whoops.

Tearing his eyes away from the horrendously cute picture of his twin and nephew, Leo aims a sly grin at Cassandra. “I would if we still used actual money as a source of income or trade.” Cassandra's grin drops like a stone, and Leo fights an evil cackle that would make Draxum proud. “Cash hasn't been a thing in years, Cassandra dear. Get dunked on.”

“Bite my ass, you di—!”

The door abruptly slides open the rest of the way and they tumble to the floor in a heap. Above them, Donatello stands unimpressed, brow raised and one hand on his hip. Curled in his other arm, Jr babbles happily and reaches for Cassandra.

“Evening all,” Donnie drones as they clambered guiltily to their feet. “To what do I owe this displeasure.”

“Nothing at all!” Cassandra said, shooting Leo a poisonous glare before opening her arms to receive her son. “Thank you for looking after my child, I will take him back now and relinquish you from your—”

“A-bub-bub-bub!” Donnie turns slightly, putting Jr out of her reach. “I have decided that Jr may stay a few hours longer while I run the regular diagnostics and schedule that meeting you no doubt heard about while you were unceremoniously eavesdropping at my still broken door—thank you for that Cassandra, by the way—he is no trouble presently and makes an excellent rubber duck to bounce ideas off. Don't you agree, Jr?”

Jr snaps his head up to beam at Donnie. “Ah!” he says. Donnie's impassive face melts into a rare smile that Leo aches to see. He's not smiled like that since before Dad...

Cassandra's arms flop to her sides. April, Mikey and Raph stare, rendered speechless until April lifts a finger. “... er, Don, are you sure—?”

“Quite sure, Commander O'Neil,” the impassive mask returns, but Donnie's fooling no one. “Now if you don't mind, Jr and I are very busy bees and must get back to work, so begone. And while you're at it, please issue this new warning to the rest of the base: 'I have only had Casey Jones Jr for five hours, but if anything happens to him, I will kill everyone in this base and then myself.' Good day.”

“Goo' 'ay!” Casey chimes and Leo has a front-row seat to Donnie's delighted crooked smirk right before he slams the door shut in their faces.

There's a beat of silence.

Then Raph claps his hands. “So,” he draws out with a strained smile, “who saw that coming?”

“Me,” Leo sings.

“You bet against him!” Cassandra booms. “With non-existent money!”

Leo shrugs, motioning them to follow him down the hall. “Only on principle. I knew he had it in him. Jr is family and Donnie loves attention and family. It was bound to happen.”

“Aaand it was stupidly cute!” Mikey chimes, floating by them with his hands tucked under his chin.

Leo thinks of the tingle he'd felt in his chest hours ago when Cassandra first ditched—ahem—dropped Jr off with Donnie, of the familiar tune from an old, corny yet hopeful film from their childhood humming from the fringes of their Mind Meld, of the glee and soft, new, helpless love bleeding from Donnie's gaze, his smile, as Jr babbled his name.

Leo smiles. “Yeah. Stupidly cute.”

---

Reblogs are appreciated! Feel free to drop more requests! For those of you still waiting, thank you for your patience I will get to them soon! :3 <3

[ahoyimlosingmymind]

About lava cake, I want to hear your thoughts about how Marella, as a pyrokinetic, is technically considered talentless in the matchmaking system. Therefore making Fitz and Marella a bad match. How do you think Fitz would react when he realizes this, knowing this could end up in a similar way to Sophitz?

-lava cake anon #2 ;)

Oooo this is a hard one. I'm open to any thoughts!!! @autistic-daydreamer @myfairkatiecat @sacrificialloving

What I'm about to write is so half-baked, I apologize in advance lmao I think it would begin with Alden or Della pulling him to the side and noting how much time he's been spending with Marella-- at this point, Fitz knows he has feelings for her, but he's also very aware of the ramifications. They remind him how important his reputation is, and how it will hurt not only him, but Marella, her family and his own.

He doesn't want this to end the way it did with Sophie. He doesn't want to care about it. But he does- especially as his age creeps closer and closer to the time he's expected to have a winnowing gala. For a while, he starts to distance himself from Marella.

And because she knows him so well, she clocks the reason almost immediately. However, she doesn't confront him on it immediately like she normally would. Because part of her is just as terrified of being a bad match. she doesn't want to hurt his reputation either. She doesn't want to ruin his life. And really, she doesn't want to handle the scorn either. They've talked about it in the past, how big of a deal it is to do things by the book.

But the desire to be with one another is so powerful, that at some point- Fitz takes a leaf out of Keefe's book- finds a forbidden cities leaping crystal and asks Marella to go to the human world with him. It's stupid and reckless. He's never done anything like this. But he's really starting to feel trapped, and well-- he's not friends with Keefe for no reason. He understands his childhood bestfriend's desire to run. He's just never been brave enough to do it before.

But this situation is the final nail in the coffin. And he's just like 'Well, let's seen if Keefe's method really works.' (it's the first time he feels he's ever done something for himself. It's freeing. and terrifying.)

Marella agrees to go with him after a few weeks of radio silence. Because in the human world they can just be. They both agree that this will be their final hurrah, and then, they wont pursue anything with one another. They'll follow the paths laid out for them. However, this does not work, and they end up just secretly dating-- the lie dangling over their heads.

Fitz, of course, realizes he's a hypocrite for it. For suddenly being so willing to do this with Marella, where he wasn't with Sophie. His whole life he has been watched and seen as an image. But Marella is the first girl to truly see through to who he really is, and to shed the false perceptions she had of him early on in their friendship. Whereas, part of him- though he denied it at the time- always felt like Sophie also saw him as perfect in many ways. It was an idea she wasn't quite ready to let go of when it came to him- It feels different with Marella. And besides, Sophie has Keefe now. (but of course, Sophie is still hurt by this when she finds out. Not enough to cause friendship ruining drama, but definitely like 'damn ok ig' lol)

Marella gets exposed as a pyrokinetic at some point, which leads to massive scorn, on top of people finding out they're together.

It's a mess. They probably break up a few times in between everything-- but then one day, things calm down. The Neverseen is defeated, and real societal changes are made, and while it isn't perfect, you can't erase a way of thinking completely, it makes it easier.

Or maybe they just fake their deaths and go to live among humans idek