#but that also feels far fetched and then i would feel guilty for not trying to fix this 24/7 even though at this point there's literally

[lackadaisicallizard]

Sundays

Growing up, Regulus hated Sundays. 

Sundays were mornings spent in church, pretending to the world that they were a perfect family. Sundays were stuffy clothes and tight ties wrapped around throats spouting nothing but lies about the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. 

Sundays were carefully coordinated games disguised as family lunches, the entire extended family coming together to outdo each other in just how well they were doing. Sundays were masterclasses in manipulation, lies and deceit. 

But now, fifteen years later on the most ordinary of all days, Regulus can hear voices coming from the kitchen. 

“I think that’s enough eggs, Haz, why don’t you add more flour now?” 

“How much do I need to add?” 

“I have no idea, just pour until it looks right.” 

Sliding on his slippers, Regulus makes his way out of the bedroom and down the hall, stopping in the doorway of the kitchen. He leans against the doorframe for a moment, watching the scene in front of him. 

“How’s it going there?” His husband peers into the mixing bowl that seems to have more eggs in it than any hen could feasibly lay in a year. 

“The flour won’t come out of the bag,” Harry says with a frown. 

“Try banging on the end of it,” James suggests and before Regulus can even consider stepping in to stop him, their son does just that. He is far too much like his father for his own good sometimes. 

Flour ends up everywhere. 

“Papa’s going to kill me,” Harry groans through a layer of white dust. 

“Papa doesn’t have to know,” James says, “you finish the batter and I’ll clean it up.” 

Harry stirs it, a puff of flour rising into the air. “I think it may be beyond saving now, Dad.” 

“J’en ai marre,” their heads whip around at the sound of Regulus’ voice, both faces a similar mask of concern. “You two are useless.” 

He steps into the kitchen now, holding out his hand for the bowl, which Harry passes him with a guilty expression. “I love you?” 

Regulus’ own expression softens completely at that and he places the bowl on the counter before holding out his arms for his son. Harry moves into them without hesitation, being pulled into a warm embrace and leaning into his father. “Tu es la lumière de ma vie,” Regulus says, pressing a kiss to the top of Harry’s soft curls before pulling back and looking at him in the eyes. “That doesn’t mean you can get flour all over my kitchen though, compris?” 

“Oui papa, désolé. We were just trying to make you breakfast in bed.” 

“It’s true,” James cuts in, a smile pulling up the corner of his lips, “we know you’ve had a long week so we thought we’d make some pancakes.” 

Regulus smiles back, he can’t help himself. “I’m not sure which one of you thought you could pull that off considering the great scrambled egg fiasco last month.” 

“Those eggs were delicious and you know it!” 

“I had to go to the store for more and make them myself.” 

“… my comment still stands,” James says with a grin and Regulus rolls his eyes at his husband. 

“Harry, go and fetch the chocolate chips from the cupboard and I’ll attempt to salvage this.” 

Harry disappears into the pantry and as Regulus starts to decanter as much flour as he can from the very floury bowl, he feels arms wrap around him from behind. 

“I’m sorry about the flour,” James’ voice is low in his ear. 

Regulus hums. “I would say I’m surprised, but I’m not.” 

A soft chuckle followed by lips against his hair. “I’m also sorry for ruining your Sunday, love. I know it’s the first day you’ve had off in a while.” 

But the thing is, he hasn’t. 

Because Regulus knows what a bad Sunday feels like. They’re ingrained into his brain. 

But this right here? Making far too much batter to even out the mountain of flour that he can’t salvage from the bowl. Allowing his son to add almost an entire bag of chocolate chips to the mixture. Watching his husband smother a tower of pancakes with syrup and whipped cream. Cleaning up an incredibly messy kitchen together as a family after they’ve done. 

Well, this is what Sundays are now. They’re not perfect, or proper, or in the least bit civilised. 

And he loves every one. 

[fcknstar]

Hey, how are you?

I would like to make a wish for number 3

Of the character Marcus Lopez

(If possible, could the jealousy be on the part of the reader?)

,, building blocks "

pairings : marcuslopez x fem!reader ( lara )

summary : sometimes you cant force yourself to do things you dont want, maybe this time you can.

content warnings : jealousy, (possible) unrequited love.

** lowercase intended **

it was normal for people to make friends..right? new student, getting to know one another from their own category. what more can one ask for? 

it was rare to see students from different ranks mix, too rare. but here you are, watching saya wrap her hands around marcus. a sickening sight for you. you and saya relatively knew marcus at the same time, hers more intimate. you cant help but sigh at the thought that marcus might not even consider you as a friend. he should be lucky you were there to stop chiko from slicing his throat the first time he met him. 

" pretty rancid, mate? tough love, tough love. " lex appeared next to you, smoking a blunt. 

" im not in love with marcus. "

" who said anything about him? " 

" fuck you. " lex sighed. he knew you for long enough to read you like a book. it was like reading in another language, you just got to guess and hope for the best. lex was always lucky. 

" c'mon, lara. him? you could do so much better. " willie stood next to you. 

" willie, dont be a dick. " lex sighed. 

" well, its in his name. cant blame him. " you earned a nudge from willie, who glared at you. lex on the other hand, cheered you on. 

" atta girl! "

" atta girl. " willie mocked, " shes not your girl. "

" well, she can be. " lex winked at you. 

you can't help but think whether you just were jealous because you cared about him, or that you cared about him too much that you heart beats faster, threatening you. 

laughing at the possibility of you liking marcus, you invited lex and willie to grab a drink, trying to drown the thoughts of what saya and marcus may be doing. 

★

" hey lara! " marcus happily planted himself by your side the next morning. 

" morning. " you bluntly reply, the said thoughts also planting itself in your mind almost immediately. 

" i didnt see you at the party last night, where were you? "

" i- " you were rudely interrupted by lex. 

" well mate, she was there. you were just too busy with saya to even notice. " lex often had no filter. 

" lex- " you were then rudely interrupted by marcus. 

" you were? shit, im sorry- "

" its whatever. " shit. that was the wrong response. it made you sound like you were hurt, and you often put a tough facade. its fine was always your go to answer, but what happened just now just slipped, like how your heart started to slip through its designated holder, right into marcus hands. 

you continued to walk as if everything was alright, lex pursing his lips with marcus struggling to get a word out. he had felt guilty for not seeing you when he begged you to come to the party with him and the rest, quoting that you can protect them. but that feeling fell when he saw saya. 

" hey saya! "  he greeted with much more enthusiasm than how he greeted you. its not like you payed attention. but there he is, following says like a lost puppy. 

" fucking hell, love. think you might wanna cut ties with him. " 

" dont you think that's a bit far fetch? " i stopped walking, turning to him. 

" well no? with the way he just left us, i mean you for her? woah. id be lucky to even have you breathing the same air as me. " 

" its fine lex.. "

" its most definitely is not. i can see that you like him, or i think you do. and hes not worth the time. your time! " 

" and i should be taking advice from a guy who sniffs the live out of glue? " you chuckle. it was fun having lex around, he knew how to stand his own ground and knew how to influence others to do the same. 

★ 

you thought about what lex said. you didnt want to just break off a friendship just because your heart ached whenever he was with someone and not you. maybe you should have just cut off your feelings because marcus eventually caught on to the sudden changes in your behavior. 

" hey lara. " he greeted. 

you just hummed. just like clockwork, you would just hum. not even share a word with him. not even a glance. the star he once saw in your eye whenever he was around just vanished. he noticed how you hung out with your own league more, besides lex and petra. 

" look saya, i really need to go now. " he winced before running off. him and saya was just having their own time chatting and drinking when he noticed the time. 8.15pm. he was late, 15 minutes late. it was the time whenever you had to spare. he knew, because you would often spend that time with him even if it was your only time to breathe. but you chose it to be with him. 

marcus ran to your dorm, praying you were still in there. 

" lara! " he saw you turn in confusion, after shutting your dorm room door. 

" hey. " he greeted, properly. 

" hi. " you never say hi. unless you want nothing with the said person. 

" you free? or… " he glanced at your outfit which looked like you were dressing up for a date. that made him furrow his eye brows, heart sinking lower into the depths. 

" no. why? " you dryly replied. 

" well, you wanna go out? spend some time together like we used to? " he offered. 

you had worked so hard rebuilding your guard that he easily broke down like building blocks. and now it was shaking. 

[whovianderson]

Why does Fox Mulder mean so much to me?

Trigger warnings: discussions of trauma, abuse, cancer, suicide, depression

Fox Mulder is so much more than a character to me. Never have I seen the inner workings of my mind represented in the way that I do in him. I feel like we understand each other, like we function the same way in this world.

Not to state the obvious, but Mulder is traumatised. Samantha’s disappearance changed his brain chemistry, and in turn, his life. As someone who has complex PTSD as a result of relationship abuse, I relate to this more than I can say. In ‘Oubliette’, Mulder’s desperation to change the course of events was out of fear of a repeat of what happened to Samantha. In this, I see myself trying to ensure that nothing like what I experienced happens again, both because of its effects on the other person, and on me. Of course, I've had to learn the hard way that I am ultimately powerless to control what happens to others. The difficulties I’ve had coming to terms with that are portrayed perfectly by Mulder's distress when he realised that Lucy had sacrificed herself for Amy, despite his best efforts. There's also a sense of inevitability and inescapability from the cycle of trauma when such things keep happening that is deeply harrowing.

In ‘Demons’, Mulder’s fear of not knowing something traumatic that happened reminded me of what I have been grappling with for years. As well as trauma from a past relationship, my sister has further traumatised me due to her severe mental health problems. It would trigger my own too much for me to know everything that is happening to her, but the unknown is worse for me, because I can't process it. My traumatised mind jumps to the worst case scenario. Thus, once again, Mulder’s reaction to being left in the dark felt like I was looking in a mirror. The sympathetic way in which his behaviour in this episode was written shows how no reaction can be considered disproportionate when it's because you're traumatised, and that is beyond validating for me. The depiction of flashbacks here also felt painfully accurate.

In ‘Memento Mori’, I recognised a lot of Mulder’s emotions due to my own experiences of life-threatening illness in people I love. Little did I know how much harder ‘Redux’ would hit! In ‘Redux’, Mulder believes he is responsible for Scully’s cancer and impending death. I know firsthand what it’s like to hold yourself responsible for someone else’s life, what it feels like to believe that you are killing somebody. I was continually shown that I couldn’t save the very person who told me I had to, because she kept getting sicker. As a result, other people’s suffering has become synonymous with my own personal failure and the consequent guilt in my mind. I would rather be failed by somebody else than have failed myself. This means that exactly like Mulder, on the verge of suicide in this episode, I would rather be the one who dies than feel so crushingly guilty. While horrible to witness, I have never seen the mental deterioration of a character who has assumed responsibility for another’s life so accurately portrayed, and that makes me feel more understood than ever before.

The entire premise of ‘The X-Files’ is that Mulder refuses to come to terms with his sister’s disappearance. His constant search for an alternative explanation, no matter how far-fetched, is what drives his character from the beginning. As an audience, we can see how that’s a form of denial, as can characters like Scully. Scully says “if it’s only by knowing where he’s been that he can hope to understand where he’s going, then I fear Agent Mulder may lose his course”. I haven’t finished the show yet, but having watched seven seasons, I am confident when I say that the crux of its development is that Mulder comes to understand “where he’s going”, without relying on “where he’s been”. As someone with a past that they quite frankly would rather die than relive, it brings me so much hope to think that I don’t have to dwell on it, that like Mulder learns to over the course of the show, I can live my life free of its shackles. That’s why ‘Closure’ is such a significant episode. However much one tries, it is impossible to explain away trauma - it happened, and one simply has to come to terms with its incomprehensible injustice. That is exactly what Mulder does here. It’s ironically titled, because there is no closure when it comes to the past, but he shows that personal growth isn’t dependent on getting that closure. Instead, he is of his own volition able to let go of the coping mechanism that has driven him up to this point: his belief that Samantha was abducted. Engaging in various types of therapy, including EMDR, to overcome my own coping mechanisms in response to my trauma is the scariest thing I have ever had to do (and that’s saying something). Seeing not only that journey represented onscreen, but shown coming to fruition, means everything.

Mulder’s trauma should incline him to be distrustful of everyone, as his ‘trust no one’ catchphrase would suggest. He evidently knows this, and yet he wants to believe in other people’s integrity so much so that it overrides the fear, and he trusts them anyway. He will take people at their word, whether that be about UFO sightings or something else. He chooses to see the good in everybody, despite having every reason not to, because, in his words, “if you don’t start trusting someone, you don’t stand a chance”. This attitude is possibly the aspect of my own personality about which I am most insecure. I used to hate myself so much for it that I wouldn’t open up to anyone at all in an effort to change who I was. I suppose I hated acting against what my experiences had shown to be true: that I could ‘trust no one’. Since meeting Mulder, though, I have thought of him every single time I begin to hate myself for being this way. This soothes me more than I can possibly describe. He makes me feel like it’s okay to be like me, or should I say, like us. Me wanting to believe in other people is not the detestable thing I had always viewed it as. I don’t think I would be able to carry on if it weren’t for his presence in this part my life. I cannot overstate his impact on me here.

Part of the reason for both me and Mulder being so trusting of others is because we do not trust ourselves. Deep down, he is insecure about whether his belief in Samantha’s abduction is credible, and so he relies on others to evidence it. For me, I do not treat my experiences as legitimate, and so I need other people’s responses to give me the validation that I cannot find within myself.

If it weren’t already obvious, I am autistic. My predisposition to trust, taking things at face value, is one manifestation of my autism. That’s not to say it’s the same for every autistic person, of course, but for me and for Mulder, I believe it is. In general, he is one of the most clearly autistic-coded characters I have ever encountered. He is ostracised by his peers and written off as ‘spooky’ for being different, something that many of us go through. Maybe, like it is for me, that’s part of the reason why he trusts people right off the bat: he wants to get the rejection that he’s used to facing out of the way before he puts in any effort. Or maybe he’s just a bad judge of what is and isn’t appropriate in a social context, again very much a trait of autism. And that’s not to mention his devotion to the X-Files and to Scully. Him surrendering every part of himself to them is exactly how I relate to the world, because all-or-nothing thinking is a huge way in which my autism functions. I was actually only diagnosed with autism two years ago, and having representation, implied or otherwise, in a character as alike to me as Mulder has helped me settle into my new identity.

It would be remiss not to further explore the fact that Mulder wouldn’t be Mulder without Scully. In the pilot, he tells Scully about his theory because he desperately wants someone on his side. She ends up not being the person he thinks he wants, but the person he actually needs. Without her, he wouldn’t have made it to the place he does in ‘Closure’; she challenges the beliefs he uses to cope, but most importantly, she loves him through it. Scully shows Mulder how genuine love can be when you’re not just being told what you want to hear, and as a result, she becomes the only person whom he can truly rely upon. The most important similarity between me and Mulder is of course that I too am in love with Scully! Scully is an incredible character who I would love to write more about in her own right, but I don’t feel as personally connected to her as I do to Mulder. I guess I’ll just say that I hope that I, and every other Mulder out there, find our Scully. People like us have so much love to give. We love so much and so deeply that people who return our love in full are almost impossible to find. One in five billion, you could say.

I cannot wait to get to know different facets of my all-time favourite character as I finish watching ‘The X-Files’. I know he will only become more important to me, especially since I know he ends up struggling with depression like I do. I hope I’ve demonstrated in writing this how beyond grateful I am to have been introduced to him, someone who is practically more me than I am! The fandom is a wonderful place to be, but in writing this, I also aim to remind myself how much the show and Mulder’s character mean to me personally.

Like Mulder, I am constantly moving, driven by the thought that “I wouldn’t know what I’d be missing”. But every once in a while, something comes along that makes me want to stay with it forever. And ‘The X-Files’, specifically the character of Fox Mulder, is one of them.

[anmiruzu]

(anon who requested riddle for the event: i meant prompt 6. the trick-or-treating one. sorry.)

to skip and go trick-or-treating

a/n i like how in-character this would be for him especially since his mother was strict with him growing up so now let’s hope he’s in character (´･ω･`) …also i made this a little long oops

-472 words-

October second,

riddle rosehearts; prompt 06: “what do you mean you’ve never gone trick-or-treating before?!”

as someone from another world, you didn’t think that many of your holidays and traditions would be celebrated here, referring to halloween and many others. but what surprised you more was that there were actually people who did not go trick-or-treating when they were younger.

“what do you mean you’ve never gone trick-or-treating before?!” you exclaim loudly in shock not expecting this revelation.

“well, my mother had always told me that it was a worthless tradition and that candy and sweets in general are not good for my health-”

you interrupt him, “still! to never trick or treat? not even once?”

you never expected this but this was riddle, a hard worker who was strict on both himself and others. so it wasn’t too far-fetched of a story although if it was ace, you would’ve called bullshit on him.

“not even once” riddle repeats, shaking his head. 

you ponder for a moment in thought before speaking up again, “then let’s go trick-or-treating”

“we’re in college, y/n, furthermore, we, more specifically heartslabyul still have to prepare the botanical garden for halloween week.” (i know it’s more of a high school kind of setting considering their ages but it’s called night raven college so just pretend)

“so?”

“‘so?’ we still have our responsibilities! as the housewarden of heartslabyul, i cannot just leave my upper and underclassmen by themselves!” riddle retorts back quite passionately despite knowing deep down he wants to try trick-or-treating, just once, despite knowing he’s much too old for it. 

“hmm” you pause in thought once again, “then i’ll help you prepare; I did promise ace and deuce i’d help them… but… only if you skip the last day with me”

you reason with riddle wanting to show him what he missed out in his childhood.

“...thank you for your assistance, however, i’m afraid i cannot do that”

>>>

after a very long time of persuading the housewarden, riddle agrees; reluctantly but is he really being reluctant? He had always wanted to try trick-or-treating and was always jealous of the neighborhood kids who he saw happily go from house to house.

so when halloween comes around, riddle leaves his post early feeling a little guilty, to go find you.

“riddle! hey!” you wave to him feeling excited, after all, it’s been years since you last trick-or-treated with your friends.   

“hello” riddle greets you, a bit ashamed for skipping even though he did tell everyone at heartslabyul that he would take off early for “personal reasons.”

after meeting up with riddle the two of you took off going on a bus to one the nearby neighborhoods.

>>>

you hadn’t anticipated how awkward it would be; two college students running around from house to house, clearly too old to be trick-or-treating. but in the end it was the most fun you two had in years. 

{31 daydreams of halloween event lineup}

{twisted wonderland masterlist}

[altocat]

It makes me so sad. Like why?? Why didn’t Vincent try to get Sephiroth out of Shinra? I guess it wasn’t his responsibility after all. In a sense, he owed nothing to Lucrecia after all.

But that scene where he’s hearing from the Mako tank that Lucrecia had her son taken by force…and knowing how Hojo was…I would have done everything to try to stop them later on. It’s probably too much to ask of the guy though. He went through enough.

To be very fair to Vincent, it wasn't his kid, he was dealing with his own issues, and Sephiroth was likely all the way in Midgar at this point.

I think, had Vincent known Sephiroth or have had easier access to him, he might have made an attempt to go fetch him. But as far as Vincent was concerned, Lucrecia had sent him signals to stop getting involved long ago, and he'd never had the chance to actually meet Sephiroth. Plus he was also still half-dead from all the experiments, and probably slept through most of Sephiroth's childhood unwillingly.

Vincent really is blameless when it comes to Sephiroth. If anything, he's the only one who spoke out and the only one who seems to express genuine pity or some semblance of understanding for Sephiroth's plight. Vincent isn't my favorite character. But he's an innocent man who didn't deserve what happened to him. Sephiroth was never his burden to bear, though he feels guilty about what happened. The blame is on Hojo and Lucrecia for their actions, as well as Shinra as a whole.

[terrak0]

Are you familiar with cut content that didnt make it into the games and if yes, what are your favourite bits?

Oh I love watching cut content videos on the game, there’s so many little things they cut out that if they kept it it would’ve added so much for the final game.

In season 1 there’s a lot of interesting Ben stuff they cut out, which honestly feels like they just cut it out to make the player hate him more so they’ll want to drop him at the bell tower, but I find it interesting. I also like the cut dream sequences Lee has, feeling guilty about Carley/Dougs death.

Particularly in season 2, I recently learned that the scene where we sneak through the herd at Howes was supposed to be longer and much more intense. Theres a lot of cut voice lines and it seems the episode originally ended off with you choosing to run after Sarah or not.

Rebecca was also supposed to go into labor while at Howes, I’m not sure if she was supposed to give birth there or just start labor but... Can you imagine how intense that would be? Trying to sneak through a herd of walkers while people are shooting at you, and not only that, you have a woman in active labor and she has to keep quiet and not scream? The episode would’ve been crazy.

And it’s not really cut content since they never implemented it into the final game, but I’m fascinated by the concept that Kenny was originally the villain running Howes. I would’ve paid money to see how they pulled that off, cause it’s not too far fetched.

[randoimago]

howdy! could i request apollo, ema and klavier realizing their crush on the reader just when they're about to go out with someone else? bonus if they help them get ready for that date!

Helping Their Crush Prepare for a Date With Someone Else

Fandom: Ace Attorney

Character(s): Apollo Justice, Ema Skye, Klavier Gavin

Type of Request: Headcanons, Slight Angst

Note(s): Anon you're amazing, thank you for requesting the boys (and ema, I love ema ❤️)

Apollo

He feels his throat constricting as you try on your latest outfit, seeing if he thinks it's a good choice. A hesitant smile crosses his lips as he gives you yet another thumbs up, not being helpful at all.

Apollo had initially been reluctant to help you prep for your date because he wanted to do some actual work - and then he realized that his work was cleaning the toilets again and decided to help you instead. He didn't realize as your outfits switched up that he thought that you're really amazing.

You asked him what's wrong and he replies with, "I'm fine!" like he always does. He has no reason to stop you from going on this date. Yeah, looking at you makes his heart race and he can feel his palms getting a tad sweaty. But it'd be selfish of him to say anything this late, especially when you're putting in so much effort.

So he's fine just "helping" you with your outfits and being supportive. There's a tad bit of guilt as he secretly hopes the date doesn't go well so he can have his chance to say something later.

Ema

"They're not worth you trying so hard." Ema would bluntly say as she snacks on some chips and you put up a different shirt to your body, asking if she thinks it'd look better than the one you currently have on.

The disinterest in helping you prepare for this date is obvious on Ema's face. Initially she had shrugged and thought it'd be fun to help out, making jokes and giggling about what could possibly happen on this date. And then she realized how she really doesn't want you going on said date and wants you to stay in and watch a movie with her.

It wouldn't be far fetched to think that an argument would break out between you two. You finally getting fed up with her attitude and her trying to hide that she's actually jealous, but she does feel guilty.

Ema will apologize for her behavior because you really don't deserve her acting this way. You asked for help and she should've said no initially. She didn't and so she should get over it and actually help you, no matter how much she wants to tell you to not go.

Klavier

He's oddly silent as he watches you try to decide on what outfit to wear for your date. He's told you that he's fine, just thinking really hard on how he feels about your outfit. Which is true, but he's really thinking about how much he'd like you to wear it on a date with him.

Honestly, Klavier might give you a smile as he takes his necklace off, telling you it's a great accessory to wear on your date. It might be a bit petty of him, you going on a date with something that belongs to him.

Out of these three, Klavier might be the one to actually tell you to cancel the date. It confuses you especially since he is still hesitant on if he should tell you his feelings towards you or not. It would be very out of the blue for him to suddenly confess when he just now realized.

If he decides not to say anything about you not going on the date, then he'll offer to go with you but be in disguise in the background. He says it's to keep an eye on your date and make sure they don't do anything when you go to the bathroom or something. He will do that, but it also feels like he's punishing himself for being an idiot by seeing you happy with someone that's not him because he was too late.

[eternalchiyo]

𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕜 ~𝔻𝔸ℝ𝕂 10~

Summary: Zombies and angsty kisses

Word Count: 1229

Apparently, when it came to hating on natural smells, the Mukami’s surpassed Chiyo by far. Or at least that’s how it seemed to her. Vampires weren’t that territorial by nature but for some reason the whole family was highly bothered by the fact that Ruki Mukami’s smell would not stop trailing behind her.

Chiyo wondered what that meant exactly. She could barely tell the difference the way she was, but if they had a different smell than regular Vampires, did that mean they were a different species after all? She never heard of this in her entire life but what other possibility was there? Were they just vampire-like demons? They definitely seemed like they came from the demon world. Chiyo hummed to herself as she sunk into the bathtub that was filled with hot water. Maybe they were zombies? At least that would put the dead person she saw into perspective.

Reiji had not asked but ordered her to go and take a bath as soon as they arrived at the mansion. He also told her to hurry as he had some sort of important announcement to make to the whole household.

Chiyo decided to take her sweet time with bathing.

She washed her hair thoroughly and was detangling and separating her locks from one another when she remembered the way Ruki’s hand felt when he touched it. A warm feeling spread through her whole body and suddenly she felt incredibly guilty.

She wondered what Shuu would say if he had seen that. Undoubtedly he had made his own deductions when he was sitting in the car. He had a nose, and he probably thought she was now trying to seduce Ruki or something like that. Always so quick to make assumptions.

Well, there was certainly something to get from Ruki here and it was attention. Attention Shuu refused to give to her ever since their terrible fight. Maybe Ruki has seen through that and tried to use Chiyo as a way to get to the Sakamakis.

The girl groaned and punched the water.

“Get a grip Chiyo,” she told herself.

When she came down the stairs, she could see the whole family gathered in the living room. Or well… almost the whole family; Shuu was missing, and Reiji seemed to get increasingly impatient.

“Good grief, he really is worthless. Chiyo, I need you to fetch him.”

“Are you being serious? I just came down the stairs, someone else can do that,” she said.

“I gave you a phone for a reason, it’s not my fault you failed to pick it up, now hurry up. I already told you I don’t have all night!”

Chiyo rolled her eyes at Reiji’s mention of the cellphone. That worthless thing, she didn’t bother even looking into how to use it, just chucked it somewhere into her closet without any intentions of ever using it anyway. It probably ran out of battery a long time ago.

She let out an audible and exasperated sigh while she made her way back upstairs. Letting everyone know just how little motivation she had to do that. Why would Shuu listen to her of all people all of a sudden?

Before, she had always tried to avoid going near Shuu’s room, but she guessed now she didn’t have much of a choice. It felt like ages since she had set foot into his room, the last time probably being before their fight that caused them to go their separate ways.

Now she stood in front of the door, hand hovering over the handle, not sure what to do next. The next step would be to push it, quite obviously, but Chiyo was scared and felt practically glued in her spot.

Knock, knock.

No answer. Not much of a surprise, he never answered doors.

With a sigh Chiyo decided to let herself in.

“Pardon the intrusion...”

There he was, laying on his bed and sleeping. Chiyo stepped closer.

It wasn’t visible from afar but now that she saw him up close, she noticed how restless he seemed. His breathing ragged and sweat forming on his forehead. He looked as if he was in pain.

Was he having a nightmare?

She couldn’t bear seeing him like this, so she decided to wake him.

“Shuu…” she said, gently grabbing his shoulder and squeezing it.

Suddenly his eyes shot open, and in the brief moment she was able to get a look at them they seemed almost panicked. Though, Chiyo did not have enough time to think about that as his hands wrapped tightly around her throat and pressed her into the mattress.

“You’ve got some serious nerve showing up in here like this,” he said, voice almost a growl.

Chiyo tried to talk back to him but found it too hard with him gripping at her neck like that. She only managed a few words.

“Shuu… it’s not… Reiji was…”

His grip tightened even more.

“Hah? So now you also run circles around my brother? Is Ruki not good enough for you anymore? Hm?”

“No– Listen—”

She clawed at his hands, tried to get him to let her go by digging her nails deep into his knuckles. But he didn’t let go.

“Your voice makes me sick. Guess I will have to shut you up this way.”

The girl’s eyes widened when she noticed him baring his fangs at her. They pierced her skin violently and she couldn’t help but let out a painful cry. The only good thing coming from this was him finally removing his hands from her throat. It didn’t make it any easier to breathe though.

Tears pricked her eyes as she tried to just endure it until it was over. The state he was in right now made her think that if she were to resist and move, he would rip her whole throat out. She couldn’t stand seeing him like this and the worst thing was that she was at fault for it.

She dug her grave and now she had to lay in it.

She wrapped her shivering hands around his torso and dug her fingers into the soft fabric of his shirt. Shuu’s body tensed under the sudden touch, grounding him somewhat. Soon enough the pain of fangs piercing her skin was replaced with a warm tongue tracing the wounds gently. Like a kitten that bit its owner and now apologized by licking the wounds.

Chiyo gasped.

Slowly, Shuu moved his head back up and looked at her.

“You’re crying,” he said.

Huh? Now that she thought about it, her cheeks did feel warm and sticky. Must have been the tears. He looked at her with his eyes, those beautiful and sad blue eyes. So many things untold between them, and yet there was still this connection.

Shuu got a hold of her hands and pressed his lips onto hers; the taste of her own blood on them. His grip wasn’t very forceful and Chiyo managed to sneak her arms back around his body.

If only she never agreed to help Reiji with his stupid plan. If only she hadn't been so stupid in the past. Her life wouldn’t be such a mess right now. She would be able to kiss Shuu normally, without regrets. Without the bitter aftertaste of betrayal on her own lips.

Oh, how she hated herself.

[starlightshore]

Thanks for the Measured Response™. Unfortunately the character limit doesn't allow for much nuance in asks. My issue isn't so much with the character's actions as the way their conflict is framed. It always feels like we're supposed to judge Asriel way harsher - for ghosting the person responsible for their trauma - than Chara, who is actively trying to hurt them. I know you don't want to trivialize abuse, but the story still botches the subject pretty badly. Still, good luck with the rewrite.

(sighs) please anon, while I do appreciate the effort to acknowledge the lack of nuance in the previous ask, I would much rather you approach me more reasonably. I don't appreciate you coming to me, a complete stranger to both of us, with this attitude of already guilty. can you please learn to talk to people more reasonably? like, I'm living my life out here and you come and accuse me in a really rude way of promoting abuse or whatever the far-fetched conclusion that ask could come across as.

I am more than happy to accept fault over my writing and do my best to improve, but I want to do so on friendly, acceptable terms. please withhold condemnation and explain how and why you feel the story was mishandled. You do so really nicely in the second ask and I appreciate that.

Ultimately, regardless of my intent, my story didn't convey the message and that's, at the very least, mostly my fault. I can try to explain why I'd argue I didn't fuck up as badly as you paint me as, but I will accept that the story I wrote was not emotionally paced well made it weigh more towards cruelty without the hope and understanding I wanted the story to be read as.

I want to stress that I take abuse deadly seriously. I'm a victim of emotional abuse myself and this is something I am desperate to portray in all of its ugly, dirty detail and I want to do it without hurting people. I obviously failed when I first wrote this and I want to say thank you for coming to me about it, even if I feel there is still some friction here I want to express that gratitude. But also please be aware of how you approach people. (referring to the OG ask here).

Anyway

i wanna defend myself here a little and say I think you're missing the bigger picture of the framing of that scene. I feel you forgot the context of that scene and where it's placed in the story. It's this post.

Previously, that entire chapter had Chara idolizing the Asriel they knew as a child. Their timetravel ability being removed meant they longed for that power to control the narrative and live in the past. its like, metaphorical shit for how when growing up its hard to move on from the past and accept that you're aging.

That scene was the point where Chara realized that Asriel wasn't perfect -and has never been. The story is framed by Chara's POV exclusively and navigates Chara's feelings about their separation from Asriel. The "abuse" of that scene is the feeling of an older sibling telling them to "fuck off" and "stop acting like a victim" which are like... like devoid of the context of Asriel's perspective (which we didn't have at this point in the story) is a very hurtful and emotionally damaging thing to say to someone. I can see how someone reading that, who could have been through a similar situation, would react very badly to seeing that in the comic. Thus the content warning. I honestly don't know if "abuse" is the right word here, but what is someone going to have blacklisted for this? Like I said, my goal is to avoid hurting so I'm not going to not tag it. It's an issue of vocabulary vs. accessibility. I still wouldn't know what to tag this tbh.

the overall narrative of the comic is that Chara's perspective of Asriel was holding themself back. they were wallowing over a perfect picture that never existed -which reflected how they hate themselves for not living up to the perfect angelic ideal that they obviously could never have lived up to.

Chara condemning Asriel for being Flowey and being a jerk is the first step towards chara acknowledging their own blame in the equation. pretending the problem doesn't exist and that you're inherently awful doesn't fix things. Immediately after tossing out Flowey, they realize they are a flower as well. (literally becoming the thing they just condemned Asriel)

Once The two reconcile with the help of Actual Adults in the situation, the story changes POV to Asriel. It's then we're given context to Asriel's perspective and to show, that yeah, both of them Suck as people. That both are capable of majorly fucking up. And that's because the tools they're given a life of trauma and being reborn into a world that doesn't understand your damage is in itself traumatizing.

so idk man. the framework here serves a purpose and while I plan on showing a more nuanced and balanced pace -I really need to show the characters having more things going on than their larger conflict + be happier with each other. (the problem with writing for an askblog is that its very reactive and its easier to lean into tension and relationship drama than focus on the lighter but necessary moments. I know for sure the redraw will be better at this)

But yeah the framework, as it stands, feels good to me. Maybe in the details of how it's shown I'll be able to handle the nuances more gracefully but with the larger goal in mind, I'm not sure how I can change that? I would really love to hear your thoughts on that.

[yanyanderes]

OKAY THIS POPPED INTO MY BRAIN BUT

WOULD MAYHEM HELP APRIL KEEP AN EYE ON YOU???

Like mayhem listens to April all the time, would it be too far fetched for April to ask Mayhem to look after you when she or the turtles can’t?

HOW

DID

I NOT THINK OF THIS SOONER

cuz like- yeah, mayhem would totally look after (y/n) for april cuz he’s like “oh, april likes (y/n)! and i also like (y/n)! so of course i’ll make sure they stay forever!” like, he doesn’t notice that her intentions are malicious. he’s just doing this because april told him to. plus, it means more cuddles from (y/n)!

on one hand, it’s basically guaranteed that (y/n) will never escape. mayhem is a teleporting puppy with a face that makes them feel so guilty when he’s sad. not to mention he’ll totally rat on them if they try to escape, meaning (y/n) now has even more restrictions.

on the other hand, he probably helps them a lot with their sanity. if they bribe him with a bunch of cuddles and/or snacks, he’ll be willing to do certain tasks for them, like letting them be without handcuffs for half an hour or, if they really get on his good side, sneaking them out of the lair for five minutes for a breath of fresh air. but they have to hold him the entire time! and once the five minutes is up, he’s teleporting them straight back! and if they even think of trying to run away, he’s teleporting them straight back to april so she can know what they did!

they have to be careful not to push their luck too much, though. he’ll definitely rat on them if they come across as too pushy.

so yeah! although mayhem does ensure that (y/n) can’t escape and is 100% on april and the guys’ side, he’s willing to bend the rules a bit.

[custardcrazy]

Hi! Could I please request an imagine for a female reader being married to Bill? :)

honey lemon 

summary: A brief sample of a Saturday morning spent with Bill. 

wordcount: 1.1k 

A/N: Thanks so much for requesting!! this was a bunch of fun to write, because GOD am I a sucker for domestic stuff .... like... when is it my turn ?? !?!? also it took me like ten million years to find a gif sorry if it doesn’t fit lol

It was late in the morning, and you could hear your husband clattering around the kitchen.

The apartment was nicer than his and Ted's bachelor pad had been - even he could admit that - but it wasn't the biggest place, and Bill had forgotten to close the bedroom door again. For all his efforts to not wake you, he'd accidentally succeeded once again.

You blinked a few times, the fuzz around the edges of your vision clearing. There were a couple posters on the wall, and an assortment of stuff strewn about. One of Bill's tee shirts, a pair of your socks that you probably needed to wash, and a guitar leaning up against the far wall, even though the stand was a foot or two away.

Groggily, you chucked the socks into the hamper, and made sure not to trip on anything as you shuffled out of the bedroom. The wooden floor was kind of cold, but it wasn't a pressing issue. It would get better later.

Making your way into the kitchen, you were immediately greeted by the smell of food. Maybe if it had been a few years earlier, you would've been concerned - but Bill didn't burn nearly as much stuff as he used to, and dare you say he had actually turned into a good cook.

So instead of worrying, you just leaned on the counter, rubbing the remaining bits of sleep out of your eyes. He was focused solely on his task at hand, that being making your favorite breakfast, and the domesticity of it all made you feel warm. 

" 'Morning," you said, before you started getting all mushy about it. 

He turned to face you, blonde curls somewhat out of place, still looking a little drowsy - but still, he smiled at you as if you'd just given him a million bucks.

“ ‘Morning, babe!” He answered, voice still a bit rough at the edges from the hour. Momentarily abandoning what he’d been so determinedly working on, he closed the distance between you two, giving you a brief peck on the lips. His were the tiniest bit chapped, but you didn’t mind. “Sleep well?” 

“Sure.” You returned his smile. “That is - until I was woken up, so suddenly, from my peaceful slumber.” Even though your tone was just teasing at worst, Bill still looked guilty pretty much instantly, shoulders drooping ever so slightly. 

“Sorry.” Sheepishly, he scratched at the back of his neck. “I was trying to be most soundless, babe, trust me! It’s just that certain kitchen appliances can be heinously tumultuous, y’know.” Even though you were pretty sure he could tell you were joking, his apologetic expression was genuine - you were also pretty sure that it was physically impossible for Bill to lie. 

“I know.” You shrugged. “It’s fine. At least I was woken up for a worthy reason.” Glancing over at the food that Bill had been preparing, you stood up a little straighter. “Want me to get out the plates and stuff? If breakfast’s almost ready."

“That would be most considerate of you, babe!” Bill answered, guilt vanishing in an instant. “Yeah, it’ll be just a minute or so. I’ve been up for a bit.”

“All for me?” It took two tries to open the cabinet, but you retrieved the mismatched cutlery. “And I thought that you ‘prioritized your sleep schedule over basically everything else’, wow.” You didn’t catch your husband’s indignant look as you set the table for two, fetching some water as well. 

“Babe!” He protested, and you could just hear the incoming flustered spluttering in that single word, even when you weren’t facing him. “You should know by now that I would gladly destroy my sleep schedule for you, after all the movie marathons we’ve had -” 

“You always fall asleep on my shoulder, Bill.” 

A beat. 

“ .. Bogus.” 

After a little while longer, breakfast was done, and you both sat down to eat, across from one another. It was quiet for a minute, the only sound being the cars occasionally passing by outside, and the heater running softly in the background, a reminder that the nights would only get colder in the future. 

“I’m gonna go grocery shopping after this,” announced Bill, after tossing a few blueberries in his mouth. “We’re out of bread. And basically all the snacks are gone.” 

“Make sure to go before Ted comes to pick us up for band practice,” you warned. “You should know that he won’t take chores as an excuse.” 

“Don’t worry, I will.” Bill was absentmindedly twirling his fork through his fingers, now -- a habit he’d possessed since high school, at least. “The band is more important to me than snacks, and that’s saying something, babe. Trust me.” He was right. The quickest way to Bill’s heart had always been through his stomach. 

“I trust you,” came your easy reply. 

After a few terrible dad jokes from Bill, and an intricate dicussion about how music lyrics should be written, breakfast was over. The incompatible plates were tossed in the sink, and you were elbow-deep in bubbles by the time that the neighborhood kids had started running around. 

“Babe, where’s my Guns N’ Roses shirt?” Came Bill’s yell from the bedroom. 

“That’s the one you got paint on, remember?” You shouted back. “It’s in the wash - unless if you wanna go for the fence painter look.” 

“Could I?” 

“It was a joke! Please don’t.”  

Thankfully, he took your advice, and his hair was all in place by the time that he was swinging the car keys around his fingers. 

“Think fast,” you said, tossing him his wallet. He made an impressive one-handed catch, and held the beat-up thing triumphantly above his head, as if it was a sword. You couldn’t help but smile. “Will you be back by lunch? I think there’s some leftover pizza in the fridge.” 

“Probably.” Bill shrugged. “It’s not like I’m gonna go on some grand adventure, babe.” 

“Well, wouldn’t be the first time.” 

He grinned broadly, and you took the opportunity to kiss him - tasted mostly of mouthwash, and you could still feel the smile on his lips - but before you got too distracted, you leaned back on your heels, moving away. You noticed how he automatically tried to lean in for another kiss, before realizing that he had something else to do, unfortunately. 

You giggled. “Good luck on your grand adventure, then. Don’t forget to buy sponges.” 

“Will do, babe!” 

Bill saluted, double-checking that he had everything before ambling out the door. 

You locked it behind him, wondering if he would actually remember the sponges. 

[caffstrink]

your points about omori are so real but i also think the story isnt even that good like the "twist"... like not only does it not really make sense logistically (puts on my cinemasins goggles for a minute) how did two small kids drag an older girl into the woods to hang her without getting noticed and also why even come to that conclusion instead of making it look like more of an accident in the original scene (takes off my cinemasins goggles sorry about that) but i felt like it was kind of cheapened when it wasnt her killing herself. like he still couldve blamed himself for that because he wasnt there for her and didnt notice the signs but its like no he accidentally pushed her down the stairs. (and then framed it as a suicide which Was indeed actually a bad thing to do so yeah man you should feel a little guilty) but that could just be me being an enjoyer of explorations of suicide and its aftermath in stories

Honestly the twist was the only praiseworthy thing i found in the game and even so it wasn't enough to redeem the whole journey to get there imo. I think my opinion happens to be the opposite of yours bc mari comitting suicide would've been too simple, too expected, whileas sunny accidentally causing her death is what explains the guilt that makes him repress his emotions/identity and choose to live in his imagination. Theres 2 main big issues i have with it though, and since you've given me the opportunity I'll rant about it.

If i remember right at the time of her death mari was 15 while sunny/basil were 11 or 12, so i don't think it would be far-fetched for the two to carry her body together, although hanging her from the tree would be difficult. As for no one noticing i think that's actually pretty normal as far as these cases go, you'd be surprised at how many murders happen in broad daylight in suburban areas where there's neighbors walking outside yet no one notices bc they're not looking at someone's backyard to see some guy burying a dead body (if you watch those murder documentaries you'd be surprised at how common these cases tend to be). Basil trying to frame it as suicide is honestly a very very stupid idea, but considering their age and the situation it does make sense since they were panicking and people have 0 braincells when they're panicking.

The main reason i liked this twist though, may be because of how i perceived the scene where we see mari's hanging body and how it had an eye open, i thought it implied mari could be still alive when they hung her, and the uncertainty of it is what wouldve plagued sunnys psyche for the following years. Idk that was what i thought at least, but i don't recall seeing anyone else point out mari possibly still being alive when she was hung, so it may be just me.

Now here's the rant part. The game subtly implies that sunny's parents knew it wasn't a suicide. And by subtly i mean in a HIDDEN ROOM YOU HAVE TO ACCESS THROUGH ALTERING VALUES IN THE GAME FILES instead of, i don't know, in the annoying dragged out black space horror segment? Anyway in that room you see a shadow of what looks to be Sunnys father chopping down the tree and he says "you're no son of mine" or something along those lines (its been a while so i forgot the exact quote). PLUS its kind of obvious maris body wouldve been taken to be analyzed and theyd for sure see the head trauma that caused her death, but since it was accidental and both sunny and basil were minors, it's likely they went unpunished and Sunny's parents covered up with the suicide story so the others wouldn't think of them as murderers.

Why the hell does the game never mention his parents except on the real world? Its shown they divorced after mari died, did sunny not really care about that? Why does his ugly pastel escapism fantasy not have any mention to them? Did he not feel guilty about the grief he caused his parents? WHY IS IT NOT MENTIONED IN THE GAME AND ONLY IN A HIDDEN ROOM

And the second thing is the reasons that caused the incident in first place, it felt like it couldve been explored much more than it was. Like ok i get it, sunny didnt actually want to play violin, his friends thought he did and he was too afraid to disappoint them when they bought him one. But the main thing he mentions he hates about it in his diary is that he needs to practice on saturdays and misses 1 hour of cartoon watching with his friends. Like man. Come on. Priorities i guess? There wasn't any pressure of someone moving away, or someone leaving for college, or anything like it that would explain why sunny needed that 1 hour of cartoon watching with everyone so badly that it emotionally distressed him to that level.

My second complaint is how Mari is treated like a pure saint through all of the game, which was kind of a missed opportunity to have shown that she also was flawed and not always the kind big sister he idealized her to be in his mind (it could've also been shown that the Saint Mari in his brain is due to his guilt, but no, apparently she was just was like that irl too), the only flaw mari had was that she was perfectionist about the piano recital and pressured sunny about it? Like come on man there could've been more here. We could've had accepting mari was a flawed human as a part of sunnys recovery so he can move on from itn but instead mari is just a perfect angel through all of the game who unfortunately was accidentally killed by her younger brother bc she got upset he broke his violin on purpose like any 15 year old would. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[fish-bowl-2]

Hiya! B F I M P R (:

hiii >:3

B. Any of your stories inspired by personal experience? A LOT lol. I am super super guilty of projecting with these guys. I do it with a lot of my writing though, both fan work and original. I think it is kind of unavoidable. To give a specific example, in YKISBLS, the whole section where Edd starts to blame himself for making Eddy upset with him, and this snowballs into him feeling like he's ruined their friendship, is based off of very similar situations I've experienced when I was around the same age. Social interaction, even among friends, was really difficult for me, and I regularly pointed fingers at myself for being the problem even if it was not necessarily the case. I was one of those annoying kids who would ask my friends "do you hate me? Ok, but what are things you don't like about me so I can fix them." I don't think it is far-fetched to think Edd would be guilty of this as well.

F. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Edd came to a sputtering halt as he considered the statement. “I couldn’t do that. It would be so rude.” He said. “Besides, I mean, you called me a pussy.” the last word fell off in an inaudible whisper.

“So?”

“So, I don’t think anyone appreciates being called that!” 

“You’re such a drama queen.” 

“Whatever, this is not about that. This is about you forcing me, yet again, to come to the rescue when you can’t do something yourself. You’re always doing that to me and Ed.”

“I do not,” said Eddy. 

“You do too! You drag us into things all the time and then refuse to take accountability.”

“Would you drop it? I’m trying to watch.” 

“There you go again! You never want to talk about it.” 

“‘Cause you’re so annoying about everything!” 

Edd flinched at the term, speaking through gritted teeth. “I am not!” 

“Yeah you are.” 

“You’re just saying that because you know I’m right.” 

“See, that’s what I mean,” Eddy pointed defiantly, “acting all ‘high and mighty’ about everything. You do that all the time now and it’s so annoying! Can’t you just go back to being good at shutting up?” 

Edd stared motionless, arms crossed tightly. Eddy glared back, daring him to go on another exhaustive speech. Edd knew he was waiting, and he hated that even more.

“Fine. So I guess I’m annoying now, according to you.” 

--

I really like how I structured the back and forth here. I always worry about striking a balance between dialogue and description in my writing, and I think this displayed it in a really natural and easy-to-digest way. Also, if I may be self-indulgent, I like how the whole conflict being expressed comes from both directions. Edd (rightfully) is upset with Eddy for deflecting and going too far in teasing him. Meanwhile, Eddy is (rightfully) upset with Edd for not reading the room. I had fun touching on Edd's discomfort with being called "annoying". Much to unpack.

I. Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)? Bad explicit smut is kind of funny to read. 🙏

M. Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share? A few! I'll avoid going in too much detail (for the sake of keeping my motivation to start them), but I have one idea for a fic involving Edd and his parents, and another taking place in high school with the Eds at a town carnival. Those are at least the ones I have the clearest ideas for.

P. Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?) I guess I would be more of an "architect", in the sense that I need to have the beginning, middle, end, and all the details planned out before I start writing. I usually make a bullet-point outline for each event I want to happen and the details I wish to express before starting a story. I don't always do this with quick, shorter things, but for the longer stories with lots of details and elements to read into, it just makes things so much easier. I feel less guilty about potentially forgetting something. In the process of building these outlines though, I do think there is an element of a "gardener". When I am stumped on a specific plot-element or missing detail, I try not to stress about it, and instead find ways to let it to naturally "take bloom". Sometimes this means I have to wait a while, but I think it is worth it in the end when I get something that I never expected. Granted, sometimes you just have to "pull it out" in order to realize what needs to be done.

R. Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence? Man, I honestly think I pull a little bit out of everyone's whose work I enjoy >_< Specifically for EEnE, with a fandom as intimate as this one, I think it is somewhat difficult NOT to be inspired by those around you. Off the top of my head: I'd say your work, as well as those done by @eddbedandeddy, @doubledyke, @mysticbeaver, @bookworm116, as well as @gettingfrilly and @vhvrs most recently, are on my mind a lot. Actual books, films, and music influence me a lot too. I always pull little elements and bits of things I like and try to implement it in what I do.

[midnightlee25]

Yandere ABC: Taiju Oki

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Unlike many other yanderes, he actually kind of copies what his darling does. For example, if his darling is a very affectionate person then he will be very affectionate in return however if they aren’t really that affectionate then he will at least not be over smothering with it.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

It depends on a few things. If the person has done great harm to his darling then there is no holding back which may or may not be 50% of the time. However, unless someone actually does something to try and hurt his darling he won’t do too much.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling?

He would treat his darling like royalty. Although he would also kind of get it in his head that they are fragile and he is quite smothering but all in all he does treat them very well.

Delusional: How aware are they?

He is completely delusional. So delusional in fact that he really doesn’t see how he feels or his actions as wrong and along with that since it was first love at first sight for him at that moment, he believes that him and his darling are together he’s that delusional.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

It does take him a little while to be vulnerable. But it does happen a lot quicker than most other Yanderes.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

He would be very confused and believe that he had done something wrong whether he had actually done something or not. He would try to calm them down to figure out what he needs to do in order to fix it.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience?

To be fair, unless they were to stumble upon him sort of ‘defending’ his darling then they wouldn’t really have a worse experience.

Ideals: What is their plan for the future?

As long as he can still take care of his darling, he doesn’t really have any plans so having a family and everything would fall onto his darling for a sample if they want one then he’ll give it to them but if not then he’s ok with that too.

Jealousy: How jealous are they when it comes to their darling?

He doesn't really get jealous mostly because in his mind his darling loves him just as much as he loves them.

Knowledgeable: How much would they try to learn about their darling?

He gets to know the basics and then just learns things along the way.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

He always lets them know how he feels about them along with little gifts that he either makes himself or bought for them. (He basically spoils them.)

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

He more or less acts the same. There is barely any difference from the outside.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

There are no punishments, at least none that are on purpose.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

He is one of the rare yanderes that still lets his darling keep all of their rights. Yes, he may take away some of their alone time but they do keep their rights.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

He is very patient with his darling letting them take all the time that they need.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

There would be a drastic change. He would no longer be so excitable and happy but instead quite the opposite as well as they’re also being a chance that he does fall deeper into his delusions until he believes that his darling, I never left him.

Regret: Would they feel guilty? Would they let go?

The only time he would feel guilty is if he ever saw fear in his darling's eyes.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them?

He is an intense, love sick kind of guy. It's not too far-fetched to say that it only took the right person for him to turn out this way.

Tears: How do they feel about their darling crying, screaming, and/or throwing a tantrum?

He switches to being calm and panicking while trying to calm them down.

Unique: Does anything make them different from the classic yandere?

When it comes to other heavily delusional yanderes he blends in pretty well.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

He does trust them greatly so they could use this to their advantage plus even if he does catch them, he will most likely make an excuse for it and they would still have his complete trust.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

He would never hurt his darling ever.

Xoanon: How much would they worship their darling?

He does kind of worship them but not too much.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

He won’t really ever snap but the pine is short lived since he believes rather quickly that they are already together.

Zeal: How passionate would they be? Would they be passionate enough to break their darling?

He won’t break them meaning to or not.

[cannotescape]

thank you for asking for my thoughts, anon! I hope you're ready for the ride because I can't promise everything will make sense (just like the show itself tbf).

I don't really know how to answer this... My feelings aren't completely settled yet. Right after I finished, I think I was kinda relieved? I was fully prepared to hate the season but it wasn't the case, there were still plenty to love and I was glad to have my girls back. The more I think about it though... the more I'm thinking about how 10 times better this season would have been if the boys weren't there lmao. So yeah, I'm kinda perplexed with most of the choices made this season, and frustrated because gdi, it could have been so much better.

I. Negative points

The boys

Let's get this out of the way. I surprisingly didn't hate the boys or their scenes. But that never was the point, was it? What I feared was them reducing the girls' screentime and not adding anything to the story. Sadly, those fears were founded. I didn't hate the boys. I just found them boring and uninteresting, especially compared to the girls.

And yeah, you could argue that's the point the show is trying to make lol: uplifting the girls' story by... adding uninteresting boys... Doesn't sound like good writing to me but whatever.

Worst of all, I feel like the boys plot lines weren't uninteresting, but it would have felt 100% more engaging if the girls had them instead (minus the sexual assault part). The boys frankly didn't have time to get developped so I think it was a lose-lose situation anyway. Their struggles also paled in comparison to the girls.

2. Wasted opportunities

The girls' plot lines did suffer from the presence of the boys. Some characters were cruelly underused like Dot. Her only storylines this season was... her birthday, reading a book and learning to relax, and even that wasn't very well done.

Toni wasn't fully fleshed out in season 1 but I wasn't whining too much about it at the time, hoping to learn more about her in season 2. It obviously didn't happen. Her main narrative points revolve around her relationship with Shelby and being protective of Martha... The fact that she barely interacts with other girls is very telling imo. Her issues are completely side-lined. Yeah, her lack of worthiness is brought up, and immediately forgotten after Martha of all people gives her "words of encouragement". I have trouble thinking another girl couldn't have given her another perspective and that Martha didn't tell her this shit 10 times before. Also, wouldn't have it be nice if this lack of worthiness was the reason Shelby and Toni broke up? Instead of some far fetched reason?

The more it goes on, the more Toni doesn't seem to exist outside her relationship with Shelby and Martha. And this is made even more obvious by the fact that Shelby has had pretty good storylines this season. There's the confederate shit, of course, but there's also her faith, her party organizing skills, her escape rooms prowess, her guilt over Becca... So much good shit and the only thing we learn about Toni is that she likes weddings and steamy romance books lol.

Generally speaking, the girls cruelly lacked screentime to match the development they got in season 1. We had some meaningful conversations and I appreciated them but some narrative choices were pretty astounding to me. Season 1 was sometimes guilty of doing weird time jumps and of barely mentioning important events, like when Martha almost died in episode 6... Did they find the second med? No one was mad at Leah after that? huh okay. Well, season 2 does it even more often: Leah's attempt to her life only leads to her being monitored and even that was dropped pretty fast. We didn't see Shelby being triggered by this when... hello???? It's a big part of her trauma and we even learn that she also had suicidal thoughts at some point. Also, does Toni even know about Becca? Does Shelby know more about Toni's family situation??? Do the girls know about Rachel's eating disorder? God

The problem I see is that season 1 teased a lot of good stuff and season 2 barely delivered on those. Wasted opportunities again and again and again. Shelby feeling uneasy about being out and coming to term with it could have been a great thing to see. I could even have been a tension inducing plotline in the bunker: the girls having to hide Shelby and Toni's relationship to the interviewer and/or Shelby freaking out when she realized they have been observed all this time with their intimate moments being invaded/tainted. Instead we got Martha walking in on them and her interaction with Toni didn't feel satisfying. Also, no reaction from Dot whatsoever lol....

Another example: for almost two seasons, the show teased that Martha could be dead or seriously unwell and the only thing we get is a half-assed reunion between her and Toni like nothing happened, and it was only shown because Gretchen wanted to make a point during her ovary contest with Leah... Speaking of reunions lol...... I don't even know what to say about the bunker reunions despite: unsatisfying. The Leah/Shelby reunion in season 1 felt way more meaningful and potent than whatever we got.

Another disappointment: I wish the girls were working together to defeat Gretchen instead of Leah doing it solo. We were all speculating about the girls playing Gretchen and co. during their interviews and turns out only Leah and maybe Fatin hid things from them. What about the anaphalyctic shock? Wasn't it planned after all?

And the breakup.... As an angst connoisseur, I was really excited to see how they would tackle this. I wanted something truly painful. Sadly, the breakup wasn't earned imo. They teased it pretty well during the interviews in season 1. It seemed personal. It seemed like both Toni and Shelby hurt each other in the process. Or again, it could have just been them playing the interviewers and protecting Shelby's "secret". Instead of that, we got a... can we even call that a breakup scene? It lacked tension, it lacked real motive, it lacked character development (Toni and her abandonment issues??? helloooo????). I think it could have been done well if they had more time. But it was just rushed and out of place after all this fluff. Show me more disagreement and/or suspicion before the big breakup! Show me Shelby starting to act sketchy... Deliberately hiding things about the island...

But maybe this is gonna be a "light breakup", easily resolved with them quickly getting back together, before the big betrayal breakup. The wilds liked to deceive us like this in the past (see: the "wrong" conferate in season 1… who actually became the real operative in season 2).

3. The experiment

As an introduction, I've always thought that the experiment was the weakest part of the show (I even wrote a monster commentary about it) and season 2 proved me right.

This is kinda ironic because... this show sounds like it wants to be a plot driven show without realizing it is a character driven show. I was very doubtful of the addition of the boys from the start because it was sell as "a necessity for the plot" thing. It seems like it was just an excuse. Indeed, the experiment is BARELY mentionned in this season! Yes, we get a few lines about how Gretchen wants the boys to fail so hard and that they're actually ahead of the girls. We learn at the end that the boys actually failed? But it was never explained why? And seemed like it only came from things the confederate did anyway so... But whatever, it's not like the experiment made sense in the first place.

By making the boys and the girls together the "third control group", the show keeps demonstrating it knows nothing about sociology. But it also leads me to think that the great lesson of it all is gonna be "boys and girls need each other to create a perfect society" and please... This is not a sure thing, of course, but considering how the girls have directly been affected by patriarchy and shit, if this is the answer the show wants to offer, then... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also, I really don't want to see the boys and the girls interact. Absolutely not.

II. Positive points (I did say I enjoyed this season, didn't I?)

The thing is... the show excels when it goes back to its roots: mainly exploring young women's struggles and their interactions with each other. So pretty much all the girls' scenes were fucking delectable to watch. The writers continued to explore different duos or trios and it often works! A few favourite of mine this season were Rachel and Leah, and Fatin and Shelby (they play off each other surprisingly well).

MVP of this season was Rachel for me. What a fucking good character. I loved her in every fucking scene, god and her character arc was the best of all of the girls, imo. Seeing her mourn Nora was excruciating, especially in episode 1. Speaking of Nora, you could actually FEEL her absence in the group dynamic and that's a pretty fucking huge accomplishment. I don't only mean the few references to her we get here and there. In some of the group scenes, I actually caught myself looking around to see if she was there.

I'm personally very happy she's alive. It doesn't make Rachel's mourning fruitless but... I guess it could become a little frustrating down the line. We'll see. Not a fan of the reveal though.... Why do it in the middle of the season with 0 mention of her during the rest of it? huh

Random things that I liked:

I loved seeing Shelby and Toni happy together. I would have liked the show to be more tentative and cautious about it but I'm nitpicking.

Fatin and Shelby figuring the whole thing out.

the music is still a yes, although it didn't hit as much as in season 1. I was so excited when I heard the first few notes of "Vois sur ton chemin" though. Nostalgia! And really fucking unexpected

Humour! We had some pretty fantastic one liners from Fatin, Shelby continuing to be hilarious, Leah putting her hand on Fatin's head and saying "with love", the music stopping after Leah blows the flower at Toni, Gretchen jolting when Henri started singing… many laughing out loud moments this season.

Questions:

Is Shelby the new operative? I know it's heavily implied but... you never know with this show. Also, when did she become the operative? She was probably turned after her anaphylactic shock, but - and I know it's a stretch - there's a possibility she was in on it since the beginning. I don't think she's another double agent though and that she's playing Gretchen. It would feel cheap after Leah's storyline this season.

Nora??? Hello???? What is gonna happen with her? Is Leah gonna tell Rachel that her sister is alive?

Fatin, Shelby and Leah have to share with the others what they know, right?

Why did Shelby shave her head?

Shelby doesn't limp anymore? How long did they stay in the bunker? Do Gretchen ever plan on sending them back to their parents?

What did Josh tell Gretchen that made her so happy?

Which french song is Sarah Streicher gonna choose next season?

Will Toni get a real character arc in season 3?

Are Leah and Fatin gonna smooch?

Now, tell me YOUR thoughts, anon! Do you share any of what I said or was it just complete nonsense?

[mage-propaganda]

Love hearing people get enthusiastic about their D&D characters! Here's a few questions from one of my group's pre-session quizzes that might be fun:

It’s your character’s turn to cook for the party! What do they make for dinner?

2. Your character has been magically trapped their own custom nightmare! What sort of personal demons do they have to face?

3. Sorry, but your character has been demoted to NPC. What side quest do they give the party?

4. Congratulations! Your character has just ascended to the role of minor deity. What’s their domain? What do they ask of their followers?

5. What’s the best way to cheer your character up?

Fuck I LOVE these questions they’re so good thank you so much!! Definitely gonna give these to the rest of my party

1.) Daniel’s not a very good cook, but he’d be open to learning! ( @daffodilcaptain ‘s character Magpie, on the other hand, is an excellent cook). Daniel would probably try to cook, like, chicken and roasted veggies and whether or not the party gets food poisoning relies entirely on how much Magpie checks in on him.

2.) Daniel has a lot of self doubt, guilt, a diagnosed anxiety disorder, and a lotta new trauma and conflicting feelings. I could see him having to face his own self doubts and decisions he’s made, as well as projections of his (adoptive) family he feels guilty for “failing”, his (biological) mother he feels crushed he never got to properly meet (she’s definitely dead), and his (biological) father who he now has very complicated feelings and a relationship with…for a lot of reasons.

3.) Daniel has a lot of emotions, so I see two possible quests on complete opposite ends of the spectrum possible here if was an NPC. One the one hand, he feels love quite deeply and is very, very deeply in love (smitten, really) with the Pirate-Mage Regis…so I could see him giving a party a lighthearted but potentially challenge fetch-quest to grab something of some sort of magical or romantic significance for his boyfriend. At the same time, he’s also a Triton (or half-Triton, as he’s recently learned - not that it is physically noticeable as far as he’s concerned), which in this world are very scattered and rare after having their kingdom destroyed and people effectively genocided (Daniel himself was actually adopted and raised by human nobles), so I could see him also asking the party to ensure the floating cities are safe/okay, and perhaps to find any connection his mother (the Triton), if they ever come across one as he very desperately wants to connect with his people and preserve their culture and whatever else remains.

4.) This is such a difficult question! Daniel would likely go by Nivinis (part of his real name) as a minor deity, and would likely be like “God of the Tides” (and maybe of young love) or something - not exactly like Poseidon (he WOULD be only a minor deity), but his emotions are much like the tides and he can either be quite pleasant or very deadly. He’d likely ask that his followers respect the sea and those that reside in it, and may use whatever newfound power he has to protect the Triton peoples. He’d likely be a strictly Good god, but I don’t know where else on the alignment he’d be on.

5.) Honestly, for Daniel, unless you have a hug and an honest conversation at the ready getting him to do something he loves - like fencing - is a pretty sure way to cheer him up.