#father lost boys

[bella-goths-wife]

Being the lost boys adopted baby

They would never admit it but part of them (apart from David) always kinda wanted to have a family

But being a vampire makes it impossible to settle down

If they married their partner would grow old and die while they stay in their early 20’s

And even if they turned their partners, once you become a vampire you lose the ability to have children

And although they were saddened by this it didn’t mean they weren’t happy

They had each other and they all loved each other with everything they have

And if they ever got sad about this fact, David would be quick to remind them that they wouldn’t be able to cause chaos if they were looking after some baby

And then you showed up

Your mother had moved up to Santa Carla after your father had passed away overseas in the army

She’d moved here in an attempt to start her life over and maybe find a new partner to help raise you

You were only a few months old at that time

Your mother loved you so much that her world revolved around you

In her mind you were the last part of your father with your big (e/c) eyes matching his and the little bits of hair growing on your head matching his shade of hair

You’d moved in with your grandfather just near the beach

Everything was looking good for the first year and you’d grown into a cute 14 month old

Around this time your mother had caught the attention of the lost boys

She was nothing special in their eyes just the same as every other meal, young and vulnerable

The thing that made them curious about her was the constant rejection of the offers to go to a party or watch the concert with them

She’d always told them she was too busy

This made them want to feed off of her more so they changed their tactics

They started acting like they wanted a serious relationship and with that approach your mother agreed to a date with David

It turned into 3 dates before she finally accepted the invitation back to his house

She’d planned to go home and bring you to meet David since she saw potential in him to be a father figure to you

So she entered the cave with you in a push chair and then looked for David

She put you near a bed before looking for David, she was already disappointed that he lived in a goddamn cave and now she couldn’t find him

She was ambushed by Marko and Paul before she was dragged into another room to be eaten

No one noticed that you were there until they had killed your mother and fed off of her

Her last words as she quickly lost consciousness were “(y/n)” which confused the boys

Dwayne was the one to find you in the makeshift bedroom part of the cave they had after you started crying

Dwayne started to soothe you by rocking you while everyone was freaking out

Marko was mad that Paul didn’t notice you

Paul was mad that Marko was mad at him

David was mad that you were crying and mad at the fact you were even here

When they asked each other what they could do with you it turned to more chaos

Marko suggested leaving you at a bus stop but Paul said that you would freeze to death

Paul suggested that they could leave you on churches doorstep so the nuns could call social services to get you but marko refused considering how much he hated the system when he was in it

David suggested killing you which everyone yelled at him for

The Dwayne whispered “we could always keep them”

David out right denied and the other two were hesitant

After some arguing later David agreed you could stay but you would be Dwaynes responsibility

Which worked out quite well

Dwayne was quite fond of you already and would play with you around the cave

He would steal bottles and everything else a baby would need

You slept on the make shift bed with Dwayne close by in case you need him

It was going well until Dwayne remembered that he had to feed after 3 weeks he was starving

He begged David to bring him a meal but he refused and reminded him of the deal

So after convincing Marko to watch you, Dwayne went to eat

Marko is surprising good with children after his time in the system

He would do anything to make you laugh by pulling faces and dancing to music with you on his hip

Dwayne returned to find marko asleep on the sofa with you on his chest

Even when Dwayne tried to take you back to bed, marko slapped his hand away and groaned at him until he settled himself on the floor watching you sleep

When David saw the scene he scoffed and called marko a traitor

After that Marko had officially warmed up to and began sleeping in the bed with you and Dwayne which he was not happy about

After that marko had started spending more time with you, which caused Paul to be upset because his best friend and one of his boyfriends had literally left him for a child

So during a spare moment where you were left alone to sleep Paul came in the room to find Marko but instead seeing you wide awake

He groaned and mumbled about how it wasn’t fair and “you aren’t so great”

You, having just been addressed by an adult, did a normal response and grabbed the finger he was pointing at you

He was shocked “okay that was a little cute”

You did what you could to pull him to you before playing with his long hair

“Okay yeah now I get it” he had said to marko when he entered the room

When David walked in on you tugging at Paul’s hair he simply groaned “not you too!”

Paul joined you guys on the bed after that which again upset Dwayne because he started to miss the peace

After that David became lonely because of the lack of his boys in the usual sleeping cave

David began to resent you and saw you as the person who took his boyfriends from him which was obviously untrue

David only began to bond with you when you had crawled your way into his sleeping part of the cave while he was asleep

You crawled underneath his sleeping head and tugged on his hanging hair

He grunted and woke up before calling you an asshole

You had started crying because of his lack of affection, and David panicked, so he picked you up and and bounced you around, which In turn made you cry even more

He held you to his chest and you looked up at him with your big eyes and giggled “dada”

That made his cold heart defrost a little so he began to spend more time with you

This did cause some problems at the start because vampires are know to be quite possessive so when it came to you things would get mean

Dwayne would be angry at David for hogging you after he ignored you for months so he would stop him from holding you

This caused a fight that ranged over weeks of David snatching you out of Dwayne’s arms and Dwayne almost biting his throat and ripping it out

The possessiveness eased off after a few months but only from each other

You weren’t allowed out the cave unless supervised

When a random woman tried to hold you she was quickly killed and drained of blood

Things got better as you got older but they’re still very loving fathers and only want to protect you

That’s how they justify it at least

That’s all I’m gonna put now but if you want more please request it and I’ll write it :)

[sundayroadkill]

u should do more scorbus fanart😭🙏🙏🙏

i was so shocked to get an ask for more scorbus art that wasn’t from my pal 🤣 thanks anon this one’s for u (and my pal)

[marypsue]

Something about The Lost Boys, a deeply, deliberately queer movie all about vampires (so necessarily obsessed with blood transfer/exchange), where being attracted to the wrong person, taking risks around them, taking their tainted blood into your body, will change your life irrevocably and doom you to death, coming out in 1987, and saying that the real source of the majority of the problems caused by sharing tainted blood is a respectable middle-aged middle-class white man obsessed with power, heteronormativity, and the replication and eternal enshrinement of the nuclear family structure, and that the only way to survive and cure the infection is to destroy him...whoooo.

[fu-cough]

oh sweet adrien who can't even do anything to change the course of his life because his fate was already predetermined long before he was even created

[littlefankingdom]

Me to myself: Don't send murder threats to DC comics writers, don't send murder threats to DC comics writers, don't send murder threats to DC comics writers...

[pikakaistudios]

Ahhh I had to draw them ♡♡♡

~Father and his son~

[ellena-asg]

[fisheito]

wait. puss in boots rei? unfulfilled dream? as.. as in. kinda like. a last wish.? like. the last puss in boots movie.? perrito garu?????

[misslavenderlady]

Happy Father's Day to Laddie's cool dads

The best family ever 💜

(not my gif but I cannot find who made this I'm so sorry)

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Insisting Miles G. acts like Miles and isn't really hood/ghetto because 'Rio raised him right'-

Acting hood is not an indicator of bad parenting.

You can still be hood and a dork. You can have both parents involved in your life, raising you with dedication and kindness and still be hood.

Not all tough black guys are from fatherless homes with bad mothers.

Some (MOST) of them are just normal ass black guys with a mean resting face and little patience for disrespect.

Miles G can definitely act hood.

Now stop before I act hood

[bella-goths-wife]

Wait, could you do one where the lost boys (dads au) where their daughter ( teen years at this point) A. Takes a sip of the wine bottle thinking it was actually wine and just wanted fk try it, or B. Finds a love interest (ideally a lot aggressive bad boy like they are cuz the hypocritical dad logic there would be hilarious)

✨ Thank you ✨

Teen reader gets a aggressive bad boy boyfriend

“David we need to talk” star announced as she pushed her way into the boys personal room

“What now star?” He says annoyed, trying to continue his only romantic time of the week when he and the boys can have a a date night of sorts

“You can’t keep letting our child go out at night, I know your trying to prepare them for being a vampi-“ she was quickly cut off

“I what? I’ve not given them permission to leave the cave at night ever?” He says confused

“Well (y/n) told me you told them to go out more at night to get them prepared for when they turn in a few years, they wouldn’t lie to me David” star says with an edge to her voice, as if she’s trying to convince herself more than anything

David raises an eyebrow before turning around to his boys and giving them a pointed look

“We’ll sort it star” Marko says quickly, trying to not panic

“But-“ star tries again

“We said we’ll sort it” Dwayne snaps as he stands up to show dominance with his large size

Star stormed off defeated, she couldn’t help but feel guilty that she got you in trouble. You shouldn’t have lied to her

———————————————————————

The boys waited until the next night that you attempted to sneak out, they observed you from the shadows of the top of the cave as you went about your trickery

They noticed your outfit choice was a strange one for a hot summer night, you wore an oversized jumper and baggy jeans with what looked like ankle boots

They watched as you told star that you were going out, per David’s false orders. You even complained a bit to really pull off the act, they had to admit you were good.

They followed you from the sky as you wandered the boardwalk before reaching your destination, a tattoo shop

You ran in and the boys knew they would have to wait and watch from the shop window.

———————————————————————

You ran into the tattoo shop excitedly before you saw the reason for your quick pace.

“Jamie” you yell excitedly as you see your boyfriend in the tattooing chair, you flop down into his free arm and giggle as you see his eyes light up

“Hello gorgeous” he kisses your cheek lovingly and pets your hair

“Have you missed me?” You said playfully

“Uh huh more than anything baby” he teases back before planting a cheeky kiss on your lips.

“I have to finish up here if you want to use the staff bathroom to get changed and then we’ll get a bite to eat” James said whilst stroking soothing patterns into your hand.

“Okay” you rush off into the bathroom and see a bag for you to put your stuff in ready on the side.

—————-——————————————————

You and James met 8 months again and it definitely wasn’t love at first sight. James was a classics bad boy and because of your fathers, you tend to avoid boys like that, knowing how toxic they can be.

It wasn’t until James rescued you from some creeps when you were partying with some friends that you even talked to him without insulting each other. He knocked the guy out when he tried touching you inappropriately and took you back to ‘your house’ (grandpa max’s house, you couldn’t have him knowing you lived in a cave)

This sparked a friendship which quickly turned a relationship after a night of dancing turned into a night of kissing. You had fallen completely in love with James, you knew that everyone else saw an aggressive rule breaker and you saw the same, but you also saw him deeper than that, you knew his aggressive behaviour sparked from protectiveness rather than anger.

You opened up to James about your home life, how you were scared of being alone with some family members, how one of your dads was distant and how everyone in the family Ignored the obvious problems you were facing. (You left out having multiple vampire dads)

He accepted your baggage and even offered to run away with you, you initially rejected as you couldn’t face leaving your mother and Dwayne, but you are slowly beginning to be convinced though you would never admit it to anyone, not even yourself.

You and James had a typical routine of staying together on the boardwalk before he takes you home and you cuddle until 2AM because you would have to get home before your fathers got back and didn’t hear your heartbeat.

James adored you in every way, you were the one thing that gave him genuine joy, you were his sunshine, his gorgeous little princess. He’d die for you, he’d kill for you, he would do anything to make you smile.

———————————————————————

The boys watched you emerge from the tattoo and breathed a sigh of relief that you didn’t come out with any bandages from a tattoo on you.

The relief was short lived when they took notice of what you were wearing. You had on a black crop top with black denim shorts, fishnets, black boots and a oversized leather jacket that was clearly not yours.

They were shocked, who bought you those clothes because it wasn’t them also, why would you wear them. You were much to young to wear clothing like that.

Then they saw a boy by your side who quickly put his arm around your shoulder as you walked. The boys were disgusted, was this creep trying to take advantage of their baby? It wasn’t until they saw you smile and laugh with the boy they realised you weren’t being taken advantage of, you were enjoying your time with the boy

The boys were curious so they followed you more before they would reveal themselves, they followed you to the board walk where you stood with this boy in front of a food truck and ordered.

They noticed how people would part themselves for this boy to walk with you. The boys had only ever seen people do this with them and it would have to be two or more, what made this boy so intimidating that people would actively avoid him.

You tried to pull your cash out to pay for your food but the boy shooed your hand away and pulled out his cash to pay, you giggled at the boy and leant into him in a loving way.

You looked at this boy with pure adoration, it reminded David of how you would look at him when you were younger. You used to look at him as if he was a god, with nothing but love in your eyes. Nowadays you mostly looked at him with anger or sadness.

As the boys were distracted, a group of young men came up behind you and one of them smacked your ass on the way. The boys were outraged, they went to jump up and rescue you but they were beat by James shielding you before he grabbed the man by the collar and smashed his face into the food truck.

James took on the group of boys and left each of them a bloody mess, some with broken noses and some with lost teeth. The boys looked at you and expected you to be disgusted by this act of violence, but when they looked at you, you had a blank expression which moulded into concern when you looked at the state of the boys hand. You rooted through your bag before pulling out pain killers and some bandages.

The boys were shocked, you planned for this? How often does this happen? Do you enjoy the violence? Who the fuck were you right now?

———————————————————————

“You didn’t have to do that for me you know” you said gentle as you gripped the ice from your drink and wrapped it into a napkin before resting it on Jamie’s now bruised and bandaged hand.

“They shouldn’t have touched you” he said angrily, still heated at what the man did to you.

“You can’t just fight everyone who touches me you know?” You said jokingly

James takes your hand seriously and looks into your eyes with an unidentified emotion swirling around in them.

“I would kill for you y’know” he says seriously “I hate everyone but you, can’t go losing the best thing to ever happen to me”

“I know jamie” you reassured “I just don’t want you to get in trouble again, I don’t want to be alone again” you smile at him sadly

James pulls you to rest your head on his chest as he leans his chin on top of your head.

“That would never happen” he reassured you gently “can’t go getting rid of me now I love you” he teased lovingly

———————————————————————

The boys retreated to the cave and sat in contemplation of what they just witnessed.

“This is fucked” Paul says after a twenty minute silence

“Paul” marko tries tiredly but is cut off

“No, this is seriously fucked” he begins a rant “this is some daddy issues shit. That little brat is exactly like us”

“Don’t be weird paul, that’s disgusting” Dwayne states

“No I’m serious right now” paul tries again “she’s practically dating a younger us and it’s Fucking weird”

“Don’t say they’re dating, we don’t know that yet” marko says sharply

“What more proof do you need, for her to stick her tongue down his throat?” Paul yells and winces at his own words.

“Don’t talk about her like that, she’s still a kid” Dwayne says trying to deny your growing up

“Dwayne, kids don’t wear crop tops and fishnets” paul yells “kids don’t make out with boys and sit on boys laps”

“SHUT UP” David yells, disgusted at the memory of you having an intimate moment with someone who was clearly your lover

“We have to come up with a plan on how to deal with this” David states with a sadistic smile as he thought of all the ways to get rid of the problem.

You should be on your way home by now….

———————————————————————

Part two coming Soon!

If you enjoyed please like and reblog :)

[starlahuskyz]

Papa Dwayne for the soul

[arthursfuckinghat]

Bluewater Marsh - Lemoyne

[introspectivememories]

i keep getting supersons content on my feed and like idk how many more times i have to tell tumblr i do not care about aged down jon kent

[lumashoes]

listening to christmas carols and making vivid miles edgeworth angst animatics in my head

[trashlie]

ILY FP 258

I can't believe we're actually passed episode 250 lmao I Love Yoo is truly the never ending story (affectionate). I appreciate how much of the story we really get to dig into at this pace and while I know a lot of people have long-since dropped it, I imagine the rest of us (those reading this post because why else are you here?) also appreciate it. And that's what is even more refreshing about this episode - if refreshing is even a word we can use to describe it. Getting the extra scenes from other characters, a look at their lives and from these glimpses, what we can glean in the unsaid between the lines.

Can you believe I used to prey on Kousuke's downfall? There's so many posts of me talking about him from a different view, believing that the only way he could grow and develop and make the changes necessary to make him a better person was for him to crash and burn, to fail so significantly that he would be forced to pen his eyes to reality. But here we are, me, fervently swaddling him up like a baby and shoving him into my pocket because GOD he needs to be protected.

I don't even remember when it was, that my view on him began to shift, when I went from "he's interesting but awful" to "GOD THIS IS MY SON AND I WILL FIGHT EVERYONE YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME" but.... lol there's no going back!

That's enough rambling, let's jump in.

There is something so painfully devastating about every time ILY confirms to us something we have long-since known or suspected through nuance, foreshadowing, reading between the lines, etc: That Kousuke isn't Rand's biological son, that Shinae was at the formal for Gun Kim, that Kousuke has been manipulated his whole life. Nothing in this episode regarding Kousuke is actually new to us. We have known, and talked about, for months and months long before the confirmation reveal that Yui drugs Kousuke - that he has been manipulated by her his entire life, that she orchestrated his life to manipulate him into situations she could take advantage of. It's the way she spoke about Rand's affair around Kousuke, the way she commodified Rand's love so Kousuke became convinced he'd never earned his father's love, the way she spoke of their family vs others and convinced him from such a young age that everyone was out to get them, to destroy them, and that he couldn't let them get close, couldn't let them near - and how Nol was very much a target planted in his mind.

But it's the fact that he is speaking of this and acknowledging it! Until now, Kousuke has heavily lived in denial. Again, we know this. We talk a lot about the chasm between reality and the reality he believes in. We talk a lot about how Kousuke couldn't face reality, even though on some level he knew everything he believed and was told was not quite true not quite real, but that he was so afraid of the truth, he couldn't do it. Kousuke admitting that he's been driven by fear and envy explains everything about him, and why he could not accept the only unwavering unconditional love he was offered.

A few weeks ago I saw a video on instagram of this father talking about a conversation he had with his daughter, who was feeling a little uncomfortable with her friend group. A new girl started to play with her and her best friend and she said she wasn't exactly jealous, but that maybe it was that she was afraid that there wasn't enough love to go around. Her dad had to explain to her that love is not like a pizza - it's not finite, a limited amount that could be taken and hogged by someone else. But Kousuke never learned this. His father's love was commodified and he was made to fear this other kid who he mistakenly believed knew a version of his father he'd never been privy to. He never learned that love is finite, that Rand could have enough love for the both of them, and feared that Nol would hog it all - that he WAS hogging it all because whether or not it was good or bad, Nol received more attention that Kousuke did. And that speaks VOLUMES about how Kousuke sees Rand, what he thinks of their relationship. In his mind, he is still unworthy, that he's not noteworthy enough.

This part gets to me so badly. We, as omniscient readers, know that Rand has tried his best, but that Yui runs a spectacular interference with which he can't compete, largely because of the roles their family have placed them in - Rand the busy businessman, Yui the mommy homemaker. But no matter how hard he tries, it isn't good enough. Rand tries to reach Kousuke, but the manipulation and paranoia are so far gone that the times Rand does have the chance to convey his feelings, Kousuke can't even believe it, because he thinks he's not good enough to deserve that love, that he hasn't fully qualified for it yet. And despite that, Nol, who Kousuke feels hasn't done half of what he has to deserve Rand's love, gets the attention. It doesn't matter that it's negative attention, that Rand barks at Nol, that Nol feels Rand hates and regrets him, because ultimately, it's still more than Kousuke receives. And worse, to him, every time Rand is busy reprimanding Nol, he turns away from Kousuke to do it.

I want to make it clear that this is a deep trauma point of Kousuke's. He's never learned healthy love and the only person who gave him healthy love was someone he was set to fear and fight. Something I think about a lot is the flashback to Kousuke, in the bushes, watching Nessa and Nol's display of warm affection, before Yui appears literally looming before him. In that moment, he witnesses something he's been deprived of. "We're not like other families"'. He's told from a young age he shouldn't compare himself to those healthy families, to warm and affectionate relationships that he will not cultivate in this household. From such a young age it is normalized, that they aren't like others, that they are cold and distant. From a young age, he's made to stuff down his feelings, his tender wants and desires, in order to earn them. To be a good little boy who makes his parents proud. To make his father look his way.

There's also something about the way he says "I've been a good boy" that echoes Shinae learning she's been manipulated by Yui, devastated and angry and yelling about how she's been a good girl so why do these things keep happening to her, all she wanted to do was help her dad. Two people who, from a young age, felt they had to be so obedient, so good, to not be a burden, and despite following the rules, despite doing as they were told, despite trying to be whatever version of "good" they believed in, the world still beat them up and mistreated them. The world still punished them.

As Rin in our discord server pointed out, though, to some degree, Kousuke is very much a person who can - and does - act out, when he's emotionally high-strung. He's a volatile man, and it's largely to do with the fact that he's been drugged to placate him for so long. He never learned emotional regulation, he never learned how to deal with high-stress situations or to face conflict or to own up to things. This is something that some readers who hate Kousuke and expect him to act a certain way because of his age are missing. You don't just learn these things with age. You learn them with experience and Kousuke was deprived of the opportunity TO have those experiences. He never had to learn these behaviors, and now as an adult he cannot function when overwhelmed.

Idk this whole episode is just heartbreaking. It's devastating. I remember when I was someone praying on Kousuke's downfall and now I want to take it all back ;___; I always believed he had to crash and burn to be able to see the world for what it really was and to face his fears, but this is somehow so much worse.

And even though he's drunk, I don't think he's going to forget all of this in the morning. Rather, I think what he's voicing are things that have been plaguing him since waking up in the hospital. From that moment, we saw him wary and distrustful of his mother, we saw his concern for Nol rising above everything else, but grappling with the understanding that he doesn't deserve to stand in front of Nol anymore. These aren't epiphanies coming to him just because he's drunk; it's more like he's only voicing them because he's drunk. But even when he sobers up, he will probably still be haunted by these fears, these agonies, these truths, this understanding.

How does he face his mother after this? How does he face anyone? He may not even feel like he can trust Jayce - who while very kind to him, is still employed by his family. He may not even feel like he can trust Hansuke (though I really hope that's not the case).

He's so miserable and it genuinely hurts to have him lay it all out for us - everything we've known and suspected, like how it was so painfully clear he WANTED Nol's friendship, their brotherhood, but feared it, didn't believe that there was enough love to go around, that there could only be one of them and that even if it was for good or bad reasons, Nol cast him in the shadow. And all these years, watching as Nol, as Yeonggi, grew into this person who sounded so very much like this unknown version of their father, someone funny who makes others laugh, someone goofy, someone so boyish in the ways Kousuke was never allowed to be. Watching as he gathers friends, while Kousuke, so unlikeable, is wanted only for his money, for his status, for the clout.

He doesn't even know WHO HE IS! Questioning his own traits he's believed of himself, wondering if this is even him, if these parts of him are real or does he just act it, say it, pretend it, while trying to fulfill a role he was shoved into. That makes me feel SO deeply sad, because it's something I've been anticipating for so long: Kousuke wondering WHO he really is, how much of him is real and how much of it is the result of manipulation.

And that moment that he catches himself and says no no that's offensive and rude you can't be like that. ;AAA;

For him to admit how much he envies others, how much he craves the kind of connection others have, the kind of family others have, to feel that love and warmth that he's been deprived of, forced to endure this solitude because, as he believes, he didn't get the good parts of Rand. And what will happen when he learns that Rand isn't his father? That he never stood a chance to inherit any of those traits. Kousuke has operated on this belief that, if he tries hard enough, he can earn the things he craves, but I fear learning about his parenthood will make him think that no matter how hard he tried, he would never earn that, because none of it was ever him, could have gone to him.

I think this is where Shinae, in the future, will come in. I feel so very strongly that she will be someone who helps Kousuke to see that this isn't true, that these kinds of personality traits aren't something inherited, but rather something learned. For him to one day realize it's the paralyzing fear that holds him back, not his genetics. Of course, I acknowledge this will still take a lot of therapy but...

Something else very remarkable to me is the way Kousuke recognizes Shinae in Shinhye, because their eyes "feel the same" and he opens up to her - on some level, whether or not he is consciously aware of it, Kousuke knows, or maybe just wants to, that he can trust Shinae. That she is someone who is safe. He even knows how she feels about his mother. I don't think we'll see a lot of Kousuke and Shinae's friendship until we're passed our timeskips, but it makes me feel a little hopeful about it, that she'll be able to reach him, because she feels like someone who is safe. It's the way he sees Nol in her and wants to try to have that do over, a relationship with someone who  has unconditional love for him. It's the way he knows he mistreated Nol, that it was wrong, that he took it all out on this kid he was so afraid of because he had no other outlet, and he wants to do better but knows that there's nothing to salvage anymore.

But also, it just makes me hope more and more that in the future we WILL see a reconciliation between the brothers. As I say every time, it doesn't mean they have to become brothers or friends, but I just want them to see each other fully. Kousuke knows what he did to Nol. He doesn't deny it, even if he might not say it out loud unless he's drunk. But Nol is still so in the dark. Yujing is trying to tip him off and make him aware of it, but I hope one day when Nol realizes it, when he finds out that Kousuke, too, was Yui's victim, that he wasn't the only one, that Kousuke was made to fear Nol's love, he might.... understand. I'm saying understand here loosely because I don't want people to get the idea that I mean Nol will forgive him and Kousuke will be justified, but rather that Nol would be able to understand why Kousuke felt that way, and move on. But I can't help but hope that it will lead to an understanding, a reconciliation, where maybe they can try to be in each other's lives.

I think it's also interesting that Shinhye was somewhat honest, even if she wasn't very forthcoming, with Kousuke about her own family. It sounds like her mother has been gone for a long time, that she's been on her own the whole while, and I think it reinforces the idea that she believes both that Simhan is her father and that he rejected her, that he didn't want anything to do with her. It lines up, too, with how she feels that he wouldn't react well if he saw her (although I think she credited that to looking like their mother). In the same way that Shinae has felt abandoned and cast aside by their mother, Shinhye probably thinks their father never tried reach out, to find them, to maintain a relationship with her. Or perhaps it's that her mother fed her lies about him, made her believe him a different type of man, made her believe there would never be anything of their relationship to salvage. And given that she's the one who Kousuke opened to, it makes me think that there must be some kind of parallel there; the way she mentioned her own mother feels like maybe her mother, too, was a manipulative - or at the very least, dishonest - person.

I don't speculate a lot on Shinhye because frankly I don't think I know enough about her to really try to talk about her, but I do think that it's very likely there's some kind of connection between Shinhye and the Hirahras or Gun. To be clear, I don't believe she's working with Yui at all. I think it's more like... Alyssa isn't the only girl who has been trafficked by Gun. What's the likelihood that Shinae and Shinhye's mother was? Given her history, the gambling addiction that was so egregious her reputation haunted Shinae and chased her to a new neighborhood and school, was she seeking money somewhere else, somewhere more dangerous? Is that part of why they had to change their name? There's so many questions left about them, and I look forward to learning more about her, but, much like with Alyssa, I think it will take time and be dropped in little tidbits like this - things to read into and try to glean something from.

And maybe we'll see more of this duo in the future? It would feel a little weird to give them this one single run in, but I'm not entirely sure. Quimchee likes to keep us on our toes. After all, Minhyuk and Shinhye have also had only the one run in. Still, I think it would be interesting to watch, if Shinhye ever felt.... I want to say maybe compelled? to dig in more to Kousuke, ever feel a kind of kinship. I don't think she'll open up to him at all, but rather, maybe she'd keep going back because a. he's wealthy and there's more she can nick from him (assuming he doesn't realize she stole anything while in his apartment, if he even remembers any of this) and b. wanting to gather more intel.

Like I said though, she's hard to read so I don't want to cling too hard to any ideas and, instead, sit back and enjoy the show.