#if she IS coming back they're doing a REALLY GREAT job of hiding it

[icedteaandoldlace]

In most cases I prefer written articles to videos, but not when it comes to interviews, 'cause sometimes with written interviews it's literally impossible to interpret someone's tone.

Like, when Carlos was asked if Cisco would be showing up in season 9, was his answer, "I just don't know"

or "I just don't know"

?

[satorusugurugurl]

How would satosugu, nanami, and choso react to reader trying to hide a really bad injury after a mission and thinking they’ll take care of it tomorrow, but they end up passing out or something ?

Mwah 💋

Hurt

Summary: You get injured on the job, and try to hide it from your boyfriend, how will they react when they find out the truth?

Characters: Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, Nanami Kento, Choso Kam, FAB!Reader

Word Count: 4,221

Warning: Mentions of injuries, blood, suggestivness, little angsty, little crack!

A/N: Ah nothing like a good stern lecture from sexy anime men! Thank you for the request Nonnie enjoy!! 💚

Gojo Satoru + Geto Suguru

This wasn’t good, nope, not in the slightest. Your side was killing you. The structures the doctor at the hospital did sting each time you moved, and you’d already taken the pain meds he had prescribed. You just needed to wait until tomorrow. Shoko said she’d heal you as soon as she was in town. Until then, you just needed to fake it.

“I don’t think you should be alone right now,” Ijichi announces as he opens the car door for you. “I should call Gojo and Geto to tell them what happened.”

“I’m fine,” you respond with a grimace. “They're busy teaching right now. I don’t wanna be a bother.”

“But you lost a lot of blood.”

“I'm fine!” you assured him, patting him on the back as you headed towards your house. “Don't call them. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Standing inside the threshold, you waved as he drove away, but the second the door shielded your face, you doubled over in pain. If the assistant supervisor had seen you like this, he wouldn’t have let you go inside alone. Your trusted friend would have called your partners, insisting for them to come home. If they had known what had happened, they would have cared for you, of course, but you would also have received a lecture on why you should be safe. Geto would insist you train specifically with him. Gojo would ensure you were sent on missions with him until they were sure you could protect yourself.

That would be the worst-case scenario. You hadn’t gotten injured like this in years. It wasn’t even your fault. The floor gave way, leaving you vulnerable for a second, totally not on you, but your boyfriends wouldn’t see it like that.

“Oooh fuck me.” You whimpered, resting your head against the door. “Fuck me”

“That can be arranged.” Hot breath fanned over your neck, making you jump. “Whoa, easy there!”

Gojo’s eyes were on you as soon as you turned toward the voice. They were full of happiness and joy over seeing you come home. “Satoru? What are you doing at home? Shouldn’t you be teaching right now?” Your sudden outburst had him blinking in confusion.

“All of the students were sent on missions,” Geto answered as he leaned against the wall, cocking an eyebrow. “There were no other missions, so we decided to surprise you.”

“Oooh!” The throbbing pain in your side had you wincing. “That’s great! Awesome, what a nice surprise!”

“You don’t look too excited,” Satoru bluntly called you out. “Are you sure you’re okay, sweetheart?”

“Oooh yeah, I’m great.” You were lying; you were far from great because the room was spinning. “I need to sit down; my feet are—” your vision blurred as you stumbled past Satoru leaning against the wall.

“You sure?” Suguru asked, gently grabbing your shoulder and steadying you. “You look pale.”

“I'm just tired.” the faster you got past them, the quicker you could get off your feet and relax.

Suguru releases your shoulder, letting you step towards the living room. “For someone who’s doing great. You sure are swaying a lot.” Satoru was by your side, watching you as if he thought you would fall, which you might end up doing.

“Yeah, I can assure you, I’m fine.” Your tone was as sharp as a knife, causing both partners to cease interrogation. “I just wanna sit down with you both., watch a movie and cuddle.”

Upon hearing your request, the request you always made when you returned from a mission. Both men fell into your routine. Suguru walked past you, heading to the couch, while Satoru ran to the bedroom.

“I’ll grab blankets!”

“Princess, do you want to grab the snacks? I’ll pick out the movie.” there was a particular look in your dark-haired boyfriend's eyes. He was trying to test you to see if you were as fine and dandy as you claimed to be

Knowing him, the interrogation would start if you asked to pick out the movie instead. Neither he nor Satoru would let up until you came clean about the injury. Once that was out in the open, you knew the lectures and scheduled training sessions would soon follow.

Blinking away, the blurry vision in your eyes, you gave Suguru a thumbs up, heading into the kitchen. You grab different kinds of snacks, candy, popcorn, and some chips. Each wavering movement had the stitches in your side screaming in protest; your sore skin begged for you to sit down and relax. You tried to fight through the pain, but your painkillers weren’t cutting in. Leaving you in a sheen sheet of sweat as you carried the bowls back to the living room.

Upon hearing your footsteps, Suguru turned just as Satoru returned with a blanket. The bowls in your hands felt like they weighed a ton as you tried stepping forward, but your legs refused to move. Suguru noticed your behavior, standing and taking a tentative step forward.

“Princess?” Two Suguru’s stood before you as your vision blurred with black spots. Something hot and wet ran down your side.

“Why are there two Suguru’s?” Your voice cracked as the bowls fell to the ground. “I-Is it my birthday?” Your hazy attention was suddenly on Satoru as you stumbled. “Oh,” Blinking at the Satoru’s rushing for you, the room suddenly turned on its side. Oh no, you were falling. “Fuck.”

Darkness overcame you, and thoughts of double Satoru’s and Suguru’s infiltrated your dreams. Dreams that were lewd, sweaty, and full of pleasure. But in the midst of your, what would you call it? SatoSugu orgy, Shoko appeared, staring down at you.

“Make sure you sterilize that wound,” Her cigarette bobbed between her lips. “Infection can set fast.”

“I know that.” The Suguru at your neck responded less out of breath than you were.

The Satoru between your legs looked back at Shoko. “Do you want us to bring her in tomorrow?”

“No, I’ll stop by on the way to work.”

As you blinked in your dreams, your groggy eyes opened, and you found yourself lying in bed. Suguru was shaking a spray bottle before spraying it on your side. The wound suddenly felt like hundreds of hot needles were stabbing it. With watering eyes, you screamed in pain. You knew the spray was supposed to help, but it seemed to enhance the throbbing pain in your side.

“Looks like your patient is awake.” Shoko chuckled on the phone Satoru held. The pain made you try to curl in on yourself just to have your boyfriend stop you. “I’ll let you guys go. See you in the morning.”

“Bye, thanks, Shoko.” the second you heard the FaceTime call, cerulean eyes met you. “Soo, you wanna try telling us how your mission went again?”

“N-No.”

“Ooh, she said no, Suguru.”

“That she did. Do you want to tell her?”

Your white-haired boyfriend shook his head, a sinister smile on his face. “No, I know you were looking forward to it.” Suguru’s eyes were shut as he gave you a gentle smile that wasn’t gentle in the slightest.

“Did you seriously think Shoko wouldn't call us and tell us about your injury?”

It feels like your house crashes around you. “That traitor.” Your wound receives another spray of antiseptic. “Ow fuck! What was that for?!” Suguru continues to smile, the smile that always scares the loving shit out of you.

“You heard Shoko, I need to make sure it’s clean.”

Satoru is by your side in an instant. “Why wouldn’t you tell us what happened? Did you think we were going to yell at you or something?” You bark out a laugh, giving them a look of disbelief.

“Yes! I made a rookie mistake. Regardless of how it happened, it ended with me leaving myself wide open and getting hurt in the process. I know that this one.” Suguru hums in response. He cleans up the bloodied gauze around you. “Is going to make me train with him. And you aren’t going to let me go on any missions by myself.”

“You’re right about one thing: you will be training with me every morning for a week.” Suguru pats you on the head.

“But you’re wrong about me going to higher-ups. I know you’re capable of taking care of yourself; you had an accident. You’re not the first sorcerer to get injured on the job.”

“Wait, seriously?”

Both your partners exchange a look with each other. “Yeah, we aren’t going to lock you in the apartment and not allow you to go out. You’re strong, but you shouldn’t have lied to us.” Suguru gently strokes your hair back. “So in the future, if you happen to get hurt, just be honest about it. You wouldn’t like it if Satoru or I hid something like that from you, would you?” They watch as you shake your head.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I won’t ever keep something like that from you guys again.”

“Good,” Suguru kisses your forehead as Satoru lies beside you on the bed. “but just because you apologized doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods yet.”

“Huh?”

Satoru claps his hands together above his head, drawing your attention. “Sex ban for a week.” If your side wasn’t screaming in pain, you would have sat up.

“S-Sex ban?! Why?! Shoko will have me all healed up tomorrow!”

“Your side might be healed, but our hearts are still wounded.” Faux sorrow is thick in Satoru’s voice.

“L-Let’s be reasonable about this! I haven’t seen you guys in like a week! I need you both!”

The sound of things being thrown in a trashcan draws your attention. “Should have thought about that before you lied to us. For the next week, you’re training with me; in that time, neither me nor Satoru will touch. You’re not even allowed to touch yourself. Princess, you’ll have to suffer and watch us go at it.” Satoru scrambles off the bed, throwing himself at Suguru, his delicate pink lips pressing against your boyfriend's. “It’s a shame, too, because you sounded like you were having a great time when you passed out earlier.” You helplessly lay in bed, watching your boyfriends make out with each other.

You never hid another injury from them after that torturous week.

Nanami Kento:

“Ow, ow, ow.” You gingerly touch the gash on the back of your head. It throbbed in pain to the point it was making you dizzy. You had Nitta glue it shut with the first aid kit from her car, ignoring her pleas to call Nanami and go to the hospital. The gash itself wasn’t a big deal. So, there is no point in calling Nanami on his day off. It could wait until Shoko was back at school.

A cursed spirit got too zealous and threw you against a metal gate. The impact had you seeing stars, but you quickly shook it off and finished your mission. The wound would be another addition to the scars you had gained over the years. A superficial cut was something your boyfriend did not need to worry about or get involved in. The only thing he needed to do was lose himself in his book.

Reading was precisely what he was doing as you stepped into the apartment. Nanami’s legs were propped up on the ottoman, his eyes roaming over the pages of the book he had eagerly awaited. The gentle smile on his face as he sipped tea was the only clarification you needed to know you had made the right choice and not bothering him.

“I’m home!” You announced, kicking your shoes off before collapsing on the couch beside him.

“Welcome back.” Nanami laid his book down on his chest, allowing him to kiss you gently. “How did the mission go?”

“Easy, I’m happy to be home.”

“I'm happy to have you home. I was pretty lonely and bored.”

“Lonely and bored? Is your book not that good? You’ve been so eager to read it for weeks.”

“Oh, it’s good, I missed—” his lips move, but a sharp ringing in your ears drowns him out. He notices the blank look as you try to pinpoint what he said. “Love?”

“Hmm?” Play it cool, play cool.

“I asked you a question.”

Well, playing it cool might not be as easy as you thought. “I’m sorry I’m a little out of it. What did you say, Ken?” The questioning look in his eyes lets you know he’s on to you. Damn him for being so perspective.

“I said I missed you and asked if you wanted to lie down on my lap while I read.”

“Oh! Sure, of course.”

You rest your head in Nanami’s lap, making sure your gash isn’t anywhere close to him. Your husband notices the awkward way you lie down, as if your head is tender to the touch, but he doesn’t say anything. He lifts his book while his free hand gently strokes the top of your head.

Each time he pulls his hand back, you stiffen in fear that he’ll graze over your wound. He doesn’t come close, though. Nanami focuses his strokes solely on the crown of your head. Usually, you would have called asleep and could fall asleep, and you would have if it weren't for the pulsing, pounding pressure that begins to build in your head. You choke back, pained groans, and whine, not wanting Nanami to know what’s going on.

The pressure continues to build, and nausea swirls in the pit of your stomach. Ringing in ears, headache, and nausea put the three together, along with a head wound, and you don’t even need a doctor to tell you what’s wrong. Most likely, you have a concussion, and it’s a bad one.

You should have listened to Nitta and went to the hospital. Getting checked out right now was probably a good idea, but how could you tell your boyfriend now? ‘Oh, my brain got scrambled by a cursed spirit and failed to mention it to you. Could you maybe take me to the hospital?’ Yeah, that was a conversation destined to end in an argument or lecture, both if you were lucky. If Shoko hurried up, you might have been able to sneak out to meet her at the school.

“Love.” Your husband whispers. “You’re trembling, and you keep wincing. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’m—” Nanami holds his hand out in front of your face. His palm is coated red with blood.

“You’ve already lied to me once, so do not do it again.”

“Ooh, I’m bleeding.” You try to sit up, but your body falls forward as dizziness overwhelms you. Nanami catches you, lifting you into his arms. “The blood is supposed to be inside of my body.”

You blink slowly as Kento rushes out of your apartment. There are blurred shapes and muffled voices as you’re treated in the hospital; you feel disoriented like you’re high. Your husband's hand holding yours is the one comforting sensation that grounds you.

His thumb rubs comforting circles over your knuckles. His deep, soothing voice talks to you, shushing your pained cries as the back of your head is stitched shut. And his smell engulfs you as you lay together in the hospital bed.

Once the room clears, you look towards your husband, who stares ahead with an unreadable expression. The instant he feels your eyes on him, his head jerks in your direction. That unreadable expression shifts into a look of anger and disappointment. You were royally fucked.

“Ten stitches.” An audible gulp sounds from you. “The doctor had to put ten stitches because your makeshift patch job failed.”

“It was only—”

“Stop talking, do not interrupt me.” Oh, he was pissed, and you felt like you were five inches tall as you snapped your mouth shut. “I called Nitta to find out she told you to call me, but you insisted on not bothering me on my day off. When have I ever in our entire relationship made you feel as though I’m not available on my days off?”

“You haven't.”

“Then tell me why you wouldn’t have called me.”

“I-I didn’t wanna be a bother. You work so hard you deserve to relax on your days off.”

Kento turns so he’s facing you, fingers gently holding your chin. “Just because I have a day off does not mean I am incapable of caring for my wife.” The anger that burned in his brown iris shifted to sadness and concern. “Do I make myself clear? We don’t hide stuff like injuries from each other.”

He had every right to be angry. If he had hidden the injury from you, you would’ve reacted the same way. Hiccups bubble in your chest as you softly cry. Nanami’s grip on your chin slides up to your cheek fingers, gently brushing away the falling tears.

“I'm sorry, Kento, I should’ve talked to you.” His lips kiss away the last lingering tears. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you for apologizing. Are you okay now? You're not in pain, are you?”

“No, I'm just drained.”

Nanami peered at the clock on the wall. “Go ahead and get some rest. I’ll wake you in about an hour to check on you.” His warm and gentle voice has you drifting to sleep.

“I love you, Kento.”

“I love you too, darling.”

Choso Kamo:

“Ew, do you think it’s broken? It shouldn’t look like that.” Nobara cringes as Megumi and Yuuji help ease you onto a bench.

“It’s just a sprain.”

“I don’t know, but it’s already swelling.” Megumi’s blue eyes lock on your ankle. “I might be broken.”

Yuuji is biting down on his knuckle, glancing between your ankle and face. “My brother is going to kill me.” You were going to kill the three of them if they didn’t give you some space to breathe.

“It’s not broken. I assure you of that, and Choso will not kill you.”

What had started as a typical training session had turned into a full-on brawl. One that ended with you getting kicked so hard you stumbled back ten yards just to roll your ankle. None of your students were at fault; if anyone was, you encouraged them to go at you with full strength.

“Look, just do me a favor, okay? Do not mention this to Gojo. The bastard will never let me live it down, and if you see Choso, don’t mention it to him either.”

“Should we just go grab Ieri for you?” Megumi glanced back at your ankle, which was already starting to bruise.

Oh, if only life were. “She has today off, and I refuse to bug her with some so Minuscule; I’ll be fine until tomorrow.” Skepticism painted the features of your students. “I’m fine. Go wash up. Class dismissed.” None of them moved like they were waiting to see if one of the three would fight you on your decision. There was hesitation in their features, so you mustered the best mom look you could.

One that terrified them more than a curse.

“Right, right! Later!” Yuuji was the first to take off, running down the path. Taking a second glance at you was all your other students needed to follow close behind him.

You sat there on the bench, looking up at the sky. All you needed was a few minutes to yourself before you attempted to head back. But those few minutes turned into an hour. Not because you got tired or lost track of time. No, it was because when you tried to get up, your ankle protested at the weight you put on it.

Maybe it wasn’t a minor sprain like you thought.

Regrets of your choices in the last hour lingered like cheap perfume. You had no phone, no students to help you, and there was no one to come to your rescue. Your only choices were to crawl back to the teacher dorms or wait for a soul to pass by. If no one stopped by, you would have to settle in for a long night

You were about to start crawling, praying Gojo didn’t walk by when a confused “Baby?” Called out from down the trail, drawing your attention in.

Choso was rushing forward, his hair bouncing with each step. “Hi, Cho!” You waved before patting the seat next to you.

“What are you doing here? Gojo said your training session with the kids ended over an hour ago.”

“Oh, I, uhm, just wanted to admire this beautiful day. Take a chance to smell the roses.”

Your boyfriend sat down next to you, his eyes moving to look up at the trees. The sunlight that shone through the branches and leaves caused the rays of sunlight to dance over his handsome face. Taking a deep breath, he shut his eyes and soaked in the sun's warmth.

At that moment, you forgot about the pain in your ankle. He looked so happy; the last thing you wanted to do was ruin his peaceful zen to have him worry about you.

Opening his eyes, he let out a soft sigh before his warm gaze met you. He looked at you like he had when admiring the towering trees above. Damn, your busted ankle; if the numbing pain weren’t so bad, you would’ve kissed him until neither of you could breathe.

“I see you’ve been here. It’s a perfect day.” Yeah, if only he knew the other reason you were sitting on the bench. “As beautiful as the view is, it is getting late. Do you want to head back? Yuuji invited us to go to the movies tonight.”

“Uhm, yeah.” Choso took your hand in his, helping you stand up. “Nngh.” You cry out behind your hand as the pain in your ankles shoots up your leg.

Choso’s warm gaze on you and an. “What’s wrong?” He studies your stance, noting how you put all your weight on your good ankle.

“N-Nothing, I’m just stiff.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm!”

“Okay then.” he pulls his hand away, causing your balance to falter. “Let’s go if you're fine.”

Sweat beads on your forehead, not from the warm day but from the pain. “Alright.” You try to come off as chipper, but your voice betrays you, cracking under the discomfort. “L-Let’s get going! Movies! Yay!” Choso crosses his arms over his chest as he watches you.

Taking one step forward feels like a sore is plunged into your foot. You grit your teeth before taking another step forward, the pain more intense this time, the singular sword suddenly multiplied by ten. Blinking away the tears in your eyes, you attempt to take another step forward, only to stumble.

You brace yourself for the impact that never comes. Choso’s arm is around your waist the second you stumble forward. He can feel your ragged breathing as he eases back onto the bench. His long fingers gently push up your leggings, revealing your swollen and discolored ankle. It seems as though sitting on the bench has made it worse. You knew better than to let it dangle. I.C.E., icing, compressing, and elevating was best for you to do with a sprained ankle. Instead, the swelling was out of control when this could’ve been avoided.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?” In your tear-filled gaze, Choso’s eyes are lingering on your face. “Is this the real reason you’ve been sitting here for so long?”

There was no sense in lying, not when you had been caught. “Yes, that’s why I’ve been sitting here. The kids offered to help me, but I was being stubborn.” The sigh that leaves Choso’s mouth is thick with disappointment. “I didn’t bring my phone, or I would have called you eventually.” Your boyfriend moves, turning so his back is facing you.

“Yet when I’m beside you, you still hide it.”

“I-I know, I’m sorry.” You wait for him to get up and leave you stranded on the bench. But instead, he looks over his shoulder at you.

“Well, come on,” he gestures to his back, “get on, we’ll go home, and we’ll take a look at it there,” You do as he says, climbing onto his back. “And up we go.” he stands, allowing you to bury your face into the crook of his neck. He gives you a piggyback ride across campus. Things remain relatively quiet until he sighs. “Baby, next time you get hurt, please tell me. That way, I can help you,” he glances at the corner of his eye. “I know you think you have to do things all on your own, but you don’t when I’m with you.”

Not even a second passed before you bit down gently on his cheek. “I promise I’ll tell you next time. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it earlier. I’m sort of embarrassed that I got taken down by my ankle. I’m a sorcerer, for god's sake.” You give his cheek another nibble, winning shy laughter from him.

“Don't eat me~ how will you get back to the dorm?”

“Crawl?” You suggest, resulting in Choso laughing harder.

“No crawling for my baby, I got you.” and you couldn't have been more content with that.

Forever Tag List:

@darkstarlight82 @pandoness @nealeart @simp-plague @sugurubabe

[c0eu4]

OP81 | Caught ♡

Summary: after Lando found Y/n and Oscar deep into making out, he forced her to break up with him but she became depressed. So he feel guilty and try to work things out between them.

Warning: depression, y/n trying to kill herself (not detailed) smut, dom!reader, sub!oscar

A/N: here's the part two, hope you'll like it <3

part one - part two

MASTERLIST requests are open

''What the hell happened in your head?!'' Lando was mad. Really mad. It must be the first time she sees him that mad. ''Seriously Y/n! Fuck with Oscar!?'' He clenches his fists so hard they're white.

''Lando, it's not that bad?'' She manages to answer him, extremely afraid of him. She knows he will not hurt her physically, but she's afraid to never see Oscar again.

''Not that bad!? NOT THAT BAD!? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?'' He yells at her and she bursts in tears, too afraid. Lando didn't hug her. He doesn't try to console her. He does nothing.

''I already call mom.'' He says, more calmly but yet strict. ''You take a plane at eight o'clock to return home.''

''What!?'' More tears flow down her cheeks. ''Lando! Please!'' She tries to grab his arms but he withdraws from her embrace violently.

''No. Take responsibility for your actions.'' She doesn't know what to do. She's so sad right now. No more F1? No more Oscar? And no more of her lovely relationship with Lando?

''I hate you!'' It broke Lando's heart. But he hide it. He doesn't answer, leaving the room to go talk to Oscar. When the door close behind him, she burst in tears, again. Why her? Why Lando was so angry at them? She just wanted to be happy with Oscar.

She sit down in the ground, against the bed. She keeps her legs close to her, hiding her head in. She can't stop crying. What is she going to tell to her mom? ''Oh I fucked with Oscar and Lando doesn't like it.''

No. It can't finish like that. They weren't even a couple. They never been a couple. And they might never be a couple. She finds the strength to calm down and make her bags to go back in Great Britain.

She resist to the tentation of calling or texting Oscar. And when she finally can't deal with it anymore, she finds out that he texted her, ''There is nothing between us.'' and he blocked her.

So all of this was nothing? Oscar never liked her? He just wanted to fuck her like a doll and leave her, her relation with her brother ruined?

After the sadness, here comes the angers. She close her suitcase and leave the hotel room. Lando calls her. And she didn't answer. He tries to call her multiple times but she just ignore him, already in the car to go to the airport.

She finally send him a text, ''I'm in the plane.'' She doesn't wait any longer and entered the plane, keeping back her tears.

_ _ _

Times pass and everything goes worst. Y/n is lost. She don't know what to do. Following her brother in his world tour was her job. And now, she has nothing. Well.. she still have the support from her mother. But with Lando, it's not like before. He's cold. He talks to her only when he needs to and he make everything to not see her.

And in all of this, Y/n can't keep her head up. She slowly start to stop eating, she stop to sleep, too busy to cry. She stop to take care of herself, her messy hair were tied in a braid. Big dark circles under her eyes. She can't find a job and start to have money problem. Even if her parents help her, they can't give her 1300£ per month.

She start to think at a solution. An easier solution. Maybe too easy. It's her mother who find her bloody body on the ground of the bathroom. Hopefully, she was still alive. With a lot of scares. But alive.

When Lando saw her in her hospital bed, he understands his error. He threatened to fire Oscar if he tried to hang out with his sister. But what a big error he made.

She who was so beautiful, so kind and caring.. so.. happy.

He destroy her life.

Lando cried for that. During long night, sometimes on the phone with Carlos.

Carlos never came between Lando and Y/n's difficult relationship. He's just Lando's best friend, there's nothing he can do about it. But yet, it's Lando who open it to him. He told him everything, down to the smallest details.

They talk a lot about it. Carlos comfort Lando and helps him to found a solution.

When Y/n got out of the hospital, Lando was there for her. She tried to push him away, not wanting his pity. But he insisted. And little by little, they recreated links. They became closer, more accomplices. But they still hadn't talked about what happened with Oscar.

She's at Lando's place, on the couch. They both was watching a movie but Lando had to answer an important call. He cames back after a few minutes, a big smile on his lips, ''You wanna come to the Belgium Grand Prix with me?'' Her eyes widen. What is he doing? Did he really wants that? ''So that you can see Osc-'' She cuts him off, still angry after what Oscar did with her. ''I don't want to see him.''

Lando was shocked. Why is she reacting like that? He through that she was in love with him. ''But.. what.. well.. I mean.. And the both of you?'' He sit down next to her, seeing her teary eyes. ''He used me.''

And then, Lando remember what he said to Oscar.

Lando pins Oscar against the wall, refraining from hitting him. ''Never approach my sister again.'' Oscar was shocked by Lando's strength. ''But I love her!'' Lando gaze gets angrier, ''No! No you don't!'' Oscar was scared. Not for him. But for her. He was so afraid to loose her. To loose their little eyes contact game at the paddock. To loose the way they were looking at each other. ''Tell her you never liked her. That all of this was nothing. Or maybe you prefer that everyone think you raped my sister?'' It breaks Oscar's heart. But he listens to Lando. What could he do? He can't afford to let Lando spread rumors about him. ''You are a monster you know?'' ''I'm just a good big brother.'' A tear fall down Oscar's cheek when he send her the text and block her.

''Y/n.. please don't be mad..'' He wipe away her tears with his hand. ''Oscar loves you.'' More tears fall down her cheeks. ''No he don't. He told me it. Before blocking me!'' Lando feels so bad. All of this was because of him. ''I.. I threatened him to send you this message.''

She gets up from the couch. ''You did what!?'' Right when everything was going better between her and Lando, they had to argue again. ''I'm sorry Y/n. I tried to protect you!'' ''You tried to protect me!? PROTECT ME!? I had depression, I tried to die because of it and you think you protected me!?'' Now, Lando is crying too. He can't keep back his tears. ''I..'' He doesn't know what to say. ''Of course I'm coming with you for the Grand Prix. I have to talk with this dumbass.''

Lando can't help but chuckle seeing his sister reaction. Yes she was made at him. But in one hand, she understands him. She probably would have react like him.

''When do we go?''

_ _ _

She walks throughout the paddock, looking for Lando. She missed that. Looking for her brother everywhere until she finds him where he's not supposed to be. It remember her something.... Well. It's already Sunday. And Oscar avoided her the past few days.

Lando feels even more bad. He tries to talk with Oscar but after what happened, they were talking only for the camera. Oscar begin to be so cold. Not only with Lando. But with everyone. It was like something in him was broken. And his heart was. He hesitated so many times to reconnect with Y/n. But he was so afraid of what Lando had said. He knew he would be able to do it, to spread this rumors.

After his Dnf, Oscar was so mad at himself. And against Carlos, of course. But he feels so bad that he was about to cry. All of this, all of what happened, it started to overwhelm him.

He sits in his driver's room, still feeling the adrenaline of the race. He doesn't even bother to look the race at his TV, too busy in his thoughts.

But he quickly comes out, hearing someone knocking on his door. He doesn't answer, just wanted to be alone.

''I know you're here.'' This voice. He can recognize it among a thousand. No. Y/n shouldn't be here. He have to stay away from her.

''Oscar, can I enter?'' He still doesn't answer. Hoping that she would go away. ''Please..'' The way she beg him reminds him of that afternoon in his hotel room. He closes his eyes and sigh. ''Come in.'' She doesn't wait any longer and enter the small room, closing the door behind her. The first thing she said let Oscar in shock, ''Lando tell me everything.''

She stand up in front of him, her blue eyes (The same as Lando.) looking at his. Oscar doesn't know what to do. He's so stunned by what he heard. ''I..I'm so-'' She doesn't leave him the time to finish his sentence that she leans forward and kiss him.

Oscar doesn't kiss her back. She remains leaning forward and Oscar can't help but let his eyes slide towards her cleavage.

''Y/n..we..'' He stop his sentence when she gets on his laps, facing him. ''I know you want it. And I want it too.'' She kisses him again but he still doesn't answer to it. So she grabs his hand and put it on her left breast.

And it was like a trigger for Oscar. He let his other hand slide to her ass and kissed her deeply, his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth. She moaned into the kiss as he make her hips moving against his bulge.

''Fuck, I missed this.'' Oscar let his head fall back, Y/n kissing his neck, leaving a few reds marks. ''I need you..'' She helps him remove his racing suit, her hands sliding over his muscles. He then helps her undress her and makes her sit back on his laps. Her now wet and needy pussy rubbing against his hard and fat cock.

''Come in.'' She whiny against his ear, wanting nothing more than feel him inside her. He grabs her hips and helps her impale herself on his fat cock.

She quickly move up and down, his cock sliding perfectly in her tight cunt. ''Oh fuck...Y/n..keep..''

Oscar has never been very oral when it comes to sex. But damn how much he had missed her. ''Yeah yeah yeah.. just like that..'' He keeps encouraging her to go further. She can't keep her moans back as she feels the knot in her lower abdomen slowly untied.

She hides her head in the crook of his neck, keeping back her orgasm. ''Cum f'me baby.'' She doesn't need anything more to drowning his cock with her liquid. Oscar keep trusting in her a few more time and he milks her with his own hot seed.

They regain their breathing, Oscar coming out of her with one last little moan.

''It felt so good.'' She chuckle, kissing him again. ''I missed you.'' He rub his nose against hers. ''I love you. I love you so much Y/n. You can't imagine it.'' She was so surprised to see him showing that much his emotion. Her eyes watered with joy as he kiss her cheek again.

''Aww.. sugar don't cry.'' It made her tears rolling down her cheeks. He hugs her tightly, pressing her breasts against his chest.

They continue to cuddle, making up for all the time they lost together.

But the end of the race comes faster than expected and Lando returns to his driver room, right next to Oscar's.

And unfortunately for Lando, he had the honor of hearing his sister cum under Oscar's licks.

He tried not to get upset. After all, it was said that they looked good together. And Oscar is a good guy. He would never hurt his sister.

So if he's going to have to put up with all their moans, he will.

Because after all. Lando is a good big brother who only wants his sister to be happy.

[masterofthewarcry]

no, no you don't GET IT. okay - so he's only a little kid when his dad goes off to war and dies, right? he doesn't know his dad. all he knows is that his dad was a great warrior favored by athena, and that he has to avenge him (IMAGINE a little kid sitting by his mother's feet while she spins wool telling him he has to avenge his father some day, imagine it). so he grows up a little, following in his father's footsteps to become a great warrior, and then BAM he gets thrown into full blown WAR at fourteen. it's epigoni time people. he's the youngest there, this is the first time he's ever experienced real battle, and its in THEBES where his dad (who's ghost has been haunting him the whole time) DIED. anywhere he steps on the battlefield could be the very spot where his dad died. but he makes it through. they take the city, sack it, go home.

and that in itself is enough to make a man a legend, right? but almost as soon as he gets home, there's trouble in calydonia (where his grandfather is supposed to rule, but he gets usurped by an uncle or cousin or something). so he fucks off to calydonia to sort that out and ends up having to fight in ANOTHER huge battle to reinstate his grandfather as the king. but again, he pulls through, makes it out alive and goes home.

he gets married to aegialia, who's significantly older than him and who he doesn't know all that well just in time for adrastus (the king of argos and one of the original seven against thebes) to kick it. now, i'm not saying that adrastus was something of a father figure to him, but i think it makes sense narratively. so adrastus kicks it, and he inherits the city of argos, again being very young and not knowing much about ruling. he doesn't really get a chance to learn though because BAM it's trojan war time baby!!

so he gets together all the able-bodied argives (which is a LOT, like he's bringing a significant portion of the greek force) and they sail to aulis to meet up with the rest of the gang. sthenelus and euryalus (two of his buddies from the epigoni days) come with him - i like to think that they're like older brothers to him; sources he can look to for advice and support. ANYWAYS everybody gets to aulis, he goes to meet the rest of the kings and as soon as he introduces himself, everyone's talking about his father.

but its fine - even though he's proven himself to be a more capable warrior than his father was already. hes not here to cause a scene (no, they have achilles for that - but they dont have him yet so hold that thought), hes here to do a job. and do a job he will, because someone has to go fetch achilles from hiding! better send the young guy who MIGHT be able to hold his own against the strongest warrior in the world if he decides to fight back. and odysseus, of course.

they couldn't be more different, he and odysseus. odysseus is older, he's not been in a battle like this before, he has a son, he's generally regarded as a good king. whereas all he's ever known is war, he barely knows his own wife (DEFINITELY not enough to have a son), and he knows next to nothing about being a king. yet they hit it off. odysseus is charismatic and funny and he's ENRAPTURED by the way he talks about ithaca. he's never known anything like that. argos is home, sure, but ithaca is EVERYTHING to odysseus.

they collect achilles, with some trickery, and the real trojan war starts going. ILIAD TIME it's been nine years. he and odysseus are buddy buddy now (athena boys in business fr), achilles is on the fritz throwing a temper tantrum (NOT in a useful way on the battlefield). agamemnon is talking about giving up. menelaus ALMOST got paris's ass but aphrodite spirited him away. he and odysseus are holding this operation together. he's putting all this previous war experience to good use absolutely KILLING IT on the battlefield. he's going after aeneas, and then aphrodite, and then ARES the GOD OF WAR HIMSELF. achilles has NOTHING on him at this point. but the whole army is still praying for achilles return.

but it's fine - even though he's single handedly running the show at this point. he gets shot through the foot by paris and odysseus pulls it out because THEY WATCH EACH OTHERS BACKS, they look after each other. NIGHT RAID TIME, he and odysseus hit the town (and by hit the town i mean kill ~14 men under the cover of darkness and steal their horses), common athena boys W. they wash all the blood of themselves in the sea together afterwards, classic bro activities. he's feeding himself with odysseus's stories at this point because the way he talks about ithaca really does make it sound like something worth fighting for.

achilles comes back- OOPS, we thought it was achilles but its NOT its patroclus in his armor and now hes DEAD. achilles comes back for real, and now HECTOR is dead. who's that up on the walls of troy with a bow is that-? BAM, achilles dead, shot by paris. things are looking bleak and good at the same time. the palladium needs to be stolen so they can sack troy? easy money. NIGHT RAID PART 2, stealing the palladium time. easy money until odysseus decides to try and stab him in the back. he's devastated - his closest friend, caught up in the idea of having all the glory for himself. they've switched positions, now he is the one who wants nothing to do with this war, and odysseus is the glory-hungry king. heartbreaking.

TROJAN HORSE, the time is finally ripe to sack troy. everyone's behaving badly, people are getting raped on temple steps, it's a mess. odysseus throws a baby off the walls of troy. he's one of the only ones who doesn't get caught up in it because he's tired. he's tired of war and he wants to go home, even though argos is nothing like the home he's built in his head. there is no wife and son to return to. he knows nothing about being king. the rocky coasts of ithaca do not await him.

troy burns. the war is over, the ships are loaded with spoils, he sets sail for home. he arrives to find that sthenelus's SON, his BROTHER's SON has been fucking his wife and usurped his throne. and for a minute, it looks like he's about to go to war again, but he's tired. he's tired and it's his best friend's son, and it's a woman he never really got to know or care about and it's a throne he never asked for. so he just leaves. he takes his spoils, gets back on a boat and leaves. for ithaca.

he doesn't know how odysseus is going to react when he shows up. but, as it turns out, he didn't have to worry about that because odysseus isn't there. but penelope is. wise, patient penelope who listens to him talk about the war at troy and odysseus and how he's so tired. penelope who says, stay.

so he stays. and he waits for odysseus. and he learns things that aren't war. he learns what it feels like to carry a little boy on his shoulders. he learns what it feels like to have dirt under his nails and a sore back after a long day's work at the plow. he listens to penelope talk about odysseus, and shares his own stories too. he learns that he likes penelope, a lot.

enough that when the suitors start pouring in, he fends them off as best he can. he won't marry her - he won't do that to odysseus, but he will help her unravel the funeral shroud she's weaving each night. he will hold her while she cries for her husband who is likely dead at the bottom of the sea. he will start teaching telemachus his way around the blade when he asks.

and when odysseus does return home? he almost gets stabbed. odysseus is FURIOUS that someone he TRUSTED would come to court his wife, but that's not what happened at all, he's been protecting her the best he can. teaching his son to do the same. he's been waiting for odysseus with them. it's a teary reunion, of course, and then it's a bloodbath and then all the suitors are dead. he washes the blood out from underneath his nails for the last time.

see? do you see? it's about being HAUNTED by the legacy of a man you didn't even know, and it's about EXPECTATIONS and it's about figuring out what YOU want instead of what you're 'supposed' to want, and it's about GROWING past being a warrior and learning to be a PERSON, and it's about LOVING someone in a way that's beyond platonic or romantic. do you get it now? do you get it?

[gruesomegateau]

Killers and their s/o's pets

some general headcanons for how killers (Hillbilly/Wraith/Spirit/Huntress) would interact with an S/O's pet and how they would feel about various animals.

Max Thompson Jr / The Hillbilly

Max is not great with a lot of animals. Not all of them, but a lot of common domestic animals. A dog or pretty much any farm animal is going to be pretty tough to get him to do anything more than tolerate. He won't hurt them or anything, but he's going to try his best to avoid acknowledging that they're there at all.

Max is fully aware that the way he views these animals isn't fair- they're animals, after all, its not like they've wronged him on purpose. But his negative associations towards them is strong.

Other animals, however, Max is fine with. He might even be okay with small dogs like pugs or shih tzus, as they barely even resemble the police dogs that lead to his dislike of dogs as a whole.

Max likes cats. Partially because the cartoons that provided him small solace from his otherwise horrid life, but he also just enjoys watching the way they move and climb. Is completely unbothered by cats bringing in dead mice or snakes. Might even pet them for doing a 'good job'.

That said, Max also gets... jealous easily. He has a lot of insecurities around the idea of people like his parents valuing animals like pigs more than him.

Just know that if you're giving your pet affection in front of Max, Max is going to want affection to. Just some reassurance that you value him, too.

Max also finds insects to be interesting. He doesn't really like flies, he's seen enough of them and heard enough of their buzzing for a lifetime, but if his S/O keeps things like beetles or butterflies, Max will find that pretty neat. And, another big plus for Max, there's not really much of a way to show affection to or receive affection from an insect, so there's not much for him to get jealous over.

Fish fall into a similar category to insects, especially since Max hasn't really seen that many fish in-person before: not alive ones, anyway.

Philip Ojomo / The Wraith

Philip is good with most animals! He used to leave food in his garage for stray cats, so he has a fondness of cats in particular.

Animals also just like Philip. An old junker dog at Autohaven would bark and growl at every other employee as they came in, but not Philip. After he entered the realm and became 'The Wraith', the crows also seemed to have an affinity towards him, though those aren't exactly 'real' animals.

Still! Philip is fond of most animals and most animals are fond of him. Animals he's not familiar with he's more than happy to learn about.

Leave him alone with an animal and when you come back he will probably be cooing over it and talking to it. Stops being so affectionate when he realizes he's no longer alone.

Not that Philip's trying to hide his fondness of the pet, he'll still pet it and talk fondly of it in front of people, but its more reserved than when he's alone.

Rin Yamaoka / The Spirit

Rin's pretty average with her feelings on and interactions with animals. Likes your standard stuff, is a bit more hesitant with more unusual pets, like snakes or spiders.

Would really like a dog if thats what her S/O's pet is, if her financial situation in life allowed it she would have liked to have one herself, but she's a bit more hesitant now, worried a dog might run off with one of her floating limbs.

Other than that, Rin also gets a bit worried about being affectionate with anything, animals especially. At least with affection towards her S/O, they both know to be cautious of the glass imbedded in Rin's skin, but a lot of animals might not always know better.

Because of this, Rin's more reserved with giving pets or physical affection towards animals, but will give them a lot of silly, affectionate nicknames.

Anna / The Huntress

If you have a pet, you need to establish that with Anna well before introducing her to it.

Its not that the idea of a pet is entirely foreign to Anna; She's seen hunting dogs, and vaguely can recall wishing for one of her own as a young girl.

But that time has long passed, and her default view of anything other than herself and children is 'prey'. Establishing that this particular animal is not prey before introducing Anna to it is best to prevent any misconceptions from taking root in the back of her mind.

Naturally very curious about animals. Observing animals to learn their behaviors and weak points is engrained into her- of course, she won't hurt your pet on purpose once its established to her that it is your pet, but the way she watches it will still feel like a predator stalking its prey.

If you have a dog, she will want to try to use it as a hunting dog. Might be disappointed if its not a kind of dog that can easily be trained to do that, or is just too small for it.

She'll be a bit lost on how to interact with a cat initially, but comes to understand their behavior rather quickly. They're hunters, too, but prefer to hunt alone unlike dogs. She finds it respectable. Will be extremely delighted by a cat bringing back dead mice or snakes; She understands it as the cat bringing back food it hunted for its family. It might not be much of a meal for humans, but she can appreciate the sentiment of it.

Not going to be very affectionate to any animal at first because she isn't sure how to be. Anna will pretty quickly pick up on how her S/O shows affection to their pet and mimic that, though her petting of animals tends to have a bit more force behind it then needed.

Generally likes pets that are predator rather than prey- ironic, considering her rabbit mask. She likes an animal that can help hunt or defend itself.

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

Baby Mine

Summary; yn wants a baby, and Eddie offers to father the child while hiding the fact that he's head over heels in love with yn.

Warnings; Fluff, smut, minors dni, 18+

If you enjoyed this please consider giving this a reblog 💞 I don't give anyone permission to copy my work

💞💞

"I want a baby" she announced to her best friend Eddie.

Tonight was their usual movie night and she had been planning to tell Eddie her news, having a baby was something she had thought long and hard about, she had a well-paid job, her own apartment, supportive family and friends.

She could do this.

Eddie while surprised at first was immediately supportive and had offered to drive her to the sperm bank that she was planning to go to the very next day.

His unwavering support had meant everything to her and he calmed her nerves as they entered the building.

Then her dreams fell apart because she didn't consider how expensive this would be which was silly of her.

As the helpful woman behind the desk talked about the costs her dream of having a little baby was vanishing fast.

Numbly she heads back out, Eddie jogs to catch up with her and his expression is full of sorrow.

"I should have realized it was so expensive" she murmurs and wipes her eyes hastily. Eddie pulls her into a tight hug.

"Don't cry sweetheart, we will work something out" suddenly there's a glint in his eye, an idea forming.

"Eddie?" she asks him curiously.

"How about I be the father? You trust me, I trust you, we're best friends, we adore each other, I would be there for you and the kid... It's not totally out the realm of possibilities is it?" he asks her gently and she stares at him stunned.

No, it wasn't... Eddie was a great guy, there couldn't be anyone more perfect to do this with.

"Are you sure? I mean we would need to have sex, do you even find me attractive? "she asks and feels a little shy at that thought because it's Eddie! Could they do this?

"You're beautiful," he tells her and his words are sincere, his big brown eyes full of adoration, a funny fluttering in her stomach at his sweetness.

"Do you think I'm attractive?" Eddie asks sounding nervous and she cups his cheek.

"You're sexy as hell and you know it, Edward Munson," she tells him and he smirks, his nerves disappearing.

"So we're doing this?" she asks him feeling a frisson of excitement.

"Yup, I'd do anything for you sweetheart"

💖

The next day after working up a shit ton of courage she was at Eddie's door and it was decided that they would sleep together that night.

Nerves were rampant in her stomach and Eddie was ever so sweet.

"Relax princess, it's just me" he soothes her, and she feels flustered.

"No one has seen me naked in a very long time" she admits and he softens.

She knew Eddie didn't have that problem, women loved him and he was always having hook us, though strangely enough none had happened in a long while and she wondered why?

Before she can think about it even more she throws caution to the wind and walks up to Eddie then kisses him.

He's surprised but recovers quickly and kisses her back.

She's never had such a perfect kiss, it takes her breath away, Eddie guides her to his room and her nerves begin to fall away as she grows more and more comfortable.

Their clothes are soon a mess on the floor and she's fully naked and the flustered, nervous feeling comes back.

Eddie notices and gazes at her with barely concealed lust.

"Don't shy away baby, you're so fucking beautiful" he begins to kiss down her body and all the way to the apex of her thighs and it feels so good.

His tongue laps at her clit, he uses his tongue and fingers to pleasure her and she's awash with the ecstasy of it all.

💞💞

Being with Eddie? Nothing had ever felt so good, so...right. The way he made her feel, the way his tongue felt between her thighs, the moans he made as she kissed down his stomach to his throbbing cock and took it in her mouth.

"Baby, if you keep doing that I'm gonna come" he rasps and she peers up at him smiling devilishly.

It was fun to watch him come apart like this, his cries of pleasure turning her on even more as she turned her attention to his balls.

It was easy to get lost in the way he made her feel as he regained dominance and had her straddling him, kissing her neck and sucking on the skin, making his way towards her breasts and leaving love bites.

The sensations were overwhelming as Eddie guided her onto his cock, his caressing over her backside.

The feeling of Eddie being inside her was unreal, she felt so full... So incredible.

"That's it, princess, all tight and perfect all for me" he croons, and the words make her clench around him, he groans in pleasure as she begins to move, riding him.

💞💞

Eddie was sure this was heaven, he watched yn ride him and almost came there and then but he held back, prolonging the pleasure, wanting to kiss and feel every part of her.

"That's it, baby, he moans as she clenches around him even harder, I'm gonna fill you up to the brim with my come, make you feel so good"

She's almost sobbing with the pleasure now and he can't hold back much longer as his thrusts get more and more erratic.

"Come for me princess" he groans out and when she does it brings on his own orgasm.

It's the most mindblowing orgasm he's ever had and he lays with yn stunned. He always knew it would be incredible between them but he didn't know it would be this good.

She looks up at him from where she has collapsed on his chest.

"Wow" is all she says and he knows she feels the same way he does. That it was the most perfect night either of them had.

💞💞

He expects the sex to be a one-time thing, no matter how much he wishes it was more and he's resigned himself to that.

Until yn shows up at his door again and as the weeks pass they can barely keep their hands off each other.

It isn't much of a surprise when yn rushes into his work (Wayne had opened up a garage) and was so excited.

"Eddie, I'm pregnant"

His heart races with happiness and he hurries over to her kissing her. The woman he loves more than anything is carrying his child. He can't believe it.

He vows to her that he will be there for everything she needs, whenever she needs it.

At this point, she's overcome with emotion and throws her arms around him.

"We're going to have a baby" she squeals and he returns the smile while gently kissing her on the head.

💞💞

Wayne wasn't happy with the situation, and it wasn't because he disliked yn, hell no. Eddie knew that Wayne adored her.

"You're in love with that girl, have been for a year now and you jump right in with this decision knowing full well how you feel and you don't tell her boy?"

Eddie hangs his head.

"I know I should have Wayne" he sighs and settles on the couch beside his uncle.

"That girl loves you too Eddie, I know it, Steve and Robin, Dustin, everyone knows it but you two"

He shakes his head.

No, she doesn't, he wishes she did but she doesn't. Still why does everyone think that yn loves him?

He feels a small spark of hope.

💞💞

Throughout the pregnancy, Eddie fell more in love yn than he ever thought possible.

What he didn't realize is that yn was falling more and more in love with him every day as well.

Today they were painting the room for the baby. Since they didn't know the gender and were keeping it a surprise they opted for a creamy white color and Eddie had designed stars, planets, and the moon that glittered in the dark.

Wayne had helped him build a crib and the rocking chair that had been used when Eddie was a baby was now in the room too.

Dustin, Steve, Robin, and the rest of the Hawkins gang had bought various throws and cute little outfits for the baby.

Eddie and yn had got the baby's first teddy, an adorable baby bat that they both loved on sight.

The nursery was definitely taking shape now and yn couldn't help but watch Eddie as he was fixing up shelves for the baby's books.

The love she had for him had grown stronger and stronger and she was head over heels in love with Eddie.

The dilemma she had been facing was how and when to tell him and she was panicking of he felt the same.

Everyone commented that Eddie was in love with her but she just wanted to be sure.

💞💞

Eddie had been trying to keep his feelings for yn under wraps for a while now but he couldn't hold it in any longer.

He needed to tell her how he felt and he just hoped that she felt the same. He bites his lip and asks for her to sit with him for a minute.

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time now baby" she peers up at him curious and his heart is racing, he takes a second, and then he tells her.

"I love you, princess, so much. So fucking much. For a while now" he waits for her reaction and anxiety fills his stomach until she cups his cheek and beams.

"Oh, Eddie. I'm in love with you" she says gently and grins happiness exploding inside him.

They kiss and he holds her close, hes never ever letting this amazing woman go. Suddenly they hear a throat clear and Wayne is watching them amused.

"I called you both getting together so I want this baby's middle name to be Wayne," he says smugly as he watches them from the door way.

"What if it's a girl?" Eddie points out and Wayne mulls this over.

"I'm still calling dibs on the middle name son"

💞💞

A few months later Arweyn Audrey Munson was born and Wayne got his wish and Eddie had Yn and his baby girl, two beautiful girls who had him wrapped around their fingers.

[sbtorms]

SUNSETTER - An Undertale roleswap take

A couple months back I started making a concept for an Underswap take. I'm happy with what I've made thus far.

Long ago, Monsterkind and Humanity lived together in harmony. But a war sparked, and the peace shattered. The monsters, overpowered, made a bunker, and hid underground. The humans, discovering this, created a machine to keep monsterkind from leaving it, hoping their opponents would eventually die out. And the war soon was long forgotten...

... Eventually, in the year of 202X, a story unfolds.

On the surface are the caverns of Night's Aura. Underneath the earth lies the refuge of Monsterkind...

A bit of information before we get onto characters...

This is a human's SPIRIT, the very essence of one's being. A monster's spirit, containing seven human's spirits, would become godlike.

Anyways...

The first character swap on the AU is...

A Flowey - Frisk swap!

Finley is a human kid, around 15 years old. They're a bit of a brat. After running away from home, they hide away in a cave. Picking up sticks to make a fire, they unfortunately discovered some loose ground, and fell into the SETTLEMENT.

The Human is... a human? Maybe. They seem a bit... undead, though. A silent type, seemingly not talking at all. Who knows if they can. They hide and watch from the shadows, acting on instinct alone. No one seems to know they exist. What even are they?

Next is your average Asgore - Toriel swap!

Asgore is the guide to the OL' TOWN from the OUTSKIRTS, and one who used to be the king of Monsterkind. He's a big fuzzy pushover, just like in Undertale. He's beloved by all in the area. It's a wonder why he's so far from the captial... but he's there to give hope to all that lives in Town.

Toriel is the keeper of the BARRICADE, and the queen of Monsterkind. As of now, all know how she tires from the situation she's in. Many fear her wrath, but others know her warmth. With her mighty blade, Queen TORIEL will set all free.

As with most Underswap takes, you can't have it without the usual Papyrus - Sans swap!

Papyrus is a skeleton who's lost his ambition. Due to certain circumstances, a goal he once had is completely out of reach. Due to this, he's become a bit more... distant. He's not lazy by any means, but he has a hard time getting up in the morning. Besides all of that, he still shares some visions and ideals as his original self. Though, perhaps someone can come by and help him...

Sans is also a skeleton. The Skeleton, even. He's mainly very similar to his original lazybones self. But he's gotten a little more upbeat and extroverted, in an attempt to help his brother get back to his former greatness. There isn't much else to add, actually. At the core, he really is still Sans, puns, pranks, and all. Though, he does have a few jobs, including working as an assistant for a magical girl vigilante. Though, it's mainly just taking phone calls. They'd be met through SNOHFAL CAVERNS and the CITY OF SNOHFALIN

I decided to do something interesting for my Alphys - Undyne swap, but the usual thing is still like the average one.

Alphys is the aforementioned magical girl style vigilante in the WETLANDS, trying to make a name for herself. The matters of protection throughout the SETTLEMENT had lessened before she started, due to certain circumstances. She's gotten herself a few fans, stopped a few crimes, supported the local soup kitchen... But she still feels like there's more she can do. Toriel's stressed, and she knows this. So, maybe... she can try to get the next fallen human's SPIRIT on her own.

Undyne is the Queen's Royal Engineer, and a rather good one at that. She's made various ways of making the settlement, and the lives of those that reside in it, better. Though, there's nothing that outdoes the previous ones's greatest creation, MEGA, a generator that powers the entire Settlement. She resides in a laboratory in PYROCLAST Due to certain circumstances, she's much more determined to get the next fallen human's SPIRIT. She's enlisted the help of a ghostly friend of hers to help her do so.

The Blook Cousins have a different swapping arrangement from normal Underswap Napstablook - Dummy Mettaton - Mad Dummy/Mew Mew

Scarecrow is, well... a scarecrow. A ghost monster possessing a scarecrow, actually. Despite their name, and weird face, they're actually rather shy. They probably just need a little cheering up once in a while. They also really like music.

Bittinaugh (pronounced: bitty-naff) is just your average ghost monster. They don't talk much, though. Who really knows what goes on in that little ghost's head. They're also a shy sort, and a bit sensitive, despite their monotonous expression.

Starcrow is also a ghost monster possessing a scarecrow. Though, they have VERY high aspirations for themself. They wish to be a celebrity, a star for the whole SETTLEMENT to enjoy. After learning about a human's fall through their cousin, they decided that a perfect start to showbiz would be to face one head on!

The "Mad Mew Mew" boss would have them possess a big gundam-like figure, with similarities to Mettaton EX.

Amornalek (pronounced: a-more-na-leck) seems to be your average robotic suit of armor, but she's actually a VENGEFUL SPIRIT!!! Or... just an angry ghost monster possessing the suit. She works with Undyne, and is her best friend... and training dummy for battle practice. They two spar a lot, and it's fun for the both of them. Undyne souped-up her with a TON of weapons. Magic, missiles, knives, a LOT of knives, those knives were kinda Amor's idea.

There's an "EX" form, but I haven't designed it. It would be similar to Mad Mew Mew, but not exactly. It'd also go for more of a mix of cute-yet-violent in design than just cute.

And finally, Asriel - Chara

Both of them are... more or less the same as in canon. Their life and death are more or less the same. It's just that Undyne was allowed by Queen Toriel to use Chara's corpse for a... certain experiment. Being allowed to do so was due to desperation, and the idea of at least seeing one of her children alive again.

But that's another story. ... Which I'm gonna tell right now.

SOW-WOS - The "Willpower" Experiments

There was an attempt by Undyne to make stronger monsters/warriors, beings able to get past and destroy the barricade. All of the monsters that were experimented on were volunteers, rather than just being on death's door like in Undertale. Each and every volunteer was a member of that time's current Royal Guard.

Each volunteer was given a machine put inside their bodies that courses Willpower, a lifeblood extracted from the previously collected human SPIRITs, throughout their body.

Unfortunately, the volunteers start to become a metallic-like fluid, an immense pull making them come together. Their bones and joints reconfigured within the combined masses. The fluid hardens and loses polarity as they turn from magnetic fluid, to almost a hard metal, like titanium.

The amalgamates form, with a distinct taste in the air... similar to that of copper.

These experiments, Undyne couldn't reveal the full results of, so she locked the masses down below the main lab. She simply recorded that they perished in the experimentation. And what makes things worse, is that the body of the deceased human had disappeared. Learning this, Toriel completely disbanded the Royal Guard, not wanting something like this to happen again. She put Undyne on probation, yet did not completely fire her. The whole thing was an accident, completely unexpected, and the subjects were volunteers. It was not Undyne's fault. But to Undyne, it was. With that on her shoulders, she made it her new mission to get the next human's SPIRIT... By any means necessary.

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Random idea but imagine Camilla “accidentally” turned the farmer into a toddler. How would she react? more importantly, how would the Castle Village NPCs wod react???

Yeah, well... Even the greatest wizards and witches make mistakes, and today was the day the spirits didn't favor Camilla too much. Not that she's worried about the consequences, not really. After all, she's a very talented witch, and accidentally turning a young farmer into a toddler isn't something unfixable for her. It's just that the fact that Camilla didn't have time to hide the consequences of her failure in front of her colleagues (after all, it all happened in Magnus' tower) made the whole situation a bit more complicated, and they all started to panic and worry (quite a natural reaction). And Camilla had to listen to all the scolding from everyone before her colleagues would finally calm down and let her fix the situation in peace.

Naturally, Magnus was the first witness to the whole event. At first he didn't realize why there was some random kid sitting on the floor, who looked to be about three years old. However, when the old wizard discerns and recognizes the very similar features of the baby and sees Camilla's slightly nervous smile, a realization comes quickly. "What do you mean 'accidentally' turned them into a toddler?!" Camilla had to admit, she had never seen her coworker so angry before. Apparently, today really wasn't her day. However, Magnus' tirade immediately subsides if the loud swearing makes the little Farmer cry. So all he has to do is calm down and listen to Camilla's solution to the situation.

You can tell by the tired look on Jadu's face that he's definitely not getting paid enough for all this crap. Their meeting in the Stardew Valley is going to be a long one again, and the return to Castle Village will not be a quick one... again. The Farmer crying in the background, along with Magnus cursing, made an unbearable noise that added to Jadu's headache. It's not that he doesn't care about Farmer, he knows Camilla will quickly remedy the situation. Considering the head witch has done far stranger things, the accidental transformation story is like another Tuesday for Jadu. But at least he'll try to calm the Farmer down so they'll stop crying.

Unfortunately, the young wizard's attempts to calm the little Farmer were unsuccessful, so Jadu thought of nothing better than to hand Farmer to Isaac. The scarred adventurer was instantly freaked out, so much so that he didn't even argue with Jadu, and now he was holding the child in his arms and didn't know what to do. As if holding a fragile crystal vase, a confused Isaac glared at his other coworkers with a mute plea for help. How to hold them? Why are they still crying? Maybe they're hungry? Damn it, Jadu take the Farmer back! He's not a babysitter! What do you think he's supposed to do?

Taking pity on her coworker, Alesia gently took the baby from Isaac's arms, hearing him quietly thanking her for her help. The sniper smiled softly at them and began to gently rock the little Farmer in an effort to calm them down. And it worked. No one was quite sure if Alesia was experienced in taking care of kids or if it was her maternal instinct, but she did a great job and now Farmer had stopped crying and was only looking curiously at the people around them. She, by the way, was the one who had shushed Magnus when the purple-haired wizard wanted to start berating Camilla again. No one wanted to make Alesia angry, so everyone started talking quietly, which made Camilla smile.

While Magnus and Camilla were discussing more or less calmly about the solution to their problem, both of them didn't immediately notice that instead of crying, the tower was now filled with loud child's laughter. Lance could be thanked for that, as he decided to also help Alesia by showing the curious toddler a couple of magic spells. Lance had used such tricks to calm children many times before, and it worked every time. The gallant adventurer and the sniper smiled warmly at the happy little Farmer, and Jadu and Isaac were grateful for pink haired coworker, for laughter was much more pleasant to the ear than passing cries and screams.

[gtbutterfly]

New Jen and Gabby story! (No title yet) Chapter one

I'm writing a new story set after my borrower story about Jen and Gabby. This is set roughly a week or two after the finale of the first Jen and Gabby series, Jen has started teaching Gabby how to borrow, and they're temporarily staying at Rebecca and tims house while Jen looks for a new place for them to live. I'm happy to be writing these characters again, and I hope you enjoy it. Criticism is appreciated!

Original story:

__________________________________________________

It was around sunset. The air outside was cool and the sky was clear. Some trees and houses across the street blocked the lowering sun and created shadows that seeped through the window. Inside, there was a turned on lamp sitting on a desk in front of the window still. The bottom of the lamp had a ripped out piece of cardboard taken from a shoebox, not more than two inches wide either way. It was taped to the side of the lamp's base with a piece of folded tape. On the cardboard, there was a marking in the center made with a pencil. She stood across from the lamp at the other end of the desk. Her sister was watching at her side as the young tiny tried to focus on the target. she got into a throwing position, and threw the toothpick with all her force, grunting as she did it. The tooth pick spun in the air and bounced off the cardboard hitting it with its side. It landed on the ground, bouncing a bit before settling. 

“Wow, good job, Gabby, that was great for your first try!” the borrower's older sister said. 

“Oh, it was supposed to hit it with the pointy end and stick on it,” the younger borrower said, disappointed. The older sister approached her and patted her on the back.

“Hey, it's alright, you did great! Your not gonna get it all the time, not even when doing it for real,” the older sister said, “I know I don’t,”

“Jen, why are we learning how to throw the pointy thing anyways?” Gabby asked.

“Well, sometimes, you won’t have a fishing hook to use to climb things, so you’ll have to use your needle,” Jen said, taking her needle out of her belt and showing her sister the non-sharp end. “See the little hole, there?”

“Uh-huh,” Gabby said.

“Humans put string through there to make clothes and blankets and things. We can use them to make a grappling hook and string if we need to. real hooks have holes just like it.” Jen explained.

“Ooh,” Gabby looked at her sister's needle in interest. “When do I get a sewing needle like yours?”

“When you're done training with the toothpick and you won’t hurt yourself,” Jen patted her sister's head.

“Ok! So when are we learning how to fight with these?” Gabby asked,

“Eh, I dunno, you can’t really be taught that, I think,” Jen said, walking away, putting the needle back in her belt. “I figured out how to defend with this thing when I first started borrowing on my own. Mainly against bugs that were around in the vents or kitchen, sometimes mice and rats,” she turned back towards her sister, “it mainly just comes from instincts, we probably shouldn’t worry about that. For now it's more important to focus on traversal, like climbing tall objects and staying out of sight, alright?”

“Uh, ok,” Gabby said, looking down and nodding. “Oh, what if a human takes me again? What should I do?”

“Stab them and run as far as you can. Come on, you know this, Gabby.” Jen said, walking towards her and getting on her knees, placing her hand on Gabbys shoulder. “Besides, once you learn how to climb, move efficiently, hide, and all that stuff, you won’t need to worry about escaping a human, just not getting caught in the first place, alright?”

“Sigh, ok,” Gabby nodded.

“You're not still scared from when you were taken before, are you? You can tell me if you are,” Jen asked,

“N-no…” Gabby stuttered. Jen sighed.

“Gabby, remember, I’m here for you. I’m not going to let you get kidnapped again. Not for as long as I live, ok?” Jen reassured her.

“Ok…” Gabby said, looking at her sister. “...what about after?” Jen looked down for a second,

“Um…well, then you’ll be ready to face the world on your own. Ok?” Jen gave a soft smile. Gabby nodded. The two sisters hugged each other tightly.

“Thank you, Jen,” Gabby said,

“It's fine,” Jen said, rubbing her sister's back before letting go of her and standing up. Suddenly, both of the borrowers flinched. There was a shake in the ground. Gabby let out a small yelp, while Jen’s eyes widened and she reached for her needle, before they both remembered. “Oh yeah…” Jen sighed, looking across the room at the approaching human. She had a blue sweater on and on her shoulder was another borrower, hanging on to some of the human hair and part of the sweater. She got on her knees before the desk the two borrowers were on and smiled.

“Oh…hiii Rebecca,” Gabby said, letting out a smile but backing away slightly at the same time. Jen got in front of her. 

“Hey guys, how are you two little ones doing?” Rebecca said, taking the other borrower off her shoulder. Jen cringed.

“Fine, fine, everythings great.” Jen said bluntly. “How was yours and Tims date? It seemed awfully short.” The other borrower jumps from Rebecca's hand onto the desk.

“It wasn’t a date, we just went out.” Tim said.

“That's what people say when they go on dates,” Jen said.

“What did you do then?” Gabby asked.

“We went to the store, looked at some things, and then we got takeout for dinner and brought it back here.” Tim said.

“We got chinese! Do you two want any?” Rebecca asked.

“No reason not to,” Jen shrugged, stepping towards the edge of the desk. 

“Chee….chinese?” Gabby thought aloud, “is that like, the…uh, noodle with the red sauce?” she asked.

“No, it's the brown noodles with the grease on it with the broccoli and stuff mixed in,” Jen said, attaching her fishing hook to the edge of the desk.

“Oh, that's much less messy!” Gabby smiled, walking up behind Jen as she tossed the string off the edge of the desk so they could climb down.

“Oh, you don’t need to do that, guys, you're our guests.” Rebecca said, “I can carry you to the kitchen,”

“Its fine,” Jen said, “Gabby would rather walk, and I’d rather stay with her,” 

“Yeah,” Gabby said, grabbing onto the string, hugging it with her arms and legs and slowly sliding down as Jen watched and smiled.

“Huh, she's already going down ropes by herself,” Tim said. 

“Yeah, she's learning pretty well,” Jen said, grabbing a hold of the string herself and sliding to the floor. Tim climbed into Rebecca's hand, and she picked her up and walked behind the two borrowers that were on the floor, who were making surprisingly good pace, even given how the borrowers had to practically jog to keep up with the human towing over them at normal walking speed. Rebecca looked down at Jen and Gabby as they moved alongside her. Jen glanced up at Rebecca, causing the human to look forward and away from them. She looked down at Tim in her hands. 

“Think they’re ok?” Rebecca asked quietly to Tim, just about whispering. 

“It's fine,” Tim said back, “I’m sure it's nothing against you,” he reassured her. Rebecca looked past Tim at Jen and Gabby on the ground, worried about them not liking her. After some walking, they were at the kitchen table. Jen took out the fishing hook again and prepared to throw it up to the top of the table, before Rebecca bent down and stopped her.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, I can give you a lift if you’d like,” Rebecca offered, 

“Oh, that's fine, we wouldn’t want to bother you,” Jen said, unwrapping the string and getting ready to swing the hook. 

“Oh, it's barely a bother, you two barely weigh anything to me,” Rebecca smiled, “come on, I insist,” the human said, holding her hand out for them. Jen sighed, putting the hook back into the bag slinged over her shoulder. 

“Come on Gabby,” Jen said, taking her nervous sister's hand as they both got into Rebecca's palm. Gabby struggled to stand up a bit, while Jen kept her sister from falling over. Rebecca raised the borrowers up to the table and let them get off. She also places down Tim from her other hand, before pulling a chair from the side of the table, and sitting down. She took some paper plates from a stack that was already on the table and scooped the chinese food onto one from a styrofoam container. 

“I’m guessing you two don’t get warm meals like this too often,” Rebecca said. Jen stood over the paper plate and looked at the pile of noodles, vegetables, and meat on it. She could feel some of the heat from the food on her face.

“Yeah, not really,” Jen said, picking up one of the ends of the noodles and looking at it. “Usually only when the last humans we were borrowing from left it out, and even then it would be cold, and hard to bring back,” she cut a small piece out of the noodle and tasted it, before cutting a much bigger piece and giving it to Gabby, who started eating it immediately. 

“Y’know, some borrowers at the trading market use candles and matches to try cooking stuff,” Tim said, trying to add to the conversation.

“Please, the only thing anyones ever successfully made with the ‘candle stove method’ is tea,” Jen said, “most people are too worried about started a bigger fire, or making smoke that humans would see and follow,” 

“Well, since you’re with me, you’ll be able to have as many warm cooked meals as you want!” Rebecca exclaimed, “I am great cook, after all, maybe I could even find a way to make small meals that are your size,”

“Uh, thanks, but I think we’ll be fine,” Jen said, looking down, taking a bite out of the other half of the noodle. “Tomorrow I’m going with Nora and Liam to find a new house for me and Gabby to borrow from. Hopefully we’ll be out of your hair soon after that,” 

“Oh…” Rebecca looked sideways for a moment, “well, you can always stay here as long as you’d like, ok? In Fact, you can stay here if you want,”

“Uh, no thanks, we…um, wouldn’t want to disturb you or Tim,” Jen said awkwardly.

“Yeah,” Gabby said, “we don’t want to be here when you do whatever gross stuff Jen was talking about to each other,” 

“Gabby!” Jen tugged on Gabbys arm slightly to get her to stop talking. Tim and Rebecca snickered a little.

“Oh, we don’t do anything that…physical, really, it's mainly just cuddling, y’know,” Tim said,

“Yeah, it's really warm and comfortable when we do it, nothing… weird…about it,” 

“...riiight,” Jen said, seeming a bit uncomfortable, Gabby looked at her.

“What would be weird about cuddling?” Gabby asked, confused.

“Well anyways,” Jen said, quickly changing the subject. “Rebecca, Saras coming here for…’tutoring’ tomorrow, right?” 

“Oh, yeah! It’ll be great to talk to another human that knows about you cute little guys,” Rebecca said, Jen groaned slightly. 

“Ooh, Saras coming tomorrow?” Gabby asked, “I can’t wait to see her again, she was really nice when she found me back at her house. I never thought I’d be friends with a human,” 

“Me neither,” Jen said, 

“Well, I’m also a human friend of yours, right?” Rebecca asked. Jen looked down sheepishly,

“Well, uh, you see, your…” Jen looked over at Gabby for a moment,

“You're an adult! It be weird for me to be friends with an adult,” Gabby said, “I’m not friends with liam, Nora, or Tim,” 

“Well, I mean, of course your not,” Tim rubbed his arm, “I mean, we’re not friends like, that, but we’re still…uh, acquainted with you,”

“Your like her godparents,” Jen said, 

“Yeah, yeah…something like that,” Tim said. 

“Or god siblings, since I’m raising her, and our parents are dead,” Jen said,

“Yeah, yeah…” Tim said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Hmm, maybe I could be your god-parent. How does that sound, tiny?” rebecca asked Gabby, lean towards her, “I could take care you if anything happen to you sister,”

“Oh, no, sorry,” Jen said, pulling Gabby back a bit, “I already told Liam and Nora they could adopt her if i…y’know, so,”

“You did?” Gabby asked,

“Yeah…when you weren’t around,” Jen answered,

“But-” 

“Anyways,” Jen cut Gabby off, “we should probably be getting to bed now, I’m getting up earlier tomorrow to scout out new houses, and Gabby probably shouldn’t stay up too late,”

“Aw, are you sure you two haven't had enough to eat yet, little ones?” Rebecca said. Jen rolled her eyes, Gabby just seemed confused.

“This is the amount we usually get to eat,” Gabby said,

“But are you sure it's enough?” Rebecca asked,

“Goodnight, Rebecca,” Jen said, holding Gabbys hand as they both walked to the edge of the table. 

“Oh, would you like me to help you get down?” Rebecca asked, “if you’d like, your welcome to sleep in the dollhouse tonight, I can get another bed for Gabby to sleep in,”

“No thanks, we’ll sleep in our usual spot tonight,” Jen said, taking her fishing hook out and attaching it to the edge of the table. 

“Oh…okay then…goodnight, tinies,” Rebecca said as she watched Jen and Gabby slide down the string. She sighed as they left the room by themselves. “They don’t like me, do they?” she asked Tim,

“What? No, Jen and Gabby…tolerate you enough,” Tim said, rubbing the back of his neck. “They’re both perfectly fine with you,”

“Really?” Rebecca asked, “half the time they don’t let me help them get around the house, and they won’t even let me know where they’ve been sleeping.” she let out a groan, “and after I’ve been so nice to them, offering them food and shelter and warmth,” 

“A Lot of tinies like to be independent, especially from humans,” Tim said, touching Rebecca's large human hand. “Jens is no different, she’d rather provide for her and her sister. That's why she’s been looking for a new place to stay,” Tim explained. Rebecca sighed.

“I just wish they realized how much better their lives would be with my help. I just want to help them, y’know?” Rebecca said. “If only they trusted me as much as you do,” 

“Hey, even I didn’t trust you at first,” Tim said, “Remember when we first met?”

“Heh, I remember it everyday,” Rebecca said, leaning on the table, laughing a bit while reminiscing. “You were all alone, cornered at the bottom of my sink, just begging me not to hurt you, heh,” she sighed, “you were so cute, scared like that,”

“Uh, I guess i was, huh,” Tim said, scratching his head a bit,

“It was so nice comforting you, petting you and hugging you to calm you down,” Rebecca said, “Jens not like that. Shes not scared at all, she always seem angry, or stern or whatever,”

“You know, you’ve made a lot of progress with Jen,” Tim said, “she’ll warm up to you eventually, I’m sure of it,” 

“What about Gabby? She seems nervous around me, doesn’t she?” Rebecca asked,

“I dunno, Gabby hardly even knows you,” Tim said, “she’s known the rest of us for ages,”

“But isn’t she friends with that Sara girl?” Rebecca asked, 

“I guess they got time to bond one on one,” Tim said, “like we did,”

“Hmm, tomorrow I have the entire day with Gabby…maybe I can get her to like me then!” Rebecca exclaimed, “and once Gabby trusts me, Jen will have to trust me too,”

“Huh, that seems like it could work,” Tim thought out loud, “how would you get her to like you? Even without Jen around, Gabby is going to be pretty cautious, given how Jen teaches her to be,”

“Saras coming tomorrow, right? I’ll just ask her how she became such good friends with Gabby.” Rebecca said, scooping up Tim and holding him in front of her face. Tim let out a yelp that Rebecca didn’t notice, startled by suddenly being picked up. “Soon enough, Gabby and Jen will be as close to me as you are!”

“Heh, yeah,” Tim said while being held by Rebecca, before looking down and thinking about what she said for a moment. “...wait….” Before Tim could finish his thought, Rebecca got down to her knees, causing Tim to feel a bump, before abruptly being plopped onto the ground.

“You talk to Jen and Gabbygabby to make sure they’re fine with me and everything. I’m gonna go get some things that we can do with Gabby tomorrow, I’m pretty sure we have some old board games somewhere around here," Rebecca said before walking away.

“Uh, alright,” Tim said, knowing Rebecca probably didn’t hear him. He rubbed the back of his neck, and started walking towards where Jen and Gabby went.

Jen and Gabby had been sleeping behind a TV stand in Rebeccas living room. It was no more cramped than the average borrower living arrangement, and was full of wires that attached to the wall. It was slightly dusty, and there were old dvd and game cases, some of which the tinies slept under to avoid being seen, folded to stand up like tents. They both had borrowed clean rags and cut up blankets from around the house to sleep on. It was dark there, and the borrowers could turn on a small pen light that was down there if they needed light for any reason. Jen was slightly worried of the wires sparking and causing a fire, but she hadn’t told anyone, especially not Gabby so she wouldn’t be worried too. Between the TV stand and the wall was the only place that Rebecca wouldn’t find them accidentally. Jen had made an agreement with the human that she and Gabby could have their own place to sleep at night without Rebecca knowing exactly where they were, just that they were in the house, and as part of the deal, Jen and Gabby had to be out in the open during the day. Jens side of the agreement was mainly out of issues of trust, and she assumed Rebecca’s was the same, when actually, the human just wanted to be able to see them during the day time. Tim knew where they were, though. Behind a TV stand was a common place for borrowers to hide from humans. He knew about Jens and Rebeccas agreement, though, so he hadn’t told Rebecca where they were. As he walked behind the black stand, he saw Jen tucking Gabby into her makeshift bed under a open movie case for extra darkness and so she wouldn’t be seen. 

“Jen, how long will you be gone tomorrow?” Gabby asked her sister, who was onher knees over her as she sat up on the carpeted floor.

“Around the whole day.” Jen said, “I should be back by the time your getting already asleep. Don’t worry though, I’ll be back before you know it,” Jen said, patting her sisters back. 

“Really? You’ll be careful, right?” Gabby asked, Jen smiled.

“I’ll be fine, I promise I’ll be back before you fall asleep tomorrow, ok?” Jen answered,

“Ok.” Gabby said.

“Make sure you be careful tomorrow, ok?” Jen told her sister, “if you feel in danger, or uncomfortable, or anything like that, run away, ok? Defend yourself if you have to. Get to our safe spot, alright?”

“Alright,” Gabby said, “um, is our safe spot here, or in the vents?” she asked,

“Here at first, and if you can’t be here for any reason, go to the vents, alright?” Jen said,

“Alright,” Gabby said, with a light smile, “goodnight Jen,”

“Goodnight, Gabs,” Jen said, standing up as Gabby laided down and closed her eyes. Jen walk away, stopping when she saw Tim standing across from her. “How long have you been there?” she asked quietly,

“I just got here,” Tim said. Jen sighed, walking towards him.

“So, what's up?” Jen asked, “did Rebecca tell you to ask us if we like her again?”

“Yeah,” Tim said, “she's hoping to make friends with Gabby tomorrow,” 

“Make friends? How?” Jen asked,

“She's thinking of playing board games, and talking to Sara about how to get her to like her,” Tim answered,

“Good, good.doesn’t sound to bad,” Jen said, “maybe Sara will get her to stop being so babyish to us,” 

“Y’know, I’ve haven’t really met Sara, yet,” Tim said, “what’s she like? Why are you two so close to her compared to Rebecca?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m too close to her, we only spoke once,” Jen said. “I dunno. She just seems a lot more understanding than Rebecca is. She never talked down to either of us, never called either of us ‘cute’,” Jen said looking down, “never insisting we stay with her over and over again,”

“Well, I guess Rebecca has a bit of an infantilization issue with you guys,” Tim said, “I’ll try talking to her about it,” 

“Thats what you said last time,” Jen said, rolling her eyes,

“Well, I’ll make sure to really tell her this time.” Tim said. Jen sighed.

“Thanks, Tim.” She said, walking away from him towards where she was sleeping. “See you in the morning,”

“Alright, good night, Jen,” Tim said, leaving Jen and Gabbys spot.

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 天国と地獄 ~サイコな2人～/ Tengoku to Jigoku: Psychona Futari / Heaven and Hell: Soul Exchange.

Heaven and Hell: Soul Exchange is a 2021 Japanese drama about a headstrong cop, the shady CEO she suspects of being a serial killer, and what happens when they magically switch bodies.

With a premise like that, there are basically two tonal choices: You can make it a wacky comedy, or you can get real fucked-up and dark about it. This 10-episode series somehow manages the secret third thing of splitting the difference, so it's got a lot of deliciously fucked-up stuff in the setup, but it never quite has the courage of its convictions to go all the way. What that gets you is the kind of frustrating that you can't stop thinking about afterward, both for what it did and what it didn't have the guts to do.

So! If you're interested in a story that's compelling and occasionally very funny, with just enough unrealized potential that your brain keeps batting it around like a kitten with a squeaky toy at 4AM, I have five reasons that you might want to give this one a shot.

1. Half-Trans: Full Trans Consequences

We're gonna hit this one right off the bat: This is a story where a girl and boy trade bodies, so you know it's got the genders.

Mochizuki Ayako is the only female cop in her department. She's headstrong, kind of obnoxious, a slob, and not particularly feminine -- so of course the dude cops hate her. In the process of investigating a serial murder, she comes across Hidaka Haruto, who's got that kind of smug sinister aura of a smart man who's clearly hiding some shit, though all his underlings love him. When they unexpectedly bodyswap with no idea how to switch back, they're forced to keep one another's lies going so they don't both wind up in jail, except she's still trying to catch him and he's still trying to get away with it.

They work a very good contrast with the difference in their respective attachments to their genders. Despite her hardass demeanor and her lack of super-femme presentation, Mochizuki is without question a woman. She's deeply uncomfortable in a male body, and when someone calls her a man, her instinct is to deny it. Having to deal with a borrowed penis nearly gives her a meltdown.

Hidaka, on the other hand, is a fruity little guy whose first response to finding himself inside a woman's body is to get all girly and take it for a test drive. It's less that he's transfeminine and more that he just really doesn't seem all that attached to any gender. He's got boobs now, and boobs are what he's going to make work for him. Regardless of his sexuality -- and the show does leave that one a big row of question marks -- his gender is gay.

There's also some fairly solid bodyswap acting! ...kinda. Both actors have unfortunately different interpretations of Mochizuki's character. If you're being charitable, it's true she's freaking out and having some kind of gender dysphoria the entire time she's in boy mode, which could explain why she's much softer and girlier when she's being played by the male actor, Takahashi Issei. If you're more inclined to nitpick, well, you're not wrong that the performances don't line up. That said, the actors both do a great job of switching characters, so it's pretty clear when they're being different people (even if it's not necessarily the same different person).

Now, you should by no means assume this show is some conscious exploration of genderqueer existence in contemporary Japan. It is, however, way more thoughtful than I expected it to be. It leaves some very interesting silences, especially around what exactly Hidaka's taste in partners is and why Mochizuki's own body kinda gives her a lesbian awakening when someone else is in there. If you're the type who likes a trans-flavored imagination adventure, this is a spectacular starting point. You're going to have a blast.

2. The Mochizuki Support Squad

Nobody from Hidaka's side realizes what's going on with the swap; sure, the boss is acting weird, but they buy his explanations for it. Mochizuki, however, has exactly two people in the world who care so much about her that they figure out what's happened: her junior cop partner, Yamaki Hideo, and her roommate, Watanabe Riku.

You have to love a character where their closest friends are like, either you've started suddenly acting polite and nice, or you've mystically swapped bodies with another person, and honestly, the bodyswap is the more likely explanation.

This is one of those places where the show takes the goofier and more lighthearted tack. Leaving it so the only people who knew about the swap were Mochizuki and Hidaka themselves would be incredibly isolating and paranoia-inducing, especially for Mochizuki. Giving her (eventually) two buddies who know what's going on both gives her a cushion of support for her ordeal and creates a number of comic moments where these guys are looking at a stranger and seeing their friend -- and vice versa.

They're both kind of daffy sweethearts, too, which adds even more comic relief to the show. Yamaki is an easily flustered, mildly hysterical nerd who just wants his mean bestie back so she can go back to telling him what to do. Riku is a blue-collar himbo who would technically be a hobosexual except for how he both really does pull his weight around the house and (probably) isn't getting laid. They're willing to put themselves on the line and do what they can to make sure their friend is okay, no matter what body she's in.

I actually like how the show has more than couple male-female dynamics where the people involved are just friends -- or, if things change so they're not, it's strongly implied that they could have gone on being just friends and that would have been fine or even better for both parties involved. Romance is not the endgame of every mixed-genital relationship! Sometimes people who love one another dearly are friends without further obligation! You can care for people a lot without wanting to fuck them! And that's great.

Besides, I know it won't shock you to learn that the real horny part of the show plays out as...

3. An interesting game of cat and mouse

Mochizuki's got an interesting problem: She's a cop inside the body of a murderer, and as long as she's stuck here, there's a murderer inside the body of a cop out on the loose. She could, as Hidaka, confess to the murders and in a way that puts him physically in jail, but she doesn't know how to swap their bodies back. She's got to keep Hidaka appeased, or he, in her official capacity, might arrest her and just keep her body forever while she goes down for the crime. She could find a way to take them both down, but that would ruin her life too and is an absolute last resort. She could just let him go and cover up the crimes, but her sense of justice won't allow it.

While Hidaka ... well, Hidaka's got a lot going on. I'm not even going to get into Hidaka's whole deal, because it's related to some late-series spoilers. The simple version is that he's got to be pretending to catch himself while actually trying to destroy evidence about the murders, all while having to dig into gendered expectations to play a version of Mochizuki capable of ingratiating herself with her asshole coworkers instead of alienating them.

And yeah, it's pretty darn horny.

It's one of those delicious enemies-to-allies-to-grudging-friends setups where you've got two people at cross purposes who have to play nice with one another (while still being very mean to one another), and in that process they find things about the other person that are actually worth liking. Because this is a literal life-and-death situation, emotions are running high! Wanting to kill someone and wanting to save them are not mutually exclusive states.

The show makes a great decision not to have Mochizuki and Hidaka hook up, or even to acknowledge that their bond has any erotic component beyond whatever's inherent in borrowing someone else's genitals. This means that their dynamic is very intimate and physical without being textually sexual, which actually winds up making it way more sexual than it would have been otherwise. It's like horror, where what you don't see is almost always scarier than what you do -- with sexual tension, especially across ostensibly heterosexual pairs, subversion and longing are almost always much sexier than having things brought to completion onscreen. I mean, seriously, think of the number of things you've seen where there's pining, and pining, and more pining, and you ship it hard, and then they finally get together and it's a giant disappointment. Better to be left hungry for more of this almost-t4t goodness.

There's also an incredible amount of lapel-grabbing and kabedon-delivering here, so if you're in to that, itadakimasu!

4. A Cop Are Bastard

There are a number of antagonists in this story -- I mean, not shocking, considering both the premise and the way the serial murder case at the heart of the story gets weirdly complicated. The most prominent and persistent of those antagonists, though, is not a serial murderer, but one of the cops.

The character's name is Kawahara Mitsuo, but Mochizuki and Yamaki call him "Seku-Hara," as those are the first two syllables of each word in "sexual harassment." It's fitting. He's sleazy, arrogant, and an entire bag of dicks who talks like a gangster and is willing to do a lot of backhanded dirty-cop shit to get his way.

All this lands him firmly in the Love To Hate category. If you enjoy throwing popcorn at onscreen villains, pop some extra for Kawahara, because that fucker deserves it.

Maybe the most interesting thing about him is how often he's actually right. When he's not being an asshole who's doing bad cop work, he actually does good cop work, and he comes to some pretty astute conclusions about what exactly is going on with the case. Despite Mochizuki and Hidaka's joint interference, he figures out a lot of what's the two of them are up to, even without ever picking up on the bodyswap angle. So he's not just a slimy buffoon -- he's actually a formidable opponent.

Also, did I mention he's hot in a gross way? I dunno, maybe it helps that I've seen Kitamura Kazuki be hot in a not-gross way in other things, like Nekozamurai, where he plays a handsome and noble samurai sworn to protect a very cute kitty. Here, though, he's not noble at all -- he's a thug of a cop with a cocky swagger and a deep voice, and I am not above admitting that I see the appeal.

Like, fuck, I'm not usually into eyebrows, and I'm into his eyebrows. Those are some good eyebrows.

5. argh it's almost so good (but still pretty good!)

I'm about to be slightly spoilery from this point forward, not about specific plot points, but about general narrative moves. If you'd prefer to remain unspoiled for such things, stop reading right now and go to either Viki or Netflix to watch the whole show. You're welcome.

Still here? Great. See, where this show really lacks the courage of its convictions is with Hidaka's character. He starts off the series really evil! He does some very bad things! He's clearly quite sinister. Then about halfway through, the show starts to backpedal real hard and introduces another factor into the murder cases that makes him a much less outright bad guy than he seems at first blush.

...And that sucks! Because as the show first portrays him, he's deliciously kind of a fucker. He's not only confident and threatening, he's happy to take Mochizuki's body and do whatever he wants with it, regardless of her feelings. He reads as a straight-up two-faced psychopath who just wants to keep on ridding the world of bad people by straight-up grotesquely murdering them. But the show doesn't have the guts to either take him down in a blaze of glory or create a redemption arc for a guy who's got a taste for some pretty gnarly body horror, so it's got to find a way to convince you not to believe your lying eyes.

However! I do not consider this a dealbreaker, because I find what the show does wind up doing actually pretty interesting. Just because it's not the ending to the story I, personally, would have told doesn't mean it's not a story worth telling. It's maybe a little artificially convoluted, but you've already suspended your disbelief for the bodyswap thing, right? So just roll with the rest of it.

At the risk of belaboring the duality metaphor, I really do feel like this is a show constantly being pulled in two different directions at once. It seems like half the show loves to roll around in the blood and perversion of vigilante serial murder, while the other half wishes it'd picked a more innocuous crime, like art theft or securities fraud. Half of it wants Hidaka to be a right cold bastard who deals Mochizuki a lot of serious damage, and the other half wants to keep him always on the side of the line where he never does anything unredeemable. Half of it wants this to be a sexy queer exploration of gendered expectations through suddenly different bodies, and the other half wants to play a straight PG-13 bodyswap comedy. Half of it wants to be Hannibal, and the other half wants to be Freaky Friday.

And where it all lands is ... well, in the middle.

Obviously my general disappointment with the show's eventual final form has not left me heartbroken. To the contrary, I've had a lot of fun thinking about it afterward, both pondering what was actually on the screen and having imagination adventures about how I would have done it differently. That, to me, is fun. I enjoy this. Like the Maxx said, the shows in my mind are almost always better.

I might have been a little more put off by the lack of my ideal resolution if the show had required more of a commitment from me, but no, it gets things done in ten one-hour episodes, which makes it a great small-medium bite. You can knock this one out pretty quickly, and then have all the time in the world left for thinking about how things could have been different if the show had not taken the Goldilocks approach to its queer serial murder bodyswap setup. The Hump of Compelling Mediocrity strikes again!

Up for a watch?

As I mentioned earlier, both Viki and Netflix have this one!

No joke, I hope people read this, get enticed by the horny potential of it, watch the show, go a little feral for what fits into those silences I mentioned, and write some dang sexy fanfic for me to enjoy. There's only one piece of anything on AO3 about it! One! One is not a sufficient number of things! Especially not with this promising of a setup. Come on, fellow perverts. We can do better.

Aw, look, they're so cute when they get to be themselves.

[sapphire-weapon]

Have you noticed Leon always says you owe me one to Ada and Luis and they respond the same, I think the only one that doesn't respond like that to him is Ashley like actually she tells him they're a team and working together as partners, there's nothing to owe.

So this is a REALLY super interesting ask, actually. I don't think that it's as simple as "he keeps score with them but not her." There's a lot of different layers and moving parts to this. All of these scenarios are very different from each other, and they all come from different places. It's not just about how he views the people in question, but also how he views himself, especially within the context of their dynamic.

We'll start with Ada.

If you notice, he only says that to her in RE2make and at absolutely no other time in canon. There's a reason for that. In RE2make, Leon is kind of a bumbling dipshit. He's fresh out of police academy and has no real, practical experience to speak of. He's basically just making it up as he goes along and hoping for the best.

And then there's Ada, who's more skilled, knowledgeable, and competent than he is by basically every conceivable metric. And not only that, but in RE2make specifically, he thinks she's fucking FBI. So, in his mind, she outranks him in every sense of the word. He spends a not insignificant amount of time chasing after her and asking her for help and answers, because he trusts her as an authority.

So, when Leon tells Ada that she owes him in RE2make, that's his way of seeking her approval. It's his way of going "hey Ms. Big Shot FBI, I can stand on equal footing with you, too. See? Please tell me I did a good job oh god."

And then when RE4make comes along, the only person between them who says "you owe me" is actually her to him -- and not only does he not acknowledge that comment from her at all, but he also never tries to even the score. And that's because, in his mind, she still owes him way, way, WAY fucking more than just a simple information tip. She took advantage of him on the worst night of his life, lied to him, used him, led him on (at least, as far as he can tell; he has no way of knowing she actually caught feels), and then abandoned him for six years. And upon their reunion? Holds him at gunpoint without so much as a "hello."

So, when he calls her for help at the start of chapter 14, he's not asking for a favor. He asks her a question, and he expects her to answer it -- because she still owes him, and he feels he deserves it.

The difference in his confidence levels in his interactions with her between RE2make and RE4make are really striking, and this is actually a really great example of it.

Luis is a different story.

Leon actually never keeps score with Luis; it's Luis who tries to pull it on him, and Leon immediately pays him back out of a desperate desire to not be indebted to him in any way, shape, or form. In his mind, Luis is also someone who's already taken too much from him, as an Umbrella researcher.

Of course, it's also much harder for him to make that case, because Luis wasn't actually there in Raccoon City and had nothing to do with the actual outbreak. Leon is actually very hypocritical when it comes to Luis in a lot of ways. OG Leon tells OG Luis that he was in Raccoon City, but remake Leon doesn't do the same.

So, remake Leon demands that Luis be straight with him about his motivations while hypocritically hiding his own. In fact, one of the biggest tragedies surrounding their relationship is that Luis dies without ever having known that Leon wasn't just being affected by his Las Plagas research -- but that he's also suffered from Luis's contributions to Umbrella's research, as well.

For the vast majority of their relationship, Leon feels like there's absolutely nothing that Luis can do to pay him back for his direct contributions towards ruining his life. So, keeping score is pointless.

And yet when it comes to Ashley?

Leon has nothing to prove to Ashley like he did with Ada back in RE2. And she's never hurt, betrayed, or taken advantage of him like both Luis and Ada have done. So, for him, despite him having basically all of the power in their relationship, he sees himself and Ashley as being on completely equal, neutral ground with one another.

But here's what's interesting. He does actually keep score with her, to a certain extent. When Ashley goes over walls to unlock doors from the inside, Leon will occasionally thank her with an "I owe you one."

From Leon's perspective, Ashley is going out of her way to help him. She's not obligated to assist in her own rescue -- and, if she chose not to help, he would eventually find another way to navigate through shit, regardless. It'd just be a way bigger pain in the ass. So, when she helps him out, he feels that he owes her.

Saving her life and bringing her home isn't a favor; it isn't something he ever expects or wants her to repay. He has his role, and she has hers, and when she steps out of her role to help him, he's grateful.

And, even though he pays her back again and again and again, he never sees it that way. If, on the plane ride back to the US, Ashley asked him for something and pulled out a "hey, you owe me" -- Leon would very likely just shrug and say "I guess I do."

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What if Bella was just a hallucination Edward was having but she didn't exist to anyone else?

Beautiful, anon, beautiful.

There's No New Girl in Forks

Midnight Sun starts a slight bit differently.

The Cullens are eating lunch as usual, Edward's bemoaning that he's in an endless purgatory of teenage filth (that he himself chose to frequent, Edward) and Edward vaguely notes the new girl that doesn't exist.

He's mildly surprised no one else seems to care about the new girl, she's good looking enough, he guesses, but it seems the denziens of Forks don't give a flying fuck.

He does get mildly annoyed when he sees that Jessica, Lauren, Mike, etc. are completely ignoring the girl at lunch. He knew Jessica was vain and self-centered, but this really goes beyond the pale. Wow, Forks sucks a lot.

Edward, however, doesn't comment on this to his family as it's just boring normal Forks behavior to him. He feels no need to acknowledge it's even happening and thinks his family's doing a great job being above it all (they're not as this girl doesn't actually exist).

Then Biology happens.

Edward Nearly Eats the Girl Who Doesn't Exist

Edward doesn't explain much of anything to the family.

He tells Carlisle he nearly ate someone (Bella Swan, Edward says, and Carlisle has a brief moment of 'who' but figures it's not worth focusing on when Edward seems to need to desperately leave the area) and then he's gone.

The Cullens try to puzzle out who it is/why Edward would react like that.

Someone must have had a nosebleed in Biology, they eventually figure, and like canon Alice feels terrible for missing it by focusing so much on what could happen to Jasper.

Edward comes back not long after and puts on a very brave face. The family's not as concerned this time around as they don't think it's a specific person's scent, all the same people are there after all, it must have just been a bad day/nose bleed. The likelihood of nosebleed happening again is probably pretty miniscule.

Carlisle gently reminds Edward that they tend to do blood testing in Biology and he may uh want to skip that day. Edward privately agrees but is mortified Carlisle says as much.

Edward Starts Talking to an Empty Seat

Edward interrogates the empty seat, determined to discover whether or not she's realized Edward is strange (the entire class now has as Edward's conversing with an empty chair, it's fucking weird, they figure he's role playing or something).

Edward finds himself intrigued, she gives answers he never would have suspected (almost as if she's not really a person).

This is terrible because the next day she's nearly hit by a van. Edward miraculously saves her in time.

His family wonders why the fuck Edward darted across the parking lot to save Jessica Stanley's front bumper.

"The rest of the car is totaled anyway" Emmett notes, Edward didn't even save the fucking car. And it's a really shitty car!

There's no vote that evening (despite Edward being shocked that there isn't one) as no one saw Edward's mad dash across the parking lot to not save Jessica's car.

Rosalie gives him hell for this, Edward thinks she's being callous dismissing Bella's life so easily and he points out that Bella could have died.

Rosalie thinks "Bella" is a hypothetical high school student who, in theory, could have been standing right there. She can't even.

Edward Starts Creeping in an Empty Room

Edward, unable to deny himself any longer, starts running out of the house to spy on the sleeping Bella in Charlie Swan's empty office that he thinks is a bedroom.

He asks himself why he saved her from the van and if she hasn't been sent here to torment him.

50/50 he eats Bella then and hides for several weeks from his family/potentially forever out of shame and the family has no idea what's happened to him and why the other 50 is he decides he must be in love.

Edward is in Love

Canon proceeds as Edward bails on his family to have lunch with an empty chair.

They feel vaguely insulted and very confused when Edward... starts talking to it about... theories.

"The fuck is he doing?" Rosalie asks, but then decides Edward's being a nerd or something. If she asks, Edward will just pretend Rosalie's the one being stupid and she won't fall for this obvious bait.

There's no Port Angeles as Alice doesn't have the vision that Bella's in danger (as Bella doesn't exist). Instead, eventually, Bella confesses that she discovered Edward's a vampire (how, unexplained, as she never went to La Push as I don't think Edward would make that connection)

"This woman is a saint" Edward breathes as she professes to love him anyway despite his vampirism. He takes her to the meadow and nearly eats her. What he's really doing, of course, is frolicking around by himself in the sunlight with a blouse on.

Edward has a great time.

Then comes the moment.

Edward invites Bella over to meet his family.

The Family Feels Very Taken Aback

"What?" they all ask, "Who?"

This is even worse than canon, where Bella Swan at least existed, and they saw Edward have conversations with her/nearly eat her. This is coming completely out of left field.

They don't even know a Bella! Where the fuck is she from?

"Oh, you're hilarious," Edward responds, laughing, thinking Carlisle's making a joke about how small of a town Forks is and how unlikely it is Edward would find his soulmate right here in high school.

Carlisle's not joking.

The family has an emergency meeting trying to figure out what anyone knows about this. Alice has seen nothing, she hasn't even seen this girl come over, there's a giant blank space.

Edward postulates that she's also immune to Alice's gift. It explains a lot, there's a lot that Alice should have been picking up on and since she's immune to Edward as well it would make sense.

"Uh, sure" Alice says, not sure how to feel about this at all or that a complete stranger is about to enter her life and might become a sister.

(She puts on a very brave face.)

Rosalie thinks this is a horrible idea. Edward, this girl has no reason to get involved. You've potentially ruined her life for no reason, behind everyone's back, what the fuck.

Edward tells her she wouldn't understand and likely makes a crack about Emmett.

Regardless, it's made clear, the girl's coming over in a few hours.

Rosalie bolts, she can't do this. She will not be a part of this, she needs to process and she is out! Emmett goes with her.

This leaves the rest of them. They hold their breath...

The Emperor Has No Clothes

Edward opens the door for nobody.

He talks to thin air, as if there's a person there, and looks at them as if expecting them to react. They have 0.005 seconds.

Esme recovers first and greets Bella with a warm smile. She punches Carlisle in the stomach, "Play along, dear!" as she assumes Edward's playing a game of some sort and this is some kind of hilarious (but not really) joke.

"Welcome to our house... Bella..." Carlisle somehow manages.

Alice and Jasper quickly disappear, they want no part in this.

Edward gives the thin air a tour of the house getting into a weird amount of Carlisle's personal history with it (Carlisle really really really doesn't feel comfortable about this).

Esme decides she should make pasta. Her name's "Bella" right? Isn't that Italian?

":/" - Carlisle Cullen

Eventually, Bella leaves, and Edward informs the family they did a marvelous job "EXCEPT FOR YOU, ROSALIE".

The family just kind of smiles awkwardly and laughs, waiting for Edward to drop the punch line of it all being a joke.

He doesn't.

The family has an emergency meeting.

Is Edward Fucking with Us?

There's heated debate while Edward's out creeping on Bella for the night as the family sees a few options.

One is that Bella exists but can be neither seen, nor heard, nor smelled. This is Esme's theory. It's... politely dropped.

Another is that Edward believes Bella exists and has gone completely mad. This is also moved past. It's a theory, and Edward has been acting a bit erratic (especially when Peter and Charlotte were visiting) but he's very consistent and this is also the first they've really heard of this.

A third is that Edward's getting passive aggressive bizarre revenge for the unspoken desire for him to get a girlfriend already. Nobody's said anything, nobody thought it was that big of a deal, but Edward must have been chafing at always being the odd man out and being pitied that this is his way of finally having enough.

This last is what they eventually settle on.

Rosalie still can't even.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?"

Alice sees confronting Edward going very bad places. Very... argumentative places, Edward apparently won't be breaking character until after the DVD commentary.

The best thing they can do, she informs them, is go along with it until Edward gets bored and realizes this is silly and nobody cares that he's single.

They all acknowledge that, as it's Edward and he's very stubborn, that could take a while...

Bella's Invited to a Baseball Game

Alice notes that it's a great day to play baseball! Oh, oh, Bella's coming too? Oh. Great.

Edward notes his family's lack of enthusiasm and informs them that they're being awful (ESPECIALLY YOU, ROSALIE) Think about it from Bella's perspective who has been so accepting of their nature. And here they are, acting like she's dirt beneath their feet.

"Alright, fine," Rosalie says, "I'll be the nicest person ever."

Edward watches in horror and embarrassment as Rosalie proceeds to be almost saccharine sweet to Bella (Bella of course is very flustered by the attention but is too naive to realize Rosalie's not being sincere at all).

The baseball game goes ahead as schelduled then to Edward's horror other vampires show up.

The Cullens... pause. Are they going to stop pretending now? Edward? Edward? Please? This will get very weird very fast and potentially dangeorus. Edward?!

Edward doesn't say anything but he starts acting really shifty, as if he's trying to hide someone from James, Victoria, and Laurent. He's also snarling.

"This is Edward," Carlisle introduces lamely.

As there's no tasty human to goad the Cullens with, while James is intrigued by Alice, I imagine he's actually too weirded out to do anything. They go on their way.

Edward is tormented he put Bella's life in such danger and vows to never do so again.

"... I think that's entirely possible" Carlisle notes, as Bella doesn't exist to be out in danger.

They Throw Bella a Birthday Party

Summer approaches and Bella is now invited to the house every day. The family vacates any room Edward's in as they don't want to be forced to talk to "Bella". Esme keeps making her cupcakes.

They frequently ask Alice how to make it stop or else when it will stop but so far as she can tell Edward will never decide to stop doing this so...

"For the foreseeable future" is what Alice notes much to the collective "ugh" of the family.

Emmett's just mildly disturbed by how in character Edward's getting. Though he does think Edward's waxing poetry about Bella is fucking hilarious (he doesn't know how he feels given that Edward's now funnier than him).

"Rock on, Edward" Emmett says.

Edward makes Alice throw Bella a birthday party.

Alice really doesn't want to. At all. She feels like Edward's just mocking her at this point. Even she's wondering when this will end.

Regardless, a birthday party is had and Alice is dismayed to learn that "Bella" didn't even want one. The girl is apparently too shy for parties or presents. Edward made her do this for nothing.

"Alice loves parties" - Edward to Bella

Jasper doesn't eat Bella because she doesn't exist. A very awkward party is had by all.

Things Continue

Things continue up until graduation at which point Edward professes he intends to leave Bella to live her human life for good.

("Thank fucking god" Rosalie says, it's a dumb conclusion to this dumb debacle but at least it's fucking over.)

They all conclude it's over and done with and gleefully plan the next move.

Except Edward ups and leaves.

He doesn't go to Rio, as there's no Victoria to chase, but he notes he needs some time to process his time away from Bella.

"... Sure, you do that" they all say, not sure what this is about but figuring Edward needs his space.

Edward leaves and... drops off the map. He stops calling, doesn't respond to them, and they start to get very worried. What the hell is going on with him?

Alice warns that any attempt at an intervention will lead to disaster. Just... let Edward get over this.

Edward likely goes to Dartmouth where the Bella in his head has gone to college. He watches her from afar, despairing when she gets a wonderful, intellectual, human boyfriend.

Edward sooner or later caves and decides to live apart from his family for the duration of Bella Swan's human life.

Eventually, We Reach Volterra

Edward goes to Volterra to kill himself when Bella dies.

Aro is greeted with this story (which from Edward's perspective is very real). "Oh, what a tragic story!" Aro notes, but as in canon notes he's not killing Edward over this.

Edward walks in the sun, there's no Bella to stop him.

Upon meeting the rest of the Cullens in the aftermath... Aro awkwardly learns there was no Bella.

He decides not to tell them that uh Edward wasn't joking.

[magnetarmadda]

For the last day of @tmaappreciationweek, I've done a Somewhere Else statement fic! It's okay, it's a happy ending 💜

[CLICK]

[MUFFLED MEOWS, MORE DISTINCT PURRING, FOOTSTEPS]

[VOICES INCREASING IN VOLUME]

JON

[excitedly] Martin, look at this one!

MARTIN

Jon, you've said that about the last four cats we've looked at!

JON

But this one is perfect!

[FOND LAUGHTER]

MARTIN

If you say so, love.

[SOFT MEOW]

JON

[quietly] You're so soft, and oh so fluffy. [louder] I think his fur is almost the same color as your hair.

MARTIN

[sighing fondly] We're taking him home then, are we?

[LOUD PURRING]

[FOOTSTEPS]

SHELTER EMPLOYEE

Oh, I see you found our newest residents!

JON AND MARTIN

[together] Residents?

SHELTER EMPLOYEE

Yep! They're a bonded pair. The orange cat is usually in front, hiding the black cat. The black cat, poor guy, looks like he's been through a few alley wars. But it's a good sign the orange one likes you—we've been calling him Marmalade, and the black cat Blackberry, one of our kid volunteers was on a toast-themed naming kick that weekend.

[LAUGHTER]

SHELTER EMPLOYEE

I know, I know. They don't yet seem very attached to those names, though, so you'll be able to change them fairly easily. I'm Tabitha, by the way—I'm just going to clean some of the kitten cages while they're out in the day room. Let me know if you need anything!

MARTIN

[distracted] Thanks. 

[PAUSE]

MARTIN

Is it just me, or does the shadow in the back have eyes?

JON

[snorting] That's probably Blackberry. Oh, Martin! He's coming toward us! Quick, put your fingers by the bars.

MARTIN

Yes, dear.

JON

No need to be rude in front of the cats.

[SNORTING]

[PAUSE]

MARTIN

[softly, full of concern] He's very skinny, and it looks like there's spots where his fur isn't quite growing right. 

JON

[equally soft] Just means we'll have to give him lots of love.

MARTIN

Well, we know you have plenty of that to go round.

[FABRIC RUSTLES]

MARTIN

H-hey! Careful there! Shoving me made Blackberry here unhappy.

JON

[muttering] Blackberry. [louder] We need to find them new names.

[LOUD MEOWING]

JON

[laughing] I think they agree.

MARTIN

So, we're taking them home? 

JON

[happily] Yeah, we are. 

MARTIN

I'll go get Tabitha, see what paperwork we have to do. Then I'll go get the carrier from the car. Hopefully, they'll let us get away with the one, since I wasn't expecting two cats. [voice gets softer] Although I probably should have, knowing you.

JON

He's a lot of bluster, don't worry. He's very happy with you both, too, I know. 

[RUMBLING]

JON

Tim will have a field day, though. I don't know how I'm going to live this one down, not on top of him being right about Martin and I hitting it off on a blind date. [laughing] It's been four years, you think he'd let it go. 

[MEOWING]

JON

Marmalade, you haven't even met Tim yet! Sasha will love you, though, she's always wanted a fluffy cat. Oh, and Georgie will be so jealous—she's still sad the Admiral never got as fluffy as she thought he would when he was a kitten.

[SOFTER, CROAKY MEOW]

JON

Why, hello there Blackberry. Yes, I'm more than happy to scratch your ears with my other hand. Four hands in our house means plenty of pets, that's for sure. And since both of our jobs have stayed work-from-home, there's lots of time for cuddling. Oh, well, you both seem quite good at that already. It's very sweet of you to clean Blackberry's head, Marmalade.

[CROAKY MEOW, RUMBLING]

[FOOTSTEPS COMING BACK]

JON

We really will need to give you better names. Don't worry, I've got a list—you'll just have to meow to tell me which ones you like. Sound fair?

[MEOWING]

MARTIN

Convincing them to go along with your plans already? Hardly fair, love.

[MUFFLED KISS]

JON

You know they'll love you more than me anyway. I've got to gain an advantage somehow.

[OFFENDED MEOW]

[LAUGHTER]

[FOOTSTEPS]

TABITHA

Ready to take these guys home?

JON

Absolutely.

TABITHA

Great! Let's get that paperwork done.

MARTIN

We'll be right back, and then, home.

[FOOTSTEPS RECEDE]

[RUMBLING, TWO SOFT MEOWS]

[CLICK]

[twice-inamillion]

Jihyo’s Concern

1.7k words

Chapter 190 

(Important concerns that need to be addressed.)

The group has the day off, and most use this opportunity to rest after completing a successful comeback. The night before, Jihyo asked you for some alone time to clear her mind after a busy couple of weeks.

With Jisoo at her grandparents, the both of you have the afternoon to yourselves, so you decide to go for an afternoon drive. 

You drive on the road with a fantastic view of the coastline, the windows down, and the air blowing Jihyo's hair. You can't help but admire how beautiful she is, your future wife. "You look amazing, Jihyo. I'm the luckiest man in the world to have found someone like you."

"You're the lucky one. I'm the one that went after the pursuit; you had no chance, haha," as she gives you a loving smile. 

She grabs your hand and intertwines it with hers, "I'm glad we took this time apart from everyone."

"Good thing you asked, it's been a hectic these past couple of weeks, but it's finally over."

"Haha, we did a good job; thank you for Fancy, it's such a good song. From what I could see, Once loved the song."

"Really? I'm too afraid to check, so I haven't been on social media."

"Oh yeah, the group chat has been flooded with pics of Once's comments on the song. You really did an amazing job, Mr. Producer."

"It's only going to get better, I have other songs in mind."

"I know they’re going to be great."

"Thanks, also… I got the finalized song list for the upcoming tour, so you might want to tell the rest to freshen up."

"I'm so excited! I can't believe we are going on tour again but this time, its a world tour. Can you believe it, going abroad to sing in front of international Once!"

"It's to be expected, you girls work so hard; you all deserve the best."

"Thanks, but that has been making me thinking about what we are going to do with the babies. They're growing too fast and are more active than before. I don't think we can bring them with us; the constant traveling from city to city, I don't think they will be able to handle."

"You're right. Three of them are over a year old, and they are going to start to run and throw tantrums; it's going to be hard to hide them. There is also Da-eun, who's only a few months old, and she is still too small to travel internationally. It's one thing to Japan and taking them since it's so close but going to other countries, it's going to be hard."

Jihyo's hand begins to shake slightly. "What are we going to do, oppa? I don't want to leave them behind, but we can't take them either."

"We're going to get through this. The tour's first leg is around Asia, so we won't be too far out. Let's see; we have two days in Seoul, one day in Bangkok, Manila, and Singapore. They're spread out that we'll be back home. The only part that would worry me would be the North American concerts and the last leg of Asia. Maybe we can ask your mom to watch over them for the first leg."

“I can ask, but I also don't want to rely on them too much, you know. I feel bad because it's not just Jisoo this time; its four children. Plus, taking care of an infant like Da-eun with Jisoo and Ari, I don't think it's would end well."

"Hmm… I might have another option, but I don't know if you are going to like it." Jihyo sees your hesitation, "Come on, tell me, don't keep it to yourself. You already opened your mouth, just spit it out," as she smacks your arm. 

"Okay, but just keep an open mind."

"Yeah, I'll try."

"You know how I go to the company building for meetings, right?"

"The one in the mornings."

"Yeah, well… there are times when we have a long break in between or finish early, so I shop for groceries here and there. Well… I've bumped into Chaeyoung's mom several times, and we talk here and there. She's sweet and friendly; she even invited me for lunch and asked me about Chaeyoung and the rest of the girls."

"Oh really?” with a suspicious looked.

"Yup, she mentioned how lonely she is at home since her two children are adults and no longer live with her. I feel bad because she gets so happy when I stop by to the point that I even bring her groceries from time to time. She's even shown me some childhood pictures of Chaeyoung; she was so cute when she was small, haha."

"Seems like you have a lot of time on your hands," as she gives you a side eye. 

"No, it's not like that. I forgot my main point…" as you try to remember why you brought up the subject in the first place. "Oh yeah, during one of our talks, she mentioned how hard it was for her to raise chaeyoung and her brother as a single mother. She struggled a lot until she enrolled them in a nursery. She said that they liked it so much that she ended up as a volunteering at the nursery as well. I remember her saying that she still does it from time to time, so I thought that maybe we can ask her to watch over the kids since she's more than qualified."

You watch as Jihyo remains silent and gives it some thought. "You haven't told her about the kids, right?" 

"No, I haven't said anything. All we talked about was your life as an idols and Chaeyoung. Well, she did ask me if I had something going on with Chaeyoung, but I just said that we like to mess around."

"Wait, what do you mean by mess around?"

"Like playful things, you know, joking around that type of stuff."

"Hmm, okay. That's fine."

"So what do you think? Should we ask her?"

"Hmm, if you think she's qualified, then I don't think it's a bad idea. Will we need to talk to Chaeyoung about it and check if she's willing to do it."

"If not then we can ask Mina's mom. Mina has mentioned that she always asks about the kids, so she might be willing to do it if we ask."

"You're right; with my mom and Mina's mom, I think we can make it work. It would be a win-win situation on both sides; the babies get to see their grandparents and spend time with the grandkids."

"Okay, sounds like a plan. All we have to do is talk to the members about it."

As you reach the final destination, you park the car in a spot that has a perfect ocean view. Parking high on a cliff gives you the best view of both the ocean and the surrounding terrain. "It's been a while since we have been right, oppa." "Yes, maybe a year or two?" "You're right, even before Jisoo."

"Wouldn't it be nice to live near the beach?" as you look at the beautiful scenery. Jihyo reaches for the cooler in the back and gives you an ice-old soda and some snacks. "Here, I picked this up before coming here." The both of you stay silent as you take in the view. 

Minutes pass in silence until Jihyo says, "What do you think about moving?" You're surprised by her question, "You mean getting a new house?"

"Yes, the house we have right now is doable, but with Sana's pregnancy, it will be difficult. Mina, Dahyun, and I have our own room, but the rest of us share, so it will be hard once Sana gives birth. We don't have the space anymore."

"You're right. I've been thinking the same thing lately."

"I've been looking online for any houses with rooms for all of us or two houses next to each other, but I haven't had any luck," sulks Jihyo. You try to comfort her, "It's going to be okay; we just have to try a pick harder."

"Just thinking about it makes me so stressed; I just can't help it. Eventually, the babies will need a room when they grow up; it's not like they can always sleep with us. They are going to want their room once they're older." 

"This might sound like a crazy idea, but what if we build our dream house? We can buy our own plot of land and build it how we want. Just imagine this, a large house, plenty of rooms, a big kitchen, a backyard, and a playroom for the kids." 

The idea of having a house built from the ground up sounds like a dream. You watch as she is in deep thought, thinking of what her future house could look like. "Okay, let's do it. If I want to have a big house, enough for all of us to live comfortably."

With Jihyo in agreement, you tease her, "We can even have a room that we can use to have fun," as you wink at her. Jihyo immediately understands what you mean, "you dirty boy," as she smacks your thigh.

"Haha, I'm just joking." 

"No, maybe we should," as she looks at you with a lustful face. She slowly rubs your thigh, "We can have some fun and not worry about anyone bothering us," she said before pulling her hand away. 

"I would really it; maybe we can try for a second one," as you wink at her. "Stop, you're going to make me really want one. You know how busy we are right now, so maybe later when Jisoo is a bit older."

With a disappointed face, you accept your fate, "Okay. I'll get on the process then." The both of you enjoy the rest of your evening together as you walk by the beach. 

————

Jihyo and Jisoo take a bath together once they get home after a long day. You tuck them into bed, kiss them goodnight, and return to your room. 

You look online to see the requirements to purchase land in Korea and compare prices between locations like the city, countryside, and suburbs. While browsing, you remember your friend Samatha from college and give her a call. After a long conversation, she recommends you to a friend she worked with for her bathhouse. Your night ends with you making a list of potential requirements for the perfect home. 

[duckapus]

Horror Comedy AU where Ash Ketchum is an eldritch abomination spawned from an Unfathomable Void, but is still his usual self.

Basically, Delia was an Interpol Agent back in the day with luck just as strange as Ash's, and on her Last Job she got captured by a doomsday cult that was trying to summon a dark god equal to Arceus Itself and bring about the apocalypse. This doesn't work out, both because Delia's Aura awakens and messes with the ritual (I always prefer to think that Ash's weird ambiguous connection to Sir Aaron comes his mom's side even if in most universes she doesn't have a usable amount of Aura), and because the Void God they're trying to awaken helped Arceus create the world in the first place (and the two of Them kind of have a thing going on) so It wouldn't have helped them destroy it even if the ritual had worked.

Instead they only get a "small" fragment of Void Stuff that mixes with some of Delia's Aura to become a living mass of Darkness covered in writhing tendrils and glowing blue eyes that absorbs all the cultists, knocks out every Pokemon in the room, frees Delia, and shrinks down into the form of a human baby. Delia, being a Ketchum and a major character in a crack fic, promptly decides "my baby now" (to be fair she's not exactly wrong?) and leaves Interpol to reopen her late grandmother's old diner in Palette Town. She was planning to do that anyway even before ending up with a monster baby so it works out I guess.

Meanwhile, Giratina actually noticed the massive spike of Void that was Ash's birth and since the whole issue got resolved so quickly it takes a couple months for her to find where her new half sibling ended up (you read that right. She's the god of symmetry, Light and Dark are included in that, so Arceus and Void God both created her. Also I'm using she/her for Giratina because immortal genderless embodiments of universal concepts can use whatever pronouns they want), and when she does she offers to help him learn how to use his void powers...well, mostly. See, in this version of the Pokemon Universe not all Legendary Pokemon are gods and there are gods who aren't Legendaries, and the ones that are both tend to lean towards one or the other, so Giratina who's more Pokemon-leaning and only half-void functions very differently from Ash who isn't Pokemon at all and almost fully void, so there's some things she just can't help with.

Still, the fact that she's offering to help at all is a big relief for Delia who is doing great so far but would probably be in over her head raising what's essentially a Horror Movie Monster on her own, so Giratina makes semi-regular visits over the years both to help with powers and just to bond with her new little brother (and new mom because there is no way Delia Ketchum doesn't win her over). Also, absolutely no attempt is made to hide Ash's true nature both because I find it funny and because the Pokemon World is already weird enough that Palette Town having a baby demon just living there barely registers as noteworthy.

As far as Ash's childhood goes, it mostly follows the same beats as canon, though there are obviously some weird things that pop up. For one thing, one of his powers is that he can understand any language, including Pokemon. And, because they're sensitive to this sort of thing Pokemon can usually tell that he isn't human even without him using his more obvious powers, and that makes most wild Pokemon more receptive to him than usual.

Except birds. Birds really don't like him for some reason.

Also he turns out to have healing powers, which he finds out during that scene with Serena. Basically, he makes the cloth he ties her injury with out of some of the Void Stuff that makes up his true form, and by the time they get to Professor Oak both the cloth and the injury are gone. There are, however, side-effects, which Serena only finds out about after she moves to Kalos and Ash only finds out about years later when he saves Charmander. (I'll get to that later)

On to the first day of his Journey, things only go slightly more smoothly thanks to Ash and Pikachu being able to communicate properly, and they still get chased by every Spearow on Route 1 because all of them are trying to "Destroy the Void Spawn!" This means they still fall off the waterfall and get fished up by Misty, who gets the Full Horror Experience because after All That Shit Ash is worn out which makes him kind of Melty. And, well, Pikachu is injured, the Spearow are still coming, he can't maintain a coherent enough form to keep going on his own, and this is Season 1 Ash who can be kind of an impulsive jerk sometimes at what would normally be the bike stealing scene, so he kind of...possesses Misty and Books It.

And since this isn't a power he's ever used before and he's using it in a high-stress situation while injured, his control isn't the best, so she catches a glimpse of the Unknowable Truths of the Void, and that combined with her being there for the Biggest Thundershock Ever makes her a little...fanatical about Ash's whole Eldritch God Thing. They're still friends first and foremost and still develop something similar to their usual dynamic but the fanaticism is there, especially at the beginning. At least she's not worried about the bike this time?

Also when Ho-oh shows up he kind of visibly stumbles in midair because he was not expecting the Chosen One to be that! This is why we don't let the local Mew be the only one doing check-ins.

Anyway, Brock and Team Rocket are still their usual selves, apart from Team Rocket deciding to do research into how to fight demons so they'll actually stand a chance at stealing Pikachu so now they've got a Nacli (because salt) and a bit of an Exorcist Schtick going on.

The Charmander Incident goes a bit differently, because they just barely don't make it in time and Ash basically tells the universe NO and brings him back, which is how he finds out that his healing powers have side-effects because this time those effects are immediate. When Charmander's tail flame relights it's somehow black, he has what seems to be a new Ability that makes all his Fire-Type moves also do Ghost-Type damage, and as time goes on his scales darken until he has Shiny Charizard's color scheme. This goes further when he evolves, because he has some clear differences from a normal Charmeleon beyond just his colors, and he seems to now actually be part Ghost.

I also had some ideas for later on, like May being full of Ghosts because she's easy to get into but extremely hard to get out of or control, and Dawn being Akari who ended up as a Hisuian Zoroark and got back to the present the long way, but for now this is what I've got.

[corvidares]

okay, so i just finished re-reading Any Way the Wind Blows and this feels so blatant as to be smacking me in the face: simon is disabled.

now, the reason why that makes itself even clearer in this book than in wayward son (where he, of course, also has the wings + tail) is because simon is once again in the world of mages - despite doing his best to leave it behind. compared to wayward son, where hes basically and literally in the wild west. where theres magical beings everywhere, where simon practically fits in because he is one.

but ill get back to that.

ive seen a lot of really interesting points about what simon's wings represent and mean, and i'm not disagreeing with those. but in a very literal sense, they are a disability.

think about it like this: the world of mages (and Normals) is not built for humanoids who have giant webbed wings and a tail. simon constantly struggles with controlling these limbs, and their size makes it ten times harder. spaces are too small, furniture and objects are broken when he spreads them, and many a shirt or jacket are ruined.

he struggles to find a good way to deal with this - spell them away? wear them out by cutting holes in things? fold them extremely painfully into his shirt? even though this last one is treated like a solution for a little while, its far from ideal. who is simon doing this for? himself, or everyone around him? yes, of course Normals cant see them. and yeah, hes expressed discomfort about baz and penny spelling them hidden. but thats not the point. even with this botch job of a way to "wear" his wings, which succeeds at hiding them from Normals, simon still states a couple times that he knows people stare at him and his seeming hunchback. i mean, thats blatant.

(he eventually, with shepard's help, realizes a good way to work around this - zippers or buckles on shirtbacks - which very much feels like an aha! disability aid moment)

im not saying disability is based in how people look at you, or it only being a societal thing. (as in, when he wasnt in the world of mages, he wasnt suddenly 'not disabled at all') disability is a huge spectrum. but those things absolutely can be a part of the disabled experience.

but all of that doesnt even get to my main point: simon has no magic anymore. and in the world of mages, thats a huge deal. magic is like living and breathing, especially for baz and penny. its not something they question or have to worry about not being able to call upon. hell, even before simon lost his magic he was disabled, just to a different extent.

before awtwb, we dont hear much about mages whose magic is weak. but they come to the forefront now - which just solidifies that solid magical ability = able bodiedness.

smith is promising a miracle cure. a cure. think of it like bullshit orgs such as aut!sm spe@ks, wanting to "cure" autism - he wants to cure people. (and hes just as full of shit) why? because weak magic is seen as a disease, a problem, even subhuman.

take daphne, baz's stepmom. her quality of life is fine, great. her weaker magic doesnt seem to put her at a disadvantage. she manages her disability well. but in comparison to the norm, to what is expected of the average mage, shes got nothing. less than nothing. she feels shame over what she cant do.

smith's case becomes even more blatant when we see, at the end of awtwb, that he wants to essentially cull weak magicians. that they're holding back society. that theyre better off as powerless as Normals - who are blatantly seen as subhuman - than as weak mages. much like how ableist rhetoric puts forward that disability is a fate worse than death.

which brings us back to simon. he insists hes a Normal, now or always has been. baz insists hes the most powerful magician to exist. both of them are wrong.

and right. and right and wrong.

simon is some third thing - not a mage, not a Normal. akin to how disability is its own minority aside from race or ethnicity he has a foot in each world, and he always has. but now he cant achieve blending into either.

this is why the increasing presence and humanization of other magical beings beside mages is so important (thank you shephard!) how mages tend to seem magical beings is very ableist. theyre subhuman, theyre not to be trusted, theyre freaks, theyre dirty, etc. except oops, how can you keep thinking that penny, when this very nice one works at a cafe and helped you translate shephard's engagement terms?

even baz and the events of wayward son play into this - yeah, some vampires are horrible people. but plenty, like baz, are just people. with a range of experiences and morals and ways of living life. (take nicodemus) (i could make a point about how simon's stalwart acceptance of baz's vampirism helps baz comes to terms with it and how this is also super disability coded, but thats another essay)

in the beginning of awtwb, he decides to go to the extreme opposite of his chosen one powered life - to live as a Normal, and the second step (after cutting himself off from baz and penny) is getting his wings removed.

except he cant do it. and even having his wings touched is horribly uncomfortable. now, this partly has to do with how much theyre sensual parts of his body - same as his tail. but its also, separately, very intimate. theyre treated very clinically, like a fascinating specimen to pore over. im not trying to give niamh shit here, just saying what i saw.

but theyre part of him. people with disabilities often deal with being stared at and poked and prodded by the medical field (if theyre not ignored or waved off. maybe both.). even every day folks feel the right to touch disabled folks, or their mobility aids.

for a lot of people, mobility aids are a part of them - its like a stranger touching your face and thinking theyre doing you a favor. when instead theyre being weird as fuck.

simon's status as previous chosen one even plays into this sort of thing - people see him more as a figurehead, for what he can and cant do (including his wings!) than a person. hes a tragedy, hes a hero. hes inspirational, hes to be pitied. sound familiar?

the end of awtwb doesnt spell out whether simon ends up deciding to keep his wings (frustratingly). but they spell out that he would absolutely would, in my opinion.

simon increasingly treats them as a natural extension of his body. think of the scene where he flies about the watford goats. how he expresses his feelings with his wings and tail. and of course, how he learns to let baz loves each and every part of him: including his dragon limbs.

baz loves him, and loves them, not in a fetishistic way, but because its simon, and he loves everything simon is. not just what he represents or can or cant do.