#since their youths. but i guess we don't know how much they had to interact as kids

[lunarharp]

thingies

[ornii]

My Better Bitter Half, Part 11

Apologies for taking so long but we back baby.

How well do we really know our parents? Take my father. I've always considered him an open book. A man given to misguided schemes and exaggerated displays of affection. But when he was a student, he was accused of a murder that took place right up there. Which leads me to wonder...what really happened that stormy night 32 years ago?

You, your sister Wednesday and, possible crush Enid stood together listening to the drivel that principal Weems was spewing.

“Nevermore was created as a safe haven for our children to learn and to grow, no matter bI realize most of you have heard about the unfortunate incident involving one of our students.bBut I'm happy to report that Eugene is on the mend and is expected to make a full recovery.bSo let's focus on the positive and make this Parents' Weekend our very best yet.” Weems said.

“On the mend?” Wednesday said.

“Try in a coma.” You chime in, Enid turns to Wednesday and you.

“Have you been to see him? You're his friends.”

“I'm the reason he's in the hospital.” Wednesday said, and Enid attempts to console her.

“That is not your fault, okay?” She says, and you raise an eyebrow.

“Well… technically speaking—“ you start, Enid glares at you, convincing you to stop speaking. You close your mouth and shrug.

“Besides, The monster hasn't attacked anyone in the past week. Maybe you finally scared it off.” Enid explains, and you rub your chin, pondering.

“Or maybe it went into hiding to avoid this weekend. Too many people… they want to avoid getting caught.” You say, suddenly your eyes catch a glimpse of black, three figures, Mother, Father, and Pugsley. Wednesday also notices the family arriving.

“I knew I should have worn my plague mask.” Wednesday said.

“Would you look at my family?” Enid looks over to her howling family.

“Talk about toxic pack mentality. I give my mom 30 seconds before her judge-y claws come out. Let's get this over with.” She said, the students agree and go to face their family.

“There he is. Oh, how we missed those devilish eyes and youthful glare.” Morticia, your mother hugged you sternly, and you happily accepted her love, as decrepit as it was..

“Madré!” You say, hugging her. Spotting your father you also reciprocate a hug.

Padre! How are you father?” You say, you see how uncomfortable Wednesday is, obviously human interaction was not her strong suit.

“How are you, my little rain cloud?” Morticia hugs her daughter.

“I thought Thing was filling you in on my every move.” Wednesday says, Morticia and Gomez look surprised that she knows, and you casually chime in.

“You didn’t think we wouldn’t notice?” You smirk, standing next to Wednesday.

“I uncovered your feeble subterfuge almost immediately.”

“We.” you chime in.

“So, how's the little fella doing? Does he still have all his fingers?” Gomez says.

“Relax. I haven't snapped any of his digits. Yet.”

“So tell us everything.”

“Since you've abandoned me here, I've been hunted, haunted... and the target of an attempted murder.”

Much to no one surprised, the Addams Re reveled in it. Morticia and Gomez reach the Principals office with the family. morticia looks at her old yearbook with Principal Weems

“I haven't laid eyes on this in over 20 years. Such good times we had, didn't we, Larissa?”

“Some of us better than others.”

“Oh, don't be so modest. You always filled a room with your presence. Like a stately sequoia tree.”

“And I guess that would make you the lumberjack.”

The two engage in passive aggressive softball, and you couldn’t enjoy it more, sneering.

“There's that biting sense of humor that I always adored. Do you remember when we did that duet for the Solstice Talent Show? Your Judy Garland impression was a dead ringer.” Morticia says.

“Sounds positively suicidal.” Wednesday said.

“I’d love to see it. Im sure Wedensday would agree.” You say, crossing your leg as you wink at Wednesday, who stares daggers at you. Morticia notices something off.

“Oh. My picture's gone.”

“Really? Well, that is odd.” Weems says, feigning innocence.

“May I borrow this for the weekend? That way Gomez and I can take a little walk down memory lane.” She says to her husband, they gawk at each other which only makes Weems more, uncomfortable.

“All right. Let's get down to the matter at hand, shall we? Unfortunately, Wednesday's assimilation has been rocky at best.”

“Because I refuse to embrace the culture of dishonesty and denial permeating this school.

Starting with the monster that killed Rowan and put Eugene in the ICU.” She says, you raise your finger.

“Although I do hear he's on the mend.” You say with a grin, Weems puts on a smile, a fake one.

“We've always encouraged our children to speak their minds.” Gomez said

“Sometimes her sharp tongue and his serrated wit can cut deep.” Gomez says.

“Apparently her therapist feels she hasn't been very open to the process. Their time together has not yielded the results we'd hoped.” Weems explains

“I'm not a lab rat.” Wednesday said in retort.

“I say more like a, Crow. A lab crow.” You say, Your sisters cold glare was in the corner of your eye.

“I believe Wednesday should get the help she deserves.” You say, only adding more fuel to the fire and Weems Agrees.

“Dr. Kinbott and I have spoken, and we both agree it would be most beneficial for you all to attend a family session this weekend.” She said, and the word “family” made you halt.

“Wait.. family?” You ask. “Absolutely not.”

“No.” Wedensday shuts it down quickly, and Weems shakes her head.

“I thought that might be your reaction, but your parents can see the wisdom in it.”

“Um, not to side with Wednesday, but, um, we're only here for the weekend.” Morticia says, and Gomez spoke up.

“Oh, come on. What can it hurt? To be honest, I've always been a big fan of head-shrinking.”

“It's not that kind of head-shrinking, father.” You say, now having the annoyed cadence of your sister.

“Well, that is disappointing. But anything for our kids.” Morticia says, much to the annoyance of the twins.

The Therapy session began as (Y/n), Wednesday and Pugsley sat in the middle with both Morticia and Gomez at sides, Kinbott looks at the full Addams family with gleaming hope.

“So, who wants to start?” She said, it was silent, until she asked again.

“Maybe we can discuss what it's like having Wednesday away from home?” She said, and Pugsley began.

“I mean, for me....it's been hard not having (Y/n) and Wednesday around. I never thought I'd miss being waterboarded and Used as a host for ghosts so much.” Pugsley admits.

“Morticia, Gomez. How have you been coping?” Kinbott asks them.

“It's been torture for us too.”

“Fortunately, my brother Fester's rack fits two people.”

“Nothing like a good stretch to bring out the best in each other.” Morticia says and the two simply cannot get their hands off of Each other.

“Enough!” Wednesday said, actually letting her anger out. And not many times, (Y/n) agrees.

“I think it's high time my parents faced the music. It seems they've been lying to me.

Keeping secrets. Murderous secrets that need to be addressed. Who was Garrett Gates, and why are you accused of murdering him?” Wednesday asks her father, (Y/n) squints his eyes and slowly turns to Gomez.

“…Father?” He asks, which Gomez’s attitude shifts, and Morticia quickly intervenes

“Those charges were dropped. Your father is an innocent man.”

“Local sheriff doesn't seem too convinced.”

“Wednesday, stop. This is neither the time nor the place.”

“Mother, did you know about this?” (Y/n) asks Morticia.

“(Y/n), now isn’t the time for this.” She said.

“Actually, this is exactly the place.” Kinbott chimes in. “These sessions are—“

“Doctor. This does not concern you. And I refuse to debate a decades-old witch-hunt with you right now.” Morticia says.

“Darling, maybe we should...” Gomez says.

“No. This session is over.”

“Have it your way, Mother.” Wednesday stood up and stormed off.

“Wednes... Wednesday?”

“If you refuse to tell me the truth, I'll just have to excavate it myself.” She walks off, and Morticia follows.

“What were you thinking? How could you ambush your father like that? Wednesday.”

“How could I? You insisted I go to this school.

Did you really think I wouldn't find out your secret?”

“You don't know the full story. Your father did nothing wrong.”

“I'll be the judge of that.” Wednesday walks off, (Y/n) exits the building to see his sister leave, and he follows, Wednesday enters the hospital and makes her way to Eugene’s room, he follows silently until she sits at his side.

“I harvested hive number three. The bees miss you, Eugene. We all do.” Wednesday said, (Y/n) smiles and gently taps on the door. Wednesday quickly turns around and sees her brother.

“How long have you been listening?” She said.

“Long enough to see you care.”

“I don’t.”

“Sure you don’t.” (Y/n) walks next to his sister, looking at Eugene. A heated rage begins to overtake him.

“He didn't deserve this. I should be in that bed.” Wednesday says, and (Y/n) shakes his head…

“It isn’t your fault, it’s the monster who did this, and we will find him, I can assure you of that. Now Cmon, we have to get back to Mother and Father, you’d hate to make they worry.” (Y/n) says with sarcasm. Wednesday reluctantly follows. The twins return to eat with their family.

“Mmm. I am famished. You're not hungry, darling?” Morticia says to her daughter, (Y/n) was too busy looking over at Enid.

“My appetite eludes me, Mother.” She replies; Enid is forced to sit with her family,

“So are you going to make me ask?” Her mother says, and Enid assumes she means the Addams boy who’s making dreamy eyes at her.

“Well.. (Y/n) and I haven't defined our relationship yet, even if it is one—“

“I'm not talking about boys. Have you wolfed out yet?” She says, Enid inhaled sharply and out on a smile.

..”No.”

“Well, that is a disappointment.”

“That's me. A huge disappointment…” she says, (Y/n) sees how sad she is, he stands up and walks over, he adjusts his clothes and smiles.

“Excuse me.” He says, he offers a handshake.

“You must be Miss Sinclair.” He says and takes her hand, the woman puts on a smile as Enid was now panicking. Her crush and now her overbearing mother meeting.

“I’m really sorry but I have to speak with Enid, just for a moment.”

“Alright? Don’t try anything—“

“Mom!” Enid says though her teeth, he leads Enid away and he sighs.

“I’m sorry to pull you from your family—“

“No it’s fine, I actually wanted to ask you something.”

“You did? What?” (Y/n) asks.

“Well… I, don’t know how to feel after the dance…” she begins.

“You, didn’t have fun?” (Y/n) asks, and Enid shakes her head.

“No, of course I did! It’s just… you’re like my best friend, besides Wednesday, you’re.. more than my best friend.. someone I really care about.

“I’d.. like that.. to be more… I know you’re still heartbroken after Ajax..” (Y/n) begins, Enid watches but slowly peers over his shoulder to see what’s going on.

“Uh.. (Y/n)?”

“And I don’t want to be a replacement I, I want to be more than that, I want to be…”

“(Y/n)… your, dad.”

“What I’m trying to say is that I want you to be my Girl—“

“Your dads getting arrested!” She yells. (Y/n) stops and turns around to see his father being taken away by police.

“Gomez Addams. You're under arrest for the murder of Garrett Gates. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

“Father?”

“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you.” (Y/n) can only watch as his father is taken away, god only knows what hellscape awaits.

The Twins stood at the blocked off prison visiting room, as their father sits solemnly at the seat. He sees the two stand there.

“My little tormenta, how's your mother?” Gomez asks Wednesday first.

“Devastated. She hates you in orange. I caught her laying a rose on a grave earlier today. The headstone read "Garrett Gates." The very boy you've been arrested for murdering. Care to explain?” She says, and (Y/n) nods.

“It’s best for everyone, father, elaborate.” He said, and Gomez explains.

“Garrett was infatuated with your mother. He mistook her kindness for interest. His infatuation turned into obsession, and he started stalking her.”

“Why didn't you call the police?”

“We tried. But his family were the oldest and richest in Jericho, But No one believed us. Garrett's father, an outcast-hating bigot, was furious that your mother had accused his only son. It all came to a head the night of the Rave'N Dance. Your mother and I stepped out to catch our breath. And that's when I saw him. He had broken into the school. His twisted love for your mother had made him insane. His eyes bore into me, brimming with murderous intent. My life flashed before my eyes. Driven by jealousy and hate, Garrett was When I saw the sword, my survival instinct kicked in. It was a terrible accident.” Gomez says, (Y/n) and Wednesday look at each other. (Y/n) motions his sister over and they speak out of hearing range from their father.

“If I'm being objective, his confession sounds entirely plausible, delivered with the perfect degree of sincerity. Perhaps father is exactly what he says.” Wednesday said.

“I agree; although father has a magnificent poker face, I think he’s telling the truth, but then again, what other rotting skeletons are in his closet, let’s play it safe.” (Y/n) said, they walk back and speak at the same time.

“Thank you for being honest with us.”

“I'm sorry I wasn't a better father.” He says, trying to hold back tears, Wednesday had no emotion, (Y/n) sighed.

“Could we please do without the overt display of emotion?” Wednesday demands, and forms composed himself.

“How many fathers hand their daughter a fencing blade when she's five?”

“Your saber strokes were an essay in perfection.”

“How many fathers would teach their son how to beat a lie detector?”

“It’s all about your heartbeat.”

“Or teach her how to swim with sharks?”

“They found you as cold-blooded as I do.”

“The right way to flay a rattlesnake?”

“They really do taste like chicken when prepared properly.”

“The point is, you taught us how to be strong and independent.” Wednesday begins, and (Y/n) adds in.

“And..How to navigate in a world full of treachery and prejudice. You are the reason we understand how imperative it is that we never lose sight of who we are, no matter what life throws at us.” (Y/n) looks into the eyes of his father, showing he means everything he says.

“So as far as fatherhood goes, I would say you've been more than adequate.” Wednesday said, and Gomez holds back a year.

“Gracias, (Y/n), Wednesday.”

The visitation ends and the two step out of the jail.

“We’ll have to consider all of this…” (Y/n) said, Wednesday also agrees and turns to (Y/n).

“You need to… console, Pugsley.”

“Why me?” (Y/n) asks, and Wednesday stares at him.

“… Yeah, I suppose you trying to comfort him would be… an issue.” (Y/n) chuckles, Wednesday turns her head forward.

“I’m going to.. convince the sheriff to hear me out.”

“As long as you don’t wind up behind bars as well, go for it.” He says, they split up and leave, (Y/n) walked past multiple happy families, (Y/n) approached the lake with a bag in hand, he peers over to see Pugsley sitting down.

“Go away.”

“Pug, You forgot your fishing gear.”

“I know you’re just trying to be nice to make me forget about dad. You’re being honest…It doesn't suit you.”

“That’s… fair. Father packed your favorite bait.” He sits next to him and digs into the bag, and grabs a hand grenade.

“What'll happen to him now?” He asks, and (Y/n) primes a grenade and casually tosses it into the water.

“Well, he's confessed, so there won't be a trial. After he's sentenced, he'll be sent to a state penitentiary, where he'll lose his mind being separated from Mother. Did you know they haven't spent a night apart since they tied the knot?”

“I always thought You’d be the first one in the family behind bars.” Pugsley said, (Y/n) shrugged.

“Funny enough, Wedensday nd I had a bet going… she owes me everything in her will.”

The water explodes deep down, and dead fish float up.

“That's quite a catch. Take the shrapnel out and we have a good feast.”

“I'm gonna miss him, (Y/n).”

“It's not over yet. He's innocent.”

“Well, if anyone can figure out who really committed the crime... it's you and Wednesday, you two work really well together. You have to find out the truth and free Dad.”

Pugsley’s words, so endearing. (Y/n) grits his teeth and nods.

“I will. I will Pugsley…Well, until that happens, we both know Mother will be falling apart.

Which means we have to be strong. And by "we," I mean you. Definitely not me.” He says, the brothers spend more time together before (Y/n) left the forest, as he walks out, his ears pick up the sound of sniffling. He halted as he searched for the origin of the sound, what caught his eye was the bright pink vest. He immediately recognized the color. He peers over to Enid sitting behind a tree, crying.

“Enid?” He asks, she looks up to him, her makeup a mess as it seems she’s been at it for a while, (Y/n) sits next to her.

“Is.. something wrong?” He asks, Enid looks at him like a sad, hurt puppy.

“It’s my mom she, wants to send me to… to..”

“To?”

“Conversion therapy! Like I’m some sort of disappointment!” She looks so hurt, (Y/n), not knowing how to console someone, he sighs and speaks from his black heart.

“Enid… you don’t need to wolf out to be a Weerwolf or, find a mate. Even without those powers, you’re unique, sparkly, bubbly, so kind and.. beautiful.” (Y/n) says, looking at the ground, enid looks up at him, perplexed.

“You.. think so?”

“Of course I do! You’re the only person who makes looking at pink bearable.” He says, his hand gently placed on hers. “If my father taught me anything, it’s to be yourself.. unapologetically, which…” he trails on.

“Ive.. been meaning to say this Enid, but I’ve had no luck, I want to ask.. will you—“

“(Y/n)!”

He hears his voice being called, he very didn’t much want to turn his attention to it, but he did, and he saw his sister approach.

“You have got to be kidding me..” he says, he was dragged away by his sister.

“Wednesday this better be good.”

“Father didn’t Kill Garrett. Neither did mother.”

Wednesday said dropping a bombshell, which raises the eyebrow of the Twin.

“Then.. who did?”

“Himself.”

“Okay, elaborate.”

“Mother told me what truly happened, she was protecting father when he attacked, but Garrett was foaming at the mouth. His eyes didn't look human. Foaming saliva, dilated pupils, mental confusion. What are those all textbook symptoms of?”

“Nightshade poisoning…” (Y/n) gets it, and puts everything together.

“He was dead before Mother stabbed him…”

“There's only one way to find out.” Wednesday said, and (Y/n) frowns, he knows what that means.

Late in the night, at the Grave of Miles Garrett, the twins dig his corpse up, both going to the graveyard as they dig up his casket, Morticia stands above them, watching the two.

“This reminds me of when you got your first grave-digging kit. You were so happy, you nearly smiled.” Morticia said, (Y/n) grumbles.

“Are you sure you don't want to join?” Wednesday asks.

“Uh... mm... No, that's okay, darling. I don't want to spoil your fun.” She says.

“This isn’t fun, mother, Digging up graves is for knaves and psychopaths.” (Y/n) jams into the earth again and feels a loud bang, they stop and uncover the decrepit tomb.

“Moment of truth.” Wednesday and (Y/n) open the tomb, the waft of rubbish bond and decaying flesh hits their nostrils. Wednesday seems to enjoy it. (Y/n) isn’t as enthusiastic as his sister. He looks over the corpse.

“I was right.” She points to the inner pocket, seeing hints of a stained blue liquid.

“Nightshade..” (Y/n) reaches in and grabs a finger, and with a quick and sharp twist, effortlessly removes his finger.

“Alright, now.. all we have to do is—“

“Well, well, what do we have here?” Someone from behind all three of they spoke, the twins popped their hands from the grave to see a police cruiser aiming their headlights at them, the second in command.

“Guess there's gonna be an Addams family reunion in lockup tonight. You're all under arrest.”

(Y/n) is locked up with his father, and Wednesday with her mother. Wednesday stands there, silent, as (Y/n) Taps his foot, fuming. Morticia and Gomez were all over each other

“Get comfortable. You can post bail in the morning.” Sherrif Galpin glares at the twins and leave..

“Not even the long arm of the law could keep us apart.”

“At least we'll have one last night together.

Yes.”

“I've seen jackals with more self-control than you two.” Wednesday glares at her parents lost in love.

“Neither one of you are strong enough to serve hard time. And thanks to me, you won't have to.” (Y/n) stops taping his foot.

“I knew our little jailbird would have an escape plan.”

“It seems Wednesday was correct about Garrett, He died from nightshade poisoning.”

“The remarkable preservation of soft tissue and blue tint confirms it. Which means Garrett was dying...Before you stabbed him.”

“You look even more ravishing as an innocent woman!”

“For once, could you two get off of each other and focus.” Wednesday said, (Y/n) agrees.

“Yes, we need to get this to the mayor, and he will drop all charges, all we need is someone to bring it to them.. someone we trust.. Pugsley.” (Y/n) says

“No.” Wednesday replies flatly.

“.. Lurch?”

“No.”

“…Uncle Fester“

“Absolutely not.” Wednesday said, (Y/n) walks to the edge of the cell.

“Well what do you suggest then? break out of here?” He says, Wednesday walks over and snatched the finger from his hand, and suddenly, she had a vision.,

“Prove to me you're still worthy to be called my son! Kill all those outcasts! Sneak into that dance and spike the punch bowl.” Those words rang through her. She sat up from her episode and her family obviously looks concerned.

“Did you have a vision?”

“What happened?”

“What did you see?”

“The night Garrett died, he had a vial of nightshade poison that broke in his pocket.

He wasn't just trying to kill father. He was going to use the nightshade poison to murder the entire school.” She says, the family look at each other. A sly grin creeps along the face of her brother.

“Oh I’m going to enjoy this…”

“Thank you for seeing us at such short notice, Mr. Mayor.”

The twins stand before the mayor, after being in jail for approximately 4 hours.

“Yes, well, veiled threats have that effect.”

“Then let’s cut to the chase, Garrett Gates wasn't killed by a stab wound.” (Y/n) goes first, then Wednesday places the severed finger on his desk.

“That blue sheen is a telltale sign of nightshade poisoning.” Wednesday said.

“But you already knew that, dont you mayor? Because back when you were sheriff, you were in charge and covered it up.”

“Ansel Gates hated outcasts and Nevermore.

He claimed the land the school was built on was stolen from his family over 200 years ago.

Garrett went there that night to spike the punch and kill all the kids at that dance.” The twins deliver a fairly clear shut argument, and the mayor grumbles, and confesses.

“Ansel confessed the whole thing to me in a drunken stupor. It was his idea.”

“Then Why did you instruct Dr. Anwar to falsify the autopsy report? You knew the truth about how he really died.”

“Listen, my job was to keep the peace. If there had been a trial, Jericho's and Nevermore's reputations would have been trashed.”

“I think the only reputation you were worried about ruining was your own.”

“I remember Garrett bragging to me that his father had the sheriff in his pocket. One year later, you get elected mayor. Hmm. No doubt with the full support of Ansel Gates.”

“I resent your implication.”

“I resent the fact you decided to cover up a potential Genocide of an entire school by a bigoted drug crazed maniac to save the face of this place. The truth stings, doesn’t it mayor?” (Y/n) said with a cold bite.

“What I resent is that you could have prevented Garrett's death if you had done your job when I lodged my complaint about him stalking our Mother.” Wednesday snaps back, The mayor was at a loss, and gave in.

“What do you want?” He asks them.

“All charges dropped. Our father will be released with a full and unequivocal apology from the sheriff's office. Do we have a deal?” (Y/n) asked, and the Mayor gave in.

The twins exit the building as (Y/n) thinks, and decides to speak about it.

“Have you spoken to mother about your visions? You know she could help you. You’d only have to ask Wednesday, we’re family.” He said. Wednesday was silent for a moment, and he continues.

“We’re Navigating this, treacherous shoal of our sibling relationship. But I'm always here for you, Wednesday. Mother, father, Pugsley, unfortunately.” He says.

“I’ll.. consider speaking to her.” Wednesday says, and (Y/n) sighs with relief. Gomez and Morticia We’re Released and All hugged, besides Wedensday.

“Don't crowd me.”

The next and final day, (Y/n) approached Enids family with her Next to him, they stopped and he motions for her to go.

“Stick to yourself, I know you’ve got this.” He says, and Enid walks to her mother, ready to stand her ground. Enid approached and her mother was already hounding her.

“So, it's decided. Six weeks at Camp Howl.

You'll need to pick which activity—“

“No, I don't. Because I'm not going. Not this summer. Not ever. If I'm meant to wolf out, then I'm going to do it on my own timeline and not yours. I hope that one day, you'll finally accept me for who I am.” Enid turns and sees (Y/n) smile, giving her a nod of approval.

(Y/n) returns back to his family as Wednesday was reluctantly being hugged goodbye.

“Don't push it.”

“Well, at least we can't say Parents' Weekend wasn't a nail-biter.” Gomez said.

“I knew you didn't have what it takes to be a murderer.” Wednesday says flatly,

“As much as that stings, gracias, my little death trap.” Gomez gives his daughter a hug, and turns to his son.

“A devious as always, my boy.” Gomez grins and (Y/n) smugly bows.

“Of course, manipulating the mayor into freeing my family a stroke of genius.” (Y/n) replies, and he and his father continue to laugh about it, Wednesday and Morticia watch them, she sighs happily and then goes back to her daughter, and she hands her the yearbook.

“As I leafed through the pages of this yearbook, I was reminded of all the wonderful times I had here. But they were just that. Mine.

You have your own path to blaze. I don't want to be a stranger in your life, darling. If you need me for anything, anything at all, I'm only a crystal ball away.”

“Thank you, Mother.” Wedensday looked blankly at her, but under those eyes was love, the Addams leave, letting the twins look into the book, and at a page of Weems.

“Hm… her Judy Garland costume was phenomenal..”

“…no.”

“No?”

“That isn’t a costume… she looks exactly like her.”

“Wednesday that’s impossible, the only way she could if Weems could shape her body to match hers.”

“…like a shape shifter?” Wedensday asks.

“Most likely, yes.” (Y/n) replies; Wednesday immediately slams the book shut and quickly walks off.

“Wednesday?” (Y/n) asks, and she bursts into Weems office.

“I knew it. I did witness Rowan getting murdered that night.” Wedensday stopped at the foot of the desk.

“Excuse me?” Weems asks.

“When Rowan appeared the next morning, it was you. When you participated in the talent show, not only did you impersonate Judy Garland, you became her. You're a shape-shifter.” Wedensday accuses her, and Weems scoffs at her.

“That's a fascinating theory.”

“I'm curious to find out how Sheriff Galpin feels when I tell him.” Wedensday says threateningly, Weems stands up, slowly showing her towering height.

“You won't tell a soul, Miss Addams. And it wouldn't matter much if you did. Rowan's father already knows what happened, and he fully supports my decision not to involve the authorities.”

“Why would he agree to that?”

“Because Rowan was not in his right mind. His telekinetic abilities were driving him mad and he attempted to murder you twice. His tragic death allowed us to rectify the situation without casting the school or Rowan in an unflattering light.” Weems explains the cover up.

“You and Mayor Walker are the same, aren't you? Burying bodies to cover your dirty secrets.”

“I did what I needed to do to shield this school from controversy and protect its students from harm.”

“Tell that to Eugene. How are you protecting him?”

The two continue to bicker, until (Y/n) bursts in.

“Principal Weems, Wedensday… you have to see this.” He rushes back and the two follow out to the yard as they bear witness. Flames dance in their eyes, seeing words burned into the ground, this was a message, who knows the borrows that are yet to come

[project-sekai-facts]

2nd year event?! I saw the announcement and am now very curious and excited, especially since this is happening before Mafuyu’s coming up. Have the 2nd years ever had an event about them? What are your thoughts about this group? I know you have some because I saw your tags 👀

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It's SO gonna be a WxS key story like no way out of it. Given that they're both lims that probably means that it's gonna have a lot of screentime for the boys (well, Rui is a given, it's his event), so there's no way they won't bring up the current WxS plot. Honestly making this a Rui event was an amazing idea because it connects so much with his arc with his fear of growing up and having to leave what he has now behind. And by the looks of the card he made new friends!! Which actually makes it all the more gut punching because he's never really had friends and he only gets a whopping one whole in-universe year with them now.

It's also really cool to see that the Miyajo girls are there. I reckon Shizuku (and Airi, but to a much lesser extent) will get like a mini version of STEP by STEP! with Mafuyu. Because think about it, if Shizuku and Airi leave formal education, that makes Mafuyu the only MC Miyajou 3rd year. I think it'll be really neat to see all the second years interact more because they've never been given much of a chance before outside of a few short scenes, and I think Rui and Mafuyu's dynamic in particular is really interesting. I don't know how much they'll interact in this event, if at all, but I'd like to see more there. Rui is very emotionally intelligent - so long as it doesn't apply to himself - and he's also very very observant, so although having him notice where Mafuyu's issues was unexpected, it wasn't necessarily surprising, and I'd like that to be followed up on even if it is arguably more effective as a passing encounter moment.

I'm guessing there'll be a sweet making and tea ceremony part, because those are the event teams and also Airi's favourite food/club so I think that would be a nice laid-back bonding moment from the 2nd years and who knows, if that does happen then maybe they'll ruin the 3 seconds of peace we get from by reminding us that Airi is moving to credit course and won't be doing clubs anymore.

I'm assuming they'll throw in the excuse for the two schools interacting is that they both happened to be on the same school trip at the exact same time.

Also, the event description. I have thoughts.

from @/pjsekai_eng on twitter

I'm guessing the reason Rui has little interest is because 1. aforementioned fear of getting growing up and moving on and doesn't want to face it, and 2. doesn't have many friends at school, let alone any in his class (it's outlined in KAMIKOU FESTIVAL! that he has never particularly been one for school events because everyone would push him away. We've had Cheerfes since then but you get my point). But it looks like maybe his classmates are actually more willing to be friends with him now?

And then the event name

same source as above

Hey look that sounds like a Wonderlands x Showtime inevitable disbandment reference. Atp I'm starting to think the reason I'm so invested in their current arc is because of how much it resembles a Love Live plot (mod makes shameless LL reference #3 billion what else is new?). Enjoying your youth while you can because there's so much fun stuff you can do and you're surrounded by people and it truly is an experience that you won't be able to quite match later on. It's simple but incredibly effective and emotionally driven. Especially since the age high school is in Japan really is like that bridging period between childhood and adulthood. And linking this to Rui and Tsukasa's event cards specifically...

They seem to have tied the folklore theme with a school uniform theme. And I'm going to pick this apart because I'm already 643 words in so why stop now? I feel bad for excluding Shizuku from this but we've never had too much on her school-related past. The most we got was Draw Your Bow In This White World which was only set 1 year pre-canon so not counting it.

Anyway. I've seen several people point out on Twitter that Rui's limited hair is the same hairstyle that he had as a child. That stuck out to me because we know from flashbacks that that was when people started to steer clear of him at school and he lost a lot of friends, and I wonder if that's going to be brought up in the event, especially since it seems that he's going to be making new friends.

In a similar vein, Tsukasa. I'm sure most people noticed that he's basically wearing his middle school uniform except with glasses. Like Rui's lim linking to when he was most lonely, Tsukasa's does as well. It's established in On the stage of dazzling light that he was pretty lonely during middle school because it was when Saki got moved to a hospital out of the prefecture.

I don't know if this was intentional because Shizuku's doesn't visibly follow that theme, but prsk does like some good symbolism and lim sets quite often have one that sticks out from the others for whatever reason. If it wasn't intentional then good on them for somehow doing this. But it does make a lot of sense, y'know? Cherishing the high school memories because the ones before now were a bit shit?

1 2 (heh)

Being frank I don't entirely know how Japanese school trips work but judging by the card it looks like Rui and Tsukasa got put in a group together? I hope their friendship gets some depth and development added to it with this event because they actually have an interesting dynamic underneath the Oddball 1-2 comic relief that has a lot of underutilised potential. Like what I said in those screenshots - Rui wants to know more about the SEKAI, but since it's entirely derived from Tsukasa's psyche, it means he has to get to know Tsukasa better, and they still aren't on much of a more personal level of friendship almost 3 years after that card story. The fact that both of their lims seem to reference the points when they were most lonely... I think that could be a good starting point for them to bond over. Obviously the circumstances were completely different and Rui was driven into depression by it, but what I'm saying is that it's a start.

Also like the very intentional parallels between Rui and Mizuki and their loneliness and their connection with the rooftop Wonderlands x Showtime main story chapter 5 My Footprints, Your Destination chapter 8 Tsukasa and Ena and the personal impact they had on those two respectively something or other and the fact that one side of that parallel has surprisingly little depth to their relationship idk

Oh and this part from the very end of A Canary Sings In A Quagmire. Though they might stall on it for a bit longer since it's a plot thread that was only just introduced. I reckon if it does get brought up it will just be in internal monologue or Rui just mentioning the concept in passing or being vague about it rather than actually addressing it (Emu and Nene aren't here and I think they will probably be around when it gets fully unpacked). If they do decide to face it directly then I wouldn't mind but it seems too soon to me.

Finally, I reckon we might get some more Shizuku and Tsukasa interactions. It's kind of guaranteed to be fair but you never know. Their dynamic isn't hugely deep or anything but it doesn't need to be, like they only know each other because their sisters were friends. Anyway I don't really mind if all they do in the event is talk about their sisters and what they've been up to themselves - it's pretty cute.

I'll be reading the event in my lunch break tomorrow so long as it is on sekai.best by then, so if anyone wants to ask me more about it then feel free. Watch literally none of what I just wrote happen in the event.

If I said that almost all of the 2nd years are in my top 10 would that justify the word vomit?

[edge-oftheworld]

thinking about the way when i interact with fellow aussies on here I see so much disappointment about how they didn't come here on their last tour. how sydney 5sos fans are a different brand of human i'm not really sure how to describe (we all freaked out when we went to the same concert lauren was at for example). thinking about how the australian leg of take my hand tour felt like it was almost its own thing, sandwiched between the gap after the bulk of the tour before it and that short gap before they announced the most recent tour after it--almost as if it was meant to bridge both of those tours. how they played in newcastle and on the gold coast and it wasn't quite cairns or coffs but it was a bit more than your state capitals headline tour. how, with the exception of the big four, we often don't realise how small our cities are on a global scale. there are only 27 million of us on this desert island.

thinking about how they wrote easy for you to say and had to perform it on tour six months before its actual release, it was so important to this setlist, to the vibe, and how it's about nostalgia and missing sydney and they finished the tour in sydney and it makes me wonder, i can kind of guess when the song means the same thing to me, how much it hurts to be able to perform here and yet not be able to stay for longer than a holiday. and yet they do do that for us, put on shows about as regularly as any other artist does. even if they didn't play splendour in the grass. or falls festival. even if it's been four years since fire fight australia, it was only months ago sierra was promoting beyond blue as a charity to donate to. friends of friends did some fundraiser for a youth centre in blacktown: maybe I have to look to see it, but I can see the impact they've left.

and then I see how happy they all seem to look when they've gotten a chance to hang out in australia. ashton covering songs in the heat. calum obviously having a blast. luke dropping sydney pics that were assumedly from before it got really hot, looking carefree, a familiar skyline and familiar urban graffiti. the way when michael arrived in perth for the first time after lockdown he simply had to tell us all right away. and i've always kind of seen them coming back here for good? heck, joel madden even assumed right on his podcast some of them might have already. the way ashton doesn't have a dog in the states, and how i've always seen him with an aussie. the way luke integrates seamlessly into the life and culture of the inner west area; and calum carries blue mountains vibes with him wherever he goes, as michael does with the sydney pop punk scene. we know brandy and sierra at least love australia--i was actually fangirling about sierra in their comments with the veronicas just the other day (bless them for deciding my comment was something that needed to replying to). while crystal does have a massive group of usamerican friends and family I can see her enjoying the vegan places in melbourne and brisbane (they're coming to sydney too. the inner west and parts of the north side are almost there) and maybe being a little more hopeful about politics. I can also see it being a really healthy place to raise lua.

maybe it's the hopefulness of an urban designer who sees the impact of art and culture and having people around who create for a living on our cities, but maybe I see myself in 20 years bringing my kids to see them play and being able to tell the story of a series of songs (red desert, efyts, whatever is next in the theme in the works for 5sos6 as well as the solo stuff like a lot of wfttwtaf and boy) and how they figured out what we all have to, how to find and create a place that's home to you--because it's actually a pretty likely event. and i love seeing the evolution from the 'let's get out' / 'worked every weekend just to get out of town' vibe of self titled and sgfg to now. I really do want them all to feel like they can relax now after so many years of working and depriving themselves of the love that comes from belonging (I do feel like we've heard more about it from luke and ash specifically) and I also get the subtle vibes of where that might happen. and how much it might hurt when they don't get to have that. what did they do for aussies? gave us hope that we could make it, in whatever we want to do and whatever success means for us. maybe it's just me though. for now. maybe i've got the expectations of someone who grew up unable to afford things like concerts mixed with the anticipation for this june. I hope i'm not projecting, but also, the empathy I feel when I see myself in someone is usually spot on.

so idk. one day i'm gonna design some really classy public housing made to unfuck the status quo and i'm gonna raise money to build it and sierra will write a song and say she's doing a donation to this charity in australia doing things about homelessness and the class divide and it's gonna help me fund it. that's just one option of something i can see going down that's not completely unrealistic if very very optimistic but it's how i live my life. but i'll go to a 5sos concert eventually. i'll play their songs i've arranged with an orchestra one day too and we'll do it impressively, noticeably. i don't really know what else i'm supposed to expect? I know my experience is worlds away from many people's. but these guys inspire me to create and I don't really need anything else to do that.

[kachikirby]

GranEssex Chronicles: Chapter 10 - Boarding the VictoriousArc

A month and a half had passed since Meta ordered the enchanted cape and it had finally arrived. Meta was happy with how it turned out, though for the time being he decided to use its magic to keep it small enough to fit in his pocket, still not entirely used to wearing a cloak. Today should have been a good day for the young swordsman, but it was anything but.

"Sensei, why are you making me do this?"

He looked up at the vast exterior of this battleship VictoriousArc and gave a slight sigh.

"Meta, I've already explained this to you. You will be spending a month on Reedy's ship, where you'll learn to interact with complete strangers. You need to get better at being sociable. Not only that but as you get older, you will be forced to work with other soldiers. It's for your own good." Kurabe replied in a stern tone.

"But I don't think this is the way to do it, sensei..."

"Yes, but you seem to learn better under pressure. Now I want you to be on your best behavior, ok?" She asked getting a nod in reply. "Oh, and be sure to call me twice a day. Once in the morning and again in the evening."

The youth just stared back at her. It was quite apparent that he didn't want to leave. His mentor placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Meta, it will be only one month, you can handle it no problem." Kurabe said with a small bit of hesitance, as if she was trying to convince herself more than her student.

"Don't look at me like that. We both know you can handle it. Reedy is someone that can be trusted, as much as I hate to admit it..." She mumbled the last sentence.

Meta sighed at that. As much as he wished he could argue, he knew Kurabe right. He needed to learn to cooperation, regardless of how annoying it may be.

"Alright, sensei, I'll do it." He said, still clearly upset.

His mentor quickly hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Meta. Again, please remember to call me twice a day."

The youth quietly nodded, picked up his luggage, and began to walk toward Reedy's ship while waving goodbye to Kurabe and Mercury. The warrior watched on with a sad smile.

"Do you think I made the right decision, Mercury?"

The vice captain smiled. "I think you did. If anything, this is going to make him learn the hard way about needing to interact with strangers. Besides, he at least has two people he already knows and can talk to if needed."

Kurabe looked at her friend with a smile, but couldn't quite shake the feeling of unease.

"If you ask me, both of you need some time apart." said Reedy, who was now revealed to have watched the entire conversation between Meta and Kurabe from afar.

"Why do you say that?" The warrior replied with an irritated pout.

Reedy adjusted his glasses. "Are you joking? We all know how much you baby him. Maybe not in terms of training, but in regular day to day life. If Meta leaving for a month is already making you unwell, then imagine if he was gone for a year or longer? You two are attached to each other and you both need to get used to being separated."

Kurabe only continued to pout, unable to refute anything that was said. Mercury, however, gave a look at Reedy.

"Bit hypocritical of you Reed, considering that you keep your kids on the ship at all times."

"That's a different matter altogether, Mer, and you know it."

"No, it's really not. I agree that some time apart will do some good though."

"Yes... yes... glad to see that you agree." Reedy replied, seemingly ignoring the first part of that statement.

"Then you wouldn't mind leaving one of your kids here with us, right?" Mercury asked with an innocent smile.

He only glared at her. "I should be going then. Oh, and Kurabe? Do remember that you asked for this."

"Don't act like I don't already know that!" She replied with a pout.

"Then stop acting like you don't."

"Ok, enough you two." Mercury quickly said before an argument could break out. "I guess we'll be seeing you in a month then, Reed."

"That you will. Goodbye, Mer, Kurabe."

With that, Reedy left to join up with Meta to show him around the ship. As she watched him walk away, Kurabe clenched her cape tightly.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." Mercury said, smiling towards her.

"I... I hope you're right..."

---------

Meta entered and took a look around. The interior of the VictoriousArc was clean and well kept. A bit too clean in his opinion. Every surface was sparkling, and he could see his reflection in everything. It was a bit unnerving for Meta.

"Quite a beauty, isn't she?" Reedy asked with pride.

"It sure is." The youth responded flatly.

Already he missed the GranEssex. In truth, the VictoriousArc was a better-looking ship, but it all felt superficial to the young soldier.

As if noticing how quiet he was, Reedy continued. "First impressions are the most lasting, so we keep the entryway as clean as possible. You wouldn't trust someone who can't keep their living space clean, would you? It's also because our housekeeper is quite enthusiastic, but that's another story."

"Enthusiastic?" Meta uttered under his breath.

That reminded him of something Tam once told him. "Enthusiasm is the same thing as being eccentric." When asked what that even meant, all Tam had to say in response was "Sensei."

Meta looked at Reedy in the eyes.

"Is your crew... eccentric?"

"...very much so." Was the blunt response. "However, you don't need to worry. They are well aware that you are our guest."

The youth nodded then noticed what looked like a trio of heads peeking out from behind a wall.

"Are those silver wings?" He thought to himself.

"Mr. Reedy, are they a part of your crew?" He asked while pointing at the general direction of the mysterious figures.

Reedy looked in the same direction. He then gave a slight chuckle.

"How about you three come over and introduce yourselves?" He then called out.

Hesitating a little, three silver figures walked out and looked at Reedy, and then Meta. The youth instantly figured out who they were, thanks to those silver fairy wings they all had.

"Are they your children?"

The man gave a nod in reply. "Yes, they are. Now how about you introduce yourselves to each other? You will be seeing each other for the rest of this month, so it's best if you got to know each other."

Meta nodded, honestly just wanting to get this over with.

"My name is Meta. Member of the GranEssex and student of Kurabe. I'll be here for the remainder of the month."

The second youngest looking of the children pouted. "Daddy said that someone from GranEssex was coming and I thought that Auntie Mer was gonna be here... this is dumb."

Reedy knelt down and flicked them on the forehead. "Don't be rude."

The eldest of the children walked up. "My name is Lyze. I'm currently twelve years old and I'm the older sister of these two troublemakers. I tried to stop them from spying on you, but it was easier said than done. I hope we can get along." She said while holding her hand out.

Meta took her hand and shook it.

The middle child walked forward. "My name is Mark! I'm currently seven. It's nice to meet you!" The boy said cheerfully.

Meta nodded in response before looking at the last one, the youngest. The youngest shuffled their feet, clearly nervous.

"My name is Ciel. I'm five years old." She responded shyly.

"At least I'm not the only who has trouble talking." Meta thought to himself.

"It's nice to meet you all." He replied.

Reedy gave a slightly satisfied smile. "How about all of you go play while I give our guest a tour of the ship?"

The children nodded.

"And Lyze, please try to keep a better eye on them. Use the lullaby trick your mother showed you in case it's necessary."

"Understood, father." She nodded.

"Let's go, we can talk to Meta later." She said grabbing her siblings' arms and dragging them away.

Reedy just smiled before turning to the young guest. "Shall we begin the tour, Meta?"

The youth nodded in response.

"Great. Then follow me."

---------

The setup of the VictoriousArc was surprisingly similar to that of the GranEssex. Not exactly the same layout, but similar types of rooms. A training facility, a cafeteria, a meeting room. Though there were two facilities that didn't exist in the GranEssex.

"Here we have our recreational room. Or as my children call it, the game room."

Meta looked around. "So, this is where you guys take breaks?" He then asked.

"Yes. It's a place for the crew to relax in between missions."

"Isn't that what bedrooms are for? To relax and get rid of stress?"

"Ah, so that's how it's done on the GranEssex... it's no wonder you're so socially stunted..." The man grumbled before continuing. "There's one other purpose for this room: it's a place to encourage social interaction with others in the crew."

Meta glared at Reedy. He hated his condescending tone.

"Before you make any more assumptions, we do have a facility the GranEssex to socialize. It's called the lodge. It's where students go to talk about matters that aren't related to training. Subjects I have very little interest in."

The man crossed his arms. "I see. If that's the case, you should visit there more often. Even if you are uninterested in the subjects there, socializing will help you work better with your fellow crewmates. However, this room is unique in the sense that socializing is done through things such as games."

Meta was thoroughly uninterested. Why waste time playing games when he could be getting stronger? Strong enough to protect his mentor. Strong enough to prevent anything from harming Mercury ever again.

Reedy seemed to notice this. "Meta, do you know why recreational activities are important for a soldier?"

"...they aren't." He replied in a somewhat cold fashion.

"Incorrect. Soldiers, no, all living creatures need something they can do to escape from stress. Stress can eat away at you, making one irritable and prone to making terrible decisions. In some cases, people have died because of stress. Being focused on your duties as a soldier is good, but you mustn't let yourself be consumed by the soldier mindset."

Meta still looked at him doubtfully.

"I'm sure if you ask Mercury or Kurabe, they'll say something similar, if you don't believe me."

The youth, begrudgingly, agreed with that statement. Both his mentor and Mercury had various hobbies they did that had nothing to do with being soldiers. Kurabe loved to cook even though she didn't have to, as well as making the occasional ice sculpture. Mercury liked to design new clothes for herself on a regular basis and judging by the pool table she keeps in her room; she also enjoyed a game of billiards.

"What about you, Meta? Surely you must have some kind of hobby?" Reedy asked.

"...I like to read."

The man seemed to smile. "Well, if you'd like, I could show you the library."

The youth looked a bit confused at that. "Library? Why would you need something like that on a military ship?"

"Two reasons. One, as the owner of this ship I'm allowed to install whatever I deem necessary. Secondly, I'm the head of intelligence for the Organization. By extension, this ship is the intelligence squad headquarters. So, a library is only natural."

The youth nodded in understanding.

"Every vessel that is in the command of a Top Five member also doubles a headquarters for a certain branch of the Organization. We are the intelligence branch, where we specialize in creating strategies, relaying information to other forces. Diplomatic duties as well."

Meta continued to stare at him, but it was clear that he understood what was being said. "Is that why I've noticed a lack of weapons on this ship?"

Reedy smirked.

"So, you noticed that detail, did you? I expect no less from a natural born fighter. That's right, the ship doesn't have anything more than standard issue vulcan cannons. As far as handheld weapons are concerned... well, you'll soon see that most of my crew don't need to carry weapons with them." He uttered cryptically.

"Then how do you defend yourselves if attacked?" Meta asked in a blunt fashion.

"Not every problem can be solved with brute force, Meta. We here prefer to do things quickly and precisely. We have cloaking technology that keeps us hidden from all types of sensors. We tend to avoid battles before they can become battles. And if needed we have an expert hacker that can take over an enemy ship."

"But the thing with life is that not everything can be quick and precise. You can plan all you want, but sometimes you'll get dealt a bad hand. That's what sensei told me. What about then?"

"Please, I plan for anything and everything, Meta. I'll have you know we haven't been infiltrated or shot down a single time." He bragged.

The youth had a feeling Reedy was trying to impress him and make himself sound better than Kurabe. However, there was something that Reedy said that really pissed him off.

"You plan for everything, is that right? So, are you saying that you planned for the hivemind to almost kill Mercury? Because that's what it sounds like."

"...there are a few exceptions."

Meta kept glaring.

"No wonder sensei can barely stand this guy. I'm this close to taking over this ship and going back to the GranEssex." He thought to himself.

Reedy took off his glasses to clean them. "I assure in the unlikely event we do get attacked, I'm still the most powerful Limet."

"Physically, perhaps. But as a person, Mercury is stronger..." The youth thought.

Reedy put his index finger to his head and closed his eyes. To most this would be an odd gesture, but this was a pose Reedy took when he tried to think of a way to change subjects.

"Alright, Meta, let's head to the library, since I'm sure you're excited for that. I also have a question for you. Has Kurabe taught you about each of the branches, or divisions of the Organization?"

The youth nodded in reply. "She's given me a basic rundown."

"Then tell me what you know as we walk."

"Alright then."

The two then began to walk down the hallway.

"There's the combat division led by my sensei. I'm a member of this division. We specialize in front line fighting, escort and bodyguarding. We are the go-to division for physical labor and battle. As such we all train in the art of combat every day to keep our skills sharp."

"Alright, next?"

"Next is the intelligence division. As you mentioned, this is your division. They specialize in negotiations and gathering information, especially on suspicious clients. You also specialize in formulating strategies."

"After that?"

"The stealth division led by Bio Raiden. A force that specializes in espionage and assassination. They handle affairs we don't want to go public."

"And then?"

"The mage division lead by Momo. A force that specializes in magecraft."

"Well, you do seem to have a solid grasp on each division. Good for you."

The man nodded before then stopping.

"Alright, we made it." Reedy said as he opened the door to the library, showing him inside.

---------

Upon entering the room, the youth looked up at the great number of bookshelves in amazement.

"This library is bigger than the training room back at the GranEssex." He said absent-mindedly.

"Of course it is, would you expect otherwise?" The man asked with pride.

"I wasn't expecting anything." The youth bluntly responded.

"Somehow I should have known you would say that..." He gave a sigh. "Well, would you like to take a look around and choose a few books to read?"

As soon as he said that, Reedy noticed that Meta had already left his side to explore the library. "Incredible, to think he'd be that interested in books."

What honestly amazed Meta was that there were not just simple research books. There were books from all kinds of genres. Romance. Horror. Science Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. So many to choose from and from various eras. A few of his fellow students had thought it was wasteful to have so many physical books, but there was something that smelt nice about bound volumes and they felt nice in his hands.

"Tell me, Meta." Reedy said as he caught up to him. "Besides Kurabe and Mer, is there anyone else on the GranEssex that shares your interest in reading?"

Meta had to think about that. He knew Tam loved romance novels, but he really wasn't interested in that subject. Outside of her, none of the other students read as far as he knew.

"At least one other person."

"I see then." Reedy replied, his expression unreadable. "Why do you enjoy reading, Meta? I assumed you would have no interest in hobbies that won't make you stronger."

"...honestly, I don't really know myself. There's just something about books that draw me to them." He replied.

"That's fine then. Living creatures are complicated beings. We often gain interests for no reason. We often gain dislikes for little to no reason as well. Tell me, what type of books do you like?"

"Um... I like adventure, mystery, and some science fiction. The only genre I don't really like is romance." The youth said.

"I assume stories of heroes utilizing their skills and tools to fight interests you?"

"Yes, they do."

Reedy smirked. "Let me guess. The heroes you read about remind you of Kurabe. That's why you like them so much, isn't it?"

Meta averted his eyes in embarrassment. Reedy was completely right. Brave warriors with kind hearts that fight with no mercy. Kurabe was just like that in his eyes, so naturally stories about figures similar to her would interest him.

"Well, I guess that doesn't matter." The man then said. "Follow me, Meta, it's time you met the rest of my crew."

For whatever reason, the tone the man used made the puff uneasy.

---------

The two made their way to the cafeteria. Along the way, Meta couldn't help but notice that it was still unnaturally clean. It all felt superficial to him.

"...I feel like Kouta might have overdone it with his housekeeping recently... no matter." Reedy uttered, with a slight wave of the hand.

"...Kouta?"

"The person we have in charge of housekeeping on this ship. While his attention to neatness is appreciated, he tends to go a bit far at times to the point where he tends to scream at people who even ruin his cleaning work a tiny bit. At least, unless you're my children, of course..." The man replied.

The puff only nodded in response and in a few minutes, they reached the cafeteria. Meta stood at attention as his guide walked further into the room.

"Alright, now that we've made it. It's time to introduce yourselves, everyone." Reedy said while snapping his fingers.

Soon, Meta was practically cornered by a group of Limets. Instinctively, the youth reached for his sword but Reedy stopped him.

"Relax yourself, Kurabe Jr. They're with me. Allow me to introduce Task Force Zetta."

Hesitantly, the youth took a look at the squad members. They were all humanoid-looking, just like Mercury and Reedy, but they all wore a uniform that was quite different to Meta's own, especially the white mantle with a colored stripe worn on the outside of it.

"Task Force Zetta?" He asked in confusion.

"My elite force of Limets. They are some of the strongest Limets in the universe. Now, introduce yourselves. Meta here will be with us for a month so it's important that we're all on the same page."

The group seemed to give a collective nod.

"So, to start, let's have Meta introduce himself. I believe it would only be fair." He said, causing the puff to tense up slightly.

It honestly took him a few minutes for him to figure out a good response.

"My... my name is Meta! I'm from the Lady of Shadows Corps and have been stationed here for a month by my mentor to better learn how to operate with other forces outside my own! It's a pleasure to meet you!" The puff said, sounding somewhat stiff in his response.

However, the gathered reaction didn't appear to give a reaction to that. Reedy gave a slight sigh as he adjusted his glasses.

"So, which of you would like to go first?" He then asked, turning to the squad members.

Almost immediately, one of them stepped forward. He was easily one of the tallest members and wore a headpiece resembling a falcon. Most noticeably, his arms were also very wing-like in shape.

"My name is Calzone, leader of the task force and Commander Reedy's second in command." He said with a lazy smirk.

After that, another tall man walked forward. He was just slightly shorter than Calzone and wore a strange device over his right eye.

"My name is Tiramisu." He said however there was something strange about his voice... or, more accurately, voices.

"How did you that? Speak with two different voices, I mean." The youth asked.

"Hmph! Why should I tell you anything kid? Soon, one day, I will be the ruler of this ship and you all will have to answer to me!"

Meta was shocked by the sudden change in personality. However, it was what happened next that shocked him even more.

"Shut up, idiot brother!" Tiramisu said as he proceeded to punch himself in the face.

The youth stared at him silently in complete puzzlement. "...is he ok?"

Reedy sighed upon hearing that. "Which one are you referring to?"

Upon seeing Meta's confused expression, the man decided to explain. "Are you familiar with the concept of twins?"

"Uh... yeah, two of sensei's students are twins."

"Then this should be simple to explain. Like other creatures, Limets can be born as twins. However, unlike other species, the cores of twin Limets are fused together at birth. In other words, two personalities, two souls, one body. For all purposes, both of them are named Tiramisu, though to make things easy on us we refer to the one with a mean punch as "Tira" and the wannabe supervillain as "Misu"."

Meta looked back at Tiramisu, who was now restraining himself. "I assume they can't be separated?"

"Trust me, kid, we would have done that a long time ago if the process didn't kill us." Tira replied.

"If twin Limets try to separate, their core will shatter completely." Reedy clarified.

The youth blinked. "That sounds horrible..."

"Oh, it's not all bad."

"Speak for yourself, Tira!"

"I am, dumbass."

"...yeah, it seems pretty bad." Meta thought.

"Alright then, who'd like to introduce themselves next?" Reedy quickly asked before anything else could happen.

"My name is Pandoro." said a female Limet who had a x shaped scar on the side of her face.

Meta looked her over, noting the calm expression on her face and, most importantly to him, the sword sheath on her side.

"I see you noticed my weapon. Allow me to give you a better look."

As she said that, she drew out her sword, or more accurately a sword hilt with no blade attached. Meta was momentarily confused before understanding what it meant.

"You place parts of your body into the hilt in order to create any type of sword you want, don't you?"

"Yup!" She said happily. To demonstrate this, she pulled off one of her fingers, which quickly reformed, and placed it in the hilt. Then immediately a blade resembling a scimitar was formed.

"As you can tell, I'm our designated sword fighter. Perhaps we can spar later?"

Meta nodded with a small smile. Finally, there was one person on this ship he could potentially get along with.

Then the shortest of them walked forward.

"My name is Parmigiana. Physically, I'm the weakest Limet, but I'm the best healer on the ship. Well not counting Mrs. Raita anyway. Well, kid, I'm glad to have met-ya." He said with a cheeky grin.

Before anyone could groan at that joke, another member walked...or rather, stumbled forward.

"I am Granita." She uttered in low voice as she tried to keep herself standing up straight.

Meta looked a bit concerned as he noticed the bags under her eyes. "Are you alright?"

Granita chuckled at him. "Thank you but you have nothing to worry about. I'm just always tired, just usual stuff."

"Is there any reason for that?" He then asked.

"I can't sleep. I have narcolepsy or something like that. I mean not really a big deal since Limet's don't really need sleep."

"...I thought all living things need sleep."

"They do." Reedy said. "But Limets can go fifty days without sleep, if needed." He continued.

The youth silently nodded.

"So how do you fall asleep if you can't do it normally?" Meta then asked.

"I keep a frying pan in my room."

"...what's the frying pan for?"

"...I thought that would be obvious. No medicine can put me to sleep so I need to use more forceful methods."

The youth only stared. Now another member stood forward. He was of average height, comparable to Reedy. The most interesting thing about him was the gas mask he wore which had an X symbol on it. He then raised his hands and transformed them into different letters, effectively writing out a sentence.

"Hello, my name is Bicerin. I am the crew's expert stealth and espionage expert." Meta read aloud, looking a bit confused by the situation when he was finished.

"He's mute." Reedy clarified.

"And easily the most reliable partner I could ask for." Said a new voice. This belonged to another unidentified member who now stood next to Bicerin. "I'm Minestrone, head of communications and expert hacker."

Meta nodded along. While he wasn't too knowledgeable about hacking, he knew it must be a mentally taxing job. Suddenly, the youth's instincts went off and he quickly turned around to catch an object that was thrown at him from behind.

"A rose?" He said looking at the object.

Indeed, it was a rose, but it was completely silver.

"Fettuccine, how many times must I tell you to stop throwing roses at guests?" Reedy said in an annoyed tone.

The puff looked at the person apparently named Fettuccine. She had a very youthful appearance to her, looking considerably younger than all the other Limets.

"My name is Fettuccine and I'm the newest member of Task force Zetta! I do hope we can get along!" She said cheerfully while extending her hand towards Meta.

"Ah... good to meet you, too." He replied and shook her hand as well. However, he also had another question that he decided to keep at the back of his mind. Specifically, how old was this woman?

"If you're wondering how old I am, I'm twenty-one. I'm one of the youngest Limets to ever reach the rank I currently have!"

He blinked in surprise.

"Can you read minds?" He asked, to which the young woman laughed.

"No, I don't have ESP, I'm just great at reading other people. That's why I'm the ship's main integrator."

That statement made the youth pause.

"Is that why you threw that rose at me?"

"My, you are perceptive. That's right, Meta. You see, you can learn a lot about someone based on how they react to something."

"I see. In that case I assume you like perform spontaneous acts to see if people react in a certain way?" Meta questioned.

"That's exactly correct and thanks to your actions I've come to decision about you."

The youth stiffened slightly. "Which is?"

Fettuccine pointed her finger at him in an exaggerated motion. "I want you to be my apprentice!"

Meta blinked. "Excuse me?"

The young woman smiled. "With your attentiveness and attitude, I just know you'd be a perfect interrogator!"

"Thank you for the offer, but I already have a sensei." The puff replied instantly.

Reedy nodded and spoke before anything else could be said. "Next is..."

A large man with short hair and wearing a large cloak walked up.

"I'm Risotto. Occupation, mage." He said in stoic tone.

"What kind of magic can you do?" The youth asked. "

Watch my hands." Risotto then held out his hands and mana began to pour out of them.

"Hear my call and come to me, O mighty beast." He chanted under his breath and then clapped his hands together.

Suddenly, a large wolf like creature was standing behind him.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Isn't it?" The man said while petting his summoned creature. He continued to stare in admiration.

Then a loud sigh could be heard.

"Guess it's finally my turn. I'm Capellini, expert brawler. Gotta say kid, you don't seem that strong when I look at you. Guess Kurabe's teachings aren't what they are all cracked up to be." He uttered in a condescending tone.

Meta glared at him but tried to calm himself down. He knew this guy was just trying to provoke him into a fight.

"If you can't properly judge your opponent..." The puff uttered before teleporting behind Capellini with his cape and pointing his sword at the back of his chest, right where his core would be. "Then maybe you aren't the expert you say you are?"

"What was that!?"

"Capellini, remember that regardless of what you think, he's our guest and you shouldn't be rude to him." Reedy said with a slight glare.

"Fine." The aggressive man said while walking away.

"I apologize on behalf of my subordinate, Meta. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." The man gave a slight sigh.

"It's nothing to worry about, Mr. Reedy. But why do you keep someone like him around in the first place?"

The man took off his glasses and began to polish them. "Sometimes it's important to have someone who acts on instinct and emotions rather than logic, loathe I am to admit that."

"...I don't understand. What situations would that be useful for?"

"Situations in which thinking is impossible. Here's a hypothetical one for you. Say someone has kidnapped someone you care about, and they'll only let them go if you cut off one of your limbs. If you don't, then they will kill the hostage. You have ten seconds to decide, what do you do? Answer me in ten... nine... eight..."

The question while simple, proved to be quite the difficult quandary for Meta. Of course, he'd want to save a hostage, but we would no longer be able to fight if he lost a limb.

"Five... four... three... two..."

"I'll cut off a limb!" Meta yelled cutting off Reedy's counting.

"...what's stopping them from killing them anyway or killing you then?" The man then asked.

The puff didn't know how to respond to that. "But I only had two options..."

"Incorrect. You were given two options, but you didn't need to pick either of them. You could have made a third option."

"...is that where instinct comes in?"

"Exactly. Capellini lived through the scenario I just gave you. Do you know how he solved it?"

"How?"

"In his own words, he punched them really hard in the face before they could do anything."

The youth pouted. How did he forget about something so obvious?!

Reedy gave a slight smile. "Don't beat yourself up, Meta. In a stressful situation, it can seem impossible to think of the alternatives. Which is why we need those who care very little for logic. In order for a group to grow, we need those with different viewpoints. That's the main point of Task Force Zetta. A group of individuals with different skills, thought processes and ideals that work towards the same goal."

The youth nodded as he looked at him. However, at the back of his mind, he was somewhat wondering if this was really the same person who seemed to love bullying his mentor. He still didn't like the man, but maybe he could learn to trust him at least.

"People of different ideals working together. Is that how you and sensei seem to work together well?" He asked, thinking back to how the two rivals acted during the incident with the hivemind. More specifically, how they were able to throw all animosity for each other to the side for the sake of Mercury.

"Precisely. Kurabe and I are fundamentally polar opposites. There are aspects of her I cannot stand but the reverse is also the same. However, when it comes doing what needs to be done, there's no one more trustworthy than her."

"Working with polar opposites... so that's another lesson sensei is trying to teach me." He thought to himself. "But can I really do that?"

Well, if anything, he'd have to learn it whether he'd like to or not. Reedy then clapped his hands.

"Now that introductions are over, let's head to the recreational room everyone. It'll give a certain someone more opportunities to grow accustomed to us."

"You're just saying that because that's where your kids are. Right, boss?" Calzone asked playfully.

"...perhaps."

The task force members laughed and even Meta smiled slightly but quickly wiped it off his face.

---------

After that, they all walked to the recreational room and, sure enough, Reedy's kids were there, but that wasn't all.

"Ah, Meta, how nice to see you again!"

It was Raita, who Meta remembered was Reedy's wife.

"It's good to see you, Mrs. Raita." The youth replied politely.

"Oh, please, there's no need for that. Just call me Raita, I insist."

He then nodded. "Ok, Raita."

"So, how's Mercury been?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

"She's doing a lot better now, thankfully. I took up some of her duties for the past month or so just so she could rest."

"That's good." She replied with a sad smile.

It was obvious to Meta that she still blamed herself for what happened.

"It's not your fault, Raita. It was the hivemind." He said.

"Yes, I know, but it was because she went with me that she was attacked..."

Before she could say anything else, she was embraced in a hug by Reedy.

"It's in the past, dear. It'll do no good to keep thinking about it." He uttered, gently stroking her hair.

"I know, Reedy, but I still can't help but think about it..."

"I know, my dear. It's something neither of us will ever forget. However, there's no point in dwelling on it." The man said before looking at his children and then at Meta. "We have a future to live for..."

"I know... I know..." She whispered.

The youth quietly stared, not really knowing how to react to this. Deciding to leave them alone for a bit, Meta looked around to see various crew members playing games with one another, talking, and just generally having a pleasant time. While it was nice to see, it made the youth feel strangely lonely. But why? He never had a problem with everyone on the GranEssex talking to each other and hanging out. So why did it bother him now?

"Something wrong, Meta?" Raita asked, a little calmer than when he saw her before.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just... I feel so lonely right now..." He replied with a slight sigh.

"Is it because you don't know anyone here all that well?"

"Yeah... like when I see everyone on the GranEssex talking to each other, I don't really care. But here, I just feel lonely..."

Raita gained a thoughtful expression. "It seems to me that you have a case of homesickness, Meta."

The youth looked confused. "What's homesickness?"

"That's a bit of a tough question to answer but I'll try my best. Homesickness effects everyone differently but the cause is usually the same. Whenever a person is away from the place they consider home, sometimes they experience feelings of loneliness. Sometimes it can even cause pain to the poor soul."

Well, that did sound like how he felt right now.

"I guess that makes sense, but there's something I don't get. The planet I grew up on would be considered a home, correct? Yet I felt nothing since leaving it. In fact, I haven't thought about that planet in what feels like forever. So why am I feeling homesick now?"

"Because you're thinking about the GranEssex, aren't you?" Raita asked.

"Yes, but what's the difference?"

"The difference is that you know the GranEssex is your real home. You can be born on a certain planet, but that doesn't automatically mean it's your home. Home is a place you feel safe, and you belong in."

Meta fell silent, processing what he heard.

"There's an old saying on my home planet. Home is where the heart is." She stated, looking directly at Reedy, who was playing with their children.

"I see..." He replied. "I've left the GranEssex multiple times though..."

"But you always returned to it by the end of the day, right?"

"...I did." He averted his gaze slightly.

"You've never been gone from home for longer than a day at most. It's only natural that you would feel like this, Meta."

The puff then clenched his fists. "Will I feel like this throughout the whole month then?"

"That's difficult to say. Homesickness effects everyone differently. Some get over it quickly, others aren't so fortunate. But there are ways of combating it."

"...really? Like what?"

Raita giggled. "Knowing how Kurabe is, she told you to call her every day. Am I right?"

The youth nodded. "Once in the morning and once in the evening."

"Oh, I see. Darling, what time is it?"

"It's..." Reedy took a moment to look at his watch. "...8:23 right now."

"Well seems like it's evening now, Meta." Raita commented with a smile.

"Alright. I'll go call her then." He gave a nod.

"Go down the hall and to the left. You'll find an open guest room. That will also be where you're staying for your time here." Reedy explained.

"Ok, thank you." The puff replied before making his way out.

---------

Once arriving to the room Meta immediately took out his phone and dialed Kurabe's number. In truth he really wanted to hear from her.

"Come on sensei, hurry up..."

In a few seconds, he heard a voice on the other end.

"Meta?"

"Sorry for calling a bit late, sensei. Meeting Reedy's crew took longer than I expected."

"It's all right, Meta. I'm just happy to hear your voice right now." She replied sweetly.

Hearing that caused a wave of relief to wash over Meta, momentarily ridding himself of his homesickness.

"I hope Reedy hasn't been too much of a Reedy to you." She then added.

"Not too much, honestly."

"Not too much is still too much if you ask me."

He chuckled. "I know, sensei."

"So, what's on your mind, Meta? I can tell that something is bothering you."

He gave a slight sigh. "It's nothing, sensei. I just wanted to say hi."

"Meta, even if I can't read your mind right now, I can still read your voice. What's wrong?"

The youth hesitated for a moment before finally giving his reply. "I... I want to go home..."

"You have homesickness." It wasn't a question, but a statement and something about it truly got on his nerves.

"I just wanted to hear your voice again!"

Admittedly, he startled himself by snapping the way he did. However, Meta could only hear a soft chuckle from the other end.

"You sound just like I did when I was your age. My sensei had me spend a month away from him as a form of training. Just like you, I developed homesickness almost instantly."

"...really?" The youth uttered in surprise. "Of course. Like you I grew up as an orphan, although the planet I was born on was covered in perpetual darkness. I was used to being alone... that is until my old man found me and took me in. His ship became my new home. I became attached to both it and him. Of course I would react negatively to being alone again, away from where I felt safe."

"But how did you get over it?"

"I changed my mindset. I took my feelings of loneliness and fear and turned it into motivation. Motivation to see my sensei's test to the very end and prove to him that I could handle being on my own. Of course, it's not as if I went under an instant transformation. It honestly took me a few days to adopt that mindset. But once I did, the situation became more bearable."

The youth became silent upon hearing that. "Is that so...?"

Kurabe sighed at that somewhat dulled response. "Meta, I'll be completely honest with you. I would love nothing more than to bring you back, however this is necessary training. You have two goals now: Become able to work alongside strangers and overcome that homesickness. Can you do both of those?"

"Ok, sensei." He nodded.

"Great! When you get back, I'll make you your favorite chicken parmesan... after I get to hug and cuddle with you of course." She uttered happily.

"SENSEI!" He blurted out, completely embarrassed and glad no one could hear this conversation.

"What? It's going to feel a bit lonely on the ship without you."

By her tone, the youth could tell she was pouting.

"Sensei, I'm not a child anymore..."

"Please, you'll always be my child."

As embarrassed as he felt, Meta developed a warm feeling in his chest upon hearing that.

"Thank you, sensei. I'll call again in the morning, I promise."

"Ok then. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you, Meta."

"Good night."

"Good night, my little knight. Sweet dreams." She replied gently before hanging up.

Meta sighed happily. He still wanted to go home, but for his sensei's sake he would see this through to the end. He then gave a yawn, tired from everything that happened today. He reached into his luggage bag and pulled out a small container before crawling into bed. He then opened it, revealing the silver stress ball. He attempted to get comfortable but soon noticed that this bed was nowhere near as cozy as his own back home.

"It's a good thing I brought you with me, huh?" He thought while giving the ball a good squeeze.

"You leave me in a tin box and that's the first thing you say? Rude!" The blob said in a teasing way.

Meta quickly sat up in shock and stared at the ball.

"...I'm too young to be going insane."

The blob laughed. "Meta, did you really forget that I could talk through pieces of myself like this?"

The puff relaxed upon hearing that. "Mercury, you haven't used that trick in years."

"Well, I thought it'd be a bit rude normally, but I heard a bit of Kurabe's conversation with you and thought I'd say something through this to make you feel a bit less lonely."

"Well, thank you, Mercury. Have you ever dealt with homesickness?"

"Homesickness, huh? Yeah, I have."

"Even you? I guess everyone experiences it at some point."

"Yeah, it's more common than you think."

Meta smiled, glad that this wasn't just an issue exclusive to him. "Since I've already gotten advice from sensei, maybe you can give a different kind of advice. Do you have any tips about handling Reedy's crew?"

"Hmm..." The blob took a moment to think. "Well, thankfully, most of them are pretty cooperative. There's an expression that goes something like "treat others the way you want to be treated". If you present yourself as respectful and cooperative, then they will treat you with respect as well. Well, most of them will... there's one odd duck who doesn't really follow that idea, however. He prefers to let his fists do the taking. Prove your strength to him and he'll ease up on you."

Instantly, Meta knew who she was talking about. "I understand."

"There's also a certain animal lover on the ship too. He may seem intimidating at first, but trust me when I say he's one of the kindest people I know. Stay on his good side and he'll stick up for you."

He nodded quietly. "Anything else?"

"They may all seem like strange individuals, and they are, but they are all good-natured people. Don't be afraid to speak to them. The first step to cooperation is establishing a connection."

"Ok, Mercury. I'll try." He replied.

"Good and please try to get along with Reedy. You don't have to be friends with him but at least attempt to tolerate his existence." Mercury remarked with a chuckle.

He responded with a quiet laugh. "I'll do my best to."

"Then I'll take my leave. If you need anything, squeeze as hard as you can. Good night, Meta."

"Alright then. Good night, Mercury." The youth laid back down, still holding onto the ball.

He closed his eyes and began to think about the crew he would be interacting with for the next couple of weeks. As he started to slowly fall into the realm of sleep, there was one last thought on his mind.

"This will be one long month..."

-

Toyhouse Pages for appearing Characters

Lyze

Mark

Ciel

Calzone

Tiramisu

Pandoro

Risotto

Fettuccine

Granita

Bicerin

Minestrone

Parmigiana

Capellini

[leggerefiore]

Alright. I need some Serotonin after the last few weeks. Emmet doing cute expecting couple things with his partner, BONUS points if it's Silver Fox Emmet. Emmet starts consistently taking a few days off a week to help you do shopping and look for baby things? Emmet throwing you a small baby shower so you don't get overwhelmed and actively getting really enthusiastic about ultrasounds... And on the rubber-band, Emmet being disheartened that he has to wait 4-6 weeks before he can do the sideways tango after the twins are born... But he does take a great deal of time off to coddle them and you.

mmm have some assorted scenarios

cw: AFAB reader, pregnancy

You picked up the blanket and scrutinised it. The frilly, plaid pink of it could be nice, you supposed. It was not what you were looking for, however. It was placed back down as you turned to look at Emmet. His aged face betrayed his youthful eyes as he stared at a black and white blanket with a triangle pattern on it. You giggled at his sheepish smile as he picked it up. “Do you think… This one is fine?” he asked with a quieted tone. A certain fondness sparkled within the silver of his irises. “Of course, Emmy,” you cooed and added the blanket to the basket.

The next time you caught a glance at Emmet, you saw a blanket with railroad tracks print. You felt a bit more hesitant on that one, but the pleading eyes he gave you made it difficult to say no.

~

You sighed at the small gathering in your living room as a few family and friends sat around. Elesa, Skyla, Emmet's mother, Burgh, and a depot agent that had become one of Emmet's closest friends in Ingo's absence. They all smiled at you as you sat down, a hand coming to rest on your swollen stomach. Everyone chatted happily and gifts were given to you while everyone congratulated you for your girls. You could only giggle about the fact that Emmet's prediction had been spot-on. It was impossible to believe that he guessed you were having identical twin girls before even your first screening.

Emmet's mom brought double the number of diapers request and gave you a serious look, “You'll be through them before you realise. Believe me, I have experience here.” You laughed as Emmet grew extremely flustered by her words. The silver-eyed woman pulled lightly on her son's cheek. “You kept wanting it, and now you got it. Are you ready for double the work of a normal infant? Double the crying? You are about to learn what you and Ingo put me through,” she chided. Emmet flustered at her words. Speaking of which, where was Ingo? He had definitely been invited. You shrugged it off. He was probably working late, since Emmet had taken the day off to help around the house for the party.

~

You could only watch as Emmet's eyes lit up at the sight of the screen showing your children. They were pressed near one another, but looked a bit odd. It was likely the format that the ultrasound provided. The doctor smiled at you both as Emmet gasped at a slight movement from one. “Did you know that twins will interact with one another in the womb? They are aware of one another and will often touch each other,” she explained. You held back a laugh as Emmet stared her with empty eyes. Well, not everyone knew who he was, after all.

“Yep! I know,” he cooed and gazed back at the screen to see how they moved around in you, “I remember.” You froze, as did the doctor. Both you and her stared at Emmet in confusion. “Em, honey, what do you mean you remember?” you dared to ask. The question of whether you were having girls or boys gone from your head at this new revelation. “I remember. I used to shove Ingo out of the way, so I could kick,” he explained, “Ingo tried to cry a lot. I hated the twenty minutes I was apart from him. He cried for me.” Once again, you and the doctor were a loss for words.

“Can we have pictures? I love them verrrry much!” he cooed as he watched one grasped the other, “Doctor, what sex are they?” Emmet turned around to look at you both again, acting as if he had not said some of the strangest words that he had ever spoken.

“Girls,” she stated simply, “I believe you're having girls.”

“Oh! I always wanted daughters!” Emmet cheered.

You felt so confused still.

~

“… I am Emmet, and I regret everything,” he whined as you reminded him that sex was no longer a viable action currently. You felt nearly ready to pop, swollen from the size of your two girls. Somehow his words felt as if they should be yours. Your body was exhausted and as much as you adored the girls, you politely wanted them out. The mobility of your body was currently lowered and tiredness was a common trait of your day to day. His hand gently felt the baby bump with soft eyes. “Will you make it, love?” you asked him with a joking tone.

“Mmm. Yep!” he cheered, “Soon I'll have verrrry cute girls to take care of.” You giggled at his reaction. His nose rubbed against yours before he peppered kisses all over your face. A coo left him as he considered your entire form. All the hard work you had gone through to create the life of your children. Emmet could never properly express his gratitude for you in words. “I took off for the next few months. Well… More I am call only,” the younger twin explained, “My attention is now solely on you and the girls. I love you, darling!” You laughed at his bright grin.

You were happy you had chosen such a sweet husband.

Nothing could describe the memory of his tears and smile after holding his daughters for the first time

[sleepyowlwrites]

Happy STS, Sleepy!! It might take me a little to answer your STS ask since I have to gather my favorite tidbits about my series, but in the meantime, I'd like to request an infodump in return 👀 Which WIP is your favorite and why? Anything you want to ramble/vent/gush about? How is writing going? Also, are you doing Nanowrimo this year?

take as long as you need. I still have asks from a month ago because I don't know how to answer them yet.

my favorite is Youth Story because it has no plot, only vibes, and I get to do all the character work I want, so much dialogue, I have ten povs and they all have their unique voices which is fun, it's slightly surreal slice-of-life with powers that are just there, and we are exploring SO MANY EMOTIONS! yay!

I haven't been thinking about it so there are no new details to gush about on that end. I was thinking about Summon Story in the car today while we picked my mom up from the airport, so I guess I can talk about that.

I'm a big fan of the idea that a pov character isn't actually the main character of the story, or at least not at first. in summon story, Zan is the pov, and it's really not his story? like, stories happen from the point of view of some random guy all the time, but in this case, the plot really has much more to do with other people, and only gradually does the pov protagonist earn being the main character.

which is very final fantasy, which is the point. in FFX and FFXII, for instance, this happens. Vaan and Tidus are the playable character, the main one, the pov character, but it's not their story. for Tidus, he's watching Yuna's story play out and acting his part in it, and for Vaan, it's Ashe's story and he's slowly becoming involved and invested in it.

in summon story, Zan is just a random summoner who gradually builds up his questing party but he really doesn't have anything to do with the larger plot until it just comes crashing down on him. as he takes on cases and gets to know his friends, more strange things begin to happen, the plot is building up and Zan becomes less random and more integral. in the beginning, he's really just the guy whose eyes we're seeing through, not the main character. he earns that right once he chooses to interact with the plot rather than sidequesting.

the other characters are also not main characters, but they come pre-invested in the plot, which we only figure out as Zan gets to know them. Erin's familial contract with the spirit Tivoc is under attack because that spirit is trying to avoid being pulled into another contract with a sacrifice it can't ignore, because abir (that type of spirit) are noble and never break a contract. Shae has been looking for her half-sister who she had previously believed to be dead, but heard rumors that lead her to think she might be alive, and she suspects that their father might've had something to do with it all. the father is in business with the guy that is investing in possessed dragons, which is a TERRIBLE IDEA btw, and Shae is trying to look into it while also learning how to be a summoner. Wryn became semi-possessed after a botched summoning by a guy who worked for the dragon-possesser guy.

Zan is just Zan. but after he gradually learns about the backstories of his friends, he becomes invested in their lives, and consequently, the nonsense that dragon-guy is trying to pull, which involves like, war and stuff, oh dear.

so the story goes from a super close-up to a large pan-zoom, where you can see everything that's going on, and then it goes back to focusing on Zan, with the knowledge of what all else is happening but also that our plucky lad really IS the main character, because he's involved in all of the stuff now.

and this sounds really cool so I hope I can pull it off as I'm writing it.

thanks for asking, Caramel!

oh, nano, right. I...think probably no, not the main event. I'm gonna do a more modest goal, maybe my usual 20k, maybe even less, because I don't know how it's gonna go. altho, since in events past it's been my goal to write every day, rather than hit my word counts and that's not my goal this time around...I could do a higher goal and try to do heavier days instead. not sure. but I will be doing a specific word count goal during November, just probably not the 50k real deal.

I'd love to, I'd really like to even if I think I couldn't make it, just because I don't mind shooting for the moon, but I remember last year and how busy and generally tired I was. and this year I'm fulltime. so.

[omshant]

Man, I feel like I have not been a good role model at all. Idk how much that matters. The thought actually stresses me out a lot. i blame My Guys. Jk. I believe we all know whose the one to blame. Still, I feel like I'm the worst. Smh. I really don't even like to think about it. I feel awful. Should I forgive myself, beat down on myself, repent, apologize, catastrophize, forget about it, all the above, or something else? Man, I gotta do better. Cuz sometimes I feel like people perceive me. That makes no sense to me. But I feel like maybe it's definitely possible. I guess I really don't want to know. Cuz if I were to find that out, it would really probably freak me out and I would have a lot more questions. Idk tho. I can think of so many reasons there's just no way. The first one being, I can't believe why God would ever do that to me or anyone. The second one would be how? That's impossible. The third would be who? (Just) My Guys, Lil Wayne, all Black lives, my parents/the police and/or the sick and twisted so-called police, or others too? What about Micah? And what about the youth or children/kids? And what about my thoughts? Also, since when? Idk. So I guess it's kind of just this strange or surreal feeling or sensation that comes and goes.. I even had it at like age 5. Kind of. It was different though. I thought I was the only "real" person in the world and the rest of people were like robots or something. It was kind of like their only function was to interact with me somehow and then return to their own planet or self destruct or something. Lol. I really don't know what to think now. I'm trying to not think before I get in trouble again. I often just feel so hopeless and trapped. I know it could be a lot worse; I'm grateful, but also very confused, extremely insecure, lonely, afraid and miserable. Why or how could no one ever help me? Dude, my life has been hell.

[mokutone]

after seeing ur hiruzen/third hokage thoughts i was wondering what u think abt tsunade ?

thank you for the question! well as far as villains go she's—

no im just kidding. i know she's not a villain. of all the hokages, she's probably my favorite, but...i suppose that's not saying much, since i dislike literally every other hokage skdjghsdkjghdkgh (it's true i don't dislike kakashi or naruto. but i don't like that they become hokages)

i struggle a lot with her because she's one of the most compelling female characters in the show, but she's also written into a lot of sexist tropes.

mostly, when i think of her, i think of this quote from john berger's Ways of Seeing

“You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting “Vanity,” thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for you own pleasure.”

obviously, tsunade is not naked, but she is a 50+ yr old woman, who is drawn to look like she's in her 20s because she's doing a henge to look youthful always. all of the characters make asides about this, condemning her for her vanity, and we the audience are meant to agree. she never gives a solid reason for wanting to look like she's in her 20s, so we're meant to assume that she values her own beauty over everything else, and is afraid of losing that beauty. i have a lot of trouble getting over this point when it comes to her.

there could be something really interesting and fucked up to explore about a woman who is unable to let go of the youth that, due to war and loss and trauma, she never got to live out! about hanging on to that impossibly because she doesn't know how to grieve or move past a loss like that—but. the fact that nothing in the series gives that visual choice any emotional weight aside from a punchline about the vanity of women mean's that's not what's happening. she's just "vain." lol.

the reason she looks like she's in her 20s is probably just because kishimoto didn't want to draw a middle aged woman. that sucks. i have a really hard time forgiving him for things like this.

but, ah, whatever. this is turning more into me talking about kishimoto than it is talking about tsunade.

I'm disappointed that we see more of lady chiyo working with sakura than we do lady tsunade. not that i didn't enjoy the fight vs sasori but. tsunade is sakura's shishō...why don't we get to see them together....that would be so entertaining...

her gambling addiction and tendency to lose are interesting too, but i feel like i want to see that influence her decision making? like, the choices we actually see her make for the most part, she seems like a very cautious and calculating person, somebody who stares at tempting problem for a long time before deciding it's not worth it to risk that.

why is she so different at a gambling table?

i think i want to see a little more dysfunction from her. she's maybe the most functional hokage konoha has ever seen. I think I would've liked to see her try and make really rash calls, and either learn from the mistakes, or have to rely on the people around her to help her NOT risk it all on an off chance they'd succeed. basically. i want her to have a bigger character arc about handling power than "no i dont want to!!!" —> "oh well this little blond guy convinced me. guess ill do it."

her having lost her family is a backstory. I don't really have much to say about it. It's fine, I guess.

her relationship with the other sannin...i dont know what to say. i think i've seen more fanworks of them interacting than actual interaction, so I don't want to speak on that, my opinion will be skewed.

I think it's fucked up that she's the best medical ninja in the world, but technically Yamato's self healing properties are probably on par, let alone Hashirama's. don't you think that's fucked up? like, that's the one title she's got to herself, and just.........ugh. whatever. sorry im ranting about kishimoto again.

i think a lot about her relationship with yamato. it seems, in canon, that she doesn't feel she has any duty or connection to him (and! rightly so. just because he's connected by her former squadmate to her grandfather doesn't technically mean she's in any way responsible for him)

BUT obviously. i personally think it would be interesting regardless, if she did. I think that her having tea or meals with him sometime and just connecting with him over this shared fucked up little attachment would be funny.

I'd like to see both of them (Yamato who never had any family) and Tsunade (who lost her family) try and forge a connection where there really doesn't have to be one. I think that would be sweet. Not necessarily a mother and son thing bc. well. Idk.

like tsunade seeing naruto as like her son, canonically, is kind of sweet, but it sucks that its like. you know. she has to be hot. she has to be a mom. and we can say she's a total trainwreck but we can't actually explore what that would look or feel like for her because she has to fulfill those rolls, and being a trainwreck is neither hotcoded, nor momcoded and also she can't be old. we're kishimoto and we hate women. blarg blarg blarg.

i don't knoooowwww. i struggle with her a lot. I wouldn't have this many problems with her if kishimoto was better at writing women, or if he wrote more of them and gave them more screentime so I didn't have to look at the few crumbs he offers as intensely as I do.

[nightswithkookmin]

Hello there😊, wanna ask you a question that is roaming in my head!! and raising my anxiety. These days, we are only getting the videos and the photos that Hybe/BH wants to show us. Most of these are edited but sometimes I feel that something is wrong with Jimin(don't get me wrong). Like it's always JK who is showing much affection to Jimin but JM became kinda quite in Jikook. What do you think about it? Does Jimin want a break from their relationship or it's just because he doesn't want to show us the truth? ?

It's just my thoughts and these thoughts are giving me stress!! I love them so much🥺that's why I'm tensed.

Lolololololololololol

I agree with a lot of your observations here but do you really think JK acts like a happy bunny these days in his Fantasia side swoop strutting all over the place like a 1955 gay man because he thinks his boyfriend is about to break up with him???

Jimin is a bit introverted in my opinion and if you aren't used to seeing that side of him you might think something is off with him or that he is sad or angry or this or that every now and then.

Anything could be inducing his moods- including but not limited to his relationship with JK. Personally I don't think JK is the one leaning forward in their relationship this time around. It's Jimin.

Similar to how Jungkook is not always introverted. We could be reading that as him leaning forward in their dynamic if we not careful. As I've said a couple of times in my blogs no one is a 100% anything. We are all introverted to a degree or extroverted to a degree and sometimes with Jikook that plays out in their dynamic.

When you say lately it's always JK showing much affection to Jimin- I love it but

Don't let the PJMs catch you chilee. They finna jump you. Lmho.

JK does show love and affection to JM. That's a fact. Jikook is not a one sided relationship. So thank you for at least seeing that.

If you feel there's something off with Jimin then JK taking care of him and showing much affection to him should be the appropriate response. No? There is nothing wrong with him taking the lead and catering to JM especially since Jimin often gets berated and attacked when he does the catering to in their dynamic.

Let's normalize Jikook loving eachother.

Personally I don't think JK is the one leaning forward in their relationship. In spite of the introverted phase he is in, I think Jimin is the one piloting things this season post the October era. I mean it's pretty much obvious.

Jimin has been on his Jikook agenda for a hot minute now. Why do you think antis are mad?

Not to be that person, but I think I pretty much theorized when 'October' was happening that whoever was 'at fault' was gonna come swinging hard on their Jikook agenda when that phase was over. We are in the post October phase. Do the maths.

And I know a lot of people have been mad at Jk for acting 'cold' and and aloof, 'uncomfortable' blah blah blah but I just think he is just chill and laid back. He put the ball in Jimin's court and it's up to him to decide what they do and how they interact especially with their glass closet now and I think that's been weighing on him too. I'll talk more about this in the Minimoni post. Sigh.

For Jimin, he's gone through a phase of reevaluation and reassessment since October. He bought a second house. He's talked about cutting off friends, trying to find his voice or try new styles- something deep and melancholic, listening to emotional songs, working out, trying to build muscles etc.

There's a lot happening around him too. For one his members keep churning music in a language he is barely conversant in. That can be challenging especially for someone like him who doesn't like to do things half assed.

He is taking on new challenges- don't know how well he is or was mentally prepared for it. For someone like Tae and Jk who had already dabbled in English Albums and singles I think they are pretty much happy about the direction the band is headed in and were very much prepared to take on this challenge.

I think they are all challenging themselves as a group in this era.

I'm not sure how he feels about the others constantly talking about that they are old and can't do this and can't do that- Jimim is 25. I don't think he is that old. He loves his youth and loves to celebrate it and make the most of it. Young forever.

I can imagine the toll it might take on him to constantly hear that he is old and can't do this or that by his members and netizens.

He loves the stage. Loves to dance. I mean look at how hard he went with his dance in the PTD MV. Hopefully in 2022 things can go back to normal.

Bangtan went from we are getting old to we are fossils in 0.2 seconds it gives me whiplash.

What I'm saying is, there is a lot going on in his personal and professional life as well as his social life. All of that could be contributing to his mood lately.

As to whether he wants a break from his relationship I think he is the best person to answer that.

People who don't know what they want or who subconsciously want to end their relationships often self sabotage their relationships in their waking life. Sometimes too they are just insecure and immature and don't know how to keep the things they want and end up sabotaging themselves. I do think JM went through phases like that in the past- you know which eras I'm talking about.

But I do think he is in the drivers seat now and the ball is in his court to decide whatever he wants from their relationship and how he wants to work it.

I think Kook is equally in a place where he would be ok with whatever Jimin decides- granted he would shed a few tears and write sad songs if Jimin decides to break up with him. He and Taylor Swift about to be Bffs. Lol.

Wow, my chest hurts. Sweet baby Jesus bind Jikook together with some Gorilla glue cos I can't if they break up for good😭😭😭

If Jimin wants Jk to be doing the flowers and the trips and the birthday posts and the songs, and the coded tweets and Weverse posts, I think he would gladly do it.

I don't think Jk is afraid to speak Jimin's love language. If Jimin doesn't want him, his loss.

Please I'm hurting. I don't like that😫😫😫

Jk can be a lot. He can be intense and yes I do think that used to overwhelm Jimin sometimes especially when he was constantly lowkey high key borderline outing their relationship left right left every chance he got💀

But dude is repented😒

Like I said, I think he's been pretty much laid back and chill for a while now. Nothing intense and 'problematic.' You can tell he's been going out of his way to not fuck things up for his own sanity, the group's and especially JM's sakes. Why then would Jimin want a break from him🤺

FREE JK.

This don't look like someone who wants a break anywhere to me but I guess time will tell. You just never know with Jimin.

You let this man tattoo your initials on his ring finger scaring off potential suitors only for you to turn around and dump him that's just wickedness🙁

You have this man wrapped around your finger jumping through hoops literally for you what more do you want him to do???? He better not start his shenanigans. He is getting wedded to that man whether he likes it or not. They are doing the whole church and traditional wedding thingy I swear to God🤺

Do I have to remind him he promised to go to the Moon with JK? Sir don't trigger me this early morning.

I'm finna channel my inner tuktukker on him and drag him to the alter kicking and screaming. Jungkook deserves his happily ever after too. It's 2021. They both better leave that ghetto shit behind. I knew I should have ordered that Gorilla glue. The fuck!

GOLDY

[traincat]

I feel like I've read a ton, but I'm honestly still pretty new to comics rn. That being said... What is one more day? Ik we don't like it and it happened a while ago, but that's about it [,=

Time for Spider-Man History With Traincat: Highly Controversial Storylines! And that feeling is totally normal with comics with huge canons -- you can read a ton and still have some fairly big blindspots in your understanding of the total picture. That being said, this is kind of a big one, both in terms of Spider-Man history/canon and in terms of how Spider-Man fandom functions. I would say probably no other storyline has had quite as much impact on how the fandom views and interacts with the source material as One More Day/Brand New Day. It's been the Wild West out here ever since it happened. (Which was in 2007, so like, yes, fairly long ago, especially when you look at how Spider-Man canon has evolved since, but in the grand scheme of things, also kind of recent. One More Day is not old enough to rent a car.)

So when people talk about Spider-Man's One More Day, they're usually actually talking about two related arcs: One More Day and Brand New Day. For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to be covering both. For the sake of transparency, I am going to admit that I think One More Day, as a self-contained story, is good, actually. This is controversial! I admit that! But I stand by my stupid opinions on this blog, for some reason. I think One More Day when you examine it on its own, by which I mean you ignore the decade and a half worth of canon that came after it, as a Spider-Man story and as a PeterMJ-centric story holds up under scrutiny and that people who don't like it don't like complicated love stories and might actually throw their own mothers under buses. No offense to the OMD haters. Little bit of offense to the OMD haters. Brand New Day, which is the continuation of One More Day, on the other hand -- largely bad. Very largely bad.

But let's backtrack. One More Day is a four issue crossover storyline that takes place directly after Civil War, during which Iron Man and Captain America got divorced and divvied up the superhero community and Spider-Man made some startlingly bad decisions and made a fugitive out of himself and his family in a manner that got Aunt May shot, and Spider-Man: Back in Black (Amazing Spider-Man #539–543) which examines Peter's actions immediately after Aunt May is shot and ends with him humiliating the Kingpin in front of an entire prison. One More Day consists of Amazing Spider-Man #544 -> Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24 -> Sensational Spider-Man v2 #41 -> Amazing Spider-Man #545. In One More Day, Aunt May is dying, all of Peter's efforts to save her have thus far failed, and, consumed by guilt, he is rapidly running out of time. Approached by Mephisto, a literal demon from hell, Peter is offered a deal: Aunt May will live -- and Peter's identity, which was previously revealed to the world at large during Civil War, will once again be hidden from the memories of all but a select few -- if Peter trades him his marriage to Mary Jane. Peter and Mary Jane struggle with this, but eventually both agree to the deal. The clock strikes twelve, the deal is done, and Peter and Mary Jane's marriage fades into history.

(ASM #545) A reasonably simple premise for a story that caused so many problems -- most, I would argue, not actually the original story's fault. So obviously, this was an unpopular move -- Peter and Mary Jane had for a long time been a fan favorite Marvel couple, and in a fictional universe where most relationships are doomed as soon as they begin, the enduring Spider-Marriage was sacred ground. And then, with a snap of its fingers, it was gone: Peter wakes up in Aunt May's house, no longer married, with Mary Jane out of the picture. (She would not return to the book on any sort of consistent basis for over 50 issues.) In the wake of One More Day began Brand New Day, which is basically what it sounds like: a promised "brand new day" of "exciting" Spider-Man content and a publishing schedule where Amazing Spider-Man came out three times a month. (Which sounds good on paper but I think in practice caused more problems than it created good storylines.) Peter, newly single again, had new love interests! And also Harry Osborn was alive again for some reason! I generally like Harry's post-BND stories so that part's fine with me.

But overall? Brand New Day is a mess. It knows it wants to tread new and exciting ground with Peter -- tell new stories! ensnare new readers! make them fork out for a book three times a month. -- but it doesn't know what those stories should be. Readers who were invested in Peter and Mary Jane's relationship -- a major facet of Spider-Man comics for decades at that point -- felt rightfully betrayed that the marriage could be so easily traded in and that Mary Jane herself, perhaps the second most important figure in Spider-Man comics after Peter, could be tossed aside. From a personal point of view, I think Brand New Day fails in large part because it abandons what has always made Spider-Man such a compelling series, and that's the mix of Peter's personal life with his vigilante life. BND sees Peter with new friends, new jobs, new love interests, etc -- it is very much a brand new day! But it isn't a better day compared to the stories that came before it. I do like some post-BND stories, especially American Son (ASM #595-599) and Grim Hunt (ASM #634-637), but compared to pre-BND where I think the majority of canon is good, it's a very lacking body of work that is hurt by the way it divorced itself from the PeterMJ marriage as Spider-Man's central relationship.

"But Traincat, I thought you said you liked One More Day?" Yeaaaaah. I do. This is why I keep saying I like One More Day on its own merits, and not on the merits of the stories it opened the doors for. I like a good romantic tragedy in fiction, and the way Peter and Mary Jane's final scene in One More Day plays out is beautiful. I like the idea of Peter caught in this impossible situation, being asked to choose between two women he loves more than his own life. A really common criticism I see leveled against One More Day is that Peter should have chosen his relationship with Mary Jane over May's life, which is -- okay, I think it's weird that people keep insisting on this, not in the least because by asking Peter to sacrifice his aunt's life they're essentially demanding he commit a callous, out of character act in order to further his own interests. It's also weird because the thing is, Peter already chose Mary Jane over May -- that's what gets them into this situation. It's literally in the scene where May is shot:

(ASM #538) When the gun goes off, Peter's spider-sense kicks in, and he covers Mary Jane, leaving May in the path of the bullet. He does choose Mary Jane over May, regardless of whether he realized what he was doing. And that's why he can't make that choice a second time. His actions in One More Day do make sense for him as a character, whether or not any individual reader likes them, and Mary Jane's actions make sense, too -- after all, she's the one who ultimately tells Mephisto that they agree to the deal when Peter can't bring himself to voice it.

A lot of people also like to nitpick One More Day by going, well, why could (x) or (y) with life saving powers save Aunt May which is like -- yeah, I guess, but if we're going to ask that about this specific comic book near death setup, you kind of have to do it with every single one, and I'm not going to stake every single moment of comic book drama on whether or not that gold kid from the X-Men was busy at the time. Comics are soap operas in flimsy paper form: serialized longform storytelling that relies heavily on melodrama. Sometimes you have to go with things. Sometimes you sell your marriage to the devil. Stuff happens. That in and of itself doesn't make One More Day a bad story -- and while some people blame the Spider-Marriage's dissolution entirely on One More Day, I think that's a little shortsighted when you look at the history of Spider-Man since the turn of the century. It's clear -- and Marvel themselves have been perhaps a little too open about this -- that Marvel in the past few decades has had trouble with the direction they want to take Spider-Man. They WANTED Spider-Man to appeal to a distinctly youthful audience that they didn't think they were actually reaching -- understandable, considering that Marvel nearly went bankrupt around 2000 and was saved by Ultimate Spider-Man, an out of main continuity series which retold Spider-Man from the beginning and focused heavily on Peter as a teen -- but the problem was Spider-Man in the main continuity was at that point in canon a happily married man who was pushing the dreaded 30 whether or not they wanted to admit that. This is also why Marvel has continually pivoted away from Spider-Man having kids, because they feared that making him a dad would age him too much and make him unrelatable to their coveted audience of Teens. (This is also why almost every new Spider-Man property, especially the live action movies, perpetually stick him back into high school, despite that occupying a very small slice of 616 canon.) So around the year 2000, they started trying things in relation to the Spider-Marriage, which was viewed as a major problem -- after all, what's more adult than being married and liking your wife. First, they had Mary Jane presumed dead. Then, they had Mary Jane and Peter separate. Then, when Mary Jane and Peter had only recently gotten back together, One More Day struck. If One More Day specifically hadn't gone the way it had, it's pretty clear that the Spider-Marriage was going to go one way or another -- it's a little bit of a shame it happened when it did, because OMD is the end of J Michael Straczynski's run, and JMS wrote a really beautiful Peter and MJ relationship. But Marvel as a company and especially editor in chief at the time Joe Quesada viewed Peter and Mary Jane's relationship as a major problem in how they wanted to portray Spider-Man and thought that striking the relationship from the books would allow them more freedom in their portrayal of him as younger and more relatable to their Desired Audience of people who I guess really wanted to see Peter sleep with characters who weren't Mary Jane.

(ASM #546. Younger! Fresher! Less attached! Kissing random women in the club!)

The problem with One More Day has always been in the follow through -- from the content of Brand New Day to the pacing of events to the fact that Marvel withheld key information for such a long time that it allowed misinformation to thrive. After all, what does it MEAN to trade Peter and Mary Jane's marriage to the devil? It altered the events of canon in Peter and the majority of other characters' memories so that the marriage didn't exist, but it left people wondering -- did the relationship as they remembered it existed? How much of Spider-Man canon was altered? And the answers didn't come for over 100 issues of Amazing Spider-Man. One Moment In Time or OMIT (Amazing Spider-Man #638-641), which revealed that while Peter and Mary Jane never got married in the altered canon they did continue their long committed relationship up until just after Civil War, was published in 2010, so essentially readers were hung out to dry without answers for three years. That's a long time to string people along, but not as long as it took Marvel to confirm that the popular fan theory that Mary Jane retained her memories of the original timeline as part of her own deal with Mephisto was also true, which happened this year. I would say, at least from my perspective, a lot of the frustration doesn't come from the individual One More Day storyline so much as how Marvel has continually dragged out the aftermath, using the promise of a Spider-Marriage return to keep fans on the hook. Which is why One More Day continually comes up in discussion of current Spider-Man, because Spencer's run has relied very heavily on imagery from that period with a serious question of whether or not there actually was going to be payoff, something which is still up in the air.

This has been Spider-Man History With Traincat, brought to you by anonymice like you.

[trblhyuns]

imagine us. (pt.1 and we were eating)

pairing// hyunjin-reader main  &&lil chan-reader for a little

tws// use of drugs and alcohol, suggestive scenes, hyunjin can be a dick sometimes and it hurts

— lighthearted

prologue / masterlist / pt.2

pt.1 wc: 1989

his cologne caught my nose. it smells just like the one i had got for my little brother this past christmas. when my brother wore it it smelt nice, and i liked the undernotes but on him, it just smelt weird. but now i could smell the same undertone and it was pleasingly sweet, but mostly smelled like dude. not like locker room dude but like shaves his face with a straight razor, changes his own oil, shops at nordstrom rack dude. my brother said he wanted it because he saw it in some pickup artist video saying that it was the best scent to get girls. i wonder if he got it because of that video too. not saying that if i smelled it on my brother that i would find him attractive too. ew. i know that scents change depending on the person who is wearing them. but the smell, or more likely the aura radiating off this guy is making my head turn.

i can only catch a glimpse of the head of hair on this guy. blonde and long. like the barbies i used to play with my elementary school when i would spend the night. i want to see more of him. his smell is luring me in. i feel like a dog looking for a treat that it hid months ago.

"why do you keep looking at the booth behind you" jisung looks into me, using scissors to cut the sizzling pork belly into small pieces. i fold into myself watching the pieces fall onto the round charcoal grill between us. "you're so weird." he shakes his head before going back to grilling the meat.

"okay try to see past all the smell of the expensive meat, which i am paying for, may remind you before you call me weird. but you smell that?" he looks at me while squinting his eyes, slowly he puts down the tongs and scissors. his fingers stroke his chin and within a few moments his features scrunch up.

"yeah i smell that. oh my god."

"really? i thought i was crazy." relief falls over me. i'm not the only one who can smell it.

"yeah it smells so fucking bad, it's like there is a y/n here stinking the whole restaurant up. yeah, i don't think i can eat anymore" he drops his hands on the table. my eyes droop. i look up at him from hooded lids, trying to put on the most deadpan face i can.

"yeah, i think you're paying now buddy."

"but y/n~~~ i was like um just playing, but for real it smells like dude. you know when you come to the studio with me and the middle schoolers leave because the youth classes end. yeah, yeah. like when the youth classes end. onions and axe." i chuckle at his response before grabbing a piece of the now grilled pork belly off the grill and putting it on my plate. i can not express how excited i am to eat this pork belly. it distracts me enough from what we were talking about before, and as i am ready to bring the food up to my mouth i am soon more distracted by the sound of the tall man scooting out from the booth behind me, napkin clad in hand making his way over to the buffet, probably to get more sides.

"jisung do you need more sides?"

"no, i need more front."

"what?" i looked at him puzzled trying to figure out what he means.

"i need to see the front of that guy who smells like onions and axe, was that what you were trying to look at in the booth behind you. because i'm going to let you know right now, just by looking at the back of onion and axe guy you have no chance."

i stare at him again.

"bitch what the fuck." jisung puts his hand up to his forehead, which i just flicked. "again, i was just joking gotdamn. if you want to talk to him this is your chance i guess. i want more radish now be nice and go get me some since you just flicked me." i roll my eyes still staring while my eyes close into a tight glare shooting at him. i look over at the buffet, and he is nowhere to be seen. usually, by now i would have kicked jisung under the table for being so mean, but he was right. this was a good time to go see what this guy was all about. and, i want to smell him. as appetizing as this porkbelly smells, and how much i was craving to eat it, he smells more delicious. but jisung's words play in my head again onions and axe. it makes me chuckle.

i get up and make my way towards the buffet. it's the dinner rush, and since this was the only good bbq spot in the town at the moment, i have to dodge busy servers, and the sound of conversations, and maybe even a fighting couple pass by me as i make my way over.

trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, i try to look around me taking in the surroundings of the restaurant, but trying to spot the full head of blonde hair. i put the plastic gloves over my hands, grabbing a plate from under the food, and then mindlessly— and may i add very slowly— put things onto the plate. i see him a bit of the way over just staring at the meat fridge. the blonde hair pulls me in and i'm about to make my move before i feel a sting on my face. quickly i wipe my hand over my face trying to scratch before i realize i now have the residue of whatever was on my gloves, but what's even worse i don't have my mask on. the blood rushes to my face as i quickly make my way back to the booth where jisung is waiting for me.

"dude you didn't even get any radish." he looks at me, looking like he is trying to hold back his laughter as he throws a napkin at my face.

"do you think he saw me, oh my god, what if he did, he probably thinks i'm some freak anti-masker trying to spread my germs to everyone."

"i mean i would." jisung retorts at me.

"you're such a dick" i throw my crumpled-up napkin back at him.

"yeah but who begged me to come out to eat with her, and who made me cancel my studio time just because little y/n can't grill food by herself, and can't stand the thought of eating out alone." his pout becomes deeper with each word he says, and his voice becomes squeaker at the same rate.

"yeah but who gets to eat for free?" i imitate him. this makes him purse his lips, a playful look on his face as he goes back to eating the sides i brought back from the buffet. he looks around before eyeing the direction of the buffet.

"yoooo YOOOOOOOO y/n y/n y/n. i know that guy." he has a surprised look on his face, but not hiding the fact that he is a little excited. like a little lab dog. i open my eyes wide, ready to hear how i can get closer to him. "i've seen him at the studio before. you know that guy chan i have been trying to get you to bang so i can live vicariously through you, yeah i think he is friends with him."

"first of all, i don't know why you keep trying to live vicariously through me. especially since the situation is me having sex with chan. because you are like. straight. but maybe i should hit up chan now haha." i play with the straw that's sitting in my water cup while jisung pulls out his phone, scrolling through. he looked so focused, a look i only see when he is trying to mix a new track, or while he stares at himself in the mirror while dancing. i wait there for a while, distributing the rest of the cooked meat between us. before i can start to eat jisung shoves his phone in my face.

"okay i got his snapchat and apparently he is here with this girl as you can see by the story i am showing you right now." that was quick, but expected from jisung.

i take his phone out of his hands, holding it closer to my face so i can read the caption better. remembering that they are in the booth behind us, i remember to lower my voice before i speak.

"okay first of all who comes to a bbq place and orders off the kitchen menu. and do you think they are dating, like is the emoji meant to be about her or the food, and do you think she is eating the food he is grilling, or do you think she is the type to eat salads on dates to seem more feminine." i start to ramble, obviously jealous over a girl i don't know over a guy i don't know. things have been dry for me lately. school has taken over my life. occasionally i will go out to the club, or the rare party, but being friends with jisung who doesn't get out as much as he used to, i just have never have an excuse to go out and meet more people. this is the action and drama i need in my life right now.

"okay, first of all, y/n you said a lot, and it is a lot to unpack. and i don't know if you know her and have some grudge or sum, but i think you are just reading too much into it." and he's right. i have only seen this guy's face like once, and maybe got a good whiff of him, but i feel like i'm going crazy for no reason. oh my god, i am so deprived of any interaction with anyone.

"let's just forget about it and get the bill. he has a girl so my window has closed." jisung nods in approval and goes to finishing his food. we continue to make small talk and joke around. the server comes to the table black book in hand. i put my card in and wait for him to come back with the reciept.

"wait y/n your tipping too right."

"oh my god jisung, just how broke are you?"

"i'm not broke i'm just trying to save up for these nice ass headphones and i just wanted to ask you to break our little you pay and i tip streak so i can keep a little extra cash so i can hear porn in HD audio."

"okay, okay, just stop talking, gosh. what is up with you today." the server comes back and i scribble in the tip and total before looking at jisung signaling to him to get up.

"nothin.'' he smiles at me as he scoots out from the booth grabbing his bag. "so now that you know that pretty guy isn't available will you FINALLY hit up chan. he has been asking about you." we are walking out of the restaurant now. standing out on the side walk beside the main road. there is traffic tonight downtown, like always. the older people are making their way out of the restaurants, and closing their tabs at bars. the bouncers are going to come out soon, ready to take only the obviously fake ids, and i can imagine a few hours from now the barely dressed girls on the backs of guys they met dancing stumbling down the concrete, or the older college kids playing pool instead of getting wasted.

"i guess now i will."

[athena-is-a-chaotic-lil-shit]

Of Ice and Blood

Part 2

Hello there! I present to you, part 2 of my orc x fem!human series!

I still don't know what to name this fic of mine

I should've thought about the title in the first place lmao

Anyways! I'll try updating constantly if I can. Enjoy reading!

Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Pairing: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Human OC/Reader)

Warnings: Cursing, lots of cursing. Mild violence and mentions of injury.

UD 01/10/21 : CLEANED AND PROOFREAD PROPERLY (hey I did my best)

(reference to the mask she's currently wearing //her hair is still braided// )

*

Even with the tedious introduction the professor was on about, I couldn’t help but pick up the whispers of my human classmates, and the unmistakable nasty odor they were giving off.

“Hey. Look at that orc over there.”

“Tsk. Beast. Why is it even here—”

“I bet it’s gonna get suspended from breaking someone’s arm.”

“It looks like he’s gonna kill somebody soon.”

Snickers and clicks of disgust went around the group.

The professor shushed them, not quite knowing what they were talking about before he moved on.

I cursed, feeling my blood boil from their words. The orc wasn’t even doing anything! And they slander him like that? I would love to break their fucking ne—

No, damn it! No violence! Mama will go crazy if she finds out I broke someone’s spine. Behave and endure. Remember your training.

...but seriously though, I'm going to fucking snap their legs. Nah, perhaps use pepper spray on their eyes until they go blind, even though the mixture inside my spray bottle wasn’t made to have permanent effects on someone, but it would still cause great discomfort.

I hugged my backpack, the thought of my dusters inside somehow comforting.

I didn’t notice Tai'chi was taking glances at me out of concern while I was imagining how I’d smash those jerks’ faces.

************************************

My mind wandered around the interaction by the gates earlier, and how... contradicting... it was when I entered the building.

Everything passed like a blur as I continued daydreaming about other things, hardly paying attention to what everyone else was saying. Plus it takes a lot of concentration to survive their pungent scents.

A bell rang, bringing me back down to Earth. It was lunchtime already.

Everyone seemed relieved as they started filing out of the area and headed towards the cafeteria. [a/n: Ooh that rhymed] I failed to see the lingering glances of barely masked distaste in our direction.

I glanced at the or— Tai'chi, whom I found out was looking at me already, stunning me at how he stared for a moment before I broke eye contact and stood up, which he also did. I almost fell back down my chair when I scented him.

Wha—

How the fuck did I not smell him before?!

I must’ve focused too much on the awful odor surrounding me that it didn’t register this—

This, oh my God.

To describe it, it was simply so— manly (or is it Orcish?). Like the scent of fresh earth and the warmth of a fireplace in the midst of a cold night. Embers crackling and sending sparks up into the sky.

He doesn’t smell one trace of a beast at all! In fact, I’ve never smelled someone so clean, so pleasant, all the while exuding masculinity, and was that a tad hint of vanilla?

For the first time in a while, I couldn’t place what the feeling was exactly. He simply smells so— good. Which is a positive sign?

I looked up to his eyes once more before I blurted out, probably a little too high-pitched;

“Lunch?”

Seriously? That’s what comes out of your damn mouth?

“I mean, do you want to go grab some lunch? At the cafeteria?” I clarified to sound normal and unaffected, (even when I clearly am).

Was the last part necessary? You’ve broken noses, dealt painful blows like a skilled warrior, but you’re embarrassing yourself.

I was busy reprimanding myself that I nearly missed what he said.

"Sure.”

He straightened up, and I was then faced with the reality of how damn tall he is. Or is it because I’m short? I barely reached over 5 feet, and he is standing there, almost three heads taller than me. Was he hunching for my sake earlier?

Wowie…

I scented a hint of pride, and was that a small quirk of his lips for a second there?

Huh. My mask is a lifesaver, or else he would've seen my jaw dropping.

I followed him out and headed straight for the campus’ cafeteria, all the while trying to converse here and there.

****************************

'Trying’ was not the right word.

Definitely not.

It was surprising, how easy and nice it was to talk to him. I could scent his apprehensiveness when I talked to him at first, but he relaxed not long after I introduced myself properly.

It felt... natural.

I learned that he came from the Northside of the country and moved to the city last year to pursue his dreams and to find a better future for his clan. I also told him about my family and home, along with my reasons for being here, leaving out the… violent part.

“My family and my entire clan wanted the best for me and my brothers. Up in the North, education is… very limited. Although ever since we were young, we were taught everything from our clan’s history, how to hunt for food, what herbs and plants were poisonous, what were medicinal and edible, how to stay alive, survive and so on.”

He paused for a moment before continuing.

“But we were cut off from the modern world. Times are changing, fast. Global warming being a major problem, leaving a huge impact on our living. So, when my clan heard about a school in the city, open to all races, they turned to us, the youth, and we took this chance.”

I looked down and thought about how disconnected the others were, only given the freedom to modern society eight years ago. Eight years is a long time, but I guess it’ll take more than that for everyone to get used to the change. That doesn’t mean they should treat them poorly!

As I realized I’ve been quiet for a while, I shot up and apologized for not replying.

“No, it’s okay. You looked like you were in deep thought. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Y-yeah… I was—”

“Thinking about how the majority of the human race still see us as beasts?”

There was a bit of spite in his voice, although barely noticeable. Or was it because I caught a whiff of it? No one was paying much attention to us while we were walking. But I noticed many of them hastily stepping aside and felt their glares at my back.

“How did you know?” I asked, curious.

“I could tell from your- I could tell, from the way you frowned earlier when one of those humans said something.”

Oh. He was looking at me that time?

“Frowned? But my mask—”

“It’s easy to tell if you are frowning when your eyebrows scrunch up like that. Believe me, my father does that a lot.”

“Ah. Well. It was just very rude of them. To talk shit about you and your kind like that, as if they were any better. You weren’t even doing anything, and they judge you based on your race. Orcs are civilized and intelligent just like any other, and I don’t understand why there’s still so much prejudice after eight damn years—”

I stopped and restrained the urge to go wild and curse every single human who smelled so foul every time we pass by.

“Sorry. I was...rambling.”

Was I this talkative? Maybe it's because I never had anyone to talk to.

He didn’t reply, which I found strange, so I glanced over at him and saw his eyes wide open and brows shooting up in surprise. It was almost comical.

“Uh, Tai'chi?”

Before he could even utter a word, we arrived at a huge hall where students were chatting and enjoying their lunch. Still, I noticed some humans were giving unkind looks to a gathering of goblins eating at the far left side corner of the cafeteria.

And of course, I didn’t fail to smell that wretched odor coming from a group of girls on my right when we walked in. I also recognized the one who pushed me, (No doubt it was intentional). I had to pinch my nose over my mask just but I could only block out half of it.

Ah shit, this mask doesn’t have proper air filtration.

I groaned as I tried to cut off the noise and thickened scents. For real, I wasn’t expecting it to be this harsh! I could literally smell discrimination and hate in the air!

Fuck. I should’ve worn my other mask. I swear I’m gonna burst if I stay and inhale more of that any longer—

“Pearl, are you okay?”

I groaned again and didn’t reply, busy controlling my sense of smell to even open my mouth. We were standing there like a pair of street posts, blocking a small part of the main entrance. That is if there was a 5ft- tall post. I’m more like that foldable caution sign.

“Pearl—”

“Hey, you there! Freaks! Move out of the way.”

Great. Another awful fucking odor. And what a coincidence! It was the one I smelled this morning!

“Are you deaf? I said—”

He shouldn’t have grabbed my shoulder, shouldn’t have tried to shove me aside, for the second I felt his hand reaching for me, and before Tai'chi could pull me away, my reflexes kicked in.

What did I do exactly? Oh, I simply grabbed that damned arm of his, threw him over my shoulder, and slammed him down on the tiled floor in front of me, finishing a one-arm shoulder throw.

The people in the area halted what they were doing and a short-lived silence came over, broken by whispers.

So much for keeping a low profile.

The guy I just performed basic self-defense on was spitting curse words at me. He was still on the floor, trying not to voice the pain in his back.

“Freak! You’re a monster, aren’t you?! How dare you do this to me. Don't you know who I am?!" he yelled.

Did he mean me or? Either way, what he said was not true.

I tried to calm my anger down and gave him a forced smile, under my mask, and mustered up the voice and tone I always used when I’m annoyed.

But right now, I am pissed.

“Now, dear, fellow, human, what you said was clearly untrue. I am entirely human and this person beside me is an orc. Or were you blinded by your overgrown ego and disgusting attitude to see the obvious in front of you? Surely that must be it. The entrance to the cafeteria is wide enough for two people to not serve as a hindrance to the ones coming in, but still, you chose to try and shove me aside yourself. Well, I won’t apologize but I’ve had enough pushing for one day. And lastly, no, I do not know you and I don’t care.”

I gritted my teeth, my face hurting from smiling forcefully. The cafeteria was quite silent enough all the while and no doubt they heard every word I said.

Fuck.

I twisted around and bolted out of the building.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! I blew it! Fucking blew my chance to have a normal college life! Now everyone will think I’m some crazy person and would, without a doubt, avoid me forever.

I was too busy cursing and walking away, planning to hide in a hole for all eternity that I didn’t feel the presence of someone following me.

Without thinking much of where I was heading, my feet led me to a secluded part of the uni. Tall trees lining up before and around me looking like an entrance to a forest, and so I tried hiding behind one. Hoping that the guards wouldn’t notice and detain me or something.

I sat down between the great roots of an oak tree and rested my head on top of my knees as I took deep breaths and listened.

Nature always had a place in my heart. How could it not? When you can hear the chirps of little birds, the soothing sound of leaves rustled by the wind. And the peace that comes with it all.

Not to mention it smells so relaxing.

“Hello there.”

************************************

Haha! What will Pearl do next I wonder, and who is this person who followed her??

Had to cut it off at that part because my dearest self just loves cliff hangers—

And because I wanted to post something as soon as possible.

Hope you enjoyed! I will be working on the third part asap.

Tags: @kokokatsworld @crackinanutshell

[sun-to-my-luna]

Hey! Compared to you all, I'm pretty new to this fandom. I'm more of an alt/indie person but I did listen to the mainstreams sometimes so I got to know Camila through her Real Friends (which was my fav back then) and NBTS (Fun fact: I thought NBTS had a bit gay vibe without knowing her at all. I mean you could just imagine singing this to a girl and it fits!) But FH was still pretty much alien to me until last year when I came through Lauren Jauregui's Expectations mv gifs on tumblr and I was like "okay damn! who is she?" For the next few days I went on obsessing over those green eyes and that smoky voice until I accidentally (!) landed upon a camren video and the rest is history :)

Now back to tumblr again, it's still astonishing for me as I learn how deeper stuffs go in the music industry and honestly I never would've thought the entertainment industries got so much taint on it since to me it was the pure and artistic side of the media. *sighs* But now I guess they just distort the truth to their advantages as much as any other politician.

So I wanted to know, if you were to be critical about the girls (we love them accepting all their flaws after all) would there be anything/any trait you don't like in them?

Also do you know your blog looks a bit intimidating compared to the other camren blogs? Maybe it's because you're using and Lauren icon so I can't help but read things here in a bit sarcastic and intimidating tone.

Ohhh no! Hiiiiii I didn’t  know that’s the vibe my blog gives off buuuuut I swear I’m not intimidating or anything. You can ask the people that interact with me on twitter I’m a soft nugget unless people mess with Camila or Lauren then I’m not so goofy or soft. I like to be professional on here which like you said added with the Lauren avi can maybe seem sarcastic and intimidating lol but that’s not my personality. Unfortunately, yeah, it’s really sad that such beautiful music and art can be tainted. Likewise I always thought it was different until I actually got into music myself and people told me to sign up for talent shows. The entertainment industry is nothing but a sham and also political and corrupt like everything else. I don’t personally think there’s anything I don’t like about any of the girls. I grew up with them so in a way I saw their changes and I saw their behavior changes and their growth but I don’t think there was ever anything I didn’t like about them. I think if there was something I would change in/around them is the people they ended up signing new record deals with. I wish I could’ve done something for them to keep doing what they love without youthful sacrifices.

[dalekofchaos]

I know you don't like Chloe Price anymore. But since you like to change things about your favorite things like Star Wars, DC, Marvel and Horror, how would you change how DONTNOD/Deck Nine handled Chloe?

A lot. I will start with BTS and then LIS. But to be fair, I’ve grown to like Chloe again. My big problem is how she treats Max, the fact that we cannot choose who Max focuses on(again I’d choose Warren and Kate if I could) and well the hateful and toxic Pricefield fans ruined Chloe for me. But here’s how I would change Chloe if I could

BTS

First of all, hire someone who actually understands how teenagers talk(especially teenage girls) and make the dialogue less cringey(this goes for both games)

Give Chloe more of a character arc. I don’t feel that Deck Nine did Chloe justice. The writers attempt to evoke empathy with Chloe feeling grief which is done via exactly one emotion- which is a very childish understanding of how loss and coping works. She had no character arc, considering she was the exact same character that we already knew in LiS Episode 1 (A bitter disaffected teenage youth with no regard for authority) so we didn’t get to see Chloe evolve into the character we loved in the first game. She just already was it.  The gameplay undid the narrative we were given about Chloe being a loner in that you can talk to and make friends with pretty much anybody and they all acted like they liked and were genuinely happy to see Chloe. Very rarely were there interactions with Blackwell students that ended with Chloe’s presence not being welcomed, only Wells, Victoria and Nathan showed contempt for Chloe(even with Nathan that goes away when he claps for her at the play)  The reason this is done is because the game wouldn’t be fun if Chloe actually was a loner. The core mechanic of Life is Strange is being able to talk to people and experiment with your surroundings. A game where nobody wanted to talk to Chloe works against the core mechanic. But in making her the main character it undoes the weight of the narrative of Chloe being alone until Rachel/Max. I just strongly feel that Deck Nine did not understand Chloe as a character and did not do her justice. We should’ve gotten Chloe at her lowest, evolving from Max’s best friend to the character we know in the first game and Rachel helping lift Chloe through the worse point of her life.  Chloe and Rachel together having fun rocking out and Chloe starting to live again and show that Chloe Price loves Rachel Amber and Rachel loves Chloe. Chloe losing Rachel and showing how Chloe has to deal with Rachel missing, how she became in debt to Frank and how she got involved with Nathan and how Chloe ends up in the bathroom. 

The game should have 5 episodes. The first 2 episodes focus on Chloe and Rachel’s first year together. Episode 3 focuses on 2011. 4 focuses on 2012 and the final episode focuses on 2013 and Chloe’s breakdown over Rachel’s disappearance. A bonus episode “Firewalk with me” to show us Rachel’s final days and the choices that led her to the Dark Room. Needless to say, those fans who were against LIS 2 would have something to look forward to cause Deck Nine would take their time with BTS in this scenario.

Make it very clear that David is abusive. The problem with their dynamic in BTS is that they go out of their way to make Chloe irrational for not giving David a chance. In BTS Chloe says she hates David because he calls her “girly” and the game practically implies Chloe is at fault for the conflict between Chloe and David for not accepting David’s photo...what kind of abuse apologetic bullshit is that?  Okay so start off by saying in her journal that “Joyce really remarried the first asshole she saw in Two Whales.” because by the time of 2010 in the canon of the first game, they are already married. Have it implied in her entry about David that it’s like “living Full Metal Jacket” that alone implies emotional and mental abuse if you’ve seen the Bootcamp scenes. Chloe in the entry would continue to say, life’s been a living hell ever since David entered the picture and Joyce takes his side every time. We would get the impression that David does not understand nor does he care about Chloe's depression and grief for losing William and Max moving away. When fighting with Joyce about David, say “he keeps hitting me and you keep defending him, how do you expect me to get over dad by letting some abusive asshole take his place?” Joyce would respond with “you keep pushing him, what did you think was gonna happen” And worse, David just started the Security Officer job at Blackwell. Needless to say Chloe is not taking any of this well. So when David and Chloe go to Blackhell, he’s basically ordering her around, talking down to her. Telling her “You’ve had two years free of having a father figure in your life. I am your father now. I’ve been showing you what a stable home is like, yet you keep pushing me.” Chloe back talks him and it results in David smacking her. David would then say “Look what you made me do.”  Later in the game, Chloe would get herself expelled just to get away from David and David would berate her and call her a loser. Near the end of Episode 3 or 4, Rachel would have dinner with Chloe, Joyce and David. Rachel would see the way David treats Chloe and stands up for her girlfriend. Threatens to call the cops on David if he ever hurts her girlfriend ever again. This of course would spark down David’s obsession with surveillance and his investigation into stalking Rachel, all because he wanted to save his pathetic fucking ass. 

Actually give Chloe a transformation. The problem with BTS, is that Chloe is the same character from the first game.  We don’t get to see how the innocent and happy Chloe  becomes the Chloe from the first game. She’s just like this immediately.  We should get a Batman Returns Catwoman like transformation for Chloe. Chloe’s had it with David, Joyce, Blackhell and now Rachel for leaving. So Chloe would basically be destroying her room and tossing everything away that belonged to the old Chloe. 

Make the game about Rachel helping Chloe down the worst moment of her life. Chloe’s “Rachel was my angel” comment showed a lot to how Chloe loved Rachel and how much she meant to her.  Chloe tells Max that Rachel entered her life when was at her absolute lowest and that it was she who helped her deal with the grief of having lost her father but the entire game is centered around Chloe being the one who is supporting Rachel as she deals with a serious family drama of her own.  What Before The Storm should have been. Rachel helping lift Chloe through the worse point of her life. If Rachel had stopped Chloe from committing suicide… as was the commonly believed interpretation to what happened between Chloe and Rachel up until BtS, then Chloe’s ”“she was my angel” would have meant it was truly special and real. But instead they bump into each other at an illegal concert and Rachel distracted some thug who works for Damon and we spend the game finding out who Sera is in a reveal we all saw it coming and only to have Rachel taken out of the third episode where Rachel never talks to her and makes the whole thing feel pointless. What the game should have been was Chloe and Rachel together having fun rocking out, becoming girlfriends and Chloe starting to live again and show that Chloe Price loves Rachel Amber and Rachel loves Chloe.

Do Chloe’s past with Victoria better. A minor change, but they kind of make Chloe and Rachel look like jerks in the Victoria drugging in part 2. If you let Rachel drop out the play, you drug Victoria or back talk her out of doing the play that she was given. Also it lines up with the first game better this way. In LIS, if you choose to take the picture with Victoria in paint, when seeing said picture, Chloe will say “Boo-Yah skank! Karma’s a bitch!” So I guess we can have Victoria bullying Chloe with her mean girl bullshit, Chloe fights back, Victoria gets scared, so Victoria helps get Chloe expelled by reporting her graffiti(as is the reason she was expelled from Blackwell)

When Rachel goes missing, we spend the final episode looking for her. It’s a very sad and tragic episode. We all know there is no hope in finding Rachel, but we still try anyway, in some hope that Rachel is still out there. So Chloe leaves up the posters, is in debt to Frank and tries to steal money from Nathan. Which leads Chloe to that faithful day in the bathroom.

LIS

Chloe does not park in the handicapped space(I don’t even have to tell you why this was a bad idea to begin with)

Chloe stops guilt tripping Max after the first truck ride

If you chose not to come out of the closet or not take the blame, after lashing out at Max, Chloe will apologize for lashing out at us. Same for if we chose not to fire the gun. 

Does not get pissy if we take Kate’s call, in fact prior to Chloe’s test, Max would explain the situation with Kate and Chloe would be understanding as she understands being depressed herself and would even help Max out in finding evidence to implicate Nathan and David. 

It’s not the handicapped fund, it’s the “Prescott Donation”(aka Sean’s bribery money) this way we can feel less guilty about not stealing from the handicapped fund and Chloe doesn’t look like an ableist

If Chloe does snap after finding about Rachel and says the same things she did about Kate as she did in canon. Max can then lose her shit and stand up to Chloe. Basically says the way she treats her is not okay and if she wants to help her find Rachel and seek justice for Kate, then things are gonna have to change or they are finished. Then Max leaves Chloe behind with Chloe realizing that she needs to change. Ideally something like Bojack Horseman “You can't keep doing this! You can't keep doing shitty things and then feel bad about yourself as if that makes it okay! You need to be better!  Chloe, stop. It's not alcohol, drugs, or your parents, David, Rachel or all the bad things that happened to you before. It's you. It's you. I want to find Rachel and get justice for Kate, but if this is how you’re gonna keep treating me...Fuck, man... What else is there to say?“ I know LIS came out way before BJHM or that particular episode, but it’s the perfect example of how Max could’ve stood up to Chloe’s toxic behavior

After the returning from her time jump, Max returns to her dorm and goes to Chloe. Chloe properly apologizes for how she’s been acting since they got back together and agree to put everything in the past so they can work together to find Rachel and give Kate justice

Max is given the option to enter the Everyday Hero’s Contest. If you saved Kate, Max with Kate’s permission, Kate would let Max take a photo of her in the hospital. And Max enters her photo at the last minute when she returns to Blackwell. If you did not save Kate, then Chloe would give up the Butterfly photo so Max can enter the photo. Either way Max will win the contest. Max wins the Everyday Hero Contest. Max gives an inspiring speech about how everyone can be a hero and that Kate has always inspired her, how much she loves Kate and that she hopes that Kate knows that she is loved by everyone in Blackwell and everyone, especially Chloe, Warren, Victoria would cheer Max on. This would also give Jefferson the means and opportunity to drug Max without killing Chloe at the Junkyard. Chloe doesn’t die because it’s a public place and Jefferson has Max where he wants her. It honestly works better than Jefferson magically appearing at the Junkyard with no explanation(and it never being brought up).

What could happen in Episode 5 is basically the same thing, only in an act of desperation, Chloe goes to David to help save Max. They put their differences aside to save the person Chloe loves the most and David gets to stop Jefferson. Chloe could not be there to save Rachel, but she can be there for Max. Chloe saves Max and Jefferson goes to jail. Together Max and Chloe goes directly into the eye of the storm to save everyone at the diner. However instead of using Warren’s photo to save Chloe, Max uses it to warn David about Jefferson and to reach the Lighthouse. The same choice is given to us and instead of a copout ending,  Max actually uses the photo to save Chloe and the town. Warns David and David barges in and catches Nathan redhanded with the gun and uncovers the truth of Rachel, Kate and Jefferson. Max warns the town of the storm. Everyone listens. After Jefferson’s arrest, the police clears the bunker of Jefferson’s predatory display and the town hides in the bunker. The town is rebuilt. A town can be rebuilt, but you can’t build another Chloe. Jefferson and Sean are rotting in prison and Nathan is getting the help he desperately needed. Chloe finally moves on from her hatred of David and the Price family gets to start over. A montage of Max and Chloe together either romantic or platonic and if you chose to romance Warren, a little clip of Going Ape, if just friends, then we see Warren, Kate, Max and Chloe Going Ape! It ends on Rachel’s funeral and the final scene shows the Doe spirit as both Max and Chloe smile as Rachel’s spirit finally rests. 

Chloe’s arc is lashing out at a cruel world, learning to let the right people in, healing and letting go of her hate and starting over. It just doesn’t work if she has to die to actually learn this and also that character arc goes out the window of you choose the save Chloe ending (and makes max look like an awful person for killing all her friends and Joyce). Chloe gets to live, she’s at peace knowing that Rachel was brought to justice, she’s willing to start over with David, she has her best friend and mother in her life. If you chose the Pricefield route, then Chloe is at peace with Rachel passing on and she starts anew with Max. If not, then Chloe still has her best friend and knows she will always be there and she will always be there for Max in return.

Also, I like the idea of Max and Chloe road tripping together as was demonstrated in LIS 2, but I also like the idea of Warren, Victoria and Kate joining them as well and they live in their own commune. Maybe Max, Warren and Chloe are in a poly relationship, while Kate and Victoria are together!!!

[lonelier-version-of-you]

roxanna

- Why I like them: She had so much potential. I always felt that right from her introduction (as a regular character) that she was really interesting - her relationship with David caught my attention from the start. Then when they started introducing her backstory in OMAHG, her potential amplified even more. Then they killed her an episode later. Goddammit.

- Why I don't: No fault of her own, but I guess I don't like that they never really bothered making her much more than a plot device. There were some episodes that used her character well, but mostly she just existed to have an impact on the men around her.

- Favourite episode: Either One Man And His God because she finally got fleshed out a bit there (and the casting for her younger self was PERFECT), or It Has To Be Now for the interaction between her and David and the insight into how she dealt with his illness.

- Favourite season: Honestly, they used her character best in series 19 - so even though she only debuted towards the very end, I'd still pick that series as the best one for her. She still suffered from the same problem she did throughout the rest of her stint (being mostly a plot device for men - i.e. Ollie), but at least they weren't trying to force her together with Henrik or brutally killing her off yet.

- Favourite line: "I used to say there were good days and bad days. Now I don't know. More like bad days and worse days." Four years on from IHTBN, that heartbreaking line has still stuck with me.

- Favourite outfit: Don't make me pick! I love Roxanna's outfits. 90% of the reason I am convinced Roxanna isn't straight is because of her outfits. Has anyone ever met a straight person who dresses like Roxanna does? I certainly haven't. 😂

But if I have to pick... I can't remember what episode she wore it in, but I liked that red blouse she had.

And the blue polka dot outfit from Keep Your Friends Close (I think that was the ep she wore it in?) is iconic.

- OTP: Her and David, obviously.

- BroTP: She and Henrik had no romantic chemistry, but I liked them as friends. I also think she would have been GREAT friends with Ange and I'll forever be angry that we never got to see that.

- Headcanon: I've mentioned this one before but it was well over two years ago, so I'll mention it again. Because my brain apparently wanted me to make myself feel even worse about the circumstances of Rox's death, it came up with the idea that her mum developing locked-in syndrome was the result of a brain injury from a car crash. Oh, and Roxanna was in said car crash too. And that's been my headcanon ever since.

Oh! For a happier headcanon, I think she went stargazing a lot in her youth.

- Unpopular opinion: She and Henrik would've been a terrible couple. Also, that whole nonsense the show pulled about John "forcing her" to fall in love with David somehow when it was Henrik she really wanted (despite there having been no signs she saw Henrik as anything other than a friend before...) was super racist. She was married to David for like 25 years, she OBVIOUSLY genuinely loved him and no one can ever convince me she didn't.

- A wish: That she'd lived. She could have been such a great character and they just wasted her.

- An oh-god-please-don't-ever-happen: Alas, it already happened :(

- 5 words to best describe them: I'll defend myself for being stumped on this one by pointing out that they didn't give her much of a personality anyway.

- My nickname for them: Rocket. (Came up with this one alongside my sister: the progression was pretty much Roxanna -> Rox -> Roc -> Rocket.)