#which like. makes sense for her. of course we were going to get to this point.

[ask-the-rag-dolly]

this is going to be long . but at this point what else do you expect from me .

i've always had a Feeling that ragatha might've gone through abuse since the pilot , and the feeling got stronger with each new episode . her lines employed a lot of passive voice ; which speaks to how astronomically Low her self-esteem is without actually saying it . on top of that , her behavior blared those alarms for me . constantly blaming herself ? people-pleasing ? emotional repression ? they're hallmarks of the fawn response . you know ... one of the four f's of Trauma Responses .

now knowing that aspect of her backstory it ... Sadly makes sense . did i see it coming ? yes . do i still find it sad how it puts so much of her behavior into perspective ? also yeah .

just taking notes from her present behavior and the tiny hints given of her home life , i imagine she grew up in an overly-controlling , repressive environment deprived of love and affection . the perfect incubation chamber for one , fully fucked-up child , basically . it's no wonder that ragatha's desperate for companionship and validation — because it's something that was never given to her all her life . there's a pit where a mother's love should've filled .

with no mention of her father or any other relative , it paints ... a very bleak and isolating picture . like , no wonder she misses her horses , i think the animals were the Only thing that brought her joy in that farm . either her dad is absent OR if we consider how traditionally feminine ragatha is ( being demure , modest and passive ) , it could be a conservative household that's patriarchal ... or maybe she's a child of divorce . idk which one i prefer lol .

either way , she Might've had ... Zero Support ! i can't believe we've gotten to a point that i could confidently say i was a lot Nicer to ragatha than gooseworx was . like the implications here are Not pretty . it could explain why she's desperately grasping for Any strand of companionship she could have in the circus .

obviously , fawning comes from appeasing to The Threat , and you can make an argument that by appeasing to a non-existent threat in the circus , she thinks she's avoiding The Scenario™ .

but something is telling me that she was taught all her life that love is to be Earned . that you have to Prove that you are worthy of being Loved . and of course , not being able to meet her mother's impossible expectations , she didn't really ... get it . and now being in an environment where there's people that actually Cares for her , she's Grasping . she's keeping them Pleased because It's All She Has . seeking warmth in a dwindling fire kind of thing .

BUT THAT'S JUST MY INTERPRETATION . i'm not really completely with it but ! it's what i came up with . whatever interpretation you can come up with , it adds a level of tragedy into ragatha's increasing distance from the others . her pleasing works for Avoiding Conflict , not for Creating A Deep Connection . which is why i like that one line where gangle thanks ragatha for teaching her softball . ragatha sharing her interest instead of giving empty praise made them bond , yay !

so yeah ragatha needs to be spoiled and pampered lovingly this post is already long enough i'm going to drink water

[wintersarge]

short straw- john walker

summary: after being left behind for a mission, you and john are the only two in the tower. the only problem? you were sick and john was... well, john- completely clueless. what could go wrong?

pairing: john walker x reader

word count: 1.9k

content: mentions of general illness, reader being unwell, john being a little silly and generally just clueless. fluff.

enjoy!!

You had drawn the shortest of short straws. 

Valentina had pulled the team into a meeting a few days ago, informing you all of a recon mission that was taking place at some fancy arms deal. You were initially excited at the prospect of dressing up nice for once, even if it was for intel gathering, and you knew exactly the dress you’d wear at the gala- the silky blue one that hung at the back of your closet, saved for this exact occasion. You’d probably pair it with the nice silver stilettos you had, the ones with the glitter heel, or the-

“Are you listening?” Val’s voice had cut through your train of thought, and you snapped your head up to look at her. “This is a hush-hush mission, so we don’t need the whole team. You and Walker are out.” 

John had protested this, claiming the team needed his ‘brains’ and his ‘brawn’. A protest to which you had, of course, struggled not to laugh at. He had sent you a glare from across the table after, blue eyes narrowed at yours. 

“My orders are final, Walker. You’ll stay here. And maybe you’ll surprise us all and learn how to lower that ego of yours whilst you’re at it.” 

That shut him up, jaw clenched.

That was two days ago, and now it was just you and John in the tower. You had both managed to stay out of each other’s way for the most part, only really seeing each other at breakfast or when you were both working out in the gym. You had tried to bargain with Valentina, begging to go on the trip instead, taking Bucky’s place or even Alexei’s. She wouldn’t budge. 

It wasn’t exactly like you hated John- you actually got along quite well. Not best friends, but not enemies either. However, if you had to be stuck in a building with someone for days on end, Walker would not be your first choice, because:

He never cleaned up after himself

He always made fun of your movie night choices

And, 

He was clueless in every sense of the word

Sure, he was tactful when the job required him to be, and he was definitely smart enough in a military sense, but at everything else? You hadn’t met someone so clued out on everyday life, which was certainly saying something as you also lived with a literal hundred year old man. 

It would be funny, and slightly endearing if it wasn’t so irritating. On Monday, when you were making dinner, you had asked John to pass you the garlic press. 

He gave you the cheese grater. 

And then yesterday, he was out doing a supply run for the tower and you’d mentioned to him that you were all out of your shampoo. You even sent him a damn picture of the bottle. And when he came back, bags in hand, what did he give you?

2-IN-1 BODY WASH. 

You were unimpressed, to say the least. When you asked him about it, he had grumbled something along the lines of ‘they all look the same to me’, and ‘they all do the same thing, anyway’. You had to force yourself to walk away from him before you said something stupid. You honestly couldn’t fathom how this man was, at one point, THE Captain America. 

And now, as if you weren’t being tested enough, it was day three of your week-long cohabitation sentence and to your dismay, you were unwell. You had woken up with a sore throat, blocked nostrils and your head was pounding with an excruciating headache. 

You were miserable. 

It was pretty unusual for you to get sick- you could probably count on one hand how many times you had been so in the last few years, which only increased your suffering. But, by some magic, you had managed to get out of bed, your blanket thrown over your shoulders like a cape as you trudged your way into the kitchen where John was making himself a cup of coffee. When he turned around to see you, pale and sickly, he pulled a face. “You look like hell. I’ve seen corpses with more colour in them”  

You couldn’t find it in yourself to bite back, moving slowly to sit at one of the stools. Everything in you ached, muscles throbbing with a dull burn. John noticed the way your expression was twisted with pain, and he set his coffee mug down on the side. “Since when do you get sick, anyway? You’re like the poster-girl for good health.” You huffed at this, hands moving to swipe at his cup. You took a sip, and John shot you another glare, objecting to the way you thieved his drink. “Hey! Don’t give me your illness. If you feel as bad as you look, then Christ- I definitely don’t want that” You rolled your eyes, downing the last of the coffee. “I’m sick, John, and this is how you treat me? You should be nicer to me, you know. Or I’ll cough in your face when you’re asleep.” You wouldn’t actually, of course, but maybe it would make him take pity. 

For the rest of the day, you had pretty much been bed-bound on the couch. You had a thick blanket hung over your frail body and your sleeping mask covering your eyes as they had become sensitive to the bright lights and the huge windows scattered around the tower didn’t help at all. You suddenly felt regretful at how often you took being well for granted. 

One thing you did appreciate, though, was that John had seemed to leave you alone for most of the day. You hadn’t seen much of him since this morning, when he left in a rush after you had threatened to infect him, and you had assumed that he spent the day in the gym, or going over mission reports. That was until he walked through the door, plastic bags in hand. You could hear his boots as he walked over to the couch, and you felt him standing over you. He nudged your shoulder with his finger. 

“You awake? Still alive under there, aren’t you?”. You let out a small groan and peeled off your eyemask, eyes squinting against the harsh lights. John grimaced when he saw you again, standing back a little to assess the scene. “You really don’t look great.” He said, as if that wasn’t obvious. You looked down at the bags in his hands, and back up at his face. You raised an eyebrow. 

“I got you some stuff. You know, to help, or whatever” He sat down on the seat opposite, pulling open the bag. “Thought I would be a nice teammate for once, since no-one else is here for you. And I also wouldn’t appreciate being coughed on, so, that too.” You cracked a small smile at this, sitting up as far as your body let you to see his haul. When he began to pull things out, though, this faded a little. 

His haul consisted of:

A bottle of painkillers 

A sporty energy drink

A questionable looking can of chicken soup (your least favourite flavour, by the way)

Two packs of gum

An ice pack

And a chocolate orange flavoured protein bar 

You looked back up at him, eyes blinking slowly. Your face morphed into one of disbelief and honestly, concern. How clueless was he, actually? 

“And what is a sick person doing with… a pack of gum and a protein bar?” He looked over at you quizzically, as if the answer was obvious. 

“Mint to clear the sinuses, and a protein bar to… feed you, obviously” You hummed out, trying not to laugh in his face. “Obviously. I do hate chicken soup, though. You couldn’t have picked up something else? Tomato? Vegetable?” 

“Chicken was all they had. I looked.” You nodded slowly. “And the ice-pack? I’ve got the flu, not a bruised knee. This is the stupidest care package ever, Walker” He had the nerve to look offended, eyes rolling slightly. “This is exactly what you need. A balanced recovery system. Now, are you going to eat or not? You should really eat.” You groaned, the thought of food not exactly appetising to you right now. “Maybe later. Just want to sleep right now”. John sighed, but he reluctantly gave in. He left you his ‘care package’ and let you sleep on the couch for a few hours, busying himself with something else. 

You were in the middle of a- frankly amazing- dream when you heard it- the loud, repetitive beeps. 

The fire alarm. 

You jumped up from the couch, pulling off your eyemask. “Walker?” You called out, voice sounding rough and sick as ever. Your eyes adjusted to the light as you looked around the room and that was when you spotted him, towel in hand, swatting at the alarm. “John, what the hell are you doing?” He spun on his heel when he heard your voice, and he looked as if he was a deer caught in headlights. He hesitated for a second, but then his shoulders slumped, mouth opening to speak. “I burnt the soup.” 

You looked confused, walking towards him. “The chicken soup? I thought you put that in the microwave, how on earth did you burn that?” He sighed again, and the fire alarm finally stopped beeping. 

“Not that soup. I made some vegetable soup. For you. Well, it was supposed to be vegetable soup. Now it’s just… a burnt mess.”  

Your face softened slightly, a small smile ghosting over your lips. “You… made me soup?” 

He glowered at you from across the room, shuffling on his feet. “Only because you’re sick. Don’t expect the princess treatment from me all the time”. 

You smiled again, throwing your hands up in defense. “Hey, I never said that anyway, Walker. But thank you. It- it was a nice thought” You walked into the kitchen, sitting back at your usual spot on the leather stools. He gave you a small smile, reaching behind himself. 

“I, uh, also made you this. Heard it was supposed to help soothe a sore throat.” He awkwardly handed over a cup, watching your face for any reaction. You looked down at it. It was mint tea, with a dash of honey- just how you liked it. You brought it up to your lips, sipping at it slowly. It wasn’t perfect, a little too strong, but you didn’t say this. You gave a thankful smile instead, your throat feeling better already. 

“Thank you, John. Always knew you were a big softy, really”. He grumbled a little at this, but you laughed it off anyway. You sat in a comfortable silence for a while until your stomach growled loudly as you hadn’t eaten all day. 

“I told you you should eat” John said, smugness creeping into his voice. “Well, if you hadn’t burned the soup…”, you teased, hopping off the stool and moving over to the kitchen cabinets. Your hand lingered over the chicken soup, ready to give in and eat in anyway, when you saw it- at the front to the left. 

A tin of vegetable soup. 

You smiled, shaking your head a little. John obviously hadn’t looked far, or if he did, he clearly didn’t see it. 

Because, he was clueless. In every sense of the word.  

all work is my own, i do not give permission for this to be reposted elsewhere without credit. you may not copy or claim as your own.

[phineasandferbs]

[breaks fingers off] now it's time to scream about the revised series bible

candace now being downgraded to "potential fly in their ointment" 💀 but also 😊

"spurred on by a fifteen year-old girl’s natural desire for control, order and normalcy" CANDACE BABY GIRL 🥺

"needless to say, like most healthy young boys, phineas and ferb have a pet platypus named perry" they're funnyyyyyyy

of course all age refs for p&f are removed in this one

"in terms of character, phineas is who he is, almost more so than any other character [...] since he has no achilles heel he must overcome in order to succeed, his character is not built for story arcs that change and evolve who he is. also, without the seed of self-defeat or self-destruction planted inside him, he has difficulty recognizing it in others. this keeps him focused and optimistic. it also helps make it understandable why he his [sic] baffled by these aspects in others and remains unaware of candace’s negative, self-destructive determination to bust him. phineas truly doesn’t understand why people don’t view life the way he does, but he never judges them for it [...] he is like a used car salesman who actually has the best cars in the world" i'm WEEPING!!! phineas flynn i love you with my whole heart!!! he doesn't have obstacles to success, he doesn't need to grow or change, he doesn't even understand self-doubt, he would never judge anyone for being different from him despite not getting it, he is a 👏 USED 👏 CARS 👏 SALESMAN 👏 WHO 👏 ACTUALLY 👏 HAS 👏 THE 👏 BEST 👏 CARS 👏 IN 👏 THE 👏 WORLD 👏 like my boy will promise you the world, the most unbelievable deal that common sense says has to be a scam but he'll deliver 😭 literally everything to me

"throughout the first season, phineas naturally and organically became more layered and dimensional as different situations and interactions further developed the 'who he is' of his personality" this special show <3333 the way it let itself grow and develop despite its formulaic nature that would make it a no-brainer for it to force it to stay the same

"faced with TWO goals at odds with each other can create a bit of a bump in the road for phineas, but these instances are either VERY quickly resolved or best left to be explored in longer form movies and specials" them explicitly saying we can have angry phineas only for specials and movies like angry!phineas is the fine china we can only bring out when we have guests we want to impress lol

well they didn't fix the misspelling of radar's name but he's still mentioned so a win's a win 🤷

describing ferb as "sphinx-like" precious precious boy 🥰

"he does not actively avoid speaking. he just rarely needs to talk because he and phineas are always on the same page" oh my god,,,,,, ferb doesn't need to speak because phineas speaks for them both [we already knew this] i'm having a breakdown,,,, they are EVERYTHING TO ME

"ferb is the guy who builds the greatest cars in the world, which is the reason phineas has such confidence in his words" oh my fucking god.......................phineas' confidence is rooted in ferb's abilities....... these two....... these two........ also thinking about how this was written while they were writing summer belongs to you where phineas and ferb give a pep talk to candace about believing in herself on the basis that she believes in them and they believe in her so she believes in herself all the while phineas believes in them because he believes in ferb..... oh, i am ill with love i fear

"but to say phineas is actually the idea man isn’t exactly the case. many times, hit with a bolt of inspiration from whatever they both just saw or heard, phineas will announce that HE knows what they are going to do that day, as if ferb had to follow his brother around, bent and broken to his will. the truth is ferb’s always hit with the same bolt of inspiration as his brother" what if you were twins and soulmates but you weren't actually biologically related and were born across the sea from one another but the universe still brought you together...... the most important babies in the world to me forever

"it’s best not to focus on the fact ferb doesn’t talk, though - he just doesn’t. instead, explore the ways in which his silence is a strength" guh i really do love this aspect of the show like the way ferb being very quiet is never treated as a bad thing and here they are explicitly stating it's a strength in the bible because there's nothing wrong with it 🥰

"although his silence could make him SEEM like a second banana, ferb is very much phineas’ equal. in this way, they are a two-headed machine built for making every day count" me when the titular pair of the show are in fact a pair: 🫢 god i love hearing it stated like this though <33333

"unlike phineas, though, who uses these immense powers in service of his positive attributes, candace uses her same powers in the service of her ego, fears, suspicion, paranoia, etc" oh candace, my beloved.... she's just a girl fr

"the point is no matter what Candace’s story is, the fun is to [...] to watch her scream at all the trees to move so she can see the forest" oh candace flynn, my dearly beloved darling girl ❤️ luv this as a summary of her role in the show

"it’s a catch-22 (like getting into sag)." oh they're making industry jokes now, huh?

"we are planning a feature length special in which candace and jeremy share their first kiss under the eiffel tower in paris" FASCINATING! so they were planning to have them kiss there (did we already know this? i feel like dwampy&co may have already revealed this, it feels vaguely familiar). also this being summer belongs to you's only outright mention is making me fond

"mainly, though, candace just wants to be a normal fifteen-year-old girl, and phineas and ferb’s lack of desire to be normal bratty little brothers is an endless source of annoyance for her" she just wants them to annoying brats but instead they're so good that it's even more annoying to her soooo precious

linda flynn-fletcher your odd clubs and classes will always be famous 2 me. iconic and beyond reproach

"on the other hand, lawrence is actually used more than perhaps even originally intended and the stories where he is a more central character show he has developed a sort of fun, absent-minded-professor quality which adds a lot to the episodes in which he appears" and thank god

"perry’s lack of facial reaction (or any kind of reaction, for that matter) when he’s in Pet Mode also holds true for him in Agent Mode" the way this eroded way in times of great love for both the boys and doof many times in the series 🥰🥰🥰 (and i wish it would again with the new eps but that's not what we're talking about rn)

"[perry's] countenance is virtually unbreakable" thinking about perry's look of devastation when doof dumps him in last day of summer and floating

"an agent can’t let his feelings shade his judgment, and it is for this reason that perry will not get involved with a female platypus. he’s too well trained to be tempted, and even though his theme song suggests that the ladies swoon for him, he knows better. it won’t happen. focus elsewhere!" DYING at the thought dwampy had to put this in because disney execs wouldn't stop trying to force heterosexuality on this playpus 😭😭😭 also all i'm saying is not mention of perry not getting involved with a male human........ suspicious that 👀

"perry cares deeply about his 'host family,' especially phineas and ferb, [...] his relationship with the boys is filled with the same unconditional affection as any other pet/owner relationship" i literally feel ILL over how much i love them holy shit

"as for perry’s relationship to his nemesis, dr. doofenshmirtz, [...] what began as a simple archenemy situation has developed into a very complex relationship because they both literally spend almost all day together, every day. they are like an old married couple - who want the other one to die painfully. they are like best friends - but with ray guns and fist fights" crazyyyyy they were perryshmirtz-ing on main in 2008.... also the way it started as simple enemies and became something more organically is truly sooooo special that's why it's the greatest ship <333333

"it’s as if they are both duty bound to be mortal enemies when they are on the clock, but at quitting time they’d hang out and watch videos and travel together" oh my god....... this is actually INSANE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY WANT TO CASUALLY HANG OUT AND DO SOMETHING SO DOMESTIC AND CASUAL AS WATCHING VIDEOS TOGETHER. WHAT IS A BETTER EXPRESSION OF WANTING TO BE WITH SOMEONE THAN WANTING TO DO NOTHING WITH THEM. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY WANT TO TRAVEL TOGETHER. THEY WANT TO TAKE LITTLE VACATIONS OFF THE CLOCK AND GO SEE THE WORLD LIKE SOME KIND OF HONEYMOON, HUH? WHAT IN THE ULTIMATE ROMANCE IS THIS.............

"it sometimes seems if perry is annoyed by [doof's ineptitude at being evil] to the point of giving doofenshmirtz a hand just to make the game a bit more interesting" imaging perry out here like "i can fix him" while doof is out here like "wait how do i play pool... i guess you'll have to teach me...."

"the bane of Perry’s existence (for reasons other than he wants, sadly)" i think this is referring to how hopeless doof is at evil but i'm taking this as gay. amen.

"doofenshmirtz is basically an evil genius with very poor planning skills or a very stupid man with great planning skills. either way, his plans are often destined to fail even before perry shows up, and the issue quickly becomes how to save doofenshmirtz from his own plan" oh my god the way this literally reads like doof is just bad at evil to get perry to show up and save him........ 🫢🫢🫢

"doofenshmirtz always calls perry “perry-the-platypus” as if he thinks that’s his first name" it's a beloved nickname akin to calling your partner baby when you think about it. change my mind.

"'agent p.,' which is how [monogram] always refers to his star agent" monogram viewing perry as his job, p&f viewing perry the same as if he's another member of the family and doof viewing perry as both who he is and what he is... something is here but i don't have to properly analyze and articulate it

"monogram’s formal but affectionate, boss/employee relationship with perry" thinking about this hard-ass secret agent perry with such a web of people he cares deeply about <33333333333

ah karl back when they spelt it with a "k"

calling vanessa seventeen years old while writing s2 when she turned sixteen this summer in s1......

"[doof's] focus on the evil sciences leaves [vanessa] feeling neglected and misunderstood" BABY GIRL NOOOOOO 😢

okay and they added that isabella is nine years old to the bible at some point like uh??

"while isabella’s crush on phineas surely remains intact, it is touched upon rarely (unlike candace and jeremy) and is mainly used on occasion for shading and coloring her motives. isabella is, apart from ferb, phineas’ best friend, and it is as if that deep bond came first, and, as in real life, isabella matured earlier and the bond deepened to a crush for her sooner. either way, isabella’s disappointment over this is rarely really played up, although the romantic side of their relationship is inched along in small steps every once in a while" this sooooooooo sweet, i love them!!!! sweethearts!!!

"jeremy has a good sense of humor about candace’s odd behavior sometimes, and it even seems to be part of her charm to him. she’s just not like all the other girls" noooo they pick-me'd candace "this shows a more dimensional personality for jeremy than most popular, worried-about-always-looking-cool, hunky guys seem to have" nvm they also pick-me'd jeremy, thereby cancelling out candace's pick-me-ing and making it sweet again ❤️ they're not like anyone else and they're special, that's all!

"buford first appeared as a fairly stereotypical bully, but he has somehow managed to work his way into being among phineas and ferb’s close circle of friends" i am olivia wilde nodding rn

"among his own pals, buford’s best friend is ironically the group’s biggest nerd, baljeet" vs baljeet's paragraph not mentioning buford :( but also still best friend status already confirmed in 2008!!!

"as the first season developed and phineas and ferb occasionally offered help to others, baljeet slowly came to rely on and then expect their help. soon an element of selfish entitlement began creeping into his attitude toward the boys" is it selfish if the boys are happy to give it 😕

the bible talking about how stacy's figure skating "can be explored more in second season" ....uh oh, guess what didn't happen... i do wonder why though!!

"equally sadly, jenny has appeared in only two episodes. she is certainly a character to be developed in the second season where her usefulness in more stories will help evolve and define her traits" oof the way they literally tried so hard to make django and jenny happen but it just wasn't meant to be 🤷

suzy being seen as important enough to merit a character description is wilddddd

"in the show, the tri-state area is almost used as the boundary of the known universe" this is precious to me!!!!!! like yes going to england and the moon is the same thing because it's all outside of the tri-state area

"these three (as yet) unnamed states" oh damn so they were open to possibly naming the states..... interesting..... very interesting....

"the planet earth, in its entirety, is where it all takes place. except when they leave earth - which they’ve done. twice. (phineas and ferb own a milkshake bar at the edge of the cosmos, and candace is actually the queen of the martian people. go figure.)" i love the little jokes they've added it adds a layer of confidence that wasn't previously there which is real great <333

now why is rollercoaster listed as 105 in the loglines

also unfair science fair being 133 vs the redux being 149 in the loglines

also also they definitely skipped some numbers in the loglines i wonder what that means

more leaks!

original show bible (06/08/06)

revised show bible (02/29/08)

[leifyposting]

a couple people asked for a jean analysis thread so…

Why I Love Repressed, Overburdened, Walking Dumpster Fire Jean Gunnhildr - And Why You 🫵 Should Too!

jean is NARRATIVELY and PERSONALLY vital to mondstadt's story and in this post i'll explain why

ok let’s go:

first off: jean is NARRATIVELY important to mondstadt because she acts as a representative for its most important themes and ideals

in other words: jean's story is the story of mondstadt itself

"but leify,” i hear you say, “shouldn't venti be the representative of mondstadt?”

well… yes and no! more on that later

but first let's talk about what the story of mondstadt even is:

in broad strokes, the story of mondstadt is the story of a people being given freedom - and using that freedom to confine themselves and others (see: vennessa)

it's the story of freedom offered but not demanded (see: dvalin)

to understand how jean's story matches up to this, we have to go all the way back to the archon war to meet her ancestor gunnhildr. unhappy with decarabian's rule, she led her clan outside the walls - and then returned to seek freedom for the people who were still trapped within

it's interesting to note that gunnhildr toppled a god - and then immediately became first priestess for another god. again: she was offered freedom from kings and authority, but since it was not demanded of her, she chose not to take it

fast forward to present day and the gunnhildr clan have become pretty much THE de facto protectors of mondstadt. there's an old joke in the taverns that "a gunnhildr learns to say 'for mondstadt as always' before learning to say 'mommy'"

but this duty isn't always a good thing!

the gunnhildrs have taken the freedom offered to them and chosen to confine themselves with it - to sacrifice it to uphold the freedom of the people around them

and jean is no exception. she's sacrificed her own freedom to become a protector of the freedom she doesn't get to taste

you can also see jean's mondstadt-representative traits in her relationships with the people around her

jean at her best uses her autonomy for the good of her people. jean at her worst uses it to imprison them (klee) and dictate what she feels is best for them (noelle)

if that sounds familiar, it might be because that's the major conflict between decarabian and boreas during the archon war

decarabian believed he was a good king, imprisoning his people "for their own good." boreas chose to die rather than make them sacrifice their freedom or wellbeing

and i’m not trying to argue that jean is wrong for the decisions she’s made re: klee or noelle. i think she’s doing the best she can under the circumstances!

what i AM trying to argue is that jean, like all her mondstadt forebears, is constantly trying to draw the line between freedom and constraint. this question of freedom without rules and rules without freedom is at the heart of her story - and of mondstadt's story as well

but wait!

back to venti for a moment. why wouldn't mondstadt's god be the representative of his own nation?

i think the simplest answer is that venti has long ago abdicated that position. in choosing to step down from his position of authority, he has in a sense let go of the right to dictate mondstadt's story. that's what it means to be a nation of true freedom!

okay but why is this important? who cares that jean's story mirrors mondstadt's or vice versa?

well - short answer is that what happens to jean in endgame will also be what happens to mondstadt

(assuming of course that the genshin writers don't fumble)

jean represents the best and the worst of mondstadt - but almost more importantly, she represents their 2000-year experiment in freedom

in the end, will mondstadt's people rise to the occasion and throw off the confines they and the gods have placed upon themselves? in the end, is freedom - even imperfect freedom - worth fighting for? the way genshin wraps up jean's story will reflect their answer to those questions

which brings me to my second point, which is that jean is PERSONALLY important to mondstadt - and to the whole mondstadt cast

it's pretty clear to see that the people of mondstadt love her. 20 playable characters have voice lines about her (some archons don't even have as many!)

but on a more meta level, jean is personally important to the mondstadt cast because her uprightness gives them someone to foil off of

in other words, jean's straightforward representation of mondstadt's ideals gives other characters the chance to interrogate those same ideals

for example: jean represents constraints placed on freedom - which offers klee the chance to interrogate the question of how far unchecked freedom truly goes

in the same vein, jean represents duty fulfilled - which gives diluc the chance to interrogate duty abandoned for love

i can keep going! if jean didn't represent justice carried out in the light of day, rosaria could not represent justice carried out in the dead of night. if jean didn't represent being rooted in her family legacy, kaeya could not represent being uprooted in his

i think of this role as a kind of narrative version of the straight man, which is a role that plays off the funny characters and that is used to heighten the comedy of a scene by reminding the audience of the baseline reality

ultimately, jean represents mondstadt to the player, revealing the themes that are most vital to the story - but she also represents mondstadt to ITSELF, reminding the characters around her of the nation's ideals, whether they then choose to stand in agreement or opposition

[letsgobarbs]

Heyyyy. Heard a lot of murmurs about how my “clique” started the AI witch hunt. And I stand by what I did. Something tells me that if a white woman had done what we did, they would be hailed the fandom hero. But I digress.

Since many of you seem uninformed, it was this post that introduced us to an AI scanner. There are many like it, there’s this one too. AI scanners utilise AI Technology— analytical AI to be specific. However, it is still considered to be a new and unreliable technology. Why wouldn’t it be? Gen AI itself is a new and unreliable technology. How would any scanner be able to track something that is unreliable and unpredictable itself. There were two blogs who were pointed at for blatantly only posting AI fics— one of them posted 148+ fics in a month, and another that posted over 20 in a week. This was pretty telling, since it is humanly impossible to do. Moreover, they were checked through both scanners linked above.

Now, anybody with rudimentary knowledge of AI would know that AI models need to be trained. Hence, to put out a fic it needs to be fed works written by other authors. THIS IS STEALING. And it is also why many AI-written fics are getting harder to spot, because far too many fics have been fed into models to train them that AI is generating work anybody else could have written at first glance. Many authors, most notably auteurdelabre, have left since their work has been fed into AI and essentially stolen from them.

There were mutiple people who’s fics came out to be over 60%, 70% and even 80% but we had the good sense to not be the fucking fic police— the AI cops, if you will. Because there was always a possibility that the author had their work stolen from them. This could not have been true for the 2 blogs we pointed out because it was a) an open secret that they were using AI and b) too new to the fandom to gain any traction and have their work stolen from them.

Now… my question is— why call it a “witch hunt”?

Which other witches have we hunted? We are here to have fun in a fandom just like everybody else and have no reason to dedicate our time and energy into policing other people. Just a few weeks ago people were moaning about how the surge in AI fics was making the fandom more hostile and ruining it for everybody. So why are we the villains for calling it like we see it??

Even if it was a witch hunt, you shouldn’t be afraid if you’re not using AI??? Isn’t this the same cop logic y’all use? The easiest way to prove that you did not use AI was to say ‘I didn’t use it’— maybe even show the document history of you building your fics brick by brick, word by word, over the course of weeks and months. You know what I think? I think the people using AI are now scared that their work will be checked and called out. Hence, the strong sentiments on the “witch hunt”.

As for @/gothcsz, Kat’s fics were always going to show a high percentage of AI because anybody who has followed her for a hot second would know that she too had her work stolen, scrapped and used to train AI. The people accusing her of using AI lacked that fundamental, basic knowledge of this technology. Please read up on it.

But several people ran with it— gleefully, and so very excited to see the downfall of a talented BIPOC author. And they ran to both @toxicanonimity and @ihateconfessionalblogs. They titled this turn of events as “What Goes Around, Comes Around” when really this was a case of “We Will Accuse You Of Stealing What Was Stolen From You Because We Lack Basic Tech And Media Literacy.”

Nowhere in our initial posts about AI did we hail AI scanners as foolproof— it’s common knowledge and information they are not. Moreover, none of those 2 girls would have been called out if they hadn’t performed the tried and true method of shedding white woman tears. Here’s my original post, where you can see the AI user wail about how she is most definitely not using AI and people should come off of anon to converse with her— which I did. Mind you, I previously tried to DM her, which wasn’t possible because she had restricted her messages to only those she follows. And I had also tried to comment on her post but comments and replies were restricted at the time. I thought this was very funny, and would do it again.

I have many thoughts on @toxicanonimity’s engagement with the confessions blog and the shit-stirring blog @ihateconfessionalblogs. But I will hold my peace, because I do believe that the moment you start arguing with ignorant fools, you have lost. I hope this post serves as an accurate account of what has happened as well as being informative.

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my head while watching this episode (in 2025!)

--Tamayo sure made that decision quick to go join the Corp. I love that it is so clear how much she and Shinobu do not want to work together. I wish, wish, wish I could have seen Tamayo meeting Ubuyashiki, as well as first meeting Shinobu. --The animation in the glass pane as Tamayo looks up at the moon?? love it.

--Giyuu really do just be sitting there in an empty room. Buddy, that ain't meditating, that be ruminating.

--I am so grateful for all my years of Japanese study so that I can soak in all the meaning of Aoi using such stiff keigo (polite speech) with Tanjiro (and for that matter, any active Corp swordsman). She truly sees herself as far beneath them, and in her dealings with Tanjiro, it is like she purposefully keeps things strictly professional. It is so revealing how diplomatically she addresses that, at least if she were the one who someone were trying to cheer up, she would prefer to be left alone. That is why she has kept this professional distance all along, isn't it? Somebody telling her "it's okay you weren't as brave as all those swordsmen who wound up fighting to the death anyway" would only make her feel worse, after all. I wonder about her decision to keep wearing the Corp uniform despite the adequacy she feels in it?

--Giyuu would tell her she deserves to wear it, wouldn't he? Luck or not, she likely did more to ensure her own survival on Mt. Fujikasane than he did. (Now I crave an AU in Shinobu dealt with Aoi's post-Final Selection fear not by allowing her to freeload (as Aoi might interpret it) at the Butterfly Mansion and avoid missions, but instead by creating a situation in which Giyuu is pressured to take Aoi in and train her--Water Breath users, after all!).

--Despite that Tanjiro killed the Hand Demon, whom Sabito could not, Tanjiro does not think of that at all. He instead thinks of how Sabito "saved" him back on Mt. Sagiri, and how in the course of the Final Selection, Tanjiro could not manage to save anyone like Sabito could, for Tanjiro could barely save himself. Their outcomes happened to be different, but Tanjiro sees the gulf between their potential and inherent ability so plainly.

--Tanjiro has made the switch from "Tomioka-san" to "Giyuu-san." Get FRIENDED, loser.

--The way the scene is framed so that you can't see Giyuu's face when he declares that the Water Hashira position is vacant

--GIYUU IS SO ANNOYED WITH TANJIRO, HAHAHAHAH. He's not only annoying for barging in when Giyuu is busy ruminating, but for trying to insist on some easy simple solution to a situation he doesn't understand (even though the way better solution to all of this would have just been for Tanjiro to use that battle sense and nose to become the Water Hashira, duh). But also, he is sitting so close. As Tanjiro keeps bugging him, like at dinner, he is still sitting SO FREAKING CLOSE and poor Giyuu just wants to eat. He just wants to bathe. He can barely sleep knowing that Tanjiro is curled up on his front door step, maybe Giyuu look like the bad guy for leaving this poor injured kid out there like that. How the hell is he supposed to explain that the kid is choosing to do that, when Giyuu can't explain anything else in the first place?

--And then he knows he must. So he does. Plain and simple. And Tanjiro gets it. And it hurts.

--And then he accidentally adds to Giyuu's pain. OH SNAP. Soba time.

--In the previous arc, we saw the drama of Muichiro instantaneously regaining memories of precious things people have said and entrusted to him, and how this brought him not only back from the brink of death, but pushed him over the edge to attain a mark. What happened here on the bridge was essentially the same thing for Giyuu--but in a more peaceful way. Though he did not have his mind as clouded as Muichiro, trying to find his way back to those memories would have drowned him in sadness, but now, all at once, all these years later, he can embrace the words Sabito said to him, and embrace the promise he made to Sabito that he would carry on Tsutako's will in the world. He has attained that power again, and in a way, reattaining that memory right after he said "Sabito might have, but I won't" is his first step on his path to being able to achieve a mark.

--and then "Let's have a soba-eating contest."

--wut???

--Was this kid always this weird???? I mean, okay, I guess if he insists, I will eat soba with him and let him be satisfied in making me join the training this way, though I really did just already make up my mind to do that because I am, in fact, the Water Hashira

--As he ate soba, I wonder if Giyuu found himself wondering if Tanjiro ever did weird stuff like this around Urokodaki, thereby second-handedly embarrassing Giyuu for having spoken so highly of him

--Stepping back a bit, I love the underlying creepiness of Tanjiro cheerfully looking down the alley and declaring, "nope, no demons here!" Kiddo, there is a reason for that.

--Also little Giyuu with light in his eyes, I will always miss him

--Jumping ahead, the eye-twitch is so becoming on Shinobu. She should sport that more often.

--My gosssssshhhhhhh I wiiiiiiiiiish we could have SEEN Kanao at all these Hashira trainings. The opening implies that she was with the boys and ran laps around them at Uzui's training. But where are the girls?????? They exist!!! We know they exist! If Kanao hasn't gotten out of this, they ain't either!! But like, seriously, what was Sanemi gonna do when she showed up? Hit her??? Hell to the nah'.

--Still, for as much of a battle queen as Kanao soon becomes after this, she is still strengthening that heart-to-voice connection, and it is hard to do that after so many years of leaving the connection broken. (And unfortunately for Shinobu, it is only because of Kanao's progress that there is any way for them to defeat Douma.) Still, going back to the previous episode, I love that Shinobu judges Kanao's battle prowess so strongly that she will entrust Nezuko to her in the event of, say, Kibutsuji Muzan himself showing up at the Butterfly Mansion (not that this would have been likely to end in Kanao's favor, but Shinobu knew she could at least leave Kanao in charge in case of other high-level demons--maybe even a swarm of them--showing up)

--So yeah, she will totally entrust the defeat of Upper Moon Two to her, even Shinobu, a Hashira, knows she cannot do it herself

--HOW EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING

--This ending theme, man

--That distinctly Muichiro-like silhouette is mean. But the second one looks more like the Heian-period doctor. And the pair of silhoettes after that still have us pretty firmly back in time by several centuries.

--Fly, crow, fly! Fly for the sunlight!

--Love these subdued stills of all these important moments in Corp history that have led them to this time, and how the one of Tanjiro has motion, with his tears flowing and then him standing to face this horrific reality--and that focus on the "metsu" on his sword to tie together all of these scattered scenes of all these people throughout the last thousand years who have been so whole-heartedly dedicated to defeating Muzan once and for all

--All these symbolic spots of red being dramatically destroyed as Muzan passes by, this the most chuunibyou ending song ever and it is great

--Daaaaaang, this means Muzan has been doing his dramatic walk since episode two

[sokkastyles]

So you were actually joking when you said Zuko would encourage Katara to kill someone?

Then how does Aang's stance in this episode even make any sense!

If anything, that makes it worse that Aang automatically assumes that his two friends, who are also children who have been victims of war, would commit a murder.

So, what you're saying is that Aang's "concern" in this episode is actually fake. Which everyone already knows, because of course Zuko and Katara are not going to murder that man. We all know that this isn't really about Aang being worried about Katara's moral soul, or whatever. It's about his entitlement to her and how threatened he (and his fans) feel when she goes off with another guy, even one she (at the time) doesn't even like. That's the real reason kataang fans get all in a tizzy about this episode. It's the misogyny. At least you're admitting it now.

There’s a number of reasons I don’t ship Zutara, the main one being that I just can’t see it and I don’t think it’d make sense with Fire Nation politics and all that.

But also, I don’t ship them because Aang helps Katara recognize her feelings, accept them and then get over them. And vice versa. They balance each other out. Aang would stop her from doing something she would regret and help her find another solution. (Source: The Southern Raiders. Even if the whole “forgiving thing” wasn’t a good advice, Aang was still right at the end, killing the man was not what Katara needed.)

Zuko, on the other hand, is an enabler. He’d hold her purse while she killed someone. Which is okay, we love a girl’s girl. But the world would literally burn and flood at the same time if those two got together.

And yes, Aang and Katara very obviously not a perfect couple. By the end of the show they were like 13 and 15, of course they are not perfect. They both need to grow and learn, but so did Zuko and Mai and everyone else.

[housemdork]

house md rewatch: 2x09, "deception"

it makes sense that house would be so averse to a munchausen's diagnosis.

the (first) foreman era has made landfall, and it's already spelling out chaos. it's been AGES since we've had a foreman-forward episode, too, and i think this one slots nicely in with 2x01. back when foreman was so troubled by the patient on death row, we learned about his crucial trait that sets him apart from house: his ability and willingness to reflect. 2x09 features that trait of his pushed to its limit (among what we've seen thus far).

my experience with foreman has been that, so far, he respects what house does but does not like him, but even this respect is floundering a bit in light of recent events, like the chase and house debacle of 2x08. foreman enters the Boss Man Role with a naive idea of cooperation - if he can find a way to control house (his words) without being so blatant, he can introduce proper hospital ethics and morals and guidelines while also keeping house at ease. it's a silly endeavor from the outset and predicated on foreman's refusal/inability to see any part of house in himself.

it's not just audiences who pinpoint this as a doomed endeavor - wilson calls bullshit immediately. :"can i talk to you about something in confidence?" "of course." "it's about house." "oh, then. no."

i mention this mostly because the conversation reads not like words of wisdom or chastisement from wilson to foreman, but more so wilson saing "only i can fuck with house like that." little protective moment that doesn't do too much to advance the plot, but it does confirm that foreman does not have an ally in wilson. and ofc wilson has to be all theater kid/greek tragedy about it, comparing the idea of "controlling" house to "usurping" caesar.

what 2x09 also highlights are the leadership qualities, or lack thereof, between the fellows. foreman tries his hand at diplomacy here, but at the cost of his usual brilliance. house (rightly) accuses him of taking the safe route when he folds to a combination of both his and cameron's diagnoses; the resulting ridicule, while most inspired by how angry house is that he's not in charge atm, also comes from disappointment. he knows foreman is more than this, and he, at some level, wants foreman to see what he's sacrificing by playing cuddy's game.

chase, meanwhile, isn't granted any opportunity to showcase his leadership skills - instead, he gets back to scheming. this is so fucking funny given that in 2x08 both house and chase's entire careers were threatened because of their combined devilry. but what i also like about this little alliance between them is so prophetic it is - chase, despite claiming otherwise, still thinks that house considered loyalty to be transactional. he still thinks that, by sticking at his side, he'll be rewarded in the end. and while this is technically true come season 8, house firing chase in season 3 is one of the most insane moments of the show for me.

chase does make the important realization that, "no matter what i do, you're still going to treat me like crap," to which house makes a threat: "crap is a relative term." so chase's decision to conspire house against foreman here is equal parts an internal and externally motivated choice. but it's not like we haven't seen chase relish in this sort of thing before.

cameron, meanwhile, looks for ways to improve her leadership skills by appealing to leadership. i love and relate to her lol. i think house being needlessly harsh to her is a symptom of his unwillingness to acknowledge the moral effect she has on him and the team at large; that's leadership, but at a deeply subconscious level. yet his invitation for her to take a ride on his motorcycle with him is a powerful statement of equality - house shares the embodiment of his freedom with someone who's nearly survived the gauntlet of Having A Thing For House lmfao.

she deserves this moment of favoritism lol. also it's crazy that we've had no mention of cameron and HIV yet.

amidst all of that, however, i think the root of this episode's tensions comes from a rock (foreman) and a hard place (house) trying to communicate. foreman, saddled with new authority that he instantly takes very seriously, makes futile attempts at getting house to budge without understanding why house is being particularly petulant about this case. the patient, anica, has munchausen's disease, but beneath that, she harbors a real and dangerous condition.

house, just like in 2x07, can relate to her, and this idea of nonexistent pain haunts house and the viewer from 1x21. house refuses to write off anica because a real problem may be lingering beneath her mental illness, and that mental illness doesn't negate the resulting pain. house's vicodin addiction does not negate his leg pain and disability.

i think this shot/scene is very effective in drawing this parallel. it definitely looks like he's helping someone shoot up. but he's right, to a point, and to the chagrin of the team. he doesn't undo their diagnosis of munchausen's (he can't deny his addiction), but he can see to the heart of the issue (they can't deny his leg pain).

that's why i found cameron and house's exchange at anica's house so captivating. she says, about munchausen's patients, that "attention is attention," and house gets immediately defensive. he understands that need for attention and the chaotic ways he's tempted to get it, without exposing himself as lonely. and admitting to cameron, of all people, that he's lonely would be worse than death for him lol.

later, foreman reiterates this house/patient parallel to anika after they confirm the aplastic anemia: "you jumped through a lot of hoops to be here." anika returns with: "i just want to be healthy." in house's shoes, people are loath to believe that house wants any help because he refuses to ask; he complicates his life and his health with his vicodin addiction, but he just wants that pain to go away. i'm pretty confident in this comparison since we have 2x13 waiting for us in the wings.

moving forward, i'm interested in keeping tabs on all the moments where house is especially sensitive to medical negligence...despute having nearly been charged with it in 2x08. i also consider this to me ground zero for the never-ending tension between foreman and house that carries us alllll the way to about 8x02.

[ganondoodle]

kind of expected that the ability breakdown wouldnt get that much traction (especially on twitter bc if it doesnt do well in the first few hours it might as well be dead) but what i didnt need to wake up to was looking at my twitter notifications and thinking there was a long comment on it at first but then i read it and it turned out to be some guy having dug up one of my old totk tweets where i talked about how zelda was treated-

and if a quote retweet with a thread attached already starts with "this entitled brat didnt understand that zelda was being a history nerd by being in the past and getting to experience it herself" with two screenshots attached of the end of totk with zelda staring at the cam all uwu (which has ??? to do with their point??) i dont even want to know what else was in that thread

if thats how the majority of the fandom is then im even less surprised that nintendy doesnt even have to try to write anything good :I

ah yes, i am a game nerd, and by putting me in a game where i stand around doing puppy dog eyes while being shoved around by NPCs is me being a game nerd OBVIOSULY

[lorephobic]

idk how to even like. put this pain into words and i would normally vent about this shit on twitter, but the person its about follows me on there so like. anybody have skills for coping with the crushing realization that the person u love most in this world and have built ur life around sees ur current situation together as a temporary hurdle that's preventing them from their truest and happiest self which. is separate from u entirely? anyone know how to deal with this?

[corvusalbus93]

Oh, I remember us touching on this conversation after Astarion’s siblings vanish, in some posts a while back.

As a player I was disappointed and annoyed, because of the character development so far, especially in the second half of Act 2. Of course, taking a step back, like you said OP, it makes perfect sense he’s regressing at this point in the story, for all the reasons you’ve listed.

Of course any Tav, doesn’t quite have the luxury of taking the cosy outsider’s view, looking at everything and every possible dialogue tree at their own pace, so I pictured Nizana specifically, as the Tav romancing him, quite frustrated. Angry even. Deeply hurt above all perhaps that he would use her and her feelings for him like this.

This is not a happy Nizana:

I figured she sees him not only falling back into old patterns, but actively trying to manipulate, guilt-tripping her into doing something that goes against her very nature. Sacrificing souls to a devil, not limited to, but including the spawns. Astarion only ever speaks of his siblings, but Raphael very clearly said “including”. We and our characters (should) already know it’s more than seven.

I honestly can’t say which dialogue branch is the worst; he comes across as manipulative in all.

Astation: You're not getting sentimental, are you? I thought you were with me on this. Tav: I just want you to be happy.

Astarion: Then you help me in this. Nothing would make me happier.

Back when I first played this, I wasn’t sure how his questline would continue, I had seen some context-less clips here and there, but was mostly blind. At that point, my thoughts were: “This is going to strain their relationship so much... I think they might break up.” I was seriously considering to roleplay a break up, if I felt the relationship didn’t make sense anymore. It really depended on how things continued.

And let’s imagine for a moment Astarion could have done the rite without help. Like even if turning into a full vampire didn’t bring out the worst in him and amplify it, if Astarion’s personality hadn’t changed at all afterwards – I still think Nizana would have broken up with him for doing something so morally abhorrent.

Even as players, getting to Rivington & BG can be a bit overwhelming with all the quests vying for your attention, everyone reminding you of how there is little time until the brain breaks free and I figured it wouldn’t be better for a Tav unaware of a player’s quicksave-powers.

After all, this conflict isn’t happening in a vacuum; there is so much else going on simultaneously that Tav has so manage... and look, Lae’zel/(insert alternative party member) just got kidnapped by Orin. So, my interpretation of this and the later post spawn-attack dialogue was that it was make-or-break for their relationship, with both on edge & stressed, both sides desperate to sway the other. Juicy, narrative drama – heartbreaking to roleplay.

This moment in the conversation they had after meeting Pale Petras and Dalyria at Fraygo's Flophouse was very frustrating for me, to be honest.

Not in a bad way, more like: “ohh what are you doing?!” ٩(๑`^´๑)۶

Last time I played I probably didn’t check all the lines, but now that I found this branch I need to vent a little.

If you suggest Astarion to just run away he (understandably) argues he doesn’t want to spend eternity as a fugitive, constantly fearing the shadows. And this ritual might allow him to walk under the sun, even after they deal with the tadpoles. But then…

Astarion: And you want what’s best for me, surely.

Just look at his eyes. He is being so obviously manipulative with this line it feels like a stab, especially after everything they’ve been through.

And yes, he says something similar in other branches, too. But this particular phrase sounded the worst to me, especially with that look in his eyes.

Look at her face – she’s not having it too.

But here… I think he understands this as well.

But he can’t help falling into safety of the familiar patterns he’s been using for so long. He is back in the city where everything remind him of his life before. He has just had to face his siblings. And his old self reflected in them. He is back under Cazador’s suffocating presence. The inevitable final confrontation is right ahead.

And the pressure he’s under is immense. He wants to be safe, to be powerful and free. Maybe even to be able to give something back to the person he loves.

He has barely started his path to the healing, but this all is too much too soon.

It hurts to see him like that. Maybe I should be angry. And yet – I just can’t hold it against him. Not when I see where it’s coming from.

I’m sure Roanael knows that too, and she’ll just keep being there and asking the right questions, gently reminding Astarion that there’s another path – the one that leads to light, not darkness.

[sketchtastrophee]

old art again!! this time a rough animation of sawyer and yarnaby 😎 (looks better if u click to view 😭)

im working on a short ppt animation rn. im thinking i should post it to my youtube channel, though im not sure if people here would see it. i think i can link videos on here?? idk

okay I'm gonna talk abt more chapter 4 stuff.. this time about prototype's previous identity.. ch4 spoilers and also a theory below..

hiding the solo yarnaby under here LOL

people theorized 1006 was elliot, which was recently disproven in the chapter 4 tape where poppy refers to elliot as her dad and wishes he were there. in the same tape she addresses prototype as a completely different person. also recall that elliot died in the 90s, meanwhile prototype met theo in 1989. so yeah, they aren't the same person

I've also seen people say rich is prototype, which cannot be true either. in a ch4 tape he speaks to one of the employees under his supervision. the kid mentions his coworkers joking about him going missing. before the bbi, it would not make sense for this to be a common rumor at the company, which means this tape had to happen after harley was hired in 1990; at a time when the company would have a reason to silence people

prototype existed in 1989 at the minimum, but considering he says "it's always been about you and me" to poppy, he's likely the prototype of HER. she's elliots daughter, she died in the 60s, meaning prototype was probably created around that time as well.

this means that rich can't be the prototype because he was human long after prototype was made

if you want my take on who prototype truly is, i'd say his identity doesn't necessarily matter. i don't mean to say his origins aren't important, just that his name and specific role in the past probably doesn't mean anything in the long run. i've never believed he was elliot or rich, and maybe in the future i'll be proven wrong but for now i'll tell you the theory i've had since june of last year

elliot's daughter dies in the 60s. he divorced his wife in 1930, so his daughter is probably in her 30s when she dies. she gets sick or injured, maybe she's actively dying or already dead by the time elliot begins his research. he looks for ways to bring her back, but it doesn't work on the rats (as he mentioned a note in the 2nd chapter)

so what does he do? he tries it on something bigger as he said he would: a human. of course he's not going to try this experimental method on his own daughter, even if she's already dead, so he finds someone else to use it on. we know that elliot wasn't evil or anything, so it's unlikely he killed anybody to use for the experiment. considering the orphanage isn't open yet (it opened in the 70s, not the 60s), prototype probably wasn't an orphan child either. if i run with my simple version of the theory, elliot may have dug up a body in a graveyard and used that. maybe a fresh one, who knows. he tried it, it worked, then he revived his daughter with the same method.

this is likely what harley wanted to know about in the chapter 3 tape (the "i learn something new about you every day" one), and also what prototype is asking harley to figure out in the ch4 tape they're both in. in that case, sawyer never actually figured out how to revive people with the poppy substance. sure, he can transfer people into the toys, but he can't bring anybody back to life

more reason to believe prototype and poppy are of the same "batch" is because it seems they are the only two who don't need food. it's outright stated about him in the ch1 trailer, and insinuated with her saying the "toys will starve otherwise" when she's talking about how nasty them eating humans is. she refers to them, not herself. her and prototype are probably the only 2 who were ever brought back from the dead, which circles back around to his monologue and gives meaning to the "it's always been about you and me, poppy. what we are". when i heard him say that i felt like my theory was lowk confirmed 😭😭

no guarantee this is right, but it's been my guess for a long time

[star-ocean-peahen]

After watching Cinderella (the original animated movie, which was my favorite as a child), it strikes me how it solves many common problems people have with this fairy tale. Like:

Why did they try to identify the mystery girl using her shoe size? Because the bullheaded king's only clue to her identity was the shoe the Grand Duke picked up off the steps.

Why didn't the prince recognize her by her face? Because his father wouldn't involve him in the process at all, and wasn't the one going around trying to find her.

Why did the prince want to marry a lady he only met that night? Because his father was going to force him to marry someone, and he genuinely liked this woman.

Why did Cinderella want to marry a man she only met that night? Because marriage was her best and most secure way to freedom. Fucked up, but you can't say it's unrealistic for the setting of a fairy tale. She also genuinely liked him.

If they're using the slipper to find her, wouldn't it be more sensible to search for the person with the other slipper? Yes. The King is purposefully nonsensical and the Duke is purposefully terrified enough of him to carry out his orders to the letter. Furthermore, they end up doing that in the end anyway, because the Duke's glass slipper is shattered, and Cinderella brings out the one she has to prove her identity.

Why didn't the stepmother and stepsisters recognize Cinderella at the ball? Because they were dancing too far away, and then left the party to dance in private, which was possible because the King wanted very badly for his son to hit it off with someone and tried to arrange the best conditions for that to happen.

Why didn't Cinderella save herself? Because in real life, abuse victims should not have to shoulder that responsibility, and usually can't. In real life, you need and deserve an external support system. Asking for help, in this kind of situation, is very important. She is saved by others because she is loved. Because she is not alone. Because she has friends who love her, and want her to be happy and safe and free. Because in real life, people who want to help someone who is suffering are like the mice. We can't pull out miracle solutions, but we can provide companionship and if we're in the right place at the right time, we can help the person find a better life.

Why didn't the fairy godmother save Cinderella from her abusive household, or try to help her sooner? Because she's magic, and magic can't solve your problems. Quote: "Like all dreams, well, I'm afraid it can't last forever." This (and Cinderella's dream of going to the ball) is a metaphor for pleasurable things in bad circumstances. An ice cream won't get rid of your depression, but it will provide you with momentary happiness to bolster you, as well as the reminder that happiness in general is still possible for you. Cinderella doesn't want to go to the ball so she can get away from her stepmother and stepsisters, or so she can meet someone to marry and leave with. She wants to go to the ball to remind herself that she can still have things she wants. That her desires matter. This is important because the movie does a very good job of illustrating Lady Tremaine's subtle abuse tactics, all of which invisibly press the message that Cinderella doesn't matter. While going to the ball and fulfilling her dreams may not be a victory in the material sense, it is still a victory against Lady Tremaine's efforts.

Why is Cinderella's choice to be kind and obedient framed as a good thing, when you are not obligated to be kind to your abuser? This one walks a very fine line, but I think the movie still makes it make sense. Lady Tremaine never acknowledges her cruelty. She always frames her punishments of Cinderella as Cinderella's fault. Cinderella is interrupting, Cinderella is shirking her duties, Cinderella is playing vicious practical jokes. Cinderella is still a member of the family, of course she can go to the ball, provided she meet these impossible conditions. Lady Tremaine's tactics are designed to make Cinderella feel like she must always be in the wrong and her stepmother must always be in the right. If Cinderella calls her stepmother out on her cruelty, or attempts to fight back, Lady Tremaine can frame that as Cinderella being ungrateful, cruel, broken, evil, etc. If Cinderella responds to her stepmother's cruelty defiantly (in the way she's justified to), she's not taking control out of Lady Tremaine's hands. Disobedience can be spun back into her stepmother's control. She wants Cinderella to be angry and sad and show how much she's hurting. So since Cinderella is adapting to her situation, she chooses to be kind. Not only because she naturally wants to be and it's part of her personality, but because it is a form of defiance in its own way, and it allows her to keep a reminder of her agency and value. Her choice to be kind is her chance to keep her own narrative alive: she is not obeying because her stepmother wants her to and she has to do what her stepmother does, but because she wants to. It's a small distinction, but one that makes all the difference in terms of keeping her hope and identity. (Fuck, I wrote a whole paragraph about how this doesn't mean you can't be angry at people who hurt you or that you need to be kind to deserve help, and then deleted it by accident. Uh. Try again.) Expressing anger and pain is an important part of regaining autonomy and healing. Although it is commendable to be kind while you are suffering, it is NOT required for you to get help or be worthy of help. If Cinderella's recovery was explored beyond "happily ever after" she would need to let herself be angry and sad to heal. Cinderella is not only kind because it comes naturally to her, but because it's her defense against the abuse she's suffering. Everyone's story and experiences are different, and one does not invalidate the other.

Bonus round for answers that aren't part of the movie:

Why didn't Cinderella run away? Where would she go? Genuinely, in hundreds-of-years-ago France, where would she go if she snuck out of the window with a change of clothes? With her step-family, she's miserable and abused, but she's fed, clothed, and in no danger of dying or being taken advantage of by anyone other than her stepmother and stepsisters. Even if she escapes and manages to find financial security, her stepmother might be able to find her and get her back.

Why didn't Cinderella burn the house down with them inside it/slit their throats in the night/poison their food/etc.? Because that's a revenge fantasy, and this story is a fantasy about being saved. There's nothing wrong with making Cinderella into a revenge fantasy. That's perfectly fine, as long as you acknowledge that the other type of fantasy is also a valid interpretation. (I mean, the original fairy tale features the stepsisters getting their feet mutilated and all three of them getting their eyes pecked out, so go for it.)

Why isn't Cinderella more proactive in general? Because she's a child who has been abused for the back half of her life, who has had to be focused on survival because. you know. she's an abused kid.

How did she dance in glass slippers? Gotta agree with you there man, that's weird.

[justwonder113]

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🎧 Shutting you up mid argument with a kiss - Hyung line edition 🎧

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Maknae Line

📖 Summary:  Basically what the title says 🤭

⚠️ Warnings:  Cursing as always; Arguments; kissing; fluff; angst but nothing too extreme; Suggestive ending at Chan's part. NOT PROOFREAD

🖋️ Author’s Note:  Saw a gif of a man shutting a girl up with a kiss and got inspired so hopefully you'll like it. Will do a reverse version too so stay tuned~

📝 Word Count:  3k

📜 Masterlist: | ☕ Ko-fi:

💬Reblogs and comments are truly appreciated—they help more STAYs find my work, and your feedback means a lot to me.��( •̀ ω •́ )✧

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Chan

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To say that you were pissed off would be an understatement. On a broad daylight in front of you this bitch had the nerve to flirt with your boyfriend! Even worse, apart from ignoring your whole damn existence like you meant nothing she made him uncomfortable!  

Like you just wanted to enjoy a peaceful meal, a peaceful evening with your sweet, overworked, always busy boyfriend and instead of that you were now practically seething in your seat while Chan awkwardly but still firmly rejected the girl. 

“Baby you’ve not touched your food in a while. We can go home if you want?” Chan’s concerned voice brought you back from angry and mean things you were thinking about a waitress you were doomed to be served by today. 

 You felt bad. “No...” - You started unsure of what to say. “You wanted to try this place for a while. Let’s just eat okay?  I promise I’m fine.” 

Chan didn’t look convinced.  You saw his eyebrow rise in question but he didn’t say anything and as if sensing  your inner turmoil he started rubbing your hand with his thumb, He hadn’t let go of your hand since you first sat down here. Sometimes it infuriated you how perfect he was. How handsome, kind, gentle, loving, understanding... Even now he was the one feeling uncomfortable but the first thing on his mind was to check on you.You alsmost felt bad feeling angry. 

Almost. 

To be fair you really tried to keep your cool but you were human after all. 

“It’s just some people have no shame! I mean I was right here! She just ignored me! You were holding my damn fucking hand! Of course it means we’re dating or do we have to start making out for her to get a hint?” You grumbled out all annoyed.  Looking up at Chan to take your side you noticed that the expression on his face had changed. Instead of an awkward smile he had on he was now gazing at you with amusement written all over his face. His eyes like a crecent moons and his adorable dimples showing.  

It wasn’t fucking fair he looked this damn good! 

“Don’t smile at me like you aren’t in fucking trouble!”  You watched as confusion washed all over his face. 

“Why am I in trouble?” 

“Oh I will tell you! You are too kind!” You point it out like it’s a huge problem which sounds ridiculous but unfortunately for both of you it is. 

“How is me being kind a problem? Isn’t that a good thing? Should I be evil?” Despite Chan’s playful tone and his amused smile confusion was as clear as a day on his face. 

“Shut it I’m still talking and you’re on thin ice!” The glare you gave him instantly made him shut up. 

“Sorry darling, please continue.” Softly kissing your hand he straightened up and tried to look serious. Tried being the key word. You really tried to keep your composure. 

“You can’t just smile at everyone like that, Chan,” you snap. “That waitress was eating it up. You were practically handing her your number with those puppy eyes.” 

Chan blinks, caught between confusion and guilt. “I was just being polite—” 

“That’s the problem!” you cut in, voice slightly rising against your better judgement. “You’re too polite. Too nice. Too—you. And you don’t see it, but people take advantage of that. You think they’re being friendly. I see it as them testing boundaries.” 

You sighed. “I shouldn't have to sit through a meal watching someone throw themselves at you while you smile and thank them for it like it’s normal. I trust you. I know you won’t betray my trust. It's just... Fuck I don’t know how to explain. I don’t want someone to make you uncomfortable like this. It’s not just about me getting pissed.” 

You exhale sharply, half-angry, half-exhausted mostly grumbling like an old cartoon character. “I should just—I don’t know—write ‘taken’ on your damn forehead in permanent marker or something like mark you up or some shit like that.” 

Chan’s expression shifted at that — something flickered behind his eyes. And then, without a word, he leaned forward over the tiny table, cupped your jaw with one hand, and kidded you. The kiss was firm, sure, leaving no room for argument — just the press of his lips saying everything he hadn’t yet taking your breath away just like that. 

When he finally pulled back, he murmured, breath warm against your skin, “Then I guess I’ll just have to show everyone I’m already yours.” Another short but loving peck, and you’ve already forgotten just what had you worked up anyway. “Is that good with you darling?” The teasing glint in his eyes and the smug grin he was barely hiding made you snap back to reality. 

“Oh fuck you!”  How did he manage to always fluster you was beyond you. He was taking advantage of how much you loved him really. What a tease. Made your heart throb and everything...

God you loved him. 

“Later baby.” He leaned in and sealed your lips again, not that you were against it. Also, you just loved how sour the mood of a certain waitress got after Chan’s very much public display of affection. A win was a win. 

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Lee Know

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The day started out great. You had a day off and you had spent it all day cuddling with your boyfriend and his adorable fluffballs till noon, you had a great breakfast and you two even went out to hang out with the guys. You decided to have a game night. There were also few other close “friends” invited.  

The thing is you and Minho were always a team whenever you played because both of you tended to get overly invested in games and usually it resulted in chaos. But today others had an interesting idea. Since there was an even amount of you Felix and Jisung came up with the idea to randomly split into pairs. That’s how you ended up being paired with Minho’s biggest enemy- Kim Seungmin. Not that you had anything against him, in fact you loved that chaotic little gremlin, the literal chaos incarnate.  

Minho didn’t seem to appreciate that at all. 

At first you thought that he was sulky because he and Innie lost to you and Seungmin in many games, declaring you the winner of the night. But now as you two were heading towards your shared house the atmostphere had really shifted. 

Even the air felt heavy in the car. It was quiet. Too quiet. Like the storm was brewing.  

After you felt Minho glance at you for the nth time this whole ride you just couldn’t keep it to yourself anymore. 

“Okay what is the problem? You had been sulking since we left.” 

Minho looked at you for a second, his face unreadable. “I’m not sulking.” Flat, so dry. 

Yeah right. 

“Please like I’d miss something like that after knowing you for years. You’re literally pouting Min! You only do that when you’re annoyed...”-You poused for a second-“or jealous.” 

“I’m not pouting.” a displeased scoff from him.

Ypu scoff in return. Yes, it's very mature..“Oh please like you can fool me.” 

"I’m fine.” 

“Minho. Why are you upset” 

He laughed now dryly.

“What is funny?"

“It’s funny you noticed, considering you were too busy all evening laughing at everythingSeungmin had said, like he’s the funniest person ever. You didn’t even bother to look at me from time to time. What a cute little pair you were." Minho's voice was cold, so cold it made you shiver. He never talked to you like that.

How dare he?

“Are you fucking serious right now?"

Another glance

“Completely” 

"So what? Am I not allowed to laugh at someone else’s joke? What if my boyfriend takes it as me flirting? What do you not trust me now"

"You think this is about trust?" Minho asked after stopping a car in front of your house. He looked at you, he really did. For a first time in the last 2 hours. "No. It's about the fact that you know exactly what you do to me when you smile like that—and then you go flashing it at everyone else. So fuck me I guess." 

"Excuse me? I’m not yours to—"  

You barely desipher the click of his seatbelt before his hand is firmly on your jaw and his lips are on yours. The kiss so raw and passionate speaking so many things at once. "Yeah, you are." He whispered against your lips before connecting them all over again. You swear you feel like you’re melting.   "You're mine."

“You won’t get out of this with a kiss you know.” 

"If you don’t want me to kiss you, don’t look so damn kissable when you’re angry." Only Lee Minho would he able to say this in the most nonchalant way.

Still it made your heart flutter.

“You’re such an asshole sometimes." You grumbled as you avoided his gaze. You didn’t want him to see how flustered he got you.

“You love me.” 

“I do.” 

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Changbin

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You loved your boyfriend. He was your love, your joy your happiness. He meant everything to you. Like there was nothing you wouldn’t do for him. But sometimes you just felt like strangling him. Like the way Homer Simpson strangles his son Bart. Or at least smack him. 

You two were supposed to have a date in this fancy restourant that recently opened up. You barely managed to make a reservation it was already packed for next 3 months.

Well, you were supposed to go and enjoy your date. The key word being supposed.

 Because he didn’t show up.   

You waited and waited. 15 minutes he didn’t answer your call. 30 minutes. Still no answer and no call. An hour- nothing. The pitiful gazes from the restaurant staff and other people around you became too much, but you still waited. An hour and a half... You just couldn’t take it anymore, so you left. 

You had barely taken a few steps from the restaurant when you saw him running full speed at you. 

“Baby I am so sorry!” You heard him huff out between laboured breaths. 

“Forget it, let’s go home.” The sound of your voice sounded so foreign to you. So emotionless. So empty. 

Changbin quickly caught up with you and stopped you by gently but firmly grabbing your wrist. “Baby please!” He sounded desperate but you didn’t care. You were fed up. You just wanted to go home. 

The desperate call of your name made you stop. And something in you snapped. ”Unbelievable! You forgot! Again! And now you act and sound like you’re the one hurting?” 

“Baby please, listen to me for a second.” He pleaded but you were done listening, 

“Do you even care Changbin? Or am I just some afterthought in your schedule?” You finally asked it, you really did. 

"I—No, I do care! I just lost track of time. I was in the studio, and-” You didn’t let me finish. Scoffing you started to talk. You were done being forgiving and understanding. This time you would speak up for yourself. "Studio. Right, always the studio. Always work. Always something more important than me! You didn’t even text, Changbin! You could have at least warned me instead of making me look like a pathetic fool in front of all these people! You could have fucking answered one of the many fucking calls. “ You knew that his schedule was a nightmare, but you weren’t asking for much. You knew that his mind was occupied with work, but would it kill him to think about you from time to time? 

Changbin looked like he was physically hurt by  your words. "I know. And I’m sorry, I really am!” 

“Sorry?! Sorry doesn’t change the fact that I was sitting there alone, waiting for you! I looked like an idiot, Changbin! Do you even know how...” You couldn’t even finish your sentence, you barely even had time to realize what was happening but one second you were pouring your heart out to Changbin in the middle of nowhere and the next second he was kissing you so desperately like you were the air he needed to breathe.

like you were his lifeline.

He held you like he was afraid you would disappear. 

The kiss itself was so raw, so desperate, so passionate and urgent. You didn’t even know how to react. Your whole body begged you to reciprocate to return the passion. It begged you to hold onto him and never let go, but at the same time you heart ached so much...  

His hands were so warm and gentle holding your face. His whole body was warm. All you wanted was to nuzzle against his strong sturdy frame. But what frightened you more is how weak you were for him. It’s like you could physically feel how the frustration, the anger- all melt into the heat of the kiss as the seconds passed. 

Eventually he leaned back. His eyes  glistening  like he was seconds away from crying. You don’t even realize when you started crying yourself. You only realized when Changbin gently wiped them away. “I messed up. But please, don’t say I don’t care about you.” He took your hands in his and kissed every knuckle making your skin crawl in anticipation. Not breaking eye contact. His eyes speaking for himself , in the language only you two could understand. Something just you two. “You’re my heart.” Another kiss, on your wrist now. And your heart leaped in your ribcage.  

“I love you so much baby.“- He muttered against your skin as he now migrated and kissed both of your cheeks. His touch purely electrifying. “Please trust me on that.” A broken voice and a final kiss on your forehead and you finally give in. 

“You’re on thin ice...” You finally mutter out after a few seconds of silence and Changbin looking like a literal sad puppy instead of a dwaekki. 

A biggest grin comes up on his face immediately. “I won’t break your trust again bunny! I promise.” 

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Hyunjin

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It starts the same way it always does. 

You said something—something important, something you needed Hyunjin to hear—and he just nodded, absently, like your words were some kind of background noise to whatever thought was occupying his head. 

Like now. 

You were sitting across from him, watching, waiting for even the slightest flicker of acknowledgment in his eyes. But instead, he was staring at the floor—no, not even staring. Spacing out. 

You could feel your fingers tighten around your drink. Your heart clenching in pain from being ignored yet again. “Hyunjin.” You called out agan but somewhat you already knew you would be ignored again.  

And there it was - Silence. 

Your heart sinked further. 

“Hyunjin.” You called. His head jerked up, eyes wide, almost guilty. “Huh?” 

Oh, there it iwas. The proof that he wasn’t listening. 

Your voice sharpened, your tone cold. “You didn’t hear anything I just said, did you?” 

“i’m sorry darlin I must have spaced out. What were you saying?” There it was. He asked you to repeat yourself like it was nothing special. Did he even realize just how much he tuned you out? Were you not interesting for him anymore? 

“God Hyunjin you always do this.” It’s like you could feel the headache manifesting. 

“What? What did I do wrong?” He fully sat up now. God was he serious? 

“Do you even hear yourself right now? That’s the problem, Hyunjin—you don’t listen! 

Hyunjin looked taken aback for a second but he quickly started to defend himself. “That’s not true, I...” You didn’t let him finish. 

“It is! Every time I try to talk, you brush it off. You nod along, say, "Yeah, yeah," like it’s nothing! Like I’m some background noise in your life!” You paused a second to take a deep breath. You felt like you could cry any second now. You felt so fragile like you could crack any second.  “It really hurts Hyun...” 

Seeing your defeated state he paniced " I swear, I...” 

"No!”  You interrupt, quite harshly also. “No, don’t just "I swear" me! Because the moment I get serious, the moment I actually need you to listen, you always...” 

Hyunjin moved. Quick, decisive, like he already made up his mind before you even finished your sentence. His lips crash against yours mid-rant, stealing your words, your frustration, your breath. The world tips upside down and all that's left is him—his touch, his warmth, his absurd, infuriating way of handling things. He pulls back just enough to whisper—soft, teasing, smug in the way only Hyunjin can be and get away with - “See? You’re not arguing anymore. Perfect balance.” 

You’re actually speechless. It was like the anger and sadness evaporated but now all you felt was confusion. Being in a relationship with him sure was a rollercoaster. You were flustered, scandalized, fuck you would be clutching your pearls if you had any on.  

You were dizzy. You could barely stand on your two feet. Your heart was going absolutely crazy in your ribcage!

“That—That doesn’t help your case at all you asshole!” Not able to stop yourself you smacked his arm which made Hyunjin giggle. 

Leaning in he wrapped his arms around you and gently brough you to himself. “I’m sorry my love I promise I will be more present from now on.” As if to make his point come across, he laned in to kiss your forehead gently. 

Bergundigly you wrapped your hands around his waist.

As if you could stay mad at him. 

“You better Hwang!” 

Hyunjin flinched like you slapped the shit out of him. “Baby! Not my last name!” 

Served him right. 

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✧･ﾟ: Thank you for reading! :･ﾟ✧ 

If you enjoyed this story, reblogs and comments are truly appreciated—they help more STAYs find my work, and your feedback means a lot to me. 💬🖤 

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[helaintoloki]

Hello and good evening,

I saw you opened requests so I'm dropping by!

What about an infinity stone mishap that has multiple Bucky variants be at the compound at the same time. (Let's just have Winter Soldier be not entirely murderous for the sake of Tony's heart) and literally no one can seem to keep some apart except Steve and reader, who goes off on a rant about all the teeny tiny, to her very obvious details that differ between the Bucky's and accidentally in doing so admits she has a huge crush on him/them??

I hope that made sense omg

And as always, only if it speaks to you and you're up for it! ♡♡

a/n: hi hon, ty for sending this in! i’ll admit this was a bit challenging to tackle but still fun! hope you don’t mind that i changed a few details in the process <3

warnings: light angst, lots of pining, fluff

summary: a multiversal mishap leaves the compound teeming with Bucky variants, and Steve entrusts you with helping him figure out which one is the real deal

“I think I had a nightmare like this once,” Sam shudders as the two of you survey the plethora of Bucky’s taking up space in the compound. A multiversal mishap had led to an overflow of variants into the compound, and now your team found themselves working vigorously to determine which Bucky was your own and which ones needed to be sent back to their proper dimension.

Getting rid of the Winter Soldiers had been the easiest, the red stars on their arms giving away their identities and also giving Tony a heart attack in the process. You could tell apart the Bucky’s with hair that was too long or too short, the one’s that had brown or green eyes instead of blue, and the ones that went by Jane instead of James. The real work, however, came when there was only a handful of variants left that looked identical to your own Bucky.

“We can’t take any chances,” Steve says after having approached you and Sam. “All of these men are going to insist they’re our version of Bucky, and we can’t risk sending back the wrong one. I’m really going to need your help on this, y/n.”

“Why me?” You retort with furrowed brows, nervously peeking your head out of the office to observe the variants that sit restless in the common room.

“Out of everyone here, you and I know Bucky best,” the blond states truthfully. “I think if we work together we have a better shot at cleaning up this whole mess. The sooner the better.”

“You got that right,” Sam scoffs, prompting you to roll your eyes in response.

You couldn’t exactly deny the truth in Steve’s words. Other than Captain America himself, Bucky considered you to be one of his closest friends. Your kindhearted nature made it easy for him to gravitate towards you when first joining the team, and after saving each other’s asses on multiple occasions, he knew you were someone he could entrust with his life. You tore down his walls with ease, you brought out the best in him, and he’d forever be indebted to you for your friendship.

You decide with Steve that the best course of action is to spend one-on-one time with each Bucky you cross paths with to detect any abnormalities in their behavior. The Captain makes it abundantly clear that you cannot let them cloud your judgement with pleasantries, and it’s pertinent you trust your gut with each decision you make. The pressure is on, and you feel the nerves settling in your gut as you approach the Bucky that has made himself at home in the communal kitchen.

“Hey, stranger,” you call gently, a pleasant smile on your face as you seat yourself at the island counter. You note with interest how the man visibly relaxes at your presence and sets aside the pot of tea he’d just finished brewing. His eyes are bright like your Bucky’s, full of adoration and relief when he sets them upon your face.

“Y/n,” he breathes out gently before coming to meet you at the counter, “you have no idea how glad I am to see you, doll.”

“Rough day?” You prompt understandingly.

“Where do I even begin? Being around so many versions of myself is more unsettling than I ever could have imagined.”

“Well, Steve and I are doing our best to fix that,” you assure him. You watch as the man turns back to his pot of tea and begins to pour you both a cup. There’s nothing unusual about this considering your Bucky also enjoys drinking tea; it helps him keep calm and relaxed before retiring for the night.

“How many are left?” He asks before handing you your mug.

“Around ten. Steve and I are making our rounds to figure out which Bucky is ours.”

“Am I your Bucky?” The man prompts with a raised brow while taking a careful drink from his cup.

“You tell me,” you reply with a faint smile, ignoring the way your heart begins to flutter when he refers to himself as ‘your Bucky.’

“I know you have a scar on your stomach from being stabbed by another Widow in the Red Room, and the reason I know that is because I accidentally walked in on you changing in the shower room once,” Bucky admits with a sheepish laugh, prompting your face to heat with embarrassment.

“God, don’t remind me,” you groan while hiding your face in your hands. It’s not exactly comforting to know that Bucky has accidentally seen you naked in at least two different universes, but it also doesn’t make it easier to determine if this man is an imposter.

“I know you like your tea with a tablespoon of honey,” he continues before gesturing to your cup. You hum thoughtfully and set the mug down before meeting his gaze.

“I do, and I know you only like chamomile tea,” you reply, prompting Bucky to stiffen in front of you as you look down at the mug in front of you. “But this is green tea.”

Sighing, the doppelgänger sets his cup down with a defeated frown before meeting your gaze with pleading eyes. “Don’t make me go back.”

“I’m sorry, but it has to be done. We can’t risk the effects that come with having two Bucky’s in one place.”

“Then can I ask you a favor?” The man says solemnly.

“Of course.”

“Before you send me back, can I… is it okay if I hug you?” He asks, catching you by surprise. Noting the confusion on your face, Bucky gives you a dejected smile that doesn’t reach his eyes before explaining, “We don’t talk anymore in my universe. I was an idiot, and you rightfully cut me out of your life. This is the first time in years you’ve looked at me with love and not utter disgust, and I just want to enjoy it a little longer before I have to leave.”

Your heart aches for this poor Bucky who very clearly misses you, or at least his version of you, so you can’t find it in yourself to deny his request. You wordlessly rise from your seat and allow him to wrap his arms around your frame. His hold is tight, his nose brushing against your neck as he savors the feel of your touch, and you feel terrible for the fact that there isn’t anything you can do to help him.

“I’m not sure what happened between the two of you,” you utter quietly while rubbing comforting circles into his back, “but if she’s anything like me, I know she probably misses you but is too stubborn to admit it. Don’t give up on her.”

You release him with a smile and find his eyes shining with tears as he lets your words settle. You bid him a final goodbye before escorting him to Tony and Bruce so that he can be properly transferred back to his own time. That’s only one Bucky down with several more to go, and you know now that you really have your work cut out for you. This is going to be much more difficult than you anticipated.

You stumble upon the next Bucky quietly ruminating in your room, and it takes him a moment to detect your presence as you lean against the doorway and simply observe his mannerisms. You can already tell this isn’t your Bucky by the way he anxiously taps his fingers against his knees; your Bucky’s tell is the anxious bouncing of his leg. This Bucky also wears his hair pulled back into a ponytail, whereas your Bucky prefers to tie his hair back into in a half-up style.

His eyes widen in shock when he finally notices you standing there, and you’re taken aback by the way he nearly flings himself at you. His strong arms wrap around your midsection and lift you off the ground, holding you impossibly tight against him as if you’ll disappear otherwise.

“жена,” he whispers in a trembling voice while combing a hand through your hair.

“I don’t speak Russian…” you voice with an uncomfortable laugh, struggling to take a breath due to how tightly you’re pressed against him. “Buck, you’re kind of suffocating me here.”

The man finally releases you after your admission, but his hands immediately find their way to your cheeks as he cups your face and rests his forehead against your own. You’re startled by the closeness, but there’s no denying the rapid beating of your heart when you stare into his troubled eyes. You’ve had daydreams like this before, but it’s jarring to experience it in person.

“When I arrived here and came across your room I thought it was too good to be true,” he utters shakily, “but you’re here. You’re alive.”

“Bucky, I-“

“You’ve come back to me, жена.”

“жена?” You repeat unsurely. His panicked features melt into a fond smile at the sound of your botched Russian, and he carefully pushes back your hair before gifting you a nod of confirmation.

“Wife.”

Your eyes widen at his proclamation, your heart dropping to your chest while you process the weight of his words and struggle with the turmoil inside of you. You thought dealing with the Bucky from the kitchen was difficult, but this is way out of your playing field.

“Oh god,” you breathe out before carefully removing his hands from your face. He frowns.

“What’s wrong?”

“I know this is all really confusing, but I’m not…” you start to say, grappling with your guilt at having to crush the man’s hopes of being reunited with his version of you, “I’m not your wife.”

The man’s features become sullen at your confession, brows furrowing in disappointment and confusion. “What do you mean? You aren’t y/n?”

“I am, but I’m just not the same y/n you know. This is a different dimension, and you were sent here by accident.”

“So you’re not… she’s not really alive, then,” he murmurs dejectedly, eyes casting towards the floor in despair.

“No, and I’m so sorry I’m not the one you’re looking for,” you console, resting a comforting hand on his bicep. Bucky’s eyes flutter shut at the feel of your touch, something he’d been lacking since your death. You aren’t his wife, but in spite of that, he is grateful to be able to speak to you and see your face once more. “Can I ask what happened to her?”

“Hydra wanted revenge for my desertion and for aiding Captain America in their destruction,” Bucky utters lowly, eyes hardening at the memory. “An eye for an eye. She paid the price for my mistakes, and I’ve spent every waking moment avenging her death.”

A chill runs through your spine as you hear the recounting of your counterpart’s death, but you do your best to remain composed while in the presence of this alternate version Bucky. Your heart aches for the man, and you once again find yourself completely useless at trying to help him.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” you express solemnly. Despite this, Bucky looks to you with a tender smile before carefully taking your hand in his own.

“Don’t be. I know you’re not her, but seeing you again, hearing your voice- It’s the most precious gift I could ask for. Thank you for giving me some semblance of peace.”

You’re a wreck when this Bucky is returned to his own timeline, and after multiple instances of running into Bucky’s who believe you’re their y/n Steve assures you that he’ll take over moving forward. It seems that each Bucky you speak to cares so fondly for you, they adore you even, and yet in this universe you’ve been designated as a close friend and nothing more. It’s killing you to see all the ‘what if’s,’ because deep inside you know that you’ll never be with your Bucky the way you want to.

You’re not sure when your crush on the super soldier had first developed, but you know that you’ve harbored these romantic feelings for him for quite a while now. You’ve never told anyone, though you can guess Steve was smart enough to figure it out on his own, and you have no urge to act on such feelings in fear of how complicated things will become if he doesn’t reciprocate your emotions.

Your rumination leaves you in deep thought as you sit out on the balcony and enjoy some quiet after all the chaos you’ve endured. You hear the sliding door open and shut behind you, but you make no attempt to see who it is until they seat themselves beside you. You peek at Bucky from the corner of your eyes before returning your gaze to the New York skyline, simply enjoying his presence without making an effort to speak.

“You doing okay?” He asks, effectively breaking the silence between you.

“I didn’t think being around multiple versions of you would be so exhausting,” you confess with a humorless laugh, but it prompts his lips to quirk up slightly into a smile.

“You’re starting to sound like Sam,” he teases with a careful nudge to your side. While you’d normally laugh at his jokes, Bucky doesn’t even get a smile out of you. You feel him shift closer to you and hope he can’t detect the way your heart picks up a beat in response. He nudges you again softer this time and asks, “Talk to me. What’s eating you?”

“Every Bucky variant I met today looked at me like I moved heaven and earth together, like I was their reason for getting up in the morning, and I guess it just reminded me of the fact that my own Bucky doesn’t really look at me that way.”

You pull your knees up to your chest and let your chin fall on top of them with a melancholic sigh. A part of you feels embarrassed to be voicing your disappointment aloud, but you figure there’s no harm in telling a variant since you’ll never have to see them again after today.

“Do you want him to look at you that way?”

“Of course I do,” you avow incredulously like the answer isn’t already obvious. “I love him so much that Steve trusted my judgement enough to have me help him sniff out the doppelgängers. I know how he likes his tea, how he does his hair, what his favorite movie is- the list could go on forever. But of course, I live in the one universe where Bucky and I don’t end up together.”

You feel his hand come to rest on the small of your back and shudder at the feel of his cool metal hand seeping through your sweater. You can’t help but to lean against him so that your head is rested on his shoulder, and you’re able to find some comfort in his presence. You hear him let out a thoughtful hum beside you.

“You want to know something?” Bucky pronounces. He feels your head nod against him and smiles. “I know the exact moment I fell in love with you.”

The confession has you lifting your head to peer up at him questioningly. “You do?”

“Of course I do. We were on a mission, and you picked up Steve’s shield to stop a bullet from hitting me straight on before using it to knock out three bad guys in a row. You looked so strong, so beautiful. My heart was yours from then on.”

“I didn’t think you remembered that,” you confess quietly, stomach fluttering with nervous butterflies.

“Haven’t stopped thinking about it since,” he asserts with a fond smile. “Any Bucky would be lucky to have you, and I’m sorry yours has been too chicken to make a move.”

“I guess it’s not totally his fault,” you relent with a meager shrug. “I’m chicken, too.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Bucky suggests, tone light and inviting. “I know I’m not the most obvious about it, but I love you too.”

You open your mouth to answer only to be interrupted by the sound of the sliding door again. You turn to see Steve standing there, surprise on his features when he sees you two sitting on the balcony together.

“Y/n, I’ve been looking for you,” he says suddenly. “I wanted to talk to you about the variants-“

“Don’t worry,” you interrupt him with a passive wave of your hand before gesturing towards Bucky with your head. “I found another one for you. This Bucky just told me he loves me which means he’s definitely not ours.”

“Actually,” Steve says with an amused grin, “I was just coming to tell you we sent the last of them back to their own dimensions.”

“What?” You gape in shock, heart immediately dropping to your stomach as you slowly shift your gaze towards the Bucky sitting next to you. He flashes you a bashful smile and a small wave that fills you with embarrassment.

“I’ll give you two a moment,” the blond says with a knowing smile before making his exit, leaving you alone once more with the man you’d just poured your entire heart out to.

“I thought you knew,” Bucky offers apologetically. You take a nervous swallow before forcing yourself to meet his gaze again.

“So you’re saying that you do love me?” You ask hesitantly, almost afraid that this is all some sort of joke.

“I may not be as romantic or straightforward as the other Bucky’s you met, but I love you just as much as they do if not more,” he professes earnestly, gently resting a hand on your cheek to pull you closer. “I think we make a great team, but we’d make an even better couple.”

“I think so too,” you utter with a giddy smile, waiting with bated breath as Bucky slowly begins to lean in. The anticipation is killing you, but you’re finally rewarded for your patience when his lips meet your own in a tender kiss. Your lashes flutter shut as you melt into his touch, reveling in the moment you’ve dreamed of since discovering your feelings for Bucky.

No matter the timeline and no matter the universe, Bucky is destined to fall in love with his y/n. And you wouldn’t want it any other way.

[ariichive]

WITH OPEN ARMS

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truly, it was never tribbie's intention to get you two to admit your feelings like this!

mydei x fem. reader 2.7k words

cw: chrysos heir fem. reader, mydei being soft, confessions, tribbie playing matchmaker, fluff :) girl dad mydei supremacy, not proofread whoops

‧₊ ˚ ⊹ ࣭ ⭑ . ₊ ⊹ .₊๋

mydei and tribbie stared at you expectantly. tribbie's eyes full of childhood expectancy and innocence. whereas mydei's naturally looked fierce and piercing.

"we must go lady [name], we can't live with the regret of not snatching this deal!"

you were previously doing research on the skies above, trying to find out more about the nameless from above per agalea's request when suddenly tribbie and mydeimos appeared, raving about a deal a favorited reasturant around okhema currently has.

'THREE GUESTS, FREE ALL YOU CAN EAT!' said the flyer tribbie held up to your face. and of course, in very fine print in the corner of the page read, 'with the purchase of our famed wine starting at-' yeah, it was better off not reading the price for your own sanity.

"ah but tribbie, i don't really have the time to-- s-stop with the puppy eyes!" you quickly diverted your gaze to mydei, who naturally looked unbothered by the ordeal. "gods, how did she manage to rope you into this too?"

mydei crossed his arms, "there was no need for persuasion when the opportunity to taste new foods is presented." he had a pleased expression, as if already imagining the endless amount of food he could eat.

"ah, makes sense, i'm sure it takes a lot of calories to maintain all your muscle?" you felt comforted at how relaxed he seemed, it was rare to see such a display. though, his calm demeanor shifted at your words, a faint pink hue taking over. "l-lady [name], it is mandatory to maintain such a build as a kremnoan."

you couldn't help but smile at his flustered reaction, the sharp contrast to his usual confident demeanor amusing. "i see, so it’s part of the job, huh?" you teased lightly,

mydei quickly composed himself, though the pink tint didn't quite fade. "indeed, it is a cultural necessity," he said with a slight tilt of his head, his usual confident posture returning, but there was a hint of something shy in his eyes now. "the kremnoans believe that strength is not just a physical attribute but a reflection of our spirit and endurance."

you couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of admiration for his pride in his culture, his heritage. "that’s... really admirable, mydei," you murmured, genuinely impressed. mydei let out a confident thank you as your attention went back to tribbie, who seemed to be giggling to herself.

"what about trianne and trinnon? that's three of you there, why bring us into it?"

tribbie's giggles stopped immediately, as if she wasn't prepared for this question. "w-well uh, we.. we needed an adult to enter! yeah, i'll bring back plenty of leftovers for trianne and trinnon." tribbie sent you an award winning smile.

you raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced by tribbie's explanation. "an adult, huh?" you said, crossing your arms. "and you just happened to think of us as the 'adults' in this scenario?"

tribbie's smile wavered slightly, but she quickly regained her composure, nodding enthusiastically. "yep! absolutely! you're, uh, very mature and responsible, after all." she added with a wink, clearly trying to steer the conversation away from the awkwardness.

you couldn't help but chuckle at her attempt. "mm, sure, we’ll go with that. but don’t think we’ve forgotten about trianne and trinnon. you'd better keep your promise."

her grin returned with your subtle agreement to accompany them. "of course! i'll make sure they get the best of it. you'll see!"

the three of you began to embark on the short walk to the infamous restaurant when suddenly, tribbie stopped. "such a beautiful day on okhema," tribbie said honestly, which you agreed with. "yeah, the air feels extra refreshing today." mydei nodded in agreement.

tribbie smiled, "i could close my eyes and let the wind guide me!" she said as she closed her eyes. mydei tsked, "if you're gonna close your eyes and walk, at least hold onto one of us."

mydei parent mode: activated.

tribble giggled, "you're very right, de. me and trianne hold trinnon's hands whenever she's feeling shy, that way she knows we're here for her!"

you smiled at her cuteness, having witnessed the three of them skipping hand in hand through okhema once.

"in fact, you and [name] should hold hands!" mydei's eyes widened at her words.

mydei's cheeks flushed, a deep pink quickly spreading across his face. "w-what?" he stammered, clearly caught off guard by tribbie’s suggestion.

you couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction, the sudden shift in his usual composed demeanor amusing. "hold hands, huh?" you said, teasing him lightly. "that’s an interesting idea."

tribbie, always one to push things further, grinned from ear to ear. "oh, come on, you two! it's just a little hand-holding!" she said, her excitement uncontainable.

mydei cleared his throat, his eyes darting between you and tribbie, looking more than a little uncomfortable. "i... i don’t think that’s necessary," he mumbled, though the slight awkwardness in his voice made it clear he wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea.

you noticed the little flush in his cheeks and decided to make it a little more fun. "well, mydei, it’s not a bad idea. it could be... comforting, right?"

tribbie bounced up and down, clearly enjoying the playful tension. "exactly! see, it's just like how trianne and trinnon always hold my hands! nothing to be shy about!"

mydei sighed, clearly resigned to the playful teasing, but his gaze softened when he glanced at you. "i suppose... i could... hold your hand for a moment, if you insist."

mydei offered a polite hand to you, one you gently took. tribbie happily made her way to your other side, taking ahold of your other hand.

with your hands now occupied, you couldn’t help but smile at the unexpected warmth of the situation. tribbie hummed happily, swinging your arm gently as the three of you continued down the path toward the restaurant. mydei, though still looking a bit stiff, seemed to relax slightly, his fingers lightly brushing against yours.

"see? nothing to it," tribbie chirped, clearly pleased with herself for orchestrating this moment. she glanced up at mydei, her grin widening. "feels good, doesn’t it? to be connected like this?"

mydei glanced at the ground for a moment, his face still flushed, but after a brief pause, he gave a small nod. "i suppose it does... in a way," he admitted, his voice softening. "it’s... not so bad."

you squeezed his hand gently, offering a reassuring smile. "i’m glad to hear that," you said warmly.

tribbie giggled, looking between you both with delight. "see, i told you it would be fun! you two are the best!"

the gentle breeze rustled through the trees above, the atmosphere feeling lighter with the shared connection between the three of you. mydei’s earlier unease slowly melted away as he began to fall into the rhythm of the moment, his grip on your hand becoming a little more comfortable. you could almost feel the unspoken bond strengthening, even in the simplest of gestures.

soon enough, the restaurant came into view.

and the first thing that greeted you was well...

trianne?

"um trianne? why-"

"WELCOME esteemed guests," trianne was quick to cut you off, fixing her bowtie and faux mustache. "trianne's name is uh," she paused for a second, silently looking at tribbie as they seemed to have a quick telepathic exchange, "trixie! and trixie will be your server."

you glaced around at the completely vacant restaurant and then to mydei, who looked completely unimpressed.

you blinked, unsure whether to laugh or be concerned. the sight of trianne, dressed in a bowtie and sporting a poorly attached faux mustache, was... certainly unexpected. it was hard to take her seriously, especially with the way she was trying so hard to sound official.

"trixie, huh?" you repeated, raising an eyebrow. "that’s quite a transformation. i don’t think i’ve seen a more... professional server before."

trianne—no, trixie—straightened her back, putting on her best exaggerated smile. "ah, yes, trixie at your service!" she said, adopting an overly dramatic tone that only made the situation even more ridiculous. "what can trixie get for you today, esteemed guests? something spectacular perhaps?" she added, gesturing to the empty restaurant with grand flair.

you glanced around at the vacant tables, your confusion growing. "uh, i don’t see anyone else here... are we the only customers today?"

mydei let out a long sigh, clearly unimpressed. "seems like it... but i'm not sure if this is quite what i expected from a well-known establishment," he muttered under his breath, folding his arms. "though, it is rather joyous to see them having fun like this."

you agreed with him, "might as well entertain them!"

"follow me right this way, tribbie, de, and [nickname]!" you let out a giggle and silently followed after the young girl. mydei just now letting go of your hand to pull out your chair for you, tribbie not far behind.

you cleared your throat ,"is there a menu-"

"NO! we uh, are very limited so chef trinnon's specialty will be served!"

as if on cue, the sound of loud crashing and a soft yelp was heard from the kitchen.

you blinked, your concern growing as the crash echoed through the restaurant. tribbie, looking almost too relaxed, simply leaned over and whispered, "it’s fine, they do this all the time."

mydei didn’t seem as convinced. he was already halfway to the kitchen, his face set with a mixture of concern and curiosity. you, not wanting to be left out, quickly followed behind him, tribbie trailing casually.

as you reached the kitchen entrance, you could see trinnon—covered in flour and surrounded by shattered plates. "o-oh sorry," trinnon said softly. she looked around sheepishly. distracted by the eyes on her, she forgot to turn off the stove and the boiling water began to overflow.

"oh no," trinnon said softly and was about to get up to turn off the stove but mydei was quicker. "you are all much too young to be alone in a kitchen," there was a rough edge to his voice, but it was all out of love. mydei was quick to pick up the glass shards left by the plates, he then grabbed a damp towel and began to wipe the flour off of trinnon's face.

"i… i didn't mean for this to happen," trinnon mumbled, her face flushed with embarrassment. "i just wanted to make something special for everyone…"

"you will, don’t worry," mydei said softly, his voice calming as he gently lifted trinnon's chin, wiping the last of the flour from her face. "but for now, let’s just make sure you’re okay."

you couldn’t help but watch with a warm feeling in your chest, seeing the way mydei balanced his strength with kindness. he had a way of caring that wasn’t always obvious at first, but moments like this made it clear just how much he looked out for the people around him.

tribbie, who had been standing at the doorway watching the whole scene unfold, gave a small chuckle. "oh, this is just like when mama took care of us," she said with a hint of sadness.

you and mydei shared a look of sadness for the poor trio.

trinnon, now feeling a bit more at ease, smiled shyly. "thank you, mydei… and sorry again."

"no need to apologize," mydei replied, his voice now calm and steady. "just be more careful next time, okay? you all go sit back down, i'll show you the cooking skills of a true kremnoan."

with the situation finally under control, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief. "well, looks like we’re in good hands after all," you said, nudging tribbie lightly. "this meal might take a little longer, but i’m sure it'll be worth it."

tribbie grinned, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "oh, it’ll be worth it. i mean, with de in charge, we’re basically guaranteed five-star kremnoan cuisine!" she said, giving mydei a playful salute as he turned back to the stove, his brow furrowed in concentration.

you chuckled, shaking your head. "you really do have a way of making everything more interesting, don’t you, tribbie?"

"what can i say?" she shrugged with a smile. "life’s more fun when you don’t take it too seriously!"

you and the three young girls made your way back to the table. smiling hand in hand.

sitting down, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratitude. there was something comforting about this strange, yet warm, situation. the way everyone was so quick to pitch in and take care of each other—it was a bond that went beyond the usual social niceties.

"so girls, care to tell me what today was for?" you question gently as the three of them chuckle nervously. "w-we see the way you and mydei look at each other," tribbie started. "trianne wanted to set you both up on a date, but we weren't sure how to go about it."

"trianne found a romance book in castorice's bag, it was so slay, slay! we had to follow it!" trianne said with a big smile on her face.

"it seemed like a good idea in the moment," trinnon said softly.

you smiled at the three of them, at such a heart warming moment. "thank you for the attempt, but... i-is my crush on mydei really that noticeable?" you hid your face in your hands, not noticing how the footsteps behind you seemed to halt or the sound of the three girls giving each other high-fives.

trianne let out a mischievous giggle, "we'll let the two of you talk it out!"

mydei looked at the door for a second, his expression unreadable, then finally turned his gaze back to you. "so... seems like things are... out in the open now," he said softly, his voice surprisingly calm.

you finally peeked out from behind your hands, only to find him looking at you with the faintest hint of a smile. "i guess so," you mumbled, still feeling the heat of embarrassment.

mydei’s smile softened, and for the first time, you noticed the way his eyes held a certain warmth—almost as if he were relieved, too. "well, i suppose it was only a matter of time before they figured it out," he said, his voice quiet but sincere, "i do not think i was the best at hiding my feelings either." he admitted while avoiding eye contact.

"w-wait does that mean you really-" the amount of surprise in your voice caught mydei by surprise as he let out a small laugh. "how could i not be enamored by your beauty and strength? after fighting alongside someone as worthy as you, it was only a matter of time before i fell hard."

your heart skipped a beat as his words settled in, the weight of his confession sinking in. you couldn’t believe what you were hearing, and your mind raced to process it all. mydei—mydei—had been feeling the same way? your face flushed, and you struggled to find your voice.

"i… i didn’t know," you stammered, still processing his words. "i thought—i mean, i didn’t want to assume anything. you’ve always been so... calm and composed around me."

mydei finally met your gaze, and there was something vulnerable in his eyes that you hadn’t seen before. he looked almost unsure for a moment, as if searching for the right words. "i was careful not to let my feelings cloud my judgment," he explained, his voice softening. "but after everything we've been through together... it became harder to deny what was growing inside me." he paused, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. "you... are extraordinary. your strength, your courage, your heart—i couldn't help but be drawn to you."

"now then, please enjoy the meal i made for the all of us."

your heart raced, but in that moment, everything felt right. "yes," you said softly, your words steady and sure. "i’d like that."

bonus:

earlier that day

"de, could you accompany [nickname] and us-"

"yes."

tribbie scratched the back of her head, "it was that easy to convince you?"

"why would i need any convincing when [name] is involved?" mydei said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"wow, he's got it bad. we probably didn't need to break into that reasturant..."