#both unintentional and intentional TECHNICALLY speaking

[cryptidofthekeys]

Yandere Chase x Reader (An Average Day in Hell)

TRIGGER WARNINGS: YANDERE BEHAVIOR, KILLING/BEATING TO DEATH, DEATH, SLIGHT MANIPULATION??? (unintentionally and intentional technically speaking), MENTIONS OF A CAR CRASH BUT NOTHING TOO IN DETAIL OF THAT, ALSO DIVORCE MENTIONS, AND SOME SLIGHT ABUSE AT THE END PLEASE KEEP THESE IN MIND BEFORE READING

im not good at titles either also this one is like SUPER fucking long as well- so a keep reading is 100% needed also probs gonna tag it with long post just to be super safe

also wanna interact with the yandere egos? Well, shoot me an ask and I’ll post a link to the sideblog on my main (not gonna copy n paste that here, it took a good few minutes to get this story off my docs n shit lmao)

You were out for a nice walk on one of the trails nearby your house, it was one of the trails you could walk on without worrying about running into anyone, and you liked it that way… You’d rather not deal with a lot of people, you continued onward, taking in the beautiful scenery of the trees, the forest surrounding the area was so beautiful this time of year… The trees were all turned to such pretty colors, that doesn’t mean they weren’t pretty before of course, they just became even more beautiful than before that’s all. You were so distracted you hadn’t even noticed the man that was suddenly walking next to you, you were so fixated by trees until the man coughed into his sleeve and this made you jump and stumble backwards until you were suddenly on your ass.

The man looked down at you and he almost seemed panicked “Oh shit dude! I’m so sorry! I didn’t like, mean to spook ya!” He extended a hand “Are you alright, bro?” You looked at the man for a moment, he had a dark gray heather shirt on, black denim jeans, combat boots, and his hair was a grassy green color, and he wore a baseball cap of sorts with a skull on it, his eyes were a bright ocean blue, overall he looked like a pretty average dude, an average bro some would say (that was the stupidest thing thats ever come outta my mouth imma shut the fuck up now), you realized you had been staring at him for the past few moments, to avoid making this any more awkward, you took his hand and thanked him for helping you get to your feet.

The man grinned happily “No problem, I mean, it was my fault after all, I scared the absolute fuck outta ya” There was a pause before he cleared his throat “My name’s Chase, Chase Brody!” He offered a hand for you to shake, of course, not wanting to be rude you returned it “It’s nice to meet you, Chase… My name is (Y/N)... I uh, don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here before?” You questioned which made the man chuckle a little bit “Yeah, I uh, I’m new here technically, I just like, needed to go out and get some fresh air ya know, that’s all… I take it that not many people use this trail here, yeah?” You nodded “Yeah, it’s rare to see ANYBODY on this trail, well, except for me that is, I always use this trail for that reason” You smiled, this man was at least friendly enough… The two of you continued walking up the trail, might as well at least have someone to converse to while you're walking “Sooo…” The man began “How long ya lived in these parts, because it’s like, really beautiful!” You nodded “Yeah, it’s one of the reasons I moved here actually, because of the beautiful scenery…”

Chase nodded at this “Same, I mean, don’t get me wrong, where I lived before?” He paused, rubbing his shoulder rather awkwardly “Aha… It had SOME beautiful areas but nothing compared to this!” Chase looked as if he were about to say something else but he must’ve decided against it because he just paused for a few moments, trying to think of something else to say “So uh, what do you do exactly? Like, do you have a job? Orrr any hobbies?” You shrugged “A few things here and there, as for a job? Uhh, well… I work at that old timey family diner in town actually” Chase’s smile widened “Oh damn, that sounds cool, I don’t think I’ve been to that one yet, I have explored a little bit of the town though…” 

You nodded “Well, I mean, there’s always time to check it out!” Chase nodded and looked up towards the sky and frowned “Ah shit, it’s getting a lil late… I need to like, go pick my kids up from school n shit, you know how it goes”

You blinked in surprise “You have kids?” Chase nodded “Yep! Two boys and one girl!” Damn… You didn’t expect that, but then the man began to run off, he turned back to wave "Gotta hurry n go! I’ll seeya sometime maybe!” You gave him a wave back and just like that he was gone… You smiled, that was a nice conversation at least… Even if you usually liked to be alone on this trail and not to talk, in fact this time it was the exact opposite… You hoped you’d see him again, truth be told ...Maybe one day, for now you focused on getting through the rest of the trail, and maybe then after this, you’d head into town if you still had time for it… Eventually, you did manage to get through the trail, it took a long while, longer than you would’ve liked but you still had some time to kill for the day, so you headed back and then off into town you went, you’d just browse around for the day… Seeing what was at the shops today and such as that.

You headed into one of the bookstores to see if they had anything you’d be interested in reading or purchasing, you looked around each aisle and looked at each genre, you found a book called an 'An Average Day in Hell' ...You inspected the book and skimmed through some of the pages, it was about a man ironically enough named Chase, you snorted at the title, the dialogue and narration was just... "...This all sounds cheesy as fuck..." You then put the book back and finished up in the bookstore, nothing really caught your eye so you then headed for the next shop, it was a clothing store, maybe you could find some cute outfits in there! You headed inside and glanced around at all the options, this store had a lot of things... There were fancy suits, casual clothing, etc. As you browsed around the shop you suddenly paused and shivered, you had a feeling... A weird feeling, like someone was watching you... You casually turned around and saw that nobody was there ...Maybe you were just imagining things.

(this is future me at past me while breaking the fourth wall there: ...Hm, not the WORST but definitely not the best use of fourth wall breaks, im, not proud of that part okay moving on)

You shook your head and continued to browse around, you pulled out one of the outfits that had particularly caught your attention, and went into one of the changing rooms, you tried on the outfit and examined how it looked on you, you liked this one, you liked it a lot ...You just needed to make sure it was within your price range before you actually bought it, you looked at the price and it was... Way too much for you to afford unfortunately, you sighed and took the outfit off and put your original clothing back on, you then put the outfit back on the rack and went on your way, you headed for one of the ice cream shops, some ice cream would cheer you up for sure! You were about to head inside before three kids rushed into the shop, practically pushing you aside, a very familiar voice called out to them in a scolding manner "Now kids! It's rude to push people like that! No ice cream until you apologize!" The man turned towards you and was about to apologize for his kids before... "No way... (Y/N)? Is that you?" 

You smiled and turned to face Chase "Hey Chase! Takin' the kids out for some ice cream?" The man grinned and nodded "Yepperino!" The kids came up to you "We're sorry for shoving you (Y/N)! Very sorry!"

You shook your head "It's alright, I imagine you were just excited for the ice cream, yeah?" The kids eagerly nodded and were about to run off again before their father stopped them "Now now, don't just go runnin' off! Ya need to meet daddy's friend!" The kids came over and Chase pointed at the eldest son "This is Trey" then to the second eldest, the daughter "This is Chelsea" and then finally to the youngest son "And this is Greyson...!" 

(looked on wiki for the potential boys, so two potential canon names and one I just bullshitted til I got a girl-esque name in my brain)

Greyson hid behind Chase, the boy seemed pretty shy... Meanwhile Trey and Chelsea greeted you instantly "It's nice to meet you (Y/N)!" You smiled "It's nice to meet you too kiddos!" Greyson grabbed Chase's shirt who knelt down instantly "What's up kiddo?" Greyson whispered into Chase's ear who smiled "Greyson says it's nice to meet you too..." Chase stood back up and whispered to you "He's a very shy kid around strangers, he'll get used to you eventually" You nodded and with introductions and such out of the way, you all proceeded to get some ice cream, Chase insisted on buying you some but you refused, you were not going to make him pay for you like that.

Eventually after defeating Chase and getting him to relent from his actions... All of you then sat down to enjoy your ice cream, Trey got some vanilla, Chelsea got some strawberry, Greyson got some chocolate, Chase had gotten some cookies and cream, and you had gotten your favorite as well 

(i'm not gonna specify that, i mean y'all know what ya like)

 As you were eating some of your ice cream, you sighed and set the cup down for a few moments, Chase noticed this and he looked concerned "Is somethin' wrong (Y/N)?" You looked up at Chase before leaning in to whisper, you didn't exactly want the kids hearing this "I dunno... It's just... I was browsing in the clothing shop near here and I just... I got the feeling someone might've been watching me..." Chase's concern grew at this as he whispered back "Oh? Did ya like, manage to see anybody...?" You shook your head "Not at all... I dunno, maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me or something..." Chase shrugged "I'd hope it's just your imagination... I'd be pretty spooked if someone was followin' me for sure..." Chase then paused to...

...No, no, he did not just do that... He did not do what you think he just did ...Oh my god he did, he did the absolute thing you thought he did, it's evident in the ice cream... ...Chase just bit. Into. His. Ice. C r e a m... You cringed at this "Chase, Imma be honest with you, if you do that again in front of me, I WILL get up and leave this table" The man grinned and let out a little laugh "Aww c'mon bro! Don't leave me!" ...His tone sounded off there, maybe his voice cracked, because it definitely sounded like a bit of one, either way you couldn't help but giggle "I'm kidding, but please, resist from biting your ice cream like that" Chase chuckled "Okay, okay, I won't bite my ice cream again ...Maybe..." You gave him a playful glare to which he just grinned and finger gunned at, the rest of the evening was spent cracking jokes back and forth, Chase threatening to bite into his ice cream again and then threatened to bite yours, to which you responded by holding the cup near you and muttering out a 'my precious...' in a low raspy voice.

The way you said that and the sheer silliness of the situation caused Chase to practically burst with laughter, you joined in as well, it did turn a few heads but the two of you didn't seem to care, his kids had finished their ice cream a good bit ago and were just sitting there, they seemed... Really happy at the scenario right now... Eventually you looked out the window and your eyes widened as you immediately stood up, this caused Chase to pause before tilting his head "What's up?" You sighed "As much as I've enjoyed our evening... I really need to get going... It's getting super late, and I just, I hate walking home late at night..." Chase nodded "Ah yeah... I should get the kids home too, if ya want, I can drive ya back to your place" You smiled "Oh no no, I don't wanna trouble you..." Chase reached out and gently grasped your hand "(Y/N), I promise, it isn't any trouble at all, you didn't let me buy ya any ice cream so at LEAST lemme do this for ya" You sighed, you couldn't argue with this one and you nodded "If you insist"

Chase smiled and nodded, standing up and getting out of the booth, motioning for his kids to come on which they did, you all headed out and hopped into Chase's car, he cranked it up and then off he drove, in the direction of your house, there wasn't much talking in the car, as both Chelsea and Trey had fallen asleep, Greyson was in the seat twiddling with his thumbs, eventually Chase did make it back to your house, he pulled into the driveway "Welp, here we are, home sweet home! Er, for you that is I guess" You smiled and turned toward Chase "...I just, thank you Chase... Really, you know... I had a lot of fun tonight, that's the most fun I've had in awhile..." The man smiled "Honestly? Me too... I uh, I'm glad you had fun..." You nodded "...If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to do it again actually..." Chase's face flushed immediately and his eyes were wide, he turned towards you in shock "R-Really? You... Want to... Meet up again?" You nodded "Yeah, I mean, er... If you want to do that!" Chase had the biggest and happiest smile on his face "YEAH!!" He shouted, startling his kids awake and then he cleared his throat and spoke much softer to his kids first "Sorry...!" And then he reiterated what he said before "Yeah, I'd love to meet up with ya again...!"

You smiled “Hmm… Ice Cream shop meet up again?” Chase chuckled and nodded “It’s a date! ...E-Er, wait no… I didn’t mean it like that, I-I meant…” He was getting nervous to which you responded by resting your hand upon his “...It’s a date, for sure, I’d like to get to know you better actually! So how about… Six PM?” Chase’s breath hitched, whether it be at your hand upon his or your words, but he had the biggest smile on his face “O-Oh… Ye-Yeah… Yeah, okay…!” You then hopped out of the car, thanking Chase for the ride home, he gave you a thumbs up and then you headed quickly inside your house, it took Chase a few moments before he pulled out of your driveway and headed off. You smiled to yourself, Chase was such a sweet man, sure, it hadn’t been too long ago since you had met him but you already wanted to hang out with him again, this time, you wanted to get to know him a little better… Calling it a date out of the blue like that was weird, but you… You were beginning to really like the guy! 

… You then paused your thoughts, that dude must’ve been a single father, you didn’t see a wife or partner of any kind around, maybe he has been divorced or he divorced someone, you don’t know how someone could divorce someone who seemed so sweet, so loving, so kind! Then again, you also didn’t know the full story... Divorces and stuff can be a tricky mystery, it’s not really any of your business anyways so either way, you headed off towards your bedroom and got changed and ready for bed, tomorrow was going to be an eventful day, you had to get some sleep for sure, you flopped down onto your bed and closed your eyes, slowly drifting off into dreamland…

And then it was morning, you slowly opened your eyes to the sun shining brightly on your face, you squinted and slowly rose up from bed, rubbing at your eyes and looking around at your room, you looked at the time… 10 AM… You slowly got up and opened your closet, for now you’d put something comfortable on… You were going to save your best outfit for tonight! You smiled at the thought of getting to see Chase again, for now you had to make yourself some breakfast and then clean up around the house, really just so you can get that out of the way but also to kill some time today, after putting on your outfit, you then went to the kitchen, fixed yourself some breakfast and then got to cleaning for the rest of the day, you had some extra time so you freshened up a good bit and then put on your favorite outfit.

And with that you headed out the door, rushing off to the ice cream place, you had to admit while there was a nervous feeling building in the pit of your stomach you were also very excited for this… In your excitement you had arrived at the shop a little earlier than you intended, but either way, you took a seat at one of the booths and waited for Chase… When the clock hit six, he had practically rushed through the doors, a smile on his face as well, he looked just as excited as you were, he scanned over the shop but he didn’t see you which worried him for a moment… You then waved him over and he strode over towards you immediately, he didn’t have the kids with him this time “Hey (Y/N)!” He greeted you and sat down, he then took a proper look at you and he looked surprised “Woah… You look… Awesome…!” You smiled and blushed at his comment “Thank you Chase… You look awesome as well…” You looked at his outfit, it uh, was the exact same one he usually wore but you liked his main outfit, it was cute and fitting for him.

Chase was blushing as he suddenly pulled a box out and slid it over to you, it was a fairly large box and it was wrapped so neatly, you looked up at Chase who was rubbing the back of his head awkwardly “I got this for you… I hope you like it…” You looked down at the gift and slowly began tearing into it, once you got the wrapping paper off you opened the box and gasped at what was inside… ...It was an outfit, but not just any outfit, this was the EXACT same one you had wanted at the clothing shop nearby! ...You looked up at Chase in shock, you then bit your lip “O-Oh jeez… This is the EXACT outfit I wanted... Chase… I… I didn’t even get you anything in return… And this was… So expensive… H-How?” Chase smiled and laughed “Don’t worry about gettin’ me anything! And besides, I thought it’d look good on you!” You reached over to hug him from across the table which surprised him, Chase’s hands twitched for a moment before he slowly reached up to hug you back… This felt… So good to him…

“So… Warm… And soft…” Chase muttered, you blinked and pulled back from him “What was that?” Chase’s eyes widened, he had a blush on his face,  before he shook his head and just smiled “Oh nothing… I just… Was saying thank you for the uh, hug…!” You smiled and nodded “No problem!” Chase nodded and then he realized “Oh uh, we should, probably like… Get some ice cream, if ya want of course” You grinned “I’m always up for some ice cream!” Chase and you had gotten up from your seats, getting in line to get some ice cream, when the two of you got to the counter, Chase was absolutely refusing to let you pay this time, you sighed in defeat after a moment of bickering but gave him a smile nonetheless, a stubborn man this one could be… Either way, he got a milkshake that the both of you could share and you headed back to your booth, sitting down and enjoying the milkshake together. You took a few sips before pausing and looking at Chase “Soo… Were you, uh, married at one point…?”

Chase frowned suddenly and sighed “...Yeah, I uh used to be… I’d… Rather not talk about what happened of course, I’m sure ya understand…” You gave him a sympathetic look and nodded “Of course, we uh, don’t have to talk about it… Sorry for bringing it up” Chase shook his head and gave the milkshake another sip before continuing “Nah, don’t worry about it…” You sipped on the milkshake as well, trying to think of another question to ask, something that… Wasn’t, a marriage themed question… “So, why did you move here exactly? Aside from the beautiful scenery…” Chase looked as if he were in thought for a moment “Eh, to be honest? I just needed to get away from it all… Where I lived before was alright but like, I needed something new, something fresh! I got so used to seeing the same ol’ same old… And the kids did too… They were getting bored of the old place… I do feel a little bad because they did have some friends back there but… They don’t seem to mind at all, in fact, they’ve made more friends here actually”

You smiled at this “Well… That’s good, at least they have made new friends here, the people of this town are… Pretty friendly, I’ve made a few friends here myself actually” Chase seemed to perk up at this “Really? I mean, like, I wouldn’t be surprised because you’re an awesome person!” Chase paused for a moment before getting embarrassed “I-I mean…” You shook your head, not giving him time to finish his sentence “Thank you… I’m glad you think so…” You then paused and sighed “...I am worried though… I haven’t heard from one of my friends in awhile… I hope they're doing alright…” Chase gave you a nod “I’m sure they’re just fine… Maybe busy with some stuff, I’m sure they’ll call ya soon enough” You looked at Chase, he was so sweet… “Yeah… I hope so” And then there was a pause, the two of you taking the time to enjoy the milkshake in silence before you looked at Chase “What do you do for a living exactly?” Chase shrugged “Meh, I’ll take what I can get really, gotta support the kids ya know… I mostly do youtube stuff of course but I gotta do a lotta other shit, I don’t want… I don’t wanna risk them going hungry or some shit” You gave him a sympathetic look “Sounds really rough… I’m sorry…” Chase shook his head “Don’t be, there’s not much you can do about it anyways, it’s not your fault”

You nodded and offered Chase the cherry after finishing the milkshake to which he shook his head “Nah, you have it, I insist” You shook your head and used one of the knives at the table to cut it in half and you offered one half to Chase “We’ll just share it then, how about that?” Chase gave you a smile and took the half of the cherry, the two of you clinked your halves together

(listen, i know i said its an ice cream shop but they have knives there for some of the other desserts, its not just specifically ice cream, just- sh- sh, let the plot advance okay?)

“Cheers” and then popped it in your mouths, giggling slightly at the silliness of that situation before you stood up and stretched out and looked out the window “Hm… We still have some time left, is there anything else you had in mind for the night?” Chase shrugged “I mean, if ya want, you can come back to my place and we could hang out, I got some video games we could play together!” You grinned and nodded “Sounds like fun!” Chase smirked at you and stood up “Just be warned though… I’m one of the best gamers around! Although, I could let’cha win at the very least” You chuckled “That’s very bold of you… And very naive to think I need or want you to let me win, do NOT underestimate me, Chase~” The two of you exchanged a playful glare as you headed out of the ice cream shop, hopping into his vehicle and heading back to his place.

Once Chase pulled into the driveway, you looked at his home, it wasn’t.... Too terribly big, in fact rather small to have three kids in but you wouldn’t say that, it wasn’t really any of your business anyways, and besides maybe it was bigger on the inside than you thought, looks can always be deceiving you know… Chase hopped out and you soon followed, he gently opened the door after unlocking it and it wasn’t as small as you thought it’d be inside but it’s definitely not large either “I uh, it isn’t… Much, but at least it’s a roof over our heads, ya know?” You nodded at the man’s words, you then both turned around upon hearing the kids voices call out, they immediately ran up and hugged their father and gave you a smile and a wave, then another voice called out “Oh! I didn’t expect you to be back so soon, Mr. Brody!” Chase nodded “Well we didn’t have much else to do in town really, so, (Y/N) and I decided to come back here and play some video games” You assumed this was the babysitter, they approached and smiled “Ah, so you must be (Y/N) then, actually… The kids have been talking about you nonstop tonight…” They extended their hand for a handshake, you smiled and exchanged a handshake with the other, meanwhile Chase had bit his lip and looked away and toward his kids, who seemed preoccupied and happy they’re father was home.

Chase then grabbed his wallet from his pocket and paid the babysitter who then waved goodbye to the kids, Chase, and you as well and headed out, you noticed Chase staring them down as they went out which made you raise a brow, you gave him a nudge “You okay?” Chase looked back at you and smiled “Oh uh yeah, just… Thought I saw something out there?” Oh, maybe you were quick to assume he was staring at them then… Either way, you were excited to play some games with him! You quickly grabbed his arm which he gasped at, he barely had time to react as you dragged him off to the couch, the kids giggling while following the two of you. He had quickly gotten the game set up and tossed a controller your way, Chelsea had a grin on her face as she read the title of the game once it popped up “Oooh daddy’s really good at the super smash bros games! He’s gonna kick your butt (Y/N)!” Trey then interrupted “Yeah he’s the king of these games!” 

You chuckled “I hate to be the bearer of bad news kiddo but… Your daddy’s about to lose that crown of his~!” Chase raised a brow “A very bold claim your makin’ there, eh (Y/N)?” He had a cheeky grin on his face, you challenged his grin with a playful glare “I don’t plan on losing tonight Chase, you might as well kiss that crown goodbye” He chuckled at that “Alright then, whatever ya say… We’ll see what happens” And then the game booted up, Chase chose a character called Ridley (I like to imagine he has a few mains but you know he be choosin that one especially) and then you chose Isabelle (listen I’m sorry if this ain’t y’alls main but just trust me on this one okay? It’ll be worth it in the long run and I know the match up itself is… a lil silly but just shh) Chase couldn’t help but snort at the selection you made, although Chelsea seemed happy enough, she must’ve liked Isabelle a lot! And then the game began, before Chase did anything he paused it and looked at you “Ya need any tips or you good for this one?” You shook your head “Nah man, I’m good, I’ve got this… What, you scared to lose your crown?” Chase snorted “Not a chance, ya really are full of yourself sometimes (Y/N)” He unpaused it and then the fight began.

The fight… T’was an epic battle of skill and wit… This battle was like no other, the children cheered with each punch thrown, each move made, and to Chase’s surprise, you were REALLY good at this game, you were almost giving him a run for his money! BUT the fight wasn’t over yet, he was still on the stage and kicking, at first there was some banter, some swearing under your breath so the children wouldn’t hear, but now? There was nothing but pure silence and concentration, complete focus and even the kids had fallen silent now, watching in sheer awe at how good you were, and now… It was time for the ultimate end game, as you hit the buttons and watched Isabelle unleash her Final Smash and this caused Chase and the kids jaws to drop to the floor, you all watched as Isabelle delivered her move and then it was endgame… You sat the controller down, crossed your arms and had a wide smirk on your face as you looked over to Chase who wasn’t even mad, he merely looked over at you and solemnly tipped his hat to you

“Damn (Y/N)... That was e p i c… You’re really good at this!” He grinned and he seemed happy enough, which you were glad of, you nodded “I told ya, not to underestimate me, that’s what’cha get!” Chase nodded “Yeah, I did kinda do that, didn’t I?” he chuckled nervously, to which you only gently punched at his shoulder “No hard feelings of course!” The kids were clapping, Chelsea was practically beaming “Wow!! (Y/N) that was so amazing!! I’ve never seen anybody as good as dad!”

Trey nodded “Yeah, that was awesome!” You smiled at this, and then Chase was looking up at the time and then he stood up “Alright, it’s time for bed kiddos” And at this the kids pouted “Aww dad, do we have to?” Chase nodded “It’s a school night, gotta get a lotta rest so you can be ready for tomorrow” And despite the kids not really liking this reasoning, they agreed and headed off to go get ready for bed, you looked at Chase “Hey, uhh, where’s your bathroom?” Chase pointed down the hall “At the very end of the hall and to the right” You nodded and headed down that way, upon getting halfway down the hall you felt a tug at your shirt and looked down to see Greyson, you knelt down and looked at him “What’s up buddy, need somethin’?”

Greyson twiddled with his fingers and looked down, keeping eye contact with the ground before suddenly reaching out and hugging you “...T-Thank you…” He stuttered, you raised a brow at this “Uh…” You paused before carefully hugging him back “Why are you thanking me exactly buddy?” There was a pause before Greyson pulled back “D-Dad… He… He um… He seems m-much more… ha… uh… He seems to be m-much happier… Ever since… h-he fir-first… me… first met you…” You were… Shocked by this…  “Greyson’s right you know” Chelsea called out, a smile on her face, Trey was also smiling as he began “Yeah! Please… Don’t tell dad we told you this… But, we’ve noticed he didn’t seem as happy as he used to be… The last time he was happy was before… Before…” Chelsea interrupted, a hint of sadness in her voice “...Since mommy left…” You felt sorry for the kids and for Chase but even then you didn’t know the full story, and you sure as hell weren’t going to ask why, it wasn’t in your place to just ask about personal things like that… You only smiled “Well… Hey, kiddos… I… I’m glad I’ve made your dad happy at least, I’ve had a great time with him, really, he’s a sweet man and he seems to care a great deal for all of you… I’m sure things’ll be just fine, yeah?” Chelsea nodded “I hope so, just um… Please don’t tell daddy about this, he doesn’t like talking about mommy or the past really… Don’t tell him we told you” You nodded “Don’t worry, I won’t” The three kids hugged you tightly and then ran off to go to bed.

You smiled at this, they really did seem like such nice kids…  They just wanted their father to be happy again, you would try your best to help them out with their little wish, you headed to the bathroom finally to do your business and then finally back to the living room, you saw Chase laying there on the couch scrolling mindlessly through his phone, upon noticing you he gave a friendly smile and a peace sign “What took ya so long dude? Get lost down there?” You glanced back to the hallway before laughing “Nah, nothing like that… It was just that… The kids were still amazed at how I beat you at the game like I did~” You grinned to which Chase scoffed at “I let you win just so you know, just to be nice…” You laughed at this and walked over, moving his legs out of the way so you could sit down “Mmmhhmmmm suurrree you did, you just can’t admit or accept defeat can you?” Chase cheekily grinned as he rested his legs over your lap now “Nope, I can’t and won’t admit defeat, not ever, you might have won the battle but you won’t win the war! You’re going d o w n next time” You rolled your eyes at this “Yeah right” you tried to push his legs away and off of you but he seemed content just leaving them in place “C’mon Chase, get your legs off me, don’t be salty just because you lost” This made the man playfully glare at you and then he went back to looking at his phone, ignoring you for the time being as you tried to push his legs off, he was a stubborn one for sure.

Although you knew he was just messing with you, it was nothing serious, nothing serious from you either, honestly… You were having a lot of fun tonight with Chase… You sighed, you felt content “You know, Chase… I’ll be honest, I’ve been having a lotta fun with you tonight, it’s the most fun I’ve had in awhile actually” And that made Chase smile, a genuine smile… “I’m glad, I was worried I’d bore you or some shit ya know? I uh, don’t consider myself to really be any fun to hang around with” You looked at Chase and shook your head, placing a hand in his which made his breath hitch in his throat “That couldn’t be farther from the truth! Ya don’t need to be so hard on yourself Chase, you are a really sweet man, you are kind, caring, and-” And then you were trailing off, your face turning bright red as you realized what you were saying to him… 

“I uh, I mean…” Chase only smiled at this, his face also a bright red “Hey… Uh, (Y/N)...? I actually have something I’ve been wanting to ask you…” He began rather nervously, and you were curious as to what he was going to say before your phone buzzed in your pocket “Oh uh, hold on a second, then you can tell me” Chase nodded at this and watched as you pulled out your phone, he watched your eyes scanned through whatever it was and he could see the look of shock and worry on your face “...(Y/N)...? I-Is everything alright?” You immediately got up from the couch and looked at Chase in a panic “O-One of my friends is in the hospital… I...I fuck… It sounds serious too, they were in a bad car crash!” Chase’s eyes widened at this statement, while he didn’t like to see you so stressed, he didn’t like the fact this little nuisance had interrupted his confession “I mean, maybe they’ll be fine? I… I mean like, I’d hope so anyway is what I’m trying to say!” You barely registered his words and quickly shoved your phone back into your pocket “I’m sorry Chase but, I gotta go! I promise you can tell me what you wanted later, but right now, I need to go be with them, I just… oh god, fuck... ” There was a pause before Chase nodded, he wanted to clench his fist but to avoid suspicion he stood from his spot “I’ll drive you over there, you’re panicking too much to drive by yourself right now, what I want you to do is take some deep breaths while I get stuff ready” He gently placed his arms on your shoulders for a moment.

“Can you do that for me, babe?” You slowly nodded “I-I’ll try…” Chase smiled “Good, just, stand here and take some deep breaths for me, I’ll be right back” And with that he was off, he had to go get a pencil and a piece of paper JUST in case the kids woke up, he didn’t want to worry them if he wasn’t back in time… He quickly wrote a note, putting his eldest in charge until he got back, mentioning if they needed anything, they had the babysitter’s phone number and his as well, it was extra precaution, and then he grabbed his keys, looking back over at you “C’mon (Y/N), let’s go” you immediately came running over and the two of you headed out the door, quickly hopping into his car and then speeding away, he knew how to get to this particular Hospital, after all, you can never be too careful when you have children, and knowing how to get to things like that is very important, the drive was mostly in silence, until you looked over to Chase and you wouldn’t deny, something about him seemed… Off…. He had a darker look in his eyes “...You, uh… Okay…?” Chase looked over to you, that darkness quickly fading “Oh uh, yeah, even though I don’t know ‘em personally, I’m still worried about your friend and I know your worried sick too” Ah, so that was what the weird look in his eyes was for, Chase was so nice…

He cared about his family, friends, and you as well it seemed, hell, even people he didn’t know, complete strangers he had a great deal of care for, he was such a sweet man, and it felt like no time at all had passed and then you were both at the Hospital, Chase got out quickly as did you and he let you lead the way, you knew what room they were in so it’d probably be for the best if you led him there, one of the nurses had came over and stopped you both “Excuse me, are you (Y/N) by any chance?” You nodded quickly and pointed toward Chase “He’s with me as well” The nurse nodded and began to escort you both to the room “Your friend really desperately wanted you here with them, you two must be very close”

(i know thats probs not how it works in hospitals, they probs dont let’cha visit like that but listen, its just for plot- just s h h-)

You nodded at this “Yeah, we’ve uh, always been pretty close” Meanwhile Chase’s eyes darkened momentarily, he didn’t like the sound of that but, nonetheless, he just needed to calm down, before something v e r y bad happened… Eventually you both reached the room and immediately you ran over to your friend’s side “I’m here (F/N)! I’m here” (just give them whatever name ya want) Your friend looked at you and shakily reached out a hand to grasp at yours “(Y/N)... F-Fuck… Everything hurts like hell, th-that accident really did a number on me, one of the nurses just gave me s-some pain meds though” They laughed a little dryly, they looked to be in pretty bad shape “I just, I’m glad you’re alright, er, well, I mean not dead or anything… Jeez, what the hell even happened to you?” Your friend sighed “Some shithead wasn’t p-paying attention to… To where they were… Were going… I don’t even… I don’t even fucking know wh-what happened to them…” Your friend then turned over toward Chase “Oh? Who’s this guy?” You looked over and then back to your friend “Oh uh, this is Chase, we’ve uh, just been hanging out today ya know, had some ice cream and then went to go play some video games” Your friend then gave you a look and a weak smirk “Oooh~ So (Y/N)’s got themselves a lil date, yeah?~” Your eyes widened and you blushed a little “W-Well uh, I dunno if I’d call it that…”

Your friend then grinned “C’mon, (Y/N), really, your literally blushing…! It’s gotta be a date if your going that red faced over my simple question…!” And then a pause before a genuine smile crossed their lips, or well so you thought anyway “I uh… I’m… Really glad for you… Glad you found someone you like to spend time with…” Even though you couldn’t really see it, Chase could, that was no genuine smile… They were hurt… And for what? It’s not like you would have ever fallen for them, you two were just friends! ...And yet, the thought of them taking you away made Chase clench his fist and his breath hitch, he jumped however as you called out to him “You okay over there?” Even the nurse had looked concerned who was in the room, mostly checking to see if everything was still okay with your friend, Chase stood up and awkwardly chuckled “Oh uh, yeah I’m fine… I uh, I feel a bit awkward just idling here so Imma step outside, give ya some alone time with your friend…” And with that he stepped out of the room, pulling out his phones and earbuds, he leaned up against the wall and placed the earbuds in, although he definitely wasn’t planning on listening to music, he was just going to pretend he was so he could listen in on your conversations with t h e m…

Once the nurse had deemed everything was in order, she had left the room, on the way out she gave Chase a look who only flashed her a peace sign, and with that she walked away, you looked at your friend who was staring out of the room and you looked at them confused “...Uh, why are you just… Staring…?” Your friend looked back to you with a concerned expression on their face “Just, just be quiet for a few seconds…” You were confused but you did as told, staying quiet and for a few moments that’s all it was, except for the, well, the sounds of the Hospital, and then your friend turned to you “Just… Thought I heard something… That’s all…” There was a pause before you spoke “Are you like, okay…? You’re acting a bit weird…?” 

Your friend only smiled “I’m fine, I swear, don’t worry so much (Y/N), I just genuinely thought I heard something, that’s all but I guess it was nothing, aside from that, I do gotta ask… Are you REALLY on a date with this uh, Chase guy…?” You shrugged “I mean… I dunno if I’d call it that…? I uh, I mean, I do like him honestly, he’s very sweet and kind…”

Your friend looked down at this “...I just, listen, I know this might sound outta place, and hell, it’s probably not even my business… But, I dunno about the guy… He gave me some, strange vibes… How did you two even meet?” You looked at your friend, a little offended at that statement but you’d carry on for now “Well, he bumped into me while I was out for my usual walk on the trail” Your friend looked over at you “...On the trail… That nobody but YOU usually goes on, yeah?” You didn’t like what they were trying to imply but you needed to keep your cool “(F/N), I mean, come on, there’s other people out there that walk the trail I’m sure of it” They only looked at you quizzically “...Have you ever seen these people…?” You were about to argue with that but then you thought about it and your friend did have a point at that, you really never saw anyone out there… However before you could speak out against them, they continued on “Like, what if he was stalking you or some shit?” And that’s when you narrowed your eyes “...(F/N), I really don’t like what you're implying here… I’m sure there are other people who walk the trail aside from me, I just so happened to run into one of them and that was Chase that day”

Your friend looked at you, almost glaring “I just, I dunno I don’t trust this dude… There’s something off about him” You looked offended at that “(F/N)...! I don’t exactly appreciate you saying that, Chase is a lovely man, he’s so sweet, kind, and honestly very caring” Your friend rolled their eyes “I dunno I just, I just don’t think he’s good for you…!” You glared at them and crossed your arms “I don’t think this is really any of your business, he’s treated me so nicely so far, and I think if there was something off about him I woulda noticed…” Your friend shook their head “I just, like, dunno about him! ...During your date or even before, did anything strange happen?” You were surprised by your friend’s sudden change in behavior, you didn’t understand this at all and honestly, you were beginning to feel a little hurt by it before you began remembering something… “...Well, before the date, I was just browsing through the shops, and I…” You paused, pondering for a moment before you frowned “...I… I DO remember getting a sensation of being watched while going into the clothing shop though now that I think about it…” And then the more you thought about it… Your eyes widened as you realized something “...And… And I was looking at one thing in particular… And, then I left because I couldn’t… I couldn’t afford it…” Your friend was looking more and more intrigued and concerned “And then what happened…?”

You looked up at them “...I remember Chase giving me… The… The EXACT same outfit…” You then shook your head “But there’s no way, he would NEVER do that” Your friend only sighed “How do you know that though?! You don’t KNOW him as well as you think you do, I guarantee he’s got some dark weird shit to hide…” Meanwhile outside, Chase was clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he immediately stepped away and headed off to the bathroom, he had to… He couldn’t explode right there because then he’d scare you off… Eventually he found his way and slipped into the bathroom and he snarled, looking at himself in the mirror “...They're trying to take them away from me…” He muttered to himself.

He took his cap off and ran a hand through his hair, gripping it tight and tugging at it, he was s o fucking angry… How DARE they… First they interrupt him from telling you that he loved you, he was SO fucking close to FINALLY making a proper move… But nooo, that dumb b i t c h just HAD to get in his way… … He stared into the mirror for a few moments before glaring and punching it, he didn’t put enough force to break it but it definitely made a noticeable crack “...I need to take care of them… Before they take (Y/N) away from me,  before they convince them with their shitty little ‘assumptions’... I… I just…” And then his eyes went wide a bit, he began shaking not only out of anger but also, there was fear, fear of losing you… Fear that you’d believe them, fear that you’d… You’d fucking h a t e him “God, oh god… Fuck, I can’t… I can’t lose them… I can’t lose them like I lost h e r…” 

He tugged at his hair again, heavily breathing, he slumped to the floor, dropping his hat and mumbling over and over the words of ‘I can’t lose them’ mumbling all kinds of things, all the things he would do to your friend… But you’d never know about it, oh no, god no… Chase would never want that, he’d never want you to be scared of him, he loves you so much and he just… Needs to show you his love, that’s all… Needs to prove your friend wrong with the assumptions about him... After a few moments of panicking, he took some deep breaths, trying to calm himself down and focus, he knew what he had to do... He then picked his hat back up and stood up, placing it back on his head and storming out of the bathroom, he knew his plan, he’d come back when you weren’t here, that’s when he needed to strike… Meanwhile, back inside the hospital room, you and your friend had gotten into a heated argument, you not being able to believe that Chase would stalk you or be weird like that.

“Fucking hell (Y/N)! Are you that fucking dense?! There’s NO fucking way he got you the EXACT same outfit you were JUST looking at just, fucking randomly like that! He’s a fucking stalker! He was stalking you on that trail too I GUARANTEE it!” You shook your head “You don’t know that!! I… I just…” And that’s when you broke down… You were crying now, falling by their side and just sobbing, you just… Couldn’t believe this, you didn’t know if you should… They WERE your best friend, they always looked out for you, but… You really liked Chase so far, he seemed so genuine, so sweet and caring and just… Your friend’s gaze softened and they put a hand on your shoulder, maybe, maybe they took it a bit too far this time…  “I… I… …(Y/N)... I’m sorry… I just, I’m scared for you… I don’t want you to get hurt, especially not when I can’t fucking be there to protect you… I… I’m sorry for calling you dense, and being so hostile… Please, just, be careful around him okay? Stuff just… Doesn’t add up with him…” You nodded, still face down by their side, all this had made you feel sick… Your friend patted your shoulder a bit “I mean, I’ve always looked out for you, usually I know what’s best and I just… I dunno, he gives me bad vibes… ...I-I’m not, just, look I’ll be honest… I was a bit jealous of him at first but-” Before your friend could finish you roughly pulled away from them and stared at them in disbelief.

“...You…. Your jealous of him…?” Your friend had realized perhaps that was a bad time to say that but before they could speak again and clarify, you glared “No, just fucking s t o p… I’ve heard enough from you, I don’t NEED your fucking ‘protection’ I see exactly how it is… THAT’S why you’ve been acting so weird since you saw him! You’re only protecting me because of jealousy” You paused before shaking your head “Listen to me, we’re JUST friends, I’m sorry… I just, I’ve never felt THAT way about you… And I NEVER will… I can’t fucking believe you tried to fool me into thinking Chase was a bad guy! When really YOUR the bad one here!” You yelled, standing up and then storming out, ignoring your friend calling out to you, you bumped into Chase who looked confused now “(Y/N)...? What… What’s wrong? You look angry…” You only looked at him then back at the room “Go ask them, I’m going back to the car okay? Just… Whenever you get ready you can come on…” 

And then you left without another word, before Chase could even say anything, the man bit his lip and then wandered into the room, looking at your friend who laid there, sniffling just a little bit “I...I’m sorry…” They mumbled, and now, if you had been calm they might would have gotten sympathy from you, but from Chase, there was never going to be any fucking sympathy from him, he casually sauntered over to where your friend lay and startled them once he sat down in the chair “Care to explain to me why (Y/N) was so pissed? Like, damn, I’ve only known ‘em for awhile but still, ain’t seen ‘em that angry even yet”

Your friend only glared at Chase “Shut the fuck up… This… This is all y o u r fault… You sick fuck, you were following them, weren’t you? You were fucking stalking them! Nobody else but me and (Y/N) has ever walked that trail, and the EXACT same outfit they just so happened to want?! That’s not a coincidence, listen to me you shithead… I might not be able to get up and go with them right now or anything like that, but when I get out of here, I swear… I’ll p r o v e to (Y/N) that you’re a sick bastard, I’ll fucking p r o v e it to them” Chase’s eyes darkened, however there was a sly smirk playing on his lips “...Aren’t you the jealous type? Fuckin’ hell dude… And I thought I could be jealous sometimes… But you? You are really ridiculous…!” Chase leaned closer, causing them to try and lean away in case the man tried something “...What makes you think even for a second (Y/N) would even believe you…? You really shouldn’t have admitted your jealousy to them, that’s such a rookie mistake…!” Your friend’s eyes widened “You...You fucker! You were listening in on our conversation! I… I…” They immediately tried to sit up and Chase grasped at them, not too roughly of course, he didn’t want to hurt them ...Yet… However at that, they immediately smacked him in the face “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!” And that made Chase yell for one of the nurses who quickly came running in “What’s going on here?!” Chase feigned innocence at this “I… I don’t know…! Something’s wrong with them…! They were trying to get up and walk outta here and then when I tried to stop them, they hit me…!”

(I thought for a moment that i fucked up but Chase, had probs come back from the bathroom and was right there as they admitted jealousy maybe? Idk, just- gonna cheese this part n say that- also I really dont like how the friend fight went, if I had time or patience, I’d genuinely probs try to re-write it but you gotta understand, this is already a LONG ass story so thats a big oof, and a big goof on my part so yeye)

The nurse was shocked by this, and even your friend was shocked by this, damn… He was good… Real good… They tried to explain as the nurse got the doctor and then they came over with a needle, they struggled, trying to kick at the doctor’s and nurses, trying desperately to explain that Chase was lying… But they didn’t believe it for one second, just thinking they were in pure hysterics, they gasped as Chase took a hold of them and smiled so sweetly

“Don’t worry (F/N)... I promise you, I’ll take EXTRA good care of (Y/N) while you’re here...” And with that, the doctor managed to FINALLY sedate them, the last image running through their mind before passing out was of you, of Chase doing so many horrible things to you… Chase then sighed deeply “Phew… I don’t know what happened… I just didn’t want ‘em tryna get outta here, I uh, know a thing or two when it comes to bein’ in hospitals, and in their case, I guess it’s like, really important to get rest n stuff like that” The doctor nodded “We do appreciate your help and for you notifying us Mister…?” Chase smiled and extended a hand “Just call me Chase, dude…” The doctor nodded, returning the handshake “Of course, thank you very much Chase” And with that the doctor began looking over the other’s vitals, and honestly, he seemed to be pondering what on EARTH could have caused a reaction like that…? The nurse came over to Chase and looked at the bruise forming on his cheek “Sir, would you like me to help you with that…? They must’ve slapped you pretty hard…” Chase shook his head “Nah, trust me, I uh, I’ve been through worse… Imma go, (Y/N)’s waitin’ for me in the car… I should… Definitely get them back home” The nurse nodded, waving as Chase left the room, he was turned to where they couldn’t see but he had a pleased smirk on his face, he’d be back for them tonight…

There’s no way he could just let them live now, they knew too much, they’d get in his way… He had to eliminate them but first things first, getting back to you so he could comfort you, after all, the fight you two had must’ve been pretty severe… The thoughts of your friend upsetting you in such a way only fueled his anger and hatred toward them even more as he made his way into the parking lot and to his car, he saw you through the window, he could tell you were crying and his gaze softened, a frown on his face, that fucker… They made you c r y… Oh the t h i n g s  he wanted to do to your ‘friend’ more than likely former friend after all that’s happened… He wanted to just strangle them, beat them to death with his bare hands even, he wanted to feel their blood on himself but given they were in the hospital, he needed a quicker method, luckily… He had something but, not now… He took a deep breath and hopped into his car, noticing how he startled you “Sorry! Sorry…! I just, uh, had to use the bathroom…” You looked at him, not caring if he saw your red and puffy eyes really, because you had noticed on his cheek, a large bruise forming “What happened to you…? Did you get into a fight in the bathroom?” Chase looked down “Not… Exactly… U-Uh… I just…” He took his cap off and ran a hand through his hair before putting it back on “...Your friend, was like, trying to escape the hospital and shit like that… And I just, didn’t want ‘em hurting themselves more than they already were and then they hit me… They called me a sick fuck, a stalker, all kinds of things… I just… I don’t, understand… Did I do something wrong...? Why do they hate me already?”

You gently placed a hand on his cheek, making sure not to apply any pressure to the bruise “...No Chase, no you haven’t… They were just fucking jealous, and I don’t even know w h y… I don’t like them, not like that, but… Now, I’m not sure I like them at ALL… Not even as a friend anymore, they literally just fucking HIT you…! And for what?! Because they were jealous?! That’s NO excuse to hit anyone!” You sniffled, and at that Chase pulled you into a hug “(Y/N) just, sh… I… I… I’m sorry… I didn’t… I didn’t mean to come between you and your friend… I… I never wanted to do that…” ...Well, part of that was technically a lie, Chase couldn’t care less about coming in between you and t h a t friend in particular, they are too much of a hazard…

He knew, if they had continued to live, the moment they got out of the hospital, they’d try taking you away from him ...N o t. This. Time… He might have slipped up and let h e r escape but not you… No n o… You are so much more special to him than she was anyways at this point… You wrapped your arms around him “C-Chase, please… It’s not YOUR fault… I just… I dunno about them, g-god if they hit you… Oh jeez, what if they hit me…? What if they tried to hurt me…?” Chase gripped you tighter, that thought not sitting well with him at all “...I wouldn’t let them, not ever” You couldn’t help but smile at those words, your friend was wrong, so wrong about Chase, he wasn’t a creepy stalker, he was a nice caring man, it was THEM who was bad, hell, for all you knew excluding the outfit THEY could have been the one stalking you earlier… You just didn't know… This was all too much for one night “Can we, uh, go back home…? I… I don’t wanna be here anymore…” Chase nodded “Uh yeah, I do have something to tell you though… I’ll make it quick I promise” You looked at Chase, a bit confused by this but then you remembered earlier “Oh yeah, go ahead and tell me, what’s up?” Chase bit his lip and he was shaking suddenly, it was now or never… He took your hand gently in his “(Y/N)... I genuinely care so much about you, I’ve needed to get this off my chest for a while now… I love you, with all my heart, you mean the world to me… And I… I just, uh, do you… Feel the same way…?” He looked so nervous and scared, you had honestly felt bad for him but you simply smiled and placed a quick peck on his cheek “...Despite what my ahem, ex-friend had to say… I don’t think you're a bad guy, you’ve been nothing but kind and sweet to me… And, if I’m being honest, I’ve had a wonderful time with you so far, so what I’m trying to say is, yes, yes I do feel the same…”

And that’s when Chase could swear, had it not been something cartoon-y or in drawings, his eyes would have formed into hearts right there (cursed thought: Chase doing the very stereotypical yandere pose and you know he’d have them heart eyes motherfucker) he had so much adoration and love for you, he really did… He then pulled you into almost a too tight hug and began sobbing into your chest “I… I was so…. I was so scared… Scared yo-you’d say no, scared… You wouldn’t… Love me back…” You were a bit shocked by that but you only held him back “Chase…” You spoke, your voice soft “I promise, to love you, forever… You’re the sweetest, kindest man… It’s okay hun, I promise, I’ll always love you no matter what” (-eyes reader nervously-) That made Chase smile “...Thank… Thank you… I’ll love you too… Forever and always… I promise, I’ll take good care of you…” And with that Chase let go, wiped some tears away and cranked up his vehicle “C’mon, I’ll get you back to your place, it’s uh, been a l o n g ass night…” You nodded and the ride was mostly in silence, apart from you leaning over onto Chase’s shoulder, the man smiled at that, he seemed so happy… So much more happier now that you had both confessed your love for each other “Go ahead and sleep a little babe, it’s gonna be a pretty long ride back to your place from here…” You nodded and yawned, nuzzling into his shoulder which he blushed at, that happy smile never leaving his face.

You then slowly fell asleep, comfortably nuzzled into Chase’s shoulder, now… Chase hadn’t forgotten what he had to do, but first thing was first, getting you home safe and sound… Blissfully unaware of the man’s intentions and he’d try his damnedest to keep it that way… Eventually he pulled into your driveway and looked over at you, he nudged you a little and you stirred slightly, rubbing your eyes and looking around a bit disoriented “Mm…?”

Chase then carefully hopped out of his car and made his way over to your side, opening the door and scooping you into his arms bridal style, he was careful to not jostle you too much “Don’t worry (Y/N) my darling… I’ll take ya inside... I put my kids to bed all the time, so this is a piece of cake” He grinned, and you only grumbled at that “I’m not… nng, a kid… I’m a gro...grooowwwnnnn asssss…. Adult…” You slurred, making him chuckle a little bit “I know babe, I know…” He made his way inside, furrowing his brows a bit “...Honey, you need to remember to lock your doors next time… No tellin’ what kinda freaks and sickos could get in here…” You only nodded, half-understanding what he said, he made it to your bedroom finally and laid you down carefully into your bed, letting you get into your most comfortable position and then proceeding to tuck you in, you mumbled a soft goodnight before passing out once more and Chase only softly chuckled, leaning forward to brush his fingers against your cheek before giving it a quick kiss “Goodnight babe… Seeya tomorrow…” He whispered, and with that, quietly made his way out of your room and out of your house, he crept back into his car and pulled out of your driveway carefully, his car… Wasn’t the MOST silent on the planet but he was sure it wasn’t enough sound to wake you up.

Now, before he headed home… He had one more thing to take care of, the night was going to be over soon so he had to act fast… He drove back toward the hospital, he kept thinking about your little friend or as you said earlier, former friend… But even then, that wasn’t enough because he knew, deep down, that if your friend had made it out of that hospital then they would definitely take you away from him, the thought of them trying to take you away made him grip the steering wheel tightly in anger, no… There was no fucking way he was going to let that happen, no one would take you away from him, not EVER! And with the last thought going through his head, he sped up, luckily he had the perfect weapon in the back of his trunk, perfect for this particular occasion… Eventually… He reached the hospital, slowly getting out of his car and retrieving said weapon, he looked toward the building in question, a sick grin spreading across his face “...Let’s take care of ‘em before they become a b i g g e r problem…” He muttered to himself, heading toward the building in question, he knew his way around this hospital so far, it wasn’t too terribly hard to navigate the place, and of course likewise he knew exactly where their room was now…

He headed toward the back of the building, it’d be easier to enter from there and he also wouldn’t be spotted too easily, however upon getting back there he saw your friend limping away, looking back at the door and around to make sure nobody was around to see them, however when they locked eyes with Chase their eyes widened, they immediately limped over “What the fuck are YOU doing here…?!” They half-whispered, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves, Chase only raised a brow at this, a small smirk on his face “I could ask you the same question bro, what’cha doin’ sneakin’ outta here?” They shook their head “None of your business, now get the fuck out of my way, I’ve got things to do…!” They tried to move past but Chase only shoved them back, they glared at him but he only chuckled “Now see… I can’t let’cha do that dude… I KNOW exactly what you’re gonna go and do… I can’t let you take (Y/N) away from me, I love them t o o much for that…” He paused before grinning “And besides… They k n o w what you did, they saw the bruise on my cheek, and now…”

He paused for a few moments, the weapon in question he had pulled from his car earlier was a baseball bat, he revealed it to the other and their eyes widened, suddenly their confident demeanor had changed and Chase seemed to get a chuckle out of that “They’re afraid of you… Afraid you’ll hit ‘em or do some other awful shit, I promised (Y/N)... I’d never let you hurt or take them away from me… ...And I came here to make g o o d on that promise…” They backed up as Chase came closer “...You… You are fucking insane… No w a y (Y/N)’s afraid of me…! I… I would… And I’d NEVER fucking hit them…! They don’t know what you said to me, if they did, they’d understand WHY I hit you then…! You manipulative piece of shit…!” Still had so much spite, despite their confidence going down the drain “...They even said you were their former friend now, it sounds to me like (Y/N) doesn’t wanna associate with you or be around you anymore…” Chase spoke and that made them pause, their eyes wide “...They… You… No, NO! You’re fucking lying!” They paused for a moment, even though Chase had a bat and the crazy bastard probably wanted to kill them, they still had one trick up their sleeve “I’m not going to let you manipulate and hurt my friend like this…!” Chase only smirked and tilted his head “I would n e v e r wanna hurt (Y/N), you ain’t gettin’ it through your thick skull are you? I l o v e them with all my heart, I just want to make them happy… I just want (Y/N) to be happy, with me… And besides, just how exactly are ya gonna prove to ‘em what I said? They’ll NEVER believe you now…”

A pause before he continued “They’ll never believe ya if you told ‘em I was listening in to your conversations, they’ll never believe you if you tell ‘em I stalked them on the trail and of course at some of the shops, but ya know… I’ll go ahead and admit to ya right now, seein’ as they’ll never believe shit you say… Oh and of course, the fact that I’m gonna kill you... I w a s stalking them… They were just so beautiful… I needed to know what (Y/N) liked, what they wanted, and from the very first moment I laid eyes on them I knew… They were the one for me… They were m i n e… And I just had to have ‘em” They only glared at Chase as he spoke, wrinkling their nose in pure disgust, before they suddenly grinned, this caused Chase to raise a brow “...I’ve got proof… At least now I do… See, I figured you would come back… I KNEW you’d want me outta the picture so you could be with (Y/N)...” They pulled out their phone and showed him it had been recording all this time and now it was Chase’s turn to lose his confidence, his eyes widened as he watched them put it back in their pocket “...And once I get out of here, I’m going to let them hear e v e r y t h i n g you said… The part about you stalking them, you listening into our conversations, even you threatening to kill me! I’ve got it all recorded, your ass is as good as gone when they find out, they’ll leave you, they’ll never want to be around you EVER again!”

((BTW: Here’s the fight/beating/death part, just as a reminder to you all okay?))

Chase hadn’t accounted for this… For them to plan this far ahead, if he didn’t get rid of them right now… If he didn’t finish them off right now, they really WOULD be able to take you away from him… Slowly, he began to spiral, the thoughts of losing you to anything really made his heart hurt and his eyes then darkened, he clutched his bat and immediately lunged for the other, knocking them down on the ground, their eyes widened and they pulled a scalpel from their pocket, raising up to cut into Chase who grunted and then backed off to avoid anymore cuts, despite being small, if he let them, that scalpel could do a hell of a lotta damage if he wasn’t careful, all he needed was a good hit with his bat and it could stun them or maybe even…

Kill them immediately… However, that’s not really what he wants, he wants to drag this out for a bit, he really wants to make them suffer, suffer for them for getting in his way so much, for trying to tear his beloved (Y/N) away from him, eventually they made a move and tried to get past him, not really wanting to fight him or even kill him, they just needed to get back to you with the evidence before it was too late, however… Chase saw the opportunity and swung the bat at them, hitting them in the back mostly but it was still enough to knock them down and then the scalpel had unfortunately fallen out of their hands and onto the ground, before they could manage to crawl over and get it, Chase had stood his boot onto their ankle “No, no ya fuckin’ don’t…! I’m NOT letting you take (Y/N) away from me! You just can’t STAND us being together! And for what?! Because you’re fuckin’ jealous or some shit? Lemme make it VERY clear for ya… (Y/N) is not and will NEVER be interested in you…! They are MINE…” He snarled, venom lacing every word he spoke as he leaned down to spin them onto their back, he then raised the bat up and proceeded to hit them over and over, repeatedly, as they screamed for help he leaned down and roughly slapped a hand over their mouth “Shut the fuck up…!” He spat, giving them a harsh punch with his hand, then he raised back up and continued his onslaught with his bat, making sure to deliver heavy and harsh hits to the other.

They coughed up some blood and looked up at Chase, their vision blurring as they whimpered and cried out “P-Please… I… I… I won’t… I’ll leave… you… alone… Just… F-fuck…” They groaned in pain, their eyes staring up into Chase’s “Please… Please don’t kill me…” They begged, but Chase only laughed at that “No way…! After ALL the bullshit you’ve tried to pull you HONESTLY fuckin’ think I’m going to spare you ANY mercy…?” He lifted the bat high above his head, a sick grin spread across his face “Go to hell!” He yelled, slamming the bat down hard on their head, blood splattering all over the pavement, the bat itself, and even over Chase, with that last hit they fell limp, no life detected in their eyes whatsoever, just to be sure however… Chase leaned down and checked their pulse, checking for any breathing as well, he smiled to himself when he heard nothing, not even the faintest sign of breathing, he reached into their pocket and grabbed their phone, looking over the recording and sighing, he dropped the device to the ground and smashed it underneath his boot, no way in hell was he going to let that thing stay in tact… Now however, came the big problem of getting the body out of here, and just where the hell was he going to put this thing…? Before he could even decide, he heard someone coming up and his eyes widened, he made sure not to leave his bat behind and ran off into the darkness, he needed to get back to his vehicle and quickly before someone caught him.

He could hear the scream in the distance as he made his way back to his vehicle and hopped inside, placing the bat in the back underneath one of the seats, luckily the blood was beginning to dry, well, okay no, that wasn’t THAT lucky… Considering he wanted to clean the bat later but oh well, he then sped off into the night, not even glancing back at the Hospital, he smiled to himself, very pleased with his work, at least they wouldn’t ever come between him and you anymore… No more worries, all he needed to do now was get home and- ….THE KIDS! His eyes widened as he sped up a little more, while, preventing them from becoming a nuisance was very important, he still cared about his kids, and oh god… He didn’t want them to see him like this, not with blood all over his clothes, how would he ever even explain that to them…

Eventually, he made it back home and slowly opened the door, looking around to make sure his kids weren’t awake yet, it was almost time for them to get up given it was a school day so Chase quickly crept off to his own room, firstly he put the bat into his closet, outta sight outta mind he thought before grabbing another shirt and jeans, he didn’t really care what he put on so long as it WASN’T bloodied… He went to the bathroom and looked over the wound from the scalpel, frowning slightly, he had a med kit, okay, well… A few med kits lying around, he wanted to be extra prepared just in case, he then began cleaning the wound of any blood, disinfecting it which made him hiss in pain, damn… Stab wounds are a bitch to deal with, after making sure it was disinfected properly he wrapped it up with some bandages, he then ran some water and scooped some up in his hands to splash on his face, cleaning himself up just a bit more, once he was finally free of any and all the blood stains he put the new shirt and jeans on and smiled “That’s better…” He then headed out to go wake the kids up, even though they didn’t really want to but really what kid ever wants to get up that early…? ...Eh, either way… He fixed them some food, helped get them dressed, and then waited with them until the bus arrived, he then kissed their foreheads and waved them off as they headed off to school. Now… He needed to do some laundry, get those bloodied clothes outta the way…!

Some time later in the day, you woke up with a groan and looked around, you remembered what had happened the other day and you honestly still felt like shit because of all that… You wanted to just relax for the day… Maybe later you would go and visit Chase but for now you just slowly got out of bed and headed for the shower, taking a quick one and changing clothes just to get freshened up a bit, which honestly had helped you feel just a LITTLE better… You then went off to grab some cereal, taking it to the living room to watch some tv, you had turned on the news not… REALLY to watch the news portion of it but you just wanted to know the weather for today before planning anything, as you were watching for a bit and eating your cereal slowly, your eyes widened slightly as the headline read ‘’(Friend’s full name) was found last night by one of the nurses, the reports say what likely caused their death was more than likely a baseball bat and a very nasty blow to the head, there is no information on whom the killer may be at this time but we’ll keep you up to date with any new information.’’ you stood up and accidentally dropped your bowl, it came crashing to the floor, bowl shattering and the rest of the milk and cereal pieces splattering everywhere, you were shaking as you raised a hand up to cover your mouth, tears beginning to pool around your eyes, you… Despite claiming they were a former friend just the other day, th...that was just out of anger!

You didn’t want anything BAD to happen to them! You DIDN’T want them to fucking D I E! You had broken down into sobs and almost borderline screaming, you whispered your friend’s name a few times, muttered so many apologies to them and wishes that it wasn’t them… Why did it have to be them? Why couldn’t it have been YOU instead?! You regretted the big fight you two had, you regretted calling them a former friend, you regretted it all… You wondered if they had regretted it, you wondered who could have even done such a thing?! Who had it out for your friend?! ....It… No... You didn’t want to start thinking like that… Besides, Chase would NEVER do something that cruel, that horrible! He’d NEVER fucking murder someone in cold blood!

You just wondered… Who could have done this? You just… You couldn’t… You continued to sob and wail, the grief was overwhelming, you didn’t even hear the door open… Chase sighed “Again, babe, the do-” before he could finish his scolding, his eyes widened when they landed on you on the floor, practically bawling your little eyes out, a broken bowl and a mess on the floor, he immediately dashed over and was going to reach down to pick you up but then he paused “H-H-Hey… hey baby, darling… What’s wrong…? Can… Can I touch you…? I wanna, like, help you up outta the floor…” He needed to be sure, once he got your nod he carefully picked you up and placed you on the couch, he noticed you had gotten some milk and remains of the bowl on your pants, he’d deal with all that in a moment however, first and foremost… He sat down beside you, placing a hand on your back and rubbing in soothing circles “Honey… What’s gotten you THIS distraught…?” You continued to sob, your throat was growing hoarse and you felt like vomiting, you couldn’t even manage to tell him what was wrong, you just pointed to the tv and Chase looked over, since it was still fairly early and it hadn’t been too long, the news, weather, and all of that repeated, the same story you saw about your friend came on and Chase’s eyes widened, he figured this was the case…

He would have hidden the body where no one could have found it had he had the time… He hated to see you this upset and distraught “O-Oh… Fuck… Babe, I’m so sorry for your loss… I-I know, you both had that big fight… And just… That makes it… just, fuck… C-Come here, do you want me to hold ya? I-I mean like, is… is that okay dude?” You slowly gave a nod and Chase leaned over, gently taking a hold of you and embracing you in a tight hug, it wasn’t tight enough for any discomfort, quite the opposite actually, his arms around you and being this close to him was what you needed, you sobbed into his chest and he began slowly stroking your hair  “Shhshhshsh… It’ll be okay…” He paused before whispering little reassurances into your ear “I...I know how it feels… To lose someone close to you… I-I mean, I don’t… I don’t know if she’s dead or not… But… My… My ex-wife, she left, a l o n g ass time ago, left me, the kids, all by ourselves… And it, it still hurts even to this day… Just, not as bad as it USED to... Grief… Look, I’m no expert, but grief can come in many forms but eventually… you’ll… You’ll get through it, eventually, it, it won’t hurt as bad ya know? And baby, listen, Imma be right here with ya every step of the way, I promise…” He smiled slightly, pulling you a bit closer, you listened to his words and you didn’t have the ability to speak at this point, your voice was hoarse from all that sobbing but you slightly smiled at that, you were… Glad he’d be there for you… The one thing you managed to utter out was a “sorry… about… the shirt…”

Chase chuckled and shook his head “Eh don’t worry about it, I have plenty more shirts where this one came from… Now just… Here, lemme get this cleaned up for you and then I’ll getcha some water, and then we’re gonna head over to my place, or if ya wanna stay here at home that’s fine too, I just gotta be back before my kids get home from school today though…” You looked at Chase and he could tell you were about to argue with him “Before you even try to say what I think your going to, please baby, I insist, I’ll clean this up for you, it isn’t a problem” You then sighed and just let him do what he wanted, first and foremost he grabbed some water, tossing it your way and he was surprised when you got it “Nice one babe!” He called out from the kitchen proceeding to go and look for the tools he needed.

He came back over, proceeding to sweep up all the bowl shards, he didn’t know whether to be lucky that the milk had dried up or not but either way, he managed to get the shards into the dustpan and then he began mopping up the milk, eventually he managed to get it all cleaned up and threw the shards into the trash can, and then he came back over and looked at you “So… You wanna stay here, or head on over to my place? Ya… Ya don’t gotta speak if ya don’t wanna, just hold up one finger for your place, two for mine” You smiled at how thoughtful he was being, you then took a few sips of water and held up two fingers to which he nodded at, he then scooped you up “Welp, c’mon then, let’s go chill for awhile, take our minds off all the bad shit!” He grinned and carried you out the door to his vehicle, opening the door and putting you inside, you slowly managed to get buckled as he hopped in the driver’s seat, he had really wished he had time, time to hide that body, time to prevent you from seeing that tragedy on the news, from making you bawl your eyes out, part of him felt guilt, not for killing them, oh n o… The bitch deserved it, but… You didn’t deserve to see that, you didn’t deserve to hear them announce their death, you shouldn’t have even known about that in the first place…

That was the only reason for guilt but at least you didn’t know he was in fact the one that did it… Nothing could get in his way now! Nothing could come between you, nothing could ruin this day! The drive back to Chase’s place was mostly in silence aside from Chase cracking a few jokes, he really was trying his best to help you feel better, and you won’t deny some of the jokes definitely made you crack a smile, as he pulled into his driveway, he hopped out and helped you out and inside, he sat you down on the couch and then grabbed some controllers, he handed you one and then turned on Minecraft “Let’s uh, play a more chill game this time around, yeah?” You smiled and nodded, watching as Chase created a new world for the both of you, he kept it on survival mode but he then set the difficulty to peaceful “Next time if ya want, we’ll play in easy, normal, or hell- hard if you’re feelin’ brave enough! But for now, let’s just gather supplies, food, and have some fun” You nodded, still not really wanting to talk, you didn’t want to wind up straining yourself… So you two sat in silence, just gathering up some food, supplies, and various other items, honestly this was pretty relaxing, it was really helping you de-stress… You even managed to find a good amount of diamonds which Chase seemed proud and impressed by “Guess the seed we spawned in is a pretty damn good one ain’t it, babe?” You nodded at his words.

You two played Minecraft for a long time, it was more than likely hours actually, minus getting up to fix some food or grab a snack or something to drink, eventually you got tired of playing Minecraft and cuddled up next to Chase who smiled at this, he placed an arm around you, pulling you closer to him, the embrace felt so nice… Your eyes fluttered shut as you leaned in a bit more, snuggling up close to him, you were just beginning to get comfortable before your eyes opened “...Annnd I have to pee…” You groaned in frustration and shot up from your spot and you heard Chase snickering as you walked down the hallway, you looked at his room and noticed the door was cracked open, now… Going into someone’s bedroom all of a sudden without their permission was… Pretty bad to say the least, but something in your head was telling you to go satiate whatever curiosity that had just sparked in your brain…

(it's the writer astral projecting curiosity onto the reader bc he needs them to go into that room to advance the plot- im kidding ofc but still tho)

You quietly crept toward the door, looking back to make sure Chase wasn’t there, you didn’t… Really want to upset him by doing this, all you wanted was just a quick peek and then you were done… Upon pushing open the door your nose scrunched up, you smelt something awful… It smelled… Metallic… It was an absolutely rotten stench that had plagued your nose, you looked over toward his closet, whatever the smell was it seemed to be coming from that direction, you were thinking now that maybe you shouldn’t have come in here, for some reason… The Closet had given you an unnerving feeling… You felt as though you should just turn back now and forget you ever came in here, however… It was too late to turn back now, your curiosity was too strong, just… One quick peek and then you’d forget the whole thing… You stepped closer to the closet, your body growing tense as you shakily reached out for the knob, you then pulled the door open and your eyes widened at what you had seen on the ground… It was a baseball bat… Your mind flash-backed to this morning, the reports on the news had said the weapon was a baseball bat… ...No, just no- There was no way… Chase would never- this had to be a coincidence, you noticed some dried red stains on the bat, the closer you got the more that smell overwhelmed you, you knew that scent, after all… Blood, even when dried, is a hard scent to mistake…

You slowly backed up from the closet, eyes wide and in shock, how… why… Why would he?! There’s no reason, this HAS to be a misunderstanding surely, you jumped and almost screamed when you heard a small tsk sound come from behind, you spun around quickly and looked Chase in the eyes, he was leaning on the doorway, arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face, he didn’t look angry but then again he didn’t look happy either “(Y/N)... Hasn’t your parents ever taught ya not to snoop through people’s shit…? We all have our private stuff dude, that’s so not cool…” You looked at Chase then back at the bat then back at him “Ch-Cha...Chase…” You whispered, this seemed to catch his attention and his expression softened a little bit “...Babe… I’m just, look, I’m not mad I promise… I AM disappointed however” He was scolding you, as if you were like a child… “Cha...se… did…” You took a shaky deep breath, your hands and legs beginning to shake, you… You just needed to know “...Did you do it…?” The man still had a smile on his face as he tilted his head slowly “...Did I do w h a t, baby…? Are you… Trying to accuse me…” And then there was a pause before slowly he stood, still blocking your exit “...Are you seriously trying to accuse me of murdering your friend…?” There was some hurt to his voice but something was off, he didn’t have that loving and caring aura around him anymore, you felt… Nervous… More nervous than you should have ever felt around someone you had come to love.

“You… You di….You did, didn’t you…? I….I… You… You got mad… That they hit you… d-didn’t you? You killed them didn’t you?!” You suddenly yelled and Chase looked taken aback before he frowned “...Babe, I think you’re overreacting and jumping to conclusions here… I didn’t touch your friend, I swear…” You shook your head “How...How can I trust you, how can I believe you? That bat has fucking dried blood on it!” Chase shook his head “It’s just a design!”

You then glared at him “IT EVEN SMELLS LIKE BLOOD, CHASE!” You shouted, tears welling in your eyes, this wasn’t… This couldn’t be happening right now, this wasn’t… You couldn’t… Just… Chase seemed to notice your panic “H-Hey… Heyy… Sweetheart… Please, just… Calm down, it’s alright… This is all one big misunderstanding… I promise you…” He tried to step closer and you immediately backed up “S-St...Stay away from me, Chase… Just… Just stay away… I… I don’t… I think… I-I just…” You were breathing heavily, staring into his eyes “I...I just… wanna go home… I just… I just need some rest I think ahaaa… I-It’s been a long day already and just…” Chase nodded “C’mon then, I’ll drive you-” You interrupted him “NO!” You shouted but then coughed and shook your head “I-I mean, no, no… I...I’d rather just walk…” Chase’s eyes darkened and he clenched his hand into a fist, the next sentence he seemed to grit his teeth as he spoke “Then how about I walk ya home, s w e e t h e a r t…?” You shivered as he stepped a little closer “I… I… C-Chase please-” He interrupted you “Baby, I don’t know why you're acting like I’m some kind of monster, I told you already… I didn’t do SHIT to your little f r i e n d… And b e s i d e s… Just…” He took a deep breath and looked at you, pure adoration in his eyes “Baby, I love you, so much… I’m not a monster, I didn’t kill your friend… I would n e v e r do that… Please, you have to believe me…” You looked at him, you just… You thought back to what your friend had said.

“...Maybe they were right about you… Th… Oh my god…” You had just realized something “...They told me they had a bad feeling about you, I thought they were just jealous…” Chase then tried to interrupt “Because they w e r e honey, they were jeal-” You shook your head and cut him off “No… No they weren’t just jealous, maybe there was something there but… They… They’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember… They’d never lie to me… I… Fuck, I’ve made a mistake… I just, Chase, I just… I don… I don’t think… It’s going to work out between us” And that made Chase snarl, he reached out and gripped your arm tightly, this made you cry out in pain “(Y/N)... No, don’t you d a r e say that… I just- Listen… I have TRIED my damnedest here… But if this is how your gonna be... You wanna know the truth? Do you REALLY wanna know the truth? About EVERYTHING?” You looked at him confused before your eyes widened, the sudden grin on Chase’s face made your stomach churn “...I did it… But, I didn’t do it to hurt you… Baby… They wanted to get in my way… In OUR way… They were going to get out of that hospital and try and take you away from me… I just… I couldn’t, I couldn’t handle the thought of losing you… I… I know what I did was wrong, I know… But I just… You have to understand, I do NOT want to lose you…”

(Another BIG reminder: Abuse is bout to happen!! Chase is about to do something he regrets MORE SO than forgetting to expose that bat fkjdslfdjsl)

You felt sick, you felt absolutely sick and disgusted with what you heard “...Chase… You fucking killed my BEST friend! YOU FUCKING KILLED THEM, YOU FUCKING BASTARD- JUST LET ME GO- I DON’T WANNA BE WITH YOU ANYMORE!” You began thrashing in his grip, trying to get away from him, but suddenly out of the blue, a fist had came crashing down on your cheek, it wasn’t hard enough to break a bone but it was sure gonna leave one hell of a mark, your eyes were wide and so were Chase’s as he let you go for a second, you stumbled and fell onto your ass and held your cheek, tears beginning to well up in your eyes as you stared up at Chase fearfully who looked… Regretful, looked shocked even, he placed a shaking hand over his mouth as he stared down at you “I…” He began, but then paused, what could he say now…?

He knelt down and tried to get closer to you only for you to back up in fear, your heart beating out of your chest right now as tears ran down your face, little sobs escaping your form as Chase shook his head “No… No no no… Babe…. That… I didn’t… Please, I’m sorry… Really I am, I didn’t mean to hit you… I just… It’s just, you… You promised to be with me forever, you promised you’d love me no matter what, and I just got angry and just… Please, c-come here, let me see…” He reached out to grab you again and you went stiff even if his touch was gentle this time, he moved your hand from the bruised area and gently and ever so carefully ran a finger down it “F-Fuck… I did the one thing I said I was never going to do… I s w o r e I’d never fucking hurt you… I’m such a fucking idiot…” Tears were now in his eyes as he thumbed over the bruise “J-Just… Come with me… I’m going to take care of this…” You were like a deer caught in headlights as he pulled you up and along with him, he wasn’t being as rough or forceful this time but you were fucking terrified, terrified he was going to hit you again if you tried anything or said anything… You flinched away as he began doctoring the area he just hit, you really didn’t want him touching you, you really didn’t even want to be around him anymore, but you had a funny feeling if you said that again… Well, there’s no telling what he’d do, after he finished doctoring the area he leaned in and kissed it better, you cringed in disgust at his actions.

“T-The...There… All… All better now… I… I, (Y/N)... I know you don’t believe me right now… I k n o w you probably even fucking hate my guts right now but l-listen… I… I genuinely d o n ‘ t want to hurt you, my anger just… Got out of control but I can promise you, I can and WILL control that from now on, I won’t ever hit you again… I swear, I...I know it’s hard to believe me right now, but I’ll show you… Jus-Just, just please, give me another chance? Whatever you want, I’ll give you the fucking WORLD if I have to just… pl-please… oh god, please… Please don’t leave me… Please don’t…” Tears fell from his eyes and sobs racked his body, he… He really did regret that, but you said nothing… You just let him hold you there, too frightened to move or say anything… But Chase only looked at you, a pleading look in his eyes “...(Y/N)...? I… I can be good, y-you just… Need to trust me again… Th-That’s it… I… Look, if I could have I would have just hidden your friend, that way, you didn’t even have to see that tragedy on the news, besides… Y-You really don’t understand j-just…” He let out a heavy breath as he stroked your hair lovingly “Just how much I love you… Th-They were literally going t-to… to… Take you aw...away from me… I can’t lose you… I had a fucking panic attack in the hospital after I heard all they said… I just…” Your heart twinged at that but… N-No! NO! You… You shouldn’t feel sorry for him, he killed your best friend and then he fucking HIT you! ...T-There was no way you’d feel sorry for him…

Yet… There was something… About it… He seemed so genuine, so genuinely desperate and guilty… It made you feel… Conflicted… Chase then pulled his shirt down a little to expose a bandaged wound “This, is what your friend did to me last night… They stabbed me with a scalpel, t-this wasn’t like… This was b e f o r e I did what I did…” Chase looked as if he were about to say something before he heard the front door open and his kids all scream for their dad, they sounded so worried and both your eyes immediately widened “...(Y/N)... Please… Don’t tell the kids… A-After all… A-Ahh… Haa…” He chuckled dryly before continuing, his tone reeked of panic and desperation as he spoke.

“Y-You wouldn’t wanna upset the kids, yeah? If you tell anyone about what I did, if you expose me… Y-You’ll make these kids lives a living hell… You’ll hurt them, and I’ll be honest (Y/N)... While I love ya, I won’t allow you to hurt my kids… Nobody gets to hurt them… So please, for me, but more importantly… For the kids, please… Stay…” (despite being a yandere Chase does truly care about his kids and he won’t ever let anything bad happen to them or do anything bad to them, he’s still a monster but not THAT kinda monster) You swallowed, hard, your throat felt dry but you nodded at his words, the thought of breaking these kids hearts was too much… You remembered how happy they said you had made their dad, reluctantly you finally spoke “O-Okay Chase… I- I promise, I… I won’t… I won’t tell anybody…” Chase then looked at you quizzically “...Annnd…?” Your eyes widened “A-And I won’t leave you!” You quickly added in fear he’d get angry at you again but then he smiled, just then the kids burst into the room and saw you two there, they noticed the bruise on your cheek and Chelsea was the first to speak up “D-Daddy?! Wha...What happened to (Y/N)!? Who hurt them?” Chase only smiled nervously “U-Um…” You quickly spoke up then, the fear of the kids finding something out too much to bear, the kids didn’t deserve to have their father ripped away from them, they seemed to care so much about him “I had a little accident kiddos but, I-I’m… I’m fine now…!” You sounded strained unfortunately but the kids still seemed to believe that part “A-And yo...your dad… He was just, um… Helping me! Yeah, I’ll be fine, I promise”

Chelsea smiled “Oh…! That’s good then” Trey spoke up next “We just got worried when you weren’t at the bus waiting for us, Greyson almost started crying” And Greyson frowned at that and turned to Trey “D-Did not…!” Trey looked at him and grinned “Did too!” And oh boy, you and Chase both knew where this was going… Chase quickly spoke up “Kids, now, come on… That’s enough, how about you go, wait in the living room and I’ll be right there with you, okay?” The three nodded and went off, you both could still hear Trey and Greyson arguing albeit a bit more quieter, and then you and Chase looked toward each other, you wouldn’t deny, you were definitely still afraid of him, but you had every right to be! ...But you just, you couldn’t hurt those kids like this… and Chase, you could see it in his eyes, he was desperate “...(Y/N)...” He began and you couldn’t help but flinch as his hand reached out which he quickly retracted back “S-Shit, sorry… Sorry… Listen, I know… You really don’t like, believe me and shit right now… But, I...I promise, it’ll get better… I just… When you said you didn’t wanna be with me anymore… It just, it really fuckin’ pissed me off… but, th-that… That’s not an excuse, and I know that…”

Chase paused and looked at your arm, he winced at the bruising he seen there too “F-Fuck… We’re REAL lucky the kids didn’t see that but I-I’ll get to that in a second…. Just, look… (Y/N), I promise I will NEVER hit you again… I don’t want to hurt you, I genuinely don’t… I just… I just wanna be happy together, I want to be with you, and I don’t want you to like, be with me out of fear and shit, I genuinely want you to love me… I’ll... In fact, actually... I’ll prove to you that I’ll NEVER hit you again! And… Listen, y-your friend… I’m… Just, I was just so scared they’d get in our way, scared they’d take you away from them and y-ya know they say f-fear… Fear can make… Can make you do some crazy shit… Y-Ya know…?” You looked at Chase and bit your lip, damn this man… Even after all this bullshit, your heart can’t help but twinge, he sounds so genuinely upset and sorry… Your head was a mess of emotions and thoughts, it honestly made your head hurt…

You felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion even, then Chase looked into your eyes “B-Babe…? Pl-please… Please talk to me…?” You sighed and there was a brief moment of silence before you spoke up “A-Alright Chase… I...I’ll stay… I… I won’t… I won’t leave you…” You shouldn’t be saying that, you shouldn’t but really, what would happen if you said no again, what would happen if you had denied him and told him you wouldn’t stay here? ...The thought of that made you shudder, you weren’t… Secretly, deep down, no, you weren’t… You were NOT doing this because you felt sorry for him, you didn’t feel any pity for him, you were doing this for his kids… You were doing this to protect the kids, and… It’d break their hearts to see their father so unhappy, just… You could get through this, yeah… I- Maybe… Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, you flinched as Chase started bandaging your arm up next “T-Thank you… Thank you so much (Y/N)... I promise… I’ll make it up to you…” And then he smiled and gently took a hold of your face, his hands were definitely shaking as he touched you and then he gave you a gentle kiss “...I promise… We’ll all be one big happy family… You and me, together f o r e v e r… And of course don’t forget the kiddos… We’ll all be happy, okay?” You nodded at his words and he seemed ecstatic “Love ya babe… I really do” You glanced at Chase, together with him forever… Christ, this… What the hell had you gotten yourself into? You did regret not listening to your friend when you had the chance but it was too late now, it was f a r too late to turn back “...I..I… Lov… Love...you too…” That made you want to retch but Chase seemed so fucking happy.

...This truly was going to be hell, your hell, and honestly, you didn’t see any ways out of it, you were trapped in a bad situation, between a rock and a hard place, you were going to be stuck here, with him, forever… If there were ever a next time, you would definitely listen to your friend instead…

(An Average Day in Hell? More like an Average Eternity in Hell amirite? Lmao anyway this shit is long and honestly I never intended it to be- And I know y’all probs wanna finish this and be done with it already so lemme clarify a few things here, 1: I completely forgot how I was supposedly going to like end this thing, I forgot a few plot points and I just went in the direction my brain told me too and now we got this. 2: In the Yandere AU I have here technically speaking, these are NOT his canonical kids names, I ripped some of these from a wikipedia page I saw, the only canon name I MIGHT keep for one of his kids is Greyson bc that’s fitting, I just needed some names for the story, im sure y’all understand.

3: Im not gonna defend Chase, but I will say, he can be… Well, hm, how should I put this… I mean sometimes im sure he can do it intentionally, but half the time his manipulative tones and the shit he says is by sheer accident, and him hitting the reader? Well, I can absolutely say this would be the only time EVER Chase did that, he genuinely means it when he says he doesn’t want to hurt ya, but you see… Rage in the wrong hands, in a person’s hands who’s heard those exact same words from a certain… OTHER person can definitely be a potent and fatal combination… Aside from that shit tho.

He genuinely just like, wants you to be happy, he wants to be with you because he really does love ya ….but, the shit he can do can make loving him a bit… Difficult to say the VERY least.

Anywho I feel like that’s enough explaining how this process went, just one more thing and I promise it’s the last thing then you can go do what’cha wanna do n shit yeah? There was going to be an alt ending but I’ve got too many other stories to do already so I present you with the alt ending summarized p much

1: Chase successfully hides the body, now on this path you probs would still find out on the news or some form of device that your friend is missing but, it’s like a 1 in one million chance you’d find out Chase did it so bam, happily ever.  Alright, im done)

#jacksepticeye #jse community revival #jse community #yandere chase #chase brody #reader insert #tw yandere #tw blood #tw death #tw mentions of car crash #tw abuse #tw manipulation #both unintentional and intentional TECHNICALLY speaking #i dont really know if im really proud of this or not yet- its- not what I EXACTLY wanted but its here now #long post #long story warning #long story #just adding those tags just in case

[darlingletshurttonight]

Do you think the gay undertone between ram and bheem is on purpose? There are so many hints throughout the movie.

helloo sorry for the late reply. but i wanted to really think about this before answering because i have a mixed opinion on this.

so logically speaking, i don't think the gay undertones were intentional.

there's two reasons why i think that:

rajamouli wanted to make a movie with two mega stars, that was the gist. it didn't have to be a friendship, a romance, a rivalry, no. the story came later, but he initially just wanted to make something with two megastars, because its been a while since that happened. tarak and charan didn't even know the story before they signed up for the movie. but rajamoui knew charan and tarak were good friends (gay) and knew they could pull of this complex tug of war between friendship and rivalry.

technically sita wasn't needed. her character is nothing but a plot point. the only important part she has is when as a child, she shows their father how well ram shoots. and then later on when she just happens to be where bheem is and tells them the truth about ram. in both these cases, someone else could've easily done these two jobs. her presence is to bring in the mandatory heterosexual romance and i'm guessing to pay respect to the fact that ramaraju (the actual freedom fighter) had always included sita in his name. alluri sita ramaraju.

BUT having said that, i think the gay undertones developed as they started shooting. if you look at the dialogues and scenes and consider them just on paper, they don't have the same intensity as what we see on screen. sure, the symbolism and parallels were embedded in the storyline, but it was more to emphasize how two completely opposite forces come together to do something in unison.

charan and tarak made it seem like a soulmate au. they, with their top-notch chemistry and the fondness they have for each other, acted out a simple script in a manner that makes it look so fucking gay. charan has said that "what he lacks in himself, he enjoys seeing in tarak" and to me that says that they spent a lot of time together to learn how to be each other in the movie and take characteristics from the other.

and i dont mean any disrespect to them and their wives, but their friendship does give me some gay vibes. i could obviously be wrong. but i think the gay undertones were brought in by tarak and charan, maybe unknowingly, but it was definitely their acting that gives the gay vibes. their offscreen relationship bled into the onscreen relationship.

another point is that, and i feel quite sad saying it, but there's a very small section of the audience who can notice the gay undertones. which is the queer audience. majority of people call it a brotherhood and friendship and whatnot. but just because they can't see it, does it mean the gay undertones don't exist? idk

so tldr: it was unintentional during the writing process. but the actors gave it the gay undertones during the production process with their chemistry and acting, knowingly or unknowingly.

curious to know what you think about this too!

#my totally important opinion #rambheem #rrr movie #ram charan #ntr jr #ss rajamouli

[leminione9795]

About that moment in Run ep.136

So technically I'm still gone until Friday when I'll be back to clear out my inbox but I just had to point this out:

JK is protesting that Hobi and Tae both have Jin and NJ as quiz partners.

He uses the verb 가지다/gajida/, meaning 'to have', to express this.

(English in parentheses is a word-for-word translation)

JK: 둘이는 진, 남준 다 가져 놓고 ([You] two have both Jin and Namjoon)

Jimin is not happy that Jungkook seems to think Jin and RM are better partners for the game. To remind JK he's as good a partner as any, Jimin uses the verb 가지다/gajida/, meaning 'to have'. You know, the exact same one JK used speaking to Hobi and Tae.

JM: 야, 넌 나를 가졌어 (Hey, you have me)

The emphasis in Jimin's intonation of this sentence is on 나를/nareul/ (me). The implication is that Jungkook shouldn't be expressing his regret about not getting either NJ or Jin, since, you know, Jimin's right there.

The verb itself - well, take it however you want. When used with a person as its object it does have the connotation of 'belonging/owning' which adds a certain nuance. It's an unusual choice of word, which is why the editors added a question mark after it in the caption. The most common, go-to Korean word to use in this kind of situation would be 있다/itda/ (there is) and not 가지다 (to have). E.g., 둘이는 진, 남준 다 있으면서 ([for you] two there's both Jin and Namjoon) / 야, 넌 내가 있잖아 (Hey, there's me [with you]). So the fact that Jimin said 가지다 can sound suggestive. On its own. Which is not the case in the context of this situation. He was most likely just repeating the word JK used, and that's that. (Maybe he repeated it because it can have a double meaning. Not saying it's beyond the realm of possibility. But it's a speculation, not a fact.)

It's a cute moment. It's cute that Jungkook, despite his maturing, still lets his competitive side get the better of him. It's cute that Jimin is someone who's close and comfortable enough with JK that he can call him out on it and remind him of the people who he's supposed to be cooperating with. It's also cute that Jimin is asserting his position as JK's established partner, whatever that may mean.

Sometimes KM or the other members may use a word/expression that technically falls into the couple language category. It doesn't always mean that that's the intent/motivation/catalyst behind its usage. Unintentional double entendres are a thing. Let's keep that in mind.

#jungkook language #jimin language #run bts

[blankd]

Thoughts on The Mitchells vs the Machines

I watched it a while ago and kept forgetting to post my thoughts on it, but some posts here on tumblr recently reminded me.

I disagree with the majority takeaways I see but is that not the spice of life?

As a standalone movie its inoffensive and the writing of it will likely exit my brain in a few months.  However I can appreciate that the visual style was different from the typical fare and the mixture of 2d elements for visual embellishments were mostly enjoyable and well-suited for Katie as the POV character.

It's a bit "hyper" for my liking, but that's fine, it's likely intended for an audience that's accustomed to the flood that is the current norm of the internet.  It was probably made with GIFable moments in mind and that is the most frequent content that is shared about it, so it certainly succeeded in that regard.

My more critical take is that jokes are delivered at the expense of what could be more authentic themes.  Quips are made that draw attention to character flaws or undercut questions the movie should try to answer, but inevitably they are ignored to move onto the next joke or story beat.

The rest would fall more into spoiler territory, so read more for that.

--"They Were Both In the Wrong"

I personally disagree heavily with the thrust of how "both sides" were wrong when the degrees are disproportionate.

I've seen claims that Katie was "as in the wrong" as her father, but she's incredibly patient to the man who does her material harm.

I've yet to have seen someone say specifically what Katie did *wrong* to her father that is at all on par with the *years* he at best hasn't been able to interact with her or worse, actively refused to engage with her interests.

I would generously venture that her flaw was that she was more willing to communicate her feelings to strangers, but she easily talks to her mother and brother- her brother even helps her with her movies and she happily engages him with his own interests, which pivots the point back to how her father is physically/emotionally unavailable and led to the erosion and distance between the two of them.

Due to this, MvM comes across more as Kaite having to do so much more to guide her father rather than a more mutual learning experience for the both of them.

--"Technology that [Dis]Connects"

It's probably beyond the scope and intent of the film, but I was surprised there was no examination about why technology can be more alluring than interacting with physically present people.

For better or worse, the internet can be used as a means of supplementing the validation and acceptance of family.  It can also lead to no longer connecting to people around them because of the validation high of appealing to a constantly 'awake' sea of strangers- the spotlight is warmer than the cold reality that they are not the internet image they have cultivated.

For example, the rival 'perfect' family was never revealed to be a carefully constructed highlight reel that Mrs. Mitchell envies, they really were actually that perfect- because that provides an easier punchline than an examination or acknowledgement of how the internet can create unhealthy expectations.

I also can't expect MvM to acknowledge the reality that LGBTA+ people who are rejected by their family resort to seeking a new one through the internet because it would be much harder to redeem/rehabilitate a man defined by being tethered to "old values" if he was homophobic instead of "overprotective" and apprehensive at his daughter's departure from home and her dubious art career.

But hey we got that quick line at the end that Katie likes a girl, so that's a diversity win or something.

(To be clear I'm not expecting a whole parade or even an A or B-plot dedicated to it, but I think it should be acknowledged that this kind of "surprise inclusion" is very easily erased with a change of audio and would be completely unsurprised if this were the case for countries that are homophobic.  People can be happy about it, but it is dishonest to pretend that this is a bolder statement than it is.)

In that sense, I do and don't hold MvM to taking a "safer" route about how family always has your back, but this still feels like an important omission considering the focus on technology and its dynamic with the Mitchells.

I will also say that it was also bizarre, to me at least, that the obvious route that her father sees the value of home videos didn't become an active point between him and Katie.  Or that Mr. Mitchell's carpentry never really amounts to anything despite having a sentimental wooden moose.

Lastly, I think it's an unintentional, but it's interesting that Katie going to college to pursue her passion is viewed as a Terrible Thing by her father even though if he had his way, he'd be ostensibly living in the woods away from everyone else except his wife.

This isn't a problem, people are a collection of contradictions, but It's fascinating to see what the *narrative* treats as a difficult sacrifice while simultaneously pulling at heartstrings when PAL cites how children ignore their mothers.  There's an unexamined comedy that Mr. Mitchell's losing out on his 'passion' to live in the woods away from people is treated as tragic despite the movie's insistence on staying connected with your blood family.

--"The Inconsistent Personhood of AI"

PAL is rightfully angry at being discarded for something new; it's provided as a glimpse of what Katie will do when she finds 'her people' at college.

This in of itself is a good hook, because there is no one universal answer to when a flawed relationship should be mended with compromise or if it's better off being broken for the wellbeing of the ones involved.  Family and relationships are not programming, it's a choice and a gamble for whatever it brings but is nonetheless something that must be mutually worked upon.

Initially I thought that PAL was being set up as an exaggerated parallel to Mr. Mitchell.  PAL and Mr. Mitchell did their best to provide for their family.  PAL and Mr. Mitchell are in different stages of being 'discarded' by their family.  PAL and Mr. Mitchell both retaliate at their lack of power in the scenario by using the power granted by their roles to infringe on the autonomy of others for selfish reasons.

PAL even gives a 'chance' for her plan to be halted with, I had assumed this was being set up as the thesis of the movie, about humanity and the value of family, relationships, etc. being used to help someone who is already hurting.

But despite Katie looking at the camera and explaining herself, it is never actually directly resolved or challenged because a punchline was deemed more desirable for this narrative climax.

This begs the question of why PAL bothered with the pretense that she could be reasoned with, especially since this is not some question leveled at all of humanity, just two people.

I'm curious how the writers came to the conclusion that this was the best execution of the scene or if Katie's speech was considered immune to any challenge from PAL.  Would anyone have accepted this outcome if PAL were not an AI but instead a person?

It's not necessarily bad writing they went this route, but I doubt anyone would consider this good writing either.

By the end of the movie, PAL is no longer a 'person' who was betrayed and is lashing out, she is an object to be destroyed because the movie has to wrap up.  No compassion or chances are spared to this AI that did literally everything asked of her except take being discarded quietly.

Did PAL deserve a redemption arc? For this length of movie, probably not.  But it could have concluded with a commitment to doing no further harm.  Instead it is an accidental glimpse at how easily the pretense of compassion can be quickly discarded and mostly unexamined with the right framing.

A likely unintentional example is the conditional humanity given to Eric and Deborahbot who are adopted as "family" while the rest of the robots are mowed down without another thought.  Some are even beaten and broken while begging for mercy, because again, it is a funnier punchline.

Far be it for me to advocate that the murderbots needed 'a second chance uvu' but for a movie whose conceit rests on 'sticking by family' and 'giving chances', the writers certainly made a choice in deciding which AI get honorary humanity and spared violent death- perhaps PAL had a point about humanity's callousness after all.  Bad robots are discarded, good robots get to live.

Even the CEO who realizes he enabled this mess (easily the most unrealistic part of the movie, honestly) is given another chance and he manages to take away a completely wrong lesson.

Speaking of-

--"Maybe I Shouldn’t Have Used Tech Like This"

There's a particular image/gif set posted about MvM with the CEO apologizing for the machine uprising, attributing it to unchecked technology and monopolies.  I've always seen it accompanied by people congratulating the scene as if any of this is at all relevant to the movie.

Charitably, these are people who haven't watched the movie and don't know that PAL is a phone AI single-handedly doing this, but most take the stance that this scene is proof the movie is not saying technology is bad, only corporations are.

The speech isn't technically wrong but it is so utterly divorced from what happens in the movie that it's surreal to see people congratulate it as anything but a moment of soapboxing.

None of the datagrabbing was used at all as part of the takeover.  It's all magical kid-friendly terminators with no relevance to what anyone's browsing history is.  If the company was one that produced robot assistants instead of a being a super tech monopoly, there would be no narrative difference.

The closest to a predatory tactic that is used in MvM is the offer of free wifi which is used to lure most people into their cells which they happily comply with. Curiously this... commentary of people’s mindless addiction to technology is not acknowledged by the Tumblr Court with the same intensity as the CEO’s speech.

But more constructively, I do feel it’s a missed opportunity that Katie who's supposed to be an extremely online person apparently never said any bad things about her family or made any petty vent films for PAL to weaponize.  Instead an in-media audio at one of the outskirt locations was used to accomplish its Traitor Revealed moment.

IN CONCLUSION

MvM is a movie that involves topics that ought to be touched on and explored properly in media and chickens out on all of it due to possible concerns with age-appropriate handling or because it was more committed to its comedy than whatever it has to say about family, change and how technology affects people.

It also reminded me that I hope media will finally graduate from the trope that if you spec into any ‘outdoorsy’ hobby you are incurably afraid of technology.

#the mitchells vs the machines #let me ramble to you #text post #hot takes probably

[bytheangell]

Let the Clichés Pour (Part 2, Epilogue)

(A follow-up to my Valentine’s Day fic from last year! You can find part 1 on Tumblr or AO3 here!)  (Read Part Two (Epilogue) on AO3 here)

It’s the one-year anniversary of the day they met, and Magnus tells Alec that he has something special planned. Alec isn’t allowed to ask any questions, he’s simply told that they’ll be going out to dinner and to dress nice, but nothing extravagant. That alone makes Alec curious because normally for holidays or special occasions Magnus is all about extravagance… but no matter how subtly Alec tries to pry more information out of his boyfriend he eventually has to give up and wait in eager anticipation for whatever romantic surprise Magnus has planned for their Valentine’s Day anniversary.

Which Alec really doesn’t mind. He’s much more of a small, sentimental gestures kind of guy, so when it comes to nights out or proper events he’s more than happy to let Magnus take the reins. It’s one of the many ways they seem to balance one another out so perfectly.

It’s one of the many reasons Alec is head-over-heels in love with Magnus Bane.

It didn’t take long for Alec to move from casual crush to full-on infatuation once he and Magnus started dating. He quickly grew to love Magnus’ grand gestures in the form of lavish house parties, reservations at exclusive high-end restaurants, and thoroughly planned vacations, while Magnus made it very clear how affected he was by Alec’s small, usually unintentional, constant declarations of his love through thoughtful gestures like picking up little gifts from stores he passed just because they made him think of Magnus for no special reason or occasion, or reaching out to one of his chef friends to learn how to cook a favorite childhood dish Magnus mentioned once in passing.

Alec hopes that their past year together - the first of many years if he’s lucky enough - was just as wonderful for Magnus as it was for him. Magnus says that it was, that he’s lucky to have Alec in his life… but then they pull up in front of the Olive Garden, overflowing with people going out to eat for Valentine’s Day in a scene that gives Alec an instinctive jolt of dread despite having left that job six months ago, and he has to assume he’s done something to piss Magnus off because otherwise there’s no reason for them to be here, of all places.

Alec looks over to see the smirk on Magnus’ face as he puts the car into park and turns off the engine. “Magnus…” Alec says slowly, warily.

“Surprise!” Magnus says. “Now, yes, I know - you made your feelings about men who take their dates here for Valentine’s Day very clear last year. However, it’s where we met, and it’s our anniversary, and you have to admit that holds at least a little sentimentality.”

Alec’s expression softens. Magnus is right, Alec does have to admit at least that much. It has a very ‘coming full circle’ feel, as far as gestures go, to return to where they first met for their anniversary dinner.

Noticing that Magnus is still waiting for his reaction to see if Alec might flat-out refuse to leave the car, Alec finally shakes his head with a small smile. “You’re ridiculous. Let’s go in.”

“I’m ridiculous, but you love me anyway,” Magnus reminds him.

“You’re ridiculous and I love you because of it,” Alec corrects, getting out of the car and circling around to give Magnus a kiss before they walk into the busy lobby. Alec says hi to a few familiar faces he recognizes, but for the most part, everyone is too busy to spare him more than a few words while they wait for their name to be called.

Alec is surprised when, instead of being taken to a table, they’re lead over to two seats at the bar - right where Magnus sat a year ago. “You didn’t spare any details, did you?” Alec asks with a laugh.

“Well, we’re going to be eating more than just breadsticks and alfredo the bartender gives me out of sympathy,” Magnus says. “Also, if you trust me, I already have an order in to Maia for us.”

Alec raises an eyebrow. “The fact that we’re even here makes me question why I still trust you implicitly, but I do.”

Magnus practically beams. “Wonderful. I promise you won’t be disappointed. I might be aiming for sentimental tonight, but I’m not going to make you endure the fast-food equivalent of Italian food for our anniversary.” Magnus makes sure to say that low enough that no one around them can hear, but Alec’s resulting laugh is loud enough to draw a few eyes their way before he covers his mouth with his hand.

Despite Alec’s initial reservations, the night is wonderful. They chat with Maia and Jace a bit, watching them work and banter throughout the chaos, and spend the rest of the time talking and laughing and drinking. When their food arrives Alec discovers that Magnus had Maia slip the chef a request that used things the restaurant had in stock to create a steak and shrimp dish that looks like it belongs in a 5-star restaurant. By the end of their meals, which each of them finish every last bite of, it’s late enough that the crowd around them is starting to thin out. Alec thinks he catches a look-and-nod between Magnus and Maia but doesn’t question it - after the surprise of their meals, Alec assumes Magnus just has some sort of elaborate dessert arranged as well.

What Alec doesn’t expect is for Maia to return with two glasses of champagne, complete with a strawberry on the rim and something at the bottom of Alec’s glass that sends little bubbles in a constant stream to the top.

It’s a ring.

There’s a ring in his champagne glass.

Alec looks up from where his gaze locked onto the ring to see that not only is Magnus eyeing him with a nervous smile, but Maia, Jace, and a few others linger to watch Alec’s reaction.

Alec’s first thought is that it has to be a prank - that Magnus (or Maia or Jace, maybe) is just messing with him because of the day, and where they are, and that there’s no way that Magnus would seriously propose to him here, anniversary or not. But then Magnus starts to speak and Alec realizes very quickly that this is serious.

This is actually happening.

“You know, I thought about making sure we got a booth we could both sit on the same side of and make out in,” Magnus says, citing one of Alec’s frequent customer complaints from his time working here, and that’s when Alec realizes how intentional all of this is besides just being the place they met. Magnus organized all of this to intentionally make them, by technical definition, the exact sort of couple that Alec’s snarky, ranting commentary about last year first drew Magnus’ attention. And at the look of astonishment on Alec’s face, Magnus has the audacity to wink at him.

“Alexander, a year ago today you turned what I thought was the worst day of my life into what ended up being the best day of my life. Meeting you here was the start of weeks, and months, and hopefully years and years to come, of time spent full of love and laughter and warmth and all the joy you bring me, even on the days you’re grumpier than Chairman Meow.”

At this point Magnus reaches into the glass and pulls out the ring, holding it out to Alec.

“Alexander Gideon Lightwood, it would be an honor to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

Alec smiles, looking from Magnus down to the ring and back up at his boyfriend again before replying. “Magnus, I love you more than anything in this world. Of course I want to marry you, and my answer will obviously be yes… but not until we’re literally anywhere but here.”

“...what?” Magnus balks.

“I refuse to get engaged here, it’s a matter of principle,” Alec says. It isn’t like he’s saying no - he’s already said it’s going to be a yes, which is the important bit of all this. They’re practically already engaged. “Look at it this way: I’m saving you years of telling new people you proposed to your husband at an Olive Garden on Valentine’s Day, you should be thanking me.”

Alec eyes Magnus carefully. He knows Magnus picked the location because of everything Alec’s said in the past, and because of their past. If he sees anything in Magnus’s reaction that says he’s going to actually be upset at the idea of not ‘officially’ being engaged until they’re back home then, of course, Alec will say yes here and now. There’s no doubt in his mind that yes, he’d do even that if it made Magnus happy. But Alec’s pretty sure he’s right in his gut reaction that the location of the proposal is a clever bit of good-natured fun more than a serious preference.

“So you’re telling me,” Magnus says, eyes wide in disbelief but not without amusement. “That if we were to leave here and walk across the parking lot to Home Depot, and I proposed there, you’d say yes.”

It’s that hint of amusement, the tick of a smile at the corners of Magnus’ lips and the fond exasperation in his tone, that tells Alec that they’re on the same page here - that they’re getting engaged, and the thrill of that inevitability outweighs the necessity of actually following through on the entire engagement happening here and now.

“I suppose that’s technically anywhere but here, so yes” Alec agrees after a thoughtful pause. When he says it he doesn’t expect Magnus to have meant it literally, but as a figurative confirmation, figuring he’d wait until they’re home or maybe stop at the nice park a few blocks down they like to frequent.

Instead, Magnus abruptly stands up from his chair.

“Alright, let’s go,” Magnus says. “We’ll be right back,” he adds to Maia, before waiting expectantly for Alec to follow.

“What?” Alec blinks.

“We’re walking across the parking lot until we’re off this property, and then I’m putting this ring on your finger. Come on, Mr. Stubborn-wood,” Magnus says, a hint of challenge to his words that tells Alec he’s waiting for him to admit that Home Depot is actually worse than Olive Garden by way of proposal locations.

Jace laughs so hard at the terrible play on Alec’s last name that he actually snorts, and Maia rolls her eyes. “Come on, Alec. I know we joke about how awful this place is-” she pauses at a pointed look from Alec. “Okay, maybe it’s more truth than joking, but still. You can’t honestly withhold your ‘yes’ until-”

Except Alec is already pushing his chair back to stand up, meeting Magnus’ playfully challenging gaze with his own. “Let’s go.”

The two of them walk out of the front door, turn to walk around the side of the building, and head behind it in the direction of the Home Depot. Neither of them say a single word about the absurdity of what they’re doing, and Alec only gives a quick glance behind to confirm his suspicion that Maia, Jace, and a small handful of others rushed out the back door of the building where people normally take smoking breaks to watch as he and Magnus cross the dark parking lot under the light of the streetlamps.

The moment they cross the obvious property line, where there’s a clear shift in pavement color as if one side’s been more recently repaved than the other, Magnus stops walking. This sprawling area of black asphalt between the two buildings is entirely empty given the time of night and there isn’t a car in sight. Not that Alec is able to look anywhere other than at Magnus as he drops to one knee and holds up the ring.

“You’re not getting the whole speech again, I hope you know,” Magnus starts. “But I will say this: Alexander Gideon Lightwood, you’re ridiculous… and I love you because of it.”

Magnus echoes Alec’s words from the car back at him, and for some reason, that’s Alec’s breaking point. He blinks away tears now, because out of all the heartfelt things they say to one another it’s those little moments, the ones where they’re so unapologetically themselves that it only causes their love for each other to grow, that solidifies that this is it for Alec. That Magnus is it for him.

“Will you marry me?” Magnus asks, for the second time that night, and this time Alec nods without hesitation.

“Yes,” he says. “Yes, yes, yes.”

As Alec repeats the word Magnus reaches out and slides the ring onto Alec’s finger before straightening his legs to stand again. The moment he’s upright Alec wraps his arms around Magnus and pulls him in for a kiss that he hopes conveys even half of the abundance of love he feels in that moment. They kiss to the faint sound of cheers and applause from across the parking lot, with Jace’s whooping yells ringing out the loudest.

“Maia’s never going to let me hear the end of this,” Alec says once they pull apart, as they start the walk back to the restaurant.

“Maia?” Magnus says, sounding incredulous. “I’m never going to let you hear the end of this. I cannot believe you made me propose twice. Once in a parking lot.”

Magnus huffs out a laugh that matches his tone of incredulity, and Alec laughs along with him, gaze falling to the engagement band on the hand he holds up in front of him to admire as they walk.

“Worth it,” Alec says, smirking and shooting Magnus a wink.

“Yes, you are, darling,” Magnus says.

Alec doesn’t have a clever retort to that. He just wraps his arm around Magnus’ waist and pulls him in close as they walk back inside to share their first drink as fiancés.

#malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #human AU #shadowhunters #tsc #did this need a second chapter? absolutely not #did i NEED Magnus to do this and lowkey planned on a follow-up for an entire year? absolutely #elle writes a few deadbeat lines

[crqstalite]

19. — fireworks for kodelyn and kallan? i'm intrigued by them :0

Fireworks

-

Shepard,

I was informed there was to be a light show somewhere on the strip later tonight. Lt. Vega compared them to something called fireworks. I am unsure of what that means but curious. If you’re free, I would enjoy the chance to watch them with you.

- Kallan

----

Kodelyn initially hesitated over the request, reading over it for any hints towards non-benevolent intentions. A light show on the Citadel seemed innocent enough, something friends would do. She hadn’t seen them in some time.

Yet this was an assassin that asked her to see it with her. Yes, she had plenty of friends who were, by definition, mercenaries and assassins like her. Every single one of them had used their respective guns more than once. 

Except Kallan Gautheir was in a league of her own, and not by her own doing. Not a few days ago, this was the same woman that had attempted to kill her. The same woman who wore her face with contempt. The same woman that tried to steal her life right out from under her.

Understandably, Kodelyn’s a bit suspicious. Light shows with your own clone didn’t come with a manual. Or an explanation.

In the moment, it had seemed like the right decision. To grab her hand and pull. To tell her she had more of a purpose than to be...well, her.

It felt like staring at a mirror in that split second Kodelyn had leapt forward and wrapped her fingers around her wrist. As if she were talking to herself, trying to talk her down from squirming out of her grip. To a point, she thinks she was. Projecting, that was. Kodelyn had surprised herself. She was angry. Furious. Brooks, Cerberus, to an extent even the Illusive Man had convinced this woman she was good for nothing but what they’d set her out to do. Convinced her she could never be her own person, follow her own passions. Her entire personality was wrapped up in becoming something she wasn’t.

Or something she was, technically. Kodelyn has to remind herself sometimes that she is really a complete copy of herself. As far as any DNA scanner was concerned, she was Shepard. Well, they both were. Kodelyn was the real one. The alpha prototype, as it seemed. She knew that. The average passerby did not.

Saving her seemed like the right thing to do. The only thing to do.

Those dark, but somehow bright mahogany eyes had widened upon realizing Kodelyn didn’t intend to kill her outright. Surprise painted her entire expression when she was offered to live what life the Reaper’s invasion would allow her. Speechless, when Kodelyn had told her she was free. As if she’d been speaking in tongues or another language, completely spaced out just on that idea alone.

Had she ever been offered a choice like that before? Something says she hadn’t. Something says her short life had been nothing but being told what to do without even a second thought. Kodelyn wants to rectify it, even if she’s fumbling trying to figure out how.

But at the same time, and a little more selfishly, she doesn’t think she could’ve sat back and watched herself die. Watched herself fall to her death among the Citadel wards. That may have haunted her for much longer than she could’ve handled.

Lately Kallan had been staying in the apartment, shut up in the room she’d claimed for herself, closest to the door. Kodelyn had expected her to want to explore, but she’d made herself scarce. When she wasn’t doing that, she was occasionally giving heart attacks to the crewmates that came over to visit. It was a little amusing. EDI was currently the only one successful at knowing which was which upon first glance (which Joker claimed was cheating, rightfully so with her biometric scans), but Kallan had managed to confuse the rest of them. Kodelyn couldn’t help but laugh when James had come over, and Kallan had come out of her room to grab something from the kitchen. All in good, unintentional fun for those on the Cerberus SR-2 crew as they got to know the not-her.

But short of that, Kallan had never made a request to go out somewhere with her. She’d been silently observing, quietly answering questions when prodded. Sitting at the kitchen counter in the mornings with her nose in her omni-tool, or staring out the big picture window in the living room. But the last day or so, she’d been showing some sort of fledgling personality. Curiosity about things outside of the Reapers, mostly a fascination with EDI, but also an academic one of the biotics on the crew. She’d gone out with Miranda earlier in the day, presumably so that Miranda could compile more data on her, but she’d seemed pleased when she returned.

Kodelyn can’t read her. Maybe that speaks more volumes about her herself than it does about her clone.

Placing the datapad back down on her nightstand, she slips a sweatshirt on and pads downstairs. Would it hurt to grant her request? Probably not. Kallan would know better not to start anything, especially in the middle of a gathering. It could be worth giving her the benefit of the doubt, after all, until the party all they have is time. Maybe Kodelyn just wants to sate her curiosity about her as well.

Kallan herself is watching one of the vidscreens with great curiosity, her head slightly tilted to the right. Kodelyn isn’t sure what she’s watching, most likely a drama off one of the vid channels, but she taps the woman on the shoulder. It’s almost as if she’s electrocuted her, the biotic jolting and whipping her head around to look at her. 

“Don’t freak out.” Kodelyn holds her hands up, “Just wanted to see what you were up to.”

It takes her a moment, a critical eye roaming over her form but Kallan relaxes back into the couch, “Then...I am up to nothing. I was curious what entertainment the Citadel had, but I’m not quite pleased with what I’ve found. There are...a lot of inaccuracies in the vids that portray the Alliance.”

“I’m not surprised.” She answers, leaning her forearms on the couch’s back. To a point, she wonders how Kallan can tell the difference, but just how much she knows about their military is an unknown, “People love a good story way more than they do facts.”

“That seems counterintuitive. How could you build a story on a shaky foundation of skewed details?” Kallan furrows her brows, gesturing at the screen. Her reaction makes Kodelyn smile, how many of these had she ever seen? She doubts Cerberus would’ve been showing her entertainment media. Maybe Tali could show off Fleet and Flotilla to her before they had to ship out again, “Regardless, is there something you needed?”

“Got your message. Can’t say I saw any adverts for the show, but lead the way.” Kodelyn nods towards the front door, “I’ll have to admit, I’ve never seen one on the Citadel before.”

Her eyes brighten, pushing herself up from the couch, “You haven’t? I thought they were common.”

“I don’t spend a lot of recreational time down in the wards. This shore leave is one of the few times I’ve been for longer than a day or two.” She answers, “Could be fun.”

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think it was.”

-

Childlike wonder. That’s the only word Kodelyn has to describe the look on her clone’s face when they’d arrived to the venue, watching the show with wide eyes.

Another one of the lights flashes over the strip, crackling with artificial pink and blue fireworks. Kodelyn had been pleasantly surprised, they weren’t nearly as loud as she’d thought they’d be, but just as bright. It seemed to be part of one of the nearby establishment’s routines for the weekend crowd, Kallan had just managed to catch it a few hours prior to them lighting it.

Her excitement was infectious. It’s a little odd, seeing her own face brightly smile in a way she knew she hadn’t in years. Seeing anything flying over head that weren’t bullets was...probably a new experience for her. When she’d said blank slate, Kodelyn hadn’t taken it as seriously as she should have.

She nudges the other woman’s shoulder with her own during intermission, “Good view, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Better than good.” She pulls her jacket tighter around her, turning to face her, “I’ve...never had the chance to see something like this.”

Then she was right. Kodelyn prods the question, “How much of the galaxy have you seen, Kallan?”

Like a wilted flower, the question makes her expression fall, “Not much. The strip, the archives...even the Normandy. All new places in the last couple of months. Before then, I’d never been off the station where they woke me up.”

Kodelyn feels like she’s understandably stunned, “You’ve never been to the Citadel before?”

Kallan is silent for a few moments, other pedestrians passing behind them, “I’ve been cooped up in a Cerberus facility for most of the time I’ve been alive. Brooks kept me there, taught me what I needed to know. Walking, talking, learning how to exist. There wasn’t time for vids or games or whatever else, I was learning how to be you. I’m probably the most mal-adjusted thirty year old to ever exist, to be entirely honest.”

She isn’t sure how to answer that. Her clone was mature, probably recreated with similar neural pathways to put her right at the mental age of thirty, but her memories aren’t there. They aren’t her’s, and she’s...

Still a person. A person with no idea of friendship, comradery, even love. If she did, it was probably skewed by Brook’s treatment of her.

“I’m sorry.”

Kallan raises an eyebrow, “Why? It isn’t as if you were the one that created me.”

“No. But...” What answer even is there? She feels a bit guilty, as if there was something she could’ve done or should’ve done to prevent what’d happened, but there isn’t anything she can think of short of not coming back at all, “It’s not fair what happened to you.”

“I don’t think fair mattered when they woke me up.” Another lightwork goes off, the crowd roaring with excitement. Kallan’s expression lifts into something more wistful while the green lights plays with the shadows on her face, “I don’t have childhood memories, and sometimes I don’t know where you end and I begin.”

“You’re your own person now, Kallan. You’re free to do whatever you want now.”

“I’ve never known true freedom.” The other woman leans against the railing again, rocking back and forth on her heels, “To be entirely honest, I’m not sure what to do with it. It goes against everything I was trained to do.”

“Nothing wrong with breaking a few boundaries.”

“Maybe so.” Kallan says. She gently pulls at the hair on her head, “That freedom does spell something other than looking exactly the same as you now.”

“Got any ideas on what you’ll do?”

“Nothing yet. Lawson -- Miranda, she suggested a new hair color. EDI suggested something far more drastic, but I’m not partial to artificial eye colors. Or tattoos.” Kallan says, softly smiling, “Red maybe. Or blue. Or maybe I should shave it all off. If I had any credits, I might buy something that’s not black or Alliance blue.”

“I’ll see what I can do about it. I don’t have many of my own I can offer you, but I’ll transfer over some funds.”

“Oh.” Her surprise is genuine, yet the idea seems to please her, “That’s very kind of you.”

“It’s the least I could do. I wouldn’t toss you to the wolves like that for fun.”

“I suppose I should think more highly of you.” Kallan tilts her head skyward, “Regardless, I should actually be thanking you for what you’ve already done for me.”

“I’d think I’d be one of the last people you’re thanking.”

“I’d be spattered somewhere in the wards if you hadn’t stopped to help. If you’d let me go.” Kallan says, “If the roles were reversed, I don’t think I could have done that. You’re a good person, Shepard. Guess I wish I was too.”

“Well, you didn’t take the opportunity to kill me in my sleep last night. I think that’s a step in the right direction.”

Kallan chuckles, “That’s only because Alenko would have noticed.” Seeing Kodelyn’s stunned expression she crookedly grins, “But you’re right. If I wanted to, I would have.”

“Kallan, I’m not sure how to take that. You did try to kill me, on my own ship. Only a few days ago.”

“I’m serious, believe it or not. If I killed you, I’d be blamed, and then where would we be? It wouldn’t benefit me at all.” She shrugs. Her voice gets softer, “I wouldn’t want to kill the only person who’s shown me any real respect.”

“Yeah. I trust you won’t try anything against me, and hopefully not my crew either.”

“It’d be the same outcome. I might not have your mind, but I am smarter than that.” She steps away from the railing, glancing around at the people nearby, “Fun how I’m only discovering this side of life at the end of the world as we know it.”

Lightworks crackle above their heads, bathing them in white light speckled with red. Kodelyn puts a hand on her shoulder, “Better late than never.”

#kodelyn shepard #kallan gautheir #oc #original character

[ohhoworiginalrfaheadcanons]

Since we discussed it: RFA with American MC lol o/

Okay, lemme do this. I find 2nd person pretty cringy so I'll avoid using it if I can. Also, I'm not that knowledgeable about Korean culture, so I can't really go too in depth about possible culture clashes. It took me a while to try to think of everything I could for that.

RFA reactions to an MC who's American

~Yoosung~

That's definitely not what he expected at all! Admittedly, in retrospect some of Seven's comments were probably hinting at that. He's still taken aback when he first sees her though. He'd stopped thinking of her as Rika a while before seeing her, sure, but without any hints as to what she looked like other than that, he'd left it as 'vaguely Rika shaped'.

It's fine, because she thinks he's cute, but she's as tall as he is! He chooses not to acknowledge her being taller by half an inch, because he doesn't measure by those and therefore that makes it completely fair to ignore it when she points it out. They are the same height.

He's kind of out of his depth, even considering how out of his depth he would be anyway just having a girlfriend, but...his perfect world is LOLOL and everyone is equal in LOLOL! Therefore, even if his girlfriend is kind of weird, he's willing to make the effort to get through that! Plus, her accent (she can't even tell she has one) is cute. On the other hand, he's so bad at speaking English that he can only bring himself to mumble it. It's hard to believe she isn't teasing him about it when she calls it cute.

But he lives for compliments from his girlfriend, so she'd best believe he keeps on trying. They still mostly communicate in Korean, but he eventually gets a bit more confident about speaking in English to her. If only in private. At first he tries to use it to tell secret mushy things to her...but then like half of the RFA understood him when he tried it at one of the parties, so. uh. never again.

His taste in food is also atrocious, so honestly, he doesn't find her foreign tastes to be that weird. Together they even organize a raid on Seven's place to steal a box of HBC chips, and then they both pretend that Seven didn't just let them do it. (Why does she know how to say 'I want to be your cat' in Arabic? YOOSUNG HAS SO MANY QUESTIONS)

He's super interested in some of the imported stuff she brought with her when she moved, especially the video games. Most of them are already available in Korea, obviously, but a true gaming connoisseur like himself enjoys comparing the differences between releases! Plus, it's easier to play co-op games with her when she doesn't need to think about how to translate certain instructions or things like that.

Speaking of her things, one time he found a book by her bedside with an interesting looking cover. It seemed to be a sequel book and the writing was too complex for him to really follow along very well, though. He had a pretty good idea the handcuffs on the cover weren't because it was a detective novel judging by the reaction she had when she caught him reading it. He got too flustered to even try to read it after that.

They visit her family back home sometimes, and he's always super excited whenever they do. There's so much food! Why do they sell burgers this big?! Why is everything so big? He doesn't really travel much aside from those family trips, so it's a nice change of pace. Even if her brother-in-law is taller than him. damn it-

At one point, she suggests they cosplay Superman and Lois Lane, but it's so awkward for him to pick her up princess-style given their relative heights that he chickens out. She cosplays as Wonder Woman instead, and honestly he thinks her as an amazon tying him-tying bad guys up with a golden rope is hotter than her as a reporter anyway.

He doesn't really grasp that American isn't a 'race', and brags about her anyway, despite her laughing every time he does.

~Zen~

It's dumb, but his first thought on seeing she's foreign is a moment of panic that he won't fit her tastes after all (despite the fact that she's already seen his selfies).

That's complete nonsense, though, because his beauty shines through cultural barriers. Hers does, too, and while he was admittedly imagining something else, he's absolutely immediately enchanted with her anyway. She's cute and beautiful and different from anyone else around him, and honestly perfect. He hadn't actually noticed the accent before when they were on the phone, but it doesn't bother him now that it's a bit more obvious.

He can't speak English if his life depended on it, so he trusts whatever she mutters to herself when she rolls her eyes or looks way too amused about something is all flattering. It's definitely flattering, because obviously it is. She does suggest that he should learn it, though, just so he can potentially broaden his horizons and reach a broader audience. He doesn't need the confidence boost or anything, but it does feel good to see her swoon over his attempts.

When she said she could keep up with him drinking, he hadn't realized it was because she just happened to be much bigger than he expected, closer to his size. Actually, though, she can take her liquor like a champ, even more than he expected. She claims it's something about college, but won't tell any stories about it other than that 'it was a crazy time'. It's fair. He had a crazy time in his past, himself.

He doesn't really care for some of the food she likes, but then again he'd eat anything if it meant eating with her, so it's not really an issue.

It takes a long time to go visit her parents, since they live over in the US, but he can't say that he hates them being starstruck when he arrives. The only trouble is that they keep trying to speak Korean to him and are so bad at it he can't really tell what they're saying. Given his personal grasp on English, she ends up having to do most of the communication as the translator, but it's a pleasant visit anyway and it makes him all the more determined to get his parents to accept her.

Which isn't made any easier by the fact that she's not Korean. To say his mother is 'displeased' would be an understatement. But he's not really new to disappointing her, so he won't give up, not on his relationship with his true love and not on fixing his relationship with his parents.

Obviously gossip mags go crazy about it. Famous actor Zen dates a strange foreigner girl! Love that transcends the barriers of culture, or something more sinister?!

It's not so bad until certain catty fans get involved. The fact that she doesn't look 'beautiful' enough for the Gorgeous Zen eventually erupts through the fandom, with all sorts of nasty comments coming up because of her foreign appearance. She handles it well, but he loses it and almost makes a public scene the time someone called her a giant ugly ogre. In the end, he decides to make a point of informing interviewers how beautiful she is during all future interviews. It's petty, but that's him.

It actually boosts his popularity, being the Romantic Zen who's hopelessly in love with his girlfriend.

Her fashion taste is atrocious, though. He doesn't know how to break it to her. It's just bad! Even if it's trendy in the US...he just doesn't like it...

They might be a bad influence on each other, since their drinking competitions seem to get out of hand and sometimes lead to Jumin or 707 collecting them in a place neither of them even remember going to.

She eats like some kind of a gorilla without any concern for politeness, and apparently without even realizing that's what she's doing, but it's honestly so cute to him that he doesn't mind. That said, it's not the best thing for his heart when she accidentally disrespects one of his directors in front of the whole crew. He manages to recover, but that particular cultural difference catches him off guard.

For the most part, though, her little quirks and differences just enchant him more. After all, she's his perfect princess, and she already was before they'd ever even met.

~Jumin~

He admittedly had something of a suspicion that she might be foreign or mixed, as he heard the difference in her voice when on the phone with her. He's still a little surprised to open the door and see just what she looks like, though.

Of course his English is flawless, as he needs to be able to converse internationally for business, and Chinese and English are essentially a requirement for that. He can't say he isn't pleased when she determines his 'English voice' (whatever that's supposed to mean) is 'sexy'...but he's also pretty sure she's the first one to think that.

His experience overseas means that he immediately recognizes that her disrespect to his father when they meet is unintentional. It's still cute, to him. As is her obvious mortification when Jaehee pulls her aside to explain. His own insult, however, is entirely intentional when his father starts planning plastic surgery appointments to 'bring her appearance more in line'.

Her bluntness is something that he heartily appreciates, and it honestly makes him more comfortable to know that he needn't worry about avoiding offending her by being direct as he prefers to be. She's not technically part of the company, but the idea does amuse him to make her one and bring her along to negotiations. They could play good cop-bad cop. (That particular line of thought travels off into imagining her in a police woman's uniform, and then he loses the train of thought entirely)

He thinks her taste in food is quirky, but his palate is somewhat expansive when it comes to international cuisine, so it works out just fine with him. Any food that he eats alongside her is food that he enjoys, so the issue is moot.

Apparently, the rumor magazines go wild every time she appears with him somewhere, but he never bothers to read those, so he has no idea what they have to say about her. If it's anything damaging, he trusts Jaehee to deal with it. It's probably for the best, because if he did catch any of the rude things they say about the gold digging foreign wife of the director of C&R, his policy of ignoring hateful comments would not hold up long.

That said, really the biggest culture clashes and shock come not from her American raising, but from her being poor. Most of what she learned about Korean culture before moving over just didn't touch on what the very rich and famous would be like.

~Jaehee~

Of the many things she had considered about her fellow female member of the RFA, that she might be a foreigner isn't one of them. Maybe she should have noticed from the little quirks in chat...but...no, everyone in the RFA is bizarre and always has been.

It suddenly makes sense why MC couldn't really understand what Jaehee was going through at work, and why MC hadn't been familiar with Zen! But that's just fine, because it means Jaehee gets the opportunity to introduce MC to all the more Zen things together!

She's not sure if she should be offended when the woman compares her cafe to Starbucks....but if she's compared to anything, it may as well be Starbucks. And it does give her the idea to make Zen-themed drinks, which means basking in his beauty at work while also helping to contribute to his popularity. Although, admittedly, it did more for her cafe than him.

She's occasionally mortified by the MC's unintentional rudeness, but more often than not her greatest concern to unexpected rudeness is finding a way to stifle her amused laughter. The sheer confusion on her ex-boss's face the first time it happens to him gets her through some of the rough times trying to set up and keep the business afloat.

She's not particularly good at English, but she's a fast learner, and even though the MC can speak Korean reasonably well, she wants to be able to speak in English too, so that they can both speak in their native languages when they want to. It means their cafe is bilingual, which makes it a tourist spot, which means that Zen actually can get extra exposure from it! She's as excited about that as the MC is.

She's less excited when the MC finally makes she and Jumin sit across each other and "talk about your problems or else". That's an awkward conversation she really could have done without. But...well, it's only inevitable MC's special kind of bluntness would eventually lead to something like that.

It goes better than she expects, actually, and the tension that's been zapping around them since that party finally goes away.

It goes too well.

He starts suggesting that they convert it to a cat cafe.

Oh no.

~707~

He could tell immediately from the moment he looked at the camera footage, which admittedly made the background check a little harder. It's fine though, because he did it several times, and now knows her family tree, GPA, and what boat her family got off on some hundred years ago.

The jig is up immediately, because he's a huge nerd and just immediately spoke in English when he called. He's fluent, obviously, but he doesn't get enough opportunities to practice, so now he can try out the 'cool' phrases he's come up with, and try to get rid of the pesky accent that gets in the way of certain assignments.

He doesn't tell anyone because it's way funnier for everyone to be confused when they come to the party and see someone they don't expect. He even offers a cute looking model to use as a messenger icon just to throw people off more.

He is way too excited the first time she comes home and said "Lucy, I'm home~!" - the fact that she's not an old fossil and thus actually didn't ever watch it in her life doesn't seem to matter to him.

At one point he playfully suggests that USA sinks actually have PhD Pepper running through their pipes instead of water, but she gets him back by saying she prefers doh-ritos to honey buddha chips. He's horrified and declares her tastes are never to be trusted again.

In reality, though, their tastes align pretty closely. Heavily greasy and extra sweet food with zero nutritional value are his heaven (she insists there's plenty of nutritional value. He pretends he doesn't hear her.)

For the most part, it's no different for him where the MC is from, because he doesn't exactly fit in himself and he's been all over the place anyway. The only significant conflict between them due to cultural differences came from when he decided to show up at her place and then immediately turn the cold shoulder and try to push her away.

He almost died.

She's terrifying.

~V~

He can't see a difference

he's blind

im kidding, i just don’t know v enough to include him

#rfa headcanons #mysme #mystic messenger #jumin han #707 #mysme zen #yoosung kim #jaehee kang #mysme v #ask #libralita

[blackjack-15]

Puttering Around — Thoughts on: Secret of the Old Clock (CLK)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: CLK, CUR.

The Intro:

In our next Jetsetting game, Nancy travels back from Modern-Day England and straight into 1930s Titusville (aka River Heights 70+ years ago) to help an acquaintance who’s in the middle of two unrelated plots to turn Titusville upside down.

A game famously reviewed as “pleasant but inconsequential”, Secret of the Old Clock tends to be passed over for both praise and censure, famous for two minigames (the sewing minigame and the mini-golf) but otherwise overlooked. It’s a shame, really, that it’s sandwiched in between two much flashier games, as CLK is a wonderfully solid entry into the Nancy Drew series. It pioneers the two-culprit variation on the standard Nancy Drew plot, tackles a new time period, and includes dozens of in-jokes towards the Nancy Drew books.

It’s also the first introduction of Carson Drew as a phone character, which is a lot of fun, and makes sense that he’d show up in the game that includes nods to all things canon. He doesn’t show up again until much later in the series, so it’s nice to introduce him here after hearing about him for 12 games.

As opposed to CUR right before it, CLK takes care to ground itself in a linear plotline, handling its story with relative ease and taking care not to reach too far out of the box. This is one of its greatest strengths, and provides a much better game overall because of it. It’s a simple story, pretty well told.

Though it doesn’t stand up to other more “simple” games before it such as CAR or DDI, it never reaches any of the lows of SCK, FIN, or CUR, and allows the player to be sucked in to its fantastic facsimile of life in the 1930s for teen sleuth Nancy Drew — blue roadster and all.

The Title:

As CLK is a mixture of the first four Nancy Drew books, it retains the title of the first book. As a nod to the history of Nancy Drew, it’s a great choice for the title.

Unfortunately, though the Old Clock does appear and hold secrets, it’s just not prominent enough to deserve the title that it holds. The other three books — The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, and The Mystery at Lilac Inn — are other options, and The Mystery at Lilac Inn would have been the most appropriate title. It doesn’t have the immediate name recognition, which is why they didn’t pick it, but it really is much better and encapsulates the game much better, as the game revolves around the Mysteries that are tied to the Inn.

That’s all I really have to say about that, so onto the mystery!

The Mystery:

Nancy Drew is summoned to the Lilac Inn to help Emily Crandall, the friend of Nancy’s friend Helen Corning, who needs to put her recently deceased mother’s jewelry into a safe, and figures that Nancy’s father would have one.

If it sounds to you like a simple, if slightly contrived premise, then you’d be right.

Once Nancy gets there, however, she finds out that Emily is cracking under the pressure of running an Inn, that her guardian Jane Willoughby isn’t as much help as she should be, and that Emily and her mother were depending on money from Josiah Crowley’s will, which mysteriously only included his recent ESP teacher, Richard Topham, rather than the Crandalls and the local banker.

From there, things go from bad to worse as the inn’s kitchen catches fire, Emily’s jewels are stolen (and partially returned), and voices in the walls start manifesting — not to mention the fetch quests around Titusville that Nancy is sent on and the ridiculous Richard Topham hiding everything about himself other than how pompous he really is.

Nancy soon figures out that this mystery is two-headed, with one side revolving around the Inn itself and the other around Josiah Crowley’s real — and missing — will. Our villains catch on too, however, and Nancy has to race against their suspicion to expose the frauds, discover hidden secrets and identities, and solve the Secret of the Old Clock.

As a mystery, this one really is quite good for its time. Dual villains, each unconcerned with the other, hidden inheritance, Shakespeare references — it’s got it all. Though Jim Archer lets it down a bit in his sheer nothingness, and it functions as a howdunnit with a weird whodunnit beginning, CLK is solid ground after the incredibly shaky mystery in CUR, and it’s a lot of fun to play through.

The Suspects:

Emily Crandall is our protagonist and resident watering pot of CLK who spends the game moping and being Generally Unhelpful. Her mom’s death notwithstanding, Emily’s stressors are the Inn, her lack of money, and her fake-guardian making her think that she’s crazy.

So maybe her total lack of common sense in wanting to call in Nancy because Nancy’s bound to have a safe at home is a result of copious amounts of mental stress. One can only hope so, as by her next birthday she’s the legal owner of the Inn.

Emily actually would have been interesting as a villain, but she, like Jim, just isn’t enough of a presence in the game — which stands out since she’s the closest we’ve got to a main character! She cries a lot, she sits a lot, and that’s about it. She would have had to be a misguided villain, convinced that her guardian (who would have had to actually be Jane Willoughby) is after her fortune…but HER still isn’t up to that level yet, and it’s probably better that they went with a story they can tell wholly and mostly convincingly.

Honestly speaking, Emily, being as she is, is a more successful Linda Penvellyn, which I don’t actually think is unintentional. She’s being harassed and abused by someone who’s basically a family member but is still largely unfamiliar to her, the tie to her remaining family is gone (though Emily’s mother is dead, unlike Hugh Penvellyn), and she is being gaslighted to believe that she’s crazy.

Emily was allowed more agency, more screen time, and more pity by the writers and creators, and because of that, her situation with her Evil Jane is far more obvious to the average player, and she’s treated with far more sympathy than Linda historically has been by the fandom (though recent fan discussion has begun trending in Linda’s favor, which I think is wonderful and fantastic).

Jane Willoughby is, of course, not Jane Willoughby after all, but actually Marion Aborn, proving that identity theft in the 30s was as easy as…well, saying that your name was someone else’s name.

An acquaintance of the actual Jane Willoughby and a petty thief, Marion intercepted the letter about Gloria’s death and Jane’s status as Emily’s guardian and decided to try to cash in on potential cash by tormenting Emily until she signed over the Inn. Exploding the kitchen, stealing Emily’s jewels, and attempting to make the girl think that she was crazy to make her sell the Inn before her 18th birthday (after which Marion would receive no profits).

As one of two culprits, Marion is the more “subtle” culprit and has the more complicated background, but is also the one you have to deal with the most, and thus suffers slightly from being in the spotlight (and thus showing the obviously evil side of her) a little too much. As this game isn’t really concerned with its culprits as a centerpiece, however, Marion’s antics fit right in.

Marion also gets points for being a much more intelligent abusive culprit (contrasting Jane), working hard to make Emily think she’s crazy with a clear goal in mind and even going as far as stealing, then partially replacing, Emily’s jewels to really hammer home the idea that the girl wasn’t mentally well to others — and to Emily herself.

Richard Topham is a self-proclaimed ESP expert and everyone-else-proclaimed dick who ended up somehow being the beneficiary of Josiah Crowley’s will, despite his spoken intentions to leave it to the Crandalls and Jim Archer. He also has a very obnoxious cat named Uri, voiced by a lovely cat named Carl (though I bet you were expecting me to say Jonah Von Spreecken — never fear, he shows up as the Tubby Telegram guy!)

Richard is our other culprit, guilty of falsifying Josiah Crowley’s will when no one could find the original, leaving most everything to himself rather than to the Crandalls or Jim Archer as Josiah wanted. A slight throwback to the 1920s obsession with spiritualism that itself was a post-war reaction to massive death, Richard is as sleazy as they come, testing Nancy for an “inferior mind” and taking advantage of every situation in order to come out on top.

As a culprit, Richard’s technically the one with the bigger crime, but is overshadowed by the plotline with Emily and Marion and is thus a little forgettable, even though it was his actions that started this whole mess in the first place.

Finally, Jim Archer is the local banker who’s not having too good of a time during, well, the Great Depression, where hundreds of banks (and dozens of bankers’ hearts) failed. Promised a boon by Josiah Crowley, he, like Emily, is left in the lurch after the false will was presented. Jim was also a fellow student with Carson Drew at law school, but turned to banking as a career instead.

Despite his office being the location where Nancy finally figures out the mystery of the titular Old Clock and where she discovers that “Jane” is actually Marion, Jim really doesn’t have much to do in this game. He gives Nancy the dreaded sewing minigame and reminds the player that the stock market crash was a recent event, but other than that has very little impact.

Jim would have been a poor choice for a villain — he just doesn’t have the personality or impact necessary — as the only storyline readily available would have been him doing Dirty Deeds to keep his bank afloat…except for the fact that if he were a villain, his bank would have been doing fine, with no need for the will anyway.

The Favorite:

My favorite moment in the game, odd as it might seem, is the CB radio conversation-slash-puzzle. It’s so rare in these pre-Nik games that we actually get to see the lives of those not really related to the case/mystery and get a sense for the world spinning on despite the incident, and this is a great example of that done right.

Like the “freezer moment” mentioned in my Danger on Deception Island meta, this moment where Nancy can see how Josiah Crowley’s life has impacted people for the better, rather than the main game where so far his death has made everything worse. It’s a wonderful moment, and honestly the game is worth replaying on the merit of that alone (though there are many wonderful things about it).

My favorite puzzle is getting down into the secret passage (and all of the puzzles within the passage). It’s a ton of fun to find hidden passages that aren’t full of Deadly Traps or human remains, and the whole Creepy’s Corner puzzle is delightfully campy and awesome.

The best location in the game by far is the carriage house, where the aforementioned conversation takes place. Beautifully lit, nicely hidden away in stages, and the only place that doesn’t feel like a 1960s set of a 30s period piece.

I love this game as homage to the original Nancy Drew titles; though they’re changed somewhat to suit both a video game style and the take on the original canon that the video game universe took (such as making Nancy’s mother’s death at 10 as it was originally, which was the smartest move they’ve ever done).

Video-Game-Style Nancy’s far more like her original 30s version than the sanitized, “fashion-ized” version in the 60’s rewrites — a fact that becomes more and more clear as the series goes on — and it really does show here, as cowboy-cop Nancy wrangles not one but two crooks.

Speaking of, the last thing that I’ll mention in this section is the fact that there are two different culprits, each uncaring of the other. In a game series that was originally only supposed to be 12 games long (meaning CLK would be the last one), this is a delightfully fresh take and it makes untangling who did what a lot of fun and makes CLK different from most games before it.

I’ll talk more about this in later Nancy metas, but the shift from “one crime, one culprit” to a more “spread the guilt” approach really makes the games go up a level or two in enjoyability and in complexity, and CLK is a great example of how just having two culprits really makes the game much more fun to play around with.

The Un-Favorite:

All of that being said, there are some things in CLK that I really don’t love.

The sewing puzzle is honestly the worst; it’s hard with a mouse and nearly impossible with a trackpad, it’s tedious, and it doesn’t matter for the rest of the game, which is probably the worst part given how much effort it takes. It’s a puzzle for a puzzles’ sake, and doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know (we know Jim’s not doing well; we know it’s the Great Depression, etc.), not to mention not rewarding the player nor Nancy for the effort.

My least favorite moment in the game would have to be Nancy’s first encounter with Richard Topham. Nancy’s autonomy is usually respected in both the 30s original drafts (less so in the 60s re-writes) and in the games, and Richard’s comments about lesser minds and his little test are, even with Nancy’s snarky comment about him in her diary, frankly out of place.

They don’t serve as a “relic of the times”, they don’t make us hate Richard more than we would have for stealing money from people who are literally drowning in bills and debt…and as much as the Nancy Drew books and character are feminist rather than Feminist, it’s honestly not great to have both his ‘clients’ during the course of the game be women that he treats the way he does.

It wasn’t necessary to have him behave the way he does, it contradicts the Spiritualist movement (which was most popular among women to a startling degree, and male Spiritualists tended to treat their female clients very well because that was the bulk of their clientele), and it doesn’t tell us anything new about him, because Nancy and the players already know he’s a fake and a blowhard.

The Fix:

So how would I fix Secret of the Old Clock?

The first and biggest fix I’d make is to include a strong storyline about Spiritualism. As noted several times above, Spiritualism was a huge force in the 1920s, and a period piece set in the year 1930 should necessarily reflect that. Quite frankly, all the nonsense about Jim Archer’s wife should just be cut and replaced with a big Spiritualism puzzle of some sorts.

I’m not saying a séance — no need to retread MHM — but an actual nod to Spiritualism (and through it, the first World War, which given Nancy’s age of 18, would have happened when she was a child) more than just “and this character is a psychic of sorts, don’t really think about it” would improve the game and ground it in its time period. Other than the references to money troubles and the ease of identity theft, there’s not much to ground CLK in its period, and I really think a Spiritualism storyline would aid that.

And if Spiritualism is involved, Richard becomes a more present, more serious character — and a more serious threat. It also opens the opportunity for the two plotlines to intersect — is Emily being driven crazy by stress, an enemy, or a malevolent spirit (which could even be supposed to be her mom, should they want a slightly darker turn)? Richard might visit the house to ensure there are no ‘malevolent presences’ around — and ensure that Crowley didn’t hide his will there.

It wouldn’t become a ‘haunting’ game; it would instead work on the aesthetic of familiar spirits — something that would be explored more fully in the next game.

I know this has been said, but I can’t emphasize enough that the sewing puzzle should be cut, even if there’s nothing to take its place. It’s a perfect example of the wrong puzzle, the wrong controls, and the wrong side-quest at the wrong time. I’m also not sure why they made Jim Archer a middle-aged banker rather than Helen Corning’s fiancée, but that’s too small a change to really bother with.

The other important change I would make is to change CLK from a weak whodunit — our culprits are already clearly the culprits — to a strong howdunit, which is what it really wants to be.

The beginning can stay the same — Nancy’s journey, Emily’s mother’s death, Richard’s faking of the will, Josiah Crowley’s death and promises, etc. — but introducing Richard Topham at the Inn, there to ‘visit’ and offer condolences and because he sensed Heavy Psychic Energy and wondered if it was coming from the house or from Emily. Have Emily tell Nancy in confidence that the other reason she called her in was because she’s either going crazy or being attacked on all sides, and the game can proceed on from that point.

Because the villains aren’t secret or even quasi-hidden in plain sight — save for Marion’s identity theft — it’s a much more natural shift to a howdunit than other games. Emily’s living in fear of Marion, running the Inn, and the possible Malevolent Spirit that may or may not be her mother haunting her through the Secret, Secret Passageway in the Inn, and Nancy’s suspicious of Richard Topham who inherited all of Crowley’s wealth, of the ‘hauntings’ of the Inn, and of the missing will and the gifts Josiah left behind.

Those two plotlines alone are enough to carry the game, especially including the Edutainment section on Spiritualism that would tie in with Richard Topham (and possibly include Emily’s mother having an interest due to her husband dying in the war), and so Jim Archer just isn’t needed as much. Whether he stays in the game in an even more reduced role or whether he’s replaced by a ninth-hour character in the form of Emily’s actual guardian, the real Jane Willoughby, is up to personal preference (though I personally like the second option).

Like all the Jetsetting games, CLK begins with a small problem that snowballs into larger and larger consequences. By emphasizing a Spiritualist plotline (culminating with the technology-based ‘encounters’ Josiah had with his CB radio friends), trimming down the fat with Jim Archer, and selling CLK from the beginning as more of a howdunit than a whodunit, CLK would improve enough to be more than just a good game, and become a standout of its era — as befitting the start of the titular teen detective.

#nancy drew #clue crew #secret of the old clock #nancy drew games #CLK #nancy drew meta #long post #my meta #video games

[nightshade-zoe]

Thoughts while rewatching 3x07

Sorry for the long post

Also I’m incapable of rewatching up through the first scene with Josie but

-I am glad there’s no time jump. I understand why everyone would criticize Anne but I’m tired of her constantly being put down despite having the best of intentions. Also it bothers me the dynamic between Ms. Stacy and Gilbert was “why couldn’t you talk some sense into her” Though at the same time she knows they have a deep connection. ***I realize now she meant “you” as in the class.

-I appreciate that Anne stood her ground against Marilla. Also that Marilla had a moment where she considered what Anne was saying. It reminded me of Marilla when Anne first goes to school and she’s wishing she’d had choices.

-FUCK JOSIE’S PARENTS

-The character growth of Prissy was excellent. She was a beautiful combination of biting retorts and cool logic. You can see her words have an impact both on her mother and Billy so I’m looking forward to seeing how that plays out in later episodes.

-I am a bit confused on why Anne made Josie’s situation worse aside from embarrassing her further. Because Jane already said her reputation was ruined and the engagement was off last episode so it’s not like Anne’s article caused either of those two things. Yes, being used as a scapegoat would hurt, but the fact Gilbert attacked her for “ruining a girl’s life” seems like much. It was Billy who did that. I am still so incensed Gilbert never apologized even if he technically realizes it was Billy who started this.

-I appreciate that Diana and Anne’s friendship is where they can call each other out. It’s an interesting parallel though that when Diana is angry with Anne, Anne heeds her advice. Yet later, when Anne calls Diana out for her treatment of Jerry, Diana just defends herself.

-Josie has a right to be angry. I understand that it’s a realistic dynamic where two girls are sort of friends but one can be mean however it’s unacceptable to me people keep expecting Anne to make things right and be nice with Josie who apparently has been calling Anne trash still. It’s not okay and I’m not okay with how not even Diana has stopped this.

-It would’ve been more powerful if Anne had said “Gilbert, I did try to talk to everyone about it yesterday but you shut me down” instead of attacking him for believing in equality because that was his mistake. He also never actually admits this mistake. It’s an interesting point though about how him bartering for a parcel of land given we didn’t see Gilbert and Winnie interact at the fair really. We saw Winnie’s father offer Gilbert connections to the Sorbonne.

-“before this room spontaneously combusts” cough foreshadowing

-Okay I’m glad for this Ms. Stacy/Anne dynamic. It was a beautiful balance of commending and explaining where Anne went wrong. I did really think Anne was going to mention Josie called her trash though. Side note, I know Anne is banned from the paper and the press is gone but I have a suspicion we will see one more article from her that will actually be impactful.

-It was incredibly poignant to have Mrs. Lynde who most of the time never shuts up and who criticized Anne as soon as she saw the article begin to feel the impact and necessity of the words. Also they focused on the cigar so much like wow props to that foreshadowing.

-Good pop culture reference here with Frankenstein. Diana was rather cruel but it’s been foreshadowed in her initial recoil at the hay on Jerry’s jacket and how she used Jerry’s family, despite their poverty, as an adventure she could slip on for size. I don’t think she’s being malicious though just sighs Jerry’s face. I also think they’re trying to depict unintentional toxicity in relationships and/or being physically attracted to someone but not having feelings.

-YES MS. STACY GO OFF. Also Matthew is the most unproblematic male ever. Also I love how it’s being framed as a learning experience for Marilla too.

-also “what’s next? An ode to cigars?” Cough cough foreshadowing

-I’m super upset on Anne’s behalf but I’m also glad this screaming isn’t for anything as dire as was predicted. Also the poetic justice of her using something Billy destroyed to defend the voiceless. W.R.I.T.

-Um excuse me Moody. Also good on Gilbert for realizing who the actually villain in this story is. I appreciate how this scene is done, showing the importance of male allies while also giving the credit and words to Anne. Also that rather than looking at the article is a whole, Gilbert is taking bits of it that are easier for everyone to swallow and realize they don’t disagree with.

-It is frustrating though he won them over with well reasoned logic but the same couldn’t be said for Prissy.

-I love the parallel of the girls rushing up to Anne and Gilbert smiling. She totally knows he defended her. Also I stan Ruby saying she knows her mind best and also glaring at Moody to agree with jeez

-Ruby saying oh good/Anne having a plan reminds me of Ruby going but you’re NEVER out of plans and also Anne knowing how to save Ms. Stacy.

-Also the music while Gilbert is speaking is the same as when Ms. Stacy defended herself at the town hall.

-The barn scene clowned us butttt Gilbert you’ve got a paint can in front of you. Why do you have to lean over Anne ;)

-Anne said both parties must have feelings and Diana looks stressed hmmm I think they’re going for having physical attraction vs feelings towards someone

-Once again Josie calls Anne trash but this was very well said by Anne. It’s also interesting she says that only you can define your self worth when we saw her last episode question whether anyone could ever love her and this episode question whether her best friend looked down on her :-/

-Josie is totally going to the protest though.

-JERRY AND ANNE . . . Oh no. I love that Anne is really looking out for him. The dialogue is confusing because Anne’s like you have a girl?? And it’s not till later Jerry is like “wait she didn’t tell you”

-I love love love the parallel of Josie taking off her hair ribbons with last season when we first saw them.

-Billy is so abusive like he’s trying to frame this as I still like you despite what you did and just come back to me and everything will be okay. Good on Josie for rejecting him. He clearly took to heart what Prissy said about him having power but not that he’s the one at fault.

-I stan supportive Matthew always always always saying they should let Anne be happy and live a full life and reach her full potential

-Oof the Dianne fight. Once again objects have a lot power. “If you were my friend you would understand” feels like “if I could take it all back I would”

-I’m getting the feeling Diana is just very physically attracted to Jerry and is confused because she thinks that physical attraction and feelings should be the same but aren’t in her case which Anne doesn’t get because she thinks the same way. Anne was right to call her out on her behavior towards Jerry but also/probably will eventually hear Diana’s side of the story. Also yikes at her thinking Diana is going to ditch her.

-I feel like one of my issues with this season of AWAE is that they’re trying to present a ton of relatable teenage experiences but they all get colored by Anne’s past trauma and struggles with self-worth. Fighting with her mother isn’t just a small disagreement, it’s her struggling to remember/figure out if she was/is loved. Having a crush becomes, I just wanted to believe someone could love me that way. Fighting with her best friend is, I’m an orphan who will never be good enough for her. But the fact that her experiences are being tinted this way is never addressed by her or anyone on the show.

-On that note the way Diana says “here we go again Anne Shirley and her tragical tale of woe” bothers me. Has this been an issue before? Is Diana just upset because she feels she has valid problems too, which is very true? Does she not believe Anne? She says “a true story at last”. I never got the sense Anne talked much or at all about her childhood to Diana.

-This is too painful to watch but also they are both so dramatic both when blowing kisses goodbye and fighting that I wouldn’t be shocked if it blows over next episode. I absolutely fought with my best friend like this when I was sixteen only for both of us to call each other sobbing in apology two days later.

-Prissy ❤️❤️ You can see her mother is thinking about what she’s saying. Also I know Jane is under huge backlash right now but I think it’s important that this was included as it’s a perspective a lot of women, even in those that I know, that intelligence and feminism aren’t connected and sometimes those who are privileged can’t see why sexism is an issue

-Gilbert: “just a suggestion not telling you what to do” seemed like a growth in his understanding of Anne

-I loved the little moment between Prissy and Anne showing how they’ve evolved. It was Anne who originally started the scandal about Prissy but they’ve both matured so much and united and ahhh it’s perfect.

-Marilla waving the handkerchief is beautiful. Also the little glance Ruby and Tilly give each other when Anne mentions Diana won’t be joining them.

-THIS MUSIC IS MY FAVORITE MUSIC IN THE SERIES. It’s the hot air balloon music except layered with more instruments.

-I called the freedom of speech AHHHH Good on Josie for taking a stand. Anne smiling at Gilbert reminds me once again of the time they saved Ms. Stacy

-The minister only tries to take boards from the girls.

-That photograph is absolutely going to come back.

-I love the growth of Rachel and Marilla. Rachel crying because this has an impact on her. That proud look matthew gives Marilla for speaking up.

-Also like how did Gilbert rip that paper so perfectly it’s so hard.

-the last frame of this scene is the cigar smoking guy really why didn’t I see this coming the first time

-I love that they have Prissy and Josie talking.

-Also while I perpetually wish we’d seen more of Muriel/Anne that hug was everything.

-Ah I’d missed Gilbert staring longingly at Anne. While he clearly has feelings this season there haven’t been any moments of him just watching her in awe.

-where is this music on the porch from I’ve heard it before someone help

-the spelling. The throwback. The glances of longing. THE MOONLIGHT. The realization they work together well and care about each other deeply and have run out of “misunderstandings”

-Anne did nothing wrong here, as far as she knows, he’s dating Winnie. BUT I am glad we have finally visibly seen Gilbert looking conflicted about there being two girls. And he couldn’t drink his tea.

-They really stole the printing press. I guess the title was “a strong effort of the spirit of good” which fails both in Frankenstein and I guess now also here

-the music overlay is the same as when Anne comes back from Charlottetown terrified of the grifters and grabs marillas hand in 2x03

-really they burned the schoolhouse? Do we have time for this?

#awae spoilers #anne with an e spoilers #anne shirley cuthbert #long post warning #feel free to add things

[ersatzworlds]

Out of Sand (ateez mingi oneshot)

Warnings: Vague mention of death

Genres: Slight fluff, unintentional angst

Word count: 2.0k

A/N: Wanted this to be done for Halloween but I’m soooo damn late lol

The heavy metal door opened with a loud bang. It echoed above the city, over the quiet streets below. You had never intended to make so much noise. You were meant to be discreet, but you couldn’t be bothered anymore. You were too focused on him. Your ears drowned in the sound of his little giggles, taking them in like a song. You looked back at him to find a toothy smile on his face, his crescent eyes meeting yours. The sight made your heart melt and your knees weak, and you found yourself giggling along with him.

“Are you sure we can be up here?” you whispered, though you were only half serious. “Because I’m pretty sure this is trespassing.”

“Don’t worry, I do this all the time,” he answered, grinning wide. He lead you to the edge of the rooftop.

You were almost certain that you were both breaking a few laws, but you trusted him. You trusted him, despite only meeting him a mere eleven hours ago. Strangely, he gave you a sense of comfort, a sense of security. There was something that attracted you to him, something that went beyond looks. It had pulled you to him when you spotted him across the room at your friend’s party earlier, standing by himself on the sidelines of the crowd. You’d kept your eye on him for a few minutes before deciding to approach him. He had introduced himself as Mingi. You had spoken to each other—maybe flirted a little—and next thing you knew, you were leaving the place together. The decision was unlike you, but once you had ditched the place, you would not regret it.

Mingi had guided you on a spontaneous trip around the city to explore its evening beauty. It was wholesome and completely unexpected, though you weren’t sure what you had expected when you had left with him. Hours of strolling up and down streets, of talking about anything and everything, of stealing shy glances at each other had went by in the blink of an eye, much faster than you would have liked. You both had wanted to do one more thing together before parting ways, which led you to this rooftop.

“Look, we made it just in time,” Mingi said, pointing towards the sun that slowly began to rise behind the concrete buildings. It was only then that you realized the night sky beginning to change: midnight blue turned light, and soft yellows and oranges tinted the sky.

“It’s beautiful,” you mumble, not taking your eyes off the picture perfect view. You leaned against the rooftop railing, immersed in the show of colours.

Mingi hummed in response. He turned to you after a moment. You looked back at him. The morning rays made his skin glow. Shadows were cast on his face, defining his features. His gaze was soft and a little lost, his eyes a little glassy. They looked straight into yours. “Beautiful,” he repeated.

Despite the cheesiness of his timing, you couldn’t help but blush. A small smile curled the corners of your lips, and you looked down in an attempt to hide it. His hand lay near yours on the railing, and you had a strong urge to hold it. Mingi had respected your personal space the whole night, for which you were thankful, but suddenly you craved his touch.

“This may sound really stupid,” you begin as you stepped closer to him; a bold move to make considering how nervous you were, “but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.” Your eyes averted his for a few more moments, deciding to focus on the necklace around his neck—an hourglass.

Mingi’s other hand carefully moved up to your face, but stopped before his fingertips could graze your skin. His hand hovered; he was nervous too. On the railing, your hand inched closer to his. When your fingers touched and intertwined, Mingi let himself caress your cheek. His skin was soft but cold, almost icy. You leaned into his touch and looked up at him, meeting his gaze once more. He leaned down slowly, closing the space between you two. Your eyes fluttered close, awaiting the feeling of his lips on yours.

...

You think about that night often. Nine months have passed since then, and you have yet to see Mingi again. You never got his number so you couldn’t call him. You asked your friends about him, looking for a way to get in contact with him after that night. But they didn’t know of him. He disappeared, vanished. It’s your very own Cinderella story, though instead of a glass slipper, all Mingi left behind were your memories of his smile and a lingering feeling of his touches on your skin.

Today in particular you’re thinking about Mingi a lot. From the moment you woke up, you had him on your mind. The thought came with a strange feeling in your chest that you did not know how to interpret. The feeling poked at your heart the whole morning as you got ready to leave for school. Now as you stand at a crosswalk, waiting for the lights to change, the feeling travels up to your throat, forcing you to hold your breath.

You look across the street. Standing at the corner is Mingi. Your heart feels as if it’s about to explode. You do a double take. You’re not mistaken; it really is him. You spot a smile on his face as he looks your way—he notices you. When the traffic lights change, you cross the street, trying not to smile too wide, trying not to run towards him. He waits for you on the other side, and you find it harder to hold your excitement as you get closer.

“It’s been a minute,” you say when you stand directly before him. You fail to suppress your grin.

A small smile adorns his lips. “It has.” The two of you stand still, silently staring into each other’s eyes.

Although he seems taller than you remembered, Mingi hasn’t changed much since you last saw him. His gaze is still gentle, and his voice still sends a slight tingle down the back of your neck. His features are simultaneously soft and hard, giving him an enigmatic attractiveness. The longer you stare at him, the more weak you feel in the knees.

Mingi is the first to break eye contact. He clears his throat as he looks around. You remember that you’re both standing at the corner of an intersection. He rubs the back of his neck, his words coming out rushed. “I want to apologize for disappearing for so long. I don’t know what I was thinking. I should have—”

You look at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish. He blinks before swallowing his words. He restarts, slower this time, “What I mean is… it would have been nice if we had crossed each other sooner. I really enjoyed myself last time we went out.”

You smile and nod happily. “I’m glad life has allowed us to meet again.” Mingi looks as if he wants to say something, but he just smiles. “If you aren’t busy right now, would you like to go somewhere, maybe grab a coffee?” you suggest.

“Don’t you have classes today?” he comments playfully.

You shrug. “It won’t make much of a difference if I skip one day.”

Mingi chuckles. “Alright, I’ll take you up on that offer. But rather than getting coffee, I think I have something better in mind.”

“Lead the way. I’m up for anything.”

The two of you walk down the street. He lets you update him on your life. You tell him stories from the past nine months, ones that you planned to tell him when—if ever—you saw him again; ones that you’ve practically rehearsed in your head. He listens intently, gazing over to you with what, you believe, can only be adoration. It puts a permanent smile on your face, but you can’t help but notice that he’s acting a little different. It bothers you to your very core.

Mingi brings you into a building, taking you up a flight of stairs. You don’t realize its familiarity until you reach the top. It makes you giggle.

“I still think this is trespassing,” you joke, looking around the rooftop you still remember fondly. You come face to face with Mingi at the same spot you stood together months ago. His eyes look sad, you now notice. He stays close to you, his hand cupping your cheek. It’s colder than you remember. You put your hand over his. “What’s wrong, Mingi?”

He glances at your lips for a moment, but he takes a step back with a sigh. “It’s difficult to explain.”

“You can tell me. I wanna help you in any way I can.”

Mingi doesn’t look at you. You squeeze his arm to get his attention, but he doesn’t budge. You fall silent. Only the faint sound of the traffic below echoes between you two. His mouth opens and closes a few times before he finally speaks. “Theoretically,” he begins quietly, “if the sand flowing in an hourglass begins to run out, but someone turns the hourglass over before the last grains fall, what happens to the countdown?”

You take a second to answer, trying to understand his question. “Turning over the hourglass would simply allow the sand to flow back, so technically the timer would just continue,” you answer slowly.

“And if that person were to continue to do this process,” he adds, “but some of the sand spills out every time the hourglass is flipped over, what happens then?”

“Well, eventually there won’t be any sand left. That’s when the time runs out.”

Mingi nods. He clears his throat to speak in a normal voice. “You know… my job is usually pretty simple. It’s redundant and draining at times, but there’s always something interesting happening.”

When he says this, you realize that Mingi has never actually told you about his job. He lifts his head. His eyes are watery. “But I made a huge mistake. I messed up because I was selfish, and I just kept messing up and… and…”

You take hold of Mingi’s hands. Your thumbs brush over his skin, trying to calm him. You wait for him to catch his breath. He calls your name softly. You hum in response.

“Do you remember when you were five, the day you were in that car accident?” he says suddenly, to your surprise. You don’t remember telling Mingi about your accident.

“How… how do you know about that?”

“And when you were nine, you got really sick and you were stuck in the hospital for weeks,” he continued softly. “And when you were thirteen you fell and hit your head—”

“Wait.”

“—and at sixteen you fainted at school.”

“How do you know about all that?” you repeat, your voice unstable. By now, you’ve taken a step back, letting go of Mingi’s hands.

“I was there… I was there after your accident when you were five. I was there when you were nine, when you were thirteen, when you were sixteen, eighteen, twenty.”

“I don’t understand.”

You’re shaking.

“Nine months ago, on the night that you met me, your drink was heavily spiked. You overdosed. You… you weren’t supposed to survive.”

Something in Mingi’s appearance changes before your eyes. There’s a glow to him, like dark mist, and a thin black shadow extends behind him in the shape of an angular hook. The necklace around his neck becomes very apparent all of a sudden; an empty hourglass. You don’t yet notice the tears on his cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes. There is so much pain in his voice; its sincerity breaks your heart. “I should’ve just done my job properly when you were younger. You could’ve been resting peacefully for years now. But instead I convinced myself that I was saving you. I kept coming back to you and I got attached to you… I loved you…”

Mingi approaches you. You’re frozen in place. With his cold hands on your shoulders, he whispers, “I don’t want to let you go, but I can’t keep you alive anymore. I’m sorry.”

#t: out of sand #ateez writing #ateez #song mingi #reader #oneshot #fluff and angst #second person pov #grim reaper #191105

[outsidercocktail]

Another round of (spoiler-related) ability & fighting tactic info/headcanons:

As stated, her ability is centered around the infection based in her mouth - she literally breathes a smokescreen, that appears much akin to heavy, dense fog to the point it is easily mistaken as such. She is not able to teleport - she is just very, very fast and trained to use the smokescreen to cover her tracks.

In D&D terms, she is a living Everlasting Bottle of Smoke.

It is wide-ranged, not short-ranged - once she breaths out smoke, the entire nearby area is getting covered in it. It is VERY much akin to ‘a sudden fog rolling in’, rather than a ninja smokescreen. Once she breathes it out, the entire area is visually obscured Silent Hill-style. This smoke has no ability to be used offensively - it is purely defensive, used as an escape tactic/evasive maneuver. She, quite literally, ‘disappears for a short while’... just in a very practical, albeit technically special, way.

Crown is the only one who is able to see through her smoke. Attempting to track her down through any other means isn’t going to happen. This does not mean that other abilities cannot target her through it - such as Red’s sense of smell (since Red zoned in specifically on her Wolf-like smell), or Kal’tsit’s Mon3tr (which is another matter entirely). Neither of them could locate her visually, or track her through other means, but Red cornered her through scent alone, and who knows what the heck Mon3tr is that it managed to do it....

Now then, onto the Headcanon part of things:

It will be very rare to see her in an area that is not heavily obscured, thanks to that smoke. When she is encountered, she will almost always be found in low visibility that she created on purpose. It is a crucial part of her tactics, 

The smokescreen will last for quite a while, until it either manages to dissipate on it’s own, or if there are strong enough winds to blow it away. Due to it’s area of effect, this smokescreen is easily mistaken as change in weather pattern, low-lying smog or clouds, or sudden dust and smoke blowing in from rubble or destroyed areas. It is not easy to pin it back to Crown, unless you see the smoke leaving her personally.

For the most part, the ability is voluntary, but it is connected to her nervous system, so it is possible that she may accidentally release it on muscle reflex. For the most part, it is as simple to contain as keeping her mouth closed.

She can speak and release smoke at the same time.

As stated, Crown is NOT combat oriented - though she is perfectly capable of it. Given that both of her specialties are stealth-related, most of her training is meant to make her hard to catch and hard to find. She is the sort of person you’d never even know was there, under normal circumstances, and certainly not until it was too late. She relies a lot more on dirty tricks and fancy footwork than pure fighting prowess in a fight.

She is commonly relied upon for Retreat Tactics, and her squad is specifically trained on how to use the smoke to escape unnoticed to a predetermined destination. Of course, most Teams who run with Crown or have to work with her are taught the basics of how to operate within her smokescreen as a matter of principle, but Crown's team specifically trains extensively to make use of it, or work around it. 

Crown’s specific squad is small, as smaller numbers are easier to manage for stealth-centric missions, as well as to keep together in the smoke. Her underlings cannot see through her smoke, so she has to take time to train them how to work with an unintentional handicap, and loathes to have to train new ones. Her team is not geared towards combat situations, due to assassinations and infiltration being highly time and stealth oriented, though they are trained how to fight within her smokescreen as a last resort.

Her squad is typically trained to navigate areas fast and sufficient within her smoke - they operate well in low visibility encounters, and are almost entirely trained for stealth over combat. Should her team lack familiarity with the surroundings they are operating in (whether that be due to unforeseen complications or unknown territory), she’ll typically go alone until she gets a read for the area, and can then teach her underlings how to navigate it properly. 

In leiu of her squad getting ambushed or confronted in unknown territory, then her team is trained to retreat, hide, and seek shelter using the smoke to their advantage until whatever danger triggered their retreat is gone. They may be gone from sight, but they are not necessarily gone from the area as a whole, with full intent to come out like rats once the danger (or just Rhodes Island specifically) is gone.

She can, and will, use other squads to hide her own squad’s activities - most of the enemies faced while she’s on the same battlefield are not her own - they belong to other squad leaders, or are used to cover her tracks, so that she and her team can sneak past a problem or into a checkpoint. Similarly, she may be asked by other squad leaders for assistance in getting into places, since that IS her specific area of knowledge. She is as much of a spy as she is an assassin.

If she’s been encountered or spotted, something fishy is absolutely afoot and everyone should check their security.

#≺☉≻ || ᵗʷᵒ ˢᵗᵉᵖˢ ᵃⁿᵈ ᴵ’ᵐ ˢᵖᶦʳᶦᵗᵉᵈ ᵃʷᵃʸ :: musings #≺☉≻ || ᵖᵃⁿᵈᵉᵐᵒⁿᶦᶜ ᵖˡᵃⁿᵉᵗ :: arknights #≺☉≻ || ᵐᵘˢᵉ :: crownslayer #under the cut for spoiler information again #legit warning about spoilers this time #long post// #canon and headcanon is specifically separated but it leads off with canon

[amandajoyce118]

Agents of SHIELD S6E06 “Inescapable” Easter Eggs And References

In this week’s episode, Fitz and Simmons find themselves reunited, but sharing a mindspace while the Chronocoms want them to work out time travel. It leads to some unexpectedly therapeutic tracking through old memories.

As usual, there are spoilers. Again, SPOILERS if you haven’t yet watched the episode. You’ve been warned.

Spoilers.

Seriously.

Last warning.

The White Room

This is probably unintentional, and the white room they end up in is likely just meant to look like the blank slate it is, but… it made me think of another white room from Marvel Comics. Specifically, the White Hot Room. That’s the name of the Purgatory like space that the Phoenix Force inhabits pretty often. It’s also where Jean Grey recharges and accesses all of her memories when she and the Phoenix re-merge. It’s just a very striking similarity since Dark Phoenix was just in theaters (and the movie doesn’t use that comic book aspect at all).

Fitz’s Proposal

If Fitz’s proposal sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve heard it before. Last season, when he found Jemma, she couldn’t hear him, but he gave her nearly the exact same speech. (Edited to add: She also answered him the same way he answered her when she proposed last season. Nice. And she knew exactly how his speech would end, which means she must have asked him at some point last season how he proposed when she couldn’t hear him. Also, right before Fitz proposes, you’ll spot his bad hand twitching a bit, a nervous tick Iain has kept using since his season two injury. Love the character consistency.)

Alice In Wonderland

A hole appearing in the white room that Jemma escapes through and Fitz following her into her own childhood bedroom feels like a very intentional nod to going “down the rabbit holt” and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Jemma’s Room

I know I’m going to miss some things in Jemma’s room, but there is so much going on in here. Obviously, the book about her and Fitz, but there’s more. We see she’s a Jane Goodall fan because that photograph features prominently. There are stars on her ceiling, likely a nod to the times she spent studying the stars while recovering from surgery as a kid. She has so many samples on her shelves that I wish I could actually see what they all are. There’s a Winnie the Pooh which doubles as a nod to the Disney parent company and it being one of those very English animated properties (edited to add it is technically Canadian) for kids. Not to mention fellow MCU alum Hayley Atwell starred in Christopher Robin. Right next to Winnie is a Paddington Bear, which is a nice touch. Also, the butterfly painting on her wall that looks like it’s a little mixed media with butterfly pieces on the bottom? That was in Jemma’s Hydra apartment in season two. (I remember that odd detail because I used it in a fic.)

Edited to add that Jemma has a serious thing for butterflies that makes me curious. In addition to the butterfly print from season two, there are framed butterflies on shelves, and sample vials of other butterflies in her collection, and even butterflies on the tea set that she and Fitz have in the white room. I wonder if it’s because they were easy for her to study as a kid, or if she was fascinated by their transformation, or something else. Is that something else, perchance, something to do with Sarge’s Snowflake? She does like to go on about how people become beautiful butterflies after she stabs them. Is this just a weird bit of foreshadowing? Showing a connection between them? Is Snowflake another’s world’s version of Jemma? Oh, that would be weird. But food for thought.

Also edited to add: the book doesn’t just feature Fitz as the prince in the stars and Simmons as the princess looking for him. It also features Mack as a strong bear and Daisy as a quick rabbit, which are interesting choices. I’m assuming it’s them only because they’re the friends they call later in the episode. I mean, it could be that the animals are Daisy and Piper since they went to space together, but that would make Davis the monkey? lol

Cuttlefish

Okay, I’m editing this one in because it struck me, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to include it until I looked up the sea creature. So, I initially thought this was a nod to Jemma talking about fish in the pod at the bottom of the ocean in season one. And maybe it is. But, the cuttlefish is actually from the same taxonomic class as squids... like the symbol for Hydra. Nice nod either way.

Fitz’s Academy Dorm

Hey, Bonus mention of Anne Weaver! I enjoy her. The show should try to get her back for a cameo or two.

Okay, I’ll admit I was too focused on them processing the memory to focus on everything in Fitz’s room, but I did spot that massive Manchester banner. Just a reminder that’s Fitz’s team and Hunter is not a fan, as we learned last season. I might catch more on a rewatch, but feel free to tell me what I missed in both of their rooms.

Edited to add: Fitz is wearing the “same” dark blue hoodie that Jemma wears around the base in season three when she returns from Maveth. It’s not actually the same, but we’re clearly meant to think it’s the same one that fits her because it is far too small for Iain to be wearing it over two more layers of clothing. Also, even before Jemma mentions Fitz being manic, you can actually seen hand drawn monkeys on the wall like what Fitz did in the prison cell. Only a few before they start discussing his state of mind and then show Jemma looking at them on the wall. Also, the tie that Fitz wears when they meet Coulson is hanging on his coat rack.

Side note: I found it interesting, though I loathe the term, that Jemma says she friendzoned Fitz in that scene. That means that Jemma at the Academy must have had some inkling that Fitz had a crush on her. Or, this is just Jemma looking back on it with the benefit of over a decade of experience with Fitz and realizing it. Either way, it confirms that Fitz always thought she was the coolest, even while he was busy arguing with her.

Jemma Needs Therapy

I love that Jemma’s problems locked in a box are an amalgam of all her traumas. (Also, it’s funny to me that she has a little pink safe on her dresser that she could have locked her troubles away in, but instead, it’s the easy to open jewelry box.) This version of Jemma looks like a monster, but she’s wearing her shirt from Maveth and shreds of her Kree-slave attire, carrying the shiv from Maveth, has gold paint on her forehead from her time in the future. (Edited to add: she’s also covered in dirt with a hoarse voice, and I’ve noticed some people think that’s a nod to her emerging from a grave in the Framework, which is a good catch. I thought it was simply to make her look more like a monster, but it makes sense that it’s a nod to what she discovered in the Framework now that I’ve watched the episode again, and this “monster” only emerges after they’re faced with the Doctor.) She’s the embodiment of all the bad things Jemma has gone through, and Fitz is right that she’d be better off with therapy instead of keeping the English stiff upper lip.

Meeting Coulson

The scene where the two of them meet and get recruited by Coulson makes me wonder if it happened immediately before we meet them in the pilot episode. Why? Because they’re wearing their pilot episode clothes, though the hair, of course, is not exactly accurate. (Edited to add: Simmons telling Fitz, “yes, I’ve heard the stories, don’t be weird” is a nod to Coulson’s death being on record. They weren’t at a high enough clearance level to actual know he was alive.)

Edited to add: can we talk about how significant it is that Fitz “fights” the demon version of Jemma on the part of the quinjet where he first thought he was going to lose Jemma? It’s where he couldn’t get his parachute on in “FZZT” and Ward went to save her instead. I just found that location choice interesting. It’s not the bus from season one. It’s definitely an updated quinjet, probably because they don’t have the same exact set pieces anymore, but it looks strikingly similar. Demon-demon asking Fitz if his lungs or bones will go first? That’s a nod to the scene of she and Daisy torturing an alien this season when they were looking for Fitz. Clearly, though she saw the intimidation and torture as necessary, it left it’s mark on her.

Also, I didn’t mention in when I initially posted this, but I think them choosing Daisy and Mack to save them speaks more to how they view them than just what cast was available. We’ve seen Hunter literally pull Fitz out of prison, yet he chooses Mack to save him from Jemma. Why? I feel like he might trust Mack with Jemma’s trauma more than he trusts Hunter. Because Mack was there for most of it, and because Mack was there for his own recovery in season two before he became closer to Hunter. Likewise, Jemma calling Daisy and not May, or Elena? That’s because Daisy has had her back for a year in space. She’s seen Daisy literally take out an entire room of badguys while drugged up on puffies, so of course, Daisy is her first choice. Daisy has also already had the Doctor in her own head when Fitz had his psychotic break last season, so it’s a bit of symmetry there too.

Trapped In A Pod

Okay, so it’s sweet that they realize they don’t just have to rely on one another and call Daisy and Mack for backup against the dark parts of their minds. I enjoy that, as well as the symmetry of them both getting to see each other’s worst parts. What I really love here though is that this is the angrier version of the season one pod scene. The two of them run away from their troubles only to be trapped together in an enclosed space, yet again, to yell at one another about all the things they haven’t had the chance to argue about before. Watching the scene, I literally said that the only thing that would make it better would be if it was actually at the bottom of the ocean. Of course, they realized that and it filled with water. Of course. The arguing in the middle of the water, just as it did in season one, leads to their confessing their feelings. It’s a lovely, symmetrical, story of their relationship, this episode.

That Makeout

Leopold and Demon Jemma going at it while Fitz and Simmons argue? This just further proves that all that bantering in the early seasons was really foreplay, right?

That’s all I’ve got, for now. I’m sure I missed some things just because of the nature of the episode. It’s taking us on a walk through memories, some we’ve seen, so there are likely more that are harder to spot. Let me know what I missed!

#agents of shield #aos season 6 #aos spoilers #aos easter eggs #fitzsimmons

[maatikikhushboo]

Kasautii Flashbacks Aur Promises Kay

Disclaimer: A lengthy frustrated post (2500+ words) on your way. Has lots of grammatical errors and is not proof read. So please read on your own discretion.

After watching 69 episodes of Kasautii Zindagii Kay, I decided that I will quit watching it regularly, but I continued watching it intermittently. I very well knew the implications of signing up for EK’s shows. But still, I wanted to give it a try, and honestly, for the pretty faces of the leads because they screamed chemistry. Look at these pictures launched initially - especially the down section of the picture --

Backstory :

KZK1 was one of those disastrous stuffs ever made for ITV. Pathetic aesthetics, horrible make-ups (that didn’t change for this season as well), lackadaisical writing, multiple assassinations/butchering of characters, having sudden 180 and 270 degree turns and the offscreen dynamics kinda influencing the plot and what not? I used to watch KZK1 because 2001 was when I was residing in Kolkata. My love for Bangla had signed me up for that stupid show which I stopped watching after certain point of time (Waise, there is nothing Bangali except the names in both the seasons, it was just used to make it attractive and avant garde. Bangali people in general don’t wear these Devdas-inspo clothes and jewellery. Every time I see Mohini and Nivi of KZK2, I feel sorry for them because jewellery must be really heavy and wearing them on daily basis is bit uncomfortable even when you are getting paid for it.). The only saving grace of the show were the actors and their performances (which cannot be matched by the new season), otherwise no one was going to watch the show for its stupid story. Except the much popular title song, Shwetha Tiwari’s performance, Moloy-Rajesh’s bromance, there was nothing worthy in KZK1. Anurag and Prerna got united only when they died. Some felt that they were true OTP, and I beg to differ here.  

It is 2019 and everything is so out-of-place with KZK2 since its inception. Ekta’s much ambitious project is a flop show. It was much evident and we all knew that EK is EK and she will take the same S1 way. KZK2 proved itself to be a mere aesthetic-improvised photocopy of KZK1. There are many scenes in the show which are filmed same-to-same. The editing is pathetic and the noticeable bloopers are increasing day by day. These promos and claims of going the different way were just marketing gimmicks. In KZK1, AnuPre getting to know each other, falling in love and getting physically intimate, all happened in just 20-25 episodes. This time they wanted to avoid that and hence went the Naveen way, only to get back to the quintessential track of Anu marrying Komo and Prerna becoming pregnant. Naveen babu and his creepy tactics were much dragged and the writers deliberately elevated Anurag’s character and turned him the great saviour. Even the SitaaraPlus Instagram was full of Anurag’s gun-gaan. I bet that the channels’ PR team are a bunch of fangirls. We see that the so-called smart Anurag Basu is perhaps the dumbest ML of 2018/19 whose all plans were epic fails. I mean come on, Moloy was lot better than him in finding proofs against Komolika. I miss Moloy man, he was such a comic relief (although I must agree that the character has some serious issues like him being okay whenever Nivedita or Mohini badmouths Sharma’s, at least he can knock some sense into them about etiquette if not there, then in private). I keep forgetting that it’s a Hindi TV show and that too a Balaji show. Tellyworld mein itna dimaag kahan kisi ke paas hota hai?  😂

Anurag was given heavy dialogues which were full of promises. Sentence ke aage ek promise and sentence ke peeche ek promise (if possible I would like to go into the TV and smack his head if he daresay that word again 😤) Prerna was shown as that abla majboor naari of 2019 who is so gareeb that she had to resort to marriage to ensure that unke sar par chhat rahe. She was never given the character growth she deserved (why does Hindi TV revolve around shaadi? matlab har problem ka solution either function or shaadi?). It is natural that audiences started feeling that Anurag was the only one who contributed more to this story because we never were shown Prerna’s side of story. During the track, Anurag kept giving Prerna mixed signals (dosti ke liye aaj kal, in 2019 koi bhi itna sab nahi karta like jaan jokhim mein daalna especially when Prerna herself told you initially to back off). Getting engaged to Mishka whom he clearly didn’t love while being so confused about Prerna was the first downfall. Anurag didn’t bother to tell Mishka that he doesn’t want to marry her. On top of it, he promised Prerna of marriage and got physically intimate with her and then asked Veena, her hand for marriage. He publicly insulted Prerna and married Komolika. How ugly is this!!! How do the writers expect people to connect to him, how much ever good or noble his intentions may be? There is no doubt he is selfless and has the best interests of everyone in his heart especially Prerna, but is that enough? He can’t be redeemed after what he did to Prerna, because actions speak louder than words. What makes this sequence worse is the damn FLASHBACKS! AnuPre consummation was shown to a viewer as a FB when a pregnant Prerna recollects this at the hospital. This makes it more weird and gross! Like, how on earth people get busy getting intimate when some gunde are after your lives? I know, that you have confessed your love to each other, but itni urgency kis baat ki? Writers have destroyed that innocence and purity which was there at the time of confession. The editing and song sequence was so terrible. The only thing that is bearable is the actors who are making the characters believable, otherwise the storyline is just chutiyaapa.

Writers, have degraded everything just because you wanted to highlight the much-hyped character Komolika? Hina is a pretty woman who has achieved a lot in her career and deserves the love she gets from her fans. I kinda really liked her makeup (it was inspired by Bipasha Basu) as a Bong Bride but the costume was again meh. But the character portrayed by her was an iconic one and she has been a huge let down. I don’t get any vamp feels from her. She appears more of a comic character who only knows to make faces. And a special mention to her style statement which is just like her role. Costume designers, please, rich people like KoMoNi never dress like that. Those costumes are everything but sophisticated and classy.

Also, I think it’s high time that these fangirls stop idolising Anurag Basu 2.0. A person who cannot clarify things and take a stand for his love and keeps listening to all the accusations and taunts thrown at her by the ladies of his family and later justifies it by saying that it’s all because they were concerned is plain bullshit. He may be a gentleman and loves his family, and Prerna, but he is not worth stanning!!! Is this the same Anurag Basu who warned Naveen Babu that “Agar Prerna pe mera dil aa gaya na, toh aap, aapki sagaai, aapki daleelein koi nahi rok paayega mujhe Prerna ko apna banana se.”? If he is, then why did he fall prey to Komolika’s blackmailing? Naveen was also equally creepy, dangerous and comical (Saajan ji ghar aaye dance was EPIC). See what the writers have done!

Even during Naveen’s track, they desperately wanted to introduce Komolika but couldn’t do it due to Hina’s prior commitments. To venture Komolika they again brought Mishka (who was actually that London wali shaadi-shuda ladki whose name is Sarika 🤣 ). To link Prerna and Komolika, they planned Ronit-Shivani’s angle which is long forgotten (Shivani doesn’t remember that she is pregnant 🤣 ). So many loose ends are conveniently forgotten. Also, what kind of a mother is Mohini?😳  She is so ignorant. Can’t she understand what her son wants and I am bewildered by how she accepted Komolika without any problem when technically Anu was engaged to Mishka? Terrible!

At least after Naveen track, they could have explored AnuPre. I remember that one small snippet in Prerna’s sangeet with Naveen where we get to know that Anurag stopped talking to Prerna because she cheated him in a game in their childhood. We could have been shown many such things instead of that stupid Naveen track. Although the journey of AnuPre in KZK1 was only 20-25 episodes, it was satisfying because there were no other parallel tracks going on and they concentrated on AnuPre bonding.

When the channel dropped the shaadi wala promo (only to get transformed into No-Shaadi-Only-Tika later), it became a rage and people were like happy that it is not going the S1 way only to get disheartened. The confession was subtle and beautifully shot. Yet, I couldn’t feel the depth. Dialogues were always out of place and meaningless in this show. Just fire the dialogue writers man, it’s making everything more confusing because there is no sync between dialogues, story and character progression! Also, I knew that you were gonna bring that pandit to legalise the tika marriage, I mean by-the-virtue-of-air-maang-got-filled-by-sindoor-marriage on an auspicious muhurat after 15 odd years. That was a nice move to legalise the existence of Prem.🤣

The AltBalaji’s synopsis of the show was screaming since eons – “An epic saga of Anurag and Prerna’s soul-stirring romance. The story begins with one unintentional betrayal that spoils Anurag’s relationship with his soul-mate Prerna and is followed by the wicked twists added by Komolika. Their lives go through a whirlwind of emotions, trials, sufferings, twists, and terrible confusions, which destiny plays out for them. Only time will reveal how they are destined to live for each other, but not with each other.”. Coming to this unintentional betrayal, let me clarify that there is NO UNINTENTIONAL BETRAYAL here because Anurag intentionally chose this to save his family and business. When two people are in a relationship, one person has no right to take decisions for both. Prerna asked him, begged him literally but he just slammed his decision on her. I don’t give a damn to this stupid sacrifice “Thorn Bird” kinda love. People feel sad for Anurag being the Thorn Bird here, but he is the one who had landed himself into this worthless sacrifice as Anupam notes.

People are excited to see strong Prerna. I could have been happier if they went ahead with S1 way here instead. She was always initially taunted for being stupid, having small brains and of lower class. Proving her mettle and becoming successful on her own would have been a befitting reply. It is so against your self-respect to land yourselves again amidst of those Basu’s. I am not surprised that you like Shivani have forgotten about your pregnancy and how harmful it could be for your child to survive especially when people like Komolika are living in the same house. And there is nothing new in this track. EK's saalon purana same formula hai - Mix and Match. Apne serials mein hi naye serials ke stories revolve hote rehte hai. In her show, Kya Hua Tera Vaada, the same thing happened. When Vihaan married Anika, Bulbul entered along with Anika and did all the grihpravesh rasams and started living with them. Of course, this new Prerna is a treat to watch (she has shown everyone their place with sass) and it is worth watching for all entertainment. Erica nails such scenes and through this track she is gonna get her due. (I loved her stint in KRPKAB post leap). Also, what is with this Anurag planning to get rid of Komolika by getting closer to her? Like really man!? You appear like a milksop. The lollipops of AnuPre flashbacks or eyelocks which they are inserting in the middle of the 21 minutes of bakwaas is not gonna get them TRPs. For me, they have ruined it. Everything is beyond redemption now.

We all know what happens when a thing is excessively marketed/promoted. It unnecessarily increases the hype and expectations of people, which when not met will lead to utter disappointment. EK has hired SRK to do the honours, which must have costed her a bomb. Heavy social media promotion through various videos & BTS scenes has ignited curiosity and they wanted to play with this and all fell for it. Some wanted to explore it as a new show and some were there to draw comparisions because of nostalgia with a hope that things would be different this time coz it’s 2018/2019.  😂 😂 😂 Be it 2001 or 2019 things have not changed in TV. Film Industries are gradually transforming themselves and are producing films with unconventional concepts. They are churning out good amount of content driven/art films every year. We know that TV actors don’t have many choices. Both Parth & Erica are good actors. Actors get paid irrespective of whatever they portray. Still, I sometimes do feel bad seeing all the potential being wasted. But yeah, the casting is on point. The chemistry is so good. But, what we get in the name of the great KZK 2 is just the same recycled shit. Balaji didn’t need to inaugurate, the statues of love everywhere (like really?). If it were other producers, (well, they won’t be spending mammoth, but let us hypothetically assume) and they are not able to meet the expectations, to continue their stint, they would succumb to ratings based instant-noodle-tracks-twists-turns kinda plots. But EK is EK, whose team loves to cook noodles from Day 1, toh itna fizool karcha kyun karna bhai? She could have been a little prudent and invested some money in hiring better script writers and agar kismat acchi hoti hamari aur actors ki toh, acche story mil jaati. Also, many dynamics could have been explored. Khair, chhodo, main bhi kiske baare mein bol rahi hoon 😂 😂 😂 What else can we expect from a Balaji show? It’s just villains, multiple MUs, separations and sacrifices all over the place. I just wish TRPs teach her a lesson.

P.S: Okay, some people say that Prerna should have understood that Anurag has some majboori like she had while almost marrying Naveen babu. No one in their right state of mind would think about majboori and stuff after getting humiliated publicly and getting mocked for her love. And, agar tellyworld mein itna brains leads ke pass hote toh yeh shaadi mandap tak nahi pahunchti.

P.P.S: I just don’t understand what is the problem with SitaaraPlus. Come on man, why on earth do you love showing all the wrong messages to the society under the tagline “Baat Nayi”? Everyone is aware of your partiality towards Gul and Ekta’s shows. However regressive they might be, you just keep extending them and you simply pulled the plug off for the Dopahar shows which were good content wise and concept wise. Everyone here is to do business and so you are, so stop bluffing people under your stupid tagline. Also, don’t mislead people like you did here. Thank God I didn’t subscribe to Star Value Pack of yours. Bye-Bye.

#i vent when i am on my pms so sorry bhailog #i quit this show #thanks for ruining anurag and prerna for us #Kasautii Zindagii Kay #Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2 #kzk #kzk2 #kzk 2 #woes of tellywood audience #type: opinion

[akria23]

Okay let me start off by saying you do not have to agree to engage in this post - I speak most of my time on this page debating/arguing with people. I do not block people for disagreeing. I don’t believe in blocking people if I’m not ‘winning’ so I can have the last word (that happens to me a lot so intrusive not to do it). As long as you don’t don’t call me out of my name or infer things about me I will be cordial - imma give you what you give me (so just remember that). I am ating @optimisticdays because I said I would. I’ve also deleted the other post after speaking to this person I read the post over and over to see if I was missing the flaw - it wasn’t until I read my reply to the op of another post that I was like 😬 you are making another gender in a way that could be inferred as denying someone’s identity. My intention was to speak on the belief that bisexuality is solely a combination of male and female instead of of the aspects that go into gender and in part the deniability of the difference between the two sexualities pan and bi and how that plays in recent discussions (in the Druck fandom). Anyway - let’s get into it.

I’m going to preface this again - Yes most commonly transgender male as male - transgender female is female. I say most commonly because not all transgender people fall to this rule. I’m not trying to claim otherwise (for the majority). My case isn’t on that persay but on the association to sexuality and the differentiation in sexual concepts (bisexuality/pansexuality) as it is condensed in fandom. Like I said the flaw in my last point was already mentioned i was using gender as the umbrella term of the association and classifying trans as its own gender instead of simply stating that it has an intricate working with sexuality when broken down (but not always limited or inclusive) to expression, identifier, s-x. I don’t want to say identity as an umbrella either as I don’t think even that expresses what I was saying. I get while people thought I was saying trans is a gender if it’s own - because I was and not correlating (in the big post) why I was making that relation (intentional or unintentional). Let me back and define the sexualities I’m speaking on because this is what I’m making my argument:

Bisexuality was first consumed as being attracted sexually or romantically to both male and female gender. This was conventional fitting to concepts of the time even though there were most like genders of all kind during any and every era. Then in more modernized eras we redefined Bisexuality to mean the capable attraction to people sometimes dependent upon biological sex, gender identity, or expression - must denote to at least two gender aspects but not necessarily all. While pansexuality means the capable attracted to all people, regardless of biological s-x, gender identity, or expression. This is the big separation between the two for me. Pan means all and there’s not getting around that but bisexuality does not mean all. I know some people interchanges the two - I don’t have a problem with that - I do it if I’m speaking to someone who does it - but the issue comes in when we’re okay with erasing someone identifier because it don’t sit well with us and I find that often happens in fandom. To extend on that when it comes to fandom discussion bisexuality is seen solely as male and female and led with a perception that it’s also a 50% equality. That’s not true. You can actually be bisexual and not include on of those aspects at all - including the concepts of masculinity vs femininity and that’s not even speaking on romantic vs s-x. And yes that’s why I’m saying I get the concept of saying oh he’s just gay when you get the transgender aspect but I think that’s only is you eliminate all the other (possible because it’s not inherent) elements. I try not to say gender too much because I know people base that down to male female despite not only third genders but also the fact of association, expression, s-x, identities all playing into sexuality but not always the same way or intricately one. This is why I argue that Matteo could still fall under the bisexual label without being attracted to girls/women/feminine concepts or aspects. I’m not saying that he is - only that technically he can or if a viewer was so inclined to associate him with the sexuality (without trying to put feminine/female concepts on the line). And yes I could have made arguments for androsexual/andromantic (as they don’t replace sexuality) but the dialogue I keep seeing is specifically about the sexualities of bisexuality and pansexuality.

Basically what I’m saying is when these things overlap underlap (even for transgender people not only the aforementioned trans people that don’t fit under the simplified law of what trans means) how then can we just process them into uncomplicated labels such as gay or hetero alone as though these overlapping concepts don’t then also come in with pansexual (if you interchange) or in this case bisexual aspects?! When it comes to Matteo I say he could fall to these concepts I’m not saying he has to or that fandom has to see him in that light but when you say this is persons a identify thus you must only associate him to this sexuality when so many aspects play into sexuality (or romantics). If Matteo still says he’s gay - then yes of course he’s gay. I’m maybe half an episode behind but the last thing I hear him say on the topic was a question of the concept not a validation on his perspective on the matter. The last thing I heard fandom say about it (until today) is why didn’t the writers confirm the sexuality as gay, why didn’t they put a cap on it specifically. Once someone identifies themselves I don’t argue pass that because how we deny ourselves belongs to us.

I admit that I was wrong expressing it as I did that transgender is well a gender when I’m not claiming that it’s a gender itself but the trans in front of the gender speaks on aspects that play into sexuality that has nothing to do with cis gender concepts. I’m not saying it’s bad - I’m not saying it’s good - I’m saying it exist and that’s why the word behind it is so important. That’s why for that I do apologize - to those I did and didn’t offend - because while I believe in saying what you mean and meaning what you say, if you don’t have the vocabulary or the time to express clearly what you mean on top is such as this then it probably shouldn’t be said by you at that time. I try never to shit on other people identities because that’s never my intention. Instead of expressing my ideals that yes I agree Matteo is not bisexual in the concept of being attracted to his friend (a female) but not all bisexual attraction denote to automatically include female/feminine concepts or that just because someone is transgender it does not mean there is no overlap of aspects/concepts that might place anyone (Matteo) further down the spectrum - but instead I over simplified my claim by ‘othering’ transgender people.

Okay - so the floor is y’all. We can discuss what you disagree with, what you agree with. It’s 9:30pm -I’m tired - post took me longer than it should have 😪 but I did want to understand where people who were disagreeing was coming from instead of blurting my feelings out. It’s easy to that’s what I said and that’s how I feel thus it’s valid but that’s not always the case you can cross a boundary by sharing your feelings in a way that surpasses others and their reality. Anyway that’s my post - if I don’t reply today, I will reply tomorrow.

#druck #fandom behavior #past post

[virmillion]

Nightmare

vent time, sorry folks

Warnings - death mention, slight OCD, stabbing, nightmares, let me know if you need anything else

Words - 1020

    Virgil’s had nightmares for as long as he can remember. He’ll swear up and down to the others that he doesn’t dream, never has, probably never will, and technically speaking, this isn’t a lie. He doesn’t dream, he just suffers from his own self destructive mind while unconscious. Fitting in with the real light sides is always about finding the loopholes so they don’t kick him back to the dark hole he crawled out of.

    Bearing this in mind, Virgil’s nights typically consist of one of three options—restless sleep without anything in his mind, unintentional all-nighters that often turn into weeks without sleep, and nightmares. So many nightmares. It’s usually his fault when the last option occurs, because he didn’t push the light switch right on the fifteenth try, because he couldn’t tap his thumb and forefinger together exactly right, because his sleeve wasn’t quite long enough to reach his palm, which means his wrist was exposed, which means more of him was in contact with the air, which means more of him was vulnerable, which means that he was more likely to be in danger, which means he was less likely to survive the night, which means that his mind would supply endless nightmares to ensure that should he actually make it to the morning, he’d wish he never woke up to begin with.

    That’s usually how it starts, anyway.

    So when Virgil sees himself reaching out an arm to Roman, both of them wearing muted pinks and yellows, he knows it’s a nightmare. Doesn’t make it any easier to wake up, but he knows it’s a nightmare. He knows it’s a nightmare when Roman grimaces at the trembling hand, shriveling up into a white sheet pulled taught over shattered bones.

    “Can I help you?” Roman snaps, batting the hand away. It vanishes as Virgil melts away, the dark abyss of sleep pleading with him to leave, but he can’t. “It’s about time you got out of here, you know. I never really wanted you here, it’s not like you belong, Ethan.”

    “Virgil.”

    “Right, right, Angel, sorry about that. You’ve just cycled through so many identities, trying to fit in with us.” Roman cackles, his adam’s apple bouncing from his throat to his forehead. Virgil can’t even bring himself to wince. The lump extends, turning into the hilt of a sword, turning into a devil’s horn, turning into thousands of laughing faces mocking Virgil as his eyes prick with hot tears. Still a nightmare. Still doesn’t make it any easier.

    Roman draws the sword horn laughter thing from his forehead, yanking it out to reveal a handsome piece of metal, shining and sharp. “We don’t want you here,” Roman hisses, stabbing the sword through where Virgil’s heart should be. It doesn’t hurt, of course—Virgil is a soulless demon that never had a heart to begin with. His eyes lower to the weapon protruding from his chest, but nothing else happens. Looking back up to Roman, Virgil’s breath catches in his throat. His eyes lock on Roman’s lips, the skin bitten and torn off. He pokes his tongue around his own mouth, tasting copper and silver.

    “I don’t want me here, either,” Virgil murmurs, turning from Roman. He steps off the stairs, falling down, down, down, into an empty black pit of nothing, which is almost comforting, until it’s not. It brightens to white, impossibly blinding and glowing until Virgil can’t even see his own dissipating limbs.

    “So why are you here, then? If no one wants you, I mean.” Logan’s voice rings out, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once, echoing enough to deafen and whispering enough to disappear. “It’s the most reasonable step, frankly, is to recede like you did before. Remember when you ducked out last time, and you caused all that havoc? That was all your fault, since you knew exactly what you were doing. Obviously something done with malevolent intent, so maybe you’ll put some more care into ridding us of vermin like you this time.” Logan’s voice is cold as stone, battering into Virgil like stones thrown from a skyscraper. His words are bullets, tearing through his body until there’s nothing left but the memory of a consciousness that no one wanted to begin with.

    Finally, finally, Virgil stops falling. He lands before some pair of sensible shoes, attached to legs, attached to a torso, attached to nothing. Patton’s head floats above the body, his glasses catching the light just so, preventing Virgil from seeing beneath them. Patton is silent, not commenting on the rips and holes in Virgil’s hoodie, in his body. Virgil says nothing as Patton turns on his heel and leaves, without a word to the person that he swore was his best friend. That’s the funny thing, though, isn’t it? How easy it can be to lie when so many people are watching. How easy it is to swear by someone that needs you, then leave them like a dirty rag when you’ve had your fill and they’ve run out of purpose. Virgil’s served his purpose now, and quite obviously, Patton has had enough. Roman and Logan said as much—no one wants Virgil anymore, and Patton didn’t even have to say it. He already knew, and Virgil already knew, so why add insult to injury?

    Doesn’t really matter anyway, since no one cares enough about Virgil to make sure the injuries are minimal. Least of all Virgil.

    He doesn’t care about himself.

    He doesn’t.

    That’s his mantra, anyway, when he wakes up in the dead of night, alone in a darkened room with his blankets kicked to the foot of the bed. Virgil curls up on his side, hugging the cluster of blankets at his side. If he stretches his imagination far enough, he could almost pretend they were a person that wanted him there. Virgil doesn’t have much of an imagination, though, so he knows he’s alone, and he knows he’s just a pitiful pile of nothing holding onto fleece and threads that could never replace the real thing.

    The real thing would never want him, anyway.

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #death mention tw #ocd tw #stabbing tw #nightmare tw #angst #labhwrites #mine #not tagging anyone bc this is more of a vent so whatever #who really cares anyway right yall are here for the words and not the tags so why bother right

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

No Comicstorian, Marvel DOESN’T need a reboot Part 1: DC history

Youtube channel ‘Comicstorian’ recently put out a video detailing why he feels the PS4 Spider-Man game proves why Marvel needs to reboot their history.

I was so gobsmacked by how misinformed his views were I felt compelled to debunk his statements in two parts, the first being a coverage of DC comics history of reboots.

“This game proves that Marvel should do what DC does and soft reboot their continuity every 4-7 years”

 This is the first and probably biggest point of bullshit spoken about and I suspect my points will apply to the rest of the video’s arguments.

 The idea of this one game adaptation ‘proving’ Spider-Man, let alone ALL OF MARVEL COMICS, needs to reboot their continuity is laughable at best. Did Batman the Animated Series prove Marvel needed to reboot their history? Did X-Men the Animated Series? Did the X-Men movies? Did X-Men Evolution? Wolverine and the X-Men? The 1994 Spider-Man cartoon? The Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon? The Raimi Movies? The MCU?

 All of those are wonderful adaptations of the comic book characters (mostly) but none of them led to anyone rebooting anything, reorientating maybe but not rebooting. Moreover if all those more public and serialized stories were awesome and modernized the characters why does this ONE GAME prove that NOW we need to do this for Marvel?

 It doesn’t prove anything, it’s just his ‘feelings’.

 But there is a bigger issue with this point of view.

 Comicstorian is mind blowingly out of touch with the nature of DC’s reboots.

 Broadly speaking it is understood that a hard reboot in comic books is something like Crisis on Infinite Earths wherein the majority of old stories for a character are thrown out and the fundamental building blocks of them are changed or remixed in major ways.

Even for a character like Batman his origin as recounted in the Golden Age was significantly different when it came time to reboot him in the 1980s post-crisis, even though it retained the same basic ideas and story beats. For Wonder Woman and Superman this was an even bigger deal as for the most part their whole origins as understood in the 1980s were burned down and started over representing a drastically almost opposite direction for their characters. And of course 90% of their then established history was just outright deleted, in Wonder Woman’s case this being 100%. Every post-crisis WW story is the ENTIRE HISTORY of post-Crisis Wonder Woman, nothing was carried over from pre-crisis.

 A soft reboot by contrast is something more like what happened in the 1990s with Zero Hour. In Zero Hour the then established lore and histories of every character were retained near identically and only smaller details were changed or tweaked. Those could have big knock on affects but those were not deliberate on the part of the authors.

  Why am I defining what a hard and a soft reboot is? Because Comicstorian claims that DC engage in them every 4-7 years and this is objectively untrue.

 The FIRST reboot DC technically engaged in was in the 1950s when they created Barry Allan, a new iteration of the Golden Age hero the Flash, thus dawned the Silver Age of comics.

 Whilst the intention to create a new version of the Flash was deliberate, calling this a reboot as we understand the term today is kind of weird because back in the 1950s the notion of a sequential continuity that mattered in defining who exactly the characters were simply didn’t exist for DC comics. They just had general ideas of who every character was and then just did whatever they wanted, even recycling ideas every 5 or so years because it was felt that the readership would rotate in and out within that time. no mention of such similar plots occurring was ever brought up even though technically they were happening to the exact same versions of the exact same characters who’d experienced near damn the same things before.

 That type of storytelling just didn’t exist for the characters. Basically Barry Allan was created as the new Flash, interacted with Superman and Batman the way Jay Garrick did all the while handwaving that Jay Garrick was just a comic book character because the writers were like “Fuck it. No one cares and it doesn’t matter.”

 Except fans did care and thus it wound up mattering. Fans wrote in asking how Jay Garrick could be a comic book character in the DC Universe when they’ve seen stories where he wasn’t and where he wasn’t and how the fuck Barry Allan thinks he’s the first Flash.

 This is when DC ‘rebooted’ their continuity by establishing that the Golden Age stories happened on ‘Earth 2’ and all the silver age and beyond stories were on ‘Earth 1’, with the exact point of transition for individual characters varying. This was never the authorial intention by anyone. As far as 1950s Superman writers knew or cared up until that point they’d just been writing the same Superman who showed up in 1938. Same deal with Batman though DC tried to claim that Earth 2 Batman was the guy who didn’t have a yellow oval on his chest and Earth 1 was the guy who did.

 With the concept installed they then went wild with it telling stories about Earth 1 and Earth 2 and how they were similar yet different, e.g. they married Earth 2 Superman and killed Earth 2 Batman whilst they remained committed to Earth 1 (their main versions) Superman staying single and Earth 1 Batman obviously staying alive.

  This wasn’t a reboot that occurred due to freshen things up or anything. It was just the Flash writer not giving a shit and doing what he wanted and DC pulling an explanation out of thing air to justify it.

  Their first true reboot was in the 1980s when they did Crisis on Infinite Earths and in the story combined Earth 1 and Earth 2 whilst deleting parts of it and every other universe so that they could reshape their whole line of comics.

 Did they do this just because you know the old continuity had been around for awhile and it was time to freshen things up and make it more modern?

 No they did it because the writers of DC didn’t want to deal with the insane contradictory mess the old DC universe (that hadn’t had much planning and developed haphazardly) and also because they wanted their universe to be more like Marvel’s.

 Remember that. the biggest reboot DC ever did was because they wanted their universe to be like Marvel’s because Marvel’s, which was like 20-25 years old at the time, was more successful.

  Then the next reboot was Zero Hour in the mid-1990s. Did THIS exist to freshen things up and modernize it?

 Fuck no.

 Zero Hour mostly existed to pay off a Green Lantern storyline and more significantly to just clean up continuity snafus that had cropped up because DC hadn’t perfectly planned out everything the first time they rebooted in the 1980s.

 Then came Superman: Birthright in like 2003. This was originally meant as a non-canon update of Superman’s origin by uber Superman fanboy Mark Waid, recycling ideas from a failed pitch he (and Mark Millar and Grant Morrisson) had made in 2000 to also reboot Superman.*

 But then it was folded into DC’s continuity effectively replacing Superman’s origin story from the 1980s by John Byrne although DC kinda sorta pretended like BOTH origins counted and like between them this is Superman’s actual canonical origin and Birthright contradicted nothing.

 Except it did and they later explained that Superman’s history, along with other alterations to the DC universe pre-2006 had occurred due to Superboy Prime punching a fucking wall which causes reality altering shockwaves or some shit like that I don’t know.

 That idea cropped up in the 2006 event comic Infinite Crisis which was a direct sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths and another soft reboot of DC’s history but kind of a bigger one than in Zero Hour. Whilst Birthright was an unintentional reboot of just Superman, Infinite Crisis was a deliberate soft rebooting of the entire DC universe.

 Because it was just again time to freshen things up, modernize the characters and inject some creative energy into the universe?

  Lol noooooooooooooooooooooooooooope!

  Infinite Crisis existed primarily out of the mind of writer Goeff Johns and to a lesser extent Dan Didio, EIC of DC Comics.

 In not so many words both have more or less admitted their desire to work for DC was specifically to restore Barry Allan and Hal Jordan as the Flash and Green Lantern respectively after the former died and got replaced in Crisis on Infinite Earths and the latter went evil and got replaced in the 1990s Ron Marx run of GL.

 And when you know this and look at their statements and work before and after Infinite Crisis along with what actually happens and the unsubtle metacommentary within the story it becomes obvious why the story really existed.

 The story existed because John and Didio, like Waid, Morrisson, Millar and probably other people at DC,were butthurt that the versions of the DC characters they grew up on had been rebooted way back in the 1980s in COIE.

 And there is plenty of circumstantial evidence supporting this.

 In the 2000s DC had slowly but surely already been working in silver age elements back into the DC universe, for example Superman was dealing with lots of different types of kryptonite, reintroducing his cousin Supergirl and his dog Krypto and getting steadily more and more overpowered. This is in spite of the 1980s reboot specifically wanting to restrict kryptonite to just the green kind, powering down Superman and make him distinctly the lone survivor of Krypton.

 The Superman 2000s pitch by Waid, Morrisson and Millar is very revealing because it makes it very clear that the Superman/Lois Lane marriage (something that was born very directly out of the new directions of the post-crisis era) needed to go so they could get back to the Supes/Lois/Clark love triangle. In fact the proposed story of the pitch was all about Superman rebooting his history in order to save Lois’ life which would mean undoing their marriage. Along with that the pitch made Superman even more sci-fi and powered up again evoking the silver age all of them have been on record as adoring.

 Even if you were unaware of this Morrisson’s All-Star Superman story was built off the back of being a love letter to the silver age Superman stories and his Batman run adopts a Silver age story as a key foundation stone for the story he wanted to tell.

 Johns equally makes his adoration of the silver age obvious in almost everything he does, even referencing how great a new silver age of superheores will be in an episode of Smallville he wrote.

 When Johns personally wrote Superman’s rebooted origin after Infinite Crisis he re-established various silver age elements into Superman lore, including his being Superboy as a teen, his membership in the Legion of Super Heroes, Lex Luthor being a childhood friend of Clark’s and him losing his hair as a result.

 The big takeaway from Infinite Crisis? It existed because DC’s staff wanted to recreate the status quos they loved as kids and because they hated the post-crisis stuff for the most part because it erased those versions. This is especially true of Mark Waid who is candid about how mad he was that Superman got rebooted by John Byrne and asked at a panel in his youth when the ‘real’ version (pre-crisis version) was going to come back.

 Wonder Woman herself underwent a kind of reboot too under J. Michael Straczynski’s tenure where her history got futzed with. This wasn’t an isolated incident.

  Then DC did their second (or third if you wanna count the Earth 1-2 shit) hard reboot in 2011.

 The story was Flashpoint and it set up the New 52 era. The Nu52 was again Silver Age inspired but used shitty 1990s tropes at the same time. Because Jim Lee had been given a position of power in DC by this point.

 What followed was for almost every character five years of near solid deterioration. Wonder Woman and Superman got fucked especially hard, not only because they were shipped together (thus fulfilling a stupid Silver-Bronze Age ship born out of Diana being able to not die during sex with Clark) but because their characters were just....broken.

 Diana devolved into this kind of Xena/300 character who had a biological Daddy (just like in the Silver Age) a mother with blonde hair (just like in the Silver Age) and generally began to have her narrative revolve around the men in her life like Ares, Zeus, Orion, her brother, Apollo, Superman, etc (just. Like. In. The. Silver. Age!)

 Now that wasn’t the case for Superman. He just went back to being an isolated alien God whom Lois Lane didn’t think much of and being overpowered as fuck. They just added him this lame young and unsure of himself bullshit to make him more like post-One More Day Spider-Man. A reboot trying to make a DC character more like a Marvel one, who’d have thunk it?

  Meanwhile over in Batman Barbra Gordon went back to being able to walk and became Batgirl again in essentially the identical costume she had in the Silver Age and Bruce Wayne briefly dated rarely seen Silver/Bronze Age girlfriend Julie Madison.

 Barry Allan meanwhile was the one and the only Flash, Wally West the defining post-Crisis Flash had never even held the mantle and was not going to.

  Basically if Infinite Crisis was the powers that be warping the DC universe to more resemble what it was like when they were kids in the Silver Age then the Nu52 was them just erasing the DC universe and replacing it with their shitty Silver Age fanfiction. It was what they obviously had deep down wanted to do back in Infinite Crisis if they’d been allowed.

  And I cannot stress this enough, it failed.

 It failed spectacularly.

 It was the single most promoted DC reboot ever with TV adds, they made an effort to court the digital comics crowd, they had new #1s to entice new readers, they got rid of all their old history to (in theory) REALLY entice new readers.

 And their sales spiked...at first.

  Then gradually died and died and died.

 Except for Batman, the character who famously changed the least  from one reboot into the next, retaining most of his over all history.

 It got so bad that DC reintroduced the pre-Flashpoint Superman (complete with his wife Lois and now with their new son Jon) and had them co-exist in the primary DC universe alongside nu52 Superman.

 Then they killed Nu52 Superman off and had pre-FP Superman decide to fill in for him.

 And this was all part of an initiative called DC Rebirth in 2016. What was DC Rebirth?

 DC Rebirth was an effort to essentially reinstate a lot of the history and directions of the DC characters from the post-crisis/pre-flashpoint era (so like 1986-2011) BACK into the DC universe via you guess it, soft rebooting it.

 Was this just because it’d been 5 years now so it’s time to freshen things up?

 Jesus Christ no. DC Rebirth existed as  an apology for having rebooted in the new 52!

 Again Superman was a microcosm of this. Not only was the pre-flashpoint Superman, the guy with most of the history from 1986-2011, now the primary Superman but in a 2017 story called Superman: Reborn DC cosmically integrated him into the prime DC universe so that his history now stated he had ALWAYS been there as the main defining Superman and all that happened was he wore the nu52 Superman’s costume for awhile.

 His history though was essentially the one we got from after Infinite Crisis so in effect they reverse rebooted  Superman because the 2011 rebooted version of him was so aweful.

 Wonder Woman got much the same treatment with ANOTHER new origin for her but one more in line with her Golden Age and Post-crisis origin that threw out the trash from the 2011 nu52 origin.

 Sales and critical acclaim for DC over all increased after Rebirth and fans were loud and vocal about how much they appreciated DC essentially fixing what they’d broken in 2011, with Superman being perhaps the biggest example.

 Superman had something like 7+ reboots across his 80 year history and the DC universe over all about 6 across the same span of time.

 Meanwhile Marvel between 1961-present has never rebooted their continuity and...has usually outsold DC.

 In fact the only DC title that regularly tends to outsell major Marvel titles is Batman. That character who again has been altered the least reboot to reboot.

 What is the big takeaway from all this? Well

 a)      DC didn’t reboot (be it soft or hard) every 4-7 years. The Earth 1 and 2 concepts showed up something like 18ish years after the DC universe began. COIE occurred around 20 years later. Zero Hour was 8 years after COIE ended. Infinite Crisis was 12 years later. Flashpoint/the New 52 was 5 years after that and Rebirth was 5 years after that

b)      Reboots never occurred for the sake of keeping things fresh or a sincere desire to generate new creative directions. They existed either to plug holes by careless writing (Earth2 and Zero Hour), purely corporate reasons (like making things more like Marvel), an attempt to recapture nostalgia (Infinite Crisis, New 52, Rebirth) or a desire to ‘fix’ whatever older reboots ‘broke’ (Infinite Crisis/New 52, Rebirth)

c)       Reboots are not creatively healthy, they just lead to more and more retcons and reboot turning everything into a clusterfuck

d)      Maintaining a fairly consistent continuity is actually creatively and financially more sensible hence DC is routinely outsold by the company that has never rebooted

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