#i wanted to get involved in some way ‘cus you put so much effort into planning this week!! but i had no time to fully participate :[

[pacifistcowboy]

it’s team dark week! but i’m unfortunately far too busy to properly participate, so all i have is my first ever attempt at drawing omega which i did in honour of the team dark week host themself, who is the greatest advocate for more omega fanwork and the reason i have extra appreciation for this angry murderous robot <3

#is it okay to tag this as tdw when it’s just a simple drawing of omega? #i wanted to get involved in some way ‘cus you put so much effort into planning this week!! but i had no time to fully participate :[ #also ignore the espilver bleeding through hdjfhddh #i also have two weird doodles of shadow that i could post on another day for this also?? unless it doesn’t really count enough #which is understandable #e 123 omega #teamdarkweek #team dark week #pacifistcowboydoodles

[daddy-eggman]

of course i know you prefer doing anal with him more, buuut

hotdogging the egg hotdogging the egg hotdogging the egg

i personally love it. would do it with anyone, and frankly i'd probably cum doing only that cus of how stimulating the feeling of big, plump ass cheeks grinding and clenching against my cock is. but i kinda really wanna hear how you'd feel about doing it with eggman. bonus points if that'd end up being a whole session for you too loool

Was reading the first part getting into it stroking myself but then scrolled more to see the propegganda and suddenly I was full on jerking it furiously and bust a fat nut so wow thank you for this 🥴

Always love playing around with the ass with squeezing, smacking, and some hotdogging to get warmed up. Pretty hard not to sink my cock in there at all when a hole is puckered cutely in front of me and tempting me but I'd want to take the challenge of refraining for it because god yeah I'm clearly seeing the appeal

Fuck yeah he can twerk! He really knows how to shake it by wiggling his hips side to side and up and down to make it bounce. I'd love for him to feel cheeky and come on strong by immediately backing himself into me, slapping and bouncing it on me and I have to put my cock between it before I'm even hard. The impact of the loud heavy slaps and rubbing changes that in no time

He likes how naughty and slutty it feels to feel my excitement grow with my erection growing big and hard against him when he's not even planning on anal, he just wants to show off his huge round plump ass and how it can shake and bounce. And when it rises and slips right in between his cheeks he's gonna give it his all and show me what he can do with such thick squishy cheeks

Would be hot while clothed no matter what he's wearing as long as it's tight, clinging to the shape, accentuating his round cheeks, stretched so thin over them it looks ready to burst out. Already great with his usual outfit, the skin tight bodysuit highlighting it and sound of it stretching and creaking, barely containing and eventually ripping open to make contact with his bare crack

Or dressing up in any erotic revealing outfit that his ass is absolutely bulging in and nearly spilling out of, fits well how he's putting in all the effort to get me off and make me cum alone without the pleasure of anal even being involved. It makes him feel like such a slut so he dresses like one and it makes his thick ass look so plump and juicy and makes him feel very sexy and confident

I'd like to get him down to his underwear either way eventually because slipping my cock through the leg and being held firmly under the material and glued to his crack with nonstop stimulation and much less of a chance of slipping and escaping for even a second until we're done sounds really great. But the warmth of his bare cheeks is so hot too. Ahh so many choices I love em all

Not that it'd have much of a chance of slipping too far out anyway with the way he can clench his cheeks around it and hold it there. I'm very happy to find that I don't even have to grab and push his cheeks together, it feels great to just let him clench them really good and grip and squeeze my cock firmly between them on his own and it helps him grind on it harder with such nice pressure too

Wiggling his hips side to side to make them slap together and clap loudly on my cock, shaking it up and down to make it jiggle and slide my cock along it, grinding my cock between his bubbly cheeks while it's pressed firmly against the depth of his crack and puffy hole, and clenching to give pleasurable squeezes with his fat cheeks that cover my entire cock is fucking hot 🥵

I grind harder against him and he grinds it back into me more while clenching his big plump cheeks together over and over with my cock squished and sinking into their soft fat while buried in his crack. So overwhelmingly good and he smirks to hear me groan and sigh because I'm in heaven with so much fat plump ass weighing on me heavy, swallowing up my cock in those thick cheeks and rubbing it

He really enjoys showing off what it can do, his hard cock is dangling but he refrains from touching because feeling like a slut pleasuring me alone gets him off enough. Relentless stimulation as he feels really confident, sexy and horny using his fat ass to please me so well and make me moan so much by slapping and grinding it on me hard as he can so I hardly handle the intense pleasure

One last big clench and slide along my cock makes me paint his crack white in a long streak. Seeing my cum trickling down his crack as he looks over his shoulder with a cheeky smile, looking very pleased with himself and giggling with glee because he finds making a man explode by shaking his ass and grinding his cock between his cheeks so much fun has me totally lovestruck 💘

I'd definitely be satisfied with it being the whole session after he's proven he can please me so well using his fat cheeks alone, I don't even need to fuck his hole for it to make me feel so good and he's very proud of himself. In the next I'll want to bury my face in his ass, making out with it and squeezing and rubbing his thick cheeks to thank it for making me feel so good last time hehe

#asks #imagines #ns4w

[lackablazeical]

Hello!

A. Why does Cuddle's teeth get bigger every time I see her

B. Her eyes also are getting bigger I think

C. Will we ever get a cuddles and raph fusion and the other duo? I think it would be fun for cuddles and raph's fusion to be a complete plush toy body with plush spikes yet the scars are like hard and burnt fabric that has similar texture to Raph's skin, like how some plushes have pure hard thread for details like noses and small scars!

D. I understand your stance on proship is a full no, and I respect that 100%, proshippers can die in a pit. But I'm curious, why do you depict minors in such abusive relationships? I mean, I understand that this is your au and creative liberties know no bounds however concept wise I am fascinated! These are late teens, 15 - 17 last I saw on the ref sheets, yet they are put into extremely gorey and torturous situations and abusive to others, including family. My question is what inspired you to make such a dark ass au? The concept and designs are beautiful, but what inspired you to make it go so dark for minor aged characters? Logically speaking I don't think I could ever see these characters behave this way before seeing your au, and I don't mean to sound rude at all! I do adore your au and characters and writing style, I'm just so curious how you decided to put these young characters in such terrible life positions. It's similar to the torture extent of Like Father Like Son, putting child/teenaged characters into situations that you would see in someone's deepest fears or in a rated R film. Why did you choose to do that? And again, I'm genuinely asking, because even as a horror fanatic, I can't see anyone putting characters to such harmful extremes. /genq

Hi!

A/B: I am inconsistent and don't put effort into drawing her cus I Do Not Like Drawing Her 💃💃💃💃 (I have a design for her the works that I like a lot more that hopefully WILL be more consistent lol, I am so sorry to any miss cuddles enjoyers)

C. Yes!!!! There are gonna be Donnida and Rizu (Raph+Chizu) fusions, then after that I was hopefully planning to do some other combos!!! But omg YES that would be so cute IWHIWJF Raph with little button eyes, ill take 10 please

D. Yes, absolutely completely against proship, I fucking hate proshippers, they all need to choke on forks, yes.

As for your actual question, a few different reasons.

One, I just. Didn't really care to change their ages very much from actual canon. I'm a minor as well (16) so I tend to have characters that are around my age LOL. It's just never crossed my mind that. The minor characters being involved in dark things would like. Add to the horror, I guess? Maybe cus I'm one of said minors IAHWIEBF I have no idea.

Two, I just. Like dark topics LOL. Always have. My interests involve bondage, taxidermy, body horror, etc etc. I just put a lot of that into my work, I love drawing gore and making art w/ dark themes (even bigger bonus if it means I also get to contrast it w/ bright visuals) addams family as a concept is honestly quite dark when you look closer at some of the jokes and situations, I'm just not very good at comedy so that kinda got lost which is a 'my bad' moment

Three, i didn't want to make light of specific topics so I keep and present them dark (for example, Leo stalking Usagi. I'm not gonna make light of stalking and abuse to keep a more lighthearted tone. I'm just not. So. Yeah). I think it's in bad taste to present certain things like that more comically, and I'll take the L of diverting from the source material a lot for it.

I wouldn't compare it to LFLS really! Lfls is a wonderful fanfic made by a wonderful person, but I think. What we try to achieve and the points/ideas we present are very very different, ya know? Hers is angst with a point, I'm just here to get groovy/j

I like the dark topics and I like presenting them as such, ISHDIFBFJ. Maybe it's just my low-empathy talking, but I like what I've done and I'm gonna keep improving it! I just. Idk, I enjoy it. About as simple as that!

I did at least try to go for some difference then other 'dark turtle' AUs I've seen! No hate to any of them, they get all the hearts and flowers from me, I just wanted something different and hopefully. Achieved that! Yay! :D

#blaze's answers

[borderline-gays-club]

2/29/24 9:20 pm

I’m in a place again where my self esteem is not really in great shape. And I’m in a place where I can/need to be honest with myself abt that. It’s where it can be a bit hard to look at myself in the mirror. Where I take photos of myself and it’s kinda hard to recognize that’s me. Or feel positive about my image. And I don’t like this feeling which is why I’m here writing.

There’s definitely a few factors at play; some are new some are old. I think one thing that’s been tough in general is what I am currently experiencing as a no identity self. By that I mean that I’m not stuck on an extreme feeling so my whole personality is not revolving around a feeling state. For example when I was hyper sexual and rage fueled that became my whole thing. Literally my other tumblr handle lol. Which I don’t really relate to anymore.

But the thing is, these were never really my personality anyway. Not in its core. They’re always fleeting, as emotions are fleeting. Which means my personality would just cling on to whatever is the most present. Just like how my personality wud also cling onto ppl in my life. And bc I’m not in any extreme emotional state I feel kinda lost. I feel vulnerable and bare. And trying to find something to hold onto. But it’s different than that horrid empty feeling. Bc I’m seeking out self in more positive ways and trying to be gentle and take my time with it. And really emphasize to myself that it’s ok to feel this lostness and that it’s important not to rush into a new “personality” for the sake of getting rid of this discomfort. I need to move slowly. I struggle with that so much.

Another thing that has not been great for my self esteem is my clothing. I’ve just been wearing ugly clothes that don’t really fit me that great for a while. And I haven’t really worn anything flattering in a while. So I don’t feel good in my clothes basically all the time. So I don’t feel good abt that. Also my hair needs to be cut lol. I don’t like how it looks rn so my hair is just always in a haphazard bun. And I don’t like that I always have to default to glasses rn bc I can’t afford contacts. I don’t like that all the jewelry I own just irritates my skin bc it’s cheap so I can’t accessorize. I don’t like not putting in effort in my appearance, but to be honest I just feel tired bc I’m broke and I can’t afford to look how I want anyway. It’s just a money problem. I’ll start to try when I can tho with what I have, bc it is taking a toll on my self image.

And lastly the way I’ve been exercising has not been great. I don’t enjoy going to the gym anymore. It’s boring and I just have fully concluded it’s just not for me. And it doesn’t help that I wud obsessively go to the gym when I was in the deep pits of ED so it doesn’t exactly have the best history. I thought it wouldn’t affect me but idk now. I thought going with a friend wud help, and I mean it has in terms of staying consistent. But it doesn’t make me like it. It still feels forced and I kinda just want it to b over. Which is not good. Cus that means I’m not really in my body while I’m doing it which is what I struggle with anyway.

When I did boxing when I was able to, it felt so different. It was the first time I was able to do an exercise consistently and consistently get more and more excited abt it. I actually felt very aware of my body and what I was doing with it. I felt very connected to my body which is a struggle for me. I’ll think more on this later, but I think the difference is that with boxing there’s feedback involved. As in there’s another person that needs to be involved to actually play the sport/game. There’s strategy involved and so many skills to master, and you pick which ones you want to master. I think it’s all these layers that kept me hooked and wanting to get better.

Anyway these are my current thoughts. I’m just in a place of deep frustration bc there’s so many things that I kno will help me, but I just can’t do it bc of money. In the meantime I’m just adapting to what I can do. But frustration has been a core feeling for a while.

#actually bpd #bgc #bpd #bpd thoughts #quiet borderline #actually borderline #bpd shit

[mattinthehat]

Hey. HEY!! I love you 🥺 you’re absolutely amazing and deserve the best 🤧

Going from that, what about Fox being put on trial after some of his blackout missions are publicly broadcasted??? How his batchmates react is up to you

AAAA I LOVE U TOO ur so cool wjhdfnfnwnq 😭❤ bear with me i know nothing about trials but I'm trying!

A murmur rose from the small group of clones on the sidelines when a young Jedi stepped forward, holding a padd.

"As you can see, Master Windu, Commander 1010 has performed a number of missions ordered by the Chancellor himself."

Wolffe's prosthetic creaked noticeably. It had been cut off by Palpatine's 'saber during the fight.

"There have been over three dozen recorded missions, about half of them involving murders. Typically killing other senators, or well-known people who are against the war effort."

-

"-mmander, do you have anything to say against the evidence provided?"

Fox startled out of his mind, wrenched back into the reality of his situation. Right. He was on trial in front of the entire Jedi council instead of a regular court. Simply because he'd worked with Palpatine.

The war had ended. With Palpatine dead, the Separatists' movements became disorganized and frantic without their undercover leader. Dooku himself had turned back to the light and already faced his punishments for his crimes.

But Fox had no idea what 'evidence' was provided here. He was sure it would be enough to put him to death though.

Funny. They were doing his job for him this way.

"No." Fox said. No one wanted to hear what a clone had to say anyways.

"Very well. We will go over this until we reach a decision. Dismissed."

-

Fox's guard, a vod, led him away by his binders. He was placed back in his cell in the Guard, with some 501st trooper standing guard instead of one of his own. They hadn't wanted any of the CG siding with their Commander, he supposes.

Ex-commander. They were going to execute him for sure.

-

Thorn wanted to scream. He did scream, but no one was listening.

Several times he'd told the Jedi that it wasn't Fox's fault. He never remembered the missions anyways! It wasn't him!

No one listened. And Thorn had watched while those damned missions were thrown in Fox's face. Fox, who looked empty. Resigned to his fate.

And Fox's own brothers! They'd abandoned him! During the war and after. They didn't listen to Thorn either, so dead set on believing that Fox was truly like this.

Only the Guard knew how kind Fox was. How selfless.

How some nights Thorn had to carry him to bed, the exhaustion and injuries from Palpatine himself had grown too much for the Commander. How he regularly gave the younger troopers his rations. Hells, he even stood in to be...experimented on by one Senator instead of Thorn.

Welp i tried. Will write a fic for this, cus damn. Leaving it at a cliffhanger simply to use it in the fic :)

And there i promise i wont kill fox or put him in jail, he gets hugs

#snippet #fanfic #commander fox #:) #sorry not sorry #purah answers

[the-final-sif]

Update for the fake quarantine dating au, which has now become the “fuyumi is fucking done after like 20 years of this shit and is now just going feral” au:

To recap, Hawks and Dabi got stuck in quarantine together for several weeks because both of them are high risk. Dabi was on the background of one of Hawks’ video calls, causing Hawks to have to lie about having a boyfriend, information which was then leaked to the public.

Because they were bored gay disasters, Hawks and Dabi played into this and Dabi did makeup so he could do a livestream for Hawks’ fans. Hawks was a flustered mess the entire time, and it was actually going fine until Fuyumi and Natsuo saw and recognized their long lost brother.

Dabi, being a fucking mess of a human being, faked his death a second time, only this time it was Hawks’ fake boyfriend who died, since he doesn’t want to deal with his emotions. Only, Fuyumi has the Todoroki conspiracy gene, and refuses to believe it. She ends up stalking Hawks, recruiting Miruko (who has a crush on her, and also doesn’t know who she is), finding out about the league of villains, and then accidentally joining the league of villains with the help of Twice, as she’s looking for her long lost brother.

So here we are, in this insane situation. Hawks and Dabi are the only two people who know that 1) Fuyumi is a Todoroki. 2) She’s looking for Dabi, who she hasn’t recognized as Touya yet. The rest of the league knows she’s looking for her brother, but don’t know who she is or who her brother is.

Fuyumi, as it turns out, is actually good at being a villain. She starts out rather hesitant, but obviously still has to play her part. Her strategy is basically ‘fake it till you make it’ and by god is it effective. Not only is she smart, knowledgeable about heroes, and a good planner, but she’s also really good with getting the villains to actually stick to said plans. Turns out years of working with children pay off after all.

The more she settles in, the bolder she gets, and the more she realizes that Shigaraki isn’t actually that committed to being a villain, and like, is fairly open to suggestions. As such, she starts slowly pivoting the league from pure destructive activities, to more constructive attacks.

Fuyumi: “Okay, hear me out on this, what if instead of attacking the same group of school children minding their own business a fifteenth time, we target corrupt government officials instead?”

Shigaraki, hesitant but intrigued: “... I dunno, I swear someone said that attacking a singular group of school children was the best way to be a villain.”

Fuyumi, using her Teacher Voice: “How about this, why don’t we try the government officials, and if you decide you don’t like it, then we can go back to the other plan?”

Shigaraki: “... Okay fine, I guess we can try it your way.”

The heroes are incredibly confused about what’s going on, because it seems like the league of villains suddenly shifted goals, competency levels, general moral codes, and nobody knows why. 

Hawks, is having a fucking time, because he’s morally torn on a number of levels. Some of the ‘corrupt government officials’ being targeted included people who were involved in his own raising, and people who assigned him to this mission. Dabi has been slowly cuing him in on how fucked up his situation is, but Hawks still feels conflicted on the people who made him a hero. Not only that, but now that he’s dating Dabi and trying to protect Fuyumi, he has to lie to those same people about some parts of the league to keep them safe.

It doesn’t help that the league is steadily becoming less morally objectionable to him under Fuyumi’s guidance.

Also, it really doesn’t help that during this time, Hawks has started working side by side with Endeavor.

While dating his son, who Endeavor believes is dead.

While Endeavor’s daughter, who Endeavor believes to be a kindergarten teacher, is someone that Hawks sees regularly during fucking league of villains meetings.

Hawks avoids Shouto like the plague because he’s terrified of what will happen if another Todoroki child gets wrapped up in this.

Also at some point there’s a hero conference to discuss the changes happening within the LOV/PLF and Endeavor is leading it, while Hawks has to sit right next to him for several hours and not say shit while everyone around him speculates wildly.

Hawks is having about 3 mental breakdowns at once and the only reason he makes it through that meeting alive is because Miruko keeps jumping in to bail him out and pull attention away from him.

Actually, Miruko has been just amazing recently, buying his excuses without a second thought, offering him alibis, and defending his weird behavior. It’s weird though, she’s been acting a bit funny too. Maybe she’s seeing someone? Hawks thinks that must be what’s putting her in such a good mood.

Miruko is also dying inside, although a lot less than Hawks is because she still has no idea that she’s currently dating Endeavor’s daughter, who she helped infiltrate the league of villains. All she knows is her girlfriend is amazing and is single handedly saving thousands of lives, and Miruko has only been dating her for like two months but she may or may not be already trying to guess her ring size.

Dabi is just trying so hard to come up with excuses to not be around Fuyumi, all while trying to also keep her safe, get her to give up on searching for him/being a villain, keep Hawks’ cover from being blown, and then everything else going on his life.

Shigaraki by this point has 100% figured out that Hawks is/was a double agent, but doesn’t actually care because he makes Dabi happy. That doesn’t mean he isn’t going to pretend to be suspicious anyways, because fucking with Dabi and Hawks is fun and honestly he doesn’t much else going on his life.

Alright, that’s not entirely true, he actually does have the whole ‘being a villain’ thing going on, and also Fuyumi and Toga have been encouraging him to put a bit more effort into his appearance, so he’s been learning how to dress nicely and do hair. When he’s all cleaned up, he hardly even looks like the same person. But besides that he doesn’t have a lot going on in his life.

Or at least, he doesn’t until one day Fuyumi’s younger brother, a very dashing young man by the name of Natsuo shows up looking to check in on his sister. He has no idea who Tomura is, but is very polite and friendly, and even a bit flirty because unlike his brothers, Natsuo is a functional gay and can ask a guy out without needing to pine and dance around him for 4-8 business weeks.

Tomura may or may not have panicked and introduced himself as ‘Tenko’. He also may or may not have panicked and said yes when the guy asked him out. Agreeing to a second, third and fourth date were all conscious choices, just bad ones.

Fuck.

#dabihawks #Miruyumi #fuyumi todoroki #dabi is touya #natshig #natsuo todoroki #tomura shigaraki #bnha crack #mha crack #dabi #touya todoroki #bnha hawks #hawks #takami keigo #miruko #rumi usagiyama #the league of villains #the paranormal liberation front #Paranormal Liberation Front #bnha #mha #sif speaks #fake quarantine dating au #family dinner is gonna be fun #my headcanons #the lov

[eatyourchancletas]

SUMMARY |  y/n l/n; the trauma surgeon who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and is taken hostage by the terrifying mafia known as ateez. despite their situations, love arises between the doctor and san; but when an enemy comes in between the group, breaking trust and belief between the members, what will san choose to save; his newfound love or his brothers?

PAIRING | choi san x male reader

INFO/CATEGORY | mafia au, angst

WARNINGS | violence, weapon usage/mention, adult language

[chapter index] [playlist]

AUTHOR’S NOTE | hello guys! here is our first chapter, alex wrote it (uwu) and i, monnie edited it (even though there was really nothing to edit cus alex’s writing is immaculate *cough*). feel free to give some feedback, whether through comment or inbox, remember we put our time and effort into these so a reblog would be nice! neways, please enjoy! 

WORD COUNT | 1.3k

“boss, the parts have been acquired, yeosang is in contact with them and they said they are ready at an abandoned lot downtown behind korea university hospital.” wooyoung reported, nodding his head at jongho. the bodyguard stood at ease once there was an affirmation that nothing dangerous was happening.

hongjoong raised his eyebrows, nodding his head. “tell the boys to get ready, we leave in 30.”

wooyoung saluted, walking off. he made his way down the corridor, spine at ease, but pace hasty. as he passed bedroom doors, he tapped on them, each door three times; signaling the time limit. for extra measure, once he reached the end of the hall, he swiftly turned around and cupped his hands over his mouth.

“prepare to leave in 30!” 

the sound of a door opening caused wooyoung to turn his head, making eye contact with his best friend. “what’s going on?”

“parts came in, we’re gonna check ‘em out.”

the boy nodded his head, turning back around to go get ready. wooyoung went to follow him, but he remembered he had to do something else. “hey, san,” he called out, the boy looking back, his eyebrow raised, “in my closet, can you get my briefcase from the top shelf?” san jerked his head giving an ‘ok’ sign.

it was his client briefcase. wooyoung carried that briefcase with him every time he went on a mission. he believed it was a smart thing to do because if they have a client that wants to pull something, there’s records. 

wooyoung doesn’t play around when money is involved, none of ateez do.

seonghwa pulled into the empty parking lot, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. “they said they’re about to pull up,” wooyoung read off the message he’d received.

hongjoong nodded his head, looking out the passenger mirror. another minute or so passed before hongjoong spotted the semi pulling up behind them. he let out a whistle, letting the boys know he was getting out. seonghwa left the engine running, grabbing his handgun and silencer from the glove compartment.

“yunho, take the wheel, just in case. san, come out to make sure they’ve got the right stuff and jongho,” he looked back at the boy before angling his head, “come out in case they try to pull something.”

the three boys followed his orders, grabbing their own choice of weapon. wooyoung was already out of the van, knowing he’d be needed either way. “what did you bring, dohwan?” hongjoong asked, arms crossed and waiting for a response.

the man beamed, smiling as if he were talking to a close friend. hongjoong eyed him, finding his behavior odd. what is he up to?

“i’ve got 2 cars from overseas. those rich bastards in gangnam really don’t know how to protect their assets,” he chuckled. he was acting odd and talking strangely—he was going to pull something.

hongjoong changed his stance, becoming more tense and straight. “hwa,” he called out. seonghwa immediately knew what he was signaling, his arms raising, aiming the gun at dohwan’s head.

dohwan’s eyes widened, hands raising. the two men behind him had their guns aimed, but they were outnumbered.

hongjoong let out a chuckle, his head tilting back, “you know, dohwan,” his eyebrows quirked up, an amusing smile on his face, “you get fidgety when you’re nervous. and we’ve done business before, so something tells me,” he stopped smiling, “you’re fucking around.”

dohwan just stared at him before he spilled. “i swear! i wasn’t going to do anything! i just—i don’t think the pay is good enough this time.”

the leader let out a hum, sucking his teeth and looking at his shoes, “this time?” he looked up, “meaning you’ve been satisfied with the pay the other times. what made you change your mind, then? give me one good reason why your pay isn’t good.”

dohwan stumbled over his wording, “you—i got you luxury cars from overseas and you’re only paying me 35 grand. those are the prices of the korean cars i give you!”

“ah,” the leader held a finger up, letting out a regretful sigh. “you see, that would have been a good reason. except,” he paused, “where on our agreement does it say i’m making you steal luxury cars? you chose to steal them yourself. you,” he pointed at him roughly, “you got greedy. you thought i’d give you more money because you went out of your way to steal an overseas vehicle? boo-hoo.”

dohwan stood in anger. “you know, you could at least be fucking grateful! i’m helping your business and those sell for way more than what you normally get, you son of a bit—” seonghwa’s gun went off, and before dohwan’s men could register, they both were shot down.

“jongho, wooyoung, please clean this up,” hongjoong pinched the bridge of his nose. he turned to seonghwa, but noticed he was focused on something else. “hwa?”

all of a sudden, the eldest had cocked the gun, stalking toward the back of the hospital building. he walked a few more yards before reaching the dumpster. he walked behind and the others watched, waiting for him to return. a few seconds went by before he emerged, holding someone in a chokehold.

the man was struggling against his grip, pulling at seonghwa’s arm, but once the man had tightened his grip on the weapon, he let himself be dragged to the group. 

“i promise, i didn’t—“

“shut up!” seonghwa growled, stopping in front of his members. 

hongjoong eyed the man, “who are you and what were you doing over there—and do not lie. i will have him put a bullet right through your skull.” by now, everyone had exited the van, helping jongho and wooyoung get rid of the bodies, but san, mingi, and yunho had been standing nearby.

the man looked around, gulping. he took a second to think, deciding not to lie because, quite frankly, he rather not have a bullet in his skull!

“i-i’m a doctor at the hospital—y/n y/l/n. my shift ended, s-so i was going to my car!” he frantically blabbered.

“why didn’t you go to your car then? why were you watching something you shouldn’t have been?” y/n looked at the man with wide eyes.

“i- if you heard something, wouldn’t you go check it out? i heard yelling, it could’ve been someone in need of medical assistance! how was i supposed to know it was...whatever this is?!”

“he’s got a point, boss,” mingi muttered but immediately lowered his head when hongjoong glared at him.

“well, dr. y/l/n, sorry. but you have to go,” he raised his right arm, loading the gun. y/n’s eyes squinted, flinching back into seonghwa’s hold. he had two guns aimed at him, he didn’t know which one would go off first, but he hoped it was the one closest to his head, to be honest.

just as hongjoong was about to pull the trigger, “wait!”

“i-i’m sorry for speaking out of turn, hyung,” he bowed his head, “but wouldn’t he be of use to us?”

hongjoong looked at him, “ and what makes you say that?”

“h-his tag. it says he’s a trauma surgeon. he’s much more advanced than yunho—not that yunho hasn’t helped us at all—but wouldn’t he be qualified enough to help us if we have worse injuries?”

hongjoong thought about it for a moment before turning to their medic. “how do you feel about it?”

yunho looked at the doctor, noticing his pleading eyes. he then looked at his boss, “i don’t doubt my abilities, but i don’t think it’s bad to have an extra medical hand on board, especially if he’s as advanced as he is.”

the leader nodded his head, “tie him up and get him in the van. the rest of you, clean up this mess.”

#t.k chapter #tinted kisses #ateez #choi san #ateez x male reader #mafia ateez #ateez mafia au #kpop x male reader #top male reader #male reader #kpop imagines #kpop fics #kpop reactions #ateez x atiny #male atiny

[suitofvibraniumarmor]

If You Just Realize

Part Four: Full Bloom

Summary: Concerned about losing Milena or anyone else, Sebastian makes a desperate request of his friend.  Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader Word Count: 1905 Series Warnings: Death, angst, sadness. Lots of creative licensing, I’m sure. Chapter Warnings: Bit of a cliffhanger.  Square Filled: This entire series will fill my realized feelings square for @marvelfluffbingo​. A/N: I’ve much enjoyed writing this series, and I hope all of you enjoy reading it! The tag list is open; requests to be added can be done so here. There are bits and pieces of Romanian throughout the series, mostly from Google Translate and the few things I’ve picked up as I learn the language. 

This part wasn’t scheduled till tomorrow buttttt I have no chill so ... Happy Reading! 

Series Masterlist

“Oprește cu agitația.”

Sebastian did his best to heed Y/N’s warning, but he couldn’t stop fidgeting. He was too nervous about what was going to happen and what he would be told when he walked into the lawyer’s office. Fortunately, he only had to wait a few more minutes before Philip Hobb, his longtime lawyer, stuck his head out of his office and beckoned Sebastian in. 

“Please, have a seat,” he said, motioning to the chairs in front of the desk. “I’m sorry for the wait, telephone call went long. I’m so sorry to hear about Irina, Seb. How’s the family holding up?”

Sebastian looked at Y/N, then back to Philip. “We’re doing the best we can. Philip, this is my very good friend, Y/N Y/L/N. Y/N, Philip Hobb.”

The two of them shook hands, and then Philip got down to business. “I’ve already been in touch with the Hills’ lawyer. They are seeking joint custody, as you expected. But that’s not what Irina wanted.”

Sebastian shook his head. “No. Unfortunately, there was never anything on paper, but she had a conversation with my mother about what to do with Milena if anything ever happened to her. Milena’s father signed his rights away when she was born, but his parents chose to stay involved in her life. Irina was always open to that, and I, of course, don’t want to keep them from their granddaughter.”

Philip sat back in his chair, folding his hands over his abdomen. “I want to be sure, before we go through all of this, that you’re not trying to hold on to your sister by holding on to Milena. You can’t bring Irina back, and there’s a potential here for a little girl to go through a lot of hard things for you to only want to keep whatever piece of Irina you can grasp onto.”

Y/N reached out and squeezed Sebastian’s hand. Philip was speaking as a friend — one who was capable of speaking truths no one else could. She saw Sebastian’s eyes glaze over but he didn’t hold long to her hand. 

“I just want to do what Irina would have wanted me to do.”

Phillip went back to the notes on his desk. “Okay then. Let’s lock down some particulars. I’ll get it written up and sent to their lawyer, we’ll go from there. Who has Milena right now?”

“After the funeral, we decided to let Milena decide where she wanted to go. She opted to stay with my parents.”

Y/N added, “But I think it’s because she knew Sebastian was going to be there. Maybe I’m biased, though.”

“That’s good to know,” Philip smiled. “I don’t mean to get personal, but are you two …?”

They both chuckled, used to the question by now. Sebastian clarified that they were only friends but also that the speculation was familiar. 

“Guess we’ll cross that off as a tactic for our case then,” Philip teased. 

Y/N exchanged a glance with Sebastian. “I’m sorry, what do you mean by that?”

“Oh, nothing serious, of course — really, it was a joke. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Sometimes, like in the case of a single guy who wants to take custody of a little girl, having a woman around regularly helps. It’s nothing really, we’ve got plenty to help us out here.”

Philip moved the conversation on then, but the thought lingered in both Y/N’s and Sebastian’s mind well past the end of the meeting. 

After the meeting, Y/N went back to the Waldorf. She was checking out the next day anyway, since her stay had become indefinite, and Sebastian had convinced her to stay in his guest bedroom for the time being. He went back to his parents’ house to retrieve their things. He would update Georgeta and Anthony on the situation and check in on Milena. 

And Y/N would have time to think about some things. 

Yes, she had wanted more than ever to pull Sebastian as close as she could over the last few days — since the moment he had called and told her that Irina was gone. She had missed him, so much, in the months since they had last seen each other. She appreciated how comfortable they were with each other, that they could show affection without the gestures being perceived the wrong way. 

Except … 

Philip Hobb’s question about whether they were together or not, and the teasing that followed, had put wheels into motion in her mind. Sebastian was an attractive man; she found him to be more handsome than most. He was kind, loyal, caring, and he made her laugh. She could be herself around him. 

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Y/N chided herself as she packed the last few of her belongings into her rolling carry-on. “Your emotions are running high because you want to help him. Sebastian is a good friend, we’re very close. That’s it, case closed.”

By the time she reached Sebastian’s apartment, she had almost convinced herself of that. Scolding herself for reading more into their relationship than what was obviously there, she let herself in with the copy of the key Sebastian had given her when they returned from their coffee date that morning, unpacked a few things, and laid down to take a nap. Once she was rested, she would have more energy to convince herself that she was being overly-emotional and needed to get it together. 

The meeting with the lawyer took a lot out of Sebastian, but there was no avoiding his parents’ questions when he returned. He explained that Philip was going to do his best to get him at least residential and primary custody of Milena, if not full custody with visitations for the Hills. 

“It’s not going to be pretty, I would imagine,” Sebastian sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Is the little one napping? I might crash out with her for a while before I meet up with Y/N again later.”

Anthony shook his head. “She’s with the Hills. Since she’s been here a couple of days, they asked to see her.”

That was well and fair, but Sebastian admitted to himself that he was afraid, for some reason, that the Hills would never give her back. In the same way he would never see Irina again, what if he never saw Milena again?

Get out of your head, he scolded himself. Hadn’t Philip specifically warned him that he couldn’t fight for custody of Milena only to hang on to Irina? No, it wasn’t that. No one, not even Milena, would ever replace the bond he had with his little sister. That didn’t mean, though, that he wanted to lose anyone else. 

As he gathered his things and made sure all of Y/N’s were packed into her bag, he pushed out all thoughts of losing Milena. That made room for thoughts about his friend, though, and the things Philip had said during the meeting. 

Y/N had been his first phone call after he got off the phone with his mother that day. He had felt like he was drowning — he was still only treading the surface, occasionally coming up for air — and she was the thing that kept him fighting. He knew that he would push through for his mother and for his niece, but Y/N was the push he needed to put in more effort than simply going through the motions. She was the person he could lean on when it felt like everyone else was leaning on him; she was home when he felt like he had nowhere else to run. 

“Keeping thinking like that, you’re going to ruin the best friendship you’ve got,” he mumbled to himself as he shouldered both of their bags. 

But the idea that had seeded in his mind and sprouted up once before grew more. Shaking his head, Sebastian headed to bid his parents see-you-later. He would nap at home. 

Remember when we first met And everything was still a bet In love’s game You would call; I’d call you back And then I’d leave A message On your answering Machine

Sebastian smiled as he entered his apartment. He could hear music coming from the kitchen, could smell whatever Y/N was cooking. She was singing along to the words, an older song that she had overplayed over the years. He didn’t mind. 

After dropping the bags in their respective rooms, he went to the kitchen, and greeted her. She turned to smile at him before going back to the rice she was cooking on the stove. 

“Hey, I wondered when you were gonna be home! I thought maybe you were avoiding me.”

Sebastian shook his head and leaned on the counter near where she was standing. “Not at all. Had to catch my parents up with everything, took the long way home to do some thinking. Milena is back with the Hills. They asked to see her.”

Y/N turned down the heat on the rice and put a lid on the pan. She took one good look at Sebastian and threw her arms around his neck. She held on tight, and Sebastian didn’t hesitate to hold her back even tighter. 

“Milena’s going to come back. You said yourself that if you have custody of her, you’ll let the Hills see her. You’re not going to lose her, they’re not going to take her. That doesn’t do them any good.” She kissed his cheek. “Everything is going to be okay, Seb. Maybe it’s not going to be easy. But it’s going to be okay.”

She stepped away to tend to the rice, but Sebastian held her tighter. She resumed her embrace, nuzzling against his neck and not pulling away until he was ready. 

When supper was ready, they ate together, mostly in silence. Y/N didn’t want to push any issues that were already sensitive for Sebastian, and he had far too much on his mind to talk about much of anything. They cleaned up together, watched a little television, then Y/N excused herself to go to bed. 

“Don’t stay up too late, all right?” she warned him, kissing his cheek. “You’ve had a crazy few days. If you don’t get some sleep, you’re not going to be able to keep up with Milena when you get her.”

Sebastian nodded. “I’ll go to bed soon, I promise.”

But it was hours past midnight and he was still sitting on the floor in front of the couch, not even aware of what was playing on the television. He was staring at the picture that had been taken a minute or two after Irina had told him she was pregnant with Milena. He had been staring at that picture for … he didn’t even know how long it had been at this point. Maybe if he stared at it long enough, he’d find some answers to the thoughts racing around in his head. Another hour passed and found him still in the same place he had been for most of the evening. 

“Seb? You okay?” Y/N was standing a few feet away, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Sebastian opened his mouth several times before he looked again at the picture. He thought about Irina, he thought about Milena, he thought about Y/N. He could only think of one thing to say, so he let the words roll off his tongue. 

“Y/N, would — will you marry me?” 

AllOfTheThings: @captain-s-rogers​ @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked​ @hurricanerin​ @horsesandbandsforlife​ @im-not-an-armrest-im-short​ @captain-rogers-beard​ @shynara51​ @sea040561​ @pinknerdpanda​ @xtina2191​ @jackryanplz​ @beakami​ @heartsaved​ @fullprunerebelstatesman​ @blackwidowismyhomegirl​ @averyrogers83​ @jennmurawski13​

IYJR: @elsatxx​ @tanelle83​ @amanda-teaches​ @etherealwaifgoddess​ @kmuir1​ @ntlmundy​ @jayankles​ @rebekahdawkins​ @denise1605​ @rhadigen​ @peace-love-hobbitness​ @itsallyscorner​ @mizzzpink​ @auspiciousharriet​ @the-murder-strut-murdered-me​ @learisa​

#marvelfluffbingo2020 #sebastian stan #reader insert #sebastian x reader #sebastian stan x reader #early post #ahead of schedule #look at me go

[tornrose24]

Was watching the last two episodes of season 1 of TetoCU for a certain image. But now I have questions/thoughts about some things....

Thoughts regarded George and Harold

-What was going to happen if MB hadn’t interferred with events and gave the boys an opportunity to get Krupp fired? Keep in mind that George and Harold had two office visits left to go before expulsion before they learned about Endenemys. Unless Krupp FINALLY broke them, then the boys would have been expelled eventually.

-Except MB wanted to get George and Harold out of the school and waited until Krupp was fired before doing so. So either MB kicked the boys out because he hated them to begin with, something happened in his timeline to make things worse for him and it involved the boys.

-Or maybe he didn’t want a repeat of the situation in which the boys died. Don’t want to risk someone finding out that you possibly might of been a murderer.

My thoughts regarding Krupp/CU: 

-Was Krupp’s change of heart genuine or was it just one guilt trip? He never really gets any character development later on and never makes an effort to change after season 2. Even the alternate school episode in season two makes me wonder how genuine he was being with the boys.

-How did he arrange that meeting in the diner with the boys in the first place? Also, did he actually drive them there himself?

-I would have LOVED to have seen him have to meet up with the boys’ parents and see how that explanation about the countdown in his office went, or if he succeeded in expelling them on his terms. Especially given how unreliable the parents are.

-How did he NOT KNOW that writing rules in the rule book was against the school district’s rules? I know this version is super dumb at times, but he should have known what he was risking.

-Considering the possible fate of George and Harold from MB’s timeline, and the fact that there wasn’t any mention of Krupp’s future self, I’m still convinced something bad happened to him and CU. (And I know I covered this in a fic, but considering how MB tends to be, he might of had a hand in it).

-Was the music to Krupp’s victory dance the same disco song he (and CU) dance to in the butt-erfly and season 2 finale episodes? It kind of sounded like it.)

-There were so many opportunities to add to the countdown when the boys were trying to get the rule book from his office. As funny as the Meaner bit was, it was so obvious that it was George and Harold dressed as his look-a-like that I’m surprised Krupp didn’t snap out of his moment of bafflement.

-So... is the lawnmowing neighbor NOT important after setting him up as such?

My thoughts regarding Melvinborg:

-If future!George and Harold knew what Melvinborg was going to do, they would have stopped him before he expelled their younger selves. This doesn’t happen because, as MB himself pretty much said, he left them for dead in his timeline.

-MB was in the past long enough for Erica to be familiar with his superintendent identity, but for how long? And what happened to the original superintendent?

-Also, is he able to adjust his cyborg parts so that he can fit into the costume? I don’t think his right arm would have fit into the costume’s right arm.

-When MB as Endenemys meets the boys, he seemed surprised when he heard about the rule book and asked if Krupp wrote any of his own rules in them. Did he know about this beforehand and was putting on an act, or was he surprised and just double checking to make sure he had a way to kick Krupp out?

-Given how self absorbed MB is, it suddenly makes sense that Endenemys had so much artwork of himself in his office. As a humorus bonus, in one painting he is shown with a cat which is an animal Melvin is allergic to.

-MB went out of his way to ensure that Krupp would be fired ‘for crimes against humanity and academia’ (or something like that). Did he know about CU and was ensuring that Krupp would be out of the way? Or did Krupp do something that further prevented Melvin from attending his dream school (I think the Claylossus episode pretty much said that Krupp was depending on Melvin’s grades to keep the school running, but Melvin is also the number one snitch/assistant to him). Remember that MB would only rehire Krupp to be able to focus on his own goals/for his own twisted amusement and made sure Krupp suffered for it.

-MB tends to underestimate George and Harold. Shouldn’t he have checked to make sure that Krupp’s made up rules weren’t allowed and therefore ensured that the boys could still stay at JHES? Or make sure the next person to take the superintendent job WASN’T someone who was highly intelligent?

-Little bonus: Melvin’s dad was absent for awhile but he’s still married to Cindy. I think Pilkey confirmed they worked for the government so maybe Gaylord was on a business trip. (I’d of loved to have seen his reaction to his wife flirting with an actual fart).

#captain underpants #the epic tales of captain underpants #mr. krupp #melvinborg #rewatch bonus

[aonogifreactions]

Amaimon alphabet headcanons - [SFW]

a/n: its 2:10am. i have no regrets. enjoy!!

Amaimon:

A = Affection (How affectionate are they with an s/o?)

Affectionate? More like possessive, oop. Well, Amaimon's pretty affectionate - if you consider that one of his arms is wrapped around your waist almost all the time, no matter where you are. Other than that, not really, unless you "educate" him a little bit.

B = Breath (What could their s/o do to take their breath away?)

Beat the shit out of somebody, literally. Whether this would be in your defense or someone made you angry, he's impressed in both situations. Obviously, he will help you if someone attacks you, but damn. That stupid dude that just attacked you is now lying on the ground and your knuckles are all bloody? That's hot. (insert Amaimon with binocs)

C = Cuddling (Do they cuddle? If they do, how and when do they cuddle?)

He cuddles you when he feels like it, or if you pester him enough. You can also win him over using sweets. He likes having you on his lap, your one hand playing with his hair and the other one feeding him. Now, when you feel down, he's all about spooning you and giving your neck little kisses.

D = Dream (What do they dream of doing with their s/o?)

Lazing around, feeding him and doing nothing is his dream. That's it, pretty much.

E = Effort (How much effort do they put into a relationship?)

*snorts*- He's (kinda) trying and that matters.

F = Fear (What do they do if their s/o is scared? How do they handle it?)

Amaimon gets angry. Like, really, really angry and it doesn't really matter if that's because of the storm you're scared of or a person. Depending on your emotional and physical state, he's either gonna calm down a bit or go get his hands dirty. Just imagine him hissing every time it thunders outside.

G = Gifts (What type of gifts do they give their s/o? Do they want a gift in return?)

He gives you the most beautiful flowers from all around the world, and honestly, this is so breathtaking sometimes that makes you tear up (he, on the other hand, doesn't understand why you're getting emotional; its just flowers, right?). Doesn't really want nor expects to get a gift in return, but will appreciate (in his own way) if gets one.

H = Hugs (Do they hug their s/o? How often?)

He himself hugs you when you're either injured or he hasn't seen you in a while (but hugs you back when you hug him first, anytime). Doesn't really feel the need to do it often.

I = Intimacy (How romantic are they? Do they have problems with intimacy?)

Amaimon?? Romantic?????? Explain it to him. After that, he probably won't do that anyway. Intimacy though? no problem. He's made out with you and done worse things in public, so its pretty much a normal thing for him.

J = Jealous (Do they get jealous? How do they act when jealous?)

Oh, my sweet summer child, he gets jealous a fucking lot, unless he knows that person. Hopefully you have fast reflexes, cuz otherwise if he isn't stopped he's going for murder if he's pissed off enough. Demands explanations, such as who that person/people were. If he's in a good mood, he's just gonna throw you over his shoulder and walk away.

K = Kiss (Are they a good kisser? Do they like to kiss? How often do they try to kiss you?)

Amaimon's quite a good kisser - he's gotten some experience throughout the years. Plus, he likes kissing more than hugging! His kisses are unexpected, usually when you're busy and don't notice him as much - it's his way to get your attention back too. Also, when he kisses you, one of his hands is in your hair, pulling it slightly.

L = Love (When do they say they love you? How often do they say it? Do they prefer to say or show it?)

He doesn't really say that cus he doesn't fully understand the meaning of that words; he also thinks it's "too human". Instead, he's declaring his love through actions - such as protecting you or listening to your vent (he really is a good listener, but doesn't give you any advice; he knows you're gonna make the right decision. Plus, he gives you free cuddles too.). One more thing about saying "I love you" - he will say it, but its gonna take him a lot of time to realize and convince himself that it's "the love that humans talk about" - the highest possibility is after your near-death experience.

M = Marriage (Do they want to get married? If so, what kind of ceremony?)

Doesn't care about that. He'll probably say no, cuz its too much of a hassle with paperwork. HOWEVER! He might propose himself - which, bluntly said, means some demonic shit involved. Despite that incident with Shiemi, I dont think he casually proposes to a woman he barely knows - if you say yes, it means that both your body and soul will belong to him, dead or alive.

N = Night out (What type of dates do they like to go on? How often do they like to go on them?)

Wants to go out with you almost every day, or rather night - he finds pretty spots during the day that aren't available for normal people to reach. These are usually picnics, or you both lying on the grass together, watching the stars with your personal heater.

O = Out of the Ordinary (What’s something they don’t normally do with/for their s/o?)

Amaimon reminds you every once in a while that you shouldn't mess with either Lucifer or Mephisto, cuz he sadly won't be able to save you if the situation gets ugly. One - he's aware that both of them are way more powerful than he is, and two - he wants to stay neutral as long as possible (lets ignore Mephisto for a while).

P = Playful (Are they playful in a relationship? If so, how do they play around/mess with their s/o?)

Playful, hm? He's more annoying than playful - well, unless you consider poking you to death as "playing around".

 Q = Questions (Do they ask their s/o their opinion on things? Do they share theirs?)

Amaimon asks for your opinion, but ends up doing what he originally thought. Depending on the subject, he says his own opinion either often or rarely. For example, he'll answer "why sweets X are better than Y" but if asked about his brothers' plans, he'll just shrug.

R = Random (How spontaneous is their relationship? Do they do things on the spot or plan ahead?)

Your whole relationship is spontaneous to begin with, and so is everything else. You can try to plan something ahead, but keep in mind that will probably change anyway.

S = Sleep (How do they sleep with their s/o?

He loves sleeping with you - thinks that your small and delicate form is "cute", as humans say; but it's not as pretty as it seems. He shuffles a fucking ton in his sleep, occasionally snores. You may have experienced a very ugly smack of his elbow in your face once. Or twice. But don't worry, you can smack him back, he'll think it's just an annoying bug.

T = Trust (How much do they trust their s/o?)

His trusts to you gradually grows, so with time he stops checking if you're telling him the truth or not.

U = Unique (What makes them unique as an s/o?)

He silently adores you. Like, you have something you're passionate about and you're in the middle of explaining it to him, and the way your eyes shine makes him fall in love with you more. The thing that you're never tired of showing him new things, that you're always patient with him and so on - it makes him so soft. He'll never tell you that, though.

V = Vulnerable (How long until they can be vulnerable around their s/o? What are they like in this state?)

A very, very, VERY long time, relying on his trusts to you. He's enraged, snarling, but you're the only person that's able to calm him down. Despite his furiousness, he listens to you, doesn't destroy anything. It'll take a while, but you always manage to do it.

W = Wild Card (Get a random domestic headcanon of the character of your choice)

Tends to grow some flowers and put them behind your ear. You look insanely cute while he "just thinks it fits you and you should wear that".

X = X-Ray (What would they do if their s/o got injured?)

Anger, anger, slight panic and taking you to a hospital - in that exact order.

Y = Yuck (Do they have any pet peeves about their s/o? Are there any habits that might bother their s/o?)

Please, PLEASE don't talk about his brothers (especially Mephisto - he'll get jealous) and father while being with him. That's why he isn't in Gehenna, but with you.

Z = Zeal (Are they passionate as an s/o? Do they want or like passion?)

He's pretty passionate? or tries, at least. Whether you're passionate as hell or just like him, he's all for it.

#Ao no Exorcist #ao no exorcist imagine #blue exorcist #blue exorcist imagines #amaimon #Headcanon #alphabet headcanons #Pure

[baconpal]

Bravely Default and BD2

Here it is, the partially prompted bravely default rant/retrospective/whatever the fuck!

With the announcement and demo of bravely default 2 out now for a bigger market than the original game ever had, I feel that as a massive fan of the original I should put some amount of effort into explaining what the appeal of the original is, why bravely second missed a lot of the appeal, and why bravely default 2 has been very, very worrying so far.

If you care about any of that, come on in and I'll try to actually avoid spoilers this time and make this a more legitimate recommendation of a game than usual.

THE APPEAL OF BRAVELY DEFAULT The games obviously have a beautiful art style, especially when it comes to the backgrounds. Every city is like a painting, a beautifully composed shot that you see from just one direction to give you one very strong impression. While the overworld and dungeons are fully 3d and do not have as strong of an artistic impact, they are still very competent and have good colors and cohesive elements. The character design, including the job outfits, the monsters, and all the villains are just top notch. Simple, evocative designs that make the most of the 3DS' limited hardware and build upon the teams skill in making handheld games look good. (its the same team that did the ff3 remake and 4 heroes of light, which looks absolutely kino on original DS) The music is also consistently excellent, with great use of motifing, a full and varied orchestra, and many good slow paced tracks for most of the non-combat segments. Shit like "Conflict's Chime" being the main battle theme, "Infiltrating Hostile Territory" being a common dungeon theme, and "That person's name is" as the rival boss themes makes even the seemingly repetitive songs a constant joy to listen to.

The story is pretty decent, it's not the best part of the game, and there are definitely some aspects of the story some people loathe, but the characters (specifically ringabel fuckin love him) are pretty good and the make for an enjoyable experience. The side material like D's journal are really well done and integrate into the main narrative well for how tucked away and ignored it is.

The gameplay and systems are also some of the best of any RPG I've played, and I've played far too many. The job system from ff3 and 5 is brought to an even greater depth with the addition of universal job abilities, allowing any character of any job make use of another jobs features to create an endless depth to strategy. The way various jobs can mingle together, and how no job is completely perfect on its own makes for very compelling team composition and unit design. The extensive amount of jobs helps as well for replay value and for assuring that no easy winning strategy is found by all players.

The BP system makes battles take on a very unique pacing as the player and enemies can choose to save up turns or blow them all at once to make more complicated strategies possible, or to make the most of an enemies vulnerabilities. This powerful option gives the player a meaningful way to capitalize on their knowledge of the game, while also allowing them to make truly detrimental mistakes. That may sound not good if you're a fucking baby, but nobody wants an RPG you cant lose, but losing because you fucked up is much better than losing because the enemies are just stronger than you or anything to that effect.

But the single greatest part of bravely defaults, which creates the games wonderful balance and unique design philosophy, is that the player is expected to hit the level cap long before finishing the game. Reaching level 99 should occur somewhere just after the middle of the game, at the point where the player has access to almost every job and has encountered almost every type of threat. Reaching level 99 brings with it a certain security, the implication that from then on, all enemies will also be level 99, and that any failure to defeat an enemy will be a result of a bad strategy or the players own mistakes. The game is not easy, and is certainly intended for veteran final fantasy players used to the games with job systems and changing up your entire party to combat a single encounter. Leveling up is not a slow grind part of the game, as you have a lot of control over the speed and frequency of battles, and it is not difficult to keep up with the games level curve.

The other layer to this unique design is that the game expects you to "cheat", or use strategies that would be overpowered and frowned upon in most other games. Bravely default easily expects you to know or discover strategies such as: applying a status to all enemies and killing every enemy with that status using another spell, cycling a counter move over and over to have a nearly invincible party member, applying a healing attribute to a self-damaging character to get huge damage at little cost, casting reflect and dangerous spells on your own party to bounce them at the enemy, or duplicating a move that does maximum damage 15 times in a row. The game builds all of its encounters with the knowledge that your team will be the maximum level and that you will be using the most vile tactics you can come up with, and the game will do the same. Bosses and even common enemies will employ equally vile tactics using the exact same moves that you have access to, meaning you can learn from your enemies or quickly grasp the enemies strategy through your own experiences. One of the late game dungeons is entirely optional, but involves several fights against parties of 4 just like your, using the same jobs and skills you have gained during the game as a perfect test of your ability to develop counter-strategies, instead of relying on your own overpowered tactics. This type of design is really not something you find in many games due to the prominence of grinding or the lack testing strategies, and it is the most true appeal of bravely default to me.

BRAVELY SECOND EXISTS I GUESS So bravely second, a direct sequel to bravely default, definitely is a video game. It uses the original game as a base to generate more content, but completely misses the appeal of the original, and the new content added makes the experience even less focused. Overall, it's still a fairly alright RPG, but it fails to follow up on bravely default in a meaningful way or to provide as compelling of a gameplay experience. Here's some of the things it fucked up.

The game reuses almost everything the original game had, including the same music, world map, and most of the original's towns and dungeons, while adding a few of it's own. Going through areas you've been before never feels good, and the new areas lack the quality or brevity of the original game, leading to uninteresting areas that overstay their welcome, despite being the only break from repetitively reused content.

This extends to the classes but in an even worse sense. One important trait of the original jobs is that they were not perfect by themselves. While every job provided some useful abilities to be shared with other classes, or provided a good base with which to make a character, no class was without flaws. The new classes in bravely second are a lot of the opposite, they are closed loops that think of everything they could have to make a good standalone character. The 4 starter classes you get in bravely second are all brand new, and there's almost no reason to use any class besides those 4 as they are just insanely good. The priest and magician specifically augment magic in a way that makes spells infinity scalable into the end game, completely trampling on any other magic classes territory without needing the extra effort of grinding a new class out. Many of the new job concepts are actually really interesting, like going back in time to return to a healthier state, or a class that changes the stats and attributes of all units in a battle, allowing for all new kinds of strategies; but these classes lack any opportunity to be used to their full potential since they don't mesh well with other jobs and are limited by their self-centered design.

Another completely missed aspect of the original is the level curve discussed before. Bravely second only really requires you get somewhere in the ballpark of level 60-70 to comfortably beat the final boss, and getting too leveled up is really hard to avoid if you are plan to try out various jobs.

Second also fails to account for how many incredibly strong strategies the player can come up with, and even introduces some of its own strategies that it has no way to counteract, such as halfsies (the first skill the first class gets) pretty much splitting the game in two by tripling the value of items like phoenix downs, and allowing for fool-proof strategies by making 1 character focus entirely on defense, effectively making the party unkillable. Essentially, if you play second after having played the original (like any sane person would) then you will absolutely destroy the game with no sense of satisfaction.

The story is also a large step down, enough to become an annoyance, as the writing style changes to a strange romantic comedy situation with, for lack of a better term please forgive my sin, anime writing, but like bad anime writing, ya know the kind of shit that makes people write off all anime cus a lot of it is awkward and unpleasant to listen to. The story tries to mess with some big concepts like "what if new game + was a real thing???" and time travel and shit like that but it doesn't mesh with the tone the rest of the game has and that tone doesn't mesh with the world or art style and it's just a mess.

BRAVELY DEFAULT 2 SEEMS KINDA POOPIE SO FAR So unfortunately, the big appeal of bravely default being part of it's end game makes it hard to judge how 2 is gonna go given we only have a demo of the beginning, but given that the original team behind bravely default has slowly been stripped out of the series as it goes on, the outlook is bleek.

Most immediately obvious is that the artstyle has made a horrible transition from handheld to console, somehow even worse than pokemon. The areas are all fully 3d and lack the style or compositional excellence of bravely default, and the outside environment look like asset store products. The small proportioned characters with simple features to be readable on a small screen have been replaced with identically proportioned characters with excessive detail and ugly features, and look horrible up close on a big screen. Only the negatives of the art style have made it over, and everything good has been made unsavory. The character and enemy design overall is much worse as a result, everything is messy, unclear, and clashes with everything else. It's an absolutely shocking downgrade.

The characters themselves are overly hammy and feel like shallow attempts to have a similar party dynamic to the original without having identical character types, and the writing as a whole doesn't seem to have improved from second, which was already quite a step down from the original.

The gameplay also has not done anything different or interesting yet, and seems to be selling itself to people haven't heard of or gotten enough of the BP system. Enemies being on the overworld as opposed to random encounters shows they have dropped the player agency over encounter frequency, which is dumb. The battles lack any of the flow the original had, especially when using the battle speed option, as the camera does not present everything very well and changes position often as a result. Overall, I have not enjoyed the bravely default 2 demo and feel it shows nothing but a continued decline in the series that likely should have just been a single game. With the release date being set for sometime this year, I feel there is no chance any amount of player feedback could save the game or even begin to pull it in the right direction, as it seems to be fundamentally flawed with an inescapable feeling of shovelware.

SO WHAT? Basically, all I wanted to say here is that the original bravely default is a very unique experience I think every RPG fan should give a good chance (and just do all the optional stuff during the "repetitive" part of the game, it's where all the best content is you bozo) and that the sequels are NOT the same experience. I guess it's kind of mean to just say "hey don't buy or like this new thing cus its not like the old thing" but people should know why there's a bravely default 2 in the first place, and should fight for what made the original great. I worry that BD goes down the same sad path that FF did, becoming a completely hollow, middling series that strayed so far from it's home that a whole new series had to be made to give the fans of the old style a place to go.

Thanks for reading, and hope you got something out of it.

#bravely default #bravely series #bravely default 2 #juvenile rant #vote now for the next rant! including things such as The Great Ace Attorney and why it's kino #or why i think arms is a really well designed game even tho i'm fucking shit at it #very exciting topics indeed #or ya know whatever other shit you think i have a lot to say about

[realactualfancontent]

Whateley Family Fluff

Wilbur and Lavinia discuss travel plans and girls.

Wilbur Whateley kicked the door open, holding some kind of squirming screaming sack, he was covered in feathers, and blood, and one or two scrapes which oozed something yellow and fetid.  

He looked panicked and triumphant all at once.   

His mother jumped, already on edge because her son was nowhere to be found, his entrance didn't help.

"Wilbur? Wha-Where- What're yew doin'...with that."  Lavinia gestured to the squirming bag.  Trying to take her questions one at a time.  

Wilbur froze, he hadn't been expecting his ma awake.  This was supposed to be a secret mission.  Though he'd been planning to show off to Twin right away.  

"Killin' et!"  His face split into one of those smiles that was slightly too wide, although accompanied by an uncharacteristic level of enthusiasm.

"Robbed the Bishop's chicken coop!"  

She wasn't quite sure what to do with that.  Not the petty crime, or animal murder.  Boys would be boys after all, but the excitement, well that was a puzzle.  She couldn't remember seeing him this genuinely pleased in years.  She returned his grin with a hesitant smile of her own.  

"Well, I'm glad yer havin fu- Wait, are yew bleedin'?"  

It had taken her a moment to notice, between her poor eyes and the poor lighting it was more the smell then anything, more overwhelmingly the outside then usual.

Wilbur deflated with a sigh and an eyeroll.  "Et's nuthin' a scratch es all."  She was going to fuss now.  "I'm finnneeeeee."  It was a rather unconvincing whine and he watched her wring her hands shoulders sagging.   The bagged rooster kept screaming.  

Wilbur thunked it on the table with a sudden burst of violence that shut it up.  He hoped not permanently.  Lavinia started and tried to collect herself before speaking up.

"Et's not nuthin' let me take a look,'' Lavinia responded, moving to light the lamps, the attempt to sound like an authority was weak, and they both knew it.  But still Wilbur dropped his twitching bag on the table and slumped into a chair two sizes too small for him to watch his mother root around in cabinets for some bandages or a clean washcloth.

Wilbur had never paid much attention to chickens before, and as he idly poked at one of the puncture wounds he was still surprised by how sharp those spurs were.

"I can dew et myself."  It was protest for protests sake, although Wilbur really would rather handle things himself, he knew his mother would fret if he didn't play along, so he obligingly rolled up his sleeves, revealing the slow transition to yellowish scales.  

"S'pose yew culd patch the shirt up tew, ef yew'd lak."  He said, looking around the cluttered kitchen for something else to focus on and offering his mother something to do that didn't involve her getting in his way.

"Might be time fer a new 'un.  Yer sleeves are gettin' a bit on the short side.  Looks lak yew've had another growth spurt."

Wilbur made a noncommittal noise.  They both knew what the other was thinking, that if Wilbur was growing, so was The Twin.  That time was marching slowly onwards, that soon, all of this, Lavinia included, would be blasted away to make way for greater things.  

Wasn't the sort of thing you made small talk about.  Wilbur winced as his mother applied a damp cloth to one of the numerous scratches, feeling this whole thing was pointless as anything in the house was probably as filthy as a chicken's foot.  

After a moment's awkward silence Lavinia ventured to pick up conversation again.  "What 're yew killin' the chicken for?"  The bag was still twitching periodically.  

"Jus' need et's blud fer sumthin es all." Wilbur shrugged.  

"Are you wurkin' on a ritual or curse or... uh, summin' sumthin'?"  Lavinia ventured when it came to Wilbur's magical practice's he was getting increasingly less likely to share the details.  

Maybe that was because when he did she couldn't really follow him and just tried to nod at all the significant points.  She'd never really understood.  She’d picked up disjointed scraps from her father, a string of odd words here, a rough idea there, but Lavinia Whateley, despite what folk about here would have you believe was no witch.  All the things that came so easily to Wilbur and her father just left her feeling confused and scattered and usually in possession of a headache.

"Ain't yer business,"  Wilbur said, jerking his arm away, rolling down and rebuttoning his sleeve.  

Lavinia’s shoulder’s sagged and she looked away, picking at a moth hole in the table cloth.  “Sorry, jus seems yew’re excited, wanted t’ know whut et were about es all.”  

If Wilbur was the type of person who had any compassion for dogs he might have compared Lavinia’s countenance to a kicked puppy.

Same guilt inducing effect.  

And the irritation at it was plain on his oddly proportioned face.  “I’m makin’ a whistle.  Thought one of ‘em space ponies might make travellin’ easier.”   There he’d told her.  She could stop with the sad eyes.

Lavinia’s eyes widened again, surprise, a little panic.  FUCK HE COULD NOT WIN.  

“Travellin’? Yew’re plannin’ on another trip.”  

The London trip had been unprecedented.  Wilbur had never expressed much interest in the human world at all.  And he’d come home with such a dismal outlook on the whole experience she didn’t think he’d leave again.

She’d hoped he wouldn’t leave again.  

Leave her alone.  With that upstairs.  

She loved her sons.  She told herself that daily.  But when it was just her and the nameless twin she had a much harder time believing it.  Wilbur could walk and talk and act almost like any other surly teenager.  But the thing upstairs just stomped about and made hungry noises.  And although she had no proof there was a lurking fear that one day the cows and vermin they brought it wouldn’t be enough and it would find its way down stairs for her.

 “Wuldn’t be so long.  Cuple days et most, since I’d have the Byhakee t’ travel on.”  Wilbur cut in, noticing his mother’s distress, and making some token effort to calm her.  Stumbling over what he hoped was the correct pronunciation of Byhakee.  

“Oh,”  that helped a little, although she hadn’t the foggiest what a Byhakee was.  Probably a space pony. “Where’d yew be off tew this time?  Still lookin’ fer the book?”  

Wilbur shrugged.  “Among other things, one ‘ve my correspondents wanted t’ meet.  Were real irked I didn’t see her last time I were in London.”  

“Her?”   There were so many things to pick out of the sentence but the pronoun stood out more then anything else.  Wilbur, ordinarily speaking, was barely interested in people, let alone girls.   But then he was growing up, it wasn’t really that surprising, well, no more surprising then anything about Wilbur.  Still, Lavinia couldn’t help but smile a bit.  

Wilbur picked up on the shift in mood and shrank as much as his nearly seven feet would allow.  “Ain’t lak- she’s just a friend, sorta, real keen t’ see sumthin’ alien’s all…”  He trailed off into a mumble, face flushing a sickly yellow.  It was his turn to pick at moth holes in the table cloth, giant fingers doing so far less deftly then his mother had.  

Lavinia’s smile widened, her pink eyes glimmering with delight in the low lighting.  She’d been a romantic in her youth, maybe some of that was still left and it was what had her so excited despite Wilbur’s protests.  Or maybe it was because this was a sign that Wilbur was more human than he’d care to admit.  

This was the sort of conversation you expected to have with your child at some point.  The kind of, dare she think it, normal moment she’d all but given up on these days.

“What’s her name?”  Lavinia asked. 

“Emmaline,” Wilbur answered, sagging as he prepared for an interrogation. 

One that came promptly.  

A barrage of banal things, like how did you meet, what’s she like, is she a witch?  

Wilbur answered in as few words as possible.  Trying to stress the very platonic nature of the relationship.  Not that his ma was picking up on how uncomfortable he was.  Or that he was flushing the shade of an egg yolk.  

“Is she pretty?”  

“Dun know, and et dun matter anyways.”  He snapped, “I ain’t interested in romance and ain’t no one’s goin’ t’ be interested in one wit’ me.  Stop badgerin!”  

Lavinia flinched at the outburst while Wilbur retreated into a sulky silence.

He’d have felt worse about spooking her if she didn’t absolutely have it coming.  Hassling him like that.   

After a moment Lavinia gave him a tentative pat on the shoulder and offered her son an attempt at a smile.  “Don’t be so down on yerself Wilbur, just ‘cus folks round here are-”

“The wurst.”  Wilbur cut in.  Not sure what she was getting at but never one to miss a chance to insult the people of Dunwich.  

Lavinia nodded.  

“Well just cus’ they’re the wurst don’t mean everyone es, an’ I’m sure there’s plenty ‘ve girls who won’t be put off by yer unique features.”  

Wilbur’s dark eyes widened as he stared at his mother completely boggled.  He opened his mouth to try and form a response and took a moment to do it, mouth hanging open.  

“Yew need t’ get yer eyes checked.  Since yew clearly dun know just how bad I look.”  Lavinia might try to dress it up, but Wilbur didn’t feel any such compulsions.  

“I’m a ganglin’ mess ‘ve spare parts an’ I smell wurse ‘en most morgues.”  

Lavinia’s pale brows furrowed and her scrunched up into a frown.  She’d been hoping to give a pep talk there, but really couldn’t think of anything to refute Wilbur’s statements.  

She gave him another awkward pat on the shoulder.  “Well, we can dew sumthin’ ‘bout sum ‘ve that at least.  Spruce yew up a bit afore yew go callin’ I’ll make yew some clothes that fit proper and an’ yew’ll have a good scrub t’ get as much ‘ve the Dunnich stink off yew as can.”  

“No.”  Wilbur’s abnormally deep voice reverberated with extra gravitas.  Even if there was an underscore of horror to it.  

He hated baths.  He hated being wet to start with, hated that the tubs were too small for second and then there was the ordeal of actually scrubbing his leg fur and getting soap in his stupid useless hip eyes.  

What was the point of being able to see into the fourth, fifth and sixth dimensions when he couldn’t see through the pants he had to wear.  

Lavinia looked disappointed in him.  A trick that was losing it’s potency over time but still held some sway.  

“She already knows I stink like a pig, she’s expecktin’ et, I dun need t’ take a bath.”  

“Wilbur, yew only get so many chances t’ make furst impressions, dun yew want et t’ be a gud ‘un?” 

“Not that much.”  Wilbur scowled at her patronizing, considering hexing her tongue to shrivel right there.

Not that Lavinia wasn’t, technically, to his everlasting vexation, right.  

“Guess I’ll consider et.”  He conceded after a moment.

The rooster bag twitched and made a pitiable noise.  

“I’ve got t’ take care ‘ve that afore it croaks.”  He said, standing up and swiping the bag in one motion.  Glad for an excuse to end the conversation he shuffled off with an unusual speed to his awkward gait.  

#Wilbur Whateley #lavinia whateley #The Dunwich Horror #fanfic #Emmaline #More behind the scenes stuff from the blog timeline

[unproduciblesmackdown]

Taylor and Winston’s Shared Glances at Wendy Which Could Recontextualize Billions 5x05 into Something Bearable

look if we take taylor’s behavior in 5x05 at face value, not only is it unpleasant for all of us but it also makes no sense. why question winston’s worth here, when he’s been making consistent and important contributions for mase cap the entire time? why bank on wendy, who everyone knows is more loyal to axe and axe cap, and who not only obviously very deliberately betrayed taylor last year for no good reason, but also has been meddling around with mase cap since before taylor offered the teamup, and refusing to ever acknowledge that she’s overstepping or doing anything wrong - not to mention that in 5x03, the episode just before taylor and wendy start off on this partnership venture, taylor expresses that they don’t trust wendy and don’t appreciate her interference at mase cap (or her efforts to deflect on that instead of like, apologizing or even recognizing she’s doing anything wrong. wendy’s really learned from last season, wow). taylor’s explanation to lauren of [Why Trust Wendy] being “well, risk is always involved, and it would be too obvious a move for wendy to betray me again, so she won’t.” i can accept the “there’s always risk” thing, like, maybe taylor knows they’re taking a big gamble on wendy here but is just that desperate and directionless, especially after sara quits, that they’re just willing to bet it all on wendy. but even so, there’s seemingly no need to push away their preexisting employees, or any benefit to doing so. and taylor’s apparent indifference / total lack of appreciation / even slight disdain for winston in this episode, when the entire point of him being here is that taylor could always recognize and respect his ability and worth, is again unpleasant for us all and also just doesn’t make sense. 

BUT then we very much extremely have this moment in the first scene between them, and it is entirely Something. the Secret Nonverbal Communication going on between winston and taylor in this moment is Real.

originally what caught my attention was taylor’s initial glance over at wendy and how Unusual it is. it’s too fleeting to be taylor making eye contact with wendy, and the fact that their eye contact returns so immediately to winston means they’ve still Deliberately interrupted that eye contact. if taylor was acting how they normally would, they and winston would just be holding each other’s eye contact (see: kompenso. nobody blinks!!) and they’re too conscious and deliberate in the cues they give off for this to be an accident. i was going to pause just to think about Why taylor has this very strange glance away-and-back, but then of course i saw that the very next thing that happens is winston, looking at taylor, also quickly glances at wendy, then back at taylor, and nods. 

he was clearly Bemused At Best throughout this scene, but as soon as this [taylor glancing at wendy and back at him, winston following their lead and glancing at wendy as well, then back at them] moment occurs, he just goes ahead and accepts this request to Prove Why He Shouldn’t Be Fired.

what i’m getting at is that i think taylor’s Glance At Wendy is their version of [a much more pointed glance, featuring raised eyebrows and them tilting their head at her to really get the message across], and winston is picking up on i, which lets him realize that taylor is more on his side here than they can say in front of wendy. taylor has previously Cued Winston In via a pointed nonverbal Look, and he’s shown he understands what they mean to convey when they do so. already, the implication that taylor trusts winston to pick up on this (and that he Does) shows that taylor respects winston a nonzero amount lol which is a little more than this episode suggests otherwise, without the “taylor and winston are Secretly Communicating here.”

naturally, what i think the secret [glancing] communication is about is that taylor themself is not considering firing winston, nor wanting to. they’re putting on this show for wendy here, wanting her to see taylor as already being fully on board with this partnership, which will encourage wendy to Also be more on board, 40% even - for whatever reason taylor might be able to use that down the line towards some bigger plan. and in this moment, taylor is conveying to winston that this whole “i’m considering firing you” matter is playing out because of wendy, hence the glance at her, which winston copies, then seemingly accepting the premise all of this instead of continuing to argue the point here and now.

and consider: if taylor really thought they should fire winston, they could’ve immediately done so in this scene. They are the one who’s putting the brakes on, managing to keep any decision from being made, yet without making it seem like they aren’t still essentially in accordance with wendy’s perspective here. i mean, damn, they’re out here getting pedantic about the fact that no, they don’t *have* to fire winston as a *need* to continue to be alive as organisms.......it’s easy to see them playing this as like, putting themself between wendy and winston while still making it seem like they’re actually fully on wendy’s side for this, acting indifferent towards winston, avoiding defending him to any point that they seem like they’re definitely advocating for him.........not to mention that winston’s right, and the math works no matter what, and it makes no sense to consider getting rid of him.......and taylor is directly contradicting themself by denying that they “need” winston, unless they’re just again talking about “i do not literally Need you like literal oxygen,” and/or, say, because they’re putting on a show of reluctance to keep winston on for wendy’s sake.

further consider: winston goes to mafee to complain, and then mafee and winston both bring lauren into the fold, but winston is complaining about what wendy specifically is doing - he’s not mentioning taylor. and winston complaining about this to mafee (and lauren) doesn’t have to be an act, because wendy’s not in on all this; she probably Does want to push out pre-impact-fund mase cappers, and they Don’t have reason to trust her. there’s no reason for winston to Not be upset about wendy wanting him out / interfering so much at mase cap - and maybe this Moment where taylor communicates to him via this glance is all the info winston has, like, all he knows is “oh, taylor maybe doesn’t want to do everything wendy does, but wendy is obviously pushing some Agendas,” like, he was there, taylor was managing to defend him without making it look like they were Clearly wanting to do that, but wendy was all in on just firing him asap.

not to mention how taylor acts in the scene where they do decide to keep winston on - they wait for wendy to make the call, then without waiting for even a beat to pass, confirm that winston’s Still Aboard, and immediately leave so that the whole matter is done with. more on this whole scene in a sec lol

and for another thought on how this Broader Recontextualization (i.e. that taylor is Not as aligned with wendy as they might act at face value / has some more complex plan at work here which requires them to act as though they’re just fully invested in this partnership with wendy) could be supported here, before i even noticed these Glances, i also noticed that it seemed like taylor was really Emphatic in telling lauren not to get into the middle of what they were doing with wendy.....and not in like an angry way or anything obviously, just like, they seemed particularly Earnest about that. and i think that could be indication of like, taylor does have this elaborate, big plan here, and they want it to unfold smoothly and/or just don’t want lauren to have to deal with any unforeseen consequences of stumbling into this Scheme..............but it’s unfortunate if lauren’s entirely in the dark, especially with how taylor was kind of ignoring her advice about the 25% vs 15% thing or whatever.........good that lauren’s on board anyways, like, not like taylor didn’t back her up on the less-than-ideal(-for-taylor) transition into being partially an axe cap employee, but it’s like......any relationship strife here is unnecessary, lauren’s just trying to look out for them. why can’t she be in on any larger schemes unfolding here

also, i think about taylor’s conversations with oscar back in 5x02. he was talking to them all about speed chess and having to think as many moves ahead (including your opponents potential moves) as possible, which, first of all i think that’s just always true in chess, but with speed chess you try to do it faster......as is the nature of speed chess......and, anyways, at the end taylor lets him know that they were even better than he was at that [seeing as many potential moves ahead as possible] thing. and i could definitely buy that taylor here is playing speed chess and has a much more in-depth plan than they’re letting on, vs. that their plan should be taken at face value and they really Do just trust wendy because of like, well there��s always risk + why would she betray me twice in a row. lol. and just the fact that all taylor’s behavior and choices and attitudes here like......do not make much sense otherwise, or line up much with how they’ve ever done things previously, really.

and here’s a whole extra galaxy brain layer to the matter:

What if Rian’s Already in On Taylor’s Plans Here, Potentially Even A Co-Conspirator With Both Taylor And Winston

here’s another thing i noticed was Strange before noticing the glances.....why is rian even back interviewing again??? i mean i could absolute ignore the weirdness of why rian apparently came back to this interview, pitch ready on her laptop, but didn’t even know *why* she should want to be doing the interview until bringing that up partway through. also, the presentation / idea was not That impressive lmao like, idk, taylor was a bit more generous with praise than warranted mayhaps lmfao but like. yes this could just be all taken at face value and it’d make more sense than [taking Everything taylor does at face value] but check this out

let’s say somehow taylor gets in touch with rian before she comes in and rian is in on all this from the start lol. acting kind of ambivalent, yet has this whole project just ready to pitch?? also like, apparently conveniently an “earnest believer” in saving the world one hedge fund trade at a time or whatever, but idk, i guess some people theoretically are........but anyways yeah taylor Wants to bring rian on, but wants wendy to be part of that / for wendy to think it was mostly her idea, aka mostly taylor listening to / valuing wendy’s good idea here. 

like, the real point comes with how like, the glance suggests taylor Does Not Want To Fire Winston, but in the scene where winston Starts Up the conversation about keeping him on, taylor is Not helping winston.....still sort of being neutral, but also acting bizarrely indifferent and unimpressed with him. but then you know, for no particular reason, rian cuts in and makes a case for keeping him on. 

and idk, maybe she’s just that nice and like, reverse hospitable to new coworkers, maybe she’s already decided he’s Alright and she may as well try to keep him around. but her defense of winston includes some Weirdly Strong language throughout.

well, it actually helps that he's outside the camp. don't you think? studies have proven that a diversity of opinions really strengthens an organization. impact funds really benefit from having a capitalist douche on staff as a bellwether; i mean, if you can sell impact plays to him, you know they'll be viable to anyone.

with the italics being where rian herself places emphasis. like, aside from the mystery of how anyone at a hedge fund thinks some people are capitalist and some, apparently, anticapitalist, or why winston should apparently be Exceptionally Mercenary and uncaring when he was all for the nlp oil divestment strategy which led to this whole impact fund idea in the first place.......rian is really arguing for winston here, and taylor literally looks to wendy, who agrees with rian that they should keep him on, and then taylor immediately affirms it and leaves. 

co-conspirator galaxy brain blast here being: taylor can’t directly stick up for winston, they want to seem as indifferent / unenthused as possible, while not actually throwing him under the bus, yet not defending him to put themself at odds with wendy. winston can’t really defend himself here - imo the fact that wendy’s even considering firing him at all kind of shows that like, maybe the usual reasonable arguments he has aren’t gonna fly, since presumably arguing for the value of his own quantitative approach doesn’t count for anything if wendy’s just dead set on hiring “true believers” for whatever reason, even though the math will still work, like he says, and he hardly seems pressed about being Against this impact fund maneuver or anything...........he can’t argue for himself here, taylor can’t either b/c they want it to be wendy’s idea/decision to keep him on so they can simply seem to be agreeing with her, so here comes co-conspirator rian, mysteriously but firmly arguing that winston should be kept on board b/c of this reason that really doesn’t make all that much sense (when has winston ever been like, skeptical of any strategies for not being Capitalist enough or whatever).......but apparently wendy buys it, and she’s sort of further affirmed by it having been her Good Idea / Good Call to hire this person who she’s now taking the advice of.........and taylor just gets to Really quickly agree in a way that still firmly concludes this whole issue, and yet doesn’t make it seem like they were sticking up for him in the least. sure was really convenient for everyone lol, thanks rian for gunning for this guy you probably met just today.

if rian’s not a co-conspirator, maybe that was just dumb luck, but that’d really be bold if taylor wanted to keep winston on but there was no game plan for how to guarantee that happens, we’re just gonna wing it..........and despite their seeming indifference, even slight disdain towards him in this scene, as Soon as wendy agrees he should stay, bam, taylor tells him it’s Decided and he’s fine and immediately bails so that the conversation can’t continue, boy, they sure accepted that Wholly and Immediately for someone who was supposedly on the fence about all of it.

and anyways the point is:

tl;dr The Glancing Between Winston And Taylor Is Real and They’re Secretly Communicating With Each Other This Way in This Moment

#winston billions #also #billions #this is Something!!!

[john-wickening]

A Treat

AN: So this little ditty is based off my head canon post. It’s more sappy stuff whoops. One day, I’ll write something that isn’t tooth rotting fluff lol. Hope y’all enjoy ^_^. 

You get busy at work, which prevents you from celebrating Halloween like you’d want to. John has a trick up his sleeve.

TW: mention of someone committing sexual assault (not shown, just mentioned) Some mild swearing

Word count: 1842

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When the phone rang and the obnoxiously bubbly ringtone filled the room, you couldn’t help but groan.

It was your boss calling.

John looked up from the book he was working on and you stuck your lower lip out in a pout. The corner of his mouth twitched in response.

Work had been an absolute nightmare lately and you knew deep down in your gut that this wasn’t going to be a great phone call.

“Hey Rob,” you huffed as you picked up the phone. You couldn’t conceal the disappointment leaking into your voice.

Rob was a gruff man. He cut right to the chase.

“I have another assignment for you.” You heaved a sigh and bit your lip. Of course he did. You stood up and crossed the room to your desk. Your laptop whirred to life when you opened the lid.

“Sure Rob. Hit me with it,” your laptop was moving glacially slow, but eventually it booted up.

“I’ve emailed you the details. Your deadline is the 31st,” he stated and you felt a pang of annoyance shoot through you.

“Halloween, Rob? Really?” you groaned “You know that’s my favorite holiday,”

“You agreed to this, chickadee,” he bit out gruffly and you had to grit your teeth together to keep from snapping at him for the asinine pet name. “You’re freelance for a reason.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” you grumbled in reply. You could hear the click of the receiver as he hung up. You rolled your eyes and tossed your phone down onto the table.

Asshole.

You pulled up your email and logged in. His lengthy message was in the top of your inbox. You chewed the corner of your thumbnail as you scanned over the details of the case.

“What’s he got you doing this time?” You were engrossed so deeply and John’s voice was so sudden in the silent room that you actually jumped a little. When you looked up at him, you could see amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes.

“Investment banker,” You replied. “He’s got me checking up on this guy, making sure his personal life is tip top.” You kept it intentionally vague. John could be a little… overprotective when he knew all the details. Knowing that this guy was a convicted rapist and had served time for beating his child would definitely not fly so well with John. He’d insist on coming with you and that made everything ten times more complicated.

John nodded and turned back to his book.

You watched him for a moment, admiring the way his thick, scarred fingers worked at the binding. You couldn’t help the warmth that spread through your chest watching your fiancée skillfully thread the pages.

You turned back to your work with a smile on your face, which unfortunately faded fast.

The details on this man were troubling to say the least. Three convictions for sexual assault, 2 years in East Jersey State. His money bought him a slap on the wrist, basically. You frowned and shook your head in disgust. The justice system was a farce. You found yourself falling down the rabbit hole looking into this dickhead. You were so enthralled with the information that John yet again managed to scare you.

“Guess that means you finally have to leave the dog alone,” he muttered after a few minutes. You brought a hand to your chest to try to slow down your heart and shot him a glare.

“Meatball likes it,” you retorted indignantly. John snorted

“No he doesn’t,” he replied without looking up from his work. You rolled your eyes at him.

“Yes he does,” You replied. “He was dashing in his devil costume last year, thank you very much,” John chuckled quietly and you found yourself smiling.

“You’re obsessed,” he stated flatly and you narrowed your eyes at him.

“You love it,” you teased and he smirked but didn’t reply. A comfortable silence passed between you.

“I’ll find the time to dress Meatball up, don’t you worry” you said after a minute though your heart wasn’t in it. The case Rob had thrown at you was very involved. Halloween was in two weeks and this was a job that would normally take three weeks or more. You looked over at the spiderwebs wrapped up the banister and sighed. You were glad that you had at least been proactive on decorating the house.

It’s September 21st, why are you decorating already? This is earlier than last year, John grumbled as he watched you flit about the house. It already looked like the Halloween store had exploded in here.

Have you met me, John? You teased as you clipped a small plastic skeleton to the ceiling fan.

He just rolled his eyes but you didn’t miss the smirk creeping across his face as he turned away. He had always expressed his indifference for the holiday and frankly, he often teased you lightly for your minor obsession. But he never stopped you or outright discouraged your enthusiasm, and for that you were thankful

You just hoped you’d be able to get enough done on the case to at least have your annual movie night

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two weeks later, you slapped the file down on Rob’s desk with a triumphant smirk

“I really think you were trying to test me on this one, Rob,” you said cockily. “Here’s everything you need to know about the bastard,”

The older man flipped through the file with piercing eyes. After a moment, he set it down and grinned.

“Good work, kid.” You bit the inside of your cheek. You hated being called kid. To be honest, you hated every stupid pet name the man called you, but this job paid well so you held your tongue.

The man looked up at you and scratched his wiry gray beard in thought.

“To be honest, I didn’t think you were going to be able to do it in time,” he said and you felt a twinge of annoyance.

“Well then, you underestimated me,” the words leaked out before you could stop them.

The man let out a bark of laughter and you felt your stomach clench uneasily.

“I suppose I did,” he admitted amicably and the knot in your stomach uncoiled. From the drawer of his desk, he produced a thick envelope.

There it was.

“Here’s your pay, plus a little bonus for putting in the hard work at such a busy time,” he replied and passed the envelope to you. You took it but didn’t check the contents. The man had a peculiar affect and checking the amount would most likely upset him.

“Thank you, sir,” He nodded and turned his back on you, indicating that the conversation was over.

Not the most socially graceful dude, thought dryly to yourself as you stuffed the envelope into your bag.  Didn’t matter, though. Money was money. You left his office in a hurry.

By the time you got home to John, it was around 7 pm and it was just getting dark. You grinned when you noticed he had remembered to turn on the decorations on the lawn.

“John? I’m home,” you called as you walked through the front door. The house smelled strongly of pumpkin spice and you found yourself grinning.

From the other room came the skittering of paws on the floor and Meatball’s deep throaty bark of excitement. The noise almost entirely drowned out John’s response.

The skittering got closer and when Meatball eventually rounded the corner, you gasped.

“John you did not!” you cried out giddily as you laid eyes on the dog.

You don’t know what you loved more—the yellow and black jumper complete with a ‘stinger’ covering the dog’s tail, or the headband that wiggled wildly with every movement.

John had dressed Meatball up as a bee for Halloween and it was the cutest costume you’d ever seen in your entire life.

“Oh Meatball you look so good!” you cooed happily as you dropped to the floor to greet the dog. His little face lit up at your voice and the tail wag became a body wag. The puppy kisses were plentiful.

When John finally rounded the corner, you couldn’t help but grin up at him.

“Meatball hates it, huh?” you replied smugly from your spot on the floor. Meatball had crawled fully into your lap and was lapping at your chin.

John shot you a glare but his heart wasn’t in it. It was then that you noticed there was a white feather tangled in his hair.

“John… what’s in your hair?” you giggled. He stared blankly at you. You stood, crossed the room, and plucked it out and showed it to him.

He looked slightly sheepish.

“Ah… you’ll see,” he said. You grinned up at him and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“Thanks for dressing Meatball up,” you mumbled as you broke away. His smile was soft. He pressed another kiss to your lips.

“Follow me,” he said, taking your hand and pulling you into your living room. When you saw what was waiting for you, you almost shrieked in delight.

It was absolutely perfect. He had set out your regular Halloween spread, complete with your favorite bottle of red wine and rice crispy treats shaped like pumpkins. The television was cued up for a movie marathon. After a second you noticed that resting on the couch was a small set of bird’s wings and a headband of feathers, both clearly homemade.

You raised an eyebrow at him.

“The birds and the bees, John?” the corner of his lips quirked up and he snaked a hand around your waist.

“I figured you’d appreciate it,” he replied simply and placed a kiss on your cheek.

For a second, you had to blink hard and steel yourself to keep your watery eyes from running over. He had clearly put a lot of effort into this despite his indifference about the holiday. The emotion that hit you was almost overwhelming.

“Thank you, John,” you breathed. You wrapped your arms around his neck and melted into him. His eyes were soft as he looked down on you.

“You’re welcome, love,” he replied.

The kiss he gave you was slow, passionate, and absolutely toe curling. It took your breath away. His stubbly beard scraped against your cheek as he deepened the kiss. You gripped his shoulders harder to keep your knees from giving out. Kissing him was like visiting the gates of heaven. You could have gotten lost in that kiss forever.

Eventually, he broke it. You sighed breathlessly and pressed your forehead to his.

“Which movie?” he asked quietly, his voice a little strained. You smiled, knowing it was a pointless question.

“Hocus Pocus, of course,” you replied, intertwining your fingers with his. “But first…”

You tugged at his hand and he started to follow you.

“There’s something we should take care of before the trick-or-treaters show up...” you cooed demurely as you pulled him past the couch and towards your shared room.

The smile on John’s face was intoxicating.

It was truly going to be a perfect night.

#john wick x you #john wick x reader #john wick fanfiction #oh look guys!! actual content!!!

[tainbocuailnge]

ive played all the story chapters and a bunch of side missions and tried out a handful of characters so now it’s time for The Official Lance Tainbocuailnge Review Of Fate/Extella Link if you’re like me and were kinda on the fence about buying it after extella massively let you down

tldr; gameplay is actually fun and varied with loads of different objectives and the same servant can be played in different ways so it doesn’t get boring. main story is a bit disjointed and most servants only have a quick cameo but it gets charlemagne’s plot beats down well enough and the silly everyone-knows-everyone banter is delightful. everything looks better, the world actually feels populated, and there’s a lot of care put into special interactions. link will not disappoint you like extella did

the gameplay has much more variation than just press button use moon drive repeat. you’ve got a mix of regular attacks that lead into various combos and active skills with cooldowns. each servant has like 7 of them, generally some combination of damage skills buffs and debuffs, and you can set 4 at once so there’s a degree of customisability to how you play each servant even within the fighting style they’re inherently geared towards. servants with similar regular movesets (like cu and scathach) still have decidedly different active skills so they don’t feel interchangeable. certain moves from servants that were already in extella are generally reused either at the end of some combo or as an active skill which for me goes a long way in still making it feel like the same game, just better

attacking builds moon drive meter, and fighting enemies while moon drive is active earns you np meter. this means you can use your np as often as you can charge it instead of the pathetic One time it was in extella and you can just blow up a whole sector without remorse. you can also end moon drive early with a weaker version of your noble phantasm. some active skills are labelled as class skills and if you use those in a combo against a servant you get the button mash attack that extella had. altogether it really gives the sense of an all-out servant battle

allied servants are much much much more proactive. they’ll actively go out and conquer sectors for you and will try to join you wherever you’re fighting the boss servant. if your allies are nearby more of your active skills will get the class skill property and they’ll join you in the button mash attack. before the battle you also set two support troops, who will randomly join in on your combos or defend you when you’re in a pinch. hakuno is also out on the field, so combat is much more a team effort than before

stage objectives are varied too, there’s field effects, map jamming, hunting down messengers before they can call for reinforcements, escorting allies to specific locations, waves of shadow servants, lancelot disguising himself, robin or lishu going invisible, iskandar or darius with endless armies, drake or gilles bombarding from afar, all often used in various combinations too. on top of that the extra stages will provide random additional challenges so even replaying the same stage will be different every time. 

there are four difficulties (that I’ve unlocked) but I haven’t tried any of the higher ones yet so I don’t know what they change to make it more difficult other than enemy level. there are like. i think at least 50 maybe even 100 extra stages to play after you’ve cleared the ~30 main story battles that continue until servant level 200 or something so there’s a lot to do even after you’ve gone through the story. servants unlock by clearing story battles and I didn’t realize this until very late and was very pissed off that the game wouldn’t let me use cu but that’s on me. the money is power system is still in place so you don’t have to manually train any new servant you want to try out you can just powerlevel them. install skills are also still in place and you do need to level servant bond if you want to use any decent number of those

there’s a pvp mode too but I haven’t tried it yet so no comment on that beyond i bet skilled lancelot players are The most annoying motherfuckers to fight against

graphics are a huge step up from extella. reused areas got a complete visual makeover while retaining the same feel. everyone’s models got spruced up and now they don’t look plastic anymore. there is an unreal amount of care put into sculpting karna’s asscrack. the ost actually slaps beyond the main theme this time as well as featuring some ol reliable CCC tracks. everything looks much more polished

the story is somewhat disjointed because of both the large cast and the splitting routes. the story splits up at various points to create an excuse to make different battles but it means a lot of things happen at approximately the same time in slightly different ways and it can be confusing to keep up with what happens in which order. for that reason I suggest looking closely at what path leads to which ending and playing all the quests of each converging branch before moving to the next day. the story seems to go out of its way to be ambiguous in when what happens exactly and how it’s even supposed to follow the events of extella so I think it’s best to look for the themes and the fun lore details over the linear coherence

overall the atmosphere is pretty silly and servants constantly banter back and forth even during tense situations, but it lands the occasional serious moment well enough imo. charlemagne and karl are the only ones who have any significant story focus but since they’re the only newcomers it’s not like the other guys particularly need the screentime. charlemagne himself is a pretty silly and lighthearted guy so he goes along well with the general feeling and it actually works in favour of his heavier plot beats because of the contrast. I grew attached to him incredibly quickly, not in the last place because he gets hyped about every single person he meets and it’s hard not to get excited too

the servants who weren’t already in extella generally get to show up more in the main story than the already familiar faces but most of them don’t have much more than a cameo. having a lot of people just randomly roam around with no idea what’s going on goes a really long way in making the moon cell feel populated beyond the people directly involved in the story so I actually like it a lot. they came up with like 3 different convenient plot devices to give you servants to fight without worrying about what that means for the alliances and it gives room for a lot of cool character moments

a good chunk of the extra stages come with their own mini stories told through the combat dialogue which adds to the liveliness of the setting. my favourite so far is the one where liz and nero try to hold a concert and hakuno frantically tries to explain to charlemagne in the middle of combat why it’s absolutely vital to keep them from doing that

everyone seems to know everyone so a lot of story dialogue is banter in varying degrees of playful versus vicious between both likely and unlikely combinations of servants and there’s a lot and i mean a LOT of care put into specific interactions. if two servants even remotely have an opinion on each other there’s special dialogue for it, and I even picked up unique dialogue for when archer acts as support troop for cu which no doubt means it exists for other combinations too (altho that’s not subtitled so i dont know what they’re saying there i could just tell it was the usual bickering because of the tone lol). some servants have unique win quotes from hakuno, she calls gilgamesh by his nickname ‘gorgeous’ for example. servants will sit around your home base and have a default line to say but sometimes they have lines that refer to each other instead. compared to how barren extella was, link is overflowing with the sense that these people have lives outside the current conflict and se.ra.ph is a thriving and vibrant world for them to live in

there’s a scene where karna and arjuna use their noble phantasms against each other in mutual destruction and it fucking RULES

#lance link tag

[rosemaidenvixen]

A Secret’s Worth

Chapter 5: Barbara

Ao3

Barbara pulled her coat tighter around her and shivered. The air out here was brisk and sharp, but the roaring fire in front of her helped take the edge off. And a good mug of hot tea didn’t hurt either. Still, it wasn’t about to get any warmer. Jim had said he wouldn’t be out long tonight, just a quick walk and back in time to go to bed by eleven. 

 Not that the cold bothered him.

 Wind rustled through the trees around her, autumnal reds and golds rustling against evergreen needles. It wasn’t really that late in the season, but it certainly wasn’t early either. Barbara and Jim usually prefered to do their trips during the more palatable times of year, then again, this wasn’t one of their usual trips.

 She might be oblivious more often than she cared to admit, but Barbara wasn’t blind. She saw the posters printed on orange and black paper hanging on the community board at the hospital. Heard her coworkers talk about all the plans their kids were making together. Plans involving candy and costumes and spending the night out on the town. Plans no teenager would dare turn down without very good reason.

 Like say a family vacation.

 So when Jim called her during the middle of school three days ago, begging her to take the weekend off and go camping, she hadn’t been very surprised.

 Saddened, but not surprised.

 Pulling an impromptu camping trip off hadn’t been easy by any means. Between the lateness of the season and the incredibly short notice, Barbara had barely been able to get the reservations in place, not to mention gathering all the supplies they needed. But she had rolled up her sleeves, dug in her heels, and made magic happen. 

 And now here they were. Sitting in the middle of the woods, pretending that they would both rather be here than at home celebrating the holiday with friends and family.

 A burning sensation built up behind her eyes. Barbara set her mug to the side, if she tried to drink anything now she’d only end up choking on her own tears.

 It wasn’t fair, not to either of them, but especially to Jim. She knew being cooped because of his transformations was hard. Even more so when he had to say no to going out and having fun with his friends.

 On some days the only way Barbara was able to get up in the morning was by telling herself that all of this was temporary. One day she would find a cure and Jim would be free of his transformations, then they both would be able to live their lives without this nightmare. 

 Things might be bad now, but only for a little while, sooner or later it would end. For years she had told herself this and for years it had worked.

 At least until Jim’s last birthday. When Barbara stopped being so sure that there would even be an end.

 She stuffed the dismal thoughts into the back of her mind and tried to force herself to relax in her seat. No point working herself into a downward spiral. It hadn’t worked the first dozen times she’d done it, no reason to think it would be any more productive now. 

 Looking around while pulling her jacket tighter around her shoulders, Barbara checked the periphery of their campsite for signs of Jim’s return. She couldn’t see much, the fire was bright but not that bright. The only things she had a clear view of were her small tent, the clear area laid down with blankets on top of a tarp for Jim, the electric lantern behind her bolstering the dim firelight, the ATV they used to get out here, their cooler and chest full of supplies, and just a fraction of the miles of forest around her. 

 No sign of Jim.

 Barbara glanced at her watch, sighed, threw another log on the fire, grabbed a couple of magazines from the stack, and settled in to wait. Jim always told her not to wait up for him, but it wasn’t like she could sleep without knowing where her son was. Better to pass the time with a magazine. Barbara never went camping without a fat stack of them. They could help her pass the time when Jim was out on his walks and could be repurposed as kindling so they didn’t have to haul them back. She always made a point to grab some from the waiting room at work when they cycled the new issues in. 

 Reaching over to the stack at her feet, she glanced between the copies of People and National Geographic before tossing the People into the fire. Gossip rags had never been her thing.

 Yawning, Barbara thumbed through the National Geographic . Hopefully this would keep her more entertained. One of the cover stories looked promising, ‘The Salem Witch Trials: Over three centuries later’ . Sounded better than celebrity gossip at least. 

 Barbara flipped to the corresponding page and started the article using the speed reading techniques she learned in medical school. It was ok, but pretty ho-hum, no more or less entertaining than watching the History channel. Should be an adequate way to pass the next twenty minutes.  

 Which was exactly what Barbara planned on doing until she came to a line that caused the world around her to come crashing down around her.

 Whipping her head to the side Barbara coughed and sputtered up the tea that had gotten rediverted into her lungs due to her shock. 

 She couldn’t have read what she just did, it was impossible, delusional even. 

 But when she turned back toward the page with a pounding heart there it was. A deceptively innocuous line of text buried in the middle of the article.

 The true witch hunt began with the arrests of Tituba, Sarah Osbourne, and Sarah Good.

 Sarah Good.

 The same name tied to the mystery that haunted their family for the past ten years.

 For a few seconds she forgot how to breathe, just sat there staring at the words printed in cheap ink on even cheaper paper. Mouth open, sitting frozen rigid in her seat, gears whiring as her brain processed all the implications of this.

 Was it just a coincidence? Sarah Good couldn’t be that rare of a name, or could there be a connection? 

 It was a stretch, even by the Lake family’s standards. 

 Her fifteen year old son turned blue and sprouted horns when the sun went down and had been doing so for the past decade. Nothing was off the table. 

 She flipped back and began rereading the article with much more intensity, blood rushing in her ears.

 Moral panic, mass hysteria, mob mentality. According to the stuffy old professors that wrote the article there wasn’t anything even remotely magical about the Salem witch trials. 

 But they hadn’t seen the things Barbara had, lived the things she’d lived.

 Was it somehow possible that one of these long ago women was more than she seemed? Had a touch of something that could still be causing ripples centuries later?

 The paper crinkled under her fingers. If there really was a connection, and Barbara wasn’t sure that there was, then this was their biggest break in years.

 As soon as she got home Barbara was going to take this new lead and hit the library, hit Wikipedia, hit anything and everything that might offer her the slightest clue. There was a chance, however faint, that history might hold some of the answers that had eluded them for a decade.

 Her lips parted as she leaned in and skewered the magazine with her gaze, feeling almost feverish.

 A dream, an idea, too lofty and terrifying to imagine flickered to life in the back of her mind, despite her best efforts to snuff it out before her hopes could rise too high.

 Barbara knew first hand how much it hurt when hope was dashed to pieces, but she had forgotten just how intoxicating it could be.

 If history had the answers, then it just might have a cu--

 “Mom?”

 Barbara shrieked, tea sloshed out of her mug and the magazine went flying.

 Jim took a hesitant step back “Sorry, did I scare you?”

 “NO! no-- I just--” Barbara glanced back towards where the magazine had landed “I was just really engrossed in the article I was reading,”

 Jim cocked his head “What was it about?”

 “I-- it….”

 He blinked back at her, wide eyed and curious. 

 “...something about the revolutionary war, how was your walk?” 

 Barbara forced a smile and very deliberately did not look toward where the magazine had fallen. She would tell Jim, but not yet. Only once she had discovered something solid, more tangible. 

 She couldn’t raise his hopes when she wasn’t even sure that her own were founded.

 “Fine,” Jim took a seat at the fire across from her “Moon’s full, that was pretty cool,”

 Barbara nodded and leaned back in her seat, picking up her half-full mug and willing the buzz of nervous energy in her limbs to fade. She reached for the long wooden branch to poke at the fire, only to notice the tote bag at her feet. That’s right, with all the excitement of her discovery she had almost forgotten. 

 “Jim, I have a surprise for you,”

 He perked up instantly “Really? What?”

 “Here,” she lifted the tote and tossed it across the fire towards him. 

 Jim caught it with ease and reached an arm in, pulling out a smaller plastic bag with a look of surprise “Candy corn?”

  “Yep,” Barbara gave him a gentle smile “Happy Halloween kiddo,”

 Jim smiled back at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes “Thanks mom,” he tore open the bag and started popping the orange triangles into his mouth while staring into the fire, expression unreadable.

 They sat like that for a few minutes, the only sounds Jim’s chewing and the crackling of the fire, before Barbara couldn’t bite her tongue any more.

 Normally she would leave well enough alone, but reading what she did in that magazine had set her thoughts a-buzzing like a nest of hornets.

 She didn’t want to corner Jim like this, to put him on the spot, make an already stressful trip worse. But she couldn’t just stay quiet, her own conscience wouldn’t let her.

 For years Barbara had tried , tried so hard to give Jim space. Let him deal with his problems without hounding him every ten seconds. 

 It wasn’t until Jim broke down crying in school that she realized just how poorly that approach had worked out. 

 Jim had shouldered so much by himself, struggling in silence, until one day came the staw that broke the camel’s back. Leaving him a shattered wreck.

 Of course who’s fault was that? A nasty voice whispered in her ear. Who should have been modeling healthy coping mechanisms for him? Who showed up after work every day dead tired and still pasted a smile on her face for years and pretended like everything was fine even when they both knew it that it damn well wasn’t. 

 Who was it that taught Jim to bottle up his emotions until he exploded? 

 More importantly, what kind of mother didn’t notice that her child was in pain?

 Barbara steeled herself even though her stomach still churned with doubt. Even if it meant pushing his boundaries she wasn’t going to let Jim fall into such a bad place, not again, not if she could help it.

 “How are you Jim? I mean really,” 

 Jim didn’t respond at first, merely finished chewing his mouthful of candy and swallowed, but he didn’t pick up any more.

 “Better,” he said after a long time.

 Barbara’s gut twisted with equal parts anxiety and relief. Better wasn’t anything to dismiss, but it wasn’t the same thing as good either.

 The days following Jim’s fifteenth birthday, and the realization that things might not get better than they were now, had been some of the worst of both of their lives, only comparable to the days after James’s departure and the night Jim first changed. 

 And as bad as things had been for her, she knew Jim’s condition was far far worse.

 He had sunk into a deep slump and stayed there for days. Barely speaking, barely eating; not even glancing at anything, video games, vespa magazines, cooking equipment, that had brought him joy just a few days before. Jim had been in such a dark place, and Barbara was powerless to help him find his way out.

 “Better how?”

 Jim twisted the plastic of the bag around his finger “Me and Toby are hanging out with Mary, Darci, and Claire; you know about them, right?”

 Barbara nodded.

 One day in the middle of his depression, just when she’d been starting to worry that her son would never smile again, out of the blue Jim had come home and told her that he was invited to go to the county fair with Toby and some girls from his class. Unsure what to do with this development, Barbara had sent Jim off with a kiss on the forehead and $20 to pay his way, hoping for the best.

 When Jim had come home that night he was smiling brighter than he had in a long time. 

 Those three names had come up frequently in Jim’s gushing the night following the county fair. And for many nights after. 

 “Has being friends with them...helped?”

 “Oh yeah, they’re really fun,” Jim said with a grin “We hang out almost every day after school and during our off period, Mary always has the best ideas about what to do and Darci is a total daredevil, plus Steve never bothers us when we’re with them,”

 That got her attention “I’m sorry, what?”

 Jim’s eyes widened, clearly having revealed more than he intended.

Barbara’s mouth straightened into a hard line “Who is this Steve and how does he ‘bother’ you?”

“A guy in my class, and nothing really,” his eyes darted around the clearing, landing on anything but her “Honestly it’s not a big deal,”

 “Jim.” her voice was iron, and offered no room for negotiation.

 He squirmed but remained silent. 

 Barbara fixed him with a narrowed gaze and waited.

 A minute and a half was all it took.

 “It’s...sometimes he…” Jim stared down at the fire, still unable to look her in the eye  “He’ll...push me and trip me in the hall, little stuff like that,”

 Barbara could practically feel her blood pressure rising “That is unacceptable. When we get home we’re going to talk to the school about him,”

 Jim visibly cringed “You don’t need to do that mom, I can handle Steve, please just don’t make a big deal about this”

 Somehow her frown got even deeper. This was a big deal. No matter the circumstances, Barbara was not going to let Jim minimize someone else’s violent behavior.

 “This isn’t up for debate. You shouldn’t have to handle another student being violent with you,”

 “It’s not that bad, telling will just make things worse,”

 “Has he threatened to retaliate if you tell on him!?” 

 “No! I-- it’s just…” Jim trailed off, his words hanging in the air. 

 The silence as taut as a wire.

 Then he sighed, sounding utterly defeated “Things at school are finally normal again, Steve might give me a hard time...but everyone else has finally stopped looking at me weird,”

 Jim looked up and met her eyes “Steve’s a jerk, a huge jerk, but I can handle him, I just want…” his voice dropped into a hoarse whisper “I just want other people to at least think I’m normal,”

 Her throat was tight. It rankled, more than that, it went against every instinct Barbara had to ignore a bully, and a violent one at that. It felt wrong, hell, that was probably because it was wrong. But could she really make things for Jim more turbulent after he’d finally regained some stability in his life?

 His life that was only going to get more difficult from here on out. 

 Or maybe it wouldn’t.

 Barbara shut her eyes and let out a deep breath “Ok, if you don’t think the situation with Steve needs addressing we can leave it be,”

 Jim perked up.

 “ However , if things start to escalate with him, even a little bit, you let me know right away, got it?”

 Jim nodded “Got it,”

 “Good,” Barbara leaned back and forced herself to take another sip of tea.

 The uncomfortable subject was officially dropped, but things were still strained between them, waiting to snap under the slightest trigger.

 “Steve may be a jerk,” Jim said softly “But I really am doing better,”

 “Are you Jim? Are you really ?” she knew her tone was sharper than it should be, but right now she didn’t have the mental space to worry about that. Right now Barbara was too worried and too scared and too frazzled and too tired. So goddamn tired “Because I feel like everytime you say that it’s only to make me feel better. You never tell me when things are bad or that you’re hurting,”

 “I swear I’m not downplaying things this time!”

 “How do I know that? You didn’t tell me what was going on on your birthday, you didn’t tell me about being kicked out of the Mole scouts-- Christ, another student’s been harassing you at school and this is the first I’m hearing about it!”

Neither one of them said anything for a long time

“This-- this isn’t like that!”

“Well I don’t want the next time that I find out you’re struggling to be when one of your teachers calls me because you broke down crying again!” 

 Her mouth shut with a click. She’d gone too far, way too far. Barbara should not have said that. But now the words were out there, and she couldn’t take them back if she tried.

 The stunned look on Jim’s face told her that he hadn’t been expecting her to go this far either.

  “There’s social media,” Jim finally spoke up in a quiet voice “Mary practically forced me to make seven new accounts so I can follow her on everything,” he gave a weak smile “So even if they move away we can still stay in touch,”

 “Jim…”

“And Darci’s dad’s a cop and Claire’s mom is a politician, so maybe not all of them will move away...” 

 Jim straightened and raised his head towards her. The look on his face, uncertain but so so determined, tore at her heartstrings “I really am doing better,”

 Barbara got up from her seat and walked over to him, reaching out and laying a hand on his shoulder “And I’m happy for you, I’m glad that you’re doing better and I’m sorry I snapped at you like that. It was wrong of me to say what I did and I promise I won’t do that again,” 

 She gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze “I’m glad things are better for you now, but if they get bad again...please don’t hide it. Talk to me, share how you feel so it doesn’t build up,” 

 It was a testament to how tall he was getting that Barbara barely had to kneel to look Jim in the eye even while he was sitting “I know you think you’re protecting me when you hide your problems, but remember, we’re a team. And I can’t help you if I don’t know that something’s wrong,”

 Even with the tusks she could see his lip start to quiver “We take care of each other,” Jim’s voice was thick with emotion “Right?” 

 Her own eyes brimming, Barbara pulled him into a hug “Right,”

 Their embrace lasted a few more seconds, long enough for both of them to sniffle their unshed tears away, before Barbara gently pulled back, Jim releasing her willingly, and went back to her seat.

 She took a few more sips of tea and he munched on his candy corn while the fire cracked and popped between them, the silence much more palatable now. 

 Her tea was almost gone when Jim spoke up again.

 “Actually, there is something…”

 “What is it?” Barbara forced herself to stay calm and not jump down his throat with a dozen questions. Jim was putting himself out there, now she had to do her part and let him speak.

 Jim shifted uncomfortably in his seat “You know Claire? One of the new girls I’ve been hanging out with?”

 “Yes?”

 “I...like her...as...more than a friend,” even as he said those words he slumped back in his seat, like a puppet with the strings cut “But I can’t...date her or even tell her as long…” he sank even lower “As long as I’m like...this,”

 A dagger to the back couldn’t have hurt her any deeper. Jim’s transformations had taken so much from him already and now he couldn’t even...

 Barbara was keenly aware of the magazine on the ground behind her, blazing like a hot coal from just beyond her vision. 

 In that moment she vowed that she would chase down whatever possible leads this new discovery offered her. Run to the ends of the earth, leave no stone unturned. Do whatever it takes to find a cure. Barbara would find a way for her son to live a normal life, with all that entailed.

 No matter how many decades it took. 

 “Thank you for telling me,”

 Jim managed to crack a smile before going back to his candy corn.

 Finally able to relax, they settled in to just enjoy the rest of the night and each other’s company, accompanied by the soft glow and crackles from the dying fire. The hour slips away, Barbara finishes her tea and Jim polishes off his candy corn and eats the bag to. 

 Eventually Barbara stood up from her chair “I’m going to bed, be sure to take care of the fire before you go to sleep,”

 Jim yawned and stretched “I think I’m gonna turn in to,”

 Barbara raised an eyebrow “Aren’t you still hungry?”

 “Nah,” Jim appeared to only be half listening while he spread the coals around with the stick.

 She frowned, glancing at the crumbs of orange sugar on the ground. Even by his night-food standards that wasn’t a very nutritious meal “You should have more to eat than just candy,”

 “It’s ok, I ate earlier,”

 She looked over at their cooler full of food stores, all of it untouched “What did you eat?”

 Jim fidgeted and looked away while pouring their used dishwater over the glowing ashes “I...uh...a fox,”

 “A fox?”

 “Yeah...I saw it on my walk...it was dead when I found it...so I figured why not,”

 Her blood ran cold “Do you have any idea how it might have died?”

 “Old age?”

 Barbara slowly walked over and grabbed the electric lantern, now that the fire was out they needed the extra light to see each other “How long ago did you eat it?”

 “About two hours ago?” Jim’s voice was small, some of her anxiety starting to leech into him.

 Two hours. Which meant it was probably too late to make him vomit it out.

 “Mom, what’s wrong?”

 Barbara took a deep breath and willed herself to stay calm. The were in the middle of the woods miles away from any kind of civilization; panicking wouldn’t do either of them a damn bit of good right now “That fox might have died from a disease, like tularemia or bru--”

 “Or rabies…” Jim finished, blue face growing pale in the lantern light.

 Barbara grimaced, her thoughts exactly, she’d wanted to avoid scaring him by saying so out loud but it looked like he’d put it together himself “It’s ok, it’s only two hours back to the rental place and one to the nearest town big enough to have what we need. We can just say a fox bit you, that should get you all the shots you need. If we get up at six we can get there before ten,,”

 Barbara walked over to Jim and squeezed both of his shoulders “Don’t worry,I’ve seen rabies exposure cases before, people have received their initial rabies shots almost 24 hours after they’ve been bitten and made complete recoveries. Ten am tomorrow is plenty early enough,” 

 Even if she was battling her own fears Jim needed to hear those words from her right now.

 She managed to smile and pat him on the cheek “You’re going to be fine,”

 His expression wavered before solidifying into enforced composure, he nodded back at her.

 With that they separated and set about preparing to retire for the night, despite the fresh undercurrent of panic.

 Soon pajamas were on, teeth were brushed, and the lantern was out; the only light coming from the small flashlight she held. And once Jim was bundled up on his tarp and Barbara was cocooned in her tent that was extinguished too. She shut her eyes and settled into the sleeping bag, determined to get a full night’s rest.

 Barbara was just starting to nod off when she heard Jim whisper from outside. 

 “Are you still awake mom?”

 “Yeah,” she replied with a yawn “What is it hon?”

 “We’re going to tell the clinic that an animal bit me and that’s why I need the shots, right?”

 “Uh huh,” 

 “Then...won’t it look weird if I don’t have any bite wounds on me?”

 Her eyes shot open. 

#Tales of Arcadia #Trollhunters #fanfic #a secret's worth #Barbara Lake #Jim lake jr #rmvwrites