#(pretty sure it doesn't actually matter in the grand schemes

[lillyjen]

So, I went for "didn't have locks", since that's the literal truth, but then I realised, the right answer is probably closer to "secret third option":

So, we moved house when I was 9, & our new house was great, but also needed a fair amount of cosmetic work (which was pretty fun to do, as a bunch of kids & their handy mum, but I digress). One thing about our house, is that it was built in the 50s, in the post-war, post-rationing, housing boom. As a result, it has metal door frames (thanks to the government having a bunch of leftover metal from requisitions originally intented for arms manufacturing, & nothing to do with it anymore). They are incredibly solid, & basically melded to the brickwork. The least solid part of them is the part where the latch of the door handle catches, since it's thinner than the rest of the frame, & only attatched on 3 sides, since the fourth side is the open space where the latch inserts. Of course, after (at the time) 50-odd years of use, this part of the frame had a tendency to be subtly warped, meaning that occasionally our doors would stick briefly. The worst offender was the door to the bedroom I shared with my little sister. We knew to be careful with it, but also, we were kids...

So one day, my sister goes into our bedroom & shuts the door a little too enthusiastically. It sticks magnificently. As in, that thing will not budge. It does not even rattle.

See, the other thing about these metal door frames, is that the hinges are of a piece with them. They have zero wiggle room. They are part & parcel of the solid hunk of metal currently holding the door shut. Any attempts to relieve pressure on one part of the door simply caused it to transfer said force to a different part of the frame, i.e.: the thing keeping the door closed, in a neverending feedback loop.

My dad had to climb up a ladder to our bedroom window & try & calm my panicking sister down, while my mum drilled, hacked, & chiselled a massive hole in the door big enough to remove the entire handle & latch mechanism, because just removing the handle did nothing to fix things. (In fact, I think the handle might have fallen off when the door first closed, making it seem like that was the main issue at first. But this was 20+ years ago, & I'm working off mostly secondhand info for the event itself since only my sister was in the room at the time, & I was asked to stay out of the way whilst my parents sorted things out).

After that, not only did our doors not have locks, they didn't even have latches! My mum removed all the old handles & latches, & replaced them (eventually - several of the doors just had small finger-sized holes in them for a while, since we were still decorating, & it was easier than putting them on & off & on again) with basic doorknobs (that do turn, but aren't attached to any latches). We found this pefectly functional, & didn't bother installing any latches in the new part of the house when we had the extension done.

And since the context of the poll was about privacy:

1. All the bathroom & toilet doors did have (& keep) fully functioning locks that worked independantly of their latches (or lack thereof).

2. We were allowed to keep our doors closed. We simply made use of doorstops/wedges to do so. My parents are very good at respecting our privacy (& expected us to respect theirs in turn).

I didn't really think of them as 'locks', since they were serving the same purpose as the absent latches, but given that on days I was craving privacy I used to jam them in extra hard so the door couldn't be opened even if someone tried (not that they would have if I didn't want them to, but sometimes you just want that extra level of reassurance) I guess they did also double as pseudo-locks. (Which possibly actually means my response should've been a yes...)

[jasmineoolongtea]

geto suguru isn't exactly sure how he got here.

there are a lot of other things he probably should be doing on a thursday afternoon after school and waiting here in an abandoned classroom for you, like some kind of lovesick puppy, is definitely not on that list of things to do.

he entertains the thought of leaving for a second but that idea goes straight out of the window when he sees your face appear in the doorway.

"sorry for being late. i hope i didn't make you wait for too long." you apologise with a bashful smile as you stumble into the empty classroom.

you're slightly out of breath to the point where you have to take a second before speaking, your cheeks are flushed with colour and suguru thinks you've never looked more beautiful than now.

"no, it's fine. i don't mind waiting for you."

he's pretty sure that he could wait forever if he knew you were there on the other side though you don't need to know that.

when you place your hand in his and he rests his against your waist, he can't help but think about how well you fit into him like it was moulded just for him and he wonders for a split second if there's even a chance that you share a fraction of what's going through his mind right now.

your moves are awkward and unsure, 'all because of your two left feet' (in your own words, not his), and while even the most patient of people would have been on their last straw with how many times you've accidentally stepped on his feet, to suguru, they just add to your unique charm that he's certain he'll spend lifetimes searching for anything that might come close to it.

as much as he wants to pull away because you have this strange effect on him where you can render him breathless in the blink of an eye with a single touch or stray glance, he also hates each and every second he can't be in your presence and this is one of the few moments he's afforded some respite from the enormity of his feelings.

suguru isn't a masochist (as far as he's aware) however you're making him reconsider a lot of things about himself.

truth be told, he doesn't even know why he agreed to this in the first place, he damn well knows that he is probably the furthest thing from a professional dancer and there's a part of him that feels bad for lying straight to your face but when he sees how relieved you are when he agrees to your request, he's sure that lying can't be that bad in the grand scheme of things.

"you should..." he trails off, fall for me instead.

"hmm? what did you say suguru?"

you're looking at him so expectantly like you truly want to know what he's going to say next and he wishes that you would always look at him like that for if that was the case, he might just have the courage to spill the thoughts that plague his every waking moment.

"oh, no i was just saying that you should not worry so much. i'm sure you'll be fine." actually, he's sure you'll do more than fine but once again, he bites his tongue.

maybe if he was more brazen and cared less about him, he would curse out satoru for being such a lucky bastard, so lucky in fact, that he gets to be the one who can hold you in his arms. unfortunately for him, he's not that type of person, and even worse for him, he doesn't live in a world where he's the one who has your stomach in knots.

the sun is setting below the horizon and soon, the world will be plunged into a familiar darkness there's an uncomfortable feeling pooling within his gut that tells him that this moment can't last forever and you'll go running back into the arms of someone you truly belong with (no matter how much he tries to will it into existence).

nevertheless, he'll take one night of slow dancing with you in the dark over nothing and foolishly pretend that this is something that it isn't.

[whipped-for-kpop-fics]

Thinking about; getting choked by H.JS

[look at the size of his fucking hand. nobody cares about the pastry shua]

🖐Who; Hong Jisoo (Seventeen) x reader 🖐What; Not exactly smut but definitely 18+ 🖐WC; 1.2k 🖐Warnings; Profanity, choking, Shua is a bit condescending/teasing, I guess dom Shua if you wanna label it that way, I feel like I was gonna tag something else but i can't remember, it's actually a pretty fucking tame lil thot despite being about choking in my opinion tbh

Summary; Jisoo accidentally chokes you and discovers you're into it.

Minors do NOT interact, which means liking/reblogging/commenting on this story. I WILL block any account that interacts without an age indicator in the bio.

-2024 Masterlist-

You're just about to walk away from Jisoo to go get a drink, or get a snack, or something else that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. And for some reason, Jisoo reaches out and grabs the back of your t-shirt to try and pull you back to him. Yet all it does is almost make you stumble and let out a choked sound thanks to the collar pulling tight against your throat.

Of course, the sound worries him, it hadn't been his intention to hurt you, but there's a dark little part of his brain that lights the fuck up at hearing you choke because of him. Still, he pushes it down and moves you out of the party crowd to an almost hidden corner to fuss over you.

"Okay, chill the fuck out," You slap his hands away from where they're fluttering around your throat in worry that he's hurt you.

"I choked you."

"In the boring way." You mutter without thought then look at him with wide eyes as you register that those words came out of your mouth and didn't remain in your head.

"The boring way?" He repeats, eyes sparkling with mirth as he straightens to his full height and tilts his head at you with a sweet smile that you know hides a sharpness that you've always wanted to taste on your tongue.

"Shut up." You try, even if you know it's fruitless. Hong Jisoo is not a man who easily backs down when he's caught something or someone in his trap.

He takes a step closer, and you instinctively move back and thunk against the wall which you truly hadn't noticed was so close. He takes another step, and then one more until his feet are blocking yours, his body so close you can feel the heat rolling off of him.

"Are you telling me there's a method of choking you enjoy, sweetheart?" He taunts softly as he lifts his left arm to lay his forearm against the wall diagonally, his elbow to the side of your head and his curled fist a little above your head. He's truly trapping you and honestly, you don't want to escape, wouldn't even try if there wasn't a wall blocking on the other side.

"Jisoo," You murmur.

"Mm?" He tilts his head and smiles a little brighter, though his eyes are darkening with a promise. You're not quite sure what that promise is yet, but you really want to find out.

You don't respond, there's truthfully nothing you have to say, well other than the urge to tell him to hurry up and put his hand on your throat, but you're certain if you even tried to suggest as much, he'd draw it out even longer and get off on your frustration.

"What's the matter? Lost your voice?" He smirks, dancing the fingers of his right hand over your left forearm, drawing goosebumps to the surface from his delicate touch. "Is that right, sweetheart? Did you lose your voice from just a tiny bit of pressure on this pretty throat?"

Suddenly, his fingers are against the side of your neck, palm not even brushing the very front of your throat and his thumb on the other side of your neck. Your brain immediately blanks but for one thought; how fucking big his hands are.

"Mm? Not going to answer me, baby?" He coos, leaning down towards you until his nose almost brushes yours. His eyes dart down when he catches your lips moving in his periphery, though no sound comes from your mouth and he chuckles, tone low and condescending. "Oh, honey," He straightens up just enough to meet your gaze, with that sparkle even brighter despite the darkness swirling in his eyes. "Is that pretty head of yours struggling already? I haven't even done anything. I'm not sure I should either." With a theatric put-upon pout, Jisoo starts to remove his light touch from your throat and push away from the wall.

You react without even thinking, both arms darting up to grab his right forearm and pull it back to you with big, pleading eyes locked on Jisoo. He can't help but lean back in, utterly mesmerised by how desperate you look to have his hand pressed to your throat.

Someone suddenly passes behind Jisoo much too close for his liking. They don't even glance your way yet Jisoo still angles his body to hide you as much as possible from them in a protective, possessive manner while his head lowers until the tip of his nose passes over your cheek when he turns his head towards you. "What do you want, baby, come on, tell me." He encourages you, a dark edge suddenly to his words. He suddenly sounds a little desperate himself, frantic even.

"Shua,"

"Yes, yes, that's my name, we know that." He huffs out, almost meanly and rolls his eyes. "Tell me something new. Tell me what you want me to do."

You turn your head as much as you can with his own so close to your right that your lips brush the side of his chin when you talk. Jisoo naturally tilts as soon as he feels your lips, as if you've done this a thousand times and it's nothing more than instinct to seek your lips with his own. But you haven't done this before, and even now, he doesn't kiss you, just lets your lips flutter over the edge of his mouth with your words. "Choke me," You whisper against his skin.

"You want me to choke you, sweetheart?" He repeats, both to tease and to make certain that you truly want this.

He wants it, wants it with everything in him but if you say no, he'll back up and do whatever he needs to make sure that you're comfortable, even if it means he leaves the party without you in his passenger seat to drive safely home like he always does.

You nod a little and urge his hand closer to your throat, hoping he'll get the message. The short chuckle he lets out in response puffs against your lips and vibrates from his chest, he's so close to you that you can practically feel it against your own.

"Mm," He hums and traces a gentle path over your cheekbone with the tip of his nose as his fingers and thumb press down in the exact right places, with a sudden pressure that makes your eyes roll back as your hands grip his forearm to support your suddenly weak body as best as you can. Jisoo notices your loss of strength by the way you slide down the wall a little and adjusts his stance so intuitively, nudging his right foot between your feet so that he can shove his thick thigh between your own.

And then he tightens his grip a little more on your throat, the perfect amount of pressure to make your mind empty and your body slump harder against his thigh. His breath blows over your ear as he laughs a condescendingly. When he talks, you can hear the taunting grin in his voice. "Like this?" Just like that, you know that this man is going to ruin you, and you're going to love every fucking second.

Tagging; @okiedokrie

[foodtruckery]

(Abo anon again) (if I'm getting annoying just lmk I'll stop lmfao) I know weve established ford is an obsessed little maniac over stanley but I'm curious what about STAN? Is he fantasizing about his brother in the same way ford was? WAS he thinking about ford when he first presented and hating himself for it? While ford is in the basement fantasizing about dominating stan, stan is upstairs doing the same thing. Wondering how ford would react if his omega brother put him in his place?

Or is this something thats never really crossed stans mind? Is stan just so desperate for his brothers affection and attention after all these years that yknow what? If THIS is how ford needs to love him hell go with it. Stans morals are skewed to all hell and living through an apocalypse, getting your mind wiped kind of puts things like "incest is morally bad" on the backburner. sure he can fuck ford sometimes it really doesnt matter to him how he shows his love

I don't even know what I'm saying anymore I'm just rambling at this point lmfao

you're not annoying at all, anon, i love these!! but yes yes i am following your vision. i was born to understand you. it was killing me that i had to be productive yesterday and didn't have time to sit down with this! that's probably why i, yet again, got WELL AWAY FROM MYSELF and have put a cut below to save your dashboards. as a warning, this is longer than the ford answer.

cause gosh it's SUCH a good question. i think stan has Complicated Feelings about all of it. and i also think that while ford tells himself he's separate from the secondary gender expectations and bullshit, stan is the one who actually IS. or he's at least a lot more self aware of it all. ford packed up all his internalizations and took them into the multiverse and never really had to address any of it whereas stan has run the gamut on primary AND secondary identities and has a much better grasp on and them and himself in the grand scheme of things (no pun intended) because of it.

i think when stan finally presented, that was the first time his more-than-brotherly-love feelings for ford were put front and center in his head. like it may have been something he was vaguely aware of, but he'd never given it much attention (becaue if you ignore it it'll go away right?). but then going into heat for the first time??

yeah, by then he and ford are pretty newly separated from each other, and a lot of the hurt is still really fresh, BUT. ford is also one of the only alphas stan has ANY positive associations with at this point in his life, putting their last interactions aside. and he definitely tells himself that's the only reason why he spends most of his heat thinking about him. that's biology right?? going into heat and obsessing over alpha dick or whatever.

but then, for better or worse, stan doesn't really have a lot of time to dwell on all that anyway. cause he definitely spent at least some time on his own as a beta first, started getting a rough idea of what it meant, how to make it work, what was dangerous. but after presenting??? turns out there's a pretty noticeable difference between making due as a homeless beta teenager vs a homeless omega teenager that starts making itself known REAL FAST.

so stan has to figure some shit out, fast, and daydreaming about any coulda woulda shouldas -- if he'd presented earlier, or hadn't fucked up so bad, or had been given a real shot at defending himself? well that kinda shit just hurts more than it helps, so he doesn't think about it and instead focuses on taking care of himself. cause nobody else is gonna do it, and he learns the hard way not to trust anyone who claims they will.

in the ensuing years, while stan is shilling snakeoil products and jumping state lines, most of that is still from conning folks. but he definitely skipped town more than once for being caught out as an omega when he runs into trouble getting a hold of the right meds. and sure, he has good reason to do it after the shit he's dealt with and done, the threat that comes with being a vulnerable person already and adding that degree of additional vulnerability on top of it.

but i do also like to think that at least once, the omega thing drives him out of town for a different reason. like maybe reconnecting with carla mccorkle or meeting and starting something that might actually be nice with jimmy snakes. point is, stan does find a little bit of honest to god comfort with another person who isn't paying him to there or threatening to break his kneecaps. and he definitely never considers the words "settling down" but he maybe isn't planning how he's gonna get outta dodge yet, so that's something, right?

but then he either lapses in his meds or they get found, and sure, maybe there's a fight that follows or something that leads to him leaving. but i think it's more likely that stan doesn't stick around to face the music at all. he finds out that they found out, and they're either gonna kick him out or they're gonna start expecting shit from him, right? so he gets ahead of it and makes himself scarce. it's a lot easier to disappoint people at this point than to keep letting himself be disappointed.

he probably does a decent job of holding on to that mentality for a long time, too. especially after settling into gravity falls and getting enough stability in his life that even when there are mishaps, he's really fucking good at managing them. bad reaction to a batch of suppressants and kicked into an unexpected heat? he can shut down the shack for a few days and play sick -- something mundane but contagious to his employees and something fantastical to drive sales to the schmucks paying his bills for when he gets back. and if the idea of closing up shop completely raises too many eyebrows? he can claim he's going out of town for a few days and just lock himself up in the industrial basement nobody knows about and ride things out.

(he only lets that happen once. cause it turns out that being out of your skull on fuck-me hormones in the room where you last saw, fought, and banished your brother into a sci-fi monstrosity does some really weird shit to the who and what you're fantasizing about. also, getting slick all over the fucking journal you need to get said brother back runs too close of a risk to ruining the thing in the worst way possible, so never again.)

and it's so damn easy to play the part of alpha that nobody thinks twice to question him anyway. yeah, the town knows he's a fraud in a lot of ways, but that's part of the whole mr. mystery thing. and let's be honest, his shack is one of the only things that actually drums up tourism in the area, and those tourists have to eat somewhere, have to sleep somewhere. so okay, stan pines is a fraud, but he's kinda gravity fall's fraud, an important part of their weird little economic ecosystem. so all that loud, cocksure, 'i will steal this right in front of you and come back tomorrow like i didn't,' attitude -- that has alpha written all over it to the townspeople anyway.

course, then ford does get back - he brings ford back - and stan gets to be reminded all over again about the whole 'people will disappoint you' thing. but i think he's pushed so much of that childhood fantasy and heat in the basement fantasy nonesense down and has gone so long without actually giving a shit about having to "prove" the alpha role, that he probably isn't thinking about any of it the same way ford is. i imagine that despite the way he acts, stan is actually pretty careful about who he fucks since taking over ford's identity, just in case. the less opportunity he has to slip up or get found out, the better after all. so while ford is hate fucking his fist, stan is trying to figure out how easily he can move and maintain his connections and trying not to spiral over any of that.

after everything is over, stan probably does consider keeping up appearances. but the logistics of it are too damn complicated, and at the end of the day, who gives a shit now? he's not living out of his car, trying to make himself as unappealing of a future victim as possible anymore. he isn't impersonating a known alpha and making sure no prejudiced hack thinks to look twice at the "successful small business owner" thing anymore. hell! he doubts he can even go into heat at this age anymore, so other than a little scent change, the only real difference is that he won't have to worry about juggling and sourcing the meds anymore.

yeah, he should probably have said something to ford about it, but it wasn't supposed to be a big deal. it was supposed to be something ford brings up after all the meds have cycled out of his system and all his clothes have been through enough washes to stop masking what's different. just a casual hey, stan smells different maybe, what's that all about? and oh yeah, i wasn't actually an alpha, how funny is that? end of story.

the going into heat thing was not supposed to happen. and it hasn't happened for so long that he doesn't even realize it is happening until it's way too late to do anything about it. at this point, stan isn't even entirely sure how long it's been since he actually fucked anybody, and almost never while in heat. so it's...a lot, to say the least.

not just the being bombarded with omega bullshit after suppressing it so hard for so long, either. that in and of itself is overwhelming. like, jesus, had it always been this fucking wet? and holy moses, has ford always smelled like that? and oh right the deeply suppressed ford thing.

they definitely don't have time to talk any of this out before it happens. but it's supposed to go by faster with a partner, right? they're trapped on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean - stan really can't afford to be out of commission that long. and ford at least doesn't seem like he'd rather take his chances finding shore with a lifesaver when stan points all of this out. it's probably the dimension hopping shit, right? maybe having to fuck your twin brother through a biological meltdown isn't all that big of a deal to him compared to whatever else he's seen. it also means that stan doesn't have to actually bring up any of that shit he's refused to admit thinking thinking about on the rare occassions he has been dragged down into a heat.

basically a win-win!

but yeah, he's definitely going to avoid the hell out of ford as best he can on said tiny ass boat after this. also refuse to talk about it, because fuck no, there's nothing tjo talk about. they just need to make port sooner than later so he can get his hands on suppressants again and they can pretend this never happened at all.

[esamastation]

Is there a specific writing formula or something you do or research while or before writing one of your fanfics? You have such a unique writing style that ive seen only a few others have and i’d like to emulate it and add my own touch to it, Thanks alot! ❤️

Not really. I'm not sure what my style really is. I guess I just write stuff that catches my interest and I wanna explore and that naturally leads to world building and research?

It really depends on the fanfic and what is is about. Sometimes I've randomly gone on a research binge for reasons unrelated to fanfiction and then end up enjoying the subject so much that I end up writing fanfiction about it (like, say, hydroponics. I was into it way before writing about it.) Sometimes story goes down a certain path and something comes up I wanna dig deeper into in writing and I want to least try to be accurate and realistic and so down the Wikipedia/YouTube/etc drain we go. Realisim adds nice flavour to a fic, I think, even when it's about complete nonsense otherwise.

Once nimadge and I looked through like actual historical papers and books for historical accurace, and it was barely mentioned in the fic - but it was fascinating stuff otherwise. I figure that kinda of research is pretty normal for writers. Gotta look up 4 different things and a lecture for one factoid that ultimately doesn't even matter in the grand scheme of things

Depending on the mood, I just generally write stuff that's new and shiny and interesting to me, stuff I can fixare on. I guess that's what comes across in my style. Plus, I got almost 3 decades of writing under my belt at this point, so... practice and writing what I'm into, what makes me curious, what makes me wanna learn more, just to see how stuff affects other stuff down the line. Idk. I've never been good at explaining how I write.

"Write what your know" is meh. "Write what you want to know more about" is where it's at.

[dutchdread]

A small rant

I've noticed that a lot of places that discuss the LTD are less focussed on analyzing and explaining final fantasy VII, and more focussed on throwing insults at either the characters, or the people who support them. I think I've done a fairly good job at making sure this place stays relatively matter-of-fact, and despite believing that "Cloti" is the only interpretation of the story that makes sense I am usually pretty positive about Aerith as a person, and more importantly, as a character. My stance tends to be that the only version of Aerith I think is fundamentally unlikable is the one presented by Cleriths. So permit me to slightly backtrack on that as I ask:

Am I the only one getting sick of Aeriths character?

And I don't mean "the only Cloti supporter who is sick of Aerith", I mean isn't the general fanbase of the game getting sick of her?

I ask this because I was watching the new Rebirth trailer, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes during the scenes where Aerith sings, or where it tries to survival-bait the viewer. In FFVII Aeriths death plays only a small part in the grand scheme of things. It neither prevents nor causes holy, holy was summoned before she died and is actually held back by the will of Sephiroth, which is the bulk of the external plot. And it doesn't cause Clouds mental break, which was an inevitable outcome of his history with Tifa, Sephiroth, and Nibleheim.

So why does the trailer make it feel like Final Fantasy VII is the story of Aeriths potential death? I thought the point of Aeriths death was that it comes suddenly and unexpectedly, without a large fan-fare, leaving nothing but a hole in its wake. I thought the point was to show a death that wasn't like "in hollywood". So why does her death now get it's own musical accompaniment and stage play?

Aerith was once a normal girl with a big destiny, one that she was as unsure of as any of us, she was just a person, just like us, with maybe a hint of something more. She got angry, she could be petty, she could be clueless. In another words, she was human.

But what is she now?

Aerith is now Jesus and Mary all in one. Fans got so upset at her death that Square-enix felt the need to include her in everything and every time Aerith became a bit less human, and a bit more idolized, until in remake she became a walking, talking, deus ex machina. In advent children she was presented as almost angelic, giving guidance to lost souls both good and bad and healing the children. But it was still ok because most of it was centered around Clouds psyche. The problem isn't with Aeriths death having importance to Cloud. The problem is square-enix trying to milk Aeriths death for all it's worth, making it into a soulless spectacle.

Aeriths death is now the horror monster that loses its terror once you see it. It's everywhere and everything has to revolve around it and because of it it's no longer a good story, but cheap emotional manipulation.

Within the remake Aerith is no longer the playful and innocent GIRL she once was. She's Gandalf the white, come back from the dead to pass down quests and wisdom from up on high. Step aside Cloud, this is Aeriths story, all you other side-characters are only here for back-up. Aerith is now a self-insert fan-fiction character. She has no flaws, everyone loves her, her death is more important than those of other people, the universe, time, and destiny will all bend to make sure the Mary-godessue doesn't die. Because everything has to revolve around her you know? So yeah, of course Aerith can sing! Who cares that there was never before any indication of this. Sure, Tifa will probably get to play the piano, but here is the thing….Tifa being able to play the piano has actually always been a part of the game! Since when is Aerith suddenly a broadway performer? Probably since the same time that she became a picasso at random wall art.

Years of fan obsession have deified away everything that once made Aerith interesting. The grand story of Final Fantasy VII, the quest to save the planet, and the internal heroes journey about accepting the past and the true self. Clouds backstory and struggles, it's all overshadowed by the once irrelevant plotpoint of "will Aerith die?".

Like with Sephiroth, fan obsession has caused square-enix to destroy all sense of mystery, magic, and restraint in order to "give fans what they want", even if it ruins the product.

While I think the cheap spectacle of hyper focussing the marketing and potentially early game around Aeriths death have already essentially poisoned the remake, making it into a mere shadow of what it could have been, I still believe that Square-enix has enough integrity left to actually kill her and move focus back on what actually matters. But I have to say, at this point it's not even just because I want the story of FFVII to be protected and experienced as it should be. But also because I am just getting sick and tired of what Aerith has become, and would now consider Sephiroth stabbing her as a mercy killing for what's left of her character.

[cybertron-after-dark]

More questionable tfa headcanons

-Bumblebee and Bulkhead do impressions of Optimus behind his back. Bulkhead actually feels kinda bad about it but that does not stop him. Prowl is not immune to joining in. OP still hasn't caught them.

-Optimus really wants to adopt a dog once he's positive he could adequately take care of one. He loves the idea of keeping a big grey one and naming him Silverbolt, after Silverbolt Major from the great war. It just feels right.

-Starscream will never admit to listening to the dumb sound patterns humans call music, but in private he's a swiftie, and he WILL sing shake it off if nobody's watching.

-Lugnut bakes in his off time, and he keeps trying to spoil Megatron with little treats, as his grand and glorious master deserves little gifts and tributes whenever Lugnut can give them. Sadly, Megatron doesn't actually have much of a sweet tooth so most of Lugnut's edible gifts get passed off to someone else.

-you know that bit in the Allspark almanac where Lugnut is bitching about earth sports and the Tigatron stadium? He has such strong feelings because Blitzwing loves that shit and keeps trying to rope Lugnut into playing. For Blitzwing, it reminds him of his gladiator days, it's a way to have fun and reminisce without killing someone. For Lugnut, it can't compare, it's kinda just a watered down, wussified version of real gladiatorial combat.

-upon discovering ytps, both bumblebee and bulkhead trained their voice synthesizers to be able to mimic the edited sounds. Sometimes they'll use it in the middle of a fight as a sort of secret code so the cons can't pick up on what they're planning to counter it. Optimus has mixed feelings. He doesn't understand what the hell they're saying like 90% of the time, and he recognizes this isn't proper military strategy, but he can't argue with the results. At least they're sort of taking the fights seriously?

-Blitzwing and Blackarachnia fucking hate each other but Megatron frowns upon infighting, so instead of constant violence, they've sort of settled on an escalating cold war of inconveniences and irritants. Neither of them can throw a punch, or set anything up that would result in actual injury, but immobilizing via ice or webs is fine, provided it doesn't affect tactical matters. Blitzwing constantly freezes the locks on BA's door, BA spikes Blitzwing's energon with cyber venom, pretty much anything that could qualify as day ruining. The worst was when Blitzwing covered BA with electronic paint and turned her into a walking rainbow all day.

-prowl wants to volunteer at animal shelters but he's a bit too big to fit in most of the buildings

-both shockwave and starscream are horrible liars but Megatron is terrible at picking up when someone's lying, so starscream's scheming went unnoticed for years and shockwave was sent in as a spy with full confidence that he wouldn't blow his cover.

-ratchet and optimus have been teaching Sari bits of cybertronian. Optimus teaches her the more formal aspects of the language, given there's a high chance she'll be interacting with Ultra Magnus, the guilds domesticus, and other high ranking autobots that warrant a more formal address. Ratchet (Mr "don't call me sir, I work for a living") teaches her more day to day, informal cybertronian. And swears. He teaches her pretty much all the swears.

-when Sari moved in, Optimus learned to cook so she wouldn't have to live off fast food from the burger bot. Which was hell for the big guy because why in primus's name is human fuel so complicated? He used to think sugar was pretty much an energon equivalent, cut and dry. He was wrong. He was so wrong. OP usually has Sari help him out because he cant exactly taste it to make sure it's, you know, actually edible.

-Prowl loves animals and the natural parts of earth with all his spark, but man are some parts of it brutal. When he learned what a parasitoid wasp was he couldn't sleep for days.

-bulkhead actually wants to go to a human art college once the war's over. Maybe not full time but he definitely wants to pick up some classes and learn what he can. Once he gets good enough, he wants to bring that knowledge back to Cybertron and see what other bots do with it.

-Optimus has a collection of skeezy romance novels. The equivalent on Cybertron is kind of an obscure rarity, only really sold in the seediest of places, so he couldn't really believe how easy it was to find smut like that on Earth. The intrinsic human fleshiness of the book characters always weirds him out just a bit, but not enough to ruin it for him. It's not really the pornographic aspect he's interested in, after all, it's the romantic aspect. He keeps his digital stash double encrypted in his datatrax, because he knows if anyone found it (cough cough bumblebee cough) he'd never hear the end of it.

-giving Blitzwing internet access was a mistake. Now he knows what memes are and random has been making that every other decepticon's problem since he found out. Megatron has to constantly guess whether what would normally be a standard Blitzwing non sequitur is actually a setup for Megatron to get laughed at by the entire human internet. He's fallen for updog, he's fallen for Ligma, he will NOT be caught slipping again.

-while he was undercover, once a week, shockwave would call Megatron and complain over a few barrels of oil about what kind of stupid slag his pompous idiot crankshaft coworkers would pull. One of the few autobot names Megatron could remember was Sentinel Prime, solely from the long list of transgressions Shockwave has drunkenly recounted.

-Soundwave hates most humans but he's decided that a few specific bands whose music he likes will be spared when the revolution comes, inferior as they may be.

-Prowl sends jazz earth music sometimes. It's pretty much blown Jazz's mind because most of the music on Cybertron is propaganda songs. He's not really used to songs about things other than war heroes, or even songs with no words at all. Just music for its own sake.

-Sentinel Prime's only friend is Cliffjumper and Cliffjumper only hangs out with him for brown nosing sycophantic reasons, not because he actually likes the guy.

-Ultra Magnus knows he's a corrupt bastard. He doesn't lose sleep over it, as long as his public image is good.

[marshmallowprotection]

Is SE Saeran comfortable with kissing?? It’s alright if not, BUT If so how would him and Mc’s first kiss play out 👀👀

SE Saeran is going to need a long time before he's ready to get into a romantic relationship. He needs to work on himself before he does anything else. It's also going to take time as he eases his way into a relationship. You're not going to be able to do everything all at once.

But, if you love him, that means that you're willing to be patient with him, you're willing to learn the best way to communicate with him, you're willing to put in the right amount of effort to make sure this relationship works out the way you want it to. On the other side, that means he's willing to put the work in as much as he can as well. It's not always easy, but when you want to make it work together, that's what you do.

Kissing is... for the lack of a better word, strange. Saeran has seen it before. He's seen couples in love over all the place, but it never meant much to him in the grand scheme of things because his life was only made for revenge. He didn't think he would have a normal life. He had no choice but to be a tool for revenge, his brother stole everything he ever wanted away from him as far as he knew, and the only way to be sure he could reclaim even half of that was to get rid of Saeyoung for it.

He doesn't understand why people get into relationships or why those emotions matter. It's hard to conceptualize the idea that somebody could love you so much that they would be willing to spend all their time with you.

He's been left in the dust so often that he can't imagine anybody wanting to spend time with him. Why in the world would anybody pick him when he doesn't understand why people love each other? The only time he's seen romance that remotely made sense to him was when he looked in storybooks as a child, but real life isn't like the stories we read, things can be messy and complicated. You can't kiss the prince/ss and move to the good part where nothing goes wrong and it all works out.

You can't put a pretty bow on everything and call it a day.

It takes hard work. 

For whatever reason, I think he sensationalizes the idea of a kiss. It is supposed to feel like this grandiose event where everything falls into place, but it's not quite like that. There's no magic, at least not in the literal sense, it's a connection you feel with someone that drives you to move closer. Sparks will fly but it is more metaphorical than literal. 

That's where I think he would have a hard time. As you slowly ease into the relationship, it would take a while before you got to the kiss, and you wouldn't know it, but he would spend that time thinking about it. He would get inside his head about it. What if it's not perfect? What if it doesn't feel right the first time? What if he does it and it makes you want to leave him forever? He is running through a thousand scenarios because he's making it out to be something much larger than what it is. 

I can picture it, you and Saeran sitting together in a perfect moment where he leans in to kiss you, but he misses your lips entirely. He would be mortified. He's not somebody who can manifest the words that are burning in the back of his head, but the embarrassment and shame would be written all over his face.

How could he ruin the perfect moment? It's easy to fall into that mentality. 

You might think you need to verbally reassure him at that moment, but actually, what you need to do is let out a little laugh. It won’t hurt him. Laugh and cup his face in your hands, “Don’t worry, I think we need to practice a few times to get it right.”

Of course, even as bold as you are, you end up missing his lips on accident, too. That would make him feel better about it. If you're both clumsy and unsure of yourselves, that makes the situation feel less daunting. If it's something you learn together, if it's something you come to understand together, and if it's something that doesn't feel as heavy as it seems when you’re struggling to understand how to do it "right"? Well, Saeran’s not afraid anymore. 

Because that's the thing. It doesn't need to be perfect and may not always be perfect the first time you try something. But, that doesn't mean it's not beautiful in its own right. Sometimes it's not a fairy tale, but real life doesn't need to be one, it just needs to be the story of Your Love no matter how clumsy it is.

It takes a weight off his chest to know that you're both learning how to do this together and it doesn't have to be a certain way, it just has to feel right. 

[balanceoflightanddark]

A while back, I outed myself as a Zuko anti. Basically, I admitted that I was left unsatisfied with Zuko's arc and how the comics basically jettisoned any sympathy I had toward him. About how it left me in a pretty dark place emotionally in regards to both him and the franchise as a whole since I saw him as an unrepentant jackass who refused to change yet acted like he's one of the good guys.

And I'll admit, it was part of the reason I was so hesitant to write The Monsters We Create since despite my issues with him, the last thing I wanted to do was turn him into some kind of monster to be butchered. I felt that would be a disservice to both him and his fans. In fact one of the reasons I recently rewatched the series was to get a grip on my feelings towards him and maybe start building bridges.

Well while I can honestly say I'm still not a fan of Zuko...I think I have a better grasp on why.

Mainly, I felt that his arc was left incomplete.

I'm sorry, but Zuko did the exact same thing his father did by exploiting Azula at her worst. Sure his reasons were more understandable, but the Last Agni Kai shouldn't be something that he should be admired for. Especially since he got what he wanted since the first episode when he was a bad guy. It doesn't help that I felt a lot of his bad habits (entitlement, temper, and his toxic rivalry with Azula) were properly addressed. It's why I can't see his crowning as triumphant since the circumstances surrounding it made it feel unearned.

It made me feel that Zuko didn't truly change for the better no matter how hard the fandom or franchise tries to tell me. Something that was exaggerated in the comics which brought all of his flaws to bear yet we were still expected to sympathize with him even when he does stuff that threatens the era of peace he wanted for so long. That deep down, he was still the warmongering prince from Book 1.

Yet for some reason, we're still supposed to see him as a good guy. Which I think is the sticking point. Zuko doesn't put in meaningful change...so the franchise ironically thinks that he doesn't need to meaningfully change. His behavior is okay if he's one of the good guys.

I'm sorry, but I can't imagine that message being good for his character. Zuko can't break out of his awful militaristic upbringing, but apparently that's A-OK. That's not redemption, and that's not good for his character. Hell, it's a pretty awful message to send to anybody who grew up with a bad background or was raised in a militaristic society. They can't change for the better no matter what they do.

It's why I can't see Zuko as the golden standard for redemption arcs. Especially since the franchise and fandom are critical of those who ARE. Like apparently an inability to accept his "transformation" is being stubborn, when really it's seeing what his arc is in the grand scheme of things and not liking it.

What I want for Zuko, what I think anybody wants is for him to truly change. End the rivalry with Azula. Admit he was in the wrong. Do things his old self would never dream of. Actually live up to his own promises and become a wise leader that the Fire Nation needs. Instead, they left his arc hanging with all the nasty implications along with it.

[ghostinthegallery]

I have thoughts about the epilogue to The Infinite and the Divine, which should not be surprising as I don't think I've found a single person around here without thoughts about the epilogue to The Infinite and the Divine. Spoilers below

Because initially yeah, I hated it! We came so far, did so much, and in the end it didn't even matter. Trazyn and Orikan are immediately back to their old ways, Trazyn is feeding a ctan shard WTF?? No mention of the battle they just fought together, right back to normal hatred and poor decision making. It really felt like the book was done and the epilogue got tacked on just to make sure everyone knew the status quo still reigned because dang it we have plastic to sell here! (I don't know if that at all reflects reality, but that is how it felt)

BUT! Concerns of capitalism aside, I think there is actually something to this epilogue and it's pretty damn tragic if you meet it where it's at.

Because necrons lost something when their souls got eaten but it isn't entirely clear what that thing was. There's some element of loss of creativity and artistry, but necrons still have plays (ungodly long historicals but still...it's theater). Multiple necron characters compose music and poetry, they just suck at it! So what if what they truly lost was their ability to change themselves in the fundamental ways that would keep them from repeating these destructive patterns? Because a machine can't grow in the way a being with a soul can.

What if that is why Szarekh is working with the same guy who built the biotransference furnaces to do biotransference again but in reverse this time. Why Anrakyr just wanders the galaxy gaining and losing resources while ignoring his own world? What if that's why Djoseras couldn't change while he watched his family and kingdom fall apart? Why Oltyx couldn't accept what he was (or make a good decision to save his life) before going through some...extreme lengths. All of them want to change their circumstances but what if the thing that was taken from them was the ability to ever do that?

So yeah, Orikan and Trazyn would obviously be happier if they could passionately make out cool off their rivalry, but can they? Can they make the fundamental shifts they'd need to bridge the gaps that made them hate each other in the first place? Hell, even if they did, would it be enough to overcome millions of years of violence? Because that's the second point I think the epilogue makes. As incredible as their alliance was, it was a blink of an eye on the grand scheme of things. How do you remember one instance (even one century) of cooperation, when you have millions of years of hatred behind you?

I definitely don't like the epilogue, maybe it was shameless status quo resetting, but damn if it doesn't get me the more I think about it.

Shoot I made myself sad...

[notapplicableinformation]

What did Blumiere actually DO to be redeemed? 

I know this sounds like a really silly question, to be frank, it really is, and this isn't me trying to say something of the ending should have been changed in any way, because, no, I think the ending of Super is incredible, with Blumiere and Timpani professing their love at the altar with the incredible music, phenomenal. I just pondered this at one point and thought it would be interesting to look at Blumiere through an objective lense as opposed to a thematic one. 

Count Bleck as a character is incredible, so are the rest of the cast, I could go on for multiple essays for each of these wacky characters. One thing I really enjoy is the juxtaposing types of villainy and roles that Blumiere and Dimentio have to each other, how one is intricatley complex and embedded in the narriative with his tragic tale, and the other is quite paper thin on the surface story (Who may have more underneath, though personally I like him being more shallow on the lore for proper contrast to Bleck, but this isn't relevant to the plot nor this discussion), with quite a strong characterisation to pull him through. They're like two extremes of the villain spectrum; between the sympathetic and complex to the more flat twist type of antagonist that balance each other out very well. 

Count Bleck is a very well written character, I love the execution of his narriative, and the question at hand of what he did to be redeemed really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the narriative, but it's mostly just a personal ponder-

It makes sense to me that Blumiere found happiness because of his ability to "love", how his love stretched the boundaries of comprehension, his ability to truly love is telling of Blumiere's inner good nature despite all that has been comitted. His willingness and persistance to look for Timpani to even the lengths of the Aftergame itself cannot be unoted. I'm pretty sure this is a key takeaway of Blumiere's tale that is wanted: That true love is the foundation of happiness, and without it, one is empty and hollow. Overall, the game redeems Blumiere with the sacrifice at the altar, where that true love that he does have is professed, and he is eligible for his happy ending through his act of love and sacrifice, and can now live a happy aftergame with Timpani. 

But outside of the incredible symbolic perspective, a hypothetical view where Blumiere's actions are analysed from a critical lense rather than a narriative one; What does Blumiere actually do to be redeemed?

Blumiere was implied to have killed the tribe that took Timpani away and searched to the ends of existence to fnd her, to which when her existence was no more, he sought to destroy everything, as nothing else held meaning to him other than Timpani. (Again, symbolically, all works perfectly well) 

He takes in the helpless minions and promises them a perfect world if they aid him in his destruction, though this is a lie, simply so that he can recruit them and follow the passages of the Dark Prognosticus. (In the English version, some subtext implies he manipulated them to join him, though throughout the game, Blumiere still treats his minions with respect and the original implies that Blumiere had a genuine will to help these minions from the start) 

When Timpani is seen alive, he doesn't try to stop the plan, but simly persists forth with destruction all until the very end, where when he is taken down, he immedietly stops with his destructive behaviour and aims to profess his love for Timpani one last time in a sacrifice. Thematically, this is brilliant. 

But from an active standpoint, I don't think Blumiere really didn't DO anything to get a redemption- His sacrifice, again NOT from a thematic standpoint, hardly counts because he still gets a happy ending with Timpani, alive somewhere else. Blumiere's actions across his life have been villanous, despite his intentions being through the persistence of love. 

Technically you could flip the question to say "Was Blumiere at fault for his actions in the first place?" to excuse the actions caused, and therefore be able to justify his redemption more clearly, and I find the take interesting, for perhaps Blumiere wasn't entirely at fault for his own actions.

Blumiere specifically sought for the 'history' of the prognosticus, seen in the Japanese translation, which implies that he perhaps didn't intend to cause harm to anyone and exclusivley wanted to find Timpani. There are also potential implications that he had been controlled by the Dark Prognosticus itself because of this, and the reason why he didn't stop the world's destruction immedietly when he heard Timpani was alive was because he was fighting for control of himself over the will of the Prognosticus over his mind....But I admit I'm not really too sure how probable this idea IS. The game is VERY clear when it wants to show something relevant to the plot foreshadowed, and I feel if this is the takeaway the developers wanted, that this would have been shown directly rather than in implication. Yes, technically it is said that those who read the book do not find happiness, and I think there are hints towards the book controlling him, but...I feel it's a bit vague?

Also, if he were controlled BY the prognosticus, I feel that the narriative weight of Blumiere's character would be detracted, as what makes a lot of his character so powerful is the lengths he went to show how much Timpani meant to him. Him CHOOSING to destroy all of existence because of Timpani's loss is much more powerful to me than the BOOK making him do it, because it shows Blumiere's agency in the decision. Him CHOOSING the destruction of existence proves how, without Timpani, this man did not find value in existence without the source of his true love. Rather than making Blumiere a victim of naivety for causing damages he didn't intend to.

Overall, this isn't really a serious question, I know very well the writers wanted the people playing the game to look at the big picture and perhaps look at the story from a thematic point of view as opposed to an objective one, as this is a fictional game with a story, rather than something to be looked at with an actual objective lense, but it was a fun ponder regardless. I'd be curious to hear any throughts on the matter. Have a nice day!

[scaracake]

synopsis: it's valentines at chaldea! as a master with many servants, you've prepared lots of chocolate to gift them as a token of your appreciation (and love) for them! in particular, you seek out taigong wang, the genius tactician grand rider. how will he react to your gift?

some servants were, notably, easier to locate than others (considering the many male servants you noticed filing into the dining hall as you passed by, no doubt eager to receive their treats on this love-filled occasion).

despite this, your guess at checking the library first and foremost in search of the scheming tactician Taigong Wang proved to be fruitful, locating him seated by his lonesome at one of the shiny, dark wood tables, several books scattered around him acting as company, his nose deep into a particularly thick book in his hands, face morphing into differing expressions ever so slightly with each notable line read or page turned.

you couldn't help but admire him before approaching him (after all, the way he was sitting facing away from you, and how lost he was in his book, he'd never notice, right?)

his shiny black hair framing his face perfectly, looking as elegant as ever in just his usual garments, and his cute multitude of expressions whilst lost in the pages (that you weren't sure if he was aware of or not, but regardless, couldn't look away from).

unbeknownst to you, Taigong Wang was aware of your presence, but simply made no move to make it known, not right away at least. he took note of his sweet master just a few steps away, feeling your gaze as he read, and he couldn't lie, he quite liked the attention. in any case, he was quite curious about your reasoning for coming to the library, so after relishing in your attention just a little longer, he looks up from his book with a question on his lips.

"..oh, hello master. what a coincidence. did you come to do some reading, too?"

you didn't realize how long you were admiring the rider for until you hear his voice ringing through the air, shaking you out of your thoughts to meet his expectant face as he smiled at you.

embarrassed at being caught staring, you shuffle a few steps closer to his table, chocolate securely hidden behind your back.

before you can provide him an answer to his question however, he goes on to praise the library, expressing his admiration and comfort in sticking around it so often. you nod along to his excitement for something so simple, yet seemingly so intriguing to him.

"i'm glad you like the underground library so much," you answer his praises earnestly.

"oh yes, absolutely!"

he doesn't allow a moment of silence to pass before speaking up again.

"by the way, you still haven't answered my question. did you come here to do some reading, too?"

you open your mouth to answer, but he beats you to it again.

"you didn't, did you?" he raises an eyebrow with the question.

"actually, isn't today some sort of special occasion? i noticed quite a few lady servants and staff were running about up until yesterday," he questions, head tilting slightly as he brings a hand to his chin, eyes shut in thought.

"for that matter... this is probably a major event for you too, no?" his eyes look back up at you, checking your reaction.

he's speaking matter-of-factly, and has a certain glint in his eye.

crap, he's onto you!

"i guess i have been pretty busy getting ready for it myself.." your words trail off as you tear your gaze away, face going hot thinking to the past few days of busying yourself with ideas of different chocolate recipes for their respective recipients.

he nods, grinning.

'what a cute expression~' he thinks to himself.

"hmm hmm, i suspected as much. at any rate, i'm sure you don't have time to waste on me."

'huh?'

"hehehe. this is just a guess, since i didn't do any research ahead of time... but i'd bet what you're holding behind your back is a present. and that would mean you came all this way underground to give it to someone. am i wrong?"

'man, he's sharp,' you think to yourself, shifting your feet beneath you.

at this, his grin stretches wide.

"i take it i'm correct."

he looks all too satisfied that you have half a mind to take off right this instant to save your dignity (or what's left), but you were determined to carry through with what you came here to do. even so...

"master, i may not look it, but i'm still a legendary tactician who was famous for their wisdom. not many secrets can escape my notice."

how could you be so careless!

"i saw right through your act in an instant!" he laughs to himself.

"now, as for what the present might be... since the kitchen is where all the action was up until yesterday, it's almost certainly a luxury consumable good. is it a spirit of some sort? or maybe something sweet? hmmm.."

he already looks like he's set on an answer, but you decide to give him one anyway, despite furthering your embarrassment.

"what if i told you it was chocolate?" you speak up.

"chocolate," he echoes. "then... i was right on the mark yet again, heh! a luxury consumable good!"

he looks all too triumphant, a hand under his chin with a victorious smile across his face, and you almost want the ground to swallow you whole.

how was he making this so embarrassing?!? wasn't this supposed to be a simple in-and-out mission???

he begins thinking back on the history for the day as you nod along waiting for a chance to slip in and finally hand him the sweets. when he begins wracking his brain for the name of the occasion, you decide that is your chance.

"...people give chocolate as gifts to signify their feelings for the giftee. i think it was called valen... valen... valenti..."

"so... here!" you reveal the wrapped sweets from behind your back, shoving them into his hands before he can finish and bury you into further embarrassment.

"..huh?"

"for you, happy valentine's day!" you smile, bowing slightly, keeping eye contact with anywhere but directly at him even after rising back up again, still hoping to catch his reaction.

"...huh?" comes his response once more, expression dumbly morphing into blank confusion.

"this is... for me?"

the legendary rider looks down at you, noting your bashful expression before his eyes flit back to the sweets you've just handed him (they smell delectable, and handmade, no doubt, he can tell in an instant) as the gears in his head begin to turn.

he chuckles to himself, unbelieving of what's just taken place as you tilt your head at him in confusion.

"...huh? this is for me? really?" he asks a little too loudly, finally processing the situation, standing up from his seat and pointing at the chocolates as he turns to you, eyes wide in question.

"that's right..." you nod, voice trailing off.

did he not drag this out just to tease you??!?!?

he lets out another chuckle before he straightens his stance, grip on the wrapped treats tightening securely.

"...i totally knew," he mutters.

he totally didn't.

"you came down to the library to look for me. isn't that right? i totally knew all along!"

his voice has taken on a different tone, one of false pride, as he tries to shield his shyness.

you look up at him suspiciously without answering, prompting Taigong Wang to gasp.

"you don't believe me... it's clear from that look on your face that you don't. this is bad. i have to restore my reputation before it's too late," he mutters to himself, turning away for a moment as he brings his free hand up to his face to hide his expression.

"all right," he starts, turning to you once more, hand moving from his face to right out in front of him, facing down. "to show you that i definitely, absolutely knew all along, i'm going to do... this!"

suddenly, something akin to a red sigil appears on the ground in a ring beneath the two of you, and before you can register what he's doing, the blue sky crosses your vision.

"i'm using an earth evasion technique in combination with the simulator! all to thank you for your gift."

"i give you... an invitation to the perfect spot!" he exclaims, arms outstretching to gesture to the new scenery that now surrounds you both: a beautiful view of a waterfall pouring into a riverbank, lined with shiny rocks, the area surrounded by nothing but greenery, and much larger mountains in the distance.

"whoa..." your words fail you at the sight, eyes wide and captivated by the serene nature before you.

Taigong Wang admires your speechlessness, watching the shimmering waterfall reflect in your eyes.

"like i said, it's the perfect spot. my very own-- or should i say, our very own special place," he says, hands moving to his sides as he steps closer to you.

"so, what do you think this spot is perfect for?" he's decided to test your own intuition, pride filling his being at your bewildered expression, and looking at you expectantly for your answer.

you think about what you would do in the midst of such beauty.

"maybe... resting?"

he reels his right arm in, hand curling in as he holds his pointer finger just under his lips.

"slacking off? close, but not quite." he sets the chocolate down (he knows this place best, and landed you both in the perfect resting spot, where he knows its safe), before standing back up straight to face you once more.

"let me give you a hint," he starts, stepping closer to you.

"it's for something you and i can do all by ourselves," his voice grows quieter, stepping behind you and gripping your shoulders softly.

slowly being released from your trance that the scenery seemed to put you in, you jump when you feel a weight on your shoulders and properly begin to register the tactician's words.

"huh??!"

he laughs softly, leaning down to your right ear.

"you know where i'm going with this, right, master? indeed..." he's almost whispering, tone of his voice making your face explode into red.

"this place where you and i can be alone, without anyone interrupting us, is perfect for..." his voice is purring into your ear, you almost feel like you've been caught by some sort of hunter as it prepares to eat up its prey.

was this really the embarrassed Taigong Wang you handed chocolates to just a few minutes ago?!?!?

suddenly, his head whips up as he stands to his full height, his grip on your shoulders tightening ever so slightly.

"...fishing!" he beams, voice no longer holding a sultry tone, but rather an excited one.

you jump slightly once again at his excitement, too shocked at his quick change in tone to speak again.

"i never expected you were going to give me a gift! so i felt like i needed to give you something really special in return," his tone is earnest as he wraps his arms around you in a hug, taking a peek at your expression from above before shifting his gaze back to the view in front of you both.

as surprised as you are to be receiving a hug from Taigong Wang, you don't want to pull away, feeling comfortable in his arms in the midst of the beautiful nature surrounding you both.

"here, you won't have to worry about anyone bothering you. you can make yourself at home and relax as much as you like! here, you can forget all about your daily troubles and enjoy uninterrupted peace and tranquilitude!" he exclaims, giving you a little squeeze before slipping his arms away.

you're touched he'd share such a spot with you, taking refuge in his arms, a little disappointed when he pulls away.

"come now, may we fish to our heart's delight!"

he takes a stride to be in line with you once more, smiling at you. you turn to him, small smile stretching across your face.

"tell me, master, would you call yourself experienced, or are you more of a beginner?" he tilts his head, expectant.

the blush returns at his words. he clearly doesn't mean it that way, but would it kill him to word what he means differently?!??!

"either way is fine with me. i have lots to teach you from my own fishing style!" he states proudly, pointing to himself towards the end of his sentence.

"now, let's get to casting!"

he's smiling at you, but you don't think it looks all that innocent.

"don't... don't say things that could mean something else!!!" you exclaim, burying your face into your hands as his teasing fully sets in.

he only chuckles heartily at you, pleased at himself for making you so flustered, and wondering how someone who commands their servants so seriously on the battlefield can have such an adorable side to them.

he closes the distance, arms behind his back and looking down at you sweetly.

"hmmm~? were you thinking this place was best utilized for something else, master?"

he leans in close, his voice taking on that velvet whisper once again.

"because that may be possible..."

your hands reach up to clasp over his mouth, unwilling to let him finish his sentence.

"stop! l-let's just fish, okay??!"

having enough of teasing you for the moment, he relents, gently removing your hands from his mouth, grasping one in his own as he turns and leads you towards the water.

"yay~! let's fish to our heart's content!!!"

~

later, Taigong Wang makes it a point to taste one of the chocolates you worked so hard to make, admiring the intricate fishing-rod-shaped sweets before taking a bite, praising your culinary skills, and going on about how fortunate he was to have been able to taste his master's cooking. even feeling embarrassed from having him eat them in front of you, you're grateful that he enjoyed them so much.

note: wow how embarrassing... i literally started writing this last wk and couldn't bring myself to finish it, and instead worked on some pieces for a whole other fandom LOL. this was originally a multi-part series featuring several servants (my favorite valentine interactions to be exact) but this one got so long that i just went with this. valentine's is long over but maybe i can work with the others somehow lol.... white day is coming up though so thats opportunity for more content n writing! yay~ anyway this is quite literally taken from the interaction where you gift this rider chocolate, but just with a more 'immersive' take ig???? also based on the answers i chose (though i doubt it differs greatly) and my personality lol. noticed there's not a lot of fgo fics here so may work to change that... anyway hope whoever reads this enjoys lol~!

[empressofmankind]

Things I enjoyed about writing my Crocodile/female!OC smut, in no particular order:

If you had to imagine the walking, talking embodiment of all Buggy's insecurities (imo), I feel like you'd get Sir Crocodile, and that's pretty much how I went into writing him. I set out to absolutely maximize Buggy's: "Oh no, her ex is (insert self-deprecating qualifier) than me". You know, tall(er), confident, masculine, accomplished, infamous, intimidating, actually scary, redundantly rich, pretty conventionally attractive and the scar just adds to the sex appeal. He has a voice like that, and no doubt a way with women? He's even near perfected his control over his devil fruit powers! Absolutely aces the whole Bounty Hunting business thing. Rolls in and out the Grand Line like it's his backyard. He's even better at being Disney-levels of evil! Complete with a better villain laugh. How dare. How dare he absolutely nail most of everything Bugs covets? Poor Buggy. The fact that his girlfriend is technically still married to the jackass is just an extra kick in the gut while he's down, tbh. Basically, if Bugs were a piniata, this is currently my stick of choice to go at him with. I just keep finding new aspects for Bugs to be insecure about and it doesn't matter how often Shivs tells him not to worry about it.

As you know, I wrote the whole thing first in three sits, ignoring most of the limb logistics. And then I went in and revoked hand privileges. That sucked? But it was also kind of fun to then try and either make it work with one hand and/or integrate his hook. Some of the instances actually got far better with it: neck pulling, ahoy! is a big one, hitching up clothing for a close second, but also being casually threatening for no apparent reason (and then for a really apparent reason, omg). Croc seems to lean towards preferring to use his hand, and sometimes he misses having two of them for this and I tried to show that. I mean, I get it - hands have tactile sensation. Plus, we wouldn't want to kill her. Not at this point in the timeline.

God tier banter, if I may say so myself. I specifically enjoy writing (sexual) banter, but I feel like I've outdone myself here. Their beats are also pretty even-handed and so well attuned to eachother, like this isn't their first verbal rodeo, this is the end stage mega evolution of years of practise.

The way Shivs walked into her ex's office with the intention of manipulating him with sex, but did so while explicitly and recognisably wearing her current boyfriend's clothes. Balls of steel, this girl. But, she knew who she was confronting. If he turned out at all amenable to her scheme, he'd want her out of these rags stat. And that was five free steps in the direction she was meaning to go. In addition, I am a firm believer of him being a high-key closeted bisexual and we all know what they say when boys excessively pick on you. All it takes is squinting just right and imagining her with a different hair colour, and that just made me chortle. I am probably the whole target audience for this, but yolo.

The way his pet name use corresponds to his emotional headspace, apparently. I wasn't doing this intentionally, but I noticed during editing. He says 'doll' a lot (a grand total of 14 times, jfc), uses it the way guys tend to use 'babe'. I felt doll suited him, perhaps because I strongly associate it with Noir films, older Bond & Mafia movies, and crime bosses in general. Showing my age there, maybe. Then he also uses 'sweetheart' quite a few times (9 iirc), and I am pretty sure he does so in an endearing manner. Lowering those emotional walls a teeny tiny bit as fondness seeps through. And then, like, once or twice, he uses 'honey'. And, again, I feel like he uses it in an older manner, the way stereotypically a husband fondly refers to his wife. It feels intimate. Like he briefly forgets all of this is dust? I think about that a lot.

Did you notice how she doesn't use any terms of endearment? I did wonder if she had any, but I felt like she wouldn't use them. Not at this point. Not any more. She loves Bugs. She did slip up once though, did you notice? She is the queen of mildly awkward nicknames.

It may not seem so at first pass, and it's certainly not super obvious, but it seems to me like he's trying pretty hard to put Shivs' relationship goals bar somewhere on the roof. He wants nothing and no one to be able to even remotely compare to him, especially not the clown. So he throws everything at this that he can? Which, arguably, is mostly material because that's in his nature and fundamentally how he interacts with and relates to the world and people around him. But you saw how fast he was to gtfo that couch the minute she alluded to any part of this being cheap (Mediocre? Sub-standard? Blasé?). Does he genuinely not want to cheapen the whole thing? Or can he just not stand the idea of her thinking this whole thing is cheap? Or both? I suppose these aren't mutually exclusive.

I like that she can make him laugh, and vice versa. They've got really solid chemistry, dammit.

Two people that just really enjoy smoking. Like, they are Smokers with a capital S. That's a whole relationship dynamic unto itself. I am really pleased with how I managed to actively integrate it into their shenanigans. It was a lot of fun and something unique to them.

The way he just repeatedly fails at trying to engage her in a little girl dynamic. Was that a thing in the past? They had (and have) a fairly notable age difference (7-8 years, give or take). And he takes it so well when she just, doesn't play along or only does so for like five entire seconds, or blatantly wields it against him. Poor guy. Just spank her already, I know you want to.

The way Shivs goes from being mildly nervous and quite determined to: 'Oh fuck, I'd forgotten how good this actually used to be'. Like, been there, done that, didn't end well. But man, it's a mood.

Press F in the chat for the fact that she only had one orgasm in this whole thing, and it barely took the edge off. Jerk knew what he was doing. It's a power play, of course.

Sneaking in background information and then doing absolutely nothing with it. Like the comment he makes regarding both their facial scars. But also every time either of them alludes to their past relationship but doesn't actually tell us anything.

Mihawk is a wine aunt. Even Crocodile seems to think so. I am sorry, I don't make the rules.

The part where he just happens to have things on hand that she either likes (i.e. that specific brand of cigarillo's his company makes) or that fit her way too precisely (i.e. that outrageously swaggy negligee). This dude is not OK. My man, if you still know your ex' dress sizes this well after several years, you need to do some introspection. And maybe see a therapist.

The infamous fancy panties were originally a gift from him, and she evidently kept them these past years? I am not sure what makes me frown deeper: the fact that she still has them, or the fact that he immediately recognised them. I don't think she was necessarily wearing them on purpose? She does really like them and wears them often. RIP those undies. I think she's way more upset about losing them than she lets on. I wonder if she'll accept new one(s)? I suspect she may, something about gift horses. Maybe he figures? Maybe that's the point. A renewal of something. A visual reminder of the casual control he can exert over her when he wants to. It may seem insignificant (she will definitely not overthink it), but underwear is very private and intimate. He's staking a claim even without particularly saying so. But I am sure every other man in the room will figure that one out. (Counting on Mihawk to say it out loud in that bored drawl of his. The Bisexuals Straights Are At It Again.) Doubly so if they're particularly prone to feeling insecure. Poor Bugs. Just take this one lying down, you silly clown. She wants them because she thinks you'll like them and she knows neither of you can gdamn afford anything remotely like it.

Did you notice she isn't truly naked at any point? Partially undressed, yes. A little exposed, also. But not naked. Meanwhile, he's stomping around in his bare ass half the fic. I like how he gave her something nice to wear and then didn't take it off.

At this point, I feel like he gets pants problems the minute she calls him 'sir', no matter the context. Some things just get sexy tainted forever, and there's no going back, lmao.

The unnecessarily expensive details. I had so much fun with those? The layout and details of his office and bedroom, for one. Both their smokes are implied to be well out of Shivs paygrade. Any brands come to mind? Or take the wine, for example. Can you guess which one I am referencing? And the lace - I am from a traditional lace-making area. Handmade lace was and is hella expensive. Don't even start about lace featuring custom tailored designs. There was absolutely no need to throw this much Beli at the nearest wall. But he did it anyway, because he does it all the time.

The way he keeps verbally reminding her of how different things used to be. For the better, in his opinion, of course. Like, are we casually trading favours here, or are you trying something?

On that count, did you notice how often Shivs is actually thinking about Buggy in this? At no point is he far from her thoughts, it seems.

I didn't set out with this mindset, but based on how the whole thing came out - I think Crocodile might miss her (or the idea of her) ? At any rate, I don't think he's OK. You stupid dick. You self-marooned on this island of misery and now it's too late. No changies, no takebacksies.

I came up with the title post-fact. Maybe it's his thoughts, not hers?

[three--rings]

Watched IWTV 1x01 with my husband tonight, in an attempt to spread the brainrot, and I have Thoughts.

So first, I was struck by how violent and aggressive Louis is from the beginning. Like of course I remembered on paper, but seeing it again after S2 really hit home.

Because the show definitely seems to be pointing to this tendency of his as part of the reason why his relationship with Lestat was Like That, and I also think the Throwing Armand Almost Through a Concrete Wall is telling us that too. (No matter how much he deserved it.) This episode just has Louis barely restraining his rage through the whole thing.

Secondly ...

Yeah I had a second point but uh, I forgor it. I waited a day to see if I would remember what point I was going to make, but yeah.

Anyway, I was NOT sure if Mr. Rings was gonna like this show at first. Like, after S2 I wanted him to see it cause it's so good, but I wasn't sure if like Gothic Gay Vampires was gonna be his thing.

So we finished and he goes "Goddammit now I'm in!" So yay, he liked it.

I thought it funny that he didn't remember Jacob from GOT but did immediately know who Eric was and even remembered the name of Talk Radio AND knew it had been his one man show first. Like, okay, I know we've watched that movie a long time ago but I didn't know my husband was storing so much info about it.

So yeah, apparently my husband is an Eric fanboy. He kept just going "god he's such a good actor."

However, he doesn't like Sam. I was like, well, wait and see. I promise he IS really good. So hopefully he grows on him.

Also I commented on how good Jacob's accent is, and he said "eh yeah." and I was like "for New Orleans?" But then he's only been there like once for any time, and I've been several times. (I spent more time around Cajuns than proper New Orleans, though, in East Texas.) But anyway what I realized/remembered that's great about Jacob's accent is that it's accurate, but also a little subtle. Like a very THICK NOLA accent can sound like an exaggeration or mockery, even if people DO actually sound like that. So Jacob's is a little dialed down so it doesn't sound silly.

God I remember this one infamous cab trip I had in NOLA with this driver who was this very large white dude with the thickest damn accent I ever heard. We get rerouted through the uh, unsavory parts of town, because the president was in town that day. So I got a tour of the projects. And then there was a guy on the street who had apparently lost a finger somehow and there was blood dripping down from his hand to the sidewalk. Even the cab driver was pretty shook by that one.

I nearly went to Tulane, but it was probably good I choose New York over New Orleans in the grand scheme.

[talonslockau]

Curious why you chose to have Princess join as compared to the books?

So, this partially goes back to chapter 20 of Fire and Ice (where Firepaw first meets Princess), partially Chapter 7 of Forest of Secrets (where Princess reveals her pregnancy to Fireheart), and it's going to cover the implications of things said in those chapters specifically. So, fair warning if you don't want to read further: this discusses in depth the concept of animal husbandry from the perspective of humans and the animals themselves. Trigger Warning: Dubious Consent, Pregnancy, Abortion, Depression, Implied Animal Abuse

When we first meet Princess in Chapter 20, she's 7.5 moons old (the same age as Firepaw), give or take a moon or so given that we don't actually know for sure that Rusty was actually 6 moons old when he joined. They're both bright-eyed young cats for whom the world can be anything, and I think at this point their personalities are pretty similar. Granted, Rusty's encounter with Graypaw ended in a brief fight, while Princess simply ran off back to her housefolk: however, Rusty was also going to run until he realized Graypaw was gaining on him, whereas Firepaw didn't bother chasing Princess until he realized she was his sister.

We even see that Princess loves the idea of the forest! Quote from Chapter 20:

"Living in the forest all the time… that must be nice." [Firepaw] perked his ears, unable to ignore the wistful tone in [Princess'] voice.

She wants to be in the forest as much as him! So why doesn't she? Again, quote from Chapter 20:

"I wish I could. I love being in the forest, and I'd like to get to know you better. I really would." [Princess] admitted, brushing her tail against [Firepaw's] paw. "But my housefolk… she needs me. She's alone in her nest all day, until her mate comes home, and sometimes she just sits and stares at nothing all day when I'm not around. She needs me to keep her functioning." The tawny molly looked away with a heavy sigh. "I'm not sure what she would do if I just left."

I think a lot of people overlooked this dialogue - maybe because it was early in the series, maybe because it wasn't that important (in the grand scheme of things), maybe because they didn't understand what it was getting at. This is one of those things I left implicit, both because cats don't really understand how humans think and because it's one of those things that would definitely dampen the relatively light-hearted mood of Fire and Ice at that point. However, since we're getting into the nitty-gritty here, I'll explain what this means and why it's an ample part of Princess' reasoning - enough that she wouldn't follow her heart to get to know her brother and live in the forest.

Princess' female human has severe depression. It's not entirely clear whether or not her human is treated for it or not, but it doesn't particularly matter. She and her 'mate' (again, a cat's way of looking at them) had heard of emotional support animals to help combat depression and decided to contact a local Somali Cat breeder at the behest of their neighbor after asking around about kittens. Their neighbor would have been one of Rusty's owners, who told them that the breeder currently had five kittens and they were looking at picking one out. This is how Princess and Rusty ended up being so close geographically, even though their siblings and mother aren't!

Princess can sense that her human has depression, even if she doesn't fully understand what that means. And she does indeed help support her human! She makes sure that her human eats food at a regular time, does the laundry when it's needed, and she's there to cuddle with her on her worst days. She's needed, so she can't leave to fulfill her heart's wishes. Instead, Princess lives vicariously through her brother's tales of the forest, and telling all her friends about her strong wild cat brother.

In canon, Princess is scared of the wild cats. She doesn't understand why her brother left his housefolk. She can't handle the sight of Brightheart, because she's just too soft as a kittypet. Hell, when we meet her for the first time, she's already pregnant! Her sole reason for being is to give Cloudkit to Fireheart, so that he can have a relative in the Clans.

Given that she's Fireheart's sister, and therefore his equal (more or less), this has always read to me as misogyny from the Hunters. Why can't Princess join to be his relative in the Clans? Sure, it could be to give him a replacement apprentice, not just a relative, but back then kits just kind of showed up out of the ether. There's no reason he couldn't have been Fernkit or Ashkit's mentor, or some other sudden apprentice! She could have even been his apprentice if she joined, and he taught her how to be a wild cat (bonding moments)! But no; the only female relative of Fireheart's we see in the first series is pregnant, serving solely as a mother to his Clan relative, too scared/soft for the wild, and then just disappears after the first arc.

I wanted to show that she is his equal in my canon, and that means that she wants to be wild just as badly as him. She would be, if she didn't have someone that was already reliant on her as an ESA. Instead she remains; but she's still not soft, or scared of the forest. She loves seeing Fireheart, she worries for him, she even wants to learn battle moves from him in Chapter 47! Every time she's portrayed as soft, it's because Fireheart is handling her too gently; because he's trying to protect her from his own imagined fears. Whenever she reacts negatively, it's always to things that Clan cats themselves react negatively to (such as Spottedleaf dying, or the kits getting stolen).

Now that we've covered her character in Fire and Ice, it's time to get to how I've been developing her in Forest of Secrets. Obviously, the first chapter we see her in is Chapter 7, and it's not great. Her long fur is ungroomed; her tail is low, and she doesn't respond very much to Fireheart's prompting. She is deeply upset and clearly in her own head. We find out this is because she was bred with a cat she didn't know, and she didn't entirely want to do it, but did so out of fear of making her owners mad.

At this point, she is about 12 moons old, again give or take a couple of moons. I want to state that this is young. I know how early a cat's puberty can begin, and it's much earlier than this, but these are sapient cats and as such that doesn't really apply. Still, even by living cat standards, this is young; responsible breeders state that a cat should never be bred before their first year, and it should ideally wait until they are 18 months or two years old.

(This is made even worse in canon, because she's actually 10 moons at this point. Seriously, Erins, what the hell?)

From her point of view, her housefolk have betrayed her. She loved them and cared for them, but she wasn't enough for them. All they see her for is a potential baby factory, not for the value of their bond on its own. She thought they loved her for her, and now she's wondering if they love her at all. Will they love her kits at all? How can they, when they don't even seem to love her?

Also to be clear, her humans are definitely in the wrong here. This is made even clearer when we think about who Princess was bred with, Oliver. He's mentioned to be a white tom, but... there's no white in the Somali Cat breed standard. The only crossbreed allowed by the standard is to Abyssinians, and those also don't allow white. Her kits won't be able to be registered Somalis, even if they meet all the other classifications (they won't). This means that they were breeding her just for the sake of breeding her, which is a huge no-no.

I come from rescue circles, so I'll admit that the idea of willingly breeding cats is foreign to me anyways. There's so many cats out there that need good homes besides purebreds! I can't even begin to fathom why Princess' humans bred her; maybe the female wanted something to do all day and thought taking care of kittens would be good? I don't know. Regardless, they bred her to the first tom with papers whose owner would accept the cash and not question anything else. In my head, Oliver is probably a Turkish Angora, though that's not terribly relevant to this conversation.

Getting back to Princess: Even though Yellowfang and Dewpaw and all her friends did their best to comfort her, at the end of the day she was still home with her housefolk day in and day out. The more she helped her, the angrier she became. Despite all the love she'd given her, her housefolk had still forced Princess to carry kits for her own amusement. She would likely make Princess' kits carry kits for her own amusement - and that, more than anything, scared Princess to her core. She didn't want anyone else to go through what she did. Especially not the kits growing inside her, which despite it all she was growing to love. (This is also why she turned down the opportunity for an abortion from Yellowfang - even though she hated how she had gotten pregnant, she loved the idea of her own kits.)

Then she thought of her brother, Fireheart. She thought of how she'd first met him, and how he'd offered to let her join his Clan. That made her angrier, too. She should've accepted his offer. She should never have stayed with housefolk that didn't care about her. Then she wondered; why couldn't she join him now? The wild was dangerous, though; wouldn't it be safer for her kits to stay with housefolk?

But the more she thought about it, the more that she wondered how the Clans could survive out in the wild if it wasn't mostly safe. After all, Fireheart mentioned kits and queens all the time! She resolved to learn more about the nursery when he came back. And she did just that, as we see during his visit in Chapter 20. Quote again:

“Really?” [Princess] was leaning into [Fireheart] now, as though she needed to hear every word he said as soon as it left his lips. “How does one become a nursery queen, then?”

"Maybe it’s nice, in the nursery.” Princess whispered softly, so much that for a heartbeat [Fireheart] thought she was talking to herself. “What do you think?” She asked him, speaking louder now.

“Do you think the queens are happy in the nursery?” [Princess] wondered out loud, looking over her shoulder into the forest for a brief moment before gazing back at [Fireheart].

[Princess]: “That’s lovely to hear. And the kits, do they like it in the nursery?”

For most of the conversation, she's probing him for what it's like in the Clan; how queens are treated, how kits fare. It's subtle - subtle enough that Fireheart barely catches onto it - but she's already imagining her own life in Thunderclan. She's not sure whether she wants to be a warrior anymore, but she does want to join - and being a nursery queen sounds like the perfect role for her. She loves her kits now, and she loves the idea of getting to care for many kits, even if they aren't her own.

Princess makes up her mind sometime over the next half-moon, and resolves to ask him to let her join when Fireheart comes back. But he doesn't, too involved with Graystripe and Tigerclaw to think about his sister. As her belly grows even larger, her housefolk starts closing the catflap; just at night, usually, but sometimes throughout the day as well. It's only through Princess' desperate begging to see her friend in the garden that her housefolk relents, and that's the final straw for her to leave instead of waiting for Fireheart like he ordered. She doesn't tell Fireheart about this because she's afraid he'll order her back to her housefolk for her own safety, or the Clan's safety. She won't tell anyone until after the kits are born (and it will take place off-screen regardless), but it will be enough to cement her decision as the 'right' one in the eyes of the Clan.

Sorry for going so long - I wanted to point out moments that have led up to this that I've laced throughout the series thus far, as well as explain my own rationale behind the development of Princess. Had she been adopted by different humans, similar to Rusty's, I think we would be seeing her become a warrior right now. Still, I wanted to keep the story sort of in line with canon - having her be his 'kittypet sister' for a while, until I needed to diverge from canon with how I handled Cloudkit. Thanks as always for the question, I could rant about just about anything in this series for ages ^^

[venturismcdonald]

We've all acknowledged that Casey's the one who theoretically lives in delusion as far as her relationship with Derek is concerned. But the rest of the family knew. Everyone knew except for Casey and I find that so beautiful.

I headcanon Derek accepts he has (ugh) feelings for Casey in the soccer cheating episode (my beloved) because he spends an entire weekend that could have been spent doing literally anything else walking around the house like a zombie in existential crisis. Which, to be fair, is probably an apt description of Derek at the time: the girl he knows he's never been neutral about is the girl he happens to romantically care about and be attracted to. It's made worse because she's the one girl he could never have, but she's right there. All the time.

Edwin realizes that in that episode as well; he's the one who witnesses Derek's scheming and crisis the most. Derek calls Edwin in and there's way too many feelings on his face as Derek's barely able to conceal that he cares. He already knows he cares about Lizzie and there was no crisis about that, no moping around for three days. But Casey? This is the most emotional thing Edwin has witnessed in the entire show from Derek.

Sam probably figures out Casey's feelings around when Casey blows off their monthaversary to spy on Derek's date with Emily. I think the fight in the bullying episode is when he realizes Derek actually has feelings that are deeper than base level attraction, though (I will die on the hill that the fight was a huge moment in their relationship). He's a little dumb, alright?

Dennis, for all that he is neglecting his daughters (because boy, he wrote the fucking book on that one!), realizes once Derek calls him. It's implied Derek basically guilt trips him into coming back and that is, to his credit, exactly what happens. Derek wouldn't do that for someone he doesn't give a fuck about, like he pretends not to. Dennis assumes it'll go away (it doesn't) and that even if Casey reciprocates, it'll never be acted on (it might be.)

Marti realizes in the forcefield activated episode. She's witnessed the largest extent of both of their feelings in that episode: Derek's genuine care and kindness as far as her anxiety goes and Casey's determination to help him succeed because that's how she shows her care. It's all culminated (for her, at least) in the scene where Derek finds out he passed his exam and him and Casey do their dorky high five thing before she asks him to help at the camp for another week. Derek agrees and he's grinning at Casey and Casey is giving him her best puppy dog eyes and grinning and Marti knows because, well, it's pretty damn obvious.

Emily knows at prom, junior year. Yeah, she has to help clean up Derek's mess, but he wouldn't want to fix it if Casey didn't matter to him. She's known that Casey matters, but Derek even showed up to the stupid dance to make sure she had a good night. And once she realizes that Derek has feelings, well, it's so much easier to see that Casey does too. Knowing one of them is in love with the other makes everything click into place.

Max figures it out after the breakup. It makes sense; Casey had ditched him for Derek a million times and every time, Derek had grand gestured his way back into her good graces.

Kendra probably realizes that Derek loves Casey around the episode where she tries to set her up. He attempts sabotage, which is normal, but he gives a shit about her and it's gross and she kinda likes him more for it. (I headcanon Kendra, Derek and Casey all stay friends because that's basically canon anyway.)

Truman... When Truman first comes to the school, I'm placing bets that everyone tells him Casey's dating Derek. Teenagers are brutal and they weren't super far off the mark. And I assume his actions after that are with the understanding that there's more truth to those words than either of them would admit.

Ralph, I love him very much, he sort of assumes they're dating from like a week after she moves to London on half the time. I also presume he's high for half his screentime.

Lizzie realizes at the dance competition. She sees that and there's this chemistry she can't deny and it just clicks.

Nora and George live in willful ignorance from the bathroom scene in 1.03 on. They just will not acknowledge there's anything going on there because there isn't anything, technically.

Sally probably figures it out after her and Derek break up. It's probably very casual, just happens on a Tuesday or something when she sees a picture of the two of them on Facebook or something.

Casey's the last to know. She only realizes it when they actually have to acknowledge they're going to university together, four and a half hours away from the family, the people who have been the forefront of her denial (which she quite liked, it's incredibly rude that it had to be interrupted for this emotional crisis) and that's why she says "same difference." It's obvious she doesn't mean it, but she's trying to place the boundary: introduce me as a sister so I can shove you into the brother box, please.