#AND !the mistakes that they made were actually the fault of their abusers but they blame themselves wooptidooooo

[lith-myathar]

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[moss-flesh]

avalon 🤝 gale

being extremely arrogant but also extremely self deprecating

[myheartxmyman]

And you saying things like 'yes I know it happened a lot, but other people don't act out the way you do', is such a horrible thing to say. If we would have been just friends at that time you wouldnt have said something like that, ever! And for the strange case that you would have had the audacity to say so you would have been 'my friend'. Really, I am again in shock off how rude I let you treat me. Sometimes I change perspectives, I am one of my girlfriends and you become her partner. Honestly I would tell her to leave him for good. And if she wouldn't I fear there would come a time when i would throw my fists at him. At least if I would see her unhappy again and again. If her boyfriend would say something like that around three times it would have been to often. Mistakes happen, but what repeats itself again and again is not a mistake; its a pattern.

[lovelynicho]

Hii!! I’m feeling angsty rn 😞

Andteam’s reaction when you walk away crying/cry or flinching in an argument you get the idea?? HSHSH hopefully it won’t be too hard to write and tyyy. Love your works mwaps!! 🫶🫶

&team reaction - to you crying/flinching in an argument

Pairing: bf!&team x gn!reader

Genre: angst, fluff

Warnings: one curse word in EJ's; mention of abusive relationship in Yuma's; not proofread

Notes: it's my first time writing something as angsty as this so I hope you like it; english is not my first language I apologize for any mistakes; and I'm sorry for not posting for so long, I didn't have the motivation to write😔

Masterlist

K

He's very strong, therefore he can be really scary at times. Especially when arguing. You hate arguing with him, so you usually try to leave when it gets a little out of hand, so both of you can calm down alone. Him on the other hand, although he hates arguing too, is a firm believer that everything needs to be discussed right then and there. This difference between you can cause some problems. Once when you were in a big argument with him, you decided that it should be ended, told him that you can't deal with that right now and you're going to your room to calm down a little, alone. But he didn't want to let it go, so he grabbed your wrist and continued yelling his problems at you. But his grip was too strong, it was painful. You looked at him, tears threatening to fall from your eyes "Yudai, it hurts" you said quietly. He looked at his hand and realisation hit him. He let go of your wrist, looked at you for a few seconds before saying "I'm sorry". Slowly and softly wrapped his arms around you and he kept repeating those words a million times: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry...."

Fuma

Although he is the most gentlemanly gentleman to ever step foot on Earth, he is incredibly strong and has a really deep voice. These two things can make him seem rather scary when you guys are in a serious fight. One day a little fight went a little too far. Both of you were just tired, working more than you should so even a little misunderstanding can turn into fighting. You two were just yelling at each other. At this point you couldn't even tell why you started to fight you just had to let the tension out. But when Fuma made a sudden move in your direction you screamed and backed until your back hit the wall. You were just looking at each other. His eyes were in pain, more like worried actually. He slowly approached you and when you didn't scare away he hugged you, his lips next to your ears whispering. "I could never hurt you. I love you so much, I would never want you to be in pain"

Nicholas

Although Nicholas is a sweetheart, I think we can all agree that from the outside he looks rather intimidating, even scary at times. And this feature of his does not do any good when the two of you are fighting. He also seems like the type to lose his temper pretty easily which is also bad for the situation. Once you had a really big fight. Both of you probably knew that you could settle it calmly but you built up so much stress at work and from life itself that you just had to let it out and unfortunately you chose to let it out on each other. You were at fault too, you said something really hurtful to Nicholas and he felt like he will explode if he doesn't release the tension. So out of anger he hit the wall closest to him. But that was right in fron of you and for a second you thought that he aimed at you. So you closed your eyes and just waited while tears were falling from your eyes. But instead the punch you expected you only felt warm arms wrapping around you. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you..... I could never hurt you" he whispered. Then you just stayed there for a while, crying everything out in his comforting arms.

EJ

Our leader is such a sweet guy. Even though he's tall and quite strong you just need one look at his boba eyes and you already feel safe. His soft speaking nature also adds to the feeling of comfort he gives to not just you, but everyone around him. But as the leader he has lots of duties and also has to take care of not less than eight people. Believe me when I say, sometimes man is tired. And that day when he went over to spend time with you he was especially tired and stressed from work, he just didn't want to cancel the date because he hasn't seen you for what felt like forever. But when he got to you and you kept just asking him about his day and what they have been up to nowadays eventough he said he doesn't want to talk about work, he had enough. "Why can't you just shut up for a second? I cane over to have a calm evening but you just keep bothering me, I'm literally just wasting my time with you now" he yelled. His words shot straight to your heart. You managed to mutter a small 'sorry' and at least start walking away to your room before the tears started falling down your cheeks but he heard your sniffles. And standing there he knew, he fucked up.

Yuma

He probably wouldn't have scared you like that if it wasn't for your past. You had an abusive relationship before you met him. Your ex used to beat you up and it was hard for you to manage to get away from him. But with Yuma it was different. He was the nicest man you've ever met and the thought of him hurting you never entered your mind. But when you were having a rather bad fight every memory of your ex that layed in the back of your mind suddenly came back. That's the reason why when he lifted his hand as he was aggressively explaining something to you in the heat of the argument you instantly put your hands infront of your face as protection. You weren't scared of Yuma, it was more like an instinct, but he didn't know that. "I didn't mean to scare you" he muttered, much softer now than before "I'm so sorry y/n". "No, it's not your fault" you said as you stepped closer to him to assure him that you really weren't scared at all "it was just an instinct because of my ex. It really has nothing to do with you. I'm sorry" and with that you hugged him tightly. But he still whispered in your ears hoping to comfort you "don't ever apologise for something like this. It's not your fault love"

Jo

He's a sweetheart. I don't think he could ever even talk loud let alone make you cry. So if you cry in an argument then both of you cry, there's no other option. When you ended up in a bad argument you just threw every word against each other even if you didn't mean it. You hated it. Seeing him mad, being mad at him. You felt tears in your eyes, slowly rolling down your cheeks. When he saw that he couldn't say another word, instead he did exactly what you did, salty drops of water running from his eyes. You just looked at each other. No talk. Words weren't needed. Those things made you cry. You ended up cuddling on the couch crying out everything silently.

Harua

Usually Harua is a very soft person. I mean you can already tell it from his cute almost boyish looks. However when he's in a fight he can be surprisingly strong minded. You learned that in your first serious fight with him. He stood very firmly by his point believing he was right, when in reality he wasn't. At first you tried to convince him calmly but after a while you just had enough and instead of keep trying to solve the problem in a calm way you started yelling at him. As an answer he also raised his voice and even gesticulated to prove his point but the moves of his hands were huge and firm you've never seen him raise his hand this strongly before so as an instinct you flinched. And that's when he realised that he went too far. "I'm so so so so so sorry" he said already crying with his hands infront of his mouth. "I don't want to hurt you I swear" he kept going on about that. "It's okay I just over reacted" you answered as you softly wrapped your hands around his waist and pulled him into your chest.

Taki

This guy is always full of jokes and pranks. He just sometimes forgets to think about what if the given joke or prank is not funny but actually hurtful to someone. One day when you were at the dorm, this exact scenario happened. Taki just intended to make a joke but didn't consider that it was actually pretty hurtful to you. At first you just stayed silent because you didn't want to talk about how wath he said made you feel so bad. But when he noticed that you became more silent than before he tried to make you talk with another joke which was a huge mistake. You flipped out yelling at him about how hurtful his joke felt for you personally and that he should have considered your feelings. But his reaction to that was just him saying "relax, it was just a joke, if you can't take that, say that, and I won't tell it anymore" and that made you angrier. "Taki it's not that I can't take a joke it's just that your joke was not funny, it only made me feel bad and I can't even look at you right now" you yelled as tears started to roll down your cheeks. And with that you just left the dorm. In shock, he just sat down on the ground trying to figure out what to do.

Maki

Maki is a nice guy, everybody and their mother knows that. But sometimes even he can have bad days. Unfortunately you decided to come over unannounced to the dorm on one of those days when he would just rather be alone. When you arrived of course he was still happy for you, but in contrast to his, your day has been so good that you kept rambling. After some time you asked about his day and even after him saying that he would rather not talk about that now you asked one more time if he was sure and that was it for him. He almost started to yell at you infront of everyone in the living room but thankfully he still had the manners to keep these things privately. So he grabbed your wrist and pulled you into his room, shut his door as strong as he could and he started yelling at you only noticing minutes later that you were so scared from his sudden change of moods that you backed away from him and tears were built up in your eyes. When he realised how bad the situation was he decided not to talk anymore. Just went up to you and wrapped you in a tight, warm, comforting hug. A hug that lasted maybe five minutes, maybe ten minutes, maybe half an hour. You didn't know and you couldn't care less when you had each other so close.

[bmtillerbabe]

Feel free to ignore, but Poly!141 with reader who is terrified of any tiny mistakes from a past shitty relationship? ✨

(I actually love your work!)

    I absolutely love this ask!! :D Just imagining little scenarios in my head for each one is so delicious.

Hope you enjoy, Anon!! :)

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CW : References to past abuse, mostly unspecified.

NSFW

MDNI 18+ ONLY!!

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Dropping a dish (With Ghost, Soap and Gaz) :

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   It really hadn’t been your fault.

  This damn new brand of dish soap your boys had decided to buy you left a slick film on every piece of stoneware you owned, and when you turned just a little too sharply to put it away – it had just …. Slipped out of your hand.

  Simon had been sitting at the bar, looking up quickly at the sound of the shattering plate; and already you could hear Soap and Gaz barreling down the stairs towards the kitchen. But you weren’t paying attention to any of that – only red-faced and gasping like you were drowning, bending down to quickly start grabbing at the shards, muttering a thousand apologies over and over and over.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Oh, God, fuck, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry, I just – it slipped and I’ll fix it, I’m sorry—”

  You hadn’t realized Ghost kneel down next to you in your embarrassment until you flinched – hard – when he placed his hand gently over yours.

  You looked up at him, tears welling in your eyes and your breathing still off-kilter and fast. The look in Ghost’s eyes damn near broke your heart – the worry, the concern, the care – the love – that swam so deep in them made your bottom lip quiver.

  Soap and Gaz panted softly somewhere above you.

  “Ye alright, bonnie? We heard a noise, an’ came runnin’.”

  You nodded, shaky and unsure of yourself, and before you could answer, Ghost spoke up softly as if trying not to spook you.

  “Love …. It’s fine. Iss’ justa dish. No harm done. Are you hurt?” His hand tightened softly over yours. Shaking your head, you began to pick up the pieces of the plate scattered around the tile, still bright-cheeked and muttering softly; your movements slow and shaky.

  “I----I’m f-f-fine, I just, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to b-b-break anything, I didn’t---”

  Ghost grabbed your wrist again and lifted it to his stubbled cheek, rising and pulling you with him to your feet. Then, without warning, you were pressed firmly into his broad chest, his hands snaking around your small frame to hold you close. The action alone seemed to be enough to undo you, and you broke down and sobbed quietly and softly into his big arms.

  “Shhh, shhh, shhh, it’s a’right, love. It’s a’right.” Simon cooed at you warmly, gently rubbing the back of your head. You felt him shift above you, nodding to the boys to finish helping clean the mess. Soap and Gaz didn’t need to be told twice, dutifully sweeping up the mess.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry …” You whispered softly, voice cracked and broken as you clutched at Simon’s frame.

  He pulled you back to look into your eyes, cupping your cheeks softly. His brows furrowed deeply in sympathy and his lips were pulled to the side in concern.

  “When you’d mentioned before, the …. Relationship ….” He bit out the word angrily, “… you’d had before us, I didn’t realize tha’ it ….” He paused with a sigh and pulled you close to his chest again, shaking his head. “I swear to God, if I ever find where that cunt ran off to, he’ll be wishing he was dead – cuz Hell will be better for ‘im than what I’ll be doin’.”

  You became aware of two other bodies behind you, crowding closer, cocooning you in their warmth and safety, and slowly, your shakes and sobs subsided.

  Johnny kissed the side of your head softly.

  “Aye, lass – you never have to worry about him, about any of this, ever again.”

  “We’ve got you, babydoll. Now, and always.” Gaz rubbed your arm.

  Never, in all your life, had you felt the truth in words like you did with theirs. Or had you ever remembered feeling so safe.

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Missing a Text (With Price) :

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  You heard Price’s keys jingle in the lock of the front door – but instead of the normal elation and joy filling your heart, your mind raced in panic as you jumped to your feet and ran to the kitchen to find your phone you’d left on the counter.

  “Shit! Shit, shit, shit!” You cursed yourself, opening the screen and confirming with a sinking feeling in your gut that you’d forgotten to answer Price’s text earlier, asking what you had planned for dinner, if anything.

  “Doll?” Price’s deep voice rumbled from the door as he called for you, and you felt your heart freeze as you clutched your chest; your lungs suddenly squeezed tight and unable to get any air in.

  You barely had the time to turn and face the doorway as his figure appeared, frozen in place, eyes wide with fear.

  Price’s eyes met yours, his own widening in concern as he walked towards you. “Hey, luvie, hey – what is it? What’s wrong? Is everything alright? Are you hurt?”

  “I---” You squeaked out, your breathing still tight and short. You felt light-headed. “I was doing laundry – I didn’t – I forgot – I –“ You swallowed softly, clutching the phone in your hand to your breast.

  Price quickly realized what was wrong, letting out a soft breath and relaxing his shoulders, quirking his brow in warm sympathy.

  “Luv, I know you’re busy most of the day. You’re taking care of the house – of us – it’s alright.” He smiled softly at you, cocking his head and halting in his tracks when the fear in your eyes remained. He knew the fear wasn’t towards him, no … the fear was rooted deep, inside your heart, your mind, your soul – and he knew it would take him and the men longer than just a few months to clear out the remnants of the asshole that had done this to you.

  You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing wanted to come out, and you continued to clutch your chest, wheezing softly in your panicked state.

  Price held out his hand to you, palm up – offering. “It’s alright, Luv. You didn’t do anythin’ wrong. Come back to me. Come back here. You’re not there anymore, he can’t hurt you anymore, luvie.”

  Swallowing thickly, you seemed to break out of your trance at his soft words and choked out a soft sob; running headfirst into the safety of his chest and arms. He wrapped his strong biceps around your tiny frame, shushing and cooing at you softly.

  “It’s alright, Luvie …. Shhh …. You’re okay … I’m here, you’re okay.” He kissed the top of your hair softly as your breathing steadied and your heartrate slowed. “You did nothin’ wrong, doll. Absolutely nothing.”

  After he was sure you were okay, he pulled back to look into your eyes and smiled brightly, wiping your cheek with his calloused thumb.

  “Now … what say you to a bit of ice cream with the rest of the boys, eh? Simon should be here soon from the grocer, and Gaz will be out of his meeting in the next hour ….” He leaned in close to your cheek, pecking it softly and brushing his thick mustache against the shell of your ear, whispering, “… Gives us plenty of time to have a lil bit of fun before they get home …”

  You sighed the last of the fear from your chest, smiling at one of the four loves of your life, nodding eagerly.

  Ice cream and sex sounded absolutely perfect.

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Nightmares (with all four men) :

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  The two California kings that were side by side in the huge, open room, served as almost a ‘nest’ of sorts for the five of you.

  What with the size of Simon alone, you’d known you were going to need a large bed – and when you’d gotten involved with all of them, you all realized quickly that one bed wouldn’t do anymore.

  Especially for all the …. Activities you liked to do together.

  It was in the center of the tiny mountain of pillows and blankets that all of you slept now – or, had been sleeping, until you awoke with a start and a sharp yell into the darkened room.

  Simon was the first to awaken, sitting bolt upright like he’d been shot; Soap next, lifting his head from where he’d been sleeping on your stomach, blinking away the sleep and looking at you with deep seated concern.

  A soft ‘click’ and Price had rolled over to turn on the lamp next to the bedside table, and all four men were sitting around or in front of you, watching you gasp softly and cry as you buried your face in your hands.

  You clutched at your side where the wound long since healed gave a phantom heartbeat of pain – the memory of that horrid night flashing clear as day into your sleeping head as if it had just happened fresh all over again.

  Gaz leaned close, cupping your cheek. “Another nightmare?” He asked softly.

  You nodded, breaking down into a quiet fit of tears when the images flashed through your head again of the day you thought you were going to die.

  Soap kissed your stomach softly, rubbing your thigh up and down, working his way to your knees, calves and ankles. Simon, from his position on your side, cuddled you closer to his chest, stroking your hair. Gaz pulled you to him for a sweet kiss to the forehead, holding your hand, rubbing his thumb in circles on the top of it.

  Price, ever the gentleman, had left the room to go and grab you some pretzels and a glass of warm milk – coming back in with a small tray of assorted snacks and drinks for the others as well.

  After he settled back onto the bed on your opposite side and tousled Soap’s mohawk, he looked at you, offering you a tissue.

  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you all up …” You whispered, blowing your nose.

  Gaz chuckled softly at you, shaking his head and giving your hand a squeeze.

  “Don’t ever apologize for needin’ us, babygirl. That’s what we’re here for – each other.”  He brought your hand to his mouth to kiss each finger gently.

  Soap hummed softly, his eyes locked onto Gaz’ mouth at work; swallowing thickly with a noise in the back of his throat. Price snorted and slapped the back of the Scot’s head playfully, making him flinch.

  “Can’t even make it two minutes without thinkin’ wiv that cock, can ya?” The older man chuckled.

  Soap blushed a crimson red, grinning wickedly as he looked back at you. “Well, I dunno about you all, but I know the missus here could use a wee bit of a distraction …. And what better way to distract than with some nice, hot sex?”

  You felt more than heard Simon grunt approvingly from your side, already seeing the indent of his chubbing cock thicken through his night trousers. Leaning over to sniff your hair deeply with an approving growl, he rubbed his large hand up and down your arm.

  “Well? What do you say, luv? Down for another round?”

  ….. Suffice it to say that none of you got absolutely any sleep that night.

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Xoxo – Hope you enjoyed!!   😊   Happy reading, and much loves!  <3

[der7py]

Yandere Radio host x reader

Victor Rodriguez was the most popular radio host there was to date! He had late night talks shows, was always on the evening and morning radio, and was super charismatic! Only problem? He didn't have a co-star. But you'd make a lovely co-star.

Warnings: Mature language, addresses being leaked (only to yandere), stalking, car tampering, hero complex, mentions of abusive households

You swear that Victor was always on the air! Day and night, on every station. You could've sworn nobody listened to radio anymore! But apparently, with this new hotshot, everybody did now.

It's not that you disliked the man. He didn't do anything wrong. Surprisingly, unlike other radio hosts, he wasn't that boastful. But you were just sick of hearing him all the damn time.

Eventually, you tuned in (your friends wanted you to listen to him for once), and you made the mistake of accidentally calling in.

"Hello, this is Victor Rodriguez speaking! Who do I have the pleasure of talking to?" Oh wow, he answered the radio like it was just a normal contact in his phone!

You two had a surprising, really meaningful conversation! He didn't talk over you, poke fun at you for his listeners, and actually remembered things about you in the short time you talked.

You actually emailed him (he has a work email), and he responded back! You two emailed for a bit before exchanging numbers since you had made plans to hang out with him!

_______________________

Shit! You were running late! Your car just wouldn't start, and now you don't even know if he's still there. But before you could call a mechanic, a black car pulled into your driveway, and a very concerned Victor immediately jumped out of his car. "Are you okay? You didn't show up for a while, and I was worried if you got into an accident!" You felt your face heat up and start to turn pink. No man had ever done what he did. Usually, they just got impatient and left at the first minute. But Victor... he actually went looking for you. To make sure you were safe.

"Yeah sorry, my car just won't fucking start." You explained, pointing at your car which was a pretty old model. Victor cocked his head, peering into the car, before looking back at you. "You got tools so we can pop the hood up? Maybe it's the engine." What happened next you had no control over. It was magic even. You opened the hood, grabbed a toolbox out of your garage, and handed it to him. In the next 30 minutes, he had fixed whatever problem your car had.

Victor turned back to look at you with a goofy smile, and you swore your heart was moving a mile too fast. "All done! But the ice cream parlor is probably closing by now. Do you wanna just hang out here?" He asked, and you nodded your head immediately. It was surprisingly a really nice day with him! You both had a cookout, lounged in the sun, and even had a water balloon fight. You were having so much fun, you let one thing slip your mind.

How the hell did he know where you lived.

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Okay, so maybe he has every caller's address show to him and only him so he can stay safe. It's not his fault! He didn't know if his step-dad was still looking for him.

After he ran away from his abusive household (promising his mother and little siblings, he'd come back and save them from his step-dad's wrath), he immediately got picked up from a small radio station who needed a new radio host after the last one quit.

Clearly, he was better than what he expected because now he had worked his way up to the top radio station and was on nearly every channel!

So when you called in, he just expected a regular old caller, like always. But you... you were different. You actually talked to him. You made him feel alive in a way he didn't know was possible.

So he may have copied your address down just in case he needed to give you a surprise visit, but hey, who's really paying attention? Not him, and apparently not you either cause you did not have a care in the world when he showed up at your house.

You didn't even know that your car was perfectly fine the night before. But it's okay! Because he got to come to the rescue when your car wouldn't start! Even if he was the one who fucked up your engine so he could play hero.

But it's fine! Cause you didn't care, and let him play the hero. You let him be your savior! And that was perfect for him. You were perfect.

Just let him keep playing the hero. You need a hero in this world with someone as perfect as you. Just keep tuning in, and let him save you.

[bonefall]

Clear Sky is a Monster.

Of all the characters in Warrior Cats, I think Clear Sky was the most heavily mishandled.

At every turn, the narrative begs you to sympathize with him, to "understand" the "misunderstood." To this end, his brother Gray Wing is used to "keep faith" in his inherent goodness, his abused son, Thunder, is forced to go back to him over and over, and his second dead wife is completely lobotomized in death to absolve him of all sin.

Because of this, of all this set-up for the "redemption" arc they're trying to tell in the last three books, DOTC is Clear Sky's story. Everything primarily exists to benefit and serve his arc. Thunder and Gray Wing might have POVs, but HE is the character who truly drives the plot. So in order to HAVE conflict for that back half, two evil foreign cats, Slash and One Eye, are summoned to act as contrast.

Their narrative purpose is to display "true evil" to make Clear Sky look less bad in comparison. Unfortunately, Clear Sky is the most malignant, deadly character who has ever blighted Warrior Cats.

The "pure evil" examples they summon aren't effective contrasts because they're flat. Clear Sky is what real abusers look like.

His rhetoric is what it sounds like when a cult leader is trying to keep control over a group. He lies when it benefits him, justifies his actions with his tragic backstory to assuage his guilt and manipulate others, and violently lashes out when his feelings are hurt before blaming his victim for making him angry.

He only made "some mistakes" in that SOME of his actions were accidents-- the vast majority of them were malicious, self-absorbed, intentional choices to punish, hurt, and kill others.

I've spoken about Bumble. I've tallied his body count next to Tigerstar. I've talked about how his infant son's death was his fault in sequel books, and called attention to the infected wound face shoving scene that no one talks about. I can't fit every detail into a single post-- because he's so rancid that I would practically be posting entire books.

So what I want to do here is tackle the heart of Clear Sky. Everything he does, everything he's motivated by, is absolute and utter control over other people. He leverages his "trauma" to evoke empathy from his targets to make them easier to manipulate. He's a dirty liar. He breaks down to physical violence when all other tactics stop working.

He's one of the most severe and realistic abusers I've ever read about outside of very adult literature-- and when I read the reasons why he's attracted to Star Flower, my stomach immediately lurched.

The Killing of Misty

Starvation Rhetoric and the Memory of Fluttering Bird

Aside; a question

Hunger as a punishment; he doesn't care about starvation

Exoneration arc

Predation: Star Flower is a replacement for his son.

I think that index is an evocative content warning. But to say it again; this post contains child and domestic abuse, physical assault, public humiliation, incestuous grooming implications, and a lot of murder.

I need to start with the death of Misty. I see a few people saying that Clear Sky killed her for "being on his land" or trespassing, but this is actually a misstatement that I feel is important to correct.

Misty and her children were on their own land. It was her house. Clear Sky killed her to take it.

This is one of the most important details to remember about Clear Sky, that this is the consistent end point of his obsessive need for power and control. By harassment, by violence, or by death, he will brutalize anyone who does not give him what he wants, or who makes him feel bad, and find some way to justify it.

This territory expansion was for no logical reason. There was plenty of food and plenty of land. Any aggression that's happening on this territory is in response to how he's been stealing land and mauling people.

When it's found out she was fighting to defend her children, Clear Sky's immediate response is to slaughter them too.

Petal doesn't have milk either. It wasn't about the logistics. He wanted to kill the kids, because looking at them made him feel bad, and she just managed to stop him.

Starvation Rhetoric and the Image of Fluttering Bird

It is often said that Clear Sky is doing this because he's "traumatized" from how his little sister, Fluttering Bird, starved to death in the mountains. That the emotion came from wanting to feed people. That's incorrect. It wasn't about food. Fluttering Bird's death, and all the "starvation" he's faced, are used as manipulation tactics to guilt, influence, and control other characters, particularly when he might meet resistance or be held accountable for something.

It was always, ALWAYS, about control.

He does not care about actually helping people; "Starvation Rhetoric" through Fluttering Bird is an image he can invoke to justify the actions that are as bloody and cruel as the one this post starts off with. Either in his own mind, or in the minds of the cats he's manipulating.

He does this to Falling Feather, before slicing her face open in anger when she doesn't buy it. He does it to Rainswept Flower, before he strangles her to death. And he does it in the chapter just before Misty's murder, both to his Clan and then to Thunder,

Clear Sky climbed up in front of an entire crowd and gave a grand speech about hunger and "adjusting" the borders around territory he plans to conquer. When he gets to "forgiveness" he feigns pain to make his point because he is performing. If the sentiment is not a total lie, then at bare minimum, he is intentionally playing this up for the crowd.

He is rallying the Clan to support his violence against the cats whose land he wants to steal, and selling it with his life's hardships.

The audience is clearly well-trained, because several cats recognize the cue, particularly Frost who is praised for loudly comforting him. This signals "loyalty" because showing your sympathy towards his "suffering" is how this type of emotional manipulation works. It creates a persecuted, righteous in-group.

He's also apparently used this tactic before, since this entire crowd knows what "I Would Never Forgive Myself " means.

He's made sycophants out of his followers. Like a cult leader.

His abused son, however, hasn't been fully indoctrinated yet. Seeing Thunder uncomfortable with the idea of expanding the borders for no reason, Clear Sky calls him over for a personal propaganda session.

Clear Sky begins the exchange by calling this a "duty" and a "great honor." Immediately framing what he plans to do as righteous.

He puts on the act when Thunder shows resistance, dramatically pausing to let the guilt trip sink in.

"Thunder waited, realizing that he said the wrong thing."

And then Clear Sky launches into infantilizing Thunder, talking down to him like a child who's too inexperienced to see the "signs of starvation," acting like he's being "patient" in "explaining" it.

And then we get it. "I know what starvation looks like (so stop trusting your own eyes) because I have been through more than you (so shut up and do what I tell you), and I'm being a HERO for what I'm about to do (so opposing me would make you a bad person)."

Thanks to these crocodile tears, looking "moved," the act works. The victim is immediately wracked by guilt because the abuser seems genuinely emotional.

He even lovebombs him over the corpse of Misty in the next chapter, making Thunder feel threatened.

Thunder doesn't have the words to describe what is happening to him, but he knows that this sudden snap to praise isn't natural. That something is very wrong.

A Question.

Before I move on to show that this IS an act, and that he is lying about how important avoiding starvation is to him, I will ask a question. Please think about it, because I promise I mean it genuinely;

Why does it matter if Clear Sky actually believes this or not?

The victims are just as dead either way, yes? Thunder is just as abused and guilt tripped. The entire Clan has been driven towards violence while coddling and cooing at their Supreme Leader. Clear Sky is slowly annexing the entire forest. If you have ever accepted that he had "good intentions" as an excuse for the harm he did, or that abuse and murder was what he imagined was "the right thing," or that his trauma justifies the way he leverages his own pain to make cats do what he wants... why do you think that?

Why does that make it morally better, as the narrative concludes? Would you accept the same for every other WC villain or antagonist? Tigerstar? Slash? Tom the Wifebeater? Brokenstar? Rainflower?

How could you tell the difference, if you couldn't read their actual thoughts on the page? ...are there any other "good intentions" you've accepted, somewhere else?

Don't share that answer with me. It's a question for you. Sit with it.

Hunger as a punishment; he doesn't care about starvation.

...but, regardless, Clear Sky is not deluded about starvation. It's a justification for his obsessive need for control, and always has been. There was no shortage before stealing Misty's land and kits, he is fully aware that there's more prey than they can eat.

He punishes Falling Feather with hunger and harassment for thought crime, by briefly thinking of leaving. But first, he invokes Fluttering Bird at her like he did before, flying into a screeching fit of rage when she doesn't buy it,

"I'm sorry I hurt you... BUT" is THE wifebeater phrase. THE stereotypical line of a domestic abuser. "I'm sorry I hit you... but it's your fault for making me so angry."

She went through the same exact starvation he did, calls out that he's just framing his greed as being for the collective benefit of his subjects, and is assaulted for that.

When we're in his head, we see his REAL concerns are not about hunger. He invoked Fluttering Bird to try and make her shut up and bow down to him; what he's focused on is her "gossiping" and "whining" about the open wound he left on her face. He's still furious at Fircone and Nettle for how Thunder QUESTIONED him. So he will "strengthen their commitment."

When "starvation" DOES enter his thoughts, it is to assuage his own guilt and JUSTIFY what he already did. What he already WANTS to do. It's post-hoc.

He had to suppress his own guilt at how his greed and ambition made these children into orphans, completely unable to admit that he's ever been wrong or has a change to make, so he invokes the starvation rhetoric at himself to excuse it. So he feels less bad.

Everything, EVERYTHING, in this confrontation is about his pleasure at being able to torment his subordinates. To continue the abuse when the initial confrontation is over. If it isn't pride in his power and control over them, it's plain sadism.

He invokes starvation in front of the crowd, again, after being pleasured at the guilt in her eyes, hoping that everyone sees her writhing with shame and embarrassment. Fear wasn't at the root of why he assaulted Falling Feather; rage was, and now he feels better that he got to humiliate the person who offended him.

Starvation Rhetoric is a manipulation tactic.

It goes RIGHT BACK to his twisted idea of "loyalty." Obedience.

A cat who's actually, primarily concerned about starvation wouldn't encourage other cats to steal her food if they feel like it. He wouldn't be using it as a weapon to retaliate against her because she hurt his feelings.

This is paired with the fact he restricts and monitors the diet of his cats. They eat when he allows it, and only what he gives them, in spite of there being piles of dead animals rotting, going to waste.

We then find he personally doles out food from these piles, plucking carcasses off them and flinging them at his cats, one by one. Probably so he can watch how grateful they are to him and make sure they stay a little hungry-- and definitely because it means he can control WHO gets to eat at all.

If Clear Sky chucked a mouse at Falling Feather and someone took it? She would have gone hungry. For not groveling to him. Like when he decides to starve her brother; a hostage who he promised to feed and care for.

He's a dishonest snake. He lied about abandoning baby Thunder, calling it a "test of strength," he lied about Bumble's death, he lied about keeping Jackdaw's Cry fed.

And he lied about starvation to Thunder, because he was just making up an excuse to steal more land.

He wasn't "seeing the signs" of starvation when he moved to "adjust" his borders. Even FURTHER into this so-called "delusional slip" into tyranny, he's freely admitting that it takes months for a person to starve when it benefits his sadistic need to punish undeserving cats.

"Dumb moor cats, always expecting more than they DESERVE."

Not need. DESERVE. It's not a delusion about starvation and it never was. STARVATION is how he CONTROLS SkyClan, and once again he's angry that his pleasure has been sullied.

The massacre at Fourtrees was started over Jackdaw's Cry catching a bat after being starved, on land that Clear Sky has decided RIGHT NOW that he also owns, because it mades him think about being disobeyed.

The bat is forgotten as Clear Sky pivots into a tantrum, wanting to make his family HURT for being 'disloyal' and 'ungrateful.' For leaving him. He LIKES seeing people grovel, cower, and beg, getting PLEASURE from watching how he can hurt and command other cats, and if you don't give him what he wants he will kill you.

Which, make no mistake, is what the "First Battle" actually is. Clear Sky attempting to murder those who don't worship him or swear their undying fealty to him and his twisted dictatorship. Particularly his own son, the most prominent victim of his emotional abuse.

It's not about the bat. It was never even about food or starvation. It's about retaliation for any perceived lack of control.

Once again he breaks out starvation rhetoric to try and manipulate someone, and when Rainswept Flower doesn't buy it just like Falling Feather didn't, he murders her in another fit of entitled rage.

Exoneration arc.

At the end of this battle that was entirely his own fault, we're introduced to the hollowed-out ghost of Storm. She has been flushed of all personality, so that she can be the perfect narrative mouthpiece.

She accepts yet another Fluttering Bird Invocation in spite of how we saw it's not sincere. He was lying the entire time and using starvation rhetoric as a manipulation tactic to get control over his victims.

And that's it.

That's the consequence. Storm's a little mad at him until he says "Buttering Flird" and she swoons.

He doesn't have to be ""afraid"" anymore because the cats just invented an afterlife to believe in. He keeps all of his power and influence and gets off scot-free, because "guilt" (which we SAW him repressing anyway) is supposed to be the best consequence for murder, abuse, and tyranny.

The husk of Storm even materializes again at the end of book 5 to say it outright; he "never drove anyone away." Not even after Book 4 where it's also his fault One Eye took over his Clan for 5 minutes. It was just destiny.

His "redemption arc" is just an exoneration arc. The narrative doesn't think he really did anything wrong.

EVERYTHING about Clear Sky has ALWAYS been about making grabs at power, but since the narrative didn't see a problem with him extorting his personal tragedy and the death of a child, his own sister, he continues doing it. As if these behaviors are normal personality 'traits'.

Even when that sister COMES OUT OF HEAVEN TO YELL AT HIM DIRECTLY,

He finds a way to COMPLETELY miss the point, so he can interpret her words in a bizarrely specific way that will conveniently end with him being the supreme dictator of the entire forest. Just like he ALWAYS does.

It's the entire 5th book. Clear Sky trying to convince everyone, including himself, that it's Fluttering Bird who wants him to grab at power, NOT himself and his own ambition, that THIS time, he promises, for realsies, it's actually about keeping everyone safe.

But just like ALWAYS, because he does not change, when this tried and true tactic manages to work on Thunder, during ANOTHER exchange where he's dramatically pausing and using the cold shoulder to make his pitiable act land harder,

He lapses right back into bullying his child, creating situations where Thunder will have difficulty or be put in pain, so that he can have an excuse to mock and belittle him.

And this all comes to a head when Clear Sky takes romantic interest in Star Flower, his abused son's previous romantic interest.

Predation: Star Flower is a replacement for his son.

Direct parallels are drawn between Thunder and Star Flower. Star Flower contrasts her loyalty to her father to Thunder's "disloyalty" to his own, in an appeal to Clear Sky.

Clear Sky brushes it off for now, citing that he cannot accept her because of who her father was.

But then, Thunder makes the connection between himself and her, because he knows what it is like to be a victim of parental abuse and correctly clocks that they have this in common,

On his vouch, Clear Sky accepts her into the group. She starts trying to offer himself to him; hunting twice as hard as the others, self-imposing harsh conditions like taking a wet sleeping spot. In their second interaction, Clear Sky begins to take interest in her.

Thunder himself points out that Star Flower is seeking an abusive tyrant to replace her own father, which reads like he's deflecting the stress of how his father is abusing him to deny a connection he already made. As if Thunder sees so much of himself in Star Flower that it makes him (rightly) feel sick that his father is romantically invested in her;

Thunder then goes on to follow his own advice and form his own Clan, because Clear Sky IS like One Eye... while Star Flower remains here. At Clear Sky's side. Because she feels like this is what she "deserves," that she "understands" him, truly believing that her crime (warning her father that Clear Sky brought an ambush in case he lost the 1 on 1 death match he requested, which he did) are on the same level as his abuse and murders.

Clear Sky is attracted to Star Flower because, in his own words;

She is young.

She will not betray him.

She won't question him,

and she obeys him.

We've seen what "betrayal" is to Clear Sky-- not taking his excuses or his beatings. To "disobey" is betrayal. To "question" is disobedience.

These are ALL things he's tried to drill into Thunder. We saw him happily exploit their difference in age to tell him he can't have an opinion. He constructed humiliating games in retaliation for ever being questioned. He tried to murder Thunder and his friends for their "betrayal." Even now, being disobeyed causes explosive reactions.

He was previously grooming the things he now identifies as attractive in a young woman into his child.

If your body becomes too useless to serve him, like Frost and Jagged Peak, you're thrown out. If you don't unquestioningly follow his bloody commands, like Falling Feather or Thunder, you're subjected to abuse and public humiliation. If you're in his way, like Misty or Rainswept Flower were, you die.

If you meet all of his expectations...

You will be in a horrific position where you will never have agency over your own life ever again. Every move, every word, will have to be carefully crafted so that he feels like you're "loyal" to him by the arbitrary standard he feels that day. Never step out of line, never doubt his decisions, never live for anyone except him and the children you will give him, not even for a moment, because then you will not be "worthy" of his grace.

Star Flower would be in serious danger if this series wasn't written by abuse apologists. They accidentally wrote a perfect reflection of how child abuse victims often find themselves in unsafe and toxic romantic relationships with large age gaps which mirror what they went through as kids; but this team doesn't clock it, playing this relationship as wholesome and genuine.

He finally has someone who ""understands"" him. Because they think the character they wrote is misunderstood.

but reality is plain to see.

Clear Sky is a monster. The most realistic monster in all of WC-- far, far closer to real life predators and domestic abusers than the "born evil" rogues like Slash and One Eye. The Erins seem to believe that what separates Clear Sky from One Eye is "fundamental" good and "fundamental" evil, when the truth is that they'd be separated by very, very little.

If they had realistic motivations, they would be exactly like the character their existence is meant to excuse.

Slash and One Eye HAD to be kept flat and one-dimensional. If the book was more earnest, the only difference between Clear Sky and One Eye would have been that One Eye is stronger. So strong that Clear Sky needed to manipulate the other groups into helping him.

While anyone can change, not everyone will, and Clear Sky has no reason to. He sees no consequences. He has everything he wants; power, a pretty and obedient young mate, and unchecked authority over a brainwashed forest cult. There is always a victim on a leash, a naive enabler, or a bunch of desperate and gullible marks somewhere in his proximity to bully into doing his dirtywork

Whether his "intentions" were sincere or not (evidence points towards not) at its root it was always about control. Power is something he perpetually keeps, and continues to violently use.

[luneemeritus]

Guys have I ever commented about how both Youtube and Tiktok have the shittiest takes on Stolas? No? Then I will try to comment more often.

"I wonder why Octavia is mean to Stolas" because she's a teenager who doesn't know the truth about her parents' situation or the abuse her father went throught during 17+ years, that's why.

As Stolas antis are unable to recognize the MOST BASIC aspects of the story, let me just remind everything we know about Stolas and his relationship with his family:

(TW: MARITAL RAPE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND HAVING TO EDUCATE STOLAS ANTIS FOR THE 100TH TIME)

1- emotionally and physically abused by his father

2- forced to marry an abusive person when he was a fucking child

3- raped multiple times by Stella before she got pregnant

4- TEEN FATHER. TEEN. FATHER. You know what a TEEN FATHER means? He was forced to be a father when he. was. A. TEEN.

5- spent 17 years surviving his wife's verbal, emotional and physical abuse FOR HIS DAUGTHER'S SAKE

6- took accountability when he realized his mistakes towards his daughter, and his mistakes were basically trying his best to make his daughter happy while being a literal survivor of parental abuse, domestic violence, SA and social isolation, literally a fucking normal human being trying his best and improving himself

7- is not only teaching her spells slowly and respecting her time, but also raising her as the teenager girl she is, and not as a 'legal adult' full of rich folk bullshit responsabilities as he was raised

"Stolas is a good dad" yes, media illiterate antis, he IS. He raised his daughter with love and care, he shield her from potential dangers (which came from her own mother), took accountability everytime he made a mistake with her, and sacrificed 17+ years in silence, surviving domestic violence, FOR HER. This is what a good parent does; loves, takes accountability and cares for their child, and as someone who has a very shitty dad who actually doesn't respect me or take accountability, I proudly affirm Stolas is doing great. You know what STELLA, an actual terrible parent, does? Abuses her husband in front of their kid and turns Via against her father. This is what a terrible parent does, oh but sorry I forgot she's the cisheteronormative woman who can do no wrong despite doing everything wrong maliciously.

Octavia acting like a teenager is absolutely in-character and justified. She doesn't have to know that her mother is an abuser, and this is why Stolas shield her from this hell, because he wanted her to have a normal fucking life. But the AUDIENCE? Grown adults who KNOW what is happening with Stolas and should understand how basic parenting works, acting like an angry teenager who hates Dada? Now that is just bad faith and urge to justify your hate boner against Stolas with the same stupid outdated arguments that were discussed a thousand times in this fandom.

For a man that was forced to have an abusive wife and a child at his teenage years, yes, he is a good father. He makes normal mistakes like any normal parent does. In LooLoo Land, he (unintentionally) ignored Via's discomfort because he was trying to cheer her up, trying to, as himself said, keep her away from their hostile house — whose hostility is Stella's fault. In Seeing Stars, he DOES NOT ignore Via nor forgot about the promise (he forgot the day, not the promise), he was busy standing up against his ABUSER. He asked for some minutes to finish his phone call, if Via had waited just a little bit longer, he would turn off the phone and listened to her. She didn't, because she's a kid with the trauma of growing up with an abusive mother and a closeted dad, again, in-character and understanding. But grown adults who were supposed to understand what is going on with Stolas having the same behaviour of a kid is hilariously telling a lot about how you react to this show.

Stolas makes the same mistakes Blitzø makes with Loona. Blitzø often infantilizes her to the point of being overprotective, and guess what? He also took accountability, because he, just like Stolas, is a good dad. And just like Lucifer as well. Buuuuut you don't really care about what is or what isnt a good father, you just want to yell about how much you hate Stolas. And the reason why you hate Stolas (at least one of the reasons) is because you can't understand basic shit about him.

Edit: by the way, let me show yall this print. It's so adorable. As irritating as Stolas's "sLaNdErInG" crowd is, the fandom always manage to make everything better. Let's smile more and think about the good things <3

[blissfulrain12]

Curly the scapegoat and the Fandom

So I was thinking of Curly's position in the fandom and noticed a few things. Just like Jimmy and Pony Express the fandom uses Curly as a scapegoat and emotional punching bag of sorts. With Curly baring the majority of judgement and fault the fandom doesn't have to actually engage with the complexities of the other characters. The characters, the narrative, and the themes get to be flattened out if Curly is the ultimate object of guilt.

When people discuss Curly being "an accomplice" to Jimmy and similar I've noticed that Jimmy gets talked about as if he's a force of nature and not a grown man. Curly is treated as if he is responsible for Jimmy's actions as if Jimmy were his child or if Jimmy was a hurricane and Curly failed to board up the windows. I think this happens because if Curly is to blame then the fandom can avoid engaging with Jimmy directly. If Jimny is just "the evil Curly enabled" then there's no need to analysis him, to talk about how human he is, how poverty and masculinity shaped him, and how Pony Express took advantage of him.

Speaking of Pony Express, Curly is their scapegoat in and out of universe. Not only are they barely spoken of even though they are at the root of every problem the crew faces but Curly is often directly blamed for their actions. So many people in the fandom blame Curly for the lack of locks on the ship or Daisuke being there and resulting in a cryopod shortage. Curly is used by the fandom as a stand in for PE to the point where very few people question the systems of capitalism and hierarchy PE represents instead reducing it down to Curly not doing his job.

For the other 3 crew members with Curly taking the burden of fault they get to be elevated to faultless victims. It's to the point where Swansea and Daisuke get to be painted as potential heroes to Anya and in Daisuke's case a perfect angel. Their flaws and mistakes are completely glossed over so they can contrast to "Curly the accomplice". Swansea belittling Anya is flipped on its head to make him protective of her instead even though he never directly is. Daisuke being a college aged man who willingly helped roofie someone is ignored in favor of infantalizing him.

Anya gets it the worse in my opinion. She and Curly are paralleled almost completely but her own complexity is thrown out the window in order to make her the perfect victim. All of her actions are only spoken of in a positive light despite the fact that her actions are parallel to Curly whose actions get him labeled an enabler and at fault. Curly is made into Anya's shadow being the "bad victim" so Anya can be the "good" one.

As for the narrative and themes if Curly is reduced to the scapegoat role the fandom gets to reduce everything down to just rape culture and female victimhood. These themes are important but they're not the only ones. Capitalism is in fact a huge portion of the narrative, as well as disability, male victimhood, psychological abuse, masculinity, and hierarchy. I understand the want to focus on the rape culture aspects but the fandom sometimes shuts down other analysis as "missing the point". I think Mouthwashing has a lot to say that the fandom just doesn't want to acknowledge.

[traumasurvivors]

I wrote a blog post about how harmful it can be to have your emotions invalidated growing up. It's here if you want to check it out! I'll paste the text below the read more for people who don't like links, but if you're comfortable, I really appreciate getting hits on my site! It feels really validating after all the work I've put into it. I've opted to not have any ads or anything to monetize my site, so it isn't like those annoying clickbait articles.

The effects of having our emotions invalidated while we’re growing up isn’t talked about enough and it can have lasting effects. This can happen when people say things like “you don’t know real struggles” when a younger person is upset about something they’re struggling with. This might include being told “I’ll give you something to cry about” which implied that the reason you were crying then “wasn’t a big enough reason”. Other people may have had to deal with “worse” problems and so we were told to be thankful for what we had because of what other children experienced. Your feelings of sadness, frustration, disappointment or anger were still real and valid. And you were allowed those feelings.

You may have been told to “stop being so sensitive,” which taught that you weren’t tough enough. You may have also been told “it builds character” which may have made you feel that you had to find a positive lesson in every bad thing you experienced. This can also be part of how people invalidate the seriousness of abuse, and other things that happened to you that were someone else’s fault. If someone doesn’t want to take responsibility, they may minimize what happened to you. They may say it’s okay because “they didn’t mean to do it” or “they don’t know any better,” perhaps because of abuse they went through. Your feelings may be invalidated because someone wants you to “let it go.” How serious they feel it was, or the reasons it happened, are not reasons that your feelings should be ignored or disregarded. Your feelings are valid. You should never have to “let it go.” 

These things that we were told, and many more, taught us that our emotions were bad and wrong. It likely felt invalidating. It may have been damaging And it probably affects how we see the emotions of others. I’ve had people say similar things to me now that I’m an adult, and I think it’s likely they do it because they were told things like these when they were younger, too. Over time, this has led to me invalidating my own feelings. I’ve told myself I should be strong and to avoid such feelings, or that the reasons for them weren’t “big enough”. I told myself that others had it worse than me, therefore I wasn’t allowed to be upset. None of these things helped me. Instead, they actually made me worse off. I bottled stuff up and then began using unhealthy coping methods to deal with the emotions. Having our emotions invalidated as we grow up can be traumatizing in its own way. It also doesn’t teach us how to effectively deal with and process our negative emotions. This can lead to people having fits of uncontrollable rage, spirals of depression and guilt, substance abuse to avoid feelings, and any number of other unhealthy reactions that can cause us more harm and prolong everything or make it worse.

Being unable to cope with my feelings was a big part of me not being able to cope with conflict in my relationships. Downplaying any “bad” thing that happened and ignoring it meant, for instance, I wouldn’t point out and deal with a small (sometimes completely unintentional) mistake. Instead, I let my feelings build without communicating about them and let my resentment build. By the time I acknowledged and spoke about my feelings, the problem was a thousand times worse than it would have been if I had dealt with it quickly. And sometimes it was too late to fix the damage done.

It’s not too late to learn and do better. You don’t have to be thankful it wasn’t “worse”. You don’t have to find a silver lining. While it’s important not to get stuck in our feelings long-term, sitting with them and feeling them and acknowledging you aren’t okay is okay! It’s okay to think something sucks or that it wasn’t fair. It’s okay to feel frustrated or sad over “small” things. Sometimes we don’t even understand why a situation or something has left us having such big feelings, and that’s okay, too! Your feelings are real and valid, even if they don’t make sense to you. And you deserve patience and compassion. Especially from yourself.

When you have negative feelings, if you find yourself minimizing them, or telling yourself why you don’t have a right to feel them, stop and try to be aware of what you’re doing. And allow yourself to feel it if you can. I've often had to remind myself that while it is uncomfortable, I can be uncomfortable and sit with my feelings. Think about if there’s a healthy response you can have to those feelings. For instance, if someone said something hurtful to you, talking to them about it might be a lot more productive than acting like you don’t care. Your feelings are valid. And invalidating them yourself is unlikely to be good for you.

Try to remember that, and try to be kind to yourself.

[starstruckbyacomet]

Choices Are Made on TV Shows...

BoBs often say choices are made on TV shows. It's basically their reason to justify their insistence that there are romantic meanings in a lot of Buck and Eddie scenes, which are often missed by casual viewers. They've been abusing this reason for a very long time...

Now, let me show you some examples of choices which were obviously made on this TV show:

1)) Eddie was reading a swimsuit magazine in a hospital setting.

Hospitals usually avoid having suggestive materials on their premises. They often have minors' presence, especially in the patient rooms. They don't want to get sued by helicopter parents. It means Eddie most likely brought the magazine himself. But, why bother? Why don't simply make Eddie scrolled his phone while he was talking to Buck and Tommy, a safer and more practical option?

Because they want to show that Eddie is interested in women, and not into the half-naked man who was laying on a bed in front of him.

2)) Buck and Eddie's hand shake was left in the cutting room.

There had been a BTS still of Buck and Eddie's handshake going around the internet before episode 8x05 was on air. The still prompted BoBs to make assumptions about the birth of canon Buddie romance.

The handshake actually signified a bet between Buck and Eddie. It was a cute moment, should be less than 1 second long, and emphasized the playful nature of Buck and Eddie's friendship. So, why did it get cut? The people in charge of the show have included Tommy's 'Oh, shit' moment, which was obviously just an undeliberate mistake (Lou slipped off), in episode 8x01. Why did they cut this handshake?

Probably because their social media team have seen the Buddie romance assumption made based on the handshake still. They didn't want to feed the beast. This cut is inline with their decision to make Eddie read a swimsuit magazine in a hospital room (as if Eddie couldn't browse pictures of naked women on his phone 🙄).

3)) There are other interesting choices made on this episode, which I've mentioned in my previous post (link).

For once, BoBs are right. Choices are made on this TV show. And this particular episode indeed has double meanings:

Tommy is Buck's chosen boyfriend (doting partner, besties with Eddie, welcomed by the 118 family).

The show is done with the Buddie bullshit.

These messages will probably fall into the deaf ears of BoBs, but at least the people in charge of the show have tried. They can't be accused of baiting, if their messages are well received by the general audience. It's not their fault that BoBs have media lliteracy issues.

[uniquepeanutcreatorfire]

Things Hazbin Hotel season one taught us:

Everyone deserves a second chance, even if you don’t know how many chances a sinner may have received when they were alive.

People make mistakes, murder or manslaughter is just an oopsie.

If you’re perceived as a bad person, you’re not the problem. It’s usually someone else’s fault or because the system is set up against you.

If you do bad things, it’s because you’re misunderstood.

Just say sorry, no matter how bad your actions, it fixes everything.

You’re either a victim or abuser but not both, that’s too complex.

People who do heinous things are absolute monsters and don’t want redemption anyway, ever.

Even if you do heinous things, as long as you’re quirky it’s okay.

The rules on who gets into Heaven and Hell are arbitrary, even though the people in Hell are there for OBVIOUS reasons.

Just because one person in Heaven is a douchbag, it means they’re NOT the exception but the rule.

The path to redemption just includes saying you’re sorry and being nice. Who cares about the actual reason(s) you’re in hell, that’s not important. It’s not like sinners are in Hell for different reasons.

You’re going through a traumatic experience….Shut up. Everyone else has it bad too, let’s talk about it together.

S/A is serious when there’s dramatic music playing. Otherwise, it’s funny.

It’s boring to show the actual work a sinner puts in to be redeemed. Just have a time skip and say they made huge progress.

Angels committing genocide is wrong, but sinners killing each other daily is okay. Even when there’s a black market for old angelic weapons anyone can buy, it’s okay.

Put your entire being into your partner’s work.

If you have to fight your former comrades, think about your partner AGAIN. If you’re losing, you’re not thinking hard enough.

If your girlfriend says she’s a failure if she can’t accomplish your dreams, don’t assure her that she’s more than that.

You’re considered redeemable if you stand up to your abuser, even though you failed your actual problem of drug abuse.

You’ll grow close to the hotel staff and believe in the mission, even though you barely spend any time with them.

Follow your dreams, even if it’s literally pointless and does more harm than good.

[tleeaves]

Rule(heart)breaker pt. II

Tokyo Debunker | Ritsu Shinjo x reader/MC Warnings: none Description: ritsu shinjo fails and try, tries again... and again... aaaand again. contains low grade angst and high-grade ridiculousness. slightly yandere vibes if you get real close and cross your eyes. Author's note: as requested, here's a part ii to this short fic idea here. longer than the first part and there's likely to be a part iii when I can get around to it. writing for ritsu kind of started as a joke since I also study law but now I'm kinda attached to this idea ngl. might eventually edit and upload this series to ao3 as a multi-chapter fic, we'll see. - T. Lee 🍃

It was Day Thirty-three of Ritsu Shinjo’s battle to get you back. He stood in his dormitory room, dressed in a matching set of pinstriped grey pyjamas ironed to perfection, and observed the corkboard he had set up on the wall. Notes, pictures, and red string wound around pins mapping out his trials and errors.

Everything began simple enough at first. A phone call the first day to ask you to reconsider your statement. You did not pick up. Nor would you for the next three days, at which point Ritsu considered his next step. He knew your class schedule by heart. So, naturally, he began trying to track you down between classes to make his case in person. By the end of that first week, you had called him nine colourful terms and flipped him off with three of those.

Ritsu Shinjo knew the risks of client abuses when working in the legal field. He knew the troubles of fickle associates and ruthless adversaries. No one prepared him for an unwilling business partner—let alone one that so swiftly appeared to detest him. A selfish and competitively ambitious partner, certainly, but not one he needed to keep who did not want to be kept.

It would be easier, he had reasoned, to merely acquire a more adequate person to work with who was less cranky, less preoccupied, and more enthusiastic. But Ritsu quickly found that to be impractical option. The use of you was that you were Darkwick Inspector. So, not only did he need you to reel in higher-ranked missions for Sinostra for the credit and sign offs, but he also needed an insider on all the other houses. You were, clearly, the prime person to keep close. And now he had gone and upset you—quite accidentally, of course—which placed Sinostra in a precarious position. Because during the second week, on exactly the Tenth Day of battle, you ignored the request to attend to Sinostra.

Ritsu had ensured the proper avenues from Vice-Captain Romeo S. Lucci to Captain Taiga Hoshibami (via a signature the captain was unlikely to remember giving out) to the heads of the houses and the chancellor himself were all followed. He dotted his i's and crossed his t’s, did it all by the book and followed the chain of authority for once. And somehow you had managed to worm your way out of the Sinostra assignment to take on a different one in Frostheim, a place you were much more difficult to reach when the likes of Jin Kamurai practically held you hostage.

It was affecting Sinostra’s progress. Ritsu Shinjo had brought this upon the house himself and now he needed to amend the mistake before Romeo’s wails of developing premature wrinkles over the matter actually manifested.

On Day Eleven, Ritsu managed to catch you on your way back to the cathedral, thankfully before closing business hours. He made his plea and even offered you an elegant fountain pen from his exquisite collection of stationery to gain favour. His father would approve of buttering up people with professional gifts.

You took the pen and promptly seized Ritsu’s hand to write “DICKHEAD” across the back. His fault, perhaps, for this being the one time he had not worn his gloves. He had watched you storm off (you kept the pen, as was your right, unfortunately, since he had already confirmed it was a gift and therefore equitably transferred ownership) swaying on the path, hand still aloft as the dark ink spelling out his crime against your good humour dried.

He tried coffees for the next series of mornings where he caught you on your way to 9 AM classes and mission calls. You were merciful enough not to spill any on him this time. But many likely poisoned the innocent shrubbery lining the academy’s pathways by the time he gave up that endeavour.

He really, really wanted to accuse you of assault, battery, or littering at the very least. Ritsu knew that to get on your good side though, his role now was not just an agent of the law but a savvy business partner. A partner would put their other partner first if it meant saving their business. And Ritsu was in the business of climbing the ladder, so he needed you. The temptation was difficult to fight when you threw the silver watch he bought you at his head.

He knew he should have opted for gold.

Third week in and he truly began to realise you changed. Ritsu listened back on recordings, paced a trench into the carpet of his rooms, and sorted through his appendices of photographic evidence to pinpoint exactly what it was and when it started. To his surmounting horror, the signs began well before you resigned.

When you first arrived at the academy, you were a timid honour student being dragged around by ghouls every which way with nary a peep made about it. The more familiar with the environment you became, however, the more pronounced your backbone grew. Ritsu felt with an odd sense of pride that you might have come into your own as an advocate like him—if you would only refrain from your more unruly tendencies.

On Day Eighteen, he gifted you a monogrammed handkerchief and kept his invoice for his dry-cleaning from the day of your resigning quiet. He could afford it, even if his pride and sense of equity told him you should be paying for the damages. Ritsu had managed to develop a behavioural chart for you, similar to the one he had for Taiga. That was how he knew the likely time to catch you in a more sedate mood, making you more susceptible to his gifts and pleas. Ritsu straightened up, pleased, when you accepted the handkerchief. You had not accepted his business offer, but he counted this as progress.

At least, that was until he found the handkerchief delivered to his rooms in Sinostra, decorated with dark lipstick marks that seemed to taunt him with its unwashed state. By this point, Ritsu could practically hear your voice saying, pay me for the dry-cleaning this time, asshole. Perhaps he should start a prediction chart for your responses to certain circumstances too.

Things were getting dire when you started disappearing for days at a time on more intense missions with other houses. You still had not returned to Sinostra. Romeo was hanging by a thread. Ritsu kept his cool, same as ever. There was no problem he could not solve.

Save for the fact that it became clear you were ignoring him. Calls, texts, summons, and waves on campus when he managed to catch a rare glimpse of you went unanswered. Worse still, you had other ghouls with you constantly now. That did not stop Ritsu from gathering intelligence though. Most students merely raised eyebrows and continued to ignore him when he recorded your conversations from around corners. This might have been considered a breach of privacy and perhaps even inadmissible as evidence in a court, but you were in a public space and he was not in a courtroom.

Day Twenty-nine and Ritsu found himself swallowing down an uncomfortable feeling. He was trying a bouquet of flowers today. That was professional. Many coworkers gifted each other flowers for various occasions. Ritsu figured this was not far outside the realm of associate-like behaviour.

You had just returned from another gruelling mission that landed you in the clinic. Ritsu carefully placed the bouquet at your bedside with a printed note. You refused to even look at him. If this continued for another month, your curse would be halfway in its progression already. Ritsu would never let the opposition see him sweat. But as he left your room, the one of six handkerchiefs he kept on his person was used to dab at his face.

Ritsu Shinjo was supposed to be perfect. He was going to be Japan’s top attorney. He had been training since early childhood for ruling the nation’s upper class with his knowledge of the law and how to reap rewards from their purses. He knew four languages, minimum, entirely fluently. He knew every classic opera, all manner of geography and jurisdictions, the top restaurants, and dressed impeccably. He got accepted into the most prestigious academy after making a deal with a demon.

If he did not leave this educational institution with the highest of accreditation, would all of that be for nothing? What was the point if he was not the best?

He needed the laurel crown for Sinostra with your assistance this year before either your curse turned you into an anomaly or you were freed from this place to return to your previous life. If Sinostra could come into the academy’s high graces again, it would make proceeding years easier for Ritsu to handle maintaining the house’s status on his own to ensure his graduation came from perfect results.

Five months were just about gone already. If something did not change, fast, he would be losing six, with only six more to go. What would happen the closer you came to the change? Would it be a gradual development or something that occurred all at once at the precise one year mark? If the former, would you still retain enough sound mind to work with Ritsu?

Would you become like Sinostra’s captain? Something worse?

And so here he was, Day Thirty-three and standing in front of his strategy board, breaking out into a cold sweat. Ritsu Shinjo was supposed to be unflappable. When it came to you, he was stumped. He had tried everything, from the direct approach, to notes, to gifts, to flowers, and even both a written and verbal apology. Every trick in the book.

What could he possibly be missing?

The door to his rooms burst open. Affronted, Ritsu took a half-step back, hand reaching for his compendium. “Vice-Captain? It is outside working hours and you are trespass—”

“Silence, YRT! You look to be working overtime anyway,” Romeo declared, slamming the door behind him. “This is GOOH, you need to FTI or so help me, I am ending your contract as Sinostra’s attorney!”

Ritsu blinked. “…GOOH? If you would please clarify—”

“GETTING OUT OF HAND, YOU SBA!”

Perhaps it was better not to ask and hinder the progress of the conversation. “I…” I, what? I have it under control? I will find a way? I, Ritsu Shinjo, paralegal, will resolve this in a timely manner? “How do you win someone over? Someone who hates you?”

Romeo’s irritation sputtered out a little, the creases on his porcelain skin smoothing. “Usually bribery.”

“Tried that.”

“Threats?”

“Futile, illegal.”

Romeo cocked his head to the side. “Have you tried locking them up?”

“That,” said Ritsu with a frown, “would constitute false imprisonment, which is also illegal, and is punishable by—”

“Whatever, shut up,” Romeo snapped, waving away the statement. “I thought you Shinjos were supposed to be morally bankrupt.”

Ritsu felt a prickle run up his spine. Holding his vice-captain’s gaze, he murmured, “No comment.”

“This is about that BB honour student, yes? She’s a woman like any other.” Romeo snapped his fingers. “Seduce her.”

“…I— beg your pardon?”

“You heard me! Seduce the honour student. That solves the part where she hates you, where she avoids you, and it will undoubtedly lead her back to Sinostra.” Wrinkling his delicate nose, Romeo added, “Just no risqué displays on the casino floor. I would rather not see that, nor do I wish to drive away the money.”

Ritsu opened his mouth. Shut it. Opened again. And fell shut. A peculiar heat buzzed over his skin. Finally, he said, “There must be another way. I will keep researching.”

Romeo scoffed. “At this rate, she’ll be an anomaly before she so much as looks at you again. If all other methods of enticing her to help us have already failed,” he explained, surprisingly patient, “then you must take more extreme action. People sleep with each other all the time to rise among ranks.”

“N— no one said anything about—”

“Shut up! Don’t you get it, you DTH? If you seduce her, she will become obsessed with you, will do whatever you say, and we can use her for Sinostra’s gain. It’s EAP.”

Ritsu wandered over to his desk chair and sat with the weight of his thoughts. What more did he have to lose if he tried this new strategy? You would reject his initial advances, undoubtedly, but perhaps if he investigated the best courting techniques and combined it with Romeo’s suggestion, it might be possible to soften you with something more personal than business. He supposed he had already tried everything else. It was nigh unreasonable how stubborn you were being. Yet…

“All right. I’ll do it.” Ritsu turned to his binder and his laptop to begin his research. “I will develop a plan and swiftly execute it within the next month. That should give Sinostra enough time to regain standing once I… have reacquired the inspector.”

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Romeo asked, dubious.

“Courting and seduction are thousands of years old arts, and I am something of a connoisseur of arts, naturally. I, Ritsu Shinjo, must move up my plan for a romantic partner. I knew this day would come eventually. It goes without saying that this need not be permanent, since I have different criterion—”

“Whatever, BSB,” interrupted Romeo. “Just get it done or you can forget about the contract.” The door slammed shut once again.

Ritsu glanced at his corkboard and then removed the sheet he had been writing on from his binder and pinned it up next to a picture of you.

The Girlfriend Strategy.

[soraya-snape]

The TikTok Snaters are at it again with their 0 braincells.

1. Sev didn't bully children because he was rejected by Lily. But because he himself was bullied, abused, neglected and s*xually assaulted as a kid/teenager and never got any help/learned how to deal with it. Not an excuse but an explanation and a human one. Also, he never made any advances towards Lily, we actually don't know if his feelings for her were romantic or simply platonic.

2. Two things can be true at the same time. Yes, Sev made mistakes like calling Lily a mudblood, but that doesn't mean he can't be a victim. Sev was the victim of the marauders, his parents, and others.

3. While I do think Sev calling Lily a mudblood was wrong and the thing that ended their friendship, I think their relationship was already strained, and it was not entirely Sev's fault. Lily defending his bullies and not believing him is just not how a true friend behaves. Also, he apologized for it unlike Lily who also insulted him afterwards, maybe not as bad, but it was still wrong.

[weirdsht]

Disillusioned 11 . Nothing More, Nothing Less (4)

a/n: double update this week because i got a perfect score on my all-or-nothing oral quiz last night hehe. also, this was supposed to be 2 installments only but I keep making things longer than when I first storyboarded lol

tags: feelings in progress, trying to break out from an abusive mentality, crying, fluff, remember that healing is not instant and takes time

English isn’t my first language so there will be grammatical errors

Pls don't repost my work anywhere without my permission

Constructive criticisms and any kind of interaction are more than welcome

Requests are currently closed but my ask are still open (read pinned)

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Everyone dispersed to do their own thing when they got back home. Of course, they did this after they made sure that _____ was inside their room and properly resting.

The healer complied with everyone’s wishes, how could they not when Choi Han was practically guarding the door? However, they were starting to feel restless and bored. Back at their old home, they were never told to rest for this long.

It was the opposite actually.

Everyone back there wanted them to get back in action as soon as possible. It doesn’t matter how bad they feel, _____ is expected to get back to work after 5 hours max.

Knock

Knock 

“Cale-nim asked if you feel well enough to join him for dinner.”

Good thing Choi Han gave _____ an agenda before they die of restlessness.

“Please tell the young master I’ll join him.”

The swordmaster inspected the healer first before nodding. Looks like _____ passed Choi Han’s detector and is deemed well enough to have dinner in Cale’s room.

It was an invitation for dinner but the Medicus knows that its real purpose is so that Cale can have a serious chat with them.

_____ already knows their fault.

In Cale and everyone else’s eyes, they acted recklessly. It’s _____’s mistake that they didn’t inform Cale that could handle that much. Then in turn because of that miscommunication, some things were hindered and they lost manpower for a short while.

To put it another way, _____ hindered everyone’s work.

For that, they were sorry. They didn’t mean to be deadweight that had to be carried around.

_____ told themself that they’ll tell Cale they won’t repeat the same mistake when they have dinner.

…things didn’t go as planned.

When the healer tried to explain that they certainly could handle more than what they did in the Whipper Kingdom Cale only sighed. Then when they tried to say sorry Cale frowned.

That’s never a good sign.

But _____ can’t think of what else they did wrong.

It didn’t help that the children averaging 8 years old also have the same expression.

“You know that I’m trash right?”

“Huh? Uhm yes, I do.”

_____ knew the rumours that labelled Cale as trash, but they didn’t know why it mattered right now.

“Right and as you know someone trash is selfish.”

The healer has no idea where this is going. In the first place, Cale was far from selfish. He may be opportunistic and a little manipulative but everything he did was for the betterment of others.

“Because I’m selfish I don’t care whatever happens to other people. My priority will always be me and my people first.”

_____ still has no idea where this is going.

“That means you, you rascal.”

Cale poked _____’s forehead, straightening the lines of confusion that had formed.

“You’re one of my people. You have been since that day you agreed to leave the City of Life with me.

Meaning, you are my priority. Meaning, I will not tolerate such dangerous and self-sacrificial actions from you.”

On looked at Cale as if he had no right to talk but the redhead didn’t notice it.

“And so in the future, I hope you can promise to never do anything that will harm you again. I don’t need promises of you doing better, I just want to know that you won’t get hurt this severely from healing other people...”

Plop

Plop

Cale who had more to say stopped speaking.

How could he not when he saw _____’s tears?

The same _____ who had a neutral expression after almost dying.

The same _____ who just nodded and moved on after realizing their family had abandoned them.

The same _____ who still had a poker face despite shaking from their nightmares.

That same _____ is now crying.

And it looks like they didn’t even notice they were crying.

_____ only noticed their tears when they picked up the two kittens that had been pawing their arm. After they did, the two took it upon themself to paw away the tears streaming down their face.

It seemed to have the opposite effect though.

Not only did it not stop the healer’s tears it actually made them cry more.

_____ couldn't stop the tears from flowing no matter how hard they tried. After a few seconds of trying they gave up and asked Cale a question instead.

"Cale-sunbae are you never mad at me? You never yell or punish me even though I keep messing up and is essentially useless to your group of experts..." 

Cale feels as though he is gonna have a heart attack from all the surprises because of _____. 

Are they being serious? 

How could Cale get mad at them or think of them as useless when their abilities are so useful? 

Just the amount of money they've saved from using fewer potions because they have a great healer was already amazing. Then there's the ancient power that makes them a living detector. Because of that ability, everyone found it easier to navigate the plants and monsters inside the Forest of Darkness.

How could someone amazing be deemed useless?

This was certainly because of the trash that adopted them.

Cale is going to make sure he fucks them up sooner or later.

But for now, the young master is going to make sure _____ understands their worth.

“I don’t take in useless people. I only take in people that can pay for their meals.”

The redhead used his personal handkerchief to dry the healer's tears.

As he did _____ could feel that warm and fuzzy feeling they felt back at the Whipper Kingdom come back. However, they ignored it in favour of listening to Cale’s words.

“Remember, I personally asked you to join me, to join us. Have you ever seen me make the wrong judgement?”

Cale is definitely tooting his own horn.

But hey if it makes _____ understand.

And it looks like it did because _____ shook their head no. Then they stayed silent as they stared at Cale’s handkerchief. As if they were absorbing the weight of his words.

Cale deemed it enough for now. He knows that _____ will have a hard time reversing everything they’ve learned. It won't be easy, but Cale is willing to go at _____’s pace.

Later that night Choi Han knocked on Cale’s door to report something.

When the swordmaster entered the room the first thing he noticed was how none of the children were with Cale.

“They’re in _____’s room. They said something about making sure that _____ doesn’t cry again.”

Was Cale’s short answer when asked.

“_____-nim cried?”

Choi Han couldn’t believe it. Just what did his Cale-nim say to someone as expressionless as _____ that it made them cry…

“Check on them yourself if you don’t believe me.”

That’s exactly what Choi Han did after he finished his report.

Don’t get him wrong, it wasn’t because he didn’t trust Cale’s words. It’s more because he wanted to see if the healer was doing better now.

The black-haired man knocked on the door and Raon answered by opening it using mana.

It’s dark in the room but Choi Han has no problems seeing everything. As he scans the room he sees the children averaging 8 years old lying down on _____’s bed. The two kittens are already asleep just like the healer, leaving the black dragon to be the only one awake.

Choi Han smiled at the sight. The children didn’t look any different aside from the fact they were sleeping on _____’s bed instead of Cale’s. At the same time, it looks like _____ themself is sleeping peacefully.

The swordmaster checked everything one more time to make sure he didn’t miss anything before closing the door to let the four get their well-deserved rest.

[luveline]

maybeee if you’re feeling like it, eddie and r disagree over some parenting decision for roan and r doesn’t really wanna overstep but it’s something she feels passionate about

thank you for your request my love! dad!eddie x (nearly) stepmom!reader — tw mentioned child abuse (NOT graphic imagery, not enacted, just mentioned)

You don't think Eddie's mad at you, which is good. He hadn't said anything he couldn't take back, things you'd worried he might; I'm her dad, (with an unspoken not you) is the most passionate thing he'd said. It hurt some, but it's irrefutable. He's her father, her primary caregiver, and he makes decisions when it comes down to it. 

He didn't say and you're not her mom, but it had felt implied. Just a bit. 

Loving her like your own, it's natural to want the best for her. Natural to have opinions on how she's taken care of and the things that she should do. Things got heated too quickly, that's all. Or, that's what you're hoping happened. 

Stacy K's mom said hey, would it be alright for Stacy to invite Roan to a slumber party? She wants one for her birthday, and she wants Roan there most of all. 

And you'd been surprised at Eddie's immediate agreement. Sure, Roan would love to come.

He picked Roan up and you parted ways with Stacy K and her mom, and you were quiet, unlike yourself, stomach churning because you knew you'd have to speak up, which you hardly ever do. Hey, Eddie?

He noticed your strange expression. What?

Is that a good idea? … Stacy's slumber party? 

Why wouldn't it be? 

It devolved from there. You tripped over your words, trying your hardest not to start a fight with Roan in the car, and Eddie took it the wrong way —or maybe he didn't, maybe he took it the right way, and you'd made a mistake. Your concerns had come across as doubtful of his ability to look after Roan. It makes sense that he took offence. 

You shouldn't, but you worry for a second that this will be the end, that Eddie can't abide by what you've said, and he's going to pack up and leave. You know he won't do anything of the sort, he's loyal and caring to a fault. He wouldn't hurt you so badly over one fight. He's making you nervous is all, sitting next to you quietly. It's not the cold shoulder, that’s never been his style. It's just… quiet. 

"Do you want something, sweet thing?" he asks as he gets up from the couch. "I'm gonna make Roan ants on a log." 

"It's been a really long time since you called me sweet thing," you say, sending him a tentative smile.

"You're sweet, you're my thing…" He licks his lips. "Not my best." 

You uncross your legs, reaching out for him before he can leave to the kitchen. "Listen, I'm– I'm sorry that I made you feel like you're doing something wrong. Sorry I overstepped." 

Eddie sits back down slowly. He swallows. "I'm sorry I shut you down. I guess I was offended." Eddie shuffles a little closer to you. "I mean, I was offended. But," —he speaks as though he's piecing his sentence together with the utmost of care— "you're Roan's mom." And he takes your hand. "You have been for a long time. I'm sorry I made it sound like you overstepped. You can't overstep. How can I be mad at you for one aspect of being a parent, when I'm happy for you to do the others? But I need you to understand that I've been doing all of the big stuff by myself the whole time, until we met I was doing everything by myself, and it annoyed me that you might think I didn't know best… 'n' that's not fair on you, 'cos I don't always know best." 

You aren't expecting it. His explanation or his easy apology. 

You look down at his hand over yours and breathe a sigh of relief. 

"I think…" You pause. When you speak, it's stilted. "Okay. I think it's a bad idea for her to go sleep over at Stacy's house when she doesn't have the words to tell us if something happens." 

Eddie's lips part. 

"That's what I wanted to say, before, not just that she's so young. And I actually do think you know best, Eds. You're a good dad. A fucking good dad."

You can see him thinking about what you've suggested. He rubs your knuckles. 

"She is a little young," he concedes. "She might not even want to stay the night when she realises what that means. But we could teach her if she does, she knows that people aren't allowed to touch her without her say so." 

"I know," you say. You're about to say more when Roan herself steps into the living room, walking at an unbothered pace. Her hair is dishevelled but besides that she's in clean jammies and clearly quite content.

"Hello," she says, a piece of paper in her hands. "I thought we were having ants on logs?" 

"Yeah, babe, I'm gonna make them right now. What have you been drawing?" 

She shows you the drawing. It's the three of you as most of her drawings are, with antennas and carapace bodies. It's gnarly. Eddie loves it the second he sees it, and he insists on putting it onto your already stacked fridge. 

She basks in the feeling of being loved and revered, and then basks again when Eddie gives her a plate full of ants on a log, chewing with a massive grin. 

"I really meant what I said," he murmurs to you, you and him hip hip by the kitchen sink. 

"Which part, handsome?" you ask. 

"She calls you mom. You’re her mom. You don't have to be sorry for having something to say to me.

You look him up and down without malice. He looks incredibly earnest, a little sheepish. His cheek is soft when you lift your hand to it, and he's eager to lean into your palm. "It wasn't about that," you say softly, hushed so Roan doesn't hear. "I promise it wasn't." 

"I know. I just hate that it's what I made you think." 

"So we're okay?" 

"We were always going to be okay, what did you think?" he asks, hand on your hip and pulling you stomach to stomach and chest to chest.

"Just worried."

He looks over your shoulder at Roan. You turn with him. She's kissing peanut butter off of the tips of her fingers with a delighted smile and air about her. 

"Talk about it more tonight?" he asks. 

His promises are always good. You talk about Roan's potential slumber party in bed that night after she's been tucked in, and you both say more sorries for your misunderstandings. It's weird to argue with him, but you're thankful it was about something that mattered, even if that something is scary to think of. 

"Thanks for thinking I'm a good dad," he says, cheek turned into the pillow, the tip of his index finger tracing lightly over your face in no one direction. 

"That's not something you have to say thanks for." You're in much better spirits now, speaking with confidence. 

"You're the one person who would know," he says. 

"That's not true. People only have to talk to Roan to know how good you are." 

He laughs a huff that kisses your skin like a warm breeze. "Did you really think we wouldn't be okay?" 

You laugh nervously. "I mean, no. It went through my head, but I didn't actually think it was the end, babe. I'm not that stupid." 

"You're not any amount of stupid, stupid." 

You laugh in his face. He puts his hand over your mouth with wide eyes but it's much too late. You stare at each other, mirrors of a fond defeat as footsteps sound down the hall. 

"What is so funny?" Roan asks, half-guilty 'cos she knows she should be in bed and half plain curious as she cracks open the bedroom door. 

Eddie sighs. It's not an unhappy sound. "Come and lie down with us and I'll tell you." 

She grins and rushes in. 

—

more eddie, roan and reader