#But I don't know how much that's just a translation thing

[brawberryz]

Goodbye World

BatFam Yan! × Neglected Magic Girl! Reader 《Platonic!》

Note: English is not my first language, sorry if there is any translation error

Pt: 2

"(NAME), PLEASE DON'T GO!"

the girl screamed trying to stop her, this couldn't be happening, this shouldn't have happened, I was supposed to have more time but your transformation accelerated

"I'm sorry, ######, but there's no time left... sorry"

"Please (Name)!, don't go..."

The girl felt tears falling from her face, she was supposed to save you but she made the same mistake again...

"Goodbye"

You gave her one last smile before falling to the ground and your body began to deform

"(NAMEE)!"

The girl screamed for the last time before your vision went dark, there was no more pain or suffering, you felt like your body was deformed but you couldn't feel or do anything it was like you only had your conscience left

The original (name) had disappeared forever, and there was nothing else to do

Or well, maybe there was something they could do

_

Bruce was sitting in front of the batcomputer trying to find any trace of you, but there was nothing, not even a trace, it was like you had vanished in the wind

He felt too bad since your last interaction with you, if he had known what would happen he would never have let you go from that hug

But it's just "would have" it was too late to regret but he could still fix things, he would find you and take you home with everyone else and finally have the family you always dreamed of

"We found nothing, not a single clue"

Richard entered the batcave feeling defeated Again, he went out with the whole family to look for some clue but there was nothing, they even tried to see if some villain had you kidnapped but there was no one who knew about you

"This is shit"

Jason said angrily while leaning against a wall, as much as he didn't want to admit it in a way it was his fault he always treated you badly and insulted you

You had too many reasons to leave the mansion and hate all of them, but if he was honest he hated the feeling that you had left, you are supposed to be a family and you should stay together

Wherever you are they will find you and when they do they will never let you escape from their hands again

"And Tim?"

Bruce asked without taking his eyes off the Batcomputer, he hated feeling like he couldn't be in control, not having control over you, like he always had

"He decided to stay a little longer to patrol and see if he found something"

Jason said putting his hands in his jacket pockets, wherever you are he just hoped you were okay although knowing how Gotham is, it would be a miracle if you were okay without a single scratch

"I'm leaving here"

Damian spoke as he walked angrily out of the batcave, a part of him was angry with you and with himself, he was angry with you because you abandoned him without even saying goodbye or giving him reasons, you decided to hide and not tell anyone

He hated having things hidden from him, and at the same time he was angry with himself for how he treated you in the past, but he had changed he swears! When you get back to the mansion she'll be the best sister you've ever seen

"Damian, wait-"

Richard tries to stop him but Damian just pushes him out of his way before yelling at him

"SHUT UP, I don't plan on staying here even a minute longer.(Name) is lost somewhere in this stupid city and all we do is stay here like idiots"

Damian said angrily as he quickly left the batcave

Richard just sighed, when Damian had something in mind there was nothing that would stop him from reaching it, not even his own family

_

Damian walked angrily down the hallway of the mansion cursing under his breath

He continued walking until a door caught his attention, it was half open and he could barely see the small light coming out

Curious, he decided to open it, he was surprised when he realized it was your room...

It was small but still well decorated, it bothered him a little that your room was so far away from the others

He didn't want to invade your privacy (if he wanted to) but the curiosity about your things was too great, he began looking in your drawers but only found unfinished crafts or clothes

It seemed strange to him that all your clothes were still in their place, if the theory that you ran away was true you should have brought some clothes, but everything was completely in order

As he continued looking he found a photo album, it seemed old since it had some dust

He removed the dust that it had and decided to open it, there was almost nothing interesting just photos of you, some from when you were little and others from your birthdays

But there was one that caught his attention, you were in a park with a girl, it seemed to him It was strange that you had left since you never left the mansion

He was also very bothered by the approach that girl had with (name), who did she think she was to touch her sister like that?

But if he was honest, in that photo you really looked happy...

You didn't have that forced happiness like in all the photos, in this one it was seen that you really felt happy with that strange girl

He put aside the album and went back to searching through your things to see if he could find something else

Some of your drawers were full of board games full of dust, he remembered that once you asked him to play one with you but he simply ignored you and said that you had time for children's games

A soft voice took him out of his thoughts

"What are you doing in (name)'s room?"

Cassadran asked, looking at Damian with doubt. She thought it was strange that he was in your room since she thought she was the only one besides Alfred who knew your room.

"Something that doesn't matter to you."

Damian answered abruptly as he continued searching through your drawers.

"You seem too worried about her to be going through her things without permission."

Cassadran spoke again. She thought it was strange that none of the family members were around the house, but she didn't pay much attention and decided to go to your room to greet you. But she was surprised when she found Damian searching through your things.

"So what? It doesn't matter now that (name) is missing. I don't think it will bother her. Besides, it's for research purposes."

Damian was getting tired of Cass's insistence, because out of nowhere he is so worried about his privacy. Were you two close?

"Missing?"

Cassadran repeated in surprise, that answer hit Cass hard, she never imagined it would really happen, were you able to leave the mansion? Although if she was honest you had reasons to leave this fucking place

"Yes, my sister is missing and apparently I'm the only one who cares about her and tries to find some clue, so go away you're just bothering me"

Damian let out a snort of annoyance before resuming his search through your things

"She's your sister now?"

That answer took Damian by surprise, what the hell was she referring to

"What..."

"She's your sister now?" Cass repeated again before speaking again "you always left her aside, well, everyone left them aside and I include myself but it seems hypocritical to me that you want to blame others when you are also guilty, you always look to blame others for your problems because you are an egocentric and selfish person who only thinks about himself, you don't care about her you just want to have a reason not to feel bad about yourself"

Those words left Damian speechless, he hated to admit it but she was right although he would never admit it out loud

He simply looked away and focused on continuing to search pretending as if Cassandra's words hadn't mattered to him

Cass turned around and left the room before giving Damian one last look

Deep down she hoped you were okay wherever you were, but if you were truly lost she was going to do whatever it took to find you, she wasn't going to allow herself to lose another important thing for her, not anymore

_

Tim was jumping from building to building trying to find some clue about you, but there was nothing. He had been investigating criminals, villains or gangs all night but no one knew anything about you.

At this point the guilt was drowning him, he felt like the worst brother in the world. How could he forget someone so important?

Most likely you are now in some dangerous place, alone and scared thinking that no one will go looking for you because you are not important enough for them.

But he will do everything possible to find you, I promise.

He decided to stop at the top of a tall building so he could rest. He felt the worst. He had been patrolling all over Gotham for more than 4 hours but had found nothing. At this point he felt like he would never find you. No...no, if he found you he should not lose hope. You were somewhere in this place...he just had to find out where.

He felt something fast approaching him. Before he could react correctly and dodge it, a supernatural force ended up throwing him against the fire escape of another building.

Shit... that hurt, he was sure he broke his back or some rib, that thing that pushed him had too much force, it was clear that it was not a criminal or villain, they were too fast and strong to be one

But before he could get up he saw how a black mass with a strange figure approached quickly

It was easily the size of a damn bus or bigger, whatever it was was not human, that black mass reminded him too much of someone, he felt that he knew that figure from somewhere

But before he could think that large figure ended up hitting him again

It seemed as if that thing had something personal with him like some kind of hatred or resentment

Tim tried with all his strength to recover from that last blow, he had to warn the others about this thing and to come quickly before this strange creature taken from a horror story finished him off

With his last strength he grabbed the communicator and sent a signal for help before that thing hit him again now with more force causing his body to hit a wall

It seems you already have your first victim in your hands, you were going to finish off all those who made you feel miserable and you were going to make them feel the same pain that they made you feel

The original (name) had already died, the only thing left was this creature full of resentment and hatred

You were going to destroy every person who stood in your way and if that meant having to destroy the city or the world you were going to do it

"MADOKA PLEASE DON'T GO" aahhh reference 😭🙏💀

Sorry if it's too short or something, I hope you enjoy this shitty chapter

You can leave me questions or anything about this AU, I'll be happy to answer them🙏

[somerandomcockroach]

*stretches, breathes fresh cold air in, waters eyes, sits down* Here we go again ~

MMMMMMMMM Prowl's birth and existence starting and being described as nothing AHAH, EVEN MORE, the way to kill him if something goes crazy. MAN, MY BOY, YOU WERE BORN COLD AND COVERED IN COLD ALREADY Wait is it like. Half Prowl's pov. I know it can be described this way but I just, loved how the "Warm hands on his head sounds", more like explaining how it feels for him than a simple fact *sudden cackle* Didn't know translation of hitherto and it sounded like a funny mispelling.

*INHALES* I listen to "Steel for Humans" and it beat SO WELL I've got shivers "He wasn't nothing. He was a void, but suddenly that void had a direction, no matter how meaningless it sounded." NOT A NOTHING, but still not a something, void created out of will just to serve and not have a will "He became his purpose" I SO MUCH WANT TO SEE IT INSIDE HIS HEAD

G[PDFGOPFOWWJ

OH THIS IS SO TASTY. OTHER VIEW ON TAC NET, SO DAMN TASTY AHEFHJADGH. I WOULDN'T HAVE PAID ATTENTION BUT. "HE CALLED HIM PROWL" NOW THAT DOESN'T QUITE MAKE SENSE PFFFHT OF COURSE HE TOLD HIM TO DISAGREE WITH HIM. OF COURSE HE TOLD A CREATION THAT WAS BORN TO SERVE AND AGREE TO BE AND DISAGREE.

AJHEGHRESJGERS OF COURSE WHY NOT. BREAK HIM.

GOOD JOB, MY BOY, GIVE THEM HEADACHES AHAHA

I need them in one room more often, his own scientific amusement and observation Ah so his very first purpose was to help him bring a peace. YES IT IS A NANNY AHAHA

FRIENDSHIP WILL NOT GET YOU TO COUNCIL FASTER OH THERE ARE OTHER GOLEMS. I kind of was wondering if Orion is the only one who will just... make it different Naaaahhh Prowl is already a big bunch of emotions even if not the happiest ones, no wonder he isn't like them "Not allowed artifacts" *Looks at Shockwave* HGASHDGAEHGEAHG I assist Orion and help him, agree.... actually, do not agree anymore, Ratchet now looks like a good friend to help me keep Orion in place. So golems are widely spread occasion. Keeping places clean and other easy stuff. Double-bottom trap. DAMN I LIKE BODY LANGUAGE DETAILS JAHGGEA not sure if Prowl just now made a joke or stated a fact about processor.

NOW, THIS IS A DYNAMIC WITH THEM I LOVE TO SEE

EWHGFHEWFGEWH OH EHWGREHG MMM OH I LOVE HOW PROWL IS JUST. NO WAY TO GET THAT HE IS A GOLEM. NO MORE.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZEEEEE W- WAIT. F*** YOU. YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS HIS STUDENTS ARE SAVAGES SAVED AND GOTTEN TO SHOCKWAVE YEEEEEESSSSSSS “Can read, write, speak, even makes music.” Who's that pokemon? ........Okay here comes the bits of their future destruction... and the fact that they will just. Accept it. Of course! Why not! *lies down* ....PROWL. PROWL NO. PROWL WRONG. NOT THIS WAY. NOT LIKE THIS NO.

PROWL STOP THIS IS A WRONG CHARACTER GROWTH

"When...when a mech commits especially terrible crimes against the will of Primus, the very magic of their spark rises up against them and turns them into a demon. And I just learned today what a...demon looks like." lET Me just. There is no shit like "Primus' will. Primus hangs out with atheist and smiles when someone says that Primus isn't capable of everything. It is the council. AH. Council is capable of extracting the spark. CAN THEY ALSO F**KING TURN OTHERS INTO DEMONS?!? ORION THIS IS COUNCIL I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IT IS PRIMUS, ORION YOU ARE DOING RIGHT THINGS.

This bit. Prowl has done things. He has done and might be chased for it. But he doesn't have a spark. I wonder to whom he resembles with the "I hope he doesn't"...

“I've done something wrong again. It's not moving.”

There was a lot of stuff spread out in front of him. Old spare parts, pieces of armor, tools. Lots of warped plates.

And his creation. A real golem. An entity woven of metal and magic.

Shockwave walked around the table and stopped right above the head of the figure lying on it

“Golems exist to serve, my friend. It won't move unless you ask it to.”

Orion clutched his servos. The figure remained stone still. There was no ventilation noise, no engine sound, not even the barely audible spinning of a spark. It could just as easily have been a long-cooled dead body lying in front of him.

“Wake up.”

___________________

Magical Golem Prowl anyone? ‘,:) This story exists in the same universe as Spellbound au. and Monster hunter au and ties them together so I highly recommend you read all of them.

The fic under the cut⤵️

He seemed to be nothing.

The emptiness that infinitely defined his nonexistent self bounced off the metal plates and glinted in the droplets of still-warm energon. He was nothing, but there was so much around him that the space was like an infinite buzz of cluttered noise. The voices above him sounded excited. The metal slab beneath him was cold and hard.

“Good. Now you need to put a piece of your armor on this. Somewhere it will be in plain sight and easily reachable.”

“Oh...wouldn't it make more sense to hide it under the armor? I mean, it's an obvious weak point.”

He idly thought, his hands felt numb.

“No no, that's the whole point. You're using an artifact you haven't fully studied and you don't know exactly how it's going to turn out. If it goes crazy and becomes dangerous, you should have an easy way to destroy it. Where's the artifact by the way?”

The tinkling of metal.

The sound of a crystal clattering against armor.

Warm hands on his head.

“Here.”

“Excellent. Now. This will be the base on which the entire spell will be held, so you want to hide this artifact very well and secure it carefully so it doesn't break by mistake.”

Did he have hands too? He was nothing, why did he have hands? It didn't make sense.

Orion took a couple steps away from the table and stood pensively.

“I've done something wrong again. It's not moving.”

There was a lot of stuff spread out in front of him. Old spare parts, pieces of armor, tools. Lots of warped plates.

And his creation. A real golem. An entity woven of metal and magic.

Shockwave, hitherto distracted by an almost invisible spot on his shoulderplate, glanced leisurely over Orion's shoulder

“Golems don't need much to function. You made a good shell. The magical structure is strong as well, I see.”

Orion hesitantly pointed to the golem's forehead, decorated with a neat sharp chevron.

“I added some things that weren't in your instructions and I think I made a mistake somewhere.”

“Golem making is a complex skill, don't give up if it doesn't work right awa...you know what, actually no, you did everything right.”

Orion shrugged in frustration.

“Then why won't it move?”

Shockwave walked around the table and stopped right above the head of the figure lying on it

“ Golems exist to serve, my friend. It won't move unless you ask it to.”

Orion walked back over to the table with a quiet “oh” and nervously clutched his servos. The figure remained stone still. There was no ventilation noise, no engine sound, not even the barely audible spinning of a spark. It could just as easily have been a long-cooled dead body lying in front of him.

“Wake up.”

The emptiness that forever defined his nonexistent self stammered. He wasn't nothing. He had a purpose and that purpose shaped him, put strength into his numb limbs and molded his lack of thought into naked intent.

He wasn't nothing. He was a void, but suddenly that void had a direction, no matter how meaningless it sounded.

He stopped being just nothing. He became his purpose. And it felt so right that it was unclear how he could ever have been anything else before.

He opened his optics.

Orion, who apparently hadn't expected that the thing he'd made specifically for it to move would move, jerked back with a funny sound.

On the opposite side, Shockwave nodded proudly, returning to the spot on his armor that even in the bright lights of the workshop only he could see.

“I believed in you.”

_________

“Oh my god! How do you sneak up on me so quietly every time?”

He wasn't nothing anymore. He was a whole long list of instructions and rules. His creator sat him down at a table and meticulously listed everything he could and could not do. Handed him many books and ordered him to attend a huge number of lectures. He now knew who to bow to if he passed them in the hallway and who to avoid. He had learned hundreds of names and thousands of titles. Learned how to pretend to be a real Mech, even though he wasn't.

The world around him was complex and confusing, but he found that this complexity had its own patterns, linked together in a bizarre web of systems and sequences. It was worth pulling on the right end, and the meaningless facts organized themselves into something much more manageable.

Everything made sense. The planet revolved around a star. Mechs rejoiced when they got something that improved their quality of life. Energon burned, producing energy. Big things tended to be heavier than small things.

The world was divided into Mechs and monsters...and him.

He was inclined to be...quiet.

His creator - he'd asked to be called Orion - twitched when he found his creation standing right behind him.

He was very talented at finding Orion wherever he was. And very light compared to most things his size. Like everything else it made sense. He wasn't a Mech, he was just an empty shell. An armor summoned to life by magic. His footsteps were as quiet as a mini bot's. Whatever Orion called it, he wasn't 'sneaking' on purpose.

A few cycles later, Orion accidentally bent one of its finals when he turned around too quickly, startled by the quiet footsteps behind him.

He named him Prowl. It was...not exactly logical, but there was a certain sense to it. Prowl nodded and agreed. He always agreed with everything Orion said, even if it didn't make sense at all. Orion's opinion took a higher priority than anything else.

Until it didn't.

Until Orion gave him a focused look and told him that he should argue if he thought it was necessary.

Until Orion put the servo on his shoulder and said something along the lines of....

“You can disagree with me if you think my opinion is wrong. I'm not asking you to go against me. I'm not perfect and I can't be the one absolute point of reference for everything. You can and I'm sure will be smarter than me about many things. I want you to tell me if I'm wrong and what I should do about it.”

Like…well….like an absolute fool.

This concept was new. Prowl wasn't built to argue. He was made to obey orders and to serve a function.

Orion smiled slyly. At least it was probably a smile behind his mask that made the corners of his optics lift.

“It wouldn't be considered a disobedience of my order if I ordered you to disobey it. Don't you think?”

Prowl opened his mouth to agree out of habit, but then changed his mind mid-motion and closed it back. It...it didn't make sense. It made sense that was breaking under its own weight. It was mercilessly mixing up all of his pre-learned patterns for talking to Orion. If he agreed with that logic now, it would mean accepting its use. If he protested, it would also mean accepting it, but in a bit more embarrassing way. Just when he was thinking of simply retreating silently to the nearest shadow and banging his head against the wall, he heard a quiet chuckle and realized that Orion had been amusing himself for some time now, watching him struggle.

Prowl decided that verbal responses might be overrated and frowned his face in the most believable expression of displeasure he could portray.

Orion broke out into laughter.

________

“What exactly is my goal?”

Orion looks. Curious. He stops talking to Shockwave and leans back on the bench.

“Right now, to study these journals. I already told you.”

Prowl nods to indicate he heard him and continues

“Studying serves a future purpose. Studying for the sake of studying would be meaningless to me. What is my final goal?”

“To assist me” Orion says slightly confused. ”Within the best of your ability of course.“”

“Аh. Assist in the fulfillment of your goal.”

“Well. I'd say so, yes.”

Prowl nods

“And what is your goal?”

Shockwave, who has been sitting next to them the whole time looks like they're a couple of previously unknown to science species he's just personally discovered.

Prowl ignores him.

“I...you remember the separation between Mechs and monsters, right?” asks Orion cautiously.

“Yes.”

“Mechs...are unfair to monsters. Monsters are cruel to Mechs. It's a needlessly violent situation that I want to...try to. Fix.”

Prowl frowns to indicate that the information isn't completely clear.

“You're a member of the order of hunters. And...” he shakes his head toward the nearest window ”...you have a considerable number of hunters under your command. Your job involves destroying monsters.”

Shockwave makes some sort of quiet amused sound and props his chin up with his hand.

Prowl ignores him harder.

“My job is to bring peace.” says Orion “You don't have to kill monsters to do that. You can negotiate with them. Find a compromise. Coexist. I...I guess basically, I'm trying to make the world a little better?”

Prowl doesn't look impressed. He's actually making a special effort to not let Orion think in any way that he might be intrigued by the whole endeavor.

“You do realize that's a disproportionately large goal for just one Mech, right?”

Orion shrugs awkwardly

“That's why I made you.”

__________

Ratchet puts aside his tools and critically examines his work.

“Don't touch that and it will heal normally.”

Orion smiles gratefully

“Thank you.”

Ratchet is important to Orion. They are close and very valuable friends to each other. The two of them look peaceful now, despite the fact that Ratchet threatened Orion when he first showed up in Sick Bay, so Prowl decides it would be a socially acceptable moment to start talking

“Orion, you're wanted at the Council.”

The second half of his line is drowned helplessly in two startled exclamations at once. Orion, to his honor, calms down almost immediately, but Ratchet continues cursing for a while.

Prowl doesn't wait for him to finish. The Council meeting is earlier than usual today and Orion has already had a few occasions of misbehavior. It's in his best interest to at least show up on time this time.

“Shockwave asked me to tell you to hurry. I will add that showing up at the last minute will not be good for your reputation if you are still hoping to convince the council to let you take more units.”

Ratchet .....stares.

“Primus' rusty hinges, Orion, who's that? Did they assign a nanny to you?”

Orion twitches his finals playfully and immediately crinkles in pain, remembering that one of them should have been left to heal.

“Remember when I wanted to find an assistant? Well...”

Ratchet casts an increasingly more suspicious look at Prowl. Prowl decides that friendliness is overrated and limits his expression to a barely perceptible tilt of his head in response.

“...Shockwave recently helped me figure out how to create golems and I figured if I couldn't find anyone I could trust, I might as well...make one. So. Ratchet meet Prowl.” finishes Orion awkwardly.

Ratchet glares at Prowl for a while longer. Then he turns away and starts tidying up Sick Bay.

“I'm not buying it. I don't know where you found this guy, but you're not playing me. Nice poker face by the way.”

One of Prowl's wings twitches

“He wasn't lying.”

Ratchet snorts grumpily.

“Those...” he waves toward the next room ”...are golems.

There, behind the wall, several golems scurry around. They have medical staff symbols painted on their shoulders, and there is not a trace of thought in their eyes. Two are scrubbing the floors, another wiping the shelves and window sills clean of dust. They occasionally mumble softly under their noses or utter an inane “excuse me” every time they accidentally bump into each other. Prowl knows that if you ask any of them a question with more than one variable, they start babbling guiltily and shrugging their shoulders. They're stupid, but they themselves don't seem to care about that at all. They are their purpose. And their purpose is to keep things clean. They are pride because they are good at their job.

Prowl frowns. He's a headache. Because his "purpose" has been distracted by his conversation with Ratchet and will probably add another tardy to his list in the near future.

Orion begins (thank goodness) to move toward the door

“I've made improvements. There might have been...some not exactly allowed artifacts.”

Ratchet rubs the bridge of his nose tiredly. Prowl can see that his face is already starting to wrinkle in that spot. Patient antics probably age Ratchet far more effectively than the passage of time itself.

“I...you know what...go before the Council sends a search party to look for you.”

Orion sighs and without further distraction finally walks out the door.

Prowl decides that Ratchet might be a good ally when it comes to managing Orion.

He nods politely goodbye before leaving.

______________

“I am different from them. Why?”

Orion puts down the document he's been working on and looks first at Prowl and then, over his head, at the other golems scurrying down the hallway with brooms and rags. He doesn't need to interject exactly who he thinks Prowl is different from.

“Do you want a philosophical answer or a technical one?”

Prowl reaches out and pokes somewhere in Orion's document

“ You missed a comma. Both.”

Orion obediently puts the comma in and folds up the document. His finals are twitching faintly. It could be a sign of concentration as well as distraction. Prowl has already figured out that Orion's body language is a double-bottom trap. For a Mech with this level of expressiveness, Orion is surprisingly difficult to read.

“Sometime quite a while ago during one of my expeditions, I found a unique artifact. A fascinating item, granting wisdom to anyone brave enough to use it.”

“I have a feeling a ‘but’ is coming.”

“You're right. The artifact's unique gift was also its curse. It fed so much information through the Mech's heads that it literally caused the processors of its owners to melt.”

“Oh. Good thing I don't have a processor then.”

Orion laughs quietly

“Indeed. You won't have that problem. And about the other part....Think of all the Mechs you know who are savvy enough about politics and available to work together at the moment.”

Orion gives him a moment before continuing.

“ What is the likelihood that the most trustworthy of them would betray me, for their own gain or out of fear?”

“ Twenty-eight percent,” Prowl informs.

And then hesitates a moment.

Orion is obviously a smart Mech. Not smart enough to single-handedly dominate the political arena, definitely not with his ideals and ideas of what's right. But smart enough to realize it. He knows what he wants and he also knows he can't achieve it alone.

Prowl looks at Orion, who just stands there, eyeing him, without in any way trying to continue the conversation.

Orion is idealistic, and therefore often mistaken for stupid. He isn't. Orion doesn't just know that he can't succeed alone, he knows that everyone else knows it too. He thinks this knowledge will be used against him when the opportunity arises. He's right. By Prowl's count, at least three suspiciously clever Mechs were going to sweet-talk their way into becoming Orion's assistant one way or another before... he appeared.

One of the janitor golems runs past them down the corridor. He doesn't turn around, doesn't even slow down or cast a curious glance. His only goal, his only interest is cleaning. The rest of the world might as well not exist at all.

Prowl thinks he's not that different.

Orion apparently reads the understanding from his face, because he nods contentedly and starts walking further down the hall.

“You didn't take yourself into account when you made the statistics, did you?”

Prowl follows him silently on his heels. Not close enough to be familiar, but not so far away that the conversation stops being private.

“The sampling condition was all mechs. I am not one.”

“That's true” Orion shrugs “You have no loved ones that the Council could use to influence you. You have no desires to be bought by their fulfillment. And while I cannot say with absolute certainty that you will never be capable of going against me...” Prowl starts to open his mouth to object but Orion gestures him to stop, “...no no no no, let me finish. And while I can't be sure you'll never betray me, I at least know for sure that before you met me you had no reason to do so. Do you understand?”

Prowl understands. It makes sense. He still feels the need to argue back, because it is part of his function to do that.

“I would never betray you. I'm not capable of it.”

Orion twitches his finals. Without seeing his face Prowl assumes it is a sign of doubt.

“You are a creature of intellect, Prowl. I am a Mech of ideals. Those two things don't always combine well.”

______

“Foolish and presumptuous.”

Prowl ponders that his function could be much easier if he didn't have to constantly try to balance what is right and what is right in Orion's eyes.

“If you were spotted, the Council would have good reason to assume this isn't the first time you've done something like this.”

“No one noticed,” Orion tries, but Prowl doesn't let him finish that thought

“No one has seen you, because you're lucky. You can't count on it being a permanent occurrence! You undermine your own position by giving the Council grounds for suspicion, you...”

Prowl stops, still pointing his finger accusingly somewhere on Orion's chin. Shockwave, who has witnessed the scene, makes an impressed face and steps closer.

“I swear, you're probably the most capable golem maker I've ever had the pleasure of teaching, Orion. If I hadn't seen that guy on your assembly table, I would never know.”

Prowl takes the statement as a compliment, but doesn't feel the need to show it outwardly. Shockwave, as one of the few who knows about him not being a real Mech, doesn't take offense to it in any way.

“Did I interrupt something dramatic?”

Prowl snorts, because the gesture maintains just the right amount of judgment for his situation.

“Orion is once again harboring a monster instead of killing it or letting it escape.”

This news immediately enlivens Shockwave's posture. Prowl knows he's an even bigger fan of collecting suspicious side projects than Orion. Their friendship, frankly, will one day bury either one or both of them. Prowl just hopes his presence will be enough to sway the percentages when that happens.

Orion doesn't try to deny anything.

“One of my squads encountered a ghost near the northern border. I couldn't... listen Shockwave, he's a good guy. He just needs to be given a chance to show it.”

“Can he talk?” there's almost visible stars in Shockwave's eyes..

Prowl slumps his shoulders helplessly, already knowing what's coming next. These two have done this dance a hundred times before. One of Shockwave's favorite side projects was a school for, as they called them, magically gifted and extraordinary Mechs. In fact, it was the largest den of various monsters that Prowl had ever seen. Every time Orion's hunting squads found a monster that could even remotely resemble a normal Mech, Orion would rush with happy optics to hand it over to Shockwave for care. There, the monsters were taught everything they needed to fit into the society of normal Mechs, but more importantly, they were given documents. Precious pieces of paper that granted their holders rights, freedoms, and protections as Shockwave's apprentices.

Prowl could appreciate the noble endeavor. He could also see clearly that with each addition, this school would become more and more of an inconvenient thorn in the Council's side. Just like Orion, Shockwave was happy to paint a brighter and brighter target on his own back for many cycles.

Orion, insensitive to danger that is not immediate, cheerfully begins to recite

“Can read, write, speak, even makes music.”

Shockwave nods happily

“Introduce us?”

Prowl wonders how far Shockwave can stretch the definition of “magically gifted Mech”. One day Orion will pick up a Kraken on the street and then they'll both probably have to do a lot of mental gymnastics to make it's documents. Ugh.

When Orion had asked him to calculate the probability of betrayal, the most reliable mech he was evaluating at the time was Shockwave.

Twenty-eight percent...

Prowl wonders how many students must be on the opposite side of the scale from Orion for Shockwave to choose in their favor. Speculation is actually useless. If the Council decides to nail Shockwave, they will of course use his entire school at once.

In fact, they probably won't even have to force Shockwave to choose between the school and Orion, because Orion himself will choose a bunch of monsters over himself.

This ridiculously dangerous social construct they call friendship rests entirely on their reputation as honest and honorable mechs. Prowl stares at Shockwave's back and wonders how one mech could have so much charisma, that he gets away with keeping a huge number of Council enemies right under the noses of that same Council.

_________________

Orion gently lifts the now graying shell of what was once a monster from the ground

He doesn't even turn toward Prowl.

"Did you kill him?"

Killing...it's a stretch. Does the act of helping a murderer qualify as murder? Or the lack of action that could have saved the now murdered person? In most cultures and languages, “murder” refers to the act of ending someone else's life, but the context implies a physical act. Did you put a knife in his back? Did you push him off a cliff? Did you cut him with a sword?

By those criteria. Well. Prowl never killed anyone. Nor is he likely to, for he has neither the skill nor the strength to do so.

Did he cause death? Absolutely.

Orion's always had this heroic streak that wouldn't let him just pass by the distressed and disadvantaged. Orion has always had a great spark of kindness and principles as strong as titanium alloy as to what is right and what is wrong.

In Orion's world view, murder is wrong. And murder in conditions where it was possible to solve everything by peace is immoral and unacceptable.

Prowl's worldview tells him that Orion could do much better if he stopped wasting his potential on helping those who will only drag him down in the long run. Orion's life depends entirely on the Council's opinion of him. A Council that has been watching him closely lately. Even if Orion doesn't like it, it's Prowl's job to make sure they like what they see.

Orion turns to him, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Prowl. That mech tried to escape. Past you. And now he's dead. Were you the one who killed him?"

"No," says Prowl, "he ran into one of the patrols."

That statement is missing a good half of the details. Like mentioning that the patrol wouldn't have been there in the first place if Prowl hadn't sent them an anonymous lead.

Orion doesn't need to know that. Orion lives under the idea that every life is precious and, even more inconveniently, equal.

Prowl sometimes feels like yelling at him for it. Because that shiny perfect picture is simply unsustainable outside of Orion's head. The monster, whose graying body now lies on the ground, would be of little use to society. Likely left free, he would have simply continued to attack and kill travelers.

Whereas Orion spends his life making the world a better place. This is an objective fact confirmed by numerous observations.

They are not equals. And they probably never will be. Orion's life is much. Much heavier on the imaginary scales of statistics.

Orion squints at him suspiciously. He's clearly hesitant.

"You could have just let him go instead of killing him."

The trap is honestly too obvious.

"I didn't kill him" Prowl repeats "he ran into a patrol. You can't blame the hunters for doing their job."

Orion places a hand on the dead creature's forehead in a respectful gesture of regret while simultaneously averting his gaze. It's a habit by now.

Look the other way, don't let the council know what you're doing. Sympathize but not in plain sight, help but in secret.

"They had no right to attack him.This is neutral territory. He has the right to run wherever he wants."

Prowl's mouth is twisting with the urge to argue. To say that according to existing information, this monster would have just continued the attacks if he'd stayed free.

He says nothing. Orion is clearly in no mood to argue right now, and he's already questioning Prowl's claim. It's not worth pushing any further.

Prowl only nods, showing that he's heard Orion's point of view.

__________________

He is surprisingly good at lying.

Of course the skill doesn't just come naturally, but he's been known for his straightforwardness. Mechs automatically expect him to either remain silent or tell the unpleasant truth.

All he has to do is give only certain bits and pieces instead of coherent information without changing his usual behavior in any way and the mechs won't be inclined to verify it, filling in the gaps themselves. As a golem, he can't lie, but he can get others to lie to themselves.

He exploits this a lot. Probably more often than Orion would approve, but Prowl doesn't ask him to confirm. Conversations with Orion tend to narrow down his list of options. Because Orion is a real living mech. With a spark. With feelings. And his complex moral code revolves entirely around what he feels to be right.

Prowl has no spark. Prowl has an empty armor that he considers his body and a wisdom artifact that he considers his worth. Both his and Orion's understandings of what is right...overlap...sometimes.

Not always.

______________

"I saw a demon in person for the first time today."

Prowl politely shifts his posture to show he's listening

"A …demon?"

"Demon" Orion repeats "When...when a mech commits especially terrible crimes against the will of Primus, the very magic of their spark rises up against them and turns them into a demon. And I just learned today what a...demon looks like."

Prowl remains silent, waiting for a continuation that never comes. Orion seems gone in his thoughts....

"And what does it look like?" prompts Prowl.

"Creepy. It looks creepy and unnatural and terrifying. Primus' wrath has a very ugly shape..."

"Ah...I see...what did that mech do to be met with such punishment?"

Orion frowns

"I'm not sure. But what we're doing can't go against Primus' will, right? I mean, all beings are his creations! He can't condemn us for trying to make peace between mechs and monsters..."

Prowl is familiar with the concept of punishment for wrongdoing. But something about the very idea...the idea that punishment will find you no matter how well you hide because you can’t run away from your own spark...he has to admit it's disturbing.

"I hope he doesn't."

——————————

Thoughts?👁

Ahsjfjfj

This is the first half of the fic btw because I don’t have enough time to translate the whole thing in one day. I’ll try to post the second half tomorrow🤞

[chleem]

One shot/drabble: bf drew x gf yn

Summary: moving in w/drew...except you both don't realize it

Genre: established relationship, pure fluff

⋆.˚ don't copy or translate my work pls

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

It wasn’t a big conversation, nothing dramatic. It was just… happening.

At first, it was simple.

Once a week, you’d sleepover for a day or two. 

In the mornings, you’d wake up next to him, tangled in the blankets, with the soft glow of sunlight streaming in through the windows.

“Hey baby,” he would lazily call out, his blue eyes still half-lidded with sleep, his voice all rough and warm from the night. You’d turn to him, your head resting on his chest, and smile.

He would rummage through different cabinets, finding a spare toothbrush for you to use. You would use his 3 in 1 shampoo, the one that smelled like him. 

When you forgot to bring an extra shirt or pair of jeans, you’d just grab something of his. His oversized tees, the flannel shirts, a jacket that hung too loose on your shoulders but still felt cozy. You’d piece together an outfit with his hats, belts, anything you could find, and it never felt awkward—it just worked.

A few weeks in, you found your favorite mug on his kitchen counter. It wasn’t planned. He hadn’t asked. But there it was—sitting next to his own, like it had always belonged there.

And then came the little details. Your hair tie on the bathroom sink, a pair of your socks tucked under the couch, the book you’d left out on the coffee table now having a permanent spot on his shelf. 

He’d buy you a matching toothbrush, no longer using the cheap spare one. He’d find out your favorite shampoo, buying one and secretly using it, despite having his own. 

The ‘breakthrough’ was your own clothes’ drawer. 

You had a few shirts left behind, a couple of sweaters, nothing too much. But one night, he pulled open the drawer and just offered it to you, as if it had always been meant for you.

“I don’t mind,” he said, his voice still soft with sleep. 

And just like that, a corner of his space was no longer just his. It was yours too. A quiet, unspoken thing.

You’d wake up, and sometimes, he wasn’t there in the sheets. But the smell of pancakes and coffee would linger in the air, along with the soft shimmering of sunlight peeking through the blinds. 

When you’d finally slip out of bed and walk into the kitchen, you’d see him there, dressed and ready for the day, that little smitten smile on his face when he saw you.

“Morning,” his eyes would brighten just for a second, like the day hadn’t really started until you were there with him.

He’d know how you liked your coffee, of course. And he’d smile like he didn’t have anywhere to be, just so he could steal a few more minutes of conversation, talking about everything and nothing.

But what really established that you ‘moved in’?

When he gave you a spare key. 

It wasn’t done in a grand gesture way, but more when he casually handed it to you one morning, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. You hadn’t asked for it. You hadn’t even mentioned needing it.

“Don’t ring the wrong door,” he said, that familiar grin tugging at his lips, eyes twinkling with that lazy humor he always had.

With more time spent together, you’ve slowly gotten accustomed to each others’ habits and routines. 

The little things started to sync up without thinking—even your schedules. You’d catch yourself adding things to his calendar—dinner dates, weekend plans, or just time to relax together.

Soon, it wasn’t just his calendar, but yours too. You both had been marking your days together, like it had always been this natural.

A rare occasion was when you’d get up earlier than him, quietly slipping out of bed to prepare breakfast. 

And then, just when you thought you had a moment to yourself, he’d slip into the kitchen behind you, his arms wrapping around your waist, his breath warm on the back of your neck.

“Need help?” he’d murmur, his voice thick with sleep, but always with that soft smile you’d grown to love.

And then there was his work as an actor: his constant need to rehearse lines out loud, pacing the apartment like he was on stage, his voice bouncing off the walls in a way that had become comforting rather than distracting.

Sometimes, you’d even chime in and practice along with him. 

It wasn’t just the drawer anymore either. You’d started to have a space in the closet, a shelf in the bathroom. Little by little, more of you was making itself at home there—without needing to talk about it.

And then, one day, he realized you had moved in—without ever speaking a word about it. 

He’d catch himself, a smile tugging at his lips as he saw your things around the apartment, and how you’re always there. 

“You wanna... get a pet?” he’d ask suddenly, his eyes gleaming with that same mischievous spark they always had, but now mixed with something softer, more permanent.

You’d pause, surprised by the question but somehow knowing it made sense.

 A pet? Yeah, that felt like the next step. Just another way of making this space—your space—feel like home.

-------------------------------

word count: 0.8k

࣪𖤐 a/n: st random i thought of, of how it feels to be his

other

[beesgobzzzing]

From https://www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/hooja-kaarija-om-tanken-pa-att-tavla-i-eurovision

Translation / Transcript under the cut. This interview was really nice, I highly suggest you give it a listen even if you don't speak Swedish!

Hooja and Käärijä about the thought of competing in Eurovision

Interviewer (Carolina): What an exciting collaboration! Hooja together with Käärijä. [In English] I didn't see this one coming, I can tell you that. And I will start in Swedish, with you, Hooja. [In Swedish] How in the world did this end up happening?

Hooja: We're not as different as you could think. We've been saying that both of us are crazy, we definitely saw that in the studio when we met, because we had so unbelievably much fun when writing this song. So we… we really fit well together, both personalities and musically. Writing this song was a LOT of fun.

Carolina: Yeah, because… I mean… but HOW did you meet from the start so that this ended up happening?

Mårdis: At first we had been tittle-tattling in our camp about how it would be fun, because we see a lot of similarities in each other despite also being so dissimilar. And then they apparently had also been talking in THEIR camp as well, so it sort of came up in a roundabout way AGAIN that "he wants to make something with you". So we decided that we'll go down and do this, and we met up, and we had fun, and there was no pressure, no idea was bad, we were there for two days and just laughed. And that's what happens when you have fun, too, you make music from that, and that's how we got San Francisco Boy, our lovely child that we have together. [In English, to K] San Francisco Boy is our child that we have together.

Käärijä: Yes!

Carolina: A love child.

Käärijä: YES!! (Laughter)

Carolina: So, Käärijä, I must ask you, have you seen them without their masks?

Käärijä: Maybe I see more than only face…

Carolina: In the sauna..?

Käärijä: Maybe… (Even more laughter and something unintelligible about a mask)

Carolina: But it's so nice to see, because they just said, in Swedish, that when they were in the studio, they laughed so much. Was it the same for you?

Käärijä: Yes, yes. And, uh, I remember, first time, because you start to make like, the beats, and you played that song in Finland, to me, and I'm "uh, ok, this is… this is very funny and crazy and I feel good" when the boys played the song. And uh, then we start to try and do something and we get the song San Francisco Boy. And, uh… very, very good times and we get a lot of fun.

Carolina: [In Swedish] And the funny part is, San Francisco Boy, is in Swedish and English, but I'm thinking this - We have northern Sweden, we have Finland, and we end up with San Francisco Boy. (Laughter) Is there any hidden meaning with this?

Hooja: Why not? [In English] Why not? (Laughter) [In Swedish] We don't like doing the most obvious thing.

Carolina: No, no.

Hooja: No.

Carolina: But there is no hidden meaning in the song?

Hooja: No, I don't really think there is. What do you think? (To K and Mårdis)

Mårdis: If there's a message in the song, this is what we said when we started with the song - Disco Boy, San Francisco Boy, whatever you want to be, if you want to be Orange Boy or Finland Boy then you're allowed to be that. That was a thing that we really agree upon, that… It sounds cliche, you know, "you can be who you want to be", but we really think that. For real. And it's important to us. And that we could put that into a funny song, that just sort of happened, and it's nice.

Carolina: And now you're here at Melodifestivalen, and get a taste of… wait, get a feeling of what it's like being here. Have you considered Hooja in Melodifestivalen?

Hooja: Well… Never say never, we've gotten the question a few times and we've said no then, but you never know what the future holds! You don't want to say too much, you need to.. you need to watch your words.

Carolina: [In English] Käärijä help me here, I'm trying persuade them to do the Swedish Melodifestivalen.

Käärijä: I think the boys have to make öööh, to use what they want to do. Maybe… Maybe some day. For me, why I tried to go to Eurovision in 2023, we made the song Cha Cha Cha, and it's like the first demo, and I'm thinking, "okay, this is more than just only song, we can do something bigger" and one way how we can do something bigger, um, we can go to Eurovision, and uh, I watching a lot of Eurovision when I was young.

Mårdis: And if we want to go to Eurovision one day, we are very happy to have a Eurovision veteran with us, who can guide us through life.

Käärijä: Yes, I can be your manager. (Laughter)

Carolina: That is a brilliant idea! [In Swedish] We have this on tape now. [In English] We have it on record here.

Käärijä: Yes, yes!

Carolina: Now we come..

Käärijä: We have a plan, boys! Yes, let's go to studio. (Laughter)

Carolina: I will call the EBU immediately and say "Hi, I've got three guys who will SHAKE the Eurovision around". (Laughter) But I must also ask you, Käärijä, coming second after Loreen but winning the public vote… Are you still mad? Are people in Finland still mad at Sweden? [Bees note: The interviewer's tone of voice here is very genuine and almost… apologetic?]

Käärijä: I think that people in Finland, they are mad, but not really… I'm not. Of course I remember time after final where they give the points and I saw that Loreen get more points than me, I going to cry on toilet, but… (giggles) but yes, I'm ok and Loreen is amazing artist and person, human, I love Loreen. And after final, Loreen sent me the message to "Käärijä, if you need something…"

Hooja, breaking in: Except the price… (Laughter)

Käärijä: If you need money or something… (Laughter)

Mårdis: If you want to look at the price… (Laughter)

Käärijä: But yeah, good person and I… I'm not care any more, I'm ok (giggling)

Carolina: To wrap it up then, a final question I'm very curious about, will you proceed doing this (stumbles over words) [In Swedish] I'll just do it in Swedish - will the collaboration continue? [In English] Will you continue this collaboration?

Hooja: You never know! No but, uh, you do never know.

Mårdis: I think the thing with us, we only do things that are fun for us, it's the only thing we care about, that's what music is for us. If it's fun, we're going to do it, and we've had a lot of fun with this too, so I'm ending it just like Hooja, you never know! (Laughter)

Carolina: [In English] Ok, two diplomatic answers, that they had fun, Käärijä, the Finnish vote - this sounds like a dating show! - do you want to continue dating these boys?

Käärijä: You don't know yet! But I think, boys, you can't run away anymore, when you do work with Käärijä you stay with Käärijä. (Laughter) Oh yes, yes, yes (Laughter) But uh, yeah, I hope we do other songs and more songs, and uh, let's see!

Hooja: Yeah!

Carolina: Thank you very much! [In Swedish] Thank you so much, I'm crossing my fingers we get more from your collab in the future! (Collective "woo-hoo!")

[cheshireliam]

"Growing Feelings Poured Into Chocolate" Collection Event

Liam Evans

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting

Kate: Nn… haah… Liam…?

The moment I let Liam in when he visited my room, he started kissing me without warning.

Liam: — Be quiet. 

He pinned both of my hands above my head, holding them tightly in place so I couldn’t move, and continued his attack on my lips.

(What’s gotten into him…?)

I was struggling to breathe, and yet I couldn't stop him.

Liam looked like he was in more pain than I was, so I accepted his kisses without resistance.

And that went on for who knew how long.

After kissing me for so long that I thought my lips might’ve been swollen, Liam finally released my hands and pulled away. 

Kate: Liam… did something happen? 

Liam: …

Liam: Kate… do you like pain? 

Kate: Huh…? 

Liam: If you like pain, I can give you as much pain as you want.

Liam: If you like being bitten, I’ll bite you however much you want… we can even do more dangerous things together.

Liam: … I'll act as kind of man you want me to be, Kate. So please— 

Liam: Please… don’t abandon me… 

This time, Liam started crying into my chest. 

Kate: … Liam. I don’t like pain. 

Liam: Really…?

Kate: Yes. Because the person I love doesn’t want to hurt me… I always want to take good care of my body and make sure I don't get hurt.

Kate: Also, you don’t need to act. I love you just the way you are, Liam. 

Even though I had told him that countless times before, I firmly reassured him once more. 

Liam: Is that really how you feel…? I thought… 

Liam: … I- I’m sorry, Kate. Thanks for telling me you love me.

Liam: I love you too. So… let me love you as you are too from now on.

Liam: … Sorry for being violent with my kisses. 

Liam gave me a gentle kiss, and the two of us tumbled into bed together. 

…

Kate: … Ah!! I almost forgot all about it!! 

After a moment of Liam and I affirming our love for each other, something came to my mind and I immediately bolted up while still in his arms.

Liam: Is something the matter?

Kate: Yes. I’ll be right back, Liam. 

I got up and brought something from the kitchen back to my room. 

Kate: Happy Valentine’s Day, Liam! 

Liam: Is this… for me?

I presented Liam with a moderately sweet chocolate cake.

Kate: Yup. I wanted to make something you’d enjoy eating… so I used a special chocolate that’s especially aromatic. 

Liam: It really does smell good… 

Kate: Fufu. It was hard to obtain, but worth the effort to beg Jude for help. 

Liam: Jude? By any chance… did you pick up the chocolates this morning? 

Kate: Yes, that’s right… did you happen to see me? 

Kate: I tried to make it a surprise by receiving it in secret…

Liam: What… so that’s what it was…

Liam: I saw you smiling so happy when receiving some package from Jude.

Liam: Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I assumed you and Jude might have feelings for each other…

Kate: Eeh!? That’s impossible. I’m fully devoted to you, Liam!

Kate: So that’s why you asked if I liked pain…

Liam: Yeah… I’m sorry for doubting you. 

Liam: … It made me insecure knowing you’re such a wonderful person that anyone would admire. 

Kate: Then please always voice out whenever you feel that way, I can clear those feelings for you. 

Kate: Because my love for you will absolutely never fade. 

Liam: Thanks, Kate. 

Although it was late at night, the two of us shared the chocolate cake. 

Even if our love melts and loses its shape in the heat caused by jealousy, like chocolate, we can always reshape it beautifully.

Because I want to be together with Liam until the end of time.

[pumpkinsforsale]

Hello! I am a professional carriage driver and instructor. I work for a non profit taking care of horses and training drivers.

There are a lot of misconceptions about whips, they are not a weapon, they are a tool. Like any tool, they can be misused. I don't know enough about riding so I can't say much there, but a whip is to gain attention. I can whip a draft horse with all my strength and it will feel like a rubberband slap at most, if that. If you watch horses in a field together, you'll see kicking and biting, things that hurt way more than a whip could. If you whip a horse excessively in the same spot, or in the face (especially their eye) it can hurt them. Again, think a rubberband slap on you.

It is a training device, it is an attention grabber. If my right horse is lagging behind, making the left horse struggle to pull the weight, and I already called out and he isn't listening, I tap him with the whip to get his attention.

If a horse sees something scary, and I have pedestrians near me, and I already tried calming him down with my voice, what do I do? Let him panic and tear through a crowd of people, or whip him to get his attention to walk forward. The whip says "hey, pay attention to me, I am giving you a job to do" and it works.

The whip is an extension, and a translator. Horses communicate a lot through nudges and touches, as well as pushing and bites. A whip is translating my intentions into something a horse can understand, a tickle or a snip "listen to me"

TL;DR: whips are a tool to be used with correct horse training, they can be misused just like any tool, and it is really, really hard to hurt a horse with a whip, since that is simply not what they are designed for

Edit: everyone in the replies is saying how little experience they have with horses, while I, a full time trained professional who is running a very public educational barn at an accredited museum, is wrong. I'm losing my mind and I need to walk away.

Absolutely insane that I was taught to punish horses with physical pain (whips, kicks, pulling on the reins) when they didn't do as told. I rode from 2004 to 2012, it really wasn't that long ago. I was taught to whip a horse when he bent down for a bit of grass during a trail ride. It's all hitting me now, how deeply fucked up it all was.

I overheard a kid at a thrift store a few weeks ago, ranting at their dad about the whips for sale at one of the stands, and how you aren't allowed to use whips at all. So I hope that means things have changed, at least at the beginner level.

But of course pony riding schools aren't the same as professional riding organizations. I can't help but feel like the constant horse abuse at high level competitions is an indicator that things haven't changed at all. That horse abuse is still normalized, and that the outraged kid yelling about whips was just an outlier.

When will the horse world realize that horses are emotional, sensitive creatures who feel pain and fear?

[saichisugimoto99]

You Protected Me

Pairing/s: Ethan Landry x ProtectiveF!Reader

Summary: It all started because Ethan refused to comply with the demand of some idiot who was drowned by his ego one day and has no regrets. Not because he likes being harassed, but because thanks to that, he was able to meet an amazing girl... you.

Warnings: English is not my first language, so I apologize for my spelling errors. Language, blood, wounds (the descriptions are not very graphic), fluff, if I missed mentioning something, don't hesitate to tell me.

W/C (Word Count): 6k+ (sorry)

A/N (Author's Note): What is promised is a debt. This One-Shot is based on my meme, I'm sorry for the delay and I hope you enjoy reading this (I will also publish it on my wattpad, there I will be publishing most of my stories translated into Spanish).

Ethan's daily routine was always the same: he woke up, ate breakfast, talked to Chad, went to school, did his homework, and had horror movie Fridays with his friends. However, his routine began to change when the captain of the lacrosse team, Alan, asked him for a "favor." The guy wanted Ethan to do his homework for him to avoid having his captain position revoked and him being kicked off the team.

The problem was that the curly-haired boy refused to do it, which caused Alan to get angry and start bullying him. Ethan didn't want to tell his friends, and he doesn't even know if it was out of fear, shame, or both. Hits, words and "jokes" began to become part of the boy's daily routine, as if they were something normal, although in reality they were not. Until one day, a certain girl, known for how troublesome she was, stepped in to defend Ethan.

He was leaving his economics class when Alan and his group grabbed him from behind and dragged him to the farthest part of the campus, while laughing. “It's your turn to take a beating today, Landry.” The captain said, pushing Ethan against a wall. Ethan groaned in pain from the impact.

“P-Please, Alan, are you doing this to me just because I refused to do your homework?” The boy questioned, as he straightened up a little. Even though Ethan was taller, he didn't know how to fight at all.

"I'll explain it to you so you understand, idiot. Lacrosse is my life, and I'm not going to let my chance at the big leagues be ruined because of you. You're the best at economics, right? Give me my homework and we’ll leave you alone. It’s your last chance, Landry.”

Ethan looked at him with fear. I was about to respond, but then you intervened. "Are you seriously threatening him over something you could do yourself? Are you so stupid that you don't even know how to do it yourself?" you asked as you leaned against the wall, holding a cigarette between your fingers.

Hearing your voice, everyone turned to look at you.

"What did you say?" Alan asked, glaring at you.

"Let go."

Alan and his friends started laughing out loud. "And what are you going to do if I don't?"

"I'll put out my damn cigarette with your tongue." You said with a challenging look. You were sick of idiots like him.

Alan looked at you for a few seconds before letting go of Ethan. "You're saved this time, nerd." He whispered to Ethan. Then, he gave you one last look before leaving with his friends.

You pushed away from the wall and walked over to Ethan's backpack to pick up his things, which one of that guy's friends had thrown on the floor. As you did so, Ethan also came over to finish gathering his things.

"I... um, thank you very much for the help, really." Ethan said as he looked at you. Damn, you were beautiful. "You're welcome, I hate idiots like them."

When they finished gathering their things, you stood up with the intention of leaving, but before you could, Ethan spoke to you. "W-Wait a minute..." You turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "I... I-I just wanted to know your name. I'm Ethan." You didn't say anything for a few seconds, you just nodded and responded, "Y/n, that's my name." A shy smile appeared on Ethan's face. "It's a very nice name. Thanks again..."

You nodded again while keeping your expression neutral, although there was a hint of a smile and continued on your way. Meanwhile, Ethan couldn't wait to see you again.

A few days passed since that incident where he met you for the first time. I didn't know when I would see you again, until today. He was one of the first to arrive at the economics class. The minutes passed and the seats gradually filled up. Then he saw you come through the door. Damn, you were in his class! How did you not notice before?

He began to get more nervous when he realized that you were coming to sit next to him, although you didn't notice it, since you were distracted. You sat next to him and began to take out your things for class, still not paying attention to him.

Throughout the class, every 5 seconds Ethan would direct his gaze towards you, which you noticed, and in the end you just sighed and looked back at him. That's when you realized it was the same boy you had helped a few days ago.

Ethan blushed as he realized you had caught him. A nervous smile appeared on his lips. "H-Hello again." You just nodded with a slight smile. "Hello, Ethan." She remembers my name, SHE REMEMBERS IT.

The class continued without much interaction between the two of you, although Ethan continued to glance at you every few seconds.

For the next half hour, class progressed normally, but the tension between them was palpable. Ethan couldn't quite concentrate on what the professor was saying, every time his eyes landed on you, and he met your gaze. When class ended and the bell rang, the students began to get up, gathering their things. You also stood up from your seat, but before you could leave the classroom, you felt a hand rest on your shoulder. Turning around, you were met with Ethan, who seemed to be quite nervous.

"Hey, do you mind if we talk for a moment?" he asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Hey, do you mind if we talk for a moment?" he asked, avoiding eye contact.

"No, of course not." You responded.

Ethan bit his bottom lip, a clear sign that he was struggling with his words. "I want to thank you again... for what happened a few days ago." He began, unable to articulate much more. "I... You helped me, and I know I thanked you at the time, but I still want to do it again."

You just nodded. "No problem. I don't like people being treated that way when they don't deserve it. If you need help or anything, look for me."

Ethan nodded, more confident. "Thank you...really. See you later, I guess."

"See you, Ethan." You responded, as you both left the classroom in opposite directions.

As you walked down the hallway, you couldn't help but think that maybe this wouldn't be the last conversation you'd have with him.

And so it was. You saw him shortly after since you only had economics class together and you hadn't attended class that week. It seemed like this time he was with his friends. The only one you recognized was Tara, you both share algebra class. You didn't want to interrupt him, so you decided to walk past him, but he looked up and when he saw you, he immediately smiled. How can someone his size be so... adorable?

You watched as he seemed to say something to his friends, and immediately trotted over to where you were. “H-Hello, Y/n.” The hint of a smile appeared on your lips as you waved back.

“Hello, Ethan. Do you need anything?”

“No, it's not that. It’s just… I didn’t see you in economics class and I got worried.”

“I just had some problems, nothing serious.”

“I…I’m glad.”

You waited a few seconds for him to continue, but he stayed silent. He realized he hadn't said anything and mentally slapped himself on the forehead.

“Shit, I-I'm sorry. “Uh… I also wanted to give you this, wait.” Ethan turned slightly to open his backpack and take out his notebook.

“I wanted to give this to you. “They are the economics notes, what we saw this week.”

You looked at him in surprise as you opened the notebook. “You didn't have to.” Ethan just shrugged with a smile. “It's okay, it doesn't bother me. It’s the least I can do to return the favor.” You gave him an almost imperceptible smile and looked over his shoulder; his friends seemed worried seeing him talking to you. “You better go back to your friends, they seem to be… worried.” Ethan turned to look at his friends while you put the notes in your backpack, the boy just raised an eyebrow, but he didn't give it much importance and looked at you again.

“Go to them, they probably think I want to kick your ass. And thanks again for the notes, I'll get them back to you tomorrow.” Ethan wondered what you meant by that, but chose not to say anything as he said goodbye, smiling like a fool in love.

As you walked past her friends, Mindy shot you a look, and you returned it, but in a more threatening manner.

Ethan returned to his friends, who looked at him as if he had grown a second head. “What's wrong with them? “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Duh, isn't it obvious? “You were talking to Y/n, did she threaten you or something?” Mindy asked, looking at him with a mix of pity and irritation. She has always had a love-hate relationship with Ethan. She has been passive-aggressive towards him, but she doesn't hate him; You could say that he has a certain affection for him, although not enough to treat him well. Did you understand? Me neither, Mindy, make up your mind.

“She didn't threaten me, she just... helped me with something and I wanted to return the favor. Why would he threaten me anyway? “He is not a bad person.”

At that moment, Chad, his best friend and roommate, sighed and placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder. “Man, I don't know if that girl brainwashed you or something, but you should stay away from her. According to rumors, Y/n is known for being very problematic, she is aggressive both physically and verbally, and those she doesn't like end up very badly. Even in high school, he sent a girl to the hospital, or something like that I'd heard."

Ethan snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh really? You said it yourself, they are just rumors; “She hasn’t done anything wrong to me.”

“Leave him alone, if he wants to get beaten up that's his problem.” Mindy said as she crossed her arms. Anika nudged him.

“Mindy, don't say that. You should not judge a person based only on rumors. If Ethan says she’s not bad, then she’s not.”

Mindy just sighed, exasperated. “And if our shy, dumb, naive Ethan says the world will end soon, would we have to believe him too?”

Anika just sighed and Tara joined the conversation. “Everyone has a point, but if I remember correctly, Y/n and I shared algebra class. He looks unfriendly, but that's all. She didn't look like someone who was going to rip your head off just for looking at her wrong.” With that, Chad walked over to his girlfriend and put an arm around her shoulders.

“Alright, I think that's enough. If our boy says it's okay, there's nothing we can do. Let's leave this discussion for later and better hurry up to get to our horror Friday before Sam gives us a lecture for not being on time.”

Ethan sighed irritably. “I would rather never have this conversation again if you are going to question my every action.” Chad and the rest looked at each other as Ethan took the lead.

Now, why don't we find out the reason you skipped economics class? Let's go back two days earlier.

"Shit!" You kicked the nearest trash can with all your might. You were in an area somewhat away from the main campus. The same place where Alan and his bastard friends brought Ethan to bully him. You usually visit this place when you want to smoke or need to vent your anger. In this case, it was the latter. You placed your forearm on the wall and rested your head on it. You were trying with all your might not to scream any more than you already had. You always had anger problems, and even though you tried to control them, you couldn't always. At least you never hurt someone who didn't deserve it, and that was already an achievement. Between homework, your mother, and the idiots at the university, you couldn't have a single moment to breathe. You decided it would be best to take a few minutes to calm down, before heading to economics class. You hated that class. But seeing Ethan's cute face somehow always calmed your- Wait. “What the hell was I thinking?” You wanted to hit yourself right now. You clicked your tongue and bent down to pick up your backpack when you felt like you had calmed down enough. “Wow, beautiful. “You may be a nuisance, but you have a nice ass.” You let out an exasperated sigh and turned around to see Alan smiling evilly. Your calm went to shit, again. “Thug, stupid, pathetic and perverted. Your adjectives are getting better.” Alan's arrogant and malicious smile disappeared. He approached you with an angry expression until he was inches from your face. “Do you think this is a joke? Last time I stopped because it wasn't worth it and I was already bored. Don’t think it will be different now.” “I'm not afraid of you. I've dealt with worse guys than you, don't think you're a fucking gangster. You're just a college student with a brain as developed as that of a fish. The only reason you haven't been fired is because others do the work for you, and for the love of god, buy a damn breath mint or something.” You scrunch your face in disgust as you walk away from Alan. Alan lost his cool and started yelling at you. “Listen to me carefully, you damn whore! I won't let them take my captain's position or kick me off the lacrosse team! I'll make that pathetic fucking nerd's life miserable until he does what I tell him, and neither you nor anyone else is going to stop me-” You didn't even let him finish before you threw a punch at his nose, breaking it instantly. Alan fell to the ground, groaning in pain as he held his nose. You knelt down next to him and pulled him by his jacket. “Dare to touch Ethan one more time and I'll make sure to stick the stick so deep in you that you'll feel the splinters in your throat for the rest of your miserable life. This is my last warning, Alan.” You said in a way that would make even a grown man tremble in fear. You got up and left without looking at him again. You definitely wouldn't make it in time for economy.

“Ethan, wait for us!” Chad shouted, reaching for his best friend, followed by the others. Ethan was going to answer him, but stopped when he saw Alan and his friends pass by. He…had his nose broken?!

“Ouch, isn’t that Alan? Who did he piss off to end up with his nose like that?” Chad asked, his expression pained. “Whoever it was, deserves an award. It’s about time someone put that overbearing, testosterone-fueled idiot in his place.” Mindy spoke up, stopping along with Anika and Tara.

The 5 of them looked at Alan, but Ethan was more surprised. It couldn’t have been you… right?

“We better get going, Sam and my sister should be waiting for us.” Ethan said before continuing to walk, with the others following him. It was a good idea that he did so, since Alan was watching him; he would definitely get his revenge.

The next day, Ethan decided to look for you to ask you directly what had happened with Alan. Maybe he was overthinking it and the idiot had simply gotten into trouble with another guy; but, still, he couldn’t help but worry, not for that idiot, but for you.

After walking around campus twice, he started to get upset when he didn’t see you anywhere. He was about to panic when he remembered the place he met you. He quickly ran in the direction of that corner of campus in hopes of finding you.

He let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding when he saw you sitting there, legs crossed, a book on them and a cigarette in your hand.

You looked up from your book when you heard someone approaching. Your gaze softened and a small smile appeared on your face when you saw it was Ethan. You didn’t expect to see him there again, considering it was the place he was dragged to get beaten up.

“Ethan? What are you doing here? Did that idiot bother you again or something?” You asked, your expression changing to one of concern and anger. If he said yes, you would stand up to break that muscle brain’s legs.

“N-No, he didn’t bother me… I was just looking for you.” Ethan blushed. You looked worried and quite…protective? Or was I imagining it?

You stared at him for a few seconds, a little surprised. No one ever approached you willingly, hadn’t he heard the rumors about you? Yes, you saved him, but you still couldn’t help but feel a little…nervous? It had been so long that people avoided you like the plague that you got used to it and you never cared. After a few years, someone finally talked to you and looked at you without a hint of disgust, mockery or… fear. You preferred that to being betrayed and hurt again. After Ethan started talking to you, you realized that you felt really alone.

You blinked a few times when you realized that you hadn’t responded. “Uhh well… come sit if you want.” You patted the spot next to you. Ethan blushed, but still smiled from ear to ear. He took his backpack off his shoulders and shyly walked over to your side to sit on the floor.

Ethan put the backpack down beside him and you put out your cigarette. You didn’t want the smell to bother him or make him inhale the smoke.

“Is there a reason you were looking for me? It doesn’t bother me, but I’m curious.” You turned to look at him, waiting for his answer.

“I… yeah, I wanted to ask you something.”

“I saw Alan yesterday and… his nose was broken. By any chance was it you? I don’t care what happens to him and I-I don’t blame you either, I was just wondering…” Ethan scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“Yeah, well… he was the reason I didn’t go to Economics a few days ago. He came here with threats and comments about my ass, so I broke his nose and gave him one last warning.” You laughed and looked at Ethan. He seemed to be angry, his expression was really… dark.

“I-I’m really sorry. “I didn’t want to cause you trouble. Now, because of me, that idiot will target you.” At that moment, Ethan’s mind was beginning to form disturbing thoughts, because how dare that guy threaten you? A girl as beautiful and amazing as you shouldn’t experience that.

Your heart fluttered at his words. Ethan really is a great guy. It’s the first time someone got mad at you. You thought he was really sweet, and you would definitely protect him from anyone. You wouldn’t let anyone hurt him, verbally or physically.

“Ethan, look at me.”

He turned around and you looked him straight in the eyes, you were very close to each other and only a few inches apart. “Trust me when I tell you that I’m capable of defending myself from a jerk like him. It… makes me happy that you care about me, but don’t think about it too much, okay?” Ethan just nodded and you smiled. You looked down at his lips.

The silence between you two was filled with the tension of the moment. Your heartbeats could be felt in the air, fast, synchronized. Your eyes met, and suddenly, the world around you faded away.

Ethan moved a little closer, unsure, as you looked up, caught in the magnetism of the moment. Your breaths intertwined, warm and soft.

Your faces slowly moved closer, almost as if time stood still. Barely a whisper separated your lips when they finally met. The touch was soft, a first touch full of doubt and emotion. But in a second, everything changed: the kiss deepened, more confident, firmer. The whole world disappeared as your lips spoke in a silent language, sealing a connection that had been there all along. After a while, although you didn’t want to separate, you pulled away to take a breath.

“This… was unexpected.”

After that kiss, you and Ethan started getting closer and closer, until just a month later, you both started a relationship. You told Ethan that it would be better to keep it a secret, as you didn't want other people to treat him badly for being with you, including his friends, who started to suspect that something was up with the curly-haired boy, as he spent less time with them. They started following him more often to find out what he was hiding…

"Seriously, I don't understand why they want to follow Ethan. Even if he's hiding something, he must have valid reasons for doing so." Anika felt somewhat uncomfortable following her friend; they looked like stalkers, and that was really creepy.

"You have to admit that he's been weird lately. Well, he's always weird, but he's been more so than usual." Mindy turned to look at her girlfriend in a mocking manner.

"Well, maybe he doesn't want to tell us what's wrong with him for this reason." Sam said, while pointing at everyone, including her. Tara, Sam, Anika, Mindy, Chad, and even Quinn were hiding in a corner of the local diner near the college, where Ethan had wandered in. The guy was sitting by the window, and seemed to be waiting for someone.

"And besides, why am I here? I came because I was told we were going to get something to eat, not spy on Ethan like we were CIA agents," Sam said, sipping her milkshake irritably. At least the drinks were good.

"Maybe you don't want to be here, but I do. I hope my brother's secret is embarrassing enough for me to make fun of him for the rest of the year." Quinn said, laughing before eating a French fry.

"I'm starting to get bored. Maybe he's not even hiding anything from us, and Ethan is just being… more Ethan than usual." Tara looked boredly between her salad and the aforementioned guy. "No, he's definitely hiding something. He's been coming in late, and he doesn't do that. He's too much of a perfectionist, even with his schedule. He doesn't spend as much time at the apartment anymore, sometimes he walks past me and I get the smell of cigarettes, and Ethan doesn't smoke. He smells like women's perfume most of the time, and I'm a hundred percent sure I've seen some hickeys on his neck." Chad said, quietly. Before he could say anything else, Mindy patted his hand for her brother, and pointed at a girl approaching the table where Ethan was. It was… Y/n?!

Everyone watched you from afar. They saw how Ethan stood up when he saw you. You hugged him, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulled him close to give him a small kiss on the lips, which he obviously reciprocated. You then walked away and sat next to him at the table.

Ethan’s friends were VERY shocked by what they just witnessed, not only because he was dating a girl, but also because he was specifically dating you out of all girls.

“This doesn’t make sense…” Quinn muttered, still with a French fry halfway between her plate and her mouth. She dropped it on the table, completely forgetting about the food. “Ethan has a girlfriend. And she’s…” she looked directly at Anika, who looked just as shocked.

“That explains why he’s been acting so weird.” Tara finally broke the silence, crossing her arms as she watched the scene from the corner. “The perfume, the hickey… it all fits. But…” she frowned. “Why Y/n?”

Sam, who had remained silent until now, set his milkshake down on the table and leaned forward. “There’s something I don’t like about all this. Why would he keep it a secret?” His tone was cold and analytical, always looking for the logical angle of the situation.

Mindy nodded, her eyes still fixed on Ethan. “Exactly. What could he be hiding? And why wouldn’t he trust us?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking we should talk to him.” Chad finally spoke, his tone more serious than usual. “If Ethan is hiding something from us, I think we deserve to know. He’s our friend.”

Quinn laughed nervously. “Or maybe he’s just afraid we’ll make fun of him for secretly dating someone.”

Sam shook his head, looking at Ethan. “No. There’s something else. It’s not just for fear of being made fun of… it seems there’s something else.”

The conversation fell silent as everyone looked back at Ethan, who seemed to be deeply immersed in his conversation with Y/n. Whatever was going on, they knew they couldn’t just let it go. Finally, Chad stood up, a mix of determination and curiosity in his expression. “I think it’s time to get some answers.”

The others exchanged uncertain glances, but knew confrontation was inevitable. One by one, they stood up.

The group moved towards the table where you and Ethan were sitting, their steps firm but cautious. Chad was the first to arrive, stopping right next to the table, while the others spread out around it, forming a semi-circle that enclosed the couple.

Ethan, sensing the sudden presences, looked up in surprise. His eyes widened as he saw all of his friends staring at him. “What… what are you doing here?”

Your calm expression faded and you simply sighed.

“Ethan.” Mindy’s voice was firm. “We need to talk. Now.”

Ethan gulped nervously as you watched the situation without saying a word.

“Talk? About what?” Ethan asked, trying to keep his composure, but clearly out of it.

Chad crossed his arms before speaking. “You’ve been acting weird for weeks, disappearing, coming home late, smelling like things that don’t make sense… and now we find out that all this time you’ve been dating Y/n, and you didn’t even mention it.”

Mindy spoke up, leaning slightly towards Ethan. “Can you explain to us why you’ve been hiding this? Because, trust me, we’re all pretty confused right now.”

“First, relax. You’re not interrogating a criminal. Second, I asked Ethan to keep the relationship a secret, happy?” You finally spoke, looking Mindy straight in the eyes with an irritated expression.

Everyone turned to look at you, a little surprised by the direct and aggressive response you gave them.

The silence grew heavier. Ethan clenched his fists on the table and finally spoke, his tone resigned. “Y/n didn’t want you guys to judge me… She thought it would be easier to keep it a secret for a while. We didn’t want to complicate things.”

“And anyway, what we do is none of your business, it only concerns me and Ethan. If you have any more questions, I invite you to sit with us then.” Your voice had a sincere, but also sarcastic tone as you gave them a forced smile.

“Hey, you don’t have to be so abrupt, you know?” Quinn was starting to get annoyed by your attitude, even though it was justified. You just let out a dry laugh, grimacing without looking at her a second time.

Anika sensed the tension in the air and immediately tried to intervene, knowing it would be best not to make things worse and cause an unnecessary fight.

“Guys, I think it would be best if we sat down. Let’s avoid any trouble, okay?” The others exchanged glances and simply nodded, taking seats so they could talk properly.

For a while, no one said anything, making the silence rather awkward. Tara decided to be the first to speak so the awkwardness would dissipate, even if just a little. “It’s… nice to meet you, Y/n. We have a class together, but we’ve never really talked.”

Your expression relaxed and you responded politely. “I know, it’s nice to meet you too.” The smile Tara received from you was almost imperceptible, but it was there. Everyone was surprised, they thought you would be ruder or just ignore Tara.

“And you don’t need to introduce yourselves or whatever, Ethan has already told me about you.”

Chad saw how willing you were to strike up a conversation with them, so he simply decided to take the risk. “Still, I think we should properly introduce ourselves. It’s a pleasure, I’m Chad, Tara’s boyfriend, and Ethan’s best friend and roommate. She’s my twin, Mindy, that’s Anika, his girlfriend. There’s also Sam, Tara’s older sister, and Quinn, who you obviously had to meet since she’s Eth’s sister.”

Mindy rolled her eyes as she sighed and rested her forearms on the table. "Yeah, yeah, enough introduction. Now, I'm really curious about three things. The first is, why did you ask our dumb, shy Ethan to keep it a secret about your… relationship? The second is, how the hell did you two meet? And the third is, how did a girl of your reputation end up with someone like Ethan? I mean, no offense, but you're like the cliché couple from a romantic comedy."

Your expression remained stoic as you looked Mindy straight in the eyes, making her feel a little uncomfortable. You looked away and crossed your arms over your chest before speaking. "I imagine you guys know my reputation, which is why I asked Ethan to keep it a secret because I didn't want you guys or the rest of campus to judge him for being with me. Our thing just happened, there's no mystery to it, and we met because… I'd rather Ethan speak for himself if he wants to."

They stared at you for a while, processing your words before looking back at Ethan for more context.

Ethan ended up telling them everything. How Alan and his friends teased him because he refused to do his homework, and how you ended up defending him, which was when he met you.

“That… is the stupidest reason to hit someone,” Mindy said, shocked at the level of human stupidity Alan was capable of.

“Why didn’t you tell us anything, man? That’s what we’re here for, we could have put that idiot in his place.” Chad looked a bit indignant that Ethan hadn’t talked to him about what was happening to him. “Why would I? Why would my sister or Mindy call me pathetic for not standing up for myself against those idiots?”

Everyone was silent, you just grimaced at what Ethan said. If they were able to tell you that, you’d really start to get mad.

Mindy and Quinn just hung their heads, staring at the table like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Yeah, it seemed like they were thinking Ethan was pathetic.

Everyone spent the last half hour talking to Ethan, you only keeping the conversation to a few words as you intertwined your hand with Ethan’s and rubbed small circles with your thumb on the boy’s skin.

When the talk ended, Ethan’s friends felt more comfortable, even with you, despite the fact that you barely participated in the conversation. So much so that they even invited you to participate in their ‘horror Fridays’ as they called it. You said you would think about it and said goodbye with Ethan, since the boy preferred to spend the night with you, in your apartment. The two of you talked all the way back, quite relaxed by how this unexpected meeting ended. Who would have thought that this tranquility would only last that night, right?

The next morning, the sun was beginning to filter gently through the curtains, filling the room with a soft, warm light. You slowly opened your eyes, still half asleep, and noticed the familiar weight of Ethan's arms around your waist. You could feel his calm, deep breathing against your neck, and the warmth of his chest pressed against your back.

You didn't want to move. There was something about that quiet, that bubble of intimacy and protection, that made you feel complete. Ethan was sleeping soundly, his grip was gentle but firm, as if in his sleep he knew he didn't want to let go.

With a small smile on your lips, you closed your eyes again, enjoying those minutes when everything was calm, just the two of you, sharing a silent moment that seemed eternal. In that embrace, everything seemed fine, as if the outside world didn't matter. You knew that when he woke up, he would find that same warm, loving gaze that you dedicate to him and only him.

You carefully turned around, still in Ethan’s embrace, your bodies so close you could feel his heartbeat. You watched his peaceful face as he slept, his breathing slow and soft. With a sweet smile, you reached up and gently caressed Ethan’s cheek, brushing his skin with your fingertips, as if you were afraid to wake him up.

A while later, you both got up to get ready for college. You headed ahead to the bathroom while Ethan got dressed, and soon you were ready to go downstairs for breakfast. Between laughs and chats, you enjoyed a light meal, until Ethan set his cup down on the table and casually mentioned,

“I have to stop by Chad’s apartment to pick up some books I forgot. I don’t have them here and I need them for today’s classes.”

You frowned slightly, something inside you giving you a bad feeling.

“Shall I come with you?” You asked, even though you already knew the answer. Ethan shook his head with a calm smile, like he always did when he thought you shouldn't be worried.

“I won't be long, love. Go ahead to college, I'll catch you there.”

Despite the feeling growing in your chest, you sighed and nodded. You didn't want to tell him that something didn't add up. Maybe it was just your imagination. Ethan leaned in to give you a quick kiss and left the apartment.

But that feeling didn't leave you.

Ethan arrived at the apartment he shared with Chad, who had already left for college. He quickly gathered the books he needed and walked out the door, ready to meet you. However, as he crossed the street, he found himself face to face with Alan, the campus bully, accompanied by three of his friends. Alan smiled mischievously at the sight.

“Where do you think you're going, Landry?” Alan said, blocking his way.

Ethan gulped, he knew this wasn't going to end well. Before he could react, the four of them surrounded him and took him to an alley near the university.

Meanwhile, Mindy and Anika, who were on their way to class, saw from a distance how the guys took Ethan away. Without wasting any time, they ran to find the others.

On your way to college, you were walking alongside Tara, Chad, Sam, and Quinn. You were exchanging a few words when Mindy and Anika came running towards you, worried faces.

“Ethan!” Mindy shouted, almost out of breath. “Alan and the three idiots with him have taken him.”

Your face completely contorted with anger upon hearing this. Chad backed away slightly, scared by the sudden, dangerous energy you radiated.

“Where?” You asked with a tense voice, looking at Mindy.

“To an alley, near the college.” Anika answered quickly.

Before anyone could say anything else, you ran off, your legs moving on pure adrenaline, while the others tried to keep up with you. With each passing second, your fury grew.

When you reached the alley, your heart stopped for an instant. Ethan was being beaten by Alan and his friends. His lip was split, he was bleeding from his nose, and he had a dark bruise on his cheek. That was the trigger. Fury blinded you completely.

“Leave him alone you fucking morons!” You screamed in a voice that echoed off the walls of the alley.

Alan didn’t even have time to react before you lunged at his friends. Within seconds, all three of them were on the ground, bleeding and moaning in pain, while you barely showed any signs of exertion except for your bruised knuckles.

Finally, you lunged at Alan, knocking him to the ground, and punched him repeatedly, his voice shaking with anger as he said, “I warned you… not to dare… touch him.”

“Come on Y/n, tear him apart!!” Chad exclaimed, excited. It’s like he was watching a fight of his favorite WWE wrestler.

Mindy also seemed to be cheering you on and Tara started recording. The rest looked at you with shocked expressions, you really are like a beast when you fight.

Alan could barely moan in pain as he screamed for you to stop, but you didn’t until you felt Ethan’s arms around your waist. Your anger instantly evaporated, and you returned your focus to him alone.

“How much pain are you in?! Is something broken, Eth?!” You asked, your voice filled with concern as you caressed his wounded face.

Ethan nodded, despite the pain.

“It hurts a lot, but nothing’s broken, I promise.”

You sighed in relief, completely forgetting about Alan and the others. You took Ethan by the hand, quickly leading him out of the alley, heading to Sam’s apartment to tend to his wounds.

Those guys would definitely never touch your cute boy again.

Who wouldn't become a WWE wrestler to protect baby Ethan?

[magicbeings]

How I added "instant translation" to the non-english text on my fic: a very easy 3 step guide

Hello!

I recently posted a Wolfstar fanfic called Instance of Happenstance and received a lot of compliments on a small piece of code I used. Both @marigold-hills and @leavesthatarebrown suggested I share how I did it, so here I am, finally explaining it in a Tumblr post!

Before diving into the details, I want to clarify that I didn't write this code myself.

Initially, I tried following this tutorial, but I stumbled upon a better solution in the comments of that post. The code on the tutorial itself does work, but a) it's harder to use and b) it doesn't work as well if you're planing to have multiple paragraphs that you need to show the translation on the same fic.

The solution someone presented on the comments, however, is very simple and easy to use for as many paragraphs as you need, but the explanation there wasn’t too clear, so I decided to expand on it to make it easier for others to implement.

All credit to Ao3 users La_Temperaza (who wrote the orginal post) and Nikkie2571 (who posted this code on the comments).

What Does This Code Do?

This code adds an interactive feature to your fanfic, allowing readers to hover over a specific paragraph (or tap on it if they’re on mobile) to instantly change the text to something else — also set by you.

While this can be used for various purposes, I think it's particularly useful to display instant translations of non-English dialogue/text directly in the story. The code offers a much smoother alternative to the clunky “see end notes for translation” thing—which, let's be honest, can be a pain for readers, especially in long chapters.

For example, in instance of happenstance, Sirius discovers an old journal written entirely in French. I wanted to maintain the sense of mystery and intrigue that would be lost if I simply said the journal was in French, but wrote the text in English.

This solution let me keep the best of both worlds—retaining the authenticity and the immersion of the French, while still making the story easy to follow for the readers.

Now, I know this sounds complicated, but I assure you, it's not!

Down bellow is a quick, 3 steps tutorial on how to do it. I hope this is helpful! (:

(I'm doing this on the computer, if you're doing it on mobile, the layout of the website might be different from my printscreens)

Step 1 - Create The Work Skin

I'm gonna go right to the point here, but if you want to know about Work Skins in detail, I suggest this Ao3 Article.

On your Ao3 Dashboard, click on the fourth link on the sidebar, which is "Skins".

Then, on the page that opens up, click on "My Work Skins"

Then, on the top of the page, select "Create Work Skin"

Now, you'll see the form to create your skin, which looks like this:

Leave the "Type" as "Work Skin". On the Title, you can give any name you want to your skin, but I suggest you choose the same title as your fic or something like "instant translation", so you'll know what it's about later.

You don't have to worry about any of the other fields, except for the CSS one, where you should copy and paste exactly what I'll put bellow:

#workskin .change_on_hover:not(:hover) .on, #workskin .change_on_hover:hover .off { display: none; }

So, now, you'll have something like this...

... and you just have to click "save" on the bottom of the page, and this step is done.

Step 2 - Apply the Skin you created to your fic

For a new work, click on "New Work" as usual. If it's a fic you're already posting, you can add this as well, just click the "Edit" button.

Now, on the form of your fic, on the "Associations" tab, right under the menu where you select the language of your fic, you'll see a "select a work skin" option.

On this field, you should select the workskin you just created on the previous step, searching by the name you gave it on the "Title" field.

Step 3 - Insert the text

The code we're gonna use is this one:

<p class="change_on_hover"> <span class="off"> paragraph in foreing language </span> <span class="on"> paragraph in english </span> </p>

If you have no idea what this means, hold my hand, we're gonna get through it together!

First, copy your fic’s text into the AO3 text box as you normally would. Then, switch the text box to HTML mode so you can see the underlying code.

Now, scroll down until you find the paragraph you want to translate. After pasting, it will likely look something like this:

Note how each paragraph in HTML starts with <p> and ends with </p>. These tags indicate where a paragraph begins and ends.

Our goal is to modify that first <p> tag so it tells the browser, “Hey, this paragraph is different from those other ones. It should change when hovered over or clicked.”

To do this, we’ll change <p> to <p class="change_on_hover">. This marks the paragraph as special—one that should switch text when interacted with.

Now note how instead of having a single paragraph, we need two versions of the text:

In blue, the original (non-English) text, which will be shown by default.

In red, the translated (English) text, which will appear when the reader hovers over or clicks on it.

For the original text, wrap it inside a <span class="off"> tag, ending with </span> like this:

<span class="off"> insert here the whole text of the paragraph in the foreign language </span>

For the translated text, wrap it inside a <span class="on"> tag, also ending with </span>. This will replace the original text when hovered over or clicked:

<span class="off"> insert here the whole text of the paragraph in english </span>

And don't forget to end the whole thing again with </p>

Again, here's how it looks on my fic:

With the paragraphs that come before and after the translated text, just leave them as they are. They should still start with <p> and end with </p>. No changes needed!

You can use this method for as many paragraphs as you want, whether in the same chapter or across different chapters. As long as the Work Skin is active, the effect will work seamlessly throughout your fic.

[lu-is-not-ok]

Sorry if you've already analyzed this recently but it would be neat if I could possibly get your thoughts about this.

I'm currently trying to theory craft for The Surrendered Witnessing (Canto 8), so I was looking at the Limbus TGS Teaser for more hints. Cuz the background art has been quite accurate so far.

When you look up Hong Lu on Google one of the first pictures you get is that art of him in the white outfit with the dandelion.(Which is also briefly shown on the TGS Teaser) At first I thought he was blowing the dandelion as a symbolism of being carefree and whimsical, similar to how children blow on dandelions to make wishes.

But then I noticed a few things. First, he doesn't necessarily seem happy, or really showcasing any kind of 'whimsy'. Also, the dandelion isn't up to his mouth. It's not positioned in a way where he can blow. It seems more likely that he is watching a common weed blow off in the wind with more freedom than he would ever get while he's with his family. Dandelions in general are also a symbol of hope, which means this could be a representation of him feeling hopeless.

But then, the screen briefly shows a zoomed out version before jumpscaring you with Heathcliff.

At first I thought this was a rebellion with the sheer amount of grey bodies seeming desperate. But then I realized they are reaching. Are they possibly reaching for Hong Lu? Do they just wish to be in his shoes-- desperately wanting just a sliver of his family's influence and wealth? Or is their desperation more focused on the red paper?

Hong Lu also doesn't seem that pleased, the zoomed out version seems way more bored than the zoomed in version.

The dandelion seeds turn into something red. It could be red envelopes used to gift money, but I don't know why Hong Lu or his family would even bother using something so formal on people with such low status. A very unlikely theory is that it could also be related to Hong Lu's previous mention of a 'red passport'. Though I'm just assuming it has significance specifically where Hong Lu's family resides, either something important within his house or something that has to do with how the district works.

--

Another interesting thing that pops up is a speech bubble. I'm not fluent in any other languages so I had to Google translate it, so it may very likely be wrong, but it says "it's almost like filming a play". I don't have a clue if that has been a previous line from Hong Lu, but the outline is in Hong Lu's color. So maybe he's referencing an event after the sinners return to his residence.

The other thing to note is the positioning of this picture directly over the dandelion picture. The only other person that really has that happen in the teaser is Sinclair, but that is because the Sinclair images happen within the same cutscene in-game. I have zero clue if the positioning in the video is that purposeful to make an entire theory on it, but I think the lineup is interesting. The image used is from The Unloving.

--

The last glimpse I'll talk about is the lil angy/displeased Hong Lu.

That looks like Outis' hand grabbing him by the shirt. I was trying to find any other pictures of sinners grabbing each other by the shirt-- but the only shirt threatening content we've gotten are both in The Unconfronting. One by Virgillius (not a sinner) and one by Don Quixote.

So my assumption is that this displeased Hong Lu could either happen during The Nocturnal Sleeping or The Surrendered Witnessing. Likely The Surrendered Witnessing because no intervallo art seems to have been out in the teaser. (All of the characters that already have cantos have art in the TGS that doesn't surpass their focus cantos, though that also could be due to Project Moon not wanting to spoil too much from the initial 3 release cantos)

Anyways! That's my thoughts! I kinda wanna hear yours if possible, no pressure though. :3

(Also, sorry if the formatting is weird I have zero clue how Tumblr's ask formatting works)

Oh boy that's a lot. Ok. Let's see how I wanna get into this.

Let's start with the bits I know I can explain for sure.

First, the dialogue lines. Last time I checked, every single dialogue line shown in the TGS teaser comes from the first three Cantos. Which, if you think about it, makes sense, as those were likely the only Cantos actually fully written by that point.

The line you pointed out specifically comes from Canto 2, it being the second half of this dialogue line that happens after the Sinners beat the Tingtang Gang.

I think its purpose in the teaser is mainly to reinforce the idea that Hong Lu's understanding of reality is very strange compared to other people in the City, him comparing whatever's happening to something as benign as a movie set.

You could probably also make a case for it being used to highlight the theme of the blurred line between Fiction and Reality, what with him comparing a Real situation to that of a Fictional scene one would be filming for a movie.

Second. The angry Hong Lu CG.

I've already discussed that CG at length in this post, but to summarize: this is a scrapped Canto 1 CG, from what I believe to be the original version of the scene where Yuri reveals her backstory, which in the original draft took place outside of the dungeon with all of the Sinners around and thus available to respond. The person grabbing onto Hong Lu's shirt is Gregor, and the reason his skin looks like that in the video is because of the heavy color overlay effects over the teaser itself. I included the clearest picture we have of the full CG in the post I mentioned.

We don't know whether this CG was scrapped before or after the TGS Teaser was made, so it's much harder to ascertain the purpose behind its inclusion here. Regardless of which it is though, it's clear that Project Moon deemed it important to show Hong Lu's capacity for anger in such an early teaser, meaning it was something they were focusing on as a point for his character even back then.

Now. Onto the things I get to actually speculate about.

Let's just first establish this - we have no way of knowing how similar Canto 8 will be to what Project Moon may have initially planned it to be. I'm not one of those people who claims that PM are serial retconners, but I'm also realistic in that I doubt they have more prepared future Cantos than maybe some rough outlines at most. As such, the scene shown in the TGS Teaser might not end up being framed in the exact same way as it was initially planned to be.

This is especially important to note as Vellmori CGs, aka the ones shown in the Teaser itself, are not being used beyond the ones already in the game. We can tell from Canto 6 and 7 that there's no guarantee that we'll get any exactly equivalent CGs from the current artist either. After all, we did get two whole scenes of a Heathcliff arriving to Cathy's funeral, but neither was framed in any way similar to the teased CG.

Here's some of my own observations though.

First - according to recollections from multiple DOTRC readers, the outfit Hong Lu is wearing in both CGs might be a reference to the mourning robes Baoyu wears after Daiyu's death. Considering how sensitive Hong Lu is about things that seem to remind him of an event that is very likely Limbus's equivalent of Daiyu's death (as I discuss in this post), it's likely that Canto 8 will put a notable amount of focus on that event and its aftermath.

Second - in higher quality versions of that first CG, it's possible to see that the shadow cast by the dandelion is a different color to the rest of the shadows being cast - it's notably more red in hue.

This could be another nod to Daiyu, as their Land of Illusion counterpart was the Crimson Pearl Flower. I think you're onto something here with Hong Lu not actively blowing at the dandelion, but rather merely watching it blow away in the wind by itself. It could be a representation of how fragile Daiyu's life ended up being, swept away as if by a gust of wind.

It makes me think of the Flower Burial Song from DOTRC (as do many things around Hong Lu in all fairness), which in itself also represents Daiyu's own mortality. Flowers fall, people perish, and neither of them know.

Third - A few notes about that second CG.

For one, I don't believe that the dandelion seeds are being turned into the red papers (for a lack of a more specific term to call them). You can see that the seeds are actually floating Among the papers, implying they're both falling at the same time rather than one turning into the other.

For two, while it's a bit hard to see in the particular screenshot you took, you can see that Hong Lu has his other arm thrust forward, while still holding the dandelion with the one he held it in the previous CG. This I believe implies he's not just watching the people below, but is actively throwing whatever the red papers are down towards them.

Now.

Here's my own unhinged theory as to what those (now unused) Canto 8 CGs might be showing.

Obviously, I already made it clear that I believe this is taking place after Daiyu's death ,what with both Hong Lu's robes and flower symbolism.

However, I believe the specific event that is happening here is Hong Lu creating a distraction for his Family so that he can escape.

I've made it no secret that I believe Hong Lu is in fact a runaway, and that the "sent out to experience the world" thing he mentions as his reason for leaving his home is in fact a blatant lie. After all, if it were true, why would his Family be searching for him? Why would they want to prematurely cut him off from experiencing more of the world? Add the Lasso Hong Lu corrosion voice line to this, where he's clearly acting out what his Family might sound like once they catch up to him, and you can see why I think this might be the case.

It's also not that hard to imagine why Daiyu's death would be the catalyst to Hong Lu deciding to take a chance and attempt an escape. Daiyu's death has been implied to be an event that not only deeply hurt him, but is also alluded to being the one thing capable of rousing Hong Lu's anger enough to actually lash out. If there was one thing that could make the otherwise docile and obedient Hong Lu act out in such a way, it would be crossing a certain line he believed should never be crossed.

What I believe we're seeing is Hong Lu drawing a group of desperate people towards a likely otherwise very secure household (if his musings about defense systems in Canto 6 are anything to go by). Perhaps, the things he's giving out are specifically invitations, as in Canto 6 Hong Lu mentions (in a way that almost feels like he's speaking from experience mind you) that having an invitation protects one from a mansion's security measures.

So, by "inviting" in as many disruptive people as he can, Hong Lu could be creating the perfect distraction for the Jia Family to deal with while he himself assumedly slips away unnoticed.

At least, that's my theory.

Hope this helps, or is in any way coherent WHEEZE.

[balkanradfem]

I wrote this post in a word document, and I named this document 'not got stabbed yet', so that's the theme today.

I mentioned someone was slashing my bike tyres in the park, and it happened two times in 4 days. I thought, you know, crazy park person was after me, and I need to stop going to the park with a bike, if I want to avoid this.

However, something else happened next. Something that truly chilled me. My bike tyre was slashed the day after, and I hadn't been to the park that day. Not even close. I've been to work, and then visited a store, for 5 minutes. Someone found my bike and slashed it either at my workplace, or at the store. Someone had to follow me to find it there. Someone knew where I worked and shopped.

The tyre had a very small hole, so it deflated very slowly, and I only realized it was flat after I got home. I didn't know whether it was slashed while I was at work, or at the store. I took the tube out to check it out, found no thorn or any natural signs of damage, and called the police again. I wanted to know if there was more reports of this happening.

This time I was in luck and got to talk to a police woman! So I was happy, and I was able to share more details, such as where, when, how many times it happened, she was willing to hear me out. However, she did not take it seriously. She told me somebody probably got offended that I parked my bike at the park, because it is 'the park', so they wanted me to stop leaving it there, and since the third time hole was so tiny, it was possible I just ran into a thorn. I allowed that it could not be ruled out, but it was incredibly unlikely since I was only riding it directly on the street, not any grass or branches, and I did not find a thorn inside of the tyre. Usually when I do run on a thorn, it will get stuck in the outer tyre.

I explained I was worried about being followed, and legitimately scared of going to work next day, but she said I can't shut myself in, I shouldn't be scared, I shouldn't let someone know they've managed to unnerve me with this! And I'm facepalming, thinking, what kind of girl power is this? Is a stalker gonna quit if the victim is not unnerved enough? Wouldn't that inspire them to escalate behaviour? I sighed and thanked her for listening to me.

There were no other reports, she couldn't even tell me if it happened before at all to anyone. I looked up online if there were records of it happening to anyone, anywhere, but only articles I could find were about mass slashing on one location, like one person slashing 30 bikes at once. It was never about just one person having it happen repeatedly.

I was thinking about what was the point of this, and decided if it's not a crazy revenge for something (and I don't know what, I don't have beef with anyone in the entire city), it has to  be to stop me from using my bike. So I would have to walk. And be much slower. Much more easy to follow. And apparently I was already followed, if they managed to find my bike at my workplace. I was scared to go to work again.

To make things more interesting, I was at that point reading 'Career of Evil', which is jkr's book about a serial killer who stalks and murders women, and some of the book was written from the killer's perspective. This part helped me, because it revealed how it could actually be a bit difficult to attack a woman if she's only walking trough public places with people around, refusing to be out at night, refusing to go into dark alleyways or overcrowded bars and dance clubs. He couldn't do it out in daylight where there were witnesses. I had to stop and think whether this book logic could translate to real life, and if this holds out in reality. Can I protect myself just by being in open public spaces, in front of witnesses? Can I be sure I won't get stabbed if I stick to these rules? And I figured, yeah, that actually tracks, nobody will stab me in front of witnesses. And if I'm on my bike, it's harder to catch me. As long as I can quickly repair my bike every time and use it to get around, I should be safer than walking.

But I still felt unnerved about being followed, so I decided to go to work in a disguise. It was a different location and I didn't want to be followed there. I put together a jacket that was a different color than my usual one, put on a wig, different shoes, pants; it was obviously mismatched upon a close look, but if you saw me zooming by on a bike, you couldn't tell it was me.

Next morning, I nervously entered the workplace all costumed up, and people thought I was pulling a funny prank on them and were delighted. They insisted I stay in my new getup to show me to more people to get a laugh. They acted like it was the most fun thing I ever did. I played along, thinking how this is a convenient reaction, because I didn't want to take the disguise off immediately, for the chance that I'm still followed.

Later they asked me why am I in a mascarade, and I explained what happened. They then confirmed I'm definitely being followed, and started listing all cases where a woman got stabbed jogging or walking outside, which was just great to hear.

My bike remained whole that day, and I got home in my disguise safely as well. Now the question remained – do I stay home scared to go out all day? Do I just go around in a disguise everywhere? I needed to know why this was happening to me. And I felt sick of being scared and agoraphobic. So I made up a plan.

*

Later that same day, I went out with my bike in my usual outfit, bright and noticeable jacket, and my laptop in my hands. I went to the park. I carefully tied my bike behind where I was sitting, and opened up my laptop, which had a bit of tape covering the light from the camera. I was filming the bike with my webcam while I was on the laptop. It was almost obvious what I was doing, from the way I was sitting and leaning, but I was there to find out whether the tubestabby was a freaking idiot or not. Either he would fall for the trap, stab my tyre, get caught on camera, and I would know who did it. Or, he would do nothing while it's being filmed, and I could sit in the park, and do whatever I wanted to, safely.

My bike was fine half an hour later when I headed home, and I then had to review the footage, to see if anything happened. Bike was on camera the entire time, nobody came close to it, but also I was on camera, and while I was reviewing it, I had the crazy experience on seeing how my own face looks while I'm online, reading messages, scrolling trough tumblr. At first all I could see were my eyes moving left to right rapidly, I was speed reading, looking all scared and nervous because I did expose myself to a possible stalker and I was not having a good time. But as time went on, I saw myself breaking into smiles, because I had read something funny, and by the end of it I was just grinning and laughing, the internet humor broke trough my nerves and made me forget the fear. Tumblr is okay.

I was satisfied. I had been to the park, I wasn't stabbed, my bike was not damaged, and if I kept this up, I could be in the park and be safe by the means of obviously recording the bike. I can't do it at night time, as my webcam will not pick up a picture in the dark.

I'm not that spooked out anymore, I was freaked out when my bike was slashed the third time, and not even in the park. It is still scary that it's happening to me only, and I'm not targeted randomly among other people. And that it happened on a different location that nobody should have known I'd be on. If I catch the culprit it will take effort not to try and fight him immediately, because I am truly weak due to my impinged nerve and that guy has a sharp object. But he is a coward, destroying my stuff behind my back, never facing me and telling me what his problem is. I refuse to be scared of a coward with a sharp object.

[rottenlightart]

I've often heard the opinion, that Catra was a terrible friend to Scorpia, and that she didn't care about her. To be honest, I don't agree with that, Catra wasn't the worst friend for Scorpia within her capabilities, and really disagree that Catra didn't care about what will happen to Scorpia. I think their relationship is a little more complex than it seems.

(I'm not claiming that their relationship is “healthy and non-toxic,” and etc, I don't want to put any moral judgment on them because I'm not interested in it)

(I'd write many posts about my thoughts on some of the details of the series, but language barrier is eating me alive. Yes, it's a longread with bad English. I hope my attempts to translate this text are successful, but if it's an unreadable mess, let me know 🥲)

Yep, Catra in s1-s4 screws up with communication. The reasons, as I see it, are pretty obvious— she didn't get proper socialization, and on top of that, she was live in constant danger from birth, which had a big impact on her perception of people and contact with them in general. She never had examples of normal relationships in front of her, but she had plenty of things that would convince her to avoid people. Society around her was built on force and violence, she received a clear message that if only she will be strong people would not be able to harm her. (But Catra had Adora, yes. But their friendship, as perceived by Catra, was clearly antagonistic towards the world. Catra wanted to conquer the world with Adora, not be part of it with her)

Plus in s1 Catra has just lived a situation where the one person who promised her safety left her and started fighting against her. This fact, overlaid with the fact that every person she has ever known in her live, be hostile at her or straight threatened her life , explains to me her inability and unwillingness to have friendships. Perhaps she just doesn't see the point of them, because she never thought she could trust anyone but Adora, and after Adora run away from her life, that option was closed in Catra's perception.

(About "every person she known" - I'm not sure how close it is to headcanon, but I suspect that the other cadets could be bullying Catra behind Adora's back. In her perfect version of reality she interacts with other cadets much more often than in real life, this also convinces me of this)

Why then do I say her relationship to Scorpia is not clearly indifferent when I just say she didn't want friendship? Because I think she did care about Scorpia, but in ways that were possible to Catra. 3 facts speak to me about this. 1 - despite her outbursts of anger, as boss Catra is actually patient with Scorpia

Their relationship until the end of Season 4 would be easier to describe as a partnership; it was like a classic villain-sidekick duo. Scorpia acted like Catra's subordinate (she even call Catra as "our leader"), despite the fact that they were of the same rank, Catra repeatedly gave orders to Scorpia

Catra is bad as a friend who doesn't want to share standard friendship signals, but as a boss she is very patient with Scorpia. The only time she snapped at her, I'll describe below. This may sound rude, but as much as I love her, Scorpia… was a terrible employee. She often fails at tasks that are delegated to her.

She's losing the outposts she's guarding, she's failing with paperwork, she's failing to protect an important artifact... Scorpia screws up almost every order.

(Just in case, I say this without any negativity towards the character, she's not bad, she just wasn't suited for her position.)

And Catra is very patient with this. None of her commanders have ever demonstrated tolerance for failures. Her superiors strangled Catra just for self-affirmation of them, tortured her with magic for her insolent phrases and wanted to execute her for failures, while Catra was rude to Scorpia at worst. Catra showed uncharacteristic restraint with her.

2 - Catra defended Scorpia

There are several episodes where this may be shown The most controversial moment is the prison scene. I'm not sure if Catra's refusal to be rescued was a desire to protect Scorpia from the consequences, rather than emotional vulnerability after being stabbed in the back

Perhaps something in between is true, it's a complex scene. After all, she had nowhere to run, and she knew it.

But next scene is much more indicative. Their relationship changed after Catra's emotional outburst in s4. It was rude and unpleasant, but immediately after that moment Catra takes blame for failure on herself.

She didn't say that important data was lost because of Scorpia (as Catra thought it that moment).

Catra knew that Hordak could kill her for failing, which had almost happened in the past, and Catra was clearly scared in that moment. If Scorpia wasn't important to Catra at all, there wouldn't be any point in protecting her. In fact, there is no rational reason, other than affection, to risk her own life for it.

(In addition, Catra was a victim many times, and standing up to the aggressor from your childhood is an action that requires enormous willpower (trust me I know lol))

3 - Catra was worried about Scorpia when she didn't answer on her call

(It doesn’t look that obvious in the screenshots, but her voice at that moments is very expressive) I think no comments are needed here. Scorpia's departure affected Catra so much that she started looking for her through the security camera. Their breakup was one of the reasons that led to Catra's meltdown.

I could probably take more points, but I think my point of view is already clear.

As I said, their relationship does not seem to me univocal. Their relationships are complex and greatly influenced by the context of their life. This is why I love this series.

Perhaps, if they had more time, then even within the Horde their relationship could have come to balance. In any case, it's pretty bittersweet stuff.

[tklpilled]

your sweet red rose

riddle likes to stick to a routine. it’s simpler that way, no surprises or unexpected turns. he knows exactly how things are supposed to be and he makes sure they stay that way. the other students are well aware of this; it's why they try to stay out of his way, although he thinks it's more out of fear of what he'll do to them, rather than actually caring about his schedule. he’s stuck to the same routine since freshman year, only tweaking it a bit once he became housewarden.

somehow, inexplicably, floyd leech has wormed his way into that strict routine.

it took some getting used to, of course. walking to his usual study corner in the library only to see the most annoying person he’s ever known wasn’t exactly pleasant, even less so when said annoying person began sneaking into his room, too. but part of what makes floyd so damn irritating is that riddle’s threats always seem to bounce off of him, and of course, he can’t do much more than threaten, considering floyd’s signature spell. so riddle is stuck with him. it isn’t consistent. floyd shows up whenever he wants. riddle has learned to stop caring so much, or else his blood pressure would constantly be skyrocketing.

riddle is in his bedroom, homework papers splayed across his bed as he works through them. floyd sits beside him, practically coiled around riddle’s body with his face nestled in the crook of his neck.

riddle doesn’t pay him any attention, now long used to his antics. at least, he doesn’t, up until there’s a warm and sharp feeling at his collarbone.

“no,” says riddle, poking floyd’s head with the tip of his pen. “you’re not biting me.”

floyd whines like a child, squeezing riddle tighter. “why not? it won’t hurt…”

“human bites can be very dangerous,” riddle says, still not looking up, “and i can’t imagine how that translates to someone like you, considering your teeth are sharper and you’re not fully human anyway. i need to be in top shape, you know.”

floyd grumbles, untangling himself from riddle’s body. “yeah, whatever.” he crawls down towards riddle’s legs, sitting on the bed next to them. he tilts his head, examining them curiously. “so weird…” he trails a finger down the back of riddle’s leg. “what's it like?”

“hm?”

“having legs.”

“...you have legs,” riddle points out, finally looking over at him.

floyd shrugs. “but they're different. they aren't as real as yours.” he runs a finger down the leg again. “so? tell me.”

goosebumps raise over riddle’s skin at the featherlight touch. “i’m really not sure what you're asking. they feel the same as yours, i’d assume. stop that.” the last part is accompanied with a tiny kick as floyd repeats the action for a third time.

“huh? goldfishie is ticklish?”

“what?” riddle stiffens up so subtly that it's barely noticeable. it wouldn’t be noticeable to anyone not watching him as closely as floyd is. “no. just stop it, i'm trying to focus.” he's trying to change the subject, but really, he knows it's useless. there's an unspoken rule when it comes to tickling, one that riddle despises; if an individual says they aren't ticklish, one must test it for themselves. plus, once something has caught floyd’s attention, there's no distracting him until he loses interest.

even so, he doesn't expect the feeling of knuckles pressing into both his sides at once. his body spasms, accidentally throwing his pen onto the floor and scattering his papers as he makes an embarrassingly loud noise. he whips his head around to glare at floyd, who simply grins back.

“d-don't do that!” riddle scolds, sitting up so he can begin to reorganise his papers. he rubs at his side to try and get rid of the lingering tingles.

“but i wanna tickle you.”

huh?! riddle freezes, feeling the familiar sensation of his face turning pink, but this time not induced by rage. he turns to look at floyd, the room growing suddenly warm. “you—! i don't want you to!”

floyd pouts. “why not?”

“b-because…!” riddle stumbles over his words. “i'm busy right now!”

“you're busy?” echoes floyd, curling back around riddle's body as he lays back down. “so i can tickle you when you're done?”

damn it. riddle squeezes the pen in his hand, pointedly looking at his paper and nowhere else. “...fine.” he regrets the words even before they leave his mouth, and floyd’s look of pure excitement does nothing to help.

as it turns out, riddle should have let floyd do what he wanted to begin with. because now he’s teasing him, just centimetres away from touching him, and it might just be worse than the tickling itself.

“you’re gettin’ all twitchy around here,” floyd says, mostly to himself, his hand hovering around riddle’s midsection. “this a bad spot?” he giggles, wiggling his fingers in the air as he approaches and stops just before touching riddle’s side. “azul’s real ticklish here too, you know. and jade—” he moves towards riddle’s neck, and the housewarden scrunches up his shoulders even though there’s nothing actually there, “right here. i wanna see how you compare to them.”

riddle doesn’t respond to any of it, though he can feel his face burning as he tries desperately to focus. it’s getting hard to remember the answers when there’s nothing but ticklish thoughts running through his mind.

it takes a few minutes longer to finish than it should.

riddle is tempted to keep going; keep writing down something, even just random scribbles, anything that will postpone his demise. at the same time, though, the anticipation is killing him. he thinks the tickling would be more bearable than this.

so he sets his pen down, sighs, and turns to look at floyd. he tries to ignore the burning under his skin.

“...i’m done.”

floyd’s reflexes are terrifyingly fast. riddle blinks and suddenly he’s face-up on his bed, floyd settled happily atop his hips. he giggles as he looks down.

“goldfishie’s cute when he blushes.”

riddle grumbles, covering his face with his hands. “just hurry and get this over with!”

he doesn’t have time to feel embarrassed about his plea before floyd’s sharp nails are scribbling all over; his neck, his stomach, his sides, and riddle is suddenly laughing harder than he remembers ever laughing before. which, quite honestly, isn’t a high bar to rise above, given that he hasn’t had much to laugh about at all throughout his life—but still.

“stop, stohohop!” he cries, head thrown back as his hands find their way to floyd’s wrists. he’s always been incredibly ticklish, and floyd is one of the last people he ever wanted to find out—but now that it’s happened, he doesn’t hate it as much as he wants to.

and he does want to hate it. this is so…unbecoming of him; as a housewarden, as valedictorian, as a subject of the queen, but…as he laughs, he feels lighter than he has in years.

floyd’s eyes are practically sparkling. “i’ve never heard ya laugh so much before!” he exclaims, scratching at riddle’s lower ribs and making him cackle, so free, so undignified. it’s too out of place.

riddle hiccups between laughs, fits of giggles spilling out uncontrollably. “ihihi—i demand you stohop thihis!” he wants to cringe at how wobbly his voice sounds.

“eh?” floyd pouts, not letting up on his attack for even a moment. “but goldfishie promised i could tickle him…are you going back on that?” as if to reprimand, he tickles a little harder, veering on the edge of painful and way too ticklish. “that’s gotta go against one of your dumb rules.”

in a normal situation, this is the part where riddle would begin to scold; the queen’s rules, however foolish they may sound, are all important and to be respected. if he could, he would; but right now, he lacks the ability to speak more than a few words without crumbling to giggles once again.

“where's goldfishie most ticklish, huh?” floyd asks, skittering his fingers up and down riddle's sides. “‘cause it looks like you're just ticklish everywhere. what about here?” he reaches to pinch above riddle’s kneecaps, and riddle squeals and kicks and laughs and not much more, because there’s not much more he can do.

“i-i don’t knohohow!” riddle confesses, hands pressed over his face to hide and muffle himself. he’s been tickled before, but only briefly. he had no way of knowing how bad it would be.

floyd barks out a laugh at this, the sound intertwining with riddle’s for a second. “you don’t know? does that mean i get to tickle you ‘til i find it?” he flashes a sharp, dangerous grin, crawling under riddle’s arms.

“no, it does nohot!” yelps riddle, arms shooting down to protect himself. “st-stop it, i cahan’t take it! plehehease!”

he’s not normally the type to beg, but this entire situation is making him desperate and his nerves feel more alight with each touch. he tries to grab at floyd’s wrists, to push him away, hoping he’ll get bored and focus on literally anything else. being floyd’s victim isn’t anything he’s not used to, but this is new and he isn’t sure how he’s supposed to handle it.

it’s not long before his grip slackens, lashes growing damp as his strength is all but sapped out of him.

it takes a while to realise that the tickling has stopped.

he blinks his eyes open, deep and heavy breaths making his chest rise and fall, interrupted by stray residual laughs. he looks up, mismatched eyes meeting his. floyd’s hands are off of him now, but he’s still situated atop riddle’s thighs, not letting him move.

floyd giggles. “you’re real fun to play with.”

riddle can almost feel the heat rushing to his already warm face. “d-don’t tell a soul about this,” he hisses, “not a single person.”

“hm? ‘course i won’t.” floyd pokes riddle’s stomach one last time, as if the ensuing squeak is the punctuation at the end of his sentence. “teasing goldfishie is my job.”

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Further thoughts: that "who the hell is Bucky" line fits so much better with the comic version of the character than the near-silent guy we see in the MCU. In the comics, that moment is in the context of Steve trying to talk the Winter Soldier down from setting off a bomb, and Bucky barely glances up from his demolitions long enough to snap off the line.

Comic!Winter Soldier is snarky, sassy, irreverent — very much like Bucky Barnes. Like, Steve is convinced that "he's not in control"... but that doesn't really fit with what we see, and so much of Brubaker's Captain America run is about how Steve is an object of propaganda who believes in his own propaganda because his entire life would lose all meaning if he ever stopped believing for a second. Plus, Steve has some obvious reasons for wanting to believe that Bucky would be "not responsible for his actions," after watching his oldest friend blow up an apartment building full of civilians.

Like, Steve. Kiddo. If that's true, why is Rick Jones dead? I kinda doubt that the USSR has a vendetta against some contractor whose only claim to fame was that he briefly partnered with Captain America while using the codename Bucky a few decades ago. This run's whole message is "America's memory is short and rose-tinted," returning repeatedly to the gaps in Steve's story of WWII, and thus nothing in his narration can be taken as unfiltered truth.

This take on the Winter Soldier is just so much more interesting. Again: I get it. The movie had to convey Bucky is being mind controlled, and the simplest way to do that was to direct Sebastian Stan to act like a 6-foot marionette.

But there's so so so much there to "Steve's feelings about Bucky are the U.S.'s feelings about the USSR." Including layers such as "We were allies against the Nazis and then I don't know what happened," "We're fighting with the same weapons and techniques," "Okay, but there are some lines I won't cross (ignore all the times I crossed those lines)," "I want peace with you," "I'm scared of you," "I don't know who you are anymore (I don't know who I am anymore)," "I want to believe this has a simple answer," "I miss being friends, because I want to believe things were simple back then," and so on.

Just having it be "Bucky is being Literally Puppeted by Literal Nazis", even with the recognition that you had these be Nazis who work for the CIA? IMHO, it loses something in translation.

@dr-reids-fidget-toy#omg I didn’t know that about comic bucky that’s rlly cool

Starting a new post because I have off-topic Thoughts. Comic!Bucky contains fascinating commentary on the Cold War, WWII, and the media representations thereof. MCU!Bucky is (by necessity) pretty watered down. In the Brubaker comics, Bucky isn't brainwashed, at least not in the classic Marvel sense. He's just this guy who believes in the absolute rightness of his country, and has been in combat to support the U.S. since age ~14... and then he gets blown up by a missile, loses his memory, and Department X tells him "his country" is the USSR. So now he's the Winter Soldier. Nothing else about his personality or his politics changes. The Winter Soldier we see in the Brubaker comics is definitely a villain — he kills indiscriminately, kidnaps civilians to get his way, murders Rick Jones out of petty spite. But his personality is basically the same from childhood.

This is Steve remembering Bucky as a kid during WWII:

Brubaker retcons Bucky's role, from "kid sidekick who rushes in first and gets kidnapped, needing Captain America to rescue him," to "kid agent who infiltrates bases first, so that Captain America can follow him." With the memory loss, Bucky goes from slitting throats and setting off bombs for Uncle Sam, to doing it for Mother Russia. He's always been as cold and as willing to kill witnesses as he is as the Winter Soldier. It just never made the news reals.

And that's the other half of his retconned role: being propaganda for other child soldiers (e.g. Toro) who join up in his wake. This is Bucky and Steve watching a Cap and Bucky recruitment newsreel:

As an adult, the real difference isn't that Bucky is Soviet now; it's that he doesn't have Steve holding his leash anymore. To be clear, comic Winter Soldier also isn't free to come and go as he pleases — he's kept in a freezer between missions, he's probably not paid, he's in Department X — but he also has far more agency within the latitude of his orders. He's not dead-eyed and tortured by guilt like we see in the MCU. He goes on side quests to kill other Buckies. He argues constantly with Aleksander Lukin (the comic equivalent of Pierce). He complains about the inconvenience of not just sniping Steve in the head to steal the Tesseract.

Brubaker's point, throughout the comic, is that we have been lied to about World War II being "noble" or "good" or the story of the U.S. saving the day. And that that lie is used to prop up everything from U2 spy planes built with 100x the budget for education, to the Patriot Act nullifying the Fourth Amendment. Because not only is "WWII was a noble war fought without atrocities" nationalistic bullshit, but "Soviets are fundamentally different from us" is too. Bucky's continuity of character reveals both at once. He's a walking Soviet superweapon. Why? Because he was a walking American superweapon first, starting before he was old enough to shave.

Anyway, I get why the MCU had to change his backstory. You have to a) remind the audience who Bucky is, b) show-don't-tell why Steve is sad Bucky is trying to kill him, c) get across the idea that Bucky doesn't want to kill Steve but feels he has to, d) use Bucky to develop Steve's character, and e) set up a way for Bucky to get un-brainwashed. All within the span of ~30 minutes this movie has for this plot, amidst all the other plots. MCU!Bucky plaintively asking Pierce who Steve was, only to get slapped in the face, is sort of like AniTV!Tom constantly pawing at his ear: it quickly gets across that this character isn't acting under his own volition, in a way that minimizes audience confusion.

Plus: it's a Hollywood movie. It wouldn't get funded if it was too critical of the U.S. military. Movies are always, by definition, more conservative than other media because of their need for funding. And the MCU makes a decent effort to incorporate at least some criticism of the U.S., having Zola be involved in Operation Paperclip and having him (while working for the U.S.) order Howard Stark's murder. But a computer ghost reciting dry facts about the CIA recruiting Nazis doesn't have the same gut punch as watching the "good guys" send the literal child to knife his fellow child soldiers during WWII would have had.

[makiswirl]

can i just say. and this is probably a niche hill to die on. that i am so gobsmacked every time someone vaguely hints at the idea that jotaro doesn't care meaningfully for the other crusaders, usually particularly kakyoin and joseph, when those two actually tend to be the ones he reacts to being hurt the hardest

like he cares for his loved ones!!!! that literally plays into his character motives in every single part he shows up in!!! stop lying to me!!!!!!!

[spicyraeman]

I could be having so much fun rn if I didn't fumble conversions like it's my profession

[ryllen]