#I love them but they’re my parents. you understand

[kyu-piddy]

Messy love triangles….

Leona x reader x riddle mayhaps⁉️

Ranking a singular twst love triangle on how messy it is

An: The more I write for Leona the more I find this man hilarious. Who knew petty men were this funny to write about?

Gn reader x Riddle, Leona

Trigger warnings: Swearing

900 words

Riddle vs Leona

There’s people that you wonder how they have beef. They’re not opposites, they’re not too similar, but there’s something that doesn’t quite click with them.

In the case of Riddle and Leona, their beef is over you.

Riddle is a fool I tell you. He might be a great student, he might be Mr perfect in anything and everything pertaining to stuff your parents would be proud of, but he is indeed a fool.

He will, very loudly and stupidly, call you his good friend to the Heartslabyul dorm while blushing up a storm as soon as you’re less than 10 feet away from him.

You were commenting in passing to Ace and Deuce how the history of magic assignment is really hard? There comes Riddle in the next morning carrying back breaking books on the topic, with sticky notes color coded to how important he thought that information was.

Did you complain about not being able to sleep properly? Riddle has brewed you a potion that is said to help sleep and prepared a brochure with every habit of yours that is making sleep evade you.

And yet he is not using the evidence to reach a sound verdict. He is instead looking pretty stupid and/or overbearing to everyone around him.

Trey and Cater are laughing their asses off at the interactions between you both.

If it was someone else it could be heavily considered that they were faking it, but it’s Riddle after all.

Mr. Lionman is, like always, emotionally constipated as hell.

Leona might be lazy as balls, but he is no idiot. He’s actually rather brilliant and also not blind, so the moment he sees Riddle interact with you, it’s on sight.

Verbally that is. Leona isn’t that trigger happy with people that he could snap like a twig.

He probably already suspected Riddle's crush on you just by hearing you talk, which he did in fact make an effort to stay awake for, but actually seeing the red short stack turn into a human prawn would piss him off sooooo bad.

This man is incredibly petty. He has never once actually tried in his classes, but seeing as that would make Riddle mad, he’s showing up at 8:00 am on the dot to every class and scoring 100 after 100 in every test he can.

Meanwhile Riddle’s jaw is glued to the floor.

He doesn’t really understand why Leona is rubbing his successes in his face, which does piss him off, but what pisses him off the most is how Leona is showing it off to you too??? How dare he!

Riddle should be the one that comes to you with his perfect tests, offering help all gentleman style.

Treys sweets are another weapon in Riddle's arsenal, but Leona is indeed a cheeky bastard that practices the age old “all is fair in love and war”.

Ruggie is going to be very busy making sure those sweets taste awful, and also trying to feed you with stuff “Leona” made.

Speaking of Trey, he’s going to have to make a decorated cake saying “You like ____” for his housewarden. Otherwise man will stay in the dark.

It is shocking news to Riddle once he figures it out, while everyone else sort of just… nods their heads and pretend it is such riveting new information.

“Trey, I have delved deep into my psyche and have reached the conclusion that my feelings for ___ aren’t exclusively platonic.”

“Oh, really now, Riddle?”

oH reALly NoW RiDdLe

Leona is also a contender for the most obvious crush on campus to those that know him.

Ruggie and Jack probably have a bet going on when Leona will confess. (Jack thinks it will be when the sun explodes. Ruggie is more akin to the hypothesis of the heat death of the universe coming first.)

Riddle is the one most likely to confess.

He believes in doing things the proper way so confessing is the way to go.

Man is redder than his hair and holding a script he wrote.

It’s really sweet actually. Riddle isn't some romantic bard of legend, but he writes down his feelings in the best way he can: with legal jargon.

Leona’s sixth sense is activating and he is running to match his rival.

Once again, metaphorically. He can’t be bothered to actually run.

He is putting his head on your shoulder, whispering into your ear…

“I know you like me, herbivore.”

Hell no! This man did not spend the time he did around you and planning how to get your attention to turn back around and say it’s you who is in love with him! Step on his tail or knee him on the groin cuz he deserves it.

For a Leona love triangle, this one isn’t that bad. I’d give it an A.

Any love triangle with two overblot boys tends to be really messed up, even after said overblot, but Leona and Riddle don’t have that much prior beef that turns the love triangle into a biohazard.

Leona will have his good ol inferiority complex to keep him company if rejected, but he doesn’t feel like he is in that much direct competition with Riddle, which spares him some of the heartache that a love triangle with Vil or Malleus would give.

Riddle will be haunted by his perfectionism and romantic stupidity if rejected, but he’s one of the more stable post overblot boys, so you don’t have much to fear. Probably.

[ssentimentals]

hi, nini! if it’s not too much can i request jeonghan hurt prompt 8,9,10? i think they’re connected with each other. :(((

thank u in advance! 💗

hi anonie! it's not too much, of course you can! thank you for requesting, hopefully you will like it! 💜

hurt prompts: 'can i come with you? - you know you can't.' 'i know i shouldn't be here.' 'you shouldn't have come'.

being there for someone means a lot to you - it's how you can show them that you are real, that you two have is real and not something that can easily be shaken. and you and jeonghan are the realest thing you have in your life and being there for him is your number one priority, even when your boyfriend makes it very, very hard. 'can i come with you?' you ask, already knowing the answer but still trying your luck.

'you know you can't.' jeonghan tsks but then realizes how rude that sounded and instantly leans closer, nuzzling into your hair. 'i'm sorry, love. i need to do this on my own, yeah? they are my parents, after all.'

famiyl stuff is intimate and not be messed with; you understand why jeonghan tries to shield you from it, but it only makes you frustrated. he is obviously struggling and what kind of you girlfriend you'd be if you let him struggle on your own? so yes, despite his very strict answer, you still secretly follow him to his house, where you know he will have this hard but important talk with his father. from afar you can see how tense jeonghan's posture is, how he looks unsure and you want nothing more than to run into his arms, hold him close and tell him that you are in this together. and this is exactly what you do.

'wha-' jeonghan blinks at shock at you, mouth agape. 'babe, what?! you shouldn't have come!'

'i know i shouldn't be here,' you rush out, holding on to him for dear life. 'i know, i know. but i don't want you to go through this alone, hannie.'

his expression softens and he hugs you back tightly before leaning back. his hands caress your cheeks lovingly as he whispers: 'i have to do this on my own, remember?'

you nod. 'yes, but i am here, yeah?' you point at his chest and then point at yours. 'and you are here. and i just- i don't know, we are together in this, hannie. i want you to remember this. nothing is impossible when we are together.'

he looks like he's about to cry. jeonghan nods and presses your foreheads together for few moments, breathing you in. when he steps back, you are ready to turn away and tell him that you will wait for him here, when he suddenly pulls you towards the house. 'what?' he asks, looking at your raised eyebrows. 'you said it yourself - we are in this together. aren't we?'

the smile that you send him is brighter than the sun. 'we are.'

a/n: request your own here! <3 - nini

[maxdibert]

“Sirius killed people-“ so did Snape, supposedly loved Lily but betrayed her location to Voldemort because he was jealous of James actually winning her heart, not to mention convincing Harry the abuse was his fault, nearly giving Neville PTSD to the point where his boggart was Severus Snape himself, being a racist pos to anyone born of muggle parents, and becoming a high ranking member of the death eaters so what? He could protect Harry?

“It’s easier to cry in a Ferrari-“

it’s easier to defend a terrible character and play the racism and eat the rich card when you can’t understand context and inference clues that JK Rowling laid out.

What’s easy is inventing canon. What a load of made-up nonsense, mate.

1. Learn to read. I didn’t say Sirius killed anyone, but he did attempt murder. And he did it because he thought it was funny to torture Severus.

2. There’s no evidence that Severus killed anyone before Dumbledore asked him for euthanasia. This is made quite clear when Dumbledore talks about his concern for Draco’s soul, and Severus immediately questions him about his own soul. If Severus is so worried about it, it’s implied he hadn’t killed anyone before—or at least not in cold blood.

3. Have you even read the books? The only person who knew the Potters’ location was Peter. He’s the one who betrayed them.

4. There’s no evidence he was a racist. First off, equating racism with the concept of blood purity not only trivializes a serious social issue but also makes it clear that some of you have no idea what racism is or its history. The discriminatory dynamics and their foundations are completely different. But anyway, putting that aside, there’s no evidence whatsoever that Severus discriminated against Muggle-borns. The only time he makes a comment is during the incident with Lily—which, conveniently, happens when James and Sirius are sexually assaulting him, and Lily seems to smile at James. I don’t think you can judge someone’s ideology based on a comment made in an extremely tense moment. Canonically, Severus doesn’t treat Muggle-born students worse in class or make comments about their heritage. Nor does he badmouth Muggles. At most, he makes condescending remarks—which, let’s be real, all the characters do, even the “good ones,” because they’re ridiculously patronizing toward Muggles.

5. Severus was literally a double agent and reached the highest ranks of the Death Eaters to, yes, protect Harry. That’s literally why. He’s following Dumbledore’s orders. Like, have you read the books, or are you just pulling this stuff from fanfics? 99% of what you’ve said so far is pure fantasy, mate.

6. Yes, love, it’s actually pretty easy for me to defend people whose actions are a direct consequence of their life circumstances, and whose poor decisions were directly influenced by a lack of opportunities, security, and the violence of their environment. In fact, that’s literally my job. That’s what I do for a living.

Look, I don’t give a damn if you’re a Sirius fangirl. You can love a character while admitting he was a massive piece of crap. I love The Penguin, and there’s no way to justify him at all. Like, it’s fine, you know? You also have every right to feel sorry for him—I’m not going to judge you for that or anything. I’m not invalidating other people’s feelings if they think Sirius’s life was super tragic and feel a lot of compassion for him. Everyone has their own feelings and points of empathy. But that’s not the case for me. I don’t feel sorry for him. There’s no excuse for being an abusive bully with sociopathic tendencies toward someone who was canonically in a position of social and economic disadvantage. If Severus had come from a good family, with money and power—or if Sirius had been someone without a name, wealth, or status—then I’d view the situation differently because they would have been on equal footing. But just like the Black family chose Muggle-borns to torture because they knew they could, Sirius chose Severus because he knew he could. He’s a hypocrite and a piece of garbage. At least Bellatrix admitted her tendencies.

[sunshine-zenith]

On my daily rewatch of anw I'm thinking about how people thought Hazel and Dev should've swapped fairies because of how unfair the godparent system was and how Dev needed more experienced godparents or how Peri should've been assigned an easy case and while that may be true, I'm just thinking how that swap would have suited the kids' needs.

With Dev, yes, he was a hard case and probably should've had godparent who had more experience with children like him, but he is a child who is lacking in the parental department and needed someone to fill that role.

Same is true for Hazel. She would have been more suited for a first-time godparent, but what she needed and missed the most was her brother and who do we know who has experience with being someone's godbrother? Peri.

I'm probably just rephrasing stuff here so this probably didn't need to be said. Everything more or less worked out for everyone and eventually for others (hopefully).

Anon I have been rotating this ask around in my head since it popped up into my ask box

Confession: I and many others have thought about the similarities between Peri and Hazel, and pointed out that Dev was not a case for a beginner, but I haven’t seriously considered a full out fairy swap until now because I’m actually very fond of the Hazel-Cosmo-Wanda dynamic and the Dev-Peri tragedy dynamic

Still… yeah, you’re kinda right. Dev genuinely would’ve been better suited for experienced godparents, and he might actually benefit from Cosmo and Wanda specifically because A) there’s two of them and B) they’re very parental with their godkids. And Hazel — having Hazel, the kid who misses her brother so much it tipped over the Needs A Fairy edge, be paired up with the godparent who lost his older brother is kinda brilliant

It kinda makes me wonder about how things would be different if we got Hazel-Peri and Dev-Cosmo-Wanda…

Heads up, this gets long

The first thing I wonder about isn’t so much the dynamics, but rather who would be the protagonist? I adore Hazel as a main character, but Cosmo and Wanda are the FOP difacto mascots. They’re the ones who get the cameos and appear in the reboots/sequels. They can exist independently from Timmy/Hazel/Chloe/Viv. If they’re Dev’s fairies, then Dev would be the main POV character. And like. I love Dev, I do, but he’s an asshole. I understand why and I’m down to justify anything he does, but he’s a dick. Plus, well, he’s also super sad. It’d be very hard to make him a fun POV character, especially pre/mid-character development, at least without switching the genre from Heart Felt Comedy Aimed At Children/All Ages to something much darker and more mature. He’s a great side character/deuteragonist, but it would be a Commitment if we followed him 95% of the time

(And before anyone comes at me about Timmy also being The Worst, a lot of that was flanderization. By the time he gets that that point, let’s be real a lot of people stopped watching, and even then he at least had half a dozen I Love Yous and sweet moments with Cosmo and Wanda to make the commitment worth it to the audience.)

Hazel and Peri

So if we keep Hazel as the lead and Peri as her fairy, how’d that work, writing wise? Do we keep his introduction the same and hope the audience is fine with a Sequel Babies Series. Or (and this is just me having fun), do we hypothetically cut out the part where he Introduces Himself With His Deadname For The Audience’s Sake and just hint at him as being Poof from the original series. Then, after Founder’s Day, we introduce Cosmo and Wanda as Dev’s fairies, and the Peri Is Grown Up Poof thing is treated as a Big Reveal, a la Author Of The Journals from Gravity Falls

Now that out of the way, how do I think these dynamics would work, and how would it affect Dev and Hazel’s relationship?

Like you said, Hazel and Peri connecting over missing brothers is a great starting point, and Peri getting to be the big brother for once would be so much fun to watch. Plus, and I’ve pointed this out before, they’re both rule followers (I can totally see a gag of them bonding over Hazel’s DMV love), though Hazel is willing to play things by ear, while Peri gets majorly stressed/anxious/high strung when rule breaking is in question — in fact, that could be a fun angle to some potential conflicts. Hazel makes a wish, but she doesn’t know how to find the words for what she wants, and since Peri is so new, he doesn’t have the experience to confidently guess. He hesitates, both of them get caught in a mini Anxiety Loop, and escalating event happening in the background force them into action, and through hijinx, they both receive character development

I can also see the Antony thing leading to conflict for them — Hazel’s brother is gone, but he comes back. He visits. They reconnect. Meanwhile, Timmy’s gone gone. His memory is wiped. I can see Peri occasionally accidentally fumbling Hazel’s missing Antony with his own likely grief over Timmy. Maybe after another missed flight or phone call, Peri tries to be “supportive” in the same way he tried to cheer Dev up at his birthday, and he accidentally says something that makes Hazel not only miss her old life, but thing she’ll never have any sort of relationship with Antony again.

Or maybe Peri does handle it well until Antony comes back. Then, alongside Hazel trying to recreate the past, Peri gets overwhelmed with jealousy, like he was when Irep tried taking his place with Dev but dialed up by 10. He worries he’ll lose his first godkid AND be fumbling with reawakened grief

(Plus hey, I can actually see this scenario as a good way to justify bringing Timmy back. Maybe Hazel could even include Timmy’s memories as part of her Rule Free Wish in the finally)

Basically Hazel and Peri have so much in common that if they were the main duo, those similarities could lead to so many bonding moments AND dramatic moments where through being mirrors for each other they accidentally hurt each other and help each other to grow as people

(It makes me wonder how Peri would hide himself in Hazel’s day to day life. Peri becomes inanimate objects for Dev, sure, but he doesn’t have a consistent object he hides as. Maybe Peri could have a human disguise, pretending to be a recent college grad who moves into Hazel’s building? Or maybe he could be a “new pet rock”?)

(Also I have a lot of thoughts on C&W being disguised as pets for Timmy and neighbors for Hazel, but that’s a ramble for another day.)

Dev, Cosmo, and Wanda

So the first question is how would Dev become Cosmo and Wanda’s godkid? They weren’t actually assigned to Hazel, they basically just adopted her. Maybe, Cosmo and Wanda could still be traveling and just end up in Dimmadelphia around Founder’s Day, and through their observations, they seen Dev is going through it and come out of retirement for him. This could also lead to a Cookie situation with Dev instead of Hazel (imagine Dev pretending to be a lawyer, there would 100% be a gag of him acting as every shady lawyer stereotype you know.)

I can see Dev still lashing out at them, probably still demanding perfection for hollow wishes since he can’t get what he really wants, BUT C&W would cause mischief as they misinterpret his wishes. I can also see him acting unimpressed/impatient when they take him on little side quests to meet with fairies that specialize in the things he wishes for. He’s have to defrost to them, and they (likely especially Cosmo) would push his buttons. Dev would also probably deny having fun during these adventures. I’m sure he’d eventually come to see them the same way he saw Irep)

A potential conflict could come from the fact that a lot of Dev’s wishes are by nature spiteful/fueled by pride. Again, major Dev apologist here, we’re talking about the kid who wished for a an evil ghost to come from the depths of hell after having a fairy for less than a week. C&W would still grant his wishes, but they wouldn’t approve of him being a bully, and would probably try really hard to get him to realize the error of his ways through these wishes

It’s likely that Dev wouldn’t even get involved with the anti-fairies here. If he did, I can only see this after Dev specifically makes a wish relating to his father loving him, which C&W can’t grant, or something similar — a breakdown after a big, direct moment instead of a breakdown after months of little, indirect moments

I can also see him both clinging to them as parental figures and resenting them as misplaced anger and sadness over his neglectful dad

I can also see him seeing Peri (and maybe even Timmy) as a threat here — Peri is their son, who they adore like Dev wishes Dale adored him. And since Peri isn’t Dev’s godparent here and therefore doesn’t feel the need to look out for/do right by him, Peri would like sass him harder or treat him as an annoyance, an extension of any tension that comes up when C&W their clingy thing. In a scenario where Dev still ended up under an anti-fairy’s influence, he might even wish Peri was Nothing, or still kidnap Peri here out of misplaced resentment

Dev and Hazel

I feel like swapping fairies would also affect their relationship. Part of their comes from Dev’s jealousy over Hazel’s relationship with C&W — she has two while he only has one, she has a positive relationship with her while his “can’t do anything right” (can’t cross the red tape of Da Rules, doesn’t have the experience/comfort level to go buckwild with wishes/has parents that love him/etc). Here, that wouldn’t be a problem— Hazel wouldn’t care that Dev has two fairies instead of one, and C&W would probably have an easier time getting through Dev’s defenses. It’s possible that a lot of their fights and negative interactions just wouldn’t happen here, and if they did, it would be related to Hazel wanting Dev to be nicer to C&W/Peri.

[written-in-flowers]

Lovesick: Chan x Male!Reader Pt. 6

Pairing: Bang Chan x Male!Reader | Side pairings: Minho x Chan, Minho x Male!Reader (unrequited)

Word Count: 5k

Genre: Horror, Angst, Smut | AU: Yandere!au, Videogame!AU, Highschool!AU

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

Summary: After being sucked into the dating simulator "Lovesick", Park YN has to defeat five rivals to reach his goal. However, he soon learns his rivals aren't the only thing he must contend with for Chan's love.

Tags: Graphic depictions of violence, Main Character Death, dark fic, dead dove: do not eat, yandere behaviors, yandere!reader, stalking, murder/violence, blood and violence, toxic relationships, mentions of murder, unrequited love, mentions of domestic violence, school massacre/genocide, implied teacher/student relationship, homophobic parents, mentions of bullying/trauma, obsession, possessiveness, manipulation, high school setting, anal sex, anal fingering, edging, eventual smut, pool sex, locker room sex, blowjobs, choking.

A/N: PLEASE READ TAGS BEFORE READING! I'm not responsible for any feelings you end up having because you ignored this warning and the ones above.

Seo Changbin: Monday < | > Seo Changbin: Wednesday

****

Seo Changbin: Tuesday

Despite the agreement you signed, word about Sohee and her string of teenage lovers spread throughout the school. A majority of them remained quiet about their experiences, feeling confused and upset by the entire thing. Other boys, like Felix, boasted about their encounters. You did not particularly care to hear them. Your main concern was Changbin, and what his family had done about the situation. 

“They’re suing the school for hiring a predator,” one of the boys said as Chan passed out potential flyers during an early club meeting. “They said they can’t believe the principal knowingly hired a person with a spotty record.”

“Do you blame them? If my child was abused by a teacher, I’d sue them too.”

You lifted your head up from the flier in front of you. “They’re not taking him out of school?” you asked incredulously. 

“No,” they said, a bit unnerved by your tone, “Why would they? He didn’t do anything wrong; she did.”

“He’s too important to the school for him to leave,” said another member. “He's our star athlete.”

“His parents already paid his tuition,” a girl with golden earrings said. “They won't get a refund if they withdraw him so late in the semester.”

“But…Isn't he ashamed?” 

“Why should he be? She abused him,” she replied a bit curtly. “What happened to him isn't his fault.” 

You felt their stares turn somewhat sour, and you shrunk back. “I didn't mean it that way. I meant that people will start spreading rumors about him and not be as understanding as us. I thought he'd want to start somewhere fresh.”

Which is what was supposed to happen. Why did that not happen? Changbin’s elimination required his secret, which would bring him shame and make him withdraw. Why had that not worked? You knew why. It came to you immediately. Minho. Your fingers curled inwards to your palms, digging into the cuff of your sleeve. This is his way of getting back at you. A pang of anger needed to be restrained in front of everyone, but it festered inside.

“I think it's disgusting,” said Chan, examining one of the possible flier choices. “She is a pedophile. She should be in jail, not another high school. It's the school and parents not wanting it to be big news. They care more about their reputations than the students’ safety.” You heard the spite in his voice, “Two students went missing and it was barely investigated. It's shameful.”

“Yeah,” you added. “You’d think a school that boasts about being safe would, you know, be safe.” 

“It’s not like he didn’t want it though,” one boy smirked. “Wish she’d come after me, eh, right YN-ssi?” he nudged you, and you coughed awkwardly. 

“They might have wanted it at the time, but I’m sure they regret it now and it’ll scar them one way or another,” you replied. “Unless you’re Felix, since it hasn’t bothered him at all.” 

Chan snorted, “Nothing phases Felix, to be honest. In his head, he bagged a hot older woman, not that he’d been preyed upon by her. Felix doesn’t make romantic attachments as easily as Changbin, so it wouldn’t hurt him like that.” He picked up another flier, considered it, and said, “I just feel sorry for Changbin. He was crying when I saw him come out of the coach's office. I’m glad they fired her.” 

Sohee’s continued employment was no concern for you. Your failure was. You stewed in your disappointment during the rest of the meeting. Even after following all the steps, you failed. You'd gotten hold of the secret, gone to the counselor, and gotten rid of Sohee. Changbin, with his good boy reputation, was supposed to feel so ashamed he left school. That is what Minho told you. You shouldn't have listened to him, but you'd trusted him back then. The sinking feeling of losing Chan suddenly came over you while they talked about baked goods and flowers. Yes, you had three more days before the Friday deadline, but you’d lost a whole day. Any plan you hatched needed to be quick. 

Chan believed hosting a garden party at the beginning of spring term might promote the club. They’d sell baked goods from a member’s family’s infamous bakery chain, showcase their nicest plants, and offer pamphlets on proper nature care. By the end, everyone decided to put it into motion. Meanwhile, you focused on your next move. It’d have to be something inconspicuous; not death since too many deaths might result in further investigations. You had no idea. Your mind appeared to be blanking. Minho mentioned there being loads of ways to take out opponents, but usually involved murder. You couldn't trust anything he told you now.

You walked out of the school garden with Chan when someone blocked your path. 

“Hey, YN-hyung! Hey, Chan-hyung!” Seungmin beamed at the pair, holding his usual notepad and looking at them hopefully. “How’re you guys doing?”

“We’re doing well, Seung-” Chan began to say, but Seungmin cut across him. 

“-That’s great, anyways, YN-hyung,” he addressed you directly, “I hear from several reliable sources that you’re the one who exposed Mrs. Yoon for the pervert she is. I’m writing a column in the school paper about it all, and was hoping you’d like to comment on the situation.”

“Seungmin, what can you possibly add in your paper that people don’t already know?” you asked with amusement, glancing at Chan who shared the feeling. The pair of them began walking with Seungmin in their path, the journalist walking backwards. 

“Rumors are not facts, Hyung,” he said pointedly, “And I only write the straight facts.”

“That’s debatable,” Chan noted. 

“So, what are your thoughts on Mrs. Yoon escaping a jail sentence?” he asked, putting his pen to the notepad, “Bewildered? Outraged? Disgusted? The people are dying to know. You outed her to get her put behind bars, and that did not happen. You gotta be peeved about it.”

“No comment, Seungmin.”

“Come on,” he groaned, “Give me something. Anything. Changbin won’t talk to me-”

“-Oh my god, Seungmin, you asked him?” Chan asked in disbelief. “What is wrong with you?”

“It’s always good to hear the full account from the victim-”

Ugh, people saw him as a ‘victim’. This will only endear people to him more, and make it harder to get rid of him. The thought of him having another dirty secret came to you, but that sounded unlikely.  

“What I’m giving is ‘no comment’,” you finally told Seungmin. “Thanks.”

You and Chan managed to pass him, ignoring his stammered pleas. What are the odds Changbin has another secret? From what you understood, every student only had one and you’d exposed Changbin’s. You needed something else. Right now, everyone pitied Changbin. Perhaps tarnishing that reputation might give the right results? 

“He’s something else, isn’t he?” Chan commented with a scoff. “Always looking for a story. Changbin is going through enough as it is. Having someone like Seungmin poking around must be making him feel worse.” 

And Chan pitied him. This sympathy will bring them closer together, you could tell. 

“I try not to give him any attention,” you said. “Otherwise, I might end up being talked about next.” 

“Nobody should. Seungmin is nosey and messy. He loves causing drama between students and making up fake theories to spread around. Can you believe he once said a girl was selling photos of herself online and she had to withdraw due to the the embarrassment and bullying? It was so wrong of him.”

Hm, at least he despised Seungmin, which would help down the road. “He’s just bored with his own life, so he does stuff like that.” 

“You have no idea,” he rolled his eyes. “Want to grab breakfast with me? You have to try the breakfast sandwiches. They’re to die for.”

“Sure,” you smiled brightly. You had been standing in line for food when he got a message. 

‘Hey, where are you? I haven’t seen you since yesterday. I miss you.’

Minho. Your blood simmered reading his name alone. He was the last person you wished to speak to right then. There'd be an actual murder if you did.

You noted that Chan ordered himself a bacon and egg sandwich with extra hot sauce on it, alongside some chips and an iced americano. You ordered the same thing, though you would have rather shared a plate with Chan. You wanted Chan’s sandwich just to drag your lips across the bitemarks and taste the same flavors Chan tasted. Having only a piece of him would comfort you. Everything about him did that. You admired his beauty in the morning sunshine. The sun caught in his dark curls, and made him glow like an angel. 

‘Hey, answer me. I want to see you. I saw your elimination plan didn’t work. Let’s talk about it.’ 

You ignored the message again, and bit into your sandwich. 

“Minho?” Chan guessed when the phone buzzed a third time. You noticed him glare at the phone, but quickly covered it up by eating. 

“Yeah,” you sighed defeatedly. “He and I…Well, things got awkward and I’m not sure if I want to see him right now.”

“What happened?” he asked, sipping from his coffee. 

“He…” you struggled to say the words, “He told me he had feelings for me and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Do you like him back?” 

“I don’t think so. He’s been super helpful to me since I’ve been here, but nothing romantic has happened between us.” You would never tell Chan about the kiss. You preferred not to think about it either. “I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but…”

“You also don’t want him thinking you feel the same?” 

“Yeah.”

“Dump him.”

You looked up from your food to see it happening again. Flickers and shimmers went across Chan’s face in blue and white, and you swore you saw a black void between them. It was almost like someone slicing a hole to peek from inside Chan’s body. It sent shivers up your spine and made you twist your neck. You worried it might swallow him up completely. 

“Chan-hyung?” 

“Du-um-m-p hi-i-mmm,” Chan said, his head twitching as the glitching continued, “Dummmp hi-i-m-mm-mm ughhhh.”

He froze entirely. It was as if a player pressed pause in the middle of a cutscene dialogue. You looked around the area in case anyone noticed, but the world went on around them. Eventually, the glitching stopped. You kept looking to see if someone else saw, but Chan might as well not be there. You wanted to help him, but didn’t know how. When you reached forward, wanting to feel the disintegrating pixels, they stung your fingertips. White hot and crackling, it might have been pure fire. Chan went still for a few seconds, then smiled broadly at you. 

“How’s the sandwich? My eggs could be a little more runny, but it does the job.” 

You were speechless. The last time Chan glitched, it’d lasted mere seconds. This one lasted longer. This could be leading to a larger problem. 

“YN-ssi,” Chan smiled, a bit confused by your silence, “Earth to YN…Hello? Are you with me?”

“Um, uh, yeah, yeah,” you nodded, giving a nervous laugh. “The sandwich is great.” 

“You okay?” He asked with a small smile. 

“Yeah, I’m good,” you assured him. A thought came to you again, “I was just thinking about Minho.”

Chan’s smile disappeared. “Oh…Yeah, well, you would since he’s your boyfriend.” This distaste was obvious, and struck you as odd. 

“He’s not,” you said. ��He likes me, but I don’t feel the same.”

Another blue flicker went through him, and you stopped the conversation. You’d been about to bring up going to class together when a disturbance went through the crowd. 

Turning your heads to the center of the canteen area, you saw Felix and Hyunjin at each other’s throats. The tension between them went across the area to the other students, who stood staring as the boys provoked one another. The boys shouted insults, pushing and shoving before hell broke loose. Felix swung his fist straight into Hyunjin’s face. The tall boy held his jaw for a second, groaning in pain before retaliating with his own fist. The fight happened so suddenly. You looked on as they grappled at each other, punching and grunting to try loosening the other’s grip.

“Aw, fucking hell,” Chan sighed irritably. “I’ll be back.”

“Wait, Chan-”

Chan ignored you as he pushed through the gathering spectators and into the fray. Grabbing the back of Felix’s blazer, he pulled him off the boy with ease, while another student took Hyunjin away. Felix, red-faced and bleeding, shouted more curses and insults over Chan’s shoulder but did not struggle against him. Hyunjin retorted with his own remarks.

“You and your dad are fucking finished, Lee! Finished, you hear me?!”

You watched Chan and Felix disappear into a nearby bathroom, and you couldn’t help following them. You slowly walked into the small hallway leading inside, pressing yourself to the inner wall while listening for their voices.

“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Chan asked, appalled. “Starting a fight with Hwang Hyunjin in the middle of the canteen with everyone watching? What’re you thinking?”

“Hyunjin’s a fucking cunt,” Felix remarked. The sound of a trash bin being knocked down echoed in the small room. “He’s been pushing in on my contraband territory. What am I supposed to do, hyung? Let him?”

“Yes,” Chan said, “Yeah, let him. Who the hell cares if someone else is selling stuff on school grounds? You could do with some healthy competition.”

“The only healthy competition is no competition, Chan.” You heard him growl angrily, “Then he started talking about my dad, and nobody talks about my dad!”

“What was he saying?” Chan asked.

“He said my dad’s nothing but a cunt in a suit, and that he was going down.”

“Ugh, this is all so childish. Felix, your father is one of the richest men in town. He’s got a whole army of thugs who will do whatever he says; he has his hands in every important pocket around. I doubt someone like Hyunjin’s dad could even make a dent in his business.” You heard him move closer, “And you starting fights with him will only stir things up more. Whatever crap is going on between your families should stay outside of school. You can’t risk getting expelled because you decided to be a dick and start a freaking gang war.”

“But Hyung-”

“-You know just as well as I do that if you get suspended or expelled from here, your dad will tear you a new one. I remember what he told my dad: he pulled a lot of strings and called in a lot of favors to get you in here. Don’t ruin your dad’s efforts by letting him down.”

Felix fell silent, his anger coming to a simmer. “You’re right,” he finally said. “You’re always right. It is stupid.” You heard them hug, patting each other’s backs, “What would I do without you steering my head the right way?”

“Get arrested,” Chan said, humorously at the end of the word.

They laughed together, and your jealousy burned. You watched the two boys walk down towards the school canteen area again. Their conversation would normally upset you, but not right now.

The blue static did. It had come out of nowhere. Its sudden appearance and then disappearance concerned you. If you had the control room, you could fix the system bugs. The idea the game might completely crash came to you. You looked up at the sky, expecting to see it across the fluffy clouds and bright sunlight, but it didn’t happen. Nothing changed. Could your failed elimination be another result of the glitch? A bug in the system where the elimination goes as planned but still fails? 

Not having to worry about Felix until next week, you put your efforts into Changbin instead. Watching him from the shadows of the courtyard, you noticed a change in him. The light he once carried appeared dull; he did not meet anyone’s eyes and stayed quiet in the group. It appeared his friends did not want to brooch the subject. Nobody did. While people whispered behind their hands and gave concerned looks, nobody walked up and comforted him. Good. The less people talk to him, the easier it’ll be to eliminate him. But how? The thought frustrated you.

Expulsion? You could buy contraband items and put them in his bag the rest of the week. 

Bullying? Ruin his reputation so much that he leaves school on his own. 

Setting him on fire in an accident? A bomb? A trap? A car accident? Something. Anything.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, and curiosity got the better of you. 

“Just kill him. Where’s the fun in the game if you’re not killing people?”

You ignored Minho’s message again. To be honest, you didn’t know if you could handle a second murder. Jisung’s happened in a fit of rage and frustration. You hadn’t intended on it. You recalled the burning hatred that had flowed within you, tensing your muscles and creating a headache. While it’d felt exhilarating at the time, you didn’t know if you wanted to go through that again. At least, not so brutally. 

“Hey YN-hyung!” Jeongin appeared in front of you with another food tray. This time he’d made hotteok. The round, sweet pancakes sat lined up on the tray; you could smell the cinnamon and sugar inside them. “Want a little sweet treat before class? They’re fresh! It’s not good to-”

“-Start the day on an empty stomach,” you finished irritably. Why did he have to come now? To give more cryptic messages? “No thanks, Jeongin-ssi. I’m not hungry.”

Jeongin stared over you, thin eyes crinkled in his forced smile, then said, “What’s the matter? You seem down.”

“It’s nothing.” 

He stepped closer. “Have you been to our library, hyung?”

“Not really.”

“You should,” he said. “It’s a quiet study place, and not a lot of people go in there. They have a lot of informative and educational books there.”

“Like a lot of libraries…”

“Well, I only bring it up because you might find the solution to your problem there. There’s this one book I really enjoyed when I read it. It’s called ‘Elimination: A Guide to Self-Help and Problem Solving’. I think you’ll like it. It’s on the third shelf in the case closest to the window; it's behind the books. If you go now, you can read it during class. I'm sure the teacher won’t mind since it’s a library book.”

You held his gaze. Since you’d arrived, Yang Jeongin did not act as the other NPCs did. He seemed to move more fluidly, and broke off from his bubbly, friendly persona at times. Yes, you’d changed the autonomy and artificial intelligence of the student body, but this felt different somehow. While you’d normally suspect a trick by Minho, Jeongin did not express any malice or ill will towards you. He’d covertly helped you. He did it through messages and quick words. If it were Minho, he wouldn’t be trying to hide. 

“Thanks, Jeongin,” you said with a head nod. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’m always happy to help, hyung,” he beamed, stepping back and leaving you under the shade. 

Knowing you’re on a deadline, you left the courtyard for the empty library. Not very large, it only had four bookcases in total. Most of the shelves had books of various sizes and colors, but no titles on the spine. Out the window, you saw an outside view of the school’s garden. A nice quiet place for a studious person to get some work done. You went to the tall case near the windows, and found the book hidden behind several others. After years of being handled by various players, the book’s age showed in the worn out corners, peeling plastic, and stained pages. You saw previous players scribbled in the margins. Some were helpful tips they picked up, but you found some disturbing messages.

‘HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP!’

‘HE’S GOING TO GET ME!!’

You tucked the book in your bag and went straight to class. If this book offered any sort of help, you’d take it. Chan appeared to still be with Felix, so you had time to yourself before he arrived. The spine cracked stiffly as you opened to the first page. It gave a short introduction into the game, and offered a map of the school. You realized, as you skimmed the content list that it was an old game guide. It offered you information on every single aspect of the game. You knew why this book had been tucked behind the rest. It contradicted a lot of what Minho had told you. You skipped to the eliminations chapter, and looked up “Secrets”. 

“Once you discover your rival's secret, leave a note in their locker with a time and place. When you meet them, tell them you know about it. There are three eliminations tied to this: Blackmail, Befriend and Betrayal…”

Minho had told you to turn them in. He said it would work. He'd lied again, but this time you were not surprised. You searched the rest of the chapter. The book listed every possible elimination and offered step by step instructions. You could crush Changbin by throwing a heavy object from the school roof. You could drown him by sedating him and throwing him into the school pool. You could matchmake him with a student who has a crush on him. But, you saw one that caught your eye. Framing. You read on:

“A difficult elimination, you can frame your rival for a murder. If done right, it will result in an absolute elimination.”

Underneath, you saw the instructions on how to carry it out. It involved grabbing supplies, making your rival touch the murder weapon, and then using it to kill another student. You considered the method, worrying over the difficulty and time it’ll take. You read another elimination: Drive to Murder. 

“Another difficult elimination, you can brainwash a student to murder your rival or vice versa. This is achieved through the kidnap and torture method (See section 3, page 12). 

You read this with images flowing through your mind. These both sounded like viable options, but needed more than three days. You needed something quick and easy. Crushing sounded good. The book gave you three options: the rooftop air conditioner, a bookcase or one of the lockers in the locker room. The rooftop had a large air conditioner you could unscrew, then push onto Changbin when he’s underneath it. The bookcase and locker required luring him behind it and then pushing it onto him. All you needed was a screwdriver, which the book said was found in the workshop. 

Faking Suicide: Forge a suicide note in your rival’s handwriting, lure him to the rooftop, and then push him off. 

Electrocution. After spilling water near it, have your rival turn on the faulty light switch and watch him fry!

So many options, and you wanted to try them all. Minho never intended on anyone finding this book, so he could make himself the sole guide throughout the game. You wondered what else he was keeping from you. 

****

You’d start with the electrocution first. It was the easiest one out of them. The book said you’d find the bucket and water in the Home Economics room. During lunch, you’d been filling up the bucket when someone noticed you. 

“Hey, what’re you doing? It’s not cleaning time yet,” said a girl with dark auburn hair, holding a bento box. 

You paused, thinking quickly and said, “Oh, there’s this huge spill in the canteen area. I’m helping clean it up.”

“Oh, okay!”

You went back to the bucket, which you then lugged all the way to the second floor bathroom. A few students did stare in confusion when they saw you. You told the same spill story to those who happened to question you. As you walked, you worried being seen with this might implicate you later on. But, they’d have no proof you did anything to Changbin. After dropping it off in a corner of the bathroom, you went to the courtyard where you found Changbin. 

“Hey, hyung,” you said, adrenaline starting to build inside you. 

“Hey, YN,” he said flatly. You could tell he didn’t want to really talk, but that didn’t matter. “What’s up?”

“I thought you should know that someone wrote some graffiti about you in the second floor bathroom,” you lied.

“Someone wrote something bad about me?” He said with sad eyes. “What did it say?”

“I don’t think I can repeat it. I wanted to let you know.”

“Well, we should clean it off before anyone else sees it.”

“Yeah, I already got the bucket and bleach. I tried scrubbing it, but I didn’t get off much.”

“Let’s go see it.” 

Changbin’s helpful nature would be his undoing. You followed him as he went upstairs to the bathroom. Your heart thumped hard in your chest when he turned the corner into the dark bathroom. The light slaps of his shoes in the water puddle amplified in the empty room, and you forced yourself to suppress a giggle. 

“Ugh, it’s dark in here,” he scoffed. “Of course you couldn’t scrub it, YN-ssi. You can’t see the walls.”

“I had trouble with the light switch.” 

“Yeah, it’s broken. Someone said you have to fiddle around with it.”

You braced yourself to hear the flipping switch and sounds of agony, but nothing happened. “Whatever,” he sighed. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“What?” you asked, flustered. 

“Yeah,” he slumped past you, “It’s probably nothing people haven’t already said about me.”

“What are you talking about? People like you. They feel sorry for what happened to you.”

“Not everyone,” he replied, looking at you over his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, YN. It’s not like anyone actually goes in there anymore.” 

“But, Changbin-”

How can your elimination be foiled so quickly? Could it be that Changbin’s mood has made him apathetic to everything around him? You needed to move fast. 

Burning. The book said a bucket of gasoline and a good door trap can do the trick. You only needed matches from the Occult room or a Bunsen burner from the science lab. As lunch progressed, you ducked into the black and red Occult club where you saw they kept their ritual candles stacked in a corner. You scanned the black table for the matches, which you found hidden between two of them. Then you went to the gardening shed for gasoline. 

“YN-ah?” Chan came through the doorway, curious and looking about the shed. “What are you doing? I thought you’d be in the cafeteria.”

“Oh, I was on my way there when, um,” you tried thinking up a reason you’d have a gallon of gasoline in your hand. It was hard with Chan staring at you with his pretty brown eyes and furrowed brow. “When, um, one of the teachers asked me to get gasoline from the shed. Yeah, in the cafeteria, the gas stove isn’t working so she said to get this.”

“That isn’t how gas stoves work, YN-ah,” he said. “I think it’s a bad idea. Here, I’ll take it for you,” he reached for the gallon and you pulled away by reflex. “YN…”

“She asked me to do it,” you said nervously. Time was running out. Lunch time will be over and you’d have a harder time catching Changbin after school. “I don’t want to bother you with it.”

“Gas stoves don’t use this kind of gasoline. After Mrs. Yoon, I’m finding it harder to trust the staff around here. Please,” he grabbed the gasoline can before you can protest, “I’m only helping you, YN. I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

“Hyung, I’m sure she doesn’t-”

“-Come have lunch with me,” he said, putting the gasoline back on the shelf and withdrawing a key. As he led you out of the shed, you watched him lock it with disappointment. “They’re serving seaweed wraps today. I’m going to eat like a million of them,” he laughed sweetly. 

As tempting as lunch with Chan sounded, Tuesday is halfway over. “Sorry, hyung,” you said, “I already have lunch plans…with Minho.” If anything seemed to upset Chan, it was Minho’s supposed presence in your life. 

“Right,” he said, the smile dropping into a small scowl. “Minho…" the name came out in a soft hiss, hard turning stony and cold. You don’t even…Why would you…” 

His hand tightened around the padlock, and you saw him staring right at it. It came back like before. The familiar blue and white flickers went down Chan’s entire body this time. They made him wave in place like static on a screen. You saw anger flaring up in his eyes, all sweetness gone as he took in your words. 

“Hyung?”

“You do-on-t-t-t- lik-ikeee hi-m-mmm,” he said, neck twitching and hands shaking. He then froze in place, eyes bulging and mouth contorted at an odd angle. 

“Channie?”

"He-e-eee won-t treat you like I woul-l-ld." You saw him struggling to get the words out. The sense that someone else is behind these words came to you. "Don't go with hi-i-mm-mmm."

"Chan-hyung, what's wrong?"

"Min-n-h-ho-ho." Like before, he crashed completely. You moved to examine him closely, but he then suddenly snapped back to his usual bright smile. “Have a good lunch, YNie.”

He walked away from you. You waited until he turned the corner before leaving. Another glitch. What was happening? You worried what might happen if these glitches kept appearing, especially with Chan. But, what concerned you more was what he'd said and his reactions. The bugs became more apparent whenever you mentioned Minho or any romantic feelings surrounding him. It seemed whatever jealousy Chan developed since your changes now messed with the game. You stomped your foot in irritation. Why did this have to happen now? You have plenty of things going on. You don't have time to investigate this.

When you exited the garden, you saw Chan again. He stood talking to Changbin. You saw Chan put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, giving reassuring words of comfort and gentleness. Jealousy boiled inside you seeing them standing so close together. It should be you that Chan was speaking to so sweetly. It should be your jaw he’s caressing and your tears he’d wiping away. Maybe if the bug fixed itself, he really could do that. In the middle of the empty pathway, nobody saw Chan speaking soft words to a weeping Changbin. Nobody but you saw them embrace, Changbin sobbing into Chan’s shoulder. 

You needed to get rid of him. Quickly. 

With Changbin usually walking around school alone, crushing sounded like a good and easy option. You stole a screwdriver from the workshop room, and grabbed a piece of paper and pen. On it, you scribbled a note saying to meet by the dumpster after school to discuss “our predator”. You quickly folded it as you made your way to Changbin’s locker, the screwdriver heavy in your pocket. This had to work. This can't possibly fail.

Yes, yes it could.

Once the bell rang, you made your way up to the school rooftop where a large air conditioner vent stayed on one side. After expertly unscrewing the bolts of the machine, you pushed it closer to the edge where it’d easily topple over with a good shove. It didn’t take long to see Changbin walking from the locker rooms to the dumper area. Judging the proper aim, you took steady breaths to still your racing heart. You counted his steps as he walked into the gated area. He stared around for a moment, and you took your chance. Putting your back against the air conditioner, you pushed it over the side of the railing and down to the ground. Smirking, you thought you’d find a bloody, broken Changbin underneath the smashed unit. However, you didn’t. You saw Changbin standing two feet away from where you’d aimed, shocked and frightened by his close call with death. 

You managed to hide before he looked up. 

Agitation settled inside you on your way down. You wanted to punch something. You wanted to scream and shout into the void. After everything, you still have failed to eliminate Changbin. You took a seat on one of the canteen benches to consult the book. Reading the eliminations you’d done, you realized your mistake: you did them at lunch time, where most students are hanging about and will note your strange behavior. Before or after school are the best time for these eliminations, since there will be no witnesses or questions raised. You thought of trying them tomorrow, but that will only waste more time. 

For the next three days, time is of the essence. 

*** Later That Night***

They tried fixing it. They searched through strands and strands of code to find the broken pieces. They’d originally considered your reconfiguration a special surprise, but now it was more of a nuisance. They’d managed to patch up the cracks littered throughout the systems, but the character ones became rather tricky. They’d gotten to the Principal before she completely broke, but it’d been hard. They did not want to alter your changes too much, but the game might crash if these remained unchecked.  

Dark blue and white, they flickered like dozens of fairy lights strung against a black backdrop. Usually, the strips of code were pure white and moved in single strands. These lines twisted together with your additions, which had turned blue. They saw how the two lines tried meshing into one solid piece in places, but some parts remained separate. These made the glitches. Ropes of them went through the principal’s makeup, causing several holes that they filled. She had not been the only character affected by the change. The problem started with background characters who’d been lagging through the school or frozen in place by the twinkling glitches. Now, they found them in the main rivals and other important characters. They briefly wondered how long it’d take them to get to Minho. 

Finding a piece of Chan’s data file, they saw the glitching piece in the middle of the code. It hurt them to even be near their old self like this, so close and personal. They wished with all their being to become one with themselves again. Having been locked in the classified folders, they’d lost touch with their body. They did not feel human anymore. Seeing Chan like this hurts them , even if it is an altered version. They admitted they’d avoided diving into the character systems, worried they’d run into their old code. But, seeing the breakages that needed to be removed, patched, and put back, it was unavoidable. They’d move to fix the broken piece and replace it with a new one…

But then they saw you. They didn’t see you outside in a third person perspective like the usual way. This time, they had a first-person view. They looked at the world through Chan’s eyes in this small slit. Gingerly, they poked the spot and it vibrated through the strand, causing a ripple effect to the rest of the codes. They did it several more times, and realized what was happening. This tear in the code was their escape. It was their real escape back into the world. When they plunged a bundle of pixels in for a final time, however, the split began to burn. They yelped in pain and moved away. 

Pain. 

They felt physical pain. They’d never felt anything before. They touched the glitch again simply to feel it. They continued going through the lines, seeing breaks in the fake Chan’s codes and touching them. Each spark made them feel more alive. They saw pieces of the world, their little game world, through his eyes. It’d been so long since they’d been Chan, they’d become a ‘They’, a ‘Thing’, a ‘Code’. They’d stopped being ‘Chan’ and became ‘Lovesick’. All because of Minho’s jealousy and violence.

With these broken pieces, they could be ‘Chan’ again. They could live again. Picking up a broken piece, they saw it was part of the model designs. Yes, this was the first step. 

And they’d take it. 

****

A/N: What the hell is going on in this place?? Glitches, bugs, and failures aren't going to help YN. Please reblog and like <3

[finderseeker]

@leucoratia Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about him even more

First off, I’m glad this solution seems to be such a hit!! I just couldn’t reconcile the character WD was becoming/had become with what we know of Gaster. So this works well!!! (Despite the questions it raises meta-wise.)

*Rubs my hands together evilly* Okay SO! WD and his relationship with Grandpa here. I haven’t completely decided on anything just yet but I do have some Ideas. Some Notions if you will.

I think there’s pressure to get into the field from family, yes. But I don’t think it was necessarily negative pressure, if that makes sense. Like, I’m not sure it was the kind of thing where they would have been disapproving or upset if he chose some other career, per se. More that they didn’t even consider the possibility that he would choose anything else. Sans is a physicist, Papyrus is an engineer/mechanic/something like that, and they’re both very smart, but WD, oh, he’s the prodigy. He’s the golden child, even for all his quirks and rarities. An anxious disposition and weirdly long tail and unusual font and cracked lip aside, he’s got so much going for him!

I think that, likely, in their efforts to ensure that he didn’t feel any different than anyone else regarding disposition and physical traits/limitations, and that he knew he was ✨special✨ because he’s so smart, his parents probably made it all worse, actually. Not acknowledging that he was, in fact, different and unusual only made him feel more invisible. Which of course made him feel bad, because he was the main focus of his family’s attention. (‘How can I be unsatisfied with when I get so much attention compared to my brothers? Am I just spoiled?’)

He felt he had no time to goof around, no time to play, because he ought to be studying and learning more. ‘Why, with a mind like that, he surely takes after his grandfather in more than just font! Perhaps he will be the next Royal Scientist!’ said everyone. Which, y’know, gets to you as a kid.

While it was only ever meant to be encouraging, the pressure to live up to that was overwhelming. It’s not just that he’s named after his grandfather, it's not just an abstract sentiment for skeletons. He’s got his font. Which, apparently, suggests some other similarities. He’s always The Serious One among his brothers because they’re always goofing off (from his POV anyway) when they should be working! How can they be so lackadaisical? The fate of all monsters rests on them helping their grandfather; how can they be so relaxed just because they aren’t on the clock? Is their pay the only thing that matters to them!? They should be endeavoring to find solutions at all times!

So. Yeah. His mindset is very much shaped by the idea that it’s his responsibility to use his abilities to help others. It’s not as simple as letting his family down. What he wants has never been a factor in the equation, and so he doesn’t linger on it. The way he exists has already dictated his life course. It’s as simple as that. It’s not out of love for others— whether his family specifically or monsterkind at large— but rather out of obligation and responsibility. He does not feel a particularly strong affection towards monsters in general. (The opposite, actually.) He has never seen the surface, and frankly, with as dangerous as humans are, he doesn’t entirely understand why or agree with the idea that getting up there would be a good thing to begin with. But breaking the barrier is the goal that’s been put in front of him, and so that’s what he works towards. Along with the supposedly more achievable goal of “helping people,” despite that being an incredibly vague and nebulous concept with no real direction.

He’s got this whole complex about what he’s supposed to be. No one is actually stopping him from being anything else, but the barriers he’s erected in his own mind feel immovable. If he has all of this ability, how could he not use it? Everyone is relying on him to be as brilliant as his grandfather and carry this mantle, but no one understands the pressure he’s under. No one understands anything! Even Papyrus, who practically never sleeps, doesn’t appreciate why he can’t just “take a break.” If he doesn’t accomplish something, he will never be free from these expectations!

I think deep down that’s why he kind of idolizes sci-fi supervillains? All the intelligence, all the means, and they use it for their own interests! They are beholden to no one, only themselves, and even the “heroes” can never stop them for good. Sometimes, the villains have better motivations than the heroes, even. I think WD’s fantasy, subconscious or not, is being able to go completely off the rails and create and do something utterly selfish. He has some bizarre resentment, I think, against people in general. Maybe it’s envy, in the sense that they lack the burden he does. Maybe it’s some kind of frustration that they’re all just standing around, twiddling their thumbs and waiting for some kind of “salvation” from either the king or from them, the scientists responsible for every other quality of life. If this solution needs to be found so desperately, why is it being left to so few people!? Why aren’t study of human magic and other magical-scientific disciplines a required field in schools? Why is there not a requirement that all who are able work on this pressing issue!?

So. He’s got this buried, probably subconscious resentment. He’s always irritated because of it. It feels like he’s the only one taking this seriously, and therefore the only one who can do anything about it. Rather than be reassured that no one is forcing this on him, his perception is that because no one else will “take it seriously” (read: “work ceaselessly”), it must fall to him. He has to. Because otherwise it will always be hanging over his head.

Now. Grandpa Gaster definitely doesn’t approve of… any of this. (In general, not the supervillain thing. WD is taking that secret to the grave.) Gaster encourages him to take breaks and not work himself so hard. Unfortunately, despite his kindness and reassurance, WD only sees that as, “Look, this is so simple for him that he doesn’t even need to exert effort! He thinks I’m far more capable than I am, he must think I’m accomplishing more than I actually am. I have to work harder so that I can reach that level and live up to this.”

Yeah.

Gaster is quite caught up in his own work, and although he cares very much for his grandsons, I don’t think he’s entirely… connected with them. He doesn’t realize what WD is putting himself through, entirely. He just sees a bright, like-minded young man with a strong work ethic and a love for helping others! Even if he’s a bit prickly and perhaps embarrassed about it. But he’ll come around! Young people are so caught up in how they’re perceived by others; surely WD will mellow as he ages.

(Spoiler: he doesn’t. Or, he doesn’t really get the chance to.)

The biggest difference between them is that Gaster is doing this because he loves people and he loves his work. All his efforts are a labor of love. For monsters, for unity, for freedom, for the universe. WD is doing this because he feels that he must. He is not especially moved by love. He doesn’t gain a sense of purpose from this, he only feels burdened.

Gaster doesn’t quite… pick up on this. I think he would love to have a warm relationship with his grandsons, and prooooobably does more with Sans and Papyrus. WD, meanwhile, has so many self-inflicted mental barriers and blocks and restrictions and obligations that he’s created this artificial distance between them. It really, really doesn’t need to be this way, but unfortunately our perception shapes our reality, and the stronger a person believes something to be a certain way— that is, the less open they are to being wrong— the stronger they shape their reality. Someone like Gaster, who is open to different interpretations and understandings and so on, is more likely to see reality for what it is— but even he’s not infallible, because he is a singular person who has his own experiences and therefore his own perception. He thinks WD is just “at that age” (whatever that means) and is simply trying to prove something or is overly worried about what other people think of him, and that it will pass with time. He doesn’t understand that WD is torturing himself over pressure that isn’t even real.

He thinks it's so wonderful that WD wants to work with him and spend time with him, and oh, he's such a bright young man, he will surely accomplish so much! He's so proud of him.

WD is... not really capable of accepting love (in the form of acceptance or pride) from others right now, because I think he feels like he has yet to earn it, maybe? He's got this impossible standard he's trying to reach,* and he's depriving himself of everything until he can get there. (Which will be never.) He's miserable and it's all self-inflicted. It doesn't even need to be this way. ((He and Seeker (the character) have this in common I think…))

He does love his family. He loves his brothers and his parents (probably?) and his grandfather and his cousin(s). He loves them way more than he'd ever admit out loud. He's exasperated that none of them seem to Get It, but he's so convinced that he's the only one who's right that there's really no telling him otherwise. He doesn’t even know what he wants, only that he doesn’t have it and can’t have it. (Except, he can, of course, if he would just freaking calm down for a second.)

The funny (or sad) thing is that if he could just get past this thing he’s got in his mind, he’d be a much happier, more fulfilled person. If he weren’t busy stressing himself out and running himself ragged (and actually making his own anxiety worse in the process), he’d be a warm, conscientious person and a loving, attentive partner. As it stands, he’s Stress Response Central and essentially is slowly cutting himself off from the people who care about him, rather than rely on them. (This potentially includes Asteri, but their relationship is a whooole different post.)

If he keeps on this path, one of two things is going to happen: he’s either going to end up killing himself (or worse) by falling into the same thing that shattered Gaster in some desperate last-ditch attempt to Fix Everything; or he’s going to crack (no pun intended) under the pressure and burn out in an absolute fireball of metaphorical explosives.

And from the outcome where he doesn’t die/end up meeting a similar fate as his grandfather, there are two outcomes.

So, he’d burn himself out gifted kid style, but like several times worse. Has a complete breakdown and it resigns him to being stuck at home/in bed recovering his mental and emotional energy. But also being extremely depressed and probably rotting a little bit. And isolating even more, honestly.

The good ending would be him slowly recovering and making peace with not being The Only One Who Can Fix Everything, and maybe not even staying in the same field of work (if he can work anymore). The good ending also involves him being on good terms with Tempus again. (But that’s an entire can of worms I’m not touching here.) If he’s anything like me, it’s gonna take a few years (minimum) of rest and recovery after pushing himself that hard. I would not be surprised if he causes some permanent damage to himself (either mentally/emotionally or physically) that renders him unable to work/do what he used to.

The bad ending is that he rots in bed and wallows in depression and mourns the fact that he “wasn’t good enough” to stand up under the weight of everything and Fix It. And he just. stays like that. Isolating himself more and more, refusing to talk even to his brothers. And also Tempus still hates him. And that’s it that’s his whole life. The rest of it is spent mourning and regretting and reliving every decision that got him here, reflecting on all the things he deprived himself of in pursuit of his goal, only to fail and end up unable to have those things now that he has all the in the world. Self-deprivation of pleasure or enjoyment or rest, and for what? To break down under the weight of it all and have none of it anyway. He should have enjoyed what he was offered when he had the chance to accept it.

Anyway, as you can see I have a lot of feelings and thoughts about him (and this isn’t even all of them). I doubt that he resents his grandfather, but I do think that with the way things end up, he feels like a disappointment to him and there’s really no way to ever be assured otherwise because Gaster’s gone by that point. But I guess that’s part of the point, really: that you’ve gotta be okay with where you are so long as you’re doing what you can (to a reasonable degree), even if it disappoints other people. I think WD needs a lot of things but honestly I don’t even know how to begin to help him. He needs to go on vacation.

On an ENTIRELY unrelated note, I may have come up with a really funny (read: “stupid”) solution to the problem mentioned in the second half of the tags on this post.

Which isn’t what I wanted to focus on. I need to work on the stuff I already have going. But. It would be funny and unfortunately sometimes that’s the most compelling thing.

I will elaborate on what this possible solution is tomorrow.

[stargazypie]

on my annual holiday which is basically a mental health retreat except also my parents are there.

[sea-jello]

hong kong miku,,,

[citricacidprince]

Thinking about Psychonauts and how much I love the Aquato family once again

They mean the world to me your honor

[jamandjazz]

Here to once again push my Short Shepards agenda

[crossbackpoke-check]

re last answer: please don't stop, being very unhinged about these two pretty white boys is helping distract me from the sharks losing streak rn so bring it on

https://www.tumblr.com/bondedpairs/764566430180147200?source=share

(sideblog woes but there's the link for you) anyway in the vid they talk about going over to each other's houses to have dinner and things and while that is a delicious example of their codependence i love it bc through an rpf lens there is definitely some old man ******* going on. they can have the dilfs and each other.

(someone else mentioned kept boys which i could write an essay on but i fear being Perceived™️)

anyway if you have anything to add to this please do, if not ignore me and i will hide under a rock until the stress-related insanity has worn off and i am a functioning member of society once more 😂

- @bondedpairs

ty for the video!!! and please, WRITE THE KEPT BOYS ESSAYYYY i promise i will read it with my hands over my eyes if you don’t want to be perceived. do it scared!! do it anyway!! we���ll all love you for it!!!

[lesbianjackkline]

supernatural was soooo sick for directly paralleling dean taking his grief for cas, out on jack, with john taking his grief for mary, out on sam and dean. like what the fuck was up with that??

[fellhellion]

Semi planning to make a YouTube essay about this but the trend within a lot of popular modern media to have characters just. State aloud in therapy clinical terms what’s wrong with them without consideration to qualities like their age and even what the implications are of this character so openly stating these issues to others? It’s so often such damn lazy writing, especially when the tone of this delivery just makes the goal of this exchange be a joke.

[ontologicalmoki]

unsolicited parenting advice of the day tell your kids what to expect! If your two year old is anxious about when dad is going to get home from work, teach him to recognize what patterns indicate that dad is coming home soon! After lunch we will do an activity and then clean and THEN dad will get home. Listen when the calendar day starts with an S dad does not have to go to work!!

and if something goes wrong and today does NOT go according to the plan your little guy expects, tell him!! Hey, dad has to go to work after all today, but he will be home after lunch! Today dad has to get groceries after work, so he’ll be home later than normal. But he will return with more bananas! Focus on the positives too, give them things they can understand. Don’t just say “not today,” they understand the concept of grocery stores and unexpected trips. Just tell them the problem. You’d hate being in the dark about everything that happens to you also. Let them control their situation, even if it’s just their own emotions and expectations.

or even! Teach them to read an analogue clock! Let me tell you, church nursery in the 1.5-3.5 age group got so much less stressful and anxious for EVERYONE when I taught my kids how to read the clock. They don’t have to ask me anymore how much time is left and fish for answers I can’t give them. They know that their guardians will come for them when the long stripe on the clock touches the 2, and that if they aren’t there then then they’re LATE and they get to hold this over their parents head. Because they know their parents can be late. And they LOVE knowing when this has occurred. There is so much less anxiety.

anyway explain stuff to your kids, they want to know. This has been an unsolicited parenting advice PSA

[gregmarriage]

sooooo many thoughts on those last five eps, i can barely think to get them all written down, holy shit!!!

[sharkieboi]

it’s my little brother’s birthday so I called him and we chatted for a very long time and made plans to play video games together and it made me very happy especially cause I know this last year has been very hard for him and it sounds like he’s doing better and !!! i’m just really happy for him and excited to try and virtually hang out with him more often!!!