#Oh and i would tell the police about this

[occamstfs]

MuskMask Up

Found footage of the missing persons Eddie Leon and Bowen Chen, last seen vlogging at a new gym with a mandatory mask policy. Well documented is what seems to happen when one forgets theirs.

Mixing it up a bit! Diary entries within a short metanarrative police investigation- Meat of the story is coworkers bulking up at an advanced rate after borrowing masks from the gym, hope you enjoy! -Occam

The following footage was found by the now missing-in-action Detective Smith during a missing persons investigation of civilians Eduardo “Eddie” Leon and Bowen Chen. If you have any information on the whereabouts of the pair or Detective Smith please call APD with information.

February 1st:

The scene opens with Eddie’s face inches away from a tripod he’s setting up. Behind him, stretching outside the entrance to a gym, is coworker Bowen Chen. Eddie smiles once he sees the camera has begun recording and backs away to start the first vlog on his journey to better health. Hopping up and waving both hands with abandon, he does just that.

“Heyyy guys! Today’s day one of hitting the gym with Bowen! Obviously he knows what he’s doing so this whole thing should be a piece of cake- I mean look at him!” He gestures to his friend mid-drink of water and Bowen quickly chokes it down before shyly responding. Face blushing pink as he’s clearly not nearly as comfortable on camera.

“Ah, uhm- Yes. Hello, audience? I’ve been ah uhm, steady? At the gym for a few years now and Eddie was wondering if I could show him the ropes. Sooo, uhm.” Eduardo was very clear that he was going to be doing a vlog about the whole thing but Bowen had no idea how much a camera would put him on edge. Seeing him flounder and hearing every word come quieter than the last Eddie quickly picks up the slack.

“So yeah! We’re going to a new gym that opened up, all their ads brag about retention rate and quick results which is what I’m all about haha!” Seeing a man in a face mask come through the automatic doors behind him Eddie claps his hands and tacks on, “OH! They also still require face masks which, I don’t mind,” he playfully grasps his friend’s jaw causing blush to return over a shy grin, “it does mean you might be seeing less of this little cutie’s face but so it goes~ When in Brome hee hee!” 

Bowen’s phone goes off as a timer set to ensure the pair stretch for long enough comes to an end. He then chastises Eddie for spending so long of their prep time vlogging before crossing his arms and resetting the clock to make sure his trainee stretches. Eddie quickly turns off the vlog with a wink, “Yikes already on his bad side haha~ See y’all later!”

February 9th:

“Helloooo guys~ Took my mask off real quick to record this.” He pauses to sniff the air and almost gags as he smells the musk of the gym, usually covered by his mask. “God is this what all gyms smell like?” Looking down at his sweat stained body and glistening chest he grimaces as he guesses he’s certainly not helping. Shaking it off he returns to his vlog, “Hm. I’ll edit that out- Helloooo Guys! You would not believe how much progress I’ve made already!”

He does a small flex and it’s clear he has put on more weight than would be expected, or rather more weight in a week than should be possible. “No one tells you how much you have to eat to put on mass, guys! Or I guess- Bowen told me huh?” He giggles and then jolts upright and turns the camera to his trainer working at a machine. “Speaking of gains there Mr. Mass is himself.” Behind the lens Eddie continues, “I forgot my mask today so the sweetie let me borrow his. Hear that ladies? This hunk’s also a gentleman. Someone get a ring on that finger!”

As Eddie continues to film Bowen’s reps it’s clear that something besides the effort is causing him discomfort. In fact it almost seems like the workout isn’t bothering him at all as he rolls his eyes before bending down to put more weight on the machine. With a free hand he plugs his nose to have the slightest moment of freedom from the musky scent that must be distracting him. Then as soon as he grunts through his first rep at the new weight a figure appears behind him, wearing a mask over the whole of his head and taps on his shoulder before clearly preparing to confront him.

“Oop, oh shit-” Eddie whispers, too far from his trainer to know what exactly the little confrontation is about, but after a few gestures to his maskless face it’s pretty clear. The sound of Eddie quickly putting his mask back on can be heard behind the camera as across the gym Bowen clearly nods a few times, assumedly acquiescing, motioning to pack up and head back later. He apologies and gestures for Eddie to head to the locker room but then the sweaty masked man waves him off and pats him on the back, pulling out a mask from his sweatpants.

Bowen’s gasp is loud enough to be heard enough on camera as he backs into the machine in shock as the brute holds out a mask retrieved from his sweaty pants. He waves his hands clear as day that he’s not about to put on that must-be stained mask. Eddie quickly gets off his machine and starts to head over check in on his friend. He knows Bowen hates attention and is wont to fold at any confrontation but surely he’s not about to be pressured into putting on that dirty rag.

Keeping the camera trained on Bowen just in case, he’s too focused on the shot to really notice the fear in the man’s eyes as he stares up at the masked figure. And then, with a gulp, Bowen shakily accepts the mask, close enough to read lips one could just about make out Bowen’s whispered apology, “I’m sorry sir it won’t happen again” And then he does the unthinkable and puts on the dirty mask. Eddie reacts quietly enough only for the camera to pick up, “Jesus Christ- Bo!? What are you doing?!” 

After the masked man pats Bowen on the back, harder than one surely should, and offers a rough handshake, he departs. The camera captures a few more frames as Eddie walks the final few feet over. While not covered in sweat, it’s clear that the mask on Bowen’s face is wrinkled and has a small dark patch in its corner. Either from the workout or from the anxious confrontation, the trainer is clearly breathing heavily. 

With each breath his eyes begin to glisten glassy. Staring off into the middle distance he adjusts his pants and seems distracted as each heaving breath strives to be deeper than the one that came before, as each gasp of musky air tries to instill more of the essence trapped within the wretched mask. His eyes almost begin to cross in the last frame before Eddie puts his phone in his pocket, leaving the last few seconds of the recording audio only. “Uhhhhm, Hey Bowen? What the fuck was that?”

There is a few seconds pause followed by the sound of presumably Bowen swallowing saliva before he answers “Oh! Uhhh yeah? I don’t know dude?” “Dude?” “Sorry my head feels like it’s swimming, Eddie? That was so uhh, intense-” The sound of adjusting clothing again comes through, someone pulling on the elastic band of their underwear.

Realizing the whole confrontation only happened because he forgot his own mask, Eddie apologizes, “That wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t take yours. Look we can swap if you-”“NO.” Silence follows once more before Bowen continues, “No I uhm- don’t mind br- Eddie. How about we call it there and head home?” Eduardo agrees and the pair head off to the locker room. After a few steps the recording ends.

February 15th:

The image begins as usual of Eddie from afar, though the sound of weight’s clanging is far louder than usual. After a few false starts interrupted by the din of falling metal, the vlogger walks a few feet away and begins talking to the camera, “Hey everyone, quick update this time-” Flexing to himself he takes a moment to address his continued growth before in the distance he hears brash, deep laughter and what little of his face is revealed makes his worry clear as day.

“I’m still chugging along but Bowen has, well blown up? Ever since the last vlog when that asshole made him wear a dirty mask it’s almost like he’s a totally different person? Here, look-” Eddie quickly pans the camera over to a man almost unrecognizable resting on a bench. Beyond having arms as large as Bowen’s legs should be, the man’s demeanor is indeed entirely different. He flexes his arm and moans to himself as he sees a central vein pushing against the strained shirt sleeve.

“Is it steroids? Do you think? OH! He’s also started using the masks the gym provides- Are there like, inhale-y steroids?” The vlogger quickly heads to the web to research, paying no mind to what the lens catch as the camera unintentionally witnesses the massive man lumbering up from his bench, leaving an unwiped sweat stain in his wake.

Massive pecs bounce with each step and thighs strain his shorts as he makes his way over to Eddie, “YO! Edster- Come help me stretch!” Eddie flinches as he’s shouted at, groaning uncomfortably he obeys his trainer. Forgetting he was taking a vlog at all he sets his phone down. The air fills with groans, cracking bones, and almost deliberately loud grunts from Bowen.

“You know I seem to remember you wanting to not put on too much weight Bo?” 

There’s a deep guffaw, “Pshyeah, but y’know, when the muscle-bug bites huhuh!” The sound of his sleeves straining from a performative flex covers up his breathy moan from hyperextension. “Woah bro, why do you look so down?”

Clearly not thinking his mood would be caught by a man whose only gear has suddenly become self-obsessed, Eddie stumbles, “Well I don’t know, I guess? I’m just worried about- You just seem a little different is all.

“Huh.” There’s a long silence interrupted only by the buzz of music and clanging weights far off. Then there’s a quick gasp as in one motion Bowen stands and hoists Eddie into the air, “woAH! Bo! Put me down!” 

“Huhuh no bro I get it- You don’t know why you’re not seein’ results as good as mine I totally get it!” Eddie grunts and gags in arms that truly could snap him in half, “Ugh B- you’re so sweaty ple-ugh.” Squirming in the behemoth’s grasp his face is forced into sweaty pecs that promptly stain his mask a dark blue. “God you’re going to get your b.o. All over me dude-” 

There are a few more seconds of complaint before Bowen finally drops his little buddy. Picking up his phone there’s a look of concern or questioning on his face, any number of thoughts soar through his mind, has Bowen always been that tall? Why has he grown so much? What happened to him, is it going to happen to me? And then he takes a deep breath. A sigh in relief or irritation, it’s unclear, but it doesn’t matter. The camera gets a much better glimpse this time as the gym-goer breaths in the oh-so musky, mask filtered air.

Under the mask his mouth squrims into a grimace, but already eyes begin to give way to thoughtless longing. With another breath one twitches while the other falls open wide, wanting nothing more than to mainline the scent directly into his nervous system. Pupils dilate large enough to almost hide his cacao irises before a meaty hand pats him on the back, “Earth to Eddo- Bro? You comin’ to wash up or what huhuh!” Jarred back to sentience, Eddie nods and follows him, the recording ending a few moments after.

February 22nd:

The camera alights on someone unrecognizable baring his torso for fans he doesn’t yet have, though the glazed look in his eyes is more than enough hint to prove it is the vlogger before he introduces himself. “Yoooo guys! Back at it again with Bowen, how’re we lookin?”

Eddie flexes a thick bicep and smirks under his mask, adjusting it as he laughs. It’s deeper, slower, a far cry from his usual giggle. “oh yeah, I’ve been usin’ the gyms masks just like Bowen said. And I gotta say, I think they’re the real secret of this place, I’ve just been packin’ on muscle since I started borrowing them.”

Standing to his side, Bowen makes himself known, somehow even bulkier than last time. Veins criss cross his forearms and shoulders stretch wide enough that it’s a wonder he was able to even get the suctioned compression shirt om. The thin elastic straps of his mask almost snap as he speaks up, the meek camera-shy man he once was clearly erased from his mind, “I’m saying Ed! Don’t know why you were holdin’ out on trying them after seeing how much I’ve grown!” Bowen crosses his arms and his top is stretched to his limits.

Eddie laughs before his eyes go dull as laughter leaves him with no choice but to take yet another deep breath. Lost in a thought that seems to never come, his words are barely audible enough to be caught by the camera almost mistakable for a moan, it may as well be one. He whispers “need more.” Drawn out like a death knell his vocal chords creak as they lengthen. And then, the camera captures the impossible.

It looks as if it’s edited. Arms go limp as they hang lower, bloat larger, heavier, barely staying in their sockets before his shoulders similarly bulge into thick balls of muscle. Pecs that have existed for less than a month push his sweaty tank top to its limits. The bench on which he rests creaks under his weight as thighs send tears through athletic shorts that were already too tight to wear. 

Behind him, his massive trainer’s eyes widen as he pauses his workout to stare at Eddie’s growth. Hungrily watching as individual strands of muscle flex and surge. Were his own mask not already sweat-stained, the drool frothing from his mouth may be more apparent. Bowen lets his weights clatter to the floor as he staggers close and leans in close to Eddie’s neck, sniffing like a predator, releasing something in between a whimper and grown as his scarred palms clench at his prey-apparent’s biceps, still bulging larger in his hands.

Bowen’s chest, over doubled in size since he began frequenting this gym, produces a rumble low enough to barely register as words. Through his mask he teeths the man’s neck, “Think I got another idea to get some gains Eddie.” This stirs the man from his reveries though does not for minute stop his growth as he bolts to his feet, almost falling forward from the new weight on his chest. Surely he would have had the man about to work him out maintained the iron grip on his arm.

Not another word is heard from the pair as they swiftly retreat to the locker room. The tripod continues filming until Eddie’s phone dies and contains little else of note. Other gym goers wander around the background, all of them masked and many of them stare forward with the same glazed eyes as they sit at various machines, laughing to themselves, breathing heavily, and lifting more with each heaving rep. Just before his phone dies and the recording ends, the man who gave Bowen his mask collects the tripod, through his mask a smile is clear on his face.

On March fifteenth newly promoted Detective Archie Smith follows up on a lead from coworkers of the missing men that the pair had recently started hitting up the Musclerade Gym. something about vlogging. The detective didn’t care. Miraculously, almost immediately did he find a pair of men who identify as Eduardo and Bowen. The only thing is-both resolutely deny ever having worked in an office building. Beyond that, it barely takes a glance to tell that despite their names and races that they cannot be the men in question. By sheer body weight alone, it’s impossible

Sure Mr. Chen looks healthy enough in his license photo but that massive hunk that stands before him could punch straight through the Detective. With a gulp Archie finds his eyes desperately wanting to trace the powerful muscles, begging for his attention through spandex and strained nylon. He finds his attention drawn to his own crotch as he can’t help but trace the veins on ‘Eduardo’s’ flexing arms to a hairy armpit dripping with sweat. Before he’s lost to his lusts however, he comes to his senses as the acrid musk pouring from both men sears his nose.

With a grunt he shakes off the beyond unprofessional distraction and meets the eyes of both men, neither too pleased to see the officer in their space. He fakes a smile and turns to continue his investigation before being intercepted by a man who seems to be of some authority, pulling him off to the side. Only his eyes are visible which sets Archie on edge. “What seems to be the problem officer?”

He explains his case and the mystery man calls the pair over, their harsh glares soften and Eddie laughs as he’s reminded of his little vlogs. Apparently the pair are trainers at the gym which despite some strange ping at the back of his mind, ignoring something screaming from his gut, when he sees their sculpted forms, smells their noxious odors, he can’t help but believe them. The masked man even offers to give him the recorded film, that is as long as he’s okay adhering to the gym’s guidelines while he waits.

There’s a glint in the eyes of both massive men now standing behind him as they each dislodge wrinkled masks from stained pants that have clearly suffered at least one gym session. Prepared to suffer more discomfort than this to sate his curiosity he throws on one of the hopefully unused masks. It’s at this point that the case goes cold. 

This recounting of events, along with a copy of Eduardo Leon’s ‘vlogs’ were found sloppily scrawled on some magazines near the shredded uniform of Officer Smith. It doesn’t seem to be his handwriting unless he were racing quite hastily against, well. I haven’t quite the idea what. I suppose it is of some note that they were next to a bloated member of the gym who didn’t have any I.D. on him. His clothes seemed to be from a lost and found as they didn’t fit quite right. We were unable to further investigate his identity, but without a doubt it simply could not be Officer Smith.

The junior officer who retrieved the evidence could scarcely spend five minutes next to the man, and given Smith’s predilections towards order and cleanliness it simply could not be him. Unfortunately the state of the gym put the officer in such unease that he did no further investigation. It’s a shame as when an investigation team was sent the following day it was as if the gym was never there. I am not one for flights of fancy, it is my belief that the whole situation was simply some drug front, perhaps steroids. At any rate should you see, or perhaps smell any of these men. I advise caution. And under no circumstances should you borrow one of their face masks, obviously.

Included above are to our best knowledge are the most recent sightings of Bowen Chen, Eduardo Leon, and finally a third depicting Eduardo alongside who we believe to be the man of interest found nearby Officer Smith’s uniform. It seems they haven’t stopped growing, that is, if this all isn’t some wild goose chase. Again, if you have information do report to APD. Though please refrain from submitting any, biological material. We have lost enough of the forensics department to this mania as is.

[normalaboutmediaa]

Hm. Saw a tag about Severance and the oppression of youth and children and like. Oh yeah how the fuck didn't I see that.

The Innies are essentially children in a lot of ways, but the parallels to how they're treated on the severed floor to how real children are often treated in society is. Kinda crazy.

You wake up one day a fully formed thing- you have thoughts, feelings, emotions, and an entire body with which to feel and experience all that. You do not know where you are or why you have been brought here, but you are surrounded by people suddenly telling you what to do, where to go, and how to act. There are several rules - some spoken, some unspoken, and the breaking of these rules results in punishment and shame. You cannot choose what you wear, where you go, or what you do. You are placed in front of an activity and told to do it, but any questions as to 'why' are often ignored or placated with meaningless answers.

When the Break Room was first introduced, it was extremely reminiscent to me of the practice of making children write lines. If you're unfamiliar, a common disciplinary tactic is to have a child write something like 'i will not interrupt the teacher' over and over again, often until the teacher feels that the lesson has gotten through their head satisfactorily. The idea is that repeated exposure to the idea of 'correct' behavior will instill the lesson in the child's mind, along with the task being tedious and boring enough that most kids won't re-offend just to avoid having to write the lines again.

So, we've got rewards systems, punishments, and a general sense of being below the authority figures in the situation and having no power. And then there's Miss Huang. A literal, actual child who is placed in a position of authority. Obviously there's a more literal parallel to be drawn there about child labor and exploitation, but I think there's something to be said about the way we teach children to police each other's behavior as well. She's a hall monitor, essentially, she's been given power over people who are actually technically younger than her and seems to see the job as an honor or at least a promotion from her last one.

Importantly, I don't think the show is TRYING to comment on how we treat children in our society. I don't think that's a primary theme that was on the creators mind, but it's there nonetheless. While very few would ever admit it or think of it in this exact way, the sentiment of 'I am a person, you are not' rings true to how a lot of parents and adults in general view children as less than human or being only 'half' a person, and hold them to impossibly high standards for good behavior as a result. The way the Outies see the Innies as just extensions of themselves that they can force to do or become whatever they want is very toxic parent-child relationship coded.

Anyway- kids are full people and you should treat them nicely. They aren't just here to fulfill your dreams and follow your rules.

[apomaro-mellow]

The Road to You 2

Part 1

As far as Doug, Jeff, and Gareth knew, Eddie was simply running from the police and Jason’s mob. The less they knew about monsters he had faced, the better. They visited him in the hospital once they had heard where he was. All three were surprised to see that Steve Harrington was in the room. They were even more surprised to find that this was a regular thing from Eddie’s uncle. Then they learned from Dustin that apparently Steve had been with Eddie during all of this. 

It made a solid rock of guilt settle in their stomachs. Jeff was the only one who had said anything outright to Eddie about it though.

“I wish you hadn’t been alone”, Jeff had said.

“I wasn’t alone”, Eddie replied. “I had a whole party with me.”

Jeff scoffed. “I love Dustin, but the rest of them? Especially Steve?”

“Steve was…”, Eddie chuckled. “He was the MVP, man.”

“Not the way Henderson says it. If you let him tell the story, you saved the whole world.”

Eddie smiled. “Let’s call it a team effort.”

It was an odd new status quo to get used to. But there wasn’t much to do about it but getting used to it. Anytime they wanted to visit Eddie, Steve seemed to be there. Eventually, someone had to say something about it. And that someone was Gareth. 

“So can we talk about how weird this is?”, Gareth said, in between snacking on chips.

��Look, I get it”, Eddie said. “But if you knew him like I knew him…” He shook his head and smiled. “Harrington’s actually kind of a dork. He’s not…” Eddie was about to say Steve wasn’t like he was in high school, but that wasn’t true. Eddie didn’t truly know Steve back then. It took the end of the world for him to see him as he was. “He’s not what I thought he was. He’s cool. Case in point, he got me this tape recorder”, Eddie gestured to it, sitting on the floor.

“What for?”, Gareth asked.

“Song ideas. One great thing about near death experiences - inspiration”, Eddie grinned. He had felt inspired since he’d awakened. But one of the not-so-great things about near death experiences was losing control over your body, even if it wasn’t permanent. Eddie had been unable to write down his ideas. He couldn’t even doodle. Dustin was the one to bring up recording his voice. But it was Steve that bought it for him.

“Can’t believe you got me this. Wait. Am I dying? Do I only have three months? Oh say it isn’t so, Steve!”

“Yeah, yeah just don’t make me regret it”, Steve rolled his eyes.

Now whenever the feeling struck Eddie, he could record them, whether it was lyrics or a hummed melody. He was slowly regaining his fine motor skills, so it would happen someday. But for now, this helped.

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

Mike, Will, and Dustin started clearing their stuff, packing it away. Eddie blinked, then he looked at the clock and just barely held back a sigh. Visiting hours were just about up.

“You nerds got any plans tonight?”, he asked conversationally. 

“Yeah, we’re having a movie night at Mike’s”, Will said.

Eddie knew who was included when they said ‘we’. Their whole crew usually turned up to these things. And that included Steve. Eddie found himself almost wishing he could go. What was Steve like when he watched movies? It was odd but he wanted to know. He got the next best thing though - talking about it with him the next day.

“Of course, Dustin thinks he could totally beat the Thing”, Steve said, legs crossed, magazine over his lap.

Eddie snorted and rolled his eyes. “Didn’t he raise one of those monsters in his turtle tank?”

“Exactly! Everyone else had to remind him too.”

“Do you think you could figure it out?”, Eddie asked.

“I guessed who it was and was right every time. I’m pretty much an expert on the Thing”, Steve said.

“It’s pretty crazy how it got MacReady so early.”

“....What are you talking about? MacReady wasn’t a Thing.”

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

Doug heard shouting from Eddie’s room and it didn’t raise any alarms until he realized it was Steve Harrington’s voice he was hearing. He picked up the pace and thrust the door open, only to see Steve pacing around Eddie’s bed, gesturing wildly.

“It was Childs! It was goddamn Childs!”

“It got MacReady when he was leaving that message!”, Eddie shouted, arms moving stiffly but still conveying his frustration.

But Doug knew when Eddie was arguing, versus when he was debating. Eddie argued when he felt he was in the right and someone was trying to tell him he was wrong. His temper would rise, his voice would start cracking, and he looked almost mean enough to scare small children. But sometimes Eddie liked to argue for the fun of it. Debating. He’d still get loud, but there was no irritation in his voice. And he smiled. Like he was doing at Steve right now.

Steve looked frustrated but wasn’t backing down. If Doug didn’t know any better, he’d say that Harrington was enjoying himself too. 

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

Eddie wasn’t better, but he was well enough to be discharged at last. Solid foods were no longer off limits. He could stand for short periods of time. And his mobility had improved. And there was also the fact that he’d been cleared of all charges. Eddie had grown sick of that room in all this time. The same plain ceilings, floors, and walls. But now that he was being pushed towards the exit in a wheelchair, he felt nervous.

Wayne put a hand on his shoulder. He knew his uncle could sense his apprehension. If it were anyone else, Eddie would hate how they were able to see right through him. But he knew Wayne would never use it against him.

“Ready to go back out into the world?”

Eddie took a deep breath before nodding. Wayne brought him outside. And there was Steve. Leaning against his uncle’s car. Suddenly the outside world didn’t seem as scary. Eddie tried tamping that feeling down but it won out and bubbled up when Steve saw them and smiled.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“So uh, your uncle asked me to come and take your chair in my car. Said his didn’t have enough room and with your van totaled…”

“Harrington’s moving service, you’ve really diversified.”

“Shut up”, Steve smiled.

Steve took the chair and put it in his car once Eddie was situated in Wayne’s. They took off then, but Eddie was confused to see them pull up to Steve’s house and not the little place Wayne had gotten for his troubles. But Eddie figured it out when he saw a small face (possibly Erica’s) in the corner of a window. She disappeared, presumably to tell the others that they had arrived. It was the best surprise-not-surprise party ever thrown for him. 

The party lasted hours and at times Eddie felt overwhelmed. He didn’t think there were enough people in his life that cared this much. And he certainly never thought police chief Hopper would ever attend a party in his honor. It reminded him that he still had to learn about his part in all of this. Eddie had learned bits and pieces here and there, but it was hard to really string the story together like that. He’d save that for later though. Right now, he could use some air. He asked Wayne to wheel him outside and he sat by the pool. He lit up and was able to get a few drags in before Steve came out to join him.

“Here to lecture me at Buckley’s behest?”, Eddie teased.

“No, I’m here to bum one off you”, Steve said. He pulled up a lawn chair right next to him. Eddie handed a cigarette to Steve, then his lighter. Eddie averted his eyes, pretending to be interested in the treeline. For some reason, watching Steve felt like too much right now.

“God what I would do for some weed”, Steve breathed out.

“You and me both”, Eddie said, bringing the cigarette to his lips. “But Rick’s still in jail. And my stash went through the Earth’s crust.”

“Shit, don’t remind me. I could use the weed for that too.”

“...The memories?”, Eddie ventured to ask.

Steve lied back on the chair, eyes to the sky. “Don’t you wish you could forget? Even just a while?”

“Yeah. Yeah of course I do. Shit the nightmares I get…” Eddie’s hand went to his side. Sometimes he still felt the teeth in him. There were nights where he swore there was a hole that went through his stomach. He’d wake up in a sweat, afraid to touch and find that his hands went all the way through. “Does it ever get easier?”

“I don’t know”, Steve answered honestly. “Never gone that long without the next crisis.”

Eddie didn’t know how to feel. There seemed to be this finality with things but also everyone still seemed on edge. Like it was the end but…was it? Even Eddie felt like that was too good to be true. But the thought of having to deal with this all over again before a full year had even passed… Eddie didn’t want this to happen again in ten years, let alone ten months.

“What if it’s really over?”

Steve blew smoke out of his mouth before replying. “I don’t know.”

Eddie let that hang in the air. Because he didn’t know either. Every single plan, idea, and dream he had back in March seemed like nothing now. 

“Your agenda’s open then. Good”, Eddie nodded.

“Good?”, Steve raised a brow.

“Yeah. It means you can be my manservant now that I’m discharged. It’s gonna be a lot of work, but I think you’re up to it.”

“I don’t come cheap, Munson.”

“Rick’s not my only plug”, Eddie winked.

“Deal.”

Part 3 coming soon

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

They cannot believe this…..

Hannibal and Eugenia are sitting down at the Waiting Room, shocked by what just happened while they are talking, while babysitting and mentoring Staryummy in their care as a form of co-custody, Vinnie whose was playing with his cow plushies at the park, was stab.

Eugenia see Travis coming in the hospital. He has the same expression on his face. He was told from Hannibal to picks up Vinnie’s biological mother, Valerie from work because she has permission to leave work early after learning what happened to her son. Eugenia gets up from her seat to tell him the rest of the story.

“Travis! Thanks goodness you have brought Valerie. Vinnie is in the ICU right now, the doctor have not come to tell us the news.” Said Eugenia.

Travis is grimaced by this news.

“Janaya is inside the police station for questioning,” Hannibal added.

‘What have Enya got to do with this?’ Travis thought as Hannibal gave him information.

“He witnessed what Enya did to Vinnie.” Hannibal explained, looking distraught. “I don’t understand Travis, Vinnie did nothing wrong. I wish I could have stop this.”

Travis frown, feeling sorry for Hannibal comforts him.

“Hannibal man, it is ok. Everything is all right…..” said Travis. But he looks at Hannibal to see the disbelief in his eyes.

~~

The incident occurred in the children’s playground in Townsville, Hannibal is keeping an eyes on Mimi, Bluey, Vinnie, Vanny, May, Ben, Helena, Aurora, and Yumi, Delilah, Meena, Laurel, Poppy, Roxie, Aiden, Jewel, and Gem, playing with other children in the playground. It was a school day, so the other kids, Elizabeth, Uma, Velvet, Viola, Blake, Nash, Marin, Dan, and Max are still in school. However he took a break to listen to Eugenia about Vinnie.

“Vinnie is doing well. His magic is minor and it is not very powerful. He is able to tell the differences between fantasy and reality. So therefore, he won’t harms himself or anyone else,” said Eugenia. “He even learns how to manage his time well in doing his homework and playtime.”

Hannibal is relief to hears from Eugenia that Vinnie is fine. That means Vinnie will be able to live with his biological parents, Valerie and Matthew (if Matthew ever step up) and his siblings, Gregory and their two little sisters again. With Valerie is employed at Chillaxation, after she is released from prison in Lumenia because she was wrongly convicted, they are now going to be fine financially and their life is stabilizing.

This day was normal and relaxing.

Hannibal then shifts his eyes at Janaya, he hadn’t seen the wizard for the past four years. Or is it five years? He doesn’t know. What he do know is that January is seem to be busy right now as he is talking to four Staryummies. Then he notice Janaya’s face turns pale, as if he see something awful, and then Hannibal hears Vinnie’s scream. He turns to see Vinnie letting out an agonizing scream as he felt the stabbed object inside of him. “Oh shit! Enya, what’ve you done?!” Janaya yelled, running towards Enya and Vinnie. “STOP IT! ENYA!”

“Die,” said Enya, continuing to stabbing Vinnie. More witnesses, mostly children start to see what The Fairy of The Blue Fireworks is doing and scream.

Four Staryummies who are with him, scream and dogpiled Janaya, afraid and not wanting to be stabbed by Enya and what will happen to him. “Let go of me!” Janaya groaned. “He’s in danger!”

“DADDY!” Vinnie screamed. Blood coming out of his body from the open wound. Hannibal and Eugenia rush to Vinnie’s aid after seeing Enya stabbing Vinnie. Hannibal bashes Enya in the head while Eugenia throw her fist at Enya’s face. Janaya is free from the staryummies’ grasp, rushed to Vinnie’s side and use first aid and healing magic to stop the bleeding. Enya would be held back by other adults, specifically either parents of young children or Nannies.

"Let go of me!!" Enya shouted, pushing back the people back using her magic, continuing to move towards him. However Eugenia quickly restrain Enya using her mana. Hannibal glares daggers at the unstable fairy. “You’ve done enough damages girl! I will not let you harm Vinnie!” Hannibal yelled at Enya.

“He deserves to die!” said Enya, giving Janaya, Eugenia, and Hannibal the chill.

“WHY?!?” Janaya asked Enya. Enya responded with an emotionless expression on her face.

“He ruined everything!” Enya explained to Janaya, and last thing Hannibal recollected is that the paramedic and the polices arrived and Enya is put into the police car, while he and Vinnie are taken in the ambulance to the hospital. Eugenia takes the kids home and have Dorothy watch over them so she can go to the hospital.

The day was traumatizing and heartbreaking.

~~

“So that what happened, Travis,” said Hannibal.

He cannot believes that Enya attempted to murdered a harmless creature, not to mention a child. Of course that it is someone he knows! Travis decided not to help Hannibal in taking care of fifteen kids. But… he could have done more. Travis stares at Vinnie, lying on the hospital bed, hugging his cow plushies. Valerie, the mother of Vinnie, sobbing. He imagines Vinnie as Keith, lying in bed injured from being attacked. Camp Synonymous is suppose to be a place where people becomes better version of themselves. Heroes of Tomorrow! Not to become…. A monster!

Sandra, Agrippa, and Marianne are not going to like this once the news is released and spread.

“Damn it,” said Travis.

~~

News did travel fast. In Domino, a tower stand strong, confining the corrupted nymph for her crimes. Instead of plotting her revenge, she seems to be at peace.

Marianne is brushing her hair, and look at the news article on her cellphone. Marianne put down her hairbrush. She frowns in disappointment and expected that Enya would do something like that when Enya drove into despair. At the same time stressed, she pressed her forehead and rub the tension. “That brat,” said Marianne. Marianne turns off the electronic device and put it away in her mirror stand. Enya is not her responsibility anymore, so so this is not her problem anymore, so why?

It is true she was stress, but she have herself to blame, and as a result lost everything. Her fiancé and the crown, she will have to works hard to get them back.

Till then, Marianne decides to not let Enya hurt anyone ever again. Because what if Enya use what little royal immunity to have left to get away from all of it? Or theoretically, break the crystal she will be crystallized and escape? She pulled out the cow plushies and with a flick her wrists they glow.

“MOO!” Said the cow plushies.

She must use the magic she has left before her magic inhibitor collar detects negative emotions and inhibits her magic. She generates a portal and send the cow plushies to tracks down Enya and attacks her if she refuse to cooperate. Marianne does love her cousin in all her heart, However, she is not going to let Enya do whatever she wants. She needs to pays for harming an innocent life and trying to destroy an entire family’s life. Her father, Sky is surely have to pay compensation to the family of Vinnie on Enya’s behalf. Enya better pays him back.

Marianne hears the doorknob turn and open. Marianne gets up and turns to face the guard.

“Are you ready for your visiting hour?” The royal guard asked.

Marianne nod. “Yes, I am ready to see my mother and father.”

Marianne walks out of her cell, with the prison guards to meets her parents in the garden.

“Hello mother, father,” Marianne greeted.

“Hello Marianne,” said Thoren, whose is longing to meets his daughter ever since she is confined in dungeon. “How have you been doing?”

“I’m doing fine, thanks you for your concern father.” Marianne answered. “I spent my time in confinement making crochet plushies. Hopefully the ones I made for Enya will show her how much I really feel about her.”

Daphne is confused and suspicious at Marianne. She wonders what her motives are when she brought Enya up. But then again, Marianne must have really regretted what she did to Enya in the past, after being corrupted and becoming Dark Marianne. The darkness, that Darkar added to The Dragon’s Flame, had change Marianne’s frustration, being under appreciated, and love for Enya into hatred toward Enya after all. Marianne look at her mother’s glances at her. She may look unphrase by it, however it is uncomforted as Marianne inhales roughly and quick and exhales when looking at Daphne. “I just want to give them to her as an apology for the way I treated her and an act of forgiveness.”

The prison guard couldn’t help but felt pity internally for the family.

Enya, Mimi, Bluey, Vinnie, Vanny, May, Ben, Helena, Aurora, and Yumi, Delilah, Meena, Laurel, Poppy, Roxie, Aiden, Jewel, and Gem, Elizabeth, Uma, Velvet, Viola, Blake, Nash, Marin, Dan, Max, Valerie, Matthew, and four more unnamed Staryummies belong to @gloriousdreamunknown

Agrippa, Janaya, Hannibal, and Eugenia belong to @froppy-butterflyfan2000 (me)

Travis and Sandra belong to @ej-cappy-universe

Write a piece in which a child gives an account of something they've done or seen.

[expired-vibes]

Taken for Granted

(Jeon Jae-jun x Female Reader | Angst, Betrayal, Breakup)

NOTE: My first request🫣😳😳..

By @dyingofcookies

I tried my best.. Please let me know if you want any changes

Jae-Jun wasn't always like this

Back in high school, he was reckless, cocky, but he loved you in a way that was undeniable.

He waited outside your classroom just to walk you to your next one. He slung an arm around your shoulders in the hallway, flashing you that smug grin. He kissed you in secret corners of the school like he couldn’t get enough of you.

Back then, you were his world.

And for a while, you believed that would never change.But then came Yeon-jin.She had always been lurking, whispering things to Jae-jun that you weren’t meant to hear.

“Y/N is sweet, but don’t you think you can do better?”

At first, he brushed it off. Of course, he could do better—but he didn’t want to. He had you. And that was enough.But the more he listened, the more the words seeped into his mind.

And slowly, he changed.

It wasn’t overnight. It was gradual. Jae-jun started forgetting plans. Ignoring your texts. He stopped saying I love you first, stopped thanking you when you did things for him.

You thought it was just a phase.

That he was just stressed, just distracted. That things would go back to how they were.

But they didn’t.

And the worst part? He never apologized. Not once. Yet, you held on. Because you believed in the version of him that used to love you completely.

Until the day that belief shattered.

You got a call late at night from the police station.

“Miss Y/N? Your boyfriend, Jeon Jae-jun, has been involved in an altercation. We need someone to bail him out.”

Your stomach twisted. By now, you were used to his recklessness. But something felt different. When you arrived, the tension in the air was thick. And then you saw them.

Jae-jun, standing there with a split lip, his knuckles bruised. And across from him—Ha Do-yeong. His tie was loose, jaw bruised, but his eyes were burning with rage.

“What the hell happened?” you asked, stepping forward.

Neither of them spoke.

But then, Do-yeong looked at you. Really looked at you.

His expression softened just slightly, but when he turned back to Jae-jun, his voice was sharp as a blade.

“You should tell her, or I will.”

Your heart pounded. “Tell me what?”

Jae-jun clenched his jaw. “Mind your own damn business, Do-yeong.”

But Do-yeong scoffed. “You think she doesn’t deserve to know? You think she deserves to keep playing the role of the loyal, devoted girlfriend while you’re screwing around with Yeon-jin?”

The world stopped. The air left your lungs. Your ears rang.

Slowly, your gaze shifted to Jae-jun.

“Tell me he’s lying.”

Jae-jun opened his mouth. Closed it.And that silence was your answer. Something inside you broke. Without thinking, you took a shaky step back.

“Baby—” Jae-jun started, reaching for you.

But you flinched away. For the first time, he looked scared. Because, for the first time, he realized he might actually lose you.

You weren’t sure how you got to his penthouse. Everything was a blur—the fight, the betrayal, the way your heart felt like it had been ripped out of your chest.

Jae-jun stood in front of you, hands on his hips, jaw clenched. “It didn’t mean anything,” he muttered.

You let out a hollow laugh. “Oh, that makes it so much better.”

He exhaled sharply. “Yeon-jin—”

“Stop saying her name.” Your voice cracked. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to think about her. I want you to tell me why.”

His eyes flickered. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” You let out a bitter laugh. “You threw away everything—for what? Some cheap thrill? Because Yeon-jin stroked your ego better than I did?”

He ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Then what was it like?” you demanded.

He didn’t answer. And that was when you knew. You never mattered enough.You had always been there.

Waiting. Loving him. Forgiving him.

And he had taken that for granted.

“You never appreciated me,” you whispered, voice shaking.

Jae-jun’s brows furrowed. “That’s not—”

“You never said thank you,” you cut him off. “You never made me feel like I was enough. And I kept waiting—kept hoping you’d see me again.”

His expression faltered. “I do see you.”

“No,” you said softly. “You only noticed me when I stopped chasing you.”

Jae-jun swallowed hard, his hand reaching for yours. “I can fix this.”

You flinched away. And something in his face broke.

“You already ruined it,” you whispered.

He looked desperate now, genuinely afraid. “Baby—”

But it was too late.Tears burned in your eyes, but you refused to cry. Not for him. Not anymore.

“It’s over, Jae-jun.”

His hands clenched into fists. “No—”

But you were already walking away.

And this time, you didn’t look back.

Jae-jun didn’t chase after people.

But that night, as he sat alone in his penthouse, staring at the empty space where you had stood, he realized something too late.

You had never asked for much.

Just love. Just loyalty. Just him.

And now, for the first time, he had lost something he could never replace.

[little-jana]

Hi.

I was wondering if you would write a One Shot with Spencer and a female reader being a recently married couple and Spencer not thinking he wants kids yet. He does want them, but like not right now. But then, near the FBI headquarters, they find an abandoned baby boy, about 3 months old, in a baby carrier. They call the police and keep him with them until social workers arrive, and seeing his wife hold the baby, Spencer starts to change his mind about not wanting kids soon. And a few days later, when social workers tell them the baby, whose name is James, will go into foster care because his birth mom doesn't want him, Spencer and Reader request to become his foster parents.

If you are going to write this, thank you💛.

Oh Yes! Thank you so so so much for this request, I love it!! It's so cute! I love Dad!Spencer!

Coming soon🤭

[memoirofasparklemuff1n]

no body, no crime- r.c. x reader chapter 3- imposter syndrome

summary: three years after your disappearance you return to the outer banks, only with no recollection of your time away. now that you're back, weird things start happening and everyone seems to be hiding secrets. the nightmare is far from over.

warnings: 18+ MDNI not because of this chapter but for the story in general <3

a/n: i had this in my drafts for so long, specifically the text messages that took me forever. my dad has pneumonia so i've been pretty busy along with school this past few weeks. also, my first language isn't english, so sorry for any mistakes. anyway, tyyy to @sematarygirls for inspiring me with gone girl <3

masterlist

i met someone very special today. who? and the whole not belonging bit hit too close to home. i guess feelings never really leave even when memories disappear.

i took a deep breath and decided i had to find a person that fit in this, somehow. kildare is full of secrets and i could feel it, as if on cue my phone buzzed. oh right, somewhere during my hospital stay and coming home my mom had given me one. she said that now that i was back, the police would come and give me back my old belongings. i dreaded it because i knew the amount of questions i would get. i honestly could not for the life of me tell the truth, not yet. especially since my memories weren’t particularly stellar at the moment after the accident. i should probably make a list or something of things i have to do and piece together in order to have my story straight. a to-do list of things to investigate before it was too late.

i shook my head and sighed. i held the journal in my hands and stared at the wall. im in danger, that much i know. the doctor had said i was found by a passerby unconscious in a car accident. i was then taken to the hospital and the police began to investigate my possible identity. they apparently ran the license plates and contacted the owner who had reported the car missing three months before. my mother then told me that by the state i was, it was obvious i could not be questioned. thus, the police then notified all of the other departments to see if they were looking for someone with my description because it was standard procedure to check for missing people, you guessed it, they hit the jackpot. y/n gilbert. and the rest i honestly, didn’t want to hear because i knew the police would explain everything when they would question me so for now i just have to find out how to protect myself and my family. i needed to be star. but i barely know her, so i have to get to know her me so i can be safe.

my phone buzzed again, pulling me out of my thoughts. i unlocked it, seeing sarah had texted me.

i smiled to myself when i saw the group chat:

i threw my phone as far away from me as possible. they saved a seat for star me. as if she i were dead and in a way she i was. that girl was never coming back. i heard it buzzing for a bit and i read silently as they wrote. i laughed when i saw what they were going on about:

after it went silent i decided to just turn it off for the night. i was exhausted honestly, the day had been overwhelming and the journal didn’t help at all.

i stood up from the floor and pushed the mattress onto the bed frame. god, it was heavy. i put the bedding as close to how it had been and plopped down on the bed, this time no hard lump sticking into my spine. i looked at the journal on the nightstand, wondering why it was stitched that way so no one could find it. sure, journals are private and we don’t want people to find them but to this extreme? it didn’t make any sense, unless there wasn’t reason to keep writing.

i then took it and hid it under my pillow just in case. it was my only hope of ever getting to stay here as the old y/n.

the breakfast at the country club was amazing, the people not so much. my mom had woken eleanor and i for a much needed “girl time.” and i know she meant well but all i wanted to do was to lie in bed and think. i needed to remember what happened in the accident and the years before that. even the night i went missing was blurry so right now i am in the dark . my mind was spiraling mainly because the police were going to interview me tomorrow and i had to get my story straight. i didn’t want them to discredit me, or worse, close the case. ugh, stupid concussion. what do you mean it could be months before i got my fragmented memories back? if they ever did. i had to start investigating and for that i had to be home reading every single page of that journal. i also had to search my entire bedroom for clues. who knows how many things the police missed. i’m sure they believed i was a runaway but still conducted an investigation for the sake of my family.

“elaine?” a male voice interrupted my thoughts and when i glanced up i was met with a pair of icy blue eyes, a beard and a too bright smile to be genuine. i knew he was faking the surprise, the entire club was staring at us the moment we got out of the car.

“oh hello, ward. how are you? your daughters were at my house yesterday.” my mom smiled but hers seemed genuine.

“yes, they told me. sarah was particularly excited because of y/n,” he looked at me with the same faux warmth of his. hypocrite.

i smiled reluctantly at him, earning a nod in acknowledgment.

“yes, they were very emotional. it was a bittersweet moment, but i think more sweet than bitter.” my mom looked at me and grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

ward proceeded with his script, which i’m sure he’d prepared beforehand to make himself look good.

“i wanted to tell you y/n, that whoever was responsible for your disappearance will face the consequences. i personally will make sure of it. you’ve always been a dear friend of sarah’s and eleanor of wheezie’s. you’re family and that is the least i can do.”

eleanor smiled but kept eating quietly, obviously uninterested in the conversation. i was beginning to notice that the constant vigilance from the other club members was pissing her off. that makes two of us.

my mother though, looked at ward as if he’d just told her he discovered the cure for cancer. she was so blind sometimes. “thank you so much, ward. i truly appreciate it and my family as well.”

“of course, elaine. well, i’ll leave you girls alone now. y/n, it’s good to have you back.” he gave me a knowing look and left the same way he’d come from. asshole.

the thing about ward cameron was that he was power hungry and his way of gaining said power was by being “helpful” when in reality those favors always had a price.

“that man is one of the best things to ever happen to outer banks. so kind and willing to help. pity that his son isn’t the same way.”

“what do you mean?” i knew rafe from a distance, mainly through sarah, sometimes seeing his extreme partying lifestyle with her ex boyfriend, topper. somehow where sarah was sweet but sometimes bitchy, rafe was a complete asshole. so i don’t know why my mother’s remark surprised me. well, maybe because he would do anything to get his father’s approval however he could.

“well, don’t repeat this to anyone ok?” she waited until i nodded and then waited for eleanor to do the same. when she did, my mom started gossiping eagerly.

“rafe was arrested for selling drugs and possession of a firearm about a year ago. but nobody found out because ward allegedly asked for it to not go public. if it had been anybody else i’m sure they wouldn’t have done it, but since ward has always been such an active member of the community they took pity on him.” oh mother, how innocent. eleanor and i shared a look that told me she was thinking the same thing.

“mom shh!” eleanor’s eyes widened. “he’s going to pass by us i think.” i looked down and my mom immediately pretended to be talking of her newest vase collection while el and i were suddenly very interested in our food.

i was staring down at my plate when a familiar voice interrupted our conversation.

“hello, mrs. gilbert. i’m very sorry to interrupt, it’s just that my father wanted me to give you this in regards to the project being done with cameron development. he was going to pass later by your home but since he found you here, he asked me to deliver them.” rafe was different somehow. he looked older and stronger. i mean three years had passed since i last saw him but the difference was abysmal. he was healthy, physically at least. his hair that had been styled to the side with gel, was now buzzed short. and despite all of those apparent changes, his attitude was just the same. he ignored my sister and i as if we were children imposing on an adult conversation. the cameron men were horrid, which always made me wonder where wheezie and sarah got all their goodness. el and i shared a glance that told me our thoughts were one and the same.

“thank you, rafe. i’ll notify ward as soon as my husband and i review them.” my mother smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. rafe smiled back and excused himself without sparing us a glance.

i raised my eyebrows slightly while lifting my orange juice to my lips and eleanor said what we’d all been thinking, “jerk.” i spit out the juice laughing, splashing my mom, making eleanor burst out cackling at our mothers expression only for her to join in. we were giggled for a while and i suspected it was a release of years of tension and not at el’s comment.

the shared moment made the rest of the gathering comfortable and the tension was long gone. when we finally returned home, i went straight to my bedroom and lied on bed.

maybe being here wasn’t so bad. i lifted my head and checked my phone for any new messages but none from anybody i was expecting.

my heart dropped as i looked at my screen in utter fear and disbelief.

FINALLY I COULD DO THIS

if you made it this far, thank you!!!! i love seeing people read my silly thoughts. and let me know theories and thoughts. i even accept constructive criticism, i really don't mind.

i know rafe's appearance was short but BEAR WITH ME. the poor reader is traumatized lmaoo plus i want him to be a jerk at first (she won't know what hit her)

anyway, the flashback is almost done. i know i had said chapter 3 was going to be a flashback but i got stumped, i'm sorry.

butttt i now know what i will do <3

i love you all xx

dividers by: @yeossemble

[idle-teen28]

A QUESTION TO THE WİLLİAM AFTON GİRLİES (both movie and game girlies but especially the movie girlies) : if u find out that steve raglan (/dave miller) is actually william afton, who had a family before meeting u, owned a pizzeria that was big in the 80s and killed 7-8 kids and a few adults who are security guards with a cold blood, and you guys are dating

What will you do?

Srsly imagine that actually happened in real life, you never saw matt lillard ever in ur life or never played the games and then u met this guy, thinking u know him, but then you find out the truth behind that man, What. Will. You. Do?

İ repeat again : you find out, he doesn't tell you and probably will not

[moeblob]

Right and his work menaces (Brent and Karen).

I don't remember last I mentioned it but apart from crude nicknames to people (except Chris), he also just puts them in his phone really weird (except Chris, who is literally in his phone as Chris). And I bring this up because in Right's phone, Karen is saved as "Lawful Obligation".

[weirdo-from-bonesborough]

I prefer “Mary and John were normal people” so so so SO much more, however,

Time traveling Dick Grayson: I kinda… don’t join the family business? I mean I still use everything you taught me! Just for vigilantism instead?

Mary: I’m… not sure I’m surprised or not

Dick: really?

Mary: well… you always did love Robin Hood. I should have known you would try your hand at the whole “steal from the rich, give to the poor thing.” I mean, you are my son after all.

Dick: um.

Mary: you stick it to the man. Right, Dick?

Dick: uhh well you see-

John: it’s okay sweetheart, we support you as long as you’re happy, right dear?

Mary: oh of course I am! I would still love you even if you became… oh I don’t know what, John help me out

John: a walking corpse enslaved to the bourgeoisie whom’s every emotion and individuality has been torn away leaving nothing but a shell who knows only violence and obedience

Mary: right- what?

Dick: yeah I’ve been meaning to ask-

John: -about Aunt Harriet? Because I’ve been wanting to ask about what Aunt Harriet’s been up to!

[beanghostprincess]

I have seen a wild amount of people complaining about the context of Wind Breaker and how "unrealistic" it is for the characters to go to school but without any teachers or adults being shown or protecting them and... First of all, realism is not what you're going to find reading a Shonen and if you want a full-on high school experience, read another manga. It is very common to skip those details as a writer because they are not interesting in the slightest and they have confirmed multiple times that all of their grades are awful, so you won't get a silly little arc about them studying, because they directly don't. To say it is "unrealistic" is to ask for boring, pointless, plotless occurrences in a Shonen manga about fighting. Are people even hearing themselves when they complain?

But it's not only from a writer's perspective skipping what's unimportant that justifies the lack of teachers and responsible adults, but the plot itself. At first, it is confusing, but I think you only have to look a bit deeper into the cultural context of the story to understand why there aren't teachers/adults shown.

I'm around chapter 100, so I am not sure this gets explained further in the manga, but my theory as to why they behave this way is pretty simple, honestly: They are poor and in ruins, and adults with the power to change things do not care about them. Easy as that.

Whether it is real or just an exaggeration of what's actually going on, it has been shown countless times (especially in Umemiya's backstory, explaining directly how authorities don't care about the kids or anybody, really) that the whole city is made for outcasts and left to rot by the government. It is not some apocalyptic bullshit, it is stuff that happens every goddamn day in real life. They go to school but they aren't shown studying and the place itself is a mess. We only see Umemiya running the school but it is confirmed that there's staff and somebody grading them somehow, despite never being shown studying or doing anything other than patrolling. But they have shown us that the city used to be extremely problematic and chaotic and only recently have things started to change for the better. Most villains and even main characters are orphans and live on their own. There's a whole arc about a group of kids being left to rot in poverty without any means to study or live a normal life. Even our main character lives on his own in a horrendous apartment. Like--

I believe you have to be blind to not see that, if this isn't just literally some people turning their backs against poor kids in a place in ruins, it is at least an exaggeration of these things happening in real life. Because they could have classes and teachers and everything you want in the manga to make it more realistic, but this is, after all, from the perspective of teenagers who can't rely on anybody but themselves. There's only so much a teacher can do, and we know most of them do nothing for these kids. So if it is "unrealistic" perhaps you aren't aware of what damn hyperboles and metaphors are, but this is from the students' points of view, and when you live in a place like this, it doesn't matter how many teachers there are or police, because they won't help. So they are directly erased from the story to be replaced with Sakura's point of view of Umemiya running the whole place.

So I think that instead of looking for realistic interpretations of their high school experience, perhaps you should empathize a little with the actual real high school experiences of people like them.

[hoodienanami]

since were living in this new age of understanding when it comes to how becoming famous (especially tabloid famous/infamous) at a young age negatively effects your mental health and psychological development i think its time that ppl start reevaluating how they talk about the sex pistols

[acewithapaintbrush]

I hate being an anxious "always waiting for the other shoe to drop, always considering the worst case scenario" type of person cause that means even though I didn't give the guy in front of my door who was claiming to be my gas provider any signature or infos that he didn't already have and even though I won't know if it was a scammer before I can call the provider tomorrow I am now convinced that I'll be robbed blind tomorrow and a complete emotional mess

[dogs-in-a-trenchcoat]

Can't believe I'm still stumbling across exclus in fuckin 2023 im so tired.

[dragon-swords-prophecies]

hello!!! i am sorry you've had a hard time of it but welcome back!!! i am queer and i write fantasy with queer characters and i am also decently active/friendly, so hi! i'm copper and i write fantasy stuff! these days its mostly steampunk, in the past it was more of a high fantasy situation and who knows it might be again someday.

my main wip is called herald at dawn, its a steampunk fantasy murder mystery set in a made up city called volimere. I made a new intro for it literally yesterday, its got most of the details if you want to read it (link), but here's the basic stuff (plus extra, i like talking about it) (cut here for the sake of people's dashes):

there are so, so many queer characters. there are also a large amount of murders, but its a murder mystery so that's to be expected. I'm just going to copy & paste the synopsis from the wip intro, because I think that explains it decently well:

11 years ago a woman named Marisol Ekker was murdered by the wife of her son’s father, Evelyn Belmont. Despite all evidence, Evelyn Belmont was acquitted and faced no punishment. Nearly a decade later, investigative reporter Alexandrina McLelland approached Marisol Ekker’s son, Nathaniel Ekker–who was 12 at the time of her death–, to write an article about the corruption in the case. It is published in The Clockwork Herald, the newspaper where Alexandrina works, and exposes the dirty laundry of one of the city’s wealthiest families, the Belmonts. Soon after a string of murders begins. At first suspicions point to someone entirely unconnected with the Ekker trial or Alexandrina’s article, but as the pressure mounts (and the danger gets much closer to home), it becomes clear that the article and the deaths are far more connected than anyone initially thought.

so yeah! the loose gist of the plot is that there was a murder trial 11 years ago, in which a woman named Evelyn Belmont was accused and then acquitted of murdering another woman named Marisol Ekker, who had previously worked for Evelyn Belmont & her husband.

The important context here is that belmonts = Very Rich (like absurdly rich. geoffery belomont (evelyn's husband) spent thousands of dollars on bribing a judge). marisol ekker = Not Rich At All. she had a kid, as the result of an affair with mr belmont. evelyn belmont objected to this, and once she found out who the affair was with went and killed the poor woman. very violently, and very obviously.

everybody, and i mean everybody knew it was evelyn belmont who did the killing. however, the rich and powerful will be the rich and powerful, and her husband bribed the judge, and she got off the murder charge no worse for the wear.

the other important context here is that marisol ekker's son did not die, and he is alive, and his name is nathaniel. it has now been 11 years and he is mostly an adult. he agreed to do an article with an investigative reporter of some renown, alexandrina mclelland, so that the corruption in the case can get exposed and the belmonts' reputation can get trashed

(alexandrina is bent on exposing injustices and corruption. she has spent her entire career (10+ years) doing exactly that, and her boss/friends are very supportive of that)

this is where her boss/friends come in, actually! there are three very relevant ones, and several other less relevant at this moment ones.

JAMES BLAKELY (he/him), alexandrina's boss/coworker (the editor of the clockwork herald for the last 10 years, has worked there for the last ~15) & good friend. 32, worries too much, and cares about loyalty. leo's partner.

LEÓN RIVERA (he/him), alexandrina's coworker (does politics, ex-court reporter, covered the ekker trial 11 years ago) & good friend. 33, has a really terrible time in chapter 10, and a burning hatred for certain members of the government. james' partner & nathaniel's mentor (mostly).

ARTHUR HALL (he/him), alexandrina's rival (reporter at another paper) & sometimes friend. 30, loves his wife a whole lot, and is determined to have a better work-life boundary than anyone else he knows (this is not a particularly difficult task on the surface, but the problem is when you make politicians mad they will then try to make you have a horrible day)

oh, and since I should probably introduce alexandrina properly:

ALEXANDRINA MCLELLAND (she/her), investigative reporter (covers lots of things, but focuses on bringing justice to people and exposing corruption). 31, has issues with her father, and a strong sense of justice & a weak sense of self preservation. the only thing keeping her alive is luck and the fact that it looks really suspicious if the person who wrote an article exposing your crimes turns up dead a day after the article is published.

there are a lot of other things, but i've just realized how long this is and i know you said to be self indulgent but i don't want to make this four million words (also it is very late and i must go to bed), so the rest of the story goes:

article is published -> city goes fucking wild, the belmonts panic, nathaniel has a terrible day but not as bad as leo's in chapter 10 -> judge robert brown (asshole) is pushed out off a balcony by an unknown party and in the chaos everyone forgets about the article -> drama, suspicions, etc -> a second person, grayson atkinson (court stenographer) is pushed out of a window and dies -> further panic and suspicions, accusations are thrown around -> chapter 10 (leo gets pushed down a flight of stairs and very nearly dies). -> realizations! accusations! discoveries! etc! -> The ✨ Reveal ✨ -> trial of the murderer, wrapup, nathaniel gets a little bit of closure and leo is happily not dead.

it's fun! i like it a lot. ships wise, there's not many but there is leo & james (who have been together for a while); these two side characters who are amazing and i love them (nathaniel's aunts; airship captain blake sparks and her wife, gwendolyn sparks. they're the best); and the thing involving alexandrina's father (donovan), his best friend (ronald wilks), and donovan's wife/alexandrina's mother (mary gates), but uh the thing with that is donovan's dead

the only other important thing is that the murderer learned how to murder from radio dramas, and thinks she's soooooooo smart (she isn't, she's a fucking idiot). however, crucial to the learning to murder from radio dramas:

she has a murdering outfit. an outfit she uses specifically to murder people, and nothing else. (she thinks this is crucial to being able to murder people. well no, she thinks to murder people you have to be wearing a black trenchcoat otherwise it won't work and you'll get caught, and she thinks the trenchcoat is too ugly on its own so she must have ✨ accessories ✨ )

said accessories are: black dress that goes underneath the trenchcoat, black gloves, black boots (though that doesn't make her special since literally everyone is wearing black boots), and a dramatic sweeping black hat with a matching (black) feather plume.

me and my friend came up with it in a discord chat and I think it's the best thing ever

writers, listen up...

i've fallen out of touch with the writeblr community a lot in the past few years, and i want to rectify that. the community aspect was what made me fall in love with tumblr, and what improved my writing for the better.

the golden days of my writing were when i was highly active and engaged in this wonderful community, but life and work and the horrors of self publishing have overtaken my energy in the past year. however, i have been really struggling with original writing, and i want to get back into the community here.

that said...

you write fantasy with queer characters

are an indie author

post frequently about your wips (taglists are a bonus!)

are queer

are a very active and friendly writer

if any of these apply

please, please reblog and tell me about your wip. gush over it. infodump. characters and ships and worldbuilding and plot, i want it all! this is your invitation to be as selfishly indulgent as possible. let's make some new friends and restore some community!!

boosts appreciated!

[walking-loather]

"is anyone actually vers?" Idk maybe you can't be but I'm built different