#Those darn brothers are making this hard!

[respectthepetty]

Hii. Have you written anything about colours in step by step? I'd really be interested in reading about it!

I'm trying to be quiet about the colors since I think Step by Step is going to go the way of My Love Mix-Up and Blueming where the colors evolve and become apparent once the characters are openly in love, so I've written the following posts:

Characters' colors

First impressions (episode 1, brief)

Episode 7 color collection

Jeng lost in Pat's blue (episode 8, brief)

I only feel strongly about Jane/Jen being a Pink Person and Pat being a Blue Boy though.

Jeng and Jaab are up in the air because I thought the brothers were Red Rascals, but I think they might actually be Black Brooders (which hurts me!)

And I thought Chot might be a Yellow/Orange Oddity

But he's a Denim Girl

[nisuna]

NOOOO I LOST THE ASK ABOUT GOJO X GETO'S LITTLE SISTER 😭😭😭

So I'll just post it like this I'm so sorry to that person

The gist of it was that you got caught watching him shower and got fucked hard<3

But anyway, HALF of you voted for this one on my poll so here you go, hope you enjoy!!

Thank you for your take!!<3

~drabble~ 18+ MDNI

<3masterlist<3

TW: brief eating out, mating press, doggy, Satoru's very cocky and mean but oddly nice in the end, breathplay, choking, hair pulling, spanking, slut calling, used whore once

You didn't mean to look. You really didn't mean to, but when you saw the bathroom door slightly ajar and heard his humming you had a moment of weakness. And you felt your thighs squish together once you took a peek inside. Darn. There he was, naked and in all of his glory. You saw the water droplets run down the dips of his trained back, god, has he always been this ripped? Your eyes trailed down to his ass...cute, you thought to yourself. Then your eyes wandered to his strong legs and as soon as you heard a groan your heart stopped. Your eyes shot up only to see him stretch his arms above his head. You sighed in relieve and totally missed the way the white haired man in front of you shot you a glance with a smirk. He'll indulge you for now. When you looked up again, he was back to flexing his huge arms. Big palms and thick fingers were massaging the shampoo in his hair. You felt your mouth go dry.

Even though Satoru was slimmer than your brother he was a bit taller, but right now he just looked so incredibly big in every sense of the word. For as long as you could remember he always towered over you. He used to tease you about it, but now you didn't feel annoyed at the height difference anymore. No, you felt weak. As your thoughts kept wandering you wished that he would turn around so you could catch a glance of his toned chest and hard abs, maybe even his-

You froze when you heard his voice, "Are you just going to stand there or will you join me?"

Huh?... What? was all you could think, when you tried to hide behind the doorframe.

"C'mon what wrong? You look likea deer caught in headlight. You didn't think I saw you staring this whole time? I even put on a show for you. Didn't you like it?", you heard foot steps come your way and as you were about to run away a naked Satoru wearing a towel, that hung so dangerously low on hips you could see his happy trail peeking out, stood in front of you grinning. "I think your face is telling me you ate that right up."

Gulp.

"Oh no I didn't see anything I just came here and was about to leave haha sorry," you lied, completely avoiding eye contact. Just as you were slowly backing away from him he grabbed your wrist keeping you in place, "Oohh-tto, hold up where ya goin', pretty girl. Can't blame ya for staring, hmm? So dirty watching your brother's best friend shower..", he mumbled pulling you closer.

"I said I'm sorry please-", he muffled your sentence with pressing his lips against yours, making you squirm in his grasp. You pulled away with a gasp.

"Satoru, what are you-?"

"I'm giving you exactly what you want. Don't lie to me. How long have you had a crush on me hm?

"Stop, It's not what you-"

Putting his other arm around your waist he pulled you into his damp body. "Then why are you blushing so hard right now~ Also, don't you think it's unfair?

what?

"You saw me naked, now's my turn.~"

-

"You're so sensitive, baby", he said between licks, curling his fingers inside your dripping cunt. "You sure you're not a virgin?"

"Mhh, stop.. I've had boys before, okay, just shut up and-"

"Those boys ever make ya cum?"

Your silence spoke volumes.

He pulled away from between your legs with a sigh, pity in his big blue eyes, "Don't worry, I'll show you how real men fuck. Fuck those boys."

Fuck those boys indeed.

Before you knew it you were on your back, legs pressed against your chest as you watched Satoru bottom out in your pussy.

"Shit- you're so tight. Baby relax, you're gonna snap my dick off if you don't."

"Can't- can't help it, you're so big, fuck.. feels good."

"Yeah? Like getting your cunt stuffed by your brother's best friend, hm?"

All you could do was whine at his words as he started moving his hips against yours. With every hit of his tip against the spongy spot inside of you your moans and mewls of his name grew in volume.

"Shh not so loud", he shushed you with his palm over your mouth, "We wouldn't want your brother finding out his little sister's being such a slut right now, yeah? Or that you were caught oogling me while showering? Hmm, want your brother to see you like this, you'd get off on that, wouldn't you? Fucking whore. He'll definitely notice if you keep being that loud."

"Noo.. don't say that please, mmhh I'm trying my best it just ah- feels so good. I'll try to be quiet it's just so hard I can't.", you whined, tears collecting at the corners of your eyes from his harsh words, as you tried to hold your legs up with shaking hands.

"I think I can help you out with that.", he whispered as he wrapped his long fingers around your neck, momentarily cutting off your airflow, which made you squeal. Eyes blown wide open.

Your panicked expression made him loosen his grip. "Shh, don't worry. I'll try to be gentle. I'll make you feel reaaal good.", with that he picked up his pace alternating between letting you breathe and choking you. He felt you gush at each squeeze of his hand. "You're so messy for me. You like being choked? You feelin' good? I'll make ya feel even better. C'mon on, all fours."

After a particularly hard squeeze he let go of your neck and pulled out of you. You sucked in a deep breath as you got up, sticking your ass out.

"Oh fuck, such a nice view. Prettiest pussy I've ever seen. And that ass, shit." He made you yelp as he spanked your ass, hard.

You were about to speak up, only to get interrupted by another mean spank, while he pushed his cock back inside your cunt. It made you arch your back impossibly more while you burried your head in the pillows below you, letting out pathetic moans.

"That's right, keep that pretty mouth shut and enjoy.", he slurred while holding your hips in place, stuffing you to the brim. He kept his relentless pace, spanking you from time to time, which only made you sob and squirm.

"You're so mean to me...", you whined into the pillows.

He felt his heart drop a bit. Oh no, did he overdo it?

His harsh thrusts turned into sensual rolls of his hips, "Shh 'm sorry baby. Cmon, I'll make it up to ya. I'll even play with your pretty little clit. See? All better now, huh?", he mused.

As he leaned forward to push his thick fingers onto your puffy clit all of your sadness faded, replaced by pure bliss. The mewls you let out made him grin.

"See, all better now hm? I'll make ya cum so hard, you'll never find someone better."

So cocky.. gaaah, but he does it so well. You'll let it slide this once.

"Ah- mmh yeah like that please~", you cried

Your words made him pick up his speed again, "Good girl. Gonna fuck you good. I got you." he slurred while kissing your back which only made your arch deeper as you squeezed him tight.

"God, you're gonna be the death of me. You're so tight and tiny down there, it's coiling around me nicely."

The way he was talking to you made you whine as you felt yourself getting close.

"'Toruu so good oh god-"

"Yeah? 'm I the best you ever had?", he questioned, cruelly slowing his fingers to get an answer out of you.

So annoying, but you indulged him. You'll say anything to cum on his cock right now.

"Yeah you're so good, the best. Only want you please, please make me cum. Need it so bad Toruuuu~"

His fingers went back to rubbing thick circles into your clit as he groaned, "Oh fuck, can't say no to you. Okay then, cum round my cock. Make a mess of me, pretty."

As soon as he uttered those words you let out a drawn out mewl, creaming around him, squeezing so tight he almost chocked on a breath

"Yeah thats a good girl, so good for me.", he praised you trough your high as your tongue lolled out and your eyes rolled in the back of your head.

Thank yous spilled out of your mouth, while he rubbed you into overstimulation. Just as you thought you couldn't take it anymore, he moved his hand from your clit to your hair, pulling your back flush against his chest

"'M gonna cum inside yeah? You're gonna take it all right?"

"YEAH PLEASE FILL ME UP SATORU!!"

"Shit", he thought to himself and with a few more thrusts he filled you up, cum already dripping down your leg.

When he pulled out, you fully expected him to just leave you there. But to your surprise he pulled you in a tight embrace, kissing the top of your head.

"You did so well. I hope I wasn't too harsh.", his voice sounded gentle and genuine.

Whoa..

"No, it's fine.. it was really hot actually. Thank you."

"Hehe", he grinned, squeezing you tight. "I know right, I'm the best."

You jabbed him in the ribs. "Don't get too cocky, you only made me cum once so far."

"Sorry, sorry can't help it if it's you." he laughed, nuzzling his nose into the crook of your neck. "Is that a challenge? Wanna see how many times I can make ya cum, no problem-"

"Y/N? Satoruuu~?", you both felt a chill run down your spines.

oh fuck.

"I hope to god you weren't just doing what I think you were~~", your brother mused.

Oh you were so dead. Both of you.

----

Feel free to send me your Hot Takes as well ^^

[cheezeybread]

ahhhhh— those hcs for octavinelle with the teasing s/o are so darn cute! it’s okay if i ask for a scenario like the one from when we first met the twins (when we are looking for students who could be harmed in that game) and floyd is just going to squeeze the s/o but instead of backing away like the heartlsabyul boys, the s/o actually leans in and hug him back with a smile because that’s how people greet each other where they came from? and floyd just stands there like: “wait… you were supposed to run so i could chase ya!”

i’m from a latin country and here we always greet or say bye to each other with hugs/kisses and we are just that clingy lmao

Heck yeah, I gotchu! ^^

Sort of ooc Floyd?? I have a headache rn so it's hard to write XD sorrrrryyyyyyyy

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"Yo, yo, yo, what is UP, little goldfishie!" One of the twins yelled out with a giant smile on his face. It would have been a goofy look on anybody else, but those giant razor-sharp teeth made you think twice- and wait, was that a second pair of teeth deeper in his mouth??

Knowing that the whole group was caught, you all moved to be in the full sight of the twins, Ace and Deuce muttering something amongst themselves about how creepy the two were, while Riddle was attempting to firmly chastise the one who called out to him about using silly nicknames. The stern voice Riddle used was apparently not working on the twin, seeing as how he just kept on with that huge smile, his eyes wide.

"But you're so small and red, how are you not a goldfish?" The twin was saying with a laugh- from what you could overhear from Cater, this one was Floyd, which made the quieter one...Jade, was it?

Grim tugged at your sleeve, pulling you down a little closer to his level as he conspiratorially whispered to you "This guy seems like he's a few cans short of a tuna casserole-"

Unfortunately, his voice brought made Floyd aware of his presence, as the eel jerked his head to the side to stare at the direbeast with a crazed look "A talking cat? Now THAT'S something you don't see every day! Can I squeeze you 'til you pop?"

Grim looked panicked, and hid behind your leg....as if you would be much protection, as a magic-less human. Thanks, so-called buddy. "Uh, no? Stay away from me, weirdo!"

Floyd didn't seem too disappointed, instead turning his attention onto you. Behind his looming form, you could just barely make out his brother talking to the others in the group with a cold look "Ain't you that no-magic shrimp that crashed orientation?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Uh, yep. That's, uhm, that's me," You said, mustering up a smile "Shrimp?"

"That's what you are, ain'tcha?" Floyd cackled like a maniac, closing the distance between you two with one stride of his long legs. His arms reached out menacingly, his hands almost looking like claws as he wrapped his arms around you, picking you up off the ground with no trouble at all "Awwww, lookit, Jade, I got me a little shrimpy!"

Instead of running away, like Grim did, you managed to wiggle your arms out of his grip enough to return the hug- that was what this was, after all? It was almost an instinctual reaction, muscle memory from your own world. Physical contact was normal, expected, even. It was how people showed their love for one another, their respect, and even greeted. That's what Floyd was doing now, wasn't it?

Granted, he was holding you so tight that some of your joints popped, but maybe he was just a little overeager.

"Oh- aw, what?!" The twin cried out, setting you down quickly. He gave you a confused look, an eyebrow raised as he stared you down "You're supposed to wriggle away and run! That's half the fun!"

Now you were confused. Wasn't that a greeting-hug, or was he just someone who liked to chase people down with threats of affection?? You made a mental note to ask one of the Sophmores later.

"I thought you just wanted a hug!" You said out loud, sounding just as confused as he was.

Floyd looked back at Jade to get his reaction, but Jade was too busy making threats to notice. So he turned back around towards you and Grim and frowned "You were supposed to run so I could chase ya!"

"...My bad...?" You said slowly, raising a hand up in a surrendering manner "You want to try again? I'll run this time, I swear."

He thought to himself for a moment before shaking his head "Nah, that takes the fun out of it if you're expecting it. Next time I'll getcha, I will! You just wait and see! You'll be so terrified of getting squeezed till ya pop that you run away screamin'!"

"I'll do my best," You promised.

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[listofwhyyouloveher]

can you do one with the greasers with a rly sporty reader that gets injured and can play for like a year?? thank you!! 💕

Summary: The Outsiders react to Sporty!Reader getting injured! Warnings: Mentions of injuries Author's Note: None PONYBOY CURTIS Ponyboy runs track, he knows how stressful it to be a person who does sports in the first place but he also knows how stressful it is to get an injury. He was there when it happened, you pulled a muscle really bad while running, nearly collapsing when it happened. You still got up and competed in your sport but you were wiped by the end of it. He was at your side the moment he could, water bottle and ice-pack in hand. You were being assessed by a physical trainer when they said that it would heal quickly, but you needed to spend a long time in PT and out of sports. Of course that bummed you out but Ponyboy started to tell you about he would do the PT with you, make it more fun for you. Overall just being a supportive boyfriend. JOHNNY CADE Johnny is not a sporty person, he doesn't do anything for school in that regard, but he does like playing football with the Curtis brothers and Darry says that he's pretty darn good. So when he accidentally tackles you a little rougher than anticipated, it's only natural that you get a little roughed up, but nobody was expecting this level. You had somehow broken your arm.

While you were busy holding back tears and Darry was calling the ambulance, he was wrapping your arm up in a crude sling. He kept apologizing and you consoled him, telling him you wanted a break from sports anyways. SODAPOP CURTIS The only thing that Sodapop does that's 'sporty' is those damn backflips before the rumbles and, of course, the rumbles themselves. So he's never had to deal with an injury except maybe a black eye. When he watched your ankle roll in a way that no one could presume was good during your match he cringed sooo hard. He was immediately by your side, holding your hand when your coach told you it was time to take a small break from sports. Now he just plays small games of football in his yard with you, making sure to be gentle with you since your injury but still pushing you to keep up. STEVE RANDLE I can see Steve actually playing sports, especially when he was younger. Like maybe peewee baseball or field hockey, nothing too much though. His heart nearly stopped when he saw you tumble because of something wrong with your leg. He sat there a little bit, trying to assess the situation before running over to you like everybody else. He's in utter shock, holding your hand, asking if you're alright, which you nod. Once he gets confirmation that you're ok, he just shuts up. Every once and a while he'll stroke your hair especially when you get the news you can't play till a long time. TWO BIT MATHEWS Two Bit def plays baseball, just for fun on the side but he likes it a lot actually. He's sporty, just not active, so he's never been injured by a sport or anything. However, he does come to all of your games and watches with a little cheap liquor in his flask. He nearly throws up when he sees you get injured, its not pretty. He doesn't know what to do so he just stands there, waiting for the people who do know what they're doing to give him the news/what's going on. When he learns that you'll probably be out for the rest of the season he offers to play baseball with you, so you won't lose your touch while recovering. DARRY CURTIS Darry is a massive sports nerd. He played football, he was a pretty darn good player too, and he watches all the sports channels and reruns he can get his hands on. That's why he really likes coming to your game and watching you practice, it's nostalgic and also he can sometimes give you pointers. He's HORRIFIED, when you get injured. He's rushing over, already knowledgable in some physical therapy, helping you as best as he can, trying to make you comfortable. Whispering to you that he'll train you to be back on the field quicker than when the coach says you can. DALLAS WINSTON Dallas is not fit at all. Despite his skinny nature, which is really just because he can't always eat and he's so addicted to cigarettes it would scare a junkie, he's so bad at any sport. He gets out of breath really easily and can't follow a simple game like baseball. He's rather jealous of you actually, since he always wanted to be a sporty person when he was a child, although he'd never EVER say it to you. He's very nonchalant about your injury, it doesn't affect him so why should it matter? that's his mindset, but if you ask his to run drills with you so you can stay in shape, he acts like he doesn't want to but he ends up doing it anyways. (He secretly loves doing this because of his childhood dream)

[poeticamethyst]

Cobra Kai Kiaz moments that I noticed in season 6 part 2 : im a little sleepy now so this list may be updated and quoted later but anyways you have been warned that this is a spoiler post

Within the first five minutes Miguel clearly wanted to share a room with Robby. Not to mention that look he gave him when he came out of the shower later on. 🤭🌚

Miguel notices Robby leaving the hotel room, paying special attention to him- as if he wasn’t already when he kept calling Robby’s name as the bet was being made with Kwon beforehand.

Miguel “shows how it’s done” in the tournament but really I think it was to impress Robby and motivate him, not to try and show he’s “better” then Robby- especially with that leadership pep talk he gave him which is a whole other moment that proves my point- “you not being a leader is bullshit”

Miguel STOOD UP TO JOHNNY LIKE IN SEASON THREE! I NEEDED MORE OF THAT! “You’ll probably find a way to make things worse at the hospital too. Just how you couldn’t walk to the hospital when Robby was born, huh? No wonder Robby’s so messed up.” Something along those lines

Miguel immediately asking Robby what was going on when he was gone, I just wanted them to kiss right there as keenry seemed to be over (even if it was sad miscommunication) and I think they could have if Miguel had the wrong idea with axel. But ofc I loved he believed Sam but axel lowkey seems psycho lol it was giving Yandere but ANYWAY I did ship saxel at the beach when I saw them! Enough yapping now

Miguel’s voice echoing in Robby’s head before he tapped Kenny in saying “lead and we’ll follow” was so gosh darn beautiful and romantic, for the first time we see Miggy be a positive light in Robby’s head!

At the brawl they end up feeling each others backs and turn around and nod before kicking ass together! 🥺🥹

Miguel called the binary brothers (or boyfriends) his brothers and NOT Robby- but agreed they were all family hehe. Robby’s just not his ‘brother’. 🌚

I don’t know why, but that little conversation “maybe you should take your own advice” “you got something to say?” “I’ve already said it” in the locker room hit hard- I got the sense Miguel was jealous of Tory but also really wanted Robby to succeed and was worried all at once. Robby definitely noticed and took every word Miguel said to heart and that’s why he has a conflicted look on his face when Miguel leaves also mad at Johnny. Just AGH I love them

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - it was a pretty darn good time, frankly

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Feb 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 12fin - Everyone looked like they were having a lot of fun in the fight sequences. I’m very happy for them. I’m not surprised they shot Khem and Chart. A little shocked it wasn’t also Yai, TBH.

I found this final episode rushed. According to rumors, The Sign was originally slated to be 14 eps, and it probably should’ve been. And I don’t say that often about Thai BL. But we all knew it was getting too bloated for its britches, so I'm not surprised they fumbled the ending. For me personally, it just wasn't that bad. It was fine and I was fine with it.

Tho, Billy does not look good with facial fur, messes up those gorgeous angles.

I was ultimately amused that the solution to the mythology thread was simply to talk to the river god and persuaded him to give up... off screen. It felt very old school wuxia. Or like Aeschylus or something. I did adore the stinger, Saint was basically like “I want wings too”. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

This show is literally everything (except straight) all at once. It's BL, queer, band of brothers, romcom, erotica, PNR, fated mates, police procedural, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and slasher. It’s the king of genre mash-up chaos. Sure, it's madness but there is genius in it. Was it a crazy unhinged mess +1 roll for damage? Yes. Yes it was. Did it manage to hold all those tangled threads together? No it did not. Was it also a charming, sexy, engaging, non-stop piece of entertainment? Sure thing. I think this show is basically my KinnPorsche, and frankly I’ve been chasing that dragon naga since KP aired. Is it perfect? No. But it was balls to the wall FUN and that gets a 9/10 from me.

I'm thinking of doing a full recap review (partly because I have so many great screen shots.)

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube grey) ep 10-11 of 12 - Since this series is following the yaoi so closely, I knew these were the separation eps. (Also I knew with would be a soft non-doom ep 11, Japan rarerly does these.) I like that they used it to show improve communication and development in all relationships, but, frankly, TayNew are just best when they are TayNew together on screen. So yeah. Let’s keep them back together, please?

Meanwhile, TayNew gifted us a gorgeous loving sweet sex scene. Thanks OG for doing us a solid. 

I wanna add, it sure is fun to see New play as soft and vulnerable character, I feel like he hasn’t done that since SOTUS. 

(Read all about distribution issues here.)

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 12fin - 1/3 of this is a sweet romance about a student doctor falling in love with a student chef, and the rest of it is utter dross. Look the OffGun bits were GREAT.. In fact, I think they’re better AS A PAIR in this show than in any of their other BLS. And I'm a hard sell on any OffGun being better than PickRome. Saying that, how can I review a show where I could only tolerate 1/3 of it? Because I didn’t like any other aspect of this show, no other pairs and no other plots. That gives me: 9/10 for the OffGun bits, 5/10 for everything else. Frankly it probably should be an 8 but I gotta go with my gut and it's upset about this so 7/10. Sorry boys. It’s GMMTV’s fault. Your heart was in this show, mine wasn’t. 

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 4 of 12 - These two are so good at making heart eyes at each other. It’s ridiculous. They don’t need any cartoon images or noises. Moot crush but "I wanna flirt and court more" is so flipping awesome. I love this for them… and us. 

1000 Years Old ep 2 of 12 - It’s very silly and we have been gifted with the dorkiest vampire ever. But... the smell thing makes me so happy. And I like that the vamp uses chan/nai or tan = v old fashioned. Nahlak. I love our ghost girl. Did you notice she wasn’t in the room with them but they left an empty chair for her? Also nahlak.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 6 - Kai was pretty much just “you're a workaholic but I basically married you whether you like it or not.” SMOOCH. What can I say? I'm a sucker for this dynamic.

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - How is this show so cute? How do they both love and hurt each other so much. They are both just scared of loosing each other. Gah.

Unknown (Taiwan Sat Youku YouTube) 1 of 12 eps - Youku dropped the first ep to their YouTube channel but I doubt we can expect that to continue. Still, it was nice to be able to watch it in a convenient way. I enjoyed it. But I am cautious about it. Of course this is possibly two of my favorite tropes of all time (stepbrothers or a variation + hyung romance). So I’m looking forward to the romantic thread, but from the gritty style, it feels a lot more like a Taiwanese short. Which means it could go very dark and may not end happy. 

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - I just don’t know if the main couple should be a couple. But when they finally get around to talking to each other, they sure are lovely. Also how great is it to see a uke initiate a kiss? Even if it’s not a very good kiss. 

My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 2 of 8 - I am still not sure about this one. I am not contesting its quality, just saying it’s not for me. Also I’m not wild about what amounts to basically a redo of everything that already happened in the first episode from a different perspective. I know it’s a tall order with Japan, but I would like (when it’s a short series) for each new installment to actually move the plot (such as it is) along in someway. Am I asking too much?

It's done but I have no time

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam, it's on YouTube. I will give it a try when I have a window of time.

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - A Burmese BL? @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch.

It's airing but...

Dead Friend Forever (Thai iQIYI) - rumors are it's interesting but full of unlikable characters. I'm waiting to know how it ends.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far. Ends next week TF.

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.

A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV) - I tried but I can't get into my WeTV account anymore and I'm way too lazy to figure it out. Should I bother to go grey for it?

To Be Continued (Thai C3 Thailand YT) - High school sweethearts who had a bad break up reunite when both of them have full time jobs but coming out is still a problem. You can watch this on YT but it has no Eng Subs.

Next Week Looks Like This:

We're light on content right now, but frankly I'm so busy with work I don't really mind.

3/6 Born to be Y (Thai ????) 10 eps - 14 contestants who audition to compete in Born To Be Y, a program that searches for the best couple of the year to work together on a giant project. Described as semi-reality series. So I probably won't bother.

3/7 Deep Night (Thai iQiyi) 10 eps - Multiple romances set in a host clubs. Nice to see First back on my screen but this is not my favorite setting.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

The eyes have it.

Your random BL moment brought to you by my ult-bias being a hyung smartass to his maknae.

(Last week)

[carlyraejepsans]

speaking of dr, there's something that really annoys me about how shallow the ship discourse around kr4lsei is. I'm not sure I'm 100% behind this for the same reasons i doubt toby will go full in with noelle's mom being abusive, ie "those are very delicate and complex topics to handle, does he have the time and space to deal with them in deltarune's story?" so take this with a grain of salt.

(warning for brief mention of incest, so I'm putting this under a readmore)

i think the discourse being framed as "thinking ralsei is presented as a romantic interest" vs "thinking ralsei is compared to kris' brother or like a family member" is incredibly stupid because those are... both true at the same time. yes, there's an unskippable "tunnel of love" scene, and it looks like ralsei could have somewhat of a crush on kris. but ralsei still 1) looks just like a dreemurr, 2) clearly plays, as a character, on our feelings and memories of asriel from playing undertale, as evident by their designs and their names being anagrams 3) i am 99% sure Noelle was going to say "that kinda looks like asriel" while looking at him eating cotton candy with Susie, and Susie herself suggests telling toriel he's "a long lost cousin". either way, if ralsei is meant to play on our feelings towards asriel, then as asriel's sibling, kris is likely gonna feel similarly.

are you uncomfortable? good! you should be. that's the point.

it's not random that the snowgrave route was framed and portrayed with the imagery of a wedding. first the freezering, then the thorn ring are explicitly compared to wedding rings. "we're just friends"/"we're something else". "YOU'VE BEEN MAKING [hyperlink blocked (...LoVE?)], HAVEN'T YOU?" noelle with whom kris had a strained relationship, whose feelings (platonic? romantic? we don't know) we brute force in what is the most chilling, manipulative, cruel iteration of chapter 2's story we could take... it's almost as if deltarune uses kris being forced into romantically coded situations they're deeply uncomfortable with as a way to showcase their lack of agency in the story.

and being pushed into romcom-like situations with a guy who looks like their brother works pretty darn well to follow that pattern, if you ask me.

now, if a forced romance with noelle represents their lack of agency in regards to the player, then... a forced romance with ralsei could represent their lack of agency towards Fate. The Plot/Story. unskippable cutscene, remember? not to mention ralsei's whole purposepilled shtick he clearly has a complex about.

this does raise a couple of questions about susie though, as the third option in the "who would you take to the fair with you" question, the one option kris seems to agree with, as well as being a character who is actively resisting the narrative.

because there's people who are very much FOR krusie, just as there are people against it, i doubt their getting or not getting together would work to represent kris gaining their agency back. and i believe i speak for everyone when i say that susie is going to play a huge part in that arc. either way, i'm curious to see how this develops.

idk! like i said, I'm not sure just how much toby is gonna go into this because it IS a very delicate subject. but it's an example of what i mean when i say "there's more to fandom than shipping" and "fixating so hard on Shipping Good Things" can be detrimental to analysis. I'm not cancelling anyone with this post, go on doing your thing whether it's kr4lsei or r4lsusie or krus1e. but if your first thought going into this was "I'm gonna ignore the part where the game compares ralsei to asriel because that would make my ship incest and that is Bad and uncomfortable" then... that's a very cheap way to interact with media? lol. sometimes being uncomfortable IS the point. god knows utdr makes you uncomfortable on purpose sometimes. ok rant over :P

[winniemaywebber]

The Apple Tree • Part 7

read previous chapter here

(gif by @hephaestn)

Rosie and Y/N make a decision about their relationship.

A sweet breeze ripped through the trees, the May weather finally rearing its head between inconsistent cold snaps. The children were grateful for it, the sun shining in their faces once again. One of the greatest joys in life was seeing them run madly through the fields, the sunshine turning their pale skin a delicious golden brown color. Another was seeing their eyes widen with joy when their persuasion worked. 

“Please, Miss!” they'd beg, their puppy eyes softening your already mushy heart. “Please can we go over to the air field?” You'd pretend to consider, falsely uhm-ing and ah-ing, keeping them on tenterhooks until you pretended to relent. It wasn't hard to say yes; the children got to see the planes take off and land, some of them hanging around with their favorite crew chief - sweet Kenny Lemmons was only nineteen and far away from home, a playful big brother to the kids. Always so gentle with them and always so willing to answer any question they had about his job, he made them feel so special with his kindness.

“Children!” You'd softly scold, making apologetic eyes at Ken. “Leave Lemmons alone. He has a job to do, and you're under his feet!”

“No worries, ma'am,” he'd reply, his young eyes twinkling with joy at being able to pass on his knowledge to more young minds. “I don't mind at all!” And he'd take them across the field, letting them watch him and the rest of his crew patch up flak holes. 

You'd get to see Rosie, always so darn handsome in his flight gear. The best part of it all would be seeing his face light up the second he saw you, running over to give you a secret kiss when the children were distracted by Kenny and the crew.

“I'll be back before you know it,” he'd murmur, pushing your worries away with a soft kiss to the forehead. 

“I love you, darling.”

You'd started to enjoy the longer days that this new summer was bringing, especially how the sun rose even earlier, flooding your bedroom with bright light. It was even better when you got to wake up next to Rosie - the soft morning daylight reflecting over him; the reddish tint in his hair coming out because of it. He'd usually kicked off the covers, the blanket ending up at his waist. Sometimes, the prettiness of him would take your breath away, your hand stroking every exposed part of him you could reach. Even in his slumber, he'd smile softly at your touch, humming as your gentle tickles on his broad shoulders would wake him slowly. 

“Hi, pretty girl,” he murmur, pulling you closer as he woke up. 

“Hey, handsome,” you'd reply, curling up in his arms and savoring every second of his warmth. It's on one of these mornings that he looks at you seriously with those beautiful blue eyes, still full of sleepiness. 

“What happens when this is all over?” he asks, suddenly.

“What do you mean, my love?”

“When this is over…and I have to go home.”

“Yes?”

“Would you come with me?”

The question shocks the breath out of you, you crawling out of his arms to sit up and look at him. 

“Darling,” you begin, your hand on his chest. “I absolutely would. But I have a life here. I have my job, I have this house. My friends…my whole life is here. I can't just simply turn around and give it all up.” You feel him sigh under your hand, his face dropping slightly. Without a word, he takes your hand and kisses it, nodding. A moment of silence passes between you both, the tension of the question hanging in the room.

“Will you at least think about it, Y/N?” 

“Yes, sweet man. I will.” 

—

“Turn on the radio!” Sally squeals, rushing through the door as you're in the middle of explaining fractions. “Oh, heck. Sorry, Y/N.” Their eager eyes turn to you, and then back to Sally. 

“Miss Sally,” Harrison pipes up. “We only listen to the radio at school on Fridays.”

“Well, I'm sure Miss Y/N here will make a special exception,” she replies brightly, turning back to you with her teeth gritted. “Turn on the darn radio.” With a sigh, you do as you are told and hear the familiar voice of Prime Minister Winston Churchill:

"Yesterday morning at 2:41 a.m. at General Eisenhower's Headquarters, General Jodl, the representative of the German High Command, and of Grand Admiral Doenitz, the designated head of the German State, signed the act of unconditional surrender of all German Land, sea, and air forces in Europe to the Allied Expeditionary Force, and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command…Hostilities will end officially at one minute after midnight to-night, but in the interests of saving lives the "Cease fire" began yesterday to be sounded all along the front, and our dear Channel Islands are also to be freed to-day.”

The whole room erupts into cheers at his last words, the booming voice of the country's leader being drowned by joyful screams, the children pumping their fists in the air. You and Sally grab one another, hugging tightly and jumping up and down. As you break apart, the joyful tears in her eyes suddenly turn to sad ones when she figures out what it all means for her. With a deep breath, she slinks back into your embrace, her whole body shaking with sadness and adrenaline. 

“Oh, Sal,” you say, surprised to feel a sob catching in your throat. “Hey, now. No need to cry.”

“I'm scared,” she weeps into you, her arms getting tighter around you. “I don't know what I'll do without you.”

“Doll,” you sigh. “You'll be fine. We'll write all the time, Sally.”

“B-but…”

"No buts, lady. Give me a minute.”

You break away from Sally and clap three times to get your students' attention, them stopping their celebrations immediately upon hearing it. 

“Wow, thank you. This is a very exciting day and it would be rude of me to not let you celebrate properly. I'm dismissing you all early!” Another cheer erupts, some running over to wrap their arms around your waist in thanks. Retrieving their belongings from their cubbies, they hastily wave as they rush on home, except for Penelope who hangs back. 

“What is it, dear?” you ask, walking over to her. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a shiny red apple, placing it in your hand. 

“Wanted to give you this, Miss,” she says sweetly, her eyes bright. “Was gonna give it you at the end of school. Picked it this morning.”

“Thank you, darling. You are so sweet. Go on home to mum now, okay?” Penelope nods and skips out of the school house, her long hair flowing behind her before breaking into a run to catch up with her friends. 

—

Walking home arm-in-arm, you and Sally have to stop every few moments to greet or wave to someone passing by. Some even hug you both in celebration before rushing off down the street to the pub which, no doubt, was opening early today. 

Opening the door to your cottage, you let Sally in first. She sniffs, her eyes cheekily squinting at you.

“It smells different in here than usual,” she teases, elbowing you in the ribs. 

“Whatever do you mean, Sally?” you reply, winking back at her. “I guess it's just because it doesn't smell like solely me anymore. It's me and someone else.” Her face drops suddenly, her eyes filling with fresh tears. 

“And what will you do when it just smells like you again?”

“Oh, Sally!” you say, exasperated. “You keep dropping these hints, like I'm meant to know what to do.”

“You never told me he asked you to go home with him,” she replies, sitting down in an armchair. 

“Because it doesn't matter if he asked or not,” you respond, kicking your shoes off in the entryway. “I haven't made a decision. I thought I'd have much longer, but obviously after today, I–”

“You'd better make up your mind. Don't break his heart, Y/N.” Suddenly frustrated, you stare at her pointedly.

“I wasn't planning on it,” you say, feeling your cheeks turning an angry shade of red. “But what about all this? What do you think Granny would think if she was here if I just gave up this nice house she left me? And what would the kids do? I can't just leave them like that. I can't abandon them when they need me.”

“When will you ever think of yourself? What do you want?” 

Without hesitation, you respond, the words spilling out of your mouth. “I just want to be with Rosie,” you say with a shrug. “But it's not that simple, is it?” 

“There. Yes, yes it is. You and I, we'll figure this out.”

“What if they figure out we're hard to live with, huh? What then?” You joke, Sally breaking into giggles.

“Then at least we'll have somewhere to come back to.” 

—

The celebrations on base had carried on until first light, you and Rosie walking back to your cottage hand in hand. The early morning mist hung atop of every house in the village, the grass sparkling with dew in the morning light. 

Walking into your cottage, you lean down to start the fire to warm you both up. Sitting on the couch, Rosie sits next to you and wraps his arm around you, his warmth enveloping you instantly. 

“What a night,” you murmur sleepily into him, and you feel him nod in agreement. Taking a deep breath, he lifts your chin to get you to look at him, his eyes softening as you do so. His thumb begins to stroke your cheek as he speaks. 

“Did you think on what I asked?”

“Y-yes,” you stutter out, suddenly awake. “But I haven't made a solid decision yet. There's so much to figure out, but I–” 

You’ve barely got time to finish your sentence before he's getting up from his seat and walking towards the door. 

“Hey!” you blurt out, walking towards him to stop him from leaving. “Where do you think you're going?” 

“I'm going back to base,” he says flatly. “It seems you haven't thought about it at all, Y/N.”

“Believe me, I have.” You reach out and take his hand, kissing his palm gently. “I've been thinking about it an awful lot. It's been torture. I think of saying goodbye to those children and it breaks my heart.” Hot tears begin to spill down your cheeks and you try to wipe them away as fast as they come but the constant stream is too hard to keep up with. 

Suddenly, you're wrapped in a tight hug, Rosie shushing you with his hand stroking your hair until the cry is spent, you feeling the frustration leave his body the moment you wrap your arms around him in reciprocation. Sniffling, you break away to look at him, your hand on his cheek. 

“Please, don't go,” you whisper, your voice croaky from the sobbing. “Please?”

“I won't, I'm sorry, I--ugh, I just reacted the wrong way and honestly, I'm being selfish. I want you to come home with me. I want to give you a beautiful life, give you whatever you want. I want to take care of you. My ma will love you, Y/N, so will everyone else and–”

“Rosie, you have to understand that I cannot rely on you,” you interrupt. “I've been on my own for so long that being ‘looked after’ is a difficult concept for me. I haven't needed anyone and I don't intend to change that.” You see him sigh, his eyes downcast. “But,” you begin again, your fingers under his chin to have him meet your gaze. “I love you. I'm in love with you. And if there's anyone I want looking after me, it's you.” A pause hangs in the air for a moment before you reach up to kiss him, your hand playing with the soft curls on the nape of his neck. As you break away and see how he looks at you, your breath caught in your throat at the sight of him, how he smiles softly at your touch, you've relented and done for. It's the easiest decision in the world. 

“I will come with you, darling. I'd love nothing more.” There's a moment of silence as you press your foreheads together, noses touching. 

You break apart and sit on the couch, Rosie holding your hand in his and rubbing his thumb over the surface.

“How will this all work?” you say, meekly, voice squeaking with nervousness. “I mean, where would we live? What could I do for work? I mean…I–”

“I understand your worries, sweetheart. How about this,” he pauses, clearing his throat. “We give it, I don't know, from now until Christmas. We'll write and I'll keep you updated.”

“That's over six months,” you say, eyes squeezing shut. “That is unbearable.”

“I know,” he grins, leaning over and kissing you on the forehead. “But how else do you expect me to save for a ring?”

“A ring?!” You reply, voice full of surprise. 

“Yes, my love. I’d ask you right now if I could, and–”

“Just say the word. Then I'd race you to the courthouse.” 

“I know it's a long time apart. But, it gives me time to make sure I can look after you the way I want to. I want to find you the prettiest house in the neighborhood, with enough room for a whole army of kids.” You giggle, your head now on his shoulder. “I'll find you the best school to teach at. I'll find you the sweetest dog at the pound. I'll find you and get you whatever you want and need, Y/N.” He pauses for a second, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. “I just want to spend my life with you. In the grand scheme of things, seven months isn't long when we've got forever together.”

“Oh, darling,” you whisper, kissing him gently. “I'm over the moon.”

—

“Everyone?” you squeak out, trying your best to get their attention despite the crippling sadness clutching at your throat and chest. “I have something to tell you all.” The children's sweet eyes are on yours in an instant, ready to listen as usual. You take a deep breath to try center yourself, calm your nerves and steady your pounding heart. 

“Now, you all know that I've been seeing a lot of Major Rosenthal and–” you feel the tears pricking at your eyes as you try your best to stop them running down your face. “Well, he's asked me to join him when he returns home to New York. This means that–”

“Miss?” Harrison responds, his big green eyes brimming with tears. “Are you going with him?”

“Y-yes, dear. I am. I'll be with you until the Christmas holiday, and then I'll be leaving. But don't worry, I've made sure you'll be taken care of.”

A few days prior, your nerves shot after agreeing to Rosie's question, you had seen Rita, bicycling down the lane to her family home. She'd caught sight of you first, stopping the bike as quick as she could and wrapping her arms around you. It had taken everything in you to not begin to weep at this close contact, her face full of concern as she'd taken your expression in.

“Y/N!” she coos, rubbing your shoulders quickly. “Talk to me.”

You'd explained everything, from Rosie asking you to go home with him, you agreeing and then it all hitting you: leaving the children you had taught and been around from infancy, the cottage having to be sold and the thought of being so homesick you could barely stand it.

“Oh, darling,” she soothed. “But think of it this way! What a wonderful adventure, how fantastic for you. You and Major Rosenthal make such a great couple, too. I know you'll be so happy together, no matter what's thrown at you both.”

“What about you?” You sniff, wiping your damp face with your handkerchief. “Are you leaving anytime soon?”

“Oh, no,” she replies wistfully. “It turns out that I'm better off alone.”

“Nothing to do with the fact both your Yanks found out that they were simultaneously engaged to you?” You smirk at her, waiting for her reaction.

“Hey, I'm young,” she giggles. “It's all fun. Fun while it lasted.”

Through your stress, Rita's face still etched with sympathy, the answer had come to you. 

“Well, if you're staying, I have a job for you.” You shrug as casually as possible. Rita's face lights up in an instant, nodding enthusiastically before you've even finished your sentence. 

“Oh, Y/N!” she wraps her arms around you again, jumping up and down with you. “I'd love to. I'd be honored. Though I'll never compare to you–”

“Oh, stop it, you,” you cut her off, smiling nonetheless.

“I'm being serious! Nobody will compare to you. But I'll definitely try my best.”

---

“Miss Rita will be coming to teach you in the new year. What do you all think about that?” The children's faces go from sadness to excitable within an instant, some even pumping their fists in cheer. 

“Good! That makes me so happy.” You let the tears fall freely now, your hand clutched to your chest. “You'll never know how much I'm going to miss you, darlings.” You hear a few sniffles from the little crowd in front of you, and you turn away for a second to wipe your own tears. “But, luckily, we have all this time left together. No use being sad now, chickens. Shall we run over to the air field?”

“Yes!” they yell in unison, zipping out the door in a flash. 

—

Rosie's departure date comes quicker than expected, the news hitting you like a freight train the night he tells you, you both sat in the officer’s club. 

“Monday?” You manage to push out, feeling your throat close at the suddenness of it all. “Two days away?” Sally looks over at you, those big doe eyes of hers overflowing with tears. At any moment, the floodgates will open. You know you're able to stand it and be strong if Sally doesn't cry, but the second you hear her sniffle next to you, it's game over. 

“I need some air,” you croak out, trying your best to stand up without wobbling, in part from the three Old Fashioneds you'd consumed in quick succession. As you turn to grab your handbag, you see Sally clinging to James, him shushing her and stroking her hair as she weeps into him, leaving a dark stain of mascara on his dress uniform. You wipe your own as you walk away, not wanting to overwhelm the situation any more. 

“Sweetheart?” You hear behind you as you lean against a wall, face crumpling in what you thought was privacy. Rosie walks up to stand in front of you, his thumb stroking your cheek, catching the first tear that drops from your eyes.

"I'm sorry,” you snivel, holding the hand that's resting on your face. “I thought we'd have more time.”

“I know, baby. Honestly, me too.” He sighs a long breath leaving his nostrils. “But I promise you, it'll go so quickly. Before you know it, you'll be on that boat to New York to start your life with me.” He smiles his beautiful smile, your nerves gone in an instant. 

“I love you, Y/N. So much.”

“I love you too.”

—

Monday morning. You awaken before Rosie, not feeling well rested at all. Sleep had refused to come for the pair of you until the wee hours, you both falling asleep on tear stained pillows, clinging to one another so hard that you're sure you've left bruises on his soft skin. The soft morning light peeks through the thin curtains, flooding the room and enveloping Rosie. The gentleness of it brings out the red hints in his pretty hair, his subtly tanned skin glowing in the sunrise. Knowing this will be the last time in a while you'll wake up to him, you reach your hand out and run it along every exposed part of him, just as you do every morning. 

The blanket - always kicked off in the night by him - begins at his waist, so that's where your fingers start. Gently tickling upwards, your hand dips at his torso, all the way up to his collar bone before leaving your hand on his face, your thumb stroking the end of his mustache. He sleepily grabs your hand and presses a kiss to your palm, pulling you closer. 

"Hmmm, morning, sweet girl.”

“Hi, handsome,” your voice a little shaky. Feeling fresh tears threaten to spill from you, you sniff, trying to will them away. Without needing to say anything, Rosie places his hand on your waist and kisses you deeply. “Let me make love to you one last time before I go,” he asks. “Please?” 

You nod before the plea is even out of his mouth. Not wasting a moment, he's inside you, his mouth hovering over yours. 

“God,” he murmurs. “How will I manage without you?” You giggle, your hand stroking his face. 

"It'll be easy,” you moan. “Just think of all the time we'll have when I'm home with you.”

“Yes, my love,” he breathes deeply, kissing you. “I can't wait.”

—

“Come on, kids,” Rita says, trying her best to hurry them along to the air field to watch the planes ascend for the last time. They walk along, sluggishly, not one single sweet face holding a smile. Their usual ruby red cheeks are flushed, their demeanors the opposite of their happy selves. 

“My darlings,” you coo. “I know you will miss your friends. But, let's look at the bright side. They're going home to their families today, after so many years. Let's be happy for them for that, yes?”

“Yes, Miss Y/N,” they chorus, eyes suddenly looking a little brighter as you take control of the situation. Rita looks at you and bites her lip worriedly. 

“Don't worry,” you reassure her. “They'll take to you in no time. We have months and they'll get used to it, alright?”

“If you say so.” 

Walking along the grassy footpath that leads to the edge of the airfield, you see Croz and Rosie in a final conversation. You hear their joyous laughter from across the way, their bond always softening your heart. 

“You want me to bring my infant son to a jazz club?” you hear Croz laugh, his bag swinging in unison with his body.

“Hey, it's never too early,” Rosie replies, his finger wagging at him. With a knowing glance, they part from one another, acknowledging the fact with a glance that they've been bonded together forever due to this experience. As Harry walks away, he catches sight of you and waves, his usual anxiety and nervousness gone. You wave back, some of the kids around you saluting him. He reciprocates, putting his bag down and giving a proud salute in their direction. 

You turn back to Rosie and see him masterfully run his hand on the aircraft's every curve, using the same movements with his hands as he does on your body. You feel your stomach drop and it's an effort to keep standing as you witness him put his hands on every part he is able to reach. He sees you staring at him and grins, you running over to him as quick as a flash. 

“Love bug,” he whispers as he envelopes you in his arms. At this, you whimper and begin to sob, your body wracked with sadness. “Hey,” He soothes, his beautiful hand stroking your back. “Shh, darling. Those kiddos will keep you occupied and we'll be at city hall before you know it. Yeah?”

“Mhm,” you manage to muster out, your voice blocked by his shoulder. You break away and kiss him deeply, not caring who sees. “I love you, Rosie. So much I can hardly stand it.”

“I love you too, Y/N. My girl.” He hugs you tightly again, as if he cannot bear to let go. Alas, he does, sighing as his arms leave your body. He gently pulls your chin towards him and gives you the most soft, sweet kiss that makes your stomach flip. You take a few steps back and watch him clamber gracefully into the aircraft, your heart in your throat.

You find Sally a few moments later, both your faces blotchy with tears. Hilariously, you both reach into your pockets and swap matching embroidered handkerchiefs, Granny coming in clutch once again. 

"Frances strikes again,” Sally says, shoulders shaking from laughter and residual sobs. She reaches down and clings to your hand, her free one waving to James as she sees him whiz down the runway. Following behind is Rosie, who blows you a quick kiss before slamming his window shut.

 

Over the familiar hum of the aircraft, the gathered villagers cheer a chorus of “bye, goodbye! We'll miss you! Get home safe!” The final aircraft ascends, the noise going with it leaving a sort of eerie silence over the village that hasn't been heard in years. With a deep breath, you beckon the children down from the tower and lead them back to the schoolhouse.

Once there, you let them play outside so you can compose yourself before beginning to teach for the day. Sitting under the apple tree, you pull out your book from your bag and plan to read where you left off last week. A small piece of paper falls from it, scrawled in Rosie's penmanship.

“Counting the days until I see you again. I can't wait for you to come home. All my love, always. Rosie."

friends! thanks so much for reading this series. this is the final part of this arc but I hope to bring them back to you soon!!! <3

taglist: @sagesolsticewrites @ginabaker1666

masterlist

[justalittlelilac]

My brother and his wife just welcomed another bundle of joy into the world, throwing me into the esteemed ranks of aunthood for the third time (cue the confetti and party horns! 🎉🎊)

Anyway, this got my brain running wild about how each of the love interests in OLBA might react to you having baby nieces or nephews (or 'niblings' for a more gender-neutral term) if you don't already have children:

Cove:

Ugh, Cove. Our adorable beach bum. Much like all of my headcannons for this man, his reactions shift depending on his age. The younger the Cove, the more nervous he'd be around the tiny one. However, regardless of age, I can picture him approaching the situation with all the caution of a skittish cat.

When asked if he wanted to hold the baby, he'd likely stammer a quick "No, thanks!" before immediately backpedaling with guilt. Eventually, he'd cave and accept the precious cargo, muttering something like, "They're so small... Are they supposed to be this small? Were you this small?"

Bless his heart, Cove would treat the baby like a Fabergé egg—utterly convinced that one wrong move could shatter the little one into a million pieces. He hasn't been around babies, and because it's an unfamiliar situation, he's unsure of himself. But fear not! As time passes, our surfer boy gradually realizes that babies are surprisingly resilient little creatures, capable of surviving the occasional awkward hold or accidental bump.

Once comfortable, Cove would transform into the ultimate cool uncle. I can just picture him and Elizabeth locked in a heated debate about the appropriate age to introduce the baby to surfing. "What do you mean two is too young? They'll be walking by then... right?" He'd whisper to you, panic in his eyes, "That is when babies start walking, right?"

Later that night, you'd find Cove hunched over his laptop, furiously Googling "baby milestones" and "safe surfing for two year olds."

His favorite pastime would become riling up Elizabeth with outrageous statements like, "Someone's gotta teach this kid the finer points of life. We can't have them growing up preferring some stuffy mansion over the sweet, sweet sound of crashing waves like someone we know." Elizabeth would roll her eyes so hard you'd worry they might get stuck, insisting there's not a snowball's chance in Hawaii of that happening.

And when he sees you with baby? Well, we can just say that the warmth that spreads through his chest is undeniable when he looks at you with so much love. Whether or not you are planning for children, it just makes him happy to see you happy with the new member of your family.

(My Cove route MC would be handing the baby back to Elizabeth, making some excuse that she and Cove had to leave early if she caught him staring like that 😏)

Derek:

Fine gentlepeople of the audience, I present to you: Derek in Uncle Mode. He has run the gauntlet and can't help going into helper mode as soon as you both walk into the door. Swooping in like a superhero, except instead of a cape, he's holding a casserole dish and wearing a "World's Best Uncle" shirt he was jokingly gifted but wears like a badge of honor.

Derek's already firing off questions like an interviewer on caffeine. "How's the baby sleeping? Do you need help with laundry? I brought a casserole! Oh, and I've memorized some lullabies and learned some baby sign language if needed!"

It's only when you, Elizabeth, or one of his family members (if the baby belongs to one of his siblings) tells him to slow down that he finally stops to meet the baby. He is immediately taken with them.

He offers to hold the baby so parent can rest or get anything done. He's cooing and making faces that would be embarrassing if they weren't so darn endearing. "Look at those cheeks! And that hair! Man, it's crazy how small they are! Y'know, they look a lot like me//you. So cool."

His enthusiasm is infectious. Of course, he involves you, asking if you want to hold the baby, saying how guilty he feels for hogging them. Total natural. Are we even surprised? This man loves his family, both his and yours, and having this time with you and his family will never get old. It fills him with a contended happiness he can't find anywhere else.

Prepare yourself for Derek to become a fixture at every family gathering, armed with a camera and a determination to document every sneeze, giggle, and adorable baby fart. He's already wanting to help plan the kid's first birthday party, complete with a petting zoo, bouncy castle, and a cake bigger than the baby.

When the little one gets older, don't be surprised to find Derek passed out on the couch after an epic play session, covered in glitter glue and sporting a tiara. It's a look that screams "Best Uncle Ever," and he wears it with pride. (I'm going to pass out from how cute that looks in my head help)

Baxter:

Now, Baxter's reactions are much trickier for me to pin down. At first glance, you might mistake him for a casual observer, watching from the sidelines, uninvolved, with that trademark soft smile of his. Very similar to the way he is in groups. It's not that I think Baxter wouldn't like babies; I'm just not convinced if he would have a tremendous outward affection for babies that are not his own, y'know?

But don't let it fool you — where Baxter would shine is in any outing. The man is on top of it. A Swiss Army Knife of baby preparedness. By nature of his profession, he would be keyed into many different things event-oriented.

Need to know the best time to visit the zoo to avoid crowds? Baxter's got a color-coded chart for that. Looking for a family-friendly restaurant that won't turn up their noses at a screaming infant? Baxter's already made reservations at three different places, just in case.

When it comes time for a family day out, Baxter shows up with a backpack that would put Mary Poppins to shame. Diapers? Check. Snacks? Check. First aid kit, portable fan, and a small library of children's books? Triple check.

I'm talking itinerary, scheduled bathroom breaks, and located family area so baby can be fed. He probably scoped out the location during his workday to know where everything was. He can't help working off the clock, it seems.

Now, he'd try to be subtle and respectful with all of this, not wanting to step on toes or upset your sister. He'd make sure to offer his services and back off if he was told no, but it's useless to try and get him to relax if it's just the two of you.

As the baby grows into a toddler, Baxter's true colors start to shine through. Leave him alone with the kid for an hour, still having that slightly interested, amused smile on his face, and you'll come back to find him covered in stickers, wearing a makeshift cape, and fully committed to his role as "Sir Baxter, Knight of the Pillow Fort."

It turns out that your niece or nephew has unlocked a side of Baxter that even he didn't know existed – his inner child. In these moments, you catch glimpses of the carefree childhood Baxter never had. A kid at heart who didn't really get to be a kid, and your niece or nephew gives him that space to be one with abandon.

And there you have it! Now, I'm gonna go brush my teeth, because I now have cavities from how sweet these three are in my head. (I need someone more skilled than me to draw these scenarios omggg)

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 大理寺少卿游/White Cat Legend.

White Cat Legend is the 2024 live-action adaptation of a funny historical manhua about a country bumpkin who winds up working with a bunch of mystery-solving officials led by a beautiful boss whose tragic past means no one can know he's also a kitty.

This is one of those cases where television comes in to adapt something that has both unfilmable elements and a very non-cinematic storyline that hasn't even been finished yet, and as such mostly just takes the characters and the basic conceit, then creates an entire vaguely nonsensical 36-episode AU fanfic of it. To call this show tonally inconsistent would be an insult to shows that are only merely tonally inconsistent. It is full-on tonal whiplash, the kind you should go see a doctor about. This shit is all over the place. It has arcs and situations that are genuinely emotionally moving, and then smash cut! to wacky nonsense happening with the B-plot. It does not know if it wants to tell a Serious Story or just have bonkers antics, and it will deal with this indecision by doing both at once.

So if you're in the mood for something fun with charming characters that won't tax your brain parts, let me give you five reasons this could be exactly the junk food you're looking for.

1. Just a family of all boys

If you're looking for a show rife with female characters, go watch Legend of Fei or Story of Yanxi Palace. Over here, it's Boys' Night Out.

The show is set in the Court of Judicial Review, which solves crimes. The boy in charge of all of them is Li Bing, who is secretly also a cat for reasons he doesn't understand. He picks up naive yokel and total sweeheart Chen Shi and brings him back to work with the Court's current occupants: a sad-eyed scribe with catastrophically bad luck, a former soldier who wishes he'd been born recently enough to be into Crossfit, a generic "foreigner" whose superpowers are spending his parents' money and pronouncing things badly, and the 8th-century Chinese equivalent of a mediocre white man.

And I'm going to tell you right now, up front, above the cut, that these boys' character interactions are the #1 reason to watch this show. You watch it because you like to see them bounce off one another like the unsupervised toddlers they are. They all love and care for one another in the best ways they know how, which sometimes aren't very effective, but darn it, they're trying!

What's especially cute is how they're so touchy with one another -- and not in any kind of sexual or creepy way, but in a sincerely affectionate bro way. There's lots of hugging and supportive arms around waists. Sometimes when they get scared, they hold hands. They grip one another when walking across unsteady ground or climbing over walls to break into yet another house. There's never any gay panic or no-homo reassurances. It hits that sweet spot right between brothers and boyfriends, where you can read their interactions as fraternal and/or romantic as you like (see below).

I mean, who needs a plot when you have half a dozen charming boys canonically working, eating, and sleeping side by side? That, my friends, is quality television.

2. Jam-packed with goofball nonsense

White Cat Legend is a show that will make you laugh out loud, and mostly even on purpose.

About 2/3 of this show is silly, and the other 1/3 is trying so hard to be emotionally resonant. But you know what? Screw emotional resonance for the moment -- let's embrace the antics!

There's a lot of silliness happening even at the production level. The show also starts out doing some very cute visual things, like breaking shots into multiple "panels" that give everything a real comic feel. It's especially effective during fight scenes and other visually confusing setups. ...And then about 1/4 of the way in, it forgets about this gimmick and stops almost completely. This is a shame, because I liked it! I liked that VFX tomfoolery that paid homage to the story's webcomic roots! (Also, someone behind the camera clearly got told that the way to make a scene more visually interesting is to slowly pan in during every shot. Once you notice it, you can't unsee it.)

The main villain is ... well, he's a lot. He's just a whole lot. I'd call him Evil Garfield, except Garfield is already kind of Evil Garfield, so this guy's Eviler Garfield. He's not chewing the scenery, but is instead treating it like a cat with a vendetta against some drapes. He's just hilariously over the top at all times. It starts out vaguely entertaining, then gets annoying, then wraps right back around to entertaining again.

Also, his wig is terrible -- and it's not even the worst wig in the show! White Cat Legend has decided that the way you style foreigner NPCs is just to jam unbrushed women's wigs on extras' heads and call it a day. There are indeed a lot of foreigners in the show, and the show has chosen to handle them by assuming everything beyond the borders of 6th-century Chinese territory is a great undifferentiated vaguely Persian-flavored mass. Who's that shady-looking guy? Oh, he's Foreign. What country is he from? A Foreign one. What language does he speak? You know, Foreign.

You are not ready for the score. This is a show that spent its entire musical budget on a handful of middling pop songs, realized it still needed ~40 minutes of music to put in each episode, and decided that it could just pull things at semi-random from whatever the Chinese television equivalent of the YouTube royalty-free sound library is. The result is some laugh-out-loud hilarious soundtracking. Do you know why they usually pay people to do things like score television shows? It's because when you don't, it sounds like this.

True story: During one antics-filled scene, I frowned, listened a second, and asked my wife, "Is that ... 'Deck the Halls'?" It was!

The mysteries are -- and I'm quoting myself here -- the celery that gets the cute boy peanut butter to your mouth. Not only can you, the viewer, not solve them, I don't actually remember what most of the resolutions were. Hell, I barely remember what most of the actual setups were. The individual storylines are mostly unimportant pieces of fluff that kinda sorta tie into the big mystery of the show: Why is that boy a kitty? ...And if you think you're going to be satisfied by the resolution to that one, honestly, you haven't been paying attention to what I've been saying in this post.

Basing this on absolutely nothing but vibes, here is my guess: The original vision for this series was as an ongoing thing, something that might hew a little closer to the comic storyline in later seasons. At some point in the production, the decision got made that there would be no further seasons made. The resulting drama is something that's technically self-contained, sure, but has a lot of little lingering weirdnesses that look like foreshadowing.

As just one example, the way they frame and shoot the empress is bizarre, and she might as well have a big SHE'S GOING TO TURN OUT TO BE EVIL neon sign above her head. ...Except that, no, she's fine! Perfectly fine, mostly normal empress, mostly normal levels of evil, nothing to see here. She is, however, evil as heck in the source material (and that's not a spoiler, she's a little pink thing who's clearly sinister all the way from the get-go), and I have to wonder if the showrunners weren't planning some future heel-turn villain arc for her. Well, we'll never know now, so whatever you choose to believe, the show won't contradict you on it!

Your reaction to all of this will 100% depend on how charitable you are feeling toward staring down a firehose of (mostly) intentionally slapdash shenanigans. If you go into this demanding coherence and substance, you will wind up disappointed. If you go into it expecting nothing more than a fluffy good time, you'll probably enjoy yourself tremendously -- and you'll maybe even be moved by the rare times it does work out to being something of substance! Such as...

3. We are never ever getting back together

The first thing you can tell about Qiu Qingzhi and Li Bing is that they are as divorced as two dudes in a c-drama can be. They aren't just a little divorced. They are nuclear divorced.

Except -- and this is the juicy part -- they obviously still work really well together. If it's just the two of them head-to-head, they will be assholes to one another with no mercy. If circumstances change and they have a shared target, God help that shared target.

The unspoilery version of their backstory goes like this: They were adorable little tween besties who grew up into adorable little teen besties, until Qiu Qingzhi went off to join the army and came back a real cold bitch, and Li Bing has no idea why. Now the two of them control state agencies that should work together but actually wind up competing more often than not (think the FBI and the CIA), a competition not helped by how the Jinwu Guards (Qiu Qingzhi's group) are actual professional soldiers in very nice armor, while the Court of Judicial Review is, well, [gestures to points 1 and 2].

And yeah, baby, this right here is The Ship.

I spent a nonzero amount of time while watching this series laughing out loud because Wei Zheming's face is just too beautiful to be believed. With his sculpted jaw and his perfectly practiced looks of disdain, his Qiu Qingzhi looks like a damn Disney prince. His face could not be more perfect if you'd assigned a team of animators to draw it. This actor is the reason I found this show in the first place -- he was so beautiful in Word of Honor that I found myself wondering what else he might be getting up to. Turns out, he is again being a smug bitch and capturing the heart of a doe-eyed younger man.

Don't let me oversell how much these two are together in the show, because they're not. Qiu Qingzhi is not part of the main crew, so he's not in most of the episodes. Most of his screentime comes in flashbacks during the last story arc, to a time in his past when Li Bing wasn't even around. But when they're together, oh, the sparks do fly.

I think it helps that the actors seem to have understood the ship, even if in that video, Ding Yuxi (Li Bing's actor) is trying so hard to do the Please Do Not Cancel Us dance of plausible deniability. I honestly don't even think this is the show's doing; after all, the source material (see the section near the end) is not BL in the slightest. I'd believe the show meant to create a normal platonic bro-relationship between these two. I'd even believe that it thinks it succeeded.

Still, if you're not the biggest fan of Lovers To Enemies? That's fine! Here's the relationship that's the real core of the show:

4. Here comes a special boy

All the boys of the family of all boys are special and wonderful, but truly, Chen Shi is the specialest and wonderfulest of them all.

He is your everyman character, the little country bumpkin overwhelmed by all the big-city dealings he's stumbled into. With his cute little twang and his natural inclination to trust everyone he meets, he's the perfect cinnamon roll, too good, too pure. I want to pinch his angelic little cheeks.

Fun fact: I have been informed by someone who speaks with the same dialect he does that said dialect is very sweary, which brings to mind the wonderful image of Chen Shi just casually and sweetly dropping f-bombs while everyone else stares in shock.

In a show where the characters are way more important than the plot, having a good POV character is key. Your audience lives or dies entirely on how much they want to see that POV character put into situations. To me, Chen Shi is a rousing success at this. He's not stupid! He's just extremely sheltered and on his own for the first time in his ife. He's the bravest little toaster, the goodest boy who's not going to let the little things stop him -- like, say, illiteracy, or a lack of familiarity with city living, or an inability to give any substantial details about the brother he's looking for beyond 'he looks just like me.' That's why he's got his friends help him out!

You better believe that when it comes time to save the day, Chen Shi will do it through the power of how everyone loves him.

And he and the kitty are ... romance? Kind of romance? Romance-adjacent? I could burn even more wordcount explaining the dynamic, but @uovoc has already said it best:

cdrama Li Bing is like: I've taken an inexplicable liking to this simple country boy so I'm going to entrust him with my life's greatest secret because I'm whimsical like that. And cdrama Chen Shi is like: this man is the most beautiful cat I've ever seen.

No matter how romantically you slice it, it's a dynamic I absolutely love: where a guy weighed down by his own past meets another guy who could not care less about that. Chen Shi is Li Bing's chance to figure out who Li Bing is, without the burdens of his family history, connections to the court, job, status, or any of the other things everyone else sees when they look at him. Chen Shi looks at Li Bing and sees Li Bing, whiskers and all.

I mean, Chen Shi makes Li Bing an entire office full of human-sized cat toys. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

And if you're not into besties-to-worsties or the pure and purrfect love between a man and his cat who is also a man? That's okay! I've helpfully made a chart to demonstrate the many flavors of exciting relationship dynamics White Cat Legend makes available to you:

Imagine the possibilities! Make your own fun! And then get over to AO3 and share it with the rest of the class! The White Cat Legend tag is sparsely populated and mostly not in English, and that's a shame, because there's so much smooching potential.

5. Not as dumb as it looks

Wow, that's kind of a backhanded compliment, isn't it? Well, no, not actually. You saw my earlier points about what a bag of goofs this show is. What's easy to miss, though, is how unexpectedly clever a whole lot of its dumbassery is.

A lot of this, I'm going to chalk up to the actors, who on the whole turn in some comedic performances way better than they have any right to be. That's the thing about comedy: to do stupid well, you have to be smart. They're all very funny, and they've got some great chemistry in combinations and permutations. It's a testament to their abilities that you can take any two of them, give them a scene together, and get something worth watching out of it.

Of course most of this is the main boys, but the major supporting characters largely have the same clever sense of comedic timing. Their actors know they're not performing some great work of literature, so they've decided to have some fun with it. I'm not going to praise anyone's performance here as particularly great, but by and large, the recurring cast members are doing solid work.

The aforementioned goofball nonsense also does a fair job of distracting from how creative the show can be. For example, the fact that many of the fights and chases are comedic makes it easy to miss how the fight choreography is often really tight. I don't think the show is trying to hide its moments of cleverness, so much as it's just grabbing them where it can without drawing attention to them.

I know a lot of people gave up on this show only a few episodes in, and I suspect I know why. It's not even that it just takes a while to find its footing -- it never quite finds its footing, on account of being such a patchwork creation. It's an adaptation of an incomplete story, forced to make changes because of budgetary limitations, promising things it's not allowed to deliver on, and further cut down between filming and release. That's what you call having the deck stacked against you. The fact that the final product is not only watchable but downright enjoyable is a testament to how the production got some critical fundamentals right.

In short, it's not just dumb fun -- though it is a lot of dumb fun. But it's dumb fun with just enough to sink your teeth into that it eventually becomes a compelling ratio. I don't blame the people who bailed, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

bonus: It comes in other flavors!

If you like the series and you want more, you're in luck! There's a whole ongoing comic and animated series!

The comic is the original version of the story: a tall vertical webcomic with a cute, distinctive style. It's still being published, and it's very different from the drama. There's a great ongoing translation project at @whitecatlegend, so if your Mandarin skills are as bad as mine (or worse!), you can follow along in English as well!

The donghua is a pretty close adaptation of several parts of the comic. You can find the whole first season at this YouTube playlist, though please note that the playlist is out of order, so you don't accidentally start with episode 8. The translation is ... eh, it's a little rough in places, to put it charitably, but it also makes some charming localization decisions, so I'm all for it. Oh, and here's the second season! It's even prettier and better-translated than the first!

Also, hey, furries? Li Bing's a perma-kitty in both of those versions of the story, so have fun with that.

The drama's casting is spot-on. Whoever picked these boys went out of their way to keep the original artistic vibe as much as possible, to the point where if you'd told me the drama had come first and then someone had drawn a comic starting from the actors' likenesses, I would've believed you.

(And yes, if you've read it, Qiu Qingzhi and Lai Zhongshu aren't technically Qiu Shenji and Lai Junchen, but I'm declaring them close enough for the purposes of this demonstration.)

I have heard that some fans of the comic are unhappy about the live-action adaptation, and I get that, I do -- they are not the same thing. There are plenty of things the drama leaves out where, okay, I understand why that person/event/factor got cut, but at the same time, dammit. In the end, I like them both as very different stories featuring the same(-ish) characters. Still, the drama is definitely not one of those situations where you get to tune in to watch the same things you loved on the page, just in a different medium. The delightfully accurate casting is about where the similarities end. Everything beyond that is its own legend.

Kitty.

Here, kitty, kitty?

The drama's an iQiyi exclusive, so that's where you'll get it.

It's a fun show, not a perfect show. It has some captivating elements and lots of promising nonsense worth thinking about. And like I said, it's a tiny-ass fandom -- a paltry 277 works on AO3, a mere 44 of which are in English. Somebody get in there and make some combination of those boys kiss!

Also, it is criminal that Kitty Li Bing has fabulous red eyeliner that Person Li Bing does not get to wear. Call makeup and fix that.

[simplydannie]

I know I've already brought something similar up, but I can just imagine a beaten and bruised Troll!Veneer (who's vulnerable from Floyd abandoning him, getting beaten within an inch of his life, and being separated from Velvet, and emotionally overwhelmed from seeing Floyd again) calling Floyd "dad". And to top it all off, I imagine Troll!Veneer would still be wearing the bracelet Floyd made for him.

After all is said and done and Troll!Velvet is rescued, I'm imagining the group in Rhonda on the way back to Pop Village at night, Troll!Veneer lying on the couch patched up and covered with a blanket, Floyd in the kitchen with Bruce making soup for dinner while talking about himself and the twins, and Floyd standing up for the twins and having a spat with JD about them.

Happy ending! That would be entire separate story in itself of Veneer calling Floyd dad, I can try doing the last bit lol

Velvet took her place by her brother’s side as he lay down. She secured the blankets around him as if still trying to shield him. Looking at him and his wounds, she couldn’t help be feel a sense of guilt… this was her doing. Veneer had tried stopping her, but she was persistent and too darn stubborn. Instead of having her go alone, he did everything by her side.

“I don’t get it.” JD broke the silence between him and Floyd as he made something to eat for the twins.

“What?” Floyd asked with a concussion on his face.

“They betrayed you. Why do you still care? We should turn them in. The other Trolls will take care of them for you.”

“John, I’m not doing that.” Floyd responded.

“What do you owe them Floyd? We came out here to save you because of them.”

Floyd pursed his lips. How could he make his brother understand what those kids meant to him.

“… Parenting is hard. You think you know everything a kid is going through, but you have no idea. I wasn’t careful, I wasn’t paying attention to how Velvet was really feeling…I pushed both of them away…” Floyd stated.

Parenting? So Floyd really did see these two brats as his own kids.

“Where are there parents?” John asked.

“There was an accident….Really great couple….They loved their kids very much. It really change the twins when they died… I tried my best, but I don’t think I tried hard enough.”

John Dory stole another glance toward the twins direction. He noticed their wrists.

“Are those…. The bracelets?” He asked. Floyd was confused. He turned to look at the small piece of jewelry they each wore… he never noticed… all this time, they kept the bracelets he made for them. His heart melted as he smiled to the twins. John Dory sighed as he looked between Floyd and the twins.

“…. I think I get it now.” He admitted. Floyd looked to him curiously. “Hey, we’re not so perfect a family either.” He shrugged.

“Thanks John.” Floyd grabbed soup bowels of soup and made his way towards the twin trolls. He offered a bowel to Velvet. She shook her head.

“You have to eat.”

“Ven, isn’t eating.”

“He’s resting. Which he needs a lot of. There will be some ready when he wakes up.”

Hesitantly, but surely, Velvet took the bowel from his hands and began eating. Floyd sat next to her… they were safe, they were ALL safe. They could finally try to be a family again.

“Where are we going…” she asked softly.

“Pop Troll village…. your new home.”

A quiver came to Velvets lips….home. Something they hadn’t had in a while. She set the bowel down and hugged Floyd tightly, still having one hand over her brother.

“….thanks dad.” She murmured.

Floyd smile…. No one would hurt them ever again.

[bundrops-n-fluffytops]

Screw it

Welcome Home Age Regression HCs

Wally 🍎

Usually from 1-3, can regress older

Can be voluntary or involuntary

Can be a bit of a brat sometimes? Especially if you seem to break his routine, that makes him pretty upset

Otherwise he’s just a super sweet baby

Autistic age regression let’s gooooo

He’s always seen with his childhood blankie, you can’t pull them apart

Like seriously

Don’t even attempt to break them apart, he’ll just throw a fit and start crying

He also LOVES apple slices and apples in general, it’s his same food

The best kinda baby for a playdate!! He’ll play house with ya, princess dressup, he’ll read books with you, he’s just a playful lil guy

Pretty much anyone can be his cg, but they’re usually either Barnaby, Julie, Howdy, or Poppy

He called Barnaby “pubby” once and it drove the dog to tears, he can never recover

I also hc him to be a cat regressor? He’s got those eyes and likes to bat things off of counters and stays up to ungodly hours

Lil weird ass meow meow

Barnaby 🐾

Primarily a pet regressor, it’s way too easy to figure out

Unusually easy to slip as well

Wally starts playing with him and he’s just immediately into puppyspace

Was kinda scared of people finding out bc he thought they would be confused, but they’re super supportive!!

Frank: “It was obvious, you’re a dog of all things.”

His favorite toy to chew on is either Wally’s slippers or his stuffed mouse

When he’s not in puppy regression, he can also (rarely) age regress to 5-10 yrs

The best big brother!!

If Wally and Barnaby regress together, he’s usually the one taking the reins and playing the “parent”

Occasionally he’ll snap out of regression if someone else is regressing while he is, just so he can help take care of them

He’s got older brother cg vibes, I swear

Julie 🌸

Surprisingly quiet when it comes to regression, but does it religiously

Usually down to toddler age, around 2-5 yrs

Has a MOUNTAIN of plushies, she practically sleeps in a big pile of them

There’s at least 7 separate hello kitty ones

She’s a big fan of cats in general, she’ll pretend that she has a pet kitty and use one of her plushies

Their name is Violet Twinkletoes :>>

Loves to do lil playdates with Frank and Wally, regressed or not

Tea parties ALL the time, it’s required

Loves to play big sister when others are regressed

Similarly to Barnaby, she’ll break out of regression if she notices others starting to go small, just so she can take care of them

She loves giving and getting lullabies

Pretty hard to get to sleep, she’ll probably just start jumping up and down on her bed before she tires herself out

Sally ☀️

Terrible twos, 2-4 yrs old

Princess regressor to a capital T

Super bossy, loud, loves to wear pretty dresses, just an all-around theater baby

Loves watching musical recordings, her favorite is Cats

“TOUUUUUCH MEEEEEE ITS SO EEEEAAAASSSY TO LEEEEEAVE MEEEEEEEEEEE”

Surprisingly easy to get to bed, she knows she needs the energy tomorrow for games so she just clocks out

Just don’t take away her tv, she can’t live without it

Her favorite show would definitely be My Little Pony, she loves the colors and the characters and how pretty everything is

She has a bunch of My Little Pony figurines in her drawers and on the floor

Very messy toddler too, but she’s willing to clean up when she needs to

It takes her a bit to notice if someone is feeling bad, but when she does she’s their BIGGEST support

Frank 🦋

The smartest baby, but also the grumpiest

Only regresses to deal with stress and anxiety, rarely regresses out of happiness

0-2 yrs, he’s so darn tiny!!

He loves being held, it’s usually his first request when he goes small

He also LIVES for bedtime stories, he always asks for one before bed

Sometimes he’ll sit on your lap and just start spouting facts about insects and butterflies, all with a slight lisp and everything

Knows a bunch of big boy words, but has trouble pronouncing it so he needs your help

Eddie it’s obv his main cg, but he’s also got Julie, Howdy, and Poppy

And Barnaby if he’s tiny enough

Doesn’t have many plushies but he does have a stuffed beetle named Skipper, he’s his best friend

Arguably the most talkative out of all the regressors, he’s always chatting

Eddie 💌

The most prominent flip of the neighborhood

He can go from baby to dad in an instant, he’s that quick to go big again

Has a pretty wide range of age when it comes to regressing, but usually stays in 1-4 yrs

Completely mute when he’s small, he’s either suckin on his paci or his thumb the entire time

Follows his cg like a baby duckling while little, sometimes holding their hand

It’s actually pretty easy to tell when he needs to go small; not talking as much, constantly following someone, probably fumbling with his hands, a lot more shy too

Frank takes care of him ofc, he’s the best dad

Frank would fuss over him a LOT, constantly checking for bruises and stuff, making sure he’s not sick

And he’s just sitting there like 👶

Eddie’s scared of the dark :((

It’s really easy to forget tho; he’ll say just about nothing the whole day, then you tuck him into bed and when you’re leaving you just hear him start crying and being all “hellpppp, don’t goooooo”

He’s stacked with night lights tho

He likes to put a plushy in front of the door, the closet, and underneath his bed so no monsters get him

I like to think that Frank is surprisingly strong for how lanky he is so he can carry is baby husband with little to no struggle

Eddie loves it

Howdy 🐛

Primarily a caregiver!!

Honestly would be such a good dad figure, he’s got four arms to carry four kids!

Would give silly lil nicknames for all the kiddos on the block; buddy, lil man, lil miss, sweetie, pumpkin, etc.

May not be the brightest caregiver but boy is he the sweetest

Would probably accidentally leave one of the kiddos on his back bc he’s got his hands full with the others, so they’re just hanging out behind him

The absolute best at pretend, he’s got stories and character roles all up his sleeves

Frank like to pretend that Howdy is turning into a butterfly, so he pretends he stays in a lil blanket cocoon and then emerges with these plastic butterfly wings on his back

It sends Frank into a frenzy every single time

If someone accidentally goes small at his Bugdega, he’ll drop everything and take them into the nearest bathroom so they can calm down and go small properly

He’ll also sneak a free treat in their pocket if they’re good, only if you’re good

Punishments are hard to give bc he’s pretty easily swayed, so he’ll probably just give you a slap on the wrist and scold you before sending you on your way

He loves his kids and he wants the best for them, he can’t stand to see them upset

Poppy 🐔

This one is the hardest to figure out bc there isn’t much to know about her, but I’ll do my best

TOP TIER MOM OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Also a default caregiver like Howdy, they are the ultimate parent duo

Always fussing over her kiddos, she’s got bandaids and Pepto Bismol in every corner of her house

She can be a bit stern when it comes to punishment, but she isn’t downright strict or mean

All she wants is for you to be careful

Her drawers are STACKED with toys, blankets, pacis, outfits, nappys, etc.

She always prepared when something is needed

She is the absolute best baker too; you’ll come to her house and it smells like freshly baked cookies

You can come into her kitchen to find a light snack, she’ll notice and make a whole meal

She’s also a lovely singer, so she’s perfect for lullabies

I like to imagine that if the kids are staying over at her house, they like to cuddle with her bc she’s a big ol bird

She’s got soft feathers!! She can’t help it!!

[trayzen-the-infinite]

Ok so I’m probably going to do more with this in the future like maybe on YouTube or something (gotta use that empty channel for something) but the Lore of Pokémon is insane and darn near Eldritchian. I’m not talking about simple Pokédex entries either.

Let’s start simple: the birth of reality. In the beginning their was nothing and then their was Arceus in an instant it created three children to help it mold all of reality. Palkia created the fabric of reality and Dialga made time flow. Giritina filled in the gaps, creating borders across reality. With its own dimension and eventual place of imprisonment being that dark void of Antimatter. Arceus started all of creation starting with Sinnoh, Mt. Coronet being the most ancient formation in the literal universe as it was the epicenter of all of creation. The people of Sinnoh worshipped Arceus though they never knew what Arceus looked like nor knew its name, instead calling it Sinnoh and mistakenly thinking Dialga and Palkia were their God, Sinnoh. Eventually Giritina for whatever reason wanted the Throne of Creation for itself and for its horrific violence was banished to the Realm of its own making.

It seems at one point Giritina was also worshipped like Dialga and Palkia were but after its crimes the statue was smashed and all memory of it abandoned. That on its own is a powerful beginning to this world.

Then you remember the stories of every other region. Johto was the first to learn how to capture Pokémon and started to tame them as a result which was a revolutionary concept. Alola never needed this as they worshiped the Tapu and thanks to their worship the Tapu ensured their safety as long as they obeyed their laws. The only recorded instance was Team Skull a ruthless organization that wanted to conquer the Islands for themselves but was swiftly taken down by the Tapu. Modern Team Skull is Team Skull only in name and appropriated it for intimidation.

Before the creation of Pokéballs the concept of taming Pokémon was absurd. Pokémon were far too dangerous and many even ate humans. Making peace with these creatures seemed impossible. The founder of the Galaxy Corp was one such person as its implied his village was destroyed and ravaged by Pokémon and he lost his wife in the process.

In Unova the Pokémon there were particularly dangerous and had to build fortress walls to save themselves. It wasn’t until two brothers made peace with the Dragon of Origin who ruled those lands that humanity and Pokémon could even begin to live in peace. The Brothers were named Royalty for their work. But as rulers both had different ideas for the proper way to keep everyone safe. Was it better to be idealistic and work towards an ideal future or was it better to be objective and realistic? The Origin Dragons thus split in the ensuing conflict becoming the Dragons of Truth and Ideals. A war raged that only ended in fire and destruction. Sealing away Truth and Ideals in hopes to end the suffering.

Galar had a beast from the Stars land on earth seeking to devour all energy from the world and could manipulate an energy inherent in Pokémon called Infinity Energy to make monsters. In this land there were also two Hero Brothers who with the work of their mighty Sword and Shield defeated the beast with its blood spilling across the Country and crystallizing. Some of its blood circles in orbit and occasionally falls back to earth as stones that can control the mutating process it possessed. Unfortunately the monster had laid an egg. Not wanting to risk an incident and not knowing how to break it, they sealed away within the earth but prepared for a day its child might emerge.

Kalos experienced a war with an unknown country and the war was hard fought. Even its king gave his most precious Pokémon to the war effort. In his despair he made a machine that absorbed the Infinity Energy of Pokémon and with it could reanimate the dead. Then with that same machine used it to end the war in a single shot. The carnage was horrific and the radiation of the machine granted him eternal life. He left to wander the world in shame for everything he did.

When you peel back the layers of even the immediate story within the game. It’s a world of peace and friendship built on centuries of pain and bloodshed. The past was grim and rarely pretty but each step led to a better tomorrow. Each country within this colorful world had a moment where they said “never again” the villains of these games are people so obsessed with their own visions of the world that they harm others. They don’t care about the lessons learned from the past because they arrogantly believe they’re better than others even the people that made these same mistakes.

[mercurygray]

Trying NOT to be obvious and ask for something with Diana (beloved) again, so how about a new girl - Freda, with "Cloying sweetness on the back of your tongue" from the Sensory Prompts, please?

And she thought she was supposed to be the welcome wagon.

"Miss Fred, Miss Fred!" Two small boys came running up to meet her jeep, waiting at a respectful and safe distance until she'd turned the engine off and gotten her box out of the back. She was on the lunch run today, and the turkey and cheese sandwiches weren't going to keep if she left them out in the sun too long.

"Well, hey there, Adam. George. What's doing?"

"Have you got any extra doughnuts today, Miss Fred?"

Fred shrugged theatrically, setting the heavy box-tray down at her feet. "'Fraid I don't, fellas. But I do have these cookies - er, biscuits - the mess hall just finished making. I was bringing them for Ken and the crew but I might have a couple extra. How do you feel about chocolate chips?"

You could have knocked the boys over with a feather. "Chocolate CHIPS?? You make biscuits with chips in 'em, Miss Fred?"

"How do you get the chips to taste like chocolate? I think my mum needs that."

Fred cycled through a a moment of brief confusion until she realized the mistake. Chips…crisps…fries…oh.

"What, you fellas ain't ever had chocolate chips before?" Ken asked, coming out from underneath the engine with a grin on his face. "You're missing out. Are those all for me, Miss Fred?"

Freda passed over the container to Ken, who made a big show of opening it and investigating what was inside while the two boys looked on, still absolutely sold on the idea of cookies that somehow managed to have fried potato inside.

"Maybe if you're real nice to Mr Lemmons he'll share," Fred suggested, holding in a smile.

"Naw, I don't think so," Ken said, hamming along for the sake of the joke. "I think me and Wink and the boys are gonna eat 'em all ourselves."

"Yep," Wink said, nodding very seriously. "Takes a lot of cookies to keep one of these things flying, you know."

Ken made a noise and suddenly drew his hand out of the box like he'd been burned. "Oh, darn. Would you look at that. This one's broken. Definitely can't eat that now, Wink, it's spoiled."

Up went the waiting hands, the two boys practically bouncing in place. "We want it! We want it!"

"Are you sure?" Lemmons looked the both of them over with a skeptical look. "Eating broken cookies can be dangerous."

"We love danger!" George said, loud enough for the both of them.

"Well, all right," Ken said, like he thought he might regret this, carefully picking up the broken cookie like he was handling broken glass and gently depositing it into Adam's outstretched hands. "Looks like this one's broke, too, George. 'Fraid you're gonna need to take both."

Both boys bit down hard, chewing carefully to investigate. Adam frowned. "Why, this is just bits of chocolate."

"Well, that's what Miss Fred said, isn't it?" Lemmons replied, clearly enjoying himself. "Chocolate chips?"

"Ohhhhhh." The light finally went on, and the boys giggled, still eating their cookies with glee.

"Chalk one up for American English," Fred said, watching the two boys run off through the tall grass.

"I don't care what anyone says, those are still fries where I'm from," Wink declared, pulling another half a cookie out of the box in Lemmons' hands and chowing down. "Thanks for the grub, Fred!"

"You're really good with 'em," Fred said to Lemmons, sitting down on the tarmac in the shade of the wing and watching as the rest of the crew ambled over for the sandwiches and apples, pulling handkerchiefs out of pockets to wipe off oily hands. "The kids, I mean. Some guys wouldn't take the time." How many 19 year olds would stop and play with their kid brother of ten?

"Helps, you know? Keeping it all in perspective. And I figure, if you make 'em listen here, if you really need to keep 'em out of trouble they'll listen later, too. Might even learn something." Lemmons nodded, mostly to himself. Ken Lemmons, you're a wise man and a scholar. "You eaten yet?"

She smiled and shook her head, taking the cookie he offered and biting down slowly, the chocolate cloying and sweet on the back of her tongue, still just the tiniest bit warm and gooey. Shortage of sweet things in this world at the moment. I'm glad human kindness isn't one.

--

Freda is one of my many OCs - if you liked her here, you can read more about her at her tag on my blog! More of my writing, and more OCs, are found at the mercurygraypresents tag.

[emmedoesntdomath]

RACETRACK MOTHERFCKING HIGGINS YOU GOSH DARN HISTORY NERD

RACERACERACERACERACERACE

also, i feel so seen rn *wipes away emotional tear*

so, ed ‘racetrack’ higgins was a newsie who helped lead the 1899/1900 newsboys’ strike against william randolph hearst and joseph pulitzer with louis ballat (who was known as kid blink), dave simons (who we don’t know the newsie name of), and (reportedly, because there aren’t that many sources with him) spot conlon (and, honestly? they could have been the same kid. not likely, but possibly). he was a brooklyn newsboy (from brighton beach specifically), and was between the ages of 16-21. he spent a considerable amount of time between the two racetracks he was near (hence the nickname). he had talked about william c. whitney, who owned a private racetrack, trained horses, and spent a lot of time at sheepshead (he said he had run horses for him, but that could be false). in just about every article he was interviewed for, it was noted that he talked A LOT about the races, even when they weren’t mentioned. like, at all (I love that for him, actually). he was charismatic, bold, and a natural-born leader. unfortunately, after the strike, he essentially disappears. there were a lot of ed higgins in the new york/jersey area, and it’s hard to track an idividual person, especially after the war started.

for more historical racetrack stuff, go check out @musicalcuriosity ‘s blog, they’ve got some great stuff over there.

now, because this isn’t actually my historical area of expertise, AND because I have actual hcs, we’re going to move on to the fun stuff.

ANTONIO ‘racetrack’ higgins is a manhattan newsie. he’s the second in command to jack kelly and more or less the ambassador to brooklyn. he’s snarky, loves gambling and spot conlon, and is probably the reason adderall was invented. he’s brilliant with numbers, but couldn’t tell you how to spell algebra to save his life. he’s petty, smokes more than anyone should, and will risk life and limb for those that he loves. he doesn’t plan to make it to 25, but will lie to anyone who asks and says he wants to be doctor for kids.

he becomes a newsie at nine, right after his mom dies, and he looks (maybe) seven, so he’s immediately taken under the wing of an older newsie. he’s dragged to the races after they finish selling, and it’s like something just clicks inside of him. he notices the trends, gets good at counting the cards, finding the tells of a good bet.

when asked, he would just shrug, a jaunty grin on his face. “it’s jus’ numbers,” he would say.

he meets a young francis sullivan (newly jack kelly) and charlie (now crutchie) when he stumbles upon their hiding spot in an alley. he recognized jack, and laughed instead of cowering when he threatened to soak him. he cheerfully informs them of a better place to hide on top of the lodging house, and from then on, they’re brothers friends.

he travels to brooklyn by himself the first time on a dare from albert (who has since become his best friend), and gets caught by hotshot within thirty minutes. he gets told to never come back with a hearty punch to the ribs for good measure.

he returns the next day.

he’s not allowed coffee (per jack), because he’s apparently “too damn jittery” as it is.

he can speak a little bit of italian, and converses with itey when they’re both at the lodging house. if he’s in public, he pretends he doesn’t know any.

when finch and albert start dating, part of him is sad, no matter how happy the rest of him is. it’s not fair, and he doesn’t know why, but it feels like a door’s shutting. he laughs, and holds spot a little tighter afterwards.

skittery taught him how to throw his first real punch, and then immediately started a fight with him “to make sure he understood the lesson”.

he’s scared of loud thunderstorms.

he hates the sound of a creaky wheel on a carriage.

he doesn’t mind girls, but he would prefer short brunettes with a temper (he’s very much got a type, and he’s not ashamed of it).

he would love harry potter, but despise JKR.

he believes in god, but doesn’t go to church.

if he had a kid, he would name them either maria or sebastian, after his mother and uncle respectively.

[smilesrobotlover]

Whumtpober day 11- captivity, no one will ever find you

Another king of the Gerudo fic, kind of. It’s more about Ammon’s backstory which, if you know, you know.

Warning for kidnapping, drugging, and emotional distress.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Come on Cherry, move!”

Ammon smacked the horse’s behind gently, but she didn’t budge. He grumbled and tried to pull on the reins, but she remained stubborn. They were picking apples from the forests in Hyrule field, which was tedious and annoying, especially since Cherry, who carried the apples, refused to listen to him.

“Darn it Cherry. Why don’t you ever work with me girl?”

Ammon heard a chuckle from behind him and he turned to see his older brother Georgie walking towards him.

“Why can’t you get her to move? She likes you more anyways!” Ammon complained, and Georgie shook his head.

“Ammon, when I move to Hateno village, you need to learn how to control her yourself.”

Ammon grumbled again, glaring at the pink horse in front of him. Georgie shook his head and walked over to him, making clicking noises with his mouth, which got Cherry’s attention. He grabbed the reins from Ammon and gently led her down the path, with Ammon watching.

“How do you do that?” He asked as they began walking again.

Georgie gave Cherry some soothing words of affirmation before answering Ammon. “You’re too hard on her, Ammon. She— really all horses— respond best to rewarding. If you do nothing but yell at her, she’ll only get more upset.”

Ammon sighed. “But she never listens to me, why would I reward her for doing nothing?”

“Look for the correct things she does. Take your time to soothe her. It’s the only way she’ll know how you feel. If you’re upset with her disobeying you, she’ll know when you don’t reward her.”

Ammon sighed and gave Cherry a few pats on the neck.

“I think you’re just a natural at this, Georgie.”

His brother chuckled. “It just takes time and patience. You’ll get it.”

“Well, I have to. I doubt mother and father will want to take care of her.”

“True, and they’ll just force you to do it anyway. Might as well get on her good side while I’m here.” Georgie wandered over to Ammon and shoved something in his hands. “These help to get on her good side,” he said with a wink before continuing down the path. Ammon looked at what was in his hands and smiled. Five sugar cubes rested in his hands, and he pocketed them, ready to use them the next time Cherry decided to act up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Good goddesses, this errand is taking forever,” Ammon complained.

“Good goddesses you sure do complain a lot,” Georgie rebutted. Ammon frowned. “What? You do!”

“I don’t complain that much.”

“Ammon you’re now seventeen, for mother’s sake, try to act like it.”

Ammon scoffed. “How are seventeen year olds supposed to act anyways? I met someone older than me who acted like a child, I think that the way we act is not connected with age—“

“Ammon, shush!”

Ammon stopped and narrowed his eyes at Georgie. He had an intense expression on his face as he stood there frozen. Ammon frowned and walked over to him.

“What’s wrong?”

Georgie didn’t reply, but Ammon heard a strange sizzling sound, followed by laughter. He turned to the sound but Georgie grabbed his arm.

“We need to move, NOW!”

Ammon nearly yelped as he was shoved harshly, and he started running, not understanding what they were running from. Cherry was startled at the sudden intense running, but she followed closely, galloping close to the two brothers. Ammon looked behind him and saw Georgie behind the both of them, and that’s when he also saw a group of red men chasing them.

Oh goddesses those were the yiga.

Panic shot through Ammon and he almost stumbled from his legs nearly freezing up.

Goddesses they were going to die. They were going to die they were going to die.

Ammon heard a sizzling sound in front of him, and he skidded to a stop when a yiga member teleported right in front of him. Georgie nearly rammed into Ammon with the sudden stop, and he frantically looked behind him. They were surrounded.

“G-Georgie?” Ammon stuttered, and the yiga stepped closer, causing Cherry to fuss.

“Well well well, what do we have here?” The yiga in front of them walked closer, causing Ammon to back up right into Georgie. “A couple of rats alone in the woods, eh?”

“What do you want from us?” Georgie said firmly, and he put a hand on Ammon’s shoulder to keep him from shaking.

“Oh, nothing much, you might have something valuable to us.”

“What? Rupees? Apples?”

Ammon looked at Cherry, worried that they wanted Georgie’s horse, but the yiga waved his hand away.

“Rupees are tempting, but we don’t need those.”

Georgie growled and wrapped his arm around Ammon and grabbed Cherry’s reins.

“You’re not taking my horse.”

The yiga member laughed. “That horse looks to be more trouble than what it's worth,” he walked closer, and Ammon felt Georgie’s arm tighten. “No we don’t want your horse, or your rupees, or—eugh— apples. We want you.”

Ammon heard a popping sound and he was kicked in the head, causing him to fall out of Georgie’s grip. He landed on the ground with a painful thud, and someone grabbed his hair, dragging him across the dead leaves and sharp sticks. Ammon flailed his arms and legs around and broke free from the Yiga dragging him, but he was quickly pinned to the ground with his arms underneath the yiga’s legs. Ammon struggled under the weight but he wasn’t strong enough.

“AMMON!” He heard Georgie yell out, and Ammon watched as he was swarmed with the cultists. The yiga on top of him shoved a rag on his face, and Ammon gasped involuntarily, breathing in a sweet smell on the rag. He tried to throw his face out of the rag, but unconsciousness began to overcome him, and the last thing he heard before fainting was the laughter of the yiga.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ammon groaned as he began to wake up, and he found himself pressed up against someone. He flinched and pushed himself away and his back hit something harshly. He groaned in pain and the person he was close to groaned as well.

“Looks like the little rat is awake.”

Ammon looked up and realized that he was in a small cage with his hand cuffed to the floor. Yiga clan members stared at him from beyond the bars, and Ammon’s chest constricted with fear. He looked at the person next to him and recognized Georgie, who seemed to still be unconscious. Ammon leaned over his brother, and worriedly eyed his bloody head. He growled and glared up at the yiga who’s red eye symbol stared back at him menacingly, and the anger was quickly replaced with fear.

“Wh-what do you want from us?” Ammon stuttered, holding his brother closer to him. The yiga laughed at him mockingly, which made Ammon angry again. “My parents will send someone for us! You can’t keep us here forever!”

The yiga roared with laughter, and one leaned against the bars.

“Listen here you little rat, they can send a search party for you, they can send an entire army, but no one will ever find you.”

The yiga member at the bars began laughing maliciously, and the group left Ammon alone with his brother. Ammon sat there in silence, trying to comprehend everything that happened to him and Georgie. They were prisoners to the dangerous cult of the Yiga, he had no idea where they were, and he doubted that his parents would have a clue. They were all over the different forests in Hyrule field, how would they be able to pinpoint where exactly they were taken? Ammon gasped when he remembered their horse. Was Cherry ok? Georgie would never forgive himself if his beloved horse was hurt because of the yiga. And that horse was now going to be Ammon’s responsibility, he had to care about her as much as Georgie now.

If they ever make it out alive.

Ammon whimpered and curled up next to Georgie, fear clutching his heart.

They were never going to make it out alive.

Georgie stirred and opened his eyes to see Ammon next to him. He seemed confused at first, but realization hit him, and he grabbed Ammon, pulling him close.

“Ammon, are you ok? Are you hurt?”

Ammon buried his face in Georgie’s chest. “I-I’m not hurt but— Georgie we—“ Ammon broke down in sobs. They were never going home again, they were probably going to suffer for the rest of their lives. Ammon was never going to hear mother’s laughter again, or father’s off-key singing. He was never going to feel the rain again, or the feeling of escaping the busy castle town. He cried, feeling like he wasted his short life away, and his brother only held him closely.

“We’re never getting out of this,” Ammon cried, “we’re never going home!”

Georgie stroked his hair, though he didn’t make a sound, Ammon knew he was just as scared.

“We’re gonna get out of this, Ammon,” Georgie said softly after a long moment of Ammon crying. “We’re gonna get home. Just you wait brother.” Georgie hugged Ammon tightly, and the two held each other in the small cage.