#and she doesn't even know the worst of it bc she's been isolated for the most part.

[limpfisted]

For me, personally

I do think ulder loved wyll. And i think he ess a damn good dad. And I think that ulder is a fascinating character because he is a poet himself. Wylls father really did say all those things. Wylls father is described in descent to avernus as "noble" "valiant" but true neutral, whereas everyone else was lawful evil, including the flaming fist. He says terrible things to wyll. But when wyll first shows up with mizora. He just says "go." If wyll had sold out the city to a devil for power, that would have been practically a kindness. He only says this shit to eyll when he's a full grown adult. And while that doesn't make it right. It doesn't mean that when he switches to lovebimbing wyll and telling him how great and special and good he is. That he doesn't mean it. Or that he hasn't said it before.

And he says truly beautiful things about his son. He really and truly believes he's thr heart of the gate now. even tho ur the one who did most of the work LOL.

Even in murder in baldurs gate, which, tbh, is not entirely canon to the video game tho pick and choose ur own canon, that's what dnd is about, he is a man with DREAMS, who is so passionate and valiant he gets swept up in things. He loves pomp and circumstance. While he's not a fool---he believes in heroism, and goodness, and rewarding goodness and not suffering fools

And yet even tho when ulder held wylls In his arms and claimed he felt a distance from him. He still took wyll fishing. He still taught wyll to fight. He encouraged him to get into fights and flirt. He trusted him with important tasks.

Ulder believes in legends and heroism. He believes in balduran, he believes in the good in baldurs gate. And even moreso than wyll, ulder has seen the absolute worst of baldurs gate, and yet still knows what it can be

He knows the upper city sucks. He knows ite full of crime. He probably even knows the flaming fist is useless without him--and he takes pride in himself and his work and the city. In descent into acernus, there's a passage about how he's never happier than when he's giving a long, rousing speech to his men.

Ulder thought he was going to be the hero that saved baldurs gate with the legend of ansur. Other people said it was a myth. But he believed

There's also the wishing tree. How does wyll know the wishing tree was his mother's? Or what she said about it? Ulder told him that. He doesn't mention a single other relative or flaming fist. Ulder, ulder, ulder. With his repetition, and his speeches, and his beliefs and all his sayings that wyll took completely to heart---despire knowing as an adult now all the concessions his Father would have had to make to "cavort with monsters and devils," the kind of people his Father trusted him enough to complain to

The tragedy of wyll and ulder isn't that ulder is some irredeemable monster. It's that every parent is flawed, and ulder has made so many concessions in his life to protect baldurs gate, do what is good for baldurs gate, that while wyll was doing everything in his life for his father, and his father alone---ulder was still doing everything for this city hes devoted his life to. Because he believes in this broken system and his broken ass corrupt flaming fist more than he believes in his own sons innocence

Wyll believes in fairy tales bc his father believes in fairy tales and he loved his father, his father was his world, and even at 24, he's not ready to admit his father was wrong or made mistakes. Even when he says people like his father---politicians---are always making mistakes, lol.

They were close. And his father loves him. And that makes what mizora did all the more evil and despicable. Ulder may have given up his son---but he also lost him.

Could you forgive urself if u lost a child that was so good, and sweet, and loved you as much as wyll loved ulder?

Mizora tricked them both. She knew what she was doing. She was isolating him. On purpose. That's what abusers do!!! They make you rely on them. They take away all the good people and good things in ur life until ur left with nothing.

Ulder was flawed. But he gave wyll fairy tales, and he let him have fairy tales

And everything, everything, everything, that wyll loves about himself came from his father!!!

Idk man I really love ulder as a character hes a dreamer and a weirdo and I wish we got to talk to him more. Bc he IS so different in bg3 than he is in murder in baldurs gate but I wanna know why. Bc it seems like the reason is just... wyll

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

am i the asshole for leading a guy on an low-key manipulating his feelings? (🐺 so i can find it later)

trigger warnings for mental health issues, family death, and suicide mentions.

title is kiiinda dramatic, i know. and i should be clear that i know that what i did was definitely wrong to a degree, but idk how messed up it was.

for context: i (19 f) was freshly seventeen and had just returned to in person school for my senior year after doing my junior year online at home. the majority of my best and only friend had forgotten me almost entirely and abandoned me despite our texting throughout my online year. new social circles had formed in my absence and i had a very difficult time readjusting, especially because i had come out of isolation with worsened anxiety, depression, and lowkey suicidal idealization. to top it all off, my grandfather who i adored had just died. i was desperately lonely and at the lowest i had ever been mentally in my entire life. i say this all not to excuse my actions but to provide some context as to why i acted the way i did.

so i meet this guy (i think like 15-16?) who we'll call finn. finn is a year below me but we share an elective class. we were initially drawn to each other bc we were both the only alt/geeky kids in the room and hit it off really well. and at first things are going pretty good; we eat lunch together every day, share music, talk about our interests etc. normal friend stuff.

but here's the part where i'm probably ta: finn had told me earlier on that he's the type to catch feelings super easy, so i guess i should've expected it, but he tells me that he has a crush on me. not directly though--he starts talking about this girl that he has feelings for but doesn't have the courage to confess to. and the first time he brought it up i didn't realize it was me and ofc tried to hype him up so he could confess and all that. but by the second conversation we have about it, it dawns on me that he's definitely talking about me. and i'm like "ah fuck," because the last person i wanted it to be was me--i'm mostly into girls, and also saw finn as a little brother more than anything else. but i keep hyping him up anyways saying stuff like "oh c'mon the worst she can do is say no! and even then you can at least move on with closure!"

so he takes my advice and confesses to me over text. i turn him down as politely as i can. which is where this whole thing should've ended tbh. but it didn't. his confession (even though it was over text) really endeared me and made me feel appreciated and beautiful in a way i never had been before. i'm not conventionally attractive + a plus size girl, and had never had anyone confess to me before, let alone say something as sincere and sweet as finn did to me. i was always the girl guys dared each other to ask out as a joke, yknow? it felt nice to know that someone saw me as desirable. again, this doesn't excuse my actions or justify them. just context.

so i decide that even though i know i'm not going to pursue anything with finn, i don't want him to lose interest in me either. so i start acting like i might be into him. tell him certain outfits make him look cute, go on and on about how much i love his hair (he really did have nice hair tbh), lean in a little closer when we talked, and constantly reassure him that he'd get a gf soon because good-looking, sweet and funny guys like him don't stay single for long.

he definitely notices bc he (again over text) asks if it's ok to be more physical when we interact. like can he hold my hand if we walk down the hall or whatever. this is definitely where i should've stopped, but i didn't. i kept up the pseudo-flirting bullshit.

and then he confesses (you guessed it! over text) for a second time, insisting that he really thinks that i like him back now. i tell him i don't know what he's talking about but that i'm happy to keep being friends with him. again, i don't stop the flirting-that's-not-quite-flirting.

this continues all the way until the end of the year. he tells me before i graduate that he really cares for me and doesn't want to lose touch after i leave. i promise him we won't. at this point i'd realized the gravity of my actions and had come to regret the way i treated finn, and decided the best course of action was to let our friendship fizzle out after i graduate. so i stop responding as frequently to him, he eventually stops reaching out until finally we lost contact and i delete his number.

i know that what happened was kinda fucked up, but how bad of a fuck up was this tumblr?

(secondary question: is this something that would've had a lasting impact on him and his view of relationships? i hope it isn't. i hope he forgot about me quickly. i hope he's doing better and has found someone who actually likes him.)

What are these acronyms?

[wildpeachfarm]

yesh i totally agree i think people are not wanting to compare cases for that and bc some feel Bad comparing two different cases but people are not comparing to Say beau is like caiti. Some are doing to show what Even Beau Said if i remenber correctly that he would be a good person if he ackwonledge her hurt and offered an apology. I don't think it's SA just like what happened to caiti but his reaction to her hurt and his Friends reaction are the differences that make them shitty.

I general i know people on social media have difficulties being calm about anything bc being on apps that wants US to feel strong emotions and being online 24 hrs fucks up out ability to take things slowly, that's why i thank people like You for keeping the calm and being reasonable

Yes I definitely think emotions will always take over people in these situations and people will never learn to just sit back and look at the facts and lay everything out.

And I don't think people are comparing Beau to Caiti at all (at least I'm definitely not lol) but I do think the similarities in situations need to be talked about because this is yet another situation of mixed signals, and perceived consent, and a claim of SA that I'm not sure is entirely accurate to the facts of the situation (although again, I will reserve my opinion until we hear from all sides because there is always three sides to a story: person A's side, person B's side, and the truth)

Again, this all centers around a lack of communication from either side in the moment and, in this situation specifically, his inability to accept that he did hurt her even if it was unintentional and his lying about it and isolating her was probably the worst thing he could've done in response. That doesn't make him look like a good person.

I think overall we need to be rid of the black-and-white thinking about defining SA when you are making public accusations like this because not only does it muddle the definition, but it doesn't take into account well-meaning individuals who got incredibly mixed signals (like beau saying she had dreams of kissing him and that they should act them out which /could/ be a signal of wanting this guy to kiss her). We are completely removing "innocent until proven guilty" in the eyes of twitter by saying "it's SA and I won't hear otherwise" which is ....not good at all lol (because as soon as that's the normal standard, we are truly fucked and marginalized groups WILL be the first target of this- as they have been repeatedly in the past)

Also, I'm going to take a page from Britanny Simons on this because it's always an important disclaimer to add to discussions about consent and verbal consent in romantic situations: most of the world does not ask for consent before kissing someone. That's just a fact of life. It's a very "online" concept to ask for verbal consent before giving someone a peck on the lips.

Would it be great if people thought of consent more in dating culture? yes of course! But that's just not the reality of where we are in the timeline of society right now. So I think some people also need to be more realistic, and understanding, and give people the benefit of the doubt more instead of assuming malice and assault right off the bat. It does no one any good. It actually just leads to more emotional and mental distress in the long run.

[seasaltmemories]

The Question of Dark Aono's Role

I don't want to make any definitive statements towards Dark Aono's role in the story on either a literal or metaphorical level. It feels like there is still a lot Shiina is holding back about him; however, I feel like for all the terrible horrors he could represent, at this it is pretty clear Dark Aono is not just a simple abuse allegory

Like I get why it might appear that way early in the story, we don't actually know Aono that well, and neither does Yuri, and stories of men turning "into completely different ppl" once locked into a relationship do exist, what Aono does with his limited agency speaks in direct opposition to that. When he feels he crossed a line, he isolates himself from Yuri and tries to stay away from her. In the cannibalism dream sequence he begs Yuri to run away from him even when she is determined to feed herself. Much of his greatest conflict is about being stuck in this monstrous role and trying to self-sabotage himself.

And like perhaps this could be a seen as a messy representation of the honeymoon phase of abuse, where apologies are made and the abuser is extra affectionate to make up for it, but I lean away from that bc we have much better representations of that in the familial stages. Midori and Hitomi both tend to follow up the worst of their wrong-doings with explicit apologies and excess affection, sometimes immediately after the incident. The Aono to Dark Aono cycling doesn't hit nearly the same beats, even when taking into account the supernatural elements.

While I don't want to lock myself into one interpretation before the story is finished, I always come back to the stairwell incident. Where Dark Aono is shocked in Aono when Yuri informs him he sounds like Midori for saying exactly what his Mother used to tell him. I think of how when he regains control, it is usually followed by shame and self-loathing, sometimes simply saying that his behavior was "weird' or outright calling himself a conman.

It is such a tricky situation bc to me Dark Aono has distinctive quirks and differences from our Aono in attitude/speech/everything, even when both characters try and manipulate others, they do it in very different ways. Yet for as drastic as the switch can be, he is never so clearly an alternate personality or entity taking over. Aono has stated outright that the further in the story he goes, the more aware he grows during this shifts, and many take place specifically due to Aono's emotional state rather than any outside taboo breaking. Dark Aono is both something alien, something intrusive, yet also a painfully familiar thing that clearly originates in himself

In the end I am reminded much more of how the aftereffects of abuse haunt even relationships formed years after escaping the situation. Aono was taught love is choosing one ultimate idol and doesn't realize how fucked up that is until he finds himself parroting the same words back to Yuri. Aono reverts to a child-like state and tries to prove both to others and to himself he is worthy of love when he realized he fucked up in some way. He excuses all his self-destructive self isolating coping mechanisms as necessary even while calling out those same traits in others

But as man-painy and gross the premise of "guy keeps hurting his gf even though he doesn;t want to bc mommy issues and that makes him sad" could be, what makes Shiina's writing compelling is she makes it clear that the one suffering the most here in the present is Yuri. Having sympathy for Aono doesn't make her situation any less worse, and from where volume 10 ends off, there are things Aono needs to answer for that can't be explained away by spooky occult shenanigans. I feel like Aono's ultimate role as either ally or antagonist will be determined by his choices in the end, no matter how many or few he has. There haven't been any easy answers in the story and so I don't except to suddenly discover them this late in the game. But regardless of how it plays out I can't help but already praise her for putting such an interesting and unpredictable spin on "dark alter egos" in a genre that can be overstuffed with them.

[cyb-by-lang]

okay so i've been thinking about A Ninja's Guide to Gotham and i think i know what Ra's al Ghul's plan is, at least what he (and Zetsu) want to do

the plan to set Kei loose on Konoha didn't go well for Zetsu and Madara, she had her team to help (and the power of foresight) but the gist of the idea could still work, if Zetsu sets up the stage right

Kei has a pretty good grasp on her emotions, but Hayate (specifically, Hayate in danger/hurt Hayate) being her trigger is known to Zetsu. so it makes sense to isolate the two from the rest of their village. drop them into a batshit (ha) crazy city, keep them separated, really pile the stress on Kei and wear her down.

all the while, they've got a Zetsu army cooking for maximum trauma later.

Ra's al Ghul wants to destroy Gotham, and this Zetsu has essentially handed him the trigger for a massive walking bomb, but can only be activated under very specific circumstances. and Kei, as stressed as she is and even with almost losing it a couple of times, has done an excellent job reigning her fury in (thanks Isobu)

AND there's the fear toxin. i imagine they've been adjusting it this whole time to actually work on a Jinchuriki.

i don't think they really want Kei to join them, necessarily (though it might save them a few steps) i think all the attacks serve mostly to increase Kei's stress until she starts breaking.

and then Zetsu was trying to take Hayate. because what would be the one thing to almost certainly break Kei?

idk if this is how it will play out exactly, but i'm guessing this is the gist of Ra's and Zetsu's plan:

Zetsu army attack, with giant Zetsu monster included to spread out the Bats and allies. try and separate Kei from team. keep her focused on the attacks without provoking her yet, but wear her down.

take Hayate, or at least manipulate the field to put him within sight of Kei. kill him where she can clearly see.

use that moment of shock to shoot as many fear toxin darts at her as possible. if she's distracted enough, she might get a few doses. and it doesn't matter much how quickly Isobu burns through the poison, because all they need is that initial ignition of super enhanced terror and trauma for her to explode into a raging Jinchuriki. throw the Zetsu monster back at her, and they take out half of Gotham ripping each other to pieces.

(the Bats and Kei's team hear her agonized beastial screech, even the ones on the other side of the city, and know this is Worst Case Scenario)

this is an excellent narrative strategy for maximum pain and plot drama for Kei and friends, and i can see it coming so close to fruition (if i'm even in the ballpark here, this is all an educated guess)

unfortunately for Ra's and Zetsu, Batman exists. he knows how Ra's operates. once the fear toxin came into play, and Batman listened to Kei talk about her past, i'm pretty sure he could connect those dots.

"Superpowered ninja host of a demon able to level a city, if pressed, and her main trauma trigger is her brother being threatened or harmed in any way. Right. Best keep the brother out of harm's way. If only they could all stay put."

also unfortunate for Ra's and Zetsu, Jason exists. i doubt they were expecting Hayate to adopt Gotham's newest menace, nor for Jason to take to it like a mother goose. Kei might be correct in thinking Hayate is safer with Jason than with her, bc as volatile and explosive as he can be, he's not quite "city-leveling" tier.

as DC stories tend to go, the villains plot usually gets to play out at least most of the way. so maybe Hayate does get hurt at some point, maybe Kei does lose it, but this could be where Jason finally works with the Bats + Team Minato to save the day (and his new little brother....)

anyway, idk how much of this is right, but the pieces have been fitting themselves together in the back of my brain for a while. and if i'm on the money on any of this and you'd rather not post bc spoilers, no worries!! i just wanted to share how much i've been thinking about it, it's on a short list of things i play in my mental movie theater ಠ⁠◡⁠ಠ

[image description: a GIF of Kronk from Emperor's New Groove saying "Oh yeah. It's all coming together." end description.]

I love it when readers send me their analysis. It really helps me figure out what's working when I write and what is sticking with people.

And I hope you feel like a detective for having figured out most of today's evil plan (credit to Ra's al Ghul) before a fair number of the characters in Gotham have. I'm glad you picked up on it!

[askthedragonriders]

Good evening dragon riders. This question is for all of you. Life has been very overwhelming lately and loneliness is a very real thing that I (and likely many other people) have been struggling with. Sometimes forcing myself out of isolation can feel near impossible. How do you deal with this sort of stress? (If this question is a lot for you then it’s ok if you don’t answer. I understand).

good evening! this has been sitting in my ask box for a couple of months now at this point (maybe longer). i've finally reached it and i apologize for the wait.

i'm also sorry for not responding to this in character, but i just couldn't bring myself to do it. i am just one person roleplaying as these six goobers and it's hard for me to have them have their own answers while i have my own separate experiences with the same issue and loneliness being smth that has been a part of my entire life until recently.

ik how you feel, anon. life gets overwhelming and you are alone or even with others you feel alone because there's just smth not connecting and putting yourself out there takes up so much energy with the added potential of it not working in your favor at all and it sucks so badly. it SUCKS so badly.

forcing yourself out of isolation is SO much sometimes. at my worst i couldn't even imagine it being possible that i could have the power to get myself out. i can only speak from my experiences and i apologize if it does nothing for you. i understand if it doesn't. we are not the same person, none of us are.

but for me, the stress of it all would be me going to work or having to do smth and being like "you know what. just say hi to someone. introduce yourself." such as a coworker or a fellow student. it gets more difficult if you don't have scheduled things like that which generally require interacting with people and yea, it doesn't mean it'll guarantee the loneliness going away if you happen to talk to someone. i get it.

i've always been somewhat of an outsider and struggled in having friends bc a part of me liked keeping to myself but also i was afraid and stressed but it made me lonely and it just cycled. i was lucky my mom recommended i see a therapist bc she was worried & it ended up working wonders for me in understanding how i operate.

for dealing with the stress of it, sometimes it's as simple as slow breathing, sometimes it's setting tinier goals so it's not so daunting and going step by step, and sometimes it did end up being dealing with the stress head on and jumping in. sometimes finding someone online helped, sometimes having someone irl with me helped. what also helps me is remembering that being lonely will always be part of a phase. our feelings always have opposites. someone else across the world or even across the street is also lonely, either literally alone or at a giant gathering with friends around them. we are lonely together.

you will not be lonely forever and the fact you know you don't like being lonely and don't want to be lonely, even if the stress of coming out of isolation feels like so much, that's enough. it can make the difference. you might even end up not being lonely or fighting it in a way you never expected or didn't even realize because things sometimes just happen. it's what happened to me, i started seeing a therapist and got a new job and there i met my two best friends in the whole world who are some of the only ppl who make me feel happy and full. we don't talk all the time. we don't need to. we pick up right where we left off. i no longer see my therapist and have moved out and my life has changed a lot.

ik that it doesn't always work like that. sometimes you rlly do have to keep getting up, going out, and facing the loneliness head on. usually it'll be a mixture of it happening naturally and being a fight. learning to be comfortable in your own company and taking care of yourself can also be very helpful, and you gotta do that at your own pace. days will sometimes be bad and sometimes be good. it probably won't be noticeable or go as quickly as you hope it will.

i hope you are able to find peace, anon. you will one day see, looking back, that you aren't lonely. even if you still are some time in the future, i hope it's still an improvement from where you are now. i hope your situation has improved for you since you sent this ask.

i wish you the best

[roseamongroses]

something about the history of spider-byte's name (and intial lack therefore of a last name) is calling to me. like even now that margo has a last name, ppl still don't recognize her civilian identity bc of how little screentime she had and the brevity of the comic appearance.

hmmmm ok i've marinated. idk much about tech so take the terms with a grain of salt and just focus on the emotional story. think i have some headcanons:

margo lives in a society where it's common to use virtual reality to escape/ experience life but margo is actually one of the more extreme cases of this escapism

she's friendly with others, something doesn't seem to be wrong, but her peersknow she's always connected to the vr/always online. they don't notice how little they know about her home life or about her, despite her being familiar with everyone else.

-

and this disconnect only becomes worst once she takes on the mask of spider-byte. helping people in the way she's always desired to be helped is fufilling, but it doesn't take long for margo to become lost in her online persona.

-

the longer she spends as spider-byte, the more the two worlds blur. and once she gains the ability to physically manifest her avatar, her spider abilities begin to transfer into her irl body

-

at first margo was excited about this change. she could finally be the hero she wanted to be inside and outside of her vr- headset, but she quickly discovers that her bodily automony is being manipulated.

-

sometimes her skin glitches, changing into a rainbow of colors without her say-so (she'd have to fake sick to avoid questions from her peers/parents) . sometimes when she splits her avatar her body doesn't immediately return and if it does it never feels the same. as if data is missing.

-

but most obvious is that her understanding of humanity--of herself changes. not in a cruel way, but she feels an alienation from human connection that she'd never experienced before. she saves the day, not because of her childhood desire to do good, to be saved and save others, but because it is her avatar. it is her purpose as spider-byte, not the dream of margo kess.

-

it's when margo catches herself refering to herself spider-byte, even when she was outside of vr relaxing that she begins to investagate further.

-

she begins to question her relationship with the cyber crime police department and how easily they accepted her" "vigilatism"/ eventually she tracks down conversations between the department and an unknown scientist/ leading cyber security company. i'm thinking of this being her "doc oc" connection, but im open to other villian parallels tbh

-

the thing is this "doc oc" knows that margo has been tracking them . they think its funny. they're facinated with their experiement and are very willing to play along with the investagation as long as they get to observe their subject.

-

the fact that margo got "bit" was part coincidence. the program/ bug was sent out to find a suitable host. someone isolated, someone online for long hours to properly conduct the experiement, someone who had the need to escape and become something more.

-

it could've been anyone. they were meant to be corrupted entirely by the program, only leaving behind a husk irl as they accepted their new reality. but margo was different her need to do good was so great that it redirected the prgrams goals entirely. allowing for her persona of a hero to infliratrate her real life and vice versua in a way "doc oc" had never seen before

-

doc oc at first wanted to let margo live as a hero . but her changing the bug--resisting its intended purpose intrigued them more. it wasn't enough to collect data on the experiement spider-byte anymore. now doc oc needed to break her. to rebuild her and understand what makes her so special

-

and this back and forth does mean margo loses a lot. some days she doesn't even remember her last name. but she's motivated now to reclaim her life, her heroism, and make sure no one else is taken advantaged ;like this again

[animation-is-my-jam]

Halo heloo!! Popping in to say if you have any more Wordgirl hot takes? I'm new to the fandom and I saw your post about the opinion meme. (Btww my favorite character is Lady Redundant Woman and I ship Tobecky-- I wonder if you also have unpopular opinions on those mostly cause im curious)

Hi!! Thanks for the ask.

Kinda funny that I'm asked fandom/character questions considering my activity and obscurity, but I have been in the Wordgirl space for 7 years and observed it back in the early 2010s.

As for hot takes...hmm, I could give some since I was watching through the series again, and I recently had some discussions with a friend about Wordgirl stuff. (The Disclaimer, aside from one of the takes I have, these aren't that serious, or do I want to come across as confrontational, just my thoughts and opinions):

Scoops is not a jerk. Random, I know, but it's also connected to the idea of Scoops being this secretly selfish boy and why he's the least liked kid character in the fandom next to idk Eileen. Yes, Scoops is a bit of dunce and can often say or do stuff because he gets carried away or his ego--but he wouldn't straight up be malicious. He's a kid. And idk, I think it's pretty funny how oblivious or callouse he can be to others. But no Tobecky fans, Scoops wouldn't just straight up hate or stop being Becky's friend if she either confessed to him or started seeing Tobey. (I agree that he's such a dummy at times and could say the wrong things, but come on, look at Scoops and tell me he would treat his friends terribly.)

Granny May is funny. I know a lot of people don't like her or her episodes because they hate the gaslight or turn on Wordgirl schemes, but idc I think it's hilarious that this 75 year old is beefing with a child and gets away with manipulating people for the 100th time. Plus, I think it's interesting that her episodes could bring out a Becky that makes us question if she's doing good deeds bc it's the right thing or doing them because it gives her purpose and adoration. Either way, I'm like the only Wordgirl fan who is interested in Granny May character lore, and what exactly is her relationship to her own kids and grandkids. And that's cause she makes me laugh.

(Oh boy, serious time) Okay, so this is a very recent observation and discussion I had with a friend who is more educated on this matter over the entire fandom perception of Two-brains|squeaky. And I'm gonna say it on mine and on their behalf... I don't like the usage of squeaky as this ultimate evil or an overt metaphor for the difficult/bad side effects of mental illness. Like, okay, I know this is touchy for people since Two-brains is the favorite--but I don't like the constant fandom aesthetic sticking to making Two-brains the ONLY character with either DID or any number of serious mental conditions just because he fused with the brain of a evil mouse, especially when their depiction of it is worse than Detroit Become Human with racism. At worst, it could be ablelist and ignorant to people with those actual diagnoses. What do I mean by this? Well, it's mostly for people who think that Steven is still inside Two-brains or that Two-brains could be fixed. I'm one of the Steven is gone believers, but regardless--it's kinda ehh to try and make Two-brains represent someone with mental illness or addiction and just say "dw he can be cured if we kill this other part of himself". Even worse than when he does get "fixed," it's only squeaky's influence that encourages his bad behavior and that others would care for him more if only he got rid of the "problem" and went back to being "normal". Like...that's not how a mental illness/condition works. I should know. And this idea kinda makes me uncomfortable because idk, it's like the equivalent of when TOH was still airing and some ppl going: "Why doesn't eda just isolate or destroy the owl beast?" Or the audacity to say that she should have been fully healed at the end when no, she was a good example of the metaphor, and it would completely ruin the purpose. (Plus, I don't get the Jekyll and Hyde comparisons if you try to apply the mental illness metaphor).

As for the other parts of your question. Hmm do i have unpopular ideas/takes of Lrw or Tobecky?

For LRW, um, not really? She's one of my favorite villains, so I'm good, not really any complaints with her or how she's done in fandom tropes. All I know is that fandom actually makes her cooler somehow, and I get mad about that bc shes so awesome/lhj

For Tobecky...yeah I know, another discussion about them, lol, can't help it. But for unpopular ideas/takes...I guess one is that I don't think Wordgirl was completely terrible during the Miss Power scene with him. Like obviously it hurted Tobey's feelings and Wordgirl shouldn't be so mean, BUT you can't lie to say that if not then...Wordgirl would have blown up at him one day and it's good that Tobey at least knows what she deep down thought of him. I know a lot of people who like Tobey don't think he should be treated badly ever, but no, the kid kinda needs the humbling (the stuff of his appearance was uncalled for though. Like who cares about his drip Wordgirl--he destroys buildings and belittles others 😭 thats the least of his issues.)

Another one is that I don't think Wordgirl/Becky owes him anything just because he likes her and is secretly lonely. Like you can have Tobey as your favorite and want him to be happy, but, to me, it's like don't just make Tobey the one who only gets Becky because he like deserves it after getting mega sad or he "won" her (im saying this as a tobey fan). What's Becky thoughts? Or make her the one to realize why she would be with Tobey? How does Tobey make her happy? And that it's okay that Becky rejects Tobey in a fic or art. It doesn't make her the bad one in the scene or that she's treating him unfairly. (Something I realized in my own fic).

[3d-wifey]

AHHHHHH first of all the newest installment of ATFUIAW is sooooooo fucking sickeningly good. Your talent blows me away every damn time !!!!!!!

I wanted to say that when Star got the antidote that had to have come from the rat king himself Coriolanus Snow, I couldn't stop thinking about that sound clip where the lady says "my father is the worst man alive and I am his favorite daughter." Obviousky different context, but thinking about the guilt and sickness that Star much feel knowing she got that gift, got to LIVE because of Snow, and having that being held over her head must have been so tormenting. Star is so strong I love her so much thank you for writing this story and sharing it with us !!!! ❤️✨️

oh that is very, very accurate. the amount of guilt she feels for getting "special privileges" for being Snow's victor is debilitating. It's also isolating. the only person that could possibly understand that guilt is Lucy Gray, and even then she only got a fraction of it bc Snow wasn't that bad back then. It's shameful for her too, there's a reason she doesn't really share it with Finnick even though she DEFINITELY NEEDS TO DEBRIEF ABOUT IT WITH SOMEONE 😭😭😭

[altschmerzes]

Gav, in the tags of your last wippet you talked about how they weren't going to send Jamie back to his dad because he's back in manchester and now I have the burning and probably spoilery question of does that mean Jamie commutes to Richmond from Manchester or is he living on his own in Richmond?

YEAH SO. here's the situation vis a vis Where DOES Jamie Live in wriggle up on dry land when things start moving around a la his departure from richmond in 1x06 and his return in 2x02 -

the move back to manchester happens bc his dad has been chomping at the bit to get out of london and back to the city he loves, which makes sense. jamie didn't really like being there at first either, not until he made friends and started working at nelson road. and so when he and his dad move back, it's as soon as possible after his dad gets a job offer up there and a friend offers to let them stay with him until they find a new flat or something. and the final straw is rebecca arranging for jamie to get a job doing similar stuff at the man city training facilities and the arrival of a break in school for him so there's no excuse left to keep them in london.

(this is the wriggle up version of the loan termination. rebecca does not have ANY idea that he's being hurt at home and she feels like, revolted when she realizes that he was and that by allowing james to more easily move them back to manchester she unwittingly facilitated his isolation and further harm. she's NOT a Bad Guy here, she genuinely thought she was helping this boy and his single dad out here. i wanna be clear with that.)

and so when he decides to come back, he does so by like...... james is NOT returning to london. jamie also doesn't have a job anymore though because he left his job at city's facilities to be part of a. youth shakespeare troupe. called gen b(ard). and james doesn't like him much anyway so having him out of the house for a while isn't like... the worst thing, to james.

so what happens is he stays in manchester during the week at school, and takes the bus down to richmond after school friday, stays with one of his friends on a rotating basis (shannon's house, then dean's, then ella's, etc) and then goes back up to manchester late sunday evening. this is an insane thing to do for a part time job. everyone is fully aware this is an insane thing to do for a part time job. it is an HOURS long bus ride and he won't accept a train pass from rebecca because it's Too Much (he does accept the club covering his bus tickets after a while though).

but everyone can tell this is like. very important to him and you know how sixteen year olds can be. so they just. do what they can to make it easier for him. he's tired all the time, but he was like that before. he studies and does his homework on the bus. it's a whole.... it's tough. it's really tough, but he gets by. it does make it tricky though sometimes like when he comes to work on a saturday sick and it's not like he can just slink home because home is a four hour bus ride away and so that's why roy is like. fuck it okay i'll look after him.

[majoringinsarcasm]

I think something very important that I have not thought about until right now is that Crowley knows the bullshit because he’s been a part of it.

In Hell before his “retirement” he was a chaos bringer, a mischief maker. Yes they had the Arrangement, but they did not collaborate on every single project. They were not put in the same place 100% of the time. He has to drive through a wall of fire because his own plan to make the M25 impossible to leave bit him in the ass. Not only was he Doing The Job of a demon, even if he tried hard not to be too Evil about it, he did well enough to earn the honor of delivering the Antichrist to his destination. Crowley might not have been a Duke of hell or besties with Satan (in the show I have not read the book I really think I should bc I love having all the lore) but he was the demon stationed in London causing trouble and had been possibly the main demon on earth for a long time.

Aziraphale on the other hand?

His bookshop is seen as, at best, a meeting hub for angels and at worst a joke. Gabriel questions him about eating which isn’t bad on its own but it’s very “Aziraphale the weird angel is eating food”. Nobody takes him seriously, he’s dismissed and ignored, they think his ideas are stupid. They Punch Him In The Stomach and he’s called useless or something to that effect when he accidentally goes to Heaven and loses his corporation. They hate him. To the point of finding joy in his death.

And here comes the mouth of God telling him that HE is the perfect Angel to take over for Gabriel. The supreme archangel of all Heaven. The one who went out of his way time and again to belittle him. Aziraphale? Replace him? And he can bring Crowley along? They can be safe from Hell and make Good changes and stay together? People will actually listen to him and take him seriously? He can leave behind his bookshop if it means taking Crowley and fixing Heaven. He can leave earth if he gets to have those things.

Because he’s never been Important before. He’s never had anyone from his own side give him a fucking complement in 6000 years. God asked him about the flaming sword Once and then Never Spoke To Him Again. Crowley seems to be the only one giving him compliments that he takes to heart. Maggie calls him an angel for being nice but he knew he did the no rent thing for selfish reasons. Crowley tells him he did a good job investigating and he’s all smiles and happy wiggles. He has never had anyone from his side be fucking nice to him and now the literal Headhancho is promoting him.

And for Crowley it’s easy to turn down. He knows Heaven is shit and he knows Hell doesn’t give a damn bc he’s experienced it before. Hell doesn't care how the job gets done and Heaven can’t see outside of its own ass and doesn't care about the Right thing. They don’t care about humans as people. They are set dressing to their own war not a creation of God that they should observe and care about. They want souls, they want to Win this little game that they SAY God wants them to play. And maybe She does, but maybe She’s Wrong. But regardless they don’t care about anything Real. But Aziraphale does. Crowley does.

And in an isolated incident yeah it might be out of character for Aziraphale to seemingly regress. But that’s not what happens. He’s not interested in joining Heaven as part of the cog again. He doesn’t want to be the universal punching bag anymore. He likes his independence and his records and his freedom. He doesn’t want to be just the weird little Angel everyone hates. But the Metatron is offering him a sort of protection. He’s being appointed by someone high up, given a role that is seemingly untouchable. They can’t hit the supreme archangel. They can’t mock his choice of company if he’s in charge. And it’s all fake it’s all lies he’ll no doubt be just a figurehead with a fancy title. But right now it’s all real to him.

So he says yes. Not because he’s fallen back onto his old ways, not really, but because he really thinks this is Better. Being involved to fix the community vs running away from it and risk being hunted down Again. They found him because he’s at the bookshop but they’re angels. If they want to find him or Crowley they will. This is everything he’s ever hoped for with the added bonus of not being on opposite sides anymore. Because they still are to everyone else. An Angel and demon are still an Angel and a demon to the outside world. Angels can find Aziraphale and demons can find Crowley and the other side can threaten the other and.

If they’re both in Heaven they won’t need to do that. So he says yes, because he wants to. But also… how do you say No to an offer like that? Someone else already said it but it’s Coffee or Death. Become the new archangel or say No to the closest thing to God after already being threatened time and again. Nobody would pick death.

People are Predictable.

[soggypotatoes]

auuugghhh

I'm trying to go to my parents place more, bc it's beautiful!! it's a gorgeous place, in the mountains with so many places to sit and read, second hand SciFi/fantasy bookstore 10 mins walk, a lake to swim in, god.. it's beautiful here and my family has become very nice to be around!!!

but god DAMN my issues hit harder while I'm here. I was feeling a bit shaky and weird and that was fine but then I had the thought of like.. what would it be like if I had someone I could message about this? and ask hey can you go on call with me while I settle down? what would it be like to be close to someone like that? bc Ive never experienced that and suddenly I got so overwhelmingly sad, I managed for a bit but I've only calmed down now bc I stole one of my dad's razors and dissected it and hid it in my room lmao.

I think loneliness is just compounded here bc I have so many memories of how lonely it was to grow up in my family, and how that loneliness grew around me like a skin and now I don't know how to let myself rely on someone. I'm so jealous of people who can be close to people, lol. I'm just, isolated from a lot of life, bc of experiences that are long dead now.

anyway. I deliberately didn't bring any sh tools here, but I think I'm genuinely going to have to do that when I come here so I can feel safe. it's stupid, isn't it? yes, I could face my debilitating fear and try to think of someone I could call, but it's so much easier to fight my body's self preservation instinct instead lol. ever since I went so deep I had to get stitches, though... it's hard. it's like, every time I go deep, my rat brain decides anything more shallow than that is nothing and doesn't help. and folks.. going that deep is HARD, do you know how many layers of self preservation you have to fight through??? also it's sickening!! it's sickening to do that to yourself. traumatising, honestly. genuinely traumatising to see that much of your insides and have to break through even more instincts to tell someone cause you HAVE to, now. and when you get hurt like that usually people want to look after you - when you cause it yourself it's more.. 'why would you do that?' or 'dont show me that, cover that up' (genuinely.. though I don't blame my mum for that cause she was affected by it too)

fuck, man. why can't I have a different coping mechanism. I mean. I do. but why is this the only one I feel I can turn to. and why has it been taken away from me now? my body's traumatised from that experience so now I feel intense searing pain from even the slightest cut, which should be a good thing, but now I have NOTHING!!!!!

anyway.

I'm going to keep coming here, I think. I have to break through this, I have to, because my mum's having surgery soon, she's going to be relying on me more and I need to be able to spend time with them without going insane. and I do feel like I need to work out how to do it alone, cause nobody's going to be there for me. I learned that the hard way. literally when I was here during lockdown, my best friend was there, I was in the worst mental health state and had to be forced into hospital for the first time.. and now that friend barely talks to me.. that's what happens 🙃 but it's okay. I can do this. I bought a travel case of paint and I'm going to the bookstore tomorrow. I can do this.

[gremlin2]

gary: future, hate diane king: alone, fear

What's the worst possible future for your OC? Are they taking steps to avoid that outcome? Are they even aware it's a possibility?

well! gary might be headed towards a worst case scenario he didnt even know was possible now that shudder is involved. up until now his fear has always been failing at his career, all his hopes have kind of been riding on this new job even though its an unremarkable position, all things considered. but now with shudder his morality is eroding and thats opening up a whole mess of other potential risks

What does your OC hate? Why? How do they act towards the object of their hatred?

himself 😐😐😐 he is Trying to improve his self-image but it isn't going so well and this is definitely something shudder tries to exploit

How does your OC deal with loneliness? Have they ever been completely alone before? How do they act when there's no one around to see them?

diane has always been pretty independent but doesn't like to be alone if that makes sense. like she's confident enough to go to a club or bar by herself and is comfortable in the company of strangers. it's very rare for her to be Totally isolated because she's out on the town as much as possible and her "home" is just whatever van or hotel room she's living out of at the time. there isn't much difference in how she behaves alone vs with other people, though.

What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

this is the perfect segway from the previous question because i think isolation IS her greatest fear. being physically overpowered is also a big one, it's such a rare thing for her to experience bc of her werewolfism that when it Does happen it throws her off very badly. she's just used to feeling invincible most of the time!!

[litchihikxriclub]

ooh i've never heard of LHC before but it looks cool, i might be getting into a new fandom bc of your writing (again haha). anyway, i've got a meta/analysis question....how would you rank the kids in terms of who has the best/worst relationships with their family?

Yayyyy, another person joining us in the LHC pit! :D

No one here has had a very good childhood. Keikou is a disaster of rampant poverty, unsafe conditions, and parents who no doubt have to spend every waking moment working just to keep their kids fed and clothed. Even the most well-intentioned families on the list would end up at least a little neglectful just because they don't have the time or means to properly care for their children.

Also, disclaimer that a lot of them don't have explicitly mentioned family situations, so a good chunk of this is reading into their behavior/lifestyle for implications of how their home life might be.

. . .

"Best" Relationship

Tamiya — All around, Tamiya has by far the best relationship with his family of all of them. He has two parents who have his best interests in mind, a younger sister who he's close to, and a relatively stable situation overall. The inherent sacrifices and problems of their environment are still present, but at least his family is trying.

Kaneda — He mentions having an older mother who he "loves down to her wrinkly little fingers". My guess is that she's his only parent, and has both given her best effort to raise him and had to work herself half to death to do it. He also has an overall good relationship, but it's nowhere near as stable as Tamiya's family situation.

Dafu — In the same chapter of Bokura, he expresses fondness for his family as well. The lack of specific mentions (and his general loneliness levels) leads me to think that his home life is somewhat neglectful, but likely not on purpose. He probably has a "normal" household that doesn't have the time to pay much attention to him.

Kanon — We know next to nothing about her backstory. I get the feeling that she's better off than the boys, but how off her behavior is seems to hint at a highly sheltered childhood. I think her relationship with her family is overall decent, but her parents are the type of paranoid that means they've isolated her more than is healthy.

Yakobu — He also gives me "childhood neglect" vibes. My headcanon is that he's from a large family that's struggling to get by, and the sheer amount of kids to manage means that Yakobu had to stand out to get any attention. His relationship with his family isn't bad, exactly, but he definitely doesn't have a stable or reassuring home life.

Dentaku — Considering his single-minded focus on mathematics and his apparent lack of social skills or ability to form emotional connections, I see yet another neglect case here. It's likely that he's been encouraged to stick to only his academic skills (at the cost of a normal childhood) as that gives him some chance of a better future.

Raizou — All we see of his family is his dad, who's... well-intentioned, probably, but far from supportive or kind. I think he's a single father who's trying his best, but is also strict, harsh, and has very firm ideas of how his son is supposed to behave. He's also clearly one for physical discipline, which means Raizou is at least used to being hit.

Zera — And here, things take a massive turn for the worse! Zera absolutely despises his family, and the level of emotional neglect and abuse he's experienced is a lot of why he's Like That. He has divorced parents, abandonment issues from his father, and routine mistreatment from his mother. Zera knows he's not wanted.

Nico — We know he has the worst financial state of the kids, and his mother literally says "giving birth to you was the biggest mistake of my life" when he was in the hospital post-eye incident. And judging from his utter lack of self-esteem, it's not hard to guess he's grown up in an environment where his existence was treated like a burden.

Jaibo — Uhhhh... yeah. We know his dad is a doctor (and that Jaibo steals drugs and money from him), and Jaibo's everything hints at extreme sexual abuse. I don't think it's a stretch to assume he's had the most horrific childhood of the kids, and I can't imagine he has anything resembling a positive relationship with his father.

"Worst" Relationship

[erigold13261]

What could be happening in the FRAU/Earth-42

Miles as the Prowler (his dad died instead of his uncle)

Hobie also as a criminal (Hobie Brown is the OG Prowler in the comics)

Pavitr trying to run away to Vinyl City and get help from Sayu crew, then realizes horrible shit going on (Gayatri and him broke up)

Gwen… she could be Gwenom (Gwen with the Venom Symbiote) (how would that translate in the NSR world) (isn’t out yet too)

Margo and Peni being numb inside bc of all the bs they went through in Nueva York

Noir isolating themself because of the color bleaching

Peter B losing MJ and being left with Mayday Parker

… yeah this is all I can think of as of now

I think there might be a fundamental misunderstanding of what my Failed Revolution is. It's not just an "everything is bad" AU, it's just a small change in history that changed a lot of people's past, and so changes how they react to certain things. Not everyone is going to have a completely negative experience in FRAU.

The reason most of the NSR cast got a bad version is because they were directly affected by a change in Neon J's history (this change caused the war to go on a few more years, my 1010 dolls to all be destroyed, the Goolings having an even worse break up which changed Tatiana and is probably the biggest reason so many NSRtist have a shittier time in this AU).

Before the failed revolution, things were almost entirely the same as OG NSR with just some minor differences. Major ones being Sayu's Crew living with their own families and 1010 being even less human than before. B2J, DJSS, Mama, Yinu, and Eve were all relatively the same before the revolution. It's only what happens afterwards that changed how people acted.

So yeah, if people are gonna give ideas for Failed Revolution AUs, then please keep this in mind. That being said, I will try and work with you ideas! I just wanted to clear the air because it just feels like people see my FRAU and think it's supposed to be the worst version of each character.

Okay, so Miles as the Prowler. I personally don't know shit about the Prowler at all, so I can't really give a great in depth analysis of this idea. But honestly, with this AU, I never even really saw Aaron as being a villain or bad guy. I saw him as getting caught up in something he shouldn't have and couldn't leave when he wanted to winding up in his death.

His death also happened before the NSR revolution by a few years. So most likely Miles (and other younger gen of people) wouldn't have been affected as much. However, since the Border Wars did rage on for a few more years, depending on how global you see that war, some history in America could have changed.

Possibly Aaron ends up living while Jefferson dies. I don't really know why or how, but this could have happened. I still don't see Miles as being a criminal though because the NSR world I feel like doesn't have the same kind of superhero villains that the Prowler is. Maybe Miles gets caught up in some shady business, sure, but I don't see him going into supervillain kinda territory.

As for Hobie, same deal with not being a supervillain type deal as the Prolwer (but it is cool to know he was the OG Prowler in the comics), but I do see them as being like a petty criminal. Mainly stealing for food or squatting for shelter because in this AU, Ex-Jay is more bitter with the world and basically gave up on music for a few years. That would mean Hobie never befriends them and so it instead has to support itself after being abandoned/running away from home (probably gets sent to Nueva York a year earlier or something).

I don't see a reason why Pav and Gayatri would have to break up in this AU. I also don't see Pav as running away to Vinyl City because Eve in this AU isn't as kind to Remi (she's pretty bitter about her parents divorce, and in this AU she shows that bitterness outwardly instead of isolating herself like I think OG Eve does), so Pav wouldn't have a reason to really go there. Pav and Remi most likely aren't even close (possibly don't even know each other) because of Eve trying to not associate with the paternal side of her family, so Pav wouldn't have Eve as a connecting point to Remi.

I for some reason like the idea of Venom being a disease, don't know what I will do with this idea since I don't know much about Venom, but I'll come up with something.

As for Gwen, I actually see her story as being relatively the same as the OG NSpidR AU except she doesn't have Miles as comfort. Miles, after losing his father, looks more to his uncle for help and solace than for a support group. So Gwen is all alone in Peter's death and ends up alone in Nueva York.

Margo and Peni would have similar histories to what they had before. The only difference might be with Peni as I can see the Border Wars somehow affecting kits family but I don't have any ideas for the specifics right now. Honestly, I think it would be funny if Peni's family stayed in England and Peni was actually born in England instead of being born in America. Peni ends up having a stronger connection to her cousin Asa in this version.

Noir, same deal as Margo and Peni, EXCEPT! I can see them as slowly starting to isolate themself as time goes on. At first they thought they were content with their color condition, but it was only because of Miles that they actually accepted it. Without Miles, Noir would slowly lose the battle of lies they are trying to tell themself in that they are fine, and then start isolating themself more and more.

Peter B. and MJ could probably still break up. Especially if Peter B. is putting more time into Nueva York, which I can see happening. In that case it would be split parenting with Mayday Parker because I don't see any situation where MJ would just leave her with Peter and not even try having some custody. Though honestly. I kinda see Peter having a similar history as his OG NSpidR version. It all depends really on how Miguel is affected by this universe.

With Miguel, he isn't as affected by stuff in the past. The only thing I can really see happening is that he was more friends with Papa and Mama, and possibly something happened and they were no longer friends. Maybe Mama and Miguel had an argument over Papa's failing medical condition or his death just tore Miguel and Mama apart as friends. I mean, fuck maybe he started hating the two because they had a kid and his is dead. Or Mama forced Papa to no longer be friends with Miguel because he killed his kid by being out of control with his powers (I say forced because Papa wonders what Mama could be capable of with her powers and so he wanted to be there to support Miguel in the same way he thought Miguel would support them if something like that happened). But yeah, still don't know much about Miguel in this AU.

The reason why most of these histories aren't changed is for 2 reasons. Most of the main changes in my OG FRAU is centered around Asia and Europe, so since most of the Spider Cast is somewhere in the Americas or (from) West Europe, the affects of the changes in FRAU are not as prevalent in Miguel's area.

The second reason is because most of the cast is of a younger generation. Tatiana is almost 50 and Neon J is like mid to late 60s while a majority of the spider cast are still in their teens. The ones who aren't are only in their like early to mid 30s, so they are changed a bit, but not nearly as much as if they would have been changed if they were a bit older.

Then I guess, technically a third reason is because music isn't AS important in Miguel's area. The focus is on powers. Music is still incredibly important as it is a power source, but since Miguel is caring about natural powers and not musical powers, the major history changes of FRAU aren't going to affect Miguel's area because those affected music more than anything.

Plus, by the time the NSpidR revolution happens, it's about 2-3 years after the Rock Revolution (which is funnily enough also when the Failed Revolution takes place, 2-3 years after the fail), which means any of the meaningful changes that happened BECAUSE of the failed revolution, wouldn't hit the spider kids areas until later because of the distance.

So maybe your ideas could still happen, definitely Margo and Peni's I can see, but it wouldn't be at the same moment as the FRAU is taking place, but a few years later. I hope that makes sense.

[cherienymphe]

I like sibling solidarity unless I just made them have the worst relationship in the world, that's too far out of my realm of reality to imagine myself in that situation 😭 now Kie and JJ dating and the reader having a harmless crush on her older sister's bf that he takes full advantage of? For sure

Honestly so true. I’d like to know that reader has someone to go to that she can 100% trust bc of how solid their relationship is even if she’s a little hesitant abt how Kiara would react after JJ has taken advantage of her. I like to picture myself as reader (as most of us do) so I like for the actions to somewhat align w what I’d do in that situation as well and sleeping w one of my siblings s/o is something I’d just never do lmaoo

The harmless crush for JJ while he’s dating Kiara would make for a great fic though 😭

Yes this! Because when JJ goes dark, the reader is going to need somebody to turn to and let's be honest, none of Kie's friends would be taking her side if she's been sleeping with her crush or man this whole time. Doesn't matter how sour the relationship between them is. The reader would be fully isolated and would be stuck with no one but JJ.

I like the angst of Kie realizing how sick her friend turned boyfriend is and the guilt she'd probably feel at exposing the reader to him