#but hell i'd be happy to see anything. i've never been to the met before

[supercantaloupe]

slyly suggesting to my mom that we should consider seeing an opera in nyc instead of a musical this year since broadway is so disappointing atm and helpfully passing along the met spring schedule

[notmorbid]

these violent delights.

dialogue prompts from these violent delights by micah nemerever.

i never told you my name.

who puts those awful ideas in your head?

you're forever assuming the worst.

what's that face? you look like you're going to cry.

you're one of those people who worry all the time, aren't you?

i don't worry, i ruminate. they're distinct actions.

nothing made you. you just are.

beautiful things are supposed to hurt.

people tell you you're shy all the time, don't they?

i don't know how i ever got on without you.

a little trouble is a good thing for a young person.

i wasn't born yesterday. i know what kids get up to.

it's good to have guns to stick to.

you could do anything to me and i'd let you.

i'm not ready to be seen. not yet.

i don't need you to treat me respectfully. i'm not made of glass.

tell me you love me, at least. please. i need to know somebody does.

do i look normal? i can't tell if i look normal.

you can get away with anything, as long as you act like an authority on the truth.

don't tell me what i want.

you know you're just about the worst liar i've ever met.

i don't think you've ever felt anything that didn't hurt you.

you're so square, you're a cube.

i just want you to believe me when i tell you you're worth something.

there are limits to what you can expect people to understand, without living it.

you can't fight everybody all the time. you still have to live with them.

i forget how blue the sky can be outside the city.

i'm going to push you off a cliff, you fucking boy scout.

thank you for trusting me with this.

be a kid while you still can.

please believe in the things i try to tell you, instead of the things you think you deserve to be told.

if the sun touched you for even a moment, you'd go up in flames. like a vampire.

your voice changes when you're angry.

what a lonely, dreary thing it is to know the truth.

you never look away, even when your eyes are closed, but i'm never certain you can see what's really there.

tell me you need me. in those words.

can i tell you something? that i'm all but certain you won't believe?

i never lie to you. but sometimes, i wish i could.

you never let me pretend the truth is alright when it isn't.

you have a profound, elusive sadness about you.

you didn't. please tell me you didn't.

you and your awful little games.

why would i bother to grow my own conscience when you're always around to pester me?

you're going to help me escape.

this house is a shadowbox, never meant for human things.

you have no right to stop me, and you're not going to try.

you're sweet, when you want to be.

do you want me to kill ____? i mean it.

it might do you good to be an orphan.

you're just so sincerely creepy.

wealthy people pay handsomely for the privilege of ignoring cries for help.

i've never seen you like that before. not once.

i've decided to learn to be impulsive.

the worst damage humans do isn't rooted in malice, but in thoughtlessness.

there's such a thing as right and wrong. anyone can figure out the difference if they're willing to think for themselves.

there's no part of you i can't see.

i don't want to hurt you. please don't let me.

you're ridiculous, sometimes. but that's alright.

i don't want you right now. go home.

i'm not like you. i don't even have a shape of my own to hold anything else in place.

i'll never matter the way you do, and you know it.

say what you need to say.

if you say the word 'deserve' one more time, i'm driving us off a bridge.

i've been meaning to talk to you about ____.

i'm worried about what you're getting into.

you don't see me. you can't. you never could.

it's your life. you're entitled to make your own mistakes.

i want you to know you deserve better. you don't have to put up with ____.

you scare the hell out of me. you really do.

you look the same way you always have.

i was worried i'd lost you.

i'll take care of you. i don't need you to be brave.

all i want to do is make you happy, and you're the unhappiest person i've ever met.

i would rather be cruel than weak.

i want you to let me be nice to you today. i don't care if you think you deserve it.

this place looks like somewhere in a jigsaw puzzle.

it's always been real for me. every second.

please don't say anything to my mother.

we can't fix it if you don't tell me what happened.

i'll call you when i can stand the sight of you. don't hold your breath.

hiding the truth is still lying.

i thought you'd finally trust me if you knew i'd kill for you.

i'm just as much of a monster as you are.

i was missing part of myself my whole life, until i met you.

righteous fury leaves no space for fear.

you can always talk to me. about anything, okay? i love you no matter what.

you played [game] in school, didn't you?

no one tolerates boredom worse than the idle rich.

someone needs to be looking after you.

you know you can't actually stop me, right?

i want to be able to look at you.

when you need to, you will understand.

i'm only ever early when i'm afraid.

people talk themselves into the strangest things when they want to look impressive.

in the end, there's no difference between trusting someone and underestimating them.

[princelylove]

Dear prince,

I have come again because I cannot ignore your callings any further. (I'm the anon that requested the jotaro hcs and prosciutto with model darling) sorry they were a bit tame, I have so much I wanna ask but don't. Partly because I get so nervous and giddy while thinking of sending them and partly because I forget to.

Anyways, I've been thinking of sending you an ask about the more doting yanderes e.g. Bruno, Jonathan and whoever else comes into your mind with a little 'miss independent' darling. They get so offended and pouty when their captor tries to help them or do something for them, thinking it's an act of underestimation and thinking they aren't capable enough and have to be babied. (How will the yanderes handle this? Maybe even a bit of brat taming?)

– 💝🪤 darling

There's no need to be shy about it. I'm fairly happy to humor requests, even if they're on the tame side. I do wish I'd receive some odd ones, though. Variety is fun.

Wellll. Do you like to be restrained? Because this is like begging to be given less and less privileges, assuming their darling is already safe and sound in their 'home.'

Bruno loves you a lot. He wishes he understood what he's doing wrong- spouses are supposed to relax when their man is home!

He gets fairly frustrated early on. It's agitating, if he's being honest. Bruno doesn't know how to punish this kind of behavior- his instinct is to bend you over his knee and make you count how many times he spanks you, but that's probably just going to give him more problems long term. You won't relax in front of him if he's hit you before, and the goal is to make you want to roll on your back for him...

Maybe he can't hit you, but he can scold you. Bruno exists to help you, please just let him handle the dangerous things, even if it's just cutting up some fruit. Knives aren't a joke!

He goes through a few stages before he lands on proper scolding. First, he tries to bribe you. Then, he tries to reason with you.

"Come on, amore. This is for your own good. What can I do to help you through this?"

Since neither of those work, it seems he has no other option than to chide you.

Jotaro wishes you would just shut up and behave. You're such a pain in the ass sometimes, you know that? He regrets how he handled taking you home. Maybe if he were nicer, you wouldn't behave like a spoiled brat that acts out for his attention.

Yeah, he's fully convinced it's an attention thing. You're just fucking with him. Obviously you're pouty and whiny because he's been busy lately, so... sorry. He'll be around more, ok? No need for all of this whining and screaming and crying shit, it's annoying as hell.

Yeah, sure, you can take care of yourself. He's not doing that. He's checking you. You're not a baby, sure, he never said you were. Can you just lift your shirt up already? He needs to check for bruises again.

You can expect any verbal resistance to be met with.... verbal resistance. Jotaro is unsurprisingly quick witted, and can be pushed a little before he starts to find it annoying. He'd prefer you to be docile and happy about it, but Jotaro can see a little back and forth as fun. Maybe. It depends.

When you really piss him off and aren't cooperating in the slightest, he's less fun about it. His ability to stop time comes in handy when his favorite brat thinks they can get away with not humoring his paranoia checks. If you're not going to play nice, Jotaro will just violate any sense of privacy you were clinging to before this. Fine, ok. Make him be the asshole because you don't want to do something simple like let him see your arms or stomach.

He offers no comfort afterwards, because he didn't do anything wrong. Maybe if you listened to him, you'd understand. The house rules aren't up for debate.

... Yes, he still wants to sleep with you tonight and to tuck you in nicely. That isn't up for debate either.

[primusfortuna]

Our Future ✦ Dialogue Lines (Pt. 1)

✦ Limited-time dialogues for June Bride. ✦ Part 1 includes meisters from Primus Club, Gastronomy, Dream Weavers, Everflower, Passionate Ocean, and Maden Gaming.

Primus Club

Camus “Just like a card faced down, no one knows what the future holds. But you're well aware that the path I'm on is full of thorns. And yet, you still choose to walk alongside me... You must be mad. Please never stop betting your brilliant life on me.”

Seven “You want us... to be each other's significant others...? Well...... I've always considered you someone very significant to me... [Name]. My heart feels warm every time I hear that name. I can't go without you... not now, not ever. I'd like to keep having fun with you.”

Ymir “Struggle all you want, I'm not leaving you for as long as I live. Claw at me, bite me, I'll still never let you go ♪ I'm not scheming anything. I really do love you, [Name]. And that'll never change... because you're the only one 'special' to me.”

Victor “Hah... I really have changed, haven't I? Before I met you, I hardly ever thought about the future. Now, all I can think about is... how can I stay with [Name] forever?”

Len “Hell if I know what the future looks like. I just know you're still gonna come after me wherever I am, no matter what I'm doing. ...Well, do what you want. If you decide to follow me around for the rest of your life, I'll make sure you're prepared for that.”

Gastronomy

Oscar “I never thought a day would come in which eating alone no longer satisfies me. Even I'm deeply shocked. Whether it's morning, afternoon, or evening—whenever I'm having a meal, I wish to see your smiling face across from me. How does that sound?”

Kuchen “The future? ...No, I can't really picture anything except making chocolate for the rest of my life. You know what I'm saying, right? I also see you right there next to me. Still smiling, happily eating my chocolates. Years pass, decades pass, and things'll probably stay just like that.”

Cuit “Nothing makes me happier than seeing a smile pop up on your face when you eat my food. All I want is for you to stay by my side, letting me see your smile. I really can't wait for the day I get to call you my wife.”

Riche “Every time I see how ardently you work, day in and day out... I suddenly find myself envisioning a little into the future. You are all the more beautiful, and your heart remains as honest as ever. I'm beside you, always worried... if I'm worthy of someone like yourself.”

Walter “...I have no idea about the future. If I could, I'd stay in Gastronomy for a long time, helping out the duke and everyone else. Hm? Nothing... I just naturally thought you'd stay by my side. Way, way into the future...”

Dream Weavers

Canaan “When I'm with you, your squishy cheeks put me right at ease... I wonder why? All my motivation starts flowing through me. Maybe I can't live without you. It sounds like a headache looking after me for a lifetime, but... hehe. I'll have to give the best ring in the world to the bride who makes that kind of promise to me.”

Adel “In the past, I wouldn't have needed an assistant or partner. But now when I imagine the future, you're there, as if it's the most natural thing. The thought of us buried in work, eating together, occasionally lending each other a shoulder, taking naps——heh, a lifetime of that doesn't sound half bad.”

Volks “If I must confess, I've been enchanted since we first met... by your light, which I'm certain will continue to change endlessly. I want it to be my own two hands that guide and protect your brilliance, no one else's. Would you allow me the privilege and honor of that?”

Merryrose “Before I met you, I swear I couldn't see anything in my future except a really dark path. Now I know a kind of happiness that I won't let go of no matter what. You're the one who taught it to me. Take responsibility for that... and spend your life with me, okay?”

Everflower

Asahi “You're the one I cherish above all others, the one I want to protect. I'm still an amateur with a lot of shortcomings, but... someday... I'd like to tie the knot and build a happy future together. I might be moving too fast, but... what do you think?”

Shiranui “I'm gonna say what I always do, okay? Fortune comes in at the merry gate!! It's true life's not all just fun and games. But you and I can make it alright. We can live our days full of blessings, where even if we cry sometimes, we'll still end up laughing. Cheers to our happiness!”

Mikage “My ideal future? That's easy—a life where I spend all day everyday dozing off on your lap, doing absolutely nothing... Until recently, this would've just been a pipe dream. But now, well, I really want it. A happy 'n peaceful married life.”

Tamayura “I want to make this world a place for humans and mononoke to live together in harmony. When I achieve my dream, I'd be happy if you were there smiling next to me. And... if a day ever comes when we pledge our futures to each other... I'd want to invite a bunch of mononoke friends to celebrate with us.”

Aoi “Something as definite as 'staying the same' forever sounds so boring. Being able to wake up from your dreams is what makes it so fleeting and beautiful... That's what I used to think... But when I wake up from my transient dreams, I think I'd like to be with you. Hey, won't you be mine?”

Passionate Ocean

Searle “I get warm and fuzzy and sometimes so tight it hurts. Feeling like I'm in love just gets stronger and stronger when I'm with you. It's a feeling I only get with you, [Name]. It's just like a treasure to me. Ehehe, I love you. And I will forever and ever!”

Sheila “I've been thinking about this a lot, but the coffee you make tastes like something I'd want to drink everyday. It really is so relaxing and soothing. From now on... or rather, for as long as I live, I'd love to stay in your care. What do you think?”

Elma “A lot of stuff's happened since we first met. My days have gotten a whole lot happier since then. It's like a huge wave of happiness is here! Now, in the future, and always after that... Let's have a blast ridin' out the end of this wave!!”

Urbano “Yo, [Name]-han! Time to practice our husband-and-wife routine with all the hype we got today——wait, why do you actually sound on-board with it!? Pause, pause. I can't even joke about being legal spouses, 'cause that's like we already got married. It makes me so happy I'm embarrassed...”

Maden Gaming

Cinis “It is my duty as master to care for and look after my servants——however, at present, I've been getting a lot of favors from you. Hehehe, just so you know, I despise losing! I shall vow to make you happy for the rest of your life!”

[perspectivestarters]

Perspective's Sentence Starters; Preacher's Daughter by Ethel Cain (Part I)

TRIGGER WARNING: Violence, abuse, suicide, religious themes, ect.

FAMILY TREE (INTRO)

These crosses all over my body remind me of who I used to be.

Christ forgive these bones I'm hiding.

He cannot escape his mother's blood.

He'll never escape what he's made up of.

The fates already fucked me sideways.

You know I raised you bеtter than this.

Leavе me hanging so they all can laugh at me.

AMERICAN TEENAGER

Putting too much faith in the make-believe.

The neighbor's brother came home in a box.

He wanted to go, so maybe it was his fault.

Another red heart taken by the American dream.

I feel it there in the middle of the night.

I'm all alone again.

Say what you want, but say it like you mean it.

Just give it one more day, then you'rе done.

I do what I want.

I said it was fun.

I don't need anything from anyone.

It's just not my year.

I'm all good out here.

I'm sorry if I sound off, but I was probably wasted.

Didn't feel so good.

Head full of whiskey but I always deliver.

If you're listening, let me handle my liquor.

If you're there, why do I feel alone in this room with you?

I'm still standing here.

I do it for *Name*.

I'm doing what I want and damn, I'm doing it well.

A HOUSE IN NEBRASKA

Sing it to me all day long.

The aching sound of silence used to be our favorite song.

You and me against the world.

You were my man and I your girl.

We had nothing except each other.

You were my whole world.

I still call home that house in Nebraska.

We found each other on a dirty mattress on the second floor.

The world was empty, save you and I.

You left, and I cried.

Even if we died tonight, I'd die yours.

These dirt roads are empty.

Your mama calls me sometimes to see if I'm doing well.

Really I'd kill myself to hold you one more time.

It hurts to miss you.

It's worse to know that I'm the reason you won't come home.

I died there under you, every night, all night.

You know, I still wait at the edge of town, praying straight to God that maybe you’ll come back around.

I cry every day, and the bottles make it worse.

You were the only one I was never scared to tell I hurt.

I found photographs of our school, on the day we met.

I thought that you were so beautiful, it was love, I guess.

You might never come back home, and I may never sleep at night.

I just hope you're doing fine out there.

I just pray that you're all right.

I feel so alone.

I feel so alone without you.

WESTERN NIGHTS

He's never looked more beautiful.

I watched him show his love through shades of black and blue.

Show me how much I mean to you.

I'd hold the gun if you asked me to.

If you love me like you say you do, would you ask me to?

Trouble's always gonna find you baby. but so will I.

Hold me across every state line.

I'm never gonna leave you baby, even if you lose what's left of your mind.

'Cause you know I'll be right there beside you.

I haven't spoken to my daddy in a long, long time.

I don't want him to worry.

The neighborhood keeps getting smaller.

All starved out when the money's paper thin.

All that's left are your walls and you'll die there.

I should have known that there's no getting in.

I'll still be alright.

Clinging onto you like some love blind addict.

I'll be screaming your name.

Please don't love how I need you.

Know that one day, you and I could be okay.

FAMILY TREE

I'm just a child but I'm not above violence.

My mama raised me better than that.

Daddy said shoot first then run and don't look back.

Take me down to the river and bathe me clean.

I've killed before and I'll kill again.

Take the noose off, wrap it tight around my hand.

They say heaven hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Hell don't scare me, I've been times before.

HARD TIMES

Lay it on me.

Tell me a story about how it ends where you're still the good guy.

I hate this story.

Happiness ends and dies with you.

I thought good guys get to be happy.

I'm not happy.

I am poison in the water and unhappy.

I was too young to noticе that some types of love could bе bad.

I still do, and that scares me.

I'm tired of you.

It's just the way that you are.

I just wanna sleep.

[cruyuu]

Last chapter leaked and is so, so bad

Hi anon.

I've actually skipped looking at leaks this time (and would do so in the future) because I've wanted to experience one chapter in its entirety and not just have it vaguely translated. Besides, I started to really hate how popularized leak culture is in this fandom. It's gotten so bad to the point that some people don't even read chapters, they just read leaks and that's it.

I understand why you might think it's bad. I also think so. There's two chapters left and, as a fan of the story, I dislike the direction of everything. It feels rushed and forced... it isn't fulfilling at all. I'm happy for those who do think it's good but for me it's a hard miss. Landings in shonen usually aren't pretty though so I'm used to it. (and even though there are two chapters left it still wouldn't change much really.)

As a Yuuji fan though, oh am I having fun lol.

I'm going to put the rest behind the cut (which is my opinion on this chapter).

We get explanations because of course we do. There were many fans who disapproved and called bs on the way the entire Sukuna fight was handled. I have to admit that even though I do think what Gege wrote makes sense, it still feels overtly complicated and just a tad plot convenient how everything played out perfectly. It's all just... I don't know. Too much explanation and little to do with imagination. I'm not a child so I don't need a chapter dedicated to spelling out little things that could've easily been mentioned at an according time (like during the battle).

Still... the way the powers work here in this story does require you to really sit and think and do require block after block of text. This is the one part that I never liked about jjk because explanations like these make character-oriented moments feel less alive and make all of them behave like a bunch of dolls because one moment you'll see them talking but the next panel you're met with a whole class on jujutsu. It was always bizarre to me how little interaction there was between characters... hell if you take away the class sessions, they rarely have moments where they talk amongst themselves for themselves instead of giving a lesson on jujutsu or strategizing. It's admittedly a bit strange but oh well... it is what it is ig.

There's a reason (aside from certain characters being hot) why jjk's tag on ao3 has a lot of works. Some people take what we know and expand on it in a far less Gege-way by having characters interact with each other. I have grown to like more characters in fics way more so than in canon. In canon, only a handful of characters get my love and I'm sad to admit that those that do (such as Maki and Higuruma), quickly slip out of that loving spot and now I can't really feel as happy as I did about them before.

On that note, I haven't felt anything when Higuruma showed up alive. Yep lmfao. I used to feel for this man a lot and he is one of my top 3 (aside from Yuuji and Sukuna) but... I can't say I am happy that he's back. Now his sword disappearing in Yuuji's hand is for nothing and him clearly dying in front of Yuuji was for nothing. I still do love him and can't really dislike him (absolutely not) but canon... man the story really is kicking me in the butt when it comes to execution because ever since 265, the story had been a literal mindfuck. When I think I have a sense of where it is going to go, it goes a total opposite direction (and usually the one that doesn't really fit the vibes of the previous chapter). To me... the story's now all over the place which is contradictory because everything is being spoonfed to the readers and everything is "fine and dandy".

I still will complain because Shibuya arc had me thinking that I'd be reading something different (like CSM did) but then... here we are. There are practically no real consequences (aside from Gojo) in the Sukuna battle but at this point I wouldn't be surprised if he, too, gets a pass and gets resurrected. I would love nothing more than to read a shonen where the dead don't come back and where there's actual troubling consequences but then that wouldn't really be a shonen but would be a different genre all together (a seinen) so... yeah. I'm not going to count in Megumi's sister (because she's barely even a character) nor reincarnated cursed spirits (because we couldn't really even invest ourselves in them before they were gone) so you could say the only real casualty of the whole vs. Sukuna (aside from the Merger which wasn't even a real threat since Kenjaku wasn't even that intent on that plan in the end) is my time.

I'm just joking ofc, but I hope you get my point. It's not rewarding, not fulfilling and definitely not a good conclusion for someone who could barely even invest themselves into other characters. I still can't give a fuck about Yuta, or Kusakabe, or Panda. I feel just as stone-faced as Nobara and Yuuji did during the latter half of 268 when Megumi joined them. It's all so... whatever. (and it's kinda hilarious to me because the fandom is losing their minds and meanwhile the characters are lowkey behaving like dolls lol)

Still for those who did enjoy this and do love how everything is unraveling and so on and so forth, good for them. I'm just stating my opinion. Some might get the impression that I would love for jjk to be a tragedy, and tbh, I would not but I really would've loved if Gege, as an author, made me care about the side characters more. Instead the side characters to me feel like empty husks and I attached myself to Yuuji because his development seemed interesting only for it all to amount to weird ass interaction with the entire cast and back to being benched. He's literally playing spectator now in this chapter and yeah... it's really disappointing.

Again, two chapters left and this is where we're at. Lol.

I don't want to be a killjoy but yeah. It's not all so bad really but it is frustrating how little there is about the world and in general how many things have been shelved in favor of what we got now. Instead of seeing these interactions (which was just recycled "ok so this happened which wasn't explained") we could've gotten explanations regarding Yuuji's linage, his talk with Gojo, or for that matter, had character behave a little less like npc's in a video game that repeat the same dialogue when you come up to talk with them.

What this chapter did reveal which was also funny (said with anger btw) to me is this:

So Yuuji's "gloves" weren't really a cool feature that came from swallowing his half-brothers but by mr. Chosen One himself. Le big sigh.

Okay so... the Yuta glaze. No offense to people that like him but since when did he develop this much that he overshadowed everyone (even the King of Curses) in the end? Not only is his plan this successful but turns out that without him, everything would've failed.

I'm just straight up baffled at the amount of attention he's getting because last time I checked he wasn't the one who brought back the literal threat of the series and had absolutely no connections with the secondary antagonist (Kenjaku). Instead of the supposed main character who never had gotten the spotlight in his own fucking story (which is just proving those haters right atp because truly what the actual hell is jjk about? Everyone but Yuuji.) to get something that belongs to him... Nope. None of that.

If you thought this was an actual serious story then well... jokes on you. This panel is actually lowkey hilarious but because I really had grown fond of the story I just find it frustrating.

Yeah I... I don't know what to say really but Gege really disappointed me with this. I'm not much hopeful for the future (because the writing does feel quite cheap) and therefore will stop treating jjk like I did before. Does this mean that I hate it? No. I'm just disappointed.

I will keep my head up for like two chapters more since I'm curious what else can happen but then will definitely move on. Not from the characters tho who (luckily) can exist outside of canon. Yuuji and Sukuna will always be my babies and others are still there in my heart even though I'm very much so frustrated with the story.

So yeah... there you go. I probably might skip answering asks regarding the chapters in the future bc I really don't care anymore. If Yuuji's linage get addressed (which is the only thing I care about atp bc everything else is starting to annoy me) I might be okayish with whatever the hell we get as the ending.

[lizzy019]

Me really genuinely thinking about how hard Soap's death hit Ghost.

~~~~🌿 In Ghost's POV! "You" is directed at Soap.

I used to think that people were brought into my life to pester me, bother me, ruin me inside to make me hate myself. I never thought people were intruding in my life to improve it. Most of the time, they would make a mess of me and force me to clean it myself.

I was never a social person, I never quite liked socialization because it forced me to give people access to my little home I gave myself. My clean home that I used to let my friends in, only for them to dirty it, leave, and force me to clean it.

My sanctuary where I reside, where I keep myself neat.

But when I met you... hell, everything became different. I liked you, you had character. Sure, that stupid Scottish accent of yours often made my guts wrench up, but now I miss it. Your laugh through the comms, even when you were in pain, it made everything seem less intense. It took away from the reality of the world we work in. I saw true happiness in you, and I felt what I thought I'd lost forever.

A real sliver of true joy.

You would always joke, always smile, always tease, you weren't ever serious unless you had to be. You radiated energy, and it made you a good soldier. A soldier should be able to have that switch from being serious to expressive.

You would talk to me endlessly about the most random things, telling me the most ungodly stuff. But I listened, and it stuck. I remember word for word, everything you told me. Your voice resonated so handsomely, and now I realize why all those conversations replay in my head like a looped song.

I miss you. I miss you.

Normally people would leave me because I scared them, I was misleading, or I was untrustworthy. But you stuck around, and I know you wouldn't leave me even if you were killed.

Oh God, when that bullet hit you... I swear, everything in me stopped. Your body laid there on the cold of the ground, and the blood that I'd come to not fear made every bone in my body shiver. Your body heavy with the required armour, the weapon now sprawled somewhere afar from your hands.

No, you couldn't be...

Your newly lifeless body was lying in my arms, and I was so nervous. I was genuinely scared, because you were all I had left. You were someone whom I cherished, I cared for you. You were the one good thing I could look upon, I could look forward to and genuinely feel excitement for.

But oh, you looked so calm. I've never seen you so relaxed before.

The cold of your body was increasing, and your eyes had began to close. Everything in me was screaming, "Do something!", but it was too late. I knew it was.

Oh, Johnny. Why you?

Now I can't even sleep because everything comes back. The blood, the sounds, the sight. Your lifeless body, followed by your voice. I swear, it's like a horror scene made just for me that I can't escape. It hit me the night that I lost you that I'd never hear you again. I'd never see that cocky smile, nor would I hear those jokes you'd tell me. Those endless hours where you talked to me about anything, your soothing voice that had come to calm me.

I miss you. I miss you.

I haven't cried since I was 8, and now I sob every night. I remember you, I remember everything. You didn't even get to go back to Scotland, see your family and friends, and what could have been done? Maybe if I was more alert, you would be alive.

Your voice, so serene yet gritty, how I wish for my dreams to recreate it as perfectly as you sounded. I want to hear you, and see you, I want my crewmate back. My friend. Am I not allowed to miss you when you changed me so much?

Your dog tag rested around my neck, and I stole your cologne to spray on my pillow. I always thought doing that was weird, especially as friends, but now I realize how much I crave it. So now I fall asleep replaying the conversations you told me all about, replaying how you talked with that stupid accent of yours. You were so passionate about everything, so full of life.

You had friends, family, your culture which you celebrated so fruitfully. You graced the Earth with your undying passion and determination, your skill and dedication. Oh, Johnny. John fucking Mactavish.

You've made a mess out of me.

Well, you're safe now. I think that's what matters most, and Price has told me enough about it. I secretly wish I took a bit of your ashes for myself, but it's too late. Being a soldier seems like a fruitless job now without someone to do it with. Your life was wasted because of it anyway.

So now I wait.

I wait for my turn to come. It won't be long, I hope at least. I'm excited to see you again, to hear you and touch you. I'm so ready. You'll be within my reach, we can talk and joke again. Smiling definitely hurts a bit, but I'm doing it just thinking of you.

I know I'll see you soon, though. Maybe I shouldn't worry.

I miss you.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Love Sea - Episode 1

Like I said before I'm feeling chatty today so I'm just gonna write while I watch and then decide if I'm gonna post. I'll probably post. If you're reading this I obviously did. Anyway I've had dinner and now I have my coffee. How are we feeling about another Mame show? I haven't read anything about this one. I went into Wedding Plan sceptic, to say the least, and it was a wonderful surprise. Although Love in the air part 2 was not a pleasant experience, I will do my best to have an open mind. OK. Let's do this.

-The sea is always a plus. I miss it so much. -LOL the slow-mo. We get it, we're suppose to be drooling. -This is an important pen. ok maybe not. is it just for the title shot? -This place is gorgeous. Heaven indeed. -No one will get this, but I just rewatched Barakamon and this is exactly what happens when Handa gets to the island as well. Heaven for some. Hell for others. -Are they gonna write 'southern dialect' on top of the subs every time he speaks??? -See I don't know thai, so how different is the southern dialect really? If anyone knows please tell me. I'm really curious now. -I don't think it's because he has a pretty face though. I'm sure he suffered some trauma and that's why he's an asshole. -Oh her. I missed her. Is she gonna be a couple too? Does this have a gl side couple? -oh hello Ja. you're here too? I'm pretty sure I watched the trailer for this but apparently I don't remember anything. -This hostility feels so forced. Like they are creating the enemies in 'the enemies to lovers' as we speak. -I'd like a Martini. But I don't have vermouth. Life is so unfair. -I like that he keeps speaking in dialect. It's so petty I love it. - That backfired now but I'm sure this is all atitude and Mut will actually be thinking about this moment later. -Declarations like this in a bl are guaranteed to mean exactly the opposite. -It's because of people like this guy that hotels have so much food waste. That's probably the most depressing think about working in a hotel. Also costumers like him. -'Money can't buy me.' That's just something people say. How much? 5000 bhts? let me just quickly google how much that is. 125,65 euros as of right now. Just to not speak the dialect? I think you can get more. 7000... 10 000… 15000… so that's around 376 euros. Not bad for basically doing nothing. -This whole convo is reminding of Auto in DR. 'Yeah, throw money at me. Screw dignity' -I'm really enjoying Fort. The sarcasm is delicious. -I really miss the beach. -This proposal sounds..indecent. -The last man on earth thing again. You're just asking for it now. -Yiwa is back. I know that's not her name here but it's too soon. Rehearsing in front of the mirror. I should do this. I'm sure it would save me some headaches. -Second person in a ql that can't change a lightbulb. Oh wait she's lying. Is this like Dee? She pretends she can't change the lightbulb just so the girl does it for her? Very mysterious. What is she planning... - I also don't get it. What does having sex have to do with anything? -That was fast. Already thinking of him? I guess if rude is your thing who am I to judge? or have they met before? have they met as kids??? The plot thickens. just in my head tho. -Never trust auto-save. Just when you need it, it will let you down. -That was so dramatic. Like I get that this is probably a trauma response but that was a lot. He's been an asshole this whole time, how am I suppose to empathise? Mut is a better person than me. -I choose clams. I love clams. But on land. I'm getting seasick just from watching. The End oh wait. there's more. wait what did he say? There were no subs for that bit. Oh well he's already smitten.

That's a nice background for the credits. I wonder if it will change with the episodes. Like Gaya Sa Pelikula. Probably, right?

Well that was...okay. Too early to say much but I'm enjoying Mut. And Yiwa is back on my screen! And I'm really happy to have a show set on the beach. I shall continue watching this for now.

I won't do this every time though. Today is an aberration. It was a weird day but I have too much energy.

I should check on the elections, I'm sure that will bring my mood right back down. Oh but tomorrow is a holiday so I can do nothing all day. I'm happy again. Ok. bye.

[natasha-in-space]

'Why do you love rika. I love rika myself as well. Tbh for me its like, the more I stay in mysme fandom the more my love and appreciation for rika grows. It initially started as me being angry at the double standards of the most asian media fandoms in general cuz i realised that rika would have been more well loved if she was a man, people would use the male!rika's trauma to justify his actions and this thought has made me angry and made me "appreciate" rika out of spite. But it eventually has grown into a genuine appreciation for her. Idk how to explain but something inside me makes me want to protect her and save her from everything happened to her leading upto the current situation. And more hate she gets more i feel the desire to defend her.

Actually my no 1 is another character and he has a place of his own which no one could take (its yoosung btw) but rika...i think she might be a close second fave i guess - anon'

I accidentally messed up your ask, so I'll be replying in this way instead!

Thank you for the question, dear anon! I'm always giddy to chitchat about these things. I do want to prelude this by saying that this is not really a proper analysis, but more of me just writing out my personal feelings. I might try my hand at actual analysis one day, but, for now, I'm just sharing my own interpretations!

Mystic Messenger is probably the only fandom I have been in since... well, since it has formed, basically. It's wild to think about sometimes. Things are very different in our little space now, compared to how it was before. Public perception of Rika is one of those things. I can totally resonate with your frustrations on that front, unfortunately. I know many folks miss the time when the fandom was bigger, but... personally, I don't. Especially as a Rika fan. It was borderline exhausting trying to curate your fandom space as a Rika fan at the time. Hell, we had full blogs dedicated to solely hating on her, a fictional character, and people who expressed their love for her. And that's just here on Tumblr. People used to full on write hate comments under every single seasonal CG with Rika in it. It was terrible, and very, very disheartening to see. Especially since most Rika fans I've met over the years are the sweetest people. Granted, there is a case to be made for practically every mm character, and how the fandom may have misinterpreted them in one way or another, so it's not just a Rika problem. Just that she was majorly disliked.

If anything, I'm very happy Cheritz still continued to include Rika in the seasonal events despite it all. Props to them on that front.

Right now, thankfully, things are much more peaceful and respectful. Rika is definitely not the more popular character, but now you can openly express your love for her in the fandom space, without fear of being harassed. I'd say that's a great win for us!

That being said, as to why I love Rika... Hm, it's interesting to put it into words. I didn't have a strong opinion on her until V's route came out. I never really shared the collective hatred of her, but I didn't love her either, you know? V's route came out during a pretty rough patch in my life, and I think that helped me get personally invested in what it had to tell. Rika actually feels like a fleshed out character with many nuances, and that instantly made me interested in paying close attention to what they wanted to do with her.

Rika is complicated, to say the least. She always was, but, with all the added content to her story that Cheritz have put out over the years, her complexity only evolved further. I love that about her. I love morally dubious characters who's mind you have to carefully study and pick apart piece by piece in order to understand them. I love how she is not really a villain in a traditional sense. She is not actively pursuing harm on anybody, not in her eyes. It is fascinating to me how different her view point is, compared to those around her. How skewed her perception of the world around her grows over the years. It's both scary and captivating.

So, it started with fascination. Appreciation for her character and a desire to delve deeper into what makes her who she is today. I think... my appreciation has grown into love when her Behind Story came out. I know many folks have very complicated feelings towards it, especially since it came out alongside V's After End and its unfortunate push for forgiveness, but I never really viewed Cheritz establishing Rika's past as an attempt to wash her of her sins. It just came out at a very bad timing is all. If her Behind Story came out a bit later, I think public opinion of it would have been different. It's a shame that their huge mess up with the message in V's After Ending sabotaged it like that.

Thing is, Rika wouldn't be as compelling and interesting as she is, if she was truly innocent. That being said, I... relate to her struggles on a deeply personal level. Not as deeply as I do with Saeran, but her story and her struggles do make me choke up to this day. Because, in a way, I see my past self in her. Being able to read through her story, her thoughts, and her feelings have really made me form a genuine fondness to her. Her religious trauma, her painful path of learning to survive in an environment that actively tries to harm you at every possibility, her fears of being the devil everyone says she is, her inability to accept and love herself, because all she has ever known is pain, danger and hatred... It hurts. I think, everyone has that little voice inside their head. Telling them that they are bad and undeserving of the love people close to them are expressing. That everyone actually hates them. That there is something inherently wrong with them. It's heartbreaking that, in Rika's case, this voice has eventually consumed her to the point of no return.

When you are an abused child, who knows nothing but the hostile world they have at home, it will follow you into every crook and cranny of your life. Even when you're not home, even when you're 'safe', your mind and body will still be on high alert, as it's natural to try and keep yourself safe from harm. Rika's fear of the world around her, her deep inner self-hatred is something I have experienced as an abused child/young teen. It's debilitating, and it's heartwrenching to think that so many people have to suffer like this.

I think the beauty of her story to me is the sheer tragedy of it. It's a tough pill to swallow, but people are not born evil. She has done horrible, immoral and unforgivable things, and yet, in some twisted sense, her heart was not filled with malice as she did so. She believed she was saving Saeran, she believed she was providing her believers the safety and love they couldn't get elsewhere, she believed she was trying to show her old friends the truth by taking them to her side. Of course, none of those things are actually true. Her real intentions were selfish, albeit not evil. A desperation to be loved and not abandoned. That dichotomy is both beautiful and tragic to me. (Some of these are very bad quality bc I can't screenshot stuff right now)

Of course, there's also the whole V/Rika debacle. Personally, I never put all of the responsibility onto either one of them. That takes away the beautiful tragedy of their shared bond. V - or, Jihyun - genuinely cares deeply for her. He is heartbroken at all the suffering he sees her go through during his route. Of course, it's not just his care for Rika at play, but we're not talking about him right now. While, for Rika, he was her only anchor, her light, the one person who saw the real her and accepted her instead of forsaking her. At least that's what she thought. Rika and V are two very hurt and troubled individuals who have met each other at the worst possible time. And that makes it so sad to me. Neither him nor Rika truly wanted to harm one another. Whether there was any romantic love between them or not, they did care for one another deeply. Too deeply, even. Clinging to one another in order to satiate the emptiness they had inside, each in their own toxic way. It was not healthy. But it was genuine.

And I love tragic bonds, be it romantic or not. There is something compelling about two people who do want the best for one another just causing more harm than good. It's also painfully truthful. Not to such an extreme, but the struggle of doing what's best with no direction is one many can relate to.

I guess, to conclude this all, I'd say I love Rika for her complexity most of all. There are so many layers to her, and her story is truly a heartbreaking one to behold. But, God, is it beautiful, too.

Also, may I just add, her voice actress is absolutely amazing? She puts her all into playing Rika, and her story wouldn't be as moving if it wasn't for her breathtaking work. Her voice acting made me cry a whole lot of times.

[fanfic-inator795]

WoY: A Decade Later (A personal retrospection)

Wander Over Yonder… for a time, it was - in my opinion - the best cartoon ever. It was my number one, and I wasn't sure that anything else could top it. While I don't necessarily feel the same way these days, it's still a cartoon that very much lives in my heart and I don't think I'll ever truly leave it behind.

From a personal perspective, it was probably the biggest and most active Fandom I had been in at that time. It wasn't my first fandom/hyperfixation - prior to WoY, there had been Cartoon Network's Chowder and Regular Show, as well as Disney's Phineas and Ferb. But Chowder was short-lived and RS and PnF were both shows I had lost interest in due to them beginning to dip in quality.

WoY, however, was new, fresh, exciting and growing rapidly. It inspired me to write probably at least a hundred fanfics. It was a blast live-reacting to new episodes with everyone and seeing all the art that would come afterwards. It brought me into the RP scene and, if not for that, I might have never met my best friend of 10 years (and counting! Love you, Tessa).

Looking back on it 10 years after the fact, I can't fully say that WoY is still my favorite cartoon (shows like Kid Cosmic, The Ghost and Molly McGee, Big City Greens and Craig of the Creek have all outshined it in one way or another), nor can I claim that it is/was a perfect show. But man… It sure was a hell of a ride.

(Keep reading for all my admittedly VERY LONG personal thoughts or opinions regarding this one of a kind show)

Humble Beginnings

Pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I actually didn't care for WoY at first. It was the summer right before college, and I remember watching the sneak peek - The Picnic - early one morning after not being able to go back to sleep. I remember not really laughing much or even seeing the appeal… and yet the episode stuck in my mind, to the point that I ended up watching it again during a free moment I had from Freshman Orientation Week. I had a similar reaction to the show's proper pilot, The Greatest - not loving it, but not hating it either.

The fact that people/friends from my RS and PnF days were also posting about it helped keep the show in my mind (shoutout to Taylor, Erin and Darkwing). But it wasn't until two specific episodes - The Fugitives and The Good Deed - that I managed to finally start to connect with the characters myself. 

I started to see the appeal in this little furry orange spoon who just wanted to do good and make others happy, even when it was a struggle. I really liked the show's core theme of not just optimism and positivity, but also just being kind. I also started to really enjoy the show's sci-fi and space aesthetic and grew to adore its animation and gorgeous backgrounds, as well as laugh at its wacky sense of humor (I still laugh at The Fugitives/Good Deed quite a bit, even though I probably have their entire scripts memorized at this point).

So, it was official. I was hooked. Whenever there were new eps, I'd either try to watch them on the basement TV in my college dorm or wait for a livestream or FreeCartoonsOnline upload. If we're being honest, the first half of season 1, while being much more low-key than the wackiness that the show would end up eventually shifting to, was probably when it was at its most consistent. Other eps later on would reach higher highs, but getting stuff like The Bad Guy, the Prisoner, the Troll, the Pet, the Box and The Little Guy back-to-back just made my love for the show grow more and more.

The Little Guy specifically is one that is just incredibly well-crafted in its dialogue, story-telling and pacing, being both enjoyable and heartfelt. (Also the last time I watched it the ending made me bawl so, there's that, lol). Shortly afterwards, The Hero was another ep that I distinctly remember sticking in my head for whatever reason (Dracor and Demurra are still adorable, ngl). Then we had another favorite of mine, The Nice Guy.

I know I may be in the minority on this one - I remember my parents being annoyed and frustrated when they watched it with me, haha - but I absolutely love this episode. I find the jokes funny enough - the cashier is one of my favorite minor characters tbh - and the space gas station appeals to my aesthetic. But what really sells this episode for me is how it handles and portrays its moral of "being nice isn't always easy, but it's still right and still worth doing". Its ending never fails to get an "awwww" out of me, and honestly I could probably go on for an hour about all the little details and things I like/appreciate. I've also grown to really like its sister episode, the Time Bomb.

But no show is perfect, and right around here is where the show, in my opinion, started having some misses. It was mostly just "meh" affairs like The Night, The Toddler and The Big Job (weird, since I usually like heist eps… though I haven't rewatched this one in a while so *shrugs*). Other eps like The Tourist and ESPECIALLY The Helper (which I consider to be the show's worst outing, the vibes are just SO WEIRD on this one) I just didn't care for at all. 

Nothing terrible (save for the Helper), just cases of the jokes not landing or the stories being boring. This was also when the show really started leaning into the wackiness - which wasn't BAD persay, since it led to some really funny jokes and memorable moments when it was used well - it's just that looking back, I sorta miss the simplicity of early s1.

Thankfully, the season put out some real bangers by its end, with my personal faves being The Epic Quest (that ending will never not make me cackle. Again, it's a case of the wackiness actually working incredibly well), the Halloween/Christmas special, and the Rider, which is a great adventure to cap off the season and also the Horse from Horsin’ Around guest stars in it! (and does a pretty good job too. Will Arnett is def one of my favorite celeb VAs at this point, ngl)

So yeah, between the two seasons, s1 is easily my favorite. Call it nostalgia or personal taste, but for me it's all about that consistency. Adding in the fact that s2 has some pretty notable flaws and is thus a lot harder to look back on without noticing those flaws, and it's really no contest for me. 

New season, New problems

I certainly remember the excitement - as well as the fandom's stir craziness - in the lead-up to s2. There were crackships that were invented, silly RP blogs were rampant, Craig McCracken and crew (back when they were still on Tumblr) kept us fed with cool behind the scenes info as well as sneak peeks of the new season, and while I can't recall when it specifically happened, I also vividly remember the 'Bad End to Episodes' phase that the fandom was in at one point. Ah, the joys of still being in your angst phase.

Come that year's Comic Con, and a new round of hype came from the reveal that our new villain of the season was going to be a girl! …yeahhh, it sorta sucks recalling how hyped we all were about Dominator now that we know that she didn't quite work out the way we were all hoping for…

But regardless, s2 had a very strong start. Outside of the premiere, my favorites of this first batch would easily be The Boy Wander and The It for both just being incredibly funny. Although, if you had asked me at the time though, I probably would have said the Skeleton Dance fueled eps that were The Big Day and the Fremergency Fronfract - and like, yeah those eps can still be funny and enjoyable, but I've definitely cooled on the Skeleton Dance ship since these eps first premiered. (Still love a lot of the cute fanon stuff though)

Skipping past the next tent-pole episode for right now, this season had two of my favorite episodes of the ENTIRE SERIES - these being The Cartoon and The Black Cube. The former is just hilarious while the latter has a unique visual presentation and feels like an early s1 ep, and I mean that in the best possible way. I also really enjoy the Eye on the Skullship as well as the Hole… 'Lotta Nuthin' (this one especially, as it's another instance where, for as good as the ep is as a whole, it's the heartwarming lesson and hilarious ending that makes it such a winner in my book).

But for as much as the show was still putting out hits, I'll admit that there were also quite a few meh or just okay eps, especially as the season goes on. Some eps I found funny when I first watched them, but that humor doesn't hit as well when I watch them now. I also feel like there were points where it tried to be TOO silly to the point where it inhibited the actual humor and made the characters flatter and a bit flanderized compared to how they were in s1 (Hater especially got hit bad with this, where it’s less about him ‘softening up’ to show that he has the potential to be a good guy, and more just him constantly leaning into him being a bratty teenager instead of having that mix of dumb/bratty teen boy and legit evil conqueror).

Other times, it was just another case of a story not being as good as it could have been - and by this point in the season, while there are still enjoyable eps with fun concepts/jokes in the latter half of the series, the only one to get near the peak of the show's typical high quality is the musical ep, and if we're being real, it's Andy Bean's impeccable songwriting that saves this ep and makes it so good to rewatch despite its connection to the season's flawed overall story.

And I think it's about time we talk about that…

Not Quite Ready for Serialization

Being a show that was made right after Gravity Falls but before stuff like Star VS, Amphibia, and Owl House, s2 of WoY felt like a show with one foot stuck in episodic stuff and one foot trying to step into serialization. Because of this, the season’s overarching plot feels incredibly underbaked.

Now… Am I saying that I’d want the show to be like ATLA where every episode had to relate back to either the overarching story or one of the side-arcs? No, absolutely not. We’d be missing out on some of my favorite one-shot episodes if they did that, and if I had to choose between the season we have now and the season we could have gotten had the WoY crew gotten more freedom and were allowed more serialization, I’m going with the former each and every time.

HOWEVER, I still have to acknowledge just how poorly done the structure of this season was when it came to the overarching story. Basically we got four tentpole episodes acting as the season’s beginning, arc shifts and ending. During the season’s second and third arcs, there would be certain episodes afterwards reacting to the change in the show’s status quo.

Now, I get what they were TRYING to do but in my opinion it just really didn’t work as well as it could have. I’ll talk more about this in a bit but the season’s second arc (the “romance” arc) definitely got tiring after a while, meanwhile the third “Stop Dominator” arc felt like it was sort of killing time given that it was mostly just the main 4 trying to find some sort of weapon/figure out some sort of plan that ultimately resulted in some ‘funny’ failures and some quick lessons, with the occasional character piece thrown in here or there.

Now, I didn’t hate these episodes. By this point, it should be evident that one of my favorite elements of WoY are its morals and lessons, so even if the episodes themselves didn’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things and were essentially filler, I can at least appreciate a message like “being sad doesn’t mean you’ve given up hope” or “allowing yourself to laugh even in the dark times can help a ton”. So yeah, not completely pointless.

Unfortunately, even with a few bright spots here and there, the overarching plot of s2 still feels underbaked somewhat - and that’s ultimately because of the new character its focused around.

Dominator’s Dilemma

Okay, fess up. Whose idea was it to completely exclude Dominator from the first six episodes of the season (after the s2 premiere)? Because WOW does this decision backfire a lot. I don’t even like Dom that much and I can still acknowledge that she needed much more screen time and focus than she got.

I don’t know if this was to build up the ‘mystery’ surrounding her or because they wanted to get back in the groove of writing the main 4, but this was the crew’s first crucial mistake. Hell, in the first two episodes she plays an active role in, she’s nearly silent in both of them, only having her little fangirl rant in The Greater Hater and a small handful of lines in The Battle Royals. (Which, if I’m being honest, is still a really fun episode for 90% of it, having both great action and absolutely hilarious jokes that still make me laugh, but I get the ending of it making people sour on the episode as a whole.)

Again, it felt like trying to build up this artificial mystery surrounding her when it really wasn’t necessary. Dominator was meant to be a MAIN MEMBER of the cast! Yet I’m pretty sure Emperor Awesome got more significant screen time than her in the end!

Things got a teeny bit better as the show went on, with Dom at the very least getting more lines and more moments to be both badass and totally villainous, but she still felt more like a goal/obstacle than an actual character. I’m not sure if the writers MEANT to do this persay, or if it was just an accident.

Ultimately, it wasn’t until The Night Out when Dom finally got a spotlight episode… which was a little over 3/4ths of the way through the season. You could argue that she also got a bit of characterization in the musical episode, but it was really more emphasizing what we already knew or could infer about her. 

The Night Out, meanwhile, gives us something new - that she’s lonely - and we get a teeny hint of this again in The Robomechabotatron before being told outright in the series finale. Ultimately, it truly does feel like too little too late - especially when her secretly desiring friends just sorta feels like it’s aping off Hater’s secret motivations of wanting to be liked/admired and to have friends/people who love him for who he is.

So yeah, the crew completely dropped the ball on Dom’s characterization, using her as just a goal/threat/obstacle/etc. for nearly all of her appearances. Not only does it make Dom feel like a shallow character, but it also just feels unfair in general. Practically everything we know about Dom is for the sake of other characters.

She’s a test for Wander, an enemy/temporary love interest for Hater, an obstacle for our main four to overcome, and a threat to the characters we already love. Again, there’s nothing wrong with having a character that’s only meant to serve a purpose in the narrative, nor is there anything wrong with a character being shallowly evil… it’s just that the WoY crew hyped her up so much and claimed that she was a fifth main character (implying that she would get about as much development as the main four), so it just felt all the more disappointing when we didn’t get that. Add in her character design - a mix of goth/punk girl energy with Hartman Hips - and it does feel just a tad misogynistic.

There were things I liked about Dom - her cool lava powers and gadgets, her excitable personality, her villain spotlight moments, and her fun vocal performance provided by Noel Wells were all excellent. But unfortunately, these were all surface-level elements, and the crew just didn’t put in enough time to give her much else, essentially saving all her deeper character stuff for the never-made season 3…

A love-hate relationship (leaning towards hate)

Of course you can’t talk about Dom without discussing the season’s second arc, which many see as both a tumor on the plot and the absolute low point of the season. Admittedly when I was watching the season for the first time, I didn’t mind the romance arc all that much. I didn’t care if Dom was getting short-changed, I was too busy laughing at Hater falling all over himself like a dork and thought all the ‘critics’ of the arc were just focusing on the wrong thing and didn’t know how to have fun with a silly cartoon.

Obviously, this was the wrong perspective to have about this sort of thing (I was in the mindset of “I don’t want to accidentally make myself hate this thing I love so I’m going to ignore all criticism of it”. Definitely not the right approach), one that I still apologize for because the critics were totally in the right. From both an objective and a storytelling standpoint, this arc was just the worst - and for several reasons.

Leaning into the overall problem with Dom herself as mentioned previously, this arc was focused solely on Hater and Wander (and to an extent Syl and Peeps as they tried to talk some sense into their respective friends). Whenever Dom was brought in, she either used Hater’s crush to mess with him or just ignored it entirely, being obviously annoyed - and that was the extent of focus that her feelings got.

Outside of those moments, however, Dom’s feelings are relegated to the background, deemed as ‘unimportant’. Sure, in the climax of the arc, she gets this big whole musical number about how she’s “not the damsel” and isn’t interested in Hater’s affections - but again, it’s at the VERY END of the arc and the moment is less about Dom standing up for herself and more about emphasizing just how cruel she can be, as instead of simply rejecting Hater’s advances, she laughs in his face, continuing to mess with him to try and make the rejection as painful as possible before ultimately trying to kill Hater.

But while the arc ends in a showy (and admittedly still kinda fun, thank you Andy Bean and your musical talents) way, the way it starts sorta proves why this idea was so rotten to the core. The ONLY reason why Wander tries to get Hater and Dom together is ONLY because he knows Hater wants a GF and believes that a ‘positive’ thing like love could only ever result in the two villains finding happiness and no longer being evil. Nevermind the fact that Wander is shown only really caring about Hater’s perspective, not once considering Dom’s feelings or even asking if she wants a BF or romantic partner in general.

We get Syl calling him out on this a couple of times, but it’s in that ‘oh that Wander, always with the crazy ideas’ way. You’d think Sylvia, the icon that she is, would be just a bit more blunt and maybe even a bit harsh about how Wander’s treating Dominator - it’s not just a matter of it being a dumb and dangerous plan, but it’s essentially objectifying Dom, treating her like Hater’s missing piece. But hey, it’s fiiiiine, because Wander learns his lesson in the end, right? Except, no not really.

Because even when Wander FINALLY realizes this and feels guilty about causing so much trouble, Syl is more concerned with comforting Wander about it, because he TRIED to do what he thought was right and that “acknowledging you messed up is the first step towards making things right”. Like… yeah I guess but you could have let Wander actually acknowledge what he did was wrong and super messed up, focusing more on the personal aspect of how his whole romance scheme affected Dom AS WELL AS Hater (not JUST Hater) instead of how his scheme broke Hater’s heart and inadvertently made Dom more powerful.

(Also we see Wander shipping and actively pairing up the little Pikmin things in “The Sky Guy” soooooo no I don’t think he fully learned his lesson)

I also have to bring up how there are fans who view Dominator and her whole anti-love thing as aphobic. As someone who only recently figured out she was almost definitely aromantic, I’m certainly not the authority on this, but I can certainly understand the critiques.

What I THINK the WoY Crew was trying to go for was a ‘strong female villain who don’t need no man’, but between Dom constantly being described as ‘heartless’ and Peeps saying that he “doesn’t think she likes anybody” and her cruelty being turned up to 11 whenever someone expressed romantic feelings towards her, it does sorta imply “She can’t love and THAT’S why she’s a villainous monster” rather than simply “she’s a villainous monster”. And because we don’t get any real development or strong characterization with Dom, it’s hard to say where exactly her cruelty comes from, so it’s hard to really argue against these implications without simply inserting headcanons like “Dom is a lesbian”.

Now to be fair, I have seen some aromantics see Dom as good representation - I recall a month or so back when I saw people praising her after she was included in one of those Tumblr polls, with this one being focused on aromantic characters, saying that they liked how she didn’t sugarcoat her rejections and seeing her as this strong, cool, badass villainous who didn’t need romance. So yeah, obviously not every person who shares an identity is going to agree on representation and whether or not it's good, but considering all of Dom’s baggage and the inability to determine whether or not her heartlessness is the cause of her evil or simply a by-product of it, I personally feel like she’s just too messy of an example of a potential aro character.

(Honestly, Syl feels like a better example of an aromantic character to me, given that she and Ryder seemed just as platonic as she and Wander are, as well as her multiple rejections of Awesome and general disinterest/discomfort with romance. Buuut given that those latter examples are specifically with villains and thus it makes sense why she’d reject them regardless of her orientation, it’s still just a vibe/headcanon).

Before I close off this section, I do wanna acknowledge that beyond the potentially aphobic nature of Dominator, WoY’s LGBTQ+ rep isn’t nearly as great as I thought it was once upon a time as a young shipper. Some parts are still pretty okay, like Wander being coded as genderfluid/agender, but overall it still feels more like an old Looney Tunes cartoon than an episode of “The Owl House”, if you get what I’m saying.

In Craig’s defense, the man has never been all too interested in romance in his shows nor has he claimed otherwise - he either uses it as a joke while portraying it as a negative (see Ms.KeenexProf.Utonium, BlooxBerry or, obviously, DomxHater) or it’s a wholesome relationship that ultimately still stays in the background because it’s not all that important (see DracorxDemurra or Ramona and Carlos Flores from “Kid Cosmic”). 

BUT given that there were LGBTQ+ crew members working on the show in s2, such as N.D. Stevenson, as well as LGBTQ+ allies, it is a shame that no proper representation came of that. We got a whole episode where the joke was “oh, Wander and Hater are planning Wander’s execution like it’s a wedding”, an episode where Peeps and Hater essentially break up when Hater fires him, and an “I just can’t quit you” sort of moment from Peeps in the s2 finale when he goes all heart-eyed over Hater deciding to continue being a villain. That’s it, all jokes but nothing substantial. Even the show’s number one lesbian/wlw pairing of SylxDom got a quick Girls Night montage and one sweet moment between them, nothing else.

Again, it’s fine if you’re just looking for jokes, and yeah the WoY Crew never outright promised any romances… buuuut given how much they chose to lean into the Skeleton Dance and DeathGlare stuff while at the same time never outright confirming any of these characters as LGBTQ+ (they didn’t even have to make any ships canon, they just had to say whether or not Wander/Hater/Peeps were gay/bi/pan/etc), I’m not gonna invalidate people who feel just a bit queerbaited about the whole thing.

Bittersweet Goodbyes

As I said before, I was starting college when WoY first premiered. It’s the show that led me to my best friend and it’s the show that helped me through those first two years of college (easily the roughest part of college). It was a show that made me laugh and got me excited, even during the times where I was stressed out or worried. For all its flaws, it was one of the brightest lights in my life at that time.

So, needless to say, when I heard the show was canceled, I was devastated. I remember crying about it that night and even the day after, and I remember joining in as many online strategies as possible to try and get the show back, from letter writing to petition signing. Of course none of that worked, but as a bright side, going through this helped emotionally prepare me for the next time one of my favorite shows was suddenly canceled (looking at you Nickelodeon. Though considering how the RotTMNT movie turned out maaaaybe it was for the best…)

Honestly, for as much as I can look at the show through a critical lens nowadays and point out all the ways it could have been better, I think there will always be a small part of me that wishes we could have gotten some sort of continuation, whether it be through a special, a TV movie or a comic - or hell, I’d even take the plans for s3 leaking at this point. Now, given that the end of WoY brought about the creation of “Kid Cosmic”, I feel like this part has faded a bit, but I’m always gonna want closure on things like Hater’s arc as well as his origins given how much they were teased.

But that in itself is another critique I could give the show. Whether it be Wander facing a different type of threat that wasn’t just another villain, Hater’s transition into becoming a good guy, Peepers getting fed up with his boss and striking out on his own, or Dom’s true characterization that the crew kept insisting was there - the show simply saved a lot of it’s most interesting ideas for a potential Season 3. It was a gamble, and it was one they ultimately lost. It sucks, but it is what it is.

There’s a few more things I could critique about the show, such as its take on the idea of character redemption and Wander becoming a bit of a karma houdini that the show pretty much stopped calling out, and while these critiques are valid I feel like there are other fans who could do a better job talking about those points. But in the end, while season 2 was both a let down in some parts and a bit of a mess in others, I still feel like there were ultimately more good things to be found within the show than bad things.

It’s not a perfect show, far from it. Frankly, I don’t look down on anyone who fell out of love with this show or enjoyed s1 but hated s2. But for what it’s worth, the memories I got from the show are still ones I treasure, and episodes like “The Good Deed”, “The Little Guy”, “The Nice Guy”, “The Epic Quest”, “The Rider”, “The Boy Wander”, “The Black Cube”, “The Hole… Lotta’ Nuthin’” and “The Cartoon” are ones I still love to bits and will probably always love as I watch them over and over.

Disney Channel itself may not care all that much about this show these days save for an occasional rerun or a quick cameo in their Chibi-Verse shorts, but I’m always gonna remember it - for better and for worse. So here’s to 10 years, WoY. I may not always like you, but I still love you.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for lying about why I wanted to go on a road trip?

I (25m) have been wanting this one artifact for years, now. And when I finally went to go get it, I was nearly killed by a dragon in my attempt! Supposedly it's the planet's 'guardian angel' but I've never seen it do anything even remotely guardian-like! I mean, it's just been sleeping forever, so I thought I would be able to just take the crown for myself without any sort of issues.

Anyways, I failed, and crash-landed on a planet I'd never been to before, and four complete strangers (we'll call them K, D, B, and M) helped me get back on my feet! Imagine my surprise when one of them was actually the person who my friend (22m) had told me about back when we first met!

About halfway through the ship repairs, I had gotten an idea and offered to take them to the planet I'd originally gotten attacked by the dragon on. I obviously didn't tell them about the dragon, though, so they agreed.

I actually quite liked these people by now. Even M, who was a huge stick in the mud through the whole of the ship repairs!

Once the last of the repairs were complete, we took off, only to be struck down by the dragon AGAIN when we got there! By now, I was upset, so I asked K and their friends if they could deal with the dragon for me! (After all, it did attack them.)

It was actually surprisingly easy to convince them, and when I watched them defeat the dragon, I stepped in and took the crown for myself!

Everything is... fuzzy after that. I think I died? I definitely woke up somewhere awful. But after fighting my way out of what might have been hell and getting back to my own dimension, (long story. I have a sick sword now, though!) I met back up with everybody.

My friend was happy to see me, but the people I took on the road trip (who also might have killed me? I'm still uncertain if that was what happened or not.) were PISSED at me. It's been a while now, and M still doesn't trust me with any artifacts other than my own ship, and even then, I can't go off-planet anymore.

So, people of tumblr, am I the asshole?

P.S.: I recently met my few remaining relatives and they also believe me to be an asshole for these events. But they also tried to end the world so I think that's just a double standard.

[thelaughtercafe]

New Discoveries*

Tea Type: Half and Half with a lemon

Potential Triggers: Poly if that isn't your thing, lil bit of consensual bondage, premise revolves around accidentally messaging your friends about your tickle kink and confessing, no full nsft but definitely suggestive! Characters are all aged up and in college, of course.

Pairing: Rindo/F! Reader/Shoka

Length: 2.6+

Summary: You text your two best friends an embarrassing confession thinking you've ruined everything, but...perhaps they're not quite as horrified as you thought.

You really hadn't meant to send it. You were kicking yourself 20 times over. God. You were never drinking again. You'd be sober the rest of your life. It was a miracle you hadn't accidentally added anyone else- but deep down you knew you never would have. No-one else made you feel like they did. 

You'd known for months that you wanted Rindo and Shoka to wreck you senseless. How could you not? They were both so damn attractive and when Rindo's face lit up in amusement, and he laughed at you while you went 50 shades of red thanks to tripping right into him? Of course you were smitten. And let's not even talk about Shoka's nails; the way she'd cooed at Rindo while styling his hair and accidentally brushing his neck haunted you.  

"Ticklish baby?"

You shuddered. 

Your phone rang and you ignored it, face heating even more as you groaned and buried your face in your arms. You couldn't do this. Gods, you'd ruined two of your strongest friendships all because you couldn't keep your drunk neediness to yourself. They probably didn't even like you that way!

You thought back to when you'd first met them, working at the movie theater. It had been hectic; Avengers: Endgame was in full swing and you'd been running around like crazy when you accidentally ran right into Rindo, spilling popcorn everywhere in your rush to deliver it to an impatient customer. You'd apologized profusely, but he'd merely laughed and helped you to your feet, his hands stronger than they looked. 

He was fairly tall, at 5'10 and you gaped up at him like an idiot. 

"You alright there? You didn't hit your head right? I'm Rindo, what's your name?" 

He looked panicked, brown eyes widening in worry and you gathered yourself enough to shake your head, and give him your name so he didn't think you were a complete moron. 

"No, no worries here! I'm so sorry about that sir just-um-is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

You were so frazzled you couldn't even think of an option so you opted to let him set how you could make it right. 

He hummed for a moment, looked you up and down, making his blond hair, with dyed red tips bounce before he smirked.

"Alright then, you can take a break and get some food with me."

"What? B-But it's so busy! My managers-"

"-will settle down if you explain a customer asked you to and left happy and saying he'd come back again. Right?"

He suddenly turned a little pink, burying one of his hands in his black hoodie pockets and flicking his eyes skyward. 

"O-Only if you want to though. You just really look like you need a break, and you've been working hard, clearly. I'd say you've more than earned it."

After that you'd shyly acquiesced and headed over to concessions, grabbing some of the food there and using your employee status to quickly pay on a rare vacant register, before you headed outside, following him to his car.

Imagine your surprise when you see a girl in the passenger seat, glaring at the blond. 

"Where the Hell were you? I've been waiting here for-"

Her gaze turned to you and you stopped breathing and literally froze like a deer in headlights. 

She didn't react as you expected though, merely raising an eyebrow at you, sharing a glance with Rindo and motioning for you to come in the car. 

"...Um, are you gonna close the door or what, loser? Unless you want us to freeze to death."

"R-right sorry!"

You rushed to do as she said and if you were blushing before you were positive you were a mess now.

She was much shorter than Rindo, and around your height. But her eyes were striking. Like your cats' they just cut right to your soul. 

"Here's your food, Shoka. I ran into a fellow overworked employee and couldn't help but want to give her some space to breathe."

"Uh, yeah I gathered dumbass. She's wearing a work uniform." 

Despite the cursing, her tone was fond. Rindo's had deepened somewhat and you could tell he felt completely relaxed, casually unpacking the food and chatting.

"You said fellow, where do you work, sir?"

Shoka almost spat out her drink with how hard she suddenly laughed and you squirmed uncomfortably as Rindo rolled his eyes and pouted. 

"It's not that funny."

"Sure it is! Her calling you sir!? Shit sweetheart, you just made my week. I needed that. You can call me Mommy if you like~" 

She winked at you and you're pretty sure you were going to spontaneously combust from blushing any second now. 

Luckily Rindo came to your rescue and nudged Shoka. 

"Alright, babe enough. You're gonna make the poor girl run away before we can even get to know her at this rate."

He turned to smile kindly at you and your heart skipped.

"Please, call me Rindo. I work at the music store on 5th; not many left but it's really quiet and admittedly it's a treat to get to pick the store's soundtrack every week."

You nodded and gradually began to open up, becoming more animated as you all found subjects you related to. Shoka and you shared a love of horror movies that Rindo loathed, same for haunted houses, while Rindo and you both liked different arts. You created playlists for just about everything, and wrote while he preferred the music side of composing and producing, and dabbled in drawing. 

You all shared a fondness for gaming, but preferred different genres as your all time faves. You loved turn-based RPG's with strong stories and characters, Rindo enjoyed action games, and the occasional shooter while Shoka liked more chill games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. Luckily you all shared a love for FFXIV and by the time you realized you'd been talking for an hour and had to rush off, they had your phone number and FFXIV username. 

You'd grown to be close from that; you and Rindo even attended the same college; although for different subjects. You went to school for Nursing, while Rindo went for Music Production. You gradually hung out more and more the three of you…and you couldn't deny that feelings bloomed quickly. But they were already dating each other. They weren't obvious with PDA or anything, but you could tell. It was the way Rindo's hand lingered when she dropped his hand after helping her up, the way Shoka innately could tell Rindo wasn't feeling well or was upset at the slightest change in expression. If that wasn't enough the rare moments of direct affection proved it. Rindo cradling Shoka's face and kissing her forehead when she won a fashion designing competition; Shoka stealing pecks on the cheeks to continuously fluster Rindo enough to give chase and catch her around the middle before attacking her with kisses of his own until she laughed. 

It made you ache in want…but now they knew. There was no going back. And even worse; you'd led with your kink like a complete weirdo - what if they thought you were a total freak?

You sighed heavily and braced yourself as you turned over you phone, ringing once again. Ignoring the missed calls and texts icon you answered and as you inhaled; were cut off. 

"Hel-"

"Open the door."

You squawked.

"You're here!? But I-"

"Did I fucking stutter? Hey, wait Shok-"

Rindo was cut off and there was a rustle as Shoka grabbed the phone.

"Open the door or I'll pick the lock and then you'll really be in trouble. 'Kay?"

She didn't wait for you to answer before hanging up, leaving you gaping at your phone like a fish. 

You gulped, trembling but made your way to the door. They sounded mad. Really mad. God- there was no time to theorize about their feelings because you were opening the lock. The second the door opened you were already being cornered by an anything but angry Shoka. She was grinning. 

…In hindsight, That's was probably scarier.

You backed up as she advanced on you and you were quickly reduced to giggles and yelps as you jerked at every poke she delivered as she switched between tickle spots as easily as breathing. She finally cornered you against the wall as you took her pokes, jerking and hugging yourself in a weak attempt at protection.

"You. stupid. idiot. why. wouldn't. you. ask. this. sooner!?!"

She glared at you but the pout on her lips made you breathe again. 

"You're…not mad?"

You squeaked out. 

She crossed her arms and huffed but her eyes softened and you found yourself pulled into a hug you quickly reciprocated. 

"Of course not dummy. We wouldn't be here to fulfill your adorable request otherwise."

"And Rin-?"

Your breath hitched and you blushed at the smirk on his face, and his dominant body language as he leaned with one leg up against the door, watching Shoka pet your hair in knowing amusement. 

"'Bout time you asked for what you wanted. I've known for months. Filled Shoka in about a month ago. I noticed how you'd run off and hide any time I tickled her, or she me. At first I thought it was discomfort. But then, when we were here and you felt a little safer? You didn't run. You stayed and I got to see you actually wanted us to do that to you ."

His grin widened and became mean enough you hid in the shoulder of Shoka's Gatto Nero hoodie. Didn't stop you from hearing his words though. 

"For someone who enjoys acting you sure suck at masking your reactions when with us. You go red as a damn firetruck and scramble for words if we so much as give you a smolder. Either of us. That was how we first figured out you liked us just like how we liked you." 

You peeked out at him, vulnerability but a strong sense of trust in your gaze. 

"Really? You promise?"

Shoka pulled back to smile gently at you, and you flushed as she pushed a strand of hair behind your ear, swooning all over again. 

"We'd never lie about this or lead you on.  We wanted you to make the first move  because while we were 99% sure- we didn't want to pressure you if you really just saw us as friends and we were misinterpreting your affection and shyness as romantic interest."

"I see…and the other thing…"

You fidgeted uncomfortably, your nervous tics jumping out in anxiety as you averted their gazes.

"You really don't think I'm some kinda freak for liking th-that?

Rindo's lips quirked up teasingly and his tone matched. 

"Oh your thing for being tickled? Of course not."

Shoka scoffed, rolling her eyes as she pulled away, grabbing your hand to pull you towards your bedroom. 

"Like I said loser; we wouldn't be here otherwise now, would we? Now, are you sure you really want to be wrecked by us? I believe your exact words involved "being made to laugh yourself hoarse and still ask for more."

Her grey eyes twinkled in amusement as she sat you down and you groaned, hiding your face in your hands. 

"I'm never drinking again. I was just in such a bad lee mood it slipped out."

"Lee mood?"

Rindo's inquisitive tone made you glance up, and you smiled sheepishly. 

"Yeah. Lee as in t-ticklee. Short for someone who likes b-being-y'know."

You gestured and they both giggled. 

"Could you get any cuter? God. Can I kiss you?"

Rindo's voice had lowered in want and you took a deep breath before nodding. 

His lips met yours and you quickly kissed back. You'd never seen this side of Rindo before. Truth be told you'd always assume him to be the submissive one between him and Shoka…but you should've guessed with your luck they'd just be different types of dominant. 

The kiss became more heated and you started before relaxing as you felt Shoka's hands glide underneath your shirt, her nails grazing your stomach and making you smile against Rindo's lips, heart beating faster. 

Shoka giggled and Rindo pulled back reluctantly as she helped you discard your shirt, leaving you in your bra. Her hands free to roam, they skimmed along your bare skin making you jerk and giggle into Rindo's neck. 

"You're really ticklish, huh?"

At your shy nod Rindo chuckled, and pushed your hair behind your ear. 

"No need to be embarrassed. It's really sweet you like this so much. Let us take care of you, hm?"

Shoka's nails crawled up your back and you squealed, pulling back to raise your shoulders protectively. She smiled in amusement, eyes twinkling in a way that made your stomach flip.

"Tonight is all about you, so you have to tell us what you want. Bondage or no bondage? Any tools you especially like? That kind of thing."

You flushed but took a breath to steady yourself. 

"Yes to bondage. I'm…flexible with tools."

It felt odd to finally be able to talk openly about it after hiding it for so long. A glance up to both of them let you see them both contemplative. 

"Well…I'd prefer we take it slow. It's all of our first time with this. Shoka and I have more experience in the bedroom of course, but the tickling is new. Maybe we'll focus on that and slowly work you up that way? We'll stick with our hands this time. Is that okay?"

Rindo inquired seriously and you nodded. 

"That's fine. I'm good with any kind of pace. I know it's out there so don't feel pressured-"

You yelped as Shoka squeezed your side. 

"Stop putting yourself down for liking this. We want to. Stop framing it like it's some big inconvenience. We love you dummy."

Despite her words her tone was fond and soft and she leaned down to softly kiss you as well. Her lips were softer then Rindo's and she took her time. It helped you lose your tension and get comfortable again after being honest about your wants. 

You felt Rindo gently guide your wrist to the bed post, first one, and then the other and then Shoka straddled your waist, Rindo helping you discard your pants in the meantime. 

You had no time to dwell on the added vulnerability as Shoka squeezed at your inner thighs, making you gasp and throw your head back in laughter. 

"No fhahahahir!!"

"Oh, it's plenty fair. You asked for this, remember? We're just giving you what you want."

Rindo's voice was playful as he gently bound your ankles as well and you squealed, clenching your toes as he ran a finger up your foot. 

Your smile was shy but giddy as you pulled lightly at your bonds. Rindo had very intentionally not tied them too tight. Seeing you struggle Shoka shot you a smirk, her nails scribbling mercilessly at your ribs. 

"We couldn't tie you too tight, now could we? Besides-"

She pecked your forehead before leaning over to blow air in your ear. 

"It's too fun to watch you struggle. It's cute you think you have any chance of escape~"

Rindo snickered at that eagerly wiggling his fingers between your toes to make you squeal. 

"You're all ours."

Needless to say, your night was filled with laughter. The two worked in perfect unison to make you crumble and had you begging much faster than you thought you would. 

Oh well, maybe you’d last longer next time. 

[gaystay]

Forgive Me- Aomine Pt. 2

Genre: angst, fluff

Warnings: none!

You banged open your front door, blinded by tears. Your mind swirled with images from earlier: a peaceful park, a young couple playing together in the snow, the girl's bell-like laugh as she giggled with your (now ex) boyfriend, Aomine supporting himself against the doorframe as he tried to hold back tears while you screamed at him. The sound of his wretched, choked back sobs echoed in your ears. You were vaguely aware of your body moving by rote, locking the door, hanging up your coat, and removing your shoes. Tears still flooded down your cheeks, causing you to bump into several pieces of furniture since your vision was horribly blurry. Some small part of your brain registered that you'd have some nasty bruises the next morning.

You came back to your senses with water pouring down your head. You felt cold tile against your back, at odds with the hot water pooling around your legs. You sat against the shower wall, arms wrapped around your knees. Your eyes were puffy and red, your nose was running and you gasped for breath. Steam fogged up the shower, the air so thick with it that you huffed, trying to get a breath of air that wasn't hot and humid. How long had you been sitting in here? Your legs shook as you hauled yourself up, reaching for the tap to shut off the water. Your hands trembled even as you stepped out and wrapped yourself in the fluffiest towel you could find. You didn't bother putting anything else on. It wasn't like it mattered anyway. Nobody was going to see you. You flopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh. Your voice was raw from crying and your face was surely blotchy and tearstained. You leaned back, sinking into the cushions. They were so warm, so inviting, maybe you should just stay there for-

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!!!

You lurched up. It came again, thunderous knocking on your front door. You flinched back. Who the hell would be knocking like that? And who on earth would show up, completely uninvited, at this time of-

''Y/N please! I know you're in there!'' 

Your heart caught in your throat. It was Aomine, of course, and he sounded terrible. You'd never heard such a pleading, desperate tone from him, and his voice was clearly as ragged as yours. He pounded on the door again, calling out to you. 

''Please! Let me explain! I promise I would never cheat on you baby, I love you! Please, please just LET ME IN!''  

All of a sudden, your anger boiled up. You had been hesitating by your door, but now you slammed your fist into it, shocking Aomine into silence.

''Shut up, SHUT UP!!!'' 

He stayed quiet, probably shocked. You growled in frustration and stamped the floor, trying to hold down the tide of anger that flooded over you.

''Why did you even come here? What reason do I have to let you in?''

''Y/N please, let me-''

''No! NO WAY!'' You were taken aback at your own volume, stopping to gasp for breath. ''IF YOU WANT TO EXPLAIN SO BAD, YOU CAN DO IT OUT THERE!'' You leaned against the door, panting, waiting. You could hear him take a deep breath on the other side of the door.

''Baby-'' he began.

''Don't baby me!''

''Y/N please- just listen, ok?'' His voice quavered. ''That girl you saw me with, she's an old friend. I met her in high school. She was a manager for another school's team, but she was always friendly with us. Most of us, most of us miracle genners, she already knew before we ever played her team. I met her at a gym before she played us.''

You scoffed. ''How is this supposed to make me want to take you back?''

''Wait!'' He cut in hurriedly. ''She has a boyfriend! She's with one of the guys I played, the really good one. They're really happy together. If you don't believe I'd never cheat on you, at least believe that she would never cheat on him, ok? I've been wanting to introduce you to her for so long, but she hasn't been in town for ages!''

You folded your arms on your side of the door. You wanted to stay skeptical, but he sounded so torn up! It was taking everything you had not to open the door and beg him to forgive you, but you managed. You tried for a disbelieving sniff.      

''So then what was she doing here then? Why didn't you tell me she was here if you wanted me to meet her?''

''Y/N... you were supposed to meet her tomorrow. She came down here to help me prepare for our anniversary, she- she's a really great cook. She came to help me make your favorite dinner, and she helped decorate the whole house too! I asked her for help because I wanted our anniversary to be perfect for you and she was so excited... she really wanted to meet you.'' He paused, choking back tears once again.  

After an awkward minute of silence, you realized you were staring at the door, tears running quietly down your cheeks. Before you knew it your hand was on the lock, shaking as you undid it and flung the door open. Aomine's eyes widened, visibly lighting up with hope.

''Y/N! Are-'' You tackled him with a hug, shutting your eyes tightly and burying your face in his chest.

''I am so, so, SO sorry Daiki! I shouldn't have assumed anything! Oh my God, why didn't I let you explain the first time? Fuck Daiki, I am so sorry, I- fuck- I'm sorry!''

He chuckled, holding you to him tightly, still sniffling a bit.

''It's ok baby, it's ok. I know.''

''Damnit Daiki, I love you!''

''I love you too.'' 

You wrapped your arms tighter around him. He slowly walked you back into your apartment and closed the door behind you so you didn't have to stand in the hallway awkwardly. He stroked your hair gently, trying to stifle his own tears. You glanced up slowly, looking him in the eyes for the first time. 

''.....Maybe we can still salvage our anniversary?'' You hedged. He looked down at you, his eyes softer than you'd ever seen. A small smile flitted across his face.

''How about... takeout and movies on the couch?'' He said, tilting his head at you. You grinned, face flushing a little as he looked down at you adoringly. 

''That sounds perfect.''  

He grinned down at you, gently running his hands through your hair.

''Hey Daiki?''

''Yeah?''

''You... still love me?''

''Of course babe.''

''So you'll still be my boyfriend?''

He laughed heartily, a good, solid sound that made you feel more whole for having heard it.

''Does that mean you forgive me?'' He said, playfully raising an eyebrow. You nodded enthusiastically. He grinned, cheeks flushing a deep red. 

''Then I'll always be your boyfriend.''   

Yay! Part 2 ends a lot happier than part 1! But watch out, because this is only one way this story could end...

@multi-fandom-fanfic

[the-new-kiddo-on-the-block]

Heyo guys!

Since my friend made a post about it, I figured I should make a separate post of it as well that could hopefully grab the attention of more of you out there. Especially since it's now not only become a recurrent issue for myself, but millions others like me; whose voices and pleas for help are often met with silence and no aid when it's needed more than ever.

My friend made this with the hopes it would get the attention of a lot of people. And the few that have so far responded, with boosting my signal, it's truly appreciated.

So, I figured I'd best give my story here.

For those who know me, they know that I've been through this before, not that long ago. For those that don't:

This isn't my first rodeo with my dad. This isn't his first offense, and I doubt it'll be his last. But, even my boyfriend commented that it's really like I'm Cinderella.

Which, would make my family Lady Tremaine and her daughters, Anastasia and Drizella.

Surprised?

Yeah, not the most fun people to have in your life as family, let alone be analogous to your own.

But, for at least my brother on the matter, he doesn't mean to intentionally be cruel- if anything, he is just trying to survive from becoming the next target. Which, I get entirely. I oftentimes do the same for when a fight breaks out between my bio father and my stepmom.

But, that's besides the point-- the fact that they are even akin to that family dynamic is absolutely atrocious.

I'm often seen as a black sheep in my nuclear family- a dark horse, a scapegoat, pariah, outcast; hell, I'm almost synonymous to fucking Bruno Madrigal from Encanto, with a little bit of even Luisa for that matter with how bad her anxiety is.

Sure, that sounds pretty awful, but that's like, a surface-level perspective of who I am and what I've been through. And I'm not gonna give you my whole life story here, but, as my grandma would always famously say:

So, here are the said facts (bullets are Bruno related, indents are Cinderella)-

People used to see me as a gifted child when I was little, y'know? Like, my talents had no bounds. My way of being so empathetic and friendly to even the most awkward stranger was renowned by my extended family. I was awkward with communication, and often was very blunt but honest when talking to people, but I was a happy kid. And it's not like I'm not seen for my talents now, but they're brushed to the side more now as an adult because "you can't be living in a fantasy".

Since my dad and stepmom started living together, I've been made to become the maid of the house, doing most chores because the boys won't do it and my stepmom is incapable of handling all the chores and dishes on her own, so she's dumped most things onto me as a "way of covering for part of your rent". Which, I still have to pay upwards of 660-880 a month for. For one small room and a bathroom. For wifi use. And I still have other bills to pay, like for my car, insurance, credit cards, and stuff like that.

It wasn't until I was starting in my teens that my dad saw me very differently. I would often lie to try and keep the peace, because I feared that telling the truth would only hurt everyone more.

I started failing in math; I never got a grade higher than a C-average after sixth grade, because the teacher that year not only made me look like an idiot, but several times painted me as a villain and treated me like I was evil. Simply for standing up for myself amongst a group of classmates who would often bully me

I have little to no privacy in my own room. The only time I do is when I sleep, and that's even temporary at best. My father will routinely inspect my room and if it's not meeting his standards, he has me clean it or threatens kicking me out onto the street because he won't let me live in this house if I can't "do what I am required to do in order to keep living here" shit I wish I actually wish I had recorded him saying fr

He's taken off my door several times in the past as a punishment for not "adhering to his rules"- not okay as a teenager, even more not okay as a fucking twenty-four year old adult

(literal screenshots from conversations with my dad below)

My bio dad started seeing me less as an honest and good person, because during my sixth grade years and beyond I'd struggle with being honest with myself, let alone my parents, about my personal and educational issues.

I've had to be the one to call out when things aren't right, and be shut down for it. I've been the one to call out my family's bullshit, only to get side-swept with the realization my perception of how they treat me is cuz they do believe something is inherently wrong with me for retaliating.

I'm often accused of mishearing things- like, my parents will say one thing, and then the next day, or weeks or months later, when I repeat that statement, they go and say "Oh, I never said that."

I've walked out of my parents' lives once. It only lasted two weeks, but I did have to take a step back from it all. Because I could see what it was doing to everyone in my family. And I love my family, despite their shit. But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna walk out again- in fact, I'm working on a way to do so.

I relate more to pets and small children and even teens than I do older people.

I still have anxieties and fears over my talents and what I'm capable of, thinking I'm not good enough or that it's just the same old thing. The difference is I know it's not, and I know I'm worth more than this.

I have always liked the color green, and it was always a more mysterious color more than an evil or menacing color.

I often have had foresight of future events and get deja by when they do happen. Though, other times I just notice things going awry and I try to warn others of like, a possibility that they don't want to accept.

I lost friends and people who I actually enjoyed being around because of how I was growing up, and it was until I became an adult that part of it wasn't even my fault. A lot of the kids noticed my parents and didn't want to be around that kind of behavior with adults, because they could sense what I couldn't at the time, which was that my parents' behavior towards me was absolutely uncalled for, and rather controlling.

I was only recently properly diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and ADHD; but before then, as an adult, I had more difficulty talking. Difficulty expressing how I felt. Trouble with finances. Being in the right headspace. Being able to take a step back and be like "whoa, now hold on- pointing fingers at me is only going to point three right back at you, let's not assume shit here". And it took a lot of support from my support systems and my boyfriend- @constant-state-of-self-discovery - to get a truly more accurate diagnosis. Cuz I've had three different diagnoses over the years, with the third being my most accurate one but I digress

I have echolalia and repeat funny phrases, hum music, etc.

When my brother was born - and I hate to use this comparison, but - almost immediately he became the Golden Child of the family dynamic. I was ten when he was born- and yeah, that's unfair for a baby, toddler, and little kid. But flash forward to when he's a bigger kid, when he's in his pre-teen stage and now a fourteen year old, who's gotten more educational advantages than I was ever offered or even given when asked. Who has had more positive experiences with his parents than I ever did. Who got the chance to actually go to the highschool he wanted to without having to worry about who I was really zoned for. Who is getting to work on his passion and talents. Yeah, that's totally not favoritism there.

I draw. I write. I legitimately can see myself voice acting one day.

I have often proved my family members both right and wrong about things in their lives, but I'm still the bad guy. Interesting how that works.

--------

See, these are the facts that just have me relating to just Bruno and Cinderella alone, with how my life is. There's plenty of other shit to add on about my stuff, but that's enough dirty laundry to get the ball rolling.

The fact of the matter is this: I cannot live in such a place like this anymore. And if anyone can help, I'd seriously appreciate whatever cash, boosting, reblogging, sharing that can be done.

I'm tired of living a life like this. I want to move forward. I want to start my next chapter, away from abuse.

And I'm really hopeful for the first time ever that something good might come out of this.

(thank you @savythenillerwaffer , @nystiaa , @oswinunknown , and @anne-of-crows for reblogging along with the others who have spread the word.)

[virtualimouto]

hai again back because yanblr ask game twirls :3

—Earth

—Neptune

—Pluto; favorite songs or things that remind you of your love? :o

Earth ; we have a rule !! well it was never.. decided or ? planned or stuff but.. it's unspoken, whenever he's worried on why I'm not replying, or needs help, he can call me !! so I often get waken up by him, or I wake up to his sweet desperate texts asking me for help at night.. I love being able to be there for him truly. Other than that, I love when he irl just goes silent and stares at me all sad.. in 90% of cases this means he wants cuddles giggling it's so sweet

Neptune ; ough.. this'll be long.. I love him so so much, he's genuinely so beautiful, he's helped me so much, he has such a kind soul. The first time I heard of how bad he'd been hurt in the past I genuinely broke down, the more things come up, I just don't understand how such a beautiful person could be manipulated and torn apart the way he's been. He means the whole world to me, when he looks at me there's always this sparkle in his eyes that he lacks when he looks at anyone else, there's so much warmth and love that emanates from him towards me it's overwhelming almost.. the sheer intensity of his care, goodness I've never had anyone love me the way he does. I'd do anything for him, truly anything, I'd kill myself, kill someone else, I'd abandon everyone, I'd hold his hand and walk into hell with him, I'd let him kill me.. I love him so much I'd rather be dead than happy without him, I hate I hate I hate having ever had to live without him, how did I do it ??? Before I met him i was just .. an empty shell, I'd never felt true happiness, I felt numb, empty, like I didn't have a real purpose.. it'd be silly to imagine but I was so cynical, so logical, I hated love and defined it as just "chemicals in the brain, nothing important".. and here I am now, having met the love of my life, it's like he breathed life into me, it's like the world is finally colorful, it's like the world is good and I'm happy to be alive..

Pluto ; ouuu for songs there's maaaany, I often listen to tracks and they remind me of him 🩷 lately it's been Tear In My Heart by 21pilots, Bring Me To Life by Evanescence, and Stirb Nicht Vor Mir by Rammstein.. as for other things, hehe I find a piece of him everywhere I look 🩷 he reminds me of pompompurin, badtz maru, several other characters from any media I consume.. of bread, of the color of the sky, of the color of trees.. truly anything hehe he's just perfect to me and I see him everywhere

[mydarllinglover]

Alone || The Man In The Red Poncho

Previous

When Daryl had finished fixing the bike up, Aaron had explained to the pair how they would go about with the recruiting and the route they were planning on taking, considering the pair were from Georgia and did not know anything about Virginia.

Natalia had explained to him, that at their old community, the prison, it was mainly her and Daryl that had rescued people, bringing them back, that they were familiar with helping survivors and giving them sanctuary.

Natalia had decided on taking Milo up on his offer of dinner, it was sweet and he was right about being a good cook, even with the sparse ingredients, he was a lot nicer and friendly than when they had first met.

Evie had kept her promise of drawing more pictures, giving them to the woman as she talked about school and how Carl was in the big kids group with the Anderson boys, she thought he was cool.

Natalia had surprisingly took a fast liking to the girl, she was kind but blunt, Natalia couldn't blame her, growing up in a world like this.

Milo wasn't bad either, she could see herself becoming friends with him fast, he was quite interesting to talk to, after Evie had gone to bed, which she insisted on Natalia helping with, her and Milo had shared a glass of wine, she made sure to keep to only a wine after the other night.

"She adores you." Milo said. "I've never seen her like this with anyone, not in a real long time."

"She's a great kid." Natalia responded.

"You're invited to hang out here whenever if it means I get to see that smile on her face, obviously when you're not recruiting, and I'm sure she'll appreciate it, I don't think Evie will give you much choice, either way." He told her.

"Of course, I think she's growing on me." Natalia teased.

"Did you ever have kids, before this?" He asked her. "Just that, you're so good with her."

"Yeah, a long time ago." She admitted, surprising herself that she did. "A little girl."

"I'm sorry."

"I know. It sucks."

When she had got back to the home she shared with her friends, it seemed like Daryl was waiting for her on the porch, as he smoked, he hadn't out rightly asked for details, but she told him anyway, even showing off Evie's drawings, especially the one that appeared to be him and a motorcycle, the same one she must've seen him working on in the garage.

"You in love with the guy yet?" Daryl asked her.

"Pft, no, he's alright, not really my type, I'm only there for Evie." Natalia told him.

"Your type?" He scoffed.

"Yeah, I have a type." She looked at him. "Y'know, I'm supposed to be hanging out with her again when we get back, maybe you can come with."

"Nah, nobody wants that, I ain't good with kids."

"Yeah, cause Judith doesn't look up at you like you hang the stars, and you don't look at her the same way." She nudged him.

"She's different."

"You ever think this will stick, that maybe Aarons right, and we will be able to fall in love again, and have families?" Natalia asked him, leaning her head against his arm as they both stared ahead, into the street, linking her arm with his.

"Like hell I'd know, never been in love before, my only family was Merle."

"You've never been in love?" Natalia leaned off of him, looking into his eyes. "Like ever? Not even some high school girlfriend you thought was gonna last forever?"

"Nope, would need to have a girlfriend for that."

"Shut up, you're kidding." She didn't mean to come across so mean, she just couldn't wrap her head around the idea that he'd never been in a relationship before.

"Never wanted to, ain't found the right girl, before. The time never came." He shrugged, he didn't seem bothered by it.

"Ugh, so you're some damn "holding out for true love" romantic" She teased, placing her head back on his arm.

"Something like that." He shrugged, looking down at the woman.

"She'll come around someday, you deserve to be happy, and you'll sweep her off her feet and be romantic and in love and happily ever after."

"Maybe." He continued to stare down at her, her being completely oblivious by it.

The next day had come, Aaron and Natalia were prepping the car whilst Daryl sat on his bike, waiting for them so that they could head off.

Carol had forced Daryl to put on a flannel jacket under his vest and Natalia to layer up.

As Natalia was finishing up with the car, Evie came walking over to her, Milo wasn't too far behind.

"She wanted to say bye." He told the woman.

"Oh, I won't be gone for long." Natalia told the girl, bending down to talk to her. "We're gonna come back with people, then me and you can hang out again."

"Promise you'll come back?" She asked her, almost pleading, a sad expression was etched on her face, it sent a pain to Natalia's heart.

"Hell yeah, I think I'd miss you too much, I pinkie promise." Natalia stuck out her pinkie, linking it with the girls. "But hey, you know my friend Carol? She makes these really good cookies, maybe if you tell her I sent you, you can make some with her, would you like that?"

She looked at her dad, unsure of herself, but with a nod from him, she said yes.

"Bye, Natty." She wrapped her arms around Natalia's neck, hugging her tightly.

"Bye, Evie." She hugged the girl back, just as tight, she was starting to feel very fond of Evie, a bond between them had formed very quickly, Natalia didn't know whether to let it flow or cut it off immediately, before the pair could get too attached, making friendships in this world was mostly likely a cause for disaster.

When they pulled away, Natalia got in the passenger side of the car, Milo picked Evie up as they waved them off, Natalia waved back as Aaron drove the car behind Daryl's bike.

At night time, they had stopped in a field, Natalia was glad she didn't have to put up with Aarons small talk any longer.

Daryl took out a walker with his crossbow as they got out the car.

"There's more of them around here than there used to be." Aaron told the pair. "Don't know if any people..."

"Shh." Daryl told him, pointing ahead. "Someone is."

A small yellow light was emitting from the trees, a fire, a sign of human presence.

They had set up camp, deciding that they would look for whoever was there in the light.

"So, how come you're so good with-"

"Aaron." Natalia cut him off, as the three were laying down in their own made up beds.

"Yeah?"

"For the love of God, and I'm trying to be nice, shut up." She told him.

"Understood." He didn't speak for the rest of the night.

Once she was sure Aaron was asleep, she scooted closer to Daryl, knowing he was still awake.

"I missed our sleepovers." She muttered lowly, as she got comfortable beside him.

"Only been a week." He grumbled.

"Told you, I got used to you being there." She leaned up, kissing his cheek with a hushed but overexaggerated mwah, before laying back down, comfortable with the fact that he was there.

After the dinner at Aarons and Erics, she stayed in her own room, Sully being her roommate, as he took up most of the bed.

When the sky was blue, they trudged through the woods, stopping at dismembered limbs on the ground.

"Whoever did this, took whatever was left with them." Daryl told them. "This just happened."

Natalia swapped her knife for her gun, taking it off safety as they looked around the trees.

Daryl walked ahead, Natalia closely behind him, but Aaron was more hesitant, the colour in his face disappearing.

They walked further.

A naked girl was tied to a tree, her blonde hair covering her face, her stomach had been devoured.

"She's tied up." Aaron observed. "And they fed on her. Tore her apart. This just happened?"

"Yeah." Daryl nodded.

Natalia shrugged off her jacket, pulling her sweatshirt over her head.

"What are you doing?" Aaron asked her, as she was only in a tank top in the cold whether, approaching the girls body.

"Doing what I would want done in a state like this." She answered.

She put the sweatshirt over the girl's head, pulling it down, she was about to cut the ties on her arms, to lay her down peacefully, when the girl's head raised, snarling at Natalia as she opened her eyes.

"Nat." Daryl called, pulling her back.

"Wait." She tried, but Daryl grabbed her hair, plunging his knife into her skull, until she was once again lifeless.

Natalia looked at her pale face again, a W was carved into her forehead, like the one they had saw at the wooden house.

"We gotta go." Daryl looked around the area, before back at Natalia.

"No, not yet." She told him, cutting the ties, supporting the dead body, struggling to get her arm in one of the holes, when she fell to the ground, Natalia got the other one through, now her body wasn't so open to just about everyone.

"I know what its like, I guess, sorta." She stood back up, shrugging as she headed in the direction of the field, letting the memories of having to pull her own cargo pants back up and do up the button, when she wasn't the ones to pull them down, twice.

They drove some more, Daryl was now sporting the pair of sunglasses they had found by the dismembered body parts.

Shortly, they had come to another stop, Aaron and Natalia meeting Daryl by his bike, and they set foot, into the woods, once again.

"Somebody came through here a while ago." Daryl said, leading the way through the leaves.

"If we see them, we hang back, set up the mike, watch and listen." Aaron told them.

"For how long?" Daryl voiced the question Natalia was also thinking.

"Until we know. We have to know."

"You've sent people away?" Daryl continued to ask the questions.

"Yeah." Aaron answered.

"What happened?"

"It was early on. It was three people. Two men and a woman."

"How very fitting." Natalia looked at her company.

"Davidson was their leader." Aaron continued. "I thought they'd work out. They didn't. I brought them in and I had to see them out. So me, Aiden, and Nicholas, we drove them out far... gave them a days worth of food and water and left them."

"Awful generous for a kick out." Natalia thought out loud.

"They just went?" Daryl asked.

"We had their guns. We had all the guns. I can't make that kind of mistake again."

"You wont. We won't" Natalia told him.

The three had managed to scope out a man in a bright red poncho, by himself, just walking along without a possible care in the world.

They watched him bend down, his gloved hands coming up dark as they rubbed together, then he rubbed it onto his face.

"What's he doing?" Aaron asked.

"Wild leaks." Daryl answered. "Son of a bitch knows about how to keep mosquitos off of him."

"Mosquitos? Oh my god, I hate bugs." Natalia looked around for the sight of any flying things in her space.

"You're fine." Daryl told her, stopping her from moving around. "Come on." He then walked forward.

The man with the red poncho led them to a canned food warehouse, but he was nowhere in sight.

Walkers littered the area as Daryl used binoculars to search around.

"We checked the forest, we checked the roads. We can't find him." Aaron said.

"So we're just giving up?" Natalia asked him.

"Sometimes they just slip away. It happens. But you don't come across something like this everyday."

"We do this now, it means we're giving up." Daryl said.

"Home is 50 miles back. It's time to go. You saw them last night, there's bad people out here."

"That's why we ought to keep looking for the good ones." Daryl said.

"He's right, I agree with Daryl, we didn't come all this way to come back with no one." Natalia folded her arms, looking at Aaron unsurely. "Besides, you really think a place like this is just untouched, surely someone's come through here."

"We need more people and we'll find them. But when we do, we'll need to feed them." Aaron told the pair. "Look at it, doesn't look touched."

"Alright." Daryl switched sides, grabbing a knife and hitting it against the metal fence, grabbing the walkers attention.

Between the three, all the walkers were taken out through the fence.

Aaron pulled the fence across, with a little of Daryl's help.

They continued onto the property, Natalia had an itching feeling about this place.

The trio walked along the canned food trucks, along some of them, cans hung from the tops, stung together as they clanged in the wind.

"Woah." Aaron beamed, getting on one knee in front of a truck. "Wasn't sure I'd ever see one of these." He pulled out a screwdriver from his pack, taking off a license plate.

Natalia walked away, assessing the other trucks, Daryl checked out the area.

"Hey, listen, I don't like giving up either, but the guy is in a red poncho. You can see him from a mile away." He managed to get the Alaska license plate off. "We've gone a lot of miles here. No sign of him. But... if we come away with a trailer full of cans, I'd say that's a good trip."

Natalia leaned towards one of the trucks, managing to hear something, she knocked on the metal, and the sounds of shovelling and snarls picked up.

"Here we go." Daryl said, bending down.

"Wait, Daryl!" Natalia called to him, but it was too late, he propped the door open, causing a trip to go off.

All the trailer doors had opened, revealing them packed full of walkers, like sardines in a can, all brandishing W's on their foreheads.

Natalia ran forward, in between two of the trailers, the two men hot on her trail as the walkers followed them.

Daryl and Natalia pull out their knifes, stabbing them into the closest heads, whilst Aaron used his licence plate to cave into an walkers skull.

"Over here." He shouted.

"Come on." Daryl told them, as they crawled under one of the trailers.

Daryl picked up a chain as Natalia kicked at a female walker, who was crawling towards them.

"We're gonna die, we're so gonna die." Natalia muttered to herself.

"No!" Aaron cried.

"Come on." Daryl ordered, as they climbed out the other side of the trailer, Aaron was trembling.

Daryl used the chain as a whip, taking off three walker heads at the same time, if Natalia wasn't in a life or death situation, she would of taken notice of the butterflies that had fluttered In her lower belly.

Another walker had snuck up on Aaron, getting a hold of his bag as he wrestled to get her off of him, Natalia reached forward, plunging her knife into the walkers skull.

But Aaron had still dropped his bag.

They fought their way through to a car, Daryl opened the door, shoving Natalia in, climbing in after her, than Aaron.

"Come on, go!"

A walker struggled after Aaron, who slammed the door onto her head, before slamming it shut.

"Are you okay, did you get bit?" Daryl, taking Natalia by surprise, asked, cupping her face as he checked the amount of skin he could see, or any rips in her clothes.

"No! No, I'm okay, fine, are you?" She pulled his hands away, asking him, then turning to the other man, she was leaning against the door, squeezed between Daryl and the dashboard. "Aaron?"

"Yeah, fine." He nodded.

As they looked at the windows, walkers were climbing onto the car, scratching at the glass to get to them.

"Glass will hold for a while, right?" Aaron asked.

"Maybe." Daryl answered. "Maybe we make it so they can't see us. In a couple of hours, something will come by, they'll follow it out. There's gotta be something in here we can use to block the view."

"What about cutting up the seats?" Natalia suggested, climbing over Daryl and into the back.

Aaron picked up a yellow piece of paper, unfolding it.

"Trap. Bad People Coming. Don't Stay." The note said.

Natalia's heart dropped.

They were fucked.

Daryl let out a chuckle as they sat there in silence for a moment.

"What?" Aaron asked as him and Natalia looked at the man.

"I came out here to... not feel all closed up back there. Even now, this still feels more like me... than back in them houses. That's pretty messed up, huh?"

"You were trying." Aaron told him.

"I had to."

"No you didn't."

"Listen, I saw you with your group out there on the road. Then you went off on your own by the barn. Storm hit and you led your people to safety. That was it. I knew I had to bring you people back. You were right, both of you, We should have kept looking for that guy in the red poncho. I shouldn't have given up. Neither of you did."

Daryl placed a cigarette in between his lips, searching his pocket for his lighter.

"I have a plan." Natalia told them, not really paying attention to their conversation and more about the problem at hand.

Aaron turned around to look at her.

"I'll head out first, distract them, then you go, head for the fence." She said.

"No." Daryl told her.

"Nat, you can't."

"Why not? Someone has to, you got people waiting for you back there, there's no arguing about it."

"So do you." Aaron said.

"I got people in other place I need to get to."

"What about your dog?"

"Carl will take care of him for me." Natalia fixed her hair, preparing herself.

"And Evie?"

"What about her? She's just a kid, I don't owe her anything, she'll get over it." She shrugged, pulling out her knife. "She has her parent."

"You ain't doing it." Daryl told her.

"Daryl."

"No. I'll go." He declared.

"No, no, no." Aaron argued. "This was my fault."

"It wasn't a question. And this ain't your decision. It ain't nobody's fault."

"And it's not yours, I said I'll do it, and I will." Natalia finalised.

"No. You don't draw them away. We fight. We go for the fence, we do it together. All right? Whether we make it or not, we do it together, the three of us. We have to."

"If you say so." Natalia said, she had no faith in his idea.

"Alright." Daryl agreed. "You ready?"

"Yeah."

"I guess." Natalia shrugged, sitting up, ready to jump over the seats again.

"We'll go on three." Daryl told them. "One... Two..."

He didn't get to three.

A stick impaled the skull of a walker in front of Aarons window, then the door was yanked open.

Aaron jumped out as whoever had reached them fought of the walkers, he was quick to join the fight.

"Go, go!" Daryl told Natalia, pushing her forward and out the car, just like he pushed her in it. "I'm right behind you."

They took out walkers, creating a path.

Aaron was the first to reach the fence, starting to pull it along as he waited for the others to reach him.

"Come on. Come on, get in here." Daryl said as he pulled the other side shut, blocking out the walkers, he then turned around, shooting an arrow into a walkers head that was on the side with them.

Natalia put away her knife, grabbing her gun, that she had booked out from the armoury when they left, aiming it at the man in the brown coat, carrying a stick.

"That was " Aaron smiled as he caught his breath. "Oh, thank you."

"Was this you?" Natalia asked, as she stared the stranger down. "You the bad guy who set the traps, gotta tell you, hella smart."

"No, I didn't." The man answered.

"Nat, he ain't an enemy." Daryl joined her side.

She looked at him, unsure if that were true, before putting her gun back.

"I'm Aaron, this is Daryl, and Natalia." Aaron introduced once he was sure the woman wasn't going to shoot the stranger.

"Morgan." The man replied.

"Why?" Daryl asked, eluding to him just saving their lives.

"Why?" Morgan repeated. "Because all life is precious, Daryl."

She didn't believe that.

"Whoever set that trap, they're coming." Aaron said. "But I have good news. We do." He pointed at the other two. "We have a community not too far from here. Walls. Electricity, it's safe. If you'd like to come join us..."

"I thank you." Morgan cut him off. "But I'm on my way somewhere. Fact is, I'm lost, so..." He pulled out a map, passing it to Daryl. "If you could tell me where we are."

Daryl unfolded it, Natalia leaned an arm on his shoulder, looking at the map as well.

SORRY, I WAS AN ASSHOLE. COME TO WASHINTON. THE NEW WORLD IS GONNA NEED RICK GRIMES.

The map read, in Abrahams scratchy writing.

"He wrote this when you were in Atlanta with Carol, when we split up." Natalia revealed.

"You know Rick?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, he's part of our group, for a long time, now." She spoke to him, "Back in Alexandria."

Morgan had decided to go back with them to Alexandria, in hopes of reuniting with Rick.

Natalia rode with Daryl, giving Aaron a chance to get to know Morgan, if anyone could get someone to open up, it would be him.

"Hey, don't ever try and pull some shit like that again." Daryl told her as they got ready to leave the area they were parked in. "You ain't alone, you got people who need you, Rick, Michonne, Carl, Judith... Me."

"You need me?" She enquired, the corner of her lip raised.

"Yeah, who else is going to keep it real or offer a sarcastic reply when shit gets hard."

"Oh, I'm so honoured to be at of service." She bowed.

"Freak." He looked at her.

"Hey, those are not the kind words of someone who said he needs me." She jabbed her finger into his chest.

"I take it back, damn."

"Thank you, I'm not a freak."

"Meant the other thing."

"Argh." She scoffed, folding her arms. "Fine, guess I'll ride with Aaron and Morgan, I know when I'm clearly not wanted." She went to walk away, but he pulled her back by the arm.

"Nah, you ain't, hop on, I wanna get home." He told her, letting go so he could mount the motorcycle.

"If I must." Natalia rolled her eyes in a joking manner. "Also, you ever try to steal my sacrifice again, I'll kill you myself. You're important to me, Daryl Dixon, and I need you too."

"Alright." He nodded in agreement, but he had no intention of keeping it.

When they got back to Alexandria, Spencer opened the gate for them.

"Who's this?" He asked, pointing at Morgan, as Natalia got off of Daryl's bike.

"Morgan, Morgan, meet Spencer, he's the boss ladies son." Natalia introduced each other.

"Where is everyone?" Aaron asked.

"A meetings being held, Rick lost it yesterday, pulled a gun on the people, him and Pete got into it before that."

"The surgeon?" Natalia asked.

"Yeah, over Jessie or something, they're debating whether they should kick him out or not, walkers got in, he fought them off, brought one back to the firepit." Spencer caught them up on the immediate details of what they had missed.

"Let's go." Daryl said, heading in the direction of the firepit.

They got to the scene, most of the Alexandrians were gathered, crying and hyperventilating, Reg was bleeding out from a slit throat, Deanna held him as he took his last breathes.

Pete was restrained on the ground by Abraham.

"Rick, do it." Deanna sobbed.

Without hesitation, he shot the man who had murdered Reg.

"Rick?" Morgan asked, as him, Aaron, Natalia and Daryl stood outside the gate, taking in what had just happened.

The old friends stared at each other in shock, of seeing each other again, especially like this.

Tags: @fallenkitten

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