#but in the way you play with them as a kid where you just put them in unhinged dramatic situations

[lobautumny]

Not to mention shit like the speakers that are installed in a bunch of public spaces that play extremely loud sounds at a very high pitch that are specifically designed to not be audible to adults but to be extremely uncomfortable for children, to dissuade "dangerous antisocial behaviors" like... loitering. The horror.

A bunch of shitty adults act like it's remotely surprising that kids don't go outside and hang out with their friends anymore when, like, how and when and where are they supposed to do that? This toy knows your ass is too lazy to drive your kids anywhere that isn't on the way to somewhere that you wanted to go anyways more than once per month, and nearly a century of constant "you can't trust your neighbors" propaganda (red scare, gang fearmongering, muslim fearmongering, drug fearmongering, etc.) has left a ton of adults terrified of every unattended child they see outside, as well as being increasingly unwilling to let their own kids out of their sight for anything other than going to school. Also, when a given kid does have the means to hang out with friends on a regular basis, where do they have that they can go other than each other's houses? God knows that for the last several decades, the economy's been too shit for average working-class parents to give their kids an allowance, everything is extremely expensive, and there's never been less options for places kids can simply exist and hang out at outside.

Of fucking course kids are sitting inside on they phone all the damn time. They don't have anything else to do. Adults drove them away from everything else they could be doing because allowing children to exist anywhere is just too much of a hassle for anyone to bother dealing with. I mean, fuck, kids (especially non-white kids) can't even fucking play with toys outside anymore without running the risk of a cop shooting them in the head because they thought the bright orange Nerf blaster was a real gun (treated as a simple mistake, the cop gets suspended for a couple months and then gets to return to the force like nothing happened).

The fact of the matter is that the world in which we currently live fucking hates children. Children aren't treated as people. They're treated as political pawns, scapegoats, or property at best, and active threats at worst. Their suffering doesn't matter until they die, but then when they die, it's always "a freak tragedy that we simply could not have anticipated and cannot do anything to prevent future instances of." It's all reduced to abstract numbers that adults can shake their heads at, pretend to feel bad for a while, and then proceed to do fucking nothing about while another school gets shot up every week, and we all pretend it's normal because nobody wants to fucking address the fact that the way we treat children is beyond disgusting and unhealthy. We talk all the time about the online child grooming epidemic, cleverly point out how social media algorithms massively contribute to the problem and the platforms themselves knowingly do nothing about it, and then we all collectively shrug and look the other way. "Not my problem to deal with," everyone collectively says in unison. "It's not my kid," they say, until it is their kid, at which point it's yet another fucking "freak tragedy that could not have been prevented," and so it goes.

But god forbid a kid says they're queer and receives anything other than brutal punishment and bullying for it. Then, suddenly, by magic, everyone is an activist, everyone is a fucking expert on the online grooming problem as though they aren't so tech-illiterate that they're falling for AI boomerslop on Facebook, and everyone has a PhD in biology, and everyone has Opinions and is calling up their local legislators asking for quick, decisive action to be taken against this new social contagion corrupting our youth and for kids to be ripped away from their supportive parents and put into abusive foster programs. This toy knows that it has long since left the scope of the original point, but it's just so fucking angry. Ever since it was in middle school, it's known more people who were abused as kids or otherwise have extremely strenuous relationships with the adults in their lives than people who had what most people would try to convince you was a "normal" childhood in which they developed remotely positive relationships with the adults around them and were not abused and did not develop immense trauma as the direct result of shitty actions taken by malicious, stupid, or neglectful adults in their lives.

Children deserve far better than the world we have forced them to live in.

"kids these days don't loiter or act rebellious enough any more" kids just existing in public are more criminalized and surveilled than ever. almost every western country is running a panic about youth crime and how random teens standing awkwardly are a threat to civilization, and pushing for much more punitive laws. tons of states and powerful lobbies are pushing "parental right laws" that restrict the civil rights of minors even more. policing is first and foremost targeting youths, especially from low income and majority immigrant neighbourhoods. if a kid mildly steps out of line or says something awkward online or in a public space half a dozen people can whip up their phone and start mass harassment campaigns. and tech companies are now restricting access to the internet, the last way many teens can talk to each other freely and reach out to people outside family and school.

anyhow i think people really need to start giving kids at least a tiny bit more grace instead of making smug posts about how uncool they are compared to your youth days, you fucking twats

[ablobwhowrites]

New home sweet home au, ( just saw the y/n is abnormally strong post) so one day one of the bigger bodies are fighting about who gets the TV remote or the last cookie. Idk, idc, so y/n trying to defuse the situation. Knowing if they don't a wall will be broken. Picks up one or both of the bigger bodies and drags them into a time out corner. The rest of the crew blue screens realizing that y/n if pushed could have done so much worst in the factory.

y/n never really yells at the toys but does at Harley Sawyer cause that's the only way that old machine man listens. But the one time y/n did accidentally reveal a small bit of their strength is when they where playing a game on the console and ended up dying in the game and y/n got real angry cause they were so close to the end of the level so they ends up breaking the coffee table in half by punching their fist on the solid wooden table and y/n saw their hand all bloody and went to go wash it off and bandage it.

Dogday was scared that y/n punch through a solid coffee table with their bare hand. Once y/n got in a argument with Harley and ended up having y/n get really angry cause Harley wasn't listening and basically doing the thing y/n told Harley not to do and y/n grabbed Harley's arm and basically when y/n let go of Harley's arm, it left the hand printed bend in his arm and it's scary to Harley because y/n was visibly restraining themselves and Harley thinks of what y/n would be capable of if they weren't so restraining of themselves.

I do imagine just once y/n got annoyed how yarnaby was sitting in the way again so just normally picked up yarnaby like nothing and put him to the side and walked through as yarnaby just didn't mind it and sat in the way again but the other toys where like "HE WEIGHTS A TON! HOW DID YOU EVEN DO THAT!" But y/n just doesn't mind it as its a good way to build their strength but also imagining sometimes y/n is able to carry doey for very short periods of time before having to put him down. But doctor Harley does not like being picked up as I said, he is a pathetic man who craves power but has none anymore so basically hates being told what to do and sometimes annoys y/n to the point as you said in this request, y/n will psychically grab the doctor and force him to sit in a corner with the stool and everything.

I mean no exaggeration but y/n could have killed the toys who tries to kill them with their bare hands but didn't. Y/n sometimes things how things could have been more different if they only acted on them surviving. But instead they stopped themselves and helped the toys as they didn't know the kids were turned into this and have been made into monsters. Wondering if y/n did kill the toys who tried to kill them then what would that make y/n? A monster just like the people who experimented on them? Or what they were trying to do, to survive.

(that's it for my yap session. Please if you like this or have any requests for ideas, stories or y/n's please don't be shy. But for now please stay safe and drink water!)

[squiddy-god]

♡Will you be my valentine?♡

lads x reader

Hehehehe ok ok so i would like to say, keep in mind this is mostly based in american valentines day and not valentines/white day so i tried to mix them, but i'll do white day too. I might make some more spicy hcs later  

Cw ; fluff, gn reader (still mc but written to be inclusive), use of pet names, jealousy, possessiveness. Use of the word “bride” but in a gn way? If you know you know. Use of y/n because what else am i supposed to use?? Caleb slander in zayne’s part vice versa. Xavier, zayne, rafayel, sylus, caleb 

Xavier 

No 

He is not asking to be your valentine, you ARE his valentine and he makes that known so immediately 

The month of february hits and he sees you watching those videos of people sad their partner hasnt asked them to be their valentine and he just goes “good thing you are my valentine” 

Don't correct him and say he hasn't asked

You. are.

I can absolutely see him getting you one of those teddybears with a heart or some other stuffed animal for the holiday but he is immediately beefing

He has beef with the STUFFY HE GOT YOU. 

On a side note i think he 100% is the type to get jealous over your plushies “why do you get to sleep in their bed and i don't?” those snuggles are HIS and he won't share 

If you make him chocolate he is on cloud 9, not only does he get a snack but also its from you and means he's special~

Now if you receive chocolates from someone? Some secret admirer? He is melting those sweets with his gaze- he wants them in the trash 5 seconds ago 

I think he would get you one of those softer springtime bouquets, i feel like it just fits him more 

Zayne 

He is STRUGGLING 

I think he would ask the night before, asking if you'd like to go on a date since it is a special occasion

Based on his 100 days texts he seems like the type who even if it doesn't seem like it holds holidays like this in a surprisingly high regard. So i think he would ask if you would like to be his valentine 

Hehe milkshake date with zayne, one of the cute cheesy ones with the heart straws 

Big fan of the sweets, usually rejects any attempts to give him chocolates but for you he feels himself almost anticipating it, and when it happens he savors them throughout the day 

I think he'd be the type to give you those elegant single roses 

I can also see that he REALLY wanted to be your valentine as a kid, with those chalky candy hearts and little kid cards, he always got one frome you and he kept all of them. Unfortunately there was a dirty mutt preventing him from actually being your childhood valentine 

If you receive chocolate from some kind of admirer he is a little put off, something about it simmers under his skin just a little bit, fortunately this is an easily curd ailment- the prescription of course being 20 doses of kisses. 

Rafayel 

He's lowkey waiting for YOU to ask HIM to be your valentine.

 And he will be pouting about it 

Feel like we don't talk enough about how the little fishie is lowkey a bit scary?? He sees this as the inevitable, you are his, his valentine, his love, his bride 

His fishie <3

When one of you finally cracks and asks the other to be your valentine he is very pleased with himself. 

Long walk on the beach, picnic by the shore where the salty air can kiss your skin 

If you give him chocolate he is scarfing it down high key. Probably plays the weak frail card complaining about how his wrist hurts so clearly you have to feed him 

I can see him getting you those rainbow rose bouquets or one with lots of different colored roses to make a soft but colorful bouquet. 

Now if you received chocolate from an admirer he is pouting 

Whining frfr 

Type to go “oh why don't you go eat THEIR chocolate?” this will either last all of 5 seconds before he is switching it up and demanding kisses as repayment for emotional damages or until you don't give in (5 second max) and he's back to being dramatic 

Don't be shocked if they go missing tho 

Sylus 

Sylus does not simply ask for you to be his valentine, he woos you 

The month of february is his month to shine truly, because it starts small, subtle. 

A flower here and there, a single rose or a little heart 

It's a few days before valentines day and he's thoroughly romanced you when he pulls you close using his evol to ask if you'd like to be his valentine 

The day itself consists of you waking up, bed? Covered in rose petals. Sylus? Holding one of those really big heart shaped rose bouquets made of the glitter roses everyone went crazy for. Then dinner followed by a joyride 

Cough cough the biggest teddy bear he could find in white. 

If you give him chocolates he's sooooooo pleased. Savors them throughout the day and next day thinking about you 

Like i mentioned the rose bouquet game is top tier, his whole house is full of them, every vase full of those deep red roses because he wasn't you to look over and think of him.

Drives you to some obscure far out location to watch the stars for a while, the ride obviously enjoyable but even more so is being in his arms for such a tender moment. 

Now if you receive chocolate from someone he is so so smug, sylus gives off the vibes of like “hmm yes i know my kitten is the best, obviously they cant help but be charmed”  

Caleb 

Hs been your valentine every year since childhood (the dirty mutt in question)  

But this year is the first year he's really going to be your valentine, where he doesn't have to pretend like he doesn't mean it with his whole chest 

That isn't stopping him from teasing you, he wants to get you to admit that you want him to be your valentine

But he is a weak man, and he crumbles at the slightest hint of puppy eyes or pouting 

He is asking you on feb 1st 12:02am to be his valentine  

On the day itself he wakes you up with breakfast, heart shaped pancakes, eggs and your preferred protein 

Definitely writing something like “be mine?” on those pancakes 

I think the bouquet he gives you is a very classic one, roses and baby's breath tied with a silky red ribbon 

If you give him chocolate he is like a excited puppy, he's always given you the chocolate he gets from others, and he's always gotten chocolate from you but this time is special this time it's real 

A cute little day date around the city so he can show off that he won. And it includes those matching built a bear with the voice box. “I love you” “Miss me pipsqueak?” “i'll be home soon, love you” “*smooch smooch smooch smooch noise*” “i miss you so much y/n” for your bear and his has “i love you” “miss you so much caleb” “waiting for you at home, love you” “*smooch smooch smooch smooch*” “we’ll be together soon” and you best believe he is going to be taking that bear with him and playing those lines again and again 

If you get chocolate from someone else he is laughing on the outside but internally it's just “bomb them, keep bombing them-” if he's there when you get them he is absolutely standing behind you ominously to glare down the poor soul trying to shoot their shot. He spent your childhood puppy guarding you from elsa he is not losing now

[hopefully-helpful-daemon]

I've been doing nothing but playing Marvel rivals for weeks now, so I thought I'd do the Batboy's (and co) mains!

Dick is Black Panther. The worst (in a good way) Panther main you'll ever meet. He takes out the enemy supports so fast that you'd think he was cheating. He gets yelled at by the enemy team every game he plays. He does get target banned in higher ranks, but that doesn’t stop him, he's just as good on Spiderman

Cassandra plays vanguards and only vanguards. She'll play whichever one they need in that game, but has the most time on Hulk and Doctor Strange. When asked why she doesn't switch, she said that she doesn't take up a lot of space irl, so she likes being the one to protect people in the game :)

Jason is either Punisher or Bucky. He will not switch, and to be fair, he's so good with them that he doesn't need to. That doesn't stop the rest of the fam from dragging his ass with how much they make fun of him. Real creative, playing a superhero game and picking the ones that have guns.

Tim will switch depending on what they need. He has Lord on so many characters that they start questioning if he's blowing off hero work to play. He likes playing Magik the most, but if the other team is triple healer, then he'll switch to Psylocke and absolutely demolish them. He's the dude that switched characters 12 times but still had the most kills and lest deaths.

Damian tried to play Hela his first game, realized that none of the others were playing strategists, and hasn’t switched from them since. Mantis is his best, he's insane on her and is somehow always keeping the others healed still.

Steph is a Moonknight truther through and through. Yes she's sitting in a corner shooting her ankhs, it's part of his kit! That's how he's supposed to be used! She isn't useless on him and doesn't need her ankhs to do damage, but she'll still be using them thank you very much!

They have not, and will not, convince Babs to play with them. She was an Overwatch playing for a time, broke three computers and 7 keyboards. She knows how a game like that will end for her and she's not doing it again.

Harper is a Hela main. She ends most matches with 0 deaths and almost double the kills of the next best on her team. No one knows where she's at during the game but she's terrifying and they’ve seen people actually run from her before. they banned her and Dick playing together after the first time when all of the enemy team left on second point.

They try and get Bruce to play with them, but he tells them that he's not good at the game. This is a dirty lie and he holds the highest rank in the family. He just finds it embarrassing to play with them because he gets really into the game and has said shit on vc before that he'd never want his children to hear. The day he got put on the enemy team as some of his kids was the best day of his life (B won but it was a tight match)

[cherryshortycake]

Hi hi!! I heard your requests were open :D

I was wondering if you’d do a scenario with Bakugo where hyperfem!pastel and cutsie reader meets his family and their just confused of why someone who seems so pure wants to be with someone like Bakugou LOLOL

Thank you!! 💕

ᴀ/ɴ: ᴛʜᴀɴᴋꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛ, ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ. ꜱᴏʀʀʏ ɪꜰ ɪ ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏɴɢ ꜰᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛ, ᴛᴏᴏᴋ ᴍᴇ ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙʀᴀɪɴꜱᴛᴏʀᴍ ᴀ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ɪᴅᴇᴀʟ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɴᴇᴇᴅꜱ ɪɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛ.

♥ Summary: Bakugou Katsuki’s girlfriend (you), a sweet and hyperfeminine pastel girl with lots golden retriever vibes, meets his family for the first time. ♥

The door swung open, as Katsuki's sharp eyes immediately landed on you, waiting for him by the door with your usual soft smile. You're standing there in your light, pink-colored dress swirled with a tad of white, added with your sweater over top, that Katsuki got you for your birthday couple months ago. HE loved seeing you wear what he got you...

"Ready to meet my old hags, pipsqueak?" Katsuki's said, that held a rare tenderness as he adjusted his jacket. There was a slight, almost imperceptible frown on his face, one that couldn’t quite mask his nervousness. You knew him well, all the way down to his core.. he was nervous? You thought..

You not giving him any mind of his nickname to you, at this point you find comfort in it.. But you knew not to say anything about him being nervous. So you knew to play it off, maybe he can be more relieved?

“Yup! I can’t wait to meet them, Katsuki!" You chirped, practically jumping out your skin with excitement. It was a big moment—meeting the family. You tried to calm your bubbling energy with a deep breath, but that golden retriever energy you always exuded was too strong.

As you entered his home, the scent of warm food wafted in the air, and you felt a slight twinge of nervousness, but you quickly pushed it down. Katsuki’s mom was already in the living room, putting down her cup of lemonade on the coffee table, standing up to greet the two of you.

“Brat, you didn’t tell me your girlfriend was this… colorful,” his mom said with an amused yet soft smile, referring to Katsuki. Eyes flickering to your pastel- look and the gentle aura you radiated. She wore a knowing look, one that said she was already sizing up the situation.

You bounced forward, your cheerfulness apparent in your every movement. "Hi! It's so nice to meet you, Mrs. Bakugou! I love how cozy your house feels, Thank you for inviting me and welcoming me!"

His mom chuckled, a lighthearted sound that contrasted her son’s usual gruffness. "You're as sweet as Bakugou said, huh?" she said warmly, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, she’s pretty... different from me,” Bakugou mumbled, but there was a soft affection in his words that you caught off, and it made your heart flutter. You smiled at him brightly.

Bakugou's mom eyed you, then looked at her son with a slightly raised eyebrow. “So, you’re the one who's making my son act like a fool then?” She joked. You wonder what she means, as you raise your eyebrow.

"Old hag!" Bakugou huffed, his cheeks turning a soft pink, which you found absolutely adorable. You giggled, reaching up and squeezing his arm, showing him that it's okay. He looks down at you, you teased, winking at him. Your touch was light, caring, and full of affection.

His mom grinned at you, clearly enjoying the exchange the look her son gives you. “I can tell you two have a special bond. You’re... different and very precious, and I like you.” She placed a hand on her chin thoughtfully. “Though I do wonder what someone as pure as you see in a rough kid like him.”

You giggled again, a soft sound that was almost like the tinkling of chimes. “Well, he’s got a big heart! And I think he’s a little softie under all that spark,” you said with a wink, reaching up to gently ruffle Bakugou’s spiky hair, causing him to scowl but not pull away.

His mom raised an eyebrow at him, clearly amused by how embarrassed her son had become. “A softie, huh? You hear that, Katsuki?”

Bakugou grumbled but didn’t argue, clearly warmed by the affection in your words, despite his attempts to act tough. “Shut up…”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the playful back-and-forth. It made you feel at ease, even though you were technically meeting his family for the first time.

After a few minutes of more teasing, Bakugou’s dad joined in from the kitchen, setting down a tray of food. His expression was stoic, but his eyes softened when they landed on you.

“So, you’re the one making my boy act like a mess?” he asked, his deep voice holding a light tease. His dad seeming very gentle and kind.

You looked up at him, your smile unwavering. “Yes, sir! But in the best way! I promise, I’ll take good care of him!”

His dad nodded slowly, then his lips quirked into a small smile. “Well, as long as you don’t let him burn the house down again, I suppose you're all right.”

“That was one time, old man!” Bakugou exclaimed, his voice clearly both embarrassed and defensive.

“You’re lucky you’ve got someone who’ll put up with your antics, boy,” his dad added, patting Bakugou on the back with a little more force than necessary. Bakugou pouting at him, with piercing eyes. His dad gulped. Showing he's somewhat scared of his son still, what did he do as a kid to him?? you thought, causing to giggle.

Your eyes sparkled as you turned back to Bakugou. “Aww, you really are just a big softie, huh?” you cooed, making his ears turn a darker shade of red.

As the evening continued, you fit perfectly into the family dynamic, your positive energy filling the room. His mom even pulled you aside while Bakugou was in the kitchen.

“You know,” she said, looking at you seriously, “I can tell you care about him. He’s lucky to have you.” She gave you a smile, a hint of approval in her eyes. “Don’t let that rough exterior fool you. He’s got a good heart, and if you can bring it out, he’ll be a better man because of it.”

You blinked up at her, your eyes wide with sincerity. “Thank you! I’ll do my best, I promise.”

Bakugou’s mom gave you an approving nod before she patted your head gently, the softest of gestures that made you smile brightly. “I like you. You’re the right one for him.”

Just as Bakugou re-entered the room, his cheeks flushed from something his dad had said, his mom squeezed your shoulder affectionately. "You’ll do great, kiddo."

Bakugou’s grumbling continued, but there was no hiding the soft glow of happiness in his eyes as he met yours. You could tell from the way he held your hand, a little tighter than usual, that he was more than just pleased with how things went.

And as you all sat down to enjoy the meal together, laughter filling the room, you couldn’t help but feel that this was where you belonged—right there with him and his family.

But his father broke the silence, pushing up his glasses trying to be serious, "So son, about protection, y'all know safe se-" "MASURA!!!!!!!" "ENOUGH" Mitsuki screams, Bakugou screams. silence opens again, and you break it with a laugh causing his parents laughing, but Bakugou is still grumps about it looking away pouting, but you nudge his arm smiling causing him to give a soft half one back.

[reccyls]

The Robin Who Grazed the Reaper’s Secret Eagerly Awaits His Words (Part 2)

My translation of Victor's 2025 birthday story

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Epilogue (Victor's POV)

---

In the sitting room of an orphanage, we sat opposite of the young man who was in charge of the facility.

Victor: If you have any difficulties, feel free to share them with us.

According to William’s mission report, the previous orphanage director and his associates had been dealt with.

(The former director had abused the children here, and even taken part in human trafficking.)

Orphanage Director: I know I’ve only just become the director recently. Orphanage Director: But there are still some children who are wary of me…

The troubled director had no clue about what his predecessor had done.

(William’s fake mission was to verify whether or not the new director had any connection to the previous one.)

But Victor had already determined the man’s innocence.

Victor: If it’s all right, could we meet with the children?

…

The director showed us to the orphanage’s garden, where I could hear excited voices chattering.

Kate: They look like they’re doing well.

Victor: The most important thing for children is that they’re happy.

Victor’s profile as he watched over the children was overflowing with affection.

Victor: When these children grow up, they will be the foundation that supports this country. Victor: Just like you.

His hand was still holding mine. Aside from his warmth, there was something else that made my heart race. And right then, a boy pointed at us.

Energetic Boy: Those grownups are being lovey-dovey!

Kate: L-Lovey dovey!?

At the boy’s shout, the other children began ooh-ing and aah-ing as they gathered around. However…

(Ah.)

At the periphery of my vision, I could see a girl with a guarded look in her eyes. Victor noticed her too, and he smiled.

Victor: Everyone, look closely! On the count of three, flowers are going to fly out of our hands!

Raising our joined hands high in the air, Victor encouraged the children to count along.

Victor: Three! Two! One! Abracadabra!

Children: Wow!!

I was as surprised as the children were when flowers began raining from our hands.

Victor: Oh? I think today’s a good day for me. Victor: That’s not all I’ve got!

Flowers sprouted from Victor’s sleeves, and doves flew out of his coat.

(That girl looks a little more relaxed now.)

I looked over the girl, who was now looking directly our way.

Victor: Kate.

I realized that Victor had slipped something into my hand, and then I slowly approached the girl. When I reached the nervous girl, I crouched down and opened my hand.

Wary Girl: Wow…

A flower unfurled in my palm.

Kate: That mister over there is really good at magic tricks. Kate: Do you want to watch some more with me?

It took some time, but the girl eventually nodded and put her hand in mine. Making sure she was okay, I stood up.

Kate: Let’s go!

…

In no time at all, we’d gotten close to the children and played with them in the garden. However…

(I’m… at my limit… Victor’s amazing…)

He was the exact opposite of my exhausted self, still overflowing with energy as he played with the children. Even the children who were initially wary were now happily running about hand-in-hand with Victor.

(The mission may have been fake, but I’m glad we came here today.)

Even if Crown punishes the wicked, the wounds of those affected by their evil don’t disappear. But life goes on.

(So that no one will ever hurt anyone like these children have been hurt…)

Kate: I need to work harder.

Victor: I think you already work hard enough.

Kate: Victor! I thought you were still playing with the kids?

I didn’t notice when Victor had sat down beside me. He gave me a self-pitying smile.

Victor: I’d forgotten that children have infinite energy.

He let out an enormous sigh, and as I laughed, I placed my hand over his.

Kate: You shouldn’t work too hard either, all right?

Victor: Hm?

Kate: Both Crown and I care about you a lot. We don’t want you to push yourself too much. Kate: When you find yourself overwhelmed, it’s fine to reach out to someone else for help.

Victor normally works so hard that we’ve had to resort to creating a fake mission to get him to take a break.

(It really does worry me…)

Victor: You’re the same as ever.

A gentle, yet somehow melancholy, smile found its way onto Victor’s face as he brushed my cheek. When I realized he was touching me, I felt my face heat up. But then–

Kate: Oh!

I suddenly remembered something important, and stood up abruptly.

Victor: Kate? What’s the ma-

Kate: I- I, um. I have to, uhh, wash my hands!

Throwing out the first excuse to cross my mind, I raced away, ignoring Victor’s calls behind me.

…

(William helped make the reservation, but I’m still amazed at how well it turned out. I’m glad.)

Carefully packed in the box I was holding to my chest was Victor’s birthday cake. The important errand I had to run was to pick up the cake William and I had ordered.

(Victor must be pretty worried right now after I ran off…)

The cake shop was only a few minutes away from the orphanage. However, the sun was now beginning to set, so I quickened my pace.

Kate: I hope Victor likes it.

Absorbed by my thoughts, I didn’t notice the hand reaching out to me from behind.

Kate: Wha-

The moment I realized that something was being pressed against my mouth, I felt myself growing weak. The box slipped from my grasp.

Kate: Vic… tor…

The world went dark.

[vidjauser-player-206]

Dae-ho x Pregnant F!Reader

Pairing: Dae-ho x F!Pregnant reader

Triggers: Squid game typical violence and death, brief mention of trafficking, mention of abusive baby daddy, Dae-ho is NOT the father, cursing

Tags: Pregnancy, fluff, 2 endings, 1 angsty ending, 1 good ending

Words: 3.2k

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BlueSky

I have a couple more chapters planned for this, and two endings. Possibly some bonus smut after this is all finished? : ) I've been on such a hype for this fella. I love him so much.

Also happy Valentines everyone!

CHAPTER ONE

The two of you met in the games. You were approximately 8 months pregnant, so close to popping out your child, but not quite there yet. The only reason you were in these stupid games was because you were desperate. Your baby daddy ran off shortly after you had told him about the baby, around your second month of pregnancy. You weren’t too surprised, however, what did surprise you was the fact that his loan sharks started lurking around your place. You had guessed that he had gone fully into hiding, and they sought out the first person they knew he was close to. 

One of the loan sharks had pressed you against the wall, threatening to do awful things to you if you didn’t get the money by the end of the month. He stared at your belly greedily as he said it. 

After that, you feared what would truly happen when the end of the month came. You weren’t sure how you were going to afford to pay such a big debt, but also your rent and impending bills that would come with all the baby related medical appointments you needed…

You knew your baby was a girl, and you feared the worst would happen once they found that out. 

Despite not knowing what you would be getting yourself into, you still found yourself playing Ddakji in the subway station on your way to a doctor’s appointment, which you ended up skipping after getting slapped a few times by the Recruiter, who wasn’t light on the slaps despite your obvious predicament weighing your stomach down. That card you held in your hands felt like your own hope and savior, so you had called and confirmed your information. 

Being drugged in the limo was scary, and what was even scarier was the fact that you woke up in a room of what felt like a thousand people, now in different clothing. Which meant that someone undressed you. This wasn’t where you thought you would wind up. The room only had bunk beds stretched nearly to the ceiling. You never thought that they could go that high. The walls were mostly blank, other than some childlike paintings. It reminded you of a pediatric waiting room but the doctors had forgotten the colorful paint, scaring the children⁠—and you⁠—rather than making them feel welcomed. You could almost smell the foul stench of bleached floors, making your nose crinkle as you got out of your bunk. At least the person who changed you had the decency to put you on a lower bunk. 

You avoided the people who emerged from the bunks, though when you met the eyes of a couple of them, they always fell down to your stomach with a surprised expression. 

You ignored them and proceeded through a big door to a wacky set of stairways that came straight out of a surreal painting, took your photo, and ended up on a field of sand. Once again, you felt like a kid, though rather out on the playing field, ready to play sports in Physical Education. The first game was…Red Light, Green Light? That threw you off. This felt too weird to believe that you were just playing kid’s games for money…What was the catch? 

It would be a whole lot worse than you thought, and your survival was only thanks to Player 388. The number burned in the back of your mind, becoming your lucky number at that moment. 

After the first gunshot and once everyone scattered⁠—being promptly shot once they moved even an inch⁠—Player 456 called for shorter players to get behind taller ones, claiming that the robot couldn’t see things behind the players. 

“Green light!”

The man in front of you turned and grabbed you by your shoulders. 

“What the hell⁠—” You cried and slammed your fists against his shoulders, afraid he was going to pull you in front of him and use you as some sort of human shield. 

“Get behind me.” He says firmly. 

Instead, his strong arms yanked you behind him, and you got a faceful of that number you would never forget. 388. He kept one hand behind him so he could keep his hands on you while the two of you ran. You kept his shirt balled in your fist but let go when you two stopped, fearing you might knock him over. 

“Red light!”

There were only a couple of gunshots. 

With each gunshot, Player 388 trembled, and you could feel through his grip that it was hard for him to sit still when he heard the gunshots. You couldn’t blame him though, you were trembling too. The two of you remained brave, especially him— for not only carrying himself, but you and your baby too. 

You couldn’t help but admire him from behind. A hero…your hero.

In the beginning, everyone only had five minutes to make it across the finish line, now it was down to one. You swore that you weren’t going to make it. Player 388 should have left you there,but he didn’t. 

There was cramping everywhere in your abdomen and below. Your baby was protesting against all the new movements you had avoided throughout your pregnancy. You pleaded quietly for her to stop kicking your bladder. 

“Green light!”

Everyone moved forward again. 

Soon, close to the finish line, a few players behind you lurched forward after tripping, knocking you in the same direction. Player 388 dug his heels into the ground, and it was like running straight into a stone wall. Your body and stomach were pressed right into him, almost intimately. 

“Red light!” The robot’s head spun around, eyes scanning furiously. 

The players who had knocked into you all stood right as the robot’s head moved. They weren’t so lucky, and you heard the gunshots. Thank God you were behind Player 388 because your head naturally creaked to the side as you peered at the bodies that had thumped behind you. You regretted looking immediately. You realized you moved and waited for another gunshot. Though, it never came. 

After what felt like their final minute was up, the robot’s head spun back toward the tree. “Green light!” 

“Come on!” Player 388 spun around, and for a second you saw his face. You could barely register it though, unable to process details in the heat of the moment. All you knew was that he was handsome and sweaty. 

Player 388 grabbed your elbow and you grabbed another handful of his shirt, the two of you booking it. 

Running across the finish line felt like you were running in slow motion, but you felt a wave of relief when you did. You were safe. You were alive. You and your baby made it. 

Your feet caught and tangled on the man’s and the two of you went down, though your fall was cushioned by his body. It didn’t stop the twinge of pain in your abdomen, however, and you feared that the fall might be the thing that does you in, until your mind focused back onto the playing field. 

Other players either made it across the finish lines themselves or they were promptly shot and killed. Your eyes were glued on the merciless scene, and your own pains were momentarily forgotten, until you broke yourself out of the spell. 

You looked down to your body and Player 388’s, tangled together on the ground. His hand was still on your elbow, and only in that second did he lighten his grip. There might be a bruise later on, but you didn’t care. He saved your life.. 

You looked at his face. His mouth was slightly agape, giving a far-off expression, like he wasn’t there anymore. His dark hair was swept back in a sweaty ponytail but strands of his hair were falling on his forehead. You had to resist the urge to reach up and brush it out of his face. You didn’t want to spook him so you kept your hands to yourself. 

There was one last gunshot, and you saw his face flinch, taking him out of his far-away expression and he met your eyes with his dark ones. 

His grip on your arm tightens. “Are you okay?” He asks softly, his eyes casting down to your stomach for only a second. His hand moved to rest on your upper arm. “Are you both okay?”

You cradle your belly and quickly nod. “Yes, thank you. You really saved my ass out there. I thought it was all a game, until…” You couldn’t say it out loud. Instead, you brought your hand to your mouth, fighting choked up tears. Everything was catching up to you, making you feel overwhelmed. You were sure he was feeling the same way. 

His fingers cupped the back of your neck, tugging you forward. You lean your forehead against his shoulder, and he moves his hand to your trembling shoulders to comfort you. You stayed there momentarily but finally pulled back to look at his face, to take in him fully. You were drawn to the sharp yet somehow soft lines of his face. His hair was dark and so were his eyes as they bore down into your soul, almost touching you in your heart in a way no one else’s had before. You were used to expressions of fury, or the scrunched up eyebrows of someone who was screaming at you. This face was different. It brought you comfort when you most needed it. 

You continued, forcing yourself to snap out of the trance this man had you under, “You could have left me out there when that man said for everyone to get into lines. You didn’t have to risk your life for mine.” Yet he did.

“What kind of man, let alone Marine, would I be if I left a mother and her unborn baby out in danger? A piece of shit…That’s the kind of man I would be. Here, let me help you up.”

Player 388 had to untangle your bodies before he could stand. He helped you up by pulling you up by your forearms, then stabilized you when you faltered.

You were about to thank him when the guards led everyone back to the exit. A lot of the other players didn’t hesitate and listened immediately, rushing for the exit. Player 388 wrapped an arm around your waist, hand resting against the edge of your pregnant belly. “Let’s go. I have a feeling we shouldn’t piss these guys off.”

“Yeah…They’re the ones with the guns.”

“Agreed.” He nods his head firmly. 

For once, you didn’t mind that a man’s hands were pulling you somewhere. You just wanted out of that damn arena more than anything. It was a bit awkward once you got to the stairs, so he moved behind you to help you up. Still…you had no complaints for now. You weren’t sure if you had enough mental or physical energy to support yourself at this point. You kept your hand on the edge of the stairs and the other on your stomach, pushing yourself beyond today.

“I think we’re close to the dormitory now, then you can rest.” Player 388 said close to your ear. 

“Thank god,” you said gratefully. 

You would have jumped for joy when you saw those big doors if you didn’t have a whole ass baby in your stomach.

“I’m never taking a bed for granted again…” You sighed. 

“You and me both, let’s get you sitting down…” Player 388 walked with you back to the bunks stairs. 

Looking around the room, you couldn’t be sure of the exact number, but you could tell that the crowd was thinned out by at least a hundred or so. Now, you felt like your swollen belly stuck out like a sore thumb. 

The entire atmosphere of the dormitory completely changed, it was worse than a hospital, you felt like you were in a prison. 

Player 388 interrupted your thoughts, “Do you want to stick with me?” He asked softly, “I think the more people we have, the better off we’re going to be…” He looked down at your stomach. He didn’t have to say it out loud, but you knew he was thinking about saying something about protecting the baby. 

As the two of you walked to the bed, you noticed how his arm felt large around your shoulders, he definitely had a lot of muscles. The pair of you looked like a couple, really. The way he was clinging to you probably gave others the impression that he put the baby in you. You didn’t know the man that well, but if he really was as sweet as he was acting right now, then you wouldn’t have let him become your ex. If you were one of the other players staring at you two, you would have thought, what kind of stupid man lets his wife join these games and what kind of stupid bitch would you be to put yourself in that situation too?

Wait, why were you even thinking of this?

Player 388 stared at you, expecting an answer but not rushing to get it out of you.

“...Yes.” You nod. “But I think I need to know your name first.”

The man nods in agreement. “Let’s get you seated first.”

You were touched he was so thoughtful about you and your baby’s wellbeing. 

Bringing you over to the lower bunk’s stairway, the man helped you waddle over and then sit. He shifts, sitting down on your left, his legs slightly apart as he sits. You knew that soon, all the pain and discomfort would catch up to you. For now, you savored the man’s sweet smiles. The sweetest one you had ever seen, especially from a man. 

“What’s your name?” You reminded him. 

Player 388 put a hand over his chest, giving his head a small bow. “I’m Kang Dae-ho.” He raises his hands and puts his fingers out in an exaggerated way, like he was a cat showing its claws. He directs it towards your belly, like he was giving the baby a little game of charades. Your stomach fluttered. 

No wait, that was the baby kicking. 

Gasping, you had to lean back and hold your stomach for a second. 

Dae-ho’s face fell and he looked down to your belly in concern, his hand coming out to touch it but letting it hover instead. “Are you okay⁠—?”

You nod, releasing a strained gasp. “Yeah…She just kicked me in the ribs.” You take his hovering hand and pressed it to your stomach, watching as his eyes widen even more. 

Dae-ho’s eyes lingered on your belly before lifting up to meet your eyes. His hand rubbed your belly up and down, feeling the small kicks against his palm. “You’re having a baby girl…? What’s her name?”

You smiled bashfully. “She doesn’t have a name yet. I figured it would come to me once I see her face for the first time…Mine is…” You told him your name, the two basking in each other’s presence quietly, at least until the doors opened and pink guards with guns marched into the room. 

Something snapped in Dae-ho and immediately he took a protective position in front of you, his arm coming out to completely shield you as if he expected the guards to march right up to the two of you and shoot you specifically. They didn’t, rather, they stood at the opening of the door. There was one guard who stood at the front, a square mask on his face. There were a couple with triangles, instead of the square, with guns standing behind them. You admittedly cowered and gripped the back of Dae-ho’s shirt, feeling the pounding of your and your baby’s hearts like drums beating with one another. 

A vote. That’s what came next from the guards. It was O’s, those who wanted to stay, and X’s, those who wanted to return home. 

Dae-ho had calmed down, but remained by your side, comfortably rubbing your shoulder and sometimes your stomach. 

You thought you would have time to think about your vote, but the main guard announced that they would do it backwards, starting with Player 456. You looked down to the number on your shirt. You were Player 451. You were going to vote within just a few players. 

“Player 451.” 

Soon, you stood and with the help of Dae-ho, you were helped to your feet. He was perfectly willing to take you all the way down the line up to the buttons but you put your hand on his shoulder and shook your head. “I can do this…”

“Okay…” he responded hesitantly. 

You made your way down the line, both hands cradling your belly. The eyes of the other players glared like birds with claws ready to slice at you for picking the wrong choice. Soon you stood in front of the guard, the red and blue buttons appearing much larger than what you thought they would be. You looked to the red X, and then to the blue O. You raised your hand…and pressed O. The blue light shined on your face. 

It was impossible to look up to find Dae-ho in the crowd. You weren’t sure what his choice was going to be. You hadn’t mentioned it to each other. And if he was planning to pick X, then you probably fucked everything up. 

Without looking up, you made your way to the O side and stood next to a stranger, who gave you a side eye, but luckily said nothing. Dae-ho’s number wouldn’t be called for a while. 

When you finally heard it, you squeezed your eyes shut, refusing to look up as he made his way down and pressed a button. You heard the noise, but couldn’t register which button it was. 

You didn’t expect a warm and strong arm wrap around your shoulders, pressing you forward. You eyes shot open and you looked up, seeing Dae-ho smile down at you warmly. Your eyes moved down to his chest, and there you saw it…a Blue O patch…He had chosen to stay.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily…” The man mumbled and smiled reassuringly. He pulled you back into his chest, hugging you as tight as he could with your belly in the way. 

You smiled weakly and wrapped your hands behind his shoulder blades, unable to say anything. But you were happy and grateful for him. 

The two of you remained in each other’s arms until voting ended. Thank god, your ankles were about to explode. The guards dismissed themselves, leaving everyone to their own devices. 

“I need to go lay down, please. My body is about to explode.” You laughed weakly. 

“I’ve got ya…” Dae-ho guided you back to the beds with a hand on your lower back. He helped you climb into the first bed you could make it to, and pulled the blankets up to your chest. 

You grabbed at his sleeve before he could pull away. “I might need to go to the restroom later —but for now, I’m just going to sleep. Stay nearby?” At this point, your eyes were already drooping, but you couldn’t take your eyes off his goofy grin as he nodded. 

“Of course. I won’t leave you for a second. I want you to sleep and rest, For you and your baby…” He pressed his forehead to the top of your hair. You fell asleep in his arms, memorizing his warmth and smell.

[lover-of-mine]

alright costume oracle, if the black Eddie outfit isn't a flashback to the coma, what do we think that all black ensemble means??

Okay everyone, please only address me as costume oracle from now on when asking about this oskaoskaoksaosk (I'm kidding, this just made me laugh so sincerely, thank you). So, the black. First, the 611 comparison, I think the biggest giveaway that is not meant to be a flashback is his hair lol. But while they do look similar, the shirts are different, with different fabrics, different buttons, different pockets, so not the same.

Honestly, Eddie was in a lot of black in s7 and 2 out of 3 non-uniform outfits we saw from him include black tops, which is interesting considering his arc. And this isn't considering the fact that he has been wearing the black lafd top more than the navy one and the black jacket he was also in a lot.

It could 100% be the lighting but something that drew my attention right away is that black isn't all that vibrant. He was in black during most of Buck's bi arc and he meets Kim in black, but those are a lot more intense. I have a running theory that Eddie is chasing color, and at first, I thought that they were gonna put him in lighter colors during said chase. And I think I was partially right. Obviously with Eddie allowing himself joy being my biggest thing here, that baby pink color. So in my head, when he is playing in those lighting tones, he's closer.

So putting him in black, something that absorbs color and doesn't allow him to reflect anything back, a color that was very attached to him last season while he was in a relationship wasn't fully sure of or the thing with Kim is interesting. Talking about actual color theory, black is very commonly used as a color of mourning, so it could be Eddie mourning the life he doesn't want to leave behind. Black is also a color of mystery or concealment, so it could be Eddie hiding things, like the way he doesn't really want to move or be in Texas. Mostly I think that that outfit could be about a scene where Eddie is trying to resign himself to doing what he thinks is right even though he hates it, or hiding his true feelings somehow, trying to keep the peace, accept the criticism, end up back in a mind space where the belives he needs to be punished for hurting Chris. This is my safe bet. But let's say we want to be a bit more daring in our spec.

I have multiple theories about what color Eddie could be while he confronts his parents about basically stealing Chris. For instance what I nicknamed the "let's talk about if I trust you with my kid" light wash denim, since they put him in that white undershirt, light wash denim button-down combo when we first see Shannon and he doesn't want to let her see Chris, when his parents are trying to convince him to give Chris to them in 315, and for the there's nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you scene.

Other theories include a yellow color if the scene ends up attached to his queer awakening somehow, of him accepting more of who he is in a similar way they used blue with Buck throughout his coming out arc, but I'm a lot less confident on that one.

And well, some cultures have black as a color attached to rebellion, and black is also at times used to indicate power. And Eddie was in black the last time he was in Texas and he was confronting the damage his father did to him. So it could also be used as he confronts his mother, the precedent is there.

He's also in black during the dinner he tries to ask Shannon to be a family again and she asks for a divorce, so the road to acceptance there could end with black since their relationship ends and "restarts" with black, since he's also in black talking to Kim the first time. And that's interesting since he doesn't really mourn Shannon in black, the scene we have when he's confronting those feelings head-on, are not exactly black, yes, we have the black shirt in 217, but the green jacket ends up being the focus there. And as much as they seem to be trying to distance themselves from the Kim of it all, this arc also has to include letting Shannon's ghost go, so also something to think about there.

So, to recap, safe bet is Eddie in mourning for the life he left behind or hiding how much it hurts him to leave LA. Getting a bit daring, maybe Eddie having some hard conversations with his parents or finally letting go of Shannon for real.

This got long as fuck and I'm sure how much sense it makes if you're not seeing the visions in my head, but if you read this, I love you 🫶

[iamlostsomewhereinthegarden]

A Valentine's Day with them

A Valentine's Day with some of my favorite characters

A Valentine's Day with Ryou is filled with running and hiding away from his fangirls who want a date with him after school, giggling all the while as you’re holding hands because it feels like a romance story where you guys are running away from everyone else in the world to pursue your secret love. Later it’s spent at a cute nerdy cafe where couples get a discount on their meals and a special monster world figurines of a couple meant to stay together forever. It ends with you gifting Ryou cream puffs you made for him for the special day and heading over to his apartment and playing a short specialized monster world campaign Ryou made for you as a Valentine's gift.

A Valentine's Day with Souya is filled with going to all the local ramen shops and benefiting from the Valentine’s discounts. But if you think that’s all it’s not! Souya stepping out of his comfort zone made you chocolates while you made him a cute stuffy for his bed that you’ll see later on in the future when you guys move in together (“You still have that old thing? Of course I do, it’s something you made for me and gave to me for Valentine’s day!”). It ends with sneaking into Souya’s room -because your parents don’t approve of delinquents so you guys can’t go to your house- but you can’t let Nahoya know you guys are there or else you’ll never hear the end of it! And still waking up with y’all faces covered in marker and teasing from Nahoya because that’s just how he is but you’re happy you got to spend the night with your adorable angry boyfriend.

A Valentine’s Day with Shikamaru is filled with you two not being able to meet up until late into the evening and that’s because you guys have plans for the day but it’ll take most of the day to do. So Shikamaru spends the day at Ino’s house doing his best to make some chocolates for you, and while they aren’t the best they’re made with love and make you cry because the lazy bum put in work for Valentine’s day. You on the other hand was preparing the best stay at home lazy date one could ever ask for, and surprisingly it takes a lot of work but you got it done and welcomed him home to the cutests but laziest and most loving Valentine’s day ever.

A Valentine's Day with Neji is weird at first because he really wants to do a lot for you so the normally stoic man is doing the most to show that he loves you! All while looking like a tomato and like he’s about to pass out lmao. Though after stopping him from being weird and letting him know that all he has to do with you is just chill and spend time with you on this special day calms down and you guys have the best and still most romantic Valentine’s day ever for the two of you.

A Valentine’s Day with Kalim is a crazy private party with just you two but filled with gifts sent to one another and cutesy Valentines themed meals to the heart's content. As a poor student that can’t buy much you end up being creative and gifting a bunch of adorable homemade crafts that Kalim does is best to preserve forever. Kalim's gifts to you were a bunch of expensive gifts but after being with you for a while still has a lot of meaning because as much as he can’t help spending money like crazy he does understand what to give to make you happy. The day is spent having fun and being stupid kids while enjoying the day that Kalim ordered.

A Valentine’s Day with Idia is spent in his room playing a bunch of romance and otome games together for fun, and not even the good ones the dumb silly ones like the one with the horses and the one with the pigeons and some of those games that can be played fast and in one sitting like “A Date with Death”, “The Kid at The Back”. You guys order some food and find some kitties to pet and hold onto and enjoy the day. For two anime obsessed gamers in love it’s a great way to spend a day like today.

A Valentine’s Day with Leviathan is different than what you would think, you might think you’d spend the whole day inside but why would you guys be if there are so many anime Valentine’s events today?!?! The day is spent going from event to event ranting and being crazy fans over the animes, games, mangas and manhwas and getting limited/special items along with signatures especially since you guys are a couple. What more could two anime geeks want?

A Valentine’s Day with Tamaki is spent inside ordering a bunch of Valentine's food and having an at home date then watching some romcom movies. And let me tell you, while Tamaki may struggle in public or in many situations he’s steeled himself for this moment in order to show you how much he loves you and cares for you. It’s a day that the Pro-Hero makes sure to take off just for you and if at the end of the night he ends up being dominant with his quirk making the night very fun (especially with his tentacles and maybe even a horse coc-) that’s for you guys to know! Unless you want to spill the beans to Neijire, Mirio, Fatgum and Kirishima, though Tamaki would prefer you not to for the sake of his health.

A Valentine’s Day with Feitan is a surprise because each year he somehow does something different, the first year you guys celebrated it was the severed head of someone who kept harassing you, which though it freaked you out you understood that he was trying and at least you never had to deal with them again! Another couple years later after learning and realizing that body parts wasn’t the best item to give to your spouse and the only reason you loved them was because it was Feitan who did/gave it to you his present was a bunch of the prettiest and most expensive jewelry he could get his hands on that you could only wear once the hype about finding them died down but were amazing! This year while you got him a new amazing and pristine sword that he could use which he really loved and appreciated he somehow got you dinner reservations at an expensive and top notch restaurant and even went with you wearing a suit and actually having manners. To say that this Valentine’s day was amazing would be putting it lightly and you were definitely happy that you were with the man that you’re with despite his quirks.

Hope you enjoyed that was all written within an hour because I had a Spanish composition to write, plus a busy af university day and had to scrap my original idea that I spent whole last night working on instead of studying for said Spanish composition. I really wanted to do more but time is running out for the day and I still have more homework to do lol!

Tags: @kisakis-boyfriend

[hufflepuffsthunderdome]

Sunset Lamp

Schlatt x gn!reader Summary: Schlatt gets home and enjoys a quiet domestic moment while you sleep. Warnings: swearing, pure fluff otherwise A/N: Based on this request by @sleepdepr1v3d 🫶

He just felt drained. Completely drained.

The second he left the office he felt like he could breathe easy for the first time today, escaping the stuffy studio, the never ending emails and technical problems, the sound of yelling of other people filming when he was trying to get work done. He never thought that the busy roads outside the offices would be calming but they dulled the ringing in his ears.

The trip home was long, traffic was backed up as it always was, every hour of the day, and people could not drive for shit. He managed to escape the city unscathed, driving through the quieter streets of suburbia as the radio hummed quietly in the background.

Parking the car, he got out with a groan as he stretched, back cracking as he wiggled out his achy joints and trudged upstairs. The house looked darked from the outside, soft red brick glowing brighter in the setting sun, casting his shadow on the door as he made his way up the stairs. The area was calming, a lot calmer than the city, big front yard, bigger backyard, fenced in to give them some space form their neighbours and the rambunctious kids he could faintly hear playing out the back of his neighbours house.

The house is dimly lit as he steps inside, the quiet scratching of a record ended and begging to be flipped is the only sound he can hear as he steps inside. Kicking off his shoes with a thud, he makes his way through the arch to the living room, being met with the orange glow of that sunset lamp he had teased you for buying. He's come around to it though, he'd never admit the way the orange lit room puts him at ease as he walks over to flip the unknown record, a soft smile on his face as the unmistakable voice of Lindsey Buckingham plays softly from the speaker.

He bobs his head as he sings softly under his breath along with the record,

I know there's nothin' to say Someone has taken my place When times go bad When times go rough Won't you lay me down in tall grass And let me do my stuff

His singing is interrupted by a soft purring sound behind him, as the music becomes background noise when he feels soft fur brush against his leg, seeing Jambo brush against his legs as he looks up curiously at his owner.

Jay scoops him up in his arms, planting a small kiss on his head as he mumbles out into the simly lit room, "where's mummy Jambo?"

That cat meows softly and wiggles his way out of Jay's grasp, jumping down onto the coffee table and onto the long couch along the wall of the room. Jay's gaze follows, his breath catching in his throat as he watches Jambo curl up against [REDACTED], both settling onto your stomach, on top of the blanket you're curled up under.

He just stares for a good while, watching as the cats rise and fall gently with the soft breathing as you sleep peacefully, your hand shifting in your sleep to protectively rest against Jambo. You look ethereal right now, there's no other words to describe it. Skin lit alight under the warm orange glow that fills the room, hair laid messily around your face as you lay on the pillow, a halo around your head.

He feels a warmth flutter in his chest as he watches you snuggle further into the couch, mouth burying below the blanket as you cocoon yourself in. He laughs softly to himself when he sees your nose twitch, soft fluff tickling you as you scrunch up your face. He crouches down next to you, hand hovering over you for a second before he lowers it gently to run through your hair, relishing in your soft presence against his palm.

He feels a warmth settle in his chest, expanding out across his limbs as small goosebumps rise on the skin of his arms as he hand drifts down to cup your face gently. Thumb running along your cheek, he admires the way your skin dents gently under the soft pressure of his hand. Your eyes flutter slightly, threatening to open before he's cooing softly at you, shushing gently so you settle back to sleep. He removes his hand, not wanting to disturb you further as he just admires you, the peaceful beauty on your face.

He sits back on his heels, kneeling down next to the couch as he watches you, cursing himself for not being able to freeze time in this moment with you forever. If he could he would, just watch guard over you like this for the rest of eternity, as you sleep, peaceful, safe and loved. That's all he ever wants for you. To give you that.

He laughs softly when Jambo sneezes, shushing the cats when Soup sleepily bats at his brother, the two lazily tussling on your lap. When you don't stir, he can't help himself but take his phone out, taking a video of the cats as they playfully fight, his laugh in the background. He hears you let out a soft little murmur in your sleep, and can't fight the dopey grin that makes it's way into his face when he turns the camera to you. He snaps some pictures, framing your peaceful face in the warm glow of the lamp, the outline of his shadow evident on you as you lay there.

You begin to stir in your sleep when Soup jumps down from your lap, eyes fluttering open as you squint up at Schlatt, trying to focus. "Jay?" you murmur softly, voice laced with sleep as you shut your eyes again once you've noticed his presence, a lazy smile drifting on your lips as your hand shifts to hang lazily off the couch, "when'd you get home?"

He stares in awe for a moment, overcome by the quiet intimate moment, the domesticity of being able to hear your voice like this, see your eyes flutter as you smile tiredly up at him, just for him. It chokes him up for a second. "A bit ago," he answers softly, trying not to disturb the quiet.

You hum softly in return, hand reaching out lazily to find his, meeting the soft expanse of his chest as you drag his palm up, gently rubbing over his neck before cupping his cheek in your small hand, "I missed you," you murmur into the pillow.

He swallows as he forces the words out, a soft smile breaking out on his lips that he doesn't even wanna try to fight back, as his hand comes up to cover yours. He brings his phone back up, snapping a photo of you, smiling tiredly at the camera as your hand reaches out for him, to the corner of the screen as he whispers back, "I missed you too."

You can hear him yelling something when you push the doors open and step into the house, a laugh bubbling onto your throat as you drop your bag by the door, the familiar chaos a surprising comfort after a long day at work. You drop the groceries on the kitchen counter, grabbing yourself a can from the fridge as you scoop up Jambo on your way to Schlatt's home office, doubling back to the fridge to grab him a can as well.

You knock gently on the door as you push it open, sticking your hand through with a can for Schlatt as you call out, "are you live?"

You hear some shuffling and his laugh as he makes his way over to the door, pulling it up and scooping you up in a hug as he takes the can from you, lips attaching firmly to yours. "No not live," he says when he pulls away and puts you down, stepping back into the study and kicking the door open some more so you can walk in, "just couldn't be fucked to leave the house today."

"Fucking lucky," you say, letting go of Jambo when he wiggles in your grasp, huffing playfully when he immediately climbs up onto the arm of Schlatt's chair, "wow someone's got favourites."

"We knew that already," he laughs as he pops open his can, doing the same for yours as he always does before taking a long swig, "they're both just after my money."

"Aren't we all?" you tease, bringing the can up to your lips to hide your smile, squeaking and nearly dropping it when he pinches your hip playfully.

"Alright," he drawls laughing, "I see how it is."

You go to make your leave when you see him slip his headphones back on, opening your mouth to ask how long he'll be when you feel the word's die in your throat. Your hand reaches out and grasps the gold frame as you stare down at it surprised, "what's this?"

"Hmm?" he asks, turning away from his computer to glance quickly over at it, "oh that's from the other day," he mumbles out nonchalantly as he turns back to his screen.

"You printed it?" you whisper, voice stuck in your throat at your surprise. You study the photo, looking at yourself laying sleepily on the couch, hand reaching out for something beyond frame, the unmistakable figure of your boyfriend casting a broad shadow over you in the orange light. He just hums back a confirmation as he types away an email.

You let out a breath of a laugh and fling your arms around his shoulders, pulling him off the chair and onto your grasp as he huffs out in surprise. "You are so fucking cute," you whisper, voice thick with emotion as you hold him tight, feeling him laugh against your neck as he bends down to let you hug him.

"Can you blame me darlin'?" he murmurs into your shoulder as he holds you tightly back, "I just fucking love you."

[nogoodsheepstealing-greatgrandma]

Fixing Laena Velaryon

First off, my preference with HOTD would have been to have a book-accurate adaption of Fire & Blood, and of Laena's role within the story. The typical response to that sentiment is of course "why can't you just accept the show on its own merits?" (those merits being increasingly dubious as of S2). In the spirit of doing so, I'd like to demonstrate how the bare minimum of effort could have been made to keep Laena an actual character in this high-budget fanfiction. And in doing so, hammer in how the failure to do even the bare minimum demonstrates the show's misogynoir.

For the sake of this post I am accepting the age changes, and I am accepting Alicent taking Laena's place as Rhaenyra's friend. I'll even accept the structure of the season, keeping events broadly the same even though this unfortunately continues to place Laena in the margins (again, we are talking about the bare minimum here). But within this limited framework there was still plenty of space to focus on Laena - and a narrative need to do so. For one, how the audience feels about Laena carries into how we feel about her daughters (assuming an alternate reality of course where the intention was to make Baela and Rhaena actual main characters - I will eventually do a follow up post for them).

For another, her story impacts how we feel about the succession of both Driftmark and the Iron Throne. She is the daughter of The Queen Who Never Was; by all the laws of Westeros, her mother is the rightful Queen (a daughter comes before a male cousin). Laena herself is a would-be queen consort, and her daughters are technically the rightful heirs to both Driftmark and the Iron Throne as Rhaenys' only biological grandchildren (so suck it Vaemond). When Vaemond put himself forward as heir over Laena's daughters, he was actually using the same precedent that was used to pass over Laena's mother.

Laena therefore plays a vital role beyond just being Rhaenyra's friend and Daemon's wife. Her wishes and agency with regards to the succession matters. She is the spurned queen consort and mother of two rightful heirs - who rides the largest dragon in the world. She is the one who solidifies the Targaryen-Velaryon alliance with Rhaenyra. Her loss really should have felt like a dramatic turning of the tides. And her legacy should have been felt after her death.

Episode 1

First off, I would like to make a point about how Laena is introduced (speaking as someone who knows fuck all about cinematography so... apologies in advance!). To preface, not every main character needs to have a big introduction in a pilot episode - the pilot has enough on its plate without having to introduce every single member of its large ensemble cast. It is fair enough to simply have a character appear and then get to know them later. But for the purposes of this post I want to explore where there was space for Laena, and how it could have been used.

In the show we first see Laena sitting next to her brother at the tourney. The camera doesn’t single them out or give us any reason to identify them as crucial characters yet. They are to the side and in the background of the shot. The audience can guess that these kids must be Rhaenys and Corlys’ children based on where they are sitting, but their focus is primarily drawn to Viserys addressing the crowd, and Alicent waiting for Rhaenyra in the front.

Later on in the tourney, we finally get brief cuts to close up shots of Laena and Laenor reacting to the violence, and of Laena grabbing her brother’s arm for support. This is a nice quick way to establish their sibling dynamic (little sister seeking comfort). But that’s all for this episode, and considering how the audience's attention is directed in their first appearance this brief cut is probably the first time many viewers noticed them. While watching this episode with my sister - who is a show-only viewer - she did ask me "wait who are these kids?" (she also missed that Rhaenys and Boremund Baratheon were cousins - a reason it would have been helpful for show-only viewers if Eve Best had her book-canon Baratheon hair).

Since we don't see Laena and Laenor again in this episode, it's fair to ask whether their first appearance could have been a bit more notable, signalling to the audience - especially show-only viewers - to remember them for later.

Compare to how we are introduced to other characters in this series opener - both key characters and minor.

As a main character, we get a clear view of Alicent coming down from the carriage to greet Rhaenyra, and the camera stays on and keeps Alicent in centre frame as we are introduced to her properly.

Harrold Westerling is a minor character - who we get to know more in this episode than we do Rhaenyra's cousins. We get a clear view of him waiting for Rhaenyra on his horse, and it doesn't take long for him to get a close up. We take the time to efficiently meet him and establish his dynamic with Rhaenyra as a protective kingsguard. From his prominence here I actually expected him to be a bigger character going forward.

We even get a fair bit of time to meet this anxious dragonkeeper, as he nervously takes his cue from his older, more experienced colleague. A good example about how a mere couple of seconds can be efficiently used to communicate a character and a relationship when the show chooses to take the time.

Again we don't need to establish every key character in this opening episode - it can be enough to quickly identify them and then meet them again properly in the next episode, as we do with Laena. There are a lot of characters who need introducing after all.

But considering the way we are introduced to other minor characters - from characters who will come back like Harrold Westerling, to characters we probably won't watch out for again like the anxious dragonkeeper - and again its fair to consider whether Laena and Laenor's introduction could have been a little more notable. Especially since Rhaenyra's relationship with the Velaryon family is important to establish. As the dragonkeeper demonstrates, a few seconds here and there is even enough - if you can devote that time to an extra, you can devote it to Laena.

At the very least, the episode could have found the spare seconds (if not whole ass minutes please - this is the barest of bare minimums) to establish a more frequent presence for Laena and Laenor. To signal to the audience that we should remember who these characters are, that they will be important going forward.

One opportunity to provide a more notable introduction is the scene where Rhaenyra and Alicent walk arm in arm through the castle. The atmosphere of this scene sets a 'happier more innocent times' tone ahead of the upcoming loss and tragedy. To add to this tone, the show could have had Rhaenyra and Alicent pass Laena and Laenor along the way, running and playing through the castle.

Maybe Rhaenyra could quickly sidestep her cousins to stop them running into her on her way up the stairs, maybe lift up her and Alicent's arms to let them run through while she and Alicent continue to be engrossed in their conversation. This would establish both a familiar and playful dynamic between Rhaenyra and her cousins, while not interrupting her moment with Alicent.

Alternatively, if we wanted to introduce Laena as a character in the pilot, we could add another scene of Rhaenyra and Alicent walking down the hallway before they arrive at Aemma's rooms. Laena and Laenor could be again running and playing in the hallway, only this time they could stop to quickly interact with their cousin, maybe pass on that her mother's looking for her. Laena could even stop to excitedly ask after Syrax before her brother pulls her away to keep playing.

Not only would this give us a clearer and endearing introduction to the characters - both characterising the siblings and establishing their dynamic - but it would more directly let the audience know 'remember these two, they are important'. Of course this new scene would add more to the episode runtime - so a more efficient option is to just have them playing in the existing scene without stopping for a hello.

Another efficient option is to have Rhaenyra quickly interact with her cousins as she hurries in late to the tourney.

It can be as quick as a grin between the cousins as Rhaenyra ducks her way to her seat, or Laena could giggle as her older cousin pulls an 'oops, I'm late' face. A deleted line from episode 5 informs us that Laena used to follow Rhaenyra around like a shadow, so showing Laena light up to see Rhaenyra here could be a sweet way to depict this side of their relationship.

Above all, it would be a chance to give a clearer and longer shot of the two siblings rather than just a brief cut to them, letting them be in the centre of the frame and bringing them more firmly to our attention. Then by the time we cut to them reacting to the violence of the tourney, we already know who they are.

The interaction could meanwhile take advantage of the staging to visually emphasise Alicent's isolation among the Valyrians, with Alicent waiting in her seat on her side of the stage while Rhaenyra is on the other side with her family. Again I would rather a book-accurate telling of the Dance, and as such I have little regard for Rhaenycent or the Saga of Alicent the Eternal Victim. But in the spirit of this post, I will pepper in examples of how expanding Laena's role could have mutually benefitted the story this fanfiction wanted to tell... while slipping in a core trait of Book Alicent - jealousy towards children ;)

Finally, we could simply have the cousins be present at Aemma's funeral - we get a clear shot of their parents among the mourners after all.

To go further, there is an opportunity to add in another moment between Rhaenyra and her cousins.

On the one hand, I do like how the funeral scene ends, with this shot here of Rhaenyra turning away from her mother's cremation as the smoke fills the screen. It's a shot that makes Rhaenyra feel very alone, which emotionally is important to prioritise for this episode. The scene is after all partly about Rhaenyra's relationship with her father, specifically her grief at not being the son he wanted, and so ending the scene on Rhaenyra alone arguably makes it more impactful later in the episode when her father makes her his heir.

However it could have also been impactful to set up a parallel with the funeral in episode 7, where Rhaenyra nudges Jacaerys to offer his condolences to Baela and Rhaena. Rhaenys could likewise nudge her children to go and offer comfort to Rhaenyra, and Laena could comfortingly take her hand. Then when Baela and Jace take hands, we'd have a sense of a bond getting passed down through the generations.

Taking time to depict this bond would make the viewer less inclined to ask for receipts when Rhaenys claims in episode 5 that Rhaenyra and her cousins grew up together. Meanwhile Laena's death is of course sadder the more we see of her, and the more we see her relationships with the characters we spend more time getting to know (like Rhaenyra).

It would also provide a foundation for Rhaenyra's relationship with her stepdaughters - the more we see that their mother was important to Rhaenyra the more layers are automatically added to her interactions with them.

I think at least some of these moments could have been easily slotted into existing scenes, and that any added screentime would have been worth it. The legwork provided by these moments importantly give the writers an easier task writing these characters in later episodes. You don't need potentially clunky exposition like 'they grew up together' or 'Laena used to follow you around like a shadow'.

Besides, as a viewer we are always going to be more emotionally moved and invested in what we see, rather than what we hear exposited to us.

Episode 2

A running theme throughout the first half of the season is the systemic sexual abuse of girls within the feudal patriarchy that is Childbrideros, and this episode sees both Laena and Alicent served up as child brides by their parents. First off, I already really like the scene of Laena and Viserys walking through the gardens. It does a good job first establishing her obsession with Vhagar, and above all emphasising how young Laena is. It's extremely disturbing, and props to the actress here because you can see actual terror in Laena's eyes as she repeats what she's been taught to say.

Honestly I think Nova Foueillis-Mosé was criminally underused.

Again, this scene is already incredibly effective on its own. But consider how the additions to the previous episode could have done some extra legwork for this scene. How much more disturbing is this already disturbing scene if we’d just watched Laena running innocently around the Red Keep, playing with her brother? If we'd just seen her being a sweet little sister with Rhaenyra? It’s the difference between getting to know a character from a disturbing scene, and witnessing a disturbing scene with a character we’ve already gotten to know.

Now this is a bit of a tangent, but relevant to setting up Laena's role in the story while adding to the themes of the episode. I would have made some changes to Rhaenyra’s interaction with Rhaenys*, as they watch Laena and Viserys from above. When Rhaenyra asks Rhaenys if she is ok with this, Rhaenys could inform the audience that Rhaenyra’s own mother Aemma was the same age as Laena when the Old King arranged her marriage to Viserys. And before her Rhaenyra’s grandmother Daella was such a delicate young girl when she was married to Lord Rodrik Arryn - seven-and-ten yet, by all accounts, barely out of childhood.

*again, for the sake of this post I am broadly accepting the show's depiction of Rhaenys and her hostile relationship with Rhaenrya.

This would emphasize the systemic generational abuse and trauma of Targaryen girls that Rhaenyra fears, and give the audience a clearer idea of Old King Jaehaerys. I hated the little joke Lyonel makes about the trouble Jaehaerys had with his daughters – not because this isn’t the kind of joke people would have made, but because this is all the audience gets to learn about Jaehaerys and his daughters.

I would also take this opportunity to make clear to the audience what exactly happened in the Great Council at Harrenhall. As the show depicts it, the audience would think Rhaenys had put her name forward against tradition. As I said above, tradition actually dictated that a daughter comes before an uncle, and certainly before a male cousin. The Lords weren’t voting in favour of tradition – they were given the chance by Jaehaerys (who sought to retroactively legitimise his own claim to the throne - his older brother's daughters rightfully came before him) to ignore tradition and let their misogyny pick.

Some of this information could have been delivered during the opening prologue at the Great Council. But there is also space to inform the audience here, by having Rhaenys bitterly recount how she was passed over. Her father was the Old King’s firstborn, by all laws and customs of the Andals and the First Men she was the heir. A daughter comes before an uncle, and certainly before a cousin.

This addition would achieve three things.

Clarify the injustice done to Rhaenys, and the hypocrisy of the Greens’ appeals to custom and tradition.

Emphasise the stakes against Rhaenyra – all law and precedent was on Rhaenys’ side and it still wasn’t enough. Meanwhile her own situation is an entirely radical one.

Make it clear that Vaemond is absolutely not the heir to Driftmark when Laena's daughters come before him, therefore laying the groundwork for later episodes.

In terms of adding screentime to Laena (and Laenor), there is in opportunity in the scene where Rhaenyra picks out the new Kingsguard

Since Rhaenys is watching from the gallery anyway (she sure does like lurking in galleries), her children can also be present. They could be watching excitedly at the knights assorted below, perhaps even interact with Rhaenyra as she playfully asks for their advice. There could be a horrible moment of dramatic irony in which Laenor voices his approval of Rhaenyra picking Ser Criston Cole on the basis of combat experience.

I would end the scene with a moment of Laena lingering on the balcony, and noticing Otto Hightower watching her. This little girl is his daughter’s competition. The uneasy moment passes and she runs off to join her brother.

This would also be fitting as the following scene is of Alicent visiting Viserys and pretending to be interested in his models (directly followed by a scene of her listening to Rhaenyra's fears of getting displaced as heir and telling her not to worry... but sure Rhaenyra owed Alicent her sexual history! 😂). It would add a disturbing thematic throughline in the scene transition - from one potential child bride to another.

Episode 3

We meet teenage Laenor in this episode, so let us also meet teenage Laena and include the cut scene of her claiming Vhagar to end the episode. There is an opportunity to visually parallel Laena and Aemond’s claiming of Vhagar – but for the purposes of this post I’m going to assume budget is an issue.

With this in mind, there are ways around the budget. We could have a scene of Laena walking uphill, and looking down to see Vhagar asleep on the beach below. The camera closes in on a look of determination on her face as the scene cuts to black and the credits roll. Alternatively, assuming an even tighter budget, Laena could be hiking and searching for Vhagar and simply hear a roar in the distance. Maybe she could smile as a shadow flies overhead.

One impact of including this moment would be to make the audience partially associate Vhagar with Laena, therefore making them more sympathetic to Rhaena’s emotional claim. I don’t have patience for the whole “this entitled little black girl thinks she’s entitled to a dragon – dragons aren’t inherited they choose their rider – someone tell this idiot little black girl that a dragon ain’t no slave”. I don’t give a shit who is correct about the fictional science of dragon-taming – I care about a little girl feeling an emotional connection to her dead mother’s dragon.

Moreover, in cutting the scene of Laena claiming Vhagar I think the writers have misunderstood the importance of both this moment and the character. I think they assumed that since Laena dies early we don’t need to spend time with her (even though, again, how we feel about Laena carries into how we feel about her daughters and the succession of Driftmark).

But remember that before Laena claims Vhagar in the show, the ancient dragon is living wild and unclaimed. Rather than leaving Vhagar in the wild, in claiming her Laena brings her into the dance. In the context of the show, Laena's connection to Vhagar is what makes the act of Aemond then claiming her become a cause for conflict between the kids (the conflict between the kids in the book meanwhile was not about Vhagar, but Aemond just being a bully).

There is also another consequence of Laena claiming Vhagar…

Episode 4

Unfortunately there are no Velaryons in episode 4 and few chances to insert them, but there is a way to make their offscreen presence felt and felt hard. Namely, have the Small Council react to the fact that Laena has just claimed fucking Vhagar. Set up just how terrifying it is to not have Vhagar on your side (especially for the benefit of show-only fans). The largest dragon alive, the last of the conqueror’s dragons...

...Claimed by Laena, who just got passed over as Queen Consort. Laena, whose children have a claim to the Iron Throne. The Velaryons, who have been insulted twice over, now have Vhagar.

That is a political headache indeed. All the more important now that Rhaenyra marries Laenor. House Velaryon needs to be brought into the fold. If you're struggling for space in Episode 3 then Laena claiming Vhagar could even be the opening of Episode 4 - the event that sets into motion Viserys' political headache and Rhaenyra's marriage.

I mean, we already have the scene of the small council reacting to Corlys replacing the Crabfeeder as the power in the Stepstones, and Otto delivering the news that Corlys is in negotiations with the sealord of Braavos to marry Laena to the sealords' son. Since we're discussing the implications of House Velaryon entering an alliance with the Free Cities, is it just possibly a teensy weensy bit relevant to mention that Laena rides Vhagar?

Episode 5

First change to this episode isn’t strictly about Laena, but it is about Daemon as a husband, which informs our understanding of his relationship with both Laena and Rhaenyra.

Basically - divorce rock is fucking dumb. Book purism aside (sorry Conman, but Book Daemon had a solid alibi), it demonises an already dark character, who already has plenty of flaws without adding bashing his wife’s head in with a rock. The show doesn’t even fully commit to it, since it doesn’t tell us what exactly Daemon was planning to do before the horse threw Rhea off its back – ask for an annulment? Kill her a different way? Yes it gives us the chance to meet Rhea Royce – and she is iconic – but the cost is stupid and avoidable and damaging to Daemon’s character.

This isn’t to whitewash Daemon – but to stress that just because he is a dark character it doesn’t mean that every possible evil act is on the writer’s table. Yes, I know, this is the guy who sent two assassins to kill a child (unless you subscribe to the theory that Book Mysaria - bitter at losing her own child - had her own interpretation of 'son for a son') – however, he's not the guy who killed the child himself.

Is there a moral difference? I ultimately don't think so, but there is a fascinating psychological difference. Compare to Aemond, who personally beheads the children of House Strong, who murders a fleeing Lucerys in cold blood. Assuming an interpretation of Daemon in which it is him and not Mysaria who orders Blood and Cheese - how much is this Daemon actually willing to get his hands dirty with cowardly tasks? To whom is he willing to commit what evil acts, and how? Does he reconcile his self-image this way, “I’m not the one who killed the kid, it was an assassin”? “I’m not the one who killed Laenor, it was an assassin?”

Because that’s Daemon’s MO*, from Qarl Correy to Blood and Cheese. If he had anything to do with Rhea’s death in the book, it was through an assassin (and again, I think Daemon was a bit preoccupied with, you know, fighting in the stepstones - sometimes people just fall off their horse).

*again, for the sake of argument, assuming it was him

But that wouldn’t have given us the opportunity to see him and Rhea Royce interacting. So between that, and in the spirit of keeping the events of the episode broadly intact, I would have Daemon simply walk away after Rhea hits her head on the ground, the word ‘coward’ ringing in his ears. We don’t know what he planned to do, if he would have gone through with it – what we do know is that in this moment he wants the outcome but doesn’t want to actually be the one to do it. Rhea Royce isn’t a worthy opponent. Jaehaerys isn’t a worthy opponent.

This sets us up better for his relationship with his next wives. Daemon is capable of dark and violent acts, but he isn't the sort of person to bash his wife's head in with a rock. We can see his tenderness and genuine love for Laena without thinking 'does he merely see her as an obstacle between him and Rhaenyra?'

Getting past the Daemon tangent

In this episode we have a nice scene of Rhaenyra and Laenor negotiating the terms of their marriage. But when it comes to Laena we only get a brief snatch of her friendship with Rhaenyra. And there were plenty of opportunities to see more of that friendship, and of Laena.

Upon their arrival at Driftmark, we could firstly establish more of a presence for teenage Laena as she greets them. Let the camera give her a close up, making eye contact first with Viserys, then with Rhaenyra. In that close up, let the audience see that Laena knows her claiming Vhagar is part of the reason they are here, and she is enjoying it a bit. Aside from giving Laena the respect she deserves, this would establish to the audience just how powerful it is politically to be the rider of Vhagar - adding to the stakes when Aemond later claims her.

Next, I found the bit where both girls are unceremoniously barred from the throne room... very odd and thematically on the nose. We get it, women are barred from making decisions about their own lives etc etc... but we are talking about the crown princess and the rider of Vhagar... and Rhaenys is going to be in the room anyway. Also it's a tad insulting on Viserys' part to order his Kingsguard to bar Corlys' Velaryon's daughter from a room in her own home. Kind of a diplomatic whoopsie.

It would have made more sense if the crown princess and the rider of Vhagar were at least initially both in the room, then perhaps sent away while the adults talk business. We could have even had a little power play by the Velaryons - Laena can offer to escort them to meet her father and take the lead, positioning herself to be walking by the King's side instead of Lyonel. A subtle dig by the Velaryons, to remind Viserys that he passed over Laena as his consort and now he owes them. Bonus points if Laena smiles back at Rhaenyra and Rhaenyra looks amused by the situation (and slowly realising that she might be a little bit attracted to Laena...).

Next up... Rhaenyra and Laenor having an unsupervised walk on the beach? In a world obsessed with premarital virginity? After last episode? It just makes sense to have Laena and Ser Joffrey walking a bit behind them as chaperones. Then while Laenor has his moment with Joffrey in the dunes, Laena and Rhaenyra can continue walking along the beach together. Again, in showing their bond we build a foundation for their alliance over Driftmark and for Rhaenyra’s relationship with her stepdaughters.

The two of them can talk about how they’ll be good-sisters soon, and how now they can finally go flying together, something Laena wanted to do since she was a dragon-obsessed little girl following her older cousin around like a shadow. Before they moved back to Driftmark she used to hope that once Syrax was big enough Rhaenyra would take her for a ride.

We can use this moment to explore the more positive side of the Targaryen’s relationship to the dragons. Yes they can be death and destruction and hubris and arrogance and untameable nature. But they are also a wonder, they are liberty, they are seeing the world as no one else can see. To women in particular, they can be a means of power and agency that they otherwise wouldn't have.

Laena could even note this - she could make a reference to how her claiming of Vhagar has brought about Rhaenyra's betrothal to her brother. Laena has made it so she and her family can't be ignored.

Showing this political awareness by Laena, and at least some kinship between her and Rhaenyra, is important. Because Laena sees the influence she currently holds, and she recognises the implications of how she uses it. They could discuss the sudden flood of suitors flocking Laena's way, and Rhaenyra can admit that Laena's marriage is a source of anxiety to the royal council. They could even joke that Otto must be scratching his head in Oldtown, trying to calculate whether he could successfully offer Gwayne as a suitor, get himself another grandchild with a claim to the Iron Throne.

The implications are clear - you want Laena (and her future children) on your side. And Laena, recognising the impact of the Great Council for female succession, both feels a kinship with Rhaenyra and recognises the long game in supporting her sister-in-law. This will nicely contrast her with Alicent's actions in this episode - where she makes a bold stand in favour of the patriarchy to lash out at Rhaenyra for having premarital sex.

Now, I have mixed feelings about stopping short of having Laena and Rhaenyra discuss (or hint at) betrothals between their future children.

On the one hand, it is critical that this was Laena's wish. Her agency in solidifying the Targaryen-Velaryon alliance, in choosing to help her brother and her friend, in finding a way to one-up her greedy uncle Vaemond and secure Driftmark and the Iron Throne for her daughters - this is non-negotiable to me.

But the purpose of this exercise was to outline how the show's version of events could have still made space for Laena. And the show's version of events places the betrothal of Rhaenyra and Laena's children as the resolution to the conflict of Episode 8 - after Laena is dead. Plus for these versions of the characters, it is important that Rhaenyra offers a betrothal to Alicent. At this point, where they are, to Rhaenyra's knowledge, still friends, she is likely thinking about doing so already. Plus it's not as though Rhaenyra planned from the outset to not have Laenor's children, which increases the strategic necessity of a betrothal with Laena's children.

As a compromise, it is therefore important to at least make clear that Laena would have backed the betrothal. That aside from loving and accepting her brother and the fact that he loved his adopted kids, Laena did support Rhaenyra as queen, and was politically-minded enough to calculate that this alliance was both in their mutual interests and a great big Fuck You to the Grand Council.

Her 'girlbossery' is in politics, not self-immolation.

Now onto the Wedding

First off, give Laena some damn close-ups - remind the audience again of her influence in the marriage. Put her in pride of place even, another subtle dig by the Velaryons. Why stick her in the corner when her brother could be escorting her on his arm? Here is the dragon-riding woman who would have been Queen... look how stunningly gorgeous she is.

On that note, Laena Velaryon Rider of Vhagar certainly should have suitors flocking to dance with her, there's no need for her to be stuck at the table with uncle Vaemond for as long as she is in the episode. Yes she makes eyes at Daemon across the table... but she can just as easily do that from the dance floor. Again, surrounded by suitors, maybe a certain Braavosi guest could try his luck... before Daemon swoops in.

There are also plenty of moments for Laena and Rhaenyra to interact. The camera could show them smiling in greeting at each other, maybe passing each other during the dancing, maybe throw in a bit of sapphic subtext ;)

The camera could also cut to Alicent watching them from the table – she is replaced by the girl who escaped her fate, and who shares dragonriding with Rhaenyra. There are part of a world that Alicent can never join (or rather would never, Rhaenyra did offer her the chance to fly together), and have a means of freedom within the patriarchy that she will never know (that she turned down – her friend was right there, she could have asked her for help...)

Finally, in the episode we get a brief shot of Laena looking anxiously for her brother in the crowd during the chaos. It would take a mere couple of seconds to add Laena rushing to her brother’s side as he sobs over Joffrey’s mutilated body, to show her holding her brother close. This will build on the bond we saw in episode 1 – where Laena seeks her brother’s comfort during the tourney – and make Laenor's grief at losing his sister hit harder later.

Like, here we have Laena trying to push through a crowd to get to her brother... followed by a dispersed crowd with no Laena in sight. What gives?

We could also, you know, have Laena present during the actual wedding ceremony perhaps? Where is she??? That's her grieving brother getting married. Even Alicent is there (presumably just before running off to recruit Crispy and get him off for murder).

Episode 6

Unfortunately, in order to stick to the confines of the way this season is structured, we have to stay in Pentos on Daemon and Laena's inexplicably long honeymoon. Episode 6 needs to have Rhaenyra without the support of having Daemon and Laena nearby, so they can't be back at Driftmark as they are in the book.

In the book, this is the pre-Red Spring period where Rhaenyra has come into her own and is relatively thriving - Otto is in Oldtown, Lyonel is Hand, she has Harwin, she has Laenor happily claiming their children as his heirs, she has Laena (and with her, Vhagar), and yes she has Daemon. Until the Red Spring kicks into gear and she starts losing everything but Daemon - she loses Laenor, Laena, Harwin, she is ordered away from court, and Otto is back as Hand.

Since we've lost Rhaenyra's childhood of being bullied by her stepmother, this episode can no longer be the high-point before the Red Spring - it has to compensate by reversing things to make adult Rhaenyra isolated and humiliated in her own home (again, as book Rhaenyra was in childhood). Episode 7 then concerns Rhaenyra's reunion with Daemon, which necessitates placing him on a different continent in Episode 6 (butterfly effects include Laenor having to 'die' after his own funeral, while Harwin now dies before the funeral - Daemon can't be a suspect in Laenor's murder if he's on a separate continent, so the deaths must be swapped around).

Which is a bit of a mess, because Episode 5 implies Daemon starts courting Laena at least partly out of ambition - she rides Vhagar, their children have a claim to both Driftmark and the Iron Throne etc. The show goes as far as to open Episode 5 with Daemon murdering his first wife with a rock- why is he now wasting a powerful marriage by hiding in Pentos? Where did this come from? The episode does admittedly have Laena say this isn't the Daemon she married... but it doesn't properly explain how or why this came to be.

One suggestion is that he is moping over not being married to Rhaenyra and dissatisfied with Laena as a replacement. And er... he was literally courting Laena at the wedding? Yes I know he and Rhaenyra were flirting with each other, but they were both fully aware it was not happening. Again, he was literally courting Laena - signalling he wasn't about to petition Viserys to cancel Rhaenyra's wedding having now freed himself from his first wife.

Even if you want to insult Laena like this, how is it in character for him to mope on Pentos when they can do that from Driftmark? Is he trying to go cold turkey from Rhaenyra? Does that really override his ambition, his love for his brother, his hatred of the greens etc? Book purism aside, is it really consistent with his actions in episode 5 - which include murdering his first wife and courting Laena the Rider of Vhagar.

The other suggestion is that he is upset that his brother doesn't want him around. Which again isn't really consistent with his actions in episode 5 - which include him immediately ignoring the fact that Viserys had banished him, swaggering into the wedding, and easily getting away with it, even flirting with Rhaenyra in front of his brother.

So we have to reconcile the Doylist need to separate Daemon and Laena from Rhaenyra, while maintaining character consistency.

If we have to keep them in Pentos, we could tie it in with the Triarchy somehow? Have Daemon and Laena securing diplomatic relations with Pentos, to ensure an alliance against the Three Daughters possibly rising again, perhaps even at Viserys' behest? And maybe Daemon read this as getting banished by his brother one time too many, so he's prolonging their trip because he's upset his brother doesn't want him around? After all the last time Daemon was dealing with his brother's rejection he threw himself into fighting the Triarchy - so it would be consistent.

It would also be a further mention of the Triarchy in this episode, connecting to Rhaenyra's suggestion of military installations in the stepstones, and better set up their return during the Battle of the Gullet. Then instead of performing for the Prince of Pentos, Laena and Daemon could be intimidating a representative from Tyrosh, Lys or Myr.

Daemon aside, we could at least have Laena explicitly bristle at being taken away from the political action at home.

I mean, couldn't the writers have had Laena talk about literally anything other than wanting to die a dragonrider’s death? The entire self-immolation shtick is such a gross and stupid attempt at girlbossifying her death, and puts Laena into the position of selfishly traumatizing her daughters (not that the show does much with this trauma).

The biggest and most obvious change is of course to stick to Laena’s death in the books, as it is so much more tender and emotionally moving. After half a season of establishing her love of dragons and flying, Laena tries to fly Vhagar one last time but collapses. Daemon gently carries a sobbing Laena back to bed.

Her last moments can therefore be spent with her daughters. Maybe she passes on a legacy to them, some final words that they take with them into the dance. Or maybe her final moments are a lot less comforting, maybe she continues to cry for Daemon to carry her back to Vhagar. Maybe her daughters get to say goodbye, maybe one of them runs away, unable to face her mother’s final moments. Anything to say goodbye to the character, and to begin Rhaena and Baela’s journey, that isn’t just the shock value of a ‘girlboss’ burning herself alive.

Back to Laena talking about literally anything else.

In her conversations with Daemon, I would again establish Laena’s position on the succession of Driftmark, and her support of Rhaenyra. As she’s telling Daemon that she wants to go home, she could perhaps say that Laenor’s letters worry her. He doesn't say it outright, but she can tell he is scared for his sons. Maybe she can say that she knows her uncle Vaemond. His eye is on Driftmark*. Which puts those boys in danger. She can then tell Daemon that her brother needs them, that Rhaenyra needs them. That they need to go home. That she wants to go home. That she doesn't want to be hiding away in Pentos while the future of female succession in Westeros is being decided. She is the rider of Vhagar with a claim to the throne - she has power and she wants to use it.

She could even give Daemon an ultimatum: once the baby is born I'm hopping on Vhagar and bringing my children back to Westeros with or without you. Give us a sense of what could have been if she had only lived.

*if we could only have the action take place on Driftmark, we could replace the scenes of the Prince of Pentos or Laena's dreams of self-immolation with... Laena interacting with Vaemond. He could be making snarky comments about her brother and his children, with Laena coolly daring him to tell her what he's implying. He could even try to hint at a betrothal with Baela, seeking a way to claim Driftmark through her. Laena, seeing through his bullshit and reminded of her own near brush with child marriage, tries to conceal her anger as she smoothly refuses his proposal. She could even hint she already has someone in mind for Baela. (I actually want this so badly I would contrive to have an unwelcome Vaemond turn up in Pentos for this exact purpose).

Unfortunately if we accept the changes to the show then, again, Laena can’t be the one to actually arrange the betrothal between her daughters and Rhaenyra's sons like she does in the book. The show has structured things so the betrothal does not happen until the end of episode 8, long after Laena is dead. The tension of episode 8 revolves around the question of salvaging the Targaryen-Velaryon alliance.

But, again, to compensate we can make Laena’s wishes clear. We can establish beyond a doubt that she would have approved of the betrothal. We can, you know, not erase the voice of a black woman while whitewashing the man who tried to usurp her daughters. We can do the bare minimum to not sideline one of the few black women in fantasy we have.

We can say goodbye to Laena not as a self-immolating girlboss, but as a politically-astute woman who loved the freedom of flying, who fought for her family, who left a legacy for her daughters. A woman who would have changed the entire history of Westeros if childbirth hadn't taken her away.

[monofazz]

Forgot to post to main 🩷🧡

[puppppppppy]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[aliusfrater]

for the life of me i cannot figure out why people are so desperate to apply a version of dean's facade to sam

[laugtherhyena]

3:23AM, time to post Hatamori fankid and retreat back into my hiding hole

[bhaalsdeepbat]

The tadfools were just SO connected for such a long amount of time that I can't imagine them seeing each other as anything but family after a good run, especially a good Resist Durge run. I think they'd swoop right in for one another like they were siblings if they absolutely needed something.