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myownworldstayout · 5 years ago

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New Friends Ch.3

Ch.1 / Ch.2 / Ch.4

(Thank you guys so much for your support and kind words!! It really means so much to me that you guys enjoy my writing this much! Anyway, Here’s chapter three :D )

Kagami tried to take notes for her class, but in the end they made no sense. She couldn’t even write a coherent sentence with her thoughts lingering on Agreste.

I’m going to talk to him today. She had decided.

Kagami didn’t doubt Marinette, but there had been misunderstandings with the girl before. Perhaps this was just that? Another misunderstanding?

She certainly hoped so. Adrien was the first friend she made at this school. If there was a bully in the class, she liked to believe that he would have enough honor to defend the victims.

“Kagami~” Aurore sang beside her, finally gaining her friend’s attention.

Kagami flinched, looking up with her deep brown eyes, wide with shock.

Aurore pulled a sweet smile, though it faded into concern a moment after.

“Class is over now. You don’t usually get so distracted. Is something wrong?”

Kagami glanced around the classroom. It was indeed empty. She stood up with a huff, irritated that she let her thoughts wander so easily.

“Everything’s fine. I just need to have a talk with Adrien.” Kagami said calmly, placing her tablet in her bag.

“About Marinette?” Aurore said curiously, following Kagami down the steps and out of the classroom.

“Yes, where are the boys?” Kagami turned back to Aurore in a brief halt.

“They said they’d meet us at the cafeteria.”

“Good. I’ll see you there.”

Aurore nodded towards the implied request. She knew better than to get in the way of Kagami’s “quests”.

The two parted ways, and Kagami soon found herself outside of Adrien’s classroom. Unfortunately he wasn’t there. It appeared she’d be going to the cafeteria sooner than she originally thought.

~~~~~~

Marinette walked with Felix to the cafeteria, mostly because no one else wanted to walk with either of them and they were going in the same direction.

They went through the cafeteria line just as they had walked to the cafeteria. Silently. Though it was a bit awkward at times, Marinette preferred the quietness to listening to Lila. she could still hear her over-glorified classmate from across the lunch room.

Her class was eagerly flocking around the foreigner, taking in her every word. Every embellished story. The only thing Marinette could even remotely give her credit for is coming up with all of those stories in the first place. Lila tells new ones everyday, none with the same basis except for her being the hero.

“No wonder she’s so thin. She can’t keep her mouth closed long enough to eat properly.” Felix muttered to himself.

Marinette couldn’t help but overhear, and before she knew it she had a hand to her mouth trying to suppress the fit of giggles taking over her.

From the expression he was wearing, she knew he was being serious. The comment was hilarious to her nonetheless. It was a shame she was the only one that heard it.

“That’s a bit harsh.”

Or maybe she hadn’t been.

The two looked up to see none other than Adrien, wearing a frown, right behind Felix in line.

“Been a while, Agreste.” Felix raised an eyebrow.

Marinette and Adrien’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How do you know my name?”

“Of course you don’t remember me. Even when we were kids, you were just as self centered as Chloe. She just doesn’t hide it.”

Marinette knitted her eyebrows together in confusion, but Adrien’s eyes seemed to glaze over with recognition.

“Felix..”

“I also wasn’t surprised when Dupain-Cheng said you were the one who told her to stay quiet about Rossi’s lies. You never did like actually standing up to the status quo.”

Adrien furrowed his eyebrows, looking around Felix to see a pale Marinette who was gripping her tray much tighter now. His frown deepened, and he opened his mouth to comment, but Marinette didn’t give him the chance.

She whirled around, moving for a place to sit where Adrien couldn’t follow. Her eyes desperately flicked to different tables until-

“Marinette!” A savior called out for her.

The ravenette sighed with relief when she saw Luka, Wayhem, and Aurore waving her to their table. She took a step forward towards safety, only to be stopped by a hand gently grabbing her arm. It was Adrien. Of course it was.

“Mari, can we talk?” He asked politely.

She knew what he was doing. They had had this talk several times before. Marinette wanted to say no, but his emerald green eyes sucked her in, just as they always did. She couldn’t say she felt as strongly about him as she used to, due to all that’s happened; however, Marinette also couldn’t say her feelings for him were completely gone.

“Adrien, I-I really don’t-”

Marinette was cut off by an emphasized clearing of the throat. They expected it to be Felix, but, upon looking up, they found Kagami instead. Felix was still in line picking out his food.

“I don’t mean to interrupt-” she began, sharing a look with Marinette “-but do you have a moment, Adrien? There’s something I’d like to discuss.”

Confusion spread across Adrien’s features. His grasp on Marinette’s arm loosened just enough for Marinette to slip away, retreating to Luka’s table.

He called after her. She didn’t turn around.

Luka pat the chair next to him with a smile, silently requesting her to sit next to him.

Marinette gladly obliged, setting down her tray and pulling in her chair.

“What did Adrien want with you?” Aurore inquired, glancing back to see Adrien following Kagami into another area.

Marinette turned around as well, watching them go around the corner.

“Nothing important.” she sighed.

“That’s for sure.” Felix grumbled, sitting down next to her.

Marinette straightened, glancing at Felix with a tense look in her eyes.

Felix raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Marinette bit her lip, looking at him with curiosity and worry. “W-what was that about with Adrien just now? Do you know him personally?”

She knew it was a dangerous question, and frankly, she wasn’t even sure she wanted him to answer. Unfortunately, Marinette also knew it was a necessary one.

Felix narrowed his gaze- one of annoyance, she assumed -and he looked down at the table.

“I hate to admit it, but he’s my cousin.” The stiff teen revealed.

Marinette, along with the rest of the group, widened their eyes in shock. Wayhem actually dropped his fork.

Despite the circumstances, Adrien could literally be considered the sun on a cloudless day. Felix, on the other hand, was something relating to a storm cloud, his words similar to acid-like rain.

And they were supposed to believe the two were related?

“Oh..” was all Marinette ended up saying.

“Does Kagami know?” Luka suddenly asked.

Felix nodded. “Let’s change the subject. I hate saying it out loud enough. I don’t want to dwell on my unfortunate bloodline.”

No one argued.

~~~~~~~

Adrien didn’t understand what was going on with Marinette. Hadn’t they agreed to keep Lila under wraps? Not to mention, he thought Felix was new at the school. How did Marinette know him, and why was she talking to him about Lila? None of this made sense..

“I apologize for pulling you away from lunch.” Kagami said at first, regaining Adrien’s attention.

“It’s alright. What did you need?” The blonde replied, pulling a friendly smile.

“Do you know a girl named Lila?” She got right to the point.

“Yeah, she’s in our class.”

“I’ve heard she claims to know ladybug, that they’re good friends. Is that true?”

Adrien shifted uncomfortably, obviously unwilling to answer the question.

“Well, you never know I guess..” He ended up muttering.

Kagami’s eyes narrowed. That wasn’t the reaction she had expected nor wanted.

“So you think she’s lying?”

“I..”

“Does the rest of the class know she’s been lying?” She pressed further.

Adrien frowned at that. “You already know the answer. So why are you asking me?”

“You’re in their class. I assumed you wouldn’t let them be deceived.” Kagami snipped, though her calm demeanor remained.

Adrien stiffened, becoming a bit defensive at the implied accusation.

“Look, it’s complicated. I just don’t think that outing Lila to the class will help anything.” The boy finally admitted, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “If we do that, she’s just gonna get akumatized again.”

Kagami’s gaze sharpened when she heard his reply.

“Marinette was right..” She whispered to herself with a mix of disbelief and disgust. This changed things.

Adrien was now not only confused, but surprised. Did Marinette tell Kagami about Lila too? How many people did she tell?

“That’s all I wanted to ask. Thank you for your time.” Kagami abruptly ended the conversation, walking past him and back to the cafeteria.

Adrien turned around to ask her some questions of his own, but she was already gone.

~~~~~~~~~~

When Kagami returned to her table of friends, Marinette noticed she seemed frustrated, yet determined. Since she brought her own lunch, Kagami skipped the line and sat next to Aurore with a pondering expression.

“How’d it go?” Aurore was the first to ask.

Kagami didn’t respond at first. Instead, she looked to Marinette.

“You were right. Adrien’s enabling Lila.”

Confliction pricked at the back of Marinette’s mind. She was relieved that Kagami believed her about Lila, but to say Adrien was enabling her was a different story. Kagami said it yesterday as well. Marinette couldn’t fully agree with her then either. He just wants to keep the peace..or so he says.

“So what do we do about it?” Luka spoke up. From the look in his eyes, Marinette could tell he was upset about this.

“Adrien Agreste strikes again.” Wayhem sighed, surprising Marinette further.

When she first met him as Ladybug, he was extremely obsessed with the model. Does that mean he’s changed his opinion of Adrien since then?

“Should we tell the class about Lila’s lies?”

“That hasn’t worked out for Marinette before. We need a different strategy to clear Marinette’s name.” Kagami speculated.

As the group buzzed about ideas and what to do about Lila, Marinette took the time to think things over. Kagami had a point. If Adrien knew about Lila’s lies and didn’t tell people, he was technically enabling her. Could Marinette really lean on someone like that?

Alya and Nino didn’t even believe what she said anymore, so they were a clear no in loyalty.

“Maybe..” Marinette began, hesitantly and quietly. “Maybe we don’t need to.”

She looked up at the group, who had trailed off.

“What do mean?” Luka furrowed his eyebrows. Of course they needed to clear her reputation!

Marinette drew in a breath, her gaze flicking to Felix. He hadn’t spoken this entire time.

Felix met her eyes for a brief second, before going back to the book he was reading.

“Adrien knows Lila’s not only been telling lies about herself, she’s also been telling lies about me. Yet he does nothing to stop them, going so far as to ask me to do the same.” Marinette chose her words carefully. “The class has known me for years, and Alya’s supposed to be my best friend. Despite that, no one hesitated to believe Lila. doesn’t that.. Doesn’t that mean something?”

The group went quiet at the question. None of them felt they had a correct answer.

Felix was looking up now, curious as to where Marinette was going with this.

Aurore tilted her head to the side with a troubled expression. “Marinette, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying.. I think.. I think we should just not do anything. To make everyone believe, I mean. If they didn’t believe me at first, is it.. Is it really worth it?” She finished, uncertain.

The group seemed to think it over, before exchanging glances and nodding in agreement.

“Okay, Mari. if you want us to leave it alone, we will.” Wayhem said supportively.

“But would you wanna hang out with us?” Luka then offered, the others immediately joining in.

Marinette smiled at the suggestion. Hanging out with these wonderful people? People who actually believed her?

“That sounds great.” She answered brightly.

If she wasn’t sharing so much excitement with the others, she would have noticed a small smile on Felix’s lips when she accepted the proposal.

Tag list: @unabashedbookworm @bluerosette23 @minightrose @rhub4rb @clumsy-owl-4178 @kuroko26 @angstyrastuff @fanboy7794 @choaticneturcl @kristycocopop @dargeon-lissa

(Sorry if some of the tags don’t work. I tried lol)

#Felientte #Felix Culpa #New Friends AU

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britesparc · 4 years ago

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Weekend Top Ten #450

Top Ten Characters with the Best Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes

As I’m writing this, it’s officially Star Trek: Discovery day; the first episode of the new season is up on Netflix and ready to watch. Given how little time I manage to find for watching anything that I want to watch, I’m cautiously optimistic that I can get to see it this weekend, but we’ll see; my lovely wife might want to finally catch up with Star Trek: Picard first, which for some reason she never finished. Regardless, I’m excited, and I wanted to write about Star Trek again.

The new Star Trek series have been a bit of a roller coaster, because whilst they’ve both generally been very good, they’ve certainly had their odder and more controversial moments, and neither of them has consistently felt like classic Trek. If I had to be critical, I’d argue that there are plenty of darker adult-tinged sci-fi shows at the moment, including ones set in space, but not that many that follow the day-to-day travails of a starship crew, which as always been Trek’s raison d'être. However, both shows have succeeded in giving us some compelling stories and – especially in the case of Discovery – a fantastic cast of new characters to celebrate. Great characterisation has been the cornerstone of Trek since the beginning, and no doubt one of the reasons why it still resonates to this day, from the “Holy Trinity” of Kirk, McCoy, and Spock, through to the wonderful and insanely empathetic Saru in Discovery and Captain Sexpot Rios in Picard. The fact that we’re now in a new time period, with no established history to try to tie the narrative to, means Discovery 3 is in a great place to give us some great new stories.

Anyway, to celebrate all of this – the new season of Discovery and my overall love of Star Trek characters – I’ve decided to go back to the Next Generation well and talk about just that: characters. TNG famously hit its stride when it started focusing each story through the lens of the different characters on the show, so that we tended to get a “Worf episode” or a “Riker episode”; even the best eps, the biggest and most epic, really had a tendency to hone in on one or two characters specifically, such as the all-time classic “The Best of Both Worlds” really being about Picard and Riker, or “Yesterday’s Enterprise” being a much-belated Tasha Yar episode.

But which characters have the best episodes? That is, if you know an episode is focused on a particular character, how likely is it that it’s going to be a belter? Can you reasonably say one character was better served than another in terms of the quality of “their” episodes? Well, yes. Yes you can. That’s this list. That’s the whole thing.

So this list is basically which characters have the best episodes, or are more likely to. It’s not a list of my favourite characters, or even really a list of the best episodes overall; it’s just, well, who got to chew scenery the most on the bridge, basically. Now, I really feel like I should end this blurb with an appropriate Star Trek quote, but I must have used “Make it so” and “Engage” before, so I’m not sure what else to say.

May the Force be with you, I guess.

Picard: Yes, of course; he’s the star, he’s the stand-out actor of the bunch, he gets the best episodes. If it focuses on the captain, you can rest assured you’re in for a treat. Whether it’s an epic mythology-enhancing saga or – even better – a slower, sadder meditation on life, Picard’s episodes are engaging. Chortle. Also if there’s room for a classic Picard Monologue, all the better; I don’t know if you’ve noticed this about Patrick Stewart, but the guy can chew scenery. Key episodes: The Best of Both Worlds, The Drumhead, The Hidden Light

Worf: Worf’s complex backstory offers a lot of opportunities for great stories, with the caveat that pretty much all of them focus on Klingon history or the contrast between his heritage and his place in Starfleet. Issues of familial loyalty rub up against quasi-Shakespearean dynastic dramas, often with high adventure. You can assume a Worf ep is a good one, despite the fact that quite a few of them are also about Alexander. Key episodes: Sins of the Fathers, Redemption, Birthright

Data: everyone’s second-favourite emotionless nerd on Star Trek, Data’s eps are almost uniformly great, and often poke at what it means to be alive. There may be a bit of ground retrod as we examine the notion of humanity, or sentience, or emotion, but his episodes are always interesting, and often very funny, and Brent Spiner is a continuing delight. Key episodes: The Measure of a Man, The Offspring, Brothers

Q: is it cheating to include a recurring guest star? Maybe, but I don’t care. John de Lancy is just phenomenal as Q, one of the best Trek characters, and so good he became a My Little Pony. He’s arch, he’s hilarious, he can take the show into new directions; he raises questions of fate, or of the concept of divinity; and underneath it all there’s a malevolent streak, a genuine sense of danger exemplified in his first appearance. Pairs very well with Picard, naturally. I didn’t like the Robin Hood episode, though. Key episodes: Deja Q, Encounter at Farpoint, Q Who

Riker: he’s a Kirk-esque horn-dog ragamuffin with a heart of gold and a fist of steel, so there’s always a lot to love when William T. takes the helm (see what I did there?). Often issues of loyalty, or duty versus personal wishes, arise; he’s frequently putting his life on the Enterprise above his career. But he’s also a very moralistic character, so quite often he’ll be trying to do the right thing in tough circumstances. Key episodes: The Pegasus, Future Imperfect, Frame of Mind

Crusher: always a stand-out supporting character, Crusher has some great episodes focused on her too; usually quite a self-righteous sort who puts the immediate moral obligation above her own safety or duty to Starfleet, which raises lots of interesting, thorny questions. She’s a smart cookie, exemplified in the astounding Remember Me; her relationships with her son and with Picard are good to explore too. She also shagged a ghost, but let’s try to forget about that. Key episodes: Remember Me, Attached, Suspicions

Wesley: pigeonholed somewhat unfairly due to a few ropey first-season episodes, Wesley Crusher is actually an interesting character whose stand-out storylines offer a good deal of nuance and intrigue, as well as exciting hi-jinks, insights into the Federation, and – should you go that far – weird magic Jedi stuff. He gets a nice romance with Ashley Judd, we unpeel his relationship with Picard over multiple episodes, and the bloom comes off the rose in spectacular fashion when he gets to Starfleet Academy. Wil Wheaton was a good young actor and was sadly underserved by the show, but at least we get these eps. Key episodes: The Game, Final Mission, The First Duty

Pulaski: say whaaat? Yes, she’s only in the show for five minutes, but Doctor Pulaski gets a few crackers under her belt in that time. A bit like Crusher would later, she often excels when standing up to authority and presenting herself as a moral arbiter. Interestingly, she’s not always right, and it’s a fun dance to watch. She’s also been round the block a bit, adding facets to her relationships with other characters, particularly Riker. And, of course, she flirts with a bunch of polygons when Geordi and Data cock up the Holodeck. Key episodes: Elementary, Dear Data, Unnatural Selection, The Icarus Factor

Troi: sadly suffering in the face of a bunch of soppy romances and storylines involving her mother that are, shall we say, an acquired taste, Troi still gets some good stuff, mostly later in the series’ run. Taking her out of her comfort zone, making her a spy or an investigator, or giving her some proper dramatic meat, works wonders. Also once she was a cake. Key episodes: Face of the Enemy, Eye of the Beholder, Dark Page

LaForge: oh, Geordi. I love Georgi, but he kinda got done dirty a little bit. Always an interesting and dependable secondary character, unfortunately the bulk of his episodes as a primary character tend to revolve around him being a bit of a jerk or a bit of a creep. Obviously the most heinous sin is making a computer program based on a real person and then, well, trying to shag it, but he also has a tendency to be a dick to anyone new in Engineering. He’s even a bit of a dick to Scotty! I sometimes think the writers never quite had a handle on Geordi’s character; is he a young tech genius with poor social skills? Is he supposed to be arrogant? A wannabe lothario who’s just really unlucky? Anyway, like I say, I still love the guy to bits, and LeVar Burton is fantastic, but of all the main ensemble, his are the flakiest solo episodes. That said, the three listed here are all belters. Key episodes: The Next Phase, The Enemy, Relics

Anyway. There we are. I’ve still, as of going “to press”, not watched Discovery season 3, and my wife’s still not watched the end of season 1 of Picard. Any day now…!

#top ten #star trek #picard #discovery #the next generation #star trek discovery #star trek tng

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mystic-kitten-writer · 6 years ago

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Limerence [M] ︳13

Pairing: Zuko x OC

Genre: Romance, mainly fluff with future smut, and if you squint hard enough - you’ll find some angst.

Rating: SFW

Words: 5100+

Notes: I hope you guys enjoy the chapter - stay healthy everyone~!

Masterlist ︳12 ︳ 14

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

Limerence: (English/n.) the state of being infatuated with another person.

The moment their eyes locked they knew - the flames within him twisted while the water within her turned. It was a connection, a connection that would lead to love, adventure, and drama.

Éperdument Amoureux

(French) Madly in love.

~ Ying Yue Jiang ~

“And what do you expect me to do with-with this!” hissed Lia as she stared at my chest. My cheeks flushed as I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water. I knew the love bites were bad, but not this bad.

They were light in colour, small, and I dare say it; cute - yesterday. But how was I supposed to know that overnight that was going to change? That the sweet kisses of affection were going to be enormous, bleeding into each other, and pulsing angrily along my skin. Lia slapped her cheeks together as she tried her hardest to think of something, anything, at this point. “You do know the party is in four days, your party, Imperial Consort Ying Yue.” She said, with a frown, and with a great emphasis on the ‘your party’ part. But not even her scowl hid the hint of amusement in her voice.

I pouted - she was right. At the end of this week, I was set to make my official ‘debut’ as Imperial Consort to the public, before the arrival of the Earth King. Afterward, a small party with some nobles and council members was set to take place in the gardens. Hell, I was also expected to get another ‘official’ seal; as if the large marble brick Zuko gave me wasn’t enough.

“He better have been good – although based on these marks and rumours, it appears so…” Lia said with a grin as she sheepishly poked at my chest. The blush that was just starting to disappear quickly found its way back, rumours?

“W-what do you mean by rumours?” I asked. Lia clicked her tongue at my naiveness, “The servants here gossip honey, and the guards said that based on the sounds you were making, seems like Fire Lord Zuko knows exactly what he is doing.” The devilish smile on Lia only grew as I whinnied out in embarrassment. The Guards outside his room...They heard everything!

“Excuse me while I go drown myself!” I said with a huff, but Lia snickered.

“Can a Waterbender even drown?”

“Give me a few minutes, and I’ll give you an answer.”

Lia snorted in laughter while I threw my hands in the air, “This isn’t funny! Is there anything I can do to-to, I don’t know, make them go away?”

“Just for Fire Lord Zuko to do it all over again?” Lia said tauntingly. And the worst part, she was right. I bit lip to push away the creeping desires that were starting to bubble up again and made my skin feel all tingly. Memories of my restless night were sneaking back. I didn’t sleep a wink, and whenever I did manage to drift off the slightest, the dreams I was having were not for the innocent. I took two baths during the night – TWO, anything to cool down my hormones. What was I, sixteen again?

“Please Lia, don’t you have anything? A cream or spray?” I begged. Anything to make these hickies seem less…‘hickish.’ Sokka already gave me and Zuko a ‘talk’ for hours; he is going to have a stroke if he sees these! Lia rolled her eyes, “Oh yeah, let me just pull out some magical potion from underneath my skirt.”

“Really!?”

“NO! GOSH. Let me ask around if someone has any tips or tricks. I’ll try something out tonight before you go to bed.” I engulfed Lia in an embrace, “Thank you! You’re my lifesaver!” I squealed into her hair. Lia laughed and hugged me back. “Now, I’m leaving, and don’t forget to meet Kiyi in the garden; she’s probably waiting for you as we speak.” I smiled and nodded, watching Lia balance a tray of empty teacups and finished snacks. Just before she walked out the door she looked over her shoulder, a playful smile dancing on her lips, “Also, don’t forget to lift your dress, the last thing we need is Fire Lord Zuko waltzing in here, seeing you topless, and finishing what he started.”

Lia left with a colourful laugh and the door shut behind her. I couldn’t help but titter as I began lifting my white chiffon kimono, something that covered most of the love bites. Lia was absolutely hilarious, a lot more blunt and forthright compared to Kima, but nevertheless, a star.

I skipped over to my vanity, pushing my long braid to the side, a twist which was adorned with flowers; a special touch, courtesy of Lia. I grabbed the nearest lip-gloss, the only form of makeup I wore since arriving. It was too hot to wear clothing, let alone makeup. This heat really is on a whole other level, Zuko and Suki weren’t joking when they said ‘hot.’

I could hear the door once again opening and closing, footsteps shuffling and I grinned, “Lia~, what did you forget in here now?” I said with a giggle as I turned around in my seat and stood up. But the giant grin on my face vanished when I realized it wasn’t Lia. My face froze, and a cold shiver ran down my spine. It was like my body became rigid, as I desperately clung to the sides of my dress. All the fear that I thought I had put away and forgotten suddenly came crashing back like a tidal wave. It was her, the lady from yesterday, the lady I saw outside of Zuko’s room.

“My apologies, I didn’t know anyone was going to be in here.”

Her words felt hollow, ungenuine, insensitive. Was she…taunting me? I grimaced as she pushed her hair behind her shoulders, making sure her appearance looked perfect, not a single hair out of place. A profound, sinking feeling weighted heavily on my stomach; I feel like I'm going to be sick.

“Despite the surprise, pleasure to meet you…Ying Yue.” She spoke once again, with a smile plastered on her fair skin. My eyes narrowed as I watched her. The way her lips curved upwards, it wasn’t a smile. No…it was a smirk. It was like she knew what she was doing — the way her eyes observed me like I was prey. Once my eyes finally meet with her, I could feel another wave of nausea wash over me.

Her eyes. They’re just like Zuko’s, how... The way her golden eyes flickered in the sunlight to brilliant gold, only Zuko’s eyes shimmers like that. Yet, no matter how alike they were, they lacked one crucial thing; warmth. One look from Zuko filled me up with such warmth and contentment; as if all my problems were suddenly gone. But her eyes - they felt like death. Like I was looking into a soulless being.

“Who are you; what’s your name,” I said firmly. My lips tightly pressed together as I eyed her up and down. She wore nothing more than a plain red dress, free of any accessories. She hummed softly as she placed her hands together, her long nails making a ticking sound, “I wouldn’t want to bore you with my name. I'm just a humble maid; here to check your room.” She said with a forced smile. A maid. It would have made sense after all. Why am I overreacting? It’s not like she is some sort of criminal. But the uneasiness didn’t leave.

“I’ve heard quite a bit about you, although I'll admit, I'm quite surprised…” she started as she took a few steps forward. Without thinking twice, I began stepping backward, my mind screaming at me to maintain a distance. “Surprised?” I asked, trying to act natural, engage in her stupid small talk. She tilted her head, her eyes never leaving mine. “You see, I lived at the palace. One could say, I’ve known Fire Lord Zuko my whole life.”

“Lived here your whole life?” I asked once again, trying to understand her words. Every sentence of hers seemed to bring more questions than answers. She was speaking in circles. “My parents use to work in the palace, lived here for most of their lives. It was only natural I was raised here, expected to take after them. Unfortunately, a few…unforeseen circumstances halted my rise in ranking. But I'm here now, to take my rightful place.” I nodded, listening to her words, they were laced with another meaning. I bit my lip as I frustratingly tried to decipher her words. A double edge sword, that’s what her words felt like.

“What does that have to do with Fire Lord Zuko?” I asked bluntly. She raised her brows in enjoyment, before placing her hands on her hips, “Ah, it's just that I never thought Fire Lord Zuko was much of a…romantic. Breaking up with his long-term girlfriend, only to bring along another woman from the Southern Water Tribe…may I ask, what was a Firebender doing in the Southern Water Tribe?”

“I'm not a Firebender,” I said sharply.

“Oh, no? So you must be a nonbender then…how amusing.”

“You could say that…” I ended carefully. The fact that I was a Waterbender was a secret. A massive secret that was meant to stay that way until Zuko figured something out. The only people who knew of my Waterbending skills were the gang and Zuko’s family. While it proved to be difficult given a few maids saw me Waterbend during out little ‘fight,’ they were written off as rumours. Everyone knew that if the council found out that I was a Waterbender, all hell would break loose. Gosh, Zuko could lose everything – all because of my Waterbending, I could never hurt him like that.

“Seems like Fire Lord Zuko has a thing for nonbenders then, although at least Countess Mai could defend herself, unlike you…” She muttered under her breath, but loud enough for me to hear. My frown deepened in annoyance, did she just indirectly say I was weak? I don’t know who she is, but for a maid, she really is overstepping her boundaries.

“With all due respect, I do not require your services here; I have my maid to overlook such duties. So you may leave.” I said abruptly. Her eyes widen in disbelief, most likely taken aback by my tone. But I straightened out my back and stepped forward, did everyone in the palace view me as weak? Just some arm candy for Zuko? I could feel my blood begin to boil.

I was sweet and kind - and it would be a mistake to view my kindness as a weakness. No one knew the shit I went through after my parents died. The things I had to do to survive when I was alone; before I found my new family and friends. It was an aspect of my life I preferred to hide away, as it was also those experiences that led me to refrain from bending. But to call me weak? I could feel my breathing deepen as I tried to control my irritation. My hands turned into fists, “Leave, now.”

She looked at me before she gave me a low bow, “Whatever you wish, Ying Yue.”

“Imperial Consort Ying Yue,” I said sneered.

“My apologizies…goodbye Imperial Consort Ying Yue, till next time.” She snickered before she opened the door and began stepping out. But before she left, she gave me one more look. It was as if she was studying me, observing every movement of mine. With one more devilish smile, she closed the door behind her.

Finally - I gasped as I felt myself breathing once again. She was petrifying. Everything about her screamed ‘danger.’ Was it normal to feel this way? She is just a maid, an impolite and spiteful maid who managed to crawl under my skin. I slapped my cheeks and with one more deep breath rushed over to my vanity to grab the snacks and turtle duck food Lia left for me to bring.

Kiyi is probably waiting for me, and I eagerly dashed through the door, making sure I locked it beforehand. I needed a distraction, a distraction away from that ill-advised maid who made me feel disturbed. Maybe I should tell Zuko…no; he already has so much on his plate, why bother him with such trivial matters? She just a maid, it’s not like she would try to hurt me, or better yet kill me…right?

I smiled watching Kiyi hunched over her book ‘Animals of the Southern Water Tribe.’ Her eyes were like giant saucers, as she gazed over the images and words with fascination. The way her fingers followed the words made me proud; I picked an excellent gift for her. Zuko told me about her passion for animals, and I figured if she was as curious as me, a book about animals other than the Fire Nation would be enthralling. And I was right.

“Kiyi, my little button~!” I chirped as I swung around our snacks and turtle ducks food. Her eyes lit up in glee when she spotted me walking along the path. She shut her book, placing it down on the grass, before dashing towards me. “YUE! I was waiting here, what took you so long?” she sang as she swung her arms around my waist and gave me a tight embrace. I smiled and gently kissed her forehead, “Sorry I took long, button. I had a …unexpected visitor. But I brought some snacks.” She pulled away and beamed as she grabbed the snacks.

“YAY, we can feed the babies now!” She said animatedly as she tugged my hand towards the large pool of water. I remember how Zuko said I was going to be impressed by the gardens, and boy, was he right.

The main garden was absolutely jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Ancient cherry blossom trees painted the endless fields of grass, providing one with ample shade to rest, read a book, or just think. The pink blossoms scattered in the gentle breezes on top of the grounds and the lush bushes and shrubs that were planted about. But the flowers, I sighed contently just looking at them. The flowers were all vibrant in colours, mainly of reds and yellows; at one point I pinched myself because I thought I was dreaming, that was how surreal the garden was. I could only imagine how much effort went into maintaining the gardens.

I breathed in deeply, smelling the fresh water and flowers. Sounds of water crashing caught my attention, and I knew we were here. To say it was a pond, was an understatement. We stood at the pool of water that gathered at the end of the waterfall. The water near our feet just calm enough for the turtle ducks to contently swim about. The sounds of water cascading downward was just pleasant background noise to the creatures.

As if the admiration was evident on my face Kiyi giggled, “Zuzu built it.” I titled my head in confusion, as we sat along the edge, letting our bare feet dangle in the still waters. “Zuko build a…waterfall?” I said a tad bit in disbelief as I looked upwards. The waterfall was huge, like, enormous. But another part of me realized - Are you really amazed? The man is Fire Lord; he could do whatever he wanted; he has the power and resources for it.

Kiyi grinned happily as she began breaking the food into smaller pieces for the baby turtle ducks. They already started swimming towards us, squawking away in anticipation for food, just like Appa and Momo.

“Yup, Zuzu did this. Zuzu told me how when he was little, mommy use to feed turtle ducks with him. So for her birthday, he rebuilt the pond to a large waterfall so that more turtle ducks could live here.” I smiled as I gazed upon the waterfall, Zuko really did love his family. Was there anything he wouldn’t do for them?

“Toph helped Zuzu build it. I like her; she is messy and strong.” I grinned, connecting the dots. Of course, Toph helped Zuko out. Any chance for her to move boulders around to show off her bending was an opportunity she was never going to let pass by. It was just up her alley too, and knowing her, it probably took her mere seconds to build such a thing. The garden backed into a large mountain; therefore, the water could naturally cascade downwards, into the large pond where we swung our feet into. It was more of a question as to why the lake was never a waterfall, to begin with.

Gentle pinches on my toes caught my attention, as I gazed down. A baby turtle duck was nipping away on my toes, and Kiyi giggled, “They're hungry, feed them, or else they're going to eat your toes!” I laughed along and began throwing food into the pond. Within seconds they all started swarming the food, trying to eat as much as they could, but they often missed. They’re so cute!

Kiyi laughed childishly as we kept throwing food inside of the water. Kiyi really was a sweetheart, a bit curious like myself, and feisty. Her laugh was loveable, and seeing her smile made me realize why people wanted kids. There was just something about watching a child happy, something that brought out another side of me that I didn’t even know existed - the need to protect her as if she was my own. Her short brown bob swayed with every throw, and her brown eyes sparkled. She didn’t have the same gold eyes as Zuko, but she did have the same nose and eye shape as him. Down to the cute little dimple they both had when they smiled.

Just watching over Kiyi made me think about yesterday and the vase of flowers on his nightstand from her. Would Zuko ever want to start a family of his own? Have kids…I wonder how many kids he would want… I smiled to myself. Knowing him, he would want one; he seems like the type of dad who would pour all his heart and soul into his kid, make sure they had everything they could have ever wanted. His wife would be lucky….did I want to be his wife? I blushed; Yue. You're getting ahead of yourself.

“Uh-oh! YUE, the snacks!”

My eyes widen as I watched Kiyi stand up panicked. I gazed at the water and realized that the snacks that were meant for us were floating away, going deeper and deeper in the pond. The turtle ducks were quick and started following the bag, nipping at it, wanting a taste of the new treats. Kiyi already stood in the water, trying to run after the bag, but I swiftly grabbed her arm before she got in too deep, “NO KIYI!” I shouted as I pulled her back.

She looked upwards at me startled. “B-but the turtle ducks! They can’t eat our food; it will hurt their tummies!” she cried out, her bottom lip trembling. I let go of my grip and gently patted her head, “I’ll grab it; I don’t want you to slip in the water and make a mess of yourself.” I said as I stood up. Kiyi frowned but nodded as she sat back down on the shore.

I quickly began grabbing my dress, rolling it up from the top to not get it wet. How did it even manage to get into the water? I carefully moved forward, my feet already fully submerged into the water. I could feel the slimy rocks and the squishy mud, I'm definitely going to have to wash my feet after this. “Be careful Yue!” Kiyi cried out as I tiptoed in the water, the water rising higher and higher up my legs. How deep was this…? The cold water was already at my knees and was only getting deeper the more I moved.

The turtle ducks looked a bit startled seeing me walk in the water, as they began making noises, “Sorry babies, but you can’t eat this.” I said playfully as I bent over to reach the bag. At this point, I was already waist deep in. The things I do for Kiyi. I grunted as I tried to reach the bag, my fingertips just grazing the plastic material; the food is going to be all soggy now, just reach a little bit more…

“Zuzu!”

My eyes widen in surprise, Zuko was here?

And that, was where the mistakes all began.

I turned on my heel swiftly, my curiosity getting the better of me. But before I could process what was happening, I could feel my feet slip from underneath me, and I gasped piercingly. My stomach dropped as my body twisted and I no longer felt the nasty mud underneath me. Wha-what the fuck – my arms flapped around me like a chicken as I tried to grab something, anything.

A loud splash echoed in the gardens, and I could hear the turtle ducks swimming away with such speed that caused more ripples to slap against my face. I groaned noisily as my bum ached painfully. Great, more bruises, as if I don’t have enough already! I feverishly wiped the water off my face with filthy hands. I was neck deep in the water, sitting down on painfully jagged rocks. I can't believe I just fell in the damn water! I huffed loudly and wiped my face once again with my hands, a cold shiver running down my back. “What are you doing?”

My face whipped upwards, my braid coming apart and the beautiful flowers that Lia spent all her time placing one by one drifted along the ripples of the water. My face was beet red in embarrassment when I realized Zuko saw the whole thing. From start to finish, the performance of a lifetime. You gotta be fucking kidding me. Why me? Why does life just hate me? As if yesterday wasn't painful for me already. He probably thinks I'm the biggest clutz in history! You know, now is a great time to try out that theory if a Waterbender can drown.

Kiyi was rolling on the grass, probably gaining grass stains, as she hollered hysterically to herself with tears in her eyes. Zuko, on the other hand, stood still. An amused grin on his face as he crossed his arms across his chest, in utter disbelief. He snickered and shook his head before stepping forward, getting a good look at me, “This is going to sound ridiculous, but we do have something called a ‘pool’ where one can swim. Even hot springs.” I glared at Zuko, hearing the sarcasm dripping with every word he spoke, but I couldn’t fight off the smile that was coming through.

“Maybe she wanted to feel like one of the turtle ducks Zuzu,” Kiyi said between fits of laughter while wiping away her tears. I snickered to myself as I pushed my wet hair away from my face, “And what are you doing here Fire Lord Zuko? I thought you had some important business to attend to all day?” I said with a raised brow — anything to get the attention away from me.

Zuko chuckled to himself before kicking off his boots, “I figured I could take a break, spend some time with two of the most important women in my life. But as it turns out, instead of taking a break, I have to go fish for my consort who is currently in a pond.” My eyes widen, did he just say I was important? Who cares, focus Yue! Zuko is taking off his boots to fish you out!

“N-no, it’s fine! I’m fine. Look I can-” I stuttered as I began standing up. Zuko’s eyes widen in shock the moment I began standing in the water, my torso out of the water. He swiftly began unbuttoning his robe as he shouted, “NO. Get back in the water!”

Taken aback from his loud voice, I panicked and found myself dropping, adding to my growing collection of bruises. His face was flushed, as he stripped himself of his red robe, tossing it over his shoulder. I blushed, realizing he wore nothing underneath his gown. How is it possible I went from never seeing him shirtless, to seeing him half naked two days in a row? Zuko grumbled under his breath as he walked towards me, walking sluggishly as the water began reaching his waist. “Wh-what’s wrong? Why can’t I just get out by myself-”

“White.”

White? What does he mean by…oh shit. I'm wearing white. I flushed putting two and two together; white goes completely see-through when wet, oh my gosh – he can see right through my kimono! Why me? Why does every single mortifying moment happen to me? Zuko held out his hand, and I grasped it, letting him pull me up effortlessly. With a swift motion, he pulled my body against his, covering me with his torso. He wrapped his red robe over my shoulders, and I let my arms slip through. His robe is HUGE on me! I'm literally swimming in it – no pun attended.

“You really are going to be the death of me Yue. If Sokka sees us like this after yesterday’s mishap…” Zuko groused under his breath, but I could see the faint grin on his face as he began to button up his robe for me. “All I wanted to do was take a break. Now I spoiled my robe, my pants, and I have to take a shower…” Zuko pulled my hair out from underneath his robe before looking at me. “You drive me nuts, Yue, but I love it. There hasn’t been a single boring day with you.”

I beamed. He loves spending time with me? And he called me Yue…just Yue. Zuko gently caressed my cheek with admiration, “You called me Yue…” I whispered. Zuko’s eyes widen, a bit startled, realizing that he indeed just called me Yue. “I like it. Just call me Yue from now on…” I said softly. Zuko grinned before grasping my shoulders, “Come on, you’re going to get sick if you stay out here.” I smiled, but out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kiyi.

Her eyes were wide, as she waved frantically to catch my attention. My eyebrows furrowed, as she made a ‘pushing’ motion. What in the world is she trying to… ‘ZUZU’ she mouthed over and over again. Zuzu? My eyes widen, and I realized what she was implying. Kiyi, you little devil.

I grinned mischievously, and Zuko looked at me questioningly. “What are you smiling about?” Zuko said hesitantly, as he watched the way my eyes lit up. I batted my eyelashes innocently, “Oh, nothing…” I said kindly. Zuko gave me a look of disbelief, not believing me for a second. But before he could open his mouth to say something, I placed my foot behind his feet and shoved him backward.

I could hear Zuko swear under his breath before a loud splash echoed once more in the gardens. Kiyi burst out laughing, “WE DID IT!” she screamed as I could see Zuko’s head start rising from the surface. He gasped loudly, breathing in all the air he could before he wiped his face with the back of his hand. His golden eyes were ablaze as he looked at me, “You wanna play dirty huh?” My eyes widen in surprise, and the next thing I knew my wrist was being tugged back into the water. I squealed, not again!

I gasped and spat out whatever water I managed to get into my mouth. My eyes aligned up with Zuko’s, a proud grin painting his face. This is war.

“You don’t know who you’re messing with!” I screamed as I pushed myself away from him and began frantically splashing water. Zuko scoffed as he tried to shield himself from my pitiful attacks. I kept splashing water towards him with all my might, all the while Zuko laughed hilariously at me. His head flung backward as he cried out in amusement, his wet hair swaying everywhere. His smile was enormous; his eyes practically shut closed from laughing so much. I could feel my heart swell up with enjoyment, knowing that I made him that happy. I made him smile that beautifully.

I huffed out in exhaustion as my arms were getting sore from splashing around, but Zuko was putting up the same amount of effort. “GO YUE~!” Screamed Kiyi at the top of her lungs. “You're supposed to be on my side Kiyi!” Zuko shouted before another well-timed splash cut him off. “Hey, don’t get distracted!” I yelled out while laughing. Zuko eyed me before he stopped his movements. My eyes widened, knowing that fiery look in his eyes. Zuko lunged forward, and I tried desperately to run away. Curse this stupid dress and Zuko’s robe! I'm moving at a turtle’s pace!

His arms snaked around my waist, and before I knew it, I was swinging in the air. I giggled like a child as I wrapped my arms around his neck, my feet dangling just above the water. “Surrender or else I'll drop you!” Zuko said between laughs. I could hear Kiyi gasp, and within seconds more splashes, “Don’t worry Yue, I'll save you!” I grinned watching Kiyi tightly hug Zuko’s back. But Zuko didn’t seem fazed at all, carrying both me and Kiyi. I giggled as I snuggled my head into Zuko’s neck.

This was perfect. Zuko was perfect. If this was what having a family means, I want it. More than anything in the world, I want a family with Zuko.

Their waves of laughter filled the palace, and soon guards and maids came to watch the ruckus happening in the garden. They all smiled and giggled to themselves watching the three of them play in the water like children. It was the first time they saw Fire Lord Zuko so free, smiling with not a single worry in the world.

But there was one person who enjoyed the scene the most. Uncle Iroh smiled happily to himself. He saw more than just three people having fun. He saw two people madly in love, so far in love, they probably didn’t realize it themselves. He wiped away a rogue tear that built up as he saw Zuko laughing and tightly embracing Ying Yue. He always waited for the day Zuko found happiness. It was all he ever wanted, for Zuko to be happy. Thank you, Ying Yue, Uncle Iroh muttered to himself, you were the missing puzzle piece in Zuko’s life all along.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar characters portrayed in this story besides Ying Yue Jiang, Lia, Kima, and any future creations.

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

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bigtiddycommity · 6 years ago

Text

Clé: Miroh (1)

Pairing: Bang Chan x reader ft. Stray kids

Warnings: Slight profanity

Summary: An up and coming singer is introduced to the rough and unfair world of the music industry when she is tricked into a fake relationship with a popular idol. Her entire world has been turned upside down and now not only is she hated by millions of fans around the world but she is now despised by her...boyfriend?

Word count: 2k

Welcome to Clé- Admin peach

Enjoy!

___________________

Rule number one in business: Always read and review your contract. Why? Because you could end up on a plane to Korea and leaving your entire life behind.

Aurelia had made possibly the most naive and idiotic decision she could make and now it had completely changed her life; maybe even her career. Blinded by the excitement of her and her group releasing their new album, she foolishly signed her new contract without reading the fine print. If she had, she would have seen that it was a trap.

“It’s crazy how far we've come. A couple years ago we were praying for a big label like Lush to even consider giving us a second glance, God!” Ivy said with a faraway look in her eye.

The popular girl group, Lunar ,sat in their shared dorm talking about how far they had come in their career. The group consisted of four girls between the ages of 19 to 22 years of age. They had gone from struggle of being noticed, to charting #1 albums in dozens of countries.

“I know. My parents swore I was going to be a useless college drop out. Thanks for the vote of confidence, mom.” Oldest member, Mina said shaking her head with a laugh.

“I remember your mom storming into practice that one time screaming about life goals. That was fucking hilarious!” Nicole, the trouble maker, said cackling at her bandmates embarrassment.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want. That woman is a psycho.” Mina grumbled.

The group soon got quiet as the three older members turned to look at their baby of the group, Auriella, who seemed to be in a world of her own.

“You okay, princess?” Ivy asked softly.

“I’m just...happy. For the longest time, I thought I would never make it and I would be stuck in the system forever.” The small girl said looking at her hands, blushing slightly.

“Hey,” the older girl scooted closer and put her arm around her friend. “You made it. You're here, with us and we are killing it! Things couldn't be better and it's all thanks to you. If you hadn't fought for us so hard all these years, we never would have made it.” She said seriously.

“Yeah, babe. You damn near killed yourself for this group. Give yourself a little credit.” Nicole added with a smirk.

Instead of replying, Auriella just smiled with tear filled eyes and held her arms open.

“Aww!”

“Our baby, Ella!”

“We did it, guys.”

Little did they know, their world was about to be crushed. Things were about to change in ways they never expected.

Their music label, Lush Management, had unfortunately run into a few money issues and it couldn't have happened at the worst possible time. Their biggest artist group was preparing to release another possibly billboard charting album but they had no money to promote it. To make matters worse, the company was in works with another foreign agency, JYP Entertainment.

There was talk of a possible merging of the two companies to expand their already large audiences. Due to the sudden financial issues, fear set in that JYP would no longer want to work with them but much to the labels surprise, a deal was offered. A PR Contract. One of their female artists would move to Korea and sign a dating contract tying her to one of their artists. Apparently one of their artists, though popular, needed more exposure to bring attention to their upcoming album series and world tour.

Knowing that none of their artists would willingly put their career on an unplanned hiatus so suddenly in a plan that did not benefit them, the label knew they had to act quickly and discreetly. They could deal with the anger of their artist after the contract was signed. After many meetings and weeks of deliberation, Aurelia Duran was chosen. She was one of the company's most loyal artists and knew that she was slightly naive, meaning that she wouldn't suspect a thing. They were right.

Two weeks later

Aurelia was told to come down to the company to talk to the CEO. Though confused, she did as she was told. Figuring that they probably wanted to talk to her about the songs she wrote for her group's new album. When she walked into the large room, the young girl automatically felt a shift in atmosphere. The air in the room seemed tense and strict. Auriella had been signed with this label for 3 years and trained with them for 6, so she was close with the executives and producers. They never had such an aura with each other, so she began to feel uncertain of what she was about to be told.

“Auriella, please, have a seat.” Said her manager, Rabecca. She had watched this girl grow and work herself to the bone to achieve her dreams. Rebecca felt terrible knowing she was about to take all of that away from the sweet girl, but sacrifices needed to be made and bills needed to be paid.

“Aurelia…” She started.

_______________________________________________

Meanwhile, in Korea

“What are you gonna do, Chan-hyung?” Felix asked. All of the stray kids had just gotten home from a meeting at JYP and were informed of their leaders new - and forced- relationship status.

“There's nothing I can do. You heard them, it's in my contract so I literally can't do anything, whether I like it or not.” Chan replied, sounding frustrated. “This is a mess.”

“Do you know what she looks like? Or how old she is?” Jeongin asked curiously, only to be pushed slightly by Hyunjin who sat next to him. This was not the time for that.

“I know just as much as the rest of you.” Was Chan’s gruff reply.

“Well, it's late and there's nothing we can do about this now, so I think we should call it a day. Plus we have to pack, too, apparently.” Woojin reminded the group. During the meeting, they were informed that they would be moving into a different house along with the girl Chan was now ‘dating’. Tomorrow was also the day they were all supposed to meet this mystery girl they would soon be living with.

Chan signed heavily before getting up and walking towards his shared room without a word. To say the leader was dreading the next day was an understatement. His life was being controlled in ways he never saw coming. He couldn't even love who he wanted. Was this the life he fought so hard for? The life he and his members fought to have? He was beginning to wonder if it was worth it.

The next morning, Chan was up before everyone but stayed lying in bed. If he got up, he would have to face the day and all the changes that were about to happen. Chan wasn't quite ready to face reality just yet so he laid there. Thinking about who this girl was. Who was she and what was she like? Did she agree with this plan done by the two merging companies? Or was she just as contractually obligated as he was and unhappy the sudden ‘relationship’?

Part of the idol wanted to give this girl a chance. More likely than not, she didn't have a say in this either and was forced into the entire situation. She probably didn't even know who he was, for all he knew. On the other hand, Chan couldn't bring himself to actually think of being nice to her even if she was apart of the scheme. He was livid yet suspicious. What if she was a creep? Or a spy sent by the company? She could be an undercover scam artist who just wanted to get close to his group so she could sell their private life to the tabloids. Whoever she was, Chan didn't want her around. Fake girlfriend or not, she would be a distraction.

This is going to be fun.

Soon, the remaining members in the dorm awoke and began packing for their sudden move day. Though none of them would say it out loud, there was a small amount of excitement in all of them about moving into a new and much bigger house. Usually idol groups were forced to stay in small apartment dorms for the first few years after they debuted and to share almost everything they had. Being moved into a bigger house free of charge so early in their careers was an undeniably lucky experience. The circumstances were not so great but the fact was that moving into a bigger home would make producing much easier, as well as having privacy.

"Hyung, is it bad i’m excited to meet her?” Jeongin asked Jisung with slight hesitation in his voice. He didn't want to hate someone he hasn't met yet. Chan seemed to already have his mind set on not giving her a chance but I.N. didn't want to do that, it wasn't fair.

“Honestly? I wanna meet her too. I mean how often do we get to meet foreigners or aren't our fans, y’know? Maybe she's really cool.” Jisung replied to the younger boy as he looked up from his suitcase. He suddenly paused where he was crouched on the floor in front of his suitcase and tilted his head in wonder. “Then again, she is a girl, and she's going to be living with 9 guys she's never met before. She's probably more anxious than we are. I feel bad she-” Minho suddenly walked into the room and jisung stopped talking.

“Feel bad for her why? She's probably in on this entire arrangement. Do yourselves a favor and don't grow too attached. For all we know she could be crazy.” He grumbled as he walked into the room and flopped onto the makes bed on the bottom bunk.

“Are you done packing, Hyung?” Jisung asked, quickly changing the subject.

“I finished last night. Is the girl going to meet us there or what?”

“I think that’s what the manager said yesterday at the meeting. Do you know where the new house is?”

“I don't know but it must be close by because JYP would want us in the area so we could attend meetings and practices. Plus, our baby.” Minho jumped on Jeongin teasingly, “still has school to finish.”

As the boys wrestled on the ground, Jisung zipped up his suitcase and stood up grabbing his backpack before walking out of the room in search of the other members.

“Yah, Han-ah!” A voice yelled. Jisung turned in the direction of his name to see Hyunjin and Chan in their room packing things into their backpacks.

“Oh, Hyung. I finished packing.”

“Well, everyone else is ready, so let's go.” Said the leader as he swung his backpack onto his shoulder.

"Are you ready for this, Hyung?” Hyunjin asked, concerned for his older member.

“I don't really have a choice to be ready or not. This is all going to happen regardless of how I feel about it, so we might as well get it all over with.” At that, he left the room together the remaining members.

The two boys left in the room watched as he walked away. They loved their leader and wanted nothing but happiness for him. Chan always did all he could to make sure everyone was taken care of but in this moment, they felt helpless. As much as they wanted to help their leader and make him feel better, they couldn't do anything to change what was soon to come. He signed a contract. Legally, he was stuck. Period.

Welcome to the music industry.

“Lets go.”

The two balck vans carrying both the members of Stray Kids as well as their belongings drove up a small hill and onto a long driveway with a guard positioned in front of a black gate. It was clear that whatever building was behind that gate was large and very protected.

“Wow.”

“Chan-hyung?”

“What is this place?”

Without a word, the guard left his station once the van came close and flashed a light into the interior, as if searching for something. After looking at each member individually, the guard then nodded his head and went back into his station. Seconds later, the large black gate began to open. Behind, was a mansion-like home with large see-through windows. Even from the outside, it was clear that the interior of the home was just as extravagant as the exterior. The home was black and modern but large and breathtaking.There was a clear glass surrounding the upper outside of the house which was meant for a balcony. This house was amazing.

“This is our new house? This is huge!” Changbin exclaimed with an excited smile.

“This is...insane.” Felixs’ deep baritone added in disbelief.

“Took the words right out of my mouth, mate.” Chan said, a bit dazed himself

The group grabbed their things and began walking towards the front door. Some lights were on inside and a slight aroma of food wafted from inside of the home, making it clear that someone was home. Chan took a deep breath and shook his head slightly before raising a hand to ring the doorbell. Moments after the ding sounded, light footsteps were heard coming closer and closer to the door. A slight click sound and the large door began sliding open.

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bedlamgames · 5 years ago

Text

Q&A #100

Yes, been a hundred of this things. Totally a meaningless milestone which is one of my oldest tags on here (assuming any are left after the purge...) still I thought I’d do something for it.

Specifically I’ve gone back over the old Q&A’s and found some favourite questions and answers which I’ll be including in this after the usual round of outstanding ones. Possibly also with some extra commentary where appropriate.

Anonymous said: Hey. Any pair of characters connected by an Owned relationship/reputation seems to crash the game if you use either one of them on an assignment. Any chance of this being fixed?

- That should be sorted in yesterday’s update.

Anonymous said: Got a Forest Goblin with both Dancer and Clumsy. This seems like a very strange combination, but imagining it kind of makes me want to laugh my head off.

- Agreed I think that just works due to being amusing. Less poetry in motion and more of a limerick.

Anonymous said: In No Haven 0.871 the trait " Elementalist: Air " does not appear when using the estimate value function.

- Cheers for pointing out that oversight. Will sort.

Anonymous said: Hi sory english isn't my native langage, In No Have 0.871 TF Edition I have aquired a slaver But with a bug first i don't know how i acquire her and two she had noting , no name no perk jus a little description i will copy the full examine optin on it : - - - - ExamineName: Race: - Sex: - Status: - Reputation: Traits: Condition: 0 Will: 0 Estimated Value: 0 has a flat chest, a regular pussy, and has an unremarkable ass. She is the same size as most goblins, and .She is .

- That looks like an empty character in all respects. I believe there was an issue with Ritual Casting where that could happen and is now sorted. If you see it happen again please let me know what you were doing when they appeared.

Anonymous said: Hey Bedlam, watched stream where you discussed not selling slaves debuff, thing is i always imagined slavers being in this business for fun and pleasure first, and gold second. I mean why else would they agree to live in some Skyrim style, long abandoned really, hard to get to fort in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hills and marshes(at least that how i imagine it)? So maybe you could make something like,"no new slaves, or slave training for X days, getting bored" or something like that?

- It wouldn’t be too harsh at all. Just a bit of a poke to encourage that you’re business model is based around being a slaver over the leader disappearing to the coast for a week and returning with suspiciously large amounts of gold. In that case you’ve got to think that your slavers might feel that they’re surplus to requirements :D

Anonymous said: I hope you're happy for taking so many hours of my life away from me lol. But playing this again; got a question about NH. Any plans on making some rival groups that we can interact with? Diplomacy, getting tribute, ect. It would be kinda cool to have rivals that push you along

Glad you’re enjoying it!

Likely yes. There’s ways currently now to set up a few ways to get tribute every so often. More groups though who are more hostile than the not-witches in the marshlands or the mistress of the Ensnared Rose are sure to be a thing sooner or later.

doof-ex-machina said: Have you read the Gorean saga by John Nornan? If yes, did it influence your vision of the No Haven world? Gor explores a legal female-oriented slave system, yheah, but there are pretty close similarities with NH in regards to the numbers of ‘fodder’ and the ways of training. Anyway, me personally thinks your world is even better because magic and draenei/succubi boobs, duh.

I haven’t but I am aware of them in general.

NH is a lot more equal opportunities than Gor where males doing it to females, females doing it to males, and all possible variations of that including others like futanari and sissies are likely to happen. Still high praise indeed, thanks!

And now onto some old questions starting with one from before where I realised beginning to combine these might be a good idea.

onedrift from 2015: Trying this again...what's your coder fuel of choice? Red bull, Monster, coffee? None of the above? Soon to be bimbofied slavemakers want to know!

- Heh, totally giving my nationality away (if it wasn’t blatantly obvious already) but the fuel of choice is copious amounts of Earl Grey tea.

Anonymous from 2015: Hiya, been a fan of your work for a long time, captions and games thanks for making them, but a question regarding whorelocks revenge, is it possible to get the tangle infection and bonds of insanity? in all my time playing them I never had either I dont think.

- Not in the current version. Basically I wasn’t happy with the implementation in terms of how they were removed so I disabled them for a bit till I can sort it out… which unfortunately has lasted quite some time.

Soon as I got this No Haven update done they’re top of my list of things to sort in Whorelocks.

(Oh zogging hell. Still not done that yet... Extenuating circumstance for sure with NH taking off and WR was still in RAGS at that point, but even so)

Anonymous from 2015: This is probably a poor place to respond to your open-ended poll question, but have you looked into Twine?

- I’ve looked at Twine and when I one day get round to Rough Landing 3 it’s definitely going to be done using it, but to me it looks like an incredibly poor fit for working on No Haven.

(Oh past me why would say such a thing even if it did make a lot of sense at the time. Let’s hope that guy was wrong)

Anonymous from Q&A #1: Title image is hype, cant wait for next update. recall you mentioned that you had enchantments planed for the update after next (or something there abouts) how far ahead have you planned ahead and any spoilers for the update after this one? :D

- Why thank you! I have several pages bullet pointed of what I have planned along with what I have in my head. For stuff not in the next update I’d say not counting more slave training assignments and options and more assignments in the other areas the big bits of content outstanding are;

Way more potions. (Still do do)

Enchantment/cursing of items system. (Also still do do)

Crafting Devices. (Also, also still do do)

Ways to manage encampments when they get to large by sending slavers/slaves to new areas to provide ongoing gold/supplies along with the occasional assignment. (Oh dear, also, also still do do)

More stuff for you like going on every assignment, bad ends for some of them, more interactions, being enslaved and so on. Basically lots more sub and also some dom content for when you’re not managing the encampment. (Woo progress made! Bad ends for some assignments going on are indeed a thing. Still work to do as I do want to give Crossbones and Into the Depths the QAYL treatment sometime)

Special events that will occur every so often that will affect things be it for good and bad. This will include a way to get a lost slaver back though perhaps forever altered by their experiences. (Woo again this is done. Definitely could do with more done with)

Encampment reputation to reflect a slaver’s standing with how the other slaver’s see them. This will includes slavers becoming slaves and visa versa. (On a roll now as a great deal of this implemented)

More biomancy options and improving thanks to a multi-part assignment. There will also be other multi-part story based assignments. (Partially done and the biomancy multi-part assignment has been started)

And a bunch more basically but those are the priorities after this next update. Probably not all in the same update though.

Anonymous from Q&A #6: I would play the hell out of Paranoia set in No Haven.

- Temptation to give slavers and you conflicting secret societies and agendas rising.

Y’know like…

Dire Panthers: A mottley band of young savage orcs, amazons and trolls out to raise hell by breaking stuff, setting stuff on fire and generally being a nuisance to everyone.

The Cooperative: A dedicated group of Frozen Queen cultists out to oppose the Human Empire by working together to make things better for the common people… till you know the Queen awakens and buries all the land in eternal ice.

Mage Smashers: Magic iz like wrong an’ stuff! We smash dem in dere stupid face till dey not so smart.

Fellowship-Fel: The denizens that lurk beyond our reality and infect our dreams with tainted nightmares are our friends! We must expose ourselves to as much corruption as possible to make ourselves like them. We see no flaws in this plan whatsoever, you see the chorus of whispers in our minds entirely agrees with us.

Psion: No changes need to be made whatsoever from the original version.

Trekksters: …and I think that’s enough of that, or further evidence of why I shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near RAGS or indeed tumblr when I have my old sourcebooks nearby :D

(Also apologies to most of you who have no idea what that was about!) (This is still far too much of a good idea)

Anonymous from Q&A #17: 2/2 and another hilarious one: Your succubus slave Jaeil was not looking so hot right now so Virholen just held her close and told Jaeil that everything would be alright. Jaeil was oddly quiet everytime you looked in on them and you wonder if they have resigned themselves to their fate. Condition: 45 (Change: 20) - Will: 47 (Change: 15)

After their mistreatment Jaeil sees no reason not to only care for them self as clearly no one else will leaving them hardened and even outright cruel. usc++

- You win best bug report in ages, that is beautiful :D

Anonymous from Q&A #37: Will there be other spirit races in the game besides wisps, such as undynes, gnomes, and dryads? And finally Im new to patreon. I decided to pay for the your character teir but ask for a unique because I dont really understand it. Is the “play your character” a scenario or what? And where do I go to talk with you on what I would like for it?

- True story, I had to google undyines and for ages I couldn’t work out what you were referring too as so many of the results were of that character from Undertale :D

Undines themselves would be no, but I do have a water spirit of a kind planned. (Still do!) Gnomes no, as I’m happy with Hakh Dwarven and the various Goblins as my short races. Dryads absolutely yes, and will be one of the advanced races. See the last Q&A for more details of those.

Thank you for your support! Those options are for those that want to play a specific character that isn’t available in the standard options or design a specific slaver that you can have in your encampment. If you want to see some examples of ones others have asked for before on the playable character front then Orc Wright Raptor, Lago’Mae Scholar or Goblin Underground Potioneer would be a good ones to look at to start off with.

As for the unique slavers then pretty much any of the slavers available under Strong Right Arm/Recruiter.

How much detail you want to go into is up to you. If you want to say oh I just want a Kitsune lady who likes to pole-dance then I’d put something together for your approval, or you can go full on detailing everything about them from their art, description, traits etc. and I’ll work with you to the point I’m happy having it as an option in the game. (Note: If you want an entirely new race like the Golems you need to go for the lore tier given the significantly larger amount of work involved)

For discussing please send me a message on patreon and we can take it further from there.

One thing to bare in mind is that patreon only charges at the end of the month, and so while I’m more than willing to talk it out, if you want to me to do a lot of work on your request I’m going to need to see a pledge go through first. It sucks I know, but this is the unfortunate reality of the internet that alas trust can only go so for.

I’m always happy to discuss things though, I really am, and some people have asked to pay some of their pledge upfront via paypal to get round this which is not a problem if that’s what you want to do.

valhallaimmortan from Q&A #47: I managed to get a elven smith who makes fancy armor that is usually masterwork quality, and equipped my ‘Basher’ Squad with it, the Basher’s are all Ogre’s who I recruited and I have a alchemist who seriously creeps me out with how many petrification potions he has been pumping out. I also like the Lago'mae Scholar how now the Lizard man is using her as his new project… poor Scholar… and I got to ask is it actually possible to recruit a keldan from the keldan mission in the city?

- I love this question, absolutely adore it, and you made the patron who requested the lizardman unique really happy when I mentioned it to them. If people want to send in their favourite/amusing/interesting slavers/slaves that have resulted from generation and gameplay I might do a tumblr post series on them called ‘Tell me about your Character’.

As to the question yes she should be on the critical result.

Anonymous from Q&A #61: Silly question. For clothing and armor, what in your mind is the major difference between micro, and impractical? I can’t really visualize a difference between the two when reading armor/clothing descriptions. Scandalously short is divergent enough that it creates its own image for me. The other two seem as if they would be interchangeable, but they aren’t since there is a distinction so what is it?

- Yay silly questions are always the best questions. Okay micro is where you have outfits that are recognizable bits of clothing but it’s incredibly brief so a skirt that’s more a belt than actually trying to cover anything whatsoever and/or a bikini top so teeny-weeny that it doesn’t even cover all of the nipples. Completely impractical though is the kind of clothing beloved by a certain kind of fantasy art which just doesn’t make any kind of sense whatsoever where looking good trumps any pretension of realism, and the only way it could stay on is either with copious amounts of glue or magic being involved.

Anonymous from Q&A #66: Hello again! I’m the guy who asked about the post-slave [slaver] titles. I’m going to very respectfully push the idea that ex-slaves should get unique titles. First, I honestly think having the unique titles is cooler. It’s more interesting to send a Chosen, an Acolyte, and a Hedge-Witch on an assignment than it is to send three Slavers. It’s a rarity thing, sort of? If you get a character who qualifies for one of those things, it’s a BIG DEAL. Secondly, it already changes with jobs, so…

- Alright, alright, you’ve twisted my arm :)

That should now be included for the most recent update along with a couple of new titles so that all of the more rare traits (not counting crafting ones) should have one. Let me know if there’s any issues as while it was a fairly straightforward change I didn’t get a chance to test that particular bit.

Thanks for reading and here’s to another hundred of these.

#Q&A #meaningless milestones

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ryouverua · 6 years ago

Text

Trial 5 - Pre-Execution

Investigation 1 / 2 - second half is where I put my own theories that I penned before playing the trial.

Trial: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

HOW MANY TRIALS ARE GOING TO END WITH A CONFESSION ANYWAY

Hnngh - okay, this is actually happening now. We’re having a post-trial talk with Kaito before we send him off to the gallows. Cool. Cool. Cool cool cool cool -

marvels again that on the most basic detail I was right but as a whole I was very, incredibly wrong about what went down

This is going to be a weight for her to bear for a long time, huh.

He’s trying so hard to stay positive and cheer everyone up - how can you be so upbeat right now???

well I guess there’s the fact that he’s had plenty of time to come to terms with his own death since yesterday’s events but -

get this man an Oscar

Kaito is low-key impressed just saying.

I’m sorry when the fuck between the extreme muscle spasms, seizures and general shut down of his body was he supposed to have written this? Was this something he started before all this happened? Was this a contingency plan? omg - was he thinking of Shuichi when he originally wrote the script and came up with a ‘in case something happens to me’ trial plan, then filled in the details up until he died to match the exact circumstances of what actually happened? He did ask Shuichi to be his partner last chapter... how long has this particular plan been in his head for???

How hard was it to swallow his pride and ask Kaito for help instead of Shuichi?

going for those Beatrice vibes even beyond the grave, huh

PLEASE ELABORATE PLEASE -

DAMN IT -

okay I see what the game is trying to do here. And I appreciate it going and highlighting how clever Kokichi is for his foresight, his planning, and his general awareness and understanding of the people around him. That is coming through loud and clear.

But can we talk about Kaito’s ability to ad-lib on the fly, in character, and react to all the situations he was presented? Because Kokichi could not predict the exact future. He clearly planned things, not just in the general sense, but there is only so far a mere mortal could go.

“When Shuichi brings up these points, counter with those.”

“Flatter Himiko to throw her off. Here are some sample lines. Push it as far as you need to to make her flustered.”

“Play on Tsumugi’s ‘everyday boring girl’ syndrome.”

“Here are all the insults I’ve come up with to use at K1-b0 to distract him. Choose the ones that fit the moment, or use them to come up with your own if needed.”

“These are turns of phrases I use to project my incredibly important image.”

“Here’s a 20 paragraph speech I’ve prepped as a giant SCREW YOU to Monokuma, you can break it up as you need to but you have to make sure you get through all of it at some point because I want to rub this in his face and if I’m not there to do it you NEED to do it for me.”

I’d laugh if he had scripts and script notes denoting possible variations, but there’s just a bookmarked page partway through the script and it’s this long anti-Monokuma manifesto

Anyway, I want to admire Kokichi’s planning, absolutely - but I also want to appreciate Kaito’s own skill along with it, because I don’t think they should take from each other at all. Even if he broke character a few times (which is even more hilarious in hindsight), he was utterly convincing in full acting mode!

.... does K1-b0 power off his eyes when he wants to look incredibly depressed... sorry, utterly distracted for a moment...

(Himiko looks depressed too - I’m just trying to not literally upload every single frame of the scene already and it’s HARD.)

Fucking hell Kaito, with all of your self-aggrandising talk why is it now that you can’t understand why everyone is upset?!

Well... I mean, I do kind of get it. Trying to make everyone around you happy - in general, and with themselves - is practically your raison d'être. And right now, you’re the reason everyone is so upset. But still, it’s only because everyone cares about you so much!!!

Kaito put on a pedestal and pushed off of it - check.

How?? Like, how did he phrase it??? Did he decorate it with his normal sureme leader talk? Did he lay out that Kaito basically owed him a debt now? Or did he leave it with just ‘Maki will be the blackened if you don’t do this’?? I have a feeling that whatever I get from the flashbacks, it still won’t be enough 8′D

In the last chapter? Or longer? ... It must have been longer, right? He was writing on that stone since at least chapter... 2? 3? and was talking to Monokuma in Chapter 4.

LMAO WHAT A CASUAL WAY TO DROP THAT PARTICULAR KNOWLEDGE BOMB

“Oh shit really? Wow, go figure.”

i enjoy kaito’s mildly shocked face here

HOW MUCH GEAR DID YOU GET MIU TO MAKE FOR YOU??? Am I going to have to pore over all of your interactions after all??? You guys gave each other so much crap during the trials and outside of them??? You had that ridiculous black-and-white scene in front of the computer??? How close WERE you two before she lost herself to paranoia?!

I can’t help but think everything with Gonta was improvised based on how events were unfolding around him. Would he have still tried to do the same thing if Miu hadn’t been making an attempt on his life? Or did he know that at some point down the line he would have to orchestrate a murder to convince everyone that he was the mastermind? Was this something he had to steel himself to do, or was that always in the back of his mind as an option from the beginning?

I’m sure that last bit upset Kaito the most - he was Gonta’s most stalwart defender in the last trial.

I haven’t seen this sprite in a while, jeez. Or... have I seen this sprite before??? It’s definitely similar to the ones he showed in Gonta’s trial, but I don’t recall him being so, erm, sweaty then.

#calledthat

That has to rankle more than anything. He highlighted Maki’s talent repeatedly and continuously called her out about it, and then this.

The fact that he’s framing it as ‘the true mastermind is at fault’ and not putting it all on Maki is interesting. I wonder if Kokichi just sees Maki as a weapon as opposed to a person? Accurately in this case, perhaps...

Frowning/serious Kokichi is so strange?!?! Not that there’s any reason for him to be smiling here, but it’s really telling that he can’t even bring himself to do it here. This is probably the closest we’ll get to seeing his true feelings and thought process, huh...

Whelp I just went back to this part after writing a whole blurb a few screenshots down and the ‘mastermind doesn’t remember they’re the mastermind’ theory I concocted for fun just died an unceremonious death. I did enjoy those brief few minutes of my oddball ‘Maki doesn’t remember she’s the mastermind’ theory while it lasted so I’ll leave it up for you guys to laugh at enjoy! Unfortunately Monokuma being in time-out debunks it unless there are two masterminds.

If we tie this to the funeral scene... I proposed the idea that the flashback lights give their brains scenes to work with - aka that they aren’t necessarily actually their memories, but perhaps someone else’s, for example - and that their brain works to interpret them and make sense of them, and generally fit them into their own world view. I think it’s becoming accepted now that memories themselves are somewhat pliable and can even change during each ‘recall’. So if they were given the flashback light that said, ‘hey, there’s a cult working to destroy you all and it’s led by the traitor in the group, X’, their brains would fill in ‘X’ with Kokichi based on the context at the time. It also gives room for the idea that I originally had, aka that the talents and perhaps even memories they all have aren’t necessarily their own - that they could have easily had their talents switched between them in the prologue, and the fact they landed like this was just a coincidence - and the one known as ‘Kokichi, Supreme Leader’ could have easily one of the other classmates in a different timeline. The mastermind would be able to have the ability to adapt to any scenario, if that was the case...

lmao yeah that was pretty obvious

So even Kokichi never figured it out in the end? That’s pretty significant - the kid is basically a living lie detector. That leaves four possibilities that I can think of:

1) The mastermind isn’t actually among us. I highly doubt that - we’ve been building to a reveal from the beginning, even as far as having Shuichi find the door in the library.

2) The mastermind is among the dead - someone Kokichi never got a chance to ‘read’. The best candidates for that would be Rantaro and Kaede. Rantaro would be the almost too obvious choice, between his memory loss, the video where he tells himself ‘you wanted this’, and his general intelligence and knowledge of the proceedings - and, hell, his lab door. Alternatively, this would be a good way to bring Kaede back into the game - we did see a shot of her wearing that helmet too, and also it would be nice to see her again tbh

I just... don’t think this is the case though. Not only because we’ve done that with Junko already, though that’s a bit one, but because everything was set for DR1′s twist from the beginning - 15 students and 16 stands, the ‘odd one out’ murder aka Mukuro, etc. Rantaro’s video is certainly hinting at something, but I’d be shocked if it was leading to his reveal as the mastermind.

DEBUNKED :( 3) The mastermind doesn’t have their memory. Now, we’ve already done this with SDR2 so I really, highly doubt this is the case but if it is this way the best choice would be for it at this point in the game to be Maki. I mean, Shuichi would have been viable too... if he wasn’t the protagonist, because then we’d really be retreading old territory. Anyway, here’s the fun ‘what if’ for why Maki!mastermind could potentially work - it would really add onto Kaito and Kokichi’s conflict. Kokichi never liked Maki from the start, and antagonized her repeatedly - what if it was he sensed that potential in her? What if she was sent to infiltrate the mission by the cult and have everyone killed like this? And on Kaito’s side, he spends big chunks of the game trying to redeem her. What if it worked? What if it turned out that both Kaito and Kokichi were right, as a follow-up to this chapter where they both set aside their differences and work with each other (and, well, are killed by Maki). What if Kaito turned someone who had the capability to set up this game into someone that wouldn’t? There’s so ground that could be covered in this direction - I mean, I doubt it’s true which is why I said from the getgo that I highly doubt it’s the case, but it would be a fantastic reason to have highlighted her character so much and really give depth to, well, ‘tsundere assassin learns to love’. I could go on about this tbh...

4) The one I’ve been partial to for a while now... the mastermind is someone who specializes in lying. In putting on a mask. In breathing life into a persona, inhabiting it, becoming it, until it’s indistinguishable from their own identity - perhaps becomes their identity in those moments, to the point that Kokichi wouldn’t be able to realize they were lying. Oh, Kokichi was incredibly adept at it, sure - but he was recognized for his leadership skills, as unorthodox as they may have been. There’s someone else still alive, however, whose talent addresses the concept of ‘becoming another person’ has not been showcased much if at all to this point.

now mind you other than the proclivity for cults shown in chapter 3 and references to escapism, I still haven’t gotten a proper motive in mind but at all but hopefully that’ll come next chapter??? anyway I’m getting distracted again

kokichi has the heart of a gamer

You just know that’s Kokichi’s game face. I mean, Kaito has his ‘optimistic!’ face on right now to give him the strength to face his own execution - maybe this is Kokichi’s way of comforting himself too?

THAT MUSIC CUT!!!

“ALSO HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THAT WITH YOUR EXPRESSION, IT’S JUST THE TWO OF US, CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME BEFORE YOU DIE -”

Could it have worked the other way around? If Kaito let himself die, Kokichi pretended to be Kaito in the exisal and it was left decide whether ‘Kaito’ mercy-killed ‘Kokichi’ via the press or if he died by poison first, would that have been viable? Probably not as effectively... it would be a lot easier for them to believe Kokichi was pretending to be Kaito, less believable that Kaito wouldn’t show himself in the exisal, and a whole host of other factors. Maybe not, then.

And of course Kaito asked Kokichi that, because if he’s going to be committing to a plan this wild he needs some assurance.

Then there have to be people alive, right??? But they saw the burning ruins around them when they tried to leave, and even collapsed because of the air quality - so what, did they crash land in an area that was wiped out or something? But there are still places where people are alive?

It was a test, then.

... Gonta... has to have been a heavy weight on his conscience. I think we can officially say his breakdown over him was real if he would go so far as to try and end the killing game like this - and if Gonta was a necessary sacrifice, it was one Kokichi was pushed to make when he had few options left.

I think the chess analogies I’ve been associating with him are accurate at this point, and it would even be fair to say that if you were to think about Kokichi’s strategic thought process, the allusions are almost necessary - the whole game is about exchanging pieces in order to get a more powerful position on the board and eventually corner the ‘king’, and at some point Kokichi looked at the board and his available moves, as well as the ‘piece’ Miu Iruma putting him in a ‘check’ position, and realized that his only option was to intercept her with ‘piece’ Gonta. I also like using chess here too because there’s duality in that too - there’s the side of Miu that Kokichi can and clearly did use for his strategies, and the side that the mastermind used by way of motive.

Ah, and of course I’d be remiss to not mention that Yu-Gi-Oh! the card game works well too here (hell, it comes up in his FTE) even though it’s less accessible; it’s a game where more powerful moves require sacrificing lower level ‘monsters’, and there’s a literal graveyard they’re sent to. Also, unlike chess, playing from the graveyard is a legitimate strategy in YGO . I’m sure, especially after this trial, Kokichi can relate to that strategy in particular.

Or maybe as they’re suddenly starting to imply it’s more like the ‘Black Book Club’ ala YYH? There must be people alive then, right? ... So maybe... people who survived through unscrupulous means and sheer force of wealth and need some sort of entertainment??? They remembered being kidnapped at the beginning of everything, right? Were they intercepted before the gopher project had a chance to play out and now they’re being kept in an isolated facility somewhere meant to replicate the ship, but it actually isn’t the ship at all? Wait, when did I start wearing a tinfoil hat - ?!

Kaito is defending Kokichi, everything is right in the world

Shuichi: Please don’t redirect the spotlight at me - ah, shit shit damn it shit

“It’s just like Kokichi said!”

mm thank you game, keep feeding me merci beaucoup

Himiko just gobbles up any bit of positive attention thrown her way with the obvious and incredibly glaring exception of Tenko??? man I really need to do her FTEs or something - does she just not know how to handle straight-up affection or -

i n h a l e s

KOKICHI OUMA

IS NOT

A REMNANT OF DESPAIR!!!!

K1-B0 YOU’RE KILLING ME HERE!!!

This just makes me wonder if betting and big money in general is wrapped up in all of this. “Who is the mastermind? Now gentlemen, place your bets before the reveal!”

MAKI IT’S THAT ATTITUDE THAT GOT US IN THIS SITUATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

tsun

dude he found a way to save Maki and potentially stop the game, I would hardly call it ‘evil’.

“I mean, I was hoping we could cut straight to the chase, but you’re actually a decent guy at the end of the day, and unlike most of the rest of the class don’t actually want me dead. Damn it.”

Fucking hell, between the music and his faces it so so easy to frame him as eeeeviiil!!! And yet just looking at the text in isolation, it reads:

“But are you sure you’re okay with that? Because if this poison kills me, then Maki would become the blackened. And her crime would be exposed so easily.

If that happened, then Maki and I would’ve died for no reason, right? Which is just what the true mastermind expects...”

And yeah sure it still has a bit of an edge to it, but it’s way more ambiguous when presented outside of his “Supreme Leader” aura which apparently can warp both his face and music.

Kaito is still trying to filter this through his ‘hero vs villain’ narrative, bless his heart. Either that or this is a heavily edited version of events - it would be interesting, even if it’s unlikely, if we found out that Kokichi made Kaito promise to tell everyone a different story than what really happened in the event of being found out.

There are gears turning in Kaito��s head right now, you can’t tell me there aren’t.

even if some of them are just him thinking ‘no seriously how are you doing that with your face’

NO!!! NO ‘D’ WORDS IN THIS HOUSEHOLD!!!

FUCK I want to have a montage of Kokichi doing incredibly kind-hearted and generous things and just doing his damnedest to spin it all in the most scary, ominous way possible!

“To answer your question, it’s really hard for me to hold my face in these expressions and the muscle spasms beginning to wrack my body are making it that much harder.”

But you can see shades of yourself in him, can’t you? That’s the scary part. Their goals aligned. This whole time, they’ve just wanted to help their classmates survive. They assigned themselves bombastic personalities in order to take the pressure off of those left in the class and damn it, they both prepared themselves to die alone in order to make good on their wish to save everyone left. Kaito made references to Kaede’s last wish - I wonder if Kokichi took it to heart as well?

No you were, Kokichi! No you fucking weren’t! Fml I don’t know how much solace that gives you at the end of the line, but...

Okay I nearly ended the post here as a tribute to Kokichi’s efforts but I have a rule of doing a single post-trial, pre-execution post and I must resist that urge -

LMAO IS THAT WHAT YOU GOT OUT OF THE EXCHANGE

I-It’s going to take you a while to warm up to the idea of ‘Kokichi actually wasn’t the dick he pretended to be’ huh. 8′D

OH REALLY

IT WASN’T BECAUSE OF MAKI OR ANYONE ELSE

IT WAS BECAUSE YOU TWO AGREED ON SOMETHING

SO YOU WEREN’T ULTIMATELY BLACKMAILED OR COERCED INTO THIS, EVEN IF THAT’S WHAT GOT YOU LISTENING INITIALLY

YOU CHOSE TO DO THIS FOR THE GREATER GOAL OF RUINING THE GAME

just. just want to make sure that point was clear for myself. Seems like it’s important characterization-wise, that’s all.

This seems like a good time to note that I am 99% sure Kaito had those swirly despair!eyes DR is known for in the last image with him coughing up blood. That was definitely the turning point for the chapter.

Also, Kokichi didn’t just swallow his pride - Kaito did too. He’s wanted to be the hero who swooped in to save the day for how long??? And here he is, admitting that this was fully Kokichi’s plan, and acknowledging that Kokichi was correct in a lot of ways even if he didn’t agree with him on everything. Beautiful.

nO IS IT FINALLY HAPPENING WE’RE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THIS NOW

‘THAT WAS A LIE.’

OKAY THAT’S IT, WRAP IT UP FOLKS, WE’RE DONE HERE.

“Ha ha yeah I could probably drop dead at any moment tbh ha ha why are you giving me those looks huh ha ha ha hrk -”

I’m guessing the medical exam took place before all of these events happened. But wasn’t the whole point of selecting these guys that they were immune or something??? I mean clearly it wasn’t true - I guess it was dormant or - ?!

... which Monokuma then brings up himself. Cool, thanks.

How dare you say that so cheerfully. >:(

L M A O

he’s so bloody casual about the whole thing

I mean I get that it’s because he’s come to terms with dying but

damn it Kaito

A chance to end the killing game and save everyone, knowing he was on his way out either way, and a way to save Maki specifically - it really was the perfect storm, huh?

Well damn it I know it’s implying this all happened after Kokichi died, but the idea of Kaito visibly fangirling over the plan in front of Kokichi, giving him a bit of external validation for the first and last time since his miserable life started here, makes me feel a little better. If nothing else, he would have at least felt good about the chances of success before he died.

FUCKING DAMN IT IT’S LIKE KAITO LINED UP HIS DIALOGUE STRAIGHT AT MY HEART AND PULLED THE TRIGGER

MERCILESS

DAMN YOU KAITO I SEE THAT SMILE YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU’RE DOING

my BOYFRIEND

I’m not sure if he’s trying to comfort Shuichi after messing up Kokichi’s plan or not but if he is, he’s incredibly good at it.

Was it????

again, more praise for him -

Kokichi, beyond the grave: NO YOU DUMBASS I GAVE MY LIFE SO YOU COULD END IT IN A SINGLE TRIAL as soon as you join me in the afterlife I am going to KICK YOUR ASS -

AIBOU

Oh you big hypocrite. Wait - no - let me check -

*takes off shipping glasses*

Nope, I still don’t buy it. Kaito has a tendency to go to an extreme with his words - he’s shown that time and time again. The fact that he’s already started layering praise on Kokichi at this point - that means something. The idea of him as a whole still rankles Kaito and he still has their clashing viewpoints and outlooks on life to work through, but his opinion on him has already turned so much at this point. If he had more time to think on it, I bet it would change that much further. And again - pointing to that love hotel scene - Kaito loves a challenge, and people that challenge him. Kokichi was a fantastic rival for him, and the fact that he knows now that he never meant any true harm to them is important. He also hasn’t been given a chance to really digest the importance of everything Kokichi revealed to him - he basically got the script and plan thrusted into his hands, spent whatever time he wasn’t sleeping and recuperating studying it and preparing for the trial, and now, well, we’re here. Kaito has been shown to be very good at reevaluating people once he’s cooled off, and he hasn’t had a chance to really do that!

.... If only he had more time to reflect. 8c

!!!!! g o d ........

The darkened face sprite...

Insert Himiko parallel here.

WELL COOL THAT WAS PRETTY UNAMBIGUOUS

“NO DAMN IT! I HAVE MY ROCK-SOLID VIEW ON HIM! STOP MAKING HIM LOOK SYMPATHETIC!”

If you really thought that, would you really share those words with everyone? In fact, just the fact that you said that in reference to being a ‘lying sack of shit’ in regards to his supposed feelings during the game and acting like everything happening was fun - that, uh, kinda speaks for itself!

Thank you K1-b0!!! I officially forgive you for calling Kokichi a Remnant of Despair again.

don’t you pull this shit on me game

just because you have the class split down the middle doesn’t mean you can pull the wool over my eyes

WAS HE.... THOUGH....

No seriously, what an odd thing to say. I... I don’t know what to make of it. Do actions not speak louder than words? Am I the crazy one here??

!!!!!!!

HE’S ACTING ON HIS CLAIM OF ‘COMMUNICATION BEING IMPORTANT’ AAAAAH

OH MY GOD WHAT AN EXCELLENT APOLOGY

Seriously I could probably learn a thing or two from it, damn.

Chapter 5′s entire mission is to make me cry, I see, I see.

Even now, three chapters later, I am still incredibly impressed by that move on Kaito’s part. He just knew exactly how to alleviate the pressure Shuichi was under.

?!?!

AH NO NOT COOL WHAT THE FUCK NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR HEARTFELT APOLOGY DAMN IT

as;dlkfj Kaito you and Kokichi are tied in having the most horrifying sprites in the game. Congratulations! You did win at something after all!

ANOTHER FUCK YOU FOR MAKING ME LAUGH WITH THAT ‘YOU SURE ARE, BUCKO!’ BULLSHIT

speaking of sprites that denote great terror!!

I-It really is the Kaede scene all over again D: including them being willing to fight Monokuma and Kaede/Kaito protesting!

I hope you do little man!!!

This was the strength Shuichi desperately wanted but didn’t have in chapter 1 - and man oh man it’s nice to see him showing it now, in full force!

but as usual Monokuma is off thinking about his own thing

DOES

THAT

ARE YOU SAYING WHAT I THINK YOU’RE SAYING

THAT YOU RECYCLED LIFE

THAT THESE GUYS ARE NOT JUST REPLACEABLE, BUT PERHAPS REPLACEMENTS

DID YOU RECYCLE MEMORIES AND TALENTS, PERHAPS -

oh NO APPARENTLY NOT DON’T YOU DO THIS

...........

Okay they all introduce themselves here but you know what? No. No. I’m not dignifying you guys with your opening screenshots even if I do love your theme song. sorry monodam I like you but I’m lumping you in with the rest of them

YOU ARE DEFINITELY MAKING SOME SORT OF STATEMENT ABOUT THE ACTUAL STUDENTS HERE

PERHAPS ABOUT HOW YOU GATHERED UP SOME NO NAME KIDS AND FORCED TALENTS, MEMORIES AND ABILITIES OF DEAD STUDENTS FOR SOME REASON, OR THAT YOU HIJACKED THE ORIGINAL PLANS OF PEOPLE WHO DID THAT

perhaps to make sure those that were immune to the virus were what humanity needed to survive or something???

I JUST -

I JUST DON’T KNOW IF I’M RIGHT ON MY CURRENT ASSUMPTION OR IF THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS I’M MISSING BECAUSE WHAT I’VE COME UP WITH FITS PRETTY WELL

oh jeez okay we’re making a direct comparison then - I guess that’s fair at this point of the game, but I guess I just wasn’t ready for it?

THAT’S. THAT LITERALLY GOES AGAINST THE WHOLE ‘EVERYONE IS DEAD’ THING. YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT?!

YOU’RE REALLY NOT

Except you. Only you. so basically the opposite of monokid. whatever i really don’t care about the kubs tbh

........ oh fuck

Sadly I’m on Kaito’s side in all of this.

It really did grow on her, huh. When was the last time anyone showed her any sort of affection outside of that ‘childhood friend’ hinted at in her FTEs? :(

I didn’t keep all of the interspersions of Kaito reacting in surprise to Maki’s statements but the fact that he didn’t realize his impact on her, that he was really getting through to her, is sad to me. Makes sense - the only indication he got that she was starting to respond to his ‘training’ was from Shuichi in the hangar bathroom scene, and then just a few hours later she busts in, completely throwing away everything he said about her being more than her talent, and basically acting as the mastermind’s weapon. It is incredibly interesting that he’s so shocked by all of her outbursts here - that he didn’t realize how much she actually cared about him.

Aaaah she’s crying D: Those sound clips, man...

And here’s the confession that was pretty much inevitable at this point.

For once Shuichi knew a matter of the heart before Kaito. That’s significant - in fact, it may actually say more about Kaito than Shuichi. You brag so much, but when it comes down to it, you really did underestimate the power your positivity had on people - or perhaps, more likely, your own self-confidence was shaken that badly in the last chapter?

Figures you’d only let us see you bleed is when you physically can’t hide it anymore and are actually about to drop dead.

KAITO UNDERSTANDS PEOPLE

INCREDIBLY WELL

AND KNOWS HOW TO SUPPORT THEM UNTIL THEY CAN STAND ON THEIR OWN

You - are you not going to address her confession at all??? omg I... I think Kaito may not feel the same way about her. Oh. oh jeez this is awkward...

Seriously though, what a smart way for him to take that confession and use it to help her. Whether he likes her back or not, it doesn’t matter - he won’t be around much longer anyway. What’s most important to him right now is that his friends will be okay when he’s gone - and in this moment, that they stand down and live.

I mean. Come on. He’s literally dripping blood from the mouth and smiling through it. Kaito, you’re absolutely ridiculous and I love you.

easy for you to say, you can’t see yourself right now

whatever Kaito you can’t fucking stop me I’m on the other side of the screen

WHOA DAMN WHERE DID THOSE COME FROM

Wait, that’s a reference to Ishimaru, right? Uh, Ishida?

.... does that mean this is him speaking for both him and Kokichi right now???

“Like I did. Like Kokichi did. Learn from us. Grow in our absence. Thrive. And take that sonuvabitch down.”

YES ONE LAST SAIMOTA BRO-TALK FOR THE ROAD!!!

OH GOD OKAY SPEAKING OF THINGS ‘FOR THE ROAD’, ANOTHER DEPRESSING SPRITE

Man, you just weren’t ready for this game at all. Physically you were stronger than everyone else, but mentally...

And just like that, he backs down. There’s probably some pretty valid criticism levelled at Kaito about being persistent and not always taking ‘no’ for an answer, but he does when it’s most important to, I think. And he knows to back down here because damn it, she needs to get this out of her system.

You’re not just some hero, Kaito, and that’s okay - you’re not some larger than life Ultimate Astronaut, Luminary of the Stars, just as Shuichi isn’t just the Ultimate Detective and Maki isn’t just the Ultimate Assassin -

You’re Kaito Momota, Shuichi and Maki’s friend. <3

THE FIRE IS BACK!!!

YOU TELL HIM, MY MAN!

Just so you know, when I played this through initially I just. I just paused the game a few screenshots before this because it was late and FUCK THIS SHIT I’M NOT WATCHING HIM DIE BEFORE I SLEEP TONIGHT

not sure if delaying the inevitable was any better but anyway, that’s where my head was at. I was incredibly Not Ready either way.

THIS IS ALREADY INCREDIBLY ‘NOPE’

NOPE IS AN EMOTION RIGHT

fuck it it is now

holy shit it’s the execution that started the whole series off

Also I’m mad about how pretty the whole thing is. Is that the planetarium that we can use as a gift???

Nice new threads, Monokuma.

NO HE’S ALREADY IN SO MUCH VISIBLE PAIN THIS IS NOT COOL AT ALL

NO FUCK YOU

I KNOW I SHOULD BE IN AWE OF THE CALLBACK BUT NO

Usually these are ironic though??? His whole thing is about how he wants to go to space, though I suppose the irony of being killed with what you love always fits like it did with the others...

OH FUCK YOU AGAIN

I didn’t notice it until I looked at this still, but aren’t those the headmaster’s bones???

HE’S COUGHING THE WHOLE TIME.... FFF

I-Is he still alive at this point??? The headmaster was reduced to bones at some point during the trip, right???

!!!!!!

HE’S TRYING SO HARD TO CLING TO LIFE...

KAITO!!!

KAITO, YOU MADE IT!!!!

oh god he

he smiled... for just a moment....

Kaito, on his way to hell, at Monokuma: ╭∩╮(︶︿︶)╭∩╮

OH COOL HE DIED SMILING

I’M DEFINITELY NOT CRYING OR ANYTHING

He died amongst the stars....

Wait so does that mean they didn’t see any of this happen??? Or was it projected on a TV for them or something -

oh jeez -

WAIT HOLD ON WTF?!

OI NO COLLATERAL DAMAGE ALLOWED!!!

AHOGE DOWN, AHOGE DOWN?!?!

Despite the smiling, despite him finally reaching space, there ultimately isn’t any happiness be found in death. He never wanted to go out like this. :(

GOOD FUCK YOU MONOKUMA

#Ryou plays drv3 #Kaito Momota #Kokichi Ouma #Shuichi Saihara #Maki Harukawa #Himiko Yumeno #Tsumugi Shirogane #cool! cool cool cool cool cool i'm totally okay i'm totally okay #ha .... hahahaha ha......#jajajajaja skdljfsd #K1-b0 #Keebo #Kiibo #spoilers #drv3 spoilers #Kokichi Oma

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supernatural-firstwatch · 7 years ago

Text

Season 5 Episode 5: Fallen Idols

I’ve had a BUSY weekend! I almost skipped out on watching any SPN episodes this weekend, but I figured I might have time just for one episode. My reward for #adulting (starting my taxes). Here we go!

- AAAAAAAH!!!!! IT’S PAUL MCCMILLION!!!!!! CARSON BECKETT FROM STARGATE ATLANTIS!!!!!!! Have you noticed the trend that like, every SG-1 and SGA actor has been on SPN? CARSON I LOVE YOU!!!! But no Scottish brogue in SPN???? Sad. I liked his brogue.

- Uh huh. Dude that bought the car (not Beckett/Jim) is breathing out cold air. There’s a ghost somewhere!!! I hope Beckett/Jim doesn’t die... Also, YAY! Back to ghosts! Not gonna lie, I’m getting a little tired of all demons all the time. Well, that was gruesome. But Beckett appears to still be alive!

- Dean’s right. After all the shit that they’ve been through, they need to ease back into the hunting and learn how to be a team again. They’ve been out of synch since Dean died and went to hell. Well, actually, I think they’ve really been out of synch since Sam died and Dean traded his soul for him.

- OMG! Paris Hilton is guest starring in this episode??? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!

- LOL! I love that Dean knows about “Little Bastard.” He knows all pop trivia and Sam knows all literary/geeky trivia :) :) I feel like if they ever entered a bar trivia they would wipe the floor.

- LOOOOOL!!!!! Dean talking to the car is just hilarious. “Ok baby. I’m not going to hurt you. So, don’t hurt me.” HAHAHAHA!!! “Don’t do anything. Just go away. In fact, don’t speak. She might not like it.” Awh, that’s unfortunate. Not the real “Little Bastard.”

- WTF? It’s a fake ghost Lincoln? Is it going to be Lincoln vampire hunter? With an axe? Awh, it was a gunshot wound.

- Heeey!!!! Sam’s Spanish is pretty good. Makes sense since he went to Palo Alto for school and CA has a high number of Spanish speaking people. He’s bound to have picked it up or learned it. Also, I totally see Sam as someone who’d want to become a public defender, and you have GOT to know Spanish for that job in CA. He likely took Spanish classes in college. OH! LOOK AT THAT! HE DID!!! FRESHMAN SPANISH!!! He probably took way more than just that. NEW HEADCANON AND YOU’LL HAVE TO PRY IT OUT OF MY COLD DEAD HANDS! SAM SPEAKS INTERMEDIATE TO FLUENT SPANISH!!!

- Huh, Dean got his own laptop now. At least this means he’ll stop stealing Sam’s to look at Asian beauty babes porn on his computer.... LOOOOL!!!! No he won’t. He’s a big brother. He’ll totally steal Sam’s computer to keep looking at porn. HAHAHAHA!!!! That’s what brothers do to each other.

- Aaaaah!!!! Ghost in the wax museum?

- DEAN!!!! You’re being an ass. That was a shitty thing to say and Sam heard it and you should FUCKING TALK ABOUT IT!!!! *sigh* Fuck, these boys. This is not the way you prevent Sam from saying “Yes.” You’re supposed to be working on being a family again.

- Sam is not in the mood for games now. Whatcha looking at on the Lincoln statute, Sammy? OH! GHOST IS IN THE HOUSE! Sam’s breahing out cold air! Wait, Sam’s gun was just ripped from his hands. Poltergeist? There’s Ghandi! I had a feeling, after Sam said that Ghandi was a great man earlier. LOL! Wax Ghandi is nimble! How was Dean able to open the door so easily when Sam couldn’t? Guess the ghost/poltergeist was too busy with Sam and not in holding the door closed?

- OH!!! THIS IS A GOOD CONVO!!!! “How long am I going to be on double-secret probation?” “Until I say so.” “Look. I know what I did, what I’ve done. And I am trying to climb out of that hole. I am. But you’re not making it any easier.” “So what, am I supposed to just let you off the hook?” “No. You can think whatever you want. I deserve it and worse. Hell, you’ll never punish me as much as I’m punishing myself. But the point is, if were gonna be a team, you and I, it has to be a two-way street.” “So we just go back to the way we were before?” “No, because we were never that way before. ‘Before’ didn’t work. How do you think we got here?” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Dean, one of the reasons I went off with Ruby... Was to get away from you.” “What?” “It made me feel strong, like I wasn’t your kid brother.” “Are you saying this is my fault?” “No. It’s MY fault. All I’m saying is that we’re gonna do this, we have to do it different. We can’t just fall into the same rut.” “What do you want me to do?” “You’re gonna have to let me grow up, for starters.”

Ok, so, this conversation is the ultimate perfect conversation. I feel so much for Sam in this conversation. I’m a younger sibling, and I can’t begin to count the number of times I have complained to my parents that my older brothers still treat me as if I were 5 or 10 years old. My own brother told me recently that he forgets that I’m not 15 years old anymore and that I am an adult. It’s so hard for older siblings to recognize that their younger siblings have grown up and don’t need to be coddled or controlled anymore. That they have independence and should be respected for their own knowledge and intelligence and be taken seriously. Dean has fallen pray to this problem, and it’s probably even harder for him to realize this and see Sam for the adult he is because of the way John raised them. Dean was ALWAYS the protector. His sole job growing up was to look out for Sammy, and as they grew up and Sam became more independent and head-strong, Sam likely felt stifled by both Dean and John. This is likely why he decided to go to college in the first place, because he needed breathing room to be himself. And their entire relationship since Season 1 Episode 1 has been Dean at the wheels dragging Sam along and treating him like a kid. They were never PARTNERS in the hunts, but always siblings. And that’s great, but to have a functioning work relationship, you have to have a functioning partnership. It doesn’t work if one person sets all the rules and calls all the shots, and ignores or shoots down the other person until the other person is proven right by the circumstances of the job. Dean needs to stop parenting Sam, and he needs to stop stifling Sam, and he needs to, well, trust Sam enough to let him grow. This is going to be really difficult for Dean, but I think Sam is right. If they’re going to make this work, Dean has to let Sam grow up, and that means trusting him when he shares his ideas instead of dismissing them, and trusting him more than he feels comfortable at the moment. Sorry, this speech really brought out the feels in me! THESE BOYS!!!!

- PARIS HILTON! LOL!

- Sam is getting really good at dissecting corpses. He’s always stuck with that job.

- They keep running into Pagan Gods... This is a set up for future seasons, isn’t it? I know there’s a season where a bunch of Gods show up, whatever that means.

- How is it a good idea to split up when Dean has the iron ax and Sam appears to have no weapons? Nice whistle. I can’t do whistles like that.

- HAHAHAHA!!!!! PARIS HILTON CAN PACK SOME (fake) PUNCHES!!!! I bet it was a hell of a lot of fun having her on the set :P OUCH!!!! She just cracked her heel on Dean’s FACE! How are they standing upright against the tree when they’re unconscious?

- EW! SAM! That was a lot of hacks at Paris Hilton! Your face is COVERED in blood! YEESH! Was that really necessary? LOL! Yep. Dean did just get whaled on by Paris Hilton. Except that it was really a God dressed as PH.

- AWWWWWH!!!! This episode is full of good convos between the brothers. “Hey listen, I was thinking about what you said yesterday. And me keeping too tight of a leash on you. Well, maybe you’re right. I mean, look, I’m not exactly Mr. Innocent in this whole mess, either. You know, I did break the first seal.” “You didn’t know.” “Yeah, well, neither did you. I’m not saying demon blood was a great way to go, but you did kill Lilith.” “And start the Apocalypse.” “Which neither of us saw coming. I mean, who woulda thought killing Lilith would’ve been a bad thing? Point is, I was so worried about watching your every move that I didn’t see what it was actually doing to you. So for that I’m sorry.”

- YES!!! DEAN IS LETTING SAM DRIVE!!! THAT IS SUCH A GREAT GESTURE AND METAPHOR AFTER THOSE TWO CONVERSATIONS!!! THIS was the fresh start. Right there!!! LOVED IT

#supernatural #sam winchester #dean winchester #season 5 #first time watching #fresh starts #neither of the brothers are blameless for the apocalypse #but they're working on it

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