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bwat5-blog · 16 days ago

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Vi's Ending

**Spoilers for all of Arcane**

I have written about and discussed Vi in significant detail. However it was pointed out to me recently that her ending is worth its own detailed discussion and I completely agree. For those who have been sticking with me on these, you already know Vi is my favorite character. She means a lot to me, as she does to many of you for various reasons. So before we dive in let me say this:

Vi is NOT the Jinx

Vi is NOT a bad sister

Vi did NOT get Jinx killed

I have written in great detail defending and explaining each of these points, and because of that I will not detail those here. But if you are interested I'd love for you to check out my other posts and share your thoughts! Ultimately I am just another fan, and I am really enjoying celebrating the achievement in story telling this show has become, and its legendary characters.

The End:

At the end of this story, we find Violet, sitting alone, drinking, humming powder's song from the very first moments of the show. She appears deeply in thought and is curled up on herself, only opening up when her beloved Caitlyn joins her. They share a tender moment where Caitlyn asks her if she is still in this fight, to which Vi responds "I am the dirt under your nails cupcake, nothings gonna clean me out" and lays her head on Caitlyn's shoulder allowing herself to relax as Caitlyn smiles softly looking into the fire. This seems to be our last look at the couple outside of the game if Riot is to be believed (money talks people, keep these characters popular and they may listen!), and it has understandably sparked reactions across the board. For myself, I found it bittersweet. Beautiful and hopeful in many ways, but recognizing the weight of what they have survived, and validating the healing they still need. I view it as Vi finally being on the road to peace, just not quite there yet.

The Heart of Zaun:

I have extensively detailed who Vi is in other posts and therefore will spare you the diatribe here. But to properly appreciate and understand why her ending was so meaningful we do have to understand who she is.

"You've got a good heart. Don't ever lose it, no matter how the world tries to break you"- Vander

Vi is not perfect. She impatient, quick to anger, stubborn beyond belief and impulsive. But these are things born of the dark and angry world she has been forced to survive in all her life. At her core, who is she really?

A Daughter

A Sister

A Warrior

A Guardian

What Vi proves time and time again throughout this story is that she is fiercely loyal, loving, and true. She is tough as nails and brave sure. But we also get these beautiful moments of fragility. Moments where her love, her fear and her hope bleed through the mask she keeps up showing us who she is beneath. Other lessons from Vander plays a major role in who she becomes as well:

"When people look up to you, you don't get to be selfish"

"Who are you willing to lose?"

-- Vander

Vi was already trying to care for the kids around her, and had at a young age been through so much trauma and loss. But as any teenager would, she still displayed a lack of understanding about the potential broader consequences of their actions. After her talks with Vander, almost every decision she makes she is trying to protect those she loves, or trying to atone when she feels she has fallen short. Her own happiness becomes her last priority in almost every situation. And her journey to overcome this, to learn that its okay for her to know tenderness, and peace, and love and that those things don't make her unworthy. This is Vi's inner journey.

She deserves the things she fights so hard to give the people she loves. I meant to re-blog it and hope I did, but another user pointed out something I have never considered. When she and Vander are talking on the bridge, and he gives here these lessons, what does she say is the reason she wants to fight? - that she grew up knowing she was less than, but she wants more for her little sister and will bleed to do it. Even at that young age, before experiencing so much of the pain she goes through, she doesn't see herself as deserving of that same defense as everyone else in her life... She believes is meant to be the shield, and never the shielded.. An inspiring and heroic notion on paper, heartbreaking to recognize in a teenage girl who is only just beginning in life.

Back To The End:

Okay, with that refresher lets return to Vi's ending. We see this beautiful, tender moment between Vi and the woman she loves. And sure, on the surface of the moment alone it appears your standard happy ending. Safe, warm, and in the company of the woman she loves. These are all undoubtedly good things. But context matters. No decision in this show, no plot point, no animation, no detail is accidental. So we need to account for the following factors:

They have just survived a truly terrifying battle which no matter the result in terms of life and death ,would be deeply traumatizing

She and the woman she loves have made it through together its true (thank god). On a purely physical level, Caitlyn's heroic willingness to sacrifice a part of her own body to achieve victory has left her forever changed. And Vi's body has become a tapestry of scars from a life time of sacrifice and struggle

Caitlyn and Vi's reconciliation is a controversial topic in the fandom. I feel that it was justified in terms of us being given the necessary pieces to believe it, but rushed (the whole season was). Like if I asked a student to show me his work on a math equation, he got the correct answer, but he could only show me the beginning of each step he took to solve it. Correct, but incomplete. All of that to say this, their scene in the jail cell was beautiful, and it was full of meaning far more than the spicy quality (although god damn who are we kidding), but we are talking about months of time apart, with both of them living through an extremely dark period, all precipitated by an extremely traumatic "breakup". I don't think it's unreasonable to assume they have more to work through and heal from regarding this issue, although thankfully their love for each other remains strong.

The death toll of this battle is seemingly enormous although we are not given an exact number. The impact of this is obvious. And although I agree his character was not perfectly utilized, I saw Loris as the face of the countless faceless citizens of Piltover and Zaun who died in this conflict. His death right in front of Vi happening so quickly, and brutally.

Vander.. Vi had to watch her adopted father die not once, not twice, but three times. The first time after saving her life, the second time after they seemed so close to saving his, and the third time with him very nearly killing her. I'm not a mental health professional but I don't think I need to be in order to suggest this may leave lasting emotional and mental scars on her

Jinx. Vi's crusade for her sister's soul begins the moment she steps out of Stillwater with Caitlyn. The relationship between Vi and Jinx is far too complex and detailed to cover in a bullet point like this, and is one of the pillars upon which this show came to be. I'm not getting into fault or blame or any of that right now, because what it comes down to is this. Vi loves Jinx and fought so.. so hard to BE her sister again. And finally, right at the end when it seems like they are finally going to be okay, she loses Jinx. again (not dead but Vi doesn't know that). And why? because Vi breaks at the sight at the sight of Vander's body and Jinx sacrifices herself to save her. Vi's breakdown is heartbreaking. It its understandable, its realistic, its painful and its human.. But after a life time punishing herself for how she feels she failed her sister.. it hurts to admit the truth that as things stand now, Vi will probably carry the guilt of Jinx's death for the rest of her life.

I know that is all so bleak, and so heavy. And it hurts because you want to see Vi happy. We want to see her and Jinx living as sisters catching up on the time that was stolen from them. We want to see a world where she and Caitlyn are energetic and happy and healed. We want to see Vi in some way acknowledge that in the end, Jinx's sacrifice was not because Vi failed her. It was because Jinx saw that her sister who had always loved and believed in her, needed her this time. That the woman who had always stood for those she loved needed someone to stand for her. So Jinx became the shield Vi never believed she deserved.

That Vi is a bad-ass is never in dispute. We see her fight countless times in defense of those she loves, and do so quite well. Her journey is not to find her strength. It is to recognize that she is worth more than that. She deserves more. And our hope for her is born of the changes we see. As her relationship with Caitlyn evolves, and she sees her belief in her sister finally validated, She comes to understand she has more to offer than the strength of her arms.

Her relationship with Caitlyn: Their love story is so amazing, and complex, and layered. It is far too much to cover as a bullet point in another post like this and I do intend to deep-dive it soon. But in terms of this discussion, I want to stay this. That Vi and Caitlyn have their ups and downs is obvious. Its not that every moment of their time together is an unending parade of joy and romance, that would be not only bad story telling but not realistic. But the best romantic partners are those people who can fall into the flames together and walk out not untouched, but re-forged into something stronger. These two women are a great example of this. There are many important moments in their relationship that greatly effect Vi, but I am going to focus on just one:

Caitlyn Finds Vi in Jinx's Cell:

As I mentioned previously, this scene is so important for so many reasons. For our purposes, we need to remember what leads up to it. Vi immediately goes to rescue Jinx after confronting Caitlyn over her imprisonment, only for Jinx to stun her and leave her in the cell herself (there is so much context and meaning here in terms of Jinx and Vi/Jinx but we are focusing on Caitlyn right now). Then Caitlyn finds her. Alone. In the cell of the woman who killed her mother. Now there are a lot of ways this could go and Vi is clearly expecting the worst. She laments that she always chooses wrong trusting and believing in Jinx, and that this time its cost her everything. Her sister is gone. She assumes Caitlyn will be enraged, and not to mention she is in this incredibly vulnerable state, in a jail cell, after surviving seven years of false imprisonment that started when she was still in her teens. But it doesn't go how she expects.

"Sorry to say, you've grown a bit predictable"

Vi believes that this part of her, this emotional, trusting, vulnerable part of her is always wrong. But Caitlyn reveals just how much she knows that part of Vi. And not only knows, but accepts it, predicted it, and even stepped in to help the woman she loves, putting aside her own hate and bitterness. Its a powerful moment. It shows Vi just how much she is worth to Caitlyn, and it has nothing to do with her fists. Just her heart. And Vi's response to this revelation shows us maybe the first time in the entire story, where given this tiny seed of evidence that she may deserve to be happy, she chooses to let herself be. Right there in that cell with Caitlyn.

Her Relationship With Jinx:

Like Caitlyn, this relationship could only be explored properly through it's own deep dive. So again, I am going to focus on a single moment between these two as evidence of Vi hard earned affirmation of her refusal to quit on those she loves. When Vi goes to break Jinx out of jail, Jinx stuns her and escapes instead, leaving her locked inside. As Vi panics for her sister, Jinx walks away, pleading with Vi to let herself be happy, and to stop looking for her. This of course leads to the incident we just mentioned in which Vi claims she always chooses wrong in trusting her sister. "I really thought she'd help" Vi says to Caitlyn about her sister when Cait arrives. And how does her belief in her sister shake out? Jinx rides in on a war balloon at the head of an under city army, and saves the day... and then later on, saves Vi's very life at what seems to be (We know better) the expense of her own. Vi was right about her sister all along.. its just that some lessons are hard won indeed..

Conclusion:

Vi is an amazing character who has quite frankly, earned her rest. And that's what the end of the show is sharing with us. Vi is warrior. She has fought, and bled, and lost so much, but she has endured. Through her two most important relationships in her life she has found the road to the recovery from the many, many wounds her existence has left on her, and they are still wounds that need healing. There is grief, and pain, and guilt still dwelling in her. But we have seen the seeds of her self-worth beginning to bloom and it is in them that we place our hope for Vi. Because she has an inkling that what Vander told her, the same thing the woman she loves noticed within hours of of meeting her, and the same reason Jinx knew Vi would never give up on her, has always been a far greater power than her ability to do violence.

#vi arcane #vi and jinx #caitvi #arcane season 2 spoilers #arcane season 1 #arcane

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hezuart · 1 year ago

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LITTLE NIGHTMARES 3

aaaaaaAAAAAA

DANG OKAy

So I had a premonition for Little Nightmares 3. Last night I had a dream that Mono was just growing old in a tower he chose to stay in as a hermit and just retired there. The runaway kid's real name was revealed to be "Gilbert" and he summoned UFOs that performed a wicked cool airshow over the sea, but then the USA government shot them down and captured them for experimentation. The government was also after a bunch of super powered teenagers and children. They all swam away and tried to escape. Six was amongst them. One of the teenagers took a liking to Six and used her powers to change Six's (super long???) hair a bright red. It was then revealed the government figurehead in charge of the capture raid was Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. I should also mention every single person including the kids in my dream looked like they were from the Lorax movie. Like imagine Little Nightmares but all Onceler style. I woke up to several dozen messages of Little Nightmares 3 trailer and well... I'm very relieved it's nothing like my dream.

~~~

Anyway! I had very low, negative expectations for LN3. I didn't think it would ever come out, and if it did, it wouldn't be the same. I am SO glad to be wrong. This developer apparently also worked on Little Nightmares 2, so they had a feel for the story, concepts, atmosphere, and gameplay. Little Nightmares 3 trailer doesn't give us a ton to work with, but I see high inspiration from previously unused concepts. Like the crows and mirrors in the Little Nightmares comics, and the giant baby from Little Nightmares 2 concept art.

The crow boy looks as though he can go through mirrors and technically fly with a black-feathered umbrella he uses to float. The girl has a wrench, and at first, I thought she was wearing an ugly gas mask, but it's apparently an old-fashioned pilot hat. So I touched it up in my drawing to make it look more recognizable... and cute. Already their designs are very intriguing. Can't tell what the full story is about, but they're new characters in a new setting, I'm very excited to see the world get expanded!

It's still a somewhat different style and atmosphere to the previous two games, but this developer really seemed like they paid attention and made it as authentic as they possibly could, and for that I am so grateful, I respect them so much. I am now changed! I've got a hopeful and optimistic mindset for the future of this series.

ESPECIALLY AFTER LEARNING IT'S ACTUALLY GONNA BE CO-OP. HELLO?!

WHO WANTS TO DROP ME OFF A CLIFF?? LETS DO IT

#little nightmares #little nightmares 3 #LN3 #i hope we discover their names soon

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maxdibert · 2 months ago

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How can you reconcile being a fan of Snape and defending him so much, while also knowing about the terrible attitude he has as an adult toward his students? This isn’t a malicious question,I’m genuinely curious

I don’t justify Severus’ behavior, I simply understand it. And it’s not for the typical reasons like Harry being a copy of James, or Neville being clumsy, or Hermione being insufferable in class, or just because he can’t stand kids. I understand it because, in my view, Severus is still very much a child.

Take Sirius, for example. We can all see that being locked up in Azkaban for so many years essentially froze his life at a young age, so even though he’s old enough to have grey hairs down there, he still acts like a childish, immature person a lot of the time. And well, that’s exactly what Sirius is—an immature kid. He never had the opportunity to have experiences or grow throughout his twenties. Maturity doesn’t come with age alone but through everything we go through during that time and the experiences that shape us. Without those experiences, there’s nothing to build on.

Severus’ case is different from Sirius’, but it also stems from a lack of maturity and the inability to grow. Severus was a victim of violence from childhood, and that violence didn’t end—it continued throughout his school years. After all that torment, instead of leaving Hogwarts, telling everyone to screw off, and starting a new life where he could rebuild emotionally, he ends up trapped in the same school, playing a role to maintain his cover with pureblood families and burdened with having practically sold his soul to Dumbledore. He has no space to heal, no tools to work through his traumas, and no safe, healthy environment to grow into an adult. Severus is stuck in his adolescence, haunted by his past, his traumas, and totally incapable of managing his most visceral emotions. Sure, he’s great at faking it, acting indifferent, and wearing a mask to hide what’s going on inside. But just because he’s good at repressing doesn’t mean he’s good at managing his emotions, because in that regard, he fails completely. I mean, there are so many moments throughout the saga where Severus gets triggered, and every time it happens, his serious, unflappable façade crumbles, and he acts like a kid throwing a tantrum, someone with unresolved anger issues. That’s when you see that, deep down, he doesn’t know how to handle himself, which makes sense because he never had the chance to do so. We’re talking about an abuse victim who, instead of processing and exorcising his demons, had to lock them away and throw away the key—literally the last thing you should do when dealing with trauma.

What I’m getting at is that, on one hand, it’s reasonable to expect an adult to act like an adult. But on the other hand, as I grew older, went through years of therapy, and worked with people who come from messed-up backgrounds and have lived through terrible things, when I revisited the series and saw certain scenes where Severus is being an absolute jerk to his students, I didn’t just see an adult acting out. I saw the teenager he once was, insecure, feeling worthless, scared in the hallways. And now, for the first time, he’s in a position of power where he can say what he thinks and lash out without consequences. It’s not an adult acting here—it’s a kid who never grew up, trying to have the moment of glory he never had. It’s incredibly childish. And I have to say, I really like this aspect of his character because it’s so consistent with his backstory, even though it’s clearly irresponsible and abusive.

Severus shouldn’t be a teacher because someone who hasn’t matured, grown, or healed can’t be a role model, nor do they have the tools to properly handle situations where it’s so easy to project their insecurities and abuse their authority to compensate for their own shortcomings. But we can’t really expect anything else from him—if he were a well-adjusted adult, it would make him an unrealistic character. It’s impossible for someone with his background, without professional help and many years of personal work, to function properly in an environment like that.

#harry potter meta #severus snape #pro severus snape #severus snape defense #severus snape fandom #snapedom #growing ass childs are my faves #sorry not sorry

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kiss-me-muchoo · 6 months ago

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𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦 || 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐎’𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

part one: here || part two: to be close to you

summary_ just when you are about to confess your feelings for your best friend Miguel O’Hara, life reunites him with his almost fiancé, Dana.

warnings_ age gap (8/9 years), angst, jealousy, dramaaaaaa

authors note_ listen to June Gloom, The Archer and Ride (all in my Miguel playlist)

♪ ♫ My Miguel O’Hara playlist ✰ Index (+ fics here)

𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ 𓆇🕸️𓆸⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ 𓆇🕸️𓆸⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ 𓆇🕸️𓆸

Usually, feelings develop with a determined amount of time. It wasn’t your intention to end up blossoming confusing emotions for your best friend.

It wasn’t the case when you met him. Miguel O’Hara appeared in your dimension, he recruited you with such stubbornness, letting you know he didn’t want to ask you to join his organization.

You met the best version of him. Reserved but calmer than before. According to your friends, Miguel wasn’t very approachable due to losing his kid when a dimension collapsed. You met him months after the Miles incident. And he became your best friend.

Someone taps your shoulder and when you turn around, you encounter Miles and Peter B. Parker. They found you sitting on one of the balconies of the HQ.

“Hey, ¿What are you two doing here so early? ¿And Mayday?” you ask smiling at them. Miles is devouring a burger from the cafeteria and Peter is drying his hair with a random towel, indicating he has taken a shower.

“Miguel needed us for a specific mission. And he is looking for you…” Peter says very concentrated on drying up his hair.

“Oh, then let’s go…” As you stand up, Miles finishes his empanada and the three of you start walking towards Miguel’s office.

“I left Mayday with her lovely mother. She’s getting her ears pierced today and honestly, I didn’t want to go with them. I can’t see my baby crying” Peter says pouting. You love him so much, every one of your friends was so special to you. But Peter was the first spider to help you get around. Miguel was a distant mentor, and you felt slightly lonely. Now it wasn’t the case anymore.

“She’s a spider, Peter. Mayday won’t even feel the needle. She’ll be alright…” you pat his shoulder.

“Yeah, just give her something to chew and she’s gone” Miles adds, making you giggle.

The three of you enter Miguel’s office. Inside there is already Jess, Ben, Gwen, Margo Pav, and Hobie. Miguel spots you and gives you a tiny smile, greeting you, to which you reply.

“Well, now that we’re all here, we can begin. There’s a lizard that broke out of our facilities last night…” Miguel starts saying, displaying a hologram of the lizard that shined in a bright neon orange color.

“Before it was sent to the go-home machine, it was gone. Somehow, the thing managed to land at earth-00001” You frown, Miguel notices and starts nodding. That was a dimension you’ve never heard of.

“Yes, y/n, we haven’t been to that dimension. And according to our records, it’s empty, there’s no humans nor creatures, just flora, and fawn” Immediately, everyone grows interested.

“Now, get ready, we’ll pay a visit” Jess finalizes. Handing special glasses and face masks; new innovations across the HQ in case the dimensions visited had toxic oxygen or so.

“I bet it’s going to be an apocalyptic dimension,” Margo says.

“No, it must be a desert land” Miles differs.

“Maybe it’s going to be out of the Paleozoic period” You can’t help but giggle at their theories. Meanwhile, Miguel sneaks behind you, your spider senses tingle but before you can even turn around, you already feel a couple of giant hands rubbing your back. You know it’s your best friend.

“Tell them to shut up, muñeca” he whispers in your ear. You laugh even harder. There’s this strong urge to turn around and kiss his cheek, but best friends don’t do that.

“Nah, I’m curious too” he grunts annoyed.

“We leave in five, get ready, kids,” Miguel says to the teenagers, then gives a little squeeze to your waist and quietly leaves to lead the mission with Jess.

Out of nowhere, Hobie joins and stands beside you, giving you a strong teasing face.

“What?” You ask, crossing your arms.

“Oh, nothin’, just seeing how you won’t admit your feelings, luv” Your face almost goes pale. Only Hobie, Peter, and Miles knew you had some feelings for Miguel.

“I don’t know when it’ll be a good moment to tell him” Hobie nods.

“It’ll never be a good moment…” you nod, knowing he’s right.

“That man feels somethin’ too for sure”

Before you can say something else, Jess calls everyone one last time. And you are the first person to go inside the portal to the unknown land.

…

“Well, I wasn’t expecting this” Miles said.

When all of you arrived, the neon lizard was dead.

“Let’s admit this is funny,” Hobie says, a naughty smirk on his face. You nod laughing, Peter joining.

Apparently, the lizard couldn’t resist the humidity of the planet, for humans with spider abilities, it was perfect.

“Stop laughing all of you,” Miguel says, kneeling, grabbing the corpse of the lizard.

But when he sees you, he smiles. You know it’s the smile he gives you to say you’ll be in trouble when it’s just you two alone.

Flashbacks of the night of his birthday when you made a little party for him. Everyone was in the living room dancing and having a great time. But you, Miguel, and the alcohol consumption made a hazy moment of intense make-out. You barely remember the way he kissed you and how his hands sneaked across your hips. But it was clear, it happened. And neither decided to address it.

“Lyla, one last scan of the place, please…” the AI appears.

“No more anomalies detected, the whole planet is empty and breathable for you guys”

“Awesome, let’s make a party here,” Gwen says.

“What?” Jess asks shocked. Your eyes analyze the land. It’s humid, yes. There are palms with coconuts that fall due to the weight. The water is very aquamarine and just by touching the sand, it’s warm.

“Yeah, let’s have a party here” You support her.

“I don’t think so, bonita,” Miguel tells you.

“Why not? We always spend New Year’s Eve with Miles, thanksgiving with me, and Valentine's Day with Peter” Peter nods, leaning on your shoulder.

“Yes, Why not, Miguel?” The tallest man rolls his eyes, Jess starts saying it’s not possible and the scene turns into chaos.

Everyone is arguing and you join for some minutes, but then you look at your best friend. He was quiet, away from the little crowd.

You take the moment to go with Miguel. He notices your presence but keeps looking lost.

“Why are you so stressed out?” You ask, poking his ribs. He looks down at you and chuckles.

“You remember I told you about Dana?” Of course, you remember the woman. She was the woman Miguel was planning to make his wife. But she was problematic and left.

“There’s an issue growing in Nueva York. My Kingpin is creating a guild to sell weapons and stuff. Dana knows some things and came to tell me. I… wasn’t expecting her to re-enter into my life again.”

“She doesn’t have to re-enter your life if you don’t want to” you say. His jaw is very sharp and you get lost in the noticeable line of his features.

“But, she wants to be my friend and… I guess we can try to be friends again” he says. You listened in detail to everything he said. An odd feeling that shouldn’t have developed so fast, grew inside of you.

“That’s great… if she came back claiming peace, then it’s fine, Miguel.” He nods.

“Thanks for listening”

“Always” you say, trying to ignore the crescent feeling of jealousy and the sting of insecurity.

“Does’t matter, we are still doing some drinks at my place tonight” you nod, a smile appearing in your face again. He smirks and grabs you, threatening to throw you at the water, you start screaming and everyone turns to see the scene.

“Oh my god, put me down right now, Miguel O’Hara!” you yell and he laughs.

He can’t stop smiling. He feels so happy whenever he’s with you. So he treasures you. And he doesn’t want to get involved with Dana again. But Nueva York needs him.

Meanwhile, everyone keep looking at Miguel carrying you and they feel both shocked and happy. Seeing Miguel act so careless and happy is still very new to them.

“Jess, tell us Miguel has hinted he loves y/n” Pavitr pleads.

“I don’t talk about that stuff with Miguel”

“They look adorable together” Margo says.

“Isn’t y/n younger than Miguel?”

“Gwen, shut up.” Hobie shushes her and everyone sees the scene one last time. You and Miguel laughing, in the shore of the beach.

…

Miguel had been busy. You understood him. Dealing with anomalies from external dimensions and from his own at the same time? It wasn’t easy.

What started as some envy and a little jealousy in your heart had turned into a big insecurity. The fear of wasting time that time had run out for you. Confessing your feelings for Miguel would be impossible to do now, it would only make him more confused. And he didn’t deserve it.

So you acted like everything was right. But hearing Miguel talk about how great was getting his friendship with that woman, made you so blue.

At least Nueva York was safe.

And you two had fun plans. He was going to your place to cook dinner together. He opted to make nopales and beans. And he knew because Miguel loved the smile you gave him when he said he would make time for you. Because he missed you.

He missed you so bad, but he knew he had to help his city. He wanted to get rid of Kingpin, to be done with Dana.

In the beginning, he thought he could be friends with his almost fiancé, but she was stubborn, close-minded, and slightly crazy.

Spending less time with you made him realize how badly he wanted to be around and involved in your life. So with a big sigh, Miguel called you via gizmo.

Your image appeared and soon, you answered.

“Hey. Are you on your way?” Miguel stood quiet and then sighed once again.

“I won’t be able to go to your place.”

“Oh-… What happened?” You asked softly, making him already worse.

“Kingpin is in the city. I’m infiltrating in the dinner he’s hosting…”

“I see… And Dana is going with you?” he didn’t know why he felt guilty, he just wanted to cancel everything and go to your place.

“Yeah, she has the passes to get inside.” I’m on the other side of the line, you are feeling so sad. But you understand that you have no right to feel sad.

“It’s okay.” you manage to say.

“Ay, muñeca. I’m truly sorry…” you nod, already fighting with the tears threatening to fall.

“It’s fine, Miguel. Be safe, please. I’m hanging up now…” he tries to say something to prevent the conversation from seizing, but the line dies, your image is gone from his gizmo.

Miguel feels so bad. And he shouldn’t, but he’s starting to see that there might be a reason.

It doesn’t matter, that’s the first night you cry for Miguel. You have ruined everything, if you hadn’t had feelings for him, it would have been easier. But there you are hugging at your pillow as you cry harder than ever, feeling an awful anxiety. He deserves to be happy, he’s your best friend.

But what about you?

…

twelve, thirteen, fifteen…

“Third set finished, you’re done…” Miles says, helping you to put the lock on the leg press machine. You had finished training.

“Have you talked to Miguel?” the boy asks. You roll your eyes, drinking your water.

“Nope.”

“I don’t want to pressure you, y/n. But, the sooner the better, it won’t end well if you lock your feelings” you sigh.

“I know. You’re so right…” Miles was really good at listening to his friends, it was always so easy to talk to him.

“I say… you go tonight to his place and just blurt out everything. You only live once…” you start laughing at his last words, which also makes him smile.

Should you go?

“What if I trigger him? I don’t want to ruin our friendship”

“You won’t. Miguel is a mature man. Do this for yourself, for your mental peace”

Fuck it, you’ll go to his place tonight.

“Hey guys!. Look, we have a new friend…” Miles and you turn to the entrance of the training facility and you see Gwen along with a young stranger.

“This is Harry Osborn from earth-877,” Gwen says. You eye the young man and he is tall. Maybe same height as Peter B. Parker, but nobody could beat Miguel. You mentally shake your head.

“How many variants from me are here?” His voice is deep, with light brown hair, a pretty nose, and green eyes. He was handsome.

“Like 13 including you, there aren’t many Osborn spiders, man,” Miles says, greeting him. You calmly follow him, getting closer to the man. They exchange some words and then it’s your time to greet him. He shakes your hand and reveals he was bitten some months ago, he’s one year younger than you, likes to read books, and claims there’s a gigantic library back in his dimension, where he’d gladly take you.

“Are you free today?” He asks.

“I-… actually, no. I’m visiting a friend after getting out of here. But any other day I’m free…” Harry nods.

“You’re going to Miguel’s?” Gwen asks, you ignore the way Harry seems to grow interested. He knows Miguel for sure, but you didn’t know if you wanted to explain why you were going to his place.

“Yes, and I’m running late. See you tomorrow, guys.” You wave at them.

“Good luck. It’s going to be fine” Miles whispers before you start walking away.

“HEY!, remember we are still planning the beach party” Gwen yells and you roll your eyes.

“Shh… Lyla or Jess could hear you” They giggle and you are finally out.

Now, you have to go to see Miguel. He wasn’t in his office, which was worse. But it was going to be fine.

…

In your spider suit and mask, you tap on Miguel’s balcony. He opens the doors and is clearly surprised to you hanging upside down.

“Hey, What are you doing here?” He asks as you land on your feet. Before you can rip away the mask from your face, you hear a female voice; Miguel, Is everything alright?

“She’s here?” You ask shocked. Miguel awkwardly scratches the back of his head. He’s in sweats and a tee, bare feet. Your heart beats faster than ever. You can see her silhouette sitting on his couch behind the curtains.

“We just solved Kingpin’s case. I couldn’t slip away from her desire to celebrate.” Something changes inside of you. You are hurt, jealous, and wounded by his actions. This was your green light to step away. The speech you repeated like a mantra for hours evaporates. You won’t confess your feelings to Miguel.

Beyond that, you felt like he completely forgot about you; his alleged best friend.

“She haven’t changed, I’m relieved it’s over. I’ve missed you so much” You barely listen to him, paying zero attention.

“I came for my cardigan, I left it here some weeks ago” It was the perfect justification for your visit. It fitted like a puzzle.

“Oh…I’ll go get it” he responds feeling disappointed.

“You can come inside…she won’t-“

“Here I’m okay. I’m kind of in a rush” you half lie.

“Okay…” Miguel goes back inside and passes by Dana, inventing a lie to her.

He grabs the cardigan from his closet and analyses it. It’s small, soft, and smells like you and your fig perfume. Miguel wishes it was you the woman sitting on his couch and not Dana.

He sighs, going back to you.

“Here…” he says handing the clothing item.

“Thanks”

“Are you going out?” You nod.

“Yes, Harry invited me to a library and-“

“Harry?” That’s when you realize what you said. Why the fuck did you lied like that? Yes, Harry invited you but the hangout wasn’t confirmed.

“The new intern…”Miguel nods, arms crossed, making him look incredibly bulkier. He remembers the guy, Jess recruited him.

“And it’s like… a date?”

“No- I-, I don’t know. We just met today, Miguel” Your increasing impatience is very noticeable. Miguel grows insecure at the same time.

“And yet, you don’t know if it’s a date or not.” He didn’t mean to sound harsh. You felt almost like being scolded.

“Look, I really have to go, thanks for the cardigan, and congratulations on the case,” you say, giving him one last look.

Once again, your eyes are watered and you just want to scream.

It wasn’t your intention to fall in love with Miguel. It really wasn’t.

…

Your gizmo beeps and seconds later, your request for a call is accepted.

“I got free sooner than expected,” you say.

“You didn’t cancel because of me, right?” You smile, wishing that was exactly what just happened instead of depressingly calling Harry Osborn in the middle of a crisis on that empty beach from the mission earlier.

“No, I didn’t. My friend had an emergency…” Of course, you won’t say it Miguel O’Hara, his boss who you visited. You were planning to reveal your feelings for him, who happened to be your best friend.

“That sucks. But guess we can go to the library together” you smile looking at the sea.

“Yeah, we can.”

“Is it okay if we meet there in an hour? I just finished college homework” You giggle, thanking it was summer break.

“That’s fine. See you there, Harry” When you hang up, you leave your gizmo on top of your cardigan in the sand.

Now you really craved that beach party. The place was an empty oasis. It was the perfect place to cry about your sentimental life. But for now, you just get into the silent water, waveless and warm. Your suit gets drenched, but it’s not a bother.

It’s perfect. Your mind is relaxed. The tears slowly disappear. You can heal your feelings. You can always drift away from Miguel. But it was hurting so much. And it was only worse that he made the choice so fast. In a matter of days, he had replaced you so easily. Maybe it wasn’t his intention. Maybe he was really trying to save Nueva York along with the woman he once loved.

But he definitely let you down. And for now… you don’t want to think about it.

_________

Taglist: @slut4oscarissac23

dramaaaaaaaaaaaa

#miguel o’hara x reader #miguel o’hara imagine #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel spiderverse #miguel 2099 #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara smut #atsv miguel #miguel spiderman #spiderman atsv #atsv x reader

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munsonkitten · 1 year ago

Text

They say it’s for his own good. Because he’s dangerous. But Steve doesn’t feel any more dangerous than he did before this whole mess. Like, seriously, he could kill literal monsters with nothing more than a bat covered in rusty nails. He doesn’t feel any more dangerous now than he did when he hit Billy Hargrove with a fucking car or when he held back in all the fights he’s ever lost. Because he could kill fucking monsters. He wasn’t gonna find out if he was capable of killing teenage boys too.

He sees Eddie sometimes.

Eddie looks dangerous, but then he always has. Even if he never was. He always had that look to him, with his leather and chains and heavy boots. Dangerous in a good way.

Now he looks bloodthirsty.

Well, ha, Steve thinks. That’s because he is.

Steve is too, but he doesn’t think that’s grounds for imprisonment. He doesn’t think that’s grounds for being held hostage in the newly reopened and renovated Hawkins Lab.

They say it’s because he’s dangerous, but if that’s the case then they should’ve locked him up years ago. They should’ve seen what was wrong with him back when he was that asshole popular kid at Hawkins High.

Every time he sees Eddie these days it’s when they’re being shoved down hallways. They have Eddie in a mask to prevent biting. Some clear plastic thing that shows his snarling face as he’s pushed. His teeth are sharp and pointed, and he has this wild look in his eyes. There’s blood inside the mask more often than not. Whether it’s someone else’s every time, or if it’s Eddie’s, Steve never really knows. A mix of both, most likely.

They make eye contact and Steve tries to tell him they’ll get out of this mess, and Eddie looks back at him like he wants to believe him, but just can’t.

Steve doesn’t blame him. He’s lost track of how long they’ve been here. He stopped counting after six months, after the lines he carved into his wall with a sharp fingernail — talon, really — became too numerous to hide behind the one pin-up girl poster they gave him for good behavior after the second week.

Weird reward, if you ask Steve. The orderly that put it up for him smirked, said something about tissues in the cabinet in the corner of his room, and then left without another word.

Really fucking weird.

The head scientist comes into Steve’s room. Steve can’t remember his name. Matthews or Mathson or… Something. Doesn’t matter. Not like Steve really needs to know. He’s just called The Doctor and that’s that.

“According to our records, today’s a very special day, indeed. Happy birthday, Steven,” he says, looking down at Steve’s chart.

So it’s February fourteenth… But —

“How old am I?” Steve asks.

“Twenty-two,” the doctor answers.

Twenty two… Which means it’s 1988. Steve’s been here over a year and a half, since June ‘86 when they took him in the dead of night. Things had been weird before that. He’d been having cravings, and Eddie came back from the dead, clawed his way out of the Upside Down all by himself. He came back different, but still the same Eddie that Steve had mourned.

Twenty two years old and he doesn’t even remember turning twenty one.

“Since it’s your birthday,” the doctor continues. “We decided you deserve a reward for being so cooperative during your stay. Something you choose yourself, anything you want — within reason, mind you. Don’t ask to get out of here because that won't be happening. But if we can get it for you, it’s yours to keep.”

“Eddie,” Steve blurts out. “I want Eddie. I want him moved into my cell permanently. Get us bunk beds or some shit.”

“Ah, yes, well,” the doctor sighs. “Mr Munson is quite….”

“Dangerous? Insane? I can keep him in check,” Steve says quickly. “Look, we were friends before all of this and now we’re in the same boat. I understand him. If you want to get through to him, do this for me and I can help.”

None of that is true, of course. He’s not gonna make Eddie do shit, and he really doesn’t think he could if he wanted to. He’s wild, a little more monster than Steve is. It probably has something to do with being stuck in the Upside Down after he died. Different, but still Eddie.

Steve doesn’t blame him for the trouble he’s been causing. He’s seen it firsthand only a couple of times, but sometimes his doctors go missing and never come back. Sometimes they’re covered in blood when they come to see him after being with Eddie.

It’s not hard to guess what happens there.

“We’ll try it,” the doctor says. “But I can’t imagine why that’s what you want.”

He writes something down on his clipboard, clicks his pen with a sigh, and stands.

“I will see what we can do.”

And then he‘s gone.

Steve waits two days. Two days where no one comes to see him, to poke him with needles or flash lights in his eyes. He’s delivered his meals through the slot in his door, but that’s all that happens. He drinks the blood they give him. Animal today, he knows. They switch it up on him, and he’s found he can tell the difference easily now. It’s not the same as human, but it does the job.

It keeps him alive. It keeps him from wanting to tear himself limb from limb because of hunger and thirst. There’s still an itch in his throat and a nagging in the back of his mind saying he’s not satisfied, but it’s better than nothing.

On the second day, he’s told to stand against the back wall, and he complies easily. Complying means rewards — it means he doesn’t get hurt. The first few days he was here he was uncooperative and they beat him. It was too much like being in the Russian bunker beneath Starcourt again.

So he stopped fighting back. He stopped spitting and hissing, he stopped trying to sink his teeth into anything he could reach. And in turn he got rewards. He’s given more time outside his room, more time to sit in a room with a rainbow around the walls and a bunch of old children’s toys.

He knows he’s at Hawkins Lab. He can feel it, can feel something in the back of his head that tells him his family is close. His real family — Robin and Nancy and Dustin and everyone else. He knows he’s in Hawkins Lab and he can’t help but wonder if El lived in the same room as him, if she pushed around the same Hot Wheels car he does when he’s bored.

He stands in his room now, and it’s really a cell, but he doesn’t like to call it that, and he watches as two men carry his bed out. Two more come in with bunk beds that look like two of the regular beds welded together — thin metal frames with thin mattresses. Straight out of a prison.

The doctor comes into the room and he’s carrying a box in his arms. Steve can’t see what’s inside it, but he thinks they might be the few personal belongings Eddie has. The box gets set on the bottom bunk. An orderly comes in with a pile of extra blankets and two pillows. Those get set on the beds, too.

They all leave without a word, but Steve knows he won’t be alone for much longer. He knows that they’re going to get Eddie to him, and soon enough, they’re both going to be able to escape. Together.

Steve doesn’t know how long he sits there on the bottom bunk, but it’s a while. He only spares a single glance into the box, and he sees a spare hospital gown, and some clean underwear inside it. There’s a book sitting on top, tattered and splattered with blood. At least Eddie has that, Steve supposes.

The heavy metal door to Steve’s room opens and Eddie is shoved in, snarling and snapping at the guard behind him, holding his hands in shackles behind his back. They have heavy wool mittens on him, his plastic mask covering the bottom half of his face. Steve’s surprised they don’t just put him in a straitjacket and throw him into a padded room.

They make eye contact, Eddie’s formerly chocolate brown eyes now deep red. His hair is pulled back into a ponytail and shows his slightly pointed ears. Steve’s look the same, and his eyes are still mostly brown, but he can see the red swirling around inside them during the few occasions he can look in the mirror.

Eddie sniffs the air through his mask, bares his teeth. Steve can see the blood in his mouth through the clear plastic.

Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. What if Eddie hurts him too? What if he’s… What if he’s not Eddie anymore? If the last bits of his humanity have drained out of him, if he’s been forced to let the monster inside take full control… Steve doesn’t know what he’ll do.

I’d let the monster take me, too, he thinks, and then immediately regrets it. He doesn’t want to be that, and in his head he’s holding a snarling beast back with wrought iron bars, in a cell not too different from the one his physical body stands in. He’s gotten this far. It would be a waste to not even try.

The guard leaves Eddie where he stands, still cuffed, and backs away to the door. He slams it shut and locks it, then slides open the food slot. Eddie growls, jerks at his cuffs, trying to get free.

“Munson!” the guard barks. “Back up against the door.”

Eddie backs up until he’s against the door and Steve hears the key unlocking the cuffs around Eddie’s wrists.

The mittens come off next, and both things get pulled through the slot. The guard quickly slides it shut. Eddie is free from his restraints, and now he and Steve are alone.

Read more on AO3

#this is the first chapter so go on to chapter 2 #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington #vampire steddie #vampires #my fics #eddie munson #vampire eddie munson #vampire steve harrington

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theyhavetakenovermylife · 11 months ago

Note

Bayverse tmnt scolding their sons since they went a different direction or didn’t listen and didn’t follow with the orders their dad gave out, and nearly got spotted by humans while the eldest was trying to keep the middle from mucking around and go back on track?

I feel like they will be grounded after coming back to the lair and get sent to their rooms and have their mask taken off them. :D

Sons of Leonardo (Fluff/Crack-ish)

Bayverse!Leonardo x reader

A/N: I love this idea! But I decided to focus on one group of children instead of all four. I went with you and Leo’s kids (aka, my OCS), because that was the first that came to my head😂💙

Buuuuut! If you want me to do more of these with the others, I would happily do so💚

-------------

You and Leo are at least in your 40’s.

Warnings: Spelling, you and Leo’s sons being silly teenagers💙

-------------

Romeo did not like it one bit. Actually, he had been very much against it from the start, wondering how the hell Marcello had managed to get their father to agree to let them go watch the basketball game. He had probably used that eye trick uncle Michelangelo had taught him. Heck, even Gerardo knew how to make those eyes. But of course, their father wouldn’t just let Marcello and Gerardo go on their own. No, no. Romeo had to come along and make sure that his brothers didn’t do anything stupid, or worse, getting noticed by humans.

And that was how Romeo found himself stuck inside the jumbotron for hours, stuck watching a basketball game he didn’t actually want to see. If this was the “responsibility of the oldest” that his father kept talking about, he could easily understand how he could be so uptight sometimes. And as Romeo pulled 12 year old Gerardo back from the edge, he wished his father would have been more uptight that day.

As soon as the game ended, Romeo was ready to go. They had promised not just their father, but their mother as well, that they would return home as soon as the game had finished. So when Romeo had his brothers returned to the roof once more, the last thing he expected was 15 year old Marcello heading the opposite direction, leaning over the edge of the building in order to get a better look of the people walking out onto the street.

“Marcello! No! Dad told us to get home as soon as the game finished!”, Romeo commanded, pointing in the direction they had to go - away from downtown.

“Calm down, junior, I’m just watching”, Marcello said, waving his hand at his older brother. “I’m just watching”.

“Hah”, Gerardo laughed, pointing at Romeo. “He called you junior”.

“Marcello, seriously”, Romeo sighed. “You know how dad gets when he’s worried. Hell, do you remember the time you went too far out in the sewer, and dad, granddad and all our uncles almost exploded with worry? Do you remember how sad mom was?”

“Dude, I was 4”, Marcello said with a deadpan look. “Now I’m just as old as dad was when he and his brothers started going out”.

“Yeah, but they also listened to dad!”

“Haha!”, Gerardo laughed. “Donnie, Raph and Mikey listening to dad? That was a good one ‘Meo!”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”, Romeo sighed, side eyeing his little brother.

“Relax”, Marcello said, straining his neck to get a better look at the crowd. “I’m just looking around. You never know when you see a pretty girl”.

“A girl?”, Romeo asked skeptically. “Bro, you’re 15”.

“So? Mom and dad met when they were 15”.

“18”, Romeo corrected.

“Whatever”, Marcello said, rolling his eyes, letting his hands rest on the edge of the building.

“Why do you wanna look at girls?”, Gerardo asked.

“I don’t know”, Marcello mumbled. “I just wanna look…”

“You are not going to score a human girl”, Romeo said, crossing his arms.

“Says who?!”

“Dad, who is waiting for us to get home”, Romeo said. “Come on, he knows when the game ends and how long it takes to get back”.

“That hypocrite”, Marcello said. “Mom is a human, dad is a mutant. They didn’t meet because he kept hiding away!”

“No, mom and dad met through aunt April at a house party”, Romeo said, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Now, let’s go before dad and our uncles go looking for us. Or even worse, granddad”.

“No!”, Marcello said, pulling his shoulder away from his brother, getting down to sit on the edge. “I wanna see some humans!”

Gerardo watched the interaction with unease. After 12 years he knew that his two older brothers could get into some heated arguments, just like their father and their uncle Raphael had done when they were younger. But Gerardo also knew that neither Romeo or Marcello would back down so easily.

“You have seen plenty of humans today! You watched a whole basketball game!”, Romeo exclaimed in frustration, grabbing for his brother once more. “Now, let’s go home!”

“I said no!”, Marcello exclaimed, pulling away yet again, this time with much more force. This caused Marcello to tumble forward, his weight pulling him off of the roof, down towards the big crowd of humans below. But thanks to the higher powers for Romeo’s fast reflexes, he managed to get a hold of Marcello’s hand, pressing his heels against the edge before leaning back. Gerardo yelped, running to throw his arms around Romeo, helping him pull their brother back on the roof safely.

Once Marcello was back standing on the roof, slightly shivering from the sudden shock and fear of falling from a high building, Romeo was on him in less than a minute.

“Are you okay?! Did they see you?! What were you thinking!?”

“It wasn’t on purpose, worry fart”, Marcello said, pushing Romeo off of him. “And no! No one saw me”.

“Guys, I think we should go”, Gerardo said, looking over his shoulder in unease.

“Rardo’s right”, Romeo said. “They could be checking the roof soon”. And with those words, the three brothers hurried home.

—

The three brothers entered the quiet lair, their senses heightened for any sounds of movements that would alert them to their extended family’s presence as they sneaked through the lair.

“Do you think dad has gone to bed?”, Gerardo asked.

Marcello smirked, his back straightened as if he didn’t have a worry in the world as he clapped Romeo on the shoulder in victory. “Told you that old fart wouldn’t notice a thing”.

“Look twice before using the term old fart”, a voice sounded, causing the three brothers to jump in surprise, finding their father standing right behind them. His arms crossed and a scolding expression on his face, his towering statue causing his sons to crane their necks in order to look up at him.

“H- hey dad”, Marcello smiled with a sheepish smile. “H- how long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough”, Leo said, his expression unchanging. “Where have you been?”

“At the game”, Gerardo said. “Just like we told you we would”.

“The game finished an hour ago. It only takes 15 minutes to get from the game and to the lair”, Leo said, his hands resting on his hips.

“The game stretched out”, Marcello said, feigning innocence. This caused Leo to sigh, rubbing the bridge of his beak.

Romeo sighed, knowing what this meant. “You and the others watched the game on TV, didn’t you?”

“We did”, Leo sighed, sounding more than a little frustrated.

“Okay, we might have hung around after the game and watched humans, but that’s it”, Marcello said, ignoring his brothers’ burning glares when he used the word “we”. “But it’s okay now. We’re home, safe and sound. So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll head to bed and get some sleep before heading to dinner at aunt April and uncle Casey’s tomorrow”, the middle child smiled innocently, trying to sneak past the broad form of his father.

“Oh no you don’t”, Leo said, grabbing on to the tails of Marcello’s bandana, janking him back with a small tuck, and then pulling it off of his head with a smooth flick of his wrist. “Because you’re all grounded”.

“WHAT?!”, Marcello yelled out loud, grabbing onto his bare head.

“Aww”, Gerardo said with a sad expression, not resisting as his father took the bandana off of his head. “I hate being grounded”.

“That’s the rules”, Leo said, waiting as Romeo untied his own bandana before handing it to his father. “You don’t follow the rules, you get grounded”.

“That’s not fair!”, Marcello yelled. “You went out all the time when you were 15!”

“Yes, I got grounded too”, Leo said. “You see how that works?” He gathered all bandanas in one hand before pointing in the direction of their rooms. “Now go to bed. We start training early tomorrow”.

The three brothers groaned, Gerardo and Marcello being extra loud as they did so, dragging their feet toward the metal stairs that lead to the second floor of the lair. Leo watched them leave, making sure they had gone to their rooms, before returning back to your and his shared bedroom.

In your bedroom, he found you reading a book in the bed table light, your baby daughter cuddling against your chest as she played with her teething toy. You looked up and saw the bandanas in Leo’s hand, watching as he laid them on top of the dresser.

“Grounded?”, you asked, Valentina wiggling in your arms at the sight of her father, a big smile on her face.

“Grounded”, Leo confirmed as he got ready for bed.

“Hopefully they didn’t take it too hard”, you said, closing your book before placing it on the nightstand.

“Well, Marcello wasn’t too happy about it, but the others took it pretty well”, Leo said, crawling under the covers, wrapping arm around you, before pulling you and blabbering Valentina close.

“So nothing new there?”, you asked, resting your head upon his shoulder, watching as your daughter started to hit lightly upon Leo’s plastron with a wide smile. Leo shook his head in a response, resting his cheeks against the top of your head, watching you daughter place both hands on his chest. Leo sighed with a smile, tickling the side of little Valentina, her giggles loud and happy as she hid against you.

“And you, young lady, better not be like your brothers when you get older”, he said, finding peace in her small giggles.

“That, or she’ll be even worse”, you joked, your fingers soothing her small shell.

“With three big brothers? Yeah, you’re probably right”, Leo chuckled, placing a kiss on the temple of your head.

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necrotic-nephilim · 3 months ago

Note

Psst this makes no sense timewise but fucky Stephjay where teenage Jason briefly worked for Cluemaster to pay for food/rent.

I doubt Jason would be a drug runner as a kid but I can see him as a lookout or maybe bodyguard/errand boy for the Browns.

YOUR MIND MY GOD THIS IS SO GOOD

Jason working for Cluemaster is *so* good, my god. especially if Jason doesn't want to be there and doesn't like it, but he has no other option to pay the bills (i think this would be a fun AU to keep Catherine alive in, maybe he's trying desperately to pay medical bills to ensure she keeps getting medication she needs which makes him even more desperate for money and willing to do things he wouldn't normally) so he starts working for small time villains, ones he thinks won't be as bad as Joker or the like. which lands him as a goon for Cluemaster and somehow, he's either useful or interesting enough to Arthur that he decides to keep promoting Jason. until one day, he offers a very high pay raise for Jason to look after Steph. it's not necessarily that Arthur cares about Steph or her mother, but he does care about his reputation so when someone threatens his family, he needs to save face.

i think this could be fun to explore before Jason becomes Robin (maybe making him Robin a *little* later just so he and Steph have a significant time together as teenagers). and Jason ends up sort of close to this spunky, angry kid of Arthur Brown who calmly tells Jason she is going to do everything in her power to get her father behind bars and she's sorry but not sorry if and when that lands Jason out of a job. bc maybe she's suspicious of Jason first, bc what kind of guy willingly works for Cluemaster, but then, as she learns more about where he is in life, she Gets it. she understands bc she sees the shady things her own mother, Crystal does to get by under Arthur's thumb.

when Jason vanishes bc he becomes Robin, Steph is disappointed but she gets it. Bruce Wayne suddenly publically has a new ward and hell, Steph can't blame a guy for taking that chance bc that kind of money will *definitely* help Catherine. Steph's life goes on with her father being her father.

it's a bit unrealistic but. i sort of like the idea that when Jason dies, Bruce is so caught up in grief and funeral proceedings and anger that he sort of forgets about Catherine. and Steph will be damned if Catherine Todd is forgotten about and left to rot as a childless mother. i'd love to write Steph and Crystal finding the money to manage to keep Catherine afloat as well and Steph getting really close to Catherine bc of it. also would be fun if Steph becomes Spoiler partly in honor of Jason bc (not knowing he was Robin) she wants to do the good he never got to.

and THEN the fucked up-ness of it all that Steph finds out Jason was Robin when she takes up the torch and so quickly dies afterward she never fully gets to process how she feels about that. how to handle her pride in Jason for getting to be more than what he was versus her anger at Bruce for letting him die. and on the horrible flip side, Jason comes back and finds out Bruce let another kid die as Robin, and that kid was *Steph*. he finds out it was Steph who kept his mom alive, Steph who died in a mantle that should've ended with Jason and he's even angrier at Bruce. i do think he'd kill Black Mask in a slow, painful way to avenge her since clearly, Bruce can't.

and then Steph comes back and there's all the complicated feelings i just. oh your brain this is such a good idea i want to write it so bad. anything that explores connections Jason and Steph could've had before Bruce because they truly deserve to be more entangled than they already are. let them be weird about each other DC.

#necrotic answerings #jaysteph #stephanie brown x jason todd #this thought is fucking galaxy brained oh my GOD #I cannot stop thinking about all the ways it could be done #bc you could even go in a “Jason never becomes Robin and works with Steph when she's spoiler” route #and tbh you don't have to keep Catherine alive. I just want to.#bc I think Steph taking care of her after jason's death could be super interesting #these two deserve the world.#ty for this au. I'm unwell.

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cyber-dump-171 · 4 months ago

Text

Chapter 4: Crewel & Crowley

Objection! Stand your ground! Marvelous! (Twisted Wonderland x Reader)

← Chapter 3 | Masterlist | Chapter 5 →

Word count: 4.5k.

WARNING: brief mentions of possible drug addiction and smuggling pills.

Note: this is more of a filler chapter, but, Heartslabyul's arc begins next chapter. Enjoy!

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

The door opens with a rather loud creak, giving way to an empty office plunged in darkness, the only thing he can see is the mahogany desk illuminated by the silver moon and some pictures depicting the “Great Seven” slowly floating up and down a few meters above the floor.

If someone asked Crowley why his workspace is so austere, the crow would reply, "less is better". It's more professional, cleaner, makes a better impression, and can also be intimidating. But in reality, he rarely uses this space, preferring to work in the office of his subordinate and “close friend,” Divus Crewel.

His office is much more cozy than his, the reduced space and furniture-lined walls can be claustrophobic to some, but to him, it is just perfect. Besides, Crewel's taste in decor and color is trendy yet classy, and the crow man understands why the fashion enthusiast and scholarship science nerd ended up as the Pomefiore dorm leader during his high school years.

Originally, Crewel found it frustrating that the bird man was constantly swinging by to his workplace, already annoyed that he barely had any alone time during the day and then the flamboyant man was invading and working in his personal office.

It started with their papers and files getting mixed up, then Crowley left empty cups and plates strewn around his desk, and the breaking point was when he found the crow man’s mask and coat hanging from his office chair.

Crewel told him to get lost and use his own office.

Crowley offered to double his salary and extend his vacation days in exchange for using his office.

A deal was quickly struck.

And he'd be working there right now if he hadn't been so rudely kicked out by the potionology teacher. A little birdie (Sam) told Crewel that Crowley had placed the magicless kids in the health hazard that is the Ramshackle Dorm.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Crowley's concentration is interrupted when the office door bursts open and Crewel steps in, his fluffy white and black coat nowhere in sight. His eyebrows are furrowed so tightly that they might melt together as he shouts angrily at the headmaster. “Explain to me why, in the name of the Great Seven, you thought it was okay to put these children in that house!?” his screams echo through the room.

“Good evening to you too, Divus,” the man in front of him sneers before slamming the door and walking over to the desk, hands on his hips. “Don’t ‘good evening’ me! Answer the damn question!” the crow man can already feel the headache coming on as his brain pounds at his friend's screams.

“Well, where else was I supposed to put them? I wouldn't let them just walk out of here, this world is very dangerous! You know I'm a very benevolent person,” he mutters the last part with a grin, proud of his actions. On the contrary, Crewel wants to gouge out the crow's beady little golden eyes and slap him across the face. “Benevolent!? Dire, just last week we were talking about tearing that thing down after the ceiling almost collapsed on Trein!”

Ah, he's on a first-name basis now, that’s not good.

“If you feel so bad for them, why don’t you house them, then?” Crowley proudly retorts, finally lifting his gaze from the paperwork, noticing his friend’s flat and unimpressed expression. “I live in a one-bedroom apartment. I’m not about to add three teenagers into the mix and force them to sleep in the sofa bed.”

That's a lie, it was actually a two-bedroom apartment, but he turned the other room into a walk-in closet with a huge mirror... What? He ran out of room for his clothes!

“What about your house? I know you have plenty of space,” Crewel crosses his arms, remembering last year's staff holiday party that Crowley begrudgingly hosted in his home after pulling the short stick from the pile. The crow man scoffs, offended by the idea. “There’s not enough space for the four of us there.”

“Dire, you live in a mansion!” “I value my space!” “And not mine!?”

Crewel sighs, throwing his head back exhausted from this pointless conversation. He fails to understand why his “friend” is so reluctant to give these kids a proper space to live. “Did you tell them that they can get food from the cafeteria? Or to use the gym showers?” Crowley quickly averts his gaze, shyly twiddling his fingers as he remembers the deal. “I… um… well…”

“Crowley,” the potionology teacher warns in a low tone and the crow man can feel the rage that emanates from the man, making him even more nervous to admit what now seems like a really bad idea. “I kinda… told them that… well, that they'd have to work for their food and clothing,” he watches in horror as Crewel goes slack-jawed, the color draining from his face as he processes the sentence. “But! Don’t worry, I’ll give them a good salary and plenty of time to rest!”

He says this as if it were a good solution.

“Child labor!? Crowley, we’re going to get sued!”

“They can’t sue us, they don’t have valid IDs!”

“Not them, the government, you moron!” Oh…

“Well, I'll just draft some contracts to cover our ass, we'll be fine, don’t worry!”

“They're minors, they can't sign them without their parent's permission!”

“One of them is 18! The blonde one... I think…”

“And the other two?”

“Well, if you're so worried about them, why don't you adopt them!?”

“Because, legally, they don't exist in this world! Also, I'm too young for children!”

“You're 32!”

“Shut up! You're older!”

Ah, this conversation is getting nowhere.

Crewel runs his fingers through his hair, completely ruining the hairstyle he spent a few good minutes on this morning. This is bad, terrible, even a disaster! Throughout the entire debacle of the entrance ceremony, he watched from the sidelines in pity as the faces of the three children fell in horror and shock when the mirror declared that their home didn't exist.

He can't imagine it… suddenly being ripped away from your world and thrown into a dimension where your only support system is two strangers close to your age and an idiot headmaster who can't even house you properly while forcing you to work. He gets it, it's expensive enough to maintain this school and repair the walls and hallways from other students' mischief, but...

For the sake of the Great Seven, he lives in a mansion and enjoys a good salary that's close to six figures, so he can spare a few thaumarks! Besides, Crowley can't even use the excuse of “crow-like nature” to take and keep shiny things. That is the behavior of a magpie!

Despite all the talk about "disrespectful puppies" and his desperate need to take a long break from his students, Crewel still loves and cares for them. And these three kids struck a chord with him, reminding him of his childhood.

It was also heartbreaking as he walked by the Ramshackle dormitory and watched the three students cover the lower half of their faces with their shirts as they shook the dust off the blankets and old pillows they were going to sleep on tonight.

The teacher turns to face the headmaster, who has taken his silence as an indication that the conversation is over, and returns to his paperwork, scribbling something unintelligible on the manila pages. Ugh, if only he could get out of his office to think of a solution... Wait a minute! That's it!

“All right, since you're so stubborn and selfish, you can't set foot in my office or talk to me until those kids are sleeping in a safe place and have proper food and clothing!” Crewel grabs the back of Crowley's coat, the crow man gasping in surprise as the teacher tucks the documents that were sprawled on the desk under his arm.

He was going to threaten to quit, but he needs this job. That set of platinum rings his favorite designer released the other day won't pay for itself.

“Wha- Divus, what in the world!?” the door of the office flies open as the headmaster is unceremoniously kicked out into the hallway, a heavy pile of papers shoved hard against his chest, causing him to momentarily lose his breath. “I said what I said... I'm changing the lock on my office as well. Goodbye now.”

As soon as the piece of wood is slammed shut, Crowley snaps out of his stupor and turns to the blocked entrance, papers falling to the floor as he loudly bangs his decorated fists on the door. “DIVUS, I'M SORRY! CAN WE PLEASE TALK!?” a muffled groan interrupts his tantrum, but the potionology teacher does not attempt to get up from his chair and reason with the crow.

Whining and yelling, the headmaster continues to demand entry and a calm conversation, the complete opposite of his current childish behavior. In his stupor, the crow man fails to notice another member of the staff rounding the corner of the antique hallway, the fluffy, chubby cat in his arms yawning sleepily as his golden eyes suddenly focus on the Headmaster.

And his owner gazes horrified at the scene.

“Crowley! What is the meaning of all this shouting!?” the booming voice of Mozus Trein echoes through the walls as the crow man turns to face the sound, his beady golden eyes widening in relief as he sprints towards the faculty member.

“Trein! Thank the Seven! Divus has gone mad! He kicked me out of my office!” before the older man can even process the scene unfolding in front of him, Crewel's angry voice intervenes from the other side. “It's MY office, Crowley. Yours is at the top of the building!”

“I thought you weren't talking to me!” he's being petty now, and he knows it, but he can't help it. “Yes, because you're making a ruckus and not respecting my boundaries! GO AWAY!” the two of them return to their pissy fight, Lucius, Trein's cat, ducks his head with an annoyed “meow” and covers his ears with his little paws.

“Enough of this display! You two should be ashamed of yourselves, you're grown men fighting like children. Imagine what would happen if a student saw you two like this. And answer my question, what caused this kerfuffle in the first place?” as Crowley opens his mouth to explain, Crewel cuts him off and sums up the situation in a matter of seconds.

The hall is filled with a palpable and tense silence as Trein's eyes narrow on the headmaster, who nervously shrinks his shoulders and twiddles his fingers. Man, he forgot how intimidating the old man really is, no wonder the students are deathly afraid of him. "Crowley, this is incredibly irresponsible of you," the crow man groans, slapping his face in frustration at the phrase that has become a mantra in the last few minutes.

"UGH! But what was I supposed to do?" he acts like a petulant child, his hands falling harshly to his sides in exasperation. From the other side of the door, Crewel coughs loudly and slips in a comment that irks Crowley to no end. "Don't put them in that dump." "Are you talking to me now!?"

“Quiet you two!” Trein interrupts again, holding his furry companion a bit tighter in his arms, a prominent vein adorning his forehead as he grows increasingly exhausted by his colleague and boss fighting like an old married couple.

"We'll deal with it tomorrow, but I agree with Crewel that it is dangerous to let them stay in that house. Either fix the building or move them to another one."

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

And that’s how the crow man finds himself stuck working in the cold office, HIS cold office, a pout on his lips as he lays the crumpled documents on the desk. Fucking Crewel, why did he suddenly turn into a mother and defend those children so much!? None of them complained when he took them to the building, even that Yuuken kid seemed excited to meet the ghosts!

Ah, whatever, he’ll deal with that later. Right now, there's the more pressing matter of repairing the Ceremonial Hall after the fiasco caused by the blue flame monster and finding a replacement nurse since the other one is on maternity leave.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts through the dimly lit office as the headmaster quickly scribbles unintelligible words on a piece of paper. The antique clock hanging above the doorway ticks away the seconds, the hands nearing together at the top, signaling that it will soon be midnight. Outside, the commotion of students running amok as they finish their dorm welcoming parties is long gone, replaced by the singing of the owls and the howling of the cold wind.

The silence and stillness are shattered when Crowley's pointed ears perk up at the sound of hurried footsteps approaching his office. He groans softly as a pair of knuckles rap urgently against the old wooden door, the crow man pushing back his fatigue as a quiet "come in" falls from his lips.

The door opens slowly, a few seconds later a recently familiar head peers over the opening and Crowley recognizes the slightly familiar face. What was your name... "Ah, (Y/N), how may I be of assistance?" you take a few steps and stand awkwardly in the doorway, curious eyes scanning the room.

Crowley thought you were the most "normal" of the three non-magical students. Figaro creeped him out during the walk back to the dormitory, sharp eyes watching every move and pestering him with rather invasive questions. In contrast, Yuuken's reactions to the ghost made the crow man think of him as an endearing, if not bizarre, naive boy. At the entrance ceremony, he mostly took you as a panicked person attempting to maintain a level head while processing copious amounts of new information.

He can't blame you. If he were in your situation, he might go crazy, too. Let's hope you don't turn into a troublemaker, he already has enough headaches to deal with.

“Sorry for barging in so late, but can I steal a few minutes of your time?” how polite! My, after all the rudeness he experienced today your well-mannered question is more than welcomed! He extends a hand with a small smile and silently beckons you to come in and not wasting a single second, you hurriedly shut the door before walking over to the desk.

“I saw a student behave and carry something suspicious while exiting the infirmary,” ‘oh well, darling, if you stick around long enough, you’ll find out that everyone in this school is suspicious, but, do spill the beans,’ he thinks while nodding along at your sentence, before stopping abruptly as a puzzled look crosses his face.

“Infirmary? I swear that door is supposed to be locked,” he whispers under his breath, brows furrowed as he urges you to continue. You tell him everything that you witnessed during your late visit to the library: the student’s erratic and twitchy behavior, the mention of a “Master” and most disturbingly, the syringe with the mysterious liquid.

Crowley's chin rests flat on the back of his gloved hands, his elbows digging into the wooden surface as golden eyes stare off into the distance, processing the myriad thoughts floating through his mind. “Were you able to see who it was?” you give some of the details you managed to catch under the dim light but admit that you weren’t able to truly see who it was. The crow man simply nods, jotting down your words on a piece of paper.

An uneasy feeling settles in the pit of the headmaster's stomach. Originally, he thought you might have caught some students smuggling pills or antibiotics out of the infirmary, an unfortunate incident that has happened several times before, which is why the room is always locked when there isn't a nurse in it.

But this...

As if a switch had been turned on in his head, Crowley clumsily yet hastily searches through all the drawers of his desk before finding a rectangular device tucked away under some papers and trinkets. His phone. He unlocks it, his golden claw clacking harshly against the glass as he types out an urgent message to the faculty and dorm chat groups:

“ATTENTION: it’s been reported that a student has broken into the infirmary and was spotted carrying a syringe containing an unidentified liquid. The student has the following characteristics: approximately 175 cm tall, pale skin, black, dark purple or blue hair, and green or brown eyes. He was spotted exiting the room at around 11:55 p.m. wearing ceremonial robes.

It is mandatory for dorm leaders to search for this student and make a surprise inspection of each dorm room. You will be allowed to skip the first three periods of classes and have the option to have two other people assist you. Please report their names in this group chat to report them as excused from their responsibilities. If you find the person and/or object, report immediately to faculty.”

“Um, that’s all. I don’t know if you need me for anything else, so, I’ll go,” you’re about to scurry out of the cold office when Crowley calls out your name, asking you to wait. An idea crosses his panicked mind, and he knows that Crewel will definitely have his head for it, but with this incident and the lack of a nurse, he can’t leave the infirmary unoccupied. “(Y/N), how much do you know about medicine?”

The question catches you off guard, and your eyes widen momentarily in surprise before returning to their normal state as you contemplate his question. Crowley remembers your actions at the entrance ceremony when you cleaned the wound of the blond boy (whose name he doesn't remember, but the crow man associates it with a cat).

The small homemade first-aid kit you pulled from your bag tells him that you've at least had to constantly deal with treating wounds or that you're an over-prepared person. Either way, you would work.

"Well, I've taken several first aid courses and have basic medical knowledge," the headmaster half-listens to what you mutter under your breath, something about "university" and "medical school." Eh, he doesn't care to know about the details. "Great! You're hired! Instead of reporting to the courtyard, go straight to the infirmary tomorrow morning. I expect to see you there at 6 a.m. sharp!"

A stunned gasp escapes your lips as your eyes scan the headmaster, confused by the sentence you just heard and hoping inwardly that he was joking. Instead, Crowley simply tilts his head to the side, an innocent smile on his partially covered face as he decides that this is a wonderful idea. Why, this could be an experience for you!

“H-Hold on! Isn’t this the job of the nurse!? Also… what would happen if during my shift someone gets stabbed or comes in with a broken leg!? T-The bone poking out of the skin and everything!” the crow man momentarily grimaces at the mental image, but he quickly regains his composure as an evil thought crosses his mind.

“Do not fret! You’ll deal with superficial or minor injuries. If anything serious were to happen, just give Professor Crewel a call using the office’s phone! He'd be more than happy to help you!" Crowley exclaims as he rises from his desk, the velvety chair making a loud noise as its legs scrape against the floor.

With a grin that could rival that of the infamous Cheshire Cat, he jots down the potionology professor’s number on a ripped piece of paper before handing it to you. ‘That’s payback for the office!’ He saunters over to the entrance, completely ignoring your horrified expression as you stare holes at the paper in your hands.

“Ah! That reminds me…” his voice snaps you out of your detrimental thoughts, curious eyes turning around to watch as the headmaster opens the door. “I’m aware that your current situation is far from ideal. Therefore, until you are back on your feet, please use the showers in the gymnasium and your meals from the cafeteria," he proudly puffs out his chest as he watches your eyes light up and you nod excitedly, quietly thanking him.

“Also, feel free to take anything from the ‘lost and found’ box in the library. We have a policy that the items that remain there for more than three months can be taken by anyone. From my knowledge, the objects there have remained for more than five months,” he adds as you head out into the hallway, and Crowley can't help but feel proud of himself. “My, aren’t I so kind?”

He ignores your face as it shifts from one of gratitude to one of disgust, too busy enjoying his generous actions. “Uh, sure… t-thanks man,” his beady golden eyes follow your figure as it fades into the distance. When you disappear as you make a right turn, Crowley gently closes the door before sighing, fingers pinching his forehead as he feels the oncoming headache.

Alright, now, to deal with this situation.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

You take your time walking back to the dorm, admiring the starry sky with each step. Your head swims with different thoughts, fueled by your chronic insomnia, as you ponder once again where you are and what you have seen. A world where magic exists and where there are ghosts, flying broomsticks, monsters, and a bunch of crazy people.

If someone had told you the day before that you would end up in a magic school, living in a dormitory that would fall if you looked at it the wrong way, you would have laughed your ass off.

Fucking hilarious.

You yawn, hot crystalline tears clouding your eyes as you rub them vigorously. You groan as the cold wind kisses your skin and you feel more awake than tired, even though the exhaustion of everything you have experienced today weighs heavily on your bones and muscles. You feel restless, but not tired.

Frankly, you kind of hate your body.

The dead leaves and twigs crackle beneath your soles as you stuff your hands into your pockets, a morbidly familiar building creeps up from the horizon, but you watch in confusion as two pairs of lights move erratically in through the windows. Seconds later, Figaro and Yuuken almost kick down the front door as they emerge from the house, their hair disheveled and their eyes red as they sneeze and cough violently.

Your walk turns into a light jog as you approach the two men, the blond one letting out a sigh of relief when he sees you. It turns out that during your failed adventure to the library, the three ghosts of the house decided to play a prank on the Finnish man by ruffling the white sheets covering the nearby furniture in his bedroom, causing a huge cloud of dust to rise from the fabric and enter his nostrils.

On the other hand, Yuuken awoke to a tickling sensation on his hand, only to almost punch a hole in the nearby wall as a spider seemed to be happily walking on his appendage. Then part of his back began to itch and he panicked, thinking he had some kind of rash from the dirty blankets. However, when you pulled up his shirt to examine him, all you found were some red marks from his nails and, thankfully, no small bumps or any sort of physical ailment.

You, on the other hand, recounted the events and swore that the porch lit up with Figaro's excitement as you informed the two men of Crowley's offer. He even started bouncing on the balls of his feet at the mention of a free shower. But when the chatter dies down and the only sound is the song of the nocturnal animals, the three of you stare back at the intimidating building.

“I’m not going back in there,” Fígaro whispers in a scratchy voice, his eyes still watering from the sneeze attack. “Where else are we supposed to sleep though?” you retort, not too thrilled about the idea of going back to the house and laying your back against the stiff and dirty mattress. Yuuken is rather quiet, a thoughtful hand scratching his chin before an idea pops into his head, bright eyes turning to look at you both.

“Why don’t we sleep outside? It’ll be like camping, just without a tent,” you almost snort out loud at the sight of Figaro's face contorting into an expression of astonishment, eyes wide open as the blond man is rendered speechless. “Are you mad!? And what, get our eyes clawed out by some bizarre three-headed night creature!?” the Kendo student crosses his burly arms over his chest, quietly clicking his tongue in disapproval at the Finnish man's words.

“Is either this or you sleeping back inside that dust-infested room… Or you can also clean out another bedroom, but, Pembroke and I aren’t going to help you, we’re tired,” the booming voice of Yuuken echoes through the dilapidated porch, his intimidating side finally coming out to the moonlight. But, Fígaro doesn’t seem to back down, even though he’s quietly stunned for a few seconds. His body rapidly turns around to you, blue eyes scanning your face. “Please, tell me that you’re with me on this one.”

“Eh, I’m not. I’ve slept on the balcony of my house multiple times and nothing happened, so, Yuuken’s idea is fine by me,” you shrug, the blonde man gawking at your words. To be honest, you've slept in worse places and the idea of falling asleep under the stars doesn't bother you at all. “Dude, calm down. The most that will happen is that we’ll get some bug bites.”

You would have thought about it more if you'd been a little more awake, but all your rationality was thrown out the window as you suddenly felt more sleepy and tired. Finally.

And so, with two votes against one, you found yourselves lying on a thick blanket spread out on the dead grass, the branches of a nearby tree serving as your cover, at Fígaro's request. The whiny blonde is snuggled between you and Yuuken's back, having insisted on the spot because he was cold and “forced by both of you to participate in such an activity.”

The Kendo student didn't give a damn about his complaints, shushing him between sleepy yawns, too exhausted to argue with him about the stupid place in the makeshift bed. Meanwhile, you were more concerned about the fact that you'd only be able to sleep for a few hours before you had to go to work. Will you have enough energy?

You hope so. A good shower and a strong cup of coffee should give you a boost tomorrow morning.

As the blades of grass gently nudge your back, the three of you say a quiet good night. Your heavy eyes finally begin to close, the cold wind gently kissing your skin as the soft snores and tired breaths of your new roommates lull you into a deep sleep.

The three of you fail to hear the horrifying screams of Crewel and the booming laughter of Ashton Vargas, the gym teacher, as the two faculty members watch you sleep under the tree.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Tag list:

@rotknox @agaygothicmushroom @sherryclover @mielle-estelar @yuriluvr2000 @Shironakuronatasa @yourlocalhot-simp @stvrbrighttt @tearsofgenshin @mewmew-dream @lehn2206 @coleisyn

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morlock-holmes · 1 year ago

Text

On Autism and Masking

So, for I want to do an exercise for those who aren’t on the autism spectrum:

I want you to think about a subject in school that you didn’t understand very well, it could be math, it could be history, could be a foreign language, just any subject where you struggled and had a hard time grasping the basics, where it took a little more work than usual to actually figure things out.

Imagine that you are learning this subject in school, and the teacher, well, let’s say he isn’t a very nice person.

Let’s say that when he calls on you to give the answer, he relentlessly mocks you in front of the whole class when you get it wrong. In fact, he doesn’t just do this when you get an answer wrong, sometimes he’ll hold up your homework and mock your wrong answers in front of the whole class.

Not only that, but sometimes he’s physically abusive, sometimes when you get an answer wrong he’ll throw an eraser at your head or hit your knuckles with a ruler.

And, occasionally, just to mix things up, he’ll sometimes just correct your mistakes in a matter of fact way and move on.

You can’t really tell which mistakes cause him to fly into a physically violent rage and which ones merit gentle correction; if there’s a pattern there you can’t figure it out, it seems completely random.

Maybe, unfortunately, this isn’t too far from how some of you were actually taught.

How might you react to this? Perhaps by keeping your head down, sitting in the back of the class, and desperately hoping not to get noticed? Or maybe erratic and sudden acts of physical and verbal defiance? Keep in mind all the other school officials are quite certain that this teacher isn’t doing anything unexpected or unusual, and really, if you aren’t applying yourself to learning the material, you can’t really expect anything different.

How do you think you’d feel about this subject as an adult? Perhaps you might sort of put it out of your mind as much as possible, avoid that subject as an adult and sort of put on a mask of placid ignorance whenever the subject comes up in conversation?

This is how a tremendous number of us autistic people had to learn social interaction as children.

People on the autism spectrum are often at their most rigid and inflexible as children, which is also the time at which the rules of social engagement are simultaneously at their most fluid and most strictly enforced.

For one thing, children are much more prone to enforcing the social order through outright mockery and even physical violence. Sometimes when you talk about your interests it’s fine; I used to talk about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with the other boys and that was just fine. But then they started making fun of me because I also like My Little Pony. I had trouble understanding that, because, like, they’re both cartoons, right?

Exactly because you have a disability in social pattern recognition, it is very hard for you to distinguish between actions which are acceptable, actions which will result in overt mockery, actions which will result in days or months of overt mockery, and actions which will result in physical violence.

It begins to feel like every time you say something spontaneous, you’re rolling the dice, maybe saying this makes it okay to hit me, maybe it doesn’t, won’t know until the person is actually hitting me!

Even worse, when you’re a kid, socially acceptable behavior changes very quickly. One school year everybody is playing with dolls, the next only a dumb baby would ever play with dolls.

So you can’t even take refuge in doing what worked last year or last month; even doing exactly the same behavior that was okay last year might promote mockery or violence if you try it again this year.

In the face of this, it often becomes easier to withdraw from society; the way to keep safe is avoidance and the projection of a kind of placid anonymity.

To this day, despite being subjected to very little violence in the grand scheme of things, there is still a part of me that feels like admitting something openly about how I feel is putting me at risk of violence, and that the people around me will likely think of that violence as justified.

I have seen surprisingly little which focuses explicitly on this aspect of the autistic learning process; often we are not so much taught social interaction as we are, essentially, bullied into it.

I was looking up some definitions of “masking” on autism advocacy web sites and they tend to define it as various ways that autistic people attempt to mimic the actions of allistic people, but I don’t think that’s exactly the case.

I think in particular that autistic people often develop a variety of strategies aimed at preventing people from noticing or reacting to them.

Again, this is because your formative years often teach you that it is extremely dangerous for people to react to something you have done; you simply don’t know whether or not they will react with mockery or violence; the only safe strategy becomes a kind of withdrawal, an attempt to minimize the amount to which others are reacting to your behavior at all.

I don’t think that this is really the same process as allistic people use to conform to social expectations, indeed I think it is less an attempt to conform to an understood expectation and more an attempt to avoid doing anything that conceivably could be scrutinized or subject to expectation.

#autism #masking #mental health

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barrenclan · 9 months ago

Note

just binge read the entire thing up till the recent update (up till 6 am. Don’t do this) and went nuts looking at things for asphodelpaw bc MM MM I love a well crafted narrative. She reminds me of a character I have as well, whose been affected by generations of trauma, but he deals w it in such an immature, teenager-y way bc well. He is. And so was she. She lashed out at Pinepaw bc she desperately wanted approval, some kind of warm reception from an authority figure, and bc her mother has been so distant, she didn’t seek it from her, instead she looked to her mentor Plumstripe (who, admittedly in very nature of being a mentor, had assumed not just an authority role, but a familiar one, one that was supposed to be close, like family.) and Plumstripe, having internalized the cruelty and generations long self inflicted torture Barrenclan does, began to pass down not just that, but the feelings dredged by a splintered relationship w her sister and family. Plumstripe, who validated her own feelings by passing them down and seeing them repeated. And Asphodelpaw so desperate to be close, to be useful, to feel valuable, gave her everything. And yet none of it was enough. (I noticed that while she didn’t try pursuing Cormorantpaw like Daffodilpaw did, she seemed to try and make up for that by needling her brother, something that Plumstripe, from her constant fights w her sister amd the laugh she gave upon actually being there for some of the sniping, clearly liked. At least to try and catch up w Beenose, who was seen being smug abt Daffodilpaw trying to get Cornorantoaw to open up.) And as time went on, the burden of loneliness, frustration, and despair cracked the walls and mask she had built. And the biggest crack came from Slugpelt trying to reconcile w her children, and Pinepaw coming out and trusting his family w that vulnerable secret. Something that shook her enough that she couldn’t help but look inward, to see that she was unhappy, to look outward, and see that the place and people she had looked up to so blindly were hurting her. And she made the right choice, something that speaks so much abt her character. She didn’t withdraw deeper into herself or double down on this performance for the clan she’d been doing, she said “wait, this is wrong. It shouldn’t be like this. And I have the power to change that.” And she HAULED ASS. She went to Egrettail for advice on her feelings of isolation from the culture and pressure the clans have toward she-cats, and finding her footing in her identity that she had grasped for but never realized she could reach until now. She went to Pinepaw and apologized, something that’s surprisingly hard to do, ESPECIALLY for a kid. Her character arc had hit a new track, and she was building a new, authentic confidence. And then all at once she died. And now she’ll be frozen there, never completing her journey, haunting the world she was ripped from. It’s AWFUL (<- said w a smile) I love deeply flawed characters, they’re just so real. Kind hearted and well-meaning characters like Pinepaw are great too, but to me there’s something so visceral abt characters that do the immature things, the selfish things, etc.

You’ve crafted a very interesting story here, with lots of little lore tidbits that make the world feel so much more real, and you’ve backed it up w characters and narrative w so much passion and thought. You care, not just about the story and characters you are writing, but the narrative it presents, the reaches it has. Thoughtfulness is one of the marks of a good writer, and you’ve got lots of it here. Thanks for making such a cool story. If you ever finish the human version, I think you’d have a solid chance at getting it published as an actual book. But if that’s not something you want, please be proud of your hard work and remember to sit back and admire it sometimes.

Thank you both for your very kind words on completely opposite ends of the spectrum.

#ask #anon #op 1 i love your huge well thought out massively touching analysis of asphodelpaw and the comic that is so kind :'D i'm very flattered #op 2 the comic is kissing you back with tongue #analysis #asphodelpaw

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br4inr0tx · 1 year ago

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HI I’ve been looking for someone that writes for the thanksgiving movie ever since I watched it. Masked slasher/voice changer do things to me.

Anyways can I request HCs with John Carver and someone he’s had this eye on for a while nearing thanksgiving? Feel free to get creative! Hope you have a good day :]

Sure thing! I feel the exact way about slashers..Urrhrghrh I love this man so much y’all I’m going to be SEARCHING for John Carver roleplayers AAAAA (character ai just doesn’t satisfy me enough ig 😓)

Happy Thanksgiving <3

tw - MASSIVE THANKSGIVING 2023 SPOILERS, stalking, death, manipulation, deception of gore, kidnapping.

Eric Newlon…

• Eric has had his eyes on you for a month now. He’s been very careful, as he knows all too well about how the smallest of details can ruin absolutely everything. You simply just don’t know it yet.

• The John Carver killer stalks and records his victims as you know. I’m retrospect he’s had his eyes on you longer then you think. Watching and carefully planning every detail.

• And you wouldn’t even have a clue.

• It’s around Thanksgiving time. You get around enough to know a few kids in town, and talk to people. Maybe, you even reminisce about the lives lost a year ago.

• It pains you to know that nightmare is all coming back. Faces you recognize are found missing or dead, and it’s been freaking you the fuck out.

• Not to mention those posts you keep getting tagged in are so very unsettling. Your name at a table with other chairs and names of people you may or may not recognize. The anxieties just kept coming and coming..

• Luckily, Sheriff Newlon has been there to help you during these rather compromising times. He seems to always know the best thing to say when you’re stressed out, and it’s kind of nice. You hind yourself recently stopping by his office just to spend time with him while he does research, and let me tell you, he eats the attention it right up.

• He assures you, nothing will hurt you when you’re with him. He won’t let this deranged killer harm you. You’re too sweet to lose. He jokes about how he could care less about those other foolish teenagers, but is he though?

• At work recently you’ve had these people you can’t stand. They never get their work done and seem to get away with it, along with being unserious and silly all the time. It hurts to focus most of the time..so frustrating. Their newest topic is bringing up last year’s incident too, which heightens your anxiety.

• Recently..they haven’t been showing up to work. Sure, you could use a few days without them, but now with this all going on? You can’t help but have a bittersweet feeling about it all.

• You decide to stay with Sheriff Newlon, or as he ushers you to say, Just Eric. It calms your nerves for the most part as he talks about things to get your mind off this whole mess. He promises you it fucks with his head too.

• After a minute Eric groans, shaking his head at the computer. “I gotta go copy some papers, I’ll be right back.” You nod, sitting back in your chair as you waited for his return. A long awaited return, too.

• You start to daydream, staring off at the walls aligned with case after case tied to the recent events of murders. It sent a shiver down your spine.

• You stood up, walking over to the pinboard and reading all of them. One paper caught your interest in particular, and as you picked it off the wall you knew exactly what it was. Your co-workers..they were tied to this. They went missing just like the others, and one of their purses was found on the side of the street with everything in it, from identification to money, like their only purpose was for the person themselves to be taken..

• You cringed hard reading it all, and as you tilted the paper upwards to bring it into more of the light in Eric’s dim room, the reflection on the plastic sleeve gave you quite a fright.

• After a quick turn around, you saw him. The John Carver Killer. As soon as you made a move he strikes, grabbing you and shoving you right against the desk and over it with your hands above your head, and with his free hand a Chloroform filled rag shoved roughly against your mouth and nose.

• In the hysteria there wasn’t much you could do. Anytime you struggled he’d grip your hands a little tighter as a warning. So much so he managed to crack your knuckles and almost even bend them in an awkward direction. That was until you finally fell asleep.

• When you woke up, you were at the front of the table, your hands tied behind your back. You weren’t gagged, but by the looks of your surroundings and the way the light shines through the boarded up windows nobody would hear you if you screamed anyway..

• What’s more, those pesky co-workers are around the table with you, all dead in different creative ways.

• John Carver appears behind you, placing his hands gently on your shoulders. “Isn’t this nice, Y/N? Everyone together, just having a nice dinner?” His head lowers right next to your ear. His voice sounded somehow robotic, perhaps because he was a voice changer. “Just like a Thanksgiving should be, right?”

• He sighs, like he had an amazing little daydream. The way his hands ran down your shoulders too..it’s the same way the sheriff used to. “I know you’ve been feeling lately..and I know you appreciate the true meaning of Thanksgiving. I made you something special, no strings attached..”

• You’re favorite meal, whatever that may be, was right in front of you. It looks delicious too..not any sort of gore or cannibalism you’d expect from the bodies all around. How would he know something that specific like your favorite food though? “Open up..” He feeds you the food himself, not trusting you just yet to let you go.

• If you don’t want to eat, be that way. He can warm you your food back up if you change your mind, but don’t ever say he didn’t have good hospitality.

• “You remind me of someone I used to know, Y/N..” He gently pushes your hair out of your face, feeding you another piece if you decided to play along. “So kind..not like those others who only care about themselves.”

• He keeps explaining everything he likes about you..even down to the smallest detail, which shakes you to your core. “

• “In fact, this year, I’m thankful for you. <3”

#horror #thanksgiving movie #thanksgiving #eric newlon #john carver

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fantomette22 · 4 months ago

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What are some Maria headcanons that you have?

( @izunias-meme-hole)

Lady Maria headcanons post (part 1) :

Alright! Well I already share those a while ago : https://www.tumblr.com/fantomette22/743244500505378816/lady-maria-vs-keeper-of-the-old-lords?source=share +couple of other around my blog

So I will try to share other things not just related to « Maria could do pyromancy from her living if she really wanted to but was actually terrified by it! Because she didn’t want to use her own blood to inflict pain and death. » also I won’t explain in detail how I hc she got her Rakuyo : by directly going to the East herself! (Yamamura’s country).

🍂But why did she name it like that? The Rakuyo? Well Rakuyo means « fallen leaves » right? Well, when she finally got her blade she needed to baptise it, to use it properly for the first time. And guess on what she uses it? A fallen leaf! (naturally falling in autumn). Cut it straight in two halves. And that’s how she knew how she was going to name it.

Enjoy the ride t's going to be long ;)

⚔️She got an Evelyn gun during her teenage years and before the Rakuyo she often train & fight with both a chikage and a reiterpallasch (she really like dual wielding 😎 or maybe with another sword like the shadow could have been a thing she fight with 🤔 but yeah I guess she was trained with all type of weapons) I wonder if she could have been a bit ambidextrous too.

⚜️Ok now concerning her family (tree) I have at least 5 different headcanons for it 💀but let’s just go with my main one aka the fic verse one (where she’s just Annalise’s cousin XD). Because if you get me started on the alternatives it’s just never gonna be over XD (those are really in very different timelines. It’s not really the same characters & events are different)

🩸I imagined she had quite a mixed relationship with her family. It’s like when you love them bc it’s your family, you like the good memories and nice moments you have, this little chill & special outings etc but there’s also some stuff you’ll never be able to forget or forgive them. You feel you need distance and be autonomous to not get hurt by them anymore, to not get frustrated and misunderstood. Just have news and share things outside.

She never really fit in with her peers. Kinda an odd one who just masks really well to fit into the mood when asked of her. I prefer to say « a (white) wolf » in a pack of hounds in context but yeah black sheep in a white flock if it’s easier to understand x) She had a lot of pressure on her shoulder as well (being the last pyromancer and not far in the line of succession)

But she really likes her close cousins which she grew up with (Annalise, Vled), a couple of other friends (Charles, Svetta, a couple of future young knights etc) as well as younger relatives and kids (Leo etc)! But she doesn’t get that much along with the others. Like she goes along better with the servants probably.

⚜️She mainly grew up between Cainhurst and where her parents had lands and their manor (in the north, near a coast). Her parents are often not there because they are sent by the crown to places so it's complicated . When her mother is in a good mood that’s mostly fine, her dad is a bit more chill (he taught her how to play a lot of card games and poker too! She probably played 2-3 times with money at stake. She prefers amical things. She will absolutely beat your ass at it too. She’s the definition of having a poker face XD)

👑She was a lil bit raised like a future lady in waiting but more as future knight (page (of the king), squire, knight training etc really rough training too 💀 very dark shit hm like beat the shit out of people while wearing a full weight armor, swim in a ice lake and idk shot hm dead things… I swear there’s more fun things but hm yeah…)

That one really isn’t fun as well but i imagined that during her teenage years she already had to deal with mental health issues (due to well some pb with her family etc). Thankfully, she did get better after spending a summer a bit far away at a friend's home (to simplify). Still she got scared for some years afterwards that some of those dark thoughts would eventually return. Thankfully it didn't for most of her life. She got some happy times…Bad times too but not that bad until well probably more than 15-20y later where you know… she would sadly not make it out this time.

🌌She was accepted as Byrgenwerth and went to mainly study sciences, astronomy, but did learn a bit of theology as well as medicine (basic medicine stuff, nurse & help midwife etc). She did 5y and got a master degree. She also participated in underground expeditions arranged by Byrgenwerth.

⭐️She probably know how to speak way more than 2 languages : whatever they speak in Yharnam, latin/pthumerian language, whatever the equivalent of Japanese is and probably a bit of other European languages too. Oh a north/slavic languages as well, because she had ancestors from there too).

🐴When she was very little they got some borzoi I guess but most of her life at Cainhurst she got 2 siblings crows (I have Phobos & Deimos names in my draft) as well as her own horse, named Filan. (mean little wolf in gaelic/irish apparently? Speaking of which Maria's nickname when she was little was "little wolf" maybe in another language too). She probably had a couple of plants too.

(suppose to be almost a full black horse but i’m not 100% settle because i could go full horsemen of the apocalypse aesthetic with other knights if i change the colors… but in my first draft that’s a black horse yes)

🔥When she was very little they discovered she could eventually have pyromancer blood power.It might have been a huge pride for them and honor for her but… clearly Maria didn’t want to become like the shadows of the antics pthumerian royals. A silent and hidden knight who kills without asking questions… clearly she wasn’t really found of this idea 😅 Thankfully for her she don’t know or to use such power and didn’t put much effort to try to learn it (in life she will probably accidentally use it 2-3 time…)

She highly respects a lot of traditions and culture from Cainhurst but there’s stuff like exposing the remains of animal prey that she found a bit barbaric. She doesn't mind others using blood blades and she will do it alone/ for training or even in choreography but she doesn’t wish to hurt or kill with it.*

💔So she was supposed to become a royal guard but things didn’t go like they should have…the poor young knights got into a fight with something by accident… a mortal trap they couldn’t win… only Maria made it out alive. Very hurt and slightly traumatized… She then had a huge fight with her family & relatives about what happened. She couldn’t even send news to her friends bc they forbid it to calm any rumors about what happened…Hm then Maria’s family decide to send her more north where her parents have lands etc so things calm down and she could ya know do her knight work or smt. Anyway she run away at Byrgenwerth💀

Sorry for the meme jebfekb I am not giving lot of details for now but it's highly link with my Knight & Beast of Cainhurst story.

(Why this meme too? Well due to rumours her friends legit thought she died 💀 she went to Byrgen only 1-2 months later. During the holidays. So she sent to like Ludwig & the other who weren't there letters to tell them she was ok. That's were came this meme XD)

❤️‍🩹Anyway she was partially disowned of some stuff for a bit and didn’t came back at Cainhurst for while. But after some times, her and her family wanted to both apologize and reunite, but without an occasion it would be complicated. Well, until a CERTAIN SOMEONE stole the forbidden blood to Cainhurst and tell them Maria helped 💀 (she had no idea, and he only did that bc he owns her one). So she didn’t approve but she kinda reconciled and they gave her the occasion to do a mission for them later on, in JAPAN (the Eastern land) and well you know the rest.

⚓️She had the occasion to go to « Japan » and have her dream of becoming like half in charge of a ship after getting her master degree! (she just did navigation stuff with the stars but maybe she was captain lol that’s what she wanted to do when she was little actually. But reading Evelyn diaries and not just the novels she realised how hard it was to always have such life h24)

Congratulations Lady Maria!

After really hard years.. and trauma… and a exhausting presentation

You win :

a master degree in astronomy (sciences & other things)

a nice meal with your parents & family that congratulate you

a big part of your inheritance back!

a super wine bottle to share with your friends

a trip to japan

finally your promised personalised double sword

a personalised hunting attire when you came back

to able to work with gehrman’s hunters & the healing church when you came back

So proud of you ❤️👏

✨Other lil hcs :

Laurence made her very interested in religion. I am not joking, I sincerely believe he converted her somehow. / Made her very interest into great one religion etc

Gehrman saved her life more than once, she did the same. They went into lot of hunt training/camping trip as the beggining of being hunters.

She became great friends with Ludwig, Rom, Caryll, friends Damian too etc back at Byrgenwerth. With Micolash it was a bit more nuanced for a while. Before becoming close friends they were roasting each other often XD but respected each other too.

Her brooch either came from her mother or the late queen (aunt) so a family heirloom I guess. Ressemble a lumenflower.

She helped the early healing church with treating people, make food, teach kids etc

She was highly respected by all the old hunters. Even if she had some tensions with dear Izzy at like the beginning they knew each other XD She earn their respect and everyone ended up very liking her being her kindness, abilities etc

When she was sent alone or with a couple of hunters to help in a secluded villages, people were of course really skeptical at first but she quickly proved them her worth.

I think sometimes she wears dresses… but hey she never wears high heels or ballerina shoes (she hates it so hey she still has her special style! aka huge boots XD) It’s often very simple ones as well. Except at Cainhurst, it’s not very extravagant.

She loves to read tons of books (cainhurst library is there for smt XD)

With her cousins they loved to explore and wander the castle! At night too.. got them into trouble more than once.

Sometimes she wears sunglasses when it’s very sunny (poor girl has white eyelashes you see! she have an excuse)

She really loved the lumenflowers too like i explained last time.

She got some scars at the base of her neck. That’s why she almost always wear a jabot with her broach. (maybe on the hands too. that’s why she often has gloves).

She made (with a bit of help) Gherman’s red scarf while in japan.

“Of the Astral Clocktower” because she basically funded its construction with her own money. So like it’s partially hers on papers. (She did mostly astronomical studies & took care of the patients kind of like a nurse during her time at the research hall

She could play a couple of instruments (especially violin and cello).

Of course she know many ballroom & court dance and taught other to others when they were invited to some places.

She actually can “sing” very well (but more music without real lyrics like the dream ost for exemple) ! She would probably almost never do that in public too.

Some books at the workshop are hers

Oh, did I already told she was very scared of pthumerian pyromancers before she fought the keeper of the old lords?

Ok now because I didn't know what to add to the post I asked some of my friends to help me with questions they wanted to know about! Thanks @heraldofcrow & @fareehaandspaniards there you go:

Was she comfortable with life at Cainhurst? (Before the Vileblood)

I think I answered that above ^ it’s very complex and complicated. Sometimes it goes well (especially in childhood) but sometimes it’s very complicated and not so good… (especially during teenage years and during some events where she got a lot of pressure and all. It got better after all this mess and Vilebloods mess of course (even if some distance was left compared to before).

🩸🐦‍⬛Bloody Crow’s relation to Maria?

In my main hc he’s the son of Maria’s cousin (Vled, the knight). So her little cousin basically. But to simplify I often say he’s like a nephew to her. I named him Voron! (I know very imaginative it means raven XD) Still unsure if he’s born before or after the hamlet (probably after too) but in all cases Maria was around to help with the birth and to help take care of him for the first couple of days. She loved him very much. Also In the case something were to happen to his parents, well the king & queen would take care of him but if somehow they can’t/something were to happen to them too, Maria promised she would be the one to take care of him.

Still, she died when he was very young. Probably like 3-6 years old. So he does remember a bit. But just a little and he has very good memories of her. But he also saw his family hurting from her disappearance and all and so he grew more mixed feeling but mostly it stays positive. He really looks like her in a lot of ways.

🕷️Rom and Maria friendship 🥺?

I see you want to know more about their friendship! I think They had a wholesome friendship overall! But it didn't begins great. I am trying to write it in my fic since a few months but it's all hard and idk how to do that exactly XD

Like they were doing a group exercise and Rom was pretty bad and it (supposed to be quite easy) and Maria who got frustrated to explain it so much lash out a bit and tell her like “are you dumb or something?”

Everyone in the class isn't very nice to Rom (and Maria) and said worst things behind her back so she thought that was, you know OK somehow and not that mean. But she quickly realized afterwards her mistake, that Rom was the Provost daughter and that she had some disability. But despite that, she was still trying hard and she must be very strong to have the lvl to be here you know!

Maria feels very bad about it (Micolash had dark looks to give her too lmao) but after a while (talking with other people cough cough) she decided to come to her and apologize sincerely and even try to help her on a few things.

Rom was quite surprised at first because nobody, you know approaches her like this to apologize and that's a huge thing considering Maria is from Cainhurst and a noble.

I mean she didn't even have hard feelings against Maria because everyone else is way meaner and she kinda forgot about it. She was quite surprised but also very thankful and they began to talk more. Micolash was the most surprised and he told Rom to be careful to not get walk over, to not believe lies and stuff but he quickly realized that it was genuine. And Rom had to reminded him (with Damian) that well, when he first meet Rom he was kinda of a bully at first! Before becoming a mother hen with Damian.

So yes the two girls began to talk about a lot of things! She even got invited to Rom’s room. There’s tons of insects and underglass and stuff but generally people don't like that but Maria found it cool! She got some back home too and found it very interesting actually! So they quickly became friends with all the little gang. And also they are basically the two girls of the squad! I mean Caryll is in the girls squad too but they can also be in the boys squad so yeah anyway you know how girl besties can be x) you don’t share the same things exactly. Plus Caryll & Rom are really in the must protected squad.

Maria even defends Rom from her family when she came back for the holiday and they asked her if she made some friends and who they were and stuff. And you know uh Mara had to told them in a very exaggerated manners that « oh I'm friend with the Provost daughter you know! » (You know because that's what they want to know, if she made strong connections with interesting people before anything else…)

But of course, you're going to have very rude comments from some relatives or something who’s going to say “oh the retarded one?” 💀 And everyone's looking at him like “can you please not say it like this?” Poor Maria just standing there and dunno what to say because she really cares about her as a friend. She doesn't just want to have friends to show off she has important contacts. She genuinely values those friendships. Sadly, she can’t just tell her family that her friends are mostly “the weird introvert group kids! just like me!”(so she talk about Ludwig too! but don't put too much details on others…)

So yeah they stayed great friends for years. Sadly, in tough moments they didn’t really share what hurt them to the other… (after kos etc maybe a bit but not too much)

🗡️🛡️What or who inspired Maria's path of knighthood in her youth?

History books & knight novels! Her grand uncle, the other knights, king etc, Her family push her/ “let her choose” that way as well.

Lady Evelyn stories (she was like Maria grand aunt/ cousin of her grandparents, mostly an adventurer).

The bodyguard of Annalise’s mother who was at first a mercenary sent to Loran before becoming a royal knight.

🍜What were Maria's food preferences?

Hm i think if it looks/smells average and edible she’s actually not that complicated XD She made a lot of effort through the years to get used to more common and simple food.

My poor girl couldn’t really cooked anything when she arrived at Byrgenwerth besides cutting basic things, make tea, made ramen and skins animal meat (like rabbit) before Gehrman thought her other recipes 😭 (she made great soups afterwards! hunters like it, she cuts aliments well XD but yeah my boy cooks well for everyone he made her liked many simple things that if not done well many don’t like. But bro is the only one who probably likes some chard gratin or something out of everyone…)

Like most of her family, i supposed she would very much enjoy some rare/medium rare meat XD but when it’s EVERYDAY she got very tired 💀 I mean she tried to tell her family it was too much so they respected her wishes and gave her only vegetables for a couple of days… but not like normal meals no! like a whole ass not decorticate salad or full ass carrots with skins and all! 💀 She rapidly apologized like you can guess. (still she can’t stand those damn carpaccio when there’s too much!)

Besides that yeah only non meat dishes don’t bother her at all, she would even prefer most of the time. She likes both sophisticated but also very simple dishes she discovered. Exotic food from the east. Of course my girl liked sushis, fish, sea fruit etc. I mean she used to like it way more before… you know… afterwards many hunters couldn’t just smell white fish for a few days without feeling nauseous…. for Maria she just couldn’t bring herself to eat like 95% of white sea fish anymore… (I guess salmon and thon and lobster were still ok but that’s it really).

And well of course deserts are always so nice so whatever 🤤

🌻Her relationship with Adeline? /Who is Adeline to her in your interpretation?

(Yeah both of you asked me this one! x) )

Well depending on the interpretations I have two main interpretations for her! (in the AU/very different timeline where Gehrman is like Maria's dad, that's her girlfriend lol) but in my main interpretation that’s not really the case. I prefer to see them as friends and very close friends I think? during her early time at the research hall. Another close friend she made who’s mainly outside of her main group. But both have quite an evolution through the years they knew each other.

If i remember the draft in my head correctly it goes like this :

After Maria graduated (and came back from her mission trip) she went to help the early healing church develop itself and its activities between hunts and going in the pthumerians labyrinth and that’s where she met Adeline.

I supposed Adeline is a Yharnamite? but she lost everything (her family. not sure what happened) and basically didn’t have a home anymore and clearly saw herself as worthless (poor girl had terrible self esteem issues all her life afterwards…) So the early healing church took in some people in need, gave them a place to sleep, eat and heal them if they were sick. Maria took care and helped Adeline during that time (after it was Laurence too).

And so the 2 became friends! In the end Adeline (who had nothing left) decided to dedicate her life to the healing church and helped others as well, so they saw each other with Maria afterwards! They advised each other and could have been a bit confident of each other as well. Of course Maria wasn’t very hyped when Adeline became a blood saint fully (seeing the bad things it could do to people) but she respected her choices.

During the research hall, before Adeline took part in the experiments, she helped Maria, Rom, Caryll etc around with the patients & other things. I suppose because of some dreams/ exposure to something, the decline of everyone's mental health, and maybe other people asking her... she decided to give herself fully to those experiments as well in the end… Her death was one of the last straws for Maria...

----

I know I have more questions left but I am reaching Tumblr word limit soon so I will reblog/make a 2nd post (or even a 3rd)💀 with the rest of the most interesting (and huge) questions! It's not quite written yet but for now this should be a nice distraction and a good reading I hope!

#my asks #bloodborne #bloodborne headcanons #lady maria of the astral clocktower #bloodborne fanfiction #lady maria #my art #fantomette22art

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ju-vondy · 6 months ago

Text

Jason's past info reveal on EP. Five X My own thoughts...

After playing the latest episode of MCL New Gen I had to do this post because when Jason told us about his father I almost fell of my chair screaming "OMG I WAS RIGHT???!!!!!" For those who didn't play the episode 5 yet: 🚨⚠️spoilers 🚨⚠️

So... I had this feeling that Beemoov was going to introduce a family drama for Jason, particularly involving his father, to justify his poor behavior, ya know? Like...: the typical story where the teenager loses his father, faces family problems and ends up becoming bitter and tough because of it. The whole "family is a mess" narrative LOL (I honestly hate that concept of "You can heal she/he" thing that usually come together with this kinda plot, that's why even though I made a difficult past for Jason in my fic, he secretly goes into therapy often... so Candy won't need to worry about being a damn "healer" for him 😂)

In fact, I even considered killing his father when Jason was a teenager in my fanfic because I was so sure his dad was dead. But then I thought, "No... Beemoov wouldn't use that cliché of the man who lost his father too soon and had to take on family responsibilities at 18, right? What a drama!"

So, today I'm here to justify the plot I thought about to you: I didn't kill off Jason's father in my fanfic because in my mind it would be too obvious and cliché. Instead, I wanted to explore a different angle that still included family issues and could add depth into Jason's character. But then... I realized that my own story also ended up being quite dramatic LMAO 🤣😅🤐

The way I created Jason's family tragedy, I know it got intense, and sometimes I feel like such a villain for it (~crying in author language~). For a kid, it must be very though waking up from an accident and listening "So... Your father is in a coma. We don't know if he'll wake up or no. He can live but he can also die suddenly, be prepared." And then you wake up everyday hoping your father will wake up but he didn't and you get nothing instead of a fake hope that the next day will be different... You are unsure if he's going to live or die. You didn't lost the person, but you lost its presence, voice, bad jokes, caring, etc. However, you still don't want to lose hope. So, for Jason kid it was like "I'll do my best everyday so when papa wakes up he'll be proud of me :D"

I decided to put Jason's father (I named him as Gregory) through a coma when Jason was a kid for two main reasons: 1) Give Jason a motivation and 2) don't make him deal with "taking care family matters out of the blue" once he was too young.

> That leads to his uncle (named Viktor) accompanying Jason's growth and teaching him everything about the family business, being a leader and etc. Of course Viktor had an aggressive method once Jason father's part of the family is crap and cruel (as I shared on this post).

Despite growing up with his uncle filling his head with nonsense about love being a weakness and such things, young Jason didn't want to be bitter and iced-heart like that. (Yep, he was a hectic kid but that doesn't mean he was evil, he just liked to have fun messing around.) He remembered his father being kind and gentle, almost as if he wanted to break the tough mold of the family. But later Jason faced many disappointments because, being from a wealthy family, (BTW, I got kinda sad when Jason said they were not rich in the EP 5, but now that's done and I don't regret describing his family the way I did once we didn't have any information hehehe) many people around them were fake. He also suffered bullying for being skinny, so... All of those bad things led him to think around the age of 16-17: "Well, there's no other way. When I'm not at home I'll have to put on this mask that my uncle taught me so others won't walk all over me."

However, internally Jason still held hope that Gregory would wake up someday and... Within his good heart, there was the desire of wanting to make his dad proud ~if he woke up~ Jason had as a kid > it still remained there in his mind, so he gave his best effort in everything they put he to do back that time. But at a certain point there was so much pressure on the poor boy that he ended up having a breakdown. 'Do this' 'Don't do that' 'Be perfect' 'Get good grades' 'Blah blah blah'... At the age of 18-19 Jason found himself having like those "I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" moments of life LOL 🤣 He never really liked everything the Mendal stood for, anyway. He always found it a drag to attend luxury dinners, close deals and pretend to be someone he wasn't… Jason ended up becoming a rebellious young-adult despite being studious and dedicated to his goals.

And then things got worse when Jason was near his 20-21 years old: his father sadly woke up in a minimally conscious state. (So: today his father is not dead, but he's not "living" as well. You know? When someone is awake but can't talk, move, etc. sometimes the person can exhibit limited and inconsistent responses to external stimuli, but that's all.) I think that was the "breaking point". Jason got deeply disappointed: He felt like everything he had done in his entire life was for nothing. As a result, the dark-haired began to exhibit dysfunctional behavior, skipping work at the family company, arriving late etc, etc. Viktor took advantage of this moment of weakness and convinced the board/the general council that Jason became irresponsible, went off the rail and therefore was unfit for any leadership position and would never be good enough to take the vice president or president's company role. That made our hated beloved protagonist really angry, it felt like a big betrayal for him. Following that, in a fit of impulsivity, Jason had those moments of "'Fuck you guys. I don't need you idiots. My family sucks and I'll prove them that I can make it on my own without using my father's name.' And that's why he resigned from his position and began working on something else, which would later culminate in the founding of Goldreamz. (Fortunately, this was the moment he decided to start seeing a therapist again, for our sake's.)

Well... I gave you too many spoilers of the fic already, so, basically: Jason’s past sucks and his journey in my point of view is intertwined with themes of redemption, ambition, growing and a desire to protect those he cares about besides his own heart ~which he chooses to not open up with random people. He's not an asshole/jerk, but he decides consciously to behave as if he is one because a bunch of internal reasons. (His therapist is still trying to work on that btw 👀) Jason only shows his truly self when he with his mom, brother, close friends and some of his mother's relatives. (And hopefully, near Candy... As time goes by and they fall for each other) Selective behavior, ya know? It is common for people undergoing therapy to selectively share their true feelings and thoughts with a trusted inner circle, while emotionally protecting themselves from others. Besides, we must remember that therapy is a long and sometimes non-linear process: Jason may resist complete changes, preferring to maintain a protective behavior while slowly working on his internal issues. Jason does not intend to change it, actually. He's happy with only the people he cares about knowing who he truly is... He's like: "bitch, I don't care" about the others. 😅😆

With all of that said: I can’t wait to delve deeper into Jason's motivations in my upcoming chapters, exploring the intricate web of personal and professional stakes that drive Jason’s actions. 🤭 Stay tuned for more revelations and twists 🤪

If you’ve been following my fanfic, let me know your thoughts on Jason’s development and how you think his backstory ties into the larger narrative. And if you’re just catching up on the game itself (MCL New Gen), what do you think of the latest episode? Let’s discuss!

If you're not following my fanfic, I recommend you read this post first 😅 Thank you all for supporting my work and crazy ideas 💖

#jason mendal #mcl new gen #mcl jason #mcl fanfic #mclng #amour sucre new gen #my candy love new gen #mcl #Jason Mendal fanfiction

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