#i mean there’s a lot of unrealistic shit happening in these shows

[filet-o-feelings]

The amount of times someone falls and their lips accidentally land on someone else's lips in BLs is not realistic at all 😂

[lauraisakilljoy]

obx spoilers ahead!!

I'm so conflicted about the season 4 ending because on one hand I get it. life is unfair, it's unrealistic to give all of your characters happy endings, especially if said characters are constantly putting themselves in danger. it makes sense that not everyone survives four seasons of near-death experiences like being held hostage, getting shot at, almost drowning etc. on the other hand I can't help but be bitter that the person who had been abused/mistreated their entire life and who was clearly suffering was the one who had to die. at the hands of his biological father, may I add. I’ve seen some people say JJ was annoying this season and I get where they’re coming from, but all of his impulsive decisions and everything that happened at/after the town meeting just made me sad. he was struggling so much that he didn’t care what happened to him or if he lived or died. all he wanted was a future where he could live with his friends in their own little paradise without a care in the world. with the money from the crown and shoupe’s promise, it seemed like he was so close to happiness and inner peace, but they didn’t let him have that. so yeah, I get why they did this, but that doesn’t make it less upsetting.

[rosedpetal]

Let's Try Something New

Summary: Outraged by the horrible smut you were reading, Robert shows you how BDSM really is.

Pairing: Robert Chase x Wife!Reader

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: smut, light bdsm (sorry if it's inaccurate, I'm just a vanilla girl)

Masterlist

You loved him with all your heart.

Not only that, he was a dream come true. Tall, handsome, blonde, broad and with a heart of gold. If Robert was a dog, he'd be a damn golden retriever. With his innocent blue eyes and easy smiles and suffocating affection.

To his friends and colleagues, your husband was the personification of a boy-next-door type, now turned a man with a license to practice medicine. Everything that was probably expected from him when he was young.

He was raised as a Catholic, for fucks sake, even taking the lengths of beginning his studies at seminary school when he was sixteen. Everything in him screamed safe.

You thought it was ironic.

Robert wasn't one to criticize your choice of entertainment, and he secretly knew you've read a lot of smutty books and fanfics on Tumblr. Apparently it was a popular thing amongst women. He's heard nurses talking (and they talked too damn much).

It happened while you were showering, washing your hair throughly, blissful unaware of the fact that Robert saw your book unattended in the coffee table and his curiosity took the best of him. A little peek wouldn't hurt, right?

He flicked through the pages, snorting at how inaccurate and unrealistically these scenes were written. Not only he knew the anatomy and biology like a pro (he was a doctor!) but he used to practice the very same stuff that was so poorly written in your pretentious little book.

It was all so-wrong.

He was so immersed in the horrors he was reading that he didn't notice you walking to the kitchen with a towel in your head and wearing your pajamas, ready to cook dinner. You thought it was weird, usually, he'd acknowledge you first thing. When you turned to look at him, you finally realized, in absolute horror, that he was reading the book you bought on Amazon days ago.

"Rob!" You let out a sound that resembled a squeal. "What are you doing?"

He looked up at you, trying to fight his smirk.

"Is this the kind of educational literature you buy with my hard earned money?"

Your face flushed with embarassment.

"Hey! I bought this with my money! And that's besides the point, I told you before to not snoop on my stuff."

"Because you're embarrassed of it?

"I-" You stopped yourself, feeling your cheeks redden even more.

"I'm not mad that you're reading erotica. But babe, this is so poorly written. I'm actually disappointed." He put the book back on the coffee table, crossing his arms and looking at you. "It's all a load of bull-"

"Because it's kinky? Because it's BDSM?" You knew you were being defensive, but you couldn't help it.

"No. Because this stuff is not BDSM. This author has no idea what they're talking about and is trying to use the practice of BDSM to write their rapey scenes."

You tilted your head to the side. "Are you an expert on BDSM now?" Your eyes widened as you saw your very innocent husband's expression change to slight amused. Oh my-

"I've practiced it, years ago."

You couldn't believe it.

And he kept on rambling: "Well, first of all, BDSM is not something used to subdue women. Or to force kinky practices or shit like that. I mean, where's the fucking safe word here?"

"I'm sorry, when did your BDSM practice happen? Between leaving seminary and going to med school or..?" You couldn't help the question.

He scoffed at your little jab.

"Just let me know if you wanna see for yourself what the real thing is."

That had you speechless.

He was groping you aggressively, your little movie night turned into a heavy making out session the minute the credits started rolling in the screen. You whined, your breathing mixed, your cotton clothed core rubbing shamelessly against the tent in his sweatpants.

With an arm wrapped around your waist, he quickly rolled you, your back pressing on the couch as he towered over you.

He kissed down your neck, lips trailing butterfly kisses on your feverish skin.

"I wanna try."

He froze. "Try what?"

You rolled your eyes. "You know what. BDSM. Now."

He sighed, pulling back and sitting on the couch. "Babe, it doesn't work this way."

"Come again?"

"Honey, we have to talk about this first. Do you know what BDSM stands for? What are your limits? We have to establish a safe word, or if we'll use the color system..."

You sit up, trying not to sound frustrated. "Okay, Mr. expert in BDSM. Just tell me you think I'm too vanilla to handle it."

Robert rolled his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with being vanilla."

"I can be kinky!"

"Do you want this to prove a point or are you really interested?"

"I'm interested. I wanna know if my smutty books are really that shitty."

He snorted at that, brushing a strand of hair off your face. "You're okay with being tied up?"

"Yes."

"And blindfolded?"

"Yes."

"Can you choose a safeword for me?"

"Cookie?"

"Oh, I'd love one."

"Robert!"

"Sorry, baby... Okay, let's take this to the bedroom, okay?"

He followed you inside your shared bedroom, rummaging through a drawer on his nightstand and grabbing a medium box.

You probably looked funny, sitting in bed, half naked and politely waiting for Robert to get whatever he had planned for you. He grabbed a pair of handcuffs and in a very serious tone, said:

"Lay down and put your wrists above your head."

You obeyed, feeling the cold metal close around your wrists, safely tied around the headboard. You couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle.

"Don't go Gerald's Game on me, please."

Robert's eyes lit up a little. You were so cute. He wanted to ruin you.

"Take your mind off everything else, and close your eyes for me, beautiful."

Unconsciously, you rubbed your thighs together. That voice and that accent? Should be illegal. The way he called you beautiful as he put a blindfold on you? Completely evil.

Robert hummed to himself as he dimmed the lights of the room and turned up the thermostat. He walked back to you, sitting down next to you, slowly trailing his fingertips on your body. You actually shivered, despite the room temperature.

He kissed down your body. Your neck, collarbones, your bare chest, your navel... Just as he was about to reach your panties, he kissed the way up again, wrapping an arm around you and lifting your torso slightly to kiss you.

It was surprisingly gentle, but still breathtaking, nonetheless. His lips slowly moved against yours, his tongue slowly making its way between your lips, and you let out a little whimper while he kissed you. He pulled back, his warm breath on you as his thumb brushed your swollen lips.

Then, the dance of kissing your body returned. This time, he gently bit on your nipple, giving your breast a small squeeze, lowering his mouth and licking your clothed core. It was embarrassing how soaked through you were, your panties ruined as he hooked his finger on the elastic and pushed the fabric to the side, his tongue finally making contact with your poor pussy.

"Open your mouth for me." He demanded in a rough tone and as soon as you obeyed, he stick two fingers inside your mouth. You moisted them with your saliva, and he retreated them, only to gently push them inside of you moments later.

Your chest was heaving as he kissed and sucked on your clit, rolling his tongue, curling his fingers inside you, the wet sounds music to his ears.

"Ow!" You gasped in surprise when he slapped your clit.

"Color?"

"Green..."

"Are you sure?"

"I was just surprised, okay? Green."

He chuckled as he could hear the pout in your voice, giving you another open finger slap on your swollen clit, his other hand scissoring you, making you arch your back.

Just as you were about to orgasm, he stopped.

"Wha-Why would you do that?" You asked, in an indignant tone.

"You didn't ask for permission, princess."

"Can I please, come?"

"You have to learn how to address me, too." Robert hummed, getting off the bed and taking off his pants, stroking himself. "Can you do that for me, honey? How do you call me when you're at my mercy like a whore?"

God, you knew you were gonna lose your goddamn mind.

"Hmmm, Sir?"

"That'll do for now." He says, towering over you, spreading your legs, making your stomach tighten with anticipation.

He aligned his tip in your wet entrance, his breath becoming irregular. Slowly, he rolled his hips, hands on your waist as he fucked you. The bed creaked slightly under your bodies, and he hiked your leg up, kissing your calf, never stopping.

"You always feel so good." He admits in a gruff tone, holding your leg against his chest as you desperately tried not to scream. "I can never get enough of you, baby girl."

"Sir, I need to come, please, please, can I come?" You cried out, already feeling it.

He'd let it slide this time. You were a beginner, after all.

"Yes, baby. Come for me. Show me what I do to you."

You clamped violently around him, squelching, wet walls milking his length, and he picked up his pace, the sound of your moans, your orgasm, all too much. His whole body tensed up as he spilled inside you, groaning, gently pulling out moments later.

He released your sore wrists from the handcuffs, taking the blindfolds off your eyes.

"That wasn't so bad." You jested, throat dry.

"Yeah, just you wait when I introduce you to the flogger."

The blush on your cheeks was rewarding as he pulled you in his arms again.

[lovelyverosika]

You didn’t know but with a twist

Hazbin Hotel! Adam x Fem!Reader

Warning: swearing

A/N: Hey<3 My name is Verosika and I’ll write fanfictions whenever I have the time to :) This is my first time writing one, so it’s based on the song "You didn’t know" to make it easier for me. Just to let you know english isn’t my first language..so be prepared for some grammar mistakes :,D

Y/N POV:

We all sat in the courtroom, waiting for the trail to begin. Next to me was my husband Adam and Lute. I wasn’t supposed to be here but Adam wanted me to hear the "childish" and unrealistic ideas of the princess of hell.

After everyone was here Sera spoke "We're gathered here today to determine whether or not a soul in Hell, can be redeemed into heavenly realm by means of this 'Hazbin hotel', Princess Morningstar?",Sera said wanting Charlie to speak up.

I looked down to Charlie,my head resting on Adam’s shoulder. "Webster's dictionary defines redemption as-" before Charlie could speak Adam interrupts her: "Objection, lame and unoriginal". I sighed at his immature behaviour and gave him a slight bump with my head.

Charlie was flipping through her cards making Adam roll his eyes. "If you have actually evidence, then show it already." He said,glaring at Charlie. "We have two patrons already they’re making incredible progress" Charlie defended and I smiled, "Who?", I asked. "Angel Dust" Charlie spoke. "Oh yeah, the pornstar demon" Adam snickered as he added. "He's totally worth being redeemed".

Suddenly Monika,another demon stood up. "Well then, if you know so much…what do you think it takes to get into heaven?",she spoke. It was quiet until I asked if Adam was okay. He scoffed as he pulled out a golden paper from his pockets and a pen, "Give me a fucking moment, okay?",he then started writing and gave me the paper as I read it out, "Act selfless, don't steal, stick it to the man?", I chuckled looking at him with an raised eyebrow. He shrugged "Uh, yeah? Sure got me here...didn't it?",he said seemingly questioning himself. Sera sighed before saying: "He was the first human soul in heaven."

In the following hours Charlie showed us the improvement of this demon called Angel dust and how he did everything what Adam wrote on his list but nothing happened. Sera only sighed as she wanted to declare the trail as failed and that we will see what brings someone to heaven when the first soul arrives. I sat there with my head hanging. I felt bad for keeping my secret,especially when I looked over to Emily,who held the paper that Adam had written earlier.

Emily: But she was right, Sera. She showed us a soul can improve. He saw the light, Sera. Checked all the boxes that you said would prove a person deserves a second chance. Now we turn our backs, no second glance?

Sera: It's not as simple as you think. Not everything is spelled in ink.

Charlie: It's not fair, Sera!

Vaggie: Careful, Charlie, keep a cool head.

Charlie: No! Don't you care, Sera? That just because someone is dead, it doesn't mean they can't resolve to change their ways turn the page, escape infernal blaze.

Y/N: I'm sure you wish it could be so. But there's a lot that you don't know.

Lute: What are we even talkin' about? Some crack-whore who fucked up already? He blew his shot, like the cocks in his mouth. This discussion is senseless and petty.

Lute & Adam: There's no question to be posed!He's unholy, case closed. Did you forget that Hell is forever?

Adam: A man only lives once, we'll see you in one month. Gotta say, I can't wait to…

Y/N: Adam…

Adam: Come down and exterminate you.

Emily: Wait!

Adam: Shit…

Emily: What are you saying? Let me get this straight…You go down there and kill those poor souls?

Charlie & Y/N: You didn’t know?

Adam: Whoops

Lute: Guess the cat’s out of the bag.

Adam: What’s the big deal?

Emily: Sera, tell me that you didn't know…

Sera: I thought, since I'm older it's my load to shoulder

Emily: No!

Sera: You have to listen, it was such a hard decision. I wanted to save you, the anguish it takes to do what was required.

Emily: To think that I admired you, well I don't need your condescension. I'm not a child to protect! Was talk of virtue just pretension? Was I too naive to expect you to heed the morals you're purveying?

Charlie: That's what the fuck I've been saying!

Emily,Charlie & Monika: If Hell is forever, then Heaven must be a lie! If angels can do whatever, and remain in the sky. The rules are shades of gray, when you don't do as you say. When you make the wretched suffer just to kill them again.

Monika: Don't you act all high and mighty!Adam did you ever think your "sweet" wife might be a liar?

Y/N: Huh? Wait no…please!

Monika: Don’t be such a crybaby! Why hide the fact that you were a demon just like us?

Part 2

[so-much-for-the-seashells]

Baking With BF!Dean Winchester Headcanons

✨ Dean Winchester x GN!Reader ✨

*sighs in 2014 was 10 years ago* Minors do NOT interact, this is not “rizz-ing!” Off you go!

A/N: I love writing these because they’re like half baked yet surprisingly endearing thoughts and it’s fun haha.

Icons by me!

All notes are appreciated! Hope you enjoy!

Content Warning: I have a bad sense of humor and make some sex jokes but nothing too explicit, at least I think so. Definitely still 18+

( ˘ ³˘)♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

-3 favorite things to bake with him

1. Pie (obvs)

2. Brownies (sometimes with pot…)

3. Cookies (all kinds)

-okay, now that that's been established...

-one day you had jokingly suggested the bunker should do a cookie jar

-this was taken seriously; not only by Dean, Sam and Cas; but also by literally every regular passerby. Even Rowena's made a batch of red velvet cookies. (We threw those ones away, we couldn't trust that they weren't poisoned, made of blood, or both)

-but if it's just the usual crew (you, the brothers, and Cas) then you have a weekly rotation

-and Dean regularly suckers you into "helping" him, even though you both knows he’s capable of being a big boy (and I mean he is a big boy if you catch my drift) and doing it himself

-those candy apple green eyes work wonders

-anyhoo

-one of his favorite, stupidly cheesy things to do is as follows:

-you’ll have a taste of the batter/dough/filling, as one does (it’s always good cause the two of you together are an unstoppable force in the kitchen) (alone is a different story- it’s usually Kraft Mac n Cheese cups)

-and while you’re trying it, making faces, he’ll look over and innocently ask if he can try it

-like “Can I get some, sweetheart?” (And yes he most certainly can get some.) (batter, I mean) (definitely batter) or “can I try some, doll?”

-and no matter how many times he’s tried it you’ll say yes

-so he’ll lean down, cupping your cheeks in his rough hands and kiss you as passionately as humanly possible

-like, these kisses could literally bake the cookies or whatever because of how hot they are

-and he’ll make sure he really gets to try it

-and then he’ll pull back with a smirk, cause he’s done it at least 30 times before and you still let him and still like melt into a puddle every single time. Without fail.

-you guys like to put on Disney soundtracks in the background when you bake. High school musical and Moana primarily, but he’s also taken with the soundtrack of Julie and the Phantoms. (He complained about the show being unrealistic supernaturally speaking and then was adamant that there should be a season two and cancelling it was a crime worthy of hell)

-also, rock, obviously. As a fan of Bon Jovi, you best believe you sell him on them and slow dance to Bed of Roses while things are in the oven. It’s only right.

-if you’re listening to heat of the moment and Sam the baby giraffe walks in he will get those sad eyes, making both of you scramble to make him something else, like some keto hidden veggie brownies or some shit, to make him feel better

-now, in specifics

-pie is for fun. You two usually make one to split for after dinner. Roughly once a month, but should be more often. Well, that’s not fair if you count creampies

-apple is his favorite, ofc. You use Mary’s recipe, and you’re the only person in the whole wide world that he trusts with modifying it in any way

-you also make them for him if he’s sick or if you guys have for some reason had a fight. The latter is rarer, but does still happen on occasion

-it’s okay though, because pie will always make things better

-cookies are almost exclusively for the jar. These are made on random frequencies, usually a lot at a time.

-he likes butterscotch a lot, and you find a way to mix your favorite flavors into either one monstrosity or one beauty of a cookie

-you guys have in fact made your own recipe. It’s awesome. Like, prized possession material.

-and then brownies

-they’re literally just pimped up store bought mix. Preferably Ghirardelli, for maximum bougie-ness

-and then sometimes you guys add some fun time grass

-you’ll do that when you just want to have a soft night. You’ll always way up to him laying on you and holding you like a koala though- may your back be prepared

-overall he just really enjoys spending time with you in any way that he can and baking is a great way to do that

-Dean Winchester is precious

-I rest my case

If you have any ideas for more headcanons, send a request! My box is always open!

Xx

[utilitycaster]

i respect matt for constantly wanting to bring in various perspectives and have this 'no good answer' kind of debate but also like. I cannot shake the feeling that sort of thing works SO much better in a scripted format - book, movie, tv show - than ttrpg actual play. Like you said - there needs to be a clear direction of SOME kind. I want to love this campaign so badly because the ideas and character beats are there but the PACING is a slog and direction is just ?

Hi anon,

I have another ask in my inbox that I'm going to answer that's going to touch on this but like. The problem really is, again, the same one I've been saying since the god debates first popped up. "Pulpier and Deadlier" did not prepare the cast for a campaign with extensive philosophical debates - no one in Bells Hells knows shit about dick and most of them seem to have been crafted expecting a more character-centric campaign that obviously did not happen - and because it's not just an open philosophical exploration but a rather specific plot, the party has been ushered along by a number of NPCs and events all saying "you should feel THIS WAY". Which, I should note, is not unrealistic for life, but, and this is part of what I'm going to cover in more length in the other ask, it does not make for a very satisfying story to watch, in the same way that a loving healthy relationship in which nothing dramatic happens is aspirational for real life and stultifyingly boring in fiction.

I do not wish to catastrophize here because it's very possible Bells Hells will go back, make a decision, and this will just be one more annoying argument but we'll get past it, but if this does turn into still more party indecision after we had a big scene that was like "YOU ARE THE HOPE OF EXANDRIA" I think we can safely say that this is just. not a story that has a hope of being as narratively satisfying as it could be (and I say this even if it ends with the factual outcomes I personally want). That doesn't mean there's not a lot of enjoyable pieces to it, and I'm certainly here for the Mighty Nein and Vox Machina's contributions, but yeah this needed MUCH more planning from the start to be able to carry the themes I think Matt wanted it to. Like...I think we are crashing into the boundaries of "it's their game" on some level, because it is great that he is trying to surprise his friends and let a lot of people DM within the world but it means the plot has gotten unbelievably muddied and distorted in a way that it wouldn't had the cast been given a bit more context and the other DMs a bit firmer direction.

[postpendulum]

Some deformed jumbled mess of whatever this idea is has been rattling around in my adhd riddled brain for weeks now and I'm finally forcing myself to write it down, it is barely fleshed out in the slightest (hence, "deformed") and only the main idea is in my brain right now so I'm basically making it up as I write this so, apologies.

The Fenton parents (for whatever reason) decide that Gotham is the perfect place to spend their summer vacation, and while their there through some

💫Wacky Shananagans💫

Danny ends up meeting (omg your never gonna guess this, it's so out of this world for me, who only has one dpxdc post so far and it's this ship as well, it's so wacky and wild, blow your brains out pew pew pew)

DAMIAN!!!!!!💥💥💥💥💥💥‼‼‼‼💥💥💥💥💀💀💀💀💀:O

What the what!?!?!??!?,! WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT????? I AINT MEVER DUN DIS BEFORE!!!!!!!!

Anyway basically they have a summer romance because idk mwa mwa kissy noises gay gay homosexual gay and whathajaga

And then idk I had this that that like, I saw someone say once somethen like "damn tho the most unrealistic thing about this show is that nobody at that damn school thought Danny was hot💀" and I thought like, "damn bitch that true tho." So like idk, I thought like, I'm pretty sure its psychological fact or whatever (this gonna be damn embarrassing if that isnt true tho cuss ona my possible options ideas plans whatever for college is psychology💀) that confidants makes people more attractive, so like, ig like Danny builds confidence over the summer with you know, getting a boyfriend, Damian not taking any of that whatever bullshit idk ahjaobznaja or maybe just ghost aura shit whatever idfk whatever you want.

Basically when he goes home at back to school after summer break is over people suddenly realize "oh shit wait whys he kinda hot tho," and the fuckers like randos, maybe a-listers, whoever's just a buncha people like flirting tryna shoot their shot whatever, but then Danny's just like, thinking about how much he loves his boyfriend and how much he can't wait to see him in person again and what not. I also like to think Danny probably didn't even tell anyone at school he got a boyfriend, like maybe he even forgot to tell Sam and Tucker because he was to busy being fucking lovestruck, I mean I doubt that would actually happening and it's more likely that he'd constantly be gushing to them about Damian rather then not and I actually like that idea a lot better now that I thing about it that other one was more of a funny little side thought idk. But yeah nobody knows besides like Sam Tucker and Jazz, so yeah.

On o think that's it for me I'm done good night y'all *cue mic drop*

[lucathy143]

Things that make the Who made me a princess novel and manhwa different:

There are many things that make the Who made me a princess or Suddenly I became a princess novel and manhwa different. I prefer the plot line of novel better and just the novel in general, but the art of the manhwa is without a doubt beautiful.

The novel and the manhwa first begin to differ after Athanasia’s debutante. The manhwa really begins to separate from the manhwa once Claude loses his memories. Here are scenes that show up in the novel but not the manhwa. I also explain the differences between the two. If it has (novel) in the beginning of the bullet point, it means that its a scene that didn't make the manhwa at all.

But there are three things I need to make clear before I beging.

An important to make clear before i begin is that Anastacius in the novel was actually killed by Claude, and was never possessed by Aeternitas. Aeternitas possesses a man and pretends to be the magician of the black tower (the magician of the black tower is actually Lucas) which the man comes when Athy is 14. Claude knows the man is a fake, and so does Lucas but neither of them do anything.He pretends to be the magician of the black tower until athy is 18.

Another thing is that the manhwa focuses mostly about family and that's why Athy never ends up with anyone (though she goes on a date with Lucas). In the novel, it's about family, growth, friendship and romance. She does end up with Lucas (sorry to those who ship Athy with Ezikiel) and there a lot more moments between Lucas and Athy in the novel. The novel is just better in general, I'm sorry.

The last thing to make clear is Jennette in the manhwa is different in the manhwa and novel. In the manhwa she is unrealistic and naive and i hate it. in the manhwa, she gets over the fact everyone lied to her about her family too easily. Her reaction to not actually being Athy's sister and Claude's daughter in the manhwa is so unrealistic. Jennette leaves with her uncle and lives "happily ever after." thats why so many people hate Jennette in the manhwa, because she is naive. Spoon portrays her different and makes her seem that she is always happy, and forgives everyone for lying to her, but she is different in the novel. Jennette isn't as naive. tbh Jennette does say some rude things, but its better than Jennette being all innocent and being fine after everything that happened to her. if all that happened to me, i would react just as Jennette does in the novel. in general, jennette's character is so much better in the novel. but then shit goes down but i will explain that later because i am making this in chronological order...

After Lucas leaves for the World Tree, Athanasia gets caught up in a mana explosion causing Claude to lose his memories. Like the manhwa, Athanasia wakes up after fifteen days and visits Claude. But in the novel, Athanasia doesn’t figure out Claude has amnesia until later on.

in the novel Athanasia doesn’t see Claude for days after he wakes up after saving Athy from the explosion. She’s confused as to why he hasn’t visited her and tries to sneek into his palace multiple times but Felix and Lily don’t let her. Unlike the manhwa, Lily tells her that Blackie is fine and that Claude is suffering from amnesia. That doesn’t happen in the novel.

One day when Lily and Felix aren’t there, she leaves her room. Hannah tries to stop Athanasia as she looks everywhere for Blackie, but is unable to find him. Lily comes, and Athanasia thinks that Claude is the one that killed Blackie (because he tried to the last time she coughed blood). Athy believed the reason Claude wasn’t visiting her was because he was guilty he killed Blackie (which isn’t true). Athanasia goes to his palace and finds him in his garden. Felix tells her to leave and gets all protective (which was cute and i wish all these scenes were added) but Athy ignores and asks Claude if he killed Blackie. Claude isn't very nice to her (like the manhwa) and confines Athanasia to the Emerald palace.

After she meets Claude in the garden, Lily and Felix tell her that Claude was suffering from amnesia. So in the novel, she wasn't told about Claude's amnesia nor Blackie's disappearance. Another difference is that Athy gets over Blackie's death much easier in the manhwa. In the novel she takes much longer to get over it.

Athanasia begins learning magic and tries to use money like Lucas did, and they come out non stop. There is a huge pile of coins and Athy falls asleep on them and Lily finds her.

The novel of Who made me a Princess and Beware of the Brothers are written by the same author. This is very important because Cabel Ernst (the second oldest brother) appears in the novel a lot because he is the third male lead. (its cool how the stories connect with one another) He was also Ezikiel's school friend. Cabel doesn't show up once in the manhwa. (i will mention more scenes with Cabel in it later on)

There is actually a scene in the Who made me a princess novel where Athanasia and Hari Ernst (fl of Beware of the Brothers meet). Athy is hiding from Claude in Artlanta on the top of the ceiling of Ezikiel old school. Hari sees through her disguise and they talk for a little. Hari is rushes by Erich to leave but drops her necklace. For the next couple of days Athy tries to find an opportunity to give it back, but eventually gives up and leaves and accidentally teleports to Claude's room (like the manhwa) and then goes back to Artlanta. Athy goes back into the school to return the necklace. Athy meets Cabel then.

Athanasia stays in disguise as a student in Artlanta for a little while before she sees Jennette in the novel. Eventually, she gets to talk to Hari once again and returns the neckalace. She meets Cabel again when she's talking to Hari.

That's when Athanasia realizes that Cabel was the second male lead of Lovely Princess.

Athanasia goes to check on Jennette and sees Duchess Alpheus (Ezekiel's mother), who doesn't show up once in the manhwa. Ezekiel, the duke and the duchess are all wearing black and Athanasia is confused as to why. She figures out that Jennette's aunt passed away. Jennette doesn't beg Duke Alpheus to go to the funeral like the manhwa and remains her room. Ezekiel goes to look for Jennette in her room and hugs her while she's crying. Ezikiel actually comforts her unlike in the manhwa.

The day Athy goes with Jennette to the festival, two boys approach them and try to harass them. But Athy screams at them and swears at them (using very... interesting language). And they get really mad and tries to hurt them, but she creates a candy ball the size of her head and hits both of the boy's balls. She ate that up fr.

Athanasia in the manhwa stops living in hiding because Jennette tells her that Claude doesn't want to kill her anymore. That doesn't happen in the novel. In the novel, she looks at the parade and sees Claude from very far away and decides that she will visit the Emerald Palace when Claude's away. When she teleports, Lily is on the sofa doing embroidery. But Claude made a doppelgänger of himself to appear at the parade, and tricked Athanasia into thinking he wouldn't be there so she would go home. Claude used Lily as bait, but Lily did it willingly because she knew Claude wouldn't hurt her. Athy realized if Claude really wanted to kill her, he would've done it ages ago, and decides to talk with her. Athy ends up crying and Claude apologizes and hugs her.

(novel) Lily tells Athy that Claude would admire the portrait of them two everyday and would watch the video stone. Lily also says that she thinks of Athanasia of as her own daughter. (this is such a cute scene).

In the manhwa, Athanasia begins having tea parties with Jennette and Claude, but that doesn't happen once in the novel.

(novel) Athanasia doesn't forgive Claude for what he did right away. She refuses to visit Claude first. Lily and Felix encourage her to visit Claude first, but Ces agrees with Athy to play hard to get. Claude visits two later and they have lunch together. (cute scene) Athy brewed Lippe tea for him and she says that she might've poisoned it and Claude says he would drink even if it was poisoned anyway because she gave it to him.

(novel) Athy has a nightmare and goes to Claude's palace in the middle of the night because she's scared. She visits him in his office and he picks her up and carries her to his room. When Athanasia is laying down in the bed, she tells Claude that she wants to meet her mom. Claude says "me too."

(novel) Athy wants to go outside for the night and asks Claude for permission. Claude says no but Athy encourages him that no matter where she goes that she will always come back. When she's back from the festival she gifts Claude cotton candy.

(novel) Athy meets the mages (not magician which is lucas) of the black tower.

the headmaster asks athy for a strand of hair or blood for experiment and claude gets so mad he blows up half of the tower. eventually Lucas blows up the other

(novel) Claude comes to athy's 15th birthday and spends the entire day with her

LUCAS RETURNS! in the novel Lucas returns from the World Tree, he takes Athanasia to Claude and sticks the World Tree into him and then Athanasia. This is different from the manhwa because it happens right on her 15th birthday, and it is a much simpler process than in the manhwa.

**Everything from now on only happens in the novel because Athy never turns 18 in the manhwa**

Jennette hosts a picnic at her estate and Athy attends (they are 17 now) During the picnic, Duke Alpheus and Ezekiel got "lost" while hunting and end up at the picnic. Duke Alpheus was actually worried about Jennette who was hosting a picnic for the first time. (which is actually adorable). Ezekiel kisses Athy's hand (which had gloves) to say goodbye. After the picnic, Lucas appears in the carriage and gifts Athy new gloves that were better than the old ones

Athy meets the fake magician of the tower. He asks Athy if she believes in karma and then asks if she believes in reincarnation. After telling Lucas, he leaves without giving a proper response. When he does, Athy swings a pillow at the air and he teleports back because he forgot to tell her something and gets hit. She almost fell and he caught her.

Athy has a tea party and Lucas visits and notices that Helena likes him. Athy and Lucas are talking about her and Athy lies saying Helena is interested in magic. He asks why Athy is so scared of Lucas when he hasn't done anything bad in front of her or to someone else.

Athy brings up the bubbles that Lucas created when they first met (to kill her). Lucas lies saying that he didn't try to kill her, and create regular bubbles for her and Athy pops them.

Athy mentions how cute he used to be when he was a child so Lucas transforms. She squeezes his cheeks so much and Lucas tells her to stop. She doesn't stop, so Lucas changes to adult form. When Athanasia releases her hands, he tells Athanasia to keep squishing his cheeks.

A mage of the Black Tower tells Lucas that the headmaster took some of Athanasia's hair and destroys the entire lab

There is a banquet Athy attends to that's hosted at the palace for the Artlantan ambassadors that are visiting (including Cabel Ernst) Before the banquet Athy sits on angel statue to see them at the parade. Cabel sees her and calls out "MISS FAIRY?"

(novel) Duke Seloid says things about how Athy can't protect herself and is weak because she is a women. Athanasia breaks a knife and a fork with her bare hands. Claude also broke his utensils and plate in anger

Cabel gifts Athanasia a flower from her own flower garden. When Athanasia goes back to her room and Lucas sees it, he gets jealous. Lucas feeds the flower to her bird, Bluey, and buries Athanasia in a pile of flowers.

Athanasia visits Jennette, Ezekiel and Cabel on the training grounds in secret. Ezekiel and Cabel have a battle and tie and go to Jennette after. They see Athanasia and approach her. They decided to have another match and Ezekiel wins. Lucas shows up to the training grounds and Cabel wants to battle him. Lucas beats him completely

Later on in the novel, it shows Jennette's POV of what happened. After Athanasia leaves, Jennette tells Ezekiel to go check on Cabel's condition and leaves her alone on the grounds. Jennette mentions that ever since she met Claude in the garden during Athy's picnic she had felt so depressed (which was 3 years ago). This is so much more realistic than the way the manhwa makes it. Anyone would feel depressed if their supposed "father" didn't accept them. Jennette also says that's she's jealous of Athanasia.

Athanasia attends a hunting competition. Cabel asks for Athy's handkerchief. This scene is funny because Athy doesn't have one so she asks Felix if he can give his to Cabel.

Athy's shoe gets stuck in mud during the hunting competition. Ezekiel helps her and Felix leaves alone in the tent. Athy can tell Ezekiel likes her, and starts to say that she doesn't like him back. He says he sometimes would like to lock Athanasia in a bird cage so she would at least see him more (which was a concerning confession...)

Lucas shows up to Athanasia who feels bad for rejecting Ezekiel. Lucas heard her reject him. Athanasia admits that at one point she did have a crush on Ezekiel, but not anymore. Lucas says that he "doesn't have pathetic thoughts like wanting to lock you inside a bird cage" and that "the entire world is a birdcage on his palm."

Like I said earlier, in the novel, Athanasia takes longer to get over Blackie disappearance. She tried not to get any new animals because they reminded her of Blackie. This leads to Lucas bringing her a new pet, and she names it Nox.

Athanasia is talking with Lily one night and asks if she wants to get married. Lily says that she doesn't need to get married and that Athy is like a child to her. Athy says she feels that Lily is like her real Mom and that she has two moms.

Lucathy's date on a lake. (on top of the water)

The final party before the Artlantan ambassadors leave. Funniest part about this is that Claude planned to arrive half way through the party (Athy later figures out because he doesn't want to dance with her and get his feet stepped on)

Ezekiel asks Athanasia to dance, right when she is about to respond Lucas shows up in adult form and asks her to dance. He takes her and dances with her. (i love this scene sm) Lucas admits he hates dancing but still continues to dance with her.

Jennette and Ezekiel are talking in the hallway after Athy started dancing. Jennette tells Ezekiel that even though he likes Athanasia, she will never like him back- just the way that Ezekiel will never like Jennette back. Jennette wanted to make Ezekiel angry because she feels he doesn't care for her all. That Ezekiel only does anything with her just to be polite. Instead of getting angry, Ezekiel simply rejects her.

Outside the party, while Lucas and Athy are dancing and after Jennette was rejected, Jennette meets Claude. Lucas and Athanasia feel a wave of magic outside and go out there. Jennette was outside crying where she finds Claude. She takes her ring off to reveal her gem eyes and calls out "father."

Lucas and Athanasia arrive at the scene and she forces Lucas to get rid of Jennette's black magic

Everyone is in shock. Felix doesn't even recognize Lucas in his adult form.

A day passes and Jennette was told that her father was not Claude, but his brother Anastacius. Jennette is devasteted and hates how she has been lied to all these years. She doesn't know what she has sinned, even says "the sin of being born."

Athanasia let Jennette stay at the Emerald Palace not as a criminal, but as guest. Felix is leading Jennette to the carriage when Jennette sees Ezekiel and Athanasia. Jennette felt hatred to all her loved ones, and then she thinks that she would rather disappear from the world than hate them.

The bracelet Lucas gave to Jennette to control her black magic breaks at the negative thought. Ezekiel runs towards her, and Jennette thinks that it was the first time Ezekiel ever cared about her.

Athy controls her black magic before anything happens because Lucas taught her the night before.

Lucas brings the fake black tower's magician beaten up (Aeternitas) and officially introduces himself as the Black Tower's Magician.

Lucas brings Aeternitas and Jennette to Claude. He tells Aeternitas to eat Jennette's black magic. He is refusing. But Claude says that he doesn't''t care if Jennette dies or not. Athy glares at him and Claude flinches and says that he wants Aeternitas to fix Jennette because Athy wants to. (Claude really doesn't want Athanasia to hate him).

Aeternitas also reincarnates and remembers his past life (just like Athy). Lucas is the only one that remembers him each life. He promises Aeternitas that he will greet him first in his next life if he helps Jennette. Aeternitas is so moved he also removed her jeweled eyes.

Claude tells Athanasia he blames himself for everything that happened. That when he realized him and Felix, Lily, Hannah and Ces etc. couldn't comfort her loneliness he placed friends her age. But the friends were Lucas, the Black Tower's Magician who lived hundreds of years. And Jennette, the daughter of Claude's enemy. (claude really cares for her it's so cute)

Claude tells Athy to not get too close to Lucas. Athanasia defends Lucas and Claude asks if she has been bewitched by him

The last chapter of the novel Lucas kisses Athy the night before she turns 18, at midnight. (best chapter ever i swear)

Sidestories

Another Busy Day as 18 (Lucas gives Athanasia a dragon for her 18th birthday and Athanasia goes out with Claude outside the palace)

Became a Princess in Wonderland (Athy by accidentally switched to the Lovely Princess dimension)

Lucas (Lucas' backstory, his childhood up to when he meets Athy, it's actually quite sad)

Became a Dad One Day (Claude's POV of meeting Athy)

What Happens When Lucas from a Parallel World Crosses Dimensions (this is a sequel to Became a Princess in Wonderland, it's when Lovely Princess Lucas goes through many dimensions to find Athy and he sees many different universes)

girl i was so bored so i decided to do this and didn't expect it to be so long. but i wanted to reread the novel so i reread while spotting the differences and (most of) the scenes that aren't in the novel.

[ghostfaceaddams]

ibold | chapter one

summary: The five survivors of the 2022 Woodsboro massacre are now in New York City moving on with their lives or trying to at least.

warnings: cussing and a moment of violence in a flashback, that's all, I think.

word count: 3,060.

a/n: This is my baby so I hope everyone likes it! Feel free to pick an actress as Cairo or just have your own image of her in your mind or pretend you're Cairo; whatever makes the reading experience better for you guys.

series masterlist | next part

She was the most beautiful human being Cairo had ever seen in all of her eighteen-and-a-half years of being alive on earth. Living in New York City, you see a shit ton of people every day and that is literal. Hypothetically, you see a million people in a year; at stores, on walks, as extras in a tv show or movie, etc.

Out of all of those people, no one even compared to the raven-haired girl across the room. She was short, but Cairo could always spot her no matter the crowd. Most people teased her for her height, but Cairo genuinely found it endearing. Her smile was brighter than quasars, constantly leaving Cairo on her knees and rendering her useless. She had dimples accenting her marble, smooth cheeks. It was such a funny thing to Cairo, that dimples were biologically considered imperfections, but non-scientists find them alluring. All of the freckles kissing across her face were the stars in Cairo’s galaxy, the girl being Cairo’s revolving world. She had a unique voice that wasn’t like anyone else’s. There was a rasp to the edge of her words; sometimes the rasp was thickly coated, like when she woke up in the morning or was running out of breath or got excited. It could be deep, but not Sophia Bush deep. No matter what, it was always soft and pleasant sounding. A lot of people agreed with Cairo that listening to the other girl’s voice was calming, a remedy for anxiety even. Her eyes were big but not the repugnant kind. They were a deep brown that could light up and yet still remain mysterious. Her eyes were her most innocent feature and the ones that got her everything she wanted. She wasn’t just hot though. No. Her brain could remember the entire dialogue to The Babadook and graduated at the top of her class. She was very perceptive in a mostly subtle way. Snark was a fabulous hobby of hers and her heart was the most golden heart that ever shone. Selflessness and loyalty were the foundations of her persona, of who she was; what made her her. Everyone tripped over themselves at her natural, graceful beauty. Half of them were privy enough to see what she was about on the inside and fall head over heels for her. Cairo was definitely the latter. So was Chad. Cairo couldn’t blame him for falling for her childhood best friend. It’d be concerning if he didn’t. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less to watch him give heart eyes to the girl she was in love with. ‘She could never be yours anyways. You know that.’ Falling in love with your best friend was the worst form of emotional pain imaginable.

Cairo despised the media and pop culture that romanticized the trope, especially the ones with a happy ending. Happy endings were overrated and unrealistic, especially when it came to “unrequited love.” It either ends up being requited, or they find someone else. That wasn’t always the case though. For eighteen years, Tara had only ever looked at Cairo with platonic respect and adoration.

Ever since she was a teen, Cairo tried to find someone else to crush on and hoped for someone to want her. The last part never happened until this year. She was still out of luck in the crushing department. At the end of the day though, as much as Cairo felt like she was suffocating, she was happy for Chad and Tara. They were both her friends that she cared about and loved deeply. She’d never risk their happiness for her own, especially when it wasn’t likely to lead to happiness for her. Cairo winced as she sipped the awful beer in the red solo cup. It didn’t matter how hard she tried with alcohol; it just didn’t fancy her like it did the others. “Hey, Roe.” Cairo didn’t need to look up to know that it was Quinn who was standing beside her. Quinn was the only one who ever called her that, her own personal nickname for Cairo.

Everyone else called the brunette girl by her full name - or Cai - and teachers called her by her last name - Miss Reed - or Cairo. She really hated her name sometimes. Well, most of the time if she was being honest. “Hey, Quinn.” The ginger got to work with grabbing two red solo cups and picking up one of the glass bottles of alcohol. Cairo bit her lip and scanned the packed room for any sign of her roommate or their other two friends. Cairo turned back to Quinn to shout over the music, “Where’s Anika?” Quinn was grinning when she spoke, her eyes glittering intoxicatingly. “She’s trying to help Ethan score a date.” “Key word trying.” Cairo teased earning a chuckle from the other girl. “Mindy is having fun watching, and I am getting drinks for myself and that cute boy waiting for me.” Cairo turned to follow the direction Quinn had pointed to with her eyes. The boy looked to be the same height as Quinn with curly hair & a stubble that made him seem like a fuckboy, but his boyish smile and awkward wave was contradicting. The brunette nodded her head. She took a step closer to the ginger and leaned in close so she could be heard. “I think I’m going to leave, maybe check on Sam on the way back.” Before the friend group had rallied together and ventured off to this party, the Carpenter sisters had gotten into it...again.

The arguing between the two sisters was becoming more and more frequent as time was going on. Everyone was on edge, wanting to say something to ease the tension but not knowing what to do or knowing if it was their place to even do or say anything. The twins and Cairo worried more than anyone, having grown up with the two sisters. Tara used to listen to Cairo and the others when they had something to say. Especially Cairo. Nowadays, Tara only ever listened to herself and only did what sounded pleasing to her. Guess Chad sounded especially pleasing to the girl. Cairo was really trying not to think about that though. About any of it really. “What? Come on, you said you were going to try!” Quinn lightly smacked the back of her hand against Cairo’s bicep. The brunette chuckled halfheartedly and raised her eyebrows. “And I did, now I’m leaving.” Cairo knew that if she didn’t move her ass at that very second, Quinn was going to showcase a frown and beg Cairo to stay “for herself and not me.”

(It was true, Quinn was doing this all to help Cairo take her mind off of the girl she couldn’t have. But it was becoming too much for Cairo.) Quinn was already in the midst of tilting her head to the side and parting those talented lips. But Cairo was quicker. She was quicker than anyone at everything, except for telling Tara her feelings. Which was precisely why she was in this predicament. “I’ll see you later, Quinn.” Quinn sighed but let Cairo give her a hug and turn to head out the door. It wasn’t until she was down the sidewalk and turning into the quad on campus that Cairo finally felt like she could breathe. She dunked her head down and placed her hands on her hips. She couldn’t stop seeing Tara with Chad.

Or with Amber. She had thought that watching Tara kiss or hold hands with Amber was painful, to watch Tara’s eyes light up whenever she saw or talked about Amber, having to encourage Tara to make a move and smile for her, she thought all of that hurt.

But this…this was so much worse. Cairo almost wished she was back in high school, watching the two girls parade around. Walking in on Chad and Tara, that had been worst of all.

It was her own fault, she should’ve knocked a second time and waited for an okay. But she could tell something was wrong with Tara and she had to get to the bottom of it before she permanently lost her mind. There were too many days spent canceled and nights spent on read. It wasn’t like Tara, not even when she was with Amber. She had left the apartment, bolting down the stairs and struggling to hold the bile in before making it outside. There wasn’t any shame in her body as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and stood up. They lived in New York City, some girl puking on the sidewalk was the least weird thing citizens saw. Cairo went back to the dorm that night crying. Anika was staying at Mindy’s dorm, which was only down the hallway, so she didn’t have to worry about being bombarded with questions.

She spent the rest of the evening into later afternoon, hibernating under her covers with her earbuds in and curtains drawn. She was in the shower, changing out of her clothes from the night before finally, when Anika made it back. They spoke briefly through the curtain and then Anika was gone, off to hang out more with her girlfriend and their friends.

So, Cairo just dressed in whatever she found and got back into bed with a trashcan nearby. Having to pretend for another month like she didn’t know they were together was utter torture for Cairo.

Every time she was around Chad she felt nauseated, and she couldn’t look at Tara without her throat starting to hurt from suppressing sobs. At parties, she got blackout drunk so that she didn’t have to remember them being touchy with one another. She stopped texting Tara as much and didn’t ask to hang out anymore. For two months, Cairo had been smiling in the presence of the couple and drinking herself to sleep. She was getting tired of the drinking if she was honest. Being hungover and heartbroken was the most horrific combo.

The past few days she had been lying in bed with her hood blocking her from the rest of the world and earbuds drilled in. She hated how much of a baby she was about this whole thing. Hell, this felt worse than all of the stabs she received last year.

(Or the single one she received at eight years old.) Or worse than the betrayal of her older sister who she had idolized. “Tara will never be yours, Cairo.” “She doesn’t have to be, as long as she isn’t yours.” Then she headbutted Amber, sending the girl staggering backwards. There were three gunshots that sang Cairo to sleep.

When she woke up, Sidney was there. She didn’t see Tara until the next day. Since then, she hadn’t seen Tara a whole lot. She figured that the young Carpenter girl blamed her for the Ghostface attacks or wished that she hadn’t made it out alive.

Or maybe she cared more about Chad than Cairo. She wasn’t really sure. All Cairo was ever sure of anymore was that she missed her cousin Sidney. Sidney had wanted to adopt Cairo after being orphaned, but authorities thought it was best for her to stay with a closer relative, her father. He had no problem signing his rights over to Kirby three years later when she finally turned 21 years old.

For reasons that didn’t make sense, he didn’t want to give Cairo over to Sidney. Cairo thinks he just reached his limit and saw Kirby as the closest scapegoat. “You still want me?” “Of course I do. I might have adopted you, but you’ll always be my little sister, and I’ll always take care of you. Okay?” Cairo blew out a raspberry and started walking in the direction of the Carpenter-Quinn household.

It took two knocks in two intervals for Sam to open the door.

Cairo stood on the other side, twirling her earbuds around; to the left and to the right, raveling the cord around her finger and unraveling it. She immediately dropped her hand, holding her earbuds with both hands, when the door opened. Cairo grinned mischievously and cocked her head to the side. “Hello, Cute Boy.” Said man chuckled softly and smiled charmingly at the shorter girl. Cairo kept on smiling as the man turned back to Sam, who looked rather uncomfortable at the whole situation. “I’ll call you later.” The stranger said. Sam nodded her head and lifted her tense lips up. “Okay.” “Okay.” The man said, still smiling dreamily at Sam. Cairo had to duck her head down and scratch her cheek as the man walked by so he wouldn’t see her cheesing. She watched him walk down the stairs, turning back to look at Sam at the top step before continuing.

She raised her dusty brown eyebrows at Sam with the same antagonizing grin in place. “Cute Boy from across the hall, huh?” Sam scoffed and rolled her eyes. Her reluctant smile contradicted her previous actions.

All Cairo could do was laugh. “Get in.” Sam nudged her head behind her. Cairo did as she was told, plopping herself down on the couch. Sam gave the brunette a reprimanding look, but it didn’t succeed its message.

The younger girl had her hands clasped behind her head and was smiling gorgeously. It was the smile that made her gray-brown eyes sparkle and had Sam wishing for a different life for the girl. Sam smiled and crossed her arms in that sisterly manner of hers. “What are you doing here, Cairo?” The brunette shrugged nonchalantly. But her downcast eyes and moving feet said she was uncomfortable. “Just came to check on you.” When she flicked her gaze up, she saw Sam looking to the side and nodding her head. She released her bottom lip and ran a hand through her inky black hair as she descended on the couch.

The older girl smacked Cairo’s shoes prompting her to raise her feet. She promptly set them back down on Sam’s lap afterwards. Sam cupped the top of the girl’s bottom legs and turned to look at her.

Cairo no longer had her hands behind her head but clasped carefully on her stomach. She was looking at Sam like she was the older sister or the mom, patiently waiting for the girl to speak and waiting to catch Sam if need be. “She’s not dealing with this, Cairo.” The gray-brown eyed girl sighed empathetically, her head nodding along. “Does she talk to you about it?” Sam asked. Cairo glanced down at her lap and shifted. “She doesn’t talk much to me anymore.” It wasn’t like Tara had just dropped Cairo.

They stilled texted a lot and there were frequent phone calls. But ever since the attacks in Woodsboro last year, Tara had been keeping her distance from Cairo. When they did talk or see each other, it was as if everything was the same as it had been before. Ever since Chad and Tara had finally come forward with their relationship (even though it was painfully obvious to everyone), Tara had been more talkative and social with Cairo. The brunette couldn’t help but feel like maybe Chad had said something to prompt the change. He was a nice guy, very protective and loyal to those closest to him, goofy and definitely attractive. Cairo loved Chad. It just made everything hurt so much more. Cairo lifted her gaze from her twitchy fingers to gauge the older girl.

She was looking off into the distance, watching memories and worst-case scenarios on the blank tv screen. Sam looked miserable. That tended to happen when you worried about your little sister’s trauma. “What about you?” Sam stitched her eyebrows together and frowned at the younger girl. Cairo took that as a prompt to elaborate further. “How are you doing with…dealing about this? How’s therapy going?” Sam heaved a heavy sigh that left Cairo’s heart twisting uncomfortably. “I think I need to find a new therapist. This guy pushed me to open up the other night then wanted to assign me to someone else. Pretty sure he has a foot fetish too.” Sam added the last part thoughtfully. “Sounds like a douche. I say dump his ass before he dumps you. But don’t dump Cute Boy.” Cairo grinned like a cheshire cat. Sam rolled her eyes fondly, pushing the brunette’s legs off of her.

Cairo squeaked as she tilted to the side, almost falling off the couch and onto the floor. She watched as Sam got up, heading into the dining room to clean up. That’s when Cairo noticed the two wine glasses and two empty plates. (Cairo tried not to worry about the wine glasses. It was just wine…right? It was drugs and beer that were Sam’s vices, not wine. Christina was the one whose vice was alcohol in general. That woman would drink anything she could get her hands on. Anything that fuzzed her thoughts and shattered her inhibitions was welcomed to her digestive system.) There weren’t any candles or dimly lit lights on in the apartment, so it didn’t seem like they were going for an intimate night. Which made sense, because Sam didn’t know if Tara would be coming back or not.

It didn’t take a genius to piece together that no one knew about Cute Boy because Sam didn’t want to set Tara off in any way. Still, Cairo felt bad for interrupting their date night. “His name is Danny, and we aren’t dating.” Sam said lightly from the kitchen. Cairo shrugged as she picked up a weird looking piece of chicken to sniff. “Could’ve fooled me.” There wasn’t any noise except for the clinking of cutlery and spray of water. Cairo hoisted herself up onto the counter in the kitchen and cupped the edge. “I’m not going to tell anyone that I saw him here, I won’t even mention him at all. Now, tell me about how long this has been going on and who initiated it.” Sam couldn’t help but blush as Cairo smiled and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Cairo laughed softly at the flustered woman and playfully kicked her calf. When a minute passed by with no answer, Cairo raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Sam playfully scoffed and shook her head before begrudgingly starting.

[not-poignant]

Hi! Big fan of your work and writing blog :) I have a question re: fanfic reception. I like writing fanfics about villains on the receiving end of noncon, and I sometimes get feedback that makes me feel weird and I dunno how to respond to it? It’s along the lines of "thanks for giving [character] the pain they deserve" "it’s good that you aren’t nice to [character] like those other fanfic writers". (Part 1…)

(Part 2…)I kind of feel like they’re complimenting my morals instead of my writing, but I also could be overreacting, because I mean it’s fine to seek out fics where a character you hate gets tortured? No hurry answering this, and thanks in advance if you do. I hope you’re doing alright on your break from UtB. I am using the time to reread and am loving it!

~

Hi anon!

Oh this is an interesting quandary to be in, because I'm certain at least some of those people are very much being moralistic about it.

Tbh when it's 'thanks for giving (character) the pain they deserve' you can probably ignore that if you want, because yeah, they might have revenge fantasies and find that very satisfying.

But when you get people going 'thanks for being mean / not nice to this character like other writers' - if you're the kind of person who responds to comments and feels uncomfortable when someone is using your space to shame other authors (because that's exactly what's happening) you can choose - if you want - to take the time to say 'I have no problems when people enjoy this character being hurt, however, I do not tolerate when folks shame other authors and readers for what they enjoy in fiction. Please don't compliment my fic by putting down other people, that's not what a compliment is' or something similar.

As soon as a reader brings in other people and shames them, that's absolutely when you can take a stand and see a clear issue.

I see this a lot for two different things:

Writing realistic kink, and so many readers being like 'omg thanks for writing realistic kink there's so much unrealistic trash on here' and these days I always make a point of saying 'oh thanks! but I write and love unrealistic trash too. This is a fictional site and no one should be expected to write realistic kink here!' It shuts people down amazingly fast. But also makes them realise that perhaps they just shouldn't be throwing stones when we're all in a very glass castle on AO3 lmao

Writing realistic trauma recovery, so like 'thanks for showing how awful and evil rape can be unlike those people who write it for fun' - now how I end up with these readers with my actual writing history, I don't know, but I take the same approach of like 'thanks BUT I LOVE writing rape as titillation! I enjoy both!'

You don't have to be as blunt as me, and you don't have to address it at all, but any reader who shames other authors or readers in your comment section can be addressed directly because it's just a shitty thing to do. And people don't say shit like that in public if they don't secretly hope that one of those people will see the comment and feel bad about what they like.

So yeah, with your first example, they could be feeling moralistic, or they could just want a revenge fantasy and really enjoy noncon! The second example is a clear cut example of shaming, or stepping on other people to pass you a compliment, and you're never ever over-reacting when that makes you feel uncomfortable, or makes you feel like it's not really a compliment. Because all it really is, is a version of: 'you passed my moral standards, thanks' and that's not actually a compliment at all. (Or like you say, it's complimenting your morals, it's like having a weird fandom policeman come by and glare at you and be like '....okay you're committing no crimes, as you were' and moving on. It's just weird).

Anyway *shakes hands for weird comments that shame other readers/authors in the form of a compliment* - I do think you're right to feel uncomfortable at least sometimes when this happens. It's up to you how you choose to address or not address it, but I will say personally that if you aren't going to address it in comments, maaaaybe consider deleting the ones that shame other readers/authors, so that when those people read your fics they don't feel alienated. It's obviously your choice! But just something to consider if you want to be curating your space. And best of luck writing all the noncon-villain fics! They can be a lot of fun :D

[cobra-creampuff]

and now for more of the exact same thing.

late s3 canon divergence au in which we all live in a world of sunshine and daisies where mickey is allowed to a) be more three dimensional and b) have positive character development that isn't directly connected to his relationship with ian and also it happens when i say it does even though it's kind of really unrealistic and probably slightly ooc but again it's a world of sunshine and daisies and also it's been literally a full ten years since i've so much as heard his voice. cough.

uh so. yeah. late s3 canon divergence au in which mickey fights with ian about how unfair ian is being re: terry + svetlana + mickey staying closeted-ish + etc. idr the order of things but lets just say for the concept's sake that the divergence happens before the whole ian: you love me -> mickey: kicks him in the face thing because. *megamind voice* listen i don't really know where to go with that.

anyway so mickey tells ian to shut up and listen for once in his fucking life and then goes tf off about how marrying svetlana, claiming yevgeny, and staying closeted-ish (for now) is The Right Thing To Do, for various reasons. his own safety first, which it's pretty fucked up for ian to seemingly not care about, and ian's safety too, which is possibly even more fucked up for ian to seemingly not care about.

and then we have like four(?) options going from there.

so option 1 mickey's like: and also hey, he said he wanted to make sure mickey was okay but then three fucking seconds later started berating him. yeah, mickey was being stubborn and cold or whatever but jesus christ. and on that note, why was it so easy for ian to Be There for mandy when this happened to her but not mickey?? and then ian maybe is like that's not the same/that's not what happened (because it really seemed like he didn't realize that. it is the same and that is what happened. and like lmfao from later stuff in the show that we will simply pretend to have not seen, i know that's mainly because the fucking writers don't realize it is the same and that is what happened, and you know what they probably would not give a shit even if they did LOL. but i'm not bitter about it or anything. and since i'm ascribing to murder in real life death of the author here, we're going full watson here and. ian doesn't Get It because lots of people don't - obviously lmao - but he will!!!)

anyway so mickey is visibly devastated by ian saying this, and then he's bitter (just like meeee- wait i mean-) and laughs without humor about how ian is such a hypocrite. about how oh saint ian doesn't have any internalized homophobia. and ian is like what the fuck does that have to do with fucking anything, and mickey tells him oh nothing of course mickey is just talking shit like always since he's sooooo morally inferior and/or stupid and he definitely doesn't understand any of this. but hey! just as a totally unrelated thought experiment, why doesn't ian picture it with lip in his place and mandy in mickey's and with a male whore instead and just see what he thinks is so different/what he thinks happened then. and ian does and mickey sees in his face that he's realized, but he still wants to know. so he asks again why ian cares about mandy more than him. and ian is like well first of all i definitely do not care about mandy more than you and second we should talk apparently talk about this for real for real let's go upstairs for some privacy. and they do and it doesn't solve everything but by god does it help.

okay well that one's not really about anything being The Right Thing To Do, but you know. it's important to me! like i totally get that ian was going through multiple crises at the same time and dealing with the same traumatic event as mickey and also having an actual legitimate clinical mental break and experiencing a state of mind he had never dealt with before. it's not his fault. BUT. even tho it wasn't his fault he was still being completely unfair and none of any of that was mickey's fault either and it always bothered me that only ian ever got to be angry about it. but i digress.

now back to actually the sunshine and daisies unrealistic positive character development (but honestly like........ not really THAT unrealistic. To Me. like the only really unrealistic part is for mickey to be like. Informed enough for this. i think. but like. maturity and self awareness and honesty and courage and a moral code, all that is just maybe a little bit early to arrive here. i think it's an optimistic but not completely unbelievable divergence is what i'm saying! anyway).

so option 2A is like: instead of talking about What Happened and how much ian does or doesn't care, mickey starts talking about The Baby (who at this point is of course not born and i think probably too early along to be gendered let alone named). he's like what do you want me to do man. be just like your piece of shit parents and just abandon this kid because i don't want it? you want to be with a guy like that? and ian's like well it's probably not even yours, considering all the Factors. just get a paternity test and then you're off the hook. and mickey says, "don't be a fucking hypocrite, ian clayton gallagher." and ian's like damn. i want to but i absolutely cannot argue with that huh.

option 2B is more hurt/comfort than that and it goes: mickey starts talking about The Baby. and he's the one to point out it's probably not technically His or whatever. but. the chances that it's still a milkovich are. basically 100. and he points out if he marries svetlana, and he's on the birth certificate, and all around is legally the kid's FatherTM, then terry can't get his fucking hands on it. mickey has full parental rights. he couldn't completely keep the kid safe from terry, not without causing everybody - including the baby - a whole lot more danger right now, but he'd have so much more power to protect it than he otherwise would. he could make sure terry can't be next of kin if something happens to svet and mickey. he could make sure teachers and doctors and whoever else know not to leave the kid in terry's "care". even if terry himself changes his tune later for whatever fucking reason, if svet and/or mickey piss him off and he tries to take their kid away as punishment, or if he just fucking decides he wants another victim/pawn, or whatEVER, and he's the one to demand a paternity test, or if any other random john does, even if it ends up legally documented somewhere that mickey isn't the biological father as long as he and svet are The Parents from the start he would still retain custody and parental rights.

so. mickey marries svetlana. he's put on the birth certificate. he is legally the baby's father until such time as he and/or svetlana decide otherwise and a judge agrees. svetlana gets a marriage visa or green card or whatever the fuck and is now a legal resident. they stay married long enough for her to get naturalized as a us citizen. they get divorced, mickey no-contest hands over full custody to her, she moves to fucking socal or some shit and they never ever ever ever have to fucking see each other again. all her problems are solved, and none of the horrible shit terry put the rest of them through ever has to happen to the baby.

he can't let terry have the baby, mickey says. he can't. it's not fair, he says. it's not right. nobody deserves to be terry milkovich's kid. and sure mickey doesn't want it. he doesn't want to have to sleep next to his- you know, and no doubt svet doesn't want to have to do that either. but even though the baby may or may not be a result of. That. it didn't do it. it didn't do anything. it's just a baby. and mickey's voice is all raised - he's angry, he's scared, he's fucking righteous about this. it's just a fucking baby! its only fucking crime is being born wrong!

and. well. that kinda takes the fucking wind right out of ian's sails. mostly cuz it sucks all the air out of the room altogether. and mickey realizes too, right after he's said that, why he's so. uh. passionate about this. i mean not all the way, or just... he doesn't want to look directly at that yet. but ian can see it on his face that deep down he knows. ian can see it on mickey's face that what sounded like to him is exactly what it was. and maybe he breathes out the softest italicized oh (non-romantic) that has ever been spoken while mickey cringes a little bit and looks away, looks down, ducks his head enough to hide his face, enough to muffle his voice slightly against his own chest. he mumbles, "it's not his fault." he whispers, "he can't help it."

and what thee fuck is ian going to say to that? no? no, i won't support you protecting an innocent kid out of the long-buried goodness of your heart that i always knew was there and reparent yourself in the process? no, i refuse to be involved with you while you make an agonizing sacrifice in the name of kindness and healing, the way i've been demanding you do in my favor for months? no of course not.

but wait hang on i can fix this with the romantically-tinted option 2C, which goes like: mickey says he can't back out, he can't come out. he has to do this. and ian rolls his eyes or scoffs or both or gives mickey the fucking chin or whatever he does to indicate he thinks the reason mickey "has" to do this is because mickey's a fucking pussy and the only other option is to stand up to his dad. and mickey snaps that actually he has more than one (1) fucking motivation dickhead. and ian challenges him, all oh yeah like what. and mickey gets nice and right up in ian's face and gives him the fucking rundown.

i'm doing this because of you, he says. and ian scoffs again of course, but this time mickey just ignores him and steams right on. he says i'm doing this because you are. fucking self-righteous. and spiteful. and controlling. and fucking sadistic. and ian's like is this supposed to make me less pissed off. but mickey goes on. and you're kind. and generous. and god damn chivalrous, for fuck's sake. and so fucking brave. which finally shuts ian and his very, very loud facial expressions up.

so, mickey says. i know that you couldn't give less of a shit right now if svetlana has her kid taken away, gets deported directly into a russian prison, and never sees the fucking sun again in her life. maybe you even wish that on her. maybe i kind of do too. but i also know that if it hadn't happened to you, if you weren't there... if we were friends, and i didn't do this, we wouldn't be friends anymore.

he says, yeah, i love you, you love me. big fucking whoop. that happens to the fucking worst of us.

he says, i want you to like me.

he says, i'm just trying to grow the fuck up, okay? i don't want to be a fucking shallow selfish stupid god damn teenager for my entire fucking life like our piece of shit fucking parents. i want to be a man. and i- even if it's too late or this is too much, i want to be the kind of man that you would like.

so obviously ian is struck completely dumb. he just stares, wide-eyed and amazed and so absolutely wooed, while mickey finishes his fucking. grand speech. while he adds, quiet and exhausted and somewhat resigned, i'm not fucking ready, if i was ever gonna- but. it has to be done. she can't do it by herself. and there's no one else.

and. i mean really the inherent romance of "i want you to like me" and "i want to be the kind of man that you would like" would have been enough. but now here's this killer finishing move too. because you know fiona is ian's hero. and isn't that exactly what she did for all of them? with one fucking choice, mickey has already become the kind of man ian would like. and beyond! he's become the kind of man that ian respects. that ian admires.

and yeah, he'd like to still be angry. he'd like to still be exactly the selfish teenager mickey has decided he no longer is. and they are teenagers, still, so really that should be their fucking right! and also ian's fucking brain is on fire and he doesn't know what the fuck is going on!! but. well. he doesn't want it to be too late. he doesn't want this to be too much. he wants to grow up too, he's always wanted to grow up, to be a man. to be a good man. an honorable and reliable man. he doesn't want to be like- he doesn't want to be like their parents either.

and he wants mickey to like him too.

anyway. i think i'm clinically insane.

[wttcsms]

HELLOO WILL U PLEASE SPOIL US FOR HOW ISAGI SAVES READER IN UR FIC I LOVE IT SM

NOOOO A SPOILER WOULD RUIN THE FUN!!!! i will say, the title of the fic comes from the gracie abrams song “free now” + it heavily applies to reader and rin’s relationship, especially considering the growth that it takes for reader to acknowledge their relationship and the breakup in a healthy manner. because obviously reader isn’t in a great headspace rn, and she’s not taking this breakup well, and soon (we have a few more chapters to go before it happens hehe) we have reader being thrust into a pr stunt of a relationship w isagi.

a big part of the fic is that what we see vs what actually is the truth is sometimes vastly different. we get a glimpse of this through the jarring differences of me showing what the media is portraying you as versus how your life is currently going. so a common theme throughout the fic will always be about misconception through the public eye, especially bc of the role of social media. your “private” life is always going to be considered public business. and so, reader currently has an issue where she doesn’t mind the spotlight, but she desperately feels the need to have control over her image. so you’re constantly trying to show an outward image that will get you the headlines and feedback from fans that you’re searching for. but it comes with a nasty catch: you now have set a standard for yourself that you can’t always uphold. it’s unrealistic. it’s unrealistic bc a lot of what you present to the public is fake, and eventually, people get tired of acting, yknow? and your relationship w rin, it was this iconic pairing. a big thing i want to feature in this fic is the fact that we (collective we) have a tendency to see famous people’s private affairs as a spectacle and another form of entertainment. so reader is going through the worst heartbreak of her life, and you can delete images of him off your Instagram and camera roll, but people are still going to make tiktoks of you and him, even years after the breakup, saying some shit like “guys im still stuck at the restaurant” or “yall am i the only one who misses them😞😞”

and again, reader needs to understand and come to terms with the fact that she can’t control every aspect of her public. people will never behave the way she wants them to, and instead of focusing energy on trying to maintain a certain image, she has to just be happy with herself, with knowing the truth. and she learns this lesson (MINOR SPOILER!!!) whenever isagi gets tired of her behavior and it feels like he’s leaving her. it’s sort of her wake up call.

so not getting into too much specifics, but isagi is the reason why she realizes that she needs a change in her mentality and how she handles how the media talks about her. as for the relation to “free now”, i really like the bridge + the ending line of “never been less empty / all i feel is free now” + the meaning behind the song

[eschynite]

euphoria is dumb for other reasons but when people on here first started critiquing it, they focused a lot on this idea that "actually, teens don't even drink/do drugs anymore, this is so unrealistic and teens would never do that stuff" etc. and i was like ??? the show is about ~10 teenagers who experiment with drugs (some of them never rly do) and 1 with a substance use disorder.. there were absolutely at least that many students struggling with drug use at most of our high schools.. just because you didn't personally know/hang out with them or realize certain people were struggling doesn't mean it wasn't happening. that shit was really grating on my Dam nerves when it was the discourse

[spicyvampire]

I think a lot of people in fandoms today do not seem to understand but what is usually clear to anyone in fandoms creating stuff for shows/movies (gifmakers, editmakers, artists, fanfics writers etc) : watching a show/movie is an active part of the co-creation of the show/movie. You, the viewer, give meaning to what you are watching by your interpretations, watching something is not as neutral of an act as we like to believe. A director and/or screenwritter is a human being, they will not realistically think of everything, they literally cannot because they are too close to what they are writting or creating. Holding them to an unrealistic standard of perfection is honestly antithesis of the act creation itself. Anyways this is why there is proof readers and screen tests to make sure the message they are sending is getting passed, despite the flaws that will always be there. But also sometimes director and/or screenwriters deliberately leave some shit out because the audience has to come and put it's own interpretation and figure shit out. Creating something and having someone read/watch it is a dialogue and an act of co-creation because everyone will come out of something with different interpretations and nuances, that's the beauty of it! This is why showrunners changing ending of entire shows because people figured it out is bad! Because instead of embrassing that dialogue, that the story they've been telling is so very clear that obviously the fans understood, they are acting like it is a menace to come up with the interpretation they themselves thought of, and change the ending and make it incoherent with the story just for the sake of surprising the audience. This is why fandom acting like because the ending they expected didn't happened when the whole time the director/screenwriter had been saying a very specific thing is also bad, because the fans are not coming up with the interpretation from what is layed out for them, from the dialogue they are having with the director or screenwritter, they are coming up with it via some other shit they completely made up in their head. The director/screenwriter is giving you the perimeter of what is to be interpreted in what they are creating, you have to at least genuinely try to understand it from start to end to have this dialogue with them. This is why I, and a lot of people I know, prefer going into things not having read a single synopsis or seeing a single trailer, or prefer when the trailer is completely misleading, to be able to suspend our beliefs during the whole thing. You can always not like what you fucking understood at the end and change the whole thing afterwards, there is a reason why fix-it fics exists. But if you come in with specific expectations from the very goddamn start of something, you will never actually see what the person who created it is trying to have a dialogue about with you, is trying to co-create with you. This whole thing sometimes mean filling the blanks yourself but sometimes there isn't even any goddamn blanks, you were just so busy criticizing a fucking pixel that was the wrong color that you didn't see the bigger goddamn picture

And also I'd like to add, your dissection of a fucking pixel makes it actually hard for the people who have watched and waited to fully grasps the meaning of the picture, to critic the ensemble of pixels they think could have had a better harmonized color even if it works the way it is, because you are polluting the space of the goddamn dialogue, you are making it so other people cannot goddamn co-create in a meaningful way. This whole thing is anthesis of artistic creation dawg, and maybe if people understood that they are co-creating what they are watching, they'd be more inclined to ask themselves if what the creators were actually trying to say was said badly or if their own expectations got in the way of their interpretations

[lattedecoffee]

Finished Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club aka FMC3 or just Emio and holy shit that was a roller coaster.

Gameplay definitely feels updated from the 2021 remakes but not so much that it feels like a different game.

Those characters holy shit. Kamihara had frat boy vibes during his first scene but his voice actor was so good I started growing attached anyway and eventually started shipping him with the protag (Taro Ninten is the closest we have to a default name).

Taro has two hands: one for Ayumi and one for Kamihara. Anyway here's a break before I do spoilers.

Okay before I talk about the climax and especially the epilogue I want to call out Junko Kuze for trying to murder me and then stealing my fucking boyfriend. I love her and she's a fascinating character but she married Taro's boyfriend and I'm salty about it.

Okay so that ending. I had figured out that Makoto thought he was Minoru but I wasn't sure if he had some amount of amnesia or if Emio had fucked with his mind. Turns out it was mostly the amnesia but Emio certainly didn't help matters. Although it wasn't as intentionally malicious of a thing as I originally thought given...

When the game basically had Utsugi go "yeah the epilogue's gonna be real fucked up so make sure you're ready before you start it" I was concerned. The game hadn't provided a content warning before this point so I wondered what could be so severe that they'd provide one now. Watching it basically right before bed was probably a bad idea but somehow I had no nightmares (I did have an irrational "what if Emio's in the dark hallway" that made me use my phone flashlight more than I usually would but that's typical for me with horror games. Happened when I watched Markiplier play FNAF all those years ago but I handled it much better as an adult than as a child).

It was tragic and certainly extreme but the things that happened to Minoru never felt unrealistic. A child drowning as part of her effort to escape her abusive father, her older brother killing their father, and said older brother delusionally believing she was somehow still alive all feels like it could be a real story. The key here is that nobody ever stepped in to help Minoru. People recognized there was a problem all the way back when the father's abuse ramped up but nobody ever stepped in. The juvenile detention center heard him talk about Emiko as if she was still alive and did nothing. The Todorokis never pried into his personal life, which is generally a good and respectful thing to do, but we know he will open to people he trusts given he told Ayaka everything about his past. Ayaka was really the only person who tried but she was 17 and already going through a lot herself. She did seem to be helping him open up but once he saw she was being physically abused he projected Emiko onto her and only spiraled downward from there.

And yet despite all of this Utsugi reminds you what this guy actually did. He killed Ayaka after she freaked out at seeing him kill her abusive father (she also hated the guy but seeing your older brother figure kill someone with no remorse is understandably terrifying). He killed two more girls the same way simply because they were scared of him. He kidnapped a now amnesiac Makoto and told him they were both Minoru Tsuzuki and needed to find Emiko. He almost killed again 18 years later only to have his head bashed in by Makoto who had finally remembered who he was thanks to Junko's bookmark. I'm skipping over a lot of things but suffice to say the man ruined a lot of lives. His backstory is not an excuse nor does it mean he should be forgiven. It explains why he did these things and shows us how to avoid similar events.

As for Junko, I love her story. You can understand why she said she knew nothing even though it was in her and her brother's best interest for her not to lie. You understand why she makes Eisuke's suicide look like the murders from 18 years prior. You understand why she goes to the abandoned village alone. You understand why she claims to have killed Minoru. You understand why she threatens Taro's life for Makoto's sake. And yet all of those choices were awful. Had she not lied, her brother's disappearance would have been looked into for much longer as it was now a kidnapping. She stole a suicide note and hid it from everyone, including the victim's family and friends. She shuts Kami out of her investigation and leaves both him with doubts he doesn't want to acknowledge (hence why he lashes out at Taro for pointing out all the reasons Junko's behavior is suspicious). She threatens to kill someone who only showed up because he believed she was in danger. She knows all of this was wrong and it's clear the guilt has been eating her alive, especially after what she did to Eisuke's death. She apologizes through tears while holding Taro at gunpoint and after explaining herself to him still can't go through with pulling the trigger. She just wants her older brother back and was doing anything she could. And while she does have him back, he's going to need a lot of support through physical rehab, hopefully intensive therapy, and a reintroduction to society (he was going into town but pretty much only to do construction work and then leave). And she has to apologize to Eisuke's family and friends. And to Taro, though he doesn't seem to be holding a grudge. Also "I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience I may have brought to your lives" is the funniest way to genuinely apologize for almost murdering someone.

Many characters in the game have been through some sort of childhood trauma. Our protagonist, Ayumi, Junko, Makoto, Minoru, Ayaka, Megumi, Eisuke, Kohei, Mama Shoko, and more. Only Minoru ends up being a serial killer. Only Junko and Makoto do terrible non-murder things. All the rest of these characters do nothing of the sort. Some acquire the supports of both peers and the adults around them, others manage to pull through largely on their own, and some we will never know how their story would have gone as it ended far too soon (either of their own volition or not). The game never says that childhood trauma = doing awful things. The game warns that ignoring signs that someone, especially a child, is not okay will often end in tragedy. Someone has to step in. Only a few people are obligated to intervene, but if the people who are supposed to intervene don't or are part of the problem then someone else must.

Eisuke's friends believe he committed suicide until they're told the crime scene doesn't match that. And yet they were right. They were the only ones who noticed something was wrong, but neither of them were able to do anything besides ask him if he was okay (he'd lie and say he was).

One last thing before I stop writing because wow this post is long: I love how Fukuyama was genuinely just a good guy with negative people skills. I was so worried he was doing something to Megumi and finding out that his response to her confession was to try to turn her down gently while clarifying that he did care about her as a teacher is supposed to care about their students. He didn't succeed in explaining that to her and she ended up assuming the harshest possible interpretation, but she seemed to already have a very concerning view on love (someone doesn't return her romantic feelings and her next question is "do you hate me?") so I'm not sure even the best possible wording could've helped there. As for him and Ayumi, it's up to interpretation whether he's interested in her romantically or not, but I choose to see it as him seeing her as his first student to grow up. He never formally taught her, but he was her upperclassman in naginata club. So she's the first person who he helped teach that he gets to see thriving as an adult. And now they're functionally peers, with her being able to comfort him about how Eisuke's death is not his fault as he had no way of knowing how things would go and made the best choices he could (he also literally saves Megumi + the whole case about midway through the game).

[thecranekick]

ok i’m gonna do it. it’s just. i’m going to try and articulate this the best i can without rambling. (edit - yeah this is way longer than i meant it to be.) unbelievably long and jumbled j*rmen/baby thoughts incoming:

i’ll start off by saying this: maybe i’m dumb but i feel like any development of a genuine romantic relationship between johnny/carmen has been done off-camera and we have no indication they’ve even done that. there is like, below zero amounts of relational development whatsoever and then suddenly she’s pregnant and he buys her a ring (where did he get it?? with what money???). i literally didn’t even notice the ring until i saw some gifs of the lawrusso moment. to me that’s a…huge deal? johnny’s never been married before, he never married shannon, he’s never had a traditional family like that…it doesn’t seem like him to just go out and buy a ring because he found out his gf of approximately 2 weeks is pregnant??? like damn these are like Big Life Decisions and you’d think we’d get more screen time on it rather than “oh this is happening now.” like you think we’d actually see him propose and tell his thought process out loud when he does it if they wanted it to actually be a plot line or show any type of genuine character development on johnny’s part. it just seems so random to me, so out of touch, and OOC and just forced.

also i can’t stand the way they had johnny “accidentally” ~spill the beans~ about the b*by to miguel and robby right after they beat the shit out of each other and were having their own moment, and now this is being dumped on them like? it is SO unrealistic that they’re both immediately happy like it’s just WEIRD? and it doesn’t even sound natural coming out of johnny’s mouth. he would never actually say that lmao. he’s dumb but he’s smarter than that? (i could write another essay on that). johnny’s face when they hug him and just his overall demeanor in that moment is so awkward and he genuinely is so weird about it. there’s no excitement, no joy, just??? weirdness??? isn’t that ‘supposed’ to be a happy moment??? coupled with the way he acts about it when the adults find out, and the way he tells shannon about carmen’s dream (not the fact that he tells her, the literal way that he tells her)…it’s just so insanely obvious.

another thing: there is a LOT of growing for johnny to do that can be done without having a newborn at this point in his life? it’s just such a stretch and so outrageous and yes i have a very strong opinion on this because it just doesn’t sit right with me at all for some reason. especially for robby’s sake. like in all seriousness an adult may be able to compartmentalize or like work through this, but robby has yet to work through the trauma he already has and yet i’m supposed to believe he’s gonna be chill watching his previously-absent father play super dad to this newborn? after he already has to watch him play super dad to miguel right in front of him (and continuously choose miguel over him?????) ????????? and is literally being forced to be okay with it and happy about it and get along with miguel???? like it’d be great if he and miguel could be friends because i do think they’d make great friends and get along, but that doesn’t mean robby has to like… feel good about the situation? just the whole thing is so wrong lmao.

also, why does carmen seem so happy and excited?? i could go on about it honestly, it’s so impractical and makes no sense and she is a very cautious and practical person every other moment of the show? but with this she’s just like “yay newborn with this 50 year old guy i met like a year or less ago, why the fuck isn’t he over the moon about this???????” also we’ve got no indication that she actually knows anything about him or his life or that there is any relationship outside of hooking up????? johnny actually confirms this when they tell miguel about their ‘relationship.’ he literally says they’re ‘hooking up’ and then carmen kinda gives him a look and he can’t even say it, MIGUEL has to say it and he’s like ‘uh yeah’ and literally looks like he’s going to throw up. the fact that carmen wasn’t like….upset about that is so strange because he never once alludes to wanting a relationship and she’s the one that’s pushing this like secular family weirdness, so for him to just be like ‘yeah we’re hookin’ up’ and not being able to even CHOKE out that they’re dating is so weird. it’s really, really weird considering we’re apparently supposed to believe that he’s now apparently ready to be married to her?? nothing is exactly wrong with either of them as people, but i just know for a fact they both want different things and are forcing themselves into boxes for each other.

the audacity of carmen to get upset at his trepidation about this is really irritating to me considering she clearly has no idea what’s gone on in his life, or maybe she doesn’t really care?? maybe she just wants to create this happy family bullshit????? idk before s5 i truly loved carmen so the way they’ve had her acting about this whole thing just doesn’t sit right with me and seems very OOC. also i don’t think real life johnny lawrence would be as calm as he was about it and like, not losing his shit at this point in his life. she’s actually lucky he didn’t freak the fuck out?? considering everything i think he was actually pretty damn supportive and cool about it. he literally could have actually lost his mind? all he did was look at the dad with the screaming baby in a carrier and look a little anxious about it? he’s not allowed to be……worried? nervous? intimidated? be so fucking for real right now.

AND ANOTHER MF THING. johnny literally made the same exact mistake in his mid-30s with shannon that he’s making in his mid-50s with carmen. he’s a grown-ass man and at this point knows how “protection” works etc, spent his whole life hooking up with girls and NOT getting them pregnant, like they make him look so damn stupid all the time and FOR WHAT? like i’ve said multiple times, yeah he’s a little ha-ha-dumb but he’s not actually genuinely stupid. they write him that way when it “benefits” their storyline, and literally change his character when it benefits other areas. it’s so inconsistent and frustrating. in what way, shape, or form is having him just repeat past mistakes (just on camera now) going to further his development as a person. if he didn’t know before he certainly knew after knocking up his girlfriend and having robby. like do you think he thinks that just….doesn’t happen?? carmen saying “these things happen johnny,” talking down to him like he’s a 12 year old, when yeah no shit he literally has a kid from the EXACT same fucking thing!!!!!!!!!!????????? likeeee uggghghghghhghhg PLEAAAAASE be so serious rn. they aren’t even really in a proper relationship!!! she knows nothing about him!!! nor has she ever seemed to care very much!!!!!!!! he literally told miguel they were “hooking up” and could NOT make himself say anything else!!!!!! because they AREN’T!!!!!!!!!!!! is the character development supposed to be him sticking around this time? even if the white-picket-fence life she’s pushing makes him miserable?? it’s clear that johnny cares about her like i’m not trying to say that he doesn’t, i think carmen just pities him and thinks she can “save” him by giving him a “real” life?? does that make sense??? like i just. idk idk idk.

i could scream about all of this for days but ANYWAYS tl;dr: johnny and carmen want very different things in life and have no romantic relationship established outside of hooking up and the whole thing is extremely weird