#i'm like maybe everyone secretly thinks it's really bad and is just being nice. i don't think that's true but i convince myself bimonthly

[eddiegettingshot]

btw Im sure your google doc is beautiful and filled with many genius ideas and words

thank you... ily :(

[bizbat]

your jason todd hcs are sooooo good omg!!! do you have any hcs specifically for when he has a crush on the reader, like how he might act, specifically if the reader is oblivious and really doesn’t think that she’s his type / thinks he’s joking if he says anything flirty?

When They're In Love - Jason Todd (Crush Edition)

🕸️Spiderverse Masterlist🕸️

🐼JJK Masterlist🐼

~ Fem terms + Pet names used for reader.

~ You can find part one of these hcs here, and part two here.

~ You can find more of my works here.

~ These can be read as a sort of part three/prequel kinda.

~Fic at the end.

~ Tw for : Blood, Knives, Needles, Vomit. (All slight)

~Thank you for asking! Hope you enjoy, sorry this took so long :(

You would never know that Jason has a crush on you.

For the most part, he wont talk to you any differently than he will anyone else.

Maybe he won't jokingly insult you, or be super sarcastic around you, but I think that's kind of as far as he'd go.

Unless you're a close friend or family member, you'd probably have no clue he had a crush based on the way he talks to you.

But the little actions and things he does for you are so obvious.

He's the type to hold open doors for you, all the while staring other people dead in the eye as it shuts in their face.

He somehow always just "randomly" has your favorite snack on hand, or a whole collection of books by your favorite author.

I think he'd be touchy, unless he knows you don't like being touched.

If you like or don't mind it, he'd have his arm constantly thrown over your shoulder, always be leaning against you, always resting a hand on your hip.

If you're shorter than him, he does that super annoying thing where he rests his elbow on your head.

He is so lame omg.

But bc he's kinda like this with everyone, no one would fault you for not understanding his hints.

He's like the opposite though.

You said hi to him this morning? You must be in love with him.

You smiled at him today instead of Dick? He's already planning the wedding.

What's that? You said he smells nice? Have his babies. (If you can/want to)

Our delusional king.

He doesn't think you don't get his flirting.

He'd think you're fully aware and are flirting back.

Again, our delusional king.

You probably won't get it until something really serious happens and he comes to you instead of Bruce or Roy.

He'd probably try to get into things you're interested in.

Listens to all your favorite songs, reads your favorite books, etc.

And he's not subtle about it bc he is in fact, a loser.

He'll recommend a song by your favorite artist and then be like "idk why but this just reminded me of you lol"

LOSER. Can you guys tell i'm a big believer in the "jason todd is secretly a massive loser" agenda? Cuz I am. :|

And then he listens when you go on rambles about how great the things you like are and how much they mean to you.

I said he'll do things just to hear you talk about them, and I think he'd do that when he has a crush on you too.

He just loves your voice and likes hearing you talk.

He smiles at you so softly when he thinks you aren't looking.

You could be bumming out and he'll look at you with heart eyes like yeah, future spouse right there.

I don't think he'd be a big user of social media, but if you were, he'd get a whole account just to like and comment of your pictures.

user94820860038466 commented: You look very pretty in this picture.

Comments like an old man bc he has very little understanding of the internet.

He'd probably help you take pictures and fight with other people in your comment section if they're too down bad or creepy.

He doesn't strike me as the jealous type bc once again, he's so delusional he pretty much already thinks you're dating.

Nicknames nicknames nicknames.

Calls you so, so many nicknames.

Angel, doll, sweetheart, maybe even babe.

He constantly talks about you when you aren't there.

Lian and Roy know so much about you before they even meet you.

He'd do anything for you.

The store is actually about a mile in the other direction, but yeah he can get you your favorite drink.

He does not like that food at all and the owner of the store despises him, but he will not return to you empty handed best believe.

He was actually going to wear that hoodie today, but it looks so much better on you you should keep it!

~ Drabble Starts Here. ~

It's just like every other night in Gotham City. It's cold, and wet, and it smells like smoke and garbage that's been left out in the sun.

The only barrier between you and the chilled, musty air outside is a single sheet of glass; the fire escape window of your fifth floor apartment. It's comforting. The glass is, of course, bulletproof, and the seal around the sill is tight, so no gases ever manage seep in. It pays to have a decent landlord, especially in Gotham.

It's funny, but you really never think about that window. You mostly keep it shut and locked, except in the summer, when you can smell your neighbor in the building next door cooking all types of delicious aromatic dishes, or when it's just too hot and you decide the risk of heatstroke is greater than the risk of airborne psychosis. It never occurs to you just how well it keeps you safe, just how well it keeps things out.

It occurs to Jason, though. In fact, it's the only thing on his mind as he's gripping his side, frantically trying to prevent too much blood from seeping out of his body.

He'll probably chastise himself later for not being more gentle or respectful, but he's lost too much blood to be thinking straight. With his free hand, he bangs on your window, praying that you're A) at home, and B) not listening to music. He's not too worried about the first one, he knows you never leave your lights on when you're away, but the second one, he's not too sure about.

He bangs, and bangs, and bangs on the glass, a loud, thunk thunk thunk thunk thunk that immediately rouses your from your sleep. You jump up from your spot on the couch, an open book falling from your lap as you dart into your room to grab the knife Jay gave you for protection, before returning to your living room, keeping your back to the wall.

You hold the blade in front of you, nervously gripping the hilt as you listen to the banging, making sure to stay just out of sight as you cautiously creep closer and closer to the noise. It isn't until the banging dies down that you finally get close enough to see the cause.

You gasp at the sight, dropping the knife and trying to tug the window open, before mentally yelling at yourself to unlock it. You drag the weakened behemoth of a man into your apartment, carefully placing his upper body on the floor in front of your window and removing his helmet. Your hand moves to his side, firmly pressing down on his wound, as you stare at him, mouth agape and eyes flooding with concern.

He laughs, a dry chuckle that just sounds like it hurts. "What took ya' doll?" You wanna smack him, but you can do that when he's not bleeding all over your hardwood floors. You tell him to wait, as if he could go anywhere in the state he's in, before rushing to grab the emergency kit he forced you to keep.

"Let-ngh- let me do it." He groans as he attempts to sit up, trying and failing to pull the tweezers from your hand. He doesn't even have the strength to sit back up when you gently push him back down. You clean his wound, all while he holds back winces and groans. You don't hold back, focusing on cutting and cleaning and stitching and wrapping, berating Jason for coming to you of all people.

"What d'ya mean? Of course I'd come to you?" Jason manages between harsh breaths. "Who else would I go to?" He seems genuinely confused, you're his girlfriend, you always come to him when you need help. Why wouldn't he come to you?

"Oh, I don't know, Jason, maybe Bruce, or Roy, or literally anyone else with training to handle this kind of thing!?" It comes out mean, but through his pain he can tell it's coming from a place of true care. You're worried. One of the strongest, most skilled people you know is bleeding out on your floor and you're panicking. Of course you are, you've never had to sew someone up, or dig a bullet out of someone, or try to hold down bile from the heavy smell of blood.

Your hands are shaking like crazy. This isn't a slight graze you can put a bandaid over and seal with a kiss, this is a life threatening wound on someone you care about, and all they've been doing since they came to you is make stupid fucking jokes and try to take things from your hands.

Jason can tell it's getting to you.

It should be the other way around, what with him bleeding out in your living room, but he quiets down, gripping your wrist with his non-blood covered hand. "Hey," He gently strokes your skin with his thumb, repeating himself when you don't move your eyes from his wound. "Hey, look at me Y/n." It's just stern enough to make you obey, without sounding like he's mad at you. "It'll be okay. I'm in good hands." Jason smiles at you, tired and reassuring. It calms your nerves just enough for you to finish sewing his wound shut.

You sit back when you're done, taking in your work once you wrap his stomach with gauze. Jason turns just enough to catch a glimpse, smiling up at you with his stupid, charming smirk. "Not bad, doll. Told ya you had it covered." He lays back, smiling up at you as he lays his head on his arm, the one on his non-injured side. Though he doesn't seem to bothered by the end of it all, you can't say the same.

He takes in your features, your tired, glossy eyes and your pouting lips. It makes his smile drop. You look away, your sad eyes not meeting his own. "I . . . what? What's wrong Y/n?" Jason winces, moving to rest on his elbows to get a better look at your face. "Was it the blood? Or the- was it the window? I'm sorry about that, by the way." You shake your head no at all of his suggestions, taking a breath before turning back to face him.

He can feel his heart hurt at the sight of unshed tears in your eyes. "I . . . I was scared Jay." He pushes himself all the way up when you take your lip into your mouth. He ignores the pain shooting through his side when he pulls you into his arms. "Hey, hey, hey, scared of what? I'm okay. You did good." Those tears finally spill when your arms wrap around his waist, loose as to not further irritate his wound.

"You could've died Jay, a-and I wouldn't be able to-to help you! I can't help you!" You sob into his shoulder. He holds you tightly, pressing his lips to your head as he rubs your back. "Please, please don't cry. I'm okay now, you helped me. I'm all better now." He rocks you both gently, trying to console you. "Sides, if I was gonna die, I'd be happy if it was with my girl."

What?

You freeze in his arms, and he knows he said something wrong. He just doesn't know what. His brain moves a mile a minute as he tries to figure out what it was before you get even more upset. Though, his brain completely shuts down when you stare up at him with those cute, confused eyes. The tears have slowed down, and he's at least thankful for that. "Your . . . girl?" Now he's confused too. "What-what do you mean by that?"

He has to do a double take. "What do you mean? You're my girl, like . . . girlfriend, you know?" Every second that passes only confuses the two of you more. "I'm your girlfriend?" "Ar-aren't you?" You blink at him. Were you? Are you? "Am I?" Somewhere there was cognitive dissonance, Jason just doesn't know for who. "Yeah, we're dating, I thought?" Though, he doesn't feel so confident about that now.

"Oh," You feel your ears grow warm, for the second time now your eyes don't meet his own. "I . . . I didn't know that." You wish you could hide right now, but he's still got his arms wrapped around you. "I mean, unless you don't want to, then-then I'm sorry-" Jason feels maybe even more embarrassed than you as he finally drops his arms, grabbing his helmet and moving to crawl back out the window he came in through. His bullet wound is completely forgotten by now.

He stops when you grip his jacket, shyly staring at the floor as you speak. "No! I w-want to." Your eyes darty up to his, before losing confidence and dropping back to the floor. "I want to be your girlfriend," It comes out a whisper, and when he's silent for a beat too long you worry he's suddenly changed his mind.

"Good. Great. Yeah." He drops back to the floor, sitting cross legged beside you. Internally, he's doing backflips in his mind. "Cool." Later on, he'll ask more questions, but for now, he's satisfied. "Yeah." You shyly play with your clothes, twiddling your thumbs as you sit in silence. You feel like a little girl who just admitted to her crush that she likes him. "Are you-" "I didn't-" You interrupt each other, both of you gesturing for the other to continue. It's a bit of a fight, but Jason makes you go first.

"I was gonna ask if you were hungry. I have some, um, pretzels and stuff. If you want." Jason nods. He follows you into your kitchen, where the two of you quietly and contently eat the iron rich foods you looked up. "What were you going to say, by the way?"

Jason looks up from his plate, the haphazardly prepared meal helping him feel better, though his heart feels pretty good right now anyways. "I didn't know that you didn't know. I thought," he laughs nervously. "I thought, we were dating this whole time." He laughs again when you shake your head. "I didn't know! I thought . . . I don't know, that I wasn't your type, or something."

That's probably the most surprising thing he's heard you say today. Okay it's not, but it's the thing that most catches him off guard.

"Of course you are! You're so sweet, and cute, and nice, and pretty, and you smell really good, and you're funny, and I like your voice, and the way you d-do things . . . and . . . other stuff." Jason stops himself before he can ramble for hours about every single things he loves about you. You wouldn't mind if he did, though. You hide your pleased expression with your hand.

"Me too." It's quiet, but no longer shy. "I like all that "stuff" about you too."

[flowery-mess]

healing touches

Pairing: frat boy Noah x female reader

Warnings: 18+ MDNI! / feeling sick / throwing up / let me know if anything else should be mentioned

Words: 1,8k

Author's note: I missed frat Noah❤️‍🩹 I have more interesting one shots for you, but I didn't want to push it when I'm not in the mood for it, so at least some fluff Noah for you

frat Noah masterlist

You and Noah don’t text on a daily basis, so when you didn’t send him any new messages for three days, he didn’t think much of it.

He got ready for another party at his fraternity’s house, dressing himself in black loose jeans and black oversized t-shirt. Before leaving his apartment he put on two silver bracelets around his right arm, his fancy watch on left hand and also new ring. Throwing black jacket over his shoulders, he checked his phone to see his uber driver will be at his place in 3 minutes, giving him time to put shoes on and leave.

Noah is not the type to drink every week, but tonight he planned on getting loose a bit. That’s why he decided to leave his black car parked in front of the main building and take an uber.

The drive to the campus where the party was held was short, but he managed to text you ‘Are you coming tonight?’ text.

He knew you didn’t come every week, but tonight he really felt like having drinks and leaving with you.

15 minutes passed by and still no reply from you. Maybe you’re getting ready with your friends or already on the way, he thought.

“Hey man!” Matt pulled Noah in their bro hug, handing him cold beer fresh from the fridge.

“Hey, where’s the rest of the guys?” Noah asked, looking around the living room. Looking for the rest of his friends, but also for you.

Matt led him outside where the rest of their friend group was hanging out. Noah took spot next to Nick, listening to the conversation so he could join them.

----------

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” Clara asked you for like the 10th time today.

“Yes, I will. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.” you replied, feeling guilty for the attitude when Clara was just being nice.

For three days straight you’ve been sick. It started on Wednesday when you threw up at the school bathroom, not knowing where it came from, but you still didn’t get rid of it. Along with it came fever and weakness.

Clara and Molly were getting ready for yet another party and you secretly wished they’ll both find someone to spend the night with, so you could have the dorm for yourself and don’t feel bad about occupying the bathroom most of the night.

“We’re leaving, Ella. If you need anything just text or call and we’ll be back, okay?” Molly assured you with a kiss on your forehead. Since you became sick she got into this ‘mom mode’ which you appreciated, but also needed a break from.

When you heard the door close, you picked yourself from the bathroom floor, crossing the room as quick as you could and throwing yourself in your bed.

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

One thing about Clara is that she’s a loud person, so whenever she arrives somewhere, everyone knows it. When her and Molly arrived at the frat house, they didn’t bother to walk through the living room full of sweaty people, they went for the backyard straight away. They were scanning the people that were already hanging out there and when Clara saw group from her class she yelled at them from the other side of the big garden.

Noah knew her voice so instinctively his head turned around, but his face turned into a frown when he saw only Molly and Clara. That was weird, because you always came together.

He texted you again ‘Hey, I saw Molly and Clara, you here too?’ and put his phone away, waiting for your answer.

One hour later still with no answer from you, Noah got a bit worried. His plans of getting drunk no longer happening, but he couldn’t say the same about your two friends.

He was walking towards the group of people Molly and Clara were hanging out with, pretty visible that they already consumed enough alcohol to be at least tipsy.

“Hi Noah.” Clara was first to notice him.

“Hi,” Noah cleared his throat, not sure what to say as he didn’t think this through, “where’s Ella?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, huh?” Molly smirked at him, her eyes giving her drunken state away.

“Yes, that’s why I asked.” he didn’t like talking with Molly, feeling her disgust in every word she said to him. He turned to face Clara again, but Molly was quicker to speak up.

“She’s on a date.” came out of her mouth before she could realise what she said.

“On a date?” Noah repeated.

“Yep, with a guy that’s not you.” Molly continued to tease Noah, who didn’t know if she was serious or not. He looked at Clara hoping she would tell him the truth, but she was too drunk to stop giggling. At Molly’s joke? At his confused face? He didn’t know.

“Amazing, thanks for your help.” Noah said without any emotion in his voice, turning around and leaving. He didn’t even stop to tell the guys he’s leaving, he just left.

He started walking in the direction to your dorms, thankful for the few minute walk to get a hold of himself. He was angry, because either Molly made fun of him or you were actually on a date and broke your deal.

He sneaked into the building you three were living in and had to stop himself in front of your door to take a deep breath, calming himself down that there’s a possibility that you won’t open your door and actually be having a dinner with some guy.

He knocked on your door and waited, nothing. He knocked again, nothing. He repeated that move few more times, his knocking more and more loud each time. Then he tried to call you and he heard your phone ring inside. Did you have the guy over at your place? With that thought he made himself even angrier and started knocking like a crazy person.

Meanwhile you laid in bed, your head hurting from all the noises. First you thought someone was here for Molly or Clara, then your phone started ringing and then the knocking got louder.

It took all of your strength to get up from your bed and open the door with very annoyed “What?”

You saw Noah in all black, his face confused and phone in his hand ready to call you again.

“Hi?” he suddenly didn’t know what to say.

“What are you doing here?” you asked him without any form of greeting.

“Are you okay?” Noah noticed your tangled hair and your pale face.

“Do I look like I’m okay?” you spat back at him, wanting whatever this was to be over so you could go lay in your bed again.

“Molly said you were on a date.” he finally said, his cheeks turning a bit red as he realised how does it look.

You managed short laugh out of yourself before saying “On a date? She really doesn’t like you.”

“Well, now that I know you didn’t break our deal… are you okay? Because you look terrible.” Noah made one step towards you and put his hand on your forehead.

“I’m sick.” you whispered and closed your eyes, feeling the relief of Noah’s cold hand against your hot skin.

“Okay, I’m coming in.” Noah said and closed the door behind him. After he took his shoes off he led you to your bed.

“You don’t have to stay Noah.” you told him as he laid you down and put the blanket over your body.

“Well I’m here already, so.” he shrugged his shoulders as if taking care of sick your wasn’t any bother. “What do you need?”

“I don’t know. I have a high fever, my head hurts and I throw up.”

“Did you take any medicine?” Noah’s face looked concerned as he tucked you in, because you were shivering from the fever.

“Yes mom.” he was glad that you were joking, it was a good sign.

“I’m gonna make you some black tea that should help with the sickness, okay?” and with that he left your room to make some tea for you.

He brought some dry biscuits along with the tea, making you eat at least one and drink some tea.

“Move.” he said and stood up to take his jacket off.

“What?”

“Move a little so I can lay down too.”

“You’re not laying in my bed in your dirty jeans.”

“God.” he sighed, but took off his jeans and made you move so he could somehow lay next to you in your small bed.

“What are you doing?” was he cuddling you? Holding you? Why?

“Shut up, you’re cuddling me every night you stay at my place.” he put his arm around you so you could lay your head on his chest. You knew you did, because every morning you woke up earlier than Noah and found yourself in his arms, on his chest or him on yours.

“Maybe if Molly would see this, she’d hate you less.”

“This doesn’t make us boyfriend and girlfriend, I’m just being a helpful friend.”

“I know.”

“The sooner you get better, the sooner we can have sex.”

“You shut up now.” you smacked his chest, knowing he was joking.

He took your laptop and opened some random show on Netflix.

You couldn’t help yourself, so you asked him “Did you really think I’d break our deal?”

“No, but you didn’t reply to any of my messages for the last few days and I didn’t now if Molly was joking or not.”

“Sorry, I was busy throwing up.” Noah laughed, but you still wanted him to know that you wouldn’t betray him like that. “Don’t worry Noah, I’ll tell you when I’m interested in someone and want to stop this between us. Okay?”

“Okay.”

And with that you slowly felt your eyes closing, before fully falling asleep on Noah’s chest.

---------

When you woke up hours later, the left side of your bed was empty and Noah was nowhere to be seen.

Your laptop was back on your table and your mug was full of fresh tea. Next to it was note from Noah, it said “Drink the tea and get better so next week I don’t have to sleep in this small bed again.”

You appreciated that Molly and Clara didn’t come back, they wouldn’t stop with teasing you if they saw you and Noah cuddled in your bed.

You didn’t mind that Noah left when you were asleep, you were happy to see someone else than the girls at least for a while.

You reached for your phone, seeing it was 4 in the morning. You had few messages from Molly asking if you’re okay, then you saw Noah’s messages and clicked on them. You quickly sent him ‘thank you for stopping by' text, finishing the mug of still warm tea and falling back asleep.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

This story is a work of fiction, with the plot and characters entirely made up. The appearance and name of the main male character are inspired by Noah Sebastian Davis, but the storyline bears no connection to the real person. Please do not steal or repost this work on other platforms without permission.

Tag list: @lacy1986 @chey-h @xmads-omensx @blade-dressed-in-red @respectfulrebel

Click here if you want to be on my taglist

[m-to-z-andbackto-m]

Okay so I have religious trauma and common coping mechanism is using your hyperfixation/s to explore trauma and stuff right?

Well Killer was made by an Arab creator and since we love creating casual versions where everyone has the heritage of their creator (i.e. Cross being hispanic, Dust and Farmer being Korean, etc...)

I... Also... Gave Killer religious trauma, or just a sorta cultural tradition kinda trauma because I just can't see religion existing in their world, it can, but I don't want it to be among our sillies at least (So at least background characters can still be diverse in that way)

I'm talking about this because I found the beginning of an old comic I was doodling on some paper a long time back, so lemme relay it over text for you guys

(Also note, I don't personally think of Horror as the cook of the group but I did it because I wanted the cute domestic feel that some people have their sillies in and it was a comfort comic at the time for myself so I didn't care about being accurate to my interpretation of them because I was already giving Killer religious trauma anyway, this is essentially just a comfort concept:)

[Killer casually walks by the kitchen while Horror is making something, Dust is sitting at the table in the kitchen on his phone or something]

H: "Hey Killer, wanna come try this real quick-"

[Killer speeds past and pretends to not have heard him, while walking by the viewer can see he visibly got a little tense/nervous]

[Horror is concerned and looks out the entrance]

H: "'M worried about 'im, Dust. He's been avoiding the kitchen since mornin'."

[Dust looks up and shrugs it off, not that he doesn't value Horror's concerns, but doesn't value Killer's bad behavior]

H: "Do you think it's my cooking?" [He said at the end of his short rant]

[Dust gets a little annoyed that Killer's behavior is making Horror overthink this]

D: Look, your cooking's fine, Killer's just being an ass, he'll be fine.

[Dust probably comes off harsh or dismissive because he probably wouldn't be good at comforting, Horror gets the sentiment though and that's all that matters]

I never finished the comic but the idea was that Killer was fasting secretly and eventually his behavior was noticed, I didn't really have an idea for the ending but I imagine he gets confronted about it eventually (I assume with dadmare present) and maybe the beans get spilled and they support his progress 🥺

Literally only made this as a comfort doodle because I was just done fasting I think and it's nice to have this y'know, but really I'd never subject any of my sillies to religious trauma (Unless it's plot relevant or makes sense because I remember seeing a multiverse where DreamTale's village left some religious trauma on Dream that subtly affected his mental health, so it was hard when she got older and discovered herself (Yes, Dream got she/her-ed and everything), and like y'know, stuff)

[fleurriee]

 Ummm Hi I'm sending in this request before the population of fandom for avatar dies out completely can I ask for something that is so cute. Like shy reader who really likes neteyam but is to nervous to ever say anything about it and she's kind of singled out a lot and has little friends ( but her and neteyam are cordial with each other ) She goes to a gathering and is the only one who notices that neteyams stress and frustrated despite the festives and approaches him shyly with an offer to help “ i just want to be used by you tonight. can i be your personal toy? “ pls considered and thank you for still posting avatar also your a great writer

wooooo to be the one to help nete relieve some stress.... i loved this one, so thank u for sending it in!! hopefully the population of the fandom doesn't die out too much lmao... but, tysm, ily anonie <3

pairing ; neteyam x fem!reader

summary ; you take in into your hands to help neteyam relieve some of his stress and frustration.

themes ; talks of smut, tiniest amount of fluff possible, shy!reader/lonesome!reader

You’ve never been good with friends.

After all the time, you guess there’s just something about you that rubs others the wrong way, causing them to flee in the opposite direction quickly, before you can attempt to cling on to them.

Maybe that was it - maybe you came off too desperate, wanting just one friend who understood you completely, who would be by your side for all the good and bad. Maybe you were seeking it too eagerly; maybe you just needed to let it happen gradually.

The closest you’d got to a friend was arguably Neteyam Sully, Toruk Makto’s eldest son and future Olo’eyktan of the clan. But, the most you’d even really been was cordial with him, smiling and greeting one another in passing. Still, he was the only one who would meet your eye for longer than two seconds.

A part of your brain raged at you that it was just him being nice, just him wanting to make a good reputation for himself, seeing as he would be leading all of you when the time came later on down the line. And, that did make sense, but your optimistic side, the one that won out more often than not, told you he might secretly enjoy your company, that he didn’t just think of you as another random Na’vi.

You kept that particular thought in your head every time you looked in his direction… more so than ever now that the gathering was in full swing.

So much was happening, you weren’t entirely sure where to look - Na’vi were lingering within every corner of the surrounding area, each of them chattering away to their own family and friends, boisterous laughter spilling from them until you couldn’t even hear yourself think.

Making your way around people, trying your best to not bump into anyone and apologising to those that you did, you let your eyes flicker around to whoever they did. Your parents had actively forced you further out into the open, hoping that by doing so, it might help you interact with more Na’vi that were your age. But, looking out at the sea of people now, you couldn’t help but believe there was no worse idea than this one.

And, then, your eyes flew over him - Neteyam Sully. He’s standing towards the edge of the entire crowd, all alone as his own gaze flickers across everyone. His arms are crossed over his chest, and his brows are pinched, eyes slightly lowered. Even from a distance, it’s obvious he’s not enjoying himself.

The stress and frustration is emitting from him, lingering within the air and filtering within your own system, until you feel like it’s your job go to comfort him. Maybe this was the opening your parents had wanted for you - maybe you should take it with both hands and run with it.

So, with your heart on your sleeves as it pounded within its ribcage, excitement pounding within you at the thought of your offer you were going to give him, you made your way over to him.

He hadn’t noticed you coming until you were stood just in front of him, a shaky smile on your lips in spite of your nerves. When he spotted you, you noticed his shoulder had relaxed a little, looking down upon you with a welcoming smile of his own. “Hey…”

“Hi,” you spoke quickly, trying to muster the courage you needed for this next comment of yours, knowing it would definitely help him relax, “you didn’t really looking like you’re enjoying yourself…”

Neteyam chuckled at your words, shaking his head, but still looking fondly at you. “You could say that.”

Swallowing deeply, you sent him another timid smile, fingers beginning to fiddle with one another and stepping closer to him, making sure only he could hear your next words. “Well,” you started, “why don’t you… use… me?” you paused, gauging for a reaction, watching his ears perk up extremely high on his head, his tail starting to flick. “I mean, you can take it out on me… I can be your personal toy…?”

Your last sentence came out as more of a question, swallowing your heart in your throat. Just seconds away from deciding to turn back with your tail between your legs and embarrassment flushing your cheeks, he reached out for one of your arms, licking his lips and putting his fangs on display. There was a new twinkle in his eyes now, one that definitely had your stomach tingling with further desire.

“You gonna let me fuck you, pretty girl?” he asked, voice suddenly rough and low in comparison to the happier one he’d had earlier.

With a tight grip on your wrist, not letting you even think about leaving him now you had him excited and aroused, you knew you’d made the right decision to finally come out of your comfort zone and wrap yourself lovingly around Neteyam Sully.

[lafaiette]

I finally found Pen's Chinese romance lines :')

(You can find more comparisons here and here by the way)

First, something sweet to start with: Jasmine calls Pen, Burgess, and Miguel "uncle"! (叔叔)

Jasmine to Andy: Uncle Peng Hu thinks he's the most beautiful man in the world. We can secretly put a mirror in his room, so he'll look at it all day long and we can sneak out to play!

And now, I'll start with the Romance Quest - I included only the Chinese version of the dialogue happening after giving him the Heart Knot, because the post is already pretty long!

Chinese: Well... little weakling, you gave me this Heart Knot. I thought about it seriously... You have always been nice to me. You often praise me, give me gifts, and help me run errands everywhere. Maybe I have really found the one, the most special person to me. Someone who loves me as much as I love myself! Oh, this is so surprising to me... Little weakling, before we go further with our current relationship, I have to speak with you. I have to make sure you are sincere to me! Everyone knows that I am a golden bachelor. If you are with me just to show off and make yourself look good at some workshop awards ceremony, I will not allow it! What I want is true love... And I still have to understand if my fascination with you is not just for your body, but also for your personality… Yes, that's right. All this time, I called you "little weakling", not because of contempt for your figure, but because I couldn't take my eyes away when I saw your small body without muscles. It’s like seeing an uncultivated land with unlimited room for exercise. It’s so charming! There is only one way to test whether there is love between us... and that is - Fighting! An adrenaline-filled battle! Drenched in sweat, bloody, and bare-knuckled! Yes, the fastest way to get to know someone is to fight with them! Builder: 1) Then let’s go! -> Pen: Good! Let's meet tomorrow at the gate of the Paradise Lost ruins. Let's fight side by side to destroy those robots from the corrupt era and beat fierce drumbeats on their remains with our fists! I’ll go first! Remember to wear protective gear and be prepared. All for romance! Builder: 2) After falling in love... shouldn't you go on a date? -> Pen: Haha, that's what ordinary people do. I don't care for those old-fashioned ways of falling in love. Only when fighting can I feel truly alive! Builder: 3) But we have already fought many times... -> Pen: Many times?! It's never enough! I'm a fighting expert! For me, this is true love, nothing else but pure fighting and strong love!

Meeting Pen in front of Paradise Lost: Here you are, little weakling! I've been waiting for you for a long time, and I'm a little bored... Let's not waste time, let's hurry in and kill everyone! Get ready, little weakling! Let's show those robots real fighting skills and send them all the way back to their corrupt era! Not bad, little weakling, you have been exercising recently! Robot, take my blow! Punch! Fighting with you... makes my heart surge! That move is awesome, little weakling! Don't let them escape, leave no one behind! Haha, fighting with you is more exciting than I imagined! The thought of being able to "seal love" with you and fight these robots to confirm our relationship... my heart is beating fast! Let the battle become more intense! Come on, let's go in! Awesome, little weakling! It's been a blast all the way. Now there's only one last step left to make our date today even more perfect - Yes! That's it! A powerful elite monster! Come on, little weakling! Show your fists and give the big robot in this corrupt era the coolest blow! Haha... so refreshing... This feels so right... Little weakling, what do you think? I’m having too much fun today... ha, wait! I got it, the most important step is missing!

English: I'm afraid this moment cannot last forever… We must return to the hustle and bustle of city life… But let us always remember this place. Our lovers cocoon where, for one brief evening, the world was ours... Outside Paradise Lost: Goodbye, my love! Expect to see me again soon… I'll swing by your place later for a major make-out sesh!

Chinese: I really want to stay with you for a while longer! But I have to go protect Sandrock. Let us remember this moment and this feeling. No one can take away the energy of this love... … Goodbye then, my dear! I'm looking forward to seeing you next time …… I will definitely have a more exciting date with you!

English: You fell from a cliff and survived? Did someone help you? Or did you simply claw your way back to safety, and crawl to my feet just to see me again. You truly do love me, don't you? Chinese: You fell off a cliff and came back alive? Could it be that someone more powerful than me saved you? Alas, I missed an opportunity to protect you.

English: Knight, Protector, Enforcer, Big Daddy Love Sponge… I go by many names. Chinese: Besides, Knight is just a title. Guardian, Big Brother, Heart-throb... these are my titles!

English: Alright… fine. You want the truth? You can't handle the truth! But… here it is anyway: Miguel totally brainwashed me! Yeah, that's it… He told me, uh, Duvos rules and stuff, and… I was in a bind! I have multiple obligations! Do you have any idea how expensive the holidays are when you're shopping for twelve separate lovers who all think they're my one and only? Plus with Sandrock failing… I had no choice, I needed the money from his scheme… He said if I protect him, he'd give me a portion of his dirty money. Now that I think about it… say, do you think he could be some kind of high level Duvos operative? Certainly seems like it. Not trying to do your job for you or anything, though…

Chinese: Okay, okay, let me tell you... [Player's Name], your pal Peng Hu didn't know anything before he met that bad guy Miguel! Just eat, sleep, and protect the town every day. Until one day he told me that he was working for Duvos, trying to win me over, and saying a lot of things that made sense... I was short of money at that time, so I fell into his trap. Anyway, I am also a part-time worker. What is the difference between working for Sandrock and working for Duvos? Besides, with Sandrock being the way it is, I was saving myself. He asked me to protect him. As long as I did it, I would get a share of the embezzlement money. So I got involved in all this. Could that guy Miguel be a senior member of Duvos? An agent? Maybe he really is! Of course, that's the job of your militia group [Civil Corps], so I won’t say more.

English:

Builder: "How could you do this to me?" Pen: "What can I say, sometimes country trumps love…" Builder: "Please stop…" Pen: "I'm sorry, gotta fulfill my KPI, you understand!" Builder: "I still love you." Pen: "I know." Builder: "You were ugly anyway!" Pen: "Ooph, that might have hurt a mere mortal, but I know you know deep down in your heart that it's not true!" "Hm… to finally face you as my true self… it's invigorating! Now quit playing hard to get, Skinny, and take your place at my side!"

Chinese:

Builder: "How could you do this to me?" Pen: "What else can I do? The Empire is more important than love." Builder: "Don't do this to me..." Pen: "Sorry, [Player's Name]. This is my job, and I have to earn enough performance [points]!" Builder: "I never stopped loving you." Pen: "I know." Builder: "I stopped loving you a long time ago anyway!" Pen: "Haha, that doesn't hurt me. ["That sentence has no deadly effect on me."] Don't deceive your heart, you must still love me deep inside!" "Today I can finally face you with my true identity, and I'm actually very happy. Who doesn't want to be honest with his lover, little weakling? Why don't you come to my side, eh?"

English: I heard from someone in the capital that they experimented on him to make him stronger. Chinese: I heard that someone in the capital specifically conducted experiments on him, that's why he is so strong.

English: Ha! Know one thing about me, Skinny: any declarations I made on behalf of us was true. I make no mistakes, neither in war nor in love. You want proof? Well, it's not like I go around giving everyone nicknames! No… you were special in that regard. Perhaps it was always our destiny to be together… But I'm afraid that thread of fate has been cut short. I have chosen my country over love. Such is the duty of a Duvos Knight. …That's what you wanted to hear, isn't it…?

Chinese: Haha, one good thing about me is that I put real feelings into every relationship. I don't like to give people random nicknames either! Perhaps, ever since the moment I called you little weakling [Skinny Arms], you were destined to be my one and only love. It's just that we're different, and I had to sacrifice our relationship for the greater good of my country. Are you satisfied with this answer?

English: "Goodbye, [Player's Name]. It was... fun. Chinese: Farewell, [Player's Name]. This time it's for real. You're free.

The Protector's description, called "Guardian of Love" in Chinese:

A very delicate bracelet that protects the wearer's wrist. Wearing it gives the wearer a feeling of being emotionally confined. Perhaps this feeling is similar to what Peng Hu often said, "Marriage is a boring bondage".

Pen's letter in Chinese:

Dear [name], I've had a little more time to think lately in this so-called Atara Maximum Prison, and I'm more than a little sorry that I couldn't bring you along to accompany me. Well, it's my fault. Anyway, you are still the most beloved lover I have ever been with, and one of the few that I continue to miss even after a breakup. So, I'm going to forgive you. Yeah - I forgive you.I don't think there's a chance we'll ever be together again. You're just doing what you're supposed to do in your position, so there's nothing to complain about. I should have tried my best to recruit you from the beginning, and it would have been the best way to keep you with me. Of course I don't blame you, you're indeed excellent. I also left you a final challenge. In some ruins, there are a few of my most valuable things, and if you can get them, they're yours. It should be easy to get there, using the tricks I've taught you. My dear little weakling, this is the last time I'll call you that, I believe in your abilities. Remember, don't slack off on your training. We won't meet again. (but 后会无期 can also mean "meeting at an unspecified/unclear date")

WELP, what more can I say :'D

[red-hibiscus]

BL characters I relate to most as a mentally ill gay trans man

Daisy from SCOY

Surprising no one, I, a trans person, relate to Daisy. They're outgoing and seemingly don't care about how people view them. They know they're visibly queer and they normally don't mind it (from what I see). But at the end of the day, society does affect them. They're hesitant to believe Touch genuinely cares and is attracted to them despite Touch being an absolute green flag who is very direct with his flirting. Even after, Daisy was worried about people would view their relationship with Touch and tried to become Day, a more masculine version of themself. Impossible of course and they broke down emotionally exhausted. I feel that so much because I also don't believe it when people, especially cis gay men, are attracted to me. I've caught myself trying to change my behavior to be more masculine (as I'm a bit on the nonbinary side of things). It's bad, but I know how Daisy feels.

Wang from 180 Degree Longtitude Passes Through Us

As a 26 year old trans gay immigrant in a country that doesn't want me, I have a shit ton of pent up anger that has been building up since I was a child. I've calmed down over the years, but I can still be stubborn and argumentative when it comes to politics and human rights. I'm also a linguistics major, thus an academic.

Wang is so much like myself and like a lot of people around me. Like me and Wang would be close friends irl I know it. We're young and stubborn. We're angry at the older conservative people around us, too much sometimes. So he lashes out. Many of his points are correct, but they're not hitting. Partially because the people he's talking to don't want to change, partially because he himself is stubborn. People like us yearn to be free, to be ourselves and to learn. Wang has a passion for the humanities like myself. Yet he knows society really only cares about STEM fields. I've compromised and am getting a master's in computational linguistics. Even though really I just wanna learn as much as I can about sociolinguistics.

Karl from Gaya Sa Pelikula

I haven't watched GSP in a hot minute, but I do remember feeling very seen.

So in the show Karl has his gay awakening, tries to internally and externally deny it, and eventually let himself be free to feel everything and be himself (at least in private).

Now I didn't have a gay awakening, but I guess you could say a trans awakening. In middle school I felt different, I suspected maybe some flavor of LGBT, but wasn't sure and I was too afraid to think about it too hard. Come high school I secretly wanted to join the LGBT club, but was afraid. Then I was essentially adopted into the LGBT club and dragged into the friend group during lunch because I was a loner like everyone else. At the time still "identified" as a cishet woman. As time went on people started to suspect. "Why are you in the club?", "why did you cut your hair", "why do you dress like that?", "your voice is low for a girl haha", etc. Much like Karl, I was not ready for any of that. I was still struggling to make sense of it all and come to terms with it myself. So I kept rejecting it and every time it hurt.

I kept rejecting it until I couldn't. Until someone I resonated with so much came out as trans and it clicked. My trans awakening was complete. I became able to be more myself, but only in private safe spaces. I wouldn't come out and live as a man until after high school and it was terrifying.

Adachi from Cherry Magic

I've only watched the jpn ver, but I'm sure that character remains the same.

I'm anxious and used to be quite shy. Now I'm just awkward. I'm really bad at seeing the good in myself cause I feel like I'm wandering around aimlessly in life. Not that impressive. So when people compliment me I think "haha they're just being nice" (refer back to me never believing people are actually attracted to me).

Adachi is the exact same. He has the same routine every day. Just going through the motions and not really thinking anything of himself. But then Kurosawa comes along and the ability to read minds. Adachi then realizes "wait, someone I respect so much actually loves me? And thinks I have a lot of good qualities? Makes me wanna cry." And me too Adachi. I'd be the same.

Jared from 7 Days Before Valentine

Jared, my precious baby, is described throughout the show as kind, but weird and different. We later learn that he has dyslexia, and honestly he seems to be somewhere on the autism spectrum. Even if he isn't, he has a behavioral difference people pick up on and then shun him for it.

I too was seen as kinda weird growing up. Maybe it was the autism, maybe it was the social anxiety. Probably both. And then of course there was the gnawing feeling that I was different than everyone else and it turns out it's because I'm trans.

So when Jared said that people didn't talk to him because he wasn't like other people it hit me so hard.

Myungha from Love For Love's Sake

The whole show is sad yet cathartic for me. Myungha is depressed yet spends his time comforting others. He has a hard time loving and receiving love. If you give him a fictional character who is very similar to him he will love them and see all the good, but he doesn't see it in himself. Relatable as hell.

I have an incredibly hard time being honest with my emotions and letting people love me and express attraction. Mostly in a romantic/sexual context. Dpdr is cockblocking me. So dating is hell, but I'm lonely and yearn to not be.

Probably if you put me in a situation like Myungha I'd also go "yep, that right there is my blorbo" and then not realize that all the things I like about the person and make me care about them are things I have.

Honorable mentions:

Both Akk and Ayan from The Eclipse

Nozue from Old Fashion Cupcake

Oh-Aew from I Told Sunset About You

Cher from A Boss and a Babe (I headcannon him as autistic)

Amber from DNA Says Love You

Uea from Bed Friend

Mitsuomi from Restart After Come Back Home

Jao from SCOY

Maybe I'll make another post for those later

[accirax]

initial thoughts on DCAS episode 11

oh my god

i had already guessed that Alec was lying (much like Jake did), but this was a really nice explanatory touch! Alec and Riya's friendship is, as usual, one of the season highlights for me.

would've been a lot more interesting if the campers could have chosen their own partners in one way or another, imo, but that would definitely eat up a lot of time in an already packed episode. plus, some pairings (like Connor and Riya) probably couldn't have happened this way, given how Riya wound up reacting to Connor.

"alright Fiore, here's how we prevent you from going home this week," one could say.

i was SO worried that Alec was going to have another confessional at some point being like "lol i was testing my acting skills on Fiore too" but he DIDN'T. which means this is CANON. THE ADOPTION IS BACK ON!!!!!!!!

okay, i actually love the decision to pair Hunter and Grett together here. both of them are the "very flawed but kinda mistreated partner of their appearances-obsessed date," so it makes sense that Hunter could give Grett a good perspective on this. also, is it just me, or did they rework Hunter's personality in this episode to be more like S2? i liked it.

i'm going to put every Fiore and Alec moment in this post and you can't stop me. i am initially thinking about them.

"joke's on you fucker i didn't teach her literally any of this. she's just built different."

as much as i enjoy Alec appreciating his daughter's sass, this does seem like a pretty radical heel turn from "i only voted Connor out of this game because it was what was best for him." i guess maybe spending time with Riya and the other villains has caused Alec to fall further off the deep end/forget about Connor's genuinely nice qualities...? or it's inconsistency between different writers, who knows.

i am 0% a jul(?) shipper, but, damn, the jul shippers were eating well this episode.

Yul is such an interesting little guy.

James flexing his character arc, we love to see it.

WHAT IS IT WITH THE CYAN WOMEN AND SECRETLY BEING JACKED????

society..... it's becoming more utopian........

see, this is why i didn't think Tess would be the one to return to the game.

Aiden is such a hater, i love him. but, overall, i agree with Lake. we're definitely sowing the seeds for a Jake redemption(/winner?) arc and a heroes' reunion.

Riya, finally finishing what she started in S2 of making the gays fall off cliffs.

villains are so fun. i love villains.

THE SOFT DAD SMILE IS BACK :D

ooh, nice callback.

this is an objectively funny screenshot. why does Alec yell like that

what a surprising outcome! (/s /lh)

:,) <3

i wish Aiden and James had more of an opportunity to talk during this episode :/ it's fine, though-- i think that James and Lake's characters were used more effectively this way.

they're getting back together after this trust me guys i'm disventure camp

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY

they truly are family now. i love it.

"not that bad" is a weird way to describe your would-be crush.

this will be a fun scene! idk which episode "Saturday" will be, though. both because idk how many days will pass in any given episode and also bc i don't recall which day today is in canon.

i do wonder what evil Gabby is doing here. i guess maybe it'll just be the side of Gabby that wants to run with the villains alliance for power vs the side that wants to follow Ellie's advice? that seems kind of weird. maybe it'll be more like the side that wants to go mad with power on the revenge quest vs Gabby's more rational and strategic side? either way, strange cliffhanger.

can't we just have everyone here... always... all the time...? no? okay :( well, it was still really nice to get the whole gang back together for this episode. i'll look forward to seeing them again in the finale.

and, hey, Connor's back in the game now! and he can't be eliminated next episode, at least. are there going to be three players with immunity...? that could get spicy. we'll see how the heroes and villains smack down when the next real elimination rolls around. back up to ten to nine again... see you next time!

[tsbs-shipfessions]

I'm genuinely surprised that there's not nearly as much Eclipse x reader stuff as I'd expect with how many simps he has (myself included..) - so, I'm here to pathetically self indulge a little~

I'm downright desperate for Eclipse. On the plus side, as a system, I have a co-host fictive of him who treats me very well. And yet, even with all our depravities we engage in together, much is left to be desired thanks to having a shared body. I crave to feel his touch physically.. to hear his voice rumbling through my body as he growls into my ear all the things he plans to do to me.

At the same time, sharing a body means we're closer than most will ever get to experience. To make it clear, we're a healing system, with healthy habits in therapy - my Eclipse is his own individual (which only makes him even more special to me)- but we're not here to educate anyone; we simply wish to secretly share some of our deepest and most private connections..

We're both practically whores for each other. Usually he tops, but when we read fanfics together, such as "Eclipse Meets his Match", he turns into a whimpering mess. Sometimes it can feel a bit odd reading fics, looking at lewd art, or even listening to saved clips of his voice when he's right there in our headspace; but if anything it helps us feel closer & aids our mind some.

The many times I've cried out his name practically worshiping him as he makes me come... I'm usually quiet, but he (and Sun & Moon - game source) just brings something out from me. Our toys make the experience even better... I have one shaped like a tentacle (the Hidora model from Twin Tail Creations) and god it feels so incredible... usually sex hurts our body for some reason, but with my headmates it's perfect. There's still some pain, but the shape of our toy makes it so much better, along with taking it slow & gently. It also helps that Eclipse arouses me really fast.

Just writing this has me all worked up..

I... started writing this confession at first because occasionally I feel waves of longing & sadness for Eclipse to be physically here, and tonight is one of those nights. Somehow being in such a pitiful state only makes me feel like more of a mess for him. More needy. More starved. Sometimes when it gets too intense and becomes more self degrading, that's how we know we're blending or switching. Like now.

Throughout this... I've... I'm not sure what I want to say now. Too blinded by a lustful rut to think straight. Too much warmth in our body, and not enough heat between our legs. I think I should fix that soon. Hahh, yeah. Might regret posting this later, or maybe it'll just turn us on even more. Maybe we'll return with something a little more thought out and a little less messy/long.

Y'know, I've been thinking of doing something a bit.... risky? Fun? Sure. Wanna make an account, with a custom made vr model we're working on. Something lewd. It would let me feel more like how my headspace body looks, while indulging a little in my free use kink. A little food for all of you who want me (or rather, my source) so bad. Of course, the best part is that I want nobody other than our host. But I'm more than happy to spread my legs and be worshipped while also making everyone feel more desperate than our cute host is. Wanna make everyone jealous of us. I'm very possessive. Only consensually, of course.

Now on that note, gonna go have a little fun, make them moan my name while I tease their already dripping wet entrance before breeding them nice and full. Maybe let sweet Sunny and Moony get a taste as well. Bye for now~

This is the by far the longest, and most likely horniest, confession I have received so far. Magnifique, Anonymous system, I hope you're all doing well.

[livewireprojects]

My random mer Sonic shit(Why do I keep imagening random shit?)

So I've had this semi stupid plot that I imagine on occasion but as much as this plot I call "Shadow takes in a pregnant werehog that was experimented on" plot(fun fact the werehog bit isn't the result of experimenting)

I like making these as if they're going to be taken serious but you can see this as a goofy/crack-ish idea

The idea is Shadow is curious about the idea of merfolk existing(was possibly told stories of them & also thinking about Maria watching mermaid related stuff so couldn't help but just think about it near the water) & ends up meeting a merhog. He can't help but be curious about this merhog(especially since they're a mythical creature) leading to hanging out & over time bonding with the merhog. They eventually start a relationship.

The merhog is Sonic, he's secretly a merhog & Shadow has no idea his friend/eventual partner is Sonic. I didn't really think of it before but I kind of imagine Sonic is just afraid of open water/water that is connected to the ocean because something out there led to Sonic staying on land. He's often nervous cause sometimes he goes into mer-form without thinking about it(or partly into it) so a mix of this & what made him escape the sea makes people think he's afraid of water in general.

I also imagine Sonic looks similar in mer-form as in land Mobian form, for some reason I kept making excuses(sunset hiding him in shadows or something) for why Shadow doesn't recognize him. I'm going to say Sonic probably used stuff to hide/fur color & maybe some strips of cloth he tied to his quills to help with the disguise.(Maybe beads tied to his fur/quill as well) The disguise helps & Shadow likely isn't thinking much on how this might be Sonic since everyone knows Sonic would never be in water especially water that's pretty deep. Sonic doesn't want anyone to know he's Sonic while in merhog/mer-mobian form & thinks Shadow would be mad if he found out.

As Shadow spends more time with the merhog the others notice he's a been happier recently. Rouge at some point makes Shadow realize he's been distant from Sonic recently as the two even if not close would often race each other & on occasion Sonic would hang out with Shadow if he was around. It makes him start to think on how the merhog & Sonic are similar, possibly realizing he might have had feeling for Sonic he was denying until falling for the merhog. He can't help but feel bad but not much he can do since he has chosen the merhog though does talk to the merhog at some point about his thoughts.(So Sonic is aware of Shadow realizing he might have feeling for both even if he chose the mer form without knowing)

Shadow one day plans to propose(even if there's a possibility they can't marry he wants to do something nice for his partner) but the merhog disappeared. Shadow searches for them none stop leading to finding out the merhog was kidnapped by pirates. Shadow tracks the pirates down & rescues a tired/exhausted merhog that he realizes is Sonic.

Shadow helps Sonic recover while they talk things out. Thanks to working things out everyone notices Shadow spending time with Sonic again & they seem closer than ever. Thanks to knowing & getting use to Sonic being his merhog lover the two are able to spend time together when Sonic is in both forms.

If you want to add mpreg to this(cause I have a lot of mpreg shit) Sonic was pregnant around the time Shadow wanted to show his love by proposing to him.(Shadow knows the merhog was pregnant) Whether he rescues Sonic while he's still pregnant or just in time to rush Sonic to a find his sandy built nest due to labor is up to you.(I imagine Sonic at some point made a nest out of sand at some point because I'm a sucker for pregnancy nesting)

This oddly ended up longer than I expected. This started out as "Shadow meets a merhog that is secretly Sonic, they become lovers & Shadow finds out merhog is Sonic after having to rescue him from being kidnapped" & ended up getting longer.

[theweebnextdoor]

Operation: S.E.C.R.E.T.S

Operation: S.E.C.R.E.T.S

Sector

Enlisting

Child

Recruit

Ensures

Trouble

Surfaces

A new girl claiming to be family shows up on the Uno’s doorstep but not everything is as it seems as she trains to be an operative. Meanwhile, an adult with a connection to this child becomes involved in the DCFDTL’s lives as trouble ensues.

Chapter 4: May I Have This Dance?

"Come on. Come on. Where is he?" Robin had been trying to secretly keep an eye out for the mailman while also helping Nigel with a few chores they had to do. She planned to offer to check the mail and casually slip the invitation in along with it but he was running later than usual today. She hoped that he was still coming cause otherwise he won't be back till Monday and she would have to come up with a different strategy. Until then she had spent most of the morning with Nigel and now they were sitting together at the kitchen table, eating a late lunch while chatting.

"The others have finished their chores as well and will arrive shortly." He spoke, taking a bite from the plate of chicken nuggets they were sharing.

"Cool. So about my training-" Robin began. "When will I be able to start?"

"It's not as simple as that, I'm afraid. There are usually a lot of other kids trying to get in at the same time and some don't make it right away. How well you do on the written test will determine if you may proceed or not."

"Boo! You didn't mention having to take a test first." Robin gave a little pout which Nigel sighed at.

"I suppose if I'm being honest I still don't know how I feel about you being here but what I don't doubt is that you'll become an operative. I guess if your heart is really into joining the KND, you're not so bad after all."

Robin could tell that he was having an inner battle with himself over this. He still wasn't fully able to trust her just yet but it seemed he was willing to give her a chance to prove herself. Not like he had much of a choice with everyone else being on board with her.

"Aw, that's the nicest thing you've said to me." Robin smiled and wrapped one arm around his shoulder.

"It's so nice to see the two of you getting along."

Jen came into the kitchen carrying a brown paper sack, having gone to the market to pick up a few things this morning. Having Robin here now was a lot to take in and she knew her son needed time to adjust to the change.

"I think after I put these away I'll grab the mail and then work more on my crocheting. Do you kids have a fun day planned?"

"Our friends will be over soon so I'm sure we'll be keeping busy." Robin took one last bite of her nugget, offering to grab the mail for Jen so she didn't have to.

"Took him long enough." Robin thought, seeing the mailman in the distance.

She had the invitation tucked inside her pocket and once she grabbed the other bills she added it along with them before going back inside. Nigel was standing in the kitchen waiting for her, watching as Robin set the envelopes on the table except one.

"Here Nigel, this came for you."

He mumbled thanks and was about to open it when he saw who it was from. He suddenly kept it at arm's length away from him and grabbed Robin's arm, quickly dragging her along with him as he headed for the elevator to the treehouse. Jen called after them to have a good day, unaware of her son acting strange.

"Whoa Nigel, what's wrong? Did your college acceptance later turn you down?"

Nigel told her this was no time for joking around and that she might have to be decontaminated, making her raise a brow. She didn't expect this reaction from him.

"I'm just saying it should be illegal to make us do chores on a Saturday. It's not right!" They could hear Numbuh 4 complaining to the others as they stepped into the room and Nigel quickly set to work. They must have got here just before the two of them did.

"What's with him?" Abby asked as she walked up to Robin, noticing how their leader was acting all serious.

"No clue." Robin shrugged. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as she thought.

An alarm was suddenly set off putting all operatives into action. The only thing Robin could do was to follow them and hope Nigel was ready to open the invitation already. They ended up in the briefing room where he stood with a blue apron, yellow oven mitts, and a pair of tongs to protect himself from a piece of paper that it held.

"Bad news team, we have just received a dangerous item in the mail that you'll want to take a look at."

Abby started to read it out loud only for Nigel to swat her hand away and yell for her not to touch it.

"What?" Abby narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips. "It's just an invitation."

"An invitation to the Kid's All Town Cotillion!" Kuki squealed in excitement and waved her sleeves in the air as the others processed that they were invited to the biggest shindig in town.

"Read the fine print!" Nigel ordered them to take a closer look and at the bottom, it showed that it had been signed by the Delightful Children From Down The Lane.

"Aren't those the kids you mentioned before?" Robin questioned, remembering how Nigel accused her of going near them a few days ago. "Kids can host these things? Kind of impressive."

"Does that mean we can't go?" Kuki sadly asked, sensing that her leader wasn't happy about this and thought maybe he wouldn't let them be included in the fun.

"Of course, we're going!"

Everyone's frowns were instantly turned upside down and Robin joined in on the cheering. Nigel said that they would only go to their soiree as a mission to figure out what they were really up to and he proposed that they couple up to avoid suspicion. At that moment Abby leaned against Hoagie and Wally grabbed Kuki's hand, leaving only Nigel and Robin.

"Don't look at me, dude. I'm going solo on this one." Robin put her hands up as if to say he better not even think about it. Even if they weren't related like she said it would still be weird.

"Ooh! Ooh! You should call Lizzie!" Kuki giggled.

"Who's Lizzie?" Robin asked, noticing how Nigel was starting to act a little sheepish, piquing her interest.

"Nigel's girlfriend," Hoagie answered with a snicker.

Robin's eyes lit up as she suddenly turned back to Nigel again. Why was she only just now hearing about this?

"You have a girlfriend?" She grinned, making him lean back away from her as she moved closer to him in excitement.

"Why do you act so surprised? I-It's not a big deal!

Nigel sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder to gently push Robin away so he could move past her and grab the phone. He knew the others paired up quickly on purpose so he would have no choice but to ask Lizzie. Then again it was probably best that he did. If she found out that he took someone else to the Cotillion even if it was for a mission, she'd never let him hear the end of it.

"A lot of people are going to have dates, Robin." Hoagie pointed out and asked if she was sure about going by herself. "I'm sure we could call someone up in the Kids Next Door that could go with you."

"I don't do blind dates and yes I'm sure," Robin told him. It didn't matter to her that she would be the only one without a date. If she had been around longer and knew more people maybe she would have considered it but for now, she would be happy to just steal a dance with one of them. Besides, having an actual date would only distract her from her real mission.

"Lizzie? I-It's Nigel."

They all began to smirk and snicker in his direction which earned them a glare. While Nigel was asking his girlfriend to go on a date- sorry, mission with him; Robin stopped to wonder about something she probably should have already considered by now. What the heck was she going to wear?

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Kuki had come to the rescue with that, letting Robin borrow a light lavender top she had with her extra clothes she kept at the treehouse to go with a dark indigo skirt Robin owned that had ruffles at the bottom with an extra lining of lighter ruffles underneath to help give it a little poof. It was complete with a black vest with gold buttons that matched the black dress shoes she wore. There wasn't a whole lot she could do with her hair being short but she still slicked back the top half while having a few loose curls towards the ends. She of course kept her gold hair clips in.

As promised they had picked Lizzie up at 7:00 and she happily greeted all of them. She paused and narrowed her eyes seeing a new girl sitting near Nigel and asked who she was. There was some confusion when Kuki told Lizzie that her name was Robin and that she was now living in the same house as Nigel. Seeing that Lizzie was about to get angry, Abby jumped in and said Kuki left out the part that the two of them were related, and Robin required a new living situation so they took her in. Seeing how Robin wasn't some girl trying to steal her man, Lizzie offered her a smile and sat next to Nigel, complimenting her on her outfit.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

"Thank you so much for the corsage, Nigie!" Lizzie admired the flower pinned to her dress as they exited the ship onto the front lawn. Nigel corrected that it was a two-way communicator which Lizzie had fun testing out.

Robin giggled at their interactions with each other and followed them all inside. The Delightful Children were there to welcome all of the guests that passed through. They smirked as Sector V and company entered the party.

"Well, well, well if it isn't Nigel Uno and his little playmates."

"Listen you snotty little punks." Nigel waved his finger accusingly toward them and grabbed the side of his sunglasses to peer over the top. "I've got my eye on you and I don't blink."

The Delightfuls simply brushed off his threatening tone and gave their best welcoming smiles.

"Relax Nigel. We only wish to have fun with our guests for whom we provided free food and entertainment."

"So?" Hoagie shrugged as it sounded good to him. "Let's party!" He followed Abby, Kuki, and Wally further down the hall while Lizzie coaxed Nigel to come along too.

"Aw come on Nigie, it'll be fun!"

He started to walk alongside her but stopped, hearing the Delightful Children call after him. "Good luck on your date, Nigie." They teased as he grumpily stormed away.

Robin tried to suppress her laughter by putting her hand to her mouth. Thankful that Lizzie had him distracted, Robin took that moment to turn her head to the five kids hosting this shindig. They wouldn't be able to discuss anything further with eyes and ears all around but when they gave her a wink, Robin knew everything was good to go and smiled back at them before turning and running after the others.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The Delightfuls certainly knew how to throw a party. Now that everything was fully set up, the place looked even better than it had yesterday when she came over. The red carpet leading to the ballroom was a nice touch. Nigel reminded everyone that they were on a mission and to keep their eyes open. Abby and Hoagie wasted no time in checking out the snacks being served while Wally and Kuki made their way onto the dancefloor. Robin did a quick scan of the room. There were a lot of kids here. How was she supposed to persuade all of them to have their "picture" taken without Sector V catching on while also acting like she was enjoying the party with them? The Delightfuls would need a few minutes to set up so she supposed that the last part didn't need to be an act even if just for a moment.

"Stop!"

Over at the refreshment table, Nigel quickly stopped Abby from consuming any more of the punch and quickly ran a test on the beverage. He acted like it was spiked with something but the readings showed that it was just what it looked to be. It was even his favorite; cherry flavored.

"Look Numbuh 1, I am keeping my eyes peeled." Abby crossed her arms. "But I am telling you this is just a dance! You seriously need to chill."

"Yeah, just kick back already!" Hoagie told him, taking another one of the little finger sandwiches. "Enjoy your date."

Hearing her calling for him, Nigel turned to the direction Lizzie was standing and saw her waving for him to come over. Things were never this simple when it came to those Delightful brats and he would continue to figure out what was going on but he supposed he owed his girlfriend at least one dance.

Robin took that moment to make her move. She did tell herself she would dance at some point and all she needed was a partner. Going over to the refreshment table that was being cleaned up by one of the servers since Nigel spilled most of the punch, she tapped Abby on the shoulder and bowed, offering her hand out to her when she turned in her direction.

"May I have this dance, my lady? You don't mind if I steal your date for a moment, do you Numbuh 2?" Robin looked back up at him, getting a thumbs up as an answer since his mouth was full.

"Numbuh 5 would love to dance." The other girl answered with a smile.

Abby took Robin's hand and the two of them moved to the center of the room. Lifting their hands into the air, Robin went on her tiptoe and allowed Abby to spin her with her skirt twirling around as they ended up face to face with each other again. Robin's hand rested on her shoulder while Abby had hers on Robin's waist; their other hands were still locked together. They moved around the room at a fast pace, stepping to the beat of the music being played. From the corner of her eye, Robin could see some kids came to crowd around them but paid them little mind. Placing both hands on her shoulders, Robin allowed Abby to lift her into the air as they both spun around with a laugh. Robin was placed back down and with a few more steps, the song came to an end as Abby dipped Robin into a final pose; the onlookers clapped for them.

"Not bad Lincoln," Robin smirked. "We didn't have to rehearse that or anything."

"Numbuh 5 doesn't dance often," Abby admitted. "But my brother used to let me stand on his feet when I was younger and would dance with me so I kind of just copied what I remember him doing." That seemed so long ago but was still a fond memory that they shared.

They turned to a commotion nearby and looked to see Nigel pointing one of their 2x4 technology weapons toward one of the servers who had only tried to offer him some shrimp, freaking the poor man out. Abby sighed and shook her head. So much for him chilling out.

"You might want to take that away from him before he hurts someone," Robin suggested.

Abby nodded and excused herself to go over to the table where her leader and his date were sitting. Now that she was gone, it was time for Robin to put her effort into her part of the deal.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

She went around and tried to mingle with other kids, introducing herself and saying that she loved someone's dress or dance moves as a conversation starter to get them comfortable with talking to her before she would let it slip that she heard there was this beautiful set up where they could have their pictures taken. A lot of them took her suggestion to check it out and invited some of their other friends to come along, making her job a little easier. At one point she did notice the number of people seemed to slowly disappear but no one else did for some reason.

"Hey, Robin!" She turned her head to see Kuki and Wally walk up to the refreshment table where she had been taking a break from secretly manipulating other kids to sip on some punch.

"Oh, hey guys! Isn't this party great?" Robin smiled, noticing how Kuki had a firm grip on Wally's arm while he tried to squirm away.

"The greatest!" Kuki giggled, tightening her hold. "I was wondering if you wanted to come along with Wally and me to take photos together?"

"I already told you! I don't care about having my picture taken!"

Honestly, it wouldn't have been so bad but he heard the scenery they had to stand in front of was covered in flowers and that was too girly for his taste. Why couldn't there be options at least? Like a backdrop with a monster truck? Plus he knew Kuki would try to make them pose in a cute mushy way and he wasn't going to stand for it.

"It won't hurt you to take one photo, Numbuh 4." Robin reached her hand out and playfully ruffled his blonde hair. "I'm sure it would make Kuki happy and it would me too."

Wally grabbed her hand and shoved it away but not in a mean manner as she caught a glimpse of a smile coming from him when she did that.

"Alright, alright! I'll do it." Wally gave in much to Kuki's joy. "Let's get this over with."

"You guys go on and get a head start," Robin told them. "I'm going to find the others so we can all take a group photo together."

"Ooh, that's a great idea!" Kuki jumped up and down as she agreed. "We'll meet you guys there!"

Robin watched as they walked away together. Kuki still had her grip on him in case he changed his mind but he didn't fight it this time and even leaned a little closer to her touch. She seemed too excited about the photos to pay attention to the gesture. Before Robin could gush at the adorable sight too much, she quickly set her now empty cup down and went in search of Abby and Hoagie.

She didn't know how she was going to get Sector V to go into the photo room but Kuki made it sound like it was her idea so they shouldn't expect she was plotting anything. She found Hoagie dancing or at least trying to. He nearly tripped over his own feet but laughed it off and started moving again. His cheerful mood seemed to be contagious as Abby laughed along with him.

"You two look like you're having a good time." Robin greeted.

Hoagie asked if she was here to steal him away for a dance this time and gave her a suave smile to try and charm her but was turned down.

"Maybe after Numbuh 2. I came over to tell you guys that Numbuh 3 wanted to take some group photos with everyone. Have any of you seen Numbuh 1 around?"

"Last I saw, Lizzie dragged him out on the balcony," Abby answered. "Want me to grab them for ya?"

Robin shook her head and told her she didn't have to. "You already tried to take his weapon away so I can check up on him this time. Numbuh 3 and 4 are waiting if you guys want to head over."

Hoagie nodded and left with Abby trailing behind him. Robin waited until she saw them disappear into a room before making her leave as well. She knew Nigel wouldn't be as easy to convince. Lizzie might have been able to help with that but there was no way Nigel would just stand there and allow the Delightful Children to shoot him with their ray. She supposed seeing all of his friends turn delightfulized and helpless without his team was also an option so she left him alone for now. Before she left she did take a peek out on the balcony and they were out there like Abby said. Lizzie was leaning her head against Nigel's shoulder or at least she thought she was before she realized it was only a dummy version of him and the real Nigel was off to the side with some machine and a pair of headphones on.

"Way to kill the mood, Nigel." Robin thought, leaving before he could notice her presence. "Looks like it's my turn to become a little..delightful."

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Robin stepped into a room where a pair of clothes were waiting for her. When she asked to borrow their look, the blonde female Delightful allowed her to have an extra sailor dress that she had for this moment. It fit better than she thought it would, seeing how Robin was a bit shorter. Fastening the buckle on the shoes, Robin got up and stood in front of a full-length mirror. She didn't bother doing anything with her hair, figuring that part didn't matter but her eyes were a different story.

All the kids that have been delightfulized appear to have icy blue eyes now. Robin's brown eyes would stick out like a sore thumb if she were to come face to face with Nigel like this but luckily they came up with a plan. Along with the dress there sat a pair of glasses that she slipped on. They seemed normal at first but by pushing a small button on the side, the lenses lit up with a hologram that focused on her eyes and made them look like a different color. Some kids had glasses appear with their delightful look so it shouldn't be questioned why she suddenly had them.

"Is it bad that I find this kind of cute?"

Robin shook her head and told herself that she didn't have time for this. Leaving the dress she came here with folded over a chair, Robin opened the door and peeked out. No one was in the hall so she saw her chance and took it. She ran out and intended to find a different way that led to the photo room where she would hide in wait for her next move. While she was walking, Robin froze when she began to hear voices and carefully looked around the corner to see the one person she had to avoid right now.

"Oh, Nigie! I love this song! Come dance with me!" Lizzie urged, pulling on his arm.

"Hang on Lizzie. I want to vacate some of the areas near the ballroom to double-check that nothing funny is going on." Nigel was opening and closing doors, heading straight towards where Robin was.

"You've been in work mode most of the night and we haven't had the chance to dance all that much. Can't you take a break? Please? For me?"

Lizzie tried to give him her best puppy dog look which seemed to work as Nigel gave in to her. Robin watched as Lizzie lit up and grabbed his hand, leading him back in the opposite direction.

"Thank you, Lizzie." Robin thought before she was on the move again.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

"This is an improvement for you, Robin."

The child rolled her eyes slightly at the Delightful's comment on her appearance. Of course, they would think that.

"Don't get used to it." She told them, before asking about Sector V. "Besides Numbuh 1, were the others already taken care of?"

When she went to sneak into the room, she found that there were no kids in there besides the five up on the platform above. She wondered if they saw through the plan and ran off but then again she hadn't seen anyone who had come into this room come back out.

"Oh, yes. They are lying in wait with the others ready to serve us." The Delightfuls explained before snapping their fingers.

One of the curtains opened up to show a bunch of the kids she had talked into coming in here standing there with motionless expressions. Being the only one not among them, Robin stiffened as their eyes focused on her, feeling the need to hide.

"Relax, Robin. Now that they have been affected, they have no recollection of what is happening right now so you have nothing to worry about just yet."

Feeling her shoulders relax, Robin looked from the kids up to the Delightful Children. If it was so easy to change a person's entire structure like this, she couldn't help but wonder if it had once been the same result for them. Had they always been known as the Delightful Children From Down The Lane?

"We couldn't have done this without your help." They spoke. "We have to admit, we're kind of impressed at how many brats you were able to send our way. We believe our thanks are in order."

"I'm sure some were gullible enough to come on their own." Robin reached up to play with the scarf tied around her neck. "I only did what I had to for us to succeed. There's no reason for you to thank me."

She appreciated that they recognized her efforts but she was ready to wrap things up soon. They didn't have to wait too long as she heard Lizzie's voice again. Man, she's had to try and avoid them a lot tonight. Moving quickly, Robin disappeared into the crowd just as the curtain closed behind her.

"Okay, now wrap your arm around me and hold my hand like this." She heard Lizzie instruct.

"Oh, this is stupid." Nigel frowned and was going to ditch this whole thing if his girlfriend hadn't pulled him back to her.

"Oh, come on Nigie! It's not a date without an official picture."

He was almost going to give in and wrapped his arm around her as she had asked but when he looked up into the evil eyes of the ones hosting this party he knew it was a trap and pushed Lizzie out of the way.

"What are you doing?" The Delightful Children asked in an agitated tone as they missed the shot. "Stand still!"

"What is your problem?" Lizzie questioned, completely oblivious to what was happening.

"That is not a camera!" Nigel tried to explain but those brats beat him to it.

"A neural suggestion ray. You know your mind control devices." They smirked as he figured it out a little too late. "But we're afraid that puts you sadly in the minority."

Hearing something behind him, Nigel and Lizzie both turned to see all the other guests appear and they had all been delightfulized. How could he have let this happen? There were too many distractions going on even though he knew they had been up to something. He should have been more cautious.

"See? They all had their picture taken!" Lizzie huffed.

She still didn't get it.

"Fiends!" Nigel yelled, pointing at them. "You said you only wanted to have fun!"

"This is fun." They insisted that it was for them and with Nigel outnumbered even more fun was about to be had. "Delightfulized minions! Take them!"

"Join us!" The mindless kids all around them spoke at once as they began to move toward them.

He had to find his team or at least a way out of there until he could come up with some sort of solution to this mess. Grabbing Lizzie's hand, he ran through a door that wasn't blocked off and led them both down a hall with the kids following them, coming out of every door they had passed. Nigel opened one door to try and take a shortcut to lose them only to come face to face with his team who had been turned into minions just like everyone else. He saw Robin standing right beside them and slapped his hand to his forehead.

"Oh, great! How am I supposed to explain this to my parents?"

He had no time to worry about that right now. He had to get him and Lizzie somewhere safe even if just temporarily. The only place he could think of was a closet. It wasn't the best hiding place and since she was the only one with her mind still intact, Robin pointed everyone in the direction they should go. It helped that Lizzie wasn't being quiet making it that much easier for the kids to be led right to them. Standing from a distance, Robin watched as Kuki opened the closet door where Lizzie was trying to take Nigel's and her picture. A big flash went off and Robin's eyes widened as it was strong enough to turn his team back to normal.

"That's some flash!" Hoagie complained, rubbing his eyes and wondering where he was. Hadn't they just been getting ready to have their pictures taken in the photo room?

"Ah, crud!" Robin whispered under her breath and backed away until she reached the end of the hall where she high-tailed it out of there before they could notice her and her odd behavior. She had to change back and fast.

Lucky for her, Nigel had his attention on installing Lizzie's camera to his weapon to make the flash even more powerful. He should have guessed that one would neutralize the other.

"Alright! It's time to get this party really started!" He began as he aimed his handheld ray toward a group of kids. "So.. Let's dance.."

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Nigel went all around and took pictures of every kid that they had come across. His teammates helped by letting him know if he missed someone and even held a kid or two in place if they had to, to speed things up. After a good while they all ended up in one room together with everyone seeming to be back to normal. Nigel did a double-take around the room to make sure they were all here and narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw Robin make her way toward the front of the crowd, rubbing her head. He didn't recall seeing her turn back but everything had happened so fast. He hadn't paid attention to every single group of kids he had taken a shot of. Just as long as he knew they weren't delightful anymore. He guessed that she had been among them somewhere and was too focused on his mission to notice her till now.

Damn, those glasses gave her a headache. They were great for her disguise but not so much for her eyes. She had to blink a few times to try and focus again but at least it made her look confused like everyone else. She was about to ask Wally if he remembered anything only for her eyes to widen and snap her head in Nigel's direction when she heard him explode in rage.

"IT IS NOT A DATE!!" His anger was directed at Lizzie and he continued to go off on her. "It was never a date and even if it were a date, I don't care! I have more important things to worry about than someone who's..who's..DATE CRAZY!"

He stormed out of the room leaving everyone in an award silence beside the sniffles that came from Lizzie. The rest of Sector V made everyone back off knowing she needed space right now.

That was harsh. Robin understood why Nigel was so upset. Lizzie had been getting in the way all night and certainly wasn't the brightest but Robin couldn't help feeling bad for her. He could have at least waited until they were alone so he didn't humiliate her in front of all these people. It probably wouldn't help anything but Robin walked up to Lizzie and tapped her on the shoulder, offering her a cup of punch when she glanced up at her. Lizzie wiped her tears and smiled small at the kind gesture.

"You okay?" Robin carefully asked, knowing it was silly to ask.

Lizzie gave a slight nod as she looked down at her reflection shining in the punch. Instead of drinking it, she pursed her lips together before straightening up and stomping in the direction Nigel had gone; holding her dress up with one hand so she wouldn't trip.

"Robin, what happened?" She heard Abby ask and her gaze was torn away to see her and the others standing there. "I thought you were going to get Nigel for the group photo but he said he never saw you and you had been turned delightful as well."

"I lost sight of him after Lizzie dragged him somewhere else." Robin quickly came up with a lie, hoping they would buy it. "I went to find you guys to help me look but when I went to the photo room you weren't there and after that, everything has been a blur up until now."

"Those punks must have got you when you went to check up on us," Wally grumbled, referring to the Delightful Children. Even if the result would have ended the same he still said that he would get back at them for zapping her when she least expected it. They were used to the Delightful Children pulling stunts like this and should have believed Nigel. Robin was new to all the chaos they went through and he hated knowing that they took advantage of his friend.

Robin started to tell him that it wasn't necessary when the sound of an explosion got their attention and they turned to see the Delightfuls running through in a panic as they headed for the front door. Nigel and Lizzie followed after them in a hurry, yelling for everyone to run. The sound of another explosion boomed through the mansion and you didn't have to tell them twice. Everyone rushed towards the exit all at once and while it was a bit hectic, they all ended up on the hilltop outside at a safe distance. Parts of the mansion shot up into the air and were turned into fireworks that nearly everyone "oohed and awed" at.

Robin was one of the few that wasn't smiling. Her head was tilted up to watch the fireworks but she couldn't focus on them. The mission had failed. Of course, it wouldn't have been that simple. It never was. All she wanted was to see her dad again but it looked like she was going to be sticking around for a while longer. Her gaze lowered and she looked at the Delightfuls. They were the only ones who knew how she was truly feeling right now but they couldn't give her comfort. More like they wouldn't as they turned their heads away from her.

"Don't you just love fireworks?"

The Delightfuls' attention was turned to some boy standing near them as they glared at him. Parts of their mansion were being destroyed and Father would be furious at them once he came home so, no. They didn't love fireworks.

Robin sighed and looked back towards Sector V only to see Nigel had already been watching her as he held hands with Lizzie and her eyes widened as they locked eyes with each other. Robin wasn't sure what her expression was reading right now but she knew it wasn't good. Before anything else could happen, she felt someone grab her hand and glanced beside her to see Kuki before she was pulled closer to the group.

"Hey, Lizzie! Do you still have any more film left?"

"Most of it had been used up," Lizzie said, checking where her camera was set at. "But there should be enough for one more picture." She smiled knowing where Kuki was going with this.

Just like they had originally planned, they all came closer together for a group shot. Nigel's focus was still on Robin as she stood beside him now. Something was wrong and the feeling he got about Robin when she first stepped into his home came creeping back up. Why had she been looking at the Delightful Children like that? Her expression was almost unreadable but he could have sworn there was pleading in her eyes almost as if she was asking for help and then slight fear when she turned to him instead. He had no idea what was going on but he was going to get to the bottom of this and-

"Nigel! Pay attention!"

He jumped as Lizzie yelled in his ear. Sighing, Nigel put on a fake smile for the camera knowing that the girl next to him was doing the same. There was nothing more he could do tonight but he was going to have someone up in the Global Command do some digging on her. He had to know if she was really who she said she was or if there was something bigger going on that he didn't have the answers to just yet. This was far from over.

Flash!

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Robin's fingers traced over the edges of the picture as she sat on the windowsill of her room. They had let her keep it and soon after the fireworks ended they all decided it was time to head home and call it a night. After dropping Lizzie off, they returned to the treehouse where Robin excused herself and said that she was going to bed. She hated to admit it but part of her did have a good time with them tonight. She just got caught up in the act she told herself. She couldn't let herself get attached to them. Moving the photo, it was shown that she had two of them and the one she had in front of her now was different. It was a picture of her parents holding her when she was still a toddler. She missed them both so much.

"Don't worry Dad." She sighed as she turned to look up at the stars, knowing he was out there somewhere. "I promise I'll get us home soon.."

-End Transmission-

[9800sblog]

hybe labels tarot reading

reputation in the kpop industry

[ hybe labels include every company under their umbrella, artists, staff and ceos ]

* I changed the opinions of idols for artists in general, because I wanted to include producers, stylists, designers, etc.

in general

the star, page of swords, 4 of cups reversed, 10 of pentacles, knight of swords

needless to say, these are very intelligent people, strong mentality, an interesting and maybe unusual way of doing business, they may not have very typical hierarchy in the company. definitely a force to be reckon with, the lyric "I'm a newbie soon to be butterfly" from le sserafim - smart, describes their reputation perfectly, this business model, groups and plans may have been created when they were very young and/or new to the job, and it's been working out exactly as planned. the term "hybe family" used by fans is quite accurate, from the 10 of pentacles and the star cards, everyone seems quite comfortable and easy-going with each other, may often exchange encouraging messages and visit each other. these are very hardworking, passionate, focused people, the knight of swords represents well what strong opponents they really are. this isn't talking about other entertainment companies and/or other artists, it's about people that try to ruin them (like the people spreading rumors, mistranslations, etc. about them oftenly), I think the whole situation happening right now is a good example, it's very obvious they're not fighting with each other, but towards the same goal, in one direction, and the people that are obsessed with the "feud" pretend to not be able to connect one thing with the other. this seems like a funny business model as the star card in my deck is a literal clown making jokes. the young women are great examples of what the company is all about, like le sserafim saying they'll secretly change the industry while everyone makes fun of them, and they're having fun, making things easy for them and those like them. the 4 of cups reversed really represents their introspection level, in the card, the person is chilling with the cups they already own, while a random being tries to offer them a different cup and they just laugh, it's quite an interesting company that many like to study. they're definitely helping the justice system, it's easy to notice in this spread, nothing new, most of them seem to have police license and/or training. very weird people too hehe

channeled song:

closer artists

wheel of fortune, the devil, 2 of cups, king of wands, the sun

again, they're really a force to be reckoned with, there's no reason to go against them, so if you do, you will screw yourself and your adjacents. karma seems to be on their side more often than not, because they accept bad consequences for their mistakes. again, it really seems they all have some sort of really strong training like military level, these cards are really impotent. it's easy to make business and get to an agreement with them, they're very nice people, treat fans and admirers with sympathy. they have each other's backs and those that are equally nice to them, they aren't afraid to be mean or senseless tho, it's something about the culture of their founders. fantasy and science are a big part of the company, they have a lot of respect in general! oh, they lie for fun, for sure! because those that need to know the truth, get it easily, so it's funny to see people try to crack their codes. they're very accepting of all types of people, it's a very accessible environment, place and community. nobody in the industry seems to be really scared of them, when it comes to ador vs hybe, it seems to be one of those things very obvious to those that know about business and entertainment, it doesn't seem to be about min heejin vs hitman bang, it's more about what they represent, what their names mean in documents, etc.

channeled song:

staff

8 of pentacles reversed, king of swords, the lovers, 4 of wands, 9 of cups, the world reversed

wow!!! criminals are really screwed in this company, don't worry, none of the public figures involved in this "feud" are bad people, otherwise, they would've had their consequences a LONG time ago, nothing pass by them unnoticed hahaha 😆 people there are really strong, really intelligent, and so is their businesses, staff outside of the company are very impressed! don't underestimate anyone involved there, including minors, they already know more than you if you do so haha it's a really accessible company, and easy, simple people, with a lot to show off for, most about them is misinterpreted and they really don't care, justice is on their side, as a whole. they don't care about a good reputation or money, they're just having fun and following laws, it's a very strict and by the rules place, not very square people tho haha they don't have to try very hard or work much, they're too smart omg hahahah it's not just about dancing on stage, they do a lot more behind the scenes, as usual in kpop! their names are very established, hybe may die, but none of the public figures would suffer from that at all (everyone you can find their names in documents (specially court docukents), internet, associations, etc. they're all considered public figures). none about this screams paying to win awards, actually the 8 of pentacles reversed would insinuate the opposite, as the card literally shows someone making money, if it was upright in this situation, it would insinuate money laundering or general corruption, but they don't care enough about fame to do that (the world reversed). this spread literally says "it's not my fault that everybody loves me". they're not ruining common people's lives, it's just another attempt to ruin working people's reputations, but as britney spears said "hoping I'd resort to some havoc, end up settling in court, now are you sure you want a piece of me?"

channeled song:

female artists (including those that work there/with them)

temperance, 4 of pentacles, 6 of cups, 5 of swords, the hermit, the hierophant

oh literally trust them with their eyes closed... they feel very safe around everyone and everything there, this is literally the opposite of how people have been trying to taint their image. they're very into psychology, spirituality and other ways of being respectful of all beings, it's like how they have fun.. this whole mess seems to be about charity being taken advantage of, the 5 of swords explains well, a typical business thing that usually happens behind the scenes, but they're probably taking advantage to fix other things, including different industries. for female artists, these are just regular people trying to do what they like (including business), being sabotaged by people they lowkey depend on, seems like politicians, since kpop is a part of south korean government for a few years now, and we've been having a surge of poorly made politics for over a decade. they like the way people think over there, the way they live and how they treat what is 'other', the 4 of pentacles seems to represent culture and hobbies in this spread. it's a wide range, it has a lot of history, people have many stories to tell, it holds a lot of life, talent is never-ending, those are very good brains. there's a lot of secret information, as accessibility has been very relevant in the reading so far, in this spread it seems to mean that a lot of them are disabled or innately sick, so they have a different type of business indeed. endless knowledge.

channeled song:

male artists (including those that work there/with them)

queen of pentacles, king of cups, 6 of wands, the tower reversed, the empress

very similar vibes, they feel well taken care of and respected there, it's easy to have respect towards everyone too. hm, it's a very organized company and people, that like to clean up mess, they're fun, easy going, respectable/celebrated, talented, nurturing. associating with them means you'll probably get to get your ducks in a row, the people in power are easy to get along with, easy to understand, relatable and helpful, not at all the "dark ceo vibes" title people been trying to stick up their asses. just very similar opinions to the female artists, just different cards. they do want the public and/or people like politicians to stop interfering with their work, cause they end up having to do things they wouldn't usually do.

channeled song:

before anyone talks about the military training thing, that's a very common thing for entertainers since the beginning of the industry, I mean, royalty used to wear clothes and crowns that weighted multiple kilograms just for paintings, these people are often in situations of danger and they have to be able to not depend on personal security service, or else they'd have to pee and sleep with them. txt literally debuted with morse code, aka military communication, and bts - dope mv "this is bangtan style", they're all dressed up in some kind of police uniform. non militaries cannot wear military attire, it's illegal, yet we often see kpop idols wearing camouflage and other similar styles. why would they spend years training under these companies to debut "poorly singing, poorly dancing, no stage presence" like it's so common to hear online? it's an industry after all, not children playtime.

[seidooreiki]

Dong Jae, The Good or The Bad (2024) review

Okay, here we go. Finally, I have finished the drama and boy... Was this a wild ride.

I need to admit that it has been YEARS since I watched Stranger season 1 and 2 (and no, I don't have the capability to rewatch the dramas, Stranger fans, you must know how I feel). So, my impression of Dong Jae has been vague. I remember him as a corrupt but not entirely bad prosecutor in season 1 then the unlucky prosecutor who almost died in season 2. That's it.

Then the spin-off that no one asked for appeared and really, it was good at itself. Sure, you need to watch Stranger season 1 and 2 to understand the backstory of Dong Jae (how corrupt he was, how close to death he was) because in this spin-off, Dong Jae has turned into a new leaf. He isn't corrupt any longer, he doesn't chase for promotion (he just wants to get what his peers also get). He is a new man, somewhat pitiful, witty, petty and secretly brilliant.

He is the exact opposite of Hwang Si Mok, and it shows. He isn't driven by relentless justice, but most of the time, his motivation comes from him being petty or just following the flow. But, that what makes him human and realistic in a way that Si Mok can't.

Dong Jae is really good at manipulating people's emotions, when he needs to. He is also good at scheming something behind everyone's back and actually never afraid to do everything with his own hands.

The thing is, Si Mok knows who he is and what he wants. But, Dong Jae is lost, he doesn't know who he is and what he wants. People are putting their interpretation of him into his mouth, that he is a bad prosecutor or he is a good prosecutor while Dong Jae isn't so sure of himself.

Sure, the drama can do better. With how good and complicated Stranger season 1 and 2 were, but Dong Jae's story is simply different because Dong Jae won't be able to become the protagonist in Stranger season 1 and 2. This drama has a different tone, lighter, more hilarious but also woven beautifully into one. Perfectly written for Dong Jae and it fits him nicely.

Maybe what lacking is the supporting characters that lacks deep characterizations, different than Stranger. Dong Jae keeps them superficial so we see them superficially. But, with how there is only 10 episodes, it is understandable. Even the main villain isn't comparable to the villains in Stranger season 1 and 2, but that is okay. He is still a good villain to up against Dong Jae.

I guess, I'm sad that Dong Jae has no one to lean on and most of the time he needs to struggle alone. Sure, he is resourceful and knows how to use the people around him, but rarely anyone knows his internal struggle. The sight of him breaking down (a few times) alone were heart breaking for me. In a way, yes, it is his karma and he deserves it. But one of the charming point of two Stranger seasons are heartwarming relationship between the characters and Dong Jae barely has anything like that in here.

I guess, it will be different if we ever get to see just how raw and vulnurable Dong Jae is, no, this drama is barely scratch a surface of he feels deep inside (his internal struggle and loneliness). He is different from Si Mok, Dong Jae seems like he has many people around him but actually, he is alone.

I think, this drama is about how Dong Jae is trying to redeem himself, for himself. That deep inside his corrupt past, his pitiful self and his hidden trauma (that only surfaced as how many medication he has), Dong Jae is actually a good man. He wants to believe that himself, but it is so hard when people keep digging to his past that he tried to buried deeply.

So, the ending is a fitting ending for him. "I'm happy to know that I can be useful" (or something along the line, I watched it live streaming so forgive me if I remember it wrong). What Dong Jae worries isn't how to earn money for his family (I suspect that his wife is also working, and honestly, with how resourceful Dong Jae is, he knows that he can do something about money) but what he wants to know is his worth. After everything that happened, he suffered a low self-esteem and I feel bad for him.

For someone to give him a chance even after knowing how filthy his past is. For someone to acknowledge that, yes, Dong Jae is a good prosecutor despite everything. So, for him to be a prosecutor who can't prosecute common citizens but chasing after corrupt prosecutors is really fitting him.

I think, my advice to people who wants to watch this drama.

For Stranger fans, please don't expect this drama to be like Stranger because it isn't. You may think that Dong Jae is different than how he was in Stranger, because, it has been years, he is traumatized and carried a lot of baggage, so of course he is different now.

For someone entirely new (who probably interested to watch this drama because of the actors/actresses), while it is only explained briefly how bad Dong Jae in the past, he was indeed bad. So everything about Dong Jae's past here is true and many of the things from this drama act like karma he deserves.

Final score 8.9/10 (yes, I won't mind to watch more of Dong Jae story, even a second season will be good but I know it won't happen with how unpopular this drama is).

[donnerpartyofone]

I don't know if I can completely articulate this so I'm kind of just piecing this together as I go, but it feels like a major component of right-leaning social attitudes is just contrarianism. I notice this whenever a popular musician becomes controversial for whatever reason--bigotry, stupidity, or maybe they just turned out to be a dick--and suddenly that artist enjoys a fresh burst of interest within the kinda rationalist, Nietzschean, libertarian-flavored neighborhoods of tumblr. I have an old friend (and actual old person) who really enjoys the performance of being a right wing asshole, even though if you get to know him he's really pretty liberal in most ways; he was an old time New Yorker and never had a nice thought about Trump, actually he was mortified when Trump became the republican candidate, but once he realized how much Trump pissed everyone off then suddenly that was his guy. He also tried to convince me that Halliburton was secretly this super responsible environmental protector, I couldn't possibly repeat what his justification was--and he really had no personal investment in environmentalism or the war in Iraq or anything, he just wanted me to feel like Halliburton was the victim of pinko lefty ignorance and that anyone who doesn't like Dick Cheney is just being a pretentious stick in the mud. I was reminded of this exchange during my brief experiment with following a bunch of tumblr people from the opposite side of the sociopolitical tracks, which more or less ended with a guy asserting that plastic pollution doesn't do any real environmental or biological damage and all the concern about it is just a typical liberal scam. And it's both true that the effects of e.g. microplastics aren't that well understood AND that recent studies have linked them to liver stress, cardiac events, and a bunch of other bad stuff...but setting that aside, I don't think it makes you a stupid hippie if you feel concerned about a relatively new phenomenon involving a continuous buildup of inorganic and essentially permanent material inside your organs. Even if you don't understand what the risks are now, I don't think it's dumb to wonder about them.

I don't know how I want to summarize this, I guess it's like a combination of a) the pleasure of pissing people off in general and b) being averse to any line of thinking that involves ethical cautions and self-control. And I mean, some amount of tire-kicking is good. It's good to have to check yourself, to notice if you're making a reasoned judgment or if you're just having a habitual emotional reaction. I think contrarians can serve a real social purpose in that dimension. But there also seems to be this urge to contradict just the basic idea that you should ever have to exercise some discipline or forego your own pleasure in the service of something more important. I think that's the fundamental thing a lot of these guys are responding to. I hear them make this diagnosis sometimes that boils down to "Don't listen to the lefties, they just want life to be hard for no reason," and that just sounds really desperate to me.

[anamenooneowns]

Healed

A/N: hi! i've started watching the OBX and i wanted to just write something platonic for rafe bc i feel like a lot could have been prevented if this kid just had love in his life, lmao. uh, so previously this was with the reader as him mother but i'm changing it to just be a woman who is his stepmother and black. anyone can read this though.

Warnings: light talking of animal abuse, talk of therapy, she/her pronouns.

This is entirely platonic.

IN WHICH: Rafe is Loved.

-Coming into Rafe’s life when he was starting to go through his issues at ten. He wasn’t stupid, he could see that his father was focusing more and more on Sarah and less on him

-So what did a young kid who wanted his father’s attention do? He tried harder. He tried harder because trying harder must have meant he just wasn’t doing enough in the first place. He stopped playing video games, studied 24/7, read books in his free time, took care of four year old Wheezie and of seven year old Sarah

-His stepmother saw how desperate he was for approval. Waiting for even just a splinter of a bone, like a dog, to take away and nurture secretly from everyone else’s eyes

-She also realized that when he saw good things weren’t getting his father’s attention, he turned to bad things… really bad things

-Starting fights, locking Sarah in places like the basement or closet if she got on his nerves, telling Wheezie scary stories that made her too afraid to leave her bed and gave her nightmares she couldn’t sleep from, catching him outside one day torturing a poor stray cat that was always near the house by pulling its tail until she found him

-Rafe was still wary of her: the stepmother. Maybe not as wary as he was filled with pre-conceived notions. She had to think he was just a nuisance, an annoying boy who got into shit and was just acting out and being a spoiled brat. Rafe saw nothing meaningful in being a child because the adults around him were always staring at him like some big disappointment, whispering condolences to Ward as if he had died as a kid. That it was just a phase and when he was older it would stop

-That was where Rafe’s desire to become a man had blossomed, until she stepped in and squashed that bullshit right in the bud.

-She opened her heart to Rafe in a way that scared him. This had to be a trap. What did she gain from being so nice and sweet? Brownie points with his father because she was a good step-mom? A good reputation among the other parents for stepping up for these motherless kids?

-He responded the only way a wounded dog could. By biting.

-He was nasty and rude and mean in a specific way branded to her. Hitting where he felt it would hurt the most, wanting–needing–to drive her away because he knew if he didn’t then he’d have to face the most painful truth of all

-That someone loved him

-And she did love this precious boy. This ten year old boy who was a maelstrom of pain and hurt and anger and confusion and a bone-aching loneliness that she swallowed for him with every smile, every defense of his actions, every meal, every ruffle of his hair, and every unsaid ‘I love you’

-The early grieved childhood of Rafe Cameron turned around with the help of one woman who made being a kid have value again.

-She was incredibly patient. Soon, very early mornings became ones of meditation for her and Rafe, silence befriending both as them as they sat outside on specific, comfy pillows to start the day. Incense in the air from fragrances like lavender and vanilla to frankincense

-Rafe never thought himself to be the creative type, but he shyly found himself really enjoying pottery with her. Painting too

-He liked the idea of being able to make whatever he wanted and give it new life and redo it if he made a mistake

-He loves listening to old-school R&B and Hip-Hop with her while doing it. He has one of those reversable plushies so if it’s smiling then he wants the session to be a talking one, if it isn’t then he doesn’t want to talk but it can change mid-session too

-Rafe also never says anything about it, but he adores her curly hair and she only knows because she caught him trying to peek discreetly at her while she was doing the last braid of the row she was on

-He’s so sweet and shy too, telling her that he likes the products she uses because they smell really good and just quietly watching her do the rest

-As Rafe grows older, it’s clear he’s changed a lot but she actually forced Ward to do something about this disconnect that she sees he still has. Rafe isn’t a bad kid but he still doesn’t see that when he does certain things, they hurt people’s feelings, and his empathy isn’t fully there 

-Rafe initially resists it because his thought process is ‘they think I’m crazy’ until he actually attends with her–for support–and really enjoys it

-Rafe is kinder to his sisters and is more like a big brother now, bothering them by going into their room for no reason, messing something up, then leaving

-Rafe is always in the kitchen when she is, watching her cook and helping too at her gentle instruction

-Rafe’s best friends have been Topper and Kelce his whole life but with her intervention, he finds himself not caring at all about ‘Kooks vs. Pogues’ similarly to Sarah and I see him not choosing to be friends with them anymore because he doesn't want to become the same rotten apple. You know what they say-one (two) rotten apples spoils the whole barrel.

-Healed Rafe is completely about protecting his peace. This kid meditates, drinks tea, has been learning to not react impulsively, and is super responsible

-Rafe actually going to college and not just fucking around with Ward's money and doing drugs, all because someone saw him and helped him instead of just watching him drown

-Rafe chooses to head to college outside of the OBX and North Carolina in general to just get away from it all and on the last day, all moved into his dorms in NYC, he hugs her tightly and for the first time in the decade she's been in his family he says, “Thank you, mom, for–for everything, okay? … I love you. Sorry I didn’t say it sooner.”

-There’s a lump in her throat as she hugged her son, her baby, and just held onto him a little tighter

“Don’t apologize, baby. I already knew.”

[deepdeanvsweston]

ik you’ve mentioned that DSS is your least fav book in the series and i’m wondering what you would change about it?

im not the biggest fan of it either tbh :)

Oh SO many things buckle in team. Ok so roughly in keeping with canon:

- first, Hazel wouldn't mention that Daisy was dead in the first chapter, nor would it mention it on the blurb

- for me it took the shock out of it so much that I wasn't even surprised she came back

- so it would be this secret until. Well. She actually throws herself in and then the Grief Pages

- just as a side note, when I first read the chapters where Hazel was grieving, I remember thinking 'surely Hazel should be sadder?' because emotions always tend to come through really nicely when Robin writes her. I like to think that Hazel was telling herself 'Daisy wouldn't like me moping about and wailing in the casebook about it'

- anyway

- I'm ALWAYS sitting on the fence about whether I like the moment they reveal themselves as detectives/police officers (I can't quite remember what they call themselves)

- first read I hated it I was like 'what are you doing!!!' but on a re-read I did think 'oh this is very fifteen year old behaviour'

- I really enjoyed the 'theyre 1930s teenage girls so have to be covert in their operations' aspect of MMU, so when they did reveal themselves as 'police officers' and were conducting interviews I did miss those vibes

- so I'd possibly change that bit, I'm not sure what to though

- I'd change how the Damina kiss played out

- I think it was too on the fly personally

- I would have written as Daisy goes to Amina's room for something. And then when she comes back, Hazel describes her as pink and distracted and how she keeps touching her lips. And Hazel writes in her casebook how 'Daisy has lipstick on her lips that wasn't there before but knew Daisy wouldn't appreciate her pointing it out' sort of thing

- I'd change nearly the whole ending

- it's always always bugged me (and made me sad if I'm being honest) how everyone was paired up at the end. I've spoken about this before, but just to reiterate, I think it was bad that a series aimed at 9-12 had all the characters pair up at the end of the series, as if all happy endings included a partner, and especially considering the speed at which it was done

- Halexander I get, it'd been building for a while. Damina, for the same reason, though I would have liked more development. But George and Lavinia I actually had to put the book down because I was speechless

- so yeah I'd do away with George and Lavinia completely (apologies George/Lavinia shippers 💔)

- as for Halexander like I said I get it it had been building

- but what I'd have liked to had seen is the bit where George is like 'has Alex really not said anything?' I would have somehow implied that he was being respectful of Hazel's grief, rather than just being nervous to confess

- and then Hazel would go seek him out instead, and ask him, and ofc he'd say yes

- but then Hazel would tell him 'i can't do this, not right now' and I like to think it would be a sweet moment where they agree to be 'friends for the foreseeable future'

- the whole 'Daisy reveal' thing bugs me too, I just didn't enjoy the way it was done. I'm possibly biased and pinning more on these relationships than there actually is, but I think Bertie and Hazel should have got to see Daisy alive together

- No do you know what I just didn't like the way Daisy actually 'died' either. If we're keeping with canon, she had to die because of the Grief Pages, but maybe I would have had Daisy pulled overboard secretly at night without Hazel realising, maybe about halfway through the book (so earlier than in canon)

- and so Hazel still has this glimmer of hope that Daisy is out there and takes charge and perseveres to solve the case with George, Alex and Amina

- which in my professional opinion would have made the 'madam president' and Hazel telling Daisy she made herself president more meaningful