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cas-backwards-tie · 1 year

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Chapter Two: Cruel New World

Heiress of Gotham

Bruce Wayne x Daughter!Reader

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Summary: It's your first-day living life in Wayne Manor. A new house, a new school, and of course there's the new siblings thing too.

Warnings: Negativity, Damian's Jealous, Talks of Death, Numbness, Depression, Disassociation, Misandry, Crying, Suicidal Thoughts (if u squint), Existentialism, Cursing, Yelling, Outbursts, Anti-Police Rhetoric, Injury, Blood, Catcalling

Mentions of: Suicide, Body Fluids (mucus),

Words: 6.7k

A/N: POV kind of switches in some points, but I think it's fine. You know when it's the reader and when it's more of a third-person pov.

"Please take a seat, Miss Wayne," Alfred suggests as he pulls out a chair directly center of the long black cherry wood table. Your father sits at the opposite end of the room at the head of the table to your right, while a smaller black-haired child sits with his back to the kitchen doors on the left. There's one other person who sits directly across the table from where Alfred stands behind the chair meant for you.

"Are you serious? We really have to do this today of all days?" The child whines.

"I thought I told you no technology at the table this morning, Tim," Your father tells the person you're meant to sit across from. Ipad propped up on the table beside his plate, the teenage boy's grayish-blue eyes remain on the screen for a few moments as he shovels forkfuls of eggs into his mouth. In a tacit conversation, they make eye contact for a moment before he flips the cover back over the device and shoves it into the backpack by his feet. "Thank you.”

"You know, Bruce, I really need to get this essay done by this afternoon.” Tim—as you now know—explains.

"Oh? And what's it on?" Always wanting to get more involved in the kids' lives, Bruce attempts some sort of civil conversation other than indulging the begrudging eye-roll Damian throws him from across the table.

"It's on-" Tim begins to explain.

"You're really making us eat breakfast all together at-" Damian interjects.

"-the table like the nice, loving family we are? Pssh, you're lucky everyone's actually here this morning!" Dick cuts Damian off in an attempt to dissuade the boy's frustrations and some of his, perhaps just, points. Walking over to his chair he pulls it out enough to plop down.

"Everyone's coming?! Just for her?!" Damian, as you now know, complains, pointing his cereal’s spoon in your direction.

"I'm afraid Stephanie has a doctor’s appointment, and Jason is... well," Bruce doesn't finish his explanation as he glances around the table.

"Jason," Dick defends, even if he's still somewhat suspicious of the man's current motives. "You'll meet them later, I'm sure," he tosses toward you as he sits at his chair between Tim and Damian still tying his tie.

"Why are you even here? Don't you have work? It's a Tuesday!" Damian chastizes Dick.

"Well if you must know, I have a few suspects I need to bring in for interviews today. They're extraditing a few people since the uptick last week."

"But I thought that-" A look from Dick makes Damian's thoughts linger in the air for a moment as he cuts himself off. Right. Next subject.

"I'm a detective over in Bludhaven," he explains to you, "Luckily I don't live here anymore, so... hopefully that lessens the overwhelming sense of a constant presence of people," he jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood.

With a nod, you finally reach for your fork. It’d been bad enough that it seems more and more people are continuing to engage you when really, it’s been hell enough to process all the transitions currently taking place in your life. While it’s nice in some sense that you’d have breakfast with your Mom on school days like this, having someone cook for you, let alone push in your chair is… well… strange.

“Hello? He’s talking to you,” the sassy child spits at you, garnering your attention. Eyes flitting from him to the person sitting across from you beside Tim, you offer what you can in an attempted smile. It comes across more as a grimace than anything. The Detective politely calls your name, finally tightening his tie as he finishes dressing.

“It’s okay, I get it. This is all a lot. I asked if you ate breakfast with your—“ he spares a quick glance at your Father before it settles back on you, “—Mom, often before everything?”

Though he smiles and has a jovial and pleasant attitude, you can’t bring yourself to really return the favor. While he’s extending an olive branch of friendship, one you’d usually take up, you’re unable to. “Yeah. Nothing like this though,” you mutter, voice surprising even you with the uncharacteristically quiet quality to it.

While the rest of breakfast is filled with questions and trivial conversation, you feel off, with a weary sense of the world. It’s almost like everything is a dream. Once you’ve finished your food, your eyes raise to take in the vase of flowers and candles on either side of it in their ornate silver holders sitting in the middle of the table. “Can I be excused?” Suddenly turned toward your Father, you await his hesitant permission before getting up and heading back to the room they’ve deemed yours just last night.

“She didn’t even look up at me when she answered any of my questions. That’s not good,” Dick points out. There's a hint of concern in his voice as he eyes Bruce.

“She’s probably still grieving her Mom. It only happened yesterday,” Tim proposes with a shrug as he looks up at Dick, who sits to his left.

“Shit,” Dick whispers.

“Do we even know how it happened?” Damian asks from the end of the table, hands clasped in front of himself like a miniature businessman.

“Damian,” Tim whispers with hostility, eyeing him for the inappropriate nature of his comment. Though he’s also curious, as it seems Dick is too, as they all look toward Bruce.

“What? I mean, her Mom dies and suddenly she’s a Wayne? No way,” Damian speaks with confidence.

With a clearing of his throat, Bruce stands. “It’s true. I… hadn’t-” he begins, though hesitates as this wasn’t really a conversation he’d wanted to have with his teenage son of all people. “It wasn’t planned. It was a one-time thing back when I was a little more reckless with keeping up my image.”

“So during your Party Bruce years? Oh my god,” Dick quietly laughs with incredulity. He’d known about it, sure, that ‘phase’ of his Father… yet he hadn’t anticipated him to be that reckless. The look of guilt upon Bruce’s face is all it takes for them to know it’s true.

“I did the math, I looked into her mother’s history, and… it all adds up. I wouldn’t have taken custody of her yesterday if I wasn’t certain.”

“So she was an accident? Ha!” Damian laughs as if he wasn’t technically an accident on his Father’s behalf as well.

“Hey! I will not hear any jokes or have any information imparted on her without my knowledge. It wasn’t her fault, and I won’t see anything but acceptance and welcoming from you three. Will I?” His stern voice sends chills down their spines to some degree. While Bruce doesn’t often take up a fatherly role in terms other than the awful jokes and rare wistful advice, this is a side none of them have ever gotten quite used to.

“Fine. But I’m not changing my entire life around for her. Jon is still coming over after school,” Damian announces with a click of his tongue and a cross of his arms over his chest.

“Good. Now I know this absolutely will not leave the room but I looked into her cause of death last night and it was a car crash.” With that, Bruce leaves the table.

“Sometimes things are just life, I guess,” Dick thinks aloud, still processing the information.

How cool is it that this room has a window seat? You think to yourself, still baffled by the enormous room you’d been gifted. Absolutely awesome! Unfortunately, that’s not something you can fully appreciate as everything has already started to feel numb. They’d explained at the hospital that it’d been a car crash. You know the number of stitches they’d placed, the degree of burns she’d taken as they attempted several grafts to save her life… yet it wasn’t enough. There was nothing they could do. A frown overtakes your expression as a pinch of immense sadness pricks your heart.

“I’ll do it-” you hear a man’s voice from outside the door, “-I’m sure, Alfred.” With three knocks and no response, it creaks open. Unbothered to check who it is, you watch as the rain droplets roll down the leaves on the tree outside your window and slowly drip toward the ground below. He clears his throat and shifts on his feet before speaking. “I really hate to do this to you. I know everyone processes things in their own time, but I’ve got to make arrangements on top of work today and so the best thing I can think to do is get you into a routine.” A look in his direction is all it takes; uniform neatly folded in his extended arms, your Father presents it to you with a sympathetic look on his face.

“What about Melville High?” The question leaves your lips, and all he can think is that you’re too innocent for this world. He doesn't even know you, but already the world has taken too much from you. His daughter. The sentiment still lingers awkwardly between the two of you, both still not used to the idea. After all, you’d both only found out yesterday afternoon. Hell, and that was less than twenty-four hours ago.

“It’s… too far, I’m afraid. Gotham Metro Academy is where Damian goes, and it has a lot of better opportunities from what I know. I’m sure you’ll like it once you get settled in.”

It isn’t the end of the conversation. While you’re barely responding, he imparts as much wisdom and comfort as he’s able, but it goes in one ear and out the other. All too soon you find yourself running your hands over the lapels of your navy uniform’s blazer. A prep school with uniforms was something you’d never imagined in your future—in fact—it’d been far from it! Growing up with enough money to keep you comfortable was fine, but prep school was never in the cards. You and your Mom knew that. Without too much thought to your hair and any accessories or makeup, Alfred is rushing you downstairs and into the awaiting Rolls Royce.

“Had you ever been to Gotham prior, Miss?” Alfred asks from the driver’s seat as you pull away from the infamous Wayne Manor. It looks much more opulent and welcoming in the daylight, yet it still has an intimidating air of aristocracy to you.

“Um… just once, a long time ago.” It hurts your chest to think about; there’d been a weekend you’d gone with your Mom a few years back when she’d wanted to show you all the sights. From the shows to the Financial District, to the historical sights and monuments, it’d been a weekend to remember, truly. If memory serves you right, you even still have a sweater and baseball cap tucked away somewhere from that trip.

Expecting some sort of snarky remark from the child you’ve deduced is Damian, you finally take him in. Sure, everyone’s heard of him. He’s a celebrity for what it’s worth: ‘Bruce Wayne’s Secret Son’ the headlines read. It was national news at the time, his Mom still remaining a mystery. His skin is darker than yours, and while his eyes are a striking green, you can’t deny that he has a resemblance to your Father. Neither can you deny your resemblance, either, really.

“What?” Damian finally bites. His scrutinizing emerald eyes glaring your way. With a quiet, automatic ‘sorry’ and a shift of your eyes out the window and away from the kid on his phone, you can’t help but think about it.

Was Bruce Wayne really as much of a playboy as the media made him out to be? Yours and Damian’s mom would surely proffer the confirmation. Yet, having met the legendary man behind the technological empire, you aren’t sure he really seems the type. As much as your mother tried to keep you from boys and men, you’d met more than your fair share of assholes. Womanizers, scumbags, misogynists; no matter the differences in look or personality, there were always a few similarities they’d have in common, usually in their speech, behavior, or beliefs.

Nevertheless, it’s odd that you’ve been able to place the term ‘Father’ in his grasp so easily. Your mother had feigned a forgetful memory oftentimes when you’d ask during your childhood. Only offering the slightest of details and assuring you that he’d left the both of you as a baby. It was only as you grew up that she eventually let you know that whatever relationship the two of them had, it wasn’t as serious as one would expect of a mother and father. She’d never named him, exactly, having always told you it wasn’t important, or she didn’t remember. He wasn’t worth searching for, seeking out, begging for some answer you surely didn’t want to hear. Why? Why did you leave us? Why don’t you care about us? It was all a waste of time. That much, you knew. Never, even in your dreams would you imagine it’d be the Bruce Wayne.

Before you know it, the trees and streetlights are turning into buildings and stoplights. While you're nervous about going to a new school, it also provides a bit of excitement at the thought of reinventing yourself and making new friends. Surely with the funding from Wayne Enterprises, it'll have more clubs, activities, and maybe more sports, too. You'd always wanted to try out for sports or even be on the varsity squads if possible. Would it be like in the movies? As the car slows along the street, Alfred meets your anxious eyes in the rearview mirror.

"Damian, I expect you'll be there if Miss--" he says your name, "--needs anything. I'm going to park the car and escort you inside, as there happens to be a bit of preliminary paperwork your Father has requested I accompany you to fill out."

Surprisingly, Damian doesn't refute Alfred's sentiment, though as he parks the car, your half-brother hastily exits, headphones still in his ears as he scrolls through his phone. A quiet 'see ya later' is heard from him before the door slams shut. Soon enough you've filled out the registration forms and are given a schedule and tour. Alfred offers you a courteous nod and a lingering hand on your shoulder before he departs for the day. "I'll be here to pick you up when school lets out. You can do this, Miss," he assures with a warm smile. The comforting sentiment only lingers for so long.

It was somewhat embarrassing that you'd had to interrupt class to join in on eleventh-grade, American Literature, yet upon introduction, it doesn't go past your observation that many of the kids start whispering to one another. You’re sure it’s the fact that they’d introduced you as a Wayne. While a few people attempt to talk to you, for the most part, you feel overwhelmed with all the information and the way the lesson quickly continues. Trying to catch up and take everything in, it all feels like too much, and the unintentional tendency to disassociate naturally begins to happen. You zone out for most of the classes, the day passing in a whirlwind with sympathetic smiles from the teachers.

When school lets out, you find Alfred exactly where he'd parked this morning in front of the school. Leant against the car with his hands clasped in front of him, you begin making your way down the steps to meet him. Two boys quickly pass you, both laughing as they playfully smack one another's arms and talk in hushed voices. As you approach the car you realize it's Damian and some boy. He has friends? Who would be friends with him? He seemed so rude earlier, you can't help but think. Maybe he's just upset because you came along.

"Who's this?" The boy in the blue jacket asks as he watches you join Alfred.

"Mister Kent," Alfred greets the boy, "I take it you'll be joining us tonight?" When the boy flashes a smile full of bright white teeth up at him with an eager nod, you take it this is a family friend.

"She's... apparently Dad's daughter," Damian reveals, eyes slicing across the space till the intimidating green orbs land on you. "Don't mind her. I planned a few things we could do when we get to the Manor! I just got Mario Kart Ten and it's supposed to have a bunch of new maps and characters!"

Upon Alfred opening the car door, all three of you slide into the vehicle, the Kent boy separating you and Damian in the backseat. "So... your sister, you mean," He laughs. Despite what he'd said about ignoring you, the boy turns his smile your way with an extension of his hand. "I'm Jon! Damian's best friend. I actually go to West Reeves but I got out early so I could catch a ride to your house. You are..?"

Revealing your name, he repeats it with a fondness as you shake his hand. "I don't know that I'd say best," Damian groans with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh hush! Yes, you would," Jon argues, nudging your half-brother with his body as the two laugh.

"How was your first day, Miss? Did it go alright?" Alfred asks in the rearview mirror before pulling off the school's sidewalk and onto the street.

While this question was unexpected, you can't answer it. Was today good? You're unsure that any sort of sentiment could capture what today was like, truly. With your mother's death, the move, the new school, new people, and the luxury of it all... you feel unable to describe it all in one simple response. It doesn’t feel anything like the life you’ve come to know all these years. Sufficing simply for a nod, you purse your lips before opting for a quiet "Thanks." If nothing else, you can't deny that this old man has been kind to you since the moment you arrived. It seems he cares, but... isn't that also his job? You're not sure how butlers work, exactly, but surely that detail encompasses part of his job description, you think.

With the car parked in the driveway, you all exit the vehicle and head inside. Alfred asks if anyone wants a snack, however, you shake your head and point upstairs, signaling your destination.

You aren't sure what comes over you, a wave of hurt, sadness, angst, pain... there are endless synonyms for whatever it is that washes over you. It winds up there, wallowing in your chest like a weight you hadn't realized was weighing your shoulders down. Maybe it was the attention, the comments, the questions, or the energy it took to put on a 'fine' facade, yet it all finally comes crumbling down. With a click of the lock on your door, you make the final steps toward your unfamiliar bed. Letting the backpack fall from your shoulders haphazardly on the carpeted floors, you flop onto the bed face first, chest hitting the plush comforter before the rest of your body follows, the rebound sending your body bouncing slightly. Face screwing up into one of pain, you do your best to hold it back, and you're not quite sure why. No one's around, no one cares, so why won't you let yourself cry? Would that make it all real? Would that mean you're accepting her death? That she's really gone? That you're letting go? Moving on with your life? Thoughts of guilt consume you as you feel as though you should've known, you should've called her, or said something, maybe asked her to pick you up that day. Anything would've changed the chain in the course of events, right?

It's then, with the realization of a possible butterfly effect that a sob wracks your chest and tears stream down your cheeks. Like rapid fire, the sting of hot, salty tears cascade down your skin leaving streaks of mascara in its wake, you're sure. Screaming into your pillow, you can't help but struggle to breathe as you're not sure what to do. How do you move on from this? Where do you begin? What's left in your life, really? What does anything matter if she's gone? Your mom? The only person who's been there through your whole life from the beginning till, well… now. She was your best friend, your confidant, your partner in crime, your... everything. At the end of every day you always knew you'd have her to go back to. Never has the fear of being alone crossed your mind until right this second. Now you understand why so many people commit suicide each year. If their pain feels anything like this, then you can understand. All you can think, wish, and mentally pray for is this to stop. For the tears to stop falling and your breath to stop coming in quick bursts of panicked, hyperventilating heaves. Snot runs down your lips and it's hard to see with the blurriness of the tears in your eyes.

After a while, the crying eventually dies down and you lie--wishfully--lifeless on your bed. A small hand towel you'd grabbed from the bathroom is folded under your face where the tears would fall and you've folded it over the few times you'd blown your mucousy snot into it. Silence consumes the room, and you've found yourself simply staring up at the ceiling for what feels like hours. Constantly caught in your thoughts, between crying and being eerily silent, you're unsure if all this was destined to happen. Or maybe it was supposed to come out sooner. You’d never dealt with a grief like this. Maybe it's only because you've been pushing everything down into a deep dark place that only feels safe for you to express once you're absolutely sure you're alone. That has to be it.

In the midst of a quiet moment, your eyes and throat sore, head throbbing, there's a knock at the door. "Dinner will be served in just a few minutes." It's Alfred. You hope he hadn't heard your crying, though if he had... what can you really do? Nothing... just like everything else in life. You can't do anything.

A quick splash of cold water on your face, and hands combing your hair down, you make sure you look as presentable as possible. With that, you're ready to confront them again. Aside from the slight red tinge that persists around your eyes and the dark circles beneath them that are impossible to get rid of, you head downstairs. While you're sat in the same spot as this morning, you're joined by many more people this time. Bruce and Damian both sit at the ends of the table again, Tim sits across from you, he's flanked by the Detective, though this time by another man you don't recognize. He has a white stripe in his hair and a longer face than the others, but it suits him with his angular features. On your right sits a very tall and broad man clad in a business suit and glasses. Past him, sits Jon--who you'd met this afternoon--and across from Jon there's one more person who makes the table uneven in terms of people. It's a blonde girl, with an enticing sparkle in her eyes and a charming smile from what you can see from the other side of the table.

"This is my good friend, and Jon's dad, Clark Kent," Bruce introduces, gesturing to the man beside you. Said man holds out his big hand and offers a friendly smile.

"Pleasure to meet you," he recites your name and you reciprocate the handshake. It's good to know that not everyone in Damian's association is a complete asshole, you suppose.

"Nice to meet you too," you respond quietly. With the meal served, everyone dives into eating, leaving you a little unsettled. While your mother had come from a very religious upbringing, she hadn't forced it on you. Yet, you'd still find yourself and your mom praying before dinner to whatever God or higher deity might exist. In a way, it was more to give thanks each day for being alive and having food on the table. Sometimes it was a conversation starter when someone would mention what their day entailed, the good things they'd seen, or maybe the bad things they'd ask for protection from. Nevertheless, it's clear that this family operates differently; digging your fork into the fancy black-peppered pork roast, you use your knife to slice a piece off for yourself. Not in the mood to talk at the moment, you simply listen to what everyone's discussing.

With the lack of response they'd gotten from you, Bruce opts for talking to Clark about business and how things have been. Dick and Tim fill in the mysterious man on the little they knew of you. The blonde girl talks with the younger boys at the end of the table at moments but also butts into the other conversation among the young adults diagonally across the table from you. Stabbing multiple string green beans onto your fork, you don't make eye contact with anyone as you simply try to get through this dinner. Maybe then you can go upstairs and try to relax away from everyone.

"-something we shouldn't really talk about too much, but I can guess the funeral will be by the end of next week with all the arrangements I made today," Bruce speaks to Clark.

"Wait, what?" Your voice is quiet, only drawing the attention of those sitting closest to you. Butting into their conversation, you raise your eyes to meet your Father's surprised blue eyes.

"The funeral will be at the end of next week, I'm presuming. It'll take a little while with all the arrangements," he repeats. Though he seems hesitant, he doesn't keep himself from speaking it again. After all, he's someone who stands behind his actions. “I told you, this morning.”

"What? Why?" Your fork clanks against the chinaware, lips parted in shock as you dropped it. "You made the arrangements without me?"

"Yes. It was important that you go to school and it was all right there in the will." Forkful of mashed potatoes lingering in the air as his blue eyes bore into yours, you find your breath beginning to rise and fall at a faster rate.

Of course, none of them know your buttons and what it looks like once they've been pressed, but if your mother was here right now, she'd know. With a screech of the chair being pushed back hastily and a quiet slap of your palms on the table to stand, you're livid. "Why would you do that? How could you do that?!" Hands shaking, you begin to gesticulate, any former semblance of masked placation now fallen. All eyes are transfixed on your figure. "She's my mother! Mine! You don't even know her- I do! I know what she would've wanted, and this isn't it. Just because your name was on my birth certificate that means you get to take over my life? You, who doesn't even know anything about me, and yet you act like we're best friends?! Your children call you 'Bruce' and you have no problem with it! You don't get to just come into my life and fuck everything up! You sleep with her once, what? Sixteen years ago and now you come in and take over everything?" A wry laugh leaves your lips, "Well, more for you, I guess! Did you ever stop to think that there's a reason I had no idea who you were? Let alone, why she never told me? She never once asked for your money or your help, and now I'm just here. All my stuff? Gone. All my friends and family? Gone, a-"

"-We can go get your-" The Detective begins.

"-Oh, shut up! You really think anyone wants to hear what you have to say? You're adopted, so you're not even related to me! You don't know me. None of you do! The only good thing about this is I don't have to put up with being interrogated by the BPD every goddamn time I walk down the halls of school. But I'd at least take that over never seeing my friends again!"

"-What do you mean?" He follows up, commenting over you. Everyone else looks around the table silently, taken aback by what they're witnessing.

"You want to 'Bring Justice to Bludhaven', I guess, when everyone already knows what happened to Perdy Chapman! Everyone except the BPD, I guess!"

"How dare you?! You can't speak to my brother like that, you-"

"Finally! The only person I'm actually related to here. My half-brother, the mysterious 'Wayne Boy' who doesn't have a mom! You have no fucking empathy for me, you've been giving me shit all day! And yet you're the only person I would've expected to actually give a damn! So sit your ass down, pendejo twerp!"

Without asking for permission you storm out of the dining room and through the living room toward the staircase.

"I'm guessing you're done with your dinner?"

The voice stops you in your tracks, hand on the banister, you let out a loud sigh, shoulders falling before you try to maintain a jovial demeanor when turning to him. "I don't need you to do anything for me, Alfred. I think it's fucking ridiculous to have a servant when it's the twenty-first century for crying out loud!"

"It's my job. I assure you he pays me, if that gives you any consolation," Alfred speaks in a calm tone, unfazed by your words or behavior.

"Great! Well, I still don't need you doing things for me that I can do myself. Thank you, though," while the words come out through tense, grit-together teeth, you turn and head upstairs. It doesn't take long to get to your backpack, slinging it over your shoulders. Luckily, this was the one thing you knew you could do with the advantages of not only your room’s placement but a backyard. Opening the window, you climb out onto the tree branch sidled an arm’s length away.

Soon enough, you're on solid ground, out of the boundaries and gate of Wayne Manor. With a heaving chest and shaky hands, you speedwalk down the road toward where you know the bridge will be heading into Bludhaven from the transfer point on the Eastern Seaboard. This time for whatever reason, you can't bring yourself to cry. Maybe all the tears had already flooded from your body this afternoon, but nothing emanates from your tear ducts. Eyeing the blood that's already starting to dry on your palms from the splinters and the last little drop you'd had to take from the tree, you stare at your scraped palm.

It'd been silent upon your departure from the dining room. Bruce insisted that everyone return to eating, that everything was fine, and that this wasn't unexpected. While things returned normal for the most part, Jason excused himself with a displeased look toward his father. It wasn't until an alarm rang from Bruce's phone that he groaned and pulled it out only to find the surveillance outside capturing your figure leaving the premises. Announcing what the 'emergency' was, at everyone's persistence, Jon ran out of the room before Bruce could elect Clark to go check where you were headed.

It's a lone road, cypress trees lining it along the gravel-filled sides. With the road only being garnered by private property of the elite, and no real intersections for miles, no cars pass in either direction. As the sound of a faraway motorcycle approaches, you don't let it deter you. It'll be at least an hour or more before any of them realize you've left the property. They all think you're just upstairs crying to yourself, most likely. Rage still swirls in your gut, however, it's drained somewhat, being replaced by the determination to get home. A billionaire, his family, servant, and even a few splinters won't stop you. It doesn't strike you as odd that the sound of the nearing motorcycle slows; after all, not many people hitchhike on this road, you're guessing, and with the speed limit being higher in this area, the wind could cause you damage perhaps.

Jon had been faster, intrigued for some reason to find you--his justification upon later questioning--to find out where you were going. Clark trails behind him, neither of them bothering to change clothes as they fly above the closest road, trailing you from a distance silently in the shadows the darkness nightfall provides . It's only when they spot the familiar motorcyclist approaching you that they hold their position.

"Where do you think you're going?" The voice is unfamiliar. While being catcalled isn't a stranger to you, it's still annoying that it'll happen in the middle of fucking nowhere. Ignoring the motorcycle that now stalls to your left, you continue walking with determination, eyes ahead and fists wrapped around each strap of your backpack upon your stiff shoulders. "Really? You're gonna ignore me and play it that way? Get on the motorcycle," the man calls your nickname, which elicits a reaction from you.

Eyes widening and lips parting, your eyebrows shoot upward as you finally look at the man. You don't remember his name, but he'd been sitting at the table across from you between Tim and that Detective. Expression immediately turning into one of anger, your jaw setting, you feel reinspired to make your way to Bludhaven. "I'm not going back! I can't," you argue, "plus I don't even know you. Why would I go with you?!"

A chuckle leaves his lips and you hear the shifting of plastic before the motorcycle revs in a way that elicits an automatic jump from your body. The motorcycle speeds a few feet down the road before it does a loop and skirting and drifts into a stopped position just a few feet in front of you. Legs on either side of the vehicle, the man flicks the visor of his helmet back up and reaches into the back compartment, producing another. Before you have time to react, he throws the helmet your way. Hands instinctively reach out to catch it instead of letting yourself get hit with the speed of it. You wince; it pushes the splinters further into your palm. You come to a standstill a few feet away from him as you lift the helmet slowly, inspecting it only to see the blood starting to pool around your palms again.

"I'm Jason," he reveals, "I don't know where you plan to go running away like this, but you don't think the old man will notice you're gone sooner than later? What's your plan then?"

Irritation and a desperate anger linger in your chest as your eyes finally raise to meet his. "Well, Jason, it's none of your business! Regardless, it doesn't matter. You can't stop me." Approaching him, you're about to shove the helmet in his hands when he raises a hand of his own, palm out facing you in an effective halt.

"Truce? Look, I know you don't know me, but I was like you. I grew up in Crime Alley and had to steal tires for a living. I tried to steal the-" he stops himself, another chuckle escaping his lips, "the old man's, and that's how we met. I get it... it's not easy, and, no one expects you to just go along with everything, alright? If you're thinking about going home, well, that'll take what-? Hours on foot? You really want to walk hours to... where are you from, again? Bludhaven, right? What part?"

"Canaveron District, yeah," you respond gruffly, some of the tension leaving your shoulders. His points are all ones of useful consideration.

"You won't get there for another three hours walking, at best. If you just want to get your things, well, I can take you there. But we'd have to get everyone else-"

"No! no, I don't want-"

"-If you let me finish," he warns, "I was going to say get the others to help tomorrow or this weekend, to get the rest. Alright? Just essentials tonight, and I bring you right back here. Got it?" His eyes search yours for a moment before he adds, "That's the best I can do for you, kid. Otherwise, I've gotta drag you back to the Manor kicking and screaming, which I really don't want to do."

"He sent you?" You weren't too surprised, only that if anyone was coming, you figured it would've been Bruce, himself. It's only when Jason notices you looking around and contemplating your decision that he cocks his head toward the Manor, signaling the Kents to leave. He's got this.

"No. I came, because... unlike those other dicks, I actually know what it's like to come from, well, somewhere that's not the greatest," he admits, a look of sympathy and understanding in his eyes.

"And this isn't some scam? You just tell me this, get me on the bike, and then take me back to the White House?" This elicits a laugh from the man, and he runs a gloved hand through his black and white hair.

"Look, I don't know how much they've mentioned about me, but... let's just say I'm not exactly in Bruce's good favor if you know what I mean." Reading the look on your face, he expands. "I'm not exactly the goody-two-shoes of the family. If you want your stuff, I'll take you, but only because I know he wouldn't do that."

"Why?" Standing in silence, the two of you search one another's eyes for any sense of understanding. It's tacit, the question that you both know you were really asking, yet he doesn't make you voice it: why would you do this for me?

"Because I know what it's like to have everything taken from you." A sigh leaves his lips, and you can tell simply from his stance and demeanor that this man has been through much more than he's letting on. "If you wanna do this, we should get going. I can't be out too late tonight. You coming? Or should I call the old man and let him know what your plan is and where you are?" With a raised brow and eyes flicking toward the helmet in your hands and back to your eyes, he awaits an answer.

"I'm coming." Sliding the helmet over your head, you approach the vehicle. "Just... don't tell him, please! At least don't tell him for another... fifteen minutes?" The request elicits a questioning look before a smirk replaces it.

"Deal. Hang on," he requests. Shifting the bike to stand upright, he leans closer and reaches under your chin to clip a strap in place you hadn't noticed. He tightens it, checking in with you, and then gets onto the bike. "You ever ridden a motorcycle?"

With a thick swallow, your eyes shift from his to the bike. Sliding over the seat, you're unsure where to place your feet, but Jason instructs you, making sure you're comfortable before you slide your arms around his waist and brace for takeoff. Visor flicked down and everything in place, he revs the motorcycle before speeding down the road.

Beneath the helmet, the ends of your hair tickle your arm as it whips through the air. Cool breeze wooshes past your body, arms able to feel the chill through the blazer of your new uniform, your legs gaining goosebumps through the exhilarating experience. Cypress trees turn into willows, which become more and more sparse as gates and brick walls slowly fade with the elitist properties into cemeteries and then into more forest before turning more industrial. As different plants and factories appear, so do the cars. Jason weaves in and out of traffic as he maneuvers his way down the highway and onto the bridge that winds around Gotham and finally goes into Bludhaven. The lights and sights passing this fast is intimidating at the thought of crashing, however, it's thrilling in a way you've also never experienced. Skyscrapers line the island, lights, signs, and monuments only add a sort of fascination and exuberant liveliness to it. As the Wayne Enterprises sign passes, you finally feel comfortable enough to remove one hand from Jason's side for a moment, long enough to flash a quick middle finger at the sign before fearfully grabbing onto his jacket again.

With a laugh and shake of his head, he removes a hand from the handlebar to flip the bird alongside you, eliciting what he thinks is a laugh. Nevertheless, he can feel the fear in your grip so he returns his hand to the handlebars and makes sure to keep his focus on the road. It's not likely they'd crash, not unless someone was out for him and knows his bike, not to mention his civilian identity. Not that he goes too far out of his way to hide it, but it's not impossible. He's confident in his abilities, but considering you don't know each other that well, he doesn't do anything to further scare you.

As he draws nearer to the Canaveron District, he slows down enough for you to give him directions. Parking the bike outside the apartment complex you’ve identified, Jason helps you off the bike and stashes the helmets in the back. "Lead the way, little lady," he encourages.

~~~~~~

forever taglist: @ohdamnadam , @safarigirlsp , @jynzandtonic , @moonlightsolo

hog taglist: @luvly-writer , @clairese1980

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whatevertheweather · 4 months

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Well, hello again.

It's been a very busy month, and I have roughly nothing left in my head, but it's Wednesday okay, and that's finally aligning with a day I ended up driving home thinking I want to do a wip post okay. So first, thank you to everyone still commenting on Musical Chairs, and I'm sorry to anyone who's been hoping I can get the last chapter out in a timely manner. I can't, obviously, but as a sad offering in that chapter's stead, I have here An Ode to How Soundly Musical Chairs Is Kicking My Ass.

This is a multimedia presentation. In this essay I will-

I don't have a posting goal anymore. As soon as possible is a moving target. But I do have two deleted scenes, and here's one.

“Stupidity has no bearing on whether or not I hate something,” Baz said. “No? The two’ve always struck me as pretty intertwined,” Niamh said, picking up her drink. And then, like it was a completely separate observation, “I’ve noticed you seem to hate a lot of things.”

I also have 44 pages at the top of my Miscellany document that contain nothing but snippets for musical chairs, and scenes cut from musical chairs, and scenes rewritten for musical chairs, and checklists made for musical chairs, and all caps yelling for musical chairs, and-

Featuring such goodies as:

And:

So in theory. And I hate this because I’D HAVE TO REWRITE AGAIN but in theory.

And:

[HEY MAYBE JUST FULLY FUCKING SWITCH TRAJECTORY AND GO] “[Redacted].” Baz raised an eyebrow. “[Also redacted].” [FUCK BUT ACTUALLY. IT’S WEIRD AT THIS POINT. AFTER HE’S ALREADY PUSHED THIS MUCH. FUCK. YES OKAY MOVE IT UP TO COULD HAVE HAD SOME FUN. SIMON JUST PIVOTS FROM COMMITTING TO THAT/MAKING BAZ MAKE HIM COMMIT TO THAT BY SAYING HE DOES ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT. AND THE SCENE WILL DEFINITELY AND FOR SURE WORK THIS TIME AMEN.]

It's possible these latest two yellings are leading me in the right direction, but I don't know yet, because I made those notes and then dusted off my hands and ran walked away for a month. We'll see. I've at least started thinking about it again. (The trick is apparently pacing small circles around your enclosure while you're on hold with customer support for an hour.)

Here's that other deleted scene, as a treat. It was a treat for me, anyway, because I don't remember writing it.

“Despite our best efforts,” Agatha muttered, and everyone looked at her. She raised her eyebrows. “She started it. I was out for a week because of her.” “You gave Agatha a concussion?” Baz smirked as Simon said, “You’ve had a concussion?” “Yes,” Niamh answered, and Simon added, “That explains it.” Agatha turned from whatever she’d been about to say, replacing it with, “Explains what?” Simon gave a sad little hum and nudged her chin. “Why you don’t even know what it explains.”

By the way, the actual final chapter is 45 pages at present. One (1) page deeper than the burial ground for its failures. Though the burial ground has a lot of gaps between graves. That probably adds a few pages.

Anyhow, I do sincerely hope y'all will be able to read it before another 7 months have passed. I'll do my best. In the meantime, thank you to everyone who's still tagging me in things, and I'm sorry I disappear a lot and don't shower y'all with the love you deserve for it <3

Here's an incomplete mess of tags, because I do need to go do many other less fun things now.

@fatalfangirl @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @moodandmist @cutestkilla @whogaveyoupermission @aristocratic-otter @alexalexinii @iamamythologicalcreature @facewithoutheart @bookish-bogwitch @artsyunderstudy @ileadacharmedlife @ivelovedhimthroughworse @run-for-chamo-miles @rimeswithpurple @thewholelemon @forabeatofadrum @monbons

#wip wednesday #my writing #musical chairs #there are a lot more deleted scenes where that came from #but most are spoilers at this point #may it all someday see the light #ok it won't actually tag half of y'all #I really do have to go do other things so OH WELL I tried

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oracleslibrary · 4 months

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Bayonetta 3 Sucks and Here's Why

[Content warnings for: Gore, sexual themes. Spoiler warnings for the entirety of the Bayonetta series.]

Good evening, everyone.

I have summoned you all here to my little shop of horrors today to talk to you about witches.

When I mention 'witches,' one of the first words that pops into your head might be 'Salem.' The Salem witch trials are perhaps the most famous of all of the many, many witch trials that took place from the 1500s to the late 1800s. The witch trials of both Europe and America were a perfect example of hysteria and the fear of the other, and how that hysteria can lead to the deaths of innocent people. Witch hunts and witch trials began in the early-to-mid 1500s in Europe and around 1648 in America, with their final trials being in 1782 and 1878, respectively. Now, the victims of these trials were not witches. They were innocent, often marginalized folks who either went against the rigid status quo or merely existed as 'undesirables' and were slaughtered for it. But the witch trials have heavily influenced how we see witches in the modern day (even if some of the ideas we have nowadays have dubious origins of whether it was actually the witch trials that spawned them). They use familiars, they are in league with the devil, they have "witches' marks" which can take the place of birthmarks or scars or literally any mark that the hunters decide is evil, their hair is a large source of their magical ability. All of these things are traits we still associate with witches today.

And if any of these traits sound particularly familiar to fans of a certain game series, it's certainly no coincidence.

Before I get into the main topic of today's essay, I need to set up some backstory with the development of Bayonetta, the plots of the first two games, and an analysis of Bayonetta's character herself. It's integral to future understanding of what I'm going to have a fucking hernia over.

Bayonetta was first released in 2009, garnering positive reviews from both critics and fans and selling over a million copies worldwide. Taking inspiration from the stylishness and exaggeration of Devil May Cry, former director of PlatinumGames Hideki Kamiya wanted to focus on sexiness and stylishness with the snappy and hard-hitting gameplay of a hack-and-slash. Bayonetta herself was designed by Mari Shimazaki in conjunction with Kamiya in order to create a modern-day witch with glasses and four guns. This design and character, intentionally or not, draws a lot from these old European ideas of witches. Bayonetta's hair being the source of her power, Bayonetta having infernal contracts with demons, her being able to transform into animals as well as cats being completely calm around her--hell, even her beauty mark would have been considered a witch's mark. As well, Shimazaki pushed hard for Bayonetta to have a beehive hairdo as a modern representation of a witch's hat.

As a brief summation of the first game, Bayonetta follows the titular Umbra Witch as she goes to find the secrets of her past, as one day she awoke in a casket in a lake with no memory of who she was. As a quick note, this world has two major factions of supernatural ability: the Umbra Witches, and the Lumen Sages. The Lumen protected the light, the Umbra the dark. Bayonetta is the only known remaining Umbra Witch, as the rest were hunted and killed in the Witch Hunts. The Lumen had been defeated by the Umbra just before the Hunts began when they went to war.

Bayonetta's search brings her to the holy city of Vigrid, where she faces off against Angels with her own infernal powers as they try to stop her from getting closer to the truth. Among these adversaries is the mysterious Jeanne, who strangely enough has powers that mirror Bayonetta's perfectly, hint hint. After an unfathomable amount of property damage, Bayonetta meets a little girl named Cereza, who mistakes Bayonetta for her mom and becomes attached to her quickly. Bayonetta is less than enthused about being followed around by a toddler, but also finds that this child can see Angels, and is being hunted by them as well. Joining together with investigative journalist and most pathetic man alive Luka Redgrave, who has his own bone to pick with Bayonetta, they make it to Isla del Sol, where just--fucking everything happens at once.

Balder, the one in charge of all the Angels and the last remaining Lumen Sage, is revealed to be Bayonetta's father, Cereza is actually a time-displaced young version of herself, Bayonetta is the holder of the Left Eye of Darkness, which is used in conjunction with the Right Eye of Light to resurrect Jubileus, the Creator who is basically God, and Jeanne turns out to have been her childhood friend and fellow Umbra Witch who was brainwashed by the angels to fight for them--it's a whole thing. It's kind of absolutely fucking insane actually.

But in the end Bayonetta kills God and seemingly dies but she's okay actually don't worry about it.

Bayonetta 2 was released in 2014 on the Wii U, which was certainly. A decision. But despite the unfortunate platform, the game received rave reviews and was a massive critical success among fans and critics. The game almost didn't happen, if not for Nintendo partnering with the creative team and funding the project. The game was praised for its improvements over the original, from the lessening of insta-kill quick-time events and making them more forgiving, to easier ability to build up power with button mashing and spinning the joystick, to new weapons and powers, to new animations for which direction Bayonetta was attacking, to stronger pacing, and to more refined art direction. Gameplay remained largely unchanged, mostly because, well, it didn't really need to change. It was excellent as-is, with some new adjustments such as using magic for Wicked Weaves at the end of combos for extra damage, and generally having an easier time building up magic at all.

The plot follows Bayonetta as she goes to rescue Jeanne from Inferno after a summon gone wrong. In doing this, she goes to the water city of Noatun to reach the mountain Fimbulventr, where it is said that a gate to Inferno resides. Along the way, she meets Loki, an amnesiac child with a foul mouth and a snippy attitude who feels compelled to climb the mountain to learn who he is. All the while, Bayonetta is constantly being confronted by a Lumen Sage, which surprises her, as she killed the last one of those in the previous game. That Lumen Sage turns out to be a younger version of her father, Balder, before he went insane and evil. There's so much backstory to explain who all of these characters are and their relevance to the story, but I'll give context as needed to further explain.

Bayonetta and Balder kill God at the end again and Balder traps God's evil spirit in his body before going back in time and then going insane which leads into the events of Bayonetta 1. Stable time loop.

The plot of Bayonetta often surrounds themes of deception, misunderstandings, secrets, identity, time travel, and what it means to be. It's about family, whether by blood or by choice. It's about righting past wrongs. It's about fun and freedom and stylishness. But I'd argue one of the strongest themes in Bayonetta is love. The people you love, the places you love, the things you love. The things you'll do anything to protect. I think a lot about one of Bayonetta's quotes from the first game, when she's talking to Cereza (long before she ever knew Cereza's whole deal), and making sure that Cereza's Umbran Watch is secure:

"When you love something, never lose it. Understand, little one? You must keep it safe, close to your heart."

Bayonetta's character was a line that the crew could have very, very easily fucked up. It would have been so easy to make Bayonetta just a fanservice character, there to be sexualized without having any actual personality. But they didn't; instead, they made an incredibly distinct character with a strong personality and distinct style who simply oozes sexuality, which is never derided or seen as a bad thing. The way I've always described is that fanservice, namely bad fanservice is the camera sexualizing the character. The key component here is consent: if a character in-universe is showing off their body, then it's still fanservice, but it's not a violation of the character. Now I know what I just said is really fucking loaded because they're ultimately fictional characters, but there's something of an underlying theme of the non-consent being the main driving point of the appeal of certain types of fanservice. Y'know, a woman's clothes tearing or someone falling on her breasts, or being caught in the middle of a shower or in her underwear. (It's almost always women, for the record.) It's not always this, fanservice comes in many forms, but when you usually think about it, it's mostly likely you think of the objectification of women.

The way that Bayonetta handles fanservice is more like... instead of the camera sexualizing Bayonetta, Bayonetta is the one grabbing the camera to look at her. She's constantly posing, dancing, teasing--just doing everything she wants to for the camera. Almost everything she does is of her own will, because she clearly finds it fun and humorous. There are only a couple of occasions where the camera does sexualize her without her consent, but I'm willing to let it slide because they were the setup for or outright goofs, with exaggerated camera zooms and cartoonish sound effects. (The only exception that does make me uncomfortable are the Joys. Just. Eugh.)

But this sexuality, this femininity, is integral to the identity of the games, as well as to Bayonetta herself. She's a beautiful, sexy woman, who not only flaunts but even weaponizes her sexuality in the most insane ways possible. You don't see that a lot with characters, least of all written as well as Bayonetta.

But her character doesn't stop at her beauty and sexuality. She went through a full character arc, with growing warmer with Cereza to the point where she sings to the girl when putting her to bed, to her learning more about her past and her role in the schemes of the villain, and then pushing past this predetermined plan in order to protect the world and the people she cares about. She's witty, clever, sly, has a quick and skillful trigger finger, and can adapt to changes in her environment very quickly in order to rid of her enemies.

But she's not just stylish and awesome and whatnot. She can also mess up and make mistakes, such as her amazing expression when she accidentally crushes Enzo's car in the beginning of 1, or when she tries to blow up one of the virtues in a cool way by lighting a trail of gasoline with her gun-heel, while looking away, and it's all super cool--until the spark dies halfway through, and Bayonetta just ends up. Standing there. And she just groans and shoots the tank of gasoline normally. Or when she tries to do a cool maneuver using Loki's cards to teach him a lesson but they just fall to the ground useless. It's these moments of goofiness that really give Bayonetta a humanity to her, that shows she's not infallible or perfect, but can be just as silly as the rest of us. A personal favorite is when she goes to retrieve Cereza's doll Cheshire from one of the Virtues, and she holds it up to her ear as though it's talking to her. Like, no one is around but her, and yet she's doing something that a mom would do with her kid's toys. It's such a small thing but also very sweet--especially when Bayonetta returns the doll with a band-aid over its eye. That's such a motherly thing to do, especially when kids often see their toys as living beings.

It's with Cereza especially that a lot of Bayonetta's softer side begins to show, with her affectionately calling Cereza "little one", becoming increasingly worried when she appears to be in danger, going out of her way to do things for her--eventually culminating in her putting Cereza to bed, telling her that the nightmare is over, and that she's a strong girl. When I was typing up the script, I was starting to choke up just thinking about that scene, because it's just such a strong scene. The fondness for kids transfers to Loki as well, with her taking to him as some endearing teenage son almost, with her being legitimately worried that he might be hurt or even killed, and seems genuinely upset when he was just playing dead.

Jeanne, too, is the subject of Bayonetta's softer side. Hell, the entire plot of 2 is Bayonetta defying death itself in order to save Jeanne's soul and bring her back. The scene where Bayonetta calls for Jeanne, and actually fucking begs her to wake up, is heartbreaking. Jeanne is Bayonetta's closest confidant, with the two actually living together post-1. They're best friends, they're treasured companions, and they have a domestic life together. They were planning a Christmas party at the beginning of 2.

As well, Bayonetta's demeanor can shift to very serious when the situation calls for it, such as her genuine fury when she thinks Balder has killed Luka. Bayonetta may not say it outright, but she clearly cares a lot for the people around her, being willing to risk life and limb to protect them. Another quick thing I want to mention--whenever Luka accuses Bayonetta of killing his father (she didn't, by the way, long story), Bayonetta, unable to actually recall what happened that day, looks actually rather downcast and troubled. She actually seems to think that she might have killed Luka's father, and looks quite upset at the thought. As much as Bayonetta would like to depict herself as infallible, she cares so much, and that care is a driving force behind the games.

I stress a lot about Bayonetta's character because I think it's a core aspect of the games. The games would not be the same without Bayonetta. Bayonetta's character is baked into everything--the visuals of bleeding rose petals and butterfly shadows and a lock-on of lipstick, into the elegant and joyous lounge music, to the plot and backstories revolving around Bayonetta's past and her roles in previous events. Bayonetta herself is the core of the games. I think she's probably the biggest appeal, because her character shapes the rest of the game aspects. It just wouldn't be a Bayonetta game without Bayonetta and all of the beautiful aesthetics and unique gameplay and creative ways of torturing and killing angels that she brings.

...

So then there's Bayonetta 3.

Bayonetta 3 is... I think the perfect 'fuck you' that you could ever give a fan of a series. Bayonetta 3 spits in your face and demands that you praise it.

I want you to imagine this. It's 2017. You're watching the Game Awards for some reason. And then, a specific teaser shows up, revealing that Bayonetta 3 is in development. It's been three years since the release of 2, so you're pretty hyped about it.

And then you hear nothing about it for years.

The most that you see is a couple articles with quotes from devs that development is "going well" in 2019, but even then, you still hear nothing about it. No trailers, no teasers, no images, not even leaks, to my knowledge. Just absolutely nothing. Games take a long time to develop, sure, but usually there's teaser images or such in order to keep the game in the collective consciousness of gamers.

Cut to the Nintendo Direct of 2021, where a trailer for something begins to play. And after a while you realize Holy shit it's Bayonetta 3 oh my god this looks amazing holy shit what the fuck.

(Pour one out for Astral Chain fans, by the way.)

So now you finally have a new trailer, you have something to show that this game is tangible and real and happening. Later trailers reveal the release date: October 28th, 2022. Exactly a year ago from today assuming that I manage to get this done on time.

There was also the, uh... controversy, but I'm not getting into that today. There's plenty of coverage on the Helena Taylor thing, and I'm not really talking about the controversies surrounding the game as I am about the game itself. The only thing I'll say is: Fuck TERFs, Bayonetta says Trans Rights.

Release day comes without a hitch, and what you get is... hoogh. Okay where do I start.

Lemme start with the things I like about the game, because I don't hate it, and it mechanically isn't a bad game.

Jeanne hands-down has the best segments in the game. Like mechanically they're not the beeeest, but the amount of fun that they have with it is great. These segments follow Jeanne as you break into a top-secret facility, complete with a spy intro (that does unfortunately play in its entirety at the beginning of each segment with no option to skip) and kickass music. It's absolutely absurd and I love it, because Jeanne is so into the spy shit. She has one-liners to herself, if she gets smushed by an elevator she does the cartoonish thing where she gets flattened and flies about like paper, it's just really good. (There's a thing where a homunculus can go into a shower while she's showering and she kills it which is kinda weird but still pretty in-line with a Bayo game so.) Especially since we actually get to hear her basically do a magical girl speech and transformation into Cutie J, her actual genuine superhero alter ego, and get to play as her as an invincibility power. It's genuinely an extremely characterized segment and is a delight to go through. Jeanne is a loser and that's so important to me. She breakdances after killing an enemy.

Rodin's gimmick this time is great. The pizza truck is just. Perfection. He's as cool as ever when he's not. Y'know. Being a dick to Enzo after Enzo seemingly loses his wife and family that he seems to love very much. (I'm gonna get to that.)

Viola is hands-down the best character, she's such a try hard who's doing her goddamn best and her VA really put her all into the role. It's almost over-acted, which seems to be intentional, as Viola is very expressive with her hands and body as she talks. She's also a complete loser and I think we need more failgirls in media. I just wish that the narrative didn't fuck her over at every turn.

The gameplay's pretty solid, with the demon summoning being pretty fun. It's a shame that torture attacks aren't as common and only can be used when an enemy is stunned, but I also do appreciate how they don't stop the gameplay or force you to do button-mashing in order to execute them when they *do* appear. It keeps the flow going and is just overall a nice fix. The combat still feels good, the level-ups are a tad strange since in previous games boosts to health and magic were automatic but it's not that big of a deal. The new forms are also fun, and even if the spider is a little hard to control, I still absolutely loved being able to just swing across the whole map.

The music is absolutely great as per usual, though--okay I need to have a sidebar about Moonlight Serenade real quick. I know this is the section where I talk about what I like but I just - I need you to understand my vision.

So. I don't like Moonlight Serenade that much. BUT IT'S FOR SUCH A SPECIFIC REASON. The song never feels like it has a proper conclusion. Like - ok I might be wrong abt this because I know shit about fuck when it comes to music theory but if you listen to the chorus of "fly me to the moon" and "moon river", you feel like that is a complete phrase, right? Like the buildup happens, and then the last line of the chorus sounds like a satisfactory end to that part.

Like the song could stop there and it wouldn't leave you musically hanging, it's called a cadence i believe. But moonlight serenade doesn't have that. It doesn't have that musical conclusion and thus constantly feels incomplete, it feels like I'm waiting for smth that never comes and it makes it annoying to listen to. Which is weird, because in the Frank Sinatra version that they use in the credits, the song does eventually have a cadence at the very end, so it's not like the song just can't be performed that way! Just - here's the ends to the three main themes put together.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND.

It's such a small and niche thing to be upset over, I know, but it just drives me insane. Moonlight Serenade is like your brain building up an itch that it never scratches.

Regardless--the music is still really good, as always for a Bayonetta game. Always with the upbeat jazzy tracks, and Viola's theme "Ghost" absolutely fucks. Also Phenomenal Uncertainty may or may not have made me cry the first time I heard it.

In terms of graphics, the game is, for the most part, very pretty! The particle effects are gorgeous, the animation of human bodies in the teal goo that create the Homunculi is really cool, and gives a brilliant hint as to what the Homunculi actually are before you learn it in-story. I also really like the stained-glass thing motif they have going on with anything fae related, it's really striking.

Something appreciated is also Naive Angel Mode, which actually is a setting you can turn on to censor things more. Things like gore and nudity are covered up or changed, which can allow for more people to feel comfortable playing it, because while nudity isn't something to be shamed... it can still be really embarrassing for people. Some of its censors are simple, like Bayonetta's butterfly form having covers over her breasts, or Bayonetta's outfit not being removed whenever she summons demons. Other changes are... Rodin's donut cigar and Bayonetta pulling a tomato out of her chest. There's arguments to be made one whether or not this is actually helpful as a censorship tool, especially since they don't censor out any swearing and the tomato thing is absolutely a scene killer... but it's also really fucking funny.

... Okay I think that's all I got. Anyway time for the bad.

I'm going to talk about a lot of miscellaneous things in succession, such as graphics and gameplay, in this section, while the story and especially the ending will get their own sections, because dear god.

Since I ended the last section with the visuals, let's start this section with them. The thing about Bayonetta 3 is that it's very... sweaty. If you look at Enzo and Luka, they just look... meaty. And I hate saying that. Those words make my bones itch. What's strange is that the previous games didn't look like that, which leads me to believe this is because of the idea of "next gen graphics" or whatever, trying to make it look more realistic, when instead it looks like meat.

The facial expressions can be a little dopey, and the mouth movements really don't fit the words being said most of the time. Granted, that's always been a thing, but considering that all cutscenes are animated this time rather than being mixed in with still slideshows of renders, it stands out more. Textures in certain areas look very flat, even when they shouldn't be, like the roses on the banner in the beginning--others are an insanely low resolution, like the cracked glass and concrete in Tokyo. These textures are directly next to things that are not low-resolution, which makes them stand out in the worst way.

As I mentioned with Naive Angel mode earlier, it does have things that could really ruin a dramatic scene for you, like the tomato thing. It's making fun of the people who use it by dampening their experience. Like, I don't think people are being prudish or something for not wanting to see such intense gore but still wanting to enjoy an experience. Because it's not like they can get gameplay like this anywhere else, Bayonetta's combat is very unique to itself. There's a lot of nuance and argument to be had over censorship laws, and Western (specifically America's) discomfort with nudity even artistically, whether this type of censorship is made to made it more marketable or more accessible or possibly both, whether it should even have it because it makes no secret that it's a mature rated game for a reason--there's a lot to be said about it, so I at least wanted to bring it up here. But also I can completely understand them adding something like this because, you know, Bayonetta was in fucking Smash Bros. That exposes her to a much wider age range, and probably has many more young people interested in her series.

Another thing related to this is the mockery of Easy Mode, and how no matter how well you do in a section, no matter if you have amazing combos and take no damage, you will never get a rank higher than clear. In the past, while some battles wouldn't appear on easier difficulties, you could still at least get higher than clear. This? Fucking sucks. Accessibility is really such an important thing in games, because listen: some people are physically incapable of playing video games as well as an abled person. Easier modes can help those who physically can't do what other modes demand of them. Some people want to get through a game quickly because they want to go through the story.

Also some people are just fucking bad at video games, man. I don't think we should punish them for that.

Easy Mode punishes the player for picking it by delegating them to the lowest rank possible. No matter what you do, unless you play the game on its terms, you'll never be good enough. This can really alienate a subset of the audience who were interested in playing it until they realized that the game was basically making fun of you for needing help. Which is stupid and gross and can we PLEASE stop doing this.

Wartrain Gouon was easily the worst of the demons by far. It's so hard to control and get it to the path you want due to the rigidity of its tracks. The clock tower was so non-memorable that I can't even remember what it does.

The demon sections suck. They just do. In concept riding Gomorrah down toppling skyscrapers is sick as fuck, but the controls are nightmarish. Same with Phantasmarae's section where you have to jump from building to building. You have too much momentum due to size, which makes controlling it really hard. Accurate to the size and speed of the creatures? Yes. Fun to play? NO.

The Sin Gomorrah fights are such bullshit. It's rock paper scissors. Bite beats shield, shield beats slam, slam beats bite. If you're still learning the movements of the enemy in order to figure out what they're doing and counter it before it hits you, or god forbid you press the button just a little too late, you get hit. And this fight is probably the slowest of anything I've ever seen. If you fuck up, you wait around 10 seconds in order to do it again. And you have to watch the fight move at the speed of moss in the meantime. It was actually painful to go through.

The others weren't awful. Madama Butterfly's section was okay, I had no idea how the fuck to control anything though. Baal's was the best by far, as it's a fun rhythm game that shakes up the gameplay but still feels at home in a Bayonetta title.

Okay - let's talk story. Finally.

Bayonetta 3's story is something that gets worse the longer you think about it. It's almost insulting how horrible the entire thing was, but especially the ending. Let's go through the plot quick. I'm gonna summarize most of this as a refresher for those who played it and a baseline for those who didn't. I'll be leaving out a lot of the details which I'll bring up later because I don't want this summary to be seventeen hours long.

The game opens up with a fight with Bayonetta as seen in the first game, albeit with her beauty mark in a different spot. Considering this game is about multiverses, we can safely assume this isn't the same Bayo from the first game. She's fighting against an exceptionally powerful foe, one who's shrouded in shadow and can manipulate the environment as though it were clay. We have a monologue overlaying the fight as per tradition, but instead of being Antonio or Luka, we hear a female voice, who we later learn is Viola. (This is kinda clever but it's cleverness based on a plot point that sucks but anyway.)

This foe manages to beat Bayonetta down as Viola talks about 'truth', another thing I'll get into later. She's doing very badly, and eventually gets almost crucified in rock. We then watch as Bayonetta is brutally murdered, and a girl named Viola is given the last 'world bridge.' The man who gives it to her is blown into chunks, and the girl manages to escape just as the shadowy figure tries to kill her.

And that's how it starts! Bayonetta fucking dies!

It doesn't get better from here.

We then cut to New York, where Bayonetta is bullying Enzo as per usual. She's apparently supposed to be meeting someone on a cruise liner, where she is eventually set upon by bizarre teal-and-silver enemies who cause a massive tsunami to head towards the city. These enemies begin to destroy everything and everyone without regard, seemingly trying to eradicate the entire area. Viola falls out of a portal from the sky into Enzo's car, Jeanne shows up with a cute little reference to her first appearance in Bayo 1, Rodin comes by, and eventually they all manage to escape to the Gates of Hell while the rest of the world above is seemingly erased. Unfortunately, Bayonetta wasn't strong enough to even put a dent in the massive army that appeared.

Rodin and Viola reveal that the strange creatures are Homunculi, manmade bioweapons that are actually part human. Their leader is named Singularity, and his ultimate goal appears to be to erase as many universes as possible to gather enough power to wipe out the Trinity of Realities in one go. We don't know why, we just know that he's trying to create something called the Alphaverse, which is essentially all the power of the universes pulled into one world. Viola has been trying to get through the worlds to collect Chaos Gears from other worlds, which if collected and given to a man named Sigurd, should be able to stop Singularity somehow. Jeanne goes off to find Sigurd, while Bayonetta and Viola go off to the Lumen-Umbra island of Thule, which was an ancient hub of study for the multiverse. Something of note is that Viola showcases her abilities to use Witch Time, as well as having a demon companion named Cheshire who remarkably resembles a doll and has pretty childlike behaviors. This will be important later.

The majority of the story is then spent going to different timelines and attempting to get the Chaos Gear from them, all while fighting the Homunculi. You visit Tokyo, Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, and France, and run into the various Bayonettas and Jeannes (and in one instance, Bayonetta's mother Rosa). Unfortunately, though Bayonetta obtains the Chaos Gears and some new weapons and demon companions, she is unable to save any of the worlds she goes to, and even has to mercy-kill one of her alternates when she gets assimilated into the Homunculi.

Jeanne, meanwhile, goes to rescue Dr. Sigurd, a man who's grafted technology to his skin and essentially lives within a test tube. As well, Bayonetta and Viola get set upon by a mysterious wolf creature who attacks them, and Luka shows up sometimes and does very little and then leaves.

So - I'm gonna just drop a lot of shit on you, because all of this is insane.

First of all fearies exist. No, there's been no evidence of their existence beforehand. They just do. Viola meets a variant of Luka named Lukaon who is a fae prince. Sure. Also that werewolf? It's Luka. It's because of something I'll explain later.

So when the crew has the Chaos Gears and Sigurd, Bayonetta and Viola go to the Alphaverse to face Singularity, while Jeanne stays behind to guard Sigurd. Turns out, however, that in the Alphaverse, the real Sigurd's corpse is hooked up to a machine, and the 'Sigurd' back with Jeanne is actually Singularity, who killed and replaced the original Sigurd. Singularity then kills Jeanne and absorbs her power as he had with all the previous Jeannes and Bayonettas, and traps Bayonetta and Viola in the Alphaverse while he makes a universe of his own creation.

Luka shows up to help them, and they escape to fight Singularity.

And thus begins the most laborious, horrible endings I have ever experienced in my undisclosed amount of years.

The fight with Singularity is, and I do not exaggerate, seven phases. Stage one is the rock-paper-scissors fight with Sin Gomorrah, two is against Singularity Balance, three is against the minibosses that Balance summons, four is a replica of the opening fight, five is a fight alongside the Bayonettas from 1 and 2, six is the fight when all the Bayonettas combine, and seven, finally, is alongside Luka in his werewolf form.

This shit takes forty minutes to an hour to get through, including cutscenes. It's during this marathon of repetition that we learn a few things: namely, that Viola is the daughter of an alternate Bayonetta and Luka. I'll get to that. Though Singularity was defeated, Bayonetta had pushed herself to her absolute limit, and her Umbran Watch had finally shattered. This leads to the summoned Gomorrah turning on her, her contract with it being up and Inferno going to collect. Viola, knocked unconscious, is starting to get sucked into a black hole that Singularity left behind, and Luka chooses to save his alternate daughter rather than Bayonetta. Bayonetta's soul is raked from her body, and the demons of Inferno start to drag her down. Luka manages to get himself over to Bayonetta, and holds her soul in his arms as the two of them essentially have a love confession. They reassure themselves that Viola will carry on their legacy, and share a kiss as they're pulled into Inferno. Viola cries out for them in heartbreak, before breaking down into a sobbing wreck.

We move to Viola out on a rock drifting in a black sea, unsure of where she is, before a shadow of Bayonetta appears with a Kraken demon that was actually summoned at the beginning but don't worry about it because it didn't matter. Viola then fights against the shadow of her mother, finally having control over her own Faerie powers as shown in a previous section. Before vanishing, Bayonetta tells Viola that this was her last lesson, and that she's grown so much, and 'perhaps the gift of a new name is in order.'

Cut back to New York, which is seemingly returned to normal. Viola, wearing a scarf and a pair of glasses, comes into the Gates of Hell where Rodin and Enzo are. Enzo's talking to his wife on the phone before leaving, implying that those in this universe have been restored. Based on Rodin's words, he's still in contact with Bayonetta and Luka in Inferno, and he's watching over Viola in the meantime. She takes a job from him, and Rodin mentions that he forgot to call her by the family name, "Bayonetta."

Viola stumbles over herself one last time before ushering in the credits with a pose.

... Alright fellas, grab your jaws off the floor and put your tits back on, let's tackle this nightmare.

The thing about Bayonetta 3 is that you just have no idea where to begin. There's so much fucking wrong with it that you really just can't figure out how to look at it right. It's like looking at a pile of glass that melted wrong.

The game's opening also sets a tone of despair and futility, because you play Bayonetta's last moments before being brutally murdered. If Bayonetta, two-time god killer, was beaten by this enemy without even a scratch on the opposing party, just how powerful are they? This is actually a pretty common trope, where in order to show how powerful a new foe is, they have them go up against a character that the audience knows is extremely powerful, and have them get absolutely trounced.

I suppose we'll start with some of the most glaring issues, such as the tone. The tone of Bayonetta 3 is much darker and more serious than that of the previous games, obvious from the moment you start up the game with the start menu looking like This. You have to press a button to get to the familiar logo, but even the logo is a bit edgier--almost literally, with the sharp cracked 3.

But the reason it doesn't work here is because this immediately places Singularity almost as overpowered. Like, Bayonetta was able to kill God. Twice. Albeit, this was with help, but she was still able to hold her own for a significant amount of time. To see this almost immediately gives the audience a feeling of dread, because if Bayonetta can't even land a scratch on this guy, who can?

Things don't get better as the story goes on. Out of the four timelines you go to visit, you save none of them. You get to watch as all of them are essentially eaten by the Homunculi. You get to watch as people die while fighting futily against the Homunculi. The Homunculi are hard-hitting, fast, and innumerable. There are just so many of them, and their units are massive. They're explicitly made to destroy. It is a massive spike in the stakes from the previous two games. It's like if Jubileus had been summoned at the beginning of Bayonetta 1 rather than at the end, or if Aesir had reformed at the beginning of 2. With the Homuculi, it doesn't matter how many you fight. They can regenerate, they can reform, and their most destructive units are about as big as a fucking city. And you don't make a dent in them, no matter what you do. The worlds are gone. The Bayonettas are dead. You can't save any of them.

And by the end, your own Jeanne is dead, and Bayonetta is dead. We don't hear anything about the other worlds. While the other Bayos' and Jeannes' souls are released during the final fight with Singularity, they don't appear to be fully there. They're translucent and glitchy, and they all disappear upon being hit once. Jeanne even reappears to help for a moment before also disappearing again. We never hear anything about Jeanne ever again, by the way. She's just killed in the most anticlimactic way possible, shows up for a second, and then disappears without another word. And we don't know what happened with the other worlds! We have no reason to think that they were returned to normal! And yet, Bayonetta still gets to be around, albeit indirectly. This really just gives the entire game a feeling of "why should I even bother, it's not going to do anything anyway." For all the talk of hope and truth the game spews, the ending is pretty fucking bleak.

On top of that, the majority of the game you just... watch people die. They're not angels, they're not demons, they're regular human beings fighting a war they have no chance of winning, no matter how hard they try. And watching swathes of human beings get wiped out is a much different experience than just watching angels or demons. It makes the entire thing feel just so dark. Because, again, we have no reason to believe that any of these worlds were restored. Singularity makes an off-hand comment about how the Bayonettas fighting back is 'reversing' what he's done, but immediately after one of the Bayos says how they're 'the only ones who made it this far' so like. Which is it?

The darker tone is conveyed through the visuals, also. Everything in this game feels... really desaturated. Like, the past games were bright and vibrant and colorful, but this game feels really gray, no doubt helped by the constant presence of the matter-eating fog.

Bayonetta games are no stranger to more serious topics and scenes, but they still had a ton of levity and fun between it all. There really isn't much of that at all in this game. It's just bleakness after bleakness with a lot of cool visuals thrown into the mix. Which like, yeah, surfing on Gomorrah is cool in concept, but Bayonetta never looks like she's having any fun. She looks so serious and angry half the time. One of the main appeals about Bayonetta as a character is how much fun she has, whether it's dancing or performing acrobatics or torturing angels. But while we get plenty of one-liners from her, it never looks like she's having the good time she usually has. And you could argue that it's because the tone of the plot is what causes her to be more serious, but I personally see that as a cue to lighten the story up a little. The only exception to this is the France level, because while I think randomly adding assimilation to the Homunculi's abilities is bullshit--the Homunculi taking over the French army and making them dance is the kind of shit I expected from the whole game. That was golden.

On the subject of Bayonetta's character, it really feels like they just stripped her of it all and gave her some facsimile of what it used to be. I mentioned earlier about her silliness and her mistakes and her moments of softness with others, but all of that is just devoid from 3 in favor of making Bayonetta this constantly cool, infallible person. She has apparent soft scenes with Luka, but I'll get to that whole thing in a bit. Just know that it's completely unearned. There isn't a moment where she has moments of willing vulnerability with anyone, especially Viola, who you think would be the most important person she would have that with. Instead, she's constantly undermining Viola's agency, insulting her and belittling her, and just never grows close to her like she did with Cereza or Loki. I think the game thinks that Bayonetta being Viola's blood mother means that they automatically have a connection, but--no. That sucks. Fuck off.

The argument can be made of, "Oh this is clearly a different Bayonetta than before! It's normal that she'd act a little different!" And considering that 3's Bayonetta isn't familiar with Phantasmarae, who 1's Bayo had summoned back in the first game, it's safe to assume that it isn't the same one. In fact it's implied that this is a grown-up Cereza from game 1, with the same braids, the younger version of Bayonetta looking almost exactly like Cereza if just a bit older, 1's Bayo telling her "you didn't cry while I was gone, did you?" All of that implies this is the Cereza we've seen from a changed timeline. But this isn't properly conveyed to the audience until the very end where 1 and 2 evidently take place in different timelines (don't worry about it). And even then, if it is because of a character difference, that still doesn't correct the tonal issue or the problems with how she treats Viola versus what the game says their relationship is.

And while talking about Bayonetta... we can't put off The Big Thing™ any longer. So let's talk about Adam and Eve.

Bayonetta makes no secret of its inspirations from Christianity and Judaism. The idea of angels, heaven, hell, demons, and especially the hierarchy of angels inspired by the Jewish hierarchy. But the thing about Bayonetta is that the series has only ever made one reference to the Christian god, that being at the very beginning of 1, where Bayonetta is reading scripture in order to summon angels. But the angels don't serve the Christian god, they serve Paradiso and Jubileus. The actual creation of the world and the Trinity of Realities has nothing to do with Christianity, it has to do with Aesir, Jubileus, and presumably Queen Sheba.

But Singularity refers to Arch-Eves and Arch-Adams, which across all universes are Bayonetta and Luka. Implying some cosmic force brings them together romantically.

I honestly feel like I don't even need to explain why this sucks, but I will anyway.

Most folks know the story of Adam and Eve. First man and woman, the Garden of Eden, the temptation of the snake, the Tree of Knowledge, and disobedience leading to eternal sin (at least according to Christian texts). But in Bayo 3, the only relation to the actual story that Bayo and Luka have are just... they're a man and a woman. So obviously they end up together. At most, maybe it's referring to Singularity trying to play God and Bayonetta and Luka defying him... but the analogy doesn't entirely work because Singularity isn't God, and there are also non-gendered characters from the Bible that could have been used.

The Arch-Eves refer to the one person within a world that's keeping it all together; if Singularity kills them and absorbs their power, then that universe will start to collapse. I don't think the same applies to the Arch-Adams so I don't even know why they're here. The idea that Bayonetta is, in every universe, the most important person, is dumb. It really is. Bayonetta is powerful. She is the holder of the Left Eye of the World. She's saved the world twice over. But she's still just another person--hell, the second game makes a point to stress that she's still part human. That's part of what makes her so strong--because she has humanity. But the idea of Arch-Eves really just... makes her this cosmic protagonist who's the most important person in all the worlds who are literally the only thing holding them all together. Why? Never explained! You just have to accept it!

Lukas across the worlds being Arch-Adams is also dumb. Literally why. Also speaking of Luka, he has faerie blood for some reason! Also there are faeries but I'll get to that! That's why he can transform into a werewolf, because all of the residual energy from the dead Arch-Adams awakened his faerie powers.

God this game fucking sucks dude.

(Sidebar, I read this section out to my fiancee who only knows the plot of Bayo 1, explicitly because I thought it would be funny, and he genuinely did not believe I was telling him the truth. He looked at me and said that he thinks I made this up to fuck with him. Also he said that Lukaon looks like a Genshin character.)

So. I feel like I don't need to say this, but Bayonetta and Luka getting together is fucking stupid.

While this is a different version of Bayonetta than the previous games, the romance hinges on the interactions the two had in the previous games, 1 especially. But if this is a different Bayonetta, then this is essentially the first time we're seeing these two specific characters interact. Which honestly makes it worse. The two of them barely have any screentime with each other, leaving their chemistry about as basic as fucking bleach. Sure, they flirt with each other, but players are primed by past games to know that Bayonetta doesn't really mean it, and mostly just does it to tease and fluster Luka. So it becomes very strange when it turns out yes, actually, she does mean it! Don't worry about why!

To see the two of them essentially confess their love for each other and kiss as they're dragged into Inferno feels so undeserved because their entire relationship was so underdeveloped it was like a sandlot. Just - completely barren. It just feels so unnecessary in a series like this. When I said earlier that Bayonetta was about love, I didn't mean making the female protagonist and a male character of mild importance kiss like Barbie dolls because they're within the same proximity. Luka was barely in the previous game, so him gaining such a huge role feels strange and almost undeserved, because in terms of the actual plot, he doesn't do anything. He just turns into a werewolf to be a couple boss fights. And I still don't understand what the point of the werewolf and faerie shit is! The faerie stuff I think was solely to set up Origins, because to my knowledge, nothing in the previous games even alluded to such a thing.

I'd also like to bring up, ah... a certain thing about the relationship, assuming that this is the same Cereza from 1. Now I want to say that I don't think it's problematic or whatever, they're both consenting adults so it's whatever, but... It's still really weird how Bayonetta ends up with the alternate version of a man that she knew when she was 6, who has the same name, face, and mannerisms as that man, and who calls her the same nickname that the other Luka had called her child self. It's not pedophilic by any stretch, but it just leaves the slightest bad aftertaste in your mouth, like eating day-old olives.

That brings us to a big point of contention with the game: Viola. Now I personally like Viola a lot, I think her character is funny and a perfect encapsulation of a try-hard teenager trying to establish herself. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people who find her 'annoying' would think she's endearing if she were a male character. People just really can't handle teenage girls having flaws. But Viola gets the short end of the stick so fucking bad in the game. One, she's constantly the punching bag, both narratively and comedically. Some of the stuff is pretty funny, like Bayonetta landing in a cool pose as Viola and her demon companion Cheshire crash into the ground immediately next to her. Others seem to be unnecessary, such as her ass setting on fire and having to control her as she cartoonishly runs into the nearest body of water, or her getting dehydrated in the desert and having to scavenge for water as Cheshire (yes that actually happens). And some are just cruel, like her constantly losing every time she tries to fight.

Viola just isn't allowed to win. She's not allowed to even have a moment of looking cool, she's not allowed to fight bosses on her own despite her clear strength and power, she's not allowed to have a lick of respect from anyone, let alone her own mother Bayonetta. No matter how many times she tells her her name, Bayonetta never uses it until the very end when she's dying or already dead. And immediately after doing so, she instead gives her a new name, her old name. To paraphrase my dear friend Simon, "Viola sucks. You suck. You know who doesn't suck? Bayonetta. You're her now."

No matter how many times she spells out her name, no one listens. The only fight she wins on her own is the very last one, where she's stripped of the identity that she's fought so hard to establish by being forced into the shadow of her parents. She doesn't even get a moment to help during the final boss fight. I honestly feel like I need to stress this point: the secondary player character of this game doesn't even get to help you during the final boss fight. The moment she tries, and the moment her theme starts up, Singularity just tosses her aside, and that's it. She's done. Fuck you for trying, Viola.

It's honestly sad to see a character with such interesting potential as Viola be constantly fucked over by the narrative because they made her the designated punching bag. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't... hate the idea of Viola being the daughter of an alternate Bayonetta. Not with Luka, god no, but just in general. Maybe biological, maybe adopted. It feels like something of a natural progression of the motherly themes in the previous games, if Bayonetta had acted like a mother to this child at all throughout the game. But I can see some version of Bayonetta finding this child out on her own, because her parents had been killed or something, and maybe there was something supernatural about her. I can see that version of Bayonetta realizing that this child has no one, and mortals weren't going to understand how to care for a child like that. So, that version of Bayonetta took Viola in as her own, maybe raising her alongside Jeanne and Rodin while passing down the Umbran Arts to Viola as a way to keep Viola safe and to keep the Umbra alive. But when Viola's home dimension is destroyed and her mother is gone, she goes to 3's Bayonetta and struggles to accept that this is technically a stranger, even as this Bayonetta starts to become fond of her and act much like her own mother. Especially if this is actually Cereza from 1, then she can return the kindness that her own 'mummy' had given to her when she was displaced.

But that would mean that Bayonetta wouldn't get to kiss Luka and we simply can't live without that.

I want to touch briefly on another point of contention surrounding this aspect of the game, and I don't want to get too into it, but I would be remiss to not mention it. A lot of people were upset that Bayonetta ended up with Luka and not Jeanne, saying that it was queer erasure or queerbaiting, making Bayonetta "straight." There's... honestly actually a lot to talk about here.

For those unaware, 'queerbaiting' is defined as "a marketing technique involving intentional homoeroticism or suggestions of LGBTQ+ themes intended to draw in an LGBTQ+ audience, without explicit inclusion of openly LGBTQ+ relationships, characters, or people." Dean and Castiel of Supernatural are an example of queerbaiting I don't care what the finale says. Sherlock and Watson from BBC's Sherlock are an example of queerbaiting. These pairings were constantly teased and hinted at throughout their shows' runtimes, with people in-show talking about how they're obviously in love with each other and them showing their devotion for each other--but don't worry, they're not gay.

Note that this is different from queercoding, which is when the authors intentionally put queer subtext into a character or work as a whole, but can't confirm anything in-story due to demands of producers, publishers, or society at large. A big reason for queercoding starting in the US was the Hayes Code, which in essence banned anything considered 'immoral', which queer people were at the time.

Homophobia aside, it's hard to say whether or not Bayonetta and Jeanne are queerbaiting, queercoded, or just have a close connection that fans like to interpret as romantic. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely think Bayonetta is queer--Bayonetta is asexual and I will die on this hill--but I honestly couldn't parse whether or not any subtext between the two was intentional. Kamiya has only referred to Bayo and Jeanne as a couple in the sense of a pair, not a romantic couple, and some nude art was made by the character designer Mari Shimazaki more for artistic nudity rather than erotic nudity. As a queer woman myself, I personally don't see either queerbaiting or queercoding. I think that any potential queer readings are just that: readings. I don't think any of it was intentional.

Also people attracted to both men and women exist people for fuck's sake.

A quick aside to talk about faeries. I literally don't know why they're here. I don't know why they exist in this game if not to set up Origins, and I don't know why they exist in there, either. It's such a strange choice to make when nothing at all in the past games has set up the existence of the fae. We barely learn anything about them, and outside of being power-ups for Luka and Viola, they're essentially non-entities. They didn't need to exist and I don't know why they do.

Now let's talk about one of the worst aspects of the game: the villain, Singularity. If your villain sucks, I think that's a massive blow to your game, and Singularity is probably one of the worst villains I've ever seen. His existence in the Bayonetta world just... doesn't make any sense. Did you know he was an artificial human, essentially a computer program that became self-aware and then murdered every single human in his world? No? You shouldn't, because it's ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL.

The thing about past games, and hell even games in general, is that you don't want to leave crucial bits of information hidden away in the files for your players to go find and read. In the previous games, it was all supplemental; it was notes on the structures and customs of the Umbra and Lumen, about magic and potion-making and architecture. It was all stuff that would have bloated the narrative if they were put into the gameplay proper, but are fun reads for those who want to get a little more information on them.

But that piece of information? That's Singularity's origin story. We shouldn't have to read the manual to get a key piece of character information.

Especially since, we still don't know why he's doing all of this. Balder was trying to resurrect Jubileus because he was a religious zealot driven insane by the soul of Loptr inside of him. Loptr wanted to become whole again and was literally an evil side of a god who wanted to return to the power he had before. The younger Balder wanted vengeance for his slain lover. All of this was present and available in the story, giving you an understanding of who these people are and what they're doing here.

Singularity... I genuinely don't know. He became aware of the multiverse and decided to destroy it to consolidate the power of all the worlds into one in order to "impose his single truth" over it. I don't know what the fuck that means, and I'll get to the whole 'truth' thing later. Singularity is a nothing villain. He has no substantial motivation behind his actions. His existence as a creation of humans, of modern humans at that, also feels completely out of place in a game series focused on the divine. There's nothing divine in nature about the Homunculi. They're all technologically based in hierarchy, design, and origin, and it really stands out against the angels and demons.

You wanna know how to fix this? Just make Singularity trying to become a god. Maybe being an artificial human, he thought he had a chance of ruling over the World of Chaos as a manmade god. Maybe he was intentionally made to do that! Then it would explain why the Homunculi look like that, they're trying to mimic angels!

But that's not what happened. Instead we get computers I guess.

Also I'd argue this game plays into the evil disabled person trope since Singularity-as-Sigurd is in a mobility aid that is basically an electric wheelchair so thanks for that, game.

Sidenote, something that bothers me about this is that, like... the demons and angels are fucking nowhere to be seen. Their planes of realities are also at risk here, and yet angels only show up in optional fights that you really have to go out of your way to find. I don't think any demon enemies show up at all besides the summoned Kraken. You'd think that like, something interesting would be that the angels and demons have to actually work together in order to protect themselves and their own realities, but they're just fucking off and letting Singularity take ove the multiverse, even though it's explicitly stated that he's trying to wipe out the entire Trinity of Realities.

Let's move on to the ending, mostly from a gameplay perspective. The ending sucks. It's one of the worst things I've ever experienced. Namely, because it's too long and is the same shit over and over again. As I mentioned before, Singularity's fight has seven stages. That is absurdly long, even by Bayonetta standards. And at the very least, past final bosses have been broken up with unique gameplay, enemies, and environments.

For example, in 1, you play as Jeanne as she motorbikes up a rocket and eventually runs up it in order to get to Bayonetta. Then, as Jubileus is almost resurrected, you fight her in a giant space sphere while she constantly throws galaxies at you, completely shifts the environment, and transforms you into a helpless child. Then, you have a stage where you combat Jubileus face-to-face, capping it off with summoning essentially what seems to be the Queen of Inferno herself, Queen Sheba, to take care of Jubileus. Then, there's a short segment where you fly Jubileus' soul into the sun. And finally, you destroy the pieces of Jubileus' body before they plummet to Earth. That's still long, mind you, don't get me wrong. But the segments vary in length and style. There's a stage where you need to reach a goal in time, there's fighting, there's that segment where you have to avoid hitting all the planets in the solar system until you knock Jubileus into the sun, and then there's a segment where you have to destroy everything before time runs out.

Outside of the first stage of Singularity's boss fight, it's just the same shit over and over and over again. There's another Sin Gomorrah fight which is again just rock-paper-scissors, and also to be perfectly honest it's pretty cheap to do the same trick with Sin Gomorrah again when past games have had some twist on it, or at least something unique to summon. Instead it's basically just the exact same fight as when you used Sin Gomorrah the first time. No changes, nothing to adapt to, nothing unique to this boss. It's the exact same.

Then you move into space, which admittedly is pretty neat even if it's not entirely new ground, and you fight Singularity in face-to-face combat on the moon. Pretty basic. Then he summons minibosses for you to fight, or at least strong enemies with big health bars. Again, really basic. There's nothing here that's making it stand out. There's no explosive kind of finale, it's just really boring. It's just whittling down one giant health bar after another with nothing new to differentiate the fights.

And then you watch a cutscene where all of the Bayonettas that Singularity had absorbed into himself are released, and they help our Bayonetta in kicking the shit out of Singularity. Which is fun to see, sure, but it's just a cutscene. You don't get to play as any of these Bayonettas. You only watch as the cool and unique thing happens on screen. And then it just immediately ends when Singularity wipes them all away. And then Jeanne shows up, and maybe you think that you're going to play as Bayonetta fighting alongside Jeanne again! But it's still just a cutscene! The next time you actually take control of Bayonetta, it's in a one-to-one recreation of the opening fight.

The next two sections are honestly the best part of the fight and I mean that completely unironically. These are the sections where 1 and 2's Bayonettas appear, and then they combine into one. Does it make any sense that 1 and 2 are different Bayonettas when the story makes it clear that they're the same person? Nope! Does it make sense that they just combine? No! But I don't care this fucking rules!

There's something called Rule of Cool, which is basically 'this doesn't make sense and shouldn't work, but it's really cool, so it's whatever.' It's a type of suspension of disbelief that prioritizes fun and fantasy over logic. Bayonetta games thrive on this concept, where no, it shouldn't make sense that Bayonetta should be able to talk to an Angel in the middle of a tornado, or headbutt a building, but we don't care, because it's fucking cool.

But then it just keeps going. And then the absolute final phase is... alongside werewolf Luka. Which just feels so fucking hollow in comparison to the weight that the previous sections had. That's a big issue with this ending, there are so many points where it felt like it could have ended that it just became a cycle of 'what do you mean there's more?!'

You'd think that the section with all the Bayos would be the final one, maybe you'd get to play as all of them in succession in order to round out the story, it was supposedly all about their timelines after all, and get some personal revenge on Singularity while having your mastery over the various weapons and demons tested. But it keeps going. Then with Jeanne you might think, 'oh, it'll be a parallel to 1 where you work with Jeanne to beat the final boss.' But it keeps going. Then you might think, 'oh, this is a recreation of the beginning, but Bayo's probably going to pull through when her other counterpart couldn't!' But it keeps going. Then you get to the section where the other Bayos appear and they combine, and you think, 'okay this HAS to be the ending, it's a perfect place to end both the battle and Bayonetta's story, by playing as all three at once.' But it KEEPS. GOING.

Every time the ending keeps going it cheapens the sections that came before it. There were so many points where it could have, and should have, stopped, and it instead ended on just the lamest final fight. There's nothing unique about the fight alongside werewolf Luka except that you're fighting with werewolf Luka. You don't even summon anything new; you just summon Gomorrah to finish off Singularity. You could argue that they needed to set up Bayonetta's death and Gomorrah turning on her when her contract is up, but there are other ways they could have done that and still had the explosive finishers the other games had. The game is prioritizing its story over the legacy of its series.

Some of you might be tired of me comparing 3 to 1 and 2, and I can understand where you're coming from. A game should be able to stand on its own without constant comparison to its predecessors. But the thing about Bayonetta is that it's a trilogy now. I'm not saying that 'oh, this sequel is different from the first game, therefore it sucks.' I'm trying to say that this game goes back on the pattern set up in the previous two games and suffers immensely for it. Comparisons to the first two titles are inevitable when talking about something like this, especially because Bayonetta is known for its campy, explosive gameplay. It's known for pulling out all the stops. And for this to be the end of Bayonetta as a character? It's a massive disservice. I'd say it's downright disrespectful. Not just to Bayonetta herself, but to the fans who waited years for this game.

I think the worst thing about this game is... okay, this isn't my original criticism, I saw glanced at it at like, one of those chapter sections on a Youtube video that I didn't watch but saw in the search results looking for something else, and for the life of me I cannot find its original source. If I do, I'll link it in my source section, but I saw this and it really made things click for me. This is not a game about Bayonetta. This is not a game about her, her family, her struggles, her clan, her background. This is a game about a cosmic protagonist meeting other versions of herself while wearing Bayonetta's face. The Umbra and Lumen are mentioned like. Once. All the way at the beginning, where their island of Thule is a hub for multiverse travel. But the thing is... you could completely take out all of the Umbra stuff, all of the very unique lore that Bayonetta has, and nothing would change, because this isn't a story about Bayonetta.

Singularity has no relation to the Umbra or Lumen. The angels and demons barely show up. Inferno and Paradiso and even Purgatorio aren't important. As much as I love Viola, she does feel less like a Bayonetta character and more like a Devil May Cry character. (I think someone really wanted to make their own DMC5.) You could take out the backstory of the witches and the Trinity of Realities and even of the past two games and I don't think anything would change. Because it doesn't matter. Because this is not a game about Bayonetta.

I feel so much about this game, because it could have been something great. But at best, it was a massive disappointment. At worst, it's a game that spits in the face of its fans and destroys the legacy of what came before it. It's like the writers lost sight of what made Bayonetta games so appealing, and instead what we get is an empty echo pulling itself along while reapplying its lipstick.

I haven't played Origins. Unless someone like. Pays me, I don't have any plans to. I haven't heard anyone talk about it. It's like 3 singlehandedly killed any hype for the franchise. I'm sure there will be more games, 3 set up a sequel with Viola, but I have my doubts that it'll even be in the public consciousness for more than a minute. And that's really fucking sad.

So... what can actually be learned from all of this? It's one thing to rail on something, it's another to actually take something away from it. I suppose the best I have is: if you're making something--a book, movie, game, etc.--make sure you understand the core of your characters. Understand what drives the narrative and how they weave into it. Understand their multifaceted natures and how certain character traits manifest when they're interacting with the environment and with other characters. Understand what makes your story unique, what its themes are and how they're presented in the work.

And always remember: if you're ever worried about the quality of your story, especially the ending, know that it can't be more insulting than Bayonetta 3's.

[Sources here because Tumblr won't let me post this many links.]

#bayonetta #bayonetta 3 #video games #video game essay #media analysis #media criticism

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potatowithahat · 3 months

Text

Why not?

A Harvey Irl one-shot series

Or rather the precursor to one

Rose hates Mondays. Correction. She hates when you have a math test, an essay on Japanese internment due and an AP test on a Monday. The day after your birthday.

Like, what the hell universe??? Why can't a girl get a break?

“It's like my teachers are trying to kill me” Rose mumbles to myself as she turns down the driveway “deserve some sort of reward for this”

Rose sighs as she parks, quickly noticing both her parents missing cars.

Probably off picking Lex up at school. So she can't even ask to eat the leftover ice cream from her birthday yesterday.

Like this day can get any worse

The girl sighs as she slings her bag over her shoulder and walk up the concrete path to the faded blue Victorian style house she calls home. Rose and her mom had been pushing her dad hard the last couple of years to move somewhere new, where the front steps don't creak when you walk inside and the house doesn't ‘settle’ randomly during the night

No dice so far though. He keeps saying that its a family home and that its the only house Lex has ever known.

Rose genuinely just thinks he's sick of moving cause he moved like eight times as a kid

Or maybe he actually loves the place. Who's to tell

Rose sighs as she approaches the little red door, quickly unlocking it and sliding herself into the cool air conditioning and out of the Arizona heat.

Oh, yeah, that's reason number two for wanting to leave. Rose and her family were currently living in the middle of nowhere Arizona, where she'd legitimately seen people cook eggs on the sidewalk in the summer. Its weird.

As she dropped her keys in the foyer, still thinking to herself about how dumb this heat is she happens to notice the study door slightly ajar. Maybe Lex is home after all?

“Lex?” Rose calls into the study, sighing in relief when she sees he's not there.

So the little turd didn't get into my computer. Rose Thought to herself. That's at least one good thing on this piss stain of a day.

My computer is open though. And on….

Stardew Valley?

Ok now that's odd. Rose knew for a fact she didn't leave it open on her desktop all night. Her Mom would've skinned her for using electronics irresponsibility. She always did that when Rose leaves games on overnight

Rose shrugs and quickly closes the game. Don't know how it got opened but stuff happens. Maybe Lex finally got into gaming

she snorted at the thought as she made her way out of the study and up to her bedroom. No way. Kid only watches anime and reads fanfic about Naruto.

And the only reason she knew he reads fanfic is because the little snot found her Ao3 account.

It was honestly Rose's fault for using the same name as her discord account she supposed, but all the same he shouldn't have been snooping.

Thank God he didn't tell their parents about it though. she would've been banned from the internet for till college.

Damn I miss ICarly

Rose shakes the thought out of her head as she opens her door and tosses her bag onto the bed. Maybe she should watch some reruns or..

��“Ow!” A man's voice shouts as her bag makes contact with his head. “What in the world are you…”

He stops talking as he sits up and sees the blood drained from Rose's face.

“Harvey???” Rose said shakily as she stared at the video game character come-to-life on her bed.

“Rose?” Harvey asks as he shifts to the edge of the bed “ or.. well… young Rose?” He says, tilting his head in confusion

“How the hell do you know my name?” The words slip out, though she already knew the answer. She had modeled her farmer in the game after herself.

“Were married…? or well I'm married to older you?” Harvey adjusts his glaces as he stands up “We adopted two kids together?” He says, almost sounding like he's trying to get her to remember

Why the hell would he be trying to get me to remember something if he thinks I'm the younger version of my farmer?

she reached up and rubbed her face.

And why would we adopt? Rose had always wanted kids but she don't… oh… OH

she accidentally made her farmer a guy at the beginning of the game.

Well someone's going to be disappointed

“I.. ok..” she quickly glanced out her door and shut it “how did you get here”

“good question” Harvey says as he looks around the room. “where is here? And why do you have a pixelated version of me on your wall”

she quickly glanced to where he was looking, seeing the image of his game sprite she had painted for her art classes shapes unit.

“Thats you. And also not important. How did you get here?”

“Yes I got that much” he nods and steps forward to look at the painting “And Yoba only knows how I got here. I fell asleep in my bed and got woken up with a bag to the face”

“OK, yeah, my bad, but in all fairness I wasn't expecting to find a middle aged man snuggled up with my alligator loksheplush!” Rose said as she rubs her eyes

Harvey stands there for a few seconds, looking over at me

“What is an ‘alligator Loki’?” He says, glancing back at my bed, confusion written all over his face.

she could already tell it was going to be an even longer day.

Hope yall enjoyed!!!!

If you'd like to read more of my stories, feel free to visit my Ao3, or check out my masterlist here on tumblr!!!

As always I'm a little gremlin when it comes to writing so if you have any fic ideas please feel free to drop an ask!!!!

#stardew my beloved #stardew valley #sdv harvey #harvey sdv #stardew harvey #harvey #Rory writes fics

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bumblesimagines · 1 year

Text

Midnight Beach

Part 6

Request: Yes or No

TW/CW: Gun mention, implied/outright abusive friendship (mention of bruises)

~~~

The rays of the sun warmed his skin, pressing down against him and threatening to burn him if he stayed outside for far too long. One of his legs dangled off the dock, foot grazing against the water below. He'd see the occasional ripple of a curious fish swimming by, attracted by the small disturbance he made with his foot. Every sighting made his lips quirk, eyes drifting away from his paper each time to catch a sight of the fish before it could disappear into the dark water.

"(Y/N), hey!" He lifted his head and looked down the dock, snorting softly when he spotted the familiar blonde racing toward him, flailing her arms around to catch his attention. Sarah cackled loudly, slowing down and dropping her backpack on the dock before dramatically collapsing beside him and draping an arm over her forehead for the full effect. A stream of giggles escaped her parted lips and he rolled his eyes, closing his notebook and setting it beside his phone. His homework would have to wait for now.

"What's up, Miss Cameron?"

"I just-" Sarah took in a large gulp of air. "I just ran all the way here from Valerie's house."

"It's literally right around the corner, Sarah. Not even half a mile-"

"And I did it all for you! Just because I personally wanted to tell you some very important news." Sarah moved her arm from her face and smiled widely, propping herself up onto her elbows. She dragged herself across the wooden boards and lightly smacked his propped-up knee. He lowered it flat against the dock and pulled his other foot up onto the dock, hands lifting slightly so she could rest her head on his lap. She slipped her arm under her neck and pushed her hair out from between their bodies, sprawling out locks of gold and light brown over his pants. Pressing his palm on the wood, he leaned slightly into his arm whilst his other hand began running through her soft hair. The Camerons had truly been blessed with the best of genetics.

"What is it? Did you finally get an A in Mrs. Weber's class?" (Y/N) asked lightly, a teasing hint in his voice.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Sarah scrunched up her nose, wrinkles forming between her eyes. "I haven't turned that essay in yet."

"Sarah-"

"No, that's not my extremely important news. Are you ready to hear this? It's going to change your life, I promise." Sarah grinned. The sunlight made her eyes glitter, turning them from their usual dark brown to a light bronze shade. She stared up at him with a mixture of excitement and glee, two emotions that always seemed to run rampant in the teenager. Sarah Cameron had to be the happiest girl he knew, and the prettiest.

"If you say so." He chuckled, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger.

"I... broke up with Denny," Sarah revealed, teeth digging into her bottom lip. (Y/N) blinked down at her, mind coming up with at least ten things to say in response. His eyes studied her face and when he couldn't see a speck of regret or sadness, he chose what he believed was the best response.

"Good for you?" Her smile dropped and she groaned, pushing herself up. Sarah blew a strand of hair from her eyes, lips pressing together when (Y/N) brushed it out of the way and gazed at her curiously. Warmth crept up her neck.

"This is the part where you tell me how it's his loss because I'm such a catch and then you ask me out on a date this Saturday," Sarah explained quietly, leaning in and lifting her brows. (Y/N) smiled, feeling his face heat at her brazen words. "Come on, let's hear it." She urged, fingers grabbing his knee and shaking it.

"And why would I do that, Miss Cameron?"

"Because I'm amazing and cool and so, so funny," Sarah brushed some hair over her shoulder, shifting onto her knees and throwing one leg over his waist, settling snugly on his lap. She wrapped her arms loosely around his shoulder and tilted her head, nails lightly scraping against the base of his neck. "And I'm talented and pretty and a whole package." She added, a nervous giggle slipping out when (Y/N) rested his hands on her hips. Sarah slowly leaned forward, tightening her arms around his arms and putting all her weight onto one side. (Y/N) realized a little too late that her intentions were purely mischievous, only being able to yelp when the two of them tumbled right into the cool water.

"Sarah!" He groaned when he resurfaced, her gleeful laughter flooding his ears. Sarah swam closer and placed her hands on his shoulders, lifting herself up slightly and wrapping her legs around his waist. She giggled and leaned down, pressing her soft plump lips against his. A surprised noise left (Y/N) and he almost instinctively leaned back, but Sarah moved her hands onto his cheeks and tilted her head. (Y/N) let himself relax, eyes closing and lips pressing harder against her.

Giggling softly, Sarah leaned back and smiled. "So, I'll be waiting on Saturday. Don't be late, 'kay?"

A familiar emptiness had settled in his chest, mingled with grief and a desire to move on. He knew how to bury his feelings and keep walking. How to smile in the faces of others when a hurricane raged on in his mind. But the difference was stark. The hole his parents left had been massive, but he knew they were alive and well. Sarah had been one of his closest friends. And she was... dead. Gone. One impulsive decision had left the Cameron family with one less child.

A shakey sigh left him and he raised his head, pulling the key out of the ignition and getting out of his jeep. He stuffed the key in his pocket and walked up to The Wreck, heading inside the old restaurant. There were barely any customers inside, save for Pope and JJ who sat near the counter with some fries. The two visibly stiffened at the sight of him and JJ's eyes narrowed into a suspicious glare, watching him like a hawk as he breezed past them. (Y/N)'s lips formed a tight smile and he approached the counter, gently tapping on the bell. Kiara appeared from the kitchen, lightly covered in sweat and curls pulled up into a bun with a bandana tied around her head to keep any loose strands out of her eyes while she worked. Her brows raised at the sight of him.

"(Y/N), hey. What can I do for you?" She asked, smiling politely. It felt forced but (Y/N) couldn't blame her. He was a Kook and as far as they knew, he was one of Rafe's minions. Her brown eyes flickered over to her friends, widening and squinting on occasion as she tried to silently communicate with the two nearby.

"The usual." Resting his arms on the counter, (Y/N) shot a glance at the boys and they immediately looked away, appearing to suddenly find the floor and ceiling interesting. Kiara winced at their lack of discretion and scribbled down his order, muttering quietly under her breath.

"Alright, I'll get that served up for you. Anythin' else?" She asked, gaze sweeping over the notepad again.

"How have you been, Kie?" Her body went rigid, the hold on her pen tightening to the point her fingertips lightened. Her eyes fluttered shut briefly and she inhaled deeply through her nose, raising her head to look at him with sad eyes. Her lips pressed tightly together and she lightly shook her head.

"I've... I don't know. I'm okay, I guess." She answered softly, shoulders slumping. Her nail scraped against the counter, teeth digging down on her bottom lip. "And you? I know Sarah meant a lot to you."

"I'll be fine. We'll be fine, Kie." (Y/N) assured, offering her a gentle smile. Kiara exhaled and nodded, a small smile of her own pulling on her lips. She ripped the paper from the notepad and slipped it back into her apron, glancing back toward her friends one last time. (Y/N)'s hand shot out before she could turn around, grabbing her wrist and keeping her planted in her spot. A chair scraped quietly and Kiara shook her head - likely at JJ- when (Y/N) released her as quickly as he had grabbed her.

"What's up?"

"I was wondering if your dad was hiring. I've, uh... been looking for something to do after class, I guess." He explained. Kiara's eyes widened and she stared at him as if he'd suddenly grown a second head.

"You want to work here? This like... Pogue central."

"I've never had a problem with Pogues, Kie."

"Yeah, but your buddies do." She pointed out, face souring. "Aren't they going to be, I don't know, upset?"

"Topper throws a tantrum every other day and Rafe's too coked up to even hear half the shit I say. If they come and start problems, I'll handle them. I want something to do other than sit at Topper's place listening to him cry over my ex-girlfriend as if they even dated. As for Rafe... I can only deal with him on his good days. And even then, I'm tired of ending up with bruises." (Y/N) chuckled, clamping his mouth shut when Kiara's gaze turned sympathetic. The tips of his ears burned and he averted his gaze, becoming nauseatingly aware of the redness on his wrist. "It's fine-"

"Is it?" There it was. The familiar tone of pity. "Why do you even hang out with them?"

"I know they're not good people, Kie. But they're the only thing I have. I know if I call one of them, they'll show up without question." (Y/N) answered, rubbing his shoulder and trying to reassure Kiara with another smile. "Misery loves company, I guess. Everybody needs somebody. And they... care. In their own ways."

Kiara remained silent, her eyes trailing over his figure and lingering on his wrist. She sighed quietly and nodded, tightly clutching the piece of paper in her hand and entering the dimly lit kitchen. Her father emerged from it moments later, forehead covered in a light layer of sweat. He draped his rag over his shoulder after cleaning his hands and offered him a friendly smile. "Kie said you were lookin' for a job?"

"Yes, sir." (Y/N) responded, straightening up and putting on his best smile. His arms dropped from the counter, hands tucking into the pockets of his shorts. Mike's features brightened.

"Good, you should be making your own money instead of moochin' off others." His tone turned bitter and he pointedly looked at JJ and Pope with a glare. (Y/N) could see them shrink into their seats out of the corner of his eye. His gaze softened when it turned back to (Y/N) and his smile returned. "Do your parents know?"

"Uhm... No, sir, they..." (Y/N) swiped his tongue over his lips nervously, shifting from foot to foot. Mike's brows furrowed, eyes narrowing slightly. "I mean, I turn eighteen soon anyways. I don't need their permission, do I?"

"You sayin' they're still not back? Jesus, it's been damn near five years. Look, (Y/N), you always need parental consent while you're still a minor. But... I'll be willing to make an exception for you. I know you'll be a good addition here." Mike said, reaching over the counter to pat his arm. Kiara returned from the kitchen with a tray of food in her hands, delicately setting it on the counter and looking over it before taking the money (Y/N) handed over.

"Maybe you'll finally be the good influence Kiara needs," Mike muttered, disappearing into the kitchen as Kiara's head snapped in his direction with a scoff. (Y/N) snickered quietly and scooped up the tray into his hands, thanking Kiara and stepping away from the counter. He set his sight on a table in the corner of the restaurant and began walking toward it.

"You can sit here if you want." (Y/N) blinked, turning to look at Pope and JJ. The blonde lifted his leg and lightly pushed out the chair across from him, nodding for him to sit down. (Y/N) smiled, taking the offer and sitting down at their table. JJ leaned forward, snatching a fry off his plate and smiling innocently at him.

"Why do you wanna work here? Aren't you like, ultra-rich or somethin'?"

"JJ, seriously?" Pope hissed quietly under his breath, pinching JJ's forearm and causing his friend to swat at his hand and rub his arm with a pout.

"What? It's a genuine question, Pope!"

"Uh," (Y/N) laughed, dipping a fry into the kitchen and eating it. "Well, my parents are the rich ones. Without them, I have nothing. Which is why I want to make some money before I graduate and get out of here."

"You're gonna leave Outer Banks?" Pope blinked. "I thought like... every Kook stayed to take over their parents' business or got jobs here through their parents."

"My parents haven't stepped foot on the island in years, Pope. My dad runs a business, sure, but it's located out in Cali, and my mom's fashion brand is popular in Europe so she's over there handling the stores or something like that. There's nothing for me here. There's nothing... keeping me here anymore." (Y/N) explained with a small shrug, picking up a fried shrimp and popping it in his mouth. Pope's brows tucked in so far (Y/N) swore they nearly dipped onto the bridge of his nose.

"W-What do you mean your parents haven't stepped foot on the island in years?" Pope asked, suddenly leaning against his arms. (Y/N) took in a deep breath and leaned back against the rickety old chair, twirling a crunchy fry in the ketchup dip.

"The last time I saw my parents was at my middle school graduation. Dad left first and then Mom. They're... workaholics, you know. They just want to live comfortably so they throw themselves into their jobs. Shoupe knows if that's why you're asking. I'm sure my dad threw some money at the department to keep them from bothering us about it. Money might not buy happiness but it can buy peace." (Y/N) explained, lifting the fry to his mouth and chewing on it.

"I couldn't imagine not seeing my mom for so long..." Pope murmured, fingers toying with the bracelet on his wrist. JJ stayed silent, teeth lightly digging into his lip and eyes falling down onto his lap.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't really have any fun memories of them. So, it's not like I miss them."

"That just... That makes me feel a whole lot worse." Pope winced and (Y/N) swallowed, eating a few more fries and avoiding their gazes. JJ raised his head and watched him, fingers toying with the fabric of his tank top. He licked his lips and leaned forward, chest pressing against the table.

"Well, that just means that we-" He plopped his elbow down on the table hard enough to make the fries shake. JJ wiggled his finger at (Y/N), a grin slowly spreading across his face. "-gotta make some fun memories together."

"We? As in you, Pope, Kiara, and... me?"

"Yes, we, (Y/N). I'm not speakin' French, amigo. Now, c'mon. I'm sure Mr. C wouldn't mind if we stole Kie for a few hours." JJ stood up from his chair and walked to the counter, lightly tapping his knuckles against it and flashing Kiara his best innocent smile which she rolled her eyes at. Pope snorted and stood up, waving for (Y/N) to follow them. Standing up, (Y/N) shoved a few more fries and shrimp into his mouth, trailing after the three friends as they headed out of the restaurant and toward the dock.

"Where exactly are we going, J?" Pope asked, stepping down onto the HMS Pogue and offering his hand to Kiara. She smiled at him, taking his hand and stepping onto the boat as well. Her fingers intertwined with Pope's and she gently bumped her hip against his, earning a small flustered smile from her... boyfriend? (Y/N) turned to JJ questioningly, only getting a small shrug from him. The blonde fished the keys out of his pocket and hopped on, making the boat rock lightly.

"I was thinkin'," JJ started, turning the boat on and looking over his shoulder at them. (Y/N) stepped on and sat down on the edge, hands tightly gripping the sides as the boat lurched forward. "We stop by Heywards for some beer-"

"My dad will actually kill me."

"-And then we just chill. Maybe we can smoke a little, ya know." JJ grinned, tilting his body to look at them properly while keeping one hand on the steering wheel. Pope sighed heavily, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. (Y/N) giggled quietly and turned, gazing out at the shimmering water. Kiara sat down on the ground beside him, propping her arm up and peering up at him through squinted eyes.

"You think you'll get in trouble if any Kooks spot you with us?"

"Probably." (Y/N) replied, looking down at her. "I'll talk my way out of it with Rafe. He might throw a fit about it but it'll be fine. He'll end up forgiving me sooner or later."

"Or killing you," Kiara murmured quietly. (Y/N)'s throat tightened at her words. Shoupe's words from that faded day rang in his ears. Sarah blamed Rafe for the death of Peterkin. In her last moments, she firmly believed her brother was a murderer. What if... No, Rafe wouldn't do that. Rafe was volatile and occasionally aggressive but he'd never kill anyone.

"Here," JJ opened a small can and took out a blunt, carefully lighting it and offering it over to him. "We came out here to have some fun. And that's exactly what I plan to do, alright?"

"Alright." (Y/N) chuckled breathlessly, taking the blunt from the blonde and bringing it to his lips. Once he'd taken a hit, Kiara snatched it from between his fingers and eagerly inhaled.

"Here's a little taste of Pogue life, (Y/N)." JJ winked, turning back to the steering wheel and jacking up the engine. The boat sped across the water, sending specks of water flying onto the skin of the teenagers. The wind whipped at them, tossing their hair back and forcing Pope to adjust his cap a few times. JJ slowed down when they neared Heyward's Seafood and kept the boat running as Pope hopped out of the it and headed inside the family-owned business. Pope scrambled back outside with beers in his arms and only quickened his pace when the familiar voice of Bobby Heyward filled the air, angrily calling out after his son.

"I'll make it up to you later! I promise!" Pope called back to his father apologetically, hastily climbing onto the boat and passing out the beers. JJ snickered under his breath and took one of the beers Pope offered, quickly making the boat speed off before Heyward decided to go down the dock and give them a piece of his mind. (Y/N) chuckled and popped the cap off the bottle, clinking his glass with Kiara's and Pope's before downing some and letting himself breathe freely for the first time in days.

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

"So, that's it? You're going to the Bahamas? For what exactly?" (Y/N) crossed his arms, watching Rafe load his luggage into the back of Ward's SUV. Rafe pushed the suitcase as far back as he could and adjusted the other bags before stepping back and closing the trunk. Rafe placed his hands on his hips and looked at him, a small proud smile appearing on his face.

"Dad has business over there. He finally asked me to come with him."

"Are you sure you should be going? I really think you should stay home." (Y/N) spoke softly, eyes flickering between Rafe's vibrant blue ones. His erratic nature had only worsened, spiraling into random panic attacks and moments where he spoke to himself, or rather argued with himself.

"Why?" Rafe's smile turned into a sly grin. "You missin' me already?"

Rolling his eyes, (Y/N) replied, "No, Rafe. I'm worried about you." Rafe's features softened and he hummed quietly, wrapping his arms around (Y/N)'s shoulders in a tight hug. (Y/N) wrapped his arms loosely around Rafe's waist, noticing Rose speaking to Ward through the glass doors. She frowned at him, hands moving around wildly. She mouthed Wheezie's name, followed by an exasperated look that Ward kissed away.

"I'll be fine, alright? It'll just be for a day or two. I'll call you if I feel sick again." Rafe assured him, rubbing circles on the back of his shoulder. His cologne filled his nostrils, invading his senses in a less-than-savory way.

"Okay, sure, whatever." (Y/N) tore his eyes off the couple and leaned back, dropping his arms and forcing a smile for his friend. Rafe tilted his head, planting a swift kiss on (Y/N)'s cheek and then another on the side of his neck. He spun around on his heel and met Rose's glare with one of his own, holding her gaze as he got into the car. Ward walked out of the house and smiled warmly at (Y/N).

"I'd ask you to come along if it weren't strictly business, (Y/N)," Ward said, tossing a black duffle bag into the backseat and shutting the door. "We'll take you to Paradise Island some other time. I promise."

"Looking forward to it, Ward."

(Y/N) stared at his phone screen, waiting for Rafe to text him back. He'd received an excited phone call from Rafe the day he and Ward landed in the tropical paradise known as the Bahamas, but the following day, there'd only been radio silence. His calls went straight to voicemail and his messages remained unread. It didn't feel good to get deja vu with another Cameron.

The sudden sound of pounding at his door made him flinch, the phone slipping from his grasp and falling down onto his nose. Hissing softly and sitting up, (Y/N) rubbed the bridge of his nose with a small pout. The pounding got louder, more demanding and he furrowed his brows, shooting a glance at his phone for any missed calls or texts. Ah, shit, had Shoupe finally stopped taking the money? (Y/N) grunted softly and got up from his bed.

"I'm coming! Damn! No need to break my door down." He called out, voice echoing through the empty house and followed by his footsteps going down the stairs. Throwing the door open, he got an eyeful of bright red knuckles connected to none other than Rafe Cameron. (Y/N) blinked, mouth parting and closing. Rafe brought his hand to his face, anxiously nipping at the skin around his nails. He stepped into the house and began pacing, mumbling quietly under his breath while his eyes flickered wildly across the floor.

"Rafe? Hey, Rafe? What's wrong? What happened with the Bahamas?" (Y/N) questioned, pushing the door closed and facing his friend.

"I-I-I need to be honest with you, (Y/N). You're the only one I can trust right now." Rafe sputtered, his pacing growing faster. (Y/N) stepped into his path and forced Rafe to collide with him, hands grasping his biceps and grounding the eldest Cameron before he could spiral and get into his own head further.

"What happened? Did you and Ward have a disagreement?"

"No, no, yes." Rafe blinked rapidly and nodded. "Yes, yeah, we did. I, uh, shit... Fuck, what I'm about to tell you has to stay between us? And you have to promise me you won't leave. You won't run off, promise me that, okay?"

"Okay, fine, I promise." (Y/N) dropped his hands to his sides and Rafe inhaled deeply, taking another nip at his skin before inhaling deeply and tilting his head back. His hair fell out of his face and he swallowed, throat bobbing. He looked back at (Y/N) and pursed his lips, glancing at the door and stepping closer.

"Ward found the Royal Merchant gold. He found it and John B tried to steal it from him but he couldn't. The gold was sent to our place on Paradise Island and... and John B tried to steal it again with Sarah in Nassau. They're alive. They're... alive. Both of them. Well- Sarah... There was an accident and she got hurt but she got away."

"Sarah... Sarah's alive?" The words nearly died in his throat. The boat had driven directly into the storm and the agents themselves confirmed nobody could survive it. (Y/N) took a step back from Rafe, head begin to spin from everything Rafe had unloaded on him. The Royal Merchant? The sunken ship? The sunken treasure? His temple ached and he pressed two fingers to it, trying to rub the pain away. Rafe's hands grabbed his sides, steadying him on his feet.

"Hey, hey, I need you, (Y/N). I... I... Sarah's fine, okay? She got hurt but she's fine. She got the help she needed." Rafe told him reassuringly. "I need you to be strong, to be focused. I need your help. Kelce told me... He told me that she and John B are on the island."

"What?" (Y/N) breathed.

"The Pogues know. They were with the Pogues. He saw them. They're throwing a party. A fuckin' celebration with a murderer, can you believe that? How fucked is that?"

"W-Wait, the Pogues knew?" (Y/N)'s mouth felt dry. They had his number. They had his number and hadn't even given him a heads-up. No hint that his ex had waltzed back home from the dead. He... He thought they were friends. His mind felt too jumbled, too muddied to think straight. Stupid. Stupid to think one hang-out made them friends or even close to friends. He was just another Kook to them. All he'd ever be. "Rafe, I... I can't do this right now."

Hands left his sides and lifted to his face. Rafe roughly grabbed his throat, fingers digging into (Y/N)'s skin. A soft whimper left him and he pressed his hands against Rafe's chest, attempting to push back the blonde. "I need you to listen to me very carefully." He spotted Rafe's pupils in the light. He was high. "I need to get rid of John B. He came back to hurt my family and Sarah's helpin' him. I don't want to hurt her. She's my sister. But I can't let John B walk free. You know that, (Y/N). I'll let you come with me in case things get outta hand... But don't get in the way."

Taking in a sharp breath when Rafe released him, (Y/N) gingerly touched his sore throat. Rafe reached around the back of his waistband and took out a revolver, letting (Y/N) soak it in for a moment before tucking it back into its hiding spot. A coldness washed over him, making every hair on his body stand straight. Rafe ran a hand over his face and sniffled lightly, rubbing his nose and slapping a hand over (Y/N)'s back. He casually tossed the door open and stepped out.

"Come on, Barry's waiting."

Fuck.

111 notes · View notes

bridgertonbabe · 7 months

Note

I got genuinely excited every time I saw you post something 😅 May I ask a HP question: how will the yule ball turns out for each Benophie babies?

Well I can tell you how a Yule Ball turned out for one of the Benophie babies (purely because I haven't got something for all of them 🤭)...

"Hey, sissy." William smirked as he swung his bag down and dropped into the seat next to Violet, who rolled her eyes in lieu of greeting him.

"Shush!" the disdainful librarian, Madam Hinchcliffe, hissed over at him, giving him a parting glare before she stalked off.

"What's that your working on?" William enquired, paying no mind to the sour-faced librarian as he peered over at Violet's homework.

"Any particular reason you've come to annoy me or you just being your normal irritating self?" his sister shot back without raising her eyes from the parchment in front of her.

"Well it's nice to see you and all." William snorted. "Get out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, hm?"

"I just want to focus on my Arithmancy in quiet."

"Seriously though, what's got you in a mood?" William continued to poke. "Jealous that Lottie, Aggie and Penny all have dates for the ball?"

Finally he had said something that had gotten his little sister's attention as she whipped her head towards him. "How'd you find out they have dates?"

"Pft! Are you under the impression that Georgie doesn't spread gossip like she's employed by the Daily Prophet?" he raised an eyebrow and his sister responded by grumbling under her breath in acknowledgement. "There, there sissy. I'm sure someone will ask you to the ball." he assured her in a teasing tone, giving her a patronising pat on the back for intended irritating emphasis.

"For your information I have been asked!" she snapped back, cracking her neck round to throw him a pinched look.

"Okay, then why are you so pissy about it?"

At this, Violet's frown ceased and she cast her gaze back to her essay. "I turned them down."

"How come?" William cocked his head curiously. "Not good enough for my precious ickle sister's high standards?"

"Fuck off." she muttered.

"No go on; tell me, please?" he begged her. "I want to know why you turned them down. What, too ugly?"

"Nothing's wrong with him." Violet hissed. "I just couldn't go with him, that's all."

"And why not?" William pushed.

"Because if I take him up on the offer then Bernadette will be all by herself and I don't want to abandon her like that." she explained. "We thought it'd be like last year again, the five of us; Charlotte, Aggie, Penny, Bernadette and I, and we'd have a fun night altogether. But then the others all got asked and they said yes and it's not fair on Bernadette to play the ninth wheel to the rest of us."

William genuinely hadn't expected his sister's reasoning for turning down a date to the Yule Ball but now that Violet's best friend Bernadette had been brought into the equation he understood why Violet had rejected a potential date. His heart warmed for his little sister's loyalty to her friend and though he enjoyed teasing her to no end, he could acknowledge just how selfless and kind-hearted she was in picking Bernadette over some guy.

"Well what if you asked the guy who asked you if he had a friend who could go with Dette instead? Then she wouldn't be by herself." William suggested, seeing no reason why the problem couldn't be easily solved.

Violet looked sadly to her brother. "Will, you know people are cruel to her." she sighed in a small empathetic voice. "They're mean and nasty just because of her size and I just... I don't want to run the risk of asking Grant if one of his friends would ask her only to have them laugh in my face. Bernadette deserves better than that, she shouldn't be made to feel bad about herself. Not when she's one of the best people I know."

William chewed on the inside of his lip, frustrated to acknowledge that people at school were indeed very cruel towards Bernadette when she didn't deserve it. He had spent the last five years trying his best to protect his sister's best friend from the school bullies and the bitchy jibes they aimed at her, and he had even gotten himself into trouble for punishing those who dared to breathe a bad word against her when they were in his presence. He couldn't understand how people could be so shallow and rude especially when Bernadette was the sweetest and one of the cutest people he had ever met. In fact, he was so fond of her that she was one of the few people he never teased or played pranks on - which speaks volumes of just how much he regarded the girl.

In that moment, William knew the perfect solution to solve the matter at hand.

"Vi, you're a very good friend." he said to his sister in all sincerity. "But you should go take up that offer for a date to the ball."

"Will, I just told you-"

"Yes, I heard you. But don't you worry; I'll make sure Dette's got a date." he told her and got to his feet.

"William, please don't confund anyone." Violet groaned.

"Hey! What sort of person do you take me for?" William scoffed.

"The person who confunded Denny Horlicks into mooning your NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts class."

"That was different." he shrugged off (plus Denny deserved it for making fatphobic comments about Bernadette).

"And don't slip anyone any love potions either!" she hissed as he swaggered away.

"Violet, Violet, Violet." he shook his head in amusement. "O ye of little faith."

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

Later on that afternoon William managed to track down Bernadette as she came down the stairs from Ravenclaw tower.

"Hey, Bernadettie!" he chirped.

"William!" she squeaked in surprise.

"On your way to dinner?" he guessed and she nodded. "Great, I'll walk with you the rest of the way."

As they made their way to the Great Hall he asked her how her day was, cracking a few jokes and prompting her trademark adorable giggles that he always delighted in hearing.

"I've got a question for you." William said as they reached the last flight of stairs.

"What is it?" Bernadette asked, her tone bright and laced with lingering amusement from his last quip.

"Fancy being my date to the Yule Ball?"

"Your - oh!" she squealed as all of a sudden her foot missed a step and she nearly ended up falling down the stairs - but luckily William caught her by the waist and steadied her as quickly as she had lost her balance.

"It's alright, I've got you." he assured her and only let go once he was sure she was safe. "So how about it?" he asked and continued making his way down the stairs.

"You... you want to go with me?" she questioned him incredulously as she trotted after him.

"Yeah. Why else would I ask?" he shot her an amused grin.

"But why would you want to go with me?" she asked him.

He drew to a halt and turned to her, and then he noticed the uncertain glimmer in her eyes, questioning why he would want to go with her out of anyone else.

"Well I figured we'd have fun together." he told her simply. "Unless you planned to go with someone who's more fun than me-"

"No, no, of course not." Bernadette giggled nervously.

"And as this is going to be my last Yule Ball I want to spend it with the person I like the most - and there's no one at this school I like more than you, Dette."

"R-really?" she asked, her eyes shining up at him in awe.

"Please; you're the best person here by a mile. Do you know how bored I'd be if I didn't have you around?"

Bernadette's face warmed from his flattery - flattery he meant in all sincerity. She was one of the most genuine people he had met at Hogwarts; there was no side to her or any sort of facade, and that was the very reason why he thought so highly of her.

"So what's your answer?" he smiled at her. "Will you do me the honour of being my date?"

"Yes." she nodded eagerly. "Yes, of course I will!"

Instantly William mirrored her ecstatic little face and celebrated by squeezing her into a hug, before draping an arm around her shoulder and leading her into the Great Hall.

"You and I, Bernadettie, we're gonna have the best night ever!" he declared assuredly.

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

Violet's face had been a picture when he revealed he would be Bernadette's date to the ball, knowing full well she had expected him to use some sort of underhand means to go about acquiring a date for her best friend; "Now really, Vi. You've really got to stop holding me in such low opinion." he had smirked as she gawped at him.

"And Bernadette agreed?" Violet asked before her expression of surprise swiftly changed into a frown. "Hang on, you didn't confund her did you?"

"Of course not!" he scoffed. "Dettie's thrilled to be going with me. We've even discussed what dress she's wearing so I can colour-coordinate." he smugly informed her. "So now that's all settled, why don't you run along and take that guy up on his offer."

Violet narrowed her eyes at him as she got to her feet, peeved as she generally tended to be with him, but then before she left she quickly ducked down and gave him a hug.

"Thanks, Will."

"No problem, sissy." he grinned and then watched her hurry off to get her date to the ball back on track.

Two weeks later William was leaning against the wall outside of Ravenclaw tower when the door opened and out stepped Violet and Bernadette all dressed up for the winter formal.

"Wow, Dettie!" William beamed as he took in the sight of his date as she dazzled in her sapphire gown. "You look incredible."

"Thank you." she smiled back at him sweetly.

"And I guess you made an effort too, sissy." he said to Violet, who flipped him off in response.

William escorted Bernadette and his sister down to the entrance of the Great Hall, where Violet met her date for the evening before they all headed in. There they met their cousins and soon enough they began taking photos altogether and while William always made it his mission to photobomb others pictures and pull the dumbest faces possible, he did ensure he and Bernadette took a few nice photos together so she could have some pictures from the night where he wasn't being a total prat as per usual.

"I can't believe Vi said there was nothing wrong with him." William remarked as he and Bernadette drank some punch and watched Violet take to the floor with her date.

Bernadette turned to him with a preemptive amused look on her face. "And what is it you think is wrong with him, may I ask?" she enquired, her lips twitching in excitement to hear his answer.

"I mean; what kind of name is Grant?" William said and instantaneously made Bernadette snicker. "Like for real, I can't believe his parents looked at their newborn baby and went lets call him Grant. Seriously, based on name alone I'm surprised Violet agreed to go with him. Merlin almighty I hope this doesn't develop into anything serious between them. I wouldn't live it down, having a Grant for a brother-in-law. Like imagine the father of my future niece or nephew being a Grant. Having to make small talk with a Grant at family get-togethers."

"William, stop!" Bernadette wheezed from his endless disdain for the name.

"Fucking Grant. Doesn't even sound like a name, does it?"

"Please." Bernadette gasped for breath, clutching her stomach with one hand and his arm with another.

"You get my point." William relented, more than satisfied with tickling Bernadette into borderline hysteria for his running commentary on his sister's date's stupid name. "But good for Violet. Being able to see past his name. She's so kind like that." he smirked as he prompted another snort out of Bernadette.

"She really is." Bernadette giggled along.

"I mean I'm assuming he must have more going for him than his name... and his dancing." he commented as he watched Grant shuffle awkwardly on the dancefloor.

"Probably." Bernadette sighed - but it was a response that immediately piqued William's interest and he quickly observed Bernadette watching his sister and her date warily.

"Hang on; you think there's something wrong with him too." he deduced. "Beyond the name and dancing, obviously."

"No." Bernadette replied in a tone of voice William knew full well she only used when she was lying to be kind.

"Yes you do! If you really liked him for Vi then you would be all girly and excited for her and hyping her up and cheering her on; but you're not. You don't think he's good enough for her!" he clicked his fingers.

"No, no; it's not that."

"Well it must be something. Come on! You can tell me."

"It's not that I don't think he's good enough or anything... it's just my own personal thing." Bernadette said, and William recognised right away that she was quietly dismissing her own feelings on the boy for the sake of her best friend's happiness.

"You're entitled to your own opinion, Dette." he reminded her in a more measured tone, removing all gossipy excitement to let her know she could open up to him. "I won't breathe a word to anyone about it, I promise."

For good measure he even extended his little finger out to her, letting her know he meant his word. Bernadette shyly smiled and shook his pinky with her own.

"Well?" he gently prompted.

"It's just..." she hesitantly sighed before continuing, "it's just whenever Grant comes up to us to talk to Violet... I'm sorry, it's stupid." she shook her head.

"It's not stupid, Dette." he assured her, sensing something must genuinely be causing her concern about Grant for her to be so reluctant to share.

"Well he... he doesn't look at me." she deflated. "He doesn't speak to me, he doesn't acknowledge me; it's like Violet's by herself. And I get it; he's just there to talk to Violet, that's his main focus, no reason to even bother with me... but like... even a glance would be polite, you know? Just the bare minimum acknowledgement that I'm also standing there instead of acting like... like I don't even exist."

William's heart sunk as he listened to Bernadette express her feelings on the matter, especially as he quickly reflected on the brief interactions from earlier on in the evening with his sister's date. Grant had greeted him and Violet when they arrived outside the Great Hall, and his sister's date had even told him how funny he found his commentary at the last Quidditch match; but now William thought back on it, not once did Grant say a word to Bernadette or even look her way.

"It's silly I know, it's entirely my own issue. And to be honest I shouldn't have even said anything. I mean even if he did acknowledge me it'd probably be with a look of disgust, like I'm something gross he just stepped in, so it's probably for the best."

William clenched his jaw, incensed that Bernadette had been made to feel so awful about herself that she felt she had to make do with people either being cruel to her face or rude and refusing to even see her properly. He found it appalling that anyone could treat another person like that, that Bernadette should be made to feel lowly and unworthy of anyone's time or energy. How most of their peers could treat her so wickedly was beyond him; how could they not see just how sweet and lovely and delightful she was?

"Dette, listen here." he exhaled as he tried to keep a lid on his emotions (and thus prevent himself from pulling some stunt to ruin everyone's night to avenge Bernadette's hurt and sadness), and rested a hand on her back. "You don't deserve that. You don't deserve any single person making you feel like shit, like you're unworthy of being treated with basic decency. You deserve so much better, not just from that twat but from every last person who has ever made you feel less than. I wish I could cure every last one of them of being foul loathsome evil little cockroaches and make them open their eyes to just how wonderful a person you are, hand on heart I really do - but you know what; fuck them. Fuck every last one of them. It's their loss that they haven't made the effort to get to know you, that they don't see you for the amazingly talented, intelligent, witty, beautiful person that you are. They're not worthy of you, Dette, and I cannot wait for the day when you outshine every last one of those actual fucking losers."

Bernadette gazed at him in awe, her mouth hanging open as he finished his gloriously impassioned speech, never having heard him speak with such intense sincerity before - in fact, even William was a little taken aback by himself, though not by his sentiments; he meant every last word of them.

"William, I... that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." she uttered.

"You're the best person I know, Dette." he stated. "Simple as that. And just remember whenever you feel like nobody sees you; I see you. I can't not see you. I wouldn't ever not want to see you. You're everything that's right with the world."

"Oh..." she exhaled with teary-eyes. "Oh, Will."

He didn't hesitate to pull her into a hug, holding her tightly, letting her know just how much he valued her, how much he adored her, how he'd do anything to make her feel the best she possibly could about herself.

Once he was positive she was feeling better about herself, he of course insisted it was time to dance ("and show that twat what dancing with rhythm's meant to look like"). Bernadette's mood lifted even more as they danced about together, loudly singing along with the rest of the crowd to the band, spinning each other around and just having the time of their lives.

Eventually they exhausted themselves out and settled at their table where several of William's cousins and their dates were also catching their breaths. They sat around chatting and laughing until Violet came marching up to the table and right away William knew his sister was upset.

"Vi, what is it?" Penny asked.

"Grant." Violet pouted.

"What did he do?" William's face darkened, already gearing himself up to put the little shit in his place for upsetting both his sister and Bernadette.

"He's just a jerk!" Violet huffed and dumped herself into a chair. "Can't believe I even agreed to be his date."

"Did he say anything?" Bernadette asked, grabbing her hand to comfort her.

"He was just being vulgar and insinuating stuff-"

"Do you want me to say something?" William asked, his frown deepening the longer he listened to his sister's melancholy.

"No, it's fine. Charlotte wiped the floor with him anyway." his sister sighed and immediately William's temper was quelled, knowing Charlotte would have given the pathetic twat hell for whatever he had said to Violet.

Despite the disappointment she had suffered, after half an hour of her brother, best friend, and cousins all boosting her up Violet was sufficiently feeling much better about herself to not let some stupid boy spoil her night. Along with Bernadette and her cousins she returned to the dancefloor to let loose and enjoy herself and after watching Violet and Bernadette cracking up as they danced together, William decided to head outside to get some fresh air.

He was taking his time stretching his legs around the rose garden, contemplating what prank to pull on Grant to get back at the guy for upsetting his sister and Bernadette when he rounded the corner and stumbled across Nina Chenoweth - Gryffindor chaser, rumoured half-Veela, and the crush of pretty much every single male student at Hogwarts - leaning against the wall with a cigarette in her hand.

"William Bridgerton." she grinned as she brought the cigarette away from her lips. "Punch bowl not spiked, no one's formal-wear stained, no firecrackers being set off..." she shook her head with faux disappointment. "You're losing your touch."

"Eh. It's my last year. Figured I may as well kick back and enjoy the festivities without disrupting them." he shrugged off with a grin.

"How very noble of you." she exhaled with amusement. "And it was very cute of you to ask that Bertrand girl to be your date." she added with a sincere lilt to her tone. "Did your sister ask you to do that?"

"No, no, no. I asked her." he informed her, moving a few idle steps forward. "My sister had turned down a date because she didn't want her friend to be on her own, so I asked Bernadette so she didn't feel left out."

"That's so sweet of you." Nina cooed. "Just so long as you didn't lead her on or give her the wrong idea,"

"No, of course not." William scoffed. "She's sweet and adorable but I don't see her like that. And I'd never do anything to make her think there's something there when it's not."

"Ah, so no kisses under the mistletoe for you two?" she teased.

"Merlin no." William snorted. "Absolutely not. That's the last thing I'd want to go anywhere near with Bernadette."

"Anyone else you fancy standing underneath it with instead?"

His eyes met Nina's and she held his gaze as she exhaled downward before dropping her stub to the ground and squashing it.

"Maybe." he replied with a crooked grin slowly pulling on his lips and he took another step forward.

"Sure would be a shame for those lips of yours to go unkissed." Nina breathed, reaching out and pulling him in by the lapel of his jacket.

"Mhm, it would be a shame." he hummed as his hands traced along her hips, riding along the red satin of her slinky dress as he eyed up the curves she had in all the right places.

"Well let me fix that." Nina uttered before her lips met his.

William couldn't believe his luck as he kissed her, grinning into their snogs as his hands made their way across the dips of her body, pushing her up against the wall as she hungrily explored his mouth with her tongue and ran her hands through his thick curls.

His night truly couldn't have gone any better; there was no way he'd ever have to contend with Grant worming his way into any sort of relationship with his sister, he had provided Bernadette with the best night possible and boosted her self-esteem, and now he was getting hot and heavy with the girl of every boys dream; things couldn't have worked out more perfectly for him.

(Except unbeknownst to him, the girl he had asked to the ball - the girl he had no idea had fallen in love with him from their very first meeting - had overheard the way he had scoffed at the idea of there ever being something between them and dismissing any suggestion of ever kissing her like it was one big joke, and had watched with oncoming tears in her eyes as he made out with the most gorgeous girl in the school. Far be it from providing Bernadette with the best night possible and boosting her self-esteem, he had unwittingly given her the worst night of her entire life by breaking her heart in two and shattering any hope that he could ever love her back.)

#asks #harry potter au #benophie babies #william bridgerton

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penissirius · 2 years

Text

Seo Changbin VS Feelings

Seo Changbin x male reader

SUMMARY: Changbin isn't the best at feelings and emotions. Misunderstandings happen because he's stupid lol.

ALTERNATIVE TITLE: 3 aussies and a devil bunny fight dwaeki over golden retriever child

SPECIAL THANKS TO: @ldrei Thank you for encouraging me to finish this! This is dedicated to you!💕

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: AJ is my OC and he's used as the M/n of this story! Miyeon is my partners OC, she is AJ's sister, and is dating Felix. I actually have 2 full stories one a AO3 chapter story and the other a non-idol social media AU that ill post here. If you'd be interested, please let me know so i know at least someone is looking forward to those stories T-T

AUTHORS NOTE: So, I wrote the beginning of this for my English essay and it was the only essay I've gotten an 100% and a good comment on so I went to Tumblr and my partner asking if I should finish it and publish it because I liked it and my teacher loved it (her Not knowing it was a Stray kids fanfic I wrote just for the essay lol) after some convincing I finished it and now here it is. I would like to apologize because this was finished in December, and I promised I would post it after it was done and never did. I hit a really big depression block in my life, and I didn't want to do anything but now I'm back! Just a heads up I wrote this for my Victorian Drama Essay so don't hope too hard for a so happy ending lol. Have fun reading!

WARNINGS: Arguing, Angstish Ig, Insecure thoughts, breakdowns, panic attacks, yelling, violence, bAd WoRdS

FEMALE ALIGNED PLEASE DNI <3

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AJ was on his way to the JYP Entertainment building to meet up with his boyfriend? Close friend? Friend with romantic benefits? AJ didn’t know but Changbin had said he had something seriously important to talk to him about, AJ had hoped this was when Changbin would finally ask him out for real. Oh, boy was it the opposite of that. AJ texted his best friend and sister, Miyeon, that he was on his way to JYPE and that if she needed a ride home then he could give her one. When he was done texting her he speeded off eager to see the man he loves, he also had serious but good information to share with him.

Meanwhile, at JYPE, Changbin is pacing back and forth in his studio panicking and talking to the one person he could for love help, Hyunjin, which honestly wasn’t that good of an idea but he was better than the rest of their friends. “God Hyunjin do something! Give me advice or something idiot!” Changbin says finally standing in one spot facing his group member while tugging on his own hair. Hyunjin stood pushing Changbin into the seat behind him, “First of all sit-down and get your hands out of your hair. You’re stressing yourself out and the stylist will be pissed if you pull any of your hair out.” Changbin took a deep breath and put his hands on his lap. “Now I can’t really help you seeing as this is your own very stupid plan. Everyone in the group is dating someone in some way or another. Why are you purposely putting yourself through this? Even Chan has someone. Chan has more game than you!”

Changbin sat in silence for a few seconds before looking at his tall dramatic member. “I don’t want to take any chances, what if it’s not what he expects and leaves me? What if we date and get found out? He’s not an idol. He’d get way more hate and things like that! I couldn’t do that to him.” Hyunjin just shakes his head. “So instead of letting him make that decision, you decided to break his heart and make the decision for him? Well-”, Hyunjin started walking to the door, “You do that but don’t expect me to help protect you when the three Aussies and Lee know find out what you did. Even tho I think your stupid for giving up a guy who does so much, some that you don't even know, for you. I kinda understand why you're doing it. You better not hurt him, he’s the sweetest when it comes to his friends. So don’t make it worse than it has to be.” That's all Hyunjin said before walking out.

The shorter man is left sitting in an empty studio by himself, left with thoughts, “Dammit! I didn’t even think about the AJ protection Squad™️ that would be after me! If AJ doesn’t kill me himself they sure will.” Just then his inner voice said ‘Remember you used to be one of them, but now you’re about to shatter his heart just because fans and other companies believe it's wrong for you to date.’ Changbin shakes his head arguing back, “It’s more than that. Us being together could damage the careers we both worked so hard for! If people were to find out he’d get non-stop hate! I’m just protecting him!” He would definitely sound crazy if anyone else was around to hear him argue with his self-consciousness. He shut up quickly when he heard his phone ding with a message from AJ saying he was on his way up to the studio.

When AJ got inside the studio he hugged the shorter man happily before sitting in the armchair that Hyunjin was previously sitting in, looking towards Changbin with a bright smile. “Hi, Hi Baby Binnie!” Changbin swore that AJ’s beautiful smile would be the death of him one day. Changbin gave a nervous smile back, “Hey AJ” “So what serious thing did you want to talk to me about?”AJ tilted his head confused, still smiling. The idol was starting to panic not knowing how to talk about it without hurting AJ’s feelings. “Didn't you say you had good news? You should go first!” AJ laughed, smiling less than before, “Well whatever you wanted to talk about seems to be making you stressed and upset so maybe you should go first and I'll tell you the good news when you're feeling better!” Changbin sighed, AJ was right it's better to rip the bandaid off now rather than give himself more time to think it over and panic.

“Alright, please promise that you won't take this personally and you won't get mad at me.” That brought a small nervous giggle from AJ, “I've never gotten mad at you before, I'm sure it's not that bad!” Changbin took a deep breath and finally said, “I don't think we can be a thing anymore- we should just stay friends…” It was silent for a minute before Changbin looked up at AJ and saw that he no longer had a smile on his face. AJ paused, it was like his whole world stopped when he heard Changbin say those words. Changbin had never seen AJ speechless or that upset in the year that he's known him. AJ sat paused and baffled, Changbin didn't want to be with him anymore let alone be officially together. “AJ?-” Changbin was cut off when the taller one turned to him blank-faced and asked, “Why?” The idol was confused and because of all the panic earlier his brain was no longer working.

“Why what?” Changbin asked stupidly. AJ scoffed, still looking at him with the same blank face that Changbin had never seen before, likely none of his friends other than his sister had seen him with a blank emotionless face, that just wasn't him. “Why all of a sudden do you not want to be with me? How long have you been waiting to tell me? You let me believe this whole time that you actually liked me and there was a possibility that we could be together. So WHY is my question?” Changbin took a moment to gather his thoughts before replying. “Us being together would be a risk. It’s not that I don't like you, because I do! It's just that our careers could be ruined if anyone were to find out. I know that being an artist and dancer is very important to you. I don't wanna be the reason that all falls plus if I get any scandals I might damage everyone in Stray Kids' careers as well.”

AJ stood angry but still pretty much blank. “Alright, guess it’s my fault for thinking that you were different and didn't care about what everyone else thought. I'm sorry for thinking that maybe we would be able to be together and happy like my sister and Felix. And more importantly, I'm sorry that I went through all this trouble for you. I stepped out of my comfort zone and went through so many panic attacks for you. Turns out it’s not enough. Guess I'll see you around Changbin.” AJ slammed a piece of paper down on the desk in front of Changbin before storming out to go find his sister and then go home. Changbin, saddened and confused, tried to call after AJ but he was already gone down the hall and into a different part of the building. Changbin got up and looked at the paper that AJ left, it was crumbed and there was a corner torn off at the bottom. It was a printed-out picture from JYPs staff to AJ saying that he passed all the auditions and was officially a JYP trainee. Changbin stared at the paper in shock, feeling more like an asshole than he originally did.

AJ walked from Changbin’s studio downstairs to the practice room that he knew his sister and Felix would be in and slammed the door open, way harder than he meant to, and looked at his sister. “Oh, hey AJ- What's wrong? Who did it? WHO hurt you? Whose ass do I have to beat?” Miyeon immediately noticed the difference in her brother's face despite his trying to act like his normal self. “Nothings wrong, I'm just ready to go home.” AJ said, walking over to them. “Nope, something is clearly wrong, sit. Sit your ass down. Family Circle.” Miyeon said, looking up at him from where she and Felix were sitting on the ground. “Since when did we still do Family Circle? And how is it Family Circle if it’s just me, you, and Felix?” AJ said, sitting in the half circle they formed. “Shut up now tell me who hurt you, imma beat their ass!” Miyeon said. “We beating ass? Should I call Chan?” Felix said, pulling out his phone.

“There is no reason to call Chan. Don’t call him, I said I was okay!” AJ said trying to reason with the two Aussies but trying to do that is like talking to a wall. “Call him!” “I’m calling him!” Miyeon and Felix said after staring at AJ for a sec. AJ groaned defeated, leaning back on the floor still sitting with his legs crossed. After a couple of rings, Chan picked up the call. He put the call on speakerphone. “Felix? What’s up dude, I thought you and Miyeon were practicing, what’s up?” “You need to come to the Micheal Jackson dance room!” Miyeon said over the owner of the phone's shoulder. “Why did something go wrong?” Chan said and you can hear shuffling on his side of the phone he gets up grabbing some stuff. “Nothings wrong Hyung, they're just being dramatic!” AJ yelled from his spot laying on the floor. “Someone hurt AJ. We’re trying to find out who so we can beat their ass.” Felix said into his phone.

“Really? Why didn’t you start with that! I’m on my fucking way. Should I get Lee Know? I’m gonna get Lee Know.” You hear Chan set his phone on his desk and open his door screaming down the hallway in the dorms. “MINHO! LET'S GO WE GOT A CODE GAY DOWN!” AJ turns to them shocked “You guys have codes for this shit?” Felix looked back at him, “Yes. We are the AJ Protection Squad and we take our job very seriously.” They heard stomping before they could hear Minho’s voice clearly. “A code gay down? Whose ass am I beating? Where’s my child?” “At the Company let’s go.” You hear them both shuffle around before Chan turns to his phone. “We’ll be there in 5.” Chan says before hanging up. “The dorms are 15 minutes away!” AJ said, still confused about everything going on. “As Felix said we in the AJPS take our job very seriously.” Miyeon said looking at her brother, still bothered by the fact that someone made him upset.

AJ decided to no longer ask questions and stared at the ceiling sadly still thinking back to what Changbin had said. Miyeon and Felix just looked at each other and at him knowing that something was wrong and they were determined to get to the bottom of it. In 5 minutes exactly there comes a worried and already angry Chan and Lee Know burst through the door. ‘If they are already pissed before knowing what happened, how will they be after?’ AJ thought, still staring at the ceiling, not moving. Lee Know and Chan move to join the makeshift ‘Family Circle’ before they all turn to AJ. “Alright now what’s wrong and who did it? And no bullshit answers AJ or I swear to god.” Lee Know says. They all looked more calm and worried rather than angry so AJ just decided to tell them, also because they probably would never leave him alone until he told them and it would feel better to talk to them about it.

AJ took a deep breath before sitting up and looking at all of them suddenly feeling shy when he realized that they were all staring at him. “Well, this morning Changbin texted me saying that he wanted to talk and that it was something serious so we agreed to meet at the studio. And I don’t know why but a small part of me was hoping that this was when he’d finally ask me out or something, after all the mixed signals he was giving about whether we were in a relationship or not. But I should’ve known that wouldn’t have happened.” AJ looked down at his lap holding back tears, now that he was saying it all out loud the sadness and rejection is hitting him in waves. “I was gonna tell him the good news after he said what he needed to say but when he said what he did I was no longer in a happy mood. It felt like my whole world shattered-” By the time he got that out he had already started crying letting the tears fall into his lap.

“He had said that he doesn’t think we should be a thing anymore and that we should just stay friends. And that hurt! It hurt so much but I still hadn’t processed how much it hurt until now, all I felt was anger. All I could think of was to ask why. Why did he let me believe that there could ever be something between us? Why did he let me get my hopes up just to crush them? Why had I been stupid enough to believe that he would like me back and wanna be with me? And he spouted some bullshit answer about how he actually did like me but us dating was a risk and that because I wasn’t an idol if our relationship was found I’d get so much more hate and shit. That it could ruin the careers we both worked so hard for. That he didn’t wanna be the reason I couldn’t be an artist or dancer anymore. And that if he got any dating scandals he could possibly ruin Stray Kids' career as well.”

At this point, AJ was ugly sobbing and barely getting his sentences out correctly. Lee Know moved until he was directly behind AJ pulling the younger into his lap and wrapping his arms around him, setting his chin on the crying boy's shoulder. Felix and Chan moved to each side of him, Felix grabbing one of AJ’s hands and Chan setting his arm on his thigh. Miyeon moved to sit in front of her brother holding his other hand. The only thing on all four of their minds was comforting their youngest yet tallest friend and beating the shit out of Changbin later. AJ, although a pain in their ass some days, was their baby, the maknae of the friend group, and the only one who could get Minho to be this soft and cuddly by will. Not even Jisung had that pleasure. Hell even I.N. loved the younger and gave him affection. He was always happy and had something stupid or sassy to say, always there to make them smile on their worst days, and to see him crying aggressively over something one their friends did really pissed them off.

AJ took some shuddery breaths trying to calm down to no avail before speaking again. “All I could think of in the back of my head was that I wasn’t good enough. That I’m still not good enough. That he was just trying to protect my feelings by not telling me that he didn’t like me that way. I'm not an idol so I’m not good enough. That I was stupid to think that just because all my friends got their happy ever after that I could get mine! I’ve tried so hard! I did so many things and it still wasn’t good enough! The amount of panic I’ve gone through during this whole audition process, the way I’ve unhealthily thrown myself into school and practice so I could get a better shot of getting accepted. The stupid strict diet I let that staff member put me on cause they thought it would make me look better. Because I wanted to be better! For him! I wanted to look better, dance better, rap better, be better. All for him. Just to find out my efforts were for nothing. That I’ll never be good enough!”

At this point, AJ was working himself into a panic attack and Felix and Miyeon were thankful they grabbed his hands earlier because they know how bad his attacks can be on himself. They were all shocked none of them knew about the things he said. Miyeon knew about the school and practice thing and would try to pull him away whenever she could but that’s because she was used to him being a workaholic and thought that it was because of the constant auditions, not Changbin. Felix knew about the panic attacks because he’s helped him calm down from a few but none of them knew about the diet. He already has a bad relationship with food so the diet might have made it worse. AJ started falling deeper into panic and Lee Know pulled him closer whispering calming words in the boy he saw as his little brother's ear. They all huddled closer hugging the younger, letting him cry, and doing little things they knew calmed him down.

Eventually, AJ calmed down and his cries turned into small hiccups and tears. He was so thankful they made him talk about this rather than him bottling it up and telling no one until he exploded and had a much worse breakdown. When AJ finally felt calm enough he lifted his head and everyone pulled away. Although he was squeezing Felix and Miyeon’s hands, leaning onto Chan’s shoulder, and refusing to get out of Lee Know’s lap, he was a lot calmer than before. He was very tired from so many emotions and crying. He was half asleep in Lee Know’s lap and leaning on Chan still. There was a long moment of silence before Miyeon spoke up. “You know I’m gonna beat his ass right?” The other 3 hummed in agreement. “Please don’t do that. I know I can’t stop you from talking to him but don’t do anything irrational. That’ll just make it worse.” AJ said in his broken sore and half-sleepy voice. “Can’t make any promises little Bro” Miyeon said, already standing up.

“Just don’t do anything to have to go to jail, I don’t have bail money” AJ said before falling asleep fully. Miyeon leaned down and kissed her brother's forehead whispering, “later we will talk about that diet stuff.” She stood and turned to the other boys “Alright I have a Pig to slaughter and it won’t be the first time. Who’s coming with?” Lee know whipped his head to her, “you’ve done what?” “You heard me” was all she replied. “We all want to come but I don’t think it’s right to leave AJ alone so 2 of us should stay and the other 2 go.” Chan said, looking at AJ sleeping on his shoulder. “Alright, we’ll who’s coming with me?” Miyeon said. “I’ll stay with AJ, I will take him back to the dorms so he can rest and make sure he doesn’t try to do any work when he wakes. I also don’t think I’d be able to stop myself from fighting Changbin.” Chan said. Minho looked at the sleeping curly-haired boy and up at Miyeon. “I’ll go.” Lee Know reluctantly handed over the sleeping boy, putting him in Chan’s lap. “I’ll go to the dorm with Chris and make AJ’s favorite food and dessert.” Felix said from his spot on the ground. Chan handed Lee Know the car keys since they rode together and he and Miyeon would need to get back to the dorms.

“We’ll drive AJ’s car to the dorm since I’m the only one other than Miyeon he lets drive it. And He was Felix and Miyeon’s ride home anyways.” They all nodded before Miyeon and Lee Know left the room storming up to the studios. Felix gathered his and AJs stuff while Chan picked AJ himself up. When they had everything they walked down to the parking lot and looked for AJs car. It wasn’t that hard to find with the obnoxious bright light blue color of it. Felix sat both of their bags on the floor in the backseat and got in on the right side. Chan set AJ on the left so he was leaning on Felix while sleeping. Chan got in the driver's side and started the car checking on the two younger ones in the back before driving off towards the Stray Kids dorm.

Back at the company, Changbin is panicking. He feels so many emotions at once, he feels like an asshole, he’s upset about having to break AJs heart like that and overall he’s scared. He’s terrified because he knows that it’s only a matter of time before Miyeon or someone else shows up to beat his ass. He paces back and forth like earlier when Hyunjin was with him. “Fuck man what am I gonna do? I mean if I leave now there’s a possibility I can start running before they catch me- but where would I go? If I run, they're gonna be expecting me at the dorms and attack me then! I’m better off just staying here-“ As he finished saying that there were loud stomps and banging on the studio door, Changbin was glad he locked the door earlier. “COME OUT CHANGBIN YOU CAN'T STAY IN THERE FOREVER!” While Miyeon was shouting at him through the door, Lee Know looked through the keys Chan gave him and was happy to find a key to the studio amongst them.

He pushed Miyeon slightly over and proceeded to unlock the door. Changbin visually panicked now, it was all happening so fast! He quickly ran to the other side of the couch and sat between it and the wall, knowing damn well his muscled ass was not gonna be able to hide fully back there. The two angry friends stormed in and Lee Know walked over to Changbin not knowing whether to laugh that he thought would work or just stare at him before he grabbed him by his arm and pulled him up to face Miyeon. The rapper looked at the angry sister in fear, the two scariest members of their friend group were currently mad and it was directed at him. Changbin should’ve said bye to his family when he had the chance. He opened his mouth to say something that would spare his life but before he could Miyeon delivered a hefty right hook to his face. ‘Damn that hurt like shit’ Changbin thought, grabbing his cheek. For a 5 foot girl, she sure does pack a punch but that’s to be expected from her seeing as she and AJ got into fights in high school.

Lee Know gawked at how hard she hit him, not that he didn’t deserve it but goddamn he could feel that punch and he was behind Changbin still holding his arm. “You have exactly 5 minutes to explain why you did and said what you did to my brother and if it’s not a good reason I’m gonna punch you again!” Changbin quickly replied with pretty much the same thing he told AJ and Hyunjin, he was honestly terrified and looked everywhere but at her. When he was done Miyeon took a deep breath before punching him again in the face. Poor Changbin is gonna end up with bruises on his cheek and eye. “It’s a good thing we’re on a break right now. If we weren’t idols I’d leave more bruises than she did.” Lee know said smacking Changbin hard on the back of his head.

“Listen I don’t care if you thought you did what was best or anything. You broke my brother. I’ve never seen him cry so hard he sent himself into a panic attack over someone. He loved you. He did everything for you. Originally I was supposed to be the only one auditioning and when I tried to talk him into it I stopped because I knew it would be too much pressure for him. But he did, why? Because he wanted to be closer to you.” Miyeon was raising her voice as she talked, her accent getting stronger, and the fact that the studio is soundproof definitely helped. “Do you know what I found out in the last hour? No? Then let me enlighten you. My brother worked himself into the ground with school, dance, and practice for you. He thinks that he’s not good enough. He let one of the staff members put him on some stupidly strict diet because she said it would help him look better! Why? Because he wanted to look better for you!”

Miyeon looked at him disgusted, “I trusted you with my brother's feelings and you broke him more than anyone had in the past. If you like him so goddamn much why didn’t you just date him! Instead, you lead him on. You’ve been all lovey with him, cuddling with him, taking him on dates just to outright turn him down and make him feel like he’s not good enough for you! Felix and I are dating and there’s no problem! Hell half of JYPE is in a relationship! Why are you the only one who is thinking so hard about your career and not the man right in front of you who would and has done literally anything for you! AJ is perfect and if you can’t see that then I don’t know what the hell to tell you. If this is how you're gonna treat anyone who has any interest in you your whole life. Then have fun being single and friendless because clearly, your career is more important.”

Lee Know moved to stand next to Miyeon, rubbing her shoulder before saying, “We’re giving you one shot to make this better. If you fuck up even more so help me god Seo Changbin, Miyeon and I will not be the thing you need to be afraid of. You’ll have his parents and Chan after you at that point. You better make this up, but at this point, I’d be surprised if he even talks to you again let alone still loves you. If I were him I sure as hell wouldn’t.” Changbin looked at the ground in shock, sadness, and pain because damn those punches hurt. “I will make it better, I really do love him and I hadn’t realized how much pain I’ve put him through. Or how I was only really thinking about myself and my feelings and not his.” Changbin said, nodding. “Good, you have a week, and if he decides he never wants to speak to you again or doesn’t want to be with you. You can’t get mad because you fucked that up for yourself.” Lee Know said, looking at him.

“I know and I take full responsibility. I definitely deserved the punches because I was stupid. And I wouldn’t blame him if he no longer wanted to be with me” Changbin looked up at them. “Not just stupid. You were a dumbass and full-on idiot. Now I’m gonna go back to the dorms and check on my brother. You are not allowed to even look at him until you’ve decided how you’re gonna fix your huge fuck up. Do you understand me?” Miyeon glared at the short rapper. “Yes ma’am” Changbin nodded firmly. “Good now sit and think about your mistakes” was all Miyeon said before storming out of the room to the car. “You really did fuck up and it’s hard to understand whatever stupid logic you thought you had but hopefully you make this right because he seems happiest when he’s with you and that’s all we want for him” Lee Know said looking towards the chair Changbin sat in. “MINHO!” Miyeon yelled down the hall. “That’s my cue to go. Don’t fuck up Seo Changbin” He said before he left the room. And so there Changbin sat left with his thoughts of how much of an idiot he is and how he’s going to fix it.

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I really hope you like it! If you did leave likes and comments! reblogs help as well! If you wanna read more of my shitty works you can follow me on AO3 @/penissirius ! If you’d like to see more of AJ and Miyeon and their Interesting Adventures in life in Korea and Becoming JYP trainees well you’re just in luck because the whole story of them is being written and made. Tho I will not post it until I have the whole thing finished which will be a while but I have a few chapters now! So be on the lookout for that! I will be posting a Social Media AU that is completely unrelated to that story so let me know if you wanna be on the tag list for it! Byeeeeee~

#stray kids x male oc #stinky stinky fic #stray kids #x male reader #changbin x male reader #changbin #i tried my hardest #stray kids x male #kpop idol #stray kids x male reader #seo changbin x male reader #kpop x male reader #idol x male reader #pls dont steal #penissirius.req

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