#it's not a one-and-done type of convo situation

[riaki]

i literally cant stop thinkin’ about highschoolbully!gojo who used to be your ride or die ‘til he started getting attention from those popular jock type guys who are always assholes to everyone. and him being.. well, him means he preens under attention no matter who it’s from, so naturally he started to gravitate towards that group and their little troop of cheerleading fangirls. and then he started distancing from you and without either of you really realizing it, you’ve slipped between the other’s fingers. but the way he acts towards you makes you think he let you fall without moving a muscle to slow you down.

soon enough, a year swings by and by the end of it he’s gone from your life, save as just another face in the gaggle of boys who make crude jokes and laugh at smart kids and pop milk cartoons during lunch just for the hell of it. but you’re minding your own business, ‘cause you’re mature enough to realize that people come and go, no matter how close you might’ve been and you think it’s unfortunate that so many memories could be thrown aside in a blink of an eye, but it makes a lot of sense when you walk past satoru and his friends bullying some random kid. you don’t know him, but you’ve heard enough to realize it’s his girlfriend satoru’s flirting with while his ‘gang’ kick at the kid. and it’s sickening, but you don’t say anything when you walk by.

and when you don’t ever see the kid afterward and catch the dark eyebags under his girlfriend’s eyes, you come to the cruel realization that satoru isn’t the boy who’d bandage the scrape on your knee you got from tripping in the playground or buy you a soda because he’s noticed your sweat when you were walking home and you don’t have any money left on you.

it’s a glass half empty, half full type of situation. on the one hand, you don’t have him anymore. on the other hand, you don’t have him anymore. that is, you lost your best friend, but you’ve also lost someone who has the potential to absolutely ruin your life. and you don’t know whether to be glad or not, so you just mind your own business even if it hurts a little when he ignores you, stops tossing paper at your head in class (unless it’s to embarrass you) and stops walking you to and from school.

but the cherry on top of the shit cake is that he doesn't get it. so when he approaches you in the library one day after satiating the need to tear pages from books and make them into paper airplanes to throw at people, he doesn't seem to understand why you try to ignore him, or put off his attempts to hold a convo. but the worst part is that he's just sleazy and clueless about it. it's like he took an eraser and wiped every single year of your friendship off the chalkboard with one fell swipe, and you wish he'd done that too to the less-than-appropriate messages he and his friends had written towards one of your classmates.

he doesn't understand why you're hesitant to talk, and that's what makes it the worst. he always thinks he's in the right, and he keeps setting you off and it sucks that he knows exactly what sets you off. "i'm an asshole? what're you talking about? really, you're in over your head. you never change." he laughs, and you ignore him, and he gets bored, and he's about to leave when he spots your wallet open next to your book, on the table. there's a polaroid peeking out, and he recognizes the tufts of white hair to be him. but there's a weird feeling in his chest, and he thinks he gets it from you, so he leaves because he thinks you're weird.

and it goes on; you practically become a nobody in satoru's eyes, because of that weird, weird feeling you give him. it's unfamiliar and he's never gotten it before and he doesn't like it. but it's unavoidable when your professor pairs you two for the end-of-term project. and of course, you're ready to do all the work, because that's how it always was between you when you were kids. but sometimes he'd surprise you by helping, and he'd show you that he was actually intelligent just to earn your praise because he liked it. but he ignored you, and you did everything, and it would've been okay if not for his friends egging him on to present your entire project when the day came and leave you with no content for a grade.

that's the first time it hits him: does he really want to do that? but it's not like it'll be the first time; you've always taken the hits for him, because you're naturally smart and you'll pick yourself back up in no time, and you get why he does it, so it'll be okay. so he agrees, and he enjoys the time he gets to spend with you through it, but the nagging weird feeling that blooms in his chest like a pesky weed only grows stronger. that's all his feelings ever seem to do around you.

but before you know it, presentation day swings around. you had coffee this morning (on his card), and you're ready enough to shoot him a small smile that sends his heart a-flutter. so you go up, feeling up to the task and ready until— he starts talking, and talking, and talking, and people don't think that he's taking your words out of your mouth because he's intelligent when he wants to make you praise him and you don't get the chance to get a word in and you notice the guys are laughing and hitting each other's shoulders to themselves in the upper rows and before you know it it's over. people are clapping but moreso they're looking at you and they're whispering— but it's terribly loud and they don't bother to hide it. they call you things that shouldn't bother you but they do anyway, because it's satoru's fault, and you're such a fool for thinking you could have it your way again.

so you leave class early, excusing yourself and ignoring the way your professor gives you a distasteful look and scribbles something next to your name. you're out the door in a second, neglecting your bags and satoru's a little lost because— didn't he just do good? people were clapping, and laughing with him and not at him, but it's attention either way so he doesn't mind. so why do you? why did you look at him like he stabbed you in the back? and his friends are calling his name, and he wishes he could chase after you and do something but he doesn't.

and it's a little sickening what they do next; one of their girls grabbed your bags and tossed it to them, and they've started rifling through it as if they own it, tearing up your shit and dumping everything onto the ground and he's kind of just... glued to the chair by his feelings. his heart feels like it's been patched together and the weird fuzzy feeling he had in his chest that's been cultivating has extinguished to be replaced with something he realizes he's only ever felt when it comes to you— guilt.

he's so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't realize his friend is silently offering him something— nudging his side to get his attention. he takes it without really realizing he moved his hand, and his silent friend with the gauges in his ears and the dark hair gets up and leaves without another word. when satoru looks down, he realizes he's been given your wallet. "the reward for betraying your baby," they call it. like all you're worth is the money in your account.

he's a little curious. that's how he's always been; asking you questions, rummaging through your stuff, laughing sheepishly and shaking it off when you caught him red-handed. so he opens it up, ignoring your sad little cards and the funny look on your license. he's looking for something, subconsciously; but he doesn't find it. there's no white tuft of hair to suggest his presence in your life; just empty black leather. nothing else.

and he doesn't see you after. or the following day. or the following weeks; weeks that turn into months that turn into the end of school and he's graduating but you're not by his side. and neither are his so called 'friends'; the only thing he has to their name is your own ruined friendship. it's a shame; he feels alone. very alone. no fuzzy weird feeling, not even that thing people call guilt. no attention to chase, and connections are ever harder to make. it shouldn'tve mattered that much, right? it was just a presentation. why wouldn't you just come back to him like you always did? were you not still friends...?

but the blood is still on his hands, and he doesn't manage to ever wash it off. guilt has a way of festering; of weighing on the heart 'till there's nothing left to feel or think but unfortunate circumstance and what could've been done differently. it just sucks that he never tried hard enough to keep you from slipping between his grasp. and now, he doesn't even have a polaroid to your friendship's name.

pt.2

[steppenwolfslair]

No people are not wrong that Nevecanis feels canon rather than Rookanis

An analysis (and vent) on the poor writing of the whole romance situation. A long post for those that want to read. I need to get it out of my system because more than anything this ruined my first playthrough. I know this has been talked to bits but i was recently reminded of this and it ruined things for me again while playing.

NO NEVE HATE ALLOWED, don't come here with that home wrecker bullshit.

First let's start of with saying i will be looking at what the actual text and game shows me here, no hc's, no fics just the pure canon. When the in your face text actively contradicts all of the ”subtext” a lot of people like to throw around it isn’t subtext, it's wishful thinking and making things up. We are sticking to the WRITING.

No Neve isn't a distraction, it isn't a casual relationship meant to fail. It is supposed to be genuine, Lucanis by the end of the game does love Neve and Neve loves Lucanis. Endgame convos show us this, especially if one of them dies. It isn't lust or distraction or whatever, it is a real genuine relationship. We are shown this through many lines of banter and interactions. And Spite likes Neve too i don't know where this started but Spite is fine with Neve. Stop reducing Neve and making shit up because some people just can’t handle the fact that the writing for all of this isn’t well done.

Now there is the first coffee date which i LOVE and shows that Lucanis isn't an awkward bumbling ''doesn't know intimacy'' dummy, he can flirt, he can show that he likes Rook but the game after this scene completely forgets that.

There is a very weird personalty split with nevecanis and rookanis when ti comes to Lucanis later in the game.

The problem is this: Lucanis actively pursues Neve, flirts and shows interest. He is completely capable of showing it, he isn't the closed off traumatized assassin people paint him, the game shows us this repeatedly. With Rook it is the complete opposite, stonewalled and disinterested, if someone acted like that way to your flirting you would leave them alone because you would think you were making them uncomfortable which is what it often feels like with Lucanis and Rook.

There are few moments besides the very end game that Lucanis actually reciprocates feelings, one is the lean in kiss that amounts to nothing that is never talked about and addressed and one is a RECYCLED Neve scene that is actually very sweet and insightful when it's about her but with Rook it flows incredibly awkwardly like it's missing half it's conversation. Yes acts of service are a way to show love but this is literally a recycled scene that seems far more friendly than romantic because it WAS meant to be friendly (and like i said lucanis is very capable of being romantic, he isn't an awkward little uwu i don't know how any of this works type). And then to add salt to the wound Nevecanis actually gets a follow up scene to that which confirms their feelings for each other, they get an ACTUAL verbal lock in scene that Rook doesn't.

Then we go on to the banter, Rookanis gets three lines of romance banter through the whole game with three different characters which are... fine. While Taash gets a whole series of banters with Neve same as Lucanis with others. If in party they constantly have little tid bits about what they do together and how their relationship actually progresses. Rookanis doesn't get any actual progression. Hell nevecanis banter with Taash actually talks about spites whole deal in the relationship which is never mentioned AT ALL with Rookanis. The post Talon conversation is mostly about spite with a VERY awkward lucanis standing next to Rook scene and a ''whatever this is'' I'm sorry but after all that game time this is what the relationship is? “Whatever”? And then after a whole bunch of nothing I’m sorry the end game scenes and convos are completely out of nowhere.

And don't even get me started on that little flower comment in the grove, that one legit made me sad that Lucanis wants to get flowers for Neve but a Rook version of that doesn't exist. It made me so pissed that no one writing it thought “maybe the player would like something like this”

Sure we save him from the mind prison, Rook is obviously close to Lucanis and definitely friends with him but if you had Neve and Lucanis in your party a lot like I did (and no matter what some people claim they very much flirt with each other) Neve showing up in there 100% feels like another nod to the fact that he is very much interested in HER. There is a little nice sincere bit of dialogue in there for Rook that however feels disjointed because this man has been ignoring me for most of the game at this point.

I'm sorry but the writers did an abysmal job with this relationship. More on Lucanis' side since his content is cut to shreds because from what I've been told Neve doesn't elicit the feeling of being ''the second choice''. They gave me a love interest who is more actively interested through a lot of the game in someone else and then gave them more content, in fact used Rook as a bad fill in for Neve's content.

So with the actual game you are very correct at being bitter, disappointed and robbed of a good/meaningful romance. Without fics without a shit ton of contradicting hc's and mental gymnastics Lucanis is far more into Neve than Rook for most of the game and then then definitely later when Neve and him get together.

And look this is a problem with two writers obviously not cooperating, MK getting real shit treatment at bioware (but let's not let her completely off the hook, the woman stated she hates writing romance and has received criticism before for it) ,the general unfinished nature of Lucanis' character and the fact that Neves writer definitely overdid it with the ship. Which while does give an explanation and context doesn't suddenly change the situation that it makes the player feel like ass when they find all the nevecanis info.

DATV is never beating the ''these are the writers OC's and you are here to watch them'' allegations for me.

You are allowed to feel sad and bitter about this, I still am. I feel robbed and lied to after seeing everything that Nevecanis gets that Rook doesn't. I've also seen that Neve doesn't suffer the same fate of '' i feel like she's settling'' because the game makes their relationship far more active with an amazing lock in scene and actual good reactivity.

And you can still like his in game romance for what it is I'm just saying these complaints aren't coming out of thin air, they come from the game itself showing you things that make people feel this way. After seeing the Nevecanis clips i wanted my money back. I love romance in games and here I am seeing that a side ship is meant to be more canon than my characters.

And istg if someone brings up Lucanis being demi as an excuse i will block you, demi people can be romantic (which Lucanis can be just not with Rook only in the nevecanis route ), they can flirt (which Lucanis does on the first coffee date and with Neve frequently), demi people can be very sexual (something that is alluded to with Neve banter with Taash). Stop using acephobic rhetoric to try and wash away bad, janky, unfinished writing. Demi people don't all act the same and a lot of you are projecting a stereotype on Lucanis that he isn’t (or projecting your own demi experience which he isn’t). Lucanis isn't an uwu baby who doesn't know anything about intimacy, who shies away constantly and just gets so confused and scared of flirting all the time it’s just that the writing didn’t care about Rookanis enough to show what he actually could be in a romantic relationship with Rook (see cut gondola scene and mined dialogue that went with it).

Also i couldn’t care less about what MK posts on bluesky, that isn’t in the game, it isn’t in the canon. If you want to keep to it fine but we are sticking to actual text here on my blog and this post.

EDIT (i reblogged with this but adding it to the og post too)

I just remembered this too: no matter what, even if you never go through the lock in convo for neve and lucanis to happen, lucanis still professes his feelings for her at the end game to rook saying he ''feels sorry for never telling her how he felt''.

So it really is canon that he will always like neve first and foremost.

Who in their right mind thought this would be a good experience for the player? Did absolutely no one playtest the lucanis romance and see that “hmm this feels like shit”

God this is so badly done.

[ethereal-pie]

bullfrog head cannons

I have seen no fics of this beautiful French man so I have done it myself

just a ramble of my thoughts in bullet point form

he is an american bullfrog, he not only looks like one but also there are tons in France

He enjoys warmth and gets grumpy if he is too cold

I feel like he doesn’t touch you all that much but adores cuddling 

If given the opportunity he will burry himself in pillows and blankets ( bonus if they are weighted) especially during winter cuz of his hibernation instinct

He will insist you join him and promise it’s very comfortable 

He isn’t slimy like his real world counterpart but his skin feels very moisturized 

He gets cold super easy and shove himself under your shirt or jacket to soak up your natural body heat 

You also don’t have to worry about it being too hot to cuddle as he is cool to the touch 

He will insist you let him put his cold ass hands on your bare back to warm them up , he will pout if you don’t let him 

Letting him do this will more then likely result in him having his head under your shirt and his face pressed into your back and his hands on your upper stomach 

He usually avoids conventional touch based pda, the most normal pda you’ll get out of under normal circumstances is a peck on the cheek 

Instead the way he shows touch based pda is by sitting on your shoulders

Although if he is super cold he won’t care all that much

 And  Unless your in a situation where being partners with him would put you in danger, he will be  fairly vocaly affectionate

He will call you his beloved and other pet names 

As well as praise, flirt and compliment you

Some of His pet names  involve your name 

He seems like a darling, my dear, love type of person

He will jokingly call you stupid ones as well 

He has a lot of running jokes with you and will tease and joke around with you all the time, he just likes laughing with you in general 

Some of your jokes might take a second to land with him in the beginning but as your relationship continues he will pick up almost immediately 

He tries really hard to be cool cuz he wants to make friends but everyone being stuck on him being a frog annoys him a lil 

He will complain about this to you at least once 

He is trying to be cool and Poetic!

When he is mad he will begin to speak in a mix of French and English but he doesn’t really yell at all, he does talk faster tho 

He will bath for hours but doesn’t like to shower 

He cannot use certain soaps or he will get sick because he will absorb the chemicals through his skin 

He likes the look of bubble baths but if he sits in them he gets sick cuz of the soap In the water 

Given his accent I assume he speaks French but I think he can speak multiple European language, due to his job 

He is very adverse to the idea of eating bugs, he isn’t scared of them but if someone offers him a bug he will be grossed out.

He is the kind of person to not only catch and release bugs he finds inside but he will have little convos with them too

You’ll hear in the other room “hello there my miniature friend.’’ And as he takes them outside “ I’m very sorry but you cannot stay here.” 

His approach to flying bugs is far different, he will take NO PRISONERS

He is very efficient with a fly swatter and knows all the concoctions to lure and kill flys fruit or other wise 

He avoids using his hands cuz of the bug guts 

If you are afraid of bugs he will find it amusing but he won’t tease or torment you, he will just chuckle at how ridiculous you look up on the counter while he captures the invader.

He is very polite and kind to everyone he interacts with unless they have done something to warrant other wise 

He will use French sayings in English  instead of the English one because he is convinced that “ they are far superior” 

Pins and needles are now ants, it’s raining ropes not animals, forget apples and trees, dogs don’t make cats.

If you use the English versions he will argue the French version is better 

“ bolt of lightning explans the felling of it, love at first sight is so bland.’’

Please convert he will find it unendingly adorable every time 

He does get cuteness aggression and will randomly shove his face into your chest and aggressively nuzzle into you whist squeezing you and violently kicking his legs and making a happy humming 

He will be embarrassed the first few times he does this 

He will get cuteness aggression from your cuteness aggression 

If you bite him he will be very confused but won’t care all that much so long as you aren’t hurting him

You will probably be taller then him and honestly he likes it that way because when you hug him he feels like momentarily  he is a totally encased by you 

You can carry him but only certain ways

No toddler hold, with one arm and him on your hip 

Piggy backs, shoulder sitting and standing are encouraged 

You can only sling him over your shoulder in emergency’s 

Same with under your arm 

He doesn’t like princess carry’s cuz he can’t hold on to much and he wants to touch with  max surface area

Carrying him by his armpits away from you has the same problem, he will struggle 

He does enjoy if you hug carry him with both arms, either his face in on your chest or resting on your shoulder 

I have made a helpful diagram ( I can draw but it’s just stick me cuz I’m lazy)

He will randomly start monologueing if given the opportunity 

He will tell you about being an assassin but only if you ask 

I think he is more likely to be with Someone who has prior experience with fighting

He feels nauseous after producing bubbles 

He will lean on or try to be touching you while he recovers 

You cannot truly surprise him, he will know something is up the moment you even begin to plan 

He knows because you act slightly different 

And hiding  or sneaking something past him is also impossible 

He has to actively try to avoid finding out what your doing 

You’ve snuck something into the garage, I guess he isn’t going In There for a while 

Hiding something behind your back, he isn’t even gonna face your direction while you hide it 

You cannot sneak up on him either 

When you try he will scare you by suddenly turning around and grabbing you 

On the other hand he has  scared and surprised you accidentally many times 

hope you enjoy and this inspires more fic to be written of bullfrog

[mscherub]

What Twst characters would say based on interactions I’ve had with my friends 👍

Characters: Prefect, mainly first years, mentions of others + professor(s)

Warnings:

Swearing, mentions of drugs, rude words, yall sorry for this—

Most convos were twisted to be a little more PG…

Also, I’m a girl and most of these experiences were at school and from my pov so if they seem a little harsh, MBBBB

KEY: Prefect is what I said in the situation, Everyone else is what my friends plus others have said <3

Chaos below the cut guys, good luck—

Prefect sits down at lunch table

Ace: ew, you’re here?

Prefect pauses

Ace: I’m jokinggggg

Prefect: bitch

MC sits down at lunch table, Epel has his phone out and has a picture of Vil next to a picture of Jeffrey star

Prefect: “Shit…”

Epel: “I know, right?”

Prefect: “similarity is uncanny.”

Messaging GC

Prefect: luv u guys, Gn <3

Ace: Fuck you

Prefect: Fuck you, too, dude, smd

Ace: love*

Prefect: KYS U WHORE, and I meant to spell it that way

Sebek: everyone go to bed

Messaging Gc again

Deuce: wht arw u gya ar

Ace: what did bro say

Prefect: mans is typing in hieroglyphics

Deuce: DID U JUST XALL ME TYPIBF HEIRIGOPLDUGIS

In PE

Epel: Y’all, don’t fall, there’s water all over the—

Slips and fucking falls on his face

Prefect: BRO, nice one

Epel: fuck you

In class

Prefect: can I see your work? I promise you I won’t copy like word for word, I didn’t have time to do the assignments last night

Deuce: wait…what work?

Prefect: …

Stares at each other for a minute than nods, sighing and looking away

Jack: what does “she hawked on my tuah mean…”

Prefect: uh, maybe don’t figure that one out

Sebek: I heard in response to a phrase like that you just say, “Skibidi”

Prefect: u know what…I’m done

Prefect doing most of the group work with the first years

Ace: Thank you my trusty slave

Everyone looks at him appalled

Prefect: what…the fuck

Ace: sorry, slave

Forgetting a literal child was there

Prefect: then I said, “you’re just a carpet muncher—“

Ortho: what does that mean?

Prefect: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO, NOOOOOOOOOO, IGNORE THAT AHHHHHHH

Jack: I can’t believe you’ve done this

Ace: I hawk and I hawk and I tuah your house down

Deuce: you need to hawk tuah your way to therapy my guy

Prefect: I can agree with this

Ace: but, Prefect, aren’t you the therapist friend? Why haven’t u been helping me then…

Prefect: …

Internet goes out at school, supposed to take test online (I know Trein prefers old fashioned way but pretend for a bit…)

Trein: unfortunately we can not take the test

Everyone: Professor Trein, Trein— it’s fine, really, it’s ok :)

Prefect: eughhh, that’s a big bitch!

Points over at a guy who did ortho dirty

Prefect: eughhhh that’s a guy with a small di—

Sebek: HUMAN, DO NOT SAY SUCH TERMS, if you’d want to truly get back at him, let us go together to fight

Prefect: awww, Sebby

Some bitch is talking shit on Prefect and Jack, the relatively nice ppl of the group—

Ace: I called in reinforcements

Prefect + Jack: huh?

All house wardens proceed to come to defend yall…

Prefect: I’m…wtf, why…

Ace: they all hate that kid, too

Prefect: what—

Prefect: ALL I HAD TO DO WAS TAKE A PISS, BUT NO, I WALKED INTO THE BATHROOM AND PPL WERE SITTING IN SINKS AND IN THE STALLS SMOKING AWAY, LIKE WHAT GRADE ARE WE IN AND WE’RE DOING THIS?

Ace: that’s…rough

Prefect: I wouldn’t be surprised to walk into the bathroom one day and see someone snorting a Coke line…

Epel: nobody would be, believe me

In PE class again, everyone lines up on the line

“The fitness gram pacer test—“

Prefect: I just got war flashbacks

Jack: it’ll be fine, just breath through your nose and out through your mouth

Prefect: ITS NOT THAT EASY WTF, THATS LIKE ASKING ME TO BREATHE UNDERWATER

Prefect peacefully walking then— BAM, backpack gets pulled back by someone behind them, causing them to stumble back

Prefect: WHATTTTT

Ace: hiiii

Prefect: unhand me!

Prefect: Ace…Ace, Ace…ACEEEE!

Ace ignoring everyone

Prefect: dude…

Looks over in another direction and lies to get his attention—

Prefect: I see the bitch that u hate with the wig

Ace: WHERE?—

Sitting at lunch table, eating, cater pulls out phone and snaps pics

Prefect: wtf man

Cater: cause :)

Prefect: whatever…don’t post it on your story

Cater: :(…ok…

Does it anyways

Prefect and Grim walk in, Prefect carries Grim in arms

Prefect: how many hours of sleep are you all going off?

Ace: three

Deuce: three

Jack: three

Epel: three, don’t tell Vil

Sebek: three, as well, Human

Ortho: charged for three hours, battery levels are lower than usual…

Prefect: Oh my seven, we’re all like…twinning today!

Yayyyy

Grim slams lunch tray down which is piled with food

Prefect: dude…

Grim: I’m hungry

Ace: too hungry, clearly, ya big back

Walking back on campus back to ramshackle, wild turkeys square up around Prefect and Grim

Prefect: if this is how I die I’m not gonna be happy

Grim: I thought those were trash bags, oh well, let’s eat them

In locker room

Ace: smells like ass and chlorine

Jack: that’s oddly specific

Ace: it does tho

Epel: BE MANLY ABT IT BRUH

Ace: Kys

Epel: well damn

(Idk the context for that one)

That’s it cause I can’t think of anymore— and I know some of these weren’t that funny, BUT THEY ARE TO ME

Part two maybe :3 ?

Master List

[privateanxieties]

a few observations about Frank Castle in the new episode (spoilers below):

the pain meds/other type of prescription meds

My guess is they're pain meds because Frank must be in constant chronic pain by now given everything he's done and still does, and he's not the type to take any other kind of meds, such as anxiety/depression/etc.

2. the wall of crazy behind him, his general surroundings

This is a man at rock bottom, but then again, this is kind of his baseline. He's never had need for anything beyond rudimentary lodgings, but at least before (S1 Punisher) he was still somewhat living among people. Frank has removed himself from all human contact and lives in a seemingly abandoned building with no creature comforts to be found. It's just the mission, the tools to accomplish it and the bare minimum to keep him going.

3. his general state of mind

I've seen this expression on him before - in the hospital, with Karen, after he thought he'd killed innocent women in S2E11. And I'm sorry, but his conversation with Matt doesn't really warrant this expression?

Frank reserves moments of great vulnerability like this for talking about his family. And he does talk about his son briefly, but this lingering shot of him with this heartbreaking expression seems disjointed. And I can explain why, I think, through a simple observation. Right before this shot, Frank is situated here in the room:

somewhat behind the weapons rack, definitely behind the lamp in the corner. the items are clearly in front of him from a depth perspective.

Then, immediately in the next shot, Frank is here:

The lamp(s) are clearly behind him, the TVs are behind him, the weapons rack is behind him. He's much closer to where Matt had been standing just moments prior, near the entrance. And I don't think this is a continuity issue per se.

This shot looks like one you'd use to drive home something devastating that the character has just experienced. You'd use it to linger on some terrible thing that just happened. I'm not sure this shot is the natural conclusion of Matt and Frank's convo. Maybe they reshot the scene and rewrote lines. Maybe the content of the conversation changed purpose. I think they used this shot because it's really impactful and I wouldn't want to waste it either, but it doesn't really belong from a sequencing perspective.

I mean, here it is again, if you think I'm delusional:

I just feel like this is from a different sequence of events, or the result of a different conversation. With how disjointed everything else has felt thus far, I wouldn't be surprised if this was also a victim of editing/rewriting.

[domm1etae]

sent to tempt me - chapter eleven

chapter eleven: hidden underneath

chapter summary: Are Yunho and Mingi finally starting to get along? It sure seems like it, especially after their breakfast conversation…. or not?

pairing: yunho x mingi

genre: smut (not yet but there will be eventually), angst, fluff, romance, m/m, non!idol!ateez, sub!yunho, dom!mingi, drama, coming of age, collage, religion

rating: 18+ (for the whole series bc there will be smut eventually) | mdni

word count: 2.1k

warnings under

collage, roommates, sub!yunho, dom!mingi, bad boy mingi and religious church good boy yunho same-sex attraction, m/m, teasing, dark themes, homophobia, self discovery, pet names, strangers to lovers, religion and religious topics, aaaand more will be added soon hehehe

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author's note: heeey, sorry today's chapter is shorter and not that packed, but i'm taking my driver's license test in 2 days and i'm super stressed and studying A LOT!! after i'm done, there will definitely be more chapters coming. ps. i'm currently watching spy x family, that's why i chose it hehehe

Yunho shut the door to his room, pressing his back against it as he exhaled sharply. His heart was still racing, his mind running in circles around everything that had just happened.

Mingi wanted to be friends. Not just tolerate each other, not just coexist—but actually be friends.

The idea sent a strange rush of warmth through Yunho’s chest, but it also left him reeling. It didn’t make sense. One second, Mingi was teasing him, pushing him into uncomfortable situations, acting like Yunho was some nuisance he had to put up with—and now he wanted to get along?

Yunho groaned, running a hand down his face as he stepped further into the room. The way Mingi had looked at him—so intense, so unreadable—it was burned into his mind. And that comment… You’re actually pretty cute. I like your kind. Yunho shuddered at the memory, unsure if it made him embarrassed or if some part of him liked the way it sounded coming from Mingi’s mouth.

Nope. Not thinking about that. He shook his head, forcing himself to push the thought away. He needed clarity. He needed someone to help him make sense of all this. And he knew exactly who to turn to.

Grabbing his phone off his desk, Yunho quickly pulled up his messages and typed out a text to Jisung.

Yunho: Hey, I have something I need to talk to you about. You got time tomorrow?

The response came quicker than expected.

Jisung: Ohhh interesting. I’m hanging out with two of my friends since it’s Friday tomorrow, but you can totally join us. They give great advice, so they’ll add a lot to the convo.

Yunho hesitated for a moment, a small flicker of anxiety creeping in. He hadn’t expected Jisung to invite other people. What if they judged him? What if they didn’t understand? But before his nerves could fully settle in, excitement took over. Maybe this was good. Maybe hearing different perspectives would help him figure things out.

He took a deep breath and started typing.

Yunho: Amazing. When can I arrive?

Yunho woke up the next morning to the soft glow of sunlight filtering through his blinds. Blinking groggily, he stretched his arms over his head, his body still heavy with sleep. It took him a second to remember that it was Friday—one of his lighter days. Just two classes before he was free for the weekend.

He sat up, rubbing a hand over his face before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He didn’t bother putting much thought into his outfit, grabbing a pair of jeans, a black shirt, and his hoodie. As he pulled the hoodie over his head, his gaze landed on something small and familiar resting on his desk—his rosary.

For a long moment, he just stared at it. He hadn’t been to church once since arriving at college. The realization made his stomach twist with guilt. His parents would be furious if they knew. They would probably disown him, or at least have a long, soul-crushing conversation about his ‘drifting faith.’ The thought alone made his chest feel tight.

With a sigh, he reached for the rosary, letting the beads slip through his fingers. He used to wear it every day back home, a constant reminder of who he was supposed to be. Maybe he couldn’t bring himself to step into a church just yet, but he could at least wear it. That had to count for something, right? Maybe he’d even look up some services online and go this Sunday. That would make his parents happy… if they ever found out.

After a brief hesitation, he slipped the rosary over his head, tucking it beneath his shirt. He didn’t want people to stare or ask questions. Keeping it hidden was easier.

Shaking off the unease curling in his stomach, he grabbed his backpack and headed for the bathroom. A quick splash of cold water helped wake him up, and he brushed his teeth, letting the mundane routine ground him. When he was done, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way into the kitchen.

Yunho stepped into the kitchen and immediately froze.

Oh. Right.

He totally forgot about this part.

Mingi was already there, leaning against the counter with a mug in one hand, his phone in the other. White wired earbuds trailed from his ears, one tucked loosely beneath his silver hoop earring. He wore a black and white striped sweater—slightly oversized, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows—and ripped black jeans that hung low on his hips. Rings adorned his fingers, a few silver necklaces layered around his neck, one of them catching the dim kitchen light as he turned.

Noticing Yunho, Mingi pulled one earbud out and paused whatever he was watching. “Good morning, roomie,” he greeted casually, his voice still a little rough from sleep.

Yunho’s heart did something weird in his chest.

It was just the way Mingi said it—so easy, like they’d been doing this for years. Yunho swallowed, nodding stiffly. “G-Good morning.” He quickly turned toward the fridge, opening it even though he had no idea what he was looking for.

His mind raced back to their agreement from yesterday. Okay. He could do this.

They were supposed to be nice to each other now. Friends. Or, well, something like that. And really, Yunho didn’t want any bad blood between them. If Mingi could act normal, so could he.

Gathering every ounce of courage he had, Yunho turned back, still gripping the fridge door. “Uh—” he hesitated. Then, before he could chicken out, he asked, “What are you watching?”

Mingi paused, blinking. “Huh? Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

Yunho hesitated, his grip tightening on the fridge door. “I, uh—” He cleared his throat. “I asked what you were watching.”

For a second, Mingi just stared, unreadable. Yunho braced himself for some sarcastic or dismissive remark. But then—

Something shifted.

Mingi’s whole expression changed in an instant. The usual sharp, dominant aura softened, replaced by something Yunho had never seen before. His eyes lit up, his mouth tugged into an excited grin, and suddenly, he was a completely different person.

“Oh man, okay, so—it’s Spy x Family! Have you heard of it? It’s so good, bro. Like, the animation? Top tier. The humor? Amazing. And the characters? Anya is literally the cutest kid ever, I swear. And Loid? The coolest fake dad to ever exist. Yor? Absolute queen. I just finished an episode, and I swear, every time Anya does something dumb, I lose it. Like—”

Mingi kept going. And going.

Yunho just stood there, completely frozen, watching in stunned silence as Mingi excitedly rambled about the anime. He was practically bouncing on his feet, hands moving as he gestured wildly to emphasize his points. His usual laid-back, intimidating aura? Completely gone. Instead, he was a total softie, eyes gleaming with pure enthusiasm.

It was… cute.

Wait. What?

No. No, that wasn’t the point here. Yunho shook himself out of his trance as Mingi finally paused to take a breath.

“You watch anime?” he asked, still processing.

Mingi grinned, nodding. “Yeah, when I have time for it.”

Yunho felt his face warm up. “I’ve heard Spy x Family is really good. Not just the story line, but the animation too, as you said. I wanted to check it out, but ever since college started, I haven’t had time.”

Mingi gasped dramatically. “YOU’RE AN ANIME FAN?!”

Yunho scratched the back of his neck. “Y-Yeah. Probably not as big as you, but…” He hesitated for a moment, then admitted, “I actually speak Japanese pretty fluently. Or, well, at least I think so. I haven’t used it in a few months.”

Mingi’s jaw dropped. “Bro, what?! You’re like my hero.”

“What?” Yunho blinked, caught off guard.

“I’ve tried learning Japanese, but I suck at studying,” Mingi groaned, running a hand through his hair. “I think my pronunciation is pretty decent, though! Watching anime helps, but man, it’s hard. You gotta tutor me or something.”

Yunho turned even redder. “N-No, I’m not that great…”

Yunho kept his head down and focused on preparing his breakfast, still feeling flustered from their conversation. But just as he took a bite, Mingi’s voice cut through the silence again.

“Yo, Yunho.”

Yunho glanced up mid-chew. “Hm?”

“Come closer.”

His chewing slowed. “…Why?”

Mingi sighed, rolling his eyes. “Oh, don’t make me come to you myself. Come on, I don’t bite—unless you want me to.”

Yunho nearly choked.

What the hell did that mean?!

Mingi raised an eyebrow expectantly, and despite every alarm blaring in his head, Yunho hesitantly stepped forward. Before he could process what was happening, Mingi suddenly reached out, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him closer.

Yunho froze.

Brain: shut down.

Body: completely rigid.

Soul: leaving his body.

WHAT IS HAPPENING. OH MY GOD. IS HE GONNA BEAT ME UP???

Mingi’s grip wasn’t rough, but it was firm, and Yunho barely had time to panic before he felt a light tug at his chest. His eyes darted downward just as Mingi pulled his rosary out from under his shirt, letting the small silver cross dangle between them.

“I knew I wasn’t making it up,” Mingi said, examining it closely. “You were hiding something under your shirt.” He smirked slightly. “It’s your rosary.”

Yunho swallowed hard. “Y-Yeah. I, uh… I’ll take it off. I left it on by mistake.”

At that, Mingi’s expression shifted into something unreadable. His smirk faded, replaced by something more serious. “Why?”

Yunho blinked. “Huh?”

“Why take it off?” Mingi frowned slightly, letting the cross rest against Yunho’s chest again. “It looks pretty. And super cool, actually.” Then, tilting his head, he added, “And I think you’re kinda lying to me.”

Yunho stiffened. “W-What?”

“Nobody leaves something like this on by mistake.”

Yunho bit his lip, looking away. “…I just don’t want anyone making fun of me for having a religion.”

Mingi scoffed. “Making fun of you?” He shook his head. “Trust me, nobody will. People will just think it’s a jewelry accessory, not an actual rosary.”

Yunho stayed silent, still gripping the hem of his hoodie.

Mingi studied him for a moment before sighing. “But, y’know…” He leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms. “If you have to hide your religion from people, doesn’t that kinda say something about what kind of believer you are?”

Yunho’s breath hitched. His fingers curled slightly, pressing into the fabric of his hoodie.

Mingi tilted his head. “Like, if it’s something you really care about, shouldn’t you wear it proudly?” His voice wasn’t mocking, just… genuinely curious.

Yunho swallowed, unsure how to answer.

Mingi sighed, then suddenly stood up, stretching. “And even if someone does have a problem with it…” He rolled his shoulders before shooting Yunho a confident grin. “Just call me up, and I’ll deal with them.”

Yunho’s head snapped up. “Huh? Wha—”

“You have my number, right?” Mingi added, winking before casually slinging his bag over his shoulder and heading out of the dorm.

Yunho just stood there.

Processing.

His face burned. His heart was racing.

What… just happened? What was that?

Yunho had no idea what to focus on first—Mingi getting that close to him first thing in the morning? Ugh. But shouldn’t he also feel at least a little offended? What did Mingi even know about religion or what a rosary meant?

But….Mingi had a point.

Yunho hated to admit it, but he did.

If he truly believed in God, if his faith was something he held close to his heart, then why was he so afraid to show it? Why did he tuck his rosary away like a secret—like something shameful?

His parents would say it’s because the world was cruel. That people would ridicule him, tempt him, try to lead him astray. That he had to stay vigilant and protect his faith, not flaunt it.

But was he really protecting it… or was he just afraid?

Yunho exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair. Ugh. No. Stop thinking about it. This wasn’t the time to spiral over religion. He had class. He had things to do.

…And Mingi.

You have my number, right?

Yunho blinked.

Wait. No. He didn’t have Mingi’s number.

Why did Mingi assume he did?

Maybe Mingi thought he gave it to him at some point? Or maybe they were already in some group chat for the dorm floor, and Yunho just forgot to save his contact?

Still. The way he said it so casually, like Yunho should’ve already had it, like it was natural for them to text—

Yunho pressed his palms into his cheeks. His face was burning. God, I need to stop thinking about this guy.

With that, he grabbed his bag and left for class, determined to focus on anything other than his roommate.

Oh, and the rosary, stayed, where it was—hanging freely over his shirt, out in the open.

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[hismercytomyjustice]

My husband effortlessly outmaneuvered my OCD today. I am still in awe.

I didn’t want to go to my piano lesson. Last week was ROUGH. On top of still struggling with this more advanced piece, I had major migraine brain fog.

The good news is that I didn’t want to fake my own death or wind up in near tears after. Yay, progress! But it wasn’t the best experience otherwise. It was just really frustrating and humiliating to struggle so much.

This more advanced piece has been triggering my OCD like crazy too.

I told him I didn’t want to go today because I hadn’t practiced enough.

He responded with “So?”

It was exactly the right answer. Even though I still tried to push back with, “I haven’t made enough progress.”

And he was just like “The point of you going is to practice. And you did practice.”

“I haven’t practiced enough.”

“Not going isn’t going to help with that.”

T^T !!!

(extended OCD rant below the cut)

I had similar convos with my therapist where she’s insisted that the only thing I need to do for piano is show up for my lessons. That is the only expectation.

My piano teacher would disagree with that, lol. But I get what she’s saying. Because my desire for “doing it right/enough” is my perfectionism OCD talking.

Which is why piano is such good unintentional ERP for me. Because it upsets my perfectionism OCD so much. My therapist has said this multiple times now.

Lol, I also finally told my piano teacher I have OCD and that my OCD loves piano. In that it loves to tell me how bad I am at it. He was telling me last week, “Just play through, it doesn’t have to be perfect.”

Which has become his new mantra for me lately. orz I was playing some for my husband too to show him how far I’ve come and he said the same thing because I kept stopping when I’d mess up. “Just play it through.”

It is SO HARD TO though. Especially with how hard my OCD focuses on every single mistake I make. Which just leads to building anxiety and more mistakes.

I’ve had moments where I’m struggling while practicing and have literally had to tell myself “practicing will only help, it can’t make you worse at this.”

Because lord knows avoidance is one of my favorite compulsions. Because you can’t be bad at something if you don’t do it, amirite? (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

God, I also realized my OCD has eased up a bit when it comes to writing (sort of), but now it’s decided to focus on replying to comments on my fics instead. Something I genuinely enjoy doing because getting comments fills my heart with rainbows. It gets riled up with me trying to leave comments too.

My perfectionism OCD has decided this is a great time to overthink every single word I type. Just a constant stream of “You have to give the perfect reply to a comment, otherwise people won’t think you’re grateful enough for them taking the time to comment and they won’t want to read your fic anymore and they’ll hate you.”

And “You’ve left comments on other fics that people have said made their day. If you don’t leave a good enough comment or if you don’t comment at all, they’ll think you don’t like their fic anymore. You know how happy getting comments makes you. If you don’t comment on everything you read, that makes you a bad person.”

None of that is true, ofc. I know it’s not true. I know it’s not even logical. But it is all triggering my avoidance SO HARD. Because I can’t mess it up if I don’t do it at all! So now I have a bunch of comments that have piled up and a bunch of fics I’ve read that I haven’t commented on and I’m starting to ruminate on all of it.

And it’s just like…so objectively ridiculous. That’s not self-compassion, I know. But like, it feels so absurd to be in an OCD spiral over this. Where I am actively spending more time agonizing (ruminating) over the fact that I haven’t done either than it would take to just…reply or leave a comment on a fic.

Like. This is not a life or death situation. This doesn’t even have to be a situation! And yet the spiral continues. I stress, I avoid, I stress about avoiding. And I waste time and energy and brainpower on all of it.

I have the same issue with the other fics I’ve promised too. I’ve been deep into the final chapters of my kid!Alastor fic and hyper focusing on it as a result. But I have been talking about posting Part 8 of my Radioapple series for so long. I threw 8k words at it like a month ago and then started overthinking it and then started worrying about falling behind on my kid!fic. The same for the BG3 oneshot I drafted. All I need to do is edit it so I can post it. But editing to me = executive function (writing somehow does not…?). And, again, I wanted to get caught up on my kid!fic. So now I feel guilty for not finishing it and posting when I said I would.

None of this is anything I should feel guilty for! And I know that. I am doing all of this FOR FUN.

It is supposed to be fun!

AND YET.

Ugh. Not me over here like “My OCD hasn’t been that bad! Why can’t I get anything done?”

Because it picked new things to obsess over and I was late to the party on realizing that. ( ˶ •̀ ⤙ •́ ˶ )

I’m glad I’m meeting with my psychiatrist tomorrow. My depression has been better but now that I’m aware my OCD is ~clinically severe~, I’m hoping maybe she can help get me on something that will do more to help with it. Because while the meds I’m currently on are preventing me from a full blown relapse, I don’t think they’ve been very effective at straight up treating my OCD otherwise.

I’m really hoping a different medication will help. It’s just frustrating to be putting all this work into therapy and all, but not seeing more of a reduction in my symptoms.

Literally one of the questions on the YBOC is: “How anxious would you feel if you were prevented from performing your compulsive behaviors?”

I told her it wouldn’t make me anxious because I don’t WANT to do the compulsions. And if I had a magic button in my head that would make them easier to resist, it would be the greatest thing ever. The compulsions are what’s making me anxious. Most of the time I don’t realize I’m obsessing or compulsing.

So then I get frustrated and upset at myself for not getting things done and it’s only then that I’m like, “Wait, is this an OCD spiral?”

If I could get better at recognizing them sooner and acting sooner, I think it’d go a long way toward helping me. The thing is, I don’t know if this is a medication thing or a me thing and tbh I’m worried it’s a me thing. That I’m not doing something right, and that’s why I’m having such a hard time with it all.

I really hope that’s not the case. Like, I am DESPERATE to get out of these never-ending loops. I just really, really hope that the will is already there and that a different medication can help get my OCD under control enough for me to actually make progress.

T^T Guess I’ll find out tomorrow. Lol, not me stressing now that my psychiatrist is just gonna be like “Your problem is that you aren’t trying hard enough!” Because I think my problem is trying so hard to the point I unintentionally actively sabotage myself… Like I’m trying to fight perfectionism OCD with gasoline instead of water or something.

Ugh. Fingers crossed she can give me some better insight into all this tomorrow.

I’m just curious now too if my OCD has always been this bad and I’m only just now realizing it, or if it’s just been worse in general over the past year or so for whatever reason.

FIX ME, SCIENCE! FIX ME!!!

[rin-and-jade]

how can you begin to communicate if journaling hasn’t worked. there’s not back and forth convo or me not having memory of past entries. I just know I write things when I feel certain ways but there is no conversation bc it still feels like me .. just .. not me. and how do I know when I hear them vs when it’s intrusive thoughts or just my own thoughts? I would like to be able to talk and meet them. I want to know that they are real and not just me accidentally making it up or looking too deep into things. how can u know for sure that they are real and that you haven’t just overthought? that you haven’t willed them into existence?

If journaling hasn't worked, added by any lack of system activity as how you remember/wrote, you might have a more abstract experience rather than a direct one which is often discussed about; internal dialogue.

But it could also mean your dissociation barriers is still too high up the bar to facilitate healthy communication of the ability to self introspect, since internal communication is heavily affected by the slightest things such as brain fog, stress, lack of sleep, or physical/mental exhaustion. So, the first thing i would suggest you to do is putting aside your journal for a bit, try meditation (instead of writing things outwards, lets see how well you react to activities that requires to go inwards), and fix any stressor/needs that weren't met yet.

If you had done these two things for the past week with no changes, i will wait for you to come back, if something did change--or found something, come back earlier too! This is not a one-time-off advice, this is used to bring clarity to your situation.

Normal, intrusive, and alter thoughts are all different:

The normal ones are the ones you have daily, the things you plan to do next, planning meals, choosing your type of clothes for the day. It's characteristics will be having a consistent, uninterrupted flow,, being aware that it was thought by you, owned by you, innately.

The intrusive/impulsive ones ranges in a spectrum from uncomfortable (weird ones also counts) to panic-inducing. It is often short--a sentence or less, often associated with a cue too. Eg. you see a ledge, and your thoughts went "imagine dropping my phone down there" . Doesn't give the whole picture of what intrusive counts but its usually a thought barrages your logical or emotional reasoning in my own words.

Alter's thoughts are like the normal thoughts, but you can tell it came from a distinct perspective outside of what you were equipped with, oftentimes different accent, tone, or even the reasoning. A good way to tell if it's not an intrusive thought is if its capable of replying back or keep the conversation going. You also can attempt to deny/counter it whenever you have an intrusive thought to check which one it falls to.

Lastly, as hard as it sounds,, you cannot fake or will alters to being alive if you have a good cohesion of your integrity--which are singlets, or even me, an ex-system (yeah i final fused). It takes dissociation to do that, and i got no more dissociative coping mechanisms anymore, so its totally gone and silent in my head right now. Even if you still worry wether you truly have alters or not, its still a good idea to work on the unhealthy coping mechanisms that is not serving you well anymore.

- c

[sixosix]

THOUGHTS THOUGHTS THOUGHTS THOUGHTS- Akjsdhfaksljhflka Exam season ended earlier than i thought so it's time to poke for details! 

I gotta start off with me kicking my feet over my shared theories from last time. They weren’t fully right but AAAA

The fact that Thawed!Reader was a distraction to Lyney and Father leaving her alone all this time…asjkghhsgaf Her just casually mentioning, ‘oh yeah, I knew she couldn’t have gone far’... And her implying that she had already had a plan to deal with this type of situation before Aether interfered just says so much about her character. I wonder how different it was going to be, because it seemed like she was just going to leave T!Reader be until she actually interfered like now. Maybe use the potion still? Relocation? Her character both in general and here makes it seem like she wouldn’t just kill her without a second thought. 

Also, I like to imagine the research she did into Rosalie was not only to come up with a plan as to what to do now that there were new variables, but to make sure her child was at least going to be ok under Rosalie’s care. After her not-a-answer answer…. Adlkfhjasldkfjlaks Father cares in her weird way it's fine, don't worry.

I love the inclusion of the potion from her story quest by the way! I think it adds a more devastating twist than what I originally thought may have been on the line, like her life. Like, Thawed!Reader would be perfectly fine, but not only does she lose memories of all the recent (and previous) memories such as any positive moments with Aether or her familial connection with Rosalie, but also people who deeply care about her (Rosalie, our fauti trio, maybe aether and paimon?) suddenly lose their friend since her identity is so closely tied to being a part of the Fauti. From being one to becoming a runaway one, almost every action she has taken till now has been influenced by her past and if she accepts then it's all gone. I know you mentioned that Lyney would absolutely still chase after Thawed!Reader even if she took the potion and he had to start from the beginning(which absolutely see it ashdlaksh) but there is absolutely no way he wouldn’t feel any short of hurt by that. Even as he tries to woo her for a third time, he’s going to be holding on to memories he can’t tell her about for multiple reasons. Experiences he adores like sparing but she may not be able to do any more. 

(Speaking of the potion, i do have my own theories on what may happen with everyone involving that… but i’ll share that in a separate ask.)

The Knave’s and Rosalie interaction was so nice; both sets of parents really do be fighting huh. But while T!Reader’s and Lyney’s was a bit more high strung, the other parents feels a bit more like understanding each other. Not that they like it, i mean, look at Rosalie. It felt like two different parents trying to co-parent, if that makes sense? I mean, like I mentioned before, if the Knave really wanted to, she could have just killed T!Reader and even Rosalie and be done with it. But besides wanting Rosalie to act as bait; she mostly had a calm discussion, and seemed to keep Rosalie’s feelings in mind as a fellow parent of this kid. I mean, she even reined in the soldiers when they lashed out at our favorite flower shop owner in their blind loyalty. And her kinda silent approval at Rosalie’s answer about the potion? Why is the set of parents that includes a harbinger having the calmer convo? (Gotta ask as well! What flower did Father give Maman? Despite the meanings, I do think that considering her ascension materials, it may have been a rainbow rose. But if we consider other Fontaine flowers, Lumiose bells also fit well! And Romaritime flowers sadfasfasdf…) 

As for T!Reader and Lyney- akdfjalskjf THE PARENTS REALLY DO BE FIGHTING HERE! Dear god the tension rising in the situation, T!Reader is blinded by worry and anger while Lyney is partly blinded by love and his want to help. Paimon, Aether and Lynette are the audience at this point (although, gotta say, love the explanation to how they know there T!Reader lives! Despite how she’s acting now in the context of Rosalie being kidnapped, it was a perfect compromise to deliver the gift but let T!Reader keep some form of privacy. Too bad it is also working against the twins in this moment with  Arlecchino’s plans. Plus, they may have found out anyway due to the fact their crew of workers had also seen T!Reader around Fontaine in the past. All it would take was one of the workers going to Rosalie’s shop while T!Reader was working.)

Lyney almost said love!! My man had a confession moment!! Too bad that it was in the middle of a fight. That whole conversation had layers I want to poke at for more information. Lyney’s automatic confirmation of betraying Father for T!Reader, her calling Rosalie her mother to everyone, Aether’s hurt at her blaming him, T!Readers fixation on the fact that; from her point of view; Lyney is only taking and taking and taking.But it's her exit that caught my eye the most. It felt like a really cool parallel from back in chapter three when T!Reader gained her vision. 

Both times T!Reader was upset and angry, and Lyney comes in as both connected to the source of her problems as well as someone who just wants to help her. Both times she lashes out at people (the fight/freezing during the first and the cruel words plus biting cold in the second). And both times she walks away leaving behind a barrier of ice (technically it was a door covered in some ice in the second fight but shh we’re still counting it).

I wonder if Lyney also recognized the parallels as well, since his tone switched from stubborn and confident to weak pleading the moment T!Reader starting walking away! Just the echoes of it, I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in lyney’s thought process was just like ‘not again, please not again’. All the effort and care he took into trying to not scare her off again just went down the drain by Arelcchino’s actions, and just like before, he’s unable to convince her to stay and let him help. However, this time, he has a lead in the form having some knowledge on Father’s methods as well as knowing that T!Reader is going to try and go after her to get Rosalie. And I’d be willing to bet money that he’s going to latch onto that and not let go. 

Also, remember how my first ask mentioned aether being a deadman once lyney found out that he blackmailed Thawed!Reader? Yeah I think we’re at that point, we’re gonna see this man go feral like he did in the fortress. Not to mention Rosalie and (maybe) Arlecchino’s reaction. I doubt Arlecchino will actually do something since the potion is already her plan but I’m sure she’s curious about how the traveler pushed up the timeline. And I doubt Rosalie is gonna be a happy maman once she learns why her daughter started hanging out with the Outlander. 

P.S, totally for absolutely no reason in particular… how do you feel about fanfics of your fanfics?

-deadman aether anon

HHEHEHE IM SO GLAD U STOPPED APOLOGIZING FOR LONG ASKS its about time…. WE LOVE THIS SHIT!!!!!

- father does care!!!!! and it shows even in canon lore!!!!!!! ofc the children wont have it easy and they wont be spoiled rotten with affection but i think thats what makes arlecchinos way of doing things even more special and i rlly wanted to incorporate that here toooo

- yesss:( mc’s entire identity is VERY tied to her “past” as a fatuus! of course lyney wouldnt be happy about mc forgetting everything that made their relationship, because what they had was very special to him!! (and i would love to hear that potion train of thought)

- i think i didnt write it clear enough which is my fault! but the flower i was hoping to hint that arlecchino was giving to rosalie was the “Snezhnayan” flower that Arle bought from her a few chapters ago. fun fact i didnt want to assume to whatever hyv had planned for snezhnaya flowers, but i wanted it to be a flower that had originated from khaenriah but still became relevant to snezhnaya. so to rosalie, it was just an imported flower, but it was one that was unique enough to make her remember whoever bought it!

- and yes HAGSHAHA i found it hilarious to write in that rosalie and arlecchino would have a calm meeting while lyney and mc are a mess and a half. i think it shows that they both have a long way to go before they reach the same level as the other two:)))

- THE PARALLEL!!!! YUUPPPPPPP i wanted to reference it in the next chapter too in case people didnt realize it but im glad u caught it BAHAHAA

- i guess we will find out if aether truly will be a dead man next chapter…. Didnt even get the chance to reunite with his sister ohhh poor boy. this is why u dont blackmail someone! learn from aether, everyone

- ALSOHELLO??? fanfics of my fanfics? oh. PLEASE. hello. YES! i would absolutely love to see how people interpret my series and the characters within them:( that would be such a joy!!!!!! but i also just want to see how people think of thawed!lyney HAHAHHA

[proveagain]

i rewatched s6 p2 earlier this week with my dad, and sorry i'm gonna ramble again because going from the frustrated scenes that lead to the locker room blowup -> the plane heart-to-heart with j.ohnny -> the 'you're a natural leader' convo with r.obby after he lands just feels SO clunky... i thought it was just because i had binged all the eps at like 2-3am that first night, but now i can tell there's at least one or two scenes in there that they cut for time. i'm not disagreeing with m.iguel's reaction to the 'you're my son, too' line because i know that's been something he's been needing to hear since after prom in s4, but the show insinuating that m.iguel's frustration is solely because j.ohnny has been favoring r.obby over him (i know whatever scene that was got cut for time bc ... vine vc bitch where) comes out of nowhere???

firstly because the 'support' j.ohnny gave r.obby didn't make it off the cutting room floor (i know he's not talking abt part 1 bc j.ohnny made a point to be unbiased and support m.iguel and r.obby evenly before the captain qualifier), but also because feeling ignored by j.ohnny was never even hinted to as a motive for the desperation m.iguel has with the captain spot in 6 part 1. he and r.obby had figured out their shit from that type of thing in s5 (another thing the writers tell instead of show but that's a rant for another time). his whole desperation for winning the taikai is that m.iguel thinks it's his only shot at swaying the stanford admissions board. he was giving d.emetri a run for his money in the 'shut tf up abt college' race in 6 part 1, and he was so preoccupied with his plan to get noticed and change the board's mind that he completely ignored and invalidated r.obby's feelings.

the main reason he's upset with j.ohnny - and with everything at that point - is that everything comes back to that lack of control he's felt on and off since season 3. j.ohnny just finished telling everyone that the results of the taikai could have them 'regretting everything for the rest of their lives' (get that '84 guilt out of here), right after telling m.iguel that his own victory on the mini platforms didn't mean shit (the only time where m.iguel did feel ignored by j.ohnny, and it wasn't to hype up r.obby bc j.ohnny sat there yelling at everyone in the locker room after), and that he the rest of the team were still going under. they're on the way back to los angeles because his mom got rushed to emergency surgery, another thing he has no control over. there's a couple lines from j.ohnny about 'not thinking like that' when j.ohnny's sharing his worry about not having control re: c.armen's situation, but i don't think that was stressed nearly enough to progress his narrative and show that correction. ideally, i think doubling down on that with a heart-to-heart with c.armen in the hospital about m.iguel fearing the risk of something happening to her again would have done that really well.

that mention of the real motive was also missing from his pep talk with r.obby after he gets back to barcelona, watered down to 'oh i was being an asshole sorry,' and i think it was a disservice to the bond they keep trying to say m.iguel and r.obby have had since s5. a lot of their 'fixing things' convos get watered down to the most basic shit, when the very core of their 5+ season conflict has always been abt miscommunication. they deserved a longer scene talking about both m.iguel and r.obby's frustrations before m.iguel started hyping him up, and i know they glossed over it because of time.

tldr: if i had a dollar for every time a character got cheated because of the short eps + cluttered character roster i'd have enough money to buy the show myself

[nothingbuthorn]

Bullfrog Head cannons

(New account version)

Some are reader insert some are just general

I have seen no fics of this beautiful French man so I have done it myself

Just my thoughts in bullet point form

———————

he is an american bullfrog, he not only looks like one but also despite the name there are tons in France

He enjoys warmth and gets grumpy if he is too cold

I feel like he doesn’t touch you all that much but adores cuddling

If given the opportunity he will burry himself in pillows and blankets ( bonus if they are weighted) especially during winter cuz of his hibernation instinct

He will insist you join him and promise it’s very comfortable

He isn’t slimy like his real world counterpart but his skin feels very moisturized

He gets cold super easy and shove himself under your shirt or jacket to soak up your natural body heat

You also don’t have to worry about it being too hot to cuddle as he is cool to the touch

He will insist you let him put his cold ass hands on your bare back to warm them up , he will pout if you don’t let him

Letting him do this will more then likely result in him having his head under your shirt and his face pressed into your back and his hands on your upper stomach

He usually avoids conventional touch based pda, the most normal pda youlll get out of under normal circumstances is a peck on the cheek

Instead the way he shows touch based pda is by sitting on your shoulders

Although if he is super cold he won’t care all that much

And Unless your in a situation where being partners with him would put you in danger, he will be fairly vocaly affectionate

He will call you his beloved and other “ refined��� pet names

As well as praise, flirt and compliment you, though he sometimes gets shy after( especially if he fumbles the line)

He seems like a darling, my dear, love type of person

He will jokingly call you stupid ones as well

He has a lot of running jokes with you and will tease and joke around with you all the time, he just likes laughing with you in general

Some of your jokes might take a second to land with him in the beginning but as your relationship continues he will pick up almost immediately

He tries really hard to be cool cuz he wants to make friends but everyone being stuck on him being a frog annoys him a lil

He will complain about this to you at least once

He is trying to be cool and Poetic!

When he is mad he will begin to speak in a mix of French and English but he doesn’t really yell at all, he does talk faster tho

He will bath for hours but doesn’t like to shower

He cannot use certain soaps or he will get sick

because he will absorb the chemicals through his skin

He likes the look of bubble baths but if he sits in them he gets sick cuz of the soap In the water

Given his accent I assume he speaks French but I think he can speak multiple European language, due to his job

He is very adverse to the idea of eating bugs, he isn’t scared of them but if someone offers him a bug he will be grossed out.

He is the kind of person to not only catch and release bugs he finds inside but he will have little convos with them too

You’ll hear in the other room “hello there my miniature friend.’’ And as he takes them outside “I’m very sorry but you cannot stay here.”

His approach to flying bugs is far different, he will take NO PRISONERS

He is very efficient with a fly swatter and knows all the concoctions to lure and kill fruit flys or other wise

He avoids using his hands cuz of the bug guts

If you are afraid of bugs he will find it amusing but he won’t tease or torment you, he will just chuckle at how ridiculous you look up on the counter while he captures the invader.

He is very polite and kind to everyone he interacts with unless they have done something to warrant other wise

He will use French sayings in English instead of the English version because he is convinced that “they are far superior”

Pins and needles are now ants, it’s raining ropes not animals, forget apples falling from trees, dogs don’t make cats.

If you use the English versions he will argue the French version is better

“bolt of lightning explains the felling of it, love at first sight is so bland.’’

Please convert he will find it unendingly adorable every time

He does get cuteness aggression and will randomly shove his face into your chest and aggressively nuzzle into you whist squeezing you and violently kicking his legs and making a happy humming

He will be embarrassed the first few times he does this

He will get cuteness aggression from your cuteness aggression

(the inescapable loop)

If you bite him he will be very confused but won’t care all that much so long as you aren’t hurting him

You will probably be taller then him and honestly he likes it that way because when you hug him he feels like momentarily he is a totally encased by you

You can carry him but only certain ways

No toddler hold, with one arm and him on your hip

Piggy backs, shoulder sitting and standing are encouraged

You can only sling him over your shoulder in emergency’s

Same with under your arm

He doesn’t like princess carry’s cuz he can’t hold on to much and he wants to touch with max surface area

He also doesn’t like the instability

Carrying him by his armpits away from you has the same problem, he will struggle

He does enjoy if you hug carry him with both arms, either his face in on your chest or resting on your shoulder

I have made a helpful diagram in case my descriptions made no sense ( I can draw but it’s just stick men cuz I’m lazy)

He will randomly start monologueing if given the opportunity

He will tell you about being an assassin but only if you ask

I think he is more likely to be with Someone who has prior experience with fighting

He feels nauseous after producing bubbles

He will lean on or try to be touching you while he recovers

You cannot truly surprise him, he will know something is up the moment you even begin to plan

He knows because you act slightly different

And hiding or sneaking something past him is also impossible

He has to actively try to avoid finding out what your doing

You’ve snuck something into the garage? I guess he isn’t going In There for a while

Hiding something behind your back, he isn’t even gonna face your direction while you hide it

You cannot sneak up on him either

When you try he will scare you by suddenly turning around and grabbing you

On the other hand he has scared and surprised you accidentally many times by just quietly existing

if you hug him against your chest and look down at him You’ll be able to see him melt and look at you with the most lovesick look you’ve ever seen

He will also grow to enjoy you squishing his face

He doesn’t understand what you mean when you tell him he has a squishable face but he enjoys the attention it gets him

——————

hope you enjoy and this inspires more fic to be written of bullfrog

[tales-from-nocturnaliss]

Okay people real talk. You know it's serious when someone who never watches videos actually sits down for thirty minutes to do just that.

I'm not a big typology person because basically I already love psychology and astrology and all the things that like to create labels and explanations for personalities and picking from each what I find valid. That's how I do know my typology (INFP), but I never looked more into it. I'm a Mediator. Okay cool.

Then my bestest buddy @cicidarkarts shared a couple funny videos about her typology (I laughed beyond tears it was so fitting) and I enjoyed this dude's presence and figured I'd find mine. I choked in my laughter.

I stopped laughing when I rabbit-holed into this video right here.

This is all of me, give or take some autism traits and a couple issues already worked on. But this is me - the super friendly little introverted butterfly who self-paralyzes while considering EVERYONE before herself when deciding what to say or what to do. Chronic fatigue is one reason I disappear from socials at times. Other times it's just that I choose to live in my own little bubble, sometimes at the detriment even of friends when I lose track of the world for days on end (granted there's some AuDHD here at work)

And I genuinely feel like I will not amount to anything in my own life and this part of his funny INFP video actually no longer funny now that i've watched the above.

You know what else isn't funny? Yeah i'm connecting to the INFJ type entirely and did not realize until NOW that I'm actually INFP. Or so the test said. Let's take a second here to throw rigidity out of the window, and for me to throw out "oh gods I got it wrong I should probably delete this post now" reasoning and put my foot down and state: yes, I mixed them up, but I connect to the J in all these meaningful ways so fuck 'the test' and I'ma now follow what feels like personal truth instead.

You really can't begin to imagine how much energy I spend/waste considering others' feelings and emotions before posting, or reblogging, or doing anything that might lead to problem situations. Just earlier I checked my notifications and I'd been in this convo with someone about writing, really not vibing with their state of mind but still tried to be supportive, saw today I'd gotten a response starting with "with all due respect" and I just nope noped myself outta checking the response out. But part of me feels bad for likely having been upsetting. It's my default mode of operation. I'd feel it my duty to go check out the response just because it's the 'polite' thing to do since the other person took time to respond and just. No. Please no me STOP enough. You don't want to, you don't want to; fair, done, move on.

I have been losing my mind (positively) in an AU in April and genuinely it feels god, but watchign that whole video is making me second-guess myself now. Am I just doing that apparently typical unhealthy disconnect thing? Just. Me. STOP. All that energy going into all these worries and I cannot keep myself from doing so and gods do I want to though. I'm so tired. Beyond just bad sleep. So, so fucking tired. Of me, essentially. I'm 44 and it's true: I have no idea who I am. I have thoughts on who I manage to be, what my core values are, but me specifically? Not a fucking clue. I exist. Isn't that enough? Every character of mine is a piece of me. Does that work?

Speaking of which but my decade-old friendly psycho who came back full force into my head feels like the best influence right now because he doesn't stop to care about any of the things that are my default personality. He has mean comments for everyone (including me), hit on my bestest buddy a few times (through me!) and he's the little voice in my head that just takes over and speaks up and overrides my safeties into typing up his responses. And there's something genuinely freeing about not second-guessing myself, just doing (also cuz he's mean but he is so in a way that is somehow charming. Tall lanky pale white-haired 2000-yo teasing vamp would have all the ladies in the ship comms)

I've been working a lot on me these past months (and years) but y'know what? Kinda getting tired of working on me. Kinda just want to exist as me, make it fun, not work, because I may be a work in progress always but then if I'll always be a wip, why bother trying to complete me? (that whole perfectionist part in the vid? Hit. Hard.)

Anyway I had this moment and decided I'ma SHARE the moment with y'all (who don't care lol that's fine, just doing what I needed to for me) and now Ima watch the INFJ self-motivation video (another 30 minutes) and take of it what helps because I swear I do have books in my head and I'd rather start spending energy thinking of how to share my world instead of dreading I'll never manage to. Such. Waste. of energy. When you realize that sharing is as simple as, y'know: SHARING. (okay but I also want to complete a genuine book)

You'd think I'd be tired writing this up but actually gave me energy. Funny how that works.

(edit: this part right here? I think I fluctuate between INFJ and INFP depending on how well I function on a given day because thank you autism. And this is the thing with strict labels: individuals are unique and spectrums unto themselves. Take what feels right, not what people might tell you is right because hard rules etc whatever. Psychology, especially is NOT an exact science. Generalizations are only that. They're not perfect truth)

[tigertofu]

You’ve probably already wrote about this but what about headcanons for Trevor as a husband and father?

i actually havent written abt him as a husband and i have done some headcanons of him as a new father (heres that list if ur interested n havent seen it already) but i'll very happily do more so ty for this request !! 💕💕 love thinking abt him in Domestic situations........

pairing: reader/Trevor (no gendered language used for reader)

summary: headcanon list of Trevor as a husband and father.

cw's: child endangerment ?

wordcount: 1,044

as a husband : 

• when it comes to Trevor and marriage, canonically, there’s some uhhh mixed signals? he’s said to Michael that he isn’t “the marrying type” but we also have seen him beg total strangers to marry him (like Mary Ann). i think, if he were to seriously consider marrying somebody, it would be after dating for quiiiiite awhile. he’d want to make absolutely sure that the person he proposes to is someone who will truly dedicate themselves to being with him for the rest of their life cuz boy howdy i cannot imagine his abandonment issues and a possible divorce mixing well at all. he’d wanna make sure 100% that the marriage will last forever. but once he does propose, it will be both sentimental and casual. probably somewhere important to the two of you, like the place where you first met, or had your first date, or fucked for the first time.

• the second you two are married, he’ll be overjoyed by the fact that someone loves him enough to want to spend the rest of their life with him, so he’ll be coasting through ecstatic, marital bliss for a long while after the wedding. just in the best of moods. he’ll be extremely clingy during this time, more than ever. smothering really. he’ll wanna spend as much time as possible with you. he’ll love to show you off every chance he gets; mention that he’s married to a wonderful person every chance he gets, to everyone he comes into contact with. 

• he’ll expect you to move in with him (if you aren’t already living together at his place) after getting married cuz there’s no way in hell he’s moving out of his trailer if he doesn’t have to. he’ll let you renovate/redecorate/clean the place as much as you want, though.  

• one caveat for this newly married phase: he won’t immediately understand that being married = assumed mutual monogamy. and this isn’t because of any malicious reason at all; he’ll just continue on enjoying strippers as he always has and he won’t try to hide it because he won’t even be aware that he's doing something generally frowned upon. you’ll quickly notice that he’s still visiting the Vanilla Unicorn for more than just business reasons. once you tell him that hey, being married means not fucking (or groping or ogling) anybody but your spouse, he’ll knock off the stripper habit for good. he might have a mini breakdown and assume you’re about to tell him you’re leaving him when you first start the “hey no more strippers” convo, but will calm down once you tell him that you aren’t planning on a divorce or anything. 

• he will frequently bring you little gifts. bouquets of dandelions picked from the side of the highway or flowers yoinked from some random house’s garden, takeout dinner from your favorite restaurant, articles of clothing that he sees in the shops while out alone and assumes you would look good in (that will also probably not be anywhere near your size or style). it’s the thought that counts, though. and every time he brings you home a little treat or something special, he will present it to you with the biggest, self–satisfied grin because he knows that that’s what good husbands do and he is being the totally greatest husband ever.   

• he will constantly ask if he’s being a good husband and will need frequent reassurance that yes, he is being good. because of his abandonment issues, he will always be a little weary about treating you well.

---------

as a father: 

• imo Trevor as a father can be pretty much summed up in three words: protective, problematic, and proud. 

• from early on in the child’s life he will be sure to pound into their head that they are THE smartest, strongest, bestest son/daughter ever. this is for two reasons. 1 (subconscious): his mother and her myriad of boyfriends/husbands/johns never gave him a single encouraging word while he was growing up and he will want to kind of heal from that by being the exact opposite with his own child. and 2 (very much conscious): any child of his is just going to be the Strongest Smartest Bestest Kid Ever because duh, they came from good stock.

• he may not be the most involved dad (busy with his work and such), but he will be a fun dad. so fun it’s dangerous. kid sees their dad handling a gun one day and expresses interest? time for Baby’s First Firearm! who cares if they aren’t even old enough to write their own name? doesn’t matter. it’s a tough world out there; get that kid a fucking pistol and teach them how to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights ASAP. arguments may occur when you try to tell Trevor that no, the kid is not old enough for a gun or a knife or a dirtbike or fire crackers or any other number of age–inappropriate things. despite being extremely protective of his offspring, the largest threat to their wellbeing will be, inadvertently, him. 

• he’ll probably wanna “”””””homeschool“””””” the kid because (according to him) fuck the government they teach useless stuff in public schools nowadays anyways and his kid isn't gonna waste their precious formative years learning about US presidents and the fucking water cycle no sirree they're gonna learn how to make it out in the Real World. curriculum will include how to shoot at the earliest age you are okay with the kid handling a gun, how to drive as soon as they’re tall enough to reach the gas pedal of Trevor’s Bodhi, how to deal with cops and the shady characters that inhabit Sandy Shores, how to scrap, etc etc etc.

• the kid will absolutely love Trevor though. like absolutely adore him and very much look up to him. he already has a bit of experience with handling kids because of being around for Jimmy and Tracey's childhoods, but there will be a few things in the parenting department that would be better left up to you. like how to healthily process emotions, how to politely interact with other people, how to maintain personal hygiene, etc.

[youngerdrgrey]

must you do the things you do? // The Morning Show fic (1 / 2)

about: 2x06 Episode Tag. After outing Bradley and Laura (via The Vault), Cory stops over at Laura's dressing room for a chat. Laura pieces a few things together. or, Laura gets the chance to call out Cory for his crush on Bradley at the most inopportune time for them all. (Read on AO3) . notes: the title is literally from "The Boy is Mine." Here's another oneshot I started in 2021 and cleaned up this week. In 2x06, after Bradley and Laura were outed (by Cory in exchange for protecting Hannah’s memory), we saw the conversation between Cory and Bradley. He told her she didn’t have to explain herself, and she told him that she thought maybe it would be good for her to have to admit to everyone that she actually wants to be with Laura. But what could the convo between Cory and Laura have looked like?

~

Laura never should’ve come back to The Morning Show. If it weren’t for Bradley, she wouldn’t have. Leave it to Laura to somehow get outed twice on the same time slot. At least last time, she didn’t have to do a live broadcast as the news broke. And there was no Twitter back then. If people wanted to call her a predatory lesbian, they had to at least try calling the station.

Cory chuckles from the doorway of her dressing room. It’s probably meant to sound disbelieving, or comforting. It mostly sounds hollow. Almost pleased.

Laura may be projecting. May be possessive of Bradley in the face of a man she knows would do far more than he should for their favorite news anchor. He might even enjoy seeing them fall apart.

She speaks first. “All these years, and this might be the first time you’ve been in my dressing room.”

He goes for the joke. Voice lowering to a conspiratorial show whisper. “You don’t see many of my type.” When her eyes don’t stray from her vanity’s mirror, Cory pulls on his most sympathetic grin. “Forgive the joke. I thought a little levity could help on a difficult day. It must… bring back memories.”

Laura’s done a lot of work to keep as many of them buried as possible. The strain might tinge her words. “It must. But I’m not the one you should be talking to.” Nor is she the one he wants to. His eyes betray him.

He offers first, “Bradley’s not answering her door.” That explains it. She can’t help the soft chuckle that brings up. Cory adds, “I also wanted to have a word with you.”

He shifts as he says it. Cory always has the sort of chaotic energy of static trapped inside a bottle, unable to break free.

Laura turns in her chair to give Cory her full attention. In turn, Cory finally steps further into her room. He stays standing, which is either a power play or a move for a quick exit.

“Now I won’t ask you to confirm or deny what I’m seeing,” he says. “From a studio standpoint, it can and should be treated as gossip. I can understand how things could be misconstrued. Something as simple as two friends headed home….”

Is that how he wants to play it? Turn UBA against The Vault? Play Laura as the horrified mentor who can’t be near a woman without dating accusations. Bradley’s just a victim. A sweet ally on the wrong side of salacious rumors. A spurned woman who triumphantly powered through the broadcast while the whole world questioned if she was sleeping with her co-anchor.

“It’s interesting,” Laura starts before the thought has fully formed, “that this happened on my first day back. How fortunate this is for the ratings.”

Cory smiles that crooked, too wide smile at her implication. No denial, but then again, she has no proof. 

Laura adds, “I will defer to Bradley on how to handle this situation. Your input is appreciated, but as you’ve already referenced, this isn’t my first time on Page Six.”

He nods, but he doesn’t say anything else. His hands wring, knuckles circling under the pads of his thumbs. He’s teeming with something. Building up his courage to ask what he really wants to know.

He snaps his fingers. “You know I do wonder how we got to this moment. One second, you had to be coaxed to interact with our anchors, and the next….” His eyebrows pitch up for emphasis. He tries to sound so casual.

Laura reminds him, “You brought me into this. You asked me to get close to Bradley.”

A fire lights behind his eyes. “I said coach her, not poach her to your — this —“ Laura lifts a sculpted brow, but Cory holds up a finger as he retracts and rephrases. He tries again with a humorless laugh. “Hey, a lot can happen in thirty-six hours.”

“A lot can happen in a year as well. I can sense how you feel about Bradley.” 

This, he denies. “I worry about her. She didn’t have the benefit of the mentors that you had, and—“

“And you think I’m taking advantage of her? Hypothetically speaking.”

“I wouldn’t dare think that.”

Laura leans forward in her seat. “Yet you’re here, in my dressing room, to what? Defend her honor? Pretend to check on me so that you have the right words to comfort her later? Let me help you. When somebody chooses to out you, first it’s terrifying. Your heart pounds. Blood rings in your ears until eventually the shock settles in.”

She’d seen the exact moment it clicked for Bradley. When the world snapped back into focus with the eyes of the nation on Bradley and that ridiculous prank nose.

Laura continues, “Then it’s a bit easier to breathe but impossible to do anything else. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s lying down now. Staring at the ceiling, or the wall, or squeezing her eyes shut. She’ll get the strength to respond eventually. But the internet is there, so the tweets will find her before anything else does. Then her family, then whoever else has access. And regardless of how she responds, or the show does, she’ll spend the rest of her life aware that this is what happened, here, on your stage.”

He stiffens. “You were seen.”

“Seen what? Going into a hotel room? People do that. Particularly people who’ve interviewed each other and don’t want to talk about sensitive topics in the public eye. People can laugh and hold hands, but the moment a lesbian is involved, it’s a problem. It’s sensational. It’s the type of information that can change things.”

Change the conversation. Laura’s eyes widen as it clicks. This news would take the focus off of Hannah, off of TMS and UBA+ and Alex in Maggie’s upcoming book. This news would be enough to bury something.

Cory watches as Laura processes. He at least has the decency to meet her eyes. Her friend. Her boss. Her traitor. Then he blinks, and his smile is back like it never dropped. Brighter than before even.

He says, “I’ll check with Bradley. See how she wants to handle this. I’ll let you know.” He reels around, and that’s when a second click happens.

Yes, Cory could’ve done this for UBA. But he absolutely did it for Bradley. To tear her down and then scoop up the pieces. To save her in the way only her boss can. To ruin her and Laura before they had a chance to become untouchable. They won’t survive something like this, not alone, and Bradley won’t let them be together.

Laura has to fix this. She has to talk to Bradley. She can’t lose her, not yet.

.

.

read part two

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA Episode 6 - Masks (3/5)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA.

Of course, full spoilers ahead.

<previous/next>

Love that they expand the convo between Aang and Zuko and give a reason for not immediately heading to save Sokka and Katara (whom were currently dying of thirst and fever in the animated show) - fire nation soldiers were still searching around. In the animated version, Aang just stays with Zuko until morning for…some reason? while his friends are dying.

Everything Zuko does is such a great choice, acting wise. He really acts like a teen trying to convince people he's badass and confident - which to the teen, is done in totally legitimate ways while us olds can see right through that mask and see how insecure and inexperienced with what true confidence is. Again with the masks, Zuko over-acts to convince others (and himself) that he's strong and can do it alone - hence him slapping away Aang's hand he stretches out to help Zuko. It's honestly a funny scene because we can see how petulant and ridiculous him slapping away a helping hand is, but with Zuko's past and how he's been taught to be strong alone - yet never actually has gotten any solid teaching on HOW to do that - Zuko sees it as a reasonable reaction.

I think it was a really great move to expand his and Aang's conversation here. In the animated series, Aang only talks about Kuzon and what life was like for Aang before and how much he misses it. Here, Aang talks TO and WITH Zuko rather than just talking AT him. Aang starts by appraising him of the situation - there are guards patrolling the woods so they need to hunker down for the moment, then he tries to help, then just sits with Zuko - close, and facing him rather than in a corner. He shows Zuko that he's actually confident, not afraid of Zuko, and not intending to be antagonistic either. Aang sets the tone as only Aang can: one that's genuinely kind and open, wanting to talk the issues through, not solve it with threats or violence. Then he opens with a disarming question - one meant to connect the two of them, to humanize himself to Zuko and show that he sees Zuko as another person, not just an enemy, too. It's just SO AANG!

That's always been Aang's superpower - like Katara said back on Kyoshi Island: it's his ability to connect with people that makes him so special. Especially thrust into a world that's been at war for 100 years, that wears on EVERYONE, people are done trying to play nice, it's hit now and hit hard - no diplomacy is going to work because it hasn’t worked for 100 years. Aang doesn’t have that baggage. He really is a man out of time - and he uses that to his advantage here.

He tries it other places and it rarely works, but with Zuko, it can. Aang starts with a question that looks like it's going one direction, but veers into something so beautifully mundane. When he asks if it's ok to ask 'a personal question', everyone's (and probably Zuko's too) thought goes to the scar - it's the big thing that 'different' about him, that defines him, just as so many people with visible differences/disabilities know. "Can I ask how you became blind? How you lost your leg? What it's like living with Down Syndrome?" All those questions about, usually, not the things people are so proud of (not that they're ashamed, per se, but like, why talk about a missing leg when we can talk about their artwork, ya know?) or want to sit around and chat about. But Aang veers left - what type of hair do you use for your calligraphy brush?

Aang opens with an off-kilter question, then follows up with a compliment: "your characters are so neat", then some self-depreciating humor "I can never get mine like that. The monks used to say lemur droppings were more legible than my brush strokes". It's just impossible to not be put at ease by him talking to Zuko like a person - finding common ground, mundane and 'insignificant' as it is, but Zuko doesn't crack - yet. I think it was great that they used Zuko's notebook not just as a convenient goober to get Aang the info he needed in a neat little package, but to bring it back as a point of connection between him and Zuko - Zuko's desperation to end his banishment helped Aang.

Something so important to Zuko did genuine good and helped the person he was hunting - and he was GENUINELY thanked for it. Not only thanked for it, but he got an actual apology from Aang about stealing it - I wonder how many times Zuko had ever been apologized to after someone hurt him or stole his things.

Zuko stays stone-faced, but he's not angry - he doesn't look away either. To me, it feels like he's trying hard to calculate how he thinks he's SUPPOSED to react to Aang telling him this. I think he wants to be proud of his work, of Aang telling him that he has info on past Avatars no one else has, how Aang stayed up long nights reading his work, how it really has helped him. Here's someone who is genuinely telling Zuko that his work is good - not just good, but unique and impactful the way no one else's work is. He's the best at this - what he did is worthy of respect and praise.

Finally, after Aang tells him Zuko's notebook (he) helped him a lot, Zuko breaks - he tells Aang he uses goat hair for his brushes as it gives him more control. The façade of hard, unfeeling badassery is broken and he's just another kid discussing stationary and how to please exacting teachers. And uuuuggghhh Aang is just so charming and disarming with his self-deprecating jokes! Just like how he tried to cheer up Katara with his little joke about 'I think that's what the monks said - I never listened', he makes another about always getting caught snoring while he was supposed to be meditating and Zuko breaks!! The big bad, hard core firebender SMILES!!!! Then he quickly reins it in and tries to return to his stoic scowl.

It's so good having Aang and Zuko slide into a discussion about 'sides' as it does look strange that Zuko is 'fighting against' other firebenders. Zuko starts out by flipping right back to anger, to forceful faux confidence, then realizes that he's having to face his 'enemy' and tell this kid whose joke he just laughed at that he's still needing to capture him. But he takes a more casual stance, a resigned tone, not a forceful one, as he tells Aang that he can only return home if he captures him and takes him in, he can then become the next fire lord. Yet again, Zuko is questioned about whether that's actually what he wants and another point of connection between the two is forged - Zuko insists that yes, of course he wants to be the fire lord, that's what everyone expects of him. Expectation. We know that Zuko doesn't actually care about the throne, he just wants acceptance and his family back, but Zuko has been told the way to get that is through being the perfect prince - that wanting the throne is the same as getting his family.

I love how Zuko starts to get clearly agitated at the direction the conversation is taking - I would attribute that to people poking at his beliefs that he's had to cling to because if they come crumbling down under too much scrutiny, he won't know what to do - and Aang immediately tries to calm him down, not raise his voice, tries for kind and gentle advice given to him by his own mentor - opening up and being vulnerable with Zuko in an attempt to regain that connection they had just shared. And it works - he opens up about how he's so worried about the expectations about him being the Avatar and Zuko calms down, he shifts back and relaxes again.

Aang pushes in, telling Zuko how different he is from the other firebenders, how he knows what the fire lord is doing is wrong, how Zuko could be better than them - on the surface and initially, things Zuko might like to hear. But Aang pushes it too far - he mentions compassion and all that trauma rushes to the surface and Zuko is reminded just how painful being different from the other firebenders can be - how much punishment compassion brought him.

He feels like he has to overcompensate yet again - never show weakness, never show vulnerability, never accept someone else's criticism of his actions or of the actions of those he's associated with. I think it's very telling that he starts with declaring that he's the crown prince - that he is to be the example for all firebenders. His expectations don't only extend to himself and how he should be viewed by his father - he sees the entire fire nation as looking at him and judging his actions and worth - expectations that crush him as they tell him to be a certain way I think he already knows he doesn’t want to be. And even though his father was clearly abusive, he still insists that he's a great man - to save face, he has to deny the accusations of the enemy and declare that his abuser is actually good and no one is allowed to say otherwise (oh my god, seriously Zuko, stop stealing these lines from my DnD character! I swear she did it first, it's not just that Zuko's journey is so incredibly organic in his experience and reaction to the abuse that it transcends through to other mediums seamlessly).

And finally, Zuko can't take it anymore, he has to firmly put that mask back on and yells at Aang that compassion is a sign of weakness - and attacks. Finally, Aang is afraid of Zuko, and dispatches him again, but Aang is a smart kid - he recognizes the pain that talk of compassion brought out in Zuko. He doesn't blame Zuko for it, he sees how much he's been hurt already and I think, yet again, that's what makes Aang such an amazing protagonist and Avatar - he WANTS everyone to be good at heart. He wants to connect, to find paths to healing and cooperation. And he is willing to see past rough edges to the heart of gold within.

<next post is going to go into detail about what I thought about the Agni Kai and the additions to Ozai's character behavior>

[us3rnam3-r3dact3d]

i always love stories w different povs, in the canon you didn't really get to see how quinn affected everyone else. baaabe and angel are unempowered, like I could not imagine the stress that both of them must have been going thru- they've been told theres a psycho serial killer vampire on the loose who might be coming for the shaw pack and they're just going to their 9-5????? no?????????? i like how you described how small everything became for someone like angel, they had to be confined to 10-19, they slept, ate and worked there, that would fucking drive me insane.

AAAAAASSSSHHHHHHH, save me gentle but assertive asher, gentle but assertive asher if you can hear me please,,,,,,, im so happy he told them, ash is the type of friend that would never keep something like that away from them, the guilt would eat him alive

GUY AND ANGEL AS SIBLINGS YEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH LETS FUCKING GOOO U GET IT 🫵🫵🫵🫵 but fr tho angel has/is going THROUGHT IT,, please let them relax for 5 seconds,,,,, pls let them sleep with their husband it's all they want

THIS DUDE IS FUCKING EVERYWHERE

them crossing their legs ooh im unwell, how do you write his creepy ass dialogue so well

and angel being "nice" as a defense mechanism is so real- u ever have a man come up and talk to you and you just get this feeling that if you upset him or say the "wrong thing" he's gonna do something to you,,, lemme tell you it's not fun at all. you're just overcome w this paralyzing feeling and you feel yourself shrinking into prey, thats what I felt reading their convo holy shit dude

DAVID YOU FUCKING BASTARD YOU COULDVE ENDED THIS WHOLE THING HE LET HIM GO???? HE FUCKING LET HIM GO????? HELLO?? ARE WE STILL TALKING ABOUT THE SAME QUINN??? MOTHERFUCKER WHY DIDNT YOU RAM IT INTO HIS SKULL- put me in the next chapter and give me free range i need to show these bitches how it's done. i never thought david could disappoint me, YALL DIDNT EVEN APPREHEND HIM OR NOTHING???? CALL THE COPS????? CALL COLM??????? IM NEVER GETTING OVER THIS HE LET HIM GO FOR REAL BRO WHAT nahhhh darlins about to crash the fuck out im so mad rn

im done

-🦀

CRAB ANON!!!!! Bro I knew as I was writing this that would piss you off. I promise David has his reasons!! All will be revealed eventually!!

Bro the hostage situation that abusive people can put you into is SUCH AN INTERESTING THING!!!! Part of the reason that Quinn's cruelty is particularly vile is that it lingers even when he isn't there. He has a sort of mystic, supernatural quality about him even in this fully human form. He seems to be all powerful, always lingering, always in the right place to terrorize the right person left vulnerable. The thing is that he actually isn't. Quinn isn't following around each member of the crew at all times, but what is following them is the knowledge that he COULD BE!! He haunts people. A mortal ghost, breathing down necks. One of my favorite moments in the story is the moment that Freelancer feels like they're being watched at the end of the Thanksgiving chapter. There is no way for them or the audience to know if that was Quinn or their imagination or any of their other ghosts. He haunts the narrative!! He haunts the characters!!! He haunts you, the audience!!!

Angel's going crazy. Who can blame them???

Asher!! Bro I live by Asher being a good leader and an even better friend. He won't keep the truth from people to save their feelings, and he very honestly trusts them. He trusts them not to run, not to put themself in danger. That's not something David can say.

I'm so glad you noticed the leg crossing. Very intentional.

YES!!! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS!! So fun fact Trevor is actually based on a coworker I had when I worked in food service. I think we've all met a slimy, terrible man who makes it clear, whether by obvious or underhanded threats of violence, that you can't say no to him. That the safest thing you can do is play nice. It's a trick, it's never really safe, but Angel has survived this long doing so.

And again, David has his reasons for not killing Quinn right then and there. More shall be revealed soon!!!