#just… refuses to tell anyone otherwise despite the fact that he knows it’s not

[mxtxfanatic]

I don’t think anyone will understand how visceral of a negative reaction I get to seeing a bingqiu fic tagged with rape/noncon.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

── THE GLASS PRINCESS // ONE

Series Synopsis: You wake up in a strange room with no memories, broken glass at your bedside, and a prince named Zuko as your only chance at figuring out who you really are.

Chapter Synopsis: You meet Mai, Ty Lee, and Prince Zuko.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 5.6k

Content Warnings: complicated relationships (strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers), amnesia, alternate universe, lots of secrets and lying and mystery

A/N: this is my first ever attempt at writing for atla despite how long ago i watched it and how much i’ve written since then HAHAH. tbh i don’t expect much to come of it but oh well we’ll see how it goes!! also this is an alternate universe — the extent of which things have been changed will become more apparent as we go along. also apologies in advance if anyone is ooc, i haven’t watched atla in forever so idk if i’ll get it right!

There was a pile of glass on the nightstand when you woke up. It glimmered in the light, the fire refracting on the shards and forming tiny little rainbows on the wooden floor. Rusty streaks stained the faceted tips, though, and you winced as you tried to imagine how that quantity of blood could’ve made its way there.

“It’s yours,” a girl said. You startled, for you hadn’t noticed her presence, but it seemed like that had been her plan. She stood in the corner, her clothes a dull maroon, her hair glossy black and eyes a sharp, dark shade. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she regarded you, but her face was otherwise smooth, betraying nothing.

“Mine?” you said, voice cracking from disuse. “What do you mean? The — the blood?”

“And the glass,” she affirmed. “In some sense, anyways. Some of the pieces, we had to pull out of you, and others were apparently just lying around where you were found. At least, that’s what Zuko said. I’m still not quite sure why he went and collected it all to bring back, though…”

You squinted at the glass, trying to find some familiarity in it, but there was none. You had no idea why you would be surrounded by it, nor why it would be embedded in you. The girl waited for a second, but when you did not speak, she scoffed.

“Sorry,” you said automatically.

“We’ve been waiting for you to wake up for so long,” she said, an accusatory note entering her voice. “Zuko refuses to say anything, and it’s not like we can bully the crown prince himself into telling us what happened, so you’ve been our only chance at figuring everything out.”

��Oh,” you said, a migraine building behind your forehead as you tried to go through the events that had led to your presence here, in this austere room, on this plush mattress. “I — I don’t know.”

“You don’t know,” she repeated drearily. “Wow.”

“I’m sorry,” you said again. “I really don’t. I’m telling the truth.”

In fact, you were rapidly coming to the conclusion that you didn’t know anything. Your childhood, your family, your home…there was nothing. Where your memories ought to be was a bleak stretch like night, barely interrupted by flashes of blue. You reached for that blue, for that lovely shade like sapphire, but it was always just out of your grasp, something you could never quite touch no matter how much you wanted to.

“How about I tell you what I know, and we go from there?” she said. You nodded, though you were only half paying attention to her. The rest of you was fighting back a panic that threatened to twist your insides, a dread that was rotting through you, both sensations borne from the fear that you would never remember anything again.

“Prince Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation and told only to return once he found the Avatar,” she said. “He found him eventually, found him many times in fact, but he wasn’t able to capture him. It’s irrelevant, though — he did do something just as impossible. That is to say, he infiltrated Ba Sing Se.”

You thought that you were probably supposed to be awed by this, but considering you had zero idea what any of it meant, you just felt further confused. Still, you smiled at her, hoping she would keep talking until something or another made sense.

“Fire Lord Ozai couldn’t ignore the opportunity. He sent an army to the prince’s aid, and under his command, they managed to destroy the Earth Palace and depose the royal family. The Earth Kingdom’s in shambles, and all but the most secretive resistance efforts have vanished,” the girl, who had still not introduced herself, continued.

“I don’t see what this has to do with me,” you said, ducking your head.

“Neither do the rest of us,” she said. “That’s what you were supposed to know. For some reason, the fact is that upon returning from Ba Sing Se, the prince had your body in tow. You were wrapped in so many bandages we couldn’t tell what you were at first, and then we thought you must be closer to a corpse than anything, but he insisted you were alive, and that we had to heal you.”

“The prince himself did such a thing?” you said. Even you understood what the magnitude of that title meant, what kind of person a prince was bound to be. And if that was the case, if this mysterious Zuko really was the prince of an entire nation, then why would he have sullied his victory with care for the brutalized body of a random girl?

“He did,” the girl said. “It was the first thing he saw to. Not the reclamation of his crown, but that you were being treated with the best technologies the Fire Nation has to offer. Don’t you think it’s strange? Worthy of investigation? Don’t you agree that we should be curious about what significance you have?”

“Yes, um, naturally,” you said, taken aback by the rapid-fire line of questioning. Despite her initially bland facade, she was surprisingly intense, relentless, even, the stark contrast between the two personalities enough to make you curl inwards.

“Maybe he loves you,” she said, narrowing her eyes at you, inspecting you critically. “I suppose it’d certainly be an explanation, though it wouldn’t give us any clues about who you are or why he might love you in the first place.”

“I wouldn’t know,” you said, shifting in your seat uncomfortably. “I don’t even know my own name, let alone whether I was in love with someone.”

“Don’t even know your own name?” the girl said, raising her eyebrows. “You really are pathetic. I’m impressed.”

“I can’t remember anything specific about my life. I know general things, of course. The color of the sky. The way the moon looks. But the history of the world, my own existence…these are things I cannot recall,” you said.

She appraised you with the beginnings of something like sympathy flickering in her irises. Clenching her jaw and deciding upon something, she straightened her back and turned to the door.

“I should tell Zuko you’re awake,” she said. “That’s what he told us to do, the instant you regained consciousness. I’ve put it off long enough.”

“Wait!” you said. “What’s your name?”

She glanced at you over her shoulder. You blinked at her, willing her to understand — that before you could meet this prince, you had to know something. Even if it was only as small as this girl’s name, you wanted to have at least one thing in your head, a word or other such piece of knowledge that you could cling to, that you could form a barrier around your mind with.

“Mai,” she said. She did not elaborate before slamming the door shut behind her, but it was enough for you. There was this one constant now — you knew a girl, and her name was Mai.

As you waited for Mai to return with the prince, you busied yourself with inspecting the room you were quartered in. You had mistakenly called it austere due to the lack of decorations hung up, but now that you had the chance to look closely, you noticed that the wall itself was covered with intricate, swirling designs engraved by a firm, steady hand. The blanket that had been drawn up around your shoulders and was now puddled around your hips was made of silk and stuffed with feathers, and its quality was such that it all but shimmered. This was not the kind of room that just anybody stayed in; it was a room fit for someone of high rank. A lady. And a lady you were not, yet here you sat, in this room that made you feel entirely out of place.

Only a few minutes had passed before the door slammed open, but it was not Mai nor any sort of prince who entered. It was another girl, as bubbly and cheery as Mai had been cool and collected. She beamed when she saw you sitting up and looking around, bounding over to place her hands on your shoulders.

“Hi! Hi, hi, I’m so glad you’re awake!” she said. You tried to smile back at her, but the exuberance was so jarring that you could not do anything but brace yourself against it.

“Thank you,” you managed to say as she shook you. “Who are you?”

“Ty Lee!” she said. You noticed that she had a habit of ending every sentence with her voice ticking up in delight, like she was perpetually thrilled with the world. It was even more of a contrast to Mai than you had anticipated, and you felt your head spinning as you tried to keep up with the differences.

“Did I know you before?” you said. She cocked her head.

“Huh? No, I have no idea who you are, just like you have no idea who I am. You sure are pretty, though! Even prettier when you’re not all passed out,” she said, miming fainting before beaming at you expectantly. You tried to laugh, but it was an awkward sound, clearly unconvincing.

“The same to you,” you said. “Er. Obviously, aside from the part about passing out.”

“Obviously!” she said. “Now, just stay very still, okay?”

You froze in place immediately, wondering what she was going to do but trusting that it would not be anything harmful. Or, perhaps trusting wasn’t quite the right word for it — you just had no choice but to obey, because you had no other metric for what was correct. Whether Ty Lee wanted to help or harm you, you couldn’t know for sure, but either way she would do something, and since she was only the second person whose face you had seen, you had to let her do it.

She jabbed her pointer fingers into your neck, side, and wrists, all in a quick, precise succession. You waited for something to happen, but there was nothing, and when she raised her eyebrows at you, you could only furrow your own in a non-answer.

“Felt nothing?” she said. You nodded in the affirmative. “Interesting.”

“Was I supposed to?” you said.

“I dunno!” she said. “I guess we’ll see once the others get here.”

“What do the others have to do with it?” you said. At this, she winked and raised her fingers to her lips, as if you two were sharing some silly secret.

“If I tell you, then that’ll ruin things! We can discuss it later, but for now, you have to keep it to yourself, okay?” she said.

“Why?” you said. It wasn’t accusatory; you were genuinely curious.

“Let’s just say that certain parties would not be pleased if they found out what I was doing,” she said, giggling nervously and glancing at the door. “And those parties aren’t the kind you really want to offend, so please just keep your mouth shut!”

“Don’t want to offend? Who, like Prince Zuko?” you said.

Before Ty Lee could respond, there was a knock at the door. She scrambled away from you, so that she was standing in the same corner Mai had been in, looking demure and respectful. It was like she had never spoken to you in the first place, and when she had arranged herself suitably, she motioned towards the door.

“Me?” you said.

“Yes, you!” she said. “It’s your room, isn’t it?”

“I would hardly know,” you reminded her. She considered this before making a face in agreement.

“Right, there is that fact. Anyways, yes. This isn’t a hospital wing or anything, it’s your room, which means that when someone knocks, it’s up to you to tell them if they can come in or not,” she said.

“You didn’t knock,” you said. Ty Lee cleared her throat.

“Ah, well, I’m from a Fire Nation family! People of higher rank are allowed to do things like barging in on others,” she said. “I can’t tell you the amount of times Princess Azula has stormed into my room without warning.”

“I see,” you said, mostly because you didn’t know who Princess Azula was or why she merited mention. “This must be a servant or something, then, considering they’re knocking on even my door.”

“Probably,” Ty Lee said. There was another knock, louder this time, and you swore under your breath as you realized you had forgotten to answer them.

“Come in!” you said, folding your hands in your lap and looking over at the doorway, wondering who it could possibly be.

To your surprise, it was a boy. He was dressed in fine armor, his dark hair tied back in a regal topknot, his features angular and his eyes a sharp gold. His face was set in a frown, but when he saw you, you thought you picked up on the faintest trace of happiness. Almost immediately, though, it was quashed by a scowl, so that you could not be quite sure if you had actually seen it or if you had just been imagining things.

Behind him was Mai, looking as bored as she had earlier, though she seemed marginally more excited to see Ty Lee than she had been when you had woken up. You supposed they must’ve been friends or something.

“You should bow,” Mai said, directing the statement at you.

“No way!” the boy said immediately, waving his hands in dissent before you could even move. “I mean, ah, she doesn’t have to do that. It’s fine.”

“Woah! That’s crazy, Zuko, normally you’re all about honor and tradition and whatnot!” Ty Lee said. “It’s strange to hear something like that coming from you.”

So this was Prince Zuko, the boy who had, for some reason, saved your life. He was the only one who knew anything about your past. Your name, your identity, your origin…if you wanted to know any of these things, then your best chance at finding them stood before you, gazing at you with an inscrutable expression.

“Your royal highness,” you said, not bothering to get out of bed but dipping your head in what you hoped was a sign of respect anyways. He coughed awkwardly.

“Um. Yes,” he said.

“So,” Mai observed from the spot she had taken beside Ty Lee, “she’s awake now.”

“I see that,” Prince Zuko said. Mai rolled her eyes.

“Will you tell us who she is? Or why you insisted on saving her, maybe?” she said.

“Why don’t you ask her?” he said. “She’d know as well as I would. Maybe better.”

“I already tried,” Mai said. The prince’s scowl deepened, the corners of his mouth tugging further downwards at the offhand statement, his eyes flicking to you before returning to Mai.

“Of course you did,” he said. “And what did she say?”

“Nothing,” Mai said.

“She doesn’t remember anything,” Ty Lee said. “Not even her own name. You’re the only one left who can tell us anything about her.”

Something in Prince Zuko’s demeanor shifted at that moment. A despairing anger warred with resignation and defeat, but below the surface, some other emotion was hidden, kept locked tightly away, something that he was suppressing, so that no one could dare to even attempt to comprehend it.

“I see,” he said. “Is that the case?”

He was asking you. You did not look at him when you responded, focusing on the pile of glass still stacked on the nightstand.

“Yes,” you said. “Your royal highness. It’s the case.”

Prince Zuko considered this, and for a moment, there was an eerie silence in the room, as you all waited to hear what he would say. Who were you? Would he finally disclose it, or would you be further stranded in the darkness?

“Ursa,” he said finally.

“Your mother?” Mai said. He shook his head.

“No, not her. It’s — um, it’s her. Her name,” he said, jutting his chin in your direction.

“She has the same name as your mother,” Mai said flatly.

“Yes,” he said.

Ursa. That was your name. You didn’t feel some great reclamation of your identity upon hearing it; in fact, it meant nothing to you, except that at some point, people must have called you that.

“Is that why you saved her?” Ty Lee said. “Because she has the same name as your mother?”

“Yeah,” he muttered under his breath. “That’s exactly why.”

“Really? We thought you might’ve been in love with her or something,” Mai said. “I guess this is in character enough, though.”

“How’d you find someone with a Fire Nation name in Ba Sing Se, though?” Ty Lee said. Prince Zuko gave her an irritated look; she only gazed at him innocently until he sighed and looked away.

“She had been taken prisoner on the front lines and brought to Ba Sing Se to be, er…tortured. For — for Fire Nation secrets,” he said.

“Why would they think an ordinary girl would have Fire Nation secrets?” Mai said.

“It’s not like Fire Nation citizens are easy to kidnap!” he snapped. “She might not know any vital information about the nation, but it was probably better than nothing!”

“Well, sorry for asking,” Mai said, rolling her eyes at him once again. It seemed her fuse was particularly shorter when it came to him, not that it had ever appeared to be particularly long to begin with.

“Do you think they got anything out of her?” Ty Lee said, in a not-so-subtle attempt to change the subject and break the tension. Prince Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose.

“It doesn’t matter, does it?” he said.

“I guess not. Not now that Ba Sing Se is ours and the rest of the Earth Kingdom has all but fallen,” Ty Lee said.

“Right. Even if they found out anything from her, it didn’t help them in the end,” he said.

“What should we do with her?” Ty Lee said. “Poor girl, she doesn’t even know her lefts from her rights!”

“Uh, I do know that much…” you interjected. Ty Lee paid you no mind, continuing to speak to Prince Zuko like you weren’t there.

“She can’t live in the palace like this forever!” she said. “But she’s like a blind little child, alone in the world. Where can she even go?”

Prince Zuko looked at you, and then he exhaled heavily. You swallowed, waiting for his judgment, knowing that he now held your life in his hands, wondering what he would decide, wondering what fate was in store for you. For Ursa. Since you both were one and the same, after all.

“Send her to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. They’ll teach her what she needs to know to be a proper Fire Nation girl,” he said.

“She’s not a noblewoman, though,” Mai said.

“Do you think the headmistress will argue with me if I say I want her admitted?” Prince Zuko shot back, though there was a tinge of insecurity, a questioning undercurrent, like he really wasn’t sure if he would get away with it or not.

“Nope,” Ty Lee said. “But do you think she — Ursa — can handle it? I mean, we were there, right, Mai? You remember how it was.”

“It’s a tough environment,” Mai agreed. You could tell what she was thinking: what place did a girl who came to the palace covered in bandages and glass, in the arms of a once-banished prince, have in a royal academy? “She’ll be eaten alive there.”

“And what if someone challenges her to an Agni Kai?” Ty Lee said. “Do you think she could win that? Is she that good at bending?”

“She’s not a Firebender,” Prince Zuko said.

“Why was she on the front lines if she’s not even a Firebender?” Mai said before pausing. “Never mind. I don’t feel like listening to your dramatics when you explain. But, you know, she’ll struggle that much more without bending to protect her.”

Prince Zuko’s face settled into a pensive mask of thought before he lit up, brandishing his pointer finger as if he’d come up with the idea of the century. Mai did not look amused, though Ty Lee seemed fascinated by what he might say.

“Ty Lee! You ran away from school to join the circus, right?” he said. Ty Lee went from looking fascinated to nervous, but she nodded.

“Yes, but I’m back now, so I don’t know why you’re bringing that up,” she said.

“My sister doesn’t have any immediate need for you,” he said, eyes gleaming. “Maybe it’s time you finally finish your education for good.”

“You want me to go back to the Royal Fire Academy?” Ty Lee repeated. Prince Zuko nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. You can watch out for her,” he said, jabbing his pointer finger at you.

“What will Azula say?” Ty Lee said.

“It’ll be fine,” Mai said. “If she needs you, you can just take a vacation from school or something. It’s better that you do this than laze around the palace.”

“I don’t want to be a burden,” you said quietly, speaking up of your own volition for the first time. “To anyone. I’m just grateful that you saved me, Prince Zuko. The rest of it is unnecessary. You don’t need to force the royal academy to accept me, and you don’t need to make Ty Lee come just to watch out for me. It’s enough that I’m alive. I can make my own life from here.”

“You don’t know anything. How can you expect to make a new life when you don’t even remember the one you’ve had until this point?” he said.

“I suppose there might be some benefit to Ursa going to school,” Mai added. “As long as she can survive the academy, it’ll be good for her. She can get caught up on everything she doesn’t remember, and it’ll be in an environment where her classmates are the children of the Fire Nation elite, so she can make further connections with people in high places.”

“Maybe she can find someone who has a brother she can date!” Ty Lee said, swooning.

“No!” Prince Zuko said. You all gave him strange looks; when he noticed, he turned a red as bright as his garb. “It wouldn’t be proper. You know, since you’ll be attending in my name and all; if you date anyone, it’ll reflect on me. So you can only date the people I approve of.”

“Alright. If that’s what you think is best,” you said. The last thing you wanted was to make things difficult for the boy who had, by all accounts, saved your life.

“I do,” he said.

“Uh-huh,” Mai said from the corner. “You know, Ty Lee, this reminds me of when Azula took us to the zoo that one time.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess it does!” Ty Lee said, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Prince Zuko said.

“Is there a zoo nearby?” you said. “I don’t remember ever going to one. I’d like to visit, if it’s possible.”

“I’ll take you!” Ty Lee said. “When we have a break from school and classes and all.”

“So you’ll go with her?” Prince Zuko said. Ty Lee huffed.

“I don’t really have much of a choice, do I? Besides, I’m sure Azula will be happy to hear I’m pursuing my education in my downtime instead of just doing nothing. And you know I’d do anything to make her happy!” she said before cartwheeling over to where you were still situated in your bed, throwing her arms around you affectionately. “We’re going to be classmates, Ursa!”

“I look forward to it,” you said genuinely. Ty Lee tapped you on the forehead.

“Me too!” she said.

“You are?” Mai said. “I don’t remember you ever liking the school, Ty Lee.”

“I don’t,” she said, abruptly wilting. “Everyone was so mean there. But my parents will probably be happy, and at least I’ll get to spend more time with Ursa! Maybe I’ll be the only one around when she regains her memories, and I’ll get to hear her story in her own words first.”

“For the sake of the prince’s mental wellbeing, let’s hope that’s not the case,” Mai said. Prince Zuko did not even respond, too busy inspecting the glass on your bedside to rise to the barb.

“Fine, then,” he said. “Make sure she’ll have everything she needs to attend the academy.”

“Which one of us was that pleasantly worded command directed towards?” Mai said.

“Whichever one of you has the time to do it, I guess,” he said. “This is the glass that came with her?”

“Yes. On the subject, why’d you go and collect so much of it? What a waste of time that must’ve been,” Mai said.

“I don’t know,” Prince Zuko said, sweeping the glass into the small bag lying on the ground by the nightstand. “I thought it might be important in healing her or something. I mean, you know, how could the healers understand what they were pulling out of her unless they saw it?”

Mai did not seem to believe him, but to your surprise, she did not question him further on the topic, only nodding. Maybe she respected him just a bit more than you had thought, though considering your original hypothesis had not exactly been favorable for the prince, this didn’t mean much.

“Where are you taking that?” she said instead, motioning towards the bag. “To dispose of it?”

“Yeah,” Prince Zuko said. “I’ll have it taken to the incinerator.”

You felt a twinge in your stomach. “Do you have to?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said.

“That glass is my only link to who I was before. Even if it was a bad memory, at least that memory was mine,” you explained. “I — I know it’s strange, but I feel like if you destroy it, you’ll destroy me, in some sense.”

“Ursa…” Ty Lee said, helplessly sympathetic, grasping your hands in her own. “It’s just glass. It can’t tell you anything about yourself, besides the fact that you were hurt during the fall of Ba Sing Se.”

“Your royal highness,” you beseeched Prince Zuko, who shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably at the title. “I know you have already done so much for me, so it is in bad taste for me to ask you for another favor, but please do not send that glass to be burnt away. Please save it. At least until I remember why it was there in the first place.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “It’s waste material. Nothing good will come of you keeping it. Nothing at all will.”

“I just—” you began before breaking off. “Never mind. I’m sorry for asking.”

“Zuko, maybe you should just do it,” Mai said.

“Leave it, Mai,” Ty Lee said. “He’s made up his mind. Even we can’t change it once he’s like this.”

Both of them looked at him, but he only picked up the bag and tucked it under his arm.

“I’m leaving now,” he said. “Don’t come after me.”

The door slammed shut behind him, leaving you alone in the room with Mai and Ty Lee. Both of them seemed sorry, and actually, unlike what you had expected, Mai was the first to speak up.

“I’m sorry, Ursa,” she said. “He’s always been the temperamental sort.”

“It’s okay,” you said, still unused to being referred to as Ursa, even if it was the name you had supposedly bore for your entire life. “He and Ty Lee are right, after all. It’s just glass. Trash. What use could I really derive from something like that? If that’s all that’s left of my old life, then maybe I’m better off not remembering at all.”

“You don’t really believe that,” Mai said. “But if it makes you feel better, we won’t argue, right, Ty Lee?”

“Hm? No, we won’t,” Ty Lee said.

“What’s gotten you all distracted?” Mai said. Ty Lee shook her head.

“It’s nothing. By the way, can you help me pack for the academy? I’m worried I’ll forget something,” she said.

“That, or you want me to do it all for you,” Mai said.

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that!” Ty Lee said.

“I’m just joking,” Mai said, but since her voice remained that same steady deadpan, it was hard to tell. “Yes, I’ll help you, and I’ll get things ready for Ursa, too. That way she can leave as soon as Zuko gets her admitted into the academy. Let’s be honest — the sooner she can get out of here, the better.”

“That’s true,” Ty Lee said, though when she noticed your downcast expression, she rushed to reassure you. “Don’t feel bad!”

“It’s not a problem. I understand; you’ve already wasted so much time and so many resources on taking care of me. It’s only logical that you’d want me gone,” you said.

“It’s not like that,” Mai said. “There’s just people in this palace that you’d be better off never meeting. It’ll be good if you can get out before you have that displeasure. That’s all.”

“I see,” you said. “Then thank you once again for doing your best to look out for me.”

“We’ll leave you alone for a bit,” she said. “I’m sure this has all been a lot to process, so it’ll be good for you to come to terms with it on your own time.”

“Bye, Ursa! See you soon!” Ty Lee said.

“Bye,” you said, though your farewell was lacking much of her cheer. Even if Mai was right, you didn’t really want to sit alone. You had nothing to think about or do in the solitude, so what good would you gain from it? But you could hardly beg them to stay, not when you did not know them and they did not know you, so you only watched as they left you sitting by yourself in silence.

It was only when the moon was high in the sky that your door creaked open once more. You were still awake — you had been having trouble getting to sleep, so you had tentatively begun to walk around your room, testing your legs, familiarizing yourself with the motions of walking once more. When you heard footsteps, though, you immediately grew still, hoping that the visitor would be someone you recognized and not someone with more nefarious intentions.

You had been expecting, or perhaps hoping, that it would be Mai or Ty Lee, but to your surprise, it was Prince Zuko. He was not wearing armor, and his hair was loose and messy around his face, but there was no doubt that it was him.

“How much do you really remember?” he said without formality or even a greeting. “Hey. Tell me the truth, at least.”

“What do you mean?” you said. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I mean, have you really forgotten everything?” he said.

“Yes,” you said. “There’s nothing but a vast darkness whenever I try to look back at the time before I woke up here. I don’t remember a single thing about myself. I didn’t even know my name until you said it.”

He cocked his head at you, trying to discern if you were being truthful, and eventually he must’ve come to some conclusion, because he just buried his face in his hands.

“Okay,” he said.

“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” you said.

“It depends on who you’re asking,” he said. “And if you’re telling the truth.”

“I am!” you said.

“I believe you,” he said.

“Well…” you said. “There is one thing. Sometimes, in between the darkness, I’ll see something blue. I don’t know what it might represent, but I know that it’s there. It’s the only other thing I can recall — that precise shade like jewel-paint.”

“That could be anything,” he said.

“Yes, I know that,” you said. “That’s why I wouldn’t have even mentioned it ordinarily. Maybe something important to me was that color, or maybe there was just a blue tapestry on the wall where I was injured. There’s no concrete explanation, but I wanted you to know the full truth.”

“So that’s it, then,” he said.

“I suppose it is. On another subject, do you really mean to have me attend the Royal Fire Academy for Girls?” you said.

“You’ve already been accepted,” he said. “You’ll go. It’ll be alright.”

“Mai and Ty Lee didn’t seem to think so,” you said.

“You’re stronger than both of them, by far,” he said. “If they survived, you will, too.”

“Yet I’m the one that was captured,” you reminded him. “I don’t see how that makes me the stronger between us.”

A ghost of a smile flashed over his face. “You may not believe it, but at least to me, you are.”

“Did you know me very well, then, to be saying that with such confidence?” you said. “Before you found me that day? Were — were we friends?”

You didn’t want to say anything else, for it seemed presumptuous, but friends was close enough to what you were really asking that you figured the prince would understand.

It seemed that he did, but he did not appreciate the implication, for his face closed off and his posture grew withdrawn. Turning away from you, he pursed his lips.

“No,” he said. “We weren’t anything. You didn’t know me, and I didn’t know you. I only saved you because — because you and my mother share a name. That’s all.”

“It’s strange,” you said. “That name doesn’t even feel like it’s my own. Is it the amnesia that causes such a phenomenon?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “But you shouldn’t overthink it. Have fun at the Royal Fire Academy, Ursa. I’ll give you a messenger hawk; write to me frequently. And — and if you remember anything…”

“If I remember anything?” you prodded.

“Tell me first,” he said. “Not Ty Lee. Not anyone else. Me.”

[jermer10]

This might be a weird request but can you do one where you're dating the Mercenaries and you figure out your pregnant so you tell them?

TF2 mercs with a pregnant s/o

afab reader | this req wasn't weird at all! thank you op, and i apologize for it taking so long to write! <3

drabbles under the cut :P

Scout: - being the youngest of 8, he wasn't exactly aware of pregnancy signs first hand, though he had heard things from his ma and brothers - so when he noticed you had been sicker, sleeping longer, and having food aversions to things you would otherwise love, he had slowly put pieces of the puzzle together - doesn't wanna bring it up with you, he doesn't want to alarm you, and slyly implies getting a pregnancy test after he sees you vomiting for the 3rd morning that week - when he finds out, he is ecstatic!!! <33333 - would LOVE it if his kids were into baseball, definitely the playing catch in the yard kid of dad - has always been big on having a family, but can't help but also feel incredibly nervous??? - his dad was never there, would he even be a good dad? spoiler alert, he is an amazing dad

Soldier: - completely oblivious to the idea that you could be pregnant, and instead sends you to the infirmary thinking you had just eaten some bad bread - to his complete and utter shock, you came out pregnant - "honey, no, i was already pregnant..." there's no use, he doesn't care who made you pregnant, he was going to be a dad! - is already picturing your white picket fence american life together with 2.5 kids and a dog - doesn't believe in maternity leave, will try to get you onto the battlefield despite the fact that you are seven months pregnant and can barely walk (medic has to explain why you cannot, soldier is outraged) - the kind of guy who really wants a son but is blessed with a daughter instead and ends up having more in common with her - "CAN WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE?" he is so sweet like actually <333

Demoman: - demo is always sick, it comes with the alcoholism - but when you're sick? he is worried, like, extremely worried - at first he thinks it's the flu, maybe gastro? anything but what all the signs point to, please don't be pregnancy - when you show him the positive tests, he holds you and cries - he is so terrified at the idea of being a father, he's an alcoholic, he's never had to take care of anything in his life, not even himself - god, he couldn't bare having to explain the egregious duty of abandoning their child until they come of age, like his parents had done to him, and theirs to them - but, he also really wanted a family with you - he saw how happy this baby would make you, how excited you were to have one with him - when he sees his baby for the first time, he knows that he made the right choice

Heavy: - having three younger sisters, he knew what pregnancy was like - and when his father was executed, he knew he had to protect those sisters as if they were his own children - he absolutely loves the idea of having a small family with you, a peaceful life without bloodshed - so when you come to him, teary eyed, holding what looked like a pregnancy test, he didn't hesitate to embrace you in the most suffocating, loving hug he could muster - "У нас будет ребенок!" he is so incredibly happy - he treats you like royalty, spoils you so hard (as if he didn't already) - his mother and sisters knit you baby clothes!!!! <33333 - will not let anyone near you, he absolutely refuses any harm to you or your baby, if you get sick he ails your illness, if you are hurt he treats your wounds - you are the most precious thing to him, and now so is your baby

Engineer: - it wouldn't come as a surprise to him at all, as you had likely discussed having a baby and trying for one multiple times beforehand - that doesn't stop him from bawling his eyes out anyway - you hold each other for hours, happily crying and giggling about how your future together will look - designs all the baby furniture with added features to make your life easier - feeding bowls that prevent food spillage, chairs that are completely non slip, a baby cradle with an inbuilt monitor and mobile with little wooden tools and machinery - the most proactive father any child could ever want in their lives, he will drop everything to support you and this baby - invests in his kid's hobbies, shows up to every baseball game, every recital, every play

Medic: - medic's never really thought about having kids before - he could honestly live without ever having them - he's giving you a physical, when he notices some of the telltale physical pregnancy signs and decides to give you a test - oh fuck! you were pregnant! - immediate panic mode, he has no idea how to be a father! he offers multiple options for you to undergo surgery to remove it - if you are insistent on having this baby, he decides that he has no choice but to be a dad - at first he ignores this kid, i mean, he is a busy man after all and he never wanted this child in the first place - but this kid follows him EVERYWHERE, and he just cant help but adore the little guy - "ah, it was inevitable really, zhe little scamp just vouldn't leave me alone!" "you know you're allowed to love our kid, right?"

Sniper: - has never wanted kids, it wasn't you, really, he just didn't find them practical - i mean, he lives in a van?? where would you even fit a kid? and surely it wouldn't be healthy to raise one in that sort of environment - he sort of supposes that seeing you holding your baby would be cute, and he wouldn't mind having a little family someday - when you break the news to him, you look visually nervous - shaking, eyes wet and red, probably from crying before you even told him, it breaks his heart seeing you this way - when you finally ask what you should do, despite all common sense, he tells you that he wants to keep the baby - your reaction was all worth it to him - you immediately plan to upsize, looking for a small house together and moving in shortly before the baby is born - he fully comes around to the idea of a child after meeting his own

Spy: - the thought of having a kid turns him off, he is far too emotionally unavailable as it is - you know about scout, and you know the immense guilt and pain spy felt after abandoning him - so when you tell him that you're pregnant, he calmly asks you what you are going to do - he won't talk you out of having the baby, but he will not be active in his child's life whatsoever - you bet that he will, and so, he takes you up on that bet - he has no intent on leaving you despite not wanting this kid, if anything the idea of proving you wrong amuses him more - then, when you aren't around, he spends time with the kid, clothes it, feeds it, plays with it - and when you come home and see them together, it's safe to say he had lost the bet

[keresnotceres]

TF 141: Civilian Lover

[sfw] cw(s): mentions of death/abduction.

sorry for leaving u guys hungry for like two weeks i have no excuse

Likely knew you before he was in the military, perhaps you were someone he went to school with or the two of you were coworkers at a part-time job. Otherwise, how you two managed to get close during his months away on deployment is a mystery.

Ghost keeps his life outside of work private, but you more so. He refused to tell anyone he had a partner until Price accidentally squeezed it out of him during a casual drink.

He worries about you more than you worry about him. He knows what he does, he knows there’s always the chance he won’t make it back to you. He’s only told you that he’s military, not that he goes on near suicide missions.

It likely takes him until a near-death experience, in which he truly thinks he’s not going to make it back to you, that he lets you know a bit more about his job. It’s not much, but he tells you who he works with and why his leaves aren’t as long as other military personnel may be.

Likes having dates at home. He doesn’t want to show you off in public in fear that being seen with him will get you killed or kidnapped to be used as leverage by an enemy. He likes watching movies he can relax during, such as shitty rom-coms, so that he can just admire you instead of having to pay attention to the movie.

Also loves cooking with you regardless of your skill level when it comes to cooking. It’s the level of intimacy that comes with trusting each other enough to be comfortable in the kitchen together that makes him melt a bit.

If you fell first, he absolutely fell harder. Is just absolutely smitten with you. Loves to dote on you and treat you like the most special person to ever exist. Will absolutely give you princess (or other equivalent) treatment just because he can.

Has like five pictures of you in his wallet and like five more hidden in his tactical gear. There’s no theme to them either, they’re just a collection of his favorite photos of you. There’s probably just so many in his room too.

Could probably be convinced to teach you how to handle a pistol. He likes the idea of showing off his own weaponry prowess and wants you to know how to protect yourself if it comes down to it.

Apprehensive to tell you what he does for work besides the military aspect. He’ll tell you he’s a sergeant in a Special Operations unit but you can’t get much else out of him. Has nightmares that he can’t explain to you due to the secrecy of his work and it makes him feel guilty.

At first he didn’t expect you to give him the same love he gave you due to the nature of his job, being away for so long and only being home for a few months (at best) at a time. He realized eventually that you live him despite the fact he’s gone for long periods of time and it made him all the more smitten with you.

Always makes a point to catch up with you when on leave. Likes to hear the gossip you’ve curated over the months, what new things happened at your own job: who quit, who got hired. The possibilities are endless. Sometimes he even comes in swinging with gossip of his own; a few recruits have had their names dragged through the mud.

Probably moved into the relationship very fast, didn’t even think about how his job could put a wedge between you two early on. Didn’t expect you to stay with him after his first deployment was over, but was so happy when you stayed.

Plans dates for you two to go on whenever he has downtime on base. He likes being cheesy about them, too. Always has flowers, always has a stupid one-liner at the ready, and always pays. He will not be convinced to let you pay.

Can and will gush about you to his friends and the other that members of the Task Force. Price is most willing to hear him talk about you and sometimes offers advice if Soap feels stuck, but Gaz is usually the easiest to talk to about relationships.

Please god let him take you shopping. It doesn’t matter if it’s clothes, shoes, or even grocery shopping. Let him take you. He is going to have the time of his life. Will compare prices like a grandmother — and will coupon like one too. Do not underestimate his shopping abilities.

Occasionally brings home trinkets for you that he found on missions. Be it a nice rock, a cool looking bullet casing, or a dead man’s knife; you better believe he is bringing it home for you to indulge in the crow instinct. Once brought you a cool ring he found in the dirt — it cost quite the pretty penny.

Writes you letters when deployed :( Literally writes pages upon pages of letters just so you can have more than just his clothes in the closet and pictures of him. He’ll talk about anything and everything he can do that you can know that he’s not dead and is waiting to come home to you.

You probably thought he was a father the first time you saw him, and that led you to believe he was married. But he is not either of those things until you’re ready!

Has thought about having a family, but doesn’t want to make you feel like you need to have a family to make him happy. He really just needs you to be happy and fulfilled.

Whenever he comes home, he makes a big show of it. Will spend three days just attached to you because he’s missed you too much to even think about letting you go. You will not convince him to leave you alone, he just wants to love you :(

Speaking of, when Price comes home from deployment he is immediately by your side doing domestic things. Yes, he does the cooking and yes he does the cleaning!! Takes care of you while he can and always makes sure you take care of yourself when he can’t.

Has definitely made comments about you to the boys, and has definitely gotten a lot of questions back. Whether it be Soap basically taunting him for information about you or Ghost asking how you’re doing, you’ve become quite the topic amongst the 141 (and you don’t even know it).

Has tried to tell you what he does for work but can’t bring himself to explain that he puts his life on the line for his job and that he could never come home one day. You understand the military can be dangerous, but you don’t know how dangerous his military career is. If you found out without him telling you, he’d definitely feel extremely guilty no matter your response.

[444takeomi]

BOYFRIEND HCS

: ̗̀➛ summary: shinichiro as your boyfriend

character(s): shinichiro sano

warnings: female reader, shin being a massive simp, mentions of smoking

wc: 0.8k

a/n: not me making one post and then disappearing for over a month💀 for anyone who follows this blog don't expect consistency i'm very depressed lol

- i'm just going to start off by saying that shin absolutely adores you

- after getting rejected so many times he was starting to think that there was something wrong with him (poor baby) and so when you agreed to go out with him he literally couldn't believe it

- he stood there incredulously, at a complete loss for words — he must’ve been hearing things, there was no way you would actually say yes

- however the way you smiled fondly and nodded when he asked if he heard you correctly said otherwise, and in that moment he was so happy he felt like he could cry

- he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming </3

- to this day he still doesn't know how he got so lucky, he thinks you're the prettiest girl he's ever seen and he can't believe he managed to pull you

- he loves you so much <3

- shin is so affectionate with you, always giving you hugs and kisses and holding your hand — he loves pda and doesn't shy away from showing everyone that you're his

- throughout the day you always catch him staring at you with a lovesick grin on his face </3

- takes you on the cutest dates like ice skating, bowling, or going out for ice cream together — they're nothing too fancy but you always end up having fun, there's never a dull moment when you're with shin

- you sometimes surprise him by bringing him a bento while he's at work, and it makes him feel so appreciated that you went out of your way to cook for him <3

- even if you're not the best cook he still thinks everything you make is delicious, especially your bentos because he can tell how much effort goes into them

- whenever you come to the bike shop he always tries to impress you — he intentionally rolls up his sleeves and flexes his muscles while he works, showing off the veins on his forearms

- if his friends are there they will definitely laugh at him, he's not as subtle as he thinks he is💀💀

- shin often goes to the convenience store to pick up a pack of cigarettes and a can of coke, and even before you started dating he would always buy your favourite snack and drink as well

- if you smoke he always offers his cigarettes to you, gets giddy at the thought of indirectly kissing you as if you're not already dating💀

- shin loves cuddling, his favourite thing to do at the end of the day is fall asleep with you in his arms — the warmth of your body is so comforting to him

- he feels all protective of you and loves knowing that you feel safe and secure because of him

- he has the most attractive morning voice, his voice is already hot but when he first wakes up it's all low and mumbly <3

- “mornin’, baby. you sleep well?”

- this man truly doesn't realise the power he holds

- shin always tells you how lucky he is to wake up next to you, he thinks you look beautiful first thing in the morning — there's just something about seeing your bare face that makes his heart flutter

- he plants soft kisses on any imperfections you might have, telling you how pretty you are — he thinks you're even cuter when you get flustered

- despite the fact you're dating he still flirts with you all the time, his pickup lines are absolutely terrible but because it's shin you still find it endearing <3

- however if you flirt back he'll go bright red and stumble over his words hahaha

- one time you pulled him in for a heated kiss by his chain and he was absolutely speechless afterwards, heat creeping up his face all the way to the tips of his ears

- shin gets so jealous whenever anyone tries to flirt with you, he starts pouting and gets super clingy but refuses to actually admit he's jealous

- he gets a little insecure about himself sometimes because he secretly thinks that you could do better — please give him lots of kisses and remind him how handsome he is </3

- he's absolutely terrible at cooking, sometimes he tries to make your favourite meals but they always end up burnt or he puts way too much seasoning in them, but you eat them anyway because you can tell how hard he tried

- he feels all warm and fuzzy inside whenever he sees you getting along with his siblings </3

- sometimes he fantasises about getting married and having a family with you — he wants to spend the rest of his life with you and can’t imagine being with anyone else

- shin is such an amazing boyfriend and literally loves you with all his heart, please cherish him as much as he cherishes you <3

please do not translate, repost, or share my writing on any other platforms eg. tiktok

[crow2222]

So like, I had the random idea that Dally probably makes ‘fun’ brownies, so Darry finding them and assuming they’re just regular brownies, he has a few of them, and when Dally freaks out about the brownies missing Darry tells him they tasted good but had a strange aftertaste.

Anyways basically the gang dealing with Darry while he’s (accidentally) high. Teddy bear Dare lmao.

I was going to write it all but I thought the video and start seems good enough too (I can't be bothered to write all of it)

The gang were all well aware of Dallys and Two Bits’ fair shares of adventures with weed, Steve being the only one who was actually bothered about it, seeing as he was the usual target for their high shenanigans...

This one particular morning, they had made a whole plan (a rarity for the two of them). Pony and Steve were at school, Soda and Darry were working and so Twobit and Dally decided to hang out at the Curtis' and eat the edibles there, before heading out to Bucks to hunt action or something.

Dally arrived at the empty house first, and upon said arrival, he realised that Twobit was probably still sleeping off a hangover despite it being past two. Knowing they didn't have much time until the rest of the gang started filling back in, he left the tray of the brownies they were gonna eat in the kitchen before running out to wake up Two bit in the worst way possible.

Little did Dally know, Darry had finished work early that day as more people were at the site than usual. So like normal Darry pulls up to the house,blissfully unaware that anyone was even at the house yet. The only thing that was on his mind was getting some rest after the gruelling week he’s had, and now he had a chance to catch up on well needed sleep.

He got out of the truck fairly quickly, snatching his toolbelt from the back before getting up the steps of the house and getting in. He winced as the screen hit the wall, that wall might get a hole from it one day. After closing the door gently, he threw his toolbelt on his chair, which successfully landed, and then untied his boots while slumping against the wall, his mind already drifting to how comfortable his bed was before he had to get up.

Most people thought Darry was a cleanfreak, and he was, but only on the day he was motivated to clean. Otherwise, he was just as messy as his brothers, leaving dirty clothes on the floor of his room, but he’d kick it all under his bed to deal with later and so it seemed clean. He almost never makes him bed and leaves dishes everywhere, which he later blames on the other guys in the house as he forgot they were even his in the first place!

His boots toppled over as he tried to step over them, but he left them there, hoping to at least chug whatever was left of the chocolate milk he’d bought yesterday as he started to feel the ache of his muscles settle in. He started unbuttoning his dirty work shirt as he made his way to the kitchen, but stopped in his tracks as he noticed the tray of brownies on the table.

He didn’t make any yesterday, and there was no way Pony or Soda had time this morning as he gave both of them a ride. He stared at the tray for another beat before yelling out a “Hello?” to whoever might be in the house.

When he was sure no one else was home, he accepted the fact that these brownies were a godsend and picked up a cut out chunk before heading to the fridge to scavenge the milk he could wash down the dessert with.

He quickly noticed something off about the brownies, maybe they were stale? Or maybe they were those sneaky brownies his mom used to make with broccoli or beetroot when he and his brothers refused to eat their greens? But Darry just shrugged it off as he sat down with the carton of milk he'd dug out from the back of the fridge, alongside a glass since he wasn’t a goddamn animal like the rest of them.

He was just as much of a sweet tooth like his brothers, if not more, so he did feel a bit guilty when half the tray was missing. 

He put the almost empty milk back to the fridge, mentally leaving a note to buy more on the next grocery trip. As he was polishing off his now cleaned glass, he heard loud voices outside the house, before the door was slammed open.

“Hey Darry. Didn’t think you were gon be home this early?” Dally crept into the kitchen to where he heard the water running. Twobit was right on his tail, and also said something to Darry but Dally didn’t hear as he realised what happened to the tray.

Darry ate the brownies.

He elbowed Two Bit as discreetly as he could, alongside a nod towards the table with the edibles, and he watched as realisation was etched into his features, “Lordy, supermans getting fucked up.” He hissed into Dally’s ear, apparently not quietly enough as Darry turned around with the towel in his hands.

“What’d ya say?” 

[inactivewattpadauthor]

Windwolf x Adopted Reader: Special Guest

Idk... ignoring all the other things I wrote on them, Nightwolf and Fujin would be great fathers. They can adopt me idc

Context: Nightwolf is already your guardian. He introduces you to Fujin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Headcanon Note

Fujin is pansexual. Nightwolf is demi-sexual.

This one is canon: Fujin likes sponge cake. Important fact, I promise.

Also canon but a lot of people imagine otherwise, Nightwolf is taller than Fujin. (6'4 to 5'10) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Normally, anyone would find the sun peeking through their light curtains pretty warming when they are in bed. Especially at this time of brunch.

But not you. You laid incorrectly in bed away from the sunlight with a blanket thrown over your head, mind possessed by the tablet device that was gifted to you by your caretaker.

When you first received it, you were rather surprised to hear it did belong to him as he may or may not have been a hacker when he was younger. He definitely didn't seem like the type.

What sucks is he refuses to teach you anything in that genre, so now whenever you play some game and a bot you call a teammate throws, they get away with it.

You didn't care too much anymore since your gaming drive died down a little. You were mostly on your tablet for a while to scroll through the media and read cheesy things that you know you'd be damned if Nightwolf discovers it.

"Y/n?" You hear him knock at your door gently.

"Yeah?" Your attention was provoked from the screen, and you stopped kicking your feet in the air to see what your savior wants.

Opening the door, he peeks in to observe you for a bit. You can see the man has gone somewhere earlier this morning, hence by his usual red war paint around his eyes. Guess you just didn't hear him go out since technology keeps wasting your senses, with a bit of sleep deprivation, but you weren't doing much to fix that.

"Good morning." Nightwolf says, seeing you shielding yourself from the day with your covers. "Sleep well?"

Glancing up at him, you just shrug.

"You didn't sleep yet, did you?" He sighs.

"Nope."

"Right. Anyways, there's someone I want you to meet." Nightwolf tells you.

Your face already sulked. New people? Disgusting. "Can you tell them I just said hi?"

Nightwolf sighs and opens the door more, leaning against the frame. "No, Y/n. I know you aren't one to be around people, let alone meet, but it's someone special to me."

His explanation somewhat connected with you, but you didn't fold quite yet.

"Please? Just this once. I don't ask you for much, but it would mean a lot if you did."

Gods, it's true. You'd feel like more of a shitty person if you reject his request like you do most of the time.

Sighing, you turned off your tablet and set it aside. Removing the blanket from your messy hair, you sat up. "Fine. Just give me a moment."

The strong warrior smiles at your acceptance and thanks you before closing the door and giving you the time you need to fix yourself up.

When you stepped out your safe space, you refer to as your room, Nightwolf waited for you, offering his hand. Without thinking much, you took it despite feeling too old to hold hands with someone as a parent. But, not admittedly, you just feel safe with Nightwolf.

"Be aware, they are much more outgoing than you, and I did tell them you're rather shy. I still hope you could get along, though. I think you'd like them." Nightwolf shares.

You only were thinking on who it is. Maybe someone from his tribe? A girl, maybe? You didn't care for a mother figure as long as she didn't coddle too much.

Your father figure brings you to the living room, and let's go of your hand. You stand a bit awkward as you examine who the guest is.

It was a man. What catches you off guard is his glowing eyes. It's not the most abnormal thing you've seen. You'd ask Nightwolf to summon his animals so you could play with them. But you weren't really expecting someone that barely has visible pupils.

He also has a tattoo in his shoulder that glows up as well, which was pretty cool to see. But his eyes... you really should stop being into creepypasta.

"Fujin. This is Y/n. I... saved her from the Black Dragon." (mm lore) Nightwolf presents you, placing comforting hands on your shoulders. "And, Y/n, this is Lord Fujin. He's a close friend of mine."

A lord, huh? That explains the eyes.

Fujin walks to you two, with a very friendly smile. "Why, hello, Y/n! Nightwolf has spoken of you a lot! I'm very pleased to finally meet you." He extends a hand.

There wasn't much you had to say, but you hesitantly took his hand, shaking it. "Thanks... Nice to meet you, too... Lord Fujin- oh!"

You get pulled into a sudden embrace, but you didn't respond negatively to it. You glanced back at Grey Cloud, and he was rather unexpected of it, too. However, you knew the god didn't mean harm. He's just happy to meet someone close to his dear Nightwolf.

"You can just call me Fujin, little one. We are both close ones of Nightwolf, are we not?" He pulls away and pats your back, looking down at you with such a comforting aura.

"Right." You look away, getting flustered.

Nightwolf finally steps in and leads Fujin to the kitchen. "Care for any tea?" You could hear him ask as they both go to another room. You take the chance to scramble back to your room and process what just happened.

---Hour Time Skip brought to you by... idk Geras wearing weave or smth---

An hour gone by, and you could hear chatting at the front door. You open your door to take a peek. It appears Fujin was about to leave.

Contrary to what you thought earlier about meeting new people, the white-haired man was quite interesting to you.

Turning around and spotting you, Nightwolf gestures silently for you to come and say bye to the special guest. You listen and approach them, still looking at Fujin.

"It was nice meeting you again, Y/n," Fujin bows to you. "Maybe next time I come by, we can spend time together! I can bring you a gift too- do you like clouds? Or sponge cake?"

Wow, he's very energetic for you. You look at Nightwolf for some type of guidance.

"It's up to you." The shaman says. "You can trust him."

"I'm okay with whatever you give me... or if you want to hang out a little, I guess." You shrug.

"Great!" Fujin then looks at Grey. "I'll see you soon when I break from my duties again."

Thoughts began brewing your mind as you noticed the change of tone in Fujin's voice, and the very sincere look he gives  Nightwolf. Especially the hand placement on the shoulder, your caretaker's hand placing over that one.

Fujin left, and you stood with Nightwolf trying to process things. "'Close friend', huh?" You say with sarcasm, raising your eyebrow at the tall man.

Nightwolf sighs, yet nods. "Indeed. 'Close friend.'" ~~~~~~~~~~~~

[mdhwrites]

Andrias vs. Collector: Who Was Redeemed Better?

Andrias hands down. Not only is it helped IMMENSELY by character consistency with him but it actually functions with what we know of him. Despite literally only ever getting half an episode dedicated to him (he doesn't actually get a lot more screentime than The Collector, especially while as a villain) we understand his motivations, the reasons for his cruelty, why Marcy made him cold and annoyed every time she was even mentioned post True Colors (he did not enjoy torturing Marcy. The literal only claim there is one line from True Colors where he blames her but otherwise, Marcy is fridged SPECIFICALLY to give someone for Andrias to show regret about) and then when shown how far he had fallen from the good man he was, he goes ahead and tries to fix that. First a final act of heroism but then not asking for forgiveness or the like. He is too guilty to need, or perhaps even want, such things and he instead can try to put things right on his own. In the end, we are left with the impression that Andrias WILL continue to tend to Amphibia now until the day he finally dies. It's actually done pretty well for the fact that it's given such little direct attention, especially by the time he's supposed to start being redeemed.

Meanwhile, the Collector's arc only works if you ignore large swaths of the show. His redemption mostly comes down to the idea that he needs to learn morality and that other people can be hurt by his actions but... He already did. In Watching and Dreaming, he yells at Belos controlled Raine specifically about how King will hate him for the nightmares, showing that he understands that his actions can upset people. In S2B, he talked about wanting to play with bones and criticized Belos for potentially murdering the Grimmwalkers, kind of opening up a moral conversation about the nature of Belos' treatment of them while showing his knowledge of death.

Even if we believe he didn't know these things and try to say he was manipulated, we can't. Belos' goal was extremely explicit and back when he was Philip, he had no reason to lie to the Collector. A spell to kill all witches in return for your freedom was the deal. That's pretty damn evil and the Collector could have always said no but instead he's EXCITED for them to be dead in Hollow Mind. All that matters to him then is his freedom, screw anyone else. Then when he is freed, he has neither the archivists or Belos to push him around and tell him what to do. As such: Why the fuck did he make the hunting stars? You know, the roaming stars that turn people automatically into puppets, rendering them to a fate worse than death as they are conscious and aware of what's going on, even as they are entirely incapable of doing anything about it. They are still around MONTHS later. Hexside literally keeps watch for them. If he is just a little guy, why the fuck did he make those in the first place and why are they still around?

None of this is ever addressed though. Instead, the show spends a quarter of its finale, and a decent chunk of the special before it, focusing on trying to redeem him and show him off as a good guy while not having him actually acknowledge the awful, terrible things he did. There's no taking of responsibility like with Andrias. There is no proper refusal of his morality or change in his thinking. Even his attempt to make peace with Belos is flawed because it's still the same all or nothing thinking that we've seen up until now for the Collector. "I do X, I get friend." It's not actually an acknowledgement that other people are complex and have their own free will, it's just a new form of trying to easily get what he wants. Then after her turns people back, which is good, he just leaves. He doesn't do anything to actually make up for what he did or allow him to face a world that he has irrevocably damaged. Instead, he abandons it all. All that responsibility and guilt can just be left behind instead of actually worked on. How is that a show of what he learned? Of him rejecting how he was before? Of him being REDEEMED?

It makes it much less an arc and more something we're told. At least when Andrias powers down to make Anne's final punch on him more effective, we have seen his regret. We have seen his motivations. We have seen as one is pushed into his face and the other torn down. Then we get to see him act on it, allow his conquest to fail, as a willful decision to back down from that evil rather than double down. Then we see follow through with him in the timeskip where he is still simply trying to make up for his sins, even if no one will ever tell him his work is done.

We don't get anything like that with the Collector and that's why he will always be easily worse to me.

======+++++======

Someone shared a Reddit post on this topic in my Discord and I almost posted 95% of this as a comment there. I... I know better than to do that on Reddit though so I decided to just let it be a blog over here.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[ominous-feychild]

✦ OC Most Likely Tag ✦

Thanks for the tag, @the-golden-comet!

Rules: Answer with which of your OCs would be the most likely to do the statement, then give new statements for the next person.

Because I love to suffer/torture myself by making obscenely long posts, I'm doing more than just three questions! 😎

Questions from the-golden-comet! - Most likely to burn something while cooking - Most likely to stop a robbery if they see it taking place - Most likely to not tell people they’re sick until they really need the help Stealing from their post, from @paeliae-occasionally! - Most likely to arrive ridiculously early - Most likely to be in a relationship for less than a week - Most likely to secretly be really good at music, but just not tell anyone

Most likely to burn something while cooking?

Crow from Sun and Shadow.

They're straight-up not allowed to cook because of how forgetful they are. There's been a number of times where they'll start something, walk away to get something else, and completely forget that they were in the middle of cooking--leaving the food to burn and/or catch fire.

They're actually capable of cooking and make good food when they're successful, but are much more likely to get distracted and forget what they're doing if it's anything that takes longer than 5 minutes. The only time they'll cook is when they have someone else to keep them accountable.

Or when they're preparing food in secret...

Most likely to stop a robbery if they see it taking place?

A hidden character of the Arcane Rifts, only appearing starting book 3 and becoming a main character starting book 4! His name is Dimitry, haha. (I was not kidding when I've said I have a ton of this series planned out even though I'm still super early in it--)

Dimitry is the biggest goody-two-shoes that ever goody-two-shoed. Also, he grew up in a crime-ridden town, became a police officer, and even rose to becoming police chief until he had to drop from the position to become a healer (magic) instead. So, long story short? Mans hates criminals. (Oh, buddy, you're in the wrong series...)

Otherwise, since y'all don't know of Dimitry and I likely won't be mentioning him much, I'd also like to mention Daleira from Sun and Shadow!

Daleira has mild reality warping powers as a faerie, and not only could she immediately fix the situation with less than a snap of her magical fingers, but she would! Unlike Dimitry, she's aware of the nuance in social structure and how sometimes people are forced into crime, but she's powerful enough that she can question the thief and release them if she thinks they shouldn't be held accountable!

Most likely to not tell people they’re sick until they really need the help?

This is a hard one since I have so many characters like this. 😎😭

I'm going to give this one as a tie between Gene from the Arcane Rifts and Crow from SaS! (They show up again!!! Crow simps be having a field day)

Gene has been deeply traumatized and conditioned to not expect help from anyone else at a young age--and it was so successful that he still refuses to until deep into the book series. He hates opening up, admitting "weakness", and appearing vulnerable, so he just... doesn't. Or, at least, he tries his best not to. Unfortunately, he's not very emotive and had the whole "learned to hide his emotions from his abuser" thing, so he's very successful at masking it when he has problems.

Crow isn't too dissimilar from Gene in this regard! Despite their extremely cheerful demeanor, they're deeply traumatized from things that happened to them as a child (they allude to the fact that their detective father has a lot of criminal enemies--) and don't like people seeing their vulnerabilities, either. Being sick means being weaker, and that means you can't do your job as efficiently. Yeah, Crow doesn't admit to being sick, either.

Most likely to arrive ridiculously early?

Why so many ties??? 😭😭😭

This honor goes to Gene, Quinn the Seer, and the handful of characters who'd purposely show up obscenely early to a meeting spot to make sure there were no traps and survey the area for opportunities for an ambush etc (like Kieran Caron).

Gene shows up super early out of fear of missing a meeting, to be one of those "survey for traps and ambush" characters, and to give himself an opportunity to plan out how he wants to approach the meeting--including possibly ambushing the other person or talking them into a mental breakdown to make them more likely to do what he wants.

Quinn the Seer (son and avatar of the Existence of Fate) would show up, like, 100 years before the meeting on accident, forgetting where he is in the timeline and "showing up for class at high school as an adult" Seer Edition.

Most likely to be in a relationship for less than a week

Oh, boy. Finally getting to address the other MC of the Arcane Rifts.

TAZIN!!! there's a reason he got these songs picked out for him in the "what songs fit these characters?" tag...

Dude's an absolute wreck, has attachment issues, and would both sleep around and randomly "date" people for extremely brief periods of time before "breaking up" with them and running off...

(Y'know, when he's older. Not Early Series, babi Tazin.)

Most likely to secretly be really good at music, but just not tell anyone

Actually, this is halfway canon for Tazin?

He loves singing (and 100% would've tried making a band in middle/high school if he lived in our world), but doesn't share that fact with people. Understandably feels vulnerable about it, though it's in good part because he started off the "hobby" by singing his mom's lullabies and stories. The only characters who know this are Gene (who was supportive of it and actually got to hear him sing a good bit) and Alyona, his (actually) long-term girlfriend of book 2.

I've said this before, but so many of Tazin's problems would've been solved (or at least dramatically lessened) if he just got a guitar and found out about the rock genre.

And I'll say it again--

This was fun! I actually really liked these questions, so I'm going to:

Your questions: - pick 3 of your favorites from the ones I just answered, and answer them yourself!

Tagging (with no pressure!): @honeybewrites @the-letterbox-archives @yourpenpaldee @darkandstormydolls @illarian-rambling

@wyked-ao3 @ath3alin @mysticstarlightduck @huewrite + open tags!

Divider from @cafekitsune

[thirdtimed]

does anyone want to read me poorly describing the events of third life through grian's pov for my friend's benefit. do note that Its long. and bad.

its like. Okay.

act 1

guy is responsible for this worlds first original sin (murder) (he didnt mean it) (quite literally was just a prank gone horrifically wrong)

immediately tries to make it up to the guy he killed (scar) by pledging one of his own lives as surrogate/a symbol of allyship, albeit temporary-- he'll do all of scar's bidding, but only until he finally dies in turn. only then will the debt be considered repaid

its like. so vitally important to me that the materials & conditions for this arrangement. were quite literally Only grians idea. scar did not input any of this at all. grian dug himself a hole in the ground and refused to get out

he is stuck in a hole and its all his fault but hes blaming everyone else thats not him & hes very much not enthused about this partnership. at all. even if hes the one who decided this. even if he's the one who buried himself in the ground. because the guy he's now indebted to is a madman & makes more enemies than friends & quite frankly is just a dangerous man to be around in general. especially for a survival game. so he complains for the entire duration of their alliance that he does not want to be here & that he is only sticking around out of moral obligation and guilt. he doubly makes sure everyone else around him knows this too, letting them know how utterly pathetically powerless he is in this dynamic, as if he were a damsel needing to be rescued.

act 2

scar quickly loses his remaining lives, rendering him an infamous red name-- aka on his last life-- aka his primary objective has now switched to killing other players. he is hostile, and he is the only hostile on the server. this also means that grian is Really stuck with him now. green life players like him are supposed to be peaceful, nonviolent, and notably Far Away from their only known natural predator-- red names-- for the sake of their own survival. but green life players are also supposed to be allied with other green lives. grian is Still contractually obliged to do scars bidding. the debt has not yet been repaid.

so scar parades around the server intimidating other factions into obedience or swindling them out of resources & has grian do the equivalent of a sad little grunt worker weakly holding a gun to everyones head. he's sadly telling everyone "look, i dont have a choice, i owe him my first life; i may not be able to pull the trigger but i can still give him the gun."

meanwhile he has the gun trained on them constantly and has not once ever actually taken it off of them

see like. heres the thing. what makes grian so fun as a character is the guilt obviously but also the fact that he is Relishing in this newfound power he now has as proxy to scar's red name. "i cant kill" he says, as he goes to eagerly prepare traps and tnt explosions, "im just doing scar's bidding" he says, pointedly not mentioning how the traps were very much not scar's idea but His

he takes. so much glee. in the red life power association. he gets so many "indirect" kills as just a green name. hes a menace. and he gets to point to his creditor to avoid all blame

war breaks out and they somehow manage to survive the wreckage. all the while grian is still adamant about leaving once he loses his first life. he takes every possible moment to remind scar that this alliance is temporary-- its conditional, and he's more than ready to fly free once the cage is unlocked and open

its so fun. Because he says all this ^ REPEATEDLY. ad nauseum. i cannot stress this enough. but all his actions point otherwise. he's constantly checking up on scar making sure he's still alive. the red name may give scar prestige but its a very tenuous fragile source of power-- he's on his last life. once he dies for a third time he'll be gone for real. and grian, despite all his complaints and airs of reluctance, does everything in his power to keep scar alive. "im going to leave" he says. "once my debt is paid im out" he says, all while bandaging scars wounds. all while detailing plans that explicitly position scar in the safest area possible on the battlefield (putting him in the bunker, because his life is "too valuable.") Like Okay. Sure. Sure.

act 3

obviously. grian eventually dies. during that exact battle too, the one he painstakingly orchestrated to light up the desert in countless explosives. dies by his own hand, really, wounded by his own explosives, caught in his own trap, the tiniest final strike being a swift enemy arrow to the head. he loses his first life & his debt is at last repaid. the cage is open! you have the key. you can fly. you can leave.

obviously. he doesn't leave.

he doesnt leave because he still has a sense of "moral obligation" <- (quote) he doesn't leave because scar is "the most interesting… [significant pause] Character. on the server" <- (quote) he doesn't leave because he wants to see this til the end

well. to the end he will see it.

numbers have dwindled. theres only 3 people left. and of those 3 people, only one of them remains with a significant leg up, having only died Once throughout the entire season thus far; two red eyes predatorily stalking the only yellow name left

yeah. betrayal. or, "betrayal" if you consider it as such. though it's another person's blade, it's clear as day that scar is the one who ordered it-- who killed him, really.

logically of course its the only decision that makes sense-- you have to even out the playing field. this way, everyone is a red name & on equal footing now. this way, we can finally talk.

this does Not. mitigate the sting of hurt & betrayal on grians end. after all that we've been through? after all that i've done for you? & worst part is that he Feels like this but also Knows, logically, this is the only way it could have possibly played out. he should have known. betrayal and lies and deceit is scar's very nature. he's watched him this entire time. of all people, he should have known.

he goes in with blind rage screaming "traitor!" he doesn't notice the secretive glances scar shares his way, he doesn't notice the whisper leaving his lips in a hushed, "i have a plan." he is angry, he is hurt, and he is done caring about anyone.

in the midst of that chaos, of the sun going supernova, the last person dies without so much of a fanfare. all of a sudden, its only the two of them left.

and as grian raises his sword, scar simply lowers his head. "you may slay me." <- (quote) "for everything that you've done" <- (quote) he's so utterly willing to lay down his life. after all, its a debt owed. for all that grian has done for Him……

grian obviously sputters to a stop. " i cant do it" <- (quote) "i literally cant do it" <- (quote). mind you this is all being executed with about as much drama as any other youtube minecraft letsplay meaning none at all. theyre giggling and laughing because its all just so ridiculous and funny. theyre roleplaying but also not but also aware that theyre roleplaying and cant help but laugh at themselves for it. It is not nearly as angsty as i am actually describing it even though what i have described is Literally What Happened (albeit with a dramatic flare or two there. but still)

theyre at an impasse. they dont want to kill each other. but there can only be one winner. the ghosts chant for a bloodbath-- a barebones fist fight to the death

they decide to do it at the tattered remains of what used to be their home. that sand castle on the cliffside in the middle of the desert. in a ring of cacti & fire they declare this a double victory before counting down & fighting to the death. and theyre smiling and laughing and giggling while also wailing "im so sorry" "im so sorry"

scar dies. through skill or luck it doesnt really matter. grian wins. congrats man. first winner Ever. survival expert extraordinare. youre king. youve demolished the cage. your wings are unbound (theyve been unbound this entire time)

you've won.

"i dont feel good about this at all" <- (quote)

he wails & apologizes to scar (to nothing, to no one) & promptly thanks the audience for watching. video over! season over! thank you so much for watching. none of us would have ever expected the direction this has gone in.

good morning, and case i dont see you……

he ends the video by jumping off the cliff.

hey! so about that bird that wailed and screamed and cried to be set free and once you opened the cage he locked the door back himself and threw away the key

hey so About that bird that took to the sky & very much did not fly

[nerdlydelicious]

So, I have some thoughts about Jaune’s situation and what that means for his character going forward.

First, shipping. I’ve made no secret of the fact that White Knight is hands down my favorite RWBY ship. Does his new age and the gap in years between him and Weiss, or any other character who was previously in his age range, change that for me?

For two reasons.

1: Weiss is a grown woman with a literal license to kill. If she makes the personal choice to pursue romance with Jaune despite his older age, I don’t think there’s a problem with that. If she’s old enough to be a licensed huntress and fight monsters that want to murder all of human and faunus kind, then she’s old enough choose to date Jaune, DILF status or no. The same is true for any of the other girls on team RWBY, or anyone else who was around his age when he fell in the Ever After.

Now, how Jaune might feel about that in this hypothetical situation with their ages is another matter entirely. Though with everything else he’s been through and had to deal with since V8’s finale, I imagine his current age wouldn’t be his biggest hurdle to pursuing a relationship with Weiss, or whoever else.

2: I seriously doubt Jaune’s going to stay at this age when they leave the Ever After. The Ever After is full of all kinds of magic. If there’s a way to grow and shrink people, then it’s not a stretch to think that there’s magic that can revert Jaune’s physical age to what he was when he entered the Ever After. So it’s not a big concern for me.

That and if Jaune does remain in his DILF form then that just means Weiss will have competition in the form of Willow.

Second: the possibility of Jaune dying this volume. I don’t see it happening, at least not right now. I know a lot of people are worried about that, but I don’t think that’s going to be his fate. Jaune is, at this point, a main character. He has a lot more to do in the story and they aren’t going to throw him away like that. If Jaune dies, then it’s going to be at the hands of Cinder in a climatic final battle for the fate of Remnant. Preferably while taking her with him.

Third: the theory that Jaune can’t or won’t leave the Ever After. A lot of my thoughts on this tie into my thoughts on why Jaune isn’t going to die this volume. Jaune’s clearly been in the Ever After for a long time, but it’s not because he can’t leave. It’s because he wasn’t going to leave without team RWBY. He’s stayed in the Ever After this long because he was waiting for them. Even if he didn’t know for sure that they would arrive or that he would find them, he wouldn’t take the risk of leaving and potentially abandoning them. And likewise, he isn’t going to stay in the Ever After when he had friends and family back on Remnant, which is still currently in grave danger of being destroyed by Salem.

So yeah, those are some of my thoughts on Jaune’s ‘fate’ going forward. I don’t think he’s going to die or refuse to go back to Remnant, and he’s still perfectly shippable. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. They’re just jealous that he’s a certifiable DILF now.

The DILF knight, if you will. I mean, just look at him…

Hubba hubba…

[alexjcrowley]

I am sorry but I need to say a couple of things about Brad Bakshi, even though I haven't finished season 3 yet. I am not attacking anyone's characterization, let your headcanons and interpretations thrive, but I want to share my take because sometimes it's like I watched a different show.

I either find takes that are "Brad is a lovey-dovey tsundere" or "Brad is a fuckboy, no attachment, he doesn't do feelings". And man, I do not agree with either. It's something in the middle for me.

First of all, Brad is way more caring than some people give him credit for and I will prove it.

He may be an asshole, but he is completely self-aware of it. Poppy, Ian, even David think they're good people, even whan they do or say very questionable things, Brad knows he is being a bastard. He never hides it, never tries to put up an "holier than thou" act, never tries to make people believe he is a good guy. He doesn't try hiding that is an asshole because deliberately acts like one. He wants to be seen as an asshole. He goes out of his fucking way to prove it.

Turning himself in at the end of season 2? "Oh, but it gave him street credi-" it's pretty convenient he wanted street credit when going to jail could also be beneficial to Jo. Otherwise he could have straight up done inside trading himself way before Jo put herslef in trouble.

The whole animal thing? The fact that he was a mouse? Let's pretend for a moment he actually filled it randomly, he happened to get mouse by mistake. Why do you care so much people do not associate you to a mouse? If you're an unforgiving asshole, it will show even if a random test (that people will probably soon forget about) gave you mouse. Look, let's say I make Donald Trump fill out this test and he comes out as a mouse. I will not stop thinking he is a piece of shit! If the test was so meaningless he filled it out randomly (or so he says), why does he care so much about Jo's opinion on it?

Brad is a performative asshole. He does his job in the less nice way possible, but he never sabotages others just because. He tries with that whole buscuit thing, but that's the most damage he causes to someone and it's thrashing a piece of biscuit and give an evil speech that just hans there. Rest of the show? He always ends up helping out people, if not out of kindness, out of understanding every cog needs to fuction properly for the whole Mythic Quest machine to work. He doesn't go out of his way to damage other people, the worst he does? Mean comments. It's performative. It's all performative.

And you know how I know that? Breaking Brad. The Kate story tells us one thing: Brad is a naturally caring person. Kate was a pig. Not a dog, not a cat, not a turtle, not even a fish, animals we are used to consider as pets. Kate was a pig, an animal considered dirty, ugly, ungraceful (fat, but I will not talk about Brad's ED here), the word "pig" is even used as an insult, plus the pig is famously known as the animal you can kill and not waste a single part of it.

A pig is the perfect animal to impart a lesson of cruelty. You don't feel sorry for a pig. And what does Brad do, with this wretched creature? He names her. Zack doesn't, Zack tells us he was on board with killing the pig, it's Brad who can't do it. Zack doesn't care and Brad cares too much, even when he knew Kate's fate was doomed from the start. Right there, you have a character who, despite being taught to be cruel, can't help but care.

"Oh, but this happened when Brad was a kid, he hardened as he grew up" okay, then how do you explain him begging Zack? The thing is, I do believe Brad wanted to get more out of Mythic Quest and was angry bis brother tried to destroy it, I am not saying "Brad is caring because he doesn't want to lose his job", that's fairly normal. The point is, Zack asks him to beg for it, and Brad does. I have seen characters in more desperate situations refuse to plea, but Brad does it. With less resistence than I would have imagined. Instead of being like "I would never beg you, I will not submit myself to this humiliation, I'll find another job", he grovels. He puts his pride second for a company which he will leave the moment his friend Jo (and if I say colleague instead of friend it's even crazier!) is in danger.

Quickly compare it to David asking a whole company to walk out when he gets fired.

Brad is a performative asshole. He didn't have it in him, he taught himself to act and speak like an asshole, and he learned the part well, but his heart is not in it. If you watch Succession, it's like Kendall, he is not a killer. He can pretend to be killer, but he is not.

So now it seems like I said people who view Brad a repressed lovey-dovey tsundere are right, but just wait, i haven't finished yet.

The thing about teaching yourself to be someone else is that first, some habits stick, second, what doesn't stick, you try harder to make it so.

What I mean is, precisely because Brad is a caring person, he tries very hard not to seem like it. It means that if someone shows him kindness, Brad will refuse to accept it twice as hard, because he is fighting towards a natural instinct to show kindness in return.

Someone finally lends Brad a helping hand? For the exact reason he feels like he wants to take it, he'll turn it down. It's not that he is not touched by that care, it's that he can't afford to show it. That's the whole point of the performative assholery, repressing his natural responses.

I see a lot of someone pays Brad a compliment and he blushes because he doesn't know how to take it, but to me is like no! He doesn't blush! The whole point of fighting his own instincts is that he doesn't show his feelings. It's not that he doesn't know what kindness is so he reacts to it like a caveman would react to a computer, he knows exactly what kindness, care and affection are and he deliberately avoids them.

To me Brad doesn't do feelings because he doesn't want to. Brad fights his natural instincts because they're very strong (so he is lovey-dovey on the inside), but, at the same time, that fight implies a lot of trained resistance to his nature (Brad doesn't want to do feelings).

Being an asshole doesn't come natural to Brad and that's why it's so difficult for him to act kind: because being an asshole is not a random trait of his personality he may be willing to change, it's a carefully crafted mask he doesn't want to get rid of.

It's the difference between explaining something to someone who doesn't understand it and someome who doesn't want to understand it.

And one last thing (because you kidded yourself if you thought this wasn't about Braddavid).

I get that, especially at first, especially to keep that mask on, even if Brad had feelings for David he would take a long time before admitting it and I can see him reluctant to put a label to the relationship, because that would be admitting that he cares.

But let me take you back to Brad begging his brother to leave Mythic Quest alone. The moment he senses David might slip up from his fingers (for whataver reason: David might have found somebody else more emotionally available, is growing tired/sad of Brad's emotional distance, etc.) Brad is Back On. Brad is putting the effort to verbalize his feelings, is putting a name on the relationship and, one day, he'd even be willing to put a ring on it. He is "Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it" coded and you can argue you with the wall.

(Plus, I feel like, exactly like his performative assholery mainly comes from mean comments, he may not be very affectionate when it comes to words of affirmation, but by his behaviour you can tell he cares. He is all about quality time, acts of service and gifts he diguises as not gifts. He tries to be subtle, but he can't help revealing in someway he cares about people).

If Brad could beg his brother, one the people he hates the most in the world, to let him have Mythic Quest for a while more, he could surely find the courage to tell the person he loves that he loves them. "But his pride-" he flushed his pride down the toilet when it became an obstacle to him. He came back to his old company as a janitor, which sadly many people do not considered to be a valuable job, especially since he used to be the Head of Monetization before. He had none of that "oh my God, this job is not well paid or respected enough for my previous standards" crap. He is way less prideful than a lot of people think. Getting where he wants to go, obtaining what he wants to gain is way more important to him than his pride.

Last note, this man in possessive. And I don't necessarily mean in a toxic, abusive way, but you can't deny that he is. He wants to own people, he probably rarely calls in favours from them because he gets high on how long he can own them. The "Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it" comes back into the play, this man is jealous. Again, of course this was about Braddavid, shame on you if you didn't catch it, but I have seen too many "David is too affectionate, Brad is aloof and cool" and I don't buy it.

Brad may not be into PDA, and he may not show it with words, but when he is in a committed relationship he is committed. He may say it's casual, but this is just like Kate. No matter how many times he tells himself he won't get attached to a person and that every relationship ends, at the end of the day, if he truly cares about that person, he won't be able to kill the relationship like it was nothing and go on with his life. I cannot imagine him breaking up with someone because "oh no, I am getting too involved", that's the whole point, he cannot do that, or he'd be a killer, he would have been able to kill Kate and let go of Mythic Quest and let Jo end up in jail. Even if he did break up with this person, it wouldn't come natural to him and he would an absolute wreck, haunted by the memory of this person like he is haunted by the memory of Kate.

It's the duality here! Brad's all about the duality, nature and (self) nurture fighting one against the other. And I have mainly found stuff in which this duality is not shown.

If you made it to this point, thank you for indulging me in overanalysing this character, have a wonderful day.

P.S. I forgot to mention, Brad totally watches those animal predators video for desensitization. Because he couldn't kill Kate so he teaches himself to be insensitive to animal cruelty. The kid who couldn't harm his pig is not watching animal on animal violence for kicks and giggles.

[bastart13]

I caved and read Remarried Empress because of your post and honestly I strongly agree that the fandom is very nasty towards Rashta. I mean yeah, the story is very much set up to frame her as a villain no matter what she does since the Empress is the main character, but I feel like Rashta also has some strong points as a character and she's reacting like anyone would to some of the offences she receives from the Empress (imo the story rationalizes why Navier is mean towards Rashta a bit too much for my liking). Idk, I know it's popular to pit women against each other in romance stories so there's a scapegoat, but it's a bit infuriating when most of the fandom demonizes Rashta when she's literally just a gal who's out of her depth.

I am in desperate need for a story along these lines where you can have women in opposition to each other but neither are demonised. Please... I just want a story with flawed women who the fandom appreciates for their complexity....

I've said it in the comments of another post, but it always bears repeating that Rashta was born a slave! Slavery is one of the greater evils of society! She was physically and mentally scarred, sexually abused, had her baby stolen from her, and hounded by her slaver even after gaining freedom! Of course, she's doing everything she can not to go back to that! Like, I know suffering doesn't automatically justify your actions, but y'know, I don't blame her for trying to win the protection and love of literally the most powerful person in the country.

Navier has every right not to like Rashta, but dear god, the fact that slavery exists while she's the Empress is not a good look for her, and Navier is my favourite character!

If the author really wanted a story about a manipulative homewrecker getting her just deserts, she should have been anything other than a former slave. Otherwise, you need to treat both Navier and Rashta as two sympathetic characters in a morally-grey conflict.

In the end, Soveishu is the villain of The Remarried Empress. He refuses to tell Navier he thinks she's infertile. He refuses to tell her he loves her romantically and wants that relationship. He refuses to understand Navier's situation, and he puts Rashta in danger without care, abandoning her the moment his ploy to make Navier jealous blows up in his face. Unlike Rashta, he doesn't have any sympathetic motivation to justify his actions. He just wants Navier to be his obedient wife, accepting whatever he does without respecting her intelligence by talking to her. Soveishu is not treated like a good person, but frankly, the narrative doesn't treat him like the central antagonist he is. No, that spot goes to Rashta because she's a homewrecking harlot who's too poor to belong in high society, despite everything to the contrary.

[a-wholelotta-love]

Rang's self worth issues just break my heart this season. I don't know how this boy does not see how much he gives back to people. How he only sees himself as someone who is incapable of being loved, someone who is a failure and can't protect anyone.

On the other hand, he would gladly see the best of people despite being hurt by them.

While i can understand his sentiments when it comes to Yeo hee, though even with her, once he decided to accept his feelings, he was completely willing to lay his life down for her and fought for her with his life.

But when it comes to Yeon, he has given back more than enough even when he has not received the same kindness back. I know that this Rang is not my 2020 Rang yet. But even 1938 Rang has been willing to die protecting his brother and we all saw that. Also, I don't understand why this Rang never seems to bring about the fact that he was very mercilessly cut down by said brother. Maybe because the writers want us to forget that Yeon was ever mean to him. Well, I refuse to forget that.

My boy never sees the good that he does but ends up holding everyone he loves at this pedestal. Show him the bare minimum love and affection and he would just gladly die protecting you. And i am not just winging it, he almost died protecting Shin ju in the well this season despite being all mad over him.

All these years of trauma and being abandoned by the people that he loved the most has just built my boy in a way that he believes he is just a stain, a burden, someone who has nothing to offer. And I need someone to tell him otherwise. Tell him how he has such a big heart and how he gives back so much more than he has ever received. 🥺

But the entire season, they ended up focusing on clearing Yeon's conscience. I believe all that matters to the writers is showing us just how much Yeon loves his brother. But the best way to do that would have been if they had acknowledged the pain that he had caused and apologised for it. Made Rang see his worth rather than pretending and believing that he never did anything wrong.

Ah, I might just keep on ranting if I don't stop but someone please help my boy see how precious he is. And he does not need to die for his life to be of some value. 🥺

[animeyanderelover]

I’m still amused by the fact that in Naruto Classic Itachi and Kisame went into the village with their cloaks on and apparently thought that wearing some big hats would be enough to hide their identity.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, mentions of abduction, overprotective behavior, threats, intimidation, sexual harassment

S/o gets harassed in town

🍡 Itachi, despite having been the one who isolated you thanks to his paranoia and possessiveness getting the better of him, tries to keep his darling sane by still taking them outside. This mostly means somewhere outside in nature since it would be really dangerous if someone would recognize him and would see you with him together. Not only would you be put in the bingo book since people would assume that you're connected to him, it would also mean that some bounty hunters would look for you. He's dragged you into enough troubles already. He's aware that eventually the lack of social interaction gets to you though because he's the only one who you really have now. He's no substitute for you though, you still despise him for having taken you away from everyone and everything you loved.

🍡 Itachi can't just take you out to a town or village either or to be more specific, he doesn't want to. He might come up with logical reasons as much as he wants, part of him just doesn't trust you enough yet. If you try to run away and ask people for help, there will be a problem because his selfish side couldn't let you go. Not now that he has abducted you. There would have to be a level of trust between you two for him to even consider this and even then he thinks a bit too much about what might go all wrong. Seeing you withering away because you are so unhappy that you are stuck inside pulls painfully on his heartstrings until he caves in and asks you if you'd like to accompany him to a town not too far away but also not too close to where he keeps you. You haven't looked as happy as you do in that moment since he's taken you and i has his heart racing.

🍡 You think he's overdoing it when he forces you to wear clothes to conceal yourself more as he does the same. He ties his hair up in a bun, takes off his headband and changes in a new set of clothes since his cloak would give him away instantly. You complain but have to comply with all of this since you know that otherwise you won't be able to go with him. It's a longer walk than you expected but that's because Itachi wants to make sure that no one will be easy to track you two down in case something happens. You call him out for being way too overprotective and that he's overthinking but he doesn't listen. On the way to the village he also lists a couple of things he wants you to do when you two arrive. You are to stay within his field of vision, you don't tell anyone your or his real name, are forbidden to try to ask for help and if you run, he will hunt you down. You reply bitterly that you know all of that already.

🍡 You're so giddy when you finally arrive since now the long walk and the pain in your feet is finally worth it. Itachi even offered you at one point that he can carry you on his back if your feet hurt so much but you obviously refused. You run around but stop when you hear Itachi calling for you to wait. He allows you to buy some items you want and food you desire with the money he has as he indulges you in your wants. He just can't reject that lively and joyful sparkle in your eyes as you act like you're on a festival. There's undeniably a little painful stinging in his heart though to see how happy you are by now simply because you're in a town. Something that is mundane for all the people around you because they have the freedom to do this whenever they feel like it. You don't though.

🍡 You run from one shop to the next whilst Itachi is trailing closely behind you, eyes checking his surrounding every few minutes to make sure that no one is suspecting anything. He's slightly stiff and you notice but just huff a bit annoyed. Itachi would normally be not that paranoid when in a town but now that he has his darling with him, this is a whole other story. At least your happy smile is soothing him a bit and he spends more money than he initially intended to do as he just wants to spoil you a bit more to make you a bit more happy. The day passes by without any hitches though, no one seems to pay you two too much mind. That is until you turn your attention to a stand where you can win prices by winning a game. You try a couple of times but fail, a pout on your lips. Something that has Itachi chuckling a bit before he offers to try for you.

🍡 It is when you step away from him a bit to watch him doing what you failed in previously that you notice some guy motioning you to get closer to you. You're hesitant at first, glance shortly at Itachi who is still focusing on the game and apparently tries to win more than one price. You can't help but think that it's adorable. You'd technically still be in his field of vision o it should be fine, right?Curiosity eventually gets the better of you, especially considering that you haven't talked with other people like Itachi for the last couple of months. Curiosity quickly turns into dread the moment you step to the man and he suddenly pulls you closer by your waist, his hand dangerously close to your ass. You're pressed flush against his chest, smell his bad breath when he leans way too close to your face. He asks you what someone as lovely as you is doing here and you feel your heart beating faster out of fear.

🍡 You try to excuse yourself with a stuttering voice, tell him that you're already here with someone and should return now. Instead his grip on you tightens as he gurrs at you to stay a bit longer with him. He'd love to get to know someone as adorable as you better. Your breath starts being cut short as you start to panic, start trembling. Why is this man doing this to you with such a sickening smile on his face? Is he having fun right now, scaring you like this? You turn your face away when you notice that he's closing the distance between you two, expect the feeling of disgusting lips on your cheek, or in worst case even lips. Instead suddenly he lets you go as you stumble back. You hear him letting out a painful yelp and when you open your eyes, you sag when you see Itachi. You're so relieved right now though to see him, the man on the other hand is terrified.

🍡 You don't pity him but can't blame him for nearly crying though. Itachi's onyx eyes stare at him with icy wrath inside them, one of his hands applying a painful amount of pressure on the guy's hand. He asks in a low voice what the guy is thinking, touching you and scaring you like this? The guy can only stumble out apologies, he didn't know that you were already taken. He cries for Itachi to let go or otherwise he'll break his arm. One look in his eyes and the man suddenly knows that Itachi actually plans to do this. It isn't until you stumble to Itachi and cling to his side, asking him in a shaking voice to stop. People are looking and you want to go back now, you've lost all desire to stay in this city any longer. Itachi listens to you, notices how some citizens have stopped to look at the scenario unfolding over here.

🍡 He gives the man one last glare, one that would make any man piss their pants, before he pushes him harshly back so that the guy lands painfully on his rear. He quickly scrambles away from Itachi, presses his hurt arm close to his body as he still stutters apologies before he runs away. Itachi on the other hand grabs your hand in a tight grip and drags you with him. He is aware of how people stare at the two of you, hides his face as good as he can in his clothes whilst you just stumble behind him. His steps are rash and you're barely able to keep up but he doesn't slow down a bit until both of you are out of the village and a little bit deeper in the forest. That's when he stops for a moment and turns his attention to you, checks over you with a worried look on his face. When he asks you how you're feeling and if that guy has hurt you, you can't look him into his eyes. Instead you manage to press out in a strained voice that you want to go back quickly.

🍡 This time you let yourself get carried on his back and both of you arrive significantly faster to the cottage where you have lived for the last few months. Once you two are inside, you just sit down on the couch and wrap your arms around yourself. The encounter with the man didn't even last 50 seconds yet you're shaken up to your core. You've heard of sexual harassment before but this is the first time it has happened to you. You can't help but start to overthink yourself now as you imagine what might have happened if Itachi wouldn't have been there to protect you. Itachi just stands next to you, unsure if he should touch you to comfort you since you've been touched without your permission in the town. He blames himself, he shouldn't have let himself get distracted like this and should have instead kept his eyes on you. You're visibly trembling, a wet shimmer over your eyes.

🍡 You're stuck in your own paranoid thoughts right now as you can't help but vividly recall the touch of that man's hand near your hand, the gleeful look in his eyes and his disgusting breath. You flinch when you suddenly feel something being wrapped around your shaking form before you hear Itachi's voice hushing you, murmuring that he won't do anything to you. That's when you snap out of your train of thoughts and realize that he's fetched his cloak and has used it almost as some sort of blanket to wrap you inside of it. You're aware what that cloak means but right now, in that moment, it's weirdly comforting with his scent etched into it. You huddle yourself into the material whilst Itachi sits down next to you. You feel his hand carefully rubbing your back in a comforting manner to make sure that you're fine with being touched by him. For a few moments both of you just sit there in silence before you say in a dejected and still trembling tone that you're sorry. You should have listened to him. If you would have just stayed with him, this wouldn't have happened.

🍡 Your trembles intensify and you sound like you're on the verge of crying. That's when you feel his arms carefully engulfing you and for the first time, you don't push him away. Instead you press your head against his chest, taking deep and jittery breaths to not break out in tears whilst he does his best to comfort you as good as he can right now. He tells you in his usual soft tone that it isn't your fault, whispers sweet nothings to you in hopes to stop your trembling. You don't want him to leave even after you've calmed down a bit, grow very clingy as you seek him out for his comfort and the feeling of protection. And Itachi indulges you in your needs.

[princess-of-the-corner]

https://www.tumblr.com/motherofplatypus/722426710461644800/lets-be-real-chloe-shouldve-been-the-next?source=share

Thoughts?

Honestly if Chloé had kept her season 1-3 personality/competence but her Miracle Queen/Season 4-5 breakdown and it was taken seriously? I could roll with it.

Obvs I would prefer her getting better but....

Imagine

Years of emotional abuse and neglect, ignored because she has money and lashes out instead of turning meek like a 'perfect victim'.

She starts to realize things might be fucked, that she might be something better. Only held back by Marinette, one of the kindest people she knows, saying 'no this is right. This is how you're supposed to be. Your mother loves you despite her words, you just have to try harder at mimicking her'.

Even so, Ladybug at first seems to convince her otherwise. That maybe she's worth something, maybe she's good. So despite her fuckups, she tries. She's willing to be Queen Bee, even with the danger. She accepts that she can't because Ladybug tells her 'I refuse to put someone in danger like that', so she still helps where she can as a Civilian.

And then Miracle Queen happens.

Despite Ladybug's words about benching her for her protection, she lets Kagami back into the fight despite the same situation with her.

She's hurt and confused, spurred on by Hawkmoth's words and the fact that he's holding her parents' hostage.

And in the aftermath, there's no sympathy. No asking questions. Just blame and hatred and no explaination of why Ladybug broke her rules for Kagami.

Over the next two seasons, she keeps breaking the rules. Those identities are know to Hawkmoth, but she keeps bringing them in. Bringing them into the danger. Despite having told Chloé that she would never bring someone into danger like that.

Why? Why why why?

Because. Her only worth is being exceptionally mean. It's the only thing she's good at, after all. It's what she's supposed to be. How she's supposed to be treated and how she's supposed to treat others. That's her role in the story. The bad guy. Evil. Why try being nice to anyone and pretending she has a chance?

Ladybug probably knew that. Her platitudes about 'benching her for safety' were just an attempt to not piss her off and make her a dangerous Akuma. Ladybug just never expected her actual choices, the actual Heroes she cares about, would also get exposed. If no one else had been publicly known, Chloé would never found out she was lied to.

So why not go all in? Play the role set out for her? She can't change this. She's been told that over and over.