#moms love is actually not conditional for the first time in my life i felt like if i fall maybe she could be there to catch me and dad wld

[girlivealwaysbean]

sometimes my bestfriend is like an angel in disguise istg

[bloody-cupcakes]

can you do some joe goldberg whump headcanons?? maybe with love or an x reader

A/N: yeah of course! I chose to do x reader since that's what I write for my blogs haha

Tw: yandere/dark content, gender neutral reader, obsessive behavior, stalking, kidnapping, murder, slight gore/injuries mentioned (both on accident and intentional), drugging, emotional manipulation/gaslighting, blackmail, Stockholm syndrome implied at the end

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First of all, know that he never actually wants to hurt you. He doesn't enjoy seeing you in any kind of pain, or hearing your muffled cries through the gag as he punishes you for whatever it is that you've done wrong this time. He loves you, and he just wants what's best for you after all

He only stalks you out of a need to know where you are at all times, just so he can be sure that you're safe. What would he do if something happened and he wasn't there to protect you? He'd never be able to forgive himself for it, hence him memorizing your entire schedule off the top of his head

Anyone who he deems as toxic or unworthy of being in your life is instantly gotten rid of, though he does feel a bit of guilt when you inevitably find out and call him a monster for it. I mean, it's fair enough, but it still hurts to hear from you of all people

"Baby, baby, can't you see? I did this for you," he does his best to reassure you, but that only makes your panicking get even worse. To be fair, you did wake up in a glass box with an accidental cut on your head from where he slammed you into the wall in a state of blind rage upon him realizing you knew what he'd done, so he could understand your fear. He just wished you'd stop staring at him like he was some sort of a monster when all he wanted to do was keep you safe

He tries to give you some space in hopes that it'll help, but as your silent (and sometimes not-so-silent) resentment begins to grow he becomes more desperate and needy. Everything he does is for you, and this is how you treat him?

Of course he can't help but adore you regardless, which is why he hates having to pin you down and whack at your ankles and knees with the hammer he uses for his book restorations. "If you're going to act like a brat, I have to treat you like one," he mutters softly while you sob in his arms after, barely able to walk after the "punishment" you'd received from him

Something you're made well aware of early on is just how much he loves you (or claims to anyway) but you soon realize that's not enough and that you have to somehow find it in you to love him back. There is no other option if you want to make it out of this alive, but how could you ever love a murderer?

It takes a while, but eventually you behave well enough over time to be able to convince him to move you out of the cage and to his apartment as long as you promise to continue being good. You try to run away that same night, and back to the basement you go, along with a brand new welt on your head from where he had to knock you out in order to get you down there

You beg over and over to be let out, and he promises he will on the condition that you'll let him give you an IV drip full of something that'll keep you feeling complacent and numb (a drug he got courtesy of Paco, who stole it from his mom for Joe's own private use)

He doesn't like keeping you drugged up, but if you insist on trying to escape then there really is no other solution, now is there? Besides, he likes being able to hold you at night and much rather prefers to keep you in the comfortable environment of his place anyway

At first you flat out refuse, but finally you reluctantly agree to his conditions, unable to bear peeing in a bucket and sleeping on the floor any longer. It felt dehumanizing, like you were nothing more than a pet kept for his entertainment. At least his apartment had a real bed and a bathroom

The drugs he put you on made you feel light and free, and it was much easier for you to obey when you were dosed up with them. Things seem to be doing okay until he discovers you'd somehow switched the specially made liquid IV full of drugs with plain water, which resulted in you attempting to leave yet again. God, when will you learn that it's never going to work out for you?

This time when you wake up in the cage, you find yourself covered in blood and lying next to the dead body of your old best friend. Joe simply watches as you frantically try your best to resuscitate the already rotting corpse with several different versions of CPR to no avail

"What have you done?" You scream hysterically, your eyes wide and frightened as you look down at the carnage you found yourself in, your clothes stained crimson red in a manner that almost seemed to mock you

"Next time you pull another stunt like that, it'll be someone you truly care about who's in there with you," he states in a way that's almost cold despite the somewhat sad look in his eyes. He really didn't want it to have to come to this, but you forced his hand. "Now you're going to help me get rid of the body, or I'll have to punish you even worse than that, do you understand?"

It was then that you knew there would be no escape. He'd always find new ways to torture you, mentally and emotionally if nothing else, and each time you stepped out of line you'd only end up getting more injured from it. Not to mention he had an ample amount of planted evidence in order to frame you if he really wanted, so naturally the only thing you could do was agree

That night you found yourself back in his small apartment, wrapped up snugly in his arms as you laid in bed together. The drugs had you feeling much more calm just like usual, and you almost felt bad for everything you'd put him through. "I'm sorry," you slurred while glancing up at him, your eyes droopy from the stolen medication you were on

He just shook his head at your apology, leaning down to place a light kiss to the tip of your nose. "No, baby, don't apologize. It's okay now, I forgive you," he gently promised you, glad that you weren't trying to fight him and his affection anymore

"Mgrh... love you..." came your mumbled reply as you buried your face in his chest. You loved him. You really, truly did. He'd gotten you to see just how much he truly cared, and you loved him for it. A smile graced his lips as he tugged you in a little bit closer. It was then that he decided no matter what the cost, he was going to keep you forever, not that you seemed to mind. He was glad the two of you were finally on the same page for once

[shallowseeker]

And yeah, it sucks, and Dean was cruel and murderous and dehumanizing, but on the other hand, 14 days isn't very long.

And yet, at 14 days, things were already starting to repair and heal with Jack just a little bit, even before Cas came back.

(I've seen it said that this didn't occur till after Cas came back, but in 13x04, Jack's behavior and personality are what began to thaw Dean out and, per the script, "put chinks in his armor.”)

///

Interestingly, even back in 13x02, Dean’s body language doesn't match his words. Here it reads as "move behind me."

///

By the end of 13x04, Dean and Jack are tentatively starting to like each other. They're even a little bit alike in this scene:

*THEM: not looking directly at each other as they say HEY awkwardly*

Jack: Hey.

*Dean, doing the same thing*

This is also maybe the first time Dean calls Jack by his name? (I'd have to check, but I think so.)

*Dean’s eyes flitting around nervously*

Dean: “You did good today (pause) Jack”

Yeah, I think you can make a well-argued case for something-something “conditional love.”

But given the Kelly-Cas brainwashing and everything else that came before, I’d say it’s not unreasonable for Jack to like having established trust. To have earned trust.

Earning trust is important in all relationships, not necessarily always an evil “conditional” thing.

///

Then Dean goes and apologizes to Sam, saying that he was out of line during the therapy session and that he's sorry for being a dick lately.

It's sweet, but also, no one is being very empathetic to Dean and his losses. But I think by this point in Dean's life, Dean's not really expecting that either.

He’s only able to get that support from one person in his life right now: Jody Mills. (13x03) Which is part of why he felt comfy taking the case with her, I think.

Later in this scene, in a break with his past tendencies, Dean will actually try to rely on Sam:

///

DEAN: And he tapped his power and saved our asses, so that's a win.

Sam was right about one thing, though. It wasn't Jack’s powers that impressed Dean, or even being saved. It was the effort.

(Jack's personality was already thawing Dean, too.)

///

The rest of the scene is sweet. Dean tries to see Sam's perspective, and Sam tries to see Dean's.

It's a trading of strength and hope, which is how real families are, too. Our strength and resilience wax and wane, and we share our burdens, but we try to share our hope, too.

This is a rare occasion: Dean is trying to share a burden; he lets Sam know how bad it really is.

(Dundundun! Ellen Harvelle would be proud.)

Dean is accepting that Sam isn't going to get there on his own. So he spells out his despair for him. The Cas of it all.

And Sam seems to get that it’s a Cas thing. That's clear in his behavior in the next episode. And Sam wants to be there for Dean, I don't think that's a lie, but…

Sam ALWAYS wants Dean to tell him stuff like this, to talk out the big stuff. But one of Sam’s hopes is that talking things out will fix them.

(Classic Type-A kinda mentality.)

But THIS? Cas’s death isn't fixable, not quite as nebulous as the mom-in-Apocalypse-World-problem is. (In fact, I wouldn't put it past Sam to have been up all night researching, finding NO way to get Cas back. Alternatively, the constant casework could represent just utter denial.)

Anyhoo, Sam's grieving the losses too, but Dean is different. And unfortunately for Sam, John Winchester's grief was so horrendous and frightening that seeing Dean's, uh, particular kind of grief triggers Sam's panic response.

Just look at Sam’s face here.

SAM's BRAIN: brrrrrrrr RED ALERT brrrrr RED ALERT

*Meanwhile*

///

Next episode (13x05):

We find Sam in a state of near-panic. Just look at that face:

And actually, looking at Sam's D8> here…

..I think it's possible that he TOTALLY knew what the PB&J stuff was about, and his brain went into a meat grinder of:

OH NO FUCK NO NO NOT THIS--I RECOGNIZE THIS. THIS KIND OF GRIEF RUINED MY CHILDHOOD!!!!!111

{8[

Don't Grieve in Front of Me Dean (analysis)

Don't Grieve in Front of Me Dean Redux (s7 analysis)

///

So.

Sam finds a case about best friends. Makes you wonder what he was googling to find it...

And Sam’s distress surrounding the case is interesting, because he is behaving so DIFFERENTLY than he was in 13x02 and 13x03:

Dean: *cue surprise*

Dean is weirded out. Maybe he figured Sam would let him take a real break, or maybe it's just that the timing of Sam’s suggestion of leaving Jack behind feels weird now.

They’ve switched places.

Dean was eager to leave Jack in 13x03, and Sam was the one insisting on them staying with Jack to help him “learn to control his powers.”

Now, in about two weeks’ time, Sam’s like—“Jack has TV! We’ll put up extra warding! It’ll be fiiiine!”

Dean’s brain, probably: Hmmm. Sam is trying to cheer me up, but wow are these about-faces on what's bad parenting and what's good parenting kinda fucked up.

///

And at the end of the episode, Dean tries again to tell Sam just how bad it is (mirroring Mary's willingness to offer up “not being okay” in s12):

And Sam is pretty much at sea.

[brucewaynehater101]

I have a really soft and cute au for Lesbian Janet that could work in any universe but I think works best in the Young Justice TV Show Universe.

See, everyone gets really confused when Tim talks about his Mom, sometimes referring to her as Mama. Tim thinks that using two different titles like that should make it Obvious that he has Two Moms but well. The Bats may be Super Geniuses but they are still Idiots. Tim is also an absolute Mama's Boy with Both his Moms. He loves them both So Much.

Oh, where is Jack you ask? He doesn't actually exist. He's the fake name and personality that Tim's Mama came up with and used Magic to disguise as so they could get Legally Married For Tax Benifits. Also to get his Mama a legal identity. Why would she need one of those? Well... as was mentioned, Tim's Mama has Magic with a Captial M. This by extension means Tim is Magic With A Capital M as well. Totally has nothing to do with Janet and his Mama sculpting him from clay and breathing life into him. Woes of pregnancy who? Not Janet that's for sure.

Also Tim does Not tell anyone that he has Magic and he doesn't show it off. The only reason the Bats found out about it is because Tim came to a meeting with Bruce and Diana went "you. Your Magic is Familure but I don't know from where." And Tim was sweating while saying, "Magic? What magic??" And after getting questioned by Diana and Bruce he Caves and tells them a half truth, "fine. I was made from Clay, like you. My Mom didn't want to go through the struggles of Childbirth but still wanted a child. Instead of adopting like any sane and rational person, she made a deal with a God or Godess. I don't know all the details but she owed them something in exchange for Me. I do know the debt has been paid already though."

The debt was simply a tea spoon of blood for the ritual and A Kiss. Janet over paid the second part by a lot.

As for how Janet met and wooed A Goddess? Well, she was on a dig in Greece when her boat she was using to get to another island was caught in a storm and washed up on a different island. The Goddess was expecting violence or anger at being stranded, perhaps even Sorrow. But no, Janet took one look at the Temple in the distance and was pushing past her saying she needed to get to the Temple because it's clearly in *amazing* condition and could bring So Many insights into Ancient Greek culture and building practice. For the first time in decades, as this Random Woman ran her hand along a pillar and started rambling about the design and what the type of collums were called, Circe felt herself blushing.

CIRCE?!?!?

FUCK YEAH.

Anyways, this is absolutely adorable. Fuck. I would love an entire fic of Janet. Here's a general plot line:

Janet hasn't ever really been interested in romance. She's tried dating a few guys in high school for appearance sake, but she usually broke the relationship off when they became too affectionate.

This is when others started referring to her as "cold." She wasn't, but few people got close enough to her to listen to her rambles about ancient civilizations, archeology, and sociality impacts of culture. She enjoyed other stuff, but nothing quite lit her up like those topics did.

In college, she did find and make a few friends with similar interests. This is where she figured out she was into women and not men. The relationships lasted longer, but she was single by the time she graduated with her bachelor's.

Her master's ends up as some sort of work study where she travels the world. She's more invested in her studies and work than relationships at this point. She enjoys learning about people's lives and cultures but doesn't seek out more than friendship.

I'm not sure if Janet has already or is working on her doctorate by the time she ends up lost on an island (or really how archeology even pays bills).

When she arrives on the island, there's a beautiful woman there as well. Janet notices this, but doesn't give a flying fuck in comparison to the architecture.

And Circe? Finds herself amused and confused by this woman who, although is into women, doesn't care about Circe's looks. Janet just keeps asking questions about Circe's life, the temple, the plants, the culture, etc. It becomes endearing watching her work late into the night with her research.

Janet is so enthralled in all that is going on that she doesn't notice Circe's continuous flirting. It's so fucking frustrating for Circe, but makes her unbearably fond as well. Janet starts to consider this drop dead gorgeous woman a close friend of hers as they "work" late into the chatting about ancient Greece, their past experiences, and their lives. Janet, who has some experience with romance but not much, even flirts back. After all, women call each other beautiful all the time and hold hands and shit. Surely Janet can platonically cuddle with her friend while Circe compares Janet's eyes to the night sky.

It's only when Janet is ready to leave that she realizes that she's willing to give up everything she's worked for, all of her findings and education, to have more time with Circe. Janet is in love with her best friend.

Also, Circe is able to get a fake ID as "Jack" due to magic and Janet's connections

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

Ectoberhaunt 2023. Day 17. Blood and Flesh.

CW: TW! Recurrent pregnancy loss. TW!Abortion. TW!Bleeding

Maddie: Jack, we need to talk. I know this is gonna sound crazy but I think Phantom, the ghost boy, is actually our son. And I’m sure Danny and Jazz know about it too.

What if we bring down on the Fentons the knowledge that they have ghost children without revealing Phantom’s identity?

Text+Chat+Memes=Prompt:

Of course Maddie wanted to have children. But…Not in college. She felt it was too soon. The lack of stable earnings and time were not conditions for growing a new person. She had nothing to give this potential child. Maddie did not hesitate long before deciding to have an abortion.

And for years, neither Jack nor Maddie have thought about this unplanned pregnancy.

Ectoplasm is toxic, obviously. But since ectology was only recently recognized by the scientific community, no one has ever fully analysed the effects of ectoplasm on the body.

When Maddie and Jack had the misfortune to become one of those couples experiencing recurrent pregnancy loss, they immediately suspected that the ectoplasm in their lab contributed to their reproductive difficulty. Put simply, death didn’t go with life.

They may not always have followed the lab’s safety rules perfectly, but is that why one of their first works will be exposing a teratogenic effect of ectoplasm? What if they’ve lost their only chance to be biological parents?

What a cruel price to pay for the work of life. Jack and Maddie so dreamed of their little happiness. Do they have to forget about it?

No, the Fentons don’t give up that easily!

They may have to spend a few years doing only theoretical work, but they’ll try again.

~~~~~

Ectoplasm is toxic. Tests, hopes…and a few miscarriages too.

Jazz was a miracle. Fenton family literally didn’t get out of hospitals to look after her health.

Danny was an even bigger miracle, because they didn’t have any hope of having a second child. Maddie and Jack didn’t even plan this pregnancy. Danny was born premature, with signs of hypoxia... but alive. His potential twin was not so lucky. Single intrauterine fetal death (sIUFD).

Right. Death still followed them. Of course, parents didn’t tell Jazz and Danny that they might have had another brother. It was their grief. Children had no reason to know about it.

~~~~~

"You filthy ghost!" Maddie stopped to rest after a chase for elder Phantom.

"Exhausted?" Dan was flying at a safe distance from her. "Maybe it’s time to retire, Maddie? A little exercise never stopped you before." The ghost was clearly making fun of her.

"Not going to happen, I’ll do it until I die if Amity Park need it. And my son will be here to stop you instead of me after me or Jack."

The smile on Ghost’s face faded immediately. "I hope he die first." The ghost whispered in a hoarse voice."It's best for everyone."

"What did you say?" Maddie rose up in anger, pointing her weapon at it.

"Has any thought crossed your mind about what happens to your children if anything happens to you? Go out every day and yell like idiots, attracting all the ghosts around." An ectoblast is blowing right up against her temple and crashing into the wall. The ghost frowned and turned away. "Did you ever think that Danny wouldn’t want to live without you? Did you think that he would be hurt if he had to lose you? No! Is it always about your stupid desires and ambitions, Mom."

For a moment Maddie thought he it was looking at her like it had seen a ghost, which was obviously just ridiculous. Maddie wanted to laugh about it, but somehow she couldn’t. Why would the ghost trying to fake human emotion care to hide the tears that gather in the corners of its eyes?

Maddie tried to get it out of her head. Anyway, it’s not that important. Phantoms have always been atypical. She’ll come home, take a warm shower, and tell Danny how much she loves him.

~~~~~

Maddie: My son is a strong boy and Dan: He’s weak! He’s a freak! He can’t handle it, Mom!

Maddie had long pondered this theory since the day Jack admitted that Phantom had misspoke during the fight and called him his father but she had never experienced it before. Or maybe she wasn’t paying attention.

Maddie: Hey, Phantom, just a question, how old are you? Dan: Why are you changing the subject? Twenty-four, twenty-five… Hell, I don’t remember. Stopped counting after 17, nobody cares anyway. And her first months dating Jack were 24 years ago. Right. The eyebrows, the shape of eyes and the height is all from Jack. The waist and the side eye from her. Theoretically. Still need more proof.

~~~~~~

Dan: Is this all your frail human form can do?

Maddie walked past the Casper High playground when she saw a ghost flying around. It was one of the new ones. The Phantom’s full-grown specimen. More dangerous. And totally unpredictable. Maddie squeezed the gun harder. Her theories are just theories and she can’t have such a dangerous spirit near the school, near her children.

Danny: Shut up and give me my bottle of water, asshole.

This voice. Maddie stopped in shock. What’s her boy doing so close to a ghost? He’s always so terrified of them.

Dan: No pull-ups, no water. You need muscles. Without them you’re gonna look like a worm if you’re gonna grow up to be taller than Jack as I am.

Danny: Just so you know, you’re a terrible big brother and I hate you.

Dan: Well, that just means I’m doing a good job.

Danny: When Mom asks who destroyed the furniture in Vlad’s house I’m pointing at you. A little run around town will be good for you. And as they say, Older siblings are like your parents' personal science fair. They're a bunch of experiments.

Dan: ...Just so you know, it sounded completely insane. Terrible. Good job, but don’t go near Dani with those jokes. Jazz will kill us both for setting a bad example. Danny: Bad example? Since when has a good sense of humor become a bad example? Dan: Shut up. Drink water and go to the shower. Jazz is gonna kick my ass if you die of overheating.

Danny: Huh, afraid of one know-it-all? When dad chased you with a bazooka, you didn’t seem scared.

Dan: Сome on, dad has a lot of strengths, yeah, but the ability to aim isn't one of them. And not

Dani: driving a car?

Danny: Right. Wait, how long have you been eavesdropping? Dani: Long enough to blackmail you both. Сomputer’s mine for the rest of the week. Dan and Danny: Shit.

~~~~~

The Invisobill. or Phantom. Ha. Danny Fenton…Danny Phantom. Weston boy said crazy things. Yeah. But what if he was only partially wrong? Everything except the color of its eyes and hair is so much like Danny's. If this were typical manipulation from a ghost hoping to shake the desire of ghost hunters to chase a creature similar to their child, he would have had to give it up months ago. But phantom did not change his disguise. This is his true form. What about ghost girl and older ghost? They are also so young.

Maddie could not sleep. In her head struggled scientist and woman weighed down by feelings of guilt and shame. She was tormented by philosophical problems and religious issues. No, Maddie, not even a neural tube is formed at that time. It was just a collection of cells. It’s not a person. It doesn’t feel pain. And ghosts do not too. Right? Is it even acceptable to compare such things? Is it possible that a ghost is not the remnant of negative human emotions and memories? What is responsible for its formation then? What is the purpose of such a ghost? And more importantly, how long have these ghosts been near and they did not notice? Has the portal become a source of energy necessary for their existence in the physical plane? Or is it only they who have not seen them?

So painful. It’s so unpleasant to think about what monsters they look like to their dear Danny and Jazz. Ghosts or not, she threatened creatures who might have been part of their family in front of her babies. God, naive teens must think that three Phantoms are their siblings or something. Of course! That explains the disappearance of fenton thermos and the way the Phantoms sneak into the portal and Danny’s always somewhere in trouble and…Oh my God, they could be in so much danger! How long has this been going on? No, the real question is..Hm, if this is going on for so long, why haven’t the ghosts done anything…evil? If their nature is in the destruction then why didn’t anything happen? Jack and she would never have missed something that would hurt their children.

~~~~~~

The fight between the Skulker and Invisobill was particularly fierce this time. Maddie was unlucky to be in one of the damaged buildings. But who is she if not a scientist? She will find a way to benefit in such a situation.

Unnecessary risk, completely unprofessional. But… The debris of the wall does not lie on her very tightly and the weapon still with Maddie. Yeah. She has to test her theory. She has to. She can get up and leave if she needs to. Right? A little dizziness never killed anyone. She just feels cold and sounds are strange. Maddie: Help. Help! Someone! M-Maddie? An insecure voice with an echo sounds. Yes, it's near. Maddie: Help! I can’t.. I can’t get up. T-Hard to breathe. Danny: Mum! Mama, hold on, I’m coming.

Phantom checks her pupillary reflex. Who taught him that? Jazz? The touch of his hand, so cold and shaky. Now Maddie really doesn't feel so good. It’s good that the ghost is her boy. She doesn’t have to worry about anything happening to people around. Neither he nor Danny know how to lie. She can breathe. Just cover her eyes for a moment and… Just a few seconds. Phantom:Jazz, Jazz! Call an ambulance. I don’t know what to do. I..I can’t just make mum intangible. What if she has a crush syndrome and I make it worse or… Her boy. Why is Danny so scared? Danny: Tucker, she is bleeding and she’s not responding to me and… Sshh, my little star, is all right. Mom just needs to lie down and rest a little.

~~~~~~

Maddie could not believe that she had actually passed out. But the time spent in the hospital gave her enough time to think about everything.

Maddie: Jack, we need to talk. I know this is gonna sound crazy but I think Phantom, the ghost boy, is actually our son. And I’m sure Danny and Jazz know about it too.

Jack: Honey, are you sure we don’t need to double-check if you have a concussion?

~~~~~~

Maddie and Jack decide to watch surveillance videos for the first time. After all, it concerns the safety of their children, they have the right to know what happens in the house in their absence. Especially when the ghosts are nearby. Children *live in their own sitcom*:

They have seen enough. Maddie decides to check chats on Jazz’s phone. It’s for their safety, only. She’s a good mother but what if the ghosts are up to something?

The chat was so..Teenage? And Chaotic. Normal? No, definitely not. How many times have they punished Danny unfairly? Did Jazz learn to lie and they didn’t even notice? And what the hell, why were they joking about dissection. It’s just awful. They need to talk immediately. No, it will look suspicious. They need to try to make contact with ghosts. And then they’ll all be grounded. All five.

Oh, and she thought two kids were a lot of work. How are they gonna handle three more with the bizarre biology ectology? Do they have hobbies, interests? They are definitely more complicated than theblob-ghosts. Was she wrong? Do they have emotions, a need for socialization? Can she trust her emotions in this matter?

~~~~Bonus~~~~

"What the hell happened to freak’s neck?!"

Danny: Um, excuse me, ma'am, he’s been doing Hatha yoga in India for years. Practice opens up amazing flexibility in the joints! Right, brother?

Dan: Fuck off.

Ma'am: Don’t take me for an idiot! What about his skin color then? Jack: You have something against my son’s tan? Dan: I told you going shopping with me was a bad idea. Dani: If you didn’t scare everyone around, it wouldn’t be so bad.

Dan:...I didn’t even try to do it this time. Why is she meddling?!

~~~Bonus~~~~

Dan: Why am I only third? Dani: Because I have successfully stabbed Danny in the back when he did not expect it. With you he is always waiting for a trick. This makes me much more successful than you :)

[jasmine-the-fox]

Grandpa Alfred

Merry Christmas everyone!!! here is a Christmas story requested by A29Z10!

hope you all enjoy this Miraculous Ladybug x Batman fic!

Marinette felt like Ronald wasn’t her grandpa. She didn’t know who was her real grandpa though. Her dad always said his mom didn’t tell him but hoped she would one day so he could meet his real father… but that day never came… all because of Cat Noir. During an akuma battle he messed up and caused Marinette’s parents to be crushed to death… and the miraculous cure couldn’t bring them back.

Marinette was out of school for two weeks to mourn the death of her parents. She would read the last letter her grandpa Ronald wrote to her dad; he revealed how he wasn’t Tom’s actual father in the letter and she would be sad from reading it. The kwami’s worked hard to protect her from any akuma Hawkmoth might send her way.

But they couldn’t always protect her…

Once back at school… Lila and Adrien led the class to make fun of Marinette for being an orphan. Miss Bustier never made them stop and as a result her mental health was getting worst as the days past. Jagged and Penny took Mari into there care and lived with her while Gina was away, they hoped she would return soon because they were deeply worried about Marinette each day, she comes back from school looking worst.

When Gina returns to Paris she is horrified at Marinette’s condition. It broke her and she knew that Paris was no longer safe for her. So, even though it broke her grand-daughter to leave her home… she left with Gina with the help of Jagged to Gotham so Gina could bring her to an old friend of her’s who could care for Mari.

Which led to Gina seeing Alfred once more… Tom’s real father…

See, years ago… Gina and Alfred were both secret agents and were working together often… which led to Gina getting pregnant with Alfred’s child. Before she could tell him though, Alfred left to care for the Wayne’s… leaving Gina alone to give birth to Tom. When she retired, she moved to Paris and met Ronald who adopted Tom as his son and helped Gina raise him after they got married.

They both decided to not tell Tom unless they were dying… and then Ronald passed and gave Tom the truth in a letter. Gina wishes she had been in Paris when Ronald’s death came… then she would have told Tom about Alfred… but she was too late. So now… she needed to help Marinette in anyway she could. So, when she saw Alfred at the airport… she knew she had to tell him everything.

So, she asked him to have coffee with her and told him everything. It broke Alfred’s heart to know he had a son… but sadly passed before he could meet him and his wife… but now he has a grand-daughter who needs help “My friend just messaged me that she can’t watch Marinette” Gina said with a sigh “Let me, Gina. I want to know my grand-daughter better” he replied making Gina sigh and nod to his offer. So, with that, Marinette moved to the Wayne manor.

Gina waited with her as Alfred picked up Bruce who had gone to Japan for a business deal. His biological son was at school and his adopted kids were all working at the moment so they would be back later in the day. Mari was sadly nervous about the whole thing but Gina promised that everything would be alright in the end for her and that she would be happy once more in no time.

And she was right…

When Alfred returned with Bruce, he sat down in the kitchen with his granddaughter while Bruce spoke to Gina to understand Marinette’s situation better. He finds out slowly about Marinette’s personal life back in Paris and her hobbies which makes Alfred happy, at one point they bake together a few things Marinette loved to make with her parents making him happy to see her smile… meanwhile.

Bruce finds out from Gina what Marinette went through “She was bullied on her first day back?” he asked making Gina nod “She mourned the death of her parents for two weeks since she also needed to take care of a few things since I wasn’t there to do them… and when she came back, she was made fun of for becoming an orphan” she explained which angered Bruce greatly.

He was now determined to help Marinette “What about her teachers?” he asked making Gina sighed “Her main teacher ignored it. She let them bully her during her class and reprimanded Marinette for causing this to happen” she explained making Bruce get pissed.

He couldn’t believe a woman like her was hired as a teacher in the first place… he was determined to resolve all of this for Marinette no matter what. Damian came home from school to the smell of baked goods coming from the kitchen with the sounds of giggling. He peeked into the kitchen to see an angel with Alfred baking in the kitchen together. He became very interested in her and hoped to get to know her soon enough.

It barely took an hour after everyone returned for everyone to know who Marinette was and what happened to her in Paris… none of them were happy at all with what she was put through and were determined to make everyone pay. In a matter of days, the Wayne’s uncovered what was happening in Paris and decided to help Ladybug to defeat Hawkmoth, they did research on the akuma’s and who works with Hawkmoth and slowly formed a plan to help Ladybug defeat him once and for all… and take down the ones who hurt Marinette while they were at it while in Paris.

Damian protected Mari at school since she was put in his class and made sure she was safe at all times no matter what anyone tried… good or bad he planned to keep her happy and safe since he didn’t want her to be bullied once more… and if that meant secretly do a background check on anyone who looked interested in becoming close to Marinette… then so be it.

Bruce helped set Marinette up with what she needed while everyone chipped to bond with Mari in some type of way. Alfred was happy to see his granddaughter smiling and being at peace now from her pain in Paris. Soon though the Wayne’s went to Paris to take down Marinette’s old high school… while taking down Hawkmoth with Ladybug.

Within a few days, Hawkmoth was revealed as Gabriel and he was arrested, Lila was uncovered and exposed for her lies and was labelled a terrorist aid since she helped Hawkmoth akumatized a few people, Adrien was arrested since it was discovered he had caused the death of Marinette’s parents on purpose as he wanted to punish her for fighting against Lila, the school was shut down, Damocles and Bustier were arrested and the students who bullied Marinette paid the price by being taken to court and each getting a criminal record for their actions towards Marinette.

While this was all happening, Damian and Alfred helped Marinette where they could to help her heal from everything. She started dating Damian and laughed as she heard Alfred give him “the talk” which made Damian sulk for a while. As everything began to settle, Marinette felt happy and free with Hawkmoth gone and all of the miraculous back together.

She felt bad for using the fox miraculous to make an illusion of herself before leaving for Paris to take down Hawkmoth but it had to be done so Alfred and Damian didn’t know she was gone. She planned on telling them all about the miraculous… but not right now since she wanted to relax and rest from everything. Sure, her old classmates did try to contact her to have her help them but she ignored them. They were in the wrong and there was no way she would lie and say that nothing big happened between them.

Years go by and she was engaged to Damian. She was really happy and couldn’t wait to get married to Damian. The day he proposed was Christmas, he gave her his present which was a jewelry box and inside the song that plays at weddings began and her sweet kwami’s came out to present her the message “Will you marry me angel?” and Plagg presented her the ring Damian got her.

She accepted and together they decided on a Christmas themed wedding for them… it simply sounded perfect for them and so that’s what they planned to do. Sadly, her old classmates still try to contact her, Adrien was released and quickly began to harass her to have her date him and Lila to her surprise went to social media talking to her as if they were friends and she was only asking for a small favor… when she was asking for a job, a nice apartment, some connections and a famous boyfriend.

She ignored them all though. Let them suffer with there coal from being bad for so long while she enjoyed herself at long last… she was happy now and wanted it to stay that way… Alfred smiled towards his granddaughter as she hugged Damian as the Wayne’s were together for Christmas.

[fandom-lover2]

Deep In The Woods, Something Lingers In The Trees

Chapter Seven - Storm Clouds On The Horizon

Word Count - 4419

Chapter Six - Trees Are Taller Than You Think

Chapter Eight - He Is Not Tarzan

I never understood what people meant when they could sense a storm brewing when it came to a person.

I could smell rain, I could see clouds gather, I could feel the wind and hear the thunder.

All my life it was simple. My mom woke up in a bad mood, and without rhyme or reason and so that was the day.

But I understood it now, watching him loom in the corner of his room.

For weeks, things had been building.

Without me having to go to school, I spent every day at his house, hidden away in his room as we went over courses and universities and colleges and online opportunities.

At first, he was eager to help. Now, he barely glanced at the computer screen when I turned it towards him, just staring down at his hands or glaring at the world beyond the window.

Sometimes he fiddled with the multiple projects he had lying around his room, and occasionally I could coerce him into a game of chess, but they never kept his attention long enough to make significant changes.

The final breaking point came from the most normal moment.

Will had finally taken a break from spending weeks locked away in his study working on his father’s condition and had decided to take Caroline and us to the woods for a picnic date.

For being together for 5 years, I was surprised there hadn’t been a wedding yet.

Caesar seemed to like her well enough, and she cared for him. Lord knows she was good for Will, and helped with Charles.

Whatever, wasn’t my place or worry.

Caesar had pulled me away from the ground, depositing me onto the branch that had become my perch in these last weeks since the first time he’d brought me up to his world.

As usual, I had my leg bent and was reading while he surveyed the city, looking every bit like his namesake.

“It’s two years ago today that I meant you down there.” I murmured, turning the page of my book. And it was actually beneath this very tree I’d passed out at the sight out him.

How much both our lives had changed since then.

He made no indication of if he’d even heard me.

This was getting exhausting. But I wasn’t about to start a fight with the only one who could get me out the tree, so I kept on reading.

Below, Caroline’s giggles floated up.

Instinctually, my eyes snapped up to Caesar.

He glanced down at them, watching as his parents basked in one another.

I watched as his shoulders sagged, his eyes going from an observing glare to a downcast sadness.

He was lonely.

And far more than what friendship I could provide him.

I could go there, to the college that was the setting for almost every stupid love story Caroline had us watching on Friday nights. I could gain a man’s attention, and experience that romantic bliss.

He was completely and utterly alone. And would remain that way until the day he died.

I’d overheard Caroline a few times, when she thought I was out of ear shot and above eavesdropping. She was worried about us being left alone together.

Caesar had just turned 8. Male chimps began puberty at about 9.

I wanted to hit her for even thinking something like that, let alone it become a concern. Caesar was my friend, and there was no one on the entire planet I felt safer with.

I knew he would never, ever, try to hurt me intentionally or not. And Will had agreed with me.

But, she was still right. Caesar was at that age where young males began to progress, as start to try find themselves within the troop. They become more violent, fighting to see where they fell in the social hierarchy. They began to understand what it was to have a female’s attention.  

Only, he had no troop. No females to make a fool of himself to impress. No older males to compare himself to.

For once, I truly understood how alone he was.

It was my choice to spend every waking moment with him, and often times spending the night curled up beside him in his tiny bed. I choose to spend weekends, and after school, and school breaks. He had no choice.

I chose him over spending time with boys my age, or making human friends.

I was his only friend. And he could never change that.

He turned to me, not expecting I was watching him, and huffed at my sad face.

“Let’s go.”

“Caesar-”

He grunted, turning his back for me to climb onto, and also attempting to silence me. It was funny how he sometimes forgot that turning his back didn’t silence talking, only sign.

But I wasn’t looking to be stranded in a tree, again, and so stood and stepped up to him and looped my arms around his neck before locking my legs around his hips.

We were getting better at this, the position becoming more comfortable and my confidence in him growing. Last week he’d swung from one branch to another with me.

To feel those moments of freedom, to feel like I could fly, it made me wish not for the first time that I was ape.

He maneuvered us down the tree with practiced ease, dropping down the last 6 feet and landing very close to Will and Caroline, who were lip locked.

His impact sent pine needles and dirt flying, and Will flinched away from his girlfriend, which was probably Caesar’s intention.

I slipped from his back and the ape put on a show, acting like a teenaged boy.

I was still trying to figure out why he acted so different when with me than he did with Will.

It wasn’t much of a change, and when comparing it to a teenaged boy messing around with his dad it didn’t seem that drastic, but he acted more ape around Will.

He swung his arms, his eyes wider and curious. He downplayed his intelligence.

With me, he walked like a human, he studied and analyzed. He made a game of outsmarting me.

‘Dumb female, smart alpha’ maybe. Or he didn’t want Will knowing something.

Whatever it was, I wasn’t going to say anything. It was amusing watching him act like a child at times.

Will and Caroline laughed as he hobbled around them, acting the fool.

“Hi. What’s going on, buddy?” Will greeted, smiling at his son as Caesar made kissy lips and swayed back and forth until Will lent forward and brought their foreheads together.

They did it often with one another, kind of like their version of hugging.

Caesar had adopted the gesture into his daily life, doing it with me at least once a day.

It felt nice, closing my eyes and letting myself sag into him. To close my eyes around him, not only showing him I trusted him entirely, but letting his hand come to rest at the back of my head, it was a show of familiarity, trust, and love.

Because I did love him, every furry inch, with all I had. And no matter what happened in the future, he would remain the being I trusted most in this life. And I knew that no matter what I ended up studying and where, he would be there when I needed.

I stepped forward, bending to take a grape from the spread and popping it into my mouth.

“Are you two ready to go?” Caroline asked, moving to stand.

I glanced to Caesar, still rough housing with Will. Their playfulness had them now rolling in the dirt.

I nodded, biting the grape and chewing through the juiciness, spitting out the seeds into the ground.

Helping Caroline, I helped dust the leaves and dirt from her hair, and then packed up the picnic.

Finally done being boys, Will and Caesar joined us again and shook themselves clean.

Bending down, Will picked up the collar.

I looked away, forcing myself to focus packing up my own backpack.

The arguments between Will and I about making Caesar wear that damn thing were plenty, but finally he tired of fighting with me and threatened to end our playdates if I kept bringing it up, so I shut up. Though not without throwing him a glare every now and then.

Caesar didn’t seem to find anything wrong with it, but because he knew no different. To him, this was normal.

To Will, Caesar was still a chimp, an animal.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had looked at him and seen only an ape. He was so much more. Hell, he was more human and most humans out there.

Collar in place, Will took Caroline’s hand and they headed out the clearing and back towards the path. I walked alongside Caesar, mindlessly humming a song I’d heard on the radio earlier in the day.

I was lost in thought, as I usually got when we were strolling through the trees, that I didn’t hear the other footsteps, or the woman address us.

“Hi.” Will greeted, and I turned to him instead of looking for who he was talking to.

And then something growled, and teeth almost closed around my ankle, if not for Caesar hauling me out of the way.

I stumbled, his hold on my arm the only thing keeping me upright as he put himself between me and the animal.

I looked down to the dog who was pulling against its own leash, barking and baring its teeth.

This was the first time we’d ever come across a dog in all the years we’d been coming here. Other people occasionally, but they usually just stared and kept walking, or walked faster to get away from us sooner.

The dog pulled harder, barking hysterically.

Caesar pushed me further behind him, and I noticed his own leash taunt.

Will kept walking, watching as he tugged Caesar gently, continuously.

The dog tried to lunge again, the woman using both hands and trying to pull it back towards her.

Caesar’s hand reached up to his own collar, his eyes never leaving the dog.

“Come on, Caesar.” Will called, pulling lightly to nudge Caesar along.

The ape turned, putting his hands on my shoulders and turning me, beginning to hobble after Will and Caroline.

The dog continued to bark, still pulling to get to us, to get to him. I had just been in the way, not the target.

Caesar spun, and barked out a sound a mix of a screech and a yell.

The action, sudden and unexpected from him, startled me. The terror only intensified when I saw his teeth, those terrifying canines the size of my finger, bared.

Suddenly, I was the scared little girl from 2 years ago who passed out at the sight of him.

He was Caesar, my friend.

He was Caesar, the chimpanzee.

He was a chimpanzee. How had I forgotten that? How had I gotten so lost in all these moments to lose sight of that?

The dog high tailed it back to the family, now rushing them down the trail faster.

Caesar let out a softer growl, and for a second I thought he’d go after the dog.

“Caesar!” Will called out, yanking on the leash hard. So hard, it jerked Caesar’s head back.

The ape’s hand came up to touch his collar again.

“Come on. It’s alright. Come on.” Will reassured, beginning to walk and again and Caesar followed, twisting to watch the family and their pet leave.

For a solid 5 seconds, I didn’t move. Fear rooted me in place, watching the couple and the ape walk on.

My heart thundered in my chest, my ears ringing. My blood rushed through my veins and felt like ice all at once.

He was still an ape. No matter how many nights we spent reading, and how many times he beat me at chess, and Risk. He was still an ape. Violence, killing, it was his nature.

And I’d let myself play house with him.

No. He was just protecting me. That dog had almost bitten me in its attempts to get to him. He was just protecting me, protecting his family. Any human would have done so. He just had the advantage of big teeth and an animalistic cry.

“Alina!”

I jumped at Caroline’s call, my eyes snapping away from where they had been locked watching the space Caesar had inhabited.

The three had not stopped to wait for me, but she was walking backwards to watch me. “Come on.”

He would not hurt me, he couldn’t. He was incapable of it.

I rushed to catch up with them, sliding in beside Caesar as I always did. Only this time he didn’t turn to acknowledge me, or try begin an argument of what movie we’d watch once we were home.

He kept his eyes down, occasionally reaching up to tug at his collar.

His eyes, they gave it away. He was lost in thought. They showed his mind racing, his brows pinched, his lips turned in a frown.

This lasted the entire walk to the car, and continued as Will lowered the back of his old station wagon.

Usually, we both sat in the back. That way, we could still screw around and not be crammed in the confines of the back seat.

It had been that way long before I joined the family. I had briefly questioned it, but then it rolled with it.

Will opened the back, and I tossed my backpack in, turning and hoisting my ass onto the flatbed. But then I caught Caesar’s scowl and stopped.

Will stepped over, unclipping the leash, and Caesar jerked his chin away from the man as though the action was an annoyance.

Usually he didn’t wait long enough for Will to do it, jumping and I’d take it off.

Will took a step back, giving Caesar space to jump in before closing us in. Only, Caesar didn’t move for a solid 2 seconds. Instead, he breathed, not moving as he formed a thought.

He looked at Will, then to me waiting for him to do something, then to the car.

“Caesar,” Will prompted with a smile, watching. He didn’t seem concerned in the slightest.

Without a word, Caesar reached out and took my hand from my lap, and then pulled me from the bed and guided me to the back seat, opening the door and gesturing for me to climb in.

I did, sliding across and getting settled behind Caroline while he climbed in and shut the door.

This had never happened before.

I turned to Caroline, and saw her confusion as she watched Will for some answer.

Will closed the back, squinting at the setting sun as he approached, and peered at Caesar through the open backseat window.

He knocked on the glass, before leaning down to speak to Caesar. “Everything ok, pal?”

Caesar fidgeted with his collar, swaying his head back and forth in annoyance and he tugged the leather circle.

“Am I a-”

And then he made a sign I did not know. Two years in and I was still learning a new sign every day.

“Are you a pet?” Will repeated his question, and my heart dropped.

I didn’t know then why the question set alarms off in my head, and filled me with a sense of impending doom.

“No, you’re not a pet.” Will immediately answered.

“Who is my father?” was Caesar’s follow up question.

“I’m your father.”

I looked to Caroline again, and she glanced over when she saw me looking at her. She was just as confused as I was.

Caesar seemed agitated, making the sign for ‘what’, but not seeming sure what he was questioning.

“What is Caesar?” Will guessed, and got it right, though Caesar’s nod was minuscule.

Will looked to me, then to Caroline.

Then he got in the car and started out the parking lot and headed back to the city in silence.  

The ride home was the longest and most awkward of my entire life. And the most nerve wracking.

I knew I was safe next to Caesar, but he was tense and that made me tense.

Every red light, every asshole cutting us off in traffic, brought me closer to tears.

I wanted to get home, make some stupid excuse to go home, and to hide away in my room.

I’d fucked up. Fucked up so so bad.

I’d let myself get comfortable, and now it was all spiraling out of control. And I was going to be the one getting hurt.

Instead of turning right, Will kept going straight.

“Uhh, home is that way.”

Will glanced at me through the rearview mirror. “There’s somewhere we need to go.”

Sorry Mom, I wasn’t coming home tonight, or ever again. Please don’t miss me too much.

After about another 20 minutes, we pulled up to a lab, Will’s lab. Gen-Sys.

Will pulled the car over to the side of the large circle that allowed cars to move around the large campus, putting it in park.

“Caesar, this is where I work.” Will started.

I glanced over at the ape, and he seemed to be coming out of his haze and finally looked away from his lap and out the window.

“This was where you were born. Your mother was here with other chimpanzees, but she’s not here anymore. So, that’s why I took you home to live with me.”

Caesar looked away from the window, signing to Will through the mirror. He looked absolutely destroyed, and shocked. I mean, 8 years of his life was coming to light.

“My mother is dead?” he asked, and dropped his head with a grunt at Will’s confirmation.

“The thing is, she was given medicine.”

Caroline’s head snapped over to Will. Oh shit. Was I the only other one who knew?

“Like the medicine I give to Charles.” Will kept addressing Caesar through the tiny mirror. “She passed it on to you. That’s why you’re so smart.”

Caroline turned back to look at Caesar and I, and I had just enough sense to fake a look of shock.

Beside me, Caesar began to shake his head, as if that would rattle the words out. He scrunched his nose, huffing and revealing his clenched jaw.

If he went ape-shit, I would leave them all behind.

“Take him home.” Caroline spoke up, making sure it was obvious she was avoiding Will.

Great, an angry ape and a couple’s domestic. I should have stayed home.

Will started the old Jeep up again and began to drive, Caesar turning in his seat to watch as we pulled away from the building.

When we finally, finally, got home, I was opening the backseat door and ready to bolt across the street, but Caroline caught my arm.

“He needs you.” she whispered, the men still getting out the car.

Not men, an ape and a lying man.

I looked to Caesar, his tight shoulders and scowl as he made his way to the front door, not waiting for Will to leash him.

“Caroline, I can’t-”

“He needs you.” she insisted. I looked at her eyes, and she was pleading. Not just as a woman who would be subject to an awkward house, but as a mother worried about her son.

2 years and he had never once so much as looked at me with ill intentions, no matter how much I annoyed him. Why the hell was I being so stupid as to think now he’d changed.

‘Because now he knows he’s an ape.’ a part of my brain told itself.

“Ok.”

Grabbing my backpack, I headed up the stairs and was greeted by Caesar and Will standing in the foyer. Charles must’ve still been napping because he was not in the kitchen as usual.

“Why don’t you two go up and play. Will and I need to talk.”

So I was just the distraction so they could get into it. How lovely.

“Y-yeah. Come on Caesar. I thought of another uni course to look at.”

The ape hardly acknowledged my presence as he began to make his way up to his room, me following behind.

And for the first time in all the years of our friendship, he did not help me up the attic stairs.

Instead, he marched into his room and immediately went to stand at his window, ripping his shirt off like it burned him.

Downstairs, I heard Will and Caroline starting. I couldn’t hear much, them being in his office, but with Caesar’s better hearing I had no doubt he could hear every word.

He shifted his weight, swinging his arms slightly as he swayed. I took a step backwards, closer to the stairs.

“Wanna watch a movie?” I tried, my voice squeaky and small.

He turned to his mirror, and brought his hand up to lightly touch the small patch of white fur on his chest.

A birthmark, I had always assumed. Just a rare fluke. I had a birthmark on my calf of an upside down heart.

It was pretty to look at, and resembled a star, but I had never given it much thought after that.

But he seemed to finally be connecting the dots. The birthmark, the change in his DNA, it ran deeper.  

He shook his head again.

“Look, Caesar I know you’re upset-”

“Humans…” he started to sign, his eyes angry as he looked at himself in the mirror.

“What Will did was wrong, but his reason were right. And we got you from it so-”

“So my mother can die?” he spun to face me.

“That’s not what I meant.”

He huffed, beginning to pace the room.

“Lie.” he signed. Over and over again. “Lie, lie, lie, lie.”

“Will did what he thought was right. They would have killed you too-” I didn’t stop myself until it was too late.

Caesar froze, and looked to me.

Oh fuck.

“Did you know?”

I knew I did not need to answer that question. Hell, even if I did manage to piece together a convincing lie, he already knew the truth.

The hurt on his face broke my heart.

“Why did you come here?” he asked. And I knew what he meant.

Why, 1 year and 363 days ago, had I decided to march right over and knock on the door?

“Because we both needed a friend.” I signed to him.

“You are just like them.” His hands were quick, motions sloppy as he turned away from me.

And I get he was hurting but that was a low blow. And it caused a spark of rage inside me to ignite. “Oh I’m like them? Right. The humans that fear you, and hate you, and want to hurt you. I’m just like them. Damn, guess I left my bat at home today.”

“You did fear me.”

“And then I got to know you!”

“You just wanted to play friends with the monster.”

Is that all I was to him? All these months, everything we’d done together. Sleep overs, and movie nights, and talking till the sun came up. Every board game and school assignment, every race through the woods. All of it just my morbid curiosity?

 I sacrificed years of friendships and boyfriends and basically a life so that we could see each other. I was planning my future around how to still be able to see him every day.

Caesar was my friend, my best friend, my brother, and now I was nothing more than a stupid human to him? A human, just like the rest, who didn’t give a shit about him.

I blinked a few times, trying to clear the tears.

Caesar looked at me, finally, and either he didn’t notice the tears or he didn’t care. “You are no different to all the other humans.”

“Fuck you.” And I didn’t wait a moment more.

Spinning on my heels, I practically jumped from the attic to the level below and charged my way out the house, ignoring Will call out to me.

I slammed the front door closed, wiping my eyes as I didn’t even bother to look before racing across the street and then entered my own house.

My parents were surprised to see me, both throwing questions my way, but I ignored them, running up to my room and throwing myself onto my bed.

My mom came rushing in behind me, taking my open door as an invite to consol me, and joined me on my bed as I sobbed into my pillow.

I didn’t know which hurt more. Knowing this was probably the end of our friendship, or that he thought of me as just some human with a sick sense of humor.

I cried, and screamed, and every time it seemed as though I had control of myself, the tears started again.

I mourned the friend I once had, knowing that I would never have Caesar back. Not the way he once was. That carefree ape who chased me through the forest, and put on puppet shows with, he was gone. I would never make shadow animals against our fort again, have a food fight in the kitchen. I was as alone as he would remain.

My mother stayed by my side for hours, not needing an explanation to know the pain I was going through. This had been the longest we had spent together in years, long before my time with Caesar.

But eventually, dinner needed to be made and she had to prepare for work, and so I was left with a kiss to the forehead and a plate of cold spaghetti.

Finally, hours after the sun had gone down and I was so dehydrated I had no tears left to cry, I pulled myself to sit up. And then almost burst into tears again.

There, across the street, Caesar sat at his window watching me.

I had forgotten to close my bedroom curtains.

I looked at him, eyes puffy and raw, and from this far away I couldn’t tell exactly what he looked like. But I didn’t give a shit.

Think I’m like a normal human, fine! I’ll act the normal human.

Getting off my bed, I marched over to my window and yanked my curtains closed.

Sign language your way through that, monkey.

[negrowhat]

Sangmin Dinneaw Final Verdict: 6.0/10

That finale brought the series way down for me. What was that??? Most of the ep Sangmin Dinneaw spent apart. I understand why to some extent, but Sangmin didn't even get his resolution until the last 10 mins of a 53 min long ep. I actually found myself skipping through most of the ep. Tor and Athit barely got any screen time either. It was a total let down.

Let's go back a bit. I do want to say I didn't have sky high expectations for the series, it was never that good from the beginning. But I did expect for it to be more cohesive than it was, especially towards the end. This series dragged points that didn't need to be dragged. It didn't expound on moments that needed more room to breathe. And the introduction to TWO other couples and a host of so many other side characters really hurt the series because of the run time. There was way too much going on and the series really started to fall apart during the second half.

Riktor and Guy were so unnecessary to the plot and their relationship exploration was not a pleasant one. The series tried to turn their over-sexed up relationship into the comedic relief and I guess the showrunners expected us to take Riktor's sex addiction like a joke. Their scenes were uncomfortable to watch and after their first initial ep introduction I was skipping all their scenes.

The 4th couple?? The doctors?? I don't even know their names. I didn't even waste my time. What purpose did they even serve? Why were they here?

We were already gifted two couples with interesting stories and sensitive ties through Dinneaw's and Tor's friendship. I feel like Tor and Athit's relationship didn't get the spotlight it needed when Athit was mad at Tor. The complicated bits really were just glossed over and contained to just one ep.

Sangmin and Dinneaw's relationship was def tied to Sangmin's condition and took a backseat for an unneeded amnesia twist and then we just lost it all together because we wound up getting that weird drama with Sangmin's mother at the very, very end. And even that part with the insurance policy felt out of place because why tf would his mother have a life insurance policy taken out on a child she hates? That plot twist made no sense.

Also the whole business with Hana felt stupid too. I don't even know how to explain it. And don't even get me started on the uselessness of Dinneaw and co. participating in that program at Sainam's hotel. Dinneaw learned nothing from that experience except that Sainam and Pony were weirdos. THAT PONY CHICK WAS SO FUCKING WEIRD!

And maybe I just hyped the series up too much but the first ep of this series was phenomenal to me and then we just started to slowly crash and burn from there. It was great the first like 4 eps and then I found myself feeling disappointed from there.

Sangmin and Dinneaw were good. Athit and Tor were good. I wish they had that used that time and spaced carved out for couples 2 and 3 on them so we could feel like their stories were fully fleshed out. The styling for the series was great. Loved Dinneaw's mom, and despite the drama, I did like Hana.

I'd recommend the series for them but advise people to be ready to skip around.

[ask-dcf]

R.I.P Clover

As many of you know Clover had recently passed away, This had apparently happened while I was out in Florida a few days ago. I will try my best to explain what Mom told me what happened as I’m still a bit in shock as to what happened.

So. A few days ago, right after mom sent me some adorable pics of Clover, clover started to act weird, she was not moving a lot as usual, and then she apparently had a seizure. Bad enough that her back legs had stopped working for a bit. Mom immediately rushed her to the vet and asked for the best vet to have a look at her… Apparently Clover had a heart condition that she was born with that was not able to let her live, despite having birth issues she seemed fine at first, but apparently this heart condition was rare and had been with her since she was born. Mom did everything she could but the Vet said there was nothing they could do… Mom wanted me to try and see her one last time and see if we could hold off on letting her be… “Relieved from this life”…. However she was suffering and it would only hurt her more. Mom being the gentle lady she is approved the “relief” and held her in her arms as she was given the medicine to have her sleep… The whole time she told me Clover was purring in her arms feeling comfortable till she stopped. Mom was as devastated as I was and crying I my arms as I was… It was so much for me to handle that it made me regret leaving her for the last time…. I felt enraged that I wasn’t there for her in her last moments…

But…

One thing she did tell me actually made happy…. The vet said that the heart condition usually took the life of cats at a very early age. The vet never saw any cat with this heart condition that was this big and this old. Despite Clover not even being a year old, she had lived a lot longer than any cat that had the heart condition she had… Which the Vet deduced one thing as to why…. Because she was given a lot of love and care into her… Clover passed… but she was happy with the life we had given her… Despite her crazy nature… she felt loved and was happy… Which made me happy….

As of now I’m still crying over what happened. But I’m slowly getting better. I won’t be doing any work on the blogs today as I need a bit to recover… Promise I’ll be back soon…

As for Clover….

Rest well my lucky little one… I hope Tiger and Copper takes you in and give you as much love as they did for me.

Rest little one… I will always love you… my lucky little girl…

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Alright, I'm dying to hear about how things are back home. If things are really bad, my father may want me to come home."

Sebastian stared intently at Brion as Despina and Theo sat down beside him, looking just as eager.

"It's nothing that you want to return to," Brion warned. "If your father loved you, he would want you to stay here where it's safe. That's probably why he authorized your studying here to begin with."

Adam scowled at the thought of Sebastian coming here for any reason beyond ruining his life and whatever else Remy had accused him of. It stung that Sebastian was by Theo's side, along with Adam's cousin, Despina. It should be him sitting beside Theo, not hiding under the deck to eavesdrop on Brion's conversation. There was something that bothered him about Brion and the situation he had started describing about Jubilant Accosts, but he wasn't going to find out what that was without hearing from the source directly. Theo certainly wasn't going to open up to him about it.

"Everything started a few months ago," Brion began. "Right around when Theo transferred to Shadowvale, actually."

"Life as a True Jacobean wasn't always easy, but our family was a happy one. My mother, Damiana Pryor, was one of the good aligned witches and was responsible for helping with the healing and protection of our nation. She loves...loved baking and sewing and was the perfect model of a proper Jacobean woman. I always felt bad for her because none of the rest of our family could ever live up to her expectations for us. She always used to say that we were 'works in progress' and that 'the Watcher wasn't done with us quite yet' to make us feel better about ourselves. The Watcher could work on our family for decades and still, we'd all fall short of her hopes."

"My father, Alphaeus, tried his best. He always looked so happy with my mother, but there was always a sadness within him. He had an affair with someone last year, and Mom never knew why. We all have our theories about who it was with and why, but Dad's never gone into detail about it. The Proxy made us move across the street from Uncle Trysten for 'accountability' because of the affair, and both of my parents seemed happier in our new house."

"Well, what was your theory?" Sebastian interrupted. "Maybe I know them and can confirm if they did cheat with your dad."

"I'd rather not say at the moment," Brion murmured. "Getting this all out is more important than speculating about my parents' marriage."

"Right, sorry."

"My sister, Helena, loves to watch the stars. Dad bought her a telescope for her birthday a few years ago and she loves to track the movements of the stars and planets. She has a book that taught her all about how the stars you were born under reveal the Watcher's plan for your life. Of course, I don't know the stars I was born under or my real birthday, so she's never had any luck with determining my future, but she's very well known for her accurate revelations about the Watcher's intentions.

Helena was the first person to learn about my lycanthropy. She couldn't read my stars, but she said something changed in my aura when I started growing hair rapidly upon hitting puberty. She's trained like our mother in healing and good aligned magic, though Helena secretly hates it. She's been stealing our friend Torkel's workbooks since the first grade and she's gotten pretty good at some of the evil aligned spells. I'm sure that she'd love to ask Theo a million questions about Shadowvale some time. Torkel could only share so much of his study materials without getting caught.

Helena helped me hide my condition. I don't know what I would have done without her. Werewolves aren't accepted within the faith and if anyone found out about me, I'd be expelled into the outer settlement. My parents would have to renounce me and I'd lose everything.

My brother, Abercius, also has something Helena is helping him protect. His stars spell out a duality that I don't think our parents or our government would understand. Abercius sometimes likes to borrow Helena's clothes and imagine his hair long and feminine. I don't know what that means for him and I don't think he does either, but it's something our parents can never find out about, or he'd suffer the same fate as me.

So the three of us usually spent our nights indulging our secrets, concealed by Helena's talent for misleading our parents. She and Abercius are powerful mages trained in the good aligned magic, but the few evil aligned spells Helena knows have helped us more than a few times."

"I thought you had another sibling," Theo interrupted. "The one you can't stand."

Brion nodded.

"James. He's younger than me and he's the worst brat you'll ever meet. Mom babied him too much and he's insufferable. James would have snitched on us in a second if he knew our secrets, but luckily, he enjoys watching sports on television or playing video games more than he does spending time with us. Well, he did love all those things. He's likely dead now too. He disappeared just before we left and there was no time to search for him."

"That's terrible," Despina gasped. "I can't even imagine how that must feel. If Eero disappeared, I'd lose the only other person who understands how I feel about our parents. It would be like losing a limb."

Brion nodded gently, but he chose to ignore the comment. Working out his feelings and grief for a brother he had never been able to trust with his secrets was complicated and something he'd prefer to do privately.

"Then one night, Phuong came to pay Helena a visit," Brion continued, ignoring the pitying looks the other teens were giving him. "She kept grabbing her stomach and crying. Of course, Helena and I thought she was starving to death at first because the thought of pregnancy was impossible to imagine back then. Obviously, we've been proven wrong about that.

Helena, to her credit, never entertained the thought that Phuong had cheated on her and been impregnated by a male. She said that she knew Phuong's heart and never wavered in her devotion, despite it seeming impossible for the baby to be hers.

Abercius and I were weaker in our faith than Helena. We asked Phuong to take a pregnancy test and she did. Abercius cast a truth detecting spell that he'd learned the previous year that she agreed to and passed flawlessly.

Somehow, the impossible was true. We knew that Helena couldn't hide a child once it was born and even if it was born outside of the settlement, she would always be tied to it. She would want to raise it and be in its life, which could mean banishment or even death if she was caught. The Proxy would never see this miracle child as a blessing. It would be an abomination, a twisting of the natural plans of the Watcher. Helena, Phuong, their child, and likely Phuong's whole family would be killed, just in case another pregnancy like that happened under the Proxy's watchful eye."

"That's horrible!" Despina gasped. "None of you did anything wrong! All of what you described is perfectly natural, even the lycanthropy. It's no less natural than being a vampire or a reaper or a plantsim. I don't mean to be rude, but Sebastian and Brion, your home sounds a lot like a cult. A really shitty cult that hurts innocent people."

To her surprise, neither boy rushed to defend their homeland.

"Yeah, probably," Sebastian replied, shrugging his shoulders as if it were nothing to come from such a terrible place.

"Definitely," Brion agreed. "The adults can't see it though. They've spent their entire lives living like this. Everyone has, right back to when it was known as Yacothia. Maybe we could have kept our secrets hidden and lived the way society wanted us to before this pregnancy happened, but the world has changed and there's no going back now. Why follow the old, hateful laws when you have proof standing in front of you that they can be changed?"

I didn't know how to help Helena, but if my suspicions were right about my dad's affair partner, then I had some idea of who could help Helena. It was the only option I could see at the time. Little did I know, the day Helena asked for help would be the last day I'd ever see my father conscious again."

[narrans]

My Borrowed Son | 14 | Parker's Place

Chapter Fourteen | Parker’s Place

For the past three years, Parker had been a completely virtual student on a medical conditional pass signed off on by his pediatrician and his mom.

His first day of school was a terrifying one. Parker’s mom had set up a special classroom area with a camera for him to be seen as well as a computer for him to watch the lectures on. Perhaps it was because it was a private school versus a public school, but Parker felt like he was just like any other student.

Mr. William Tamplin was a great teacher and he always made sure everyone was seen and heard if they had questions. He was a curious man with black rimmed glasses that reminded Parker of the ones Clark Kent would wear. He had sandy blond-brown hair, like Parker, but he had pale blue eyes like glacier ice. He was a young teacher, but he knew the answer to everything, even though he usually taught English.

Parker’s other teachers were nice, but they weren’t the same as Mr. Tamplin.

On that first day, Mr. Tamplin had Parker introduce himself and talk a little about what he liked and what he wanted to learn. All of the other teachers had Parker do the same thing as the camera and screen that represented him was shown to the class.

Parker had never seen so many children his age before, and he was both excited and terrified. When he was in Mr. Tamplin’s class, however, he felt safe, especially when it came to questions about why Parker couldn’t come to class. That was another thing Parker liked about Mr. Tamplin. He, unlike the other teachers, didn’t request that Parker explain anything about his condition.

Parker and his mom went over the details in depth every day to make sure Parker didn’t say too much. For whatever reason, Parker’s mom seemed uneasy about Parker sharing the name of his condition and details about it. It was weird, but the small child figured that it was such a rare condition that not much was known about it and that he wouldn’t be able to answer the questions he would receive.

“So, Parker, if anyone asks…”

“I know, mom. I just say that I have a special medical condition that is still being explored. It’s not contagious, but it just makes me a little fragile, so I have to stay put at home until we find a better solution,” recited Parker.

It was the same thing he told everyone in his classes and to his teachers.

There were a few who asked further questions when he was in private group study sessions or if they had free chat time and one of the kids came up and decided to talk to Parker, but Parker’s responses were always the same, and so the topics were changed.

Through his fall and spring of his first year, Parker made several friends. There was Bailey, a black haired girl who loved to draw, and Billie, a kid who couldn’t hold still to save his life. The three of them were fast friends because of their love of the same cartoons and, with Amanda’s permission, the three of them had phone calls and video chats outside of school hours.

Neither of them seemed interested in Parker’s condition and, for them, it was cool having a virtual friend. Sometimes, they even called Parker “the spaceman,” pretending he was in some kind of protected facility that was doing research on Mars or whatever.

In the end, it didn’t matter. They had continued to be friends all through his classes, even as he excelled in nearly all of his subjects and jumped grades. Parker was good at making friends and learned quickly how to socialize without bringing up his special circumstances and condition.

Now, for the first time, he was getting an actual birthday party.

True, it was still virtual for all of his friends to log in, but it was going to be the greatest thing ever!

“Hey, mom? I know it’s a little early, but could I go ahead and log into Discord?” asked Parker as he tapped on the mouse. He was so close, tantalizingly so, to spending a great afternoon with his friends. The mouse danced across the screen over the camera image, highlighting it every time it traced over the icon.

Amanda approached and looked at the camera and its placement in Parker’s room. It looked like everything was set up to avoid showing too much about him and his room. The thought of someone seeing Parker for the size he was felt close – too close, but she wanted to give Parker this birthday.

He was thirteen after all.

She thought of the gifts she had prepared for him and hoped she was doing the right thing with it.

Years passed and now he was officially a teenager.

The time really had gone by so fast.

“Sure,” she replied after a moment. “I don’t see why not. If you have any problems with the program or camera, just let me know. And remember…”

“About my condition and what we talked about. I remember mom. Thanks!” Parker clicked on the camera icon so fast that it made Amanda’s head spin. She carefully tiptoed away and listened as Parker began calling out to his friends.

The moment his mom gave the go-ahead, Parker saw that Billie and Bailey were already online and ready for him. He eagerly entered the “Parker’s Party” channel he created and watched as his friends’ faces flickered onto the screen.

“Hey spaceman!” greeted Billie. He leaned forward so his nose was blown out of proportion. The grin he had on his face was absolutely priceless.

“Sup man! How’ve you been?” asked Parker as he leaned back in his chair and stared at the camera at his friends.

“Hey! What about me?” asked Bailey. She was dressed in a pretty pink dress and folded her arms in a full body pout.

“Hey there to you too Bailey,” Parker said with a wave. “You guys are the first online. Any word from Spencer or Selina?”

“No, not yet.” Billie’s connection garbled his response but cleared up shortly after. “But you know them. Twins dude. They’ll be online together or never.”

“I hear ya on that,” Parker replied. Just then, Spencer and Selina’s icons popped into the chat followed shortly by ten other friends Parker invited.

The chat and the cameras were filled with cheering and kids talking over one another, creating jumbled connections and amusing breaks in conversation. Games began of Among Us, Speed Racer, and a few other odd ones that Parker was able to access on his device.

After games and other discussions of the fun, nerdy things they were watching or reading, they took a break to sing happy birthday and open the cards they all made for Parker. Because of his condition, Parker requested that his friends make cards for him that they could send to him later.

They were all hilarious.

Parker was rolling on the ground laughing, as was everyone else, and they decided to have an impromptu competition for whose card was the best.

Selina won, naturally. Her sketching abilities were unparalleled, and her use of humor was worthy of the Sunday funnies. The image was Parker in a spacesuit hovering over planets with Mars in the background. It looked like he was outside of some big space station and the caption read, “Comet me, bro!” and underneath read, “I wanted to have a space-themed birthday party, but there was no one to planet. Happy Birthday Parker!” What really caught Parker’s eye was the little heart next to Selina’s name.

“Wow, Selina. That one is fantastic,” Parker complemented.

“Awww! Thanks Parker! Thanks guys!” said Selina with a wink. For whatever reason, Parker felt his heart flutter and his insides flip when he was Selina staring directly into the camera right at him. It was like she was right there looking into his eyes. “Only the best for my bestie.”

“What!” Billie roared. “He’s my bestie!”

“Uh, I talked to him first, so he’s my bestie,” retorted Bailey.

“Can’t you all be my besties?” asked Parker, recovering

Hours passed and, eventually, everyone was called away for dinner or some other activity. Parker waved his hand and wished his friends a great day, and all wished him a happy birthday.

Finally, it was just Bailey and Selina left.

“Well, Parker, I hope you had a great birthday,” said Bailey. “And don’t worry! I’ll be sending you my card A.S.A.P!”

“Yeah, same here,” chimed in Selina. The look the two of them gave one another made Parker’s hair stand on end. It was like there was some unspoken rivalry between the two of them that, for one reason or another, involved him. Parker wasn’t sure really what was going on, but he didn’t want to get in the middle of it.

There was that instinct in him to back away slowly and hide under something big and tall, but Parker held his ground and swallowed his apprehension, addressing his friends

“Well, I can’t wait to get them,” said Parker. He stared into the faces of his friends for a little while longer before Bailey’s mom could be heard in the background calling for her. She huffed dramatically and leaned forward.

“You’ll be getting mine first, so message me as soon as you get it, okay? Talk to you soon Parker! Bye!” said Bailey as she disconnected. Parker looked back at Selina, now realizing she was staring right at him. Her cheeks were a little rosy and the light hit her eyes in a way that made Parker’s insides flip.

He swallowed dryly, but Selina spoke first.

“I’ll be sending mine first, but I wanted to ask if it’s okay if I post it on my Tumblr account before I do. I wanted it to just be for you, but it would be good for my portfolio. I’m applying to the Visual Arts program and want to get some traction,” Selina requested. Parker nodded, but a curiosity tugged at his mind.

“Sure, I don’t have a problem with that, but what’s Tumblr?” asked Parker.

“What? I’m surprised you don’t have one for your writing and everything,” Selina replied. “It’s just a place online for you to submit your stories, poetry, art, and all of that stuff. You should totally make one! I’ll be your first follower!”

Parker hadn’t really thought about publishing his scribblings. Mr. Tamplin was always complementary of his work, encouraging him to do more, and his other writing teachers and tutors said he had a gift for the written word.

Maybe it was worth a shot.

At the very least, it would give him a chance to make more friends.

“Sure. I mean, I have to double check with my mom and everything, but I’ll send you the link if I get one. Sound good?”

“Great! Well, I’ll talk to you soon! Bye Parker!”

The connection was cut and, once again, Parker was left alone in his room, his camera being the only one facing him. He stared at the lens and at his own reflection in the shaped glass. He wasn’t sure why, but it made him feel the slightest bit lonely.

Despite having friends and being online with them for hours, it didn’t change the fact that he was still completely and utterly alone.

“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.”

Parker turned around to see his mom approaching with a cake with two tiny candles labeled “1” and “3” on top. It was his favorite, a strawberry cake, and he stepped out of his room to the bedside table to greet her.

“Thanks, mom,” smiled Parker as he gazed up at her. She balanced his cake, which was about as big as his torso, on the tips of her fingers as she smiled at him.

“You’re so welcome,” she said, her adoration clearly audible. “Now, you know the rule. Take a big breath and make a wish.”

She held up her phone camera and hit record. Parker took a few deep breaths, unsure of what to wish for, and stared at the melting wax as it dripped down the edge of the candle.

What did he want?

What was his desire?

He had friends and time at school. He had technology and knick knacks as well as all of the books he could possibly want.

The only thing he would really want was to actually go outside and play with his friends, but that wasn’t possible. It was too dangerous for him, as his mother explained on numerous occasions.

Parker knew the wax wasn’t dripping any slower so, without a wish ready and writing himself a rain check, he blew out the candles.

“Yay! Happy birthday, sweetie,” Amanda said as she set Parker’s cake over onto the small table she brought with her. “Now, do you want cake or presents first?” Parker knew the answer already and, leaving his momentary sadness behind, he decided to enjoy the day rather than be brought down.

“Presents please,” he said as he stepped onto his mom’s awaiting hand. His mom’s smile broadened.

“I hoped you would say that. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to start with the biggest one first. Otherwise, the others aren’t going to make sense,” said Amanda. She carefully stood and walked out of the bedroom and toward her office.

Parker leaned forward to look down over the edge of his mom’s hand at the vast distance below him. Something about the height was enticing and thrilling to him. It made his mom anxious anytime he was near the edge, but something inside him said that he could fall and be fine.

“Okay, I really hope you like it, but do not feel pressured into liking it,” said his mom. Parker felt confused as he looked away from the ground and toward the table by the side of the room. Immediately, his mind went blank as he looked at the thing on the table.

It was a miniature house.

It was made of pale blue panels and even had light brown shingles and white trim on the windows and doors. From what Parker could tell, there was nothing on the inside except for a few wrapped presents. It was three stories tall and had a little porch area with a gazebo.

He honestly wasn’t sure what to make of it until his mom asked, “Do… you like it?”

Parker, still unsure, gestured to the front door and his mom carefully set him down. The miniscule boy stepped up onto the porch, noticing how the steps were perfectly set for him. There was a wooden sign on the door that caught his attention immediately, adding to his swirling emotions.

“Parker’s Place”

He reached out and pushed the door open, noting the hinges were just like the ones on the big doors, just smaller.

When he entered the main area, he spotted a set of stairs on the left hand side as well as two entryways leading to two rooms. The rooms themselves were massive, to the point where Parker could run from one side to the other, spin around, and stretch without fear of hitting anything around him.

The outside world shifted as the house spun effortlessly around and the far wall opened up into two separate panels. His mom knelt down and watched him intently as he walked over to the right and into the kitchen. There was a box which had a bit of a hum to it and, when Parker opened it, the air was cold.

Parker, fascinated, turned on his heel and ran into the next room, seeing some old looking wallpaper and several large windows that led to the gazebo.

He needed to see more.

Adrenaline and curiosity fueled him as he sprinted up the stairs, each fitting him perfectly, as he found three new rooms with large windows all around. Still, there was another set of stairs. Parker glanced into the other rooms and found what looked like a miniature bathroom and what could be a bedroom before running upstairs to the top floors. Parker didn’t even mind that he ran past a stack of presents to continue his exploring.

There were two smaller rooms with a narrow entryway to get in, but it was still a massive space.

Now practically at eye-level with his mom, he turned around and looked into her eyes, his words finally manifesting.

“What… is this?”

“It’s a little house made for you,” she replied. Parker spun around in the space, mind still wrapping around the concept.

“For… people like me? But… how? Why?” Something felt odd about this place; like some kind of trap. Parker couldn’t explain the feeling, but something about this place didn’t quite feel right – like he didn’t quite belong there.

“Yes, something along those lines. Do you remember our conversation the other day about how you’re getting older and… things are going to be changing a bit?” asked his mom. Parker nodded vaguely while his mind processed how perfectly everything about this house fit him and why it didn’t feel right.

“Yes, I remember.”

“Well, you’re getting older now and I think it’s time that you had a larger space to call your own,” said Amanda. “It’ll let you gain a little independence and give you a little more freedom and privacy. You can decorate everything how you’d like, and we can set up the hot and cold water and lights together if you want.”

Parker stared around at the vast space.

Except for his room, he had always been surrounded by things that were immense compared to him. His tablet. The books his mom borrowed from the library. The camera he used for class.

Everything was big…

And now it wasn’t.

Parker finally pinpointed the feeling swirling inside him that overrode the sensation of this place feeling like a weird trap.

Normal.

He had always felt normal, but now the world around him felt like it fit him.

“Parker?” His mom’s voice pulled him back to the moment. “Do… you like it? Remember, you can say no. I just tho-”

“I love it.”

Amanda couldn’t be more relieved. She had been holding her breath the entire time Parker explored the dollhouse she purchased online for him. It was a miracle he didn’t find it sooner, but thankfully she had only had it for a few days. Dragging the package through to her office while Parker was in class was her saving grace.

Now, seeing the smile spreading across his face, it made it all worth it.

Yes, she felt an immense guilt for buying a dollhouse when Parker obviously was a person but keeping him in a shoebox on her bedside table felt wrong now that he was officially a teenager.

“You really like it?” asked Amanda, her voice choking up as she looked into those thoughtful brown orbs belonging to her son.

“Yeah, this place is sweet! I mean, it kinda has a weird smell and will need some stuff, but I’ve got so many cool places to go now! I can have a library and book area over on the gazebo in that side room. Bedroom is above that. Upstairs here is the recording, writing, reading area. I get a kitchen and my own bathroom too?” Parker felt himself geeking out.

“Well, I’m thrilled you like it,” said his mom, wiping her eyes with the heel of her palm. “Anyway, your other presents are related to this place, so I hope you like them.”

Parker could barely contain himself.

He sprinted down the stairs, reveling in how they were perfectly sized just for him, and tore open the presents. Some of them were games he had wanted to buy and the others were gift cards. One gift card was from a place called “Tay Models” that really intrigued him.

“It’s an independent company that makes furniture and accessories for people like you,” replied Amanda. A pang of guilt hit her, but she disguised it behind a smile. Tay Models came up during a search for dollhouse accessories and furniture, but nothing on the website indicated that it was meant for toys and dolls that were Parker’s size.

It was the best solution she could come up with without telling Parker more about the condition she had fabricated to keep him – both of them – safe.

“No way!” Parker was overjoyed and eagerly leapt down out of the house and onto the table to hug his mom’s fingers. “Thanks mom! When can we start working on the water and motors and lights?”

Amanda swallowed hard and nodded. “Today, if you want.”

Parker beamed at her and nodded.

“Yes, please. And… momma… could I sleep in here tonight? Move some of my things in here?” asked Parker. The question made a lump form in Amanda’s throat. This would be the first time Parker would be sleeping in another place instead of right beside her.

It made Amanda feel hollow but also reassured at the same time. She knew it was probably unhealthy to have her son sleeping in the same room within arm’s length of her for the majority of his life, but only now did she feel like she could leave him to his own devices.

Parker was a trustworthy boy, and now he was going to be able to practice his independence at a safe distance.

“Of course, sweetie,” she replied as she turned her hand and Parker leapt on, ready for the next phase of his life.

The rest of the evening was eventful to say the least. Both Amanda and Parker had accidentally soaked themselves while getting the water running in both the kitchen and the bathroom, which was the essential if Parker was going to stay in Parker’s Place.

The two of them had dinner and cake while reading the manual on how to set up the electricity of the house but elected by unanimous vote to work on it tomorrow in favor of watching a double feature before bed.

Parker drifted off to sleep at one point through the movie, leaving his mom to carry him to bed, but woke just long enough to give his mom a kiss goodnight and tuck himself in under his blankets. He stared at the ceiling that, for once, didn’t tower above him.

Things were different, both weird and good, and Parker was excited for the things he was going to get to do with his place.

He drifted into a dream filled sleep of far off adventures and worlds beyond comprehension. When he woke, he hurriedly scribbled down his thoughts and what he remembered about the dream, realizing that it would be an amazing plot for a story.

He suddenly felt like it was a shame to keep all of his ideas to himself. He stared at the countless notebooks that were scattered on the ground and, suddenly, it hit him.

Parker knew what he wanted for his birthday – to be able to publish his ideas.

So, as he stood and stretched, one of his objectives of the day became crystal clear.

He was going to start publishing, just like Selina said, and it was going to start today.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Continue

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Beginning

[iruinn]

every breath of yours is a prayer to my temple ❀ iwaizumi hajime x reader

summary :

Iwaizumi has no soulmarks. He is fine with this. Iwaizumi is also a liar.

cw : smut (mild degradation, unprotected sex)

general tags/notes : OOCness, oikawa/female OC(not reader!), some one-sided pining on iwaizumi's part, as always unbeta read.

read on ao3 here

wc : 6656

MINORS DNI! ty

1.

There are a few unshakeable facts Iwaizumi has always known, as steady as the sun rising in the east. 

His mom and dad are extremely, almost disgustingly in love. Their matching timers (both reading 00:00:00, the countdown having finished far before Hajime was barely a twinkle in his parents' eyes) displayed proudly, 

Oikawa Tooru is his best friend. Despite the soulmark on his upper back (A black crown, standing out against his pale skin), Oikawa has always insisted on Hajime being first in his life. From when they were young, knobbly knees bumping into each other on bus rides back home to now, as he feels of the volleyball reaching his palm perfectly as he smashes it to the other side of the court, its always been Tooru and Hajime. 

Iwaizumi doesn't have a soulmate. 

"I mean," Matsukawa mutters. "Maybe it's just not the type of soulmark that manifests until you meet your soulmate? I've heard of soulmarks like those, rare as they are." 

Iwaizumi doesn't know about that. Wouldn't he have felt the presence of a soulmate? Don't people always talk about how they feel a piece of themselves missing until they meet their other half? 

"Hey, maybe that feeling is just due to the expectation of knowing your soulmate is somewhere out there, you know? Like, you don't actually feel anything but you think you do because you're so conditioned to missing a part of yourself." Hanamaki throws out his hands, spreading them like he had just impressed the wisdom of the ages upon them. Iwaizumi snorts, shaking his head.

"Dude, I think you're delusional."

The comment earns him a punch to the shoulder, but he just shakes it off, dodging Hanamaki's fists. It didn't matter, anyway. He didn't really need a soulmate. He had his team, and he had volleyball. Things were fine as they were, and Iwaizumi would be happy if they continued like this, always. The setting sun behind their backs, as he slung his arms around Oikawa's shoulders, grabbing him in a headlock and ruffling up his disgustingly perfect hair, the laughter of his friends in the spring air. 

He should have known it was too good to last. 

The beginning of the end started with her, he thinks.

A new manager, after their last one had graduated. She slotted into their life, neatly and without pause, like a missing puzzle piece that they didn't realize was missing until it was before them. 

She immediately incited a feeling of overprotectiveness in the team. She laughed along to Hanamaki's and Mattsun's jokes, listened patiently to the excitable first years, and was immediately there to calm him down when he got too angry at Oikawa's flippishness, and recognized when Oikawa was overworking himself and put her foot down to stop him. (Even if it didn't work. Not much could stop Oikawa when he was determined.) 

 His breath caught in his throat, as his team members had thrown sideway glances at him, knowing he was in the same situation. She notices their attention, and looks at him questioningly too. 

And yet, for all her cheerfulness, there were moments where she was overcome by a weird melancholy. Times when she glimpsed the soulmark on Oikawa's back, when his shirt rode up too high, when she noticed Yahaba's nose sometimes bleeding on its own (of all the soulmarks, a shared pain one was definitely an absolute pain in the ass), when she noticed the easy energy between Hanamaki and Matsukawa-

The entire team had noticed, especially Oikawa, who was always doted a lot more on her during those moments. His coy yells of "Manager-chan~" almost always succeeded those moments, as he would proceed to badger her and distract her. 

It's an overnight training camp, over barbeque where she opens up, her voice carrying among the silence underneath the stars. 

"I don't have a soulmate. Never will, I think."

"Ah, that's okay. I don't have one either. But I've never really felt the need for one anyway." He coughs, his ears turning red at the scrutiny. She observes him quietly and quirks an eyebrow. 

"We're in the same boat, Iwaizumi-kun! We have to stick together then!"

He raises his skewer to her in a mimicry of a toast, relishing the sound of her laughter.

Hajime wonders if he's allowed to feel more for her. Was it worth mangling their dynamic so he could reach out and push one of her flowing strands of hair behind her ear? To reach down and take her lips, cupping the back of her neck in his palm? Was he made for her, their unmarked bodies in harmony with each other?

That day results in a change. Oikawa and Iwaizumi  become Oikawa, Iwaizumi and her. She joins them on their walks home now, linking her arms with theirs, as she laughs at him and Oikawa ribbing each other. Their movie nights now have her sprawled across Oikawa's lap, her legs in his as they relentlessly mocked bad horror movies together, throwing popcorn at each other. She watches, water bottles and towels at ready as they relentlessly practice serves and spikes.

The best things come in threes, don't they? 

This friendship of his, their trio, was so precious to him, and he wanted it to remain unbroken. He would push down his feelings for her if he had to protect it. 

Their third and final year of high school arrives with a rush, and with it a sense of finality. The last year of volleyball he'd enjoy with his team, and their final chance to enter the Nationals. The insurmountable wall that was Shiratorizawa loomed over them as always, but this year would be different. It had to be. 

Karasuno was a surprise. Seeing the grumpy kid that used to lurk around Oikawa now become a monstrous setter an extremely unpleasant one, watching Oikawa's anger at the prodigy gutting. But this was just another opponent to crush on their way to the nationals, and he ensured that his spikes were at their fiercest. Karasuno is vanquished, but he knows that the team is stumbling and will be scary once they find their wings. He thinks Oikawa has realized it too. 

The tiny middle blocker from Karasuno makes him feel...weird. A yearning he didn't think was possible to feel. He's mildly insulted that its the annoying chibi of all people that brings it out of him. 

Matsukawa laughs and laughs. "Hey, maybe he's your soulmate?" 

Oikawa's head whips around, and walks up he grips Iwaizumi's head between his hands. "If your soulmate is Tobio's minion, I will never forgive you, Iwa-chan!" Iwaizumi sputters, headbutting him. "Shittykawa, you'd think it'd be a bit more obvious if he was!" 

Iwaizumi wonders when he became Tooru-kun to her. 

Their manager watches them both wrestle, a smile on her face. "Tooru-kun and me will support you no matter what, you know that right?"

"Ah, Iwa-chan...we're together now."

The world ends on a Thursday.

Iwaizumi knew he should have stayed in bed today. Her nervous stride as she slinks up to him forms a strange pit in his stomach. The pink spots of color high up on her cheekbones, her face fighting off a smile. The way Oikawa walks alongside her, her arms linked to his. The way he feels like an intruder now, a voyeur to moments he shouldn't be witnessing. 

He knows what Oikawa is about to say even before he opens his mouth. 

He wonders how he didn't see it before. She covers her face with her hands, blushing furiously, but Oikawa continues looking at him, waiting for something. 

Iwaizumi smiles, punches his best friend in the shoulder lightly. It's okay. Maybe things could still be the same. He turns to her and snorts. "You sure you want to put up with this dumbass?" 

They laugh together, the tension dissipating. He walks with them, but the distance between them has widened. A bitter part of Iwaizumi wonders why Oikawa had to go for her when he had his own soulmate, but he knows that is a selfish thought. He wonders how much of his feelings was solely because they both happened to lack soulmates. 

Oikawa whines, a relieved look crossing his face, so quickly that Iwaizumi wonders if he imagined it. "Iwa-chan, you're so mean! You're still number 1 in my heart, you know?" 

"Shittykawa, have you taken one too many volleyballs to the face or something?" 

It would be nice, he thinks. To have someone to call his own. He watches his best friends as they shyly steal glances at each other, faces red,  and despite that bitterness he hopes they're happy together. And maybe if she met someone despite not having a soulmate, he could too. 

Iwaizumi curses as he strides down the corridor, knowing he's late. Oikawa had slunk away somewhere, and the next match was theirs, but their coach sends  him away to track down their captain. The spring tournament is their last chance at Nationals, and he is extremely high strung already. 

Where had he seen that before? It comes to him in a rush, and he realizes she's a Karasuno student. 

He's too lost in his thoughts to notice the whirlwind barreling down his path, their collision imminent. He notices the girl a second too late, and he struggles to halt his stride, but she crashes into him, sending them both to the floor. 

"Shit,can't you see where you're going??" He yells, and the lump on top of him groans, slowly lifting its head from his chest. He notices her uniform first, the familiarity striking.

The second thing he notices is her forehead and part of her cheek glowing different colours, iridescent. She looks down at him from her position and yelps, her expression going from annoyance to shock as she stares at his face. He feels his heart beating faster, his eyes refusing to leave those glowing marks, watching as they slowly fade away. 

He straightens, grabbing her raised hand, and the places where their skin touches flares to life with color.

She's the most beautiful person he's ever seen, he realizes. 

He sits up, and she flushes red, realizing she's on his lap. She still doesn't move, and raises her hand slowly. He watches, frozen, as she pokes his cheek, almost in a trance. She pulls her finger away, and he notices it's glowing, orange and red. She looks at her finger and at his cheek, and he feels the place she poked him blaze with warmth. He thinks it could burn a hole in him. 

There are a few unshakeable facts Iwaizumi thought he'd always known. They might not have been as immovable as he thought they were. 

His mom and dad are extremely, almost disgustingly in love. Their matching timers (both reading 00:00:00, the countdown having finished far before Hajime was barely a twinkle in his parents' eyes) displayed proudly. 

Oikawa Tooru is his best friend. It's not just Tooru and Hajime anymore, but maybe that's okay. 

Iwaizumi doesn't have might have desperately hopes he's not mistaken  has a soulmate.

2.

You have a soulmate. 

At least, you think you do. You throw the volleyball to your cousin, watching him stumble to receive it. 

"What makes you so sure you do, (name)?" Hinata asks, curious. He tosses the ball back to you and you catch it cleanly, spinning it on a finger. You think it's a fair question. After all, you don't have a soulmark, unlike Hinata. 

"It's just a feeling, you know?" You shrug. "Like I just know there's someone out there for me." You drop the ball, flopping onto the grass under you, and your cousin bounds up to you, throwing his arms around your neck. You pat his fluffy orange hair, feeling a rush of affection. "Of course, it's just a feeling. I'm not as lucky as you, to have such a pretty soul mark." 

Hinata scrambles away from you, lifting his shirt and grimacing. The golden fox is bright, and you wonder what kind of person it belongs to. They must certainly be somewhat flashy, and you're very curious to see how they'd fit your cousin. 

You giggle, getting up and brushing the grass off your shorts, pulling Hinata up with you. "Come on nerd, let's go get some more practice in before Auntie calls us for dinner."

"Blech! I don't care about soulmates anyway! I just want to play some volleyball! I'm gonna play before I graduate middle school, I swear!" 

You believe him. There's very little your cousin can't do when he puts his mind to it. You shoot him a thumbs up and he grins at you. "For what its worth, I think you have a soulmate too! They have to be a really cool person, though, or I'm fighting them off!"

He cheers, and you follow him, your spirits high. 

You've lived with your aunt and cousins for as long as you've remembered. Your parents had died when you were really young, and your mother's sister had taken you in. You got along with your cousins like a house on fire, immediately charmed by Hinata and Natsu. Despite the two year difference between you and Hinata, you both were really close, and you went along with most of his whims, encouraging his interest in volleyball and practicing with him outside your house , throwing the ball at him for hours on end, while Natsu cheered you both on. 

You were happy when he decided to join the same school you were in, even though you'd both only get to share one year together, since you're already in your last year of high school. You both cycle to school together on the first day, and you listen to him chatter away about joining the volleyball club. You remember that the volleyball club at your school didn't have a lot of success, but you hope your cousin has a good time regardless. 

The next day, you laugh high and loud when Daichi grabs you and shakes you, calling your cousin a menace. You know he'd grow on Daichi eventually. The competition the captain had set certainly explained the fervor with which Hinata had practiced back home. 

Reaching school, you see the captain of the team is in your class, Daichi. You're pretty friendly with him and you stride up to him, leaning on his back. He yelps in surprise, then grins back at you when he notices you. "(name), hey! We're in the same class again!"

You smirk, bumping fists with him. "I can't believe we're in our last year of high school already! It feels like yesterday, stumbling into class in out first year..."

He sighs. "Yeah, it's our last shot at making something of the volleyball team too." 

"Speaking off..." You trail off, and he looks at you, curious.  "My baby brother is in his first year of high school and he might be, no scratch that, he's definitely applying to the team. Be nice to him, okay?" 

He raises an eyebrow. "I make no promises. Is he any good at playing?" 

You shrug. "He's short and spunky, real fast. I think he can do anything he puts his mind to, he's just a bit....over excitable." 

You're not surprised when he becomes a full fledged member of the team. 

You try to keep up with your cousin's matches, but your own classes and your determination to get into a good college had you busy for most of the days. You did always make time for when he talked about his matches against the other schools and his own rival/teammate, Kageyama. 

You notice immediately when he comes home one day from a match, quiet. You tilt your head at him questioningly, and he plops down next to you on the ground, sprawling over you. 

"Get off, you lump!" You giggle, pushing him aside, and he whines. "We won today, a practise match against a team. Aobajohsai." 

You fistbump him, but he's clearly out of it, returning it with much less enthusiasm than he normally would. "You're..not as excited as I thought you would be about that."

He sits up, shaking his head. "I am! But their captain didn't join until the very last set, and he was scary." 

"Want me to come to your next match against them and beat him up?" You grin, flashing your muscles (they're very pitiful muscles, unfortunately), and he snorts. "Nah, we'll just win against them again next time! I'm gonna be the best decoy ever!" 

You mildly worry over what Daichi was making your brother do. A decoy? At least he still looked extremely excited about it. You think he wants to tell you about something else, but he shakes the thought away, and you decide to let him be. 

The following weeks bring with it the interhigh, and you hear the volleyball team has been doing pretty well, winning their first two matches. You wave at the team one morning when they're heading out, looking extremely nervous, and you giggle at the second years that immediately pounce on Hinata, asking him how they knew you. You wish them luck, before heading into your school. You're sure they'll bring about another victory.

It's a surprise when Hinata comes home late at night, his eyes red and face rubbed. You bite your lip, realising what happened and watch him absent mindedly fool around with the ball.

"Want to talk about it? 

He sniffs, rubbing his eyes. "We lost. To the grand king."  You tsk. You're not sure who the grand king is, though. 

"Was it close?" He nods, and you put an arm around his shoulder, bringing him into a hug. "You'll get them next time. There isn't much that can keep you down, and your team looks crazy enough to be the same." You think he knows this already, but you're a supportive big sister and you'll give him all the reassurance and praise he deserves. 

He perks up, like he's remembering something. "Oh yeah, (name)! There's a spiker on Aobajohsai who makes me feel weird? His spikes are so cool, they're like BWAAH but he feels very familiar to me somehow..." 

You were halfway to the kitchen, ready to pull out a knife when he said this spiker felt weird, but that explanation was even more bewildering. "Maybe he's your soulmate?" You wonder out loud, and he shakes his head resolutely. "He isn't, I'm sure. Besides, he doesn't really feel like a fox...." 

You point out that his actual soulmate might not feel like one too, but it falls on deaf ears. The conversation is derailed with the both of you discussing whether Hinata's soulmark meant that his soulmate would be a foxy person, and you poke and tease at his red cheeks.

You shake your pom poms at Daichi and Kiyoko, questioningly. "You know, I came here to support my brother, not to become a de facto cheerleader for your baby nerds." 

You had a free day from classes, and decided to accompany the volleyball team to their Spring high. You were already beginning to regret the decision when Kiyoko and the other tiny manager had procured a couple of pom-poms mysteriously from nowhere, pressing them onto you. 

Daichi gives you a thumbs up, enthusiastically. "(name), supporting our team as a cheer leader IS supporting Hinata. We're all a team!" 

You narrow your eyes at him suspiciously, glancing at Kiyoko, but she just shrugs at you. "Whatever gets them hyped up." 

Resigned, you're glad you decided to doll yourself up a bit for the matches. You'd make the other teams jealous of Hinata for having a cute cheerleader on their side. You nod, resolutely, holding back a grimace when you notice the team looking extremely nervous.

They would be fine...right?

You decide to go hunt down some stomach medicine for the freckled first year, who looked like he was a second away from blowing his breakfast all over the court. Throwing a salute to Kiyoko, you stride away, breaking into a quick jog down the corridors when you hear the announcer. 

You crash into someone at full speed, and you have just enough time to yell out an "Oh shit!" before you take the person down, landing on top of them. The first thing your brain notices is how hard and muscly the body under you is, and you find yourself turning red, pushing yourself up on the boy quickly, stopping when you see his face. 

He's...really handsome. You're kind of mad at how handsome he is. Thick furrowed eyebrows, cute spiky hair, and body built like a brickhouse, and tan cheeks dusted with a pink, that was probably mirroring yours. 

Except...his chin and most of his neck is glowing with a really pretty combination of blue and purple. It looks kind of silly, but they fade away even as you watch. The boy sits up in a hurry, and the position ends up with you on his lap, and you feel your face getting hotter. You look down and notice your own hands are also covered in a weird glow. 

What the...

You raise your hand to his face, unable to stop yourself. You had a hypothesis, and your brain was running at a hundred miles an hour. 

The boy watches you as you press a finger to his face, feeling his warm skin. You pull your finger away and it blazes a bright orange, the spot where you pressed against his cheek also glowing, like a facsimile of a highlight. 

He grabs your hand, and the both of you stare at your interlocked hands, the colors forming slowly where your skin touches. 

Well. You're glad your suspicions about having a soulmate didn't let you down. You kind of think you hit the jackpot with him too, considering he was one of the hottest people you've ever seen. 

His face is blazing red. "What..?" 

Ah.

"I did not mean to say that loud..." You realize you're still on his lap, and you scramble back. He snorts, getting up, and pulling yourself up with him. You note he still hasn't let go of your hand. 

The announcer blares out, and the both of you jump like you're struck by lightning, the dreamy moment broken. He straightens, and points to you.

"After my match." He looks over you, and winces, remembering something. "You're a Karasuno student, huh...I'm pretty sure our next match is against your team. I'll find you after we win." 

You puff up in indignation. The audacity! 

"My baby brother and his team are going to kick your ass!" You stomp your feet, turning around to storm away, your hair whipping around your face. You feel a hand wrap around your upper arm as he pulls you back into him, snorting in amusement at your anger. 

"You're also really pretty, by the way." You huff, looking around for people before reaching in and pressing a quick kiss to his cheeks, extremely light and quick, the only hint of it the light glow on his cheek that fades away in a second. You wonder if your lips are tinted. You guess they are, from the way he stares at them. 

"Charmer. I'll see you later. Sorry about rooting against you." 

You escape his grasp while he's still shocked from your kiss, winking at him. You had a nervous team to cheer for.

You hunt down your soulmate after the match. You had explained to Hinata quickly what had happened before the match started, and he nodded at you understandingly when you slink away from the celebrating team. You find a lone figure sitting on a bench, head bent, and you sigh, hoisting up the moist towels in your arm, glad you came prepared.

You sneak up to him, wrapping a towel around his neck, and he whips his head at you in shock, before relaxing and realizing who it was. 

"Come to gloat?" He asks, before a regretful look crosses his face. 

You move in front of him, holding his face in your hands. You watch his cheeks glow as you rub your fingers across them gently. It's weird how comfortable you are with doing that, but he didn't seem bothered by it either so you aren't going to stop.

"I'm going to ignore that because I understand that you're sad. For what it's worth, you were really cool out there." 

"We still lost." 

"Karasuno's pretty scary now, huh." You grin, proudly, and he lets out a sigh. "My brother, Hinata. He's the spunky middle blocker." 

Okay, maybe you were gloating a bit. But today was the first time you saw them in action, and they were a lot more intense and good than you expected. You didn't know a lot about volleyball, but the stuff they were doing definitely looked super cool. You kind of understood Hinata's descriptors of 'BWAAH' and 'BOOM' now to describe their moves.

"That kid is your brother? That explains some things.." You look at him questioningly, and he shakes his head at you. 

"I'm not gonna ask, I think. Iwaizumi, right?" 

He's startled, realizing he doesn't even know your name. You introduce yourself to him, and he mouths your name, voicing it out. 

"It's Hajime to you. You're my soulmate." 

You grin at him, pulling him up from the bench. "Hajime, then. You know, there's a silver lining to your team losing today." He grabs your hand, interlocking your fingers. You lean onto him cheerfully. "What is it?" 

"You get to be comforted by your soulmate, of course! Let's go get some dinner, on me!" 

Clearly cheered up by the prospect, he smiles at you, and you feel your heart flutter. Seriously, you must have saved a country in your previous life to get a soulmate this cute. You were determined to stain him with every color of the rainbow all over his body by the end of today. 

He pulls you along. "Let me introduce you to my team first." You walk alongside him, wrapping yourself around his arm, needling at him to explain to you volleyball terms, the colors at the junction of where your skin meets his as bright as the setting sun. 

There are a few unshakeable facts to his life that Hajime knows will never change.

His mom and dad are extremely, almost disgustingly in love. Their matching timers (both reading 00:00:00, the countdown having finished far before Hajime was barely a twinkle in his parents' eyes) displayed proudly. They also adore you, and you adore them right back. 

Oikawa Tooru is his best friend. When he introduces you to him, you cheerfully exclaim  "Grand king! I think I'm supposed to beat you up!" and Oikawa sputters. Hajime doesn't hold back his laughter as Oikawa pouts, but you're paying more attention to Hajime, distracted by his laughter, moving in again to brush your fingers across his cheek. 

Hajime loves seeing the colors appear on you. He loves the different shades they take, how they perfectly look like the imprint of his fingers when he presses them into your waist, when he grips the back of your neck and kisses you, when he brushes them across your forehead. He especially loves seeing them on your lips. He thinks they probably look a bit ridiculous to other people with their stained lips, but to him its the most endearing thing he's ever seen. 

You also love seeing the colors on him. You've always been a bit possessive of your belongings, and Hajime is yours in a way no one else will ever be. You love watching the colors appear on his arms as you grip them, wrapping yourself around him as you both walk together. You also adore pressing kisses to his cheeks and lips, surprising him almost every time you do it. You know the marks you leave on his neck sometimes last much for an entire day, and you know he deals with the ribbing from his teammates every time they see it. It just entices you to leave more. 

Most of all, Hajime knows that his soulmate loves him. 

3.

The colours dance around your boyfriend’s chest, as you trail your fingers down it. You’re lying on top of him, your arm crossed and supporting your head on his stomach, as you entertain yourself.

You pout when he stays asleep, dead to the world. Apparently your naughty shenanigans last night had knocked him out good, and you’re kind of proud of yourself for it.

But that was neither here nor there, and right now you wanted his attention. You moved up, biting his cheek, and he jostles awake with surprise, closing his eyes again when he realizes it’s just you.

“Go back to sleep then, baby.”

“Brat…”

You giggle, tweaking his nose.“I’m bored, Hajime.”

With a groan, you bury your face in his neck, enjoying his warmth and smell. “Don’t wanna. You’re so busy with your team…it feels like forever since we’ve been like this.”

He’s silent at your words, his hands coming down and squeezing your thighs, pulling at them. “Hey…I’m sorry about that. You’ve given up so much for me and I’ve repaid you by being too busy to spend time with you...”

You raise your head, frowning, and flick his forehead. “Ow!”

“Idiot!” Your cheeks puff up in anger. “You’re following your dreams, Hajime. It’s so fucking cool that you’re a trainer for the Olympics team now. You don’t have to apologize to me for anything. You’re my soulmate and I love you.”

He stares at you, his expression warm. Bending down, his lips brush across your cheeks lightly, and you giggle at the feeling. “I don’t deserve you.” He pulls back, watching the colour dance across your cheeks and nose where his lips brushed your face, before fading away.

You scoff at him. “You deserve the best.”

“And that’s you?”

“Of course it is.” You poke your tongue out at him. “What’s got you in such a melancholic mood today?” Any other time with you naked on him would have led to a lot of teasing and groping by now. He’s holding himself back.

“I met Tooru today.”

“Oh?” You sit up on his chest, curiously, and he supports you without any effort, his hands moving up to your waist.

“He told me he found out who his soulmate is, love.”

“But isn’t he still dating that manager of yours from high school..?” Hajime nods, and you whistle. “He’s pretty conflicted about the whole thing. He feels really bad for leaving his soulmate alone, but he’s been dating her for as long as we have. He thought they’d make it.” You’re silent at first. “So this is what’s gotten you worried?”

“He’s my best friend and I’ve been worrying about him forever..I’ve rarely seen him this broken up about things.”

You run your fingers over his hard stomach and chest comfortingly. “He’ll figure it out, Hajime. He always has.” Admittedly, you’ve always been a skeptic of him and his girlfriend. You frown at the thought. Hajime had told you pretty early on about his feelings for her and you often thought about how you would have felt if you had met Hajime while he was dating her instead. And now someone else was in that position.

Your boyfriend knows you well, and immediately knows where your mind is heading. He picks up your hand with his, interlocking your fingers and kissing it. “Idiot. I’m here with you now.” You slap at his chest.

“I know! I can’t believe you ever thought you didn’t have a soulmate.”

His fingers pinch at your thigh and you yelp in surprise. “My apologies, princess. Not all of us can have the same self-confidence you did when you thought you had a soulmate. I didn’t even have a mark.”

“And now you’re covered with them all the time.”

He knows that if he looked down where your body met his, it’d be glowing with different colours. The colours themselves were sometimes bright, sometimes muted, sometimes they’d last for hours and sometimes they would fade away after he took his hands off you, so quickly it’s like they were never there.

You’ve tested the way the colours appear extensively (intentionally and unintentionally…you’ve always found it hard to keep your hands off him) but you’ve never discovered any sort of pattern. You both concluded that it was just random, if pretty.

“Totally not embarrassing having to show up for training with orange marks all over my neck. You know your cousin is on the team, right?”

You giggle unapologetically at him. “Just think of it as revenge for whatever PDA Hinata and Atsumu throw at you. I know it’s a lot.”

Your boyfriend groans at the very thought. “I have lost count of the amount of times I’ve spiked balls into their heads to interrupt them. I thought we were bad. Most of the team is very traumatized.”

You coo at him. “My poor baby. We are definitely worse and you know it.”

He snorts. “I’ll show you worse.”

He lifts you, both hands going around your waist, making you support yourself on your knees. You start to complain before you’re silenced quickly, your words cutting off into a moan as he releases one hand from your waist to rub you, experienced fingers finding your clit quickly.

You’ve been together for quite a while, and know each other’s bodies as well as your own by now. It doesn’t take him long to work you up into a frenzy, his fingers entering you.

“You’re so wet already for me, you cute little slut.” He stretches you, his fingers scissoring. “Just look at that.”

He withdraws them from inside you and you whine in annoyance at the sudden emptiness, your thighs shaking. You flush red looking at the juices from you coating his fingers.

“Hajime…please.”

“Hmm? Please what?” You’re annoyed at how unbothered he looks lying down in comparison to your flustered self, and you poke at his chest. He repays you with a spank to your ass, and you yelp in surprise. “Behave. And use your words. I know that pretty mouth has its uses other than moaning for me.”

You’re pouting, but you’re enjoying this tremendously, and he knows it. Nothing gets you hot and bothered more than your boyfriend going all authoritative on you.

“I need you in me..”

You sit back down on him, feeling him hot and hard right under you. Moving back and forth slowly, you grind on him, covering him in slick.

You pick up the hand of his that was inside you, inserting his fingers in your mouth and tasting yourself on him. He grips your cheek, dislodging your hands.

“Shit..shit, okay.”

He lets go of your face, lifting you again slightly, before entering you. Your body arched as he pushed the head of the shaft in, your wetness offering little resistance. You both groan in unison as you bottom out. “Can’t hold myself back against you, baby girl.”

You giggle as you feel his thickness fill you out. You supported your hands on his stomach as you began to move up again slowly, and gasped as his hips surged up to meet yours with ease.

Hajime runs his hands down your body, his fingers tweaking at your nipples, grinning at the temporary stain of colour that covered them. You looked ever so pretty on his dick, bouncing up and down, covered in the colours that marked you solely as his. Your eyes are closed, your hair flowing down your back, the sounds of your skin slapping against his intermixed with the soft sound of rain outside your window.

He continues moving his hips slowly, the warmth of you covering him so well it’s driving him a little bit insane. He takes the opportunity while your eyes are closed to reach a single arm out to the side where the nightstand drawer is, extracting something he’d been keeping hidden for a while.

You’re in heaven, as he hit your sweet spots, filling you out so well, your pussy clenching around him tight. You startle as he picks up your hand lying on his chest and you feel something cold moving down your finger.

“What..?”

Your eyes fly open, looking down to where he’s interlocked your fingers with his. Your eyes lock onto the shiny band now adorning your fingers, the rock on it glittering. You pause moving, your brain trying to catch up. You meet his eyes, and they’re warm with his love, the unasked question in the air.

“You’re…you’re such an idiot, Hajime!” You gasp out, tears springing into your eyes. A hint of worry is in his expression as he notices your damp eyes. “Sweetheart..?”

“Hurry up and cum in me so I can admire my new ring! Who proposes during sex? We’re gonna get my sweat all over it!”

You whine, and he laughs, sitting up, leaning against the headboard. He grips your waist as your arms fly around his neck, and kisses you as he speeds up, gripping your ass. “I love you.” His lips continue to move across your face, kissing away your tears, swallowing your moans, until they finally latch onto your neck, as he bites and sucks at it. Your nails dig into his back. “I’m close, Hajime-“

“I got you, baby, it’s okay.”

You bury your face in his shoulders as you climax, feeling your cum mix with his as he empties himself inside you, the mixture of fluids leaking out. You shiver as you both take a moment to get a hold of yourselves, and he adjusts himself again, whispering praises into your ear as he falls back onto the bed ,taking you down with him, still inside you. You lie down on his chest, panting, feeling his move up and down with you as he kisses the top of your head.

You turn your head to the side when you’ve caught your breath, bringing up your hand to your face and examining the ring on it.

“I swear I had a proper proposal all planned out.” He grabs your hand, rubbing across it with his thumb. “I was going to take you out to a fancy dinner, get on my knees, go the whole way. Bribe the waiter to put the ring in champagne.”

You flush at his words, feeling your eyes dampen again. “You’re making me tear up again.”

“You looked so pretty right there. I couldn’t resist.” He kisses your hand gently. “I’m sorry for not making it fancier.”

“It’s perfect.” You lift your head, joining your lips to his. “I’d marry you right now if I could. I like the sound of Mrs. Iwaizumi a lot…”

He hisses, turning you both to your sides, hooking your leg around his. “You’re going to get me going again if you call yourself that.”

You laugh. “So eager to wife me up, Hajime?”

“Have been for years, baby girl.” Gripping at your thighs, he pulls himself out of you, admiring the sight of your cum and his dripping out of you. You wince at the feeling of the liquids cooling between your thighs, and he notices, getting out of bed and lifting you in his arms. “Shower first, though.”

“Ooooh.” You wrap your arms around his neck as he carries you in, hooking your head on his shoulder and admiring your hand with the ring. “So husbandly already, Mr. Iwaizumi~”

You hear his smile as the door shuts behind you and he places you on the bathroom counter, leaning in. Your hand grips his hair as he nips at you, the two of you marking each other with the colours of the rainbow. “Anything for my future wife.”

[dirtytransmasc]

This might turn out like rambling but I've been thinking something around the mama Neytiri AU.

In humans there is a vocabulary "coincidence" in which many of the words for mother and father in various languages sound around the same by using the same syllables (ma, pa, da, ba, etc) because this are the first things a baby can pronounce and we started to use these sounds as a way to refer to a child's caretaker, it doesn't happen in every language but it's still enough to maybe think that the same might be true for the Na'vi.

The words Sa'nok and Sempul might be an indication that Na'vi children might be able to pronounce the sound "S" really early in life, maybe even when babbling (also there's an insane amount of words in Na'vi starting with s), so when her children grow up they have almost no trouble calling her Sa'nu.

All except for Spider.

Because humans are only able to pronounce "S" at around four or five years old.

Neytiri and Jake notice and they go and ask Mo'at for help (because speech delay is something that also happens to the Na'vi so she should know what to do), and when she can't find anything wrong, they check with Norm and Max, who tell them there's nothing wrong, it just will take more time for him to speak like his siblings.

They are both glad that there's nothing wrong with Spider but Neytiri still feels something is missing, she comes to love being referred to as Spider's "mama" by Jake and cries the when he calls her that for the first time like she would have done if he had spoken in Na'vi, but she still hopes that he is able to call her Sa'nu soon, which she will never confess to anyone.

And when it happens there's nothing anyone can do to separate her and her boy for the rest of the day.

so, I've answered this once, but I'm actually kinda excited to add onto this, cause the first time around was when I first started writing this AU, and I'm much more confident in my characterization of neytiri now. so for my long time regulars, this is gonna mostly be a repeat post.

I think neytiri has a super unique take on this, cause like any variation of the word 'mom' means the same general thing; someone who cares for you, who protects and loves you, teaches you and guides you through life. on some level, you are a part of her, physically or emotionally, even spiritually, a mother and child are bound by the bond between them at their cores. so while, yes, she would love to hear "sa'nu" would fill her heart with the upmost joy, it doesn't hinder the joy she feels hearing spider call her mama, knowing what he saw in her, what he felt about her. spider was her son and she was his mama and for a long while that was all that mattered to her. he saw her as his mama, he was one with her spirit, he looked at her with his big round eyes and saw a protector, a guide, a caretaker, someone to love him with no limit and no conditions. so she could wait as long as it took, because this was enough for her.

it does raise concerns though. would spider fall behind? should they prioritize english, would his "speech impediment" hold him back too much, how much would he struggle? neytiri still worries the most, norm and max assure her that it will all be fine, jake does as well, even mo'at, but she still worries for her littlest child. but even upon her worrying, her fauning, her mothering, spider excels; sure, he makes an odd noise when he attempts to speak words with S's in them or leaves them out all together, he takes up both na'vi and english in leaps and bounds, not even acknowledging his setbacks.

he attempts it many times before he actually gets it, adjusts to calling her that even before he gets his S's when he was 3 or so, when he realized he called her something different then his siblings, ignoring any and all coaching from jake or norm or max to call her mama (not that they don't want him to call her sa'nu, they just worry that if he's unable to pronouns it he'll either form bad habits or his frustration will stunt his willingness to learn, but like with many peoples opinions and judgements of him, spider doesn't give a single fuck). but the day he gets it right, she damn near cries all over again, like she had the first time she knew what he meant when he called her mama, when he starts calling her -a'nu. this time though, the tiny gap in her chest that had always irked her, small enough that she could pretend she didn't notice, was finally filled. she held her boy, the boy she had waited to hear call her sa'nu for the last 5 years, finally looking up at her with his sweet chocolate brown eyes and his whispy blonde hair dangling in his face, the word falling out of his mouth with a yawn as she went about her day with him bound to her chest (tell me she wouldn't baby wear that boy well into his early childhood, first off, speed demon, spider child. second off, clingy mama with an excuse to hold her baby constantly; "he's fragile jake") she immediately rushes to jake so they can both hear it, spider very proud with his new word.

I think the kids would have coached spider day in and day out till he got his S's down just for their mum. jake knew and didn't say a word, just so he could see the look on neytiri's face when she heard it.

speaking of jake, he is much less affected by spiders hinderence to say sem'pu, as when spider was still little, he was still very human in nature, so he had no qualms with being called "dad" and "dada", but he will admit, the more he hears spider attempt to say sem'pu, the more he begins to fall in love with the title. between him and the other kids, jake embraces every title they're willing to give him. he cries a little for the first couple months spder calls him dad, then -em'pu, then sem'pu (jake is the emotional parent in the, he's a blubbering idiot at all the simple things type of way, which is super sweet don't get me wrong, I just like making fun of him, cause I can. norm and max too, they totally make fun of him, but its all in good fun).

[lawbin-archive]

Hi, in your opinioni why Oda gave Robin and Law the same Dream?

Hi, first question hehe! :D

With my delulu mind, of course I will say is to let them develop feelings while pursuing their dream, get married after finding one piece and live happily forever the end.

Ok let's be more rational lol.

I read a theory that Law will sacrifice his life for Robin and let her fulfill their dream. To be honest, if I really think logically, there is a chance this might happen but I think is under one condition - Law & Robin be canon romantically before the sacrifice happen.

Even they have the same dream now, they are at most - friends and Law has declared that "They are enemies next time they meet" so if Law sacrifice for Robin, the reasoning is really thin to me. Like why would he do that for "his enemy"? Just because they have the same dream? Do Law trust Robin so much now he can put his life and dream on her? Just because she can read poneglyph? Is he going to sacrifice for Pudding or Sukiyaki too? I just think their bonding *as shown on screen now*, is not enough for him to sacrifice himself. So to be more impactful or to strengthen his will to sacrifice, I can only think of that because they love each other and he is willing to risk his life for her. Of course there are a few example that the character sacrifice without much deep bonding but most of them didn't really die, and I just think if it's Law and with his personality, the reasoning of his sacrifice wouldn't be that thin.

Plus, Robin already faced a lot of sacrifices - the entire Ohara and the scholars, Saul and her mother. Oda please don't be so cruel to her... and please don't be so cruel to Law too... He already lost his country, his family, Corazon and... *please hopefully his crew still alive*. That's just too sad :(

Another theory is that Law is going to sacrifice for Luffy, that actually makes more sense because they saved each other multiple times, Luffy is a D and well - he is Luffy aka nika the sun god LOL but I'm 100% sure that Luffy wouldn't want that. And he wouldn’t want to be immortal. It’s never his goal. I think if Liffy become immortal would be a very off character thing and kind of against Oda’s message in one piece so imo I don’t think Law will use his immortal abilities to Luffy ever.

So to be honest, I don't want them to be canon now lol because I have a feeling they won't have a happy ending after. They can go investigate or flirt as much as they want until the end :P

Back to the question - Then why Oda gave the same dream to Robin and Law? Maybe the answer is simple. Maybe just because it makes sense. Maybe it's because Robin and Law's journey is too lonely, Oda felt there should be someone to pursue with her/him.

Because most of the straw hats have people in their homeland or have friends that can understand their dream: Luffy: Sabo & Ace & his whole crew Zoro: Kuina, Koushirou(his teacher) & Mihawk Nami: Nojiko, Genzo and Bellemere Sanji: Chef Zeff & Baratie Usopp: Kaya, the kids, Broggy & Dorry Chopper: Dr. Kureha & Hiriluk Franky: Iceberg & Galleyla company Brook: Laboon & Crocus Jimbei: Sun pirates & most of the fish-men

Robin: Saul, her mom, Professor Clover & other scholars (which most of them passed away when she was 8)

Only Robin carrying the dream from Ohara and is working toward her goal by herself for a long time, and before egghead she thought Saul was dead too. Law is also similar, he carry his goal (defeat Doflamingo) for 13 years by himself. He even left Heart Pirates in Zou so that it won't hurt them while he is achieving his goal.

So why not let two people that have been chasing their dream alone for a long time, can share their goals and work together now?

Although I delulu a lot, it also might be Oda is planning a romantic relationship between them. I know he said that he won't be focusing on romantic relationship but It's final saga, it makes sense characters developing feelings with each other during adventures and he probably changed his mind throughout the years. Law & Robin are somewhat popular in japan and Asia too. So that's actually possible!

Hopefully that answer your question! I talk a lot lol but I can't really think a strong reason that why he did that. I will keep this in mind and maybe I will come up another reason once I re-read the chapters. Thank you so much for your question!!

[blue-eyed-moon-child]

Last one for now. What's your 3rd favorite sbg character and why? You're not allowed to compare how much you like them with how much you like other characters (such as their rank, or even if you like them more or less) in the explanation

You bastard you gave me conditions for this I'll try but sorry if I bend the rules a little. I'm going to try to handle this as a pros and cons rather than a numbered list.

I'd say Tyler is my third favorite.

Pros: I do enjoy that he is the "protector" and it's gotten him hurt really bad at one point for him to have to take a step down and realize that he has to also let other people take care of him too. That trope always made me think "ahh yes a baybeee" for characters. His idea that he has to take on a parental role only to realize he is a kid is something that I always felt akin to? (I took care of my brother and mom for a while so...Tylercore ig) I do enjoy that he is a sarcastic bastard sometimes! The humor makes him well rounded and I know that he is "Just A Kid" so watching him be a little silly sometimes is reason that I always look for him in the background too. Little guy (he's so much taller than me) has a lot to learn and it's like a little brother that you can't wait to watch him get his heart broken for the first time, smile the biggest smile youve ever seen at graduation, and finally get a taste of adult freedom when he gets his license after painfully teaching and getting frustrated. Cons: Though, I sometimes roll my eyes and smack the wrinkles off my forehead a little bit when he decides that instead of working together as a team, he just immediately goes into pointing fingers, trying to find someone to blame. The anger and wanting answers for a situation where its very obvious that no one has answers is the most frustrating part about him. I jsut wanna grab his shoulders and scream "CALM DOWN PLEASE JUST LISTEN BEFORE YOU GAIN STRONG OPINIONS" soo bad but unfor he is but a comic character. I did respond to a post earlier that I really wish he would play to his own strengths (use a baseball bat as a weapon instead of almost immediately getting a gun) and planning for the worst with all the other characters in his mind. As someone who tends to protect the other people in their life, I'm always constantly thinking of the worst case scenarios and it makes me come back and basically wrap everything in bubblewrap so no one else gets hurt. I'm constantly checking the ground for glass and I wish that Tyler would do that too instead of being such a "I'm shrugging my shoulders cause I dont care about you but if you get hurt I'm going to tell you how useless you are" LIKE???? BROTHER???? HELP THEM THEN! <- which makes me say "uuughhh SHUT UP!!" sometimes soooo idk

I'll leave it at that for now but I can honestly do this for each character if I had the time to (plus no one would actually read it so eh)

(Also this is absolutely not dogging on Red's writing whatsoever. I love how rounded a lot of her characters are, even the side ones, they feel more human than some of the other webtoons I've read. They're flawed!! I like that about all of them. In the end, they're just teenagers. They're gonna suck! You're gonna like parts of them! They're teenagers in a really really shitty and unfortunate situation. They are constantly being lied to and gaslit into what is true and what isn't. They are literally fighting for their life ALL. THE. TIME. Give them - and Red - a break! PLEASE! )

[bengiyo]

Be My Favorite Ep 11 Stray Thoughts

Last week, we all fell into intense brain rot over the ace!Kawi discourse, and did not appreciate Aou in those shorts enough or the fact that Max FUCKS. We suspect that Pisaeng may or may not have time traveled. Kawi is dealing with some of his own intimacy issues. It feels like they had their first time at the end of the episode. Also, Pear is not happy with her mom for abandoning them, Pisaeng’s mom pulled a complete reversal to support him, and Kawi reflected on his dad urging him to live his life for himself.

It’s like they knew I still was skeptical of Pisaeng’s mom, Daow, so they have her working out her issues with Pear’s dad, Phong.

I’m glad that Pear found a way to give herself peace about her mom.

I like Pear reading a poem over these scenes. The bed kissing was pretty decent.

Okay, the morning after scene was really sweet. I liked that.

I’m not sure how I feel about the flashback to a conversation we weren’t part off with the magic guy. I don’t mind the show laying out its core thesis about being present in your life and focusing on the things you can control explicitly for the audience, but it felt a bit weird. I feel like I need to brace for high-impact drama now.

Everyone has graduated, but what did Not do after getting wrecked so hard?

Domestic montages, my beloved.

I’m encouraged that these two stayed together for years, and maintained friendships with the characters we liked.

Sponge baths, my beloathed.

This timeline is too enjoyable, and Kawi doesn’t seem to have a job. They’re going to take this timeline from us. What happened to Kawi’s music aspirations?

Oh, never mind. Seems like Kawi is still involved in music.

Is Kawi about to get sick and die and then force Pisaeng to travel back to the past (Samurai Jack)?

Okay, but this actually just got super heavy. This show has not been soft about its support for gay political issues, and medical care is one of the big concerns queer people face without family and domestic protections. Some of my actual work is helping couples circumvent these blocks.

I am genuinely invested in this terminal medical condition plotline.

Oh ho! So he does go back to the past (Samurai Jack) and now we return to the day of the amusement park, now with double the time travel shenanigans!

Okay, high-key I love this. I haven’t been this stressed by the thematic implications within a BL in a really long time. We had the magic man imply that we can’t alter our destinies, but we can fix our mistakes. Kawi wasn’t destined to win the lottery, and it feels like they’re saying he wasn’t destined to save his dad either. Pisaeng is convinced that he is the reason that Kawi got sick and is facing death in the future even a Max insists that it couldn’t be his fault. Now he’s gone back to the past and altered the happy timeline we saw completely. Now he and Kawi will both face each other as time travelers trying to fix what they believe to be their mistakes in the finale. I’m so excited because we all felt that they went into that bed scene without clearing something, and now we have to face it.