#people with siblings tell me if you've been in the situation where you had to strategize on how to get into the least trouble

[lesiasmadness]

they broke a thing (part 1 / as many as my mental strength allows)

[beeboopneep]

:)

I firmly believe that the batfam would be a half-decent family to be adopted into while not knowing about their Nighttime Activities TM... at least in the beginning.

Lets say that Kiddo gets dropped off after the death of their last guardian (mother, most likely) and somehow the cops get their hands on a letter or something that says that Kiddo is Bruce Wayne's biological child. CPS wouldn't DNA test a child otherwise, but with some sort of evidence they may. Either way, something tells me that as soon as Bruce was notified of the possible child he would get the test done lol. While that processes the kid would end up in foster care (yikes! Gotham foster care is def rough af) whether Bruce is a foster father or not (that sounds like a problematic placement and he'd probably have to pull strings if he wanted to take care of them during this time). So, for 3-14 days an already traumatized, possibly orphaned child waits in limbo in a cesspool of a foster system. Trauma on top of trauma. And then the results come back and Yay! You've got a daddy!

So they pack up everything and go live with the People's Billionaire who they have definitely seen scandals of on the news before. Can you imagine the thoughts going through their head at the time? Are the other kids gonna bully me? Does he even want biological kids? Is he abusive? Neglectful? Pervy?? Does he really drink that damn much and fall in that many damn fountains?!?

And then they'd meet him and he'd be... stoic? And awkward and kind of cold? Which they could definitely take wrong (Bruce is emotionally inept, not malicious) and assume he hates them off the bat. They withdraw, straining themselves and the barely-there relationship more. The ink's still fresh on their adoption and they already want to leave.

Anyway, lets say things pick up. They meet Dick, the emotional center of the household, and then Jason, their caring (if abrasive) older brother, and so on. They start to find their place. Maybe they still struggle to warm up to Bruce or really feel like on of his kids, especially since everyone else seems so comfortable.

But Dick invites them to get ice cream and burgers and whatever else just as an excuse to spend time with them and make sure they're adjusting well (or enough to be expected). Jason teaches them to punch and how to finally get A's on the English assignments, and how to actually like their English assignments. He buys them fancy bookmarks and they pretend not to notice that he has the same one (they match!). Tim comes to them whenever he finds out a new fact he thinks they'll like and lets you pull coffees out of his hands without too much complaint after he's surpassed his daily limit (he only gives a grumble and an affectionate look) Cass teaches Kiddo all the best places to hide during hide-and-seek and pulls you into her side during movie nights. Cass makes sure you always have someone to eat with if them want it and brings back food whenever she's out. After some work, Damian even lets you help him train Titus!

But they still can't quite settle in because... where did everyone go at night?

If Kiddo's home situation before wasn't exactly ideal then they'd be a light sleeper, which is how they'd wake, and if not it's because they go down for a glass of water or something and see way too many bedroom doors open and beds empty on their way. Either way, after living with people for so long they'd catch on.

They notice that every single person in the household had been unaccounted for at some time. Every single one of their siblings plus both adults in the house were getting together every night to do something without them.

The realization was like a stone at the bottom of their stomach. And so, they start to pull away.

And everyone notices.

[r4izx]

Worth more than what you take me for.

ayato x gn!reader

summary: in which he had to choose between two people including you, in a life and death situation.

disclaimers: swearing (there's like one lol), kidnapping, ooc traveler.

4,032 words and 21,895 characters.

a/n: dayum. this took a while and i did not expect to write this much.

you've known ayato since childhood. your parents has been serving their clan for generations, being one of their most trusted allies. and you're no exception.

growing up with people with high authorities was such a privilege. you remember when you first met lord ayato and lady ayaka. they both were very the same yet so different. so elegant, disciplined and was well mature for their age. you felt some kind of barrier between you and the siblings but they turned out just as kind as they look. they were easy to converse with. naturally, after some time of serving them, you would have gotten closer. and in fact, you did. although you thought, you and ayato's relationship was... rather special.

for some reason, ayato treats you very differently compared to others. not in a bad way. he often calls you to his workplace, make you sit there and drink tea with him. he takes you out to go eat dinner at uyuu restaurant when you both have finished work. he requested you to be his personal assistant while ayaka had thoma. and because of this, you get to spend more time with him than anyone else. at the beginning, you always thought ayato would be a cold and strict person. but it turns out to be quite the opposite. okay- maybe he is more quiet and colder than others, but that's towards other people. especially to those he only has business with.

ayato is surprisingly different to what you originally thought. he would try to match your humor, often speaking informally like the way you would around your closest friends just to match with you. lately he's been spending his free time with you too. he noticed you liked tea a lot, much like him. so both of you had made it a habit to have tea at the estate's balcony while the sun is going down. watching the sunset together. it felt really romantic for you- but you quickly shook your head and remembered that to him- you're just his work partner. but is that really the case for him? because he was much more observant than you thought. especially about you. he notices any slight change in the mood with you. so there was a particular day when you were gloomy because of being so tired. but he noticed this immediately.

"Shall we take a break?"

-- and you don't know why but your heart skipped a beat when he said that. you thought it was funny-- how he would do all of this for you. and at times like these, you start to feel like a special person to him. just because he always relies on you compared to others. you thought you were special to him. until she came.

who is she? she looks so... bold and pretty. just one look at her and you can already tell she has a strong personality but has a gentle aura. her blonde hair swaying so glamorously in the wind. her otherworldly clothes making her stand out among people. the way she moves makes it embarrassing to stand beside her. she seems so... perfect in everyone's eyes. unfortunately, that includes ayato's. you don't remember having a guest in ayato's schedule when you were fixing it, so why's she here?

you found out the answer really quickly. everyone at the estate has been talking about her and... ayato lately. you don't know why though, which is weird- because as his assistant you should be the first to know about things regarding him. it's even weirder that ayato had not summoned you after work has ended. 'is this where our afternoon tea sessions end?' you thought to yourself. so you found it upon yourself to just be straightforward and ask others what's the gossip all about. luckily, there was another servant nearby. she quickly leaned closer to you and whispered.

"h-haven't you heard?... it seems that lord ayato had taken a liking to lady ayaka's guest."

you were surprised. really. it wasn't even his guest yet he bothered to entertain her. just who is she?

"who-... who is her lady's guest?" you nervously questioned.

"I heard it was... the traveler? was it? lord ayato visited her personally! they're just so perfect with eachother!- i can't help it." the servant squeals in excitement, contrary to your look in horror. you try not to make it obvious though. but you shouldn't even be feeling this way. why does it hurt? there's a sharp feeling on your chest that you just can't get out of. it just hurts to know the reason why he stopped your afternoon tea sessions, dinner hangouts, or just even talking with eachother is because of another girl! you were in no place to get frustrated since you were just a servant. nothing more, nothing less. to him.

you only see him through work now. the urge to invite him to a tea break and have a conversation with him while watching the sunset is getting stronger everyday. and who are you to resist?

"lord ayato... wou-" before you could even finish your sentence, he stopped you. your heart was beating so fast. 'oh no. did I do something wrong?' thoughts like these were circling through your mind.

"i told you to just call me 'ayato' y/n"

--and he chuckles a bit at the end. and so do you. you felt so... relieved. your worries instantly washed away. you felt at ease knowing that you are special to him. i mean- he doesn't do this with others does he?

"ah- my bad... but as I was saying, would you like to have some afternoon tea break with me? I mean, we used to do that everyday but it has been a while since we last did soo..."

and at this point you were so sure he wouldn't decline. he's been less busy this week, what could he possibly do that's far too important to even refu-

"my apologies, y/n. i've already scheduled a tea break with someone else this afternoon. maybe next time if i have the time. i promise i'll make it up to you. however, you could accompany us if you would like." and your mind. empty. the world seems like it stopped for you. not only was your only time to hang out with him gone but you were also replaced. all this time... he was with someone else. you had a gut feeling of who that someone else might be. but you couldn't hold a grudge, you have no right to.

"i-... i look forward to it." nope. you absolutely don't, look forward to it. that day will eventually come though. you just didn't expect it to come, three days later. how quick. you were filled with mixed of different emotions. you hate to admit it- but... you are jealous of who this person might be. but at the same time you're glad to just see ayato again! sadly, for work. when he summoned you, you thought-- 'oh is this finally it? will we finally hang out together again?' until you realize it's just that you will just accompany him to go to a somewhat date with someone else. compared to you and ayato just drinking tea at the estate's balcony, he had prepared so much as to have tea and snacks at the shore. alas, you could finally meet this person. once again. as you realize it was her. the traveler.

"traveler, did you wait long? i'm sorry, you could've ju..."

and their conversation went deaf on your ears. the ayato kamisato. speaking informally, and giving out tea invitations to the traveler. when it used to be you... why are you feeling like this? isn't it obvious. the traveler is way prettier, stronger and better than you. comparing yourself to the traveler is already such an embarrassing thing to do. no one could compare to her. she's out there defeating monsters and fighting archons. while you're here holding a grudge on a person who doesn't even know you just because you're jealous you were easily replaced. but who were you to be replaced when you weren't even his to begin with. this is why you feel guilty. because you think that you have no right to feel this way. it's just now that you realize how much of an overthinker you are. however your thoughts were cut short when you hear ayato calling out your name.

"y/n, i'll go to to the comfort room for a bit. please entertain the traveler while i'm away."

he says.

"understood." and so you take a seat at ayato's chair before. and despite not wanting to have a talk with the traveler, it is still your duty and you would not abandon it for just some mere feelings.

"greetings, i'm y/n. it's a pleasure to meet you traveler." you bow slightly and give the smile you usually show to guests. a smile you practiced countless of times infront of a mirror. "you might have not heard about me though. so allow me t-"

"oh i know. you're ayato's personal assistant. he mentioned it to me before." the traveler states. and you were genuinely shocked but also... curious.

"is that so?... then, has he said any other things about me before?" you nervously asked. though the nervously part may not be obvious to others. the traveler sees right through this. and she giggles. but nods. "would you mind serving me some tea? the tea ayato has been serving me is delicious however i've tasted it countless of times from our past tea parties. so I would like to have a different flavor this time."

the word 'countless' implies that they have been doing this for a while now and you already know that. but it still stirs a feeling of jealousy inside you.

"of course. luckily i brought a different tea flavor for myself as well. let me go get the ingredients from my bag." you return after brewing the tea and pouring it into the cups. how thoughtful that the traveler had already prepared the cups for you.

"this tastes a lot like lavender... melon." the traveler says.

"hm. because it is. you have a great sense of taste." you reply. from this point and so on, you don't really know what to talk about. the atmosphere is really awkward. but you still try to strike up a conversation because she is a guest.

"s-so... what brings you here to the kamisato estate?" you ask. in which the traveler replied with "originally, ayaka invited me. and ayato next." you don't know if it's just your eyes playing tricks on you or did the corner of her mouth raise upwards for a bit. you brush it off. maybe the grudge you have on her is going too far. i mean, it's not like you hate her though. but it's also not like you like her.

by now you've almost finished your tea. same goes for the traveler. you only had to endure a little bit more of this atmosphere and her because ayato should be back soon. so you lowered your guard and relaxed a bit. this whole time you only stared at your teacup, but it wouldn't hurt to take a glimpse at the traveler right? so slowly but hesitantly, you lift your eyes up to see her. already staring at you. but you couldn't break away from the eye contact. especially because she just asked you something you're also asking yourself.

"y/n. tell me. do you like ayato?"

despite having a smile on her face as she asked this, her tone was rather cold. it sent shivers down your spine. you don't know why she's asking this. but you also don't know the answer to that question.

...do you like ayato?

"I'm..."

that was the last thing you said before you went unconscious. before that, your vision went blurry and your head was getting dizzy. how could this be? all the years you've spent serving the kamisato clan, this has never happened.

a loud ringing on your ears forced you to wake up, you could hear numerous voices as you slowly opened your eyes. your vision was still blurry but you could figure out that someone was huge was standing before you.

"it's awake."

'it's? what do these people take me for'. --is what you would have thought when you realized you've been kidnapped and the kidnappers are a group of nobushis. you look at your surroundings, counting just how many they are until you finally notice someone beside you. the traveler. she's still unconscious. looking at her made you realize that you're also tied up and is unable to speak. screaming is no use. you seem to be in a... cave? you're not so sure because you don't remember a cave this huge at inazuma. you try to recall what happened and why you ended up here until you heard something a nobushi said.

"ya think he's coming here?"

"i heard he fancies these two. of course he will."

he? who's he? considering they kidnapped you and the traveler, don't tell me they're talking about him. not lord aya--

"oh well look who's here."

your eyes widen in shock when you turn to the direction they're facing. he's standing right there. ayato kamisato has come to save you. ...and the traveler. something moves beside you and you see the traveler, already awake, with tears in her eyes. isn't the traveler supposed to be strong and mighty? you don't understand, how were they able to kidnap her. in what situation was she in for her to become so vulnerable and be captured? i mean before all of this she was only with you-- !! your eyes widen. you saw ayato, ...glaring at you.

why was he glaring? you were in a pitiful situation right now, yet he glares at you as if you commited a crime. you can't believe it but... 'don't tell me thinks... i poisoned the traveler.' archons. he definitely thinks just that. the way his eyes softens as he looks to the girl beside you confirms so.

"give us the document. maybe we'll let both of them go." one of the nobushis spoke up. documents? what documents are they talking about? you handle all the documents for ayato, could it be he's been keeping something from you? are they comparing lives to a piece of document? surely ayato would-

"no. ...who sent you?" his voice cold as ice. the world has been surprising you a lot today. how important could that document be for it to be able to compare to a person's life. "straightforward i see... too bad, if you don't give us the documents any time we'll kill both of your precious little friends and this place will blow up soon." one of the nobushis spoke up again, it was the same guy as earlier. normally, ayato would be able to beat a few nobushis on his own. but he's way outnumbered right now. for some reason he knows that you and the traveler was taken here, yet he still came alone. you look beside you and see that the traveler is now crying. compared to the mighty traveler you seem to be too calm. you shouldn't be, in a situation like this. is it because ayato is now here? although he probably hates your guts already. but you just trust him way too much.

"...not giving in eh? then let's see..."

the nobushi paused for a moment, seemingly thinking about another way to make ayato give in and for them to gain something out of him. the nobushi smirked.

"...if you give us some mora... we'll let ya choose one of them to go with. give us the documents, you all can go home safe and sound. give us none and... you'll die with them." and finally, you felt... fear. your heart was racing. you didn't know it was this bad. earlier you already knew that you're this close to death's door but you weren't panicking at all. you also don't mind dying if it was for ayato. from an early age you already knew that you had to serve and protect their clan no matter what-- even if you have to pay the price of your own life. so why panic now? is it because the nobushis are going to far with their negotiations? is it because you're knocking right at death's door? or maybe it's because you're afraid that ayato will abandon you. choosing someone else, right infront of you in a critical situation like this. but surely he wouldn't, right?

" ...traveler," he throws a pouch of mora to the ground towards the nobushis. you remember when you both were strolling around at inazuma city after dinner. when he mentions that ever since he saw you looking through the stalls but not buying anything, he figured he'd buy them for you. so he always carried a pouch of mora. for you... and not for anyone el-

".. let's go." what? are you hearing things right? but judging by the way they pull the traveler and untie her, it seems that you are. but you wish you weren't. it turns out he really would choose someone else. the traveler lunges to embrace ayato. seeing ayato slowly hug her back, patting her back to calm down her tears and letting her cry on his shoulder just made your broken heart break even further. you get it. with the traveler's back facing you as they embrace, you take a glimpse of ayato until his gaze lands on you.

" ...y/n..."

his tone was somewhat... soft. you assume on a lot of things and right now you don't wanna expect but, you are. is this his last words to me? is he telling me he's sorry? is he gonna tell me how he regrets doing this? and that he never really wanted this to happen? and that i'm someone special to him, viewing me more than just a serv-

" --how dare you."

...and his gaze turns dark. what for? you didn't even do anything. his eyes glares at you as if you both were never friends. or maybe you were never really a friend to him. and he always thought of you as a mere servant. just like the rest. you were just- too naive. so foolish. thinking you were special. special just because he went looking for you and bought medicine and special rare tea in a day when you were sick for work. special cause he always invited you for tea breaks, conversing with you and only you. special because he always relies on you, and you allowed yourself to be relied on, --when you had no one to rely on for yourself. was those years of being with him nothing for him? was it that worthless in his eyes? that you could just be replaced and abandoned any time? you thought you were someone special in his life when he treated you differently compared to others.

but what about the way you treat him?

you treat him as if you were nothing without him. because he was everything to you. you were only this happy with him. only him. if you think of the most memorable memory you've ever had, it would include him. the day you first met him, and today. the last day you're seeing ayato. you watch them slowly turn their heels to leave. and all of a sudden you spoke. you couldn't help it, you spoke without even thinking. and now you don't know what to say. or maybe-- you just don't want to say it.

"a-ayato..." 'did you ever think if me as more than a friend?'... heck- more than a worker even. you wanted to ask just that. but you wouldn't. cause you couldn't. "...thank you, but I did nothing wrong." you say as you smile. that was your final words before the traveler and ayato takes more steps towards another path, probably leading to the exit. you hesitantly and slowly lift your eyes up to take one. last. look to ayato and... the traveler. and last time your eyes were playing tricks on you, but now you realize it wasn't. cause she was smirking again. smirking at you. leaving you to death.

anger. shame. resentment.

fury rises inside of you. you were raised to be patient with others. it was your job. so you've never felt this way for someone before. you wanted to scream but you couldn't. all you could think about was the traveler.

...the traveler!! the traveler!! the traveler.

it was all because of her that you're in a state like this. ever since she came, things changed. she was the person ayato replaced you with. the person he chose to spend the rest of his life with. and the reason why he threw away all of his memories with you and treated you like nothing. he chose a girl he just met instead of a childhood friend companion who has done nothing but pledge loyalty to him. now that you think about it... for ayato you would risk your life for him, die for him even. but he wouldn't do that for you. he only showed up for the traveler when you thought he came to save you.

it felt like your world was crumbling right before your eyes, watching them walk away, leaving you to death. you could mean that literally since anytime now you might be reduced to nothing but also... ayato is your world. to you he is everything. growing up with him, growing with him. he really is that special to you.

too bad,

he doesn't even see you as anything more than a servant. to him you were, not. special. at. all.

their footsteps has slowly faded away. they left. they've left you. behind, to die. it seems... this is it. you hear the nobushis chuckling and talking amongst eachother,

"geez... what a show! anyway.., are the preparations complete?"

"really? then we could go!"

"where did she say we would meet her again?"

"that bitch... making us do all of this. if it weren't for the mora then I wouldn't have agreed."

her? who's her? who's she? these thoughts seem all too familiar, and once again, you got your answer quickly.

"oh the traveler asked us to meet her at jinren island." a nobushi replied. just when you thought your hatred for her couldn't get any worse. however your thoughts were completely cut off when the nobushis all started leaving you. not even batting a single eye. you remembered them mentioning something that would leave you to ashes here. what was it again? if you recall quickly it was probably a-- "a bomb," --a nobushi says to you. as if he could read your mind. "a few minutes from now, once we all leave, this place will get wrecked. including... you." the nobushi laughs. you have never been this lonely before. i mean, you always had ayato beside you. but now that he personally left you for someone else- who do you have now? you have no answer for that. or maybe it is the answer. nothing. no one is there to help you. your reason to live is gone. atleast, you served your life's purpose before you die. you were never really that close to others including your family because of ayato. so you have nothing to lose now. but... you wish you could atleast take revenge on the traveler... even though you hate that idea. revenge isn't something you would even consider but.. the traveler is a different case.

today has given you particularly a lot of last things. like your last thoughts just now. before feeling a strong burst of energy and the brightest light you've ever seen. and everything turns dark.

...your eyes are closed and you can't move your body. but you're hearing something... footsteps? oh, a voice.

" ...how pitiful,"

you fall into deep sleep once again after feeling such an electrifying strike on your back.

... just who was that?

[the-ultimate-puppeteer]

Being Mauvika's younger brother who survived 500 years in the abyss

This is basically the prolouge/outline for what I'm writing. I wanted to post this and see how people liked it. I'm gonna try to finish regardless, but in case I don't, I at least wanted this posted

You'd think that you'd get used to having a sister like mauvika. Pretty much everyone loves her and has something great to say about her. After all, she's the child prodigy, Natlan's sun and the Pyro archon, and who were you? You're Rehua, the oh so moody younger brother of Mavuika and older brother to Hine

Unfortunately, you're quite the outlier in natlan given how waspish you can be and having a delinquent like demeanor which ALWAYS causes someone to pick a fight with you and they ALWAYS get thrashed with it all getting capitalized by your not so positive relationship with your big sister. It's not like you hated her or were even jealous of her as a bunch of idiots kept asserting. She just annoyed the fuck outta you at times, on top of her constantly bothering you during moments where you wanted to be left alone, looking back you wouldn't be surprised if she had a brother complex you already think she has a sister complex towards Hine.

When you were younger, you weren't sure why, but she made you feel so uncomfortable at times. You know she cared about you and didn't want to hurt you. That never stopped the feeling from persisting though

You being called moody wasn't just some random label or insult people sadled you with, they're are many days that you actually have fun being with Mavuika and Hine just being normal siblings but on others it was hard to even be in the same room as her without being annoyed on some level. This unfortunately only got worse when she became an Archon, and people started dogpilling you about how you interact with your sister. Let's just say those idiots brave enough to try to lecture and corral you were lucky to only leave with black eyes and shattered pride since the ones who tried to push the issue got broken jaws instead

You're parents didn't help the situation since they noticed your attitude towards your big sister and of course you were “in the wrong or just being a contrarian, she's hasn't even done anything to make you treat her this way” it honestly always hurt to have your own feelings on the matter be disregarded like that

It's just, how could you enjoy being around her when you can so clearly tell that she's so willing to relinquish anything she holds dear for Natlan and its future. It made you feel like everything you'd built up with her meant nothing, you just felt so insignificant.

I guess that's why you were the only one who wasn't shocked when she told your family of her plan to head 500 years into the future. All it did was confirm that you were right, unfortunately.

After that you avoided her like the plague and when you did talk to her you just gave her the cold shoulder, and of course eventually she’d finally had enough of your attitude and tried to force the issue, most people would probably be intimidated by her with this approach they'd probably kowtow to her, thing is you weren't like them since for one you've never once been scared of Mavuika and two there's one thing about you that has always remained a constant, it's doesn't matter who's doing it, whether it's a Monster, Archon or a family member the only person in existence allowed to push you around will always only be you. So when she thought that she could intimidate you into talking to her well that sparked a fight and a big one that you ended up losing and in the aftermath she still tried to press for an answer fracturing your already fragile relationship further

Still you decided to at least let her know a little of how you felt and left her with the words, “what's the point in trying to talk things out with someone who's just going to discard me like a broken tool”,and with that you left ignoring the devastated look of her face,soon after that conversation she'd left on her 500 year journey to the future then a few years after at the age of 19 disappearing off the face of teyvet and into the depths of darkness known as the abyss

You have no idea how long you'd been in this place, it's not like you've got anyway of keeping track of time all you can really do is fight and sleep which is kinda good but still you were bored like super mega ultra bored

So when you'd suddenly felt something new happen in your surroundings, you pretty much booked it towards where felt was the epicenter and it was there that you'd meet the person who'd eventually become your fellow student and sparring partner(punching bag) the boy who would eventually be known as Childe

@thequietkid-moonie check it out

[strawberrynightmere]

Bad Cats!!! [Part 3]

Warning ⚠️: yandere tendencies, mention of (temporary?) re-homing, mention of financial struggling (idk how to exactly put it), an attempt at writing a professional sounding email.

A/n: Sorry, this took a while, I had things to do. This is a bit longer than what I expected.

Part 2

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

It finally happened. Your boss' incompetence has set back the whole company. You knew it would happen eventually, but you thought that by then, you'd be working somewhere else. There's still no reply from the places you applied to and the bills! What are you going to do now? The obvious thing is to cut your food supply short, but that's still not enough.

And how are you going to take care of Andrew and Ashley? You can't just toss them outside. That's inhumane! You've grown attached to those two and they have also grown attached to you. Besides, they've been living here with you for some time, and you're afraid they won't be able to adjust to the streets again.

All of this has been brought up in your conversation with Julia. Unlike Nina, Julia knew how to offer helping you.

"What if I take them in until you get back to your feet."

"You would do that? Even take in Ashley?"

"Yeah! You said they got tamer over the time, besides when introduced to new people. I can deal with that for the time being."

You wanted to cry in releaf. Like a boulder just fell off of your shoulders. You make the arrangement with Julia and end the call.

"Meow?"

Andrew was right at the doorway looking at you with what you can pinpoint was concern.

You crouch down to his level and pat his head. "Everything is alright."

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

You were waiting for Julia in the park, where you said you two would meet. Andrew and Ashley were in their cat carriers wondering why they were here and what was happening.

You hear footsteps running in your direction. It was Julia!

"Sorry I'm late. Traffic." She said out of breath.

You take her to the bench you were sitting on to rest a bit. While she was resting, you, for some reason unknown to anyone, spoke to Andrew and Ashley.

"Listen, you two will be staying with Julia, temporarily, please be good to her. I'll come back for you as soon as possible." Then you turn to and tell her what she needed to know about the two.

Meanwhile, Andrew and Ashley were confused, to say the least.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

The time the cat siblings spent with your friend was unpleasant. Ashley hated everything about this situation. She hated the place they were living in. She hated Julia. She hated how she treated them as babies. She hated that Andrew was unresponsive the whole stay.

"Are you still going to stay quiet?"

At this point, she'll die of boredom and frustration.

Speaking of which.

Ashley slaps her brother with her little back paw.

"Are you gonna talk now?"

"She left us."

"Huh?"

"She. Left. Us." Andrew repeated, emphasizing each word.

"Well, watcha gonna do about it?"

"Something I should've done before."

That surprised her. It took only a moment for her to realise what he meant.

"Oh. Oh! My god, really? Are you actually gonna do it? You are gonna listen to me. This. This moment is so much bigger than me! I'd like to thank myself for holding up for so long. My parents... can continue to rot in Hell where they belong."

Andrew just rolled his eyes at his sister's dramatic speech, like she was gonna get some kind of reward.

"But anyways. This episode is titled 'Andy and Leyley and the-"

"You're not going."

"Huh?!"

"You'll stay here and distract the human. She still can't tell the difference between us."

Ashley sinks down to the floor.

"And Leyley is stuck with the crumiest job possible."

"Daww, don't worry, Leyley. We'll pick you up very soon." Andrew assured in a teasing tone.

"Ha ha ha! Fucking asshole."

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

One rejection letter after another. You were losing hope. You're gonna end up homeless at this point.

Slumping your head on the table.

Ding!

An email from your current job. It's probably gonna beo something like half of the company being let go. Whatever. You click on the email.

---

Respected workers of [COMPANY],

It has come to us with a heavy heart to announce that [REDACTED] from [DEPARTMENT NAME] has been forced to let go.

As you are all aware of the current setback in this company. We are glad to announce that this is just a small hiccup, and in soon time, the company as a whole will soon be able to function like before, and you'll be able to receive your full payments.

For any questions you have, please email us.

With full regards

[RANDOM NAME]

P. S. As for the new manager of [DEPARTMENT NAME], the position will be vacant until further notice.

---

This has to be a dream. You rub your eyes to confirm. Yep. It's real. So many questions were forming. Was any of this possible? What was this feeling right now?

Who cares! You won't have to worry about this anymore. You won't have to worry about finding a home for Andrew and Ashley or the possibility to send them to a pound. You won't have to worry about starving or being homeless.

And the best part? That sucker of your boss finally got fired.

Wait. Andrew and Ashley. You'll have to see until next month if you'll be able to take them back. Right. It's late. You'll tell Julie about the good news in the morning.

"Meow."

What the...

Black fur, green eyes. Either you're hallucinating from the lack of sleep and the lack of nutrition, or that really was Andrew sitting at the doorway.

You carefully get close to the cat and stretch your hand out to him. And then you feel his little head rubbing against your palm.

"What are you doing here?" You ask in a voice that was right above a whisper. "I can't take you back just yet. I need to call Julie."

Picking up your phone from the table, you dile Julie and wait for her to pick up, but there is no answer.

"Gess, I'll return you back there tomorrow."

As you say that, two arms trap you at the table where you were sitting. Turning around, you see the same man from your dreams. Black hair and green eyes. It suddenly dawned on you.

"You're not taking me anywhere."

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

A/n: There were a lot of possible plots I was working on, and honestly, this one was the only one that was working out for me. Hope you enjoyed it.

[cosmic-giraffe]

What’s your take on chapter 4? It fucking destroyed me.

Anon do I have THOUGHTS

So, first and foremost, I had to wake up SUPER early to watch the trial unfold and lose TWO MORE of my fave characters - all before breakfast. So that was an excellent start to my day.

Seriously though, I think Chapter 4's case might be my favourite in Tetro. Chapters 1 and 2 were great, Chapter 3 was exhausting but interesting, but Chapter 4 ticked all the boxes for me.

A compelling mystery? Yup.

An unexpected victim? Uh-huh.

An even more unexpected killer? Indeedy.

ABSOLUTELY GUT-WRENCHING??? Depressingly so.

I've seen a few takes regarding Watari's motivations this chapter, saying that she's "evil" and "selfish" and "pulling a Nagito", without taking into consideration her mental state during this chapter.

Imagine being her. You've been adultified and forced to grow up sooner than you should due to your parents and their need to have more kids despite not being fit caregivers, and are forcing that responsibility onto you, their teenage daughter. You've never really known how to be carefree or how to enjoy life.

Now, you're forced into a terrible situation where your classmates are dying left and right, with no telling of who's next on the chopping block. But amid the turmoil, you find you can talk to these teenagers, sympathise with them, make meaningful friendships with them. You're finally letting loose a bit, as much as you can in this situation.

You even grow especially close with a couple of them, namely Okazaki and Hama.

With Okazaki, Watari saw something in them that none of the others did. While everybody else saw them as a weirdo with no redeeming qualities, Watari saw a spark of something more. She was their only real friend in the killing game, and went everywhere with them.

Now, imagine the hollowing pit of betrayal opening up in Watari's gut during the third trial when Okazaki, her friend, GLEEFULLY confesses to killing not one, but two of their friends. Imagine how absolutely devastating that must be for her, to have somebody she knew and trusted be capable of doing such horrific things for no good reason. She would never be able to trust anybody again.

And to add to that, Okazaki insists that they did it for Watari, that she will understand one day. And then they're gone, just as dead as all the other people thus far.

Leaving the trial, Watari must feel miserable. She doesn't know how to go on, if she should even go on. And why would she? There's not much of a life waiting for her here. She gets to live another day living in fear of who will crack next, who will die next, if it will be her on either end.

And if she gets to escape, what's waiting for her on the outside? Is she expected to go back to her old life of being a third parent to her innumerable siblings? To be treated like a free nanny by her own dysfunctional parents?

Watari has hit rock bottom. She sees no way out. But you know who she does see?

Hama, with his imposing figure and heart of gold. She sees how important he is to the people in his life, his mom and his little sister. She sees how much he treasures them, and is treasured in return. She sees somebody WORTH dying for.

Watari is obviously in a very unhealthy state of mind. Depression does that to you. It makes thoughts of suicidal ideation seem like a pleasant, viable option to her situation. In a game of kill or be killed, why not go out on her own terms while granting safety to the one other person she cares about in this situation?

Not to say that Watari didn't care about any of the other students, she very much did. She loved Mai and Wada and Yanagi, but she certainly treasured her friendship with Hama most of all. He was one of the few people to take her commitment to the school staff charade seriously. He was the only person she ever decided to give a front row seat to her firedancing skills.

Hama looked out for her like the big brother he was, and she saw just how much his sister needed that kind of protective presence in her life.

So that's why Watari decided to give her life to save Hama, at the expense of killing everybody else.

As I said, Watari's mind is a very unstable place. She isn't thinking clearly, but she still carried through with her plan of setting up Hama as her killer in order for him to receive the blackened status.

She couldn't outright ask him to kill her as she knew he cared about her too much to have her blood on his hands. So assisted suicide was the next best thing, even if he was completely unaware of his involvement.

Personally, I was blown away (pun unintended) by just how SIMPLE Watari's plan was. Not a slight against the writing; I was definitely overthinking the whole case leading up to the trial when the reality was that it was as simple as opening a door.

THAT was what floored me, how such an innocuous motion could be used to commit manslaughter. It's insane.

And that brings me back to Okazaki promising Watari that she'd understand one day. Maybe Watari took Okazaki's words to heart. She definitely took a leaf out of their book with the whole "rigging a door trap" deal.

But in the end, Watari and Hama were both victims in this chapter. I don't even consider there to be a true killer. Watari was depressed and took her own life (she laid out all the steps except the ignition of the fire) and Hama was completely unaware of his role in her plan. He's completely innocent as far as I'm concerned.

Two chapters with two victims back to back is crazy, huh?? 😭

Finally, this was one of the saddest cases in Tetro, and was definitely my favourite so far. Chapter 5 has a lot to live up to, but trust me when I say that if it's any more chaotic than C3 or C4, then I might not make it to see Tetro Blue 🤣🤣

[thezombieprostitute]

Hi Zombie ! Tell me, how are Jake and Sharky ? Are they still working on that contract loophole ? Did their parents force them to celebrate Valentine’s Day ? Are they getting closer ?

Lots of love ❤️

I'm so glad you asked. I've been trying to figure out how to get back to these two and this ask gave me the spark I needed!

The Arrangement - Part 14

Summary: Jake's done a lot of things to keep his sister, and then his niece, safe from his parent's influence and manipulation. If he wants to keep them safe, he has to marry you.

Word Count: ~2k

Warnings: Ableism, Bad parents and siblings, Drunk character, Talking about abuse. Let me know if I missed any!

Part 13 -- Part 15

Series Masterlist

"Look, I'm glad to know I've got options, but what about her?" Jake please with Clay. "If her testimony leads to the marriage being nullified, what safeties does she have?"

"I can appreciate your concerns, Jake," Clay replied. "I'm sure, when you win the case against your own parents, you'll be able to afford to keep her safe from hers."

Jake shakes his head, "those cases take time. They'll destroy her!"

Clay sighs at Jake's puppy dog eyes. "Maybe we can hide her away when she ain't testifying. I'll talk to Aisha."

"Thanks, Clay. I know it wasn't part of the original plan."

"When have any of my first plans ever worked out?" Clay retorts. "Besides, that was before we knew about her situation."

"Thanks for understanding."

"Just make sure you keep takin' good care of her."

"Travis, please, I'm trying to help you," you softly sob.

"You just want to rub it in! Tell me off for all those years I made fun of you!"

"No! You're my brother, not my enemy!" you assert. "The nurses say you haven't been eating. I know you always loved the eggplant parmesan I made so I brought a plate of it for you."

Travis throws the food onto the floor. "You're not better than me!" he yells, pointing an accusatory finger at you. "You've always thought you were better than me! That no matter what success I got, you could always outdo me! Cooking for all my friends so they wouldn't want to go out to eat with me. Getting your Master's degree while I had to buy a Bachelor's. First to marry. And now! Now I can't even walk!"

Travis breaks down into tears and you rush to hug him but he pushes you away. "Just leave me here to rot like Mom and Dad did."

Quietly crying you start cleaning up the ruined dinner, not wanting the hospital staff to have to deal with it.

As you go to leave you remind him, "if you need me, please call me."

Clay greets you in parking garage. "I was just on my way out. Fair warning, little lady, your parents are waitin' on you."

"Thank you for letting me know."

He nods and heads to his pinto while you get in the elevator.

You mentally prepare yourself for the barrage of complaints about your lack of manners. Never mind you were looking after your brother. Never mind that they didn't tell you to expect them. You weren't there when they arrived and you're now derelict in your duties as a good daughter.

Your mother's voice is shrill, a sign she's been drinking. That means it'll take a lot more work to keep her from throwing things.

One step inside the penthouse and she yells, "where the hell were you?"

"Visiting Travis," you admit. "I'll go get you something to drink."

"Don't bother," your father interjects. "We're not staying long."

"Ugh, Travis," your mother slurs. "He just had to break his spine. Wasn't getting enough attention so he got himself hurt. We put so much time and money into building him up and now this."

It was an accident, you think, but you keep manage to keep quiet.

"And so now, we're reliant and you and Jake," your father adds. "We need the two of you to do more events. Become the representatives of the family. Show people we're still strong and whatnot."

"Can't Travis do that?" Jake chimes in. "The guy survived a car accident that should've killed him."

"He's a cripple!" your mother shouts at Jake. "Cripples are meant for purposes of pity and charity. We don't want to be associated with that!"

Though you could've guessed this was how they would respond, it still hurts to hear your parents talk like this. You want to defend your brother, but it would just add to the mess they're handing you and Jake.

"I know that children haven't been discussed yet," your father says. "But it would go a long way in showing our resilience as a dynasty. As such, we will be talking with the Jensens about an addendum to Jake's contract. We're visiting you today to give you a sort of 'heads up' in case you want to try for one of your own volition."

"Just think," your mother sneers, "you'll finally have an excuse for getting so fat."

Jake jumps to his feet, "well thanks for the heads up. We've got an event to get ready for."

"Ah yes, the Valentine's Day party held by the Thrombey family," your father nods.

"Make sure to keep her on a leash," your mother tells Jake, pointing to you. "Can't have her embarrassing us by eating the entire buffet on her own."

Jake's face is crimson, his jaw tight with anger. "I promise you, Carol, she won't embarrass you."

Your father helps your mother stand and exit the penthouse. Both you and Jake wait for the telltale sounds of the elevator.

"Holy shit," Jake sighs, letting his shoulders relax.

"I'm--"

"Don't apologize, Sharky," Jake cuts you off. "You had no idea they'd be here, that she'd already be drunk, whatever. There's nothing for you to apologize for."

"I still feel bad you had to put up with them."

Jake nods. "How's Travis doing?"

Tears form in your eyes and Jake immediately opens his arms, offering a hug. There's no hesitation from you anymore. You let him hold you while you sob and tell him about what happened. He doesn't let you go until you ask him to.

A couple hours later, as you're getting ready for the party, Jake knocks on the door to room.

"Come in," you call. It still shocks you how much you trust Jake these days. Even more surprising is how he's kept all of his promises to you, including not entering your space without permission. In every interaction, public or private, he's a gentleman.

Jake opens the door, looking good in the deep red suit you picked out for him to match your dress.

"Do I look okay?" he asks as he slowly spins, letting you see him front and back.

"Looks good," you nod. "I um...I hope you don't mind but, I got you a little something." Jake's eyes widen as you reach into your jewelry box. You take out a specially made petunia boutonniere. "I hope you don't mind that it's pink."

Jake's eyes start tearing up. "That's...that's my niece's...Jadah's..."

"You talk about her soccer team a lot. And I know she's one of the main reasons you agreed to this marriage. I just, thought it might be a nice gift. An acknowledgement that you're doing this for a good cause?"

Jake starts sniffling as a tear drops down his cheek. "Thank you," he sniffles. "Thank you for...for listening to me go on about them. For looking out for me. I know this isn't what you wanted either so...so thank you."

Smiling gently you pin the boutonniere to his suit jacket and grab a tissue to give to Jake. "I'm just glad you like it. The pink really goes well with the suit and the whole Valentine's Day theme."

Jake nods with a smile. "It means a lot to me."

Your smile drops a smidge as you think about the upcoming event. "I should...I do have...there is...um...we should..."

"What's wrong, Sharky?"

"It's...it's a Valentine's Day theme. We're...we're a married couple. We're going to be expected to um...to join in on...um. Kissing games?"

"Oh," Jake responds. His eyes widen as the weight of what you're saying hits him. "OOOOOHHHH!"

"I'm...I'm sorry I didn't bring this up sooner," you look away, embarrassed. "I just...I was scared to bring it up and then there just never seemed to be a good time, and I'm so, so sorry!"

Jake nods, "I'll admit, this is something I'd have preferred more of a heads up on, but I get it." He holds out his hand, not quite touching your chin, but it gets you to look at him. "I hope you don't mind, but I...I'd rather our first kiss be...real? Real-er? I don't know."

You smile again, "I'd like that, too Jake."

His cheeks turn pink as he starts feeling shy. "Can I...can I kiss you now?"

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"Since our honeymoon," Jake confesses. Your eyes widen in shock as you gasp. "The day after the wedding, specifically. When we got ambushed by the parents and you still looked out for me. Helped me. You were so much kinder, smarter, talented than I was expecting. I wanted to make a joke about 'I'm so grateful I could kiss you' but that...that would've been very bad timing on my part."

His sheepishness makes you giggle. "Yes, that would've been very bad timing. I have to admit, it hasn't been as long for me, but...I've wanted to kiss you too."

Jake's eyes light up and he starts trembling with excitement, making you giggle again.

You step closer to Jake, bringing your face closer to his, "would you like a kiss, Jake?"

"Yes, please," he whispers, eyes pleading.

Bringing your lips to his feels like the most natural thing in the world. As soon as you're touching, Jake returns the kiss with a gentle fervor. He wants to give you more but doesn't want to scare you. You wrap your arms around his neck and open your mouth just enough to encourage him. He brings his strong, muscular arms around you and, one hand at the back of your head, the other on the small of your back. The kiss grows more earnest with need. Your breathing grows shallow as you feel the electricity between you. It takes every ounce of Jake's strength to not let his hands roam. He's never had a kiss feel so good.

The alarm on your phone startles both of you apart.

Quickly turning it off you shyly smile at Jake, "I...it's time to get going to the party."

"You um...you...your lipstick," Jake stutters.

"Oh, yes! Thank you! You should probably clean up your lips, too."

Jake pouts a little, "but I like it. I like have your mark on me."

Your face heats up and your smile widens. "Well, I suppose we are going to be doing plenty more kisses tonight. It wouldn't hurt for everyone to know what we were doing before we arrived."

"Thank you, Sharky," Jake smiles, bouncing on his feet.

"I absolutely understand, Montgomery," William says. "Travis just isn't a good representative anymore. We'll need them to do more."

"I knew you'd see reason," Montgomery nods. "So how soon do you think we can have the lawyers here for an addendum to the contract?"

"Honestly, I could have them do it tonight," William laughs. "But I'll have them start in the morning. A grandchild would do wonders for both our families!"

"Let's just try to make sure Jake doesn't have his friend here to help him figure out more of the contract."

"That will be tricky, but possible. My son is smarter than I care to admit."

"At least my daughter never learned to question," Montgomery muses as he sips his whiskey.

"And hopefully she'll stay that way," William growls. "Jake is bound by contract while your daughter is bound only by a sense of obligation."

Montgomery huffs, "trust me, your son won't get rid of decades of her being trained to behave."

William nods, "then let's get them working."

Part 13 -- Part 15

Series Masterlist

Tagging: @alicedopey; @ashdoctor; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn; @embarrasingmf; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @irishhappiness; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory; @kmc1989; @lokislady82; @missaprilt23; @ronearoundblindly; @thiquefunlover63; @watermelonslut

[carlyraejepsans]

speaking of dr, there's something that really annoys me about how shallow the ship discourse around kr4lsei is. I'm not sure I'm 100% behind this for the same reasons i doubt toby will go full in with noelle's mom being abusive, ie "those are very delicate and complex topics to handle, does he have the time and space to deal with them in deltarune's story?" so take this with a grain of salt.

(warning for brief mention of incest, so I'm putting this under a readmore)

i think the discourse being framed as "thinking ralsei is presented as a romantic interest" vs "thinking ralsei is compared to kris' brother or like a family member" is incredibly stupid because those are... both true at the same time. yes, there's an unskippable "tunnel of love" scene, and it looks like ralsei could have somewhat of a crush on kris. but ralsei still 1) looks just like a dreemurr, 2) clearly plays, as a character, on our feelings and memories of asriel from playing undertale, as evident by their designs and their names being anagrams 3) i am 99% sure Noelle was going to say "that kinda looks like asriel" while looking at him eating cotton candy with Susie, and Susie herself suggests telling toriel he's "a long lost cousin". either way, if ralsei is meant to play on our feelings towards asriel, then as asriel's sibling, kris is likely gonna feel similarly.

are you uncomfortable? good! you should be. that's the point.

it's not random that the snowgrave route was framed and portrayed with the imagery of a wedding. first the freezering, then the thorn ring are explicitly compared to wedding rings. "we're just friends"/"we're something else". "YOU'VE BEEN MAKING [hyperlink blocked (...LoVE?)], HAVEN'T YOU?" noelle with whom kris had a strained relationship, whose feelings (platonic? romantic? we don't know) we brute force in what is the most chilling, manipulative, cruel iteration of chapter 2's story we could take... it's almost as if deltarune uses kris being forced into romantically coded situations they're deeply uncomfortable with as a way to showcase their lack of agency in the story.

and being pushed into romcom-like situations with a guy who looks like their brother works pretty darn well to follow that pattern, if you ask me.

now, if a forced romance with noelle represents their lack of agency in regards to the player, then... a forced romance with ralsei could represent their lack of agency towards Fate. The Plot/Story. unskippable cutscene, remember? not to mention ralsei's whole purposepilled shtick he clearly has a complex about.

this does raise a couple of questions about susie though, as the third option in the "who would you take to the fair with you" question, the one option kris seems to agree with, as well as being a character who is actively resisting the narrative.

because there's people who are very much FOR krusie, just as there are people against it, i doubt their getting or not getting together would work to represent kris gaining their agency back. and i believe i speak for everyone when i say that susie is going to play a huge part in that arc. either way, i'm curious to see how this develops.

idk! like i said, I'm not sure just how much toby is gonna go into this because it IS a very delicate subject. but it's an example of what i mean when i say "there's more to fandom than shipping" and "fixating so hard on Shipping Good Things" can be detrimental to analysis. I'm not cancelling anyone with this post, go on doing your thing whether it's kr4lsei or r4lsusie or krus1e. but if your first thought going into this was "I'm gonna ignore the part where the game compares ralsei to asriel because that would make my ship incest and that is Bad and uncomfortable" then... that's a very cheap way to interact with media? lol. sometimes being uncomfortable IS the point. god knows utdr makes you uncomfortable on purpose sometimes. ok rant over :P

[beryllineart]

Rambling about Asriel/Flowey

Lots of headcanon stuff and personal interpretation here, but I think Asriel enjoyed acting. You know, before he died. And I bet he was good at it!

This is a looooooong post, and I uh... don't explain my reasoning as well as I could because I kept going off on tangents, but uhhh, it might be interesting? I don't know, this all came from me trying to decide whether Asriel or Flowey would be more of a dice goblin (it's a D&D thing). Anyways, you have been warned....

Let's start with the first and most obvious reason. Flowey's ability to mimic others. He can imitate voices really impressively, and he does this in the game, imitating Toriel's voice with an echo flower. He also calls you using a voice you've "never heard before" in the elevator. This voice is the same as Asriel's adult voice, not his child one, which is interesting to me. He thinks you're Chara, why the heck would.... wait, look at Tape 4. "I... I don't like this idea, <Name>. // Wh.. what? N-no, I'm not... //... big kids don't cry." Maybe Asriel/Flowey is using his older voice to show Chara that he's not that little kid anymore, that little kid who was too cowardly to go through with the plan of killing the humans. He looks up to Chara and so this is his way of telling them that he's grown up? I don't know, I may be reading too much into things.

Talk about a rabbit hole... I just wanted to talk about Asriel/Flowey's acting skills. Anyways, Flowey is really good at pretending. He's done hundreds of resets, befriended people and killed them hundreds of times, and yet no one really seems to notice. I may be giving him too much credit since he can reset and all, but come on, it must be really hard to pretend you're meeting someone for the first time when you know every detail about their lives.

That's not a good argument. I've got a better one. Flowey doesn't freak out when you take away his ability to reset. Instead, he does his best to shift the unease to you, taunting you about Toriel's death (if you killed her), taunting you about the other human's deaths, and always stating the "kill or be killed" phrase. He does his best to make you feel uncomfortable about the choice you made, whatever it was.

"You'll die and you'll die and you'll die." "Somebody is dead because of you." "You kind of remind me of myself." "I know what you did." "Enjoy that power while you can." All of these pieces of dialogue from after Toriel's fight are an attempt to make you not want this ability to reset, because Flowey wants it back. And he acts so nonchalant about it too, like come on. He was a god, and suddenly he's mortal again and not in control for the first time in a long time. There is no way he is not furious over losing the ability to save and reset. And later in the game, he makes that clear. But right now, he's hiding any fear or anger he has and making you unsteady on your feet with his acting skills. He's taking control of an unexpected situation (much like a good actor might, improvising when different outcomes than expected are thrown their way.) He's cautious, because you're the one person in the Underground who a. he doesn't know and b. has the ability to reset. And yet he still gives these awesome speeches perfectly designed to make you uneasy because he's a drama queen who can't help himself.

He's bluffing with no cards (aka no real advantage) and you need to be a good actor to bluff successfully.

Okay, so Flowey's good at acting. He's had lots of time and lots of resets to practice. But I think his acting ability actually comes from Asriel, and this is where I get into major headcanon territory because I only have the tapes to go off of and my own wishes for Asriel and Chara's sibling relationship.

...

Imagine this. You're Asriel, and you just helped your sibling poison themself. Buttercups nearly killed your father, a big, strong boss monster. And now they are killing your closest friend in the world. They smile at you and say it's not that bad, but you know that they must be in pain, so much pain that the smile leaves their lips as soon as it arrives. But you smile back, pretending that you're fooled by their weak reassurance. And you stay there, pretending that you're not worried, that this is all just part of the plan, until they let out their last breath.

Only then does the mask break, the mask you've been wearing ever since you agreed to this stupid, stupid plan. You hid your doubts and you hid your tears because this was Chara's plan, and they only wanted what was best for everyone. They were going to free everyone. But now, with no one around, you whisper in a shaky voice, "I don't like this plan anymore." The truth is, you never did. But you never told them that because of that look in their eyes, that look that told them they'd come up with another idea, with or without you. And if there's one thing you know, it's that the two of you need to be together.

As you stand up and take the soul, you force yourself not to cry. If anyone alive were in this room, they would think you didn't care that your friend, your sibling, is now dead, but you care so much that it hurts. But big kids don't cry. Big kids aren't cowards. You know you aren't a big kid, not really, but you have to act like you are. You have to pretend you still believe in the plan that you never believed in anyway. You have to, otherwise...

You might not be able to go through with it.

...

Hey, maybe the reason Asriel idolized Chara so much was because Asgore kept saying Chara was "the future of humans and monsters." That same thing could have given Chara a savior complex where they thought they had to sacrifice themself for the good of everyone, because honestly, how can a child save humans and monsters? They felt responsible for something that was completely out of their hands and roped Asriel into it because he trusted them (or at least acted like/ convinced himself he did) and I realize Asgore's not the sole reason for either of those things, but come on, talk about putting a kid under pressure! I might have heard this from someone else but I don't know who...

Okay, so part of the "Asriel is good at acting" stuff comes from comic ideas I had of Asriel making Chara laugh with little skits and impressions after they fell into the Underground and were frightened and confused. I didn't really do a good job of explaining how any of this necessarily makes either Asriel or Flowey an actor. At the very least, I think I've shown that both Asriel and Flowey are able to mask their true feelings, fool others into believing certain things, and pretend to be something they're not. And that sounds like acting to me, but honestly, that's my opinion, and I don't know much about these things so whatever you want to think is fine.

Oh, oh, I just thought of this. During the Asriel boss fight, he gets increasingly desperate to keep you and breaks his character as the god of hyperdeath, in control and all powerful, to his real self, a scared little kid who just doesn't want to be left alone again. He tells you to just let him win because he truly has no power, and he knows that. He did a pretty good job of acting like he did have power though, not gonna lie... Same sort of thing Flowey did in the beginning of the game after you beat Toriel. I love when things go full circle like that.

And now I'm really done. I promise.

[tirednyokie]

You want my honest opinion on some of the election statistics & politics right now? I never, NEVER, like to comment on politics, but I'm tired of being quiet and holding this in. There is no one I can be honest with and talk to other than you lovely people on the internet.

I voted blue as a young white christian woman. I was born and raised in the heart of a red state. My parents were considered super conservative, even to other Christians and conservatives. My extended family is still that way, to the point where asking genuine questions about history and reason is seen and taken as offensive and treacherous to the American good. When I went to college, I was still a very right-wing minded person. Here's the thing: I naturally have a soft heart. I don't like being mean, and I don't appreciate other people being crappy for no good reason. My upbringing in the church and my relationship with Jesus Christ both in and out of the church has only strengthened that part of me.

So, in college, I encountered a number of classmates and fellow musicians that were of other ethnicities, members of the LGBTQ community, and so much more. I learned quickly to see them as my cohorts and friends, and that I had no grounds to judge them based on their life and struggles. As they say, and I take literally, hate the sin, love the sinner. I couldn't care less if you're black, white, gay, trans, struggling with drug addictions, addictions to anything like porn, social media, etc.

I struggle with some of that too, which gives me no ground to judge. As the Bible says, "He who is without sin, cast the first stone." I am no better than anyone else, and I am actively trying to make that evident in my life.

As I said before, my ultra conservative christian family didn't like this. Not one bit of it. I managed to befriend and be a safe place for a number of my fellow musicians, because I knew about their bad experiences with other christians and the church, a recent burn from the church on myself, and their mixed family backgrounds that made my being an older sister that much more important. So, naturally, I started to lean more left, and at the same time, away from the "church."

To say I left the church would be accurate. Christianity, less so. It has been a rough four years in finding my faith again. But in the midst of that, I learned about the world around me from the perspectives of both christian and non-christian. I didn't have a reason to be spiteful or hateful towards a specific demographic (unlike some of my family).

Then I graduated and moved to New York, and let me tell you - blue state living is where it's at. But in stepping away from something you've been immersed in your whole life, you then see the issues within. I noticed this with the church, then with my family, and then my hometown and state. There are some SERIOUS issues with all of them.

This TikTok explains a lot of what I think of the modern "church:" https://www.tiktok.com/@k.t.phillips21/video/7434922467652554027?_r=1&_t=8rGnfwwJxNP

The church condemns so many things, until it applies to them. The burn from the church in my life came from a previous pastor telling someone to do something behind all of our backs, and that led to my family collapsing in on itself and my brother attempting suicide seven times. All because one man thought he knew what should be the case in a situation, and didn't think to bring God into the matter.

For my family, it's the same type of thing. The allowance of certain things, while condemning the same things when others struggle. It's exhausting. So, when I moved to New York, I blocked numbers, deleted others, and had a serious talk with my immediate family about boundaries and what being 20+ hours away meant. I happen to have understanding parents and siblings after the events of three years ago. On the other hand, my extended family is messed up. Constant asking of "are you depressed" or "do you have a boyfriend yet," while not actually caring about the answer, or just blatantly ignoring the truth. Recently, I cut off almost all of one side of my extended family because of a wedding happening in March between a girl who is barely eighteen and a boy (he is NOT a man, he just happens to be my cousin) who is TWENTY SEVEN. The relationship was arranged, and they recently decided to move the wedding up by 4 months because, and I quote: "he(cousin) just couldn't wait 😉." Mind you, his last relationship, he kidnapped from one state under the guise of "meeting the family" but was actually bringing her to another state after dating for three weeks to marry her without her family's knowledge or consent. It's messed up.

My hometown and state? Oklahoma. I think that question answers itself. Considering that it was completely red on Tuesday, and is the top state of searches "can I change my vote."

Anyways - I am disappointed in a lot of people. So many things were on the line in this election, and the fact that people are just now educating themselves on what this means now that they've re-elected Trump is ridiculous.

If a felon cannot get a job in some areas or vote, why the hell should one become president? Second - why is said felon SO quiet after winning? Something is wrong.

To my fellow women who voted blue, I'm sorry for what we're going to see and what we're encountering just days after the election. To the LGBTQ people who see this, I'm sorry too. To all of you blue (and some red) friends, I am sorry. I'm sorry that 53% of white women voted against a reasonable choice, and voted for a literal felon, rapist, and just crappy dude. I'm sorry that all of us are having so much mixed emotion about what the next 4 years looks like while my family and many others are home celebrating the idea of cheaper groceries. I wish I could hug many of you, because it's crappy that we're united and meeting like this.

To the people who voted red - I'm sure you've heard this already, but I really hope you get what you asked for. I hope you get what you wanted. I hope it affects you directly. I hope you see what happens when you don't educate yourself until it's too late. I hope you see what happens when you only look out for yourself. I hope you see how un-loving and un-Christian some of you are acting.

For the little boys (you are NOT men in my eyes right now) that keep saying "your body, my choice" and are saying so many crappy things to the women in and out of your life because you feel empowered by one president-elect: I hope you eat your words. I hope you manage to get your head out of your butt and see what you're doing. I hope you realize you've shoved your head so far up your butt that it came out of your throat and that's why you're acting the way you are. I hope you have to eat your words and get everything you think you're going to get and more.

I am lucky to be considered "safe" in a blue state, but I am still so heartbroken over my friends who aren't considered safe and have to deal with this stuff head on. I wish things were different. If any of you happen to know me in real life, take this to heart. If you don't know me, know this anyway:

I am sorry for how people in America are acting right now. I am sorry that we have to live in a nation so broken and frustrating. In the middle of it all, you are loved, and I pray now that something good comes out of this; that we learn to love and be loved, we learn to be gracious and forgiving instead of angry and condemning. I pray we learn to be people over Americans, that them and us doesn't continue, and that we learn what the right thing is and how we are going to move forward. If you need someone to be an ear or a friend, I hope you find one. Whether that is someone in real life, someone on another site, someone here, or even myself.

You are not alone ❤️

[f1orza]

Austrian GP thoughts, sorry if I'm not very articulate 🤓 just rambled really not proofread cause I'm busy

Do I think the collison was Max's fault? Yes. Do I think that the contact was inevitable and BOTH of their faults? Also yes.

Max shouldn't have moved during the breaking but they were both driving aggressive. They both wanted to be first, they both know what's it's like to be first and they won't settle for second now. I think in Lando's case he seen that if he wants to be first he has to try harder? Or that you actually have to be "agressive" to get onto that top step.

Do I think Lando was being childish? Yes. And I'm saying this as a McLaren fan.

Though I also think that any sport where you're fighting for first is inherently a bit childish. Might just be because I have siblings and we always used to fight over first place as kids 🤷🏽‍♀️idk

That doesn't justify Lando's response. Even when you're upset and running on adrenaline, you should be able to be handle your emotions I think. (I know as humans it can be hard) but if you're on live tv being broadcasted to millions of people...you should have a better handle on you're emotions; even if you feel you've been wronged, because no one will listen to you if you are acting like that. If you're levelheaded about it people are more likely to listen,(woman experience this all the time.) He needs to work on that and on taking responsibility as well, because the blame isn't 100% on Max.

That's one thing I can say about Max, I wasn't here for the "Mad Max" era but from videos and word of mouth, I can tell he's matured a lot and you can definitely see it. Max had every reason to be upset after this race (but not really), he had a good lead against Lando until RB's slow pit stop and then he went from first to fifth and some might say that's not bad, he still got points, and etc. That's not the point - his race was still affected but he did not go on live tv and speak badly on his friend.

They need to - like Max said - cool down and speak about it afterwards. I personally don't think it is worth ending a friendship with someone I considered a good friend but maybe they see it differently idk. It's something they need to talk about before the next race. And if they believe that it was worth losing a friend over, especially when they know this is situations that happen in racing then....

And I've seen a lot of people mentioning Lando still wouldn't have been first, even with the 5 sec penalty, he would'v been second with George being over 10 secs behind, I can understand why he believed Max ruined his race.

Some of y'all have a very bad habit of taking things fans do out on the drivers. If the FANS keep voting him DOTD that has nothing to do with him, if you want others to win then yall might need to vote more ig 🤷🏽‍♀️ and the chanting on the podium is again rude and nasty behavior but that again has nothing to do with Lando, I can promise you even if he would speak out it will not change anything, people will do what they want and what they feel they are entitled to do. I've seen it happen in so many fandom spaces, some people just don't care. Lewis has told people not to hate George after last race and I can guarantee that there is still people that do.

Now I've also seen people talking about Lando's attitude, I agree on some things and disagree on others. And this isn't me being a "Lando crazy fangirl" trying to justify his actions but I'm just telling it how I see it. So if you disagree okay, but do not start shit with me okay? 🙃 cause I know y'all like to fight around here 🤥

I think Lando feels stuck in that wasted potential. Where people having saying for years you have the potential to be a champion and even with all the hardwork you do, it doesn't feel like it's being shown. And especially as someone who went so long without a first win. Everyone's saying McLaren made a mistake by re-signing you or that your teammate is more deserving of the first seat. You feel like you're letting people down: you're team, family, fans and yourself. Not to mention all the hate you've been getting for NOT winning, then you'll definitely be in a bad headspace. And now that's he's won and KNOWS he can win, he'll want it all the more. He has the fastest car on the grid right now, he IS a good driver (contrary to what some of you believe), and he is a bit more optimistic than last year. Now that first is within his grasp, he's been hungry to get a second one. And I think he's been a bit overconfident about it, but that's honestly all drivers, I think if you are upset about Lando's ego but not other like Ocon than you dislike Lando for other reasons and are just finding excuses now. Even more so knowing he is second in the championship standings. Now that you know you're capable of being first you wouldn't want to settle for second, just like Max. Max constantly talks about not being there for second place but many of the other drivers feel that way, Lando is clearly one of them.

Do I think Max should have just let him go by? no. Because this IS racing and if you want to be first and become a champion you have to work for it. Max has never been the kind of guy to just let you pass him, not even for a friend. So Lando needs to understand that if he wants to keep fighting Max in the future. If you want to prove everyone right or wrong, only YOU can do that and by being overly eager and dangerous, well it clearly doesn't work in your favor 😭 (sorry lando 🤧). Only thing is you do is improve yourself and I'm not surprised that Max is a champion when he is always driving be it racing or sim. If your competitor's are doing a 100% you need to be doing 200%, that's the only way to get to the top.

[rocksibblingsau]

Do you ever think about how they let a toddler join a boy band? A boy band that was a toxic environment and too much pressure that even teenagers couldn't handle? That had those same teenagers and toddlers do contless interviews, photoshoots and change the way they acted, looked and were just for the hyphotetical imagens fans had of them?

Because I do, I know it just a silly and cheerful children's film but I also think about how this same film opened with those teenagers feeling so mistreated and wronged they literally left their entire civilization, community and family behind just so they shouldn't be treated the same way by anyone else. And John Dory, who I know was implied (which I fully view that as my headcanon btw) to be a child taking care of four other children with only the help of an elderly lady, I do in fact love and sympathize with him. But I also trully need him to be mercyless beaten up by his brothers with hammers, like actually. There only so much headcanons and fic-lore the fandom can put in me before I go back to the movie where John Dory is always implied to be the one who is mostly if not the only one fully in the wrong, buddy was telling a toddler and younger teens that if they werent perfect they were literally nothing and then, left them all for years after they didnt want to be in his band anymore. Like dude, no wander his brothers thought he was still stuck on the perfect family harmony and wanted nothing more than go back to being their boss...

Anyways, writing my bruce and branch fic was been great! Im totally not crying and extemely emotional over the hyphotetical emotions of a bunch of 6 inch tall cartoon creatures. At least I got a excuse to write mom lore before Spruce and John give their last show's fight a run for its money.

I do, especially the fact that Branch likely doesn't have a lot of memories of his brothers not related to the band :)

Don't mind that smiley face, I'm not doin' nothin :)

Anyway yeah it's extremely sad that Branch was still in diapers and he was performing. Despite the fact that he only did that one live show, he was clearly in the public eye enough/involved in music making as he was on their albums and had a boyband persona long enough to have done the whole perm/frosted tips/attempt to do both.

One thing I've seen some people do is say that there was likely external pressure as well and when you consider that the BroZone situation likely took place during the era of Trollstice you really gotta think. It can shatter DIAMONDS. What would it do to say... an iron cage and some stone buildings? Maybe it wasn't John Dory's main goal, but you've gotta admit a perfect family harmony would have likely been a turning point for trolls and it's possible that everyone at that show was sure they were about to witness the end of Trollstice.

The knowledge that me and my siblings could hypothetically end countless deaths would have me acting up too.

[nerves-nebula]

Sorry to give u a weird Christmas confession but I was thinking about ur art and that got me thinking about my life. And this tends to be where I direct that stuff because your perspective and insight is cool, and also solidarity in this community or something.

I always feel super shitty about the way I treated my younger siblings growing up, because while I wasn’t actively malicious, I remember being a dick needlessly a lot in what was typically misplaced aggression I couldn’t direct at anyone else, or projecting when I saw them doing anything I’d been screamed at or punished for.

But also my mom was super neglectful, so I was taking care of them in a lot of ways I never really thought counted as me taking care of them until more recently. I tend not to remember stuff, so most of what sticks out in my mind has a reason for sticking out.

I wouldn’t remember having had to wake my siblings up for school if I hadn’t written it down offhandedly in the notes of some fic writing I did years back. I wouldn’t remember having made dinner basically everyday if I didn’t feel like a lazy asshole over having been depressed and either putting off making food until way to late, or just throwing a pizza in the oven and telling my brother when to take it out.

Point is, sometimes you mention your sister, and you mention your brother, and I’m so upset that I remember being closer to your brother, because I didn’t protect my siblings from shit.

But lately I’ve been wondering if I might have and I don’t know how to feel about it. I feel like I’m rationalizing to make myself feel better but it doesn’t make me feel better. It makes me feel like I wouldn’t have to reach for stuff I’d done right if I’d actually been good.

I remember little things, like my brother breaking a plate, and me realizing my impulse to yell at him or belittle him over it was stupid, because what would he learn from that? It was an accident. But my parents would have blown up at me in that scenario. It was confusing so I just made sure he didn’t get glass in cuts and while I cleaned up and hid the broken plate at the bottom of the bin, I kept rolling around whether that was unfair or not. I only remember that because it was the first time I’d ever asked myself on a logical, non emotional level, whether my parents were actually being unfair.

My remembering that had nothing to do with helping keep my brother out of trouble, so I have to wonder if there’s more stuff like that that my brain’s just nuked. If there were any significant or consistent moments that I might never remember that could reconstruct my entire self image of what an emotionally repressed mess I was as a child.

I don’t know I guess that idea just stresses me out, and I realize I wouldn’t be happy in either scenario, whether that was or wasn’t happening.

mildly funny to hear my singular blog referred to as a community. not really sure what you mean by that, i'm not a part of many communities as far as i know.

nowwww i don't know your exact situation but i wouldn't worry about it. definitely sounds closer to one of my sisters than my brother.

like, i really can't overstate how bad my brother is. my older brother is a truly malignant force. kinda guy who starts shit for no reason and preys on people just to feel strong. he would not do any of the things you've written about here unless forced to. the best you can expect from him is apathy, or wanting to show you some weird fascist show he likes. he will otherwise go out of his way to harass and annoy and threaten people. he was constantly trying to start fights for seemingly no reason, and i mean physical fights, like he was compulsively violent or something.

i used to have sympathy for him but he's nearly 30 now and that's long dried up on my end. he's an asshole cuz it's what he chooses to be, not cuz anyone was mean to him or cuz he has bad impulses. he's a fascist loser who doesn't even want to try to be kind and that's about it.

anyway point is: what i hate about my brother isn't that he failed me or something. from your writing here it seems highly unlikely that you're anything like him, but that's something i can't solve for you either way. I haven't spoken much about my oldest sister in detail but they were cruel to me in ways that have shaped the majority of my neurosis. and i still don't hate them, because people who try aren't worth hating. you seem like you could be more like them

maybe not personality-wise though. i can't imagine them sending an ask like this to a random stranger haha. but i don't really know them very well anymore, so, who can sayyy. they've got mad memory issues too tho so there's that.

[yikes-kachowski]

"Not to mention, I don't think the equalist movement is completely without merit. I actually have a lot of thoughts on equalists and nonbenders in general in meta and in universe."

I 100% agree, would you mind elaborating on this?

I swear had my thoughts on this written down some where but it looks like I do not. So @shalheretical is usually the one who handles these types of questions for me, but I'm doing this one. Sorry if it's not as good as it could be.

I want to start with the meta because I like to use the meta to inform the way nonbenders are seen in their society. In the meta, nonbenders have three ways they can be: evil, useless, or good at everything warriors. All nonbenders who are good and useful have to be smart and perfect at fighting and usually can't fight benders alone. Other nonbenders in any position of power are either evil and conniving or stupid and naive.

Nonbenders are also less spiritual than benders. They don't consider the environment. That's constant. In the show, in the comics, a nonbender looking for ways to become equal to benders or provide for their community is usually careless toward the spirits. They are almost insulting nature by thinking they can have power.

Bumi's plotline of being disconnected from his cultures because he can't bend was "solved" by him getting bending. After he gets his bending he tells Tenzin, "I never felt like an air nomad." Tenzin tells him, "Well you are now." Why only now? Why not you've been a part of your culture all along? Why couldn't the writers find a different way aside from giving him bending?

In TLOK they show nonbenders literally havinng to watch what they say around benders because it's so easy for them to be bullied into silence. The bender that harmed them for speaking their mind being Korra, by the way. Not to mention later when we hear them pleading "youre our avatar too."

Fanon has this issue too. The issue i lovingly call "the bumi problem." When trying to solve the way aang and katara made bumi feel excluded they say "he trained with sokka and suki, and became a great warrior." That's not the issue though. He doesn't need to be sent off to other people, he needs quality time with his own parents in his own culture. His siblings get a sacred practice that they spend hours paracticing with their parents each week. Obviously, bumi wants that too. But no one says "he learns how to cook air nomad food with aang" because that makes his skills less important. It's not about the fighting ability, it's about the culture and love.

Now, in universe stuff.

Bending is tied with power, inherently. The avatar, most powerful person, can bend four elements. That's how they show they are favored by the spirits and they are in charge. The fire nation sought to wipe out everyone who wasn't a firebender. They used their own nonbenders as canon fodder. (This colonial fire bending supremacy could have taken some hold in the places they harmed)

The racketeering from the triads also unfairly targets nonbenders as does all violence in the atla universe. They are the most helpless in any given situation. Hiroshi Sato brought his daughter up training in self-defense. That shouldn't be a requirement for nonbenders to feel safe.

The police in their universe, have a specialized team of metal benders to violently restrain people with whips.

In their universe, it just takes one bad night from a bender for your whole home and livelihood to be destroyed. This goes back to the racketeering, but also just one drunk earthbender getting angry. And the law does not seem to protect them.

Beyond that, imagine being raised your WHOLE LIFE knowing that the spirits didn't bless you, but they did bless the fire nation soldiers that murdered your grandparents. And they did bless the triad member who steals half your paycheck.

The nonbenders also seem to be shoved into on neighborhood according to TLOK season one which is just uncomfortable. Is there nonbender red-lining? Are they all so low income they can only afford to live there?

Lastly, in TLOK, after the equalist movement is brought down (firstly, i find it sort of disappointing in a meta way that nonbenders could only be granted power from a bender) no one even entertains the idea of looking at ways to make things more equal. No one even considers it.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts. This isn't 100% solid, but it's angles to consider. I find it interesting anyway. If you have a different perspective feel free to share :)

[jamiedc-they-them]

Family, no matter where what

Summary: Gwen has a sibling with the same powers. With a strong bond, you both find out about the multiverse, and it may just be the thing that breaks you.

Spoilers for both films!

Gwen's father finds you just near the end of his shift, someone had called in hearing some bangs coming from an alleyway.

All he finds instead, is a kid. Alone, scared, maybe amnesia. A single band on their wrist.

"Hey, kid. Hey, hey," he says, hands raised as you back away from him. He sees how you then look around, as if sensing something else. He just takes it as you being scared and adjusting as best you can to this new situation.

"It's ok, it's ok," he assures you. You approach him a bit, seemingly trusting him a but more now that he respected your space, "do you have anywhere to go?" You shake your head, "any parents?" Again, a head shake, "a name?" You think, then, seemingly frustrated with yourself, you shake your head 'no' for a third time.

He can't just leave you here, and god knows he knows how cruel orphanage places CAN be sometimes, so he takes you home.

Gwen comes to greet him, but she seems to know something is wrong on instinct, "who's this, dad?" She asks, looking at you with soft eyes, and not mistrust.

"Gwen…" he says, stepping aside to let her see you, "this, uh, well they don't really have a name," he says, scratching his neck.

"Oh," she says, scratching her neck as well, looking at you with sympathy. You smile a bit, before your eyes go back to the floor again.

"Would you be able to, I don't know, help them set up a bit, please?"

"Of course," she says, instantly going back to being more preppy, "come on, kid!" She holds out a hand for you, and waits until you're ready. You then take it, and she takes you to her room. You take it all in.

You point to her trans flag and look to her, head tilting a bit, "oh, that. Yeah, still people out there who think people who are different is wrong. I don't think so. I think being different makes you cool; unique." Her outlook on things makes you smile. You're technically different. You nod. She nods too with a smile, glad to have helped you feel at ease.

A siren goes off, you both look to the window. She looks back to you, and sees waves above your head. They just stand out to her.

"Oh, my god…" She says softly. You jolt at the police radio, and in an instinct your hand is held put.

Web comes out.

"You're like me," She says, finishing her now confirmed thoughts.

You look at her in fear, as if you've done something wrong.

"No, no, no," she says quickly, waving her hands in front of her, "It's ok. It's ok, I promise!" She assures you.

She puts her finger to her lips, and gestures for you to follow her. You do, and she unlocks her drum. In it, is an outfit.

She then holds her hand out in a position similarly to yours, and Web comes out.

You look to her with wide eyes. She chuckles, but it has a hint of relief to it, "you'll be ok, kid, " she assures, "I'll help you."

She does. She's patient with you. Kind. Loyal. At school and with this whole thing. She tells you about the gifts you have. Helps you control them, but makes you promise not to tell Captain Stacey. You swear.

He, meanwhile, sees how you both are with each other. You bring out a warmer side to her; she brings out your more curious and open side.

On the year anniversary of you being found, they adopt you.

Gwen had always been jealous of people having siblings, and now that wish has been granted.

You make a good team - she helps you with a suit. You can read each other like a book.

She tries to help you with your band, as it seems to adapt to the growth of body mass and age, but neither of you find anything other than it just seemingly a normal band.

Then you meet Miles and a group of other Spiderlike people. Peter assures you that while having two Spiderpeople in one universe is rare, he is sure that there must be others where that is true.

It's fun, and nice, to have other people to trust as well. People who understand.

It helps you both forget about your best friend dying. Miles becomes that to you both. You haven't healed, but you're trying to now.

But then it's over, and you're both together, but also alone, again.

Stoll though, you have each other, that's something.

But then your father finds out, and you both unmask in front of him. And, as much as he doesn't want to, he attempts to arrest you both. Gwen begs for him not to do it, but puts herself in front of you just in case it goes sideways.

The other two spider people you met when subduing Vulture appear, saving you. They both give you a chance. A second chance to be understood, to be with people like you.

You both look at each other, and nod. You take the trip to the hub of other spider people.

Miguel is distant to you moreso than Gwen, but you just put that up to how you've always been. You have always been one who could easily slip into the shadows; that, and you didn't talk much. But, still, you don't let it get to you, as you're among an almost Spider-family.

Gwen had never seen you be so happy, making new friends. She's happy for you. And you both adapt to this way of living while on missions.

Gwen offers to ask Miguel about your band, and does so when you're away on a mission. When you return, she hugs you, glad you're safe, but gives you the bad news of there being nothing new to learn. Just a regular old band.

You are saddened, but accept the news. Your hand goes over the band, and a sort of light seems to come from it; but when you remove your hand, it's like it never happened. You just put it up to lighting or something from this place.

You both go and visit Miles, and you love being with your best friend again. Don't get yourself wrong, the Spidercrew are great, but the three of you made a good trio. You were helping each other grow and heal.

That, and you made him feel less alone with the secret of being Spiderman.

The two of you are told to leave him, to never return, because of the damage the Anomaly has done. It hurts you, but your sense goes off for some reason. You look to Gwen, herself isn't going off, just yours.

"Y/N," she says to you, "I'll meet you there, ok?" You find it odd of her asking you to go first, but she just gives you one of her 'trust me' smiles. You give her a small one back, give seemingly one more goodbye to your best friend, before going through the portal.

Miles, however, hears the rest of the conversation. It's one of the reasons why he goes through.

During the chase, when Gwen falls due to being distracted, Miles tells you to stay on The Spot's trail. Despite the annoyance at not being able to help Gwen, you trust Miles, and so listen to him.

Your friend Hobie, respects your lack of talking. Tells you it's good as it's what makes you with everything going on, but also that actions always speak louder than words.

Gwen had told you about cannon events, how there was order to things. Things had to go a certain way, and your job was to keep it all in order. But you do respect Miles trying to save Pavitr the pain of loss.

Miles succeeds, but you then see the damage it causes.

Hobie says your name, seemingly spotting (ha) something you don't. But you hear Gwen reprimand him, saying that's a subject for 'later'.

You pretend you don't hear it; pretend their words got lost over the noise of everything.

The rest of the Spidercrew, and this is the first proper time Miguel spoke to you; other than telling you about a mission or during a debrief, or ordering you to get patched up. You've never seen him this angry.

He looks at you with so much anger, "and you," he seethe, even pushing you a bit, "why didn't you stop him?"

"Miguel, enough," Gwen argues. Her defensive side coming out to play.

He just dismisses her, face inches from yours. But, you do hold his gaze, "you gonna give me an answer?"

"Miguel, mate," Hobie tries.

"Enough out of you," he snaps, eyes still on you.

"My job. Saving people," you say, knocking your head against his. Hobie whistles in respect.

Peter tries to intervene again, but is met by silence.

Finally, Miguel pulls back. Gwen approaches you, putting a hand on your shoulder. She squeezes it.

Miguel then shows the massive webs of the Spiderverse (you agree with Miles' name for it. Goes with the theme you all play by after all).

You had never actually seen it before, and look around it in awe. You see Gwen and yours timelines.

Scratch that, you realise. Gwen's. You're not there.

You look at her, she looks away.

"Where's mine? Where am I in this?" You ask her in a quiet voice.

She doesn't answer.

"Here," Miguel says, voice cold, but not as angry this time. There's almost, ALMOST, a sense of sadness to it? You aren't sure.

He puts a hand on your back, turning you to a strand high above. He holds out his hand, and it comes down.

"Go ahead, kid," he says, not unkindly, "take a look."

You hold out your hand that has the bracelet on it. Those lights come back again, but you see them this time. The image of the innocent bracelet flickers away for a moment, and there, on your arm, is the bracelet that Gwen wears. Or, a version of it, at least.

Your eyes are wide, heart thumping on your chest. You always wondered why you didn't need one, people had plenty of theories to put you at ease, even your friends.

You then look to the circle, an unknown Spiderperson is there, holding someone.

You.

"Who - who are they?"

"A rogue. Went back and changed events." Miguel says, simply, before turning back to Miles and his protests about this fate thing.

He's locked down, you aren't. You look to Gwen, who looks down. You look to Hobie, he looks at eyes with a mix of things (guilt, relief, anger, sadness) but then subtly moves his head to the exit. He then nods to Miles. You know what he's saying.

So, as soon as Miles realises what he's done, break out, you both do what Hobie suggested. You run.

You both seem to know which way to go to split up the seemingly endless Spiderpeople chasing you. Despite Gwen going for Miles, she sees you leading your own pack too. She's scared for both of you, but the mission. Part of her says fuck the mission; but another part says to see it through, it will all work out in the long run.

It won't. She knows that. She knows it'll only hurt you both.

You and Miles are both saved by Peter, who tries to get you both to understand. You thought you'd found another father figure, one who understands all this. He's genuine with his words, but you dont know who to trust anymore.

"Y/N…" Miles stops himself, unsure of what to actually say to you.

"Your dad," is all you say to him, "we can save him. We just need to get you to the machine."

Miles nods, glad you're on his side, but he clocks how you don't say 'we'.

"What about you?"

"I will distract them."

"That's suicide!"/"Kid, no!" Are the protests from the pair.

No time to argue, the other spiders are here. Peter swears he didn't bring you both here to trap you. Part of you believes him.

"Too late," you say to your friend, before you both plummet through the inner workings of this place.

You both make it to the train, making sure Miles is ahead of you. A Web then catches your foot, and Miguel leaps, slamming you into the train, spit flying from his mouth as he tells you, "I'll deal with you, later!" As he then goes after Miles.

"Y/N!" Gwen shouts. You find some strength in you, continuing to crawl towards Miguel and Miles, "Y/N, stop! Please!" You can hear your sister friend Spiderperson call out to you.

You ignore her, and instead keep going towards the one person you can trust. He gets himself out of his rut, but as he swings away, he first a Web to you. You grab on, and follow him.

You get to the machine. You place some, what toMiles looks like, mines.

"What are those?" He asks, getting the number he needs to go back home.

You hit a button, and it fires out a bunch of webs, creating a shield.

Miles leaps into the machine. It starts up. You hear tearing at the Web, it's Miguel. You put more and more down. He keeps tearing through them.

"Anomalies working together! Of course!" He shouts, tearing through and more of your barriers.

Miles disappears. Then you set yourself up, and leap into it. You feel a hand grab your leg and a yell of 'no!' Before you hit the floor.

"I'm sorry, kid," Miguel says, before holding up his hand. You close your eyes, but if never comes. Opening your eyes, you see his hand being held back. Then another Web on his other hand. It gives you what you need, and you get into the machine.

Looking back at them, you see it's Gwen who did it. She gives a nod. You don't give one back.

Time to get some answers from your home.

Gwen knows you'll write your own story with the answers you find. But, she's been writing hers all along, she realises. You dropped into her universe, and gave her a friend. Gave her a sibling. Gave her someone who understands. Someone who fought by her side. Someone to always have her back.

She didn't always have yours, but she'll do so, starting from now. From this. By letting you go, and trusting you'll be ok.

Sure, she's thrown back to her world. But, it allows her and her dad to talk. It gives her the resolve she needs. She'll save Miles with your Spiderfamily, then she'll find you.

She promises. Swears on her life.

This is one she's not breaking.

[platonicallylovesick]

Some more "ppl defending Mrs. Bakugo" crimes against my mental wellbeing

People on titok are genuinely insane oml

"It's not abuse tho abuse is where its mentally and emotionally affecting the child's well being. and i think Bakugo is completely fine since thats his family's love language." GURL WHAT. GURL. DID YOU WATCH THE SAME SHOW?? IS BAKUGO DEVELOPING A CRIPPLING INFERIORITY COMPLEX AT THE AGE OF 6 NOT AFFECTING HIS WELLBEING???

"this is just for comedy... plus Bakugo is a brat and needs to be slapped sometimes" literally no child *NEEDS* to be slapped. the 16 yr old boy does not NEED to be slapped and esp not in front of his teachers who he genuinely looks up to and respects? ESP NOT WHILE BEING TOLD HE'S THE REASON THAT THEY NEED TO BE MOVED INTO DORMS IN THE FIRST PLACE????

"They're just messing around, have you never had a good relationship with your mother?" I have a lovely relationship with my mom, and there is a SOLID different between being lightly and playfully smacked on the shoulder during a lighthearted conversation AND BEING HIT ACROSS THE HEAD WHILE BEING YELLED AT TO SHUT UP IN FRONT OF *MY ONLY IDOL*

"Plus lets not forget in the earlier seasons this dude was a BULLY plus if you look at Bakugo he isnt even phased by her words he's just mad cuz she hit him. also if you watch the rest of the episode, Mitsuki says to All Might and Aizawa to take care of Katsuki and shows worry for him" oh so there's plenty to unpack here! First up. I WONDER WHY HE WAS A BULLY? I WONDER WHERE THAT 5 YEAR OLD LEARNED THOSE BEHAVIORS?? IT WASNT FROM ALL MIGHT VIDEOS, I PROMISE YOU THAT ?! Next up: "he isnt even phased, he's just mad she hit him." Bbg if you're told you're trash even just once a week for at least a year, you will stop reacting to it every time, in the moment. that does not change the mental stress it puts on you. Now add in the factors of "its def more than just once a week," "that is his MOTHER," "He's already immensely guilty about the situation," and "HE IS A CHILD." Then we have, "He's just mad she hit him." YOU'RE TELLING ME. YOU WOULD NOT BE UPSET. IF YOU WERE HIT BY YOUR MOTHER. IN FRONT OF *ANYONE* YOU RESPECT. LET ALONE THE LITERAL SYMBOL OF PEACE. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE HIT BY *YOUR* MOTHER IN FRONT OF FUCKING IRON MAN?!

Last but MOST CERTAINLY not least: "She shows worry for him." Babe imma hold your hand in an white knuckle grip when i tell you this. I don't think you've ever been abused in your life. Because you do know that most abusers don't wake up thinking "MAN today will be a great day to torment my only son," right? She doesnt think she's abusing him. She's just doing what comes natural to her. She isnt reflecting on what effect her actions have had on her kid, she's the mother so ofc she's in the right and she loves her son so clearly the problem is his peers praising his powers too much, I cant possibly be to blame because i love him! She doesn't think about how its affecting him at all. Hell, it could even be a cycle bc honestly it already is one. When Katsuki is faced with unruly children he correctly identifies that there's some kind of lead kid (because he was a lead kid at that age, he was a problem child), and then HIS SOLUTION IS TO PHYSICALLY FIGHT THE KIDS, USING THE JUSTIFICATION THAT THAT WAS HOW HE WAS RAISED AND IN HIS OPINION HE TURNED OUT FINE.

This is actually a trap I've fallen into myself, I have recommended a little more tough love against my little siblings because I was treated much more harshly at that age than they are now. I WAS NOT IN THE RIGHT. KATSUKI IS NOT IN THE RIGHT. THIS IS HOW MALTREATMENT CHANGES A CHILD'S MIND. THIS IS HOW IT WARPS OUR VIEW OF THE WORLD AROUND US. Unless he gets some serious SERIOUS help, he will carry these experiences with him for the rest of his life. He might become just as terrible a parent as his mother.

His behavior is not his fault. He is a CHILD. A MINOR. If he was in his twenties and has experienced life firsthand and he was still being a bully for no reason or being physically violent with minimal to no provocation, I would agree that he needs a serious wakeup call. Still wouldnt agree with hitting him, but like yeah he's an adult, his prefrontal cortex is fully developed, he should be self reflecting. But AT SIXTEEN. HE IS A CHILD, A LITERAL CHILD. THIS KIND OF HOUSEHOLD ENVIROMENT IS ALL HE FUCKING KNOWS. IT IS THE RESULT OF HOW HIS PARENTS RAISED HIM, WHICH WAS TOXIC, ABUSIVE, AND EMOTIONALLY NEGLECTFUL.

Shoutout to the one guy in that comment section fighting for his life making good points as to the fact that YES Mitsuki is the fucking issue.