#she would've actively had reason to want them out of the way for this

[kiyomitakada]

Light stalks into the hotel room at 1 a.m. It's November 12th already.

They called his mom earlier. He'd almost forgotten, in the midst of it all. Light told her the truth — or as close to the truth as he could get, anyway. The raid. The gunshot wounds. The blood loss. His words came out odd and robotic, which was bad, because it was suspicious. He wasn't sure why he wasn't projecting emotion right.

Aizawa and Ide kept sneaking glances at him through the whole thing. They weren't subtle. Matsuda wasn't either, but at least there was only sympathy in his eyes. Misa held his hand through it all, tracing circles with her thumb. The touch was repulsive. He's pretty sure he'd dug his nails into her palm, considering how hard he'd gripped her hand back, but she hadn't complained a bit.

Sachiko cried. Misa cried, too, even though Dad had never been her father. It felt like an insult to Soichiro Yagami's memory that Light couldn't make the tears come out of his own eyes. He was usually so good at faking it. The dryness felt damning.

"I'll arrange the funeral," he said.

"I'll fly over right away," his mom answered quickly. "I'll get Sayu—"

"No!" He lurched out of his seat without meaning to, then fell back. "Don't tell Sayu."

Aizawa and Ide eyed each other again. He wanted to kill them all.

"We'll have to at some point," his mom said gently.

"I know," Light said. He swallowed. "But Mom, neither of you can come. It won't be safe here. You rented the countryside house for a reason, right? You both have to stay put for now. Mello is still active."

He hoped she would argue. She didn't. "Alright," she said softly. "But you tell me if you need anything, okay, Light?"

"Okay," Light said, and the rest of the conversation was logistics.

It's almost half past one in the morning now. The task force is asleep. Misa is, too, on one of the twin beds they pushed together. He thinks about writing down all the criminals he can in one night and murdering everyone in the building and jumping off the hotel balcony.

"Ryuk," he says instead, as he sits down on the edge of the other bed.

"Yeah?"

He tries to laugh. It comes out wrong, too, but not as badly as the earlier attempt at tears had. "It's funny, isn't it?"

"Wow, Light, I didn't think you were that cold," Ryuk remarks.

"It's just," Light says, "that he only lived one day after trading for the eyes. So even if he hadn't… I guess he wouldn't have stayed alive that long anyway."

Ryuk frowns. "Huh? I don't get it."

"The eyes take away half of your remaining lifespan, right? And Dad wasn't killed by the Death Note, so that really was his natural lifespan. Which means, since he died after one day, he was only going to live two days if he hadn't traded."

It should be a relief. It is a relief. It's not Light's fault. Soichiro Yagami was going to die anyway.

"Wrong," Ryuk says.

Light flinches backwards. It's been five years, but sometimes Ryuk's smile still scares him. "What do you mean, wrong?"

"Welllll… maybe wrong? I dunno, actually." Ryuk scratches his chin with one claw. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I haven't looked at the rules in forever."

"Ryuk, what are you talking about?"

"See, I'm not sure if that half is from how long you would've lived without the Death Note, or if it's from your new lifespan after you get the Death Note."

Light gapes at him. "It's obviously the second one!"

"That's the funny thing, Light-o," Ryuk says, and grins. "You can't know how long someone's gonna live if they have the Death Note. It's impossible. That's why you can't see the numbers over the heads of Death Note owners."

"But — Misa traded half her life away," Light says. "Twice. So it can't be her original lifespan, since that stalker was going to kill her."

Ryuk shrugs. "Who knows? Maybe she's been trading halves of zero this whole time."

"That's… No," Light says. He doesn't notice the way his fingers tighten around his grip on the thin hotel sheets. "No. That would be stupid."

"It is stupid," Ryuk agrees. "You're probably right."

"I'm definitely right." Breathe in. Breathe out. "So you don't know how much time you got from Dad — from my father?"

"No clue," Ryuk says cheerfully. "But it's okay. I've killed oodles of regular people, so I should still have a lot of life left to go."

Light abruptly, desperately hates him.

"I'm going to bed," he says. "Talk to you in the morning."

"Cool," Ryuk says. "I'll go sightseeing."

---

a/n: happy 11/11 :)

[redysetdare]

I think it would've been a lot cooler if the Samadhi fire had been actively trying to go back to Red son. Seeing as he forged it then they could've made it a thing of the fire literally being part of Red son. The fire is as much a part of him as anything else and it being taken away would've definitely weakened him significantly. What if Mei, acting as 4th ring, kept getting weird visions dealing with Red son and she can't quite figure out why. (this also would follow the idea that the visions dont start until the first ring or something as then the fire reacting to itself starts to cause them. which makes more sense narrative wise than it happening randomly at the dragon castle) The other rings react when Red son is around and when the fire is freed instead of going into Mei, Mei loses her part of the fire when it reunites and it shoots off to find Red son.

"Wait, where is it going?"

"Where it's been trying to go all along. Back to the source."

Then it's a race to see who'll get to Red son first.

[heartsforseo]

Straw hats with a member who was formally a celestial dragon's sl@Ve.

A/n: hehehe I always come back... *Insert the afton's bg music* request=?? requested: <yes> <no> wc: 1,140 warning: I only write for fun so grammar could be back. + some ooc?

⭑You found it incredibly challenging to open up to others due to your reserved nature. Despite hoping that Jinbe's arrival would provide an opportunity for conversation, your shyness prevented you from engaging with him. Thus, when a celestial dragon attacked the sunny and remembered you, the entire crew was taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.

⭑Luffy would be SHOOK amid the battle and pause for a bit.

⭑He'd turn and look for you, looking for an affirmation.

⭑Would shout your name a million times until you say something.

⭑When you said yes he'd have mixed feelings (sad and mad generally). Questions would start popping up, leaving him wondering why you hadn't said anything from the beginning.

⭑After he's done with the celestial dragon, he'll drag you and push you to talk.

⭑After your explanation, becoming the pirate king and destroying all the celestial dragons would give him more reasons to do so.

⭑Zoro wouldn't hear about you being a slave. He's either lost or focused on eliminating the marines guarding the boat.

⭑So when he returned to the ship and noticed the uncomfortable atmosphere, he would be perplexed and ask what had happened.

⭑He's not good with words and comforting so he'll just shrug about it.

⭑But he'd still be worried of course. He'd mutter "You can talk to me when you need someone, you know?"

⭑You turned around, making sure that he said it. But he'd turn and walk away.

⭑He's blushing inside and out so I hope you'll take his words seriously!

⭑Unlike Zoro, Nami would be mad AFFF.

⭑She's not just mad at the celestial dragon but also you! The Straw Hats are a family, and there should be no secrets.

⭑Big sister mode activated: When you need to open up, she will be there to provide comfort and gently guide you through the process. She will support you by holding your hand and ensuring that you feel safe and supported every step of the way.

⭑After you're done explaining, she'd try to distract you about the past and would do shopping with you and Robin.

⭑Would def give weird stares to the celestial dragons the crew would meet.

⭑She's now your therapist so congratulations!

⭑Poor Ussop. Boy was already pissing then he found out about your situation.

⭑He'd feel sad after the argument. He never realized something major had happened to you before! I mean, you know how to hide it…

⭑Tried to assist you by offering you coffee and gave some words of encouragement.

⭑For example: "At least you're with us now..." or "That's alright, it was all in the past now."

⭑At one point, he was so worried that he accidentally splashed Zoro's shirt with the coffee he was supposed to give you, causing them to bicker.

⭑It earned you a little laugh, and with that, Ussop was already happy.

⭑Sanji, on the other hand, would pause on what the celestial dragon said.

⭑Whether it was true or not, he directly attacked the celestial dragon.

⭑No female should ever go through that pain. Even if he hadn't experienced it, he knows how hard it would've been.

⭑He'd shower you with praises and affection. "You did so good holding it all up..." or "You're here with us now. You can always rely on us..."

⭑He was also the one who filled Zoro up on what was happening.

⭑Would look at you from time to time to see how you're doing.

⭑ Chopper would be SHOCKED and worried.

⭑He starts thinking about the pain and wounds that you’ve gotten. It clicked to him and finally realized why you used to have a lot of scars on your back + arms.

⭑While you’re explaining to the crew your experience, Chopper went to his office and made some anti-anxiety pills ‘cause he doesn’t want you to suffer anymore. (Robin had to kick him out).

⭑Would look at you endearingly and hold your hand around the ship. He just wants to make sure nothing bad will happen to you!

⭑Other than that, Chopper would still act normal and do some silly stuff with Luffy and Ussop.

⭑Robin is Robin. She already had some suspicions about your past, but she wants to hear the truth directly from your mouth.

⭑When she heard what the celestial dragon said she was a bit shocked. Yes, she had thought about it, but another person who suffered from the world government?

⭑She wanted to hold you right then and there.

⭑If Nami’s sitting on your left then she’d be on your right. She’d pat your back and make you some tea. (Ussop’s coffee did not make it😔)

⭑After the talk, she became your therapist (w/h Nami. 2 heads are better than one they say.

⭑Will try to keep an ear out for you when you disappear on her POV and in an unknown place. (Yes an EAR)

⭑Franky was SUPERRRR shocked. Like Robin, he knew you were hiding something either. But he didn’t push through. Your business is your business.

⭑Would be the one bombing the celestial dragon’s ship.

⭑While you were explaining your past, Franky was crying loudly and was playing sad music in the corner. (He had to get moved since his crying ws louder than ur voice)

⭑After the incident, nothing major really changed your dynamic.

⭑You both were still goofy and you’d still do the “SUPERRR” pose with him.

⭑But even so, Franky is still glad that your past didn’t affect the present negatively; instead, it made you stronger.

⭑Brook is another person who'll be shocked.

⭑He didn't think much about everyone's past. He likes to mind his own business and when someone opens up to him, he'll listen wholeheartedly and give some advice.

⭑So when you open up to the whole crew he'll just listen. He'd give some side comments here and there but that's that.

⭑Like Franky, nothing would change with your dynamic. He might be a little protective but he knows that you could handle yourself.

⭑The moral of the story is to find someone like Brook.

⭑Jimbei would be mad mad AF

⭑He's Luffy but 10x worse when it comes to the celestial dragon topic.

⭑He was never captured as a slave, but as a member of the Fishman species, he understands the immense hardships that must have been inflicted upon them. Being subjected to torture at the hands of one's kind was an even more maddening experience.

⭑But even so, Jimbei would be happy that you're finally free and is with the crew.

⭑After your discussion with the group, he would politely excuse himself and usher you into a private conversation. His demeanor would resemble that of an older brother, emanating a deep sense of care and understanding, while also imparting his valuable knowledge.

⭑Safe to say you have another buddy to talk with.

A/n: I LOVE JIMBEI SO MUCH.

[meangirls-imagines]

Best Friends?

Description: Leighton and Reader have been best friends since forever and both fall in love with each other. Tension rises when Leighton gets back with Alicia and Reader finally reaches the breaking point.

WARNINGS: ANGST like a mf.

leighton didn't know what to do.

her best friend was ignoring her. y/n hadn't talked to her in three days. and leighton was absolutely clueless. 

she had tried to reach out to y/n's roommates to figure out why she wasn't talking to her but none of them could tell her either. the blonde was picking her brain for everything she might have forgotten. 

birthday? nope.

friendiversary? nope.

she couldn't think of anything. she had even talked to alicia about it and her girlfriend just shook it off to y/n going through something. alicia reassured her that she would be fine and offered to take her girlfriend out for the weekend to cheer her up. as much as leighton didn't wanna leave, maybe this is what she needed. so, her and alicia packed a couple of bags and drove to new york for the weekend.

back at essex, y/n was in the weight room. it was well past midnight but y/n's thoughts were racing. she kept curling the barbell in her hand. 

all she could think about was leighton. 

how she smiled when y/n made a bad joke. 

how she cuddled up to y/n when it was their weekly movie night.

how she always gave y/n the first cookies when they baked together.

y/n usually wouldn't be thinking this hard about the blonde but something made her feelings go all over the place. 

or, more like someone.

alicia.

it wasn't that y/n didn't like alicia. it's more like alicia didn't like y/n. the girl didn't like y/n the first time her and leighton dated and she doesn't like her even more now that they are out. she never shows her disdain for y/n around leighton though. she doesn't want the blonde to know. 

y/n began to run on the treadmill when a text came through on her airpods.

from bestest friend in the whole world: hey, we haven't talked in a minute. i just wanna check in on you. you're worrying me. alicia took me to new york so if i don't hear from you by the time i come back, i'm hunting you down.

from bestest friend in the whole world: i just saw your location...why are you at the gym this late? you only do this when you're really going through something.

from bestest friend in the whole world: do you wanna facetime and talk? alicia is asleep but we can stay quiet.

y/n got tired of the messages and turned her phone off. 

so much for a peaceful workout.

that became y/n's routine for the weekend. sleep most of the day, workout most of the night.

she received multiple texts and calls from leighton but they all went ignored. luckily for y/n, when monday came around, leighton couldn't come kill her due to her being busy. she managed to hold out until thursday, a whole week since she had talked to the blonde last. 

leighton was a storm that was just waiting to unleash her power. y/n still hadn't talked to her and of it wasn't for alicia taking her on a date every night this week, y/n would've already faced the wrath. 

y/n was in her dorm watching youtube, doing her homework when there was a loud knock on the door. groaning, she got up and out of her room, fully expecting one of her roommates to be on the other side.

boy, was she wrong.

leighton stood on the other side, angrier than y/n had ever seen her. the girl gulped audibly as the blonde pushed her way into the room. "oh, sure, invite yourself in why don't you?" the blonde turned her death glare back to y/n. "yeah, it's the least i can do after my best friend practically ghosted me for no reason for a week!" 

y/n rolled her eyes and went to go back to her room when leighton stopped her. "what is wrong with you this week? you haven't talked to me, you've actively avoided me, and whitney told me that you seemed tired in practice all week. care to explain yourself?" y/n sighed. "no, i don't care to explain myself leighton. wasn't aware you had gone low enough to get your roommate to spy on me."

leighton scoffed. "can you blame me? now, i'm calling for a mandatory sleepover so i can pick that brain of yours and figure out what's going on." y/n shook her head. "don't you have a girlfriend to attend to?" leighton looked at y/n confused. "no, she's at the center tonight doing slam poetry. why would i have to attend to her?" 

y/n shrugged. "i don't know, just seems like you guys are attached to the hip and she refuses to let you do anything on your own." leighton's jaw dropped at y/n's words. did y/n always feel this way? had leighton been a bad friend?

"what do you mean? are you jealous of our relationship? i told you i could hook you up with someone, y/n. why didn't you tell me?" y/n avoided the question. "leighton, i have a ton of homework to do. go back to your dorm." leighton shook her head. "no, we need to talk this out. are you jealous of me and alicia?" after a few minutes of back and forth, y/n finally snapped.

"you know what leighton? yeah, i am jealous. i'm jealous that alicia is the one who gets to hold your hand in public. i'm jealous that alicia gets to take you on dates. i'm jealous that she gets that smile of yours that you used to only reserve for me." leighton stood shocked but y/n kept going.

"i'm jealous she gets to kiss you and sweep you off your feet and treat you like the princess you are. but most of all, i'm jealous that she had the courage to ask you out before i did." y/n had tears streaming down her face, as did leighton. the blonde's voice cracked as she tried to walk towards y/n. "y/n..i-i had no idea. i-" 

y/n held her hand up. "just go leighton. i can't do this right now." and with that, she turned, walking into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her, leaving a crying leighton in the common room.

the blonde grabbed her purse and went back to her dorm.

both girls cried themselves to sleep that night. y/n because she thought she ruined her friendship with leighton. 

leighton because she finally realized she was in love with y/n.

[authorhjk1]

Could you do blue?

https://kpopping.com/kpics/210607-ITZY-Instagram-Update-Lia

Blue

(Lia X Male Reader)

You were surprised when your girlfriend asked you, if you wanted to help out a fellow idol. Asked is maybe the wrong word. At that point, Karina was almost begging you to sleep with her friend.

You didn't know she had that kind of fantasies. But if that means you can be with her and another woman, you are certainly not complaining.

She told you that Lia is currently on hiatus, due to health issues. She wanted you to take care of her mental and physical health at the same time. Which resulted in you, now forcing Lia onto her knees, just after she finished her ice cream.

The strong wind of the sea makes her hair wave behind her as she starts to unbuckle your belt.

The way she sucked on her ice cream just now, already told you that she wanted you to use her. Her tongue, giving her cone long licks while she stared at you, was more than obvious.

You place a hand on her cheek as she pulls your pants down. The cold air hits your cock, before Lia quickly wraps her lips around it. Looking up at you, she starts to bob her head, trying to get you into her throat as deep as you can go, right from the beginning.

You'd like to think that your regular use of her holes is one of the reasons to why she is slowly recovering, but the doctors probably deserve more credit than you.

"Oh, fuck."

You groan, feeling Lia's tight throat around your cock. She has become way better at this throughout the last couple of months. Her tongue is more active now and she is able to take all of you down her throat now.

"Can you please...?"

Despite the fact that she is giving you head at a public beach, Lia is still to shy to ask, if you can fuck her.

You help her up, knowing what she wants, before lifting her off the ground. Sand isn't usually something you should have sex in, so you hook your arms underneath her legs, making Lia lock her ankles behind your back.

You feel your cock rubbing against her bare pussy. When was the last time you saw her wearing panties? Probably a couple of months back. Lia is always eager and ready to let you use her, however you like. Panties would just be in the way of that.

You lift her up a little higher, feeling your tip brush against her wet folds. With a loud moan from her, you sink Lia onto your cock. You give her time to adjust as she slowly slides down your length. Her juices are already dripping from her pussy as she buries her head in your shoulder.

Soon, you hold onto her a little tighter and start to make Lia bounce up and down on your cock. Her moans are ringing in your ears as she feels you reaching incredible depths inside of her. Luckily, there was no one around and the strong wind would've muffled her voice anyway.

"Yes, please."

Lia starts to beg like she always does.

"Please, make me cum. I'd do anything."

She sighs into your ear as you thrust upwards, while you drop her onto your cock. Her pussy is trying to drain you already as it squeezes your cock.

You slowly begin to reach your climax. Lia's pussy is just too tight for you to handle for much longer. It feels like, over the last months, her pussy has been shaped into your personal cocksleeve. It perfectly wraps around your cock, making it impossible for you to stay inside for a long time.

"Fuck, Lia."

You moan again, kissing her neck as she holds onto yours.

"I'm gonna fill you up."

"Yes, please. Give me your cum."

She moans, trying to make you bounce her a little faster on your cock.

You almost have to chuckle at Karina's ridiculous argument. She really tried to convince you to do this.

"There is a study that shows, women who get cum inside of them regularly, are more happy all around."

You never noticed that about Karina, but maybe she is already happy enough.

While thinking about your girlfriend, you finally hold Lia in place as your cock is buried deep inside of her.

"Fuck!"

You groan out loud, feeling her pussy clenching around your cock as you unload inside Lia. She moans into your neck, welcoming your cum inside of her. She feels its warmth warm her whole body up. Her mind becomes a little clearer.

----------

Hi everyone!

Hope you guys are doing well.

I also hope that Lia is doing well too, since she actually is on hiatus due to mental health issues, I believe. Crossing my fingers she is getting better.

Stay healthy!

[raineydays411]

My Father's Daughter

Part 9

Summary: You've been at the Wayne Manor for over a month.

In some weird way you understand Christine.

You understand why she tries so hard to spend time with you while you're in her home. Why she begs for you to get off of your phone and cook with her. You get why she tries to make the other kids be nice to you. Scolds them harshly when they make snide comments underneath their breath about you.

Truly, you do.

You just...genuinely don't give a shit.

You don't care that she feels bad that she abandoned you for a completely other family and you don't care that she feels like she's losing time to create a bond with you.

You did not care.

Really, you didn't.

"Um,kid... you know I love you but I'm really not that kind of doctor" Bruce Banner said awkwardly over facetime.

You sigh. "Yeah I know B. You were just the first one to pick up the phone."

"Ouch." Banner laughed, " you know, you really are your fathers child."

You smile, one of the rare times you actually did nowadays. " How is the old man?"

You haven't been able to call him since he was paranoid whoever wants you would track your phone calls and find out where you are.

"Your father is even more annoying now without you than he ever has been in my entirety of knowing him" Banner deadpans, " He misses you a lot kiddo, we all do."

You smile sadly, missing your family.

It was hard, seeing these people you barely knew, with a mother you barely knew, stuck in a house you barely knew.

And the fact that they feel like a family. They argue and play jokes on each other. They eat with each other every afternoon ( Bat activities at night), Bruce kisses Christine goodbye when he goes to work. It was so domestic in its weird little ways.

But you didn't fit in.

They laughing and the jokes stopped whenever you walked into the room. The conversations were stale.

It was depressing.

It's not like they ignored you, oh no. That would've been preferable.

No half of them trip over their feet to try and include you in whatever they're doing.

Dick will turn blue chatting your ear off about whatever he thinks will get you to open up to him and Christine?

She will bend over backwards, frontwards, and sideways just to get you to acknowledge she gave birth to you. Every night she comes into your room and tries to talk to you about your life. And every question is met with a dull answer

"So any boys that catch your interest here?" " I don't know, I can't leave the premises"

"Were you in any sports? You look like you'd be a cheerleader like your momma!" " I was in mathletes and debate like Pepper"

"You really are beautiful my baby" "Thanks, everyone says I look like my dad"

It really was a struggle to get you to open up. Almost everyone at the manor had a hard time even starting a conversation with you.

Everyone except of course Alfred and surprisingly Jason Todd.

Alfred won you over as soon as you moved in. He vouched for you when you needed time alone and brings you snacks>

Jason is a whole different story.

See, the reason why it's so hard for everyone to talk to you is because they all refuse to acknowledge the elephant in the room. They're treating you like you were some other orphan Annie they decided to adopt and you just have no family waiting and missing you.

Jason doesn't.

In fact, it was him who caught you trying to sneak out of the mansion the first week you were there. Instead of scolding you or telling on you, he took you out.

"A cap and sunglasses? Kid, that's not a disguise."

"What do you mean?"

He took you to a diner he frequents, a tour of the rooftops to avoid people, and to the safe house he took over from Bruce.

"Tell me about your life." He demands, not asks.

You smile and tell him about it. Your life growing up with the Avengers, school and what major you're going for, that brief fling you had with Pietro before you had to move to Gotham.

It was nice. To be with someone that didn't want to change you. He didn't try to force you into forgiveness and let you vent. He even gave some pretty sound advice.

"You know, at some point you are going to forgive her." He says ignoring your indignant stare, " You don't gotta be bestfriends with her or anything, but that anger is going to either slowly consume you or slowly go way. And believe me, you want it to slowly go way."

And he was right in some ways. The longer you're there, the less anger there is and the more hurt replaces it. It festers inside you like some disease. The symptoms slowly leaking out every time one of them calls her mom.

Every night she comes into your room and tries to pry into your life as if she didn't voluntarily leave it, you feel it.

Everytime you see her brush Cassandra's hair out of her eyes, or kiss damian on the forehead. It's the gentle way she smiles whenever she sees Tim hyperfocused on mission reports, and the way she gets so excited whenever Dick or Jason walk through the front door. Hugging them and chiding them for not visiting more.

It hurts you that they truly are a family.

And after a while, it gets hard for you to try and say that you truly didn't give a shit.

Because honestly, you did

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

Taglist: @stupendousnightmaretrash @opheliaas-stuff

[yinwaryuri]

Jack and Joker: The Bank Scene

Happy Monday my friends, we finally are getting our gay heist show! YinWar truly have outdone themselves with the level of quality they've put into it and I couldn't be more excited or more grateful.

I wanted to break down the scene where Joke robs the bank because, given my experience in banking, it's was scripted very purposefully in favor of suspending our belief. Admittedly, my experience is in the US, and not all financial institutions operate the same, but for safety and security measures they're pretty standard across the board.

I was really appreciative of the disclaimer given ahead of time. It speaks to the research that was done for the sake of how much they could accurately portray the events, and when that seemed impossible and they couldn't let go of the scene, they said fuck it - gay story over realism it is. This break down is certainly not to dig at the writing; it's more to buff my knowledge than anything.

We love you YinWar, thanks for having respect for bank employees. Now let's get to the employees I don't respect, and the non-employee that I do.

For the most part, security officers don't need to do more than greet customers, and if there is any suspicion he shouldn't immediately interrogate someone. He's there for when things get escalated, or if there are any faces he should be looking out for (anyone banned from a branch for any reason), then he can confront them. If Joke had made an attempt at another location and that one tipped off others, then he would have a reason to suspect him.

Joke's mistake here: Being seen. He is so identifiable throughout. The show didn't bother checking any CCTVs, but he makes no attempt to hide from them. Instant jail. Sorry my guy. He also chooses a very unusual method and time of day to strike.

Since the officer did confront him, Joke gives an excuse.

This was a good call. If someone from another location or office, or a third party contracted service is coming, the employees would be notified beforehand of whom they should be and during which times. And even if the person is easily recognizable physically, they will have company identification on them, and if the security measures are extra strict, a form of government ID would also need to be shown.

LOUD WRONG ANSWER BUZZER

So what Joke is going to look for is someone who appears less competent. He looks at the older woman who likely has years under her belt and knows he has no chances there. But the girl to her left....

TARGET ACQUIRED

And she's already in trouble.

Oh hon.

That's never a situation I'd want to be in. Calling customers to inform them that there's been a mistake made on their account is never fun and it often is hard to reach them. There are ways of simply correcting the error and informing the person after it's been done just so they know what to expect when they look at the activity on their statement. Whatever the case, she's new, inexperienced, and having a bad day.

The balls he has to say this. Bestie. Have you ever touched banking software.

He's just getting her out of the way. If she had received any proper training and meant to apply it at all, this would've been a red flag. She is trusting the judgement of the security officer. Joke hasn't introduced himself by name and if he meant to help fix the mistake he wouldn't make her leave. It would be her responsibility and a good training opportunity. Instead, this happens....

She's risking so many things! Security within the immediate premises, security of the bank's information, confidentiality of the customers' information (which is literally their government ID, home address, other contact info, ALL of their accounts and activity). Absolutely a bad move.

GIRRRLLLL. That is on you. I saw her hesitate, but in the end just knew it was bad. At least where I've been, that possibly means fines and/or jail time for her as well, depending on the severity (most likely fines though). This poor girl is gonna have the worst confidence about her ability on the job after learning she helped a guy embezzle money. Where's her story?

Joke sends the security guard away, gets behind the desk with Carbon's ID and is likely planning to simply empty his account and leave. Then who should show up but Jack! (Next time please direct him to wait in a queue, your "manager" is supposedly still fixing your little check blunder, remember?)

And even Joke is nervous for a moment because he definitely didn't want to get the cute bartender involved.

Nevertheless, he humors Jack and listens to the bittersweet story of his childhood and his dream of opening a school. I love Jack, I really hope that he is able to open that school someday too.

So this part of the loan process is called the interview. It's where the employee will get an idea of the customer's needs and see if the bank's service is what they're looking for or if there is any particular offers they can make at this time. It's an important process when dealing in person because it will hopefully help the customer know which steps they can take depending upon approval. It's also where documentation is asked to verify what can be approved.

For the most part, Joke's charisma would be fantastic for a banking career because he seems natural at facilitating a conversation that requires someone to open up about their financial needs. He loses marks for not checking actual information, not filing any copies of the information he has been given, not explaining any details about paying the loan down or how having an account works, not starting the account opening process, and the numbers they talk about are vague so we don't even know how much money is in question here (which is probably a writing choice and I'm fine with it).

Instead Joke pulls a Picard and decides to make it so. And flirts at the same time. There's no signage around the branch to speak of this program and he doesn't go into any details, he simply grabs the stamp and seals their fates together.

I do think it's a sweet little change of mind he has. He was simply going to inconvenience Carbon, but what better way to do it (in his mind) than to give the money to the guy who got snubbed because of him?

The office being truly empty does crack me up. Who is supposed to be there and why are they gone? Also, for a bank, that vault is incredibly small. That is a home safe, that is not for securing the assets of the public. Also, most places have updated their protocol to use two people when opening the vault because having two people present also ensures less opportunity for employee theft.

His ass is not wearing gloves!

And, in a final un-bankerly move, he does not count out even the bundles.

FLIRT

I also love that he goes by Joker, but is constantly pulling a Batman exit on Jack.

I feel bad for knowing that I would have absolutely apprehended this man by asking the simplest questions. But I no longer work in that capacity and couldn't give a fuck! Let him do what he wants!

[the-sage-libriomancer]

finally got around to watching ep6 and i am FASCINATED by how well it demonstrates yor and loid's differing talents and priorities. yor is extremely good at using ingenuity to kill/incapacitate threats on sight (especially in a discreet manner), and yet she isn't actually able to identify other assassins, nor is she wary of listening devices at all. then you cut to loid and realize that he's already clocked all the listening devices and suspicious characters all around the boat, and the only reason he hasn't taken care of them or investigated is simply because he doesn't think they're a threat to him (which is reasonable - his presence on the cruise was last minute, all the listening devices seem to be indiscriminate, and none of the suspicious people have paid any attention to loid since he got on the boat).

i think the fact that yor recognizes "bloodlust" and loid recognizes "suspicious activity" really highlights how different their training is: yor needs to be on guard against people who want to kill her, while loid's job as a spy requires him to catch small details that expose other spies. they both notice the threats in different ways, and had loid and yor been working together to protect olka and her son, they would have covered each other's blind spots beautifully - loid would've immediately spotted threats like the assassins in the crowded room, leaving yor to deal with them quickly and quietly. i'm looking forward to seeing what a power couple they are once all the secrets are out and they can finally work as a team.

[fourmoony]

hello, you could do something with Sirius by going to meet the reader's parents (Sirius was insecure about this), but he is welcomed and the reader's whole family seems to love him

thanks for requesting, sweetheart!! 847 words f!reader

this is short and thrown together worse than Sirius' cookies. sorry.

Sirius is crowded around your niece, boxing her in against the counter as she stands on her cooking stool. He'd been the only one left with enough energy to make cookies with her after dinner. It's sweet, the gentle tone he uses with her, the patience he has that allows her to do everything by herself. He doesn't balk when she spills all of the measured flour straight onto the counter, just hands her the bag with extra caution and tells her he'll tidy it up later, that mistakes happen.

They're in their own little world, unaware, or simply uncaring, of the eyes on them. You know a little about Sirius' past; his horrible family, his traumatic upbringing, how he never truly felt loved by anyone except his younger brother until he ran away and the Potters took him in. It would've been enough for you to assume the idea of doing such an activity, that requires such patience and acceptance of mess, would send Sirius spiralling. Except, he's embraced it openly, he was more than willing, and he seems to be truly enjoying himself.

In all the time you've known Sirius, you've known him to love loud and abrasive. He's jagged around the edges, a bright, shattered light of chaos and pure energy. He's over the top, loves too hard, is quick to anger. But with your niece, it's the first time you've ever seen Sirius quiet, soft. He's all gentle movements and murmured encouragements, and you like this version of him, but you find yourself waiting for your Sirius to return. The Sirius who can command a room with a single smile, whose laugh sounds more like a barking doberman, whose presence takes up every last drop of attention.

He'd been so nervous about meeting your family. Understandable, given his own upbringing. But, he never had any reason to worry. Not with the way your sister and mother watch him, black top and jeans covered in flower, dried egg white smeared across his cheek, and still, a wide smile across his lips every time your niece turns around, as if checking he's still there. Still encouraging her. He always is.

"You think you'll have one soon?" Your sister asks. There's a sly smirk on her face, as though the sight before you was purposefully designed to make you broody.

You answer with a shrug. You're not broody, but theres a glow to your heart with the idea of this being healing for Sirius. "Not sure. We've never spoken about it."

Your family don't know about Sirius' past, at his request. He'd wanted to earn their respect, not receive it through pity. You can't wait to tell him they respect him beyond what he could've ever imagined. He'll be so happy. He'd spent the whole way over fretting about whether he'd picked the right outfit, the right aftershave, what he should and shouldn't say. You didn't have the heart to tell him that your family, whether or not they'd met him before, already loved him, simply because of how happy he made you.

"You'd make cute babies." Your sister tilts her head to the side, very obviously ogling your boyfriend and you scoff.

"Subtle."

She shrugs, unfazed.

"I'm just saying. No man I've ever met has the patience for toddlers the way he does." She picks up her wine glass, takes a pointed sip, eyebrows raised.

"We'll see." You reply.

"He makes you happy. It's hard to watch your daughters grow up, navigate life and love," Your mother chips in, hands splayed out across the dining table, "It's hard to watch them fall, pick themselves back up, and fall again. Hard to watch them trust the wrong people. But I have no doubt that man would ever hurt you. He, perhaps, loves you more than anyone in this world."

It's a nice thought. The idea of Sirius loving you most. Your eyes find his, conversation coming to a halt as he lifts your niece out of her cooking stool and she toddles over to your sister.

The cookies are in the oven, and Sirius has gotten straight to the task of cleaning up. You join him, piling bowls and utensils into the dish washer whilst he wipes the copious amounts of spilled flour off of the counter.

"You think tonight went okay?" He asks, nervous eyes flicking to where your mother and Sister are fussing over your niece.

You lean across, lips pressed to the cracked egg white smudged across his cheek, "More than. They love you."

Your boyfriend breathes out in relief, "Thank god, because I have no idea how to make cookies and I need them to already like me when they taste them, in case they fail."

A startled laugh tumbles out of your lips and Sirius follows. Your Sirius, loudest laugh in the room, the man with the biggest heart you've ever known - even if it's bruised and battered.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, babe."

Sirius tsks, "You say that now, let's just wait and see if I give anyone salmonella."

[a-little-ray-of-fantasy]

CherriSnake, as a couple, most likely wasn't in the plans, if you only saw the pilot, but honestly, I personally really enjoyed their dynamic in the show, regardless.

There's a reason why people shipped Cherri Bomb and Sir Pentious all these years: rivals to lovers is always a win. Plus, the confident, spunky powerhouse and the battle oriented, dorky edgelord? It really made sense!

So let's talk about them in the series proper!

Cherri Bomb was never against the idea of dating Sir Pentious. Maybe unimpressed by his awkward attempts, but never really rebuffed them.

If anything she kinda pokes fun at him for trying so hard with her: you say you're my arch nemesis, but then you try to flirt with me?

What, YOU want to make sex with me? Care to explain why?

They've been rivals for years by now, Cherri KNOWS Pentious tends to put up a front to impress, and most likely would've given him a chance if he had the confidence to be true about his intentions.

Sadly, this is Sir Pentious we're talking about: a very insecure man who struggles with socializing and pleasing others. So he blunders his own attempts at flirting to avoid being rejected by buying everyone drinks or wanting to have sex with everyone.

Speaking of that, Sir Pentious, of all people, wanting to have sex? It's really not him, it's not something he'd do under normal circumstances, but he's drunk, all his previous attempts have failed, so he might as well be bold. But even then you can tell by the way he says "Do a sex with me." that he has NO idea what he's talking about.

And she's quick to call him out. Again, not with annoyance but with humor.

Sir Pentious was completely out of his element here, and, being the insecure man he is, instead of going with his strengths (which we're going to talk about in a minute), he went for what HE believed Cherri wanted, and he payed the price: she wasn't impressed, he lost his chance.

Also, I totally believe that the reason behind his struggles to come to terms with his crush is also linked to the fact that... he's a man of science, war and machines! He just can't get a crush, it doesn't work like that! So of course he'd try to mask it!

Of course he engages with Cherri Bomb: she's his arch nemesis! Nothing more! He would never buy drinks for her specifically! ...except nobody will ever buy his lie, and he wouldn't notice how obvious he is.

Next time, we see Pentious trying, and fail once again, to confess to Cherri, but something has changed. He talked to Charlie about it. And while we don't see WHAT they've said to each other, we know for a fact that Charlie totally encouraged him to be himself and confess his feelings.

Heck, if you watch closely, Vaggie even puts a hand on Pentious' own as if to wish him good luck! She's really come to trust him, aw!

And this time, while Sir Pentious still is too nervous to fully confess his feelings, he still goes about it by actually sticking to his strengths, the reason why he fell for Cherri in the first place.

Sir Pentious is an inventor, a warrior, he works with machines. He has engaged in turf wars against Cherri for years and by now he knows her: she's destructive, unpredictable, and unstoppable. She most likely often beat him too, but both gave their all in the battle. And Sir Pentious definitely was impressed by that.

He's not blind, of course he finds Cherri pretty (and let's face it, she is!). But that's the reason he fell for her, something on his league he could recognize and actively engage in: her prowess in battle, her creativity with her explosives, and her determination. And he fully told her that, with clear admiration in his voice.

And this time, Cherri, while still a bit confused on how he's still being awkward about it, this time shows a positive response: she thanks him, she smiles, she genuinely appreciates his compliments.

Reminder that Cherri is much more upfront about, uhm, going out with people. She has slept around, did quick things, and if lore is still the same for her, her love life wasn't a happy one. She's used to have people wanting her for her body, or having surface level attraction to her.

But this is her long time rival, the one man she often faced in turf wars, the edgelord who always put up a front of a grandiose villain when he really was an awkward nerd from the Victorian times that was easy to rattle. And maybe she didn't develop feelings for him the same way he did for her, but it's clear she never held animosity against him. She does care for this lovable loser, deep down, so his compliments are genuinely appreciated.

So when the battle begins, and Adam has started showing the big guns, Sir Pentious gives a quick glance at his blimp, knowing what has to be done, and with the feeling there's a high chance he won't make it.

And so he does the one thing he's always been afraid to do. It's now or never: if he has to go down, he shall do it with no regrets. To heck with fears and insecurities: he loves Cherri, and this time he will show it the way he knows how.

An awkward but completely sweet kiss in the middle of the battle, as her bomb goes off in the background. A gesture that REALLY represents their bond.

Sadly it's short lived. Sir Pentious finally declares his love and runs away to save the day, but still emotional about what happened: the only request he has for her before the deed is simply to remember him.

And I'm positive Cherri will definitely remember this. Him, the kiss, the battle. Everything.

[hitchyboi]

🔥Scorpion/Kuai Liang Headcanons #1🔥

Y'all I'm so sorry about my lack of activity that's been a month at least I think... Been working on projects for college and it's been taking a lot of my time and zapping any energy to write. T^T I promise I'll get more stuff out once my projects are completed, I have ideas and things in the works!

Much like Bi-Han, Kuai's body naturally runs warm however Kuai controls it to make sure he doesn't burn people by just shaking their hands. Bi-Han had no care and doesn't want people touching him.

Kuai also grew up learning to play an instrument, while Bi-Han chose to learn the Dizi; Kuai learned to play the Banhu.

He's a frequent visitor of Madame Bo's, he enjoys visiting after his missions and relaxing with some freshly brewed tea she serves. He always makes sure he's in more relaxed and casual clothes as its his time to unwind and relax from his duties.

Has a specific table at Madame Bo's that he will ALWAYS sit at, it has become his table at this point. It's a simple table located closer towards the windows where the sun shines pleasantly onto. A small image of a scorpion has been carved into the wood of the table after one night he went there with his brothers and had a little more sake than he should've.

Absolutely brings Tomas to Madame Bo's as well if they both have the time or after another dispute between Tomas and Bi-Han has happened.

Daddy's boy, Kuai adored his father and worshipped the ground he walked on. He wanted to be able to make him proud and work hard for the Lin Kuei and Earthrealm's protection. His father was his idol.

Giant Family man

Kuai is the peacekeeper both between his siblings and in the clan itself. He wants nothing more than his siblings to get along and tries to find compromises and ways to dim the fire Bi-Han directs towards Tomas. Because he's used to being the voice of reason many clan member's will go to Kuai rather than Bi-Han when they have concerns, knowing Kuai will take the time to listen to them and find a more effective way to bring it up to the grandmaster.

Multiple clan members have made comments of how Kuai would've been a better Grandmaster but Kuai shoots them down and defends his brother each time. Until Bi-Han betrayed him.

Has always looked forward to finding a partner to marry and have a family of his own to take care of. Kuai wants to be as good and noble a father his own father was to him.

Kuai is an avid reader in the small moments of free time he can get. He enjoys sitting out in the gardens on a calm morning and relaxing with a good book. He's a sucker for romance.

Big animal lover, specifically cats as they also naturally draw towards Kuai due to his warmer body temperature.

Has a pet cat that's his little buddy whenever he's home. The little guy will frequently be cuddled up on his shoulder while Kuai reads or is just going about his daily routine.

Has considered on multiple occasions of getting a pet scorpion... He still considers it from time to time

(@cemetery-sunset 's headcannon; They know nothing about mortal kombat but offered to help XD) Kuai Liang collects postal stamps.

[radioisntdead]

Good luck

Lute x F! reader

Warnings: unhealthy relationship, lightly implied unholy romance bedroom activities, OOC.

Song used

This went in a totally different direction then it was supposed too.

It's fine, it's cool

You were a good person when you were alive, you loved the Lord, you helped out the elderly, you loved your neighbors, you treated others the way you would've wanted to be treated, and you were rewarded with a shiny halo and a pair of soft, lovely wings.

You were proclaimed a winner, and while the name was a little on the nose for you, you took it with joy.

One of the people you grew close with in heaven was someone named Lute.

You can say that we are nothing, but you know the truth

She was one of the most beautiful people you've seen, a little rough around the edges but that didn't matter to you!

You stuck around her, and you were 'friends'

And guess I'm the fool

If you could call yourselves friends, because the last time you checked friends don't kiss, friends don't spend mornings with arms wrapped around each other's waists whispering sweet nothings to each other.

With her arms out like an angel through the car sunroof

You sat curled up next to her, watching some type of gameshow, one of her wings was gently wrapped around you, one of the greatest acts of affection you could do with those wings, reserved for only the closest of friends, partners or the most intimate of paramours.

You didn't know what you were with Lute.

I don't wanna call it off

It certainly wasn't friendship you knew that for sure, there was a line between friendship and something more and that line had been crossed long ago.

But you don't wanna call it love

You tilted your head up, looking at Lute, her eyes were stuck on the tv, a faint smile on her lips as someone got an answer wrong.

You only wanna be the one that I call "Baby"

"Hey Lu?"

"Yeah?" She looked down at you, her golden eyes meeting yours.

You can kiss a hundred boys in bars

"I love you." You said gently tracing her wing that was draped over you,

She didn't respond, returning her focus to the TV,

Her wing curled around you a little tighter then before.

Shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling

Friends didn't pack the other lunch and then send them off to whatever the heck Lute did with a kiss.

You can say it's just the way you are

"Have a good day, Lu!" You said cheerfully as you handed her a lunchbox filled with whatever delicious meal you had gotten gotten up early to make,

"I will, see you later tonight." She responded planting a kiss on your cheek before moving to leave, you grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a proper kiss before letting her go on her way.

You didn't miss the way she stumbled to make sure no one saw you kiss her, you didn't let the way she wiped her lips sting you like it should've.

She just didn't like having.. wet lips?? You decided, that was an acceptable excuse.

Make a new excuse, another stupid reason

You closed the door behind her, you looked around the empty house, you felt alone.

Good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

Shaking the feeling off you turned on your heel to go get ready for your own job.

Well, good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

Lute consumed your mind, while working you wondered if she was having a good day or not.

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

Your hand hovered over your phone tempted to text her but you decided against it, she'd tell you about her day that night wouldn't she? Plus she didn't like you calling or texting her while she was with others.

Good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

As you sat with your coworkers, cheerfully chatting about whatever, in the back of your mind you wondered if she had eaten yet or not? Did she like the lunch you made her?

Well, good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

You sighed as you got home, closing the door behind you and kicking off your shoes.

you stumbled into the empty house, you glanced around, it felt colorless and bland when Lute wasn't there.

Did it always feel like this?

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

You turned off the heat on the stove as you heard the door open,

"[Name], I'm back," You heard Lute say, a grin broke out on your face as you exited the kitchen to greet lute.

"Welcome back Lu! Just in time too! I made beef stew."

"Sounds good, I'm starved." She said with a small smile.

I'm cliché, who cares

The two of you sat across from each other at the dining room table, you listened intently as Lute talked about her day, making comments about how Adam had done this or that.

It would be a lie if you said it didn't make you the tiny tiniest jealous.

But it's not like she had romantic feelings towards him, not like she did for you!

Although she never called you her girlfriend or anything, just a friend.

It's a sexually explicit kind of love affair

But friends don't do filthy things to each other under the moonlight.

And I cry, it's not fair

You laid flat on the bed, Lute was sleeping calmly next to you.

You loved Lute but you couldn't help but feel a little used, She was affectionate to you in private, which made sense she wasn't a fan of PDA, but she wouldn't even properly introduce you as anything other then a friend.

You'd think you'd introduce the person you shared a nightly bed with as something more then a friend.

I just need a little lovin', I just need a little air

You sighed as you glanced at Lute, she looked peaceful sleeping.

Think I'm gonna call it off

You snuck out of the bed, throwing on your clothes.

Even if you call it love

You wondered if she saw you as anything?

For you she was the light of your life, the reason you got up in the morning.

But what were you to her? A pass time?

I just wanna love someone who calls me "Baby"

You put on your shoes to take a walk outside, it was heaven, it was safe to walk around at night.

You can kiss a hundred boys in bars

You wanted to ask her at that moment, shake her awake and ask her, what exactly were the two of you?

You breathed in the cool heavenly night air, it calming you.

Shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling

You didn't even know what exactly she did for a job, only that once a year for a couple of days she'd walk around with red stains on her uniform.

You can say it's just the way you are

Maybe you were overthinking? Maybe you were overreacting and she treasured you like you did her.

She just wanted to keep it private?

Make a new excuse, another stupid reason

You couldn't keep making excuses for her, you really couldn't.

You shook your head as you made a decision.

Good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

She was off the next day, so you decided to drag her out for a date.

You went to a restaurant, got bubble tea, and went to an arcade.

An arcade where you just so happened to run into the first man.

Well, good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

"Hey Lute, didn't think I'd see you here," he threw a hand patting her on the back, before looking at you, "Who's this?"

"No one Sir, just a friend of mine."

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

Just a friend,

Just a friend

Just a friend

Those three words rung harshly in your head, you wanted nothing more then to run away, your heart hurt.

You weren't ashamed of Lute, you weren't ashamed of your so called relationship or whatever the fuck it was, so why was she?

Good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

The two of them talked about something, you took Lute being distracted as a chance to leave, you made a beeline to the home you shared.

Well, good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

You blinked away the tears of pent up frustration and betrayal, focusing on packing up your belongings.

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

You heard the door being forced open and the slammed closed a moment after, you heard Lute yell your name.

You took a breath.

Ooh, and when you wake up next to him in the middle of the night

She walked into your shared room, anger turning into confused anger upon seeing you packing.

"What are you doing?" She crossed her arms

"Leaving, Lute I don't wanna do this anymore,"

"What are you even talking about-"

"What are we Lute?"

"What?" You caught her off guard.

"Do you even love me? You only refer to me as a friend, but we've kissed and done other things, what is this?" You were calm, you looked her in the eyes.

"[Name]-"

"I don't want to do this anymore, Lute do you love me? Even a tiny bit?"

"It's complicated, you can't just-"

With your head in your hands, you're nothing more than his wife

You didn't give her a chance to finish her sentence,

"Good luck on whatever you do in the future, I won't be part of it."

And when you think about me all of those years ago

You grabbed your bags and slid past her, she yelled something, but you didn't pay any mind.

It was a quick and fleeing thought, but you wondered if maybe one day she'd regret not giving you a straight answer, maybe she'd miss you.

You're standing face to face with "I told you so"

Or maybe she wouldn't miss you at all.

You know I hate to say it, "I told you so"

As you moved into a new apartment you felt like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders.

You know I hate to say it, but, "I told you so"

Sure when that gameshow you used to watch came on you missed having her wing wrapped around you, and sure, you sometimes made a little too much for lunch or dinner.

You can kiss a hundred boys in bars

Sometimes you felt like you should go back to her, try again.

Shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling well, I told you so

But you resisted, opting to spend the time you would've spent with her with friends.

You can say it's just the way you are

Your coworkers and friends remarked that you look a lot more brighter.

Make a new excuse, another stupid reason

Lute missed you, she missed the way you'd curl up beside her.

Good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

She missed the lunches you'd make and the kisses you left.

Well, good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

She wished she made a different decision that day, maybe she'd just told you that she did love you.

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

But it was far too late for that, and so she'd put everything into preparing for the next extermination day, unleashing all her pent up frustration, anger and regret onto them.

Good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

While she was doing that you moved on, the next time she caught a glimpse of you while she was out with Adam, you were locking arms with another winner, her wing wrapped around you.

Well, good luck, babe! Well, good luck!

You looked at your newest sweetheart the same way you used to look at Lute.

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

Lute clutched her hand, a frown evident on her face as her eyes followed you until you disappeared.

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

She snapped out of it when Adam called her over, giving a "Yes, Sir."

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

You had moved on, and she was still the same.

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

Good evening folks! I hope you enjoyed! It's 5 AM at the time of writing and I haven't slept a wink, don't question why the ending is low-key similar to that one Velvette fic I wrote, also I think I've listened to enough 'Good luck, Babe" that it'll haunt my dreams, thank you for tuning in! Until next time folks!

[cyren-myadd]

Do you have any thoughts on the fact that in first scenario Spider was supposed be from Mexico and his name was Javier?

I don't think we ever had any real confirmation of original-Spider's ethnicity or nationality, but when his name was first announced as "Javier Socorro" a lot of people assumed he would be Latino Hispanic (from a Latin American country) instead of White Hispanic (from Spain) like he ended up being. That meant he very well could've been Mexican, or at least half-Mexican on his mom's side since I think he was always intended to be Quaritch's son. I believe they changed his first name to "Miles" to make the connection to Quaritch more obvious.

If Spider had been Mexican, it wouldn't have really changed anything in The Way of Water. He's still a human, and being a different color wouldn't change the way the other characters perceive him. The only thing that would've been different is that he wouldn't have had the nickname "monkey boy/monkey mascot," since having Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang calling a Hispanic kid monkey would NOT have gone over well.

Even though making him a different ethnicity wouldn't have changed the movie itself, I actually think it might've changed the way he was perceived by the audience.

This is a thought I've had in the back of my head for a long time, and this question finally gave me a reason to type it all out. But before I get into it, I do want to say that I am white and American, so I'm speaking from the perspective of a white American when I make this analysis of Spider's character and how he was perceived by American audiences. Now let's get into it:

Spider was a pretty controversial character. A lot of people hated him, but there was also a minority of people who really loved him too (me lol). Some people hated him because they felt like Neteyam's death was his fault or because they didn't like that he saved Quaritch in the end, which are reasons that wouldn't change because of his ethnicity, but there were also people who hated him because of his appearance. Spider was often described as "feeling out of place" and off-putting to some viewers. After I saw the Way of Water with my cousins, one of them (he is also white) told me that he hated Spider. When I asked him why, he shrugged and said, "he's a white boy with dreadlocks!" like that was the only reason he needed.

Now I'm just speculating here, but I think a small part of the reason why so many people can't stand Spider might be because he is white. Not because of racism against white people, but because of the context in which Spider exists as a white person. The Na'vi are very obvious allegories for indigenous American, African, and Maori people, and the RDA is a very obvious allegory for European colonizers and US corporations that exploited those groups. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in America there are social controversies over white American people taking items that are culturally significant to other groups and wearing them as costumes. I know there's a lot of controversy over what is and isn't cultural appropriation, but when it comes to specifically white people wearing specifically Native American clothing, it's generally regarded negatively since most Native American people have said it's disrespectful because the clothing has cultural and spiritual significance.

And then we have Spider, who is not only white, but is also the son of two people who actively harmed the Na'vi, and he wears Na'vi clothing.

In the context of the Avatar movies, it makes perfect sense that Spider would dress and act the way that he does. He was raised alongside the Na'vi so it's all he knows. If you were going to fit Spider into the greater allegory of Avatar, he is similar to the historical figure, Olive Oatman. When Oatman was a child in the 1800s, her family was killed by a group of Native Americans, and she and her sister ended up being taken in by the Mohave people. She lived with them for several years before returning to a white settlement, and during that time she was assimilated into the Mohave tribe, wearing their clothing and receiving traditional tattoos. (Her story is super interesting, you should totally read more about it!). Spider is like a sci-fi version of Oatman, since his parents were killed by natives and he ended up being taken in by them and assimilating into their culture. In the context of modern day culture, a white woman getting Mohave tattoos would be considered appropriation, but in the context of Oatman's situation, it makes sense. Same thing with Spider. In-universe, adopting Omaticaya culture makes sense.

However, if you look at Spider through the lens of modern American cultural context, he looks an awful lot like a white kid dressing up in the traditional clothing of a culture his people harmed. If Spider had been raised on earth and was actively benefiting from the RDA's exploitation of Pandora, then what he's doing would be considered appropriation. But he wasn't. Even though that's not what Spider is, the association is still there. So when people see this "white boy with dreadlocks" as my cousin put it, they feel like there's something wrong with what they're looking at because they associate his appearance with cultural appropriation. I think if Spider had been cast as Latino, he might have been received a bit more favorably by the audience.

Once again, this is all just speculation, I don't really know if Spider's perception would've been different if he'd been a different ethnicity, and I acknowledge that most of the hate Spider received had to do with his character actions. However, I do believe that American audiences may have been partly influenced by the concept of cultural appropriation, which is where that feeling of Spider being "off-putting" comes from. I think it's definitely where my cousin's dislike of him comes from, since it's not about anything he did, but rather how he looks like.

[lovemyromance]

idk why but i think itll be forced if gwyn and az get together. Like say elain accepts the bond and gets with lucien and azriel knows he has to step back and then suddenly he likes gwyn and they started to form a bond and get together. like... no. thats not it at all. like at least do some type of slowburn for gwynriel if elain and lucien get together. (Idk why but I keep thinking itll be like a forcing thing if elain and luc get together because they know they are mates. LIKE IT JUST WONT HIT THE SAME) But, I think thats why im so built up on elriel and cant fully ship the other ships because theres nothing for me to fully ship.

My meeting got cancelled just now and I'm in a silly goofy mood so let me just say this: if I were SJM and I for some reason DID intend to write Elucien or Gwynriel, I would not have done it this way. I don't think any writer would've done it this way.

The way the books are currently written, it is a clear setup for Elriel. People who deny that are those who still hold out hopes for their preference of ship, but the writing does not support that. It has not supported that since ACOWAR.

Not that I am in any way SJM equivalent but here's how I would've done it, starting from ACOWAR, which was when she started actively planning Nesta & Elain's spinoffs. (And this is in no way Anti Lucien or Gwyn. But I'm tagging it anti because I don't want them getting any ideas lmaooo)

1. The second they got back to the Spring Court, have Lucien grow a backbone and tell Tamlin he's going after Elain. Not simply "Get her back" but "I'm getting her back." (Ring any bells?)

Not wait for Feyre to leave and tag along to see if Elain was "worth fighting for", not simply think about how Elain had been thrown at him, not even think about Jessiminda. I would've had Lucien take action himself. He would've left to go after Elain immediately, and Feyre would've followed HIM - or waited till she got the spring court fucked up and then followed him.

2. Have Lucien be patient with Elain. Have more than just one awkward conversation with Elain. Have Feyre observe multiple moments between them. Have Elain slowly soften to him or get used to his presence. Have Lucien sit in the garden with Elain. Have him frown at her words and bring them up to Feyre and actually try to help her. But most importantly I would've had Lucien figure out her powers. (Sound familiar? Good. It should.)

3. Have Azriel go volunteer to find Vassa, not Lucien. Perhaps he goes into the library to research (starting the foundation for Gwynriel very subtly). Have Lucien join the IC as they fight at SC, have Lucien join them at the HL meeting. Have Lucien go into an angry rage at seeing Graysen and how that man's words hurt his mate. Have him comfort Elain and say "I'll wait - however long it takes."

4. Have Lucien save Elain from Hybern's camp. Have Lucien go feral and break the wards around the camp - setting up for his parentage plotline - and winnow in and save her. Have Elain kiss his cheek. Have Elain finally see him in a different light. (Wow where have I seen this before?)

5. Have Elain willingly invite him to Velaris at the end of ACOWAR. Have Lucien take her up on that offer.

6. In ACOFAS, have Elain & Lucien get each other presents. Elain does not get Azriel a gift, just Lucien. She appreciates the gardening gloves. Gets Lucien ... a fishing rod or hair tie or something idk "here's a rod: for all the fish that you catch with your hands" 🤣🤣🤣 Lucien laughs and Feyre thinks "wow I've never seen him so happy"

7. Continue to develop their relationship in the background of ACOSF. Lucien offers to help Elain train her powers in the background (idk how he would but still). He is there at solstice and gets her another gift. Cassian thinks Elain is sneaking around with him but won't admit it. Lucien goes with them to Hewn city and gifts Elain a dress that suits her better and is from the Day court or whatever. There's a bonus chapter with LUCIEN's POV where Elain & Lucien are about to kiss but they get interrupted and Lucien feels bad he pushed her too far so he says sorry this was a mistake. Miscommunication trope ensues.

8. After ACOSF, start their book with a major conflict that comes up immediately. For some reason, Lucien & Elain go to Day court to research and train her powers - maybe they have a Seer there idk. make something up, a la CC3 translation bean. Their friendship has been steadily growing since ACOWAR, and now it turns to love.

I would've set Elucien up for a slow burn, friends to lovers romance from the second Elain got chucked out that cauldron.

But again, SJM did not write it that way. She wrote all those key pivotal moments with Elriel, not Elucien. It would've been so easy to do the storyline above. It would've made us root for them more by the time their book came around. Lucien was a main character since book 1 (before he fell off) so their story would've been eagerly anticipated.

And I could do this same thing for Gwynriel, but she didn't exist until ACOSF so it would be much much shorter and basically would be Nesta noticing ACTUAL romantic moments between Gwyn & Azriel (not "bye Shadowsinger" or "you're new ribbon Az" but actual romantic attraction - like Azriel physically helping Gwyn cut the ribbon and touching her - with her consent ofc - and Gwyn blushing at him). Like - do the antis realize how EASY that would've been? I dare say it would've been easier for SJM to write Gwynriel than any moment with Elriel at that point in ACOSF, because Nesta spent more time with Gwyn.

There's absolutely no way SJM wrote the books this way with all this Elriel buildup, just so she could have a shock factor (?) of "Elain & Lucien are mates but she avoids him for 3 books and gets with Azriel but SURPRISE- Elucien is actually endgame! And Az gets with Gwyn!"

That just doesn't make any sense. At all.

[wishful-thinking64]

One Hell of an Unpopular Opinion #08

Two out of the three Hispanic characters in Hazbin Hotel are deeply rooted damaging stereotypes within Spanish & Latin American cultures and the one that isn't a blatant stereotype is misused. ___________

With Spanish Heritage Month right around the corner and being a Latina myself, I think it's more than fair for me to give my thoughts on the Latinos (in Spanish, it doesn't matter if there's only one guy in a primarily female group, you have to put Latinos) in HH. Let's start off with the least offensive out of the group, Carmilla Carmine.

We're introduced to her in Scrambled Eggs which is Episode #03 of HH. She invited each of the Overlords to a meeting to speak about how brutal this year's Extermination was and what they could do going forward. During said meeting, Velvette throws the head of a decapitated Exorcist on the table for her to try and take control of the conversation. Things before and during the song Respectless (why this song wasn't called Disrespect or Diss-respect is something I'll never understand) escalate as Velvette figures out that Carmilla is the one behind the dead Exorcist based on her body language and when she asks, "You know why this angel's headless? Do you have a disclosure?" Carmilla immediately ends the meeting thereafter, confirming her suspicions were correct. People have already criticized the mystery of the dead Exorcist being solved way too soon, though I haven't seen as many people criticize why the other Overlords didn't look or immediately question Carmilla the SECOND that Exorcist's head rolled on the table? Like, you guys know that she's Hell's top ANGELIC arms dealer, why wouldn't any of you suspect her from the start? Even if she had ended up being a red herring, I would've seen it as the Overlords using the process of elimination and common sense cause why wouldn't the ANGELIC arms dealer kill an Exorcist??? In any case, the reason behind Carmilla killing the Exorcist was to protect her daughters and thus someone we should sympathize with. Except that, we don't know anything about her daughters and we still don't know her. So why should I care? I have no attachment and therefore no proper reason to care for a character I JUST met. And don't get me started on her daughters as they're nothing more than minor plot devices who could've been replaced by Vaggie. Speaking of which...

Vaggie is based on two harmful Latina tropes and one harmful LGBTQ+ trope with these being the "Feisty" Latina, the Crazed Latina, and the Man Hating Lesbian. Whenever the "feisty" Latina is done in media, she's almost never actually feisty but rather plain bitchy. The word feisty is used because the show runners tend to want the audience to like this character as, to them, she's (somehow), "a woman who knows what she wants and how to take charge." We see this several times when Vaggie isn't interacting with Charlie though I would say the times that this backfired the most was in Episode #01 and Episode #04. Back in Episode #01 when Vaggie was working on the hotel's commercial she wants Alastor to help out with it. Mind you, she previously slandered the advertisement he had originally made for the hotel so I don't know why she wants his help with making a new one in the first place but nonetheless Alastor basically says, "Yeah. No. I'm not gonna help you cause you already know I hate modern media and you clearly didn't like what I had planned so figure it out." Now, instead of ending the conversation and leaving the man who wants no part in this alone, she holds up the camera that she has in her hands and not only films him but actively mocks him too. This isn't a "bold move" like I've seen people claim it to be, it was simply moronic since she already knew he was an Overlord that's killed and fought people over MINOR INCONVENIENCES. After this the two strike a deal which is another plain stupid move on Vaggie's part as that's only going to come back and bite her in the ass later on in the series. Meanwhile, in Episode #04, she told Husk to go after Angel Dust even though... A.) Going after the residents isn't in his job description. B.) If ANYONE is going after the residents it should probably be THE MANAGER since it's their job to make sure that everything between the staff AND customers is good. C.) She KNOWS that Husk has been sexually and physically harassed by Angel in the past as not only has she SEEN it but she's TOLD Angel to stop harassing the staff. I guess the safety of your co-workers doesn't matter though if Charlie's sad. D.) Lastly, I swear that there was a rule that was established early on about NOT FORCING RESIDENTS TO STAY AT THE HOTEL. Like, am I tripping or did the series retcon that super fast??? Anyway, the point is that the series has Vaggie acting like a snide bitch when she's interacting with anyone other than Charlie. This "feisty" Latina stereotype goes hand in hand with the crazed Latina. The crazed Latina trope is when a Latina will throw hands for the dumbest of reasons or for little to no reason at all. It makes it seem that Latina's are overly aggressive which is how the series portrays Vaggie. She's always seen wielding an angelic spear 24/7 knowing that she can kill any resident or staff member who steps out of line with her, constantly seen threatening to hurt others with it. Out of the two racial stereotypes this one has been called out the most as it's paired with the man hating Lesbian trope because every time Vaggie's threatened to kill someone with said angelic spear, it has ALWAYS been a MALE character. Okay, now it's time to end this off by addressing the elephant in the room that is Valentino.

Oh, God. Where do I start with this failure of a character? I suppose, I'll start with the Casanova aka the Enticing Latin Lover archetype. This involves a strong suave man who's tall, dark (or I guess light purple in Val's case), and handsome (I wouldn't call him that but that's how he's portrayed in the series) as well as being full of ulterior motives! He's the sultry hypersexual Hispanic seducer that everybody can't seem to get enough of. I wouldn't have nearly as much of an issue with this as he's the Overlord of Lust but with how the stans either absolve him of or make LIGHT of his crimes solely because they think how he looks, sounds, and acts is hot (brother eugh), with the show runners encouraging stuff like that on social media (yes, I'm referring to when people were comparing Val's personality to Karen Smith from Mean Girls with Viv agreeing with it cause he's so dumb), his sole purpose is being a plot device for Angel Dust and being fetish fuel. Which really bothers me considering that a good chunk of Hazbin Hotel stans are LITERAL CHILDREN! Continuing on, we have ill tempered and idiotic Machismo/Macho Man. The show can't seem to make up its mind whether or not they want us to take Valentino seriously or not. I get what they're trying to do by making Val intimidating and cunning at one point and a "charming" himbo the next but it's done in such a jarring way that could've been easily fixed had they shown him being more creepy towards lower class demons and Sinners but have him be "charming" towards Overlords and other members of Hell's high society. Like in the show, he's openly verbally violent towards Angel Dust while Charlie is in his presence (I also hate the fact that show Charlie didn't actually do anything when she noticed that Val had hit Angel cause pilot Charlie would've thrown hands regardless of what Angel told her) and doesn't give a flying fuck when she's turning into her demon form RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM! Then there's the fact that the Hellaverse doesn't take violence seriously until it HAS to and then these moments can come across as unintentionally comedic. Case and point, when I initially saw Valentino backhand Angel Dust in Episode #04, I AUDIBLY LAUGHED. That shit SHOULD NOT have been nearly as funny as it was! It was meant to be a serious moment where the show segues into how Angel is abused at his job but there I was laughing my ass off in my room for a solid thirty seconds before I was able to regain my composure. Next up is point three about the Cholo or gangster archetype in which a Latino will wear stylish street wear clothes (similar to the outfit Val wears in Episode #04) and commit violent crimes. My previous points indirectly had me go into depth about the violent crimes part so let's move onto point four which is Val being a drug addict and drug maker. Latin characters (specifically men) have been depicted as drug dealers and druggies since AT LEAST the 1970s (it only makes it worse that Valentino supposedly died in this time period.) It's been heavily implied that the smoke from his cigarettes acts as an aphrodisiac which is why he blows it in other peoples faces so much. We see him smoking cigarettes (which contain so much God damn chemicals in them but especially nicotine) throughout the show like its nothing meaning he's gotta have a high nicotine intake (logically, he would've gotten lung cancer by now.) The last racial stereotype that they gave him is the raging alcoholic and I know that anyone can become a raging alcoholic however alcoholism is actually a very common problem among Latinos as more than 33% of them suffer from issues related to an alcohol dependency. It's an ongoing problem that many Hispanics face and seeing how Val is already shown to be a violent individual WITHOUT alcohol in his system, that's only going to make him worse and we saw that in Episode #02 when Val got more irritable and threw his drink in Vox's direction upon knowing Angel Dust was staying at the HH.

___________ People of the jury, I rest my case and I hope you all liked reading my thoughts and I'll see you later!

[nightmare-foundation-2]

Hot take: Ozpin isn't even morally gray. I guess he is if you count past lives (slaughtering potentially thousands of ppl to end a war), but otherwise?? I really don't think he is.

Imo, Qrow is more morally gray, Ironwood pre-villain arc was morally gray, etc. I really don't think any of Oz's actions could count as 'morally gray', even when considering that he kept important information to keep his circle and by extension RWBY and Co hopeful, regardless of if you think it's manipulative or not (technically yes, but there was good intentions behind it so imo it's fundamentally different).

Oz really isn't the bad guy the entire fndm tries making him out to be. If he was I think the show would show him in that light, which it doesn't. It TRIED showing him as morally gray, but generally his actions aren't that bad. The FNDM loves saying Oz is an awful manipulative compulsive liar who's intentions are weird and muddy. But honestly I think if he was like that, he wouldn't be portrayed as good. Most of Salems own opinions on Oz is her projecting and being a hypocrite. I don't think the characters narration is reliable when it comes to Oz. The show itself tried making him seem like that in v6, but ultimately failed.

An example people use to say he's morally gray is pointing out that he made the Academies. Which, I won't lie, is a pretty stupid take. The Academies train older teenagers (17-21, possibly older if they allow older ppl to join) who have already been learning how to fight presumably since they were young. Ruby had presumably already had Crescent Rose for a few years by the time she was 15, and there's several combat schools to teach kids how to fight. Remnantians count as a warrior race! They HAVE to fight to survive. Even if you haven't been to an academy, it's normal to know how to fight to defend against Grimm. Controlled by Salem or not, Grimm are a constant that you NEED to fight against. The Academies just give widespread access to tools and education to learn in a safe environment filled with other hunters. They just so happen to fight off Salems Grimm forces, and unknowingly defend the Relics inside. It's a win-win-win on everyone's side. Yes, people are going to die. But they'd be MORE likely to die if a) they can't defend themselves properly b) don't have proper tools to do so or c) don't know how to fight at ALL. Thanks to the Academies, militaries don't need to be used (except Atlas). The possibility of war goes WAY down, and it's harder for the kingdoms to be actively corrupt (not impossible just less easier to be enforced). Objectively? The Academies are a GOOD thing.

Another example is people saying Oz brought RWBY and Co unwillingly into the shadow war. Which... is objectively incorrect. Qrow was the one who told Ruby about the information Cinder and Co were going to attack Haven, and Yang eventually went after her after she left. Ruby brought RNJR with her, because they all experienced trauma and reasonably wanted justice, thinking it was just Cinder behind everything. Then Qrow was the one who told RNJR roughly the truth. He didn't particularly want to, bit he relented anyways, and even then he held back information like Oz being immortal. He didn't even tell them about Salem, just that some nasty people wanted the Relics and Maiden powers and that one of them was named Salem. I guess you could count Ruby being brought into Beacon early, but even then that was the SAFEST option. If Cinder or Roman noticed her silver eyes in ep 1 and that got back to Salem, Ruby would be FUCKED. She was already involved in fighting Roman at that point, and thus would likely get targeted again, silver eyes or not. So Oz brought her in, citing her skill as the reason, while the others likely knew the truth. Qrow OR tai wouldn't have been fine with it if Oz only brought her in to put her into the circle. They would've torn him a new one. Not only that, but obviously he DIDN'T KNOW about the upcoming fall of Beacon. He genuinely thought Ruby and her team was going to be fine for the next 4 years, and when he was starting to suspect something was up, he STILL had no idea the Academy was going to be attacked during the festival. Why would he?? A direct attack isn't typical of Salem, iirc he or someone else said it themselves, especially since it had been 80 or so years since the Great War, which is implied that Salem started. Even IF he wanted to bring her in, he would've waited until after she graduated, which is what happened with STRQ and was going to happen with CVFY. Oz places an emphasis on letting them be kids for as long as possible. He only had to involve them when Qrow already told them everything. And even then, Oz repeatedly gave RWBY and JNR an out. He DID NOT WANT them involved, not yet at least. And with Pyrrha, he didn't exactly have a choice. He gave her time they didn't have, and required her to wait n think, and then needed her verbal consent WHILE BEACON WAS BEING ATTACKED. Yes telling her stressed her out, but I think if she knew the same thing could be offered to anyone else, she'd prefer to take on that burden. It wasn't fair, but it visibly pained Oz to have to give her the choice. He didn't want to, but war is never fair. He would've had to go to SOMEONE regardless.

As for Oz keeping the truth that Salem can't be killed a secret, imo, that is a very VERY hard call for anyone to make. For him it was the option of: tell them immediately and not have any allies (something he values heavily) or have them join Salem out of fear, wait first and tell them later and have them possibly freak out like Ironwood/betray him/lose hope and thus not have any allies, or never tell them so he has important allies and they possibly don't betray him or lose hope. Obviously, he chose the last option, and it's entirely possible he wanted to, eventually, tell them the truth, but we just don't know that. Of course I agree that Oz should've told his circle anyways, but for someone as traumatized and paranoid as Oz who's had to make this decision countless times, you can't exactly fault him for keeping the truth hidden. He's likely told the entire truth before and it bit him in the ass several times before he finally decided to keep it hidden. He said it himself, Leo was NOT the first nor was the last to betray him. As for not telling RWBY and Co? They're CHILDREN he's barely known for, what, a year?? And all of that he was their teacher/Headmaster who didn't often interact with them, or their mentor. He barely knew them and as far as we know, didn't get the chance to actually know and get close to them. They already knew just how dangerous Salem was from the fall of Beacon and battle of haven, plus the fact that she controls Grimm. They could've easily assumed Salem was hard to kill at LEAST since she's immortal and been around for countless thousands of years, and there's no way they thought no one tried to kill her. Oz barely knew them and they almost proved him right by nearly giving up. Plus, he was FRESHLY betrayed at that point. I'm sure yall noticed he was immediately pretty closed off due to the revelation of Leo's betrayal. He genuinely considered Leo a friend, so Oz's trauma response is to hold everyone else at arms length.

Another thing is the fact that he hid the truth from Salem as well early on in their relationship. Thing is, Jinn (a presumably reliable narrator) stated that they BOTH hid things from the other. Salem likely didn't tell him that she lied and manipulated kingdoms into turning against the gods, just that she wanted him back and the gods didn't like that bc that ABSOLUTELY would've upset Oz. Oz, knowing Salem didn't like the gods from her story, likely decided right then to keep the full truth from her, worried she wouldn't react well to it, something anyone would do. Not only that, but right after, Salem convinced, possibly manipulated, Oz into acting as a god-king with her, something he clearly didn't want to do. Jinn herself said "the hearts of men are easily swayed" as Salem convinced him to become a God-king with her. So yes, it's very possible that Salem manipulated him into doing that. "But Salem was fine with the truth later when he told her!" Yes, she was, but Oz couldn't have known that. And the whole reason he tried to leave her was because Salem was turning into a dictator tyrant, something Oz didn't want and something Salem was set on. He did overreact a little bit by bringing the kids instead of communicating with her, but it wasn't his fault that Salem immediately attacked him instead of trying to talk to him, or at least waiting until the kids were in a safe place before attacking him. Most of this wasn't Oz's fault, if any of it. Salem overreacted heavily by attacking him with the kids being react there. Had Oz and the kids lived and escaped her, they would've been TERRIFIED of Salem afterwards, traumatized by the ordeal. And it's never shown that Salem actually cared that they died, just that they "could've had freedom", blaming Oz instead. Meanwhile Oz, afterwards, spent whole LIVES drowning his sorrow and regret and trauma in alcohol, and he's clearly STILL affected by it if Salem using the silhouettes of their children is any indication, since she was likely taunting him (but also reminiscing, regardless of her feelings on the matter) and never brought up their children in any matter.

Overall I really don't think Oz is as bad as the fandom says he is. People like to think he and Salem are the same (something i might make a post on later), when they're very, very different. Oz really isn't bad, he's just traumatized and is basing current events off of past experiences. He's far from manipulative, uncaring, or really any negative adjective I've seen people describe him as. I've probably missed some things, but my point has been made I think. The fndm really likes to misinterpret Oz's character, saying he's exactly like Dumbledore, but in reality he's a subversion of characters like Dumbledore. He's a seriously good guy, and I think people miss that.