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residentdeviant · 1 month ago

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𝑺𝑶𝑭𝑻𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑬 𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑩𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑻𝒀

── .✦ summary

⟢ you and leon make further progress in your android investigation, and hope to help more people than you originally thought were involved.

── .✦ story notes !

⟢ written with re2r/re4r leon in mind ! also, i did my best to have this be a gender neutral reader, but if there’s anything that suggests otherwise, please let me know.

── .✦ word count

⟢ 2.1k !

── .✦ tags ! (warnings included)

⟢ d:bh au, android!leon, second-person, no use of y/n, angst, gore, used a line from my re1 poster, mentions of abuse.

── .✦ a/n !

⟢ i’m sorry that this is a significantly shorter chapter piece. :( but trust that chapter three will make up for it! it’s longer than either of the first two lol help- also i got a cameo from nick apostolides and i was freaking out for a solid twenty minutes. saved and added to favorites, i fear.

(i kept forgetting to post this, so i apologize for the wait!)

⟢ part one!

⟢ part three!

7:23pm.

The white police cruiser pulled up to the raggedy warehouse, parking on the side of the road. At first glance, it seemed rather normal. It was about two stories tall, brick walls, vines all over… any bits of wood were rotting… but overall, it was your average abandoned building — other than the horrors that took place within it.

These walls wouldn’t talk — they’d scream.

The music that quietly played in the car was fully shut off as you killed the engine, taking the key out and placing it in your pocket as you exited the sedan. Leon followed suit, shutting the door behind him as he observed the warehouse. “That’s totally not creepy,” you remarked as you prepared yourself to face whatever was lurking in that monstrosity. Leon softly chuckled in response, thankfully being programmed with some sense of humor.

Back-up was on the way, and you couldn’t be more grateful. Sure, it was nice to know that you had an android detective by your side, but you two didn’t know each other that well yet. It’d take some time for you to get used to him, even if he was already adjusting to you.

The two of you made your way towards the entrance, proceeding with caution. Even after several years of working with the RPD, you still didn’t know how to process these situations. It was a difficult job, and some say that you should be worried if it ever got easier.

“Don’t worry, detective. I’ll be by your side the entire time,” Leon spoke softly, trying to ease your mind. Your heart rate was spiking, and he knew you needed to be calm going into the situation — or who knows what could happen. One mistake could change the whole mission.

Butterfly effect.

You just gave him a small smile and a light nod in return, ready to move on. Leon slowly opened the door, opting to go first and let you follow behind. Part of this mission was about protecting you, so he would put himself in harm's way in order to ensure that he was fully successful.

Your android partner walked in first, gun in hand as he observed the foyer. His gaze shifted quickly from place to place as he looked for any and all signs of life. His steps were slow, yet calculated, committing anything and everything about the warehouse to memory.

The two of you wandered around the warehouse, carefully creeping into each and every room. But after quite some time, you never found him. You didn’t even know who he was, but you were sure that your team could identify him with the right evidence from the scene. If this was really where the mystery man was based, anyway.

“He’s not here,” Leon determined, gently pointing his gun down but still keeping his guard up.

“Yeah, seems so,” you agreed, looking around the building as you sought out anything that may seem off. “Well, let’s check out the place. We could find more information that could tell us about our guy or what he’s doing here.”

Your partner nodded along as you spoke, choosing to follow your lead. You walked around for a bit, eventually finding yourself in the basement of the warehouse. This seemed to be the unsub’s main workshop, and yes, I mean that as a literal workshop.

Few lights shined within the dark and eerie basement, still leaving it rather dim. There was a hospital bed in the middle of the room, which you assumed was where Martha had died, and it had one lamp above it — almost as if it were from an operating room.

You shined a flashlight towards the rest of the decor that filled the area, wandering around as you examined everything. Surgical tools, android parts, several bags of thirium… how did this guy obtain all of this? He also had papers about the disappearances on the walls, seemingly loving the attention he was getting from all of this. You couldn’t believe it. How was someone so sick? Walking towards the mini fridge he had near a counter, you misjudged your steps and slipped into…

Is that… is that — blood?

Oh God.

Staggering backwards away from the pile that you had confirmed was definitely human blood, you felt two arms help you get back up, standing up after a few moments of struggling. “You okay?” Leon asked, his icy blue eyes searching yours for an answer.

“I’m alive…” you replied, not really knowing how to answer his question. He just nodded, seemingly understanding you perfectly even if you didn’t say a word.

Leon took the lead as you two finished searching the basement, constantly finding things that made you absolutely sick to your stomach. You could never get used to any of this, even after so many years of being in the force. But at least you had Leon by your side, right?

“That’s everything. We should get out of here and make a plan to catch him when he comes back,” the blond suggested, turning away from the horrors that lay within the basement and facing towards you. “Yeah… yeah, I’m sure we can figure something out,” you agreed, readying yourself to leave. But as you did so, you could hear metal creaking and the sounds of people groaning. Something was in there, and it wasn’t planning on leaving you alone.

“Leon? What’s that?” you questioned, hoping that your partner would have an answer. He looked over to where the noises came from, shining a flashlight towards the general direction— observing it. It didn’t take long for him to realize what was going on. “Those are androids… They’ve been… it seems our guy has been doing experiments on them,” Leon concluded, looking away from the damaged machines after a moment. They weren’t even human, but God, they sure seemed like it. Especially in times like these, where you could just see and feel the amount of distress they were in.

“Based on the newspapers, he caught wind of us finding out about the missing people, and he opted for androids instead to try to cover up his tracks,” you stated, disgusted by the unsub’s actions. How could someone do such a thing? It was horrendous, really. Those poor androids…

Clearly, the droids were even more hurt about the situation than you were — physically and emotionally. They had gone through so much. Just by the physical evidence, they were experimented on, abused, had parts exchanged or ripped from them completely and who knows what kind of torture they’ve endured other than that.

“Help us, please… he’ll be back any minute, but we can all escape,” one voice begged, his voice box slightly damaged.

A broken AX400 placed her hands on the cage walls, pleading with you. “Please… we’ve done nothing wrong. We just want to be free.”

You looked at Leon, and you could see the distress in his face. He had… he had sympathy for these androids. His LED changed to yellow, remaining there for quite some time before going back to the usual blue. And eventually, he looked back at you. He wanted to help them so desperately, but if anyone found out about his feelings towards the situation, he would be called a deviant and reminded of his place before he was reset. Or even worse, discarded in a junkyard to be forgotten about.

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^

You communicated with your team and had your back-up return to the station before they ever even arrived at the location. You had a plan figured out and hopefully, it could work.

Afterwards, you spoke with the androids, doing your best to help them stay calm. Although Leon was conflicted because of his emotions and his orders, you didn’t have to worry about that, so you decided to try to ease their worries. You couldn’t let them out yet, but you’d help them when you returned. You promised, and they trusted that you would keep it.

9:35pm.

You and Leon made your way back to the police department, ready to catch the unsub and put an end to this mess. Your heart was heavy, and so was the silence that fell between you two. It was a difficult situation, and neither of you knew how to go about dealing with it.

The car sped down the streets of Raccoon City, with the soft raindrops being the only sound that filled the quiet space.

“You alright?“ you asked, trying to check in on him. Most people wouldn’t even bother, but it was important to you that you always check in on your partners – android or not. “That was a lot… for both of us.”

The android next to you remained quiet for a few seconds before turning to face you. “I was scared. I could feel their pain… their suffering. I’m not supposed to, but— I could. Maybe there’s an error in my software, but I swear I’m not a deviant!.. I just–”

“It’s okay, Leon. I’m not gonna tell anyone. You can trust me.”

He must’ve trusted you a lot already, because if anyone else heard that, Leon would never be heard from again. But he knew that you were different, he knew that you cared. You wouldn’t hurt him, would you?

No, you wouldn’t.

Before you knew it, the two of you had arrived at the station. It had started raining, so you got a black umbrella out from the trunk and used it to keep you and poor Leon from getting wet. He probably didn’t mind the rain, but it’s just good manners to keep your friends safe and dry during harsh weather. Was he your friend? At this rate, maybe. You’d like to think so, anyway.

As you walked inside, you were greeted with almost complete and utter silence. Most of the staff had gone home at this point, only leaving you, Leon, a few officers and some janitors within the massive building. Not that it was a bad thing, of course. They needed time with their families and it gave you a few moments of peace — which was always needed with a job like this.

“I’m gonna go take care of some reports and then head home for the night,” you said to Leon as you made your way to the west office, making a beeline for your desk. He just smiled a little, giving you a simple “okay” before following you to the office to check out his own desk. Did he need it? Maybe, maybe not. But the thought was still nice. The welcome sign, too.

“Did you like the decorations?” you asked with a smile, just curious to see what he thought about them. “I did everything myself.”

SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^

He nodded, smiling in return. “Yeah, they’re very nice. Thank you.” Okay, maybe he’s a little awkward, but still cute nonetheless.

“Sure thing,” you replied before sitting at your desk, eager to get everything done so you could get some sleep before waking up earlier and carrying on with the case. Today’s work had been exhausting in more ways than one, but you didn’t even know if you could actually get any rest until the unsub had been caught. Only time will tell.

The way you saw it, it was unfortunate that you hadn’t caught the guy — or even identified him, as he left no traces of his DNA or identity anywhere — but you also found some strong pieces of evidence. Speaking of evidence, you had Samuel, the caged androids, the android parts, literal human blood spills and so much more. The first and second floors of the disgusting warehouse were left alone as if it truly was abandoned, but once you got to the basement, you had realized it was anything but abandoned.

It had practically become a slaughterhouse.

You weren’t really sure as to why the unsub would do such a thing, maybe he had his reasons or maybe he was just insane, but you knew you’d figure it out soon. You had a plan, and you wished so desperately for it to work. You had to do something, there was no doubt about it. Countless lives had been lost, both human and not, and you were determined to figure out why.

And after a couple of hours of handling reports and other tedious work, you grabbed everything you needed to take home and readied yourself to leave. But of course, you wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye first. “Goodnight, Leon.”

“Goodnight.”

#leon kennedy #leon kennedy x reader #detroit become human au #resident evil #android!leon kennedy x reader #android!leon

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riding-the-sunset-bird · 11 months ago

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Time for another dive into the code! This time we're doing Warm, Moderate, and Cold Cove again, but for the transition between Step 2 to 3 instead of 1 to 2.

As a refresher to those who might not remember the original post talking about how it works from Step 1 to 2:

When making certain decisions in how you interact with Cove, the game will give you either warm points or cold points. These points are calculated at the end of the step to determine whether your Cove in the following Step will be warm, moderate, or cold. If you have more cold than warm points, the game will only use the cold ones, and same for having more warm than cold points. The points not used are essentially "thrown away."

A "warm" Cove is friendlier to others and cracks more jokes, a "moderate" Cove is closest to his Step 1 self, and a "cold" Cove is quieter and more blunt. They all interact with the MC similarly, except a warm Cove is more likely to tease the MC and not be as dependent while a cold Cove is more likely to side with/cling to them. His relationships with others will still be similar regardless of whether he's "warm," "moderate," or "cold," but how he expresses himself in those relationships may be different.

The warm-to-cold variation is a spectrum that goes from Warm, Warm-Moderate, Moderate, Cold-Moderate, and Cold. There is no Warm Cove who will do Cold Cove things and vice versa. With Warm-Moderate and Cold-Moderate, the idea is that you have a mostly Warm/Cold Cove respectively but with some mild variation.

There is a variable for "moderate" points in the game's code, but it goes unused in the game itself, meaning that a moderate Cove is more of a "default." If you were to go from the start of Step 1 and immediately to the end without doing any moments, that would be the best way of getting a "moderate" Cove. Engaging in moments is more likely to make your Cove warm/cold, so if you've played the game a lot and always go through a lot of moments without using the Cove Creator to change his personality, you could get a Moderate Cove for a potentially different experience.

In terms of the rules on how to get a warm/cold Cove, it varies. If the MC calls Cove out, teases him, includes/talks about other people, and encourages Cove to be more outgoing or do new things, he's more likely to be warm. Taking Cove's side, being protective of him, speaking up for him rather than letting him do it himself, and keeping things between him and the MC is more likely to make him cold. It's not a one-size-fits-all situation though, as a shy MC could make Cove warm because he's being encouraged to defend you whereas leaving Cove all by himself could make him cold.

Regardless of whether he's Warm, Moderate, or Cold, Cove will remain a sentimental introvert who gets flustered over romance.

Cove's appearance has nothing to do with whether he's warm/moderate/cold barring the rare cases where a choice might happen to overlap with it.

In terms of new information from Step 2 to 3 specifically, I'll say right away that whether your Step 2 Cove is already warm, moderate, or cold doesn't matter nor factor into how your Step 3 Cove turns out. All that matters is how you treat him in Step 2.

In addition, the point calculation works differently. In Step 1, having no more than 11 points in either Cold or Warm will give a Moderate Cove, having 12-19 points in either Cold or Warm will give a Cold-Moderate/Warm-Moderate Cove (depending on which you have more points in), and having 20 or more points will give a fully Cold/Warm Cove.

Also, if your points are tied, the game would "flip a coin" to decide whether it will opt for the cold or warm points.

However, Step 3 has more variation (well, not technically, but we'll talk about that later), first by making it even harder to get a Moderate Cove.

You only need 5 or more points in either warm/cold points to be locked out of a fully Moderate Cove (as a fully Moderate Cove would be 0-4 points). 5-9 will get you a slightly warm/cold Cove (we'll call this Moderate-Warm and Moderate-Cold for convenience), 10-14 or 15-19 (the game does two checks for this for some reason) will get you a Warm-Moderate or Cold-Moderate Cove, and having 20 or more will get you a fully Warm/Cold Cove as before.

In the case of a tie in points, the game will not do a "coin flip" anymore and will instead default to cold points.

One odd thing I will note (this wasn't relevant in the original post where I talked about Step 1->2) is that the Cove Creator actually sets some default cold/warm points as you pick the various buttons for Cove's personality.

The button on Warm gives 20 warm points and 10 cold points (again, these cold points are "thrown away" because the game only cares about what you have more of), the button between Warm and Moderate gives 12 warm points and 6 cold points, the button on Moderate gives 6 warm points and 6 cold points, the button between Moderate and Cold gives 6 warm points and 12 cold points, and the button on Cold gives 10 warm points and 20 cold points. These are the same points applied in any step where you can use the Cove Creator to change Cove's personality.

Now, did you catch something there?

Due to how Step 3 changed how few points are needed to lock you out of Moderate Cove (only 5 or more), it's actually impossible to get a fully Moderate Cove using the Cove Creator to change his personality. It will give you 6 warm points and 6 cold points, which will default to the 6 cold points due to the "coin flip" removal, thus giving you a Moderate-Cold Cove.

You can actually test this yourself if you have a save at the Step 3 Cove Creator. Set Cove's personality to "Moderate" and skim through the intro narration until it starts talking about Cove's family, right here:

Cove's relationships with his family improved over the years. Kyra visited several times after that summer, and things became easier between the two.

He was also closer with his dad than ever before. You knew they talked more, and that helped prevent a lot of friction before it could start.

If you had a fully Moderate Cove, you would get one of two follow-up narrations depending on if your Step 2 Cove was warm/warm-moderate/cold-moderate/cold or fully moderate.

if Warm/Warm-Moderate/Cold-Moderate/Cold in Step 2:

Cove's personality, however, drifted back to how it was in the past. He was pretty blunt and not overly social, but he had plenty to say when he felt like it.

if Moderate in Step 2:

Cove's personality, however, was recognizable from the past. He was pretty blunt and not overly social, but he had plenty to say when he felt like it.

You won't get this narration if you chose Moderate from the Cove Creator. Instead, you would get one of these:

if Warm/Warm-Moderate/Moderate in Step 2:

However, Cove grew into someone no one would call 'social'. He kept to himself, usually. He cared for the few connections he did have, but didn't reach outside them.

if Cold-Moderate/Cold in Step 2:

However, Cove still wasn't what anyone could call 'social'. He kept to himself, usually. He cared for the few connections he did have, but didn't reach outside them.

I actually checked just to make absolutely certain that I was on the latest version of Our Life (1.7.1) and I am. It seems that in the process of trying to give more variation to Cove's personality (or just making Moderate more unlikely), the Cove Creator was left out of the equation. I'd be curious to know if this happens on older versions.

Further puzzling is that I was going to list multiple examples to show the difference between Warm/Warm-Moderate/Moderate-Warm and Moderate-Cold/Cold-Moderate/Cold (similar to what I did in the last post for Step 2 Cove), but the thing is that I could not find any.

I searched and scanned through the code in an attempt to call upon any instance where it would check for a Warm-Moderate/Moderate-Warm or Moderate-Cold/Cold-Moderate Cove specifically, and in every case the game considered them to be fully Warm and fully Cold respectively.

In other words, whereas in Step 2 you had Warm, Warm-Moderate, Moderate, Cold-Moderate, and Cold Cove, Step 3 seems to stick to a strict Warm/Moderate/Cold Cove with no in-betweens. If anyone has any evidence to the contrary then by all means, message/toss me an ask, but I couldn't find anything to suggest otherwise.

This also makes Moderate Cove the hardest to get since you would need to actually achieve it in-game by avoiding warm/cold points as much as possible. Even just going through the Step 2 intro and ending only, I don't even think you could avoid being locked out of Moderate Cove if you're playing on Fond/Crush.

Getting back to the topic of choices though, here are the options themselves that'll give you warm/cold points throughout Step 2:

Step 2 Intro

After Cove comes by to deliver the fruit bouquet (Fond/Crush only):

"Thank you!" [warm +1]

"Thanks." [warm +1]

"You are too cute sometimes." [cold +1]

When Jeremy is complaining about his parents:

You kept quiet. [cold +1]

"You shouldn't talk about your parents like that." [warm +1]

"Sorry. It must suck being forced to do something you don't want." [warm +1]

"We just said hello. You don't have to keep complaining at us." [cold +1]

"Calm down. You don't have to yell so much." [cold +1]

"Who peed in your cereal this morning?" [warm +1]

When Jeremy mocks Cove's eyebrows:

"What?" [no change]

"No! Cove's wavy eyebrows are so cool!" [warm +1]

"How can you say that when you've got a bowl cut?" [warm +1]

"Don't listen to him. They're really unique and special." [cold +1]

"Well, they are kind of silly." [warm +1]

"Apologize to Cove right now. You can't treat people like that." [cold +1]

(immediately following above choice):

You just rolled your eyes. [warm +1]

You crossed your arms over your chest. [cold +1]

You shook your head. [warm +1]

You patted Cove on the shoulder. [cold +1]

You lunged towards Jeremy! [no change]

You grinned at all of this. [warm +1]

When Derek points out the fruit bouquet once Jeremy is gone:

"I need to save it." [cold +1]

"Why not? Let's eat." [warm +1] {note that the skewers will change Step 3 Cove's left wristwear: pineapple or strawberry will take it off, grape will give him the black wristband, and melon will give him the chain bracelet and beaded wrap bracelet with the jewel}

When Elizabeth shows up to confront the MC over the fruit bouquet (if the MC chose to eat it with Derek and Cove):

"Sorry, Elizabeth..." [warm +1]

"Get over it." [warm +1]

"Well, the morning's been kind of a disaster!" [cold +1]

"We were hungry?" [cold +1]

"It wasn't us. A seagull came down and ate it all while we weren't looking!" [warm +1]

When Derek and Cove try to make an escape from Elizabeth:

You ran! [cold +1]

You stayed. [warm +1]

After Cove sneaks into the MC's room (Fond/Crush only):

"What are you doing?" [warm +1]

"What's up, Romeo?" [warm +1]

"This sure is a surprise, but you're always welcome here." [cold +1]

"Is everything okay? What happened?" [cold +1]

"You're lucky I didn't start screaming." [cold +1]

"Amazing. My dreams have come true." [warm +1]

(following above scene) When Cove vents about being upset over his situation with his parents:

"There's nothing wrong with feeling bad. That is hard to deal with." [cold +1]

"We can deal with this." [warm +1]

"I'm sorry, Cove. You know I'm here for you." [warm +1]

"Yeah, that's... a lot." [cold +1]

You didn't know what to say. [warm +1]

(following above scene) After Cove asks if he can stay longer in MC's room:

"You can stay tonight, but we shouldn't make a habit of this." [warm +1]

"I've got a flashlight and some cards. Are you in?" [warm +1]

"Of course. You can always stay here, Cove." [cold +1]

(following above scene) When the MC realizes that Cove has stayed the night in their room:

"Cove!" [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

○ You laughed quietly. [warm +1]

○ You laughed loudly. [cold +1]

○ "Are you okay?" [warm +1]

○ You helped him up. [cold +1]

○ "Shhh! My moms are gonna hear us." [warm +1]

You laughed out loud. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

○ You laughed even more. [cold +1]

○ "Are you okay?" [warm +1]

○ You helped him up. [cold +1]

○ "Shhh! My moms are gonna hear us." [warm +1]

You jumped out of bed. {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

○ You whispered in his ear. [cold +1]

○ You shook his shoulder. [warm +1]

○ You poked him in the face.

○ You tugged at his hair.

○ You threw a pillow at him.

You froze. {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

○ You whispered in his ear. [cold +1]

○ You shook his shoulder. [warm +1]

○ You poked him in the face. [no change]

○ You tugged at his hair. [no change]

○ You threw a pillow at him. [no change]

(following above scene) After Cove realizes that he'd fallen asleep and tries (fails) to calm down:

"It's going to be alright." [warm +1]

"We're going to be in so much trouble!" [cold +1]

"Just calm down." [warm +1]

"Settle down, before moms hear you." [cold +1]

You didn't say anything. [warm +1]

(following above scene) As Cove is trying to sneak out back to his house:

You wished him luck. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You rallied him to keep going. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You suggested he sneak out the door instead. {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You urged him to hurry up. {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

When Kyra asks the MC if they have any restaurant recommendations:

You shrugged. [cold +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the spiky hair}

"Not really." [warm +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the middle-parted hair}

"Sure, I have a couple of favorites." [no change]

You nodded. [no change]

When Cove is sulking near the end of the outing with Kyra:

You made a silly face at him. [warm +1]

You smiled at him. [cold +1]

You gave him a sympathetic look. [cold +1]

You flicked his straw wrapper at him. [warm +1]

You left him alone. [cold +1]

Wave

Fond/Crush routes only

When Cove asks the MC if they want to come down to the beach:

"Sure! I'll meet you there when we're done." [cold +1]

"Oh- yeah, I could do that..." [cold +1]

"Alright." [warm +1]

"I can't this time." [warm +1]

After MC meets with Cove on the beach:

"I wouldn't have missed it." [cold +1]

"Sorry you had to wait." [warm +1]

"And stay inside all day? I don't think so." [warm +1]

If the MC brought a board with them to the beach:

"Cove, I'm not that good at surfing." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"I borrowed this board, but I don't know how to surf..." (if the MC is inexperienced at surfing) [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"I'm ready to get in there." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"Wanna have a competition?" (if the MC is experienced at surfing) [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"Will you give me some tips?" [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

If the MC didn't bring a board with them to the beach:

{note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"What am I supposed to do while you surf?" [cold +1]

"I'll stay here and watch you surf." [warm +1]

"I'm going to find something to do while you surf." [cold +1]

After Cove jokes about clothespins if the MC went surfing with him (not for competition) and got into a splash fight with him:

"That was terrible on any scale." [warm +1]

"Please don't." [warm +1]

"You're adorable." [cold +1]

"I'm not sure that even counts as a pun." [cold +1]

"I love it." [warm +1]

If the MC chose to stay on shore and watch Cove surf:

You continued to watch quietly. [warm +1]

You started cheering him on after a really cool wave. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You shouted at him to remember to pace himself. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You did an impression of a sports announcer. {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You made a silly face when he looked back at you. [cold +1]

(following above choice) After Cove checks on the MC:

"I've found ways to entertain myself." [cold +1]

"It's been fun." [warm +1]

"Eh, I'm just a little bored." [cold +1]

"This was totally radical, dude." [warm +1]

"I couldn't take my eyes off of you." (if Crush) [cold +1]

(following above choice) When Cove tells the MC that he likes them being there:

You teased him. [warm +1]

You smiled. [cold +1]

You looked away. [cold +1]

When Cove imitates Jeremy (if the MC chose to go with him to the park):

"Ha ha." [warm +1]

"Don't scare me like that! One Jeremy is enough." [cold +1]

"That's not really nice. Funny, but not nice." [warm +1]

"You don't have to tease him." [warm +1]

"Ugh, parents don't know anything." [cold +1]

(following above) After the conversation with Cove starts winding down:

"We better get home." [warm +1]

"I wish days were longer." [cold +1]

You chose not to say anything. [warm +1]

Growing

When the MC greets Cove when he arrives at their house (Fond/Crush only):

With a wave. [cold +1]

With a low five. [warm +1]

With a nudge to the shoulder. [cold +1]

With a noogie. [warm +1]

With a hug. [cold +1]

After Cove explains why he's come over (Fond/Crush only):

You thought that was really sweet. [warm +1]

"How'd you know I was doing nothing? Maybe I had plans." [warm +1]

You nodded. That made sense to you. [cold +1]

"I was thinking the exact same thing." [warm +1]

When Cove admits that he hasn't eaten: (Fond/Crush only):

"Yeah, I get like that sometimes too." [no change]

"You should really eat properly." [no change]

"You didn't eat at all? Then you gotta have something now!" [cold +1]

"Great! We can eat lunch together." [warm +1]

During the second pause of tic-tac-toe or hangman when Cove complains about feeling stuck to the floor:

"I'll have to charge you rent then." [warm +1]

"You can be my new roomie if you want." [cold +1]

"Looks like we'll both be stuck here forever then. I'm sticky too." [warm +1]

"No way. I'll peel you off if I have to." [cold +1]

You just smiled at his whining. [cold +1]

During the third pause of tic-tac-toe or hangman when Cove wonders where the game's name came from:

"Maybe they named it that because people played it with tics and tacks."/'"Maybe it's what they had instead of real court trials back then." [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"I've always wondered about that..." [warm +1]

"I'll have to look it up later." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"It's a really old game. No one's sure where the name came from." [cold +1]

After the MC played tic-tac-toe with Cove (Indifferent/Fond):

You laughed along with Cove. [warm +1]

"Well, you should've taken the challenge more seriously." [warm +1]

"You're the one who wanted to play in the first place." [cold +1]

"I'm still the winner and you're the loser!" (if the MC won) [warm +1]

"I let you win, actually." (if Cove won) [cold +1]

You shook your head at him. [cold +1]

After the MC's initial reaction to Cove's hangman phrase (Crush only):

You didn't say anything. [cold +1]

"No, you're cute!" [cold +1]

"...Thank you." [cold +1]

"I can't believe you!" [warm +1]

"Damn, Cove." [warm +1]

You just let out a small squeak. [warm +1]

(following above choice):

"I really think you're cute. Seriously." [warm +1]

"Did you mean it? Do you really think I'm cute?" [cold +1]

You didn't say anything. [warm +1]

After Cove talks about how he thinks their talk about romance has been good (Fond/Crush only):

"I think so too." [cold +1]

You shrugged. [cold +1]

"It was awkward." [cold +1]

"The conversation had a mind of its own." [warm +1]

You just nodded quietly. [warm +1]

After Cove comments that he loves it out on the poppy hill (Fond/Crush only):

"I do too." [no change]

"You do? That's surprising," you said jokingly. [warm +1]

"Your opinion sure has changed since you were first on this hill." [warm +1]

You quietly enjoyed the moment. [cold +1]

After Cove says that he's glad to have met the MC (Fond/Crush only):

You blushed at the statement. [warm +1]

"I feel the same." [warm +1]

"That's so nice of you to say." [warm +1]

You smiled silently. [cold +1]

"You're being too sweet!" [cold +1]

"You're special to me, Cove." [cold +1]

Family

After Cove comes into the home and notes the awkwardness (if the MC stayed with their moms):

You laughed. [warm +1]

You wiped your eyes. [warm +1]

You smiled at him. [cold +1]

You shook your head in answer. [cold +1]

When the MC can talk to Cove about what happened, if the MC stayed with their moms (Fond/Crush only):

"There's a lot going on right now." [warm +1]

"It's nothing..." [cold +1]

You didn't speak to him. [cold +1]

"I needed to talk to you." (if the MC visited Cove) [warm +1]

"Thank you for coming... I'm glad you're here." (if the MC went to their room or outside) [cold +1]

"My parents are dead!" (if the MC asked about their adoption story) [warm +1]

(following after above choice)

"You don't have to do this." [cold +1]

"I'm okay..." [warm +1]

You closed the distance and hugged him." (only if Cove did not hug the MC; this happens if the MC doesn't have enough "touch points") [no change]

You started to cry. [warm +1]

You took a step back from him. [cold +1]

If the MC is participating in Lee's idea and Cove comments on it (Fond/Crush only):

"Thanks." [warm +1]

"I was pretty good, huh?" [warm +1]

You blushed and said nothing. [cold +1]

"Luckily we had a crowd who's easily impressed." [cold +1]

Dinner

When Cove asks the MC the first time if they want to come over for dinner:

"Yeah, I'll go." [cold +1]

"I can't." [no change]

You kept listening. [warm +1]

When Cove asks the MC the second time if they want to come over for dinner:

"Yeah, I can come." [warm +1]

"I'll have to ask my moms and get back to you." [cold +1]

"No, I can't make it."

○ "Sorry." [no change]

○ "Alright, I'll go." [cold +1]

"Why am I the only one invited? Or did you mean the whole family?"

○ "I can't. Sorry." [warm +1]

○ "Alright, I'll go." [warm +1]

After the MC looks around Cove's room (only if they haven't been in Cove's room before):

"Are you trying to make your own beach with all this sand?" [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"It's nice." [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"Thanks for letting me come over." [warm +1]

You weren't sure what to do. [cold +1]

When the MC chooses where to sit/not to sit and Cove raises his eyebrows at them (Crush only):

You were nervous about that. [warm +1]

You smiled comfortingly at him. [cold +1]

You chuckled over it. [warm +1]

You felt very charmed by his reaction. [cold +1]

(following immediately after above choice):

You only shrugged back. [warm +1]

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." [cold +1]

"You're like an open book, you know that?" [cold +1]

"You're such a sweet guy, Cove." [warm +1]

"You're adorable!" [cold +1]

When Cove asks if the MC wants to name a fish (Fond/Crush only):

"Yeah, I do!" [warm +1]

"Can I?" [cold +1]

"No thanks." {note that this will give Cove the thin rectangular blue glasses}

When the MC has the opportunity to ask if they can name a fish (Indifferent only):

"Can I name a fish?" [warm +1]

You kept quiet. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove the thin rectangular blue glasses}

When Cove comments on how it seems unfair that the MC can't have pets at their house:

"Right? My moms can be strict over the weirdest things sometimes!" [warm +1]

"I don't mind it too much." [no change]

"I get it." [cold +1]

After Cove talks about how humiliating the deal was for him (if MC told Cove about the deal in Step 1):

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Cove." [cold +1]

"Then I'm sorry, since I'm gonna bring it up forever." [cold +1]

"Yeah, I get why that'd be embarrassing." [warm +1]

You laughed. [warm +1]

You stayed quiet. [no change]

if the MC has either told Cove about the deal in Sandcastle or did not bring up the deal now in Dinner

When the MC is given the opportunity to question Cove on why they're there:

"Is there a reason they wanted me to come over tonight?" [warm +1]

You kept quiet. [no change]

After Mr. Holden thanks the MC for coming:

You thanked Cove's parents back for inviting you. [no change]

You didn't say anything to that. [no change]

You just felt awkward about the situation. [cold +1]

When there's a lull in conversation during dinner:

You brought up your own topic of conversation. [cold +1]

You left coming up with a conversation topic to them. [warm +1]

After Cove is denied having an immediate sleepover with the MC (Fond/Crush only):

You gave him some words of encouragement. [cold +1]

You patted him on the back. [cold +1]

"Pst, I'll sneak the phone into my room tonight." [warm +1]

"Hey, you could always sneak into my room again." [warm +1]

You pouted about it too. [cold +1]

if the MC chose to tell Cove about the deal here in Dinner instead of anything else

After Cove storms out of the room:

You immediately followed after Cove. [cold +1]

You just stood there. [warm +1]

After Cove and the MC head to the MC's living room:

"Are you okay?" [warm +1]

"What do you want to do now?" [warm +1]

"I'm really sorry Cove." [cold +1]

"You did the right thing by leaving." [cold +1]

"Do you want to be doing this?" [cold +1]

You said nothing. [warm +1]

After the MC listens to Cove vent about his dad's behavior:

You continued to listen quietly. [warm +1]

"I'm sorry you have to deal with all that." [warm +1]

"You're right, that's terrible." [cold +1]

"It could be worse." [cold +1]

"Even if it didn't go well, your dad's only trying to make you happy." [cold +1]

When Cove laments the idea that he might not've been friends with the MC due to his dad (Fond/Crush only):

You stepped forward and rested a hand on his shoulder. [cold +1]

You hugged him. [warm +1]

You smiled reassuringly. [warm +1]

You wiped his tears. [cold +1]

(following immediately after above choice):

"I'm really glad we got to be friends." [warm +1]

"Please don't cry." [warm +1]

"Hey, don't worry about it. Alright?" [warm +1]

You didn't need to say anything. [cold +1]

"I wouldn't have let anything your dad -or anyone else- did mess things up." [cold +1]

After Cove insults his dad's inability to make people happy:

"I'm really sorry." [cold +1]

"You don't actually mean what you're saying." [cold +1]

"Do you hate your dad?" [warm +1]

"I'm here for you." (Fond/Crush only) [cold +1]

You felt bad that things were so hard for Cove and his dad. [warm +1]

You didn't say anything. [cold +1]

(following after above choice):

"What about your fish?" [cold +1]

"I remember that day, when it happened." [warm +1]

(following after above choice):

"Your dad still needs to stop being so forceful, though." [cold +1]

"You might feel better than you do if you tried to make up with your dad." [warm +1]

"You guys really need to learn how to communicate." [warm +1]

"I'll be on your side no matter what you do about your dad." (Fond/Crush only) [cold +1]

You stayed quiet. [no change]

When the MC is deciding what they can do for Cove to help him:

"Do you want me to turn the TV on?" [cold +1]

"Do you want something to eat? Or drink?" [cold +1]

You listened to whatever he wanted to say. [warm +1]

You stayed with him silently. [warm +1]

Road Trip

After Elizabeth teases Cove and the MC about getting married:

You told her to cut it out already. [cold +1]

"Cove has a point. It wasn't a great comment." [warm +1]

"I'll marry you, Cove." [warm +1]

You ignored Elizabeth. [cold +1]

You were embarrassed. [warm +1]

"I'll marry Cove on the same day Shiloh's mom marries Cove's dad." (if the MC joked about Cove's dad marrying Shiloh's mom in Long Day) [cold +1]

When the MC takes a good look at Cove wearing a jacket (Crush only):

You averted your gaze from him entirely. [warm +1]

"Yeah, don't worry about it." [no change]

"You look good - in the jacket. That's all..." (if Nervous) [cold +1]

"That looks nice on you." (if Relaxed) [warm +1]

"You just look so good right now." (if Direct) [warm +1]

"Yeah. Everything is really good." [no change]

You nodded while saying nothing. [no change]

After Cove panics and says "Nothing!" if the MC asks what he likes seeing others wear (Fond/Crush only):

That was funny. [warm +1]

You paid it no mind. [no change]

(following above choice):

It was a topic that made him uncomfortable, so you let it go. [cold +1]

You had a little fun and that was enough. You changed the subject. [no change]

"You're not very good at these conversations, are you?" [no change]

"I swear I won't make fun of you." [warm +1]

"I just thought it would be fun to talk about..." [cold +1]

(following above choice) After Cove admits he likes seeing people wear ankle bracelets:

"Thanks for answering." [warm +1]

"I like them too." [no change]

"Huh, out of everything in the world, you picked that." [no change]

"So you think they're sexy?" [cold +1]

When the MC is in the loft and sees that Cove is still awake (Fond/Crush only):

You grinned back at him. [cold +1]

You made a silly face. [no change]

You waved at him. [warm +1]

When Cove laments his actions sleeping over if Sleepover happened and if the MC invited him up to the loft (Fond/Crush only):

You encouraged him. [warm +1]

You comforted him. [cold +1]

You teased him. [no change]

When Cove starts getting nervous after the MC has invited him up to the loft (Crush only):

You were feeling the nervousness too. [warm +1]

You felt comfortable being so close to him. [no change]

His reaction made you happy. [cold +1]

(following above choice):

You laid there silently. [no change]

You tried to ease things with conversation. [no change]

You nudged closer to him. [warm +1]

You touched his free arm lightly. [cold +1]

(following above choice, only if the MC chose to try and kiss Cove):

You laughed. [warm +1]

You just tried to check on him. [cold +1]

Mall

When the MC notices Cove and Derek in conversation:

You decided to keep listening. [no change]

You decided to join in with the conversation. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You couldn't resist teasing the boys." (if Relaxed/Direct) [cold +1]

When Kyra gives Cove the passenger seat:

You decided to stick up for Cove. [cold +1]

You decided to jokingly complain at the special treatment. [warm +1]

You were fine with that. [warm +1]

You kept quiet. [cold +1]

After Kyra leaves, leaving the MC and their group alone:

You were happy about it. Talk about an amazing opportunity! [warm +1]

You felt unsure about the situation. Was this really ok? [warm +1]

You felt okay about the situation. [cold +1]

You were unhappy about it. This was not what you'd had in mind. [cold +1]

If the MC hasn't brought money to the mall (meaning the others will offer to pay):

You accepted their offers readily. [cold +1]

You'd let them know if you really needed it. [warm +1]

You rejected the offer right up front. [warm +1]

If the MC asks Cove for a sip of his smoothie (Fond only):

You pushed a little more. [no change]

You jokingly begged him. [cold +1]

You waited for him to decide on his own. [warm +1]

If the MC asks Cove for a sip of his smoothie (Crush only):

You decided to let it go. [cold +1]

You teased him. [warm +1]

You reassured him. [no change]

After Derek races off to check out the ride-on machines:

You thought his idea was childish. [cold +1]

You wanted to ride too. [no change]

You didn't care one way or another. [no change]

You stayed quiet about it. [warm +1]

Once the MC gives Cove the windchime (if they chose to get one for him):

You talked about how he seemed to want it. [warm +1]

You suggested that the chime simply made you think of him. [cold +1]

You explained that since his family did kind things for yours, you wanted to return the favor. / You explained that Cove had given you gifts and you wanted to get him something in return. [cold +1]

You didn't know what to say. / You didn't know what to say now. [warm +1]

Birthday

While the MC waits for activities to start:

You tried to chat with the people around. [warm +1]

You just talked with Cove. [cold +1]

You found a quiet spot to sit. [warm +1]

You just stood around where you were. [cold +1]

When the activities begin and Cove wonders what's going to happen:

You shrugged. [cold +1]

You scanned the area to make a guess. [cold +1]

You made a joke about something that wasn't going to happen. [warm +1]

If the MC wins pin the tail on the donkey:

You were humble about it. [cold +1]

You felt bashful over winning. [warm +1]

You reveled in the win. [warm +1]

(following above choice):

You offered to share the candy with Cove. [cold +1]

You kept the prize for yourself. [warm +1]

If Cove wins pin the tail on the donkey:

{note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You congratulated Cove. [cold +1]

You were disappointed you didn't win. [warm +1]

You were really impressed with his win. [warm +1]

You shrugged the game off. [cold +1]

You teased Cove. [warm +1]

"You looked cute." [warm +1]

(following after above choice):

You asked if he'd be willing to share the prize. [warm +1]

You didn't ask. [cold +1]

If neither the MC nor Cove won pin the tail on the donkey:

You were also disappointed. [cold +1]

"It was a good game." [warm +1]

You shrugged it off. [cold +1]

You teased him. [warm +1]

If the MC chooses to wear a crown/headband:

"I'm a party animal now." [warm +1]

"It does look very good on me, thanks." [no change]

"I don't know why I'm doing this." [cold +1]

When Cove asks the MC if he looks weird wearing the party hat (if the MC encouraged Cove to wear one):

"You look great, Cove." [warm +1]

"It's completely perfect." [cold +1]

"It looks silly." [warm +1]

You just giggled. [cold +1]

You shrugged. [cold +1]

You shook your head no. [warm +1]

After Cove does a taste test of one of the gummy bears (if the MC agreed to partner up with him):

"You should've waited." [warm +1]

You tried one for yourself. [cold +1]

"What did it taste like?" [no change]

(following above scene) If the MC failed to catch the gummy bear due to casually trying to catch it while also not having any athletic points:

You felt bummed at losing. [warm +1]

You jokingly blamed Cove for blowing it. [warm +1]

You just laughed. [cold +1]

You shrugged it off. [no change]

You bent down to eat the candy anyways. [cold +1]

If the MC makes it to the final round of the gummy bear toss, noticing Cove's determination:

You were charmed by his attitude. [warm +1]

You equally wanted to win. [no change]

You didn't want to let him down. [cold +1]

You thought this was kinda funny. [cold +1]

You felt nervous under the pressure. [warm +1]

If the MC wins the gummy bear toss with Cove (by either Cove being any level of sporty - points accumulated during Step 2 itself don't count - or the MC having accrued enough athletic points during Step 2):

You high-fived Cove. [warm +1]

You put an arm around Cove. [cold +1]

You jumped into a hug. [warm +1]

You ruffled Cove's hair. [cold +1]

You nudged him in a friendly way. [cold +1]

You smiled at him. [warm +1]

(following above choice):

"Nice catch!" [cold +1]

"Woo!" [warm +1]

"We demolished the competition." [no change]

When Miranda offers to launch someone in the bounce house (Cove will ask to be launched if the MC turns her down):

"Ok, launch me." [cold +1]

"Not me!" [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"I'd rather just watch." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You remained silent. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

After Cove starts making sounds with the noise maker:

You asked Cove to stop. [warm +1]

You started blowing on your own noise maker. [cold +1]

You blew your noise maker back at Cove. [cold +1]

You were amused by Cove's antics.

○ You blew your noise maker back at Cove. [cold +1]

○ You told him to cut it out. [warm +1]

○ You jokingly tried to get away. [warm +1]

After Jeremy bullies either Cove, the MC, or both of them:

You poured your drink on Jeremy. [cold +1]

You pushed Jeremy. [cold +1]

You punched Jeremy in the face. [cold +1]

You drowned out his words with your noise maker. [warm +1]

You stood still, shocked. [warm +1]

You teared up. [warm +1]

(immediately following above choice):

"You're a dick!" [warm +1]

"You're ruining someone's birthday." [warm +1]

"I'm gonna find your parents and tell them what's going on." [warm +1]

"Don't say anything like that ever again!" [cold +1]

You laughed at his reaction. [cold +1]

You said nothing. [cold +1]

If the MC chose to retaliate (pour their drink on, push, punch, or swear) at Jeremy:

You shrugged. [no change]

"He deserved it." [cold +1]

You felt a little bad about it... [warm +1]

You were still mad at what happened. [warm +1]

"Do you think it was too much?" [cold +1]

If the MC did anything else in response to Jeremy:

You agreed Jeremy is totally nuts. [cold +1]

You wished that you had done something more. [warm +1]

You hoped that you would never see him again. [cold +1]

You weren't sure how to feel. [no change]

You were just happy Jeremy was gone. [cold +1]

You felt sad that he was so mean. [warm +1]

If the MC did not eat both the ice cream and cake, leading to Cove offering to take whatever's left (Fond/Crush only):

You slid your plate over. [cold +1]

You shook your head and kept your plate. [no change]

When Cove starts mashing his cake into his ice cream:

You raised your eyebrow. [cold +1]

You told him you do the same thing. [cold +1]

You thought it looked gross. [cold +1]

"I've never done that, but I want to now." [warm +1]

You didn't react. [warm +1]

After Cove and the MC reminisce on the ice cream cups (if Barbecue happened; Fond/Crush only):

You offered him a bite of your dessert." (if the MC is having dessert at all and did not slide their plate to Cove if they were only having one of the desserts) [warm +1]

You held up your fork and offered a bite of your dessert to him." (if the MC is having dessert at all and did slide their plate to Cove) [cold +1]

You asked him if you could have a bite of his dessert. [warm +1]

You smiled about the memory to yourself. [no change]

(following above choice) If MC asked/offered dessert and told Cove they were serious about it (Crush only):

"It's fine, Cove. I get it." [warm +1]

"Don't want to get my cooties, huh?" [warm +1]

"Different how? In what way?" (if the MC shared their ice cream with Cove in Barbecue) [cold +1]

You were a little down at his refusal. [cold +1]

After Cove confirms with Miranda that she didn't know what happened with Jeremy:

You got up and started bouncing again. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You laid back and closed your eyes to rest. [warm +1]

You changed the subject. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You told her about the ordeal. [warm +1]

Summerwork

After Cove thanks the MC for listening to him:

"Anytime." [cold +1]

"It's cool." [warm +1]

"You are welcome." [no change]

"Don't make a habit of it." [no change]

When Cove offers to check his own bag for the MC's homework (Fond/Crush only):

"Good idea." [cold +1]

"I don't want to." [warm +1]

"Alright..." [warm +1]

"It's not gonna be there." [cold +1]

Escapade

As the MC sees Cove spit out a watermelon seed into a bush (Fond/Crush only):

You shook your head in disapproval. [warm +1]

"Ew!" [cold +1]

You did the same and spat a seed into the bushes. [cold +1]

"I bet I can spit a seed farther than you." [warm +1]

(following above choice) When Cove asks if it's bad to have another slice):

You bumped him with your shoulder. [warm +1]

Unable to resist, you knocked the mostly finished slice out of his hand. [cold +1]

You smiled at him. [warm +1]

"No, it's alright." [cold +1]

"It's definitely bad." [warm +1]

You sighed affectionately. [cold +1]

After Cove leaves to go inside after the sunshower (Indifferent only):

You stayed outside to dry off. [warm +1]

You went inside. [cold +1]

When Cove offers to let the MC come inside his house to dry off (Fond/Crush only):

"Thanks, let's do that." [cold +1]

"You're the sweetest guy I know." [warm +1]

"I don't wanna cause trouble." [warm +1]

"I'm fine." [cold +1]

After Kyra opens the windows and turns up the radio:

You laughed and enjoyed the event. [warm +1]

You jokingly complained about the situation. [cold +1]

You were not a fan of this stunt. [cold +1]

You danced in your seat to the music. [warm +1]

As Cove panics over the papers flying out the window:

Amused, you helped. [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You helped frantically. [cold +1]

You watched him struggle, entertained. [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

When Cove complains about feeling tricked by Kyra:

You sided with Cove. [cold +1]

You sided with Kyra. [warm +1]

You stayed quiet. [warm +1]

After Kyra talks about catching a movie and Cove points out that he doesn't have any shoes:

"You should always bring shoes when you're going out." [cold +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the blue swimming trunks}

"I'm not wearing any either." [warm +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the blue swimming trunks if you follow up with "I don't know" or the pink swimming trunks with "We can't"/"It doesn't matter"}

"It doesn't matter." [warm +1] {note that this will give Step 3 Cove the pink swimming trunks}

As Cove shifts awkwardly while waiting for Kyra to buy tickets:

You offered him your shoes." (if the MC is wearing shoes) [warm +1]

Still, you consoled him. [cold +1]

You teased him over it. [warm +1]

You complained with him. [cold +1]

You kept quiet. [no change]

If the MC chose to leave the theater early with Cove:

"Thanks for leaving, Cove." [warm +1]

"I'm sorry we had to go." [warm +1]

"You're a really good friend." (if Fond/Crush) [cold +1]

"You're a good guy." (if Indifferent) [cold +1]

You hugged him." (if Fond/Crush) [cold +1]

You just wanted to stay quiet. [warm +1]

After Cove explains to the MC why he thinks Kyra took he and the MC out for their escapade:

"Are you having a good time with your mom around?" [warm +1]

"Okay. I get it." [cold +1]

"She shouldn't have made me be a part of it." [warm +1]

You nodded in understanding. [warm +1]

"She's giving you a taste of your own medicine." [cold +1]

You said nothing. [no change]

When the MC recalls how Cove ran away when they were kids (if Runaway happened):

You kept that thought to yourself. [no change]

You whispered about it to Cove. [warm +1]

○ You decided to inform Kyra. [cold +1]

○ You nodded and kept the secret. [no change]

You said it out loud. [cold +1]

(following above choice if the MC told Kyra about Cove running away):

You laughed. [cold +1]

You felt extremely embarrassed." (if "You said it out loud" was chosen from above) [warm +1]

You apologized to Cove. [warm +1]

You didn't feel like this was a big deal. [cold +1]

When Cove offers to talk to the MC's moms over Kyra keeping MC later than expected (Fond/Crush only):

"Thank you." [cold +1]

"Thanks, I might need it." [warm +1]

"I'm just glad we're heading back now." [warm +1]

"This was worth it even if they get mad." [cold +1]

You nodded. [warm +1]

(following above scene if the MC borrowed Cove's shirt) After Cove tells the MC to keep his shirt:

"Thanks." [warm +1]

"You're the best." [cold +1]

Secretly, you had hoped to not have to give it back. [warm +1]

"Good. You weren't gonna get it back no matter what." [cold +1]

You were at a loss over this. [warm +1]

Soiree

(obviously, all Soiree points require that the MC ask Cove to the soiree)

After Cove nods in response to the MC asking him out on a real date (Crush only):

"Yay!" [warm +1]

"Really?" [cold +1]

You exhaled deeply. [warm +1]

"Thank you!" [cold +1]

"You're welcome." [no change]

(following above choice) after Pamela teases Cove about treating the MC well:

"You're making him uncomfortable!" [cold +1]

"Stop embarrassing me." [warm +1]

"You don't have to worry." [warm +1]

"You don't have to worry. Cove's definitely going to be good to me." [cold +1]

"Come on Cove, what kind of answer was that?" [warm +1]

When the moms ask the MC when Cove is going to arrive:

"He's getting here at seven." [warm +1]

"Soon. Probably." [warm +1]

"I'm not sure." [warm +1]

"I'm picking him up from his place." [cold +1]

"I'll go get him!" [cold +1]

When Kyra asks the MC if they want her to call Cove for them (if the MC went to pick up Cove for the soiree):

"That would be great, thanks." [warm +1]

"It's alright. I can wait." [cold +1]

"Can I go check?" [no change]

You went over to Cove's room to check yourself. (Fond/Crush only) [no change]

After Cove compliments the MC's look:

"You're looking good, too." [warm +1]

"I wish I could say the same to you." [warm +1]

"What is that you're wearing?" [cold +1]

"You look wonderful." [cold +1]

After the MC's initial response to Cove giving them a flower (Fond/Crush only):

"You didn't need to do this, Cove." [warm +1]

"I'm sorry I didn't get you anything." [cold +1]

"Thank you, Cove." [no change]

"I still like this one 'cause it's from you." (if the MC told Cove that they didn't like the flower) [warm +1]

You left the conversation there. [no change]

"You're so wonderful." [cold +1]

After Cove asks if it's fine to eat if the MC chose to go have food with him:

"Yeah. I only like these parties because of the free food." [warm +1]

"I knew you'd come just for the free food." [cold +1]

"Yep. I wonder what they'll have this time?" [no change]

"No one will mind. Really." [cold +1]

You simply nodded. [warm +1]

When the MC chooses to ask Cove for a dance:

{note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"So... would you like to dance, maybe?" [warm +1]

"Hey, Cove. Let's dance." [cold +1]

"Cove, can I have the pleasure of your company on the dance floor?" [warm +1]

"C'mon, it's time to dance." [no change]

"I'd like to dance. With you. If that's okay?" [cold +1]

When Cove comments on his obligation to dance if the MC asks him to dance and asked him earlier to be their practice date (Fond only):

"That's right." [warm +1]

"You don't have to." [cold +1]

"I guess?" [cold +1]

"Only if you want to." [warm +1]

"Thanks." [no change]

After Cove steps out of sync with the music if the MC asked him to dance (Fond/Crush only):

"We should have stuck to the Hokey Pokey." [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"It's okay." [cold +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

"Dancing is harder than I thought." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

"I'm signing you up for dancing lessons." [warm +1] {note that this will give Cove sporty +1}

You quietly took a break. [warm +1]

Once Cove walks off to sit at a table (Indifferent only):

"Uh, Cove? Are you alright?" [cold +1]

"What's wrong?" [warm +1]

"Are you gonna get up soon?" [no change]

You didn't say anything. [no change]

(following above scene if MC chose to stay with Cove):

"What's wrong?" [warm +1]

"Feeling tired?" [cold +1]

"Are you sick?" [cold +1]

"What's up?" [no change]

"For what?" [warm +1]

After Cove walks away from the soiree (Fond/Crush only):

"Are you alright? And why are we here?" [cold +1]

"What's wrong?" [warm +1]

"Why'd you drag us out here?" [no change]

"Look at us, breaking the rules." [no change]

You didn't say anything. [no change]

(following above choice after the MC stays with Cove and he explains that he feels ready to go home):

"To your home planet?" [warm +1]

"Don't try running that far." [cold +1]

You kept quiet. [no change]

"I'm sorry you're not having fun anymore." [warm +1]

"Should I get my moms?" [cold +1]

Step 2 - Ending

If the MC wants to wear anklets for Cove (Fond/Crush only):

You put one ankle bracelet on. [cold +1]

You decided to wear several anklets." (if the MC owns multiple anklets) [warm +1]

You didn't wear one. [no change]

While the MC is waiting for Cove to arrive (Fond/Crush only):

It would only be polite to get the door for Cove. You went downstairs to wait. [cold +1]

You couldn't wait to see Cove, so you went downstairs to meet him when he arrived. [cold +1]

Cove knew your house well enough. You could lounge in your room to wait for him. [warm +1]

As Cove is talking about how he can't believe his mother is already leaving (Fond/Crush only):

"Yeah." [no change]

You nodded. [no change]

"She'll be back." [warm +1]

"Time's going by so fast." [cold +1]

After Cove notices the MC if they chose to wear an anklet/multiple anklets (Fond only):

"What do you mean?" [cold +1]

"Sorry." [cold +1]

"It's not about you." [warm +1]

You kept your mouth shut. [warm +1]

After Cove notices the MC if they chose to wear an anklet/multiple anklets (Crush only):

"Does it look good?" [warm +1]

You stayed quiet yourself. [warm +1]

"Sorry..." [cold +1]

"What's the problem, Cove?" [cold +1]

(following above choice):

"Yes." [cold +1]

"No." [warm +1]

"Maybe." [warm +1]

"I don't know what you're talking about?" [cold +1]

You shrugged. [no change]

If the MC chooses to confess to Cove with words (Crush only):

"I know you're crushing on me and I feel the same about you." [warm +1]

"I like you Cove. I really, really like you!" [cold +1]

"I... I have a crush on you." [warm +1]

"You're pretty and wonderful and the best person I know! I like you so much." [cold +1]

It was just too difficult to get the words out, no matter how much you wanted to. [no change]

(following above choice if MC didn't back out of confessing):

"I don't know, either." [warm +1]

"You don't have to do anything." [cold +1]

"You could tell me how you feel." [cold +1]

"Calm down." [warm +1]

You laughed. [no change]

You shrugged. [no change]

If the MC confesses to Cove by kissing without caution (Crush only):

"Was that alright?" [warm +1]

"Um, are you okay?" [cold +1]

"Surprise!" [warm +1]

"I really like you Cove." [cold +1]

"I'm sorry." [cold +1]

You couldn't say anything. [warm +1]

If the MC confesses to Cove by kissing cautiously and Cove apologizes (Crush only):

"It's okay." [cold +1]

You laughed. [warm +1]

You began to cry. [warm +1]

You were annoyed. [cold +1]

"I'll survive. Probably." [warm +1]

If the MC confesses to Cove by asking for a kiss (Crush only):

"Because I want to right now." [warm +1]

"I don't know." [warm +1]

"I don't wanna wait any longer." [cold +1]

"Why not?" [cold +1]

You couldn't answer. [cold +1]

If the MC tried to kiss Cove in Road Trip, leading to Cove bringing it up himself in their room (Crush only):

"How about a do-over?" [cold +1]

"Do you want to try again?" [warm +1]

You silently returned his gaze. [cold +1]

You smiled reassuringly. [warm +1]

When Cove points out how them getting into a relationship would make things different (Crush only):

"Things don't have to be different." [cold +1]

"I pretty much imagined you'd react like this." (if the MC didn't try to kiss Cove in Road Trip) [warm +1]

"This is hard for me." [warm +1]

"Should we find a crystal ball for answers?" [cold +1]

After Cove starts freaking out after sharing a kiss with the MC (Crush only):

You were full of nerves. [warm +1]

His reaction was really cute. [warm +1]

You thought his fluster was funny. [cold +1]

It worried you that he was so frantic. [cold +1]

(following above choice) After Cove calms down (provided the MC didn't verbally confess):

You smiled at him. [cold +1]

You hugged him. [warm +1]

"I like you, too." [cold +1]

You breathed a sigh of relief. [warm +1]

"I like you even more!" [cold +1]

After Cove points out that he and the MC's parents will probably take issue with their romantic relationship (Crush only):

"It's not fair." [warm +1]

"I wish we were older." [cold +1]

"It's okay." [cold +1]

"It doesn't matter, though. We like each other and that's what's important." [warm +1]

You didn't know what to say. [cold +1]

After Cove hesitates before crossing the street, anxious about his mom leaving (Fond/Crush only):

You smiled at him reassuringly. [cold +1]

You gave his back a pat. [cold +1]

You rested your hand on his arm. [warm +1]

"This isn't the last time you'll ever see her." [warm +1]

When Derek starts fantasizing about doing a show on the shopping street:

You thought it was a great idea and wanted to be a part of it. [warm +1]

You felt he could try this idea on his own. [cold +1]

You thought Derek needed to abandon that bad idea, stat. [warm +1]

You gave a look to the other two. [cold +1]

After Cove, Derek, and Elizabeth start speculating about the misprinted globe:

You wanted to side with Cove. {note that this will give Cove studious +1}

You backed up Derek. [no change]

You agreed with your sister. [no change]

"No, it's Australia." [warm +1]

You stayed out of it. [cold +1]

When the MC, Derek, and Cove spot Jeremy:

You stood there, shocked. [warm +1]

You glared at Jeremy. [cold +1]

You waved at Jeremy. [cold +1]

You decided to smile at Jeremy. [warm +1]

You looked away. [warm +1]

If the MC mentioned the realization that they probably won't see Jeremy again once summer ends:

"Good riddance." [cold +1]

"I think I might wanna see him again, sometime." [cold +1]

"Maybe he'll become nicer in the future." [warm +1]

"I'm happy it's over." [warm +1]

You stayed quiet. [warm +1]

If the MC chose to chase after Jeremy (if Birthday happened):

"Good riddance." [cold +1]

You tried to apologize for how you acted last time." (if the MC retaliated against Jeremy in Birthday) [warm +1]

"I just thought it'd be nice to say bye." [warm +1]

"Don't come back." [warm +1]

"I wish we could've really gotten to know each other." [cold +1]

You didn't say anything. [cold +1]

If the MC admitted to the families that they confessed to/kissed Cove (Crush only):

You were also feeling extremely, extremely embarrassed. [warm +1]

You felt bad for putting him in this situation. [cold +1]

You felt good for telling your friends and family something so important. [warm +1]

You didn't know how to feel anymore. [warm +1]

You were annoyed at the others for making Cove more nervous. [cold +1]

After the families tease Cove for not having manners like Derek:

"Manners-smanners." [cold +1]

"Who cares? I don't think it's that big of a deal." [warm +1]

You teased Cove for his bad habit. [warm +1]

You complimented Derek on his politeness. [cold +1]

You joked that Derek was basically an adult. [warm +1]

You kept quiet and took a bite of food. [warm +1]

If the MC chose to go outside after Cove to the poppy hill:

"You really should go to sleep." [warm +1]

"I know how you feel." [cold +1]

"I feel good." [warm +1]

"I hope you feel better." [cold +1]

You shrugged back. [warm +1]

You nodded. [cold +1]

(following above if Cove does an action that he claims is doing what the MC does):

"You do that all the time too." [warm +1]

"So do you, Cove!" [cold +1]

You were stunned he noticed enough to take note of it. [cold +1]

"I don't do it that much." [warm +1]

Not being able to argue with his assessment, you accepted it. [warm +1]

You felt bashful about his joke. [cold +1]

After Cove climbs up to the MC's window in his wetsuit to ask if they want to go to the beach with him (Fond/Crush only):

"Always." [cold +1]

"Here we go again..." [warm +1]

"It's way too early, Cove." [warm +1]

"You're crazy." [cold +1]

"Cove. You're so cute." [warm +1]

You gave a decisive nod. [cold +1]

Hope that helps, or at least is interesting in some form~

This one was a real doozy, not just because of having more chances than in Step 1 to give Cove warm/cold points but I really thought I was going crazy with the whole Moderate situation.

#our life #our life: beginnings & always #olba #cove holden #type: cracking the cove

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kiss-my-freckle · 9 months ago

Text

Full Episode Commentary

1x4: Family Ties

Just watch and you'll know what I mean by color scheme. I've noticed this done in certain episodes.

They showcase Damon's ability to manipulate Stelena indirectly. Unlike Stefan needing to manipulate Damon and Elena directly, Damon manipulates Stefan and Elena through Caroline. Like most of their episodes, Family Ties ends opposite the open. Damon hands Stefan a bad dream, and he's only able to because Stefan doesn't drink human blood. Damon tosses Elena on the news like the couple he actually killed at the open of the pilot. She's the entire reason he vervains Damon with the plan to desiccate him. "You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field. Football reference. Too soon." Like I said in a previous post, they have a football/game theme that isn't just used on the actual field, but in their love triangles. Stefan's so pissed over the bad dream that he stabs Damon with what appears to be a letter opener. Damon returns the favor, stabbing Stefan. Like Vicki's compulsion in 1x2 and the dream Damon just gave him, their mutual stab is one of many scenes they use to show the difference in strength with their diets. When Stefan stabs Damon, it doesn't phase him. When Damon stabs Stefan, he drops to his knee. They continue with these comparisons even into season 2.

Damon: All right, I deserved that. But I just wanted to let you know they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing coach Tanner and all those people. Stefan: What are you talking about? Damon: It was a mountain lion. Really big one. It attacked a hunter this morning. It's all over the news. "Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls." Stefan: Why would you cover your tracks? Damon: I've decided to stay a while.

This portion of the conversation shows Stefan having no reason to vervain Damon with the plan to desiccate him. Protecting Elena and the town is simply the excuse he uses for it. Best to trust what Damon says while locked in the cellar because he makes it clear why Stefan opted to desiccate him. After all, he's the one spitting truth here. It's because Stefan decided to stay and build a life in Mystic Falls that it was only his problem.

Stefan: You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you. Damon: Ah. That can be a problem... for you.

At this very moment, it's Damon's problem because like Stefan, he's now planning to stay in Mystic Falls. He has to for the sake of rescuing Katherine. Understand he's saying this after connecting to his humanity in 1x3, so trust he's being real.

Damon: And I'm just having way too much fun here with you and Elena. Stefan: Can't touch her now. Damon: Well, the vervain keeps me out of her head. Maybe that's not my target. Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style and my charm, and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift.

Damon's attempt to compel Elena in 1x3 and this bit of conversation right here is the beginning of Delena's head/heart theme, and it's quite a huge theme. He's referring to her heart and he's lying. He has no plans to get her to fall in love with him. He's emotionally loyal to Katherine and he truly cares about Elena. Stefan's "Can't touch her now" only shows he's ignorant to the reality that Damon could touch her if he wanted to. All he has to do is rip that necklace off and compel her, he's choosing not to. With his reference to Taylor Swift, Damon tells the audience the type of man he is. It's not about impressing girls, it's about spending time with them. He's what I term a woman's man. That part of his personality is an aspect that he and Klaus share. He has other scenes/attributes that contribute to this aspect, and I'll note them along the way. He has an insane eye for fashion, and you can include that in his "Taylor Swift" personality. "The real animal is still out there, waiting for me, challenging me to fight back, to stop him. But how do I stop a monster without becoming one myself?" Again, Stefan has no reason to vervain Damon with the plan to desiccate him. They introduce Logan, and he... comes off a lot like human Damon.

Jeremy: That stuff is mom and dad's. You can't just give it away. Elena: I'm not giving it away. It's called a loan, Jeremy.

I love the scenes between Jeremy and Elena in this episode because I understand it. There's no way I'd trust loaning that stuff to be put on display at a founding family event. I'm very sentimental. My mother's things are off-limits to everyone and have been since she died. They'd only get close enough to take a picture and display that picture at the event lol.

Now the third time Stefan's bloodlust became an issue in scene with Elena, and all he's doing is kissing her. He poses a threat because he chooses to remain in her life, and he knows it. This builds as the series moves along, and I'll reference every escalation. Consider this a lie by omission, which I feel is no different than compulsion. Elena invites him to the Founder's historical party.

Elena: Will you be my date to the Founder's Party? Stefan: They still do that? Elena: Have you been before? Stefan: No, the Salvatores don't get invited anymore.

He lies to her again. Cut to Damon and Caroline. As I've mentioned before, he's good with fashion. "No yellow. Jaundice. Go for the blue." Her yellow dress looks godawful. I don't even like the style. He compels her to take him to the party because he's not lying, it's truly important that he goes. He needs to get to Emily's talisman. Despite being compelled, Caroline speaks to Damon's 1864 attributes, and she's not the only character to mention this. Katherine and Stefan both do. "You can be very sweet when you want to be."

Caroline asks him if he's gonna kill her. He's being honest when he tells her, "Mm-hmm. But not yet." Stefan has no idea of his intention to kill Caroline. So while he plans to desiccate Damon because of Elena, he has no idea that it's not Elena, but Caroline he's protecting. "Because there's something I need you to do for me. How good are you at getting this little nose where it doesn't belong?" This right here is 1/4 of Damon's manipulation, and the entire manipulation is done on Caroline. Tyler sits with his parents at the Grill. When Vicki comes to the table, he reacts as if he's too embarrassed to be seen talking to her, like she's the kind of girl he can't bring home. It's insane the way the parents in this show treat their kids. The way Carol treats Vicki, the way Matt's mother treats Caroline. lol @ Caroline's witch twitter tweet comment. Damon is older sexy danger guy.

Caroline: And Damon's not dangerous. You know, he just has a lot of issues with his brother. You know, like major deep-rooted drama. Bonnie: Like...? Caroline: I'm not really supposed to say anything. Bonnie: Caroline Forbes, when have you ever kept a secret in your life? Caroline: Okay. But you can't tell Elena. Bonnie: No.

This is 2/4 of Damon's manipulation. Vicki knows well enough to know that Tyler is treating her just as his parents do, yet chooses to continue seeing him. "Oh, your parents are gone. I guess we can be close now. You treat me like trash. I'm sick of it." That's why I question the impact having absent parents had on her self-esteem. Jeremy is adorably sweet to her. "You know you're making the wrong choice, yet you make it anyway. It's sad." I could say the same of Elena, and often lol. The sad girl mourning her parents becomes the happy girl being sad in her choices.

Probably best not to treat the "bad" brother this way. Damon is chill and looking through Stefan's homework. It's insane to me that both Stefan and Zach treat him like he doesn't belong in Mystic Falls as if that's not his hometown, treat him like he doesn't belong at the Salvatore boarding house as if that's not his name. "You are in no position to question me." He basically tells Zach the same as Stefan did, only he's more hands on about it, chokes him to get his point across. Damon doesn't have to explain himself. Being alive is enough explanation. Damon likely wouldn't have choked Zach had he not pressed the issue.

Stefan: Hey, are you okay? Zach: No, I'm not. And neither are you. How many more people have to die before you see that? Stefan: I see it. All right, Zach, I see it. Zach: Then why aren't you doing anything about it? Stefan: I can't, Zach. I can't.

Zach has no idea that Damon already spoke to Stefan about the deaths and cleared the air. Stefan doesn't bother telling him either. It's from this moment forward that I blame Stefan for Zach's death. "Vervain hasn't grown here since 1865. Damon saw to that. The little I had, I gave to Elena." As I said before, the necklace is for Damon, the vervain is for Elena. It hasn't grown in Mystic Falls since 1864 because Damon watched 27 vampires get rounded up. They double-up the vervain and those 27 vampires in this episode for a reason. Damon believes Katherine has been desiccating in a tomb for 145 years because of vervain. While it was also used by their Uncle Joseph when he sold Damon to the Whitmores in 1953, I guarantee Katherine was the entire reason he stopped it from growing in Mystic Falls in 1865.

Damon: Nice trick with Elena. Let me guess... vervain in the necklace? I admit, I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where'd you get it? Stefan: Does it matter?

Keep this exchange in mind going forward because Damon wasn't pissed that he couldn't compel Elena. Damon was pissed that he encountered vervain in Mystic Falls, where he made sure it wouldn't grow. He's a vervain extremist. Consider it the weapon that killed 27 vampires, Katherine included. Even though they're alive, they're only alive because of Emily. It was the intent of the founding families to burn all 27 vampires alive in Fell's Church, that's why the church is literally burned to the ground.

Stefan: You've been growing it.

Expect Damon to kill Zach.

Zach: It's just something that's been passed down through the generations. Blood only runs so deep when you're related to vampires. Damon would kill me if he knew that I had it. Stefan: But you're telling me. Why? Zach: Because I trust you. And you're gonna need it if you want to get rid of him.

Not just for growing it, but for handing it to Stefan for the purpose of using it on him for a 50 year desiccation. In his mind, Zach is no better than their Uncle Joseph. "Would it make a difference if I told you I actually like Vicki?" Tyler must be nuts. Him liking Vicki makes it worse. I'm glad Jeremy agrees. Bonnie and the nail polish. Elena wants to mix them because she's both. Elena ends up becoming Damon's sired vampire girlfriend, so the Delicate Flower becomes the Unbreakable Flower and the Naughty Vixen becomes the Obedient Vixen.

"Okay, but it has to go in the vault because Caroline will kill me if it gets back to Damon that she squealed. Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back story. Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend Katherine? Yeah, they both dated her, only she chose Damon. And that drove Stefan mad, so he did horrible things to try and break them up. He manipulated Katherine. He filled her head with all these lies until finally it worked, and she turned against Damon."

This is 3/4 of Damon's manipulation, and all it took was a single conversation with Caroline. It isn't just Damon's lie that drives the wedge between Stefan and Elena. It's also the point Bonnie makes at the end of their conversation.

Elena: Stefan is none of those things. Bonnie: Yeah? How do you know?

Elena wouldn't know because she doesn't know Stefan, and Stefan avoids the Katherine topic every chance he gets. In truth, Stefan IS a calculating, manipulative liar. He's been lying to Elena since the moment they met, and lying is a manipulation tactic. That's why I consider his lies no different than compulsion. He's controlling her through them. Trust that Damon would view Bonnie as a very good friend to Elena. He's very intuitive that way. She stood up for her against Caroline right in front of him in 1x3. So yeah, Bonnie is the one to get this reaction...

I love the chess board in this scene with Damon and Stefan. Again, Stefan treating Damon like he doesn't belong. "Why are you even going? I think it's better if we don't draw attention to ourselves." They're going to an event, not dropping bodies. "So you should stay here. I'll see to it Elena has a good time." This is the very threat Stefan worries about. The threat that matters. Stefan delivers the same possessive body language as he did with Damon and Elena in 1x2. Carol calls Elena because the pocket watch is missing from their mother's box. Carol put it on her list of things she wanted to display at the event. Like I said, I understand Jeremy's desire not to loan it out. He wants to feel connected to his father. Unlike Stefan's daylight ring, it's an actual family heirloom. They cut back to Stefan and Damon. In this cut, Stefan purposefully highlights his alcohol in an attempt to get Damon to drink it, and he is fully expecting him to drink it. Tell you what's really insane to me. The last time Katherine's photo appeared was in the pilot. Stefan was shown putting it in his journal. They continue to display it in Stefan's room as if he's continuously taking it out. It's shown in this scene, again with Vicki in 1x6, and again with Elena in 1x10. Clear to me that Stefan has an emotional connection to it. "1864. You and Katherine were the perfect couple. It was hell watching you dance with her." He's being honest, referring to the flashback of their "near touch" dance. Ah, I totally forgot about this dialogue, so I'll have to add it in my notes. Anyway, this entire scene can be found in 2x4.

"Here's to history repeating itself, huh?" THIS is clear-cut intent. History WILL BE repeated. Elena has a scene quite similar in 4x2. And this... this is honesty. "I have to go to the party angry. Who knows what I'll do?" Like I said, a vervain extremist. Vicki looks gorgeous dressed up. I love the way the sunlight hits her, and yeah... I love the dress she's wearing. Again, Tyler treating her like she's trash. He lies to her like Stefan lies to Elena. He claims the line is too long, but it's because he doesn't want Vicki and his mother having a face-to-face moment. They cut to Zach and Stefan. "I wasn't counting on it." This is another lie. Zach's vial of vervain is Stefan's plan b. If he truly didn't expect Damon to drink the alcohol, he wouldn't have bothered with it. "Did what I wanted. It lowered his guard. He won't expect me to try again so soon." He didn't need to lower Damon's guard to roofie him via Caroline. Stefan's entire comment is completely contradicted because he's lying. That's why he offers Damon a drink at the party and Damon refuses. However, I do find it hilarious that Stefan uses Caroline to vervain Damon after Damon already manipulated Caroline to put a wedge between Stefan and Elena. Yes, you read that correctly. Stefan USES Caroline to vervain Damon. I love the dress Elena chooses for the party, but I'm not liking the hairstyle. I'm glad she chose to give the pocket watch to Jeremy and lie to Carol. Not because it acts as a vampire compass, but for Jeremy. She's getting ready to attend a founding family "historical" event, which is likely the reason she comes to understand his desire to hold onto it. Her heart is so damn beautiful. I like how characters comment to age. While Liz feels Damon is a little old for Caroline, Elena feels Caroline isn't much younger than he is. Elena's comment lol... "There's a lot of history here." She has no idea just how much. Jenna runs into Logan.

After Stefan already lied to her about never attending the event, Elena catches sight of their original guest registry. Damon offers her details of the past while Stefan makes it clear that he doesn't want Elena learning their truth. "We don't need to bore them with stories of the past." 4/4 of Damon's manipulation, getting Caroline to dance with Stefan. He's using her here for the sake of getting Elena alone. Not to manipulate Elena, but to offer a genuine apology for trying to kiss her. "I want to apologize to you for being such a world-class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you. There's no excuse. My therapist says I'm... acting out, trying to punish Stefan." lmao!! If only Damon saw a therapist. If only Elena did, then she wouldn't need to depend on Stefan as badly as she does. Stefan pulls a page from his father's playbook, spiking Caroline's drink with vervain for the sake of vervaining Damon just as their father vervained him for the sake of vervaining Katherine. I'll gif this Delena scene, but it'll be posted separately. Damon tells Elena how he and Stefan died in 1864 while trying to save Katherine. So much for boring Elena with stories of the past. "Who was in the church that they wanted to save?"

Elena's "but I can't get in the middle of it" in this scene is partly the reason Damon trusts taking her to Atlanta in 1x11, and it backfires because Stefan manipulates her for the sake of betraying him in 1x13. At any rate, this Delena scene is what I term "close-up" filming, and to the extent it's... quite intimate. I can understand if some fans started shipping them after watching it. Elena still has no idea that she's a doppelganger of their ex while he's actually referring to their ex. "Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?" This line here is a straight-up admission on Damon's part, and Elena knows it. He's referring to the sibling rivalry and how it ALWAYS comes down to the love of a woman, thus, their sibling rivalry is all about Katherine. Even in the night and the lighting they chose for the scene, Vicki looks gorgeous. I love watching Bonnie work her magic, the fact that she's completely terrified of being a witch, and how they gradually have her embracing that part of herself. Notice how I say "that part of herself" because Bonnie isn't just a witch even though the writers treated her otherwise. "Don't talk, please." Damon isn't jealous of Stefan and Elena in this dance scene. She's Katherine's doppelganger, so when Caroline talks about them looking so cute together, she might as well be referring to Katherine. She's jumping off Damon's initial roofie scene. Like I said, this scene only furthers the fact that Stefan couldn't even stop himself from lying to Zach. Damon refuses to take a drink because he's expecting Stefan to make another attempt. Damon doesn't consider the idea that Stefan spiked Caroline's drink for the sake of spiking him. If not for their father doing it to Stefan, he wouldn't either.

It's insane to me that Stefan blames Damon. This dance scene with him... it jumps off Elena's scene with Bonnie, and she felt the truth for herself because she KNOWS that she barely knows Stefan. Even when she asks him to say something, anything... he still refuses to speak of the past. This insane boundary Stefan put on discussing anything of the past will remain an issue for them for four seasons, that's how bad Stefan is with his inability to be open and honest with her. Rather than accept the fact that he's withholding information, that he's been lying and keeping secrets, he blames Damon for causing trouble. While yes, Damon is causing trouble, there wouldn't be any trouble if Stefan were honest with her... which is the entire point. "But with mystery comes secrets." He's keeping secrets, and it's not like the secrets he keeps are "safe" secrets. They're extremely dangerous to her because he's a ripper vampire.

"Because I put it there." The best way not to lose Emily's talisman over the course of 145 years is to keep it with the founding families - and in a secret compartment. After all, Damon had to come home to rescue Katherine, might as well keep the tool to open the tomb close to the tomb. Logan is being more than genuine here. "I was young and stupid, and then things changed. Life got... real." He makes mention to cheese fries, so he clearly remembers her taste buds. He's beautiful in these scenes with Jenna. lol... I love Bonnie. She refers to Carol as a bitch. I agree, but she's only a bitch in the beginning. Hard for her to judge others once she finds out her son is a werewolf. Elena catches sight of Caroline's bite marks. "My mom would kill me." No, Liz would kill Damon lol... Damon would be the one to kill Caroline just as he told her he would at the open of the episode. This scene between Elena and Caroline is the reason Caroline makes a big deal over Damon biting her in 1x5. She wouldn't have made a big deal of it otherwise. Damon gets pissed at Caroline, though not because Elena found out. He's pissed that Elena threatened to go to Liz... who is part of the secret council that kills vampires. "You stay away from Caroline or I will go straight to her mother, the sheriff. You got it?" That's why he's more than ready to kill Caroline here. Again jumping off the open, he told Stefan that he plans to stay for a while so he's decided to keep a low profile. If Elena were anyone else, trust she'd be dead with that threat lol.

"Look, there are things that you don't know, okay? Things that I want to tell you, but I can't. And I may never be able to." This is Stefan basically admitting that he never had plans to tell her he's a vampire, that he may never be able to tell her. And despite this, he forced himself into her life and started a relationship with her. So yes, he clearly felt that Elena deserved a life with him, that she deserved a life of secrets and lies. Jeremy and Vicki are so gorgeous. Slightly angry before the party, Damon now has reason to be extremely angry. Stefan admits to spiking Caroline's drink for the sake of spiking him, tosses him in the cellar with the plan to desiccate him, and in that cellar with him is the very vervain Zach's been growing in secret while Damon is the very person that stopped vervain from growing in Mystic Falls in 1865... and stopped it from growing because of those 27 lives that he knows aren't mentioned in their history books lol. Expect Zach to die as a result.

Even though Damon had every intention of killing Caroline, Stefan's plan to desiccate him isn't about Caroline. It's about Elena. And it isn't about protecting her from violence. It's about stopping Damon from threatening their relationship and to stop Elena from learning their truth. Ending opposite the open...

"I did what I had to do… To protect Elena."

"Don't you see what Damon has done here? He's trying to get you to turn against me."

"Damon said something, didn't he? He likes to play games and cause trouble, Elena."

"So you should stay here. I'll see to it Elena has a good time."

"Well, the vervain keeps me out of her head. Maybe that's not my target. Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style and my charm and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift."

"I've decided to stay a while. And I'm just having way too much fun here with you and Elena."

50 years of desiccation is Stefan's plan.

#Bite Me

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silkendandelion · 9 months ago

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I can't find where in Google's terms they're using A.I. and not allowing graphic content. Do you remember where you saw it? Also, I keep stopping and starting when it comes to choosing a encrypted email because the thought of changing my email on all my accounts is daunting. Thank you for your advice.

Hi! Good to hear from you again. This got really long so look below the cut:

~*~

We have to do a little digging here. On the outside, google’s TOS front page boasts that your work belongs to you—that is true. But that’s not the issue, the problem is whether your work is allowed on their Drive service. Google reserves the rights in their TOS to remove content from their servers they believes violates their policies, so let’s visit that. They state—

“Do not distribute content that contains sexually explicit material, such as nudity, graphic sex acts, and pornographic material. This includes driving traffic to commercial pornography sites. We allow nudity for educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic purposes.”

Most people read that last line, “artistic purposes” and think “oh I’m safe”—maybe. The word artistic has no definition within US Law (bc thats where I’m from, users from other countries will have to brush up on their countries laws), the only thing the law decides is who owns the material.

If something happened to your account, maybe you get reviewed, maybe the moderator handling your case believes your content is explicit or isn’t artistic. Likely? Not really, that’s what we call the “spotlight effect”.

But don’t you deserve better? Nothing in google’s terms of service protects you if that ever happened. I know that I want better, I want clear and legally binding terms of service that hold companies liable for when its users are wrongfully purged or deleted. I want them to protect my information because that’s their job.

As for the AI thing, it’s public information Google is creating multiple AI engines for different purposes, engines that need scraped information. As of this post, googles current rule is “publicly available” information from your Google docs or adjacent accounts is fair game for scraping, including anything you’ve posted to personal websites or social media. So far, the rule is to set your stuff to “anyone with a link” to opt out (not that they told anyone to do that).

While that does protect some users and looks good splashed across a tweet from their corporate account—I don’t believe it.

For a billion dollar company that wants to make money and save money, where is the cheapest information they can get for their models? Their own servers. If I had a dollar for every time a company says one thing and then gets busted years later for lying and doing the thing they promised they weren’t doing—well I wouldn’t have to work.

(Rant over)

Wow, this got way too long and a little angry, but that’s okay. Hopefully, you learned something, and I learned a little more from doing new research.

Choosing a new email is always hard, it takes awhile, and I only moved over accounts that I use creatively, and my job. Try creating an account with a service as a trial period, see if you like the user interface, how the apps run, if you like it: switch over. If you don’t like it, you can always close the account and try a different service.

Cheers to a better internet, emyy, one day at a time 🩵

#google drive #Google #google docs

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jess-moloney · 1 year ago

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Signs An Online Storefront Is A Scam

I was doing more research into this and came across an interesting article about this and though this IceStudios website doesn't meet all of the criteria they meet a lot of it. Check it out:

5. Amateur website design

However, fraudsters tend to move quickly and often don’t want to take too long to build a fake shopping website, as it could easily be identified as fraudulent and get taken down. This is why they tend to opt for simple, inexpensive website templates that come with limited features—often just enough to convince unsuspecting customers that they’re the real deal.

No one can tell me this isn't one of the most amateurish websites they've ever seen for someone who allegedly has a degree in marketing from LCF.

7. Limited contact details

Raise your suspicions if the site only has a fill-in contact form, the customer service email is a random Yahoo or Gmail account instead of a corporate one, or the contact details are non-existent.

I mean this is literally all you get for contact info it's on form and it seems to go absolutely nowhere. Like it's just there for decoration. They don't even have a note up saying how long you should wait for a reply or email addresses/regular addresses/phone numbers or any sort of support for customers.

8. Complex or non-existent returns policy

To ensure they comply with the laws surrounding consumer protection rights, reputable retail brands are transparent about their return and refund policies. Scammers, on the other hand, often don’t bother putting much thought into the return policies that feature on their sites—if they choose to include one at all.

You can read through their entire (and extremely confusing TOS) and never actually find what their return policy is. There are also several red flags in this about how they are not responsible for basically anything including false advertising or if you get your item or not.

9. Questionable payment options

Legitimate brands will always give you the option of paying with traditional and secure methods—including credit and debit cards, cash on delivery, or pay later options, such as Klarna and Afterpay.

You get one payment option with them. Though you can put in any card I suppose since it's GPay they should still have way more than one option here for people who want to buy their stuff.

10. Bad social media

Most legit businesses have some sort of social media presence as it serves as one of the best ways to advertise their products and services. If an online retailer doesn’t have an overt social media presence—or the social media icons displayed on their site lead nowhere—the chances of it being fake are high.

We already know how poorly this is run. Their most recent post is a stolen magazine cover from 1968 that Ice Studios has nothing to do with. They constantly say they are about to drop items then never drop them. They don't ever reply to customers asking questions about when certain items are coming back. They have falsely advertised that camo suit I don't know how many times (it looks extremely different on the actual website).

So the list of how to identify a scam store online is a list of 10 things and Jess's Ice Studio's shop meets 50% of that criteria. I'm not saying this proves it's some kind of scam but some of these things should just be basic knowledge if it's not a scam. If it isn't, then it's run by the most stupid people on the planet and there's no way Jess has a real degree in marketing, that's for sure. [Source Article]

Edit: Forgot to add

1. URL red flags

The fastest way to tell if a site is secure is by checking for HTTPS, with a padlock next to it, in the URL. HTTPS indicates that the site uses SSL encryption, which is superior to HTTP. With HTTPS, nobody between the website and the user can read the data.

No padlock

#jess moloney #ice studios #thoughts

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cindylouwho-2 · 1 year ago

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Recent Ecommerce News (Including Etsy), October 2023

Hello and welcome to my new format for ecommerce business news updates! Instead of jamming everything in one long report, I am now going to divide them up into 1) ecommerce site news, including:

Etsy news

all other marketplaces and website builders

payment processing

shipping

and 2) a SEO & online business news update, including:

social media

general SEO

content marketing

ads & stats

consumer trends & psychology,

graphic design tools (images, video etc.)

The new plan is to release the ecommerce one more frequently, and to do less frequent updates on SEO etc.

Remember, if you want to get more regular updates on these topics - especially Etsy - please follow me on Twitter, on LinkedIn, or on Bluesky. I also post major updates on Reddit.

Please let me know what you think of these changes!

More on this story

Twitter’s paid blue tick re-launches after pause

12 December 2022

Twitter confirms users’ fee to buy verification

6 November 2022

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c-is-for-circinate · 4 years ago

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Like, is the gist "Real life pedophilia/incest/rape is bad, and stories saying these things are good are bad, but including these topics in a story isn't inherently bad, so the people being like 'hey, maybe Ao3 shouldn't have so much kiddie porn there's an entire category called "Underage"' are just overreacting and making things worse?" Because it feels like you're saying, "your negative reaction to this stuff is valid, but also you're annoying and prudish and bad and really you aren't valid."

So here’s the thing: it really does not sound like you're asking this question because you want my answer, it sounds like you want to be angry with me and have a fight. And fair enough! I'm not terribly interested in a fight, but apparently this is my day to dive into this topic as thoughtfully and honestly as I can be. Maybe I'll say something you haven't already heard from other people before. Maybe not! Only you, anonymous asker, know that.

To begin with, you got part of the gist right. Real life rape (including child abuse/child sexual abuse as well as incest) is bad. Stories about rape, about underage sex, and about incest, are stories.

They're stories. They're pixels on a screen. They're not real. Whether they claim that rape is good, or bad, or sexy, or melodramatic, or life-destroying, or a normal Tuesday afternoon. They're stories.

And having a negative reaction to them is valid. Stories can stir up powerful emotions in people. It is absolutely, 100%, fair and valid and even normal for there to be certain tropes, plot elements, events, and kinds of content that make you upset and that you never want to see in a story you read, ever. You don't have to want to read about sex. You don't have to want to read any of it. That doesn't make you bad.

There are tropes, plot elements, events, and kinds of content that upset me. There are stories I won't read. The same is true of literally everyone else I know. Even though I know the stories aren't real. Even though I know the things happening in them are happening to fictional characters, who do not exist, who I cannot protect and who also cannot be harmed because they're not real. Even then, I can be made sad and scared and upset and hurt by reading those stories. And that is okay and that is valid and I am not bad or wrong for being upset about the story I've read, and neither are you.

But that doesn't mean the story doesn't have value to somebody else. That doesn't mean the story isn't important to somebody else.

What I see most often coming from antis, possibly even including yourself, is an overwhelming desire to protect. They want to keep themselves and others--possibly people they know, possibly hypothetical people they may never meet--safe from being hurt by these stories. And that desire to protect, also, is normal. It's even admirable! The problem, though, the thing that does more harm than good, is when that desire to protect drives people to lash out against things that matter to other people.

There is a difference between actual rape and stories about rape. There is a difference between a story that could theoretically hurt somebody, someday (which is all stories, always), and a story that hurts you personally. And there is a difference between a story that hurts you personally, and a story that is inherently poisonous to everyone who touches it.

We know--absolutely, scientifically, incontrovertibly--that stories about rape do not make people rapists. Yes, even the stories where the rape is there to be sexy. Even stories where the person being raped is a child. Even then. Fiction is not the same thing as normalization; again, there are far smarter people who have written far more extensively on that topic than I, and next time I come across something that goes more into detail on this point I promise I will reblog it. If this really is the thing you're afraid of, I may not be the right person to convince you that this is an unfounded fear, but I know someone out there can elaborate on it.

(Unfounded, which is not the same thing as invalid. My mother's claustrophobia is unfounded; it flares up in many situations where there's no physical threat whatsoever, where she has plenty of space to move and air to breathe. It's still real. It still chokes her. It's still valid, she is not bad or broken to feel that way, and she still can't drive through certain tunnels. The fear is real. But the thing she's afraid of can't physically hurt her, and that is worth knowing in terms of how she deals with it.)

We know, absolutely, scientifically, and incontrovertibly, that stories about rape and many, many, many other things can hurt and even traumatize their readers. Even though the situation you're reacting to is not real and you receive no physical injury, you can still be hurt by it. The key word there, though, is readers. The fact that the horror genre is out there terrifying people who enjoy being terrified for fun does not damage me unless I do something stupid and try listening to the Magnus Archives again and end up tense and miserable and paranoid for the rest of the week. The fact that guacamole is apparently delicious to everybody else in the world does not hurt me unless I do something stupid and order the wrong thing at a restaurant, and end up itchy and miserable with a little trouble breathing for the rest of the night.

The fact that there are, yes, tens of thousands of fics on AO3 in which characters under the age of 18 have sex? It can't hurt you. Those fics do not hurt you by existing. They can only hurt you if you read them. They can only hurt anyone who reads them. That's why there is an 'Underage' tag--and it's worth noting, 'Underage' is a warning, not a category. Nobody wants you to get hurt reading the wrong fic, any more than the sushi chef wants my throat to swell up because I ordered something with avocado. Literally nobody wants that.

The flip side, of course, is that you hating each and every one of those fics individually and as a group doesn't actually hurt me, or anyone else who writes, reads, or enjoys them. By itself. You can hate anything you like, and fic writers can write anything they like, and it all comes out in the end, more or less. Except.

Except that reading fic is always, entirely, 100% opt-in, and online harassment isn't even opt-out. Some antis have a nasty habit of going after writers whose content they don't like; climbing into inboxes and comments sections, calling those writers nasty names, throwing around cruelties and aggression and insults. I know that's not the same thing as simply disliking a genre, or even passively disagreeing with its existence (although disliking a genre and disagreeing with its right to exist are also very different things). I know not all antis do that. I don't know you, anon, but based on the speed and aggressiveness of this response to my last post, I can't help but wonder if you would do that.

And that does hurt people. Just like it might hurt you if someone threw a bunch of content that makes you uncomfortable into your inbox. Including the harasser, actually--because getting into fights with strangers on the internet about things that make you angry, sad, defensive, and upset isn't good for anybody. Including both you and me.

Anyway, after yet another lengthy ramble, let's get the tl;dr response to your ask here: nobody is ever bad or wrong for disliking certain content in their stories, no matter what that content is. You and your emotions are valid. The "overreacting and making things worse" part isn't about what you feel, but what you do with it. Constantly engaging with places where the thing that upsets you will probably show up, even to argue and try to fight it, will make things worse in the sense that now you're spending way more time thinking about this thing that makes you upset and angry, thereby leaving you more upset and angry. Getting together with a bunch of your upset, angry friends to make your feelings everybody else's problem? Makes fandom a more toxic place for everyone else involved.

Don't read stuff that's going to hurt you. Don't make other people read stuff that's going to hurt them. That's the whole thing, really.

#Anonymous #asked and answered #rape cw #incest cw #discourse #anti discourse day

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bring-us-back-light · 9 months ago

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1. "men who dont choose to enforce the patriarchy dont exist, you cant opt out" and "men have to choose not to enforce the patriarchy to not suffer under it" are incompatible. the logical combination of that is that men are incapable of not suffering under the very thing you claim isnt real

2. just because people can experience other forms of loneliness including other forms of class loneliness doesnt make this one not real. and youve already acknowledged it as real elsewhere so stop trying to change your argument. is it not real, or is it real but men deserve it inherently?

3. male loneliness is the impact of a system on individuals. you cant only talk about men as a class or only talk about men as individuals on this topic

4. oh i see. you think recognition of a problem leading to suffering somehow absolves the people suffering from any part they had in it. im not claiming that. the people ive heard speaking of male loneliness arent claiming that. yes it makes it harder to reach them. thats not saying they arent still culpable for their actions. and likewise being culpable for their actions doesnt mean they arent suffering and that everyone wouldnt benefit from us working together to resolve the issues

5. side note of intent vs impact: depends on what youre talking about. if youre talking about protecting victims, (most things) victims healing, and supporting victims, yes intent doesnt matter. only impact does. but if youre talking politically about dismantling a system like patriarchy, and analysing its impacts, then intent and impact both matter. and sometimes intent is also important for restorative healing between a victim and a perpetrator

6. regarding education... this is a lot. you can educate people into caring about others. everyone is capable of learning at any age and its terrifying, from both sides, to take that as false. and im not arguing that men know not to hurt others, but its ridiculous to expect men to innately have an understanding of patriarchy and how all of their actions may or may not reinforce it. many people will stop doing things if the harm of their actions is explained because they dont understand, know, or realize, and they need to be educated. that isnt infantilization, thats how knowledge works. like this point was so un thought out and stupid it was hard and exhausting to respond to at all.

7. youre right, i shouldnt have made assumptions about why you care more about vengeance than progress. and im sorry for that. but you mischaracterize your initial post as something i would agree with, when it actually said that a real problem isnt real, and also put words in my mouth. i would never call your post feminist. if you actually wanted to pursue abolition of the patriarchy you would leverage this as a recruitment opportunity for disenfranchised men to have buy in to get rid of the system. patriarchy harms everyone and helps some people. use that, dont disregard it

also this isnt @op, i greatly appreciate op discussing this with me, even if weve been a bit unfair at points to eachother. i still feel like real discussion and communication is happening. but @ the anon or anons who i assume are sending me asks about thos thread that are just name calling me, either get a life, stop hiding behind anonymity, and/or actually present arguments. youre asks have been pathetic, ineffectual, and lack any discernable intent

already can't pretend to care about the male loneliness epidemic because it isn't real but listening to the way men actually talk about their friends/what they think friendship entails makes me care even less sorry

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storiesundercandlelight · 3 years ago

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Can we get a Silco x Reader where reader is sold/given/arranged marriage to Silco maybe as a way of keeping peace or something like that? Maybe from a Piltover family? I dunno but then they end up kinda falling for each other?

Totally beauty and the best vibes here xD nswf or not whatever you want to include!!

Something I Didn't Know I Needed

Ahh so excited for more Silco stuff!!!

Warnings: swearing

Also I kind of left out the main storyline/Jinx in this one!

Disbelief washed over your face when your uncle and guardian told you that you were headed to Zaun. At first you didn't understand, you couldn't understand, you stood there like an idiot staring blankly at him. That was two hours ago.

Now? Now you were stood in your rooms collection your things. You didn't even know what to take. What do you pack when you're sold off like cattle to a man like Silco? Your hands grabbed for the nearer object to you and you swung, a glass vase smashing against the far wall as you screamed out your anger.

You'd thought about running. But your uncle was no fool, guards had been posted at your door, ready for any move you tried to make.

Sitting on the edge of your bed you let your head fall into your hands, trying to take deep breaths as you collected your thoughts. You were a strong girl, you could handle Silco right? You tried to convince yourself that was the case. Your uncle had explained why this was happening but all you could hear was this ringing noise in your ears, a deafening tone that screamed at you as words silently left his mouth.

Peace....Silco....sending you will help protect us....you'll be fine....I'm sure he'll take care of you.....you're an adult now.....responsibility....

Words...

You sat up straight and sighed. Suddenly everything was numb. You couldn't think because your mind simply couldn't right now. The journey to Zaun passed by quickly, your family guards handed you over to Silco's men, your uncle hadn't even made the journey with you. Fucker. if it wasn't for one of Silco's men pushing you to keep moving you wouldn't have realised you were now stood outside what looked like a bar. You took a quick scan of the surroundings, the place was a dump. This wasn't your first time in the lanes but still compared to Piltover this place could really use a lick of paint.

The bar was full of people, drinking, singing drunkenly, two men in a far corner looked about ready to leap at each other over a table of cards. Some looked at you, others ignored you entirely. You opted for discreet clothing, leaving most of your Piltover fashion behind, you guessed you wouldn't need it here and you were right.

The men either side of you walked you to a set of stairs, a woman with a robotic arm stood watching you waiting at the bottom. "Sevika"

"What?"

"That's my name, princess" She nodded at the two men who abruptly left, leaving you with Sevika. "Follow me"

You almost argued but hell what was the point? There was no way you'd make it to the bar door before one of them caught you, you'd already counted six men stood watching the crowds in the bar. You made your way up the stairs quickly following closely behind Sevika until you were in front of the doors to Silco's office.

Sevika glanced at you quickly before knocking on the door. You heard a reply coming from the other side and then the doors opened to reveal the room behind. The light coming from a circular window at the back of the room lit up the desk straight ahead of you, Silco sat in a large chair behind it watching as you followed Sevika in, stopping before the desk.

You looked at Silco, his dark eye and scars holding your attention, you almost missed when he dismissed Sevika and she left the room, leaving you alone with Silco. He didn't move his gaze from you, after a moment you looked away eyes flicking downwards as you failed to maintain eye contact.

"I trust your journey was pleasant" His voice was calm, if he wasn't who he was you would say that it was actually a rather soothing voice. You looked back up at him but you held your tongue. Pleasant? "Hmm quiet one are you?" Silco stood up and made his way around the desk, stopping in front of you. He reached out and turned your head to face him and then looking you over.

"Pretty little thing aren't you" You frowned and yanked your head away from his hands, taking a step back away from him. "No need to be like that, you're going to be here a very long time, you might as well get used to that fact"

"Get used to being a prisoner? I don't know how I'll contain my excitement"

"So she does speak" Silco turned away from you and made his way over to the couch at the side of the room. Sitting down he reached out to a box of cigars, lighting one up before leaning back against the couch, arms spread out across the back. "You know why you're here I assume, or I suppose you likely don't care about the reason and more about the fact that you're here at all"

"You read that off my forehead?

"Sarcasm will get you no where with me" He took a long drag of his cigar, blowing out the smoke and keeping his eyes locked with yours. You realised after a moment that not many people likely meet his gaze, continuing to do so gave you a little satisfaction. You wouldn't look away so easily this time. "Come here"

Silco patted the space on the couch beside him. You didn't move.

"You will also learn quickly that I do not ask twice" The change in his features made you move, his eyes flashed a dangerous gaze at you that had you remembering who you were with. You sat down leaving as big of a gap between you as the couch would allow, which wasn't much. He leant forward, reaching for a carafe of what you assumed was whiskey, pouring some into two glasses and handing you one, you accepted eagerly, taking a large sip and relishing the burn in your throat as it went down. Silco watched you as he leant back again, this time turned slightly more to your side of the couch.

You took a moment to look around, you notice an unlit fireplace on the other side of the office, papers scattered on the desk, what looked like dried blood that had been missed on one corner of the carpet, and then back over to Silco who was still watching you.

You chewed at your lip, unsure of what to do now, you took another drink.

"Follow me" You felt yourself jump a little at Silco's sudden movement and the sound of his voice, he was already at the door waiting for you by the time you stood up to follow him out into the bar landing. The noise was almost instant when you walked out. You could see over the banister that the crown downstairs were more drunk than when you'd first arrived.

"You wont have to worry about them" Silco said standing behind you.

"You mean I can't go down there"

"You can go wherever you like" Your eyes widened a little. "Given Sevika is with you" You turned to look at him and he moved down the hall. You followed behind until you reached another closed door.

Behind was a darker room that Silco's office, the room was similar in style, a little worn like the rest of the place but the bed in the middle of the room looked comfy at least. Dark sheets covered a modest sized bed, there was drawers and a wardrobed against one wall, a door leading to a bathroom you assumed on the other side. Your two small bags had been left at the end of the bed.

"You didn't bring much with you" Silco said as he moved into the room.

"I didn't think I'd need to" Your voice was quiet as your eyes caught what was sitting on the side table by the bed. A cigar box. Realisation suddenly dawned on you and your eyes snapped to Silco. "This is your room" He looked at you a moment, almost as if he was confused by your confusion.

"Hm. Your uncle must not be one for talking if you're surprised by that" Your mind was racing, trying to think back to what your uncle had said to you, cursing yourself for not listening. "You will be staying in here, I wouldn't worry too much...I'm hardly ever in here" You had a very distinct feeling that Silco's hardly in here and yours were very different. You assumed you would see him once in a blue moon and here you were sharing his room.

"No"

"No?"

"No.." You started moving backward, towards the door but Silco was faster, he slammed the door closed and you felt your back hit the hard wood.

"You are mine now do you understand? You will stay in here and you will behave or your stay here will be far more unpleasant" He was so close now you could feel his breath as he spoke, the smell of whiskey and tobacco filled your senses and for a second you couldn't bring yourself to breath let alone move. But eventually you nodded your head slightly. Enough for him to accept your obedience and move away from you. "Your people always treat me like a monster. There is a monster in all of us. You simply have to chose whether or not to see it"

He moved aside and let you move away from the door before reaching for the handle. "You make yourself at home little one, this will be the only one you know from now on"

#silco #silco x reader #arcane netflix #arcane league of legends #arcane #silco smut #arcane silco

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grappling-with-my-baki-addiction · 3 years ago

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✨More Requested Headcanons✨

Howdy!

Sorry this is a smidge late, been busy with work and regular adult stuff. You know;

💖 Boring Crap That Costs me Money 💖

(ヘ･_･)ヘ┳━┳

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

This request was submitted before my rules post so I still included Baki even though he is in canon a minor, I aged him up to his mid twenties. Let me know if this is problematic for some people, I only want to spread the good vibes and good times with ya'll sweeties!

Let me know your opinions on aging up characters, yay or nay? If anyone has a problem with it, please let me know!

I hope everyone is having a good day/night!

~Cheers

Their reaction to their Fem!S/o becoming drunk; confesses their love for, and then trying to seduce them. Then changing their mind and only wanting to give kisses and snuggle while continuing to confess their love.

Kaoru Hanayama:

He would find it a mix of endearing as well as amusing. More so depending on if his s/o is more shy or outgoing.

The shyer they are, he will tease them while holding them.

More outgoing, he will admire their honesty and boldness to openly talk about their feelings.

He finds it cute that they are teary eyed and confessing their love for him.

When they try to seduce him, kissing his face, caressing his neck, chest, grinding into his lap, he gets serious and a bit hot under the collar.

Hands going up and down their body, lifting their shirt off, and playing with the clasp of their pants…

Until his s/o becomes teary eyed again and goes back to confessing their love and saying they want to cuddle in bed for the rest of the night.

He’d chuckle at the turn of events, carrying his s/o to their shared bed and letting them have their cuddly way with him.

Hemming and haa-ing at his partners musings, stating his own feelings for them by holding them a little tighter, and just enjoying their presence.

“ There are no words elegant enough to describe my feelings for you “

Jack Hanma:

He’d 100% be laughing and enjoying their drunken shenanigans.

Since he's so freaking BeEfY, it takes a lot to get him drunk, so watching his s/o get smashed is always a verified good time.

Be ready to be teased relentlessly the morning after regardless of how bad the hangover is.

He knows they love him through their actions, so them taking the time to confess with their words only feeds his ego.

Though hearing them say it in public strokes his ego in the best way. Expect to be pinned to the nearest wall.

So when their confessions turn to incorrigible flirting, kisses, and steamy touches, he’s 1000% down for it.

He’d pick them up ASAP and move them somewhere more comfortable.

This isn’t the first time his s/o got this shit faced and he knows he has a time limit before they return to their lovesick coo-ing.

He’ll be trying to keep the mood going for as long as he can.

Unless his partner tells/shows him otherwise

We do not stand by boundary stompers in this house, no ma’am

When the mood eventually fizzles out, he’s fine to deal with his pent up vibes on his own time.

Being content with having his inebriated s/o ‘s coo-ing and the cuddles they offer.

Opting to Open a few beers for himself, resolved that he’s missed his window anyways.

if there is no sex tonight why not get shitfaced together?

“ No one drives me crazy like you do, never change. ”

Baki Hanma: (aged up to mid twenties)

Baki would be drunk with them.

Serenading each other with sappy love songs

hugging each other while repeatedly trying to one up each other in affection

“ I love you the most”

“No I love YOU the mostest”

“Well fuck you, I love you the morest”

He’s spent his life fighting and becoming stronger, so he hasn’t spent all that much time, if at all, around alcohol and building a tolerance to it.

Like give this man-child some bread please

So when his s/o tries to bring the sexy, it goes over his head.

He’s oblivious to their advances. All he knows is he needs to tell them he loves them more than they love him.

He’d touch their forehead with his, and just stare at them in a drunken haze,

“ Hey y/n, listen I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. Just stay with me so I can protect you”

Beware of projectile vomit inbound.

Yujiro Hanma:

The absolute EGO BOOST this man gets

If they were somewhere public he is grinning and laughing like the mad man he is.

He’d be running his hands up and down his s/o back, sides, legs. Just enjoying the feeling of his rough, calloused hands rubbing against their much softer skin.

He’s half listening to them after a while, mostly just enjoying his own buzz and feeling them up.

When he feels them grind against him, his full attention is back on them.

He’ll give them a choice to stop here, if they don’t then they should expect to not walk tomorrow.

“ If you know what's good for you dollface, you'll have some water and call it a night. Unless you want to be my chew toy that is. ”

Kaioh Retsu:

Retsu would be loving the cuddles, and general fawning from his s/o.

Although he is concerned about the amount of alcohol they’ve consumed, he can’t help but find the blush on their cheeks to be adorable and in general just admiring them

Welcome to cuddle town

He’s making sure they are hydrated, giving them snacks, and just doing his best to help minimize the hangover that will be coming in the morning.

When they eventually try to seduce him, he becomes rigid.

He feels like he would be taking advantage of them in this state, so he's going to be doing everything in his power to settle them down.

Though he can't hide the deep blush on his face, no matter how much he wants to.

He’d keep them close to his side, still wanting to take care of them

tracing patterns on their back, and telling them stories from his time at the temple, and his travels.

Eventually he’d lull his drunken s/o to sleep, staring at their relaxed expression and be so content and proud to have them as his own.

“ Let’s stay like this, just a little while longer ”

Katsumi Orochi:

He’d be pretty bashful, as he was out drinking with his s/o, Atsushi Suedo, Kiyosumi Katou, and his Shinshinkai comrades.

Having his s/o clinging to him as they confess their feelings makes him feel a sense of pride.

They choose him, out of all the fighters, the men and women around them, they choose to be with him.

Katou and Suedo would be teasing the hell out of the pair.

Now imagine the awkward silence when y/n becomes a little spicy

Katsumi is red in the face, fumbling his words, unable to form a syllable, let alone a full sentence.

Katou is dying from laughter, cracking jokes, and in general just being Katou.

And Suedo is hiding his face, that's his brother’s partner and he (Suedo) is a respectful gentleman after all!

Ignore the gap in his fingies.

Katsumi would eventually regain enough composure to scoop up his s/o in his arms and go for the door.

He’s determined that now is a good time to call it a night for the two of them.

Whether they were able to sober up a bit during the escape or not, Katsumi would insist on carrying them all the way to their shared home.

They just look so cute in his arms, he might explode at the cuteness.

“ Like hell I’ll ever let you go. Now or ever, you're stuck with me ”

#baki headcanons #baki requests #hanayama #jack hanma #yujiro hanma #retsu kaioh headcanons #retsu kaioh #katsumi orochi #baki hanma #baki headcanon requests #kaoru hanayama headcanons #kaoru hanayama

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fatliberation · 4 years ago

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I’m Abandoning Body Positivity and Here’s Why

In short: it’s fatphobic.

“A rallying cry for a shift in societal norms has now become the skinny girl’s reassurance that she isn’t really fat. Fatness, through this lens of ‘body positivity’, remains the worst thing a person can be.” (Kayleigh Donaldson)

• • •

I have always had a lot of conflicting opinions about the body positivity movement, but it’s much more widely known (and accepted, go figure) than the fat liberation movement, so I often used the two terms interchangeably in conversation about anti-fatness. But the longer I’ve been following the body positivity movement, the more I’ve realized how much it has strayed from its fat lib origins. It has been hijacked; deluded to center thin, able, white, socially acceptable bodies.

Bopo’s origins are undoubtedly grounded in fat liberation. The fat activists of the 1960s paved the way for the shred of size acceptance we see in media today, initially protesting the discrimination and lack of access to equal opportunities for fat people specifically. This early movement highlighted the abuse, mental health struggles, malpractice in the medical field, and called for equal pay, equal access, equal respect, an end to fatphobic structures and ideas. It saddens me that it hasn’t made much progress in those regards.

Today, the #bopo movement encapsulates more the idea of loving your own body versus ensuring that individuals regardless of their weight and appearance are given equal opportunities in the workplace, schools, fashion and media. Somehow those demands never made it outside of the ‘taboo’ category, and privileged people would much more readily accept the warm and fuzzy, sugar-coated message of “love yourself!” But as @yrfatfriend once said, this idea reduces fat people’s struggles to a problem of mindset, rather than a product of external oppressors that need to be abolished in order for fat people to live freely.

That generalized statement, “love yourself,” is how a movement started by fat people for the rights of fat people was diluted so much, it now serves a thin model on Instagram posting about how she has a tummy roll and cellulite on her thighs - then getting praised for loving her body despite *gasp!* its minor resemblance to a fat body.

Look. Pretty much everyone has insecurities about their bodies, especially those of us who belong to marginalized groups. If you don’t have body issues, you’re a privileged miracle, but our beauty-obsessed society has conditioned us to want to look a certain way, and if we have any features that the western beauty standard considers as “flaws,” yeah! We feel bad about it! So it’s not surprising that people who feel bad about themselves would want to hop on a movement that says ‘hey, you’re beautiful as you are!’ That’s a message everyone would like to hear. Any person who has once thought of themselves as less than beautiful now feels that this movement is theirs. And everyone has insecurities, so everyone feels entitled to the safe space. And when a space made for a minority includes the majority, the cycle happens again and the majority oppresses the minority. What I’m trying to explain here is that thin people now feel a sense of ownership over body positive spaces.

Regardless of how badly thin people feel about their bodies, they still experience thin privilege. They can sit down in a theater or an airplane without even thinking about it, they can eat in front of others without judgement, they can go the doctor with a problem and actually have it fixed right away, they can find cute clothes in their size with ease, they do not suffer from assumptions of laziness/failure based on stereotype, they see their body type represented everywhere in media, the list goes on and on. They do not face discrimination based off of the size of their body.

Yet diet culture and fatphobia affects everyone, and of course thin people do still feel bad about the little fat they have on their bodies. But the failure to examine WHY they feel bad about it, is what perpetuates fatphobia within the bopo movement. They’re labeled “brave” for showing a pinch of chub, yet fail to address what makes it so acceptably daring, and how damaging it is to people who are shamed for living in fat bodies. Much like the rest of society, thin body positivity is still driven by the fear of fat, and does nothing to dismantle fatphobia within structures or within themselves.

Evette Dionne sums it up perfectly in her article, “The Fragility of Body Positivity: How a Radical Movement Lost Its Way.”

“The body-positive media economy centers these affirming, empowering, let-me-pinch-a-fat-roll-to-show-how-much-I-love-myself stories while failing to actually challenge institutions to stop discriminating against fat people. More importantly, most of those stories center thin, white, cisgender, heterosexual women who have co-opted the movement to build their brands. Rutter has labeled this erasure ‘Socially Acceptable Body Positivity.’

“On social media, it actually gets worse for fat bodies: We’re not just being erased from body positivity, fat women are being actively vilified. Health has become the stick with which to beat fat people with [sic], and the benchmark for whether body positivity should include someone” (Dionne).

Ah, yes. The medicalization of fat bodies, and the moralization of health. I’ve ranted about this before. Countless comments on posts of big women that say stuff like “I’m all for body positivity, but this is just unhealthy and it shouldn’t be celebrated.” I’ve heard writer/activist Aubrey Gordon once say that body positivity has become something like a shield for anti-fatness. It’s anti-fatness that has been repackaged as empowerment. It’s a striking double-standard. Fat people are told to be comfortable in their bodies (as if that’s what’s going to fix things) but in turn are punished when they’re okay with being fat. Make it make sense.

Since thin people feel a sense of ownership over body positive spaces, and they get to hide behind “health” when they are picking and choosing who can and cannot be body positive, they base it off of who looks the most socially acceptable. And I’m sure they aren’t consciously picking and choosing, it comes from implicit bias. But the socially acceptable bodies they center are small to medium fat, with an hourglass shape. They have shaped a new beauty standard specifically FOR FAT PEOPLE. (Have you ever seen a plus sized model with neck fat?? I’m genuinely asking because I have yet to find one!) The bopo movement works to exclude and silence people who are on the largest end of the weight spectrum.

Speaking of exclusion, let’s talk about fashion for a minute.

For some reason, (COUGH COUGH CAPITALISM) body positivity is largely centered around fashion. And surprise surprise, it’s still not inclusive to fat people. Fashion companies get a pat on the back for expanding their sizing two sizes up from what they previously offered, when they are still leaving out larger fat people completely. In general, clothing companies charge more for clothes with more fabric, so people who need the largest sizes are left high and dry. It’s next to impossible to find affordable clothes that also look nice. Fashion piggybacks on the bopo movement as a marketing tactic, and exploits the very bodies it claims to be serving. (Need I mention the time Urban Outfitters used a "curvy” model to sell a size it doesn’t even carry?)

The movement also works to exclude and silence fat Black activists.

In her article, “The Body Positivity Movement Both Takes From and Erases Fat Black Women” Donyae Coles explains how both white people and thin celebrities such as Jameela Jamil profit from the movement that Black women built.

“Since long before blogging was a thing, fat Black women have been vocal about body acceptance, with women like Sharon Quinn and Marie Denee, or the work of Sonya Renee Taylor with The Body Is Not An Apology. We’ve been out here, and we’re still here, but the overwhelming face of the movement is white and thin because the mainstream still craves it, and white and thin people have no problem with profiting off the work of fat, non-white bodies.”

“There is a persistent belief that when thin and/or white people enter the body positive realm and begin to repeat the messages that Black women have been saying for years in some cases, when they imitate the labor that Black women have already put in that we should be thankful that they are “boosting” our message. This completely ignores the fact that in doing so they are profiting off of that labor. They are gaining the notoriety, the mark of an expert in something they learned from an ignored Black woman” (Coles).

My next essay will go into detail about this and illuminate key figures who paved the way for body acceptance in communities of color.

The true purpose of this movement has gotten completely lost. So where the fuck do we go from here?

We break up with it, and run back to the faithful ex our parents disapproved of. We go back to the roots of the fat liberation movement, carved out for us by the fat feminists, the queer fat activists, the fat Black community, and the allies it began with. Everything they have preached since the 1960s and 70s is one hundred percent applicable today. We get educated. We examine diet culture through a capitalist lens. We tackle thin, white-supremacist systems and weight based discrimination, as well as internalized bias. We challenge our healthcare workers to unlearn their bias, treat, and support fat patients accordingly. We make our homes and spaces accessible and welcoming to people of any size, or any (dis)ability. “We must first protect and uplift people in marginalized bodies, only then can we mandate self-love” (Gordon).

Think about it. In the face of discrimination, mistreatment, and emotional abuse, we as a society are telling fat people to love their bodies, when we should be putting our energy toward removing those fatphobic ideas and structures so that fat people can live in a world that doesn’t require them to feel bad about their bodies. It’s like hitting someone with a rock and telling them not to bruise!

While learning to love and care for the body that you’re in is important, I think that body positivity also fails in teaching that because it puts even more emphasis on beauty. Instead of saying, “you don’t have to be ‘beautiful’ to be loved and appreciated,” its main lesson is that “all bodies are beautiful.” We live in a society obsessed with appearance, and it is irresponsible to ignore the hierarchy of beauty standards that exist in every space. Although it should be relative, “beautiful” has been given a meaning. And that meaning is thin, abled, symmetric, and eurocentric.

Beauty and ugliness are irrelevant, made-up constructs. People will always be drawn to you no matter what, so you deserve to exist in your body without struggling to conform to an impossible and bigoted standard. Love and accept your body for YOURSELF AND NO ONE ELSE, because you do not exist to please the eyes of other people. That’s what I wish we were teaching instead. Radical self acceptance!

As of today, the ultimate message of the body positivity movement is: Love your body “despite its imperfections.” Or people with “perfect and imperfect bodies both deserve love.” As long as we are upholding the notion that there IS a perfect body that looks a certain way, and every body that falls outside of that category is imperfect, we are upholding white supremacy, eugenics, anti-fatness, and ableism.

#body positivity #bopo #body posi #body positive #body acceptance #fat acceptance #fat activism #fat liberation #anti fatness #anti blackness #anti fat bias #lookism #beauty standards #self acceptance

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headedoutleft · 11 months ago

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I went ahead and made a free account so I could read the rest and bring it here for folks who won’t click through or don’t want to sign up:

Gage wrote:

“the way the data was queried for the initial data dump to Midjourney/OpenAI means we compiled a list of all tumblr’s public post content between 2014 and 2023, but also unfortunately it included, and should not have included:

private posts on public blogs

posts on deleted or suspended blogs

unanswered asks (normally these are not public until they’re answered)

private answers (these only show up to the receiver and are not public)

posts that are marked ‘explicit’ / NSFW / ‘mature’ by our more modern standards (this may not be a big deal, I don’t know)

content from premium partner blogs (special brand blogs like Apple’s former music blog, for example, who spent money with us on an ad campaign) that may have creative that doesn’t belong to us, and we don’t have the rights to share with this-parties; this one is kinda unknown to me, what deals are in place historically and what they should prevent us from doing.”

Gage’s post makes clear that engineers are working on compiling a list of post IDs that should not have been included, and that password-protected posts, DMs, and media flagged as CSAM and other community guidelines violations were not included.

Automattic plans to launch a new setting on Wednesday that will allow users to opt-out of data sharing with third parties, including AI companies, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, and internal documents. A new FAQ section we reviewed is titled “What happens when you opt out?” states that “If you opt out from the start, we will block crawlers from accessing your content by adding your site on a disallowed list. If you change your mind later, we also plan to update any partners about people who newly opt-out and ask that their content be removed from past sources and future training.”

404 Media has asked Automattic how it accidentally compiled data that it shouldn’t share, and whether any of that content was shared with OpenAI, but did not immediately hear back from the company. 404 Media asked Automattic about an imminent deal with Midjourney last week but did not hear back then, either.

Another internal document shows that, on February 23, an employee asked in a staff-only thread, “Do we have assurances that if a user opts out of their data being shared with third parties that our existing data partners will be notified of such a change and remove their data?”o

Andrew Spittle, Automattic’s head of AI replied: “We will notify existing partners on a regular basis about anyone who's opted out since the last time we provided a list. I want this to be an ongoing process where we regularly advocate for past content to be excluded based on current preferences. We will ask that content be deleted and removed from any future training runs. I believe partners will honor this based on our conversations with them to this point. I don't think they gain much overall by retaining it.” Automattic did not respond to a question from 404 Media about whether it could guarantee that people who opt out will have their data deleted retroactively.

News about a deal between Tumblr and Midjourney has been rumored and speculated about on Tumblr for the last week. Someone claiming to be a former Tumblr employee announced in a Tumblr blog post that the platform was working on a deal with Midjourney, and the rumor made it onto Blind, an app for verified employees of companies to anonymously discuss their jobs. 404 Media has seen the Blind posts, in which what seems like an Automattic employee says, “I'm not sure why some of you are getting worked up or worried about this. It's totally legal, and sharing it publicly is perfectly fine since it's right there in the terms & conditions. So, go ahead and spread the word as much as you can with your friends and tech journalists, it's totally fine.”

Separately, 404 Media viewed a public, now-deleted post by Gage, the product manager, where he said that he was deleting all of his images off of Tumblr, and would be putting them on his personal website. A still-live post says, “i've deleted my photography from tumblr and will be moving it slowly but surely over to cylegage.com, which i'm building into a photography portfolio that i can control end-to-end.” At one point last week, his personal website had a specific note stating that he did not consent to AI scraping of his images. Gage’s original post has been deleted, and his website is now a blank page that just reads “Cyle.” Gage did not respond to a request for comment from 404 Media.

Several online platforms have made similar deals with AI companies recently, including Reddit, which entered into an AI content licensing deal with Google and said in its SEC filing last week that it’s “in the early stages of monetizing [its] user base” by training AI on users’ posts. Last year, Shutterstock signed a six year deal with OpenAI to provide training data.

There are links for reference in the original article, it doesn’t require a paid subscription to view

So do we wipe our blogs or what?

#so supposedly there will be an opt out option #even though the initial test didn’t effectively prevent them from trawling content they weren’t supposed to…#tumblr #wordpress #ai

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chasingpj · 3 years ago

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𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞

"Bye, for now, puddles."

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 6,220

warnings: a little angst, missing a meal, death of a parent, i believe that is all.

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story, click here

a/n: hi hi! I'm so excited to finally get this chapter to you guys. I'm sorry this literally took a month. i was taking two writing-intensive courses this summer and i was just burnt out. i hope you enjoy it!

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten

A grunt escapes you; your contorted body weighs down the top of your suitcase as your damp fingers slip off the metal zipper. The unforgivingly humid weather provokes the heat of your efforts, adding to your discomfort. There’s urgency in your fingers, your frustration growing at each failed attempt to close your suitcase.

“Y/n! Hurry up!” Atticus shouts from outside of the Hermes cabin. As the zipper slips out of your grasp once again, you throw your head back in annoyance, hand coming up to push away wisps of hair that fall on your face. A familiar chuckle comes from the corner of the room, grabbing your attention from the wooden ceiling. Connor sits on the side of his bed; his comic book forgotten beside him as you fussing over your suitcase seems to be more interesting to him.

“It’s not funny,” you grumble, sitting onto your heels.

Connor rises from his bed, shrugging his shoulders with a smirk. He kneels by your suitcase, “It’s kinda funny.”

The corners of your mouth almost curve up, but you stop yourself, opting for a roll of your eyes instead.

“What the hades do you have in here?” The tips of his fingers turn white as he pulls on the little piece of metal. You shift your weight to the corner he works on, but it helps him as much as it helped you earlier.

“My brother’s left a bunch of books behind, so Lou Ellen and I split them up. She’s taking half, and I take the rest. We’ll study them and then exchange notes.” A hum of acknowledgment comes from Connor’s lips as he inches the suitcase closed.

“You guys are a bunch of nerds.” You squint at the other with a playful offense, and he laughs at your hardened features. “I bet you guys study more than the Athena Kids,” he teases.

“There’s a lot to learn,” you say simply, watching as he brings the zipper to the end. He leans back on his heels, and you move to take in the half-empty cabin.

The sight of the Hermes cabin being this tidy was foreign. There aren’t any sleeping bags on the floor; the belongings of your many cabin mates didn’t clutter the walls or the corners of the room as they usually do. It’s funny. There are always complaints of the cabin being too small, but it appears bigger without the mess.

“Will you and Atticus visit throughout the year?” Connor’s expression is hopeful. As the last day of camp approached, Connor’s wishes of a full cabin all year round became more apparent. The shift from a max-capacity cabin to a half-empty one must be a tough transition for social people like Stoll Brothers. If it were you, you’d be counting down the days of everyone’s departure.

You ruffle his brown locks, “we’ll probably stop by for, maybe, spring break?” Connor’s hopefulness begins to sag, and you frown. Spring break is pretty far from now, huh? “Depending on how mortal life treats us. You know, we might be back soon,” you add on quickly, hoping to lift his smile.

Though you wish to go home, you’re dreading all the supernatural activity you’ll have to deal with once you leave. Your father works tirelessly to protect the house, but entities always manage to get in. And if they can’t, they don’t mind hanging outside.

The hopefulness that faded from Connor’s face restores, and he gives you that famous mischievous smirk. “Well, I hope the ghosts bother you guys enough to come to visit early.” His tone is playful, but you can tell he meant some of his words. You laugh hesitantly and nod, rising from your suitcase.

“I’m glad you’re that eager to see us again.”

You thank him as he leans down, lifting the heavy suitcase from the ground for you.

“Y/n!”

“I’m coming!” You tug on the handle, glancing at Connor. “The year will go by fast, and soon this cabin will be bursting at the nails with new unclaimed people. Atticus, Lou, and I included. Anyways, you have your brother. You guys will find something to entertain yourselves.” You nudge him as you make your way outside.

“Yeah, you’re right. You will write to me, yeah?” Connor asks.

“Of course. I’ll send you snacks that you can’t buy at the gas station.” Connor’s arm pumps back to his side, hand in a fist as he hisses a “yes.”

The corners up your mouth hesitantly pull up as you push open the cabin door, finding Atticus and Travis talking on the porch. For the past week, the anticipation of your departure was killing you, but now that it was time to leave, you feel gloomy.

You knew the cause of your heavy heart was the uneasy tone of your going. Living day by day with the intention of moving on was hard. Because every time you look at their newly occupied beds, the sinking feeling in your chest returns. Every time you find yourself wandering in the forest, the memories of your often chaotic magic lessons flood your mind. You remember when Alice misaimed her wind spell, shooting Alabaster far into the trees. While you all rushed to check on him, Alice burst into tears because she was convinced she killed him only to approach a laughing Alabaster who shouted, “Right on!”

Every time you were in the Arts and Crafts center, you remember how you, Sage, and Lou would do Tarot Readings for the campers and how you would argue with the Apollo kids when they insisted your tarot cards are as honest as fortune cookies.

At the armory, you remember how Ambrose ran into James so hard, he stumbled and knocked down half of the shelves of weapons.

In the courtyard, you remember how Ernest, horrified by heights, produced the highest pitch scream he possibly could as he rode a pegasus for the first time under the persuasion of Alabaster.

All these memories, whether hilarious like your spell mishaps or bittersweet like when you and your sibling’s group hugged around Sage when she cried about her abusive stepmother, held a special place in your heart. Because the times where you laughed and cried together reminded you of the genuine bond, the family that was ripped away from you overnight.

“We'll see you guys soon. We should go. Argus will leave without us," Atticus says, relieved that Argus is still waiting for you on top of Half-Blood Hill.

“Have a safe trip, guys,” Travis says, patting Atticus’s shoulder before reaching out his arm and giving you a short side hug. You grab your things, hastily saying a final goodbye, and soon, you and Atticus are trudging up the hill.

Your free hand pats the pocket of your shorts, calming your worry of forgetting the necklace at the cabin. What rests in your pocket is a raw tourmaline crystal, now smooth with the help of Beckendorf, encased in a silver spiral cage.

You and Atticus carry protection crystals all the time, and they help with staying out of the radar of monsters and entities. After hearing Percy’s many stories of monsters bothering him, you figured he couldn’t be too cautious. Then after finding a spell in Alabaster’s many books that can dim down a demigod scent for a while, you decided to make him an enchanted necklace to wear.

You pack into the truck with Atticus right on time. Atticus sits in front of you, chatting away with Cecil as you make yourself comfortable in the back row with Ambrose. You frown; among the three other campers in the van with you, Percy isn’t one of them. Argus peeks into the back, doing a rough headcount. Great, now you’ll have to wait until next summer to give it to him.

Right, when you were going to chastise yourself for not giving him the necklace yesterday when you were done with it, a distant voice shouts, "wait!"

Argus halts in the middle of closing the sliding down and turns around. He shakes his head with disapproval while opening the door all the way, revealing out of breath Percy.

A smile widens across your face as he gets into the back seat with you, and you nudge Atticus’s seat.

"See, I told you we wouldn't be the last ones here.” You side-eye Percy, seeing the corners of his mouth pull up in amusement.

“Some people just don’t know how to get to places on time, huh?” Atticus says, and his eyes flicker to Percy before giving you a wide grin.

“Didn’t sleep in today, firefly?” There is a playfulness in Percy’s voice, and you smile proudly,

“Nope, not today.”

“It’s a miracle,” Percy mutters, loud enough for you to hear, and you scoff. Atticus snickers and nods in agreement.

“We were supposed to gang up on him, not you two on me.” You stick your tongue out at Atticus, and he returns the action.

“It’s more fun making fun of you,” Atticus teases.

“Rude,” you mumble with a slight smile on your face. The two boys chuckle, Atticus turning more into his seat to tell Percy something about a new Marvel movie. Excited voices fill the van as the other boys join in the conversation, and soon they are debating if Batman is really a superhero or just a rich guy in a suit.

You had to admit, as the conversation became more passionate, you were pretty entertained, but as you catch sight of Camp Half-Blood growing farther in the distance, you’re reminded of the ache in your chest. It’s only a temporary leave, but when you return, things will never be the same, and the false hope of your siblings returning has been proven to be foolish.

☆’.･.･:★:･.･.’☆

Following a ghost dog while weaving through the hustle and bustle of Grand Central is almost impossible. Atticus’s hand is latched to the straps of your bookbag as you move through people, trying not to roll your eyes at the way Ambrose turns to bark as if he was reprimanding you for being too slow. Easy for him to say when he can walk through walls and people.

“Track 28,” Atticus reminds you as your eyes find the number written on the tan bricks of the high walls. You make a sharp left towards the entrance of another hallway, ignoring the groans of a grouchy bystander that you may have cut off. The next hallway you enter is a lot less crowded than the main floor, and you slow down your pace.

“Where do you guys live again?” Percy asks as he jogs up beside you. He had insisted on walking you guys since his train departs in the same station.

“Sleepy Hollow.” Percy scrunches his face as if he recalls something, and you smile, waiting for the question everyone asks when you say you live there.

“Have you seen the headless horsemen?” Percy asks, half-joking. A snort leaves your throat, and you look at Atticus, who’s equally amused.

“Oh yeah, plenty of times.”

“Really?” Percy asks, his eyes wide with surprise, and you laugh.

“No.” Your response makes his face drop comedically fast, and Atticus bursts into laughter. “It’s just a story, but there’s a lot of history there, so the place is crawling with ghosts. We’ve met the guy who wrote the story, though,” you mention.

“No way,” Percy squints his eyes in disbelief.

“I’m serious! Atticus and I take walks in the cemetery sometimes. We leave drachmas on the graves of newly passed people, so their venture into the underworld is smooth, but some people like to wander.” You shrug. “Washington Irving is one of those people.”

“Cool,” Percy says with such enthusiasm that it makes you smile. Ambrose turns around and barks again, standing at the golden entrance that leads to the grey tunnel lit with fluorescent white lights where your train waits beside the concrete platform.

“He always rushes us,” Atticus complains, and Harvey lets out a coo that sounded close to a groan as if he agreed with him.

The marble floors turn to concrete as you enter the tunnel. The blue and silver train on your left hums as it sits dormant in its station. Ambrose trots ahead, peaking into the doors and windows to find an empty cart to occupy.

As you follow a few feet behind him, your fingers fiddle with the necklace resting in your pocket. You’re regretting not giving it to Percy earlier because, for some reason, the idea of giving it to him now was more intimidating than if you had done it earlier on the bus.

Ambrose decides on a cart, and Harvey jumps off Atticus’s shoulder, squealing happily as he follows the hound while completely ignoring a worried Atticus trailing close behind.

"I, uh, made this for you," you sputter, the words coming out fast like vomit. Your fingers pull out the crystal necklace abruptly, and you put it in the palm of his hand. "It's black tourmaline. It has protective qualities; good at keeping negative energy, negative auras, things like that. I put a spell on it to dim down your demigod scent for a while, so you catch a little bit of a break. It'll last for a few weeks, maybe a month or two if the spell caught on well."

You bite your lip as Percy studies the necklace resting in his hand. "Wow, really? Thank you, Y/n. This is great.”

Nervous, you shift on your feet under his bright, smiling orbs. "It's no problem. After everything that happened at camp, I think it’ll be good for you to have one.”

Percy nods, his features softening all of a sudden, and he shifts. “Thanks for protecting me,” he says, and you feel heat rush to your cheeks. “Getting rid of that thing became more than you expected. I felt bad that I couldn’t help. Swords aren’t really useful when it comes to demons, huh?”

A small laugh of agreement leaves your lips. “It was nothing. I wasn’t going to let you be tormented by that thing if I could help it.”

An announcement echoes in the hall, reporting the departure of your train in a few minutes. You glance over, catching Atticus, Ambrose, and Harvey with their noses practically pressed against the window as they witness your interaction with Percy. The amused smirk on Atticus’s face makes you roll your eyes; he’s definitely going to tease you when you get on the train.

"I should go.” You face Percy again, catching him securing the necklace around his neck. The stone rests a few inches under his camp half-blood necklace. "Thanks for walking us here. Be careful getting home."

"You too…” he trails off, noticing your brother looking out the window. For a second, he seems as embarrassed as you do and a nervous chuckle leaves his lips. “Your brother is waiting."

“He’s so annoying,” you complain, and Percy’s next chuckle doesn’t sound as hesitant this time. "Well, uh, bye, for now, puddles,” you tease, butterflies dancing in your stomach.

"Bye, for now, firefly."

You both awkwardly wave at each other before you turn around, getting on the train with Atticus. With your gaze fixed on the floor, you plop into the seat next to him. You don’t even need to look to know he is smiling teasingly at you.

"How cute,” he teases, nudging your shoulder repeatedly with his own.

"Ew, shut up.” You shove at his shoulder, your nose scrunching as he flails his arms against yours as if you were fighting. Atticus chuckles and a string of sounds come from your familiars as they join in to tease you, and you couldn’t help but laugh too.

☆’.･.･:★:･.･.’☆

The suburban streets of your neighborhood are filled with the chirps of birds and bugs and the sounds of cars that pass every once in a while. There isn’t much conversation between you and Atticus as you trudge up the hill leading to your dead-end street.

“Gods, I hope we can get inside without being seen,” you manage to say through your heavy breaths, lazily holding on to the handle of your suitcase as it rolls behind you. Ambrose’s nose nudges the back of your knees as if to encourage you, but it’s more cute than helpful.

“There’s no way that we are. Janie and Celia are always sitting on the neighbor’s porch.” You grunt in acknowledgment, knowing that Atticus is right. The neighborhood ghosts are friendly enough, but their company can be annoying.

As if on cue, you hear a delighted squeal from ahead the moment you reach the top of the hill. Two ladies wave their handkerchiefs in the air a handful of houses away.

Celia, the tallest of the two, wears a steel blue dress with a high neckline and a big bow tied on the base of her neck. She has a jacket button closed over her corset with a frill at the end of her sleeves. Her skirt is floor-length and complete, with ruffles cascading down its entirety. And, of course, no one can miss the high-crowned hat decorated with fake flowers, bows, and crimped fabric as it all sits on top of her blonde hair in an intricate updo. Janie, her sister, wears the same style of dress and headpiece only in a burgundy red. The resemblance between the two makes it clear that they’re siblings close in age. They have the same high pinched noses that jut in the air; both of their faces are regal like those in renaissance paintings.

You’ve seen them around for as long as you can remember. They were two sisters who died of scarlet fever a year before their first courting season, which was a big deal according to their constant moaning and groaning about it.

You look ahead, your expression blank as if their high-pitched voices didn’t fill the streets and they weren't racing toward you with their skirts in their hands.

“My word! It’s the end of summer already?”

“Atticus, you’ve grown taller!”

“What a handsome boy! Y/n, your shorts are too short, don’t you think?”

“It’s quite bizarre how such clothing is acceptable these days.”

“How beautiful you’d look in a gown like ours!”

“Where’s Alabaster?” Janie asks, attempting to circle her arm around Atticus’s, but he raises his arm to push back his damp hair to avoid the contact. She scoffs at his rejection and sighs.

“Alabaster was sweeter to us than you guys!” Celia pouts. Your heart sinks a little at the mention of him. Of course, they’d ask about him, and of course, your father will ask too.

Gods! Your father will ask about him.

You had forgotten you’d have to break the news today. These past few weeks, you debated whether or not you should do it by letter, but it felt wrong. It was only right that he’d find out in person.

“We know you can hear us,” Janie huffs.

“I hope dad doesn’t work late tonight. Do you think Grandma will be waiting for us?” You ask. As annoying as it was having spirits follow you, it was a little fun ignoring them when convenient for you. Atticus nods,

“Probably-”

“No one’s home,” Celia cuts in, and Atticus pretends to shoo a bug away to conceal that he paused from her interruption.

“But I don’t think dad is going to take long. He said his last lecture ended at three,” Atticus continues, and you nod.

‘I hope grandma came by to visit. I missed her.”

“I just said no one’s home.” Celia snaps, and you press your lips together to hide your smile.

Atticus sighs. “I know, I’m dying for those moon cookies she makes us.” At the mention of those cookies, your stomach grumbles. You hope Celia was wrong because you’re suddenly craving your grandmother’s cooking and her company. Her funny stories and voice that’s always a little too loud for the indoors never fails to cheer you up. As short and frail as she is, her voice and personality could fill a room.

“Me too,” you say shortly.

“Hello?!” Celia waves her handkerchief in your face, and you persisted in ignoring her. Suddenly, a sound of disgust comes from Janie as she brushes off her skirt.

“Y/n, retrieve this monster of yours!” She squeals as Ambrose bites the fabric of her dress, tugging on it with a growl.

“Damn this dog,” Celia shouts, attempting to shoo him away, but yelps in surprise as Ambrose snaps his jaw shut near her hand. “Get this thing under control! Y/n!”

Your hand comes up to cover your smile even though the two are shuffling behind you and a stifled chuckle comes from Atticus. The sound of Janie’s heels on the concrete becomes louder as she rushes beside Atticus again, and your smiles drop. The sight of your house comes into view, and you tilt your head confused; your father’s car is parked in the driveway.

“You said no one was home?” You say out loud, and Celia gasps beside you,

“Now you speak to me?” She snaps, halting as you approach the fence. She stands tall, hands folded in front of her elegantly as Janie’s expression is gleaming like a child on Christmas. “Your father requested to keep it a secret, so I obliged his wishes. He canceled his last lecture today to make you both a meal. What a lovely man.”

Your hand finds the latch for the white picket fence as you smile at the familiar narrow victorian-style house ahead of you. A path of cobblestone leads you to the brick steps of the small porch.

Your home sticks out from the more modern American houses that surround the area. It’s an antique, a snippet of history, as your father likes to say. The house is a russet brown only because the bricks are so old they’ve darkened in color. The house accents such as the window trims, porch overhang, and columns are copper, and the hipped roof has brown tiles that look like fish scales. Beside the porch, the bay windows from both stories stack on top of each other, and above the porch roof is the dormer that’s a part of your bedroom.

Gods, you’re yearning to be in your room. You just want to pull out your Murphy bed from the wall and bury yourself in your sheets. The idea of being in bed puts a pep in your step, and you are careful to avoid the salt ring that surrounds your house.

A butterfly passes by your face, flying to the bunchberry bushes your father has planted in the front garden. Among the grass, there are various flowers and herbs that your father grows in the summer. You’ve inherited many things from your father, but his green thumb isn’t one of them. He takes his gardening seriously while you can barely keep the cacti in your room alive.

“Enjoy your meal! Come talk to us one of these days. We missed you two!” Janie shouts after you as you make your way up the stairs. You turn around, Atticus smiling at them.

“We missed you, girls, too,” he says as if he didn’t want to admit it. Janie squeals something about how handsome his smile is, and you scoff, amused as you grab the doorknob.

Once you push the door open, you're hit with a rush of deja vu. The history channel plays faintly in the next room as you take in the home you’ve missed dearly.

There are two bookshelves against the wall on your right, a wide ledge with pillows under the bay windows. A messy coffee table filled with letters and stacked with books sits in front of the comfy reading nook, letting you know that your father was recently hanging out there.

There is a brown mahogany staircase that ascends upstairs to your left, and right beside it is the altar for your mother. A statue of her rests in the middle of the rectangle table covered in a black table cloth. On top of it lies the many offerings for your mom. Herb-dressed candles burn beside bowls of fruit, bouquets, a crystal enamel wine glass filled with alcohol, feathers, and other things. You ignore the altar as you put down your stuff beside the door, following Atticus as he takes off his shoes.

“Kids?” You hear your father call enthusiastically from beyond the foyer, and you persist forward into the entryway ahead of you.

“We’re home!” Atticus announces as he enters beside you. Ambrose barks making a beeline to the right and behind the kitchen counter. He jumps on your father with so much force he stumbles back.

“Gods! Why does he look even bigger?” Your father exclaims through a laugh, fixing the round glasses that threaten to slip off his nose as his other hand grips Ambrose’s paw. He yelps in surprise as Harvey's claws rest on top of his head, clinging to his hair to steady himself.

The warmth and smell of home fill your senses as you catch your dad’s gaze. “Well, come here! Are you going to hug your pops or what?”

You rush over with Atticus. Both of you hug your dad tightly on either side of him, and you smile as he presses a kiss on your temples. “I missed you guys so much!”

“We missed you too!” The smile on your face falters as he looks up, scanning the archway as if he was waiting for someone else. You shift, not ready to be faced with the question, and you peer around his body to look at the food on the stove behind him.

Your father notices your interest, and he chuckles. “Come on, let’s eat. You guys came right on time.”

You shuffle through the kitchen with Atticus, making your way to the rounded table at the end of the kitchen.

“Dad, what have you been up to?” Atticus asks teasingly, and your father perks up.

“I've done a lot of things to keep me busy. I volunteered to teach summer classes while you were gone. I’m reading this book with a fascinating perspective of the shift from Paganism to Christianity in Rome. It’s an amazing read; I highly recommend it. Though, I don’t quite agree with it.” Your father hums thoughtfully. “Oh! And I bought gnomes for our garden! And the thrift store had this little house and this old lady figurine! I put it on the porch. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but she’s the official guard of the door," he declares proudly. "And…” He twists and turns before heading to the bookshelves in the living room area. He grabs something from the shelf then he showcases a cartoon Dobby bobblehead with wide arms. A high-pitched cackle leaves his lips. “It completes our collection!”

“Woah! Where did you get it? We went to three different places for it, and we couldn’t find it.” Atticus matches your father’s excitement, and you snort at the two.

“I went to a mythology convention in Boston a few weeks ago. There was a game stop across the street from the center, and I thought, ‘why not?’ I went in, and I saw this little guy by the register.” Your father is giddy as he nudges the head and watches it jiggle in his hands.

You think of what your grandmother’s reaction would be if she saw all the things he bought on his trip to the thrift store. She’d definitely complain. She always said that even growing up, your father had a liking for knickknacks. On your shelves and counters, there are always little trinkets lying around. It even extends to the walls, a variety of paintings and diagrams are neatly hung beside each other. From the state of your house, it’s clear your father is a maximalist in its purest definition.

“Wow! That’s awesome!” Atticus reaches out his hand for it as your father brings over his entire collection of Harry Potter bobbleheads, the toys huddled in his chest before he places them on the dining table. “The whole gang can hang out with us for dinner.”

“I hope they like pasta,” Atticus comments, lining them up as your dad retrieves the pan of food.

Your stomach grumbles at the sight, and you’re quick to serve yourself as Atticus and your Dad talk about anything and everything. You guys discuss what your grandmother has been up to, how your father’s classes were going, which led your father to ramble so much he formed a tangent on top of another. The conversation was going so well that you were sure he wouldn’t ask about your summer, but you had assumed too soon.

“So enough about me! How was Camp?” Your father chirps, and you shift in your seat.

You smile with confidence to hide the wariness you felt. “It was great!” You figured if you keep your answer short, you could move past it quickly.

“Yeah, the usual. Fun as always,” Atticus adds.

Your father’s eyes flicker between the two of you, and the first thing he notices is the way your smiles don’t reach the rest of your face.

The clanging of metal utensils on glass plates fills the room as the both of you fixate on your food but neither take a bite. The camp was never a touchy subject. The sudden unwillingness to speak about it makes his eyebrow cock up in suspicion. His eye averts to the empty dining chair beside you and the dinner place settings that remained untouched. Alabaster was supposed to join your return home. At least, that’s what he had assumed.

“Did Alabaster decide to stay at his foster home?” There’s caution in his tone, and he’s taken aback at how both you and Atticus tense up. The clings of metal halt abruptly, and slowly, you move to glance at your father.

“Dad, something happened at camp this summer.” Now, it was your turn to have a tone laced with caution. Alabaster lived with you for months and quickly became a part of the family. Your father saw him as his second son, and you were afraid to break the news that he may never see him again.

“What happened? Did he get into trouble?” You frown at the sudden edge in his voice. Atticus shifts beside you,

“He took the others to go fight for the Titan Lord.”

“What?”

“Mother came to speak to him and told him that it was best to fight for the other side since their chances are better,” you say slowly. “They left at the end of July. Only Atticus, Lou Ellen, and I stayed at camp.”

Your father’s expression darkens, grief written all over his face. “And you haven’t seen them since?”

You shake your head, not wanting to delve into the details. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing them again in a while and not in the best circumstances.” Your father nods, understanding the implication in your words. “Mother promised that she’d take care of them if they fight for the other side. I didn’t want to go; it wasn’t right.”

“That must be why everything is rotting,” your father mutters more to himself. You furrow your eyebrows.

“Rotting? What’s rotting?”

“Our offerings to your mother,” he clarifies. “All the fruit I leave on her altar goes bad in a few days. The flowers wither quickly too. The garden, in general, hasn’t been doing well either. I didn’t understand why.”

Your focus returns to your plate. Suddenly, you weren’t that hungry anymore.

She must be angry, you think to yourself. A part of you wanted a sign from her to let you know if she was bothered you didn’t join. When the sign didn’t come, you assumed she didn’t care; that, in a way, you were dead to her. It didn’t dawn on you to ask how the altar or the garden your father dedicated to her was doing.

“Can I be excused?” You strain, your face a little hot, and you’re not sure if it was from your anger or from the tears you’re blinking away.

“Of course.” The warm smile on your father’s face fails to budge the dread you’re feeling. “You can be excused as well, Atticus.”

You miss the way your father and Atticus exchange looks as you stood up. There wasn’t a verbal agreement, but Atticus stands up tall, determined to make you feel better. He trails behind you, and suddenly, he slings his arm across your shoulders. “You know what’s one of the things I missed at camp?”

“What?” You ask, trying to ignore the heavy feeling in your chest.

“Beating you at Tekken,” Atticus teases. Your lips curve slightly; his playful nature manages to brighten up your mood a little bit. “Let’s play. I’ll go easy on you, but I’m sure you’ll still lose regardless.”

“You’re on,” you nudge him, and Atticus chuckles, walking ahead of you and up the stairs. Your hand grips the railing, and you walk up a few steps before halting, and your eyes find the front door.

“You don’t get it!”

“I don’t.” You shrugged, amused at the way Atticus’s eyebrows knitted in disbelief. He ignored you, grabbed the remote, and played the Star Wars movie again. You groaned, seeing the slanted letters move up the TV screen. “Atticus! I can’t watch this!”

“Why not?!”

“Well, first off, my dyslexia won’t let me read that quickly, and if a physically written prologue is needed before a movie… it’s not a good movie!”

“How dare you!” You threw your head back as a laugh bubbled in your throat. The exasperated look on his face was too funny. You had no desire to watch these movies, and you figured if you bothered him enough, he’d give up trying to show them to you. The shrug of your shoulders made him scoff. “Just watch it!”

A huff left your lips, and unwillingly, you returned your gaze to the screen. Suddenly, a hollow knock came from the front door.

“It’s late,” you said, but Atticus was too caught up in the beginning battle of the movie to pay any mind to you. Rarely did you get visitors, definitely not past midnight on a Friday. Cautiously, you rose from the couch and moved toward the door.

Rain erratically hit against your curtain-covered windows; the wind and cold made the walls around you creak as they adjusted. Whatever waited for you at the door, you just wished it was a person, not a weird ghost or monster. Your finger latched on the side of the curtain, allowing you to peek through the glass of your front door.

A gasp left your lips. Alabaster, soaked from the ruthless rain outside, was the last person you expected to see. But even though you didn’t expect him, you had an inkling as to why he was here.

Hastily, you unlocked the door and flung it open. “Al?” You sputtered; his green orbs were surrounded by tired eyes and puffy skin.

“He died this morning,” he strained. Your expression softened, and before you could say anything, Alabaster stepped forward and hugged your shoulders tightly. The raggedness of his breath, the shutter of his body, sent your chest a weight of sorrow. You couldn’t imagine being in his shoes and losing your father to a long battle with cancer at 14. Tears threatened to spill from your eyes; the person you looked up to the most was breaking down. You never thought he would need your help for anything, but it seems that you were wrong. “I’m sorry. You guys live the closest to me, and I didn’t know where to go-”

“It’s okay,” you interrupted. “Oh, Al, I’m so sorry,” your voice cracked, hands rubbed his back as a sob left his lips. A creak of a floorboard caught your attention, and you turned to see a confused Atticus emerging from the living room. With a sad look, he understood what happened, and soon his expression was mimicking yours.

“I’ll wake dad and get clothes,” he said, then rushed upstairs.

Your father didn’t even hesitate to help Alabaster, opening the doors of your house to him. In his greatest time of need, the three of you stood beside him, and overnight, he had a place in your home and in your heart. The three of you spent so much time playing video games, getting into trouble around town, learning magic. All the good times you and Atticus shared with him, were they really worth throwing away to fight with Kronos? You realize now that his departure was never only a betrayal to the camp but to you, Atticus, and your father, and you couldn’t help but think perhaps, you guys didn’t mean as much to him as he meant to you.

A shaky sigh leaves your mouth at the thoughts persistent to ruin your mood. The desire to leave camp was to avoid all the things that reminded you of your siblings, but now that you returned home, you realize that running away isn’t as easy as you thought.

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