#their issues on the wrong people and saying things to the wrong people and doing things they shouldn't but anya uniquely falls out of it as

[codenamethebird]

Honestly, I'm kind of hoping we see Melinoe's relationships fall apart a bit. The Warsong update has given us some new dialouge that's quite interesting in this regard.

We actually have Melinoe questioning things a little bit, mostly in regards to Prometheus having a point. But the moment she admits this to Hecate, she gets swiftly shut down. Hecate tells herself to not even consider it and stay true to her beliefs. Which under different circumstances would be a pep talk, but considering the context of, 'are the gods wrong in their treatment of humanity', has kind of sinister implications.

Like don't get me wrong I don't think Hecate is some secret supervillian, but she's a Titan who is part of the order of the gods. When Mel asks her why she helped Athena punish Arachne, she doesn't really apologize and basically says Arachne deserved it. For all Hecate loves Melinoe, she raised her as living weapon (which oof when Ares calls Mel that, ahhhh). She can't have her weapon against Chronos having doubts about their mission. She can't risk the weapon turning against herself.

In a similar but different path, Odysseus has some new dialogue where he's acting funny and seeming to question things. And when Mel asks him about the whole the whole god mortal thing, he blatantly avoids the question like an extreme sport. It actually made me crack up how blatant he was. And when Mel presses him, he says a very non committal 'both gods and mortals are complicated", which says nothing and everything lol. The conversation ends with him promising that he would tell her if he thought she and Hecate were doing the wrong thing.

Which if we take him at his word, still is sooooo vague. He could very much be in my opinion that Chronos is bad and needs to be defeated, but also the gods suck and he's not lying to Mel.

There's also the other option that he's just lying lol. He is Odysseus. But even beyond that, his boss and literal titan is like 20 feet away. Said Titan, who I mentioned above, shuts down any bit of doubt in Mel. He's just a shade, he has very valid reasons to keep his mouth shut.

But yes, back to my first point of this post, Melinoe's relationships possibly falling apart. In a reversal of Zag's quest bringing him closer to his companions, Mels feels doomed to tear them apart.

The mortal (ish in some cases) characters in this story as possibly being dragged towards Prometheus and his ideology. Arachne and Heracles already have issues with the gods, [Pan]Dora was screwed over by them too + her connection to Prometheus, Odysseus seems to have his doubts, and even Icarus has some dialouge of him expressing confusion at Prometheus being their enemy.

On the other end, it looks like Mel is headed in a direction of also doubting her belief in the gods, which will put her in conflict with them and their allies. I don't know what Hecate will do if Melinoe tries to work with Prometheus.

But yeah, I think it would be very fun to have Melinoe's relationships start falling apart as she grows and changes throughout the story. Lots of angst potential, of course, but interesting story developments as well.

Also in a way to make this sort of plot work within the context of how Hades 2 is played, and a different fun reversal of Hades 1, Melinoe can start keeping secrets from the people in the crossroads. Like how Zag lied to the Olympians about why he was doing his runs (especially in the epilouge), Melinoe might have to start lying to Hecate/Moros/Nemesis/etc about the exact purpose of her runs.

But yeah that might me getting a little too crazy with plot ideas haha.

[wn11ow]

Unstable UNI lore rant/spoilers HII!!! lets do a mini rant that willl probably be 90% wrong but whatevs!!! Remember how I said in my last rant that wemmbu has completely ad utterly caved in on himself as a defense mechanism to further lower the chances of him being betrayed or abandoned???? how I said he leaves places in fear of that?

I would like to reiterate after a certain epiphany just about a day or two ago that Wemmbu only leaves when Eggchan is not with him. A certain 'hero dependent on sidekick' trope taken a serious turn. He leave skyciv because he was searching for egg and could not settle until he had found him, he left because egg(infamously his moral compass) was not there.

As much as i depict him as a person with commitment and abandonment issues, he seems to completely flip the switch when it comes to egg.

He could have fought for skyciv. He did not. Why? Egg wasn't there. For all that's worth it, the only wars he has fought are the ones where egg was right there beside him.

Again, I mean *to* egg. Not to others, he doesnt flip the switch to others just because egg is around. Nope, only to egg. I'd like to think the two places he CONSIDERED staying were Manepear and Zam because Egg was there. Those places were almost home not because there was a sense of safety there(he has, always thrived in chaos) but because could thrive in safety with egg.

And it's not onesided, Egg clearly thinks of Wemmbu as his 'day one' and is definitely attached to wemmbu as much as wemmbu is with him(maybe not as co-dependent, but still there in the attached spectrum)

Put that to the side. We know that Wemmbu thrives in chaos, he does! it's vehemently proven how he always picks fights, videos mostly pvp-centered. He loses himself in bloodlust, and thats not something he's ashamed of.

Shame only arrives in the picture, suitcase in hand, when someone dear to him is threatened(or useful.)

Specifically.... DingDingDing!!! You guessed it, Egg!

He started thinking with his head and not his inner desires when egg is IN the picture AND threatened. Referring to my previous words, he only seems to consider settling in peace and safety with Egg right beside him. Im referencing the ferre scene, when Zam held Egg captive, When Egg was coerced into joining the mafia and wemmbu was left all, all alone.

Not Wemmbu and Eggchan.

Wemmbu, Eggchan.

I say this SPECIFICALLY after the newest video uploaded. You SEE wemmbu wanting to settle, have a nice quiet life with Eggchan because He's FINALLY gotten it in that THICK NUMBSKULL of his that If he's in danger, so is Egg. So he decides that if he needs to diminish his need for chaos for egg to be safe, he will.

I do also think that fight with ClownPierce in the S1 finale was him laying down his sword and giving that voice in the back of his head chanting, 'chaos, blood, danger.' it's final win.

does NOT work out for him, as a sword is thrusted into his hand yet again and instead of adrenaline. He feels... annoyance.

Why can't he go out on his own terms? Why can't he finally put the sword down? Why can't he control his own life?

Why do the things and people he care about get put on the line because of HIS actions?

One hand of his holds a sword, the other holds a suitcase(ready to leave at anytime.)---Why can't one of his hands be free?

Oh wow. That took a fanfiction-y aspect, huh? I think I'm done. I'll probably rant more and contradict myself further the following days but this is it for now !!!!

And again, remember... 'I never actually expected you to finish anything. You were always leaving. I always pictured you with a suitcase in one hand.' Is UU!Wemmbu...(i mean i think so it rings pretty true with his character i mean not his pov but with how others view him not the meathead others i mean wato, probably after skyciv)

[fromchaostocosmos]

I've said this before and I'll say it here that all the time traveler goes and kills baby Hitler stories I hate them and so do most Jewish and Roma people.

Because it shows that all the people who think killing Hilter before he rose to power or as an infant would have solved the problem and that the have no real understanding as to what was going, what societal issues where at play, and what antisemitism and anti-Roma racism had been around for a long time to help play a role in it all.

The reality is with or without Hilter it was all brewing and Hitler took advantage of the hate that was already existing towards Jewish and Roma people.

That hate would not have magically disappeared just because he was gone.

The other thing I think a lot people miss with the Diamonds and their ending is that Rebecca Sugar is Jewish.

And how Judaism views forgiveness and punishment is different then Christianity which all those Disney movies are made under the influence of and Christian culture.

Teshuva is the process one under goes when they have committed a wrongdoing. And how it goes differs if the wrongdoing is done towards G-d or a person.

I'm going to focus on the against a person part. When one does a wrongdoing against another person one must go through a process of admitting and acknowledging their wrongdoing and the hurt they have caused. They must spend time working on themself, growing, and changing as a person. Bettering themselves. Looking deep within at their flaws and seeing it all. It is hard and painful.

And it takes time. It is only then, that they can go to one that they hurt and apologize, and they do that by admitting and acknowledging the hurt and wrong they did, by taking responsibility, by explaining and showing how they have grown and changed as a person, and doing their best to not do the thing that they apologizing for.

If the person they have done the wrongdoing against does not accept their apology they are required to do the process again.

And if the on the 3rd time the person still does not accept the apology then the two go their separate ways and do not interact. Because sometimes a person can be very hurt by something that it is unforgivable to them.

It is why Teshuva towards a person is considered to have a time limit because people only have so long to live.

It is also why killing is considered to be the only unforgivable action in Judaism because the person to whom one would ask forgiveness from is not here to ask from.

(though there is commentary that compares rape to killing and thus puts the act of rape on the same level as murder)

So for me knowing the context of how Judaism views forgiveness and punishment and what the purpose of these things are for and knowing that Rebecca Sugar is Jewish it makes so much sense that she would write in the story they created to not have the Diamonds be chucked off a cliff or die as the answer to problems, but rather something more nuanced and complex.

And something more inline with a Jewish perspective.

Sometimes I think about how and why some people had such a *bad* reaction to the end of Steven Universe, specifically in regards to the Diamonds living.

Even though they no longer are causing harm to others and are able to actually undo some of their previous harm by living, some folks reacted as though this ending was somehow morally suspect. Morally bankrupt, even.

And I think it might be because so many of us were raised on a very specific kind of kids media trope:

They all fall to their deaths.

Disney loves chucking their bad guys off cliffs. And it makes sense- in a moral framework where villains *must* be punished (regardless of whether their death will actually prevent further harm or not), but killing of any kind is morally bad for the hero, the narrative must find a way to kill the villain without the protagonists doing a murder.

It's a moral assumption that a person can *deserve* to die, that it is cosmically just for them to die, that them dying is evidence that the story itself is morally good and correct. Scar *deserves* to die, but it would be bad for Simba to kill him. So....cliff.

Steven Universe, whatever else it's faults, took at step back and said "but if killing people is bad, then people dying is bad", and instead of dropping White Diamond off a cliff, asked "what would actual *restorative*, not punitive, justice look like? What would actual reparations mean here? If the goal is to heal, not just to punish, how do we handle those who have done harm?" And then did that.

Which I think is interesting, and that there was pushback against it is interesting.

It also reminds me of the folks who get very weird about Aang not killing Ozai at the end of Avatar. And like, Ozai still gets chucked in prison, so it doesn't even push back on our cultural ideas of punitive justice *that much.* and still, I've seen people get real mad that the child monk who is the last survivor of a genocide that wiped out his entire pacifist culture didn't do a murder.

[creatingblackcharacters]

100% real genuine question:

Should relationships be different in fiction with Black characters? I have always heard to treat characters as people first and then whatever (race, sexuality, gender, disability, etc etc) second.

But reading that post about antiblackness in fandom one of the quotes said that the relationships were written as if they were white, which confused me.

Is it just saying that there were some moments that seemed inaccurate or racist because one of the characters was Black (like running fingers through hair, to name a minor one) or is there more?

Is it about how it reads to us because of the racist history irl?

I have several original stories containing Black characters and I've always tried to go out of my way to make them feel fully fleshed out and if I'm even slightly worried about one character feeling stereotypical, I try to fix it (and sometimes just add more characters that defy that stereotype. Like, one of my characters is a Black woman and as I developed her I decided she was a lesbian and leaned butch. After that I added feminine Black women, including lesbians, as well as nonBlack butches because I know the masculinization of Black people is a huge issue. Even though, this character is literally the only "masculine" Black woman, but not the first Black woman, I had written at the time, lol. )

I am probably overthinking and overexplaining. But now I am rethinking all of the relationships I have in my stories with Black characters in them. Diversity is really important to me and I hate to imagine myself contributing to racist views of Black characters...

(forgive me if I come across as a Whining White Woman™ I'm autistic so I genuinely want to know if I'm doing it wrong)

Well, if you haven't read my syllabus, I would highly suggest doing so! Because I could not possibly tell you everything you've potentially done based off of this ask 😅 but you might find some things that will help you narrow your scope in your own stories, and better your writing for the future.

When we say things like "they were written like a white person", it usually means that it's clear within the story that the character's Blackness, and therefore how they and their actions would be perceived both within and outside of the story, were not considered by the author. It's clear that the character was written to be white- which is what most people consider as the default- and then just made "Black" to fill in a box. I can tell when a character's Blackness matters to their identity, versus when I'm just reading a story with someone's blorbo with a bucket of brown paint.

Do you have Black readers? Black peers? Have you ever had any feedback about those characters- do you think perhaps asking a Black beta reader or sensitivity reader might assuage your concerns? You could always put up your fics on your page and ask directly! Be open to that feedback, though.

[tiredandoptimistic]

Crucial thing about Buffy Summers is that she would rather die than have a conversation. She doesn't want to get other people involved in her business if she can help it, and throughout the series we see her become increasingly self-reliant as she learns to trust in her own abilities as the Slayer. The downside to this is that it weakens her connection to her friends as she becomes convinced that they can't understand what she's going through. By the late seasons, Willow and Xander fit the same role relative to Buffy that Joyce did back in high school. To Buffy, it's not worth opening up to them if they'll never really get it. All she'd be doing is pushing her problems onto people who wouldn't be able to help. In addition, thanks to that self-reliance, she always thinks that she can solve everything on her own. She doesn't like to open up about her issues, meaning that her loved ones often don't find out that anything is wrong until it's too late for Buffy to handle it delicately. For instance, when Joyce finds out that Buffy is the Slayer in season two she has a lot of questions that Buffy doesn't have time to answer because the world is literally about to end. In a desperate attempt to keep Buffy from leaving Joyce threatens to kick her out of the house, which obviously wasn't something she should have said even though it wasn't sincere. By refusing to let her mother in on the details of her life until the last possible minute, Buffy put them both in a situation where she was forced to drop the information and run, leading her mother to hate the Slayer calling in season three. Joyce only gets a peak at Buffy's life when the supernatural gets so bad that it's completely out of Buffy's control, which leads to Joyce seeing Buffy's life as nothing but terrible. We see this especially with Angel. Buffy never tells Joyce anything about her relationship with Angel except for when he's evil and planning on killing her, which means that Joyce never trusts Angel even when he's a good guy genuinely trying to protect her.

Switching back to the late seasons; after Buffy comes back from the dead she feels unable to connect with anyone except Spike. She was obviously going through a whole depression in season six and I'm not going to say that she handled it wrong because frankly as long as she made it through alive she did everything right, but this lack of communication with her friends does cause some problems for her. We see in the musical episode Buffy is forced to finally tell the truth about what death was like and how depressed she's been feeling, and it absolutely crushes all of her friends. Not only does their friend find them responsible for her depression, but she also felt the need to lie to them about it because she thinks they'd rather see her as happy than honest. Buffy tries to protect her friends from her life rather than sharing it with them, so everyone ends up upset and isolated. For the next leg of the season she has the whole relationship with Spike going on that she doesn't tell anyone about, which once again means that no one finds out until it's so bad she can't control it. (This is paralleled with Willow's magic addiction in a way that's interesting but I'm not gonna talk about it right now). Xander gets angry at her for sleeping with Spike when we know he had a much more chill reaction back in season five when the Buffybot made everyone think Buffy was with Spike, showing that the circumstances of him finding out had a big impact on his reaction. If Buffy had been up front about the relationship rather than waiting for Spike to spill the beans mid-argument, her friends probably would have been more understanding. Instead, Xander only sees Spike as the guy who starts fights and tries to rape his friend. By season seven Xander and Dawn don't understand why Buffy wants to protect Spike, because she didn't want them to know about any of the relationship so they only got to see the worst of it. If she was willing to share the parts of Spike she found genuinely appealing, she wouldn't have been hiding the relationship in the first place. Instead, everyone else sees him as an irredeemable asshole and Buffy doesn't take their concerns seriously because she can take care of herself.

I think I'm running out of steam so this post is probably approaching its end, but yeah. I think it's super interesting how Buffy works on a "dude, just trust me" level, and you can see throughout the series that her bubble of trust shrinks dramatically. Her fundamental trait of not wanting to share her struggles stays consistent, but as she grows up and gains confidence and competence she ends up willing to let down her mask with fewer and fewer people. She's a uniquely powerful Slayer because of how she draws on the strength of her friends, but she hates that she has to do it and tries to lock them out of her life as soon as she reaches a point where she thinks she can handle it alone. Once things boil over she's always left with a situation that's far worse than if she'd just been upfront with everything, but despite that the people in her life still always support her unconditionally. Joyce welcomes her back into the house with open arms, Giles respects her renewed relationship with Angel, Xander agrees to let Spike live with him despite his concerns. Buffy has so much trouble accepting the love that constantly surrounds her, but it remains anyways.

[julietford-kateshephard]

Shannon Rutherford is among the very last Lost characters I expected to relate to. She's a beautiful, 'in crowd' Mean Girl. I'm a somewhat below average looking, awkward nerd. She's a talented dancer. If I can make it across the street without tripping over my own feet at least two or three times, I consider it a victory. Her abandonment issues lead her to latch on to men even/especially when they're clearly the wrong guys. I'm more of a loner who doesn't end up getting into relationships even when I DO really like the person in question and think he's a good man, let alone when I don't.

But one of Lost's most beautiful surprises is in uncovering the commonalities we all share despite our differences. Because the way Shannon feels useless and incompetent and covers it up with "fuck this task anyway, fuck you and fuck myself" snark? I get that with every fiber of my being. Her fear that no guy who gets to know her past a certain level will still want to be with her? Yup---same. The way she grieves Bonne by holding on to all his stuff after he's died even though it's very impractical to do so? I've done the EXACT same thing. The way she ends up getting very emotional and frequently cries in front of people even when she really doesn't want to? Welcome to my world! And the way she falls quickly in love with Sayid, convinced he's the most noble, gentlemanly, heroic, kind, deep, intelligent, brave, insightful, loyal, protective and conveniently hot man she's ever known despite his flaws? Needless to say, I'm right there with her :)

More rambling about Shannon and Shannon/Sayid in the tags for anyone kind and patient enough to keep reading my rambling!

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

#have mixed feelings bc think a lot of ppl are just letting off steam/not in convos where solidarity building is even possible#but overall yeah

Right but I'm not making this post to tone police people on what they say on their tumblr blogs I'm making this post to be very real about organizing. I have been interacting with a new friend group recently and its me, another person who's terminally online in the same way I am, a person who's raised by academics so they can easily slide into the marxist jargon and "all white people are racist" type takes that me and this other person speak in, and a self identified centrist who is a roblox and tiktok enjoying 18 year old. we know each other because we all do night club entertainment, and this kid is more established in this profession than the rest of us.

Anyway the point is that talking to this friend, who I want to say for our purposes is non white and grew up much poorer than I did, has low key shaken me when it comes to realizing that growing up on tumblr and reading marx and lenin as a 9th grader, and being raised by linguistics professors, has made me completely incapable of interacting with the average person in a way that makes me just... so bad at organizing. This whole website might as well be a psyop for the numbers its done on me being able to relate to people who I could theoretically win over if I was better at talking to people. This person has been a huge wakeup call. Like fuck me here I am talking to a relatively reasonable black lesbian who grew up in poverty and I cannot break through to them on economic or political issues, not because they're unreachable but because I'm so bogged down in jargon and tumblr hot takes that we the same words to mean completely different things and the way I phrase my opinions or react to certain things make them not want to talk politics with me.

so like, I'm going through my own political playbook and realizing quite a bit of it is completely alienating to people who I should be trying to win over. I cant even win over someone who runs in exclusively queer and mixed circles, because they were raised with what I can only describe as normal american politics. That should be low hanging fruit but here I am trying to talk about the means of production and I'm drawing a blank.

So anyway back to the point of the post. This sort of berating people for being too privileged is one of the things I'm becoming clear eyed about. like it's not a point of contention for me and this specific person or anything but you know, like, it's in the same family of online leftist habits that make us completely unaproachable. I don't engage with it very often but I do shut my mouth because part of me is like "well yeah that person is privilaged and it probably feels bad to hear someone complain about for the less privilaged." but then I actually get in a real life situation and I'm like wait I could win this person over if I just knew how. It's not about handing them a copy of Das Capital, it's not about beraiting them for being privilaged until they feel bad and take up a monk like oath to never step out of line or discuss their own suffering, it's about acknowledging what's wrong and pointing them in the right direction, and that goes for every single person not just those that are more privilaged than you complaining, even though that's what this post is about.

And online is like real life in many ways, If you come onto a person's post and make a snippy comment, you've alienated a potential ally, because theres someone on the other end of that keyboard.

tl;dr: This is just one of many post's I'm gonna be making or have made where I discuss the pitfalls of my own ability to talk to people and tumblrs general tendancy to treat people who could be won over like hot garbage. It's not about tone policing or venting it's about how I see a lot of you alienating potential allies because you're more invested in being leftier than thou, which is a tendancy I also see in myself.

I'm glad yall like this post just clarifying because I know deep in my soul that this post already has been screencapped and had the wavy filter put over it by someone who will go on to make at least on person who could have been down for the cause turn away from us by being completely unpleasant, and who does nothing for leftist organizing but is completely devoted to infighting on tumblr . gov

Saying that a certain group of people is too privileged to complain about the way that things are is its own sort of defense of the status quo

[hoonieyun]

i need to buy a gun

pairing: sim jaeyun x reader x park sunghoon

warnings: mentions of death, murder, blood, profanity, murder chase scene, stalking, like overall slasher movie vibes, 18+

pls ignore timestamps and possible typos lol this chapter is written

wc: 1781

its 7 in the morning when you’re awoken by your phone ringing, you toss around in your bed for a moment before turning over and picking up your phone, “hello?” you say, voice a bit raspy after having just woken up. 

“hello? yn, sorry are you still sleeping?” 

“hoon? its fine, whats wrong?” you respond, the urgency in his voice slightly worrying you. sunghoon then goes on to tell you that he just got a call from the hospital, letting him know that jay has woken up and because he was currently preoccupied with some work things, he isn’t able to leave right away. “can you go see him? just make sure he’s fine so he isn’t alone? i’ll be there as soon as i can.” sunghoon didn’t even have to explain himself, you’d do anything for him. 

“of course, hoon. i’ll get ready right now and go see jay. i’ll see you later, ok?” you tell him and the two of you bid a quick goodbye through the phone, “love you, see you later.” sunghoon says mindlessly, his last comment slipping out on instinct. 

you were a bit speechless at his comment, assumming that he didn’t mean to say it and it was just a spur of the moment comment, his words left a tender feeling inside of you. it wasn’t the perfect time to be focusing on romance but with the amount of people you’ve lost, all you could do was lean on the ones who are still there. 

sunghoon being the one you could rely on most. 

🗡

10 minutes after you’re phone call with sunghoon, you’re driving to the hospital with his words still lingering in your mind. after all of the things that has happened within the last month you weren’t going to let anything stop you from loving the people that you want to love. 

the thought of jake passes through your mind as you think about the word love. he was the person who was always by your side, besides intak, and you were so blinded by your own insecurities and anxiety that you couldn’t see how jake loved you more than a best friend. 

you weren’t sure if regret was the right word in this situation, but regret was definitely something you didn’t want to carry on with you moving forward. you decided that later today, you’d tell sunghoon that you’re ready to get back together and could only hope he still feels the same way. 

after a few short moments, you’re waiting in the elevator as it takes you up to jay’s floor. the hospital was pretty empty since it was early in the morning, the front desk was empty once again but since you knew where to find jay, it was no issue. 

just as the elevator is about to reach his floor, the elevator slightly shakes and the lights inside flicker; causing you to become worried that you were now stuck inside. you tried pressing the emergency button and open door button but nothing worked. frantically pressing the buttons to get anything to work but you’re met with nothing but stillness as the elevator lights continue to flicker every now and then. 

you pull your phone out to call someone when jay’s contact suddenly appears on your phone, ‘hello? jay? are you ok?” you speak into the phone, worry has long settled inside of you as you start to think that something has happened to jay. 

“hello, yn..” a voice responds through jay’s phone, but a voice that was definitely not his. 

“who is this.. what the fuck did you do to jay?” you scream into the phone and the sinister voice on the other end of the phone just chuckles. 

“i’d get here fast if i were you..” and with that the call ends but you receive a text right after, a photo of jay asleep in his hospital bed, a menacing aura surrounding the photo after realizing that the killer must’ve sent it from jay’s phone and that he’s in danger and can’t defend himself. afraid that the killer has come to finish the job, you try to pry open the doors with what little strength you have and when it suddenly opens; knocking you backwards�� the door opens and reveals the decelis killer standing just a few feet in front of you. a knife in one hand and jay’s phone in the other. 

the floor seems to be empty and although you were sure that the killer was much stronger than you were, you ran at them with all your speed and just before you make contact with the killer, you slide under their legs– catching them off guard. 

the killer frantically turns around to try and catch you as you scramble to your feet but not fast enough as they take hold of your feet, causing you to fall back onto the floor. the two of you wrestle as the killer trails your body in an attempt to hold you down. 

the killer’s strength overtakes your own as they pin your arms over your head with one hand, the knife in the other hand raising above you and just as the killer slashes downwards at you, you muster up the strength to raise your knee hard enough to knock the killer off balanced, shoving them off of you. 

a deep groan erupts from the killer, an indication that the masked assailant was indeed a man; much like how irene had told you prior. 

you take the opportunity to get back onto your feet, running back to the elevator to call it to the floor once more. the door reopens just as the killer is back on his feet, heading towards you with his knife still in his hand, he shoves you into the elevator; your body slamming into the cold metal wall. 

the killer raises his hand once again, an evil and sinister aura emitting off of him and with the last of your survival instincts, you throw yourself into the opposite direction– dodging his attack and causing him to stumble into the elevator. 

with some quick thinking, you crawl out of the elevator but not before hitting the close button– the killer being too stunned to notice as he’s left inside, sending him to a random floor as you escape. you try to catch your breath when the door fully closes but the thought of jay springs back into your head, prompting you to run over to him to make sure he’s fine. 

you trip into his hospital room, dread building up inside of you as you worry what could’ve happened to him but it’s soon replaced with relief when you find jay calmly laying in his bed, a confused expression on his face when you hurriedly burst through the door. 

“woah, yn. are you ok?” he asks and you tell him all that you’ve just gone through, pulling your phone back out to call the police when not even a few minutes after you enter the room; sunghoon is running in after you. 

a startled gasp leaves both of your lips as sunghoon limps into the room, out of breath like he was the one who was just attacked. “hoon? how did you get here so fast?” you ask and he tells you that he was able to leave work a lot sooner but on his way up to see jay, the killer had attacked him. 

making a comment about how the hospital was practically empty as there was no one there to help him. 

you couldn’t help but feel suspicious of words. the idea of him arriving and seemingly being injured right after you had a run in with the killer just seemed too much of a coincidence but after learning that jumping to conclusions and making baseless assumptions don’t get you anywhere, you decide to keep that to yourself.

a lingering gaze coming from sunghoon as you turn around to face jay and continue to make the phone call. a gaze that doesn’t go unnoticed by jay as he watches his twin brother with a narrowed glare, like he was analyzing his twin to find out the truth. 

🗡

after waiting in jay’s room filled with an unnamed tension, the hospital was now filled with people in comparison to just moments ago when you were attacked and it seemed like everyone had disappeared. no sign of any other people or help in sight. 

detective taeyong soon arrives in a hurried manner, “finally, what took you so long?” you ask, irritation in your tone after being told to stay put and wait for them to arrive. “we found him.” taeyong simply says, a puzzled face on all of your faces as he closes the door behind him. 

“ilhan, we found him. we found a car that was registered under his name before he disappeared and several items matching up with the description of the decelis killer in his trunk– including a knife..” his explanation sends shivers down your spine as you realize that this could only mean one thing. 

“they’ve arrested him and he’s at the station right now being questioned. it’s over.” taeyong says and a wave of relief washes over the three of you. sunghoon instantly runs over to you, wrapping his arms around your body as you do the same. jay slightly winces when his brother pulls him into a hug, to which he mutters a small thank you with a chuckle. 

it was finally over, you couldn’t wait to tell daniella and heeseung the news when you get the chance, a smile creeping up onto your face as you think about the life you don’t have to worry about where you were constantly living in fear. 

a life where you could continue to live without regret, starting with starting over with the boy you loved. 

“so, how should we celebrate now that this is all over?” jay asks, a smile on his lips as if he isn’t strapped up to several medical machines. 

“i’m not sure but i need to buy a gun.” your comment makes the two boys in the room laugh and so do you, but if its one thing about it and two things for sure, you were being more serious than you were being funny.

back - masterlist - next

detective's notes: suspect, gong ilhan has been arrested is currently under police custody. survivors of the decelis attacks, yn, sunghoon, jay, daniella, and heeseung will be brought in for final questioning. this case will soon be closed.

copyright 2025 - present © hoonieyun all rights reserved all writing here is fiction & not in any association with characters mentioned. if you enjoyed reading this please consider reblogging and following <3

ᡣ•.•𐭩♡ @pagemiah @jiiyen @jnysaln @xh01bri @rairaiblog @laurradoesloveu @17ericas @manaah02 @heeseung64 @zorange13 @firstclassjaylee @leipforggy @kristynaaah

@wildtigerlili @mydearyeseo @hoonielvv @leehsngs @immelissaaa @skyearby @shuichi-sama @herrymxxnie @notab1tchwho @minfolio @theothernads @janjoonty @yunthejin

[aseriesofunfortunatejan]

Umiri's tragic backstory

So Umiri introduces her story in a silly way. (Because she's very silly.) She drops a "I have a painful backstory I can't get through without drinking", with language I assume stereotypical enough for Nyamu to immediately point out the obvious: she wasn't drinking alcohol. The way she introduces it prompts Nyamu to go "okay, fine, that's what's happening now".

I really enjoy their dynamic, in a way similar to Umiri's dynamic with Taki: there's an air of detachment accompanied by straightforward respect. There's the comfort of being a little rough on that person without being worried they'll take it the wrong way. It's an opportunity for Umiri to be a little Silly without having to involve herself more than she wants to.

So, about that. I do want to pay attention to it and speak about Umiri's genuine negative feelings: because I'm not about to let a fake IDGAFer trick me! Reference silly situations and omit the details all you want, Umiri; this is affecting your daily life.

We can only operate with the assumption that she's telling the entire truth (that she's aware of): the visuals indicate that in the past, Umiri was burned by missing a social cue hardcore. I can feel this scene course through my insides; the one passionate little girl throwing herself into a group project 100%, completely missing that her friends are on an entirely different page, and about to dip on her.

This sucks ass. I know "oh, she's just autistic" seems comforting enough compared to what the likes of Sakiko or Mutsumi have going on, but all memes aside - such symptoms and experiences, whether or not Umiri is intended to be autistic, are extremely painful and isolating.

This is BanG Dream!, so we're talking about a character to whom music and her instrument are very important. The visual of Umiri standing alone on stage, even though she was already alone in the changing room, tells a story in and of itself: of her going anyway. Why? Did she hope they might still come? Did she want to hang on to the "dream" audition? Regardless, there's one other thing young girls aren't known to enjoy: humiliation. Standing alone on stage in front of an audience of adults who are definitely piecing the story together, crying from her hurt feelings... that's a humiliating experience.

I'm reminded of the humbled Soyo watching herself on stage, abandoned by her bandmates one by one, if just in her imagination.

"I was interfering too much, with good intentions. I never thought that would annoy people." That description, to me, represents someone who has thought about it over and over. Who has put the finger on exactly what happened, who can describe it no problem, and yet... it still hurts, else it wouldn't keep coming up.

Additionally, this is someone who is choosing her words carefully. She is very specific about the way she is portraying herself and her feelings. It's very different to the self-loathing Sakiko: I had good intentions. I am calm about this. I am self-aware.

This is a way of protecting herself. You can't hurt me if my shields are up; if I'm already aware of exactly what happened in my painful past and of every way you could make fun of me for the way I'm talking to you right now. She says it herself as well: she guarded herself from experiencing this again by joining multiple bands instead of putting all her eggs in one basket.

She does bring up to DISRUPTION that she's looking for a safeguard to avoid "bothering" her parents. DISRUPTION allowed her to keep that despite Ave Mujica's disbanding. I don't think we have any information indicating whether this was already a driving force when she was younger (which could have informed her interest in being scouted), or if it's a separate issue.

What's evident is that Umiri over-corrected. She identified her taking leadership as the problem, and began to avoid it at all costs. Call her backstory silly all you want, but this impacts her daily and social life! By avoiding it completely, she fell in the opposite category of unreliable person, and thus failed at uniting another band.

...She's learning her lesson: don't avoid taking the lead. You need to be trusted. The problem is... she might be... over-correcting again.

I think we should bite her. As for Doloris... she doesn't appear to believe Umiri has her shit together either.

Speaking of this silly idiot's parents... I have talked, in the past, of my issue with BanG Dream! repeatedly spouting some Dieting Bullshit. I'd also brought up the lack of mention of the social implications of being stupid rich, which has since been tackled with Sakiko... therefore, is it possible that Ave Mujica is trying to tackle dieting and/or eating disorders?

The products here appear to be referencing a genuine brand named CalorieMate (I hope the linked post is trying to be funny, for their sake). Of course, the dialogue alone indicates that Umiri refuses to feed herself normally.

This is surprising, since Umiri had initially been established as that girl who gulped down a ton of macarons at once. She's also always drinking something from the vending machine, which isn't a constant for her classmates. The overeating and diet food are definitely implying a disordered relationship with food. (I also think it's noteworthy that she ate at 12:00 on the dot. Either she was hungry and waiting for the right time to be "allowed" to eat or she forced herself to eat in order to stay on a specific schedule.)

While looking for that brand, I did have to open Twitter, and found this good point:

I don't think Umiri's problems are all that light-hearted. As I mentioned above, I think the implied social isolation is gut-wrenching. It might be my C-PTSD talking, but trauma can look all sorts of ways, and it can ruin your daily life. On top of that, although we have very little information about it so far, an eating disorder is nothing to sneer at: it is a genuine mental struggle that also impacts the body (greatly) and can endanger the person's life.

This is a girl who's all over the place. Did you see the sheer amount of luxury items she bought? She's definitely not eating anything else this month. Regardless her backstory, this is not a healthy place to be in.

Umiri's crashout made me sweat. It could turn out that Umiri's experience isn't a big T trauma that changed everything, but a lot of little t trauma that she was mistakenly left to try and fix on her own; and still, she would fit the bill as an Ave Mujica girlie who Needs Help At The Moment.

To conclude - I don't know when Nyamu became an Umiri hater, but I stan.

She was not being half as scary there as she ended up becoming after their conversation.

Just kidding. There's something else I wanted to say. Here's a PS: why is it that Taki and Tomori are allowed to be bossy about their bands and with their bandmates, and still be seen, appreciated, and earn what they want? Why did it fail so bad when Umiri did it - although she too had good intentions? "Fuck that noise, I want my band to succeed too!" and "if that worked on Sakiko and Mutsumi, then it should work when I try it too, right?"

[youandsometimeswhy]

Dehumanizing people who do terrible things is also dangerous in another direction. It raises the barrier to belief incredibly, impossibly high.

That college athlete couldn't have possibly participated in that terrible abuse. He's a bright young man with his future ahead of him.

I never had any issue with my boss. She's a good person. My colleague who says he's being harassed by her must be mistaken/lying. He's the monster putting our boss's career at risk by making these accusations.

My uncle couldn't possibly be psychologically and financially abusing my cousins and aunt. He's a good guy who just wants what's best for his family.

If only monsters do monstrous things and we believe ourselves to be good people who only associate with good people then we have a hard time seeing the wrongs.

People do monstrous things and we'd do well to never forget that.

I thought it was fairly normal to feel empathy for bad people.

I thought it was common, even.

But after my Elon/Grimes post... now I'm wondering if I was mistaken about that.

I wrote a post about Trump being traumatized after his assassination attempt and a post about his poor adaptation to aging. I expressed sympathy for him in both cases. But I still maintain my white hot hatred of him and wish for him to face consequences.

Elon was abused by his father. Some of the stories are incredibly tragic. Hearing those stories triggers an involuntary response in my emotional systems that I can't stop no matter how much I despise present-day Elon. I also wonder if that abuse never occurred maybe we wouldn't be dealing with this current clusterfuck.

I have never held so much anger towards a single person as I do my brother. But I also see him as a victim of abuse. I know he was once a really good person and he was slowly corrupted. I feel sorry for him. I mourn the amazing person he used to be. And I still love him.

But that doesn't make me any less angry.

[luvermore]

ThamePo's last episode possibly centering around dreams, an important plot in the entire show is an excellent way to end the story. From the beginning there was always this kind of loss of autonomy taken from both MARS and Po by individuals in higher power structures. For MARS that was the company and for Po that was Earn. Thame was manipulated into believing that his members wanted out of MARS and that the group wasn't what they wanted. That their dreams were away from what Thame wanted.

So in Thame's mind, the right and selfless thing to do was take on everything and help them to that. While this is selfless and seemingly heroic, this can also have the opposite effect. Jun found out what Thame did and hated it because just as much as Thame loves the MARS members, they love him too.

It's quite like Fai in Perfect 10 Liners where Fai, gives away all of himself but to his brothers, dad, and Wine, it isn't selfless, it's aggravating because they want Fai to think of himself too sometimes.

Meanwhile, Po has constantly felt as though he needed Earn to be proven wrong, that he did have what it takes to accomplish his dreams. Though I think Earn knew Po was talented and would make it far. I mean he had the boy working for him constantly so that shit was just a manipulation tactic. But in the end, Po didn't even care that Fern rubbed it in Earn's face because it wasn't about Earn or what he thought. It was about Po standing on his own two feet, being capable of being alone, of being his own cheerleader because at the end of it all, he got what he wanted. But even after that, he still felt empty because his goal never changed but his path to it did.

In that same breath, Thame taking on all that weight that he did, wouldn't make his members happy, they'd be hurt to know he was driving himself crazy to help them when they were never actually asked what they wanted. So similarly, you have Thame begging Po to ignore everything else and hear what he is saying is his dream. Not to listen to what the CEO claims his dreams are, the very thing he did with his members.

At the end of the day dreams can change and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you can see your life going one way but things happen, people change, and you sometimes trail onto a different path. But that doesn't mean the path you diverted to is a bad one, in Thame and Pepper's eyes, fame is not worth losing Gam and Po. But in the latter's eyes, they are an obstacle for their loved ones. But this isn't right either because relationships of any kind revolve around teamwork, working things out and compromising so you can stay together. The vast majority of issues in this story stems from a lot of people doing a lot of things for another persons dreams but the thing is; your dreams don't have to change just because the journey does.

an: okay im done being emo...im gonna go binge ossans love to stop being sad.

[heart-of-ep]

Elvis: Through Her Lens (Chapter Three)

(Elvis Presley × OC Reader)

Character/Fandom: Elvis Presley

Read More Here: Elvis: Through Her Lens (coming soon)

Prompt: You are Minnie Jones, an aspiring photographer working for the LA Sentinel. Your chief editor is looking for a story that will help boost the popularity of the paper, so an opportunity comes knocking when Colonel Tom Parker approaches him with a new 'snowjob.' After a tentative first meeting with the Colonel, and his star Elvis Presley, you are hired on to follow Elvis around as his personal photographer in an attempt to catch lightening in a bottle twice with the earlier success of the Alfred Wertheimer photos. Along the way, you develop a close bond with Elvis, leading to complications in your relationship when the issues of his marriage and eventual drug usage start to put a strain on your relationship. Constantly fighting your ever-growing feelings for him, you are swept up into the whirlwind of Elvis' world which forces you to see the King of Rock 'n' Roll through a new lens.

Tags: Slow burn. Angst. Drama. Friends to lovers (sort of).

TW: None. Cussing?

Rating: PG-13 (ish) (may get spicy but won't be explicit as I don't enjoy writing smut lol but cursing, possible violence, and infidelity will appear throughout the story)

Word Count: 5.6k

Author's Note: Alright yall, things are starting to kick off with this chapter, and I'm very excited about it. It's quite a bit longer than the previous two chapters so I hope you enjoy!

I have to say, I had a blast researching the Houston Astrodome cause 1970 is a major hyperfixation for me, and I actually learned a lot while looking up all the info for this chapter (and the next 👀) so I'm just gonna be living vicariously through Minnie. 🤭

I apologize in advance for the slow burn nature of this fic, but I promise things will get spicy/angsty soon! ♡

Elvis at the Houston Airport for a press conference on February 25th, 1970.

After reviewing the contract with you, and making sure you were absolutely sure that you still wanted to do it, Pierce had you sign it, hesitating to sign it himself. He was more than a little skeptical of Colonel Tom Parker, which you couldn’t necessarily blame him for. You did your best to reassure him once the two of you left the Hillcrest home.

“Don’t worry, Pierce. The Colonel might be a bit…strange, but Elvis seems interested in the project.” You told him as he drove you back to the office to collect your camera and film before heading home to pack.

“I just can’t put my finger on it, Minn. He just rubs me the wrong way.” Pierce frowned before sighing. “But I suppose Elvis seems nice enough. Though, I wouldn’t fall for his charm. He’s had a fair few scandals involving women he works with.” He pointed out.

You rolled your eyes. “I’m not worried about Elvis Presley seducing me. For one, he’s married.” You reminded him.

“Yeah, ‘cause that’s stopped people in the past.” He said sarcastically.

“Pierce, I’ll be fine. I’ve been around my fair share of charming men, it doesn’t mean I’ll fall for it.” You said, though you secretly knew that Elvis was very different from any other man you’d ever met.

Different and very beautiful.

You shoved the intrusive thought from your mind, refusing to let yourself get hung up on how good looking he was. You weren’t about to be one of many other women who fell for the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. After all, you were there to do a job, and you weren’t going to get distracted along the way.

Once you collected your things from the office, you quickly drove back to your apartment to get your clothes packed. Elvis would be in Houston for at least a week for the Astrodome shows and any of its corresponding press conferences, so you needed to figure out everything to take. And you weren’t familiar with Houston weather which presented a problem of its own. After a while of debating what to bring, you decided to call up your girlfriend, Vivien to get her advice, and quite frankly you just needed someone to talk to about all of this.

“Elvis Presley?!” Vivien practically squealed, causing you to pull the phone away from your ear.

“Yes, Elvis Presley.” You said, rolling your eyes as you lifted your suitcase up onto your bed.

“Wait, hold on, Minn. You can’t be serious. I mean, you’re kidding, right?” She asked, sounding skeptical now instead of excited.

You frowned a bit. “Why would I be lying, Viv? Look, it's not a big deal.” You paused for a moment. “Well, it is sort of a big deal, but it’s just a job. A very exciting job, but a job nonetheless.” You explained.

“Just a job? Minn, are you sure you’re not high right now?”

“Very funny.” You rolled your eyes again. “I know it’s a lot, and I am excited, but I have to keep a leveled head about all of this. I don’t think Elvis wants another screaming girl bothering him.” You pointed out.

“Hm…I suppose you’re right, but this is still a huge deal! God, do you know how much I’ve dreamed about meeting Elvis?” She groaned. “Tell me, does he look just as good in person?” She asked curiously.

You hesitated for a moment, thinking back to those beautiful blue eyes of his, his soft pouty lips, and that full spirited laugh that made you feel warm inside…you quickly snapped out of your daze before the thought could go any further. “I uh…I didn’t really notice.” You mumbled.

“Sure you didn’t.” You could just hear the smile on her lips.

You sighed. “Can we focus? I have no idea what I’m supposed to wear. Business or casual?”

“Well, you’re not exactly going into the office.” She pointed out. “Besides, you’ll be traveling with Elvis Presley. You have to pack in style.”

You wanted to tell her that it was silly to dress to specifically impress Elvis, but you figured everyone in his company (especially the women) dressed to fit in with his style. You recalled seeing a few photos of Elvis with Priscilla in the paper and remembered how pretty and stylish she looked. But you quickly reminded yourself that you were working as his photographer, nothing else.

“So when are you leaving?” Vivien asked as you pulled out a coat from your closet, the only coat you owned, and folded it up neatly into your suitcase.

“Tomorrow.” You sighed. “Pierce is losing his shit, you know. He thinks this whole thing is going to end up exploding in our face because of that manager, Colonel Parker.” You shook your head as you sat down on the edge of your bed.

“Pierce always has a stick up his ass.” She reminded you. “Besides, you’ve done celebrity pieces before this. I can’t imagine this will be any different. That is unless you plan on sleeping with him.”

“Viv!” You shot back before shaking your head. “I’m starting to think that telling you about all of this was a bad idea.” You muttered.

“Oh, trust me it wasn’t a bad idea. And you’re going to keep me updated on all of this.” She said as a matter of fact.

You frowned a bit, but realized she was probably right. It’s not like you could talk to Pierce about any of it. You glanced at the clock, sighing when you noticed how late it was already. “Thanks, Viv. I’ll call you once I get settled in at the hotel.”

“Just try and have fun, Minn. I know it’s your job, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

You nodded a bit and smiled. “Yeah, I’ll try. I’ll talk to you later.” You said before hanging up the phone. You sighed and looked over at your suitcase before pushing yourself to finish packing the rest of your clothes, placing your extra packs of film on top.

You had no idea what to expect when you showed up at the airport tomorrow, but you knew it would be the beginning of something new and exciting.

~*~*~

When you showed up at LAX in the morning, after Pierce picked you up from your apartment, you could hardly contain your excitement. “Just think about it, Pierce. We’re going to have photos that no other paper in the world will have. The LA Sentinel will practically fly off the shelves.” You grinned.

“It better, or there won’t be an LA Sentinel.” Pierce muttered. “Just keep your head on straight. And don’t let this Presley fellow distract you.”

You rolled your eyes. “Pierce, you act like I’m just going to bend over the moment I see him.” You shot back. “Elvis Presley might be the world’s biggest flirt, but all I care about is getting the perfect picture.”

“I suppose. I guess if any woman can reject his advances it would be you.” He smirked a bit.

You slapped his arm playfully, smiling again as he parked the car on the private hanger that the Colonel had directed you to meet them at. You were surprised to find out that Elvis didn’t have a private jet, even Frank SInatra had that, but that didn’t stop him from being able to borrow one to fly him and his whole crew to whatever city he needed them in. You looked up at the jet as you stepped out of the car, ignoring the general nerves that attacked you every time you had to fly somewhere, and instead focused on the excitement of the whole situation.

You immediately noticed a couple cars already parked and waiting around the jet, a handful of men that you assumed worked for Elvis standing around waiting for him to arrive while someone loaded the luggage onto the plane. Pierce pulled your suitcase out of the trunk and walked with you over to the group, his gaze immediately searching for any sign of Elvis or the Colonel.

“I don’t think it would be such a bad thing if that Colonel got left behind.” Pierce muttered, and you jabbed him in the ribs, an amused smile crossing your face. You almost wished he was tagging along so you wouldn’t be going completely solo, but you knew you didn’t have much choice. The chief editor couldn’t exactly leave the office for a week. “Looks like Presley has six shows lined up in Houston, so you’re going to be pretty busy, Minn. Remember, we need to get photos that no one else will have.” He reminded me.

You nodded. “I know. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.” You smiled confidently.

He nodded and cracked a small smile. “I know you won’t.” He said before clapping me on the shoulder. “Keep your head on straight. Remember, a reporter trusts no one.” You nodded, though you didn’t exactly take that too close to heart. Unlike an official reporter, a photographer was meant to get close to their subject.

You turned your gaze away from Pierce and surveyed the group of men, immediately recognizing a couple of them from Elvis’ house. Charlie, the shorter fellow, was standing around laughing and talking with the other guys and standing close to one of the Cadillacs was an aging gentleman with grey hair and a small mustache. You didn’t recall seeing him at the house, nor did he seem to fit in with the other guys, which struck you as curious.

You only looked away when you heard a car pulling up behind you, glancing back to see the white Cadillac from yesterday coming to a stop. You immediately felt your heart leap in your chest (for some inexplicable reason) and quickly stood up a bit straighter as you clutched the handle of your suitcase. After a moment, the door to the car opened and first stepped out the Colonel, much to Pierce’s dismay, and then the other door opened and out stepped Elvis, glowing and smiling just as he had the day before.

The first thing you noticed was his attire, as it was incredibly different from what he had on the first time you met him. Unlike before, this outfit was anything but casual, and it much more accurately represented the stylish and over the top nature of Elvis’ more recent wardrobe from the International. He wore an all white, karate gi inspired ensemble, with a bright red ruched shirt underneath and around his neck, much like his stage wear, he wore a printed scarf that hid his exposed chest underneath. A karate style belt hung low around his waist, tied at his hip in a knot, pulling the whole outfit together with the clear inspiration. It was really unlike anything you had seen someone wear before, but you resisted the urge to snap a photo too quickly.

When you looked up at Elvis, you noticed he looked a bit more tired than he had yesterday, dark circles under his eyes and a bit of sweat on his brow. You casted him a concerned look, but he smiled through how unwell he seemed and walked over to where you were standing. “Hey, Minnie Mouse.”

You rolled your eyes. “Hello, Elvis.” You said as you shook his outstretched hand before looking at the Colonel as he hobbled up behind him, one of those comical cigars sticking out of his mouth as he approached Mr Pierce to discuss something with him in private. When you looked back at Elvis, he was still staring at you, sending a shiver running down your back. “Um…I’ve never been to Houston before.” You said in an attempt to break the ice.

“I’ve been all over Texas.” He said as he directed me toward the stairs leading up into the plane where the rest of his group was waiting. “I think you’ll like it.” He reassured me.

You glanced back at Pierce, catching his gaze for a moment before you looked forward and smiled as Elvis began introducing you to the different guys. “This is Minnie Jones. She’s a photographer that’s going to be accompanying us on the trip to Houston.” He explained before gesturing to the men. “You met Charlie already at the house. This is Red and Sonny, they work as my bodyguards. Joe, he’s my road manager. Gee Gee, Jerry, and Cliff, they help keep everything running smoothly. And this is Lamar, he’s my lighting technician and a general pain in my ass.” Elvis said, laughing a bit at his own joke, though Lamar didn’t necessarily seem amused. “And this is my father.” He added as he gestured at the older man you had noticed earlier. Now that they were standing next to each other, they looked very similar.

You awkwardly waved hello, doing your best not to seem completely out of place. “I know all of you are probably used to a bit more privacy, but just pretend I’m not even here. That’s what most politicians do before I snap a real embarrassing photo.” You said jokingly.

Elvis laughed out loud, and soon the guys were laughing too (something you noted as interesting) before he just looked at you and smiled. “She’s funny isn't she? Don’t worry, Minnie Mouse. You’ll fit right in.”

You felt a little more at ease, nodding as you followed Elvis up the steps onto the plane, the guys following behind as they carried yours and the rest of his luggage on board. Elvis moved along to his seat towards the back of the plane, and quickly made sure to keep up, clutching tightly onto the strap of your camera bag.

“Have you flown before, honey?” Elvis suddenly asked as he leaned his hand against the carry-on cubbies overhead, looking down at you curiously.

You nodded a bit and looked away, unable to meet his piercing blue gaze. “A few times, yeah. Though it doesn’t really get any less scary.” You admitted before opening your camera bag. “You don’t mind, do you?” You asked, trying to be courteous regardless of why you were there.

He smirked a bit. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” He teased you before he slipped down into his chair, crossing his leg over the other as he looked out the window.

You watched him for a moment as he leaned on his elbow, chewing on his fingernails as his leg bounced up and down in what seemed to be a nervous tick. You checked to make sure there was film in your camera before raising the lens to snap a photo, smiling a bit at just how human he looked. “Does everyone know that the king of rock ‘n’ roll bites his nails?” You asked as you sat down next to him.

He snorted, turning his gaze back toward you. “There’s a lot of things people don’t know about me.” He said vaguely.

You raised an eyebrow at him before sighing. “I bite my nails, too.” You said after a moment. “Bad habit I’ve had since I was a kid.” You shrugged as you showed him your nails.

He viewed your hand, chuckling a bit before he held out his own hand. “I guess we have at least one thing in common, Minnie Mouse.” He smirked a bit.

You smiled, already feeling less nervous. Something about being so close to him just made the unease inside of you disappear. You raised your camera again, snapping another photo of just his hand before you took the opportunity to look at the rings that decorated his fingers. A beautiful golden ring sat over his pinky finger, engraved with an intricate embossing and set with a glimmering black sapphire gem while another gold ring in the shape of a lion head sat next to it on his other finger. Dangling across his wrist hung an ID bracelet (once more in gold) with his name encrusted in diamonds along the band, somehow looking perfectly sensible on him and not at all gaudy.

You looked away when you suddenly felt the plane start to move, your nerves instantly returning as you grabbed hold of the arm rest instinctively. You chewed on your lower lip as you sunk back into your seat, but then you felt something warm settle over your hand. You looked down, swallowing a bit when you saw Elvis’ hand now resting softly over yours, the cold metal of his rings grazing over the top of your fingers.

“It’s okay, honey. As long as I’m here, nothin’ bad will happen.” He said, and from the look in his eyes, you believed him. You believed he could somehow control the weather and ensure a safe flight all the way to Houston. You ignored the flutter in your chest and the way his touch sent electricity running up your arm, and instead just focused on the warmth of his hand as the plane took off, suddenly feeling a lot less terrified.

The rest of the flight ended up being rather uneventful, and once you were up in the air, Elvis had let go of your hand and went to chat with the other guys about the upcoming shows and the press conference planned for later that day. You were glad for the space, unsure of how to feel about the weird feeling he had left you with, and focused on snapping some photos from your seat. It surprised you to see how relaxed he seemed, even with a camera around. You assumed he was probably used to it by now.

When you arrived in Houston, you could practically see the excitement radiating off of Elvis as he found his way back to his seat. “You alright, honey?” He asked as the pilot started to descend for landing.

You nodded, thankful for his presence next to you as you rested your hands on the arm rests. “What about you? This is your first time performing outside of Vegas isn’t it?”

He sighed, glancing out the window at the city below. “Yeah, it is.” He pursed his lips. “I’m not sure what to expect.” He admitted. “What if nobody shows up? Vegas is a helluva lot different.”

“You’re Elvis Presley. People will show up.” You said as a matter of fact. “Besides, I’m pretty excited to see what you’ve got up your sleeve.” You teased him.

He relaxed a little, smiling as he looked at you. “Thank you, Minnie Mouse.” He said before once again holding your hand as the plane hit a few bumps in the air.

Once the plane finally landed, you were happy to have your feet firmly on the ground and breathing some fresh air that didn’t smell of Elvis’ musky cologne, which you definitely didn’t notice while sitting with him. You followed him down onto the tarmac, and from a distance you could see a large group of fans that had already gathered nearby at the small terminal in an attempt to see Elvis up close and personal.

“I thought we were going somewhere, man.” He said with a grin as he waved at them before his bodyguards led him toward the airport terminal with his father, Vernon, and the Colonel following closely behind.

Waiting inside the airport were several reporters and photographers from different news outlets where a press conference was set up. You stood off to the side, watching as Elvis sat down at a table to answer their questions. He did it with ease, and it quickly dawned on you how natural he was at speaking, despite his stutter and the nervous way that he coughed and joked through some of his responses. It was charming and instantly made him feel a lot more personable.

Once he finished, he snapped a few photos with the Mayor who had come to welcome him to Houston before he was whisked off to a car waiting out front to take him to the hotel. The Colonel and Vernon accompanied the two of you with one of the guys driving while the rest took a separate vehicle. On the ride there, you tried not to pay attention to the way the Colonel seemed to be watching you like a hawk, squirming a little in your seat at the heavy air that hung in the car. During the flight you noticed just how little Elvis seemed to talk to his manager. Whenever you overheard a conversation between them, it was always about business, and even now, Elvis made no attempt to start a conversation.

Needless to say, you were thankful when you were finally able to check-in at the hotel, already exhausted from the day of travel. Elvis made sure everyone got a room a floor down from his penthouse suite to make things easier, but when you took your hotel key and started walking toward the elevator, you felt Elvis’ hand around your wrist.

“Wait up, Minnie Mouse.” He directed his smile down at you as he flicked his wrist at Charlie. “Charlie, take her luggage up to her room.” He said, his gaze fixated on you. “It ain’t too late yet. Why don’t you come up to my room?”

You swallowed, the invitation feeling far too intimate, even if you logically knew it didn’t mean anything. For some reason, though, the look in his eyes sent a shiver down your back, his fingers still softly gripping your wrist as he waited for a response.

“Well, honey?” He asked softly.

Damn it, Minn. Just say no.

You stared at him for a long moment. “Sure.” You heard yourself say, barely even recognizing your own voice.

Jesus Christ, this is a huge mistake.

You weren’t entirely sure what had come over you, or why you decided to say yes, but before you could even process what was happening, you were standing in the middle of Elvis’ lavish suite while he sent one of his guys to grab the two of you dinner from downstairs. You didn’t hear what he ordered, but right now you couldn’t exactly focus on anything, least of all food. You folded your arms across your chest, chewing on your nails as you instantly thought of everything that could possibly go wrong.

Calm down. He’s just having dinner with you.

Logic told you that you were probably right, but you weren’t about to forget who it was that had invited you upstairs for dinner. You remembered what Pierce had said about his reputation, causing you to pace a little as you waited near the sofa. He was probably just being courteous, and knowing Elvis, he couldn’t exactly go downstairs and have dinner in public without causing a commotion. But the lack of anyone else being present in his suite made you worry that this was just his way of trying to make a move on you, his marriage be damned.

You glanced across the room, watching as Charlie left the room to go pick up the food before Elvis shut the door behind him. In that moment, you resolved to keep your chin up and not allow his charm to instantly disarm you.

He’s just a man. A very beautiful and charming man, but just a man.

When he turned your way and walked over, his long strides closed the space between you in seconds, leaving you a bit flustered when he suddenly stopped in front of you. “You can sit down if you want, honey.” He said, gesturing to the sofa.

You glanced at the lush piece of furniture and simply shook your head. “I’m okay. I’m still a bit stiff from the flight.” You said as you folded your arms. “What did you order?” You asked after a moment.

He smiled. “Steak. It seems to be the only good thing they’ve got on the menu.” He said before sinking down onto the sofa and crossing his leg over the other. “You seem nervous, honey.” He noted, looking me up and down with one sweep of those brilliant blue eyes.

You frowned a bit. “Well, a married man invited me up to his suite for dinner, alone. Most women might be a bit nervous.” You pointed out.

His expression shifted a little. “Miss Jones…I-I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.” He said, suddenly the southern gentleman you had met a couple days prior. “It’s not exactly easy for me to find privacy outside of my room. I just thought this would give us an opportunity to talk a bit more.” He explained.

You felt yourself blush a little out of embarrassment, realizing you had definitely miscalculated his intentions. “Oh…I’m sorry, Elvis. I just thought…” You trailed off, quickly shaking your head before you decided to sit down next to him on the sofa. “I guess I’m not used to men having manners.” You smirked a bit.

He chuckled, glad to see you relax a little. “You’re a smart girl, Minnie Mouse.”

You smiled a little. “You must be excited.” You said, deciding to change the subject. “Everyone seemed pretty amped up at the press conference.”

He nodded. “This is the make or break moment, honey. If these shows fail…” He whistled as he made a downward motion with his hand. “Fourteen years shot to hell.”

You furrowed your brow a bit. “Why do you think they’d fail?” You hadn’t seen Elvis perform live, but you also knew that he was an absolute powerhouse. After all, this man was able to captivate audiences all over America for more than a decade through the silver screen. And the NBC TV Special was a raving success. You remembered Vivien forcing you to sit down and watch it with her when it aired. Needless to say, you couldn’t picture him failing at anything.

You watched his brow furrow a bit, as if he was contemplating what to say. “What if I just can’t bring it in like I used to?” He finally said, shaking his head as his leg started to bounce up and down in that little nervous tick of his. “There’s a lot of folks out there listenin’ to all kinds of music now. What if I just can’t shake it anymore?” He looked at you, surprising you a little with the vulnerability in his eyes.

You bit your lip for a second before sighing as you reached over and touched his hand. “Elvis, I can’t sit here and tell you what will happen, but I do know that you’re one of the most loved and adored stars in the world. I mean, my best friend just about fainted when I told her I was going to be working with you.” You smiled at him. “Trust me, you can still bring it in. Besides, I know I’m pretty excited to see my first Elvis Presley show.”

He seemed to relax a little, a boyish smile crossing his lips. “I’ll make sure I give you one hell of a performance.” He winked.

You laughed a little before looking over your shoulder when you heard a knock at the door followed by Charlie walking in. “That must be the food.”

“Better be a damn good steak. I’m starvin’.” He grinned before getting up and walking over to see the food that had been brought back.

Once we had our food and gotten the chance to eat, the rest of the night went by like a blur. You found yourself talking to him about the most mundane things, whether it be your frustration of being stuck taking photos of politicians, or the fact that living alone in LA definitely wasn’t all it cracked up to be. He listened to everything you had to say, his focus solely on you the entire time. You couldn’t recall ever having a man give you so much attention, as if you were the only thing in the world that mattered. It left you with this strange feeling that you didn’t really want to acknowledge yet.

Elvis also opened up about his life, giving you the background of how he started out in Tupelo and then moved to Memphis as a teen before eventually beginning his rise to fame at Sun Studios. The way he recounted it felt like he was explaining something that had just happened yesterday, and he really seemed proud over his earlier success during the fifties. It was only when he began talking about his movies that his tone soured. He didn’t completely dismiss them, admitting that even his movies had fans, but he knew that he was capable of doing more. He wanted to do more. But he didn’t linger on the topic, deciding once again to speak about something he was proud of as he brought up his success with the NBC TV Special and his debut in Las Vegas.

“I missed the contact with a live audience.” He explained. “The electricity you get from performing in front of an audience…it’s like nothin’ else.” He said as he sat back against the cushions of the sofa.

You smiled as you curled up on the other end of the sofa, folding your knees up against your chest as you watched him. There was a glimmer of excitement that twinkled in his eyes whenever he talked about his music or performing. You could tell he loved it, and you knew he just wanted to give his fans the best that he had. It was so earnest and so real, something you hadn’t really experienced with any other celebrity that you had met.

“Well, I have a feeling you’ll blow their socks off.” You teased him before reaching over and grabbing your camera off the table. You raised the lens, snapping a photo of that little smile on his lips before he made a funny face for the camera and you snapped a photo of that too. “I think that one is worthy of the front page.” You giggled.

“Nah, honey, second page at best.” He smirked, but the smile slowly fell from his lips and he regarded you with a long look that took you off guard. “Can I ask you somethin’?”

You bit your lip before nodding. “Of course.” You sat up a little straighter.

He looked you up and down, his blue eyes surveying you carefully as he leaned his cheek against his fist, his other hand drumming its fingers against his knee. “You said you weren’t really a fan before, so why did ya take the job? Ain’t a photographer supposed to feel passionate about their subject?” He asked curiously.

His question struck you as odd, but you figured he probably did have a point. And the more you thought about it, you weren’t sure why you had been so drawn toward saying yes. Aside from the obvious reason for progressing your career, you had never really thought much about Elvis Presley prior to Pierce’s proposition. But something about him drew you in. You just knew that it wasn’t an opportunity that you could pass up.

You were silent for a long moment, and you could sense his growing impatience as his fingers started tapping faster against his leg. “I guess it just felt like the right thing to do.” You said quietly, looking down as you fiddled with your hands. “You changed the world, Elvis. I just figured it was time the world saw the real you, whatever that may be.” You shrugged.

Something flashed in his eyes, disappearing far too quickly for you to register what it was, before he laughed, running a hand through his hair as he looked away. “Damn, Minnie Mouse. Are ya sure you ain’t a poet or somethin’?”

You smiled as you relaxed a little. “I did ace English in high school.” You joked before you glanced at the clock and saw what time it was already. “Shit…it’s almost three in the morning!” You said as you quickly stood up. He looked up at you, clearly not seeing the issue in that. You hadn’t even realized how much time had passed, or how inappropriate it was that you were alone with a married man for several hours in the middle of the night.

“You’re not leavin’ are you?” He asked as he stood up, taking a step toward you.

You bit your lip before sighing. “Elvis, it’s late. We’ve both had a long day.” You said in an attempt to reason with him.

He pressed his lips together, but he relented and took a step back. “You're comin’ to rehearsals tomorrow.” It wasn't a question. “Just make sure you're ready, honey.” He said before leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek.

You blushed, your heart skipping a beat as the sensation of his soft lips sent a shiver racing down your spine. “Don't worry, I won't miss it for the world.” You said quietly as you looked up at him before quickly stepping past and walking to the door.

“Goodnight, Minnie Mouse.” You heard him call from behind you. You paused at the door, looking back at him for a moment and smiling a bit as you caught the boyish grin that flashed across his face.

“Goodnight, Elvis.”

You weren't entirely sure how you even made it back to your room, feeling so deliriously tired, but also so…happy. It was a strange feeling, and you didn't really want to acknowledge the reason why you were feeling that way. But as you fell asleep in your plush bed, all you could see in your dreams was the warm smile on his lips or his ocean blue eyes that were deep enough to swim in.

Yes, you were certainly delirious.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Likes, comments, and reblogs are much appreciated! Let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list ~

Taglist: @60svintage @moonchild-daniella @ken-kenzie-zie @presleyhearted @eapep @i-r-i-n-a-a

[lagunaseca2013]

How do you think Marc takes the brews Val is pregnant with his baby?

excellent question, anon! I'm not really sure if this is about reverse omegaverse or post retirement so I'm gonna go w post retirement bc I've been daydreaming about torturing that old man w pregnancy so buckle up!

I mean honestly I think marc is pretty happy! I actually don’t know if he’s talked about it before but he seems to want to start his family after retirement (rosquez soulmatery strikes again) when he can focus on it 100 percent. in this universe I don’t think marc is going to be like suddenly ready to retire just bc he has the ninth and vale is accidentally pregnant, but I think the fact that vale is at least retired and can be fully there for the baby would probably be enough for him to be okay with the situation. vale is also at least tangentially obligated to be at a lot of motogp races by virtue of owning a team and mentoring half the grid so when the baby is old enough he would get to see them a lot more than is maybe standard in this sport. (idk I could be wrong about what’s standard here I got into this like a month and a half ago)

if you’re asking how I think the actual reveal goes, well……..I think it doesn’t go as bad as it could. vale is a fucking mess when luca leaves him home alone to wait for marc. but he’s also like—relieved? at least a little bit, I mean the poor old man has been out of his mind horny and nauseous for weeks at this point and fully just thought he had some kind of mystery terminal illness. a baby isn’t a death sentence. also, he’s already decided he’s keeping it. the doctor tried to hand him an abortion brochure and the idea of it made him sick to his stomach.

obviously none of this was planned so he’s maybe coming at it from a staunchly solo angle of I’m keeping it you can be there for us or go to hell type of thing. marc is completely delighted tho so that doesn’t become an issue. I think they probably don’t have the serious conversation about it that they realllly should (remember marc came to the ranch for the explicit purpose of hammering out the reconciliation bc they’ve just been having tender intimate sex and not discussing it) and instead, you guessed it, have crazy romantic sex. marc is like fully ready to let vale fuck him, gets on his hands and knees at first and vale is like wait, and turns him over and he’s like all I’ve been thinking about for weeks is having you inside me again.

and then marc fucks him in missionary and there’s a lot of breeding kink and possibly saying I love you (rosquez be normal challenge absolute fail) and it’s RAW so marc’s come is like dripping out of him around his cock (he is cockwarming marc soft for emotional reasons). they probably do a lot more fucking, vale sleeps more than he has for the last two months that week (with or without marc inside him teehee) and marc gets to fuss over him and take care of him which is a brand new dynamic for them! pre divorce they didn’t exactly take care of each other, but if anything in the rare moments it was vale taking care of marc by virtue of being fourteen years older etc.

they order every prenatal vitamin that amazon carries and like a billion different baby development books. vale is high risk bc of his age but the ultrasounds and blood work said the baby was healthy and everything looked okay so they don’t have to worry about health stuff quite yet. (keep in mind vale got pregnant at his age on the first try; let’s just say his body has really decided to be equipped for a baby idk none of this has to be real or scientific lol) marc can’t exactly cook but he tries his best and either vale elbows him way from the stove when necessary or they order in and feed each other in bed like disgustingly in love people do.

I think they push the serious conversation off for as long as possible and just sort of live together for as long as they can get away with it. vale knows it’s probably early enough that he can still ride but he’s petrified of something happening to the baby so when they go to the ranch he just watches marc go wild by himself and shouts pointers at him that marc playfully does not listen to. marc is also feeling rather delicate about his health wrt being alive and well for his future baby so he’s playing it pretty safe out there too.

they’re basically having a babymoon phase of only seeing each other, fucking constantly, and lounging around. I have this awesome image of them watching a bunch of pregnancy movies and when they get to juno vale, under full influence of first trimester hormones, sobs through like half of it. marc is bewildered and amused and secretly really happy to be big and strong for vale who he has never seen before vulnerable and soft like this, even before everything. it’s domestic bliss until marc starts getting increasingly annoyed calls from ducati about preseason obligations and vale has also been fending off Uccio and the academy and a billion other people who don’t believe him when he says he’s not sick anymore and just needs some time—omg wait maybe 100km gets canceled, that would be crazy juicy—and the motogp community and media in general thinks vale is dying.

marc is like struggling bc he absolutely does not want to leave vale, in fact he never wants to be without vale ever again, but vale is spooked by the reminder of real world obligations and gets weird and cold. tries to push marc away and insist that he needs to go do his job (he is subconsciously testing marc; if you leave you FAIL) marc is having ptsd flashbacks to the last time he was in tavullia (hello ranch visit trauma) which involved. a lot of the same cold shoulder and manipulation tactics.

it’s a bad time for all! they get into a blowout screaming match where vale tries to kick marc out while literally clutching at his clothes, white knuckled, marc is sobbing and holding vale in a death grip whispering into his neck I won’t leave you please don’t make me go vale I can’t lose you again I promise I’ll do anything I need you both.

the insane “compromise” they end up with is (let’s say ducati make that skiing thing an annual trip) vale GOES WITH MARC to the event and stays with him in the hotel/cabin/whatever (even tho he literally has a house there) and they don’t even try to explain it to anyone in the team. pecco knocking on marc’s door the first morning so they can catch up over breakfast and vale answers, sleep rumpled, wearing one of marc’s tshirts and they both just stare at each other dumbfounded until marc returns from his shower and and smiles all fake at pecco like why are you just standing there weirdos :)) come sit and have an espresso, pecco I’m almost done getting dressed :))

vale calmly makes a nonverbal pecco an espresso and slaps marc’s ass when he bends over to rummage through the one giant luggage that they appear to be sharing. pecco is texting luca paragraphs under the table. it’s absolute fucking scenes when they have the big fancy team dinner with the long tables and marc shows up w vale as his plus one. and vale refuses a glass of champagne for the toast……..

[marq-lynch]

As someone who got into AEW via fixating on MJF and has spent the last eight months obsessed with Hangman and Swerve this upcoming feud was made for Meeeee and I cannot Wait to watch MJF beat the snot out of Hangman's hypocritical face in person in a couple weeks.

There are so many layers to this feud and things they could have made the core, but the one they're going with is Authenticity? No. Even better. It's Verisimilitude. Possibly my favorite word in the English language: having the appearance of truth. It's not about who's most Real. Things that are verasimiliar are often not factual but portray a Truth, like a fake blood on TV that's the wrong color because humans don't want to believe that real blood is that candy coated firehouse red, they want something more sensual with a bit of chocolate syrup mixed in to make it darker. It's about what, and in this case Who, Feels Most Real and is therefore most deserving of our appreciation.

Is it the bullied little boy who never had a friend and shoved everyone away before they could hurt him first and who just desperately wants unconditional love, and who has been rejected every time he tries to reach for it from the audience, mentors, mentees, fiances, & his one and only friend? Who opened himself up to the world and tried to grow, to improve, to let himself be vulnerable one more time in the spots he knew were softest only to have everything he loved and valued ripped away.

Or is it the other ball of self-esteem issues, the anxiety riddled ball of imposter syndrome that has whittled itself down to a core that has always been there, of burning Rage at himself and the injustices of the world around him that he has allowed to consume and isolate him, feeding his worst tendencies for addiction and obsession.

The relationship both have with the audience is Insane, and neither is healthy. They both obsessively need us and shape their entire identity around what the world thinks of them, while insisting to themselves and us that they aren't. They're just aware of their responsibility as a champion, or no longer going to care what people think, but somehow those 'I don't care what you think' protests only last so long and they're caught up in obsessions over audience chants and signs against them again.

And then there's the Swerve of it all. My 'Swerve the Realest'. The Other Man who just about one year ago also had the audience decide 'yes, you're a heel, but you're so damn cool we've decided you can do whatever the fuck you want'. Swerve, genuinely, did nothing wrong. Except... He lost at Revolution, and stood in a ring, in front of Tony Shiavone, and admitted, "I've done some pretty terrible things here" and "I'm not a good person... But for the first time ever it felt like people were really rooting for me."

Swerve, as far as we know, has never lied to the audience. He's beaten up teenagers, broken and entered, broken arms, and left things out, but never lied. He is Swerve the Realest.

Meanwhile Hangman, who raged that "[Swerve] never paid for it, and they loved him for it" is now having crowds cheer itemized lists of his crimes from an irate MJF, and staring him in the face telling him that he's never run from his problems (which has been his entire arc) or ever once lied to the audience, all while he wears the same outfit through Feb 2025 he wore March 2nd 2024, the day before Revolution last year, when he first hobbled to the ring on a crutch, told the audience he was always truthful with them, that he couldn't compete the next day. Then when Swerve came out and listed his own crimes flat out to Samoa Joe the day before his first title shot, Hangman beat him unconscious with the crutch, showing he'd been fine, and screaming an apology later for lying but saying he would Rather Die than let Swerve win it himself, and Rather Die than not win it himself.

The next day he tapped out to Samoa Joe. Y'know. Like a Liar.

[ihopesocomic]

To piggyback off of "Maddi hates her fans." I was a cast member of the show. A colleague. I was unfriended/unfollowed everywhere after the show ended. So. Do with that what you will.

First of all, I'm very sorry to hear of your experience, anon.

Secondly, I know the whole 'well, you were an employee, she's not obligated to be friends with you!' defence is gonna come up here. As somebody who followed Tribble's work since 2010, I know a lot of people wanted to work with Tribble because they were friends with her and/or had a lot of respect for her. Tribble no doubt knew this, hence why she continued to work with them.

So, no. They deserved better treatment than just to be cast aside once she was done with them. I've seen people say they're 'friends' with Tribble and the basis for said 'friendship' is always along the lines of them listening to her without question and being totally convinced she has no flaws as a person. Which also should say a lot. I should know. I've been there myself.

That's until I made it clear - via a private email - that I wanted to distance myself from her because of her transphobic views and I began to point out issues with MP, however.

Tribble then decided to take a perfectly reasonable discussion we had had with her in private and accused us of harassing her almost a year down the line. This convo regarded a MP theory that we'd had being proven right and people were accusing her of stealing from us, thus we approached her out of concern and - without us asking - she willfully provided us with a script as proof she hadn't stolen anything. Which she then went on to say we 'forced' out of her.

Thankfully, we were given a chance to share screenshots of the exchange and people quickly became aware that Tribble had twisted the narrative.

However, some of her fans argued we were being stupid and deserved to be slandered because 'why would you approach her like that'? What they meant by 'that', I don't know. It was a private discussion and I was under the impression we were dealing with an adult who understands basic online etiquette. But maybe that's my mistake for assuming. And this wasn't an isolated incident. She did this with several other people who she felt had 'wronged' her in some way and weaponised her influence to have their reputations called into question. Which is a fucked up thing to do.

So, bottom line: Tribble is an absolute sweetheart when you were unquestionably nodding along to her narrative and she wanted something from you. It's just too bad that's not a friendship or even a healthy dynamic between a creator and her fans. It's a hostage situation. - RJ

[silyabeeodess]

So, these aren't really theories (I guess except the last one, but I don't feel like I'm adding much to what's already out there), just things that have kind of stuck in my head that I want to get down somewhere after Chapter Four's release. None of them are really worth their own post, so I'm just gonna note them each below. The subheadings are as follows: 'False Justification and Unrestrained Evil,' 'The Importance of Kevin Barnes,' and '"Love" with Limits.'

False Justification and Unrestrained Evil

Throughout the game, we've seen several of its villainous characters try to justify the experiments "in the name of science" or in "how it can one day help a lot of people," but nowhere near as much as in this chapter. This chapter showed us cases such as how Stella Greyber got involved with them despite her supposed love for kids, how security staff members who were both aware and unaware of the truth behind the experiments would abuse the toys, and how Warrenbach Construction was pushed into maintaining its contract despite Mr. Silver's concerns over what they were building. Each of these times, all of the adults try to come up with some reason for the evils they're involved with - and even though some of them were rightfully fearful of their own lives, I will go so far as to call out all of them for being wrong.

Starting off with Stella, yes, we can say she "loves kids," but that "love" never goes behind her own desires. Reflecting on her tape all the way back in Chapter One, when she first interviews to get into the company, we already see that she has an obsession with the idea of youth. Quote: "I don't think anyone ever really feels like an adult. Your body, just gets older and older... and then you die." It's important to note that no one prompted her on this issue: She was just asked why she wanted to join Playtime and volunteered these thoughts. Even the interviewer is put-off by her remarks, telling her that they were "getting off track."

This is important because it tells us why she gives in so easily when she finds out about the experiments. She's not doing it because "it'll help out a lot of kids someday." She's doing it because the end result is something she personally desires: Effective immortality. Note that, when speaking to Leith in her VHS found in Chapter Four, she doesn't ask about the failed experiments (as if anyone could avoid seeing the literal mountains of bodies at the Prison's front entrance) or the treatment of the kids involved, she asks "Do they know when it will be ready?" Her rationalizing that "it'll help a lot of kids too" is just a flimsy excuse to spare herself from feeling guilty. For an irl comparison, her behavior and that of the other scientists who follow this justification isn't really all that different from people who murder and steal organs to sell on the black market or doctors that let registered donors under their care die--all under the idea of "saving lives."

People have and continue to donate their bodies to science. Playtime Co. could've focused on that. Even in the events of the story itself, we see individuals like Thomas Clark from the Bron video on MOB's YouTube channel willingly let themselves be turned into toys--a fact that the other toys are very much aware of and understandably infuriated by. The orphanage just gave the scientists a means of hurrying their experiments along with an endless supply of bodies no one would know went missing.

You can say maybe Stella didn't know about just how bad the Prison was, but I don't give her a pass there either. Knowing about the experiments, going out of her way to even make recordings for the kids who undergo them in attempt to calm them down, yet somehow never paying attention to how they were treated is, in the very least, willful blindness. That, and since the toys were already being used around the factory as slave labor, she doesn't get to make excuses: She would've seen them all the time, particularly the ones in Playcare. She is just as guilty as the other executives, and the fact that she pretends to care despite this, acting as one of the many "gentle voices" that Kevin talks about, makes it even worse.

The matter of the prison guards is a little more to the point. Some of them didn't know anything about the toys being anything other than monsters, as seen in Cole's notes: They followed a "you hurt us, so we'll hurt you," mindset, which while understandable, is never justified. Some guards, however, like in one of the first VHS tapes found in the prison, did already know that the toys were kids--hearing them cry out for their parents or consulars and comparing them to their own children. These individuals are just plain vile. They ignored the horrors that the toys were going through because of their own "struggles" dealing with them. These workers were callous and completely lacked empathy, evidence we see in employees on other teams as well such as the ones on clean-up from the Theatre Incident.

Now to Warrenbach, we can give them some leeway since their lives were threatened. They themselves are also victims of Playtime... but we have to note that it wasn't like they didn't have options either. In Mr. Silver's case, his life was in immediate danger--so, yes, the logical thing to do to save himself was to play along with Eddie's wishes. Key words here: "Play along." Here's a little fun fact: There is no company on this planet that can make you commit a crime. For all of Eddie's talk about the contract, in the eyes of the law, it would be nothing more than a worthless scrap of a paper--and that's not even getting into the matter of morality clauses, something that has regularly been used--and, granted, abused--to break contracts. If I were Mr. Silver, or even just a standard construction hand capable of sneaking a camera in, I would've been keeping receipts. Were they too scared to take Playtime to court? Fair enough, but how about the press? In the very least, you don't think prison blueprints would've raised a few more eyebrows and get people asking questions that Playtime didn't need? One of the worst things a person can say to themselves in a situation is, "There's nothing I can do to fix it." There's almost always something you can do, no matter how small. Giving into fear or ignoring a problem because "you can't do anything" may not be a stance many people can blame you for taking, but it is the exact kind of mindset that allows villains to thrive.

All of the adults in this series failed the kids by trying to justify their sins with these excuses. Even still, all of that doesn't even scrape the surface of Dr. Sawyer's unrestrained evil. Don't get me wrong: He makes the same "for science" excuse that the rest of his team do. However, there's also a lot that he openly admits to doing "because it amuses him." The biggest example of this is Yarnaby, who he treats as a pet, among many of the other toys as well--specifically the Nightmare Critters. A post of MOB's explains that the Nightmare and Smiling Critters once got along well, but "not anymore." It seems odd to say that all of one type of toy simply defaulted to the Prototype's side. Another thing worth noting is that, unlike the Smiling Critters, all of the Nightmares are shown to be feral by the events of the game. I wouldn't be surprised if this was Sawyer's doing. For the experiments, he may have wanted the toys to have intelligence, but the same couldn't be said for his own, personal playthings.

He's done plenty of other acts that have nothing to do with the experiments as well. He had Boxy Boo's appetite "tailored to human flesh," and while yes, this was a way to get rid of witnesses... he could've just as easily have done that by sending their body to the labs. During the Theater Incident tape, one member of the clean-up team notes that he doesn't understand why Sawyer wouldn't cover up his involvement. It's not a matter of Sawyer thinking he's in the right or that he's acting on some greater purpose: He just doesn't care. The only things that Sawyer cares about are what piques his curiosity at any given moment--and the only thing that stops him is the fact that he overestimated his worth to Playtime. Up until then, Sawyer was the embodiment of actions without facing consequences.

The Importance of Kevin Barnes

There's been enough critiques going into how Kevin is labeled a "problem child" both in and out of the story, so I won't get into that here. All I'll say on the issue that I also don't agree with that label. Instead, I'd much rather focus on what makes Kevin's role so pivotal among the three boys used to create Doey. There's a quote from the 2000's Teen Titans cartoon that keeps coming back to me when I think about him: "Having that thing inside you doesn't make you an animal. Knowing when to let it out is what makes you a man."  We can say this for Doey "letting Kevin out," but we can also say this for Kevin himself when it comes to his aggression.

Before I really get into this topic, let me point out one thing I don't think a lot of people considered. For the most part when it comes to Doey's actions, people tend to place Kevin only in the steering wheel at Doey's most aggressive/untrusting moments. Despite this, there's one more time I think we see Kevin's true self shine though, and that's in Doey's final tape. When Doey talks about his decision not to leave the factory, he says the other toys, "mean a lot to him... a lot more than [he] thought they did." This line can't easily be applied to Jack or Matthew. Jack wasn't from the orphanage, but his personality is already plenty bubbly and loving. Matthew would've already cared: He already saw himself as responsible for the well-being of others and wouldn't shut down his emotions. But a kid like Kevin? A kid that was known for getting into fights with his friends and having rocky relationships? That backstory fits this line to a tee. While he was forced to become part of Doey, Kevin came to accept that he cared. Kevin's personality doesn't just come out when Doey's angry: As much credit as we give to Matthew for this, Kevin comes out when Doey needs to protect those around him.

We see two bits of evidence for this. First, is our own meeting with Doey. Pianosaurous tries to attack the Player and Doey destroyed Painosaurous in one of the most gruesome ways possible. The second example is in the murals in Safe Haven. I don't think it can be seen very easily, but in the mural with Doey's arms extended around the other toys, he's drawn with an angry face--the face we associate with Kevin.

One of the reasons Kevin was chosen to become part of Doey was because of his high scores in "mental fortitude." This means that, while Kevin is aggressive, he's also the one who can best handle high-stress situations. Jack was just a small kid with no clue what happened to himself and would've lacked the ability to regulate his emotions like someone older could. Matthew was a peacemaker, but was someone who had already been traumatized due to losing his parents in an accident, which made him fall back on his own sense of guilt and insecurities. Kevin was someone who can put all of that aside to act fast when he needed to. He was a fighter, and I strongly believe that that fighter's instinct is what allowed Doey to be as strong a leader and protector as he was.

Everyone has the capacity for violence. Kevin being aggressive wasn't a flaw: He just needed to learn how to temper that aggression into a tool that could defend others instead of hurt them. The tragedy of his character is that he had to learn that all on his own and in the worst kind of circumstances.

"Love" with Limits

While this theme is echoed with Stella and the security guards who have kids of their own, the character I'd really like to cover with this is Elliot Ludwig. What I'll go into here follows the theory that Elliot became the Prototype, and my reasoning for supporting this theory rests largely in how the Prototype acts toward Poppy. Even when under the guise of "Ollie," he talks to her like a parent would. When he wants Poppy to explain what "the bad men" did to her in one of the VHS tapes, he prods her with the typical lines like "Is there something you need to talk about?" and "There's more to this you're not telling me." He's not really even pretending to talk like a kid: This is how a mom or dad talks, sitting on the end of your bed and refusing to leave until you give them an answer. We also have his reminder of "what he and Poppy are" and his insistence that "she come home"--back to the case, in the room connected directly to Elliot's office.

If the Prototype is Elliot, I think it goes without saying that Elliot loved his daughter. Despite how much he stressed the need to care for others and the formation of the orphanage, however... I think Elliot's idea of love had its limits. For one thing, the experiments seem to have been going on a long while, including during the time that Elliot was in control of the company. We find a report for Experiment 814 on his desk, and while that one only alluded to the possibility of involving humans, there's one more bit of evidence we need to consider: The Poppy dolls themselves. By the time we get to the factory, while Poppy is shown in advertising, we don't see any more of her dolls having been in production by the time the place shutdown. Nevertheless, we know there were more besides our Poppy at one point due to their advertisement and maintenance video. The latter is what's most important, because it shows that organs/blood were used in the toy at a very early point in the company's history. I can't find where exactly I remember this from, but I believe there was also a notice from Playtime insisting that customers not repair the dolls on their own and instead send them back to the company--likely to avoid this discovery. (If someone remembers where, please feel free to link it. Every time I look it up, all I really get is shopping pages...)

There is a good chance that Elliot was framed with the kid in the duffle bag situation, but I think it's equally as likely he experimented on others before Poppy's success. He cares about his daughter, not necessarily kids as a whole. Playcare being built underground was already fishy, something that Rich brings up in one of his tapes when he points out that the kids deserve real sunlight. The Prototype may have saved Theo, but he's also the reason Theo nearly died. There were teenagers in Playcare he could've gone to. There were caretakers at the orphanage who genuinely loved the kids and would likely fight to protect them, not to mention other employees who wanted to expose the company. Instead of turning to them, people who were far more capable of using a grabpack and/or with more access around the factory, he picked an isolated seven-year-old, someone easy to manipulate. There were kids from the orphanage who grew out of the program and added on as factory employees, just like how some of the caretakers wanted Matthew as part of their staff: The Prototype thought nothing of slaughtering them too during the Hour of Joy. And we could go on and on about all the evils the Prototype committed against the toys themselves.

Elliot/the Prototype may have shown the other kids love... when they were useful and obeyed him. Even his love for Poppy is twisted in this way. While locking her in the case can be seen as putting her in "time out," it's also treating her as an object to be shelved--ironically, just like how the Prison itself is called, "The Shelf." Like the prison cubes, there's barely any room to move in the case, little to no comfort, and nothing to occupy your time but your own thoughts in the darkness. It's abuse. He also shows no remorse for murdering his daughter's friends, scolding her for "missing the point" when she's grieving directly because of his actions. Whether he sees it or not, despite his protests that Poppy isn't a "thing" to him, he's treating her as one: A thing that's thoughts and emotions are to be disregarded, a toy that's always meant to be a sweet, obedient child.