#who I should explain more about... but not here as they definitely do illegal stuff...

[blueshykitsune-blog]

I should draw myself.

I love how I look. And when loooking in a mirror I realized I could do something really cool!

Also I could draw myself as well my ocs that are technically me!

[sovamurka]

Not me suddenly creating an AU in my head about Altan and Lera being broken puppets in a magical shop owned by a wizard named... Sergey, of course. They try to repair each other in secret and find surprising comfort in one another. 

[wrioluvr]

coming out to + confessing to belobog men. ⋆⋅♡⋅⋆

note: wanted to try my hand at writing more cute stuff <3 also there are like ZERO posts in the luka x male reader tag my baby deserves more. happy pride my beloved readers!!! i wrote this like 6 months ago and coincidentally just picked it back up in time for june! i don't even play hsr anymore... crying emoji content: male reader, fluff. luka, sampo, gepard

sampo (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

would 100% know before you even told him

"hey, [name]! heard you got something to tell me, don't worry, your good pal sampo's all ears."

"sampo... uh.....i like... guys...."

"oh, is that it? i thought it was obvious..."

"HUH????"

"i meant- thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. your secret's safe with me, hehe." placing his hand over his heart in a dramatic gesture, he promises sincerely. despite his initial reaction, he really is touched. not many people trust him, so your willingness to share something so personal made him feel special.

"oh, and one more thing....."

"what is it? you got a secret boyfriend you didn't tell me about?" he asks teasingly, not expecting the bomb you're about to drop on him.

"...i like you."

his eyes go wide. "now that's a surprise."

even though he'd scam people without a second thought, some calling him cruel, he can't bring himself to be indifferent to you. here you were, pouring your heart out, with such a nervous expression on your face, how could he maintain his usual sly demeanour? in all seriousness, he knows he's a bit scummy, so he would be a bit hesitant about getting into a relationship for your sake. he's always running about, chased by the authorities, he doesn't want you to be involved into all that. but if you're willing to accept him and his slippery ways, he'll be sure to put an equal amount of effort. he hates owing favours, after all.

"oh, how could i refuse such a an enticing offer? of course i'll be your boyfriend, [name]." he can't help the grin that appears on his face at your expression, simultaneously shocked and overjoyed. "seriously, you're too precious.... c'mon, let's go on a date!" throwing an arm around you, he squeezes your shoulder excitedly.

"wha- like right now?? and you accepted my confession just like that???" you're at loss of words as he drags you along to who knows where.

"what are you waiting for? let's go, pal! wait- should i call you pal now that we're dating? how about buddy? hmm... still too friendly. how do you feel about sweetheart?"

જ⁀➴

every time he appears at your door, giving you a sheepish grin as he explains how he needs to lay low for a bit, it always comes with a kiss, or several, along with a heart-shaped box of your favourite chocolates. he might go missing for a few days at a time on "business" (probably some illegal trading), but he always makes sure to update you on his whereabouts so you don't worry, sending a bunch of heart pom-pom stickers to let you know he misses you. if anyone were to ever make some snide comments about your sexuality, his first instinct would be to drop every job he's doing and comfort you, followed by using his various contacts to deal with that person swiftly. natasha and seele can't believe he actually got someone to like him, much less get into a serious relationship, but nevertheless, they make sure to look out for you to ensure he doesn't break your heart. he vows not to ever hurt you though, it's the last thing he'd ever want. his promises are often fickle with his clients, but with you, they're always sincere.

luka (૭ ｡•̀ ᵕ •́｡ )૭

would definitely being overenthusiastic about being an ally

"[name], hey! you wanted to tell me something? i hope it's about training with me...."

"sorry, luka, it's not about that.... i.... i just wanted to let you know that i'm gay."

"oh! like seele and bronya!"

"i mean- i guess....?" your nervousness was immediately replaced by a comical surprise at his response, you had to suppress your laughter. he was so genuine, it was endearing.

"don't worry! if any thugs give you shit for it, just tell me. i'll deal with them right away... i've been itching for a fight anyway." he immediately gets into a fighting stance, throwing a few punches in the air to get his point across. he ended his little show with a wink, causing your stomach to fill with butterflies. you decided to tell him then and there.

"and uh, luka. i like you."

"aw, thanks! i like you too. you're a great friend, [name]."

"like, in the romantic way..."

"that works too! that way, i can protect you easier." without missing a beat, he flashes you a grin and a thumbs up, seemingly unfazed by your sudden confession. but the slight dust of red on his cheeks let you know your words did have an effect.

"wait... you know this means we'll be boyfriends?" your head's reeling at how easily he accepted your feelings. did this man really not think about anything but training and beating up thugs??? not that you were complaining, his drive was one of his charming points, but still.

"yeah, i don't mind. with someone like you by my side, i'm sure i could take on any enemy. thank you for giving me this opportunity."

જ⁀➴

even though he puts on a strong front, secretly, he's deathly afraid of becoming a burden, especially to you. one of his favourite pastimes is training and working out with you, or he'd be content for you to just watch him train and cheer for him as well. as long as he has the reassurance that you know he's getting stronger, allowing him to shield you from the dangers of the underworld. if he ever gets injured, a simple persuasion won't work, you'll have to physically hold him in place so that you can treat his cuts and bruises - no matter how much he protests and insists he's fine, he does appreciate it. a lot. he enjoys the little things, the way you run your fingers along the cool metal of his arm as you ramble about your day, or the enthusiastic whoop you give every time he knocks an opponent out at the fight club, or the scent of the freshly cleaned towel you bring him to dry his sweat. you help him realise that there's time to relax, his self-imposed training schedule being so intense and demanding. getting him to not be so hard on himself would be a treat. if you ever get derogatory comments about your sexuality... trust, he'll personally teach them a lesson, and ask natasha not to treat them once he's done. after all, you give him another reason to continue training to be the strongest. he has to be there for you.

gepard ( •̀ - •́ )

dense cutie... wouldn't get your hints until you told him explicitly

"my apologies for being late, [name]... you had something you wanted to tell me?"

"no problem, gepard... i just wanted to tell you that-" taking a deep breath, you prepare youself for his reaction. "-i like guys."

"oh? me too, i'm quite fond of the guards under my care."

"i mean that i'm gay..."

"oh, that's what you meant. are you telling me this because you've faced some form of discrimination lately? don't worry, belobog has strict laws in place to prevent-"

"no, gepard- i'm telling this because i like you..."

"oh."

જ⁀➴

congratulations, you've courted the sweetest man in all of belobog! initially, he was slightly worried that your newfound relationship would interfere with his duties as protector of the people, but much to his surprise, making time for you is easy. or more so, it's because you always make the effort to stop by whenever he's out patrolling, so you end up spending a lot of time together anyway. his face might get red when you blow him a kiss behind the rest of the silvermane guards' backs, but he always makes sure to let you know how much he appreciates your guidance. he's a little self-conscious about his lack of romantic experience, so be gentle with him! don't tease him too much. while he is fully devoted to his duty, he's not above slipping away for a few minutes when you text him to meet in a back alley, to gift him some flowers you may or may not have stolen from belobog's florist. the next day, he would return the favour by holding out a bunch of your favourite flowers, home grown (an attempt was made) in his very own garden. hey, even if they're slightly wilted, it's the thought that counts, right? don't look at him with that affectionate gaze! he's embarrassed. it would be quite funny if you had criminal tendencies, gepard would be absolutely torn between lecturing you and turning a blind eye simply because his lovely boyfriend had made lunch for him earlier in the day. especially if you're friends with sampo, the little shit would threaten to snitch to you everytime gepard almost catches him. or.... perhaps.... he let you off the hook because of that one time you pinned him against some alley wall (when he was supposed to be patrolling! blasphemous.) and kissed him so hard his legs gave out. you've become one of his weaknesses, but he doesn't mind it. at all.

pic credits to dailysampo, dailygepard and dailylukaa on twt!

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

It Was Only A Kiss

Pairing: Logan Howlett x Reader

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings: unprotected sex, hand job (kind of) cockwarming technically, creampie- this is relatively tame

Genre: smut, kinda fluff

Summary: Just another story of a very touch starved man

***

You take a deep breath and knock bravely on the door of your brooding neighbor's apartment. It takes a moment but eventually the door swings open and you're face to face, well more face to chest actually- he's much larger than you were prepared for- with your mysterious across the hall neighbor.

"Can I help you?" He asks flatly.

"Hi. You're Logan, right?" You ask and his eyes narrow at the question.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm y/n, I live- well above you actually." You point up towards your apartment.

"You live above me?" He quirks an eyebrow up.

"Correct." You nod.

"And how do you know my name?" He's still regarding you with a level of suspicion.

"We live in the same building I make a point to know as many of my neighbors as I can if there's an emergency and the cops show up asking me about the man that lives below me I wanna be able to at least say who the man that lives directly below me actually is."

"Cut the shit. I didn't tell you my name. So who did?" He asks. You glance down and watch his fist clench.

"Cool it hothead. I help out in the lobby sometimes, you learn a lot that way."

"So you're spying on me?" He glares.

"Are you always so paranoid?" You frown.

"Excuse me?"

"It's a simple question, I told you I help with stuff at the front sometimes you think I'm spying on you? That's a rather extreme assumption, can you reach those heights all on your own or do use a trampoline to help you jump to such wild conclusions?"

"You showed up at my door for reasons you still have not explained I have every right to be skeptical."

"A package of yours ended up at my door. I thought I'd bring it down for you but hey if you think I'm spying on you never mind I'll just keep it. Hope you got something fun in there!" You say, tapping the package tucked comfortably under your arm.

"Give me that!" Logan swipes at the box but you twist the box just out of reach.

"You have terrible manners, the least you could do is acknowledge you jumped the gun here."

"You know it's illegal to steal someone's mail." Logan crosses his arms.

"I'm not asking you to grovel just a simple 'my bad, thank you' would be sufficient. Plus I didn't steal this it was delievered to MY apartment."

"You're being pedantic." He rolls his eyes.

"And you're being difficult. You want your package? Try a little hospitality."

"You're a stranger unannounced at my door. I'm not hosting you."

"Now you're being pedantic. And a hypocrite." You shake your head. Logan tips his head back and sighs in exasperation. You have to restrain from smiling as you realize you've definitely wore him down.

"It is more than reasonable to be skeptical of a stranger knocking on your door with information you didn't tell them but your motives were altruistic, I misjudged. Thanks for bringing my package. Can I have it now?" Logan forces out. You flash him a smile and hand the package over.

"See how simple that was? Although I should come clean it wasn't purely altruistic. The package gave me the perfect excuse but I've been dying to meet the brooding mystery man in apartment 632. Thank you mistaken delivery driver."

"Yeah we're done here." Logan says closing the door.

"I'll see you around Logan!" You call just before it's shut.

"What an odd woman." You hear through the cheap wood and you giggle as you return to your apartment. He's rugged looking, imposing, no wonder he's such a mystery to your neighbors. You're sure he scares them shitless. He'd probably scare you too under different circumstances.

"You did what?!" Henry blinks at you as you recount your interaction with Logan.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I had to get the guy his package." You say.

"You're insane, you know that?"

"Why? He's just some guy. He's- very attractive but he's just some guy." You shrug.

"Quick question darling do you- understand the concept of fear? Do you have any sort of survival instincts that tell you not to poke sleeping bears?"

"Nobody died." You scoff.

"I cannot believe you forced this man to apologize to you for being rude when he opened the door to a stranger!" Henry shakes his head.

"Well somebody ought to teach him some manners. His mom would be very disappointed in his habits." You shake your head.

"What does he sound like?" He rests his head on his hand.

"Oh now it's fine that I 'poked the sleeping bear'? I thought I was insane."

"You are but since you did it already might as well learn something from it. Now answer me what's he sound like?" Henry gently shakes you with his free hand. It seems he hasn't noticed the subject of your conversation walking up to the front door.

"Let's see if you get to hear it yourself." You say with a smile.

"What?" Henry follows your line of sight just as Logan pulls open the door to the lobby.

"Hi Logan!" You call out. He looks at you and rolls his eyes. "Don't be rude or next time I get one of your packages by mistake I'm just going to keep it!" You warn.

"Is this going to become a regular thing?" He asks gruffly as he waits for the elevator.

"You lose absolutely nothing by being kind to your neighbors."

"I gain absolutely nothing as well."

"There's no need to be such a grump Logan." You shake your head.

"There's no need to be such a nuisance Y/n."

"You remember my name." You smile.

"Goodbye." Logan huffs out stepping into the now open elevator.

"Now you know what he sounds like." You tell Henry.

"You are unbelievable."

"Yeah sure we've covered that already, moving on now, how can you hear that voice and not do everything to keep him talking?" You sigh.

"He sounds like he'd eat you." Henry says.

"Oh I wouldn't protest that."

"Not in the fun way you psycho I mean like he'd murder you." He shakes his head.

"Well that I'd have to argue against."

"I sure fucking HOPE you would!"

"God that man is fine, the things I would do to him."

"I've lost you haven't I?" Henry's exasperation with you is obvious in his tone.

"No! Of course not! Okay maybe a little bit but in my defense you're the one that brought up him eating me." You toss your hands up.

"I meant he sounds dangerous, like he'd kill somebody you're just unwell!"

"Two things can be true! He can be hot and dangerous- shout out to Kesha- people watch all kinds of movies and shows about criminals and villains!"

"Look just don't push your luck too far okay? Some people shouldn't be messed with and I would guess he falls into that category."

"Oh please we get along great!"

"I don't even know what to do with you at this point." Henry says, concerned confusion colors his expression, making you laugh a bit. Honestly you think he's freaked out over nothing. Logan's no more dangerous than any other man you don't know that well living in this building. You're not going to put yourself in harm's way but he's fun to sort of wind up.

You sing along to your speaker as you drag your couch across your apartment, in all the commotion you barely hear the fevered knocking at your door and almost trip over your table trying to answer it once you realize someone's here.

"Logan? What're you doing here?" You blink at him in surprise when you find Logan in your hallway.

"What the hell are you doing in there?" He asks.

"Moving around some furniture. Why?" You frown.

"Well stop it. Or get people to help you carry things because the sound of you dragging shit around is unbearable." He grits out.

"Are you going to help?"

"Excuse you?"

"My apartment is a wreck right now and I can't exactly just stop and wait for someone to be able to help me finish this up so unless you plan on helping me you'll have to suck it up and wait for me to be done." You say. He stares at you for a moment, his jaw tightening a moment before he lets out a harsh breath through his nose.

"Fine. What needs moving?" He grits out.

"You'll help?" You blink at him, you didn't expect him to offer that. You expected him to stomp off back to his place to brood or whatever he spends his time doing down there.

"At the very least it'll be quicker if I help."

"Alright, well, I need the couch against that wall first." You say. Logan walks over to your couch and before you can help him, he lifts the couch and moves it to where you asked him to.

"What next?" He turns to you, barely acknowledging the baffled look on your face.

"Uh the coffee table, needs to be put in front of the couch." You point, watching in awe as again Logan lifts the table like it's a down pillow and lowers it where you directed.

"What else?"

"Can you move the bookcase? I need it next to the television. I can take everything out of it first so it's-" he doesn't give you a chance to finish the sentence, he moves the entirely full bookcase from one side of your living room to the other with ease. You spend a little while longer dictating for Logan what needs to be moved where and no matter how many times he does it you're astounded by his displays of strength. It's like every piece of furniture in here weighs less than the average toddler to him, he's barely breaking a sweat by the time you've run out of tasks to watch him do because he truly doesn't need your help with any of it.

"Everything's where you want it to be?" He asks.

"Yes."

"So I won't hear any more insufferable scraping of furniture against the floor then?"

"You won't. Thank you for helping. I'll make you lunch." You suggest.

"Don't bother." He rolls his eyes.

"No no no all that work you just did for me I have to at least feed you."

"You don't." He shakes his head.

"Logan you moved like 20 pieces of furniture by yourself, let me pay you back." You insist.

"You pay me back by not scraping things against your floor slash my ceiling."

"Sit. Eat. Then you can leave." You say, wrapping a hand around his wrist to drag him into your kitchen to sit on a barstool at the counter.

"This isn't necessary y/n, really."

"Yes yes you've made that clear. I'm doing it anyway, so stop protesting. Do you have any allergies?" You look at him over your shoulder as you pull things out of your fridge.

"No." He scoffs as if it's a crazy thing to even ask, you won't bother asking why. It's a good thing you have no sense of portion control and always end up making more than one portion of anything you cook anyway. Logan doesn't say anything while you fix lunch and you're not sure how to break the silence so you don't. You cook, and hum, and let Logan sit and watch or daydream or whatever brooders do when they're not interacting with the world. Lunch takes just over 20 minutes and soon enough you're placing a plate in front of Logan.

"What is it?" He asks.

"It's a bufflo chicken sandwhich wrap thing."

"Sandwhich wrap thing?" He quirks an eyebrow up at you.

"Oh just eat it." You roll your eyes taking a bite of yours. Logan looks as if he's going to retort but seems to decide against it as he picks up the wrap and takes a bite. You watch intently as he processes the food, his eyes widen at some point while he's chewing.

"Oh wow this is good." He says eventually.

"Thank you." You smile at him as you take a seat next to him at your island counter. You and Logan eat pretty much in silence and it isn't until you drop the plates in the sink that he speaks again.

"You're a very odd woman you know." Logan says.

"So I've heard. My downstairs neighbor is very vocal about how strange he thinks I am." You wink at him.

"He might be onto something."

"Maybe. But I must be doing something correct because he still talks to me." You lean against the counter beside him.

"How much of choice does he have in that really?" He scoffs.

"Well you came up to mine today so- you tell me." You say softly, moving closer to him.

"I came up here because you were being disruptive." Logan says lowly.

"So you said." You hum. You're not quite sure who closed the gap between you but the next thing you know, your lips are pressed against his and his hands are around your waist pulling you towards him. You hands settle on his shoulders as his kiss practically devours you. You hear the sound of metal against metal that you're fully prepared to ignore but it seems to snap Logan out of things as he practically leaps away from you.

"I- I have to go." Logan says abruptly. You notice him clenching and unclenching his fists as he looks at his hands.

"Hang on a second what- what just happened?"

"Doesn't matter it won't happen again." He says before leaving your apartment.

"Logan!" You call but you're sure he's already at the elevator at this point. "And he calls me the odd one." You sigh. Part of you wants to go after him but why should you? He's probably not going to answer you if you go down to his place now anyway. You'll let him cool down from whatever that was and deal with it later.

A few weeks go by without incident. If you didn't know any better you'd think Logan was intentionally avoiding you, but he hardly leaves his place anyway so it's not like anything has really changed. However today one of his packages has ended up at your door again. Weird. You wonder briefly if Henry has anything to do with this but it's not really his style. Regardless of how it got there, you have to take it down to him now. So you get in the elevator and go one floor down to Logan's apartment knocking on the door firmly. You hear some shuffling on the other side and eventually Logan pulls the door open.

"What are you doing here?" He asks.

"Are you okay?" You tilt your head. He looks a little flustered for some reason.

"Don't answer my question with another question."

"Technically, I'm not answering your question I'm just asking a separate one you look flustered and I wanna know if you're okay."

"I'm fine, y/n. Why are you here?" He says sharply.

"Don't be a dick."

"Excuse me?" He blinks at you.

"I got a package adressed to you again and I'm being nice by bringing it down to you. Look I didn't realize you'd be so up in arms over a kiss, sorry it bugged you so much, but you don't just get to be an asshole whenever you see me."

"I'm not-"

"Whatever your problem is, why ever you ran out of my partment like I burned you, I didn't kiss myself so don't take it out on me like it's all my fault."

"I didn't say it was your fault."

"Here. I'll try not to get any more of your mail." You shove the package into his chest and he scrambles to get it before it drops.

"Y/n hang on-" Logan grabs your wrist before you can even turn to leave.

"I'd rather not do this I just wanted to bring your... thing."

"No I owe you an explanation. Come inside, please." He says.

"Fine." You say entering Logan's apartment. It's pretty minimalist. All the basic furniture you'd expect in a living room plus a bookcase that's about half full of stuff and a trunk in one corner. Logan tosses the package onto the trunk and clenches his fists. You gasp and jump back as metal claws protrude from Logan's knuckles. "You have knives coming out of your knuckles."

"Kind of."

"Why are you showing me them?" You frown.

"This is why I ran out like you burned me, as you put it."

"I need more information."

"These are- obviously dangerous and I usually have incredible control but- while we were in your apartment that day I- they came out without me doing it. It's been a long time since I couldn't control them but something about you- it's risky." He says, brows furrowed.

"We kissed and your claws popped out like an erection?"

"Don't phrase it like that."

"I'm just trying to understand. Are you implying that kissing makes you like lose control of yourself?"

"No. Maybe. It's hard to know I-" you cut Logan off by kissing him. Easiest way to confirm the theory is to test it. His hands are on your waist right away and moments later the sound of metal sliding against metal grabs your attention.

"Well- I'd say that answers that." You say.

"You can't do that." He says.

"You didn't stop me." You shrug.

"I could hurt you, you know. I can't- there's no-"

"You could sure but I don't think that you will." You say.

"You shouldn't have such faith in me." Logan shakes his head.

"Why not?"

"I am... in pain trying to keep it together here."

"Don't bother." You say kissing him again. His hands on your hips tighten, and he's doing what he did last time, kissing you so ferociously you feel as if he's going to consume you whole. Eventually, he pulls away with a groan.

"You need to go. Please." He grits out.

"You'll have to let me go first." You say, he's still holding your waist rather tightly.

"I know that." Logan says but he makes no move to do so.

"Logan, stop trying to be such a gentleman. I'm not a china doll, you won't break me." You say pushing him onto his couch and straddling him.

"Wait y/n-"

"If you tell me one more time that you're going to hurt me so we can't keep making out I'm going to throw a fit." You roll your eyes.

"No it's not that I- this is much more embarrassing than that." He mutters.

"Embarrassing?"

"I'm too... high strung, if this continues I- I'll end up looking like an inexperienced teenager."

"Don't worry I know you're not an inexperienced teenager." You hum kissing his neck.

"Y/n-"

"Logan." You drawl. Logan closes his eyes and blows out a heavy breath that makes you giggle.

"You're trying to kill me, I'm sure." He says.

"Not at all. Necrophilla isn't my thing." You shrug and Logan chuckles. Finally a break in his unnecessarily serious disposition.

"You're impossible."

"Well yes, you've said that before I'm pretty sure. Look if you really want this to stop Logan I'll leave." You make a move to get off of his lap and Logan's hand on your hip stops you.

"Don't."

"Still concerned about your... percieved overexcitement?"

"Just kiss me." He rolls his eyes using his other hand to pull you in for another kiss. You let your hands trail down his body slipping under his shirt to feel the hard muscle underneath. Clothing comes off hastily as you switch between kissing his lips and covering his throat in hickeys. Logan's hands are roaming wildly across your body, gripping here and grabbing there, his mouth exploring your skin with the same fierceness, nipping and sucking anywhere he can get. When your hand slips between your bodies and grabs his dick the sound he makes is pornographic and damn if you don't want to hear him make it again. Logan is all groans and harsh breaths as you move your hand against him. He doesn't let you get away with it for long, his hand quickly grabs your wrist.

"You sure��you're not tryna kill me?"

"I told you I'm not into fucking dead people." You wink at him. "You can die when I'm done with you if you're that determined to do so."

"Well that's not the worst way to go." Logan chuckles.

"No but there's a lot more I could do if you stayed alive." You whisper, lining him up with your entrance and slowly sinking down onto him. You'd guessed he'd be big but your fantasies definitely were not doing him justice. His moan as you settle fully onto him is deep and long and makes you clench around him. Using his shoulders to brace yourself, you set a steady pace riding him. He's thick and you relish in the way he stretches you.

"Fuck you're so wet." He groans, head tipping back against the back of the couch. His hands are on your sides but his hold is loose, either to allow you control or because he's busy trying not to embarrass himself. You keep your rhythm, nails scraping against his skin as you chase your orgasm. Suddenly, Logan's grip tightens, tight enough that you feel there may be bruising tomorrow, like a beast suddenly woken from sleep he growls low in his throat as he takes over the situation. Without warning, he's fucking up into you furiously and all you can do is moan as you claw at his arms and chest. Logan's release hits him first but he doesn't stop, not until you're spasming around him.

"That was not the performance of an inexperienced teenager you know." You say after you've caught your breath.

"Oh shut up." He scoffs.

"I'm just saying." You shrug.

"You're insane."

"Ooo new adjective."

"That's all you got from that?" He asks. You sit up and smile at him.

"You can call me abnormal in whatever way you'd like you're still into me so it makes no difference to me." You say.

"Try not to move too much." He groans when you shift in his lap.

"Sorry, am I hurting you?" You ask.

"Quite the opposite, but I wanna give you time to recover from-"

"You're still treating me like a china doll." You poke his chest.

"You implying you're good to go again?"

"Refractory periods are way longer for men than women you know."

"I don't really have one so I try to remember other people do."

"I bet I could tire you out first."

"That's a bet you're definitely gonna lose." He scoffs.

"Care to prove it?" You ask. Logan smirks at you.

"I hope you've got nothing planned for the next few days." He says as he carries you to his bedroom. "First things first I'm dying to find out if you taste as good as you smell." The promise of a thoroughly pleasurable experience is clear in his eye and you're only too thrilled to find out what he can really do.

***

[n0v4t33z]

The Syndicate - Chapter 2: The Traitor

Pairings: Choi San X Female Reader, Park Seonghwa X Female Reader, Ateez X Female Reader

Summary: Y/N is a Detective with a promising future in the police department until she's kidnapped by the infamous mafia boss Choi San and from him, she learns the dark secrets her superior has been hiding the whole time so she teams up with him in order to put a stop to it.

Genre: Lots of angst, Romance, Crime Fiction, Psychological Drama

Word Count: 5.1k

Tags/Warnings: For Mature Audiences, Language, Graphic Violence, Mentions of Illegal activities (i.e Kidnapping, extortion, assassination etc.), y/n gets roughed up by Wooyoung in the beginning , Slow Burn, Fluff sometimes, Work In Progress, Non-Idol AU, Mafia AU, Very suggestive at times, y/n cries alot, y/n having inner turmoil, Ateez being bad boys, Wooyoung and Yeosang are a little mean in this story tbh, Guns, Gunshot wounds, Assassination attempt(s)

I'll update tags as the story progresses

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Author's Note: So here it is, Chapter 2! I wanted to at least try and post a chapter for San's birthday so this is it! I hope you guys enjoy it!💜

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“So you’re the infamous Detective that San has kept his eye on for the longest..” Hongjoong asks while fidgeting with the keys in his right hand. “Infamous?” I quietly answer back and he nods silently almost like I was being judged. Something tells me he really doesn't like me I can already tell by the way he's looking at me. “Yeah, ever since you joined Ulwood PD you’ve been costing us a lot of business.” Taken a back from the bluntness I gather my courage and respond but this time a bit more respectful not wanting to start an argument and possibly anger any of them again. "Really? So besides my superior having something San wants that's one of the reasons why you guys decided to kidnap me?" Hongjoong lets out a small exhale from his nose "In a way, yes. That as well but not majorly." I slowly nod "What if I get my superior to make a deal with San to return whatever it is he wants?" Hongjong shakes his head, his earrings making a faint jingling noise "Maybe you should speak to San about that." I look over at Hongjoong who was looking straight ahead while we walk the dimly lit corridor, I didn't get a good look at his face before but he looks fairly young. Definitely shorter than the rest too, except Wooyoung. Luckily enough the silence doesn't last too long as we arrive outside San’s office so I didn't have to deal with the awkwardness much longer, Hongjoong opens the door “Here she is, I will be outside.” He slightly pushes me to sit down and closes the door behind him. San then stares at me for a bit and without breaking eye contact he says “Sit down Detective.” Stay focused, try negotiating with him. I carefully sit down on the leather chair in front of San’s desk while he clicks his pen a few times then sets it down. “First of all, before anything I’d like to apologize about what happened with Wooyoung. He wasn’t supposed to beat you like that.” I roll my eyes “Right, care to explain why you abducted me?” I want to hear this from the man himself and not his "inner circle" goons. San looks over at me with a deadpan expression “You’re ransom Detective. Something that belongs to me is in possession of Ulwood PD, not just that but Captain Lee owes me for all the stuff he’s been putting my family through. He’s no saint, and what a better way to taunt him than taking his secret weapon against us, you.”

Captain Lee? He’s always been a very respectable man and very stern. What does he have to do with the Choi’s and Aurora Syndicate? I look at San slightly suspicious “Captain Lee? Ever since I joined Ulwood PD, he’s been a very good role model of what a Detective should be. What does he have to do with your family?” San looks away almost like he was holding in a laugh then says “Oh come on Detective, can't you read between the lines? I guess he’s been keeping his double life under wraps from everyone in the department.” I glare at San. “What are you trying to say? Captain Lee works for you?” He smirks and slightly nods “Good guess, but it's more like he used to. The man is a crooked cop.” His face then grows serious again and he continues “ He used to work for my father. He’s also the reason my father got murdered. He began to work with a rival mob, The Obsidian Dragon a few years back which led to him giving away my father’s location to those people.”

No way, no fucking way. Captain Lee was one of the organizers for this hit and I’m the one having to suffer for his mistakes? “Why not abduct him? Why was I brought into this?” San pushes his glasses with his middle finger and sits back on his chair “Well, if we kidnap him he’ll be marked as a hero and that’s what I don’t want. I want him to be known as my father’s killer, and what a better way to bring attention to it than when a very infamous and well known Detective is kidnapped and in order to save her his whole team has to slowly unravel how evil and dirty he is. If he doesn’t give in, either way he’ll be seen as a terrible and incompetent person for letting a gifted Detective die in order to save himself.” I slowly clench my fists. This has to be a crude joke.

“I need proof of Captain Lee doing the things you’re claiming. I can’t just take your word for it, I don’t trust you.” San opens the drawer next to his desk and sets a file about an inch and a half thick in front of me “These are photos of him and my family and documents with his handwriting on it. Not to mention there are photos of him meeting up with someone from The Obsidian Dragon” I open the folder and the first thing to catch my attention is a picture of a dinner with presumably the Choi family and next to San’s father is Captain Lee smiling brightly. I squint my eyes to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me then I look over to a financial document with Captain Lee’s signature. I look at a few other photos carefully examining if it was the right person and to my disappointment it was. It’s Captain Lee, I'd recognize his signature anywhere and the man in the pictures looks exactly like him including his golden tooth. I look over at San in complete shock and San smirks and raises his eyebrow “You believe me now?” I slowly nod then I close the file and set it back on San’s desk in disappointment.

“This has to be a misunderstanding, he’s a great person I know so. I’m sure there has to be a reason he did this.” San throws his head back and laughs and says “The man loves money Detective, the difference between us and him is that the majority of us had nothing at one point but desperation to survive while this man has had money and a good life from the beginning. Also, what type of person kills their best friend over money? ” My body runs cold, and my stomach drops “The Phantom was friends with him?” There is a slight hint of disappointment in San’s voice “Yeah, so close I even called him uncle when I was a child.” Oh no, why do I feel bad for this man? When he's the reason Ulwood’s crime rates went up to begin with. I sigh and Sympathetically look at him “Look, I’m so sorry he caused all this pain to you and your family but there’s no reason to keep me here to get back at him. That file you showed me has enough evidence to send him to prison for the rest of his remaining life, I'll do that for you only if you let me go.” San looks at me for a few seconds and he shakes his head “No, i’m sorry.” I scoot up closer to his desk and I put my hand over the file “Please, you can do this the right way instead of possibly ruining your life.” He sits up and leans over the desk close to me and in a very calm voice he says “My life is already ruined Detective, all the things I've done are enough to send me to prison for the rest of my life. The least I should do with the last of my freedom is to destroy the man who killed my father.” I sit there for a while processing his final decision “Well, all I’m hoping is that Captain Lee does the correct thing although now I’m doubting it.” I have a feeling I’m going to die here now. “I sent the ransom note about an hour ago so we’ll have to wait for his answer in maybe a few days.” A few days?! I know for a fact we usually see ransom calls and answer them right away, why is he just going with a ransom note? "Why a ransom note when you can just call?" A smirk appears on his face "It makes it a little more dramatic, it's amusing, Even more knowing how much he's probably freaking out" I scoff and look at the book case to my left. He's such a childish man, it's ridiculous.

Out of nowhere my stomach growls and I clutch my stomach then San curiously looks over at me “Are you hungry?” I quietly nod then he grabs a radio from his desk and says “Hongjoong, can you escort the Detective to the guest room.” Hongjoong sounding a bit confused says “Uh yeah, sure right away.” The door then opens a few seconds later and Hongjoong walks towards me but before he reaches over to grab my arm I take off my badge and set it on San’s desk “Here, I have a feeling I won’t be needing this anymore.” San gives me a slightly confused look then Hongjoong escorts me out.

The walk to the guest room was excruciatingly quiet so I begin to lose myself in my own thoughts until finally we arrive at the guestroom. Hongjoong continues to hold my arm tightly while he opens the door. After opening the door Hongjoong walks me inside the guest room and sits me down on the bed and says “This is escape proof, so don’t even try.” He exits the room, and after hearing the door lock I lay down and begin to silently sob. I don’t want to die here, I want to see my family, I want to fall in love and have a family. I close my eyes and I slowly drift to sleep hoping that the horror I was living is just a dream.

Later, I’m gently nudged awake then I groggily open my eyes and I see Seonghwa holding some food “Hey, San got you some food. He didn’t know if you were allergic to anything so he just went with steamed rice and veggies and for your drink it’s apple juice but in a bottle so you know we didn’t mess with it.” He helps me sit up while I quietly wince in pain trying to sit up “Oh, thank you. Do I get these removed too?” He opens the food and says “I would but I can’t. The only one who can is San, my apologies Detective. I can still feed you though so it’s okay.” I look over to the food then I nod slightly disappointed “I see. Well, since we have to get that familiar with each other with you feeding me and all call me Y/N.” He chuckles and grabs a spoonful of food and feeds it to me “Alright Y/N, my name is Seonghwa but you can just call me Hwa when it’s just us.” Something tells me he's friendlier than the rest here “So Hwa when did you start working here?”

He hesitantly smiles and feeds me another spoonful of food and says “Well, I started working here a little before San’s father passed away. You? When did you start working as a detective?” While I chew I think for a few seconds “3 years this march as an actual detective, I’m honestly still not really used to it though I still have slip ups where I start talking like a civilian.” He opens the apple juice and puts a straw in the bottle “Oh I see, so you’re somewhat still new to the department?” I nod then I take a sip of my juice “Yes, but I guess weirdly enough people at the station no longer see me as the newbie because of the case clearing rate. streak I have" He hums in acknowledgement "I've heard, you're a criminal's worst nightmare." we both quietly chuckle then I ask "So, are you friends with San and all those guys I've seen?” He sets the juice back on the floor “Oh, yes. In a way we’re all friends although sometimes we do get into pretty heated disagreements.” I furrow my brows while focusing on the wall behind Seonghwa.

“So then does that mean I'm going to have to see the one who hit me? Wooyoung I think was his name.” He gently pats my shoulder “Unfortunately you probably are but don’t worry he’s not going to hit you anymore, San got onto him about it. It’s weird because this is the first time San has gotten upset over something like this happening, usually he doesn’t really care when Wooyoung goes around beating the people we’ve kidnapped. Then again this is the first time we’ve kidnapped a cop.” That’s weird I didn’t think he’d even care either, I thought maybe Wooyoung somehow messed up the procedure or something like that. Seonghwa continues “Let's have you finish eating so you can clean up and change clothes." Later, after Seonghwa finishes feeding me he helps me up and says "San got you a really pretty dress so you can wear it after your bath"

Embarrassed, I respond "Wait what? You're going to give me a bath?!" He chuckles and says "No silly, San is going to help you since he's the only one who is able to remove your handcuffs" Confused, I scrunch my nose and say “Why him?” Seonghwa shrugs and gives me a confused face “Honestly, I have no idea that’s just what he told us.” I look down and fidget with my hands then I say "So you're leaving then?" He reaches over and holds both my hands "I'm sorry, but don't worry I'll try coming back as much as I can." I sigh and with a slight disappointed tone in my voice I say "Okay..” He picks up the leftovers and gets up then the door opens behind him. I watch as San enters the room with a few shopping bags. Surprised, Seonghwa looks over at San and says “Oh hey, I was just about to go get you.” San walks over to the bed and sets down the shopping bags and says “Thanks for helping her eat, can you tell Yunho to let me know when something comes up regarding the ransom?” Seonghwa nods and closes the door behind him leaving me alone with San.

I watch him glance at me for a few seconds then sit next to me. “How are you feeling?” Why is he asking me how I feel? This is so weird. I shrug and say “I’m still in pain but I feel way better than I did earlier but I'm sure the bruises will come in tomorrow.” He smiles and says “I’m glad you’re feeling better, also was the food okay? I didn’t know what to get you since I didn’t know if you had food allergies or not.” Is he joking? Why is he asking me if I liked the food or not? Why does he care if I have food allergies? Why is he being so nice? He might be trying to get me to talk by being nice. “Food was good, don't worry.” He looks over at my hand cuffed hands “If I take these off of you do you promise me you won’t try to escape?” I might take a leap of faith and try but without hesitation I respond “I promise.” he uncuffs my hands and I gently massage my wrists and press my lips together forcing a smile. “I never say this to criminals but thank you, for like the food and everything.” He gives me a soft smile and says “Of course, now it’s time for you to get cleaned up and wash off all that blood off of you.” Should I ask him why he’s being so nice? Or is it too soon? Maybe.

I get up and stretch then San stands up next to me and chuckles gently patting my head “Oh wow you’re really short Detective, I've never seen such a short cop before. it’s actually kind of cute. I’m surprised you were even allowed to be in the police academy.” Oh my gosh did he just call me cute? The man is really committing himself to get something out of me. I raise an eyebrow in confusion “Gee, thanks but just in case you didn’t know I can do alot of damage despite my small stature.” He looks down at me and smirks “Yeah I know, which is why I’m the only one who can uncuff you.” If I change the subject maybe he’ll stop being weird. “So where’s the bathroom?” He leads me over to a door next to the entrance “There’s a shower in there but I’ll tell you right now the door has no lock so I can easily check up on you if you get too quiet.” Ew no. What if he’s being a pervert and watches me shower then what? I cross my arms in front of my chest and I say “Fair enough, just don’t be a pervert or….”

We both exchange looks for what feels like forever then he gently lifts my chin with his finger and says in a low voice “Or what Detective?” He’s good. My face gets hot and I swat his hand away from my face “I’ll press charges on you for harassment when I get out of here.” San lets out an amused laugh “Oh, are you really? But can’t I just admire a woman’s beauty?” He proceeds to push his glasses up with his middle finger then winks at me. I give him a disgusted look and walk into the bathroom closing the door behind me then from the other side of the door I say “I bet this is why you don’t have a girlfriend because you’re so weird!” I hear San laughing on the other side of the door and say "I was kidding!" I roll my eyes and get in the shower letting the water completely soak through my hair while I stand in the shower with my eyes closed wondering if what was happening right now was actually happening or a weird figment of my imagination from a breakdown or something. I mean being a cop is not necessarily an easy thing and I'm constantly under excruciating pressure from my superiors. So maybe my mind is making it all up.

After showering, wondering whether I'm in reality or not and occasionally checking the door in fear of San looking at me at my most vulnerable state. When I get out I see a nice robe and put it on. When did this robe get here? Where are my clothes? Did he seriously somehow come in without me noticing? I open the bathroom door and I see San standing next to the door on his phone I then ask “Did you take my clothes?” He nods then turns to look at me “Yep, I did. I bought you some clothes but I don’t know if you’ll like them though I asked my mom what a girl likes to wear and she said a nice casual dress will do.” I ran my fingers through my wet hair trying to comb it out “Oh, okay. I swear if you looked at me in the shower.” He shakes his head and pleadingly responds "I didn't I promise." I need to watch out for him, he's good. Maybe he's lying. He scratches the back of his neck and hands me the shopping bag “I also bought some um… you know underwear and some bras.” I grab the bag slightly embarrassed. What happened to me being a prisoner of the Aurora Syndicate? Where is this headed? Am I going to be sold off or something? “Oh, thank you, I’ll go put this on I'll be right out.” I walk back into the bathroom and close the door and I change into the dress, a beautiful ruffled dark purple chiffon dress with a tie up at the waist. When I step out, San’s lips curl up into a smile “It looks beautif- I mean, it looks great on you.” I nod and I bite my bottom lip to keep me from smiling.

The first time in a year that I get male attention and it’s from one of the most dangerous men in Ulwood. Embarrassingly I’m falling into his trap and it hasn’t even been a whole day, just 16 hours ago I was kidnapped. I have to get it together, this man is just playing tricks on me he doesn’t care about me at all whatsoever. Suddenly San’s radio goes off Slightly startling me while a male's voice says says “San, they know about the Detective and they said if we don’t hand her over right now you’ll have a warrant for your arrest.” Amused, San lets out a chuckle “Tell them the first note for her rescue will be on 398 Barry Ave.” The man then responds “Okay got it.” San walks over to me and pulls out the handcuffs from his pocket and puts them on me “I have to go, but I’ll come back later. In the meanwhile I need you to rest okay? ” I nod then he exits out the room and closes the door behind him then a few seconds later I hear the small click of the door being locked. I let out a sigh and walk over by the door and turn off the lights leaving some sort of night light on and I lay down with my back facing the door. I feel quite tired and the pain medicine Jongho gave me is starting to wear off so I begin to have a million thoughts racing through my head trying to get my mind off of the pain that eventually I fall asleep.

I suddenly wake up to the sound of the door unlocking and opening I felt too tired to turn and check who it was until eventually I feel a gentle nudge on my shoulder "Hey Detective, it's me Jongho I brought you some more pain medicine." He helps me sit up and gives me the painkillers and some water soon after he says “Did that warm shower help you feel a bit better?” I nod “Yes, it actually did but I started to be in pain again right before I fell asleep since the medicine was wearing off” He stipples his fingers and says “Don’t worry, just give it an hour and the medicine will kick back in again. Tomorrow when you wake up is when it will hurt a lot so I’ll come back in the morning to check up on you.” I nod and for a few seconds I pick at my nails then I look at Jongho and I say “San told me about Captain Lee, I told him he would get his revenge the right way with all those documents and pictures stacked up as evidence but he doesn’t want to.” He slightly frowns “Well, Detective you have to remember San and basically everyone here including myself are criminals. What San wants is to humiliate Lee and inflict as much pain as that man did to his father, I’m sure you’d do the same for your family if you ever get the chance right?”

I lower my face and purse my lips. “I mean If I had the amount of evidence San has against Captain Lee I’d go to the police.” His eyes widen for a split second in shock then he recollects himself and goes back to his serious expression “Well, police can only do so much, sometimes the best way to get back at someone who's hurt your family is not necessarily the legal way. I’m sure in the back of your mind you know this even if you don’t want to admit it which is understandable since you’re a detective and you work for the police leading me to believe you fully trust them. You have to remember that some of these cops aren’t clean and half the time they’re just as bad as criminals like us, if not worse.” I gently brush my hand on the soft chiffon ruffles of my dress “Actually despite what you probably think I see Captain Lee differently now, seeing all those pictures and evidence and being the empathetic person that I am I genuinely feel sorry for San. That doesn’t mean that I think what he’s doing is okay because it’s not but I do get where he’s coming from and I understand what you’re trying to get at.”

Before he can answer Jongho’s radio goes off with Wooyoung saying “Hey Jongho where are you?” Jongho grabs his radio and says “I was with the detective giving her medicine, what happened?” Wooyoung answers back with a slight annoyance in his voice “I need you to bring the Detective downstairs, Lee wants to talk to her he’s on the phone with San.” He presses the button to his radio again and with a calm voice Jongho says “Okay I’ll be right there.” He puts his radio back in his jacket’s pocket then he turns to me and says “Let’s go Detective.” He helps me up then he walks me downstairs.

When I enter the dimly lit room filled with lots of monitors, computers, and servers I notice that all of San’s inner circle was present, 2 of which I haven't seen. One had dark brown hair he looks as if he’s around the same height as Mingi except a little bit taller. The other wasn't as tall as the hair dark brown haired male in fact he seemed to be around the same height as Wooyoung and Hongjoong. His was a cool brown shade. He was very handsome looking having the face of a Roman statue with no visible flaw on his face besides the pink birthmark next to his right eye, definitely not taking away from how handsome he looked. Now that I notice I realize how all of San's inner circle is basically handsome young men. This is exactly why they probably get away with as much as they do because they're intimidatingly handsome, they probably don't even need money to keep people quiet. Their looks alone will probably the charm any one of their liking. Jongho walks me over to a single chair by where everyone was huddled. San looks at me briefly then says “She’s here, you have 1 minute with her.” San then hands me the phone and I say “Captain Lee?! Please get me out of here I’m begging you. I’m terrified. I want to go home!” In a worried tone he answers “Detective Y/LN, are you okay? Have they hurt you in any way?” A knot forms in my throat and I say in verge of tears “Um, yeah I’m okay except for a few bruises and a busted lip” As angry as I am with Captain Lee for betraying the police department I need to urge him to get me out of here. I hear silence from the other end of the call then Captain Lee clears his throat “Look Detective, I’m going to try my absolute best to get you out of there, Detective Bang is also working on this to get you out of there as soon as possible too. Don’t listen to anything these dirt bags tell you either, they’re low life criminals who don’t care about anyone but themselves.” I release the knot in my throat and I begin to sob “Please, Captain just get me out of here please, just give them whatever they want! I need to see my mom and my family, I have a life too! Please!”

San puts his finger over his lips to hush me and takes the phone “So now that I proved to you that she’s alive and not in some trash can in an alleyway are you are more keen on cooperating?” Seonghwa walks over to me and helps me calm down while San is still on the phone and chuckles, turning around giving the 7 guys behind him a thumbs up. Captain Lee probably agreed. “I have eyes in every corner of the city Lee, if you don’t follow the requests I leave for you and decide to go your own route there will be consequences.” he hangs up with a huge smirk on his face. “I have him right where I want him, now we just wait until his fellow investigators find out his dirty little secrets.”

San hands the Phone over to Hongjoong and walks over to me giving me a curt smile “Thanks to you Detective, he’s probably scrambling to find a way to rescue the PD’s female prodigy.” He helps me up and says “Yeosang, do me a favor and take her back to the guest room.” He nods and he quietly walks me back upstairs to the guest room while we walk up the stairs I slip on the fabric of my dress and he grabs my arm “Careful.” I quietly thank him and continue to walk in silence then I suddenly grow the courage to at least try and make small talk, maybe he's nice like Jongho and Seonghwa “You’re really quiet, this is the first time I’ve heard you speak.” He continues to look forward in silence then he answers “There’s no reason for me to speak to a cop.” Nope, I was right this guy is ice cold. There’s no use in trying to talk to these people, they straight up hate my guts. “Okay, I’m sorry”

After a long and awkward walk back to the guest room we arrive, he opens it and shoves me in the room with such a strong force that I fall on the hard marble floor on my knees and I wince in pain from the stinging sensation on my knees. I pull up my dress so that I could see my dress, then I look down at my knees and notice both my knees are scraped. I get up and lay down on the bed letting out a long exhausted sigh. “So much for trying to be nice.” I slowly close my eyes. Sleep, eat, wake up. I wonder how many of these I have left before I end up dead in a ditch.

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[theserpentsadvocate]

So I’ve been doing a lot of research (or, more accurately, I’ve been doing cursory research fairly often) for the seventy-million Veronica Mars fanfics I’m currently writing, and I’ve run into a… difficulty. The fic that actually prompted this post wasn’t even related to the Thumper thing even peripherally, like it doesn’t even happen in it, but what can you do.

Here’s the thing: under California law, assault is the attempt to hurt or cause harm to someone by an individual with the capacity to actually cause that harm (e.g. throwing a rock at someone and missing, trying to punch someone who dodges). Actually harming someone is battery (e.g. you knock someone out and hide their drug money inside their motorcycle).

Now we, the audience, know that whatever someone might feel morally*, Weevil isn’t legally guilty of murder – he committed battery, and that’s probably all Lamb can prove, because he has witnesses to that part. But he has witnesses. He should have Weevil over a barrel on the battery charge at least.

But here’s the sticking point (or one of them): Veronica says, canonically, that Weevil ‘pled down to assault’ (and he seems to agree with her). So… why did he end up doing time for a lesser charge?

Answer One: The writers messed up.

Okay, so this is a very unsatisfying answer, and I’m rolling my eyes at myself about it. But still: it’s very common for the general public to gloss ‘assault and battery’ as one thing, or to use ‘assault’ to refer to battery charges, doubly so since, in a non-legal sense, the word ‘assault’ does include (legal) battery. Probably whoever wrote that line assumed that they knew what ‘assault’ was and just didn’t double-check.

(And they also didn’t bother to brush up on the difference between a felony and a misdemeanour and whether you can be on parole for a misdemeanour (answer: no), but I’ll get to that.)

But that doesn’t help square everything up with canon (unless you’re the kind of person who can say stuff like ‘that line doesn’t make sense so I’m ignoring it’, which I… am not, generally speaking), so more productively –

Answer Two: Veronica messed up

Veronica’s attitude toward Weevil isn’t always great in season three, trending towards dismissive on several occasions, and she is, technically, a member of the general public, so maybe she just said assault and meant battery, and he did go to prison for battery and not assault. This would track with him still being on parole – well, at all, but notably about halfway through season three, when Veronica wants to meet with the PCHers – and mentioning his parole officer multiple times. (Simple assault is a misdemeanour and has a maximum sentence of six months; parole, unless there is a glaring hole in my Googling, is only for felonies. Nothing he does to Thumper, as far as I can tell, would qualify as felony assault – he doesn’t use caustic chemicals or a deadly weapon, and he definitely doesn’t throw anything at a moving vehicle.)

Misdemeanour battery, on the other hand, appears to have a maximum sentence of a year, and a battery charge would leave the possibility of a felony open: aggravated battery, or battery causing serious bodily harm, is a ‘wobbler’, which means it can be filed as a misdemeanour or a felony, depending on the circumstances, and ‘serious bodily harm’ includes loss of consciousness. (This would also mean he very well could be a convicted felon, which of course has implications for the rest of his life beyond just having a record. I don’t actually want this for him, obviously, but if you want the felony for fic reasons, or to explain the repeated parole references, that versatility is there.)

The only problem is, Veronica is not a very likely person to make this particular mistake. Her dad spent most of her life in law enforcement and she’s very well-acquainted with most law enforcement (and much legal) procedure, she regularly interacts with the sheriff’s department, and she commits enough illegal and dubiously legal acts herself that it’s in her best interest to be familiar with these kinds of distinctions. (Although she’s still very much protected by being a middle-class white woman – she can do things like tasing obnoxious frat bros in The Rapes of Graff without worrying overmuch that she’ll be arrested on misdemeanour battery charges, even though it would absolutely qualify.)  Also, she clearly made the effort to look into how his case played out, since she’s the one who brings all this up, and she appears to have tracked him down at the car wash deliberately, so it would be kind of bizarre if she then got the offence wrong. This one is convenient, but in the end it’s a hard sell and I don’t think I buy it.

Answer Three: Weevil didn’t plead down from murder to assault, he pled down from battery to assault.

Lamb’s case for murder probably isn’t all that great. It makes for terrific oomph when you are deliberately arresting someone two minutes before he’s supposed to graduate, like an absolute monster, but what does he have, really? Two kids who saw Weevil knock Thumper out with… a cloth? Or something? and take a bag of… something. (And leave.)

So this proves battery, it strongly implies robbery, and given Thumper showing up under the ruins of Shark Stadium it certainly suggests murder, but that’s not going to stand up in court. Assuming the autopsy can conclusively determine which ones are from the stadium collapse and which aren’t (admittedly a big if), Thumper’s likely to have injuries from the beating the Fitzpatricks gave him that Weevil is (per the prosecution’s own witnesses) not responsible for and which were incurred after his attack on Thumper. The kids also saw him leave Thumper’s unconscious body and walk away with the bag of money, so – dead to rights on battery, but iffy on murder. The other PCHers can testify that he had motive to kill Thumper, but they might well not be willing to, for a whole host of reasons. Weevil is absolutely smart enough to establish himself an alibi for the entirety of the time after his attack on Thumper, and that would make Lamb’s case very difficult, as does that fact that Weevil literally didn’t kill Thumper, and so there’s very little forensic evidence to be found that would be damaging to him.

(Honestly, even if the charge was murder, and he pled down to assault or to battery, the fact that they offered him that also suggests the case was flimsy. Rich, white, even-more-innocent-of-the-actual-murder Logan only got offered manslaughter in the plea deal for Felix’s murder.)

So if this is it? That is a ton of reasonable doubt. And that’s before Cliff gets up there and points out that Eduardo Orozco was a known gang member and drug dealer and had all kinds of opportunities to make the kind of enemies who might have chained him up in that stadium (which is not only true but also… basically what did actually happen). In fact, typing this all up, I’m kind of pissed Weevil did any time at all.

Add to that the fact that both eyewitnesses are kids, who are notoriously unreliable on the stand… Yeah, I can easily see the DA deciding a murder charge won’t stick. But they have him on battery! …Wiiiith most of the proof being those notoriously unreliable child witnesses. So maybe they drop the murder charges, get him on battery, and then offer him a deal. On their side, they don’t have to worry about those kids holding up in court; on his side, well, if they threatened to file the aggravated battery charge as a felony, he’s looking at the difference between a year at most in prison and a possible four-year term with all the attendant miseries of being a convicted felon for the rest of his life. And he definitely can’t afford a better lawyer than whoever’s available from the public defender’s office. So it’s reasonable to decide that going to court is too much of a gamble, and just take the deal. This also explains how he’s out so quickly, since it cannot be more than three months since he was arrested when season three starts – but if he pled right away and got a light sentence (since it’s his first adult conviction), that might make sense.

The main problem with this one, even though I really like it, is that, well, there are the repeated references to him being on parole. Weevil himself could just be glossing probation as parole, I suppose – ‘don’t tell my parole officer’ makes a better joke than ‘don’t tell my probation officer’ – but Veronica also says he’s on parole in President Evil, which is an unlikely mistake for her to make if he’s not on parole, for all the reasons outlined in Answer Two, especially in what is literally a presentation for her criminology class. (Of course, in that same presentation she refers to him ‘assaulting’ Thumper, so who knows.) Most damning is the entire B-plot of Wichita Linebacker, which makes it clear he is indeed on parole, since if he doesn’t get another job he’ll go back to prison.

(And I suppose ‘pled down to assault’ is kind of a weird way for Veronica to phrase it in this case – but not utterly bizarre, and she’d be unlikely to spell it all out like that, since she doesn’t know she’s on TV and that line is supposed to be letting the audience know why he’s not in prison.)

Answer Four: Veronica was just guessing

I’ve always read the scene in Wichita Linebacker as her finding him on purpose, especially since she doesn’t actually stick around to get her car washed, which is why I also tend to assume that she’s either recently looked up his case or been following it from the beginning and would know what the charge is. (She doesn’t appear to be surprised to see him, either.) I also just… like to think that she’d care enough to follow up on him.

But it’s also possible that she really is just at the carwash for carwash-related reasons, and she’s just… guessing about the reasons he’s out already. In this case, she might have said assault, and he acknowledges this as correct even though the actual charge was battery, because he figures it’s close enough, and she’s got the general idea, anyway.

This covers more bases than anything else, although it still doesn’t explain why she implies he’s on parole for an assault charge during the criminology presentation, at which point she would definitely have done the background to know it was battery and not assault, but mostly I don’t love it for character reasons.

Anyway. If anyone wants to hit their heads repeatedly into this particular wall with me, I would love to hear your thoughts.

*and I’m inclined, personally, to say that the moral responsibility for Thumper’s death is pretty much on the Fitzpatricks, and it’s not like he didn’t know who he was getting into business with

[leggyre]

How many people know of interspace? Do Yu&co? Daniel or Pop? Can Pox go in there if it's outside the world he created? What's the connection between Tae and interspace? (Can't remember if you've already explained any of this)

It causes disturbance to natural order so Pop knows and hates it. For the same reason, Pox knows and loves it.

It's good to re-do questions sometimes because you never know when there's new information! -- I've mentioned before that Pox itself can't go in, but occasionally it sends like a little clone of its consciousness into the interspacial holes. They can't really regenerate energy on their own so they gotta go back eventually, but that's fine because they need to come back so Pox can actually know what happens in there.

Now, I don't recall how much I've talked about Tae and his relation to Interspace. SO here are some Definite, Updated Facts: - He got into interspacial shenanigans by accepting a deal with Memorando, who is conducting some Evil Experiments for Evil Purposes in Interspace; it's "take over the world-- i mean, universe" kinda stuff. More specifically, it wants to find a way to harness the chanced trait of producing energy, so it tries to track down and kidnap those who can do that. - Tae just got sick of the guy. Never really liked it, just stuck around because he had to. So he left as soon as he had the opportunity to do so(being able to mostly because Memorando was just SURE he wouldn't ever manage to do it so there wasn't a lot put in place to prevent it), and took two very important things that help him survive. - He's been in and out of Interspace for a while, he has something that can create very short-lived holes connecting it to the Universe, and he uses them to get away Memorando who is Still hunting him down. He also uses it to dodge Space Police(travelers) whenever he's in the Universe because he's hanging out with a source of energy (so-called ellie whose name i have to change) which is Space Illegal. He sticks more to Interspace because even in the way it is, it's a place he has more control of. - Funny trivia time! Memorando's original target in Senvroha was Rimna, but Daniel got in the way. It made a deal with Tae hoping to get him to lure Rimna instead, but Daniel!!! took!!! the damn kid!!! :/

So like there's not much of a chance that someone that ends up in Interspace will come back. Most of who know have only heard of it; it's a known thing between Travelers because they have to know it's dangerous to go in Suspicious Magic Holes(tm).

Everyone who's connected to Pox knows because Pox won't shut up about Interspace(IT'S SUCH A COOL THING GUYS WE SHOULD CHECK IT OUT).

Nubia knows nothing, they are a normal person in a very weird place who is unaware of Space Shenanigans so what they live feels more like a different world than a whole different reality.

Now here's the fun one. I've mentioned before, I think, very vaguely, that the entirety of Interspace is a being. Something that doesn't know it is, but is nonetheless.

"Red", being interspacial in origin, is also Interspace.

[inkstainedhandswithrings]

so I keep learning about The Horrors™️ of American healthcare and I keep hearing Americans talk abt this shit like it’s totally fine and let me tell y’all. It’s not. Apparently and ADHD or Autism test costs like 500$ for you guys? And then when you do get diagnosed you gotta think abt shit like “okay but do I actually need meds?” Bc apparently that’s a financial decision? But it,,, it shouldn’t be right? Right okay bc

I live in Europe, specifically Austria, and this is how healthcare works here: if you have a job you have healthcare. Your employer pays for it. They have to. It’s absolutely illegal and unheard of not to. They do take about 20% out of your pay-check every month to pay for that and other legal things that I don’t quite understand (my dad explained it to me once but I’m 20 so I still don’t get it bc I don’t really have to but every cent they take out benefits me I think so it’s fine).

Now irl this is a lot more complicated but basically, you have public healthcare and private healthcare and then just stuff that’s up to the government (like ambulance rides, I think. Even if you don’t have insurance u don’t pay for that. I know this bc an American friend of mine didn’t and had to go to the hospital and called a cab and when they told me I was like “??? BRO WHY NO AMBULANCE” this is also how I found out that Americans have to pay for ambulance rides. wtf.)

Basically your insurance covers all medical expenses from doctors who are in your network (public practice). This is your GP, hospitals, and pretty much all specialised docs (dentist, internists, cardiologists, etc.). However, the public offices are much busier than the private ones (obvi) so if you’re in a rush, want special treatment, or just be a little fancy you can CHOOSE to pay for private doctors. And even then you can hand in those bills to your insurance and you get part of the money back (abt 30% which you receive abt 4 months after handing the bill in).

If you keep your bills for private care doctors you can hand them in to,,, someone somewhere somehow (idk man) and get a bigger tax return. (bc we don’t calculate our taxes ourselves. it just gets taken out of your pay-check by your employer every month and then at the end of the,,, fiscal year??? I guess?? Idk man idk how shit works — you get any money that was like,,, extra (????) back)

Now you might ask yourself: “phi, why would I pay for doc if I can go to free doc?” Which is an excellent question. Again, for most people it’s about waiting times but there is one field where it just really makes more sense: mental health services. Private practitioners have less clients and more high quality care than public ones because they choose their own funding, which, surprise surprise, is better than public funding.

I will now take you through my own personal journey so you can have a practical example of how good healthcare CAN AND SHOULD BE (keep in mind here I have parents who after messing me up and being terrible but learning their lessen once I became an adult and told them how horrible they were are very supportive of me pursing my mental health)

When I was about to turn 20 I went to my GP and had a conversation with her about how I think I might have ADHD. She asked me about my complaints and agreed there definitely are symptoms indicating it. She wrote me a referral to a Psychiatrist. When I got to my Psychiatrist she tested me and because of the referral she could tell the insurance company that this test was necessary and not elective, meaning insurance payed for it in full and I never even saw that bill.

Now I had a diagnosis all but a week later. I spoke to my parents who agreed to support me in finding private care. My Psychiatrist charges 160€ (insurance returns 48€) per appointment which my mum graciously pays for. I see him once every couple of months to check in on my use of medication and how I’m responding and to see if my dosis needs adjustment. If and when I need a refill, I only have to write him an email. Before he could put me on medication I needed a blood draw and cardiac test, to ensure that I qualified for a stimulant, since they can be harmful in some cases. He wrote me referrals and I went to my GP and a public cardiologist for those tests, which were all free of ANY charge.

I was then cleared to take my meds within a few weeks (cardiologist had a bit of a waiting list). I was prescribed Ritalin and some sleeping pills by my psychiatrist. He gives me the prescriptions and a letter to the insurance company asking them to cover the cost, as I have a diagnosis which he confirmed again in his initial assessment of me. Now that I’ve gotten approved, all I pay for is the prescription, not the actual medication. Which is about 6-7€ for the Ritalin and 4-5€ for the sleeping pills (monthly supply each).

My Therapist is also a private doctor. She charges 120€ per session and I go twice a month, which is 240€ per month. My dad contributes 100€ and my mum contributes 30€, which means I’m down to 110€ per month. Insurance pays 30€ per session (so 60€ per month) so I pay a grand total of 50€ or 25€ per session.

So my medical treatment each month costs me just about 62€ AT MOST (since I don’t always need my sleeping pills refilled).

Now, just for fun, let’s assume my parents don’t support me and I see both my therapist and my psychiatrist in the same month and need both my meds refilled. This would come to just about 304€ (because of insurance deductions).

But you have to consider that I DON’T see my psychiatrist every month, so the more realistic monthly cost would be 187€. And should I decide I can’t pay for that I can still get on a waiting list for public mental health practitioners, in which case the only thing I’d ever need to pay for are the prescription costs for my medication which would still be up to 7€ for the Ritalin and up to 5€ for the sleeping pills putting the grand total at 12€ PER MONTH.

My family and I simply chose the quicker, more efficient option, but no one twisted our arm into paying this amount of money FOR BASIC CARE.

And yes, it’s a lot of bureaucracy (it took me WAY too long to spell that) and paperwork, but I’d much rather that than have to decide between mental well-being or being broke.

So, my conclusion: Cancel America, move to Europe, OR just tell the American People In Charge Men that it is that easy and they really should try a little harder and you citizens shouldn’t settle for the shit you have to put up with right now because wtf

if you wanna cry a little it’s okay lemme know I’ll come sit with you and offer a hug but you can say no if that’s not your thing

anyways love ya

phi

[siriannatan]

yet ANOTHER 'fWhip can't take care of himself and refuses to rest' - ScottfWhipJimmy

You guys said you wanted this so I wrote it :} (I might have been watching Martyn's vault hunters streams as background noise...)

Jimmy's favourite part of the emperor's meets at Grimlands was when he could leave and no longer listen to Joel complain about how the count was dressed. Mostly that it did not suit a noble, not to say an emperor with the Crown. Who cared if fWhip lived his life in dusty and muddy, too-big-for-him coats and falling-apart scarves? Jimmy certainly didn't, especially since the whole conflict between them has ended.

"I think I left my notes," he sighed to Lizzie, Joel and Scott. 

"I'll wait here," the elf said, already leaning against a wall. They did have a meeting scheduled to talk about some stuff - mostly so Scott could have a break from his brother and advisors.

Since Lizzie and Joel had their own things to get back so they left - Lizzie did threaten Scott to make sure Jimmy was not hurt. Not that many things could hurt an eight feet tall demigod who could at will strike all his problems with thunder. And so Jimmy hurried back to the meeting room.

To his shock fWhip was still there. Jimmy expected he went to discuss some WRA business but he was just slumped in his chair. "Sorry, I forgot my..." Jimmy started to apologise, just in case fWhip was actually doing something important, but froze when the Lord Emperor... snored and shifted a bit. 

Was he really asleep or messing with Jimmy? When would he fall asleep even? The meeting ended barely like five minutes ago. And now that Jimmy was thinking about it fWhip did look a bit tired and even yawned a few times. But to fall asleep this fast? He must have been exhausted. And... maybe looked a bit cute all wrapped in his coat, scarf and draconic wings with his mouth slightly open. But no matter how cute he looked or how comfy the chairs in the meeting hall were it was probably not the best spot for a nap.

He did have Scott waiting for him but there was no way he was leaving fWhip like this. So after grabbing his papers and shoving them into his bag Jimmy gently shook fWhip. "fWhip? Don't you have a bed somewhere?" he asked just quiet enough so anyone walking past the room wouldn't - hopefully- hear him, and shook the half-dragon. 

Nothing so plan B it was - calling Scott so he was not annoyed he had to wait and explaining the situation to him. 

Scott was quickly back in the meeting room and sighed as soon as he saw fWhip. "He's overworking himself again," he said and poked fWhip. Not even his cold hands could wake the slumbering dragon. "I found him like this a few times back when Rivendell was in the WRA," he explained. "He'll overwork himself and then sleep in the most random places. Like the top of his workbench and then pretend he's fine. We definitely should move him somewhere more comfortable."

Luckily they were literally inside fWhip's manor so all they had to do was find a bed. Any bed. And put fWhip in it. All while avoiding any staff and guards so they would not alert fWhip's siblings and allies. They wanted to put him somewhere comfortable. Not start a war. Luckily they didn't have to wander too much and there wasn't that much staff in the manor. Maybe because of the meeting? 

"I think it might be fWhip's bedroom," Scott hummed looking about as Jimmy set the sleeping count on the bed. "Looks like no one slept here in a while," he explained but Jimmy had a different problem.

"Scott? He's not letting go of me..." Jimmy whispered, at this point afraid to wake fWhip up. And got pulled even closer as fWhip mumbled something in his sleep. Low and growly but illegible. "Scott? Help... please..."

"How exactly am I supposed to help? I'm sure you're strong enough to break out," Scott chuckled. "And it's nice to see you two not arguing without Gem and Lizzie around," he added and sat on the bed.

It was a mistake as fWhip's arm which was not holding Jimmy hostage for fear of breaking the count's limbs, grabbed his long braid and pulled him into the hug. Mumbling something just for a second and shifting with an annoyed half-growl until he was comfy enough between too shocked to resist Scott and Jimmy.

"I think we're stuck here," Jimmy whispered, giving up and cuddling fWhip. He was not fighting long, covered in deep dark red scales tail wrapped around his leg. Scott sighed and said nothing but also gave up to the tight grip the living furnace that fWhip was, had on him. It was quite a pleasant change from the constant chill his affinity for ice magic came with.

*several hours later*

fWhip had no recollection of ever leaving the quickly tossed together by his staff meeting room and going to bed. Or Scott and Jimmy ever joining him as pleasant as it was to be stuck between them despite Jimmy's sharp scales and how cold Scott always was. His dragon part was happy and it took him a second to register that he was purring. Not something he did often, growling at annoying people was a more common presentation of his dragon instincts.

"Had a nice nap, sunflower?" Scott hummed, shifting a bit but not pulling away. "You're purring..."

"It's cute," Jimmy yawned from behind fWhip pulling both of them to himself. "Morning, firecracker."

fWhip could only hum as his dragon brain melted in all the affection. Dragons were as he discovered shockingly clingy and cuddly which made his day-to-day life a bit miserable as it made him constantly touch-starved. It was so bad he wasn't even questioning why Jimmy and Scott were in his bed anymore. Just hoping they'd stay a bit longer.

[yourlocalartsonist]

ROTTMNT Moths Fly In Packs - Chapter Six

A/N: GREETINGS! I HAVE RETURNED! And like, not much to say in this note imma be honest but I am gonna say this chapter is ridiculously cute and wholesome. It does kinda start delving into the more... traumatic aspects of the fic but still, overall just wholesome and sweet. Hope y'all like it <3

Also! Credit to: @sweaterrat for being my beloved beta reader!

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Chapter involves familial neglect, gaslighting, hinted abuse, injuries, self deprecation, harmful mentalities, hinted animal death, and curse words. If you're sensitive to that stuff, scroll past and stay safe! <3

I squinted at the pale blue ceiling and the blinding lights surrounding me. The air smelled acidic, kinda like the classic “doctor’s office” scent of medicine and alcohol. Groaning, I shifted around on the soft mattress trying to feel my body again. 

“Look who’s finally up.” I remember that voice.

 

“Salena? Are you okay?” April? 

I turned my head to meet April O’Neil’s stressed out face and the blue idiot next to her smiling with his half-lidded eyes.

“Y-yeah I’m okay, I thi- WAIT.” 

My eyes shot open panicked to see April the human casually sitting next to Leonardo the fucking mutant turtle as if that’s a completely normal-everyday thing.

“L-LEO!? April? How- What? Um… d-do y’all know each other???” 

“I could be asking you the same thing.” She laughed and lightly pat my head “Out of all the mutual friends we could’ve possibly had, it just happened to be mutant turtles. Who woulda thunk, aye?” 

Leo shrugged at her comment “It’s a small world.” 

They both seem so comfortable and at ease around each other. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to process the fact that my old tutor and my new turtle friend are together in the same room laughing and joking like they’ve known each other for years. Speaking of rooms actually.

“So um, where am I?” 

“The med bay. April called for an emergency and when I portalled us here, my brothers and I found you on the ground passed out while she was panicking.”

“I didn’t know any hospitals nearby so I figured it’d be faster to just call Leo. Besides, probably would’ve gotten both of us into a lot of shit if I had to explain to a doctor how we ended up like this.” 

SLAM!

The door slid open loud as thunder, nearly making my soul jump out of my body. 

“SALENA YOU’RE AWAKE!” 

“Easy big man, you’ll make them pass out again.” Raph walked into the room chuckling as the tiny tangerine squeezed me in a hug.

“OW! G-good to see you too, Mikey.” 

“You were gone for days! Days! I thought you were dead!”

“WHAT?-“

“Mikey, you’re exaggerating, stop scaring her.” Donnie carried him off me to let me breathe. “You know, when I asked if you were mentally okay, I didn’t intend to have my doubts justified.” 

I laughed nervously and fiddled with my hair, desperate to change the subject “How long was I actually out for?”

“About an hour, give or take. You lost a bit of blood but it wasn’t too bad. A cut on your temple, the bite on your arm, and a few bruises here and there.”

I lightly touched the bandage on my head and noticed my left arm wrapped in the same manner. Neat, clean, and professional. Definitely Leo’s work.

“We were worried about you, Salena.” Raph took a seat on the bed next to me “About both of you. What even happened?”

“You didn’t tell them?” I looked over at April, puzzled since I assumed her confirmed conspiracy would be the first thing she’d talk about.

“Uh, no? I was waiting for you to wake up first. You were my priority.” Oh. I stand corrected. “All I said was that there’s something funky going on with the government and possibly illegal science experiments.”

“Well, then. I guess we should start at the beginning?”

“But of course! And do not miss a single detail. I wanna hear absolutely everything!” The grip on his pencil was so strong, I’m surprised it didn’t break already.

We went on explaining the situation to the boys, getting them caught up with how the day went. Minus the reason I didn’t go to school, they respected it enough to let me keep it a secret. Quite a pleasant surprise, I must say. 

“Wait you blew up the whole place? What happened to the animals?”

“With any luck, they’re dead. I just couldn’t see any other way to save them.”

Mikey looked so dejected. I don’t even blame him, I feel horrible doing it myself. “But what if the government actually treated them well? Maybe they weren’t actually hurt?”

“No, Salena’s right to assume they wouldn’t. Just a disclaimer, I’m not saying I’ve ever used living beings in my experiments-”

“Aside from your brothers?” 

“Hmm, no that doesn’t sound like me.” Donnie ignored her eye roll. I definitely have to catch that story another time. “But I do know when animals and science are mixed together— even by a smaller company— it is usually not a good thing… One can only assume how the government would treat them, especially if it’s hidden from any public criticism. They probably wouldn’t have lived long under those conditions anyway, Mikey.” 

Mikey clung closer to Raph, I’m guessing animals are a soft topic for him. 

“Hey, guys? I’m honestly starting to wonder just how ‘natural’ those giant cats really were.” Her eyes caught my attention “Salena, you remember when they chased us the first time right? They stopped exactly when we left the military bunker-lab-thing.”

I nodded to let her continue. “But when you went back, I found them still chasing you way past the room’s doors. They recognized you.”

“But that ain’t new for animals, they recognize people all the time. That’s why Mayhem knows who we are.”

“Or why he always only scratches your face, Raph?” 

“Leo!”

Ignoring the two goofs, the more thought I gave that theory the more sense it made. “You know, April might be right. When I was sticking on the explosives, some of the cats started swatting at them like they were trying to take them down. Like they actually knew I was trying to explode the place.”

“Argh, we need more evidence to be sure of any of this! But the lab’s gone now. There’s no way to go back and do more investigating.” Oh shit, that’s right... “All I’ve got are some pictures and these weird papers Salena found.”

“Donnie’s on it!”

He flipped on his goggles and inspected the papers as everyone else watched in anticipation. My brain, however, was still hung up on April’s words. When I exploded the lab my focus was on destroying everything to stop the government from hurting those animals. Stop their progress. I didn’t think that it would stop our progress too. Maybe I didn’t even think period. 

“Strange, there aren’t any matches for it in my database. Must be a secret constructed language of some sort. If that’s the case then I don’t think I can really read it without an English translation to its alphabet, and if it’s supposed to be secret I doubt I’d be able to just find it on the internet.”

“So, it’s completely useless?”

“Yep, basically.”

I had a feeling he’d say that. “How delightful.” 

A large hand gently rubbed my back “Hey, don’t get yourself so down in the dumps. You did what you thought best.” 

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not too hung up on it!” Lies.

I appreciate Raph trying to comfort me, I really do. But it’s not stopping the thoughts running through my head. He’s right that I did what I thought was best but clearly, I thought wrong so why does that even matter? 

I felt a buzz on my leg, someone must’ve texted. It’s around four right now so school’s over, Jaiden and Zane might be wondering where I-

WAIT SCHOOL’S OVER!?

“Oh no!”

“Everything okay?” Mikey was speaking again. Well at least there’s that tiny drop of relief in the vast ocean of “Oh fuck”

“No! I forgot the school day ended already! I was supposed to be home half an hour ago! I always tell my aunt if I’ll be home later but I didn’t expect that to happen today.” I fumbled around trying to get my stupid phone out, seeing my nightmare confirmed reality as my aunt began blowing it up with texts. “Haha, I am so dead.” 

“Can’t you just tell her you’re over at a friend’s place? That’s what April does.”

“Donnie, my aunt and April’s parents are very, very different.” I glanced over at April, then back at him “She’s not gonna let me stay. I need to go, like, right now.”

“Ah ah ah ah ah ah!” A pair of hands placed themselves on my shoulders and plopped me back down. “You’re not going anywhere. You’ve gotta rest up first.”

“But-”

“You weren’t deadly injured or anything, but it was still pretty bad and you healed suspiciously fast. Faster than you should’ve. I wanna monitor your health just in case it gets worse later so you need to stay the night.”

“Oh ho no! No no no no, you guys don’t understand! If I don’t leave now the only place I’ll be staying in is a coffin.” 

He scoffed “Well, it’s not gonna be much different if you leave in this condition, either. Look, we’ll figure something out but I’m not letting you leave this room till I’m sure you’re not just gonna drop dead. At least not somewhere I can’t reach you.”

He crossed his arms. I was about to object till I heard April’s voice.

“Hey, listen. Just give your aunt a call, put her on speaker, and we’ll all tell her what happened together. And if anything goes wrong, just leave it to me, m’kay? It’ll be fine, promise.” She gave me a reassuring wink. “Better than letting you go back like this.”

April knows what my aunt is like, I’ve talked to her about it before and she’s even met her once. My hands are shaking but if April’s saying it’ll be okay then maybe it’s not such a bad idea. Besides, I could use some time to heal myself before I get back to housework. 

Alright, Salena. You’ve got this. Just be calm. Like April said it’ll be okay!

I took a deep breath and clicked the call button. Not even one ring passed before she picked up and justified every ounce of my anxiety.

“SALENA! WHERE ARE YOU? YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE HOME!” 

“Uh, h-hey Phuphu! So uh, funny story…” I twirled my hair trying to ease my nerves. “Well, first actually, you’re on speaker, I’m with some friends right now. W-we wanna talk to you real quick.”

“You’re with friends!? You left a ridiculous amount of chores lying undone and you’re out fooling around with friends!?”

“U-um no, not like that! Uh…” Well, there goes staying calm.

Raph cleared his voice “Um, hello Ma’am! My name’s Raphael, just wanted to clarify we’re not fooling around! Salena actually got-”

“Wait, IS THAT A BOY?” Dear sweet heavens have mercy. “Salena, are you neglecting your responsibilities to hang out with boys!?”

“No! I wasn’t trying to push any chores away, I promise!”

“Can someone tell me why us being male is such a huge deal?” 

“S-she’s a little old fashioned, don’t question it.” I whispered to Donnie trying to hint at him to drop it. If my aunt went on another “boys and girls shouldn’t be friends” lecture my brain will physically combust and crumble into tiny shreds of cringe and pain.

“Another boy? Salena, how many are you with right now?”

“Four of us plus April, tía! I can call you tía, right?” Oh god no Leo PLEASE. “Look, while I’m sure we’d all love to chat and get to know each other, let’s cut to why we actually called you, hm? Salena got hurt today, they’re fine now but they need to rest. We’re planning on having her stay over for the night to make sure they heal properly.”

“YOU WANT TO STAY AT A HOUSE FULL OF BOYS? Oh my god, what is the matter with you?” 

“Phuphu, I-I need to. I really can’t go home like this, I promise if I could I would.”

She sighed heavily through the phone “Salena, I know you’re not as pretty as Meeta but if you were going to fool around with men, you could at least make sure they’re rich.” 

…

WHAT.

The room went so silent I swear you could hear my internal screaming.

I laughed a little too loud and grit my teeth “Phuphu, I thought I told you you’re on speaker?”

“Yes, and?”

“You know what, give it to me. I’ll take over.” I placed my phone in April’s open palm, astonished at how confident she sounded considering the rest of us were still fucking speechless “Hi there! This is April O’Neil, Salena’s friend and old tutor. You remember me, dontcha?”

“Oh, you. As if I could ever forget.” I could taste her bitterness from all the way over here. She never really liked April. Probably only ‘cause April didn’t hate me.

“Perfect! So, Leo already told you but Salena got a head injury today, kind of a big deal. They’re staying over at my place for the night since it’s too far to walk her home, the guys will leave after a bit. My parents and I’ll take great care of her so you don’t gotta worry ‘bout a thing!” She’s lying. Honestly, smart move, don’t know why I didn’t just try that first.

“Oh of course, because the dishes will just do themselves, won’t they? Salena’s being dramatic, she’ll be fine.”

“No offense, but I think you and your daughter can survive one day without them doing everything for you. But, if you really can’t, then I’ll help!”

Hold the fucking phone, what? “A-April, what are you doing?”

“And how much are you going to charge me for your ‘help’.“

“Nothin’! Since you’re family of a friend, my services will be free ninety-nine. She’s gotta stay in bed for- Leo when can they go home?”

“Probably tomorrow at noon. That’s the soonest I’m willing to risk.”

“Then they’ll be home by noon tomorrow. Till then, I’ll cover for them! I don’t have any classes left, anyway.”

“…Fine. If you can come later today to do her chores, then she can stay. But I’m not allowing another minute afternoon!” 

“You got yourself a deal. Have a nice day!” 

And just like that, it was over. I’m left wondering how the hell human hearts could beat so fast. April triumphantly hung up and gave me back my phone. She’s sure doing a lot for me today…

“Dang, slay April!” Mikey was the first to react “That was so cool! How’d you even do that so smoothly?” 

“Thanks but I really just knew which buttons to press. Salena’s aunt and I met before so I’ve got a neat little cheat sheet on how to deal with her.”

“Ugh while we’re on the topic, Salena, your aunt sucks! Why was she making such a fuss over literally nothing? Seriously, she annoyed me so much I started hacking the call to track down her address! For reasons completely unrelated to violence, of course.” 

“Uh, how did you even do-“

“Don’t worry about it.” 

“Dontron, you know they live in the same apartment right?”

“Really though, does everyone in your life suck? I mean, we got your hoser friend, Zane, and now your aunt. You want another session with Doctor Feelings?”

“I’m good.” I’m tired. “Sorry for how she treated you guys. I honestly don’t know how my aunt and dad were raised under the same roof but alas, here we are.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it. Not like it’s your fault. Raph is sure none of us care a single bit about what that crazy old lady said! Right guys?”

“Correcto! But, now that we’ve got that bullshit settled, shouldn’t we go back to the true matter at hand?” He waved the paper in front of us, I’m kinda surprised it wasn’t trashed already. “April, you’re absolutely positive you can’t give me anything more to go off of? Anything at all?”

“Well, I can try. There’s gotta be something we’re missing or forgetting about.” 

“Hey, hermanos, I am more than happy to talk more about this whole government conspiracy stuff, but maybe we should do it in another room and let Salena, ya know, actually rest?” 

What? “But I’m the only other person who was there! I should be here to help.”

“You’ve helped enough, Salena. If Leo says you need to rest then you need to rest. I’ll be fine on my own.” 

Her tone was soft. Her smile was warm. And even then, I can’t help worrying it’s just an act. I’m the reason she even has to do so much, there’s no way she’s not even a little bit upset at me.

“Isn’t it a bad idea to leave her here alone, though? Raph can stay behind.” 

“No need to, big bro, I already texted Dad. He said he’s on his way so she’ll be okay.” 

“Perfect, perfect, now onward, brethren! Mysteries and research are on the horizon and I can wait no longer!” After his dramatic exit, everyone followed Donnie in pursuit. 

Leo paused, though. His head turned, looking a little conflicted before walking back towards me.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay? No headaches or nausea or anything?”

“Yep, I think I’m feeling pretty fine.”

“Okay, well, in that case.”

Flick!

“OW! What was that for?”

“Stop impulsively jumping into everything like a maniac. You’re gonna get yourself hurt.” 

“Hmph, look who’s talking.” I huffed and dramatically rubbed my forehead at the stinging sensation. It didn’t actually hurt that much but it did hurt my pride, so.

“Exactly! If I’m saying you’re being too reckless then you should probably listen.” His bright eyes dimmed, looking down for a slight second, then right back at mine. “Hey, I know I said you didn’t get hurt too badly but still. You just got lucky, Salena. You really need to be a little more careful and a little less of an… adrenaline junkie, as charming as it is. You’re not invincible, ya know.”

He’s being serious. “I know, I know. I’ll… I’ll try.” I didn’t realize how worried everyone would be over me. It feels a little bittersweet.

“Good enough for me. Try not to give me and my brothers a heart attack next time we meet, aight?” He slid the door back open, ready to join his brothers. “Oh, hey pops!”

Pops? Must be their dad.

…HOLY SHIT I’M MEETING THEIR DAD?

I quickly straightened up and smoothed out my clothes, frustratingly praying my hair didn’t look like a drunk pigeon’s nest. I was so distracted from everything else going on at lightning speed, I didn’t realize Leo just asked their dad to come in and basically babysit me! I can’t believe my first impression of him is gonna be when I look as presentable as a toddler in a restaurant. 

“You must be the new friend.” I followed the new voice, lowering my head to meet the person it came from. 

A round gray rat carrying a tray with two cups of tea. He was dressed in a bronze and gold-colored robe, their family symbol as the centerpiece in red. I don’t know why but I thought he’d be taller.

“U-um yes! I am. My name is Salena, it’s nice to meet you Mr…?”

He chuckled, setting the tray down on a table “Oh please, formalities are for old losers. Call me Splinter.” 

“Right! I didn’t mean to call you old or anything. Well, nice to meet you, Splinter! My name’s Salena!”

“Um yes, you’ve already told me.”

“R-right again!” Dumbass, get a grip. “Sorry um, I’m not really all too great at this socialization ordeal so, ya know… B-but it’s nothing you did! Or said! You’re a really cool dude- er, rat! Whichever you prefer! Wow, I am totally blowing this.” I’ve been talking with my hands, awkwardly laughing, and fumbling with my words for a minute straight.

He laughed at me confirming that I did, in fact, look like an idiot. ”Calm down, calm down! Here, drink some tea. Your body will thank you.”

He handed me one of the small cups with bronze-colored tea, tiny citrus kernels sprinkled all over. I took a sip. A sweet aroma with a spicy ginger taste. I recognized it immediately. It’s been a long while since I’ve had a warm cup of tea like this. Definitely did the trick as my nerves started settling down. 

“Thank you. Sorry about the awkwardness. I did intend to have a better first impression but, ya know.” I looked down at my bandaged arm and sighed “Didn’t quite work out that way.”

He smiled gently, “Yeah, life has a funny sense of humor sometimes.”

“Ha! You can say that again.” 

We sat on the bed drifting off to our own private thoughts, the room now filled with a soft, tranquil vibe. Unfortunately, seeing as my brain hates me, a part of me was still antsy from the whole day just completely unable to relax. I feel overwhelmed and exhausted and it’s not even just physically. There’s just too much going on…

“Spit it out.”

Wh-what? “Spit out the tea?..”

“Yes- I MEAN no! Why would I ask you to spit out the tea?”

I shrugged “Beats me.”

He sighed and rubbed his head, still staring at the wall. “I meant I can tell something’s bothering you. I’m already updated on what happened earlier, so feel free to talk about it.”

“...I’m fine. Tired, but fine.”

“I’ve raised four kids and mentally adopted three more. If you think that’s all it takes to lie to me, then I have very bad news for you.”

My fingers combed through my hair, trying to soothe my stupid, restless mind. 

“I mean, it’s not too bad. I’m just… I dunno, disappointed I guess?”

“About the mission? Or about yourself?”

I scoffed. “What’s the difference? The mission failed because of me. If I just listened to April, maybe things would’ve ended up better.” I vented my frustrations on the teacup, loudly setting it down on the saucer. ”Instead, I ran off and got myself hurt, and now well… I might’ve destroyed the biggest lead she had to solving all of this! Ugh, I’m such a moron- ow!” I slapped my forehead annoyingly forgetting how that’s the literal worst course of action I could’ve taken.

“You made a mistake, everyone does that.”

“Well, yeah, but I keep making mistakes! Over and over and over again! I got hurt, I worried everyone, I ruined April’s mission, I forgot to call my aunt so now April has to do my chores for me!” And I don’t even know what I did to upset Jaiden. Hell, maybe even Zane! Maybe he did know Jaiden had plans with me and decided to fuck me over cause he was mad, too! “I don’t know how but I keep screwing up everything I touch.”

“Salena, there’s a difference between thinking you screwed up and thinking of yourself as a screw up. And you” he paused, pointing a pink finger at me “are doing the latter.”

I raised my brow “Uh, don’t take this the wrong way but… why does that matter? The mission failed either way, it’s not like I can just blast back in time and redo it.”

“Correct! You cannot change the past!” Mimicking my actions from earlier, Splinter placed his own cup on the saucer. “You shouldn’t be dwelling on things you have no control over anymore.”

“I’m dwelling on it because I regret it! I regret hurting my friends.”

He let out a long sigh. “You know, you remind me of a young boy I used to know very well.” I do?

“He was annoying.” Oh. “And impulsive. And reckless, stupid, never thought things through.”

“Okay, I-I think I get-”

“Overly ambitious, overly terrified, constantly bickering, raging perfectionist,” He went down the list counting with his fingers as my soul kept dying a little bit more “but above all, he hurt people. He hurt the ones he loved and he regretted it. Even after his life changed its entire course, the regret never left him.”

He closed his eyes, deep in thought. “He focused on that regret, focused on his mistakes. He was raising four boys all on his own and still could only see what he lost or what he had done wrong. He regret all the things he couldn’t give them, the normal life he lost for himself and his sons. He regretted those things over and over again. And because of that regret, he pushed his family away. He hurt them even more. All because he couldn’t forgive himself for hurting them before.”

He looked at me as I realized who this was about. “Salena, I don’t know how life’s been for you to be so laser-focused on your mistakes. I can only hope it was kinder to you than it was to me. But, I’m trying to help you realize something it took me years to finally accept.”

“And that is?...”

“My sons never regret having me as their dad. They were never obsessed with my failures as much as I was, even when they should have been. You failed one mission, I’ve made years worth of mistakes as a parent. And yet, my kids forgave me. I’m sure they’ve already forgiven you, assuming they were even upset in the first place. All that’s left is for you to forgive yourself.”

The room went quiet again. I thought about his words, letting them swirl around in my mind. I couldn’t think of anything useful I’d done, at least he still raised four mutant children all on his own. But that could also just be my perspective. Maybe he’s right, maybe I am just being harder on myself than anyone else is. But I’m still so scared…

“Splinter?”

“Yeah?”

“Um… do you really think April isn’t mad at me? For… for failing as badly as I did?”

“Well, she didn’t look upset to me. But, I’m not April, am I? If you’re really unsure, just go and talk to her.”

I pursed my lips. “That’s never gone well for me before, though. I get yelled at when I try.”

“Then maybe you weren’t the problem. Maybe it was the people who yelled at you for daring to check if they were okay.” He gently placed his hand on mine. His touch felt familiar and strangely nostalgic. “Still, it’s your life, Pink. Your choice. Don’t feel pressured to do something you aren’t ready to. But, if you do choose to talk to her, I can assure you April’s way too patient to be upset at you for trying.” He chuckled “She’s friends with my boys, she has to be!” 

There’s something so relaxing about his presence, I can’t help but smile. 

“Thank you. I think I’ll try talking to her, just later when my mind feels clearer.”

He gave me a dorky thumbs up. “I’ll be rooting for you!”

They’re really lucky to have him as a dad.

“Would you like a distraction for now?”

“Yes, please. It’s been a really long day.”

“Great, we can watch some of my films! I’ll even give you my own personal director’s cut!” He pulled out his phone and my jaw dropped when I saw the man on the screen, someone I almost entirely forgot about.

“NO WAY!!! YOU’RE LOU JITSU!?” I literally could not stop my hands from flapping in excitement as I explained to him my family’s adoration of Lou Jitsu movies. We used to watch them together all the time, both mom and dad were obsessed with him! I don’t really remember much about the movies, though, so it’s kinda like getting to watch them for the first time now.

The rest of the night went by pretty smoothly. Mostly consisted of Splinter showing me his movies and commercials while giving behind-the-scenes anecdotes about them as I very enthusiastically listened. Mikey and Raph would drop by whenever it was time to eat and Leo checked my vitals every now and then. They’re all a little busy for the most part, though, so it’s a good thing Splinter was here to keep me company. Plus, he seemed to enjoy it just as much as I did.

I didn’t really see April even after she returned back from my aunt’s place. I can only assume she and Donnie were busy the rest of the day trying to pick at every minuscule detail to stretch into a working theory, at least one that satisfies them for now. I replayed Splinter’s words from earlier. His suggestion to go talk to her. I have no idea why but I’m feeling the urge to right now, the time just feels right. So I slid off the bed, shakily getting my footing enough to walk. 

I dragged my body up the stairs to their living room, also known as Splinter’s man cave, and found April there packing her backpack and getting ready to leave.

She perked up when she saw me “Oh, hey! How’re ya feeling? Better than before?”

“Yeah, I think. My head doesn’t hurt as much anymore!” My nerves weren’t entirely gone so a part of me is still hesitating as I’m trying to properly form words. “Are you going home?”

“Yep, I need some serious relaxation after today. And shouldn’t you be doing the same? Doctor Leon’s gonna lose his head if he sees you waltzing around without any help.”

“Oh please, what’s he gonna do? Throw a pun at me?” 

We laughed as the air in the room felt a little bit lighter.

“Actually I wasn’t really just walking for no reason. I wanted to talk to you, April.”

She cocked her head and smiled, sitting down on the floor and patting the area next to her to ask me to join. “Alright, shoot. What is it?”

“Well… okay, full disclosure, this might be a little dumb and just me being paranoid. Or, actually I’m starting to think more and more that it really is just me being paranoid. Point is, I just… I…”

She hummed to let me continue. I fiddled with my fingers and calmed myself down enough to let it out.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

I looked at her, she seemed genuinely confused. “You’re seriously not mad at me? Like, at all? I mean I quite literally barged back into your life on a day when you had a very important mission, proceeded to tag along on that mission, and then ruined it by being dumb and impulsive. I blew it, literally. You’re not upset?”

“Is that what this is about?” Why’s she finding it so funny? “No, of course I’m not mad! You caused your first explosion, no biggie. We’re friends with four bozos who do that all the time! This shit’s normal in this household.”

“Okay um, first of all, what the fuck. Second, I still feel like you shouldn’t be so… casual about it. I mean, even if arson is normal, I still failed. You spent so long trying to track down any lead you can and the first place you find, I show up and explode it before we can get anything that actually made this whole mess worth it.” I can feel my nails in my arms. “And to top it all off, you’re still doing favors for me and taking care of my chores just so I can rest. Even though you need it just as much as I do! April, I just… feel bad. I shouldn’t have joined your mission like an idiot in the first place. I just didn’t wanna be alone. I was being selfish.”

I kept my eyes tunnel visioned on my hands, I can feel April staring at me and I know damn well if I look her in the eyes now I’ll start crying. 

I heard her sigh “Hey, I’ll be honest, I would’ve done the same thing back when I was sixteen. Hell, forget that, I’d probably still do it now if I wasn’t focused on getting you to safety at the time.” Her hand felt soft on my shoulder “I’m not saying whether or not you did the right thing, I’ve got no clue about that myself. But you did what you thought best and that’s what matters.”

“Even if my best wasn’t enough?”

“Your best is always enough.” 

She moved her hand away to wrap her arm around my shoulders. “And for the record, I’m actually happy you ‘barged back into my life’! We have more excuses to hang out now that you know the weirder side of everything.” 

I laughed and felt myself relaxing. I could finally look at her again. “Yeah, I guess so! Although, I think things would go a bit smoother if I had an actual weapon like you guys do.”

Her eyes lit up, the look of mischief plastered all over her face. So much so it actually concerned me. 

“I might actually know a little secret that can help you with that.”

It wasn’t long before the new information lit my eyes the same exact way. At least now I finally have the motivation to go back to school.

I slept pretty peacefully that night. Leo slept on the floor next to me just in case something happened so we ended up talking quite a lot before eventually passing out. The med bay bed is surprisingly cozy and my mind finally felt refreshingly blank. 

I woke up in the morning, stretching my arms, and turning to see two long black gloves covered with white rings and a purple note placed on the desk. I picked it up and read it.

Because you’re seemingly unable of not injuring your fucking arms, here’s a gift to help. P.S.: I whipped this up overnight so if there are any broken features, malfunctions, or unintended explosions, report to my lab immediately. -Othello Von Ryan, Genius Extraordinaire.

I quietly laughed and tried on the gloves. They fit perfectly.

Next Chapter

[the-firebird69]

Jesse Ventura was kind of my character a little bit no saying I'm out of control with it but I should be but not on this team. And what I'm saying is it's our plan to do this and people are treating me except for some of Olympus very badly here and troops even I don't think they understand what I'm doing when Frank Castle Hardcastle Duke Nukem Blockbuster you can explain it to them this is the definite markings of one of my sop except that I'm stuck in it

Zues Hera

We do understand it and we know what he's talking about and which sop it is it's about a draw now if you're going to survive a draw you need to get ready for it being in it just most difficult and he's decided to do it with his whole life and we're sitting here flexing around wondering what to do finally Thor and Freya said it's a drawer and that's what he's doing and we're just fudging around here and we all know upset and now we're trying to work at it it was always behind damn numbers are always behind we have the numbers we have ability to achieve them but where the hell are people what are they doing and I'm the one who should know and he says it and start torturing me with it and to sign them the f******up or I'm a f****** so I can see what you're saying you can't say that to other people cuz they won't react appropriately but he has been and it's kind of sit there humor yammering at him it's very upsetting now we're doing it cuz he told us that would be caught it might be illegal and what you're doing up there now is the same damn thing

Frank Castle Hardcastle waiting

Is a wonderful person you sacrifice and tons of stuff to do this they're making him sacrifice more and sometimes these idiots but we don't have to let him do it they're just idiots and that's what he's been trying to express the whole time it's very mind-numbing do you get it yet everybody else

Duke Nukem Blockbuster

I heard him say it too who we waiting for the smart to clean it'll be alleviated this the pressure over there we'll see them easier they need this distraction and so forth so I understand it and I wanted but really we are lagging behind with the numbers and he's pissed off and he says this it's criminal negligence his people responded they have a huge Force and we might look like criminals feet because we know what's out there if we're driving our feet we're in a lot of trouble and he says it too it looks like these dildo people now I went out of this and I need out of this and it makes people look bad for real and a lot of you look bad not just some of you no just there's not a ton of you atrocious you have to get your stuff in gear hire your people. They say they're going to do that we're saying it's very strongly suggested that you catch up to us due to the weaponry that we are building and acquiring so he says this I'm sick of it I'm tired of it these people act like little s**** like these people to start putting arm inmates in your territories it would stop this s*** I hear is my cadre is doing it already enforce them in and vetted them properly. I'm going to look into it I see what he's saying we have to negate a beam of that power or make sure that nobody's going to use it then he might have something and a ship or other and his people usually ahead so this is going to work

Thor Freya

This is a huge plan it's meant for all of us every single one of our people's and we're going to make sure that we have to conscript you your interview properly and it's easier to sign up yourself you get more money for your family better position and at the end of things all the way down to private they'll probably get your own planet if you don't sign up you won't what you'll be as a charcoal briquette you don't want to be last and in question as to why you sat there while our people are screaming out for help and in fear and misery and are surrounded by Killers who eat people so please get up off your tough and speak to your family this is a decision you have to make and also if you stay behind I'll plan until scanning everything and you'll be scanned and he won't survive it and we don't want you to do that we are at War right now with these people it's extremely serious and fighting tooth and nail and we do not have time for ours to be sitting there and getting us angry at them

Zues then me I said the whole bottom part Hera

We have a huge thing of a list to do but we need to start recruiting a lot more this is miserable everyday we're trying to pry people out of places but they think we're doing and he says you better stop doing that to me and go find out it's your job it's not that hard it can't be that hard what do they do they avoid you do hear what he's saying we have to go and start recruiting areas with conscription so what he's saying is going to the town square and talk to the mayor first and have him sign on first and he'll be the recruiter and have our recruiters recruit mayors every single mayor will be part of our military like tomorrow Hera and I decree and the governors too that will assist in signing on the mayors each mayor the day after tomorrow once he has some training it's going to the public square to ask for volunteers to sign on to the local military into town township or city that he's mayor of if it doesn't have a small base it will I don't care what they use an Old farm if you know what I mean they're not in disarray or just use but. We're going to initialize this program I do understand what he's saying if you work for the government you're going to work for the military and that must be certain place that's a way to do it I'm going to add to the law and change it now. Your conjuries started signing them up and other side and start doing it and it's going to work very well we like your idea of forming bases bases

Olympus

[itsquakey]

If you’ve been around for a while this user may cause some ears to perk because they were involved in drama a while ago involving “inserting proship propaganda” into the Kirby tag. I didn’t say anything about it when it happened because I wanted to stay neutral and drama free but that ship sailed a long time ago so it’s time for me to talk about my opinions here because I think “antis don’t interact pros don’t interact” is not enough to explain my feelings on this. Sorry Mini for using your post as the starting piece.

I personally hate the proship antiship discourse. I understand where this comes from but when the most openly proship people I’ve seen as gross and creepy and the most openly antiship are…really insanely aggressive and they seem to harass and shout more death threats than the average Xbox kid (which if ur a CSA survivor and are mad at this lenience on pedoshit then that’s somewhat understandable but should perhaps be expressed in different spaces) I tend to stay far away from the war grounds. But if I had to be defined by one of these I’d be antiship.

Also the definition of both sides has been oh so muddied over the years to where if you asked anyone to define it you might get a range of answers. So here’s my stance on this.

Shipping adults with kids is cringe and if you do this I’m calling your ass out (This includes SOME child-coded characters I’d recommend Noralities YouTube video on it it’s really good). No romanticizing pedophilia.

Shipping kids with kids is fine as long as it is not portrayed as nsfw or raunchy. Treat it respectfully and innocently or I will also call your ass out. Aging both kids up to adults and shipping them is fine (I kinda do that? Considering Nextgen and how that works).

Shipping like- actual animals with people is not cool. Like if you wanna ship ur human sona with Zootopia Fox guy it’s whatever it’s an anthropomorphic Fox with a human personality and does human things. It’s when like- you ship a very obviously animalistic creature with no real knowledge of consent with a human. Oh yeah as here’s a cool factoid. Zoophilic thoughts and tendencies have been recorded to be signs of psychosis. So yeah it’s not cool it is basically mental issues.

Shipping abusive relationships in a romantic way and portraying it as sexy or cute isn’t cool either. I’m looking kinda at you, Helluva Boss.

Aging up a young character to ship with an adult character is really weird and I’m not going to affiliate with you if you do that. Aging down an adult character to ship with a young character is equally weird.

I’d also like to go onto another tangent because I think romantically pairing characters are writing couples are a little different. I’m a Berserk fan so I feel the need to say this.

It’s fine if not important to portray things like abusive relationships, pedophilia, zoophilia, CSA, etc in media and art. Just make sure to portray it with the respect and care needed as these are very sensitive topics that will always sadly exist in real life. They may be portrayed through the lens of an artist who actually suffered from these things or something similar to a PSA, maybe even just a portrayal of what really happens and negatively affects a character. These portrayals may have people who were genuinely affected by these things feel represented and heard and also help others be aware of these things and how horrible they can be or even avoid future encounters with these gross things.

IF you are someone who uses these things to cope with trauma, label and make due with warnings as this stuff is sensitive and not everyone is going to want to see it.

And for those of you who say, “well it’s not illegal so it’s not bad” like an idiot…

JUST BECAUSE IT IS LEGAL DOES NOT MAKE IT MORAL

Thanks for listening to my horrible rambling and make sure to block the aforementioned account that calls itself a proshipper.

Edit: Also to add on from what I’ve seen in tags, Fiction does absolutely affect real life, there are so many examples of it as that excuse will not work either.

Quakey

There's a proshipper named princess-yurioangel going around, be careful

Oh God, blocked them immediately thank you so much for telling me

[shijiujun]

on the danmei twitter fight

okay guys i didn’t wanna say anything about this and yes it’s that hot danmei twitter translations saga thing that’s going on, because honestly i feel like there’s nothing much to say but when i see dumb posts on tumblr taking about that, by people who present a misleading hot take and their friends or moots run off with it without even knowing what exactly is going on - it really pisses me off.

and also if you shit talk translators for not continuing their translations or locking their translations whatever - the door is that way on your right and left, but anyway here’s a rundown on what happened because i am seeing people make comments without two brain cells put together, without the slightest bit of consideration for the people who bring them translations

here’s my hot take and thesis: if you enjoy english translations made by fan translators, you don’t, in any way, no matter happens, shit talk fan translators. fan translators do this for free, and whatever their intentions are, whether genuine sharing or like some of you like to say, for clout, if you consume, and you enjoy these translations, i’m sorry, you’re not uninvolved, and you don’t get to sit on a high horse and say translators should or shouldn’t do something. you should just keep quiet, honestly, because someone else is doing you a favour, a favour that you are enjoying and taking. that’s what respect is.

i’m presenting both sides or i guess three sides of the story as objectively as i can, altho my support is still for fan translators who were just minding their own business before this blew up.

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🔺 what happened:

so it started because one of the bigger translators in the fandom did this poll - i’m not blaming her at all, i doubt she had any intentions of shaming anyone or causing any controversy and was plain curious, but her poll asked english speaking danmei twitter how many people buy the digital, print copies of the danmei they read, and who did not. 

in my honest opinion, it’s not strange at all for her to have created that poll, considering just how much work she’s put into making sure things are accessible for the eng-speaking danmei fandom. i mean i’d be curious too, to know out of my thousands of readers, what the reading and buying behaviour is like. do yourself a favour and don’t read too much into it.

obviously in an era where a lot of people do consume content for free whether the underlying content is profit-making (like anime, donghua, manhua, manga etc.) or not (fanfiction etc.), it was unsurprising to see that the last option - the ones who consume danmei without paying a single cent, came out as the majority. i don’t think this is a surprising result at all, for all sorts of reasons that i will not get into now.

anyway, this is obviously kind of a sore point in the fandom especially for translators who want a wider audience to support their fave author’s works - i won’t get into that for now, but the issue began because other translators or fans started to criticize the majority of people who don’t pay for objectively rather affordable danmei and just consume things for free. 

and yes, i don’t deny that the argument on both sides got really heated and emotionally charged with both sides calling each other names which i believe is uncalled for, but it totally derailed the crux of the issue, which basically is that the majority of english-speaking danmei fandom - consumes danmei for free.

anyway this whole thing escalated and fan translators were brought into this for no fucking reason at all except that the people who didn’t want, or were unable to pay for the danmei they usually consume, made what i call a LOGICAL FALLACY in argument by going to the extremes, i will explain why later.

the end result is that fan translators were brought into this (most of them, the bigger ones i know at least) without even participating in the direct crossfire. and obviously, you can see why they’re hurt and decided to lock their translations. let me explain why

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🔺 kind of like four camps:

(1) translators and fans who criticized those who consume danmei liberally but do not pay for them in any way - no merch, no digital copies, no physical copies, no audio dramas whatever

*** their arguments:

danmei is so cheap right, that technically people should be able to pay for it in one way or another, even if not all

danmei and its authors are, at the end of the day, out here to earn a living, and the industry, like any money-making industry, is a for-profit enterprise - and unlike public goods, if you cannot afford danmei, then there is no obligation for others to make it free for you (fan translators or otherwise, it wasn’t super clearly stated while this shitshow happened) when it is inherently a for-profit industry

yes, i don’t deny that some of them did call the peeps who don’t pay at all, “leeches” and other sort of names. personally, i wouldn’t go that far or even like venture there to be honest because in general, if it’s something that i’ll get punched in the face for if i called someone that in real life i tend not to do it, but i’ll leave my opinions, whatever they’re worth, for later

(2) the readers and fans of danmei who do not pay in any sort of way for them

*** their arguments:

some of them really cannot afford, even the dollar or more, to spend on danmei for several reasons: upbringing, culture, money-spending mindsets, real poverty, struggling to make ends meet etc. - some definitely more valid than others (and when i say not valid, it’s because SOME, a minority or like those few stragglers, say they cannot afford and then you see them like idk, throwing $50 on other merch on kpop and stuff - i’m just bringing up ONE example. not shaming anyone for spending more money on one aspect rather than the other, but yeah you can see why some of them, when making this same argument, are a little invalid, that’s just a small number of them tho)

if translators are blaming them for consuming free of charge, then the fault lies, at its foundation, fan translators who translate illegally, which i mean, in that definition, all of them including me 

did i mention that we were called illegal translators like you know in response to being called leeches? anyway-

(3) others translators who literally were just minding their own fucking business before some smart alec dragged them into it

i don’t think most of us had an argument. we were just quietly munching on popcorn and staying out of it and yeah, can you imagine, we provide a service, however illegal it is, for free on our own time, we don’t even check whether people support legally or not, we just... provide, and pray that those who are able to, at least support in some small way or another do so, on their own time. i mean i don’t check, most of us don’t, not the bouncers at your local club before COVID happened do, and then suddenly, to be used to derail an argument, we were called illegal translators. and that we should stop translating, and that it is our fault that there are free riders in the fandom

(4) people who offered to provide JJWXC credits to those who said they couldn’t afford it etc.

honestly i think they were just trying to help - no different than a gofundme. there’s no shame in taking a free thing that people already weren’t intending to pay for. it’s there, just take it!

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🔺 the shitshow that led to fan translators locking their stuff up:

i would provide some actual examples in the form of screenshots but i’ve blocked most of them, and i don’t want to direct any sort of traffic to them so i guess you’ll have to take my word on it or go search on twitter yourself but-

(1) the affordability issue: i can understand the frustration at being called leeches, and some if not a majority of people, do have valid reasons for not being able to afford something or anything and end up pirating content they enjoy. hey, i am not about to crucify anyone for pirating at some point in their lives. we all have done it at some point, or for example hate disney+ and that $30 they were trying to rip off us for a subpar Mulan live action. i don’t have anything to say about that. inherently, is it wrong and illegal? yeah sure of course it is. do we call people leeches? i wouldn’t go that far.

if anyone cannot afford, cannot access for whatever reason, fine, i’m not gonna go check if jjwxc truly is banned in your country, or is your postal service so terrible that you definitely won’t be able to receive a hard copy of the book you like at affordable rates.

and if you have to pirate? go ahead. i mean it’s always been a rampant thing. the only thing fan translators and fans can do is encourage, motivate and incentivise as much as possible to get people to support legally. they can only put up REALLY COMPREHENSIVE guides as to how to access jjwxc or taobao or whatever. 

and if you still cannot afford it and pirate, honestly no one cares about the story behind it. you owe no one justification, just as how no other person is obligated to take it into consideration or understand you or empathize with you. i don’t say this in a malicious way - i do think that in general, you just do you. 

(2) the poor people don’t deserve nice things argument: honestly, this was not the point of this entire debacle, altho yes, people were rude to those who could not afford to support legally. but this is not the point of this whole thing.

main point - there are free riders who can support but choose not to because they choose to just consume it for free and if you are able to you should support

everyone going off on a tangent - you guys hate poor people / you guys are leeches

well guess what, no one wins in this argument. 

there were a lot of people saying “reading danmei is our only source of happiness, are you saying poor people who can’t access legally don’t deserve to read danmei” (this is just one example i’ve seen, there are other variations), and it wasn’t put across perhaps in the right way, but the other camp of people were saying “you’re not entitled to it for free if you cannot afford it”, which raised a lot of hackles and anti-poor yellings 

altho i do not deny that there are those who mean it maliciously, i think what everyone is trying to say is - the danmei industry, like any other profit-making industry, is looking to make profits. the people working in the industry, the authors even, are looking at numbers - traffic to jjwxc or other legal platforms, how much revenue they’re making from their live actions etc., comments, rankings, etc. i think @/hunxi-after-hours made a really succinct post on this aspect which yall should read.

it’s the same as - if you wanted to purchase a standee which costs $20 USD, but you cannot afford it = you don’t get it. there’s no way you can get this standee unless some gifts it to you for free. what the camp trying to ask people to support legally is saying, is that danmei is NOT A PUBLIC GOOD. it is a private, for-profit product. it might be intangible, but it is a PRODUCT that has a price that needs to be paid.

if you cannot afford it, you either don’t get access entirely (i’m saying this objectively and honestly from an economic standpoint). if someone gifts that standee to you for free, count yourself lucky - if someone makes a danmei accessible to you for free, COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY. you don’t have to be grateful and treat them as gods or like obey their every word, but it’s not rocket science. someone did you a favour that you accepted and consumed, show some respect. 

if you cannot afford to buy the standee - you do not go on twitter demanding that someone ensures that you have access to the standee for free. do you see how ridiculous this sounds once it’s a tangible product? and danmei novels ARE PRODUCTS. they are not FREE CONTENT. if someone cannot afford the standee, this is the equivalent of people going “we didn’t get the standee for free because poor people don’t deserve nice things”

totally missing the point. i don’t even know how it got to this. once again, i do admit that some users were unnecessarily mean, but going to the extreme of this is ridiculous. in argumentative essay writing we call this a logical fallacy:

e.g. “if you cannot pay for merchandise or danmei, it is a fact that you might not have access to it” morphing into “if we cannot pay for food, does this mean we cannot have access to it?!” - this is a slippery slope, and factors are not equivalent!!!! do they not teach people anything in school

don’t confuse fanfiction with danmei - danmei novels ARE PAID PRODUCTS unless for free chapters, just because it’s released online doesn’t mean it’s free public property, and also selected novels (did you guys know the WHOLE of SCI novel is free? about 500 chapters sorry, random, just a tidbit)

there are of course nuances right, like if anyone told me they were pirating disney+ content i’d be like yeah hey get one over those bloodsuckers, they take enough of our money and produce shit content anyway. the difference is that danmei authors, and the danmei industry itself can still be considered a nascent and not-yet matured industry, with a majority of authors if not all, depending on monetary flow, likes, comments, virality on the sites their content is hosted on, for a living, unlike hugeass MNCs trying to squeeze us dry for content that isn’t even interesting.

danmei is priced rather reasonably - and this brings me to another argument that was made, that the value of money is not the same for everyone. i don’t want to make comments on this because yes this is correct to a large extent. a $6 book might be cheap to most of us, but might be expensive to someone else. i’m not gonna comment on how cheap or whatever it is, if you gotta use your money for other things, definitely! i still maintain however, that a novel less than a dollar should be affordable to most people, a majority of people. and i definitely side eye some users who obviously have money but are just creating noise because they wanna continue free-riding

(4) the “they’re losing out on their international audience” argument: honestly, i feel like english-speaking danmei fandom gives themselves a bit too much credit. danmei has long thrived in china in its domestic market - sure the international audience is a plus to have and i’m sure the authors are grateful and flattered that people who don’t understand chinese love their content and love it a lot, but do they and their companies care about fans who basically don’t bring in money? i’m not sure (okay i’ll get to the fan translators doing illegal shit later okay i got it don’t be impatient)

and international fans are great, i don’t deny that - but when i see arguments like “oh but it’s their loss if they don’t cater or deny access to us, they get more popularity and sharing overseas”, i honestly think they don’t care as much as you think. once again, hunxi made a really good argument regarding non-sinophone audiences, but it really irks me, because this is the same as:

an instagram influencer saying they’ll give a restaurant exposure for free to their followers, if they get a free meal

it’s par for par - danmei authors wants earnings, popularity, tangible results that show that they are succeeding. this is life. if i put something out there for sale, i better be getting returns, simple economic logic. they probably don’t care that a non-paying reader is bringing them greater ‘exposure’ - once again, i mean this objectively. 

and yes if they’re thriving without the international market then why should it matter that people are pirating right? which brings me to the next point~

(5) it’s fan translators faults for so many people pirating, and fan translators are the ones doing the “illegal” work: this one is like... wow where do i unpack this and how-

firstly, we are talking about assholes who can pay but decide to free ride and not pay for danmei, and we assume that if you really cannot afford and have to pirate, no one’s saying anything as long as you don’t go around spreading how to pirate, how the hell did it get to fan translators from “you guys are anti-poor” and whatever

yes, fan translations are indeed illegal, i don’t deny that, and i also don’t deny that there are translators who translate for clout and popularity but putting these aside - here’s what i have seen from people who ran their mouths and made this argument

“if you guys care about us pirating the book so much than fan translators shouldn’t have translated in the first place” and “if you wanna come after us for reading illegally, then fan translators, you guys should go get the copyright for the book and then translate it cuz what you guys are doing is also illegal”

hooooo i’m telling ya, i am all for translators locking up their translations at this point. see how fucking hurtful that is? you eat from my hand and then now you biting at the hand that fed you the gays in love?

honestly if you’ve made this argument or supported this, you can basically go to hell. yes this is personal because what, you think fan translators don’t take out their personal time and effort and hard work to make translations accessible to you? if you’re ever consumed and read translations, don’t be a hypocrite and make this argument. you benefitted from it, now you wanna say it’s their fault? 

most translators want to share and spread the love they have for a novel right, want to show you how wonderful all these authors are, how much enjoyment u get from reading these wonderfully thought out stories of gays in love. yes we all know we are illegally translating, which is why on top of sharing we first, purchase the novels legally ourselves first, and then we try to encourage people to buy etc. and actually put their money to use. it doesn’t make it any less illegal, but we are bridging the gap between danmei and basically the english-speaking fandom, albeit illegally

we aren’t that self-important to ask for gratefulness but some respect would be nice. like i said, you read it, you consumed it, you enjoyed it, you can only access it because of illegal translators - a bit counter-intuitive to yell at these translators, who are simply telling you, if you can, please support. and none of us went “if you cannot afford, begone!”

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🔺 some people tried to help by offering jjwxc credits so people who cannot afford as they say, can get legal access: honestly, just take it right, guess what some of these users did in response

they said the people giving away credits are trying to redeem themselves for their comments by giving away free stuff

they also said that we are trying to shame the people who cannot afford it with this handout to them, to show that they are the bigger person - the fact that they think this is a handout to them is TELLING. the people offering this is giving their money not to these readers, but to the authors! that’s the point of this exercise!!!

one of them even said “instead of trying to do these giveaways, here, there are greater world problems out there, donate instead to these causes” - love the initiative, but how did we get from being able to afford danmei and entertainment content to saving the world? i just- i cannot

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🔺 so why i get why fan translators are locking up their translations, because wow, so hurtful:

you have no idea how many fucking assholes went “sure, lock up your translations, deal with the consequences” - ermmmm firstly, thanks for making a threat. like who the fuck do you think you are?

the consequences is... the authors still don’t get the money these free riders weren’t going to give them anyway, so no loss, and they weren’t reading on jjwxc anyway so you know, the authors don’t lose or gain any readership numbers or traffic they didn’t already have. instead, it WILL push and force people to pay for the PRODUCT. once again, it’s a product.

this works, and i’d say Word of Honor’s payment model worked marvellously for Youku, because they fucking forced everyone to pay to access content. ALL OF THEM. sure ok some people still pirated it, but how many MORE people paid on Youku, on Youku Youtube, watched on Viki etc. than if they didn’t? even english-speaking fandom were wracking their brains trying to purchase a Youku pass even if there were no subs initially - and other examples that lovely hunxi brought up in her amazing piece

and for translators?! honestly me for one, i’m glad i don’t feel pressured anymore to churn out a chapter every week since we get called names etc. most of us are glad to have a break to be honest. we’ve lost all motivation to translate because it’s a free service, at the very least we don’t expect like hate, or rudeass fuckers. for those who are doing a proof of purchase thing - go for it honestly! 

hopefully it’ll minimize the free rider problem - some people for whatever reasons really cannot buy or support legally, that’s totally cool and they don’t have to justify it, i get that. but for others making the same argument but obviously are just unwilling to pay because they can’t read chinese, think it’s too troublesome when there are guides and translators provide it for free anyway so what’s the point - we all make concessions and make decisions to grab what we like (not talking about the ppl who have their various troubles and difficulties!)

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🔺 and those who are saying why is it the ‘rest of us suffer’ from locked translations just because of a few bad apples:

IT ISN’T ABOUT YOU. where the hell were all of ya when we were getting called illegal huh? it’s about us fan translators getting shot at for no reason, and then people still demanding things for free. i don’t see any of the people i’ve seen on tumblr complain about fan translators stopping or locking translations defend any of us in any way. instead, you’re complaining.

it is the translator’s prerogative to start, stop and end translations, unless of course the original author starts to sue i suppose. i see people on tumblr going like if they were gonna do this, they shouldn’t have started in the first place etc. - i don’t what world you live in, but when i do something for free, then get called names and am attacked or get dictated on how i should do something that’s already like free, i tend to be less generous.

i’m sorry, do us illegal and free translators owe ANY OF YOU? i wasn’t aware any of us were being paid for this hobby. readers, especially those who CAN and just refuse to support, don’t get to say SHIT. translators deal with so much shit and so many entitled readers, i say they get to lock whatever they want as long as they aren’t profiting off of this monetarily.

let me give you an example - nan chan, which is translated by lian yin, completed translations by the way for all chapters. it is all free for viewing, and she only locked up one extra and asked for proof of payment. some dumbfuck quotes that locked up extra chapter tweet and said “honestly, this turned me off reading this novel because they restricted access”.

the. fucking. entitlement. the whole of nan chan is free, that’s like what more than 80 chapters. she locked up the EXTRA and the money goes to the author, she doesn’t earn anything. AND HERE THAT BIJ is (yes, i’m going to call them names because you know, fucking asshole who didn’t bother to check) going “yeah i didn’t wanna read because 1/80+ chapters were locked”. 

AN EXTRA. LITERALLY AN EXTRA!!!!!!

at the end of the day, translators are not like DYING to translate, not like some of you are DYING to read the translations. once again, this isn’t a “BE GRATEFUL” message, it’s a please be respectful to the people who put in time and hard work for free and share the goodness ya know? what’s the use of yelling at fan translators as if we owe you anything?

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🔴🔴🔴 TOO LONG DIDN’T READ 🔴🔴🔴

some people may need really need to pirate - and no one needs to justify why they cannot afford to purchase etc. pirating happens all the time, translators only hope that when you can, and in whatever way you can, to support legally - in general we don’t ask and we get it! we’re just annoyed that some people think that it SHOULD BE FREE, when it is a paid product, especially for those who CAN afford it

readers are not entitled to shit on translators for what they do with their translations - once again, you’re not OBLIGATED to have it. so what if i start and stop? i’m the one doing the work, i get the only say. don’t be a hypocrite and shit on translators, whose works you’ve read - it’s no loss for translators, we read and enjoy danmei just fine

yes, fan translations are illegal, but you can’t read and enjoy them like some of you have, and then turn around and point the finger at translators - a lot of us are happy to stop translating - this isn’t a threat, but at the end of the day, shitting on translators simply decreases access, and sure, some people can indeed live with you know, MTL or shitty translations from people who’ve learnt chinese for only six months or whatever, but you’re gonna be reading an entirely different book tbh

the people saying illegal translators are at fault - funnily enough, most of them consume the translations, so what the fuck? i mean we know it’s illegal, we’re trying to share the love and trying to minimize the illegalities of it by redirecting people to hopefully support legally. it’s still illegal yes, but i think it’s hypocritical for people who have read translations, stab translators in the back. and now that translators are indeed ‘restricting’ and ‘removing’ their ‘illegal translations’, yall yelling again? and threatening?

fan translators aren’t “elitist” or “classist” - just looking for some respect in a community which seems to have taken them for granted, and also looking for support for their fave authors - and honestly a lot of us were caught in the crossfires truly, don’t be an asshole and demand things from fan translators - who are you talking about? do you know why they decided to lock? do you know know what their locking system is like and what for? 

it’s not EASY to lock the translations up - it’s more admin work, it’s putting together a whitelist of people, if given the choice i’m sure translators would prefer to share everything. but not when there are assholes who have a comment on how they should translate etc. and yeah!!! calling us illegal!! i mean we are but still!!

the last straw was seeing that post on tumblr and people in the comments going like fan translators shouldn’t or should do something, without getting the whole picture, without even considering how hard it is for fan translators being caught in this situation. 

whoever puts in the work gets to decide, and everyone else should leave them alone. 

be nice to the people who really cannot afford as they say so (or just don’t think about it), be nice to the translators feeding you content, and the people who free ride and shit on translators - honestly, i’d say ready the pitchforks.

edit: i forgot to mention this is my hot take and i’ve tried to like present all the arguments i’ve seen so far. i’m definitely not doing all of it justice and i don’t claim to speak on behalf of any of them except maybe one or two- and i’ve definitely left out stuff, but anyway, lmao we’re just tiny people doing what we love. i wish we could solve you know inequality or poverty or hunger or other pressing concerns. if i was that great i wouldn’t be stuck on tumblr or twitter or have to make posts like these like a loser.

thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[ninacarstairss]

hiii nero my beloved soulmate!!! it took me a little while longer to go back to functioning like a normal human being lol i’ve lived in a shadow and bone haze for a whole week, luckily i had two days off work so i could just cry over the show 😂

ugh hope the tea helped forget about that long day <3 i’m filling up your cup again with some more herbal brew

don’t even get me started on that 😡 public transport is the worst

what?? noo 😭😭 honestly having a schedule should be illegal. you should get to just crawl into bed and sleep whenever you get back from uni or work

thanks!!! i currently only have lilac in my wardrobe lol and even at work i have to wear make up and i always wear lilac 😂 i’ve developed a pretty big obsession. and the dress is so comfy and cottagecore 🥺 i just love it so much

that was so sweet 🥺🥺 you’re such a good listener nero, a lot more people should be like you, willing to listen just because people need to talk sometimes. i bet that guy you complimented years ago was so happy that you let him talk, i bet you made his day!!!

yeah i know 😭 it’s better when you read the og trilogy first, but honestly i read soc first and they explain the world building enough so that i could understand it, and i knew some stuff about the trilogy from spoilers online so i just went straight to six of crow. it is an independent duology after all. and even when i read it after the duology, siege and storm was pretty heavy, it’s a lot of politics and i feel like the trilogy is very biased from the start, like you already know who alina is gonna end up with and how the story is gonna end. which is also why i enjoyed this season of the show so much, they changed the ending, added exactly what the books lacked!! enough of this or i’m gonna give away too much 😂

uhhhh two spiderman shirts?? i’m in love!!! do you have a pic of them?? also, your spiderman merch collection is unreal, i love it

and i’ll be here to scream with you when you read them eventually 😌

right?? it’s so unfair. at least give me more money if i’m supposed to spend so much to feel joy 😭😭 and the fact that you have a stadium right there and no one uses it should be crime. we definitely should have a venue that close 😌 but you do realise that if we had a venue that close to our house we would literally be completely useless right?? i would be at a concert every day of the week, unable to live like a normal human being 😂

soo did you start/finish the assignment?? anyway, here’s a chocolate muffin for you just for having to think about assignments

yass i really need snacks!! how about i put on a shadowhunters audio book and we just get to relax for hours?? <33

hello cece my beautiful wonderful beloved soulmate <3

i hope you have been well and looking after yourself! i don’t want you overworking yourself 😭 but it has been two days since i have come back from my trip (i have been exhausted plus i had work and uni to catch up on) so now i am going to sit down and tell you about my trip!! please grab a cup of tea and a snack while you read :)

so i went to sydney again, and i had a much more enjoyable experience this time around. i think it was because i knew what i was getting into, and i stayed in the exact same place, so it was all familiar to me.

although i did try to use the public transport this time, instead of ubering everywhere, and the buses were so bad, but the trains were INCREDIBLE! they were double decker and the back support moved so you could have a single row or two rows of seats face each other??? SO COOL

anyways, me and my friend caught the train to the airport at 4am in the morning 😭😭😭 (and i finished work at 12am!!!!) to get our flight. once we landed in sydney, my friend wanted to get merch from the early presale stand outside the arena and we were outside in 30 degree heat FOR TWO HOURS, with our luggage. good news, my birthday is coming up and my friend didn’t know what to get me, so he bought half my merch 🤭 bad news, i’m ginger and i get sunburnt in two minutes, so think about two hours… the worst thing is we had an umbrella for sun protection, but my right arm and the back of my neck was out so they were FRIED. i’m currently peeling like a reptile but worth it

we got some food from maccas because we were dehydrated and getting heat stroke, and then checked into our room after we managed to get our stuff. we both ended up napping in the afternoon, which we were both surprised about, because i had my phone in my hand still attached to the charger next to my bed and he still had his genshin impact loaded up onto his ipad 😭😭😭

unfortunately the place i wanted to take him to for dinner, the really good japanese place from last time, was under renovation, so we had dinner elsewhere but we had such a good time the rest of our trip

because we went to see stray kids, a kpop group, we had a lot of activities we could indulge in. they had this thing called a cupsleeve event, where someone in the fandom designs a cupsleeve to represent a kpop idol’s birthday, group anniversary or in our case, coming to the city. and i got so many freebies! we went to this kpop store that doubled as a cafe and the drinks were so good! i bought way too much but i have to remind myself that i can’t get it at home 😔

we also went to the biggest bookstore i have ever seen in my life! it took up a whole floor of the shopping centre and it was brilliant. it had books upon books, categories after categories. they even had an entire chinese and japanese section! i also spent a lot of money there BUT my best find was the entire completed infernal devices manga trilogy!! it’s so beautiful and such a rare find, i grabbed it immediately. i couldn’t find the tmi graphic novels though, but they have them on their website, so i might order them in :)

alright, the main event! the concerts! so i went and saw the kpop group, stray kids, two nights in a row! it was amazing. i was and still am a huge fan of their work, but especially because they got me through a really hard time in my life and really were my serotonin while i was at school 😔 i wasn’t allowed to see them when they first came here four years ago (parents: maybe next year, they’ll come! *next year being 2020.*) so i feel like i finally made up for it.

me and my friend also matches outfits! we did black and green (the concert colours) on the first night, and red and white on the second (to match the stray kids colours). i wish i could send you photos, we looked so slay 🤩

i do not have one concert video without me screaming the lyrics (yeah the korean ones too!) in the back. but i don’t care, it was so fun, i had a blast. and it was even better because two of the members of stray kids were from sydney and they just made it feel more homely :) do not regret how much money i spent on them or the sleep i lost at all! i’m so glad i can slowly start to give myself the experiences i missed out on as a kid/teenager :’)

anyways, enough about me! how have you been? what have you been up to? how is simba? 🥺 i adore you so much and i am enclosing this letter with a warm hug <3333

hello nero my amazing perfect beloved soulmate <3

yay i’m so happy to finally hear about this trip!!! i just made myself a cup of tea and brought out some biscoff cream!!

how was the catching up part?? did you manage to catch up without exhausting yourself too much??

nero that’s so great!! i think that having a familiar surrounding is always helpful, and staying in the same place makes it all less scary somehow. i’m really happy it went much better!!

NO WAY THEY HAVE THOSE TRAINS THERE??? they look so cool!!! i’ve seen them on instagram once and i was so jealous of every city who had those trains!! you can literally choose if you want to sit alone or have company and that’s so cool!!! it’s basically a buildable environment!!! i’m getting way too excited about this lol

so you only had like three hours of sleep?? 😭😭😭😭 and you even had to stand in the heat for hours 😭😭😭 but yay!!! merch!!! that’s a really great birthday gift!!! (also when is your birthday??? only if you want to share of course <3)

anyway merch is so amazing and so expensive. this has got to be one of the best presents ever!!! even if it means you’re skinning like a reptile now lol at least it’s just two small spots instead of your whole self 😂 but i get the struggle. i’m not ginger but my skin is so light i always get sunburnt in 0.5 seconds too. definitely not fun, but worth it for some merch :D

that was probably a really fun situation to wake up to, but you both deserved a nap for catching a bus at 4am!!! especially since you had only a few hours of sleep after work!! at least you were rested enough to really enjoy the trip!!

oh no 😭😭 i’m still dreaming about that place!! i went to a my favorite japanese restaurant in my city a few days ago and i really wanted to try that beverage you told me about but i was driving so i couldn’t 😭 i hope this other restaurant was really good too though!!

no way!!! nero this is all way too cool!!! i’m so happy it was so fun and there were so many things to do!!! also this cupsleeves event sounds so cool!! i’m so happy nero, you’re making my day just by telling me about all these freebies and amazing drinks!! and you know i’m always gonna be the little devil on your shoulder telling you that spending money is good and you deserve all that amazing stuff :))

the tid manga trilogy??? how is that even possible omg you can’t find that anywhere!!!! i’m so jealous, i wanna live in this bookstore now 🥺 it’s got to be so amazing!! (you always find the best bookstores, i had no doubt there would be one in this letter too and i was so excited to read about it!!) and let me know if you do order the tmi graphic novels!! i’ve been trying to collect those too hehe

the fact that *next year* was 2020 is so painful. but you saw them two nights in a row!!! that’s amazing!! and it must have been so good to see them after so long, after they’d been by your side in a really tough time 🥹 i’m so happy you got to finally see them live!!

also, the matching outfits?? I LOVE THAT!!! i bet you looked so slay!!! that’s literally the best idea for what to wear to a concert!!!

nero i’m so so happy for you!!! you’ve made my whole day, i’m not even joking!! i’m so happy you’re finally getting to enjoy trips and concerts you couldn’t before!! and this one really sounded so perfect!!! also the videos with you screaming at the top of your lungs to every song are literally the best. i love it when i rewatch a video from a concert and i can hear myself screaming and crying and dying more than i can hear the band or the singer. it just makes me live all those memories and those amazing feelings again!!!

the money spent on this is totally worth it!!! and you can sleep now, uni can wait lol really nero i’m so happy this trip was so good!!! i’m so happy for you!!!

i’m good!! i got three days off from work this week so that was great, and i started to reread chain of iron so that i can reread chain of thorns right after :) i miss them so much already 🥲

anyway i just booked a trip for may, because a friend is coming to visit me and i’m gonna be off work for two weeks so i’m really looking forward to it and now i just wanna skip work and plan the itinerary 😂 and i want to book more trips too. which isn’t great because my bank account is already crying and begging me to stop buying stuff. did i tell you i got the illumicrate edition of chain of thorns with the alternative dust jackets? yeah so my bank account still hasn’t forgiven me for it :,)

simba is also doing really good, he’s eating a lot and sleeping a lot as usual 😌

also, ever since you told me about the rina sawayama concert, and because you always talked so much about her, i kinda started listening to her music a lot more and i’m obsessed with some songs now!!! i adore her style so thank you for this new obsession :>

i’m enclosing a warm hug for you too and a little bouquet of flowers <3

[k3lynn]

already won — kenma kozume

kenma kozume x f!reader oneshot

- cw: jealous kenma, insecure kenma, like one or two cuss words, reassurence. barely angsty but very fluffy- more comedic than anything. shows more of the angry-kitty kenma than the shy-kitty kenma

- summary: 1.3k | kenma gets jealous after someone confesses their feelings for you

- this is my first oneshot ahh- please tell me what you think! also check out my masterlist (will frequently add more stuff) thank you for reading! this is a female reader but I will gladly do gender neutral or male!

back to haikyuu masterlist

Kenma walked down Nekoma High’s hallways, only passing a couple of students as most chose to stay in class during their break. In one hand, he held a bag with two apple pie flavored umaibo bars, and in the other, his phone.

Normally, he would be confident enough in his reflexes to never look up from his device and also not bump into someone, but he stared so intensely at his phone that he barely had time to react before he crashed into Yamamoto, sending himself flying to the ground.

“Pudding Head-“ the other second year loudly announced. “what’s got you so distracted man?”

In between getting up and muttering curses at gravity for letting him fall, Kenma softly spoke “Im heading off to Y/n’s class, she needs to speak with me.”

“In person? Must be prettyyyyy serious-“ he turned to see Kenma’s worried face “I mean it’s probably nothing!”

But Kenma just stared at him with a deadpanned expression.

“Wanna share an umaibo bar?”

“No.”

-

Despite knowing Tora meant no real harm, Kenma couldn’t help but almost (Almost, he swears) let his words get to him. The two of you have been dating for nearly a year, and your relationship seems perfectly okay to him. One or two dumb arguments, but nothing you both didn’t get through together. He knows you still love him.

What if it’s me-

And Kenma stopped his negative train of thought right there. No point getting nervous over something that hasn’t happened yet. He reasoned with himself.

As if the gods were playing some cruel joke on the poor boy, two girls came gossiping from around the corner, oblivious to the fact he was there. If it weren’t for the sound of your name, Kenma would have never listened into the conversation.

“Did you hear about what was on Y/n’s desk this morning?”

“That first years love letter right, I’m pretty sure she has a boyfriend though- do you think she’ll replace him?”

“That quiet setter on the volleyball team? I would barely consider him a boyfr-“

Interrupted by a soft thud and a crinkle, the girls turned around and squeeled in fright to see nothing but a plastic bag. Kenma didn’t let himself hear anymore before he started sprinting to your classroom. Darting across hallways, racing around corners, and even scurrying around a very confused Kuroo, who has never seen Kenma run outside of Volleyball.

He barely let himself breathe before sliding open the door to your classroom and barging in, pausing only when he realized the amount of startled faces looking straight at him. Not one to fancy all the attention, his eyes danced around the students until he finally made eye contact with you.

He quickly motioned for you to go outside before slowly closing the door. Kenma leaned his back againts the wall and took a deep breath. It wasn’t until you emerged from outside the classroom that he looked up.

Your typically-stoic boyfriend just came running into your classroom as if he witnessed a murder, so it’s safe to say you were a bit concerned at what he was about to say. Although once Kenma explained what he had overheard, you couldn’t help and giggle at the realization.

“So you’re jealous of the first year huh.”

“Don’t tease...”

With a sigh, you took his hand in one of yours, and used the other to tilt his chin up and look at you. If you couldn’t see the blush on his cheeks before, then you could definitely see it now.

“Want to talk about it babe?”

He wouldn’t be able to play his way out of this, Kenma had no choice but to be direct with how he felt.

“I know you love me, and you do everything you can to show me that-“

You nodded.

“but I’m terrified at the idea that one day you’ll find someone that’s better in expressing their feelings than me. Like with a love letter.”

He quietly finished. There was silence for only a moment before your arms found their place around his small shoulders, pulling him into a warm hug which he happily returned. He was so comfortable in your embrace that he had almost forgotten what he came for.

“Can I just start off by saying I’m really proud of you?” Your voice cut straight through the hushed air. “It takes a lot out of anyone to be able to say what they feel. I know it can be a bit more difficult for you.”

And yet you still try and do it when necessary. Kenma I know you love me too. You have nothing to worry about.”

Kenma wasn’t one to cry in public, but, this did make him come close.

It wouldn’t help his current situation, but curiousity got the best of him-

“Can I read the letter?”

You grinned a bit before handing it over to him, holding in a laugh from seeing his distasteful face and hearing the small curses he swore under his breath.

With how hard he gripped the paper, you were sure it would easily tear.

“He wants to meet you in the front courtyard after school to hear your answer.”

“I know, I’m planning on going.”

“Good idea, go break his heart.”

“No Kenma, I’m going to let him down slowly. Feelings are delicate and deserve to be respected.”

“His feelings don’t deserve jack shit.”

“Kenma!” You loudly chuckled. His monotoned voice making his choice of language even funnier-

“Whatever” his hands came down to grip your waist before giving you a shy kiss on the shoulder.

“I’ll beat the competition.” He muttered into your neck.

“Am I one of your games now?” You teased.

“Beep boop beep boop” he poked at your back.

“Kenma?”

“Yeah?”

You pull him back a bit to place a small kiss on the tip of his nose “You’ve already won.”

-

Bonus:

Kenma should have known Kuroo’s “disguises”, if you could even call them that, wouldn’t work. The trench coat and large hat the both of them wore did them no mercy in the hot Tokyo sun, and instead brought them more attention to ongoing passer-biers who probably thought they were up to some illegal activities.

Out of nowhere, Tora came aggressively crashing into the bushes that hid Kuroo and Kenma, adorned with his own form of camouflage that consisted of a simple fake mustache and sunglasses, holding a familiar looking plastic bag.

“I came as soon as I got your message Kuroo-san, care for an umaibo bar?”

“Hey that’s-“

“Shush Pudding boy it’s starting.”

The three of them pull out a pair of binoculars, aiming it towards you, sitting on the bench but standing up once you see a sheepish boy, who you assumed sent the letter, walk towards you.

You gave him a sorry looking smile before speaking with him. From this distance, Kenma could just make out the words “flattered but... boyfriend and... great guy...” satisfied at the view of you handing him his letter back.

The first year looked a bit deflated but nevertheless seemed happy to be talking with his crush. Kuroo and Tora backed up a bit at the image of Kenma’s frustration. They could have sworn they saw flames-

“Hey Kenma,” Kuroo spoke between munches “didn’t YN just make it clear she was in love with you or something”

“yeah” Kenma sighed.

“Why are we here then?”

“To make sure this creep doesn’t try anything with my girlfriend.”

“Oi Kenma,” Kuroo gave him a good slap on the back, and from behind the binoculars, Kenma glared. The three boys turned back to the scene, just in time to see you giving him a handshake.

“He’s practically holding her hand.”

“Kenma-“

© 2021 k3lynn, do not modify or repost without permission

[manchasama]

Pluck it.  I’mmana do it.  I’m posting this basically raw from my notes file.  This is how I got dragged into submas, because my brain went tripping down this idea.

Here is the FNAF:SB background post and all

--

Might as well put this self indulgent stuff here.  This is the fnafsb meets trainmuppets stuff

So this would be post "AI chip theft attempt" in my story.  Timeline wise….

So Gregory is 10 at fnafsb.  I'd say he's about 11 or 12, probably 12 when the breaking happens.  But during that first year or so, he gets his hands on a left behind DS and the black&white pokemon games.  (Listen, he waited a full month of it being in lost and found before he absconded with it.  It was an old system, so they probably consider it trash anyway).  So he plays the game to death, and really likes the challenge of the battle subway and trying to fight the twins.  Thinks they're silly but cool.  (They kind of remind him of Sun and Moon tbh)

So breaking happens, life goes back to mostly status quo.  Not sure if the sentience of the animatronics has gotten very far in the rumor mill yet, but it's definitely not widespread yet.  Probably just with the technicians at this point.  Gregory probably watches the anime, and really likes it when the twins show up in it (among other things of course).  Since Gregory lives with people who are designed to be a bit silly and have no shame about "cringe" stuff, he does end up being a lot more comfortable with liking things "too young" or "too dumb" or the like.

The animatronics figure out a way to buy Gregory a gift.  They probably loop Vanessa in, who signs up for some freelance contract work but the bots are the ones doing the actual work.  Technically illegal if she gets caught but she's kind of beyond caring about stupid things like that anyway.

So the idea probably comes from Moon (and Sun?), but they all help out to get it.  They get him a switch and the latest Pokemon game, Legends of Arceus.  Gregory is overwhelmed (though he tries very hard not to be, but god dang this is the nicest thing anyone's done for him basically ever).  And he plays the game, and has a great time, and then he comes across Ingo. 

And like.  He should be happy about it.  These characters he really liked…well this character he really liked showed up in the game.  It's pretty cool that something so old would be brought into the newest game.  It is.  But…there's something restless in his chest.  The things Ingo says, about remembering a precious partner.  But he also doesn't really know what to do about it.  He can't /do/ anything about it in fact.  

It bothers him enough to be noticeable to the others, but not like super distressing.  Just occasionally his thoughts circle back to it and he gets frustrated and sad.  Freddy is of course there for him, and he loves the comfort of papa bear.  But he doesn't really think he can articulate it to any of them.  Except maybe…Sun and Moon.

It's easier with moon.  With the low lighting, just to climb into Moon's lap.  It's reassuring, and Gregory needs all he can get because he still doesn't know how to process what he's feeling.  He /knows/ it's just a dumb game.  So why does he feel…. (like his heart is breaking, heavy empathy)  It's probably partial trauma from what happened to the bots and specifically sun and moon.  Being ripped apart from each other literally in their case, and how horrible it was for Moon left behind.

Anyway he spills the beans on what he's feeling to them, and they help him process it a bit.  Sun is the one who searches online for stories and pictures others have done, showing Gregory that he's not alone in his feelings, in his desire for a reunion of the brothers.  

If I have done the cross over with gravity falls and dipper, can use something magical to explain what happens.  But otherwise I have no idea what happens that sends Gregory to the Pokemon world.  Whatever it is, Sun and Moon will have the ability to follow him in a bit.

Anyway, Gregory is pretty damn good at rolling with the punches that life gives him these days.  Getting transported (away from his family) to a new location really should be chump change.  (He ignores his pounding heart, that he is alone again, that he has no home here, that he will be on the streets again).  And as he wanders along, he comes across the subway (purposefully or not).  And he overhears whispers that Ingo has been gone for x number of years.  And he sees Emmet, with his empty smile as he tries to hold up the world alone.

(Potentially there is a language barrier.  Gregory went through a phase of trying to learn Japanese, and can be okay at it, but in his panic and frenzy he can barely remember how to string english words together)

He doesn't even remember moving, doesn't remember much but grabbing Emmet's sleeve and his attention and just blurting out that he knows where Ingo is.  (It strikes a spark in Emmet's eyes, desperate hope that doesn't fizzle out the entire time Gregory tries to explain)

Emmet brings this strange child to his house, where Gregory through a series of pantomimes and broken Japanese manages to get across the concept that Ingo is in ancient Sinnoh.  (getting paper and a pencil to try and visualize things.  Making a crude map and asking where, until Emmet brings up a map of the regions and Gregory can figure out which is Sinnoh.  Making a line, a clock, a crude drawing of gregory meeting emmet and them arriving in the house and where they are now.  Dragging a finger along the line, seeing if Emmet is understanding he means a timeline, passage of time.  When he thinks he does, dragging his finger as far as he can and pointing off into the distance, then pointing to Sinnoh.  Does Emmet understand? (Emmet does get the gist of it.  He doesn't know how or why, but he trusts.))

Potentially this is where Sun comes in, or Gregory had the game on him and pulls it out.  Shows Emmet his brother in the game.  Emmet taking the console and just staring at his brother.  Not real, obviously cartoony, but it could be no one else.  I think then Sun could come in.

So however Sun and moon manage to follow, they are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of their depth here.  They should be hiding from people, because they are not in the pizzaplex any more, and what will these people do to them, but they need to find Gregory.  They have a ping from the watch (proximity with the build in hardware), and have been following it.  People have stared, pointed, but they don't look angry or particularly scared.  (They probably realize Sun is not a pokemon, but what on earth is going on?  Is it a performer?  What a costume!)

Tempted to have Sun interact with people.  He and Moon can speak Japanese (among other languages), and of course he loves kids.  Maybe even interacts with some of their pokemon.  But he is still searching for Gregory, so it's not much of an aside. 

Once Gregory realizes that Sun is there, once he's wrapped in familiar metal arms, something in his chest loosens.  He's not here alone.  And while having his full family would be good, at least he has these two.  (He honestly trusts their common sense a bit more than the glams anyway)

Settle back in with Emmet, and Sun acts as a translator (Gregory in his lap, because again comfort is needed.)  Emmet is unbothered by talking to an animatronic, is unbothered by the strangeness of the story, doesn't really need the clarification but appreciates the effort.  Ingo is alive, and hurt (lost memories), and needs Emmet to find him.  He believes this strange story.  (It is so much better than wondering, to believe this.  Even if it hurts, it is hot coals compared to broken glass.)  So Emmet will go.  Somehow.

Gregory gets crash tutored by sun and moon on the language, and he's a clever kid who is now immersed in the language so he picks it back up quickly.

Emmet getting to know Gregory and Sun and Moon.  Gregory is taking the lead, as he usually does with the animatronics.  But Emmet knows the world better and leads the Quest as it were.  They are all basically driven by manic energy (trauma *jazz hands*).  

Sun and Moon don't even bother bringing up trying to get home to Gregory.  They know that leaving this situation as is, not seeing it through to the end, would hurt Gregory far more than the dangers of staying in this world.  Physical damage can be avoided, protected against, and healed.  Mental damage on top of what's already there would be there forever in a way.  Besides, the way home is waiting for them whenever they want to take it.  (Whatever it is sobs)

At some point Emmet brings up Gregory catching some pokemon.  Gregory turns it down.  As cool as it is, he couldn't safely bring them back to his world, it would be far too dangerous for the pokemon and the unsuspecting humans.  There's no way to take care of them.  He can't hide them in the pizza plex, and he won't leave his home.  And he won't befriend them just to leave them behind.  Emmet is proud and impressed at the maturity of that decision, though disappointed he won't have a chance to battle Gregory ever.

So the trick is to get to ancient Sinnoh.  The right time period that Ingo is in.  Trying to hunt down a pokemon god is certainly doable, but I'm thinking if the way Gregory arrived was spell related, that gives enough flexibility.  Gregory casting it not really knowing what it does?  Possibly.  Sun and Moon having to try their hand at /magic/?  Why would magic work for an animatronic?  It's not like they have souls or anything, right?  (it totally does work tho)  And then too it lets Gregory take Emmet outside the Pokemon world to crash in at another point in time/space.  Using Emmet as the pivot point, his connection to Ingo.  They will arrive the same relative time to Ingo.  Like two trains that have diverted onto separate tracks, you can't just reconnect the current track to track so far behind you.  Or rather if 2 years passed for Emmet they can hook up with Ingo who lived 2 years in Hisui, but not Ingo who just arrived in Hisui.  The connection has to be there, and there's too much distance between Emmet who lived without his brother and the time his brother only just arrived.  Idk im tired i hope i'm articulating well enough for future me.

So yeah, to ancient times, reunite the bros.  I don't have any particularly new ides for this, so the usual will do.  Ingo will for sure remember Emmet right away, bc I need it.

Hmm, I'm wondering if the way they travel is actually hopping back to Gregory's world.  Yeah, that actually might work.  So Gregory brings Emmet back to his world.  Gives him time to check in with Papa bear and all, who is probably verrrrry worried at this point.  The other animatronics can't come with because of their need for a charging station.  Sun and Moon charge off kinetic energy, so they can go.  But if they are missing (again for much longer) then there might be some bad repercussions for them.  Scrapping when they return and all.  It's not going to /stop/ them, but

But Emmet also realizes that they are putting themselves at risk for him.  And he stops them there, safety first and all that.  Surely they can plan a better route.  (Even if the delay hurts, he wants to go /now/).  But Gregory still has to figure out how to adjust the time/location of the transport spell back into the Pokemon world.  Doesn't take too long tho.  Basically they coordinate it for a shutdown (where the plex closes for a few days), and the maintenance team is convinced to cover for a brief absence.  They think Sun and Moon are going outside, and while nervous are kinda gung ho about it.  Stick it to the man, you funky robos.  Then they make it back to Ingo and all.

Once affairs are wrapped up, now they need to get the brothers home.  I think the problem is that they misjudge their return, and end up crashing into the center of the crowded atrium during open hours.  With some quick thinking, they manage to pass it off as an event/show.  Maybe even have one of the pokemon out as an "animatronic please do not touch".  Emmet and Ingo are very showboaty, and while out of practice Ingo manages.  Language barrier might be an issue, if I do keep that.  Hmmmmmmm.  (Idea, that while Emmet and Ingo start it off, Sun jumps in to direct the show as it were.  Flipping over their heads, aided by the rope, he announces himself loudly.  "Helllllo!  Did you miss me?" etc etc and basically ad-libs Ingo and Emmet as guest day care attendants.  Their black/white theme does sort of match Sun and Moon so it's pretty buyable) 

Anyway they are stuck for a few days, because a bunch of things happen.  Sun and Moon's absence was covered, the other animatronics helping cover their shifts perhaps in between their own stuff, so management is not the wiser.  But the technicians also have a surprise for them.  See, originally they were meant to be two animatronics.  And taking into account some of the "wishlist" upgrades the two wanted, the recent success of the pizzaplex, the technicians managed to budget in new (separate) bodies for them!  Sun and Moon are…horrified!  :)

It's after hours, and the technician has just revealed the news to Sun.  Sun who goes into supreme anxiety mode.  Who backs away, runs away back to (safety) the day care.  The lights are out and Moon climbs to the darkest furthest corner to (hide) protest.  They do not want to be separated (they are terrified).  

The technician(s) are crushed, because they wanted to do something nice but it totally backfired.  They aren't going to force Sun and Moon into it, they'll figure out something to explain to the higher ups.  But then Emmet strides forward and starts climbing the netting toward where Moon is.  (Freddy shoos everyone away, but doesn't have the heart to fully remove Ingo.  Nor Gregory, who is leaning heavily against his side while they sit and wait.  Gregory has adopted aggressive contact as a comfort model, so lap sitting and leaning into people are his go-to)

Emmet talks to Moon.  Or rather, listens to Moon rant.  It gets to the point where Moon has worked himself into enough of a frenzy and accuses Emmet from having no idea how it felt.  And Moon stops himself because while it's true, it's not true, and it's not fair.  

Still, Emmet is still smiling, as he always does, but he tells Moon.  Tells him of the gaping hole in his chest of the absence of the one who'd always been there.  Of the near madness of not knowing what happened.  And then he tells them of the time where people started to point the finger of blame at Emmet.  He was the last one who saw Ingo.  He lived with him.  Was it possible Emmet had done something?  The rumors didn't last, anyone who was anyone knew how close the brother were, but it killed something in Emmet.  /Had/ he done something to send Ingo away?  While he knew now that he did not, that it had been out of their control, that time was worse than just Ingo being missing.

So maybe Emmet didn't understand exactly.  But he understood all the same.  And the recoupling of their train and how it wasn't the same but was still good.  There were repairs to be made.  It would probably never run exactly the same.  But it wasn't bad.  

(I probably had better ideas for this part but i am running on too little sleep to remember)

Anyway so that's how Sun and Moon are convinced to go in the separate bodies.  Their old body is set aside as a backup if one of them is ever too damaged or something comes up etc, rather than recycled for another animatronic.  It's disturbing but comforting, knowing that nothing wearing your old skin will be walking around.

Not sure if I want them to have an eclipse mode before hand.  If they did, then it's a copilot type situation with a mismodge of settings.  Possibly it lets the back AI come to the front instead without the necessary light requirements.  But after maybe the technicians designed their two bodies to have the ability to combine, because they /know/ how much being together means to sun and moon.  And while they can't have it all the time, it does give them an option (supposed to be for security purposes, but you know they'll use it when they need the comfort instead)

I had something else but I have no brain for memory right now.  It involved a way for them to go back and forth at will, so you could have that event for realsies maybe with Emmet and Ingo, or you could have Gregory have an opportunity to raise a team since he has free access to the other world.