#and Ed... oh Ed is an entire different story

[indestructiblelittlefuckers]

[I think the only reason I feel less mad about Izzy's death is because I have deluded myself to believe that he is coming back in s3 (and that there will be s3) and that his death affects the characters as much as it affects my Ed & Stede. denial & clowning are the best states to live in, let me tell you]

[oneforthemunny]

all dressed up |mafia!eddie munson x reader|

prompt: eddie won't come to a halloween party with you, so you decide to go by yourself... in a costume you know he won't approve of. based off of this prompt :) thank you to whoever sent it in! you can read the rest of my spooky stories series here!

contains: smut. minors dni. language. dom/sub themes- really dom/brat themes lol. all pre-consented ofc. spanking, oral (fem receiving), p in v sex. daddy kink. eddie's a little more of a hard dom in this. mafia themes but nothing graphic.

You saw the mess of curls move behind you once, then again, snapping towards your frame with a fury that had you fighting back a shiver, trying to remain casual and unbothered, applying your lipstick on in the large vanity mirror.

"What are you wearing?"

Your lips pursed, rolling them to keep your own triumphant grin back. His tone, the sharpness and snapping of his words, eyes still boring at you through the mirror; you had him right where you wanted.

"A costume." You hummed, so casual it made Eddie's head spin. Your eyes finally met his in the mirror, calm and vacant of the usual bratty, defiant glare he was expecting. "It's Halloween, Ed. You're supposed to wear a costume."

Eddie's snort follows before you can finish your sentence, posture straightening just enough to look menacing, his own expression still calm but entirely unimpressed. "So you chose to wear that, huh?"

You rolled your eyes, dramatic enough that you were sure he saw it- you wanted him to. "What's that supposed to mean?" You eyes narrowed, meeting his challengingly through them mirror, though you didn't turn around to face him.

Eddie nodded slowly, no signs of aggravation, or irritation even at your snarly mood. "Stand up f'me." His voice hardened, slipping into commanding that had your body jolting, eager to please. "Let me get a good look at you. See the whole thing."

You scoffed, despite the rush of excitement that was flooding red hot through your entire body, pushing your small stool back from the vanity. The dress barely covered your ass, resting just below the swell- dangerously short. Eddie's chest roared with possessive furious heat at the thought of you bending over, showing anyone what was between your legs, what belonged to him.

"You look pretty, baby." He didn't miss the way your shoulders fell, slumped with shocked disappointment. "What are you supposed to be?"

"I'm an angel." You batted your eyes sweetly, a purr to your tone that had Eddie's heart jumping.

"You sure are." Eddie matched your tone, effortlessly flirtatious, lips curling in a half grin.

"I don't have my wings and my halo on yet." You smoothed the white material of your dress down, smoothing out a wrinkle.

"You don't have your dress on either, do you?" Eddie cooed, his tone soft and light. You almost missed his question.

"Yeah I do." You frowned, looking down at your dress. "This is what I'm wearing."

"Oh, baby," Eddie laughed softly, shaking his head. "That's cute, but you're not going out in that."

"Yes, I am." Your voice was fierce, already snapping with fight.

"C'mon," Eddie scoffed with a slight smirk, rolling his eyes lightly like you were so silly, like it was a teasing joke you were playing on him. "You're not wearin' that out, sweet thing. Especially not with me not around. Go on and change into something else."

"I'm not changing." You huffed, nose scrunching with annoyance. "I'm wearing this, and if you don't want me wearing it without you, then you should come. Like you said you would."

Eddie nodded slowly, tongue rolling down the side of his cheek. "I told you, baby, I can't come tonight-"

"-You don't want to come tonight." You snapped. "There's a difference."

"Hm," Eddie hummed, exhaling slowly, eyes still on you so fiercely you were beginning to squirm.

"You said you would come, Ed." Your voice teetered off into a whine, turning to him with pleading eyes.

The same fight you'd had for the past week, since Eddie pulled out of going to Nancy and Jonathan's Halloween party with you, claiming he was "too busy". You knew the truth. That he was uncomfortable being around your friends, people who might judge him, side eye him with fear when he came in.

"No one's going to care that you're there. You're coming with me." You pleaded, trying to rationalize with him.

"I told you, I'm busy." Eddie's tone clipped with harshness, eyes scanning over your frame.

Your lips pressed together, arms crossing over your chest in fury. "Fine." You snapped. "But I'm not changing."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not." You growled. "I like what I'm wearing, and I think other people will like it too." It was a low blow, one that you knew was risky, might send Eddie over the edge and break his calm exterior- which was exactly what you wanted.

He knew that, which is why he swallowed back the commanding bark in his throat, though you didn't miss the way his nostrils flared.

Nails tapping against your folded arms, your lips twisted. "I thought you'd like what I had on, too." Your tone was still harsh, but filled with an edge of a sultry purr at the end, hands sliding down your hips suggestively. "I thought you liked it when I dressed up for you."

You were definitely playing dirty now, you both knew it. But Eddie allowed it, allowed you to walk towards him, straddling his lap, legs spread and on either side of his spread thighs so your dress rode up, exposing the tiny, lacy white g-string underneath.

"Thought you liked it when I wore a little costume, hm?" Your nose was brushing his, lips tickling when they ghosted over his.

His jaw clenched to keep himself from breaking, to keep from kissing you and pinning you to the mattress, fucking you until you were a pliant mess under him, knees knocking when you walked afterwards, still leaking him down your thighs.

"I do like it." Eddie's voice was strained, swallowing back a flustered shake. "Love it when you dress up f'me, you know that."

You hummed, soft and airy, your hands wrapped around his neck, nails raking over his skin. "So come with me tonight. See me all dressed up." Your lips brushed over his, just light enough to drive him wild, have his hands twitching.

"You don't even have to dress up, Ed. Just come with me." You grinned, nipping at his bottom lip, smug at how his breath hitched. "I'll be dressed up enough for the both of us."

"Not in that dress, you won't." Eddie's eyes met yours, hard with challenge. "Told you, you're not wearing that dress out."

You blinked at him, scoffing before pushing back, sitting back on the tops of his thighs. Eddie couldn't help but look under your parted legs, lacy panties fully on display and barely covering your slit.

"Yeah? You won't be there to stop me from wearing it." You snarled, pulling your legs down onto the red carpet beneath you with a stomp.

"I'll wear whatever I want." You growled, standing between Eddie's legs, pushing the dress back down and into place, smoothing out the wrinkles. Your gaze met his, eyes narrowed with anger, a gentle snarl on your lips that told him your were about to say something mean.

"Maybe I'll find someone there who actually appreciates my costume." You turned with a scoff, barely stepping out from between Eddie's legs before a strong hand caught your wrist, yanking you back towards him.

A gasp tore from your chest, shocking realization flooding your system as Eddie hauled you over his knee, pinning each of your wrists to the small of your with his hand effortlessly.

"Wait! Wait! Eddie-" You squirmed frantically, trying to loosen his grip while he wasted no time shoving your dress up, leaving you bare in your tiny panties.

"Wait, no, I-I'll change, Ed. I was just- oh!" You squealed at the impact, his hand leaving a stinging impact on your left ass cheek.

Eddie didn't lecture you, didn't coo at you until you were sniffly and babbling while he spanked you. Instead, he stayed silent. delivering thundering hits to your backside, heavily focusing on the underside where your thighs met your ass- where he knew people could see the lasting handprints in your dress. It was calculated and mean, left your sniffling and wailing with each hit, shamelessly soaked and grinding onto his leg.

"I'll change! I'll change my outfit!" You wailed, hips lifting and thrashing to the right, trying to twist and avoid his burning assault on your ass.

"Stop it, Ed! I said I'll change!" You huffed, stomping your foot onto the ground, bratty and demanding. Eddie's cock strained behind his dress pants at the sound, delivering another hard spank to the center of your ass, that echoed through the room with a resounding clap.

"Stooop!" You whined, high pitched and nasally, wriggling in his grip. "You're gonna r-ruin my makeup!" You could feel the prickling of a sob threatening to take over, a floodgate that would be much worse than the few tears that had already slipped out.

"I'll be good! I'll change my dress! Ok? I will, Ed!" You howled at the next two blows, leaving your spine arching, lifting off the silk sheets.

"Look at me." Eddie finally spoke in a gravelly growl, his free hand catching your jaw, holding you up to look at him. Your eyes shifted to his, blinking back tears and fighting back wet, pitiful sniffles.

"You gonna listen to me now? Ready to be good for me?" Eddie's voice still wasn't in it's usual coo, but softer than before, leaving your lip wobbling.

"Yes," Your voice squeaked, teary though you tried to fight it.

"What do you say to Daddy?" Eddie lifted a brow, sternness still in his features. "For being so mean before, what do you say? Hm? What do good girls say when they've been mean and bad?"

"'M sorry." You muttered, eyes dropping from his gaze with bashful shame.

"Look at me." Eddie growled, hand tightening around your jaw lightly. "You know better. Need me to take you in the office, hm? Go get the paddle?"

"No," You tried to shake your head, stiffened by his grasp.

"Then what do you say? Let me hear you, loud and clear. And you better keep those eyes on me when you say it. You know how you're supposed to do it." Eddie's voice was harsh, enough to leave you shaking with fear and pleasure, throbbing between your legs. He didn't miss the way your hips rocked down on his leg when he spoke to you.

"I-I'm sorry." Your pitch raised, voice wobbling when you spoke up, your eyes locked on his. "I won't be mean anymore, Daddy. I'll be good. I-I promise."

Eddie hummed, satisfied, his grip loosening on your cheeks, letting go of your hands. Your arms ached, wrist rubbed sore from the chafing of skin on skin. Eddie settled you back, perched on the edge of his thigh, fighting back a grin when you hissed at your raw backside touching his pants.

"That's a good girl. That's my good girl." Eddie cooed softly, pulling you into his chest, your cheek pressed to his shoulder. "You know I hate having to be mean to you like that, but you have to listen to my rules, baby."

"I-I know." Your hiccupy voice was soft, chest heaving with a cry you were still trying to swallow. "I just... I really want you to come with me tonight, Ed." You squeaked, tilting your head back to look at him.

"I know you don't want to, but... it would mean a lot to me if you did." You whispered, fingers nervously toying with the edge of his shirt. "I just want to be with you and my friends. I don't-I don't like it having to be separate all the time. I just want one night where- where it feels normal."

Eddie's chest ached, pulling you closer to him. He was going soft, he was sure of it. Soft and ruined completely by you- not that he minded.

"I'll go with you tonight." Eddie hesitated, eyes flickering down to yours carefully, watching yours fill with excitement, lighting up at his words. "But, I'm having Gareth and Max wait outside. In case any shit happens-"

"-It won't-"

"-Just incase." Eddie cut you off, giving you a pointed look that had you nodding, curling back into his hold. "And, you're still changing."

You bit back a smile, nodding. "Yeah, probably can't wear this now." You giggled lightly. "Kinda ruined it."

"Oh, sweetheart, I haven't ruined it yet." Eddie grinned, hand squeezing your waist just to hear you squeal before he flipped you back onto the bed, hovering over you.

"I do like this costume." His lips hovered over yours, curls from his bangs tickling your own forehead, leaving you squirming.

"But I think I want it," His lips pressed to yours, a full kiss that lasted far too shortly for your liking, eyes barely closing in pleasure before he pulled back.

"All," Kiss.

"To," Kiss.

"Myself."

You whined into his mouth, his thigh strategically moving between your legs, bumping with your clothed pussy, teasingly.

"You think you can do that for me?" Eddie's breath ghosted over your lips, dragging over your cheek, pressing a hot, wet kiss to the corner of your mouth. "Think this can be just f'me, baby?"

"Mm-hmm." You whimpered, hands sliding over his shoulders, pulling him back towards you, closer and closer. "Just for you."

"Just for me." Eddie grinned, pressing a kiss to your jaw, teeth grazing barely, leaving you jumping with excitement.

"You do look so pretty though. My pretty girl, always." Eddie praised softly, pushing off the mattress to look at you fully. You whined, fist balling around his shirt, trying to keep him close, flush to you.

Eddie batted them away gently, his hands sliding down your frame to your legs, wrapped around his waist, spreading them gently. "I do think you should keep on these," Eddie rasped, finger tracing over your clothed slit, down the seam of your panties while you arched into his touch, desperate for more.

"Please, Ed, please." You begged, mind already spacing with needy pleasure.

"Shh, I got you, baby. I'll take care of you." Eddie soothed you gently, hands cupping under your knees, pushing your thighs back to your chest. "I've got you, sweet thing. Just hold your legs up f'me. Can you do that?"

You nodded eagerly, shaking hands grabbing at your kneecaps, jerking them towards your chest in a tight grip. Eddie grinned, sliding down your frame, knees sinking into the carpet. "Good girl." Eddie growled, hands on your waist, dragging you to the edge of the bed, grinning at how you gasped.

His fingers ghosted over your slit again, pressing in and giving a gentle, teasing rub over your aching clit that had you crying out, nails digging into your skin before he finally hooked your panties to the side. Tongue tracing down one lip, down the other, then right to the middle, just a featherlight, teasing that had you squirming in frustration.

You were close to voicing your frustration, the whine caught in your throat when Eddie's face pressed into your cunt, nose brushing with your clit, tongue lapping at your folds. Your hands moved to his hair, pulling him in closer and closer, hips swiveling down, pressing further and further into him. He didn't stop until you were crying out, breathy and broken, babbling on and on, "'m gonna cum, E-Eddie, I'm- oh!" music to his ears.

"Look at you," Eddie cooed, stilling himself when he filled you, stuffed full of his cock, grinning at the glassy, love stricken look in your eye. "You are an angel, hm? The prettiest fuckin' angel I've ever seen."

Nails sinking into the mattress, you balled the silk sheets in your hand as he started to move, slow but deep rolls of his hips into yours. "I-I don't have my wings on." You babbled brainlessly, mind spinning and reeling with pleasure. "O-Or my- oh! Right there, Ed- Or my halo."

"Don't need it." Eddie sucked a breath in between gritted teeth, his strokes coming faster now, sending your eyes rolling back.

"You're always an angel. Prettiest- fuck- prettiest angel in the world. My pretty angel." Eddie reached for your chin, grabbing it so you looked at him through fluttering lashes. "You're my pretty girl. You know that? You know it, don't you, baby?"

"Ye-Yes." You clenched at his words, and for a moment, he saw stars, letting out a deep groan of pleasure.

"Let me hear you." Eddie's grip tightened around your jaw. "I wanna hear you say it. Say you're my pretty girl."

"I-I'm yours, Ed." Your head tilted back, tummy tightening as you teetered closer and closer to your orgasm.

The small slap to your cheek had you gasping, attention pulled back to Eddie. His brows furrowed, lips in a tight, concentrated line. "That's not what I said." Eddie shook his head. "Thought you were gonna listen to Daddy?"

"I-I am." You whined, legs wrapping around his waist, pulling Eddie in closer to you.

"Then do what I said." Eddie tilted his head towards you, looking down the slope of his nose at you. "Say it. I wanna hear you."

You bit back a whimper, gasping at a particularly perfect stroke that had your vision blurring. "I-I'm you're pretty girl."

"Who's pretty girl?" Eddie coaxed, the pad of his thumb brushing over your cheekbone. His breath ragged, chest starting to heave- you knew he was close too.

"Y-Yours." You choked out, tears of pleasure brimming your waterline.

"That's right." Eddie growled, folding himself over top of you, lips catching yours in a sloppy kiss. His hand slid between your bodies, circling your clit just right until you were writhing, scratching down his skin as you came undone, his own release following shortly after.

You were late to the party.

Not that either of you minded, really. And it wasn't like anyone there dared to say anything either. Even Nancy, who just gave you a wide smile when she opened the door.

"You made it!" She squealed, pulling you into a hug.

"Yeah, sorry. We had to take the dogs out." You lied easily, eyes cutting over to Eddie's with a small smile.

Nancy's brow raised gently, though she said nothing. "H-Hey, Eddie." You didn't miss the way her grip tightened on the door, opening it wider so you two could walk in. "Glad you could come."

"Yeah. Thanks for havin' me." Eddie nodded, stiff with an unusual uncomfortableness. He felt awkward being in his street clothes- ripped jeans and chains, a band tee (a Dio shirt you claimed would be perfect- "a devil and an angel!"), instead of the usual designer wear he'd grown so accustomed to. He felt truly back in high school, just as nervous as he was then.

Your hand slid down the leather of his jacket, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. "Um, well, drinks and snacks are in the kitchen- you know where the kitchen is." Nancy looked at you with a nod, the music growing louder and louder as soon as you entered the house.

You followed her through the house, passing by the numerous people, ignoring how they'd stop, still, eyes wide and stare when Eddie passed, whispering in shushed tones behind your back.

"Help yourself to whatever." Nancy smiled, motioning to the array of alcohol. "I got you Bacardi Breezers, a whole pack." She gave you a teasing smile.

You laughed back, shaking your head, giving a slight shiver. "Oh, great. It'll be just like senior year all over again." You smirked. Eddie's interest piqued, though he kept his gaze nonchalant, scanning the room, making a mental note to ask you about that later.

"I'm gonna go make sure no one's broke anything, but I'll be right back." Nancy nodded, giving your arms a gentle squeeze, before shimmying through the crowds of people.

"You want anything?" You asked, reaching for the colorful glass bottle out of the pack.

"No." Eddie shook his head.

"Not even a beer?" You lifted a brow, turning back to him. "They have Miller."

"I'm good, baby." Eddie nodded sweetly, eyes catching with a guy who was staring, narrowing his gaze just barely before he looked aways. "You get whatever you want."

You looked over at him, twisting the bottle in your hand. "Can you open this?"

Eddie obliged, of course, cracking it on his belt buckle- a trick he learned from years ago, from when he still saw half of these people every day in the hell that was high school.

You took him to the living room, finding a corner tucked away from the beer pong set up in the middle, the people drunkenly dancing and chatting.

Eddie sat down in the small arm chair, hand around your waist, pulling you into his lap. You hissed, face crumpling for a moment, wiggling to a comfortable spot.

"You hurting?" Eddie frowned, head ducking towards you.

"No, I just forgot." You muttered, bashfully. "I'm fine."

"You'd tell me if you weren't?" Eddie lifted a brow.

"You know I would." You smiled reassuringly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I think I like this dress better." You looked down at the long, silk, white dress you'd swapped the other out for. "Looks more angelic."

"Anything you put on looks angelic, baby." Eddie grinned playfully, positively sweet and silly. His face fell after a moment, scanning the room, looking to make sure no one was watching- he couldn't dare have someone see him like this, boyish and silly and so, so in love.

You giggled, pressing the bottle to your lips, taking a quick swig. "Thank you for coming with me." You hummed, leaning your head on his shoulder, the feathers of your halo headpiece tickling chin.

"C'mon," Eddie muttered lightly, squeezing your hip. "Do anything for you, baby."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Eddie nodded, looking down at you. "You've ruined me. Made me soft."

You giggled, pulling back to look at him. "Is that a bad thing?"

"For you? No." Eddie grinned softly. "Best thing that's ever happened to me. You know that."

You beamed under his praise, hands grabbing his cheeks, pulling him into a sloppy make out right there in the corner of the party, and Eddie felt like he was sixteen again.

"You're so sweet." You hummed, starry eyed and airy when you pulled apart. "So good to me."

"You deserve it." Eddie muttered, cheeks pricking with a heat he couldn't fight off. "Plus, this isn't all bad. Better than I thought it would be." He looked around the room. You both seemed to blend in, get lost in the crowd now, everyone else doing their own thing while you watched.

"Really?" You grinned widely. "Told you it would be fun."

"Yeah, you were right." Eddie nodded, eyes rolling down your frame. "Plus you were right, I do love to see you in a costume." He growled, leaving you squealing with giggles.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

"The True Face" - Mizi's Love for Another Woman

**This analysis is mainly themed around a pretty frank discussion of heteronormativity and misogyny. Please be mindful of that before reading this!**

Oh boy. What a doozy of a comic. What a radical shift to the way I had been reading this story up until now.

It didn't really change the way I saw Mizi as a character, to be honest. What it changed was my perception of the environment these characters grew up in, lending new context to Mizi's actions and motivations.

To summarize: Mizi being queer is a much bigger deal than I'd thought.

[Long post is long, as usual. Full analysis under the cut.]

The hints were there from the beginning that Mizi wasn't entirely oblivious to the cruel nature of their world.

I'm not going to say that she knew the true deadly end awaiting the losers on Alien Stage, because I really don't think that was the case at all. She didn't know Sua was going to be killed. At the same time, I think it was something of a case of "well, what did I think was going to happen?" after the fact. Mizi simply didn't consider it as a possibility, because she didn't want to see it.

I'll come back to this.

While watching Alien Stage, I always did have a certain thought in my head that intrigued me. Love is one of the central themes of the show, namely, the way the cast try their best to love in the only ways they know how. However, due to the structure of their world, the control they're placed under and how the only way they are allowed to shine is on stage as part of a packaged performance, their only metric for what "love" looks like is idolatry.

It didn't seem like it really mattered that much of our cast was queer. I just shrugged and assumed the aliens didn't really care what their pets got up to, so long as they performed well on stage.

This comic turned that on its head.

The scene with the unnamed Anakt Garden boy establishes something very important.

It does matter, actually, that the love is queer.

Over time, the creators have done a careful job of slowly showing us bit by bit of all the different things they are taught at Anakt - we see the music lessons first (checks out; they're being trained to sing, after all), and their mandatory play for "mental health". They have phys ed type competitions. While there is a disturbing element of all of them being essentially brought up as lambs to the slaughter, compared to the stage and to the horrors some of them faced from their guardians, the garden appears a relative paradise.

But the garden is not free of the aliens' control, far from it. Everything is fashioned to train the pet humans and serve some sort of purpose to satisfy the aliens.

We see experimentation and augmentation. We see a form of religion that emphasizes the great pride one should have in fulfilling the aliens' intended purposes for them. We see cloning.

There is another purpose to training "pets" and selecting ones that have particular desirable traits. After all, if you like a particular breed of dog for their hunting abilities, or a particular beautiful coat pattern, you can breed more like it. Io, Till's mother and a "provider", seems pretty clearly kept for that purpose.

I'm not saying that Anakt was for breeding. It's pretty clearly for the stage itself. But that doesn't change the mindset the aliens have taken to the relative "purposes" of biological females and males, and the way that trickles down into the mentality of the kids we see there.

We've seen a recent comic of the Anakt kids at school together, learning things about biology. I had originally assumed that it was focused on vocal training and anatomy pertaining to singing. Now, I suspect, from this unnamed guy saying "You know what they say", that there's a heavy focus on reproduction as well.

So, now love is corrupted two-fold. "Love" is only acceptable in terms of idolatry, or as a biological imperative to mate.

The Anakt kids are familiar with the concept of crushes. A lot of them were revealed to have crushes and have liked each other, as seen in the notes they left each other after graduation. Some of the names are difficult to discern, gender-wise. But I suspect most of these are male-female.

Till's crush on Mizi is "obvious". But Ivan's crush on Till is never noticed, and people continue to confess to Mizi and Sua despite the two always being together and Mizi directly stating that Sua is her favourite person. The boy in the most recent comic does not think anything of Mizi and Sua hanging out and instead fixates on her and Till. I don't even know if Till fully understands. Mizi tells him her favourite person is Sua, but does it occur to Till that her favouritism is born out of a romantic love for her? Does Till even recognize the possibility that Ivan's "weird" behaviour could be because he has feelings for him? I'm honestly unsure. It's very possible he doesn't know.

Another thing that intrigued me from the start: Mizi and Sua are canonically in love. But, just watching the show without knowledge that the creator, Vivinos, is queer, or without some of the comics' background information, a lot of people watching for the first time mistake them for best friends and nothing more. Even in official in-universe interviews, we see this:

They are best friends, of course! That's not in doubt and that's important too. But it's really interesting that even though the aliens were moved by their connection made obvious in the My Clematis performance, it is not called love.

By contrast, while in-universe the obliviousness is much the same, real-life audiences have no issue picking up on Ivan's feelings for Till. Part of this is gender bias (women are expected to be more affectionate with each other), but part of this is presentation. For awhile, I felt a little uncertain about the canon MiziSua relationship being so... understated compared to IvanTill, who get a full yearning song and an onstage kiss to make it completely unambiguous. It's even strange, because Mizi does nothing but talk about how much she loves Sua. But now, I think that's the point.

The thing is, Mizi has been loud about her love for Sua. It's just that no one understands.

What this comic establishes is that Mizi has near constant feelings of being misunderstood and objectified. She is a pretty woman, who is friendly, with a genuine desire to see people happy. Unfortunately, due to the aliens' emphasis on what a woman's role should be with regards to men, with regards to what is expected of her, her desire for friendship is treated as "leading people on", the way many women are accused of being "temptresses" when in reality it is others who read into her platonic expressions of behaviour. No one bothers to actually get to know her as a person, because hardly anyone cares about her beyond a pretty face. Without other female role models to help her understand that this is not her fault, Mizi internalizes this sudden anger at her as somehow her doing, even though she really doesn't get what she did "wrong".

Unlike Ivan, who at least fashioned his own personality to fit in, Mizi was forced to fill in the cracks on a smiley, cheerful, pretty mask that everyone else had decided on for her - because they could get mad at her if she doesn't.

Even though Mizi is naive in many regards, she actually notices something here that none of the rest of them seem to. Sua and Ivan "steal" these precious moments, resigned to never being able to have or keep them. Till is content to find inspiration from afar. These three have been fighting to physically survive in their awful circumstances, so that they really don't question the existing power structures much at all.

But Mizi, misunderstood and hurt by social factors more than by physical ones at this point, has just enough awareness and just enough innocence to question. She's so close to performing as a woman in the way others expect her to. And yet, there's something about her that is just "wrong" enough in the way that gets people (men) mad at her. And she doesn't get it.

She doesn't return his feelings but she does want to be friends. Why is that not enough?

She's already said she loves Sua. Why is that not enough?

She runs away here, still with a smile on her face to try and appease and placate this boy who got violent with her for a reason she cannot understand, even as she cries, clearly scared. This is a fawn response. And it's this that gets warped into Mizi somehow believing that she has made everyone love her or somehow manipulated them. Yes, it is intended for self-preservation. But not from the aliens.

Mizi runs to Sua, seeking comfort and reassurance. Surely, Sua will understand. And personally, I think Sua probably does to some degree. But in this situation, she had just spent a long time with her alien mother preparing for the stage. What's more, she doesn't trust or like many of the other people at Anakt. Mizi says that the boy wasn't a bad person, while Sua says there was "something off about him".

They had also just come off the tail end of an argument. Mizi is content to just make herself be happy now that Sua is here. But Sua cannot "just be happy", and from her perspective, Mizi's apparent ability to just shrug things off and be carefree is hurtful after the experience she has likely just had. Both girls wanted comfort from each other here and did not find it, but Sua makes the really insensitive move of accidentally echoing the boy's words back at Mizi. I don't think Sua meant this to be mean, really. Her collar is green - if anything, I think Sua is sincere about being glad Mizi doesn't get dragged around the way she does. But all the same, a level of resentment does show through, and it doesn't change the fact that this is the last thing Mizi needed to hear in that moment.

It's not really Sua Mizi wanted to hurt. She's definitely angry with her. But that's the thing: Mizi feels safe enough to get mad at and hit Sua. She did not feel safe enough to do that with the boy.

It makes sense now that Mizi was comfortable enough with Ivan to fall asleep on top of him. He was likely the one boy there she wasn't scared of, with full knowledge that he would never be interested in her that way.

And that's what I think Mizi was truly aware of that she pretended to be ignorant of. Not the full horrors of Alien Stage itself, but the emotions and mindsets of the people around her. She's much more understanding of the way people think and feel than she let on, which allowed her to tailor her reactions so that people hopefully wouldn't get so mad at her. If she's just a ditz, then they can't get too mad, right? People would feel bad for getting mad at someone so oblivious, right? She could keep finding comfort and safety and protection in Sua, right? Right?

She's innocent to many things, but when it comes to human beings, Mizi is almost hyper-aware of the way her perceived womanhood puts her in danger, not just from the aliens but from her peers, and the way her love for Sua is not accepted and would not be understood. And by not understanding that, by not seeing the love that was one of the few things she chose to pursue and cultivate for herself, does anyone really know her at all?

The religion they pray to tells them to be honoured to be selected for Alien Stage, and to carry out the purpose they were created for.

Mizi, armed with knowledge of humanity's god before the aliens, but with a naive and innocent hope in her heart due to being shielded from the horror of physical death, defies this assigned deity and chooses a new god in Sua. Her love for Sua is what she sees as the truest part of her - no matter what anyone tells her about what her's and Sua's "purpose" is, that cannot possibly be wrong. Something that brings them happiness and security like this cannot be wrong. She devotes herself to it because it is the one thing that she refuses to appease others over. She thinks this entitlement to her heart and body is "gross". She states it bluntly, many times. Her favorite person is Sua. Her best friend in the world is Sua. Her god, her universe, is Sua, and she chose her.

This changes the My Clematis performance.

We know that Mizi, unlike the rest, was not forced to participate in Alien Stage; instead, it was a choice she made because she wanted to perform with Sua. What initially seemed like a naive desire to share a special moment with her soulmate becomes something much more motivated by Mizi's own desires to have people see her love for Sua in a way that cannot be denied. She wants people to see them together.

Mizi is oblivious to the Stage's true nature, but she is not oblivious to the emotions of her friends. She knows something is wrong with the way Sua is acting about it. She knows the stage carries tension they can all feel. On some level, she knows the two of them are destined to be torn apart.

But she doesn't want to see it, because much like Sua needed her bubble of innocence to survive, Mizi needed her hope that their love could be enough some day. That they won't be torn apart and forced to fulfill some coldly practical or biological prerogative. It's the first duet in Alien Stage history; a brilliant, almost rebellious demonstration that Mizi has just about deluded herself into thinking might actually work to spare them from their fate she sticks her head in the sand about and refuses to acknowledge.

They are going to wear their most beautiful dresses. They are going to sing the most beautiful song for them, a testament to their love and connection. Look, see, aren't we beautiful?

Mizi: "Still, I want to sing and perform with SUA for as long as possible, so I want to win with her, together! I heard that there’s never been a tie in all of ALIEN STAGE’s history… But if we get that tie, then I bet everyone will call us the most fantastic duo to exist in history, right?!"

After this comic, all I can read in this is: acknowledge us.

But then Sua is shot dead in front of her.

Her blood splashes that same cheek where the boy slapped her. Mizi's final hopes are shattered. Worse yet, because she still can't understand why this happened and why everyone keeps getting violent, because her desire to display their love openly got Sua killed, Mizi internalizes the idea that she is the one with something horribly wrong with her - blaming herself for being too frightened to face reality when the rest of her friends had, and feeling like her desperate attempts to people please and hold onto an ignorant hope forced people into dying to protect her. In actuality though, Mizi is not responsible for the way people try to force her to fit an image, and she did not manipulate people into liking her - she's just friendly, and many of the guys read into it, feeling entitled to her because they're boys and she's a girl, and in the face of that, Mizi's established love for another girl is inconsequential.

This adds another layer to Mizi's violent breakdown in round 5. The boy from this comic bears quite the resemblance to Luka. This comic recontextualizes Luka's interactions with Mizi and Hyuna in a really intriguing way.

Luka is a victim. I want to make that clear off the bat. He's heavily implied to be a clone with the least amount of understanding on love and human connection. Off the stage, he is micromanaged to the point of complete and utter obedience - the perfect idol. But on stage, the performance is his to control, and he does so by asserting dominance over his performing partner and emotionally destabilizing them.

Fascinatingly, while everyone else appears somewhat oblivious to the queer love of many of our main characters, Luka appears stunningly aware of it, and is able to weaponize it. Round 5 looks like a wedding. He grabs Mizi and forces her to participate in a distorted version of a partner dance. It was really the perfect way to break her.

In addition to mocking her over Sua's death, in addition to her anger that Sua lied to her and enabled her ignorance, Mizi looks up at Luka and sees what she always feared: a man replacing her beloved Sua and forcing her into a kind of relationship she doesn't want, because "that is the way things are meant to be".

She no longer has anything to lose, nor fear for her own life, so she finally lets all her anger out on him.

Again, Luka is obedient. He's internalized many things: win at all costs being one of them. Do what you were designed to do. It's not really a surprise that he probably internalized these biological notions of what is "natural" too. Whatever his audience wants to see.

This also lends context to this scene. Hyuna is in distress. We know and she knows that Luka's feelings are genuine, but for as long as he acts out the aliens' methods of control, his "love" will only be a prison for Hyuna. He forces himself on her here, likely because... "it's only natural". That entitlement tainting what were genuine feelings between them would be unbearable for Hyuna, who values her freedom more than anything (and this is before even getting into what happened to Hyunwoo).

For Hyuna to rescue Mizi immediately after she lashed out, and for Mizi to temporarily see a woman who embodies freedom in how and who she loves, who is unabashedly loud and courageous while no less damaged, is a huge deal coming on the tail end of Round 5. It's really such a shame the time they had together was so short.

I, for one, am really hoping that Mizi can find her strength in love again, much like Hyuna did, instead of continuing to punish herself through Sua's memory.

[onlyangel4]

shivers. cody rhodes. smau.

cody rhodes x reader

synopsis: you were raw’s resident wildcard, part chaos, part charm, and a whole lot of unsettling. but when your momentum stalls and a transfer to smackdown shakes things up, you don’t expect wwe’s golden boy to be the one who really sees you. cody rhodes is everything you shouldn’t fall for: clean-cut, composed, untouchably good. but from the moment your paths finally cross, it’s electric.

the tension builds. the tweets get flirty. the dms stay private. and when love enters the picture soft, strange, and entirely unplanned, neither of you stand a chance.

faceclaim: madelaine petsch

angel's playlist

wwe

liked by user1, user2, user3 and 532,192 others

tagged: y/ninsta

wwe: BREAKING: nick aldis just made a great acquisition with y/n y/ln "the devil's advocate" moving to smackdown

view all 12,394 comments

user1: thank god she is moving with damian

user2: i feel so bad for rhea, all her friends have transferred

user3: y/n vs tiffany stratton pending

user4: this is such a good move

user5: y/n vs alexa bliss is now on the cards oh my fucking god

y/ninsta posted a story tagging rhearipley_wwe

written: gonna miss travelling with you girly, can't wait to annoy you at every ple

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cody hadn’t meant to notice you.

the night had been like any other, smackdown’s usual chaos buzzing through the halls: interview lights flickering, echoes of promos from down the corridor, ring gear rustling as crew passed by. he’d just wrapped up his segment, still unzipping his jacket and cooling off, towel around his neck, boots untied.

then he heard your laugh.

sharp. bright. it cut through the noise like a hook in a song, and his eyes lifted instinctively toward the sound. you were standing a few feet away by catering, leaning casually against a flight case, talking to la knight. you nudged his arm, said something with a cocky little grin and la threw his head back, laughing like you’d just nailed the punchline of the night.

cody slowed his steps without meaning to.

you looked different on the blue brand. the smackdown atmosphere suited you, the confidence, the swagger, even the way you stood. he’d seen you before, of course, quick hellos backstage at joint shows, nods in hallways. but he’d never really seen you.

not like this.

you looked relaxed, like you belonged here. like you’d always belonged here. the way you spoke with la was easy, familiar. you laughed again, biting your lip like you were trying not to smile too much, and cody felt something settle deep in his chest, something he didn’t quite know what to do with.

you didn’t notice him watching. but he couldn’t look away.

he blinked, forced himself to keep walking. one foot in front of the other, back to his locker room, back to normal.

but not without glancing over his shoulder one more time.

you didn’t see it. but la knight did. and he smirked.

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wwe posted a story tagging y/ninsta

written: the devil's advocate just picked up her first win against candace larae

y/ninsta posted a story

written: alexa play "all i do is win"

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cody tried to act casual.

he found damian by the loading dock, mid-lift with a dumbbell in one hand and a protein bar in the other, like some kind of multitasking demon. cody cleared his throat and nodded in greeting.

"yo", damian said, not missing a beat. "you lost or just bored?"

cody smirked. "neither. just had a question."

that raised an eyebrow. damian paused, waiting.

cody hesitated for a second, then shrugged. "your friend, y/n, what’s her deal?"

damian’s face didn’t move at first. then he slowly grinned like he’d just found out the ending of a movie you spoiled for yourself.

"she bite you or something?"

"no", cody said too quickly, hands up. "no, i just, she’s different. thought she was funny. that’s all."

"funny", damian repeated, clearly enjoying this. "dude she's a freak, she collects cursed dolls and thinks blood moons are romantic. you sure you’re ready for that?"

cody huffed out a quiet laugh, trying to hide how interested he actually was. "just curious. that’s all."

"mhm."

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you were leaned against a production crate, sipping from a black metal water bottle covered in band stickers, occult symbols, and one very questionable hello kitty decal. your match was over, adrenaline fading, and you were scrolling through your phone, half-laughing at a meme damian had sent: a goat in a tiny suit titled "your next manager, probably."

you were typing back insisting you would never let paul heyman manage you.

then you felt it.

that weird tingle, the kind you usually associated with full moons or creepy dolls falling off shelves. you looked up just as cody rhodes turned the corner, hands in his pockets, that polished calm he always carried still intact. but he slowed when he saw you. not startled. not awkward.

just interested.

"you know" he said, stopping a few feet away, "i looked up that sigil you have on your entrance gear."

you blinked. slowly lowered your water bottle. "you did?"

"it’s protection, right? wards off evil. not sure if that’s ironic or practical, considering the name."

you tilted your head. "the devil’s advocate doesn’t mean i’m the devil", you said, grinning. "just means i’ll argue with god if i think he’s being dramatic."

cody let out a low laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "yeah, that checks out. damian said you’d say something like that."

of course he did.

you took a step closer, eyes narrowing playfully. "so. you’ve been asking around."

Hh shrugged, unbothered. "maybe. i like to be informed. especially when someone walks out to latin chanting and makes the lights flicker mid-promo."

"it was one flicker", you said, smiling. "and it wasn’t me. probably."

his smile lingered, but his eyes didn’t leave yours. for a second, everything around you, voices, footsteps, the echo of ring noises muffled. It was just him. just you. standing close enough now to feel something under your skin shift, coil, wake up.

you felt it. a pulse behind your ribs. p warmth crawling down your spine.

he felt it too. you could tell by the way his expression shifted, still calm, still composed, but with a subtle inhale. like he needed a second longer to centre himself.

cody cleared his throat, eyes flicking to the pendant around your neck. "is that a?"

"protection charm", you finished. "from my weird aunt. she says it buzzes when a man’s intentions are suspicious."

he raised a brow. "buzzing yet?"

you paused.

smirked.

"not even a little."

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y/ninsta

liked by rhearipley_wwe, reallaknight, americannightmarecody and 649,110 others

tagged: archerofinfamy. reallaknight. americannightmarecody.

y/ninsta: good company. good chaos. he still doesn’t know i caught him staring.

view all 18,228 comments

americannightmarecody: … i have no idea what you’re talking about.

archerofinfamy: you say "caught him staring" like he wasn’t staring all night

y/ninsta; should've charged him for it

rhearipleywwe: i miss you so much

y/ninsta: miss you too mami

yaonlylivvonce: you’re either in love or summoning demons… maybe both

samizayn: did cody survive the curse or is that coming later?

user6: "he still doesn’t know i caught him staring" AND SHE SAID IT LIKE THAT????? help me breathe

user7: this has “i’m soft for him but I’ll never admit it first” written all over it

user8: y/n dragging cody without tagging him is my roman empire

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the restaurant was quiet, one of those tucked-away places cody had found on a rare night off. no cameras. no fans. just dim lighting, brick walls, and a candle flickering between you on the table like a spell waiting to be spoken.

you’d been talking for hours. about everything and nothing. the banter had been easy, same as always. but now it had softened. Shifted. the plates were mostly empty, your legs brushed under the table, and cody was watching you like he couldn’t help himself.

"most people think it’s just a gimmick", you said, twirling your glass in your hand, your voice quieter now. "the creepy stuff. the sigils. the altar in my hotel room."

his lips curved, gently. "i don’t."

you glanced up at him, surprised. "no?"

cody shook his head. "you never play anything that close to the chest unless it means something."

there was a beat of silence. then you set your glass down and leaned back in your chair.

"my family was different", you started, staring past him for a moment. "not in the good kind of different. the kind that makes your skin feel too tight. religion was everything. fear was everything. if you didn’t follow the rules exactly, you were wrong. damned. doomed."

cody didn’t say anything. he just listened.

"my aunt was the only one that got me, she gave me a book of folklore when I was nine", you continued. "witches, demons, spirits. it scared me at first. but then i don’t know. something in it made sense. the idea that power didn’t have to be holy to be real. that there was something else out there for people like me."

You smiled faintly. "i started drawing symbols. learning. making up my own protection spells. my mom burned them in the fireplace. Said they were evil. i kept doing it anyway."

there was a pause, then a soft breath from you.

"so yeah. that’s why i like ‘weird shit.’ it’s not about scaring people. it’s about surviving them."

when you looked back at cody, his expression had changed.

he wasn’t smiling. not because he was put off but because he was absorbing every word. rhere was something in his eyes, something steady and deep, like your truth had anchored him in place.

"that’s not weird", he said finally, voice quiet but sure. "that’s brave."

you blinked.

"you made your own space when the one you were born into didn’t fit", he added. "that’s not creepy. that’s powerful."

your throat tightened before you could stop it.

and when he reached across the table, brushing his fingers against yours, it wasn’t flashy or dramatic. it was quiet. Intentional.

and you felt it again. that shiver. not fear. something else.

safety. want. the knowing.

∘•···············•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•················•∘

∘•···············•∘ʚ ♡ ɞ∘•················•∘

the arena had emptied out. the noise, the lights, the energy, it had all drained into silence. you were still in your gear, perched on one of the crates near the back hallway, sipping water and trying to come down from the high of your match.

you heard footsteps behind you, and you didn’t even have to look. You knew who it was.

"hell of a match", cody said, voice soft, almost reverent.

you looked up at him. his hair was still damp from earlier, curls resting just so. his suit jacket was slung over his shoulder, tie loosened. he looked undone in the best way. teal.

"thanks", you said with a tired smile. "i might’ve blacked out for a second after that spear."

he laughed, stepping closer. "yeah, i saw. you popped up like nothing happened though. you’re terrifying."

you grinned. "that’s the goal."

he leaned against the wall beside you, close. not touching, but near enough that the air felt charged again. like it always did around him.

there was a pause. then you spoke, quietly, deliberately.

"i’m not good at this. feelings. saying them out loud."

cody didn’t rush you. he just watched, eyes steady, soft.

"but with you", you exhaled, like something heavy was lifting off your chest. "i don’t feel like i have to armour up. i don’t have to play the freak or the flirt or the wildcard just to be enough. i can just be. and you see me. that’s rare."

cody looked at you like his whole world had narrowed down to this moment.

"i do see you", he said. "all of you."

your breath caught.

"i’ve tried to play it cool", he added, a faint smile tugging at the edge of his lips. "tried to keep it light. but every time you walk into a room, it’s like i forget what i’m supposed to be doing. i don’t think i’ve ever wanted someone the way i want you."

you looked at him, really looked and saw it all written in his expression. the affection. the ache. the wonder, like you were something celestial he still didn’t fully believe was real.

and then, finally, you leaned in.

slow. certain. like it was inevitable.

his lips met yours in the space between words, and everything stilled. no roar of the crowd. no bright lights. just warmth, and breath, and the soft brush of his hand as it cupped your cheek like he’d been waiting to do it for years.

you kissed him like you meant it. like you’d been waiting too.

when you pulled back, just barely, you rested your forehead against his.

"so", you whispered, lips ghosting over his, "are we gonna pretend that didn’t just change everything?"

he smiled, breathless. "no chance in hell."

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americannightmarecody

liked by y/ninsta, reallaknight, archerofinfamy and 822,283 others

tagged: y/ninsta

americannightmarecody: little moments. big feelings. and one person who makes the chaos feel like home.

view all 19,835 comments

y/ninsta: the feeling’s mutual. you’ve always felt like home. even before i knew it.

biancabelairwwe: finally. we can stop pretending we don’t notice you beaming every time she walks by

archerofinfamy: about damn time. (also: i’m offended you didn’t tag me for best supporting role in your love story)

reallaknight: love that for y’all. but who took slide 5?? i need answers.

user9: if she doesn’t hex him to keep him forever after this I WILL

user10: "makes the chaos feel like home" WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO BE THIS SOFT SIR

user11: she got the nightmare whisperin poetry now huh

[thelonelyshore-if]

How did the ROs figure out their queerness?

Give us the thoughts king 👀 if its not spoilery of course

Ahhhh thank you both so much I love love love thinking about this. The ROs mean so much to me and I love thinking about them as people, with all of the experiences that comes with it. Answering below the cut because this is gonna be an essay <3

Beck - ever since Beck was little they knew that sometimes they felt like a boy and sometimes they felt like a girl and sometimes both or neither or something else entirely...but they also didn't fully realize that not everyone felt that way. If her sister got mad at her for stealing & wearing her clothes it was because her sister was mean, not because she was 'supposed to be' something else. If her parents got on their case for not conforming; well, their parents were always on their case. Not anything different when it was because they caught them kissing a boy. It wasn't really until late middle school that Beck fully understood that they were different.

To this day they don't really have the words to describe their gender. They just know it changes, and they do what they can to broadcast that to the people around them. Most people don't get him, but that's nothing new. His sexuality is even more complex too describe in exact words, for him, but he knows he's been attracted to all sorts of people. Queer fits, and he doesn't really feel the need to try to define it further than that.

Croft- unlike all of the other ROs, Croft is from modern day and unquestionably grew up on tumblr lmao. They are very knowledgeable about the spectrum of gender and sexuality. Unfortunately how they figured out that they're trans is a spoiler (it's a story that will be much more fun to read in game lol), but they figured out that they're on the ace spectrum in high school. All of their friends were obsessed with dating and sex and they thought they'd lost their minds. And then eventually (after answering one too many "who do you have a crush on???" questions) they went. Wait a second maybe I'm one one who's different here.

In college, though, they fell desperately and unquestionably in love with their only long term partner to date. She was mysterious and beautiful and a self-described witch...and one of their best friends. Croft was obsessed and realized that maybe they aren't actually fully asexual. Clearly there's the potential for attraction, if they're connected enough to someone. So they mentally adjusted the label they use to demisexual and went on their merry way.

F!Jay- gotta split Jay up because it deeply depends on their gender. But, as I think I've mentioned before, when f!Jay and Yasmin were younger teenagers they had a classic homoerotic teenage best friendship going on. Jay had a massive crush on Yas, they cuddled and held hands all the time, they were each other's first kiss (to ~practice~ ofc). And it was all totally platonic, because they were both girls!!!

Spoiler alert: it wasn't. When Yasmin and Seth started dating Jay felt weirdly jealous and brokenhearted. She talked to her mom about it, and Grace was just like. Honey. Baby girl. And Jay was like but I don't even like girls like that!!! She was in denial for a bit until she joined the co-ed baseball team, realized she spent a bit too long admiring all of her teammates in a way that definitely wasn't platonic, and then went. Oh. Huh.

M!Jay- he really doesn't think about this sort of thing the same way his female counterpart does. Jay is a pretty damn emotionally intelligent guy...but he doesn't really do introspection all that well. So his own path to self discovery was a lot more like. Damn my teammates have nice form. And look great in their baseball pants. And then proceeded to not really think all that deeply about it until he was (unknowingly) fawning over how good one of their male teammates looked and Seth was just like........."bro I love u no matter what you can tell me if you're gay."

And Jay was just silently like. What the hell do you mean I had a crush on your girlfriend for years. And out loud was just like. "I just respect him as a player I don't think he's hot." And Seth said "..........ok." Then Jay went home and thought about it longer and also went. Oh. Huh.

Perri- when it comes to their sexuality, Perri has always kind of suspected? They fall a little bit in love with everybody. Especially people who are nice to them. Not in a way where they assume people are flirting. In fact, Perri doesn't think they've ever been flirted with. No way. They're too awkward and weird. (Perri needs better self confidence). But people are just so pretty, and funny and sweet and interesting...and gender has never really been a limiting factor on that. They really figured it out definitively in middle school, though it took them until high school to actually put it into words and tell other people about being queer.

For Nonbinary!Perri, their gender journey was significantly more complicated than figuring out their sexuality. They tried on a couple of different identities and labels throughout their later middle school years. Having Beck as a best friend kind of made them actually think about their gender and how unhappy they were being seen as their assigned gender. They wondered if maybe they were just the opposite gender and were trans, but that made their skin crawl in the same way. They didn't want to be defined as anything, really. Just themself. So eventually they just figured that their gender is as queer as their sexuality and left it at that.

Ravi- okay so. I can't say a lot about Ravi because of spoilers. Which I'm very sorry about. BUT what I can say is that, for a long time, he figured he had to be gay. He had a boyfriend he loved, after all. If he's a guy attracted to other guys, then there isn't really any other option...right? Even if he noticed girls & other people the exact same way as he did most other boys. It wasn't the same as the heart-pounding, life-ending near obsession he felt for the boy he loved.

After his ex died, Ravi settled on the fact that he'd never fall in love again. (The man has a big storm coming). It wasn't until chatting with Jay and Yasmin about their own queerness that he realized that being bisexual was even an option. He felt kind of silly, after that. Of course it was. He quietly adopted the label and went about his day. It isn't like it matters, since he'll never date anyone else ever again ;)

Yasmin- probably had the easiest time of figuring herself out, save for maybe Croft. Yasmin is, if nothing else, deeply self-confident. She understands herself in a way few other people really do. She's known since she was little that she liked girls as well as boys. She has a distinct memory of telling her parents that she was going to marry Princess Jasmin someday. Her parents acted weridly concerned, until Yasmin clarified that it meant she'd have a pet tiger. They didn't realize that the 'marry a princess' part was just as important as the 'pet tiger' part.

As she grew older she understood that her attraction wasn't really limited to gender...but she still assumed she'd probably marry a man. It's still Easthaven, after all. Plus her parents weren't...the most accepting people in the world.

If Jay is a woman they had their 'friendship', and it made Yasmin blush and her heart beat faster, but she never really thought much of it. Yas is much more comfortable in her sexuality now--in the sense that she's not afraid of what the town would think if she dated a woman or nonbinary person--but...she's in a similar boat as Ravi. Never gonna have another long-term relationship, so it isn't really an issue? At least, that's what she thinks ;)

[dr-spectre]

Splatoon & Me.

A discussion about my personal history with Splatoon.

So... 10 years huh? We did it, 10 whole years of this franchise being a thing. I honestly can't believe it's been this long since it began, i was in primary school when i first laid my eyes on Splatoon and now I'M A GOD DAMN ADULT! That's.... really scary to think about...

Basically, in this blog post I'm going to be talking about where i was during each Splatoon game and it's respective dlcs, this won't be a retrospective review sort of thing where i review each game, but rather I'm just gonna ramble about each game and dlc and just... talk. It is sort of a retrospective but it's more of a personal one.

I highly encourage you guys to chat and just ramble away about your relationship with the franchise.

So, without further ado, let's talk about where it all began...

Splatoon 1.

So, to give some context, i did not own a Wii U during it's run, i only got one in 2025. However, around 2014 to 2015 is when i first started actually following Nintendo news, i was around 10 years old and i had an iPad where i got to see news and updates on different Nintendo things.

I still remember my initial reaction to Splatoon somewhat, even after all of these years, i remember seeing the orange ink and the squid swimming around and my brain immediately went "OH IS THIS SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE 2?!?!?!" And then... She popped out of the ink. And it showed the gameplay and i was very, perplexed yet, curious... I saw some of the E3 footage of people trying out the game and it intrigued me so much. The bright colours, the character designs, it was something i wanted to get my hands on, yet i didn't have a Wii U and i didn't want to explain what a Wii U was to my parents. We already had a Wii so... yeahhh it would have been a mess you know? (Wii 2 was right there Nintendo...)

I looked at Splatoon from the outside, seeing all the content, seeing the idols. I didn't think much of Callie and Marie at first but... Well... In years time that would change, dramatically... I saw all of the ancient memes and people talking about white ink and i barely knew what that even meant at the time. Back then we just barely talked about sex ed so white ink was a weird thing to me LMAO!

I remember watching Etika talk about the game and the apparent rumour that Nintendo invited Playboy bunny girls to play the game early as a promotion, i swear to god that was a thing but i barely remember it. I remember seeing all the creepy shit within the story mode, the friggen screams and odd sounds in the boss rooms.

I talked about Splatoon with my friends at primary school, discussing how it would feel like, what weapons we wanna try out... Man... They were simple times. Snack time and lunch time were just friends and i discussing on a table what we thought about recent gaming stuff.

But now, i have a Wii U and it's basically my Splatoon 1 machine. Sure, i played some Bayonetta 1 and 2, some Wii games, but my Wii U is my Splatoon 1 machine, and let me tell you, Splatoon 1.... It's.... It's PEAK!!!!!

THE STAGE DESIGN? THE BEST OF THE BEST! It feels like you're going around a playground, so many paths, so much verticality, so many little details and things to see. it's really really dense and i love it. I love the way the weapons look in Splatoon 1, they are so cartoony and colourful and... yummy looking? That's the best way i can describe them. Callie and Marie greet you when you boot up the game so it's automatically the best Splatoon game by default /j

The hero mode? Octo Valley? It's really fun and cute. Seeing where the series began is very neat. It's just a simple tutorial with some interesting ideas and bosses. It's actually good and tells it's simple story in the most Nintendo way possible, unlike a certain canyon of the octopus variety....

DJ Octavio is really funny and his boss fight in Splatoon 1 is my favourite boss fight in the entire series. The music across the board be banging, Octo Valley is really cool and a good single player experience. It knows what it tries to be, it has a simple story that's neat, it's just nice, nothing crazy but it's just nice.

Splatoon 1 still holds up in my eyes, if you have a Wii U and you somehow don't have Splatoon 1 then what the fuck are you doing!!! IT'S LIKE 10 BUCKS ON EBAY! YOU CAN PLAY THE GAME ONLINE WITH PRETENDO! GO DO IT!!! IT'S MORE ACTIVE THAN SPLATOON 2! GO! IT'S REALLY FUN!

"B-but i don't wanna mod my console!" YOU'LL BE FINE!!! IT'S OKAY! TRUST ME YOU'LL BE OKAY! Go play Splatoon 1, you'll have a really good time!

Speaking of having a good time... NOT! It's time to talk about... IT. You know the game... The game i give a lot of shit, for legit and... well.. petty reasons but, if we are gonna talk about Splatoon and celebrate it's 10th anniversary, we have to talk about-

Splatoon 2.

Oh Splatoon 2... i have... mixed feelings about you. What you gave me was access to a series i would fall in love with, you gave me these amazing memories and make me look back on a time where i can look fondly on. but you also gave me pain... anger... stress.... sadness... you gave me these sharp stinging pains in my chest when i saw... her. What you did to... her. Cause me genuine chest pains and it would get so bad that i couldn't do things i wanted to, you ruined a holiday break for me because my brain became obsessed with... her. The echoed singing ringing in my head, the stinging, i couldn't handle it, i couldn't even look at... her. Anymore, without getting the stinging and tingles in my chest. I couldn't stop thinking about those awful events that your story mode told me happened, the fucking vile events that are so engrained within the community that it has taken years to get out, yet it's still there... It won't go away... The god damn pain was so strong and i couldn't figure out why it was even happening in the first place. Why, why... her. Why did i feel so strongly about this character that everyone treats poorly? Why...

Your story mode, I will NEVER forgive, I can't do it, i can't sit beside and listen to the loudest voices say things i so strongly disagree with, i can't watch lore videos anymore, i cant....

But i can't hate you anymore man, i just don't have the energy within me to continue to bash you down and treat you poorly. I wanna love, not destroy. So i will, for a brief moment in time, say wonderful things about you.

I remember before i got this game, i got the Nintendo Switch 4 days prior on Christmas, i got the console, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and... Sonic Forces... Hey i didn't pick the game okay? I wanted Sonic Mania but my dad and i had no idea it was a digital only title.

But even after all that, my dad gave me a question, one simple question. "What would you like for your birthday?"

I only had two choices in my mind, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, or Splatoon 2.

I chose, Splatoon 2, i badly wanted to play Splatoon since it came out and when i finally had that damn case in my hands... Oh i fell in love. It felt like fate... The game so smooth, it was so fast, so fun, it was a shooter the likes of which I've never played before, i loved the way the game looked, the way it felt, the Inklings, just, oh my god it was like everything clicked in my brain. The music, the visuals, it was so gooodddddd.

Splatoon 2 as a multiplayer game is really really good, not AS good as Splatoon 1 but its very close. The stage design is fantastic and continues off of what Splatoon 1 did, the new weapons like the dualies are so bloody good and the weapon is now my main weapon that i use along with the roller. The music in stages is fantastic too, the visuals for a Switch 1 launch title is really really GOOD! I can give the game it's praises because it does have some really great shit in it. It's not all bad.

And how can we forget, Salmon Run, oh my god i LOVEEEE Salmon Run. One of the best things Splatoon ever introduced and it got it's start in Splatoon 2. I love the salmonids, i love some of the maps and i still miss Ruins of Ark Polaris, one of the most interesting stages that has been designed in the series.

And you know what? The story mode has some cool shit, I love the vibe of Octo Canyon and the background music. I love all the decorations Callie put up. Tidal Rush is a banger and anyone who disagrees I'll just look at you funny.

I played the story mode on an airplane ride and then finished off the final area in my hotel. It was a really cool experience... for a time.... I enjoyed it. At the time i didn't make much of Callie and the shades. I just thought they were direct mind control glasses or some shit. Man.... funny how things change...

And speaking of Callie, this is when uh... the Idol obsession began... this is when the seed was first planted.... I want y'all to remember, I was 13 to 14 when Splatoon 2 was a thing... What do you think happened when i saw a bunch of cute girls WHEN I WAS A TEEN BOY!?!? YEAH! YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT! I wasn't as obsessed with them as i am currently, but i was interested by them, i liked seeing them. Marina captured my heart and definitely uh... influenced me on the type of women that i like... I'm not gonna elaborate on that point...

I so badly wanted the Pearl and Marina amiibo back then but i couldn't get the courage to ask my parents to buy it or ask any EB Games employees if they had stock left.

And this leads me to another thing that i wanna talk about Splatoon 2, this is when i started interacting with other fans online, some of the interactions were fine, but most... i regret... I made a lot of mistakes, did a lot of cringey shit, when i think back to those times, there are little diamonds in the rough but it was mainly a lot of bad shit and i did things i just hate thinking about. I remember being in some call on the bloody NINTENDO SWITCH APP and there was this girl who pretended to be Callie and she would speak in this high pitched voice, and we did uh, roleplaying, i barely remember much but i would rather not talk about it and the other things my brain barely remembers.

I was a teenager, i did stupid teenager things, I'm a better person because I'm not a dumb stupid fucking moron teen anymore and i never wanna think about the shit i did and saw during my teen years.

I think because of that, my thoughts on the game have soured because of the stuff i did as a teenager. Although i can't remember it well, i still remember myself being very cringey.

I don't hate this game, in fact it does a lot of things better than Splatoon 3. But i hate how this game gets praised just to shit on Splatoon 3 because people have rose tinted glasses and forgotten how bad this game can truly be at points. The non story parts of this game are fairly solid, i can admit to that and i wanna celebrate those parts.

Splatoon 2 i fucking LOVE you and HATEEEEE you!!

Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion.

I mean, what is there to talk about that hasn't been talked about already? It's Octo Expansion, the widely beloved single player mode, the number 1 thing Splatoon 2 has over the other two games, the single player mode that everyone has come to agreement is the best in the series, and you know what? I agree too! Shocker i know!

Octo Expansion is fantastic, the atmosphere is brilliant, the ost is probably my favourite in the series, Agent 8 is a cut above the other protagonists because of the memcakes and how much mystery surrounds them. The chat logs which gave Off the Hook so much development it's insane, the difficulty, the final boss, oh my god i LOVE this campaign!

I think the main reason on why this mode is celebrated so much is because it appeals to Splatoon fans the most. It's challenging and doesn't hold back. You WILL die a lot in your first playthrough. But it's not unfair, most of the time, it is challenging but fair... MOST of it.

Like genuinely i will never, EVER forget my first experience playing through the finale of Octo Expansion, the twist of Tartar trying to blend you up and Agent 3 coming in with the SPLATOON 1 MUSIC! THE METAL GEAR SOLID LIKE STEALTH SECTION! NASTY MAJASTY! SHARK BYTES AND USING THE INK JET?!? OH MY GODDDD! It's so fun and hype.

Sanitized Agent 3? The only mind control plot in a piece of Splatoon media that i ACTUALLY LIKE and don't find it incredibly disgusting, vile, stupid, poorly written or wasted potential. The fucked up remix of Splattack, seeing your Splatoon 1 character FIGHT YOU? The first time in the series where the games celebrate the past and try to remix it in a unique spin is so fucking cool.

And... Fly Octo Fly... brother. Oh my god. I listened to that song over and over and over and OVER AND OVER AGAIN! It is probably the best final boss song within the entire series and i don't think I'll never get tired of it.

Octo Expansion is a god damn treasure, it is a miracle that it came out as well as it did. Sure, it is short and it does suck that the really cool development for Off the Hook is pretty much skippable, but i don't care. Octo Expansion is like the dessert that saves a mid meal you just ate. And speaking of saving the best things for last...

Splatoon 2: Final Fest.

I wanna say my final words about Splatoon 2 and briefly talk about the Final Fest because i did play it when it was happening.

I remember the build up to this last Splatfest being really intense considering how the previous final Splatfest influenced things and it brought up a lot of interesting debates within the community. Is a world of chaos truly better than a world of order? A world of order would keep everyone safe, but it would be very strict. A world of chaos would allow anyone to do whatever they want, but it would also have a lot of violence and no rules to govern what is right and wrong.

However... What really influenced me to pick the team that i ended up picking was down to a YouTuber's words about the matter.

"Its kill or BE killed, the strong survive!" And who said that? Well... It was Etika. I fucking loved that man's content, so one of his last streams stating that he was on Team Chaos and his tragic passing made the choice obvious. I still miss that man today, it feels like there is this hole that he left and i don't think it will ever be filled ever.

I joined Team Chaos and i fought HARD to make sure Chaos would win. And seeing MC. Princess Diaries and fucking PEARL COMING IN TO USE HER PRINCESS CANON!! OH MY GOD THAT WAS HYPE AS FUCK!!!!

Ultimately, after all the battling and war... Chaos won, and the dialogue that Pearl and Marina said to each other was just... Oh my god it was so fucking CUTEEEE!!! It was a great end to a game that allowed me to join the fandom.

Although Splatoon 2 gives me a lot of... anger, there's still a lot that i love and cherish about it. Everything to do with Off the Hook, Octo Expansion, the stages, the new weapons, oh my god this game did a lot of good things, and i would rather remember Splatoon 2 that way, over the feelings of distain and pure rage i have over the writing that hero mode provided.

Splatoon 3.

I mean, i don't have to say much about Splatoon 3, i made a whole ass blog post about it in the past just before the Grand Fest happened, but i wanna still wanna talk about it.

Splatoon 3 is my favorite game out of the trilogy and I'm gonna defend it no matter what. It feels like Splatoon at it's most polished gameplay wise, it feels somehow smoother and faster, the new movement options while at first being nothing too crazy, actually transform how you move around the stages and are a MASSIVE game changer. You cannot go back to older Splatoon games after experiencing Squid Roll, it's just so hard.

The new weapons like the Splatana, S-Blast, Stringer, Douser Dualies, etc, are really unique and introduce interesting ways and playstyles. I love the god damn Decavitator dude. What an incredible weapon with a funny concept and brutal name.

Salmon Run gets some massive improvements and it's so so so FUN! I love the King Salmonids so god damn much dude holy hell. And once we got to fight ALL THREE OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME!?!? PEAK! PEAK PEAK PEAK!!!

I remember when i got this game at launch, i had to go get a haircut after school finished for the day and let me tell you, it was fucking unbearable, i knew that my copy of Splatoon 3 was waiting for me at home yet i could not play it. I think the funniest part of that day was explaining to my dad what the fuck a Splatoon is, he never really gave it much thought when he got me Splatoon 2 so he must have forgotten what it was and my brother and i just stared at each other when he asked "what's Splatoon?"

But let me tell you... when i got home... Holy mother of god i grinded out ROTM like no tomorrow dude. I had so much fun and i was completely hooked. Sure i got spoiled that Deep Cut were gonna be boss fights and Mr. Grizz was the true antagonist thanks to leaks running rampant before the game came out, but it was still so cool, plus i was sharing my thoughts with my friends on discord and we were all freaking out and shit.

I really adore The Crater and how it fools you into thinking it's gonna be yet another standard hero mode, but then it drops the back to back surprise of DJ Octavio being the first boss fight and then being dragged into Alterna. You can criticize ROTM for any reason you want, but you can't deny, that intro is fucking awesome and a great way to subvert expectations.

And Alterna as a whole has this really cool vibe and aesthetic to it. The snowy, abandoned yet clean areas and the stages themselves invoke this weird sensation in my brain. The stages reach this... nostalgic part of my brain, it's so odd yet i love it. I don't really like the stage design itself because it feels like Octo Expansion diet lite edition with barely any of the difficulty or replay value of Octo Expansion, aside from some levels.

The boss fights are pretty neat and yes, the Big Man fight is awesome and a cool reference to Super Mario Sunshine, yes i did soyjack at it, we all did, moving onnnnn!!

The finale of Splatoon 3 ROTM is truly special, although i think Octo Expansion is better, ROTM still slaps so hard when it comes to an epic finale. Calamari Inkantation 3mix is a banger, your little buddy that's been helping you throughout the entire campaign becomes a FUCKING KAIJU TO BEAT UP A GIANT BEAR THAT WANTS TO COMMITT MASS GENOCIDE AND TURN EVERYONE INTO FURRIES!!! DJ Octavio redeeming himself and you having to pilot his mech when in the previous games you were fighting against it. It feels like everything has come full circle to give a satisfying finale to the Splatoon saga.

Splatoon 3 did a lot of things right, but it has some issues that i HOPE get addressed in the eventual Splatoon 4. Such as the catalogue system and how long it took to get updates and content additions, 3 months for patches is a death sentence for modern online games, that needs to change. The lack of third kits, the stage design being significantly more watered down compared to the previous games, despite there being new movement tools, the stages feel more restrictive which is such a massive shame.

Splatoon 3 is cool but it for sure suffers the issue of death by a thousand paper cuts, it has all these minor issues that some people can handle while some can't, and that's perfectly fine.

Splatoon 3: Side Order.

Side Order... my baby... Oh i love you, but i also think you could have done better. To me Side Order feels like vanilla ice cream, like sure, vanilla ice cream is good on it's own, but MANNNN i want MORE! There's so much shit to love, yet it still needed way more shit and an actual good post game to keep players interested.

This dlc felt like an experiment, to see how the gameplay of Splatoon can adapt to different game genres and go out of it's comfort zone. I really do hope it gets a proper sequel in terms of gameplay and they go even more in-depth. More enemies, more bosses, more variety within bosses, more missions, more post game content including story content, more variety in the environments, etc. etc.

Side Order nails it's OST and environments and it's the most experimental sounding thing within the series. These songs will make people scratch their heads and go "what the fuck am i listening to?" And i LOVE THAT! They could have done Octo Expansion again but they actually wanted to do something unique and I respect the devs for that.

I now wanna talk about my personal experience with this dlc.

I wanna tell you guys something, Side Order came out during the height of my Splatoon fixation, i monitored it's build up to release like a fucking hawk, i saw so many theories and people going crazy on what could happen. I remember when that poster came out and people were screaming that AGENT 4 WAS THERE! AND HOW IT MIRRORED CALLIE IN THE SPLATOON 2 HERO MODE POSTER! IT WAS SO HYPE!! I remember reacting to early impressions of Side Order and all of the people who talked about it kept mentioning that something happens within the tutorial and i was so insanely curious on what it was... And what they were hiding... Where was Marina? Why is Inkopolis Sqaure bleached? So many questions and i wanted to learn it all...

And bro... When it came out... I hooked up my Switch to the main TV in my house, i got READY! And even then, i wasn't ready dude. I fucking gasped, i screamed, i squealed, i was crying, i was going OFF DUDE! I was stimming like a mother fucker, i was losing my god damn mind every 10 minutes.

The build up to Marina Agitando was so intense for me, i knew what was going to happen when Marina's dialogue got cut off and it turned into something sinister... The flashes of the past were in my brain and i was saying "not again... NOT AGAIN!!!"

And once i got to the 10th floor... And i saw her... I gasped so fucking loud and i was in shock for like a solid minute, time froze in that minute, realizing "oh... oh they did it... they actually did it... they did it again..." Once i beat the boss and i got up to the title card i was literally screaming and freaking out on WHAT THE HELL I JUST WITNESSED!!!

Throughout the entire DLC i was just going insane, seeing the first dev diary literally made me ACTUALLY CRY!!!!!! Parallel Canon made me yell, like, i could go on but I'm just gonna talk about the final boss. The final boss of Side Order dude... I... I won't forgot the finale of Side Order, it was so, emotional for me, and i don't exactly know why. I think the remix of Ebb and Flow with elements from the live version, the focus on embracing the chaos of the present, it just... reached to a deep part of my soul. I was trying to sing along, i was swaying with the music, just, bawling my fucking eyes out.

And... the cherry on top... UNLOCKING INKOPOLIS SQUARE?!?! I FUCKING FELL TO THE FLOOR! MY HOME TOWN! MY TURF! IT CAME BACK!!!

Side Order is something special to me, it came out at the perfect time and it's a experience i will cherish until the end of time. But there is... one more thing that tops Side Order in my eyes... Something that really destroyed me in both good and bad ways.

The Grand Finale.

The Grand Fest... Man, just thinking back to it makes me feel teary eyed. Funny how my biggest worry was taking pictures of the Idols... I ended up taking at least over 2k photos if i wanna make a very rough estimate. Yeah... I uh... i went overboard but, i loved every second of it.

At first it was difficult to pick a team because i do love the Squid Sisters but, i didn't wanna think about my past, when i think about my past, it makes me feel sad, lost, depressed, knowing that those past locations, the people I've seen, the vibes, the feelings, the senses.... i would never get them back... Thinking about the future too just makes me feeling so scared and anxious. Am i gonna be forgotten about? Will i be in the same spot for the rest of my life? Will i find success? Will i get a partner? Will i die tomorrow? Will my family get killed? Ultimately, i realised that i felt my most happy when i was in the present, that is where i think we are truly the most happy. You ever think about a birthday from your childhood you went to? You remember how the most fun you had from that party was the part where you were hanging out with friends, laughing it up, playing games, whatever right? Being in the moment, the present. And you were at your most unhappiest when the party was wrapping up and you were reflecting on the past? Realising that those fun times are over now... Or maybe you were really worried about how the party was gonna be like? You were worried about the future.

Plus, Off the Hook mean a lot to me, i think they taught me a lot of things, they showed me what a happy relationship between two people could look like, they showed me that just because someone is so vastly different from you, it doesn't mean that they don't deserve love, they still do. I yearn for the kind of partnership Pearl and Marina have.... My choice was obvious in that moment and i went with Team Present.

The hub was truly special, it was so big and complex that it would literally tank the performance which is so funny. Seeing DJ Octavio with his boyfriend, right next to the Squid Sisters stand felt like my heart was healing, it felt, good, to see him like this. Seeing him so silly and ridiculous, how he always was before... Well... Splatoon 2.... Ugh...

The plushies, the jellyfish, the lights, the sounds, nearly every single Idol song in one place, BLUSHING TIDE OH MY GOD I WON'T FORGET HEARING THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME! THE SQUID SISTERS DEFENDER NEURONS IN MY BRAIN WERE JUMPING AROUND I TELL YOU THAT! The performances of the past live concerts being fully preserved into a digital form that can be accessed anytime. Like... Oh my god they put in so much fucking effort into this.

I won't lie, i tried to dance along to some of the songs, yes i did try to sing along to the lyrics out loud, yes i did cry over Three Wishes, yes i did literally sob my eyes out really hard when the credits music from all the games played in the hub. I was a literal mess by the time that it ended. My face was so wet and i couldn't stop crying during that final hour, my eyes were actually hurting I'm not even fucking joking. The only other time i really cried hard over a video game were Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Mario Galaxy and Persona 3 Reload. Even thinking back to how i was i get a little teary eyed. In that moment i thought "oh god... Is this it? Is this the last time i will get to see them again? Is this... the end? I don't want it to end! I don't want them to go!!" Man... I was so fucking sad dude. I think it was the first time that Daybreaker Anthem got to me as well, never thought that Deep Cut could make me cry but hey, they did it. It was a really magical experience. It really was.

And that final day man... That fucking final day with Rainbow Color Inkantation was just... OH MY GOD MY HEART WAS POUNDING! I WAS GOING CRAZY! I never felt so much adrenaline hearing those final 10 seconds. It might actually be my favourite Calamari Inkantation I'm not even kidding. 3mix is a banger and Splatoon 1's inkantation is iconic, but Rainbow Color Inkantation feels climatic, it feels like everyone coming together for one last song, and the idols trying to fight for dominance on that song. Rainbow Calamari Inkantation might be a contender for the magnum opus of the Splatoon OST I'm not even kidding.

The Grand Festival was.... everything. It was the best way to end Splatoon 3 and i don't think they could have done it any better.

Conclusion.

I wanna say, thank you for reading, it means a lot to me, truly it does. Like you spent time out of your day to read the personal ramblings of a random ass autistic man who likes squids and octopuses a bit too muchhhh...

This franchise means a lot to me and countless other people too. From the outside it might seem a bit weird or cringe to be so obsessed with a franchise like this, to cry and sob at some of it despite it's silly and girly appearance. But i do not give a shit about the people who find it weird. To be free is to embrace the cringe, to embrace the shit that makes you feel whole inside. We all need that thing that makes us feel whole and happy in life.

What this franchise gave me is something literally irreplicable.

Although, as of me writing this segment, my interest in the series is for sure fading away, and that is to be expected. I can't hold onto the interest forever. It must be put to rest. I have other things i wish to experience, i have other games to play, tv shows to watch, things to write, so much to do.

But Splatoon will always be in my heart, I will always keep my things on display, I will never give up my love for this franchise and throw it all away. I will never do that.

So remember everyone, i want you all to stay fresh, make sure you don't get cooked and that you stay off the hook.

Catch ya later!!!

[livwritesstuff]

I keep seeing the candy trauma salad videos again and I need to know if the girls ever decide on doing one lmao?

I think they would try to rope their dads into it but they would just simply stare and say.... no. But i can see them standing in the backround watching the girls telling increasingly more traumatising things at which both Steve and Eddie would have to stop and say are y'all good??

I think one if them definetly would say that one of their traumas is being adopted lmao

I love asking about yiur little universe and i cant wait for you to tell us more. Your story is quite literally my official headcanon for the characters❤️❤️

<33333

This is especially funny because Steve is a trauma-based therapist lol

Hazel definitely makes Robbie and Moe do this with her, and when she posts it, she adds the caption *trauma candy salad except we were raised by a trauma counselor*

They start with Robbie:

Robbie: Hey, I’m Robbie and one time a girl broke up with me because I was questioning my gender and then, like, almost a year later when I changed my pronouns back to she/her on Instagram, she DM’d me to say that she would be okay with us getting back together.

Robbie: And I brought the bowl *holds up large glass mixing bowl*

*cut to Moe*

Moe: I’m Moe, and me and my sisters were put into into foster care at birth and we’ve literally never known a single thing about our mom because she died before any of us were allowed to contact her

Moe: And I waited two decades to get DNA tests done, and then when we finally did it, not only did we not learn a single thing about our mom – literally nothing – we also learned that I have a different bio-dad.

Moe: It was probably the worst day of my entire life.

Moe: And I brought lemonade Sour Patch Kids.

*cut to Hazel*

Hazel: Heeey, I’m Hazel, and I did ballet for fifteen years and during the last rehearsal for my senior spring recital, my dance teacher said over the microphone with the entire company in the theater that I was the reason the show looked bad.

Hazel: And I didn’t know what to do so I just said thank you.

Hazel: Oh, and I brought gummy worms.

*cut to back Robbie*

Robbie: I’m Robbie and when I was fourteen I was in the senior orchestra class and we went to Disney for their music festival, and the second night we were there, one of my friends with a fake I.D. stole a car and convinced us all to go out and get drunk and go joy-riding and the car ended up on the wrong side of the highway and we flipped twice and I almost died.

Robbie: And I was trying really hard to be cool but I was honestly just excited to be at Disney.

Robbie: So that sucked.

Robbie: And I brought Nerds Gummy Clusters

*cut to Moe*

Moe: Hi, I’m Moe, and when I was applying to college, I had a male interviewer tell me that he didn’t think I could handle the engineering program and that I should choose something easier.

Moe: I had a 5.0 GPA and got a 5 on the AP Physics exam the year before.

Moe: But whatever.

Moe: I brought Starbursts

*cut to Hazel propping up the camera so Eddie can be seen standing at the counter*

Hazel: Okay, go.

Eddie: I’m Ed.

Eddie: *warily thinking about what he’s legally allowed to say*

Eddie: I failed senior year twice, and the third time, after I spent basically the entire year working my ass off – kind of – so I'd actually graduate, we went into a state of emergency in March and all the seniors got their diplomas by default.

Eddie: And apparently I brought *looks at bag* – oh shit, these are actually good. AirHeads Xtremes.

Moe, behind the camera: Didn’t you almost die during all that?

Eddie: Yep.

[midnight-in-town]

Lately I saw someone saying Lizzy was just a stand-in character while Yana hinted at the real Ciel in the story ? Like she was meant to represent the twin to OC and so she was replaced by RC in the story starting from the blue cult arc, so that OC could confront RC. What do you think ?

Hey Anon. Oh, hell no, is what I think.

Look, I could quote the entire story and demonstrate that our!Ciel has some things to address in his dynamic with Liz and entirely different things to confront real!Ciel about, but I'd rather prove it in one go :

The reason Lizzie's dynamic with our!Ciel is absolutely unique in the story is that both hid their true self from each other, despite being canonically the closest person to one another*, because they were afraid to be rejected by each other.

And the culprit behind this false belief ? It's real!Ciel.

*This was confirmed by Yana talking about Lizzie's feelings during the Campania arc, but also by Bravat within the narrative (in ch122 or 123, depending on if you read the magazine or volume version) mentioning that Lizzie was the one person closest to our!Ciel.

It just so happens that Liz's reveal was during the Campania arc when our!Ciel's was more recently (and has bigger consequences).

So, narratively speaking, real!Ciel's return is meant to be antagonistic to both our!Ciel and Lizzie because :

real!Ciel possibly used to poison our!Ciel and also played a part in the tragedy of 4 years ago, before coming back from the dead and taking everything away from him

real!Ciel triggered (accidentally or on purpose) big insecurity and feminine issues in Lizzie, turning her into a passive girl to fit his standards when her true self is a strong active fighter that our!Ciel respects

(I'm not even mentioning how real!Ciel also antagonizes Edward's character, but this is also super important considering Ed's protectiveness towards Lizzie when it comes to "Ciel" was triggered by Lizzie's self worth issues, which were caused by real!Ciel.)

TL;DR real!Ciel has his own narrative role to play, as an antagonist, to our!Ciel, to Liz and also probably to Edward ; just like our!Ciel has to confront his cousins about his choice to lie 4 years ago, at some point, so they can obviously choose his side.

Yana is not erasing Lizzie any time soon in the story, mark my words.

I hope this answers your question. Have a good day Anon.

[crimson-and-clover-1717]

Ed’s Initial Intentions regarding Stede

Thank you so much for your attention to the poll. The consensus is it’s complicated - and I sort of agree - although I’m swayed towards Fascination alone.

This is my interpretation…

Stede causes Ed to access hidden or denied parts of himself before they’ve even met. And it causes a change in Ed’s behaviour. Ed’s come across many rich or aristocratic folks to rob whom he would see killed without issue; but not someone who’s also a pirate, doing their own original thing, and who seems ambivalent towards Blackbeard’s existence. It’s dopamine to Ed’s novelty-starved brain. It’s not as if Ed carries out a usual raid on the Revenge intending to kill Stede, only to find himself unexpectedly charmed. Ed’s bewitched even before he meets Stede, which means Ed’s entire approach and thought-processes are altered.

Killing Stede and the crew isn’t necessarily off the table should the need arise, but I don’t think it’s actively on in any capacity. There’s no plan, and there’s no ‘uszh’ for once either. Because none of this is uszh. Ed’s engagement with the Revenge is not his normal MO. History’s most brilliant tactician is free-styling. Possibly free-falling.

At the end of 102, Izzy states, ‘Captain says follow that ship.’ And Fang answers ‘Oh really? Why?’ To which Izzy replies, ‘How should I know? The man’s half-insane.’ This conversation shows this isn’t usual strategy. Even Fang asks why - he thought they’d seen the last of those ‘fancyboys’. And Ivan’s sad he didn’t get the chance to murder them, which seems the usual way of things. Plus they’d already had the chance to take or plunder the ship when it ran aground, so this stalking manoeuvre is out of the ordinary. It feels like wasted time and energy.

By the start of episode three, Blackbeard’s ship is a few hundred yards out from the Revenge, and Izzy’s trying to manipulate Ed into usual strategy again by suggesting opening fire, or boarding and throwing the Revenge crew to the sharks. Instead, Ed wants to wait until they make landfall and invite them aboard his ship. Ed’s doing something very different again because he’s unwittingly engaging with an unfamiliar part of himself. And interestingly ‘Go suck eggs in Hell’ appears not to insult, but to somewhat seduce him further. Before meeting Stede, he’s already out of his depth emotionally, and acting out of character, literally.

Despite what Ed would do normally, I just cannot see him landing on the Revenge with the active intent of plundering the ship and / or killing Stede and the crew. His words and actions suggest he’s already through the looking-glass.

So, to The Plan. We have three interesting moments which lead up to its revelation: the clothes swap, ‘careful of your face’ and ‘show me the ways of an aristocrat’.

For me, the three strands, which have no previous connection (other than Ed and Stede playing together), come together in Ed’s mind somewhere between Ed leaving Stede on the lookout, and Ed speaking with Izzy below: a matter of seconds. It reminds me of Keyser Söze in The Usual Suspects, pulling together disparate ideas into a cohesive story spontaneously. It’s the mind of a quick-thinker. And it’s in-keeping with Ed’s ability of reacting in the moment to the moment when necessary.

I think Ed also feels forced to perform Blackbeard for Izzy because Izzy’s threatening to leave pushes on that white father-figure emotional bruise. At this stage, Ed doesn’t have enough emotional loyalty to Stede to not voice such a plan; whilst his identity is still too caught in Izzy’s web to let him go - ‘you’re needed here’. For me, the plan to kill Stede is brought about in the moment via an act of psychological coercive control.

But Ed’s also kicking the can down the road. It’s a sort of Faustian bargain. Why not promise Izzy both their souls if it means Ed and Stede can hang out a little longer? Yet on another level Ed’s possibly hoping the debt won’t be called in, such is the complexity of the push and pull here. He’s putting it on the tab, the never-never. He’ll out-manoeuvre it if he decides that’s what he wants. Of course there’s doublethink going on because Ed’s in the middle of an identity crisis.

Ed daren’t admit his real reason for wanting to stay on the Revenge. He can’t comprehend himself even how deep this goes. His look as he turns is one of exhaustion and confusion. Stede Bonnet has him rattled. What started as a trickle of unease and ennui before they’d even met is now a whirlpool of unidentifiable feelings around both Stede, and Ed’s own perception of self.

Ed’s free-falling in liminal space.

[patscorner]

FAMILY DINNER PART 4 (FINALE)

Summary: Chris joins your family for dinner for the first time and it does not go as planned

Tw: Swearing, narcissistic dad, verbal arguing, panic attack mentions of alcohol use, mentions of ed(NO DETAIL), lmk if I missed something

wc: 3.5k

a/n: so sorry this one took so long. I've been swamped with schoolwork and writers block. here's the long-awaited finale. feel free to leave ur thoughts in my inbox

______________________________

You turn around at the voice, as you recognize it, but can’t put your finger on it. You turn around to look at Nick, whose head is also turned to look in the direction of the voice. “Who’s that?” Nick asked, letting you go and moving so you could see the figure clearly.

You don’t recognize the person at first, but based on his familiar figure and his almost distinguishable voice, the dots connect in a moment's time.

You gasp, your hands covering your mouth as your heart jumps in your chest. Your eyes meet the familiar eyes of your older brother, Cam. He looks much different from the last time you saw him, his ginger hair grown past his ears, and he’s started growing a beard.

You don’t say a word before walking up to him. You reach up and touch his face to make sure he’s real, and you're not seeing things; something you wouldn’t put past yourself, as this entire night seems like some long, tragic, nightmare.

“I’ve missed you.” He whispers, pulling you into a much needed warm embrace. You bury your head in the crook of his neck as tears, ones that you thought you’d run out of, fall from your eyes and onto his shirt. “Missed you, too.” Your voice comes out muffled by his shirt.

You pull away and look at the stain on his shirt. “Oops.” You say, smiling, remembering how Cam used to complain about the tear stains on his shirt when you were younger, but you both knew it never really bothered him too much. “Damn it. It’s been like 20 seconds, and you’ve already got my shirt wet. Like you're doing it on purpose at this point.” he laughs. You slap his chest and laugh lightly.

The laughing dies down and you guys are met with awkward silence. “So, what the fuck happened around here?” he asked, breaking the silence. You look at him sadly, before your eyes drop to your shoes. “Oh, you know, just a good ole family dinner.” You glance up at Cam, whose lip curls upwards for a second, before dropping. “What happened?” he asked, softer this time, looking for more of an answer.

“Dad met my boyfriend.” You say. “I sent yo-” you cut yourself off as your eyes widened. “Wait, why’d you come, you never come.” You haven’t seen your brother in more than 5 years, and all the sudden he randomly shows up to a family dinner? You’ve sent him countless invites to the family gatherings, all were left unanswered.

“Well, I couldn’t miss another boyfriend meeting. Not after the last one. Plus, I didn’t get an invite last year or the year before, so I was really confused. I thought you guys finally realized how nothing ever changes.” His voice was calm, like it usually was, even when talking about something so emotional. You nodded, eyes lighting up once again, as you remember Nick is standing behind you. “That reminds me. Nick! Come here!” You raise your voice slightly at Nick, who is no more than ten feet away on his phone, probably texting Marylou and Jimmy about their situation.

Nick turns around and smiles, making his way to you both. “This is Chris’s brother, Nick. Nick, this is my older brother, Cam.” The men exchange greetings and Cam turns to you. “Where is your boyfriend, anyway?”

“Currently? Probably getting processed into the county jail.” Nick speaks bluntly. You and Cam look over at him, Cam more shocked than I am. “Seriously?” Cam’s eyes shoot to yours. You nod. “Holy, fuck, this is worse than last time.” he rubs his head, as you nod once again.

“What happened last time?” Nick asks, looking between you and Cam. Cam shakes his head, “Story for another time, but let’s just say he did not stay for dessert.” You laugh at the reference, shaking your head at the memory. Nick rolls his eyes. “How are we gonna get my brother out of jail?” he reminds you.

You sigh, “I don’t know if we can. Where the fuck are we gonna get sixty grand? I-I mean, we could make a go fund me, I’m certain your fans would be more than willing…” You truly have no other ideas, and as much as you didn’t want to use their fans for money, you were desperate. You could see Nick hesitate at the idea, knowing his PR team was gonna have a field day.

“Let me help.” Cam offers, shrugging it off. You and Nick both look at him. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.” You say, shaking your head.

“You didn’t ask, I offered.” he shrugged again. “Let me help.” he repeated, this time more sternly, as if every other suggestion was out of the question. You look at Nick who raises his eyebrows. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” Nick responds, quickly embracing Cam.

Cam’s eyes widened, hesitating for a moment before hugging him back. You smile, knowing Cam was never the type to enjoy hugs or any sort of physical touch. “Alright, alright, if you hug me any tighter, you’ll pop my lungs.” he strained out.

Nick pulled away, his face flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry.” He nervously shoved his hands in his pocket. You chuckle at Nick’s actions, before embracing Cam as well, yours a lot more heartfelt. “I’m so happy you’re back.” you mumble into his shoulder. He squeezes you tighter. “Happy to be back.”

_____

Cam now sat on the couch, checkbook open. You’d told your siblings he was back, and tears were shed. You had no idea where your mom was, nor did you care. She and your father were the least of your concerns, you just wanted your boyfriend. Even though it’s only been a couple hours, you were so worried about Chris.

You knew how much he liked to talk, and that scared the fuck outta you, but Matt assured you he knew how to shut the fuck up when he absolutely needed. If it came to his or his family’s safety, Chris would never speak again.

“Okay, okay, so I can get 2000 dollars from Mom and Dad, out of their retirement fund.” Nick spoke out, typing quickly on his phone. He had convinced Cam not to pay for it all because it was his brother, not Cam’s. Cam reluctantly agreed. Cam nodded at Nick’s words.

“I can give you guys 52 grand, I just won’t be able to get starbucks in the morning anymore.” He shrugged. You had learned that Cam was the CEO of a very prestigious clothing company, ‘Cam’s Clothing’, (very creative), which is where he got all this money from. “So with 52 grand, Peter’s grand, my two grand, and Nick’s 2 grand, it’s only 57,000 dollars.” You sigh.

“Yeah, but the officer only said it was an estimate. It may not be that much.” Matt chimed in, rubbing Maya’s back. She had refused to go upstairs again, and opted for sleeping on Matt’s lap. He didn’t mind, and you were too tired to fight it. Plus, you understood, Matt had been the closest thing to a father figure tonight, and Maya needed that.

The rest of the night consisted of you being held by Cam as he told you, your siblings, and Nick and Matt, stories about his life since he’d been gone. You were so happy he was back, and you let him distract you and your family from the tasks that were to come.

_____

The next week was spent sitting down with Chris’s lawyer, the triplets PR team, figuring out how to get him out of jail, and how to do so quietly. None of you cared if the internet knew, it was moreso the onslaught of opinions that would pop up from people who had no fucking idea what was going on. It’s been a week, and none of the triplets had posted anything, except for Nick posting on the group account that something came up and there wouldn’t be a video for a while.

And that alone was enough to send the fans into a spiral. All hell broke loose as theories and conspiracies flew towards the Sturniolos left and right. Some say Matt was sent to a mental institution, that one of the triplets was dying, that Chris and you broke up. It was chaos, causing you and the triplets to delete social media. You’d all be back, but you were already stressed as is, and you didn’t need to add dumbass rumors to the mix.

Tensions had already boiled over, when you went off on Matt because he blamed you for Chris going to jail in the first place.

“I can’t fucking believe your father put my brother in jail.” Matt scoffed. You both had been going back and forth playfully, until you made a joke Matt didn’t like, causing him to overstep. It had been a long day, as he hadn’t been sleeping and social media was getting in his head. You were just as stressed as Matt so of course the argument escalated.

“That’s got nothing to do with me, Matt! I told you all what was going to happen if we went! And if I remember correctly, youall said it was going to be fine! This isn’t fucking on me.” You spit out. You were glad your younger siblings weren’t home. They didn’t need to hate Matt, because you didn’t even if you were arguing with him.

“How the fuck was I supposed to know your bitchass dad was going to try and kill him?! This isn’t on anyone but you and your fucked up family!” he shouts. At that moment, you were also glad Peter and Cam weren’t home, because if they were, there would be a Sturniolo in the hospital, and a couple more charges on Peter.

“Matthew Bernard! What the fuck is your problem?!” Nick scolded. He’d been watching the argument unfold, not wanting to intervene, although now he wished he had. “Have you lost your fucking mind?!” Nick shouted at Matt, who looked at his shoes. You felt the hot tears roll down your face as you stared at Matt.

Your heart stung at his words, sure, but you always had a way of understanding when any of the triplets were overwhelmed. So, instead of shouting back at him, you walked up to him and took him into a tight embrace. He immediately broke down in your arms, his tears staining your shirt. His knees went weak and you slowly lowered both of you to the ground. Nick joined you shortly after, and the three of you spent the rest of that night crying in each other's arms.

So it’s safe to say social media had to go. That was a no brainer. So all of you deleted the apps, making sure the accounts stayed.

Now if someone were to ask you how you were doing, you would burst into tears. You missed your boyfriend and you worried about him constantly. Despite having talked to him everyday through the jail phone, updating him on progress, and him assuring you he was fine, you couldn’t help but hold the heavy weight of anxiety on your chest.

Your nails were bitten down to the nub from the chewing and you had rashes on your arms from scratching your skin as you thought about your boyfriend. Nick had to talk you out of driving to the jailhouse and demanding them to release your boyfriend, and Matt had to calm you down from multiple panic attacks you had just doing things that reminded you of him.

But finally, the day had come. Your dad and Chris in the courtroom, both in orange jumpers and handcuffs on their wrists, your dads arms behind his back, your boyfriends in front of him. Chris looked exhausted, and you assumed it’s because he never slept well by himself. His hair was unkempt and his stubble had started growing in, due to him not being able to shave. His bruises had mostly healed, except for the cut above his eyebrow you must’ve missed when he was in the cop car.

Your dad on the other hand, had 2 officers on each side of him, and his face was fucked up. He had a bruise along his jaw, along with a black eye and a bloody nose. You almost feel bad, but then remember he’s the whole reason you’re in this mess.

There’s no jury, so it’s just you, Nick, Matt, Cam, and Peter sitting in the courtroom. When Chris locks eyes with you, his face lights up and his eyes immediately fill with tears. Not only has he missed you, but he’s missed his brothers, his freedom, and his privacy.

The trial goes smoothly, the judge asks your dad to stop talking twice. Other than that, the trial continued without issues, both lawyers articulating their words carefully for the best outcome for their clients. The judge did not seem to bite the bait your dad’s lawyer laid out, seeing right through the fancy words to distract him from what was truly being implied.

You could tell by the way he looked unimpressed at your dad, even more so when he found out about his not so pretty criminal history. However, when it came down to it, Chris attacked him, despite the valid reasoning. The judge did recognize Chris’s clean record, not even having a parking ticket, which isn’t surprising considering the man didn’t have his license. Chris and his lawyer had their story down to a tee, while your dad and his lawyer struggled to cover up the holes forming in their version.

The judge noticed, of course, and he didn’t let them get away with it either. After what felt like years, the judge came to a conclusion.

“In the case of David, you’ll be sentenced to 3 years in the county penitentiary, with bail being posted at eighty-five thou-”

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me! He hit me! Why the fuck would I go to prison?!” Your dad cuts him off, ignoring his lawyer’s pleas. He had stood up, causing the officers around him to be on high alert.

“Sir, stop talking. If you find it hard to do so, you will be removed from the courtroom.” the judge deadpanned. Your dad grumbled under his breath before sitting back down reluctantly.

“Thank you.” he clears his throat. “Where was I-? Oh, okay. Bail will be posted at eighty five thousand dollars, with a year and a half of probation.” he sighs as he directs his attention to Chris.

“In the case of Chris, you will not have to go to prison.” You let out a deep breath you didn’t even know you were holding, clinging to Nick’s side, squeezing his bicep in anticipation. “However.”

Your heart dropped.

“You will be on probation for six months, because you did assault an officer. I understand you have two places of residence, so you can choose what state you’d like to be as you will not be able to leave.

The judge stacked his papers up before looking at the plaintiff. “Get him in a transport van. And get Mr. Sturniolo out of those handcuffs.” The plaintiff nods as he starts towards Chris. The judge smacked the gavel on the table.

“Case dismissed.”

You stand at the stove, stirring the steaming pot of spaghetti, humming to Right Here by Chase Atlantic. It’s been a month since Chris and your dad’s trial, and things have been… rocky to say the least. After getting a mouthful from your mother, she left the house without telling anyone her destination. You figured she just left to cool off, as she had before, but after a day, you began growing worried.

The second your call went to voicemail for the 45th time, you decided to file a missing persons report. Of course, they claimed they couldn’t do anything, especially after you slipped up and told them it’s happened before, they no longer took you seriously, despite you informing them that it’s never lasted this long before.

That following weeks, you decided that she probably wasn’t coming back, so you got temporary custody of your younger siblings. That’s the reason you're still in your hometown, cooking dinner for 9. You knew the boys would be hungry when they got back from James’s football game, and since they had already got takeout twice that week, you told Matt to just bring them home.

Jules and Maya went to a friend's house for a playdate, although Julia insisted it was a hangout. So that left you at home alone, which you didn’t mind considering you live with 9 people temporarily. But your peace is interrupted by the door unlocking, followed by lots of yelling.

You roll your eyes and turn your music off, as you know you won’t be able to hear it anyway. James is the first up the stairs with a giant smile on his face, running up to you. “I won the first game! I got the winning touchdown, and even though some bitch fucked up my shoulder, I was able to catch the ball!”

Your eyes widen as you look at Nick. “Why the fuck is my brother swearing like a sailor?!” You exclaim. “You told me you’d watch your mouth.” You point at Nick after turning the heat down on the stove.

“Why’d you assume it was me?! Matt spends more time with him!?” Nick raised his hands in defense. “Matt knows how to watch his mouth, unlike you!” you laugh.

“She’s got a point.” Matt spoke. Nick rolls his eyes and James looks at you with giant puppy eyes. “What?”

“I scored the winning touchdown!” he announced. You laughed, and engulfed him in a big hug, grimacing at his sweaty body. “Congratulations, kid. I’m proud of you. Now go shower, you stink.” you say pulling away.

“Thank you.” he looked up at you before sprinting up the stairs. You smile as you direct your attention to the rest of the boys that had walked in. Cam, Peter, and Nick got comfy on the couch, while Matt made his way to his room.

You smile at the last standing brunette, your beautiful boyfriend, taking his shoes off. “Hi, baby.” he says as he approaches you, resting his hands around your waist. You nuzzle your head into his chest, humming as you breathe in his scent. Ever since Chris got back, you’d be clinging to him like a koala.

“What’re you making?” he asks softly, guiding you both to the stove, curiously peering into the pot. “Chicken alfredo.” you reply, taking the boiling water off the hot eye. Noticing the sudden silence, you turn around to see all eyes on you.

“What?” you question, looking down at yourself, checking that you didn’t spill anything on your clothes. When you find nothing, you look back up. “What?” you repeat.

“Chris if you don’t fucking marry her, I will.” Nick finally says, causing Cam to laugh. You smile as you look at Chris, who practically has hearts in eyes. “Nah, bro, she’s all mine.” he smiles, approaching you and cupping your jaw with both hands, before kissing you passionately. You hesitate out of shock, before melting into the kiss.

You swear you could feel every word Chris wanted to say, in that one moment. You could feel every word of admiration, every word laced with love, all communicated to you through one kiss.

“Alright, alright, get a room.” Peter grimaces, turning back to the TV.

Chris pulls away, rolling his eyes. “With pleasure.” he said, grabbing your hand, pulling you behind him as he started towards the stairs.

“Ew!” Nick exclaimed.

“I should’ve shut my mouth.” Peter laughs, shaking his head. “Use protection!” Cam called after you, causing you to laugh out loud.

“Chris, what about dinner?” you ask as he tugs you up the stairs into the guest bedroom where you and him reside. “They can get takeout.” he muttered, closing the door as he pulled you into another loving kiss. You roll your eyes but sigh into the kiss anyway.

He leads you to the bed, pushing you down so he can hover over you. “You’re so fucking pretty.” he whispers before wrapping his lips around your neck. You whine as he sucks the spot on your neck.

“Chris..”

“Hm.”

“I love you.” He pulls away, placing a kiss on your lips. “I love you so much more, sweetheart.” he whispers as he rubs circles on your hips with his right hand. “Now, stay still.”

You latch your lips onto his, continuing the passionate make out Chris had started downstairs. His tongue swipes your bottom lip, and you open your mouth a little, as a battle for dominance ensues. You lose, as usual.

You both are interrupted by your phone buzzing, and you pull away as Chris whines. “Baby…”

“I know, hang on.” You open your phone and see a message from Cam.

|‘Dont be silly, wrap the willy’|

|‘No but fr, that mf better pull out, theres already to many kids’|

You laugh and show Chris the phone, and he smiles before rolling his eyes playfully. “Fine, now can we continue?”

You smile. “Yes, sir.” kissing Chris as he groans.

______________________________

taglist: @sturnioloblogs @y0urm4m @bueckerssturns @thenickgirl @muwapsturniolo @breeloveschris @worldlxvlys @freshloveforthefit @miloisdone @vanteguccir @annamcdonalds67 @freshsturns @rootbeerworshiper @matty-bear @imwetforyourmom @stunnaagirllsworld @lanixsturniolo @blackhorses-posts @starsturns234 @junnniiieee07 @pepsiboyy @deadxrx @ribread03 @ariieeesworld @venusxsturnio @mattslovelygf @Spencereidismybitch @ablanstar333 @jjmaybankshousekeeping @larnieboox88 @Preppy234 @endereies @eurphoric-rush @kqyslyho3 @sstvrnioloo @mattsturniololoverr @theyluvkaitii-blog @chrattstromboli @Sillysillygyal @elliesturniolo1 @coochiedestroyer1 @Freshlovah0e @starsturns234 @g-lazyy @strnlsblog

[thunder-opossum]

The two slugcats squirmed through tight tunnels and vast open spaces. Sizzle's stomach flip-flops in the lack of gravity; it's a strange sensation, there was no heft to his body, not to anything he touched. He would compare it to falling... but even then, you can still feel wind batting against your fur. The air here was still, the oh so familiar noises of the outside were all replaced by mechanical whirring.

Artificer reached out and snatched one of the small floating creatures from the air. She stuffed it into her mouth, "Eat these, and be quick."

Sizzle reached out as well, his paws grabbing onto the organism as it flashed an aray of bright colors. He but I it it quickly, hoping it wasn't in too much terror. The texture was chewy, with hardly any taste. "What are these?" Sizzle asked, reaching for a few more.

"Food. You can eat it, and you won't die from it." Artificer didn't need to eat anymore, she had already filled her belly with scavenger meat. It sickend Sizzle. But the green slugcat still needed to survive the cycle, he ate his fill and continued through the complex machinery.

Then the two suddenly popped into a different looking room, inhabitanted by something more complex. Similar structures to a slugcat, upright posture and diget-ed paws. But it was attached to wall with cords wrapping around it's metallic skin. It beeped weird noises as it stated at the two slugcats, seemingly annoyed.

Sizzle flinched at the familiar white-eyed-glare. He let his mother move in first, and she did so with confidence, the strange hunk of metal that's been following her around poped into existence and immediately caught the other beings, eyes. A moment later, gravity returned.

Sizzle smacked his face on the warm metal floor groaning as his mother landed safely. He really needed to work on his landings. Before Sizzle could lift himself up, a blaring light enveloped his vision and his ears rang with loud noise, similar to that of an explosion. He was propelled backwards and onto the floor once again. He clutched his head in pain, but there was a sudden clarity to the noise. A voice.

The two slugcats rose to their feet as this... iterator started to speak to the two...

[timeskip i ain't writing the spiel 5P gives Arti]

What a strange thing, Sizzle was having trouble wrapping his head around being in the presence of something god-like. Scavengers were known to exaggerate their stories, but the things they've said about gods in sky boxes suddenly were more believable.

Artificer was taking it in stride. She knew what coming here would give her. And now Sizzle must question the reality of the situation. There's no way his mom could survive slaughtering an entire city. It was impossible. But she seemed entirely confident.

She heard what she needed and waved Sizzle back up to the exit as gravity disappeared once again. She moved out through the pipe, but her son heared a shift in the room. The iterator, Five Pebbles. It made him come to a halt.

"You, green one. I need to mention something to you." His voice echoed in Sizzle's skull.

Sizzle angled his body around to face the iterator. Sure listening was uncomfortable, but his words must be important.

"I have seen pieces of your journey, and you seem to exhibit complex social behavior. So if you can prosses this information, I think you should know it," blue overseers popped up around the room, flashing bright holographic screens, "as much as one animal can lie to another one... well, I don't think you should be lied to."

Sizzle looked on, confused, and the holograms started to project a familiar environment... and a familiar friend.

---

hopefully the writing made up for the art! This is all I got motivation for right now, but I think it should give you guys a kick! Sorry for any typing mistakes, new phone and such.

[veryace-ficrecs]

The Pitt Fic Recs Part 1

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

Find part 2 here!

This Is The Day In Chaos by NameStartsWithN - Rated G

As the Pitt descends into its usual chaos, Dr Robby brings coffee and encouragement to his beleaguered team. Samira Mohan and Dennis Whittaker bond, while Mel King finally makes a joke -- intentionally!

The Dead Don’t Answer by NameStartsWithN - Rated G

Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch learned a long time ago that death isn’t quiet—it’s a symphony of chaos, a brutal soundtrack of screaming monitors, cracking ribs, and the rush of hands fighting the inevitable. At Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital, there are always calls for help. Because the dead don’t answer. But the living don’t have a choice.

The Aftermath by AGirlHasNoName20 - Rated T

Two weeks after Pittfest, Robby is presented with a choice. Or: The one in which Robby starts therapy. Don't read unless you've watched the entire season 1.

Rules of Law by jumpfall - Rated G

The night Robby signed his attending contract, he was introduced to the Laws According to Adamson. He likes to hope that if he leaves his trainees with nothing else, it'll be the Addendums According to Robby. - Alternatively, is it really a fandom until there's a five things fic?

To Be A Doctor by mossterious -Rated G

Four student doctors. Four paths to get there. Four points of view. One hospital. — Aka I need to get used to writing different character povs SO HAVE SOME TINY CHARACTER STUDIES I GUESS?!

people come and go on the breeze by sweetmuses - Rated M

Redemption is a hard, long journey. She knows this probably better than most people. You have to keep yourself afloat amongst the madness, being acutely aware of tipping back into the ether. It’s easier to live within the boundless ocean of guilt than to take accountability - because to take accountability means that you’re willing to work for it, and there’s no way of knowing when you’ll slip up and fall.

In Memoriam by fundotperiod - Rated G

Or: A reflection on the in-betweens of life, ghosts, and the human condition, through the eyes of Cassie McKay.

How Robby has grieved and remembered his mentor.

Reflection by ZHH123 - Rated G

She thinks back on all the moments she almost couldn’t bear. The moments that prompted her to question if she belonged in the pitt. Then she thinks of her triumphs.

Last Call by jumpfall - Rated T

“Sorry if I woke you,” Robby says. Jack shrugs. “Middle of the day in my time zone.” He waits a beat, and then asks, “You want to talk?” “No.” “You want a drink?” “You'd allow that?” “No,” Jack says. “Just lets me gauge how concerned I should be.” – 1x15 episode tag.

The Pitt Crew! by megas217 - Rated G

Welcome to the Pitt Crew a story about the doctors and nurses who work in the Pitt.

Sursum Corda by Celebratory Penguin (cpenguing) - Rated M

A few hours after Pittfest, Langdon returns to the ED.

The Way, Way Back by jumpfall - Rated T

Robby, post 1x13.

And I Said Nothing by elpopooley66 - Rated T

Trinity Santos is not okay. She’s never really been okay. But she’s held herself together this long — on caffeine, adrenaline, and silence sharp enough to cut. The Pitt sees it. Langdon sees it. And for once, maybe she lets herself be seen. They don’t fix her. They just don’t leave. Sometimes, that’s enough. Featuring: unresolved trauma, a lobster named Greb, a borrowed hoodie, and the terrifying prospect of letting someone care. Or: the one where she stops pretending she’s fine — and someone finally calls her bluff.

what a weight to live under by shirelings - Rated T

Mel’s convinced she’s made it to the door without anyone noticing her before a voice stops her dead in her tracks. “Dr. King.” It’s said in that sort of way that’s not really a question even if someone else would frame it like that, and Mel lets her shoulders rise up a little towards her ears as she slowly turns. Oh, boy. - Mel does, in fact, talk to Abbot at the end of the day.

Change of Watch by jumpfall - Rated T

When Robby's phone vibrated twenty minutes ago, he'd been dealing with a critical GSW to the adbomen and unable to answer. Now there's a voicemail from Jake.

Even Grouches Need to Go to the Hospital by lolathatch - Rated T

Trinity Santos finds a video of Doctor Robby from his younger days and makes it everyone's problem.

singing in unison by dotsayers - Rated M

Leah's sick the night before Pittfest. Robby gets his ticket back.

just a drop of water in an endless sea by evening_spirit - Rated G

Aftershocks by jumpfall - Rated T

Robby’s going to be fine, a rational part of Frank’s mind says. You’re the last person Robby needs right now, says another part, the one that hates himself. But Frank saw the look in Robby’s eyes and he knows that Robby is not fine. Not this time. And no one else will help.

But should it be him?

Maybe he should go get Dana? Abbot? Damn, if at least Collins was here. But Collins is not here, Dana doesn’t have anything more to give and Abbot is a pragmatic, a doer, not someone who would comfort another. Then again, neither is Frank.

Or--a 1x13 coda where Frank and Robby talk, but it doesn't really solve anything.

Ways they are (and aren't) coping with the mass casualty incident.

living weighs heavier by Antumbra - Rated T

Maybe none of them were ever meant to be alright, not once they’d chosen to devote themselves to this career that could only tear them down and break them apart. Or: an alternate take where Jack finds Robby after his breakdown.

[group-dynamic]

We just got a perfect season of television folks. The Pitt Episode 15 Spoilers

First, in a brilliant season of television, the moment to finally make me cry was Santos with the patient from the parking lot. The show earned that emotional payoff. Santos’s simple, provable declaration that life fucking sucks, but it’s still worth living is a thesis statement for the entire show. Her desire not to let someone slip through the cracks and her determination to make sure that her patient gets help by connecting and transforming her personal story of pain into healing for others makes her the spiritual embodiment of every lesson we learned in that emergency department this season. It ALMOST makes you wish that she had won the rock paper scissors match with Whitaker earlier and found Robby. Because it doesn’t escape notice that both Langdon and Robby ended this season with concrete offers of help from a male friend / colleague (rehab for Langdon from Robby and therapy for Robby from Abbot) and neither of them have taken the offer (Yet. The constant drum of this episode: “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. . .”)

Whitaker!! Now I can’t believe how much goodwill this show has built up with me by paying off storylines. The earlier hints about Whitaker‘s dire financial straits and his burgeoning sibling dynamic with Santos: his telling her in the first(?) episode that he definitely didn’t have $50 and then pocketing the sandwich; her own willingness to help and support other people being shown through his injured finger. This was a FULLY earned pay off. (Silly add on: Gerran Howell’s frightened reaction to Santos’s arrival was (1) valid and (2) the only moment in the show that I truly had my brain shouting British! That is a BRITISH man. It was something about the specific flavor of British physical comedy he channeled into his face and body lol.)

Also, I love how the general reaction to Mel and Becca has been a recognition that they are both relieved to be back with their sister (community, family, belonging) and how much Becca is a bright, centering force in Mel’s life but also that Mel can’t talk to Becca about what she’s been through that day. Mel doesn’t ever really get to be “off” as a caretaker. She has to keep a mask on at home—maybe a different kind of mask, but it really hit me that she has to still be somebody else to protect her sister. The bittersweet loneliness of that togetherness hits hard. It really beautifully captures the tableau of how families can never fully understand what their hospital worker family members do. And how that is both painful and healing: something to go home to that is just good and distant.

One thing that did stand out to me this episode (through no fault of the show) is how the change in the US political climate since the show filmed affected that scene where Abbott and Robby take over the patient and Ellis and Shen jokingly say “two old white guys are poaching our patient.” When later we find out that Ellis made the wrong decision in a way that put the patient’s life in danger, and Abbott has to step in and fix things. . . I imagine originally that scene was simply proof of how hard it is for Abbott and Robby to let go of the work that they do and go home because their years of experience makes them invaluable to the ED. But in this political climate, it didn’t pass my notice that two white men had to step in to fix the mistake of the only black female doctor we know on the night shift. The fact that this show has earned such good will from us that we know this is entire unintended is a testament to the character of all of those involved.

Oh, and somebody over on Reddit actually called the Abbot amputee reveal from 1! blurry behind the scenes photo, so I wasn’t as surprised as I should’ve been by that moment but I loved the casual acknowledgment of both the pain that working on your feet as an amputee all day would cause and the way that Princess hands over the wet wipe to him to wipe off his shoe, which makes the world feel so lived in. This is just life. People are disabled. Sometimes they are also doctors. This world is so rich, man. This show just GETS people. And LOVES people.

On that note! Samira Mohan speaks to my soul in this episode. I do feel like they shoehorned in the idea that she doesn’t have anything to go home to, and I’m also not convinced that telling a young female character that her career can’t be her whole life is necessarily needed in this moment, (but perhaps they cut whatever conversation the trailer suggested she would have with Abbott afterward, which may have contextualized this more. GIVE IT TO US!!). That being said, there is something so visceral about the ecstatic joy that a career of helping others brings you and the inevitable crying in the bathroom that follows. I just absolutely love Samira Mohan so much. She’s become my favorite character.

As for Javadi, I hope we get to see her again next season. I know that both she and Whitaker are harder to bring back if they set the next episode later than their rotation end, (which seems very likely based on the press releases so far). However, by having Javadi‘s parents work at the hospital and showing a potential friendship? Relationship? with Mateo it’s possible that we will see her again in some capacity. Similarly, by having Whitaker move in with Santos, there’s a possibility we get to see him again as well, even if he isn’t still part of the emergency department.

Oh! And one more thing about Javadi. I love how in the course of an hour she goes from juice box to beer! A very subtle, but wonderfully literary note to indicate that this baptism by fire has passed her from childhood into adulthood in the eyes of the Pitt crew. I love that her existence creates some perspective for Robby enough that he can laugh. Tomorrow and tomorrow. . .

OK, and I did say that Mohan was the most relatable character, but I actually have to give a shout out to Dana. Her quietly taking her things and walking out from the job she’s dedicated her life too (emotional and unannounced) is something I have done before and she captured that perfectly. I’m in awe of this cast.

(Speaking of the cast: Shout out to David’s actor for channeling those haunting camera stares that will stick with me for a long time. A Caravaggio. A portrait of humanity in all its complexities.)

Now back to Dana! On the one hand, you want Dana to have her retirement. You also want her to have her freedom from being the caretaker to the other doctors. I have spoken a lot about the way that this show captures how the patriarchy harms men. One thing I only mentioned in the side, though, is that the patriarchy expects women to pick up the slack. Dana is actually the one who holds that ED on her shoulders. And the expectations of an emergency department that needs her from the newest patient in the waiting room to the highest ranking doctor on the floor is so evident in Langdon‘s begging her to stay because he (and Robby) need her despite his unwillingness to take care of himself. (It’s what Whitaker said to Robby to get him off the floor. We need you: a truth that we know is not equal to healing).

I also saw that for many people, Langdon‘s comments to Robby was their final straw for liking him, while this episode also succeeded in creating genuine love for Santos. I once said I had no idea how they were going to successfully redeem Santos in the eyes of the audience after showing her in such a negative light but I shouldn’t have doubted. This show is made by people who are intelligent and caring and who love people. I don’t know any show outside of ATLA that’s pulled off a redemption arc that good. Never mind in the equivalent of one day. Especially without changing the character much at all: just our perception of her. People are full of infinite complexities when you are given the time to know them.

On that note, this episode did NOT make me hate Langdon. Despite not being his biggest fan, I think this show makes clear how much one day (which is really so so many days piled up over and over across time) can change everything. These characters lives are different now. Those families, those patients, ever hospital employees: they changed and they can’t go back to yesterday. (But tomorrow. . .).

So my favorite moment actually is Robby‘s confident, loud, and certain fuck you that he shouts back at Langdon as he walks into the hospital. That, to me, felt like the sign that we’ll see Langdon again. It’s the tone you use for someone you know and care about despite everything. The familiar, casual anger of loving something enough to walk away before it all gets worse. That fuck you, to me, was the same thing as the “See you Monday” to Dana: a recognition that I know you don’t want to try again, because life is fucking hard but hey, it’s worth it when you’re ready: see you tomorrow, assholes.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

I don’t know if the prompts can be asking for more in stories you’ve already started, but I would love to see more of the Hero of Shadow and Wild Link interacting, or more on Abel’s heart attack in the HC AU, or more interactions with Zelda and Link after they had to get married (Golden Mercy? The Imprisoning War? Not sure what that one’s called). … Or basically anything involving hurt/comfort or Hyrule, honestly. 😂

I love your writing so much, thank you for sharing it with us! < 3

Hyrule snapped his fingers in front of his friend. “Wild!”

Wild blinked, flinching and taking a step back. “S-sorry—”

“You good? Was that another—I thought the meds—”

“No,” Wild shook his head. “I—it was—sorry, I just—he—”

Wild continued to stammer, at a loss for words. What was he supposed to say? He hadn't spaced out, he'd honed in, his mind had snapped with clarity, screaming at him and wanting nothing more than to run towards the stretcher.

That man—he was—

And he was having a—

"I-I just... need to sit down for a bit," Wild finally said, walking out of the ED.

Wild had yet to fully explain everything that had happened in his past. Everyone knew he had gaps in his memory, that he'd sustained a head injury, that it made him have absence seizures, but the cause of it... the people he'd left behind because of the aftermath...

How could Wild possibly ever explain? He'd failed in his mission, and it had gotten his entire team killed. He could never face anyone from his past, let alone his—

Castle Town had promised a new life, a new beginning, especially as memories had tried to piece themselves back together and make him want to run and hide all the more. If he told everyone... then there was no more running from it.

Wild buried his face in his hands, resting on an empty stretcher in the basement. His mind screamed with anxiety as his past caught up to the present, and his heart screamed with worry over his father.

This was a nightmare.

XXX

Fable looked over her room one more time. Ambu bag? Check. Suction? Check. Defibrillator? Check. She had her maintenance IV fluid set up, the plasmolyte liter set up, the wires for the cardiac monitoring system ready to go, chest tube suction at the ready, and her little trays had all the syringes, saline flushes, blunt tips, alcohol swabs, caps, lab tubes, and everything else she could think of prepared.

She'd chart stalked the patient while he was in the OR, and she'd already gotten report from the nurse. Forty-year-old male (oh he's young, Fable thought, used to seeing far older patients) presented to the ED via EMS with chest pain and shortness of breath, STEMI confirmed with EKG, and he was sent to the cath lab. There they found multiple severe occlusions and opted for an open heart bypass surgery rather than using stents, and off to the OR he'd gone.

The surgery had gone fairly straightforward from what she could see - he'd been on bypass for about an hour, and the surgery itself had been going on for about four. He'd gotten about 500 of cell saver, 2L crystalloid, and 1 RBC, and he'd only been defibrillated once.

Just as she looked over the chart again, roll call was sent out to the unit, and she gathered her thoughts as she went to the room, awaiting the patient. He arrived a minute or so later, and the room quickly filled with Fable, the charge nurse, the tech, another nurse, the anesthesiologist, the attending surgeon, the fellow surgeon, the respiratory therapist, the ICU attending, and the nurse practitioner.

Everyone slipped into different roles and tasks fairly easily and quickly. Anesthesia handed off to the RT, who attached the ET tube to his ventilator, the tech worked on putting chest tubes to suction and getting outputs, Fable assessed her patient and looked at what drips they were on (2 of epi, 4 of levo, 0.02 of vaso, 1.5 of Dex, 1.2 of insulin), charge took the admission note while the surgeons gave report and Fable listened vaguely, her other nurse was attaching the safe set to the arterial line to collect blood for labs and an ABG, and the ICU providers listened to the report.

Vasoplegia, not too much bleeding but enough to merit product, chest tube output was a little high but not alarming, and he was cold at 35.8. Fable asked her tech to get a bear hugger, and x-ray arrived to check ET placement as the surgeons finished report. Fable stripped the chest tubes alongside the surgical fellow before they all stepped out for x-ray. ABG resulted pH 7.33, pO2 107, CO2 38, bicarb 24, and lactate 3.1. Fable opened the extra plasmolyte fluid bolus up to try and help with the lactate, which was likely indicative that the patient was dry.

The surgery team left, and Fable remained to stabilize the patient. She and her charge nurse worked on detangling the lines while the tech covered him in a warm blanket. His blood pressure was within parameters, with a mean arterial pressure greater than 65, though his systolics were in the 120s, which was right at his upper limit, so she tried weaning the levo a little, going to 3 to see what would happen, before continuing to detangle lines, get a blood sugar for the glucommander that was determining the insulin levels to give him, and obtaining cardiac output indeces. His cardiac index was 2.8, and his systemic vascular resistance indexed for his body weight was around 2600. Good CI, a little higher on the SVRI end. Perhaps she should wean the epi too, assuming his MAP tolerated it.

After about an hour, Fable felt a little less overwhelmed, and she called her charge nurse, who had left the room a good while ago alongside the rest of the team. "Have we heard anything about family?"

"He has a wife and daughter," she replied. "But they're a fair distance from here, out in Hateno. I think last we heard they were making arrangements to get here, but it wouldn't be until tomorrow morning."

Fable glanced at the clock. It was almost shift change, so night shift would have to be the ones to wake the man up, get a neuro assessment, and then hopefully extubate him.

Nodding, she went back to work. She wasn't going to wean sedation until he was warm enough, so all she had to focus on right now was stabilizing him. His labs came back and his hemoglobin was a little low, and his two mediastinal and one pleural chest tubes collectively put out about 280mL of blood. It was still a fairly high amount, mostly evenly distributed (the meds were bleeding more, but neither exceeded 100mL for the hour), but not enough to think there was an active bleed that needed surgical intervention. Not yet, at least.

Overall, he looked pretty decent.

After another hour, one blood product later, Fable finally felt like she was starting to get everything settled. Her patient's temperature was normalizing, but she was twenty minutes from shift change, so she figured it was safer to let him sleep through report and then night shift could try to figure out weaning and bathing. His lactic on his repeat ABG was improving at 2.4, so they were likely addressing all the problems.

When a transporter walked by, IV pumps in hand, she noticed him pause in front of her room. She walked over to him. "Hey. Can I help you?"

The transporter, a young man with long blonde hair tied out of his face, jumped, a little startled. "Uh, hi. Yeah. Sorry. I just..."

"What room are you looking for?" she asked helpfully. "I don't need extra channels."

"Uh, these are for 4301."

"You passed it, it's back that way."

"Right," the man nodded, looking back in the room. "Right."

Fable waited a moment, and then asked, "Can I help you with anything else?"

"Is he doing okay?" the man immediately asked.

Fable smiled. "Yeah, he's looking pretty good, I think."

"Can..." the transporter swallowed, shifting anxiously. "Can I talk to him?"

"He's pretty sedated right now," Fable answered cautiously. "Why do you want to talk to him?"

The transporter sighed in defeat. "I... he's my dad. I... haven't seen him in a long time."

His dad? Her charge nurse had said he had a daughter, not a son. Though... looking between her patient and the transporter in front of her, the family resemblance was striking.

Well, she hadn't heard of any visitor restrictions for him. "Yeah. You're not on his chart, though - can I get your name?"

The transporter sighed, putting the supplies he'd been carrying on the counter of the nurse's station. "I wouldn't be on it. My family thinks I'm dead. It's complicated."

He—uh... what?

"My name's Link," he answered her nonetheless before entering her patient's room.

Link? Huh. That was...

Wait a second.

"Hey, are you one of my brother's friends?" Fable asked as she followed him into the room.

"Your brother?"

"Link. Likes to call himself Legend to differentiate," she replied with an amused roll of her eyes.

Link gawked at her. "You're Legend's sister? He never even said he had a sister!"

"You two are alike," Fable huffed. "He doesn't particularly want a bunch of people to know he's related to me. But never mind that. Go talk to your dad."

Link stood there a moment, processing the words, before he exhaled shakily and nodded. Fable moved to the computer, working on catching up on charting to give him some privacy but also keep an eye on things. This patient's safety was her responsibility, after all.

Link seemed almost timid to approach the patient, even though he knew he was sedated. He slowly slid his hand into the older man's, shakily and quietly saying, "Hey, Papa. I... I, uh... I-I..."

Fable glanced out of the corner of her eye, seeing the young man getting tearful, and she tried to focus on her work once more.

"I missed you," Link whispered. "I'm s-sorry... about... about everything."

She heard a sniffle, and then the transporter moved quickly out of the room, offering her a brief but quick thanks before disappearing.

Fable turned towards the doorway, and then looked at her patient uncertainly. That was... odd.

Sighing, she walked up to the man, brushing hair out of his face. "Buddy, your family drama sounds almost as crazy as mine."

[lunarleonardo]

Ask and I shall ask

What's the Vampire AU's storyline? Why is there a homeless arc?😭 Are they set in older times or is this in a modern setting? Are the Saious both vampires? Why won't Shu-shu respond to him? Does the "QV" in the acronym perhaps mean "Queer Vampires"? Or maybe "Quiet Vampire"? And at what point are you two in the AU now?

WELL....

If i were to explain every part of the storyline we'd be here literally forever. This is a bit more of a modern setting, and for the *why*. . . let me explain

The story begins because Kokichi, a vampire, gets caught by some asshole detective and given to a religious cult who abducts, experiments on, and kills vampires. Obviously not looking too good for Kokichi already. However Kokichi is very young, so the cultists decide to try something new: they send in their "pure" vampire, acceptable in the eyes of their God. You guessed it! Shuichi!

Shuichi has lived his entire life with these people. He is very devout to their God, and is .. well. Your local cult boy. The cultists send him in to try to "communicate" with Kokichi, and that's how they meet.

How we get to the homeless arc... Well. Do you you remember this animation? Yeah his eyes aren't red for no reason ( ﾟεﾟ；) Let's just say when a vampire goes for too long without eating, they get...a little feral... which i guess worked in Shuichi's favor because that's actually how they escaped xD Good thing too because if they had fought any more, Shuichi definitely would not have survived any more @_@; or he could have just done the collar trick again but he didnt want to kill kokichi so. SIC EM KOKICHI!

The homeless arc is the name for the arc post-lab. They arent technically homeless.. Kokichi brought them to his old family home (which, kokichis story is a WHOOOLE different ramble Σ(O_O；) smookie went wild with the lore ill tell you that). By now Shuichi has kind of come to the realization that hes not actually a vampire. He was lied to by the cult, cus they were doing an experiment to see if they could artifically create a vampire. obviously they could not ( ´-｀) There's lots of shenanigans. They meet Kaito and go to a café! Kaito thinks Shuichi is literally insane xd Oh Shuichi also finds out hes transgender. He was lacking on some sex ed and never really realized that he was... born as a girl (´；ω；`) that was a fun revelation lmaoao

As of right now, Shuichi won't respond to him because he's nonverbal. He had a really bad panic attack, and sorta just. shut down. Kokichi doesn't know why Shuichi isn't responding to him though, especially since he finds out after he admits emotional vulnerability and Shuichi is dead silent. It's not a good day for either of them ;w; It's not necessarily eithee of their faults though. There's a lot of unresolved tension between Shuichi trying to get used to life outside, and Kokichi being uncomfortable with the topic of the cult, which is really all Shuichi ever knew </3 not a good mix. they still love each other though

In the AU (roleplay, more like) right now, we're getting super close to a scene i have been waiting for for a really long time !! They're tucking into bed for cuddles right now :] or at least trying to. It's a work in progress. Partly because SMOOKIE!!!!!!! HASNT RESPONDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SMOOOKIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[commanderx-ray]

Sometimes you accidentally derail the shift for everyone else and it wasn't even on purpose. You see, I was just a clown. Picked up my funny toys, my (fake) explosive grenade and my double-edged enery sword (unfortunately also fake), and started work as usual. A couple slips here, a couple slips there. Eventually, while scrounging maints, I stumble upon two Very Obvious syndies exchanging fucking codewords. Like. "Hey, Tristan, you look very AMUSED!" "Shit, do I, Ed? I might just start CLAPPING". If it was John Secoff who'd found them, it might've been a different story.

Instead, it was just me, Wacky Wally. I just jumped out of the dark with my toy sword and started hitting them while saying "I'm amused too!" They run off, then come back when they realize I didn't do any damage, and ANOTHER syndie comes in and is like "Oh shit are we all CLAPPING here?". Lord almighty.

I kid you not, this third Syndie, who was a very laid back lawyer, followed me the ENTIRE shift after that, absolutely convinced that I was some sort of syndicate mastermind who'd unleash some kind of ultimate robusting moves on the station. And you know what? I played into it. Told them I'd be willing to help out but that I was ultimately here for "glorious fun" (he understood it as the DAGD objective). At some point, we start seeing this knock-off brand of the Peaky Blinders waltzing around the station, led by Slippy Malone. I think nothing of it, and carry on. Trust me, they'll be important later.

Walking around with my clueless syndie sidekick who was really getting into character as some sort of clown mafia goon, we end up in the Chapel, where they were holding a mass gathering to worship Smile the Slime. Thinkin' I'd give everyone a laugh, I walk behind Smile, who's on the altar, and yell "THE SYNDICATE SENDS THEIR REGARDS" while hitting him with the toy lightsaber. You know that fucking "HORDE ALERTED" sound effect from Left 4 Dead? It was just like that. Suddenly everyone in the church descended upon me with everying they had - fists, toolboxes, crowbars, chairs - and I just keep hitting everyone with the toysword. My buddy goes apeshit, starts swinging a toolbox and it looks like he's doomguy in the coverart for DOOM. Suddenly, the bastard chucks a firebomb at the crowd and everyone disperses in time for a paramed to rescue me (not before knocking a man unconscious for attempting to make escape with my body)

As I wake up in Medbay, CMO is having an angry discussion with an officer over the chapel zealots and the apparently unjust arrest of none other than Slippy Malone. My buddy is nowhere to be seen, but I'm not very worried.Thinking to myself I oughta give shitsec a shake, I get up and start walking to the security department. Before I get there, however, I stop by HoP to scare him with my grenade and apparently he's amused enough by my antics that he slipped me a "funny" access in my ID. I of course test every door, and begin to have a growing suspicion that HoP just doomed the security department.

Before I get there, however, I see two officers bullying a botanist during a search. Always one to defy authority, I grab my trusty energy sword and start hitting the officers. The end result is about six stab wounds to the stomach, handcuffs and an awkward apology back at Medbay. Meanwhile, The Slippy Gang is very obviously trying to buy guns from Cargo, QM is nervously kicking the riot weapons crate to where no one sees it, unwilling to arm a gang of greytiders. Unfazed, I once more attempt to reach the hated Security Dept.

As I walk to Security, discontent is clear on the radio. Constant cries of "FREE SLIPPY MALONE!" and "Who the fuck is Slippy Malone" usually followed by "Shut the fuck up" swarmed the Common frequency. When I get there, I see a crowd in the Security Lobby. Officers are uselessly trying to disperse the crowd, the HoS is spewing hatred for the Slippy gang safely from behind the doors to Security proper.

This faux peace is shattered when an officer walks into security and carelessly lets a passenger comes in with him. The Head of Security says exactly two times, as detailed in the Space Law, "GET THE FUCK OUT NOW OR I WILL KILL YOU". The greytider is then scorched by a hail of lasfire from HoS' energy shotgun, not five seconds after the first warning.

The crowd goes apeshit. I immediately go to use my energy sword on the nearest officer, which ends me with a belly full of .35 auto rounds. People start actively protesting in front of Security as they unashamedly shot two unarmed people, but whatever fumes of righteous rage they're running on starts to get low after a bit.

During this time of general unrest, I touch the Security door that for some god forsaken reason, leads directly to their locker room, from outside. It opens. I grin. I spend the next five minutes covertly slipping security belts to people.

As I slip out of security once more, an officer sees me over the crowd and fucking bolts to me, has me stunned in .5 seconds. Giggling like a little shit, I scream out "POLICE BRUTALITY". The Mob converges upon the poor officer, and none other than one of the maint syndies from before start cuffing the secoff.

At this point, Security starts firing upon the crowd in obvious panic. The Blueshield officer shows up from God knows where because I hadn't ever seen the fucking Captain until now, and targets me with his gun. Except someone stuns him, I grab the weapon and shoot it once, making it blow up.

The tide suddenly turns against the rioting crewmembers because sec finally manages to think and starts dumping flashbags everywhere. The riot is dispersed, and I'm cuffed and taken to the bridge. As I'm dragged to the bridge, I see that whatever the fuck happened was station-wide. There's blood and dead people everywhere. When we arrive, there's already a dead body in the bridge. It's the greytider who had cuffed the officer, one of the maint syndies. I realize I'm probably not gonna serve time. The blueshied officer screams into the radio while she throws me to the ground. "I'll kill as many as I need to fix this. We can always bring them back."

She fucking slits my throat with a combat knife and leaves me for dead.

Eventually, the Warden somehow gets ahold of my body and the other guy's, and manages to bring us back to life. We were slated for perma but it was Uber fucked, and we'd just missed the evac shuttle too. Ward just let us go after giving the most depressing speech I've ever heard in my life, and the round ends.

No, it wasn't a rev round. No, I really WASN'T a syndie. I swear to God I thought this was just a minor stand-up against security