#other characters... yeah. not everyone had great casting

[quirkwizard]

Burn Out

Enji Todoroki's story is the most controversial part of MHA. I don't think that there is much debate for that. In spite of being introduced as a man who both abused and neglected his family for his petty desires, the story goes on to try and explore him more as a person. Needless to say, this had very contentious reactions from the fan base. Though the loudest part of it seems to decry this choice. That trying to get us to understand and even forgive a confirmed abuser is rather questionable. Once again, I disagree with this.

I think a lot of the issues with Enji come down to a fundamental misunderstanding of him as a character, specifically what the story says and shows, and what his arc is about. For starters, there are a lot more beats and character work that goes into it. It puts in a lot of work and new context to who Enji is as a person. At least, who he was before all of this. It's not a retcon. It's a recontextualization. It's an expansion from Shoto's and the reader's limited perspective on who Enji is. And at no point does it expect you to see Endeavor in a favorable light. That includes anyone outside the family. Any praise given to him isn't about him as a person. The most that he is given is that "Hey, he's trying to better himself and that is admirable." Because, yeah, you can be a good pro hero and not be a good person.

Then there is the actual work done with Enji's family. It treats him as the core problem with everything that happens, including the actions of Dabi. That line about everyone being to blame is more about everything that lead to Dabi than everyone being equally blamed. Though the most important part of this is that none of them welcome Endeavor back. No one is forgiving Enji for what he did. The most anyone talks about forgiveness, such as Shoto during the dinner scene, is in the context of self-fulfillment. Not forgiving him for Enji's sake, but their own, so they can move on with their lives. None of his family members are running back into his arms and calling him dad. Which I do think would be a massive botching for this plot line, but that isn't the case.

And the reason I bring up the lack of forgiveness is because Enji's story is not a redemption arc. It's not even about redemption. It's about atonement. Redemption is about trying to seek and earn forgiveness. Atonement is about trying to make up for what you did in the past. Enji does change and he works hard to see that change through. Sometimes, it does improve things and shows that he has changed, like trying to remove himself from his family so they can meet on his terms. Yet none of what Enji does fixes anything. It still doesn't absolve Enji or bring him meaningfully closer to the people he hurt. Even Enji himself says that he doesn't want to be redeemed. He doesn't see any kind of future for himself with his family.

And part of that atonement is how much he is punished. Which I've seen fans get upset about. That wasn't punished or condemned by the rest of the cast. Because Japan was in the middle of an apocalypse and there were way more pressing concerns. Yet Enji gets punished in other ways. Enji gets his dream on a technicality, fails to live up to the standard set up by his rival, has his legacy tarnished by all the terrible things he's done, nearly gets murdered by the son that hates him, and gets mangled by several different people throughout the war. In the end, all he's remembered as a great pro hero, but not a good person. It's an empty prize for what is an ultimately wasted life. And he ended up where he would always be: alone. He just did what good he could do before he got there.

Enji's story is a man who is trying to repair the damage he's done. His will burned everyone around him and left him nothing but ashes. A man who wants to do right by the family he destroyed. Who realized what he had done far too late and now needs to suffer with that. He knows that. Yet no matter what, he is going to try to make himself a better person. That is his Endeavor. And I wish people would at least try and understand that about him. I can understand not liking Enji as a character for whatever reason. I just ask that people to at least try and see what the story is saying and doing with him. Rather than just act like he's the same character he was back in the Sports Festival. Some bad man who is there to be evil, lacking any real depth to his character beyond that perspective. 

[arttsuka]

Heard you were trying to watch pnf in Greek and the closest I found was this hope it helps!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL56DuWab0JxKjDy54rA9tEbFJXbBGY2cq&si=-QyKpXRnr3eEA04Y

Thank you :)

I remember back in the day youtube was full of playlists with the episodes but disney took them down

[bogdreamz]

SOOO WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SEASON 4???

(love your art btw!!!)

smeltbracket found dead in this kitchen

[lacydollette]

ROUGH SEX WITH YOUR CO-STAR ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

pairing: actor!jensen x actress!reader

warnings: jensen ackles x fem!reader, actor!jensen, actress!reader, age gap, 18+, mdni, dom!jensen, sub!reader, oral (male receiving), forced blow job, hair pulling, choking, p in v (unprotected), praise kink, jensen being freaky asf, wc: 3.8k

The sound of laughter and music filled the bar as you and cast of The Boys gathered around the table, enjoying a rare evening off after a whirlwind of interviews, conventions, and press events promoting the new season. You sat near the edge of the group, a glass of wine in your hand as you watched the scene unfold. You’d been on the road with them for two weeks now, traveling from state to state to promote the show, and despite the exhausting schedule, nights like this made it all worth it.

Especially with your costar Jensen sitting just across the table, his smile lighting up the room, making everyone around him feel at ease. And despite your usual calm aura, he could tell you were taking it all in, probably still adjusting to the chaotic rhythm of show business.

You had joined the cast as the newest love interest for Soldier Boy, Jensen's character, and while you’d been nervous about working with such an established actor— he quickly made you feel comfortable. He was kind, funny, and despite being almost fifteen years older than you, he never treated you like the "new girl."

When you’d first started working together, Jensen was like a mentor to you but soon enough,m he found himself noticing more than just your talent. While you also found yourself noticing things about him—like the way he smiled at you when you two ran lines together or how his hand would linger just a little longer on your arm when you wrapped a scene.

And then, of course, there was the fact that you found him undeniably attractive. Everyone knew Jensen was good-looking, but up close? It was something else entirely. You’d kept it professional, though. He'd just come off a divorce, and the last thing you wanted was to complicate things for him or yourself. Still, there was no denying the chemistry between you two, both on-screen and off. And Jensen wasn't oblivious to the tension that had developed between you over the last few weeks either..

"Hey, y/n," Jensen called from across the table, snapping you out of your thoughts. He was leaning forward, his voice cutting through the laughters around you. "You've been quiet tonight. Everything okay?" You smiled, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. "Yeah, just still getting used to it." Jensen grinned, his eyes glistening in the dim light. "You sure? We've got drinks, great company. Seems like a perfect night to me."

You chuckled, sipping your wine to hide the fact that your heart had started beating just a little faster. He'd been like this all night—talkative, laughing easily, and more physical than usual. His hand had brushed your arm more than once when you talked, and every time, your skin began to burn—in a good way.

As the night wore on, the group started to thin out. Some of the cast heading back to the hotel, but you, Jensen, and a few others stuck around, ordering another round of drinks. The bar was cozier now, quieter, and the low lighting gave it an intimate atmosphere.

So Jensen found himself talking to you more closely, the casual distance between you shrinking without you even realizing it. "So, how are you feeling about everything?" He asked, his voice low as he swirled the amber liquid in his glass. "The show, all this traveling. It's a lot, huh?"

"Yeah," you admitted, meeting his gaze. "It's been amazing, though. A little surreal, honestly. Sometimes I still can't believe I'm here, working with you guys."

"Well, you're killing it," Jensen said, his eyes locking onto yours. "I mean it, y/n. You've been great this season." Your cheeks flushed, and you looked down, trying to compose yourself. "Thanks. That means a lot, coming from you."

"Don't downplay it. You're talented as hell. And...you're fun to work with. Really fun," he added, letting his words hang in the air. He hadn't meant for them to sound as loaded as they did, but now that he'd said it, he found himself holding your gaze a little longer, wondering if you’d caught the shift in his tone.

Your heart raced as you glanced up at him, trying to read his expression. Was he just being friendly? Or was there something more behind his words? "I—" you started, but the words caught in your throat. You weren’t sure what you were supposed to say, or even if you should say anything at all. But it was hard to ignore the way he was looking at you, the warmth in his eyes, the subtle way his knee brushed against yours under the table.

"You know," he said, his tone lighter now, though his eyes never left yours, "I think we've spent more time together on this road trip than we did shooting the season." You laughed softly, grateful for the slight change in topic. "Yeah, but the road trip's been fun. It's nice getting to see different places, meet fans, and, you know, bond with the cast." Jensen's grin widened. "Bond, huh? Is that what we're calling it?" You laughed, clearly trying to brush off the tension. "What else would you call it?"

"Something else entirely," he said, his voice low, a hint of challenge that sent a shiver through you. Before you could respond though, Karl called over from the bar, breaking the moment. Jensen leaned back, laughing at something the others were saying, but his hand lingered on your lower arm, his thumb tracing a small, almost absent-minded circle against your skin. It was such a subtle gesture, but it sent a thrill through you.

You couldn't shake the feeling that there was more going on here than just casual flirting. There was tension between the two of you, a pull you couldn't ignore, and you were certain he felt it too. But as much as you wanted to explore whatever this was, you knew you had to be careful. Still, you couldn't deny the way your heart fluttered every time he looked at you. For now, you’d play it cool. But something told you that whatever was happening between you wasn't going away anytime soon.

Eventually, even the most fun nights had to end. The bar's lights dimmed and everyone decided it was time to call it a night. You all made your way back to the hotel, the cool night air helping to clear your mind, which had been buzzing with thoughts of Jensen all night. When you finally reached your room, you kicked off your shoes and put on your silk pyjamas before flopping onto the bed with a long sigh. The events of the night played in your head—Jensen's teasing remarks, the way he'd stayed close to you, how his touch lingered just a bit too long. There was definitely something there, you could feel it.

But as your thoughts swirled, you suddenly realized something. Your phone. Where was your phone? You shot up, mentally retracing your steps. Then it hit you—you’d given it to Jensen earlier in the night to hold onto because you hadn't brought a purse with you. "Dammit," you muttered, cursing yourself for forgetting. Now you’d have to go to his room and get it back. You groaned inwardly, knowing it would feel awkward after the way you’d been acting all night. But there was no way you could go to bed without your phone.

Reluctantly, you got up, slipped your shoes back on, and headed out of your room. You walked down the hallway, heart thumping a little faster than it should have. You told yourself it was just because you didn't want to bother him this late, but you knew the truth.

It was Jensen.

And the way he made you feel, had you on edge.

When you reached his door, you took a deep breath and knocked. No response. You frowned and knocked again, a little louder this time. Still nothing. You were just about to turn and head back to your room when the door swung open. And there stood Jensen, a towel wrapped loosely around his hips, his hair wet and dripping from the shower. He looked at you with those piercing eyes, a playful smirk on his lips, completely unfazed by the fact that he was half-naked in front of you.

Your breath caught in your throat. God, he looked unbelievably sexy. His broad chest was still glistening with water, and your eyes instinctively trailed down over his abs to the towel hanging low on his hips. You were completely overwhelmed, mind scrambling to find words, but all you could do was stand there, staring like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Uh... I—" you stammered, trying to get rid of any filthy thoughts that were coming to you. "I need my phone... I think you have it? I gave it to you earlier at the bar." Jensen raised an eyebrow, amused by the way your cheeks flushed as he smirked. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," he said, his voice playful. "Come on in. I think I put it on the nightstand."

You hesitated for a split second, heart hammering in your chest, but you forced yourself to move, stepping inside. The room was dimly lit, cozy, and the scent of his sweet body wash hung in the air. You tried not to focus on how close he was standing to you as you made your way to the nightstand where your phone sat.

As you reached for it, you could feel his eyes on you, the tension between you almost palpable. You picked up the phone, your hand trembling slightly, and turned to face him. He was leaning casually against the wall now, arms crossed, still wearing nothing but that damn towel. His demeanor was teasing, but there was something else in his gaze too—something that made your pulse race even faster.

"You know," Jensen said, his voice low and smooth, "you could've just called for it. Oh wait," he added with a smirk, "you didn't have your phone." You rolled your eyes, laughing softly. "Yeah, a little hard to call without it," you replied, attempting to sound nonchalant but clearly nervous.

Jensen chuckled softly, pushing off the wall and walking toward you, stopping just a few feet away. He looked down at you with that same playful glint in his eyes, the air between you thick with something unspoken. "You sure that's all you came for?" he asked, his voice dropping lower. He saw the hesitation in your eyes, the flicker of doubt, but also curiosity, maybe even a hint of longing.

Your breath hitched. You could feel the tension between you two, the way his gaze held yours, and for a brief second, you wondered what would happen if you just... leaned in. But then reality came crashing back. Jensen had just gone through a divorce. He was vulnerable, and you didn't want to complicate things, not like this. Not now.

You forced yourself to smile, though your heart was still racing. "Yeah," you said, holding up your phone as if to prove your point. "Just needed this." Jensen's eyes lingered on you for a moment longer before he stepped back a little, his smirk softening. "Well, you've got it now."

"Thanks," you said quickly, eyes dropping down to the floor as you couldn't bare to look into his piercing green eyes, yet the pull too was strong, so that you raised your head again just seconds later. His eyes flickered with something unreadable as he watched you standing there, still holding onto your phone like a lifeline. The playful smirk never leaving his face, his voice low and laced with a teasing challenge.

"Yet you're still here."

The words hung in the air between you, thick with tension. You froze, the grip on your phone tightening. Were you imagining things? Misreading him? The way he had been so flirtatious all night, the casual touches, the lingering glances-it couldn't be nothing, could it?

Your mind was spinning, trying to make sense of the situation. You weren’t sure if you were overthinking or if you were too tipsy to trust your own judgment. But the way he looked at you now, like he was daring you to stay, made your pulse race.

He must have noticed the hesitation in your eyes because his expression shifted. He moved toward you, closing the distance, his hand finding your waist with an almost deliberate slowness. The warmth of his touch sent a shiver through you, and before you could process what was happening, he pulled you just a bit closer.

It was a bold move, one that made your heart skip a beat. You were taken aback, breath hitching in your chest as you looked up at him. His face was inches from yours now, and the tension was so thick it was hard to breathe. For a moment, your mind raced with mixed emotions. You knew this could complicate everything. And yet, the pull between you was undeniable.

Jensen's thumb gently brushed your side, his touch grounding you as the intensity of the moment swirled around you. His green eyes bore into yours, and for a split second, you were unsure of what to do. But then, in the next heartbeat, your hesitation melted away. Without thinking, you leaned in, your lips meeting his in a rush of heat and urgency.

The second your mouths touched, it was like a dam had broken. The tension that had been simmering between you all night finally erupted into something raw and electric. Jensen responded immediately, his grip on your waist tightening as he pulled you fully against him, eager to finally feel you, his lips moving hungrily against yours.

Your mind blurred with a heady mix of desire and disbelief, your hands instinctively finding their way to his bare chest, your fingers grazing his muscles still damp from the shower. You could taste the faint bitterness of alcohol on his lips, and the fact that you were both a little tipsy only seemed to add to the intensity of the moment.

His hands roamed up your sides, one slipping into your hair as the kiss deepened, his body pressing you gently but firmly against the edge of the bed. Your heart raced, pulse pounding in your ears as you softly plunged onto the soft mattress.

You unconsciously bit onto your lower lip as you looked up at him, unholy images replaying in your mind as your gaze fell onto his happy trail, wanting nothing more than to rip that damn towel off of him. Jensen noticed how your eyes stuck to his body just a little too long, eliciting a chuckle out of him, "Go ahead, no need to be all shy now."

For a second, a small ounce of doubt crept into your mind—this was risky, so risky. You two were co-stars, and if anyone found out, it could lead to complications neither of you were ready for. But as Jensen's hand reached down to your chin, grabbing it with his big palm, that doubt vanished, replaced by desire.

You couldn't bare the need for him any longer, immediately getting to work by dropping onto your knees, the anticipation almost killing you as Jensen teasingly began to remove the towel from his hips. His eyes never left yours as he pulled down the white cloth, revealing his already hard cock. The sight of him, made your breath catch in your throat, gulping as you saw how big he actually was.

You came face to face with his length, looking up at him through hooded eyes, "Come on, show me what that pretty mouth can do." He groaned, immediately sending tingles to your core, desperately pressing your thighs together. With easy hands you held him in your soft palms, running your thumb over his tip and spreading the already leaking precum over it.

Pressing your lips together you gathered all your courage and inched closer, sticking out your tongue and licking a stripe all the way from his base to the tip. You repeated this action a few more times, then fully taking him in your mouth as far as you could go.

"Holy fuck, baby." Jensen growled, his head thrown back in pleasure as he couldn't believe how good your wet and warm mouth felt around him, only having imagined it before. You began to swirl your tongue around his cock, jerking off what you couldn't get in your mouth, as he reached to grab a fist full of your hair, yanking you back a little so he could grab at your neck with his other hand.

"You wanna be a good girl for me, right?" He mumbled in between grunts, admiring your plump lips that were so desperately trying to get back to sucking him off. You nodded hastily, this man could literally do anything to you and you’d thank him after.

"Good then, open up wide, baby."

He instantly took advantage of your parted lips and plunged himself down your throat in a swift motion, your eyes widening as you had to gag at the force. "Shhh, relax." Jensen cooed, his voice now softer as he gave you some time to get used to your mouth being full of him.

Once you gave him a small nod he began rolling his hips slowly into your mouth, your hands grabbing at his thighs to steady yourself. It was a weird feeling to have him down your throat so deep but as he continued his movements you began to like it, wanting him to go even harder.

You jerked your face closer to his abdomen, earning a deep and breathless chuckle from him. Realizing how eager you were lapping at his dick he picked up his pace, his tip hitting the back of your throat over and over again, driving you crazy.

The built up of saliva and precum that was dripping from the corner of your lips, helped Jensen even more to slide his cock in and out of your warm mouth. His grunts became louder and his hands were gripping the back of your head as he fucked your throat, your moans sending vibrations throughout his body, and he knew that if he continued he wouldn't last any longer.

But cuming just in your mouth tonight wouldn't satisfy him, he needed more. Pulling you off him by your hair you shot him a confused look, scared that he might've changed his mind and didn't want any of this, that it was just the alcohol on which behalf he was acting out, but his words quickly made all your doubts vanish.

"Need to finish inside you, y/n." He said, before pulling you back onto your feet and yanking your small frame onto the silky sheets. Towering over you he ran his hands along the soft fabric of your pyjama shorts, pulling them down harshly as you freed yourself from the little top that was just barely covering your tits anyway.

By the way his eyes widened and the way he pulled some air in sharply, you could tell that he took notice of your dripping wet cunt, already leaking onto the sheets. "Jensen.." you whined, the urge to finally feel him inside taking over you.

"Patience, baby." He smirked up at you, eyes full of lust as he placed some teasing kisses onto the insides of your soft thighs, making you squirm in desperation. Jensen jerked his still glistening cock for a few times, his one hand stayed at your chest, playing with your tit, as he lined himself up with your entrance.

Looking up at you for approval, you nodded which gave him the sign to proceed, his tip brushing over your clit and through your slick folds to lube himself up, before pushing into your needy cunt fast. You gasped at the sudden fullness, his cock stretching out your walls so perfectly, making Jensen grunt as he burried himself completely inside you, as if you were made for him.

"Gosh, look how perfect your pretty cunt is sucking me in. Really needed me that bad, huh?" Your eyes scrunched together, feeling yourself get wetter from his words alone. You rapidly nodded, breathing out a soft "mhm..shit..yes" as he chuckled, leaning down to press open mouthed kisses to your neck.

He was quick to go back to his previous action, rolling his hips smoothly against yours as he picked up his pace, soon slamming into you at an ungodly speed. The almost pornografic noises that came out of your mouth made him chuckle, clearly knowing that there might be some complaints by the morning, but he didn't care.

He kept on pounding into your eager pussy, your legs wrapped around his hips by now, making him hit much deeper, if that was even humanly possible. "Fuck.. I'm gonna.." you cursed underneath your breath, feeling the familiar knot in your lower stomach screaming for release.

"Cum all over me, sweetheart." Jensen groaned into your ear, his hot breath making your skin prickle. His hand crept down, two of his digits rubbing circles at your clit, causing you to let out a loud, almost scream-like, moan as you released all over him, creaming his cock.

"Fucking shit.." he grunted, teeth pressing into his lower lip as he gave you a few more hard thrusts, pearls of sweat forming on his forehead as he chased his own high. Groaning out loud you felt him twitch inside of you, cuming deep in your cunt, painting your slick walls white.

As both of you calmed down you still couldn't believe that this was actually real, even as Jensen pulled out of you and plopped onto the bed beside you. "Shit y/n, that shower was hella pointless..definitely not complaining though." He laughed, his deep voice sending shivers down your spine as he wrapped one of his big arms around your waist, pulling you close.

"Well, screams for a round two then." You replied, stroking his muscular chest. "You mean this or the shower?" He eyed you down, a smirk plastered on his face as he pointed in between you two. You just shrugged, yet the devilish smile plastered on your lips gave it away.

wow this was a wild ride, and i am actually kinda proud of this one !!

feedback and requests are greatly appreciated !!

tags: @gibson-g1rl @beausling @angelicjackles @nuemanfilms @hischrrypie @starkeysprincess @drewsarms @rubyvhs @deansenvy @supernatural-wolfie @sammyluvr @nxptvn @rafecameroninterlude @deansbite

[yuurei20]

Summarized transcript of the Twisted Radio episode with Diasomnia! 🐉🦇⚔️⚡️

Highlights: A very good episode, all the Diasomnia VAs love their characters and each other’s characters and each other and it is very obvious when they interact.

Disclaimer: These are not direct quotes, this is all general summarizations and paraphrasing~

Begins with how they are happy to be all together in one place, for the first time in two years.

The opening talk set by last week: what do you find yourself buying when you travel?

⚡️It seems 🦦-kun wanted to buy a dragon sword… 🐉 I’ve bought one before. 🦇 Why wwww 🐉 In elementary school

On topic: 🐉 I love milk. Every time I go some place I buy milk to drink. A recent musical I was in traveled nationwide and the milk in Hokkaido is different depending upon the area. I was so happy.

🦇I like to get things to remind me of the trip. It doesn’t matter what they are. It doesn’t even have to be related to the area. Just a prize from a Game Center or a gacha toy or anything is fine.

⚔️ Dragons. Apparently they’re growing in popularity. 

He talks about how around high school everyone loses interest, but then you become an adult and are like “actually yeah dragons are great” ww

🦇 We should get on that bandwagon. Officially recognized by Diasomnia ww ⚔️ We have the most noble and beautiful dragon of them all 🦇 Out of all the dragons that there are, he certainly stands out

(Everyone is laughing so much they are having so much fun)

⚡️I like getting fruit or something that was made from things grown in the area, even if it’s temporary, to remember the taste

(⚡️ is the host so it is his job to keep them on subject ww there are a lot of cuts in this episode, they must have talked for so long and needed to cut it down)

Fan letter: I had a dream where I talked about how wonderful Malleus-sama is for ten hours. What strange dreams have you had before?

⚡️I have been seeing the same dream since I was a kid. A kind of horror dream. The same dream where I am being chased by something. 

⚔️ There are dreams I had as a kid that really left an impression on me. I remember them pretty well. Like one where I became a character from a cartoon that could fly. I became one of the main characters. An enemy would appear, someone would say “Let’s go!” and they’d all naturally start to fly. And even though I was a main character, I’d say “Let’s go!” and I was the only one who wouldn’t be able to fly. Everyone else flew off and I couldn’t. I was the main character and they all left me behind. I started crying that I couldn’t fly and then I woke up.

🦇 I’ve had a dream about situation where I could fly, too. Even though I could fly, when I jumped from somewhere high up instead of going straight I would go fly upwards, then think, “Yeah, I can fly,” and that is when I could go forward. I perform safety checks within my dream.

🐉 In a dream I had in university I could fly, but just some light floating. Everyone else travels very quickly, and at first I can as well, but then I get lower and lower, and soon I am floating about 5cm. I’m technically flying, but…I saw that dream a lot.

(This entire story ⚔️ is in the background dying of laughter)

About Malleus

He was very mysterious when he first appeared. ⚡️ says he had the feeling from the start that he was a very good character. 

🦇 He had an atmosphere of someone who is difficult to go near.

⚔️ I like Malleus-sama even more now than I did before. Not just what about him that is firm but his soft side, his warm side, his cold side—we can see so many aspects of his character now, which has made him even more captivating. Because he is so mysterious something even more wonderful than what I had imagined has emerged—that is the impression I have of him now.

🦇 They did a great job with his casting. I didn’t really know anything at first, but doing this for so long, you can tell how perfect 🐉-kun is for this part. 

🐉 I’m so happy :D

🦇 Of course everyone wants to know more in the beginning because of his cool voice, but 🐉-kun has a kindness to him. And that is what I came to understand. They took that into account when they chose him. When I figured that out, I was extremely impressed. This isn’t something that just anyone can do. It’s not enough to just provide a cool character voice. It’s a distinct charm that he has.

⚔️ The character is really packed with substance, but there’s still space left, and you can sense that mysteriousness. Because there is so much going on inside of him there are things for you to grasp at while simultaneously stirring your imagination. I really sense that.

🦇 When you try to think of other seiyuu like that, no one really comes to mind. It has to be 🐉-kun.

🐉 Is it okay if I start to cry?

⚔️ And when he sings…

⚡️ That humming…

⚔️ That was amazing.

🐉 That was so hard to do. They told me, “please hum like you mean it,” and I thought, “what is humming that you mean?” Humming that follows a melody, that becomes a sound. I had never done that before. It was really hard. We tried several different patterns.

⚔️ It was scary. Both an ending and a beginning.

🦇 But as the story continues I find him cute, too. And 🐉-kun is cute, too.

(Everyone is laughing, I think ⚔️ is going to die here)

🦇 No I’m serious, really, really. 

🐉 While portraying Malleus the difficult thing is always not showing too much emotion,.The direction I am always receiving is “you can’t become human.” They’ll say, “that take sounded just like a regular guy.” The balance of how his normal is not normal for a human is always hard to do. And post-overblot Malleus—they’ll tell me, “Sorry, but Malleus sounds kind of scary.” I often get told “can you control the darkness a bit.” But through all that how do I still portray Malleus-ness…

🦇 The more you read for a character the more you come to understand them, but Malleus was last.

🐉 There was a lot of uncertainty in the beginning. I have concluded that he is cute. He’s a child. He’s been alive longer than the others, but his emotional state hasn’t caught up to that. He has so much power, but he lacks the normal concept of common sense. Things that are common sense to him are not so to others. I am always trying to portray that unusual dichotomy.

⚔️ talks about being able to see Malleus grow up in Book 7 through the different milestones were see in the flashbacks. There are places where he has always been the same but parts about him that have evolved. ⚔️ tells 🐉 that it seems like that must have been hard.

🐉 It was so hard.  I think there’s probably a way of interacting with Malleus that's in line with how he understands things, even though I don't fully understand it. When encountering him for the first time, people around him might think, 'Wow, he doesn’t react at all!' But Malleus does react in his own way. I would receive many detailed directions like 'Please be surprised!' or 'Please react!' I didn’t create this performance all by myself, it has come together from the efforts of the staff, and I’m really grateful for that. I tend to lose track of what was the right way to approach things as Malleus. You can get confused between doing events and the main story, so getting back into the right mindset every time is pretty tough.

About Silver

🐉 I thought he was really cool when I saw him the first time.

⚡️ I think it’s cute how he falls asleep—he’ll wake up, apologize, and then immediately sleep again.

🦇 He’s really pretty.

🐉 I thought he had a beautiful face the first time I saw him.

⚔️ My portrayal of him hasn’t really changed since the beginning. We’ve gotten more information and there is more of a backbone now, and of course things change when new things are revealed. Even from the beginning he wasn’t just a cool character, he had a naturalness to him, and not just that he spaces out, but he tries to solve his problems with physical strength. Like in Book 7 with “if I hit it that will fix it.” I think his humanity is being expressed more these days.

🦇 It took a while, yeah?

⚔️ It took so long.

🦇 It took us a while to get to Malleus, too, but he had the impact of his first appearance. Silver didn’t have anything.

Now they’re talking about Lilia’s farewell party and Malleus and Silver crying together and not knowing how to express their emotions. Trying to be mature. 

⚔️ He’s being a big brother to Silver!!

🦇 I figured something was coming soon, after that. And it went in an intense direction.

⚔️ There is so much about them that is a family. Father is Lilia, and Malleus-sama has a big-brother nature to him.

🐉 You really feel their familial relationship.

⚔️ He felt some responsibility. If the little brother starts to cry, the older brother—

🐉 He can’t cry.

⚔️ He’ll get desperate to try and be strong and try to solve the problem.

🐉 Like he has to step up.

🦇 So it was Silver’s fault.

⚡️⚔️🐉wwwwww

⚔️Not all of it. Silver would never say this, but the reason things became so difficult for the two of them is…their love for their father.

🦇 Sebek and Silver are a good combination, too.

⚔️ Such a good combination~~~

🦇 They’re complete opposites but they’re also surprisingly similar.

⚡️They’re both so honest.

🐉 They’re honest and serious and good kids, both of them.

⚡️ They never had the opportunity to show emotion like that until 7. They are both very quick to cry.

🐉 They’re so much alike.

⚡️I guess this is what happens when you’re raised together with someone. I think Silver is the older brother, looking from Sebek’s perspective. There is a moment where Sebek is scolded for the first time. In the moment, when I was reading, ⚔️’s portrayal really is angry. I even said it, “He finally scolded him for the first time.”

About Sebek

⚡️I think he empowers himself by speaking so loudly. Once he decides on doing something, he goes straight for it, true to his unique magic. With how strongly he sticks to his principles it’s like he could overcome any obstacle, like in that scene he had with Silver, but it was very cute that he actually loses there.

⚔️THAT WAS SO CUTE. That was a great part. 

(⚔️ is literally yelling into his mic about how cute Sebek is)

⚡️The fact that he was able to get out the words he really wanted to say after he lost the fight shows that he does want to say what is on his mind but there is a wall that he has to break down, and then he can move forward. That is a moment where you can really understand Sebek-kun’s feelings. And once he lets his emotions out, they’re out w

🐉 He can’t put the lid back on. Everything spills out.

⚔️ (dying in the background)

⚡️talks about how much effort Sebek puts into everything and he reads so much and there is so much he wants people to know, which is why he is so loud.

🦇Sebek and Silver have both had a lot more lines recently. Doesn’t your voice get worn out during recordings?

⚡️It doesn’t! I do stretches and things before recordings. I figured out that I need that kind of physical exercise to prepare.

About Lilia

⚡️ Mom.

🐉 A cute mom.

⚡️There was a lot of gaps* in 7.

*I can’t figure out a good way to say this in English. It is the difference between what you expect and what something really is.

🐉 Too many gaps, it was so surprising.

🦇 I had heard nothing about any of that.

⚡️ I had an image of him as someone who is gentle and cute and a senpai who enjoys pranks and looks out for others…

🦇 He used to be completely different.

⚡️And there was egg-sama.

🐉 Egg-sama w

⚡️⚔️It’s not inaccurate.

🦇 I have done a lot of crying scenes before. When you first look at the script it hits you, and when you think about how you have to portray what you just read so that the people listening to your performance feel the same emotion—there is a pressure to that. I can’t be the only one crying. I have to make others cry.

⚔️ Something that 🦇-san said (during the special talk show that 🦇 and 🐉 did together last year talking about Book 7 just the two of them) that I really liked and wanted to ask about: You and Baul’s VA Koyasu-san (🐊) have been performing together a lot over the years. And you came back together for the first time in a while for this. You said that you didn’t want to give him the impression of “So this is what 🦇 is like these days.” So there was that pressure, you didn’t want to give an embarrassing performance in front of him, and I realized that you have a passionate spirit that you don’t really show, in my opinion—but it’s there! I got really excited about that.

🐉 I was surprised, too, that even 🦇-san has those same thoughts.

⚡️Same!

🦇 Of course I do. The pressure was intense. I am glad that we were able to record together, but…

And with the Chapter 13 release announcement they say they have permission to share this information:

🦇 and 🐉 were able to record together!

🐉 It was amazing. It was truly an amazing time for me.

🦇 It was our first time performing together.

Upcoming calendar review~ and done!

[thankskenpenders]

Thoughts on Sonic 3!

On December 10th, 2018, I was on the last day of a trip to Milwaukee. The night before, I'd attended the wedding of one of my best friends, Jake, who I've known since high school. Even though half of us were sick the whole trip, it was a great time. Derek had asked the wedding DJ to play "One Week" as the first request of the night, and proceeded to lip sync the entire song on the dance floor. On that cold winter morning in a hotel room hundreds of miles from home, Derek and I groggily checked Twitter on our phones and saw the shocking news: Paramount had teased the design for Sonic from their upcoming live action film. Even in silhouette, the shape of his face and the realistic curvature of his limbs made him look like a grotesque little homunculus. This movie was going to suck.

Six years later, I've now seen the third entry in what's become a hugely successful Sonic film franchise. It features Keanu Reeves as the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog in a fairly faithful adaptation of his story from Sonic Adventure 2. At the time of writing, it currently sits at a whopping 86% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, vying for the title of the best-reviewed theatrically released video game movie of all time. Critics are saying nice things about the emotional journey of Shadow the Hedgehog. Never in a million years did I think I'd see this day.

I, too, have now seen this movie, and... yeah, it's pretty good.

I'm gonna get deep into spoilers here, so I'll just say up front that I liked the movie. It feels like just about the best possible execution of this version of Sonic. But that's also damning it with faint praise, depending on who you ask.

If you're a fan of the games who didn't like the second movie, you probably won't get much out of this one, either, unless you just really love Shadow so much that nothing else in the movie matters to you. It doesn't reinvent the wheel for this film series. It's still got a heaping helping of broad comedy, cheap pop culture references, bad one-liners, and characterization that diverges greatly from the source material. This is not high art, nor is it a direct adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2. If you're the kind of person who hates this portrayal of Sonic and Eggman, or a lore nerd who'll hate that they let Shadow do Chaos Control without an Emerald, then just don't bother with this.

On the other hand, if you did enjoy the last movie, then you'll probably have a fun time here, too. Shadow is very cool. The action is the best it's ever been. There's a bit more focus on characters from the games, and less on human characters invented for the movies—with the exception of Agent Stone, who's in this a lot because everyone likes him. There's a lot of SA2 fanservice. They even play "Live and Learn." It's a fun time! Be sure to stick around through the end credits.

And now, to dig deeper, let's get into the spoilers! I'm gonna jump around a lot and talk about different aspects of the movie, spoiling everything along the way.

Shadow and his reams of lore

Here's the main thing you came for: Shadow is great in this! They really did him justice. Keanu Reeves is extremely solid in the role. He can be a bit flat as an actor sometimes, but I think he did well here. He can be tough and menacing, but he can also be earnest and emotionally vulnerable. Good casting call. Excited at the prospect of seeing more of him in the future.

Really, as a Sonic Lore Nerd I'm most interested in discussing the changes they made to Shadow's backstory. I'm sure there will be many fans upset with the changes, but for the sake of streamlining a complicated backstory that was subject to a bunch of retcons and multiple layers of amnesia and fitting it into a 110-minute movie, I think they generally made smart choices.

For one, Gerald didn't create Shadow using Black Arms DNA, because Gerald didn't create Shadow at all! Instead, Shadow arrived on Earth inside a meteor, and Gerald was merely the prominent GUN scientist who studied him after he was captured. (That meteor does have very strong Black Arms vibes, though, so I wouldn't rule out the possibility of them exploring that stuff in the future.) This simplifies things a lot and allows Shadow to be a direct foil for Sonic, kind of a version of our hero who was treated as a lab rat and lost the only human he considered family instead of finding happiness like Sonic has. Then later Shadow hurts Tom and Sonic wants revenge, and it mirrors Shadow's feelings about Maria, and after they fight they can empathize with each other over this, Shadow sees the error of his ways and helps save the world, yada yada yada. You get it. People predicted 95% of this movie's plot from the trailers, but it's effective.

Likewise, all of the stuff about creating Shadow as the ultimate life form who's immune to all disease to cure Maria's illness is completely cut out. Shadow's still called the ultimate life form, but he's treated as more of an energy source than a genetic research project here, playing off of the stuff about Eggman wanting to harness Sonic's natural Chaos Energy in the movies. The original intent behind the ultimate life form project was always hard to explain in the games and doesn't even come up that much, so I don't blame them for cutting it.

Because Gerald isn't doing genetic experiments and creating artificial life, the Biolizard also doesn't exist. It does, however, appear in an old monster movie Shadow and Maria watch in a montage, with Shadow later commenting that he worries he's a monster like the one he saw in the movie. That's a clever way to include it, I think.

The ARK sort of exists. There was no space colony back in the '70s, all of the events of Shadow's flashbacks just took place at a secret GUN base on Earth. Fair enough for a version of the story ostensibly set in the real world. The big space laser in the third act of the film is obviously supposed to evoke the ARK, but it's referred to as simply the Eclipse Cannon. It's still not a full-blown space colony, just a weapon of mass destruction Gerald designed for GUN in exchange for his release (while also secretly planning to use it to blow up the planet in an act of revenge). I am, however, pleased to report that the Eclipse Cannon still has a giant Eggman face on it.

And as for Maria: I like her in this! She's obviously not going to get a ton of screentime, and she's always going to be a very straightforward character, but she's more playful and lively here. She teases Shadow for being grumpy and plays with him a lot. She feels less like this perfect embodiment of everything good and pure in the world and more like an actual kid. She's still not a complex character, but it works.

And the most important question: do they show a child getting shot and killed by the military? The answer is almost. In the flashback, GUN soldiers chase Maria, Shadow, and Gerald and ready their guns, but the young Commander Walters (who's in his 20s rather than being a kid) grabs them and tries to stop them from firing on a child. In the chaos, a soldier fires, missing Maria but hitting a generator that then blows up and kills Maria. So, y'know, close enough I suppose.

So, yes, many of the details change here, but they captured the gist of Shadow's story from SA2. The emotional core is there. I will say, though, I almost feel like Shadow isn't in this movie as much as I thought he'd be? I think he's used effectively in all of his scenes, and they make room for his backstory, and BOY does he get to kick ass in his fights, but for much of the middle part of the movie he's overshadowed by Ivo and Gerald. Though this might be a compromise to leave more screentime for...

Tails and Knuckles

I'm relieved to report that Tails and Knuckles both get a good amount of cool stuff to do in this! They don't feel like an afterthought.

I was worried that Tails in particular would completely fall by the wayside, since even his debut movie didn't entirely know what to do with him. But he's good here. He pretty much just feels like the Tails from the games at this point, especially since they dropped that fawning admiration he had for Sonic with that running gag of him going "Only Sonic the Hedgehog could do that!" He often chimes in as the one who wants Team Sonic to stick together when Sonic and Knuckles bicker. He particularly gets to shine in the Mission Impossible-inspired heist sequence at the GUN headquarters in London that serves as the climax of the second act, which feels like it was tailor made to let him shine as the tech guy of the team. He also gets several opportunities to swoop in and catch someone for a save in an action scene. He's good in this!

Knuckles is... fine. He's definitely fallen into the role of the comic relief dumb bruiser since joining the good guys, but he's at least a little better than he was in his own streaming show. The jokes lean more into him just being really brash about his strength and skill, rather than him being this archaic warrior who doesn't understand anything about the modern world. He also gets a few more serious bits in the back third of the movie where he gets to shine a little more, so overall it evens out to him being fine. They could've done way worse.

As for the relevance of the Knuckles show: Knuckles is now said to be the guardian of the Master Emerald, like in the games, though with no Angel Island this amounts to him hiding it somewhere for safekeeping. It's eventually revealed that he just gave it to Wade, who gets exactly one scene (sorry, Wade-heads) for a joke about him using the Master Emerald as a hockey puck. So, the miniseries explained why Knuckles has a connection with Wade. That's it! Also I think Knuckles might use the Flames of Disaster a bit in fights, but they never called the technique out by name, so I never really thought about it. So, yeah, the six-episode streaming miniseries about Wade bowling has zero meaningful relevance to the Shadow movie. Who could have seen this coming?

Miscellaneous humans

For that matter, the human supporting cast is MASSIVELY downplayed in this one. Tom and Maddie are there for two key sequences (the beginning of the movie and the GUN HQ heist), but otherwise they disappear for long stretches of the movie. They don't go to Japan in act I, nor do they go to space in act III, and there's no subplot for them during those periods, either. There's nothing like the wedding subplot in Sonic 2 where they'd constantly cut back to Hawaii for comic relief with the humans and only reveal why this was relevant to the plot near the end. (There's also no random dance battle in Siberia.) If a human character is here, it's because they have something to contribute to the plot right away. Most people will probably consider this an improvement, and I'd certainly say it makes for a much tighter script, though I have to remind everyone that I thought the wedding being a GUN sting operation was such a funny twist that I'm a defender of the Hawaii subplot.

On the subject of Tom, something funny I've noticed is that they've just completely downplayed the fact that Tom and Wade are cops. Tom being a cop never comes up once. Wade being a cop only gets referenced via the fact that he's practicing hockey on the roof of the police station in his one scene, but he's not in uniform or anything. They clearly got the memo that we don't want Sonic to hang out with cops.

Here's something else funny: Rachel and Randall got character posters, but they're actually not in the movie! Not technically, anyway. During the heist sequence at GUN HQ, Tom and Maddie use some gadgets Tails invented to holographically disguise themselves as those other characters. But the real Rachel and Randall never show up in the flesh. It's a very odd way to shoehorn the actors into the movie. (Jojo is also absent. They did not give her Amy's role of being the girl who reminds Shadow of Maria. Instead they just let Sonic have the big heart to heart with Shadow that makes him switch sides.)

You know who IS in this movie? Krysten Ritter. Not as the voice of Rouge, as the fandom once hoped, but as a director for GUN. She gets like three scenes and she feels completely checked out the whole time. Can't say I blame her! She's not really a character, just a plot necessity. Commander Walters dies in Japan but gives Sonic one of two keycards needed to activate the Eclipse Cannon, and then Ritter's character assumes Sonic stole it and labels him a bad guy. So that's why they have to break into GUN HQ in the second act instead of just talking things out with them. Still, I am at least relieved that Sonic doesn't work with GUN for most of the movie.

I gotta be honest: when Walters pulled a credit card-shaped object out of his pocket, I thought he was about to give Sonic another Olive Garden gift card as his final act before dying. Part of me wishes that happened.

The supporting human character in this who really gets to shine is Agent Stone, which I'm sure most fans will agree was the correct choice. There's a LOT of Agent Stone in this. He's good. I don't have much to say about him, but he's fun as usual.

But, of course, the ones who steal the show are Jim Carrey, and his costar Jim Carrey.

The Robotniks

I've gone back and forth on whether or not I can actually see movie Robotnik as Robotnik. I think with this third and final entry in the Jim Carrey Robotnik Trilogy, I've landed on... yeah, that's just Jim Carrey playing a Jim Carrey character. He's absolutely having fun with the role, and I enjoyed watching him, but I think a lot of that comes down to the fact that I'm a millennial who grew up watching Jim Carrey movies. If you didn't like him before, this movie will probably be nails on a chalkboard to you, because now there are two of him.

Ivo's arc here leans very heavily into the fact that he grew up as an orphan and never knew his family, a thing offhandedly mentioned in the first movie that's never been a thing for any other version of the character. Here, he learns that he has a living grandfather who's also a mad scientist, and it feels like a hole in his heart has been filled. It certainly makes sense for a place to take this version of the character, and it fits with the movie's themes of finding and losing family, but the cartoonish, childlike affection Ivo feels towards Gerald and all the scenes of them frolicking and dancing together have basically nothing to do with the characters from the games. He's a fun villain for this movie, but he's overwhelmingly used as comic relief this time rather than as a serious threat. He doesn't particularly feel like Sega's Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the arch nemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog who'd take over the world with an army of robots and a fleet of airships in the span of a day if Sonic wasn't around to stop him. He's a guy who lives in a big crab robot and has some drones. He has more in common with Carrey's depictions of the Grinch or the Riddler or Count Olaf than Dr. Eggman. Though he does, at least, finally get his outfit from the games by the end of the movie. So that's something. And also he's in a fat suit now. They only make jokes at the expense of his weight a little. Hooray...?

Gerald, meanwhile, is... largely the same character as movie Eggman, but older, so they can make jokes about him having saggy flesh and smelling funny and needing dentures. (Also, his voice kind of sounds like Homer Simpson sometimes?) To his credit, Carrey absolutely nails the handful of more serious scenes Gerald gets, whether it's Maria's death or his sinister turn when he reveals that he actually wants to destroy the Earth. But then it's right back to goofs about there being two of the same guy. Even the final battle features a lot of slapstick shenanigans with the two Robotniks fighting each other. I was able to enjoy the absurdity of it all, but if the humor doesn't land for you the dual Jim Carrey schtick is a hell of a lot of the movie. I wouldn't be surprised if there was more Gerald than Shadow in the movie, when you go and tally up their screentime. I was able to enjoy the sheer absurdity of it, but your mileage will vary.

I will, however, say that the split screen stuff they do with the two Carreys is EXTREMELY impressive, from a filmmaking perspective. They were absolutely flexing with their ability to pull the effect off. They don't rely on cheap tricks like cutting a lot, or having shot/reverse shot scenes where you're looking at the back of a body double's head. Instead they have a lot of long takes where the two Robotniks are talking to each other, you can see both of their faces, and they'll even hug and touch each other a lot, and the whole time the conversation maintains a natural pace like it really is two actors playing off of each other. It's really well done. It's an incredibly silly idea, but boy did they commit to it.

Sonic

I've hardly said anything about Sonic himself in all of this. It's his movie, isn't it! Well... I don't know, he's fine.

I feel like movie Sonic is a known quantity at this point, and either you like this take on the character or you don't. There was some speculation early on that this was supposed to be a younger Sonic who would grow into being the character we know from the games and comics, the one who's still got lots of quips but is also kind of aloof and cool, a free spirit who goes where the wind takes him, a figure the other characters look up to. And... no, that didn't happen. Once again he gets more serious as the stakes are raised, and he's totally badass when he goes Super, but the rest of the time he's still a little goober with tons of generic one-liners who learns schmaltzy lessons about the importance of family. He's still constantly going to undercut the tension of most scenes by cracking a pop culture reference that will make the average American parent go "haha I've heard of that." I don't think they're ever gonna change that. I think this just what the writers think Sonic is like.

And, again, for what it is, it's fine. He's a little annoying. You already know how you feel about movie Sonic. This third entry won't change that. But they do, at least, have him say "Talk about low budget flights, no food or movies... I'm outta here!" before jumping out of a helicopter. As my thoughts on the climax will show, I am not immune to fanservice.

The climax

God, the climax is SOOOOO fucking good. It's fantastic. Easily the best action these movies have ever done.

Rather than saving Super Shadow for the team-up with Sonic at the end, they have both of them go Super to fight each other first, and they just go full DBZ with it, fighting across the entire planet. It absolutely rules. I think this is the new coolest fight the two of them have had in anything ever. And then they have to stop the Eclipse Cannon together, and sure, there's no Biolizard. But Gerald DOES release a swarm of GUN Hunter robots, and the ensuing space battle turns into some Gundam shit. It's good! It's so good!!! The movie's flaws kind of melt away for me here when I'm watching Super Shadow take out an army of robots with Chaos Spears on the big screen. What a timeline we're living in.

And yes, they play "Live and Learn." They had to. They knew the assignment. They actually play a slight remix, but it's still got the original vocals, so it's perfectly recognizable. Actually, the tune of the song is used as a leitmotif for Shadow throughout the movie, first introduced via an acoustic guitar version played by Maria, and I really love that. I've been begging these movies to use more music from the games the whole time, and I'm glad they finally did so here. (They also use the traditional level clear jingle early in the film, and Eggman's theme from SA2 is very briefly used as a ringtone.)

... Anyway, uh, meanwhile Eggman, Tails, and Knuckles straight up just kill Gerald to save the world? They unceremoniously knock him into an energy field at the end of their slapstick fight aboard the Eclipse Cannon and he disintegrates like he hit a bugzapper. It's over in an instant. It's not graphic or anything, but it's, like... I didn't expect them to show it, or for it to be such a casual murder! Eggman has one quip about it and then immediately moves on.

Shortly after this, Eggman and Shadow sacrifice themselves to stop the Eclipse Cannon. Shadow's sacrifice doesn't stick, obviously (he's revealed to be alive by the end of the second stinger—pretend to be shocked), but Eggman's probably dead dead. I seriously doubt Jim Carrey's gonna come out of retirement for these movies again. His final moments before the big explosion are also SO dragged out and belabored. He has a dramatic final line like ten times in a row. It really just feels like the series saying goodbye to Carrey. And, again, it feels like a fitting enough end for this Eggman's arc, but it's an odd adaptation of the character from the games.

And so, that's what we're left with. This is far from Sonic Adventure 2: The Movie. It's not that, though there are many, many references made to that game in particular. It's a sequel to the film Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that has a similar tone and style, but Shadow and Gerald are in it, and Shadow gets some really cool fights, and there's a liiiiiittle more focus on stuff from the games than last time, and the script's a little tighter. If that sounds fun to you, you will have fun with this. I know I did. If it doesn't, you're probably better off waiting for them to inevitably do an animated reboot whenever this live action series runs out of steam.

It hasn't quite run out of steam yet, though...

The post-credits scenes, and the future

One of the big questions going into this was: what's next? How do they top a Shadow movie with heavy Sonic Adventure 2 overtones, in terms of hype for the fans? How do you fill Eggman's shoes after Carrey retires, for real this time? There are still more fan favorite rival characters to get through, but how many movies in a row can they introduce a furry foe for Sonic who inevitably turns good and helps him stop a larger threat by the end? And when the hell are we gonna see the girls?

Well, we now have our answer, and it's one I'm cautiously excited for: a whole army of Metal Sonics, and Amy!

Yes, Amy! Finally!! It's an absolute crime that we've gone three whole movies and a streaming miniseries without including the female lead of the series. I've complained about this ad nauseum (and also the fact that they cut Rouge from the story). But at least now they're finally doing something about it.

But now the question is, how will they characterize Amy? Sega's struggled with her for years, and there's a million different directions you can take her. Her one scene here has her smashing a bunch of Metal Sonics and wearing a cloak for the sake of a dramatic reveal, which gives her the vibes of a mysterious, badass action girl. This is, of course, completely different from how Sonic and Amy met in the games. What will her personality be like? She doesn't speak here, so who will they get to play her? Where did she come from? Will she even have a crush on Sonic? All of these have yet to be determined. So, like, I'm hyped to finally see Amy, a character who should've been in the movies from the start, but they could so easily end up playing it safe with an incredibly boring girlboss version of Amy who's no fun at all. We'll have to wait and see.

(My prediction: they're going to try to cast either Zendaya or Ariana as Amy.)

Metal Sonic, likewise, is very exciting, and he looks perfect. He looks just like the design from the games. But the question is: what will they do with this army of Metals? Will they be lead by one main Metal Sonic, perhaps Neo Metal Sonic, who gets to be a proper bad guy? Will they take some cues from Sonic CD, Heroes, and the OVA, or do something completely original? Where did they come from? Were they activated as a failsafe after Eggman died? Did they and Amy come from some sort of bad future, riffing on Sonic CD's time travel? Will they explore the fact that Metal wants to be the one and only Sonic? Or will they just be an army of disposable robot grunts for Sonic and friends to mow down like it's a Dynasty Warriors game, while some other villain takes center stage?

It could go so many different ways, and some prospects are more exciting than others. I mean, the Knuckles show had endless possibilities for what it could do with him, and none of the options on my bingo card were "Pachacamac's ghost tells him to help Wade win a bowling tournament." And while I'm a sicko who thinks it's funny that the Knuckles show is what it is, forgive me for keeping my hype about Amy and Metal Sonic in check here until we learn more.

Regardless of what they do, it'll still be hard to top the hype of Shadow, and it'll be hard to fill Jim Carrey's shoes for general audiences. So despite this clear statement of intent, I have no idea what the future of this film franchise holds. But regardless of what they do, I can say one thing for certain: the kids in my theater were hyped as hell for it. They popped off over Metal Sonic, and they were screaming their heads off with excitement over Amy. I heard a teenage girl on the opposite end of my row of seats say "finally!" over Amy's reveal, verbalizing my exact thoughts. She also said that this movie was "peak," though it diverged from the games, and she hoped they'd do a movie with Silver and Blaze someday.

The kids are gonna be okay.

[shrimpybbq]

the thought of drew and obx actress!reader sweeping award season with their crime drama😍 maybe it’s about 2/3 seasons too to really get their characters yearning…

Hehe they’re on the red carpet at the Emmy’s with the rest of the cast but they’ve split off together to do interviews. The reporters are ecstatic at getting the main actor and actress of the hottest tv show this year in front of them. Ever the gentleman, Drew has his hand resting on her lower back as he guides them through the interview line ups.

“So Drew! Y/N! How are we feeling? Your show is predicted to sweep the awards tonight - what’s that feeling like?”

Drew looks over and obx actress!reader before smirking cheekily. “I mean… I’m honoured,” he drawled, laughing as he received a playful swat to his chest at the now-famous remark. “No, but really, it’s really rewarding to know that people are liking and appreciating our work. Just a big thank you to everyone who has watched our little show. For letting us put two seasons out as well - it’s amazing to see people have faith in us.”

When the reporter turned to obx!actress reader, she spoke too, “Pretty much just echoing Drew, but it’s been quite intense! You know, you always have hope that your project is going to do well, but seeing the way this has blown up and the love from the fans for us and these characters has been incredible!”

Drew nodded alongside her. The cameras caught the way the pair had subtly begun to lean into each other, though it was clear neither was aware of it.

“And guys, coming from Outer Banks to this kind of show, it must be crazy! You two played an on-off couple before, but now for your characters, the stakes are a lot higher. What would you say has been the most important thing to help you portray this different kind of relationship, especially balancing the really challenging scenes you’re filming?”

Drew reached for the mic first, looking towards obx actress!reader momentarily for approval before speaking. “Yeah, I think knowing each other for so long beforehand was probably the most important thing. We would always debrief after scenes and check in to make sure we were both good, just keeping ourselves in good condition.”

He passed the mic to the shorter woman by his side, turning his attention to her.

“When you’re filming scenes that put you on edge and really push you out of your comfort zone, having people you feel safe with is just so invaluable. Pedro was great with that too, and all the cast on the show really recognised the nature of what we were portraying. Drew and I had a routine that each evening after filming, we would go and get ice cream from this place near the set and just chill. It was really great to just sit silently and eat for a while, you know?”

The interviewer nodded, incredibly pleased with the answers she’d managed to get from the pair so far.

“Ok! So my last question before you go is this - who is the best dancer on the set? Drew, I know you love to show off your dance moves, but there are quite a few great dancers in the cast!”

The pair both thought silently for a moment, before obx actress!reader leaned into the mic, “it has to be Pedro! He loves a quick dance party in between takes.”

“I’m also gonna go with Pedro,” Drew chimed in.

The interviewer grinned widely, thanking them quickly as their publicist began to shuffle the actors over to the next interview stand. The camera caught the pair waving goodbye as they moved over, not failing to capture the way Drew’s hand still rested on obx actress!reader’s back. This time though, her hand was resting on his bicep as she turned to talk to him, their bodies pressed closely together. The interviewer thanked her lucky stars that the pair were so touchy because her editor was going to love this.

[grandline-fics]

Not My Job Description

DESCRIPTION: Marine HQ’s Health and Safety, Sexual Harassment, and Workplace Conflict Seminar 

WARNINGS: none

CHARACTERS: Doflamingo

WORDS: 2,031

A/N: The chokehold this silly little AU! has over me is too strong. Since this option was the very very close runner up in the poll I decided to write this one. I hope you all enjoy 💕

*REQUESTS ARE OPEN*

DIRECTORY | PROMPT LIST | KO-FI

———————

You bit back a yawn as you poured yourself a cup of complimentary coffee. You and many others filling the large room had travelled from your bases over great distances in order to make it to this mandatory talk. The room buzzed with disgruntled, tired voices, all already wishing nothing more than to be back on their ships or in their bases. The day hadn’t even started yet and you were already fed up with what you’d have to endure. 

“Health and Safety, Sexual Harassment, and Workplace conflict?” You glanced over your shoulder to see one Marine scowling at the crisp, pristine booklets sitting on each of the seats. “Why not split them up individually?”

“Yeah right.” You scoffed to yourself, casting a knowing glance to your Vice-Admiral. With a sigh you sat down beside him at the back of the room. ”This is going to be torture enough but at least it’s only going to be one day. Having to endure it over three? Man’s a masochist for even suggesting it.”

Doflamingo chuckled and kicked his feet up onto the back of the seat in front of him, and slowly sipping his own cup of subpar coffee. “He’ll be changing his mind in half an hour at least.”

“Guess is depends on who’s taking the talk too.” You sighed, shifting in the barely cushioned seat. Comfort was a word you were going to forget the meaning of for the day but if you managed to sit in a way that didn’t leave your back in agony and ass numb, you were determined to figure it now before the boredom claimed you. “If it’s someone who wants it over with as fast as we do, we might be in luck.”

Abruptly the door at the front of the room- the only exit with no hope of sneaking out- burst open and your hope died instantly in your chest to see Akainu stride in. You weren’t the only one to have been clinging onto the hope of a quick and easy seminar and the small spark of optimism died, rippling through the room. Those that hadn’t taken their seats yet quickly moved to find one, many hurrying towards the back or at least the relative safety of the middle. With Akainu leading the talks, the front row were the firing line. No one would get away with zoning out there. You glanced out of the corner of your eye when Vice-Admiral Rosinante sat beside you and his second-in-command Captain Law sat to his right. You gently cleared your throat and cast a resentful glare at the unopened booklet you’d set on your lap.

As everyone waited for Akainu and the tech team to set up the projector snail in the centre of the room, soft conversations began to stir once more. It was almost like everyone was trying to hold on to some semblance of conversation before their minds were melted from the ordeal they were about to face. You tilted your head to the side and lightly tapped the front of your unopened booklet. “Ten beri says at least five of their points is directly related to you, Vice Admiral.”

“Only five?” Doflamingo chuckled and you rolled your eyes. “I may as well give you the money now.”

“Well excuse me for trying to protect your feelings in some capacity.” You smirked, keeping your conversation low. “I was trying to anticipate avoiding a ‘workplace conflict’ before we started.”

“Well played Captain. You’ve aced the talk.”

“Great, so I can leave?” You asked in mock excitement while Doflamingo let out a small gasp, a gloved hand touching his chest.

“You’d abandon me?” He asked in false hurt and you grinned up at him. “Captain! Such cruelty.”

You didn’t get to voice a response because from your right you heard Law whisper. “Rosinante? You okay?”

You and Doflamingo blinked and turned to look at the other Donquixote brother to see him pinching the bridge on his nose and taking a deep breath. 

“Rosi? You good?” Doflamingo asked and the pair of you watched as he only gave a quick thumbs up and lifted his head to stare at the front of the room at the same time Akainu cleared his throat. The lights in the room turned off and the large eyes of the projector snail began to glow, casting the first image on the wall behind the Admiral. Everyone braced themselves for the beginning to the talk. From your side you heard Doflamingo yawn and you spotted him lean back in his seat, one hand tucking behind his head while the other lazily draped over the back of your seat. Swiftly you kicked his ankle, pushing his feet to fall off the back of the seat. “No sleeping.” You mouthed at him before returning your bored stare at Akainu as he instructed everyone to open their booklets.

The entirety of the Health and Safety talk was just the same old common sense talk you’d heard in the Academy. Be aware of your surroundings and always take note of any and all trip, fire, and fall risks no matter where you are. 

“Even if you’re in familiar territory, accidents can happen to you and your colleagues if you’re not careful.” Akainu warned the room and when he cast a quick but pointed glance at Rosinante you had to quickly bite your thumb to hold back the involuntary laugh that almost burst from your lips. “And for any and all smokers in the room, you cannot be complacent. You are a constant risk if you are negligent. Just remember if it can happen once it can happen again.” 

Tightly you gripped your open booklet and lowered your head, taking calming breaths. This entire portion of the talk involving ‘freak accidents, personal responsibility for your own safety, and ‘it may sound strange but it can happen’ observations’ were all Rosinante. You knew it, Doflamingo knew it, Rosinante, and Law knew it too but whoever wrote the booklet didn’t want to outright single him out. Those that weren’t as familiar with the Vice-Admiral’s clumsy nature seemed equal parts amused and baffled about why this section even existed. Through most of it you and Doflamingo held back your laughter but it became harder to show restraint as the tension grew. Then the next slide popped up with artist renditions of some of the ‘unlikely but possible’ incidents for all to see the two of you broke because those were images the two of you and everyone else on your base witnessed constantly. While Doflamingo’s laughter filled the room and interrupted Akainu mid-sentence, you managed to muffle yours and hiding the lower half of your face behind your booklet and bite your tongue.

“Vice-Admiral Doflamingo!” Akainu shouted angrily, his fury making the room grow uncomfortably warm so that any others that felt tempted to laugh sobered up. Any that had been sleeping or close to immediately jolted awake. Thankfully you’d managed to recover in time for the Admiral to turn and glare at Doflamingo.“Explain yourself!”

“Just happy to be here.” Doflamingo chuckled, adopting his reclined position again to further annoy the Admiral by acting flippant. “I am feeling a little delirious though, must be low blood sugar.” 

“Fine. We’ll take lunch break now.” Akainu announced as the lights switched on before focusing his intense stare on Doflamingo once more. “When we start up again, no more nonsense.”

“Best behaviour, promise.”

———

After the lunch break ended you trudged back to your seat with a huff and pulled a face at the booklet, Health and Safety was finished but there were still two more sections to survive. 

“Next time we need to interrogate someone, just sit them through this.” You suggested as you tried to get back into the half-comfortable position in your seat that you’d found earlier while Doflamingo chuckled beside you. With a heavy sigh you resigned yourself to the boredom that was seeping back into your bones as the lights switched off and the talk continued. This time around you didn’t even try to prevent Doflamingo from zoning out, deciding this was a surefire way to avoid laughing at the worst time.

“While you may feel comfortable in your own skin, it doesn’t mean you need to show so much of it while at work.” Akainu’s voice instructed to the room and you smirked in amusement, noticing some in the room try to button their shirts just a little more. From the corner of your eye you spotted one of Doflamingo’s buttons came undone to show a little bit more of his chest. You rolled your eyes and fought a quiet laugh. Part of you was impressed he only did that because you wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d just stood and strip completely for everyone to see. 

The next span of Akainu’s lecture covered typical sexual harassment signs and the usual ‘what not to do’ and you listened with as much attention as you could but every so often your mind did drift and your body shifted in the seat from restlessness. With a muted sigh you sat back a little more, your neck settling against Doflamingo’s arm that hadn’t moved from the back of your seat. Already this was so much more comfortable to endure the talk that just kept going. Still though your legs were stiff and now that you were aware of just how uncomfortable you were it was impossible to ignore. Quickly and without any care you kicked your feet up to rest them on Doflamingo’s. While you didn’t want to do as he did in resting them on the seat in front of you to disrupt the Marine sitting there, you had no such issue with using Doflamingo’s stretched out legs as a footrest. Besides from this far back and with the other Marines blocking the view, no one-especially Akainu- would see how you were sitting. Finally comfortable you managed to pay a little bit more attention to the lecture. “Physical affection is not always friendly!” Akakinu read out to the room. “Sometimes using your words and maintaining an appropriate space between you and your colleague is the best way to interact.” 

———

Finally at long last the last slide disappeared and the room breathed a collective sigh of relief as the lights switched back on. With a long groan you stretched your arms out and set your feet back on the ground. You rubbed your neck and stood with the others, looking to Doflamingo expectantly. “Back to the ship? I don’t know about anyone else but I’m starving.”

“Yeah I can’t wait to get off this island and back to base.” Law groaned, stretching out the tightness that had formed in his back. 

“We’ll depart soon enough. You can all go back to the ship.” Doflamingo told you all with a small relaxed wave that immediately made you suspicious. “I’ll be along shortly.”

“Vice-Admiral, what are you planning?” You asked, the warning in your tone was unmistakeable. After having to sit through hours of droning you were in no mood for prolonging your stay at Marine HQ any more than your needed to. Doflamingo chuckled and continued to walk out of the room with the others. “Vice-Admiral!”

“I’m not planning anything Captain, I’m just going to find Tsuru and say hello while I’m here.”

“No, you won’t.” Following close at his heels as he turned down a corridor that was the complete opposite direction of the docks that all the others were eagerly heading towards. “We just sat through a harassment and conflict seminar! Bother her another time!”

You were too tired and hungry to put up with Doflamingo’s chaos inspired nonsense and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back the way you came. You let out a curse when he pulled out of your grip with ease, hooked his arm around you while pinning your arms to your sides and lifted you off your feet. “Vice-Admiral put me down!”

Watching this all unfold from the start of the corridor Rosinante took a deep breath and turned before reeling back and hit his head against the wall in frustration.

——————————————-

TAG LIST (If I’ve missed anyone or if you want to be added just let me know) @3v37773, @tsaaps , @i-am-all-love-puns-and-lazy , @fiery-captain-spider-santa, @kabloswrld , @atanukileaf , @ane5e , @stuckinthewrongworld , @cloudysunset04 , @chillerkiller , @sin-namonroll , @decayingpizza , @liesatemyocean , @ace-for-ace , @nerium-lil , @destynelseclipsa , @dreamcastgirl99 , @my-name-is-heartache , @iamn1ya ,  @yunho-leeknow , @hinata7346 , @h0oouwlss , @missrandomdreamer , @sleepykittycx , @ddawn111 , @jaygrl22 , @sylum , @acehyacinth , @resident-cryptid , @treelogirl , @maellem , @thulhu , @appalost , @dindjarins1ut , @irumawife , @laidenbreecatchall , @redwolfxx , @jevoislesbrasdemer , @schanwow , @pao198391 , @glitchtricks94 , @nina-ya , @48daisies , @rosemary-lungs , @sagyunaro , @artemis162534 , @thecraftywriter , @rorozorolover

[ckret2]

What's your stance on Ford as a person? Honestly, I believe that for thr majority of canon he is a bad person. But I believe he grew. Still not great though XD

(Love him anyways obvs)

I disagree entirely! I think he's equally as good a person as any of the other main cast.*

*Except Mabel, who, as we all know, is always right about everything.**

(**This is a lighthearted joke. For the love of god, I don't want Mabel discourse in my inbox.)

His biggest sins in the show:

After telling his brother that he was thinking about changing their shared life plans, and then discovering that his brother had gone to the high school that night for no good reason and gone to the science fair for no good reason and messed around near Ford's science project for no good reason and broke it and didn't tell Ford about it... Ford believed Stan did it intentionally and held a grudge for it. You know what, it WOULD be pretty damn hard to believe it was an accident.

Hilariously ill-equipped to cope with Fiddleford's mental health. A guy who responds to "I have anxiety" with "have you tried yoga, it helps me" isn't a bad person, he's clueless. "Character cheerfully enacts a bad idea while a loved one in the background goes NO PLEASE DON'T DO THAT" describes half the episodes of Gravity Falls.

Was successfully manipulated by a professional manipulator into believing his best friend wished him ill. Man, what a terrible person Ford is for being manipulated by a manipulator and saying cruel things to somebody he'd been genuinely convinced was trying to harm him.

??? Didn't say thanks to a guy he was still mad at after the guy fixed a problem he himself had caused. This is a solitary example of stubborn bad etiquette, jesus christ. There's half a dozen different reasons why it makes perfect sense Ford wasn't in the right mindset to feel grateful, this is not something worth indicting his entire character over.

He had high ambitions, which everyone seems to lambast him for, but high ambitions that wouldn't have required doing anybody harm! (Until the professional manipulator started manipulating him into harming the people around him, but we are going to demonstrate some reading comprehension and not blame Ford's underlying morality as a person for things he never would've done if not for Bill's bullying, con artistry, and outright lies.) Like, what is it that he wanted to do with his life? Use his talents to get rich and famous? Shit, that's exactly what Stan wanted to do with his life. It's what Dipper fantasizes about doing with his life. Even Mabel, who thinks about her long-term future the least, dreams big with her art & performances and is already making big money off cheap-ass commissions. What terrible people they all are, for—let me check my notes here—uhhh... unrealistically fantasizing about achieving success in life by doing the things they're good at.

When their dad accuses Stan of lying as a child, Ford puts his entire summer on the line to defend Stan even though he knows Stan is a habitual liar and has no reason to believe Stan is telling the truth this time.

When his new college roommate he barely even knows gets laughed at for proposing an outlandish scientific theory, his first emotion is outrage at this injustice and he drops everything to convince his already-despondent roommate that he was right and help him prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

When he moves to a new town, he tries again and again to befriend his new neighbors, and fails not because he's rude or a jerk, but because he's awkward as hell, tells terrible jokes, and sucks at identifying phoenixes.

When Fiddleford gets hurt around him, he cares about it, feels guilty about putting him in that position, doesn't want it to happen again, and tries his best to help even though he's bad at helping.

When he gets kidnapped by a weird holiday folklore creature, he concludes without even thinking about it that he's now in charge of protecting and rescuing the kidnapped kids. Yeah, then he immediately starts hollering at the folklore creature for trying to impose his religious beliefs on Ford and the kids—but like, Ford was right tho, he just had bad timing.

When he discovers that the Northwest family committed atrocities against their poorer neighbors a century ago, his first instinct is to march up to their house, find the first Northwest he can locate, and give them a piece of his mind for it. Like, this won't even FIX anything. He's just THAT OUTRAGED over the injustice.

When he sees what he thinks is a fortune telling fraud conning the people, he attempts to debunk her because he's mad to see someone cheating other people with lies—and when he can't debunk her, he just leaves her alone rather than harass her about it. Typically, if assholes think somebody's doing something wrong but don't have any proof of it and fail to get proof when they look, they decide they're right anyway and keep giving that person shit. Ford doesn't give her shit. That's the opposite of an asshole move.

When he discovers his Portal To Knowledge (And Fame & Fortune) is actually a Portal To Doom (But Still Possibly Fame & Fortune, Maybe Even Godly Power), he isn't tempted for a second to keep working on it anyway. There is no moment where Bill manages to tempt him. No matter what Bill offers, no matter how long Bill offers, never, at ANY point, does Ford have a SECOND of "but what if I did make a deal with the devil?" the way so many heroes in similar situations often do.

You ever notice that? So often moral moments in the show are presented as choices the characters make. Will or won't Dipper give Bill a "puppet" in exchange for knowledge. Will or won't Stan fight a pterodactyl to protect Mabel's pig. Will or won't Mabel hand Bipper the journal. Ford is never given a "will or won't he" moment over Bill's threats, offers of friendship, or offers of infinite power—he steamrolls straight past them without a second of consideration—because, to him, the selfish, cowardly, easy choice ISN'T EVEN AN OPTION. He doesn't even SEE it as making a choice because the possibility of doing the wrong thing is invisible. A character who wavers first before turning Bill down would look more noble for "overcoming" temptation—it's harder to notice just how much stronger Ford's moral compass must be to not even feel temptation in the first place.

Greed and pride never tempt him to join Bill's side. Exhaustion, despair, and fear never tempt him to give up. He bears up under weeks, possibly months of extreme sleep deprivation, physical torture, psychological torture, emotional torture, threats of death, threats of brainwashing, threats to his family. He doesn't hold up so that he can pat himself on the back for being a hero—if that was all it was he would've gone "screw it, this isn't worth it and nobody would know I'm the one who gave up" a week in—he does it because he simply knows it must be done and because he's so isolated (half because of Bill's influence!) that he believes he's the one who must do it, all alone.

Thinking he has to do it by himself isn't egotism or pride; it's helplessness. He thinks no one else stands a chance. He thinks he's alone.

And, when he discovers his Portal To Knowledge is a Portal To Doom, he immediately feels guilty. No trying to deny the situation to protect his ego. No shuffling the blame off to someone else. No "maybe the apocalypse could have a silver lining!" No locking the door and trying to ignore the problem. He blames himself for being fooled—he IMMEDIATELY takes full responsibility for his actions—and he CONTINUES to take responsibility FOR THE NEXT THIRTY YEARS.

He takes more responsibility than is even warranted—he treats himself like he's an idiot for believing in an APPARENT GOD who's been practicing manipulating humans for thousands of years and who had never given Ford reason to believe the portal was anything but what Bill said it was. He beats himself up to no end every single time his past with Bill comes up. He even keeps beating himself up thirty years later when he's shoving warning notes to future readers in Bill's evil unkillable book!

When he falls into the multiverse, he dedicates his entire life NOT to finding a way to rescue himself, but to finding a way to permanently stop the CHAOS GOD who's still at the threshold of destroying Ford's world and countless others. He makes himself a hated criminal in the process, just to stop Bill. He's ready to spend the rest of his life trying to protect a world he doesn't think he'll ever see again. He does it because, as he sees it, somebody has to stand in between the children and the obnoxious folklore cryptid menacing them, and he's the only adult in this damn cave with the skills and knowledge for the job.

When he gets home, he doesn't tell his family about Bill and his quest because he's afraid that doing so will get them involved and endanger them too—and because he's too deeply ashamed of himself and his mistakes to stand the thought of his family knowing about the horrible things he's done (AGAIN, WHILE BEING MANIPULATED BY THE GOD OF MANIPULATION).

He loves his great-niece and great-nephew the second he lays eyes on them; he nevertheless tries to steer away from them to keep them safe from Bill; and yet he caves to the very first temptation to emotionally bond with his great-nephew he gets, because in spite of his noble "keep them safe" intentions, he wants so so badly to be close to his family.

As pissed as he still is at Stan and even though neither of them can look at each other without hissing like cats, he still makes an attempt to start bridging their divide by inviting him to play DD&MD.

When the apocalypse happens, he immediately puts his life on the line to try to kill Bill.

And when he's captured, isn't fazed for a second by Bill's offers or threats... until his family is threatened. The exact thing he'd been trying to avoid & prevent from the very start.

And when he's reunited with Fiddleford, his immediate reaction is to point out that Fiddleford's well within his rights to hate him—which isn't a new revelation, it's not like Ford had to do any soul-searching to reach this conclusion, he'd concluded that 30 years ago the instant he realized Bill had played him and that he'd been lied to about Fiddleford.

And then he tries to kill Bill again.

And then he's ready to sacrifice his own life to kill Bill—and the only reason he doesn't is because he has a metal plate preventing him from making the sacrifice... but, Stan doesn't have a plate. If Ford hadn't had the metal plate, he would have gladly done the exact same thing Stan did—and he would have thought it was right for him and only him to make that sacrifice, because it's VERY clear he feels (and has felt from the start) that this is all his fault and he's obligated to fix it.

Over and over and over, these are Ford's two defining character traits: getting so pissed off at injustice that his common sense shuts off and he goes into terminator mode until he's righted this wrong as best he can, even when he can't actually do anything about it; and feeling like he's Atlas, weighed down with the full responsibility of fixing everything he's done wrong and made to believe that, for everyone else's sake, he has to do it all alone. Even when doing so puts himself in harm's way, even when he has to put his entire life on hold for it, even if it might cost him his life. Scrape off his awkward social skills, his loneliness, his nerdiness, his endless curiosity, his zealous love of the strange, his starry ambitions, his yearning for recognition and success—scrape his personality down to the bone and that's what you're left with. A man who believes in defending the exploited so strongly that it makes him a little stupid.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that you probably don't think Stan's fundamentally a bad person, and that you probably think that isn't even worth questioning. Stan's made a whole career out of swindling people, conning them out of as much money as he possibly can, stealing, lying, committing a long list of goofily-named crimes, and attempting douchy pick-up artistry on women; and to cap it all off, he held the safety of the entire universe hostage to demand a goddamn "thank you." Don't send me any "But he had reasons—" "But it was only to—" I don't need it, I don't want the essay, I'm not arguing that Stan's a bad guy, it's fine.

But. You can look at Stan's moments of cruelty and unkindness, his uncharitable thoughts, his character flaws, and think, "that doesn't define him. He's more than his cruelest moments and worst mistakes. He's imperfect, but he cares so much and his heart's in the right place, and beneath all the flaws his core is good."

And if you can't do the same for Ford, it's not because he's a worse person. It's because we got two seasons with Stan and five and a half episodes with Ford—and while we saw Stan yearning to fish with the kids or encouraging Mabel to whoop Pacifica's butt at minigolf or crying over a black and white period drama or punching zombies to save his family, we only saw Ford at the worst moments in his life and under the stress of a prolonged apocalyptic crisis—and, it so happens, all the moments he was pissed at the guy we spent two seasons learning to love.

Ford's got moments of cruelty and unkindness, uncharitable thoughts, and character flaws. But, at his core, he's a good person, and he always has been, and he still is.

[bones4thecats]

If you're still accepting requests, can I make one for Leona, Jade, Jamil, and Vil (Picked them for their Signature Spell. Feel free to pick someone else if you have someone in mind) reacting to a Male Reader who, given to be from another world, is immune to any and all magical spells inflicted onto them.

Simply put, any magic spells, such as being blasted by a fireball, will not affect him, as well as their Signature Spells. However, he still could be hit by any debris the spell caused.

Another downside, any and all magic includes any beneficial magic, such as any spells that heals wounds, forcing him to recover the hard way.

Hope this is good, thank you!

Their M! S/O w/ an Immunity to Spells

Characters: Leona Kingscholar, Jade Leech, Jamil Viper, and Vil Schoenheit Requester: @beawesome04 A/N: These are shorter than intended, but I do hope they're good! ⚠️ Spoilers/Trigger Warnings for: Mentions of near-death experiences, unknowing-attempted murder (Leona's Part), unknowing-implied attempted-slavery (Jamil's Part), and accidental-attempted cursing (Vil's Part) ⚠️

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Leona Kingscholar ════════════════════════╝

🦁 Early on in your relationship, Leona had overblotted, which resulted in multiple people coming close to being affected by his unique spell

🦁 As the magic spread throughout his mind, he began to act more erratic and animalistic, which allowed you an opening to tackle him down and try getting him to snap out of his rage-driven state

"Y/N!" Yuu screamed.

"King's Roar!" Leona yelled, gripping your arm tightly as everyone around looked in fear.

🦁 You smirked and lifted your opposite arm, and everyone saw you were holding your wand. And as you angled it to knock Leona out, his pupils began to widen, changing from his blot-form to his normal one. The one where he loved you and cared for you... not the one who would try harming, nonetheless killing you

"Y/N..." You heard him mumble.

"Night, Leona."

🦁 All of a sudden, the Housewarden fell to the ground unconscious. Which made everyone around look at you in shock -how did you survive his unique spell?! Whenever it was cast, whatever he touches would turn to sand. So why weren't you sand?!

🦁 Dodging the topic of your immunity limits and how it worked as Yuu, Grim, and the other first years looked at you with both shock and curiosity, you spoke aloud to all hearing you

"His blot should wear off here in a couple minutes. But be prepared for him to be slightly more aggressive than normal, okay?"

"How in the name of the Great Seven?!"

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Jade Leech ════════════════════════════╝

🍄 You were planning a surprise party for Jade and Floyd that week, as their birthday(s?) was(were?) approaching. So, while you normally stayed completely calm, you couldn't help but be more peppy and happy the past few days

🍄 Jade was curious on why you were more giddy, so, in his normal fashion, he had approached you with a plan of his own in his mind

🍄 He knew you were immune to magic and couldn't change what affected you and not, but maybe you would react differently to his magic? Perhaps with the time you've spent in this world, your magic evolved?

"Y/N, may I speak with you in private?" Your boyfriend asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'll catch up with you in a little bit." You told Azul over the phone, as he was in on the whole birthday-plan.

🍄 Jade walked with you into his room, closing the door, but not locking it behind him. And as he walked up to you and had you look into his eyes, you knew what he was going to do

"Shock the Heart."

🍄 You made your face look slightly dazed as he smirked and cooed you, patting your head as he began to ask you the predicted question

"What are you hiding from me?"

🍄 Deciding to tease him a bit, you kept your act up and answered in a slightly-drawling tone

"Azul and I wanted to give you a raise for your birthday."

"Oh~ How interesting! I must admit that is quite sweet, my love."

🍄 Reaching up and pulling his hat off your head before running off with it being on your own, you laughed and yelled back at him

"Sorry for the lie, Jadey! Just had to cure my boredom! You will never find it out until later!"

🍄 You poor, naive magic-user... Jade always gets what he wants. He did get you after all~

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Jamil Viper ════════════════════════════╝

🐍 As you calmly spoke to Kalim a ways away, you noticed a couple students anxiously walking away from the kitchen, more speed being taken into account until they slowed as they got further away

🐍 Your eyebrows furrowed sadly as you realized why they were doing that. Jamil had overblotted a couple weeks ago and nobody wanted to be around him except Kalim, Yuu, and obviously his lover, you

🐍 Looking at Kalim, you excused yourself before walking inside the kitchen to check on Jamil

🐍 You noticed how empty the kitchen was, so you followed the closest footsteps you could hear, which eventually led you to your boyfriend's dorm room

🐍 Holding your hand up and knocking, you heard Jamil tell you to leave, to which you scoffed and opened the door with your spare key before closing it behind you carefully

"Alright, Jamil. I understand why the others are avoiding you, but why are you avoiding me so much?"

🐍 Burrowing his face deeper into his pillow, you sighed, walking up and sitting beside him and reaching up to pull his hood down and massage his scalp like you would after a long day was finally over and you decided to stay over

"I tried using you without your consent... I should be asking you why you aren't avoiding me..." He grumbled, making your eyes widened slightly before going back to normal as you giggled. "Why are you laughing?"

"Jamil. When we first got together, I swore that I wouldn't judge you for any kind of mistake, no matter the size. You promised the same thing. I know if I did what you did, you wouldn't hold it against me or fear me, so why would I do anything else than the same?"

🐍 Looking into your eyes before tearing up, Jamil sat up and hugged you, his face burrowing into your stomach as you smiled gently and reached for your phone to tell Kalim that you and Jamil were going to take the rest of the night off due to 'personal issues'

"I'll always be there for you, Jamil. No matter what."

"Thank you, Y/N."

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗

╚═════ Vil Schoenheit ══════════════════════════╝

👑 You knew how Vil's unique spell worked because Rook wouldn't stop talking about one of the first times he had ever needed to use it during class

👑 He asked if you were immune to everyone's spells, to which you shrugged. You hadn't had anyone just walk up to you and try blasting you into space yet, and you didn't plan on it happening yet either

"Understandable." Rook said, looking around before gasping dramatically, wishing you goodbye, and running into the nearby wooden-area surrounding Pomefiore.

"He's an oddball..." You thought.

👑 Walking through the halls and into Vil's room, you popped your spine and sat down on his bed, making sure you wouldn't do anything wrong to the sheets or flooring. Your boyfriend may love you, but he still loves the cleanliness of his room

👑 When he finally arrived, you began to tell Vil about everything that happened that day. From Riddle overblotting back in Heartslabyul and you befriending the magic-less human from another world, much like you, you told him everything in so much detail

👑 Vil began to get annoyed as you spoke, it wasn't that he hated you speaking. Not at all. He just needed a couple minutes to silence to calm down his pounding migraine

"And then a member of his own dorm began egging him, which sent him into a typical frenzy-"

"Fairest One Of All."

👑 As Vil touched your forehead, you looked at his hand, wondering why he was telling you to fall asleep until he kissed your forehead, and when he opened his eyes and saw your confused face, he looked at his hand in shock

"Oh Great Seven... I did not just try using my magic against you... did I?" He asked himself.

"I guess. Eh, it ain't that bad. I guess I can answer Rook's question now though. Unique spells don't work on me either. Sweet."

"Y/N take this seriously!" He said.

"I am! Maybe I could make good money on this..."

"Y/N!"

[saerotonins]

actor!yuuji & actor!sukuna headcanons

ft. itadori yuuji and ryomen sukuna 

content warnings: fluff, itadori twins au, overall cuteness, implied x reader (separated), jjk manga spoilers, characters are aged up to 20+

wc: 2.3k (jesus christ lol)

note: i miss my little actors so much lol. also, i think this is a bit too long, my bad 😭

jjk actor au masterlist

as twin actors:

believe it or not, jjk is like one of the roles that had them cast together 

both of them usually like to play different roles in different shows because they just don't want to be known as each other's twins

love that for them, they're so real for that

but when they were cast, they accepted it since the script and plot were interesting 

yuuji is a sweetheart inside out and sukuna is the quieter one between the two, sukuna is soft for his brother though so don't get fooled by his tough persona

yes, he is the older twin LOL and always holds it against yuuji just to be petty

"dude can you get me that can of soda?""why are you ordering your older brother around? have some shame"

yuuji just rolls his eyes but before he gets up and get it himself, sukuna will wordlessly stands up and does it anyway

checks on yuuji whenever he does intense fight scenes

both of them do the stunt themselves since they ate both so physically active

education wise, yuuji graduated as a marketing major and sukuna has a degree in physical therapy 

which explains why him and his brother always practice fight scenes together and he helps yuuji with his stance and warm ups!

it's adorable really and he's so tsundere about it too

"no not like that, put your legs this way dumbass" like that typa stuff

sukuna started off as a model but was later on casted because casting agencies thought he has that great villain face

yuuji started off as a side character and really likes acting (he is the theatre kid between the two and sukuna is the quiz bee kid, their mom is BOOKED and busy) and later on recognized because he's just THAT good

yuuji is usually a romance lead or 2nd lead and a slice-of-life guy so when fans found out he will be in an action show, they are excited!

sukuna on the other hand has been casted as a tsundere in romance shows, sometimes a bully and an antagonist in action shows, but a villain that is literally so powerful??? that is so new so his fans are anticipating 

both of them usually arrive on the set together (sukuna is the one driving btw and yuuji just sleeps during the trip)

yuuji prepares both of their bento boxes btw

sukuna loves it

he can cook, but that's it LMAO

he won't admit it but yuuji is the better cook

lowkey a picky eater so yeah

ACTOR!SUKUNA HEADCANONS:

sukuna is the intimidating one (obv) so when him and the other casts first met + the first few readings, it was sooo awkward 

turns out he's lowkey a goofy guy

has fun with his costars and helps them with fight scenes too, gotta put that physical therapy degree into good use

both him and nanami have this silent bond because whenever they're together they just don't talk and bask in the silence as they sit, they just peace amidst their crazy schedule

also an avid toji fan so when this guy found out he's in the same show with his idol he's almost shitting bricks

let out a really loud cheer when he found out and only yuuji knew about it LOL

has a deep-rooted respect towards him and it's sooo obvious whenever toji is around

he is such a fucking fangirl

he just thinks he's so badass and feels so honored to be casted in the same show as him

feels bad that he has to beat up almost everyone 😭 he is also a sweetheart deep inside

deep inside, he's such a caring and protective brother for yuuji because even though he doesn't have any scenes to be filmed, he still joins him on set whenever time allows him

he may not show it but he's sometimes lowkey terrified about fans tearing him up into shreds whenever he kills their favorite character 

imagine sukuna dripping big sweats by the time THAT episode with [redacted] aired oh my GOD he was so fucking nervous considering their fanbase is so big

yuuji has never seen his brother THIS nervous before and he's enjoying it

luckily though, not much hate happened and most of the time it's just memes and playful banter

his ass is barely on social media LOL

in the years of his instagram existing he only has like 90+ posts or even below 😭 usually it's just promotion, being an ambassador, magazine shoots— very lowkey 

doesn't have much digital footprint and i love that for him

whenever he posts, his fans are EATING IT UP since it happens every once in a blue moon lmfao

ACTOR!SUKUNA AS YOUR PARTNER:

as tough as he looks, he actually can be quite clingy, just behind closed doors though

lowkey feels bad when he has to beat up children (LMAO) and his co-actors and asks for cuddles from you for comfort

it's actually kind of adorable 

sometimes if his schedule doesn't allow him to have time to visit you, you'll get messages like "babe i just beat up megumi :(" 

since he's not active on social media, he knows some stuff online through you or yuuji

kind of a sad reason why he doesn't go online as much is because as tough as he looks, he's just a guy scared of the hate he's going to have just because he plays a villain or antagonist most of the time

he knows it's not his fault, he just knows that some people just don't know how to separate reality from acting

especially when that scene where he had to off a certain jujutsu sorcerer actor with a huge fanbase

oh boy was he so fucking scared and ran into your arms for comfort :(

he's a softie deep inside ok

when they have to go out of town or even overseas to film, he gets incredibly homesick and misses you so much 

expect a lot of "i miss you" messages, including selfies and candid pictures that he took around the set to

practicing his lines with you is close to impossible, this guy gets all blushy and shit because you're in front of him

and since most of his lines are mean as hell, he just doesn't want to be mean to you

he wants to impress you so bad but when you're around he just becomes a little high school boy with a big crush LMAO

he's such a sweetheart deep inside oh my god

when he decides he wants to post a new photo in his ig, you're the first and only person he'll ask for opinions

so this just means that most, if not all of his posts were handpicked by you

wears your matching stuff like accessories on set and gets sad when he has to take it off while filming

when he learned that his character would have face tattoos, the first thing he did was come home to you with his face makeup on (he had to ask his makeup artist to let it stay) and imitate it on your face

i have this headcanon that sukuna knows how to draw (and is very good at it) so it takes almost no effort to draw the tattoos on your face

you two then have a mini photoshoot (aka just taking a lot of selfies) with the both of you with sukuna marks on the face

it looks so cute that he made it his lock screen

he's lowkey such a sap don't let the character he's playing fool you

ACTOR!YUUJI HEADCANONS:

THE MAN THE MYTH THE BABY

he is literally a sunshine in or out of acting

so polite and so kind it's hard to hate him (not that he is even worth hating on)

so naturally, everyone on set loves to work with him!

unlike his brother, before acting, he doesn't really know a lot of fighting stance (he's a marketing major ffs lol) BUT ever since he was casted, he doubled up on his working out routine with the help of sukuna

even invested his time learning boxing which later on paid soooo much

can literally make everyone on set "aww" whenever his script requires him so cry or even witness a gruesome death scene *cough* nanami and nobara *cough*

during breaks, him and nobara do tiktok challenges and even those kpop challenges all the time and the crew enjoys watching them do it and the fans like it too

he does it too with choso and todo

this guy literally has 3 older brothers who are protective of him it's so cute

this man is so talented, he can cook, sing, dance, act, and is pretty smart too during his university days, it's so hard not to be in love with him

the greenest of the green flags (just like nanamin!) the girls the guys the folks LOVE him so much, literally the standard 

just like sukuna, he was fangirling so hard when he found out he's going to be in the same drama with THE nanami kento

he's such a big big BIG fan 

has a fan account of him on twitter that is pretty popular but you didn't hear that from me

it's so cute when they're together because they're literally THE father and son duo EVER

has the time of his life whenever he visits nanami and his wife's house and just chill there, sometimes brings his first-year trio besties too (both nanami and his wife don't mind at all)

aside from sukuna, he sometimes practices fight scenes with nanami too!

he is so active on social media 😭 interacts with as many fans as he can and posts all the time on ig and twitter 

has a lot of cute interactions with fans too

by extension, his account is sukuna's behind the scene account LOL

since his brother doesn't post a lot, sukuna's fans tune in to his posts and stories of sukuna behind the scenes or even just some pictures of him that he doesn't post

some of it are just pics of the brothers chilling or going out

yuuji is literally the sukuna fan's saint because of the amount of sukuna content he's giving them LOL

ok but don't get fooled by yuuji's sunshine personality, because he knows how to bite too

whenever he saw hate tweets his brother is getting for playing a villain, he is quick to respond and defend his brother

lowkey a nightmare for the PR team but they know where he's coming from

and despite sukuna telling him to just ignore it, he appreciates his little brother more than anything 

ACTOR!YUUJI AS YOUR PARTNER:

one word: ANGEL

he's literally so lover coded oh my goodness

leaves you some post-it notes on the fridge every single day before he leaves to film

if the trip goes on for days he will leave at least three long love letters for you to read when you miss him and he's busy

creates personal vlogs JUST FOR YOU so if the both of you can't facetime, you'll still know what he is up to

when he was contacted to be the main character of the show, he confided in you whether or not he should accept the offer

don't get him wrong, he is beyond grateful the people think he's capable enough to be the main lead but it makes him nervous 

this is his first main character role and the pressure of it all is heavy on his shoulders 

he asked for his brother's opinion too but he trusts you enough to talk about his feelings regarding this

of course, when you said that you'll be there with him in every step and support him all the time and do everything to keep the communication between the two of you going despite his soon-to-be hectic schedule, his heart is finally set on accepting the role

you are so proud of him! your baby finally getting the recognition he deserves? hell yeah

his busy schedule was never a barrier between the two of you, yuuji never forgets to update and call you whenever his time permits and he always appreciates every cheer you have given him

type of actor boyfie to show you off his social media platform!

he posts your dates and even hangouts with each other

his fans find it quite adorable and is in love with your whole relationship 

likes to do those couple tiktok challenges with you and post them online, you guys even have shippers lol

of course, if you're the lowkey type, yuuji would respect that and will only include you in his online shenanigans when you feel like it or allow him to post it

practicing lines with you is always exciting but never productive LOL

you both just end up giggling and laughing 

in the end you just both opt to cuddle instead (or even make our LMFAO)

yuuji just feels so lucky to have his ever-supporting partner along the way

[integer115]

Ashes of the Academy quick reaction

Ursa blames everyone but herself for Azula's problems raising her. Azula was in a war? What war? She's just pure evil!

The world around us doesn't matter! Brainwashing is the absolute remedy - yeah.

There is no difference between stopping the war and losing the war, losing everything that was won during a hundred years of war.

The aristocracy has power and influence but does nothing with it because… Because between the scene where Azula is in chains and the scene where Zuko is standing on the balcony there is a script black hole!

Zuko is both powerful and powerless. The plot black hole obliterates any sense of who is responsible for what in the post-war Fire Nation and how society functions in general.

Mai's claim sounds really absurd. Mai is your boyfriend and you actively tried to make the Fire Nation lose the war, remember?

Yes, precisely because Azula burns everything for no reason, it is she who, even during her breakdown, did not throw fire at her servants. On the other hand, we have Zuko, who was constantly throwing fire at innocent people. Starting with his subordinates on the ship and ending with Aang. Simply put, the comic screws Zuko's characteristics to Azula.

So Mai didn't want to hang out with Azula. Okay. So Mai is just a hypocrite. Great character development.

So Azula lives to multiply suffering and destruction. Okay. Then again a banal question. Why the hell did the entire cast of the show survive Azula's captivity alive and well? And in Hokoda's case, even recovered? Why did Katara spill water under Ba Sing Se and not blood? Pathetic.

The writers themselves don't know why this whole idiotic circus with Kemurikage was needed. Perfect.

The Fire Nation is waging a war to acquire colonies. That is, it is implementing a full-fledged program of development of new lands. So how do the inhabitants of the colonies end up in someone's minds as sympathizers of the Earth Kingdom? What kind of nonsense is this? These are literally the same people of the same nation. Why, in The Promise, they showed us that the inhabitants of the colonies themselves consider themselves to be part of the Fire Nation. And this is logical. So how on earth did they turn into traitors during the war? Where did this nonsense come from?

Azula didn't trust her friends. Okay. Then why the hell she didn't burn them in the original show and went to get new ones? If they were just tools to her, she'd just get new ones and that's it. In the last Hicks comic, Azula almost did the dance with Ty Lee just to avoid turning the girl into a roast, so what the hell? This is literally a pluralism of opinions in one head and we are not talking about Azula's head.

So why did Azula lose her temper like that if she didn't trust her friends from the start and didn't even consider them friends. Again?

What the hell is a children's academy? Am I the only one who remembers about the war? Okay, writers, I get it, the war had no effect on anything. It's all the fault of a bad school and a bad Ozai. One question, on who is this intended for?

Oh yeah, let's boil it down to evil for the sake of evil. Literally!

Writer! You yourself mentioned a crowd of traditionalist aristocrats at the beginning of the comic, and now it all comes down to an old granny with a Sith Lord complex. Is it so hard to just watch your own writing?

What kind of people will Zuko be trusted with? Where did these people come from? Who let this people into positions of power? How did all this even happen again? The plot black hole keeps coming back to haunt us.

This granny was really going to kill the teacher with a Dai Li agent? An agent who would just attack in broad daylight? Why would he? Why would she? Okay… Let's say it's designed for children under one year old.

But now there's a bunch of Dai Li sitting in the Fire Nation and waiting for Azula. What? What kind of nonsense is this? How many years have passed since the show ended? Are these agents infinite? And they work for themselves! What nonsense this all is...

I apologize for the confusion and emotionality. But it's just…..bad.

[rhiannonsknife]

── ❆ THE HAPPIEST SEASON; jackie taylor

— summary: jackie brings you home for the holidays.

— warnings: the plot of ‘happiest season’. so: angst. hurt/comfort. internalized homophobia. past jackieshauna. some nsfw content. mdni. fem!reader. her mom is very much out of character for the sake of the plot. also jackie has an older brother in this.

the taylor’s home is something straight out of a magazine: immaculate, grand, and sparkling with holiday cheer. wreaths adorn every door, garlands wind their way up the banister, and twinkling lights cast a soft glow over the meticulously decorated living room. it’s all so perfect. too perfect.

you’re standing awkwardly near the hors d’oeuvres table, clutching a glass of wine like a lifeline. the place is packed with people: jackie’s parents’ friends, colleagues, neighbors, all dressed to the nines, laughing politely at each other’s stories, their voices blending into an distant hum. you feel like a guest at someone else’s christmas, because in so many ways, that’s exactly what you are.

you can see jackie from across the room, talking to her mom’s book club friends. she’s smiling, poised, doing what jackie does best: being the golden child everyone adores, the same girl she was when she left wiskayok after graduation. the sight of her makes your chest tighten.

it’s been days of this now, days of pretending to be something you’re not:

when she first asked you to come home with her for christmas, you’d been thrilled. nervous, sure, but excited. after all, you’ve been dating for a while now. long enough that meeting her family felt like the natural next step. you’d even imagined what it would be like: holding hands under the table at dinner, sneaking kisses under the mistletoe, sharing the kind of quiet, intimate moments that made the season your personal favorite. you knew her parents were rather old-fashioned, jackie had told you as much, but you figured she’d prepared them, or at least planned to tell them about you when the time felt right.

that’s not how it’s been. your imaginary, festive bubble had been burst the minute you stepped through the overly decorated entrance of jackie’s two story childhood home. the first cracks appeared before you even made it through the front door.

jackie pulled the car up to her parents’ sprawling house, her hands gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly. she gave you a quick, nervous smile as she shifted into park. “okay, so, just…let me handle my mom, alright? she’s a lot, but she’s going to love you!”

the warning had been vague enough to feel normal. plenty of people had complicated relationships with their parents, after all. so you brushed it off, smiling back at her and squeezing her hand over the center console.

inside, jackie’s mom greeted you with the enthusiasm of someone meeting a new best friend. she hugged jackie tightly and turned to you, her smile widening. “you must be the roommate jaqueline told us so much about!”

you froze, glancing quickly at jackie, hoping she’d correct her mom. she didn’t.

“we’ve been looking forward to this,” jackie’s mom already continued, bustling around to take your coat. “we haven’t seen her in months! practically all year, really. it’s so nice that you could both come”

“yeah, it’s great to meet you too, mrs. taylor,” you said hesitantly, managing to force a smile.

her dad appeared a moment later, extending a firm handshake: “it’s nice you brought a friend home this year, jaqueline” he said, looking over at his daughter. “it’s a pleasure to meet you”

“come in, come in!” mrs. taylor ushered you both inside, talking a mile a minute about how the house was a mess and how much she had to get done before the party. you couldn’t even process the introductions properly, your mind was still stuck on one word: roommate.

you wanted to say something to jackie, but there was no time. she disappeared into the house with her mom, leaving you standing awkwardly by the door, already wondering if this was a mistake. you tried to make sense of it, you really did. maybe jackie just hadn’t wanted to drop everything on them all at once. maybe she planned to explain things in private, later.

later never came. matter of fact, things only got worse from here.

the first night, over dinner, mrs. taylor asked you a series of polite (if not slightly invasive) questions: where you were from, what you studied, what you wanted to do after school. you answered as best you could, until she got to the question you’d been dreading:

“so” mrs. taylor said, her voice light, “are you seeing anyone dear?”

you barely had time to open your mouth before jackie jumped in. “nope, not right now,” she said, laughing lightly as if the whole idea were absurd. “she’s too busy for all that, right?”

you nearly dropped your fork.

mrs. taylor, blissfully unaware, joined her daughter’s laughter. “well, good for you, focusing on your future. too many girls your age let boys get in the way” she nodded approvingly. “but they can be such a distraction at your age! you’ve got plenty of time to find a suitable boyfriend still!”

it was humiliating. you sat there in stunned silence, as her mom continued on about “being independent” but the importance of “finding a nice husband and starting a family” as her dad sat across from you, mumbling his occasional agreement over a glass of wine.

jackie didn’t even look at you, just kept eating like she hadn’t said anything wrong.

the sleeping arrangements were the final straw.

after dinner, mrs. taylor led you upstairs to show you the guest room. “you’ll be in the guest room! i’ve got fresh sheets on the bed, and there’s extra blankets in the closet if it gets cold,” she said cheerfully. “jackie’s room is a little tight for two people. but i figured you’d want your own space anyway!”

“oh, i don’t mind if-“ you started to say, but jackie cut you off.

“that’s perfect,” she said. “thanks mom!”

that night, as you lay in the guest bed staring at the ceiling, all you could think about was how different jackie felt here. the girl who kissed you in public without a second thought, who called you her girlfriend like it was the most natural thing in the world, was gone. in her place was someone who couldn’t even look at you when her mom called you her roommate.

and the worst part? she didn’t seem to realize how much it hurt. jackie didn’t just avoid telling her parents about you, she actively reinforced the lie. every time her mom called you “friends,” every time jackie deflected a question about your life, it was like a slap in the face.

and the little moments only piled up as time passed.

the next morning, jackie’s older brother arrived with his wife and two kids in tow, a flurry of loud greetings and suitcases. jackie introduced you, of course, though things went much like you anticipated: “this is my friend, y/n. she’s staying with us for the holidays!” she said, lying through her teeth so smoothly you would believe it too.

her brother gave you a brief nod before turning back to jackie, immediately launching into some story about work while you, once again, stood awkwardly to the side. jackie’s sister-in-law was slightly kinder but distant, mostly preoccupied with keeping her kids from destroying the pristine holiday decorations.

at first, you tried to make yourself useful. you helped mrs. taylor in the kitchen, played with jackie’s nephews (at least the kids seemed to like you), laughed along with the family’s inside jokes…yet there was always a subtle reminder that you weren’t part of this.

-like when they took a group photo later that evening, everyone gathered around the elaborately decorated tree in the living room. “y/n,” mrs. taylor called brightly, handing you the camera, “would you mind taking a picture of the family?”

for a moment, you hesitated, glancing over at jackie. she was standing in the center, next to her brother and his wife, looking entirely too comfortable with her role in all of this. when she caught your eye, she smiled encouragingly.

“of course,” you said quietly, swallowing your disappointment as you took the camera.

the family arranged themselves, arms slung over shoulders, smiles wide and bright. you adjusted the focus, trying to ignore the way your chest tightened as jackie laughed at something her brother whispered.

“perfect,” mrs. taylor said after you’d taken a few shots, coming over to check the camera. “you’re a natural with this”

all you could do was nod and hand the camera back. jackie didn’t even look at you.

later that night, after a dinner with another uncomfortable amount of questions, you couldn’t stop the thoughts swirling in your head as you laid awake in your guest room. every little moment from the days prior replayed on a loop, each one cutting a little deeper than the last.

then came the faint knock on the door.

“y/n?” jackie’s voice was quiet, hesitant as she pushed the door open just enough to catch a glimpse inside. “are you awake?”

you didn’t answer right away, torn between wanting to see her and wanting to tell her to leave you alone. but eventually, you sighed. if this was your only chance of normality these days, it would be stupid not to take it. “come in”

she slipped inside, shutting the door softly behind her. she was in her pajamas, her hair loose around her shoulders. for that one moment, she looked like your jackie again.

“I just wanted to check on you,” she whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“i’m fine” you muttered instantly, though there was no conviction in your voice whatsoever.

jackie winced, her hand hesitating before reaching for yours. “i know this isn’t…ideal. but it’s just for a few days, okay? once the holidays are over, we can go back to normal”

your stared at her. “normal? jackie, you’re acting like i’m some stranger crashing your family christmas. i’m your girlfriend. at least, i thought i was”

“you are,” she insisted, her grip tightening on your hand. “it’s just- it’s complicated. my parents wouldn’t understand. you don’t know how they are”

“don’t i?” you shot back, pulling your hand away from her grip. if jackie wasn’t comfortable telling her truth yet, you would never ask her to. but she was forcing you right back into the closet alongside her, hardly looking at you at all. “i’ve been here for two days, jackie, and all i’ve done is watch you pretend i’m nobody”

jackie’s face crumpled, and for a moment, she looked like she might cry. “i’m sorry,” she whispered. “i didn’t mean to hurt you”

the fight drained out of you at the sight of her instead, you sighed, scooting over to make room for her on the bed. “just…come here”

jackie hesitated for a moment before lying down beside you, her head resting on your shoulder. you wrapped an arm around her, trying to ignore the ache in your chest. for a little while, it was almost like things were okay. jackie traced lazy patterns on your arm, pressing soft kisses to your collarbone occasionally.

“i love you,” she whispered, so quietly you almost didn’t hear it as she dragged her lips up the side of your neck. the blankets around you rustled as she slipped up your body until her weight was resting atop your own.

“i love you too” you half murmured, half gasped as she nibbled on your earlobe, freezing fingertips brushing underneath the the fabric of your shirt.

“i love you” jackie repeated all over again, smiling against the side of your neck when she drew a gasp from your lips, caused by the way she was rolling your nipple between her index and thumb.

“sh” she hushed playfully, pressing her free pointer finger against your lips. you didn’t have to think twice about it; immediately parting them to suck it into your mouth. the way jackie looked at you then reminded you that your girlfriend, the jackie you knew, was still in there: her own mouth hung open as she watched you take it, her eyes darkening as she pushed in deeper.

you whimpered around her fingers softly, all the pent up energy and frustration shooting straight between your legs now that you could feel jackie’s body on top of yours.

jackie, in response, rocked her hips forward, stifling her own sounds by pressing her face to the crook of your neck. the comfortable weight of her index against your tongue shifted, and she pulled it back before running it down your body urgently.

another gasp fell from your mouth as she pushed the saliva stained finger into your pajama pants, right into your underwear, not wasting any time to circle it in clockwise motions around your clit. at least she had missed touching you, judging by how frantic jackie was moving her hand, all while simultaneously rutting herself against your thigh.

“i missed you” jackie whined as her lips found the juncture of your neck. “fuck, i missed you so much”

you let yourself believe it as she sunk her fingers into you and threw her head back, one hand slammed over her mouth to stifle her moans.

your head fell back against the headboard of the guest room’s bed with a soft thud, exposing more of your skin to jackie. immediately, her mouth was on you, licking and sucking just soft enough that she won’t leave any marks behind in her wake.

“i got you” she panted, rocking back and forth on your leg until the bed frame moved back against the wall. simultaneously, jackie pumped her fingers in and out of you, stroking your g-spot every time.

“fuck-“ you cried out quietly, eyes pressing shut as your teeth sunk into the flesh of your bottom lip. “right there”

“mhm” jackie hummed, her fingers sliding through your wetness. “oh baby, you’re so wet”

you were fairly certain that the whole house would hear if she kept this up: riding your thigh as she fucked two digits into you.

“jackie” you managed, trying desperately to keep quiet over the waves of pleasure she was sending down to your abdomen. her fingers dragged along your walls, coaxing breathy moans from your lips as you bucked up into her.

for this moment, it was easy enough to forget about the rest. to forget about everything beyond the doors of this guest room, as jackie humped your leg and pushed her fingers in as deep as they’d go, until you were both trembling with the force of your simultaneous orgasms.

then, later, she left again, sneaking through the halls of her very own home so no one would ever know of your nightly escapades. her shame, you realized, would follow the both of you through the holidays.

now, standing in this crowded room where you feel like an outsider, the weight of it all is starting to crush you all over again. you don’t belong here, amongst all of these people. you never did. jackie might be able to play the role but you’re certainly not.

the polished laughter, the clinking of glasses, the warm holiday lighting, it feels nothing but suffocating. jackie, despite the stolen kisses and the night spent together, has her perfectly practiced mask back in place, never acknowledging your presence any more than necessary.

you’re absentmindedly swirling your wine in the glass, trying to focus on the swaying lights of the christmas tree instead of jackie’s laugh across the room,when the door opens.

just when you thought this night couldn’t possibly get any worse, jeff walks in.

you watch jackie’s ex boyfriend stride through the front door in a wool coat, shaking snowflakes from his shoulders.

he looks exactly like the guy you’d imagined from her stories: tall, athletic, and perfectly at ease in his surroundings -so unlike you. jeff is carrying a bottle of wine as a hostess gift, and his stupid grin only widens when jackie’s mom rushes over to greet him.

“you made it!” mrs. taylor exclaims, practically glowing as she hurries past you to greet him.

you’d heard of jeff before; a passing mention here and there, a name dropped when jackie reminisced about high school. “we dated for a while,” she’d said once, shrugging like it wasn’t a big deal. but seeing him now, with jackie’s parents’ unabashed enthusiasm and the way he fits so seamlessly into the room, you realize it is a big deal.

“jaqueline, look who’s here!” mrs. taylor calls, pulling your girlfriend’s attention.

you watch jackie turn, her face lighting up in that familiar, performative way that’s become all too common during this trip.

“jeff!” she says, walking over to him and her mother as well. jackie hugs him, and he squeezes her back like they’re still the couple her parents clearly wish they were. “i didn’t know you’d be in town”

“just got back last night,” he replies, flashing a grin that’s all teeth and confidence. “figured i’d stop by and say hi to everyone. it’s been- what? a couple of years?”

“yeah” jackie nods, voice carrying just enough for you to hear.

“you look great, by the way” jeff says, so clearly checking her out that your fingers tighten around your glass. her mom pipes in, then, her voice practically bubbling with excitement.

“you two should catch up! it’s been so long, and, well, you always made such a good pair” she looks between them with a knowing smile. for a moment, you’re not even sure you heard her right. but then jacke laughs softly, almost shyly, and it’s like the air has been knocked right out of your lungs.

you stare down at your drink, your grip tightening until you’re afraid it might crack. jackie doesn’t correct her mom, of course, she doesn’t say a single thing to suggest that you might be the one she’s with now.

“right?” jeff says with a laugh. “we had some good times, didn’t we?”

you can’t do this. not anymore.

setting your glass down on the nearest table, you slip away, your heart pounding as you make your way through the crowd. no one notices as you step outside. no one follows you out into the freezing cold.

the porch is quiet, save for the faint hum of the party inside. you lean against the wooden railing, trying to steady your breathing, but the frustration boiling in your chest feels like it might spill over at any moment. this wasn’t how the trip was supposed to go. jackie was supposed to make you feel at home, like you belonged. instead, she’s left you out in the cold. both literally and figuratively. you’re not sure what hurts more: the way her family’s words cut deep, or the way jackie lets them.

you close your eyes, willing yourself to calm down, but the sound of mrs. taylor’s words -you always made such a good pair- plays on repeat in your mind. jackie didn’t correct her. she didn’t even hesitate. you squeeze your eyes shut, not wanting to think anymore, not wanting to be here anymore at all. there are few times where you’ve ever felt so small, so invisible.

the sound of the door creaking open behind you pulls you out of your thoughts. you brace yourself, thinking for a moment that it might be jackie, but the footsteps are heavier, slower. when you glance back, you see a woman stepping out onto the porch. she’s holding a glass of wine, bundled up in a thick sweater.

she’s striking, though in a more quiet, understated way. dark hair frames her face and she wraps her arms tighter around herself after closing the door on her way out. when she catches your gaze, she offers a small, knowing smile before stepping closer.

“needed a breather too, huh?”

you nod, trying to shake off the weight of your thoughts. “yeah it’s a little…much in there”

she tips her head back when she laughs softly, leaning against the railing beside you. “that’s the taylor family for you. they really know how to throw a party!” she pauses, taking a sip of her wine before turning to you. “mind if i join you?”

you shake your head slightly, still struggling to figure out how to put into words what you’re feeling. the last few hours have been a mess of awkwardness, forced smiles, and the gnawing feeling that you’re not the person jackie wants anyone to know she’s with.

“you okay?” the woman asks.

“i’m fine,” you say quickly, trying to regain your composure.

she raises an eyebrow, her lips curling into a sympathetic half-smile. “yeah, you’re really good at looking fine. i’ll give you that”

you laugh, at least, the tension in your shoulders loosening just a fraction.

“i’m shauna, by the way. old friend of jackie’s!”

the name clicks immediately, and you blink in surprise. jackie mentioned her before: her best friend in high school, practically inseparable.

“oh i know you” you respond. “i’ve heard plenty about you. i’m- well, i’m a friend of jackie’s too, i guess”

shauna frowns at that, mouth twitching like she’s fighting back a smirk. “friend, huh?” she says, her tone light but pointed.

you flush, suddenly feeling exposed under her sharp gaze. “what’s that supposed to mean?”

she shrugs, setting her glass down on the railing. “oh, nothing. just…you don’t really seem like just a friend. but hey, what do i know?”

her words hit a little too close to home, and you look away, staring out at the snow-covered yard. “well, that’s what jackie wants everyone to think,” you mutter before you can stop yourself.

shauna hums thoughtfully, and when you glance back at her, her expression has softened. there’s something almost sympathetic in her eyes now.

“you know,” she starts, leaning against the railing, “this feels familiar. jackie pretending someone important to her is just a friend. hiding what she really feels because she’s too scared of what her parents will think. too scared to risk upsetting the perfect little image they have of her…”

your breath catches in your throat, and you stare at her, unsure of what to say.

you only ever knew shauna as her best friend then, her teammate. yet the way she speaks of your girlfriend sounds all too familiar for somebody who was just that. maybe your truth isn’t the only jackie has been hiding away.

“you-“

“you’d be surprised how well i know,” shauna says with a sigh. “it’s exactly how it went with me and jackie, back in high school” she runs her hand through her hair, looking over her shoulder at the glowing house behind her.

“we were close” she begins. “really close. she kept us a secret, too. all of us. at first, i thought it was just me, you know? but then i realized, it wasn’t just about me. it was…about everything. about her parents and how she thought they wouldn’t accept it. about how she wanted to keep everything perfect for them, to the point where she couldn’t even see how much it was tearing her apart”

shauna drinks from her wine again.

“i let it happen because i thought…fuck i don’t even know, i thought it would change eventually. i mean, we were- what? 17?”

her words hit you like a punch to the gut, the parallels between her story and yours almost too much to bear, even after all these years. “did it?” you ask quietly, even though you already know the answer.

shauna shakes her head, looking down into her glass absentmindedly. “no. i got tired of waiting, tired of being a secret…”

“and jeff…?” you ask softly, not wanting to push too hard but needing to understand.

“jeff” she scoffs, humorless. “jackie was always so torn between us. like she couldn’t figure out what she wanted. eventually, it all came crashing down.” her voice drops, the bitterness more evident now. “she publicly outed us, well, me at a party with her friends. told everyone i was in love with her…and then she turned around and made it abundantly clear she was with jeff”

you can’t imagine how painful that must have been. “i’m sorry,” you say quietly. “that’s…really messed up”

shauna shrugs. “it’s okay. that was years ago. i just thought she’d, you know, tell her family by now”

“well” you mutter, crossing your arms over your chest “she’s got me pretending too. it’s like i don’t even exist to her, not in front of her family”

shauna studies you for a long moment, then nods her head slowly. “yeah. that’s exactly what she does. jackie’s scared of being real. she used to be terrified of what people will think if they know who she really is”

you swallow hard, her words settling deep in your chest. “what did you do, then?”

“i walked away”

the silence that follows is heavy, broken only by the muffled sounds of the party inside.

“i’m not saying that’s what you should do,” shauna continues after a moment, her voice softer now. “but…just make sure you’re not the only one fighting for this. jackie’s a good person, but she’s always been scared of…rocking the boat. i suppose. if you’re the one taking all the hits to make this work…well, it’s worth thinking about”

she steps back from the railing slightly. “you don’t have to stay here and suffer through it. come on. there’s a bar down the road. we could use a drink”

the offer comes out of nowhere, but sounds like the perfect escape.

you meet shauna’s gaze, and without another word, she pushes off the railing and heads toward the stairs that lead down to the snowy driveway.

you don’t realize how late it is until you pull up to the driveway, the cool night air making your head swim a little more than it should.

you stumble quietly through the front door, the chill still clinging to your skin as you step into the warmth of the house. the buzz from the bar still lingers in your system, a pleasant haze that makes everything feel just a little bit softer, a little less heavy. the conversation (and drinks) with shauna had been a much-needed escape. she understood in a way that nobody else in this god forsaken place did. the night had felt like a brief breath of fresh air. now, as you close the door behind you and glance into the living room, you see jackie sitting there, waiting for you.

she’s perched on the edge of the couch, looking every bit the picture of genuine concern. her hands are folded tightly in her lap, her lips pressed into a thin line. as soon as she sees you, her eyes widen in relief, and she stands up quickly and rushes towards you.

“where the hell have you been?” her voice is quiet hiss. she’s been worried, you can tell even with the remains of alcohol in your system.

you take a deep breath and cross the room slowly, leaning your shoes by the door. “i was with shauna,” you say simply, trying to keep the annoyance from creeping into your tone. “i needed a break”

jackie seems to relax slightly, but her eyes remain narrow. “a break from what?” she asks. “where were you really?”

“i was really with shauna” you tell her, letting your weight drop onto the couch slightly less coordinated than intended. “she’s been through this before, you know? she had to hide who she was too. she saw right through everything tonight”

jackie bites her lip, clearly frustrated but unsure how to respond. “how long, jackie?” you ask, your voice just above a whisper. “how long have you been hiding this? hiding us?”

she flinches at the question, but you can’t look away. “i’ve been waiting for the right time,” she murmurs, the words coming out small and hesitant. “i thought maybe if i just- if i just kept it to myself, things would be easier and-“

“easier?” you repeat, the disbelief lacing your words. “you think this is easy for me, jackie? if you’re not ready, fine! but instead you’ve been treating me like i’m not here at all!”

“i know. i messed up” her voice is tight, close to breaking. jackie shakes her head. “i was just scared. i’m sorry for making you feel like that. you deserve so much more than that”

there’s a brief silence between you two, both of you trying to piece together the broken parts of this relationship. you feel the walls between you soften just a little, but the questions still linger. “what about shauna, jackie? what about her?”

jackie stiffens at the mention of shauna’s name, her jaw clenching slightly. “it’s not what you think,” she starts, her tone defensive. “shauna and i-“

“she told me the truth. she told me you two were together in high school…that you kept it a secret, just like you’re doing with me now. how long were you planning on hiding us?”

jackie sighs, running a hand through her hair. “it’s not like that. i was so scared of losing everything then. my family, my friends, the life i had. i should’ve told you the truth from the start. i should’ve trusted you more. i should’ve told you what happened with shauna. i really cared about her, and i guess i got scared again”

you feel a lump form in your throat as everything finally starts to sink in. you know it wasn’t just about her family; it was about jackie being terrified of her own feelings, of letting herself be vulnerable. she’d hidden in the safety of the closet for so long that she never stopped to think about how it was affecting those around her. those who loved her.

before you can respond, jackie takes your hands in hers. “i love you. and i’m so, so sorry. i should’ve been braver. i should’ve-“

you cut her off gently, your fingers reaching out to touch her arm. “it’s not just about bravery. it’s about…trust. i’ve been hiding myself for too long already, jackie. and i’m not going to go back there. i want us to be something real and-“

she moves closer to you. “you are something real to me,” she says softly. “i was just scared. but you’re right. i’ve been so damn scared that i was hiding from you, too. hiding from us”

you nod slowly, your heart still aching, but somehow lighter. you let out a shaky breath. “then show me, jackie. be real with me now”

jackie’s lips curl into a small smile, and for the first time in what feels like forever, you see the truth in her eyes. she nods, then pulls you toward her, wrapping her arms around you.

“i will. i promise,” she whispers into your ear, holding you tightly. “i’ll fix this. i want to fix this!”

you take a deep breath and pull her in a little tighter too, running her fingers through her hair gently. you can feel tears in her eyes where she’s burying her face in the crook of your neck and decide you won’t let this be. her, loving someone is not going to cause anyone involved any more pain ever again. you cup her cheeks, tenderly, and let jackie be the one to close the distance.

she kisses you gently and, with the soft touch, the anger melts away.

jackie’s hands settle on your waist, pulling you closer, and for a moment, the world outside fades. it’s just the two of you, standing in the quiet.

just as you’re about to pull away, you hear footsteps behind you. the sound is light but distinct and your heart is instantly plummeting to your stomach. you freeze, lips still only inches from hers, and when you finally open your eyes, you see mrs. taylor standing in the doorway.

she’s watching the two of you with wide eyes, her expression unreadable. suddenly the whole room feels too warm, too still. you pull back from jackie, your body stiffening as you glance nervously between her and her mom.

jackie’s hand falls from your waist, and she steps forward slightly, shielding you without even thinking. you’re not sure if that makes things feel better or worse.

“mrs. taylor, i-“ you stammer, finding your voice before jackie does. you try to think of something, anything, to explain what she just walked in on. “it’s not what you think. we just-“

before you can come up with a blatant lie, jackie cuts you off. “no, it is” she says. you glance at her in surprise, seeing the tension in her jaw, the resolve in her eyes. this once, she doesn’t hesitate as she continues, her gaze fixed on her mother. “it’s exactly what you think, actually”

mrs. taylor blinks, her expression shifting slightly. she looks more startled than anything else, but there’s no immediate explosion, no anger like a part of you had already anticipated. just silence. jackie takes another step forward.

“i’m- i’m gay,” she says firmly, though you can hear the slight tremor in her voice. “and i’m with her” jackie gestures toward you without breaking eye contact with her mom. “y/n is my girlfriend”

your feel your breath hitch in your throat, and your hand instinctively finds jackie’s. her fingers curl around yours immediately. for a few seconds, you think maybe her mom might yell, might storm out, might say something you’ll never be able to forgive.

but then, to your utter shock, mrs. taylor lets out a soft, almost amused breath. “well,” she says. “i suppose i’ve suspected that for a while now”

you blink blankly, the words taking a moment to register. “you…what?” jackie’s voice falters as she stares at her mom in disbelief.

“you think i haven’t noticed the way you’ve been with her? the way you look at her? jaqueline, i’ve known you your whole life. you’re my daughter. of course i’ve noticed”

her mom crosses her arms, leaning lightly against the doorframe, her tone becoming more conversational. “i didn’t want to push you. i figured you’d tell me when you were ready. but i’m glad you’re finally saying it out loud”

you feel the weight in your chest ease just a little. jackie, however, takes a step back toward you, her voice softer now. “so you’re- you’re… okay with this?”

mrs. taylor’s gaze flickers between the two of you, and for a moment, she seems to consider her. “of course i’m okay with it,” she says finally. “i want you to be happy. and if this, if she, makes you happy, then that’s what matters”

you can’t help the small, disbelieving laugh that escapes you, and Jackie looks at you like she’s not entirely sure this is real. you squeeze her hand, your heart pounding, but for the first time in days, it’s not from stress or fear.

mrs. taylor smiles gently, her gaze lingering on the two of you. “i’ll leave you two to it for now,” she says, glancing down at the watch on her wrist. but before she disappears completely, she pauses, glancing back with a raised eyebrow. “oh, and for the record? you don’t need to sneak around. this is your house, too, jaqueline. act like it!”

with that, she’s gone, leaving you and jackie standing there in stunned silence. you turn to her, searching her face for any sign of what she’s feeling, but she just lets out a shaky laugh, pulling you into her arms before you’re able to speak.

“did that really just happen?” she murmurs, her voice muffled against your shoulder.

you nod, smiling as you hug her back tightly. “yeah,” you whisper, your voice filled with something that feels an awful lot like hope. “it did”

the morning sun filters softly through the frost-lined windows on christmas day, casting a warm glow over the taylor family’s living room.

the place is alive with the soft sounds of christmas music playing and the rustling of wrapping paper coming from beneath the tree, where jackie’s nephews are excitedly tearing through the paper.

you’re sitting cross-legged on the plush rug, your back supported by the couch, while jackie is perched lightly on your lap. it’s casual, but it’s not hidden. not this time. her arm is draped around your shoulders, and one of her hands is laced with yours, fingers warm and steady. it’s a small thing, her hand in yours, but it feels monumental. a sign of trust. of progress.

her mom is seated on the armchair, holding a steaming mug of coffee as she chats easily with jackie’s dad, who’s fiddling with the fireplace.

her sister in-law sits nearby alongside jackie’s brother, watching their son shaking a gift box suspiciously, trying to gauge its contents. for the first time since you arrived, it feels like you can truly breathe.

jackie shifts slightly, leaning back against you, and you instinctively tighten your hold on her waist. her thumb brushes across your knuckles absentmindedly. the tension from the past week still lingers in small, barely-there ways: an unspoken promise that there are things to talk through and feelings to unpack. for now, there’s peace. you’d had the hard conversations late last night, voices hushed as the house slept. jackie had been honest, apologetic, and ready to work toward earning your trust back, which made you feel like you could meet her halfway.

“hey, you two,” mrs. taylor calls from her spot. she’s smiling warmly. “there’s enough under there to keep us busy until next christmas” she nods towards the tree. “i’m sure you’ll find some for you too”

jackie grins, sitting up straighter and stretching lazily. “what do you say?” she murmurs, turning her head to look at you. “think we can handle it?”

the morning stretches on, filled with laughter, teasing, and the occasional playful argument over whose turn it is to open a gift. the entire time, jackie stays close, whether it’s sitting beside you on the floor or returning to your lap with a smug smile after grabbing another cup of coffee. her family doesn’t comment on the closeness, doesn’t send pointed looks or make veiled remarks. they just let it be, and that, more than anything, makes you feel welcome. you’re no longer just a spectator to their celebration, you feel like a part of it.

at one point, as the gift pile dwindles and the music shifts to a jazzy rendition of “silent night,” jackie leans in close, her lips brushing against your ear. “thank you,” she whispers.

you tilt your head to look at her, your brow furrowing slightly. “for what?”

“for being here,” she says, her gaze soft and sincere. “for being patient. for…everything”

“of course” you squeeze her hand, offering her a small smile. “merry christmas, jackie”

“merry christmas” jackie smiles. her lips are on yours before you get a chance to process everything.

[idolomantises]

Have you watched Murder Drones, and if so what’s your opinion on it?

Also your art is great, keep it up.

Thank you!

And uh. Man. I may make an enemy out of another indie fandom because I don’t really like this show.

I actually loved the pilot and thought episodes 1-3 were incredible, if a bit too fast paced. But episode 4 was kind of a breaking point for me and I dropped off after that.

I don’t think it’s very funny. I think it relies too much on Bathos and it makes it hard to take its cast seriously. As a black comedy it mostly worked for episodes 1-3, but 4? No.

It does this thing I really despise in media where it has themes of genocide but like… heavily deprioritizes it and often portrays it like a comedy. It’s supposed to be funny when innocent characters are murdered because they’re just goofy side characters but when it’s a major character suddenly we have to care, and I don’t like that at all. The main character has a meltdown over finding out that murder drones are sent to kill her people at the end of the pilot, and then in episode 4 she’s murdering her classmates and crying because a boy she likes might think she’s weird. I actually find it pretty frustrating that the robots are portrayed as incredibly cowardly because they’re slowly dying off and scared to die and then they’re hanging out with V who casually murders random children and nobody reacts to it.

I actually do like the idea of a character who’s not reformed but is kind of forced to stick around but when I see her murder characters, traumatize children and then go “haha I just have mental problems” and everyone just… moves on, I just cannot bring myself to care. It causes such a massive dissonance and not in a fun way.

I think it’s very frustrating and unengaging when a story about people doing the right thing and trying to help others has no interest in helping those they’re trying to save.

I think the female cast is solid but I did kind of raise my eye a bit when the only major female character that was killed off was a victim of genocide while the other genocidal characters, two of which gleefully murdered her fucking parents, are just allowed to hang out with the rest of the cast. Uzi especially lost a lot of sympathy for me when she was more emotional about freaking out N than murdering her classmates. Like yeah, they weren’t the nicest to her but it’s weird to establish a character wants to end genocide and then… barely reacts when they also indulge in that genocide.

I don’t really like the characters at all. I don’t like Uzi, I found N irritating and boring (and gives me anime harem protagonist vibes), I thought V was a tryhard and I couldn’t really care for the rest of the cast. I liked Doll but lol, you know how that turned out.

It also has this problem of having an overloaded cast with very little breathing room. I really wish the show just had one, low stakes episode, so we can actually get to know these characters and collect their thoughts. It’s actually one of my concerns for TADC, because as much as I do like that show, I think “no filler” with constant story is going to make or break the show for me. It’s too fast paced and no, I don’t think it’s good that you have to rewatch an episode 4 times to understand what’s going on. I don’t watch indie shows to play where’s Waldo, information should be explained to the audience in a way that feels digestible and natural.

The animation is incredible and the stuff that came out from the finale was insane, but at times it just felt like jangling keys in my face. Like don’t pay attention to rushed story, underdeveloped characters and bizarre tonal whiplash, look at the cool fights. I dont think it does horror well either. In fact I kind of cringe a bit when characters a big wide grins and giggle evilly and it’s mean to be intimidating and it just. Doesn’t work. Feels a bit juvenile honestly.

And. This is a very personal thing. I don’t like the robot designs.

[iwannascreameurekaa]

"if it's okay for poc to be cast as originally white characters then why can't we cast white people for poc characters"

Great question I have a wonderful answer for you

to start this is about a post I saw about Leah playing Annabeth Chase in the Percy Jackson show. Someone in the comment section was complaining about it and saying that they think a white person should be casted for Hazel if there's ever a live action heros of Olympus. This person claimed that if race has no meaning when casting a black perosn for Annabeth, then why would it matter for Hazel?

here's where this person is so incredibly wrong that it confuses me on what their brain is used for if not to make a complete thought. Hazels race was one of the most important things about her backstory

Hazel was a woc in there 1940s she went to a school for colored children. She legit experienced segregation. The whole reason that she had a connection to Leo is because she went to school with his grandfather sammy and the only reason she knew sammy was because of that school for colored children. Just that is enough to tell her that yes her race does in fact have a meaning and isn't something you should change

then the person in the comment section started talking about Frank.. then Leo and then piper. Basically they ranted on and on about any poc character

Let's start with Leo now. I'm bringing back the hazel point because again the only reason that he and Hazel had a funky connection at the beginning of moa is because of that school for colored children. Leo's Hispanic heritage is also important when concerning how his life with his mother was up till he died. One of the reasons he ran away from his aunts house was because she was religious and constantly called him the devil.

what about Frank? Well his Chinese heritage connected him to Poseidon which made him related to Percy which isn't massively important but you know it's a plot point so I see no point in getting rid of it

and piper? One of the first things we find out about piper is that she is bullied for being cherokee. The FIRST thing we see of piper interacting with characters besides Jason and Leo is her experiencing racism. It is insane that some people think that's just a thing that could be thrown away. Her Cherokee heritage also relates to her main character development in the trials of Apollo and lots of her "wisdom" is old cherokee stories her grandpa would tell her

and tell me one fucking moment in the series where Percy or Jason's race was important. Other than them being Greek/roman because they're all Greek and Roman so shut up

oh but since everyone's complaining about Annabeth being black in the show that must mean that her being white in the books is SOOOOO important

... it's not. In fact she's literally 1000x tanner than most of y'all depict her in the "canon" fanart so... yeah. And those of y'all saying "what about her being blonde that's her main character thing blah blah blah" I'm sorry is this the 2000s??? Blondes being dumb is a horribly outdated stereotype that is only ever used in a joking manner now back when the lightning thief was written in was a thing used against blonde women but now it isn't.

You know a certain group that is targeted and deemed dumb because of how they look? People of color, specifying black women.

Annabeth Chase being black is probably one of the best casting decisions ever, and I say this knowing that race wasn't the main thing when casting. Leah is the perfect person to play Annabeth and I will die on that hill. She has the script determination and the emotional range that makes her the perfect candidate for Annabeth.

If Annabeth Chase were real she would love Leah and she would hate you all for saying Leah isn't her.

Rant ended. Get your heads out of your asses before you say more racist shit.

[antheyaaa]

Can you do tom x reader where they are costars and grow a romance and everyone sees it except for them and it’s a friends to lovers thing

"Winter and Waves"

Tom Taylor x reader

When the casting for the second season of House of the Dragon was announced, it was all anyone could talk about. Tom Taylor, cast as Cregan Stark—the quiet, noble Lord of Winterfell—was the name trending for days. And when they revealed you as a Velaryon princess, daughter of Driftmark and niece to royalty, fans immediately began theorizing. Stark and Velaryon. Ice and sea. Distant kingdoms, destined to meet.

On set, Tom was everything his character was meant to be: calm, focused, grounded. He took his role seriously, often retreating to quiet corners with his script, headphones in, studying. You, on the other hand, were warm where he was cool, stormy when he was still. You’d glide onto set in costume like a wave crashing into a glacier, all silver curls, sharp wit, and a laugh that echoed through the studio.

From the beginning, there was something different. The first read-through, the entire cast noticed how easily your lines flowed into his. Your characters’ tension, written into the script as political rivalry, felt charged with something more.

Tom noticed it too—he just didn’t realize why it felt so natural.

“You two have an energy,” Emma D’Arcy said one afternoon, eyeing you both over their coffee cup.

Tom blinked. “Do we?”

Harry Collett rolled his eyes. “Oh come on. You look at her like she’s the last sunrise you’ll ever see in Winterfell.”

Tom had just shrugged, chuckling. “She’s great. We’re just friends.”

But it wasn’t just that. He noticed things. The way your eyes lit up when you talked about the sea. The way you tapped your fingers to a rhythm no one else could hear. The way you always brought him tea before rehearsals, and the way you remembered his favorite biscuits after just one offhand comment.

He noticed. He just didn’t let himself question why.

Because it was easier to call it friendship.

It was easier to pretend he wasn’t completely captivated.

Then came the scene.

Episode seven. A confrontation between your characters. A quiet moment in the godswood, snow falling softly. You were supposed to argue, your characters toeing the line between distrust and desire. But when the camera rolled, something shifted.

He looked at you—really looked at you—and for a moment, forgot where the script ended and real life began.

When the director called, “Cut!” there was a beat of silence. No one moved.

Tom’s heart was racing.

You smiled, softly. “What?”

He blinked. “Nothing. Just... that was intense.”

You tilted your head. “Felt real, didn’t it?”

He laughed, awkward. “Yeah.”

Afterwards, the cast wouldn’t stop teasing. Harry sent him a meme of a cartoon dragon holding up a sign that said “Just admit you’re in love already.” Emma kept raising their eyebrows every time you walked into the room together.

Tom still brushed it off.

Until one night, after a long shoot in the mountains, you both stayed back to watch the dailies. You were wrapped in his cloak—he hadn’t even hesitated to offer it—and he was sitting beside you, watching your scene on the monitor. And for the first time, he allowed himself to really see it. The way he looked at you in the footage. Like your character held his entire world in her hands.

He looked at you beside him.

You were leaning against his shoulder, half-asleep, smiling faintly.

And it hit him.

He was in love.

Not just with your character. Not with the story.

With you.

The girl who mocked his serious face. Who brought warmth to every cold set. Who believed in him on days when he doubted himself. You weren’t just his scene partner. You were the one person who made him feel like more than the brooding northerner everyone expected him to be.

“Y/N,” he said quietly.

You hummed, sleepy. “Hmm?”

“I think I’ve been an idiot.”

You opened one eye. “Just now realizing that?”

He laughed. “I mean... about us.”

You sat up slowly. “Tom...”

“I think I’ve been in love with you for a while. I just didn’t want to ruin what we had.”

You reached for his hand. “Then maybe we build something new. Together.”

When he kissed you, it was soft and certain, like snow melting under sunlight. No scripts. No audience. Just two hearts finally catching up to what everyone else had seen all along.

And from that day on, the winter never felt quite as cold.

I am very glad that someone likes my work about the tome. You are the first person who asked me about writing something for him. I hope you like it and remember requests and messages are always welcome