#I don't know how to explain the difference besides it's the ones where the intro theme gets stuck in my head

[hyperfixation-tangentopia]

The urge to ramble about turtles vs the fact I'd just be repeating myself at this point but I LOVE THEM

[johnbrand]

Breeder Boy

Adam hoisted the suspenders up slowly, his mind numb as he went through the motions of tightening each strap around his shoulder blades.

“Yeah, that's a good boy,” his best friend Isaac affirmed from behind. “That's my good, obedient breeder boy.”

Adam blinked. He could not remember why Isaac had taken to him after college. The two were practically opposites back then. Isaac was a popular lacrosse player with girls constantly at his side. Adam had been a data analytics nerd who had only managed to kiss one boy in his entire life. And it had been an accident. Their social circles would have never intercepted if it had not been for the Intro to Psychology course they had both taken as an elective.

They had been paired as partners in a simple project exploring different subsects of therapy. Adam and Isaac had been assigned with hypnotherapy, although going in it had been obvious which one of them was actually going to do the work. That was until Adam explained to Isaac what their subject was. The nerd had been shocked to see the jock’s sudden enthusiasm for the subject. Inspired by Isaac's curiosity, Adam had tried his best to answer every question Isaac posed to him.

"You are about to have one of the best days of your life.” Adam stood still as Isaac’s arms dropped around his head, a black bowtie ready to encircle his throat. “You will smile, laugh, maybe even cry at the sheer beauty of your woman. The ceremony and reception will be branded into your memory forever.”

Adam gulped, his face still emotionless as he tried to process everything. It was like his life had changed after meeting Isaac. After that project, they would be together almost all the time. Whenever Isaac was not at practice, partying, or getting laid, then he would be with Adam. At first, Adam did not understand the sudden friendship that emerged between them, but Isaac had told him to disregard it. In fact, there were a lot of things Isaac had told Adam to forget about.

While it had been too late to completely change his major, Isaac had reasoned with Adam that an accounting degree would be much more beneficial than his current computer sciences. That way, by focusing on business, he would have more time to do what he and Isaac loved, sports. Adam had protested at first, but after Isaac’s well-crafted arguments, his opposition was cleanly dismissed. 

After graduation, Isaac was able to spend even more time with Adam. The two often discussed so many different topics that Adam could not quite remember everything they had covered. It was strange how Isaac, someone he had known for only a tiny portion of his life, had known more about Adam than even Adam did. Isaac had clarified early on that he had understood Adam’s wants, goals, and needs. Isaac had joked that Adam should just forget about his former aspirations, as he knew them better anyway.

“Yup, don't resist it…atta boy,” Isaac praised as he secured the bowtie. Adam fidgeted with his ring, the cold metal foreign to his formerly naked finger. 

“That feels good, doesn’t it?” Isaac took notice. “You like knowing you're about to be married to a woman. You like that I helped you become an alpha male. You like to submit to the patriarchy and uphold the traditional masculine supremacy.”

Adam said nothing. It had been just over five years since they had first met. Five years since Isaac had begun reshaping his life, and where was he now? At 27, Adam was a successful businessman at a firm downtown, often working with clients beside Isaac. Adam now enjoyed lacrosse, tennis, and frequent pickleball. Adam spent mornings at the gym and evenings at the bar. And right now, he was about to marry his girlfriend of almost two years, the woman he had fallen in love with and was preparing to dedicate his life to.

“Just think, back in college you were nothing more than a faggy partner for what I thought would be a blow-over of a psych class.” Isaac, his best man, brimmed with excitement. “Now you’re worthy of being a man, a real man, who’s gonna slide that straightened cock into a fertile, tight pussy tonight."

“And at the heart of it all," Isaac sneered. "you were the one who began this whole thing. My good breeder boy.”

Adam blinked. Butterflies bounced around in his stomach as he tossed the suit jacket over himself. He was excited and nervous as he approached the doors, one of the the best days of his life beginning he entered into the church hall.

"Looking good, man!" Isaac cheered before whispering. “And don’t forget, that baby you're making tonight should be named Isaac.”

Adam chuckled. Isaac had been his best bro, had known more about Adam than he himself had after all. That honor only felt right.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Hello! I really love your content because it helps me understand more about the game and how much work was put into it, so thank you!

I was wondering if you could explain about a scene in Baxter's Step 4 which takes place after Scott and Jude's wedding and before Baxter explain his backstory? I have no idea what triggers the scene since one run I get the scene while another has me skip it entirely.

Thank you again!

Oh! I think I know the one you're talking about. (Also, thank you for the compliment! >///<)

You're referring to the potential chat that the MC can have with Baxter where they get to elaborate on how they felt about him leaving, yes?

Because very specific conditions need to be met first, which might be why you didn't get it on other playthroughs.

But fear not, fellow Baxter fan, for I shall guide you! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

The Step 3 Ending

First things first is how your MC feels about Baxter during the Step 3 ending. If they're upset (this can refer to being either sad or mad), then a few additional steps will need to be made to make sure the right options will pop up later, but if not, then this step can be skipped.

This amount of explaining almost definitely won't be necessary but I'm a loser who likes over-explaining things and figured that people might want to know exactly how the game is reading their choices.

Anyway, your MC will be marked as "upset" if they choose any of these options after Baxter says his goodbyes to the MC:

(if the MC was dating him)

"Hold on- why can't that be you?"

"Wait, you're dumping me?!"

"Are you… breaking up with me?"

You stared in disbelief.

(note: if any other option besides these was chosen, they can still be marked as "upset" if they then choose:)

"We don't have to date long-distance. I just wanna keep in touch."

(if the MC was not dating him)

"Take care. See you sometime."

"You're making it sound like we're never gonna see each other again."

"Hey, it's not that serious- we'll keep in touch."

You stared in confusion.

The player must also avoid these two options later on if they want to keep the MC marked as "upset":

If that was how he felt, you didn't mind. He clearly wanted to go.

If that was how he felt, you would live with it- even though it hurt…

An angry MC may also choose this during the conversation:

You were furious at his glibness!

It's not required, but opens a few more options.

Once Baxter gets to the end of the discussion and is about to leave, you'll get two different choices back-to-back. Any of these will work and you only need one from either set (so if you chose one from the first set, you don't need one from the second set and vice versa):

from the first set of options

You smiled at him. / You managed to smile at him. (depends on if You were furious at his glibness! was chosen earlier)

Tears were rolling down your cheeks.

You were smiling as tears gathered in the corners of your eyes. (if You were furious at his glibness! was not chosen earlier)

You glared at him. (if You were furious at his glibness! was chosen earlier)

You glared at him through the tears. (if You were furious at his glibness! was chosen earlier)

You couldn't keep a frown off your face.

from the second set of options

"Fine! See you never, you Victorian emo man."

"It doesn't have to be this way…"

"I'll miss you."

"Screw you, Baxter Ward." (if You were furious at his glibness! was chosen earlier)

If all of the above two sets of options are avoided, the necessary options needed for the Baxter scene won't appear later on, so either any of those need to be chosen or the MC should avoid being marked as "upset" and then choose to be upset later during...

The Step 4 Intro

Here, the player will again be given options on how the MC feels about Baxter, this time during the five years they spend apart. Choose any of these:

(if your MC was upset at Baxter; which one appears depends on the specific emotions the MC felt)

You hadn't forgiven him. Any time you remembered, you were newly angered. (available if the MC reacted angrily to Baxter at the end)

It still hurt. Any time you remembered, you were brought down. (available if the MC reacted sadly to Baxter at the end)

(if your MC wasn't upset at Baxter)

The longer he was gone, the more it frustrated you!

The longer he was gone, the more it saddened you…

You may then proceed as normal~

Texts In the Guest Room

After the MC goes to the guest room and gets the first texts from Baxter in the planning group chat, you'll be given some option on how your MC feels about seeing him again.

Either of these will do:

(if the MC is sad over Baxter)

It hurt so much because the truth was, you still wanted to be with Baxter. (only available if the MC is at Crush/Love with Baxter and not dating/at Love with Cove)

Getting to speak with him hadn't changed anything. You were just sad.

(if the MC is angry over Baxter)

It was so infuriating because the truth was, you still wanted to be with Baxter. (only available if the MC is at Crush/Love with Baxter and not dating/at Love with Cove)

Getting to speak with him hadn't changed anything. You were as mad as ever.

At that point, most things should be set up and you should be able to do as you please until the wedding.

The Wedding Conversation

You'll know that you've done everything right depending on the dialog Baxter gives after having explained himself to the MC at the end of the wedding.

If he says, "No more running away. I'll listen to whatever you have to say to me, even if it's difficult to hear." then something has gone wrong, but if he says "I'd like to listen to what's on your mind, as a true friend would, even if it's challenging. And I will explain myself as well." then everything is going as it should.

Presuming you've successfully gotten the latter dialog, you'll be given options of how the MC responds to Baxter and you'll want to choose either of these:

(if the MC is at Crush/Love with Baxter and not dating/at Love with Cove)

Yes. You should talk about that, and maybe later you could tell him what you really felt… (choose this one if you plan on having your MC confess to Baxter later on)

That was all you'd asked for, the chance to connect. And maybe you'd find out if he felt the same as you… (choose this one if you plan to have Baxter be the one to confess instead)

You were still hurting. There was no denying it. But you weren't unwilling to talk.

(if the MC is not at Crush/Love with Baxter)

It was a relief to know he was willing to hear you out, finally.

In truth, deep down, you'd already forgiven him. But you couldn't say it yet.

Maybe you couldn't decide how you felt this instant. But you could still talk.

While you were still hurting, you were okay with talking.

Finally (finally!), if all conditions have been met, you'll hear the unease music start during the drive back to Baxter's apartment and the atmosphere will be tense. The scene begins immediately afterwards.

Recap

During the Step 3 ending extension with Baxter, either don't have the MC be upset at all or have them be upset but ensure that they lean towards being sad and/or mad during the last choices.

In the Step 4 intro, have the MC still lean towards sadness/anger over the situation.

After receiving the planning group chat text from Baxter, have the MC think that they either still want to be with them even if it hurt/was infuriating, or that the meeting didn't change anything and they were still mad/sad.

Once Baxter offers to hear the MC out if they have anything further to say, do not have the MC confess nor want to become friends again right away: focus on the conversation still needing to be had.

[misty--nights]

And finally, episode 8. This rewatch has been fun. It really forced me to pay attention to the details and I’ve found so many interesting thing I’d missed before. I think by now it’s more than safe to say that this has become one of my absolute favorite shows, and I can’t wait for my brain to insist I should watch it yet again.

Edwin's reaction feels so fair to me. I also did a double take the first time I saw Crystal swallow the memories. Love that Charles is trying to be supportive and stuff, but I agree with Edwin on this one. Those things are so big, how is your first instinct to swallow then whole?

Charles' face when Crystal is explaining her name is kind of similar to the one he has in episode 3 and 5 when Niko is doing something amusing. It's a mixture of endeared and a little baffled that I find so charming

Can Esther understand Monty in crow form or is she just pretending to have conversations with him like how you do with pets? Honestly, I'm not sure which one would be better. Both options have a lot of potential

Someone please give Crystal a hug. Or two. The way her voice breaks when she's talking to her parents, how her eyes get dimmer and dimmer the more she realizes that they suck and didn't miss her, how she sounds when she tells the boys about it, ugh. It breaks my heart

Back to another intro detail, but doesn't the surface of the mirror the skelletons go through kind of look like the mirror Charles sees himself in in episode 7. Like the frame is different, but the surface with the grid lines reminds me of the one in hell

I love the rooftop scene so much. Edwin and Niko have such a precious friendship and I wish we had even more of them interacting. Now I know I've seen people mention how Edwin is so comfortable with Niko's touch and how ge lets her cuddle up to him in that scene. But also, up until this point we haven't seen him truly iniciate touch with others (besides Charles) but he bumps Niko's shoulder when he's joking about Monty and offers her his hand to take. I just think that's neat

Crystal looks tiny next to Niko when they're talking to Jenny

"The whole thing was such a mystery" and "no rest for the wicked". The tone the officer uses for these lines? Chilling. I'm telling you, there's something weird about the people in town at times and the Port Townsend police are walking a line btween purposefully useless and downright sinister

There's something to be said about Crystal offering to wipe Jenny's memories, if she wants. We've followed her the whole season trying to get her own memories back, so it's huge that she's willing to take someone else's if that could help. Because she cares about Jenny, in that same, quiet way that Jenny cares about her and Niko. Also the way she emphasizes that she can take the memories only if Jenny wants that is actually so important to me

For some reason I always assume the girls are going to hold hands in that scene where they're looking for the Cat King and Crystal gives Niko her cleaver back. Even though this is the third time I watch it, I always expect it, and I'm always a little disappointed when all Crystal does is change what hand is holding her own cleaver

Not to question old dark magic or anything, but I am so curious as to how Esther's snake works. Did she already have the snake? Did she find it and make a pact with it? How does it transform little girls into youth for Esther? Also, the Cat King calls it Esther's snake, but then later on Esther says "I never thought I'd be eating kids to stay young and beautiful" so I don't know. Many questions about this

Tragic Mick makes a point of saying the bear figure is a gift and is on him, but the girls very much leave the store without paying for the salt so... Two gifts?

Niko keeps insisting she's not brave, but she was ready to charge into Esther's house after hearing Edwin's scream

Litty and Kingham's coats in the igloo have a dandelion decoration on the chest

[nicsnort]

Gravita Anima (part 24)

Nightcrawler/Fem!OC/Quicksilver Long-form romance and drama fic. All chapters have been posted on Ao3.

Intro (with link to Ao3 story) First Previous

As they walked Elle explained the bus routes into the main part of the city and that he should get the quick pass. After all, even if he could teleport there might be a time he had to use the bus or train system. It was a big city. They passed by the grocery store and Elle told him about how their fresh fruits were cheapest on Mondays while vegetables were best to buy on Thursday when they arrived off the delivery truck. They passed the bakery where Elle told him that they had excellent bagels and sandwich bread but sweet baked goods were better elsewhere.

Kurt was keenly aware that their hands were still linked. He tried not to feel much about it, to talk logic to that warm bubble of happiness before it popped. She just wanted to lead him through the crowded area, he reasoned, so he wouldn’t get lost. That was all. It meant nothing else. It couldn’t mean anything else.

Kurt listened closely to Elle as she explained the transportation around the city -- just in case, he supposed, Kurt ever needed it. He made mental notes, nodded, and made sure to remark upon the information she gave him. Was he really going to come to get fruits on Monday and vegetables on Thursday? Unlikely with that German restaurant so close...but he would try. If not, what sort of X-men would he be? 

Finally, they arrived in front of her apartment. Walking around to the backside, she pointed up to her living room window. “See my apartment isn't that far. Since I'm on the 5th floor, I usually leave my curtains open anyway.”

He glanced around. “It is really close,” he confirmed, feeling a bit of comfort in this. If anything were to happen, he’d be there. “You’re sure no one ever looks in -- besides me?” He asked about the curtain being open. A glance around the city made him wonder if D.C. was anything like New York. 

 “I'm sure they might glance but I don't think they can see much beyond the window." Across the street, there was a plant store. "Let’s get something now, so you know what it looks like. We can get something for you too, liven up your apartment a bit!”

Kurt smiled, looking amused and a bit shy. “A plant would spruce of up my apartment, thank you,” he agreed. When they got there, he was pleased. “So much green in the city...I like it.” He was more than pleased actually. He started to look through some: Monsteras, elephant ears, and the like. 

Elle giggled. He didn’t intend it, she was sure but spruce up his apartment when they were looking at plants? It was a good unintentional pun.

In the store, Elle moved about looking at the plants. As she picked some up and looked over the pots she had let go of Kurt’s hand but she remained close to him. Each different type of plant was labeled with a tag that said it had a meaning. Oh! That was cool! She wondered if it would really have an influence or if it was just symbolism...probably the latter but Elle had always believed in the supernatural.

She found a series of “snake plants” and was instantly drawn to them. Something about them reminded her of Kurt. The spaded leaves of the smaller plants were just like his tail. She read over the description. ‘Cleanliness and Tenacity’ she wasn’t sure about cleanliness but something told her Kurt definitely had tenacity - it mustn’t be easy walking around in his natural form or just being an X-man in general. The card also said this was a good housewarming gift and worked well in apartments because they purified the air. It was perfect then.

Finding a medium-sized plant that would look nice by his living room window. Elle turned to Kurt. “I’m getting you this one for your apartment. Have you found anything you like?”

Kurt looked over and spotted the plant she held. It was fairly large and it looked of an interesting shape. He blinked and smiled wider. “I like it! It looks tall,” he picked up the tag and read it. Tenacity. Kurt perked up at that. “Hm..” He looked around a bit more. The place seemed so big, and if it wasn’t, then it certainly felt like it with all the plants.

His eyes landed on a little tree now too far away. He teleported next to it and picked up the plant. “This looks interesting.” Kurt glanced at the tag and read it aloud, “Bonsai - harmony, calm, and wisdom.” Kurt felt his heart sink ever so slightly. His tail lowered a bit. He would need all the calm, harmony, and wisdom he could get in the next few days, possibly weeks. Who knew how long this would last.

Turning, he smiled once again though his eyes were a bit dimmed. “I think this would make an excellent addition. What do you think, Ellie?” He teleported back next to her, leaving hints of blue, gray smoke.

“Ooh, that looked pretty,” Elle exclaimed with a smile. That’s right they still needed something for her window. Her eyes went to the succulents. She was busy a lot and she would probably forget to water her plant. Something hardy was needed. Looking at the tag she saw that they meant loyalty and endurance...and were super easy to take care of.

There was a nice tall succulent with red in its leaves. Perfect. “What do you think of this one for me? It says it means loyalty. So each time we look at it will be a reminder of who I am loyal to.”

Even as she said the words a red blush rose in Elle’s cheeks. She realized that the way she said it seemed more like an individual than a side. Anyone listening in would think she meant Kurt.

The succulent Ellie had picked out was something that Kurt had noted only in passing, mostly because of the color. It wasn’t common for the color, but the geometric shape of it looked like a flower opening up. Kurt blinked at the last bit Elle said and looked up at her. Loyalty. 

Elle was a friend to the X-Men...and to him. He practiced gratitude then and there as a reminder that he was glad, fortunate, to have Elle as a friend in his life. Even if she...well, whatever else, she was kind to him, she made him laugh and smile, and he found himself, even at the very first meeting in the tour, wanting to spend more time with her. He would accept this knowledge and treasure it.

“I...yes, I think that’s a great plant. It’s beautiful. And it’s that reminder, that little sign of...what is it...rebellion, for the X-men.” He smiled wide, oblivious, or perhaps unwilling to think beyond the purpose of this undercover mission, to what Elle likely meant. It was too good to be true if that was the case. “Let’s get all three. Do we need anything for them? Water? Food? Er...what do plants eat?” His blue brows furrowed.

“We should probably get some plant food,” Elle commented. Heading over to a much smaller section of plant care items and got what they needed for their respective plants. They went to the cashier who had been watching them suspiciously since they entered. Well, watching Kurt suspiciously. But he checked them out without issue. Still, he was rude and if he was going to be like that Elle was going to leave him feeling just a touch sad. Served him right.

It was rare for such small slights to bother Kurt anymore. People could stare, sneer, and remark coldly, but it didn’t often hit Kurt as sharp as it did in his youth. Part of it was just the fact that it was common and he adjusted. Part of it was that he had learned to take pity and show sympathy for those who were in fear or ignorance -- two of which were commonly the same thing. He only smiled at the cashier and picked up the large bag of plant food.

Elle’s arms were full again with her succulent, Kurt’s housewarming gift, and the other items she had gotten. Going back across the street paused as she realized she had no way to open the front door. “Um, Kurt could you…”

“Oh, of course, Elle.” His tail wrapped around her waist as her arms were full. Within a second, they had teleported into Ellie’s apartment -- he was grateful to have glanced into an apartment similar to it on the way into the plant store, so he could picture it as a solid, best guess. And it worked.

Elle had thought he would take the snake plant from her arms. A dark blush crossed her cheeks as she felt his tail wrap around her waist. It felt better than she thought it would. A strong comforting weight around her waist. And too quickly he removed the tail. 

He looked around, distracted. “You have a lovely place,” he complimented, his gaze flickering over to the living room and kitchen. “Where should I put this?” He held up the bag as his tail slowly unwrapped from her waist.

“Thank you,” she said, hiding her fading blush behind his snake plant under the pretense of setting it down. “You can put it on the table...you might need to move a few things.”

Across her dining table were notebooks and books. Some of the books were about United States history and others were basic language books for French, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic. It was good for Elle to know some basic phrases in common languages. She spoke decently fluent Spanish and many tourists had been thrilled to have her say a few things in their native tongue. The notebooks were filled with her activist notes. Escape routes from the Washington Mall, names and numbers of organizations she was allied with and helped, and other information that was needed as a part of her side work.

Elle took her succulent and made sure it fit in the window sill. Excellent, it did. She would keep it on the coffee table when it wasn’t in the window.

As Kurt shifted a few things around on her table, slowly as he couldn’t help but take in the details and titles of the books, his brows raised a bit. There were language books and history -- of course, it made sense that she would learn as learn a basic understanding of the most common languages that visited because she was a tour guide. Still, for her to take that motivation to do it? “I’m impressed -- you know many of these languages?” He asked as he glanced over at her, placing the bag on the table to be set up with the other plants. Kurt’s eyes landed on the ‘signal’ plant and found himself feeling proud at that.

A grin of pride came over her face. “Nur grundlegende Sätze,” she told him in German. ‘Basic phrases only’. “But I am trying to learn more for all of them...maybe I should focus on German for a while.”

Elle gave him a wink. “After all, it is easier to learn with a conversational partner.”

Kurt’s tail flickered up as did his ears at hearing his native tongue spoken. “Das war gut! You have an accent,” he grinned to show his teasing, “but you pronounced it very clearly.” He took a step closer without fully being aware of it when she winked. “I can help learn...it may be useful to have a second language to speak in. Ein geheimnis -- a secret.”  

“Ein geheimnis,” she repeated with a smile. “Unser geheimnis.” Our secret.

His heart skipped a beat, but he assumed it was due to the food or the walk, or anything other than what it probably really was. ‘Unser’. ‘Our’. He felt a sharp pang at that for all the mixed emotions to it. The way that Elle had shifted in her tone didn’t bold well for him either, he thought. 

Elle’s smile grew and she took a step closer to Kurt. “I am looking forward to it...um Kurt.” She had a thought and like always Elle was one to act on her sudden thoughts, her emotions. “I just want you to know, I am a pretty good actress. So even if what happens with Pietro, with Quicksilver, and the Brotherhood seems real I promise you it isn’t. I am going to use my powers on Pietro to make him more willing to tell me things...I promise to never use my powers on you unless you want me to.”

He didn’t know what that last line truly meant. It was her vow though. A promise more to herself. She would keep the relationship between her and Kurt pure. Elle had a crush on him but she refused to influence him to like her. She couldn’t do that to him. He didn’t deserve that.

Her words were a warning, he thought, that things between her and Quicksilver were going to go exactly as he expected. Kurt inhaled slowly, trying to breathe through the feelings he had just then. Confusion, hurt, uncertainty, self-doubt. But the last bit she said made him feel a bit of warmth, of trust reminding him that she was his friend. 

“I never thought you would,” he said honestly, his smile soft and not quite as full. “But I thank you for that promise, Elle.” Gratitude, he was grateful. He had to be and he was. His tail flickered behind him lazily, slowly. He wanted more than anything to take her hand but fought the urge while focusing on his tail’s movement.

Elle’s focus shifted between his face and his tail. With a soft smile, she stepped closer to him again. “I am glad it is you that is looking over me, Kurt.”

Another step forward and gave him a warm hug. One last moment of weakness and vulnerability before the spying truly started. “I am scared but knowing that you will be there makes me feel better.”

Kurt smiled widely, pleased at her words. He was glad as well to be the one to watch over her. His tail straightened in surprise when Elle hugged him. He could feel his face turn hot and purple. With a slight tremble in his arms, he placed them around her as well. It lasted just a moment before she pulled away, and Kurt found he was severely disappointed in the loss of warmth. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to invade your personal space. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.” Her face was bright red with embarrassment.

"No, no it's ..it's okay. You're fine." He smiled to reassure her as his tail relaxed. "I know this ...it can all be emotional. I am trained for battles and fights, but you...you will be in the enemy lines for the first time. But you'll be safe," he reassured quickly, "I just understand the...the feelings." He cleared his throat. "I suppose I should let you rest ...you have work tomorrow, ja?"

“Thank you for understanding, Kurt. And yeah, two more days of work...its been a long week.” Her smile was soft but her eyes were bright. Elle was happy. She was happy just knowing Kurt was going to be there for her. A very small part of her was looking forward to a rescue by him, Elle didn’t mind being a damsel in distress if he was the knight coming for her.

She went and fetched the snake plant. “I’ll see you on Saturday, then?”

Kurt had been holding the bonsai shortly after and took hold of the snake plant. He smiled and nodded. "Saturday it is. I'll be on the lookout." His tail waved to her as his arms were full. With that, though his heart ached a bit, he teleported just down the street to his new makeshift home. It still felt new and empty...but it became a bit fuller as he put up the two plants with fondness. He would look forward to the loyalty plant on Elle's window.

________

Next

Fanfic Masterlist

[hassedah]

Can you do a headcanon about a female! MC wearing a corset because she thinks she's too chubby, even though she isn't, and she thinks so because she doesn't have the perfect hourglass figure

MC wearing a corset because she thinks she’s too chubby :

Hi! How are you? I hope you are well! ^^

Here is the headcanon you asked for. I hope you enjoy it! ^^

Have a nice day and take care of yourself! ^^

Vladimir :

He understands how you may feel in some ways, he has never really appreciated himself physically, finding himself sometimes too small, sometimes too thin or not muscular enough and especially not manly enough. Other boys often try to reassure him about his concerns, but this always fails, he is convinced that they are saying this to please him and that they don't really mean it.

However, he found it a little difficult to understand why you were wearing a corset in the first place. He even assumed that it was because of some back problem you might have had. So when you told him it was to hide your shape, he was a little slow to understand what you meant.

He knows that his mother and sisters wore them so he knows very well how a corset works and he also knows very well the risks involved if they are too tight. Movies and TV shows always exaggerate a lot when they make their character put on a corset - You don't have to feel bad about it, let alone feel suffocated.

He really doesn't understand what you don't like about your body. You are very pretty, although he has no idea how to tell you that. In fact, he wishes you could see yourself as he sees you. The first time he saw you your beauty took his breath away.

At first, he tries to be subtle about it, but he can't quite get to the point and you find it very difficult to understand where Vladimir is going with this. After all, he knows that words that are meant to be kind can sometimes hurt more than anything else and he doesn't want to do that to you.

In the end, he ends up discussing the subject more frankly. He will not try to stop you from wearing your corset, nor will he try to convince you to stop wearing it, because he knows that it is not always easy to accept your body with the flaws you may find in it.

But he absolutely wants to reassure you, to tell you that he thinks you are beautiful. That he never tires of looking at you. He doesn't really know how to help you appreciate yourself, but he will do everything in his power to make sure you do.

Béliath :

Compared to most people, he has very little insecurity about his looks. Sometimes he doesn't like a few things about himself, but then seconds later he remembers that he's so handsome that men and women all fall into his arms. So he thinks better of it and goes back to enjoying himself. He didn't realise how lucky he was until he started living among humans and saw how many of them don't like each other physically.

When he first saw you in your corset he thought it was to style you, after all gothic, baby-doll, steampunk and Victorian fashion uses a lot of corsets in their outfits to add a little finishing touch to their look and he himself wore them for many years in the Victorian era and during his gothic period in the 80s.

Besides, succubi generally like their bodies. In any case, he never heard his mother or sister criticize them for it. This is one thing that disturbed him when he came to live among humans, all those unspoken standards of beauty that he had never heard of and that humans seemed to hold dear. So it takes him a little while to make the connection between your corset and the impression you have of being too chubby.

From that moment on, he will do everything he can to convince you that you don't need that corset to be beautiful. He is a professional at teaching people to love themselves, frankly. He loves bodies, especially other people's bodies, and he'll be able to explain to you at length why he thinks yours is beautiful. Seriously, he's ready to write a thesis on the subject with Powerpoint, intro and conclusion. If anyone ever said anything different to you, then that person is wrong, you are wonderful.

However, he doesn't immediately jump into a debate with you about it. He has already tried several times with Vladimir and Ivan and has seen what an abject failure it was each time. He is thinking of taking you shopping with him instead,  he knows that his taste in clothes is not unanimous, but he is sure that he can help you to appreciate yourself in this way. 

Ivan :

He's never been very sure of his looks either, so he understands how you might feel. It's even worse since he's been living with the other boys. He doesn't have the muscles of Aaron, the bewitching charm of Beliath or even the grace of Vladimir and Raphael. He has the impression of being a banal guy, not even handsome and it's always quite hurtful when he looks at his reflection in the mirror. He would like to see himself more muscular, taller too, most of the time he tries not to think about it but it's difficult, especially at Beliath parties when he sees the guests being attracted to the other boys like magnets.

So he immediately understands how you feel when you tell him you don't like your shape, even if he doesn't understand what you're blaming your body for.  And he goes on a rant about people trying to convince you that what you feel is not real. You don't get up one morning and not appreciate your nose, your hips, your eyes or even your hair and it's not easy to fight the feeling that something is wrong.

However, he doesn't know how to help you get the idea out of your head. He knows that he won't be able to convince you otherwise just by telling you that he thinks you're beautiful. Words are not enough when you are not sure of your body. He knows it himself, Beliath and Aaron keep telling him that he is beautiful and yet he still doubts it.

If he wasn't so afraid of hurting someone's feelings by going into town he would probably offer to go shopping with you. Instead, he will listen to you talk about how you feel about it and try to reassure you as best he can.

He is really careful about what he says so as not to hurt you, because he knows how hard some words that seem harmless can be when you don't appreciate your body.

Aaron :

He had a little trouble with his scars at first. He could see that sometimes people looked at him with fear and suspicion or simply looked away at the sight of him. It took him some time to accept some of them and especially to dare to wear T-shirts despite all the scars on his arms. He knows he doesn't give that impression, but he was really insecure at the time and would have preferred to disappear rather than let such scars be visible.

The first time he heard you talk about this it took him several seconds to put himself in the context of the 21st century and its standards of thinness. Clearly, he finds it very difficult to understand what you are blaming your body for. The physique of his partners has clearly never been a selection criterion for him, simply because beauty standards change too much from one society and one era to another and he would much rather get along with his partner than have to change him every time his physique is no longer "fashionable".

He doesn't really know what to say to reassure you about this, if you are so keen to wear corsets he won't try to stop you. You do what you want to do and if it makes you feel good about your body, he would think it cruel to tell you not to do it.

But he will worry if you tighten it too much.  You risk injuring your skin or more important organs such as your liver, kidneys or spleen.

He will also reassure you every day that he thinks you are beautiful. It's important for you to know that for him, you don't need a corset to be more beautiful - you are already beautiful no matter what.

Raphaël :

A bit like Beliath, he never really had a problem with his looks. He has always thought he was rather handsome. Although he knows that he is a bit too skinny and small for today's beauty standards, he doesn't care. This is probably because he has never received any harsh criticism about it and even when he has received criticism his friends have always been the first to defend him and assure him that he is handsome.

Moreover, painting taught him to appreciate all types of bodies and he liked to represent them in all their forms and in all situations without taking into account the standards of beauty which are only social norms, far too changeable and restrictive to be taken into account in her eyes. One day you have to be plump and the next day you have to be slender. One day you have to be tall and then short, with blue or brown eyes, one day you have to have thick eyebrows and the next day thin ones. It didn't matter to him then and it still doesn't matter now.

It is therefore very difficult for him to understand your fears when you tell him about them. For him the only reason you don't like your shape is that people around you have simply not complimented you enough. They didn't care enough about you, because if they had, they would have seen that you were beautiful.

He wants to help you regain your self-confidence and ignore that negative view of your own body. He will tell you every day that he knows you are beautiful, he doesn't need to see you to know that. He could talk to you about it for hours and in the end it's quite comforting because Raphael is perfectly sure of himself.

Ethan :

He only started to doubt his appearance after he became a vampire. Even today, he is still quite uncertain about this and having Beliath as his best friend doesn't help, of course the incubus has never criticized him on his looks, but Beliath has the body of a Greek God compared to him. It's not for nothing that he can't hit on people as well as Béliath does at Moondance everyone is only attracted to him. And he knows that you only really see him when he's not there. And he's not talking you about his hair! It took him many years to come to terms with them, before that he hid them under hats or did many colours to get his original shade.

The first time you told him about it he rolled his eyes and didn't really listen. This hurt your feelings a bit and you didn't try to bring it up again. He didn't mean to be mean and unpleasant though, but he doesn't always know how to react to reassure people about their looks, he's only surrounded by Apollo after all.

He comes back to you a few days later, however. He knows perfectly well all the problems that a corset can bring and frankly he would prefer for your health that you do not wear one. He will not stop you from wearing it. He will make sure that you know everything you need to know about it, such as the fact that it should not be worn at night or several days on parade, and that it should not interfere with your breathing and your movements. 

It's also an excuse to chat with you. Even if he never feels as beautiful as Beliath, the number of times the incubus has complimented him on his appearance has helped to reassure him a little. And if he knows that he won't be able to convince you that you are much prettier than you think, he at least wants to assure you that he finds you beautiful.

Neil :

In the course of his life, he went through different phases and did not always appreciate himself as much physically as he would have liked. Most of the time he found himself too skinny, especially around his wrists. Then there was his hair, which lost its colour as he got older, of course he was happy to be old enough to lose the hair colour he was born with, but he also had a hard time adjusting to it, even though now it has become one of the things he likes most about himself. Things got much more complicated after he got out of the cellar. He was already not muscular enough for his taste before he went in, the worst moment being when he looked in a mirror for the first time since the death of his jailers. He almost didn't recognise himself, and it took a long time before he dared to look in a mirror again without wanting to break his reflection.

So it's quite easy for him to understand how you might feel. However, he is not good at talking about sensitive issues, let alone being tactful.

But he's willing to give you advice, especially so that people don't suspect what you really think of yourself. He doesn't know how else to help you, because even though he does everything he can to make people think otherwise, he doesn't like much about himself since he got out of that bloody cellar, and his main aim is to make people think he has no weaknesses they can exploit.

In other ways he will compliment you a lot. He doesn't want others to be able to exploit your fears, but he also wants you to know that he thinks you are much more beautiful than you might feel. He knows that building strong self-confidence is the best way to face the eyes of others without fear of rejection or criticism and he is willing to help you with this.

[traanarchist]

Review of The Best™ Car Seat Headrest Album, How to Leave Town

As a certified Car Seat Headrest Homosexual™, I am contractually obligated to have at least one hot take of my own to add to the pile that is CSH Discourse. Luckily for you, it's not only correct, but also pretty chill compared to some others I've seen in the abyss that is r/CSHFans.

As somebody who isn't a huge fan of the numbered albums (The first four albums Will made), I split up CSH's discography into two parts when thinking about it as a whole: the big (in both size and scope) albums, and the smaller ones. I consider Twin Fantasy (Both Versions), Monomania, How to Leave Town, Teens of Denial, and Making A Door Less Open to be the 5 "big albums". I don't declare this with any authority, just that I find it easier to think of these 5 as the more focused and more album-y albums than something like Nervous Young Men or My Back Is Killing Me Baby.

Anyways, the reason I say all this is to say that, of the 5 "big albums", my favorite is How To Leave Town, which I feel like is one of the more underappreciated albums of his discography, and especially out of those 5. Why is that?

The Vibes

As with most Ephemeral things, be it gender, sexuality, or the fiction ideas you get while stoned out of your mind at 1 AM, vibes are very hard to explain. For me, How To Leave Town just has an energy about it. It's dark and melancholic but also bittersweet, depressing but hopeful. It carries the ambivalence that I get when I'm sitting on my bed, just thinking, and I suddenly feel my perspective switch and suddenly look at a part of my life in a completely different direction. When I listen to the 5 Minute Long instrumental intro to the first song on How To Leave Town, The Ending of Dramamine, I start to feel this weird pulsing feeling in my chest, like the onset of an anxiety attack, but not in a bad way. It's not that I feel sad or happy or any emotion, it's that I just feel. And that's really cool. Am I reading too much into my own reaction to some weird electronic beats? Yup, but it's very based pog of me to do so.

The Lyrics

Will is a goat lyricist, and I feel like he represents that nowhere more so than in How To Leave Town. The Ending of Dramamine has my favorite verse pretty much ever:

And in the sky, there is a place Where it's warm, and you're there And I've got the power now Yeah, I know what to do To make you feel something besides pain 'Cause it's the love That we've come to expect, to deserve And then we fuck and it's nice It's not a complicated mess And my back doesn't hurt And your head doesn't tell you to kill yourself So we smile and embrace Until we don't know who we are

Like this is a major mood ngl. Will is able to build a story of leaving home and being in this place of extreme change and how that makes you question everything around you, not through plot points but through lyrics that create that emotional response.

You can drive across the whole thing in four days if you really wanted leaving custom thank you notes in all the houses you ever haunted

in this whole solar system we've only met one type of life it's the living kind of life and it's not one I recognize

Of course, change isn't always bad! In You're in Love with Me, How to Leave Town gets a fully happy song, where Will happily sings about falling in love, as well as when he had a dream where Obama came to his birthday party. It's weird and silly and sweet and I love it so much.

The Instrumentals

I'm not a musician, and I don't know shit about music theory, I just sing and listen to a lot of music. However, even I can tell that man oh man, the synths in this album slap, along with all the other instrumental work. Can I say anything beyond that it's really good? Nope!

The Conclusion

I'm planning on using this blog (when I'm not reblogging Homestuck Fanart) to just post little essay thingies like this on albums I really like. Please add any albums you think I might like in the tags/comments (do people use comments on tumblr? I'm very new to this) or just send me an ask and I'll post some tiny thoughts about it if I get the time to listen to it! Anyways that's it peace out gamers

[dadsbongos]

airhead reader @ the exchange

Warnings: fem reader Summary: airhead reader blurbs for the exchange event :) Word Count: 2.1 K ~~~

"I just feel bad that all I can do is carry the money…" you huff, handing Megumi coins for the vending machine.

"You make a great coin purse, if that helps at all," Nobara pats your head.

"Aw, you think so?"

"Definitely. I should bring you next time I go shopping."

Just as you'd begun feeling better about your broken arm, Mai and Todo arrive. And as if Mai's insulting rant against Yuji wasn't enough to make you hate Kyoto, Todo opens his mouth.

"Fushiguro, was it?" Megumi braces himself for whatever Todo has to hit him with, "What kind of woman is your type? If you prefer men, that works, too."

"Huh?" you tilt your head as Nobara and Megumi do.

"Depending on your answer, I'll beat you half to death right here," he rips off his shirt - ew - as he speaks, "and drag Okkotsu, or at least the third-years, out to the exchange event," he lowers into a fighting stance, "By the way, my type is a tall woman with a big ass!"

"Ick," you gag, "I hope you don't think that was a cool intro…"

Megumi quirks a brow, "Why do I have to talk about my taste in women with a guy I just met?"

"He's right. That's a tall hurdle for an antisocial guy," Nobara points at Megumi.

You toss your uninjured arm over the boy's shoulders, "He can't even order his own food, what makes you think he'll talk about that?"

"You two be quiet," he groans, "This is confusing enough already. You'll just make it more complicated."

Todo continues to talk - something about fetishes - while you turn your attention to Megumi's hair. Running your fingers through it and smiling at how soft it is.

Megumi would rather avoid confrontation while Nobara and you are unarmed. Figurative and literal, respectively. So, he supposes that he should give up and fork over an answer. Hope it suffices.

But then, he's never really thought about what type of person attracts him most.

Your fingers are still in his hair though, and that's enough to calm him down to think. You're enough to calm him.

His brows furrow, thoughts circling back to you every time he tries thinking of an answer. Suddenly, it hits him like bricks to drywall.

Megumi walks in on you writing on sticky notes. He leans over to see that each one has a compliment and a flower drawn on it. Each flower is different.

"What're you doing?"

"Ah!" you jump and cover the notes, "Hey! You weren't supposed to see these!"

"I figured," he muses, sitting beside you at the table and picking up a note, "'Your summer coat is coming in nicely, but you always look great, Panda.'"

"Uh, yeah," you smile nervously, uncovering the notes, "I don't know. I wanted to do something nice, ya know? And what's nicer than a compliment and a pretty flower?" you take a note and hand it to him, "You weren't supposed to get it until tomorrow, but here."

"'You look scary at first'," he pauses to glare at you, "Wow. Thanks."

"Aw, no! Keep reading, keep reading!"

He sighs but compiles nonetheless, "'You look scary at first, but then you're a secret sweetheart. I'm glad we met, 'gumi.'"

"Turn it over!"

He does so and his brows raise in surprise, "'You're my best friend. Dunno what I’d do without you now that I know you. I love you.'"

"Sappy!" you toss your hand out and pat where Megumi's heart is, "But it's true. I love you, 'gumi. Don't forget that."

He nods and tucks the note into his pocket, taking your hand from his chest and holding it. He looks out at the other notes. Each one is different. But each one is also very, dearly special.

"Thanks," he feels anxious now, and he can't explain why, "You're my best friend and I love you, too."

"Woo-hoo! 'Gumi loves me!"

"I don't have a particular preference," he barely snaps his eyes from you to Todo before you notice him staring - though it's apparent Todo does, "As long as she has a good heart and unshakable character, I won't ask for more."

"Aww," you coo, head leaning against his shoulder, "how sweet!"

Nobara nods, "Not a bad answer. If you had said something like 'big boobs', I'd have killed you."

"Shut up…"

"I knew it. You're boring, Fushiguro."

"Hey, don't talk to or about him like that!" you huff.

Megumi will have to apologize for shoving you later, but he doubts you'll be incredibly upset that he saved you from being close-lined by Todo alongside him. As long as you didn't land on your broken arm, which a quick glance confirms that you didn't. Good.

He shakes his head, he should be focusing on the man in front of him.

But when it comes to you, he can't help but to be distracted. He both loves and hates this power you have over him.

.

.

.

“Itadori…!” you’re sobbing into the boy’s uniform, clinging onto him with your uninjured arm, “I missed you!”

“I missed you, too!” Yuji’s eyes have also filled with tears as he returns your tight embrace, “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you guys I was alive sooner!”

You sniffle and wipe at your eyes before burying your face into his chest, “You had a reason. I’m not mad.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re not,” he mutters, shivering under the cold stare of Megumi and Nobara.

“Aw, don’t mind them,” you giggle, “They’ll forgive you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because we all love you, Itadori. No way we could stay mad at you.”

.

.

.

“Shouldn’t you be out there for the exchange?” there’s a woman with a large scar over the side of her face pointing at you as you stand at the back of the room.

You look around for Gojo and see that he hasn’t arrived yet, and now all the other older, intimidating sorcerers are staring at you.

“Uhhh,” you lift your casted arm and gesture to it, “Ow.”

Utahime, you think her name was, sighs, “I didn’t know Gojo was dumbing his students down…”

It’s stuffy as the people in the room continue staring at you, as if expecting some form of a coherent answer. You don’t even know the names of these people, with the potential exception of Utahime.

“Uhm,” you scratch the back of your neck, “I broke my arm,” you gesture to the cast once again, “on a mission that my friends and I went on to exercise a special grade. Itadori died. But he’s back now! So that’s cool…” you smile and nod, “Gojo-sensei said I probably shouldn’t participate in the exchange, though, which is a bummer. But it could be worse, Itadori could still be dead.”

“Perfect explanation!” Gojo suddenly appears in the doorway and pats your shoulder before turning to stare at an elderly man that you vaguely recognize, “Wouldn’t you say?”

Without waiting for an answer, Gojo begins to shuffle you further into the room and toward a seat before taking the one beside you.

You look up at the screens displaying the event, everyone seems to be holding their own. Thankfully.

But then, it isn’t everyone you see, is it?

Your brows furrow and you lean over to your teacher, “Was Itadori kept out, too?”

Gojo’s lips thread upward, but this grin of his is different. It feels disingenuous, nearly plastic, as he shakes his head, “He sure wasn’t, kid.”

.

.

.

"Gojo-sensei…" you stare up at the dome, wide-eyed in horror, "Please, let me help! My friends are in there."

Gojo shakes his head, "You couldn't even participate in the exchange because of that broken arm. I can't let you go in there now."

"But…" it feels like the faces of your friends are staring at you, waiting for you to help. Waiting and watching and being disappointed in your lack of action, "I… I can't just do nothing. Please, sensei, I can't sit here while they're fighting!"

He understands the feeling. Nobara, Yuji, Panda, Toge, Maki. Megumi. You want to help them.

You have to help them.

Yes, he understands completely, but he can't let you in.

Because if you do, you'll just end up more injured than you are now. He can't let you go in, no matter how much he knows it pains you to sit around.

Gojo lays a hand atop your head and grins, "Don't worry about them, your greatest and strongest teacher won't stop until they're out. Besides, they can defend themselves, they're strong, right?"

You know that, but the faces won't go away. They're urging. You should be in there. They need you in there.

"Hey, after this is all over, I'll treat you kids to something nice. On me."

It doesn't make you feel better, but it's all you can hold onto.

"We just got Itadori back…" your head lowers, as if in shame, "I don't want to lose him again."

Gojo leaves you at the entrance.

You feel so useless with this broken arm, as if you weren’t guilty enough not being able to compete in the exchange.

"I'm sorry, Maki…"

"Don't pout over what you can't control. We'll just have to train you harder for next time, got it?"

"Got it!"

You wait at the base of the dome, staring into it. Trying to see in. The hand on your non-injured arm clenched as you're left to ponder. What if they die in there? All you can do is sit here. Waiting. Hoping.

"Promise you'll do your best?"

"Obviously, I'm gonna win!"

"Ah, Kugisaki… I didn't wanna place all that pressure by making you promise to win. Really, don't promise that or else you might- "

"Don't even consider us losing. You know we're better than that, don't you?"

"Uh- right! My bad! You guys'll totally mop the floor with Kyoto!"

You press your hand into the dome. So close. And yet, you know that with no experience or training with this broken arm - you'd be more trouble than help for the others if you went in. So far. So distant. It isn't fair.

"I'll save the good cough drops for when you get back, okay?"

"Salmon."

Then, you see it. The dome is falling and Gojo stands above it all.

You can hear your name being called from ahead. Panda is running towards you with two people in his hold.

Maki.

Megumi.

You stumble as you rush forward to be at Panda's side.

"Oh God…" they both appear to be unconscious and Megumi has flora poking from his stomach, "Oh… God!"

"Everything will be alright," Panda sounds so calm, but there's a twitch in his face that betrays it all, "Neither of their injuries are fatal."

.

.

.

When Megumi wakes up, you're sitting beside his bed with a pizza box in your grasp. You smile and open it, "I thought you'd be hungry! But… it's kinda cold now."

He watches you place the opened box over his lap, "How long were you holding onto that?"

"Few hours," you shrug, "but it was in the fridge, so don't worry! You started groaning and scrunching your face ten minutes ago so I knew you'd be getting up soon."

Yuji and Nobara rush into the room shortly after.

"We were so worried!" Yuji takes Megumi by the shoulders.

"Idiot, don't be so rough, he's still healing!" Nobara punches Yuji in the shoulder as she shouts.

You grin at the scene, knowing that your friends are okay.

"Maki… you're already out of bed? But you and 'gumi were pretty hurt. Shouldn't you rest more?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. I can't afford to rest yet when there's a chance the exchange might still go on."

Even if you couldn't help them.

.

.

.

"Ah, man," you whine from between Panda and Megumi, "I wanna play, too! No fair!"

Megumi pats your shoulder, "Next year, maybe."

"But we won't be playing baseball next year… it'll be back to individual fights and I'll get my ass kicked!" you lean forward, nearly hanging off the bench, and Megumi has to pick you up to sit straight, "I bet it'll be Todo, too, right after he calls my taste in partners boring!"

"You're not going to get your ass kicked, now sit up, or you'll do more damage to your arm."

"Boo," you grumble.

"Yeah, you're so unfortunate to have a friend warn you like that," Megumi stands while putting on his helmet.

"Good luck, 'gumi!" you call after him as he walks to home plate.

"He's gonna get out," Panda mutters.

"Maybe," you nod, waving excitedly to Megumi as he readies his bat, "but I believe in him."

[korvotron]

some thoughts on season 3

I have so much to say and I don't even know where to start! This season really blew the first two (which I already loved) out of the water, it was funnier, had more heart, and more lore, and it also fixed all the issues that I had with season 2.

Season 2 left a bitter taste in my mouth back when I originally watched it, because I felt it was too meanspirited. I didn't like how often Korvo's character was mean towards Terry, I wasn't a fan of Terry's low self esteem, not for the concepts themselves but because it felt like the show didn't see anything troubling about them that it wanted to resolve. This peaked with the season 2 finale, which to this day is the only episode I sincerely dislike in the whole series, where the family shows absolutely no concern for each other and act borderline out of character mean in order to justify the events. WELL, that was all fixed in season 3. All the problems I had, gone! Not to mention we also got clear roles for what everyone in the family is supposed to do!

On top of that, I swear it was SO funny too. Oh and the animation was different. It was really noticeable.

I guess if I had to voice one complaint, I just felt like the Wall was aimless. It seems to be getting comfortable in its formula of killing off a character everytime they don't know how to progress, especially to characters they just finished introducing or bringing back. It's a pace that leaves me a bit perplexed, and with them having now killed two main characters as well, I find it hard to see what's left to still tell and I wonder if the story won't start to drag. It was like, "oh the power is out, they have to fix it", "oh, guess we're dealing with mosquitoes now", "oh, this new character seems cool... and they're dead" "oh they brought back this character! ...and they're dead" without a clear direction. A lot of "and then, and then, and then", instead of "but this, therefore that".

BUT ANYWAY, I'm not here to discuss the wall. In this post I'd like to talk about Korvo and Terry's characters and their journey.

Korvo goes through an amazing character arc and his character progresses seamlessly every episode. In the first one, being carried around with the others forces him to see that earth makes them happy.

He finally sees things from their perspective and realizes that a team is only as good as their leader, and if they've been letting him down, then he's been letting them down just as hard.

This realization pushes him to give earth more of a chance as he explains. It's a selfless decision, because he still doesn't like earth at this point even if he's clearly made roots, but he sees that his team is trying and it makes him see he's a bit to blame too.

Besides, the only reason he even hates earth in the first place is because it's so confusing, as the addition to his intro rants perfectly encapsulates. Korvo likes things to be straightforward, he likes strict rules and having a set role, he likes feeling capable and in control, but seeing everyone get earth easily while he struggled despite his efforts had him instinctively reject everything earth and stick with what he knew best, his mission and repairing the ship, so he could have a sense of purpose and structure. He sees now that in doing so he was pushing away and stifling the people he loves, his team.

In the first two seasons, the only way Korvo ever engaged earth culture was through Terry. Since he loves him, he'd try to participate to feel included (like the earth eraser), but once again when he could not get it he resorted to antagonizing it. The fact Korvo only consumed earth culture with Terry as a filter is important because now that Korvo has decided to set aside what's basically his whole identity, he's left open and vulnerable with nothing that makes him feel truly like himself.

This is why in the second episode Korvo is so insistent on wanting to have something unique to him. It's not about finding something he likes or is good at, it all hinges on it being something that can become a distinguishing part of him. On the other hand, Terry is very excited that Korvo seems to be opening up to earth, he wants to join him because this is the thing he's always wanted since episode one ("You think you're starting to warm up to earth a little?" "I must admit, with Funbucket around, repairing the ship has lost a little bit of urgency" "Oh my god, you're gonna make me cry"). I think it's hard for Terry to understand why Korvo wouldn't want to include him in these activities, especially because Korvo just has a habit of not communicating his feelings, still.

At the same time, I feel like Terry is also rightfully skeptical, which is why he's initially dismissive, and why later on he has that quip ("and here comes the end of fun!"), he's not used to this New Korvo, and maybe a part of him deep down doubts that it'll last and doesn't want to end up hurt.

Considering the cubic lattice crystallizer pretty much confirms my theory that Terry tends to shove down all negative feelings instead of communicating (not unlike Korvo!):

I'm wondering if maybe Terry's escapades in episode one and three (and that flirting in episode nine when he looks at Korvo smugly while calling someone else hot) were somewhat purposefully to make Korvo jealous, as a way to get back at him for the red goobler incident. I believe he's petty like that and he would.

Speaking of Terry, it seems that with the newfound support of Korvo, he's been able to mend his low self esteem.

And no longer needs the approval of humans, either. Which is, again, another improvement on S2 to me.

To get back on track anyway, in the end of episode two Korvo learns that it's not in fact the things he does that shape his identity, but the bonds he makes and the people he loves. This is important because it's the first step in him prioritizing his team over his mission. It happens slowly and you almost don't realize, but it does. With 99 ships he'll learn that his mission isn't as important as he thought, because there may or may not be thousands of Shlorps out there.

This is freeing knowledge for him because his biggest stressor has always been failing at the mission, it seemed like life and death for him, like the fate of his entire planet rested on his shoulders. He has a sense of obligation, no matter what his personal feelings were, so he also could not allow himself to appreciate Earth, because he knew it would all be gone soon enough, as the mission required. Seemed futile to even get attached to it. What he didn't account for was that he'd get attached to his teammates, and THEY would all get attached to earth life.

Anyway, with this new understanding that the most important thing in his life are the people he loves, it is no wonder now to see him jealous and possessive when he wasn't before. Not as much anyway.

With Korvo knowing how much Terry means to him, he dedicates himself now to supporting him, only to find that he's not the best at it. In fact, he is being bested by someone else. Korvo's never been a fan of not being the most capable person in the room, so this stings particularly hard, especially because he can't afford to lose Terry to some guy. He wants to show that he cares.

Really all his improvement and his genuine attempts to grow roots on earth, his desire to try in the first place, ALL stem from his love for his team, so this is a no brainer.

In the Gargoyle Ray episode Korvo's lesson is just as important. His obsessive need to work on the mission was, of course, a way for him to feel in control. This did not stop there! It extended towards his family too, and so in this episode, the lesson for him seems to be that sometimes, he has to step aside and let others take control. It's what a good leader would do.

Korvo has a lot of anxiety about things being out of control, confusing, of feeling exposed and challenged. I imagine these are all anxieties he got from Shlorp being such a strict totalitarian place, where everything is required to fit the structure otherwise you're a defect and mocked (which I also imagine was Terry's experience :( ), to the point it now feels scary to be in the midst of earth's chaos dealing with conflicting emotions and complex relationships.

In trying so hard to exert control the way he did on Shlorp and the way his anxiety demands, he is once again suffocating his team.

Another important thing he learns in 99 ships, if his mission is successful, his team will have to die. We have a fake out for a moment where it seemed like his family could coexist with his objective, but that is not the case. For the first time I'd say, Korvo is made aware of this conflict, once and for all, that he'll be eventually forced to make a choice! Shlorp... or his team.

Thankfully, Shlorp isn't as important or as good as he once thought (remember s2ep1? hidden ruling class?) not to mention shlorpians have been compared to mold, they're basically an invasive parasitic species that destroys life to reproduce, and if Korvo in any way likes his life on earth, then his goals do not align.

Considering we saw what happens when a Pupa fully terraforms a planet, I don't think there's a chance that it'll happen for us too, as that would just be a repeat. They removed the magic of wondering what'll happen, so it's clear we're headed in another direction.

This seems overall like a honeymoon period for Terry and Korvo, things are going well.

Then, episode eight strikes.

Despite Korvo having made significant improvement which clearly shows in the way the family gets along now, he hasn't addressed a core problems he's always had, his lack of communication. Of course, neither has Terry. Neither of them will bring up when something has hurt them, preferring instead to shove it down so they can continue enjoying their honeymoon phase.

But this can't last, and Terry is forcibly reminded of the red goobler incident while with Korvo. He never knew the full extent of it either, he knew they fucked but it's not like he had seen them. Which by the way, even in the original episode Terry was upset about it ("did you two DOINK?" "we banged, shut up about it"), and it always rubbed me the wrong way how it seemed to be brushed off after that and how Korvo replied especially. Of course, it wasn't exactly "cheating" in the common sense since they didn't consider each other a couple back then, but it was clear there was something unspoken between them. That was also the PEAK of Terry's self esteem issues, so to hear Korvo replace him so easily, I imagine it must have stung. But you know, "shut up about it", and he did. Up until this.

Boom. Shit from the past comes back to bite Korvo, because you can't just decide to move on and start fresh without first properly addressing your past mistakes! He tried the easy way out by ignoring it all, and Terry probably didn't want to ruin what they had now by bringing it up either, but the hurt festered deep down, and here it is now.

It also makes Korvo doubly hypocritical to show jealousy towards Terry in season 3 then, when in S2 he so easily slept with Chris. But that is the beauty of it! He IS being hypocritical, it builds a good conflict. A reason for Terry to be a bit resentful, as a treat.

Sidenote but I found it interesting how the only betrayal they had to make up specifically for this episode that happened off-screen was Terry's and that even then, it was something very minor. I guess my boy has never done anything wrong in his life ever... (I'm joking!!).

Moving on, Korvo is terrified of losing Terry. He tries distracting him immediately. And what does a scared Korvo do? Why, he reverts back to his old self and raises all his walls.

"We're never gonna grow or learn"? Korvo, it's all you've BEEN doing all season.

But as is to be expected, he deflects and distances himself from the hard emotional stuff. The moment it got brought up he risked losing Terry after all, he clearly saw him get mad. So fuck it, keep it all away and there's no risk, right?

I've mentioned elsewhere that this episode feels more like a set up than a complete arc with a start and an end. We are presented what's at the core of their emotional issues, but the characters are not yet equipped to deal with it so they mutually decide to ignore it, and things seem to go back to normal. They don't want to accidentally hurt each other or themselves after all! They have found a fragile equilibrium that they both enjoy.

Finally finished the whole season (I had yet to watch ep11 at the time of writing this whole post), and I can confidently say that it shows the peak of their whole development. For the first time since maybe ever, the family is mature enough to realize that something is really their fault, and instead of deflecting they take responsibility in the most selfless way they can, out of the love they have for the pupa.

Season 1 and 2 fam would've never, and I don't say this to shit on them. They have come so far!!

But unfortunately for them and their last six months of life, I really think this is a big misunderstanding! It was never the sci-fi that was the problem, the episode makes it clear enough that what really upset the pupa was being left alone WHILE they go do sci-fi stuff. He felt lonely. He wanted their attention so he started acting out. Not only is it made clear by him making a whole friend out of nothing, it's also from how I think it was Terry that said they hadn't paid attention to him in TWO WEEKS, and finally the teacher lays it on in the most obvious way, they don't spend enough time with the Pupa, that was the issue.

I also thought this whole situation was very representative of their mission as a whole, as in, they're doing what they're supposed to but it's making them miserable. This is exactly what Shlorp intended! Follow the structure, fall in line, fit your role. The whole stuff with the sci-fi, messing around and having fun, that was never part of the mission. They were effectively breaking free from Shlorp's control and influence and doing their own thing.

It's like a metaphor about not wanting to do the mission anymore, to me. Feels like a bleak and grueling task they've been weighted with, no longer something they want to do or casually feel they should do, but something they are forced to do that's making them unhappy, under the impression that it's "for the good of something".

But they don't want for the pupa to actually complete his evolution! That goes against everything they have built. His evolution SHOULD be tainted. Or else he's gonna grow up to terraform earth, you know? It wasn't necessarily such a bad thing on its own.

I think the pupa has also been feeling upset about realizing his role. He knows his objective will result in the death of the people he loves the most, his family. That was also a factor in his acting out. He never asked for this.

And I don't think the Pupa would want them to be miserable, I think he hasn't even realized that they're forcing themselves to be what they're not for him. He wouldn't want for them to give up everything. He just wants their attention and love...

Anyway, six months of no sci-fi adventures, of doing their jobs, they have both grown so much to be able to do this. It is a testament to what I think has happened a lot this season, how you can change for love. You can find compromise that'll make the people you care about happy. You can act selflessly for someone you love. I think Korvo has been doing a lot of that this season and now it's the whole family doing it.

I don't think this change of being normal will stick anyway, it wouldn't make for very entertaining content to watch. No need to worry.

Still, time is against them, as the pupa is clearly growing up, and the more he grows, the less time they have left...

Anyway, that's all I have to say on this!

Some other spare thoughts that I couldn't fit in the post:

Terry now knows he has adhd!! This is huge to me, I can't get over it! Gone are the days of him thinking he's lazy and stupid and all of that, because now he knows he's really not. I bet that also did wonders for his self esteem. This was really important to me.

Terry not remembering what his role was exceedingly canonizes that, in fact, he's always cared for the pupa from instinct and love, and never out of a sense of duty or obligation. Great!

We finally know what the town they live in is called, AND we know their last names!! Korvo Solar and Terry Opposites?? I somehow expected the opposite (pun not interested, hah) but I'm so happy! It seems they took Korvo's last name then, since they refer to themselves as "The Solars".

I was so enthralled with just how much Korvo compliments Terry this season! A breath a fresh air in comparison to S2. I've talked with friends and they shared the same sentiment.

THE SHLORPIAN ALPHABET IS BACK!! One of my biggest letdowns at the time was just not having anything to translate, even if it was just silly jokes. I haven't translated the ones from S3 yet, but I'm excited to!

Now that Korvo is open to enjoying earth stuff, this opens the door to him and Terry disagreeing on taste, which is just gonna shatter Terry's pink-glasses expectations of how they'd get along sooo much better if Korvo liked earth! That will be fun, we already had glimpses in the trains episode.

Terry's favorite hobby being lines is so perfect for his character, I like to imagine he never looked forward to anything on Shlorp since it was so miserable, and lines are basically the representation of a feeling of anticipation. You'd expect him to be bored out of his mind, but I think one of the things he loves most from being on earth that he didn't have on Shlorp is just, the feeling of being excited for something. So... it's perfect for him! We also needed something that Korvo wouldn't like, so he could demonstrate his love for Terry by doing it anyway. It was a hard balance to strike but they did it. Kudos.

Halk dying was a bad move imo, but I don't actually think he's dead. We'll see.

99 ships? Don't you mean 50? The intro says 100 adults and their replicants, each ship has 2 adults... *comicbook guy voice* boy I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder! (I'm joking)

On a similar note, time traveling sneakers? But Korvo honey you never owned such a thing, that was the whole point of s1ep8... Why haven't you been using those shoessss? I know that whole episode by heart, sorry. This is all poking fun, don't worry.

That lil creacher that died on the ship, that was the guy the shlorpians in s2ep1 were worshipping wasn't it?

What's Justin Roiland's fixation with cum gutters? Who told the writers about stans and luigi's mansion erotic fanfic? Please never stop, I'm obsessed.

CAN WE just talk about how much tervo we got? Like how they're just... Canon? 😭💖 I wasn't expecting the show to make it as official as "they consider and call each other husbands also they fuck like rabbits" but HEY!!! Can't say I'm mad!! Wow. Wow.

Manifesting tervo marriage you know it's coming

"just like the fortune cookie said I would" joke again, we GOTTA get to the bottom of this fortune cookie factory just like with the witch stuff from s1 lmao - UPDATE. yes I had written this before watching ep11 I can't believe they brought back the witch thing forreal THAT'S AMAZING

I'm really happy that they let Terry be openly bisexual this season, not that they didn't let him before but it's just undeniably obvious now and it made me really happy.

THEY FETCHED BACK YUMYULACK'S HAND. Guess they read the subreddit 😎 No more plot about it growing a second Yumyulack that goes rogue!

I loved all the characters so much this season, Korvo has truly grown a lot on me. And I feel like all the characters are gonna have very negative feelings about the mission moving forward.

I wonder how the silvercops storyline is going to progress. Their episode was fine, but probably not a rewatcher for me. With some tweaks it could have some serious futurama vibes with the single human in alien world, glen reminded me of fry a lot. I'm afraid of how it could intersect with the aliens (don't want my very fragile dynamics and status quo to be forever altered...) but I do trust the crew and am hopeful.

I LOVE TO SEE WHAT THEIR LIVES WERE LIKE ON SHLORP. We got such a brief new look, but I need more!!! Still I was incredibly happy to see it. Though I guess I found it puzzling that Shlorp had yo-yos as that seemed like the type of fun stuff they'd be against. Like how Terry got reprimanded for wearing his robe collar unbuttoned. Go figure.

That's all! I'm gonna attach my liveblog of S3 here at the end in case you want to see more misc thoughts on it all. And a lot of screenshots.

[hanyohime]

Rainbow Pearls & Kagome 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

So I've been reading similar theories on Twitter and I have similar questions about the pearls in the show.

Did Kagome create these pearls all Midoriko style (shit I hope not) or did Root Head make them in an attempt to seal Kagomes powers away? Where are they, how did they get there, what abilities do they have that make them so special?

This is my perspective on the info:

So there's 7 colours, 7 pearls, and 7 presumably missing characters (Sorry Jaken doesn't make that cut).

I believe each time they (the new crew) find a pearl they find a missing character and or memories that will piece together what happened on the night of the fire, which may also be a key into fixing the past.

But WHAT about these memories will bring these characters back? What abilities do these pearls have that help this journey along?? That's what I don't get about the show yet. The YouTube channel Axlebeats had some good background knowledge on Japanese themes, as well as a video about the pearls, their colours and colour symbolism. Anywho...

I think that in an attempt to protect her friends and loved ones from being absorbed by Root Head (Neno Kuni) Kagome sealed herself, Shippo, Miroku, Sango, Rin, Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha into these pearls.

Kagomes's spiritual powers must be stronger now, I bet her years of training has helped her gain interesting miko knowledge and powers. Many of the priestesses in the OG Inuyasha had abilities in sealing living beings or power into objects. I believe Kagome has the power to seal things as well, such as individuals into pearls.

I also have this idea that the pearls were something that were already in existence. Something not fully created by Kagome, but they became the Rainbow Pearls because they were only objects available for Kagome to bind everyone to. Or maybe they were the Rainbow Pearls before her possessing them? Not sure.

Where did they come from? I have a cute thought about it.

Maybe they were a gift from Inuyasha? A shell with rouge has been seen before in the series. Much like the one his mother Izaioy had passed down to him, the one he had gifted to Kikyo, Inuyasha set out to recreate it. Unfortunately his mother's rouge shell was destroyed by Naraku when he attacked Kikyo before she sealed Inuyasha to the tree.

To tie in the shell and pearls with Moroha is a theory that Inuyasha brings Moroha along on his little quest to make the shell. Maybe she is the one that picked up or is given the pearls while her father searches for the prefect shell. Perhaps Moroha brings them back with her as her own gift to her mother.

I believe Moroha has a pearl and the rouge now. I have read in some translations of Moroha that: when she puts on her lipstick that is carried in a shell with a red pearl, she turns into the 'Crimson Night Demon of National Destruction' and acts very wildly.

If the pearls have abilities I think that the one she has pertains to strength. She's so young and only 1/4 demon, to be able to fend for yourself at such a young age without strength would be difficult, but I like to think besides having the pearl, she may have been supported a little by someone. Like maybe Kaede from time to time, or one intriguing theory I read was Koga helping raise Moroha. It was pointed out that her clothes are similar in style to the wolf demon tribe. How amazing would that be for Inuyasha to find out he is now indebted to his sworn rival for helping raise his only daughter.

Anyways... whatever happens at the end of the night of the fire, I strongly feel that Moroha will be left with the robe of the fire rat, the shell and a pearl... the only things left behind of her parents.

What if Moroha is carrying her father around and doesn't even realize it!? So when she uses the rouge it gives her a boost in some kind of power that makes her fight with great strength? Maybe it boosts her demonic energy? So with that I believe Inuyasha is the Red pearl.

At the same time we know that pearls have been used in the show before to seal away secret passages and presumably memories/visions like the black pearl in Inuyasha's eye. Which was created by Hosenki, an oyster demon who had the power to create magical jewels. He has long passed but his son remains, however he is in training and would not reach the level of his father for another 100 years, or so he told the OG crew.

But that wouldn't mean he wasn't creating pearls for practice! Maybe Hosenki Jr. made the rainbow pearls and they were entrusted or maybe even made for Kagome? For what? I'm not sure. Like always never 100% sold on my own theories but for series continuity this makes sense. Where else would they get magical pearls?

Something that I noted and alot of others have noticed this too, is that there seems to be a certain color scheme with the show. They're some of the commonly used Japanese main colours, but I'm more so focusing on the colours they pair with characters. The new Inuyasha cafe's that have opened up in Japan have shown particular colours for products that make me feel like they are important and have some kind of meaning behind it.

These are coasters in the cafe, I know it seems silly but the colours match exactly with the Rainbow Pearls! Look at how they are all within a circle compared to other merchandise photos.

So in going with this color matching theory, what if Hisui has his Father! Miroku's colour is blue on the cafe coaster and the largest bead (or pearl?) on Hisui's left arm appears to be light blue in colour. It would make more sense that, if it is one of the pearls, it'd be Miroku because the prayer beads are more of a symbol for him rather than Sango.

If I'm going based on the colors of the Final Act intro, Sango's colour are also represented as blue, but I'm pretty sure when it comes to these pearls, her colour is going to be the coral pearl.

I'm just guessing but if I had to match the other colors with characters then it would be Green for Kagome, Orange for Shippo, Yellow for Rin and Grey/Silver? for Sesshomaru.

It's that or Green for Jaken?? I have this other scary theory that Kagome sealed everyone away and then didn't have the energy left to fight of Root Head so her only option was to seal it and herself into the Sacred Tree/Time tunnel. This would make sense why Inuyasha is looking to the tree in the promo poster because she may be trapped in there. Or! Maybe some of the pearls are lost in different times in history and the girls go looking for them, that would correspond with the teaser that they will be time traveling as a group. It would also explain why some characters seem to be completely missing.

Thats all I have for now!

Nov 2020: For those messaging me to debunk these theories, I posted this the day before the first episode aired, chill out...

[shiny-jr]

Wait I just saw the things you talk about on ur intro post and it say u like demon slayer!! Please tell me who's ur favorite character! Mine is Tanjiro!

I know I'm probably gonna get hate (okay maybe not hate but people wondering why and wanting to disagree) for this but... I do not care for the hashiras. Let me explain my reasonings and opinions on most of the characters before any of you try to convince me that they should be my favorites. Yes, I have read the manga, so there may or may not be spoilers here. Oh, and this became a really long post of my opinion on lots of the characters so yeah.

Let's start with Giyuu, the first hashira to appear in the series. He's okay and all, I like how he actually cares for Tanjiro and Nezuko then gives them a chance but other than that... I can't say he has anything else going for him, at least that I can appreciate.

Mitsuri is cool, another nice character but not someone that's really memorable to me. I don't like her aesthetic but that's not really the point. She's the nicest which I can appreciate but she's not a character that I find myself liking. It's just kinda "oh, you're nice? Cool. Moving on."

Obanai has one of the most interesting pasts out of the group but besides that there's nothing I really like about him. Yeah, he's strong and kinda cool in his own way but sometimes because he's kinda mean I find myself rooting against him, tragic past or not doesn't matter in that case.

Salami. Wait, no, it's-- Sanemi. Literally the only thing I liked about him is his brother Genya. I can appreciate him protecting his brother in his own way but he still kinda messed up. Genya's a babe, Sanemi is not, enough said.

Gyomei is my favorite hashira (not my favorite character overall) for one reason and one reason only (okay, there's actually a few but this is the biggest)... because he's the most like a himbo. And if you know me, you know I adore a good himbo. Also his past, he's such a good guy?? He was a huge softie that took care of kids and even if I don't like kids, how could you hate him for that???

I know people love Tengen but honestly, I don't. Not only him, his wives too, I just can't stand them for some reason?? High-key wanted at least one of them to die in the entertainment district battle. In the manga I thought Tengen was pretty decent but the anime really changed that for me and made me kinda hate him? Again, no idea why.

You know who's neat? Muichiro is neat. I don't hate him, or really dislike him, so there's that. I did actually dislike him in the beginning because he's so apathetic. I'm thinking to myself: why are you protecting random people by killing demons if you act this way towards people? But then he changed. No, his past did not change my opinion on him. What did eventually change my mind was the change he went through, how he started acting different.

Shinobu has me conflicted sometimes. There's times where I actually really don't like her even if she's being amazing and strong and stuff. The only time I do like her was like when she had that moment with Tanjiro on the roof. No, I do not care for her past either, I thought her past self was low-key annoying. Other than that, not really about her at all.

Oh, almost forgot doughnut Rengoku. I tried so hard to jump on the fan train that was adoring him, I really did, but it just did not work out. He has a good line here and there, but the other times I'm just... "yeah, okay, he's strong and... a good person. Just like every hero." Okay... yeah, this ain't working out, moving on.

Now, for the smaller demon slayers.

Tanjiro is kinda neat, I don't dislike him but I don't think I like him a lot either. I like him to a moderate level. Sometimes protagonists of anime tend to annoy me, but not Tanjiro. I think he's fairly cool, dude got my support.

As for his sister, she's cute, can't hate her for that. She's strong, she's adorable, she's Nezuko, what more could I ask for? Her silent little interactions with her brother such as handholding, napping, etc, really sell their close relationship as siblings and I like to see that.

I know everyone says they hate Zenitsu but I actually don't mind him. He's the simp of the anime, the comedy relief. I like that he does relieve the tension by bring that element of comedy, it keeps the group from being too heavy and stuff. If the show were all serious all the time, I don't know know if I would like it as much.

I'm gonna say Inosuke is my favorite character. He's feral and not a completely good person in the beginning, and what can I say? I love that. I love a good morally gray or even bad character. But when they slowly change and progress and learn to become a better character that is good? It's just amazing. Bonus points because his past is tied in with a certain demon.

Yeah, I don't care for Kanao. Her past did not change that and from what I remember of her in the final battles, that didn't change much either. Yes, it was somewhat interesting to see her change but I wasn't rooting for her in the first place so I can't say I really cared much for that development.

Genya. The babe. I think its so funny that everyone has a sword and he pulls out a glock. Also another example of a character that isn't inherently nice or very good in the beginning. Honestly, I think once he's animated he just might become my favorite. I like his design and how he EATS parts of demons. If that's not metal, I don't know what is. Also, how did he find out about that ability? Did he just find part of a demon his brother cut up and go "I wonder what this would taste like in my mouth?"

Probably should mention Kagaya too. I think he's okay, low-key neat. I like how he does care for the people that work for him. But (major spoilers) when he blew up himself and part of his family to defeat the demons?? Yeah, that won me over way more. Was not expecting that at all.

Now for the demons. The list that no one asked for or wanted goes on.

Oh my god, it's Michael Jackson! Hehe! HEHE-- Muzan. What can I say? He's an interesting villain, that's for sure. Uh, what else...? Yeah, nothing else stood out a lot to me about him. Although he was a real threat.

I know he's not a very high-ranked demon and he came out in the first season, but I don't care. Something really drew me to Rui. Maybe it was his design, or his voice actor I really like. Maybe it had something to do with his past or how he was practically the first real threat to the protagonists. I have no idea, but I like him as a character.

I'm just gonna go by rank now so Kokushibo... Cool design and very interesting past but other then that there's not much I like about him. He's just kinda "meh" in my opinion. If it weren’t for his past, I would have thought he were bland.

Douma. Oh god, the smug one. I actually like him, I think he makes for a very entertaining villain. Very unique interesting past? Amazing design? His personality puzzles me, intrigues me but also disgusts me. Honestly, I was kinda rooting for him when he fought Shinobu, not gonna lie. I don’t feel bad for him at all, I just like him and want him to win. But he's still a bastard, just an amusing one.

Akaza. Another demon I like. Another demon I was rooting for to defeat the hashira. He has a really interesting design and I thought it was funny when he was kinda simping for Rengoku. Also, his backstory?? Wonderful, I ate that up. It was such a seemingly simple tragic backstory but it still proved interesting.

We don't know much about Nakime but I think she's cool. To take on two hashira at the same time, not be hit, and be sitting playing her little instrument? Amazing. She's great. Wish we saw more of her.

Hantengu. Who? Didn’t care.

Gyokko. Disgusting. Next.

I did not know or remember who Kaigaku was when they fought so I'm just sitting there thinking "who's this dude? Why should I care?" But then I did care, because he became Zenitsu's rival. They were almost like contrasts of each other but other then that I didn't care much for him.

At first I did not like Daki. I don't like her now but I don't dislike her anymore. What changed that was how childish she was, how her personality remained true to her real age when she was a human. Which was interesting to see. But that's about it.

Gyuutaro. Oh, the stinky one. He's a menace, and I love it. I actually really really like him? The anime with the perfect voice for him only made me like him even more. "I only like pathetic and disgusting things," he says. Dude, I am right here?? His design is both disgusting and very unique but I really like it. His "ugly" voice is fitting for him but again I adore it. His role in the backstory he shares with Daki is incredible, especially with how it contrasts with Tanjiro and Nezuko. He's a serious threat to not just Tanjiro but a hashira, and I love that too. He's an amazing antagonist that I adore. He's definitely up there on the list of characters I love.

[mytwistedhome]

“The Alchemist” ❤️❓

A very old request that I’ve finally finished for @rainebowkitty​ !! 

It took me a while because it required a bit of research (of which I really enjoyed doing!)

This little drabble involves Riddle and... another Disney character (leaving the name out in this intro because you don’t really need to know who it is to be able to understand this story >u< ) 

Summary: During his alchemy class, Riddle Rosehearts gets paired with a strange, magic-less student that he's never noticed before. This student seems to know quite a lot about the subject, but his bizarre ideas tend to stray from the rules that Riddle is used to.

I think that the reason why this particular story took me so long to complete was because the subject of alchemy was quite intimidating to me •́  ‿ ,•̀ Even after weeks of having the basic plot written and taking many notes on the actual science of alchemy, I still always hesitated to complete this. Every day, I would try to write just a little bit, but I always ended up cowering away because all the different little parts of the science seemed overwhelming and, again, intimidating. I've never before procrastinated this much or run away from subjects of my own writing, so this was quite a new experience for me... I wish I could've gotten this done much faster, but I think this entire writing process helped me to face a fear I didn't even know I had--a fear of writing about science/scientific topics! It might be silly, but that's really the way I felt while writing this: afraid to delve too deep into the subject.

Still, I am very happy that this is finally done! I only hope that I served justice to this ancient science 💗 Kitty, I very much hope that you enjoyed your two favs together!!!

Okay!!! I'm gonna stop being annoying now

Riddle stood in the midday class with his back turned to his alchemy professor, easily slipping the buttons through the holes of his lab coat as Divus gave his greetings and instruction. His voice was clear and loud, reciting his usual classroom demands of always taking full precautions, ensuring safety, and arriving prepared. Always, it was these same rules, yet they were just a little bit different each day to suit whatever the current project may be.

But, on this day, Divus added to his instruction, "And, boys! Make sure you pair with a NEW partner today."

Riddle turned his head to stare at his professor and froze in place, absolutely dismayed. Crewel was asking them to switch partners? A brand new partner? All of a sudden?

How very strange that was, for wasn't it better to keep with the same partners? So that the two are familiar with each other and can work their best together? This switching of partners was truly, very odd, and it seemed just the thing that Professor Crewel would be against, for he was always the most sensible in keeping to rules and the traditional order of things. But, who was Riddle to argue or question the one in charge of the classroom?

He turned his head away once more and smoothed over the small wrinkles in his coat as the clean, clear goggles slipped over his eyes. It seemed the others in his class were just as confused as he, for they stumbled about awkwardly in search of a friendly-looking acquaintance of whom they were unfamiliar with. Riddle breathed out a huff and narrowed his eyes, a bit annoyed to have to deal with the uncertainty and the bother of finding a "brand new" partner. He turned around and looked, himself, for a person that seemed amiable and new, and to his luck, he was able to spot someone standing at one of the large, wide cauldrons of whom he was sure he hadn't ever worked with before.

He slowly approached where the other boy stood with his back to him. He was hurriedly flipping through the pages of several different books that were spread over the long desk just beside the pot of which they were to work. He had dark hair of an impressive volume and seemed rather intriguing in the way he went about his work. Riddle tilted his head slightly, watching with curiosity and interest as the boy worked quick to search what he was looking for, before he said in warm greeting, "Hello.. I don't believe I've worked with you before."

The boy went still upon hearing Riddle's voice, and he turned himself around to acquaint the unfamiliar classmate as he pushed the round goggles he wore over his head. "Hello!" he said with a nod, "I could work with you, if that's what we must do." There was clear enthusiasm in his voice before he turned his head once more to focus back on whatever he may have been searching for.

Riddle blinked several times in bewilderment. He had never even seen this student, let alone worked with him before. In alarm, he stared to get a better look at this stranger. His dark hair was accentuated by a teal stripe that ran down the center--a unique trait that Riddle had never noticed in a student before. He also had a soft, summer, sun-kissed shine to his complexion, which flattered and glowed upon his warm and freckled face, making him even more unrecognizable to Riddle.

Divus then gave further commands to the class, telling them that their goal was to make a particular potion. Riddle payed close attention to the details of the instruction, but all the while, he could not help but think in the back of his mind upon how strange his partner seemed to be. And, then, with the brief lecture over, he turned his attention again to that unknown student. "I'm sorry, but what is your name?" his voice was soft and polite with an ease in his eyes, "I don't believe I've payed much notice to you in this class before, and I'm sorry for that."

"Oh! Uh, I...." he dragged that last syllable out, much to Riddle's distaste, as he rummaged with the ingredients spread before the cauldron, "I only just began coming to this school. Not that long ago, really, so it makes sense if you didn't know. And--I'm Varian, by the way."

"You just began coming here?" Riddle said with alarm as his head tilted with even more interest than before, "A new student on the middle of the school year... And just like that? That isn't a typical thing here. How did it happen?"

Varian gritted his teeth and briefly glanced off to the side in attempt to avoid the question, "It's a... rea~lly long story. Don't worry about it."

Riddle looked at him with skepticism in his gaze. How odd it was to have a student transfer in the middle of the school year. As far as he knew, it was incredibly uncommon in NRC, for it meant that they would miss the welcome ceremony and so many other lessons and meetings that were essential in their learning.

But, again, who was he to argue with the way the school was run? Perhaps Crowley had a very special reason to allow this student entrance in the middle of the year.

Riddle took a small step to better observe what Varian was doing. All around on his side of the desk, there were sketches of obscure symbols that appeared unrelated to their project at hand, along with notebooks opened to pages of quotes that were beautiful poetically, yet seemingly unintelligent. How strange, how strange That one word kept repeating in Riddle's head, and he grew slightly skeptical of the student standing beside him.

Riddle pulled his head away and pressed his lips together as he began looking over the ingredients, chemicals, and metals that were laid out neatly upon the long desk, but his attention was seized once more by Varian who immediately grabbed two beakers of melted medals and mixed them carefully with one another.

"Just a touch of sulfur, and some more iron for the base...The iron brings forth the energy of Mars, so we'll have a fiery and quick result for this potion!" Varian was getting more and more excited as he explained the steps, and he seemed to talk more to himself than to Riddle. But, he soon took a breath in woeful thought as he continued with the mixture. "I really wish we had access to use gold in this lab. I guess it's understandable that we aren't allowed, but it isn't fair! Gold, after all, represents the sun, and the sun is connected to a princess I've been honored to become well-acquainted with--"

"Varian!" Riddle let out loudly, cutting him off after having had enough of his mindless chattering, "What are you even doing with all of those metals and chemicals?"

He reached out and took hold of the beaker that his partner held in his left hand, vigilant enough as to not disturb the dangerous mixtures, but harsh enough to cause a drop of the pinkish liquid to fizz onto the table.

"Woah be careful with that..!" Varian said frantically, trying to steady all the beakers that could cause a mess.

"What have you made?" Riddle's eyes were fixated in a glare, yet his voice wavered with fascination as he asked the question.

"Oh," Varian smiled with excitement and straightened his back, and he cleared his throat, preparing to deliver a recitation of all he created in a matter of minutes, "That's still just sulfur with an iron base, but the sulfur also works as a primer. You know... the 'spirit of life'. I also added a bit of mercury to better blend the high concentrations with the low ones, which also aids in connected the high and low energies. And, of course, I added a touch of salt as well, just as another primer."

"I see..." was all Riddle said in quiet response. He knew of the three primers and their functions in the mixtures--every student learned that at some point or another in the class. But, as for the other symbolic and rather spiritual things mentioned by Varian, he had never heard of them before, and he wasn't sure if he should believe them now.

Varian only continued, "It's unfair that we can't use gold or silver. I'd complain if I wasn't so new to this school." Getting excited again, he seemed to be talking mainly to himself once more, "Gold is the sun! And the sun is willpower, inner ability and inner strength! It's deeply connected to the heart and the heat of the body... It ignites passion and life! And it's connected to vision, too. But, silver probably has even more use than gold does. It's connected to the moon and creation... but in formulas, it helps the metals grow more quickly and aids in their blending."

The scowl on Riddle's face deepened, and his small nose wrinkled every slightly in skepticism and suspicion, yet that typically unsavory expression looked oddly beautiful over his fair face, and so Varian payed him no mind. Instead, he kept up on speaking, though this time it was less of a ramble. "We should probably go through the first couple steps together, shouldn't we?" he asked with a kind smile. "The first thing would be to go through the operation of calcination. You know, heating things to purify the metal and cancel out any toxins. But, I trust this lab, so it's fine to skip that step. Next would be dissolution, like... using water to dissolve bits of the metal into rust at the edges. It usually works as another purifier, as the water brings in life. But it really isn't that important, is it? Let's skip that one! Then, that brings us to the operation of separation. Specifically, separating the components of the dissolution... But if we don't do the dissolution, there really is no point. It's basically isolating the rust and the different elements of the metals by filtering them carefully and then discarding the bad materials. That always seems to tedious to me. I doubt there's anything very bad that could sabotage our results, anyway. I don't think it's necessary; it'll only eat up our time. We should skip that as well--"

"Varian!" Riddle's patience was reaching its brim. His anger ripped through his voice, causing Varian to flinch back and widen his eyes. "We shouldn't skip anything! There's an order for a reason!"

"Okay, okay," Varian said with a timid smile in attempt to ease his partner's nerves. "But trust me, we should just go ahead a proceed with the fourth operation. Conjunction. It's basically the re-combination of the components that should have been separated in the previous step. But, combining the metals is basically what I've been doing so far, so it's like we're ahead. All we need is potassium nitrate. I promise! It's like a short cut." Varian said, looking to Riddle with pleading eyes in hopes of convincing him.

"Alchemy is a discipline," Riddle said sternly, though his voice was now kept soft, "There are rules and a direction you must follow. Every step involves a precise measurement, and unless you adhere to the order set in place, you will never achieve a good result!"

"Well, yes, you're... kind of right."

Riddle stepped back, blinking in disbelief. Kind of right? Who did he think he was? An alchemy expert? Someone so profound that he could skip around on the steps? Riddle's anger was building up inside, heart racing, blood boiling. His face was heating up, just about to burst--

And, then, Varian quickly drew from the cauldron a small sample of the potion they were to create. It was small bit, but it was perfect. Made with such quick ease, and filling up half of the beaker. It was quite impressive to have achieved such a wonderful result in such little time, and noticing this, Riddle slowly calmed.

"Hey... Relax, okay? It's really not something to stress over," Varian reassured with a confident chuckle and a mocking role of his eyes that went undetected by Riddle.

Riddle pressed his lips together before softening his expression and letting out a sigh, easing himself of the tension and excitement, yet also ashamed now for having gotten so angry before. Maybe, perhaps, he could trust this kid to do what he seemed so passionate about.

yes... drew the pic because I wanted the two of them together but, obviously, there are none that exist, so I had to create my own with my very slim art skill. I was originally going to have it at the top, but I am NOT confident enough in my doodling to do that lmao

[cocastyle]

The In-Between Chapter 5

Stranger Things x It Crossover

with some Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 4,949

Warning - Cursing (if some people don’t like that kind of stuff), feels because it’s finally time for the reunion😭💕

A/N- wow two chapters in one weekend, I’m on a roll🤩 so this chapter is pretty much going to be heavily focused on Y/N reuniting with the Party and explaining all that is going on, so no action packed scenes in this chapter lol. anyways, it’s the part of the series everyone has been looking forward to so yay!!! I really hope you guys like this!

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

T H E I N - B E T W E E N

Intro The Losers’ Club The Party Prolouge 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epilogue

"L/N, still don't know how to stay out of trouble I see."

"Harrington, still don't know how to drive I see."

Steve feigned a look of hurt, but the corners of his mouth twitched up a little more as he looked at the girl. A screech broke the two apart as they turned to see that the demogorgon was starting to get up.

Steve's eyes widened and he looked at Y/N and the group before gesturing towards the back. "Get your asses in the car!" he yelled. "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

The Losers all snapped out of their shock and began to run towards the car. Bill went towards Y/N and helped her up before brushing her hair behind her ear and whispering, "Are you okay?" She nodded and he took her hand before the two quickly crawled into the car, neither of them noticing the look on Steve's face after having seen Y/N, the girl who was practically his sister, holding hands with a boy he didn't even know.

Steve didn't snap out of his surprise until the door was shut and Y/N yelled, "Go!"

It was then that he put the car into reverse and quickly began to drive backwards down the street while the demogorgon chased after them. Steve quickly reversed into a driveway before pulling out and skidding down the street.

Y/N didn't know what had her doing it, but she found herself staring back at the house and the demogorgon. To her surprise, the demogorgon had stopped short, not passing the boundary of the house as it remained in the street much like Pennywise had done when they saw It yesterday. It was only when they were turning off the road that she noticed the demogorgon walk back into the house and she furrowed her eyebrows, confused as to why it just gave up.

"What the fucking hell was that?" Richie cried out causing Y/N to look at the boy with a smirk, her thoughts long forgotten.

"Believe me now, Tozier?" she asked, her voice raised and in a taunting tone just like his had been yesterday.

Richie made a face at her while a gasp of surprise left Steve's mouth. "What the hell. That kid looks just like Mike!" Steve exclaimed.

Richie's nose scrunched up in confusion. "How the fuck do you know Mike? And why would you think we look alike you dumbass?" Richie muttered.

"Different Mike, Richie," Y/N sighed. "It's that kid I told you the first day I met you that you looked like."

"Still don't believe you," Richie rolled his eyes.

Y/N chuckled softly, her small laugh and the usual arguing that goes on between Y/N and Richie easing the tension that had fallen among the group after that near death experience.

Y/N looked around at her friends and furrowed her eyebrows before looking over at Steve, "Where's everyone else?"

Steve glanced at her from the rear view mirror before saying, "What? No 'Hello, Steve. How are you? Thanks for saving my life.' I haven't seen you in two years and the first thing you ask is where the others are?"

Y/N rolled her eyes at the boy, knowing that he was just messing with her. "Hello, Harrington. How have you been? Thank the Lord for your awful driving skills or I would be a demogorgon's dinner right about now," she muttered sarcastically.

Steve made a small face at her and she laughed as she looked at the boy. She couldn't wait for them to get to her house so she could give him a hug. She had missed him a hell of a lot that was for sure.

"I've been doing just wonderful," Steve replied, a cheeky grin on his face. "As for your question, the others are all back at your house. We snuck into the basement because we weren't quite sure if your parents know about the whole situation or not. When you didn't show up, the kids sent me out to go find you."

"So they're here? You're all here?" Y/N asked, her voice just above a whisper as her eyes flickered with excitement.

Steve smiled at the girl and nodded his head. "We're all here, squirt. Drove seventeen fucking hours just to see you," he told her thoughtfully making her smile.

"I hate to break this moment up," Richie began only to have Eddie scoff and say, "No, you don't." Richie shot him a glare before looking to Steve and asking, "But who the fuck are you?"

Steve furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the boy through the mirror. "I could ask you the same thing, Trashmouth. You're the one in my car," he retorted, not knowing that he had used one of Richie's nicknames without even knowing him.

Richie frowned, but Y/N kicked him lightly to gain his attention. "This, Rich, is the one and only Steve Harrington. He's practically my brother so don't scare him off, okay?" Y/N asked.

"Steve," Y/N called out. "These are all of my friends. We've got Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, Stanley Uris, and Bill Denbrough. We have another friend Mike Hanlon, but he-"

Y/N trailed off and Steve instantly knew what she was talking about, remembering part of what Dustin had been rambling about during the whole seventeen hour drive. Not wanting her to feel like she had to explain, Steve glanced at the kids through his rear view mirror and nodded at them in greeting before his eyes landed on Bill who he noticed was holding Y/N's hand.

"Just your friends?" Steve questioned, his eyes narrowing as he looked to Bill who gave him an awkward and nervous smile.

Y/N nodded her head in response. "Just friends," she assured him despite the ache in her heart from having to say that. The car got really quiet at that as the Losers looked between Y/N and Bill who had let go of each other's hands and were looking away from each other.

Richie let out a gasp that made the others all look at him. "We left our bikes," he groaned as his head fell into his hands.

This small comment instantly eased the tension in the car and Y/N let out a small laugh as she shook her head and leaned back against the window of Steve's car. She looked to the rear view mirror and watched as Steve glanced back at her before giving her a smile.

It was in that moment that she realized that her friends were all about to meet. It was weird to even think about, but all Y/N could hope for was that everything went okay. Cause if her friends didn't like each other. . .well, she didn't know what she would do.

So with those thoughts rushing through her head, Y/N took in a deep breath and let her eyes fall shut. She needed a moment to enjoy the calm before the storm as they turned down her street.

Cause waiting only a few houses away in her basement were Eleven, Wheeler, Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Will and in the car with her and Steve were Bill, Richie, Eddie, Stan, Ben, and Beverly. In less than five minutes her two worlds were going to collide.

The Party and the Losers' Club were about to meet.

- - -

Once they had reached her house, Y/N had Steve park on the other side of the street and in front of a house that was for sale so that way in case her parents got home, they wouldn't think twice upon seeing the car.

The moment Steve parked the car, Y/N was practically jumping out. Steve barely had time to even put his feet on the ground before the girl hugged him with such force that he went stumbling back.

Steve had to quickly use his hand to steady himself before he looked down to see that Y/N was shaking as she hugged him, tears sliding down her face as her hands curled into fists around his shirt. The boy smiled before wrapping his arms around her, his eyes pricking with tears as he realized he was finally getting to hug Y/N after two whole years without her.

The Losers clambered out of the car before glancing over at the small reunion going on. They didn't know why it felt like their stomachs had just dropped, but the way Y/N hugged the boy made them feel weird like they couldn't quite place what was wrong. They just knew that Y/N had never hugged any of them like that or even looked that happy to see them.

The two stood there hugging for a moment longer before Y/N pulled away and looked up at Steve. "I missed you," she whispered, still looking at him in disbelief and enough love that it made Steve's heart swell.

The older boy smiled and quickly wiped her tears away before sending a wink at her. "I missed you too, squirt," he whispered before ruffling her hair, earning a laugh to escape her lips.

She then grabbed onto Steve's hand before dragging him towards the house. "Come on!" she exclaimed, excitement coursing through her body as she realized her friends were only a few feet away.

The Losers watched Steve and Y/N make their way towards her house and frowned. "Did she just forget about us?" Stan asked confused, noticing that Y/N hadn't even looked their way since getting out of the car.

"What are we? Chopped liver?" Richie muttered with a roll of his eyes as he crossed his arms.

"Guys, come on. These are Y/N's friends who she hasn't seen in two years. Cut her some slack," Beverly said before shaking her head at the others and running after Steve and Y/N.

The others stood there for a moment before their eyes slowly flickered over to Bill who was standing their in shock. He noticed his friends stares and quickly gave them a small forced smile. "Bev is right. Besides, you all know how much Y/N cares about us. She wouldn't just push us aside like that," Bill assured them.

The others nodded, hanging their heads slightly in a guilty way for having accused Y/N of forgetting them. "Come on," Bill told them before he ran after the three, the others all following right behind.

By the time the Losers had caught up with Y/N and Steve, the basement door was open and Y/N was just blankly staring at the stairs. She couldn't process what was happening.

Were her friends really down those stairs? How much had they changed? Would they not like her as much once they saw how much she had changed in the past two years? What if they didn't like her friends? What if they didn't approve of Bill or Richie or Eddie or Stan or Beverly or Ben or even Mike when they got him back? How would she be able to deal with that?

"Stop," a voice called from behind her causing Y/N and Steve to glance back to see the Losers all staring at their friend.

"You're thinking too much," Eddie pointed out.

"They still love you," Beverly assured her.

"And you're fucking amazing so what is there to worry about?" Richie asked.

Steve glanced between the group and Y/N before noticing the way her shoulders relaxed and a smile appeared on her face.

Bill locked eyes with the girl and gave her a small nod. "Go see your friends," he told her, a smile on his face as he knew how much she had missed her friends from Hawkins.

Y/N grinned at him and the rest of the group before looking down at the stairs and beginning to make her descent. It was like all she could hear was her own heart beating in her ears as she made her way down the stairs, but it suddenly disappeared as soon as she reached the bottom.

She looked up and her eyes were wide as she watched the Party all stop talking and turn to look at the stairs. Their eyes widened slightly at the sight of her and the group all stared in silence for a minute, none of them moving because of how afraid they were that this wasn't real.

Eleven was the first to break the silence as she let out a small sob and bolted up from where she had been sitting on the ground next to Wheeler. Before Y/N could process what was happening, Eleven had wrapped her arms around the girl, soft sobs of relief escaping her lips.

Eleven's warm and loving hold on her was enough to make the girl break and Y/N let out a sob of relief as she instantly hugged Eleven back. No words were exchanged as the two girls hugged and Max had to pull Eleven away just so that she could take her turn in hugging Y/N.

Everyone in the Party had started to cry as they finally got to to see Y/N again. Two years was an awfully long time and only getting to talk to her every once in a while over the radio did not help with the long distance.

"Woah, it's my turn!" Lucas exclaimed as he gently pushed Max away.

"Hey! I only just started to hug her!" Max complained.

"Yeah? Well I was friends with Y/N first so when I say it's my turn, then it's my turn," Lucas argued before turning to the girl who had been his first friend. The two were both already crying but they let out a breathy laugh before hugging each other tightly.

"Fuck, I missed you guys," Y/N said as she pulled away from Lucas and went to the next closest person which was Dustin. "Dustin, thank you so much for getting everyone down here."

"Of course. We promised each other that if either of us ever needed anything we would be there, didn't we?" Dustin asked as he gave the girl a big squeeze before smiling widely at her as he struggled to wipe his own tears of joy away.

As soon as Dustin let her go, Will had launched himself at the girl causing Y/N to grin and yell out in excitement, "Will!" She hugged the boy back with just as much enthusiasm.

Will chuckled and the two pulled away and laughed slightly at how much the other was crying. Y/N reached out and wiped the boy's tears away while he did the same for her. The two then sent each other smiles before Y/N turned to the last person in the group who she hadn't hugged yet.

Wheeler stood with his hands in his pocket, tears falling down his face as he tried to suppress the huge grin that was begging to be let out. "L/N," he greeted making Y/N chuckle.

"Wheeler," Y/N greeted as she nodded at the boy.

Wheeler couldn't hold his grin back any longer and he let out a laugh as tears streamed down his face. He held his arms out and the two teens met halfway as they hugged each other.

"Holy shit! You've grown so much!" Y/N exclaimed as she pulled away to look at her friend in surprise. "What have they been feeding you?"

Wheeler chuckled and nudged the girl playfully. "Very funny," he told her.

Y/N smiled before taking a step back and looking at all of her friends. "Shit, I'm going to start crying again. I've missed you guys so much, like you don't understand," she said as she reached out and hugged Eleven again, the others all joining in so that it was a huge group hug.

By this point, Steve and the Losers had all made it to the bottom of the stairs. Steve watched the little reunion with a smile on his face while the Losers all blinked in surprise at finally getting to see the kids Y/N had been talking about for so long.

That was until Richie noticed that the boy that was hugging Y/N looked really familiar.

Richie let out a loud gasp before yelling out, "What the fuck! That kid looks like me! Why does that kid look like me?"

The Party all let go of Y/N, allowing for her to turn around and see that Richie and the rest of the Losers were all looking at Wheeler in surprise. Wheeler let out a small gasp of surprise as he looked at Richie, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Richie stormed down the stairs before stopping only inches away from Wheeler while everyone else just stared at the scene with wide eyes. "Who the hell are you? And why do you look like me? I know everyone wants to fucking be me but I didn't think anyone would take it this literal," Richie frowned, pissed at the prospect of someone looking just like him.

"Maybe it's one of those doppelgänger things," Max explained in a quiet voice as she looked between the two boys in surprise.

"No, this is a fucking prank. It has to be," Richie said, not believing a word anyone was telling him.

Wheeler frowned and snapped out of his shock before looking to Y/N. "Y/N, who is this guy?" he asked confused.

Y/N smiled and walked over before wrapping an arm around Beverly and Richie's shoulders. "Guys," Y/N said. "These are my friends." The grin on her face was unlike any other as she began to introduce her friends.

"We've got Eddie Kaspbrak," Y/N said as she pointed to the boy who gave them a small wave. "Ben Hanscom." Said boy smiled and nodded in greeting. "Stan the man Uris." Stan rolled his eyes at the girl but couldn't help the smile on his face as he waved at the Party. "Then we've got the one and only Beverly Marsh." Beverly mock saluted the group making the two girls giggle before Y/N turned to Richie. "This," she said as she ruffled the boy's hair earning a groan of complaint, "is Richie Tozier."

"And last but not least," Y/N grinned as she let go of Richie and Beverly to walk over to Bill. She stood behind the boy and put her hands on his arms as she peaked her smiling face out from behind his shoulder. "We've got Bill Denbrough."

Bill smiled down at her making the girl look up at him with a bright smile, the look on the teens' faces making Steve and all of the boy members of the Party frown and cross their arms protectively while Max and Eleven let out small squeals and gripped onto each other's arms.

The teens didn't even realize they were staring at each other for a while before Steve suddenly coughed awkwardly, breaking the two apart. Y/N sent a sharp glare in Steve's direction while he merely held his hands up in surrender as he tried to act innocent.

Y/N rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the Losers as she walked over to the Party. "Okay, Losers, listen up. These are the people you have heard me talk nonstop about, so please be nice, okay?" she asked. "I'm talking to you, Richie."

Richie feigned shock while Y/N rolled her eyes at the boy. She didn't wait for a response as she pointed towards Steve, "You've already had the pleasure of meeting Harrington over there. Sorry he had to be the first one you met."

Steve feigned a look of shock while Y/N ignored him and moved on. She may have been a little mad at him for breaking her and Bill apart, but she wasn't about to voice her feelings.

"This is Lucas Sinclair. He's been my best friend since we met back in the first grade," Y/N explained as Lucas nodded at the Losers. "Then we've got Dustin Henderson, the little shit that gives me a run for my money when it comes to science things." Dustin chuckled and waved at the group.

"Next we've got Mike Wheeler who, despite being a dumbass over half the time, is probably one of the best people you will ever get the chance to meet," Y/N said as Wheeler rolled his eyes and nudged the girl. "Then we've got Will Byers. He's an amazing artist and probably one of the best to ever play D&D," Y/N told them as she hugged Will from the side, the boy instantly hugging her back.

"D&D?" Richie questioned causing the Party and Y/N to gasp.

"Richard Tozier! I'm disappointed in you," Y/N frowned. "We've talked about Dungeons and Dragons before you dumbass."

"Oh, that game. Sorry, L/N. You know I'm more of an arcade type of person," Richie pointed out.

Y/N shook her head at the boy before moving onto the next person who was Max. "This stunner is Max Mayfield. She moved to Hawkins a little bit before I left and can beat anyone in a skateboarding race," Y/N said.

"And finally we've got the lovely Jane Hopper, but everyone calls her Eleven," Y/N told the Losers as she wrapped an arm around the girl and gave her a hug.

"It's n-n-nice to finally m-m-meet you guys," Bill said as he smiled at the Party. He knew how much these people meant to Y/N, so that meant that they automatically meant a lot to him to. The Party smiled back, but their eyes flickered over to Richie once they noticed him walking over.

Y/N should've known what Richie was going to say before he said it, but she didn't know why she hadn't realized what he was doing as he walked up to Max and Eleven. "L/N, you didn't tell me you had two smoking hot babes for best friends," Richie said as he winked at the two girls and smirked.

Y/N rolled her eyes before stepping out in front of the two girls and pushing Richie away. "I know Eddie and Stan are pretty hot, aren't they?" she asked making Richie frown while Eddie and Stan snickered. "Don't even think about it, Trashmouth. They're-"

"Taken," Wheeler announced as he went over to Eleven's side and protectively wrapped an arm around her waist.

"They're taken," Lucas declared again just to prove a point as his arm wrapped around Max's shoulders.

Both boys were sending Richie death glares while their girlfriends rolled their eyes at the boys. Richie held his hands up in surrender but that didn't stop him from winking at the two girls and saying, "Well, whenever you decide you want a real man, I-"

"They will make sure not to come to you," Y/N cut him off making the Losers all chuckle while Eddie rolled his eyes at Richie and shoved him behind him in an attempt to make the boy shut the hell up.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, just what the hell is going on?" Steve questioned as he stood at the front of the group with his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, why did you need us to drive all the way here?" Dustin asked.

Lucas glanced at Y/N and said, "What they said. What the hell is going on? Y/N, didn't your parents move you away from Hawkins to stay out of trouble?"

"You would think," Y/N chuckled nervously as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration. A deep feeling of guilt suddenly washed over her as she realized that for a moment she had pretty much forgotten about Mike and the whole Upside Down and It situation.

The Losers all gave her small nods that told her to go ahead and she took in a deep breath before beginning to tell the Party everything. She started with the night she took out the trash and went all the way until what had happened only a half an hour before.

The whole time, the Party remained blank face, none of them knowing how to respond to the news that the Upside Down was back or that a clown was terrorizing people.

"I'm sorry," Wheeler muttered as he shook his head. "Did you say clown?"

"I'm obviously the more superior one seeing as I wasn't dumb as fuck to not understand a single word she was saying," Richie muttered to Eddie making Wheeler glare at him.

"I'm sorry. What did you just say?" Wheeler asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Richie.

"I called you dumb as fuck," Richie said again, a smug smirk on his face.

Wheeler went to take a step forward, but Eleven was quick to grab his arm and pull him back, her hand soothingly running up and down his arm as she looked to Y/N. "I don't understand," she said.

Y/N sent her a small sympathetic smile before saying, "Okay, let me give the simpler version. Basically, our friend Mike Hanlon has been taken into the Upside Down by not only demogorgons, but a being that presents itself as a clown. The clown named Pennywise or It goes around terrorizing people and eating children. I called you guys down here because we need both groups.

"You," Y/N began as she gestured towards the Party, "know about the Upside Down and have fought it multiple times."

"They," Y/N said as she pointed to the Losers, "have fought It before and know how to handle him."

"If we combine both groups and what we know, we should, theoretically, be able to stop both It and the Upside Down while also saving Mike," Y/N explained.

"Demogorgons and a place called the Upside Down? Why does this sound more believable than It?" Stan muttered with a groan.

“I'm sorry, but there is literally no way this is true," Lucas muttered as he shook his head. "A demon clown? Do you hear yourself right now, Y/N?"

"Come on, Lucas," Y/N pleaded before she looked to the whole Party. "Guys, I wouldn't lie about something like this and you know it. My friend is trapped down there and we have no way of knowing of he is even alive or not without you guys. I need you guys to trust me on this one, okay? Please, it's all I ask."

The Party all softened at her words, the teens beginning to put their full trust into the girl. The only one that looked hesitant was Steve who was looking to the ground as he rubbed his neck. Y/N looked to the boy and whispered, "Steve."

Steve let his head lift up slightly, his eyes flickering over to the girl who was standing there almost hopelessly. He knew the Upside Down part was true because of the demogorgon, but a demon clown? There was no way. But then he saw the fright in the girl's eyes and it wasn't fright over the creatures terrorizing them. No, it was fright for her friend.

For a moment he was reminded of the other times he had seen that look like when Will had been taken or Eleven had to close the gate or even when they had been trapped in the Russian Lab together and he had forced her to leave him behind.

It was the same look that told him everything he needed to know. Y/N was right— she wouldn't lie about something like this. She needed them to believe her. She needed him to believe her and as her best friend and honorary brother, it was his job to believe her.

"This is ridiculous," Steve pointed out, his eyes not leaving Y/N's as he looked at her.

"Oh, it's real," she assured him, the tone of her voice making everyone in the room gulp slightly at those words. "Way more real than you or I could ever imagine."

There was a beat of silence as Y/N let her eyes flicker over all of her friends. She already knew the Losers believed her, especially after they had been there with her since the beginning. The only ones she had to convince were the Party and Steve and she really hoped she had been able to do just that.

"This is crazy. Like batshit crazy, but I believe you and I'm in," Lucas announced making Y/N smile.

"Me too," Will said as he nodded at the girl. "They'll never be gone, not really. It's just a matter of time before they come back again. So right now, we need to stop them while we still can."

"I'm in," Wheeler announced while Richie mockingly mimicked him from beside Eddie who elbowed him in the gut.

“Same here," Eleven and Max said at the same time before high fiving each other for speaking in unison.

Y/N looked to Dustin who sighed before giving her a smile. "You know I believe you. I always do," he told her.

Y/N smiled before letting her eyes flicker over to Steve once again, the last but most important person she needed to believe her. "Steve?" Y/N questioned, her eyes hopeful as she looked to him. Steve stared at the girl for a moment before sighing and letting a grin appear on his face.

"You're lucky I brought the bat."

* * *

Tag List

@witch-of-all-things-soft @nightbu-g @vickeystar

@daniellajocelyn @alexthe80swhore @ren-ni

@floralpiper @starshininginthedark @dwcljh

@aimee-lucass @sycard @connor---murphy

@tinycolorwhispers @sarai-ibn-la-ahad

@izzyisavengersupernaturaltrash

@theamandarenee @amberkay284 @gryffingirl

@dejewskoo @artlovingbre @jacinta-lexianne

@gabiatthedisco @littlemaeve @newhopenessie

@pheonix-nin @captn-sprkl-fngrs

@flaredflowersuits @madelinelikesfics

@mysteryartisticwriter @that-one-book-girl

@spnsquirrel @galaxsea-707 @felicia-can-fly

@whoops-im-gay-now @hollandcomics

@lauren-theicecreamslinger @peterhollandd

@princessserena23 @hollandstanleythomas

@you-s-suckbowers @hitoshi-s-stupid-bitch

@deviantly-gayy @pastel-rose-water

@gothackedalready @fandoms-all-around-catiel

@danas-wonderland @c00ln3rdz @lastjeon

@fraeppuccino @maxinemayficld @80sthottie