#I’d like to meet one person whose not an asshole just one!!!

[yanderecrazysie]

hey, no hate if you deny this request, but au soulmate bakugou? Yes pls.

I don’t think I could ever deny a soulmate au XD

Title: Soulmate Song

Pairings: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, soulmate AU, spoiler for Bakugou’s hero name, swearing

Summary: Your soulmate is not exactly what you pictured.

“Soulmates come by surprise

Bell curve it seems extremes arise

And those who beat the odds will call it fate”

-From “Soulmate Song” by Carson James Argenna

You weren’t one to look at tabloids, but even you had heard the rumors of how abrasive and rude the hero Dynamight was. You’re also sure the magazines had covered his soulmate mark. You wish now that you’d read at least one article on it, because then you wouldn’t be as taken by surprise as you were now.

You sat there on the dusty floor, coughing from the smoke in the air. The store your family owns was destroyed. Hopefully the insurance would cover it. 

Despite all the rumors surrounding Dynamight, he was undeniably a superhero at this moment. He was panting, shoulders heaving a little with each breath. The villains, however, are much worse for wear, lying knocked out on overturned shelves.

Somehow, the villains are the least worrying thing on your mind. The forefront thought on your mind is the mark on Dynamight’s left shoulder blade. A grenade with three small sparks around the top… oh so fitting for him. You shouldn’t be as surprised as you were that he was your match.

That’s right. Your own back bore the same mark. Bakugou Katsuki was your soulmate.

You didn’t exactly look your best. Your hair was blown in every direction, your clothes were covered in dust and soot, and you were sure your face was just as dirtied. But this could be your only chance to approach Dynamight, considering he was a famous person.

You got to your feet, swaying unsteadily. Dynamight’s back was to you and you weren’t sure how to get his attention.

“Excuse me, Dynamight?” Your voice came out as a squeak. He didn’t turn around.

Your hand reached out hesitantly and rested on the soulmate mark. For a moment, you admired the way it looked on his light skin, the next moment, he was spinning around, asking, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

You curled your hand into your chest, heat rising to your cheeks.

“We’re soulmates,” you whispered.

“What was that?” Dynamight didn’t seem all that interested in what you had to say, but at least he was listening.

“We’re soulmates!” You said, a little louder than intended.

The blond hero stared at you for a moment before a derisive laugh left his lips, “Yeah, right, I’ve heard that line before.”

“No, I’m serious,” you protested, “I have a tank top underneath my shirt, I can show-”

“Listen,” Dynamight said, “My soulmate is not going to be a little wimp. If I have a soulmate, she’s going to be a strong hero who can stand by my side and fight. Not someone like you who cowers on the floor like a stupid little bug.”

It felt like the life had been sucked out of you. Your stomach plummeted and then rose with the fury consuming your body. 

“Fuck you,” you spat, “I’d rather have no soulmate than be with you.”

“See, that’s a little more fiery,” Dynamight snickered.

You spun on your heel and stormed through the employee’s only entrance. The backroom was spared from the damage the villains and explosive hero had caused. 

You held back tears. Like every little girl, you had dreamed you’d meet your soulmate and live happily ever after. Even as an adult, you’d held out hope. 

But this guy? You weren’t lying when you said you’d rather have no soulmate at all.

You’d cry later, you were sure of that. But for now, anger was your primary emotion.

How dare he be an asshole? How dare he crush your dreams of being happy?

Why had the universe paired you with someone like him? Had mother nature run out of pairs to match up?

Well, forget him. You didn’t need him. There were plenty of people who lost their soulmates, surely you’d meet one of them. Or maybe you’d meet a guy whose soulmate was a total bitch and you could bond over how much the universe sucked.

You’d be fine.

—---------------------------------------------

A month had passed since that day, and Bakugou hadn’t given it a second thought. Just another crazy fan trying to get him to date them. He didn’t even care about finding his soulmate.

At least, he didn’t think he did. Not until now.

You’re playing in the waves, splashing your friend on the mostly-empty beach. He recognizes you not just by your face, but by the symbol on your shoulder blade. 

You weren’t lying.

He approached you eagerly, feeling the pull of fate dragging him closer. Sure, you weren’t the strong pro hero he was expecting, but you were solely and uniquely his.

You gave him a dirty look upon seeing him and loudly suggested to your friend that the two of you head further down the beach.

The message was clear. He got it.

He started to walk away, then stopped. Looked back at you. Felt that surge of possessiveness shoot up his spine.

You were weak. And, for the first time, he wasn’t seeing that in disgust, but in worry. You were completely unprotected, defenseless…

You needed him. And who was he to protest?

The universe wanted you together, after all.

[p0ckiiturtle]

So, I recently started hyperfixating on an old show I used to watch called “Winx Club”. It’s a 2004 Italian Magical Girl show that was really popular and soon made its way to the states.

I’d also like to point out that this show ran from 2004-2019. Just to give you guys a heads up on how long it ran for.

While it was loved by all, it did have many, many, MANY flaws. One of which was their love interests.

Sky: Bloom’s boyfriend

Brandon: Stella’s boyfriend

Riven: Musa’s boyfriend

Timmy: Tecna’s boyfriend

Nabu/Nex/Roy: Aisha/Layla’s boyfriend/fiance/crush I guess

And Helia: Flora’s boyfriend

Notice how Aisha’s list is a bit longer. I’m gonna get into that.

They all suffer from the same thing. A thing I like to call “The Lover Effect”. Basically, when a character is introduced, but their only trait is to be another character’s love interest.

They have no other backstory. No known morals. They’re just there to fall in love with the character. And nothing more.

A lot of shows struggle with this. Mainly with their female main characters, but there are some examples of the male characters suffering from this.

And Winx Club is one of the prime examples of this.

We know little to nothing about their pasts. We don’t know what their goals are. And they’re only there to serve the main cast. The Winx. Their entire personalities revolve around them being the boyfriends of the Winx.

I think the only characters whose past we know of are Sky and Nabu’s. And even then, it’s seldom said.

A while ago, I was researching for a video based on my own version of winx for my TikTok account (shameless plug, I know). And I came across this:

It was from the old Winx website. I wasn't aware of this when I was watching it cause I grew up on the Nickelodeon one, but that's besides the point.

It clearly states here that Riven's mom left him when he was very young. And according to him: She probably left for money. Resulting in his distrust of people and his 'bad boy' attitude. Specifically in women. This was never stated in neither the show nor the comics.

This could've been perfect ammunition for a good redemption arc for Riven. Why he's so distrustful and so standoffish of all of his friends. Why he's constantly pushing Musa away. He's too afraid that they'll leave him. And the hurt will start all over again.

But no. They don't.

Instead, they give some toxic relationship between two characters where they're both in the wrong, but decide to paint him as the bad guy cause 'ShE wOuLd NeVeR dO tHaT!!!!". They constantly breakup. And then when they decide to give him the slightest amount of character development , they just drag him back down to being the asshole character. And the whole cycle repeats.

Every. Single. Fucking. Season.

I'm not even kidding.

I will give them this though;

As much as I will shit on Nick for practically ruining Winx Club, at least they tried to give him a redemption arc. But it was put into a half-assed breakup scene where he had to 'find himself'.

MUSA WAS JUST AS BAD, BUT THEY NEVER FUCKING ADDRESS IT!

The next victim is Sky.

For those who don't know:

Sky is the crown prince/king of Eraklyon. His home kingdom. The most we know about him is that he possibly has daddy issues and was in a relationship before Bloom.

Now the way they went about Sky is interesting. Because they gave him a little bit of a backstory. But not enough for him to be an interesting character to me. The most that we know is that his dad is an asshole and his ex-fiancé was just selfish.

From what I've gathered from the show.

But what else about Sky? What was his childhood like? What was his relationship with Diaspro, his ex, like? When did Sky and Diaspro first meet?

In the show, it's stated that they were childhood friends, but for some reason, I don't believe that. Maybe it's my version of Winx clouding my judgement, but I don't care. Knowing how most marriages between the elites and royalty were mainly for political reasons back then, that was probably my reason for not believing the whole "childhood friends" thing.

We don't even know his relationship with his father. The most we know is that he has an older cousin who he doesn't trust for some reason after something he did back when they were kids.

But personally, I think him somewhat revolving around Bloom could work.

Imagine this:

Ever since you were a child, you were forced into a life of perfection. Your parents were distant from you, so you were raised by the servants in the castle. You're forced into an arranged marriage to some girl who can only think about herself, from your eyes. And that's all you know. Perfection. Perfection. Perfection.

And then all of a sudden, you meet this girl. She's outgoing. She's a bit shy. She has goals. Aspirations. But most of all, she's free.

You meet her parents and you see how strong of a relationship they have with her. She has friends in her school. She's made tons of mistakes, but no one criticizes her for them. After all, they're just mistakes.

And the more you're around her, the more you realize that your childhood wasn't good. It wasn't what you wanted. You realized that you needed your parents love. But because of their status, they never gave it to you that much. Only speaking to you at dinners or whatnot.

Sky wanting to break the mold and find his true self because of Bloom could work. With good writing and planning, his character could become far more interesting than the one we were given.

Next up: Brandon.

The most we know about him is that he's Sky's best friend/squire and is from Eraklyon just like Sky. We don't know jackshit about his family life. All we know is that he's loyal and a flirtatious guy. Even when he's dating Stella, he's still flirting with other girls!

Like wtf??

Sure, he gives Stella a heartfelt speech about always loving her for who she is, regardless of how she looks. But that's basically it. And I hate that the most I can give him is killing off his dad. Like, that's the most character I can give him. Because we don't know jackshit about his past. His goals. Or anything else about him. And it sucks.

Next: Timmy

I hate that we barely see any of him throughout the show. The most screentime we get of him is when he's searching for Tecna when she gets lost in the Omega Dimension. But the fact that he didn't go on that trip with Sky and Bloom just sucks. I get that they wanted to create some cute moments between them and they didn't want Timmy, the guy who literally found her coordinates, to be a third wheel. But his girlfriend was LITERALLY SUCKED INTO ANOTHER FRICKIN PLANET!!!!! I think he has every right to be on that trip. It could've shown his desperation and fear that he may not be able to find his love.

And as much as I love him when it comes to commitment and his girlfriend, he still falls into this category. because once again, we don't know his damn backstory. Hell, we don't even know where he's from!

Like Riven, Helia, or Nex. Unless it was specified in the show, we don't know where they're from.

I'm gonna assume that Timmy's from the same planet as Tecna, which is Zenith. A futuristic planet with highly advanced technology mixed with magic.

But here's the thing: The only thing about his character that may give me that answer is the fact that he's smart and likes to make robots.

That's the only reason why.

Nothing about his character design gave that away. Which may just come down to me being nit-picky. But I honestly don't care.

And I hate that I have to assume where he's from because the show never gives us any indication from his character.

For Tecna, she had no idea how to handle her feelings for Timmy and was constantly going back and forth on logic and heart because that was the norm in Zenith. Logic was their only answer. And for that, they probably have no reason for love or feelings.

Meanwhile for Timmy, he's automatically head over heels for her and has no problem confessing his love for Tecna. That could be chalked up to just how they were raised. But, as I've said before, we don't know how he was raised.

Next: Helia

WHERE. THE FUCK. DO I EVEN BEGIN WITH THIS MAN?!

You wanna know something crazy?

Originally, Helia was supposed to be a girl. But they changed his gender and made him a boy because Flora was the only one without a boyfriend. And they didn't want her to be single.

(Even though Aisha didn't have a boyfriend and was single until season 3)

The thing that gets me the most about Helia is that he's seen as the quiet and reserved nature lover of the group. Just like Flora. But even then, we barely hear from this fucking bastard.

Like, I get that he's supposed to be the quiet guy, but it's not like he's non-verbal. He can fucking talk!

SO MAKE HIM TALK!!

At least we know from context clues that he's most likely from Linphea. The same planet Flora's from. But that's only because he's friends with the fucking princess of Linphea.

I guess you could chalk it up to his love for nature and pacifist personality, but that could be applied to anyone.

What's worse is that I couldn't even find/give him a reason as to why he's like this. I could just leave it and just say that "It's his personality. He was just born like that", but I refuse. The most i could give him was a large family. 6 sisters with him being the middle child.

Yes, I took a page out of 'Loud House', but I feel like it could work. You have absolutely no idea how much your family can shape and affect your personality.

But that's just me.

Next: Nabu

This is going to hurt me because he's my favorite out of all of the Specialists.

I want to say he falls into this category. I really do, but a part of me just doesn't have the heart to. Especially since he was basically the perfect match for Aisha/Layla.

Both come from wealthy families. Both have only known perfection throughout their lives, but are trying to break that mold and want to be their own person.

And I think it's perfect! Even if they were in an arranged marriage, they could still make it work.

You just have to develop their relationship over time. Have them do little things that makes the other fall in love with them bit by bit.

Unfortunately, they decided to fucking kill him off in season 4. Literally the season AFTER HE WAS FUCKING INTRODUCED!

And it pisses me off so much!

But back to his "Lover" trope:

See, he doesn't fall into it that much. If anything, I'd say he doesn't fall into it at all since we, as an audience, were given more than enough content of his past to make a clear picture of him.

Is this me being biased because he's my favorite? Absolutely.

And I think the reason as to why he was so loved by the fandom is because he was something new. He wasn't a copy paste of the same person but with a different personality and character design. He was something fresh.

Until they decided to fucking axe that and give us shit.

I don't wanna go too much into detail for Roy and Nex. Their characters bored me to death.

All you have to know is that Roy was the equivalent of the rebound summer fling for Aisha and Nex is like Riven, but worse. At least Riven was somewhat interesting as to why he acts the way he does. Nex is just an ass for no reason.

I get that this show is supposed to be for young girls. It's to encourage them that they can do anything. But you can have an uplifting girls show with interesting male characters.

With the reboot coming soon, I really do hope that the writers take their male characters into account and give them interesting personalities and not go down the Nickelodeon route and screw everything up.

From what I've heard, Iginio Straffi, the creator of Winx, is back to writing for the reboot. Even though his writing was flawed, I do hope that he's used these last 2-3 years in improving his characters and plot. From what I've heard, he's been working with authors from around the world. So this may be a sign of hope for the Winx fandom. Because god knows we need it.

[eoieopda]

meet me at the bar: epilogue

pairing: kim seokjin x reader type: drabble — meet me at the bar’s epilogue au: law school/bar exam, est. relationship word count: 1.2k rating: pg13 genre: fluff summary: as it turns out, there is life after the bar exam. a/n: i suppose this does make sense outside the context of the one-shot, but i def recommend reading that first ✨ like the OG, this epilogue is dedicated to mj (@yoongiphoria), who army (get it? 👀) crawled through the ringer and lived to tell the tale! so excited to eventually welcome you to the profession, bb 💕 🔞 MINORS WHO INTERACT WITH ME AND/OR MY CONTENT WILL BE BLOCKED, WHETHER OR NOT THE CONTENT IS NSFW. I’M AN ADULT WRITING EXCLUSIVELY FOR OTHER ADULTS.

Seokjin sits at a small cafe table. In front of him sit two things: one he’s sure of and one he’s not.

“This is barbaric,” you mutter under your breath. 

You hit the refresh button on your browser again, the same way you have — on a second-by-second basis — since you both sat down. Crazed, your eyes flick up to Seokjin. You repeat yourself emphatically, “Barbarism, Seokjin. Do you hear me?”

He tries his best to keep a straight face, so he pulls his coffee mug to his lips and hides his smile behind the rim. You look back down again before you can even see him nod in agreement. Of course, you go right back to assaulting the touchpad of your laptop.

You’re not wrong, not in the slightest. The Office of Bar Admissions just put you through the most treacherous experience of your academic and professional lives, and it wasn’t done fucking with you. Now that you’d survived the exam itself, you had to sit and wait — not just for your results, but for potential public humiliation.

Everyone who has a stake in this exam — test takers and prospective employers — and anyone who doesn’t — friends, relatives, professors, underclassmen, sundry assholes, etc. — can log onto this extremely public, government website at eight o’clock this morning. If they do, they’ll see a list of names: every single person that passed this exam and would be admitted to the practice of law.

Likewise, anyone can easily find out whose names are missing. Broadcasted at lightning speed, your business becomes everyone else’s. Whether you want to or not, you have to share your greatest success — or biggest disappointment — with whoever the fuck might want to look for it.

Scrubbing your anxious hands over your face, you sigh, “I think I’d rather stand naked in the middle of Lotte World. I mean it; that would be infinitely less horrifying than this.”

“For you, maybe.” 

Seokjin grins, sets his mug down, and nudges your untouched plate closer to you. On any other morning, you would’ve inhaled that breakfast sandwich by now. Today, however, you’re on a self-imposed hunger strike until you have answers.

“For the unsuspecting onlookers, I think that would be a criminal offense.”

You roll your eyes, but when you reset them, you’re looking straight at him.

It’s the way anyone would dream of being looked at, he thinks. Like every annoying thing about him is still somehow endearing, worth loving — and that little smile of yours is all for him. Just like that, he’s blushing in the middle of a café, not giving a shit who sees.

Crashing through his thoughts, the alarm you set goes off with a wail, like you’re being summoned to an air-raid shelter rather than notified of the time. You scurry to grab it. Fumbling to turn that siren off, you cast panicked glances around the room to find anyone you might owe an apology for startling. As usual, it’s just the two of you.

You spit it all out so fast that Seokjin can hardly keep up.

“Will you still love me if I shit myself in the café? Because I fucking might, and I need to know if a break-up is going to be added to my list of rejections this morning.” 

There are nervous talkers, and then there’s you. You worry in X-Games mode like it’s nobody’s business — and honestly, it’s kind of impressive.

“My whole family is going to know before I can even disclose failure myself and I —”

Seokjin doesn’t know if anything he might say would comfort you, but he’s at least slightly worried that you’ll anxiety-barf onto your laptop. To minimize the collateral damage, he reaches across the table, picks it up, and pulls it over to his side. 

As if he just pulled the plug on your life-support machines, you slump down into your chair. There, your head droops against the metal back with a small thud. You then stare up at the ceiling like you’re actively watching your soul leave your body.

“No matter what happens, we’ll be okay.” He assures you while refreshing the browser. “I promise.”

Funnily enough, trying to keep you calm has made him feel the most stable he ever has. One of you has to keep your collective shit together; and it’s clearly not going to be you, so he’s committed to remaining zipped on your behalf. His fingers don’t even shake as he scrolls down that godforsaken list, scanning with narrowed eyes.

“Well?” You urge.

After a few seconds of listening to your knee bouncing underneath the table, Seokjin closes your laptop and sets it down slowly. He takes a deep, measured breath before he finally looks back up at you. With how unabashedly freaked out you are, it’s a miracle that he can’t feel your pulse from the other side of the table.

“So, I have bad news —” He starts with a sigh.

You freeze.

“— We can’t add esquire to our email signatures until after we’re sworn in, which will apparently be two weeks from now.”

The last thought Seokjin has before being tackled to the ground is that he’s thankful nobody else came in for coffee this morning. 

The first thought he has when he reopens his eyes, now flat on his back, and sees that insane look on your face — a mix of terror, annoyance, disbelief, and excitement — is that he was right when he decided never to doubt you. More importantly, he was right that you truly are capable of anything.

Up to and including public displays of aggression.

Damn does he love you.

You sit back on your heels but you don’t make any moves to get off of him. With a shaky laugh, you say, “I think I have to kill you for that.”

“Understandable,” he demurs, shrugging. Then, he reaches up to swipe a tear off your cheek with the pad of his thumb, smiling sweetly. “Just don’t represent yourself at trial over it, okay?”

Playfully, you swat at his chest before clambering off of him. Once you make it steadily to your feet, the same hand that smacked him is held out to help him up. He takes it without hesitation.

Back at his full height, he accepts the arms you lace around his neck, swoons just a little when you push up on tiptoe. You kiss him softly, but it hits hard. That gentle brush of your lips makes his knees so weak that he fears he’ll end up on the ground again. 

You pull away breathy. Though your eyes are a little bit misty, you grin like you can’t help it. For the record, he can’t, either. You sigh, “I genuinely cannot believe that I survived this bullshit.”

“Really?” Seokjin asks, eyebrows raised.

His arms wrap around your waist to hold you closer, allowing you to nestle your face into his sweatshirt. He means it, so he says it with his whole chest and hopes you hear it: “I was sure you would.”

“Don’t think I would’ve been able to do it without you,” you mumble into the fabric.

“You could have,” he murmurs. Leaning down, he kisses the top of your head before continuing, “But you didn’t have to.”

The two of you stand like that for a while — wholly entangled in the middle of a café, in broad ass daylight — without speaking. It helps him try to wrap his brain around it all. After all, the landscape is different now than it was an hour ago; and unless he’s fully lost it, Seokjin swears that the grass really is greener.

For the first time ever, he doesn’t feel the weight of the dreaded unknown pushing down on his shoulders. He just feels you leaning against him and an unfamiliar sense of peace. All of that gratification he’s delayed his whole life, too, as it falls right into his hands.

But Seokjin’s not great with that whole thoughtful silence thing, so he smirks, “Gonna call me counselor in bed now, jagi?”

Your head snaps back so quickly, you could’ve decapitated yourself. Incredulous, your eyes narrow as your mouth pops open. Instantly, the look on your face pulls that windshield wiper laugh out of him; so, he slaps his hand over his mouth to keep quiet.

You challenge him with eyebrows raised sky-high. “Gonna make me file a cease and desist letter?”

[swanpyart]

Ron and Color Symbolism (spoilers)

One thing I noticed (and it might not have been intentional by the Inside Job team) was that Ron has a bit of a color motif going on.

So, the first time we see Ron, he’s wearing the purple Illuminati robe. It’s very ornate and covered in gold, and honestly feels very flashy and dramatic for a guy like him. At this point in the story, he’s still entrenched in the shadow government and fulfilling his given role, but to Reagan (and the audience) he’s just another Illuminati asshole whose giving her grief.

When we later see him, he’s still wearing purple, with his tie and goggles, but unlike before, he’s not covered head to toe in it and looks more comfortable, if work-appropriate. Coincidentally, this is also the point in the story when Reagan and Ron first get close to each other, and later become intimate, and also the point where we meet the other Illuminati heads for comparison to Ron as a character. Both purple items are also the easiest to remove (the goggles can simply be pulled off and the tie can be loosened).

Ron’s later outfit when he and Reagan go to Rome pushes this even further. He and Reagan are wearing purple, but Ron only has a hint of it in the handkerchief of his pocket. The shade of purple also leans more towards blue, which is a calm, soothing color, and arguably much more fitting for Ron’s personality than the gaudy shade of purple that belongs to the Illuminati. I would argue that I’m this context, purple is a color associated with the illuminati, and blue is associated with emotional openness and Ron’s true self. I’ll go back on this later.

In the Halloween episode, Ron, for the first time, forgoes the purple completely. Instead, Orange is the primary color. Orange is near opposite purple on the color wheel, and is a complementary color that’s often paired with purple. It makes sense that Ron is wearing a different, warm toned color when he first truly interacts with Cognito and is trying to join them; he feels out of place. Reagan is also wearing a hint of orange, so the two of them are matching again (though it’s unintentional this time). Reagan is also being dishonest in trying to portray Cognito at its best (when it’s still terrifying and chaotic as hell).

The last outfit we see Ron in is much more casual, with a blue open shirt and loose pants. I’d argue that this outfit feels the most authentic to Ron; it’s not a costume like the “I’m here for the Boos” one, and he’s not dressed to impress like his date with Reagan or for his work. And not a hint of purple. It’s at this point where Ron has completely forgone the Illuminati in favor of pursuing a completely different life with Reagan. This outfit is also the one he wears as he finally sheds his old identity and embraces a new life as Martin.

[mousy-nona]

All of God's Angels p. 5/5

Is Alastor the key to Gabriel's prophecy?

When the chains fall loose and Alastor is set free, Lucifer finally gets his answer.

Link to AO3

“In a bad mood today, I see,” Alastor’s radio static slithered from the shadows. Lucifer jumped, his hand immediately flying over his heart.

“You have got to stop doing that,” he snapped. 

Alastor leaned against the wall, his long frame draped against Lucifer’s garish tent-walls with careless grace. Lucifer’s heart ached as he took him in, his red hair like flame in the early morning sunlight. The light looked good on him, highlighting the sharp planes of his face and the lean, predatory elegance he wore like a second skin. 

Alastor cocked his head, trying for innocently confused and failing spectacularly. “But it’s the first of the month! Surely you haven’t forgotten our appointment?” 

He sighed. “No, of course not. But it’s seven in the morning, Alastor.” 

“And you’re up! Clearly deep in thought, I see. Shall I return at a later time?” 

Lucifer shook his head and beckoned him forward. “You’re here already, so let’s get this over with.”

He didn’t know for whose benefit he kept pretending he hated these little meetings as much as Alastor did. It wasn’t for the deer, who could pluck each one of his secrets from his mind as easy as breathing. But it was easier like this. If he pretended long enough, he might stop looking around corners to see if Alastor was in a room before walking in, his ears would stop pricking up at the sound of his name, and his heart might stop doing the macarena whenever he spotted anyone Tall, Dark, and Creepy. 

He was an idiot. He was cursed. The most colossally stupid, cursed idiot in the entire stupid universe because not only had he fallen for a sadistic asshole, he’d fallen for the one sadistic asshole who would never be able to want him back. 

Gabriel and his idiot prophecies. The next time he saw him, he was going to pluck all his feathers and serve him up medium rare over mashed potatoes and a side of green beans, Duck a L’Orange style. 

Alastor vanished into a mass of shadows and reappeared a moment later a few inches from his face. 

“Woah, woah, woah, personal space! Respect my personal space!” Lucifer yelled, trying to pinwheel backwards and finding himself pressed up against his desk. 

Ignoring him as usual, Alastor brought the tip of his claws under Lucifer’s chin and gently, oh so gently, tilted his head up. Those red eyes of his were hypnotic, glowing faintly as he searched the very depths of his soul. Lucifer’s cheeks turned from pink to dark red, and Alastor’s smile grew. He did so love it when he made Lucifer lose his cool. 

“You’re no fun to toy with when you’re put out like this,” Alastor remarked casually, as if they were just two people sharing a normal conversation over coffee, and not so close they were sharing the same breath. “Fine, I’ll bite. What’s on your mind, little king?” 

“Nothing,” Lucifer said, too fast. 

Alastor narrowed his eyes. “Are you really going to make me rip it from you?” He grinned. “An interrogation. Excellent. Like I always say to my listeners, there’s nothing like a good old fashioned interrogation to start the day!” He called a few shadow demons into reality, each one of them holding a set of rusty tools, each more disturbing than the last. “Call me a stickler for the old rules, but I like to start with a pair of pliers –”

Lucifer blanched. “You come at me with any of those, I’ll blast you into oblivion, Bambi. ”

Alastor’s eyes glowed with pleasure. “Oh, I’d love to see you try.”

They stood and glared at each other, the familiar electricity licking up Lucifer’s veins with their delicious warmth. Maybe it was what Alastor had intended, but the fire burned away some of the eerie sadness that always hovered at the edges of his mind, waiting to drown him in depression. When the demon was around, the darkness retreated, and he felt like his old self again. Optimistic. Innovative. Happy .

Don’t get used to it, the darkness whispered in his ear. Its words dripped like cold oil down his back. He won’t be around forever. It’s only a matter of time before he finds out the truth, and then he’ll leave you for good.

And just like that, the warm buzz Alastor had created disappeared, and the sadness rushed in again, cackling wildly as it dug its claws deep into Lucifer’s mind. 

Alastor watched it all with an impassive look on his face. Then, suddenly, Lucifer was in the air.

“Wha–” was all he was able to squeak out before he crashed into a nearby couch, one shadow tendril still gripping his ankle. He pushed himself up on his elbows right before a mass of shadows materialized on top of him. Alastor appeared, effectively caging Lucifer in with his larger form, pressing his shoulder into the cushions with one foot.

“What are you doing ?” Lucifer raged, using his superior strength to toss the demon off of him. Alastor whipped backwards and in one smooth motion struck out with his claws, which Lucifer narrowly avoided by diving forward – and slamming headlong into Alastor’s chest. 

When he looked up and saw what had happened, his face turned such a dark red he thought it might never turn back to its usual white shade. Crouched between his long legs like this, both his hands placed beside Alastor’s narrow hips, and his intoxicating scent blotting out Lucifer’s good sense, he felt slow and stupid, as if he’d been drugged. 

Then something sharp scraped against his head, and he thought he might pass out. Was Alastor…was he petting him?

“Mama always said you catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” came that classic radio static from above. This close, Lucifer could feel his heartbeat – and it was annoyingly steady. “Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

“I can’t,” Lucifer whispered, his voice broken. 

Alastor always teased him for being an open book, but there was something even he didn’t know. Something Lucifer had been keeping secret for some time. 

The golden remnants of Adam’s former power accumulated inside of him every time they repeated their monthly ritual. Steadily, drop by drop, they had purified the stains of his soul. With most of the pollution gone, he felt cleaner. Stronger. Strong enough that every little bit of holy energy trembled now when he called them forth.

He could wash Alastor clean. Sever any obligation that remained between them. 

When Alastor had called on his favor before, he hadn’t been able to grant it. But if he asked now…

Don’t ask. He’d thought when they met in Rosie’s quiet shop in the heart of Cannibal Town, in the light of the fireflies back at Alastor’s bayou, in the darkened alleyways no Hell denizen dared to go. Every moment with Alastor felt exceedingly precious now. He relished each time Alastor slowly stripped off his shirt, his beautiful, scarred form bared to him and only him. He felt his breath tremble whenever he ran his fingers across the solid planes of Alastor’s chest, the heat of his body both familiar and a marvel each time he discovered it. 

Don’t ask. Don’t ask. Don’t ask .

But the guilt was growing, as if Alastor’s infection was leeching its insidious roots into his own soul. He had to tell him. Alastor would find out eventually – he always did – and he would never forgive him for willingly keeping chains tied around his neck. But he couldn’t let him go either. The sharp rasp of claws against his skull and the steady lullaby of Alastor’s heart made him feel perilously, ridiculously close to tears.

“You know, I could make you tell me,” Alastor said, the same way you would remark upon the pleasant weather. “But I would rather not use my favor on such a silly matter. I’ll be mighty displeased if you force my hand to such extreme measures. Do we understand each other?” 

“Who cares about what you want?” Lucifer shot back automatically. Alastor waited patiently, his eyes glowing a gentle red. 

The silence stretched on, marked only by the rabbit thump-thump-thump of Lucifer’s heart and the slower swing of Alastor’s. Finally, he opened his mouth. “I invoke –”

“No! ” Lucifer slapped his hand over his lips. He could feel those razor teeth biting into his fingers, revealing the golden ichor that lay beneath. “I’ll tell you.” The only thing worse than revealing the truth was being forced to reveal it. Alastor would really hate him then. “I…I can heal you now. Fully. No conditions attached.” 

Alastor’s eyes grew wide, and understanding dawned across his sharp features. “You can get rid of it? All of it?”

Lucifer nodded.

“I won’t have to come see you?”

Again, he nodded, although a pain like lightning, like Lilith leaving, like the crash of the Fall lanced through his heart. The darkness closed in, eager for their chance to strike. 

Alastor’s lips thinned, and the room glitched, refracted into blocks of red and black. “How long have you known?”

“A bit.” Lucifer’s voice was small, barely more than a whisper. “Not long. But I could have told you earlier. I’m sorry about that.”

Alastor studied him, green symbols flashing behind him like fireworks. Then, in the blink of an eye, the room returned to normal and he sat back, creating a bit of distance between the two of them. Lucifer’s skin crawled, missing the contact immediately. 

“Apology accepted. All’s well that ends well, I suppose. But if you ever keep anything like that from me again –” The crackle of static whined and hissed, hopping from frequency to frequency; at one point, he heard the swing of a band, and the next a news report. Alastor’s eyes turned to radio dials – a clear sign he was well and truly annoyed. Sometimes Lucifer made a little game of how fast he could trigger those dials, but he got no enjoyment out of seeing them today. “Well, let’s just say I won’t be so understanding .” 

“Fine,” he agreed tiredly. “I doubt we’ll be seeing enough of each other for me to get the chance, anyways.” 

Then he slapped his hand over his stupid, traitorous mouth. Had he really said that? Maybe Alastor had a point about him being way too easy to read. 

Alastor practically purred, more of an overgrown cat than a deer. He seemed to grow in size, looming over Lucifer, the picture of satisfaction. “Is that what you were so worried about? Well, my dear, I seem to remember an interesting little offer I made the day we started this arrangement. It’s still on the table. The only thing you have to do –” he leaned forward, green lightning flickering at his edges. The air crackled, breathless, as if time had stopped for the two of them, and the two of them alone. “Is say yes. ”

Lucifer had thought long and hard about this. Several sleepless nights, even. But in the end, no matter how much he wanted Alastor, no matter how much he feared the loneliness and the darkness of his own mind, he couldn’t do it. Not because he was scared of losing his soul – he wasn’t even sure he had a soul, for starters – but because he couldn’t do that to himself or Alastor. 

They were to be equals. Partners. If the prophecy was to be true, neither of them could be chained to the other. And as flawed as Alastor was, as disgustingly, beautifully human as he could be, the more time he spent with him, the more sure he was – that Lucifer wanted Alastor to be The One. 

Even if Alastor would never be able to return his feelings.

Lucifer shook his head, extinguishing Alastor’s hopeful flame. “My answer is no. It would be unfair to you.” 

“To me?” Alastor crackled, surprise shooting his voice up several frquencies. 

“You don’t feel the way I do for you,” Lucifer bit out, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. The cards were all on the table. His hand was played. Now he waited for Alastor’s turn.

To his surprise, Alastor started laughing. 

“You angels,” he chuckled, shaking his head as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. “So simple. You always see the world in black and white, when everything is really shades of gray.” 

Lucifer frowned. “I didn’t ask for a philosophy lesson here.” 

“Do I feel the way you do for me? Do I dream of your bare skin pressed against mine? Do I think about what you might look like under that ridiculous outfit, how soft your lips might be?” Lucifer had stopped breathing entirely. His chest felt too tight and too loose, all at once. Alastor grinned, every inch the sinful abomination he claimed to be. “No, my dear. I do not. That is entirely your affliction, I’m afraid.”

Pain. Pain and hurt and humiliation. Lucifer felt about two inches tall, and growing smaller by the second. 

“But,” Alastor continued. “I haven’t entirely hated getting to know you. I must admit, I quite look forward to our little spats. You are an enjoyable adversary.”

“An enjoyable adversary?” Lucifer spat, wanting nothing more than to lick his wounds in peace. 

“ I am not finished .” Alastor’s radio static turned high, nearly obscuring his words. “As I was saying, you interest me in a way I am…unfamiliar with. It would be…uncomfortable for me if you stopped coming around.”

The world twitched and glitched. Alastor’s antlers, usually half-hidden in his hair, cracked as they grew. His ears were flat against his head. And Alastor, usually so prim and polished, so ineffable and untouchable… stuttered . Lucifer softened, feeling his injured pride heal at seeing Alastor struggle to put his own feelings – complicated as they may be – into words. Good Lord, he was actually tripping over his sentences! 

“Uncomfortable?” Lucifer asked, only half-teasing. 

“Exceedingly.”

“So you’re saying you still want me to come around?” 

Alastor winced, as if it caused him physical pain to admit to anything so annoyingly emotional. “Yes,” he bit out.

Lucifer’s gaze dipped lower, towards Alastor’s chest. To the mouthwatering bare skin beneath. Even if they did continue their strange not-quite-relationship, he would never again have an excuse to touch Alastor in that intimate way. To run his hands over his smooth skin. 

As if reading his mind, Alastor let out Hell’s most exasperated, put-upon sigh. “I am not opposed to some…contact.” His lips bared in a rather wicked grin. “As a matter of fact, I believe it will be a rather amusing carrot when I tire of the stick.” 

Bristling at the insinuation, Lucifer shot back, “I’m not some kind of donkey you can train!”

“That remains to be seen,” Alastor smiled. It was not a nice smile. Hot anticipation electrocuted Lucifer’s spine, and his mouth went dry. “Besides, I still have that pretty little carte blanche from you. How am I to use it if you’re not around?” 

“I’m sure you’ll find some creative use for it,” Lucifer grumbled. 

He hummed, no doubt a million nefarious plans running through that devious mind of his. “And if you ever get desperate, well…” He lowered his voice, his whisper like liquid sin. Pure temptation. Lucifer’s blood boiled for it. “My offer is still on the table.” 

“We’ll see,” Lucifer said. And he meant it. Maybe he would break from Alastor's incessant teasing and sell his soul to the devil (maybe he'd already lost it to him anyways). Maybe they would end up killing each other in a dramatic double murder. And maybe they would stay this way; constantly circling, constantly competing, constantly enemies for the rest of eternity. 

That was the beauty of life with Alastor - you never knew what you were going to get. And Lucifer was furiously, fiercely, fiendishly happy.

[crescent-dreams]

Creator's Corner - Uissuteffu

How did you become a fan of the Inuyasha fandom?

Inuyasha wasn’t the first, but it was definitely the gateway to my love of anime. When the show was put on hiatus to wait for RT to finish the manga, I craved more! I started reading fanfic to fill the gap while I patiently awaited The Final Act.

What are your favourite fanfic tropes as a writer?

All the tropes! To me, fanfiction is about embracing fantasy. I avoid it in original writing, but tropes are fun to share with countless others in the community. I don’t know if I’ve met a (non-morally questionable) trope that I haven’t embraced.

And as a reader?

Haha! Same answer as above. I’m partial to pack dynamics and pining, though.

Which of your work is your personal favourite? The one you are most proud of?

Ikigai. I think it was probably my most unique premise, and I’ve spent a lot of time world-building. I have roughly three books worth of content prepared for it. Plus, it explores issues with mental health through various characters, and I think I’ve handled them with care. When readers leave comments affirming that, it makes me feel extremely proud.

Which SessKag fanfiction by another author is your go-to choice for a great read?

This is an impossible question! First of all, Gilded Sapphire contains many authors that I could list as my favorites. Anyone whose interview pops up in these spotlights likely has a story I’ve revisited several times. I’ll choose someone new to the server whose stories I often revisit. It’s still a hard choice, but I’ll go with Transgressions by Wonderbug (please heed the tags if you read it).

What do you think makes a good story?

A good story has one of two things: creativity or a strong grasp of language, and the ability to use it to invoke imagery. A great story has both!

Is there anything you need while writing? Snacks? Music? A comfy blanket?

Nope. My dynamic when it comes to writing is basically “If I fits, I sits”. I write in bed, in the shower, outside, inside, at the desk, on the couch, on my phone, on my tablet, on the pc. There’s no ritual to it at all.

How do you get your ideas? In your dreams? In the shower?

I don’t know, really. They just kind of hit, and I jot them down in Google Docs.

If you could meet an Inuyasha character, what would you tell them?

I’d like to meet Tōga so I could tell him he’s kind of an asshole for putting Sesshōmaru through that shit in the name of teaching compassion. THERE ARE BETTER WAYS, MY DUDE!

As a writer, which animal (real or otherwise) best describes you?

Can we consider yōkai animals so that I can say “Shirime”? They’re harmless, terrifying little creatures that thrive on scaring people. As a writer of primarily angst and horror, I’d say that’s fairly fitting. P.S. Don’t Google it. Just don’t.

What is your kryptonite as a writer?

I definitely struggle most with trimming dialogue. I’m selectively mute in real life, so conversation isn’t natural or instinctive for me, and I think that often shows in my writing.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start writing?

My answer to this is always a Stephen King quote from his (fantastic) book “On Writing”: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

You can find @uissuteffu on Ao3, Tumblr, Twitter, and Carrd! And please check out our Creator's Corner Masterlist for all our past creators!

[puppetoffthehook]

Billy started to change between seasons 2 and 3. Don’t care if it’s canon or not, this is personal thoughts on what we get to see.

At the end of season 2 it’s the Snow Ball and we see Max getting ready with her mom helping her and Billy walks by and stops to look at her. She looks angry but it doesn’t appear like he’s afraid.. more like he doesn’t know what to say. He may have wanted to compliment her or one of those ‘insulting compliments’ siblings do and thought better of it. Or maybe he was gonna ask who her date was (knowing exactly which boy it would be) and decided not to with his dad not far away. And I doubt Neil or Susan drive her to the school; they more likely made Billy do it.

Max acted in season 2 like she had no idea Billy’s dad abuses him; she says Neil’s an asshole and Billy’s angrier than ever and acts like Billy’s the scarier of the two while earlier in the season she looked shocked when Billy grabbed her. Like he’s never done it before. In season 3 there’s a latch on the outside of Billy’s bedroom door. A way to lock him in. Max still doesn’t acknowledge the abuse despite the fact we now know from Dacre that Neil tormented his son daily. My only guess is she wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening since she couldn’t physically stop him.

Billy appears toned down when he reappears in season 3; at least from what we see of him. It’s mentioned that he’s given swimming lessons to some of the little kids which takes patience we normally don’t associate with Billy. And (ignoring the complete ICK situation that was him flirting with Karen) he shows more how he’s a huge flirt eager to get some action which we’ve seen him attempt twice and never actually get to the date in question. We only even know he actually gets any ever because Max mentions the “happy screams”. Which personally I’d be pissed if I had to hear my siblings having sex so the fact that the most we get is her looking a bit grossed out and annoyed? That’s the “you’re lucky I love you” response.

Also we know that Max and Lucas have had an on again off again relationship that started with the Snow Ball. You know Billy was probably there shoving tubs of ice cream at her to deal with the breakup depression the first few times. The more it happened the more he’d be like “either tell him you love him or just find someone else, shitbird!” He’s a guy whose mom left his dad because he was a piece of shit and he’s worried that Max might make the mistake of ending up with someone who won’t appreciate her. (He doesn’t know Lucas enough to claim that but he also doesn’t know him enough not to.)

Hell if Billy hadn’t had a very good reason not to

He could’ve told his dad about Lucas. If we really wanna go with that narrative, he could’ve told Neil at the beginning that Lucas was bothering Max but she wasn’t being honest with him about it. But Billy didn’t want the boy to get killed over what was probably petty child shit. Which is my personal belief on why he told Max to stay away from him, especially when taking the Runaway Max

I don’t know how long they were a family at that point but it was definitely long enough she should’ve already known if Billy thought that way. And I know the books aren’t technically canon but there’s a lot in this one that I’ve heard seems pretty relevant. I really feel like in this case this and the scene in the show are telling us that Billy’s trying to convey “if you like that boy, stay away before Neil finds out.” Which obviously Neil hasn’t figured out his stepdaughter has been dating Lucas from December to July so he’s not as observant of Max.

He’s too busy terrorizing Billy. The happiest we see that boy in the whole of the series is when he’s on his way to his little meet and fuck with Karen. That smile and laugh in the rear view mirror like he’s embarrassed that he’s so excited about it. And then his whole world spirals. And I want to know how Neil didn’t notice the change in his son at all when he’s always on the boy’s case. You don’t notice how he’s always sweating, always looking either dead inside or like a pin could drop and he’d burst into tears?

And Max is obviously no longer scared of Billy; she just seems annoyed by his bringing girls home and generally talks about him like he’s an annoying big brother. She straight up says she hopes he’s not flayed and it’s not because she’s afraid to face him. She’s worried her brother won’t be able to be helped. During the sauna test their interaction is so genuine on her side and on his I feel like the beginning was him but I think the Mindflayer took control back right before the dramatic lean into the bench, when he grabs the broken tile. And even then, the Mindflayer allowed him to say what they needed to know.

Then when he’s fully flayed and attacking in the mall, Max tries to reach him but doesn’t know how or maybe with the fear and intensity of the situation she couldn’t think of what she needed to. Panic can make it hard to think and as much as their relationship had improved, we know from the letter in season 4 that they weren’t quite there yet. But he told her about his mother at least once. At least a little.

Then Eleven reaches him and his first action is to stand over her to protect her. He doesn’t know where Max is in the mall but he knows from what it forced out of his mouth before that it doesn’t matter. This thing wants to kill everyone, not just Eleven. He can’t do much but he has faith that whatever plan these guys have, it’ll work if he can just help. So he gives his life to keep it distracted long enough that the plan will work. He gives his life so his pain will end and he won’t have to live with all the things he’s done thanks to the monster controlling him. The monster that he doesn’t know anything about except it tore him down the same way his dad did.

And when he says he’s sorry to Max, I feel it’s for more than just how he treated her. It’s also because he fears he’s cursed her to be a target for Neil. Billy had no way of knowing his dad would ditch them when he died. I’m his mind it would’ve been his childhood all over again and he wasn’t wrong considering Max said their parents started getting into bad fights before the piece of shit left.

I just want more background information. I want to know what all changed for them between seasons.

[theprincesspinky]

Depression

It’s hard. Somedays you’re fine. Somedays you’re completely a wreck. One minute, you’re smiling and laughing like nothing bad has ever happened. The next minute, you’re alone in the bathroom trying not to make too much noise while you’re crying.

I don’t know how to continue living like this. I don’t want to continue living like this. The lows are killing me. Giving me thoughts I don’t want. Thoughts that would only make things worse for my children. I just don’t know how to be a good father anymore. I don’t know how to make myself happy, much less them.

I wish it would all go away. I could wake up tomorrow on my couch and it was all just a bad dream. I’d go lay next to her and never sleep on that stupid couch ever again. I’d make it my job to tidy the house everyday when I got home and start cooking more so that she didn’t have to do everything. I’d get up in the middle of the night with Louie so she could sleep. But that’s not going to happen.

It’s not going to happen because some asshole from North Carolina wasn’t paying attention. Somebody who I’ll likely never meet has ruined my life and the lives of my friends and family. Ruined the lives of my children. I’m supposed to be a good Christian and forgive these kinds of things. Turn the other cheek and all that jazz but it’s so hard. So hard when I’m the one living with the consequences of his actions while he gets to be merry and happy and not deal with the bleeding hole he left in my heart.

I finally caved this year, to taking medication for my depression. I had wanted to be able to deal with this on my own. I wanted to be strong enough to handle it on my own. I failed because I’m a failure. I’m failing as a father, failing as a sibling, failing as a son/daughter, failing as a friend. I failed as a husband, unable to protect my wife. The weight of my failures weigh on my shoulders and my heart, crushing me slowly, painfully. I don’t know what to do.

All the positive affirmations and words of encouragement can’t shake these feelings. No amount of love and support from others will bring her back. No amount of promised help or actual help will replace the emptiness in my soul. I love everyone but I want my wife. I want her love, her support, her encouragement, her help, her intimacy, her everything. Living without her isn’t living, it’s just dieing slowly, and somedays I wish it would just hurry up.

Only one person, other than my children, has managed to make me feel like living since she left. One person whose mere presence breathes air into my lungs again. Gives me the energy to get out of bed in the morning. Makes me believe that all hope isn’t lost. She just wants to be friends though. Tells me that I can’t love her and maybe she’s right. Maybe she’s right, maybe I don’t love her. Maybe I just love the hope she gave me. Maybe I just love who I think she is rather than who she really is. Maybe I just love the way she makes me feel. Maybe that’s all it is, I don’t know, but I wanted to be more, wanted to love her.

Now all I want is an end.

[disneydatass]

I’m not an attorney of law but I’m legally allowed to kill during pride month correct?

[wildamongwolves]

I can’t believe I’m going to open this can of worms on my so far very positive blog, but this was too long to post as a comment so I have to post it separately as its own post. @guydexterdefenceleague​​ you need to assess your behaviour. Differences of interpretation of fiction and word of god aside, you keep behaving like a grade A asshole. I’m going to really need you to stop telling other people that what they see on the screen is not actually sexual harassment. You need to stop using words like “genuine harrassment” to indicate Thomas’ harrassment is not genuine, because the logical conclusion is that anyone who has experienced similar harrassment is wrong about it having been harrassment! You do not get to or have the right to to control the narrative of what can be considered sexual harrassment. Your feelings about it are not objective, or the truth. If what I see as Thomas being clumsily fondled by Guy or being by sexually harrassed by being asked to perform sexual services as a joke is romantic for you, that’s great for you! If you think Thomas’ facial expressions and body language clearly spells out he is pleased on both occasions, that’s great for you! But if other people see them differently, are triggered by them, or if they make them uncomfortable, who are you to tell them their feelings are not valid or police what they get to say? If you find Richard’s lip touch and kiss triggering that’s valid, but your being ok with the chest fondle or joke about sexual services doesn’t make them universally not triggering. And telling people they are wrong about their own discomfort and triggers is a DICK move. Don’t you think we have enough gaslighting, controlling, policing, and silencing of the victims of sexual crimes in real life? Do you really need to do this in a fandom space, too? People have told you they have been victims of sexual harrassment at work and are thus uncomfortable with the scenes in DA2 - if you care more about real people and their trauma/experiences than about a fictional character, I suggest you stop indirectly telling real people they are wrong about the sexual crimes perpetrated against them by telling them they are wrong about how they feel about those scenes with Thomas and Guy. It’s offensive to real queer people who lived then to say that 20s relationships can’t meet modern standards of consent. Queer relationships of the past did not automatically have consent issues, for god’s sake. It’s also just factually wrong - people were just as capable then as now of reading one other’s expressions and body language as they are now, not to mention being clear in the wording when they are alone. It’s rude to call people’s concern “fake.” In fact it’s rude to keep policing the Thomas tag and jumping on any post that you disagree with. Actually, I’d like to see all these posts you are just about sick of where people are fake concerned about poor harrassed little Thomas! I haven’t seen any, can you link them? If you are just about sick of all the posts, I suggest you block all Barris and Richard Ellis related tags. That way, when a post has either content, you can just not look at it! We’re all responsible for curating our fandom experience and I suggest that is what you do if you are sick of seeing content you don’t like. No-one is actually forcing you to look at it or engage with it. Everyone in this fandom has the right to use the Thomas tag, not just people whose opinions you personally agree with. Barris shippers or people who like Richard are not obligated to not use the Thomas tag just for your pleasure. I suggest instead of trying to bully people until all of the content in the tag is to your liking, you save yourself and the rest of us the time and mental energy of arguing and instead block content that makes your fandom experience unenjoyable for you.

[idy-ll-ique]

My Little Secret.

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale x Innocent!F!Reader

Genre : Fluff, little bit of Angst

Warnings: none

Requested: nope

Summary: Y/N listens to music 24/7 on Spotify. At first Ransom is irritated, but now he knows just how to use the application to his benefit. I mean, come on, it can't be considered stalking if it's his wife, right?

Author's Note: Hiya peeps! oml a ransom drysdale fanfiction 😳 if I ever meet this asshole in real life I'd sock him in the jaw but in fiction? mamma mia. enjoy!

---

Does she really love an app more than me?

Ransom scoffed to himself as he opened his laptop, clicking on the music app, Spotify. He rarely used it, but his wife was obsessed with it. She listened to music 24/7; singing along to the soft tunes in her playlists while working, reading, cleaning, cooking, anything. Ransom thought it was insane how submerged she was in the activity.

Until that activity gave him an upper-hand in their relationship.

When he had first opened the app on his laptop, he was a tad bit surprised at the "Friends Activity" feature. He saw her account. Then, as more months passed, he started noticing how when she was happy, she'd always be listening to some happy playlist, when she was sad she'd be listening to sad songs, et cetera. And he started using it to his advantage.

Now, everyday before leaving his office he'd check the app to see what playlist she was listening to. If it was a happy, dance playlist, well and fine. But a sad one? Ransom's mood would also sour because my darling is not feeling okay. While going home, he'd buy something for her; mostly flowers or chocolates, or a nice little trinket that he'd find in the displays of shops that he thought his wife would enjoy.

He never told her about it. What he was doing would be considered stalking but come on, is it stalking if she's your wife? As the app finally loaded, his eyes immediately strayed to the Friends Activity and his heart clenched when he saw her listening to her sad playlist that she had named Melancholy. Sighing, he turned off the laptop and left his office for the night.

As he drove back home, he stopped outside a flower shop and bought an adorable little bouquet of mixed flowers. "She'll love it," the florist assured him, assuming he was buying it for his significant other. He gave her a quick smile and got back into the car, driving home as fast as he could. When he reached home, his heart broke at the sniffle he heard.

"Kitten?" Y/N's head shot up at her husband's voice as she hurriedly wiped her tears, getting up from her spot on the couch. "Hi, welcome home," she whispered, giving him a quick peck on the lips, smiling widely to avoid being caught. "Hello, how was your day?" He wanted to sigh, to chide her for keeping her bad mood from him, but he only smiled at how cute she looked trying to hide her true feelings.

"It wasn't bad! So, shower first and dinner later or dinner first?"

Now was the time. "Kitten, the truth, please. How was your day?" He raised a stern eyebrow when her face fell. How does he always read me so well? Knowing she couldn't hide now, she hung her head low as her shoulders sagged. "It was bad," she muttered. Ransom pulled her close, her head resting on his chest, his chin atop her head. "What happened? I swear if it's those fucking coworkers of yours—"

Her silence gave him the answer. The thing is, when Ransom and Y/N had started going out, everyone in the city was shocked. A cute, innocent little thing like her dating an asshole like him? Why? She had lost quite a few friends when she told them, but Ransom was there for her. "You don't need them, you have me." He was right. While the world saw him as a first-class jerk, he was the softest soul with her.

Her priorities were always placed before his. He took care of her, treated her like no previous boyfriend of hers had, and within 2 years of dating, he had proposed. People were even more shocked. She managed to get him to settle down?! How?! Then the gossip began. "He has to be cheating, I mean look at him. Look at her," she had heard one time after the engagement. That had made her super upset.

"Ransom, they're talking… someone said you were cheating on me…" She had broken down on his chest that night, crying her eyes out. And Ransom had immediately switched off the television. He sat up, holding her close. "You know I'd never do that, angel. Why would I, when you're with me? Do you really think those women out there have the same effect on me that you do? Huh?"

"Well, they said… they said I was ugly."

"What?! Those fucking whores—"

"Ransom, don't call them that," she had chided, swatting his chest. He caught the hand and brought it to his lips, kissing each fingertip. "If it makes you feel better, no, I'm not cheating on you. I love you a little too much to do that. You mean the world to me, Y/N, there's no one on this planet I'd rather be with than you. And you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen, in and out," he told her sincerely.

Her crying ceased. "Thank you." And he held her close the entire night, rubbing her back as she slept on him. People talking about him? He could handle that, God knows he had been handling that for years. But them talking about her? His perfect, angelic, goddess-like fiancée? No, no, he wouldn't handle that. That whole thing was 4 years ago. People still talked.

"What did they say to you, Y/N?" he asked, coming back to the real world.

"They asked me why I was still with you." He exhaled loudly through his nose when Y/N's arms tightened around him. "I told them I loved you. You are nice, you're not what everyone says you are. But then Amy talked about… about how you used to be— what was the word she used? Oh, uh, yeah, she said you were something of a Casanova before you met me. But I told her that was over."

His arms snaked around her waist, his fingers gently dancing over her hips as she continued speaking. "She insisted that people can't just change over a small period of time. I tried ignoring her but then she started gossiping with someone else about you. And then I snapped at her. But you know me…" Ransom hummed, pressing his lips to her forehead.

His wife had a docile soul. Everything from her looks to her mannerisms was soft. She couldn't yell, she couldn't tell people off— she was too pure to do that. The world needed people like her, to be honest. That was also one of the things he liked about her. Sometimes, he thought about how beneficial it would be for her to hold her own in a fight, but his ego shoved the thought down each time.

He liked being her big protector. He loved taking care of her like that. "Yes, I know, angel. You're too good for this world, you know that?" he mumbled, slightly pulling away from her so he could cup her face, looking into her eyes. She huffed and looked away. "I'm too soft. I can't help it. I don't want to be this way." He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her. "Oh no, you should definitely be this way."

"Why?"

"Because it suits you. Don't change for people who don't even care about you. I like you like this; gentle, caring… you have the biggest heart in the world, Y/N. And I want to keep it that way. Don't let people ruin your innocence. Keep being you." He pressed her closer when she started sniffling again. "You're too good to me," she pouted and he laughed. "That's my duty as your husband, kitten. Look, I bought flowers."

He took out the bouquet from his bag, smiling when Y/N's eager hands accepted it. "Thank you! Oh, these are so beautiful! Let me replace the flowers in the vase on the dining table!" Squealing, she walked away from him, leaving him to stare after her with an infatuated smile. You have no idea what you do to me, angel.

---

"Night, Ran," Y/N yawned, keeping her phone away. He held his arm up and Y/N snuggled into his side, allowing him to wrap his arm around her side. "Night, sweetheart," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her nose. He watched TV for some time until the match got boring; then he switched it off and carefully lay down on the bed, about to doze off when Y/N's phone rang. He blinked. Who'd be calling at his hour?

He lifted the phone off the nightstand, grimacing when he saw the Caller ID. Amy. As soon as he picked the phone up, Amy started blabbering. "Hi! Sorry I'm calling so late, Y/N, but I wanted to apologize for how I spoke to you at work today. It was wrong of me, really, I hope you can forgive me!" Ransom stayed silent, his jaw clenched. He had been hearing that line for years.

"Ransom, it's okay, she apologized, she won't be doing it again. She told me so herself!"

It was never the last time.

"Are you done?" he snapped and Amy froze on the other side. "M-Mr Drysdale—" "Listen, I don't want to hear it. I'm not Y/N; she has a heart of gold, God, I wonder why I let her hang out with people whose hearts are made of pure shit. How many times have you apologized for the same thing, huh? Using my girl's pure heart to your fucking advantage like that?"

"You're being—"

"I'm being what? I'm being rude? Who started it? If you ever mention our marriage in front of Y/N again, I'll have your fucking head." Amy bristled on the other side. "Are you threatening me?" Ransom smirked. "If you don't want to be threatened, I suggest you keep your nose out of other people's business. What mine and Y/N's relationship is like is no one's concern."

Amy stayed silent. "Gossiping won't get you anywhere. I have the best lawyers in the city, and I swear, if Y/N comes crying to me one more time about how someone was rude to her, I'll sue. Trust me, I will take legal action. Is that understood?" Amy quaked at his menacing tone. "Y-Yes, sir." Ransom's lips curled into a devious smile. "Great." And he ended the call.

"Ransom, who was that?" Y/N sleepily murmured next to him. She hadn't heard a word of the conversation, but could tell he was on the phone. "No one you need to worry about, sweetheart, go to sleep. I'm here." He lay down next to her, pulling her close. "You know, I have a question." He nodded at her to go on. "How do you always know when I'm going to be in a bad mood?"

"What do you mean?" he smiled, knowing exactly what she meant. "I mean, I have been wondering for years! Everytime I happen to be in a bad mood, you bring home a gift. It's like— it's like you can read my mind! How?! It can't be a coincidence, it has happened a lot of times for it to be a coincidence," she rambled and Ransom's heart fluttered at how innocent and adorable she looked.

"I have my ways," he teased, lightly poking her nose. "You're not gonna tell me, are you?" she pouted and he couldn't help but lean forward, pressing his lips to hers. "Nope, just so I can keep surprising you." She giggled, snuggling further into his arms until her face was pressed into his bare chest. "I love you so much, Ransom," she whispered. "I love you more, my sweet little angel."

Both of them went to sleep with giddy smiles on their faces.

Oh, and the Spotify thing? That was his little secret. Shh, don't tell anyone!

---

A/N: Leave a like if you enjoyed, thanks for reading!

[lyon-amore]

Mr and Mrs Liars Prologue Part 1

⚠️ ATTENTION ⚠️ This story will contain spoilers for chapter 10, do not read if it is not finished

(****************************************) Flashback

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*MC POV*  I was waiting in the center of the city, crowded with so many people and tourists, camouflaging myself in the crowd. I sit on a bench, waiting for Jake. We had agreed to meet here, because he would confuse anyone trying to find him.  I adjust the strap of my backpack where I have some change of clothes and enough money for a long trip. I take out my mobile reading the last conversation we had. It had been hard, but I had finally convinced him that I didn't mind giving up everything to be with him. The first person in a long time that had made me feel complete. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MC What a day today 😫 Could I have a boss less asshole? The guy keeps wanting me to write an article about Hannah... When is he going to give up? It's already been two years! My answer will continue to be no! 😡  Jake MC, I've been thinking about it. And I feel like I can't take it anymore. MC ?! What?!What do you mean?!  Jake Wanting to be with you. What did you think? MC Um… Nothing in particular 😅​ And that change of mind?  Jake I don't know. I was looking at the photo we took the last time we saw each other and how the discussion we had went. And something in me made me sick of continuing to hurt you. MC Does it mean...  Jake The problem is that I don't want you to make that sacrifice for me. I'd hate it if you did it out of obligation. This is why I wanted to know your opinion.  MC Are you kidding me?Jake, if you had said it even the first day we met in person I would have said yes!  Jake :) Then you would like to live a life of wandering, without having a place to settle forever and live dangerously with me?  MC We have become very filmy, eh? Jake You are the one to blame. You have changed me too much. All I do is lose focus because you're not by my side. MC, I want to spend my life with you.Is everything alright?  MC Sorry, I was reading it like fourteen times in my head You are adorable, you know that? 🤭 Something tells me a certain person is blushing again 😊  Jake You will be able to check it soon. Link Here I leave the exact place for us to meet. MC All right  Jake But you can't tell anyone.  MC Not even my friends? Or your sisters? You know they have helped us whenever we wanted to see each other Besides, it's better that way, in case something happens  Jake If it's what you want and you feel safe, fine.But don't say anything to your co-workers. I don't really trust them.  MC I knowI don't trust them either, many of them are scavengers Except in Lian But I'm sure she would be mad if I told her 🙄 Jake That's up to you.  MC That's why I won't say anything Surely she would give me plenty of reasons not to do it  Jake But you wouldn't listen to her.  MC No! Because I already decided it a long time ago 😉 Jake I'll try to be at 2:00 p.m. If I entertain myself, at the latest at 2:10  MC It's not too late ten minutes 😄  Jake Ten minutes is everything for me. And more than I have to meet you.MC, things are going to change in your life. I hope you know and prepared. MC Always ready! But don't be late or I'll get mad Forever! Everything will be over And I'm not kidding, just so you know it  Jake All right, I won't be long. :) See you tomorrow.I love you MC.  MC I love you too Jake See you tomorrow 💖  Jake ;) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  I check the time. Only five minutes left until 2:10 p.m. I try to relax remembering the first time I saw him. How we met in person Two years ago… **************************************** When Hannah had been rescued, they called me to testify to the police to give the explanations that they had been waiting for so long. I told them that I was very scared and that's why I didn't want to contact Alan at first, just like I told him. Our chat conversation made him not really know who I was until we met face to face, he knew whose daughter I was, then he understood. Jake got in touch with me seven days after not hearing from him. I told him about three times that I was going to kill him for worrying me. He told me that he had trouble getting back out of the mine and had to use the ladder he had entered again. When he was going up, he did it so fast that when he put his foot in the ladder, he ended up breaking it and almost killing himself on the spot. Again, I ended up angry when he told me, or rather, concerned. If he really had died down there, I would have died with him in life. At least he fixed it by telling me that he would go to Duskwood to see me… Well, not only me. He wanted to come to Duskwood to see Hannah, but he couldn't risk it with the surveillance at the hospital entrance, so, with my friends, we devised a plan. The FBI was still looking for him in Duskwood and we wanted him to be safe.

When we went to the hospital to see Hannah, we focused on seeing when they went on break and when they changed shifts, texting each time it happened. We all collaborated so Jake could see his sisters, since Lilly wanted their first meeting to be all three of them together. Lilly and I got a text from Jake in our group, asking us for all the details. We leave nothing unchecked.  At first, the encounter was... how to describe it? Quite uncomfortable. I kept looking at him the whole time as we waited outside the psych ward, so I was like, 'Am I making him uncomfortable?' I noticed I even got a quick glance from him, but he quickly looked away, blushing. He made me think of those times that I would make him blush through the cell phone. I didn't know even in person it would have been so easy. His appearance was clearly that of a rather tired grown man, pale and obviously wearing black clothes, nothing flashy to avoid drawing attention. He didn't want to be reminded if someone looked at him.    "Do you want me to leave you alone?" Lilly asked, who was between us.    “No!” We exclaimed at the same time, embarrassed by her way of saying it.    "I'm fine like this" Jake answered, distantly.     With all we had talked about and he was cold. Yeah, it bothered me a little. When they called us, I decided to wait, refusing a change after a couple of minutes. They had a lot to talk about.  I talked to the group, telling them that Jake had already gone in to see Hannah.They obviously wanted to know what Jake was like. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jessy And..

How he looks? Dan Do you look like an addict?  Cleo Dan, for God's sake! Don't go too far!  Dan To spend so many hours on a computer, something must be inserted Or not?  MC It is…Normal  Thomas What do you mean by normal? MC Normal Well…Not normal At least not for me  Jessy I get it  Cleo Me too  Dan What do you understand? It has not been explained well  Cleo Things of the heart, Dan  Thomas She wants to say that it might be normal for us, but for her, he is attractive.  MC Thomas!  Dan OH! So like Hannah and youShe is the beauty and you are the beast  Thomas Thanks for your great explanation... Dan You're welcome 😎  Cleo Do you need to be picked up?  MC No, Lilly's taking us to the motel.  Jessy The conversation is getting more and more interesting  MC It so happens that Jake and I are staying in the same motel  But of course, things don't seem to be to shoot rockets...  Thomas You haven't talked?  MC Nope Completely ignored me And after everything we've been through...  Dan If he makes you feel bad, I'll go punch him 🤛🤛  MC If that helps him speak to me  Cleo Give him time, MC You just met for the first time  Jessy Surely he is more nervous to see you than you are to him  MC Well I don't know Because I only wanted to throw me into his arms when I saw him I had to control myself so as not to scare him  Thomas I understand you The same thing happened to me when I ran into Hannah But the doctors advised me that it was better to approach little by little You will see how in the end Jake decides to take the step  MC Thank you all For real 😊 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We talked for a while until Jake and Lilly came out. Lilly was crying and I couldn't help but comfort her in a hug. I looked at Jake's eyes, who were looking at us helplessly. They were red, as if he wanted to cry. I extended my hand without separating from his sister and took his, letting him know that I was there for him. He looked down at our hands and squeezed hard. It seemed like he didn't want to let go of me. He looked at me again and moved his lips forming the word 'Thank you'. I smiled at him, although it was sad to see the two of them like this. After the three of us calmed down, Lilly took us back to the motel. I was a little sorry to leave her in that state.     "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked concerned.     "Yeah, it's just the thrill of the three of us together," she replied, with a smile, then looked at Jake. "Do you want to meet tomorrow?"     "I don't know if-"     "Of course you can." I gave Jake a look, tilting my head slightly in his sister's direction, letting him know that he shouldn't leave so soon. "I'll handle it personally.”     "Okay" she laughed and looked at us both. "See you tomorrow. "     "See you tomorrow" we reply at the same time. When she left, we stood there for a long time. How difficult it was to speak face to face after so many texts.     "Thank you," Jake finally said, meeting my eyes, "for brokering for me."     "They need you right now," I crossed my arms, lips pouting "the least you can do is leave. Not yet."    "I know." He adjusted his backpack, a little uncomfortable with the situation. "Forgive me for my attitude towards you, I know my behavior is not proper.”     "Apologies accepted, 'Mr. Darcy,'" I sort of bow like they did in 'Pride and Prejudice' and manage to get a laugh out of him.     "Too formal?"     "A little" I laugh too. The atmosphere relaxes a bit and we already seem closer. I tried to listen to Thomas and Cleo and stay calm. What I didn't want him to know was that I really wanted to meet him at last. Inside of me, a maelstrom of emotions. I was embarrassed by all those things I had written to him. Talking to him in text had been easier.     "Would you like to-"     "Would you like to-"      Surprisingly we talk at the same time. The two of us seemed to have decided to speak to each other.     "I guess we have a lot to talk about." I was glad to know that he was determined to talk to me, I was afraid that in the end he wouldn't want to talk to me. "Would you like a coffee? I'll warn you though, the vending machine coffees aren't too great."     "I think I'll handle it" I nod and start to follow him. He handed me my cup. It was hot. We sat on a bench, in silence. I tried carefully not to knock over the fiery cup.     “Does it burn a lot?” he asks me, concerned.     "No, its fine" I lie. I didn't want him to worry about just one little cup of no importance.     "Wait." He set his glass down on the bench, careful not to knock it over. He then took off his gloves and offered them to me. I blinked a little, surprised. "Come on, put them on.”     "Thank you…”I put the gloves on. They were hot. I felt my face burn, suddenly any sense of cold disappeared.     “Better?”     “Yeah…”    "It's amazing everything you've done for me to meet my sister." He looked at his cup, with a wistful smile, my heart beating fast at the sight of him. "You still fascinate me even in person.”     "I wanted you to see her, you needed to see her after everything we'd done."     "But even in this I let you do the hard work." He turned to look at me and I noticed how his eyes shine in the dim light that the streetlight shone on the parking lot. “I don't know how I'm going to be able to thank you for all you've done.”      I bit my lip. Yes there was one thing.      I swallowed and steeled myself.     "You still owe me that dinner at a Chinese restaurant" I replied, with a small smile.     "Glad you remembered" he sighed with relief, "I didn't know what excuse to make so I could stay longer so I could spend time with you too."      I felt a flutter in my stomach. My whole body felt too light, like in a cloud. I couldn't see anything else around me except him. I had even stopped drinking just to focus on Jake.     "How could I forget?" I ask him rhetorically. "I was really surprised when you asked me if I liked it."     "I was quite surprised by your dream of me too."      Oh, no... He wouldn't dare... I look at him wide-eyed and blushing. It was something I said because I felt I had to say it when he told me he was interested! I didn't think he would remember after that! If not, he'd let it go despite… Well, with everything that happened, I didn't even think he'd remember.     "Not that it's a romantic place we're in right now." His words are calm. He no longer seems like the cold Jake I'd met that morning "And we haven't met under dreamy circumstances, but I'd like to grant your wish.”   “My wish?” I let out a nervous laugh, thinking about what I think he's thinking. He gently caresses my cheek, not saying a word. His hands are warm from the coffee, the aroma makes it seem homey. He approaches me, placing a hand on my waist. I sigh, not looking away. There was no one there at the time, just the two of us. Not a single sound disturbed us. He leaned slowly towards my face and I didn't even make a single move to push him away. I wanted it. I wanted that moment. That kiss was magical. I tried not to seem clumsy, it had been years since I had kissed a boy and one that really interested me so much. I tried to stop myself from letting out small sighs, but it was impossible. I hoped I didn't sound desperate about it.  In the end we slowly parted from lack of air. If I had known, I would have practiced holding the oxygen.   "Wow…" Jake says and any melancholy or sadness in his eyes had disappeared. "You were right, it was a nice thought."     "Oh, shut up." I bury my face in his hoodie, embarrassed. I hear close to me his laugh through my ear until it is stored in my brain. I couldn't forget that nice laugh.    "Now that I have you by my side, I can tell you better." I looked up into his eyes. They were so bright. "I love you, MC. "      My lips expanded so much that I thought the next day my face would hurt. This time I kissed him. Without breaking the hug.    "I love you too, Jake." **************************************** I return to Earth and look at my phone again. 3:30 p.m.     "He may have had a computer problem…" I try to convince myself, not thinking of something worse. That he would have backed down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MC Jake, where are you? Please answer me when you see the message Part 2

[twigg96]

i’ve been sending in requests frequently, so if u don’t wanna do this that’s fine! but i was wondering how dethklok would react with a reader who they have a crush on whose super shy and soft spoken?

Hello Anon! Let me start by saying I absolutely love taking asks for HCs or for fics it makes my day every time I see one. So please never I’m unhappy to see your ask. I promise I’m ecstatic ❤️. If the subject of an ask is ever one I’d personally wouldn’t touch on I would politely tell the person asking but there really isn’t much I can think of that I wouldn’t answer.

Our boys adore shy and soft spoken people. I mean they hang around Charles all day!

Nathan is so protective of his shy partner. He loves them with all he has and is a soft teddy bear whenever the two of them are alone. He is willing to listen and give them whatever they need. If his partner needs space he gives them space. If they just want to have date night in instead of going out he is 100% down for cuddles. But he’ll be darned if anyone talks over his S/O. They deserve to be heard too. He will straight up interrupt any conversation just so his partner has a chance to speak and be heard.

Pickles has very little experience with shy and soft spoken people. So this is probably a first for the both of them. Pickles would do his best to manage his volume for his partner but he has a hard time controlling his Party Animal attitude. It doesn’t help that all his years of drumming without hearing protection has given him some serious hearing damage and he has to ask his partner to repeat things multiple times. But to be honest they both enjoy their game of telephone laughing when Pickles manages to mess up the sentence so bad that it didn’t even begin to sound like the original. His partner makes him softer. And Pickles makes them a little more confident.

Murderface is even more protective of his partner than even Nathan could be. Which is a feat in and of itself. Murderface often speaks up for his partner. Being their voice, he’s more than happy to let them sit next to him, whispering in his ear while he listens or speaks for them in groups. When their alone however, he is so soft with them. Never once raising his voice or pulling any stunts he accommodates to their comfort level. Letting them take the lead.

Skwisgaar thrives in the silence. He can think when things are silent. Having a soft spoken, shy partner is perfect for him. He loves it. He loves how his mind feels clear with them. How his creativity truly flows when their around. He makes different sounds music that means something instead of just riffs that sounded good. Skwisgaar is certainly less aggressive than either Nathan or Murderface. He’d much rather take his S/O somewhere quiet and sit alone than deal with assholes who wouldn’t listen to them anyway. He didn’t need that brand deal anyway.

Toki adores his shy partner he thinks they’re the cutest thing in the entire world! He loves to cuddle them close hiding away in the living room watching movies. He fights with Charles when he insists on making the rhythm guitarist go to meetings or even practice saying that he won’t go without his S/O. It brings them and Dethklok all extremely close. When formal events come rolling around, Dethklok is accepting of the fact that Toki and his partner may want to excuse themselves early. If a guest ever objects Toki’s partner doesn’t only have him to protect them. They have all of Dethklok standing to protect them.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Alright I’ve been hearing about Lisa Keyplas I think I spelled it wrong everywhere:

What order should I read her books or where do you think I should begin.

I’m a sucker for a good forced proximity enemies to lovers trope or miscommunication so if you have any other books with that I would love to hear

I’m the Polin anon from a few days ago

Oh cool! You’ll have a lot of fun with it. She has a big backlist and has been writing for a long time, so there’s definitely a way to approach her books, for sure.

Generally speaking, I’d recommend starting with her Wallflowers series (I did not, lol). It’s her most popular series and while it’s not her oldest, it does link with her subsequent historical series in a way that the earlier books don’t quite as much.

I highly recommend reading The Wallflowers in order, though I will say that there is a prequel called Again The Magic that basically stands alone, which I haven’t read because I’m saving it for when I Need It. I’ve heard it’s actually a good prequel to read after the series because it centers on the sisters of one of the Wallflower heroes, and you see him in his younger days.

Anyway.

1. Secrets of a Summer Night—Very classic, the hero in this is suuuuuper Kleypas (alpha, self made, daddy daddy daddy). The heroine is a beautiful aristocratic snob whose family has fallen on hard times. She refuses to be his mistress, because she wants to marry a man of her own class. This is also the book when the wallflowers meet each other and become friends and vow to help each other marry well.

2. It Happened One Autumn—This one bleeds directly from the first. Everyone is at the country estate of Marcus Marsden, Earl of Westcliff, who is the friend of book 1’s hero and made a big impression because he’s a snobby snob uptight asshole who haaaaates Lillian, an American heiress who likes to play rounders in her underwear and then he finds her and gets hard about it. It’s very classic enemies to lovers, they’re very snappy to each other, and you meet the hero of the next book, Westcliff’s friend, the sluttiest man in the land, Sebastian St. Vincent. This book famously features a scene that is definitely dubcon in which Lillian has sex with Westcliff while she is most certainly too drunk to consent. From her perspective it’s a totally enjoyable encounter but. Heads up. Later versions of this book have this scene edited out, but if you read an older paperback it will be there.

3. Devil in Winter—A genre classic, maybe the current definitive wallflower/rake romance. Sebastian St. Vincent did a bad bad thing and he is also broke because his dad spent all the family money. Luckily, Evie, the shyest wallflower, has a huge inheritance. Evie has been abused by her mother’s family for years and just wants an out, so she offers to marry Sebastian; he gets cash and she gets freedom. So they run off to Scotland, get married, fuck, and then she’s like and that’s the only time because you’re a horrible slutty person. He gets sad! Thus a sex bargain is made. So so good, one of her hotter books, and very much a challenge to what we let heroes do.

4. Scandal in Spring—Daisy is Lillian’s dreamy little sister, and the last wallflower to be unwed. She’s annoyed when her father’s protégée, Matthew Swift, comes to England. But Matthew is hot now, and he’s pined for Daisy for years. However, he has a Big Secret. A good conclusion, brings everything full circle, the rare English historical with two American leads.

Then you would read The Hathaways as your next series. That series is focused on a family of siblings that basically gets suddenly elevated by the brother unexpectedly becoming a viscount.

1. Mine Till Midnight—Hero was introduced in Devil in Winter. He’s Romani, and I will say that the depiction of Romani people in these books is dated; positive, but dated and as such it can feel fetishy. He’s a rogue, she’s the uptight oldest sister, it’s good.

2. Seduce Me at Sunrise—One of my favorites in the series, the formerly invalid sister and her childhood friend angst angst angst over his refusal to act on his feelings and FUCK HER (he’s afraid she’ll die lmao). Another Romani hero.

3. Tempt Me at Twilight—Forcedish marriage between the quirky sister and the sinister hotel owner man. He’s very alpha, very self made.

4. Married by Morning—ENEMIES TO LOVERS between the formerly SUPER MESSY viscount Hathaway brother and his sister’s governess. He’s a flirtatious rake with a tragic past, she’s a bossy independent type who’s also got a tragic past. They actually kiss for the first time in the previous book, which leads into this one.

5. Love in the Afternoon—The shy sister begins writing to a soldier when her friend stops writing to him and they fall in love through letters. But then he comes back, whoops!

After The Hathaways, you'd read The Ravenels, her most recent series (which I think....? Is done? But I'm not sure--Lisa doesn't have a release out in 2022 as far as I know). It kicks off with Devon becoming a lord and going to the family property and meeting his female cousins and the widow of the man he inherited from, who've been cut off from the world.

Cold-Hearted Rake--A virgin widow/rake romance. This one is kinda controversial amongst Kleypas fans and I actually don't know why...? It's fun and enjoyable. It also is very much linked to the next book, which is probably her most popular "recent" release.

Marrying Winterborne. Self-made DAAAADDY hero and the soft girl he's fallen for. It's straightforward but also DEEEEEEPLY hot.

Devil in Spring--Should only be read after Devil in Winter, as it's about Sebastian and Evie's oldest son. Falls for a Ravenel who he accidentally compromised. She's a BOARD GAME MAVEN.

Hello Stranger--Would not generally recommend? There was originally a passage in this that has since been edited out that did some "I SLEPT WITH A WOMAN WHO LEARNED FROM THE KAMA SUTRA" bullshit, which I hate. It's just kinda boring besides though, and only tangentially connected to the Ravenel family.

Devil's Daughter--Another Devil in Winter spinoff, about the eldest daughter of Evie and Sebastian. She's a single mother widow, and Devon Ravenel's younger brother West romances her. It's not my favorite, but it's fine.

Chasing Cassandra--Not my favorite. Ver much a standard "sweet virgin/bad man" book. But a lot of people enjoy it!

Devil in Disguise--ANOTHER DEVIL IN WINTER SPINOFF LOL I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH HOW BIG THAT BOOK IS. The heroine is the daughter of Westcliff and Lillian. She's a widow, and falls for a Scottish whiskey distiller guy--they have one hot night, and then he gETS AMNESIA AND SHE HAS TO PRETEND TO BE ENGAGED TO HIM. LIT.

Of course, there are other offshoot books, some of which I haven't read. Outside of these series, I would recommend reading:

The Bow Street Runners. A trilogy that predates the Wallflowers, I've read them in general, especially Lady Sophia's Lover (age gap romance, he's a widower, she's become his serving girl in order to seek revenge on him). This series focuses on Bow Street runners, so it's a bit less about the adventures of the upper classes.

Suddenly You--one of her few true standalones, about an author who begins an affair with a publisher after she assumes he's the sex worker she ordered to divest her of her virginity.

Dreaming of You--technically the second in a duology, though I haven't read the first and I'm okay thus far. Kleypas's other SUPER classic book, very much the dueling banjo to Devil in Winter. It's my favorite of hers. The heroine is a sheltered writer who basically asks to shadow Derek Craven, this super alpha gambling hell owner, for her next project. Derek.... immediately is obsessed with her, and feels unworthy of her and pushes her away and it's GREEEEAT. Just dramatic and angsty and intense and super passionate. Amazing heroine too.

So yeah--generally, I think Dreaming of You is her best book and you could definitely start there because it was published prior to the Wallflowers and is very, very vaguely linked to Devil in Winter... But if you want to get into a SERIES by her, I'd go Wallflowers, then Hathaways, then Ravenels.

Her biggest enemies to lovers books would be It Happened One Autumn (which is kinda close proximity, as they're all trapped on Marcus's country estate lmao) and Married By Morning. I wouldn't say Kleypas writes a ton of true ETL, but she does write a ton of alpha heroes, which leads to heroines being all *UNHAND ME SIR* frequently.

[kalinara]

So I saw an article whose title pissed me off so much that I felt like I had to write about it.

I haven’t even read the article.  The title alone fills me with such rage that I know trying to read it would probably cause an aneurysm,  So I’m basically going to react to said title, making this all your problem.  

So the title, paraphrased, was that Luke Skywalker’s actions in  Boba Fett means that he has failed three of his students.

I suppose it’s possible that the title is misleading and the article says something completely different.  But I’ve seen this sort of sentiment before and it pisses me off, so here we are.

Personally, I think Luke has failed exactly NONE of his students, especially the three that we’ve seen on screen.  And I’m going to elaborate on that.

1) Luke never failed Ben Solo.

I actually liked Luke’s plot in the Last Jedi.  I liked that he was dealing with his own shit.  I liked that he wasn’t infallible.  I liked that he goes through his own arc, and comes out stronger by the end.

I even, mostly, liked the reveal of his “failure”: specifically, that moment where, full of fear and forboding, he stands over his sleeping nephew with a lightsaber.  It’s a moment of terrible temptation, which Luke does not actually give into.  

Okay, look, was that experience traumatizing for Kylo?  Probably.  Did he have the right to be mad?  Yeah.  Would I have blamed him if he ran home to Han and Leia and told them his uncle just tried to (or at least contemplated trying to) kill him?  Probably not.

He doesn’t do that though.  He runs off and joins an organization of child-enslaving space fascists, assists them in multiple genocides, murders multiple unarmed old men, orders the massacre of villages, tortures people, and so on and so forth.

Basically he proves Luke’s fear and forboding were 100% correct, and Luke’s only real failure here was to the galaxy when he didn’t skewer the ADULT, TWENTY-THREE year old asshole in his sleep.

Kylo’s not a child.  His fall was his own fault.  Luke made a mistake (though again, was it really?) but Kylo didn’t have to dive into the dark side head first and with bells on.

2) Luke never failed Rey.

I love Rey.  She’s my favorite character in the Sequel Trilogy for a reason.  And when she came to Luke for training and he turned her down, that was heart-wrenching.

But it was absolutely within his rights to do.  Luke at that time was retired, in hiding, full of recrimination and self blame.  Rey isn’t entitled to his training just because she’s super powerful in the force.  That said, he does train her. 

And I would argue that he trains her in a very similar way that Yoda trained him.  (especially when we take the deleted scenes into account).  He’s not a comfortable or comforting teacher, by any means.  He pokes and provokes, he mocks her and tries her temper, he avoids easy answers.

I’d argue though that he’s exactly the kind of teacher Rey needed at this moment. 

Rey is new, green, and incredibly powerful.  Things come very easy to her.  She needs to be challenged before her arrogance puts her in serious danger.  (Unfortunately, the forced mind-link with Kylo pushes Rey into that situation before anyone is ready.  She is arrogant enough to think she can reproduce Luke’s greatest triumph without understanding why, and it slaps her in the face.)

When they meet again, after Rey’s had more than one horrible and humbling experience, Luke is a lot gentler and more supportive.  He’s a force ghost now, but as we’ve seen from Yoda, being a force ghost doesn’t make you less of an asshole troll.  Luke changed his approach because Rey needs something else now, and he gives it to her.

Rey survives to be the first new Jedi.  She survives to be a Skywalker.  That’s because of both Luke and Leia.

3) Luke ESPECIALLY did not fail Grogu.

This is the big one, of course.  But Luke never fucking failed Grogu and I will stand by that.

Look, I’ve said before that I thought there were enough odd aspects of Luke and Grogu’s interaction that I think something else is going on.  I don’t think Grogu’s choice was as straightforward as it was presented, and Luke (asshole troll of a mentor that we know he can be) might well have something else in mind.

But let’s say he doesn’t  Let’s say he means exactly what he says and Grogu really does have to choose between a life with his father and a life as a Jedi.

That’s still not an example of Luke failing Grogu.

If anything, it’s an example of Luke avoiding the mistakes of the old Jedi Order.  Because Grogu, at this stage of life, is a LOT like Anakin Skywalker.

He’s very young, for his species.  He’s very powerful.  He’s very traumatized.  He’s got a parent that he’s very attached to, one who might not be his birth parent but has still provided him with the first sense of safety and support that he’s had in decades.  

I don’t blame the Jedi for Anakin’s fall, at all, that was Anakin’s decision.  But let’s be honest here.  They were RIGHT when they told him no, initially.  Anakin is powerful, he’s brilliant, he’s incredibly talented, but he has never been emotionally suited for membership in the Jedi Order, and a life under their restrictions. 

Qui Gon Jinn was wrong.  He was deluded by the false lures of “prophecy” and “midichlorian levels.”  He was drawn in by Anakin’s power and destiny and decided that this was best accomplished by bringing this very attached, very traumatized child into the Jedi Order against everyone else’s better judgment.

Qui Gon Jinn was a good man, but his failing was pride.  And even granted that he was right, Anakin DID eventually “bring balance to the galaxy”, it was only after he helped make the imbalance like a million times worse.  The galaxy became a worse place for quite some time because of Anakin Skywalker, and they’re still feeling the effects.

Now, is Grogu quite so bad off?  It’s hard to say.  He’s younger than Anakin, maturity speaking.  We don’t know about his species’ biology, so it’s possible that the romantic/marriage restrictions wouldn’t be an issue.  (If indeed Luke wants to keep those in place.)

We do know that there were a couple of times when Grogu was alarmed enough to flirt with the dark side.  When he choked Cara for example.  Or when he thought that the robot was going to kill him in the Prisoner.  Obviously Din saved him first, but look at that gesture and the look on the baby’s face and tell me that he wasn’t TRYING for force lightning in that moment.

So, maybe it really isn’t a great idea to separate a traumatized child from a devoted, loving and protective parent.  At least not until you’re sure said child’s had a chance to recover from his horrible experience.

And the thing is, for the entirety of the Mandalorian, no one actually asks Grogu what he wants.  Din is tasked with returning Grogu with his people.  He sincerely believes that’s what’s best for the baby, and until meeting Ahsoka, he really doesn’t have a way to communicate clearly with the baby at all.  But I remember that Grogu seemed a little hesitant to send out the signal when he has the chance.  And while he does go off with Luke willingly at the end of the season, it is completely understandable that he might have changed his mind.

So Luke finally sits the poor kid down and asks him what he wants: does he want to stay here?  Or does he want to go home to his parent?  And Grogu finally gets to make his own choice.

How is that an example of Luke “failing” Grogu?

(I mean, okay, the dude COULD have brought Grogu to Tatooine himself instead of sending him with chaos robot 1.0, but I feel like that is probably not the gist of the article’s complaint.)

So anyway, Luke did not fail any of his students.  He made mistakes, sure.  But their choices are theirs.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 305: Worst Intervention Ever

Previously on BnHA: Shinomori, whose name took me an entire week to memorize, was all, “nice to meet you Deku, I’m ten feet tall, do you want to know how I died?” and without waiting for an answer explained that he kicked it from old age at forty thanks to good ol’ OFA. Deku was all “wait a minute, then how come All Might, who’s fifty-five and is definitely dyeing his gray hair, is still alive?” First and Shino were all, “we really have no fucking clue but we think it’s cuz he’s quirkless, JUST LIKE YOU!” So basically, since quirkless people don’t exactly grow on trees these days, Deku is probably going to be the last user of OFA. The chapter ended with Nana being all, “psst, Deku, about my grandson. Uh, can you kill him?” which is sure to lead to a very interesting conversation this week.

Today on BnHA: Nana And The Gang are all “so, Deku, how can we put this delicately. The thing is, we’re pretty sure that AFO really fucked my grandson up, so on the off chance you can’t save him, how would you feel about, you know... [throat slitting gesture].” Deku is all “idk you guys, I kinda feel like he’s really just a traumatized child at heart and he’s in a lot of pain and stuff and so I should try to help him.” The Vestiges are all “BUT WHAT IF YOU CAN’T” and Deku is all “BUT I WANT TO TRY, DAMMIT” and the Vestiges are all “well when you put it that way, we, uh, were just testing you, so congrats, you passed!” The chapter ends with First being all, “ANYWAY SO WHY DON’T YOU TWO SHY BOYS STANDING OVER THERE IN THE SHADOWS COME SAY HELLO” before we CUT AWAY FOR ANOTHER WEEK, goddammit.

seriously, Nana

just... have you met Deku?? look, if you really want Tomura dead, just sic him on the U.A. first years and tell Shouto and Honenuki that it’s a training exercise

oh my god lmao

we’re too far away to see Nana’s face here so I will just assume that she turned and is staring DIRECTLY INTO THE CAMERA for this one line lmao. “I just wanted to clarify in case anyone felt inclined to take my dialogue out of context and spend an entire week complaining about it”

oh my god?! are you all purposely trying to make me sad??

someone stop me before I launch into an impromptu rant about all my Tomura feels. WHY IS NOBODY STOPPING ME. oh my god but yes, exactly. he’s just in pain all the time. this is exactly why I think Tomura has such high redemption potential even though so far he seems to lack so many of the redemption arc essentials such as feeling remorse, wanting to change, and taking responsibility for his actions. the reason why I’m willing to overlook all that in his case is because Tomura has essentially had zero agency his entire life. AFO molded him into a killer by making sure he was in constant mental agony, and making it so that the only thing that even slightly relieved that agony was killing peeps. like, please don’t think I’m making excuses for him or anything, but if you take a child and manipulate their existence to make it virtually impossible for that child to grow up as anything other than a killer, and basically never give him the chance to be anything else, then no shit he’s gonna be a killer?? he’s basically never had the choice not to be. it’s never been an option for him. anyways I feel like I am EXPLAINING MYSELF SO BADLY but nonetheless I am prepared to die on this hill

anyway so now Nana is all “that’s a rhetorical question btw because Our Hearts And Minds Are One so we can feel everything you feel bro.” so yeah, that’s interesting

now Banjou is getting started on the “let’s try and talk Deku out of wanting to save Tomura because it’s insane” part of their OFA Mystical Space Void Reunion agenda

look, Banjou, I feel you, I really do. you guys don’t think it’s realistic that Deku can defeat Tomura without killing him. so if it’s a choice between killing Tomura vs letting Deku and everyone else in the entire world die, then duh, you think Deku should kill him. I get it! and if this were a real life mass murderer I’d totally agree with you. but the problem is that this isn’t real life, this is a sympathetic shounen villain with a tragic past who might as well have FUTURE REDEMPTION ARC RECEIPIENT stamped on his forehead at this point

so First is all “look, there’s absolutely no doubt my brother has fucked this kid up good and proper by now���, which, again, fair

though, that’s kind of exactly my point though. everything that Tomura is, everything he’s done, he’s done because of AFO. AFO has so effectively shaped his personality and his worldview by this point that it’s all but impossible to penetrate that. he’s AFO’s puppet. but the problem is that rather than treating him like a victim, you all are treating him like a casualty. like he’s already a lost cause. but good luck trying to convince Deku of that

WHOA WHAT, RANDOM SUPER-IMPORTANT AND BIZARRELY UNRELATED EXPOSITION DROPPED IN JUST LIKE THAT??

way to still not reveal Sixth’s name, btw. THE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, DAMMIT. but also so this confirms something we basically already knew already, which is that not even AFO can steal OFA. it literally can’t be taken away by anyone unless the owner wills it. SO SUCK ON THAT AFO YOU EGG

(ETA: so I have no idea why this was omitted from this translation, but apparently the Sixth’s name was revealed as “En”, which is obviously not his full name but at least it’s something. also he most likely has a fire or smoke-related quirk based on the kanji used, 煙.)

so Banjou is saying that Deku’s “lack of an iron will” could be a disadvantage against AFO. hahaha what?? Midoriya “I’ll break all of my bones without blinking an eye just to protect someone” Izuku lacks an iron will? do tell

he says this is going to be a test of Deku’s determination. well yeah, no shit. but just not in the way you guys think

OH HELLO AGAIN

darker hair again here! but I don’t trust the contrast in these scans at all after last week. his coveralls are way darker than they looked before too, and you can clearly see he’s standing in the shadows now

(ETA: yep, once again the raw shows that his hair is considerably lighter than what’s shown in these scans here. although there’s no mistaking now that his hair is consistently being colored in this slightly darker shade, and it’s not just the lighting.)

anyways lol First was saying something about how AFO can’t steal OFA, and they’ve spent all this time cultivating it as the ultimate weapon against AFO, and blah blah blah. go on then, keep lecturing

NANA GODDAMMIT NONE OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT

girl what?? you did everything in your power to protect your family, and AFO, fucked up man that he is, targeted them anyway. there is one person and one person only to blame for what’s happened to Tomura, and that potato-faced asshole needs a good kick in the balls

NANA GODDAMMIT DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE

SO HELP ME GOD!! I WILL GIVE YOU THE BIGGEST HUG YOU’VE EVER HAD!! THAT IS A THREAT

so now Nana is all “I’m just going to call my grandson a Thing to ensure that fandom has only the freshest, grass-fed no-hormones-added discourse this week”

I don’t even need to drop into the tags to know exactly which specific people are going to respond to this, and what kind of posts they are going to write lmao. everyone’s all caught up in the “that thing”, and meanwhile I’m over here completely hung up on this “nay” that’s appeared out of NOWHERE you guys. look at that. she really said “NAY”

Nana, my love, my dearest, I feel you girl I really do. but he’s not an unforgivable manifestation of pure evil, Deku is exactly right actually, he’s a boy in pain. you guys need to stop questioning Deku’s shounen protagonist instincts here and just let him work his sparkly magic. “let’s try and convince Midoriya Fucking Izuku that he can’t save someone” is a plan that is NEVER going to turn out well you guys

“DEKU GODDAMMIT WHAT IF WE CAN’T SAVE HIM” lmao it’s like an intervention

“DAMMIT DEKU JUST ADMIT YOU HAVE A SAVING PEOPLE PROBLEM!”

RED ALERT IT’S ANOTHER CLOSE-UP OF THE BACK OF MISTER TWO BON CLAY’S HEAD OMG

(ETA: I was too distracted with freaking out about Two and Three to really appreciate how ridiculously handsome First looks in this panel. but on my second readthrough it stood out so much that I had to go back and add an extra bullet point just to talk about how hot he is. look at him. wtf.)

THAT IS DEFINITELY AN UNDERCUT. THE PLOT THICKENSSSS. also those are fucking exhaust vents on Mister Three’s neck. MISTER THREE COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE RELATED TO THE IIDAS, PLEASE TELL ME YOUR SECRETS I’M DYING OVER HERE

so now Deku is launching into what will undoubtedly be a “saving people problems require SAVING PEOPLE SOLUTIONS” heroic counter-speech!

I mean, they can already feel the “lol nah I’m gonna try and save him” feelings running through him lol. ~OuR hEaRtS aNd MiNdS aRe CoNnEcTeD~ and all that. this is just a formality, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love a good shounen protag speech

oh wait hold up, do you mean to tell me that the whole “hearts and minds are connected” thing I was just mocking just a paragraph ago actually allowed Deku to feel what Tomura was feeling?? like literally feel it??

YET AGAIN these Tomura feels are pounding on my front door you guys?? they just will not quit?? people my house is already full of feels, does it look like I need you to sell me any more of them?? -- what do you mean, they’re free??

AW YISS THAT’S IT DEKU. THAT’S SOME GOOD SPEECH RIGHT THERE

I appreciate the contrast here between the Douchebag Triumvirate of Overhaul, Muscular, and Stain versus the Misguided Twosome of Gentle and La Brava. never let it be said that Deku doesn’t know the difference between a redeemable villain and an unredeemable one

OH NO -- OH MY GOD

someone please help me I need directions to the OFA Spooky Galactic Nebula Realm in this fictional Japanese manga land. it’s not on google maps. I need to give these two babies a big hug and wrap them up in a blanket and treat them to some McDonalds Happy Meals please help

other things: (1) ENDEAVOR CHILLING OUT IN DEKU’S “PEOPLE I HOLD DEAR” PANEL LMAO NEON DISCOURSE EXTRAVAGANZA, (2) “ONE FOR ALL IS A POWER TO SAVE, NOT TO KILL” I’M ABOUT TO CRY DEKU I LOVE YOU SO MUCH HOW IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO FEEL ALL THIS LOVE, (3) [SLAMS HANDS ON TABLE] THERE’S YOUR MOTHERFUCKING IRON WILL!!!!!!!! -- I’m sorry, please don’t call security, I’ll be good

I just randomly remembered that Deku is still saying all of this in his muffled “FMMPHHMMPHMM” voice and I’m somehow cracking up lol. so actually it’s a very good thing Their Hearts And Minds Are Connected, otherwise they’d no doubt be all, “...what?”

(ETA: so I completely missed this on account of it literally not being visible in the scan at all, but in the raw you can clearly see Baby Kacchan and Baby Shouto fanboying over All Might in two of these panels, and excuse me, ma’am??

thank you very much Deku for including them in your montage, particularly since you’ve never seen Baby Shouto before lol. amazingly accurate image you managed to conjure up, all things considered.)

SDKFJLSKHG -- AS IF ON CUE???

HE’S SO ADORABLE HELP?? Trippy Space All Might looks like he’s about to cry, and First is all “don’t crack a smile... you have to be Firm and Serious here... dammit, don’t smile” omg

anyways! YOU GO DEKU. “MY QUIRK MY RULES, BITCHES” damn, son

KLJLKKHLG TRIPPY SPACE ALL MIGHT LITERALLY ACTUALLY IS CRYING ALL MIGHT HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

“I JUST... [CLENCHES FIST] REALLY LOVE SAVING PEOPLE” FUCKING HELL LMAO THIS IS THE WORST INTERVENTION OF ALL TIME

Deku is literally all “sure, maybe I’ll have to kill him, but have you guys also considered, MAYBE NOT??” it’s no use Nana he’s too powerful

LMAO FIRST

“like I’ve been saying this whole time, you should definitely try saving Shigaraki Tomura.” “but, uh... First, didn’t you just -- ” “shut up”

(ETA: clearly it’s not just his brother who inherited those smooth-talking genes.)

so now Deku has turned back into a sixteen year old and his clothes have gone missing again. just OFA things

dskljdlsklgk

yes... sure... “testing” you...

HEY

FIRST OF ALL, DAMN YOU HORIKOSHI YOU MADE NANA CRY. even if I’m pretty sure they’re actually tears of happiness/relief. and SECOND OF ALL, “TELL MY BOYFRIEND I SAID HI” DJSKDLKJJL ANYWAY MAYBE GRAN, NANA, AND MR. SHIMURA WERE IN A THROUPLE

[SCREAMS]

WHY WOULD YOU END IT THERE?? WHY WOULD YOU END IT THERE!!!!!

(ETA: and two-to-one odds that we cut away to some other scene once they finally start to turn around next week. I’M CALLING IT NOW. giving myself a week to brace myself for the rage.)

fucking hell. well if anyone needs me I will be adding Horikoshi fucking Kouhei to the list of irredeemable villains, peace