#I’m 99% sure other people have said this but I love this idea

[hauntingyourself]

In which, at some point between his brother’s death and the first book, kaz actually had somehow become a demon or something not-quite-human

[sev-on-kamino]

Absence//Fonder Pt. 2

Summary: The boys surprise you with a trip to your home world and a vocabulary lesson.

Pairing: The Bad Batch x medic fem!reader (pronouns she/her, no physical descriptions, no y/n, pet names)

Warnings: Crosshair, angst (not much I swear!), fluff so sweet you’ll need your dentist, sweet kisses ( the smut happens in chapter 3 😏) but MINORS DNI

Written while listening to “Tell Her You Love Her” by Echosmith

Series playlist can be found here!

Part 1 Part 3

Word count: 3132

Crosshair had been called many things in his life. Talented, cocky, aloof to name a few. No one had ever called him a coward though. It was in his very nature to look at the impossible and find a way.

The odds didn’t matter.

He and his brothers had faced forces that would have given much larger squads pause, and they’d never hesitated. Never felt like they couldn’t get the job done.

Yet there he was, stomach twisted into knots, muscles in his legs twitching with the desire to bolt, afraid. Not afraid of a battalion of clankers, rollies, and spiders.

No. He was afraid of a nat born medic, who clutched Wrecker’s arm like a lifeline during turbulence. A medic who could sew up her own wounded leg without batting an eye, but would discharge her blaster at the sight of an insect. A medic who was the epitome of soft, yet had the power to crush him in the palm of her hand.

He’d never told anyone he cared for them, nor had he asked anyone what they felt for him. Quite frankly he didn’t give a fuck. The fleeting attentions of strangers, whose names he would forget immediately, had been more than enough to scratch the well-concealed itch for a semblance of connection.

Now, you were ruining him without even trying. Punching a hole straight through his carefully crafted armor. Making him weak.

And in a few moments, depending on your reaction, you could break all five of them. Clone Force 99 could be brought to its knees by you in a single instant.

He watched his brothers as they led you towards the location Tech had chosen. Excitement radiated off of you like a sun’s rays. He would never admit it, but he was dying to be wrong this time. He wanted to believe that you could love them. That you could love him.

Blindfolded, you were unable to see the looks of hope and affection etched onto their shared features. You were simply excited for another adventure with them. Hunter’s hands rested securely on your shoulders with your hands over them.

The sergeant had woken you up upon landing with a bandana in hand.

“We’ve got a surprise for you,” he said, as you got dressed.

“Really?” you asked, mind racing as you tried to imagine what it was. It wasn’t your birthday, their decant day, or any other holiday. Not that it mattered. The fact that the five of them had formed a plan to surprise you damn near made your brain short circuit. That showed a level of care and consideration you had rarely even received from people you were seriously dating.

“Yep, gotta make sure you don’t peek though,” he said waving the bandana.

You resisted the urge to make a filthy joke about being tied up for them and instead turned so Hunter could tie the bandana on. The world went dark, and you took a nervous breath until you felt Hunter’s hands on your shoulders, and you relaxed. He would never let anything happen to you.

“Where’s my bucket?” You asked, suddenly feeling naked without it.

“You won’t need it here,” Hunter said, steering you towards the door.

“Is this some kind of initiation thing?” you asked, breaking the silence. “Testing my bravery to prove I’m one of you?”

Wrecker snorted, “That’s a pretty good idea! We could dangle you over a cliff by your ankle?”

“If I don’t scream, I’m in?” You asked with a giggle.

“Grow up, you two,” Crosshair said, and you swore you could hear him rolling his eyes.

“…yes.” Wrecker whispered in answer to your question, setting off more giggles.

“We’ve got a little hike coming up, so one of us will carry you,” Hunter said, as you all came to a stop.

Even blindfolded you knew where all of them were by their steps. You reached for Wrecker, but Hunter caught your hand.

“Wrecker’s got his hands full,” Hunter said, and you could hear a smile in his voice. It made your stomach flip with excitement.

“Ooooh, the plot thickens.” You stepped forward and instead found Tech’s shoulders, wrapping your arms around him. You made a soft noise of surprise, as he grabbed your thighs, and hoisted you off the ground easily.

“Are you comfortable?” Tech asked.

“Yes, sir,” you reply, face pressed against the side of Tech’s helmet.

You hum softly, listening to the sound of your squads’ steps, mind conjuring all sorts of fantastic scenarios for what they could have planned.

It was quiet and warm, and you could hear their boots crunching over dry ground, so you knew you weren’t on Kamino. You had been sleeping for the majority of the trip, and blindfolded before stepping off of the ship, so you couldn’t use the stars for clues.

You hummed softly as the trek continued, occasionally grinning when Wrecker would chuckle at some joke from Echo you couldn’t quite make out. You were close to beginning a round of “Are we there yet?” when Tech stopped, and slowly released his grip on your thighs.

“We have arrived at our intended destination,” he said, as you got your feet under yourself after several minutes of being carried.

Hunter removed the bandana, and you looked around. A small city twinkled in the valley below your position atop a massive hill. You looked to the rich blue night sky above, and connected the stars. Your brow furrowed a moment before the realization hit you. You were home…well, your home world. Home was the Marauder now. A lump formed in your throat, and tears pooled in your eyes.

“You brought me home?” You asked, turning to face them, smiling even as the tears poured down your face.

“We missed you, and we thought this would be a good welcome home surprise,” Echo said.

“It was Hunter’s idea,” Tech supplied.

“Oh, Hunter, this is perfect!” You wrapped your arms around his waist and rested your head against his chest. “Thank you.”

Hunter held you close a moment, before releasing you slowly to smile down at you.

“This is a pretty special spot, you know?” You asked tucking your arms behind your back and rising up on the balls of your feet.

“Yes, I selected it for that very reason. The local population has designated this as a place to share important news with loved ones,” Tech said, clearly proud of himself.

“Right as always, Tech,” you beamed at him. “Planning to share some news?”

“Actually we thought today might be a nice day to teach you some Mando’a, so you know what we’re saying to you,” Hunter said nodding towards Wrecker, who took a deep breath and stepped up to take your hands.

“Finally!” You cheered, buzzing with excitement.

A bright smile lit up your features as you looked up at him. He smiled warmly, eyes roaming your face. You’d only been gone a couple of weeks, but Wrecker had missed you fiercely every moment.

“Well, we call you ‘mesh’la’ cause it means beautiful. Easy to see why. You are beautiful inside and out,” Wrecker said before taking you gently by your arms and pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

Your heart jumped and your breath hitched. You cleared your throat and said, “I knew I liked that one.”

He smiled warmly, and stepped to the side, gently guiding you to Echo, who took one of your hands next. He rested his scomplink against your waist, and you held his bicep, as you beamed expectantly at him.

“We call you ‘saraad’ because it means flower. You make every place you’re in brighter, more alive.” Echo kissed your forehead, and you felt anticipation buzzing in your chest. Your heart beat faster than before, as Tech took his place before you could even react.

“Senaar’ika means little bird. You are always eager to take flight whether you are ready or not. Brave, reckless to be certain, but brave nonetheless,” straight to the point as ever, Tech pressed a kiss to your cheek.

You released a shuddering breath, your face warming up under their gentle affections. Am I dreaming? You thought, now scared to move or speak for fear of breaking the spell they were weaving around you.

Hunter hesitated only a moment before resting a hand on your waist, as the other cupped your cheek, his thumb rubbing soothingly over your cheekbone. Your eyes met his, as you placed your hands on his chest and held your breath.

“‘Cyare’ is one you’ve heard more and more lately. The closest word in basic is beloved,” Hunter said, and you knew he’d heard your heart skip a beat before racing away.

“You’re special to us, and we want to keep you close…closer,” Hunter took a deep breath, his warm brown eyes held yours. “We’ve fallen for you, and we hope that’s ok. Nothing has to change if you don’t want it to.”

“You’ve fallen for me? I-, I…I can’t even…” you stammered, simultaneously thrilled and confused. You took a deep breath, lifting one hand to rest over his against your face, the other sliding up to caress his face.

“Is it ok, if I kiss you now?” He asked. You nodded immediately.

He smiled and leaned down to press his lips to yours. You didn’t wake up. His arm wrapped around your waist, and you knew it was real. He pulled back and pressed his forehead to yours.

“Been wanting to do that for awhile now,” he confessed.

“That makes two of us…or maybe 6 of us,” you said with a nervous laugh.

You’d thought of no less than a dozen different scenarios when Hunter had blindfolded you, but you never imagined this could be a possibility. Not even in your wildest dreams did you allow yourself to believe that the 5 amazing men standing before you could care for you the way you cared for them.

There’s a relieved sigh from behind Hunter, and you leaned around him to see Crosshair properly. His eyes were taking you in much like he had upon your return. Drinking you in while he figured out what to say. You looked up at Hunter, and he nodded, stepping back to give you a path to Crosshair. Taking a deep breath, you make your way towards the sniper.

For the first time since you met him, you reached for Crosshair, taking hold of him with confidence. Your eyes met his, a light smile playing on your lips.

“Any special words you wanna teach me, Crosshair?” You asked, hoping your voice was steady.

“You already know my favorite word for you. The one that’s been going through my mind since you left,” Crosshair said quietly, bringing his lips within an inch of yours.

“And what word would that be?” you asked, moving closer to let your lips brush his.

“Mine,” he said before closing the distance between you, kissing you with relief. The first kiss had been almost hesistant, as a part of him was sure he was stealing affection that wasn’t meant for him. But it was meant for him. You wanted him…all of them. You weren’t running away or pulling back. You were in his arms, holding him close like he belonged to you.

Wrecker cleared his throat noisily, and Crosshair broke the kiss to give him a look.

“Just for that, you can go last,” Crosshair sneered, guiding you towards Tech, who pulled you close and let his arms settle comfortably around your waist. Just like before your arms rested over his shoulders, this time your fingers carded gently through his hair.

“I hope that you will be willing to answer a few questions for me, senaar’ika. I have been compiling data for quite some time, and despite today’s success, I still have some theories to test in order to draw definitive conclusions.”

“I’ll indulge your experiments, if you’ll indulge mine,” you said with a mysterious little smile.

“Well, of course, I am more than happy to assist in the pursuit of knowledge,” Tech replied. Happy with your response he leaned in to brush his lips softly over yours. You whined, wanting more, and he pressed closer, letting you feel his need for you. Tech’s kiss was just like him, a curious exploration that left you giddy.

He pulled back, and opened his mouth to say more, but Wrecker cut him off, “Maker, Tech, you can talk her ear off later. We’ve still got another thing to give her!”

“Despite the rudeness of his delivery, Wrecker is correct. We do have another surprise for you,” Tech said, releasing you slowly, as Echo moved close to pull you into his arms.

“I almost slipped up and kissed you last night, so I may need to make up for that,” Echo said, before kissing you slow and deep. You were so sure your heart was actually going to break its way out of your ribcage if they kept going at this rate.

“Stars, Echo, I can think of a few more things for you to make up,” you said breathlessly, as he pulled back with a grin.

“Finally!” Wrecker said, spinning you around and scooping you up into his arms to press the softest kiss of all to your lips. He handled you with such care and affection, you couldn’t help but sigh happily against his lips.

“Kriff me, if I’d known this would happen, I’d have left sooner,” you said with a laugh, as Wrecker set you back down on your feet.

“Well, no more running off to help Cody because we missed you too much,” Wrecker said, caressing your face gently.

“I promise I won’t be doing that again for quite some time,” you confessed.

“Good, because Cross here, was worse than usual,” Hunter teased.

Crosshair scowled and folded his arms. “Just tell her the next surprise.”

“You belong with us no matter what, so Crosshair gave your helmet a little update,” Echo said from just beyond Wrecker, where Hunter and Tech had set up a fire, and a tent. You suspected that’s what had kept Wrecker’s hands full.

Echo straightened up and passed you your bucket. You looked down at it, and a smile slowly spread across your face. A tiny skull and a 99 now adorned your helmet like a kiss on the cheek.

“Cross, you did this for me?” You asked, turning to the sniper. It was difficult to tell in the low light, you could have sworn he was blushing.

“We thought you might like it,” Hunter said.

“I love it.”

***

The six of you gathered around a happily crackling fire, as you finally answered all of their questions about your time away. Crosshair watched you with rapt attention, appreciating all of your little quirks, as you discussed the missions you’d participated in, including the one that had resulted in your injury.

“Still pissed you got shot. Not surprised though. That always happens with regs,” Wrecker said, tightening his hold on your waist, as he held you to his side.

“Hey!” Echo said, leaning around you and gesturing to himself. “I’d never let her get shot.”

“You know I don’t mean you, Echo,” Wrecker said dismissively.

“It’s just a scratch, boys,” you laughed. “There’s barely even a scar.”

“We sent you to Commander Cody with no scratches, and we expected you to come back in the same condition,” Crosshair said gesturing at you with a toothpick.

“Though I would have chosen a less objectifying way to phrase it, I agree with Crosshair,” Tech said, looking up from his datapad. “I would have thought you would be in excellent hands with our Marshal Commander, and not in a position to take damage from a sniper.”

“Awwww, did Cody let your favorite toy get all scuffed? You want a new one?” You asked with a teasing lilt to your voice.

Crosshair shook his head slowly. Tech looked offended at the suggestion.

“And have to break in another one?” Hunter interjected. “No way. You’re stuck with us now.”

“Oh no,” you gasped in mock anguish. “Whatever shall I do? Stuck with my favorite people in the galaxy. Torture.”

You draped yourself dramatically over Wrecker’s legs, much to his amusement. His hearty laughter rumbled out of his chest, as he pulled you close to his chest, so you were sitting in his lap.

“Your favorite people? In the whole galaxy?” He asked, his mismatched eyes full of hope as they focused on yours.

“Absolutely. You have been for awhile,” you confessed. “I hated being away from all of you.” You looked around the fire at each of them before bringing your focus back to Wrecker. “I mean it. I don’t wanna do that again for a good long while.”

Satisfied, Wrecker cupped your face and brought his lips to yours again. Your eyes fluttered closed, and you felt yourself relax against him. His lips moved over yours with a gentle confidence that made you hum low in your throat, and press closer to him.

You broke the kiss, as a yawn forced its way out of you. You were still absolutely exhausted. The thrill of their confession had given you the sweetest sugar high, and you were crashing.

“You require rest,” Tech said, “I will take first watch.”

“I’ll take it,” Crosshair said, shooting a glance at Hunter, who had covered him the night before. He’d gotten you all to himself for several hours, and he knew the others were itching to snuggle with you. He was too relieved to be selfish. For now.

You stood up and stretched, reaching for the sky you’d grown up under before wandering over to Crosshair and kneeling down to press a soft kiss to his lips.

“Come snuggle with me soon,” you whispered.

He nodded, as he watched you rise and make your way into the tent.

“We’ll keep you company, Cross,” Wrecker said with a grin, as Tech and Echo followed you into the tent, and Hunter relaxed on his back to look up at the stars.

“Oh goody,” the sniper replied with a halfhearted roll of his eyes.

***

You’d worried it would be awkward, but going to sleep between Tech and Echo felt as natural as breathing. Echo spooned up behind you, your face against Tech’s chest. The three of you chatted quietly for a little while, while their hands moved over your body absently.

You began to drift in and out of consciousness, despite your desire to stay awake and enjoy their presence.

“Sleep, saraad,” Echo commanded gently. “We’ll all be here in the morning.”

“Promise?” You asked sleepily, as you nuzzled against Tech.

“Promise,” He said, wrapping his arm around your waist.

Warm and safe, you left yourself drift away.

tagging: @secondaryrealm @dystopicjumpsuit @iamburdened @sunshinesdaydream @mythical-illustrator @the1sunshine1girl @stardusthuntress @thebahdbitch @wings-and-beskar @arctrooper69 @golden-nyx-ghost @iloveallmenandwomen @rexxdjarin @sleepingsun501 @starrylothcat @ladyzirkonia @pb-jellybeans @clio3kantarella @staycalmandhugaclone @ceraryn09 @skellymom @808tsuika

[klmp11s]

Hi! I’m the guy who did the cater request. I was wondering if you could do Idia with a male reader who looks like the most normal guy ever, but he’s a bigger nerd and weeb than Idia is? That’s all, hope you have a great day!

HAHA while I was writing this I read several articles to accurately write this 🤗(English is not my first language, sorry for any mistakes)

Summary An idea with a reader who, at first glance, doesn’t look at all like who he is Character: Idia Shroud Warning: bigger nerd male!reader, ooc(?), hcs, romantic

Idia Shroud

You met him after you were assigned to Ignyhide (Ortho was definitely involved)

But he couldn’t fully understand why such a normie like you was enrolled in his dorm

Like, have you seen yourself? An absolutely normal, ordinary person like everyone else. Yes, your appearance is pleasant, but then why weren’t you ahead, for example in Pomefiore?

And most likely Ortho influenced his brother and ultimately introduced you to him. Okay, so what next? He's not a fan of talking to other people, you know? Moreover, he thought that you were completely different from him and had completely ordinary tastes, what should he talk to you about if it is necessary?

Once again, after walking around campus with you, Ortho told Idia about you. At one point, the boy looks at Idia’s monitor and says something like: “Oh, you watch this anime too? He told me about this today! He even showed photos of his collection of stuff with characters!”

After that, Orto definitely started talking about you more often and even suggested that his brother also talk to you about something that you both liked.

I think at the moment if Ortho told Idia that you also madly love video games, he could have casually said that he wouldn’t mind playing with you once.

Okay, Ortho FLYED OUT to tell you about this. You're happy, aren't you? He tried so many times to make you friends with his brother and finally he succeeds!

Idia definitely didn't expect that you could beat him several rounds in a row. Okay, are you even human??? He's been playing this game since its release! How do you manage to defeat HIM?

Voice chat? Yes, VOICE CHAT

You are simply saying that you also started playing this game as soon as it came out and you could also win it in other games. Okay, do you want to argue with him?

During one of the games, you just start telling him about a new anime that came out the other day and he doesn’t notice how he’s really listening to what you’re saying. Okay, he could watch it later.

Now from now on you write to him like?? Almost every day?? Except for the time when you are in class.

Voice messages about a new game/movie/manga/anime, etc.? Oh yes, but he's definitely sure that he didn't sign up for this, but for some reason he listens to all your messages

Now you write to each other about something that caught your attention and at some point he wonders how he could think that you are a normie. ARE YOU LITERALLY WORSE THAN HIM??? He is absolutely sure that there were times when you stayed awake longer than him and he woke up from your 99+ messages about some new game that should be played as a couple.

His room is now your room with him, just like your room is now your room with him, you know? He’s really lucky that your room is close to his and the chance of meeting other people is much less, convenient, right?

He is even sure that he knows the plot of films and TV series that he has not even watched. Do you really talk that much? (he talks almost as much as you)

The two of you can just spend time in silence in one of your rooms with him when you suddenly sit down and start telling him about the new manga you read

He is literally at this moment: 🧍 You two sat for 10 hours in silence and now you just start talking about a completely random thing? Okay, he might be interested in this.

WHAT IF YOU ARE A COSPLAYER? Well he's INTERESTED Do you show off your collection of costumes and some of your looks and even invite him to cosplay as an anime couple? He died

You started dating him during one of your play dates. It's literally like, "hm? Yes, I wouldn't mind dating you." "..What?" AND HE LEAVES THE VOICE CHAT? Okay, now he will write to you soon only if you are offline. Better yet, forget it, okay?

On the one hand, he is definitely not happy to see that you have come to his room, but on the other hand, he really needs to discuss this with you. Or maybe it’s still not necessary?

You could have told him at first that you were unhappy, because he left the game at the moment and you had to fight alone against other teams, but now everything is fine. After you tell him that you also have feelings for him, he will definitely not believe you at first.

Do you think this is funny? He will now kick you out of his room and unfriend you in games.

Now you need to prove that you really like him, you know? (Five minutes and he will understand that you are serious)

Seeing you in public a couple of times, he is as surprised as possible, because you are completely different alone with him.

Now he understands why he thought of you as a completely ordinary guy

You 100% play the gacha with him over a video call and YOU ARE LITERALLY ALWAYS LUCKY?? WHY?

Now you play gacha on his account 🤗 after which he goes to brag about how lucky he is to have such a lucky boyfriend

The characters do not belong to me, they belong to their rightful owners, please do not edit, translate, repost my works on other platforms, also without my permission and @

[dduane]

Hi! I really like Scrappy, and I heard you've worked with some TV writers for Scooby-Doo?

I'd like to ask you some questions, but before I do I wanna say some things:

In fact, I looked up the writer’s guild stats and you actually wrote some of the episodes for the original show he was on, as well as some shorts!  “Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco” and “When You Wish Upon a Star Creature” are both really solid episodes and a lot of people really enjoy the Star Creature’s futuristic design! Of the shorts episodes you did I think "A Bungle in The Jungle" and "A Close Encounter of the Scooby Kind" and "Surprised Spies" the funniest. I could go on! But then I would never finish this ask ^^;

And I gotta tell you this. I may have been born decades after those episodes aired, but I’ve seen every single one-the first season, the 99 shorts, the 13 ghosts, the New Scooby Doo Mysteries, the DTV trio, all of ‘em, and I absolutely adored them, thank you so much for helping with that. 

When Fred and Velma and Daphne disappeared, after 1979, did Scrappy have something to do with it? I know Duane Poole said in an interview that Scrappy was easier to focus on, and that Fred and Velma, and Daphne had a hard time competing with his energy or something, but the executives wouldn’t have thrown all their eggs into one basket with the pup after one season, would they? I have to know. Even if it turns out that’s what happened, I know that it’s not really Scrappy’s fault either way, I’m just curious.

I've heard from Mr. Poole's interview that when you were figuring out Scrappy and stuff you guys just gathered around and brainstormed with Joe Barbera. Did you or anyone else that you know of look to past ideas for inspiration?

What was the favorite episode you wrote?

I also heard from Mark Evanier’s account that Scrappy was originally feistier but some scripts were altered. How were the scripts changed before and after that alteration?

Also, in the nineties, why did Scrappy go away? I mean, I know some people didn't like him, but it was more just "he had his time" not the kinda hate you saw in the early 2000s right?

This is un-Scrappy related. Did you guys do your own blocking, did anyone at HB ever split the writing and blocking between multiple people? Just curious.

Also, I know that the original Scrappy series gets some hate, but I am not one of them and there are so many people who love the work you did and what Scrappy-Doo means to them. You guys did an awesome job with the series and there are tons of fans who still remember and cherish the work that you and the others did. Don’t let the haters get you down. Thank you SO SO SO SO MUCH!

First of all, thanks very much for your kind words! The work I did on Scooby-Doo And Scrappy Too! was my very first animation work, and besides being a shed-load of fun, I learned an incredible amount about screenwriting in general, and animation writing in particular, from Tom Swale and Duane Poole (God rest them both). They were fabulous teachers, patient and smart—a pleasure to work with, and (in between work times) extremely funny guys whose senses of humor meshed perfectly with mine.

About Fred, Velma, and Daphne disappearing post-1979: unfortunately I wouldn't be in any position to know whether Scrappy had anything to do with that. I'd very much have been the newest and most junior writer in the room (and we're talking about a time when there weren't even "rooms" as we think of them now: they hadn't been invented yet). But though their job title was "story editor", in terms of the work they were doing, Tom and Duane were what we would now think of as showrunners... and those deliberations and/or decisions wouldn't by any stretch of the imagination have included me. :)

It's interesting to hear what Duane had to say about the disappearance. But I feel pretty sure that a decision involving so many characters would not have been made solely at Tom's and Duane's level. Some kind of approval or signing-off would've had to happen at the highest executive levels at H-B... or at least that's my take on it.

As for brainstorming with Joe Barbera: it seems to me quite likely that that was just how things happened. Hanna-Barbera at that point was a surprisingly comfortable, casual kind of place—relatively friendly to newcomers, and with a sense of under-the-surface goofiness that tended to surface without warning. The founders, in particular, had a reputation for being very hands-on and accessible. I kind of regret that those brainstorming sessions were before my time.

Re: favorite episodes: you'll have gathered that I did a fair amount of writing for Tom and Duane over the years (there's more detail on my IMDb page, which fills in some gaps but still isn't complete...), so frankly it's hard to pick a favorite. But the first one I tend to think of is my very first one, "The Hairy Scare of the Devil-Bear". ...And honestly, one of the funniest things about the scriptwriting process on these was the business of crafting outlandish titles: the goofier, the better. Tom and Duane were past masters at this... and no one will ever get me to discuss the really dirty ones that were floated during story conferences. ...Anyway, I've always been a bit of a Tuckerizer, and in that first episode—though it wasn't anywhere near as polished as later episodes would be—I had so much fun sneaking in the very first of what would become any number of friends' names. A simple pleasure, perhaps. But hey, I'm a cheap date. :)

Re: Mark Evanier's comments about earlier Scrappy scripts: Mark had been working at H-B for a good while by the time I got there, and I'd consider his opinions important. But I've got no useful data on how scripts might have been changed before I got there. Sorry I can't be of more help on this.

As to why Scrappy might have gone away in the 90s….? I don't really have any useful data on that either. By that time, I was in the early stages of being married to @petermorwood and living in Europe, and was out of the loop on things that were going on at Hanna-Barbera.

Finally, as regards blocking: when one was writing animation in the 80s, the received wisdom was that one should write almost entirely in "master shots"—so that one didn't call specific angles in the screenplay unless they were extremely important. The idea being "Don't direct in the script. Let the director have something to do." And blocking would certainly have been included in the concept of what the director was supposed to be doing. ...But at the same time, story editors would naturally have seen the storyboards that were produced in-house, and would have had input into angles and camera movement at that stage… So, in that way anyway, blocking and writing were certainly split.

Meanwhile, thanks again for the nice words about what we were doing! It was very enjoyable work, and the continuing popularity of these shows makes it more enjoyable, even now. :)

[im-no-jedi]

alright. it’s finally time. after almost four years, the series that radically changed my life is coming to a close. I’ve seen several other people make posts about this, so I think it’s only fair that I write my own. be warned, this is going to be long, rambly, and only somewhat coherent LOL

when this show was first announced, I was shocked. although I had fallen in love with the Bad Batch during their arc in TCW, I was unsure how an entire show surrounding them could work. I was even more skeptical after I saw the trailers, which had this mysterious child show up. and as I’m sure all of you know by now, my feelings quickly turned around just after the first episode. I immediately was endeared to Omega and looked forward to seeing how the rest of their story played out. by the time the first season had ended, I was already deep in the planning stages of writing out my self-insert series, MLWTBB.

I honestly didn’t expect to love this show as much as I do. but I quickly realized why after the first season ended. (I'm gonna sound like a broken record for some of you, I'm sure LOL)

firstly, the characters. like I said, I loved TBB from the moment we saw them in TCW. and I immediately liked Omega as well. but the way these characters have been portrayed and fleshed out has only endeared them to me more. it became clear to me very quickly that these guys were an eerily similar analogy to my own family. I already saw a lot of myself in Hunter, but the rest of my family are very similar to them as well, even down to certain dynamics between each of them. not only that, but their struggles also mirror my family in that we’ve suffered several losses in our lives too. my mom sobbed like a baby when Kamino was destroyed because she saw similarities between that and a similar loss we’d endured irl. which, for me, is why it hits SO much harder when something bad happens to them. Plan 99 was devastating for many reasons, but for me, because I see so much of my dad in Tech, it felt like I was losing both of them. and having already had struggles with my dad irl… yeah. I feel like these guys ARE my family now, which has been the running theme in MLWTBB. and it's been cathartic both seeing them get through their struggles in the show, as well as portray my own struggles through my writing.

speaking of my writing, this show has inspired me so much creatively, that literally nothing else is comparable. I had already ventured into the realms of digital art previously to watching this show, as well as publicly sharing some of my writing. but not only did my art significantly improve due to all the pieces I was drawing for this show... but my writing skyrocketed. I finished writing a fanfic for the first time since I was FOURTEEN. and I've both written and finished several stories since then. and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. my art and writing will continue to flourish long after this show is over, I'm certain of that 😁

another thing is the real life impact this show has had on me. and honestly, this is the big one.

some of you have been following me for over a year or more now, so you'll probably recall the struggles I've had with my mental health, especially last year. I'd suspected that I had some mental disorder for a while now, but it was only last year that I really began to pursue the idea of getting diagnosed and treated. it of course began in therapy, then moved to having discussions with my parents about it. everyone was very supportive of me, thankfully... except for one person. myself. despite all of the work I'd done to move forward in my life, this was the hurtle I was struggling with the most. the fear of the unknown has always terrified me the most, so this unfamiliar territory was like a nightmare-scape to me.

then "The Crossing" happened.

fandom had headcanoned Tech being autistic for a while previous to this episode, myself included. some even liked to think all of them were neurodivergent in some way, again myself included. so when this episode dropped and we basically got the confirmation that our headcanon was correct? that. that was the push I needed. seeing this character that I love SO much in a show that I love SO much not only confirming his neurodiversity, but embracing it??? I literally told my mom that weekend that I was finally ready to get tested. and the rest is history. I'm now officially a part of the ND gang, and I've never regretted it for one second \o/

not only that... but I'm on meds now. meds that have altered my brain in such a way that I've NEVER felt before. my anxiety and depression no longer have a hold on me, and it's all thanks to this show 💙💙💙

and leading into that, the last thing I wanna mention is the connections I've made through this show. my entire family is (mostly) SW fans, so I've always had them to fangirl and discuss SW shows with. but I've missed having friends outside of the family to connect with. it's been YEARS since I've been involved in a fandom that had such a lovely group of people. and I know what some of you might say. and you're right. of course there's toxicity, just like any other fandom. but I can honestly say, I haven't met such a welcoming and friendly group of individuals as I have with this fandom. I've made some real, true, long-lasting friendships because of this show, and I'll be forever grateful for that. do the meds help? absolutely. but remember, I never would've even been on meds rn if not for this show either!!

and on that note, I just wanna call out some of the lovely people I've met, some whom I've only gotten to know recently! 🥰

@photogirl894 my beloved Morgan, my little sis, the Omega to my Hunter. you've been nothing but a joy and a blessing to me since the day I met you. I truly believe the Lord led you to me so that I could properly start this journey towards recovery and growth. I love you SO much, sweetie, thank you for being you 💙💙💙

@heyclickadee my dear friend, the conductor of the Tech Lives train. I've so appreciated your insight and wisdom in regard to all of the insanity. you genuinely helped get me through my depression after Plan 99, and you've continued to uplift me with your positivity and hopefulness. may we finally get to see our nerd alive and well again in your honor 🙏🏻

@clonethirstingisreal sweet Carol!! fellow Hunter simp!! getting to know you has been nothing short of amazing and wonderful! I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see an older fan amongst the young'ins LOL. we've been able to relate to each other in SO many ways, it still astounds me. I look forward to seeing your journey progress in hopefully similar ways to mine! 🥰

@lightwise @freesia-writes @better-to-bee @probadbatch (spacing this out so y'all get tagged properly)

@jedi-hawkins @anxiouspineapple99 @arctrooper69 @sunshinesdaydream and everyone else I've gotten to know both here and on Discord, THANK YOU!!!! thank you for letting me into your lives and for all the joy and laughs we've had together. I consider you ALL my friends, and I'm blessed to have met you all 💙💙💙💙💙

and finally, because I know she'll berate me if I don't mention her too, my best friend and irl sister @jam-n-ham. gurl, we have been through it, haven't we? you've been the sole witness to my reactions every week, and for that, I apologize LOL. but we have fun, at least, right? 😆 we've spent HOURS talking about this show, and I'm sure we'll have many more hours to come. you've also supported me and my writing, which I'm eternally grateful for (even if you can barely stomach the Hunter romance scenes ROFL). I can't wait to add in your additions to the story, and for you to see what I've been cooking up 😁 thanks for always being my no.1 bestie 🥰🥰🥰

I don't feel like rereading this before posting, so if there's any typos or whatever, oh well. the fact that I even got all of this out tonight is a miracle honestly haha. now if you'll excuse me, I have to start compiling every single box of tissues we own before tomorrow 😝

oh, and one last thing. an addendum if you will. I haven't been posting much of my thoughts about the finale for many reasons, but I'll just say this. ever since "The Return", I've been rotating Hunter's last words to Crosshair in my head, on repeat.

enough said✨

[jmdbjk]

Jungkook is all grown up ~ Min Yoongi, June 13, 2022

So, I guess we’ve all had a chance to restart our hearts and get our big girl undergarments changed after seeing this:

Is this the “climax” of what Kookie has been working on since early February? He's had an agenda all this time?

Jungkook has been trying to break out of this BABY star candy, golden BABY, BABY highness, giant BABY villain bubble he’s been in forever. I feel called out, JK. Let’s not kid ourselves though. He’s been grown up for a few years now.

JK biases/stans have always been horny over him and see him as his My Time performance sex god. It took me a while to view Kookie in that light. The muscles, the boxing, the tattoos, the piercings do not tickle that "sensation" in me as easily as it does for the JK biases. I'm resistant to his "charms."

I do love him but Jimin is the one who makes me think and feel things I won’t detail here. As I said to my bestie the other day: "I don't know why I feel that way about that skinny little thing." Seriously, the idea of a bias is so interesting though isn't it? So, just saying, the following is my point of view as I think out loud....

When I first saw this image:

… for a split second my brain registered "Jimin" and then went "huh?"…. hmmmmm. Of course it also went, wow, naked. Also I thought, let's get it JK... bring it.

And then upon seeing the rest of the images and his behind the scenes video I had to sit with it and think about it... the other similarities in the other images: the spikes, the grainy photo effect... very intriguing. They (Jimin and Jungkook) really do play off each other don't they?

As I'm processing all of this, I think about what I know:

They have a team of stylists. They have a team for content. They have teams for each member. They have staff. It's the "big machine" that Namjoon mentioned once. And the big machine all work in tandem.

What I’m assuming:

The teams may work on all or some of the members. For instance some people on the style team may work on Jimin and Jungkook but not on RM’s team. We don't know though. Might be one team who works on every single one of them and individuals are just delegated to doing the tasks.

More specifically, and also for example… I know Bit and Boot (the hair stylists) travels with them overseas. So I am going to assume the Bit n Boot team consists of a point person and several others who style their hair. Or maybe they are one and the same person. Or maybe several stylists. I don’t know. I'm assuming more than one because when they are overseas they need others to tend to the other members needs elsewhere.

I know the wardrobe team in the past has explained they get samples from clothing companies or design houses and they catalog them for future use. They meet with the members (at the time I saw this information the solo era had not begun yet) and determine what sort of look or concept will suit a particular theme. This is a very creative process in my opinion. And this one particularly would be involved in the members' solo concepts because other than the actual set surrounding the subject, its the clothing that conveys the vibe and theme.

So all that being said… seeing JK’s images very similar to Jimin’s is so interesting to me. I feel 99% sure it was not a coincidence nor was it incompetence or the ridiculous claim of “plagiarism.” I saw JK's smile when he saw Jimin commenting during his lives. I saw it when he was watching Jimin on tv. I saw him say wait until midnight when something amazing is coming (SMF MV) so don't try to tell me now that he's undermining Jimin's work.

There’s something else going on here that we don’t know what the goal is yet but copying Jimin is not it. JK is conveying his concept. I am a big proponent of the members making the choices and decisions for their solo work. I am 99% sure this was done intentionally. But why?

HOWEVER. THAT BEING SAID. I recall how much Kookie has been watching Jimin over the years. At least ten years now. And I feel strongly that Jimin has influenced JK tremendously. I feel like JK has learned how to be empathic and he’s learned about work ethic (though putting that into motion for him looks much different than it does for Jimin). And if Kookie thinks Jimin is sexy when he does [insert whatever it is Jimin does that turns Kookie on] then he might try to emulate that? Remember, I'm just thinking out loud here.

Or are they really just flipping us the bird and doing what they know turns each other on? That would be a fabulous joke on us. I would love it, to be honest. Jungkook has been vocal in the past whenever Jimin has shown his sexy side and he's been pretty obviously obsessed with him in his lives lately too.

Anyway...

We may never know, it might be a mystery forever why the image concepts are so similar. We can make up all the theories we want (and we do) and make assumptions and “put two and two together” reading between the lines, but knowing exactly what was going through their heads is something we’ll never know unless they tell us.

Is there something in the near future that this is all leading to? I guess we have to wait and see… (don’t you hate it when someone says that?)

Maybe it will be for the long awaited Jikook collab? I had a video concept that I sketched out roughly for my bestie yesterday but now I'm going to elaborate on it: JKxJM collab, the MV opens with Jimin stepping out of his Like Crazy MV set with the mud splattered pants and JK stepping out of his Seven MV set in his oversized outfit and they start taking off their clothes but underneath each layer are their "look alike" clothes and there is layer upon layer they have to take off and its comical because there are so many couple outfits they've worn over the years, until finally they get down to the white tank tops and boxer shorts and then they break it down in the mother of all dance breaks that will break the internet and slough off the dead meat of the fandom and then when the song is over, they walk off the set arms over each other in a giggling fit.

Why hasn't BigHit hired me yet? My brain is full of these uniquely creative ideas that will never see the light of day.

[actual-changeling]

you’re the only person i feel comfortable saying this to. but i feel like a fake fan for not wanting to/not engaging with tlou2 content. i don’t like the story and i don’t like the characters/characterizations. it makes me really sad and uncomfortable at times. i won’t be watching season 2 when it comes out. i’m sure the making of it and the actors will all be incredible it obviously has nothing to do with them.

i know there’s like a whole thing where you don’t have to engage with content you don’t like blah blah but it just feels like *some* (emphasis on some, not generalizing here) tlou fans really get mad with people who don’t like tlou2, they think that they don’t understand it and are just mad there isn’t a happy ending and just hate abby. which, idk, i would never expect a happy ending of an apocalypse story. but there are so many problems with the story that i cannot get over. and yeah. i don’t really think **** should have died (asterisks for spoiler). honestly these people make me want to engage with tlou2 even less.

i love tlou1 and it’s been such an outlet for me and for so many others with parental trauma. i think it’s okay to want to protect that.

i wonder if you think it’s okay and still good etiquette (for lack of better word) to not engage with tlou2 for these reasons?

i know you’ve spoken about tlou2 before and your take on it. i wouldn’t ask you to go through this all again, but i just felt like this was a safe outlet to say all this. i’m sorry if this was a bother!!!

It is completely fine to send me asks about this, don't worry! I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to do so.

I've watched the show and played both games, and it is always okay to dislike any aspect of a canon universe, no matter what your reasoning is.

A tiny part of me is still riding the denial train and hopes that Craig will at the very least vastly improve the plot if not change it, but since Neil is also involved I doubt it. The first game was perfect as a stand-alone, and just like you, the characters and the world helped me work through a bunch of issues.

It didn't need a part 2, especially not one that demolished everything they had built. The one we got also destroyed some of the comfort the first game had simply because once you know how the story ends, you will never be able to see it again like you did before.

Pedro and Bella will be amazing in season two, that am sure of, and I hope Kaitlyn can shield herself from the hate she will undoubtedly receive.

The fandom is, like you said, very. sensitive about part 2 opinions that aren't "I loved it and want Abby to rail me", and it would be hilarious if it weren't sad and didn't involve those people harassing others. After playing part 2, I realised that 90% of the tlou content I see anywhere is so removed from what is actually happening in the game that I cannot take anyone who praises it seriously.

For some reason, many seem incapable of separating themselves from people's opinions about the game. If you told me you liked the game and constantly talk about it, sure, fine, I am not a toddler, I can co-exist or even be friends with someone who has a different opinion on a video game. 99% of the tlou2 fandom just cannot do the same and I have no idea why, they take any and all non-positive takes and treat them like I personally insulted their mother.

The pure game mechanics of it, the infected, the environmental designs, the details—all of that is beautiful and I genuinely enjoy playing Ellie's Seattle Days because of that; I just try not to think about why she's there. But for a story-driven game, good mechanics and nice graphics aren't enough to balance out the shit writing.

Even if we ignore the Death tm, there are so many other issues, including various flavours of homophobia and transphobia (that I also never saw anyone talk about??? and I mean transphobia in the writing itself, not the characters), plot issues, pacing issues, horrible character development, and much, much more.

Not liking the game and feeling uncomfortable watching/playing it makes perfect sense, and you 100% have the right to block any and all content related to part/season 2. I know you know that, but sometimes it really does help to have someone else tell you something you technically already know (half of my therapy sessions consist of me and my therapist talking about stuff I already know).

No one—and I mean no one—gets to decide that for you. Anyone who demands you expose yourself to something that makes you feel like shit is an asshole and has no validity.

I hope this wasn't too rambly and turned out somewhat coherent. My inbox is always open for you (or others) to talk about anything tlou related. I've weathered several waves of hate from those people and I couldn't give less of a fuck about it.

[scoobydoodean]

i think it’s kinda funny how you don’t have some sort of online handle except your urls, so i can only ever address you as like dftsam. anyway i saw a take that said cas “learned” to feel unloved from dean, from the way dean treated him basically - an example they gave was dean looking away when cas said I love you as he was dying in s12 - and it seemed there were a lot of people agreeing with it. i’m not one of them, but if you were interested (only if you’d wanna talk about it, I’d get it if you didn’t) I’d love to get you thoughts on this idea?

So I read this at like 1-2 AM lying in bed and I was like this:

I find it so fucking funny when people start in on this shit, because Dean girls and Cas girls can do this to each other all day long. “Dean made Cas feel unloved” “Cas made Dean feel unloved”. You can build a framework for either (BOTH) by cherrypicking scenes to suit a narrative. Like. I can easily say that Cas repeatedly sent a message, regardless of his intentions, that Dean’s feelings don’t mean jack shit to him. I prefer to take things with humor and just understand where Cas’s issues are coming from (just like Dean—who makes his best effort to understand Cas; just like Cas makes his best effort to understand Dean) rather than get mad and demonize him so I can be angsty about Dean always feeling "unloved"… but the guy… look—making no effort to explain why he is like this at this moment (because Cas apologism is absolutely not the point of this ask) Cas is known to do the following:

Control the means of communication. You will pretty much never see Dean ghost Cas. Even when Dean was forced to kick him out, he checked up on him to make sure he was okay. But Cas will knowingly and intentionally ghost Dean’s prayers and calls for days and weeks at a time on repeat through their ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP. Dean has expressed that this upsets him more than once, but Cas continues to do it. Every once in a while he’ll throw in a half-assed apology sure—but it doesn’t mean anything. He’s going to do the thing he’s apologizing for again as soon as he’s decided he doesn’t want to face Dean’s questions or doesn’t want him involved yet again. Which means 1) he isn't actually sorry 2) how it makes Dean feel is not important to him or else he'd stop doing it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Keep secrets about bad things going on CONSTANTLY. Over and over and over and over… then Dean is still the one who ends up apologizing for getting mad about it. Rinse, repeat.

(Often) Refuse to be a team player in an effort to keep Sam and Dean out of harms way over the things he has personally decided are too dangerous for them, without ever letting them have a say, because he has unilaterally decided they are too tiny and soft and he needs to fall on a sword when no one asked him to and no one WANTS HIM TO. A lot of people want to turn this into bemoaning Castiel's constant unappreciated sacrifices, but this is so unbelievably shortsighted of a take. He is attempting to relate to Dean, a person who believes he is poison and that loving him gets people killed, by attempting to fucking martyr himself over and over and OVER. Dean doesn't WANT it, and it isn't NECESSARY 99% of the time if Cas would just WORK AS A TEAM.

Urges Dean to co-parent children who he feels he has personal obligations to twice.

Who does that remind you of? Because I know who it reminds me of, but people don’t want to read that meta—or about how Cas traded out his car for a truck (who else did that?), or about how your last words before a sacrifice can haunt a person and rip them open in ways you never intended. Of course Cas isn’t that guy… but I bet my ass Dean sure as hell sees the shades of him.. I do think it is an intentional decision to frame Cas in the late seasons after another person who also made Dean feel very unloved and unwanted—not in the big things like big grand sacrifices—but in the small things—the day to day things that slowly strangle a relationship to death—like making unilateral decisions for everyone and not answering the goddamn phone. (Edit here: I do NOT mean that Cas is intentionally being framed as CRUEL and EVIL. I mean that he is intentionally being paralleled with this person. Dean and Sam are also paralleled with that person in different ways at various points and it doesn't mean any of them are evil irredeemable villains. They just have some obvious hangups and the way this particular one for Cas ends up manifesting is probably pretty difficult for Dean and probably makes him think of how that other person behaved and how it made him feel).

Dean didn’t react right when Cas said I love you in season 12? Well. That’s debatable. But going on the offensive first before the defensive: Cas only wants to say this on his deathbed when Dean has no chance to respond.

Dean, on the other hand, has expressed his care for Cas MULTIPLE TIMES. He didn't say the words, "I love you" (he doesn't even say that to SAM) but he said "We're family" "You're the closest thing I have to family—you're like a brother to me" and "I need you" and "I'm not leaving without you" and "Being with you today is the most I've laughed in years" and "I'd rather have you, cursed or not" and "It's a gift. You keep those. Let's work as a team. We're better together."

And what does Cas do after every single one of these expressions of Dean's love?

He L E A V E S!!!!

He fucking leaves, and Cas girls want to talk about Dean making a face? And cry that Dean makes Cas feel unloved? Forgive me if that makes me fucking CACKLE at the AUDACITY.

I think one thing people tend to do, is they frame everything as if Cas is oblivious to Dean loving him, but Dean has to know or SHOULD know how Cas feels about him. This is why we get rancid takes like "DeAn nEedS tO pUll hIS hEaD oUt of HiS asS". Oh shut up. Castiel canonically can SENSE DEAN'S LONGING. If Dean's head is up his ass, Castiel's is shoved so fucking far up his sphincter it's coming out of his mouth.

Yet still—Dean recognizes, in season 11, that Cas is struggling—that Cas feels down on himself and unloved (and I DO NOT think Cas BLAMES Dean for that at all—it takes a lot of willful ignorance about everything going on with his biological family to come to that conclusion) and Dean tries to FIX IT. He once again reiterates to Cas how much he cares about him—that he's family. He has NO IDEA that the words intended to make Cas feel better are going to send him down one of the most deranged spirals of unhinged decision-making ever (the Kelly shenanigans are WILD). I actually have a slightly different take on this, from the typical " it sent him off the deep end because he got 'brother-zoned'". I think it sent him off the deep end because it was the final *nail in the coffin in what Cas saw as a reversal of their relationship—where he isn't the guy who protects everyone anymore with his grace and his grand wings... that's Dean now, and Dean is saying that Cas, like Sam, is under his protection... and Castiel absolutely could not STAND that. He didn't need his romantic affections to be returned. What he wanted, more than anything—what he saw (in a rough draft of the script) when Jack showed him paradise, was Dean thanking him, and his powers returned to their former glory. Because Cas has unilaterally decided Dean's feelings, he chooses to love him like a saint loves Jesus, laying down his life, instead of being in a partnership, because he doesn't want to be someone Dean protects—not even in a partnership where they protect each other. He wants to be the sole protector.

All of that to say: Cas didn't learn how to feel unloved from Dean. TEXTUALLY. It is ON THE TIN. Saying that is literally the EXACT OPPOSITE of what Cas SAYS about Dean. He says he cared about the whole world because of DEAN. He cared because Dean's love was so captivatingly beautiful and inspiring and transcendent that it changed who Cas was inside to the core, and he fell fucking head over heels. "You changed me".

[twinge-of-cosmicangst]

what are your hopes for the final episode?

Gonna go by character I guess

Kendall- Kendall has always been a favourite of mine, I have liked him less this season, that’s not me saying he’s been OC or anything, I just think it’s his natural progression now he hasn’t got the moral of high ground over his father. He is becoming his father, he is the epitome of “the cycle” some people think Shiv is most like Logan, some even think Roman is, but to me it’s Kendall, and always has been, and it’s even more evident this season. When Ewan said that he and Logan had a meagreness about them, but the the difference between them is that Ewan tries to be moral, whereas at some point Logan stopped trying. Meaning that once upon a time Logan was a better man, which I think can be somewhat backed up by Connor the eldest being somewhat softer then the rest, perhaps Logan was not as brutal with him, if somewhat absent because of his obsession with his career (remind you of anyone) and then 15-25 odd years later his youngest son is physically beaten by him. I think when Ewan made that “he stopped trying” statement about Logan, the audience was supposed to think about Kendall. Despite his faults Kendall has shown genuine empathy multiple times throughout first 3 seasons and yet in season 4 he grows more and more cold as he literally tries to become his father. So the natural conclusion to this is that he becomes CEO but he is deeply unhappy and his soul is basically ruined and his whole family inevitably hating him. That would be a sad ending for Kendall fans, but it’s honestly hard to imagine another one for him, other then perhaps suicide, which I think is a possibility. So out of those to options I’d guess I’ll say CEO? I don’t know, the other potential CEO that I think could happen is maybe Tom, which would not great for him in the long run either but ultimately not as thematically tragic.

Roman- I honestly have no idea what Roman’s end game could be, I’m not even sure what I would want for him, that probably has something to do with the fact that he has never been one of my favourites, yet I do feel empathy for his character, Logan abused all his children, yet Roman was the only one he physically abused, to be singled out like that must be traumatising. I think he is slightly more likely to get a somewhat happier ending then Kendall (idk why I just feel it in my waters) and yeah he’s not my favourite but I don’t hate him, so I’ll be fine with him getting a neutral ending, perhaps working at Waystar (not CEO) and befriending Gerri once again?

Shiv: I am 99% sure that Shiv will not be CEO “American” or otherwise, I think pretty much all the other mains (aside from Connor) have more of a chance becoming CEO. This is not because I’m secretly a internal misogynist, neither do I think she will not become CEO because of her “Lack of experience” No the reason I think she has no chance is because of how the last episode ended Lucas telling her he can make the “American CEO work” was basically a neon sign saying “Matsson may be able to get an American CEO to work but it sure as fuck won’t be Shiv” that’s just how narrative convention works. Matsson is shady as fuck and it’s been kind of obvious that he’s been playing Shiv the whole time, she is aware of this and she has been playing him too, but she is only aware to an extent because when her mind is so close to the prize, I think she gets a little carried away. It fluctuates but at the moment Shiv is my second favourite character, and what I want for her professionally is what I’ve wanted for her since I watched season 2 and that’s to go back into politics. Connor has always been a bit of a scrounger (I love him though) and Ken and Roman of course have always been in the family business. Shiv was the only one to make a career for herself (yes she had a huge amount of privilege to help her build that career) but still she had a career that was hers not her fathers, not only that but she was a democrat, while her father has a hugely intimidating and influential presence in the conservative landscape, I never see anyone talk about how brave that was (even if it was somewhat to spite him lol) and yet after years of apparent resistance Logan managed to reel her back in, and we saw she was as desperate for his approval as her brothers were. The scene where Logan persuaded her to take her picture with Menken is one of the most devastating in the show imo, she was so reluctant but she did so for a promise of Waystar and Logan’s approval. She clearly had some passion for working in politics and she appeared to enjoy her job. This hope for her is fruitless though because it is the last episode of the last season so in terms of profession, my hope for Shiv would be that she ends up at Pierce, or perhaps goes into business with Roman (could they maybe work better together without Kendall, maybe it would be a disaster idk) I think there is more of a chance that Shiv gets out then there is for her brothers (she actually knows there is life outside of Waystar from 10+ years of a different career) also as she is my favourite of the siblings she is the one I want to escape the most, as I think working at Waystar (living in the haunted house) will end in misery for any of the siblings and I do want Shiv to be somewhat happy. In terms of personal I want Tom and Shiv to officially end it (although I think that’s unlikely this point) I’m not even talking from a Tomgreg perspective, Tom and Shiv clearly make each other miserable (I do believe they do love each other though) and I know them being miserable together is part of the appeal for a lot of people (hand in unloveable hand and all) but I would personally like them to put themselves out of their misery for good (honestly it would be better for their child as well) Speaking of the baby, I do not want to speak of it much because it is basically pointless as a plotline as we’ll never actually get to see the thing (unless they flash forward Harry Potter style “Logan Roman Nate Wambsgans you were named after the biggest sicko I’ve ever known”) I am not someone who was dead set against Shiv getting pregnant (in fact I thought it was a real possibility with some of the hints we got in season 3) but upon finding out that Jesse added it in last minute, it only makes me think the whole plotline is rushed and pointless and if the whole point of it is to bring Tom and Shiv back together, then dear god 🙄

Connor and Willa- These two’s married life seems to be going well (Yay I love Conwilla) and I think it is highly unlikely that they will randomly implode in the last episode, if they do, Jesse, I will Annie Wilkes your ass (For legal reasons this is a joke) but as the last episode is going to be very Waystar centric, Conwilla will probably be minimal, my main hope for them in the final is they get more screen time then I expect and that I am presently surprised, and that they are happy. Career wise it would be nice to hear how Willa’s playwriting is going, and I honestly don’t have a preference whether Connor is going to remain in politics or go back to “ranching” whatever tickles his pickle. What I would like for Connor though is a little, just smidge of affection from the sibs. GIVE US A SIBLING HUG WITH ALL 4 SIBLINGS YOU COWARDS! I know that the sibs care for Connor in their own way, but he doesn’t (he literally said no one loves him and none of them bothered correct him) Not to bring up the Tomshiv babby again but I can’t believe Matsson heard about it before brodad 🤮 the injustice. Please let at least one of the sibs have sweet moment with him. Please 🙏

Tom and Greg- Saving the best till last baby! I do genuinely want the gay art gallery date (real ones know) it is possible if somewhat unlikely. Other then that I do not expect Tomgreg to go canon but I would like them to have a decent amount of screen time (like proportionally the same as episode 8 which would be more screen time then episode 8 because episode 10 is 1/3 longer then episode 8, if I’m making sense) dream would be to have proportionally the same amount of screen time as episode 1 but that is unrealistic (episode 1 felt about 40% lmao). I would obviously like them to end on good terms, and I want them to be working together! I think Tom is a genuine possibility for “American CEO” he has experience, and Lukas may just do it to fuck with the Roy siblings. Matsson seems to genuinely like Greg but even he wouldn’t make someone like Greg CEO, under qualified is an understatement, the markets would freak, but maybe he would settle for Tom instead, maybe Greg persuades Matsson to name Tom (that would be the dream) I do think being CEO of Waystar inevitably leads to misery for anyone who becomes it (to quote Gerri “the job that makes your brain explode”) but like I said it’s not as tragic with Tom, because he won’t have the corpse of his abusive dead father breathing down his neck. Ultimately I would like Tom and Greg to be somewhat ok and working together and remain besties, wouldn’t mind Tom becoming CEO but idrc. If I’m being realistic I think Tom could end things in a really bad place unemployed? Publicly shamed? Getting arrested for cruises?? Lmao the last one is unlikely but not impossible, but I don’t want any of those things to happen, because he’s my favourite character and I don’t want him to be completely miserable, but I can deal with somewhat miserable, he kind of deserves it. With Greg I think he is the most likely out of the main characters to end up in a good place career wise (although again not CEO lmao) but it means nothing to me if he is in a good place career wise but estranged from Tom, so yeah Tomgreg to remain besties is really what I want for them the most (cheesy I know) a little bit of homoeroticism wouldn’t hurt either but I refuse to get my hopes up.

It just occurred to me while writing this that I said I wouldn’t mind if Tom became CEO but that I also said if Kendall doesn’t become CEO he’ll die! That is perhaps a bit extreme. But what I’m saying is that I think that out of all the characters Kendall is the most doomed by the narrative and will have a tragic ending no matter what, and hoping that he doesn’t his somewhat pointless, the only good thing that I can bring myself to hope for Kendall, is that his relationship with his siblings isn’t completely destroyed by the end of the series and that they are still on speaking terms.

[radkindoffeminist]

Hey there, thank you so much for your post documenting all the phrases/slogans TRAs stole from other movements! Even when I wasn't gender critical yet, I noticed they were doing it and something about it really bothered me, so I think noting it down can be a good stepping stone to peaking (aside from being important history-wise!). From an outsider's perspective now, it's really telling how not only are 99% of the slogans TRAs use stolen from other movements, but also and especially that the only chants they came up with themselves are physically and/or sexually violent threats to women. Hm.

One more thing you can add to the list is them taking the 80's feminist chant "women's rights are human rights" and swapping "women's" for "trans" (which is, in fact, a nice little microcosm of what the movement stands for: sidelining women even while stealing directly from them)!

I have a couple of other things that might be worth adding too, although they're not really set chants like the others and more "copied ideas/responses originally used to argue against homophobic beliefs", so it's up to you if they fit the post's goal:

First is the general argument about "minding your own business; how this affect/hurt you and your rights" which doeeeesn't really work when you're a movement trying to redefine fundamental truths and words that everyone knows and uses their entire lives and constantly police everyone about them.

Second is pointing out the behavior of other animals: originally it was "look at all these species who have homosexual animals/behaviors, how can you say being gay is unnatural or against God's will if animals do it too?" but for TRAs it's "uhhh well fungi have a billion different sexes and clownfish can change sex and caterpillars become butterflies sooooo obviously men can become women" which is arguing a different point entirely: the former was specifically meant to counter a single particular argument from religious homophobes just on a logic/consistency basis ("if God hates gays why some of the animals he made gay?") and was *never* meant to be taken as "animals do it therefore humans should be allowed to do it". But the latter is trying to argue to *everyone* that because certain animals have unique biology which allows them to do things that are physically impossible for humans to do, that somehow means we as completely different animals can and should do said things. Idk if it's just them being lazy copycats and not realizing their arguments make no sense when taken out of the context they were created for, or if they genuinely believe humans can do literally anything so long as evidence of some thing happening exists somewhere, but either way it's dumb lol

Sorry for my rants haha, hope this is helpful!!

I’m fairly sure ‘trans rights are human rights’ is already on the list, but I could be wrong! Definitely one which gets screamed a lot and people just ignore that it’s taken directly from a feminist slogan!

Also think it’s funny that all these different movements have managed to come up with completely different slogans which have minimal crossover (only one I can think of is ‘black is beautiful’ and ‘fat is beautiful’) even if we could take them for our own movements because they’re relevant! Stop Asian Hate could easily be Stop Black Hate or Stop Woman Hate but we respect that that’s their slogan. Walking While Black, which talks about being profiled by the police for being black, could easily be Walking While a Woman to discuss catcalling, but that would be disrespectful to the black community so of course feminists wouldn’t steal that slogan for their own use. Same for so many other slogans: BLM, the future is female, women’s rights are human rights, love is love, etc.

As for your suggestions, I’m not sure how to add them but I agree that they’re fucked. Things like ‘mind your own business’ and ‘how does trans people having rights affect you?’ is completely ignorant to what rights some trans people are trying to fight for! Trying to remove sex-segregated spaces which put women at significantly more risk for rape and abuse and also means that we’re not allowed spaces to discuss female bodies because that’s labelled as transphobic or not inclusive enough; removing all sex-based protections (not even just adding a gender based one but actively removing the sex-based one too) which could further endanger women’s rights as they are no longer classed under sex-based protections so it would not be considered a protected right (think about things like maternity leave - that’s not something women need but rather some people so it’s not discrimination to deny it so long as it’s denied equally across all genders). Like, sure, some rights don’t infringe on women’s tights (eg: anything relating to surgery) but they quickly ignore that women’s rights and trans rights are literally at odds with one another.

Your second example is a really good way of showing how they have no leg to stand on but lean so heavily upon other movements to the point where their arguments are ridiculous. They don’t understand why these arguments are made and what they mean, so they steal a similar argument and then scream at you for finding a flaw in it! Homosexuality is also found on nature as many animals are homosexual so why would God make so many animals exhibit these behaviours if He hated it and only made people have some ‘gay feelings’ to be able to test if they could resist them? If it was just a test because that behaviour was so disgusting, animals wouldn’t be able to conceive of the idea of being gay? Though, personally, I’ve always hated this argument because the other point has a side: animals also eat their young and kill one another so is that behaviour also okay for us since God allows it in animals? It defends the ‘nature’ argument -it happens on nature so how could it be unnatural?- but that’s about it. Anyway, I digress, trans people are trying to do the same by pointing out either odd animals in nature (like that one lioness who obviously had something akin to PCOS which caused her to grow a mane) or animals which are able to change their sex at will and being like ‘well, this happens in nature so what’s wrong with it in humans’ and ignores that some of these animals are actually just intersex or have some other medical condition or they are able to fully and naturally change their entire sex which is vastly different from requiring medications and surgery to make yourself at least appear like the opposite sex despite your actual sex not being able to change. The fact that they don’t seem to understand that is actually baffling.

[epic-potato-crisp]

The Monday Incident

A very belated Secret Santa Gift for @kaseytransboi-blog (hope this is your Tumblr!)- so belated it is from 2022. So incredibly sorry about that! 🙈 I wanted you to still receive this gift, even if it means arriving in time for Ajin Secret Santa 2023. You wanted "Generally Wholesome" so It's a little One Shot featuring the Ajin Cast in the Brooklyn 99 universe - I hope you will (still) enjoy! <3

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LINK:

The Monday Incident - epic_potato_crisp - 亜人 - 三浦追儺 & 桜井画門 | Ajin - Miura Tsuina & Sakurai Gamon (Anime & Manga) [Archive of Our Own]

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Detective Nagai had a terrible day. A day that had started with a diffuse ache in his abdomen and his heart palpitating at a mile an hour when he woke up an hour before his alarm from a nightmare he could not remember.

Seeing as it was pointless to go back to sleep, he cursed himself and the entire squad out, a plethora of creative insults he would, most likely, never voice out loud.  Then he went to brew a cup of coffee. He would have loved to say it immediately jolted him out of his stupor and into an active, motivated, pre-case solving state, but of course it didn’t. Rest assured, he was mercifully saved the one benefit of caffeine that he was betting on. The only change he experienced was a familiar burn in his throat, his reflux’s friendly way of reminding him that it was planning on becoming a permanent resident.

What a bother. Kei had always hated the concept of roommates.

He didn’t own a car, neither did he drive- not, as some might assume, because of not passing the ridiculously simple theoretical exam (He had, with a stellar score of 110% , the bonus resulting from giving himself extra credit for a formatting and spelling error he noticed). No, he simply chose not to, because frankly, the idea of riding into oncoming traffic on four shaky wheels with nothing but steel-aluminium walls that dented at the lightest scratch and a sorry excuse for an airbag keeping him from certain death, did not seem very appealing.

(And perhaps also, because the look his driving instructor had given him after his most recent attempt at the practical exam had etched himself in his soul forever. Sure, Kei might have avoided the head-on collision with the HAYAKAWA CIGARETTES truck, but the terror in the man’s eyes and the scathing indictment that followed made him wonder if actually getting mowed over by 4 tons of vehicle would have been the better alternative.) Ah well, now he would never know.

Thankfully, there were other people in his squad. Some compensated for their mediocre cognitive ability with a surprisingly solid physical skill set. One example was Nakano Kou, the overly-energetic detective who had declared himself Kei’s best friend two weeks after the latter had joined. It had been an unanimous decision Kei had interestingly never been consulted on. But he could live with that, he supposed.  Nakano could be incredibly annoying, but he did give Kei rides to work, which was appreciated.Especially , on a day as frosty as this one, where Kei would have rather stabbed himself than get up an hour earlier to spend his precious pre-work time scratching ice off car windows. Nakano, thankfully, seemed to have no such problem.

He was even punctual when he pulled up to Kei’s apartment that morning, dressed in his signature yellow parka.

“Good morning!“ he cheered loudly, turning down the Black Eyed Peas‘ “I GOT A FEELIN“ that was blaring in the background at Kei’s raised eyebrow. Orange strands as unkempt as ever, one hand on the steering wheel, he held out a cup emblazoned with yet another caffeine franchise that people with lack of a spine might pledge addiction to.

 “Kei”, the cup read.

He grinned as Kei got into the car, strapping on his seatbelt: “You gotta call shotgun, Nagai.”

“I’m not saying that every single time.” Kei sighed, “And I don’t want coffee.”

“That’s hot chocolate.”

Kei narrowed his eyes: “Without caffeine?”

“Yes, yes! Without!” Nakano said, lifting his left hand in an idiotic gesture of sincerity.

“Careful.” Kei snapped, not wanting his idiotic attempts at being genuine to endanger them in the morning traffic.

“Dude, chill, I’m still parking.” Nakano said, conveniently ignoring how Kei had told him to never call him dude  under any circumstances in their first week working together. He revved the engine to life and then, placing a hand on the back firmly of Kei’s headrest and turning to look behind himself, maneuvered them backwards and then out of their parking spot. The close proximity of his teammate’s fingers to his neck and the self-assured, almost cocky way with which his colleague steered them back into traffic did nothing for him, Kei reminded himself, gripping tightly around the cardboard wrapper. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and chased away a flicker of regret when Nakano’s hand dropped from its place on the headrest, fingers curling back around the steering wheel.

“You know, a “thank you, how was your weekend” wouldn’t kill you.” his colleague said, side-eying the stiff way he stiffly occupied the passenger seat.

“Just drive.” Kei grumbled, managing to avoid the eye-contact he was afraid would sell him out.

“Screw yourself, seriously.” Nakano said, fondness tinged with annoyance, as he shifted into third gear. Thus started their morning bickering- the only way, Kei realized, to properly wake him up.

They managed to get to work a good fifteen minutes before their morning meeting at 8 am. Which was good, because arriving any later than the designated time would be a surefire way to draw the wrath of their captain.

“Good morning, Sarge!” Nakano cheerfully greeted Sergeant Hirasawa, who was already sat at his desk, two yoghurt cups stacked in front of him.

“Good morning, detective Nakano.” Hirasawa replied. Age was not lost on the seargant, who combed back his hair in an effort to mask the balding patch, tucking his glasses behind his ears.  Calloused hands spoke of many years in the service, but in the seargeant’s case, he had followed an unconventional career path, having spent his years before training in the Academy as a bodyguard of sorts. “Well, hired gun is more like it.” the Sarge had shared during one evening during a post-working gathering a pub. Manabe, one of the four guys that had been employed about the same time as the Seargeant and who seemed to have known him for even longer, chuckled dryly at that.  Kei hadn’t bothered asking what the vague job description meant, he could put two and two together. Unlike Nakano, who had stared at Hirasawa with a quizzical look. Before the words “What’s a hired gun” could leave his mouth, Kei had grabbed him by the back of his parka and dragged him to the bar.

“The next rounds of drinks are on you.” he said sullenly, as his colleague complained loudly about the rough treatment. There must have been something in Kei’s eyes however, as Nakano dropped the topic pretty much immediately. When he came back carrying an armful of beers, their table cheered,  detective Suzumura and detective Kuroki slapping him on the back appreciatively. Nakano preened under the attention and was engrossed in a lively conversation within minutes.

Kei nipped at his rum-filled beverage, grimacing at the bitter taste and cursing out the bartender for clearly misjudging his soda to alcohol ratio preference. But just as he was about to call it an early night, Sergeant Hirasawa slid on the stool next to him. “So, I’ve heard some impressive things about you, Detective Nagai.”

“Which would be?” Kei asked, skeptically. The Sergeant laughed at his open mistrust. Well, someone tells me you are planning to become a captain of a squad yourself someday. Your stellar scores graduating from the Academy and your track record of solved cases also speak for themselves.”

Kei did his best to not feel too flattered under the praise. “That is, if I make it that far. I’ll have to pass the Sergeant’s exam first.. It would be a fool’s error to rest simply because of previous success I had.” He took a sip, and forced himself not to avoid the Sergeant’s gaze, which seemed downright friendly and empathic. Sometimes, he had to remind himself not everyone he ever worked with had ill-intent.  But then again, he had to keep an eye open for the possibility.

“I still have a long road ahead of me.” He concluded a conversation that he felt was becoming too personal for a work acquaintance.

“Spoken as a true contender for the position of Captain would.” Seargeant Hirasawa said, and Kei attempted not to startle too much when he amicably slapped his back, and in a tone, that sounded too genuine to be false said,  “I’m rooting for you, Detective Nagai.”

Well, at least, someone was rooting for him. Kei felt as though he was not having the same luck with the new Captain that had been assigned to their district.

Captain Tosaki Yuu  was not one for humor, or slacking, or any other form entertainment that would have made the arduous work days in the precinct more bearable. Kei would have been fine with that. Instead, it was Detective Nakano’s morale that took a major hit when their new commanding officer introduced himself and how he planned to run the precinct. However, it took him only a few weeks to win even the sour-faced captain over in that strangely charming way of his. This didn’t necessarily mean that Detective Nakano didn’t still make a fool of himself- he did- or that the Captain had never yelled at him for his tardiness or unserious attitude – he had – but it did meant that even tall,  pale, consistently stressed Captain Tosaki begrudgingly accepted the cheerful detective as vital member of his squad.

Which caused Kei even more of a headache because he himself wasn’t having any of that luck.

He had tried every strategy from mute respect to blank sincerity to disinterest to word-by-word conduct of corporate advancement guidelines but he kept clashing with the Captain more often than he had probably should. Conflict with superiors was not a favorable strategy, that was what he’d learned in the Academy. Sometimes, he laid awake at night, ruminating on the possibility that it could be a death sentence for his career that had not even properly begun. It was simply that he, Detective Nagai, had his own way of doing things which had served him well over years in service, and was only the slightest bit aggrieved at the fact of being presented with a new Captain that seemed to micromanage his every move.

If he was available to speak with at all.

As Nakano settled into his desk, finishing his coffee and chatting with the Seargeant, Kei flicked his eyes over to the Captain’s office. At the desk right in front sat Naomi, his personal secretary, who spent 1/3 of her time relegating calls, another third being mean and the final third playing Flappy Bird on her phone.

“Sorry, Captain’s not available right now.” she warbled into the speaker, examining her sapphire acrylics with genuine interest, just as Captain Tosaki came into view behind her.

“Who’s that?” the Captain asked sharply, flanked as usual by his right-hand Sergeant Shimomura, who stood stoically next to him.

To Naomi’s credit, she was used to his unannounced entrances and didn’t as much as startle, left alone appear guilty being caught blatantly avoiding her job.

She swiveled around in her desk chair, blowing maroon strands out of her eyes, perfectly manicured fingers held over the mouthpiece.

“Oh, just Ogura from Forensics.” she said, batting her eyelashes and dragging out the “a” with an annoyed sigh, “I told him I don’t get paid to deal with this before 9 am. Do you want him to call you back later?”

“That is exactly what you are getting paid to do.” Tosaki said monotonously, “But yes.” He grimaced, “Let him call back later.”

The fact that there was no love lost between the Captain and the leading physician of the Forensics Department, who liked hassle him at every turn, was not a secret for the crew. Naomi smirked, delighted at having her expectations met and withdrew her fingers from the mouthpiece, “He’s busy right now.” she faux-sweetly announced, “Try again during our office hours.” She slammed the phone down before Ogura’s distant voice on the other hand could as much as bring forward another jab.

Now that the matter was dealt with, Captain Tosaki moved onto the next target to air his morning frustration out on.

“Detective Nakano, Detective Nagai.” he barked.

“Sir, Yes Sir!” Nakano immediately jumped to attention, almost spilling his drink in the process.

Kei rolled his eyes.

“What is it, Captain?” he asked, feigning politeness.

“What are you standing there for?” Tosaki said, irritatedly, “Get settled in the meeting room. I’d like to start on time for once.”

Nakano cheerily shouted his affirmation, as the Captain strode off. Sergeant Shimomura remained behind, noting something on her clipboard.

“Good morning, Detective Nagai. Detective Nakano.” she greeted them properly, obsidian eyes calmly meeting their gaze.

“Good morning, Seargeant!” Nakano exclaimed, grinning back at her, not even attempting to hide his delight as having received her full attention, “How was your weekend? Did you do something fun?”

This was a one-sided love affair at best, Kei was certain, but that didn’t stop Nakano from being hopelessly infatuated with the Sergeant the moment he had stepped foot into the precinct. It’s good that he himself never had to deal with this type of ridiculous experiences, he thought, quenching the faintest annoyance that bubbled within him whenever he realized Nakano did have a habit of being very flirt-friendly with a lot of his female colleagues. Shimomura faintly returned his smile.

“It was fairly uneventful.” she said, in that reserved, cryptical way of hers, “I hope yours was enjoyable, as well.” The open-ended question was a rookie mistake.

As Nakano launched into an overly-detailed recitation of his weekend which included a paintball tournament and a barbecue (where on earth did he take the energy, Kei could not imagine), he observed the Seargeant more closely.

Fairly uneventful could mean anything when it came to Sergeant Shimomura. The last time she had used that description, she had single-handedly led a drug bust that had carried on into the early hours of Sunday morning. She was only few years older than Kei. He was also fairly certain they’d both trained at the same academy, although he had no proof of that. Upon joining their precinct, Tosaki had immediately recruited her as his second-in-command, which came to no surprise. Shimomura was not only loyal to the core, but also greatly skilled both in detective work and martial combat. She also did not seem fazed by the fact that she often got mistaken as Tosaki’s secretary. Whenever that happened, the Captain made sure to correct the mistake immediately, referring to her as his “highly talented Sergeant” and, and redirecting whoever misspoke to see Naomi if they wanted to speak with his “highly talented secretary.” (It was a blessing that he always made a show of loudly announcing these corrections, so Naomi at least had a few seconds to save her level on Wintry Workshop and pull up an Excel Table on her computer so as not to undermine his statement.)

Apart from this, he had not a single clue about the Seargeant’s backstory, interests or even exact whereabouts. Which was fairly unusual for a  department as…sociable as theirs. This was the most polite way Kei had of putting it.

“I know exactly three things about you.” Kei had pointed out one evening, as stacks of paperwork were dragging them long past the end of their shift, “And one of them is that you don’t let anyone know where you live.”

“That is already one thing more than you were supposed to know, Detective Nagai.” the Seargeant had said, the corners of her lips tilting up ever so slightly, “Not even my relatives have the information.”

He had left it at that. He had once seen her body-slam the leader of human trafficking ring that towered two heads above her after the man had attempted to pull a gun on her. It really wasn’t worth the risk.

“So in conclusion.”  Detective Nakano said, gesturing towards the projector, “I’m really certain this is the man we’re looking for. Here he is, on his way of committing crime.”

With a dramatical flourish, he moved onto the next slide of his presentation.

The grainy photo, taken from a security camera inside the Forge headquarters, showed an elderly gentleman wearing a baseball cap and a knit cardigan. His eyes were unfocused, almost closed, giving the impression of him having just woken up from a nap.

Kuroki and Manabe erupted in laughter.

“No way.” Kuroki said.

“He’s on his way alright, but to the next retirement home.” Manabe scoffed.

Kuroki cackled at that and held out his hand for a fist bump, which Manabe returned.

“Alright, let’s give Detective Nakano a chance to present his case.” Seargeant Hirasawa spoke up patiently, ever the mediator, “Detective, what proof do you have?”

“Oh, uh- proof.” Detective Nakano said, scratching his head, “Well…”

Kei looked over at the Captain, who was observing Nakano from his seat at the front of the  meeting room with a stony expression. Never a good sign.

“Well, the evidence speaks for itself, doesn’t it?” Nakano said, shrugging helplessly, “He’s in this footage, he was on the previous footage…I’m sure if I contact the Cyber Crimes division they could retrace the IT address that the perps used to hack into the Forge database, and that would probably lead back to—”

“We do not operate on the basis of probably, Detective.”  The icy tone in the Captain’s voice made even Nakano cringe.

Tosaki got to his feet. He swiftly moved towards Nakano, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Zoom in, Detective.” He ordered. And Nakano did.

Kuroki whistled at the sight. ““Man, let’s hope he meakes it to the retirement home at all.”  he said.

As much as it pained Kei to admit it, he was right. Upon closer inspection, the suspect appeared even older, properly geriatric. Fragile. If Nakano had meet him outside of work, he would have likely asked if he needed assistance crossing the streets. And then helped him cross said street. Nakano was friendly like that.

“Are you telling me.” Tosaki said, each word laced with scathing disbelief, “That this is the man you believe to be behind the string of seven flawlessly executed robberies, most recently at the Forge headquarters, a company that prides itself on their bulletproof security system?”

“I’m not sure he even knows what Windows is.” someone muttered in the background. Probably Kuroki. Kei shot an unnerved look in his direction. If someone was to harangue Nakano for his mediocre presentation abilities, it was to be him.

“He could- could have allies!” Nakano defended himself, now gesturing wildly, “Like, most of them big time dudes do.”

The big times dudes, right. Whenever Kei doubted his own capabilities as a detective – which happened more frequently than he would like to admit – it was moments as this one that reassured him that perhaps a future command wasn’t this far out of reach, if this was the competition he was to contend with.

“He has a caretaker, at most, that- “

“Enough.” the Captain snapped. He massaged his temples.

He turned towards his right-hand, the only other detective’s – except, in some instances, Hirasawa’s- opinion he regularly took into consideration. “Sergeant Shimomura, what do you think?”

The room grew quiet, as everyone’s attention focused on the Seargeant sitting in the second row. Nakano seemed to be holding his breath. Shimomura was silent for several moments. When she then spoke, there was the faintest trace of sympathy in her otherwise emotionless tone.

“As much as I appreciate your case work so far, Detective, I believe you at this point that you are lacking the necessary evidence to make an accusation, let alone an arrest.”

She concluded by clicking her pen shut. Upon this judgement, Nakano visibly deflated. Shimomura had likely been his last and most important pillar of hope.

Tosaki nodded. “I agree.”

“Listen, guys.” Nakano called out, a tinge of desperation creeping into his voice, “You know I have a really good intuition.”

That he had, Kei had to admit. Despite his own record of solved cases, Nakano wasn’t lagging too far behind. Or at all. There had been one too many times where they had made a competition, with a humiliating punishment for that month’s loser in terms of numbers. Though even those didn’t seem to faze him. He had worn the pink, glitter-adorned “Boss Babe ” shirt with pride to the precinct the day after Nagai had bested him one glorious August evening. Kei would have called sick before he sat one foot through the doors in this get-up. He imagined his little sister calling him a misogynist and scowled at the idea.

“And it is because of said intuition”- wow, what a big word for you, Detective, Kei thought drlyly, “That I am so very certain.”  Nakano continued, his voice becoming more steadfast and louder in his determination, “This is the culprit!” He pointed back towards the screen, the image woefully undermining the earthshattering point he was trying to make, “this is the guy we have been chasing for months, who has been making our lives hell since he robbed that gaming store a year ago.”

“That’s a hell of a nice deal on those retro consoles.” Ogura had whistled through his teeth when Kei had shown him the recipes of the robbery after the doctor’s persistent badgering, “Wish I had a Pacman game at home.”

“So, if you believe me, I can say that it’s him with like” Nakano frowned, running the numbers in his head: “85% certainty! That’s how certain I am!”

Kei was about to throw in his own comment on the situation when the Captain shut down the projector, much to Nakano’s gasping dismay and feeble protests.

“85% are not enough, Detective.” he said coldly and turned towards the room

, “Meeting dismissed.”

Kei tried to spend the rest of the day in a productive state, in an effort to be able to go home at the designated time that was almost never kept. Nakano, who had not quite bounced back from their morning meeting, unintentionally made every effort to thwart this plan.

“I just don’t get why my case work wasn’t enough.” he whined, for the second time that afternoon, head placed on Kei’s desk, where the later was filing, or rather, attempting to file a report.

“And I don’t get why you continue to ignore my work space, but here we are.” Kei said monotonously.

“Come on, dude, we’re basically desk mates.” Nakano argued, which was a very convenient stretching of the truth.

The fact that he had to roll past four other desks on his way to Kei’s – courtesy of Tosaki, who had placed them apart in his first week in order to improve work flow - was no deterrent for Detective Nakano. He enjoyed making the way into a race of sorts, often timing how long it took him to get from one desk to the other. His record of five seconds was still unbeaten.

“I pulled so much overtime for this, it’s like the Captain didn’t even properly read my report-“

Kei saved his document, and sighed, deciding to spare a few seconds of his valuable time for his colleague.

“I’m certain he did. It’s just not that simple.” He said, “Seargeant Shimomura has been on the same track for months. If she’s finding it to be a challenge, why did you think it would be an easy solve for you?”

This seemed to resonate with Nakano. “Well.” he said, appearing thoughtful of suddenly, “Guess you have a point. Still sucks, though.”

Kei hummed affirmatively, leaving his colleague alone with his own thoughts, which was thankfully a peaceful situation. He chanced a glance at the large office clock. If he kept working at his previous speed, and if Seargeant Hirasawa didn’t magically appear with another apartment break-in for him to process, then perhaps- today he would actually be able to leave-

“Detective Nakano, Detective Nagai.” Captain Tosaki barked from his office door, “A word. Now.”

Kei did not even attempt to suppress his groan.

“Well, suppose we should go, right?” Nakano said, squaring his shoulders and throwing him a questioning sort of look to which Kei could only respond in kind. No, he too had no idea what could possibly be going on.

“Oopsie.” Naomi said, a grimacing-type of smile clear with Schadenfreude, as they walked past her desk, “The Captain is still in kind of a bad mood. The fact that Doc Ogura just called back a few seconds ago didn’t help with that at all.”

Kei saw that she at least had the decency to pause her Candy Crush game for that short, albeit pointless conversation.

“Great.” he replied sarcastically, “Thank you for the info.”

“No worries.” Naomi chirped, “Let me know if there’s anything going on, yeah? The office has been so quiet these past few days.” She leant forward and lowered the register of her voice: “I could use some juicy info.”

“We’ll see what we can do, Miss Naomi!” Kou called out enthusiastically, as Kei, unnerved, dragged him to Captain’s office.

Captain Tosaki wasn’t alone. Sergeant Shimomura stood on his right side, giving them the hint of a smile as they entered.

“Close the door properly and pull down the blinds.” Captain Tosaki instructed promptly “I have a matter of great importance to discuss with both of you.”

Kei had not expected this turn of events. He took a moment to recollect himself, while Nakano already jumped into action with an enthusiastic “Yes, Sir!” and carried out the tasks.

“Sit down.” the Sergeant said, gesturing to the seats in front of the desk.

They both did. Anticipation had Kei sliding to the edge of his chair, toes poised on the carpeted floor. Nakano seemed equally as nervous, but in stark contrast, as far as Kei could tell, carried himself with less with dread, even with a hint of excitement.

“So.” Tosaki said, after a few beats of uncomfortable silence, “I have called you here to inform you that I – or, rather, we both-“ he glanced at the Sergeant, “Would like to revise our statement on Detective Nakano’s casework.”

Something lurched in Kei’s chest.

“Revise?” Kou said, in a puzzled tone, because of course he did.

“Retract.” Sergeant Shimomura interjected, “We have reviewed your work and believe that you are on the right path, Detective.”

“All evidence considered, we believe you have identified the correct culprit. Responsible for the burglaries of several stores, the Forge headquarters and beyond.”  Tosaki continued with a sigh, “Your intuition, unfortunately, was correct.”

Kei could see the wheels turning in Nakano’s head.

“Heck yeah!” his colleague shouted, pumping his fist in elation, which earned him an insistent Shush from his unamused superiors.

“Sorry.” Nakano .said sheepishly, scratching his head. “I’m just glad I got it right. It’s good when your work pays off.”

The Captain sighed again.

“Why unfortunately?” Kei spoke up, raising an eyebrow at the odd turn of phrasing, “How is a progress in a case not beneficial?”

The Captain and the Sergeant exchanged another one of their trademark looks.

“Well.” Sergeant Shimomura said, hesitating, “The matter appears to be larger than we originally anticipated.”

“That being a rather euphemistic understatement.” Tosaki said, producing a file from his drawers and slapping it down in front of them, “Our culprit, Samuel T. Owen, is not only responsible for the string of robberies.”  

CLASSIFIED, red letters read.

“We also believe him to be the leader of an anarchist uprising with ties to the black market, specifically organ trafficking.”

Fuck, was the first thought to enter Kei’s mind, More overtime. He was exhausted as it was. He ignored the sliver of interest he felt at the promise of a case far more thrilling than he had ever worked one, even dreamed of working when he chose his career path. Nakano, on the other hand,  made an odd, high-pitched noise next to him, which Kei correctly identified as a suppressed whimper of excitement.

“Heck yeah.” his colleague whispered in awe, fist clenched,  beaming like Christmas had come early.

“So we have asked you here to promote you to primary investigators on this case that must be carried out with utmost-“ Tosaki paused, eyeing Nakano scrutinizingly, “disrection. No- one is to be informed the nature of this investigation, or any new developments, apart from Sergeant Shimomura and myself. At least, for the foreseeable future. Understood?”

“Yes Sir!” the Detective replied, an excited almost-yell that made the Sergeant shush him again.

The Captain massaged his forehead. “You both, including you, Detective Nagai.”

“Yes, Sir.” Kei responded, dully.

“I hope you do not disappoint us with your work on the SATO case.” The Captain concluded.

“Sato?” Nakano asked, frowning.

“It’s the acronym we have chosen.” Sergeant Shimomura explained, “Samuel T. Owen is the name of our suspected culprit. Or in other words-“ she paused for effect,  “SATO.”

Even if Kei had had more time to prepare, he would not have been able to quell Nakano’s shout of excitement this time. It would have been hard too, with excitement and anticipation thrumming in his own veins.

“Heck yeah!”

------

Rest in Peace Andre Braugher (01.07.1962- 11.12.2023) - your incredible portrayal of Captain Raymond Holt will be missed. You will always be the Captain of our Hearts!

[adultswim2021]

Space Ghost Weekend (part 2)

It's the second season of the dang GameTap episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and the second of two posts covering them on this dang blog. I have very special thoughts about these, so please! pour over every word. Read this out loud to a loved one if needed.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #98: "Richard" | September 11, 2007 | S09E01

In this episode: Moltar discusses Linda, solidifying her into the canon of Space Ghost. I will not rest until she gets her first onscreen appearance on HBOMax’s Jellystone. In the cold open they joke about Moltar being whipped. Space Ghost proclaims to be the Earl of Peppercorn, which is pretty wacky. Moltar is self-conscious about having a huge head. And other garbage. 

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #99: "Stephen" | October 31, 2007 | S09E02

Okay, so Yar is back in this one, and he doesn’t actually sound like the one guy I said from yesterday’s post, I fucked up. He also is clearly drawn in a pixel art style, which I didn’t realize because of the questionable provenance of the video files I’m watching. He’s sorta the Bubba Duck of this show (readers! Bubba Duck was introduced late into Ducktales’ run, and those episodes are largely considered [by whom?] to be inferior to the ones that came before them!).

There’s a non-verbal (like Val Kilmer aww) appearance from the Council of Doom. This one is abysmal. They really chopped up the interview to make it sound nonsensical, and I personally consider this to be cheating at making Space Ghost. Worse than having your main character follow an ant around for 11 minutes (Which I like!!!).

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #100: "David" | November 11, 2007 | S09E03

Seems like this show thrives on coming up with silly words like “Lava Chicken”. I sorta liked this one but it’s still pretty weak. Zorak takes over the show after bogusly claiming that Moltar went on “vacation”, tantamount to “escaping” Space Ghost's enslavement. Space Ghost goes on a wild goose chase looking for him. If this were a higher-budgeted episode they’d probably take it to funnier places, but Space Ghost talks to little Space Ghosts instead and it’s mildly amusing. Moltar was in the bathroom the whole time, nasty!

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #101: "Chantal" | December 2, 2007 | S09E04

Why do these all start with a weird click noise? I’m guessing that’s the website’s fault and people screen-recorded these? This one features Chantal Claret who seems like she’s a fan of Space Ghost. She’s also one of the biggest babes the show has ever had. It’s a shame she was wasted on a Gametap episode! I have not heard her music or googled her name + "Israel" so I’m not sure if I respect her or not yet. But she seems cool I like her. 

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #102: "Mark" (lost) | May 4, 2008 | S09E05 Space Ghost Coast to Coast #103: "Bruce" (lost) | May 16, 2008 | S09E06

Two losties in a row. No Idea who these schmoes are. I can’t even google these dildos. My pal London told me that the lost episode's titles/guests could very well be bogus; filled-in by some ne'er-do-well on a wiki, and that this information has self-replicated itself ever since. I am very interested to find out if that's true or not, but I believe it. I did do a cursory search on the library of congress website and was astonished to see some GameTap episodes listed, but it was missing episodes that definitely do exist so I can't really conclude anything from that.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #104: "Dee" | May 25, 2008 | S09E07

Dee Snider who I heard is MEAN IN REAL LIFE appears in Space Ghost’s monitor. The compositing effects look bad again. Maybe Dee had to self-tape and this is what we got? They bleeped the word bitch in this. The Ghost Planet building is shown to blow up and a title appears on screen saying TO BE CONTINUED. This turns out to be a FUCKING joke. Dee is sorta funny in this, he gets into the spirit of the show pretty well by egging Moltar and Zorak to rebel against Space Ghost. 

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #105: "Barenaked Ladies" | May 31, 2008 | S09E08

This is easily the best episode of the GameTap batch, because it made me laugh twice. I expect this gag might be polarizing, but the weird live-action nipple with the fly crawling on it made me laugh. It’s unlike anything the show has ever done, really, and it was probably the element of surprise that got me. I suspect that gag might’ve pissed some people off, though.

The other part that made me laugh was when Space Ghost urges the band members to do something “sinsational” and the smack his lips. No joke, I laughed so hard at this, and it was one of those rolling laughs that feel like they’ll never end. They deserved the Peabody award for that joke. 

Space Ghost Coast to Coast: "Jonny Quest" | March 19, 1996 | Special

I wanted to throw this in there because I do sorta feel like this comes close to being a SORTA episode? It’s not really any better than the GameTap episodes, in my opinion. It’s mostly Space Ghost being excited about Jonny Quest’s VHS releases. Space Ghost never got an official retail VHS tape release, if I’m not mistaken, and couldn't you just imagine the world we’d be living in if there had been? 9/11 wouldn’t have happened! But Jan 6th still would have :( 

That's that for Space Ghost Weekend. We'll begin doing 2010 pretty soon. Maybe not exactly tomorrow, but soon.

[captainjimothycarter]

okay but peggy accidentally calling phillips "dad" one day asdfhdjfjdhs

Okay, I imagined that scene from Brooklyn 99 where Jake calls Holt dad but instead, this came out from Phillip’s POV and it’s just a hot mess. I have no idea what this is, lmao.

But I absolutely love this idea, it just slips and they just run with it. This took me longer to write than it should've, but damn my sinuses.

It's on AO3 Too! 

--

“Carter, this needs your lookover before I approve of sending your boys out lollygagging in California for two weeks.”

Lord knows he’d send Rogers and Barnes to Alaska if it get them out of his hair for two weeks. Some quiet and...well, he might miss the buggers. Carter on the other hand, she never minded time away, but he knew her focus would be on breaking down the intel that they’d so generally taken from the last raid of an underground Hydra base.

He didn’t even see Carter get up from the desk, felt the file tugged from his hands as he turned to focus on the next bunch. File after file, that’s all his job had become. Safer behind a desk where he wasn’t signing letters telling parents their poor son had died in a worthless war.

“They’re not lollygagging,” Carter told him, gently chiding him for the tenth time. “They’re pulling Stark out of whatever the hell he’s doing to get his ass back here. We’re close to finishing Project Playground.” 

“The Playground,” Phillips mumbled, shaking his head. “Who comes up with these ridiculous names? Here, make sure they get this too.”

“If I remember correctly,” she hummed, snatching the black bag from his hand. “You do, Dad.”

Did she - 

No, no there was no damn way that he heard that correctly. There was no way on this God Green Earth that Carter had called him dad.

It must’ve been the years he’s spent next to the artillery that caused his ears to ring, for him to lose his hearing. There was no damn way he’d heard Carter of all people call him dad. Sure, he could see one of Rogers’ posse doing this as a joke or even Barnes while laughing his tail off but not Carter.

Carter might’ve been the closest thing he had to a daughter and unfortunately, that meant came with Rogers technically being his son-in-law and whatever the hell Barnes was to either of them, but Carter knew her father. Her mother might’ve been a piece of work and Rogers’ mother had adopted her right up as a ‘daughter she never had’ but the point still stood.

Well, all logic went out the window the second that he looked over to her, after what must’ve been a mistake, a slip of the tongue, and well - the pure panic in her expression said it all. He would’ve let it go, brushed it off as a slip of the tongue, a mistake they all made but it became impossible to ignore when he heard Barnes’ terrible attempts at stifling his laughter.

To give him some credit, the man was trying to cover his mouth but the longer he tried to stop himself from laughing, the harder he started to laugh until he was doubled over, hands on his knees and the sound of his laughter echoed around them.

At least Rogers had some sense to not laugh and throw Barnes a look, not that Barnes could see either his or Carter’s look. Damn, that woman knew how to give meaning to if looks could kill. There was certainly a venomous quality to her look. 

“I’m going for some fresh air,” Carter announced before promptly marching out of the room.

The silence left behind was tense, at least Barnes had caught himself and stopped giggling, clearing his throat. He looked between them and where the door Carter had just marched out of.

“I should...” He started to say, throwing a thumb towards the door, Rogers stopping him mid-sentence with a slow shake of his head.

“You two should do the job I pay you for,” Phillips grumbled at them, rising to his feet. He brushed off their concerned look, following after Carter’s mumbling.

It didn’t take long to find her pacing the hall, hearing her mumbling only growing louder as he stepped closer. He leaned into the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and watched her for a while. It was the embarrassment of the situation that got to her, amongst he knew, but as he watched her struggle to light a cigarette, thinking better of it before shoving the objects hidden underneath the false brick in the pillar, he couldn’t help but smirk.

“Y’know, I would be proud to call you my daughter,” he told her after a minute, making sure that brick wasn’t in her hand. He knew her tendency to swing when startled and her impeccable aim with any projectile in her hands.

“Sir, I didn’t-”

Phillips shook his head and smiled at her, those rare types of smiles that showed past the chiseled walls the old colonel had built around himself to protect himself. Those very walls that these three damn idiots, the ones responsible for his stress and anyeriusms, he swore, had chiseled away at overtime.

They got on his nerves, they drove him to the brink of insanity. They annoyed him. They disobeyed every damn rule he’s ever laid in place but he knew their reasoning. Beyond all the white collar, bureaucracy, and political bullshit that was their jobs, he knew at the end of the day those three would do whatever it took to do the right thing.

He knew from the very first day that he’d met Carter, she was different. She had a spark, a flame of life that no white-collar asshole could ever tame. She needed to prove herself time and time again, no matter what it took.

That's what he admired about her and, unfortunately, for him, that spark just only grew by the time she met Rogers. They both carried that damn fire.

“Peggy, listen,” Phillips said in a soft tone that asked her to just listen to him. “I’m honored that you see me like that. It was a slip of a tongue but I couldn’t be more proud to see you as my daughter. You’re everything I would’ve wanted to call my own kin.”

“You’re not getting soft on me, are you?” Peggy teased, blinking hard to fight back the tears. “I-” 

She stopped and cleared her throat, trying to find the right words to say. There were none, of all the words in the English dictionary, none could be summoned to describe the feelings rising in both of them. Instead, he acted first. He pulled her into a tight hug, feeling her arms wrap around him.

“I’m proud of you, Peggy,” he told her as they pulled away, gently wiping away the stray tear from her face. “I’m proud of all that you’ve done and all that you will do. Even if you did bring those two numbnuts into my life.”

“Y’know we can hear you!” Bucky called down the hall. “You have to admit we made your life better, Chester!”

Barnes was the only damn one who was brave enough - no, stupid enough to ever call him by his first name. Yet, all he could do was laugh softly at Carter’s eyes sparkling as she laughed. 

“You made my life a living hell!” He called back to Bucky.

“No,” Peggy corrected. “We made your life more interesting, Dad.”

[alovelyburn]

@ayustar​ I think I’m just allergic to incredibly long posts which is hilarious coming from me, but it is what it is.

Reference to the conversation here:

I’ll be honest, I’m not much of an “I want to see the characters I dislike suffer” type of person anyway so the drive to watch a character be humiliated is kind of beyond me. Sometimes I guess you could call it justice and sometimes it’s narratively interesting but I don’t get a thrill out of it or anything.

I’m also not prone to disliking characters at all - 99% of the time I either don’t care about them or like them to one degree or another.

NOW. As for what Griffith is doing....

Obviously we don’t know for sure, and I could be incredibly wrong about this, but HONESTLY I kind of think he’s doing exactly what he seems to be doing: building a single nation for humanity that functions as a haven and incorporates all types of people, including former humans like the Apostles.

I don’t think there’s going to be a secret trap, or that he’s secretly trying to destroy humanity or that he’s secretly got a sausage machine under Falconia turning humans into food for the Apostles. I just don’t. Unless it’s a punishment for criminals I guess? That would be less surprising.

And I think the core issue with Griffith, the reason that he can be (and usually is) seen as the villain, comes down to as few major things:

1. The paradise he builds is metaphorically constructed atop the graves of the Hawks, whom Guts loved, and Guts neither places any value in peace  nor gives a fuck about humanity as a whole, so he doesn’t care how nice Falconia is, nothing will ever justify the cost to him. Since Guts is the main character the reader tends to be inclined to root for his perspective over the opposing perspective, but as Miura himself said that doesn’t mean that Griffith’s perspective is inherently wrong, it’s just a matter of which direction or angle you take on it.

2. The question of the cost. Not just the deaths of the Hawks but the sacrificed innocents around the Tower of Conviction, and the loss of the world outside Falconia - the monsters, the chaos, the death - is it worthwhile? It’s a bit like the question of whether gaining security is worth losing one’s freedom. Falconia may be a lovely place, but building it required massive sacrifices, one of which is ongoing (the relative safety of the world before Griffith merged planes), not to mention that you don’t really have any choice but to live there if you want to survive. Is that worth it?

So like, do the ends justify the means? Is it worth losing the world before to gain the world that he’s created? It’s sort of a question that needs to be answered on an individual level and people are bound to disagree, thus Miura’s statement that the world Griffith creates is more convenient for some people (and implicitly therefore not for others).

It also fits the philosophical difference between Griffith (representative of the collective) and Guts (representative of the individual) - for Griffith losing individuals (even if he loves them) is preferable to betraying the collective (for example by letting their deaths go to waste), and to Guts it’s definitively the other way around.

My general feeling, and this is veering into theory but it is what it is, is that Griffith/Femto was sent to the world to kickstart the next age of humanity, and that the age in question is reached through the tunnel known as the Age of Darkness -  a period of monsters and tumult and violence with a high mortality rate that people look back on later and say, “that sure was a dark time.” But i think the idea is that when they look back, they’re no longer in a bad place - they have arrived at the light that lives inside the darkness.

There are a lot of reasons I think this - among them being the actual in canon references to Griffith bringing a new age (and the comment from IoE that his actions will bring humanity salvation or suffering), and the fact that the old Godhand, the ones in the Void Eclipse, are drawn to resemble ancient deities and monsters which implies to me that the age before the last incarnated Godhand was similar to the ancient world.

Miura had also said that the end of Berserk would delve into Taoism and Qi which, look I am not an expert in Taoism by any means but... google it sometime and a lot about the nature of Berserk and characters like the Godhand and Griffith may become clearer.

The biggest and most revelatory thing that I found while looking into it after reading that quote is this site (the site looks janky because it’s old, but it’s a site created by a professor for the use of their students):

While many Western religions emphasize a duality between good and evil, urging devotees to embrace the good and spurn the evil, Taoism saw these moral qualities as two extremes of a single spectrum. Virtue did not lie at one end or the other of this spectrum, but through carefully maintaining a balance between the two.

Then it talks about Yin and Yang, the most common expression of this principle which I’m leaving out because this is long but it’s at the link above if you’re curious. Then...

These traits appear oppositional on first inspection. However, that opposition is only a surface illusion in Taoist belief. In fact, the two states of nature require each other. Just as an art student knows that negative space around an object is what creates the outline of positive space in a drawing, the enlightened Taoist knows that suffering, pain and misery are necessary for traits like contentment, pleasure, and happiness to exist. Sickness and health are the same phenomenon; they are just at far ends of that same phenomenological spectrum. Masculinity and femininity are also the same thing; they are both the phenomenon of gender expressed in opposite ways. Love and hatred are also the same phenomenon, and so on. 

Which is kind of how you end up with things like Griffith being both light and dark, or Guts and Griffith’s complicated feelings about one another and the statement from Skull Knight that they are half of one another.

And I just....

...if I’m being totally honest I think these things are already evident in the series so I’m not at all surprised but i am smug as hell because of all the arguments I had about this back in the day.

But I mean one of the big things about Asian media (at least in my own personal experience which is limited, so don’t take it as a universal) is that you get a lot of conceptual stuff that western audiences aren’t used to because our media tends to be more concrete and deal in more definitive concepts. And this is one of the big reasons that the west has a hard time interpreting Berserk and... I think it’s slightly exacerbated by  the way Berserk kind of masquerades as a Western-style revenge story.

[lily-blue]

13 reasons why | reason no.3: the employees are pretty... pretty friendly

☆ characters: uni student!chan & part-timer!you (Yeseo - ‘99 liner) ☆ genre: coffee shop au, college au, fluff ☆ summary: Chan only needs a couple of seconds to fall in love with you, but you’re convinced that love needs more time and effort to become something real ☆ words: 9k ☆ massive thank you: to @dat-town​ for proofreading this chapter ♥ as always, your comments totally made my day! giving people the opportunity to leave emoji reactions on drive, too, was a really wholesome idea ^^ ☆ dedicated to: @starry-hannie​​ ♥ because i remember you said you like it when the main guy shows up in front of the oc a bit disoriented and well, there is a scene like that in this one 👉👈

➼ chapter index

You wouldn’t have said that you hated Valentine’s Day or that you strongly believed that it was just another made-up holiday that some people shouldn’t have taken too seriously - the number of overpriced chocolates, stuffed animals and flowers couples consumed on 14th February was seriously ridiculous -, but you weren’t a fan of it, either. Which was why your nosiest cousin, Hyungseo, had been convinced, since the two of you had turned fifteen, that your relationship with the holiday was so deadpan because you had never been in love before, thus you couldn’t have appreciated the sentiment behind it. Honestly, you didn’t care too much what she thought about your personal beliefs and dry love life until she didn’t try to change your way of thinking, because this was who she was: a super talkative and sociable person who had a concrete opinion about everything and everyone. Over the past two decades - as you had been born in the same year, thus attended the same classes from kindergarten -, you had had plenty of time to get used to it. Sometimes, you even liked it, craved it when the attention on you was unbearable. With Hyungseo being around, you knew you didn’t have to worry about standing under the spotlight for too long. She liked it too much to give it away or share it with anyone.

This year was the first one when you actively contributed to the holiday and it was because the coffee shop where you worked as a part-timer had a dozen special offers for couples and single people altogether. And while you had always liked the “buy one, get one free” type of discounts, this time, your favourite was definitely the permission you and the other baristas had gotten to give free cupcakes to people who looked under the weather or were outright upset with the lovey-dovey atmosphere in the shop.

Throughout the day, you only encountered five or six people who looked oversensitive, but it was true that both Sooryeon and Seungkwan spent more time behind the cash register than you, so you couldn’t have been too sure about the numbers. Still, even three times that many sounded saddening, especially when a girl decided to break up with her boyfriend right next to the table that you were cleaning, in the middle of the shop. Lacking advanced comforting skills - especially when it came to strangers -, you switched tasks with the blonde barista and promised to owe him a big one before you walked behind the counter and greeted the next customer.

‘Welcome to Coffee Carat! What can I get for you?’ You used the same line everyone used at the shop, shooting a polite yet friendly smile in the customer’s direction since it was in your job description. A part of you honestly doubted that Seungcheol would have fired you if you hadn’t smiled at every person during your shifts, but you didn’t mind being super nice, and you liked working at the coffee shop too much to take unnecessary risks so early into your employment. When had your trial week ended? Three weeks ago? That meant that you barely worked at Coffee Carat for a month.

‘A latte, please. I’m fine with whatever flavour. You can choose,’ the boy in front of you said after a few seconds of silence. His voice was so devoid of emotions, you wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been one of those unlucky souls, too, who got dumped on Valentine’s Day of all days.

Since he had put his trust in you to prepare any kind of latte for him without even looking at you and hadn’t informed you about possible allergies, you decided to not bombard him with further questions and got to work immediately. Not because there was a long line behind him - which was otherwise true -, but because one stolen glance at his white knuckles around his wallet was enough for you to resonate with his inner discomfort. He clearly wished to get over with his order as soon as possible and it was your job to please your customers.

Taking only a split second to ponder over your options, you turned your back on the boy and prepared your favourite almond latte for him that went well with your chocolatey cupcakes. It was on the less sweet end of the scale, but it was still delicious, thus you hoped he wouldn’t mind. He might have looked like someone who needed some sugar to brighten his mood, but you believed that the free dessert would make up for the lack of it in his drink.

‘Here. It’s 4000₩ in total,’ you said politely once you placed the glass in front of the boy along with a ChocoLate.

You were about to explain to him that you had made him an almond latte, when the boy lifted his head and looked at you with a furrow between his eyebrows.

‘What about the cupcake? That’s an extra 1800₩,’ he inquired as he pointed his index finger at the said dessert. His question took you aback for a second, because for 1) he said the price with such confidence as though he was a regular (that could have easily been the case) and 2) most people wouldn’t have pulled your attention at a mistake that otherwise benefited them. Like that one time when your mother had gotten back more money at the convenience store than how much she had originally paid because the ahjussi had given her the wrong bill. You had never seen your mom run out of a building so fast.

‘Oh! That’s on the house,’ you informed him, trying your best to not come off as impatient or rude while you were waiting for him to pay. The line behind him might have gotten longer in the past minutes, but he was still a customer and at that moment, his order was your priority. Until he didn’t cause trouble, the others could have forgiven a few more seconds. (Or so you genuinely hoped. You might have gotten panicky if someone had called for the manager.)

‘Are you sure? I mean, I know the cupcakes are worth their price, I don’t mind paying for it,’ he reasoned, aiding your first assumption that he was a regular.

‘You really don’t have to.’ You shook your head and both of your hands vehemently; a habit of yours that you couldn’t have shaken off since middle school even though your family members liked to point out how stupid you looked when you tried to dismiss something with tooth and nail. Most of the time, an offer or an uncomfortable idea. At the moment, his extra 1800₩. 

It was written all over the boy’s face: his doubts and scepticism, but you stood your ground. You figured, not dancing back on your words could have been more effective and less time consuming if you had just held out for a little longer than accepting his money and letting him wonder whether it was your way of hitting on him. No, you would have rather not gone there and listened to possible questions about how handsome or cute you had thought he was on a scale from one to ten. (With his long face and furrowed eyebrows, he was a seven. You couldn’t have said anything about him on his better days.)

Once the payment terminal accepted his card and printed the receipt, you tore the paper off the device and handed it over to the boy, who took it after a bit of logistics. Biting back an amused chuckle, you felt bad for the cupcake that stuck between his upper arm and torso, but said nothing about it. 

‘Have a nice day!’ You said instead and when his gaze fell on you, you lifted your fists for a silent hwaiting, cheering him up as subtly as you could have managed. 

The thought of looking for an empty table long forgotten, the boy gulped and stumbled in his own leg before he could have bid his goodbye. His thin lips fell open and his grip got firmer on his glass without meaning to as though someone had casted a spell on him. In all honesty, you had no idea what had gotten into him, what he could have seen that had made him react in such extremes, but you didn’t have time to ponder over the question.

The next customer asked for an iced americano and three slices of apple pies to go, thus you got to work immediately, trying to make up for the wait with your fast speed.

Busy with placing the desserts into a recycled container, you didn’t notice the boy shifting his gaze back to you as soon as he took a seat by the windows. You didn’t see how he couldn’t have taken his eyes off you while you were communicating with the other customers, always patient, always polite, even when they were a real pain in the ass. 

You didn’t see any of it, but Seungkwan caught it all. And knowing Chan personally, the blonde barista couldn’t not tease the younger while he was wiping the sticky table clean next to his.

You might not have been aware of this, either, but it was a painfully long afternoon for the both of you that day.

After Valentine’s Day, you saw the boy at the coffee shop whenever you had a shift regardless of whether it was a morning or an afternoon one. It didn’t matter that you changed shifts with someone last minute or came to work during your usual hours. He was there to ask for a latte of your choice and something sweet that complemented its flavours. Since you had always found cute boys more attractive than the sexier types, the first time he smiled at you, you came to the conclusion that he was more like a nine when he wasn’t under the weather, but no matter how flustered this thought alone made you feel, he was one of your regulars and you loved your job. You needed this job. So you kept your occasional, quick conversations professional and never answered those questions that you deemed too personal.

His name was Lee Chan and he attended the university only three stops from here by metro, but despite knowing all these, you didn’t tell him your family name nor did you pull his attention to the fact that you went to the same institute. He didn’t have to know these details, just like how you shouldn’t have been aware that he was majoring in pedagogy with dance as his minor. Dance. The same major you changed yours to. For some reason, this thought made you feel itchy on the inside whenever he was around, even though your smile never faltered. You were too good at putting up a facade.

To say that you were out of it, when one night Chan stayed after closing time, would have been an understatement. You pathetically dropped two mugs and a plate when he walked up to Hoyeon unnie and she ruffled his already messy locks with affection. Since when had they known each other? On a more important note: why had nobody cared to inform you that Chan was a part of the CC family?

Cursing under your nose because of the sudden attention your actions received, you made a mental note to be more careful around your coworkers from now on as none of them could have been trusted!

‘Are you okay?’ Sooryeon rushed up to you with a broom and a dustpan, asking you to step away from the shards that you did without further objection. Obviously, you hadn’t planned to pick up the sharp pieces with bare hands anyway, but her rarely visible caring side - even though she had basically ordered you around - never failed to put a subtle smile on your face. She was a good friend even if she was undoubtedly rough around the edges. 

‘Yeah, I’m fine. They slipped out of my hand,’ you murmured under your nose, praying that everyone started doing their job instead of stealing glances at you and the other girl even though you couldn’t have been sure whether they were still staring. You didn’t dare to look at them and risk to meet their eyes. It was your tingling skin and quickly beating heart that told you that you were still under the spotlight.

If you had looked up, you would have realised that it was mostly in your head. That the only person who couldn’t have taken his eyes off you was Chan and most people paid attention either on their closing duties or - in Seungkwan’s case - the younger boy.

Once the floor was devoid of pointy porcelain pieces, you turned back to the tray that you should have filled with abandoned mugs and plates before washing them by the counter, then picked it up and did just that, determined to focus on your tasks. You didn’t spare anyone a single glance, let alone to the boy, until you were by the sink and the warm water poured on your glove-covered hands.

Because then, when your mind finally persuaded you that everyone forgot about the incident and you, you couldn’t help but look for the boy who was sitting by one of the tables with your boss’ girlfriend. He was talking animatedly, with funny, over-exaggerated hand gestures and you allowed yourself a smile upon seeing him almost knocking over the glass of berry lemonade he had in front of him.

‘You know, you remind me of Minghao a lot right now,’ you heard Sooryeon say from your right, her lips pulled in a sly smile. It wasn’t a bad look on her (it emphasised her badass aura a lot), but the sight was still unnerving, thus you wished she would have stopped. Especially because you couldn’t see the correlation in what she was saying and you didn’t like it when the voice of your consciousness told you that you were kept in the dark. It had already taken a lot out of you to not know for sure how your family would have reacted if they had found out that you were working part-time behind their back - and that you changed your major without their permission just the same. You didn’t need more stress, no matter how significant these two things appeared to be compared to the one you were stressing over recently.

‘I do? I’m nothing like him, though. No offence,’ you said while you turned back to the sink and rinsed the apple-scented bubbles off the next plate that you put your hand on.

The girl leaned against the counter next to you, her comfortable posture freaking you out. She looked ready to fill you in on everything and suddenly, you weren’t sure you wanted to hear any of it. At least, so close to the table where Chan was speaking of his day, dropping words like practice, captain, competition. Did he have a team?

‘When I first met him, I was sitting with Hoyeon unnie while he was cleaning the tables. He also had this weird fixation with staying as far from me as he could,’ she told you and you furrowed your brows in confusion, because you had never heard this story before. The guys might have been pretty gossipy, but they had never talked about the Chinese boy and his relationship in the shop and you had never gone out with them for a couple of drinks when they had invited everyone for chimaek in the group chat. You were in desperate need of every won you could save up in case your parents decided to kick you out as soon as they realised that you were studying arts with their money. You couldn’t have afforded to be outgoing, no matter how fun they were.

‘Aren’t you two like… dating or something?’ You raised a brow in question, knowing that she could detect your confusion easily without you turning your head in her direction. So you reached out for another plate. 

‘Exactly what I’m hinting at,’ she pushed, coaxing a sigh out of you. Now that you knew that Chan was friends with most of your coworkers, if not all, you didn’t want any of them to hear Sooryeon talk about him like this. You didn’t need them to think that you were pining after him when you couldn’t have cared less about romance.

‘Well… please, don’t do it,’ you asked her before you turned off the running water and peeled the latex gloves off your hands. You took a deep breath, searching for your nonexistent will, before you looked her in the eyes. Sooryeon seemed amused, but you didn’t let it get to you. Instead, your pseudo-nonchalance settled on your features and you looked at her with your face devoid of emotions. A trick you had mastered in high school when the competition had been so draining amongst students, you had visited the local hospitals weekly for IV vitamin treatments that you had obviously hid from your classmates and teachers. Your mother had told you to maintain the picture perfect of your family with secrets and lies if needed. And they had always been needed. ‘Didn’t Seungkwan assign you to the storage room tonight?’

‘Yeah. I was just looking for a pen,’ she said and to back up her statement, she lifted the blue ballpen in front of your face, moving it up and down to pull your attention to the object - and to break you out of your neutral state. It helped. You rolled your eyes, but cracked a small smile, too.

Since you had already finished washing the dishes, you stepped to the coffee machine next to start to clean it thoroughly as well. You got to work just like how Seokmin had taught you on your first day, following each step while making sure that the portafilter and brew head were well-taken-care-of.

You bit into your lower lip when you heard the girl’s steps coming to a halt right behind your back. Like that one specific scene in every horror movie before the character died, you could feel your heart picking up its speed when she leaned close to your ear.

‘He’s cute,’ Sooryeon whispered, shamelessly enjoying your reaction. You wished she had already stopped, so you could have kept living in blissful denial regardless of how cute or not Chan was. He might have fitted all the points in your nonexistent list about those qualities a handsome person had to possess, but you still weren’t interested. 

And you hoped he wasn’t, either.

‘I will tell on you to Minghao if you don’t shut up,’ you snickered, even though your negative emotions per se weren’t directed at the girl as a person. It was her persistence that made you feel itchy and annoyed. But then again, this was who she was and you had always admired her ability to do as she pleased. It had taken you decades to finally choose yourself first. You couldn’t have hated her for something you had been envious of in your whole life. Those who lived like that were petty and toxic.

You prided yourself in not being a nosy person. You preferred to live in your own, personal bubble anyway, because a part of you believed that as long as you stayed away from other people’s drama, drama stayed away from you, too. It sounded logical in theory. But life didn’t work that way. (Even if it had been easy to put the blame on Seungkwan’s loose mouth and those stories he had told you about Minghao and Sooryeon’s relationship when one day, your cousin walked into Coffee Carat during your shift.)

The moment your eyes fell on Hyungseo’s familiar figure, something akin to dread tugged on your stomach and you felt nauseous despite knowing that you wouldn’t have thrown up for real in the middle of the shop. Your shaking hands and the empty porcelain you carried from one dirty table to the other were a much bigger and more realistic problem. You would have definitely drawn an overwhelming amount of attention if you had dropped a full tray during peak time. You needed to calm down. You needed to calm down quickly.

However, in spite of your effort to take control over the situation, the moment you heard your cousin’s voice, your palms got clammy and it was the matter of sheer luck that you managed to get back to the counter without a major accident.

‘Hey! Is everything alright?’ Your shoulders tensed when you felt the light touch of a hand on your shoulder, but you immediately relaxed when your brain processed that it was only your supervisor, Seokmin.

‘Yeah, I’m just…’ you were about to shush his worries, but then you heard a familiar laugh from the end of the line in front of the counter and you swallowed down your pride. So what if he had seen you in a vulnerable mental state? Until his kind heart helped you avoid a fatal disaster, you could bear the look in the barista’s eyes. ‘You know what? I feel a little dizzy. Is there a chance that I can take my lunch break sooner?’ You asked with an unintentional crack in your voice that certainly helped your case.

You might have hated how the boy looked at you, but the light nod of his head put your heart at ease.

‘Of course, don’t worry about it,’ he shot you a friendly smile, patting your shoulder to calm you as he took a glance at the customer area. ‘I see you took care of the dirty tables already and most people order to-go during these hours anyway. We’ll handle it,’ he reassured you, before he took the packed tray out of your trembling hands and tilted his head towards the hidden corridor behind those beige curtains that led to Seunghceol’s office and the changing room.

Quite frankly, you felt bad for bailing out on the guys during peak hours (a part of you was doubtful that Seokmin was allowed to let you take your break during this particular period), but your fear was bigger than your guilt. Therefore, when you finally got the green light, you didn’t question whether they would have indeed been fine without an extra pair of hands, nor did you hesitate. Instead, you bowed as a silent thank you and sprinted towards the curtains.

You weren’t sure how it was possible, but you didn’t know that Seungcheol had a visitor that day. You were also unaware that said person was no other than Lee Chan whose firm chest stopped you only for a split second before you took a step to the right and passed him by with a panicked apology.

As soon as the changing room’s massive door closed shut behind your back and its echo filled the atmosphere, you allowed your vulnerable self to crawl itself to the surface and stumbled forwards. You didn’t bother to check whose locker you leaned against or how dishevelled you looked in the mirror. You just closed your eyes and breathed. In and out. In and out. Half an hour should have been enough for your cousin to leave the shop even if she decided to stay for a little while. She had Introduction to Economics class from ten on Tuesdays and Fridays. You knew, because she liked venting about her professor when you grabbed dinner together on Wednesdays near campus.

You didn’t notice that someone reopened the changing room’s door until they closed it. And when that happened, you hit your forehead into the locker you were leaning against because your first instinct was to hide. You were unfortunately clumsy under pressure. No wonder, none of your family members had chosen you to be stuck with during a zombie apocalypse when you had been playing board games at Christmas. You had been voted out three times in a row before you had chosen to sit with your grandmother instead, binge watching old-school holiday movies while stuffing your faces with food.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to scare you. I…’ the intruder stuttered, his voice embracing you with familiarity and unfamiliarity at once. He was someone you knew, but couldn’t have told more about than his name and the university he attended. Lee Chan in all his nervous glory. ‘Are you okay? You looked like you’d just seen a ghost or something. I… I wanted to make sure,’ he rambled, going on and on until you finally took a deep breath and turned around to face him. Honestly, at that moment, he managed to look more panicked than you were, which made you feel a bit better.

You offered him a small smile.

‘I’m fine. You should leave before someone notices that you entered a staff only room,’ you told him, somewhat pleased with yourself for finding the perfect reason to maintain the thick wall between the two of you without appearing rude. Yeah, you really shouldn’t have been rude to someone who was like a little brother to your boss and his girlfriend.

‘Don’t worry about that. We’re super close with the guys. “Wearing each other’s boxers” type of close. Like, I actually let Seungkwan wear mine at Mingyu hyung’s birthday party after he…’ the boy bit into his lower lip abruptly and shot you a sheepish smile upon noticing the furrow between your brows. Although, it was him who showcased his embarrassment more prominently (you didn’t even realise that you were frowning), you couldn’t deny the fact that your cheeks heated up just the same because of his sudden underwear talk. You really didn’t want to picture Seungkwan in another person’s boxer. You didn’t want to picture the blonde boy in a boxer to begin with. ‘Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t go into too much detail. Sorry.’

‘No, it’s… it’s fine,’ you protested weakly, trying to brush away the disturbing mental image of Seungkwan from your mind. Not because you thought he didn’t look good, but because you had had dozens of shifts with him already and you knew too much about him to think of him as anything else but a charming and funny guy. If he one day became more to you than a friend, you would rather consider him your brother.

The silence that fell on you after this was just that: silence. It wasn’t comforting, but it didn’t make you more frustrated, either. It was simply Chan and you existing at the same place at the same time without affecting each other which in itself was odd. Because he had seen you breathing heavily on the corridor and with your forehead against the locker. Shouldn’t you have felt annoyed with his unwanted involvement?

A voice in your head said that you should have. But you didn’t.

‘Do you really not want to talk about it? I have a really nice shoulder to cry on,’ Chan asked at one point, taking a tentative step towards you that you mimicked with one of your own in the opposite direction. You didn’t want him near. You dreaded to realise that he might have been right and he was indeed good at listening to other people’s trouble and comforting them.

‘I don’t cry,’ you claimed, your carefully crafted mask cracking around the edges when your body language suddenly became too honest. Deep down, you were aware that linking your arms in front of your chest was a telltale sign, an obvious mistake, but you felt defenceless and you needed at least this much to hold out.

‘Everyone cries,’ Chan pressed, this time, staying still and being more careful with you. For some unknown reason to you, he didn’t want to make you more upset, although, if you had ever considered asking Seungkwan for a piece of advice, he would have told you that the boy had been head over heels for you since you had given him a cupcake on Valentine’s Day. 

‘I don’t,’ you retorted, jaw set and lips in a firm line.

There were teardrops brimming in your eyes while you were looking at the boy. You were too stubborn to blink, to turn your head, to even breathe. Therefore, Chan decided to give up and spare you from the ugly feeling of losing in a battle that shouldn’t have been considered as one to begin with. He just wanted to help. If you had paid more attention to him, you would have realised it, too. But you were too occupied to keep your walls thick and high.

Chan, on the other hand, was looking for a way to penetrate your defence, thus accepted your answer as it was regardless of how wrong it sounded and offered you a small albeit friendly smile.

‘Is this your lunch break? Do you want me to bring you something to eat?’ He asked, making you wonder whether he had come after you once he had talked with Seokmin or he was just good at guessing. The reason why you could have imagined the latter was that you usually ate at the coffee shop during your break - God bless Seungcheol for the generous barista discount -, and he couldn’t have possibly known that you hadn’t brought lunch, right? Right.

Your instincts fought you to not accept his offer, but you couldn’t have risked bumping into Hyungseo in the customer area, so you bit back your pride and nodded.

‘You don’t have to. But I would appreciate it,’ you settled, earning a wide smile from the boy that left you conflicted with the way he rushed out of the changing room almost immediately. You couldn’t have recalled a single conversation between the two of you that could have made him react this specific way, but you also knew people were different. Certain aspects of your insignificant history might have held more importance to him. You wished you knew why he would have done anything for you seemingly out of the goodwill of his heart. No one was this selfless. So where was the trick? The price that you would have to pay?

They both came a couple of minutes later, when you realised that Chan wouldn’t let you eat your grilled chicken and avocado sandwich alone and was willing to go as far as taking a seat beside you on the bench you had taken a seat on while waiting. The boy might have brought you a ChocoLate as a peace offering for intruding, but his determination was clear and you didn’t have much time or energy left to deal with him, thus you let him.

Lee Chan was a nice person. It was difficult for him to stay quiet for too long, but you could see it from the corner of your eyes that he genuinely tried to swallow back his conversation starters for which you were grateful. That was why you gave him a defeated look halfway through your sandwich and encouraged him to speak.

Given the green light, the boy did everything in his power to distract you from whatever had upsetted you before your lunch break. He asked you about your university experience, told you about his own classes, professors and friend groups and cheered on you when you finally joined in the group project diss that he started with a loud huff.

Despite giving off the talkative, nosy vibe, he didn’t push you ever again about your reason for hiding in the changing room in peak hours. Instead, he let you talk about the stupidest and least relevant things like how you had thought this area of the city was super dangerous due to the guys’ stories about Sooryeon. However, it had soon turned out that the girl was more of a troublemaker who was looking for these kinds of situations. You had started to carry pepper spray with you nevertheless, but no one had ever picked on you on your way home after your closing shifts, thus by now, your initial fears had slowly subsided.

In the end, Seokmin had to look for you to tell you that your half an hour break was over and you both apologised for not paying attention to the clock in the changing room. Chan didn’t leave for his dance class until you stood back behind the counter and served the first person in the line with your usual, breathtaking smile.

Then, he sprinted towards the metro station as fast as his legs let him. His teacher was always the hardest on those who couldn’t arrive on time for the must stretching exercises.

Weeks after your first conversation with Chan without your set roles as a regular customer and a barista, the realisation that your cheeks got warmer around him not because of what he said, but because of who he was, hit you like a bullet train. And you couldn’t have said that you knew how to handle yourself around him after the collision.

Hence, you did the first thing that came to your mind when you saw him walking towards the counter. You asked Junhui to take over your place and promised him that you would clean the coffee machine the next time after closing time without a complaint when it would be his turn to take care of everything around and behind the counter. Needless to say, he was sold on the spot.

Chan, on the other hand, wasn’t too happy about your clear rejection. He asked for an iced americano instead of his usual lattes and left without sparing a glance at anyone other than the poor barista who couldn’t understand why the younger would have sent him deadly glares while he was trying to ask him about his day. After all, Junhui did that every single time.

When the boy didn’t show up at Coffee Carat for three days in a row, you had to admit that you started to feel a bit worried. You couldn’t not think about those dreaded what ifs. What if you had offended him with your actions even though all you had needed had been a bit of time and space? What if he had needed you that day and you had failed to repay his kindness? What if he had been in trouble?

‘You shouldn’t stress over him, too. Chan is a big boy. What he’s doing is childish,’ Minghao told you when he saw you working on your assignment in the coffee shop on your day off. It seemed, you had made it too obvious that you were waiting for the boy with how frequently you were checking the entrance, but you couldn’t have cared about it too much that moment. At least, it was him, the part-timer guy, Minhyun, and Wonwoo who were working that day. Other than you, they were the least gossipy in the building.

‘If I want to be honest, I wasn’t acting like an adult, either,’ you admitted with a frown that grew more bitter when your own confession reached you. You should have told him that you had needed space instead of ignoring him. You could see it now. ‘But thanks. Really.’

The barista acknowledged your words with a nod and turned his back to you so that he could collect the empty mugs and plates from the table next to yours. He didn’t come back to pester you, but you had already known he wouldn’t. He had told you what he had wanted, and you were grateful that regardless of how you weren’t super close, he still made the effort.

It was on White Day when you next saw Lee Chan. 

You were just about to go on your break when he stormed into the building and called for your name. You turned towards him with a furrow between your brows, but made no attempt at disappearing behind the beige curtains. Which might have been a mistake in hindsight, because you had always hated standing under the spotlight and his whole appearance screamed attention. His fluffy locks were sitting in a mess atop of his head, his grey tee was tucked into his black jeans only on one side and his shoelaces were undone. And then, you hadn’t even mentioned the state of his backpack yet. It was hanging from one of his shoulders, but on his chest instead of his back. The water bottle in the net on its side was leaking. Long story short, the boy, as a whole, looked like trouble.

But there were tears in his eyes and you had already failed him once. These were what kept you from running away.

‘I’m so sorry. I really am so sorry,’ the boy started halfway between the counter and the front door. And while he wasn’t purposely screaming, the intensity of his sorrow was enough to draw more people’s attention than his entrance had done. The whole situation started to get out of control soon, when the old lady in the front of the line refused to order just to watch the scene unfold and the businessman behind her spoke up to ask her to hurry up. The number of people who came to her defence was small, but they made up for that with how loud they were.

‘Come on! He’s clearly here for you. Do something!’ Sooryeon pushed you forwards by the small of your back, earning an eye roll from you with her action. Still, you knew that your friend was right. Chan had called for your name when he had entered the shop and now he was looking at you as though he was ready to spill the beans at any moment. You had to do something.

Swallowing down the heavy knot in your throat, you took a deep breath and walked up to the boy without a glance at the audience around you. Admittedly, it was difficult, because you had never been good at handling the spotlight, but lucky for you, Chan seemed genuinely taken aback by your initiation. Pulling him towards the staff changing room was almost too easy.

‘What were you thinking? You do realise that we aren’t in a high school movie,’ you asked as soon as the door closed shut behind your back and you were finally out of sight. You didn’t intend to sound rude or put more weight on his chest, but he should have known by now that you weren’t okay with everyone getting involved in your business. Chan should have asked you if you had had time for him (which you apparently had) or waited for the end of your shift so that he could have talked to you in private. Even if you had avoided him the last time and now he was afraid to receive the same treatment, he should have come up with a better plan. How had this been the best one Chan could have thought of when he was friends with literally everyone in the coffee shop?

‘I’m just… I messed up so badly,’ he sobbed, breathing uneven and voice weak. From this close, you could see how swollen his cheeks were that made you wonder when he had started crying exactly over what had happened. Had he even slept last night? Your heart churned at the possibility that he hadn’t. You didn’t like seeing him like this.

‘What are you talking about? Are you in trouble?’ You asked, slowly leading him towards the bench so that he could sit down for a moment before his legs would have given up on him.

On most days, you refused to pry into other people’s personal life - obviously, because you preferred everyone staying out of yours, too. Therefore, they either told you what they needed to say in order to seek your advice or you were left out of their drama altogether. However, this time was a tad bit different. It was about Chan who was someone with the potential of stirring up your heart. Seeing the state he was in - in spite of rushing into the coffee shop and calling your name which was a clear sign that he wanted to talk to you -, it was clear that he needed your questions to guide him through the first part of the story.

While you were waiting for him to collect his thoughts, you fished a pack of tissues out of your apron’s pocket and handed it over to him with a small albeit encouraging smile.

‘Jeonghan hyung was wrong. One night stands aren’t the best way to get over you. They just make me think of you more,’ the boy whined, wiping his nose and cheeks clean with little to no success.

‘Are you thinking of me while having sex with randos?’ You asked with a displeased frown on your face, unable to decipher how you felt about the sudden revelation. Since you would have defined your relationship with Chan as a new and fragile friendship at best, you knew you didn’t have any right to be upset with him for sleeping around and you really weren’t. So you told yourself that you were merely taken aback, because you didn’t understand why he had confessed to you that he was hooking up with people while thinking of you.

‘What? I’m not having sex with randos,’ he claimed in a pitched voice, visibly offended by the assumption.

‘Then who are you having one night stands with?’ You inquired, ready to finally put two and two together. Had he found himself a fuck buddy one of these days? Was something wrong with the girl, thus he had come here to ask for your advice? That didn’t sound quite right for numerous reasons. 1) He had Hoyeon unnie who had more experience with relationships than you. 2) You weren’t that close friends yet. 3) He had said that he had wished to get over you, and been thinking of you. Why would he have been so desperate to do those when you two had never been a thing to begin with? In fact! He had never confessed. Wasn’t he doing these things in the wrong order?

‘No one,’ he pouted, head hanging low.

‘Okay. Look.’ You took a deep breath and pushed aside your frustration in order to hear him out. And while you would have preferred if he had looked you in the eyes while you were talking, you also let him stare at his hands in his lap, because it seemed like a habit that could have calmed him. ‘I’m starting to get very confused right now. Why are you crying?’

Letting out a pained sound, the boy rubbed his stuffy nose and after a couple of seconds of contemplation, he eventually willed himself to look you in the eyes.

The sight tugged on your heartstrings.

‘Because I almost did it. I like you and instead of accepting that you might never look at me like that, I almost hooked up with one of my classmates and this thought alone is so awful. I was acting so petty over what? I should have never listened to Jeonghan hyung. I should have tried to change your mind somehow or show you how good of a boyfriend I could be and…’ he went on and on, the word vomit that left his mouth seemingly inexhaustible.

You felt sorry for Chan. You felt sorry for giving him mixed signals when you clearly liked him enough to be afraid of your own feelings. You had hurt him out of fear and your obsession with independence just because you had to fight for it every single time when you were under the same roof with your parents.

You tried to make him stop talking, to gain his attention so that you could have told him that you weren’t angry with him, but he was so deep in thoughts and so into his monologue that he didn’t leave you much choice.

The peck you pressed against the corner of Chan’s mouth was chaste and it barely took longer than a mere second. However, it turned the boy speechless as he looked at you with comically wide eyes. He was convinced that he was dreaming; it was written all over his face.

‘Wha… What was that for? Could it be that, so that you like me, too?’ He asked, coaxing a nervous scoff out of you that immediately plastered a genuine smile on his face. You looked adorable when you were shy.

‘I’m not sure… but I feel like I could,’ you admitted after a short silence, wondering whether in a reverse situation you would have felt used or offended if someone had told you the same after kissing you without your consent. You shouldn’t have acted so bold and inconsiderate. It was wrong and unethical. 

But before you could have apologised, Chan shot a hopeful smile in your way and pulled you close for a brief hug which was just as innocent as the kiss you had exchanged. His arms only touched you at two points: on your upper arms. Otherwise, it felt as though he was embracing your aura instead of your body, but oddly enough, you liked it this way. It showed just how considerate he was of your boundaries even without a special request or a series of set rules. It showed that he paid attention and cared for you.

You stayed in this semi-awkward position until Seungkwan knocked on the changing room’s door and asked you to come back to the counter because they needed you. Unlike his nosy personality, this time, he didn’t make comments on how both of your ears were on fire, but his presence still triggered a banter between the two boys which you used to your advantage. You stood up from the bench as quickly as if the wood had caught on fire.

You were already in the corridor, trying to fix your apron, when Chan shouted after you and promised to wait until your shift ended. Sooryeon might have noticed the smile in the corner of your mouth when you reappeared from behind the beige curtains, but it didn’t change the fact that you didn’t bother to give the boy a proper reply. You believed that your lack of objection said enough.

That night, Lee Chan proved to you that he was a man of his words. Even though you would have never blamed him if he had decided to walk you home another time, because the boys’ constant teasing became almost unbearable towards the end of your shift.

As the two of you were heading towards the metro station side by side, you reminded the boy of how important your studies were for you and even emphasised that it was a fair warning on your part, because you had never been in a relationship before, thus dating you might not have been a piece of cake in case he truly wanted to take you out one of these days. But Chan claimed that he didn’t mind.

‘I know I would regret it more if I never gave us a try,’ he said with such certainty that you had no idea what you should have told him in return. So you remained silent and offered him a smile that he accepted happily.

Where you were lacking in words, Chan had plenty to give. Therefore, he kept both of you entertained the entire way to the dorm, telling you how awestruck he had been on Valentine’s Day when you had given him that cupcake (you admitted that it was Seungcheol’s idea to surprise your sad-looking customers, but he insisted that you had still chosen him and it was a good enough argument to make you bite into your tongue) and how he had tried to get to know more about you from the boys which was why he had felt like he deserved what he had gotten from them after the scene he had made earlier. (You told him that he could have asked about your habits and preferences from the source a.k.a. you, but then you both agreed that you were a hard shell to crack).

You had to give it to Chan that despite his subtle hints at how lovely he found your smile and how pretty he thought that you looked even when there were visible bags under your eyes, he managed to hold back the topic of a possible date between the two of you until you reached the building of your temporary home. 

‘Maybe, if you aren’t against the idea, we could go on a study date one of these days so that you could prepare for your classes while we’re spending some time together,’ he proposed with a boyish smile, rocking back and forth on the sole of his shoes out of nervousness. It was as clear as day that he would have been willing to do anything on your date that could have potentially made you happy, but he shouldn’t have put your preferences in front of his own just to make you like him (more). 

‘I appreciate the idea, but I don’t think you’d enjoy my company on a study date. I tend to get in the zone when I’m working on my assignments and preparing for a quiz or an exam. You wouldn’t like it and you couldn’t get to know me more, either,’ you reasoned, feeling itchy because of the whole concept of someone staring at you while you were at the library. You liked working in silence. Silence made you more productive. This was why, even when you were studying at Coffee Carat, you always made sure to sit as far from the windows that most people preferred to sit beside as possible. 

Studying and dating didn’t fit well in your dictionary.

‘I could make sure you eat enough,’ Chan mumbled under his nose, not loud enough to sound as an actual complaint, yet not quiet enough to go unnoticed. Feeling a little uncomfortable, you balled your fists next to your sides and sank your nails into your palms to keep yourself from turning your back on him. You couldn’t have possibly ran towards the main entrance of your dorm like a coward.

To tell the truth, you were a bit sceptical. You couldn’t believe that Chan’s feelings were real, no matter how determined he was to convince you of the opposite. Sure, your cheeks became warmer when he did or said something unexpected or slightly corny. You thought that he was cute and you had also chosen to shut him up with a kiss instead of raising your voice back in the changing room. You had had a few nice conversations during the past few weeks, but were these enough to make someone fall in love?

They weren’t for you. You weren’t in love yet. And that was the main reason why it was so hard for you to accept that he might have sincerely liked you regardless of your previous two or three rejections. He was here, he was still fighting for a chance with you and you couldn’t understand why.

You didn’t understand either of your feelings and emotions in general. Maybe, because you should have tried to experience them instead of deciphering them with a rational mindset. You let out a defeated sigh.

‘Look. I can give you my number and we can come up with a better date idea together,’ you offered with a sheepish smile.

Your hands were shaking when Chan gave you his phone with the kakao app on the screen and you searched for your ID with your heart in your throat. However, this time, you didn’t drop anything when your brain progressed how soft his skin had been when his fingers had accidentally touched yours nor when he leaned closer to you to take back the device.

‘Text me when you get home safe,’ he asked you happily, coaxing an amused scoff out of you with his request.

‘I’m three floors from home,’ you reminded him with a small shake of your head. You lifted your hand above your head and pointed at the small, open window on the third floor: a sign that your roommate had taken a shower not long ago. 

‘Oh? Right. Then, I’ll text you when I get home safe,’ he corrected himself quickly that you acknowledged with a simple nod.

Although a part of you contemplated whether you should have given him a hug, in the end, you bid your goodbye from a comfortable distance and didn’t steal one last glance at Chan from the threshold of the main entrance. You told yourself that you didn’t want to change your ways for a boy or keep his hopes too high. Mostly, because you didn’t want him to get hurt when he realised that dating you weren’t what he thought it was.

Yet, five minutes later, after you took off your coat and boots, you found yourself sending him a short text. 

you: “i got home safe”

Until Lee Chan, you had no idea what was so good about being in a relationship. However, when two months after your first date, the boy asked you whether you would have done him the honour and became his girlfriend, you couldn’t picture giving any other answer than yes. Because after weeks of constant effort to adjust your schedules, you kind of understood why it was so overhyped. Despite your initial beliefs, a relationship wasn’t about dependence. It was about teamwork. It was about caring for each other and leaning on each other with one common goal in the back of your minds: a future together.

A future you grew to love after you had opened up to Chan about your family and he had helped you see that just because your parents had a concrete vision about what you should have done with your life, the final say would always be yours.

➼ next reason

[dulltulipz]

One of the reasons that I think Eddie at least had a crush on Steve is because of two scenes.

Scene 1:

Eddie talking to Steve about how he should get back with Nancy and how it’s true love and blah blah blah

But the thing that makes this convo make no sense is that right before this happened Eddie kind of looked like he didn’t like Steve and Nancy relationship.

Scene 2:

Eddie straight up throws his vest at Steve to stop the interaction between Steve and Nancy. And him stopping it wasn’t a way to say “come on let’s go” “we may not have a lot of time” he throws it JUST TO STOP THEIR INTERACTION. And after he throws it he immediately comments on Steve not Steve and Nancy just Steve.

Eddie must of felt something here because he wouldn’t of done this if he wanted Steve and Nancy to be happy. There’s no question, Eddie was jealous in this scene.

You can say he’s jealous of Steve for having someone like Nancy, because he literally said he was jealous of Steve.

But you can also support the idea that Eddie was jealous of Nancy. He was jealous of the connection they had. And in the convo mentioned in the beginning can be interpreted as Eddie confessing to Steve that he was jealous of the connection that Steve had with people and how he wanted that with Steve.

I am so convinced that Steve had this admiration for Eddie, the feeling you have when you first meet someone that you grow to have feelings for.

And for Eddie I think he already had feelings for Steve. Eddie already knew a lot about steve to make assumptions about him. Probably saw steve all the time in school. Found him attractive, but at that time he didn’t have a crush.

But when he actually saw steve for who he actually was and how caring and loving he is for the people around him, Eddie’s little attraction towards him turned into a crush. He started to fall for steve.

And that’s why I think it’s more noticeable with Eddie that he may have a crush.

And going back to the conversation Eddie and steve had about him and Nancy. Eddie probably just assumed that Steve was straight and he was deeply in love with Nancy, so he put his feelings aside and tried to help steve.

But we have evidence that steve isn’t in love with Nancy. He says so in season 3 to Robin in one of the last episodes. It’s because of Robin obviously but even though the crush was on Robin, He’s still saying he’s over her and also saying that he knows that his relationship with Nancy was not healthy. That they weren’t good for each other.

So why out of no where would Steve go back on it.

AND

During Steve and Nancy interactions at the upside down skull rock and that talk in the rv. These interactions were both started by Steve but Nancy seems to be the only one who is actually affected by the interaction. The one at skull rock Steve said “and you also shot me with that one” talking about the gun Nancy owns and Nancy takes more flirtatious route and smirking and saying “you almost deserved it.” But after that Nancy is smiling up at Steve but Steve isn’t he’s just looking back at Nancy.

During the talk in the rv Steve starts the convo talking about having a family and all the kids he wants. He’s talking about want he wants. I think Steve was just creating conversation.

But when that conversation is brought back up in the upside down with Nancy he tells her “that dream I had, you were in it too” this conversation seemed to me like Steve telling Nancy what he never had the chance too, telling her what they could of had if Steve had the bump on the head sooner. But he’s also letting go of the past and moving on from Nancy.

He’s moving on.

So no matter who Steve ends with I’m 99% sure it’s not Nancy. Because he knows they’re relationship was bad.

I do not know how to end this post but yeah that’s my thoughts :)