#THIS HAS JSUT BEEN A SLOW FEW DAYS

[hattiestgal]

any advice on making outfits for characters?

The biggest pointer I can give you is to let the outfit of the character tell their story.

That can be as simple as "I spent a lotta money for these boots and by god am I gonna wear em" all the way to keepsakes all throughout their life or a description of their identity.

Take Riley's signature outfit as an example- Tank top, cargo pants, nb belt loop flag, fingerless gloves and arm wrapping. It's a real simple look, but it can say a lot!

The tank top is comfortable, and shows off her arm fat (which is one of their favorite parts of their body). The cargo pants used to go with a pair of boots that their calves are a little too thick for (plus, storage space for various trinkets). The NB beltloop flag is on the nose. And the forearm wrapping and gloves are just a force of habit at this point. A good amount of the scars underneath are healed at this point, but Riley still has a certain insecurity about them. They're also just kind of a part of their character design at this point

Here, another example.

Allison's common abyss walking outfit tells you a lot about her right off the bat! Toxins and radiation are a common thing in the Abyss, so shes well prepared to weather the storm. The mask with painted teeth - along with her hand cannon really (which she intentionally fails to acknowledge trigger discipline with) - are attempts at intimidation. She's this huge lumbering giant and she knows it! She plays up the scares because she knows you can avoid conflict if she looks the part of the brute with a short fuse. There is genuine confidence behind that though. The open jacket showing off her sturdy frame is supposed to be a signal for more watchful eyes that she really can put up a fight if need be. A good amount of her look otherwise is subconsciously playing into a cowboy bit, or just plain practical. Well sealed from the often dangerous air she roams.

To put it simply- let your outfit play a part in characterizing your subject. Do they just like the way it looks? Is it sentimental to them? could they go on a whole rant about it for hours and hours? Let the look describe the character!

[hyperfixatedoncrimminalminds]

BAU Team X Teen Reader

Request: Where the reader has a twin sister but she is a complete opposite of them? Like, she might be bratty and spoiled and reader is just glad for what they have! And the twin would be the unsub but at first they would take reader since they are twins and it's not really easy to identify them from eachother other than their personality and maybe their gender?

S/N - Y/N twin sister

Y/N - They/Them

Third person pov...

"Hey Y/N, I'm having your chocolate for my lunch" Yelled S/N in her usual bratty voice, the H/C girl grabbed the chocolate bar from her Twins lunchbox.

From the table in the Kitchen her identical twin Y/N rolls their eyes at her, there's no point in saying no otherwise she'll cause drama.

"Sure S/N" they say without saying thank you S/N shoves past her sibling jsut as Y/N got down from the table and grabbed their bowl.

In slow motion the bowl crashes to the tiled floor smashing everywhere. Y/n quickly leaps onto a chair away from the porcelain. "Shit, Dad will be pissed" they swear looking around for something to pick up the pieces.

As they look around the kitchen then saw the dust pan and brush. "Bingo" they still had half an hour before having to leave for school, S/N left earlier to be able to go to the mall with friends before school.

The teen climbs onto the table and stand up avoiding hitting their head on the light and walks across the table and onto the counter, they then shuffle along until reaching the dust pan and brush.

The bowl pieces had covered most of the floor leading up to the counter.

"Thanks alot S/N" mutters the H/C teen, grabbing what they needed before jumping down and begins to sweep up the shards of the bowl.

Ever since they were little Y/N and S/N have been opposites, S/N bratty and selfish always wanting things for herself while Y/N kind and grateful for what they have.

But of course they get mixed up as they are still Identical in everything apart from styles like their personalities complete opposites.

As Y/N cleans up the mess the doorbell goes, confused Y/N puts the pieces that was once a bowl in the bin before walking to the door. They look through the peep hole and see a male and female.

"Who are they?" The mutter to themselves before unlocking the door and opening it. As they do the woman smiles at the teen. "Hey Honey, is this where S/N L/N lives?" She askes the H/C teen.

"Yes why?" they say the woman eyes the man next to her. Y/N is beyond confused. "I'm sorry who are you people?" Questions the teen.

The man then answers "I'm SSA Derek Morgan and this is SSA Elle Greenaway, we are here to ask you a few question can you come down to the station?" Askes Derek.

Y/Ns eyes widened. 'FBI' they thought. "Oh sure let me grab my bag" they say before running back to the kitchen to grab their school bag and phone.

As they walk towards the Agents they get strange looks. Soon the teen was in the back of a black SUV with the two agents in front.

Minutes later the teen was being taken to an interrogation room and hand cuffed to the table infront of them. As the officer leaves Y/N is alone. "Oh shit" The mutter realising what's happening.

"Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit" they panic, it's finally coming together other the past couple if weeks more and more students at their school go missing and turn up dead two days later.

For some reason lots of them are people Y/N talks to, they have noticed how I happens every time S/N leaves early for school but Y/N thought she was meeting friends.

"Oh no" they mutter suddenly the door in open and two men walk in with a file. One was alot older than the other and the other was Agent Morgan from before.

Agent Morgan sits in the chair while the older man stands both watching Y/N. Who fidgets with their hands. "Hello

S/N, do you know why we brought you in?" Questions Agent Morgan.

Y/N flinches at the name. But doesn't look up from their hands. "No sir" they say, they hear the man sigh before throwing a file filled with pictures on the metal table and begins sorting through them.

This makes Y/N look up, the teen looks at the older man before at the pictures, as they do their blood runs cold, bile rises in their throat.

The pictures were of the people Y/N talked to in school, throughout the weeks. Each one had been mutilated beyond recognition apart from their uniform each one still had their school logo on their jackets.

Horror files Y/N E/C eyes, their mouth opens in shock before they lean right holding their mouth closed, before they know it the older man is yelling for a bucket and Y/N is emptying their breakfast into it.

From the two way window the rest of the team watch as the teen throes up into the bucket Gideon managed to put under the teen.

JJ looks on in sympathy as the teen Continues to throw up. She then turns to Hotch who had a grim expression on his face. "Their not the unsub, know one would be able to stomach that only the unsub would" she says making the man nod.

"Your right JJ, have Gideon question them and take away the pictures they've had enough" he says to Morgan to had come out and grabbed the bin for the teen.

Once Y/N had stopped throwing up they felt a hand rub up and down their back comforting, as they lift their head they see the man from earlier.

"Hello there, feeling better?" He asks making the teen nod once they were leant back he hands them some tissue to wipe their mouth.

Once they did that he sat infront of the teen thankfully the pictures had been put away. "Thank you" mutters the teen, the man smiles.

"I'm Jason Gideon, I'm here with the Behavioural Analyst unit" he introduces himself to the teen. "Y/N" they introduce themselves.

"Y/N, Can you tell me anything suspicious that has happened there past few weeks, is someone you know being secretive, leaving at odd times" he questions, the teen nods expression frozen.

"Do you know the name of this person?" He asks the frightened teen.

Y/N nods hands shaking they answer. "My Twin sister, S/N has been leaving an hour early every day for the last couple of weeks before me, she has been alot more selfish and jealous, the victims they spoke to me at school" Explains the teen.

Gideon smiles " thank you do you know where your sister on now currently?" He asks, the teen shakes their head. "No sir sorry, but she might be at school class has started by now" they say as the Man stands up and leaves the room.

On the other side Gideon and talking to the team. "It's the twin" he says before leaving the room and calling the officers while Hotch tells the team the plan.

In the room Y/N waits tapping a beat to the legs before the doors opens, this a blonde woman was there. Y/N has to ask her. "Why did they ask for my twin knowing i wasn't her?" They ask her.

The blonde woman sighs before sitting in thr chair opposite the teen. "Because they had to be sure it wasn't you" she explains.

Y/N scoffs slightly before shaking their hand. "Can these come off now?" They ask thr woman's eye widened before she pulls out a key ans unlocks the cuffs. "Thank you"

Hours later S/N was arrested for the murder of 7 teens, when askes why her reasoning was. "Because they talked to my useless Twin and not me!"

The end!

Hope you liked this oneshot so sorry for the wait I've been busy.

Request are open!

Word count: 1400

[absolutebl]

hi there 🖐🏼 what are your recs for bl movies with great acting?

BL Movies with GREAT Acting

Specifically Movies? Do KBLs that were cut into movies count? Hum, I'm gonna make a judgement call given how few actual movies I have to work with and say if it holds as a "movie going experience" I can count it. I should say in order to really push this into the superlative acting space the BL aspect on many of these is... light.

His

Japan 2020 Viki

His is about being a grown adult and still struggling with coming out as gay. It addresses the consequences of life choices disingenuous to identity. Nagisa turns up on Shun’s doorstep with his precocious daughter in tow. This is a touch confusing to Shun since they were each others first love and ended badly. Shun has retreated from society, rejecting the world before it can reject him, already brokenhearted because without Nagisa he never had a reason to fight. Nagisa went the opposite way, tried to pretend to be something he was not and ended up with a daughter he adores and a wife who hates him. The acting is killer, Miyazawa Hio is sulky in the best possible way, the filming is beautiful and the setting unique and interesting...

I'm not wild about the ending. Moody arthouse smackdoodle is going to pretend that "ambiguous" is somehow unique and special rather than bog standard commonplace for narratives of this type. But endings are my hangup, not yours?

This is not really BL (the prequel was), so few of the tropes are used. You do not need to have watched the prequel.

Your Name Engraved Herein

Taiwan 2020 Netflix

This movie is fantastic but it is also seriously depressing. It’s a self acceptance journey that goes emotionally array on the alter of history, but if you wanna wallow in high quality acting and serious gay drama, this’ll do it. I would say it's not really BL, no real trope drops at all.

Okay those two I chose more on the strength of the acting than BL. These others are not going to be at the same standard/style.

If you want moee of the above level of drama, things get very sad in the BL world, so Love of Siam, Dew, Eternal Yesterday, Goodbye Mother, etc...

Restart After Come Back Home (Risutato wa tadaima no ato de)

Japan 2020 Gaga?

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning. The acting is a touch stiff, in that Japanese reserved way.

This is the only BL movie, as a movie, that I could pull. There are others, I jsut don't think the acting is good enough.

So here are some highly rated short bingable series that are movie length (1.5-2.5 hours) but not really movies - BUT with killer acting. So they still might satisfy the itch. I places them in order of acting and filming quality, not my own personal preference.

From Japan

Old Fashion Cupcake

Tokyo in April is...

Life: Love on the Line (director's cut)

My Beautiful Man

I Cannot Reach You

Seven Days

From Taiwan

Red Balloon

We Best Love (esp part 2)

About Youth

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line

From Korea

To My Star

Long Time No See

The New Employee

Where Your Eyes Linger

More like this?

I want to shout out The Eighth Sense here too. It's longer than movie length but so well acted.

(source)

[starry-hughes]

childhood friends to lovers with mr quintin hughes-

like you’ve been friends for the longest time (you stopped keeping track a long time ago)- like you’ve come on family vacations type of friends.

you were at the draft w the family for him (and was your reaction like jacks for luke? absolutely.)

and everyone, and i mena everyone, is tired of y’all’s shit. there is a communal betting pool that includes 20+ people on when these idiots will confess to eachother.

and does it play out like every romance novel every and feelings are spilled at a wedding? you betcha!

quinn is in his suit and he’s looking delectable ofc (yeah you’ve probably been staring a little too long)

and you’re fucking gorgeous in your dress (now is there a photo taken by the photographer where quinn is literally jaw dropped while looking at you? that’s between quinn and the photographer☺️)

brady and emma are having their first dance, and while it’s customary for everyone to have a moment and watch the couple, quinn’s eyes are glued to you. you’re leaning in to him with the sweetest grin on your face and that’s when he knows he’s screwed.

and when all the couples can join in to dance, you and quinn ofc dance together, as close as can be (like besties do!)

and quinn states at you like you hung the stars in the sky, but what he doesn’t see is you looking at him like he hung the moon.

a little while later everything has quieted down and there’s another slow song on.

by now the both of you are tipsy, and hands are wandering (this isn’t the first time hands have wandered, not that either will admit it)

and you’re both kinda in these tenaces thinking about how much you love each-other, when quinn accidentally says out loud “god i love you” and then his eyes widen.

he tries to pull away and run off, but you keep your grip tight on his suit sleeves.

you have a little “you mena it?” moment, and ofc “i love you too quinn, have for a while now.” and you share the sweetest lil tipsy kiss.

but what neither of you see is all of the guests that are still there silently exchanging money with eachother. (brady defiantly lost the bet and was all salty- “you couldn’t have waited till the new season? i jsut lost a few hundred on my wedding day.”)

…this isn’t a fic i laid out i just have way too many thoughts abt quinn in a suit (these are just the pg ones)

-🫂

THIS IS SO CUTE

[leave-your-body]

hii 1, 12, 23 for the ask game :]

KAMI :)))

WHY DID THIS MAKE A LIST.. anwyay I HAVE. quite a few. ermmm hinata shoyo from haikyuu is DEFINITELY up there, i love him SO MUCH and honestly haikyuu in general is such a comfort show for me. dont tell anyone but naruto too, lowkey, but its a secret betweenus.... andd idk. i would say cbenchtrio but they bring me pain and agony instead of comfort. UNcomfort characters.ANOTHER SECRET just between us but kiribaku.UGH THIS IS EMBARASSING. okay no more comfort characters

12. today has been a slow day i think !! its nice tho i got to finish my art project that ive been behind on AND got to talk to my friend whos been on a mini roadtrip for the past couple of days :))pretty decent overall!!

23. chilly weather solos hot weather because i HATE feeling sticky and heavy but at least when its cold u can always jsut layer vs when its hot u just have to Deal w it cuz even stripping cant help you. also better clothes and Activities and when it snows i can snowboard >:3

[gayspock]

man has a crisis and continues wathcing

i think im gonna finish it cuz honestly my brainhas been cooked for days. ive had 5 hours sleep as in 5 hours total these past 3 days and i cannot fucing operate on any higher plane than watch this popcorn tv shit

i think another way this would have worked so much better. and im on ep 7 btw. yes thats right. i blacked out now im on ep 7. is again if this was so much slwoer BECAUSE LIKE. i feel like all of these reveals, in og orphan black, would be spread out over like 2-3 seasons. not a condensed 8 episodes. and it would feel so much fucking better because of it

BUT ALSO. sorry that wasnt even my point. anyway just take kira out of it completely. everything i said about this not making sense cuz just resonates truer and truer the more i watch. but also i feel like her perspective is jsut..l. its not just a lame fucking "twist" to b egin with. but i feel like it would have worked so much better coming from eleanors pov

like listen. if we met eleanor FIRST and got to know eleanor FIRST it would have been so much more impactful to me. a slow reveal on who kira really is would have meant way more. but i think cuz theyre arbitrarily trying to tie it back to the og orphan black AND are trying way too hard to endear us to kira .... its like. whatever burger.

and i think that aside on her cheating.watching eleanor spiral and go off and do that whilst all the while convinced something is not right with her wife. if maybe her, jules and lucy... maybe if they had not got any close to their individual reveals, and this ENTIREEE SEASONNN was them trying to figure out what the fuck is wrong with their lives and finally meeting at the END of the season. so wthere could be some tension some fucking build up some fucking feeling of stakes instead of jsut

ok. reveal reveal reveal. go from point a to point b. no crafting of actual situations that are hard to fight through. no complex layering of messes like in the original ob. thats what i liked about the showww man. ARGH.

its like again. its just so... shallow.

popcorn ass tv

they love an evil asian though dont they. they balanced everything out with our dear wes but help me

like darros and his little spawnling is also a cool concept if again. it was not like instantly fucking jsut. dropped.

i feel like they keep saying shit at the camera too. god help me

IS IT JUST LIKE THE WAY TV HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST 10 YEARS. LIKE IS THIS WHAT IT IS NWOW. sorry is that lame and cynical

also i have 0 fucking investment in lucy. i donot fucking care. they havent built up shit.

i fucking wish we could see some rawness from her. like jesus fucking christ. if the entire conceit of thecharacter is shes like lost and doesnt know who she is can we FEEL SOME OF THAT. PLEASE. MY FUCKING GOD.

AGAIN GOD ITS JSUT LIKE BACK TO BACK RVEEAL BUT ITS LIKE

LOOK YOU HAVE TO EARN IT FIRST IM SORRY YOU HAVE TO FUCKING EARN IT

ITS LIKE THIS SHOW DESPERATELY WANTS TO BE SOMETHING INSANELY GOOD BUT IT DOESNT KNOW HOW TO DO IT. LIKE THE PIECES ARE THERE AND THEY COULD FUCKING WORK BUT THEY WONT... DO ITTTT RIGHT HELP ME

i like how they say I'm a Printout

like who the fuck would understand any of this shit

IM

SORRY LIKE THIS SCENE WITH LUCAS I DONT EVEN CARE

AGAIN WHY ARE THEY GOING SO FAST IM JUST BEWILDERED NOW LIKE

bro iknow im on ep 7 i dont know if i can even do thsi

is that a cgi dog

WHY doeshe look like scooby do

also like god i dont know there is a way they could have done this in so few eps as well if they scaled it way the fuck back like hello help me

ok no

i think ihaveto stop watching this

[iamyelling]

well. moving has sucked. our parents helped and i just feel terrible bc they are old and shouldn't have to be doing this sort of thing. (theyre not like Elderly. just not young yknow). it took us the full 10 days and it was exhausting every day. and we still have a ton of work to do to get everything put away and situated. we got rid of so many things and our stuff still doesn't fit. it's just sliiiightly smaller and it makes everything so hard to fit into the space. plus being broke makes it very hard to find things that will work for us. and we're trying to like, ENJOY our home too yknow. and with the animals it's like we HAVE to keep them happy or else bad things happen - the cats go through the blinds and break them because they want to look outside. tortellini peed on solea's bed a couple weeks ago and i threw it out. and now she just peed on solea's other bed so now she has no beds. it's not exactly washable so idk what to do. we can't just keep buying things. and if tortellini is bored she will chew wires and cables which are not easy to fix or replace - CONSTANTLY. it's exhausting and then we are so busy they don't get attention or they get bored or stressed from us being stressed and it's jsut all bad. y

annah got the tv cabinet built and covered the fish tank in the black contact paper, and i've been online shopping for a couch desperately. and i started putting the tv and gamign console stuff in the cabinet and getting it set up but ran into trouble bc the ps4 is too big for the shelf but i guess i was going too slow so annah finished. i'm so on edge about watching the cats and keeping them from walking through the blinds and damaging them. like we've only been here a couple days and already a few are broken! and watching to make sure tortellini doesn't chew on wires. and i guess PEE on stuff! it's so hard. finding places to put things... annah is so cranky it makes it hard talkign to her and including her in decisions.. and its not like i can just do things without consulting her bc like then she's gonna be like WTF?!?! yknow.

i'm just trying so hard and putting so much thought into things and it gets frustrating when she disregards the work and thought i've put in and dismisses my concerns or takes out her frustration about other things on me as if that's ok. like we're all stressed, she could at least try to see that we're all on the same team here.

[prettyboykatsuki]

»» — { ♡ } —— { ♡ } —— { ♡ } — ««

speakeasy | s. aizawa 

➳ tags ;; dirty talk, smut, fem!reader, aizawa being a menace, mirror sex?, readers wearing a dress, the word violate ?, petnames like good girl, praise kink, fingering etc. 

➳ wc ;; 1.6k

➳ a/n ;; well-spoken men make my brain empty n my kitty wet dslkfjskdf hi mr. aizawa sir.. i like u 

➳ plot ;; aizawa likes to talk you through everything, even filthy mirror sex

»» — { ♡ } —— { ♡ } —— { ♡ } — ««

Aizawa is clasically well-spoken. 

He used to get made fun of for it when he was younger - especially in high school where his formal speech felt out of place for his age. The older he gets, the more attractive the quality becomes. He speaks so smoothly - doesn’t stutter when he talks at all. It’s always slow, concise, and to the point. 

The content of what he says matches his tone of voice well. Aizawa is a conversationalist almost by nature. Despite how quiet he is upon meeting him for the first time, if the subject interests - he could harp on about it for hours and hours. He’s just as eager to hear you respond, loves adding to your ideas and building a concept up until it reaches the ceiling.

He’s knowledgeable too. Unsurprisingly, he reads a lot. But he also has a bad habit of deep diving into obscure things. He knows a lot about how clothes are made and the way honeybees fly. He’s a natural at the retention of information - of both the important and unimportant kind. Aizawa makes habit of these things - the ability to speak and communicate anything he wants. 

His vocabulary is vast as seven seas and his voice is pleasant to listen to - a raspy baritone, low in his throat. You could listen to him talk all day. 

The problem only lies with how Aizawa likes to use his voice. Selective by nature, it can’t help but feel purposeful whenever he talks to you this way. You can almost feel the hum of his throat, how it gets. With his hand placed so carefully between your legs - all you can hear is that deep chuckle that he likes to. 

Aizawa is uncharacteristically built. His body is all muscle, and you can feel it against your back as he holds you this chest. Your legs are spread apart over his - seated comfortably in his lap as your being exposed. It doesn’t help that you can’t see him, can only listen to the way he speaks to you. 

His voice is warm as it ghosts the nape of your neck - it smells like spearmint and coffee and sleep. His tongue smooths over the side, sharp teeth sinking into soft flesh as a hand rests your thigh. He massages your legs with a hum - and you squirm at his overbearing presence. 

“You look beautiful today” 

The compliment is well-meaning. You nod absently at it. You dressed up for this date with no expectations, masking your surprise is proving difficult. It’s like he senses it.  

“Why’re you so nervous, love?” 

“You’re.. hands are uhm..” 

He pauses, a free hand settling right at your belly. His knuckles brush over lace panties with a crooked yet lazy grin. You can feel it against your clit. It throbs with anticipation and desire. A wetness forms between your legs, drips like a broken faucet with repetition. You shift your weight around, feeling his cock in the small of your back. 

“My hands? What about them?” 

You want to say something, anything  really but you come up blank. His finger slides underneath the cotton barrier, snaps it against your sex a few times - amused. A little whimper carries through you as his fingers get closer and closer. The mirror in front of you is a terrible reminder of everything. The way Aizawa has you spread apart, the way his tired eyes glaze over your body. Your nipples are stiff underneath your dress - when he pulls the fabric to bunch underneath your tits you yelp. His thumb and forefinger are tender against your nipples as he pinches and twists them. 

All you can see is yourself and him over your shoulder, onxy black locks pulled up out of his vision. 

“Do you not like where my hands are touching you?” 

You moan, soft and sweet as he plays with your tits, shaking your head. It’s a losing game - you’re sure of it. 

‘N-no - ‘s just a lot” 

“That’s good, that’s good. It’d be unreasonable if you dressed like this and told me not to touch you, don’t you think?” 

And you want to respond back about something with bodily autonomy, something coherent and cohesive. But your body is running feverishly high and your mind feels blank. When your dress gets pulled up past your hips, bunching at the top of your thighs - you lose sight of your control. You want to squeeze your eyes closed, embarrassed by the graphic image of his hand. He pulls your panties back - lets it rub between your folds until your slick makes a mess of the light fabric. 

“Shouta, ngh,” 

“I haven’t even touched you yet but you’re drenched,” 

Aizawas hands are strong, pretty too - they look like they fit in your panties just right. His fingers brush the circle of nerves till your back arches, a piercing wave of pleasure that has you crying out his name. Such a small touch is enough to send you reeling as the beginnings of on orgasm snap in your gut. 

It feels like your skin is firing off, blazing heat encompassing you. His fingers are thick as they stretch your hole out, first one then another. He pumps two fingers in your cunt, scissoring it until he feels the tension of the stretch around them. Your insides feels soft against his touch, molded to the shape of his careful hands as your entire body throbs for his touch. Your pussy feels like it’s weeping and your eyes feel hazy. You can see yourself, bearing witness to the way he violates your cunt with ease. 

“Look at your cunt taking me in so good, right there in the mirror, my love” 

And he’s right, you know he is - you can see it with your eyes half-lidded. But your body craves more, even as an orgasm feels like it’s right there. You know you can’t reach it without getting what you need and Aizawa knows that too. You whimper soft in your throat, clenching around his fingers as you whine. It’s good but not good enough - has you grinding your hips back for more. 

“Shouta..” 

Your voice trails off and he smiles at you, chin tucked over your shoulder. 

“Hm? What is it” 

You whine, screwing your eyes closed as he goes faster and faster. You can feel yourself gush around his hands, orgasm impending but not quite there. You hiccup 

“Sho, please” 

“Please what, baby? Use your words and tell me what you want - I can’t read your mind after all,” 

You could argue that he could - that he can right now with how his cock keeps twitching in his pants at the way you moan so shamelessly. Your legs trap his hand as you squeeze them shut - almost crushing his wrist but not being strong enough. Emabrassment drowns your senses. 

“Your cock, Sho -  please” 

His laughter is smug, almost sarcastic. 

“So greedy. You want me to split you apart on it just like this? I didn’t stretch you out yet, arent you afraid I’ll break your pretty little pussy in half?” ― you can feel him push his pants down his thighs as he hoists your hips up with one leg. Suddenly his cock is sitting between your legs, brushing up against your swollen pussy ― “or is that what you wanted in the first me? For me to break you open?” 

The tip throbs right against your clit, sending electricity through you. And you’re begging him again to fuck you. His hand rests on your belly, loving and tender, as the head nudges against your hole. 

“Keep your eyes on it or no cumming, got it?” 

You exhale a shaky breath of confirmation, hear ricocheting against your ribs. And you watch like he asks - watch the way your whole stretches open and tries to accommodate his size. Watch as he penetrates you inch by inch, thick and hard and hot until you feel him against your cervix. Aizawa’s never been particularly big but the way he fills you up makes you think otherwise.

“Does it feel good?” 

You know the question is rhetorical with the way he bounces you on his dick - the smug grin on his face as your expression becomes messy. Skin covered with a sheer of sweet, tits bouncing, feet  kicking as he lifts you by your hips and fucks into you. You can still see yourself in the mirror being taken and it makes everything feel more sweet. 

Delirium is the only thing you can feel as he fucks up into, brushing your cervix with a spare hand on your clit. Pleasure is overbearing emotion, burning a hole in your stomach as heat licks at your calves. You can feel him so fucking deep you can barely breathe. His whispered sweet nothings only add fuel to the fire. Aizawa’s jsut got that voice  - that tone that makes each word of praise go straight to your core. You’re half dressed and getting fucked so hard you feel it in your lungs but all you can hear is Aizawa groaning “good girl” against the shell of your ear. 

“You’re ― shit, haah ― clenching down on me so tight. Are you gonna cum, hm? Gonna cum all over my cock, like a good girl? So fucking pretty aren’t you?” 

Your orgasm knocks into you full force as his words fill your empty head. Convulsing, your spine arches you cum hard and fast all over his cock - still full to the brim. You twitch as you ride it out, slow thrusts making you mewl as he kisses the crown of your head. 

Aizawa hums, soft and low 

“I haven’t finished yet so you’ll have to bear with me. I’m sure you can take it though, right?” 

And you nod your head, thighs trembling. You’re sure with how he speaks to you, Aizawa could convince you of anything at all. 

»» — { ♡ } —— { ♡ } —— { ♡ } — ««

[samwritesforyou]

lantern rite with zhongli

zhongli x reader

summary: you stay in liyue and zhongli wants you to go to the lantern rite with him

warnings: gender-neutral reader

wordcount: 2.2k

A/N: its just zhongli brain rot, can we jsut live our mundane life w him forever??

you were wandering the lands of liyue for a significant amount of time already.

you would’ve usually just camped in the open like you used to do on your adventures in mondstadt - before the knights learned about this and generously offered you an apartment with no rent required - but ever since you mentioned this idea to a powerful god of geo zhongli, he wouldn’t hear of it.

“you are staying over at the wangsheng funeral parlour, y/n,” he said in a serious, low tone that made your stomach twist in ways that you didn’t yet understand.

“what do you mean? i can’t just stay there,” you said in return, brows furrowed.

“there are a few rooms behind the official wing that we use for business and actually me and hu tao live there, we do not have a conventional “home” anywhere,” he rationally explained and continued looking steadily into your eyes.

you never had a problem managing eye contact, but with his piercing amber orbs it was quite difficult.

“zhongli, i-“ you started, looking behind him at the open entrance to the balcony.

it was getting dark already, and even though you were used to camp life, you did notice that wild liyue was rather dangerous to rest at.

“only if you really don’t mind,” you stated with a sigh of defeat, closing your eyes and putting hands on your hips, “but i’ll pay.”

“dear y/n, i simply won’t allow it,” he said and you felt his gloved fingers on your chin and opened your eyes immediately, meeting with his.

a mysterious smile played on his lips, “you can just invite me to a meal, this form of payment will be sufficient,” when he saw a blush creeping up your face, he let go of you, standing straight again and clearing his throat, becoming flustered himself and looking away.

“alright,” was all that you could muster to answer in a higher tone than usual.

.

.

.

and there began an era of you living with hu tao and zhongli for the course of weeks that stretched into months as you tried to scout out the eternity of liuye’s landscape, hopelessly looking for your lost sibling.

most days you’d come back to your new home exhausted and just plop on the couch in front of the kitchen isle, already seeing some food left on the counter for your arrival.

you were never sure if it was hu tao’s making or zhongli’s, but that question was answered tonight, as you saw geo archon finishing up tonight’s dish - slow-cooked bamboo shoot soup - not even paying attention to your shuffling in the room.

you felt grateful yet a bit guilty that you made zhongli do something for you every day this late.. sometimes you wouldn’t return until the morning and even then you found a warm plate of breakfast on the counter.

you didn’t have much free time to get to know zhongli better, but even so you two have become an acquaintances of sorts. someone could even say.. friends.

a few times during your stay you were persuaded to take a break and took a few evening walks alongside rex lapis, your conversation making you feel at ease and understood.

if only you’d have more time to just.. do nothing, then you’d even..

you were staring at his broad back for quite a while already as he was cooking, no official costume present, just a simple comfortable shirt that gave you more of a feeling how home-y you have become with him.

it felt natural to come home and see him, either reading a book or just sliding the door to his room open to say a gentle “goodnight” or ask a few questions about your day.

you really liked him. you clicked as personalities, he was interesting, handsome-

“are you here?” you suddenly felt a gentle single tap on the top of your head, as zhongli’s voice brought you back to reality from your thoughts.

from the thoughts that you shouldn’t be having, because there’s no way that something would ever happen between the two of you.

so you shook your head and then smiled at him wearily.

“yeah. sorry, a long day,” you said silently and looked at two plates that were now sitting at the table.

“i wanted to dine with you tonight, is that alright?” he asked and looked up at you with his amber eyes.

“of course!” you nodded and then looked down at the table, “and thank you.. for always making food for me.”

“oh, it’s nothing. hu tao said that since you’re our guest i don’t have to worry about using more ingredients for food than we do usually,” he then began to eat.

as you dug in into your dish as well a comfortable silence has settled in the room.

it was always like this with him.

comfortable, safe.

you wondered how he’s gonna react when you tell him you’ll probably have to leave soon.

maybe it’s a good time to bring it up, even though it’ll ruin the moment of peace.

you mulled over the idea for a few minutes and couldn’t find any way of saying it the way you wanted it to sound, so you just started;

“uhm.. i think i’ll go back to mondstadt.”

ever so composed zhongli literally choked on his food and coughed a few times, steadying his posture once more, brows furrowing, not meeting your eyes.

“why so sudden?” he just asked simply.

“well… i don’t think i have any luck here.. and i’d love to move to the next region, but i wanted to talk it over with other knights beforehand, just to be safe,” you answered and sighed.

it’s not like you wanted to leave.

“that is a good choice indeed,” he stated, but you sensed that he wasn’t pleased by your “choice” at all, “but why won’t you stay just a few days longer?”

he finally finished up his food, gently patted his lips with a cloth and put it aside, now meeting your gaze.

“there is a lantern rite festival in the end of the week and..” seems like zhongli was trying to pick the right words, which was unusual of him, “i was hoping you’d accompany me.”

“oh,” you have heard about the event scarcely, but didn’t pay it any mind, knowing that you’d probably have no time to enjoy it anyways.

“your sibling is out there somewhere, i believe in it,” zhongli didn’t even let you speak, which was twice as unusual of him, as if he was already trying to persuade you even before hearing your verdict upon the matter, “and i wanted to offer you my help. i finally have no rites of parting to arrange and am quite free of any work that was holding me back before,” and as an afterthought he continued, “and i think you really deserve some rest, y/n. i’ve seen how hard you’ve been trying to find your sibling, help the adventurers guild.. it’s only natural and fair for you to take some rest and replenish your energy.”

you were frozen in place with a spoon half-risen to your mouth already, unable to tear your eyes from him as he finished his monologue.

you were used to him talking about the past events or fond memories for a long time, but it was never addressed directly at you.

so you just looked down and started intensely finishing up your soup, trying not to think about the way you’re probably blushing right now.

and once you did and looked back at zhongli, he was sitting composed in front of you, light smile resting on his lips.

“i’ll stay then,” you nodded and smiled at him back, his expression growing softer at your words.

“thank you,” he mirrored your nod and then took the dishes - even after your protests - and started cleaning them up himself.

.

.

.

you were so glad you decided to stay. last few days were filled with you just walking around the city and outskirts alongside zhongli as you were finally able to relax a bit and push a pressing matter of finding your sibling for a few days later.

the lantern rite day grew near and it was already happening in the evening. for some reason hu tao insisted of pampering you up and didn’t let zhongli see you until the event started.

“why are you like this?” you ask tiredly hu tao as she was helping you to put on a classic chinese dress that was worn both by men and women (and everyone in between) in this festive time.

“you think i don’t see how you’re staring at each other?” she giggled as she started rummaging through her hair pins that would look good on you.

“each other?!” you yelped in confusion, only to be met with a flustered reflection of yourself in a mirror in front of you, so you dropped your shoulders and sighed, lowering your gaze, “if anything, it’s only me who’s staring, hu tao..”

“ha!” the laugh was more similar to a bark as she reacted to your words and soon enough appeared next to you, putting a pin to your bangs, adding your hair a little decorative twist, “that’s what you think.”

you didn’t have any time to protest to that, because you heard a knock on the door and hu tao yelled “don’t you dare come in, old man!” right back.

“i just wanted to inform you two that the festival has already begun,” said a calm muffled voice outside and you found yourself smiling at that.

“okay, we’re almost done!” said hu tao and finally helped you stand up, letting you look at yourself in the mirror.

you really looked exceptional tonight and couldn’t hold your positive emotions bubbling inside of you.

“thank you,” you said to hu tao and hugged her tightly.

she just giggled and murmured something along the lines of “don’t mention it” and went with you out of the room, straight onto the balcony in front of the wangsheng funeral parlour.

your eyes found zhongli immediately as he turned and looked at you.

he gave a polite nod to his friend and then his amber orbs drifted to you and his expression broke into something way softer than you’ve ever witnessed before.

only after a while you realised that your festival dresses were matching. yours was just in lighter, yellow tones, whereas his was in dark brown ones. it complemented each other perfectly.

.

.

.

you didn’t really notice how it happened, but you two ended up alone, just walking on the outskirts of liyue harbour, after participating in many festival activities.

you were standing on the hidden viewpoint where you could see the whole city, beautifully lit up, yet where you were standing there were scarcely any lamps, so the atmosphere was dim and comfortable.

zhongli was the first one to break the pleasant silence between the two of you.

“i dont want to be straightforward,” he started as he stood next to you, his hand on the railing of the balcony, “but i’m afraid i just have to share my feelings with you, y/n.”

you looked up at him, question in your eyes.

could it be?..

“i don’t usually take interest in humans, but.. it’s safe to say you drew me in and left me enchanted,” words were rolling off his tongue effortlessly, “by your driven heart, pure intentions and determination,” he paused a little and then chuckled to himself, “kind of remind me of myself, back in the day.”

with his free hand he reached out to yours, and took it in his palm, squeezing a little;

“i’m not immune to human weaknesses either.

and my guess is that i’m certainly not immune to your charm.”

he then brought your hand to his lips and gave it a light kiss, eyes trained on you.

“so if you accept me, then i’d be happy to court and protect you,” he finished his speech more quietly than he began and now was just politely waiting for your response.

for the rest of your life, if you allow me; he thought to himself, but these kinds of words are still too heavy for you to bear, he settles and doesnt say the rest of his initial sentence.

he came to accept that his lovers will come and go, since he is an immortal being, but it won’t stop him from giving his all to his loved ones.

“zhongli..” you said with trembling lips, as you tried your hardest not to cry.

you were falling in love with him slowly day by day, not even realising it and you’d never even think of him reciprocating your feelings and now it simply feels too overwhelming. in a good way, of course.

“is that a yes?” he squeezed your hand once more, his smile growing wider and eyes softer.

“of course,” you sniffed and pushed yourself into his embrace, not willing to let him see you cry, at least not yet.

you felt his heartbeat in your hug and you swear you never wanted to let go anymore.

“thank you,” he said gently and you felt his lips pressing to the top of your head.

you really chose the best man to fall in love with. ////// if you wanna be added to my genshin (or any other fandom) tag list then please either comment or dm me! also my requests are open so feel free to text me that as well, if you’d like <3

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, MORE BLOOD Vol. 12: Mukami Ruki [Another Story]

Original title: アナザーストーリー

Source: Diabolik Lovers More, More Blood Vol. 12 Mukami Ruki [Deluxe Edition]

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Takahiro Sakurai

Translator’s note: I feel very much conflicted about this CD still. While I do kind of like how they took a different approach with the Another Story track and the way it ends, I still think Ruki went way too far in the main CD. It was interesting to see everything from his perspective too, although this means there’s a bunch of inner monologues in this and it’s Ruki so they’re quite long. I try to break up the paragraphs by describing what happens based on background sounds and such but this one just has a bunch of rambling lol. 

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

“Lately, she has been formidable. Even though she was always the type of girl to make the most foolish mistakes, to the point where one would wonder if she did it on purpose. She has not been getting scolded by me either. That does not bother me. Or at least, it shouldn’t bother me. So why do I feel so...restless?”

*Ding・dongー Ding・dong*

Ruki walks up to you in the inner courtyard.

( So that’s where she’s been...Look at her just casually watering the plants... No wonder she did not show up in the library. I assume she has completely forgotten about our meeting. )

“So this is where you’ve been.”

You flinch.

( Huh? What’s wrong? Why would she be so surprised just because I called out for her? Also...Under normal circumstances, I’d assume she would panic and spray water all over me with that hose she just so conveniently happens to be holding. Yet, she made the wise decision and turned off the water. )

“Oh well. I shall praise you for ceasing your actions as soon as you saw your Master approach. However, there should be something you have forgotten.”

You bring up the promise.

“Oh? So you do remember. Then you should have just hurried to the library.”

( Now this is new. I didn’t think a scatterbrain such as herself would have remembered our plan to meet up. No, if she remembered, she should have come to me straight away. Did she only just now remember? Even so, her behavior is off. Or am I simply overthinking things? )

*TIMESKIP*

( Once it starts boiling, the dressing will be complete. Which leaves just plating the salad. )

You enter the kitchen.

“...Hm? You’re already here? You almost resemble a dog or a cat rather than livestock, lured in by the scent like that. Let me tell you just in case, it is not feeding time just yet. Wait until I’m done preparing it.“

You nod and leave.

( Oh? She left without offering to help? I’m glad to see her so obedient, but then what did she come for in the first place? Usually she would insist on helping even if it’s more of a bother and either cut her finger or break one of the plates. Those are the kind of things she does. )

He turns off the stove.

“What is this feeling as if something is...off? Something about the way she’s been acting trips me up. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her make a blunder even once as of late. That isn’t something which should bother me, but I just can’t seem to get rid of this unsettling feeling in my chest. What has gotten into her...?”

*TIMESKIP*

Ruki enters the room

“We finally made it back. That was quite the disaster. ...Honestly, why do I have to wear the clothes she picked out for me? Well, I suppose she did not make a bad choice for once. I’ll add it to my collection of casual wear. That being said...Nothing happened today either.”

He takes a seat on the bed.

“How many days has it been since she stopped making mistakes? She won’t even show dangerous behavior. What kind of miracle is this? No, I do not mind that. I shouldn’t mind it. It basically means a huge pressure has been lifted off my shoulders. Then why do I feel so conflicted? Her suspicious behavior piques my interest, but even beyond that...”

( I felt as if something was lacking. Oh, I get it now. It all makes sense now. I have not gotten to taste her blood as of late, so I must feel unsatisfied. I am not the type of guy who easily becomes thirsty for blood, nor would I indulge in her without a good reason. However, with less opportunities to punish her, our time together automatically decreased as well. To be upset because of that, I must seem like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum because his mother does not pay enough attention to him. It is obvious since when I have become so obsessed with her

...Since the moment I decided to betray the whole word and chose her, I must have already been enraptured by her. Harshly sucking her blood while restraining her movements was something which fulfilled my desire for dominance. It most definitely made me feel good. However, somewhere deep inside, I felt relieved when she accepted me without fighting back against it. At some point, I even began to cherish those moments where I would pierce my fangs through her skin. I must be quite the easy man as well. I always thought I was in charge, but I may have actually been the one wrapped around her little finger instead. (1) I cannot show myself to that man like this. No, I assume he is already well aware. )

Ruki suddeny raises his head.

“Hm...? That man? Speaking of which, that hourglass I gave her...I considered the possibility but could it be...? Even if she were to make some sort of mistake, if she rewinds time, she could do the same scenario over again. If she makes it so only she remembers, it would be easy to keep it hidden from me. I wanted to believe I was simply overthinking things, but now that I think about it with a clear mind, it really is suspicious...I’m sure that even someone as slow as herself would eventually get things right after two of three tries. If she has been using that hourglass to cover up her own mess-ups, then I have no other choice but to punish her for such a foolish act.”

( It became clear to me that I would have to set up a trap to find out the truth. ーー And if her actions were to be exposed, I would make sure to compensate for the lack of disciplining these past few days. I can already imagine her crying out. I probably should not feel proud for having such thoughts. However, this is not a bad situation. It may be somewhat shameless, but it seems like I am enjoying it quite a bit. To get to use her own blunders as an excuse to suck her blood, or knowing that no matter what I do, she will not get away from me. )

“I suppose I shall enjoy our time together for the first time in a while...Which may just turn out to be a hellish period for her.”

*TIMESKIP*

*Ding・dongー Ding・dong*

Ruki pulls back after sucking your blood.

“...Hah. Your blood tastes even sweeter than usual. By sucking it repeatedly, the flavor ripens, becoming richer, almost like wine. Or in other words, like a stew you kept on the stove for too long. If it simmers any longer, it might just burn. I suppose we could put it to the test. After all, no matter what happens to you, all we have to do is turn back time.”

You keep quiet.

“You can hear me, right? Why not give some sort of reaction? I would not mind seeing you miserably struggle in vain.”

You still fail to give a response.

“Guess she really did lose consciousness. Judging by the looks of it, I doubt she will wake up even if I were to rewind time. I guess you could consider us even now. Perhaps I went a little too easy on her, but I shall forgive her now.”

He takes a step back.

“Such an innocent sleeping face. Almost as if the obscene expressions you showed me earlier were nothing but a lie. Your sheer white complexion and screams were not bad. As well as how you would cling onto my clothes, remaining by my side despite your obvious fear.”

*Thud*

“...Ah!”

*Cling*

“The hourglass...”

Ruki picks up the Hourglass.

“That man might have been testing me after all...Me? Or rather, us? ...Now that I think about it twice, the ability to manipulate time is something which should only ever be given to God. We could have possibly overthrown all logic in this world if we so wished. Yet, we used it to cover up for trivial mistakes. Then this is basically just some child’s toy. However...I am sure that was for the best.”

He turns his head to look at you.

“You might be more of a genius than I thought. However, how many times did you rewind? The magic has almost run dry. The few times I rewinded are basically irrelevant. I wonder just how many times you repeated your own ridiculous mistakes? Oh well, I shall drag that out of her later. I doubt she will easily confess though. ーー No, I suppose there is no point in asking her. I can simply confirm it with my very own eyes.”

*Cling*

“With this amount, we can still turn back time just once. That’s plenty.”

*Thud*

*Tick tock - Tick tock - Tick tock - Tick tock*

ーーー

“Hm…”

You approach Ruki.

“Oh? It’s you. No, it’s nothing serious. I was simply lost in thought.”

You take notice of the hourglass in his hand.

“You seem curious. Are you that interested in this thing? Blood red sand…Its decorations are beautiful as well. It would make for the perfect interior piece.”

You ask if there is a catch.

“No, it’s jsut a regular old hourglass. There is nothing special about it.”

*Thud*

“More importantly, you mentioned you wanted to look for resources for your assignment, right? Meet me at the library during tomorrow’s break time. I shall help you.”

You seem surprised.

“Yes. As your Master, it is my duty to look after you. However, do not be late, okay?”

You nod.

( Well then...I wonder what the next few days will have in store for me? How many mistakes will you make, and how many times will you get punished by me? ...I am looking forward to it. )

ーー THE END ーー

Translation notes

(1) Literally he says that he always intended to be the one ‘holding the reins’, but instead he was actually tied up/restrained this whole time. 

[popculturebuffet]

Scottrospective: Scott Pilgrim Vs the Universe or So Sad So Very Very Sad

Hello all you happy Scottaholics! And welcome back to Scottrospective, my 8 part look at Scott Pilgrim: all 6 volumes of the comic as well as the game and movie just in time for their respective 10th Anniversaries. If your just joining us or needa  quick refresher, here are links to the other four parts, in order: Precious Little Life, Vs The World (Comic), Infinite Sadness, and last month’s look at my favorite volume Gets It Together. And if that’s not enough to fill your belly with Scotty Goodness, hop over to my patreon, patreon.com/popculturebuffet.  There you’ll find reviews of all the content I didn’t have time for in the retrospective proper: Free Scott Pilgrim, The Wonderful World of Kim Pine, Monica Beetle, Style, and the bonus comic strips. It’s only a dollar to get access to the bonus reviews, and every bit you can give not only helps me make these reviews int he first place, but gets me closer to my stretch goals, the 25 and 30 dollar ones including looks at O’Malley’s Other Works: Lost At Sea and Seconds for the former and Snotgirl for the latter. 

But more than plugging my past and paid works, there’s something else far more important I need to get to before I get into this one: Thank You. No Seriously thank all of you who have been reading these, liking them. My Precious Little Life Review is easily one of the most liked things i’ve ever had on this blog, getting more viewers every day, and last month’s look at Gets it Together is STILL racking up likes. Given most of my non-duck reviews, paid for and on my own time, tend to be ignored half the time, this just warms my heart. It shows me two great things: that even after a decade Scott Pilgrim still has a huge following and given how young this platform tends to skew that it’s gaining more fans every day, and that people care about what I have to say about htis wonderful comic. It really touches me to both know my voice matters and that something I truly loved as a teen and still do now is STILL picking up more and more fans. What i’m saying is you guys are the best and I wouldn’t be doing these reviews without your support of my very hard work. These are some of the hardest reviews i’ve done at times, but seeing you all enjoy them makes it all worth it. 

As for the Volume itself there’s something I just gotta get off my chest right away: I HATED this volume when it came out. To understand why you have to consider my mental state: I was a teenager at the time, in my junior year of high school. Scott Pilgrim was my goddamn world: while I was picking up comics monthly at the time this was honestly the first north american comic I loved and obessed over and Scott and friends were like family to me. To an awkward teen who couldn’t talk to girls, struggled to keep the video game club a friend founded together in a way that in hindsight was wholly unecessary, and getting messed with due to my anger issues by friend, foe and frenemy alike, Scott was my port in the storm. A sunny version of Tornoto where I could retreat to to feel at peace.

So yeah this shattered the fuck out of that peace and was essentially one long slow motion kick to the balls to a younger me: Hollie gets derailed and horribly betrays Kim, runing my faviorite characters life and leading to her LEAVING, Scott and Ramona’s relationship crumbles, the band breaks up , and the volume ends with Gideon still gunning for our hero because life hadn’t punched him in the face enough for one month. I was livid, not stopping the series, obviously, but upset that everything i’d grown to care about was basically gone in a flash and couldn’t understand WHY O’Malley would fucking do this to me. This volume was also what kept me from re-reading the books for as long as I did as while the rest had fond memories all the ones I had of this one were pure misery.

But by the time i re-read it in december of last year I had two important things in my hands that helped me truly enjoy this one: The first was Volume 6 itself: knowing things would work out, that most of the bad stuff would be undone and in a truly awesome and satisfying way helped.

The other thing was the perspective that came with growing older: For one as an adult while I still like Scott as a character and find him intresting I no longer look up to him, nor put stock in his hapiness for his own. Sure I still care about characters and relate to some, but Bojack Horseman taught me the hard way you CAN’T put all your hopes in a character’s fate or them getting better for you to get better. 

The other is that while this volume again is pretty bleak after a while.. it’s also NECESSARY. Part of the series charm is i’ts realisim and a sad part of real life is people can drift apart from you, and things can change seemingly all at once. And things moving the way they do is necessary for the ending: every step and move here puts things where they need to be for the final chapter.  The pain our heroes go through is necessary so they can all grow.. except Stephen and Wallace. Stephen sucks and Wallace dosen’t need to change. He does need his own spinoff. But for Scott, Ramona and Kim the trials to come are necessary to make them into their best selves by series end. 

So join me under the cut as we get sad so very very sad, this is Scott Pilgrim vs the Universe. 

Precious Little Life:  We open with Scott’s Birthday! Hit it MC Chris!

But yes it’s septmeber and Scott is now 24 years old. Also Julie is there because presumibly Stephen dredged her out of her swamp for the evening despite Julie likely not wanting to be there and Scott sure a shell not wanting her there.  He vows that he will be the best 24 year old ever...... yeah let’s take a brief look into the future to see how that pans out

But we have a full volume and more metaphorical rakes to whack Scott in the face before that paticular one. 

A MONTH AND A FEW DAYS LATER

It’s the day of the dead, whoa ho way down in Tornoto. It’s hosted by Satan Herself, who dosen’t realize the holiday for hags was yesterday. This is for remembering the dead and rising out of the grave to go resuce your young wards by ramming a bunch of guys in butterfly costumes with your car or stealing your children’s kidneys.  This is Rat Girl’s new place, a fancy loft she and 3 other girls went on to throw the best parties beaause of course. She’s also a bitch to our hero and heroine because of course. 

But Scott soon has more important things to worry about: Ramona spots his next two opponents.. the twins hinted at last time, Kyle and Ken Kataynagi, Perfect Jerk and Handsome Asshat respectively.

Kyle and Ken are easily the least intresting of the 7 exes. With the other 4 so far having been a loveable ham, a stoic movie star whose suprisingly nice and dies via skateboard, a gloriously douchey and dumb psychic evil version of our much more loverable dumb douche with personal connections to both him and Ramona, and Roxy who was genuinely sympathetic, held back by her own selfishness and anger.. we get.. two smug assholes who use robots. Their not UNINTRESTING, the robots have cool designs and the fight with them is genuinely exciting.. but they just don’t have the charisma or personal factor. Their jsut two assholes ramona dated at the same time who happen to know more about her well guarded past than the other exes and are more liable to bring it up.. and even then it’s not anything new as Envy pulled similar tactics far more intrestingly in volume 3. THey don’t ruin the volume or anything, thier fine, but I just wish O’Malley had done more. Especially since he clealry had more intresting ideas with them: the sound battle we saw in the movie was an early draft of this and one early draft had Scott’s previously unseen brother Laurence working with them. I don’t knowWHY he scrapped that as it raises the stakes and makes this far more personal for Scott. Which at this point is what the exes SHOULD be: Todd and Roxy BOTH were more personal threats, Todd being his ex’s boyfriend and first love and Roxy being a genuine competior for Ramona. These guys again are just two douchers who show up because we need 7 douchers to complete the doucher circle. 

So the twins declare their not going to fight scott.. and instead send a tiny robot to fight him. Awww. But for this fight O”Malley does something really intresting and creative.. he dosen’t focus on it. No really Ken and Kyle are dicks to Ramona so Kim wisely gets her out of there, and the two have a casual talk on the balcony while Ramona smokes. It’s some fun banter between the two that both shows why their shipped to all hell. The two just play off each other really damn well. Though we also get Craphole asking people if they want to come watch Scott get beat up because the worst. 

Something important character stuff comes up though: As was shown last time at her rightful rage that Stephen HAD an opportunity to book a gig and kept refusing it for his fecking album, Kim is still fairly salty about the whole recording an album bullshit. The biggest part of it..

It’s something you really DON’T expect to here coming out of kim: that she really LIKED the band. But beneath the pillar of salt she puts out daily... these were her friends, this was getting to do something creative and passionate, and it was a break from the daily grind. Even if her job isn’t TERRIBLE, getting to watch movies and hang out with her best friend Clerks style.. it’s still a retail job and those still weigh on you.. though frankly i’d take one of those over food service but sadly tha’ts what i get most of the time. This was fun.. and Stephen ripped that away from her for his own selfish reasons. No one else in the band really cared about making an album.. if Stephen REALLY wanted to find a more professional band.. then he should’ve just told them so Scott and Kim could find someone else to do guitars for them. Instead he forced them into doing something they don’t want to do and refuses to actually play shows, which COULD help both perfect songs for the album version and get them new fans for said upcoming album and provide them recurring venues to SELL said album,  because he really just wants to be with Joseph and fuck anyone else. Stephen is really just an inhernetly selfish git and i’ll get more into that in a bit. But first Wallace has a text for Scott. 

Now I COULD have just skipped over this.. but I didn’t want to. Plus we dont’ se Wallace for a while in this story so i’m taking what I can get. 

So back to Stephen being a repugnant ass. I’ve been waiting for this scene for the entire retrospective. I”ve hinted at it, and largely blamed it for why I hate him so damn much. The time is nigh to explain WHY. 

Stephen is with Knives, as the two are close friends and such. Stephen expalins Sex Bomb-Omb isn’t playing because he and the personfication of bitchiness broke up. Which knives points out is for...

But it’s clear from context this was the LAST time. Why he still got invited I dunno, plot convience. So far so normal.. until Stephen picks up that Knives is STILL hung up on Scott. Which is understandable crushes can last a while but i’ts equally understandable that Stephen is utterly baffled by it. Which I get,  I didn’t make an entire tom lucitor retropsecitve because I liked that his relationship with Star ended with him stepping aside due to what the show thought was “true wuv” but what comes off instead as his self loathing casuing him to blame himself for a realtionship that’s crumbling for reasons that aren’t his fault. 

And his actions here are incredibly well meant: He bluntly gives Knives the wake up call she DOES need: Scott cheated on her, he dated her because she was easy to date, strung her along for a bit while seeing someone else, then dumped her with not one care for her well being. That is stuff she NEEDS to get into her head so she can move on. She needs to see him for what he IS and not for what she’s built him up as in her head. And while yeah his rant DOSNE’T take into account the fact Scott geninely tried to make up for his actions in volume 3, Stephen wasn’t there for that and Knives probbably didn’t tell him about it.  So from his point of view scott broke her heart and did nothing.. and evne IF he knew that, Scott still hasn’t tried to do anything since despite Knives still being obessed with him nor come clean to her or Ramona at any point. Scott deserves this call out and the consequences that come with it. 

So your probably wondering WHY I hate Stephen because of this scene when he’s you know, RIGHT. Well it’s simple: being right dosen’t save you from being a MASSIVE hypcorite. He’s railing on Scott for cheating and hurting someone.. when he cheated on Julie and would’ve hurt her if she had the capacity for human emotion, empathy, or self awarness. The ending of the last volume and how bad, even for them, their relationship was implied the hell out of it, with him nervous when she brings up being paranoid over knives.. as if he WAS cheating. on One Face just not with a teenage girl but a grown ass man who hates everyone as much as BLARARARGAGAG does. 

Not only that.. but he was with Julie for the SAME DAMN reasons Scott was with Knives: it was easy. Now I WILL grant Stephen some sympathy: he’s a queer man and as one myself, bi for the record, I GET how fucking hard it is to come to terms with that, that what you thought you were isn’t ENITRELY true or, if Stephen is gay and not bi or pan, ENIRELY FALSE. So I do have some care that it was hard for him to sort all this out. I do and that Jospeh could’ve seduced him or what not. We don’t have all the context here. But he STILL cheated at the end of the day instead of telling her he was queer until MONTHS later.  And why yes the fact I have to feel bad for JULIE does make it that much worse. And yes their relationsihp COULD simply be that toxic or she could’ve gaslit him, but it seemed more like their relationship was messy breakups and getting back together over and over. While Julie IS vile, she’s not a domestic abuser mental or physical as far as I can tell. She’s a bitch and their relatioship is unehlathy but there was no indication their relationship involved gaslighting or evne phsyical violence: it was just fucked from minute one. So yeah he stayed in an awful relationship beacuse it was easier than coming out, when he should’ve broken it off as soon as it was clear he and Joseph were actually going somewhere. Waiting while he figured out who he was is one thing, tha’ts fiar, but cheating on someone just because you don’t have the nerve to break it off with them when their genuinely awful to you and your only hurting them as much as they can be hurt by dragging this out... yeah that just makes you an ass. 

Another point of contention is that he NEVER called Scott out on this. Never. Not even after this scene. Never encouraged him to tell Ramona or apologize to Knives, again he didn’t know Scott already had tried that. Never gets on him.. he just ignores Scott’s shitty behavior like eveyrone else and unlike Kim, whose still got unresolved feelings and is at the very least clearly bothered by his shitty behavior, and Neil, whose young and thus like me likely looked up to Scott at the time, he dosen’t have an excuse other than “Well I don’t want to ruin our friendship by actually calling him out when he does something objectivionally awful.” Especially since Wallace DID actually take action: he didn’t break up the relationship or say anythign to Ramona, which is wrong... but he did tell scott flat out after his first date with Ramona to break up with Knives. And when Scott chickned out of that, Wallace gave him the ultimatium, may it live in empathy, to do so or he WOULD tell Ramona. And at least Wallace has a motive for not telling Ramona other than “I don’t want to risk my friendship with a guy I really don’t care about and think is shitty”. He wanted to see Scott recover from Envy, something Stephen never gave ONE. SHIT. ABOUT. He saw Ramona was good for him and knew telling her, while the RIGHT thing to do, would severely harm Scott, and by volume 4 leave him homeless. Plus Wallace frankly enabled him for some time anyway, letting him live at their place rent free and paying for all his food and frequently letting Scott steal his credit card. WIth Wallace at least while it’s not the RIGHT move, it’s understandable and complicated vs Stephen who really dosen’t seem to like or get along with Scott after volume 1, suddenly cares what happens to his relationship. 

And what proves this... is this little exchange that ends the conversation. 

Knives despite her issues, despite blinding herself to how Scott treated her, despite everything... thinks Ramona should know. And she’s right. And Stephen KNOWS THIS. He knows it was the right thing to do and just.. takes a swig instead of admitting he’s a fucking hypocrite or explaining himself in any way.  He NEVER cared about Ramona’s feelings or how this would effect her or saw her as important in any way shape or form. Kim at least clearly feels guilty. Wallace clearly is only doing so because it’s better for both her and Scott that their together and is a flawed human being. Stephen.. just dosen’t do so out of some masculine bullshit code of not ratting out your friend and his own cowardace. He clearly COULD go walk up to Ramona right now and tell her, but he won’t. And again I don’t buy he honeslty cares enough about Scott for their friendship to TRULY be enough of a factor to stop that. Fuck. Stephen. Stills. 

So Scott wins naturally, but is bummed there’s no reward.. but Stephen points out there’s tons of free food over yonder so he noms before he and Ramona leave. 

We get some cute domestic bits with Scott and ramona: Scott playing games on her phone all day, the two cooking dinner, and Scott admititng he hasn’t thought of envy at all. “I have you now”. Though through it there are some signs of unease: Scott finds a letter to Gideon, and Ramona asks about her hair and stares out into the window. Nice little hints that even before the big bomb abotu to drop she’s not at ease.. she loves Scott.. but it’s hard for her to let herself BE happy. It’s easy to wager she wasn’t for most of her life. 

Can’t Face Up

So next we find Sex Bomb-Omb working on the album. Or rather Stephen and Joseph are. Scott and Kim are praying for death but death won’t come and Kim wonders why the fuck this isn’t finished. Joseph wants her out of his house... forgetting that Kim lives in said house. 

Still his expressoin implies he’s going to do a murder on her if she stays in the room and since Drummers are hard to come by Stephen spirits them to kim’s room for a band meeting. Turns out they do have a gig but naturally Rosemary’s Baby booked it... and they haven’t practiced in months because Stephen’s a moron. He theorizes it’s Freddy’s Revenge, which is admitely probably valid though Kim can TELL something worse happened Stephen won’t cop to because he’s a piece of shit. I spent several paragraph’s establishing that. They try blaying and two sucktacular minutes i’ts clear their fucked sunday. 

So after a scene of Knives trying HARD to justify Scott’s actions and blame htem on Ramona, to no success, we get one of my faviorite parts of this book: Scott rambling on for god knows how long about the x-men while Ramona gets dressed and is presumibly barely listneing. 

I relate so hard to this it hurts. While not this era I wll GLADLY go on and on about X-Men and anything X-Adjacent at any goddamn opportunity and anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis and you know this. I need to tlak more x-men outside of my slowly failing New X-Men retrospective (Which is on the back burner because no one seeems to genuinely care after chapter one). If I did have a signifgant other, they would probably end up in a situation like this quite a lot and i’d have no shame about it. 

I also love this scene even more as while I DID love x-men at the time, I wasn’t quite the mega fan I was, nor as familiar with Claremont’s long, epic and often fucking weird in the special wonderful way only comics can run. Given I OWN over half his run at this point, that has changed. Though oddly not this part. So not only do I get Scott’s talking about x-men I Know what SPECIFICALLY. 

And for the unitatied, a quick explination of what the fuck Scott’s going on and on about: In the late 80′s, the x-men fought a reality warping malevolent trickster god named the Adversary. IN order to beat him their friend forget had to perform a cermony to lock his ass away that required willingly given life forces. The X-Men did REALLY fucking die.. but the Goddess Roma, daughter of Merlin and enemy of the advesary brought them back to life. With their deaths having been broadcast on live tv, and with tons of dangerous enemies at their heels, the X-Men choose to let the world continue to think they were dead so they could hit said enemies where it hurt.

SO this is where Scott’s story comes in:The X-Men’s first mission was clearing out the reavers, a bunch of racist cyborgs, from a ghost town which they took over as their base. As Scotty said they traveled all over the world, fought aliens, more racists, and then went to New York as it literally went ot hell. it’s a LOT and I haven’t read most of that era. I just know about it. I have read that last part though: the x-men were ambushed while wolveirne was away by said racist cyborgs so Psylocke shoved them through the siege perilous, a gate thingy romana gave them that would give them a new life and amnesia and such, leaving wolveirne to get crucified till Jubilee, who’d been hiding in their base gary busey style, freed him. The two would travel the world, find psylocke body swapped which is why she was asian for several decades, and get into general stuff for a few years real time till the X-Men slowly reunited. And you probbaly dind’t need to hear all of that but your life is better for knowing it. 

As you can tell Ramona’s discontent is mounting. And probably not because of Scott rambling about x-men. Last night he told her about the time Magneto beat them all because they stupidly rushed him one at a time then forced them into high tech chairs while a robotic nanny babbied them and then esecaped because shut up before fighting magneto, getting surrounded by lava and having beast ASSUME they were dead because fuck actually coming back and searching just in case like a rational human being because magma or no the x-men have surivived worse, including the depths of space, and restoring all of reality from scratch.  I may of just read those issues tonight. 

She procedes to make things worse for our hero as when he asks fo rher advice.. she reveals she dosen’t like his band.. and while she means nothing BY that, she’s nice about it, telling him his band sucks days before a sudden show where you guys eat a lot isn’t something you do. Wallace is naturally even less helpful and maybe his not liking the band is why we barely see him interact. Maybe he just figured Stepheen was on the fence sexuality wise but wasn’t willing to put up with Julie to test that. I dunno. 

So at the restraunt Stephen’s a dick, refusing to help Scott with his problems. WHich for once are legitamte as he worries abotu Ramona keeping secrets. He just wants to talk about hte band.. but 48 or something hours after this he has no real plan. 

Scott mopes to Kim about Ramona and she has some sage advice for him...

Also thing one and thing two are at the bar with a remote. This cannot end well... granted givne our heroes are not at all prepared and are playing two diffrent songs, this was never going to end well. 

And things only get worse for Scott in the bathroom.. he’s not there.. but his girlfriend and his ex are. Knives tries to work it out.. but Ramona being a bit short with her, which is fair given Knives tried to stab her a bunch a few months back and never apologized, leading to a quick fight.. but with Knives heart not in it this time and Ramona pissed and this time NOT confsued as to what the hell ihs going on, it ends with Ramona slamming knives into a wall... and Knives sadly revealing the truth to Ramona...

The scene hits like a truck with both devistated.. Ramona not having realized Scott with this shitty.. and Knives FINALLY accepting that he is. Finally letting her obession with him drop and realize what he was and what he did and let the full impact hit. The last part also hits hard “No One Else Would’ve Told You’.  It’s a sad hard truth and it’s CLEARLY something that hits both women hard.  For Knives it’s realizing Kim and Stephen, who she’s increidbly close to at this point, both don’t have the stomach to do the right thing, and thus hid this from her and Ramona. Stephen DID tell her.. but he still didn’t have the guts to tell RAMONA nor the actual care. It’s the realization the people she looked up to truly let her down and that she had to do what they couldn’t, even if it tore her apart to do it. For Ramona it’s realizing her closest friends outside of Scott could’ve told her and never did. No matter how close she’s gotten to Kim and Wallace, neither gave a fuck about her rights or her need to know. 

So Ramona is rattled and barely speaks while Scott has been fighting anothe rrobot and ends the gig accidnetly smashing his bass. Stephen is pissy with him and blames hi mfor runing the gig, which turned out to be a trap anyway complete with fliers. 

Ramona decides to gently throw him out as he forgot his keys while his other friends won’t house him leaving him with the one friend he has who dosen’t hate him right now. WALLACE!

The Glow:

So at Casa De Welles, Wallace has some buddy time, not making any bones about the fact Ramona clearly threw Scott out for the night and wearing a neat robe. Scott mopes about the fact he hasn’t met mobile whose apparenlty on the astral plane. I wonder if he has any buisness with Emma.. I mean the x-men did live in san fran sicsio but given decimation didn’t have many psychics. Might’ve been tryign to get another one. THey didn’t have a whole island that walks like a man yet.  And while Wallace wasn’t in much of a coaching mood last time he is willing to help. He couldn’t get bupkiss on the twins since Scott can’t even remember their names, but he did pull off a miracle. Despite their being a million Gideons in New York.. Wallace found THE Gideon. Granted all he got was his full name, Gideon Gordon Graves, and a few burry photos, one with Ramona confirming this is our douche, but given he had only a first name and an ex to work with this is some damn fine work. Wallace asks scott about his future with Ramona but he just.. has no earthly idea because of course he dosen’t. He hasn’t REALLY thought about what comes after beating the exes because he never thinks anything through. Interesting stuff The next day Scott meets up with Kim at No Account Video and we get our first, and I mean literally first, indiciation things are falling apart with her and Hollie. Scott wants to say hi, Kim refuses him and gives a smart ass comment when he asks if them being roomates isn’t working out. He wasn’t even being a dick it’s just clear SOMETHING bad’s going on she won’t talk about because she puts up walls around hrself on a GOOD day and this clearly isn’t one.

It gets worse when they stop by Stephen’s place only to find Neil whose both taken up a combination of smoking and moping in a dark room. Never a good sign. Nor is Stephen apparenlty being at band practice.. meaning either he lied to Neil about where he went.. or he already started the band we’ll see him with next volume and is already stabbing his friends in the back. There wasn’t much to like about the guy to BEGIN with, but his behavior just gets worse with every volume and it’s reached it’s apex here. The speech was shitty enough, I spent several paragraphs explaning why, but the rest of his behavior isn’t much better. He abandoned two people who were, for god knows what reason loyal to him and abandoned the band because of some bearded asshole probably encouraging him to. 

We also get some telling behavior on Kim’s part. Whlie she’s usually morose around Scott in the face of this both just hang out, it’s plesant. She even smiles when she asks if it’s going to be a regular occurance when he stays with her that night. Granted she brings back her frown soon after, but as has been clear her feelings for him never really went away entirely, and this is the closest the two have been in volumes, just enjoying each others company. It’s also telling that Scott trusts kim with a favor.

We see the favor the next page: Kim hangs out with Ramona.. and Scott marchs in completely on purpose soon after. Granted Kim probably didn’t know THIS was part of the plan, and it’s mildly stupid.. but it DOES show progress for Scott. Keep in mind his usual tactic is “avoid the fuck out of it and hope it goes away’ So ACTUALLY wanting to talk about things and find her again, and not doing it in a creepy way but simply drawing her out with a friend, shows SOME maturlity. It’s still not the most mature.. but with Ramona clearly not wanting him at their place, her work not having a set location as she just picks stuff up and drops it off (And even if she’s picking up packages at the post office we don’t know which one or if there’s multiple and even if we did scott sure as hel l does not), he was out of options. It also WORKS, with Ramona breaking her mopeynesss to laugh and Kim stunned it didn’t just piss her off further. 

So we find out what happened with Hollie when Scott brings up jason. She points out they were dating but... welllllllll

Yeah... as you could probably tell I do not like this plot point at all. For one thing we never really got to KNOW Jason, and with him and Hollie getting a little too cozy at the end of the last volume...

It’s clear his ONLY roll in the story was to be there so Hollie could betray Kim in some way. And look I get a LOT in this series happens while we’re not looking, ti’s part of it’s charm. Things not pausing for the side cast is a trope I enjoy: it allows some things to progress faster and allows for some intresting stories when the main cast catches up. Steven Unvierse and Ducktales both used this well as does Scott Pilgrim but all three weren’t immune to someitnes goofing up and taking it too far. 

This whole situation is that: Hollie is a character I got attached to: She had a great report with kim, they were really close and she offered her a place to stay when it was clear she was miserable with the four horseman of the bitchpocalypse she lived with. So while having her suddenly heel turn is realistic... it just feels thorughly unsatisfying. We do not see Hollie again after she’s sudeenly derailed, so we never get to see what she’s apparenlty REALLY like or get any explination why this happened. Suddenly Kim’s best friend is a douchebag even though it makes no sense for her character. Just because in real life people can turn out to be really shitty on a dime dosen’t mean it’s a neat thing to READ in a story and it feels like a waste of what was one of the series best side characters. And granted i’ve been through FAR worse treatment of side characters, trust me but this one still blows to this day and if there is a netflix adaptation this either needs to not happen or have actual depth. Seriously Netflix your adapting everything else, get on the bus already. 

Scott is GENUINELY apologetic, we’ve rarely seen him this nice but he genuinely feels bad for her.. and unlike Stephen’s thing it’s okay to feel shitty someone got cheated on even if you were a cheater in the past. As I said Stephen wasn’t wrong about how Scott treeted knives.. he just also was trying to take moral high ground which Knives proved he absolutely did not have in seconds.

This triggers Ramona’s glow, the squggly line thing that shows up over her head ocasoinally.. and while Ramona grills Scott... Kim just finally asks what the hells up with her head. Scott’s reaction is “OH good you guys see it too”. Kim does try to show it to ramona but it’s gone by then and she drops it for now and outside encourages her to come to Julie’s latest shitty party.. I mean their miserable but at least it gives thems omething to do

So we get another instalment of “Scott rambles about the X-Men” or New Mutants in this case as we’re talking about Magik, Aka Illyana Rasputin 

So for the long version: The X-Men were staying at a creepy temple that Magneto had been working out of beause the mansion was being repaired. Colossus, everyone’s favorite Russian and Deadpool co-star, had his kid sister Illyana with him as Arcade, a ginger maniac assasian whose gimmick is creating elaborate murder theme parks, kidnapped her in a plot to get the x-men to fight Dr. Doom for him. Given this was during the Cold War they coudln’t exactly take her back, so she stayed with the X-Men and her beloved big brother. 

So naturlaly the spooky temple decorated in Cthulu’s had a portal to hell in it and  an evil and genirc looking fucker named Belasco kidnapped her to a hell dimension known as Limbo>  the X-Men went after her as you’d expect and things got WEIRD as due to some complicated and weird time dialition stuff I sitll don’t quite understand there ended up being two copies of the x-men: ours who came in right after, and a second batch who stayed there for about 7-8 years and got warped by Bellsaco’s magic as he killed or changed most of them. As a result Storm became a sorcerer to fight back, Kitty Pryde became some sort of cat creature and Kurt became a creepy evil version of himself. Illyana stayed htere, learned magics from both storm and asshole, learned to fight from cat kitty, and eventually escaped after a lot of horrible bullshit, hardnered and with her soul scarred from it, now a teenager. She joined the New Mutants, the training class of x-men in the comics, soon after. She’s a member agian in present day, one of the great captains of Krakoa, and one of the two co-leaders of Krakoa’s younger mutants, i.e. 20 something to teens and kids. 

This is the best of the two scenes as the narrative , or at least Scott’s versions parallels Ramona’s own; Getting taken in by an evil man and feeling tainted by that. 

So at the party Ramona runs into Neil whose a dick about it and with some girl. She WAS going to be fleshed out more in the original draft but Brian ended up scrapping it for time, but does regret it. It’s here we get Neil’s face punchingly dickish comment that’s also a massive hint as to Stephen’s sexuality. 

Yeah even if Stephen’s been an UTTERLY shitty friend to him.. this was uncalled for even for the late 2000′s. What a prick. I do like the arc of Neil slowly falling apart though getting more and more bitter as his old friends abandoned him casually, especailly Stephen. While his comment was still HORRIBLY unwarranted even with Stephen being a dipshit. 

Speaking of assholes we get our last major with Julie who berates Scott for grabbing some booze and brings in the twist. I’m.. i’m not even bothering to give her an insluting and weird nickname. She’s still a HORRIBLE piece of shit, as she brought Scott’s enemies there to try and beat him to death for her own amusment and berated him for getting booze at a party she CLEARLY expected him to come to, but she’s ALMOST gone. Seriously after this she’s GONE for the volume and barely in the rest of the series. So i’d rather celebrate FINALLY having earned my freedom over worrying about her any more than i have to. Cue the music!

So with that Kyle.. or is it Ken. 

But the blonde one needles ramona, giving her her faviorite booze and telling her “this is all just temproary”

So Ramona gets all glowy.. and Kim gets her phone out....

The Universe Fights Back So in a random bedroom Ramona gives up the ghost: SHe DOES know what that is she just can’t tell Kim. Kim accepts it and they share some drinks. Scott, after beheading the douche bros latest science project, joins them and we get a lovely scene of the three drinking and bonding and geneuinely just having a good time. Though Kim DOES mention that she wants to go back to school.. This will naturally be very important. 

What’s more important is this scene is ENITRELY while I poly ship these three dum dums. I mean while part of thier hapiness here is their blasted out of hteir heads, it’s also just Kim’s wall sbeing down. She tells the two she loves them, and I think MEANS IT. Not to mention this...

Okay maybe it’s just the two of them but they also love Scott. And again I get htier VERY obviously drunk.. but given Kim and Ramona are clearly actively supressing any bi parts of themselves most of hte time this is telling. The fact Ramona asks kim to sleep in THIER bed, likely with them, is ALSO very telling and Kim only dosen’t because their using sub space. No really that’s the only reason this volume didn’t end VERY diffrently with the three of htem having a three way before the argument coming up.. and possibly fixing said argument by having kim to mediate. I mean I get Scott’s not a big part of this so if you don’t want to ship him with them and just leave them alone that’s fine, ut I like the idea of them as a throuple: they ballance each other out.. and frakly with Scott’s irresponsblity and Ramona’s emotoinal issues they need someone to call them b oth out in the relationship, while these two are two of the only three people in the work i’ve seen Kim take her walls down for. Not even Jason got that, but Jason was also a carboard cutout. 

Things take a turn from Kim.. from an almost threesome where she CLEARLY would be getting most of the attention... to two assholes kidnapping her. Now while I don’t like the twins that much their plan for the final act IS actually clever: their the first ones to think to actually use the people Scott cares about.. or anything resembling strategy really. Matt just charged int here, Lucas coudln’t give less of a fuck, Todd just used brute strength like a teletkentic juggernaught, and Roxy DID use some but it was less to actually fight scott and more to get into ramona’s pants again. The twins see Kim clearly still loves Scott, and that while he acts aloff to her sometimes she really is one of his best friends. No really, think about it. Wallace is his BEST friend.. but Kim sticks by him even when he’s shitty, calls him out when needed, and despite her grumpiness is the one who has the most faith in him out of ANYONE. It’s a large point of the volume: she dosen’t bother watching the fights.. because she belivies he’ll win simply because he’s Scott. That’s love right there. The kind of love that gets you kidnapped as part of an elaborate scheme but love nonetheless. 

So we then get the scene that’s been coming for five volumes... after having sex, Ramona confronts Scott. While Scott admits he didn’t cheat on her with knvies, the other way around, that’s not better. He admits he’s been trying to forget about it.. and she calls him a bad person. And that. .hits him hard. While he DESERVES scorn for what he did... as he puts it next he’s been trying to change for her. To BE better. And all she sees, and outright confirms is another evil ex in waiting with Scott DESPERATE to prove her wrong and wrongly thinking beating the next three exes will fix this. It’s a VERY hard sceen to watch as while Scott does deserve this.. it’s also hard not to feel bad for him too. It really sums up the character: He is a dick.. but he’s TRYING to be better. He WANTS to be, he just dosen’t know how. And MAN can I relate to that.  It dosen’t help that Ramona is clearly projecting her own insecurties about this lasting, about actually being happy and about this really being her life onto him, using this as an easy out after having a month of doubt. Yes Scott did something unbelivibely shitty.. but both are trying to take the easy way out of it instead of genuinely discussing why it’s shitty, what he did was wrong and geniuinely unpacking if this is the end. Ramona clearly wants to bail, and Scott clearly just wants to punch a few guys to make it better. Neither thing will work. They need to work thorugh their issues to work... but neither is capable of that right now. They both want to run from the problem. 

This volume is in part about Ramona herself.. and showcasing her OWN flaws.. and like Scott her biggest is that she runs. She wants to escape her past too and both assumed the other would be an easy fix, that by having a good partner they’d be better.. when really their both mildly shitty people who need to make peace with their past and repair the bridges they’ve burnt and flip off the ones not worht reparing instead of running from it all the time. But sadly before both can.. their just gonna run again. Because sometimes fixing yourself is just not that easy. 

So the next morning Scott’s heart stops fo ra second when Ramona is seemingly gone.. only for her to instead be in teh shower. But Scott gets a text telling him the twins have Kim and TRIES to tell Ramona.. but she’s in the shower. As a result she’s worried he just ran off... and makes a decision , her hair cut back down after growing it out this volume, a sign of her hapiness.. now gone. 

The Glow Part 2 So at an abandoned wherehouse the fight is on. The twins have the advantage in part because Scott is hung over.. something they take offense to.. even though they were THERE last night. He was at a party. They don’t know he teatotles. What state did they THINK he’d be in this morning?

We also find out their origin: as Scott correctly guessed at the end of last volume, Ramona dated them both at the same time and pit them against each other. They found out and vowed to always fight as one.. which means Scott is not only fighting two equally powerful opponents at once, but two who work as a perfct team and double hurricane kick him. They also mentally break him down, pointing out her previous job and how she’s a runner and she’s here to run from her past working for Gideon.

They aren’t but I already went into that so let’s get onto more pressing issues: Scott is not only hung over but now doubting himself and his dumbass plan to beat gideon and magically fix things, while Kim is naturally not happy about being stuck in a cage all night. And while at first she’s genuinely just grumpy as always as it becomes clear Scott has lost hope and the twins are going to win this one her expression is heartbreaking...

After EVERYTHING she still loves him and can’t bear to see him in so much pain... and can’t loose him.. so she gets desperate and claims Ramona texted him to give him hope. 

This is one of Kim’s definting moments, the other coming next month. When faced with the person she loves possibly dying.. she lies to him.. so he can surivive. So he can have hope and make it through this.. despite how much it’s CLEARLY KILLING HER to not only tell him someone else loves him but to clealry lie that person loves him, knowing it’ll hurt him more.. but knowing if she DOSEN’T he’ll die. It’s one of the most painful, heartbreaking and beautiful moments in the entire series. It’s why I said earlier while I don’t like the brothers their climactic fight his excellent.. because it is. Their verbal breaking down of Scott is hearbreaking and Kim’s sacrifice equally so. 

And before stomping them into coins SCott shows further growth.. by showing he CAN give off a good one liner now...

So Scott beats them and gets Kim out of the cage, worried about her.. but despite having a chance, Kim lets him get on his way to ramona and morsoely wlaks off... while ominously the sign points out this will soon be the Chaos Theater. There’s still one left to go. 

But.. it’s sadly not enough. While Scott gives her a heartfelt speech... even if he quotes the song as long as you love me... he dosen’t care who she is.. but Ramona does.. calling herself a bad person.. as she vanishes.... and I cry my eyes out again. God two really heartbreaking scenes in a row sweet jesus this volume will be the death of me.. and not just because i’ts taken so damn long to write this review. And on top of tha the looses the cat and ends up locked out. 

World of Ruin:

So yeah if you thought those bits weren’t easy.. it only gets roughter as we see Scott in the aftermath of the breakup. His dream world is now desolate and he’s alone. Now to his creidt as much shit as i’ve given him Stephen didn’t ENTIRELY abandon Scott: he put him up fo rth enight (though he kicks him out after work) and offers to take him to after work drinks. We also see a nice side of Scott’s intimdating boss as she offers her symaptheties at him crying... while he says it’s the onions... he’s transparenlty lying. 

Next up is Kim. Though she dosen’t have a couch because Hollie sold it.. which as dickish as she suddenly is it IS her couch as Kim points out.. so yeah Kim and Scott end up sleeping awkardly in the same bed facing away from each other.. and to add another emotional guttpunch at the worst possible time: She’s going back home. 

Stacey is even lesss helpful as SCott continues to ask about cats and is unsypantethic about her leaving despite you know,  him REALLY not being at the shit talking her stage yet bud. At least we do get to see Stacey in this one I genuinely forgot she was in it. 

So at Wallace’s he’s no help either pointing out she might be with someone else because he’s wallace and we meet a guy with Glases.. and in his bad state Scott assumes i’ts gideon. it’s not though. WE finally meet Mobile!

He’s exactly what wallace needs.. a fellow sarcastic asshole. 

So next up is Kim’s goodbye.. which once again is really emotinal..a nd not just because  my faviorite character is leaving and again, younger me didn’t know this wasn’t forever.. or that she’d be back for a rather huge role next time. But still it’s a damn good scene that shows how far Scott’s come...

While the first part is standard... the second is Scott realizing that she still had feelings for him, clearly given her actions during the fight, and he’d been a right dick this whole time never dealing with it or apolgoizing for his past. Granted he still has a way to go to REALLY apologize for it... but he’s trying and means it. And with her possibly never seeing again.. she needed that. Also her coat is damn cool. I’d say I want one like that btu i’d really prefer one like Scotts complete with x-men patch. Pax Krakoa bitches. 

We get a really nice scene after where we meet Scott’s parents! Their also really kind helping him get a new place and move on... and runs into another glasses guy. But this time it’s Laurence! Who he drop kicks.. and then gives a broken bass back to. Eh... i’ve seen worse relationship with siblings honestly. He didn’t murder scott’s friend or plunge a whole galaxy into war or try and murder his daughter. Other Scott’s weren’t so lucky. 

So after that awkardness SCott finds the note to gideon which is a break up letter... she never sent. However there’s something more pressing as he gets a call... and you can probably guess given his luck lately who that’s from. 

Eh it’s not that murderoius creep but another one. 

The end.. is in a few weeks.

Final Thoughts: 

As I said I hated Vs the Universe on first read but re-reading it with hindsight and maturity.. it’s damn good. It’s depressing as hell.. but the things it does need to happen to push scott into a bad enough place for the next volume to work, and are natural: Ramona and Kim leaving, The band  breaking up, Scott kicking his brother in the face.. all natural things. It hurts, this was a HARD one to write and I only feel the next one will be harder because it’s way longer with less slice of lifey stuff to skim through in my recapping. 

But it’s a damn good one, with fantastic art, really gripping scenes, x-men refrenes and a spotlight shone on my girl kim. Even it’s weak spots dont’ hurt it: the twins are only weak by comparison, and still work well enough for the story, pushing ramona into the bad mental place she needs to be for the story to work. Hollie’s thing DID Need to be written way fucking better... but it does push kim into leaving which is CRITICAL for next time. So they aren’t GREAT elements, but they work. The only real other problem I have is knives just.. vanishes after her scene outside of one bit with Stephen, but that I can understand as the book is pretty tightly packed and she gets a fitting sendoff next time anyway. All in all another amazing entry and the perfect warm up for one of the best endings in comics history

Next Time: I said it and I meant it: one of the best endings in comics history as Scott hits on some exes, fights himself and betters himself as he prepares for his finest hour! Will Ramona Come back? Will Kim? Will Julie?... to answer your questions yes yes, and god dammit. Thank you all for reading, see you at the next rainbow. 

[yikesharringrove]

Forced To Confront Feelings: Steve and Billy are enemies with benefits, and in true angst fashion Steve’s touch-starved need to connect to someone ends up on Billy but he doesn’t dare say a word of it. Once he does, he knows Billy will leave and not come back. It comes to a head when Steve is majorly ill one day but is still forced to take the kids to the pool, as Billy picked up an earlier shift. (1/2)

(2/2) He’s in a bad mood and Steve doesn’t wanna make it worse so he does what he’s asked (told), but the heat of the day and his exhausted body meet head to head, and he passes out and falls in the pool. Billy’s gonna have to face up to what he’s been desperately trying to squash when he rescues Steve and sees he’s hit his head and isn’t breathing.

-

There’s some smut mentions, but nothing outright

Read on Ao3

-

Billy rolled off of Steve, left him panting and tired, laying in his own cum and sweat.

Billy patted him once on the thigh, getting up to get dressed, to leave.

That’s how it always went. Billy fucked him good and hard, and then left before Steve could even say goodbye.

At it was fine.

It was.

They weren’t together, weren’t even friends, really.

Steve was just being a baby, just being needy and clingy, everything Nancy always said was so bothersome, Steve.

He watched Billy get dressed, biting his tongue every time he wanted to ask Billy to stay, to spend the night and hold him.

But Billy was already stomping down the stairs.

So Steve rolled over and tried to imagine strong arms around his waist.

-

He could feel the illness coming for days before it actually hit.

His throat was sore every morning, and his cough was dry, made him hack for days.

He was curled up in bed, had a heating pad on his aching stomach, the trash can close to his bed just in case.

He absolutely fucking longed to have someone there, to have Billy there, bringing him hot soup and pressing a cool wash cloth to his head.

He was running a mild fever when the kids showed up, begged him to bring them to the pool.

He rolled his carcass out of bed, shoving himself into the first swim trunks he could find, the only shirt he saw.

Dustin raised one eyebrow at him when he tromped downstairs, but he didn’t care, just drove the little shits to the pool.

It was fucking hot today, and Steve felt fucking delirious sitting in the heat.

He was in the bathroom, his head pressed against one of the lockers, the cool metal.

“You’re on my locker, dipshit.” He stood up slowly, blinking at Billy.

“Sorry, Bill.” Billy furrowed his brows.

“You look like shit.” Steve smiled wearily at him.

“You gonna take care a’ me?”

“Fuck no, Harrington. Fuckin’, get outta here.” He shoved Steve aside, made him stumble a little.

Steve pouted, still leaned against the lockers.

Billy just shook his head, started changing into his lifeguard uniform. Steve jsut watched him.

Billy looked up at him slowly.

“Harrington, get out. Fuckin’ perv.” Billy shoved him again, made him slam into the lockers. His head spun.

He stumbled out of the locker room, the sun beaming into his eyes, making him dizzy.

He closed his eye, squatting down where he stood, pressing the heels of each hand into his eye sockets.

He took some deep breaths, trying to get the world to stop spinning. When he thought it was safe, he stood back up.

His vision went dark.

Billy was just stepping out of the locker room, unlit cigarette in his mouth when he saw Harrington stand up.

It was almost comical, the way his body just went down, like someone had cut the strings off a marionette.

But then Steve wasn’t surfacing, had sunk right to the bottom.

Billy scrambled to blow his whistle, throwing caution to the wind and sprinting forward, diving into the water.

He grabbed Steve around the middle, swimming up with him.

Billy’s blood was rushing in his ears.

Freddy was there, helped Billy pull Steve out of the pool.

Steve was just laying there.

And then Billy noticed the blood.

A gash on the side of Steve’s head was bleeding, the blood mixing with water, made it look like there was so much.

He tugged off his wet shirt, pressing it to the wound, staunching the blood as best as he could.

And then Billy checked over him.

And Steve wasn’t breathing.

Billy yelled for someone to call an ambulance, vague heard Heather yell back through the blood rushing in his ears.

He tilted Steve’s head back.

Okay, okay. You can do this. Chest compressions. Just like in training.

He tried to be methodical, tried not to think about how it was Steve under his hands.

He breathed into his mouth.

Steve’s lips were chapped, already fucking cold.

He started compressions again.

A crowd had gathered now, Steve’s kids all front row, all of them had a hand on the curly one, he was crying, his hands shaking.

Billy kept pushing on his chest, counting each compression.

One of Steve’s ribs gave way with a crack. The crowd around them gasped.

Billy gave him another few breaths.

He couldn’t think about their last interaction, how he had pushed Steve away. Couldn’t think about the last time he was at Steve’s house, the way Steve had looked at him, so soft and pretty and asked you wanna stay? We can go again. And Billy had laughed at him, called him a pussy.

He gave him more breaths.

And Steve coughed, spluttering.

Billy rolled him onto his side.

He was coughing, water coming out of his mouth.

Billy patted him on the back as everyone fucking clapped. Billy ground his jaw.

Steve was taking shaky breaths now.

The paramedics had arrived, pushing through the pool gates.

They got Steve onto a gurney.

“I, uh, I think I broke a rib during compressions.” Billy was following behind them, Steve’s kids following him like little ducklings.

“That’s okay. Better a broken rib and a breathing person.”

“He just passed out. I think he’s sick.” The loaded Steve up in the ambulance.

His eyes were wide, he looked panicked, staring at Billy, chewing on his bottom lip.

“Can I come with him?” One of the paramedics just nodded, Billy leapt into the ambulance, held Steve’s hand on the way to the hospital.

“You don’t have to stay.” They were in the E.R., waiting for a doctor to come back with the scans of Steve’s chest. They had already stitched up his head.

“Got nothin’ else to do.”

“You just, you don’t gotta take care a’ me.”

Billy dropped his head into his hands.

“Shoudn’ta said all that.”

“It’s fine, Billy. We’re not friends. You don’t owe me shit.”

“Honestly, I think I owe you an apology.” Steve shrugged. “Been treatin’ you like shit for a while now.”

“Look, I had no illusions about what we are to each other.” Billy sat back in his chair, glaring at Steve.

“That’s a lie.”

“No, it’s not. I knew we were nothing more than two people who fuck sometimes.”

“Maybe, but you wanted more.” And Steve’s cheeks went bright fucking red. “I could fucking see it. Just, the way you fuckin’ look at me, man. It was terrifying.” Steve ground his jaw.

“Terrifying?”

“You’re in love with me. Don’t know when, or why, frankly, but you are. And those fuckin’ big eyes a’ yours pretty much show every emotion you feel. So we’re fucking, and I pull outta you, and you give me this look, like you’ve never been happier, like you’re so in love, and Stevie I can’t take that shit.”

Steve’s mouth was hanging open.

“I guess I’ll stop then?” He spoke slowly.

“No, I- shit, I’m not sayin’ any of this right.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I was so scared because I’m not allowed to love you back.”

“But you do?” Steve was still talking all slow. Billy looked at his shoes, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh my God, you big baby. You’re allowed to have feelings and emotions.”

“Not in my house.” Steve just stared at him. Billy sighed. “My dad would, would fuckin’ kill me if he found out. And I’m not just being dramatic. He doesn’t take nice to queers.”

“Who says he has to know?” Billy huffed a laugh.

“He always knows. Has ways of findin’ out all sorts a’ shit.”

“We’ve made it this far without him knowing.”

“Yeah, ‘cause he thought I was out fuckin’ every girl in town. He’d rather have a slut for a son than a homo.”

“Tell him you’ve got a girlfriend, then.”

“He’ll wanna meet her.”

“Then get some girl to cover for you. Get Heather or Robin or someone.” Billy chewed on his bottom lip.

“You think one of them would do it?”

“Oh yeah. I mean, Robin hates you on principle, which, sorry about that, but she’d probably do it if you change your ways or something.”

“Yeah? What’s that entail.”

“Don’t give me shit to complain about. She’s my go to when I would be all mopey about you, so if I start bein’ all excited about you, she’d notice.”

“What if she just hates me?”

“Nah. You two would get along great. Her favorite pass time is making fun of me.”

“Okay, but that’s the main pass time of everyone that’s ever met you.

“Hey. Aren’t you supposed to be nice to me now? Now that we’re all in love.” He grinned as Billy flushed.

“Never gonna be nice to you if you rub that shit in my face.”

“Oh please. You broke my fucking rib trying to save my life. Don’t act like you don’t love me.”

“You never thanked me for that shit.”

“Figured I would thank you when I got out of the hospital.” He smiled all coy, biting his bottom lip just a little.

“What you got in mind?”

“Remember like, three weeks ago, when you asked for that thing, and I said over my dead body? Well since I was almost a dead body, figured you could have this one.” Billy’s eyes went wide.

“You’re really gonna let me? Fuck you in you dad’s office?” Billy had stumbled into the room accidentally, kept saying please, Harrington? Just lemme take you on this fuckin’ desk.

“Oh, yeah.”

“That what I get for bein’ your boyfriend, or whatever?” Steve looked down at the thin blanket covering his legs.

“Depends. Are you my boyfriend?

“You want me to be?” Steve nodded, still looking at his lap. “Then, sure. I am.”

And when Steve smiled at him, it was bright as the fucking sun.

[writingwithciara]

Cover Girl ~Rafe Cameron~

summary: y/n was the lowest class of Kook. she didn’t fit in anywhere and nobody ever made her feel like she belonged, until one night at a party.

word count: 2.6k

pairings: rafe x reader

warning: my horrible writing, i think there’s a swear word or two, angst

a/n: i was listening to Cover Girl by Big Time Rush last night and thought it’d be cool to write something for Rafe. i feel like if he was shown some kind of love, that he’d be a decent person. {loosely based off the song}

masterlist

y/n was not an average run-of-the-mill Kook. She was born a Kook but over the years, her family has been balancing on the border of Kook and Pogue. 

When she was 8, her dad went into business with Ward Cameron & started making more money. This business deal brought her the opportunity to meet the boy she called her best friend for the past 8 years.

Rafe hadn’t liked the girl at first but after a straight month of business meetings between their fathers, he had accepted the fact that she wasn’t going anywhere.

Now, here they are, 8 years later & closer than ever.

“So, the midsummer celebration is in a few days.” Rafe smiled over at his other best friend, Topper, as they lounged in the hot tub.

“Who are you taking?” Topper questioned, already knowing that the answer was pretty obvious.

“Raquelle.”

“Who?”

“She’s this smoking hot rich chick I met at a business event.” Rafe chuckled and looked at his phone. Y/n was supposed to be there 15 minutes ago. “Anyway, she asked me to go with her last night when I was at her place.”

“Does y/n know?”

“No. And why does she need to?”

“I thought you’d be taking her, seeing as you’ve gone as her date to every other event.”

“I was planning on asking her, but she’s been so distant lately and I have no idea how to fix it.”

“So, you won’t mind if I take her then?”

“What?” Rafe was shocked at this question. He couldn’t imagine anyone dancing with y/n or holding her in any way. It hurt him to think about it but he shrugged it off. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Sweet.” Topper smiled and set his phone down. “All I have to do is wait.”

The minute y/n’s phone went off, she regretted turning it back on. She rolled to her side and looked at the bright screen. 

“A text from Topper?” she thought about how very little contact the two have actually had and sighed as she opened the text. “Why would he want to take me  to Midsummers?” 

Battling with her thoughts once again, she quickly typed a ‘yes’ and laid on her back. The glow-in-the-dark stars Rafe gotten her for her birthday last week, were bright, causing her to think of names for each and every one of them.

“Margaret, you’re my favorite.” she smiled up at the big one in the center, before slowly drifting off to sleep, completely forgetting she was supposed to meet the boys at Rafe’s house.

----------------

Three days later & Midsummers had finally arrived. Tons of people were spread around outside the country club. It wasn’t y/n’s favorite place to be, but her father had wanted the whole family to spend more time together. 

“Good evening, Mr an Mrs y/l/n.” topper smiled as he greeted the family in the front hall. “Y/n, you look absolutely beautiful tonight.”

“Thanks, Topper.” y/n smiled up at the boy and took in his appearance. “Not so bad yourself.” she giggled. He actually didn’t look horrible.

“Thanks.” he chuckled and turned to her parents. “Mind if I keep her back and walk in with her?”

“No problem. See you in there, sweetie.” her father grabbed her mom’s hand and they walked to the backyard. Topper looked at her and held his arm out.

“Gotta make a grand entrance, right?” he smirked. y/n took his arm and they followed her parents. 

As soon as they were outside, y/n spotted Rafe. He had a blonde hanging off his arm and she was laughing at something he said. It gave y/n a sinking feeling in her gut. She turned to Topper and gave him a small smile.

“Top, can you go get me a drink, please?” 

“Sure.” he smiled and started walking to where Rafe and his date were. As he approached, the boy started a conversation with them. He held the cider in his hand and y/n watched as he laughed along with Rafe’s date. 

She was envious, that much she knew. Rafe was supposed to be her date, as usual. But the whole situation they were in was her fault. It was she who pulled herself away when Rafe needed her most.

“Come down, y/n. The water is nice and cool.” Rafe called up to her. She was in his room, looking herself over in his mirror. She had jsut bought a new bikini and was excited to show Rafe, but as she checked herself out, she noticed she had put on a few pounds. Y/n suddenly became insecure.

“Be right down.” she grabbed one of Rafe’s shirts and went down to meet her best friend and wait for his other friends.

“Why are you wearing a shirt? I thought you had a cute new bikini you wanted to show me.” Rafe questioned, wiggling his eyebrows as if he intended to flirt with her. 

“I changed my mind.” she shrugged and spread herself out on one of the chairs.”

“Awww, come on, y/n. Won’t you show it? For me?” he begged with the look he knew she couldn’t refuse. The moment she rolled her eyes and started reaching for the bottom of his shirt, he knew he had won.

“There? Happy?”

“Mhm. Very.” he chuckled as she threw his shirt at him. “Bikini looks hot, as always.” 

“Thanks, Rafe.” she blushed hardcore and was happy that the shade of the nearby umbrella was hiding it. Just as their moment was growing, Kelce and Topper ran out to the backyard and looked at them.

“Time to swim!” 

A few minutes passed and y/n was getting hungry. She stood up and went to the door. 

“I’m going in for some snacks and drinks. You boys want anything?”

“A few beers would be great, right guys?” Rafe asked and the boys nodded.

“Got it. 3 Colas, coming right up.” the boys all looked at her as she shook her head and went to the fridge. She grabbed the beers for the boys and began heading back outside. When she heard Kelce’s voice, she slowed down but when he mentioned her, she stopped completely and listened to them.

“Has anyone else noticed that y/n has put on a couple of pounds?” 

“Kelce, quit it. She looks amazing.” Rafe defended his best friend.

“Of course you’d say that. You’re practically in love with her.” Kelce chuckled at his friends face, which was now a deeper shade of red than it was. “But I’m just saying. She used to be hot. Now, not so much.”

“Kelce, shut up. You’re gonna make him mad.”  Topper tried to get him to stop but when the 3 boys laughed, y/n knew something bad was gonna come out of Rafe’s mouth.

“It’s okay.” he chuckled. “He’s not...entirely wrong.”

Those 4 words shattered y/n beyond repair but she gathered herself and walked out with the beers. She handed each boy a bottle and set hers down next to the shirt she previously had on. When she put it back on and grabbed her bag, Rafe pouted.

“Where are you going?”

“My mom texted me. Said she wants me back home. Grandparents are coming in today. You know how it is with them.” she awkwardly chuckled and headed around the house and to her car. She threw her bag in and drove off.

Rafe knew something was off and that she was lying because she didn’t even look at her phone when she came back out & it had been in her bag while she was inside. There was no way she would’ve known her mom texted her.

------------------

That same night, he had to cover his sadness with his new friend, cocaine. He went to Barry and bought more than he needed with the money he acquired from pawning off some of his dad’s belongings. 

When he got home, he set up his supplies and did a few lines before there was a knock at his bedroom door. 

“I’m so happy you came back, y/n. I was beginning to think-” his sentence was cut off as he opened the door and was face-to-face with his father. “D-dad, what are you doing here?”

“Where’s my watch, Rafe?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Rafe, we have security cameras in every hallway. I saw you come out of my office with my watch.” his dad got closer to him. “Where. Is. It?”

“I-I pawned it for money.”

“You stole from me? How could you.”

“I had no choice. You cut me off and I needed my fix.” 

“Rafe, drugs are not the way to go through life.”

“Dad, I think I lost my best friend. I. NEED. THIS!” Rafe fell into a sobbing mess on his bedroom floor. His dad had no idea how to deal with him so he walked out. That was the night he realized the only thing that would always be there for him, would be cocaine.

y/n regretted leaving Rafe’s house that night. She knew what he would be getting into. It was a difficult decision but it helped her get over him.

Or so she thought. All the feelings came rushing back the moment she saw him with Raquelle. Topper had returned with her drink and she quickly downed it.

“Wow. That was fast. You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” her eyes found Rafe’s and she sighed. “Let’s dance.” she was eager to get her mind off of her best friend so she gripped Topper’s hand tightly & dragged him to the middle of the dancing area.

“Slow down, y/n/n.” he chuckled as they got into the dancing position. The music started and they swayed back in forth. 

Over his dates shoulder, Rafe’s eyes landed on his friends together and it started something inside him that he couldn’t control. 

“Raquelle, can we talk?”

“Sure.” she smiled and followed him to quiet spot on the porch. They sat down on a bench and Rafe looked at the girl.

“There’s no easy way to say this but-”

“You only asked me because the girl you wanted to take wouldn't talk to you?” 

“Well, yeah. That would be the reason, but you asked me.” he smiled.

“Right.” Raquelle chuckled. “But it’s okay. I’ve always known how you felt about her. I’m not angry.”

“You have got to be the coolest chick I’ve ever met.” Rafe smiled and looked over to where he had last seen y/n and Topper. Y/n was staring up at Topper the way she used to look at him. There was some kind of love in her eyes & it hurt him to know he was no longer the only one who received that look. He stood up from his spot and went to go find Kelce.

“Thanks for being so understanding about this, Top.”

“It’s okay.” he smiled. “I’m just glad you told me the reason you left so suddenly that night. I was worried when you wouldn’t talk to us. To me.” 

“I’m sorry. I just...I don’t do good with stuff like that, especially when it comes from someone I never thought would say it.”

“Yeah, i understand.”

“I went my whole life being left out because of my level on the Kook chain. I’ve been insecure my entire life & I’ve never felt like I was good enough for anyone. When I met Rafe, everything changed. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere and that I deserved to be there.” her eyes started to water so she closed them. 

Rafe stood behind the couple and listened to her whole speech. His heart broke to see her so upset about something he said. All he wanted to do was hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

“I’m scared, Top. I’m scared that everything is gonna change now.”  she sobbed as Topper held her closer. They continued to dance and Topper noticed Rafe standing behind them. He motioned for Rafe to come over and that’s what he did.

“Keep your eyes closed for a second.” he let her stand there, giving Rafe the opportunity to take his place. Y/n didn’t seem to notice as they continued dancing to the low love song that was playing over the speakers. 

“Gosh, Top. What am I going to do? I love Rafe more than I’ve ever loved anybody. But he has Raquelle and I have...nobody.” she sighed and opened her eyes. She knew the chest she had been resting on and she didn’t need to look up to know who was with her. “R-rafe?”

““Yes?”

“Ignore that. IGnore all of what I just said.”

:How can I ignore it when I know that I hurt you.”

“Huh?”

“I heard what you told Topper, about the night you left. I’m so sorry you had to hear it, but just know, I never meant it. It was the only way to shut Kelce up. I’ll never forget the look on your face when you left. IT broke my heart and I didn’t....I didn’t intend to do such an awful thing.” he took a deep breath and looked at the girl. “I don’t know why you always get so insecure, y/n. You are the most beautiful girl in the whole world. You compare yourself to the girls in these magazines but they could never measure up to you. I wish you could see what I see when you look at yourself in the mirror.” he pulled back to admire the girl standing in front of him. “To me, you get more beautiful everyday. And somehow you always see the darkside of yourself, even though everything about you is amazing. I don’t know why you wear baggy clothes to camouflage your shape, because you’re perfect the way you are & I love you just the way you’re made.”

By now, everyone at the the party had stopped when they heard such loving words come from Rafe. They were all shocked at the words.

“Yo-you love me?”

“Of course I do. How could I not? You’re so pretty, that it hurts. You’ve got a heart of gold and when I see your face, I’d do anything to make you smile. I’d try a thousand ways to get you to love me too.” he looked into her eyes for an answer. A hint of how she felt. But there was nothing. “I think you’re a...a....a superstar & I want you see yourself the way I see you.” he sighed. “You’re so perfect to me & it hurts to know that you’ve gone so long not feeling like you were good enough.” his hands ran through his hair as he tugged at the ends. “You’re the only person I can be my true self around You’ve helped me out of so many difficult situations and I miss seeing your smile. The one thing that can always cheer me up. I need to see it again. Please?” he pleaded with her and gave her the look she couldn’t refuse. The second her lips curved upwards, her arms were thrown around his neck, her head pressed into his collar bone.

“Does this mean you’ll forgive me for being an idiot?”

“Of course. I’ve forgiven you for being an idiot before, haven’t I?” she giggled and reached up to cup his cheek in her hand. He instinctively leaned his head into her palm and placed a soft kiss on her wrist. “You may have acted like an idiot, but you’re my idiot. You always have been.” she smiled and pulled his face down gently, their lips connecting for the first time. IT was a quick kiss. They pulled back and looked around at everyone else.

“Let’s get out of here.” he grabbed her hand and led her to his truck. As they both climbed in, Rafe leaned over the console and placed another kiss to her lips. This one was a little longer and packed more passion into it than anything they’ve ever experienced before.

“I love you, Rafe Cameron.”

“I love you more, cover girl.”

--------

a/n: i realized i strayed too far from my original topic but by the time I realized this, it was too late to turn back. anyway, i hope you liked this. it took me a long time to get through it.

tags: @spilledtee​ @im-a-stranger-thing​ @ameeraaa21​ @jellyfishbeansontoast​ @obxmxybxnk​ @http-cherries​ @ijustreallylovethem​ @maggiesrandomness​ @softstarkey​ @poguesgold​ @jjouterbanks​ 

[impulsivelycontentious]

No one reads this or connects it with my other online identities but since I've removed personals involvement from my other social media stuff, and I feel like bitching, I am jsut gonna go ahead and do it.

So I have brain damage. Yeaaaaars ago I threw up so hard I actually ripped open the inside of an artery in my neck, and it threw a clot, and that clot did some nasty shit on its way on through and out.

No doctor noticed for two weeks.

Everyone else did.

Good times.

Anyway.

So now I have a damaged brain. Brains don't grow back. Some areas can regenerate a few cells - notably the prefrontal lobe - but mostly brains fix themselves not by regenerating like skin does, but by rearranging the cells we have to fire to fancy new configurations.

This has been quite the ride. Because shit, it changes things.

I don't even know how much of my personality is consistent. No idea. Let alone everything else.

I have memory loss my nurologist won't akowledge because it falls short of dementia. That was the bar. "You don't have dementia, you know what year it is." Gee thanks there chief.

Anyway.

My brain wasn't too stable to begin with. I have always been prone to logic leaps that occur very quickly and not necessarily in ways other people would make them. My mind is jumbled and a little random and things collide all the time that probably shouldn't.

This has become much worse since the brain damage. See, my brain keeps wiring shit together. Shit it really shouldn't. It changes who I am, what I think, what I can think.

It's actually quite terrifying to realise you're a sack of geletine misfiring lighting at itself.

So anyway. To the point. Yes - I have one of those. Probably. It's somewhere in here.

Oh right, no, another detour. I'm autistic. "Oh yeah, they definatly didn't screen girls when I was a kid because how the fuck did they miss this otherwise" autistic.

Back to the point.

Recently I had this sensory processing ... Whatever the fuck that was. I call them.idssocistive episodes. I don't know how accurate that is. But my mind unhooks from my sensory data. Everything feels muted and unreal - sound, sight, touch, heat. Name it. It's wrong.

I hate these.

It gets particularly nasty because there are nurologicsl consequences. See, my concious mind ramps up it's interpretation of sensory data. It goes all in and leaves the rest of my existence stuffed in this tiny little box without enough space to do dick.

One effect of this is I suddenly become highly obsessive. I think it's a comfort mechanism, I require the same stimulus over and over again or to somehow mentally connect it to the same element. Of course, it could also jsut be that obsessive behaviour towards interests is part of who I am. I am autistic. I DEFIANTLY go all in when something fascinates me. But not... Not like this.

Do you have ANY IDEA how many times I watched starwars 8 in 72 hours? Any clue? Holy fricking ... Something. I watched it fast. I watched it slow. I watched it skipping ahead 10 seconds every 10 seconds. I dissected that thing in micrscopic detail.

It gets better. Because mere hours before I got hit with this episode... I was not a starwars fan.

Nope. I watched it. It was ok. I wasn't going out of my way for it.

And suddenly. Wham. Episode 8. All the time. I watched some 7 and 9 as well but it was like it was entierly because eit was connected to 8.

I cannot even.

And while this is happening, *I know*. I know. I really do. I know this isn't my normal behaviour. I know this isn't my wheelhouse. I know something is deeply, deeply wrong in my brain.

I think it might actually be an ok movie, honestly. But not THAT good. And now it's one of my favourite things. Forever. I have no idea if it's actually good. Did I not give eit a chance the first time? Is my obsessive brain simply emotionally hooked up how? Fuck, I don't know.

So that's why I'm posting today. On this day. May 4th.

I'm seeing a lot of star wars today and it's making my brain tickle with it's own ridiculousness.

Not the whole point though. Because it lasted 72 hours (I watched dit one more time after that and if wasn't near as intense).

But what happened AFTER my 72 hours as an obsessive raylo (oh yeah. I went there. I'm not even ashamed. I am also compeltely content with the end they got, because I do not see that shit working out).

Brains don't regrow. They rewire.

And suddenly, I'm drawing. Like... A lot. I filled pages of doodles. Sketches. I redrew a peice I'd been working on for about a month in a few hours and damnit, it was good. It's not professional quality but I'd never down anything that well before. This goes on for another day. And then I started a story, and I wrote 2000 words all at once.

I'm dyslexic. And words are severely impacted by my brain damage to the point it can cause me phsycial pain to force my thoughts in to words.

And here I am. Going nuts on my phone. The words just spilling out and again - damnit, it was good shit.

My brain was abstracting. Where the concious sort had been shunted, it wasn't directing the abstracting aspect of my mind.

And I was making cognative leaps. My brain was wiring itself together for creativity.

For another 24 hours.

And now, dear reader, we get to now.

I have written 200 words in the last 2 days. They feel wrong.

I started and stopped a dozen images. None of them feel right. And there are objective quality differences.

I can still draw a bit. If I'm not tired. I'm almost always tired - it's neural fatigue, it comes with surviving a brain damage.

I have somehow brain damaged my way in to better skills.

And it's... It's not a good feeling.

Doing it the first time and watching something take place in front of my eyes I don't recognise was like magic. It was euphoric. Amazing. Exciting.

Realising as time wears on that the ability to do this is intrinsically tied in to the way ones brain handles brain damage and sensory processing issues?

Not a great feeling cats. Not at all.

I find myself staring at a document willing words on tot he page that just aren't there anymore and feeling so frustrated I could scream.

Whose idea was this anyway? Why can't I keep my rewiring?

It's so hard dto explain the feeling of loss.

It's not me who did these things. A version of me, yes. But not the one we are keeping.

The one we keep struggles to hold a narrarive in her head and the narrator's tone took 3 rewritten to preserve for a single paragraph.

I don't want to stop. But how do I keep going? I'm not the author anymore and I've always struggled with adopting the tone of others.

So yeah. That's where I'm at. And I wanna talk about it. Because I don't want to be alone. But I can't escape the feeling I'm being dramatic. Terribly dramatic. And so talking about it is hard. How much is my own spin and perception and how much is real?

Did this really happen?

I think it did. But like every story I tell, I don't know. Memory loss. Cognetive issues.

I just wanna tell stories and draw. But the words hurt and the art makes me tired.

It's frustrating is all.

I hate being lighting geletine.

In case you're wondering what kind of cognative leap happened:

That one is april 4th.

And that one April 28th.

🤷‍♀️

Fucked if I know, really.

[gridoc]

Hi! Could I get some gridoc headcannons (legit any i dont care) thanks! - hermitshipblr

Been thinking alot about a coffee shop/flower shop au for gridoc and I'd like to thank @hermitshipcraft for enabling me on the disc server lol and giving me ideas ily

Basically Doc works at a flower shop called 77s Florists and Grian works at SaharaCafe next door.

They share this back garden space where customers of the cafe can sit and smell and the flowers and buy them from the florists, or anyone from the florists can buy themselves a coffee.

And Grian works as a waiter and decided that the best way to serve hit coffee and tea is on roller skates.

He has gotten better but that's how the two met.

Grian struggling to keep his balance and ends up spilling coffee on Doc.

It's a real meet cute

Doc being a creeper didnt really care much but having his uniform and the flowers he was holding soaked wasnt better.

It happened a few times again, each time Doc being the recipient or the things hes been holding.

Grian had to work a few days instead of Doc in favour for when he especially destroyed something.

Doc was obvs annoyed, and complained to the SaharaCafe but Iskall and Mumbo would just shrug off his complaints, cant fire Grian if hes an owner. It's an independent cafe.

Though after a few weeks Doc got much more mellow, and instead annoyed he found it cute even. Probably because no more flowers were being destroyed or prosthetics ruined.

It was a pattern, Doc most of the time caught Grian before anything happened- hearing the skates behind him he jsut insticly would catch him.

No one tell him but after a while Grian got better but he still 'accidentally' tripped on Doc once in a while so he could catch him.

After hours, the two could be seen talking over tea and leftover cake sat on the ground between the flowers. Talking mostly about their days and things that made them laugh

Doc tends to put a vase on the countertop at the cafe side, where he remembers Grian likes to lean against when things are slow- he just thought he could admire some pretty flowers as he waits, and maybe Doc could have an excuse to look over that way if caught. Just looking at the flowers.

Grian knows how Doc likes his coffee alongside the chocolate square he tends to order, so Doc would sometimes find a cup of coffee and the sweet in his workspace- and when looking over at the cafe see a Grian quickly looking away when seen.

Although he did notice that each time the name on the coffee cup is some kind of joke, going from "Doctor Doctor 77" to "Cod" to "Lizard Guy" or even "Dic" he doesnt appreciate the last one but it does make him laugh.

And its jsut all so slowburn cause all their flirting is so subtle that everyone around hates this.

They finally get a clue when Scar starts working temporarily with Doc. And it's just, "So what are you two doing for valentines?" And so much awkward sputtering with Scar just smiling as if he knows something they dont with a "Oh, you just seemed so much like a couple"

Doc asks Grian out, well. Also did Grian? It's weird and both of them say its the other because Doc is the one who invited him out for dinner but Grian is the one that asked to be togethere.

But soft.

Also have these sketches

[pandawritespoorly]

And: Chapter 2 - Without

Author’s Note: Thank you all so much for your patience again! I meant to have this up on Tuesday, but between school finally starting back up, and getting back into the habit of regular updates, it just didn't happen. I promise I wasn't disappearing again!

First | Last

Marinette sits up when she hears a notification from that app. She and Chat had found a messaging app that they could both use without revealing their identities, and had been using it to communicate without having to transform.

It was already hard enough to sneak away for attacks, they didn’t need to make it more complicated.

It’s just a quiet study hour in the library, and she’s alone, so she pulls out her phone.

 Cat Boy: hey bug

Cat Boy: weird question

Cat Boy: do you

Cat Boy: do u think that i weigh 2 much

 Little Lady: no!

Little Lady: not at all kitty

Little Lady: underneath all that armor and magic leather im pretty sure your waist is the same size as mine

Little Lady: if anything you dont weigh enough

Little Lady: im bringing snacks on patrol

Little Lady: this is non negotiable

Little Lady: text me ur favorites

Little Lady: but later. what brought this on

 Cat Boy: just civilian stuff

Cat Boy: i know i’m not overweight

Cat Boy: but seeing the numbers andstuff all the time it can kind of stick in ur head you know

Cat Boy: and then u start thinking about it

Cat Boy: and it sticks around longer

 Little Lady: and then it’s taken root

 Cat Boy: yeah

 Little Lady: then we have some weeding to do >:(

 Cat Boy: :)

Cat Boy: thanks bug

 Little Lady: not a problem

---

Little Lady: do i do enough

Little Lady: like

Little Lady: all of this

Little Lady: is it good enough

Little Lady: paris and the kwamis and the akumas and hakwmoth

Little Lady: shouln’t I have fixed all of this bu now

Little Lady: it’s what im here for

Little Lady: but theres sill so much wrong and i feel like im not enough right to cancel it all out

Little Lady: and i just

Little Lady: i feel so bad

Little Lady: but half the time i dont even kno what i fel bad about u kno

Little Lady: i jsut fell bad

Little Lady: abuto evryting

Little Lady: o goodenss it 3 am

Little Lady: sory

Little Lady: ignreo tihs

 Cat Boy: bug

Cat Boy: breathe

Cat Boy: five things you see

 Little Lady: pilwo phonoe tiki cieling um

Little Lady: blankt

 Cat Boy: four things you feel

 Little Lady: bed

Little Lady: pilow hair sheets

 Cat Boy: three things you hear

 Little Lady: cars wind and keyboadr clicks

 Cat Boy: two things you smell

 Little Lady: the candle i had burning and bread

 Cat Boy: bread?

 Little Lady: bakery nearby

 Cat Boy: oh okay

Cat Boy: one thing you taste

 Little Lady: cookies

 Cat Boy: there we go

 Little Lady: thank you

 Cat Boy: no problem

Cat Boy: do u want to talk

 Little Lady: later. maybe on patrol?

Little Lady: i’m tired. haven’t slept all weekend

 Cat Boy: …

Cat Boy: bug it’s MONDAY

Cat Boy: wait no

Cat Boy: TUESDAY

Cat Boy: go to bed

 Little Lady: goodnight kitty

 Cat Boy: gn littlebug

 Today 9:32 AM

 Little Lady: hey! im not that much shorter than you!

Little Lady: >:(((

--- 

“Are you sure, Lila?” Adrien asks, a frown creasing his face. “That doesn’t sound like something Marinette would do.”

“Well I-”

“My dude’s right,” Nino agrees, “That doesn’t sound like Nette at all.”

Adrien watches Marinette brighten quietly as the rest of the class comes to her defense. They all believe Lila still, yes, he’s not going to let the liar turn them on their Everyday Ladybug. Not on his watch.

After class, the dark haired girl approaches him. She gives him a soft hug, whispering a quiet ‘thank you’.

---

“Adrien,” Marinette calls.

The blond stops, turning. “Hey, Marinette. Did you need something?”

She shakes her head, giving a small smile, holding out a paper bag. “You were gone all morning for that photoshoot. I thought you might be hungry.”

Adrien freezes, staring at her in shock.

After a moment, she cringes, looking away. “B-but um, if you aren’t-”

He shakes his head, realizing his mistake. “No! No! Thank you so much! I just- You surprised me.” He gives her a grateful smile, trying to keep himself from crying. “I- that- I wasn’t expecting this. You’re wonderful, Marinette, really.”

She blushes violently as he takes the bag, digging into the pastries with a smile.

“I don’t usually remember lunch after shoots, so…”

She stares at him in horror. “That’s it,” she declares, “I’m bringing you lunch now. Everyday. No matter what.”

“How much? I’ll pay-”

“No, Adrien, we’re friends. You don’t need to pay me. Maman is always saying how she thinks you need to eat more anyways, so my parents would probably just give you free food if you so much as glanced in the window. I’m just making their dreams come true.”

He laughs, and she takes a moment to appreciate such a carefree look on the busy model’s face.

He’s happy.

That’s good.

---

Cat Boy: u okay bug

Cat Boy: u seemed upset today

 Little Lady: im fine

Little Lady: just

Little Lady: tired

Little Lady: i should probably go now class will start soon

 Cat Boy: okay

Cat Boy: if you say so

 Adrien tries not to let his worry for his partner show as he slips his phone into his pocket and makes his way to Bustier’s class.

The battle was easy - Ladybug didn’t even need her Lucky Charm - but Cataclysm had been a requirement for this particular fight, so he hadn’t had time afterwards to check in with his friend.

He’s never good at focusing when he’s worried.

Nino slings an arm around him as they meet up on their way to class.

“Hey dude, um, I hope you don’t mind sitting with Nette today. She’s pretty wiped out - Al’s said she said somethin’ about a big commission? I dunno’, but we figure the less high up she is, the better, so I’m takin’ her seat today so she can go ground level.”

“Oh that’s fine! Is she okay?”

Nino gestures at the girl as they enter. She’s slumped forward, making her already small form even smaller, and while her sketchbook is out, the page is blank, and her pencil isn’t anywhere to be seen. There’s a to-go cup of coffee in the corner of the desk, and her head rests on her hand, her eyes staring blankly forward, unresponsive.

Adrien winces. “Goodness.”

“Yeah…” Nino shakes his head, then heads towards the girl’s usual seat. “You take care of her, alright?”

Adrien nods, sliding into his usual seat. “Hey, Mari,” he greets softly.

She straightens, blinking a few times before turning to face him with a weak smile. “Hey.”

“You feeling alright?”

She doesn’t get a chance to respond before Ms. Bustier walks in and class starts.

The lesson feels slow. Between Marinette and Ladybug, Adrien has the urge to hug someone and tell them that they’re okay, and that they’re good.

Both girls, at this point. The look in Marinette’s eyes is the same as Ladybug’s when she’s overworking herself to avoid thinking about something. The nights when he sees her patrolling even though she isn’t scheduled and he has to transform to go talk her into resting. The fights where she throws herself at akumas less thoughtfully, more brash. The post-battle interviews where her answers are slightly delayed, her eyes endlessly tired.

So when class is finally over, Adrien puts a gentle hand on her shoulder to keep her from going. Once everyone has filed out, he gives a small, worried smile.

“Are you feeling okay, Marinette?”

“I’m fine.”

“Marinette.”

She hesitates, her eyes straying from his to stare at nothing in particular. “I’m fine, Adrien, really. I’m just… just tired.”

“The coffee probably isn’t helping,” he teases.

“The coffee is my lifeblood.” She smirks, then sighs. “But I’m more than just sleep-tired.”

“Oh.”

She stands, gathering her things. “But thank you. For asking. And for caring.”

“Not a problem.” He hands her her sketchbook. “You deserve it.”

She looks at the sketchbook, then at his smile, and gives a genuine one of her own. “Yeah. Yeah I do.”

---

Author’s Note: Next (and final) chapter will be up sometime next week! I'll try to post weekly one-shots until I have A Shy 'Sparrow' fully written, and then I'll put that on a regular schedule.

Thank you all so much! Have a lovely day and stay safe! 💞

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