#and i can tell that when it arrives because of the stitching etc

[armageddon-generation]

Improving Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Frozen Empire has some neat ideas (Ancient ghostbusters, Phoebe & Melody, the Possessor, everything Dan Akroyd, Paul Rudd, James Acaster & Ernie Hudson do) but it’s bogged down by far too many characters and slavish fanservice. Afterlife was meant to pass the torch, but Frozen Empire is stuck replaying the greatest hits.

OPENING AND CHANGED VILLAIN

Instead of firefighters, we open on a 1900s team of ghost-hunters locking the villain Garraka away, led by Nadeem’s great-grandmother

Sealing Garraka away causes a huge explosion, and as we pull out of the burning building, we see a new ghost fly away. This is Melody, the ghost-girl, paralleling Egon’s ghost leaving his farmhouse in Afterlife's opening

Melody’s family were cultists who tried to summon big-bad Garraka. She’s the one who called the ghost-hunters to stop them, but was killed in the confrontation

Garraka tells Melody that her ‘unfinished business’ is summoning him to this dimension—the ritual she stopped her family completing. The only way she can be free is freeing him.

This establishes Melody’s distrust of ghost hunters, because they killed her

CUT CHARACTERS

Venkman and Janine don’t need to be here at all, they’re gone

Cut Podcast. Ray wistfully watches the opening car-chase  alone, out-of-the-loop. He seizes on the arrival of the Orb as his chance to get back in on the action. Podcast's absence also heightens Phoebe’s isolation

Cut Lucky. Her only real moment is defending Phoebe from Garraka, which itself was cut down from the trailers

THE AQUARIUM & COMMUNING WITH GHOSTS

‘Garraka wants to free the ghosts in the Firehouse’ is yet another reused plotpoint in a film full of them.

Instead the (much bigger) property damage in the opening chase loses the team the Firehouse completely, increasing Phoebe’s guilt and isolation

They’ve already been moving ghosts into Winston’s Aquarium lab, so go straight there

They’re testing new technology- think Ghostbusters (2016)’s ghost-chipper, proton-gloves, proton-grenades etc. Callie tests this stuff (bc she has nothing to do otherwise), bonding with Winston as the table uncle-figure she never had.

James Acaster's Dr. Lars is trying to communicate with the caged ghosts, to learn about the other side- he tries to interrogate one to no avail

The idea of someone volunteering to go on 'expeditions' as a ghost via the Spirit Extractor, like an abassador to the Afterlife, is brought up- both Phoebe and Ray are tempted

This makes Phoebe talking to Melody an incredible discovery- a sentient, talking ghost who apparently fully retains her humanity.

MELODY’S FAMILY

When Phoebe finds Melody in the diner, it’s because that's is where she was killed- where her family tried to summon Garraka.

Now the Orb is uncontained her family’s ghosts have become active again, and descend from the upper floors of the building to attack the diner.

Melody’s family are a Cluster Ghost- an amorphous blob of limbs and heads bonded by the sane traumatic cause of death, tripping over itself to get to her. This physical manifestation of her family trying to drag her down parallels Phoebe’s conflict about hers.

Phoebe now takes Melody on a tour of the Aquarium and they bond there, rather than the Firehouse

TREVOR

Finn Wolfhard's Trevor had fuck-all to do in this movie lmao

Replace his pointless sublpot with Slimer with him bonding with the Possessor ghost, which communicates through switching TV stations/radio channels.

The Possessor would probably need some kind of cute visual manifestation to sell this. Think Mogwai, Lilo and Stitch etc Slapstick antagonism turned genuine fun, games of catch etc

With Podcast gone, Trevor accompanies Phoebe and Ray to the library. When the Possessor tries to steal the chant recording he tries to reason with it- c'mon, man, I thought we were bonding, this isn’t you, Garraka’s controlling you, only to get absolutely dunked on

Ray’s research reveals that Garraka’s horns- the 'object' that allows its apparition to manifest- were hidden away separately from the orb

NADEEM'S GRANDMOTHER

To build on the theme of communicating with and humanizing ghosts, instead of pyrokenesis (which felt a little out of place) Kumail Nanjiani's Nadeem is literally possessed by his estranged grandmother.

The idea Nadeem was 'haunted' is already suggested, but by making it explicit we get the slapstick of her puppeteering his body and chewing him out for neglecting his family legacy- arguing with the same mouth etc

Swap Venkman questioning Nadeem with Callie, holding a comedic seance. This gives her a much-needed emotional beat bonding with him over their baggage with their ghost-hunting relatives (Egon vs Grandma). Callie expresses how it feels to reconnect with her dad's legacy, which Frozen Empire never gave us.

She then replaces Podcast helping Nadeem try to hone his powers- in this case, help him and his grandmother work together

GARRAKA THE GHOST-EMPEROR

Garraka can't manifest as a full apparition without its horns.

It's more like the Mind Flayer from Stranger Things, a hive-mind that works through other ghosts. When the ancient ghost-hunters banished Garraka to the Other Side it took over, and has ruled there ever since. This is the 'frozen empire' he's looking to expand

In this way ghosts are shifted from no longer strictly antagonistic, but victims of a cruel tyrant

 When Melody tricks Phoebe into freeing Garraka, it tries to take Phoebe's ghost as a vassal, but Melody volunteers herself to save her. Phoebe returns to her body just in time to see Melody be possessed.

Now Melody is more directly involved in the climax, giving the antagonist a complex, sympathetic face

Dr. Lars replaces Lucky trying to stop Garraka. It kills him to up the stakes

FINALE

Garraka takes Melody to the Diner, where she joins with her family’s Cluster, spreading its supernatural winter as it goes

Change the Death Chill so everyone Garraka chills has their spriti pulled out of them, to join it army of spectral drones. Everywhere it goes it's recruiting, getting stronger. If it finds its second horn it will be able to 'recruit' all of New York

Expand on the Possessor using the Ghostbusters’ own gear to fight them. It steals the Ecto-1 and all the old Proton packs

The new generation of Ghostbusters have to use the new tech they’ve been developing to defeat the old stuff.

Nadeem and his Grandmother finally call a truce and work together to play defence bending the proton streams. She grumbles about how bad this generation of ghost-hunters is

Trevor's bond with the Possessor causes it conflict when it tries to kill him- it fights itself, the equipment it's possessing self-destructing

From here it’s a race to stop Garraka collecting its horns. Garraka successfully finds the first, increasing the scale and power of the big freeze

In the final confrontation Phoebe lets Garraka pull her spirit from her body to loosen its hold on Melody. Melody lights her match: Her unfinished business wasn't to summon Garraka, it was to finish destroying him as she tried to when she died. Nadeem and his Grandmother incinerate the thing.

Again taking a good idea from Ghostbusters (2016), Phoebe is given the choice go to the Other Side with Melody, to finally discover and understand what happens next. Her family ask her to come back, hold on. Melody says that Phoebe should accept their love and support, as she was never loved or supported by her own family

Melody kisses Phoebe goodbye, because not following through on that (when we’ve seen ghosts make similar physical contact with people before) is taking the coward’s way out. They should've cast a minor!!

Nadeem's Grandmother gives her blessing to the ghost-hunters who inherited her family's responsibilities. Then she leaves his body and offers to guide Melody to the Other Side, apologizing for her death on her mother's behalf

We end with Podcast and Lucky finally arriving in New York for a summer internship with the Ghostbusters.

Dr. Lars has returned as a ghost to be an 'ambassador' to the Other Side (playing a ghost would really unleash James Acaster's weird and whacky side), and the Possessor is even working with them as a new team mascot.

Ray has settled into a role as the team's full-time researcher, rather than working in the field

[sleepycatmama]

Furoshiki

I want to tell you all about furoshiki, and how we've moved away from paper giftwrap, and encourage others to try it.

One of the things I disliked about Christmas morning would be the growing pile of torn giftwrap, tissue paper, possibly paper boxes, etc. I'd try to have us passing around a trash bag to stay on top of it so that our living room wasn't a total mess by the end of it, but I disliked being distracted by that, and I felt bad having a full bag of trash at the end to throw away.

I read about furoshiki, which are traditional Japanese wrapping cloths. I really liked the idea, and started making my own. Had a bit of a worry this year when we hadn't found them in unpacking, so I started making a bunch more. (finished 3 large ones and one small one tonight. Tired now.)

The only thing that gets thrown away is little paper tags and strings for marking who they're for/from. At the end of the Christmas gift-giving, we shake them out a bit, refold them, and put them away for next year. If we spilled anything on one, we could toss it through the washer and dryer. We have some that are very Christmassy, but plenty of others that are more neutral, so we use them for birthdays and anniversaries too. Instead of bags of trash, we have what are becoming family heirlooms. I expect my grandkids and great-grandkids to use these. There are fancy ways to wrap with them (I love the one for wrapping and carrying wine bottles) but I generally just always use the same simple one.

(Amazon's gotten a bit into the reusable too - nowadays if you order something to arrive gift wrapped, it arrives in a reusable gift bags. We save those and use them each year too. In fact, the largest one we've ever gotten is what we use to store all the gift bags and furoshiki in.)

It is really easy to start getting into furoshiki. I have some very definite Opinions on how I want mine to be (this will surprise no one who knows me), but you can start simple. Simplest would be to check local thrift stores and look for large squarish scarves. You want them to be close to square but it doesn't have to be exact. One of my Opinions is I really prefer natural fabric, so mine are quilter's cotton fabric.

When I went to get more fabric, the Christmas prints were already on sale! Fat quarters are good for a small furoshiki for a small present - jewelry box or the like. Craft and quilting stores will usually now have racks of precut fat quarters, which are square and you don't need to wait for the employees to cut them for you. For larger ones, I've bought a yard and then folded it diagonally so I could cut a square out of it, or this last time I just looked at the width of the fabric and had them cut that. The Christmas prints were all 44" wide, so I had them cut a yard and a quarter of each.

You don't have to get fancy with making them. For a simple one, you could just have a square of a single layer of fabric, and trim the edges with pinking shears so that they won't unravel easily. Or a single layer and you zigzag stitch the edges in a sewing machine, for the next level of fancy and secure. Or a rolled hem, if you can do those - could even do that by handstitching if you don't have a sewing machine available.

(NOTE: there are libraries and maker spaces that have sewing machines - sometimes you can take one home, sometimes you can use one there. I haven't done this because I have my own, but I know it's out there.)

The way I do mine is to make them two-layered. I love getting the same print in two different colors, but you can use different prints and solids, just lay them across each other and make sure you like them together. I lay them right-side to right-side and stitch all around the outer edge, seam allowance doesn't need to be anything exact as long as you can stick to it and stitch fairly straight. I leave an opening around 4 inches or so partway down one side. Then I trim the seam allowance with my pinking shears to have less bulk when I turn it inside out. I reach in and poke the corners into place with my fingers, put coordinating thread colors in my top and bobbin spots, fiddle with it to get the edges laying flat, and go all around the outer edge with a middling size zigzag stitch, which both gets the edges to lay flat and closes the opening.

Here are some of my existing furoshiki, showing both sides:

And here are some already wrapping some Christmas presents:

You don't have to do it all at once either. If you make one or two, that's one or two packages of gift wrap not getting thrown away, and you can add more each year. I do them in big batches, but... that's me.

[theatlasrealm]

SHORT KAI HCS/SMITH TRIO HCS

—-Kai visibly Looks shorter than the rest of the ninja however he looks taller than Jay only because of his hair gel but in reality he and Jay are the same exact height

—-I said this before and I will say it again to reach kitchen cabinets or any high place kai either does one of two things :

1) airjitzu’s and sets the entire place on fire 2) becomes an Olympic gold metal gymnast

THERE IS NO INBETWEEN

—- Kai doesn’t get bothered much that cole and Zane are taller then him bc they are older… but the fact that his YOUNGER SIBLINGS are taller than him keeps him awake at night..

—-sometimes when nya or lloyd wake up in the middle of the night, scared and shaking, they go to the same person they’ve been going to all their life for nightmares: Kai

—-kai influenced/helped Lloyd a lot. And I mean a LOT, just as much as he helped nya. hair care routine? yeha kai showed Lloyd. how to deal with panic attacks? kai helps him breathe, and taught him how to handle it in case Lloyd is ever alone. Also someone else also said this btw but Lloyd’s weapon is a sword gee I wonder why

—-KAI IS THE FASHIONISTA SIBLING I REPEAT HE IS FASHIONISTA SIBLING-

nya: Kai if I was in your shoes

Kai: first of all my shoes are pieces of art second of all you shouldn’t even be in those shoes good lord we need to go shoe shopping I can’t have my dear sister walking around like that

—-guess who’s holding all the shopping bags when the trio goes shopping! Ur right it is nya and lloyd

“kai please stop we don’t need more clothes”

“lloyd, life is a runaway what do you mean we don’t need more clothes”

“kai that’s it we are going home if I have to carry one more bag-”

—--nya and Lloyd can’t hide crap from kai he just knows

Lloyd, thinking: I hate myself

“hey Lloyd u okay buddy??”

“YEAH!!”

Kai brother instinct triggered

Kai pulls out weapon: abominable hug

weapon was effective lloyd is feeling better

—-kai is a good liar/actor to most people except nya girl sees right through his facade

nya, “hey kai everything okay?”

Kai,” yeah don’t worry everything’s fine!”

nya gently hugs kai and Kai has an emotional breakdown: a sequel

—-kai,”how’s the weather up there”

nya and Lloyd,” we weren’t aware garden gnomes could talk”

—- when any one of them is sick the remaining two know exactly what to do.

Nya is sick? Give her some soup ! Give her some space! She’s independent and isn’t a fan of being taken care of (lloyd respects that!) but yk kai….Kid isn’t scared of nyas rages 💪

Lloyd is sick? give him some soup! make him laugh! hug him! Thankfully he’s smart enough to stay in bed and recover because he knows if he does that the recovery process will be faster! the real question is if kai knows that…

Kai is sick? Code red full lockdown bro is gonna go try and discover a new species while burning at a high temperature. um kai isn’t scared of nyas rages but when she yells at him for not resting while sick she’s like ten times more scarier someone save the poor boy oh look savior lloyd has arrived oh wait nope false alarm he’s yelling at Kai too

—-they all casually share hoodies, graphic tees, etc. but for Kai it looks little too big.. um…. don’t tell him that though…..

—--if things are too overwhelming for Kai he goes to nya and Lloyd. everything seems to melt away when they look up and smile at him

—-don’t insult nya or Lloyd in front of Kai or Kai’s gonna do a full sailor moon transformation and then into a VICIOUS garden gnome.

—-whenever nya’s inventions/ideas don’t work out, she gets angry and frustrated at herself due to her perfectionist nature. Kai always manages to make her feel better

“hey don’t worry nya, you have wonderful ideas and such a smart brain! you created so many things and I couldn’t have been more proud. how about we go eat a snack and then you can come finish this project later! I’ll even help!

—-Kai is really good with ‘feminine’ stuff like sewing (he probably used to stitch up ripped clothes when him and nya were kids) and hair. he knows 7384377348 different hairstyles and does nya’s hair whenever he can. he also tried to teach Lloyd but the poor kid became jumble of confusion. he managed to teach him braids though!!!

you think this is it? naw shawty I’ve got part two coming out soon.

[koishua]

𝐓𝐗𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐉𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃

warning for mentions of injuries, though not descriptive they're still there. also, these are just the vibes i get from them and might not hold up true irl, we never know </3

yeonjun has a knack for sensing things before they arrive or if he isn't with you at the time, he'd definitely feel something in his gut that tell him that his s/o was in a complicated situation. at first, he hadn't understood what the twist and turn in his stomach meant, brushing it off as indigestion or something, but when he went home that day to see you with a bandage taped above your brow after having hit your head on a wall, he knew that he had developed some sort of an internal hazard alarm. anytime anything happened, he'd do a little facepalm and rush over to scold you and take care of you while nagging. he doesn't mean harm in any way when he complains, he is just worried.

rest of the members under the cut!

soobin is a worrywart and will be hovering over you, ready to do stuff for you so that you don't exert yourself much even if said injury was a light finger sprain that did not affect your feet and mobility. really, he is just trying his best, but it can get comically overbearing at times if it's really serious, like a broken leg or something. he'd ramble about all of the things you needed to avoid doing to let your body heal itself without any complications and setbacks. albeit a mother hen, he is your mother hen and you appreciate his concern and care a lot.

beomgyu feels your pain pretty much just as much as you do lmao. i feel like he is very sensitive to others' pain and his body kind of reacts in a way that makes him ache too. he hates seeing you injured in any way, so he does his best to just... see if you're alright, need his help with something, are in pain and need a pain killer etc etc. no pain in this household. seeing you in pain would make him feel down and less energetic and loud than usual. most of the times, you'd have to reassure him that you were indeed fine and that it didn't even hurt.

taehyun is one of the calm ones, an expert in handling critical moments like when his s/o gets injured. he won't go out of his way to do things for you if you can do them easily yourself. it's just the little things he is so attentive of. you wouldn't even have to tell him that the pillow your back was resting on was uncomfortable, he'd adjust it for you after just absolutely the smallest sign of discomfort your face would suggest you're in. he'd see your empty cup of water when you fall asleep and wordlessly fill it up for you just in case you get thirsty when he is not around and needed some water.

hueningkai is just such a sweet soul. he would be so concerned if he gets a call from you while you were at an infirmary or hospital saying you got an injury and needed help getting back home, since you couldn't walk properly. if he sees your mood dim down because of said injury, he'd be the best at putting a smile back on your face, making you forget all about your pain. things would sometimes even escalate to so much fun and good times with him that you'd end up laughing too hard and pull a stitch or something and remember that you needed to calm down.

© 𝐊𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐔𝐀 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐, 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐃.

[cotccotc]

SKZ REACT to...

 ◈ you being followed

part of my eight as fate event !! ( requested by anon​ ♡ )

genre/s: comfort, skz x gn reader

warning/s: description of being followed on the street, descriptions / mentions of panic attacks

wc: 1.8k

a/n: this one took me quite a while but i’m happy with it !!! i decided to write out a longer introduction to this to kinda set up a scene !! i hope y’all enjoy it (esp the comforting parts ofc kdjdjf)

it’s somewhat unlike you to walk alone at night. you figured it would only take you a few minutes, but you got out of work late, setting you back quite a while. to make things worse, while you were working overtime, the sun had set, leaving you to traverse the dimly lit city streets on your own. all you know is that your boyfriend left the door open for you, and a couch date sounds really great right now.

somewhere along your walk, you heard a shuffling noise coming from behind you. you disregarded it, thinking it may have been simple paranoia. you’ve seen too many movies, you think. however, as you keep up your leisurely yet steady pace, you hear another noise. this time you turn around.

a man. in a black hoodie. looking you dead in the eye.

your eyes widen as a small gasp leaves your mouth. needless to say, you begin sprinting to your destination, heart racing at a pace that rivals the speed of your feet. with your focus aimed at getting as far away as you can, you’re honestly not even sure how your legs know where they’re going. nevertheless, your saving grace comes into view. after a quick glance at the now empty street behind you, you sprint even faster than before. and, once you make it to the apartment door, you fling the door open and leap inside with enough force to rattle the hinges.

“y/n? what’s wro-”

“i was being followed,” you interject, a choked sob finally escaping you.

◈ CHAN

his first instinct, no matter what, is to make sure you feel safer now.

he’ll sit you down on the couch, staying close beside you and rubbing your back while reiterating that whoever that man was is gone now.

i’ve always liked to think he’d be good to have around in the event of a panic attack. especially if you’re the type of person who needs physical and verbal reassurance. back rubs, hugging, and breathing reminders galore.

once you’ve calmed down, he would wipe away your tears and hold you close to him as he asks you about the rest of your day.

he’s an amazing listener and he can’t wait to hear about the latest employee or customer gossip lmao

but more importantly, it would take your mind off things, which is all he truly wants.

if you start looking a bit gloomy or drifting off in thought, he’d probably suggest some cuddle time !! he would make sure to remind you of how courageous you were in that moment before promising you one last time that you’re safer now, here with him.

you’d finally fall asleep in his arms, filling him with relief.

◈ MINHO

first reaction: absolutely pissed.

not at you of course, but at the guy who was following you. with you still in his arms, he glances pointedly out the front door and the windows, closing the blinds after giving the entire apartment a once-over.you end up in the bedroom, in which he’ll guide you to sit beside him on the bed.

his expression will have completely changed from anger to loving concern. he’d look deeply into your eyes while holding both your hands in his, assuring you that you’re safe now.while you continue to cry, you explain what had happened in more detail. he strokes your hair as you speak and nods along, blood boiling.

he can’t stand the thought of any person making you feel unsafe. but, he’d maintain a calm exterior in order to make you feel more at ease.

once you describe the whole situation, he’d reassure you once again that the man can’t get to you now.

“he’ll have to get through me.”

you giggle.

“hEY”

◈ CHANGBIN

i think he’d have a similar reaction to minho !!

very visibly pissed that some random guy had the nerve to intimidate you. that dude’s lucky he didn’t follow you the whole way home or else he’d probably be pretty uh. damaged. by now..

he’d sit you down on the couch, do a quick check-in at each of the windows and doors, and come back as soon as he can to console you.

when he does, he’s quick to sit beside you, arm wrapped around you with the other wiping the tears off of your face.

after you explain the situation a bit more clearly, he becomes even more angry (probably mutters some curses under his breath)

but !!!! i think he’d really try his best to focus on cheering you up

asking you what you’d like to do for the rest of the night, if you’d like any food, if you’d like to sleep or stay up for a while.. etc.

plus he’d amp up the silly antics to make you forget about things !!

◈ HYUNJIN

i think his physical reaction would become similar to yours. very quickly.

like once he sees your tears and senses your quickened pulse. his immediate response (whether voluntary or not) would be to emulate you.

so, naturally, he’d hold you in his arms and let you cry it out, while small sobs of his own escape him.

seeing you so scared is a scary feeling.

of course, he’d reassure you that you’re safe !!! he’d look into your eyes, tucking your hair behind your ears, and tell you that it’s all over now and that you’re safe.

you, of course, don’t want him to feel sad or scared, so you’d console him as well.

you two would comfort each other the whole rest of the night. i think the most probable option would be the two of you cuddled up in bed watching a movie or reading webtoons together

distraction !! but make it a drama !! or a romcom because .. vibes !!

and when you decide it’s time for bed (however late that may be due to the stress from earlier) he’d be sure to remind you that he’ll be with you all night & when you wake up

(but he’s also secretly clinging onto you out of fear as well kdjfgj)

◈ JISUNG

“oh sh- oh sHIT-”

wouldn’t know what in the fuck to do

would haphazardly check all the windows like minho did, holding your hand as you continue to cry

after he’s done, he’d cling to you and hold you SO very tight <3

lots of “shh shh baby.. baby shhhh” and all that jazz.. you know the sungie vibes…

he’d stroke your hair and arms, noticing your slight shakiness and suggesting you both cuddle for some extra comfort and warmth

no matter what time of night it is, he’d turn off the lights and cuddle with you as you describe the event in more detail

quiet & calm

even if you end up crying again while you speak, he’s there to brush the tears off your face with his thumb and help you calm down again

◈ FELIX

before you came, he might have cooked a small meal for the two of you to share. even though you worked late, it’d still be waiting for you when you arrive. he’d wait too.

when you do happen to burst through the door, he’d jump and gasp out of fear but he’s quick to run up to you and hold you as you let out everything you’d held in during your walk-turned-chase

also !! will help you get settled in as you describe what went down

helping you take off your coat and shoes, getting water for you, grabbing some blankets; all while listening intently and giving you all of his attention

once you’re seated on the couch, wrapped in the softest blanket he could find and staying hydrated after such a harrowing event, he’d be sure to hold you as close as possible to remind you that everything’s okay

eventually, through his subtle gestures and calming demeanor, you won’t even realize how you got situated !! he just knows what to do to make you as comfortable as possible without even trying all that hard

you may choose to skip dinner, but no matter what, he’ll be holding you close the whole night through to make sure you know he’s there to protect and care for you

◈ SEUNGMIN

he’s very methodical about how to proceed. his first instinct is to do what some of the others would and check the house, but he decides to help you calm down first.

you’re rambling about what happened in between sobs and quick breaths, which sends a pain through his heart as he shuts and locks the door.

if you’re shorter than him, he’d bend a little to make direct eye contact with you. he’ll rub your arms and tell you that you don’t have to be afraid anymore

the most calming and reassuring voice in the whole world omg !!!!!!

he’d wipe your tears away and cup your face with both of his hands, prompting you to look back into his eyes before smiling at you

“you’re safe now, right?”

you smile back at him, nodding.

“now, let’s lock all the doors so no bad guys can get in!”

then, he’d take your hand and let you help him lock the doors and shut the curtains, making it feel like a chore instead of a precaution

and for your “good work”, he’d reward you with some binge watching & cuddle time !!! (as if that wasn’t the original plan skjdfg)

◈ JEONGIN

(under his breath, eyes wide) “oh my god…”

i think he’d start freaking out a bit like hyunjin did, but he’d do his very best to hide it. he knows he has to be strong to help you calm down and feel safe.

like felix, he’d help you take off your coat and shoes, leading you over to the couch as you shakily describe what happened.

(i’m sorry i keep making comparisons to the other members bUT) like minho, he’d hold your hands in his, rubbing them softly with his thumbs to soothe your nerves as you let everything out

he’d try to cheer you up by suggesting alternative motives the man might’ve had instead of wanting to harm you

for instance:

jeongin: “what if he was lost and needed directions but he was too shy to ask because you’re so pretty/handsome?”

you: “babe i don’t think-”

jeongin: “OR what if he thought he knew you !!”

you: “but he-”

jeongin: “WHAT IF IT WAS BATMAN-”

overall, his aim is to distract you (as well as himself), which ends in success. you’ll both be in stitches by the end of the night

and… laughing is super tiring, right?

therefore, as reiterated throughout all of these reactions because we all know it’s true:

CUDDLESSSS

oh also.. right before you fall asleep in his arms, he’d ask if you want to leave the light on during the night :( bc he’s a cutie :((((

tags: @stayndays, @hanniiesuckle17​, @leggomylino, @freckledberries, @kisskissbanggang, @mr-jisung-main, @childofthecosmos, @kpopscape, @skzwriternet, @hyunsins, @sleepylixie, @sunshine-skz, @vera-liscious, @thatrandomoneinthecorner, @cyberskz​, @seungminsaidsta, @somethingrandomworld, @ethan806 ( join my tag list !! )

©️ cotccotc 2021 ~ all rights reserved. do not repost my work on tumblr or other platforms.

[asterekmess]

Did you ever watch Buffy? The first episode where Anya was introduced was titled "The Wish" and all I can think about is if Scott McCall had ever run into a pure Sidhe where they offered him a wish. Instead of, "I wish Buffy had never come to Sunnydale." It would be more, "I wish I was never bitten to become a werewolf." But just like all feaye tricks, the outcome is more, his Dad ended up with primary custody rather than his Mom and he was forced to leave BH. And then Stiles ended up more friends with Heather and others. And while Scott's life is worse, when he tracks down the others he finds all of theirs are greatly improved.

I think about it a lot and how Scott never really dealt with the consequences of any of his actions, everyone else did, and how an episode or mini-arc could have fixed a flaw in the show's design. I mean, we were already dealing with a lot of Celtic lore, why not someone from the Sidhe courts?

I have no idea why this took me so long to answer, so apologies for that. <3 I did watch buffy! I've seen all of it, and all of Angel as well. XD

I remember 'The Wish' episode, and whoooo boy it gave me chills. I loved how big the butterfly effect was, how something that seemed so small, something that Genuinely seemed to be the cause of a lot of problems in Sunnydale, ended up being so important to how things had progressed. Because, yeah, you would think Buffy not coming to Sunnydale would be a Good Thing, right? Sunnydale didn't have all of these insane issues before she arrived. It was quiet, and nothing big or scary ever happened. Her arrival matches perfectly with when everything started going absolutely nuts, so whatever selfish ideas Cordelia had, her thought that Buffy not coming to Sunnydale would be a good thing, makes sense. Except that, as she finds out, she's entirely wrong. Buffy's arrival was a lucky coincidence, or fate, whatever your taste leans toward. She showed up right as things started going nuts, and she kept it from going SO MUCH MORE NUTS.

Now, moving on to TW, it is a fascinating mix of being the Exact same situation, and the exact Opposite. I'll add a Read More, cus' holy god is this a lot of Rambling.

Because Scott wishing not to have been bitten...yeah, the bite Did improve things. But it improved things for him. He would absolutely regret making the wish, just like Cordelia did, because he would realize how many good things the bite had brought with it. BUT, conversely, he would have to realize how many good things the bite had brought for him, not for other people, and how their lives either wouldn't have been affect, or might've even Improved without him being bitten. Without the bite, Scott wouldn't have gotten on first line, period. His health issues made very clear in the five minutes he had them that any kind of stamina based sport was just out of the question for him. If he is unable to walk through the woods at a moderate pace without needing to grab his inhaler and stop against a tree, he just plain cannot play lacrosse for two or three hours of running at high speeds and working a bunch of muscles in his upper body. He likely wouldn't have gone out with Allison, because he would have no convenient way to get her attention. Furthermore, he wouldn't have the extra senses that both impressed her on the lacrosse field, and told him about her 'family dinner' the night of Lydia's party. (I've discussed this before, but... While it's true, Allison would have still brought him the dog; that dog would likely have attacked him, and his chances with her would have been shot in the foot when they both got in massive trouble and he likely had to go to the ER for stitches or something. Without Allison or first line, he wouldn't have started hanging out with the 'cool kids,' and quite frankly, wouldn't have had anyone to help him study for the classes he was struggling with. It's true that he also wouldn't have had werewolf things to worry about, or even a girlfriend to distract him from homework, so maybe that wouldn't have been such a huge issue, but still.

If we look at other people's lives and how They would have been affected by Scott not getting the bite...well, let's talk about that.

Stiles didn't get on first line because of Scott, or because of a werewolf bite. Or even because of the werewolf bullshittery occurring in town. He was put on first line because of his abilities, and even after being taken OFF first line for missing the game, he was put Right onto the field in the next game, chosen OVER other players who were perfectly viable options. Which means, he still would've ended up on first line. Allison wasn't interested in dating before she met Scott, and part of her draw to him was based on how 'different' he was. He knew things she didn't know how he could know, he had a weird ability to calm a furious, injured dog, and he had charisma that was ALSO gained from the bite, since being on first line made Scott Much more self-confident. If she didn't end up dating him, it's likely she wouldn't have dated at all. Which would mean no hiding from her parents, no strange conflicts of interest, AND, interestingly enough --depending on her involvement in the murders, etc that would still be occurring in town--no night in the school that would scare her bad enough to ask Kate for extra help and tip her headfirst into hunter training. AND, even if she DID still end up getting those lessons from Kate? There would be no bitterness to fuel her behavior at the end of season 1.

Allison was Traumatized after Kate showed her Derek on the grate. She was horrified, and didn't know what to do about it, and while we can ramble all we want about the morality of her not confronting her family (whom she's just discovered is willing to electrocute people) about it, the fact is that she pushed the thoughts aside to stop freaking out and went to that dance. Where she found out Scott was a werewolf, and was So fucking Betrayed that she was willing to help Kate catch him and Derek. No Scott, no betrayal, no willingness to help Kate recapture the miserable man who'd been chained up in a basement.

If we go back to that specific night, and try to unfold the events from there if Scott hadn't been bitten, things get a little complicated, but I'll take a few artistic liberties. Scott isn't bitten. Presumably, he just happens to get out of the woods in time, or he gets caught with Stiles by the sheriff, or doesn't go to the woods in the first place. These all change the possible outcomes of that night. If he hadn't gone in the first place, and Stiles went alone, would he have been bitten instead? Would Scott have been dragged into all of this anyway, but without the protection and boost of being a werewolf and cured of his asthma? If he weren't the one bitten, and he saw everything Stiles gained from it, would he still have such a hatred for the bite? Or would he want it, like Erica did, to cure him and make him powerful and cool? But, let's assume Stiles doesn't get bitten either. The second half of Laura's body still hasn't been found, and Stiles has no reason to fear running back into the preserve the next day, and no real punishment from his father as far as we can tell. So, does he go back to look again? If he did, he would run into Derek, because Derek would still be there after retrieving Laura's body himself. He would see Derek and still recognize him, and from there, things might spiral, still involving Stiles in the supernatural, and it's likely Stiles would try to involve Scott, and Again we get hit with "Would Scott want the bite, if he hadn't gotten forcibly bitten in the first place?" The answer is probably yes. He wanted to be cool, and popular, and on the lacrosse team. He wanted everything being a werewolf gave him. BUT if we're looking at this wish as similar to "The Wish," then no matter what, Scott won't be bitten. He'll be transported to a new world where it just never happened, and he'll be human, and forced to watch everyone around him be just plain different. Scott not being bitten would isolate him from Stiles, if Stiles got involved in the spn anyway. We SAW how Stiles cut off his other friends once the spn starting getting in the way. He and Harley? We have no clue how close they were. They were close enough for her to tease him about his crush on Lydia, for her to wander up comfortably to the locker and talk to them. And he cut her off as soon as the werewolf stuff hit. What if he cut Scott off? To protect him, if nothing else, like he did his own father. Once he realized the danger involved, I doubt he would be willing to put Scott in harm's way.

So, Scott would not only lose first line, lose his girlfriend, lose his popularity, lose his health and strength and heightened abilities, lose his 'importance' to the goings-on of Beacon Hills, but he would also lose Stiles, who seems to have been his only friend, unless he also had a relationship with Harley.

Okay, I've rambled enough about the what if's, so let's talk about the Reason why this wish would go so badly for Scott, in such a different way than it went for Cordelia. Cordelia, first off, wished that someone Else would not have/do something, rather than wishing for herself not to have done something. She watches how fucked up the world gets, and how much worse her life is without Buffy around to save the day. Scott wished for Himself not to have done something (even something passive, like 'get bitten') and would have to watch how fucked up his world gets, and how far behind he would fall. The other's lives might not necessarily get better, because Peter is still on the loose, and the hunters are still there, etc etc, but they would still Progress, while Scott would stay stagnant.

And WHY is that? Because Scott isn't important to the story. It DOESN'T start with him. That's the Whole Point of his character. He is supposed to be the 'everyman' who gets dragged into crazy shit and becomes integral to things that he wasn't ever meant to be a part of. The guy who wanders into becoming King or 'The Hero' that will save the world, even though he's just a small lad from a tiny town, whose highest prospects were "get on first line."

He was NEVER supposed to be Buffy, or if he was, it was done Very Badly.

But Beacon Hills WASN'T a quiet town before Scott was bitten; however much he might've said 'nothing ever happens in this town.' It was FULL of bullshittery and magic from the very beginning. There was the fire, and Paige, and the blinding of Deucalion, and the death of Alexander Argent, and the Nogitsune in the internment camp nearby. All of these things were around So much longer than Scott's bite, and they'd been affecting the world that whole time too. Because yes, in Buffy, the master was There before she was, but he was literally rendered inert by the situations he was in. And the things he'd done happened Centuries before, not six years. There is a difference. Sunnydale was Not Known for the insane number of weird deaths. Beacon Hills was. And aside from the Nogitsune, every single fucking thing that happened in Beacon Hills, was attuned to the Hale family in one way or another. Deucalion's blinding occurred during a meeting on Hale land, because Talia was known as a wise leader, etc, in the area and other wolves flocked to her. Deucalion biting Argent seems unrelated (if you even believe Deucalion did that, despite being a fucking pacifist before Gerard blinded him), but again, it occurs just a couple hours away from Beacon Hills, which is Hale Territory. The one who plays the Buffy role here? Who shows up at just the right time, and launches themself against an endless wave of evil, with slightly enhanced senses and a thorough need to do good and not back away from things that 'aren't they're problem'? The actual hero who is somehow tied to everything going on in ways even they don't understand? Was Derek. The guy who entirely unwittingly allowed Julia Baccari to survive, because he was trying to be merciful to his first love. Who entirely unwittingly was manipulated into giving up information that let a hunter kill his family. Who followed his sister back to town after six years of just trying to survive in New York, fell into a fucking tragedy, and decided to stop the bad guys anyway, even though he knew he didn't stand a fucking chance.

And as annoyed as some might get. The 'everyman' who stumbles onto the set and accidentally becomes integral to the saving of the world? The one whose ambitions are small and who expectations are smaller? Who is misunderstood, and has abilities that aren't recognized or appreciated, that doesn't really fit in, but tries their best anyway? The literal Angel to Derek's Buffy?

Is fucking Stiles. The son of the sheriff who just could not let it go when he discovered there was something funky going on. Who hung around on the edges, even though he wasn't really wanted, because he needed to help. Who ended up saving Derek's life over and over, and becoming so important as to be Derek's anchor? Who literally WENT DARKSIDE and HAD TO BE NEARLY KILLED, even though Derek didn't to kill him???

I know how it sounds, but JD SAID he took inspiration from Buffy. The issue is that his parallels are between DEREK AND STILES, and BUFFY AND ANGEL. Respectively.

Derek might act like the broody bad boy, but it is STILES' mentality that matches Angel's behavior, and it's Derek who matches Buffy.

I'm so fucking off track. Scott would be miserable if he ever managed to get a wish and used it to keep from having been bitten. And it would be sad. I would feel bad for him, had I watched something like that happen. Seeing him realize that most of the good things he had, he only got because of the bite. That Stiles would still be on first line, that Lydia and Jackson would still be the popular kids. That Allison wouldn't know he existed, or if she did would avoid him entirely. That Jackson would never have been turned into the kanima in the first place. That everyone else would move on and up in life, and he would still be standing at the bottom step. Because it wasn't his actual limitations that were holding him back, it was his refusal to accept them, to work with them, and to just plain stop Envying Everyone Around him, and start living his own fucking life instead of trying to steal other people's.

Scott wishes he were Cordelia, and I promise that would backfire too.

[actuallyilya]

Black-Ops Characters I believe would have cats and/or dogs. Also, these are just the Campaign characters + some Warsaw pack characters!!

Dog Only

Lazar, Lazar gives off big cuddly dude vibes™ meaning he would want a pet he could bond with better. Dogs are (usually) very playful and loving. He also CONSTANTLY attracts dogs. I also think he would adopt a Golden Retriever. Idk. Vibes™

Sims, Sims seems like the type of guy who likes being outdoors. Parks, hiking, jogging, etc. So he would 100% rather have a buddy to do those hobbies with, rather than go alone. A bit into his childhood, he had another dog he grew up with from the age of 12 and up, but once he left for school/the CIA, he felt bad, and eventually, the dog died of old age :(. But I do think that he loved that dog very much and no dog would ever come close to the memories he had with him. I think he would adopt a Border Collie.

Woods, Look this mother fucker DISPISES cats. He thinks they're gremlins and refuses to ever pet one he hasn't had a bad experience, just doesn't like them, claims that 'they're satan's little bitches'. He also would rather have a pet that you can call do cuddle, rather than hope not to get scratched. He either would have a German Shepherd or Great Dane. He wants a dog that will make him seem cool 🥶😈 but everyone knows that man is a sweetheart.

Hudson, He is most definitely a dog person, He does not care about the dogs are better than cats argument. 'It's an idiotic argument, Besides, we all know dogs are better'. His dog is a family dog, she's very friendly to anyone who comes by Woods, Mason, etc and she loves his kids. At first, Hudson hated the idea of having a dog, it would be a liability, but he was the first person who genuinely fell in love with the dog. He would have a German Shepard, who is military trained because he wants to protect his family.

Knight, Look, with the very little of the information we know about him, I GENUINELY think this man would have a dog. We know he's a little on the bad side, but still, he needs some friends. Even if the friend is a dog. He would probably adopt a Kangel Shepard. Also, he loves to play with his dog very often and is super protective of the dog.

Okay, now to the people who would have cats!

Park, Look, Park is like those people who sit in front of a window with a computer/notes in front of her while her cat calmly sits in front of her sleeping or sunbathing. Okay? I love her to pieces and I know damn well she would get along better with cats than dogs. She has actually argued with Woods about it a lot. She would also have a Chartreux

"Suck it Park! Dogs are the best pets, they won't kill ya in your sleep!"

"Woods, Cats' cleanliness makes up for more than a few scratches here and there, unlike dogs who like to sit in their own filth."

Mason enjoys silence, dogs do not give silence, they are loud and he prefers cats overall, He has had his cat for a while, a few years before David joined the military, his home felt empty, He knew he had always been rough on Mason but the cat gave them a small bonding experience, Although he loved the cat, it caused an argument between him and woods (It wasn't an end-the-friendship argument but when they're drunk they definitely argue) He would have a Birman, he also heavily enjoys cuddling with a cat.

Wraith, She strikes me as those people who genuinely love working with cats or at shelters, maybe she had a cat growing up, maybe she worked at a shelter before she went all Warsaw pact. But regardless, knowing she can't stay in one place forever, she still tries to still somewhat work at shelters, she isn't open about it because it caused an agreement between her and Knight. However, he always had a friend tag along with her while going to the shelters. She wouldn't own any pets, but her favorite breed would be Burmese cats "their fur is a black as my soul"

Stitch, This guy just loves cats, As a young kid, he didn't really have many friends, he usually kept to himself, as a result, he would wander areas a lot, during one of his walks, he found an injured cat, He nursed the cat back to health and kind-of kept this side of himself a secret as his father was very 'men do the work while women stay at home' luckily it never rubbed off on him. However, Just like Wraith, he tagged along to the shelters, he didn't wear the gas mask, but a lot of his scars showed, but he found out the cats/kittens were less scared of him if he just showed his face. Although he has an edgy feel, he loves Maine coons, they are very gentle, friendly, and very intelligent (As you can see, you can tell who is my favorite Warsaw pact operator)

Who would have BOTH cats and dogs.

Adler, look this motherfucker does not want to admit that he loves both cats or dogs. He easily gets attached to animals, cats, dogs, the whole sha-bang. So either/or, He loves dogs because he enjoys working with them, such as training, jogging, etc. (Sims stopped going running with him after Sims adopted his dog, but Adler knew he couldn't be responsible for a dog knowing he's always out on missions). But he also loves cats, he loves how majestic they are, when they purr, kneed, etc. He loves it. He occasionally invites himself to Park's house to spend time with her cat, not even with her. Park doesn't mind as she knows she now has a free cat-sitter. If Adler could, He would have a Great Dane and for a cat, he would have a Bengal Cat

Naga, Over the course of his life, Naga has worked with tons of dogs. He had always appreciated them helping him in his line of work. Whether they helped him weed out a rat amongst his men, or helped make sure no one was stealing profit, I think he heavily enjoys their company. Naga has always been a little intimidating, But with a cat by his side, even more, on his lap, on his desk, such a tiny animal had so much subtle power. If the cat had a problem with you, he had a problem with you, He even decided he enjoyed having a dog so much, he adopted a dog, luckily, after a few months of trying, they both got along and peacefully sit in his office. He would defiantly adopt a Donskoy Sphynx, and for a dog, he would adopt a Cane Corso, mostly for weather reasons.

Perseus, owns both a cat and a dog, rarely going out for rough missions, he can have two pets in his life and properly take care of them, His current dog, a Siberian Huskey (perfect for the current climate) he's had for five years, his cat, a Korat, he's had for three years. He occasionally takes them both into his office as to not have lonely days, on the days he has to either a) leave fast such as for safety, Stitch, Wraith, and Knight were made responsible as they are his trustable people.

Finally, Bell. Bell loves both of them and never really owned any animals, while working for the CIA, they had a knack for attracting animals while going for walks, they usually arrived with one or two animals, even birds! Mostly kittens and puppies, but even the impossible is possible for them. Woods and Mason found this hilarious and tried not to fall in love with the animals (even if they were there for a short amount of time) Adler or Park always had to be the one to take the animal out of their hands because he knew no work would get done and a rule had to be implemented so it wouldn't happen again (news flash, it did happen, very often)

Solovetsky Ending: let's just say Adler didn't shoot Bell, Adler would take Bell to shelters and would even go with them to save stray (injured) animals. The two actually grew very close and it sort of became a hobby. Adler got his taste of animals and Bell go to feel happy for a few hours, they both learned a lot. After one night of dinner, they found a stray kitten with no family around, they waited an hour to try and see if the mom would come back since It didn't, They took in the kitten, it was an off-day for the workers, so they nursed the kitten for like four days before having to give it up to the shelter.

Duga Ending: After Perseus took Bell in, let's just say the same thing happened, they weren't allowed to be on the field because they weren't mentally able to handle war and risk of being kidnapped so they kind of stuck around the area, although it was rare, abandoned animals did sometimes appear. The first time it happened. Bell was wearing a large coat and returned freezing with only a t-shirt on. Perseus was at the front gate, waiting for some of the operators to come back, but instead, they returned, freezing, a small fluff ball was in their hands while they were slowly developing hypothermia.

"Bell?! What the hell are you doing without a coat?!"

"I-I know, B-But I-I saved a dog."

[lulu2992]

can you talk about your character and her relationship with john? please tell how taylor changed her attitude towards the gates of eden and why she fell in love with john and he loved her. what attracted them to each other? – @muse-1498

I wanted to give you a relatively short answer but failed miserably and decided I might as well summarize what happens in that fanfiction I will most likely never write instead :’)

Taylor was getting sick of using violence to fight Eden’s Gate so she started finding other solutions. When the time came to kill John, after his plane crashed, she tried to arrest him. He mocked her, saying she was foolish and that the county was on lockdown so arresting him was pointless anyway. According to him, she only had two options: either “finish the job” and kill him, or wait for other cultists to arrive on the crash site and catch her. She chose the third option: shoot him with a stolen Bliss bullet and take him to her hideout (the bunker of the McClean Residence) until she figures out what to do. He suffered a minor injury in the plane crash so she stitches him up while he’s still unconscious and goes to Fall’s End to check on everyone.

When she comes back, he’s awake, and even though he’s a bit feeble, he’s still very angry. He tells her that Eden’s Gate is already looking for him and will “avenge this affront”. She informs him that everybody else in the county thinks he’s dead (which is true) and the cult doesn’t know where she lives anyway so no one will come. He’s initially a bit shaken by the revelation but warns her that, once he gets out, she will pay. She doesn’t really know what to do so, for now, she just makes sure he doesn’t escape. That night, when everyone at the Spread Eagle congratulates her for killing him, she fully realizes she didn’t think that through at all, that her “plan” was stupid, and can’t bring herself to tell anyone the truth. She feels stuck, guilty, and for a while, he thinks it’s funny and that it serves her right.

But when he sees Joseph’s eulogy for him, he loses his confidence, becomes extremely sad, starts thinking nobody actually needs or likes him, etc. Now, she’s stuck with a depressed John who doesn’t even want anyone to know he’s alive anymore. She can’t help but feel bad for him and, since it looks like they’re going to have to spend some time together, she thinks that turning him into an ally would be smart, so she tries to help him. At first, because of sadness and caffeine withdrawal (personal headcanon: John runs on coffee), he’s irascible and rejects her, but she does her best to remain calm (it doesn’t always work) and perseveres. With the help of a coffee maker, a few clothes and toiletries she brought back from Seed Ranch, and a recording of Joseph’s voicemail message to cheer him up, they slowly start trusting each other.

Days pass, he gets better, they talk a lot (not always calmly), share their stories, their points of view, and their relationship becomes less and less conflictual. But everyone else still believes he’s dead and she still doesn’t know how to tell them the truth. The longer she waits, the harder it is to keep this secret and the worst she feels. She spends less time with the Resistance and more time either alone or in the bunker with John, now ironically the only person she feels like she’s truly honest with. He can see how much it weighs on her and it doesn’t amuse him anymore. They decide it’s time for him to “resuscitate” and she finally gathers the courage to tell the Guns for Hire that he’s alive. As you can imagine, not everyone takes the news well…

Before Eden’s Gate finds out that their Baptist didn’t die, Taylor and her allies arrange a meeting at the 8-Bit Pizza Bar to decide on a plan. Technically, the Resistance has John captive so they have leverage, and he can also tell them which of their demands the cult is likely to accept or to refuse. She brings him to the meeting (in handcuffs so the others don’t panic) and things go relatively well… if you forget the very tense atmosphere, Jess leaving and slamming the door after a few minutes, or Nick getting mad at Taylor and eventually punching John in the face. They manage to agree on a course of action but she knows she's just lost some friends and will soon lose many more. At least, she can still count on Adelaide, Hurk, and Sharky. That night, she receives a radio call. The news reached the ears of Joseph and he wants his little brother back. She negotiates a truce first and he tells her to come and pick him up at his compound the following evening.

The next day, she has a few (stressful) hours to kill before she meets with Joseph so she visits Adelaide who asks her a lot of questions about John and if they took advantage of their time alone in her bunker to “get to know each other”. Taylor says nothing happened, much to Addie’s disappointment, and that nothing is going on between them anyway. Addie laughs, says that John would definitely disagree, that he only has eyes for Taylor, and that she should really open hers before it’s too late.

She spends the rest of the day thinking about that conversation and paying closer attention to John’s behavior. As agreed, she then anxiously drives to the cult’s compound and picks Joseph up. She’s surprised because he’s much more relaxed than she is and doesn’t seem to be wary of her. Back at the bunker, she decides to leave the two brothers to talk in private and waits for them outside. After several long minutes, Joseph finally comes out, alone, and explains to a confused Taylor that John will spend one last night here and leave in the morning.

What she doesn’t know is that he told John pretty much the same thing that Addie told her (in a more elegant and measured way, of course) and that he too has already figured out what Taylor and John still haven’t. He too noticed that something had blossomed between them. When she takes him back to his compound, Joseph knows that Taylor and John are just one step away from realizing what it is. Later that night, they finally do.

So that’s basically how it happens in my head :) And there are many things I didn’t talk about, like what she did in the Confession room and how she freed Hudson early, or the role the Fangs for Hire (especially Boomer and Peaches) played, or the relationships she developed with other people. And it’s just a summary so I didn’t detail the many, crucial interactions and conversations she had with John in the bunker. Also, this was just the beginning of their story; many more things happen after the first kiss(es) they exchanged that night.

But yeah, if I had to sum it up even more concisely, I’d say that what attracted them to each other was a desire to stop the violence, the realization that they had a lot in common, acts of genuine kindness, and the perceptivity of Joseph and Adelaide ;)

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Dark”

Welcome back, everyone! Can you believe it's been six weeks already? I can't. Something something the uncomfortable passage of time during a pandemic as emphasized by a web-series.

But we're here to talk about RWBY the fictional story, not RWBY the cultural icon. At least, we will in a moment. First, I'd like to acknowledge that shaky line between the two, growing blurrier with every volume. A sort of good news, bad news situation.

The bad news — to get that out of the way — is that we cannot easily separate RWBY from its authors and those authors have, sadly, been drawing a lot of negative attention as of late. This isn't anything new, not at all, but I think the unexpectedly long hiatus gave a lot of fans (myself included) the chance to think about Rooster Teeth's failings without getting distracted by their biggest and brightest production. There's a laundry list of problems here — everything from the behavior of voice actors to the quality of their merch — but as a sort of summary issue, I'd like to highlight the reviews that continue to pop up on websites like Glassdoor, detailing the toxic, sexist, crunch-obsessed environment that RT employees are forced to work in. A lot of these websites requires a login to read more than a page of reviews, but you can check out a Twitter thread about it here. 

Now, I want to be clear: I'm not bringing this up as a way to shame anyone enjoying RWBY. This isn't a simplistic claim of, "The authors are Problematic™ and therefore you can't like the stuff they produce." Nor is this meant to be a catch-all excuse for RWBY's problems. If it were, I'd have dropped these recaps years ago. I'm of the belief that audiences maintain the right to both praise and criticize the work they're given, regardless of the context in which that work was produced. At the end of the day, RT has presented RWBY as a finished product and, more than that, presents it as an excellent product, one worth both our emotional investment and our money (whether in the form of paying for a First account, or encouraging us to buy merch, attend cons, etc.) I'll continue to critique RWBY as needed, but I a) wanted fans to be at least peripherally aware of these issues and b) clarify that my use of "RT" in statements like, "I can't believe RT is screwing up this badly" is meant to be a broad, nebulas acknowledgement that someone in the company is screwing up, either creatively (doesn't have the skill to write a good scene) or morally (hasn't created an environment in which other creators are capable of crafting a good scene). The real, inner workings of such companies are mostly a secret to their audiences and thus it's near impossible for someone like me — random fan writing these for fun as a casual side hobby — to accurately point fingers. Hence, broad "RT." I just wanted to clarify that when I use this it's as a necessary placeholder for whoever is actually responsible, not a damnation of the overworked animator breaking down in a bathroom. Heavy stuff, but I thought it was necessary (or at least worthwhile) to acknowledge this issue as we head into the second half of the volume.

Now for the good news: RWBY has reached 100 episodes! For any who may not know, 100 is a pretty significant number in the TV world because, when talking about prime time programming, it guarantees syndicated reruns. Basically, networks don't want audiences to get burned out with a show — changing the channel when it comes on because ugh, I've seen this already, recently too — and 100 episodes allows for a roughly five month run without any repeats, making it very profitable. RWBY is obviously not a television show and doesn't benefit from any of this (hell, modern television doesn't benefit from this as much as it used to, not in the age of streaming), but the 100 episode threshold is still ingrained in American culture. Beyond just being a nice, rounded number, it is historically a measure of huge success and I can't imagine that RT isn't aware of that. Regardless of what we think of RWBY's current quality, this is one hell of a milestone and should be applauded.

All that being said... RWBY's quality is definitely still lacking lol.

Our 100th episode is titled "Dark" — keeping with the one word titles, then — and I'd like to emphasize that, as a 100th episode, it definitely delivers in terms of plot. There's plenty of action, important character beats, and at least one major reveal, everything we'd expect from a milestone and a Part II premiere. The animation also continues to be noteworthy for its beauty, as I found myself admiring many of the screenshots I took for this recap. There are certainly things to praise. The only problem (one we're all familiar with by now) is that these small successes are situated within a narrative that's otherwise falling apart. It's all good stuff... provided you ignore literally everything else surrounding it.

But let's dive into some examples. We open on Qrow starting, awoken by the thunder outside. Robyn has been watching him and makes a peppy comment about how none of them will be sleeping tonight, followed by a more serious, "Sounds bad out there." Yeah, it does sound bad, especially when they all know — thanks to Ruby's message back in Volume 7 — that this is due to Salem's arrival. I think a lot of the fandom has forgotten that little detail because people often discuss Qrow as if he is entirely ignorant of what is going on outside his cell. Even if we were to assume that he's forgotten all about the pesky Salem issue (the horror of Clover's death overriding everything else, perhaps) he still knows that Tyrian is running loose in a heat-less city with a creepy storm going on and, from his perspective, the Very Evil Ironwood is still running the show. So it's bad, which begs the question of why Qrow (and Robyn, for that matter) hasn't displayed an ounce of legitimate worry for everyone he knows out there. Thus far, their interactions have centered entirely around Qrow's misplaced blame and Robyn's terrible attempts to lighten the mood, despite the fact that a war is raging right beyond that wall. It's another example of RWBY's inability to manage tone properly, to say nothing of balancing the multiple concerns any one character should be trying to juggle. Just as it rankles that Ruby and Yang don't seem to care about what has happened to their uncle, Qrow likewise doesn't seem to care about what might be happening to his nieces. When did we reach a point where these relationships are so broken that someone can be arrested/chucked into a deadly battle and the others just... ignore that?

So Robyn's otherwise innocuous comment immediately reminds me of how badly the narrative has treated these conflicts and, sadly, things don't improve much from here. We are thankfully spared more of Robyn's jokes when Qrow realizes that what he's hearing can't be thunder. A second later, Cinder blasts through the wall — called it! — and Qrow instinctively transforms. 

The only downside to this moment is that the whole ceiling falls down on Qrow and the others because APPARENTLY these cells don't have tops on them. Seriously. As far as I can recall we don't see the stone breaking through the forcefield somehow and this looks pretty open to me.

If it is... you're telling me these crazy powerful fighters who practice landing strategies and leap tall buildings in a single bound —

— can't just hop over this mildly high electric fence to get out? Qrow can't just fly away?

We're, like, two minutes in, folks.

We transfer to Nora's perspective as she wakes up, seeing Klein giving her the IV. He tells her not to worry, that "you and your friend are going to be just fine." What friend? Penny? Klein went upstairs prior to Weiss hugging Whitley or Penny crash landing outside. I had thought them bursting through the door with another unconscious friend was the first time he learned what the big bang outside was, but apparently not.

Penny is, obviously, a mess. While I now understand the choice to make her blood such an eye-catching color when that's crucial to the Hound's hunt, I still think it looks strange visually. Like someone has taken a copy of RWBY and painted over it. It doesn't look like it fits the art style. More than that, it implies some rather complicated things about Penny's humanity, especially in a volume focused around her being a "real girl." Real enough for Maiden powers, but with obviously inhuman blood that isn't even referred to as "bleeding." Penny "leaks" instead.

Toss in the fact that she's literally an android who is made up of tech — recall the running gags about her being heavy, or it hurts to fist-bump her, to say nothing of keeping things like multiple blades inside her body — yet Klein says that her "basic anatomy" is the same and he can "stitch up that wound."

I'm sorry, what? Whatever Penny looks like on the inside, it's not going to resemble a human woman's anatomy, and Klein might be able to stitch the outer layer of skin she's got, but that won't do anything to fix whatever metal bits have been broken underneath. Penny isn't a human-robot hybrid, she's a robot with an aura. Penny has knives in her back, rockets in her feet, and a super computer behind her eyes. When our clip introduced that Klein would be the one to help Penny, my initial reaction was, "Seriously? He's a butler and a doctor and an engineer?" But RWBY didn't even try to get away with a Super Klein explanation, they just waved away Penny's very obvious, inhuman anatomy. Yeah, I'm sure "stitching up" an android wound is just like giving Nora her IV. I hope the surgical sutures he used are extra strong!

In an effort to not entirely drag this episode, I do appreciate that Whitley is allowed an "ugh" moment about the non-blood covering his shirt without anyone calling him out on it. That felt like the sort of thing the show would usually try to make a character feel guilty about and I'm glad that, for once, he was just allowed to be frustrated without comment.

Then the power goes out and May calls, which raises questions about what state the CCTS is in and when scrolls are available to our protagonists vs. when they're not. But whatever. She's checking in because she just "saw another bombing run light up the Kingdom" and —

Wait. Bombing? Salem is bombing the city? I know we've seen explosions in the sky, but I'd always just attributed that to evil aesthetic. Why does this dialogue sound like it's from a World War II film and not a fantasy sci-fi show about literal monsters launching a ground attack?

May looks pretty against the sky though. I like her hair color against that purple.

I'm admittedly grasping at positives here because we finally return to her "You have to choose" ultimatum and — surprise! — May has pulled back completely. Ruby says that once they've helped Penny, "We'll...we'll do something!" which is once again her avoiding making a decision. Ruby still refuses to choose, instead falling back on generic, optimistic pep talks. They'll figure out how to stop Salem later. They'll think about the impact of telling the world later. They'll choose who to help later. Ruby keeps pushing these problems into the future where, she hopes, a perfect, magical solution will have appeared for her to latch onto. When that continues to not happen, others pressuring her to actually do something and stop waiting for perfection — Ironwood, Yang, May — she panics and continues stalling for time. Wait an episode and the narrative supports her in this.

Because initially May was forcing Ruby to decide. Now, May enables her desire to keep putting things off. "Don't beat yourself up, kid. At this point, I don't know how much is left to be done." That's the exact opposite of what May believed last episode, that there was still so much work and good to do for the people of Mantle. This is precisely what the show did with Yang and Ren's scenes too, having people call Ruby out... but then return to a message of, 'Don't worry, you're actually doing just fine' before Ruby is forced to actually change.

None of which even touches on May calling her "kid" in this moment. That continues to be a convenient way of absolving Ruby of any responsibility. When she wants to steal airships or Amity Tower, she's an adult everyone should listen to, the leader of this war. When the story wants to absolve her of previously mentioned flaws, she becomes a kid who shouldn't "beat herself up." I said years ago that RWBY couldn't continue to let the group be both children and adults simultaneously, yet here we are.

So that was a thoroughly disappointing scene. Ruby gets her moment to look sad and defeated, listing "the grimm, the crater, Nora, Penny" as problems she doesn't know how to solve. Note that 'Immortal witch attacking the city I've helped trap here' isn't included in that list. Ruby is still ignoring Salem herself and no one in the group is picking up where May left off, challenging her to do more than wring her hands over things others are already trying to take care of: Ironwood is fighting the grimm, May has gone off to help the crater, Klein is patching up Nora and Penny. Ruby, as one flawed individual, should not be expected to come up with a solution to everything, but she does need to stop acting like she can come up with a solution to everything when it matters most (office scene) and rejecting others' solutions when they ask for her help (Ironwood, May).

If it feels like I'm dragging the flawed, traumatized teenager too much, it's not in an effort to ignore those aspects of her identity. Rather, it's because she's also the licensed huntress who wrested control from a world leader and violently demanded she be put in charge of this battle. Ruby, by her own actions, is now responsible for dealing with these problems, or admitting she was wrong and letting others take the lead, without purposefully derailing their plans. She doesn't get to suddenly go, "I don't know," cry a little, and get sympathetic pats.

But of course that's precisely what happens, courtesy of Weiss.

During this whole scene I kept wondering why no one was celebrating Nora waking up, especially when Ruby outright mentions her. Have they just not noticed given all the Penny drama? Because Nora absolutely woke up.

Aaaand went back to sleep, I guess. What was the point of that POV shot? No worries though, she'll wake up again in a minute.

Willow arrives and announces that they can fix the power (and Penny) using the generator at the edge of the property. I'm convinced RT doesn't actually know what a generator is because the characters are acting like it's some super special device that only richy-rich could possibly have. Whitley says that it's the SDC executives who have their "own power supply" and that it's "extremely unfair." Now, don't get me wrong, a good generator powering large portions of your house can run you 30k+, but you can also get one that plugs into your extension cord and powers your fridge for a couple hundred. There's absolutely a class issue here, just not the one Whitley and Weiss seem to be commenting on. They make a generator sound like the sort of device that only a politician-CEO could possible have and it's weird.

Likely, it sounds weird because it's a choppy way of getting Whitley to bring up the wealth disparity so he can then go, 'That's right! We're crazy rich with a company housing tons of ships! We can use those to evacuate Mantle.' Awkwardness aside, I do like that the Schnee wealth is being used for good purposes, but... evacuate where? To the city currently under attack by a giant whale? In a RWBY that wasn't determined to demonize Ironwood, this would have been a great plot point during the office scene instead, with Weiss offering her services to Ironwood, even if the group decides that a continued evacuation still isn't possible.

Instead, we get it here from Whitley. Do I need to point out the obvious? That Whitley is the MVP of this episode? He's done more good in an HOUR than the group has managed in a year. Give this kid some training and make him a huntsmen instead.

We're given a (very pretty!) shot of the shattered moon because it wouldn't be RWBY if we weren't continually reminded that gods once wiped out humanity before destroying part of a celestial body... and absolutely no one talks about that lol.

Blake's coat might not make any sense for her color scheme, but it does make her easy to spot as she and Ruby run across the grounds. Oh my god, they're actually doing something together! It only took eight years. They even get a lovely talk where Blake admits how much she looks up to Ruby, despite her being younger, and once again I'm struck at how much more I would have loved this scene if it had appeared elsewhere in the series. It is, indeed, as sweet and emotional as all the RWBY GIF-ers are claiming... provided you overlook that this is the exact opposite of what Ruby needs to hear right now. She doesn't need to hear that she's more mature and reliable than her elders when she's functioning under a "We don't need adults" mentality. She doesn't need to hear that not knowing what to do is totally fine, not when that led to her turning on Ironwood, despite not knowing how to stop Salem. She doesn't need to hear that "doing something" — doing anything — is a strength, because Ruby keeps avoiding the big problems for smaller ones she's comfortable with, like standing by Penny's bedside instead of deciding between Mantle and Atlas. Blake's speech is heartfelt, but it's a speech that suits a Beacon days Ruby who is having some doubts about her leadership skills, not the girl whose impulsive — and now lack of — actions is having world-wide repercussions. Everyone is babying Ruby to a staggering degree. It's like if we had a med show where the doctor is standing by the bedside of a coding patient, fretting between two treatments. 'Don't worry,' their colleague says, patting their shoulder. 'I've always looked up to you. You'll do something when you're ready' and then they continue to watch the patient, you know, die.

Also: who does Ruby look up to? Everyone talks about how much they depend on and trust Ruby, but who does Ruby look to for guidance? A number of her problems stem from the fact that she has rejected the advice of everyone who has tried to help her improve: Qrow, Ozpin, Ironwood, even Yang. Ruby is presented as the pinnacle of what to strive for in a leader, rather than a leader who has only been doing this for two years and still has a great deal to learn.

Anyway, they get the generator on and the Hound shows up.

I am begging RT to just make RWBY a horror story. All their best scenes the last three years have been horror I am bEGGING —

Anyway, while Ruby waits to be eaten we cut to Willow and Klein, the former of which is reaching for her bottle, pulling back, reaching again, all while her hand shakes. This is good. This is what we should have gotten with Qrow. Which isn't to say that their (or anyone's) addiction should be identical, but rather that this is a far more engaging and complex look at addiction than what our birb got. Willow tells us that she doesn't drink in the dark despite bringing the bottle with her; tries to resist drinking when she's scared and ultimately fails. Qrow just decided to stop drinking after decades of addiction, seemingly for no reason, and that was that. Why is a side character we only met this volume written better than one of the main cast?

Blake manages to call Weiss about the Hound and she asks if Whitley can handle the airships without her. I mean, I assume so given that Weiss is looking at the bookshelves while Whitley does all the work lol. He makes a teasing comment about how he can if she can handle that grimm and she comments that they still need to work on his "attitude."

No they don't. Weiss stuck a weapon in her kid brother's face. Whitley made a joke. Even if Weiss' comment is likewise meant to be read as teasing, it's clear that we've bypassed any meaningful conversation between them. That hug was supposed to be a Fix Everything moment even though, as I've laid out elsewhere, it didn't even come close.

We cut back to Ruby getting thrown through a wall into the backyard and the Hound creepily coming after her. She's freaked out by this clearly abnormal grimm and Blake is weirdly... not? "It's just a grimm. Just focus!" Uh, it's obviously not. Have we reached the traumatized, sleep-deprived point where the group is sinking into full-blown denial? I wouldn't be surprised. They've been awake for like... 40+ hours.

Because the Hound knocks Ruby out with a single hit. Just, bam, she's down. "Focusing" is not the solution here.

Weiss calls to warn the others about the grimm, telling them to stick together. Willow (understandably) starts freaking out and flees the room (classic horror trope!). Klein is left alone when Penny wakes up with red eyes. Oh no!

Don't worry. You know nothing meaningful happens.

She shoves Klein before (somehow?) resisting the hack, her Maiden powers going wild in the process. Just when it looks as if Penny might cause some serious damage, Nora wakes up, takes her hand, and says, I kid you not:

"Hey... no one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do... It's just a part of you. Don't forget about the rest."

Okay. I want to re-emphasize that I love hopeful, uplifting, victory-won-through-the-power-of-love stories. Istg I'm not dead inside, it's just that RWBY does this so badly. I mean, what is this? It has similarities to the character shouting, 'No! Resist!' to their mind-controlled ally, but this is not presented as a desperate, last-ditch effort by Nora. She just speaks like this is the most obvious truth in the world. If you don't want to have your mind taken over... just don't! It's that simple. The problem definitely isn't that Watts has changed her coding and has implemented a command she can't override, it's that Penny has forgotten about the "rest" of her personhood.

And this works. Granted, not for long, but we leave Nora having successfully calmed Penny down and until her eyes unexpectedly go red again scenes later, we're left assuming that this is a permanent solution. That, imo anyway, is taking the Power of Love too far, overriding the basic reality of Penny being hacked. It’s not a personal failing she must overcome, it’s an external attack. I would have rather had Nora react to the scars she saw on her arm, or have a moment with Klein, or get some love from the group. Not a wakes up, falls asleep, wakes up again to save Penny with a Ruby level 'Just ignore reality' pep-talk, then back to sleep again.

So Penny isn't attacking her allies, or mistakenly hurting her allies with wild Maiden powers. Not that the group doesn't have enough to deal with, but still. Weiss arrives to help with the Hound and attempts a new summon, only to fail when two minor grimm burrow up into her glyphs. I really enjoyed that moment, both for the wing visual and the knowledge that Weiss' glyphs can fail if you break them somehow (which makes sense). Also, I just like that she failed in general? Weiss is, as per usual now, about to demonstrate just how OP she is compared to the rest of the team, so it was nice to see her faltering here.

The Hound tries to make off with Ruby and Blake does an excellent job of keeping it tethered. Ruby finally wakes, only to realize that the grimm is actually after Penny since it's staring at her power up through the window, no longer trying to escape. Moments like this remind me that there's someone on RT's writing team that knows what they're doing, at least some of the time. The assumption that the Hound is after Ruby as a SEW, the surprise that it's actually Penny, realizing it holds up because Ruby is covered in Penny's blood and Blake is not... that's all nice, tight plotting. More of that please!

The Hound drops her and Ruby's aura shatters when she hits the ground. I want everyone to remember this moment as an example of how strong the Hound is. The group may be tired, but unlike YJR they've been sitting around in the Schnee manor for a number of hours, regaining strength. We saw the Hound hit Ruby twice — once through the wall and once to knock her out — and then she falls from a not very high distance for a huntress, yet her aura is toast. That's the level of power and skill the Hound possesses. Decimating YJR, knocking Oscar out, same for Ruby, avoiding Blake and Weiss' hits, soon to treat Penny like a ragdoll. Just remember all this for the episode's end.

Blake tells Weiss she'll take care of Ruby, you go help the others. Yay breaking up the duos more! Bad timing though as the new acid-spitting grimm pops out of the ground and Blake is now left alone to face it.

Weiss re-enters the mansion, knowing the Hound is somewhere nearby, but not where. Suddenly, Willow's voice sounds through her scroll with an, "Above you!" which... doesn't keep Weiss from getting hit lol. But it's the thought that counts! Willow has accessed the cameras she's set up throughout the manor, watching the Hound's movements, and I have to say, that is a WAY better use of her separation from Klein than I thought we were getting. I legit thought they'd have Willow run away in a panic, meet the Hound, die, and then Weiss could be sad about losing her mom.

It does say something about RWBY's writing that this was my knee-jerk theory, as well as my surprise when we got something way better.

The Hound runs off, uninterested in Weiss, and she asks Willow to keep tabs on it. It heads for Whitley next (also covered in Penny's blood) and very creepily stalks him in the office with a, "I know you're here." Whitley is seconds away from being Hound chow before one of Weiss' boars pin it against the wall. He runs, then runs BACK to finish deploying the airships, before finally escaping assumed death. Goddamn this boy is pulling his weight.

I assume all these ships are automated then? I hope someone takes a moment to call May. Otherwise it's going to be super weird for the Mantle citizens if a fleet of SDC ships just show up and hover there...

I don't entirely understand how Weiss saved him though. She's nowhere to be seen when Whitley leaves and he runs a fair distance before he and Willow encounter Weiss again. We know her summons don't have to keep right next to her, but are they capable of rudimentary thought, attacking an enemy — and an enemy only — despite Weiss being a couple corridors down and unable to see the current battlefield? I don't know. In another series I'd theorize that this was a deliberate hint, a way to clue us into the fact that Willow, someone who we currently know almost nothing about, had training in the past and summoned the boar herself. Weiss and Winter certainly didn't get that hereditary skill from Jacques. Hell, we might still get that, Weiss reacting with confusion next episode when Whitley thanks her for the boar, but I doubt it. That scene with Ruby and the Hound aside, the show isn't this good at laying groundwork and then following up on it.

Case in point: Weiss says, "I didn't forget you" to Whitley after he gets away from the Hound, the moment trying to harken back to her promise to Willow. Key word is "trying." Because she absolutely forgot him! Weiss threatened and ignored Whitley until he proved his usefulness. I also shouldn't need to point out that, "Don't forget your brother" does not mean, "Don't let your brother die a horrible death by abnormal grimm." Weiss acts like her saving him is a fulfillment of her promise, rather than just the most basic of human decency. And also, you know, her job.

So that part is frustrating. The entire Schnee dynamic is a mess, from Weiss making a joke of her father's arrest, to Willow (presumably) fixing their relationship by putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Okay.

Then Weiss cuts off the Hound by summoning a giant wall of ice. My brain, every time this happens:

YOU COULD HAVE FIXED THE HOLE IN MANTLE'S WALL.

Moving on, Blake's fight against the acid... thing has some great choreography, including Blake using her semblance which we haven't seen in AGES. 

I really like the fight itself, just not what Blake is shouting the whole time. "I need you, Ruby! We all need you!" This has really gotten ridiculous. Ruby is presented as everyone's sole savior despite failing time and time again. It's not that I don't think Blake as a character should have faith in her leader, it's that I don't think the writers should be crafting a story where everyone puts their unshakable hopes in an untrained, disloyal, impulsive 17 year old. I mean, Ruby is currently unconscious, yet Blake is acting like if she doesn't wake up — she, as an individual, if Ruby Rose does not re-join this fight — then all is lost. If Ruby doesn't save them, no one can. Which is, of course, absurd on numerous levels. Blake doesn't need the passed out, aura-less Ruby right now, she needs the still very healthy Weiss pulling out multiple summons and an ice wall! Use your scroll and call for backup again.

But of course, Ruby wakes up and kills the new, terrifying grimm with a single hit. It's a preview of what's to come with the Hound and it's just as ridiculous here as it will be there.

Speaking of the Hound, am I the only one who thought this was... cute?

I can't possibly be the only one. That head-tilt is exactly what my dogs do and my brain instinctively went, "Aww, puppy!"

Murderous puppy.

The Hound realizes none of the Schnees are who it's looking for and runs off. Penny, meanwhile, has been fully taken over because, well, that's just what's convenient now. She resists long enough keep Amity up, then succumbs, then resists to apologize to Ruby, then succumbs, then resists because Nora asked her to, then succumbs once it's time to knock her out. If RWBY was willing to commit to consequences, Penny would have been taken over and that was that. The characters would need to deal with whatever outcome happens as a result. Instead, the show very carefully avoids any of those pesky consequences by having Penny successfully resisting at key moments, despite no explanation of how she's managing that.

She shoves Klein again (Klein is having a Bad Time) and starts walking down the main steps. When Whitley wants to know where the hell she's going, Penny mechanically responds that she must "Open the vault, then self-destruct." I suppose the change Watts made was the self-destruct order? Ironwood obviously wants the vault open, though not necessarily Penny's death. Think what you will of his moral compass, she's a damn powerful ally — a research project, perhaps — and a Maiden to boot. At the very least, her death may give the powers to someone even worse.

God, please don't let them have brought Penny back and made her a Maiden just to kill her again.

The Hound arrives though and, as said, knocks Penny out. We're back to square one with her, then. Note though that this attack is near instantaneous. She grabs its hands one second, is hanging limply the next. Wow, the Hound sure is a terrifying antagonist!

Not for long.

"That's enough," Ruby says and one-shots it with her eyes.

Now, I want to talk for a moment about the implications of that line. "That's enough." Obviously Ruby is #done with this situation and emotionally unwilling to let the Hound kidnap Penny (congratulations, Nuts and Dolts shippers), but there's a meta reading here as well. Not intentional, but glaring to me nonetheless. Basically, the idea that the Hound has, from a plot perspective, done enough. It has served its singular purpose. It kidnapped Oscar and now it dies. Never-mind how insanely powerful we've established the Hound to be, never-mind how Ruby's eyes also work or don't work according to whether anything of actual import is on the line. From a plot perspective "that's enough" and the Hound can be disposed of instantly. It got Oscar and gave us an episode of filler creepiness. Move along now.

The idea behind Ruby's eyes isn't bad, but the execution absolutely is. RT has undermined a huge portion of the stakes by giving their protagonist an instant kill-shot that always works precisely when she needs it to. Starting with the Apathy, we have yet to get a moment where Ruby's eyes fail to save the day when she really needs them to, no matter how incredible the challenge. The Hound was very intentionally written to be a grimm outside of the group's current power level. It thinks, it talks, they literally can't touch it. This creates the expectation that the group will need to grow stronger — or at least become smarter — in order to surmount this new obstacle, yet Ruby's eyes undermine all of that. The group hasn't grown in years, the show just makes enemies weaker as needed (Ace Ops), or has Ruby pull out her eyes as a trump card. It wouldn't be that bad if we'd at least gotten a good battle out of it, one where the group gets close to defeating the Hound on their own, but needs Ruby's eyes to finish it off. Instead, she literally walks up without any aura, announces to the audience that this antagonist's time is up, and blasts it out a window.

Granted, Ruby's eyes don't completely finish it. The Hound pulls itself to its feet and we see this.

Yup, that's a guy and yup, those are silver eyes.

I would like to issue a formal apology to the "It's secretly Summer!" theorists in the fandom. I mean, I still think it would be ridiculous (and at this point highly improbable) that Ruby's dead mother has actually been a grimm mutant this whole time, just hanging out in Salem's realm while she waits for the plot to start before attacking the world, and then sends some no-name faunus dude after the group instead of their leader's mother for extra, emotional torture... but you all were definitely right about the “It's a person” part! I... don't know how I feel about this. Admittedly, it seems to be a logical continuation of the other grimm-human hybrids we've seen — namely Cinder and Salem herself — and it finally explains why Salem wants Ruby alive (even though it actually doesn't because WHY did she want more SEWs for Hound grimm when she wasn't even attacking back then? And already has all these other insanely powerful tools??), but at the same time, it feels like it's complicating a story that doesn't need further complications. The group fights monsters and has an immortal enemy. You don't need to add 'Some of those monsters are secretly human' to the mix.

It doesn't hurt that this twist is giving me Attack on Titan vibes, which, ew. A dark time in my fandom life, folks.

The Hound staggers a few steps before Whitley and Willow dump a suit of armor on it. That's all it takes to kill the most dangerous grimm we've ever seen: a single flash of silver eyes and some heavy metal. This also wreaks havoc with the implication that Salem wants SEWs alive because they create such powerful grimm. Obviously not. I mean yeah, normal huntsmen are going to have serious  problems, we’ve seen that this volume, but any other SEWs nearby will take a Hound out instantaneously. For a villain with so many other powerful abilities — immortality, magic, endless normal grimm, her nifty soup — Salem would be much better served just killing SEWs straight out. Clearly, creating Hounds isn't worth the effort.

The Hound leaves some bones behind and Ruby collapses to her knees, overcome with the knowledge that this was once a person. Again, uncomfortable Attack on Titan parallels.

We finish our premiere with Cinder clearing away rubble to reveal Watts. Honestly, I like that we ended on this because her rescue is hilarious. She just slings him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and blasts off with her magic fire feet. Fantastic.

Note though that with this scene we've seen almost everything from the clip and the trailer. What's to come in the rest of Volume 8? No idea. Outside of Winter leading the charge with the bomb, we got it all here.

Time to update the bingo board!

I'm crossing off "Introducing new grimm that are quickly abandoned." Between the Hound and acid-dude both falling to a single blast/cut from Ruby, we've more than earned this square.

It doesn't look as if we'll get another Watts-Jacques team-up now that he's left, but you never know.

Maria's got me worried. I feel like her Yoda fight against Neo is the one thing she'll be allowed to do this volume, but given that we didn't see anyone except Ruby's group this episode, we don't yet know whether the story is now ignoring her and Pietro, or if they'll re-appear in another episode like YJR.  

Qrow is free. Will he get a drink before trying to murder Ironwood? Perhaps.

Still no bingo :(

All in all, the episode was by no means horrible. I think there were lots of horrible parts, but also some legitimately well executed moments, fun action, and scenes that I can easily imagine as squee worthy if you lean back and squint. Everything is comparative and in the growing collection of bad RWBY episodes, this one isn't securing a top slot. Which doesn't mean I think it's good, just... not as bad as it could have been and primarily only bad due to long-running problems, not things this specific episode has done. That's my bar then, so low it has officially entered the underworld.

Still, RWBY is back and a part of me is eager to see where this volume takes us, for better or for worse.

Until next week! 💜

[Ko-Fi]

[mushroom-cartel--writing]

begrudging (love-)blindness

Summary: You are, to him, unquestionably, terrifyingly lovely.

Relationship(s): Gojo Satoru & Reader, Gojo Satoru/Reader

Note(s):

Here’s the link to read this on AO3! (You know the drill, extra tags, different notes, the format I intended, etc.)

Personally, I think this is hot garbage in terms of structure and pacing (it’s loosely all strung together is what I’m saying, but I just needed to get it off my chest before I wrote anything else. Yet... I guess I had fun? Yeah. I did!

There's spoilers from the manga mixed with headcanon.

I still hate spacing and formatting on Tumblr, it sucks. Please, please, please, this is for your own good, click the AO3 link, this fic is such an eyesore on this platform.

|||

There’s a tug at your chest, sending you hurtling backwards and into something hard. A wall. Tiles. Smooth.

The heavens and the earth view one another through a layer of haze of light at night.

There are thousands of people gathering, their footsteps thundering echoes in your ears. Their chatter is a constant hum in the air. It stinks of sweat.

(“The train will be arriving soon. Please stand behind the yellow line—”)

You sigh.

“Dammit, Satoru! A little warning would be nice,” you hiss to the man. You hear him whisper something back but his voice is swallowed up by the crowds and then he, too, is consumed.

You feel him wander farther away from you; not left with much choice, you follow him. And down, down, down you go.

You pause when there’s an invisible wall blocking your path of his own making. “Hey!!” you shout, starting to scream expletives at him from the top of his lungs and he doesn’t look back.

A few seconds pass. The people, these poor, clueless civilians who just want to go home for the night are like sardines in a can, their bodies pushing and shoving. For space. For air. Requiring neither, you phase through the wall and the remaining levels to catch up to him, the thoughts going through your head solely focused on figuring out why he has let you out. He wouldn’t do something like this without warning you beforehand.

Why now? What now?

You pull out from the shadowed cracks of the feeble curtain set up along the fifth floor underground, suddenly feeling a heaviness you hardly ever experience. You run a cursory swipe over his teeth; the blood in the air is fresh, there are more civilians down here than up above, more sardine-ing (their presence is fading away, the above platforms’ panicked din becomes extinguished, it’s ghastly quiet, a moment frozen in time), but no Satoru. Not physically.

He loves you, you know. (You don’t understand though… Why?)

It’s a burden, draining you of what vigour is left in your soul, barely just clinging on to this plane itself.

His love is a curse in itself, really.

"I don't want you to see me hurt," he had said often, back when you were children, oblivious to the power of those words until you got older.

What they meant.

What they did—to him and you.

Still as the wind, you stand together, hands brushing up against each other's, your fingers infected with poison where his is not; the calloused skin and scars shared between you weaving a tale for the ages that will never be told.

You’re both nineteen at heart but certainly not in spirit.

You lean against him, completely unseen, waiting for him to flick his finger back.

Waiting for him to obliterate the first person he thought he could trust outside.

He doesn’t. You disappear for another time, expectant.

His love is a burden and you're not sure where you would be without it.

If he hadn't looked your way, would you be the same person you are today?

It's frightening, these thoughts of yours, but he usually chases them off when he senses them bubbling to the surface. (You want him to be annoyed.) A casual grin and stance, a flick of his wrist, a rush of wind by your side, then the phantom pressure is gone, yes, gone, however—it's never banished completely. It never can be.

You don't remember the colour of his eyes but there's a memory of you claiming they looked like marbles, buried somewhere (somehow), in the back of your mind. Like the marbles you'd smash glass bottles to obtain, their fizzy contents only drained seconds beforehand; stubby, sticky, small fingers sorting through the shards, squashing ants in the process.

Those very same fingers, now, haven't changed a bit, save for the chipped nails and whatnot duress they’ve sustained throughout his life.

You use them to push the blindfold up to his forehead, taking in the surrounding sights.

Why now? The fact that you can feel them, his fingers and everything else—that’s a bad sign. A very bad sign.

You breathe, inflating the faux lungs.

Finally, you see it. The reason why you’re walking and talking and fully corporeal.

You gulp at the living corpse, its stitches wonky and fresh. Cerebrospinal fluid spills from its face in fat droplets and lands upon the clothes of a dead man. Disgusting.

“So I was right in the end,” you say, more for yourself than anyone else. “You’re not Suguru.”

(Satoru owes you a thousand yen. You told him to burn the body immediately. Or, you know, the usual. But what’d he do instead? He went and passed it off to a third party! Man, why’d that old hag have to kick the bucket so soon… If she was still around she’d probably kick Satoru’s dumb ass for trying to be decent.)

“How are you free?” Not-Suguru asks.

The real Suguru wouldn’t ask about your appearance. He would make a comment about how the temperature has dropped and burrow into his collar. He wouldn’t question things.

The real Suguru never acknowledged you, but he knew there was something in the corner of his eye that took the image of his friend and laughed alongside them when they pulled their antics during missions.

The real Suguru is gone.

Who the hell knows where Shouko is.

Yeah. A little warning would have been nice. Real fucking nice.

There’s a cube with a dozen eyes between the two of you, the crater on the ground betrays its unassuming weight. Satoru’s muted presence, a shrunken pearl of light, emanates from the cube.

Not-Suguru follows your line of sight to it.

Giving him an answer would be a waste of your time.

You can’t, they say.

Young master, please, don’t go there, implores the servants and guards.

The elders, his grandmother especially, tell him not to enter the storehouse tucked away in the garden behind an avenue of camellia trees because that’s something they’ll discuss when he’s older.

He doesn’t listen to them, the curiosity of a three-year-old child cannot be satisfied by mere words. (“Let this be known,” the gardener says in his defense, one cold summer’s day. It is raining outside. His grandmother shoots the only person in the compound that doesn’t treat him like a blind fool with a withering glare. He does not see them again until—)

What’s in the storehouse?

A library of cursed objects? Spiritual remnants, artefacts, texts, poisons, weapons?

Maybe the mummified corpse of an ancestor whom they keep around to ward off evil?

Perhaps a curse, frozen in time forevermore?

Maybe it’s nothing and the adults are all in on some kind of elaborate hoax, he figures. Mm, yeah. Sounds about right. No one else knows about the storehouse.

It’s old and earthen. Wild plants curl the walls to one side and splotches of moss grow on the tiled roof. Where the sun hits least is pristine. Clean. He wonders if that’s where the wards are placed, out of sight, out of mind.

Oh.

Standing in the entrance of the open door with bare feet, at the threshold of the aged structure, fulfilling his desire, he learns why they wanted him to remain ignorant.

It’s a child. (A human…? This whole situation is off.) A kid his age. He can’t tell whether or not they’re older or younger. They might be a bit taller, though.

No, he wants to shout, this can’t be it! He stomps his foot. That’s cliché! Boring, boring, boring! Again, he strikes the ground. Ugh, whatever—

A sigh escapes the emaciated figure sitting in the darkness, hunched over themself against the wall of the bare storehouse.

“Ah, my f̶̥̍r̵̝͐̏i̷̳end,” they start, softly. “M̶̹̦͒y̸͍̮̋̚ f̸͉̓̋r̴͇̦̕ǐ̴̦͇e̵̫͠n̷̢͉̅̓ḍ̸̅, my very dear, old friend. You have returned.

“My e̷̳̭̿y̶͈͂e̷͔̭̎͘s̴̭̄̊, have you come to give them back? Ask for several others?

“I have waited for you, as promised. Come. Closer. Please. I do not know how long has passed since I last gazed upon your visage. Do not be afraid.

“I no longer lust for flesh as fervently as before, I will not ask of y̸͖͔̒o̵̳̍u̵͍̘̓ ą̴͕̈́n̵̫̓d̸̛̳͛ y̵̻͑̎o̵̖̥͒͌ų̴͋̐r̵̦̩̓s a sacrifice to please me.”

Their voice is garbled, the resemblance to a broken radio off-pitch jarring his reaction time, a music box opened underwater gurgling, ghosts beat to the rhythm of the blood in his ears and titter buried mysteries.

In the corner of his eyes distant stars burn, galaxies explode to life and die repeatedly, the vast cosmos is shredded apart. Universes are swallowed whole. The plane he stands upon bends to the will of the one whose gifts he uses carelessly to play the role of a deity and dictate the balance of the world.

People have said [they] reflect the very heavens.

His faith wanes.

.

a trio of ragtag orphans,

escapees, survivors and starved,

on the verge of being

no better than beasts,

happen upon a traveller taking respite from the winding roads.

a foreigner no doubt

they guess from the strange hued garb;

rest, everyone around these parts,

they know comes not

easy to scum, scoundrels, sinners and

deceivers alike.

.

.

.

mad ones, rushing to death

—without protection i must add—

oh my darling children, you are!

consume my flesh,

defend those unseeing,

purge the blight

and you shall witness

my return before long, indeed?!

.

They do not move and neither does he.

What he assumes to be their head tilts ever so to the side, gauging him, this fool of a boy trespassing on their domain. This part of the garden, the little boy realises too late, is theirs.

This, the storehouse and now him.

(—the gardener finds him sprawled out on his back come dusk. They help him to his feet and dust him off, the sparkle in his eyes an unusual occurrence; they ask their precious young master what happened and he points them in the direction of the doors sealed shut.

“I took a peek inside,” he lies. Children are supposed to do that, right?

“And what did you find?”

“Nothing.” The gardener knows he’s a bad liar.

“Good. Now come.” They lead him away from the path of the camellias. “Lady Mitsue has been beside herself over you, mister.”

His grandmother hasn’t. She probably knows what he has done and will instruct him to feed the council what they want to hear. My son was too soft, she asserts before and after every meeting with those windbags.

You have to do better.

And his father is dead, so only time will tell who’s right.)

He starts having weird dreams (memories?) several days later.

Trying to ignore them doesn’t work.

Every waking moment is subject to gore.

He has to resist the urge to scratch his own eyes out while he trains.

In the world beneath his eyelids, there are shadowy figures claiming it best he is blinded and locked away and fed what no other soul could hope to consume without issue. And just as they force open his jaw—every night, every time—he wakes up.

Satoru doesn’t know what to make of it. Doesn’t know what to make of you.

One day, he dreams of years of living without sunlight causing you to screw your not-eyes shut and look away upon the opening of a door into your domain. When you recover, you turn to the door, the emotion of curiosity tugging for your attention out of the myriad of beings you’ve eaten.

Standing at the threshold, ethereal, desperate and short of breath, is a young man. In his arms is a woman, his wife, you presume. They’re stark shades of white, binary stars of a celestial system long dead.

You smile, recognising them in an instant. “Ah, my old friends, children of my children’s children a dozen times over, tell me, what is it you wish for?”

“My wife and our child,” says the man, “please, I beg of you, save them!”

Oh? A healing? It’s been quite some time since that was last requested of you.

You skitter to the pair’s side and shut the door gently behind them, ushering them further in.

You click your not-tongue at the woman’s state, wondering why no one thought to come to you earlier. If they did, the price they’d have to pay would be much less than what you’re about to tell the man. Humans are such prideful creatures, Satoru knows this, but he can’t help but feel tense as you instruct the man to lay the woman down and state your cost.

First, he opens his mouth. Then it shuts. Opens. Shuts. The man regards his dear wife with something Satoru has never seen before in the eyes of those around him.

His reply?

“I accept—”

A harsh smack to the head disrupts the memory; he looks up, unsurprised to meet his grandmother’s gaze, wrinkled eyes so very much like his own piercing his soul.

“Being distracted in the middle of a fight is unbecoming of you, boy,” she says. “What seems to be the matter?”

He can’t tell her.

He stays silent.

“Satoru.” She raises her hand, fingers crossed, indicating the void’s opening. “We Gojou pride ourselves on our ability to adapt. That is why, in fact, I say my son was too soft. He could not accept that he would lose my daughter-in-law and the child she carried in her womb to common illness. He could not accept that it was impossible to cheat death. He could not accept the position he was placed in. And for that, he died and of the aforementioned two, only you lived. Do you understand?”

No. He doesn’t want to understand.

What is adaptation if they’ve yet to rid themselves of and bow down to your constant presence? Is that not their most fatal flaw?

You eat them.

One life in exchange for another; you told his father it was the only way.

You were given the corpse of his mother a hundred days after his birth by the elders.

Every Gojou after death, you grind their bones between your teeth and their flesh rots at the bottom of your belly. Their soulful essence fights for dominance against the forces of the innumerable curses the clans feeds you—the hate, the sentiment, the sheer bursts of techniques and mighty powers clashing, click, click, click—you embody and absorb the aftermath of each childish scuffle, playing the bored jailer adjudicator. Corpses, tools, objects, energy and flesh. It’s how you’ve lived for so long without light or human thought to taint you: the jujutsu world’s dirty little secret, waste disposal.

You are, to him, unquestionably, terrifyingly lovely.

He loves you for that one reason.

A means to an end, forever.

(The boy, a few days shy of his fourth birthday and inauguration, does not know what love is. He thinks he does, having read the definition in a dictionary in order to familiarise you with modern speech, but love is not a word to be thrown around lightly the way he does.)

“I do,” he lies again, this time, to himself. “I understand everything.”

His sight is black.

He pushes back against the current, against instinct telling him to relinquish control and reaches forward for the dream that he was ripped from.

Your true form towers over his mother’s prone form, dripping ichor and the fluid of loose entrails all over. His father stays seated even when you lift an arm to draw blood, the man facing you without a trace of fear.

“I accept—but on the condition that my child receives your protection.”

“My p̶̹̽r̴̽ͅo̵̠͐ť̷̬e̶̺̊c̶̻̒t̷̙͑i̵̮̓o̶̱n̷̖͂?” Do they not teach the younger generations what that entails?

“Yes. My ancestors wrote that you were a benevolent being in a past life. That you were a kind-hearted human who accidentally drank poison before being found and buried alive, condemned and reviled, forcing you to become what you are now. Does that still not hold true?” His father’s face is hopeful.

It doesn’t. But who are you to tell him that? That ‘benevolent being’ never existed in the first place. You’ve always been this.

The vivisepulture part was true, but the beginning? Debatable. Your memories of ‘being human’ are foggy; you’re not sure if they’re real or someone else’s. Satoru’s is the clearest thus far because you abide within him. And he’s young, there’s little to garner.

What other nonsense has been made truth in the time you have withdrawn from the world?

He wants to go down that rabbit hole.

You grab the cube and run, warping reality in your wake.

You are many things.

Alive, you are first; secondly a parent, a teacher and a friend; cursed thrice times over; quarter something-something or rather by this point; and last, your hollowness complements the damned hallowed.

You are Gojou Satoru but not.

His skin peels off in delicate scales from the speed you’re going.

The first and last time you puppeteer his body, Satoru invokes his father’s contract with you for the second time in his life.

Like the first occurrence, it happens by accident.

(The first occurrence is a stain on your memory.

Mitsue looked her grandson in the eye and tasked him with a futile quest, one that would decide the future headship of their clan. You personally thought such practices outdated but you held his tongue and grit his teeth, faking laughter for the audience they had.

She reminded you too much of your youngest, both in the way she cobbled herself together and how she suspended time long enough to catch a glimpse of you hunched beside him, flickering in and out of her void domain with the ease of a toddler climbing free of their crib.

Beautiful and deadly.

He nearly died.)

He is unaware of the finer details, but where his consciousness ends at getting a scalpel to head, it rouses again with him standing before the man who has the blood of Satoru’s friends on his hands and left him to bleed out undecapitated.

On a high from escaping Izanami’s clutches, he sprouts math and whatever nonsense off the top of his head and ragdolls up, down, across and through the air.

He feels like a being higher than the gods. Doesn’t mean he is, though.

He’s barely in control.

Violent swashes of red and blue fill the sky. He sees beyond his opponent rising from the earth the heavens condemning his breaching unto their space.

“Hey, stranger, did you know purple was her favourite colour?”

“Whose?”

|

“Satoru.”

“Hm?”

“You are Satoru, right?”

“Yessssss?”

“You… you’ve got a bit of…” Suguru gestures vaguely around the lower half of his face.

“Oh.” You rub the corner of his mouth with the pad of his thumb and see it come back tinged pink. The drying drool on his sleeves is used to rub the rest of the blood away. “Thanks.”

“Have you found her?”

“Amanai? Her body?” Suguru flinches. Your gaze is drawn to the cultists clapping. “Yeah, I did. Sorry.”

“What are you apologising for?”

“I don’t know,” Satoru says. “I feel like killing these people. Should we?”

“Why?”

“I’m still h̸͓̟͐u̴̦͗n̴͇͈̅͛g̵͔̒̕ŗ̴͕͂͘y̸͚͍͘͘.” Two wasn’t even a snack.

“I’m angry that we failed too. But we can’t do anything now, it’s out of our hands.”

|

Several days later finds him back at the entrance of the storehouse, none the worse for wear.

In the shadow of the building grows a lone weed.

“It’s changed.”

“Of course it has.”

“Will I end up like them?”

“Yes.”

[ready-to-obeyme]

[OM!] Demon Brothers + Hobbies 🏊

Lucifer

what free time

when he does somehow peel himself off of work, he enjoys ballroom dancing

i can just imagine him putting on a vinyl song, holding up his arms and doing the steps to the dance (1, 2, 3... 1, 2, 3) and god forbid someone tries to come in during this time because he’d be too embarrassed to be lenient on their punishment

i imagine he’s super into learning other couple dances too like tango and salsa, so when you get together with him count on being his partner!

i bet he also loves teaching other people things-- like genuinely, considering he is the oldest of the seven (his brothers just test him LOL)

incredibly patient when showing you the steps, taking pride in your improvement and growing warm at the thought of you being able to dance with him at the next chance you get

and his weakness???? online shopping on akuzon 

which, when you find out, makes him extremely embarrassed and depending on whether you have the same past time-- you may or may not buy everything on akuzon

on his home screen interaction dialogue, he says something along the lines of “Akuzon is too convenient... it’s easy to buy a lot of things” while blushing

so I’m thinking sometimes when he does take a breather from his workload, he scrolls on akuzon just browsing for things because it’s quick

and ends up putting like 5 things into the cart  that he doesn’t really need

doesn’t always follow through and buy everything, but he definitely has moments where he impulse buys and it’s gone to bite him in the butt when packages arrive in droves and his brothers are like ??? why are there so many things

Mammon

loves music-- both listening and making it!

likes making his own mixtapes and playlists

and when he gets to share it with you, he’s so nervous; but the giddy happiness he feels when you tell him that it’s good is SO worth the wait and time he puts into his music

he’d be happy just having his mixtapes and music to himself but being able to share it with someone makes it a lot sweeter

definitely makes playlists for and about you because sometimes the feelings he can’t put into words he can tell you through music

idk if he has a recording studio in his room, but i think it’d be pretty fitting if there was

probably gets into composing his music, rapping mayhaps??

at some point likes to DJ as well, though he’s not too good as it rn, but he definitely loooooves playing with the sound effects and tracks

all of these things are him being able to express himself-- put a twist on something that already exists or creating something on his own

it gives him a sense of freedom: to express himself and to do whatever he wants as he pleases

pretty well-rounded when it comes to playing instruments

when he puts his mind to it, he can probably learn anything

most likely already knows how to play the guitar and the drums

has a pretty good voice too tbh

Leviathan

swimming!!

he may be a shut-in, but ya boy has ocean decor, can control sea creatures, so it’s only natural he can swim and swim well

doesn’t do it as often since he prefers watching anime/playing games loads more, but he it’s definitely something he enjoys since it feels like his natural place to be 

considering his dream is to be a professional gamer, it’s not far off to say that he finds it his hobby to start off small and be a youtuber, probably posting reviews of games he’s played or even writing out walk-throughs online

actually loves going to concerts and cons

if he was a fan of hatsune miku you BET he’d want to go to her first live concert with her life-sized hologram, waving the glowsticks in unison with the crowd

would definitely go all four days of Anime Expo where he would be SO happy surrounded by people who can love the same things he does with the same passion

loves creating cosplay to go to these cons by hand; impeccable detail and intense dedication into the craft that shows his love for whatever he’s making

kinda shy about wearing it, but if you’re down to wear any of his costumes, he’d absolutely die happy

it’s just too much love for him to handle in one sitting 

and ofc, hobbies include board games, games, DND, all those!!

Satan

asides from reading, loves traveling when he can whenever he can

he invites you out to places because he enjoys discovering new things and experiencing new things and traveling is the perfect way to do all of that all the time

he’d enjoy hiking too-- on trails, through the wilderness, among the wild; just give him a backpack, an explorers hat, maybe a walking stick (just like the ones in the movies) and he’s on his way!

loves going hiking with you because he likes the way your face lights up at new scenery or the wonders of the world

likes that he can share this enjoyment and excitement of discovery with you because it feels like he’s sharing a little bit of himself too

indoor activity is snuggling in the covers and having movie marathons! and now that he has you and all your movies on DVD (lol) he can now enjoy so much more things

and when he finds out about Netflix, he is NOT sleeping for DAYS

“Satan... did you sleep last night?”

“couldn’t. the new season of How to Get Away with Murder came out.”

SLAM POETRY

doesn’t think he’s very good, but definitely likes writing down in his journal and even some scattered words that form a bit of poetry sometimes

really really shy about sharing it, but if you coax him a little, he’d be willing to show you (though you’ll have a hard time convincing him to show you poetry he wrote about you)

people have said, and I agree, cat cafe is definitely something he’d seek out and enjoy; literal dream come true

a house of cats that lucifer can’t ban him from LMAO

Asmodeus

has a very creative mind and deft hands meant for craft (among other things ahem)

as a fashionable person and a trendsetter, he’d love making his own jewelry and clothes, picking out the beads and metalware for the earrings or bracelets and feeling out the cloth and stitches for his outfits

if levi IS into making cosplay, it’d be such a nice way for them to bond together since Levi is pretty good with picking out material too

i like to imagine he enjoys making jewelry for his brothers too:

a stud earring for mammon, maybe convincing him to explore other options and wear other jewelry too

giving his brothers the options of clip on earrings if they wanted to try something temporary, gives satan a golden bracelet, lucifer a silver ring etc

suuuuuper supportive of you if you wanted any type of piercings and would absolutely love it if you wore his jewelry

god he would bedazzle you in all his jewelry and clothes if he could

another hobby is doing yoga!!

good for the body and soul uwu

definitely gives a good reason for any of his flexibility, or maybe it’s because he’s naturally flexible that yoga is calming for him

also loves to invite you to do yoga with him

you’d definitely get a bit steamy doing certain positions with him, but MOST of the time, he does encourage you to stretch, relax, and strengthen your body

Beelzebub

so athletic he could probably play every sport

i agree with the masses: he’d DEFINITELY be good at hockey

basketball too (just imagine Kagami from Kuroko no Basuke)

you know what they say about big hands

big, strong hands, good for crafting that involves a little more strength, but considering he’s a pretty tender and patient guy, is great at sculpting with clay, which extends to pottery as well

just imagine him sitting near a kiln, spinning the clay and using his hands to shape the curve and notches of a pot

considering how many plates and bowls he’s probably eaten, it makes for a good way to replace them HAHA

good at crafting with glass too considering it requires steady hands and strength to spin glass evenly

enjoys a lot of arts and crafts and loves giving them as gifts, especially if they’re made from his own hands

one of the main reasons why he started and likes doing these as a hobby actually

adores the look on you face when you created a glass terrarium for your plants or created glass ornaments dyed with your favorite colors

would definitely be the type of person to put his hands on yours as he teaches you how to shape the clay and have plenty of fun with you watching you try to make glass ornaments with or without success

Belphegor

during his waking hours, he loves to study the stars

loved to watch them in the human world, but without a night sky, he’s content with looking up for constellations in books from the library

if you buy him the cute lamp that lights stars onto the ceiling, he’ll find you so endearing because he’d enjoy lying in bed with you and just looking up at the lights and being in each other’s arms-- imagining the day he gets to do this with you for real, on a picnic blanket, looking up at the moon and stars

i imagine he’d like to doodle too

i say MAINLY doodles because they’re easier like drawing chibis or whatever thinks is amusing and lowkey keeps him awake (though Lucifer doesn’t like it when he draws on the desks)

does sometimes go all out and draw amazingly well, whenever the mood strikes him

when you ask him, he jokingly says you’re his muse; but honestly wouldn’t put it past him to have drawn a portrait of you, awake or asleep, at some point

surprisingly good at sewing-- or at the very least mending rips and tears

i feel like beel has a lot of ripped shirts (...from being, yknow, ripped) so he’s gotten pretty good at simple stitches, which eventually evolved into something more

didn’t start off as a hobby but he did eventually find it soothing to sew and embroider

levi and asmodeus adore his skills and he grumbles, but doesn’t ever say ‘no’ to them when they ask for his help

[hollywoods-golden-age-imagines]

Meeting and Dating Cosmo Brown

(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)

- You met Cosmo while attending one of Monumental Studios movie premieres and after parties as a photographer. You were the only one to snap a few photos of the handsome piano player once he arrived which immediately drew his attention to you. And what a sight stood behind those blinding flashes.

- He quickly composed himself and joined the announcer at the microphone just as Don and Lina showed up. He took the opportunity to sneak a long glance at you as you struggled to keep your place in the front of all the pushing cameramen. You finally fell back, dissapointedly giving up as you waited for the event to start.

- It wasn’t until everyone arrived at the after party that he spotted you again, though that wasn’t for lack of trying; he searched the entire dark theater for you. He made a beeline towards where you were stood, dodging people left and right as he did so.

- You looked at him a bit timidly, thinking you might have done something wrong, before he introduced himself to you and started to make conversation.

- He pretty much proceeded to tail you for the rest of the night, speaking with you as you went around snapping photos. You really didn’t mind, it was nice not being completely ignored at an event for once.

- You’d managed to snap a photo of Lina, post-cake throw which he amusedly told you you had to print him a copy of.

- By the end of the night, the two of you were pretty well acquainted. You began to pack your things, saying goodbye to him as you did so, assuming you’d never really see each other again. That was when he slipped you a sheet of paper with his name and number on it, telling you that it was so you could give him “that picture”.

- You smiled, nodded and wished him a goodnight just as your taxi pulled up to take you away.

- A week later and you were meeting up with the man, framed photo in hand and a smile on your face. He was ecstatic when you handed it to him, telling you how great it was and explaining how rotten Lina was most of the time so you didn’t think he was too cruel. He even promised you an opportunity to photograph Don as a thank you which you gladly accepted.

- It was during that photoshoot that he asked you out on a date; partly due to Dons insistence and threats. He was genuinely surprised when you agreed but boy did he look happy when he realized what you said.

- He took you to an amusement park for your first date. The two of you walked around the place riding everything you could, talking to each other and buying small snacks to eat. You wound up kissing his cheek while the two of you rode the Ferris wheel which prompted him to lean over and lay one on you.

- He was half-expecting you to slap him but he was more than glad that you didn’t. Even though the two of you kissed, he was still a little hesitant when asking if you’d be seeing each other again which you found quite adorable. You obviously agreed and soon enough, you were official.

- He likes to give as much pda as he can get away with. He’s so proud of you and wants everyone to now that you’re together. 

- He often calls you “his better half” or just “beautiful”. He’s incredibly fond of pet names and uses them all the time. 

- Your kisses always make him, at least a little, flustered and giddy, especially when he doesn’t expect them. His ears and cheeks turn a cute shade of red whenever you surprise him with one. 

- Complimenting people is something he’s learned to do well over the years but he must admit, he likes complimenting you far more than he does Don, Lina, or anyone else. 

- He’s not too crazy about movies; he deals with them everyday, he prefers to do something else when you’re looking to have a date. 

- Going dancing. Doesn’t matter what music plays; he’ll always be the best one out on the dance floor. 

- Bowling dates. 

- Rollerskating together. 

- Long dates that carry into the late hours of the evening. He’s a sucker for a goodnight kiss no matter how long you’ve been dating. 

- Handholding; he likes to swing your hands back and forth lightly. 

- He’s sort of shy when it comes to girls so it takes him a little while to really warm up to being in a relationship. When you first started dating, he was always unsure of what to do and when to do it. 

- Pecks on the lips and cheeks. 

- You like to jokingly call him a shadow what with him following either you or Don around constantly. 

- He always tries to be as close to you as he can. He just really likes being next to and touching you. 

- Sitting in his lap. Don’t have a chair? This boy will literally kneel on the floor so you can sit on his leg. 

-  He enjoys sleeping with his face in your chest and his arms wrapped around your waist in a hug. It’s a nice view to wake up to. 

- He can make just about anything into a song. You often catch him singing your name while wandering around. 

- Getting to listen to him play piano whenever you want, he thinks the praise and look on your face make it completely worth it. 

- Nobody ever really pays any attention to him so he adores it whenever you do.  He has a tendency to try and make listening to him worth your while; jokes, amusing stories, etc, because he thinks you should be somewhat compensated for doing so since no one else does. You always assure him that he doesn’t have to worry and that he could never bore or disappoint you. 

- He greatly enjoys being able to impress you, showing off his different impressive and comedic skills. He’s really a talented individual. 

- Making faces at each other. 

- Reading The Funnies together. It’s part of your morning routine.

- This man loves to hear you laugh and see you smile; it’s his favorite thing in the entire world. He’s constantly fooling around and telling jokes in an effort to see you do so. He’s a professional jokester so it’s pretty easy for him to have you in stitches. 

- Doing impressions of each other or other people. You may not be as skilled at doing so as he is but he loves it anyway. 

- Getting to hear his stories and the truth behind Don’s actual rise to success. It’s certainly hard to envision Don Lockwood as anything but a movie star though it’s definitely fun to try. 

- He still has a habit of waiting around for his buddy only now he has a girl to do it with. Sometimes you really have to wonder whether he’s in love with the man himself.

- He’s a bit of a smartass so the two of you exchange lovingly snide remarks often.

- He doesn’t get jealous very often, he trusts you wholeheartedly; he sort of has to be able to when you’re around his best friend, he just doesn’t trust other men. Whenever he does get jealous, he either forces himself to act completely friendly or pretends to be friendly while trying to make a fool of the other man. 

- Attending the Monumental Studios events with him. He has fun matching his outfit to yours. 

- Double dates with Kathy and Don. 

- He likes leaning his head on yours whenever you lay your head on his shoulder. He’ll usually press a kiss to your forehead before he does. 

- If you need an idea, without fail, he’s sure to have one. 

- He always has a joke ready but he isn’t afraid to get serious whenever you need him to. 

- A wonderful motivator, Cosmo always knows exactly what to say to cheer you up or get you in the right state of mind. 

- There’s really no better partner in crime than him; always loyal and never jealous of your success. 

- He always seems to be able to look on the bright side of things which helps when things aren’t going well. You can’t help but absorb some of his optimism when you’re feeling down. 

- He’s good at coming up with solutions which is partly why the two of you rarely argue. Who needs to fight when their boyfriend can always create a compromise or fix things?

- He isn’t afraid to apologize whenever he’s wrong, giving you a sincere “sorry” then making a few jokes to cut the tension once everything’s resolved. 

- Saying or hearing “I love you” makes him happy yet bashful. He doesn’t say it often but sometimes he just cant help himself, oftentimes exclaiming it while pulling you excitedly into his arms. 

- He’s certainly planning on tying the knot in the near future. He can’t imagine a life without you. In his eyes, he may have nothing else but at least he has you. 

[sazc94]

If These Sheets Were States

Chapter 2

Words: 1.2k

Warnings: A bit of violence, swearing lots of sickly sweet fluff.

A/N Anything Blue, Bold and Italic is a flashback,

Chapter 3

…Collisions of a finer love, I'd kill for one more way To tell you how you make me better every day

22:30 New York

You padded out of your en-suite into the bedroom your fluffy warm towel wrapped around you, your hair was hanging loose around your shoulders, blow dried just enough it would not soak your pillow in the night but still slightly damp. Steve may be an Avenger, but he was also pretty good with his hands. He had ripped out your old bathroom after a year of dating, he had completely done it up installing a new bath with jets, a shower that had different settings. He had done it up with help from Bucky and Thor when you were back in England visiting one of your closest friends for their wedding. Steve had been unable to attend with you as he was on a mission with the Avengers when you had left. The mission had ended early when a suspect had made a stupid mistake allowing the Avengers to sweep in and capture him. As a result of the mission ending early Steve had decided to surprise you with the bathroom renovations. You chucked your hair up into a messy bun so you could do your skincare routine, grabbed one of Steve’s T-shirts and a pair of boxers from his draw. You had lots of cute sets of PJs some a bit more lingerie than PJs but as you’d had one hell of a day and were missing your boyfriend you decided to wear these as it made him feel closer. “F.R.I.D.A.Y engage intruder alarm” you said “Alarm engaged miss L/N” the AI replied. You grabbed the giant stitch plus sat on the chair in the corner of your room. Somehow it always smelt like Steve. He hid his aftershave whilst he was on missions because he knew you would always use it up when he was away spraying it on your pillows etc. Unbeknownst to you he had worked with Bruce in Starks lab on putting a scent disperser of his aftershave in your Stich this one slightly more high-tech then ones you could get in Build A Bear. He had enlisted Natasha’s sewing skills to ensure the seam wasn’t noticeable.

It was Natasha who had introduced you to Steve. Natasha had been undercover in your old Law firm in the UK investigating some ties between your old boss and Hydra. During her 6-month mission she had gotten close to you as a way to gain access to your boss. The pair of you ended up hitting it off as friends outside of work. She was actually the only one there for you when your mum died suddenly. It turned the whole company came tumbling down after it turned out at least two of the named partners of your old law firm had ties to Hydra so the whole company collapsed. Natasha returned to NYC but stayed in touch. After a year She got word of the opening at Nelson and Murdock Attorneys at Law (due to ties she would not disclose) she told Matt Murdock all about you and sent across your CV.

“I don’t know Nat. I mean its NYC I would have to relocate my whole life across the world for a job” you said. “Listen Y/N, you said to me yourself just last month how the pay in this new job is almost half of what it was at Lawson LLP, you hate working there. Your ex-boyfriend Tim is engaged, and you don’t have any family ties. This could be a new start at an amazing job in an amazing city with an even more amazing Best friend” She smirked. Natasha had face timed you after Matt had informed her that he was offering you the job after you had wowed in the interview (even if it was by zoom). “Besides Wanda wants to meet you too. And you know your accent will get all the boys” Natasha said. Natasha made a point, there wasn’t really much keeping you in England. You didn’t talk to your dad and your mum had been cremated, her ashes scattered in one of her favourite natural beauty spots. You let out a deep breath you didn’t even realise you’d been holding. “Okay, okay you win. Ill accept the job” you laughed “But, you have to help me find an apartment and go to the viewings for me and show me them by video chat” you said. Natasha agreed and 6 short weeks later you arrived at JFK airport greeted by Natasha and two of her Avenger “colleagues” Thor and Wanda.

“Y/N this is Thor, and you’ve spoken to Wanda” Natasha said. You were not prepared to meet Wanda let alone Thor, so you just stood there like a deer in headlights. Wanda, oblivious to your anxiety over being in the presence of a literal god, threw herself at you in a welcoming hug. “Y/N!!! its so good to finally meet you in person” Wanda exclaimed. Natasha informed you she was throwing you a small and lowkey welcome to your new home party the coming weekend where you would be able to meet some more of her team, Steve, Bucky and Clint were all intrigued by the infamous Y/N Natasha spoke so highly off so were more than happy to come to Natasha’s little get together.

“Hey F.R.I.D.A.Y, play if These sheets were states by All Time Low would you?” I’m lost in empty pillow talk again

You crawled into bed, whilst All Time Low played, you always found yourself coming back to this one song when Steve was on a long mission, you smiled to yourself knowing that Steve didn’t really understand your love for Pop Punk, but you had played this song enough that he had started to learn the lyrics. You took out your messy bun, turned out the lights and curled up with your kindle and personalized, Steve smelling Stitch.

22:00 Texas

“Well, I think that went about as well as anyone could have hoped for. Miss Lewis, nice to make your acquaintance, but do you mind telling me what the fuck was so important to fury that I had to leave Pepper and Morgan for almost 8 weeks? Said Tony. “Oh sure, I don’t mind, but Mr Fury told me not to tell anyone and he kind of scares me, when someone pisses him off” Darcy Replied. The mission was a success. Clint had hightailed it out of there and now Steve and the rest of the mission crew were on the Quinjet. Steve made his way to the front where Natasha was piloting. “Hey Nat, thank god that we managed to get out of there relatively unscathed” Steve said. “You’re only saying that because Y/N can hold a grudge, she almost killed you last time she thought something had happened to me on a mission I wasn’t even on” Nat chuckled. “Oh god, don’t remind me” Laughed Steve. He thought you were mad when he did something reckless, but when it came to Natasha you were fiercely protective of the Avenger who had essentially changed your life, everyone found it funny that you felt the need to protect a former Russian spy. One who was more than capable of taking care of herself, and half the team.

[drosophilamelanogasterpie]

Dream story time or something I had this one a long time ago

And as it goes the dream started at school with me and my group of friends standing around the lockers getting our stuff out to leave school for the day. The group consisted of my best friend Natalie, the girl from my science class and also Natalie's friend Stella, and another girl Ziara Bowers from my grade school stem classes who I never really talked to.

Basically, all of my schools have used a bus rider/walker/car rider system so that everyone gets where they need to go and all of my friends were carpooling together because they lived in the same neighborhood so they were effectively all car riders, and I was not, so I had to catch the bus. They were going out to the playground because they could leave whenever they wanted and didn't need to be home right then and they asked me if I wanted to come and I said yes despite already knowing that I was going to have bounce in a few minutes anyway.

We went out, and because not even in the depths of my subconscious can I escape my depression, I ended up lagging behind instead of fucking around on the playground with everyone else. I yelled across the playground that I was leaving and I rush to catch the bus.

I arrive home. I'm tired of being awake and just want to take a nap. Nobody bothers me on my way to my bedroom. I clamber into the top bunk of my bunk bed (the bottom has pretty much always been cluttered af) and maneuver around two unidentifiable grey blob shape things and lay down. I would love to just fall asleep but there's a roach on the wall of the bed and I minimal effort my way over to the spray bottle, bring it back, and suffocate that motherfucker to death with a mix of dish soap and water.

When my my tired as bones body hit the mattress I really just wanted to sleep but my stepfather called me so I had to get right the fuck back up, so I head down the hallway and turn into a room that isn't actually there irl, and he basically tells me that my mattress was infested with monkeys and that I probably had already noticed (newsflash, I had no idea, but whatever) and that he needed me to get the queen so he could get rid of the infestation.

When I got back to my room the queen came right out and handed her baby to a worker monkey and apparently she trusted me because I killed that roach and the monkeys saw me as their hero??? I don't know how I know this cause the monkeys couldn't speak but like haha dream logic don't question it

As I was walking back to where my stepfather was I was trying to ignore the fact that I pretty much knew her fate already and I was actively bringing her to it and I was having major second thoughts but too late we're already in dad's sight. haha don't think about it.

He took the queen monkey and locked her up in a cage behind him and I saw the look on her eyes as she realized that I had just betrayed her and it was almost pleading as she then hit another massive realization that this was the end of her line. I couldn't make myself keep looking and I looked away. My stepfather realized I was still there and told me I could leave now. I obviously, Did Not leave and instead asked what he was going to do to her. I already knew, but I wanted to hear him say it.

I wanted to hear him fucking say it. He replied and said he was going to have to put her down and that I should just leave because I don't want to be here when the ball drops, and I tried to scrounge my brain for any little bargaining chip I could use. I didn't want this. I really really did not want this. I told him that the monkey queen has a child and it's probably just going to take over after he killed her and then he said he had plans for that and I shouldn't worry but like I was SO WORRYING, we are ON the worry train and there is NO GOING BACK, AND NO LEAVING. I then told him that the workers would put on a fight and etc. etc. But he wasn't listening and he wasn't even taking me seriously and giving me minimal details and I was not having it and we broke out into an argument and then he said something that I didn't have the motivation to rebuttal and in like an upset rage I grabbed his water cup and drank half of it & stormed tf out. I'm not exactly sure what that was supposed to mean but it was probably something along the lines of "this is a glass half empty not a glass half full" kind of thing, like even though my mattress was going to be monkey free horrible shit went down today and it was not okay and just you know I will not be tolerating this crap in the future

I ran off down a random hall that's not in my apartments actual layout and took a turn into my mothers room where she was doing cross stitch (one of her actual pastimes) and I dissolved into tears but the anger stuck and like I was angry angry but I was feeling so helpless that I just going to cling to the shitty cold metal bars of her bed frame and sob

She didn't look up from her crossstich but she said "For the record, I agree with you" and for some reason that just made me more angry because like? If you agree with me why didn't you DO something? She was probably one of the only people who could??

And then I woke up, and I sat back and just recounted what happened

[emeraldgenevieve]

Okay so birth story...

We went to bed about 11pm on the 10th August not really thinking much about labour for the first time in weeks. We'd had a few bad night's sleep in a row and that night we just wanted to get to bed early and rest, but baby had other plans! I woke up shortly after midnight to this gush and quickly realised my waters had broken in my sleep! Even though it was obvious, I still had that fear of maybe I've just wet myself but we called the community midwife and she arranged to come out and check. Once the midwife got to our house she decided to do a vaginal examination just to see where I was. At that point I was 2cm so she gave me a little sweep. She was so lovely and stayed with us until about 3:30am to do checks and see if any contractions would kick in but when they didn't, she left arranging to come back at 6:30am to check me again. We headed up to bed, thinking that nothing would probably happen, but then I woke up around 6:15am experiencing a painful contraction. From that point my contractions started around every ten minutes and they stayed that way until about 10:30 when they were getting closer to one every 5 minutes and then they pretty much stayed that way. I was on the ball, I tried having a bath to ease the pain but nobody considered this to be real labour by any means.

As my waters had ruptured, I was required to go into the hospital after 18 hours to be assessed for any signs of infection so we began to discuss whether or not we should just book into the hospital to deliver there. By this point I had switched to a different midwife, who was also very lovely and very supportive of our decision, whatever it would end up being. She decided that she would leave again and come back at 2:30pm to assess us again and get our final decision about where to birth. We talked it over and decided that maybe by that point a hospital birth was our safest option. We were already concerned at the ambulance service had pulled their support of home births and now that we weren't low risk anymore, we couldn't justify staying at home. When the midwife came back we told her we'd like to book into the hospital and just stay there after 6pm to deliver.

My contractions were still about every 5-7 minutes as we waited for 6pm, slowing down a little during the journey to the hospital but picking up soon after we arrived. I was admitted to a fetal assessment unit were they wanted to continuously monitor the baby for a while, which I was happy with at first. For the first few hours of our time in the hospital, we mostly we're just waiting for then to take me to the delivery suite, but they checked me again and I was only 4-5cm. My contractions were getting stronger but still only every 5 minutes. By about 10pm I was beginning to really struggle with the pain. The midwife had changed at 9pm and decided to monitor me again, which meant I was immobile for all my contractions. She told me it would only be for 45 minutes but ended up leaving me on there until 11:30pm. I was struggling with my contractions pretty much this whole time. I was at the point of crying and shouting during the worst of them. It wasn't even the pain from the contractions, it was this horrible, consistent pain that I was having at the front of the very bottom of my uterus which was becoming unbearable during the strong contractions. I kept telling the midwife that something was wrong, my uterus felt like it was going to rip and tear at the front but she just thought I was having a normal labour. By 11:30pm I was in so much distress that she let me off the monitor and checked me again. I was 6cm and she finally decided to consult the doctor, who agreed I could be allowed to move to the labour ward.

By this point I was in agony. I just wanted some pain relief and I felt so disheartened as everyone kept telling me it wasn't real labour and made me feel like I was just being dramatic. I've given birth twice before, I know it wasn't normal but still no one believed me. By the time I got into the labour ward I just wanted some gas and air. I was in so much pain. The ache was constant and just building and with each contraction it felt like my baby's head was going to rip through my stomach. Still no one believed me but I didn't care. By 1am the midwives were concerned. I wasn't letting up about the pain I was having and it was just getting worse. They started to listen and began to think I was maybe having a bladder issue and so, called the consultant in. I was very lucky in that the consultant had actually been seeing me in the last few weeks of my pregnancy and had been supporting my home birth and was well aware of the kind if birth I wanted. He at first suggested an epidural, as he thought I was struggling with contraction pains. After I refused he examined me and we finally found the cause of the problem.

I was 8cm but baby was not in the correct position. It turns out baby was back to back and forehead presenting. The consultant had to have his hand inside me for about 7 minutes feeling around, waiting for contractions etc. to be sure, which was agony. At this point everything changed. He pretty much told me we have three options. Either I try mobilising and changing positions (I was being monitored continuously), he could try to manually turn the baby from the inside, or I could have a C-section. I was dead set against a C-section so I decided to get on my knees on the bed and try different decisions. I was in so much pain at this point but I'm terrified of having a C-section after I had three failed epidurals in my first labour. Once I changed position, I began to feel like I needed to push. I could feel his head coming down and and I was not coping well. The nurses didn't believe me and basically just told me I was wrong. I kept insisting but they weren't having it.

Finally after about another 10 mins they decided to examine me. This time they said I was 6cm and that my cervix was still thick on one side and there was absolutely no way I was ready to push. They wanted me to flip on to my side in the hope it would fix my cervix and maybe relieve some of the pressure. At this point that midwives switched and the new midwife must have glanced at the notes and seen that I was 6cm and still only contracting 3 in 10 and she was trying to be a real hard ass about it. She kept trying to take the gas and air off me, telling me I was delirious and I'd had too much and there was no way I was ready to push. At this point I'd been fighting my body for about 20 minutes thinking that if I let myself push I could do damage to the baby as I still thought he was in the wrong position.

Once this new midwife came in and started fighting with me it was like a switch flipped. My husband started telling her to leave me alone and listen to what I had to say. He was telling her I wasn't delirious I was in pain and I knew my body, I'd done this before. Finally hearing someone validate what I was feeling must have just let me relax that little bit and my body literally started trying to expel the baby. I can't even describe it I still wasn't actively pushing because I didn't know if I should but my stomach was convulsing it was like I was vomiting I couldn't control it all.

Finally the midwife looked and saw head! She told me to start pushing. Two minutes later I was crowning. Another two minutes and the head was delivered with the body following one minute after making a whopping 5 minutes of active pushing.

Once baby was delivered, they placed him up on to my chest immediately. I'm not going to lie I don't remember much of it. I remember Evan crying and getting emotional and he just kept saying, "you did it" but I wasn't even sure it was real. It all happened so fast I kind of thought that I was dreaming it and I still had to go through it. I was shaking so uncontrollably that I almost thought I would have to pass the baby to my husband to hold. I was just broken. The midwives still had to deliver my placenta, which only took another 10 minutes but I was definitely more aware of the pain this time, I was still using the gas and air to cope. Once the placenta was delivered, they began to check if I needed any stitches. Surprisingly, I didn't but they did find a large blood clot which they had to remove and it was so painful! It just felt like the pain was never ending.

After this, they finally left us alone for a while. I finally started to process what had happened. I had done it, it was real he was here and perfect. All 8lb 13oz of him. I couldn't believe the doctors were ever concerned about his size, it just goes to show how wrong the ultrasound can be.

[flower-of-the-desert]

Thoughts on 2gether ep11

the dreaded episode 11 actually passed without problem

what is this false sense of security? I dont trust it

aww, Tine was so upset thinking Wat wrote a song for someone else precious insecure baby

speaking of Wat’s “high school friend” I was a bit confused by that tbh cause I thought Wat was gay? I guess not or like he wasnt actually crushing on her? guess we’ll see next ep what was up with that

you know I do wish Mil would give up already on chasing after Tine, I thought this ep was gonna be the turning point but doesnt seem like it BUT my favourite thing about all these confrontation scenes with him him is seeing the VAST difference in how Sarawat sounds and acts with someone who isnt Tine vs Tine

we saw that in the previous ep when Mil gave his jacket to Tine and Wat aggressively shoved him away and threw his jacket but the second he was facing Tine he was the epitome of gentleness as he oh so carefully covered Tine with his own jacket

and now in the buss scene the way his voice SOFTENED SO MUCH the moment he wasnt talking to Mil but to Tine telling him to sit over there

a bitch is weak for these sort of things

the bitch is me

Man trying to buy a book from a random stranger because he lied to Type that he was there to read but didnt bring a book and Type just leaving his ass there got me feeling some type of way

their interactions throughout the ep were just so amuzing

Wat has evolved from carrying make up remover to carrying sunscreen for Tine, he canNOT be stopped

at this point he’s just gonna name everything after Tine; this tree? name Tine; this coffee cup? Tine; this book? Tine; our child? his name is Tine

“Do you think we’ll last 10 years?” “No, I want to be together with you more than that” can you guys stop being precious for 2 fucking minutes?

ooh, Tine poor baby is so sad he lost the bracelet - I hope that comes back in the next episodes like someone found it and gives it back or Wat makes them new bracelets which carry new meanings for both of them

speaking of which, I like that the underlying theme of this ep was Tine’s insecurities coming to the surface and him worrying about how their relationship might go bad to the point where he even risks going into the woods alone at night just to apologize to some tree spirit because he doesnt want to lose Wat’; and obviously next ep with the arrival of Wat’s “friend” Tine’s insecurities are just gonna get worse and worse until something finally gives

that’s an interesting direction to take their drama, in my opinion, and the kind of relationship conflict that I really enjoy; one that comes from the characters’ feelings/flaws/insecurities/etc

I love that Wat saw how stressed Tine was and wanted to do something nice to help him relaxed and Dim’s solution was haunted ghost trees! that will totally fix your relationship issues, trust me!

in the background you can hear Green trying to not lose his shit

Type likes a man who knows his way around chores and I can respect that

that whole scene with Tine and ending up paired with Mil and Wat and Dim in the background, Wat glaring daggers and Dim like oooh boy, I done fucked up had me in stitches honestly

but then we got the shrine bit and I CANNOT HANDLE IT Dim putting out Mil’s candle to try to help Wat and Tine genuinely thinking there’s a tree ghost AND THEN SETTING ITS SHRINE ON FIRE

and it was in that moment that I realised exactly why Dim and Green are together

I talked already about the significance of Tine wanting to apologize to the tree spirit since he thinks that will bring bad luck to his relationship with Wat and god can he GET ANYMORE PRECIOUS

this is totally my type of hurt/comfort

and then the ending scene completely destroyed me like high school!Wat writing a song for the guy he met ONCE and being so adorable and nervous in the video and then he was SHY to show it to Tine

ALSO THAT MONTAGE OF WAT’S POV SINCE THE BEGINNING WAS EVERYTHING

OK EVERYTHING

seeing Wat so giddy and excited after seeing Tine again

Man and Boss being  THE Best Friends(TM) ever helping and supporting Wat all the way

of course Man write the email, of COURSE HE DID

And Wat asking Dim to let Tine in the club

and just ALL OF IT *CHEF’S KISS*

I have like two wishes for next ep?? can that guy confronting Type be his ex boyfriend with whom things ended badly and that’s why Type was so upset?

And also if Wat doesnt say when Tine asks him if the girl was his first love “no, you are” WHAT EVEN IS THE POINT