#but is incredibly endeared by the fact that he took the dog in despite himself yk cuz max is soul bound to animals etc etc

[kotosnoozy]

「fourteen」 chapter 1

"Yuri did confess to me about one crush. First one he ever had, I’d wager, from how nervous he seemed. I had expected it to be Lady Estellise here,” Hanks says, the corners of his eyes crinkling mischievously as she flusters, “but the one detail he did give me certainly ruled that out quick.” “O-oh?” Estelle stammers. “Mmm, well. Apparently whoever they are, they’re significantly older than him. About 14 years, I think he said.”

On the nature of Yuri's first crush.

He hadn’t thought much of it at first.

Hanks’s fond babbling about Yuri over their extremely well-earned dinner is incredibly revealing about the usually cool-headed leader of their motley crew. The old man proves himself a riveting story-teller, keeping their entire party entertained for hours on end despite the incredibly long and taxing 48 sleepless hours they’ve had.

(‘Though there was almost a permanent sleep in there for some of us,’ Raven finds himself thinking morbidly, before digging his bitten-down nails as deep into his ankles as he can to distract himself)

It feels like the only time any of them stop smiling and laughing is to take another mouthful from their bowls of curry, piled high from the seemingly endless and eternal pots of the stuff in the knight’s mess hall (or in Rita’s case, to test out another formula against the system Alexei’s locked the princess into - luckless so far, but she’s yet to lose determination).

Hanks has provided all sorts of anecdotes: the adventures of a baby Yuri who had just learned to walk, quicker to his feet than Flynn but still only babbling in response to the younger’s full fledged scolding - their dynamic had formed incredibly early on, it seemed; fond recollections of helping him to learn to bind properly, their first real bonding experience that had endeared them to each other as adoptive-grandfather-and-grandson; prideful recounts of Yuri’s development from childhood cynophobia into a renowned dog-lover, of all the other little things Yuri had been scared of as a child and grown out of in time (and those he hadn’t - Raven makes a few mental notes for later reference); all the fights Yuri and Flynn had gotten into over the years, and the brief interlude where they had dated in their teens (‘If anything,’ he laughs, ‘the bickering became even more frequent at that point - thank heavens they didn’t last!’); and of course, everyone’s old favourite - that one time 2 years ago when he’d thrown Adecor into the river on tax day.

Raven’s heard that one on a number of occasions from all four of the people who’d been present when it occurred - it somehow never gets any less funny.

While most of Brave Vesperia and it's honorary members are thrilled to learn more about their favourite rebel, Yuri himself is less than happy about Hanks laying out his life story for everyone to see. It's plain on his face - the grimace of a man who appreciates how much his parents love him but would really prefer they didn't tell his date about the time he streaked naked through the town and peed in a fountain at 5 years old. His embarrassment is palpable, a pink glow to his ears that slowly spreads to his cheeks the longer and more intimate Hanks’ stories become.

It’s as he brings up Yuri’s childhood dream of joining the knights so he could sweep a princess off her feet, pointedly winking in Estelle’s direction, that their so-called fearless leader bolts to his feet. He spins on his heel, making a beeline to the other side of the room, and plonks himself violently between a bewildered Adecor and Boccos, immediately thrown from their confusion into annoyance as Yuri’s food slops all over both of them.

His previous dining companions merely snicker in his wake, Hanks chuckling fondly.

“He’s always been so easily riled, that boy. If this is how flustered he gets over just you lot hearing all this then I can’t even imagine how he’ll be when he finally shacks up with someone.’

“Wait, but didn’t you say he dated Flynn when they were younger?” Karol asks, head cocking to one side.

“Well between you, me and our gatepost friends here,” the old man says, leaning in - they all follow suit, as Hanks’ eyes pointedly glance over to Flynn, “I wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings if he hasn’t realised, but I always got the impression that Yuri was far less invested in their relationship than Flynn. It was Flynn who asked him out, after all.”

“My, that does surprise me. Yuri’s always seemed like he’d be the more proactive of the two when it comes to romance.” Judy muses.

Hanks raises his eyebrows, thin lips twisting into an uneasy frown.

“Wait a minute,” Rita says, leaning even further forward. “You’re not saying Yuri never had feelings for him are you?”

He winces, gaze averting. Raven feels his eyebrows shoot into his hairline.

“They’ve always loved each other, of course. But the tone of that love seems to differ between them. Their relationship was what happened when they tried to figure that out, it seems, but ultimately…”

“They just weren’t compatible as partners of that type?”

“Right.” he nods to Estelle. “In all honesty, Yuri might give off the air of someone with considerable relationship experience, but it’s Flynn who attracts more attention. And seems more interested in others in turn.”

Raven finds his gaze wandering between the two in question - Flynn has managed to find himself eating amidst a small crowd, knights and lower quarter folks alike, all of them doting on him and telling him stories, and him listening attentively to each of them in turn. Yuri, meanwhile is… wrestling with all three of the ex-Schwann Brigade’s most prominent knights simultaneously. Astounding.

“Yeah that tracks.” he finds himself murmuring, nails scratching through the chest hair that rises above the collar of his shirt. Even if Flynn wasn’t the most eager to please others between the two, the young man radiates a natural charm that draws others to him like a moth to a flame - it’s hard to forget how he was upstaged the time he took him drinking in Dahngrest. Yuri, meanwhile, has a proclivity for trouble and a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth with his wit. While endearing, he can’t imagine it’s the most efficient for pursuing new connections - even if he’s managed to attract all of the motley crew Raven’s currently sat with.

“So Flynn’s a secret ladies’ man and Yuri, despite all the pomp and swagger, has absolutely no game?” Rita snickers, casting a wry look across the room at Yuri that he’s too distracted to notice.

“Well I don’t know about that. Flynn’s a man’s man if nothing else, never shown interest in women to my knowledge. But… I don’t think Yuri’s ever actually been interested in dating , full stop.”

“No way, really?!” Karol barks. The exclamation draws the attention of the groups sat closest to them, even Flynn, momentarily, before they go busily back to their meals. Flynn’s expression as he looks at them is pondering, almost puppy-like, and Karol’s panic is practically visible as they watch him seemingly wrestle with whether to come over and see what the fuss is about. Then the woman at his side taps a hand to his elbow gently, and his manners win out - she successfully steals his attention back around, all of his interest in their discussion completely forgotten.

“Well. It certainly seems that way anyway. I remember him asking me, back when they dated, how he would know if his feelings for someone were romantic. He didn’t seem to understand my answer very well."

“That’s unexpected. I suppose my advances have all been vain!” Patty whines. Raven finds himself snickering - whether Patty’s affections are genuine or not is one mystery he's yet to solve, but her playing it up is never any less entertaining or fun to tease.

“Though now that I think about it… he did confess to me about one crush. First one he ever had, I’d wager, from how nervous he seemed.”

Patty surges forward onto her hands and knees, scrambling to get in Hanks’ face. Surprisingly, he’s not that caught off guard - perhaps used to it from Yuri’s exuberance as a child, or that other kid from the lower quarter who’s off chasing Repede on the far side of the room.

“I need all the details, matey! Don’t spare a single one!”

Hanks chuckles.

“I’m very sorry young lady, but he didn’t tell me all that much! I had expected it to be Lady Estellise here,” he says, the corners of his eyes crinkling mischievously as she flusters, “but the one detail he did give me certainly ruled that out quick.”

“O-oh?” Estelle stammers.

“Mmm, well. Apparently whoever they are, they’re significantly older than him. About 14 years, I think he said.”

“My my! That’s quite the considerable age gap.” Judy coos, tone teasing in spite of Yuri’s absence. She turns over to look at him, sitting atop a pile of knights and triumphantly tucking into a second of four bowls (spoils of war, Raven would wager) - they all do, in fact.

“Kid’s got taste at least. Nothin’ quite like the mature allure of an older lady~'' Raven sing-songs, half-joking. Rita jabs him in the side harshly.

“Shut up old man-- you said you thought it was Estelle he had a crush on right? So are you saying this is recent? ”

It’s like a switch flips in all of their heads simultaneously. Faces filled with shock whip to look at Hanks, who sits sheepishly clutching his bowl.

“Whoops. Might’ve let a little too much information slip on that one. I was probably meant to keep that detail private…”

“Oh my go--”

Rita slaps a hand over Karol’s mouth before his shriek draws too many eyes over. They all meet each other's' gaze one by one - Yuri's crushing on someone for the first time ever at this exact moment - before turning to look back at Yuri again. He’s mid-mouthful, spoon clutched in his hand like a shovel and sauce dripping down his chin, as he turns to survey his surroundings and catches their eyes.

“What?” he chokes out around his mouthful, just audible over the bustle of the rest of the room. He must see the sheer shock on their faces, as concern starts to cross his face and his gaze wanders to Hanks. “Wait, what did you tell them, old man?”

Hanks chooses that exact moment to get up, incredibly swiftly for a man his age.

“Well, thank you all for keeping me company, kids, but I must be off to… check on other people in… other parts of the castle. Right. Goodbye.”

The speed at which he heads for the door is quite remarkable - Yuri barely manages to scramble off his knight-pile-cum-throne before he’s gone from sight, and presumably halfway down the corridor before Yuri makes it out of the room after him.

It’s a shock, that much is certain. Raven hadn’t thought Yuri would be interested in older women - or people he supposes, he’s never really shown any inclination to anyone before in a romantic sense, so certainly not any specific gender. He’d never much struck him as the type.

But then he hadn’t struck him as the type to be interested in any type of relationship until this curveball of a conversation had come along. So hey, why not. If Yuri was into older people, he certainly wasn’t intending to torment him about it. Other than maybe one opportunely timed quip.

Honestly, he really hadn’t thought much about it at first.

But then the kids throw their own curveball.

“I can’t believe Yuri likes someone so much older than him!! Like, I guess I get the appeal of someone a little older than you for like… security or something, I dunno. But man, 14 years!!” Karol exclaims, as quietly as he can for his excitement. “I wonder if we know who it is.”

Rita barks a laugh, catching a distracted Patty off-guard. She begins anew whatever calculations she’d been making on her fingers as Rita shrugs exaggeratedly.

“I bet it’s some big-boobed motherly-figure in the lower quarter or something.”

“Well if all he wanted was big boobs and a nurturing personality then I’ve been here this whole time, all he had to do was ask!” Judith sighs, sly smirk giving away her lack of sincerity.

“Hey,” Patty pipes up suddenly, drawing their attention. “Isn’t Raven about 14 years older than Yuri?”

He feels the cogs in his brain whirr to a stop.

Suddenly, he is thinking very much about it.

“Oh yeah!” he hears Karol chirp. No doubt he checks the calculations on his own fingers, but Raven doesn’t register it if so, hard as he’s trying just to think at all. “Haha, that’s a weird coincidence!”

Estelle giggles.

“Imagine if it was Raven he had a thing for!”

He feels their eyes on him instantly, but it takes a moment for his brain to catch up. His own eyes must be wide as saucers, as they look at him, the mirth starting to fall from Estelle’s expression - he forces a ridiculous grin to his face.

“Haha, yeah imagine that! Someone like Yuri fallin’ for a washed up old fart like me!” he cackles, voice strained even to his own ears. “That’d be ridiculous!!”

The kids buy it though, Karol laughing along before pulling the others back into their debate about exactly who the mystery object of Yuri’s affections could be. It’s Estelle whose gaze lingers on him, just a moment or two longer, as the facade starts to crack, but she must see it - the silent plea in his eyes - as she turns back to the others not a moment later.

If anyone notices that Raven is mentally tapped out until they all go their separate ways for the night, then they’re at least polite enough not to mention it.

⇷-------------

Raven is a strange one.

This is Yuri’s third time meeting the man (or fourth, if the time Rita threatened to set him alight in Capua Torim counts as an actual encounter) and in all honesty, it’s hard to get a read on him past him being very obviously shady.

He seems as though he might be someone of consequence, if the quality of information he so casually throws like bones to random guards is actually as quality as he would have them believe. Either way he’s certainly silver-tongued, plying the others in Yuri’s makeshift travelling party into submission fairly easily despite their initial apprehension about him. Karol and Estelle are charmed by him, by his goofy antics if not the lolloping drawl of his accent, though they make no effort to hide the fact that they find him fishy. While Rita is far less taken, she seems to be placated by him taking her punishments, both fire and fists, like a champ.

The charm isn’t exactly visible to the naked eye though. He skulks at the back of the group, heavy footed and posture slouched. His clothes all seem far too big for him, obscuring the shape of his body in a way Yuri supposes is meant to make him seem unassuming, and he’s already displayed a number of habits that he knows would make any upper quarter noble’s toes curl - picking at his ears and the skin around his nails, before chewing at the nails themselves.

He has to admit though, he’s quite handsome in the face beneath the mess of dusty brown hair. Not in the same way as Flynn, with his big blue eyes and tousled blonde hair, the very picture of a storybook knight. His crooked nose, chapped lips, stubbly chin and hollow cheeks certainly make for a more unconventional type of attractive, but they all come together to create a certain appeal. The brightness of his eyes certainly helps too.

Also the combat prowess. Fighting ability is always an attractive quality in Yuri’s opinion, but especially in a travelling companion.

For a self-professed old man, Raven’s far more nimble than Yuri had expected. Sure, he’d made quite the getaway back in Capua Nor after he’d sold them out, but he’d assumed that’d been a one-off desperate sprint, not the norm. Apparently he was wrong, based on the nimble footwork he employs to dart out of the way of a particularly feisty howler. It doesn’t escape his notice how Karol nearly falls flat on his ass when Raven rushes past him and twists himself at an insane angle to fire an arrow across the way, skewering a beetle between its mandibles before it can take a bite out of Estelle.

“Woah, Raven!! Yuri, you’ve got some serious competition for your acrobatics now!!”

The bark of laughter leaves his throat unwittingly.

“I didn’t realise there even was a competition!”

He sees Rita roll her eyes as she releases a torrent of water behind her, clearly disbelieving him and with good reason; he’s never been one to back down from a potential competition. He breaks away from the corner of the forest floor he’s been holding down, using the momentum to propel himself up and over Raven, carrying it into his sword as he flips to crash it down into the skull of another monster. Raven whistles appreciatively as it disappears into dust.

“Not bad, young ‘un!”

He throws a smirk over his shoulder, ego swelling at the genuine awe on Raven’s face.

“How’s about it, old man? First to twenty?”

The awe transforms into a grimace in an instant.

“Ahhh, I dunno about that. Ol’ Raven’s never really been one for competitions, let alone effort. ”

He scoffs.

“Oh, come on. We’ve got no choice but to fight to get deeper into the forest anyway, right? So why not make a game of it? Not like it’ll actually be any more effort than you were already putting in.”

Raven purses his lips, seemingly unconvinced. His eyes narrow slightly as he stares off, deep in thought, the blue-green seemingly increasing in intensity. For all he’s been putting on the act of a court jester, Yuri is certain in that moment that there’s a deep intelligence to the older man; something unspoken, a wisdom beyond his years.

(Not that he knows how old Raven is but. Well, he gets the feeling that while he’s certainly older than he and his travelling companions, he’s not actually pushing middle-aged yet like he makes out)

Fwip!

He comes back to himself to see Raven’s face closer than before, upside down, chin in line with his collarbone. His bow arm (and subsequently the bow itself) is extended past his shoulder, the other loose by his head having just fired. Behind him there’s a thunk. A screech. A pop. And then silence.

“Looks like that’s one ta me~” Raven coos, eyes hooded as he smirks. He rolls his back, lithe and catlike, to stand himself back upright, stretching his arms out until his shoulders crack. For all his complaining about aches and pains so far (extremely numerous for the time they’ve been travelling with him, maybe an hour at most), he certainly doesn’t move as though he has any joint issues.

Despite his shock, he finds himself laughing.

If he’s honest with himself, he’s just as charmed by Raven as the kids are. He’s never made a connection quite like this one; with someone who can go toe to toe with his dry wit, and make it out the other side without being angry with him. Rita had been the closest (since Niren at least, but Yuri prefers to avoid thinking about the only father he ever knew if he can). But while Rita’s great with a back and forth, she’s easily riled, easily flustered. It only takes one slightly wrong jab and she gets stroppy, or else loses all interest in the situation.

Raven, for all his strangeness, has so far matched Yuri every step of the way. They’ve fallen so easily into a steady banter, something of their own personal comedy routine for just the two of them, some form of it present even from their first encounter way back in that jail cell. To have someone who can appreciate his snark, and give it back just as good while they both know it’s all in good fun? He’d never realised just how much he’d appreciate a relationship like that.

So yeah, Raven’s a little suspicious. But as far as Yuri’s concerned, he’s willing to offer him the benefit of the doubt for the strange comfort he gets from their repartee, just so long as he doesn’t do anything too crazy.

He slaps Raven on the shoulder, moving past him to continue deeper into the oversized brush.

“You got me, old man. But don’t you worry, you won’t be holding that lead for long.”

Raven merely cackles in response, wordlessly filing in behind him.

-------------⇸

There’s only one real constant within their travelling party, and that’s that the sleeping arrangements are ever-changing.

It takes a little while for him to notice, though in his defence the first week or so he’s with them is certainly not a typical week. In the more recent days, they’d gotten lucky with inns having enough beds for all of them, but the first few nights had been entirely sleepless in the hustle and bustle of, y’know, stopping a war, taking down the Blood Alliance and colliding with an actual genuine-article ghost ship.

(He’s still not sure what that was all about if he’s being entirely honest, but he’s old and ““wise”” enough by now that he knows there are some things in this world that you simply shouldn’t question)

So it’s Nordopolica where he finds himself bedding down with his new companions for the first time. The constant hustle and bustle of Palestralle’s workers and the fresh colosseum season unfortunately means there isn’t much free in terms of rooms. On the plus side, the three double beds they’re provided are plenty enough space for them all to be able to sleep comfortably; Fomalhaut’s rooms are quite spacious, nothing at all like the army barracks of his youth (though he supposes that should be expected from a city that considers itself something of an entertainment hub).

Raven takes his time ambling in behind everyone else, absently watching how effortlessly Repede transfers his pipe from one side of his toothy maw to the other. Rushing would be pointless, in his opinion, because he can already envision how everyone will double-up. Rita is sure to claim a spot beside the princess, for whose sake she could not be more clearly continuing to travel for despite her protests, and Judy won’t want to get lumped with a snotty (though admittedly quite sweet) brat or some dirty old man she hardly knows - he’s gonna get stuck with the kid, and the two of them can have a very one-sided competition over whose shitty little brain can give them the most nightmares in one night, and Raven will be perfectly content with that, thank you very much.

(It’ll be him who wins that one - hormone-induced nightmares are nothing compared to the horrors your brain can produce when you have blood and a war on your hands)

And then Karol throws him for a loop by tossing his bag semi-gently to the floor before diving into bed after Rita , of all people.

She hardly even makes a fuss. There’s a yelp - what sounds like it could be the start of the protest Raven would expect from such a combination - before she settles almost immediately.

“Just make sure you don’t kick me awake again, got it?” she barks pointedly at him, before rolling to face away from him and promptly cocooning herself in the blanket. He laughs at her, kicking off his shoes and fluffing up his pillow, seemingly content.

Wide-eyed, Raven turns to the girls - surely he can’t be the only one caught off-guard by this, it seems unthinkable for Rita not to put up a fight to sharing with Karol , and there’s an exclamation of surprise right on the tip of his tongue - only to find them claiming the second bed for themselves, Judy helping Estelle to unfasten the complicated buckles of her dress. He bites his words back, head whipping away; much as the image of a pervert works as a brilliant cover to convince the kids of his idiocy, peeping on the possible-crown princess as she gets changed is certainly not a thing he’s ever aspired to.

And so he comes face to face with the final bed. His bed he supposes, strange as it may still be to him. Yuri’s already making himself comfy on the left side, shirt and jacket thrown over the bottom edge of the bed frame. He stretches his arms up and over his head, muscles rippling as he yawns. He catches Raven’s eye as they fall back down, a mischievous glint flickering in his eyes.

“Looks like it’s you and me, old man.” he says, patting the sheets next to him with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

He can feel his own lips quirk to mirror Yuri’s, even as he fights to push down the instinctive panic.

“And here I was hopin’ ta share with my darlin’ Judy!” he whines playfully, flopping down beside him face first in a show of dramatism.

“Sorry, Raven. I just couldn’t miss the chance to cuddle up with Estelle!” comes her voice, sing-songy, from the bed she’s claimed. He can see, as he pushes himself up onto his hands and knees to get better situated, that she’s doing exactly that. She’s practically spooning the princess, face buried in short pink locks, and Estelle herself looks the very picture of a tomato (not that he wouldn’t himself with Judith’s considerable… assets pressed against him).

“Well so long as yer not a cuddler yerself, Mr Lowell.” he jokes, rearranging himself onto his back before pulling the duvet up to his chin. For all that they’re in less than ideal circumstances with sharing beds, he’s glad to see Palestralle don’t skimp on the furnishings for their inns - the linen is incredibly soft, smooth against the pads of his fingers, and it’s a smart fabric choice for an inn in so changeable a climate.

Yuri huffs a laugh.

“I think I can hold myself back this once, just for you.” he says, tone laden with sarcasm. He watches Raven with keen eyes as he lounges on his side, head resting in his hand. Raven wonders how he can sleep like that - how his arm doesn’t cramp in the night, doesn’t wake him up in a fit of panic when he can’t move it, breathing shallow until the blood flow returns. He forgets, sometimes, that not everyone enters a blind panic over the little things.

“Why, I'm honoured! Yer benevolence knows no bounds!" he coos back, nose scrunching in amusement. Yuri smiles as he reaches back and pats Repede where he stands by the bed - a silent request to turn off the overhead light. The pooch complies, trotting off with a clack of his pipe between his teeth - Raven’s constantly caught off guard by the dog’s intelligence, the number of strange things Yuri’s managed to teach him (or perhaps that the dog has taught himself? He’s still not fully certain how much of a hand in training him that the young man’s had), and this is certainly another for the list.

“Damn right it doesn’t. Better make sure you show me the respect I deserve.” he says. He meets his eyes again as the blastia clicks off, dousing them in darkness. They crinkle with mirth, the abyss within softening even more as Karol giggles at their antics on the other side of the room.

They find themselves in a staring contest, of sorts. Or maybe closer to a game of chicken? He’s sure Yuri sees it that way at least, if his unblinking gaze is anything to go by. For him on the other hand it’s… something else. What exactly he can’t say. He’s just... transfixed .

Because Yuri’s plenty handsome on his own - perhaps even beautiful, if that’s more your thing. Raven’s already seen him turn a great many heads in the short time they’ve been together, including both the illustrious head of Fortune’s Market and the great forgotten war hero himself. Maybe he’d even let himself cast an admiring glance his way, if he hadn’t picked specifically womaniser for Raven’s bullshit cover-up trait.

But when the sea-breeze blows gently, kicking up the curtains, and the moonlight shines into the room, it catches him just so. The glow is ethereal, transformative, and it brings out the hidden flecks of golden brown in the depths of Yuri’s eyes, spins the silk of his dark hair almost chestnut. And just for a moment, he can trick himself into believing she’s here, the Canary herself, laid opposite him with a fond teasing smile, and oh god the hole where his heart used to be aches to reach out and touch her--

But for all her perfections, Casey’s eyes had never glowed quite like that had they? Never stared directly into his soul, made him almost want to bury into her arms and let her shoulder his every burden for him. Her kindness had inspired, but never been so bottomless that he wanted to abuse it, had never come off her in waves to the point it was visible in every little line of her face despite any grandstanding. Never so gentle to the broken that he could almost convince himself that he doesn’t need to run, that if he’s seen he’ll be accepted wholly, flaws and sins and all.

Not like Yuri. Not at all like Yuri.

The curtain drops, or else the clouds must roll in overhead. Either way, the moonlight vanishes, and with it goes the last vestiges of the illusion.

“Aye-aye, sir.” he all but murmurs, his voice tighter than just moments ago. He hopes, as Yuri’s face twists in concern, that his own face doesn’t give away the turmoil of his heart.

“You alright, old man? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Hah, maybe I have!” he laughs, but it sounds notably hollow even to him. Still, he doesn’t break eye-contact as Yuri seems to peer directly into him, seemingly scanning his every thought and feeling, hope and dream.

The last thing he sees as he slips into sleep is the gentle embrace of the abyss. While his dreams are plagued by nightmares, a broken body bleeding out in the sand, he finds it’s the best night’s sleep he’s had in years.

-------------⇸

The town is silent, other than the gentle rustle of the sea breeze through the trees and the crunch of the dirt path beneath his feet.

They’ve been here all day, but Yuri’s not sure he’s used to how incredibly peaceful Yormgen is yet. He’s not sure he ever will be, either. He’s used to the bustle of the city, the shouting of vendors and newsies in Zaphias’s main market as carts laden with goods and people roll by. It feels like there’s always a dog barking, a clock chiming, a baby crying in the city, and the background noise helps him to switch his brain off in a way that the country never can.

Halure had been quiet to him - the calm atmosphere of the day, the slowness of shop transactions and conversation, had already been a lot, but for there to be a perfect stillness as night fell rather than an increase in bustle as drinkers started to take to the town had been the real whiplash. Despite a relatively large population, the town didn’t have a single dedicated bar to its name, and it’d thrown Yuri for far more of a loop than he’d ever expected.

Yormgen is even stranger. There must be all of fourteen people in this entire town, he thinks, and every single one of them vanished into their houses the moment the sun started to set. The only conversation he's heard that he hasn’t been directly involved in since Duke showed up and smashed their apatheia (he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t still annoyed about that) is that of his own travelling companions bickering over what to make for dinner with their limited ingredients as he stepped away to find their mysterious disappearing old man.

Raven took the loss of the crystal hard. Or at least, Yuri thinks he did. He certainly vanished quickly when they decided to wait around while Rita took some time to investigate. He’d been right next to him one second and then gone the next, before they’d had a chance to agree to meet back up for dinner at sundown. With no one having seen him all day since to let him know, it’d fallen on his shoulders to hunt him down and drag him back. Raven might’ve been plenty energetic on their first trip through the desert, but they all know better than to let him make the return journey on an empty stomach. The man eats like a bird at the best of times - he really can’t afford to be doing that now.

He’d grumbled and whined about it being him who had to go find him, but in all honesty he’s kind of pleased. He’s found himself surprisingly worried about the old man - this is the first time since they’ve started officially travelling together that he’s pulled a disappearing act. Normally it’s hard to get him to shut up for more than 20 minutes at a time, so the better part of a day without seeing or hearing from him at all is completely unheard of. If his silence doesn’t mean he’s curled up and died somewhere, then Yuri knows that he’s the only one of their party who stands any chance of fetching him with both of them left unscathed.

He’s explored the residential side of the town (if it can truly be called that) extensively already throughout the day. Not that it was hard to do - other than the homes of locals that are a bit further out, the town proper is essentially three big buildings and a deck. He’d quickly concluded that there were very few places to hide a man with a proclivity for such a bright shade of purple amongst the muted timber and the gentle green of the grass. The only conclusion he can come to is that Raven must’ve headed to the other side of town, to the sea of flowers that makes his sinuses itch just looking in their direction.

For all he knows they’ll give him a headache, the flowers are incredibly pretty. It had been the bushes of pink and blue trumpets that had caught his attention in the midday, as Estelle had run over to them in delight and plucked a few. She’d fashioned a few little fascinators, of sorts (a skill she’d learned in the finishing school she had no doubt been forced to attend as the potential future Empress), and spent the better part of an hour lacing them into everyone’s hair. If he looks back over his shoulder, he knows he’ll see Judith wearing the pink blossoms - rhododendron, Estelle had called them - with pride, while Karol nervously fidgets with his own, worried they’ll fall out, ruining the princess’s hard work.

Now, however, in the amber light of the sunset, it’s the flower tunnel that draws his eye. Not that he hadn’t noticed it before - it’s impossible to miss, vibrant as it is. But he’s never been the biggest fan of yellow, always a little bright for his tastes. The way the light bounces off the thousands of little flowers is certainly eye-catching though, setting them in such a way that their radiance is somehow easier on the eye. They’re impossible to look away from as he draws closer, some emotion he’s unused to, couldn’t possibly name, stirring in his chest. The chains dance gently in the breeze, bouncing against each other like a bead curtain, and something about it makes him nostalgic for the familiarity of the Lower Quarter.

Then he spots him, further in, beneath the boughs. His hand rests comfortably on the handle of the knife he keeps at his waist, the other left to the mercy of the breeze as he stares up amidst the blossoms. They bathe him in their glow, mingling with the dying rays of the sun, casting him almost golden . He’s mesmerised by the sight himself, it seems, completely off-guard for the first time in the couple of months Yuri’s known him - for all he plays the fool, Yuri would be an even bigger one not to realise how keenly Raven follows the every movement of all those around him.

But right now, he seems… defenceless. Open. Fragile. Unaware that a world aside from him and the sea of flowers even exists. He could do whatever he wanted to Raven in this moment, he thinks, and he just knows the man would be equally surprised by anything. Something about that knowledge, this vision makes his chest feel light, almost airy.

The image sears itself into his mind, unbidden, and he knows instantly. No matter how hard he tries he’ll never erase it.

“Laburnum.”

He startles as Raven speaks. Perhaps he hadn’t been as unaware as he’d thought.

“Huh?” he grunts dumbly.

“These flowers. They call ‘em Laburnum. Or golden rain in some parts.” he says, flicking his eyes (almost the vibrant green of dense aer with the glow) over to acknowledge Yuri. He goes quickly back to gazing upwards, almost reverent. “Pretty apt.”

Yuri finds himself eyeing the flowers again as he moves closer. They’re strangely shaped, the blooms, unlike any he’s seen before. The petals curl back and in on themselves, clustered closely together in a way that hides the little shock of red in their centres. Stranger still are the buds, gently curved in a way that reminds him of the plantains he’d seen in Dahngrest’s market.

From the right angle, they could almost look like birds in flight, or indeed a sudden burst of rainfall.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Raven’s lips quirk into a smile. His eyebrows set into something pensive, wistful even.

“They’re pretty rare these days. Didn’t think I’d ever get to see a single tree with my own eyes, never mind a whole grove…”

The melancholy that’s settled over him like a veil is impossible to ignore, his voice distant as though transported to another time. There’s a pressure at the base of Yuri’s throat as he watches him, finds himself wanting to do… something. He’s not sure what. Just anything to pull him from his reverie. But of course, in the end all he really knows is sarcasm.

“Wouldn’t have taken you as the type to know about flowers.”

It seems to work somewhat. Though perhaps he shouldn’t be so surprised - he and Raven have always been strangely in sync.

“Wouldn’t be much good with the ladies if I didn’t know about little things like flowers, now would I?” he says, finally turning to face Yuri more fully. His eyes soften with mischief, and yet still seem tight with… well if Yuri had to put a name to it, he’d wager it was grief .

A half-joke then; his flower knowledge almost certainly learned on behalf of one lady, though he’d wager not women generally at all. After all, for all he seemed to enjoy playing the womaniser, his actions often seemed chosen to purposefully push them away if anything.

Yuri rolls his eyes in faux-annoyance. Raven smiles. It gets closer to meeting his eyes than he expected it to.

“I can’t imagine just throwing their names around is especially impressive. Seems more like the absolute bare minimum.” he says, hand coming to rest on a cocked hip. Raven’s smile widens, coaxed out of his shell somewhat by the familiar teasing routine.

“Ah, but whoever said I only knew their names?”

His eyebrows raise instinctively. To know flowers’ names is one thing, but any other details aren’t usually common knowledge; their language, how to arrange them, the best methodology for their care all usually things known solely by the upper echelons of society, or else those with enough money in their back pockets to take a chance on starting a related career.

“Don’t tell me…” he trails off, fixing Raven with a sceptical look. The old man’s face splits into a wide grin, hand coming up to flash a peace sign. Dork, his thinks impulsively as he huffs a laugh, surprised at the fond tone the word takes in his mind. Then quick as the cheer arrives it drops again, leaving the previous melancholic half-smile splayed across Raven’s face.

“These wouldn’t be much good in a bouquet though, pretty as they are. If bein’ deadly poisonous wasn’t enough, they’re usually used as a symbol of the forsaken. ” he muses, the last word spat like something dirty from his mouth.

“Who the hell would look at these and decide that? ” Yuri barks out. His expression must look as bewildered as he feels - Raven laughs at him, gentle but genuine.

“Yeah, it seems like a lot, right?” he says. His gaze drifts away from Yuri’s, losing focus and staring past him, through his shoulder. “She always liked them though, in spite of that.”

“...She?” he asks, carefully. He doesn’t want to sound eager, too nosey. Doesn’t want to push when the old man is this fragile. But he can’t help his curiosity - this is the first he’s mentioned of his past, the first clue to piecing together the admittedly fascinating mystery that is Raven. The man himself seems to realise it too, that with just one sentence he’s revealed a huge part of himself he hasn’t previously. Graciously, he doesn’t scramble to hide it away as Yuri might’ve expected.

“Ah. Old friend.” he says softly, as though divulging a secret. “She’s… gone now. But she was always a big fan of flowers. These weren’t her favourite but. She liked ‘em plenty.”

It slips out of his mouth before he can stop himself.

“Not like you to spill your past out in the open like this, old man.”

It takes all of his mental strength not to kick himself as Raven’s expression shutters, the nostalgia, longing , vanishing from his face in favour of something more carefully guarded. His eyes though, expressive as they are, can’t hide the pain.

“Ah. I suppose they got me feelin’ a little nostalgic. Forgive me.”

The silence stretches out between them for miles and miles as he watches Raven, Raven in turn watching the dancing laburnum above his head. His eyes flicker from bloom to bloom, as though cataloguing each one carefully, trying to commit their shape, their profile to memory. Yuri finds his eyes drawn to his lips as they purse, a gentle pout taut in a manner that gives away the nervous chewing of the inside of his mouth. His thick eyelashes fan over his cheekbones as he blinks, and Yuri hates the silence of the country, because it’s weird sappy shit like this that the bustle of the city helps him to avoid thinking about.

Raven’s a lot like these flowers , is the thought that springs to his mind, unprompted. And it’s ridiculous really. Completely nonsensical. The kind of thing Karol might come out with on a night where he’s overtired, that they’d all tease him for mercilessly until they pass out. But there’s nothing to distract him from it - he’s surrounded by the evidence, and the more he tries to ignore it the more sense it seems to make to him. The two parts of his brain war with each other, unrelenting, and he can feel the push and pull starting to show on his face.

Then a single blossom falls from the canopy above. It lands perfectly atop Raven’s bangs, perched there like a peepit in a tree, and he can’t fight the analogy anymore - Raven certainly looks forsaken, in that instant, the pain swimming in his eyes. And yet usually so bright and cheery, like the flower’s vibrant colouring, almost desperate for attention as he jokes around-- and then pushing people away, like a poison, when they try to get close. An exterior crafted to make you underestimate him, and yet a hidden strength, swift and deadly on the battlefield. A sunny disposition that washes over you like a summer rain, calming and refreshing.

He’s not sure anymore if the golden glow bouncing off Raven’s skin is from the flowers, or just simply the man himself.

A light breeze jostles the flower, and it slips from his hair. The strange shape hooks itself onto the crook of his nose and it wedges firmly, even as the wind picks up, cascading more petals down onto them both. Raven either ignores it, or doesn’t notice, his eyes falling closed as he lets nature wash over him.

He steps closer carefully, unthinkingly. He feels as a moth to a flame, though why he couldn’t say. He’s unfamiliar with the stirring in his chest that rises at the sight, doesn’t understand his compulsion to reach out, to touch Raven. To check he’s still solid and there, that he hasn’t been blown away on the currents of the wind like his namesake.

His hand reaches out, plucking the flower from Raven’s face gently. The old man startles instantly, eyes snapping open and meeting Yuri’s as he flicks the blossom to the floor. Raven’s eyes scan over him, looking for answers that he’s not sure he’ll find. Yuri certainly wouldn’t be able to explain if he were to ask. He simply looks between the sunken blue-green, carefully smoothing more fallen petals from Raven’s shoulders.

“For what it’s worth,” he says, voice practically a whisper beneath the howling of the breeze, far gentler than he’d expected it to be, “I think I understand why your friend liked them.”

Raven’s eyebrow cocks, ever so slightly.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” he answers, lips quirking into a small smile, something genuine and raw and delicate that he doesn’t recall gracing his face before. “They’ve got a certain charm, I suppose.”

Raven’s breath hitches - he doesn’t hear it, only sees the narrowing of his nostrils, the bobbing of his Adam's apple. His eyes are so round, as the melancholy starts to subside slowly, leaving something inquisitive in his wake. It’s an expression he’s sure he’s seen on Repede before when he was younger, still training, still struggling with learning to sit on command, and it feels strange to compare Raven to a puppy, but it certainly isn’t the strangest thing that’s happened to him in the last 24 hours.

It feels like hours before Raven breaks his eyes away, anything raw and gentle immediately traded for bluster and jokes as he ducks his head.

“What’re you doin’ hangin’ out with me amidst the flowers anyway?” he asks, voice a little hoarse as his teasing lilt starts to creep back to him. “The others will start to talk if we keep havin’ these secret rendezvous, young man! How scandalous!”

He slaps his hand to his chest, feinting horror at their make-believe tryst. Yuri snorts, socking him lightly in the arm. Ridiculous as his jokes are, he can’t help but be pleased to see him return to some semblance of normalcy.

“I came to get you for dinner, dumbass. After that, you can feel free to go on ahead to Nordopolica.” he says, turning back around to lead the way to the others with a nod of his head.

Raven snickers at his own antics, hurrying to follow after him as he pulls a hurt expression.

“What, you wanna get rid of me so soon?”

“Wrong.” he snorts, head turned pointedly away in an effort to ignore his self-deprecating jokes. “I just wouldn't want you to miss the new moon and your chance to deliver the letter all on our account.”

The beat of silence that follows is just a touch too long for their usual banter. He turns back to Raven, worried momentarily that he’s run off again and he’ll be on a wild goose chase for the rest of the night, only to find him following attentively behind him. He’s looking at Yuri, expression… totally indecipherable to him for once, actually. It’s a rare occasion for him to have no idea what the old man is thinking.

“What?” he asks, eyebrow quirking. Raven simply smiles, wide and catlike.

“Oh, nothin’ important~” he sing-songs, taking over the lead in the moment Yuri pauses. “Honestly, I could do fine without your concern.”

Yuri scowls.

“Wrong again.” he says, moving to keep pace, their back-and-forth continuing until they arrive back at the inn, and the campfire their party has set up.

(He never does figure out what Raven’s expression had meant on that day, but when he finds the small laburnum branch tangled in his hair alongside the rhododendron the next morning, he quietly stows it away in the bottom of Karol’s bag, heart fluttering strangely in his chest)

-------------⇸

The speed at which Mantaic’s locals manage to throw the party together is honestly quite astounding.

The stalls of the inn concourse have cleared their tables of their wares, already starting to accumulate piles of local cuisine - barely an hour since the news of the Flynn Brigade’s arrival started to spread throughout the town, whispers abandoned in favour of joyous cries despite the extreme early hour, and already there’s a feast to rival one for a noble. People of all ages are wide awake and gleeful, even very young children who don’t fully understand what’s happening squealing with joy at seeing their parents’ and older siblings’ excitement.

The princess tries to help where she can (as always) - shakily carrying huge steaming pots to their directed positions, assisting in dragging tables out of homes to line the streets. Were Flynn not so busy tying up loose ends with the stragglers of the Cumore Brigade, Judith’s sure he’d be dancing around her like a mother hen. Instead, Karol and Rita have become his stand-ins, getting roped into helping themselves albeit minus Estelle’s unshakeable enthusiasm.

She’s glad everything turned out okay in the end. It had been with great unease that they’d all drifted off to sleep the night before, distressed at their powerlessness, their lack of time. Battling with the princess’s impulsivity had been hard, especially in the presence of her big round eyes and quivering lips, but a necessary evil. There really wasn’t anything they could’ve done. Judith remains firm in her belief - it would be impossible to rehabilitate a man like Cumore in jail. Even with the combined influence of Flynn and Estelle, the strength of their idealism and naïveté, a man as corrupt as he would never conform to concepts like morals and ethics. He would only change in death.

The man’s fall from grace, while certainly better than allowing him to run amok, does little to satisfy her in all honesty. The townspeople, however, just seem glad to be free of his clutches, regardless of the flaws in the Empire’s justice system. She can’t blame them really - she’s sure she’d feel the same in their shoes, the ever-lingering threat of death by dehydration or being eaten alive finally lifted from their shoulders.

She’s glad for the lifting of the tense air that had settled over their travelling party the night before. That there’s a smile on Estelle’s face again is good too. For the sake of the guild, nothing more , she scolds herself mentally, quashing the leap in her chest as the baby blues smile in her direction.

She finds herself counted as one of the old souls on this occasion; the small group who are extremely pleased for the turn of events and the freedom of the people, but are either too tired or consider themselves too uninvested to actually lend a hand. Raven is a regular to this group, fucked as his sleeping pattern is, and it doesn't surprise her as much as she thought it would that Patty too sits among them.

Yuri sitting back, however, is new.

Something is off with him. Something has been off with him since… well, certainly since their discovery of Cumore's little scheme. He’s never been the most talkative of their group, a man of relatively few words until it comes to snide jibes and teasing, or else rallying speeches to raise morale or call outs for something he perceives to be an injustice.

(She’d say he was self-righteous - but then, by that same line of thinking, isn’t she also?)

His usual quietude has never felt like this though - dense and oppressive like thunderclouds, holding a tension that, if referred to, threatens to strike like lightning, harsh and quick and painful. It’s possible he’d just slept badly, but she doubts it. She and Yuri are painfully alike at the best of times and in this, it seems, they continue to be.

Yes, for Yuri, the biggest champion of justice among them, to still be so tense, so incredibly on edge… It’s extremely telling.

The only one who seems to have noticed Yuri’s torment other than her (and his faithful pooch) is, of course, Raven. It’s no surprise - he’s always kept a close eye on Yuri, in the time she’s known them. She’d heard tell that the Don had taken an interest in Yuri when he’d met him, in a way usually foreign to him in regards to newcomers. Normally it would be years - years of hard work, of craft and contributions in the name of the guilds, for the man to so much as glance in your direction, let alone learn your name (understandably so for so busy and powerful a man). Yet Yuri had waltzed in and garnered his full attention in the space of a few hours, at best.

That Raven has clearly been instructed to stake him out, in addition to his apatheia hunt, feels natural. Less so is a good chunk of what he actually seems to be observing about Yuri - she’s sure the Don would much rather see a report on his fighting capabilities, his disposition, the flexibility of his morality in a pinch, than whatever he’s gleaning by staring at his back when he takes his shirt off, or watching the flow of his hair in the desert breeze.

(That is, however, a report she would quite like to read, if for nothing more than watching the burn of Raven’s ears at the request)

This morning, however, the eye he keeps on him is careful. Though the ever-present catlike smirk that plays over his lips remains, there’s something considering to his gaze - a scheme in the works but not those of his usual calibre. Nothing designed to rile Rita, fluster Estelle or make the kids laugh (though she’s sure if he can tie his usual goals into whatever he’s concocting then he certainly won’t shy away at the chance).

If she had to guess at his intentions, she’d have thought--

The blaring of a horn throws her suddenly from her train of thought - the celebrations are brought instantly into full swing by a makeshift band of passing guildsmen throwing their own contributions into the mix. Judith doesn’t consider herself a big listener of music, in all honesty, but she’d be hard pressed not to recognise the juxtaposed staccatos and legatos characteristic of Dahngrestian swing - while lesser known within Empire towns like this one, the style is famous the world over.

She hasn’t had many opportunities to join in with the festivities the guilds are known for throwing, where dancers step and twirl faster than the barkeeps can pour drinks (and really, isn’t that an impressive thought, considering the drinking culture in Dahngrest?) She’s bore witness to their local dancing customs only once or twice, and never within the heart of the city itself, and she knows with certainty that while her footwork on the battlefield might be immaculate, she has two left feet for dancing - would certainly never dare to attempt swing. She has great sympathy for the townsfolk who, while enraptured by the melody, feet tapping along jovially, seem as though they don’t know quite what to do with it.

Altosk’s second, on the other hand, is ecstatic. He barks a delighted laugh that startles Patty, almost jostling her from the table she’s perched upon, and finally momentarily draws Yuri from his reverie. She watches, amused, as he throws Yuri’s grumpy, inquisitive look a wink before springing to his feet.

“Hey, kid!” he calls, flagging Karol down as he heads to the middle of the concourse. Their illustrious guild master looks up from the mabo curry bun he’s attempting to swallow whole, wide-eyed. Raven grins, crooked and gummy in a way she’s come to associate with his mischief.

“Why don’t we show these lovely folks how it’s done, as thanks for their hospitality?”

Karol is practically vibrating at the concept. In a flash he’s pulling off his gloves and whipping his bag over his head, dumping the pile in Rita’s lap (eliciting, of course, an incredibly over the top yelp of annoyance). He scarfs down the remnants of the bun as he hops over the table he’s sat at, scampering over to Raven in a manner that does nothing to hide his enthusiasm.

“You better not stand all over my feet, Raven!” he calls as he draws closer, face pulling into a pout that doesn’t quite ring true. The noise Raven makes in response is rather like that of a strangled cat.

“The nerve o’ kids these days!” he bemoans, pinching his sinuses with a shake of his head. “I’ll have you know yours truly is the pride of Altosk! Ya won’t find a better dancer in all o’ Dahngrest, not even the Don himself!”

“Uhu, suuuure. ” Karol drawls, disbelieving, as he comes to a stop by his side.

It’s as he does that Raven ducks his head close to the boy, hand a shield to cover whatever he says. His words are inaudible, but if Karol’s terrible attempts at hiding his furtive glances in Yuri’s direction are anything to go by, Judith would have to guess it’s something about whatever Raven’s scheming for Brave Vesperia’s second.

The band seems to catch wind of their plans, slowing the jaunty tune down to allow the two to begin. Karol dusts his hands off on his trousers bashfully, ridding himself of any remnants of curry, before taking Raven’s hand in his. Their movements start off slow and creeping, almost unnatural to watch, but it quickly becomes apparent to her that they’re motions meant to teach rather than for actual dancing - an enunciated display of footwork for the surrounding beginners as they take their time to get a feel for each other as dance partners.

And then, Raven taking Karol’s waist, they begin in earnest. Movements still slow, but now fluid as water, they begin to turn around one another in the style she vaguely recognises, and while she knows nothing about dancing, it’s clear that they’re extremely good. They match each other's timing perfectly, not a step out of place, and she could believe they were gliding if not for the dust their footsteps kick up.

Karol is good, of course, especially for a kid of his age (she wonders idly if he might’ve had a brief foray in a dancing guild, prior to joining the Hunting Blades), but Raven is really something else. She’s never seen a man able to move his hips in such a way, sashaying in a way that’s frankly a little hypnotising - if she thought he were truly interested in her, then this’d definitely be enough to make her begin to consider his earlier flirtations more seriously. It’s frankly criminal, she thinks, that his trousers and jacket do so much to obscure his ass.

As they become more comfortable, they begin to ramp it up a little - they take it in turns to twirl one another, alternating between wide sweeping arcs, Raven displaying his extreme flexibility to twist beneath Karol’s arm, to fast tight twirls that almost remind her of Rita’s casting motions. For these, Karol spins so quickly she’s surprised he doesn’t completely lose balance and land face first in the dirt. Instead he simply laughs jovially, really getting into the spirit of it and losing himself to the music. Raven’s responding smile is fond, like a father watching their kid, and she could almost believe they’ve both forgotten about their ulterior motives, if not for how Raven keeps glancing in their direction every other time he’s facing their way.

It’s as Estelle drags Rita out to join them, accompanied by a group of the locals, that Judy feels something ugly snare her heart and promptly takes the opportunity to cast a considering glance instead to Patty and Yuri. The smaller is bouncing where she sits, gleefully watching the dancers - she seems antsy to join in, if only she could find a spare partner who wouldn’t accidentally crush her.

Yuri surprises her - while he might not be completely out of his funk, he’s watching more attentively than she previously expected. She gazes at him curiously for a while as he leans his head on his hand, watching the Dahngrestian pair’s increasing frenzy. Karol’s giggles are near constant, and Raven’s been infected by his happiness, laughing obnoxiously himself. The creases of Yuri’s eyes tighten, even as the rest of his face fails to emote, as his eyes seem to lock on Raven’s face and stay there. She smiles.

“Ahem.” she coughs, sharp and decidedly fake. Yuri and Patty both are startled away from the party, turning to her. She raises her eyebrows pointedly at the former, coy smirk rising to her lips. His eyes widen in response, as Patty turns confusedly to look at him, before he flusters, turning away from the party entirely. She laughs.

It’s at that moment that Karol comes spinning towards them, hand freed from Raven’s grasp at last. His smile is blinding, and he’s struggling to catch his breath, but he still seems to be full of energy as Raven follows behind him.

“Patty, you probably know a bit of swing, right?” he asks her, real question thinly veiled by his proffered hand.

She’s a clever lass, though. “Hah! Of course I do, matey!” she declares, grabbing it firmly and pulling him back out into the street.

Raven watches them go fondly, before turning to her. With a flourish, he bows to her, graceful as a knight but with none of the prim and proper charm.

“Judy, my darlin’, could I convince ya to honour ol’ Raven with a dance?”

His eyes never leave hers as he asks, gaze sharp and lacking all pretense of genuine flirting.

Ah, so that’s his game is it?

“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly!” she declares exaggeratedly, hand to her chest. “Not when Yuri so clearly wants to instead!”

The effect is instant. She barely has time to note the twitch of Yuri’s ears at the sound of his name before his head whips around to look at them.

“Hu- what?”

Raven springs back upright, throwing his hand up to clutch at his own chest.

“Yuri, darlin’, if you wanted to dance with me then all you had to do was say so! No need to make Judy do all yer dirty work for ya!”

He closes the gap between them in a matter of steps, as Yuri’s face grows more panicked by the second.

“Wh-- no, what?! Judy, no, I can’t dance , JU--!!”

She smiles as Raven takes him by the hand and tugs him away. Yuri’s expression reminds her of a bunwigle, caught unaware in the middle of the night, backed into a corner with no escape. It’s incredibly endearing, and certainly a nice change from the faux-apathy he’s been stewing in.

As they move away she watches as Raven’s expression transforms from mischievous to something more careful, considerate. He doesn’t guide Yuri to the middle of the crowd as she’d expected, where their friends spin with reckless abandon, but instead to a quieter area of the dancing space. Yuri seems just as confused as she feels, more than likely expecting Raven to have humiliated him with his lack of skill. They’re far enough away that whatever the older man says to reassure him is lost to her, but he smiles and takes Yuri’s hands gently.

Her heart swells at the careful way Raven teaches him, easily pulls him out of his darker thoughts and concentrates his mind on something else. Yuri doesn’t strike her as the sort to let himself be taken care of, but she doubts he even realises that’s what’s happening - probably sees it instead as some sort of challenge. It’s nice. She might not have known him long, but she feels close to him in a way she hasn’t felt with another person for… a good ten years, she’d wager. She’d forgotten what it felt like, to see good things happen to someone you care about.

He trips over Raven’s feet often, but Raven doesn’t let him get self-conscious about it - instead exaggeratedly pretending to trip himself in a way that allows Yuri to chip in and tease him. When there’s one failed attempt too many and Yuri attempts to break away, he simply pulls him back in, closer, and looks him in the eyes.

(She feels a little bad for still watching, personal and intimate as the moment is becoming, but it’s hard to find anything else interesting at this point)

“What is it I always say when I’m fightin’, Yuri?” she can just about hear the old man say over the wail of the trombone.

Yuri’s tone is monotonous, even as his face starts to rise into an affectionate smirk.

“‘Ooo, eee, ow, my back hurts?’” he says, quirked eyebrow a dead giveaway for his bullying. He receives a light slap to his arm for his trouble that leaves him laughing openly in a way she… hasn’t actually seen from him in the time she’s known him.

Huh.

“That it’s just like dancin’, ya dolt!” he says. He laces their fingers carefully before starting to move once more through the basic steps. “You’ll see what I mean before long.”

After a few more failed attempts, Yuri finally starts to figure it out. He still steps on Raven’s toes more often than not, but it’s to be expected for a newbie in the face of a dance as rapid as swing - she’s quite impressed at how fast he’s picked it up in all honesty. He’s already doing a damned sight better than Rita, whose motions are still awkward and stiff as she’s twirled by Estelle (though she looks to be having the time of her life, in spite of it).

They look very sweet together, in all honesty. It’s the most she’s seen either of them relax in front of other people - Yuri’s snark is quickly abandoned as he starts to really get into the swing of it, and most of Raven’s jokes and teasing go along with it. They’re just a couple of normal guys in their own little world, dancing together beneath the rising sun, looking genuinely happy for once. Watching them laughing together, she finds her own spirits raised too, even as she continues to sit to one side like a wallflower.

And she’s glad she did. If she hadn’t, she’d have missed out on this potentially one-time-only sight of Yuri’s carefree smile. Would’ve never seen the sudden change in Yuri’s demeanor as he looks up at Raven mid-spin, eyes widening, before his expression becomes suddenly raw.

He’s not watching his feet at all any more - he’s just going with the flow, and reading Raven’s movements and they’re incredibly in sync to say Yuri has all of 10 minutes of experience. It’s strange to think it, but he seems to be having fun , doing something other than fighting, even despite his mess ups.  Yuri’s uncharacteristically crooked smile, as his eyes never leave Raven’s, is blindingly beautiful, and piques her curiosity.

Before today, when she’d seen the admiring glances the Raven had sent his way, she’d have thought he was barking up the completely wrong tree. Now though (although she doubts Yuri’s realised the way he’s starting to look at the old man) she’s really not so sure.

Then the moment is gone.

Behind her, she hears him. Flynn, barking orders to his brigade, accompanied by the protests of the now-bound followers of Cumore. And in that exact instant, Yuri stops stock-still. Raven goes crashing into him, frantically apologising and trying to check he’s okay, but it’s as though he isn’t there. Yuri just stares past her to Flynn, eyes wide and unseeing but… terrified , if she had to take a guess.

She can hear Raven call to him as he slips his hands free from his grip, and he looks up glancingly. He mutters something, what she can only imagine is some excuse, or a few words of apology, before he’s stalking off towards the inn and shutting the door behind him briskly.

Raven, standing alone and off to one side, looks very small in that instant. Like he doesn’t know quite where he went wrong, what he could’ve possibly done differently.

Perhaps, just this once, she can take pity on him. After all, if there’s anyone who can fix her left feet…

Standing and smoothing down her skirts, she heads over to him, taking his hand, and he startles. His big blue eyes look up at her, puppy-like, and it’s like Estelle the night before all over again. She sighs, already regretting her question before she asks.

“Is the offer still open?”

He smiles. Solemn. But it’s a start.

me, age 12: haha yeah raven blatantly has a thing for yuri and i love them together, but i guess there isn't much to imply yuri likes him back huh me, age 24, seeing the 'Happy Birthday' skit for the first time and learning the Very Specific Age Gap between Yuri and his first ever crush: a

ftr no one in the vesperia party is cishet no i will not take questions

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom 8-13 thoughts! again, under the cut bc I blew through 6 episodes in one go...

-LOVE THE WAY THE GHOST ZONE LOOKS. but theres fucking ghost cops??? ghost jail??? that SUCKS imagine dying and going to jail in your AFTERLIFE. danny going to JAIL WAS NOT something I expected. but seeing all the enemies together and work with danny to bust out. SO ICONIC I love that actually. and the thing about real world stuff acting as ghosts in the ghost zone is very cool.

-'there are some things more important that hunting ghosts!' mrs fenton says, about her husband forgetting their anaversary (FOR THE 18TH YEAR IN A ROW?? CHRIST) and not about, idk, their son clearly freaked out. she didnt even notice he was gone into the ghost zone!!! he might be a bad husband BUT shes not the best mom. they suck and I don't care about their relationship problems I care about these kids. danny doing his best to clean the house to keep his mom from getting mad at his dad?? hes such a good boy I want to cry, this is not his place, his dad should be cleaning his own shit up!!!

-maddie's butch lesbian sister is living my best life in her lil cabin. also being a snarky bitch to jack. queen. and her getting a 10th anniversary of her divorce. LOVE IT.

-mr. lancer being a cheerleader in his younger years makes perfect sense to me. king shit.

-dr. spectra's cat ears/mullet hairstyle?? sooo cute. I also just love the concept of a ghost just. sucking out people's positivity and feeding on emotions. a great villain. she put danny in a fucking diaper what the FUCK. and keeping it cold so no one would suspect shes a ghost??? INCREDIBLE. and her gay little blob sidekick. wlw mlm evil solidarity.

-JAZZ FOCUSED EP. YEAAAH!!! her first thought when she saw the ghosts was like 'omg i gotta tell danny :)' and her going to the teacher and also councilor trying to get help for him...shes just 16 but shes trying so hard to help him out :( watching this when youre younger I can imagine ppl are like omg annoying!! but watching this when im older im just like :( jazz baby im SO sorry </3 SHE BODIED THAT GHOST THOUGH. and the fact she didnt tell danny she knew surprised me. like, shes patient and waiting on him to tell her when hes ready!! thats so so sweet.

-christ the parents talking about 'PEELING IT LIKE AN ONION. AND EXAMINING REMAINS' of ghosts RIGHT INFRONT OF DANNY.

-'why am i so depressed and angry all the time!!' DANNY YOURE 14. i mean it IS a ghost this time, but...

-579$ top?? VALERIE NO ITS NOT EVEN CUTE IT DOESNT EVEN GO WITH THAT OUTFIT AAAA. tho this ep is called shades of gray..VALERIE FOCUSED EP FINALLY????! *THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE* I already knew about red huntress from my redesigns, but I didn't exactly know what that entails or how/why, so, it's fun to see the Origins.

-ghost pubby! ghost pubby!!!!! why is the dog a ghost?? the implication that the company had guard dogs and got rid of them...what did they DO. is it just the unfinished business?? of not having that toy it was looking for?? god I hope so.

I feel SOOO bad for valerie tho, my god. her friends are shunning her for what, because her dad lost her job and she had to move??? horrible. (and the fact the dog wrecked the moving van too...) I also love how 'from wisconsin' on the package was an IMMEDIATE RED FLAG FOR ME. WISCONSIN=EVIL NOW. vlads so petty.

-it took valerie like 5 mins to get the hang of hunting ghosts and shes already a much bigger threat than his parents tbh. who've been trying and studying this for years. and a more valid reason <3 love her shes so cute and cool. new daughter alert.

-'i should do SOMETHING to help valerie' no shit danny???

-'who is that, awesome outfit!' -top gay sam moments. i was going to say. before it immediately cuts to sam kissing danny LMFAOOO. don't think I like that, it puts tucker in a weird third wheel position... the next ep involves them holding hands and blushing when danny's cold...URGH No. not a fan ngl. the trope of 'if theres a girl in a trio she has to end up with one of the two guys!!'

-right as I say that they take it to extremes!! and ember shoots him with a love ray gun that makes him OBSESSIVE OVER SAM. AND SHE TAKES HIS HANDS AND SAYS 'YOU DONT FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT ME, I DONT FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT YOU' and her saying she doesnt want to be together like this. and tucker saying 'i always knew you two would get together!!' dont manifest it tucker please. the show pushing for it so hard makes me not want it KSHKJKJD I KNOW its probably canon. it sucks though. im a hater.

-vlad just LURKING AROUND THE SCHOOL GIVING VALERIE GIFTS ASJKDHKJ YOU WEIRD PETTY OLD MAN GO HOME!!!

-EMBERRRRR YOU WILL REMEMBERRRRRR . this is the one thing I kinda remember from when I was a kid EMBERRRRR ilu. top 10 cartoon bops. sams being a hater. popular things are popular for a reason. mr. lancer also being a hater. also everyone wearing her color scheme ..its a really good look, the purple, black, and minty color...

-penguins exist in the ghost zone. confirmed.

-EMBER JUST SHOWING UP AT A RANDOM HIGHSCHOOL TO PLAY?? UNANNOUNCED, MID DAY??? girl get a tour schedule. make some money or smth damn. I know shes probably doing it for the power boost but. lord. anyway if your show doesnt have a concert scene/ep, is it even valid.

-fellas is this gay. (she uses a GRAPPLING HOOK TO SHOOT OUT THE WINDOW AFTER SEEING AN EMBER VAN GO BY RIGHT AFTER THIS SHOT)

-hey, she had an undercut at some point!! my redesign!!! was accurate!! in..a way

-I feel like danny has a lot of pent up aggression ngl, him being heartbroken about sam and immediately going IM GONNA GO TAKE IT OUT ON EMBER. I mean she needs to be stopped I guess But. jazz has the right idea he needs therapy and a HEALTHY outlet.

-tucker singing > my singing

-girls cant be gamers -tucker and danny sexist moments. her being chaos in the game OWNED.

-TUCKERS HAT IS A BERET??? I THOUGHT IT WAS A BEANIE. SAM CALLED IT A BERET. WH.

-it was actually nice of lancer to let danny retake the test, and he go to play games again. smh. epic cringe gamer moments compilation. and driving him home!!! I actually like him as a character. anyway teachers like lancer are SO appreciated. I was failing middle school because of mental problems, and felt so dumb and got embarrassed by teachers who would just get onto me instead of bothering to ask what the real problem was, but when I was taking my ged classes I had a wonderful teacher who kept reassuring me that I was smart, and I got honors!! danny is SUCH a little shit to him (understandable, 14, but) but seeing them getting along better and danny putting in effort. SO CUTE. THATS MY SON, STUDYING HARD!!!! and being so PROUD OF HIMSELF!!! 91!!! BITCH!!! A- is STILL AN A!!!

-'why dont they ever realize thats me in a dress' mr lancer i am CRYING. i realized.

-technus being my ghost grandpa who cant game asking tucker for help. bless his heart. his out of date old ppl lingo circles back to being endearing <3 tucker not recognizing him despite the like, lack of any kind of serious disguise...I do love their lil in-game outfits....sam being the tank rules. I like technus' spider design also. more characters need to be giant freaky spiders, imo.

-finding your gf a new host because she cant maintain her ghost body outside the zone? amazing. using jazz as the host? ILL KILL YOU. jazz immediately accepting a ride home from a guy she just met and letting him know where she lives. letting him IN THE HOUSE??? nooo girl no lets use common sense </3

-sooo cringe the parents were like 'good job for spying on your sister' tho wtffff. doesnt matter if hes a bad guy, thats fucked. everytime these parents BREATHE im like. these are MY kids now <3

-BAD LUCK BEING A THEME OF THE 13TH EPISODE. thats super fun. johnny 13 being his name is so. iconic. your last name is a NUMBER? also goth tucker. I actually love the look. everyone looks good goth. 'the ladies love the eyeliner and onyx nail polish' sam you are sooo right every man needs to at least try those two things. im a lesbian and I agree. same, danny, your bff is gnc af

-LOVE kitty's design. and just, the concept of a ghost with a bike. couple goals, except yes stay away from jazz.

[riotwritesthings]

When is a bed not a bed? (When you’re not in it)

WinterIron, T, 2.7k, crack, bedsharing, pining | AO3

Dear @hddnone​, I hear you like bed sharing fic. I also like bed sharing fic, and I ADORE your work and also you. So here’s this. I wrote it in a night I never do that who even am i. As always, thanks to Stella for title assistance.

-

“I take it back,” Tony calls out the open doorway, “this safe house is not well stocked, they forgot one very important thing.”

Bucky appears in the doorway a second later, looks around the small bedroom, and then fixes Tony with an unimpressed look.

“There’s only one bed,” Tony says slowly, in case Bucky somehow missed it, but Bucky just shrugs. And of course it’s not a problem for him, he’s not the one uselessly pining away like a character in an old timey romance novel.

“So you take it,” Bucky says, “I hardly sleep anyways.” Then he turns to leave, like that’s just the end of the conversation.

“That is not the end of this conversation!” Tony says, following him back out into the equally tiny living room.

-

Turns out, that is the end of the conversation. For about three days.

For three nights, Tony tosses and turns on the lumpy single mattress, feeling ridiculously guilty even though it had been Bucky’s idea to sleep on the tiny moldy couch. He also has to keep listing out all the reasons in his head that he shouldn’t invite Bucky to come share the bed with him, laws of physics be damned.

Like the fact that it took long enough for Bucky to be comfortable around them all anyways, especially around Tony, and the last thing Tony wants to do is screw that up. Especially because he would almost, tentatively, say that he and Bucky are friends now, and it’s not like Bucky wants more than that, why would he? It’s Tony.

Tony doesn’t sleep very well, is the point.

-

On the fourth night, Tony puts his foot down. “Your turn with the bed,”’ he says after their nightly meal of tasteless canned meat, “little piece of advice, it does slope to the right, so be careful not to roll off.”

“No,” Bucky says eloquently.

“Yes,” Tony shoots back, then twists sideways on the couch and starts kicking Bucky in the hip as he says “go on, get out of my new bed, some of us need our beauty sleep.”

Bucky moves not at all except to grab one of Tony’s ankles. “I told you, I don’t need-“

“This is purely selfish,” Tony interrupts him with a bright grin, “that bed is terrible, okay, every inch of me hurts and I’m hoping this couch is better. Have fun with the torture bed.”

Bucky gives him a suspicious look, but slowly rises from the couch and heads for the bedroom. He doesn’t shut the door behind him, and Tony listens with satisfaction as the old bed frame creaks under Bucky’s weight.

The couch smells terrible. Tony is kind of tempted to hold his breath until he passes out, because for a while that seems like the only way he’s getting to sleep. But he feels way less guilty, and it's way less tempting to go crawl into the bed with Bucky. That would just be rude.

Eventually, Tony manages to get past the smell and the lumps and the way the one tiny window rattles in the lightest of breezes, and actually falls asleep. He wakes up in the bed, blankets neatly tucked in around him.

“Are you kidding me, you stubborn bastard?!” Tony demands as he storms into the living room.

“What happened?” Bucky asks, smiling innocently at him over a can of peaches.

“This isn’t over,” Tony tells him, very seriously, and then, “I was saving those peaches!”

-

On the fifth night, Tony comes out of the bathroom to find Bucky pretending to already be asleep on the couch.

“Bucky,” Tony says, standing over him, hands on his hips, and then continues saying it until Bucky finally squints an eye open at him. “Bucky,” Tony says, as reasonably as he can, “go get in the fucking bed.”

“I slept in the bed last night,” Bucky says and oh, Tony can absolutely see the smirk trying to break free from behind Bucky’s flat expression.

“You most certainly did not,” Tony says and he can’t help a small huff of laughter, because he has to respect the dedication.

“Agree to disagree,” Bucky says, shrugging one shoulder, and then closes his eyes again.

“I do not agree to that,” Tony says, “and I will stand here all night to make a point, don’t think I won’t.”

Bucky peeks his eyes open again, and Tony raises one eyebrow at him.

Falling asleep on the couch is at least easier the second time, but halfway through the night Tony wakes up in bed again.

“Damnit Bucky!” He shouts, struggling and failing to break free of the blankets tucked tightly around him.

“I’m sleeping!” Bucky shouts back, and Tony is pretty sure he can hear a smothered laugh. It’s unfair, really, that the sound of it has Tony’s heart beating just a little faster.

“The hell you are,” Tony grumbles, and falls back asleep before he can work up the energy to free himself and go kick Bucky off the couch again.

-

On the seventh morning, Tony wakes up to Bucky looming above him.

“What th’ fuck, Tony,” he demands, sounding something almost like plaintive.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Tony says brightly, feeling incredibly smug despite the way his entire body aches from sleeping on the ground.

”Mornin’, angel,” Bucky says flatly, “why aren’t you in th’ damn bed?”

“You can keep putting me in the bed, but you can’t make me sleep in it,” Tony says sagely, steepling his fingers beneath his chin.

“I can tie you t’ the bed,” Bucky growls, and Tony is incredibly thankful he managed to pull the blankets down with him because hello.

Tony can’t help the way he immediately responds by smirking wide and wiggling his eyebrows, he really can’t. It’s just instinct.

Bucky rolls his eyes and stomps out of the room.

“I’m counting this as a win,” Tony calls after him.

“I’m eatin’ your powdered eggs,” Bucky calls back. Like that’s any kind of a threat.

-

So it continues like that, they have nothing to do during the day except hurry up and wait, and there’s only so many times Bucky can clean his guns and sharpen his knives, only so many times Tony can tear apart the toaster and put it back together. At least fighting over the bed gives them something to do.

Tony would even dare to say that Bucky is enjoying the game, too. Especially on the eighth night, when Tony wakes up just as he’s being gently lowered to the mattress, decides to aggressively throw himself out of the bed, and nearly brains himself on the nightstand. Bucky laughs so hard he nearly collapses and Tony seizes the moment of opportunity, almost crawls all the way out of the room before Bucky grabs him by the foot and drags him back.

On the ninth night, when Tony tries to roll out of bed, he gets tangled in the sheets and ends up pinned awkwardly to the side of the mattress and has to yell for Bucky to come free him. Bucky stumbles in looking sleepy and smug, so gorgeous that Tony almost does something incredibly stupid. Like tell him that.

No matter where Tony falls asleep, on the couch, on the scratchy rug in front of the empty fireplace, on the kitchen table just to make a point, he always wakes up in bed. He doesn’t even stir when Bucky moves him, most of the time, and that’s as endearing as it is terrifying.

After the tenth night stuck in the tiny safe house, things start to get weird.

-

“Bucky,” Tony calls pitifully, and waits a full minute before continuing with “frosty, sweetheart, light of my life, oh kind and generous angel, would you please get in here already.”

Bucky finally appears in the doorway and Tony knows he took so long on purpose, this house isn’t that big. “What’s up, sugar?” Bucky asks and he’s trying to hide his smirk behind his coffee mug but Tony can absolutely see it in his eyes.

“Not much, just one little thing really,” Tony says pleasantly, and then flails his entire body as hard as he can. It accomplishes not a goddamn thing, because the blankets on the bed are all tucked in so tightly that Tony might as well be in a straight jacket.

Bucky chokes on his mouthful of coffee, clearly trying not to laugh, and good, Tony hopes it went up his nose. Bucky doesn’t actually move to help him though, just stays leaning against the doorframe and grinning.

“Bucky,” Tony says again, putting on his best puppy dog eyes.

“Darlin’,” Bucky says back, smiling sweetly. When Tony continues to stare him down, he takes a slow, obnoxious sip of his coffee before asking “what’s up?”

Tony attempts to flail again, then demands “would you just get over here, what the fuck, did you staple these sheets in place?!”

“Had to make sure you didn’t go anywhere,” Bucky says, completely unapologetic, but finally moves to free him.

“You’re a bad, bad man,” Tony tells him, already plotting how he’s going to steal the mug of coffee Bucky left on the nightstand.

“Whatever you say, doll.”

-

Tony wakes up slung over Bucky’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Disappointing,” Tony tells the small of Bucky’s back, “I always imagined you carried me like a delicate princess.”

“Not when it’s the third time tonight,” Bucky grumbles, voice low and sleep rough in a way that does things to Tony, “would you just stay in th’ fuckin’ bed.”

“You sleep in the bed,” Tony replies, “and leave me in peace.”

“You can’t sleep in th’ bathtub,” Bucky says heartlessly and drops him onto the bed, surprisingly gentle.

“I argue that I was sleeping in the bathtub just fine,” Tony points out.

Bucky yanks the pillow out from under his head and shoves it in his face.

-

“Are you serious right now?” Bucky asks, leaning heavily against the doorframe, his hair in his face and his eyes still mostly closed.

Tony freezes in the act of building a Tony-shaped lump of pillows under the blankets. “No?” He tries.

Bucky glares at him until Tony shamefully un-builds the Tony-shaped lump and crawls back under the blankets himself.

-

On the fourteenth night, Tony has a new plan. It’s not a good plan, but it is new, and considering how stir crazy he is that’s about the best Tony can do.

He’s pretty sure Bucky is already awake when he stumbles into the living room, so Tony just heads straight for the couch and throws himself down on top of Bucky. It’s super awkward, because Bucky is curled up on his side to fit on the tiny couch, and Tony definitely ends up with a metal elbow somewhere around his spleen.

“What th’ fuck, doll,” Bucky slurs out, and maybe he hadn’t been quite as awake as Tony had thought.

“I want the couch,” Tony says, “I don’t care where you sleep. Although I should point out that the bed is empty, so you might as well use it.”

“What the fuck,” Bucky says again. He tries to shift, probably because Tony’s knees have to be digging into his legs, and it would probably send Tony tumbling to the ground if not for Bucky’s other arm snapping up to wrap around him.

“Give in and surrender the couch,” Tony says, like Bucky isn’t the only thing keeping him from face planting into the ground.

“Why are you like this?” Bucky asks with a heavy sigh, and in one smooth move manages to push himself to his feet while simultaneously slinging Tony up into a bridal carry. He smirks when Tony makes a couple nonsense noises and asks “happy now, princess?’

“Thrilled,” Tony says with as much sarcasm as he can manage, but it still comes out entirely too honest as Bucky starts carrying him back towards the bedroom.

“Why won’t you jus’ stay in th’ damn bed,” Bucky asks and oh, apparently he actually wants an answer to that.

Tony ran out of reasonable excuses about two days ago, so he blurts out “I feel guilty hogging it.”

Bucky rolls his eyes, but there’s a warm smile hovering around the corners of his mouth as he says “told you I don’t want it.”

“Oh, well if you told me,” Tony says with an eye-roll of his own, because really, it’s like Bucky doesn’t know him at all. Bucky does huff out a soft laugh, so maybe he does, but still, Tony has a point to prove. As soon as Bucky sets him down oh-so-gently on the bed, Tony leaps into action and tries to throw himself over Bucky’s shoulder towards the door.

“Damnit Tony,” Bucky snaps, but he’s shaking with suppressed laughter as he catches Tony around the waist and tries to toss him back down onto the bed. “Shit,” he swears again as Tony gets his arms around Bucky’s shoulders and clings for all he’s worth, “sweet thing, would you just- fuck, Tony-“

At some point in the ensuing scuffle, in which Bucky tries very hard to set him down and Tony tries very hard to not let that happen, Tony’s heel collides with the back of Bucky’s knee. It knocks Bucky just enough off balance that they both go tumbling down onto the bed and the frame groans dangerously.

It also knocks all the air out of Tony’s lungs when Bucky lands heavily on top of him, and after a second Tony manages to wheeze out “tell my bots... they failed me.”

“Tha’s fucked up,” Bucky says with another soft laugh. Then he wiggles one arm under Tony, says “hold on,” and proceeds to somehow roll them both over without rolling straight off the bed. “I hope you’re proud of yourself,” Bucky says, dropping his head back and even managing to land on the pillow, “you’re makin’ this so difficult.”

“I am proud of myself,” Tony says, face smashed against Bucky’s chest and eyes already falling closed, “‘cause that’s what I do.” Honestly, Bucky is about as lumpy as the mattress, in terms of laying-on, but in much better ways. And he’s so warm, and his arm still draped around Tony’s waist feels so nice, there’s not a damn thing Tony can do to stop himself from drifting off.

“Are... are you falling asleep on me?” Bucky asks, and there’s something in his voice that Tony can’t quite place. Maybe he can figure it out later, when he’s awake.

“No,” Tony says, and then passes the fuck out.

-

On the fifteenth night, Tony falls asleep on the couch and wakes up sprawled out on top of Bucky on the tiny bed, both of Bucky’s arms wrapped tight around his back.

“‘S this your dastardly plan to keep me in bed?” Tony asks, not bothering to lift his face from where it’s tucked so nicely into the curve of Bucky’s throat.

“Worked last night,” Bucky says, voice more of a low rumble than anything, and tightens his hold just a little.

“You fiend,” Tony says, and falls back asleep.

-

On the sixteenth morning, Tony wakes up still sprawled out on top of Bucky, drooling on him a little, Bucky’s fingers running through his hair. They don’t fight over the couch, after that.

-

It’s another three goddamn days before someone finally comes to pick them up, and they share the very last can of peaches to celebrate.

“Am I gonna have to worry ‘bout finding you sleepin’ on the kitchen table still?” Bucky asks with a small grin that still manages to light up his whole face.

Tony takes his table to think about his answer, sucks the last of the sugary, corn-syrupy fruit juice off his fork. Takes stock of the way Bucky watches him do it. Considers. Runs the odds. Decides to take his chances.

“I think you’ve learned there’s really only one way to be sure,” Tony says, raising one eyebrow and even letting a nervous little smile show on his face.

Bucky’s grin widens slowly, and then it’s a full on smile, nearly splitting his face and Tony can’t take it anymore. When Tony kisses him Bucky tastes sugary sweet and he still won’t stop smiling, even as he pulls Tony in closer.

Tony really doesn’t mind.

[wildestheart4ever]

More Jamie Rogers content, cause I was reminiscing the existence of my little steggy goober. So I wanted to explore what his relationships with the Avengers are like: 

Steve and Peggy Rogers: Both Steve and Peggy struggle with the notions of parenthood [Steve never met his father, and Peggy had a complicated relationship with her mother], and both fear failing their little pride and joy in any way. Especially with their very time consuming careers. 

Steve is seemingly the more indulgent parent, he likes to spoil his son to a degree, give Jamie everything he never had the chance to get during his own childhood. Jamie and Steve share a love for baseball, and Steve is painstakingly teaching the boy the sport.....he makes it a point to tell others not to judge him when he does it in the suit [considering they all saw the ball he took to his man bits, they refrain from commenting]. 

Though both are protective, Peggy has been quietly dubbed “Momma bear”, given her penchant for using random blunt objects to club threats in the face when they present themselves as a threat to her child [there’s a tally chart, it’d be funny how many marks she has if it wasn’t so disconcerting].  

Dodger: Steve got Jamie a dog the third year after the snap, felt like his son might need a companion and would keep him busy while Steve was occupied with work [Especially during the times Nat would be occupied with the remaining Avengers]. They pass most of that time playing ball 

Sam Wilson: Now when Jamie first meets Sam, he’s hanging off Steve’s back [in one of those carriers] and just watching and waving back at the guy trying to keep with his dad. Of course he likes him instantly, cause the dude is nice and funny and put a big smile on Steve’s face [Not many others besides his mum can do that], and kept him company while Steve was hospitalized before Peggy got back.

Probably first on the list of people he’d be comfortable with being left alone with. Besides aunt Nat that is.

Admittedly, Sam’s first thought at meeting Jamie was “So this is the result of a child raised by a greatest generation couple in the 21st century”. He’s spent his free time with the kid with Steve, teaching Jamie how to play baseball for one [Though the following severe sympathy pain once a ball hit Steve’s man bits had Sam a little more cautious when playing with a boy with super strength], he looks at the boy with fondness and amusement [and exasperation, once finding out Natasha had successfully taught the boy how to play poker].

He got kinda teary eyed upon their return to find a quiet colt legged preteen with a resting bitch face to outmatch Barnes’ crying his eyes out into his mother’s shoulder, instead of an cheerful open smiled child. In his defense, everyone’s hearts were collectively broken.

Natasha Romanov: She wasn’t much considered “Aunt Nat” before the events of DC [she, Steve and Peggy seemed more on the friendly co-workers status before that]. Jamie thinks she’s cool tho, and she gives him sweets no matter how many times it exasperates his parents. At eleven, she’s pretty much the only other permanent fixture in his life, and one he is not intent on losing. 

Now given Natasha’s experience with Clint’s kids, she’s not all that clueless and awkward when interacting with Jamie. She amused herself with buying him Captain America onesies during his infancy, and sometimes watches him when both Peggy and Steve are occupied [I’m guessing SHIELD sanctioned nannies are only offered when missions are concerned].  

Nat lives on and continues being the awesome aunt in his life, and that’s that.

Bucky Barnes: When Jamie was first brought in to meet his elusive namesake, the two did not quite know what to make of each other, Jamie thought the man looked very tired and sad. He still remembers Bucky from their brief interaction following Hydra’s exposure, and he’s joyed to find the man a bit more talkative than the first time around.

Bucky was still baffled by the notion of Steve having kids at all [The fact Peggy survived along side Steve is still another thing he’s trying to wrap his mind around, what’s reckless self sacrificial x2?]. He still gets chills at the thought of their first encounter, and doesn’t like delving into what exactly he was thinking when he saw the boy the first time around. He refuses to take bait to Sam’s teasing on the fact lil Jamie thought he was a cursed prince waiting for true love’s kiss.

Given time - and a lot of it spent in each other’s company when the others are out on secret missions -, Jamie and Bucky taken a shine on the other. Bucky and Sam may have been a bit competitive on who’s Jamie’s favorite [It’s Nat]

Thor: Now Jamie didn’t get much of an opportunity to get to know Thor, so despite his outgoing and precocious nature, the boy is a little timid when it comes to the large alien. 

Thor finds the boy endearing and [jokingly] swears loyalty to him upon the day Jamie becomes a warrior himself and looks forward to fighting by his side. Nothing like reminding the mortals around you of their short lifespan, eh? 

Bruce Banner: Another fellow Jamie hardly interacts with. He finds the man twitchy and shy, and goes about interacting with him like he were interacting with smth fragile. By the time of the five year skip and he’s a little more sure of his interactions with the man, he a bit weirded out by the man’s.....new development [He finds himself staring quite a lot, despite his father’s scolding]

Bruce - upon being introduced the a fragile two year old - takes to interacting with Jamie with as much care as the boy bestows upon him. He finds him less stressing and loud than one would expect of a toddler, and sometimes wants to toe the line where Jamie is persistently keeping himself in quiet mode, where he can hopefully find a friendly middle ground. 

Tony Stark: Jamie isn’t that big of a fan of Tony, the man mostly keeps to his own thing so it’s not like he sees much of him to begin with. Whenever he is in the same room with Stark, the man either pretends he’s not there...or just really focused in his attempts in aggravating Steve

After the snap, it’s plain to say the boy is not fond of Stark. He lost nearly everyone that ever mattered to him, including his mother, and Stark is just raving on taking everything out on his dad for no reason. The fact the man did not want to help five years later didn’t endear him to Jamie much either, and at eleven, Jamie is a broody preteen keen on holding a grudge [Imagine being five and going through that, watching this guy basically blame the whole shitfest on Steve. Yeaaah, that boy was pretty loud in his anger] 

Now Tony is hardly an expert in handling children [no Tony, you do not call a boy who expresses missing his absent father a pussy], so he’d be pretty awkward once the Rogers family moves into the tower after the events in DC. Finds himself twitchy at all the child-friendly stuff around the common area [sometimes, toys are accidently left behind for one to slip on], and the most interaction he gets with Jamie is long awkward mutual staring 

Clint Barton: Like Thor, he doesn’t have much interaction with this guy. But when he is around, Jamie finds him both goofy and cool, cool especially when Barton saves his little tush from rogue AIs making their first appearance [Just think, you spend a boring grown-up party playing with your toys and emptying the snack trays, fall asleep on a couch, only to wake up to disaster]. At eleven, he feels pity at the fate of the man’s family, offering an awkwardly friendly fist-bump upon seeing him, and silently taking the embarrassing hair ruffling he gets in return.

Jamie is everything Clint expected of a child born from Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter, the boy is quiet, mindfull, and yet incredibly outgoing and stubborn [and temperamental, both parents are stubborn to admitting who he got it from], something he quietly finds amusing.  

[ziracona]

Benedict head canons? How does he mingle with the rest of the gang

Benedict is an incredibly odd mix of “Polite and socially adept by nature” and “the world’s most awkward man due to the fact he’s stuck almost 200 years after he lived.” He’s fairly adaptable, and learned a lot from other survivors as the cycled in and out of the realm, and worked hard to be able to keep up to date, but he’s also been punched on many occasions in the realm for saying or doing something he had no idea was going to get that kind of reaction. This is left him uhhhhhhhh extremely cautious saying things, and it’s not unusual for him to pause mid sentence and check facial expressions with sudden concern, afraid he’s fucked up again, but it’s super funny the kinds of things that lead him to do this. For example: was afraid that he might be suckerpunched for saying “Things really have changed a lot. I would have thought four unwed adults of different sexes sharing an apartment to attend college together would be looked on as a little scandalous, since no one could know the situation.” (About Claudette, Quentin, Nancy, and Philip all sharing an apartment to go to college) and was also deeply afraid after he said it that saying “Wow! The idea of standard middle class transportation has changed so drastically. To think an automobile like this is considered average,” might be some kind of class-offensive statement, and stopped right after both with a horrified look on his face waiting to see what the damage was. Which, in both cases, was none, but a lot of amusement from the person he was talking to. He does have a tendency in past of accidentally putting his foot in his mouth, but honestly, he’s gotten pretty good at adapting to the times and was never that bad. Alex Lin really just liked putting him in a world of hurt for everything he ever did because she thought it was hilarious, and Benedict could never tell which things were partially jokes and which were sincere, coming from her. Got beat up the first time he met her, because he told her to stay behind a rock and let him run a distraction for her since she was a lady and it was his duty to protect her if he could. She broke his nose with one hit and told him she’d break his fingers with her platform boots if he ever called her a “lady” again, and to stick the sanctimonious crap up his ass, she could take care of herself better than he could, and he instantly fell in love. Has Alex to thank for his paranoia, but probably also for how little he actually does put his foot in his mouth anymore.

Benedict is very proper, and still kind of dresses like he’s from the wrong century. He thinks tech is fascinating, but he’s also kind of a grandpa at learning it. Kate and Jane both give him lessons on tech and just society and things that have changed, and it helps a lot. He is super intimidated by the American highway system and taking a tin can hurdling around at 80 miles an hour while other drivers shoot past you, and afraid of driving, but Kate gives him slow lessons until while still afraid to drive on highways, he’s okay with taking residential roads and driving a bit, despite the way American drivers can get in big cities even just on their way to the drugstore. Kate knew him a little in-realm, so she’s one of the ones closest to him, and enjoys him a lot. She thinks it’s kind of sweet how gentlemanly and polite he is, and how he’s so fascinated by like, cigarette lighters in cars and automatic supermarket doors, and her ancient handheld tennis ball sized electronic 20 questions game. Jane likes him too, and they’re research buddies a lot. He can focus for hours and hours over the dustiest old times, and actually, he can read a lot of the ancient handwriting on old historical documents before common spellings developed, and it’s kind of a godsend. She also greatly enjoys how casually (and often) he drifts into ethical discussions while he does even the most mundane shit like washing dishes.

While no one but Kate met Benedict in-realm, and he spends the most time with her, and with Jane, who he lives and works with, all of them feel like they know him or like he’s a living legend or both, since they’ve been reading and hanging on his writing for years in-realm. He’s accepted immediately, and has so many common experiences—even if not of the exact same trials—that he kinda just fits like a glove, and is extremely welcomed and a natural addition to the group. Philip and Sally are especially close to him, and it kind of helps bridge the intial, slightly awkward gap. After icebreakers, he drifts from house to house like everyone else, and is like, the weird great uncle to most of the younger survivors. Min loves absolutely bombarding him with tech stuff to watch his eyes glaze over while he drowns trying to keep up with her discussions of bitrate and solid state drives, becuase she’s a little cruel, but she does also help him figure out his first decent phone, so she can be your devil or your only slightly sadistic angel. Claudette loves discussing realm stuff with him, and helping each other on research. Also the only one with any experience with falconing, so he kind of helped Jake get some of his initial setup and gear for Alex the crow figured out.

Benedict collects things from the 21st century, especially simple electronics, and everyone thinks that’s kind of endearing, and start picking out simple gifts to get him when they know they’re gonna see him soon. Singing birthday cards, an old gameboy SP, boom boxes, a record player, laser pointers, magic 8 ball (this actually freaked him out, but he didn’t tell anyone because he was afraid of being made fun of), a Bop It, and all kinds of little lights and decorations that make sound or light or move. He has an ever expanding self of these gifts he calls his “Little Marvels” stand, and he really enjoys it. Has tried taking them apart to understand them better, but is usually overwhelmed. Jake took pity on him and helped him get the extreme basic gist of a circuit board once though, and since then, he has been fascinated. Jane soemtimes comes to the table for breakfast to find Benedict with one of those Kid Science kits on the table and potatoes hooked into wires powering a mini fan going, “Jane! Would you look at this. Isn’t that fascinating? Who knew the PH could have this kind of ability?” She finds this endearing and also weirdly relaxing to wake up to.

Benedict takes notes all the time. On literally everything. Is extremely poetic and writes poetry occasionally when he is overcome by the beauty of something like his first time seeing a park lit up with Christmas lights in fancy sculpture arrays on a crisp December night. Gets book recommendations from Adam and Jane and loves talking shop with them. Is constantly horrified by the news. He’s not used to global news being so all at once or so much. He has a really really hard time adjusting and not being thrown into wild bouts of depression. Jane talks him into giving himself more healthy doses of time away from news so he doesn’t kill his 1860s adjusted brain, and he finally takes the advice and is very grateful for the improved quality of his life.

Loves dogs so much. Not a fan of small dogs though. Not like he hates them, just thinks they’re kind of depressing and bug-eyed usually and feels bad for them. Wants a hound. Ends up getting a Yorkshire Terrier mutt instead because it’s the whimpering thing that follows him down a New Jersey street in a rainstorm after a long day of research with Jane. Doesn’t mean to get a pet period but it’s so pathetic and its foot has been injured by something, maybe a car, so he picks it up and takes it home to warm up and give food to before dropping off at a shelter or vet. It’s so wildly affectionate and has so much love in its disproportionately big eyes he keeps being like “...It can stay a little longer,” until he was wrong and it just lives there now. Names it Missy and gave her a little hairbow. Calls her his research assistant. Jane loves this dog. Benedict was already well accepted and friends with the other survivors, but bringing a pet to a party makes people like you more in this family.

Mostly, Benedict is kind of an old man of a professor. He enjoys chatting, but is hard to drag into the more physical activities, except hikes, which he quite enjoys. He mingled quite a bit more than he expected though, and is deeply happy about how accepted he’s become, and how much he cares about these people and they seem to truly care about him.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Skull Face

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

The Metal Gear franchise is well known for its complex, deep philosophies, and the antagonist of Metal Gear Solid V is absolutely no exception to this. Skull Face, while definitely on the more shallow end of the villain pool in terms of the series, is still one of the most intriguing and even pivotal villains the series introduces. Why is that?

In short, he is responsible for much of the bleakness that plagues Solid Snake’s adventures. But you’re not here for the short version, you’re here for the long one. So how exactly does the mysterious Skull Face fit into the incredibly dense and convoluted mythology of Kojima’s masterpiece of a franchise?

Motivation/Goals: Skull Face has a pretty surface-level motivation at first glance: he wants revenge against both Zero and Big Boss, as Skull Face previously worked for the covert project XOF created by Zero that cleaned up messes left behind by Big Boss during Virtuous Mission and Operation Snake Eater, XOF being the shadow of the FOX program, so to speak. After FOX disbanded in the 70s, XOF became the strike force for Zero’s Cipher. Of course, during all this time, Skull Face became resentful of both Zero and Big Boss alike, weary of being left in the shadows cleaning up the messes of men who would gain more honor than he did. This is the guy who assassinated Stalin in the Metal Gear universe, so it is understandable he’d be a bit miffed.

Of course, as any Metal Gear villain is wont to do, he takes his anger too far, and decides to play Cipher and MSF against each other, and sets into motion the events of The Phantom Pain by kidnapping, torturing, and possibly even raping Paz before having those bombs implanted in her as well as kidnapping and torturing Chico (and perhaps even forcing him to rape Paz). He then destroys Mother Base, which leads into Big Boss going into a coma when his helicopter explodes due to Paz’s bomb.

His ultimate goal from all of this chaos is this: he’ll create nukes only he can stop from detonating and distribute them around the world along with the Metal Gears needed to fire them, upsetting the global power balance in the process while also keeping Skull Face in control. Then, he would unleash the English parasite that kills its host whenever they speak English; when the world is liberated from English, the new world language will be one of nukes and Metal Gears, and the world will be at peace through mass nuclear deterrence, a sentiment similar to that of Hot Coldman of Peace Walker. And if that doesn’t work? Just kill everyone. The plan is ludicrously complicated and seems like it could easily be thrown out of wack by even the slightest of variables, which makes Skull Face a perfect Metal Gear villain.

Really though, everything boils down to his desire for revenge against the sleights he feels Zero and Big Boss dealt against him, be they real or imagined, which fits very nicely into the game’s deconstruction of the idea of vengeance and how ultimately seeking revenge can utterly consume a person and cause far more harm than good. This makes Skull Face thematically gel with the story while also being someone to root against and to, in the end, help Kaz and Venom realize how utterly futile their thirst for vengeance against Skull Face was and how destroying him does not bring back the years of suffering they suffered or all that they lost.

There’s also an element of the fear of being forgotten to his motivations, erased from history by his enemies in an attempt to eradicate any and all legacy he may have; however, in this regard he is far more successful than in his main evil plain, as he managed to pass on his vengeful, nihilistic philosophies to his enemies. Even though his body is burnt away due to housing parasites and even though the Patriots eradicate his existence, and even though the true Big Boss never acknowledged Skull Face or his existence, Venom, Psycho Mantis, Skull Face, Diamond Dogs, and even Cipher are forever warped by his philosophies and in part plays in to how Outer Heaven was created. Even worse, he actually does get his revenge on Zero, causing him to fall into the state he is seen in right before his death at the end of Guns of the Patriots. As special tapes show, Zero truly was remorseful for how things between he and Big Boss had turned out and truly wanted to communicate and reconcile… but because of Skull Face’s desire for revenge, he ended up preventing such a reunion from ever occurring.

“Poor communication kills” is another strong theme in the game, and Skull Face weaponizes such a thing, inadvertently ensuring all the tragedies that would follow in the Metal Gear timeline, all because of his thirst for revenge against two men who never intentionally wished to screw him over… perhaps if he had communicated, things would have turned out a bit better for all parties. Instead, he turned one man into an immobile, barely functioning shell and warped another into someone just like him: a monster who lives only to lash out in anger and vengeance at those he has perceived as wronging him. Even though Skull Face died, he still ultimately was victorious in the sense that Big Boss and Zero were both twisted and destroyed by his actions.

Performance: James Horan does a wonderful job voicing Skull Face, making him sinister, creepy, and hammy whenever the scene calls for it. In fact, his scenery chewing skills are nearly unmatched; Skull Face goes whole hog when it comes to hamminess. He’s certainly not Armstrong levels, but Horan knows what kind of series he’s in and is definitely having a lot of fun.

Final Fate: When Mantis hijacks Sahelanthropus, Skull Face ends up caught in the crossfire and crushed, so Kaz and Venom come up and blast his limbs off as payback for the limbs they lost. But then they realize that killing him is a pointless, hollow victory that won’t bring back their dead comrades or give back all they took from him, so they toss him his gun as he begs them to kill him and tell him to do it himself as they walk away. A powerful moment in the series…

...That Huey immediately ruins by going over, killing him, and then shouting “REVENGE!” in the stupidest manner possible, despite the fact that any grivance Huey could possibly have against Skull Face is petty at best. For such an important villain in the grand scheme of the franchise, he deserved better than being shot by Huey of all people.

Best Scene: It’s pretty hard to pick, as almost any of his disturbing tapes from Ground Zeroes could qualify due to their fantastic voice acting and horrifying content that cements Skull Face as one of the franchise’s most twisted villains. But if we’re talking in-game onscreen appearances, the scene in “Hellbound” where Sahelanthropus is revealed in all its terrifying glory while he poses and gestures in its hand, hamming it up for Huey and Snake, is just a truly golden moment.

Best Quote: “Who is doing this? Such a lust for revenge… WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!!?”

Final Thoughts & Score: Skull Face is a really cool villain, even with that dopey face mask. It may be because he continues the proud tradition of ridiculous, over-the-top bad guys that the series is known for, but gives one suited to the Big Boss era of the franchise; Volgin and Hot Coldman are not nearly as hammy or enjoyable as Skull Face is. And much like any great Metal Gear villain, Skull Face has some awkward moments, such as that uncomfortably long car ride and the fact he’s wearing a mask that makes him look like an edgy reimagining of the Hamburglar, but frankly these things just endear him more to me. The whole fun of Metal Gear is that these games have so many poetic, beautiful, poignant, and philosophical scenes juxtaposed against over-the-top absurdity and ridiculous levels of narm; Skull Face fits right in.

Truly this man earns his 9/10. Ultimately I keep him from the perfect score due to being killed by Huey, which is insanely embarrassing for any villain, as well as the fact that he’s a little underutilized and never really beaten in a meaningful way because, again, Huey is incapable of not ruining something. But none of that changes how thematically strong the guy is. He’s a lot of fun, and while it’s a shame he’s killed only about halfway through the game, the shadow he and his actions cast on not only the entire game but the franchise as a whole more than make up for his shortcomings.

[dented-nado]

96. “You’re too nice.” with bruce & clark? :'D xx

[[LYDS thank you for sending this in!!! This ended up being a series of three sort of vignettes of Clark being a sweetheart that all kind of tie together because this prompt had me going. I hope you like it, and thank you!!!]] ------

Clark Kent wasn’t cute. Nope, nuh-uh, not even slightly. Bruce refused to let him think such a thing any more than the few seconds the notion slipped through his mind.

But then again he had just brought him coffee from their mutual favorite place to gain some caffeinated.

“How much do I owe you?” He tried to offer as he pulled off his cowl and turned his chair away from the bat-computer to look up at the giant behemoth of a man. Clearly he wasn’t called Superman for nothing. He only got a perplexed look in return. “Huh? No, don’t worry about it, it’s on me.”

“But…” Bruce began before being silenced by Clark poking his forehead.

“It’s coffee Bruce, I won’t go broke and end up homeless over it. I promise.” Clark teased. “Don’t worry your little bat-head about it.”

Bruce shooed Clark’s hand away with a grunt and took a long sip from the to-go coffee cup, hoping his warm face didn’t mean he was turning red visibly.

“Sorry it’s just… odd to let someone buy things for me when I’m… you know…” Bruce grumbled trying to turn his head back to his previously abandoned task.

“Richest man alive?” Clark offered. “Prince of Gotham?”

Bruce grunted in response.

“Why do they call you a prince, anyway? Are you actually descended from royalty?”

“Clark, just because I said you could ‘hang out’ today doesn’t mean you can bombard me with questions while I’m trying to work.”

Clark chuckled and floated into a cross legged position so he was “sitting” next to Bruce despite the fact he was hovering in the air. “Sorry B, guess its the investigative journalist in me.”“Hrrmm.” Bruce responded.

As they sat together Bruce found himself being productive, sure, but occasionally he would glance over and find himself endeared by certain things. How Clark placed his coffee on his knee when he was pausing drinking it. How he would tilt his head to one side like a puppy dog when he was thinking or interested in something Bruce was working on or investigating. Bruce also found himself staring at one moment, realizing for the first time Clark had dimples when he smiled.

He still wasn’t going to admit Clark was cute though. Not even to himself.

—-

Bruce was an incredibly difficult sick person. Bruce knew it himself and did feel bad that sometimes Alfred had to argue with him and put up his own sort of fight just to get Bruce to get back into bed and rest so he wouldn’t develop something worse. Though this time, as Bruce sat grumpily with his arms crossed, Alfred had finally gotten weary and called in the cavalry.

“Is he super sick?” Clark asked, carrying a thermos, a possibly hand made quilt, and a bag filled with what seemed like games and puzzles.

“Just a cold, however he’s being exceptionally difficult and has tried to get up and go down to the cave multiple times today. He seems to forget he develops strep easily when its convenient for him.” Alfred said with a huff before rubbing his temple, trying to will away the stress and worry over his boy. “Thank you for agreeing to keep him company Master Kent.”

“Of course Alfred, and please, just Clark.”

Alfred chuckled “Very well Master Clark” He replied cheekily as he went off to do his other duties.

Clark huffed a laugh in response. So that was where Bruce got his occasional cheekiness from.

He was fully prepared as he entered to receive the infamous glare right into his soul, luckily for Clark, and unluckily for Bruce, it didn’t affect him anymore. He greeted the glare with a bright smile as he closed the door behind him.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Sunshine.” Clark teased as he crossed the room, setting his bag down beside the bed and the thermos on the bedside table, watching in amusement as Bruce’s curiosity and investigative nature got the better of him as his eyes ran over each item Clark had brought him.

“Alfred has brought me in to ensure you chill and get better as soon as possible.” Clark explained despite knowing Bruce knowing full well why he was there, he unfolded the quilt he had brought and put it around Bruce’s shoulders before the man could say anything else.

“…What’s this?” Bruce asked, voice sounding a little horse.

“Its called a blanket.” Clark replied with a grin as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Bruce glared at him mid-cough. “You know what I mean.”

Clark laughed heartily. “Sorry B, I couldn’t resist. It’s a quilt Ma made, she used to bring it out when I got sick.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “You got sick?”

“When I was really little, yeah, my powers hadn’t really come in yet.” Clark explained before picking up his bag, seemingly excited to show Bruce what he brought. “I got you some puzzles like sedoku and some crosswords so you can feel like you're doing something and still relax, I also brough chess and checkers if you want to play later… oh! I also saved a bunch of movies I thought you might like if you want to watch them together.” Bruce stared at the several items that were placed on the bed next to him and looked back at Clark with a slightly stunned gaze and watched Clark then pick up the thermos. “Oh, and I made some chicken soup, Ma sent me the recipe.” He beamed so bright Bruce had to rub his watering eyes slightly that were already sensitive to the light.

“You…” Bruce looked again at each item and subtlety pulled the quilt around himself a little tighter. “Thought of everything didn’t you?”

Clark put his hand on top of Bruce’s. “That’s one thing you taught me how to do pretty well.”

Bruce snorted slightly, partially out of amusement, and partially because his nose was stuffy. “I always thought that annoyed people.”

“Not always.” Clark said with a wink. “Sometimes its appreciated, even we don’t always say it.”

Bruce looked over all of Clark’s supplies and care items one more time before letting himself lay back into the quit slightly. “Fine, as long as you're here…” He reached for the warm thermos to open and enjoy the soothing, delicious soup “I might as well judge for myself what you think my movie taste would be.” He emphasized by patting the empty side of his bed.

Clark was all too happy to fly up and over Bruce, cuddle up beside him and pull up Netflix on his phone.

—-

Batman really hated patrolling in the rain, it was harder to see and wet concrete always made it easier for missteps and slips to happen and someone to end up flying off a roof in the middle of a fight. There also weren’t many good tall buildings for him to perch on that also had some sort of overhang so he could escape the rain for at least a second.

Then, suddenly, he found himself looking at a pair of red boots, and realized the rain was no longer pouring directly on his head, He glanced up to look at Clark looking at him with a tilted head and a sweet smile, holding an oversized umbrella in one hand over both of them.

“Need an umbrella?”

“Hmmmmm…thank you…” Batman grumbled.

Damn this cute as hell man and his insistence on being a constant positive presence.

“You’re going to make yourself sick again if you keep making yourself go out when its pouring out you know.” Clark said as he settled to sit down next to Bruce. He was also soaking wet, which made Bruce think he had only just gotten this umbrella.

“I can’t let Gotham suffer just because of some rain. Besides, there’s people that like to take advantage of ‘dark and stormy nights’. Scarecrow once waited purposefully for it to be night and the weather like this to launch an attack.” Batman explained. Usually he was a little more sharp with Clark for saying such a thing, but he wasn’t particularly in the mood to jab at the boy scout.

“I know.” Clark said, causing Batman’s head to turn back to him in slight surprise. “It's hard isn’t it? To decide when your own needs need to be met or when the needs of the many outweigh your own. I get it.”

Batman stared at him for a long moment, the sound of the rain on the umbrella starting to sound more soothing than anything. “Yes… it is hard.”

Clark took a deep breath and put a hand on Batman’s back. “I know you have Gotham under control, and you have for a long time, and you know what you're doing, and your good at it. I was just… I was just thinking… maybe if I came and helped sometimes…”

“Why do you want to help me so bad Clark? Bringing me coffee, visiting me when I’m sick… the umbrella?” Batman asked, he tried not be be yelling, or accusing, or sound annoyed, because he wasn’t. He genuinely wanted to know.

Clark looked down at his feet. “I want to be a good friend. I think… I think you deserve it.”

“I really don’t deserve your attention.”

“Maybe from your point of view. But that’s not how I see it.”

They sat in silence for a long moment, watching two Gothamites yell at each other from their cars on the street below.

“You’re too nice, Clark.” Batman finally stated.

“No such thing as *too* nice. Besides… Some of why I want to help is a little selfish too.” Clark admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“How so?”

“I guess… I thought maybe if I could help you, you’d have more time to spend with you know… people… like… me kind of people.”

Batman laughed and for a moment Clark looked startled and somewhat wounded until Bruce continued.

“I’m not really that fun to be around, so I don’t know why.” Batman smiled calmy as he noticed the bat-signal light up the clouds above. “But for what its worth… when your with me…”

Batman stood, aiming his grappling gun.

“I’m happy.”

Clark watched in stunned silence as Batman glided away onto the rooftops below, heading to the signal light’s source to check in with the commissioner, that was until he clearly heard Bruce state, knowing Clark was the only one who could hear.

“You coming along to help or not?”

Clark was gliding at his side within the blink of an eye.

[itsthatsillygoose]

Kit, a raggedy ass analysis

I wrote an analysis of forthbeam last week and y'all we're dragging the others to hell saying they weren't as complex so let me prove you wrong starting with Kit ft. a lot of Ming. If u want my summery Mingkit analysis it's the last paragraph on this post but I'll post it separately too:

Something that really intrigues me about kit is his capacity for other people’s attention. We see through out the first series that Beam is quite a ladies man and is seen many times trying to hit on the stars of the university but for Kit this is rare. Aside from Pha, Beam and Forth, Kit is rarely seen interacting with anyone one else closely and think that speaks volumes of his personality. He may be stubborn and sometimes aggressive but I think deep down he's compensating for a lack of security, all he really wants is that resounding feeling of safety and he finds that with in the tight knit friendship between him, Beam and Pha; and perhaps that’s what makes his relationship with Ming so infatuating.

Ming is the very definition of what Kit seems to avoid, he is bold and loud, clumsy with his feelings, a stranger. He's a player and doesn't need that sense of security like the other which seemed to be the biggest red flag to kit during their development. Imediately when the two first properly meet there’s a sense of surprise from the shorter when he finds that Ming still remembers him, and straight away he throws up his guard. Through out at least the series so far it's almost like Kit wants himself to hate Ming or at least he feels like he should; he knows Ming is everything he seeks to avoid and so he tries to act accordingly. He constantly seems frustrated around him but rather than being agitated by Ming, I think what's really bothering him is himself and the way he can't help but yearn for these moments of having the other around. Doesn't make sence right? Surely he'd be happy if he actually wanted to see him? Well you'd figure, but perhaps it causes Kit such anguish as he knows while having Ming around he loses control and he doesnt want to give him self the oppertunity to get to know him or like him as even just a friend,,, and so instead he snaps at him. Again I think this was a really subtle and lovely way of displaying Kits issue; he truly is an increadible example of head vs heart.

I loved looking deeper into these two as they appear to have such a typical dynamic of cat and dog, but I really think the second series explored so much deeper into their personalities and character. I think what is really being portreyed by these two is so much more than just a spunky journey of two boys in love. Really I think that we delve into dealing with the concept of searching for trust and a sense of clarity in not only someone else but yourself too. I do think that kit is perhaps the “protagonist’ of this idea. Ming is very much the big scary monster in the dark for him. Whether Kit had had partners before or not I'm unsure but I think the reason why Ming really affected him so incredibly was that he’d never been loved in such a way, so shamelessly and intensely, especially by someone like Ming. Someone he’s so unalike in so many ways. Really I think their arch isn’t about Ming breaking into Kit's abrasive character but rather Kit searching for truth and a reason to believe in ming and the insecurities on both ends of that.

We see many times that kit is appalled by Mings ways, for example the way ming had so many ex partners, this was such a big piece information to just be brushed over; infact its exactly what knocked kit so far from feeling like he could reach out and grasp onto Ming. Again referring back to before, I think kit really yearns for a sence of safety in everyone he brings close to him, a place to relax, someone he can trust enough to not hide behind his front; he doesn’t care to be played with or used so seeing that ming would throw away his past relationships so readily perhaps triggered that insecurity as he rightly so doesn't feel that sense of security with ming. He appears unpredictable to Kit, almost as if he throws his feeling around carelessly, but we know this isn't true and that in fact Ming is increadibly predictable.

We see more of this when Kit storms away at the beach telling ming to stay where he is (which he does). Personally this is still one of my favourite scenes as it's fucking bursting with emotion and crammed with developing concepts i've already mentioned but it really does just get me every time. There's so much to unpick, it really was the turning point for the two- at least in my eyes. It admittedly does just appear as if Kit got short tempered and barked at Ming who then got upset and sulked, but really the scene is a lot meatier. It was really a big eye opener for kit as though neither of them spoke about what happened, it really felt like they both knew Ming was proving to kit that he takes his word seriously, and isn't afraid to commit to him. Kit seemed guilty when the scene returned to him and the others drinking but when Ming was dragged in by another friend Kit seems shocked realizing he probably would have sat there all night if it had played out that way. Maybe he assumed ming had gone back to his room but the fact he didnt was such a slap in the face. I love this cause Ming stares at him sadly, knowing full well he's proven a point. Kit knows he's upset Ming and realises that rather than Ming not taking the idea of a relationship seriously, perhaps he himself was the one dismissing any chance of something real, some clarity. Maybe he was his own scary monster in the dark. He knows full well that Ming is harmless or else he wouldn't have appeared so guilty when returning to the hang out without him.

The whole beamkit scene where beam pulled a doozy on us and pretended he and kit were dating is another obvious telling of his character, (nines expressions in those few seconds were fucking ace btw, the absolute utter panic swirling into sorry eyes, then a punch in the gut and finally regret) in those few moments alone its obvious that he knows he's done Ming wrong, but if you really look closer there's a whole ugly ass betrayal hiding in there. In the chat they just had in a prior scene, Kit makes a point out of not wanting to get hurt by Ming leading him on only to ditch him for another person, but what did kit just do to Ming? Huh?¿?? Exactly, its easily missed but it's an awesome detail i picked up when diving into this and i have to say it was another perfect example of Kit being flung between head vs heart. Kit's been trying so hard to get Ming to use his head rather than his heart, but by using his own head to try and protect him self Kit's only gone and done the exact thing he was so afraid happening to himself to Ming. I think realising this he understands that even though they're so different and worlds apart, they're both just dumb fucking humans and he shouldnt be so hard on Ming, especially when Ming's been nothing but loyal and honest. Perhaps Kit is scared of committing but he's projecting that onto Ming because he doesn't want to admit it, he only sees what he wants to see because thats all he knows after putting up a front for so long when ever his emotional well being is threatened.

Honestly Kit's really just been his own problem this entire show and he really ought to sit the fuck down and let him self live 👏🏻

Thought it was endearing when he took Pha out so he could get drunk. Obviously getting wasted to forget your problems isn't particularly endearing, but like i said about Beam last week, it makes him feel more human. Especially when Beam shows up acting like the whole beamkit couple thing was a joke (when it clearly wasn't) and Kit's just like fuck you you're so annoying. Smh he really is boo boo that fool. He's just so completey oblivious that his best friend in the entire world is head over heels in love with him, so gullible just believing what ever the fuck anyone says. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt seen as he was drunk but Idk it just tickles me that he's always so tense and always so on guard yet the level of dumbassery is just,,,, how's he gonna be a doctor when he's literally a raw nerve on fucking legs. Bless.

He really lets things bother him, but he's much more readable than beam which we know even just from Phana knowing right away what was up. The fact he hid from Ming when Ming entered the bar(?) too really emphasized how completely not as hard as nails he is despite how he tends to act tough. Thought that was a sweet detail in unravelling Kit's personality and how Ming seems already to have completely knocked his walls down; Kit's not even trying to act like he's unaffected anymore.

We all joke about Beam being an emotional wreck but fr kits really not that far behind. He deals with everything horribly and always seems to make shit worse for both himself and Ming. He just wants what's best for everyone but sometimes that's harder than it looks and he really proved that. He goes into panic mode if Ming so much as breaths in his direction which actually does the complete opposite of intended as rather than seeming tough and cold, it just shows Ming that Kit's easily flustered around him, EG, HE FUCKING LIKES HIM, KIT JUST WRITE IT ON YOUR FOREHEAD AT THIS POINT. He thinks he's so mysterious fr, boy the whole world and it's goldfish has you sussed, who do you think your fooling with that attitude?

Can't not mention the kiss and how sweet that was on Kit's end. After all that mess and acting unaffected, as soon as he sees Ming move towards him he imediately melts back into his big softie boyf as if he'd been waiting a life time to kiss him. He literally called him a 'bastard' seconds before, if that ain't some sort of chaotic then what the fuck is he. Jkjk, back to the point, Kit does this thing where he lies to him self, C O N S T A N T L Y. He's forever telling himself that he's in control, he's forever telling himself that Ming's out to get him, he's forever acting as if he doesn't want anything to do with Ming, but this scene was so satisfying cause it really just ripped everything he'd been pretending to be from right underneath him. He kissed Ming so readily and for the first time in the relationship he actually seemed put together and calm and in control. He's never known what to do with Ming's attention yet here and now with his lips on his all he could do was reach out and grasp on to his 'scary monster in the dark' (Side note i absolutely fucking adore how Kit's gone from being so rough and brash with Ming to being so ridiculously shy after the kiss. I think it's forced him to face facts and he finally realised there was no point in keeping up his walls. Ming knows now, theres no need. It's sweet showing his vulnerable side for once, this is some healthy character development i can get behind.)

You'll have noticed this gradually got less formal and is slowly making less and less sense. That's because as i'm writing this it's 5:40am and the brain juice is running low but the next bit should be a pinch more coherent sorry,

What i love about Kit and Ming's relationship is the whole role reverse as the series progressed. At the beginning we see Kit, part of a solid group of friends and he's comfortable and confident where as Ming's just a new student at the university, finding his feet. We expect him to perhaps be naïve or immature, and yes he's a little clingy but really Ming is one of the most stable characters going and exactly what kit needs despite how he first appeared. Not once has Ming changed his goal of pursuing kit, not once has he fucked up, not once has he ever panicked. Ming- even though he's sulky- is really quite mature with his dealing of Kit. He's honest and really does what ever he can to make it work. I loved the example of this where he backed off after the kiss. It was so so sweet considering how clingy he usually is, and it really shows he takes great time and contemplation when considering Kits feelings and that he has a really deep understanding of how Kit's mind actually works and how he may react. He backs off knowing Kit likes his space and that maybe he over stepped the line pretending to be black out drunk, but again i really love this as this creates that safe space and feeling of clarity that i keep bringing up as it meant kit could reach out in his own time and really come to terms with things without any pressure. It meant that for once Kit would have to make the move to communicate and take a step in their relationship and i think for Ming to take that initiative to really somewhat place their fate in Kits hands for a while was really quite sweet and mature of him. We stan our emotionally healthy engineering boys fr. We come to realise by now that perhaps Kit is actually quite bashful and somewhat of a baby dear when it comes to emotions, charging head first into anything but initially losing his footing right off the get go. But Ming is stable, he is collected and cool and surprisingly gentle. Its really quite tell tale that kit spoke so much about ming maybe lacking in commitment when really he was the one too afraid to commit, he was clearly insecure. This arch really was kit heavy and though i already said what i think their arch focuses on, i just want to add that it also explores growth and becoming a better person because of a relationship. They bounce off eachother in such an interesting way, and so intunely that they cant help but work. Kit never knows what to say or how to approach ming but its okay, Ming has that covered and always comes to find him. Ming's very flirtatious, and kit and easy to fluster. Kit needs time and Ming is patient. All these little north and south traits really just pull together and i love how these two were written with such harmony. I know I've delved way deeper than was ever intended for these characters but i think we shouldn't take for granted the complexity of such a wonderful thing.

This is the reason why i think 2moons2 is miles ahead of 2moons the series. Aside from the cringe music, over dramatic zooms and lingering shots which can sometimes make it difficult to watch, 2moons2 really seeks complexity in each character and i admire that itch to bring them to life as i feel 2moons was increadibly 2D in this aspect. I only really believed in Kit when i watched that series, but 2moons2 really forces you to believe and invest in every main character and i just think as someone who writes that it's rather lovely.

What are your thoughts? Do comment if you have time, I'd love to hear more on these two :)

[ask-elementalhermitcraft]

Remembrance

Hey anon? You are a genius. First time in forever writing something happy! A bit rusty at this ^^”

[Fluff/Comfort]

[Evil Xisuma, Xisuma, Joe Hills, Rendog] 

Evil Xisuma was invited by Joe Hills to meet him at the shopping district in the middle of the night. There was a lot more people waiting for him than just Joe, as it turns out. 

--

Pop!

A letter suddenly teleported in front of the helmeted man’s face.

Ex grabbed onto it, why would Joe send him a letter in the middle of the night?

Especially that he knows tonight is his “remembrance night.”

The man tightly gripped onto the empty picture frame he was holding and sat up from the carpet in his room to place it onto the small nightstand next to his bed.

That’s enough for today, thanks for your help.

The feeling of nostalgia disappeared, as memories of other universes faded from his mind.

Ex opened the letter and pulled out a piece of paper.

Ex,

Mind coming to the Shopping district? Got something to show you.

Sincerely, Joe Hills.

He folds the piece of paper and shoved it into one of the bags on his belt. Ex groans, as he stretched and something popped back into place. He began to make his way up the ladder that leads to the ocean surface, quickly grabbing a boat, he made his way towards the main island.

It was a breezy, cold night. The sky was incredibly clear, with stars freckling and dotting the dark sky, alongside with a thin, crescent moon. The ocean only had small waves, gently pushing Ex along in his boat as he rowed. He rowed into the dark, reflective sea, with fishes under startled and swam away quickly. It was quiet.

Suddenly. A use of firework shocked him, it was so quiet that they sudden burst of sound had almost knocked him off of his boat.

It was none other than Iskall85.

“Y’know Exy, we should hang out more often!” He said as he flew around in a circle to slow himself down, slime trailing and sinking into the ocean behind him. Before suddenly taking off again into the dark night, disappearing into the stars.

Ex was confused, at the same time, did not know how to react towards it; he called him Exy just again, even despite telling him not to multiple times. He didn’t know whether to felt annoyed or flattered. Either way, he continued rowing.

-

It returned to quiet again.

Ex was taking a break, as that he had just arrived in the shopping district. He was currently at the front doorsteps of the stock exchange, sitting on the stairs. Rowing a boat was much more labor intensive compared to flying, and he needed his breaks. He should probably make a dirt hole base at one point… Maybe even live with TFC for a while, he probably wouldn’t mind-

“Yo! What’s up Z dog!” Rendog appeared from nowhere, glowing as always, hanging upside down from a tree that was in front of him, a pair of sunglasses dangling from his ears, barely hanging on.

“Ren. It’s literally the middle of the night. Why do you have sunglass-” The realization just hit him; “Did you just call me Z?”

“Yea, duh.” Ren said, then immediately proceeds to drop onto the ground face first. Ex couldn’t help but smile behind his helmet. “Besides. It makes sense, doesn’t it? We can’t just keep callin’ ya “evil” all the time! Besides, you aren’t even that evil anymore!” The bearded man plopped down next to the helmeted one onto the stairs. Smiling cheerfully as always. “Plus the fact that Z sounds just as cool as X, don’t ya think?”

“Right.” Ex said through a small smile.

It was sweet of Ren to be talking to him like this. They haven’t interacted much, but every time they did, Ex couldn’t help but smile, it’s just something about this optimistic glowy energy he gives off.

“Have you seen Joe? He sent me a letter sayin-”

“Speaking of that!” Ren said, and suddenly blindfolded Ex. “Don’t panic now! Ren diggity dog is here to guide ya!”

Ex shook. He was confused, but not scared, he knew he could trust Ren, he was like that in his timeline too, always friendly and trustworthy, sometimes a bit too friendly, but he was kind. “This better not be a prank, Ren. Joe-”

“Joe this, Joe that! It’s not like he is your dad!” He couldn’t see Ren right now, but he was sure that he was probably doing some extra hand motions with his other arm. As that he was holding him by the shoulder to make sure that he wouldn’t fall.

After almost what it seems about an eternity of walking in darkness and Ren yapping, they have finally stopped.

“Uh- Ren? Where exactly are we right now?” Ex asked. The air was still cold, they were still outside because he was sure that they hadn’t passed any doors.

The bandana that was covering his helmet was pulled off quickly without a word, only for Ex to see a smiling Rendog with one of the widest smiles he has ever seen, before moving out of the way quickly to bring everyone else into view; well, mostly everyone, there was some who couldn’t make it. Xisuma was nowhere to be seen, and Ex couldn’t help but be a little disappointed by it. They were practically brothers.

But the most wonderful thing was not the fact that everyone was here; while it was wonderful, there was a whole outdoor picnic. Set up in the middle of the night. It almost seemed like a dream.

“Howdy, “son”! It’s about time you showed up!” Joe said, stepping forward, laughing at his own joke, and pulling Ex into a deep hug. Ex hugged back, a wide smile crept up on his face. “Thanks “dad”.” he greeted back, taking off his helmet and stuck his tongue out like a little kid.

Suddenly, everyone joined in a group hug, surprising the scarred man. Ex at this point was tearing back up again. He has never been felt so loved in so long. He hugged back to the best he could. It was so warm, so loving. He suddenly straight up started to sob.

They were all shouting endearing encouragements and nicknames at him, he didn’t know how to take it. He was a crying mess at this point, smiling to the point where his face felt sore.

The banter continued on for a while, everyone just had fun. The original purpose of him being there is forgotten; it’s just friends being friends, doing stupid things, sharing memories.

Nothing could make this night better.

Suddenly, usage of a rocket sounded, and a blast of wind came through as someone practically crash-landed into the party. That, someone, was none other than Xisumavoid. Who was scrambling up to his feet. He didn’t even have his helmet on, he looked so happy- Ex was confused-- He had never seen him this way before, he almost always had his helmet on, Ex was the one to usually have it off.

“Ev-- Z! I got somethin’ for ya!” He yelled, waving something in his hand, before running up to himself and handing him the piece of paper. “For you.” X smiled tiredly, Ex took it carefully, almost as if it would break if he held it too hard.

It was a picture of his friends.

Iskall has an emerald eye instead of blue; he shared a similar trait of blue-tinted fingers with Stress, both wielding ice powers; and Jevin had slime bending, he was making himself into a weird shape again, as always. There were so many more little differences he could point out.

At some point. He had started to cry again.

A tear misses the photograph before he finally realized he was practically weeping.

Ex smiled happily.

He has never been this happy.

“Thank you. Everyone. Thank you, I can never thank you enough…” He cried while smiling.

It was good. A quiet, yet loud night.

[angelofberlin2000]

Jessica Campbell

5 Feb 2019

Keanu Reeves is a rare talent when it comes to the canon of Hollywood A-listers.

His life is one paparazzi are unable to disclose as the actor is famously private, and consequently he flies under the radar for most of the year as fans wait patiently for his next starring role. B

ut if one thing is certain: Reeves don’t need the added fanfare of spectacle, he already has it.

So incredible are the actor’s talents that he is undoubtedly one of the greatest action stars of all time. Increasingly however, we’re starting to wonder if he is the single greatest, with no other contenders necessary.

The actor’s name is synonymous with the role of Neo in The Matrix triology, where Reeves performed some of the most iconic action sequences in recently history. But his resume is far more impressive than these three films alone, showcasing a dedication to the craft of action stunts that set him apart from any of his contemporaries.

But acting aside, Reeves is also renowned for being the greatest human alive.

His background is one of tragedy, but that hasn’t stopped Reeves from being an absolutely top bloke.

Personal life

Reeve’s father was a largely neglectful drug addict and it’s well documented that Reeves struggled with dyslexia as a child.

His close friend, River Phoenix, died a very public death outside Johnny Depp’s Hollywood Club, the Viper Room, which affected Reeves deeply.

To add to this tragedy, Reeves later had a stillborn baby with his long-term girlfriend, Jennifer Syme. The traumatising loss put a strain on their relationship until her tragic death from a car accident at age 29.

His sister, Kim Reeves, was diagnosed with leukemia and Reeves took on the role of her primary caretaker for the duration of her decade-long battle with the illness, even going so far as to set up a charity in her honour – without attaching his name to it.

Over the course of his acting career, Reeves has made a name for himself as someone who is generous with his time and extremely humble.

Those who have been on set with him recall that Reeves treated the stage hands and “grunt workers” by taking them out for free breakfast and lunch, and was always socially approachable and made an effort to put a name to the faces he encountered.

On the set of The Matrix, Reeves heard about a worker whose family was suffering financially, so naturally Reeves gave him a $20,000 Christmas bonus.

Philanthropy

Perhaps the most famous story surrounding the actor was back in 1997, when paparazzi spotted him hanging out with a homeless person.

On the streets of Hollywood, Reeves sat down with a homeless man and shared some drinks, snacks and listened to his stories, interested in what the man had to say.

Unlike most of Hollywood, Reeves is clearly generous and also has far more talent than mere acting chops. He’s flexed his skills as a musician along the way, playing bass in the band Dogstar.

Career

But when it comes to his acting, Reeves reached supernova status after 1994’s Speed.

There was a science to the ‘90s Hollywood studio action movie: it required movie stars. But not those of the square-jawed, shredded variety. No, these movie stars had to be charming and pretty to look at.

Reeves fit the bill and with its ridiculous plot and unnervingly fast-pace, Speed cemented itself as one of the best Hollywood studio action movies of its time.

Make no mistake – Reeves was already a movie star before Speed hit cinemas, having played an action-hero role in Kathryn Bigelow’s gripping Point Break.

But Speed did something more for the actor. Thankfully, Reeves was smart enough to avoid the film’s insta-bomb sequel, choosing instead to play Hamlet in a Winniepeg stage production instead.

Before starring in John Wick, Reeves went to Hong Kong and China where he made his directorial debut with the film, Man Of Tai Chi.

The underground-fighting movie has a slightly incoherent plot, but the attention to detail and fight choreography is sensational. Although mostly in Chinese, Reeves plays the villain – a glowering evil American billionaire who makes people fight to the death – and highlights the talents of Tiger Chen, a Chinese martial artist who’d been one of the first choreographers for The Matrix.

Reeves had done his own stunts in Speed and trained hard in wire-fu for The Matrix, but as anyone who has seen John Wick can inform you, it’s this film that cements his spot in the history of the action film genre.

In the history of American action cinema, there are few movies that take their fight scenes as seriously as John Wick.

Gone are the choppy, illegible Hollywood action scenes audiences became accustomed to seeing. Instead, the film revived the cinematic beauty of a well-shot, well-choreographed fight and in doing so, Reeves commands the screen as an unstoppable killing machine.

It’s hard to believe that Reeves was 50 when the first instalment of the franchise came out, yet he still trained hard to make the movies as physical as possible.

His loyalty to The Matrix team is endearing, as Reeves recruited stunt doubles Stahelski and Leitch from The Matrix to direct the movie, despite the fact they’d never directed a film before.

The risk payed off, and Reeves threw himself into training, learning styles of martial arts he’d previously never attempted.

Watching the film is a delight, simply to see Reeves pull off these incredible fight scenes, mixing gunplay with hand-to-hand combat with a sense of ease and efficiency, all the while delivering his badass lines with his signature wit and charisma.

It’s no surprise that John Wick made an impact, making money and earning raving reviews from fans and critics alike. Since the original, a sequel was made with the third, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum coming out later this year, with a spin-off TV series also reportedly in the works. 

News recently broke that Reeves also turned down a role in Captain Marvel due to scheduling conflict with John Wick.

While other actors are clambering desperately for a role in one of the Marvel Universe’s successful franchises, Reeves turned down the role of Yon-Rogg, the alient mentor of Brie Larson’s character, according to comic-lover Charles Murphy on The Hashtag Show podcast. Consequently, Jude Law was then cast in the position so Reeves could reprise his role as the now infamous dog-loving assassin.

Reeves has played a number of superheroes in his lifetime. In 2005, Reeves starred in the film adaptation of DC Universe’s Constantine.

He was also one of the front men to land the roles of Batman and Wolverine – the latter of which he has since expressed interest in reviving.

With both Marvel and Reeves mutually interested in working together, surely it won’t be long until their desires collide and to be quite honest, we are all for it.

We’re calling it. 2019 is the year of Keanu Reeves

source

Thanks to  Keanuital‏ @Keanuital for finding and sharing!

[littlelady-blackwell]

10 Things I Love About Ray Blackwell

Tagged by @alloveroliver! Sorry this took long but you put me in such a tight spot in choosing just one! (๑•́ω•̀) Of course I had to go with my #1 so my king it is ♡

Anyways here we go!

[Tag your favorite ikerev character and say 10 things you like about them]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) Emerald Eyes

Maybe I just have a thing for green eyes (lol) but they were the first thing to catch my attention. The boy is just gorgeous period.

2) A Good King

I really admire Ray as king. Despite his position, he's still someone who can be easily approached. He sees every one of his soldiers as an equal and because of that the Black Army has its tight knit family dynamic. Will literally do anything for Cradle because he loves his home and it's people.

3) His Kindness

The thing that kills me most! I love how incredibly kind he is whether towards the MC or others in general even if he doesn't always plainly show it. He's always looking out for people even if it means placing himself in a difficult position (which is not always a good thing but his selflessness is still admirable).

4) Cat Boy

His soft spot for cats is absolutely adorable (the fact that he makes time to talk to them and doesn't even flinch when they scratch him he'll still cuddle it ahhh). Also not just cats but dogs or anything fluffy in general, the boy just loves fluffy things and it's cute.

5) His Cute Quirks

Despite being king he's still very much a dork. Things like how he can't stay up past a certain time, will then pass out and sleep like a rock, or how he sucks at dancing (lol).

6) Awkward Dork

Ray has a boyish charm to him that I find endearing and probably what makes him my type lol. Always trying to be cool and gets embarrassed when the MC catches him being clumsy (he literally was being pouty about it lol).

7) Attentive Boyfriend

He's always willing to hear the MC out and comfort them whenever they feel down. Constantly reminding them how he's always there whenever they need him and always aware of their feelings and needs (I think this really showed in his wedding route, how he could tell the MC was up to something but didn't push them about it and how before proposing he verifies if they are happy in Cradle or still having doubts about returning to Reason).

8) Big Tease

Pretty well known how much a tease this boy is. Sometimes I don't know if it makes me want to kiss him or punch him but I love it anyways lol.

9) His Laugh

Idk if you guys listened to his drama CD snippet but first time I heard his laugh I died lol

(For anyone intrested go to the 2:20 mark)

https://youtu.be/ALaWICSznXk

10) Bromance

May not be at par with Luka and Edgar but his friendship with Fenrir is still endearing. Rowdy boys are just cute together and knowing how much Fenrir looks out for Ray always makes me cry.

I don't think I can tag ten but I'll tag:

@heyfinni @sleepyfoxspirit @otomepile @edgarbright @bllover4lif @toloveawarlord

And anyone else who would like to give this a try!

[sarazanmai]

Stuff I loved in 2018.

Its that time again. The end of a year and a look back on all the stuff I enjoyed. Honestly I almost wasn’t going to write this because I feel these posts are a lot of effort with very little reward, but there was a lot I experienced this year that I think was interesting and worth sharing. So let’s go.

Roger Ebert once said “artistry can redeem any subject matter”. While I’m not sure any subject matter can be salvaged through an artistic eye, it can certainly help. If someone approaches a certain material with a clear vision and purpose to what they do they can create something truly fascinating. The Monogatari series is a very strange one. Its told in a non chronological order, there’s characters who say they’re one thing and reveal themselves to be something else, there’s a lot of references to other anime, the visual style changes sometimes radically, its incredibly meta, some moments of fanservice have a deeper meaning to them while others not so much. Me personally I think the series goes through periods of being brilliant as well as periods where it just is not up to the same standard as before. That said I kind of like that, I like that you go through so many different moods and style shifts. Not everyone will like that, some will get frustrated with the weaker seasons, but for me I think it all comes together and really made for something I won’t forget. I watched the entire series within a week and then later in the year I rewatched it all barring “Koyomimonogatari” which is one of those weaker seasons in my opinion. Despite its bulk, despite its tendencies, the Monogatari series just kept me hooked.

There comes a time where we all must accept certain truths. One of them is a lot of you don’t really understand mecha. I still see all of these reviews and comments claiming that mecha before “Evangelion” were all just light fluffy Saturday morning cartoon fare with little substance. This could not be further from the truth. The Gundam franchise from the very beginning was serving what I am going to refer to as a human element. It was not this soulless creation who’s only goal was to sell model kits. Whether it was Amuro’s PTSD from piloting the Gundam or Kamille and his tragic romance with Four or Char’s true motives during the original series there was always more going on than just giant robots shooting things. This isn’t even taking into consideration other installments like “War in the Pocket” where its a story of war from the point of view of a child and soldier. I have not watched every Gundam anime, I am sure there are some that were just there to exist as another installment in the franchise and didn’t necessarily push the franchise or genre into new areas. But what I have seen in “Mobile Suit Gundam”, “Zeta Gundam” “War in the Pocket”, “Unicorn”, “Iron Blooded Orphans”, and even the polarizing “ZZ Gundam” which I admittedly dropped were all very interesting and very unique experiences. Tomino really hit on something when he created the series and now we’ve come so far that we have a franchise so massive and large it needs an entire wikipedia article devoted to its cultural impact.

Once again, mecha that came before “Evangelion” were still displaying that human element many critics are convinced wasn’t there. In “Macross” its very prominent to the point where it feels like a driving force to the entire show as well as its film “Do You Remember Love”. We spend as much time with the characters and their developing relationships as we do with the mecha battles. The emphasis on music and culture as something that can create a change in the world is one of the themes synonymous with the franchise. While there certainly were times in the show where it leaned a bit into a comical area, I didn’t mind this. It was a show aimed at a younger audience and was trying to communicate these themes on their level so at times things can be a bit silly, but I appreciate what is being said so much that it does not feel like an issue. The heart is still there, the human element is still there. And more complex and serious sub plots are there too. Regardless when it comes to the film “Do You Remember Love” and the OVA “Macross Plus” things were certainly approached with a more mature voice, bringing the franchise to new places. I watched this prior to any Gundam anime in an attempt to get a better feel for the mecha genre. I wanted to expand my tastes and I’m very happy I did because not only did I love this I also want to really explore the genre now more than ever.

With the release of “Lupin III Part 5″ this year I was really turned onto that franchise. I ended up getting this massive itch to explore it when that anime wrapped and while not everything I found was a masterpiece it was a worthwhile endeavor. There’s something to Lupin the character and the series at large that manages to be both fun while also evoking a sense of coolness in spite of his goofiness. It was interesting to go through the various TV series and the movies and some specials and get a sense for how its evolved through time. Rewatching “The Castle of Cagliostro” I really enjoyed it a lot and other installments like “The Fuma Conspiracy” and “The Hemingway Paper Mystery” were hugely entertaining. I really liked “Lupin III part 4″ and “The Woman Called Fujiko Mine” too and the original “Lupin III” anime. I can still hear that voice singing “Lupin...he’s a nice man...but he’s cool...”. And objectively speaking green jacket is best jacket. I feel like this is a series that has undergone so much evolution through the various people that came in to work on it that there’s bound to be something that appeals to somebody. You just have to find it.

I spent a lot of time ignoring “Gintama” and its a bit of a shame that I did because this is a really fun series. Despite how long it is I really didn’t feel like it took me a terribly long time to finish it. And even though its goal is more on the comedic side of things, the series surprised me with how strong of an emotional punch it can provide. The cast of characters is one of the most likeable and fun that I’ve seen in a while and the seiyuu cast was very impressive. Everyone plays their character well and I get the sense they really enjoy working on it. Akira Ishida in particular seemed to really get a kick out of playing someone as ridiculous as Katsura when so many of his other roles lean more serious. And of coarse everyone loves Tomokazu Sugita as Gin. His voice just feels so right for a character like this and it was great having him for something this big when in other anime I’ve seen him in he’s only around for so long. I’ve also got to give the series credit for its female characters. There’s a really sturdy amount and they’re all occupying their own place in this world with distinct identities. This is something that makes this world feel more alive and expansive. Kagura is a character I need to applaud for the fact that she wasn’t there for some sort of lolicon fanservice or to have a really awkward crush on Gin or Shinpachi. No she just cares about food and her dog. What a queen. Speaking of Shinpachi he was the MVP of this series, good boy. And there’s our Shinsengumi boys and of coarse Gin himself, so many great characters. I am sure a lot of people look at how much there is to “Gintama” and get nervous at the size of it, but there’s really no need to. When it clicks with you then there’s no putting it down.

“Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju” might be one of the greatest anime in recent years. It takes you through so many periods in this man’s life and the people around him and manages to hold you the entire way. Once again Akira Ishida is someone I need to give major credit to. He’s a very talented seiyuu and in this anime his performance was so impressive I was almost beside myself. Given the performance style the series is built around the cast all needed to be really great at reciting these stories and articulating them. And for the scenes where the characters are not on stage, when the interpersonal drama comes out, everything just hits in such a powerful way. I can’t remember how often I cried during this anime, but it never felt like I was being manipulated. It all felt as if it came through organically and easily. Even more subtle scenes like a character finding out he’s having a child hit on just the right emotions. If you are in the mood for a fantastic character driven drama this is absolutely one I’d recommend.

Speaking of character driven drama “Sangatsu no Lion” is another one to tune into. It initially presents itself as a very intense and dark story, but as the viewer stays involved you find that this is not about wallowing in self loathing but healing. The family that has taken this very troubled young man in and helped him navigate through his mental illness is so likeable and endearing. You find yourself wanting to see him get better and hope that these girls, as well as the other shogi players, find happiness for themselves too. Its not always simple though. There are ups and downs to the characters and their arcs, but it never feels bitter or angry. It feels like reality. Over the coarse of its two seasons it manages to do what so many other shows about a character with depression fail to do. It never feels exploitative or like it has no sense of how to handle such a topic nor does it feel hopeless. As difficult as things in Rei’s life can become you know deep down this isn’t the end of the line, things can get better. It also does a very good job at holding your attention whether you understand the intricacies of shogi or not. You’re told what feels like the essential basic rules to the game and you aren’t thrown into a state of culture shock if you’ve never looked into the game before. I feel like what we have here is a modern masterpiece and more people have been watching it and celebrating it as a great achievement and that makes me so happy.

“Galaxy Express 999″, pronounced “three nine” because why not, is quite the space opera. I watched every episode of the original TV series as well as the two films directed by Rintaro and while they have some flaws or areas that did not age well, they’ve remained famous for a reason. The TV series did a really great job at pulling at your emotions and showing you different worlds. Some felt similar to others, but then there’s so much creativity in other areas. The concept of a space train was inspired by the popular Japanese children’s book “Night on the Galactic Railroad”, which would receive its own anime adaptation, and what Leiji Matsumoto did with this inspiration ended up taking on an identity all its own. You really feel for this bond between Tetsuro and Maetel. You spend so much time wondering just who Maetel is and what her goal in all of this could be. She’s kept just vague enough where I feel we were told all that we needed to. Tetsuro is someone I’ve seen reviewers describe as a little frustrating due to his naivete, but he’s a child. It makes complete sense for him to place his trust in the wrong person or make a mistake like he does. Masako Nozawa, the future voice of Goku and all his male relatives barring Raditz, voiced Tetsuro and I think she really brought a strong likeability to the character. We feel for him and also have a lot of fun seeing him travel through space. Its hard to say what version is stronger, I’d argue the show but know its not easy to recommend something that hefty. Whether someone watches the films or the show or both I think they’re still getting something great out of it.

And they say you can’t sum up a show in one image. So “Madoka Magica” what are we to do about you? Its kind of hard to explain, but I rather purposefully chose not to watch it for this long. Mostly because I was tired of the hype and the fandom basically pulling an “Evangelion” and acting like no magical girl anime or manga prior to this served emotions. But its presence never really died, this anime is almost a decade old now and people still care. And while I don’t regret not tuning in while it was running, I am very happy to have experienced it on my own terms. It gave me one of my new favorite characters with Homura, its visually stunning and marvelously directed. the music is so enchanting, and the story really is good. I think the show from start to end was a great watch and really kept me going and the bittersweet nature of it did work for me. As far as the movies go I did watch “Rebellion” and while I think its good it does complicate what the message to the series is in my opinion. Either way its just the same as “End of Evangelion” where I don’t see it as canon. I think the big question a lot of people have is if this lives up to the hype and I’m not totally sure how to answer that, but it is an anime worth your time all the same.

This will be easy. I have a review already written out for “Slam Dunk” so if you want my more expanded thoughts there you go. This really is a fantastic anime.

Last year I watched the movie “A Silent Voice”, but failed to put it in my year end review out of pure laziness. I am not making that same mistake again. “In This Corner of the World” is a film I am very grateful to have seen. Its a very interesting take on a WWII story. Not that we haven’t had movies about the war from the perspective of a civilian before, but there is something to the way its approached through our protagonist that feels especially powerful. She experiences so much during those years and tries her best to keep living with keeping her family alive as her main motivation and eventually is met with tragedy. Its produced by a studio called Mappa who’ve gained a lot of attention for “Yuri on Ice” and this year’s “Banana Fish. I did not like those anime very much, but I really loved this film and have to applaud them for trying different types of stories. I hope the projects they have lined up for 2019 are as enjoyable as this. I’ve heard the director has an interest in releasing an extended cut and if that happens I’ll be very interesting in seeing what it offers.

Again I will not make the same mistake twice. “A Silent Voice” was directed by a woman named Naoko Yamada. She also directed “K-On” and “Tamako Market”, two series that made it on my post for last year. She has an incredible talent and in my opinion is the director in anime to watch. After the success of “A Silent Voice” a lot of people wanted to see where she would go and what she gave us is nothing short of amazing. “Liz and the Blue Bird” is a film more people need to pay attention to. Those who’ve seen it adore it, fans have given it very high scores and glowing reviews. But I think this movie needs even more attention beyond that because compared to movies like “Doukyuusei” this feels like it made a smaller splash in the community. Yamada’s approach to love and drama is so effective without being forceful, you really feel for these girls and the longing between them. Yamada is a director who cares deeply for respecting the emotions of her characters which is why she has successfully created so many famous emotional scenes without them feeling melodramatic or feeling staged. This is especially clear with this film where she manages to communicate everything we need to know, but in very few spoken words. And the animation as one expects from a Kyoani project is just lovely. It also manages to work very strongly with its blue toned color palette. So many people make these blue toned movies look dreary, but not here. Things still have a brightness to them and even a warmth. I feel very lucky I was able to see this movie this year when so many anime films take so long to be made available elsewhere. When it reaches the US on bluray I am definitely buying it.

When it comes to the seasonal TV anime for the year, this was my favorite.”Sora yori mo Tooi Basho“ or “A Place Further than the Universe” is a very interesting installment in the “cute girls do blank” genre of anime. Here its cute girls go to the arctic. It sounds like a weird premise to a show, but when you see it put into practice its impressive how much you feel invested in these girls and what they’re doing. Its directed by a woman named Atsuko Ishizuka who was once identified as one of the great talents at the famed studio Madhouse. I think, like Yamada, she manages to work within these character heavy stories while avoiding any unnecessary melodrama. A lesser director would have made some scenes so cheesy or so over the top sad and that can take you right out of the experience. At first I was unsure of how big of a hit this anime would be given how many huge shows came out this year, but its managed to top the bluray sales in Japan for quite a while now. I feel really happy it became such a success. People say the cute girl sub genre is played out and that if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all, that is not true. Sometimes you need a talented director, an off the cuff premise, and you can get something fresh out of a genre that sometimes over saturates the market.

“Pop Team Epic” is an anime the like of which we’ve never seen before. And we will never get it again. A lot of people have said that in order to understand or get the jokes you have to know what it is they’re parodying and that really is not true. This isn’t referential humor like in “Gintama” where the impact of the joke relies on you knowing that material. If you don’t know "Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” you won’t get it when Gin references Joseph and Caesar’s training with Lisa Lisa. Here the approach to the comedy is so surreal that if you don’t know the reference it just registers as a bizarre thing they did. Sure I know they referenced things like “Hikaru no Go”, but someone who doesn’t would just think its “Pop Team Epic” being weird again. And if you do know what they’re referencing then you know the layers to the joke. The anime is also in a lot of ways very visually strong to the point of being almost avant-garde. It was expensive and time consuming to make even if people don’t realize it. All of these different animation styles, the mixed media approach to certain scenes. They even brought in Miyo Sato, the woman who does the paint on glass animation for “Mob Psycho 100″, to work on the show for a few segments. To a lot of people this show was a meme, but in a lot of ways I think it was doing more than that. We’re not going to get another season or anything out of it, but I’m happy something this strange was able to exist and grab hold of such a large scale audience.

I have an in depth analytical review out for "Berserk”, if you would like to read such a thing there it is. However it does contain spoilers. My unspoiled and condensed opinions are that its fantastic, with gorgeous art, well developed and amazing characters, and tons of soul. Its very intense and not exactly for everyone, but its definitely a masterpiece. Unfortunately it also has a very foul fandom which turned me off reading it for years. I genuinely expected my review to garner a lot of negative feedback given how this fandom is, to my surprise this never happened though. If you can remove the toxic fandom from the equation, which is surprisingly easy to do, then you’re golden. Also this is a romantic manga and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise because they’re cowards.

“Golden Kamuy” is fantastic as a manga. I watched the anime too, but I feel like that works best treated like a companion piece to the manga. I’ve best described the plot as “One Piece” meets “Silence of the Lambs”. This is also something that probably comes closest to evoking the same kind of strangeness that “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” has. The best way I can put it is that characters will say things that are weird, but nobody acts like they’re weird. There is also a lot of information fed to the reader about aspects of the Ainu culture and hunting and weaponry. At first it feels as if you’re being given a lot of information on topics that aren’t going to be important, but they end up having more significance than you realize. The same applies to the characters. I was surprised at how many characters I expected to be left behind were made relevant later on. And they’re memorable. Sugimoto, Asirpa, Shiraishi, Ogata, Tsurumi, Tanigaki, even that little girl Osoma was memorable. One thing the story really excels at is how you have a large amount of characters chasing the same prize, but with their own reasons. Nobody loses sight of their own motivation, some we still haven’t learned their true gain in all of this, and we see how this effects the flow of the plot. For such a large cast this would under a different writer feel very cluttered, but not here. And visually the manga looks amazing. Noda’s art is a little odd at first, but when you really look at it he’s got a lot of talent. Everyone looks distinct, the backgrounds look great, the animals look good (we’re not gonna discuss the anime’s CGI). If I had to recommend just one I’d say the manga as the anime does skip material, some due to networks being incapable of showing such things others honestly feel skipped because they wanted to streamline the plot at the expense of characterization and world building. I do still recommend taking in both as this sort of bundle deal though because the anime really is entertaining and has such a strong seiyuu cast it would be a shame to pass it by completely.

Takehiko Inoue is an absolute master at this stage in his career. In an interview with Akira Toriyama he was called someone with a real sense for manga and its amazing to see how he went from “Slam Dunk,” where he had not yet drawn a bare foot, to something like “Vagabond”. The art in this manga is deserving of all the praise it gets, its so detailed that it just leaves you stunned. The story also shows just how on point he is as a writer. I’m sure through the many movies and shows about Musashi Miyamoto a lot of Japanese audiences have a certain way they tend to view him and then here comes Inoue offering a different approach to the man. One where he is still working towards an enlightened state and trying to reign in an animalistic rage. Working in themes of being the strongest under the sun, what it means to live for the sword, how these choices effect the people left behind, its really fascinating stuff. There’s even an entire long stretch of chapters where we break away entirely from Musashi to focus on a young Kojiro and his adoptive father, its a very sudden break away yet it doesn’t feel random or jarring. I think because Inoue knows how to craft compelling characters so effortlessly it made that shift in focus work as well as it did. Its one of the most successful manga in terms of sales and with good reason, its a masterpiece. This is one of those manga that currently is on an indefinite hiatus and I can only hope Inoue is able to finish it. And if for whatever reason he can’t then at least we can say we got what we got.

Behold your new shonen king! Not Izuku, not Hinata. Open your arms for the next great shonen! “Dr. Stone” is a manga that at the moment doesn’t have the largest of audiences, but everyone I know who’s read it absolutely loves it. And with the anime being released next year I can only hope that will be the push that people need to experience it. The story is focused very heavily on innovation and discovery which feels so fresh compared to a lot of things Weekly Shonen Jump has been producing as of late. And the level to which things have been thought out really impresses me. In recent chapters it was revealed that in that period of time humanity was petrified the terrain has changed drastically and the maps from the past are now worthless. So that means finding a way to survey the land and get a better sense of the world. Its so exciting to read this sort of thing. And the characters are so fun. Senku is a very interesting character to place at the center of this story. He’s a genius and approaches things as logically as possible, sometimes he can be a jerk and self serving, but he’s always going to do what he can to further civilization because he just loves science that much. Chrome is a really funny character to bounce off of him. We recently were introduced to a new member of the cast that has great potential. I like Asagiri. Its written by the same mangaka behind “Eyeshield 21″ and while I have not read that I can say through this manga that he’s really got a great sense of story telling. I also really like Boichi’s art, he pulls out some hilarious extreme faces and also some really dynamic scenes. Next summer can’t come fast enough because I am so hyped and ready for this anime to start.

“Kimetsu no Yaiba” is another manga that will be getting an anime next year and I am extremely excited. If I had to compare it to anything I would honestly say its like if “Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood” and “Hunter x Hunter” got crossbred. Its mangaka Koyoharu Gotouge really feels very influenced by Yoshihiro Togashi in both her writing as well as some of her character designs. Togashi actually said this manga along with “Dr. Stone” is one of the ones in recent years to read which I’m sure made her thrilled to hear. I feel like this is something that does a lot of the things people generally want to see in anime and manga. You have a strong sibling dynamic at the center of the story (and it isn’t one of those relationships), there’s female characters that are involved with the action and its treated like a real fight, there’s themes of family that are always really endearing, aesthetically its very beautiful while still being able to pull off a more intense body horror style moment, fanservice aside from a couple moments is at a minimum, and it is also very funny. There’s a lot of personality to our main characters as well as the Pillars that we have gotten to know and it doesn’t feel crowded. She knows when to use a character and when to keep them out of a certain arc. She also has a lot of respect towards Nezuko who I feel another writer would have shoved aside in favor of her brother. But Nezuko is shown to still retain her autonomy in spite of her predicament, she fights and is sometimes vital to defeating a demon, and the more recent events in the story show a lot of potential for furthering her as a character. The anime is to be released for the spring and its made by Ufotable, based on the PV we have at the moment this show will definitely be gorgeous. I am very excited for what they’ve done with this material and I can only hope other people will be watching too because I do not want this to be a series people sleep on.

“Revolutionary Girl Utena” is a masterpiece. I have frankly a really complicated opinion of Kunihiko Ikuhara. A lot of people think he can do no wrong, I am not one of them. There’s things that happened with “Sailor Moon” that I know weren’t his fault, but there’s also things that happened during S where he had the most control over the project that still bother me. I can never know for sure if these were his ideas or things Toei forced onto him as he did leave the show because of a lack of freedom to do what he wanted, but that said when he really commits to a project he can produce something amazing. He has said many things over the years regarding Utena and a big takeaway from them is that he does not want to tell us what to feel, he wants us to decide for ourselves. I think what Utena fundamentally is about is deconstructing romantic tropes, analyzing chivalry, and the lies men tell women. The series gets more complex and symbolic as it progresses until we get to the movie “Adolescence of Utena” where its refusing to hold your hand any step of the way. Unlike with “End of Evangelion” or “Madoka Rebellion” the “Adolescence” movie is not an attempt at a different ending, but more of an alternative retelling of the story. Its a pure visual masterpiece and a movie that I honestly think deserves to be seen with or without the TV show. That said I would strongly recommend both of them as not only is it one of the greatest shojo ever, it is also Ikuhara at his finest. Moo.

[soft-sarcasm]

im jaebum: standards.

Pairing: im jaebum x reader.

Request: vickyxmelonlove: Hello there!! May i request for a GOT7 scenario with JB or Mark where they're crush is a tsundere. ^^ please and thanks!!

Anonymous: Can you please write a Got7 JB smut with n i p p l e play? Thank you:)

Genre: smut, fluff, mild nipple play, some even milder drying humping.

Word count: 3.6+k.

a/n: so I didn’t intend to combine this two requests but it just kinda of worked so, yeah. I hope this is what you wanted, I don’t know how well it turned out because both of these things are not exactly things I’m very well versed in, so yeah. Thanks for reading.

"-Again."

 "-Again."

 "-Again."

 "-Agai-"

 "-If you say again one more time I'm going to explode." Came the voice of your boyfriend, the sound amplified as it filtered through the Mic and into the dimly lit producing booth you currently occupied.

 You could understand his frustration. It was slowly going on 3am and you add been making him repeat the second half of his part in the third verse for a good ten to fifteen minutes, constantly interrupting when you deemed it necessary for a retake.

 You rolled your eyes, pressing down your finger on the com button so that your voice filled the space behind the glass that currently separated you. "You're the one who wanted to make a song together Jaebummie and you knew well in advance how I operate."

 You had been a music producer at JYP for years now, after being one of the few trainees who auditioned for the position and actually was hired. You had also worked on many of the most successful singles to come out of the entertainment company, songs like 'TT' by Twice that was a monster of a bit and GOT7's 'Never Ever.' That's where you had truly had gotten to know your boyfriend who was currently glaring at you from behind the glass. Of course, you both knew of each other from working in the same company for so long and having mutual friends, but you had only gotten to know each other during that time.

 But while you had worked on the track, you had only assisted during the actual recording so this was the first time that he was in a session that you were leading entirely. And while he knew of your perfectionist attitude as it translated into your daily life, it seemed that he hadn't fully grasped just how ready you were to keep you both there all night until you were happy with it. You had warned him that you weren't going to compromise because of your relationship and he had simply brushed it off, eager to start on the project he had been nagging you for, for weeks after he had spent one too many times listening to some of your samples and base tracks. While he himself was no stranger to producing, he had always been fascinated by your ear for music and personal flourish that made most of the projects you touched instant hits.

"Just one more time Jae, and then I promise we're finished." You attempted to coax, putting on a pretty smile and bat of your eyelashes.

He simply scoffed but never the less slipped back on the headset. You started up the track to the right time and leaned back as he prepared to sing. Listening carefully for the correct flourishes and pronunciation that you wanted. The song cut off as did his voice, and you looked up from your notes to see him staring at you expectantly.

"Up to your standards then?"

You simply raised your shoulders, a coy smile threatening to curl at the edges of your lips. "It'll have to do. You can come out now."

There was a distinct huff that came through the Mic before you turned off the com and begun to resemble yourself as you finally prepared to leave. It wasn't that you tried to be a bitch. It was just who you were and one of the reasons why you had been able to accomplish what you had in your life. It had not been easy by any means to get yourself taken seriously as a music producer in the beginning and you had had to fight tooth and nail to get you to where you are simply due to age and being a gender which still remained unfavoured when it came to music producing.

 You were a perfectionist and a borderline control freak which usually made you a pretty unlikeable person. There was also the fact that you were entirely dedicated to your just above almost everything else that had always made getting into relationships, whether platonic or romantic, rather difficult as most people rarely put up with someone who would rather stay holed up in their studio for days then replying to text messages or going outside even. You also were known to be quite harsh in your search for basic perfection and there was also your fundamentally standoffish personality. And yet, despite all these things, Im Jaebum had decided that he found you charming enough to want to date and you had found him tolerable enough to do the same. Almost 18 months later here you were.

 "I should put Yugyeom in here with you, maybe then he'll stop complaining anytime I make him repeat a verse," Jaebum stated offhandedly as he entered in the sound booth area, making his way to settle in the chair next to you as he had noticed that you had favoured rerunning through the song opposed to getting fully ready to return to your apartment. "But I can't say anything; you definitely know your shit."

 "Thanks," You mused, listening for any lasting imperfections for the umpteenth time that day. You had started working on this track a day or so ago, having finalised the instrumental and most of the lyrics to the point that all Jaebum would have to do is add the vocals and any lyrical choices of his own. Being in the industry had taught you both to move at an incredible pace with your own side projects being no exception.

 "Ready to head home?"

 You let out a non-committal hum, no longer focusing on the world around you as your mind drifted. "I just remembered there's this track Hui wanted me to smooth over that I never got around to doing."

 "Good lord," Jaebum exclaimed, exasperation saturating his tone. "You cannot start anything right now. It is almost 3 and you have been up for nearly 24 hours. If you keep it any longer your eyes will literally pop out of your skull."

 "Sounds fun," You stated offhandedly, now fully immersed in your own swirling brain. "I bet you I could have it done by 7."

 "And die in the process?" Jaebum scoffed, pulling himself from the chair in a motion to leave. "I thought I was meant to be the tsundere one.”

“Please, that trifle you call angst is just a fraction of what I possess, so watch out,” You stated pointedly, making a flare gesture to yourself, “Because if your fans ever catch a sight of this; they’re mine.”

“Yes, yes, you’re very angsty dear.” He cooed mockingly like some patronizing grandmother causing you to scowl, “Now let’s get out of here, I’m already dead on my feet as it is.”

“But, but- the song, music, creativity,” You rambled pitifully, turning to pout and display your most endearing set of puppy dog eyes. “Just five more minutes, pwease?”

Jaebum physically cringed at the overwhelming sweetness and babyish texture of your voice, “Please, go back to being angsty that was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard.”

Taking this as a cue to go farther you suddenly were springing up from your chair, performing an impromptu display of the many different ageyo expressions you had watched idols do for years. “Please, I really want to finish this song. I promise I’ll love you forever,” And just to finish it off you ended with a small whine as you jutted out your bottom lip and hung on his arm, the cherry on top being the finger heart you shot over in his direction.

“I think I’m actually going to be sick,” He gaped, face covered in nothing but pure distaste and disbelief, “You’ve officially lost it, we’re going home.”

You abandoned your posture at that, falling back into your usual stance of indifference as you regained your composure, letting out a dissatisfied sound as you did, “All that work; just to be rejected. I guess it’s true, boys are only into what’s chic these days and when a girl shows her true emotions, they simply push them aside. I thought society had moved past this, but alas,” You let out a sorrowful sigh, “We have not.”

“If that was a true display of your emotions; we need to break up,” Jaebum stated plainly moving even closure to the door causing you to wonder if he had realised that the most movement you had made to leave was stand up from your chair. “Now can we please go, I want to at least get some form of sleep before you wake me up to no doubt re-do the second verse or maybe even the entire song.”

“Perfect idea,” You exclaimed, “You go home, I stay here. I’ll call you at 10 and we can go on from there, sorted. See you tomorrow!”

There was a loud groan and a muffled bang as Jaebum all but slammed his head into the door he was in the process of opening out of what you could only assume was frustration, he then turned back to you, “Fuck man, you are so insufferable sometimes. You are not a robot, you need to sleep-”

“-Sleep,” You dismissed, “Sleep is for the weak. I’m not even tired yet, so all that would happen would be that we would get home, you would pass out and I’d just lie there, all night, fixating on the work I should be doing. I’ll sleep when this is do-”

“-more like when you’re dead if you keep this up.” Dammit. You had done it now. Gone was the majority of the playfulness that up until this point that guided your conversation. You overworking yourself was a common topic of your conversation ever since a few months back where you had suddenly passed out after leaving a recording session at 3 am. Jaebum had been near furious to find out that it was mainly due to the fact that you hadn’t slept for two days and had eaten maybe half a meal during the same time period.

You wanted to say that he couldn’t say shit because there were times when he was injured or fatigued and he still performed, but he simply argued that at least he took care of himself enough that he could actually manage those performances without flaking out. Yeah, it was a touchy subject.

“Jae,” You started, softer now with the sudden change of tone, “I really think that even if I tried, I wouldn’t get any sleep right now and you know how much I hate that, just lying there when there’s something better I could be doing. I know what you’re saying is valid and you know better than anyone that I’ve been doing better, so just this once; let me stay here and then I promise I’ll sleep all of Saturday just for you.”

There was a beat of silence and then Jaebum was dropping down his bag and sighing, making his way over to you just in time for you catch an interesting flicker of something in his feline edged eyes, “Why don’t we rather do something else that I know will tire you out and then we can go home and then you can come back?”

“And what would this something else be?” You replied, now understanding the shift in his tone as you realised that you had been backed up so that you were now pressed against the desk behind you.

There was a twitch of something between coy and satisfaction at the corners of his lips as Jaebum leaned closer so that his mouth was up against your ear, giving him the access to nip the skin. “Maybe you’ll just have to figure that out for yourself.”

You wanted to laugh at the blatant seduction in his voice but any noise that could have possibly been wanting to come out quickly evaporated as Jaebum crushed his lips against yours, teeth and tongue instantly added to mix as soon as you parted your lips. Jaebum further nestled himself into the spot between your legs, hands gripping every part of your clothed frame with just enough pressure to set you all on fire. You pulled yourself closer so that your forms were pulled together so with each one of your movements you could perfectly full every ridge of him, lazily licking and biting at his mouth as your hands travelled south so that you were roughly grabbing his ass to further push him into you.

A distinct hiss left his lips as you grinded up into him, the friction a delicious mixture of pleasure and denial, “Fuck, you really are something.”

You simply hummed in answer, taking his moment of weakness to not only spread your lips over the expanse of his exposed neck but also push the bomber jacket from his shoulders so that only a thin shirt remained. “You’re the one who offered,” You reminded while you nipped at his collar bones, “So don’t flake out on me now.”

He couldn’t answer straight away as you twist your hips up, having to regain himself before he could. “I’m not flaking, just stating the facts.”

“Then I take the compliment and raise you one,” You chortled happily, wandering fingers making their way to grasp at his belt. “Or rather, you can raise one.”

An actual laugh escaped his lips, a breathy one as you made your way to cup him in your hands, but still a laugh before he was removing himself from you for a moment, “You sure know how to just sneak in those innuendos don’t you?”

“It’s a talent,” You shrugged while making quick work of kicking off your shoes and discarding your sweater, exposing your chest instantly to the chilly sound booth thanks to your lack of bra. “But while it is one of many, patience is not, so if we could get on with this whole ‘tiring me out thing’ I’d very much appreciate it.”

Your words seemed to knock the sense that Jaebum seemed to lose at the sight of your fully bare chest. In your opinion, there was not a lot to look at, but apparently, it was one of Im Jaebum’s many things, and who were you to judge? He moved like lightning, freeing himself from his shirt and latching himself back to your body by way of your neck within a few seconds of each other. You let out an overly satisfied sound as the heat that radiated from his body made contact with you, an even more pampered noise escaping when a warm hand clamped down on your right breast, nimble fingers further stimulating your nipple that had already become perked due to the contrast of temperature.

His tongue trailed down your neck, teeth sometimes joining so that a kaleidoscope of sensation greeted you with each ministration. He only stopped when he reached the left side of your chest that had seemed neglected until then, his breath stuttering for just a moment as you continued to twist your clothed core up into his. You let out a soft gasp when his mouth finally came into contact with your nipple, there being no time to recover was his other hand pinched down on your other one.

“Shit,” You cursed while tossing your head back, keeping yourself stable by pushing back on the desk space behind you to keep you stable. There was a nip at the sensitive flesh that you could only imagine was overly red due to his ministrations. “Jae.”

He perked up at the sound of his nickname, a look of pure satisfaction and mischief in his eyes as he gazed up at you, “Yes? You okay up there?”

You let out a frustrated huff, the sound finishing over as a stunted whine when he decided that now was the appropriate time to give you a small flick. “Can we skip this part already? I know it’s like, a thing, but I currently need a different thing if you get what I mean.”

You were answered with a noncommittal hum and a kiss to the side that had once been occupied by his left hand, “I don’t know, I think you may have to be more specific. I mean, how am I meant to successfully tire you out if I don’t know what you want?”

There was a shriek when he sunk his teeth down and suddenly all of your inhibitions were gone and you were thrusting up your hips, “If you don’t fuck me this fucking instant I swear to god Jaebum I will get myself off right here, right now and make you watch.”

That seemed to knock some sense into him, especially as he knew you were perfectly capable of going through with any and all threats. There had been this one time when he had attempted to distract you from your work for a good two hours because he was horny and wanted attention even though you had a deadline. Simply put, he never tried that ever again.

The memory of that torturous night was probably one of the things that set him into instant motion, making quick work of helping you lift yourself up enough to take off your leggings before doing the same to his own jeans, though it seemed he was slightly too eager to even finish the job as he regained his spacing as soon as they were far enough down his thighs so that he could push down his underwear. You understood why the mere thought of not being able to finish what he had started and made him act so quickly when you saw the sight of his cock, incredibly hard and dripping precum. You had seen his dick enough times to not be surprised by it anymore but that didn’t mean that you didn’t take the time to admire it, not that that’s what you were doing right now, right now you were more frustrated by the fact that you could still see it and it wasn’t inside of your rather than how unnaturally pretty it was.

He didn’t waste any time either, cloaking your body with his own, mouth mashing against your own as you felt the all too familiar, yet still exhilarating feeling of his head lined up to your thoroughly sopping entrance. Even though it had barely been a day since the last time you had fucked, it felt like you hadn’t felt his body this close to your own in months. That feeling was quickly extinguished when he slid into you, the stretch welcomed as you both moaned in content.

“Fuck yes,” You sighed in satisfaction, rotating your hips in appreciation of the filling sensation.

Jaebum pressed an overly mushy kiss to your lips before he begun to move, each thrust making you both more riled up and sedated, his empty hand that wasn’t busy keeping your leg up to allow better access, sneaking in between your bodies to latch onto your swollen clit.

You clenched at the added stimulation causing him to groan, “Fuck, you feel fucking amazing.”

“Thanks,” You hummed, clenching down again as your eyes fought to not flutter closed. You enjoyed seeing Jaebum like this, sweat beginning to drip from his dark hair, face flushed with exertion, not to mention basically naked.

“Stop that,” He berated as you tightened yet again, “This is about you if you keep doing that there’s not going to be much of me left.”

“Sorry,” You apologised though it lost its sincerity when you pressed down again causing him to glare at you and press down harder on your clit in retaliation causing you to unleash a loud curse as you threw your head back. There was a twist in your stomach that you knew all too well, the sensation sending shocks through your body. “Fuck.”

“Seems like I won’t have to hold on for that much longer,” Jaebum chortled while slamming back into you causing you to let out an almost shriek.

He was right though, you could see your finish line, the race coming to an end with each twist of his thumb and slam of his hips. Then there was an intruder at your already full entrance and you arched from the table as Jaebum slipped in another finger alongside his dick, successfully stealing the air from your very beginning. You were completely speechless at the sudden sensation that was only amplified by the finger both in you and the one of your clit.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” You repeated like a mantra before you were cumming, clamping down on Jaebum with an additional tightness thanks to the extra component which sent him spiralling.

Heavy breathing filled the sound booth, sounding as pleasant to you as many of the songs that had been produced in the very same space. You were thoroughly satisfied and there was an overwhelming sense of numbing exhaustion taking over your very being. Jaebum regained his strength before you did, moving you both to the couch after pulling out, he set you down in a lying position before he went off to find something to clean you off with.

“You tired enough to go home no-” Jaebum begun as he returned with a cloth after having to put on his clothes to go retrieve one, only to be met with you already passed out on the couch, having obviously used the last of your strength to grab for his discarded jacket to cover yourself. He let out a laugh at the endearing sight of your innocent expression as you slept peacefully, muttering himself as he made his way over to you, “Tsundere indeed.”

[yamameta-inc]

on yamamoto and gokudera’s relationship

i’m two years late with this post and i’ve realized i can’t make nice, readable, presentable list posts i’m just going to copy crossy and Just Say Things when i feel like talking about them

okay so what absolutely baffles me about fanon characterization of their relationship is that people seem to think gokudera dislikes yamamoto just because he thinks he’s Dumb, whereas yamamoto is just ‘haha oh you’ and puts up with it indulgently because he loves gokudera and gokudera is his Good Friend.

while the last part isn’t completely off the mark, i feel like this interpretation of their relationship completely ignores one essential fact: both yamamoto and gokudera initially do not think much of the other, at all. gokudera thinks yam is dumb, yes, but mostly, there is absolutely nothing about yam that isn’t either incredibly threatening or incredibly abhorrent to him. gokudera doesn’t harass yam because he’s tsun, he harasses him because yamamoto being in the same space as him is deeply upsetting to him and constantly threatens the implicit Rules that govern his worldview. gokudera hates yamamoto because yamamoto is a carefree civilian who’s allowed to just join up for no reason (whereas he had to pass a fake ‘test’ of sorts), which is a Big Deal for a mafia brat who grew up on the streets of the underworld; because gokudera doesn’t understand yamamoto at ALL and thinks that yam isn’t taking any of this seriously, which infuriates gokudera because of the honour he accords the position of guardian and because of what he perceives as the sheer audacity of being that flippant with tsuna’s safety; and, most crucially, because despite all of this yamamoto is genuinely better at everything than he is. we all know gokudera has self-esteem and insecurity issues in SPADES, and interacting with yamamoto automatically sets those off at maximum intensity.

and yamamoto? is fully aware of this. he knows gokudera doesn’t like him and treats him pretty unfairly. he just didn’t know the extent of gokudera’s dislike until the gamma fight, because part of him was hopeful that since they were Teammates, gokudera had to like him at least a little bit, right? but like, this is half the reason yamamoto is initially... kind of condescending towards gokudera. he doesn’t show in his behaviour, because he’s a Good Boy and tries to be polite, but the thing is, yamamoto knows he‘s stronger than gokudera. he doesn’t make a big deal out of it because he’s not an asshole and doesn’t particularly care about things like that when it comes to Friendship, but heeeee’s definitely aware that gokudera... isn’t all that strong? or reliable? and gokudera’s behaviour towards him just makes him even more “haha ok.” he laughs it off because gokudera is so theatrical about it and yamamoto has no idea how relationships actually work. it’s kind of the only way he can continue to go unbothered by it (though as we see in the gamma fight, when he isn’t putting forth the effort to not take it seriously, he is Very Bothered--yamamoto isn’t all that honest with himself, ever). the slapstick dynamic we see with yamamoto’s attitude towards gokudera being essentially “sure jan” and gokudera spitting fire at him is funny because it’s a Joke but also in terms of characterization it means yamamoto definitely has to be at least somewhat dismissive of gokudera in order for this whole thing to be sustainable?

for example, after the gamma fight, gokudera gives a genuine and earnest apology to yamamoto, saying he was scared and unfairly took it out on yam, saying things he didn’t mean. yam, in return, says.... “i also said things i shouldn’t have.” aka yamamoto meant all those things he said to gokudera--this entire time, yamamoto thought gokudera was doing an extremely poor job of being a guardian and that he had no idea what he was doing. he just never said anything because, well. he’s yamamoto. he doesn’t say things! he doesn’t want to cause any friction in the team, so he usually just lets everything slide (partly due to fear of losing the only place where he can belong, and partly because he is deathly allergic to confrontation and internalizes everything instead of dealing with his issues). that’s why he’s  “easygoing”: he won’t disturb the status quo at all unless he has no choice (see: never bringing up reborn’s secret ever again because they forgot to ask him again), but uh, he’s extremely perceptive and in fact knows More Things Than People Think and has a lot of Opinions about things.

  yamamoto is also a little shit, and a large part of how he deals with gokudera’s behaviour is by......... winding him up on purpose, because yamamoto thinks it’s absolutely hilarious (it is). yam deals with a lot of things by turning them into a jokes! it’s just a Thing. maybe it’s not healthy but hey, Now It’s Funny, and funny things are good. yam KNOWS that gokudera takes his whole “mafia game” thing literally, but never bothers to correct him, because he thinks it’s fucking funny that gokudera is so baitable. obviously, this does NOT help gokudera be less annoyed by him. these boys are really dumb. 

yamamoto doesn’t DISLIKE gokudera, though. despite everything, he has high hopes of Being Friends with gokudera. he also can kind of guess where gokudera’s anger comes from? he can’t do anything about gokudera’s insecurities though (hell, he wouldn’t even know where to begin, or even how to formulate the thought--he’s a 14 year old jock he doesn’t know what the word insecurity means). he doesn’t really know where they stand, but he’s??? tentatively optimistic??? maybe??? he’s very attached to the fact that they are Teammates. a team ties people together, and yamamoto Knows teammates. he can do Teams. this is what he’s good at. the mafia is a Team Game and all his teammates are Extremely Important and he’s gonna win this you guys. he tries his very best to LIKE gokudera, which is why he’s always laughing and turning things into jokes, because gokudera is a lot more likeable if you turn him into a meme (this is applicable to all uptight or angry fictional characters): it’s a lot easier to get along with someone who’s always angry at you if you can go “oh you ahahahaha you’re always such a riot gokudera.” yamamoto actually really is strangely endeared by gokudera, probably because 1) gokudera is sometimes really Relatable 2) you will never understand a warrior’s bond 3) once yamamoto has successfully installed them into a Routine (which is partly why he never corrects gokudera on anything, so they always end up repeating the same arguments), gokudera and all his mannerisms become a familiar comfort instead of Attac 4) they hang out and stuff sometimes and it’s really chill?

just think of it this way: yamamoto is a dog that Loves gokudera, but doesn’t respect him in any shape or form. he is an EXTREMELY friendly dog, and so he will wag his tail and ask to play with him and lick his face, but only when he feels like it, and if gokudera tries to tell him to do anything.......

lol

this dynamic only really begins to change in the latter half of the future arc, after they’ve had their big fight! the frustrations they’ve had with each other ever since the beginning of the series finally bubble up to the surface and they blow up in an extravagant mess. they finally confront each other on their Feelings about each other, while also revealing other Emotions they’ve been experiencing that obviously neither acknowledged in the least up until then. (so. bad. at feelings and communication.) it’s at that moment that they finally start respecting each other, not only as people, but as fellow guardians! you’ll notice that in all subsequent arcs, gokudera is much less aggressive towards yamamoto, only griping for what seems to be the principle of it. it’s Routine now. (thanks yam) all this culminates in the peerless wonder that is the tandem bike scene. it’s a beautiful metaphor for how their relationship has evolved.

tl;dr-- yamamoto and gokudera’s relationship is actually extremely complex and fascinating, and it’s a crying shame that fandom simplifies it for the sake of tsundere gokudera and red-blue rivalship. gokudera is not tsun: he actually genuinely dislikes yamamoto in the beginning of the series. neither considers the other a worthy rival: gokudera thinks yamamoto isn’t qualified to even be a candidate in the mafia race by virtue of his character and background, whereas yamamoto doesn’t think gokudera is competent or strong enough to be on his level. they would both destroy each other in an instant for the position of tsuna’s right hand man. thankfully, they later become asshole friends and settle into a friendlier, heat-less version of their old dynamic.

[one-of-us-blog]

Mary Has a Little Lamb (TGG, Season 5, Episode 13)

Today Eli is forced to watch and recap Mary Has a Little Lamb, Episode 13 of the fifth season of The Golden Girls.  A young friend finds herself in a tough situation, and Blanche finds herself with an unwanted admirer.  Will the gals be able to spring into action to set things right once more?  Keep reading to find out…

Cap, there is no need to apologize for the tardiness of your last Doctor Who review, given that this particular recap is incredibly late as well!  I’ll keep this section brief, but let me quickly say that you did a great job with your recap of Kill the Moon.  I was pretty confident you wouldn’t be a big fan of the plot that hatched, but I keep forgetting how much you dislike the supporting human characters this season!  I’m looking forward to your thoughts on the rest of the episodes, as I think there are some bright spots remaining.  But I had better delay no longer.  Let’s head to Miami!

Buttocks tight!

Episode written by Harold Apter, directed by Terry Hughes

The episode opens with Sophia reading a sultry love letter that she got from opening Blanche’s mail.  Blanche has been corresponding with an inmate named Merrill, and their passionate exchange has gotten pretty steamy.  Despite the concerns of her friends, she sees it as a harmless fantasy to bring a man some joy.  After all, Merrill is doing twenty years of hard time for armed robbery, so it’s not like she’s ever going to have to see the guy…right?  Someone arrives at the front door, but worry not, it isn’t Merrill (yet).  Instead, Mary, a local high school girl who they seem to know from her past cookie sales, visits the girls.  Sophia takes one look at her expression, and immediately deduces that Mary is pregnant.  This situation sounds even worse, as Mary reveals that she and the father of her child have parted ways, and her own father has kicked her out of the house.  She doesn’t know what she is going to do, but the gals immediately offer to let her stay with them.  Rose even takes Mary to the kitchen for some pickles and ice cream, a nice treat that isn’t connected to cravings.  With Mary in the other room, the remaining ladies discuss how mean her father is being.  Sophia insists that his dog is mean as well.

In the next scene, Blanche tells Rose that she missed something in Merrill’s last letter.  He is getting out of prison the very next day on a technicality!  Blanche is pretty panicked about this, but we’ll get back to the B plot soon.  In the meantime, Dorothy takes an extra blanket to the bedroom in which Mary is sleeping, and tucks her in.  Mary is comfortable here, but still feels so alone.  Dorothy says that she needs to talk to her father, but Mary insists that her old man went crazy when he heard the news.  Dorothy reveals that, when she found herself in the same situation many years ago, her own father chased Stan for three blocks with a salami in hand, but eventually his love for his daughter won out.  Mary asks Dorothy to say with her until she falls asleep.

We cut to the next day, and Sophia is frantically hiding all the valuables, as Merrill is on his way over.  Dorothy thinks that perhaps he will be a gentleman, but we quickly learn that this isn’t the case when Merrill arrives at the front door.  “I want Blanche,” he insists as he barges in, ready to wait until she arrives.  Dorothy nervously compliments Merrill’s letters, but he admits that his cellmate actually wrote those letters to a night guard.  He simply changed the names.  He tells the girls to call him Moose, endearing himself even further.  Dorothy and Sophia try to lose him, but Blanche returns home before they can.  She panics again when she realizes who he is, but with some quick thinking, they all pretend that she isn’t Blanche at all, and even attempt to make the fictional Blanche sound terrible.  This actually might have worked, but Rose delivers one insult too many, and Blanche springs to her own defense, insisting that the fictional Blanche is gorgeous.  This gives Merrill enough hope to insist that he will be back to see her.

Blanche decides to stay with her friend Janet until Merrill is out of the picture, and Rose wants to sign Mary up for natural child birth classes.  Sophia worries about how much responsibility they are taking on, and thinks that Mary’s father should be involved.  She gets mad as hell, and is ready to pay the man (and his dog) a visit.

We arrive at the home of Mary’s father, Fred.  He reluctantly lets Dorothy and Sophia into his living room, and they all sit down to talk the situation over.  Fred’s dog, Samson, stares down Sophia, which is enough to throw her off her game.  Her compassionate approach to the situation is to say that Dorothy was a young slut, but that she didn’t turn her out of the house.  Fred insists they have no idea what he’s going through.  Samson eventually barks at Sophia, and she exits stage right, leaving Dorothy alone to finish the conversation.  Dorothy shares her own story about being young and scared, but still isn’t sure how to make Fred understand.  He says that maybe he’s stupid, so Dorothy adapts by borrowing one of Rose’s St. Olaf tales about a farmer, Neils, and his daughter, Fricka, who hooked up with the local pig breeder.  Neils banished Fricka from his life, and consequently became St. Olaf’s loneliest man.  The point is, Mary is sixteen, scared, and carrying Fred’s grandchild…does he really want to abandon her?

Cutting back to the house, we find somebody tied up, and it isn’t even Blanche on a date.  Sophia has been roped to a chair, with duct tape covering her mouth.  The other girls (eventually) discover her, and she tells them that Merrill did this.  She had been sharing some wine and music with the man (dang, Sophia must really be desperate), but when she caved and admitted the truth of the situation to Merrill, he tied her up and took their silver and jewelry.

Jumping forward again, Merrill calls the house to speak to Blanche.  He got arrested, and has used his one phone call for some sexy talk.  Fred finally comes to see Mary, and tells her that he wants her to return home with him so they can work things out.  Mary seems relieved, and father and daughter embrace.  The girls all say goodbye, and Mary insists that she won’t be a stranger.  Fred mentions the St. Olaf story on the way out the door, and the other girls all stare at Dorothy in amazement.  Rose in particular is thrilled.  Dorothy can’t take it, and ejaculates that she was desperate.

The End.

First of all, this episode earns some immediately points from the mere fact that Dorothy told a St. Olaf story herself.  I can only imagine how delighted this made Rose.  I feel like the main plotline with Mary had some potential that was never fully realized, but I realize that time needed to be devoted to the tale of Blanche and Merrill, which I found to be pretty amusing.  I liked this one, and don’t have a lot else to say, so I’m just going to get to the point and give Mary Has a Little Lamb a rating of 4 poofy hairdos out of 5!

Join us soon, when Drew will share his take on Mummy on the Orient Express, the next episode of Doctor Who, and I’ll be back in a few days with my recap of Great Expectations, the next episode of The Golden Girls.  Until then, as always, thank you for being a friend, and for being One of Us!