#but nothing about them so far this season screams platonic in anyway okay

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

Dude I'm 99.9% we are gonna get Buddie cannon this season. Like look at those new stills for them. That does not scream platonic on any level. They truly make me insane.

[astro-break]

Thoughts on the third ep of Hypmic Rhythm Anima (as always, spoilers beware but not only for the anime itself but for future things covered in the Drama CD and the Manga. If you’re an anime only, those are marked with a *)

Right off the bat. Super disappointed that it isn’t a MTC episode. I wanted an MTC episode. :((((

Still got my MTC crumbs this week tho and I think I can hold out until next week which hopefully will give me the MTC episode I so desperately want (Yes, i have a division bias and i’m not afraid to show it)

Jakurai entertaining kids are just so cute. I think its very very precious.

* Also. What kind of doctor is Jakurai anyways? So far we know that he’s a councilor/therapist (helps Doppo w/ his anxiety), a pediatrician (he helped a kid), a family doctor (I think i might be wrong on this one), a surgeon (In the FP vs MTC manga he’s shown preforming surgery), a hitman/assassin (:/ yeah evil line records seems intent on retconning this one), a battle field medic (he’s state to be one during WWIII) and now he’s getting called into the orthopedic (things concerning the musculoskeletal system) and gastroenterology (working w. the digestive system) department, two things that have nothing in common with each other. And I’m sure I’m missing some. There is no way in hell this man can do all that he’s 35 for fucks sake. You’d be old and grey before you could learn and complete the credentials needed to work half of these jobs

Nice to now that theres some hints of jakurai’s past. I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more of the detective later in the story, esp for Matenrou

Doppo being overworked as usual *sigh*. When will the man ever rest? Never... Though im a bit skeptical as to why one of his co-workers calls him doppo. this is a work environment, usually he’d be called “Kanonzaka” for the least amount of informality. seems sus to me. Though his depiction of his insecurities is nice

I love how his first reaction is to call Hifumi and as him if he’s killed anyone. Peak bromance guys. 

Honestly Doppo’s method of trying to calm down is nice but not at all effective. He has the right mindset of calming down and letting his body breath, but the way he goes about it is... eh. 

Tom and Iris’ argument is hilarious and I really want to see more of them and Rex! Can’t wait to see what happens with these three new characters

Iasdgfjsd;flkasjdflkasdjfkasdlvn ajsdk, MTCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

MY BPOYS OH MY GOD RIOU NEVER CHANGE

fsajghasdf i love them asdhfoiksldjfasdfj riou’s food looks so so so so so good omgggggg

Samatoki respecting the fuck outta Jakurai is amazing and I never get tired of their father-child kind of relationship (yes jakurai is a dad to TDD fight me.)

The Riou and Samatoki interactionnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ah my heart!! they know each other so well and play off each others strengths. its so cute and I love how Samatoki knows his teammates well enough to know when to play each of his pieces. He isn’t just some brute who speaks through his fists, but he does use his head too. I think this is one of the reasons why he’s also high up on the Yakuza ladder since he’s not only brawny but also brainy

EAT RIOUS FOOD SAMATOKI

ah yes, Jyuto kneeing a bitch. just what I needed to see on a stressful friday thank you for feeding me

I love MTC, im very happy with the MTC crumbs. Since MTR showed up in BB’s ep last week, i really really hope that next week’s ep will be MTC

There it is. Jakurai’s “Jitsuni Kyoumibukai” line

lolololololol the sound effects for MTR is hilarious. Though please give Doppo a break, man deserves it

Jaku’s hair man. its beautiful

Again, please give Doppo a break, he deserves with the 4 joints that they attacked

They say 3 times, but they attacked 4 places?? Did they not report one of them?

Ahhhhh the DoHifu interaction on the temple grounds is both hilarious and cute. Though I can’t help but feel bad for Doppo

* Huh, Jaku did you get that from your hitman days loll

Oh man host mode. Though I like how Doppo recognizes when Host Mode is  a legitimate shield that Hifumi needs and is willing to give him that shield when he needs it. God I love their dynamic]

wow... yet another female stalker for Hifumi... very original. This is pretty similar to the stalker girl from the manga and CD

Lol callback to when Doppo was in the toilet and trying to calm down. 

pffft the girl is so weird. I can’t stand her or Uwabami. 

The plot is so convoluted holy shit. Is this a drama now? (I’ve never watched any c-dramas or k-dramas so I’m the furthest thing from a voice of authority but this seems like a drama show plot lmao.)

This is just a drama at this point lol. Misunderstandings, plot twists and cheesy shit all over the place. Its a badly written and hilarious drama thats for sure

Someone please write a fic where instead of the hypmic universe, the boys are all in a tv drama show plot and their hijinks bc it would fit perfectly. please

Ah, Doppochin snapped~ He’s very interesting once he gets fired up and thats when I really really like MTR. Don’t get me wrong, I love them normally but its when they get down to it that really makes me squeal in delight

Oh! So i think each character gets their own personalized intro w/ their speakers, not just the leaders. Thats honestly so so so cool. The 3D didn’t get in the way of the sequence and was really flashy and smooth. I love how they show the transformation and reveal of the mic and speaker. Honestly the Anime has so many good takes on thigs that aren’t touched on often in the franchise.

The rap was honestly fire this time around. I love it and have replayed it almost 20 times. According to the ending credits its called Welcome U which is so cute for such a funny and badass song. The strong base beat and imagery were so strong and included a lot of homages to things that really matches both Shinjuku, Matenrou and the lyric’s themes and they’re really small but important details! The humor was on point without sacrificing any of the amazingly cool elements and the three distinct styles of rap were integrated in such a catchy melody!

EG) the verse All Year Round features a quick shot of the four seasons and the things most prominently associated with each season. Spring has cherry blossoms and flower viewing, Summer has festivals, Fall and Winter have food that corresponds to events that happen in those seasons.

Doppo’s line of “The flea counters w/ a bite” is so so so cute bc he’s got a little w at the end and thats jp chatspeak for a laugh and skjdfhsdjfkslad adorable

Hifumi picking up right after and asking if Doppo is okay is just. Goals. And his gratutious english works really well and is super smooth! Very very good

Also the small homage to The Champions with Hifumi’s “Jump around” line and the format where Hifumi takes separate lines than Jaku and Doppo. Its a brilliant way to sneak these references in and they’ve kept that theme going from last episode

Foreshadowing with “We’re the true leader, Matenro!” Nice touch there lol.

Lol of course its attempted murder. Still gotta keep this PG 13 even though theres swearing abound

The ending w/ mimimi..... leaves me kind of torn since i don’t like how it ended but they did provide some nice advice. i guess

lsdf;jsalkdfjsldf Hifumi please you’ve known Doppo for over 25 years, you should know better than anyone what his charm points are. and shouldn’t you be the one who understands Doppo’s appeal? smh

SCREEEEEEE THAT TITLE OF THE NEXT EP. if its an MTC ep i will scream even more bc asudhfsdkjflasd A friend in need is a friend indeed this is just pushing my Poly!MTC agenda isn’t it

Final thoughts:

Please please please let next week be MTC please please please

DoHifu are goals, both romantically and platonically

The rap was fire and I’m going to keep listening to it on repeat. First ep was a bit of a disappointment in terms of CGI and raps but these latest two eps are really picking up the slack! I really hope they continue this for the next two!

JAKURAI WHAT KIND OF DOCTOR ARE YOU PLEASE TELL ME

[oopsiedoopsie23]

I promised him | Octavia Blake x Platonic! Reader, Lincoln x Platonic! Reader

A/N: I also love the 100, I must say that I don’t really enjoy the last few seasons as much, but I do really enjoy how unique the show is and all of the opportunities fans have to write imagines and fanfictions because of all of the crazy plots and storylines (and hot characters). Anyways enjoy! This is something a bit different than what I usually write <3

Prompt: Reader is Lincoln’s sister and is fighting for Trikru in the Conclave, until it is down to just her and Octavia.

Warnings: death, blood

You were getting ready to die, but you were preparing to die with honour.

You had drawn Trikru’s symbol on your face but most importantly, you had written your brother’s name on the back of your neck. It was a secret reminder to yourself that no matter what happened, no matter who’s lives you take or whatever pain you endure, you will be with your brother, or at least that was your plan.

You knew that you were one of the best fighters in the Conclave, you weren’t a Nightblood or trained by the best guards since you were a child, like Luna or Roan, but you had the gift to skillfully use any weapon handed to you, and most importantly, you had nothing to lose. Your brother, your only family was dead.

With your skills and passion, everyone knew that you were favoured to make it far into the Conclave, you could easily defeat most of the warriors but it would be extremely difficult for you to kill Luna or Roan on your own. And Octavia, you knew you probably wouldn’t even have the guts to go near her. But you knew that whatever happened there was no way that you would live, and you were okay with that...as long as some idiot didn’t get control of the bunker.

Flashback~

“Lincoln, this is dangerous and you know it. This girl and all of the sky people will be the death of you!”

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes I do! Do you want to know why? I know that if they don’t kill you themselves, Trikru will!”

You watched as your brother paced back and forth, clearly digesting your words. “You will be a traitor Lincoln, I was able to defend you and protect you from Indra’s claims of you being one when you were staying in this fucking cave and only sneaking around with the girl, but if you stay with them and pretend to be one of them, I can’t possibly say that you aren’t a traitor! It’s a death wish Lincoln!”

Lincoln turned around and looked you in the eye, and you knew there was no changing his mind. Months ago, before he met Octavia, his eyes were dark, emotionless and empty. But now, they were filled with life, love and hope, and even his sister couldn’t stand in the way of that hope.

You sighed and wrapped him in a hug.

“Lexa is calling me back to Polis, she says that my break from training is over and I need to help her prepare for another possible war on Skykru.” 

You both let your words sink in as you hugged, tears forming in your eyes. The next time you saw one another would either be on opposite sides of a battle field or if you were lucky, if you were stationed to watch over Skykru’s base, but even then you would likely be too busy to do anything but watch Lincoln from afar. 

“If anything happens to me, promise that you will do everything that you can to keep Octavia safe.”

You pulled back from the hug sighing, “Lincoln...”

“I know that you don’t like her very much Y/N, but if I die, she will be broken and reckless and constantly on the verge of death, and you are the only person I trust that will be able to bring her back and keep her safe. Please Y/N, for me.”

You look him in the eyes and see that tears have began to fall down his face.

“Fine, I promise...but you better not die and leave me to fix your mess, just like you are now.”

Lincoln couldn’t help but chuckle, “Am I leaving you or are you leaving me?”

As it turned out, that was the last time you saw Lincoln. And as you stood by Lexa’s side in Polis, your brother was shot in the head.

End of flashback~

You quickly wiped your eyes and began practicing. 

You expertly began to slash the air, as if your opponent was standing right in front of you, fighting.

You quickly began to get lost in the moment as you didn’t notice someone standing right behind you until they cleared your throat.

“Indra...”

“Y/N...”

“Did you get lost on your way to Octavia or did you actually mean to come here to say your goodbyes?”

“I already wished my best to Octavia and now I am here to do the same for you.”

“Oh please, we both know that you want one person here to win, even if they are fighting for your death.”

“Y/N we both know that whatever happens out there, you will likely fight for my death too, maybe even everybody’s death, but I wanted to say that Lincoln would be proud of you for doing this.”

“DON’T YOU DARE SAY HIS NAME!” you shout, you see people began to stare at you but you don’t care.

“I did not come here to fight, Y/N, I came here to remind you that Lincoln didn’t leave you because of Octavia. He left you because of love, love that just so happened to come from a girl from the sky, a girl that made him feel full of happiness and hope until the day he died.”

“Indra...”

“She made him happy Y/N, you can’t be mad at either of them for being in love for much longer.”

And with that, she walked away leaving you alone with your screaming thoughts.

“She was always one for dramatics huh?” you mutter to yourself

hours later~

You were one of the few left, or so you assumed.

Before, you would walk around for roughly 30 minutes and bump into a competitor, but now it seemed as if you couldn’t find anybody.

You had felt the rain and how it burned into your skin, feeling as if you were on fire, and every drop that landed on you just ignited it and made it worse. 

You had ran into what seemed like some poor bastard’s home for shelter when you heard someone talking.

Your eyes widened in realization...Luna.

“I even stopped blaming myself for killing my brother in the Conclave.” You heard the footsteps moving away from you.

You quietly moved closer towards her and saw Luna following a trail of blood on the floor. Well shit, who’s the dumbass that did that?

“But the truth is...the truth is when I saw him standing across from me in the arena, and I knew only one of us could live...I wanted it to be me.”

Who was she talking to? And why was she taking so damn long?

You realized that if Luna was taking this long to kill someone off, she must be extremely confident that she wouldn’t have to put up much of a fight, her next victim was probably injured or scared shitless and hiding.

This was your chance to kill Luna and her stupid ‘I want everyone to die’ idea. Sure, you wanted a hell of a lot of people to die, and maybe even yourself to die, but at least you wanted to continue the human race.

“I ran because I was afraid of who I am...of the darkness...we all are, but this is the end.”

You quickly ran towards her hiding behind a shelf, as she sliced through the cabinet, clearly thinking that someone was in there. You watched as she moved her arm back, clearly confused, slicing through the cabinet again before opening the cabinet in frustration.

You are about to jump forward, out of your hiding spot and slice her head off until you see Octavia run forward and stab Luna in the stomach.

“You’re wrong there are people worth saving.”

She collects the medallions from Luna’s neck before counting them and looking clearly confused.

You take a deep breath before running out from your spot. You slide in front of Octavia, slicing her knee with one of your daggers. As she falls to the ground in shock and pain, you quickly knee her back and pin her to the ground, using one arm to wrap around Octavia’s neck and the other holding her sword, to use against her if she was strong or dumb enough to escape your hold.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now.”

You feel her gulp and take a breathe before she whispers, “I can’t”

You grunt in frustration before roughly releasing her, dropping her to the ground and picking up her sword.

“You had me in the palm of your hand, why didn’t you finish me off?” Octavia gasps, clearly trying to catch her breath.

You circle her, watching her every movement analyzing every possible move Octavia could take.

“Because of a stupid promise that I made.” 

“To Indra?”

“No...to Lincoln”

You watched as Octavia’s eyes filled with tears and she sucked in a breath in shock.

“He made me promise to keep you safe, and killing you right now wouldn’t really do that wouldn’t it? I bet that asshole thought that something like this would eventually happen...him dead, leaving two broken girls at each other’s throats.”

“He wasn’t an asshole”

“No...he was the opposite which makes him seem even more like an asshole.”

Octavia chuckles before looking you in the eye, “Y/N you should just finish me...Trikru deserves to have the bunker, not Skykru.”

You stop circling her, making Octavia who was now on her knees, have to look up in order to meet your eyes.

You gulped as you realize that she has left herself in the perfect position for you to slice her head off, effectively killing her and leaving you in control of the bunker.

You re-adjust your grip on Octavia’s sword and raise it, shifting your stance to make it easier for you to finish the job in one swing.

You close your eyes, taking in a breath before guiding the sword so that it would stab yourself in the stomach.

You slowly stagger backwards, and watch as Octavia looks at you in shock before standing up and catching you as you fall.

“Wh-why did you just do that? Your people will die without the bunker.”

You slightly chuckled before coughing up blood, “Octavia, I don’t care about the bunker, do what you want with it...give it to Skykru, give it to Trikru, leave it for everybody to share for all I care, but I promised him...I-I would rather die than break t-that”

“Thank you...”

And as you felt your chest getting heavier and heavier, making it harder to breathe, you raised your hand slightly, so that you were holding your medallion that had the Trikru symbol on it.

You gripped it and yanked it forcefully, breaking the necklace, cringing as you felt a slight pain ripple throughout your body.

Octavia noticed this and tried taking it from you, trying to make the process easier as she realized what you were trying to do.

“N-no...” you croaked “I want to be the one to give it to you.”

Octavia nodded and gulped as you slowly placed the medallion into her hands.

“You’ll be a good leader Octavia.”

And with that, you took your last breath as the world suddenly went dark.

And you were gone.

[popculturebuffet]

Animation Reviews:Star Vs: Mr.Candle Cares

Tom is back! Yeah I know this took about a month, with the pride month reviews and life being kind of chaotic, I put these next two tom reviews on the back burner, even doing another star review in the meantime for Father’s Day. But with Pride Month winding down and our next episode up being gaytatstic, it was time to come back. It’s just a shame it had to be this one.  We’re in Season 2 now, and early in it, with this being only the third episode and the first to not involve the main plot, as the first two dealt with the fallout of the first season finale, and set up some of the main conflicts for the season. I WILL cover those arcs eventually and recap parts of them if necessary but for now they have zero impact on what happens here. That being said just because it dosen’t tie into the main arc with Ludo and Toffee-Wand, dosen’t mean it’s not important, as this episode both marks a major turning point for tom and also digs into the recurring theme for the next two seasons of star grappling with her responsiblities.. in this case future ones. We also get a peak into her mom’s personality. So with not much exposition to cover, I will see you under the cut.. please?

We open at school and it’s career day, something my school didn’t have for whatever reason, but is a common thing as new Gudiance Counsler mr candle has so far been giving everyone really great advice that fits what they want. Star is eager to have her turn and soon does.  Inside the office Star is offered Candy, which she politley refuses before we find out, unsuprisingly, Star thinks he’s a fourtune teller. A great bit. The mood quickly drops deep into the basement when Candle hammers into star that her destiny is to be queen and it’s carved in stone despite what other plans she may have. THen things get.. a bit creepy with Mr.Candle asking if Star’s dating marco and when she says no and that i’d be weird to date given they live together he urges her to start thinking about her future husband.  And yes I’m aware Tom probably wrote his script, and Tom knows about as much about school as star Does or else Mr Candle would’ve been suspended, at least for this, it’s still unnerving to hear a grown man not only before this tell a teenager she has no choice in her future, but then try and set her up with an unstable teenager in the creepiest way possible and somehow not get fired. It’s hard to watch Star leaves depressed and it’s marco’s turn.. and once again Mr.Candle proves to be a pretty terrible minon, suggesting Marco be a janitor on garbage island. Now as probably isn’t a shock to you given most of you have probably seen this ep, and we’ll find out in a minute anyway, Tom is behind this: trying to keep star and marco apart and get her back with him. And while parts of this do stink of Tom’s own lack of understanding of star, more on that later, and hatred of Marco, as well as not getting earth, as we’ve seen Mr.Candle is actually godo at his job and we see a bit of a real session that’s not part of an emo’s poorly thought out scheme that proves it. He could EASILY manipulate both, or at least try to with marco, but instead just goes along with a script written by a teenager that instead makes one of his targets depressed and the other instantly ready to tell him off or , had Candle been less lucky, go to the principal with this. Now granted this level of gross incompence is another day at echo creek, but it just dosen’t work. I don’t buy that tom couldn’t of found someone more competent with the giant amoutns of money he has to throw around. Then again Tom is really bad at evil when you think about it: I mean sure he can throw hands, as we’ll see in later episodes, but his evil schemes are poorly thought out at best and i’m certain if he had stayed a bad guy after this episode, he would’ve dropped to just proposing to star every time he sees her like teddy from brooklyn nine nine. 

So naturally Marco and Star talk about this with Star really depressed about seemingly being trapped becoming queen, while Marco gushes about how great being queen would be from his perspective... including never having to pick out clothes, fair enough, and never having people not like you, which is depressing. Poor boy. I missed this Marco: Awkward, insecure, but likeable. and also very much possibly gender fluid. Why they threw that out i’ll never know, but it’s canon for me now at least.  Anyways, Marco decides to confront candle int he bathroom because why not. It’s not any more awkward than Candle trying to convince star to make out with tom without saying tom’s name. But yeah as I let out of the bag early above, Marco finds Candle talking to tom via the toilet, and tom is livid he didn’t mention his name, while Candle insists he’s working on it and that Starco, and he uses that word exactly to Marco’s confusion and my delight as I do like when writers latch on to fan terms and poke a bit of fun at them, is platonic. Tom tells him to be sure and Mr Candle dismises him. Before tom can get too mad about this, Candle reveals i’ts becaue he has to pee and tom insists he flushes first. A really great gag.  So to try and compete with tom and candle for dumbest person this episode, Marco has his own stupid plan: Brag about being “smooch buddiess” with star to piss him off.  I assume the next two steps are ???? and profit. I”d also like to note for those unaware that this clip was used in the promo and assumed it was a love spell or some sort of altered mind thing, as it was way too early in the series for them to get together, and smacked of “let’s bait the shippers and hope they don’t get too pissed”. Given I did ship them at the time, it was massively annoying knowing this was obviously out of context, but it’s better than when I watched avatar first run and any hint of kataang was played up and an entire fucking episode was dedicated to fucking with shippers heads. I really need to rewatch avatar on netflix I have NOOOO excuse. Anyways naturlaly the obvious happened; A pissed off tom, who Need I remind you last time nearly killed marco and only didn’t because star used freeze dry and it was super effective, who drags marco away to a tourture wheel. Meanwhile, Star goes to her mom for support. So I get to talk about Moon: Star’s distant mother who’s her exact oppsite: strict, stone faced and in control at all times. And she does LOVE her daughter and get some development later on, but it still dosen’t change her core and she still has real issues actually listening to star that, like some of star’s own issues, she never really grows past. So natrually this goes about as well as trying to get a cat to do anything: She confirms star is kinda stuck inherting the throne before , in an oddly sad moment.. being genuinely confused when Star asks if she’s happy. It’s... a really good character moment to be honest, and sets up her character well now she’s being fleshed out better this season: Moon just.. really dosen’t care about herself or her own hapiness. I mean her marriage is , paradoxically, one of the only marriages in the mewni queenship that not only lasted but is very healthy, but otherwise she just dosen’t care. The kingdom comes first... and to me it comes from the later revlation she was orphaned around 15. She just spent most of her life putting the kingdom FIRST, just like she figured her mother would’ve and probably did, and putting her heart and soul intot hat. And thus she can’t really fahtom someone being SCARED of all that responsiblity and drudgery when for her, it was just a fact she had to accept at star’s age. She probably woudl never be happy but the kingdom’s what important. The thing is A) that’s deeply unhealthyt o begin with and B) it’s easier to accept something like that when you’ve lost your mom, your dad’s never been around and you have only one other person in your life supporting you. Star has LOTS Of other things to her life: friends, hobbies things moon never had a shot at. Not only that but Star’s lived her life iwth a mother who, rather than be supremley happy and beloved like moon’s own mother, seemd miserable, strict and a workaholic.. things star wants to avoid being. Their very strained relationshp probably isn’t helping this. Moon quickly leaves the conversation, but it instead just makes Star spiral further and decide to do something.. drastic.  Meanwhile in hell. 

Okay not that bad. Let’s try this agian meanwhile in hell. 

I said not THAT bad. Jesus. 

Close enough. So in hell, specifically Tom’s room. Marco admits he was just getting tom’s goat, which his goat skull objects to, and while Tom is oddly mad Marco lied marco actually gets to tom by countering he lied to star... which is true not just this time but last episode too. Tom relases marco from his pain wheel. 

And states that he can’t let him go, he knows too much etc etc, and challenges marco to a fight to the death, which marco acccepts.. inping pong. However tom is really great at ping pong and destroys him.  Back with star she’s gotten a great punk makeover. I do wish that star had a permanent outfit change at some point as her temporary looks are always great, and it woudln’t of killed them to do it in season 3 when they had to change over the intro anyway. Alas. She plans to do something drastic.. we’ll find out why in ab it. Back at ping point Marco challenges for double or nothing, despite tom having multiple paddles and him having none and the scorring demon begging him to stop. Tom obliges him, and the two.. actually start to bond. We’ll get way more of that next time. Btu the two bond over how star just tends to cheat, making up rules or changing them to win at the last minute, and how she just does what she wants.. and it’s then.. Marco FINALLY gets through to tom and points out the obvious: Star won’t get back together with him unless it’s what Star wants and Tom gives a face that screams ‘my god what have I done” realizing both how hew’s screwed up and how for now at least, he may never get her back and no amount of scheming will fix it. It’s a great character moment: Tom finally realizes that he can’t just.. MAKE star love him. You can’t MAKE someone love you, they have to want it too. And star dosen’t want him right now and his stalking is only hurting her.  It’s here Tom turns a corner. This episode was his lowest moment for sure, as while the blood moon ball scheme was sleazy, trying to make her love him via a magic moon thing was creepy, it wasn’t horribly intentioned and while I do think tom knew it’dmake her love him again I don’t think he knew the full extent of the moon’s magic or how it’d tear her apart inside if she say loved someone else, as ended up happening since it didn’t let her let go of her feelings for marco while with tom himself. Here he knows what he’s doing is wrong,  as Marco’s comment makes clear, but is so desperate he’s gone with an insane, dumb and really creepy and manipulative scheme. He TRIED being nice, that didns’t work so he probably felt he had to get more creative and more manipulative... i’ts just he didn’t realize while he LOVES being Royalty, star hates it. While Tom’s parents, who we’ll get into more in a review or two, were loving and supportive, even if his dad may not have been at this stage again we’ll get to his parents when they show up, are fully loving and supportive star’s are loving.. but one of them as we saw just dosen’t GET HER. So while to tom the crown is a great thing to star it’s not so mucha nd given he has trouble with empathy, Tom simplyc an’t understand how much he hurt her until marco spells it out for him And it isn’t just in the text either; As I said in the previous tom review, the writers clearly weren’t wure which way to go with tom, so this episode was the turning point: would tom get worse and become star’s enemy fully.. or would he do the unexpected, at the time anyway, and truly try to change and become another loveable member of her inner circle? And honestly.. I feel they made the right decision. Tom really dosen’t fit into the mewman oppresion cycle as neatlya s the other antagonists who are either the opressors or the result of them. He’s a privlaged kid on the outside of it, as , again , i’ll dig into more in the future. And the show kind of.. outgrew recurring antagonists by season 3. They had a few set up this season, but most either faded away or went all the way up to big bad, and I feel the writers realized that tom just.. didn’t work as that and worked better as a kid struggling with being better than as an incel douchebag antagonist. And given he’s one of the two things that helped prop the show up during it’s worse moments in the latter half, it was the right call and the reason i’m doing this arc at all.  Anyways Tom and Marco head back to the diaz house where Star.. has a mermaid and is complteplating chopping off her tail so she can legally never become queen... yeah I meant what I said when I said drastic. Tom however reveals his deception, and .. genuinely apologizes, another sign of growth, letting star go for now. He does get a WELLLLL earned slap, as I said his actions this episode were the lowest he’d sink and still really creeptastic.. but accepts his apology after that, appricating that he at least apologized and grew a bit.  Star, while now not going to disfigure someone to save herself, I mean that sort of thinking did give us the doom patrol but still, is still bummed about being queen when Marco, in a good bit of ship tease back when this ship wasn’t in my nightmares, tells her that yeah she’s stuck being queen.. but tid osen’t mean she has to be miserable. Don’t do it like moon, do it like you. They hug, and Tom, in another great bit of growth, just smiles and heads off, letting them have this moment and letting star go.  We get one final scnee where candle bails on local alpha bitch britney after tom recalls him which sends her into a depressive spiral later in the series. Ha ha... why did they bring this character back for Season 4?  Final Thoughts:  This episode is the queen of mixed bags. Seriously on one hand there IS some really damn good character stuff, with Star confronted with the hard truth of her becoming queen and begining this and next season’s theme of star building up to her future, and Tom going from 1 and a half dimensoinal douchey stalker to the complex and relatable character he’d become in future episodes. However the good is smothered like bad.. just like smokey the bear had to smother his joint before each PSA. Like “Red Action to the Future: over in my OK KO reviews, it feels like wasted potetial: the idea of both Star and Marco rexamining their future and Star being confronted with having a fixed path and trying to avoid becoming queen are great.. it’s just Star ends up being a supporting player in the episode, and I feel it would’ve been better if moon had been forced to deal with the effect of her words on her daughter, as she’s gone after her scene and what she nearly caused star to do never has any effect. And Mr.Candle is just an.. awful character. Incompitent, even if parts of that are on tom, unfunny, kinda creepy.. ther’es just nothing really enjoyable about him and it makes the first  few minutes a slog as he gaslights two teenagers for money and we never learn just what the hell he is or what his deal is. He just drags the episode down.  Really whiel i’ts not TERRIBLE like some of the series worst episodes (Lint Catcher, Stump Day, Marco Jr, Mama Star), it just feels like it could’ve been better paced or made a half hour so star and moon could have more of a plot.  If you enjoyed this you know the dril; like, reblog etc and if there’s a star or other animated show or movie you want me to review , just shoot me a suggestion or comission it outright for 3 bucks! I’ll get back to tom this weekend hopefully with freindenimeis and hopefully get to my last two reviews before pride lets up. Until we meet again, later days. 

[moody-plum]

we stick together no matter what\\anti x jackie

i wrote this thing on wattpad and i was trying for it to be like: other kids make fun of jackie for having a ‘girl name’ (because he can’t call himself jackaboy man since he’s still not a superhero yet) and anti defends him cause why not. then it turns to angst cause why not

(platonic)pairing: anti x jackie

warnings: just a lot of feelings you could say

_____

The bullies kicked at the dirt around poor wee Jackie, he was crying and covering his face so they won't kick any in his eyes. "Look at the little girl!! She's crying like a baby!!" One of them shouted and the rest laughed along with him, "Please stop!!" he begged and scrambled around until he was off of the ground. He tried to run away but they had him surrounded, he didn't want to give up though, "You just don't know when to stay down, do you?" "Well i'm not going to let myself get called a girl!!" he tried to protest but he was shoved to the ground, his hair yanked by the lead bully. Jackie breathed in and out anxiously, "Then fight me like the boy you are!!" he attempted on slapping him away but nothing was working and he wouldn't be surprised if he went home with another bruised eye.

"Hey!!"

Everyone turned their attention to the voice, the bystanders and the bullies, Jackie would've done so too but he was still pinned. The source of the voice was Anthony, people called him Anti because it was recommended to stay away from Anti-Anthony, like Anti-Trouble- you get the gist. He was pretty lanky but most people backed down as soon as he came about, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!" "What like you?" The lead bully let go of Jackie's hair but kept his foot on his chest, people gasped at what he had said, however. Anti pulled out a switchblade, "Hell yeah like me!!" he held it up in front of the bully's face and he tripped in trying to get away from Anti.

"That's right, bitch. Get away from my friend or you'll regret it!!"

The bullies glanced at one another before Anti growled and held the switchblade up again, they scurried away and so did everyone else really. Jackie slowly got up from the ground, dusting himself off the best he could, "Thanks. I thought I would go home with a bruise again." "It's not a big deal, those guys are losers anyway." he scoffed and slipped his switchblade into his pocket. Jackie smiled a little, "Can you even carry a blade into school property?" Anti shrugged casually, "I usually tell them it's for my carving class." Jackie became confused because as far as he knows this shitty school didn't have a carving class, whatever that even is. Anti grinned, "My pumpkin carving class that is. The batch is just like three blocks away." he explained and Jackie knew what was going to happen next, it would be a miracle if it didn't happen.

"I usually skip class to go, ya wanna come? Or are you some goody two shoes, Jackie?"

Jackie felt his face heat up with embarrassment or anger, he wasn't sure but he believed this is certainly a way start a friendship, "Hell no. I'll carve any pumpkin better than you, always." That was a fucking lie since Jackie had no idea how to carve a pumpkin but he liked challenges.

Anti saw right through Jackie's bullshit, "Right on. Let's go."

_

Jackie still remembered those times, the times when Anti defended him and taught him how to defend himself if need be. The times they skipped class to go pumpkin carving during the fall season, all the times he and Anti had lunch in the courtyard even when Jackie told Anti it was a bad idea. The times they ran away from the security guard when they got caught for something- it was all just so engraved in Jackie's mind that he didn't know whether Anti choose to forget or he just sincerely forgot the moments they had together. Standing above him felt wrong, he never looked down upon his best friend- I mean why the hell would he?

This case was something different, Jackie assumed.

"Oh hello. Come to convince me?" His voice was glitchy and sorta distorted, Jackie didn't like it and where did it even come from? Jackie frowned deeply, "Anti. You know what you're doing is wrong, correct?" he used his calmest tone, he didn't wish to scream for his best friend to come out but boy did he want to, felt a need to. Anti struggled against the chains, laughing maniacally at the question Jackie had uttered out, "That's the entire point, hero!! Do you think I would've gotten to where I am being a savior like you?" he growled, baring his teeth and Jackie hadn't noticed that two of his fangs were chipped. He held back the pain in his eyes, at just noticing him being so hurt and the fact that he had become a hero to look out for the little guy like Anti had indirectly taught him, "I don't know. But you're doing a lot of damage, to Seán, to his audience. I- We can't trust you." His voice wavered to his dismay, Jackie wouldn't dare expect any less though.

Anti laughed again, his body glitching this time, "What?! You wanted to trust me?! Look at yourself Jackaboy, you're pathetic. Going out to protect everyone else, for what!?" Jackie swallowed hard, ignoring the death glare he received when there was no answer, "That's not my name. My name is Jackie, Anthony." Jackie retorted before exiting the room they kept him in. The chains rattled harshly against the concrete as he screamed and writhed when the hero closed the door, Jackie stared at the floor with furrowed eyebrows, "Jackie, are you alright?" Marvin asked softly, knowing he would be sensitive to seeing Anti this way. Jackie didn't respond and instead pulled Marvin in for a bear hug, his arms tight around his waist as he tried not to break down into tears, "Yeah i'm okay." he was supposed to be reassuring but it didn't seem like it was very convincing.

Marvin closed his eyes and held Jackie tighter, "You don't need to lie." he whispered under his breath.

He didn't need to but it's better to convince himself that he got separated by his best friend in circumstances of power. Things never really went his way, the hardest part about being who he is now is the broken promise he and Anti almost kept:

"We stick together no matter what."

_____

[friendlyfacestabbing]

Gravity is a Cruel Mistress (the people chasing us are worse): 1/3

Summary: Patton falls from the roof of a six storey building. Logan is determined to catch him. (If Logan does a little falling of his own, then that’s neither here nor there.)

Chapter 1: In which Logan has Opinions on ties (and Patton is inconvenienced at a Police checkpoint).

A/N: Part 2 of Renegades! Or: And they were roommates! kids on the run from a totalitarian government! Chapter 1 is up, and I’ll post the remaining two chapters over the next few days. The boys are 15/16 in this one. It’s technically platonic, but you wouldn't have to squint particularly hard to make it pre-romantic Logicality.

Words: 2075

Warnings: Heights, Police, Retail, Parkour (let me know if I’ve missed anything).

AO3 here.

Part 1 here.

It is 4:28 on a Wednesday afternoon, and Logan has been running for approximately eighteen minutes and thirty five seconds. He is currently sprinting across the rooftops of the local retail district, and doing his best to dodge chimneys, ventilation ducts, glass ceilings, aerials, enraged pigeons, and long long drops to the ground. Running along with him are his closest friends Virgil, Roman, and Patton. Oh, of course. And the squad of government enforcers they picked up roughly eleven minutes ago. Just in front of Logan Roman is darting around a skylight, while further ahead Virgil hurdles an air conditioning unit. Logan flicks a glance over his shoulder and notes that Patton has dropped back slightly, but is still comfortably outpacing the dozen people in black body armour bringing up the rear.

It is pure accident that has landed the regime's goons on their tail. They hadn't even been doing anything illegal. Apart from existing, of course. And travelling without a relevant district permit. And carrying fraudulent identification documents. And using assumed names. (And Virgil never travels anywhere without at least one knuckle duster.) Alright so there was some technically illegal conduct occurring, but they weren't actively making trouble. Anyway.

They'd been sitting on a bus…

Roman and Patton are quietly talking, Logan is reading a newspaper he's found and Virgil is staring out the window at the passing shops. Which is when the bus makes a stop, two Transit Police get onboard and begin inspecting all of the passengers' ID Cards. One of the grey uniformed officers approaches them, and the four calmly and without any hesitation hand over their cards. (They really are excellent forgeries.) Cards marked, photos verified, personal data scanned, and “Victor Zalakos”, “Rory Anderson”, and “Lucas Preston” are cleared for travel and have put their cards back in their pockets. But “Patrick Northington's” card is not returned, and the officer wanders back to his colleague and they hold a whispered conversation, while shooting appraising glances at Patton.

“Patrick Northington!”

“Yes Sir?”

“Come here please,” and one of them gestures “Patrick” over.

“Okay!” Patton bounces out of his seat, the very picture of helpful citizenry.

Logan isn't worried. Patton can project an absolutely flawless air of dutiful obedience at will, and has wide-eyed innocence down to an art-form. Logan has watched him walk away from no less than six obviously incriminating situations simply by appearing politely baffled and anxiously patriotic whenever the authorities challenged him. Talking his way out of an ID card mixup is going to be plain sailing, and a pleasure to watch. Then the officer pulls out a retinal scanner.

Logan feels Roman inhale beside him, and he can see the sudden tension in the line of Virgil's shoulders.

Patton obligingly pulls down his glasses and holds perfectly still for the scan, and then while the machine is processing he chirps, “Is there a problem, officers?”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with citizen,” the first states in a bored monotone.

“Oh good!” says Patton, and hooks his fingers into the back of his trousers. I'm blown.

Logan catches Roman's eye and lifts an eyebrow. Noted?

Roman shoots back a disarming smile. Message received.

Virgil turns casually and leans one arm against the seat back. “What are we thinking for dinner L? Pasta? Curry? Pizza? Tacos? I could go a pizza.” Escape plan 1, 2, 3, or 4? I like 3.

“Mmhmm. Pizza is good,” Roman muses. 3 might work.

“I don't think we are in the pizza shop's area anymore, but the curry place does delivery,” counters Logan. Our location is bad for 3. 2 will work better.

“True,” agrees Roman.

Virgil is nodding as well, and then he turns and calls down the bus, “Hey Pat! We're gonna go for curry later! Okay?” We're going for escape plan 2. Objections?

Patton shoots a grin over his shoulder. “Sounds good Vi!”

They have whatever time it takes the retinal scanner to finish processing and completely expose who “Patrick Northington” really is. Logan knows that isn't long, and is already cataloguing what the next steps of survival have to be. First, Patton distracts the officers while the other three smash the rear window emergency exit to leave the bus. Second, they navigate the surrounding traffic and run northeast towards the shopping centre. Third, use the late-afternoon crowd to lose their pursuers. If successful, alter appearances and lay low amongst the arcade games until pursuers have given up and departed. If unsuccessful, go to Phase Two: Use the shopping centre's escalators and emergency stairwell to get to the roof. Pull the fire alarm on the way up to delay pursuers and shut down centre electrical systems. If possible, vandalise the fuse box and cause a blackout. Run their previously scouted path across the rooftops to the south (plaza, construction zone, old rail shed, train station, aquatic centre, warehouse currently being refurbished, mattress factory, occupied warehouse). Hide in their bolthole in the industrial district. It's a solid plan, meticulous and bulletproof, the trademarks of anything Logan and Virgil get their figurative hands on. He nods to himself. Between the four of us, provided no one is injured, this should work.

The scanner beeps. Virgil, Logan and Roman all subtly tense.

One of the officers whispers in awe, “Holy shit. It's him. I don't believe it.”

The other frowns and grabs Patton's shoulder firmly. “I'm calling it in.”

“Sir? What's happening? Him who?” an utterly baffled Patton exclaims loudly.

Time to go. The three rise very quietly from their seats and head to the back of the bus. Virgil slips his brass knuckles out of his pocket and prepares to break the window as soon as Patton makes his move.

“Nice try. Elridge,” the first officer sneers, and Logan has to look back now because Patton is about to be brilliant and he doesn't want to miss a second of it.

“What? But I'm Patrick Northington!” Logan knows from experience how that plaintive voice of innocent befuddlement, combined with enormous sky blue eyes and an open freckled face will make anyone doubt anything, including their own name. “The scanner even says so!”

And when both officers look down at the display, just to make sure of the evidence of their own eyes, Patton grabs the hand on his shoulder, yanks hard and flips the officer over his hip and into his partner. Patton then snatches “Patrick Northington's” ID Card, bolts down the aisle of the bus and tumbles straight out the smashed back window alongside Logan. They land on the road together and zigzag across three lanes of traffic after Virgil and Roman, who are already just shy of reaching the shopping centre courtyard.

They'd done their best to blend in with respectable society before they left base, but the four are still slightly shabbier than the crowd around them. Back on base they'd be wearing whatever they felt like, usually shirts with angry slogans, fingerless gloves, oversized jumpers, shredded denim and pyjamas. Out in public they have to look far more respectable. Roman has removed his piercings, Virgil's hair is back to brown, Patton looks like a golfing advertisement and Logan is even wearing a tie. Which is exactly how he looks on base as well, now that he gives it some thought. What else am I supposed to do? Take it off? A tie is an incredibly useful object. It can be a bandage, a gag, a pair of handcuffs, a blindfold, a sling, a belt... How else is one supposed to inconspicuously smuggle three feet of solidly woven fabric with a multitude of purposes except by wearing it?

They all spread out slightly while keeping each other in view, reach the front entrance, and attempt to disappear by matching the movement and demographics of the crowd around them. Patton attaches himself to the back of a group of highschoolers and trails along giggling. Virgil wears his best dead inside retail-worker-on-a-break stare and is immediately invisible. Logan does a convincing impression of a young scholar and/or professional with places to be. Roman engages a young man selling hand cream in an intense conversation about cuticle maintenance for ten metres, where he switches to chatting to the next salesperson about salt lamps.

They are making solid progress past the foodcourt when a solid wall of people up ahead interrupts their ambling escape attempt. Apparently, a posse with “get me your manager” haircuts has lost their tenuous grip on reality, gone completely postal, and thrown furniture through three shop fronts while setting fire to the bins. (Logan spent a season in retail and does not miss it. He honestly prefers being at war. There's less screaming, and if you get shot at least you're allowed to sit down.) There are firefighters onsite, as well as a full squad of Government Enforcers to contain the carnage and take statements from witnesses.

Between the roped off broken glass, the various rescue personnel, store security, the still agitated instigators and every other curious passerby, the commotion has created a blockage in passageway, and people are only getting past the mess in ones and twos. After a bit of a scramble over debris (not a problem). And some close proximity to several enforcers (…...has the potential to be a problem).

Roman (currently out in front) chucks a glance back over his shoulder to Logan and lifts his eyebrows. Yeah?

Logan grimaces and slides his glasses up his nose. No other options.

Roman shrugs, and joins the slow stream of people diverting around the mess. Patton allows two other people in front of him, then follows. Just as Virgil is stepping forward, he looks back at Logan, and then at something over Logan's shoulder that makes his eyes widen. Logan sends him a questioning look, and Virgil turns back and keeps moving slowly after the others, but he's tapping his fingers on his right thigh. The pursuit is back.

Logan doesn't look back, but keeps pace with everyone else. We need to clear the blockage and get moving again, before-

“STOP THAT KID!!!”

Well, before that.

It's not a problem yet. The transit officers are still a good distance away. The corridor is packed with people, especially children, so any enforcers close enough to actually apprehend them have no idea which kid to go after.

Which is when one of the officers yells, “PATTON!!! STOP!!!”

And Patton looks up. Right into the face of the nearest enforcer, who is watching him very closely. Still not necessarily a proble-

“Oops,” says Patton.

Fifteen feet away Logan sighs in frustration. Now it's a problem. Roman grabs Patton and yanks him away from the enforcer reaching for him. They both dash away, as Virgil emerges from the press of people he's spent the last two minutes elbowing a path through and sprints after them. Logan gives up on navigating the crowd and instead starts dodging his way through the police tape and debris. He can hear more shouting from behind him, so he pulls a stand of magazines down in his wake for good measure. On to phase two.

At the top of the escalators Virgil rockets ahead to deal with the fusebox and Roman sets off the fire alarm. The shopping centre is immediately filled with wailing sirens, flashing lights, and panicking people that are far more concerned with leaving the building as fast as possible than being of assistance to law enforcement. Three steps up the maintenance stairway to the roof the lights go out, and Virgil rejoins them shortly afterwards.

Roman is the first through the door onto the roof, and he is immediately looking around on the ground for something to use to jam the door closed behind them. Patton, Logan, and Virgil emerge as well, Roman shoves a rusted star-picket through the door-handle, and they stand for a brief second grinning hysterically at each other. And then Logan turns south, and they all begin to run towards where they know they'll be safe. There is the shriek of metal behind them as someone tries to force the door, but Logan isn't concerned. They're running now, and something would have to go catastrophically wrong for them to be caught. Dashing across rooftops is something they've been doing for years; the world of open sky and twisted metal is theirs and the mid-afternoon breeze snatches at their clothes as they figuratively fly across the skyline.

[mpmwrites]

Thirteen

So @swota and I decided that we’d Take a HAnkvin prompt and I’d write Fluff and they’d write angst for it! Prompt from @beggars-blog for a seasonally scared Gavin! Here we go! Rated T for swearing and fake gore!

He hadn't been in a haunted house since he was a teenager. It wasn't that he was scared. He just figured, haunted houses were just college kids that took a temp job and dressed up in creepy costumes. All they did was jump out and scream at people or make startling noises and that wasn't really scary. Anyone would be scared if you startled them with unnecessarily loud noises. He wasn't gonna shell out the twenty bucks to walk through a dark building with cheesy props for fifteen minutes. Especially when, more often than not, you could even know what's coming based on some inevitable teenage blonde chick screaming her head off at every single scare.

So when Hank said they were going, obviously he gave a slow nod and a "Yeah, sounds fun." over his latte. Because it was Hank, and he wasn't about to sound like a cynical little bitch about some charity event the state police were doing. Cut to dinner on the patio at Chipotle when Gavin finally started to think about the evening's plans. Hank had not only invited him out, which wasn't really something they did, but had invited him to a function at others at the precinct would be going to.

Call him cliché, but going on a date to a haunted house was kind of a cliché move to get your date to be all over you.

Maybe he was thinking too far into it. It wasn't like he could back out anyway. Hank wanted to go and he had no real reason not to other than the fact that he'd probably leave in a bad mood of get thrown out for decking some asshole that screamed a little too close to him. Hank would find that funny, he thought.

That was not what happened.

The whole thing wasn't bad. It was a special cops-only night, so it was most people that he had at least the one thing in common with. Socializing before hand with old buddies of Hank's didn't hurt too much; they arrived about thirty minutes before they were allowed to line up and enter. Some teenager handed him an information pamphlet that he glanced over. Warnings about strobe effects and loud noises, don't touch the actors and they won't touch you, etc. On the back there was a promotional image titled "Triskaidekaphobia: Fear of the Number 13" with a list of fears below it. Hospitals, Death, Zombies, Torture, Blood, Clowns, Dolls, Darkness, Nightmares, Snakes, Spiders, Closed Spaces, Heights.

So that was what he was in for; it didn't seem so bad on paper. Maybe he wasn't so keen on hospitals, but it wasn't like he was afraid of them. Sure, dolls and clowns were creepy but, once again, what's an underpaid teenager yelling in his face really gonna accomplish? Closed spaces he'd never really liked, but it's not like they were gonna shove him in a closet and leave him there. As far as heights went, who wasn't afraid of heights? Were they gonna try to dangle him off a cliff? He was doubtful at best. He told Hank so.

"I don't know, it's for charity. I think for the special olympics." Hank shrugged, "Fowler made me come when I started becoming a shut-in…" Hank attempted without going into detail, "Now I'm just expected. It's usually not too bad. See some old friends, do some good in the world, scream a couple of times without looking crazy." It was nearing their turn to enter. Hank shook hands warmly with the officer wearing a police academy hoodie that reflected Hank's own and clicker-counting the participants. Their hands separated, but Hank's quietly found Gavin's and led the younger man inside. Gavin probably turned the shade of the blood on the walls of the first room. Because, Hank had not only taken him to an event with colleagues, but had bought him dinner first and was now nonchalantly holding his hand in front of all of them. Gavin wasn't thick, he knew that Hank wasn't ashamed of him, it was just that he didn't really think it was anyone's business. They stayed strictly in the friendly and platonic realms when outside of their homes, and they were both more than okay with that.

Until that night, apparently.

Unless, Gavin figured, unless Hank thought he might be scared. Maybe the whole event was more than it put off; after all, Hank had attended for the past several years. Maybe it was just dark inside and he thought they might get separated easily. Gavin didn't comment on the contact, just pulled on a façade of relative indifference

The walls of the first room had dimly-lit pastel wallpaper with generic looking sconces that flickered irregularly, and in the center of the room was a secondhand hospital bed with a young woman on it, her intestines artificially falling out of her abdomen as she writhed and screamed. Hank offered an amused smile as they and a few other patrons followed the path around the outside of the room. Suddenly, from a dark corner a chainsaw whirred to life noisily and a surgeon lurched toward the guests threateningly. Gavin scrambled slightly at the perceived threat, but the surgeon pulled away from the crowd and swing the chainsaw around to the girl and brought it down near the foot of the bed. The machine hit the mattress, but left no impact as they filed out of the room.

"Not scary, huh?" Hank offered, not letting go of the detective.

"Yeah, tell me that someone coming at you with a tool that could maim you wouldn't make you jump." Gavin snarked back. They entered the next room, which was more of a wide hallway, where a body lay in a casket against a wall of flowers. The body suddenly reaching for them was expected; the screaming actor hidden among the flowers they did not. Gavin cursed and suddenly was clinging to Hank's arm, which made Hank laugh heartily. Gavin glared at him. "Screw you."

"There's nothing wrong with being scared. That's the point, Reed."

"Anybody would be scared if someone jumped at them and screamed in their face when they weren't expecting it."He fumed, Hank lacing their fingers again as they stepped into the next room: a suburban home with the dad laying dead-eyed on the couch. His face was covered in fake blood. From behind a curtain, mom lurched toward him and started shambling toward him, dropping to her knees and fake feasting on his arm. "Haven't we moved past the zombie fad, like, 20 years ago?" Gavin rolled his eyes. At least the room passed without him embarrassing himself further. He pulled his hand away from Hank's, "I don't need you to hold my hand, I'm not scared." he insisted icily.

"Gavin, I wasn't…" Hank didn't pursue the subject, just offered a apologetic half smile. "Sorry." He stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and lead on. Through the torture and blood rooms they stayed silent, unphased by the fake gore surrounding them. The masks of clowns covered the walls of the sixth room, fog machines making it difficult to navigate combined with the rainbow sheets hanging around. it only took the first squeaky horn right behind Gavin's ear to have him stumbling toward Hank. He couldn't see much of anything, but was aware that there was a vague path through the room, and he could hear footsteps of the clowns attempting to sneak up around them with those god-awful horns. He grabbed a fistful of the back of Hank's shirt to guide him through, the oddly sweet scent of the artificial fog making him want to cough it out of his lungs. As they neared the exit, he let go of the fabric and straightened, shaking his head at being so tense.

And then the fucking clown was in front of his face, separating him from Hank with its distorted mask and blood red smile around sharp fake teeth. He froze on the spot, just short of running straight into the actor. He stared them down, the knowledge that it was another cop under there helping to ease his anxiety. The clown slowly lifted the horn and honked it right over his shoulder, cackling maniacally before bouncing away. He breathed a sigh of relief and hastened out the door to catch up with Hank.

The dolls in the next room also lined the walls, but there was a chair in the middle of the blacklit room. The ventriloquist dummies eyes and cracks on the porcelain heads of baby dolls glowed eerily as an actress sat in the chair, taking with one of the dummies. She wasn't talking for the dummy though, the voice was coming from a speaker that echoed around the room. It wasn't so bad, until both the girl and the dummy snapped their heads up unnaturally to stare at them, slowly revolving their heads to watch as they walked by. It was creepy, and Gavin scowled at them before looking away.

Through the darkness room (which was just a winding hallway with literally no light) they had to run their hand along the wall so they didn't get lost, as per a speaker giving directions in a raspy whispered voice. It wasn't awful until the pathway sloped downward and then became soft, causing the person behind Gavin to trip and knocking him into Hank face first. The nightmare room wasn't much, just projections of shadows in the woods and a man pretending to have an awful night's sleep. Beneath the bed another actor dressed as a monster would shake the bed to startle people as they walked by. The hall that held snakes and spiders were mostly just uncomfortable; clichéd fake noises playing as they walked though hanging rubber snakes and cobwebs, featuring a giant furry spider attached to one of the walls at the end.

A young woman grimaced and squealed behind Gavin as they navigated around the spider and then turned a corner. He tried to recall what was supposed to come next, because for the most part he was just ready to be done. It wasn't long before he found out. There was a loud, tinny nose over the sound of a motor running. It sounded like a engine powered vacuum. Before them was a hallway that had air-filled chambers on the sides, so that people had to push through the tunnel airbags. Gavin stopped in his tracks.

Closed Spaces.

People behind them were making vague noises of dissent at not moving, and Hank frowned at Gavin in confusion. Gavin seemed to overcome his initial wariness and stepped out of the way, letting people walk past him. When Hank realized he wasn't coming he turned back to the younger officer's side. "What, did you leave the oven on or something?" he joked.

"Hank I can't walk through that." He admitted quietly, not meeting the other's gaze. Hanks brows furrowed quickly at the younger's tone.

"Gav, I don't think there's another way to go. You have to, or we go all the way back." He offered, looking around for help. Gavin looked back at the tunnel and swallowed.

It wasn't a closet. He just had to walk straight through and he'd come out the other side. Some irrational voice inside of him insisted that it could be a dead end and he'd be stuck in there.

"I'll walk with you okay? You can close your eyes if it helps." Hank insisted helplessly. His tone mustered Gavin's courage, his pride not wanting Hank's effort to go to waste and wanting to prove that he wasn't that kid that got abused in foster care as a grown teenager. Hank pulled off his own hoodie and put it over Gavin's head, letting Gavin negotiate the arms while he arranged the hood low over Gavin's eyes. "It's just air and a couple of bed sheets. Can't hurt you." He walked in front of Gavin, holding on to Gavin's wrist to guide him, and then they entered. The gentle but insistent pressure on Gavin's shoulders was enough that he couldn't pretend to be anywhere else, and he walked so close to Hank that he kicked at Hank's heels with each step. The smell of Hank on the sweater he was nearly drowning in made him think of the comforter on Hank's bed and he tried to think of that instead of this hell he felt like he was in. He was going to come out the other side. Hank would make sure of it.

He craved fresh air but was rewarded with none as Hank dragged him away from the polyester walls of the tunnel. Gavin let his back hit the black painted ply board wall of the maze and tried to focus on the semi-open space around him. They were still inside the building. Hank stood in front of him, shielding Gavin from view of the other cops passing by. "You alright?" he offered. Gavin rubbed his eyes to alleviate some of the stress just before his name was called,

"The hell are you doing here, Reed?" It was Tina and her husband, holding hands and smiling.

"Literally hell." He groaned, blinking at her. She looked confused for a moment, then looked to the tunnel behind her,

"Oh god I'm so sorry. I would have warned you." She cooed, rubbing his shoulder. "You did it though."

"I did." He offered warily. "With Hank." He pushed himself away from the wall and pushed the sleeves of the sweater up to his elbows. Tina looked between them and offered an indulgent smile for Gavin, then a look of gratitude to Hank. Hank shrugged it off. The moment grew awkward in its silence, so Tina broke the tense air with a smile,

"Well, one room left I guess. Seeya after? We should get drinks."

"A drink sounds awesome." Gavin conceded, smiling as the married couple went on ahead. Gavin joined the slowly moving line toward the last room, the door with a curtain covering it, letting out a bout of cool light as each person passed though. Hank queued behind him and let his hands rest on Gavin's waist

"I didn't think you were scared. I just wanted to hold your hand." He admitted in an offhand kind of way, like it wasn't important. Gavin craned his neck to look up at Hank,

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Hank nodded, "If I knew you were gonna hate it I wouldn't have made you come. We could've watched a movie instead."

"You didn't make me come." Gavin shrugged. "You asked me on a date and I agreed." Their turn was fast approaching.

"I never called it a date." Hank reminded him as Gavin pulled the sheet open to go inside. No wonder people were moving so slowly. The small room was only eight or so feet deep, but the path across was a one foot wide plank that people were balancing on. Fear of Heights. As Gavin waited his turn to cross, he looked around the room. It was an illusion of a deep gap, albeit a convincing one. The "plank" they were to walk across wobbled just slightly with each weight shift, but it wasn't quite over a long fall. On either side of the plank there were mirrors reflecting an image from the ceiling that was made to look like a hole. While he was quite aware that it was an illusion, he still found it difficult to feel secure on the pathway.

Hank entered behind him and grabbed for his hand, "What the fuck?" he barked, looking straight down. It was Hank's turn to be afraid, his fear preventing him from noticing the illusion.

"It's not real." Gavin reminded him, holding Hank's hand, "Look it's just an illusion. You can't fall." Still, Hank hesitated before moving toward the younger. Gavin watched him totter on the platform, unsure with each step. It seemed silly to him, but he'd also nearly just had a panic attack while Hank watched. He reached his other hand, "It's only two more steps." he assured as Hank watched his feet warily. "You gonna let a couple of mirrors show you up?" He taunted with a smirk. Finally, they reached the end and stepped back out into the late afternoon sun.

Gavin breathed in deep as the state officers thanked them for coming. He was suddenly very aware that he was still draped in Hank's hoodie as they ambled back toward the area in front of the attraction in search of Tina. Gavin made to pull out of it as they walked and tried to pass it back over to Hank. "You can hold on to it." Hank offered, and Gavin stopped in his tracks.

"Why?" He questioned, still holding out the Garment.

"If you want to wear it, you can hang on to it. I don't mind seeing it on you. You wear it at home often enough." He pushed it back toward the brunette.

"Hank Anderson, this isn't an old movie. You can't ask me to go steady just by letting me wear your letterman jacket." Gavin defied with a shit-eating grin.

"You think I want to go steady with you?" Hank asked, and, yeah, at that point they were both a little too stubborn to have a serious conversation about this.

"I mean, you did hold my hand and take me on a date to a place I was pretty much guaranteed to be pretty close and personal." Gavin batted his eyelashes for extra sarcasm, but Hank didn't see, because he was kissing Gavin, right there, in front of at least fifty other police officers. Many of them that they knew personally. Good god, come Monday everyone would know.

So make sure you go check out @swota‘s companion piece here!

My prompt box is always open!

[mittensmorgul]

What have been your favorite destiel moments so far this season, and can you point me to any really in-depth, detailed metas that kinda encompasses the themes, narrative and direction of the show so far this season?

Hi there! *points you toward my whole entire blog, except maybe the crack tags*

(no, there’s even probably some insightful stuff in the crack tags… no, wait, Let me get some coffee and then try this again)

Oh gosh there have been Some Destiel Moments™ this year, haven’t there? Oh my gosh. Just, the whole entire thing of 13.01, Dean’s desperate crushing grief, his bashed knuckles that are pointed out to us early in the episode by an angel-in-disguise but not explained until after said angel was unmasked and we learn her true objectives. How she taunts Dean with the “fact” that Cas was “all the way dead” this time and there’d be no bringing him back, as if she’d KNOWN how and why he injured his hand before, as if she’d heard his prayer to Chuck and then used Dean’s specific grief over Cas like a weapon to best him in that fight. And only after the fact do we get to see that scene where Dean prayed, and it was all literally prefaced on his grief for Cas. Dean alone prepares his body, and throughout the episode he can’t even say the words “Cas” and “dead” in the same sentence.

Just, wow.

It takes us until 13.03 for him to acknowledge it, to not only say it out loud, but to scream it into Sam’s face, that the reason he can’t be okay is because Cas is dead. And again, wow. That whole scene, after an entire episode where Dean was barely holding it together, and we see him struggling to cope on what should be a routine hunt, he finally breaks completely.

But hey, Jack overhearing his rage and grief is what somehow prompts Jack’s power into a cosmic alarm clock that wakes Cas up in the Empty.

(and since we later discover that Jack has no idea he’d had any part in Cas’s return to life, that he had no idea his power had done that, but we’d learned all season long that his power largely acted outside of his logical control, but more on an emotional and instinctual level, and was triggered mostly by Intense Emotional Protectiveness… I mean, y’all do the math here. It’s a pretty simple formula.)

If anyone was confused about Dean’s major emotional trauma this season, 13.04 sort of clears it up by process of elimination. Sam is the one upset about Mary’s loss, but Dean’s largely accepted it. As Samuel once told him way back in 6.10, Dean knows how to live without her. He’s been doing it his whole life. But 13.04 is also a turning point for Dean and Jack, after Jack saved Sam’s life, his power deflecting a bullet… but at the very end of the episode when Sam hopes this means Dean’s finally making some progress toward recovering from his grief, Dean states unequivocally that no, he is not okay, and he’s still essentially hopeless. Sam still does not get it.

This is fine. Everything is fine. *breathes into paper bag*

13.05 shows us Sam desperately doing everything in his power to nudge Dean into all of his (admittedly terrible) coping mechanisms– junk food, drinking, strip clubs, and a hunt with just the two of them… just like old times. Sam can’t accept that Dean is just not bouncing back from his grief this time, despite Dean telling him that his pushing isn’t gonna help either. And we see Dean “going through the motions” one last time, partly for Sam’s sake, but also partly because literally nothing else matters anymore.

(and hi hello opening song of s13, I didn’t need what’s left of my scooped out heart anyway, please just take it already)

(sorry, I was referring to Nothing Else Matters, in case that wasn’t clear :P.)

Dean skips right from discovering the asylum was still filled with the trapped ghosts of the doctor’s victims– and probably a dozen other things they could’ve attempted to find the bodies and free those ghosts– and goes right to Plan Z, shooting his heart full of poison (Thanks for the diy death kit, Dr. Robert). He doesn’t even give Sam a chance to talk him out of it, and then accepts his death with a sort of cavalier “oh well” attitude when Billie shows up and reveals she’s the New Death.

Billie offers him anything he wants, and he doesn’t even consider asking for his own life back. He asks for the souls trapped in the asylum to be released, because he doesn’t believe Billie will go back on her former ultimatum that the next time he dies will be the last time. I mean, CAS LITERALLY KILLED HER FOR THAT IN 12.09.

And then Cas died in turn in a jarringly on-the-nose, cosmically consequence-y fashion. Which Billie even says to Dean when he wonders how she was even alive, because Cas killed her. Her response of “How’s that working out for him” is like a punch to the stomach for Dean. He’s at such a low point he’s completely resigned himself to his own final death, because not even God, not even Death herself can bring Cas back from where he is.

Except…

(pffft, I was looking for a gif of this shot, of the light blooming across Dean’s face as he realizes that Cas is alive, but this version works) :D

Then we have the fever dream that was 13.06. What the hell was that whole entire thing? NONSENSE, I TELL YOU. I MEAN IT STARTS OFF WITH THIS:

THEN AFTER WATCHING DEAN GROW EVER MORE DESPONDENT OVER FIVE WHOLE EPISODES, IT MOVES ON TO THIS:

And when Sam is confused and questions Dean about this sudden turnaround in his whole entire personality, Dean basically gives 100% of the credit to Cas being back.

Please explain the entire first 5 ½ episodes of the season WITHOUT implying destiel. It’s entirely unpossible. Just… the whole narrative falls apart.

Yes, yes. At this point, folks can try and convince themselves that Dean’s feelings are purely platonic or familial, but then why is Sam’s reaction so markedly different? And not just in regards to Cas. I mean, go back up and read the bits about 13.03 and 13.04, where they each get a chance to voice their grief. Dean’s bursts out of him like a wildfire, and is clarified with words to be JUST about Cas, and it’s literally debilitating levels of grief. Sam’s feelings of loss are almost entirely focused on Mary, as a specifically familial loss. Sam is our exemplar of what losing a family member looks like right now, lampshading just how powerfully Dean has been affected by Cas’s death.

Again, please explain that difference and the intensity of Dean’s grief as a purely platonic thing. The narrative is making it very difficult to dismiss a deeper relationship between Dean and Cas here.

I mean… I’m trying to control myself about adding gifs to this post and I’m having a really difficult time.

13.07 brought back “Don’t do anything stupid,” which in 12.10 got a bucketload of subtext attached to it. Human weakness, and the clarification that Dean’s not mad, he’s worried about Cas. It’s not just a throwaway line, and it’s not just an insult. It’s their version of just come home safe.

And Dean knows something’s not right when he calls Cas, but circumstance prevents them from actually exchanging any useful information. And again, Cas is referred to as “your angel,” by Ketch specifically addressing it to Dean despite the fact that Sam is standing right there too, and the fact that Sam had been the one willing to believe Ketch’s lie throughout most of the episode. Yet, he still addresses this to Dean…

Then we discover that Asmodeus is impersonating Cas on the phone while holding Cas and Lucifer in his prison cells. And that he’s keeping Cas specifically as a bargaining chip to use against the Winchesters. Over the next two episodes, we discover that once again it’s SAM who keeps getting updates from “Cas,” and not Dean. Which is head-scratchingly odd considering all of this ^^. Because Cas is NOT CAS on the phone right now, and it’s easier to maintain the illusion with Sam than with Dean.

Incredible.

So that’s where we are right now. Well, as far as the destiel goes.

Now on to part 2 of your question. Some really in-depth and detailed metas that cover the themes, narrative, and direction of s13 to this point…

Again, this is kind of difficult. I think I summed up the basics here (well, leaving out the stuff setting up Wayward, and the AU’s and Michael and his agenda, and Jack, and Lucifer, and Asmodeus and his agenda, and the angels and their repopulation agenda… okay I apparently left out a lot of stuff… since the first bit of your question was specifically about destiel)

But I tag everything I write or reblog by episode number. The secret formula is this:

spn 13.06 (which translates easily to work for any episode by switching out the number at the end of this: http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/tagged/spn+13.06)

Note that there are 32 PAGES of results in this specific tag. That’s over 300 posts. Not all of them are meta, but a goodly portion of them probably are. From there you can probably find other tags that may be of interest in your quest for All The Meta. :D

[wannasoftimagine]

imagine being daehwi’s friend on p101 s3

a trainee after his own heart :’)

(( AS REQUESTED! // i love ur writing !! can i get a daehwi scenario where you guys are best friends bc you're also a trainee from brand new music and you participate in pd101 s3 and come in 3rd place like him,, and he confesses to you afterwards bc he's so proud of you ?? as fluffy as possible pls and thank u have a great day/night 💓 ))

u and daehwi have known each other ever since u became a trainee at bnm

altho u were a little intimidated at first, he was always ready to approach u with friendly tips and a smile, so it was only a matter of time before u became best friends

hes the type of friend to hype u up whenever u step on stage

(ure p sure one time he came to a performance w a sign tht said u were the “inventor of rap” lol)

u can both b super extra when ure supporting each other tbh

to u guys, theres nothing too grand or too extreme to express how proud u are of each other

of course when u decide to enter produce 101 for the 3rd season, hes super excited for u

(hes also super nervous but he doesnt want u to know tht)

he gives u constant tips and advice, always guiding u

“be careful of their editing,, evil mnet is no joke”

daehwi sends u so much support tht even when u cant contact each other once the filming starts, u know he’s cheering u on

and listen. the show is STRESSFUL

daehwi already knew how hard it could be so he kinda didnt want u to go on it

but he also wanted u to show off how talented u were?? what a struggle

ur initial performance was with a couple labelmates, some girls u were close with but now super comfortable with

u did a song tht daehwi helped produce bc hes a king of music and u adore everything he makes

anyways

ure proud to say tht u gave it all, and u end up with a b ranking

its not as good as daehwi, but ure still rlly proud of urself

as the days go on, things only get more and more stressful

bc of how well so many of the s2 boys did, this season everything is 1000x as intense bc they want to make sure tht only the most talented people move on

as hard as it is, u step up to the challenge, practicing as much as u can whenever u can

still, sometimes ull see other ppl struggling

even tho theyre not from the same company as u, u have the kind of heart tht makes u want to try and help them even if just a little

at first it was a little awkward for u to offer advice to the other trainees, but with everyone cramped and tired together, its hard not to start to bond

soon enough, word spreads abt how ure one of the sweetest and hardworking trainees in the competition, and it sends a huge boost in ur popularity

it helps tht ure cute as heck and a lot of fans noticed how brightly ur smile was even before the first ep aired

altho ure not super close with any one person in particular, a lot of the girls there are super friendly so its easy for u to drift around to hang out with different groups

mnet seems to love u bc when u watch some episode clips, they show how ure always flitting around and seem like a v popular trainee

plus theyve decided to highlight u as one of the rising stars of the show, editing clips to show off the amount of time u practice and improve, even from ur already-amazing initial performance

ure super lucky and u dont forget it

but ure still pretty sure tht all of daehwis advice from beforehand helped u a lot

u dont get a lot of time to think abt him tho, just bc everything moves so fast in the competition

still, sometimes when ure trying to rest after another long day of practice, u cant help but reminisce on some of ur more playful and relaxed memories with daehwi

somehow, word didnt really get out abt how close u two were until midway thru the season

it wasnt like u were intentionally keeping it a secret, but it didnt rlly come up for awhile

not when u were all busy just trying to get some airtime and become a better idol

anyways

when word gets out, all of the other girls are So Jealous

luckily for u everyones really sweet and only tease u abt it instead of being jerks

still, now a lot of them are asking u for his number

tbh although u and daehwi had never talked abt it, u dont remember him saying tht he ever liked anyone

and honestly, u didnt rlly think abt him dating someone until girls were coming up to u left and right, asking what he was like

with time, everyone calms down a little bit, but ure left trying to focus on practice instead of why the thought of him dating someone else bothers u so much

(its hard bc u know exactly why ure upset, but u dont know what ure going to do abt it)

mOVING ON

u rlly cant talk to daehwi often, but there are some occasions where the p101 staff let u make a phone call

if ure not calling ur family, u always use it to call him

u use the limited time to catch up, and he always showers u in support and compliments, telling u how hes watching every ep when it airs and is cheering u on

even tho u cant see him, u can imagine the way he smiles as he says it, and its enough to make u smile as well

as the days and performances move on u get closer and closer to the final stage

u havent always been at the top of the rankings, but uve still been doing pretty well esp recently w all of the positive attention tht uve been getting

u make it to the finale, and u cant help but hold ur breath the entire time

in this mass of people in the audience, its impossible to make out anyones faces, so u cant recognize if anyone came to support u

u cant help but hope tht somehow daehwi made it, but u know hes been so busy with his own practicing tht he probably doesnt have time

theres a section of past p101 winners somewhere else, but its even further away and harder to see with all of the bright lights

the next couple of hours go by both achingly slow and annoyingly fast

as the names slowly start to get called, u watch with a heavy heart as more and more people are cheered their way on to safety

honestly ure still kinda surprised tht u made it this far, since u started out only hoping to gain experience and a vague fanbase with the show

but now tht ure here, u cant help but hope tht u make it to the end

despite everything u find urself cheering on the other girls whenever theyre announced as a finalist

everyones crying and ure no better tbh

its getting to the top, just before they decide to go back and announce the final member of the group, and ur ranking of 10 last week suddenly seems far too low, esp as 3rd place is about to be announced

then out of nowhere, ur name is called

ur hands are shaking and u keep looking around bc is this rlly happening?? but everyones screaming and hugging u and ure like ??????????

u cant even string together proper thoughts at this point

somehow u make it to the other stage where one of the staff puts a microphone in ur hands and the cameras are all aimed towards u

honestly half the things u say are just random words of gratitude or names tht u can never forget

ur busy telling ur parents, rhymer, all the other girls, ur fans, abt how much u love them, tht for a second somehow u almost forget abt daehwi

thts when ur gaze flickers to a screen in the stadium where the camera is focused on daehwi cheering and tearing up from his spot somewhere w some of the other p101 boys

of course u have to end it with a “lee daehwi!!! i love u too!!!!!!!” bc even if u know most ppl will take it platonically, ure not sure if he’ll see it the same way

(u dont even know if u want him to or not)

u say one last thank u before ure practically skipping over to ur seat and u cant help but think tht ure SO HIGH UP

still, now tht u know where daehwi is, even tho u cant make out his face, u feel ur heart stutter knowing that he’s there cheering for u

the rest of the night goes by in a blur honestly

as soon as ure all let backstage to meet up w ur family/friends, u find urself being tackled by a combination of familiar faces

daehwi is laughing into ur side, arm slung around ur shoulder, as ur parents try to congratulate u thru their tears, and uve never felt happier

after an embarrassingly long time of hugging and crying, daehwi manages to pull u to a slightly less crowded and loud area

n hes like “listen,, y/n,,,, u know im rlly proud of u too right?? like i love u a lot”

and ure not even thinking abt what u said in ur speech, just nodding along happily bc above all else, daehwi is still ur best friend

but he looks at u and he cant rlly stop smiling either, but he grabs u by the shoulders to say “no, i rlly love u a lot”

so ure like “okay??? and??????”

and he keeps staring at u with this stupid grin on his face and then it hits u and ure like “oh. oH. OH!!!!!!”

so ure both just smiling at each other like idiots n ure like “i think i love u too??”

at tht he has this mock-offended face like “u THINK”

but ure both so so happy teasing each other and feeling like ure both on top of the world

tbh u spend so long standing there and giggling tht ur parents eventually drag u away from ur private spot bc “u cant stand there grinning forever” and “ur bf isnt the only one whos proud of u!!!”

ure both embarrassed but its impossible for either of u to wipe the smiles off of ur faces

u all spend the rest of the day celebrating and enjoying each others company and the company of the rest of ur family/friends, and u cant help but think tht this is one of the best moments of ur life

[emmizu]

kidge

I’m really loving season 3 so far. Too bad they had to split it into season 4. Anyway, this can be seen as romantic or platonic- I prefer the former, but it’s up to the reader I think. At least, that’s how I tried to write it. 

Keith & Pidge vs Lotor ahead... 

This was a mistake. Lotor was quickly overwhelming the two of them with precision and ease. A talent she was only just starting to understand.

They'd been grossly underestimating everything about him. He was nothing like his father. Far from it, she realized.

Pidge rolled onto her side, wincing at the pain radiating from her right lower ribs. She was sure they'd been fractured from the last blow. Her jet pack sizzled on her back. Cracked right in half from the beginning of their fight.

Keith cried out, startling her from her daze. Lotor had sliced through Keith's left thigh. Blood splattered the floor, but she noticed the red paladin wasn't the only one bleeding.

Judging by his scream, it'd went deep. Lotor wasn't playing games this time. He was going for the cut throat advantage. But why now?

There'd been plenty of chances up until now, so why here? Why now?

Lotor's sword drew near to Keith's throat. To the soft underside of his chin. Pidge didn't mean to whine out loud. But the noise made the two of them turn their attention to her.

A wicked smile peeled across Lotor's lips while Keith practically seized on the floor, trying to get his body to move.

"My, my your kind is fragile. My father told me stories from his glory days as a paladin. Duty to Voltron above all else... or something of the sort."

Using his sword, he drew Keith's attention back up to him. "So it's interesting to see what lengths you'll go to for survival, and she seems to really want to survive."

Keith didn't say anything. All Pidge could hear was his ragged breathing.

Cocking his head, Lotor laughed and readjusted the grip on his sword. "My question is whether you'll survive or not. As pilot to the black lion, your team would appreciate you on doing so. But for me," he said wistfully, "I'd like you gone."

Her bayard. She needed to find it in this tick or the next. Pidge forced herself to look away, searching desperately when she saw the pair moving again in her periphery.

Slamming his foot down on Keith's chest, Lotor drew his sword up. "No black lion, no Voltron as they say."

There! She could see it!

Stretching her left arm out, her fingers barely grazed the handle. Her right side burned with the movement, sending her lungs into near spasms.

Keith and Lotor were scrambling now. Somehow, in her crisis, Keith had tried to get the upper hand.

A new spark ignited a fire in her body, pushing past the exhaustion, past the pain, to grab her bayard. She bit back a scream as she leaned forward as far as she could and grabbed onto the handle.

It transformed in her palm. The weight of it felt familiar and almost comforting, if it wasn't for the fact that she needed to use it now or else they were going to lose another paladin. And that wasn't happening on her watch.

She needed to stop shaking. She couldn't get in a good shot like this. Keith was in far more trouble than she was. She needed to get a grip.

Everything ached, and she was sure the tear tracks were going to become permanent tattoos on her cheeks at this point.

Closing her eyes, Pidge took a breath to steady herself. When she reopened them, her hand was trembling, but not enough to completely throw off her aim. So she set her sights on Lotor- who happened to be holding Keith up by his chest armor.

Luckily, Pidge believed she could be faster. At least, she hoped. Her grapple gun went off, firing straight at Lotor's arms. As soon as it wrapped around them, it ignited.

Lotor dropped Keith almost immediately, near the edge of the bridge, but she didn't think he'd do this. Using his tied up arms, he swung them around- wrapping more cord around them. Then he pulled as hard as he could.

Pidge came flying toward the other side of the room and landed right at Lotor's feet. He ripped  her bayard out of her hands and tossed it carelessly across the room.

He bent down to grab her, laughing at the confusion written across her face. "You're brave. I'll give you that, Green Paladin, but I'll let you in on a little secret. My suit isn't weak to your electricity."

Pidge screamed as her ribs protested the sharp movements. She grabbed at his hands and tried to pull them off, holding back another yelp of pain when he shook her.

Pushing one of Keith's legs out of his way, he walked over to the edge and held her over it. "Now you can't very well fly with the condition of your jet pack and your bayard across the room, but perhaps I won't really drop you. What do you think, fearless leader?"

He was addressing Keith now.

Keith who was clutching onto Lotor's legs and desperately trying to get up. "Let her go!"

"I could, but I think she'd fall to her death from here." Lotor replied with a flip of his hair. "And you wouldn't want that, correct?"

"Lotor!"

Everything seemed to freeze in that moment.

Acxa, one of Lotor's elite generals, stood in the doorway. Hands behind her back, she was poised and awaiting his attention.

Lotor turned and dropped Pidge to the floor. Keith did his best to cover her, using his body as a makeshift shield when she let out another cry of pain.

"I got you, Pidge. I got you." He murmured, voice rough with pain.

"We got what we needed. We're ready for launch."

"Thank you, Acxa. Let's be on our way then." He stepped over the paladins and started to make his way over to the general.

However, he stopped a few feet away and looked back at them, smiling a dangerous smile.

"Allow me to leave you with a parting gift."

The next thing Pidge knew, Lotor kicked Keith over the edge. She lurched after him, practically throwing herself halfway over to catch him.  

If her ribs were hurting earlier then they were really howling now. Keith scrambled for a better hold, wincing at the flare of his own wounds.

"P-Pidge! Let go!"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "W-What? You're nuts!"

"I'm serious! Do it now!"

"No!"

Keith's gaze locked on hers. His bottom lip was swollen and bleeding, but that wasn't what was bothering her. He was smiling.

"My grip's slipping. I'm not taking you down with me."

Pidge dared to look behind her. Her bayard was too far to reach. Maybe she could call to it. Get it to her before Keith fell.

Blood from her shoulder wound was trickling down her arm and making the grip she had slack. But she wasn't giving up. Not ever.

She tried pulling him up only to have her shoulder and ribs protest the strain. The adrenaline was waning. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold him up.

But she refused to let go.

"It'll be okay, Pidge, I promise."

She couldn't see through her tears, but she could still see the blurred outline of his smile. "I won't let go," she promised. "We're not losing you too."

"We won't have to!"

Suddenly, Hunk appeared over her shoulder and grabbed Keith by the back of his armor, pulling him back onto the bridge. Lance was there too with Allura close behind.

She was quickly pulled into Lance's arms. "Shit," he gasped, pulling her helmet off for a closer inspection. "We need to get them to the pods."  

"Agreed." Allura said. "Hunk, can you carry Keith? I think I can lead us out from here."

"Yeah let's go!"

The last thing Pidge saw as Lance picked her up off the floor was Keith reaching out for her. Smile wary but still intact.

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

The Misadventures of Prince Kim - chapter 17

(aka the royalty AU story)

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16] [AO3]

The spring dance – which Max insisted actually took place during late winter – was going to be a mandatory, formal event. The seasonal socials all seemed to alternate in this way, with the autumn ball having been optional and formal, the winter party being mandatory but informal, and the later summer gala being both optional and informal. In that case, this spring one was definitely going to be the least fun.

Kim did not know what to do. He wanted to ask Alix to go with him, but would that be too obvious? And what would even be the best way to ask about it? His awkward attempts back before the autumn ball had not exactly been smooth, so…

Walking through the square alone one windy evening, trying to figure out how to go about this, he saw someone in the distance. Could that be… no, it was Adrien! Why did it have to be him?

Kim’s first instinct was to go hide behind the nearest doorway until Adrien had safely passed so that he wouldn’t have to look at him. Things were still far too uncomfortable between those two, even though it had been months since the winter party. They hadn’t even properly talked to each other since then. Would things ever be able to go back to normal?

Well, nothing would go back to normal if they just kept avoiding each other like this! Maybe it was time to do something. Kim marched forwards, gulping down the mild terror that was welling up inside him.

“Hi Adrien,” he said, trying to keep his voice sounding casual.

“Good evening Kim,” Adrien replied. He was standing formally with his hands behind his back, not even smiling. “How are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. How are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

There was a long, frosty silence between them, the only sound being the wind whistling through the square.

Say something! Kim’s brain was screaming. But what should he say?

Anything! Anything at all!

“The weather is windy,” he mumbled.

“Indeed, it is.”

Another long silence.

Kim frantically tried to think of something sensible to actually talk about, but his mind was still so preoccupied with thoughts about the spring dance! What if he talked about duelling club? No, that was all they ever talked about… Should he bring up what happened at the winter party? No, that would make things more awkward…What if he flirted with him – no! Where did that come from?

“I’ll see you in class then, I suppose,” Adrien said, the corners of his mouth lifting into what might have been a brief smile, before he started to walk off again.

No, you can’t let him leave again without sorting this out! Just say something –

“Will you go to the spring dance with me?”

Kim quickly clapped his hands over his mouth and stepped back. But it was too late. Adrien had heard what he said and had turned around to face him again, looking shocked.

“Kim… that’s…”

Weird? Stupid? Creepy? Awkward?

“…very sweet of you.” Adrien stared at the ground, nervously fiddling with the tassels on his coat. “But Marinette already asked me, and I said yes to her. Sorry about that.”

“That’s okay!” Kim babbled. “It’s fine – you should go with her – I didn’t mean it anyway –”

“You didn’t mean it?” Adrien looked back up at him, his voice sounding different all of a sudden, like he was… hurt?

“No that’s… that’s not what I meant! I totally did… I mean… I…”

There was no salvaging this situation now, not when Kim’s brain seemed to be on fire and perhaps exploding at the same time. He took to his heels and ran off without another word, leaving Adrien standing there confused.

The very next day in the library, poor Max had to deal with Kim lamenting over it to him.

“And then I didn’t even say anything, I just ran away!” Kim said, his face buried in Max’s shoulder. “I’m such an idiot! And he probably thinks I don’t like him! But I do like him! … Well, not like that, but… okay, maybe yes like that? I don’t even know! Save me, Max!”

Max awkwardly patted Kim on the head, not really being sure what to do. Dealing with emotionally distraught people was not his strong point, especially not when that emotionally distraught person was Kim. Max hoped the goosebumps on his arms weren’t too noticeable, or that Kim wouldn’t somehow be able to feel the insane speed of his pulse through the fabric of his shirt.

“It’ll be alright,” Max said, knowing  that kind, calming statements usually tended to bring people to ease. “Things will be fine.”

“But what if they won’t be? What if he declares war on me?”

“For what, being gay enough to ask him to a dance? He’s nicer than that.”

Kim sat up properly. “Being what?”

Max was about to explain when Alix walked into view, carrying a pile of books that was practically the same height as she was. She dumped them onto the table with a thud.

“Alright, that stupid spring dance thing is coming up and since I’m being forced to go this time, either one of you nerds is going with me,” she snapped. “Or both. I’m not fussy. I just don’t want to be bored while I’m there. Formal events are always boring when you don’t have friends to mess around with.”

Aha, this was a good opportunity to be a matchmaker. If Max could somehow sneak his way out of this and get Kim and Alix to go to the dance together, well… The thought gave him a rather lonely pang in his heart, but he paid no attention to it. He had to do this for his friends.

Before he could speak up, however, Kim had cleared his throat and said, “Yeah, let’s just all three go together as friends!”

“Awesome.” Alix picked up the stack of books again. “Now I’ve got homework to do, and you know I get too distracted hanging around with you guys. Apparently if I hand it in late again I’ll get a detention and you know I’m not letting that happen. See you later.” Staggering under the giant weight of the books, she slowly left.

“Kim, you could have–”

“I know, I know,” Kim sighed, resting his head sideways on the table and looking at Max. “I could have asked her to go with me properly. But I just wasn’t thinking straight! I’m still freaking out over what happened with Adrien, and I can never even think sensibly around Alix anyway, and… and… I need you, Max.”

“W-what?”

“I need you there. At the spring dance. It’s gonna be a formal event and I have no idea what I’m doing at those, ever. If I went alone with Alix it would just be a disaster. At least if you’re with me I might not accidentally commit treason or something.”

Max stuffed his hands into his pockets so Kim wouldn’t see them shaking. “Oh, well, I’m sure you’d do fine…”

“And anyway, I can’t just leave you all alone to go by yourself, can I? You’re my best friend, you mean so much to me! I’d love to go with you. Heck, I should have just asked you all along.”

Every word seemed to give Max a mini heart attack. It was platonic, so very platonic, and… it was killing him. Slowly, on the inside, every single thing Kim did was killing him.

“Max, are you okay?”

The way Kim was looking at him, frowning ever so slightly, the sweetest mixture of puzzled and concerned… it was too much.

“I don’t feel very well,” Max muttered, standing up and pushing his chair in. “I think I’ll just go take a nap or something.”

“Oh, well I hope you feel better soon, bro! Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Kim.”

It could never work. He knew that. Logically, statistically, everything – it could never work! Kim’s feelings for him were wholly platonic! And even if they weren’t, then what? They were princes! Expected to rule their own kingdoms someday! Unlike commoners they had a duty, and one they couldn’t simply throw away just like that.

Max knew he would never, ever abdicate. Not even a chance. Being a good ruler to his kingdom meant too much to him. And would Kim ever abdicate? Not before sorting out whatever mess his family had with Agreste, first. Kim wouldn’t leave something like that in the hands of people who already didn’t like Adrien. But without abdicating, how could rulers of two such distant countries ever be together?

Not to mention the backlash. Oh dear, the backlash. Not so much from Kanté, which was thankfully fairly accepting, but the rest of the world. In the not-too-distant past monarchs had been deposed for things as simple as marrying commoners, so there was no way something like this could go down well…

Never mind. It didn’t matter, because it would never happen. The chances were absolutely miniscule. No, the most likely thing to happen would be Kim finally asking Alix to be his sweetheart, staying on the throne long enough to make peace with the Agreste Empire, then abdicating and marrying her, living happily ever after…

And that would be fine. Max would be happy for Kim, he really would. He cared about Kim too much to be selfish over something like that. He wasn’t jealous, just…

Sad.

Kim returned to his room to find another letter from his family. Part of him was tempted just to throw it away without reading it, but that was probably a bad idea. He opened it and skimmed through. Well… it had been a good thing he hadn’t thrown it away. This time there was more than just him being told off.

It might be wise of you to come back home soon before things escalate. There has been an increase in raids near the border, correlating with rising tensions between our kingdom and the Agreste Empire, and it may not be safe for you away from home. We won’t call you back just yet, but please be aware. We also implore you not to socialize with Adrien further; he may be your classmate but any product of an empire like that can only be an enemy.

Enemy??? No. Things may not have been great between him and Adrien, but that poor kid was definitely not Kim’s enemy! And he would prove it! He ran over to Adrien’s room and knocked on the door.

“I have to speak to Adrien about something,” he said to the huge bodyguard who opened the door.

“Kim, is that you?” Adrien squeezed round the side of his bodyguard into the doorway. “Oh good, I wanted to talk to you too!” He looked up at his bodyguard. “Could you please let us have a moment? And please don’t tell my father.”

The bodyguard grunted and walked away, leaving the two of them alone. Adrien pulled Kim into the room and closed the door.

“My parents are saying you’re my enemy because you’re from Agreste, but it’s not true,” Kim said quickly, trying not to look at Adrien in case he would get flustered and mess up again. “You’re not my enemy. You’re my friend. At least… I hope you are. I know things got weird after, uh… you know…”

“I’m sorry,” Adrien said. “I didn’t mean to change anything between us, I just…” He hid his face in his hands. “I think I had a mini crush on you and I didn’t know what to do about it! There, I said it.”

“Really?”

“I know, it’s weird, I don’t even know why or where it came from, I only realized it at the winter party and I was too nervous to talk to you about it!”

Kim breathed a sigh of relief. “Me too, Adrien, me too.”

Adrien lifted his head out of his hands slightly. “You liked me too?”

“Yeah. I mean, um, I think I did. I’m not completely sure. It’s kinda confusing, especially because there’s someone else I like a lot more and I was focusing way more on that, but… yeah. I didn’t realize it until the winter party either.”

“Wow, that’s kind of funny,” Adrien said, giggling a little. “It’s so similar with me. I’ve been liking Marinette a lot for the past few weeks, and so the only person who I told about you was Nino…”

“And the only person I told about you was Max!” Kim laughed, finally being able to look at Adrien properly. “Anyway, I think most of all I want to be your friend, just like how we were before. I was being too much of an awkward idiot in between, but I’m sorry about that. You’re awesome, never mind what my parents think.”

“Aww, that’s really sweet of you! You’re awesome too, and we should definitely still be friends!”

“And I’m pretty sure you and Marinette make such a cute couple.”

Adrien blushed. “You think so?”

“Yeah, trust me. You two deserve each other. You’re both so cool.”

“Thank you! And I’m sure you’ll make a cute couple with… well, whoever it is that you like. I’m guessing it’s Alix.”

Now it was Kim’s turn to blush. “What? N-no… it’s not… I mean…”

“I won’t tell anyone, don’t worry!”

“How did you even know?”

“Everyone does. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“What?!” Kim blushed even more. “I’m not obvious! I’m like… super subtle! Yeah!”

Adrien burst into laughter. “If you say so!”

There was a knock on the door and Adrien opened it to see that his bodyguard had returned.

“Time’s up, I guess. Bye, Kim! It was really good to talk to you again!”

“Yeah, same!”

Kim waved and left the room, feeling much lighter than he had before, like a huge weight had been lifted off his mind. Adrien was his friend again… thank goodness.