#by the guy who's been manipulating and lying to her through the goddamn walls

[opera-ghost]

it's immensely funny to me how andrew lloyd webber read this passage from the book and was like yeah the journey down to the phantom's lair is this really breathtaking magical gondola ride where christine is just captivated by the strange and fantastical beauty of it all (see below)

when in the novel they're both like in a rowboat in the dark with christine scared out of her mind and confused as hell while erik is paddling like he's out for an extreme day of fishing and just staring christine down for the entire duration of the journey without blinking once . like mind you his eyes quite literally GLOW in the DARK and he's just fucking staring into her soul and silently rowing and probably not even breathing like

[rottenbrainstuff]

BG3 playthrough: continuing through the underdark

Spoilers.

Finished the arcane tower, read all the books and notes, got a hug from the automaton that’s been programmed to comfort Lenore. Dang every single NPC in this game is sad and lonely and haunted. Is there any NPC here that isn’t horribly tortured?... so many sad little notes and journals and books lying around, so many sad little stories that are just footnotes at the bottom of the main plot. And I’ve only just started, the REALLY sad stuff hasn’t even HAPPENED yet. Sigh.

Man. The more I think about it though, the more sad Lenore makes me. All her lonely little notes, the sad little poems she wrote, all the things she lost, lost her partner, her friends, even her dog, so lonely she programmed herself a clockwork friend, and who knows what even happened to her in the end. Oh Lenore. Oh this game.

Kudos to the most confusing corpse I’ve talked to in the game yet! (which would be the half-crushed drow by the wall of mushrooms) After looking around, it was quickly apparent what he was talking about, but I loved the few minutes where I had no fucking clue what the hell he meant about how throwing his backpack caused him to fall because it was too light and mushrooms and things disappearing and what?... I liked the little easter egg journal he was carrying that mentioned Drizzt Do’urden’s mother. And of COURSE all of that mushroom bullshit is Ethel’s doing, even from beyond the grave she’s still messing me up, lmao.

I just realized the lyre I looted from Minthara’s corpse after the siege is the fucking harp that calls Kar’niss in the shadowlands. It was pretty so I equipped it. I’ve just been running around playing my bard tunes on it this whole time lmao. Wouldn’t it have been funny if I only found that out when I went to play it later in the game and suddenly a goddamned drider shows up for my performance? (btw can’t wait to meet him, he sounds absolutely heartbreaking, like, fuck, game. Why are you trying so hard to make me so specifically sad??????)

After backtracking and NOT torching the entire bibberbang field, I decided to give the noblestalk to Derryth. It sounds like I’ll be able to buy more from her later in act 3 if I do that. (dark urge gets some flavour, haha, if you eat it. Apparently you can also give it to Shadowheart, but I wasn't able to... bug? not sure. Will worry about the noblestalk later.)

I’m at the Grymforge now, getting overwhelmed by how much stuff there is and how many areas there are. There continues to be interesting little pepperings of special dark urge dialogue options, but I do wish there were maybe just a litttttttle bit more… closer to the beginning of the game I liked how there was a dark urge option for so many dialogues, it really was like having these horrible intrusive thoughts constantly whispering to you to do the horrible thing. It’s slowed to a simmer now. Still fun though! The duergar are absolutely terrible and it’s hilarious. Once again, I have my murder-is-fun team of Astarion, Shadowheart and Lae’zel with me, who are approving of every mean dialogue option I choose - you guys know I’m NOT really going to buy a slave, right? You’re approving of my clever manipulation of the dialogue, right? RIGHT GUYS???

Couldn’t help but notice though that Astarion is already getting noticeably less cranky about my decisions to help people out, even if he still has to make a token show about disagreeing (ie, his hilarious reaction to me saying I intended to free Nere), and he even approved of me refusing to help Glut attack the myconid colony. I really don’t quite get the people complaining that he’s hard to romance without playing an evil route. What are y’all doing / not doing that’s messing things up? I’m at 97 approval currently and haven’t left act 1 yet and haven’t picked any evil options that I didn’t want to pick. I HAVE sent him back to camp a few times when I knew he wouldn’t like what I was doing, ie agreeing to help the tieflings, but honestly I do that for all the companions. I send Shadowheart and Astarion away when I’m going to agree to help. I send Gale and Karlach away when I’m going to pretend to be the big mean drow in the enemy camp. Even if I didn’t do that, I would still have a high approval for him. Besides a couple specific spots, dialogue disapprovals are almost always just a -1, and that’s not a large enough amount to seriously mess up your romance if you’re not making the effort to switch the team around. I dunno what you guys are doing that makes it so hard?.....

I know everyone talks about how sad it is that Astarion can’t walk in the sun anymore at the end of the game… I dunno. I totally understand missing the sun, but damn if my drow boy isn’t going to try his hardest to show Astarion everything beautiful and colourful and brilliant in the underdark, how beautiful life can be even without the sun.

Shovel is hilarious, 11 out of 10 A+++ would recommend, I wish I tried her scroll ages ago. I have her following around Astarion right now and I’m sure he’s absolutely delighted by his horrible little henchthing.

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

MY DEAR WIFE. I DESIRE A SEQUEL TO THE JIMMY EMPIRE FIC. I MADE THIS TUMBLR ACCOUNT TO MAKE MY DEMANDS. NOW GO BE FREE. WRITE YOU FANTASTIC FANFIC WRITER YOU. -BEST SPOUSE, PURP <3

this was a popular request LMAO :D

here’s the first part

…

The ringing of her communicator wakes Lizzie up late in the night. Blinking herself awake, she quickly answers it, speaking quietly so as to not awaken her sleeping fiance next to her. “Hello?”

“Lizzie, it’s Pixl,” comes the familiar British voice. “I’m so sorry to wake you.”

“It’s okay,” Lizzie says. “Is something wrong?”

“Something’s happened with Jimmy.”

Lizzie’s heart skips a beat. “Is he okay?”

“I’ll explain everything later but I could really use your help right now. Are you able to come to the Cod Empire?”

Momentarily forgetting that Pixl can’t see her, Lizzie nods. “Of course, I’ll come over right away.”

“Thanks so much, Lizzie,” says Pixl gratefully. “See you soon.”

“See you.”

Lizzie puts down her communicator and gets out of bed. Just as she’s finished changing, her fiance stirs in his bed and murmurs, “What’s going on? Who was that?”

“Pixl,” replies Lizzie softly, secretly glad he’s awake; she wouldn’t have woken him first. “Something’s happened to Jimmy, and Pixl needs me. You okay to come over to the Cod Empire with me?”

Joel sits up in his bed, immediately more awake. “Of course, of course. Let me get dressed.”

The two fly straight over to the Cod Empire and land outside Jimmy’s house. Pixl answers the door on the first knock. “Queen Lizzie, thank you for coming,” he says gratefully. “And King Joel.”

He leads them inside. Lizzie and Joel both gasp simultaneously as they spot Jimmy lying on the bed.

Joel freezes but Lizzie dashes to his side and grasps his hand, staring down in horror at the bruises covering Jimmy’s face. “Oh my goodness! What happened to him?! Is he okay?!”

Pixl joins her on Jimmy’s other side. “He’s recovering,” he responds grimly. “You know the demon Xornoth that’s shown their face around the server lately?”

“Heard of them.”

“fWhip and Sausage seem to be around the epicentre of the whole thing. They captured Jimmy, kept him in a cell for a whole day, beat him several times, then tried to sacrifice him to Xornoth. Scott and I managed to save him but he almost died from his injuries before Scott was able to heal him somewhat with magic.”

Lizzie gazes down at Jimmy with a worried expression, gently touching his face. He stirs slightly under her touch.

After a moment, she speaks again, her tone low and dangerous. “fWhip and Sausage, you said?”

Pixl nods. “Yeah. Scott and I chased them off but I’m a little worried about them returning to finish the job. That’s why I asked you over; I could do with some help protecting him. If that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay.” Lizzie retracts her hand and presses her fist into her palm. “Hell, if either of them show their faces around here, I’ll rip them apart with my bare hands.”

Now Joel moves closer to the bed, his expression uncharacteristically serious. “Poor Jimmy… I can’t imagine how terrified he must’ve been.”

As Pixl opens his mouth to respond, another knock at the door sounds. The three frown at each other, trying to work out who could possibly be at the door.

After a moment, Pixl heads back over to the door and answers it. His gaze darkens when he sees who’s standing there. “You’re not welcome here.”

Lizzie stiffens as she hears MythicalSausage’s voice: “I just wanted to ask how Jimmy is. And to… apologise.”

“Apologise?!” Lizzie bursts out.

Joel draws Pixl out of the way as Lizzie storms to the door and shoves Sausage backwards. “You TORTURED my friend and you think you can just walk over here and APOLOGISE?!”

Sausage scrambles back as a furious Lizzie bears down on him. “I had nothing to do with hurting him! That was all fWhip!”

“YOU THINK THAT MAKES IT BETTER?!” Lizzie bellows.

She flings out her arms and manipulates the ocean water into grabbing hold of Sausage and bringing him closer to her. “ACK!” Sausage chokes, struggling uselessly. “LIZZIE!”

“I’m going to kill you, Sausage,” growls Lizzie. “Would you rather be flung high into the air and fall to your death or drowned in salty ocean water?”

“N-Neither!”

A dark smile appears on Lizzie’s face. “Too bad. I’ve decided I’m gonna drown you.”

She lifts the water higher. His scream is abruptly cut off as the water envelopes his head, stopping him from breathing. She watches with satisfaction as his air slowly runs out.

But then Pixl’s voice comes from behind her: “Lizzie, he’s calling for you. He needs you.”

Lizzie pauses, weighing up her options. Eventually, she releases Sausage onto the dock, taking grim pleasure in the way he splutters and coughs up water. “You’re lucky this time, Sausage,” she says. She kneels down beside him and pushes her face close to Sausage’s with a menacing glare. “But if you ever, and I mean EVER, come near Jimmy again, you’re gonna wish you were never born. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-Y-Yes!” gasps Sausage.

Lizzie steps back and lets Sausage flee, before rushing back inside and back to Jimmy’s side. Her ally is stirring, his eyelids fluttering. “L-Lizz...ie…”

“I’m here,” whispers Lizzie softly, holding his hand against her cheek to reassure him of her presence. “I’m here, Jimmy. Are you okay?”

Jimmy coughs weakly. “M-My wrists hurt.”

Frowning, Lizzie pushes down Jimmy’s sleeve, revealing the thick red marks. “Wh-What is this?!” she gasps. “Pixl?”

“It’s…” Pixl hesitates, knowing what his next words will likely cause. “They’re burn marks. He had his hands tied behind his back for most of the day in that cell.”

Joel glances sharply at his fiancee. “Uh oh.”

Thunder sounds overhead as dark clouds rapidly slide across the sky. Lizzie’s expression remains steady, but lightning flashes in her eyes. “I’ll be right back, Jimmy,” she says, her voice as steady as her expression. But it’s just an act for Jimmy’s benefit and both Pixl and Joel know it.

Neither Pixl nor Joel stop her as she storms out of the hut and takes off flying towards the Grimlands. She lands atop the outer wall, rain starting to fall from the sky.

“FWHIP!” she bellows, her voice rolling through the clouds and echoing across the land.

Seconds later, the count himself appears atop his tower, within audible distance despite the increasingly loud thunder overhead. “Queen Lizzie!” He spreads his arms wide. “How may I help you?”

A bolt of lightning strikes the very top of fWhip’s tower.

“Aha, what have I done to invoke the wrath of the Ocean Queen?” fWhip laughs.

Instead of replying verbally, Lizzie lifts her arms and summons a giant wave of water from the river, sending it crashing down like a tsunami over the Grimlands.

“NO!” fWhip yells. “My villagers! You’re gonna drown my villagers!”

“MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE YOU TORTURED JIMMY AND TRIED TO MURDER HIM!” roars Lizzie.

fWhip stares at her for a moment as he finally remembers that Lizzie is one of Jimmy’s closest allies. “...oh…”

Shaking himself into action, fWhip dives down into his flooded village. Lizzie watches him, taking grim satisfaction in watching him flounder around in desperation. She doesn’t even realise how close he is to death until-

fWhip drowned

Lizzie quickly dissipates the flood and jumps down to look for fWhip’s items. As she’s starting to pick them up, fWhip reappears, so she retreats back to a safe distance.

“I’ll get my revenge for this, Ocean Queen,” growls fWhip. “I will not take the attempted murder of my villagers lying down.”

“I don’t give a crap,” Lizzie snaps back. “Don’t you dare think about going near Jimmy ever again, because if you do, I can promise you I will wipe your goddamn empire off the face of the world and I will NOT regret doing it.”

fWhip narrows his eyes. “You’re messing with the wrong empire. I too have the power to wipe an empire out of existence.”

“I live in the ocean. The bulk of my empire is underwater now. Your TNT will make a scratch at most.”

fWhip’s mouth opens, then closes again. After a moment, he looks away. “Fine.”

Lizzie raises an eyebrow. “Really? You’re backing down that easily?”

“I’m being smart. You’ve no idea what’s coming, Lizzie. I do. I need to prepare. I can’t afford to be dragged into another war right now.”

As fWhip turns, he finds Lizzie extremely close to him. She grabs the collar of his shirt and pulls him close so that their faces are inches apart. “Then don’t start one,” she snarls. “Stay away from my allies.”

She shoves fWhip away and takes off again, flying back to the swamp. Part of her feels bad at the attack on fWhip’s innocent villagers but she pushes it aside. fWhip tortured Jimmy and was perfectly willing to slaughter him when he was tied up and defenceless.

Lizzie has no sympathy or mercy for a person like that.

When she gets back, Joel meets her at the door. “Lizzie, you’re back!” he gasps. “I saw the death message in chat.”

“Yes. fWhip needed to be told that I won’t tolerate him hurting my Jimmy.” Her gaze flickers from Joel to Pixl and back again. “Or any of you.”

Joel gazes at her with almost visible hearts in his eyes. “I love you so much, Lizzie.”

Lizzie can’t help a chuckle. “I love you too.”

“Guys, guys, come quick!” Pixl calls suddenly. “Guys!”

The two quickly rush to Jimmy’s beside but stop dead simultaneously when they see what Pixl is so panicked about.

A mark has appeared on Jimmy’s neck. It looks like some kind of rune, but what’s worrying about it is the fact that it’s glowing red.

“What is this?” Lizzie gasps. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know! It just appeared!”

After a few seconds, the glowing dies down, leaving only the clear black mark.

“This has got to be something to do with the demon,” says Pixl shakily. “I don’t know what or how or why, but somehow, fWhip and Sausage’s attempted sacrifice of Jimmy must’ve caused this.”

“But what can we do about it?” Joel asks. “What can we do to help?”

Pixl has no answer to this.

Nobody does.

[luca-moreno]

operation: asteria

Uh. So this is only the most self-indulgent thing ever but let’s be honest, this is what we’re here for sooo  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Luca centric/sorta vague to leave room in the sandbox for other pov’s <3

FOLLOWS X 

 ---

It’s a tense walk back to the shuttle.

Gone was the easy humour and levity of their initial foray into the marketplace. Now they push through the crowds with terse expressions, eyes scanning every passing face for a potential threat. Luca feels the weight of the disc on him like an anchor, dragging him down with each step and further troubled by how uneasy Eva and the Captain had seemed.

Whoever this Vance guy was, he was trouble.

Luca knows it’s selfish when there’s something much more vital at stake but a large part of him is still trying to push down the crushing disappointment that he won’t be able to meet his own contact. He would have liked to have tugged on that thread that might one day lead him to his brother.

Maybe, if he had been paying more attention, he might have noticed the shadows behind them before the screaming started.

Eva flares blue instantly, but the heavy lurch of the suddenly panicked crowd knocks Luca out of range of her barrier. He loses sight of her briefly in the crush of frenzied bodies. It’s a struggle to stay on his feet as he’s shoved and jostled by the stampede. Isaac’s voice is curt but calm in his ear and Luca forces himself to focus on the hum of Eva and Ben’s biotics. He almost locates them when an explosive rush of heat and noise hits him like a shockwave and he’s suddenly lifted off his feet and hurled far into the dirt.

For a moment, there’s nothing but silence from the force of the impact, then a world of screaming sensation comes rushing back in. He blinks up at the fuzzy stars, ears ringing and filled with static along with the continual frustrating buzzing of his aids. He can't breathe through the smoke and charred dust in the air and he tastes blood in his mouth. He groans as he tries to roll over but his body feels too heavy and slow, like he’s moving under water.

A dark figure looms over him. Luca spies a flash of red along one arm and relief rushes though him despite the wall of flames at the figure’s back - relieved because the N7 stripe and the broad shoulders tell him it's the captain, and if Isaac is there, then Luca knows it’s gonna okay - right up until the front of Luca’s ajax armor is grabbed in a gloved fist and he’s lifted off the dirt.

No. Not the captain.... A face he doesn't recognize and Luca’s brain stutters in confusion but he can’t think through the darkness crowding in around the edges of his vision.

It swallows him whole.

--

It’s almost peaceful when Luca comes to but the silence gives way to a crackling static, cut off voices and a rhythmic pounding in his head.

He cracks one eye open, greeted by a wide, dark room and a handful of shadowy figures. His hands are bound behind his back and his first thought is the disc. 

They had to be after the disc.

He hasn’t been awake for long when one of the figures approaches him.

“Oi, the kid’s awake.”

“Good. Get him up.”

It’s the only warning Luca gets before a rough pair of hands hauls him upright. A barefaced turian looms into his field of vision. He can’t hear the clack of his mandibles, but Luca can make out what he’s trying to say. Barely.

“What?” Luca wheezes, staring blankly at the turian in front of him.

“Where’s the disc?”

“What?” he says again.  

The turian snarls something else and Luca tries to gesture to his head. It’s hard with his hands bound behind his back. “Wait, no. I… I can’t hear.”

Another figure approaches, human this time, and ugly as sin. Luca stares up at them from his position on the floor and tries not to let the quiver in his stomach show on his face. Razor squad, he realizes. They have to be. These must be the assholes that had been chasing Viz.

He tries to gesture to his head again, then makes a frustrated sound. “If you can undo… I can can fix... or… sign-”

There’s a long beat while the two mercs debate what to do but it’s a third voice that Luca can barely make out that has one of them reaching for his wrists. Luca uses the opportunity to press his thumb and ring finger together to activate a charge as soon as the merc makes contact. A flash of blue and white fizzles, crackling out from Luca’s gloved wrist and scrambling up the man’s arm. It spreads over his body as the merc gasps once then falls to the ground, convulsing. 

The others scramble back with a yelp.

“Shit, be careful!” one of them yells. “Little fucker might have more.”

The turian’s mandibles click in an alien approximation of a human sneer. “Any other surprises for us, kid?”

“Guess you’ll just have to come closer and find out, huh?” Luca flexes his wrist and tries for what he hopes is a cocky smile. 

It was that same lesson Kiosho had drummed into him on the wards when they were kids and strengthened by the time Isaac, Eva and even Ben had given him.

Be brave even you’re fucking terrified, because half the time, they won’t be able to tell the difference.  And after Yamamotto... well, Luca’s wasn’t going to be caught defenceless again.

Another human, a woman with a jaggered scar down one cheek and one eye milky white, lifts her weapon. Her voice is a sneer as she points it in Luca’s direction. “Or we could just put a bullet in your brain-“  

Luca freezes in place.

“Nah, big man would have our heads for that. He wants this one alive. And the disc. Better get him over here.”

They give Luca a wide berth but he’s conscious of the barrels of katanas, scimitars and claymores pointed at him.

A new figure approaches and Luca doesn’t need to skim his eyes over the red stripe to know who he is.

Jackson Vance.

This was the disgraced N7 that had made Eva react the way she had. There was more history there that Luca wasn’t privy to, but he knew Eva. There was more at play than whatever had been on his bastard’s file.

“Some piss poor judgement on the Alliance part here,” Vance says casually, crouching down to Luca’s level and eyeing him with a cold gaze. “A paladin, a fury and a goddamn fucking Cerberus phoenix and they gave the disc to you.”

Vance shakes his head as though bitterly disappointed as he climbs back to his feet. “Not much of a challenge.”

Luca jerks his chin at the man lying comatose on the ground nearby. 

“Your friend over there seems to be enjoying his nap. He might be sore in the morning. Although I can’t remember what my charge was set to, maybe he wont wake up, maybe the next one will be-”

The turian ventures closer, and his movement interrupts Luca’s train of thought. His wrist glows orange with the activated omnitool and it only takes a minute for Luca to realise the turian is scanning him. 

“He’s only got the one charge,” he informs Vance after a moment.

Vance’s expression doesn’t change. It’s cold like ice. “Then search him.”

“No!”

The remaining mercs descend on Luca without hesitation, plucking at his armor and rummaging through the pouches and compartments of his pockets. He knows they’ll find the disc but he kicks out anyway, fighting and thrashing where he could until the cold barrel of a gun presses against his temple and his blood turns cold.

Vance stares down at him. “I want to keep you alive, kid. But you’re testing my patience.”

“Yeah,” Luca swallows. “You’d be surprised how often I get tha- hey!”

They yank the scarf off from around his neck and throw it to the ground. “I just bought that,” he mutters but it’s not why his inside suddenly turn watery and his heart races. A three clawed hand tucks inside his breast plate and then withdraws the small case.

Damnit.

“You know they’re gonna find me, right?" Luca glares up at them as the mercs smirk amongst themselves and hold up the case in triumph. “The paladin, the fury… the phoenix. And when they do, you’re all going to be totally fucked.”

Vance leans down, close enough to Luca’s face he can feel his breath on his face. It’s uncomfortably close. “How was the paripo?”

The question throws Luca. “What?”

“The paripo. The local delicacy on a stick you and the fury were enjoying. How was it? I watched you all. Saw the way she looked at you. At him. She was always soft – so easy to manipulate. Doesn’t look like anything has changed. Give her enough rope and she’ll hang herself over and over again.”

“What the…” Luca breathes out before starting to shout. “Shut up! You don’t get to talk about her like that! You’ve got the disc, you got what you wanted so why don’t you just leave her alone-“

“Oh, the kid’s in love, huh? Cute,” one of the mercs chuckles from nearby.

“Shut up!” Luca tries to lunge but they hold him too tightly.

“Come on, Vance,” the turian snaps. “We got the disc, let’s put a round in this kid’s brain and get the fuck out of here. What more do you want?”

“I want the fury. But the phoenix will fetch us a nice bonus too. Not to mention the paladin’s ship currently in orbit.”

“Hey, man. No. What? No, I didn’t sign up for that shit. You’re fucking crazy.”

“Yeah, Vance, the disc is what we agreed to. Come on, let’s just get out of here and-“

It happens so fast Luca wouldn’t have known who fired if it wasn’t for the gun still smoking in Vance’s hand.

The merc’s blood pools on the floor, inching towards Luca’s boots as he tries to scramble back.

“You said she’ll find you?” Vance says mildly to Luca. “I’m counting on it, kid.”

[maevemarethyu]

Unexpected (1/?)

Summary: A Bucky x Reader fic

You weren’t expecting it. Neither of you were.

That didn’t mean you weren’t happy with how it ended.

Warnings: Cheating, Threats, Sad Boi Hour, Heatbreak, I’m not quite sure what else.

“Your husband is fucking my wife.”

Those were not the words you were expecting to hear when you open your door on a cool Wednesday night. Even more shocking was the man who said them: James Buchannan Barnes.

An Avenger was on your doorstep with red-rimmed eyes and a stoic look on his handsome face.

Your first instinct is to deny the accusation. Your husband loves you! You’d been married for nearly six years. You had been high school sweethearts, you never went to bed angry, you had your neighbors over for game days, hell you had just gone on your weekly date night yesterday!

A date night that he had to leave early because of an emergency at the station but, he couldn’t help that. He was a police officer for the NYPD and he couldn’t control when bad guys decided to be bad.

Right?

Yes. Your husband loves you which is why he hates working late all the time and he spoils you with gifts and flowers. He’s been planning you both a surprise trip for vacation which is why he never let you see his phone or laptop. He had gone to your favorite store to buy you a new perfume which is why his shirts smelled like rose instead of your signature lemon and rosemary scent.

Right?

The tears welling in your eyes make you realize just how much of a fool you really were and suddenly, all you want to do is scream. Your lips fall open to follow through but, your voice won’t comply and all that comes out is a single syllable.

“Oh.” You had never thought a two-letter word could hold so much heartbreak and, apparently neither did the ex-Winter Soldier because his mask of aloofness falls, revealing raw and unhidden heartbreak in his blue eyes.

The two of you stay silent for a moment, processing his words while staring at one another. The unspoken question of now what? lingers between you. What does one do when their world is shattering around them? When you find out that the person you thought was the love of your life was sleeping with another woman.

Last night… Patrick came home late and you two…

“I’m going to be sick.” You announce blearily before rushing to the bathroom and emptying the contents of your stomach. This couldn’t be happening. This was all just some sick dream because there was no way Patrick would do this to you; with the Winter Soldier’s wife no less. You were normally impeccable at spotting a liar but, you had been duped.

“I’m sorry.” The aforementioned soldier’s voice startles you and you wipe the sick from your mouth before facing him. “I-I thought you deserved to know.”

You appreciated it. Really, you did but, you couldn’t bring yourself to thank him. Ignorance wasn’t a good color on you but, you needed time to let the thoughts swirling in your mind settle. Speaking of swirling, you suddenly remember to flush the toilet with a cringe. You could handle blood, excrement, urine and everything in between but, vomit? That was your weak point and it made this whole situation burn more than the acid that had crawled up your throat.

Yet, there was no judgement in his blue eyes when you finally get the courage to look at him; only understanding.

Of course he was understanding. He was probably the only person on the planet that could understand your situation in depth. He was in the thick of it with you.

“I’m sorry too.” You manage after several deep breaths and his jaw clenches tightly. You didn’t know what you were apologizing for but, you could tell he appreciated it; his face was quite expressive for a well-known soldier turned assassin turned hero. “I’m Y/N.”

You knew he knew your name (how else would he have found you) but, you still felt the need to introduce yourself no matter how shitty of a situation you were in. His blue eyes widen in realization before shooting to his boots.

“Ah, shit. I really just rushed here and- That wasn’t the right way to go about this.” Understatement of the century. “James Barnes.” He finishes.

You would have called the way he stumbled over his words cute if your heart wasn’t currently lying in the bottom of your stomach in a million pieces with Patrick’s name written on every shard. It hurt.

“You know, I used to think writers exaggerated how heartbreak felt.” You let out a humorless and bitter laugh. “I didn’t think it could hurt this much.”

The cold tile of your bathroom floor was starting to make you butt ache but, you can’t bring yourself to move from your position resting against the bathtub and you accept this as your new life. Counting the tiles until the pain passes.

He hums in response, sliding down to the floor across from you, back against the wall. “This definitely ranks in the top five shittiest things to happen to me.”

That said something if everything you read about the Winter Soldier and HYDRA was true. You never could understand how people could treat each other so cruelly. Why someone would go out of their way to cause another pain. It just didn’t make sense to you.

Your next door neighbor’s music lilted through the walls as it did every night and it gave you an odd sense of comfort. She was a cello player and always seemed to play whenever you were having a bad day. You and James sit in silence and your eyes fall closed as you listen to her rendition of Electric Love.

It was one of your favorites but, Patrick always complained about the noise. Patrick.

The cheating, lying, manipulative piece of shit.

“How did you find out?” You hiss, immediately regretting the words as soon as they leave your mouth. You didn’t want to know. Right now you just wanted to curl up on your couch and eat enough ice cream to put you into a coma.

He clears his throat and you open your eyes to meet his. The pain in them shone clear and you could feel tears welling up again.

“I had my suspicions. Cla- She had been acting weird for a few months but, she kept turning it onto me. Told me I was imagining things.” His voice was thick with emotion and it broke the dam keeping the tears in your eyes. “It was Sam that saw them. He was testing out Redwing and we thought it would be funny to check on ou- the apartment; maybe tap it on the window and scare her a bit. Guess the joke was on me.”

Oh. You got sick just thinking about it. You couldn’t imagine seeing it first hand.

“I didn’t go home last night. Steve made me stay at the compound while Tony ran facial recognition on your… Tony told me he was married and I came straight here.”

His words cause you to sputter. “You mean they don’t know we know?!”

He shakes his head and a shaky breath leaves your lungs. You were half hoping Patrick got his ass handed to him Avengers style and that’s why he hadn’t come home yet; save you the trauma of confronting him yourself.

The other half of you was glad. You had more than a few choice words for your husband; the first ones being We’re getting divorced.

“I didn’t know how to face her.” He whispers and your ears barely catch it. He sounded so defeated and you were sure it matched the look on your face. You didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve this. He was a goddamn hero.

The anger doubles in your chest, making up for his lack of. You’d never seen anyone so broken, hell, you’ve never felt so broken in your entire life and the people causing it were none the wiser. Patrick had told you he was staying at the station tonight but, you knew better now.

He was with her. They were together while you and James were crying on your bathroom floor, trying to salvage what was left of your hearts.

And you were starting now.

You pull your phone out of your pocket and dial the number of one of your best friends, ignoring James’ curious blue eyes. It rings exactly two times before you hear a warm hello?

“Hey Mattie.” Trying to keep your voice level fails miserably when you sniffle. “I- uh. Can we meet for breakfast tomorrow? Foggy too?”

“Y/N. What-“ You cut him off with a please and he agrees reluctantly. You agree to meet him at your favorite diner at nine tomorrow morning. You just had to get through tonight.

“Thank you Matt. I’ll see you tomorrow.” You hang up the phone and chuck it past James’ head, through the open door, and it hit the wall with a satisfying crack; catching the Avenger off guard. You weren’t a pacifist but, you weren’t usually so violent. You almost pitied Barnes, he was seeing the worst of you tonight and it was his first time meeting you.

“Friend of yours?” He asks with a barely there smile and you nod while chuckling at your own outburst.

“He’s my best friend… and a lawyer. I want the divorce papers ready so I can shove them in Pat’s stupid face when I confront him.” You notice his jaw twitch at the mention of divorce and you eye his sour look curiously. “What? You don’t expect me to stay with him after this, do you?”

Wide eyes meet yours and he shakes his head slowly. “No. It’s not that. It’s just divorce wasn’t really common in the thirties.”

Oh his sweet summer soul. You had almost forgotten he was a man out of time; still adjusting to the new age. It made your blood boil to think that his wife would betray him like this.

“Welcome to the twenty first century. Where you don’t have to stay married to cheating spouses.” You mutter, raising an invisible glass in a toast.

“How?” He asks, catching you off guard.

“How what? How does one get a divorce?” He nods, looking lost and you don’t hesitate. “Come meet my friends with me. This is all new for me too and I trust them with my life.”

You didn’t want to mention that you honestly wanted him there because he was proof that you weren’t the only one fooled. You weren’t alone in this.

“Are you sure? I understand that its private and-“

“Privacy went out the window when your wife fucked my husband.” You scoff, mirroring his crude language from earlier; he winces before apologizing again.

Your phone goes off in the hallway, signifying the timer you had set was finished and you stand with a groan; joints popping from sitting on the floor for too long. Your mind immediately switches in to work mode; eyes going dry and breathing evening out. It was a superpower of yours; the ability to compartmentalize your feelings.

“I need to feed Laysa.” You walk past the man on the floor, missing the look of horror on the man’s face. “She gets cranky when she’s hungry.”  

He doesn’t speak but, he follows you into the kitchen. You had premade the bottle so all you had to do was microwave it for a few seconds. You suppose having a stranger following you around in your home should be more worrying but, you were just happy you weren’t alone; having the ex-Winter Soldier near you felt as natural as breathing and you didn’t have the mental capacity to question why as of right now.

Barnes opens and closes him mouth a few times, looking as if he wanted to ask you a question but, unable to get the words out.

“How old is she?” He manages after nearly a minute of silence and you answer without much thought.

“Four weeks.” You hum, pulling the bottle out of the microwave and testing the temperature on your arm. “You know Ophelia’s Diner on West 49th?”

Once you’re sure the bottle is warm enough, you meet his blue eyes and a slight frown mars your face when you notice how pale he had gotten. He looks mortified but, nods anyway.

“Meet us there at nine tomorrow morning. Are you going home tonight?” You don’t know why you ask but, the thought of him having to go home and face- huh, you never actually got her name- left a rock in your stomach.

“S’gonna stay at the compound again. Make up some excuse. What about you? Are you two going to- I mean are you alright with- Is your husband?” He was stumbling on his words again and you find it oddly endearing that he was worried about you.

“Patrick is staying at the station tonight.” At least that’s what he told me You add under your breath but, its clear he hears you when his face turns grim. A painful silence envelops the room and can’t stand it so, you clear your throat and re-test the bottle.

James takes the hint and shuffles his feet, looking smaller than a man his size should. “I’m sorry again for showing up like this.”

“I appreciate you for having the balls to come here and tell me the truth.” You say with an honest, albeit dim, smile. “I’ve gotta get this to her before she gets cranky. I’ll see you tomorrow James.”

He tries to return your smile but, it comes out as more of a grimace. “Goodnight Y/N”

You watch his broad-shouldered form walk down the hall and disappear before opening the door to your spare bedroom turned nursery; weak mewls reaching you ears. You were late with the bottle and Laysa knew it. Cubs could be so dramatic.

[irrelevantwriter]

Glutton For Pain

Pairing: Negan x Female Reader/You

Rating: Explicit, NSFW

Warnings: Language, bondage (just a little arms tied to the headboard action), dom/sub dynamics, submissive Negan (he deserves it), slight non-con if you squint, excessive orgasms as punishment, daddy kink, mentions of bodily fluids, unprotected vaginal sex, a scorned reader (we love to see it)

Word Count: 998 (which was hard bc I could go on forever with a submissive Negan)

Summary: Negan’s wife is handing out some long overdue punishment for her scheming husband. Who’s the glutton for pain in this relationship? You? Negan? Find out.

A/N: This is my contribution to @ne-gans follower challenge. Congrats on the followers girl! My chosen sin was Gluttony. There were so many scenarios to choose from when it came to Negan and gluttony, but I really enjoyed seeing the tables turned on our favorite control freak. Hope you guys feel the same. Thank you to Lisa for hosting this amazing challenge and please go give her a follow for some quality content.

Feedback is that good shit. Enjoy and share with your friends!

*Masterlist in bio.

**********************

“Fucking, fuck, fuck...”

You smirked at the breathless curses flowing from your lover’s lips, your hips never faltering as they maintained their rhythm. You dug your nails into his chest, the skin dewy with perspiration. He groaned, as if in pain as he twitched and writhed beneath you.

The sight was beautiful. And a rarity.

As your husband, you’d seen Negan in various scenarios throughout the years, both sexual and non-sexual, but one thing that remained the same was his need for control. And he loved to utilize it in all facets of life. The man had a voracious sexual appetite, something that he liked to satiate outside of your marriage. He loved the fairer sex. Loved to indulge in it despite the fact that he was very clearly bound to you in holy matrimony. And every time he did it, it broke your heart a little more…the pieces added to the flaming pit of fury that burned within you.

But as the cliched story goes, you loved him. So after luring your husband to bed, you seduced him into bonds, securing his arms above his head. He’d been reluctant to go along with your game. Maybe even fearful of what you had in mind.

And he had every right to be.

You were only giving him what he wanted, what he continually sacrificed your love for. If he wanted to drown himself in pussy, then guess what? You were going to provide. And you had. Several times over. The man had cum so many times that he begged you to stop, his repeated releases painting you both. And you were enjoying his agony far more than you’d originally thought possible.

“No more...fuck...I’m done.” Negan urged, his words interrupted by the heavy rise and fall of his chest. He tried to pull his body away from yours, but the act was fruitless. He was yours to play with.

“I’m just giving you what you want, baby...” You cooed, enjoying the sliding of your cum filled walls against his flaccid cock. He’d just filled you again, his body unable to control its reaction to your ministrations.

You hovered over his lips, fingers lifting to tenderly caress his face. He turned away, jaw clenched in bubbling rage. His amber eyes were shrouded in darkness, his body taught with more than just lust. He was angry…beyond angry at your manipulation. He detested losing control and you’d managed to steal it back while simultaneously punishing him for the gluttonous piece of shit that he was.

“Untie me right fucking now or I swear to fucking God I-,”

“You’ll what? Stick your dick in anything with a goddamn pulse?” You interrupted, seeing the veins in his neck throb in time with his rapidly beating heart. You bent forward and licked at his reddened cheek, tasting the salt of his sweat. You teased him with your lips, slowly and with purpose, brushing your nipples against his own naked chest. “Why should you get to have all the fun? Hmm?”

Negan hissed as you simultaneously squeezed your pussy around him and bit down on his bottom lip, seeing a dot of red rise to the surface. His gaze was hard and threatening, a clear warning to heed the beast you’d awakened.

“You’re gonna pay for this fucking stunt, doll.”

“No…” You sat up, straightening your back so that you could look down at him. “I don’t think so.” You rasped, lifting up so that his swelling cock fell from the clutches of your body. His cum followed seconds later, dripping down your lips and onto his taut stomach. You watched him closely as you played with your nipples, arching your back as you rubbed sensuously against his overheated skin.

“You’re a fucking bitch.” He growled, pulling at his ties as you teased the head of his cock.

You laughed and dug your nails into his pectorals, drawing out a pained groan. You hummed at the sound, jerking his chin so that he had nowhere to look but at you.

“I’m your fucking wife. And its time you started respecting that, Daddy…” You sneered, mocking the title he’d bestowed onto himself. It was another means of control. And while Negan was very much your Daddy, he was also very much out of fucking line.

You licked at the indentions your nails left embedded in his skin, feeling his muscles tense at the wet feel of you. You worked him like you had many times over the years, playing him like a well-tuned fiddle. And predictably so, he reacted. His cock was hard as it throbbed between your bodies, twitching with greediness as you worked your mouth down his torso. Negan’s breathing ratcheted up once more, his nostrils flaring with every pass of air. You nipped at his hip bones, tracing the line of muscle that lead to the thing that’d brought you so much pleasure and chose to bring you so much pain.

“Fuck, I’m sorry baby. You know I-,”

“What? Love me?” You interjected incredulously, letting your fingers find their way around the width of him. Your hand slid easily over his length, your combined releases aiding in your prolonged torment of him.

“Yes. Of course I fucking love you, you psychotic bitch.” He gritted out, eyes squeezing shut at the kitten lick you placed at his weeping tip. The fact that he had anymore cum left to give spoke to how much of an insatiable prick your husband actually was.

You straightened once again, abandoning the path you’d been set on. He thrust his hips, trying to follow you, but you settled your weight on him, rendering him immobile.

“You’ve got some sins to repent for first. So now that you’ve got me full of you…” You trailed a finger through your folds, coating them in his essence. “Let’s see how long you can go without, Daddy.”

And so began the next phase of punishment for your lying, cheating, sexy, charming, demented husband.

[pandastern]

Gravity (Bakugou x OC)

Part 7: A Soldier’s Strength

Bakugou x Vigilante!OC

Warnings: angst, explicit language, violence

Word count: 3488

Genre: enemies to lovers ; angst ; romance, slow burn

When a new student makes an entrance, Bakugou has a real bad feeling. There is something about this girl that just doesnt feel right. From the flaming hair to the calculating glint in her green eyes, everything about her just pisses him off.

Little does he know that his fate is intertwined with the person he despises so much, defining his future path in a way he would have never expected.

“That should be all of them,” Kirishima said, wiping the sweat off his brow as the last of the villains that had attacked them fell unconscious to the ground.

“For now, anyway,” Bakugou growled.

After their attack on the portal villain had gone awry, they’d been sent here, straight into the middle of a group of waiting villains.Bakugou and Kirishima had fought hard and managed to overpower them, though even Bakugou couldn’t deny that it had taken a good chunk of energy out of him. His arms hurt from using his quirk so vigorously. He was well aware that they needed to be careful with their strength. God only knew how many more of those villains were around. Not to mention that wispy bastard. 

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” said Kirishima. “I’m guessing since we’re still here, the others must be inside the USJ. Now that we’re finished here, we should try and find them. They probably need our help, especially since we’re the reason we ended up in this mess. If we hadn’t attacked that portal guy, Thirteen could have just sucked him up... Yo, Bakubro, are you listening?”

Bakugou was, in fact, not listening. His mind was running over the events leading up to this fight. After their failed attack, the black clouds of the portal had engulfed them and dragged them away. He remembered clearly how the wispy villain’s tendrils had wrapped around Artemis’s body, whisking her away by herself.

He looked around. The five villains that had waited for him and Kirishima were still down on the floor. What if Artemis had had to face similar odds? Bakugou could feel his own exhaustion clawing at him, and Kirishima didn’t seem to be much better off. Even though the villains hadn’t exactly been the strongest, it was the amount of them that they had to keep on eye on. Shit. If Artemis really was alone, this could mean serious trouble for her. The image of her face popped up in his head and something in him tensed. Would she be okay?

He shook his head. Of course she’d be okay. As angry as the memory made him, Artemis had wiped the fucking floor with him in their fight. That girl was a force to be reckoned with. Of course she was okay. She had to be.

Unease rose within his stomach. Why was he even worried about her? Perhaps he felt responsible for her in a way, since anything that happened to her now would be indirectly his fault. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, Bakugou shook his head. No, Artemis would be fine. She was strong and fierce. Not that he cared, obviously.

The sound of a bullet hissing through the air past his ear and hitting the wall just inches away from Kirishima’s face ripped him out of his train of thought. Hearing his classmate yelp in surprise, he whipped around, ready to blast the next enemy to kingdom come. He spotted a man dressed in black leather gear in the broken window of the rundown room they were trapped in. The barrel of a gun pointed directly at his face. Shit. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, making his skin prickle. He may be fast, but not faster than a fucking gun! No use in stalling his attack. He needed to hurry. He raised his gauntlet hand and got ready to fire.

With a slam, the door burst open and something sharp hissed into the room. A long ice arrow buried itself into the gunman’s left shoulder. The momentum of the shot knocked the villain off his feet with a pained cry.

Bakugou’s red eyes flickered to the direction from where the arrow had come.

Artemis stood in the doorway, swirling water bow in hand, a wild look in her eyes that sent a shiver down his spine.

For a moment, silence fell over the room as Bakugou’s brain tried to process what had just happened. He realised that she’d shot that man without so much as a hesitation to save them. 

“Whoa, Artemis! Are you okay?” Kirishima’s voice pulled him back to the present.

Kirishima was already on the way to the door. He caught Artemis just before her knees buckled and she sank down to the ground.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, pushing his hands off her.

“Artemis, you’re… you’re covered in blood,” Kirishima gasped as he looked her over.

Bakugou stepped closer, taking a closer look at her. Kirishima was right. Artemis had several blood splatters across her PE uniform. Her clothes were ripped in several places and bruises covered her skin. He noticed a particularly nasty cut on her cheek and right upper arm.

Artemis pushed Kirishima off her again and rose to her feet. “Don’t shit yourself, Kirishima. It’s not my blood.”

“Is that supposed to calm me down? What the hell happened?”

“Villains. Would you rather it be my blood?” Artemis snapped at him.

“Wha- Of course not!” Kirishima gasped.

Bakugou stayed in the background as he observed the situation. A surprising wave of relief washed over him. Artemis was fine. She couldn’t be that bad, considering how she was yapping about again. A few bruises and cuts didn’t usually kill anyone, right? But something about that wild look in her eyes was… alarming.

Ignoring Kirishima’s protests, Artemis walked over to one of the villains lying on the ground and poked them with her foot.

“They’re out cold,” Bakugou growled, crossing his arms. “I made sure of that.”

Instead of answering, Artemis closed her eyes and kept still for several seconds. A familiar anger bubbled up in Bakugou’s gut. He really didn’t like being ignored. “Oi! I said-” he barked, but Artemis held up a hand to stop him. “I can see that,” she said before looking up. “Kirishima, help me out.”

“S-sure.”

She started to strip off her PE jacket. What in the hell was she doing now, Bakugou thought. There were no snide undertones, no cockyness in her voice anymore. Just clear-cut seriousness, like a veteran soldier emerging from his latest battle.

“What exactly are we doing?” Kirishima asked as he helped Artemis put her jacket onto one of the unconscious villains.

“There’s someone on the roof of the building next to us. I want to check something,” she replied.

“And how would you know if someone is on the roof? You came from the back, genius!” Bakugou protested. “Have you got an x-ray vision quirk now, too?”

“No, you idiot. I sensed him,” Artemis replied.

“Sensed him? How?”

Artemis sighed deeply, as if she were having to explain something simple to a child. God, he hated it when she got like this. How the fuck was he supposed to know what kind of stealth wizard magic she had?

“My quirk, Bakugou,” Artemis replied calmly. “I can manipulate and sense water molecules. That means I can read heartbeats. My quirk picks up on water molecules in a person’s blood and can read how fast it’s circulating by the pressure of the heartbeat”

Silence fell as both boys tried to process what she’d just dropped on them.

“Wait, hold on.” Kirishima laughed nervously. “So, what you’re saying is that… you can feel how fast water moves through the body by the pressure of the heart?”

“Exactly that. There’s someone on the roof and their heartbeat is slow and steady. In other words, they’re pretty confident of their position. And since it’s unlikely for one of our classmates to be this calm, I’m pretty sure whoever that person is, they’re bad news.”

The gears in Bakugou’s head had already started turning. It made sense. Blood was essentially water, after all. He remembered how Artemis had drawn the moisture out of the vegetation around them as they’d fought, how the grass and plants had turned to dust, dried up and dead. A shiver ran down his spine. Was she able to do that with everything? Plants and the air was one thing, but what about animals and...  people?

As quick as that thought entered his mind, he pushed it away. No. Who did he think Artemis was? Jesus, or something? No way. While she wasn’t someone to be taken lightly, she certainly wasn’t that strong. UA wouldn’t let someone that dangerous loose among them, would they?

Bakugou watched as Kirishima helped Artemis dress the villain in her uniform jacket and drag him towards the door.

“What exactly are you trying to do?” he asked in a gruff tone.

Kirishima just shrugged. So, Crazy Eyes hadn’t told him anything, either? How annoying. 

“Don’t pout, Bakugou. You’ll see soon enough,” Artemis grumbled before turning back to Kirishima again. “On three, throw him outside the door.”

Kirishima frowned in confusion. Bakugou’s fingers itched for his quirk. Even injured, she still had the strength to look down on him. To think that he’d been worried for her safety just a moment ago…

“The body should be visible from the roof there,” Artemis said.

Bakugou watched as Kirishima shrugged and followed along. A slight suspicion started to grow inside him. Was she gonna use that villain as bait? Begrudgingly. he had to admit that this wasn’t the worst plan he’d ever heard of.

Artemis grunted as she helped Kirishima pick up the body. Bakugou narrowed his eyes. Had she just flinched, or had he imagined it? With a groan, he stepped closer and pulled her off the villain.

“Hey!” she protested, but he ignored her and took her place.

“Just fucking admit that youre tired, woman! You’re gonna kill yourself like that,” he grumbled.

He sensed Kirishima raise his eyebrow, but one glare made him look away quickly. He wasn’t doing this because he cared. Of course he didn’t care. He was doing this because should Artemis overexert herself, he’d be the one who’d have to protect her and that was absolutely not on the goddamn table. 

Bakugou took a deep breath to steady himself. Giving Kirishima a nod, they counted to three and threw.

The body of the villain, clad in Artemis’s PE jacket, hadn’t even hit the ground before a gunshot echoed through the air. The bullet pierced the villain through the neck. Bakugou’s blood froze. Looking over to Kirishima, he could see him pale as well. 

“Tch.” The sound of a tongue clicking in annoyance made him whip around.

Artemis stood unfazed, her brows furrowed as if she’d just encountered a minor inconvenience in her plans. How was she not scared? There were people out to fucking kill them. With bullets!

And here she was, acting like this was just a normal, everyday situation. 

“Of course it would be a sniper.”

“You knew,” Bakugou said flatly. “How did you know?”

Directing her attention back to him, Artemis crossed her arms and took a deep breath.

“I didn’t know, but I had a suspicion,” she replied in a calm voice that sent shivers down his spine. “No one in combat is that calm on a roof during a battle. In my experience, it’s usually snipers.”

“Your experience?” kirishima asked, his voice laced with disbelief. “What the hell did they teach you at that school in Europe? That’s crazy!”

That seemed to catch her off guard a little bit. Artemis shook her head and crossed her arms. “Let’s just say my education was… thorough.”

Thorough, huh? Bakugou could tell that wasn’t entirely the truth. Again, Artemis was hiding something, being vague with who she was. It irked him to the point where he just wanted to grab and shake her.

“So, what exactly are we gonna do now?” Kirishima asked. “I mean, I can be bulletproof for a period of time, but I don’t think I’d be able to shield both of you to get out of here.”

“Just point me in the direction of that sniper and I’ll blast him right off,” Bakugou growled, cracking his knuckles.

“You’d both be dead before you could even reach them,” Artemis interjected.

God, Bakugou hated it when she was right. He turned towards her, eyes narrowing. “What do you propose, then? You seem to have something cooking in that freaky brain of yours.”

For a moment, Artemis froze in place, as if he had managed to catch her off guard.

“Well…” she started tugging at her bottom lip, a habit he’d noticed she did whenever she was deep in thought. “I may have a plan, but I’m not sure either of you is gonna like it.”

“Just spit it out, man,” Kirishima said, flashing her a toothy grin.

“Fine. Kirishima, I need you to get out that door and distract the sniper. Meanwhile, Bakugou and I will take the stairs up to the second level.” Her eyes set on Bakugou with an intensity that froze him in place. “I need you to blast yourself into the air while holding me. If I get high enough to take a clear shot, I can take out the enemy without us having to engage in any further combat.”

“You want me to do what?” Bakugou scoffed. “Carry you? What if you miss? You’d leave us open for attack, not to mention give our location away to any other villains in the area.”

“I don’t miss,” Artemis deadpanned. “I never miss. I know this plan isn’t optimal, but it’s the only possible way to get us out of here. I need…”

Bakugous eyes widened as she stepped closer and grabbed him by the wrist. He could clearly feel the trembling of her fingers. “I know you hate me, but just this once, please… trust me.”

Trust her? Was she joking? Every second word that came out of her mouth was a lie! Bakugou was ready to go off on her, when the look on her face made him stop. This girl looked nothing like the calculating soldier he’d seen when she’d first entered the class. Artemis almost looked… vulnerable and human.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Let’s do this.”

He gave Kirishima a nod and waited until Artemis had explained the precise details and timings of her plan before taking the lead up the stairs. He cursed himself for not taking both of his gauntlets to the dome, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

When they reached the second floor, Bakugou opened the window and climbed onto the sill. He held out his hand to Artemis.

“Are you going to be okay? You only have one shot.” Her face was so pale. She really was running on fumes. But he couldn’t let that stop him if he wanted to live. He couldn’t help but feel respect for her for willing to push herself that far.

Taking his hand, Artemis let herself be pulled against him. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna miss. Just blast yourself up and throw me up as high as you can. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Her determination was unbroken, and Bakugou hated that he liked that about her. Taking a deep breath, he waited until he heard Kirishima’s loud voice taunting the villain on the roof and the sound of bullets ricocheting off his hardened skin before jumping. Using as much force as he could possibly muster, Bakugou blasted himself upward with Artemis clinging to him.

“Now, throw me!” Artemis shouted in his ear. He shifted, placing his hands beneath her foot, and launched her as high as he could.

Bakugou watched as her small body twisted in the air, water collecting around her hands to form her bow. She took aim and shot. The loud  thud of an arrow successfully hitting its target echoed through the area. Then she fell.

Quickly blasting upward again, Bakugou caught her in his arms. Now falling together with her, he prepared to lessen the fall with his quirk, but before he could gather his energy, water started to draw towards them and encased them in a bubble.

The moment their bodies hit the ground, the bubble burst, taking most of the blunt force of the impact. Bakugou rolled onto his back, coughing. The landing had knocked the air out of him.

“Well, I gotta say, that went better than expected.” Kirishima’s voice called out to him.

He was right, Bakugou thought. He almost couldn’t believe it himself. He got back onto his feet and looked for Artemis, who’d been unusually quiet since the landing.

Artemis lay on the ground, curled up, writhing slightly. His stomach dropped.

“Artemis!” Bakugou knelt beside her, grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

“I’m fine,” she hissed, her breaths ragged.

Clearly, that was a lie. So, she’d taken a bigger hit than he’d suspected at first. “You’re not. You’re close to collapsing! For fuck’s sake, Artemis, you should have-”

She grabbed his arm with a strength he hadn’t expected, shoved him off and forced herself to her feet again. Was she trying to kill herself? 

“I can still fight! Don’t worry about me. We need to get to the others. The rest isn’t important,” she snapped.

White hot anger bubbled up Bakugou’s gut, setting his veins on fire. “Do you even hear yourself? You’re done! Look at you. If you keep this up, you’re going to fucking die! You won’t be able to help anyone,” he roared.

How could a single girl be so stubborn? Didn’t she care about her own life? Just earlier on the bus, she’d been so arrogant about being a liability in a fight and now here she was! God, he just wanted to smack her.

But before he could snap at her and vent his own anger, a huge explosion made the whole USJ tremble in its foundations.

“What the hell was that?” Kirishima gasped as finally he caught up with them. “There must be a huge fight going on.”

“We need to help them.” Artemis gritted her teeth and started walking.

“No, you dont!”

Bakugou jumped to his feet and went after her with big strides. Enough was enough. He wasn’t about to let her push herself to a point where she’d lose her life through her own stubbornness. If he had to grab her and knock some sense into that thick skull of hers, so help him God, he would.

Artemis had put quite a lot of distance between them when she started to wobble. Bakugou noticed the dangerous sway in her step and sped up, catching her just before her knees buckled.

“Fucking told you, dumbass,” he hissed.

He pulled her into his lap, alarmed at just how hot her skin felt.

“No… I need to…” she mumbled, her speech becoming slightly slurred.

“The fuck do you mean, you need to? You can’t do shit like this! You’ve done enough,” he growled.

A strange wetness spread across her back, soaking through her black shirt and seeping into Bakugou’s glove. Confused, he pulled her closer, his free hand pulling up her shirt to expose the area.

What he saw turned his blood to ice and made his anger simmer down to fear.

There was a deep wound on her back, just below her kidney. The flesh around it had turned an unnatural greenish blue tint. The weaker Artemis grew, the more blood seemed to seep through.

“What the…” he whispered in horror.

When had this happened, and why hadn’t she said anything? How had she just now started bleeding?

“F-fuck,” Artemis whispered weakly, her eyes becoming glassy. “A villain… stabbed me. I held it in… I think… poison.”

Bakugou stared down at her in disbelief. “Held it in? How did you… How the fuck did you even fight with that?”

“Quirk… I controlled my own blood flow.” She coughed weakly. “I had to. It was either fight… or die.”

Artemis struggled in his arms, trying to get up again, but he pushed his arm under her legs and picked her up, putting a stop to her struggles. He needed to get her to the teachers. She was dying. Even he could tell that much.

“Shut the fuck up,” he barked and started walking, Kirishima trailing after him.

Every few steps, he looked down at her, making sure she was still awake. Fear made his head pound. More and more blood leaked from her, soaking his clothes and leaving a trail of droplets.

“You stupid woman,” he growled. “Why didn’t you say anything? You’re fucking dying, goddamnit.”

Why was it that she looked so small and broken in his arms? As if all her walls had finally crumbled.

“I’m… sorry,” Artemis whispered, barely audible. “Thank you… for trusting me. No-one has ever…”

Her voice trailed off and her head fell back. Artemis had lost consciousness.

“Shit! Fucking hell, Artemis, dont you dare!”

In that moment, more shots echoed through the USJ and the loud scream of Present Mic told him that help was here at last. His steps picked up the pace. He needed to get her to the teachers. Now.

[im-a-gay-frog]

I welcome you, Death

Chapter one: Second Chance

I couldn't do it anymore. The constant jeers, scorning and beatings started to make my head spin. I had to get away from it all. But how? How could I get away from this when it’s my fault to begin with? I wandered the streets even for a little bit of an idea. Nothing was helping me. Goddamn it, I thought. My eyes landed on a nearby pub. Maybe that could help me. It wasn’t too late, maybe 4 in the afternoon.

“Oh, look! Look at the traitor! Bitch couldn’t even keep ‘er eyes to ‘erself.” I heard someone whisper. It infuriated me, but I continued to walk. What they said was true. I was a traitor. I left my friends because of reasons I’m not proud of. I had a feeling the insult meant more than a simple, ‘she’s a traitor’ like usual. I had a feeling they were implying something bad about me. I felt like they were implying I was a cheating whore who left her friends and girlfriend for a guy. That was far from true. I had to keep going or else I’d lose my temper.

“Hey, Traitor!” I felt as someone picked me off my feet and pushed me against the wall. It was cold against my skin, and I could feel it through my shirt. This was a terrible time for me to decide not to bring a jacket. “We don’t like your kind here.” He snarled. I was immediately hit by his foul breath. It made me want to gag and vomit. He held me by my collar, by moving his hand to my neck. His grip tightened and I couldn’t breath.

“P-put… me d-down… you… bastard.” I managed to choke something out, even with my lack of breath. He tightened his grasp, making me squirm. I needed to breathe, but I couldn’t. He stared me down.

“Get out of this town or else I’ll kill you, ya hear?” He scowled. His grip loosened and he put me down. I fell to my knees and gasped for air. He merely kicked me in the chest, directly where my lungs are, sending me back into the wall. How could Mother live here? How could she have moved me here, knowing basically everyone in America knew about what happened? I really needed to leave America. I needed to leave Florida. I needed to leave the town of Shadowville, Florida.

I walked some more, towards my ‘home’. It had never felt like home and it probably never would. Even in Japan, I never felt like I was at home. It only felt close to that when I was with her. I could feel tears well in my eyes. It had been around 7 months but I still couldn’t move on. She was my everything. She made me happier than I had ever felt before. I frowned as a tear went down my cheek. It’s my fault we’re over. I ditched her and there was no fixing what I broke. I couldn’t forget what he had told me. The lie that started this all for me.

He told me no one would be hurt in the end if I helped him. In the end, that wasn’t the case. He told me that what he planned to do was right. He told me they were lying and to trust in him. The strangest thing was that I believed his lies. He manipulated their actions and made me see what he wanted me to see. He made me see them as vile, evil beings when that wasn’t them. That was I, Makoto Ikari, who was vile and evil. I’ve damned myself to this fate. It’s no one’s fault but my own.

I sighed, but kept walking. The house was a rather small one on a hill. It was a white, Victorian era house with no one near. That was good. No one would want to be neighbors with a monster and her family. I opened the door as quietly as I possibly could.

“Ah, there she is! Come, come, darling!” My mother came running up to me as I entered the room. Apparently I wasn’t quiet enough. She had a boy, obviously older than me, trailing behind her. Oh no, she’s doing it again, isn't she? “Makoto, meet Jason, but he prefers to be called Jan.” I tried my best to stifle a laugh. Jan? Out of all the nicknames someone could choose, he chose Jan? My mother shot a glare at me so I choked the laugh down. Jason didn’t seem to notice as he stuck his hand out.

“It’s nice to meet you, Makoto.” His smile alarmed me more than anything. I always hated the guys Mother tried to set me up with and he was no exception. I knew in my heart I’d never be able to love someone like I loved Eric. This was my mother’s way of trying to get me to move on. Well, maybe just her way of getting me out of her life and into someone else’s. To be honest, I’d love to leave this putrid state. I’ve always been fascinated with Italy and I wish to go there sometime. I put on the nicest face I could muster at that time. The walk home still made me slightly angry but there was nothing I could do about it.

“You as well, Jan.” I hope my laugh wasn’t heard because I know I laughed. It sounded so stupid out loud. How could someone keep a straight face while saying Jan?

[theskyexists]

the amazing she-ra 5

i am LOVING this first episode. they’re TRULY the underdogs now. people are hiding with magic. they live in tents. they’ve lost their edge. they’re actually leaning into the horrors of war now

Shadowweaver says OOC stupid things but it doesn’t matter because the princesses shut it down satisfactorily. Adora is weighed down by responsibility in a cool way.

Catra is staking out the enemy and weaseling her way in. (yessss)

‘You don’t need to say it! I know. I made that choice. I’m living with the consequences.’ I LOVE THIS ADORA

I LOVE THIS WRITING. Catra and Glimmer are THE greatest pair ever. Glimmer is smart enough to poke right through Catra’s defenses - and NOW they’re in the same situation - Glimmer says so - and immediately the prison wall fades away - and they’re both invited for dinner. THAT DELICIOUS WRITING

i do love how shadowweaver has been this snarky aunt for two seasons now.

Hord Prime shows us Adora in danger and Catra is like; FUCK YOU ADORA’S MINE (TO DESTROY) !!!!

I love Hord Prime’s wonderfully manipulative dinner. And I love glimmer quietly crying and I love Catra being like HRMMMM I DONT LIKE THIS. the subtle animations are so great - the close-ups

the way Catra speaks to Hord Prime - the way she’s really fuckin scared and the way Hord Prime says ‘little sister’. The way they make him seem unbeatable. I LVOE IT.

AND I LOVE THESE VISIONS FOR ADORA

jezus but how few people really live in etheria ?

the propaganda and the tech to boost prime’s image everywhere....ugh it’s delicious. im also happy Entrapta is back and on the good side instead of helping Catra be a bitch to Adora. and im glad the princesses are wary of her.

hahahaah awww Bo came to give adora breakfast and then he panics when she’s lying on the floor. I ALSO LOVE BO AND ADORA TOGETHER BEST

goddamnit Bo YAH! finally somebody who effectively protects someone from the masses. fuck off micah!

Love the princesses acting on their own - love Scorpia mediating, love mermista stepping up, love Entrapta using her .....intelligence

I love how Hord Prime manipulating Glimmer is used to show us more about his empire.

‘i only want to bring peace’ - but also i destroyed all these worlds. how is that...how is that even surface compatible?? like no attempt is made to align those two things.

wait....the heart of etheria will destroy the universe? why??? why is that the assumption. and why...does Hord Prime want that? i....

the comedy of the princesses doing a mission alone is GREAT

IM SO HAPPY THE PRINCESSES GOT TO HIT ENTRAPTA WHERE IT HURTS. now THIS is the right level of comedy versus hurt

the way scorpia rolled to cover frosta in her bulk!

i love how adora is like - HAH sleep is great actually! wow!!

because of the underlying grievances that we EXPERIENCED as audience, this friendship moment actually LANDS

I REINSTATE MY HOORAY!!! (hahahaha god i love scorpia). oh my god Micah saying he trusts glimmer’s friends to save her - fuckin hell - heart squeeze

LOOK AT THAT SHIT. LOOK AT IT!!! Glimmer being angry at Catra - but then recanting and showing vulnerability. Catra showing vulnerability by acquiescing. GOD!!!

‘why did you do it?’ OH GOD ARRGHGHHG THATS SO FUCKING PAINFUL. why does Catra scratch Adora? Because she doesn’t understand - seems to not make the effort to understand!! because she’s never understood that everybody always hurt her - she never fucking saw when it was right in front of her. THat’s even worse in a way than being hurt.

god the fuckin scale. the planet getting bombarded from space....jezus christ.

theres a hallway with light and dark at the end - its implied she goes into the dark - BECAUSE SHE INTENDS TO HIDE FROM WHO FOLLOWS HER

wow she instantly realises he’s hordak. ha!

Catra is being so open with Glimmer. She’s REALLY REALLY! off balance

they have a talking ritual!!!! THEYRE BONDING ABOUT ADORA BEING A DORK!!!!

Catra realises that nothing she was doing on Etheria had any value to her!!!! I LOVE THIS SEASON SO MUCH

I love how Adora gets to be such a badass dork this season!!!! Bo and Adora + Glimmer and Catra are the BEST COMBINATION

godDAMN they made these clones creepy. damn i LOVE Hord Prime!!!

catra/glimmer......tho.....

she pushes her onto the bed and kneels before her, holding her hands. DUDES. MY DUDES!!!! catra is they gayest cat in existence

‘do one good thing in your life!’ - oh OUCH god, you can feel the whole weight of all the hurt and injustice she’s experienced in ‘dont talk to me like you know me!’

HAHAHAHAHAHAH BO losing his mind and Adora being a hilarious himbo is SO GOOD

I LOVE CATRA’S ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING ADORABLE MEMORY AND HALLUCINATIONS

‘im alway going to be your friend’  - ‘i’ll never say sorry to anybody’ GODDD

‘all i do is hurt people, there’s no one left in the entire universe who cares about me’ - a reasonable assumption based on your behaviour except for the fact that Adora has been trying to reach you for 4 FUCKING seasons with hand outstretched

THAT WAS SO FUCKING DRAMATIC I AM IN LOVE !! IN LOVE WITH THEM!!!!

are you fucking SERIOUS - ENTRAPTA MADE AN AB WINDOW IN BO’S SPACE SUIT AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA

the animation in this goddamn season is CRAZY and INCREDIBLE

I ADORE Catra the self Martyr i ADORE that she’s going to go through the wringer still in Hord Prime’s hands.

THIS SEASON IS WORTH ALL THE REST

are YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME- i HATE THAT SHIT WHY MUST YOU MAR THIS SEASON WITH AN INTERRUPTION OF AN APOLOGY. STOP IT!!! IT’S NOT FUN IT’S NOT SATISFYING IT RUINS THE MOMENT IT WEAKENS THE EMOTION BY DRAGGING IT OUT FUCK!!!!

well i guess that was pretty good with Adora. wish they had made that a little bit longer

i love entrapta. she’s such a perfect element to throw into the mix. and her connections with AI’s are great

that scorpia and swift wind talk is so beautiful. they are also the PERFECT pair. ‘gosh have you ever noticed how many moons we have here? it’s weird.’ HAHAHAHA

they’re visiting a planet that’s been conquered by Prime...

I love how they made Entrapta flirty with her tech ahahahaha

i love how Adora is like: oh??? you’re coming to me??? for emotional advice??? uhhhhhh ok haha nice

I LOVE ADORA

i love swift wind’s drunk history retelling of what’s going on on Etheria - especially his impression of shadowweaver and his batman micah

Bo sure is very bad at forgiveness himself lol

‘well im NOT! running awayy that is. i AM smart’ AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! i love you adora

Adora spewing all her bullshit about Catra to total strangers ahahaha

this was SUCH amazing teamwork!!!

AND THAT MOMENT OF SHE-RA BEING BACK!!!!

GLIMMER ACKNOWLEDGING SHE MADE A MISTAKE AND THAT BO DESERVES TO BE MAD AND MAYBE THINGS WON’T BE THE SAME AGAIN BUT SHE WON’T STOP TRYING TO MAKE IT BETTER AND SHE’LL BE THERE IF HE’S EVER READY

FUCKING TEARS BABEY

jezus christ !! that was good!!! i take it back - it was a stupid interruption (they could have just had Bo respond ‘eh’ at an attempt at apology from glimmer....maybe) but they made the final apology INCREDIBLE

‘i can’t just leave her...’ the voice acting in this is sO GOOD

Catra made her whole plan to keep Adora away from Prime based on the assumption that if Glimmer was in Prime’s hands, then Adora would come to rescue her no matter the danger. So she saved Glimmer. But SHE FAILED TO REALISE THAT ADORA WOULD DO THE SAME FOR HER AHAHAHAHAHAHAA

the amazing thing about these highly tech advanced societies is that none of them have invented security cameras

glimmer getting some ptsd flashes

I KNEW that the heart of etheria was built by the First Ones to fight Hordak. Makes Mara’s decision a bit more ---- hMMMM not as great. Because Hordak has killed countless worlds since!

the hive mind lol. jezus Prime is so terrible.

oh my god the very concepts of Prime when behind a fictional buffer are so archtypically delicious. Catra’s glowy green eyes and full bow. hohhohhohho. that uniform also looks great

so Prime could do this to everyone but he chose to surround himself with clones. goddamn.

oh damn that lean-in, those hands on her neck. hmmmhm. gay

she FLINCHES when Prime lays a hand on her shoulder. DAMN. love it

‘you will give me she-ra’ ---- isn’t that what she’s been offering all along? lol

AND THEN HE LEAVES ADORA WITH A BRAINWASHED CONTROLLED PUPPET CATRA WHO ATTACKS HER

OH ITS SO DELICIOUS

brainwashed Catra is really sexy and disturbing hahahahahaha

this fight is so well choreographed. Catra letting herself almost fall, Adora gathering her into her arms, the scratch across the back, the damn knee into the midriff (OUCH), the dangling her in turn.

‘i always hated that guy in particular - and also all the other guys i hit on the way in.’ LOLOLOLOL

THE CHEEK TOUCH - THE TEARS AND SMILE - THE GREEN EYES AND THE BACKHAND AFJLDJFDSJFLKDSJSDFKSDFJ

‘you’re such an idiot!’

‘yeah! i know!’

I LOVE THEM AAAAAAAAAAAAA ITS SO TRUE AHAHAHAHAHAHAI LOVE THEM

‘im going to take you home’

‘promise?’

NOELLE WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO ME

Adora watches Catra probably die and fall off into a endless pit. JUMPS IN AFTER HER ONE SECOND LATER

Prime really did miscalculate lol - his ship’s been destroyed by one stab at a server.

CATRA ALMOST DYING AND ADORA TRANSFORMING WITH GLOWY EYES GODDAMN!!!! HOLDING CATRA INTO HER ARMS BRIDAL STYLE. NEW OUTFIT!! WALKING INTO THE SHIP LIKE A BOSS. AND HEALS HER. HEY ADORA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND SHE FUCKING

PURRS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

all the fucking crying is so good

‘I kNOW YOU ALL HATE ME!” ‘I NEVER HATED YOU’ ‘Then you’re dumber than I thought’ HAHAHAHAHA i love how Catra cannot accept Adora’s friendship because she cannot forgive herself. but Adora never fucking gets it because she has the emotional intelligence of a crab!!!! the problem is that Adora is the exact shape of Catra’s heart - which is one big open wound. And if she presses - all she does is cause hurt

Catra is so adorable looking god.....

SPINERELLA AND NETOSSA KISSED!!!!!!!! awwwwwww they’ve been so cute for so long and they only got more and more screentime and Awwwww

Not-Hordak and ‘dehydrated protein slaw’ AhAHAHAHA

how did they find us? UHHH THERES A CHIP IN CATRA’S SPINE????

ADORA TELLING CATRA WHAT’S UP!! YES! Catra in a corner. Catra on her damn KNEES. ADORA BLUSHING AT HOLDING HER HAND

their first impulse is to hold each other at the ship shaking.

CATRA IS BLUSHING LOOKING AT ADORA TRANSFORM

SHE-RA CAN LITERALLY FLY THROUGH SPACE - well. make matter from light, breathe in a vacuum, jumpt from one asteroid to another....

I AM GLIMMER IN THIS: YEAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Catra is very lucky that her biggest likely hater is already on her side: glimmer

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SPINERELLAAAA. what a fuckin bait and punch goddamn! making them so cute and then foreshadowing it perfectly and then BAM

CATRA IS CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO MESS WITH ADORA BY LITERALLY JUMPING INTO ADORA’S LAP

fjadslkfasdjflkadjfsja

CATRA IS

PURRING

catra is so effortlessly cool sitting in the window sill

i am actually loving that they have a not-Hordak with them. it humanises those clones a lot

this prince has farsight but they NEVER thought to recruit him BEFORE???

FUCKIN - I LOVE how spinerella and netossa have gotten so much more screentime - relevant to the plot and also revealing their characters. i wish we’d got this from the start!

well now i ship perfuma and scorpia lolololol

HAHAHAHAHA i LOVE this Seahawk and Mermista hiding behind a bar because of ex victims skjsfajfklds

Prince Peekabloo has an AMAZING design, but also he must be a fake. IT MUST BE DOUBLE TROUBLE. double trouble has TASTE

MERMISTA LOOKS SO COOL IN THAT OUTFIT - but also especially chipped and in shadows. they do love chipping people’s love interests

SCORPIA SACRIFICING HERSELF TO SAVE PERFUMA. jezus christ so much love interest drama suddenly wow

‘happy anniversary’ that is HEARTBREAKING

what a great ending to a very silly episode. that’s the balance. a last message from the last soldier standing...

‘WHY DOES SPACE HATE ME SO MUCH!?!?!’ hahahahaah

Catra’s fingers shake......

‘take it from somebody who’s defeated you guys, like, a lot’ AAHAHAHA

FINALLY CATRA IS ON THEIR SIDE TO BE THE SMARTS IN TEH ROOM

ADORA LOOKS SO BADASS IN THAT SPACESHIP CHAIR

chipping everyboddy so they’re like zombies was a great story idea.

catra upset at her signs of upset. CUTE

why the FUCK is Adora’s hair out of her spacesuit ahahahahahahaha. IM SO GLAD THAT BO AGREES WITH ME ON THE ADORABLENESS OF CATRAS HELMET HAHAHAHAHAA

catra is happy to see adora laugh again.... : ‘)

CATRA JUST CLAWED THROUGH FIVE CENTIMETERS OF STEEL????!?!?!?!

ADORA IS BLUSHING AAHAHAHAHAHAAAA

I LOVE how Catra is like, WHAT THE FUCK at having lost to these people

Entrapta trying to deal with Wrong-Hordak in existential crisis is a hilarious premise

THE ANGRIER YOU GET THE CUTER YOU ARE!!! I LOVE BO

oh wow! a first ones colony! very cool! this whole planet works against intruders and plays tricks on them. i do like how first ones are definitely like, still imperial shitlords like subtly. i love how Wrong-Hordak has a realisation arc in the background.

HOLY SHIT THIS IS CREEPY

CATRA DISARMED THIS CAT CREATURE WITH HER CUTE SNEEZE AHAHAHAHA

CATRA IS PETTING A CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AHAHAHAHA EVERY SINGLE THING WE COULD HAVE EVER WANTED IS COMING TRUE

catra is working on not lashing out :’) <= literally adora and also me

Melog is so ADORABLE and imprinted on Catra and LOVES ADORA and AGHGHGHG

I love how Adora can make her eyes glow on command

Castaspella was blushing at Shadowweaver being so close lolololol. wow this is the first time Castaspella has been interesting. ‘and stop me, if i take the power for myself’ i love aunty shadowweaver.

AAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAH WHAT HAHAAHHAAAAHA Catra notices she’s holding Adora’s hand and goes ARGGH and doesn’t just take her hand back but throws it away ahhaahaha. Adora doesn’t even respond. that was so hilarious for some reason.

GLIMMER KISSING CATRA’S CHEEK HELLO??? HELLO?????????

‘is what i would have said before i joined you. go team’ hahahaa

‘you’re wearing hooded cloaks. that’s highly suspicious’ AHAHAHAHAHA fucking meta

I LOVE HOW ADORA IS THE ‘oh god my fuckin friends blowing our cover great’ person here

MELOG IS ALREADY STEALING MUSHROOMS FOR CATRA TO EAT AHAHAHAHA I LOVE THEM

Spinerella and Netossa are so BADASS and i love their fight. it’s so deliciously painful and cool hehehehehe

so the only person im fighting here is!.....my own wife...

I LOVE THEM

spinerella is so op lololol - why did she barely do anything for them when they were still fighting hordak

wrong hordak is so fucking cute ahahahahaha

goddamn that reunion was touching and funny at the same time. and i can actually believe that Prime is having trouble with this slippery team of magic users

I love Netossa’s analysis of the princesses weaknesses. Adora: can’t act to save her life. also extreme hair envy with she-ra

BUT GLIMMER: crippling self-doubt mixed with overwhelming hubris AHAAHAHHAAHAHAHAHA

OH MY GOD SHE SPRITZED CATRA WITH WATER JFDKLDFWDSFKSDFKJLDSJFJDSFKDSLKFSDLFJLKFLKDJFLKS AHAAHAHAAHA

PERFUMA DON”T BE A BITCH TO CATRA. (even though yeah Catra did treat Scorpia bad) she’s right you need to fuckin go for the neck (this episode is gonna show us that you need to damage the chip AND get through to scorpia and it’s going to take catra and perfuma ofc)

awwwww glimmer and bo.... bo is really worried about his dad :’( . this is the first time ive found myself shipping bo and glimmer.....the way he sighs into her arms, turns his face into her neck. Yes....

AWWW CATRA AND ADORA CHALLENGING EACH OTHER AGAIN AWWWW

BO’S DADS LEFT HIM A CLUE IN A FUCKING DAD JOKE ahahaahahahahaah

perfuma is really getting on my nerves here. ‘we dont throw tanks at our friends’ uhhhh shes trying to kill you. just let perfuma get electrocuted adora

AH THEY FINALLY GIVE AN ORIGIN STORY FOR ‘GRAYSKULL’! ha! i do love how they keep elaborating on the First Ones as tyrants as well

hmm perfuma was right i guess. i didnt really like that development. urgh god perfuma is so grating lol..

i wonder how shadowweaver and catra are gonna....deal with each other....

hah. shadowweaver tries to weasel in with Adora again. but Adora won’t stand for it again....

Melog literally acts out Catra’s emotions and jumps adora playfully. hehehehe

shadowweaver is such a fucking bitch. i wonder if we’ll ever get her to admit guilt or apologise

no adora. you have to fucking defend catra to shadowweaver. THAT is what you have to do now that you can!

SHE JUST JUMPED INTO FIRE FOR ADORA

shadowweaver preying on Adora and Catra again goddddd. let this be an episode in which they finally shuck her off. Adora fucking THINK, the only reason you could transform in the first place was BECAUSE of Catra.

YEAHHHHH CATRA!!!!!!!! GETTING ALL THE INFO BEFORE ADORA GETS MANIPULATED INTO SOMETHING SHE DIDN’T CHOOSE. naturally she still chooses to do it.

Melog lies half on top of Adora while Catra watches her.... god fuckin hell Melog being an extension of Catra’s feelings is so fucking AMAZING

holy FUCK that confrontation. (i love how every confrontation between adora and catra starts in roughhousing - their language is extremely physical). this is the softer version of catra’s and adora’s dynamic. Catra loves Adora and she wants Adora to choose HER, LIFE WITH HER. ‘what do you want?’ (WHAT ABOUT ME??) But Adora always chooses some higher hero purpose over her. and she doesn’t want to watch Adora die....

‘i dont have to watch it happen...’

god fuckin hell this season.

shadowweaver BELIEVES that she did the right things - of course. and that’s fascinating. and I love that Adora finally totally truly was like: YOU RUIN PEOPLE AND I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU. fuck yeah!

so when was the moment that Adora couldn’t become she-ra anymore? think it’s when she lost track of Catra....

I love Melog - I love how Catra cannot hide from her feelings anymore - at all.

the way glimmer asks adora ‘are you scared?’ ugh MY HEART

i love martyrs. i fucking LOVE martyrs.

oh my god hallucination Catra touching foreheads with Adora.....

EVERYTIME Glimmer just straight up shows Catra affection? that’s some good shit. i thought we were gonna have Glimmer going after Catra for her mother’s death at one point but no....not at all. and i dont mind it

GLIMMER SAID I LOVE YOU TWICE TO BO AND THEN BO SAID IT BACK AND KISSED HER DSFKSDLBJDS FOREHEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE MARA!!!

the fights this season have been SO! GOOD!

i love how they’ve set up that Glimmer is a fucking POWERHOUSE. she can turn the tide of battle in a blink!

naturally they pit Micah against Glimmer. jfc this poor family....

there is something important about Prime not remembering Mara....

SHE BEAT MICAH SHE BEAT HIM!!!! WALKING RIGHT THROUGH HIS STORM OF DARK MAGIC.

SCORPIA CRADLED BO LIKE A BABY

SHADOWWEAVER SAVING CATRA? FOR ONCE???? FOR ONCE CHOOSING CATRA OVER POWER????? FUCK THAT’S CATHARTIC EVEN IF IT WAS ONLY TO GET ADORA TO THE HEART

catra has such a soft heart really. she still, after everything, loves shadowweaver. god....

SHE SAID SHE WAS PROUD OF CATRA. SHE --- SHE - SHE SACRIFICED HERSELF. GOD THE VOICEACTING FOR CATRA WHEN SHE - ADORA FALLING TO HER KNEES. THEIR PSEUDO MOTHER... AGHLDJDWFJJDSLF

FUCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKk

EVERY SINGLE LINE IS SO GOOD, so well-acted. the ‘im ready’ the way she says ‘catra’ like she can’t take anything anymore

i couldn’t write anything for the whole rest of that i was just covering my mouth with my hands

The fuckiN KISS! the look of PURE LOVE on ADoRA”S FACE

which in the back of my head - they cannot actually cut that in any way - it’s impossible to cut

adora with those blue eyes in the blaze, the magic is beautiful adora excising prime from hordak’s mind (WOW), adora and catra touching foreheads and the slight PURR you can hear, adult bo and glimmer (lookin so nice), adult catra (LOOKING SO HANDSOME in her prom-y outfit,) Glimmer chasing Catra, just, GOD, THE UTENA FUCKING REFERENCE, the way they say they love each other, my GOD, Scorpia being like woah perfuma you look nice, MY GOD MY GOD MY GOD THEM GOING TO SPREAD MAGIC TO THE UNIVERSE GOD!!!!!!

every single thing in this season was worth 4 seasons of enjoyable, entertaining, interesting, frustrating and meh. WOAH! WOAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[princess-of-the-corner]

This is just an idea that I want to tell someone. Au where Adrien doesn't go to public school, and when Lila shows up she claims to be dating him.

Okay, my brain ran with this a little because Adrien not going to public school is a hell of an AU on it’s own and would change things. 

Biggest changes would be: 

Ladynoir is Canon, as Marinette has Canonically admitted that she’d fall for Chat if she hadn’t fallen for Adrien. 

A lot of Akumas happened differently, and both Marinette and Adrien haven’t really gotten to meet one another yet. There’s been a few times where they ran into each other, but not long enough to really talk. 

episodes like Evilustrator and Simon Says, with major Marichat/Ladrien interaction, involved different plans and/or the Hero of the pair not showing off and interacting as much since the civilian is a stranger and not a friend. 

This all technically takes place during/after Volpina but during Season 2, even though Lila is doing her Season 3 stuff, because the exact events of Volpina don’t happen, and Lila doesn’t disappear for a whole season. 

Anyway, back to Lila: 

She shows up on day 1 claiming to be Adrien’s secret girlfriend and also bffs with Ladybug. 

Lila specifically says it’s a secret relationship because of Adrien’s fangirls and stuff. 

Marinette and Chloé, of course, know Lila’s lying. 

Mari knows because she’s Ladybug and has never met Lila

Chloé knows because while she does know about Adrien having a secret girlfriend, the info she’s gotten out of him don’t match Lila at all. (things like ‘she has blue eyes and black hair’). 

Also, with Chloé, either she isn’t actually into Adrien romantically (my usual trope), or she’s accepted his love for Mystery Girl and moved on. 

After that, they can see through Lila’s other lies. 

Both girls try to tell people that Lila is lying, but no one believes them.  

Everyone thinks it’s just ‘Chloé being Chloé’, and she’s jealous over someone dating the guy she likes 

Mari is a little more difficult

None of them personally know Adrien and Mari doesn’t have a crush on him

But Lila can manipulate a crowd. 

she asks if Mari is ‘one of Adrien’s fangirls with all his pictures on the wall’. 

Technically the wall of pictures still exists, but it’s purely design reference instead of a fangirl shrine. 

But between that and Lila pulling out the tears, it makes everyone doubt her. 

This leads to a wonderful Mari/Chloé friendship as they team up to expose Lila. 

They also help each other too. 

Marinette helps Chloé be a better person in general. 

Chloé helps Marinette stand up for herself even more

Together they find the balance between ‘being nice’ and ‘being a doormat’. 

Eventually, Chloé calls a meeting at her hotel. And she invites Adrien because he’s involved in this too. 

Adrien and Marinette meeting is... fun. 

Adrien finds Marinette familiar, but brushes it off as ‘I think I rescued her from a few Akuma attacks’. 

However, as the discussion goes on, they find that they’re very comfortable around each other. 

Then one of them says one of the inside jokes from their ‘Ladynoir’ sides and, well, the cat’s out of the bag. 

While those two are staring at eachother like the pointing spiderman meme and just yelling, Chloé’s like ‘uh, guys?’ 

They make up a thing, saying like ‘oh, we met... on the Ladyblog comment section! became friends there! and uh... that was an inside joke so now we know who the other is!’. 

Chloé’s suspicious, but it’s the best explainaton. 

That said, she does kinda scream because ‘goddamn it! of course your mystery girlfriend was Marinette motherfucking Dupain-Cheng!’. 

They then inform Adrien about what all Lila has been saying. 

He does kinda say the ‘can we take the high road and not call her tf out in a humiliating way?’. 

But both Chloé and Marinette explain that Lila isn’t just a walking tabloid magazine, she’s manipulating people and all that. And yeah he’s on board. 

On to the actual plan!!

The girls’ original plan was just to have Adrien show up at a class event and be all ‘who tf are you?’ to Lila. 

But with the extra information that Mari is the real secret girlfriend...

That still kinda happens, but the buildup is more fun. 

It’s like a class picnic thing. Everyone’s there. 

While everyone is a little exasperated with Mari’s sudden rude behavior concerning Lila, they’re not turning against her because I have more faith in them than that. 

Lila herself is going on and on about ‘her bf Adrien’, of course. 

She sees Marinette not fighting back, and thinks she’s won and finally broken the girl. 

Then Chloé shows up, fashionably late of course, dragging Adrien along all ‘hope you don’t mind I brought a friend!’. 

Adrien immediately goes over to Marinette all ‘hello, princess!’. 

Mari is a little bit of a disaster at that, but used to it as she’s been dating Chat for a while. 

Once he introduces himself and everyone makes the connection and all go ‘but what about Lila???’. 

Adrien plays dumb, for the most part. Him asking ‘which one is ‘Lila’?’ and looking between every girl in the class is genuine

Someone speaks up, pointing to Lila and saying ‘your... secret girlfriend?’. 

Adrien’s just like ‘Actually Marinette is my gf so....’. 

Everyone loses their shit over that. 

Lila tries to play damage control, claiming that ‘obviously Marinette has seduced him into cheating on me!’. 

That starts to get traction before someone points out ‘he didn’t even know which girl you were’. 

Everyone asks Mari for details on her dating Adrien, and she gives the ‘I didn’t know it was him because we met online under usernames but then when we met irl thanks to Chloé...’. 

Chloé pulls the attention back to Lila being a fuck. 

She points out that since they all now know that Lila was lying about dating Adrien, how about they listen for once about how everythign else is a lie too?

Mari, Chloé and Adrien work in tandem to debunk Lila’s lies now that people are actually listening to them, 

Lila still tries to lie her way out, but it’s too late. Everyone’s pissed. 

This is the point where she actually gets Akumatized for the first time. 

Mari and Adrien disappear to be Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Lila is a tough Akuma, and this is the first time they decide to bring in backup. 

And of course by that I mean ‘let’s have an excuse to give Chloé the Bee!’. 

The trio manage to take down Lila, the girl throws a fit over the whole thing, vowing revenge. 

Afterward, Chloé goes up to Marinette and Adrien all ‘so... met through the Ladyblog, huh?’. 

yeah she figured them out. Because Ladynoir banter is just like Adrienette banter. And also she remembers seeing Tikki, and just met Pollen, so she made the connection. 

They’ll still have to deal with Lila, especially as even if the class is aware of her shit she can always cause chaos elsewhere. 

They also have to address the elephant in the room that is Marinette and Adrien explaining their relationship to their respective families. But it goes over pretty well. Mostly. 

Other than that, all’s well that ends well!

[darthstitch]

Castlevania Netflix Season 2 Review: All My Bloody Tears

Yeah. Uh. SPOILERS. MASSIVE GINORMOUS SPOILERS. Consider yourself warned.

I'm kind of a complete mess as I write this because PAIN! PAIN AND SUFFERING! TEARS! BLOODY TEARS!

While it's not without its flaws, the second season of Netflix's Castlevania is incredible and lives up to the promise of Season 1. This, gentlebeings, is how you set up a sequel and leave the audience wanting more, but still walking away satisfied with what we've currently got.

The Good Stuff

The thing about Castlevania - as the game series by Konami - is that it's pretty much a patchwork quilt of everything goes. Think your favorite fan fiction peeve on AO3, the ones with the ten million tags before you even get to the goddamn story. So on one hand, it's got its clear inspiration from the classic Hammer and Universal Horror renditions of Dracula. But the game series is Japanese, so you have your beautiful anime-esque artwork by Ayami Kojima and the obvious anime influences.

I've played a few of the games, but I'm not going to claim gamer-god status. I just play for the fun of it and I don't hesitate to use walk throughs as a map of sorts, basically figuring out where to go, because the general castle layout is set up like a labyrinth and it is INSANE and FUN at the same time. So far, I've played and finished Symphony of the Night and two of the GBA ones: Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow. I'm still trying to master the ones on the NDS. But basically, the premise is the same: You're the hero/heroine, you need to enter the big spooky castle, gather weapons and/or spells to make you stronger and add to your abilities, take down monsters and Major Bads - including Death Himself - and hopefully prevent Dracula from resurrecting and covering the world in Eternal Night. The main timeline basically has Belmonts, assorted Not-Belmonts who also hunt vampires and of course, pretty, pretty Alucard.

Then, there was your AU timeline in which Gabriel Belmont goes to defeat a Big Bad and becomes DRACULA ... and Trevor Belmont is his son, a.k.a. Alucard. Yeah, wrap your head around THAT one.

In short, Castlevania canon is fucked. To quote our Trevor, "Snake-fuckingly insane."

So Warren Ellis does the smart thing and basically picks up what works from the "canon" and crafts a damn good story out of it.

The Disaster Trio that is Alucard, Trevor and Sypha, end up bonding even closer together and spend much of this series in the Belmont Basement...er.... I mean, "Hold," trying to do the game equivalent of gathering spells and weapons to storm the castle with. We learn a few more interesting things about the Disaster Trio. Trevor actually ended up losing his family at a way too young age. Sypha and her people have some pretty "interesting" views about God. Alucard has artistic talents and basically acts his real age, which is a traumatized snarky 20 something year old, who's barely holding on to his composure with his shiny fangs and claws. There are epic moments such as "Treffy" and I would absolutely LOVE to hear the Belmont family story that explains how the hell a book of "penis spells" ended up in the Belmont Family Library.

Seriously. Fan fiction writers, don't fail me now!

Also, Lisa gets a few more minutes to shine and break our hearts at the same time. This is the woman who managed to charm and get one Seriously Scary King of Vampires wrapped around her tiniest finger. She's snarky and sassy as before, but so real, so kind and just basically trying to be a decent person in a Crapsack World. She loves her husband but she knows he can be monstrous. She loves her son but as Alucard himself puts it, she wants him to be able to be himself, be happy and not be overshadowed by his father. Seriously, as long as each season gives us something more about Lisa, I'm gonna be content.

We also get introduced to a few more new characters, who basically make up Dracula's Court of Evil. Hector and Isaac are humans but sociopathic enough to despise their own kind and willing to take part in their death and destruction. They both have their requisite tragic and abused pasts. Hector, however, has an element of naivete that makes him an easy target for the machinations of Carmilla, the only general in Dracula's court who's figured out which way the blood's flowing and wants to make sure she comes out on top. Isaac, however, is somewhat the mirror of Alucard himself. This is the guy who gives his unconditional love and loyalty to Dracula and refuses to abandon him no matter the personal cost to himself or his remnants of a conscience or whatever he has that passes for a moral compass. I figure that it's there, it's just not one that I would recognize. Isaac is a scary, scary mofo and it looks like he and Hector are gonna be back for season 3.

In fact, if Isaac ends up becoming "Death" in this entire series, I'm gonna be evilly delighted.

And then, there's Godbrand, who is basically the vampire equivalent of YOLO. Basically, all he wants is to fight, fuck, drink blood and make boats out of things he shouldn't make boats out of. Generally, he just wants to have a good time, rule the world like a king and make sure the humans know their place.

So okay, let's give Carmilla her due. Evil? Check. Manipulative? Check. Sadistic, vicious and cruel? 10 across the board. In the absence of a Certain Fanged Someone taking a more active role in what should be "The War on Humankind," Carmilla wants to make sure she's keeping things moving, spinning her webs of intrigue and plans upon plans, thinking she's going to come out the winner and make herself the new Queen of the Damned.

Here's the problem. Dracula figures that out, easily enough.

Here's the OTHER problem. His Fanged Nibs is all out of fucks to give. He's done. Finito. Finished with everything.

Yeah, about that.

While the humor of this series is a gift that keeps on giving, the drama and the feels will DESTROY you.

You know that moment when you realize Dracula isn't just waging a war on humanity, he's waging a war to destroy all vampires too? Because in that moment when he lost his beloved Lisa, he hated not only humans, but he also hated HIMSELF. He hates the fact that his life of evil, wanton death and destruction, wrought this price on the person that he loved. And she damn well didn't deserve that treatment. He hates the humans who killed her but he also hates his own kind, who are just as monstrous as he is.

So when Godbrand basically asks him, "If we're killing all the humans, what are we going to EAT?" Dracula basically tries to fob him off with some excuse or the other. Yeah, His Fanged Nibs is a LYING LIAR WHO LIES. Also, this lying liar who lies is actually spending most of his time sitting, brooding and being HUNGRY. Because he's not drinking blood. At all. Any blood drinking we see from His Fanged Nibs is in flashbacks.

Let that sink in for a second.

Aluard accuses his father of basically doing history's longest suicide. Yeah. It is - Dracula wants to take EVERYBODY down with him.

The fight scenes are worth the wait. I was screaming when the classic "Bloody Tears" started playing in Episode 7, an episode that I'm gonna watch like ten thousand times more, because OH GOD THE EPICNESS OF IT. The sheer badassery. The fact that Alucard is actually the secret identity of Moon Moon.

And then, the final fight between Dracula and our Disaster Trio is just as epic as expected. Even when he hasn't drunk blood, the trio is outmatched and outclassed and this is where you remember that if Dracula had only roused himself long enough to give a flying fuck about something, Carmilla's head would have been rolling on the floor a long time ago.

But then: "My boy.... I'm killing my boy. This is your room. Your mother and I painted these walls, made these toys. Lisa.... it's our boy. Your greatest gift to me. And I'm killing him. I must already be dead."

GDI WARREN ELLIS HOW VERY FUCKING DARE YOU.

The only way they take down Dracula is because he basically wants to die. So he lets his son kill him and end his misery. And when his rotting, decaying, corpse seems to be reaching out to his son for some kind of last embrace, Trevor, thinking that Alucard's going to be hurt, takes Dracula's head off. Sypha burns off the remains.

And it's done.

Castlevania is a game with numerous endings, all depending on how you played the game and whether you got this artifact or what not. The series pays homage to it because Trevor bequeaths the Belmont Hold to Alucard and asks him to be the last defender of it and his father's Castle. It's not going to be Alucard's grave, but his home now. Trevor and Sypha wander off into the sunset, for more adventures and mischief and Alucard lovingly sends off his BFFs with a fond "Fuck you."

We check in with the villains who survive and of course, we know there's gonna be sequels, because, hey, that's kind of the point of each and every Castlevania game. There's always gonna be a new Big Bad coming around. And trust me, Dracula's gonna be back. He's not just going to lie quiet in his grave.

And just when you think you can end this series with a satisfied sigh, our very last moments are spent with Alucard. Who is haunted by the ghosts of the parents he loved so much. Who gets to relive one happy memory with his mom, who loves him with all her heart. And she's so proud.

And Alucard finally breaks down into heartbreaking sobs.

We grieve with him.

The Bad Stuff

Yeah, okay, so I need to get this explained. Why bother to have all these interesting character designs for Dracula's other generals AND NOT HAVE THEM TALK? I'm serious. Not one of these fascinating-looking vampire bastards HAVE ANY GODDAMN LINES. Netflix, FFS, DON'T WUSS OUT ON YOUR CHARACTER ACTORS. YOU CAN'T BE THAT POOR. GIVE THEM VOICES. PAY YOUR CHARACTER VOICE ACTORS. OMG.

They basically just get killed off in the end, but while we know they were pretty scary and formidable, we don't really know anything about them other than: Vampire, Scary, Dracula's General. They were just pretty much Red Shirts, because the heroes never did get to confront Carmilla, Hector and Isaac directly.

There was evidently so much story to be told here, like they seem to have come from all over the world, even as far off as China AND THEY'RE. NOT. TALKING. The only ones with any dialogue are Carmilla, Hector, Isaac and Godbrand and none of these guys even get to share screentime with the Disaster Trio. Godbrand doesn't even make it to the final battle.

I mean, if these guys were just going to be cannon fodder, then let's just use any of the voiceless Major Bads from the games. Put some requisite scary music and sound effects and let the Disaster Trio take care of them. Let them speak in mysterious archaic languages or whatever, since we're not going to care about them anyway.

The Conclusion

Apparently, this is gonna be a pattern for this series. It's going to be good, it's going to be GREAT but there's always going to be that ONE THING that would drive us batshit crazy. But not enough to wreck my enjoyment of it.

The best parts of this series is the faithfulness to character, the layers upon layers of motivations and feels you're going to uncover as you rewatch it, the fact that it's not afraid to put tongue in cheek and leave canon at the door, while still being true to the source material.

So. "What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets. But enough talk! Have at you!"

[something-tofightfor]

The Punisher Season 2: Episodes 6-10

Initial reactions as I watched these episodes.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT. SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT. SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT. I literally tagged it four different ways for spoilers so if you read them after this it’s your own damn fault. 

6: Nakazat Amy looks like every typical 16 year old girl at the mall Oh frank. Frank frank frank. You with that gun Curtis is such a genuinely good guy. Goddammit. Fuck. He better not bang her. Alright AMY. Don’t bring up the kids. Frank is so fucking sad. Oh so he sees through the transformation bullshit. And he’s apologizing for spying on her. Interesting. SELF ASSURED BILLY IS COMING BACK SLOWLY it’s interesting that she isn’t giving him rules TONGUE So these pictures are literally of men kissing. Interesting. Roughhousing with Frank, must be 18 to ride this ride I actually really liked this scene in the trailer with the gun training. Looks like Billy can do more than 20 pushups now And he’s reading his own file.... WHO IS KM Billy and Curtis...  and he APOLOGIZED. Jeeeeeesus. He’s fucking crying. I can’t. He’s so sad. So angry. So confused. Brett and Dinah again.... hmmmm. Brett still doesn’t know that Frank was there. Madani feels guilt about lying about the carousel.... HE CALLED her out about lying. Frank stole a limo, ok. This confrontation between Pilgrim and Madani is... not that tense. But i mean maybe don’t point your gun st someone on a sidewalk in broad daylight? Is the subplot of this show a fucking Russian election meddling scheme? Yes. Yes it is. When Frank Castle tells you to get on your knees, you get on your knees MY FUCKING GOD WHY DO YOU LET HIM LIVE Where is billy getting money from? He’s finding a group of friends again... he’s earning his spot at the head of the pack again. Giving orders sounds ... natural coming from him. This is billy trying to reassert himself. Trying to do “good”. The accent is much more pronounced when he is in the moment. You’re not a petty criminal Billy. You’re better than this. Way better. Would you do it all over again, frank? Maybe. This poor kid, and Curtis trying to clean up the mess. Again. Welp, guess it doesn’t matter that Frank let him live. Oh Dr. Dumont just hid her most recent notes. Why is she protecting billy? ... he has poor impulse control and yet you slapped him and stabbed him in the damn hand with a letter opener.... and you have a degree in psychology? K. I just threw my glasses across the room. This is not happening. This group therapy session between Frank, Madani and Curtis is constructive.

7: One Bad Day Madani’s interview... ONE YEAR HAS PASSED. MADANI BEING HONEST. Her poor choice in sexual partners got her here I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE LETTER OPENER lmao madani having to talk about sleeping with Billy in detail. This is what i wanted. Madani admitted to her mistakes. THIS IS EVERYTHING #justiceforstein Frank needs to stop people from telling him what the fuck to do. He can live with killing people ... but it’s not easy. Madani is lying about never wanting to kill Billy herself... but she doesn’t have the balls to do it. Frank doesn’t want to kill him, but he’s going to do it because he feels that he OWES Curtis and Madani. This bitch chewing her pills kills me More billy sex flashbacks ... she’s fucked. The biggest fucking sigh to ever come out of my mouth just came out of my mouth. .... so they’re getting off on hurting each other. I really hate this bitch She’s lying. Billy’s being honest again. The sex helped him more than therapy or medication. Knowing that he has “friends” out there helped. Oh this bitch is a manipulator. Holy shit. Oh. But he put someone ahead of himself for once. Interesting. He just wants to know what it feels like to have part of everything. That’s... different. BYE BITCH. Billy. You. Are. Not. A. Petty. Criminal. The fuck are you doing? It’s really interesting to me that Billy is choosing this path because he fell in with an easy, shitty crowd. He’s better than this. He’s capable of so many things. I get that this is because he’s a wanted man... but.... STILL TALKING ABOUT BETH... She sold you out FRANK, KAREN FUCKING PAGE WOULDNT EVER this drug addict is going to fuck everything up. Everyone wants Billy dead... except Madani... and I think Billy is included in this group of people that want him dead. Talking about a “new normal” This applies to frank and billy and madani and even Curtis ... HMMMM Interrogator Frank Madani and Curtis just standing there and watching with bored expressions on their faces is the best Lots of hand stabbing in this season. Good thing Curtis is a medic. BILLY DIDNT MURDER FRANK’S WHOLE FAMILY we’ve officially reached the point in the season where i feel BAD for Madani. .... nevermind. (Not even two minutes later) This is intense. Goddammit LILLIAN he didn’t kill anyone. He did everything he could to NOT kill anyone. Interesting. OH FUCK THE VEST OH FUCK billy is having a panic attack. Holy hell.

8: My Brother’s Keeper I don’t like the title of this. Billy remembers. Not everything, but enough I think. I have been waiting for billy with this gun for MONTHS Did not disappoint. Frank is literally running down the street in the Punisher vest, like.... is that a good idea or nah? Curtis just saved his ass twice LET HIM REMEMBER YOU ASSHOLES OH WELL OK THEN. Frank and Curtis... are having a moment and it’s much needed. Frank’s analysis of Billy’s response to seeing him and having Frank fire at him breaks my heart. He looked at Billy and saw family. “he does not know what he did” OH FRANK. Oh sweet frank. He had a shot... and couldn’t take it. Billy came back to Krista.... He said please again. Billy Russo is going to beg? He didn’t have to Oh lord. He remembers and knows that frank betrayed him but not WHY. god this is heartbreaking. Ben Barnes is an incredible actor. His tears and the emotions are so goddamn real. This scene after she lets him back in is one of the best acted scenes on TV. “I know but i don’t know. I don’t feel it” Christ almighty take my heart and stomp on it why don’t you “He was my best friend, but he was pointing a gun at me” ... oh Billy. She can’t help you. She’s manipulating you because she wants power. She needs to feel wanted. FUCK YOU KRISTA DUMONT Curtis had a shot too... and he didn’t take it. Neither of them could do it. Curtis just wants to be normal. He wants to have a life - an “AFTER” ... Frank screaming at this girl is great. That’s not the way she thought the day was going to go. Brett knowing about Castle is really interesting to me. This conversation is really interesting to me. He’s not fucking around. Billy would give his life for Frank. And he thinks that he’s not the man he was before... THERE ARE MORE PIECES BITCH. I THINK KRISTA WAS IN THIS FUCKING CULT Now frank is seeing billy ... and Curtis is calling him out on it Still walking around in the vest... This is Frank’s moment.... OH FUCK YES BILLY He just punched a hole into a wall and I think I had a stroke OH YOU MANIPULATIVE BITCH Do not choose her billy Russo ... goddammit Lmao Amy just tried to kill Curtis OH SHIT THIS IS THE ANVIL SPEECH AGAIN. Oh Billy. You’re thinking very big here. I have nothing to say about this little dinner between Curtis and Amy and Dinah Frank visiting Maria and the kids at the cemetery... 

9: Flustercluck Frank’s gonna drop some knowledge. “Let me be what I’m meant to be” This bitch is trying to make plans with Billy in the future.... uhhhhhhhhhh This isn’t Billy. Yeah she “accepts” him.... but..... Ok so they’re growing in numbers and in strength and in visibility, quickly. They could have established Billy this season without making him fuck this broad. He wants to know why frank tried to kill him... but does he REALLY?!?!? So wait Schultz is in this cult?!? Uh oh. This guy knows who pilgrim is. WHERE ARE YOU GOING AMY?!? ..... billy in madani’s new apartment. And he found the journal. HE CUT OFF THE DUDES THUMB OH MY GOD Billy is there. Oh my god oh my god oh my god This is nuts. Billy and madani have more chemistry out of bed than in Madani telling him the TRUTH. YES YES YES YES YES ... but.... there’s no need to be such a bitch. BILLY WITH THE FUCKING MIC DROP i can’t tell if she’s scared or happy or aroused - maybe all three? Oh Amy, you just killed this girl. Why did you leave your bag in the other room. This is a trap. Frank’s very nervous for Amy Billy... deserves more? He thinks he deserves more, at least KRISTA HE DOESNT CARE ABOUT YOU. Billy doesn’t want to run. THERE IS NO “us” KRISTA. i hope he snaps her fucking neck. Like you barely know this woman...and i get that you feel a connection because she’s been your therapist.... but this isn’t normal. This isn’t right. She.... she’s using you, she’s LYING about something and i am pissed that i can’t figure it out I AM STRESSED AMY SHOT SOMEONE GOOD LORD Dad Frank 🤤🤤 Omg is Krista going to kill madani Just two girls that have both boned Billy Russo hanging out in the same room....  this is going to end well Pilgrim’s real name is... Robbie? WHO ARE YOU THOUGH Who did he steal money from?!? And what did he do with it?!?! 10: The Dark Hearts of Men ... another flashback. :( billy is getting his ASS kicked... and so is frank.... holy hell TONGUE Frank and billy.... GODDAMN. I am sad. Holy fuck Billy’s watching them 24 hours earlier?!?! Oh god someone’s dying The wine is called “decoy” ... billy is listening to this. Madani’s going to go DEEP with this i think... Frank and Curtis are reminiscing about Billy. frank misses being active duty too... just like billy Frank admits they’re the same. Oh yikes. Pilgrim killed some people. He’s very bloody ...and snorting something. Cool. Did he just effing reset his jaw?!? This is what happens when you’re in a cult for 12 years.... you have all kinds of pent up anger and kill 5 people in 3 minutes Instinct and emotion.... justifying it afterward.... Hmmmmmmmmmmmm Frank has done the things billy has done though.... not on the same scale, but.... Welp Pilgrim is apparently on his rumpsringa ... hookers and blow and murder Billy is always alone.... true. But now he thinks he isn’t. And that’s dangerous ... oh, ok. I mean your wife is dying but go on and get a BJ from some methhead Frank and Curtis live on this roof now Billy creeping from a nearby rooftop is me waiting and watching for new content from this show after the teaser was announced at the end of the January promo but before we had any other information John and Rebecca in s sweeter moment ... and she’s questioning him... and she had every right to do so. This description is like Frank and Billy rolled into one... AND SOMEONE STILL LOVES HIM. Krista is getting Madani drunk....... And madani just said she wanted him dead... not the right answer Dinah. “He is just a man alone”.... Billy is a great motivational speaker. ITS A TRAP FRANK. He knows you’re coming. Boom. And here we go Oh this is good This is well shot This is disorienting Frank is getting his ass kicked again Billy is the only one not in a mask. Well. I thought you were better than this billy Holy shit this fight choreography I’m gonna be real pissed if Curtis dies Oh fuck frank just killed civilians FUCK. His desire for revenge killed innocent people. He isn’t any better than Billy ....and Curtis killed someone too. Yikes He was there the whole time. FUCKING billy. Krista is twisted as hell. And i hate her but i gotta kinda respect her for fucking going after what she wants (i reserve the right to change this opinion at a later time and i hope i get to) She’s trying to prove herself to billy..... but I’m not sure if she actually cares or if she just wants the satisfaction of knowing she helped. Fuck... frank is screwed.

[makeste]

KHR 071: Miniboss Fight Bingo (Part 1)

Okay, get ready, everyone, because this chapter has (part one of) Tsuna VS Lancia, which in hindsight is such an outrageously cliched shounen fight that after rereading it, I went ahead and made this:

Let’s see how long it takes us to win this thing.

So! Last time we left off, Yamamoto was facing off with Lancia while Tsuna was running aimlessly through the woods thinking about how that mysterious evil kid from the forest was acting really mysterious and evil.

However, Tsuna recalls that Fuuta was also acting weird, which goes a long way towards his excusing Mukuro’s strange behavior. But then I think to myself: “So if he thought that ~MYSTERIOUS KID~ really was innocent and was just being manipulated or something, WHY DID HE LEAVE HIM ALL ALONE IN THE WOODS AGAIN.” And the answer is… …. ……………………… um

It actually was kind of funny though, in hindsight.

Back to the fight! Yamamoto got hit by Lancia’s ball and chain and is now lying on the ground emitting smoke for some reason!

WHY THOUGH

Then there’s another panel of Gokudera being so worried about Yamamoto! Intellectually, I know that Gokudera having feelings of empathy doesn’t automatically equate to them being soulmates or anything! But emotionally I don’t even care, I am already on board this ship and it sailed ten fucking years ago and I don’t know where I am anymore! So you’ll just have to live with me enjoying my 8059 angst!

TWO EXCLAMATION POINTS MOTHERFUCKER

All right, and here we go. Brace yourselves and get those cards out, because Lancia is about to start monologuing.

Wow guy could you just cool it there for a sec

Can we count this as “it’s no use”? Eh, for the time being I’m going to play things straight. So no score as of yet, but we’re only just getting started.

So upon hearing this, Gokudera tries to stand up EVEN THOUGH HE’S DYING because HE IS HEROIC AND BRAVE

“Trying to stand up and failing” is pretty much all he manages to do for this entire chapter, so I have to give him whatever props I can while the giving is good.

BUT WAIT, WHAT’S THIS

LANCIA: ABANDON ALL HOPE

YAMAMOTO TAKESHI: (୨୧ ❛ᴗ❛)✧

THIS CHEEKY MOTHERFUCKER. I NEED AN MP3 RECORDING OF YAMAMOTO SAYING “OI OI” TO SET AS MY DAMN RINGTONE

LOOK AT GOKUDERA’S “HE’S ALIVE” FACE

I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET THAT FACE BUT IT’S GREAT

Also nice to see that Bianchi has finally set aside her own differences with Yamamoto! Things were a little dicey there for a while.

Not to spoil things here, but my guess: It’s probably something really stupid that makes absolutely no sense.

Lancia continues to monologue at them all like some sort of Sith Lord, and throws his giant ball at Yamamoto again.

Incredibly, I didn’t have “it is foolish to resist” on my card either. Lancia is so cliché that I couldn’t fit all of his damn clichés on a 5x5 card, goddamn.

Anyway! Yamamoto, who you have to remember at this point has no kind of formal sword training—or any sort of fighting training, really—whatsoever, then instinctively goes right into one of the Shigure Souen Ryu defensive forms, only using the dirt and his bat rather than water and Shigure Kintoki.

Can we give this boy some fucking props because damn. Seriously, though, this is Surging Rain. Completely untaught. This kid is a fucking legend.

So he uses the dirt he just swept up to track the ball’s rotation. It doesn’t make much sense but it seems to work within the context of the series so let’s just roll with it.

WHY IS HE SO CUTE!!!

Reborn then explains that Lancia’s ball and chain weapon works via the power of bullshit.

Look, I’m not a physicist or anything, I’m just your everyday layperson reading a shounen manga who is nonetheless telling you this is bullshit. If you go over to NASA and ask them if you can create a tornado using a grooved wrecking ball, they are going to say no, once they stop laughing long enough to speak.

But then again, a girl was microwaving things with her clarinet two chapters ago, and another girl turned that clarinet into toxic food sludge simply by touching it, so I’m not sure what it is I’m actually complaining about. I guess it’s that they tried to fudge a scientific explanation when they could have just said “magic” and it basically would have amounted to the same thing lol.

I’LL STOP RANTING ABOUT THIS NOW.

So Lancia doesn’t give a fuck if they’ve “figured it out” or not, and goes on the attack again. Yamamoto charges in, thinking he can avoid it now, and oh no

—THERE IT IS!!!! FUCK YEAH

SWEET, WE’RE OFFICIALLY ON THE BOARD 

Okay, I just want to press pause here for a sec and acknowledge that Lancia threw this thing at Takeshi again, Takeshi dodged it, and then the thing just magically changed direction and started going the complete opposite way, at the same time creating this fucking whirlwind somehow, that FUCKING LIFTS YAMAMOTO UP IN THE AIR. Like, this is a really entertaining fight, but it’s also just. SO ABSURD. NOTHING ABOUT IT MAKES ANY SENSE.

ANYWAY THIS THING’S ABOUT TO HIT HIM LIKE A WALL SO BRACE YOURSELVES

Oh my god right in the babymaker

AND YOU’VE UPSET THE BOYFRIEND AGAIN

1. You bitch, and 2. We know you’ve already said that, please say something new so I can update my bingo card again please and thank you.

YEEEESSSSSSSS [FISTPUMP]

Gokudera is all like “DAMN YOU” and trying to stand up to protect Yamamoto but then he falls down again because of his plot ailment!

NO MY SONS, ALSO, I’M LOVING IT THOUGH

BIANCHI GOES FULL GANDALF AND IT’S AMAZING!!

AAAAAAAAAAHHH

AND THEN LANCIA DELIVERS THE CLASSIC “ONLY USING X PERCENT OF MY STRENGTH” LINE, AND WE’RE ON FUCKING FIRE NOW WITH THIS BINGO SHIT

WHAT A SHOWDOWN

Time for Tsuna to finally blunder in just in the nick of time!

“WHERE IS EVERYONE—HOLY FUCK”

But then he sees that all his friends are either dead or dying and Bianchi is all on her own (REBORN WHO?!) protecting Yamamoto because she’s a goddamn hero!

And then Tsuna’s face does this.

LOOK AT THAT INSTANT 180 IN DEMEANOR. HE’S JUST ONE OR TWO RAGES SHORT OF JUMPING STRAIGHT INTO DYING WILL MODE RIGHT THERE ON THE FUCKING SPOT

Tsuna I love you so much and I want to write another rant about you becoming a different person all of a sudden when your friends’ welfare is at stake, but I think I’ve made my point on that already in past recaps lmao

Still, this is great.

Then a split second later he realizes what he’s actually done, and

SOB

Tsuna has no idea what to do. Until Lancia turns back to Bianchi and says he’ll just kill her first. 

Then Tsuna knows what to do.

REBORN SHOOTS THE DYING WILL BULLET, BUT ALSO MAKES THE MISTAKE OF SAYING OUT LOUD THAT IT’S THE LAST ONE THEY HAVE. THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER PROBABLY

ANYWAY

He actually moved to catch it before the bullet fully took effect. I choose to believe he was already in motion when Reborn shot him, because even if he hadn’t been in Dying Will mode he was still going to catch that thing one way or the other.

AH THE NOSTALGIA

Tsuna is SO ANGRY he SWITCHES TO A DIFFERENT FUCKING FONT TO SHOW HOW ANGRY HE IS

Reborn again says out loud that THIS IS OUR FINAL TRUMP CARD!! JUST FOR ANYONE WHO MIGHT SECRETLY BE LISTENING! NOW YOU KNOW! AFTER THIS WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT!!!!

Come to think of it, wasn’t there some guy in the very last chapter who said he was going to watch and wait for the Arcobaleno to show his hand first?

Uh oh

You were fucking timing him, Chikusa?

Yeah it is the last one. Yeah they have completely fallen into it.

HOW MANY FUCKING STEPS ARE THERE

Back to Tsuna!

This one’s not on the card either, but least they got him to say something other than “THE END IS NIGH REPENT YOUR SINS HEAR ME AND REJOICE YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF THE CHILDREN OF THANOS”

Lancia sticks to his one trick, unaware that Tsuna is the main character and this shit’s not going to work this time.

I LOVE THIS PANEL. THE BLURRY MOTION LINES ON TSUNA’S ARM. LANCIA’S HEAD TILTING BACK. THE RAW “OOOOMPHH” IN THIS MAGNIFICENT UPPERCUT. This was back in the days before we had fancy schmancy X-Burners and the like! Back in the days when problems were solved WITH OUR FISTS. LIKE MEN!!!

Bianchi and Reborn watch like proud parents from the sidelines.

Lancia does a backflip for no reason and then Kamehamehas the ground!

Tsuna catches the ball and chain again because NEWS FLASH LANCIA YOU CAN’T BEAT HIM LIKE THIS

And then to add insult and injury, Tsuna Kamehamehas that shit RIGHT BACK AT HIM

oof

Without checking to make sure Lancia is actually dead, Bianchi and Reborn start patting themselves on the back and making celebratory dinner plans.

Mukuro and Chikusa watch from the window. Mukuro admits he’s surprised, but…

Holy shit. You know what that means, kids. SAY IT, LANCIA. SAY IT YOU COWARD!!!!

MOTHERFUCKER HE REALLY SAID IT!!!

Hot damn. 

And that’s where the chapter ends! It feels short, but it was actually 23 fucking pages. It’s just that a good deal of those pages were just Lancia’s giant metal snake ball whirling around over and over and over.

NEXT CHAPTER WILL CONCLUDE THIS EPICALLY GENERIC FIGHT. Will we ever get bingo?? STAY TUNED

[adobe-outdesign]

Chapter 4 Liveblog

No time to waste. I’m reacting as I go, so if things don’t make that much sense that’s why.

Also, note that I already saw some parts from the PAX demo, so I won’t be including those areas here.

Spoilers! (duh)

oh, nice new title screen

henry are you... okay

am I hallucinating or do the walls look worse than in the demo

oh hey it’s grant’s tape- hmmm...... don’t like that

uh hey sammy (?) what the fuck is this

gent apparently makes literally everything in this building

SUSIE NO

SUSIE NO

good news, susie’s gonna kick joey’s ass

joey drew what kind of sccoby doo bullshit is this

okay the cutout just turned into a real bendy I think??

pretty sure henry has a concussion at this point

ah yes... torture library... everyone has one of those

okay the cutout is playing portal

ooh looks like you might be able to get items from the dropbox?

I like how henry finds a searcher and his immediate reaction is to... grab Jack’s hat. okay henry

oh wait that’s just normal ink. rude

hmm don’t like this either

henry seriously get some help. or an exorcist

FUCK

“what is it that keeps you going” the crippling fear of death, mostly

unless they updated the searcher models these are new... at least they’re not trying to kill you? I’ll take what I can get

WAS HE STARTING TO CLIMB THAT

goddamn bendy’s new textures look great

I don’t know who you are but I don’t want to see you

NEW CHARACTER NEW CHARACTER

ahh, he’s the rides guy. bet you 20 bucks he donated the cog wheel

(also points to me and that one anon for calling that)

bertie, fucking... bertie

I was going with Drew World, but Bendy Land works too

who wrote hell there like who was that extra

okay I refuse to believe that henry of all people isn’t strong enough to move that guy’s a fucking terminator

wasting time is henry’s entire IO in this game honestly

fucking wally. best character

hehe, dog

good news, henry can’t aim for SHIT

look meatly there’s only so many ways I can say ‘i don’t like that’ in one liveblog

are those... puppets?

yeah yeah keep crying, it’s tough all over

Lacie I would die for you

I’m guessing that’s the ride we’re fearing? if terrifying animatronic even counts as a ride

either that or the haunted house thing

shh... you want some soup? have some soup you’ll feel better

IOU one soul -Joey

after-death text sounds backwards. anyone try reversing it yet?

just keep walking henry. just keep walking

okay where the fuck is bertrum he’s in the building here somewhere. is he in the walls sammy style

probs in the giant machine that’s gonna come alive in like 2 secs

yep

okay I don’t think he can... move? away?

okay fuck bertrum, the fuck is that chair

holy shit there’s a face in there fuck that

I’m guessing he’s manipulating the machine from the inside because ink, kind of like norman but no human bits

FUCK YOU BARNEM N’ BAILEY

how has this not started a fire yet

fucking... betrum. the hammiest ham who ever hammed

... I wanna ride the buddy boris railway

holy shit, norman?

“I thought you died” “yeah but I got better”

(fyi based on this and boris spurting ink blood I think all ink creatures can revive after a period of time as long as they’re not in the puddles, as the machine will revive them)

holy shit norman is not fucking around he went straight up those stairs

things just went fnaf for a second there

WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU COME FROM

okay that was like five things in five seconds

lesson learned: do not fuck with bendy

you know I made the “I’ll punch a demon, I don’t give a fuck“ joke before but I really didn’t mean it that literally

henry wants to be pretty confirmed

fuck this is a rollercoaster

johnny? you down here?

I wonder if alice is lying? all we have is her claim that this is our boris, and I don’t really see how she’d even do that

set it to bone

oh see, I bet that isn’t our Boris- alice wanted his insides so she could be beautiful, yet she looks the same

there he is! the good boy!

bet you 20 bucks that’s Pendle-Alice

you know, I was gonna post a theory about how there might be an actual Alice because there was one plushie left and Alice keeps emphasizing how she’s alice, and look what happens. fucking look

I think that also explains the image of Bors in a chair? That was the Boris Alice used, not our Boris

Alice didn’t collapse into a puddle, so she’ll probably be fine. probably

Chapter 2? Chapter 2

(kind of skimming through this one quickly for time’s sake, will look at closer tomorrow)

hey look, the switches are actually switches this time

that toilet water looks fucking nasty. sammy clean your damn sanctuary toilets

searcher models are the same, so the standing ink creatures might’ve been cultists seeing as they look like sammy a bit?

we finally get to see the infirmary!

“down here we’re all sinners” no sammy that’s just you

henry don’t call jack a thing, that’s rude

sheep have gone to slaughter. sheep are employees, so the employees have been killed

I love how Sammy’s like “I’ll pray to the Gods for a sanctuary” and Jack’s just like “yeah no I’ll just... go down here”

“nice hat though” henry you just sent a man to ink-hell (temporarily, anyway)

DID HE JUST KNOCK YOU OUT WITH A GODDAMN DUST PAN

ahh the ne animation is super nice

sammy you are 20% too close to my face

only complaint is that he still looks like he’s made out of plastic, which is weird because

the fingerssss

oh yeah I was writing something. anyway he had new ink textures in the Q&A, not sure why they didn’t use them here

sammy and bertrum. duke it out. best ham wins

holy shit Bendy’s looking good as always

gonna save chapter 1 revamp for tomorrow I think, need to blog until i die. anyway A+ gonna go punch a demon

[ramenfallsbutnotudon]

3% Season 1 Episode 1 Re-watch (w/ spoiler commentary)

(by spoiler commentary I mean my stream of consciousness watching and thinking about the entire 2 season series)

·         I didn’t realize how prevalent Marco was in the beginning. We see him walking behind Michele and even leaving his home’s caretaker (?) with the note for his son.

·         Michele seems to have just been waiting for this day. She gratified her walls to keep track of time like a mock calendar, and of course the photo of Andre (her brother).

·         I didn’t notice the wooden-faced man (forgot his name) seen her pass in the window on the way to the procession.

·         Ivana, The wooden faced man, and I’m assuming the other dude (the one who works with Joana in S2) ((Silas??) are in that La Causa meeting – along with another I can’t recognize or remember right now.

·         Joana speaks to Rafael because his registration is fake. We find out hers is as well. Although hers is “official” so to speak, maybe she wanted to see if it worked.

·         Homegirl really did take that kiwi from Rafael’s bloody hand.

·         Rafael was willing to do anything to pass (steal the cube) because he knows this is his only chance after stealing his brother’s registration and failing La Causa the first time. This also seemed to resonate with Joana, since we know why she can’t “go home” and who she’s running from.

·         They think the fruit is too sweet because they have no goddamn fruit everything is on the offshore. Could also be an analogy for the pretty, sweet appearance of the off shore. Like it’s too good to be true.

·         Bruna was shown La Causa’s symbol and asked about her opinions of them. This should be some sort of foreshadowing. Also Bruna’s little sister standing alone with three other girls, and the camera dramatically panning to her leaving up the stairs – going to a place her sister and family can no longer reach. (RIP girl)

·         Did Michele help Fernando because it was a part of her cover, or because she actually wanted to help him? She grabbed that necklace in the beginning and also seen the wooden faced man, so it’s safe to assume the moment she stepped out of her house she was in anarchy mode. If Fernando hadn’t helped her, she would have been eliminated. Interesting the two moles both couldn’t pass the test, but one relied on himself and the other outside help. This mirrors the s2 ending where Rafael is alone trying to help himself and repair things with his girlfriend Elisa, and Michele is asking Fernando for help.

·         Fernando really does hate his father. My first time watching this series, until his dad double crossed him I thought maybe he was exaggerating. But he really does detest him and doesn’t want to be like him. He also mentions something about wanting his mobility back, but we know that’s a lie because he’s comfortable in his wheelchair. Unless, he did feel that way but after his elimination those feelings also went away. Or maybe it was when he was told he could walk again and confided in Michele? Either way, this is something to look out for.

·         Marco really isn’t shit. I knew this my first watch, but seeing him again lie and (seemingly) flirt with the interviewer just re-affirms that. Then bragging about how he is an Alvarez to Agata. Then decided to play “good guy” and breakup the mob that was attacking Rafael. Again, interesting that they have this parallel again but instead Rafael is trying to stop Marco from harming people.

·         Joana is an absolute fucking genius, I mean can we just give it up for her? She was my favorite, along with Rafael and Fernando being a close third.  11 cubes? Seeing through everyone’s bullshit but not getting involved? Catching Ezequiel’s eye early on?

·         Speaking of Ezequiel, during his speech he looked up to where Julia used to stand. He also did some jedi mind fuckery with speaking to certain candidates. Still not sure how he pulled that off.

·         Michele, like Gloria in s2, does not repeat Ezequiel’s mantra the first time he has everyone else repeat it.

·         Vape Goddess™ Aline was serving looks and being sexy as all hell. Even dare I say, a bit intimidating? She really got Ezequiel good about his wife’s suicide, would have loved to have seen the outcome of that before he was interrupted.

·         Of course, Ezequiel enjoys half drowning himself because it reminds him of his dead wife who soothed him with water and sensatory manipulation. His stress triggers him to resort to that.

·         The murder had just taken place where Andre murdered someone after finding out the truth of the founding trio.

·         Also before the process began, we saw some religious founding couple fanatics praying outside. I think Fernando rolled by and gave them dirty looks.

·         I forgot how tiny the offshore really is. 4,000 miles away by submarine.

·         They hyped the hell out of the Alexandre character by showing him, his interview, and his suicide. I thought he was going to be one of the main crew during my first watch, but I see it’s just an early on way to show what the process does to people. And hits at the “coping methods” (i.e. have a fuck ton of kids for our sterile island of passive-aggressive hell). I think he would have passed if he just shut the fuck up when the lady was smiling.

·         Did I already mention that Ezequiel has a hard on for Joana and that he probably knew who Michele was as soon as she was passed and got the mole news?

·         Joana is great.

·         Its funny Ezekiel called Denise in to talk to her and decided to drown her and she thanks him. I know Aline is appalled, and I don’t know if that was some sort of dog and pony show he was putting on – but can we talk about how toxic that water dunk has become? It was initially sensual and calming, but mixed with E’s feelings of grief and his slim grip on shifting power paradigms, it’s turned into something terrifying. Forcibly shutting out the world – silence – but also a sort of sick rebirth for those he manipulates. I think of Michele a lot writing this bullet point and her s2 relationship with water after Joana tells E to go fuck himself and Michele becomes the protégée.

·         “I do this every day to remind myself that what we do is a matter of life and death” so maybe it is also to bury feelings of guilt, shame and inadequacy – the voluntary near death drowning in a glass sink thing.

·         “Thank you for almost drowning me, I loved it. I’ve learned so much, you’re such a great mentor”  “You’re welcome, young grasshopper” as Aline looks on disgusted lmao.

·         I bet Ezequiel is into some really kinky shit since his wife died. Maybe bondage. He seems the type.

·         Oh, fuck off Cassia.

·         I love how the snake Michele already knows what’s up when they call her and Bruna away. I could point out that there were other people at that table and Fernando couldn’t have been the only one who was around, but then again he might have been the only one who cared. Although the candidates are a small bunch, they seem to have their own cliques and groups. And Michele and Fernando became friends in the cube test.

·         Michele also mentions that she’s sorry for talking shit about the process and/or a candidate. Does she know that they record everything? They are constantly being surveilled? Or most likely, it is a part of her act.

·         Michele put her head down, got her lies together and started the spin of lies for Bruna. The rare snake Michele is born.

·         “…Bruna, please” I felt like this was more of a “please lie for me/cover for me” and not a “please believe me”.

·         SHE SAID “TRUST ME, OKAY?” before getting her best friend killed. Is that not what she told Fernando at the end of s2? This snake is a work of art. In a bad way.

·         In the Michele flashback where the wooden man is coaching her, it reminds me of the scene when Rafael meets Elisa. The computers didn’t pick up in their personality analysis that Michele was lying. Elisa and Rafael were not compatible. Can the machines only pick up certain personality types and not deviants? Do they rely on honesty? Because Marco lied through his teeth, Michele lied through her teeth, Rafael lied through his teeth…Does this have something to do with the Founding Trio or a modification by the Founding Couple?

·         Of course the old man wisely advises Michele to stay away from his protégé Ezequiel. She should have listened too, we could have been spared the poison catastrophe later on.

·         I think she really is grieving Bruna’s death, but it’s interesting the conversation of “holding back tears” comes to her mind just before her actions. Like this is Michele now, crying and grieving before going back to the snake mole that she is 98% of the rest of her time there.

·         Can we talk about homegirl’s shoes though? Are those suede booties? ·         

Is this what Ezequiel has candidates running around in? lmao

·         Fernando stay away from the snake baby boy, she’s no good for you.

[peacefulwriter88]

Ripples - Part 8

Series Tag List: @captainxamerica, @just---love, @senpaiace, @glittercoveredsouls, @findacauseandserveit, @devil-may-cry-11-blog, @agentbarnescarter, @mannatgalhotra @harrisbn @sapphire1727 @ishipmybed @nessy-bearxb @calaofnoldor @cautionconed @badassbaker @mannatgalhotra @girlwonder86 @thatpunkrockfandomchick @barnesdeservestheworld @gratittie @memory-of-a-goldfish @tacohead13 @greeneyedgirls4 @lloeppky @justanotherbuckydevotee @jasmineladjevardi @hollycornish @seargantbcky

A/N: Finally got this for you all. I’m sorry it’s taken so long! Thank you for your patience and I hope that you enjoy this part – things are getting real y’all!

You walked into the Avengers tower, the faint echo of your heels clicking on the tiled floor. You had royally fucked. Not only that, you were out of an apartment for the time being. You should have listened to your instincts after that night with Bucky. You should have been direct with Steve, like you planned, and told him the truth. It would have been less sloppy. And expensive.

Instead you had listened to Natasha. Natasha, who you knew secretly lived to see what would come of this new telenovela occurring under her nose.

“You slept with Bucky, didn’t you?” she had smirked the minute you walked into the conference room, a cup of coffee and files in your hand. You had jumped, tired and sore from the night before that you didn’t even realize she had been sitting in the large, empty space. Waiting for you.

“What?! No…” you muttered, looking down at the files that had scattered across the floor, the result of your surprise. You bend down in annoyance, mumbling to yourself as you stared her down and she quirked an eyebrow before saying,

“I’m not going to help you until you admit it.”

You groan, frustrated with the situation before nodding.

“Fine! Yes, we slept with each other. Happy?”

She watches you, shaking her head before saying,

“I knew it. The minute he walked into the compound this morning, the biggest smile plastered on his face, I knew it. Usually when Bucky leaves the compound for nights out, he comes back miserable looking – like a cat you find in a rainstorm.”

She gives a low chuckle as you stop gathering paper, the organized piles you’ve started staring back at you.

“I’m fucking up Natasha.” You whisper as you look back up at her and she sighs, getting off her seat to walk toward you.

“We all fuck up.” She sighs, sitting next to you. She places a weary hand on your shoulder before asking. “Why did you sleep with him though? Thought you were tired of being in the middle?” she whispers low and you fall back on your knees, sighing.

“I wasn’t planning to. I have literally tried to find multiple ways to avoid this place. To avoid them. But they keep putting me in their paths and……Bucky. He’s really convincing.”

You give a sad laugh before shaking your head.

“You know, you really can’t sleep with both of them simultaneously when you’re married to one of them.”

“I know,” You repeat, going back to your task. “I’m going to tell Steve what happened. He deserves to know –he’d do the same.”

“What?!” Natasha yells and you snap your head at her before she says a bit quieter. “I mean, you can’t do that. That could make things sloppy.”

“So you want me to hide it from him?”

She blinks at you innocently and your eyes widen as you shake your head.

“Natasha! That’s worse. Lying to him knowingly would make me officially the bad guy.”

“And you’re not beforehand?” she asks incredulously and you shake your head profusely.

“Of course I am – either way. Steve and I though, we’ve never lied to each other. Same with Bucky. That’s the respect that I’ve built with them. You know what trust is like in this business Nat. I can’t just throw that away….”

“I’m not saying you DON’T tell Steve,” Natasha begins and she follows your move, falling back on her knees.

“I’m just saying you need to figure out your feelings. Maybe a little romp with Bucky in secret will help that. Then you can be the most honest with him.”

You had eventually agreed, thinking it was a smart decision at the time despite your instincts. The instincts that had saved your life multiple times.

This was what happened when people outsourced. It got messy and you were left with the mess. Especially in this circumstance.

You walked into the large living room space unimpressed when pairs of eyes followed you as you walked toward the balcony. Everyone at the Tower knew about you and Bucky and Steve now.

You pull open the screen doors of the balcony, allowing the soft rays to hit you before closing it behind you. You didn’t want to deal with Wanda reading your mind, trying to offer kind advice. Didn’t’ want to deal with Sam trying to figure out what the hell was going on in your head. You wanted to process the past 48 hours. How to figure out how to tell the team about the true nature of your status and pray they would forgive you.

You lean against the rail of the balcony, sighing to yourself.

You had become the outsource mess that was fucking up the chemistry of the team. If anything, that was what you realized that afternoon in your apartment.

“Same could be said for you Buck.” Steve had said, placing the items he had in his hands down. He took a step forward and you stepped in front of him, placing your hands on his chest.

“Steve it’s not…it’s not his fault. This is all my fault. I’m making this messy. Be mad at me. Hate me. Curse me. You and Bucky – you’re friendship is worth more than this. I shouldn’t have gotten myself in the middle of all of this.”

Steve looks at where your hand is placed, resting comfortably on his muscled pecks, his heart beating evenly under your right hand before looking up at you. His mouth tugs into a sad smile as he brushes a strand of hair away, before looking over your head at Bucky.

“I want to be mad at you.” He says finally, his eyes returning back down at you. He wraps his hand arounds yours, giving it a soft squeeze. “Know I should be. But this isn’t your doing. Bucky and I have known how the other feels when it comes to you.”

You blink up at him trying to register his words as his eyes watch you coolly. Then you turn to Bucky who’s looking down ashamedly.

“What do you mean?” you finally ask and he sighs, placing his hands on your hips as he pushes you out of the way gently.

“Let’s say, one night Bucky and I get really drunk off of Asgardian ale. Let’s say, we both admit how we’re feeling for each other,” he rolls up the sleeves to his button up blue shirt, giving a large sigh. “Let’s say we make an agreement. Whoever wins over your heart first, has to back down. Out of respect.”

You blink listlessly at Steve, then turn to Bucky before saying,

“…you both knew that I had feelings for you?”

You hear Bucky sigh behind you and you turn to find him walking toward you. He stops just inches from you, grabbing an extra shirt that has been loosely hanging over a nearby chair.

“Not at first. We speculated. Hoped but we’re unsure at first.” He tugs the shirt over his head, his muscles flexing before there covered by the thin material as he continues, “But then Sam pointed out how different you were with us than you were with anyone else. Even him and Tony and he was sure you liked him and Tony. Theorized that you probably had a little crush on both of us too.”

Bucky flexes his hand and you turn to Steve as they eye each other.

“Wait, let me get this straight.” You drawl out. “You mean to tell me that you both knew about how I felt and didn’t tell me about it?”

There both silent. You want to be angry but the situation is too delicate. You were all in the wrong.

“Bucky, technically, should have respected the fact that you had made your choice when we got married.”

Bucky snorts, shaking his head.

“I’m supposed to accept the fact that you manipulated her into marrying you? I would have respected it if it was mutual but she was uncertain about it the whole time. Still is. Why do you think she’s been with me this past week?”

You turn to Bucky, your eyes furrowing.

“Bucky, stop it.” You start and Steve laughs.

“I’m not saying that I’m perfect and I know she was uncertain. I would be too if the roles were reversed. But I also know that she cares about me just as much as she cares about you. And after she’s done getting her taste, she’ll want to come back to me.”

“Now wait a goddamn minute…..” you mutter back to Steve, shaking your head adamantly. Who were these men?

Have you brought out this side of them? It’s too late to wonder. Before you know it, Bucky’s running past you into Steve, barreling into the large man back into what was your kitchen bar. They fall into the ground, Bucky’s right arm securing Steve as his left arm punches him in the face.

“Stop it!” you yell, your head going through all the different scenarios in which you can get them to calm down. Unfortunately for you, you weren’t a super soldier and taking one of them would be hard – you couldn’t imagine taking both of them. Couldn’t shoot them though that would slow them down.

Steve threw Bucky over him with his legs, sending the large man into your fridge.

So much for that.

Bucky recovered easily, his instincts from being a super soldier taking over as he barreled into Steve again, this time pushing through your dining room (and table) the wall that separated it from your bathroom and into your bedroom. Water spouted out from everywhere and frustrated, you stood up lumbering to the linen closet and pulling out the small box you had tucked beneath sheets and towels. Ignoring the way water now pooled toward you or the grunting from the super soldier. You pushed up two soft nylon sleeves up your arms, allowing them to stop short of your forearms before you grabbed the two half orbs that glowed brightly in the dim space. You clicked a button, allowing the orbs to transform instantly as it built its way around your arms, molding into them into you held two mechanical devices that mimicked Ironman’s arm devices.

Technically it was a prototype that Tony had you hold onto a few weeks back. Technically you had no idea what the hell it would do aside from being able to cripple an enemy without giving them harm.

Technically.

Sometimes Tony’s’ technically’ resulted in ‘probably not going to work’. Or ‘will work but kill’.

A high pitched scream erupts from somewhere down the hallway, followed by more yelling and you groaned as you sat up, adjusting to the weight of the mechanical devices.

Great. Now they were down damaging your apartment and barreling throughout your complex. So much for living in a nice, affordable building in the city.

You ran to your closet, pulling on your simple black rain boots, before yanking your door open to a young woman cradling two boys in her arms.

“Which way did they go?” you asked and she watched you with wide eyes, taking in your attire clashed with the mechanical arms before pointing slowly downward.

You ran past, jumping down the small flights of stairs that forced you to run down in a square shape before you saw Bucky get thrown through one wall to another, Steve hot on his heels.

“Joder…..”you muttered as you rounded the corner before turning through the hall where they both punched and kicked their way through sections of the building. You skirted and slid through debris, maneuvering through obstacles until you reached the end of apartments, a wall standing in your way.

“Where the fuck…?” you muttered until you saw a  shadow coming up behind you and you ducked, rolling out of the way easily as Bucky threw Steve above you. He walked through the wall, anger etched in his face as Steve chuckled, sitting up.

“That’s all you got Buck?” he asked, his voice low and menacing.

Bucky smirked, maneuvering out of Steve’s punch as they both started to pick up their fighting around you.

You were over their testosterone, super soldier crap.

Instead, when Bucky goes to throw a punch, you swing in response, stopping his metal hand easily thanks to your new iron appendages. You turn to Steve, who was already mid punch towards Bucky’s middle and twist your arm so your left hand blocks him. You look at both of the soldiers who are looking at you in awe and sigh out.

“I swear to god, if you both don’t stop fighting I’ll give you a reason to stop.” You grit out through your teeth. Bucky, who’s recovered from the shock of you stepping in the middle of the fight smiles before he throws his right arm toward you but you easily twist your body again, deflecting the blow with your leg, kicking Steve back to the wall. You turn to Bucky who moves at you again and you easily maneuver around his punches and blows, until Steve joins in, the three of you balancing fighting the other as you throw punches at each other. You try to keep up with them, maneuvering around each hit but you get caught up in the fast dance, unaware to keep up with their super reflexes and its Bucky who grabs your waist after punching Steve out of the way and pushes you against the opposite wall, pinning your arms above your head as he grins down at you.

“Doll, looks like we’re not the only one who’s been keeping secrets.”

You narrow your eyes at him and shake your head.

“You should duck.”

“Wha-?” you knee him in the groan, sliding down, bringing him with you as Steve throws a chair that shatters over you.

“Duck. It’s this thing you do in these fighting situations.”

You push him forward to Steve whose run and caught up, before aiming one of your hands at both of them.

“Please don’t kill them, please don’t kill them.” You mumble to yourself as Bucky’s eyes widen.

“Wait, Y/N – don” Steve doesn’t get his sentence out as you blast a beam toward them, the light engulfing their bodies before they go slack on the floor. You close your hand, stopping the strong light from taking over the surface. You bend over, catching your breath before slowly making your way toward them.

You were out of shape in contrast to the two soldiers. In fact, you would rather take on a dozen of well-armed men then try to fight the both of them again. You’ve said it once and you were sure you were going to say it again.

Damn super soldier serum.

You checked the pulse of Steve, then Bucky, happy to find it beating steadily. You give a sigh of relief before taking a seat on the floor.

How the hell were you supposed to explain this to Tony. Shit how the hell were you suppose to explain this to your superiors?

A small noise above you causes you to blast the floor above you, silence greeting you. Seconds later Clint looks down at you, an amused smile on his face.

“Holy shit Y/N. Thought I’d get the drop on you,” he easily flits down to the floor before taking in Steve and Bucky’s body. He gives a low whistle as he looks back at you. “Did you do this?”

You shrug, falling back on your haunches.

“Something you’ve been keeping from us?” he asked amused and you roll your eyes.

“You knew I worked as a spy. Natasha told you.”

“Yea…..” Clint says, looking at Steve and Bucky. “But even Natasha can’t take down to super soldiers.”

You hold up your device as he nods and Wanda comes barreling through a wall, shaking her head at the damage.  She tsks, looking at you.

“Looks like Bruce got a hold of this building,” she turns toward you, quirking an eyebrow. “You’ve been pretty good at keeping your secrets from me.” She points to her brain and you smile.

“No secrets to keep princess.” You respond and she laughs, shaking her head.

“Tony is on his way. He’s going to be pissed.”

She was right. Tony was beyond pissed. And outside of that, you had to tell Terry.

You heard the screen door open behind you and turned, not surprised at the man who was standing there waiting. You had memorized his scent by now, memorized the way he moved as he leaned against the door, talking in that low husky voice that sent your spine tingling.

“Someone from the department of the interior is here. And MI-6. And some other countries secret service,” a slight pause. “Apparently there’s a lot you’ve been keeping from all of us.”