#chooses the scene where he’s in emotional distress like a boss

[rystiel]

i like how his eyes just get progressively more human-esque over the years

[makima-s-most-smile]

New Helluva Boss episode is wonderfully animated as always. I liked it. I loved the flashback to how Moxxie and Blitzo met and to what fucked up family dynamic made Moxxie, well, Moxxie. His mother dying was... heartbreaking and fuck that father! But it also made me feel... where is the emotional connection to Millie? To the whole story. She is the great gal that sits at the sidelines and just nods and goes along with it, while Blitzo burns everything down around them by being the traumatised wreck he is. Which is not bad, per sé, but it makes me as the viewer feel pretty distanced to our girlboss.

I mean the emotional focus of the whole story is the fuck-up that Blitzo is, yeah. But his connections to others and how that forms the whole group kinda is the show. Moxxie had a few episodes now that showed an character arc and also Moxxie and Blitzo getting a deeper connection. But Millie, well, she is along for the ride, but she is never affected by anything. Not really. Moxxie is kindnapped? Hell, she hurts, but then goes to hunt him down. The episode that should have been focussed on her and her backstory, the one where they visit her family, is about Moxxie learning to stand up to her family and... Blitzo's ego and internal selfhate being massively tempted by Striker.

Millie is a confident, self-loving woman from what is shown in the show. And that is a wonderful change of pace to the *points at the rest of the crew* and *points at typical damsel in distress-tropes or worse *shudders* Sakura*. But she is so unaffected by everything. Today's episode has shown that her husband lived a horrible live under his father and while she has shown anger, she is pretty forgiving about Moxxie not reaching out to her. She goes along with staying there and goes along with them having different rooms and such. And that feels a bit like a downfall for her character for me. Especially since the show focusses on the emotional pitfalls of the main casts souls, it feels weird that she is so unaffected. Since I get to see how Blitzo wishes for real connection, but how his own vulnerability is hidden under all his false ego and how that makes him choose people who will reject him, how Moxxie's insecurities build him up to be a doormat to Blitzo that he slowly grows out of, it should feel like a whiff of fresh air that Millie just likes to be herself. But I cannot tell even that, because I get no insight into her. It irks me that I get so much insight in the clusterfucks her surrounding cast members are, but with her I get "girlboss kicks arse and loves hubby".

I love that Millie can handle herself. I love that she kicks arse and tells Moxxie outright: "Tell me next time your dad is a psychopath." and also that she is being understanding that Moxxie has problems opening up. But then again, is she understanding or is she just unaffected? Is she even interested in things beyond "Husband is at my side and I have my job"? Does she even like Blitzo? She laughs along with his shenanigens that make Moxxie curse, she has a civil relationship with Loona, who is normally rabid spit bubbling at nearly everyone, but I see no emotional connection to anyone, not even Moxxie really. We don't even know how Moxxie and Millie met or Millie and Blitzo. We know she is the brawns of the group, but not how she got into it. And that feels weird. By now, we know so much intimate details of every character, but Millie.

I love that in more and more niche shows the female character is not the constant damsel in distress or the one who keeps everyone around her happy and who does her very best to keep everyone together. But it feels like a downgrade, when the new role just disconnects the character from the rest of the group and the story. Millie gets time to shine in awesome fight scenes, but that's about it. And that is sad.

Here to the hope that we get a Millie-focussed episode soon!

[ciegeinc]

Movie Review... The Matrix Resurrections

(2/5) Watched this twice in the last two days. The 2nd time took a lot longer because I had to keep pausing and taking notes. In a nutshell, in a flash summary...this is the Matrix for Gen Z'ers. The generation that can be summed in some instances as taking something that has already been done and calling it there own (for example countless dances and songs from the 80s and 90s redone, rediscovered on social media). That's what this movie feels like. It tries to do what three films did and then finish with something new and it fails and is bland.

Questions and plot holes are not foreign to the matrix franchise but when those questions are spread and explained in three films vs one; it's hard to process. There was more that I disliked than I liked.

The action was lackluster compared to its predecessors. I am not sure if this was done purposely for this new story or was this something due to COVID. Either way the final product did not reach the standard. I hated the shooting sequence too. Literally all at close range but no one got shot? I didn't like them breaking the 3rd wall too. That is always a key give away of a money grab Hollywood sequel. It was disguised as the comedic element of the film but was delivered as a load of cheese.

Lastly, the vagueness in the explanations about the returning of certain characters, terminology and settings. Zion's demise was unclear to me as well as the return of Smith. Niobe's return was good to see but then for her grow old to be just like Captain Roland doesn't make sense for what the character went through in the older films. There was a lot more too question but it's not worth it (check out my film notes at the bottom).

There were a few things I liked. The scene where Trinity yelled Neo's name gave me chills and the result of Neo going to the machine city (no spoiler). But that is about it.

This doesn't necessarily tarnish the other films but it’s definitely not needed either.

To find out if his reality is a physical or mental construct, Mr. Anderson, aka Neo, will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more. If he's learned anything, it's that choice, while an illusion, is still the only way out of -- or into -- the Matrix. Neo already knows what he has to do, but what he doesn't yet know is that the Matrix is stronger, more secure and far more dangerous than ever before (rottentomatoes.com).

Notes and Questions (Things I Wrote on my Second Trip)...

Modal - Simulation used to Evolve programs Programs = Digital Sentience?

Rehashing of older films

Morpheus referred to bugs as a sentient and she did not correct him? But she isn't

Morpheus is a program that has to find Neo

Shoot at point blank range and missing?

Are the modal and game the same thing?

Neo is trapped within a new matrix with trinity and they can't remember anything.  Neo is a game creator in the new matrix and the game he creates is of his memories.  Basically the first 3 films.  The game is popular in the new matrix. In the game neo has created a new morpheus a program to free him.  

Constantly referring to the themes of the original films, breaking that 3rd wall was not done "smartly" Matrix 4 video game = matrix 4 movie.  Pitch meeting...matrix for Gen Z

Agent Smith Neo boss?

Analysts is the new Architect

Fighting and action sequences are subpar to predecessors (unsure if that was done purposely or due to COVID)

Battle in the office? Real...next game/modal. Agent Smith?

Bots vs Agents?

Mod morpheus was created to free him but Smith was also involved in the coding of Mod morpheus

Synthients?

Zion was always set up by machines...IO set up by people?

Very vague what happened to zion... during the purge, creation of new matrix, did Zion get destroyed

Smith explains his arrival being that from the analysts...but morpheus spoke of something different?

Analysts slow down mode?

New analysts wants to harness emotional distress instead using logic and equations as control like the architect

Niobe grew old just become Captain Roland

Tati?

Agent smith turning into that random guy?

How does trinity access skills neo once had?

[tthael]

I apologize if you’ve already written about this before, but one thing I’ve been wondering about your Indelicate version of Eddie is in regard to his occasional tendency toward more (for lack of a better/less serious-sounding term) “aggresive” actions (e.g., throwing the lotion bottle, throwing the water, etc.) directed toward Richie. I know it was hinted at that the urges to aggress may sometimes be/have been the result of repressed or misconstrued attraction, but I’m wondering if some of it is also a result of Eddie’s injury and the related feelings of a lack of control over his own body? Like hypothetically, if Eddie were never injured or if we fast-forward to him completely healed, do you think that moments like that would still happen? Or am I just really reading too much into the fic and making up this aspect of it? Hope that makes sense - I just love your characterization of Eddie and I want to make sure I’m understanding as much as I can!

I actually haven’t written about this before, and I think that it’s a good thing that I take the time to meditate on it now, because I don’t want the idea that throwing things at your romantic partner is, like, a good thing.

So a lot of my thoughts on Eddie’s aggression derive from two specific aspects of his portrayal. The first (chronologically in Eddie’s timeline) is the portrayal of Eddie as high-strung, snappy, and verbally combative in IT Chapter One (2017).  Within the last year and a half I saw a post that pointed out that some of Eddie’s aggression--especially in interacting with Richie--probably derives from the high-stress situations of a) being hunted by an alien clown demon and b) being abused at home. I had a college professor discussing a history and trauma class point out that, “Traumatized people don’t always behave well.” There are the usual caveats that explanations are not excuses; however, I think that the constant knowledge that he has to return to Sonia’s house and the persistent alarms telling him when he has to take medication, so that even when he’s apart from her he can’t get away from her interference, means that Eddie’s under high pressure. And then you get to the point where all of the children in Derry are being hunted by an actual monster, and it’s a wonder that Eddie behaves as well as he does, because I certainly wouldn’t.

I usually like to incorporate some of book!Eddie’s dreamy introspection into his internal narrative in Indelicate, and I think that some of his pressures are relaxing now that he’s a) no longer living in a house with Sonia, b) acting specifically in ways that maximize his own agency (going where he wants with whom he wants, eating what he wants, actively rejecting much of her influence). However, he’s still got a lot on his plate, and some habits die hard. This is why I have moments of Eddie waiting with the perfect snappy comeback on his tongue, and then stopping himself because he knows it’s something he doesn’t mean. He doesn’t actually want Richie to never talk again, he loves it when Richie talks, and he’s struggling towards sincerity. I personally have a lot of difficulty letting go of the put-down jokes in favor of being sincere with the people I love, so I thought I’d give Eddie several moments of consciously choosing to be honest and kind with Richie.

The second influence on Eddie’s relationship to physically “lashing out” is his introductory scene from IT (1986), where he’s leaving home and Myra is chasing after him demanding explanations and wailing about how terrified she is. I know that there are lots of analyses of this scene and thoughts on Myra versus Sonia, and I’m not interested in those right now; however, what caught my eye was that Eddie sees Myra’s distress and his first thought is something along the lines of “you might as well hit her”--not that he wants to hit her and he has nothing to lose, but that his causing her emotional distress is as bad as physically abusing his wife. (I can’t recall at the moment whether Eddie’s section comes before or after Bev’s introduction, but I want to say that it’s before, and I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that Bev and Eddie’s very different home lives are contrasted.)

So I thought, that as a boy child without a father, raised and abused by his single mother--and considering his issues with (as I write it) suppressed gay feelings, and the sort of “glass closet” I write him with--Eddie’s concepts of masculinity are probably pretty toxic. I think that in order to maintain control over Eddie, Sonia probably got very emotionally manipulative when he resisted her at all, especially as he got older and taller and physically stronger than her, and that she probably cried out things like “Eddie, you’re hurting me, how can you hurt your mother like this?” and made Eddie feel like the abuser (which is, I’m given to understand, a frequent tactic of abusers: reversing the roles to make the victim feel apologetic and guilty). I’m specifically thinking of the way that Gillian Flynn writes manipulative white women who weaponize white women’s fragility--Adora in Sharp Objects, since that’s actually the only Gillian Flynn book I’ve read so far. I think that Eddie would be very conscious of what he perceives as his capacity to be an aggressor, and it would be one more way that Sonia could keep him docile.

Later, with Myra--and I’m writing Myra more sympathetically in Indelicate than I did in Things That Happen After Eddie Lives, so I’m not interested in getting into the “is Myra abusive?” conversation right now, because I’ve written her both ways--I think that Eddie likely had a sort of learned helplessness about his own agency with Sonia that he then transferred onto his relationship with Myra. In Indelicate, I write him with a lot of reluctance to volunteer any information towards her, or his emotional state, or to make any of his wishes known (frequently she shoots them down as too extravagant, the way that I talked about Eddie’s relationship to money and luxury and Myra refusing a larger bed).

I write Eddie as largely unaware of his attraction to men until his near-death-experience, but only because he did not allow himself to connect the dots between what he thought of as physical symptoms (tunnel vision on hot man in coffee shop = optic nerve impairment, see doctor); but I think that Eddie was profoundly aware of his unhappiness in his marriage and just tried to reason with himself that everyone felt like that, and everyone was miserable and suppressing their own wants and needs, because that’s just what marriage is, and any other approach to his marriage would make him abusive, so Eddie and Myra’s marriage was emotionally volatile and extremely stressful.

Which is to say that Indelicate Eddie is a powder keg when Richie gets to him.

Again, I don’t think that throwing things at your romantic partner is an acceptable mode of interaction and I don’t want any readers to get the idea that that’s the underlying message of Indelicate, because it’s not. The scene with the moisturizer is derived from something that happened to me years ago (I was Richie, the guy I had a crush on was Eddie) involving a wayward Frisbee; the scene where Eddie tries and fails to throw a drink at Richie is derived from an anecdote of the early days of my parents’ marriage (my mother was Eddie), one that my father’s coworkers and boss loved to talk about and his best friend still brings up when they hang out.

However, Eddie’s relationship to physicality is also deeply informed by a tumblr post I saw over a year ago that talked about how Eddie grew up being told that he was fragile and delicate and sickly, and how Richie did not give a shit about any of that and was more than willing to just grapple him. For this fic, I decided to lean into that idea: that Eddie longs to be treated as though he’s solid and healthy and strong, and he finds a lot of relief in Richie <i>not</i> treating him gently. But because Eddie is actually physically injured in Indelicate, Richie is being careful not to break him while also dealing with Eddie’s very real (and largely unvoiced) desire for physical contact. It’s not an accident that at the end of the chapter in which Richie and Eddie have a shouting match that Richie wrestles Eddie to the floor and pins him and blows a raspberry on his belly--which is incredibly juvenile at the same time that it’s a display of Richie’s physical capabilities and Eddie finds that bizarrely attractive.

So, on top of Eddie’s desire for physical contact, his extreme stressors, and his lifetime of maladaptive coping mechanisms--the other thing that I consider when I write his dynamic with Richie is that Richie is not physically intimidated by Eddie at all. This is not because Richie is stronger than Eddie (he is) or larger than Eddie (he is). This is because there was a time in which Richie and Eddie found it perfectly acceptable to grapple each other as a form of interactions, because Richie and Eddie have known each other since they were seven years old. I even like to think that at one point, Eddie was the taller of the two, because Richie hit a really ridiculous growth spurt somewhere around the start of puberty and Eddie was something of a “late-bloomer,” and Eddie silently seethed about it through their entire adolescence.

So when Richie and Eddie lash out at each other--largely Eddie, because I think Richie, with his fear of the werewolf and of losing control and hurting someone--they’re building on sort of a lifetime of informal physicality. Stitchy does something similar in their Richie/Eddie fic where elements of roleplay always appear in their romance, because they were kids who played pretend games together, and when you have a bond like that with someone, it does permanently shape what sort of interaction you do and do not find acceptable. I also included a flashback into childhood where Richie gets angry with Eddie and very deliberately and methodically pushes him down on the ground and Eddie cries, not because Richie physically hurt him (he didn’t), but because it wasn’t in good fun there, that was Richie deciding to throw him around because he knew it would upset him.

So there’s a lot going into Eddie’s physically aggressive responses in Indelicate--the toxic masculinity that dictates the way that men are allowed to express anger and the ways in which they are allowed to touch each other; the profound stress that Eddie has endured for his whole lifetime without getting many better coping mechanisms; the feeling of lack of control of his physical body; a regression to childhood habits; and a deep sense of relief that Richie (being big, strong, and a man) is not vulnerable to him in the way that Sonia convinced him she (and later Myra) were.

I hmm’d and haww’d over a scene in the most recent chapter in which Eddie strikes Richie with an open hand (it’s a little slap on the chest, and I wanted it to come across very like the sort of corrective smack to the back of the head that I can imagine any of the Losers issuing to Richie back in 1989 when he shoots off at the mouth), because that’s not something I’d be comfortable doing to a romantic partner myself. Richie thinks nothing of it and turns it into a dirty joke, but I do need to get more into Eddie’s decision to touch Richie in kind ways in direct refusal of that “you construct intricate rituals that allow you to touch other men” facet of toxic masculinity.

I know it’s a ridiculously long answer, but it’s a serious issue and I wanted to give it the greatest possible consideration instead of writing something flip. Because both the incidents you named (ones I didn’t even realize formed a pattern, to be honest) are drawn from real life, I can’t say that they’re moments that are influenced by Eddie’s physical disability, but I do think they’re more influenced by his emotional state. I also think that as some of his stressors come off his plate and he gets more comfortable having an adult relationship with Richie, he’s going to stop throwing things at him. I even had Eddie stop after throwing the water, not just because it was ridiculous but because he realized how out of line he was in that moment. Recognizing when you’re out of control in an argument is, I find, an important part of self-improvement; and learning to walk away or to reset is a valuable skill.

Thank you so much for reading!

[snkpolls]

SnK Chapter 132 Results

The chapter poll closed with 1,746 responses. This month’s chapter poll results were brought to you by /u/_Puppet_, /u/staraves, @momtaku​, @shifter-lines​ and /u/berthototototo

RATE THE CHAPTER 1,693 responses

When we compare “Wings of Freedom” with other chapter results we’ve recorded, it comes in 25th out of 41, making it middle of the pack as far as ratings go.  Looking at the chapter on it’s own, however, it’s very well received with nearly 86% of the fandom rating it good (30.4%) or great (55.3%).

I think it was definitely just a classic aot chapter, had that plot that always had you on the edge of your toes, had the emotional moments, the momentary funny and bittersweet moments, 10/10 chapter

It couldn’t have gone any better besides Hange’s death :/

wish Floch got a little more screen time upon death but otherwise, awesome chapter.

It felt a little bit rushed but I enjoyed it nonetheless

It was so well executed yet so sad. I'm pride of our Hanji but feel so much distress thinking it's over for her.

It was a great emotional piece, and last moment before the true final battle begins. There’s no going back.

It was a good chapter but I would’ve liked if there was more dialogue between the alliance members

The deaths were rushed and poorly written

It was good, but alliance focused chapters are still a drop in quality.

It was a solid chapter and did what it aimed to do well, though I think it had pacing issues with the two deaths.

It had a little something for everyone. Except Zeke stans.

WE’LL GET TO THE GOODBYES IN A SECOND, BUT FIRST, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT?

1,695 responses

Hange’s sacrifice was the moment that people liked the most at 30%, and seeing the old Survey Corp crew was a stand-out moment for 21%. Seeing Mikasa and Annie have an almost casual conversation brought joy to 12.1%, and Floch’s determination and brutal death were appreciated most by 11.6%.

I love the final shots of the scouts being shown in the afterlife. Ty Isayama

The little moments between the characters was great because it reminds us that they're still human.

The overall scene was legendary seeing Hange dying for her comrades and even in her last seconds she thought that she sacrificed herself in order for her comrades to live. That's what she thought a great commander would look like. That's why Hange was one of the best commanders of the Scouts.

Mikasa is such a boss, love seeing her fight and hopefully we'll get more big moments from her (as opposed to Levi).

Chad, King, hero. Every moment that Floch was in is a great scene.

I loved the Colossus slipping down the mountain

My favorite part is Kiyomi refilling coal with a shovel alone :)

  WHICH OF THE GOODBYES WAS YOUR FAVORITE 1,699 responses

In a chapter filled with goodbyes it was Levi and Hange’s final moments that we found most endearing with close to 60% selecting it. “Please don’t make me choose” was a very distant second with 14.7%. Interestingly Annie and Reiner (10.4%) beat out Annie and Armin (6.5%) for third place.

i think isayama truly gave hange a great goodbye, and writing them still being cheerful and joking around made me feel so much more for their death.

It made me cry because of all the goodbyes. It reminded me of Erwin saying goodbye to the people inside the walls and people of the military. And his iconic “roar”. All of that before the battle.

Hange’s and Levi’s goodbye was very well done (that look in Levi’s eyes too, ouch), props to Isayama for breaking my heart.

The Reiner/Annie hug was all I could ask for, bless Yams.

I wanted a Levihan moment for this chapter and NOT a last levihan scene 😭

  WHO WAS THIS CHAPTER’S MVP? 1,700 responses

Who else could it be? Hange Zoe is the chapter MVP according to two-thirds of all poll respondents. Floch (13%), Engineer-kun (3.4%) and Mikasa (2.6%) all got tiny slivers of the remaining pie.

Hange was truly the hero of this chapter and i'm so happy to have been witness to their characters journey over the years!

Hange is overall my second favourite character and I looked up to them. For me Hange is the true embodiment for the Survey Corps which is for Humanity and their courage, optimism and selflessness really made me love them so much.

Hange was a flawed commander. We all know this. They made mistakes like any other human being would when faced with the stress of a leadership position. They tried desperately to fill Erwins shoes but in the end accepted that they should be themselve. But overall Hange Zoe is an incredible person and I will miss them so

Best girl Mikasa rocked it this chapter with the way she swiftly killed Floch!

While I don't agree with some of Floch's beliefs, he died trying to save his home by slowing down the Alliance. Goodnight, sweet prince!

Floch did his best he anchored all the way from the beginning to the hangar with a bullet wound and that mustve hurt like hell all that salt water coming in

Someone please send me help I can't do this my family and friends got so worried because I've changed. They be like "Bro you've changed and I be like yeah Hange died bro what do you expect I'm in genuine pain you won't understand."

  HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT HANGE’S HEROIC EXIT? 1,701 responses

Just over half of respondents loved the way Hange went out at 51.4%, and 26.5% liked it despite some quibbles. Not many of us saw it coming but it was at least emotional and a badass way to go. However, 9.6% hated it – there is an undeniable trend of every vaguely older character getting the chop. Who will poor Levi sit with in the retirement home with now?! 6.8% don’t really care about how the scene went. I suppose they’re the ones most prepared if no one in SnK gets to go to the retirement home.

A great ending to an amazing character, it's sad to see her go, but her time was up and she died fighting the creatures she loved.

I'm disturbed by how much it affected me

I loved it, but its not something i'll cry over.

I don't hate it but it did seem kinda unnecessary tbh could've been better

I STILL CAN'T STOP CRYING ABOUT IT. OPTION ONE IS GOOD BUT DOESN'T EXPRESS HOW MUCH THIS CHAPTER HURT ME.

It does break my heart,however the way and the time she do that, That was... Memorable

It happened too quickly for me to consider it perfect, but I'm glad she got to go out on her own terms.

Not heroic at all, she didn't even stop the colossals and was a cheap way for her to never face the consequences of her betraying the island

It was dope but Floch indirectly killed her so he takes that dub

I'M STILL CRYING ABOUT IT, SHE WENT OUT LIKE A FUCKING CHAMP

I'm super frustrated that she died, but she was heroic

She’s a traitor, nothing more to be said

i hated it. it was perfect. she really did go out with a bang and i hate it

Felt a bit pointless, would've loved to see some emphasize why it was crucial to kill these exact two titans. For me it looked like plain suicide

Had to go through the 5 stages of grief after that one, honestly. I was so angry immediately afterward because Hange is my favorite character of all time in any piece of media, losing them was almost like losing someone I've known and cared about for almost 7 years of my life. I've now come to accept that maybe death is the only happy ending any character can achieve in this story.

I don’t want to think about it

I don't like the idea of every Scout commander having a ""curse"" that they have to inevitably pay for with their lives. They're outstanding people and volunteers, just like their comrades, no one forced them to join.

  WHAT WAS THE ASPECT YOU LIKED MOST ABOUT HANGE’S LAST MOMENTS? 1,687 responses

This question was fun to write but looking at the even distribution of selections, I suspect choosing an answer was difficult. Levi saying devote your heart to Hange was top pick with close to 30% selecting it. Retaining their sense of humor to the end (17.1%), being able to reunite with their old comrades (14.7%), having a moment of amazement while confronting the titans (14.4%), being able to die on their own terms and say goodbye (12.3%), stealing death from Reiner yet again (8.2%) and telling Armin he can boss Levi around (3.4%) were the other selections.

I really love Hange and when i see her died and see erwin and other old friends and morbit helping her i just cannot cry (sorry for my english im french ^^)

I was never a really big fan of Hange, but that exit was badass as hell.

It was a heroic death but it felt forced and unnecessary and she was my favorite character, so I'm extremely salty and in denial.

Hange seemed too eager to just die, like welp, i guess my contract is up, gotta go die.....It felt like when actors are written off a show

I never really considered myself a fan of her, but her death got me good. I think it was because how she marvelled and was genuinely amazed by titans, even in her final moments.

glad to see the old titan obsessed hange back before her final sacrifice

Most people seem to think that Hange's death was a bullshit ending, but I think that it was perfect, going out the way they were introduced.

To have hange say that titans are amazing before she dies was just perfect! It shows how she stayed true to herself until the end. And the part where she reunited with Moblit, Erwin, Mike and the others was so beautiful.

  WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE HANGE QUOTE THIS CHAPTER? 1,686 responses

Hange really got to shine this chapter as we’re reminded of how off-kilter and fun they can be, even when the situation is at its most serious. We got a chapter chock full of memorable lines, but the favorite was of course “Titans really are incredible,” a call back to the reverence and respect for titans that made so many love the character to begin with.

"titans.. are truly incredible." was a fitting last(ish) words for hange.

  SO GOES THE 14TH COMMANDER OF THE SCOUTS, HANGE ZOE, FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THEIR PREDECESSORS. WHAT ARE YOUR FINAL THOUGHTS ON THEIR OVERALL LEGACY? 802 responses

GOAT

I think their legacy is one of grit and determination in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Not as revolutionary as say, Erwin, but they were perseverant and selfless, and innovative in their own right, as a scientist and researcher, always seeking new possibilities.

I will always remember Hange as our awesome scientist who came up with ideas for weapons! and was passionate about titans! and would stand up for a better comprehension of them instead of... whatever it is that Isayama made of Hange post-time skip that they no longer could shine about anything or would even reflect about what Eren was going through. Love you, Hange, you deserved that we followed your struggles more closely. <3

Hange became the commander in the most difficult moment and had bad times having to deal with politics, a whole new world and their own powerlessness. I think the Alliance is their most precious legacy and it really represents the old SC's spirit.

I adored seeing them go from loony scientist to a powerful and serious commander, even if it did come with a boatload of trauma. I also respect the hell out of them for being willing to watch their own culture destroyed if it meant not committing genocide. On a more personal note, as a nonbinary person it's just been really wonderful to see a character like Hange treated with such respect.

Amazing character and leader. Not on Erwin's level but she was a badass 😭😭 #rip

*you tried star*

A bit hypocritical. She was willing to stop Eren and endanger all Eldiana to save strangers from other nations that want to kill them. She also says killing is wrong, but proceeds to kill multiple Eldians unbothered, but when she sees Marleyans or people from other nations, she softens up.

Being a commander is not an easy job, and Hange's start was even more difficult because of Zeke annihilating like 90%(??) of the Scouts and the reveal in the basement and the crisis that followed. Still, she kept going, never giving up, even if she clearly had some moments of selfdoubt. I feel like Hange can be proud of herself and the life she lived, and I am happy that she was able go in her own terms. Her death bought them precious time, but it was a great loss as well. I feel a bit empty and wistful...

Brilliant character, brilliant way to let them go. I’m most interested to see how this death will effect Armin and his leadership as they alliance approach the founding titan. I’m also glad we got to see them in the afterlife, that was a bittersweet comfort.

Every commander dies young, rip armin

Hange was annoying. Glad they're dead.

Hange was incredible in their own field of interest, but definitely not fit to be the commander. Loved how they could be themself once again at the end.

Followed in Erwin's footsteps and even went beyond. Hange will be remembered as the commander who took Paradis from the titans and who explored beyond the island for the first time in 100+ years. Plus a rational commander, putting facts and science before everything else, as well as grasping how important diplomacy and politics are even beyond Paradis. Also although quirky, an example of tolerance.

Fuck that.. Their death was worthy of them.. it was a very sweet goodbye.. But I really thought they would make it to the end... And I really wanted them to. Hange was such an important character, they did so much for the cause and for everyone. They were someone who could be trusted but who didn't hesitate to do what had to be done. Incredibly smart and humbled, I just wish they believed in themselves a bit more.. cus they are incredible.

Hange was given a shit-circus to try and handle- complete with clowns, children causing mayhem, and a giant fucking monkey.

Her "gEnOcIdE iS wRoNg" quote with no actual solution in 126 really turned me off for her for a while as a character; overall however, Hange was one of the more memorable and likable characters from the series and it's sad to see her go.

Given the difficult job of rebuilding the Survey Corps after its destruction with very little help. Had to deal with the wannabe hegemon in Zackly who was doing lots of underhanded power grabs in the background. Had to deal with a populace who finally realized they were not alone. Had to deal with a moody weapon known as the Attack titan who knew all the answers but shared it with no one. Poor Hange who was never given a chance for victory

Hange was amazing character that got entirely too much flack for not being a "good commander" This is a character that above all stayed true to themselves in what they fought for and believed in.

Hange Zoe spat on the legacy of the scouting league by squandering their sacrifice to protect their families and communities. Hange's actions if successful will likely lead to the deaths of all their families which is something they would never support.

Considering how we never truly knew if Erwin was totally devoted to humanity or totally selfish, and considering Shardiz' inferiority complex, Hanji was the true one who gave her whole being to humanity and who truly embodied Survey Corps' abnegation, without any regard toward such senseless conception like homeland. No wonder why the title of her final battle is "Wings of Freedom"

Legendary commanders, each one going out with with a bang. Erwin going out by distracting Monke and Levi taking him out. Hange going out by taking care of a few Bert ripoffs, having the alliance survive a few more hours. And Armin, wait-

Hange helped the main characters in the story with her quick thinking and managed to put the missing pieces into place for us. Their different outlook on the whole situation gave us a fresh perspective and there’ll be no one else like them.

hange is great!!! too bad she tortured bean and sawney tho and sannes smh but 10/10 regardless love that mad scientist

Hange embodied the spirit of the survey corp. She was the commander that made unlikely alliances and advanced Paradis infrastructure.

Hange has been one of my favorite characters. They are the best Titan Scientist. RIP.

Thank you Hange, you did great 💖

  FLOCH FINALLY GOT THE GLOCK. OR ACTUALLY, THE ANCHOR. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF HIS LAST HURRAH? 1,660 responses

Let’s not forget that Hange wasn’t the only major death in this chapter.  After months of being voted most likely to die, Floch’s time finally came.  About 30% of respondents are just celebrating that he’s finally dead, a quarter are glad he’s dead but got this last fun scene, and 20.4% are glad he was able to screw with the alliance once more before dying.

🦀🦀🦀FLOCH IS DEAD🦀🦀🦀

A fitting ending for an interesting, yet very unpleasant character. Love how his death was contrasted with Hange's, and the fact that Mikasa was the one to off him (the symbolism of the person who represents Eren's humanity killing the person who keeps referring to him as the devil is... well, not subtle but it can't be ignored).

Could have done more, but he never wavered or lost his convictions, more of a hero than any of the alliance will ever be

he should have been dead since 129, makes no sense

He should've stayed on the island and failed

Died a hero, wouldn’t even beg for his life but for his friends and countrymen instead

Even though I didn't really like him, I have my full respect to him for following his beliefs till his last breath

Floch is one of the best characters, and most complex characters, he got a very good ending.

I love eren’s boyfriend ♡

He died a hero's death after carrying chapters 124-130 on his back. He also did nothing wrong.

He's a mega chad and I love him. Managing to survive underwater for 2 days and slowly losing blood, and then shooting the ship to stop the Alliance, and then having a bomb-ass speech? He was a legend that needs to be appreciated more.

His arm should've been blown off to begin with and even if it wasn't, he should've died from hypothermia. I think it was needed drama, but done poorly.

His death was far better executed than I thought. He shot the fuel tank instead of one of the SC or one of the engineers/Onyankopon. That should tells you that he just want them to stop, not killing them all. He stays true to his belief of saving Paradis by following Eren, even in his last words he is pleading for Paradis' instead of his own live. From someone whose country has been colonized once, I say that is a true soldier for his nation.

Oh fuck off floch, he was a dick with volatile ideals anyway. Fuck that guy honestly. Like I agree with his stance but like. Everytime it feels oddly implanted when he has an opinion, like he does think with his own head but gets influenced very easily into changing sides too fast? Like, he does the right things but jot for the right reasons because he doesn't really think them through enough? That's my vibe. Idk. Ignore all my answers I feel stupid

RIP Hero of Paradis. To save your civilisation is an admirable goal, although it being achieved through genocide is still morally wrong

I'm sad he didn't get to know how Eren used him.

  FLOCH FORSTER WAS A COMMANDER IN HIS OWN RIGHT, FIGHTING HIS WAY UP FROM HIS ORIGINS AS A BACKGROUND CHARACTER. ANY OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THE BIRD NEST BOI AND HIS IMPACT ON THE STORY? 912 responses

Best boy. Fly high you little devil :(( <3

a bitch but i respect the fact that he did what he believed in (even if its genocide😕)

Controversially, I have no opinion on him.

Ding dong the witch is dead

A character that was perfectly written for his purpose. AoT World isnt black and white and he showed us. Pain and loss made the Floch that died in 132. but Eldia and Marley made the Floch that survived to see all his comrades dead.

Floch is shit :) but also is a good character because its represents a real human.

A complete and satisfying character. It's not easy to summarize, but the way he went from a naive gloryhound to a single-minded guy trying to make his own survival/the deaths from the charge mean something while still remaining a relatively normal, unremarkable soldier was great. Also, I appreciate how he, Eren, and the Yeagerists basically reenacted Uprising by overthrowing a regime that would've just continued the royal family-eating and messed around until the island got destroyed. The prediction from Sannes all those years ago turned out to be too accurate, unfortunately.

A lot of people did hate Floch, I didn't. I think adding Floch to the story was just as essential as the other supporting characters. He played out a good and effectively annoying enemy. I think in every Action-thriller story, a Floch is a must as a villain. The hate on Floch reminded me of the hate on Joffrey from Game of Thrones. But Joffrey did have a great impact on the story, so did Floch. The way he was written just really did manage to get on our nerves, and I think that's what makes a character great.

A true patriot.

An asshole but at least he went out feeling like a rounded character

An nazi ass bitch

Based and Redpilled

Best character not named Eren or Erwin.

By far exceeded expectations.

Disagree with his agenda, but he's a very real character and a representation of the monster someone can become when driven by survivor's guilt and trauma.

He was the literally epitome of a roller coaster ride.

Floch always felt like a background character, and even though he gets far more to do than other background characters, he never felt like an actual person but rather just a plot device. He has no personality.

Floch was surprisingly good given he was such a minor character. He fully displayed the shades of gray of the narrative.

Heck him >:(

Floch has always been someone who held an opposing view to the main cast, and his entire arc revolved around his need to "bring back the devil" in order to ensure the safety of his land and his people. Some people seem to have forgotten that, but at his core he never changed. Sad to see him go out like this.

Floch has my respect for fighting until the very end (and even after the end since we all thought he'd been killed by Gabi) for what he believes in, but obviously it is not what I and my favourite characters believe in, so I'm glad he's gone. His impact is great as he earned the title of "most tenacious villain ever" when he only really started as a coward rookie soldier many chapters ago. Also props to him for holding onto this boat for such a long time and being up for a fight after probably being hauled in the sea and swallow more water he ever had his entire life.

The panel of him shushing Hanji will always be iconic. His descent into nationalism (new Eldian empire, anyone?) however, was not so cash money"

When Floch had captured Miss Kiyomi (ch. 128) he dismissed what she said and had his speech about ‘it’s important to know your place’, and then not even a minute later he was taken down by this same old lady smh. Previously, he wanted to kill Onyankopon and Yelena, but Jean deceived him and he failed. Later, he wanted to kill someone on the boat, but Gabi shot him and he failed. He wanted to stop the alliance, but Mikasa got him with her anchor and he didn’t just fail, he died. I’ve seen some readers applaud him for fighting for what he believes in and having a strong will, but they don’t see what else there is. Strong will? Not giving up? So many characters have the same traits in AoT. The difference is that Floch repeatedly never achieved what he wanted to accomplish, despite his strong will and belief to not give up. His determination and willpower made him achieve nothing. By contrast, Hange’s will and determination to keep fighting made her kill about 2-4 colossals and save her allies just in time for them to get away. Is the difference obvious enough? Their deaths are even put in the same chapter. Floch was not important, admirable, or whatever you want to praise him like. He kept interfering with the alliance and for what? He simply never knew his place.

He played a larger role than I ever thought he would and became one of the most interesting characters during this time. I’m glad he was here to push the story along, and I’ll miss him.

His fans are insufferable but he is a needed counterbalance to the alliance characters and stuck to his beliefs to the end.

He started up as a fodder and ends up as one of the biggest threats for SC. I might be in the minority when I said I already like him since pre time skip. He showed us how the war is like from the perspective of a normal soldier, not the talented ones who got into the 10 top ranks. Just a normal soldier who was inspired by the words of his leader to devote his heart, and came to a realization that it's an actual hell, just like reality. Maybe he's wrong to vent about choosing Armin instead of Erwin when Armin was feeling down, but I can understand. All his friends died, he's currently having emotional and survivor trauma over the suicide charge, and all of those sufferings came to a waste because of the people in front of him.

Pee pee poo poo

Good riddance. What a worthless pile of garbage.

Goodnight sweet prince

  ARMIN WANTS TO BRING ALONG THE LEFTOVER EXPLOSIVES. HOW WILL THEY BE USED? 1,638 responses

Chekov’s explosives are now in play.  37.7% of you think they’ll be used to try to blow Eren out of his nape, and 33.7% think they’ll definitely be used for another suicide mission.

Another failed suicide attempt by Reiner

Any of the above, depending on the situation. I think Armin isn't really thinking of anything in particular, simply that having the option to explode something is better than not.

Armin could use them as a suicide necklace to threaten Eren. If Eren still cares for Armin he may stop the rumbling if he knows it will stop Armin from killing himself and possibly Mikasa.

dude there's been so many unexpected turns and plot twists right now I really don't want to make any assumption. But the plane idea is interesting.

i still think armin will fight eren with his colossal titan. I can only hope for something truly epic.

I think they'll be used for more than one of the above

Idk, but for sure they want to damage Eren's Titan to buy some time in doing something

If Eren doesn’t comply I’d assume they will be used to destroy his “nape” if they can even find it. Someone probably has to go on a suicide mission to do so.

Kamikaze Onyankopon like its written all over the poor fellas face,

Levi will suicide bomb Zeke to cut off Eren's connection to paths

make my brain explode hopefully since this plot is ridiculously bad

Only Armin (and Isayama) knows how the explosives will be used. I'm sure it will have something to do with stopping Eren.

Plan A: Blast Eren nape, but it will fail so Plan B: Kamikaze

Reiner will try to use the bombs to commit suicide and take Eren with himself

they'll probably kaboom zook with that idk (I missed my monke so so much)

They will be as useful as farting on Eren.

  WHAT DID YOU THINK OF MIKASA AND ANNIE’S CONVERSATION? 1,665 responses

Mikasa and Annie have a heart to heart near the start of the chapter, after being rivals early in the story.  The two most popular options were being in awe of the cuteness when Armin became the topic, at 34%, and just loving seeing these two characters interact, at 31.3%.  17.5% are wondering how they made the switch to friends so quickly, 9.5% view it as rehashing what’s already been talked about, and 7.8% are more interested in that Mikannie action.

Mikasa's reaction was so cute after realizing Annie has a thing for Armin.

The chapter was also surprisingly humorous, with Mikasa's reaction to learning Annie likes Armin having me burst out laughing.

The sudden closeness between Alliance members who used to be enemies, such as Mikasa/Annie, feel forced and unearned, and the extra Armin/Annie shipping is just unnecessary and a waste of panels when we are so close to the ending yet many things still need closure.

Aruani😍

Mikasa and Annie's conversation almost made me gag because I feel so sorry for Annie having to put up with the constant misunderstanding of her feelings. Annie is aromantic and Mikasa needs to sit down and respect that fact quite like Armin himself does.

I legit laughed out loud when reading Mikasa and Annie's chit chat. At 1 AM.

  MIKASA TELLS ANNIE SHE HAS KEPT THE SCARF WITH HER. WHAT DO YOU THINK HER PLAN IS? 1,662 responses

The scarf has become an actual plot point as of late, with Louise stealing it and now this.  Will it be important for the end game?  45.1% of you believe Mikasa will use it to try to see if the Eren she used to know, who gave it to her is still in there somewhere.  29.1% of you don’t think she has any particular plans as of yet.  15.2% think she’ll comfort Eren in it once they stop him, and 10.5% are putting their money down on the “She’ll use it to strangle Eren” option.

Mikasa need to understand the Eren she remembers is no longer coming back from this.

Mikasa is really a frustrating character... but I think it's on purpose that she keeps swinging from realizing who he really is (chapter 123) and still wanting to be with him (or rather the idealized version she has of him aka the ""old Eren""), because her whole character arc is to separate herself from Eren and coping with it."It's up to Mikasa whether or not she'll be a slave. If she decides to fight against her slave instincts, Eren will have no choice but to kill her since, as an Ackerman, Mikasa, is immune to the memory-fuckery.

In fact, Mikasa should just hang herself with Eren's scarf and the story would become infinitely better and women might finally have better representation. I have never liked Mikasa, but now I actively despise her. She is nothing more than an Eren simp as was revealed to us when she said she's still holding onto that threadbare rag of hers despite everything Eren has proven himself capable of doing. You know, that whole genocide thing that Mikasa herself barely survived in this very chapter while her Commander very much did not. "

I feel tired of people who make fun of Mikasa. She is the one who still believes in Eren's good side and doesn't see him as monster. Everyone else see Eren as devil, while Mikasa still keeps memories about kind Eren and believes that this "old Eren" still is somewhere there. He is the most important person in her life and she will not give up on him as fast as everyone think. She is not obsessed. She is aware of Eren's dark side, of his cruelty and everything he has been doing, but on the same time she will still keep trying to help him and show him that he is NOT the devil, he is not as horrible person as he thinks he is. Everyone are saying that HISTORIA saved him in the cave when he was in his dark moments. Maybe this time it will be Mikasa who will save him from his darkest nightmare.

I can't wait for Eren × Mikasa confrontation "

  WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN WITH THOSE ON THE BOAT? 1,653 responses

The party has split in two, with one half going directly to Eren, and the other half…?  Nearly half of you think that they’ll certainly end up doing something to help the alliance still.  21.8% think they’ll run into the survivors of Liberio, 17.9% think they will in fact be absent for most of the story no, and 11% think they’ll dock at Paradis and do something of import there.

Please isayama, please don’t add any more needless sideplots with the boat doing something

Could have done many alliance interactions/good-byes better. Reiner didn't seem to care for the kids, despite them being his motivation to live. Bert never mentioned. Annie/Armin had no discussion. What are the boat crew even going to do?

"Falco & co. WILL join the battle! At least he has to, because the Jaw Titan is the only one who can break through the Warhammer's hardening!

With them leaving Falco behind (and therefore the Jaw titan's power), I think the explosives may at some point be used if Even tries to shield himself using the Warhammer's power.

Anyone that thinks Annie, Falco and Gabi sailed off is an idiot.

The only thing I'm not too sure about is Annie, Gabi, Falco, Yelena and Kiyomi staying behind. I was every character to have their chance to shine in the final battle. Hopefully, Isayama will find a way to bring these characters back into the conflict.

  WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT LEVI EQUIPPING HIMSELF FOR BATTLE? 1,661 responses

After being blown up and almost out of the story a year and a half ago, Levi is finally suiting back up to get a slice of someone or something, despite still being heavily injured and scarred.  Almost half of the fandom, at 44.6% are excited for his upcoming role in the story, but find it hard to believe he’s ready to fight, as it hasn’t quite been a year and a half in their world.  About a quarter, at 23.2% have been waiting for this moment to finally come for all that time.  15.1% want him to stay away from danger the way he has been, and 9.2% wish he would have just died all those chapters ago.

Kinda silly, but I'll roll with it.

Now that we know Levi is ready for battle, I think his role in the story at this point is for one final confrontation with Zeke (assuming Zeke is within Eren's Founding Titan body somewhere). There, Levi will kill Zeke once and for all to finally fulfill his promise to Erwin, but something tells me Levi will die shortly after he lands the killing blow on Zeke.

Beast Titan vs Levi Round 3

Can't wait till he's forced to team up with Zeke

He will go out in a blaze

Definitely going out with a bang. He’s done with life, it’s obvious he is just here now to complete an objective, he wants to go out strong because of the weight of the survey corpse members gave him. Everyone he has cared about has died. He wants make them proud in a sense, at least dying with pride, and finally getting to meet them again in the afterlife.

I think he should have died in the explosion BUT I think that to do that, he should have had a longer philosophical talk with zeke and overcome his erwin issues, AND THEN die

He’s survived this long- he’s definitely earned the rights to go out on his own terms.

His comeback to fight is just another asspull.

How can he even move, let alone fight? If he survives all of this I’ll be shocked.

I can only see a Pyrrhic victory. I'm scared.

Isayama still has the chance to have Levi die by Eren's hands. The entire story has been leading up to this. Levi was always right about Eren and the sweet irony is that Levi always fought and saw all of his comrades die for Eren only to get killed by Eren as well.

I don't know why people are angry at that. Levi is a soldier and is not a suicidal one. He has a definite role to play and I don't want him to sit around. He's been through much worse.

He is a liability, I don't see him surviving.

-Death flag initiated-

He ain't surviving this one, huh?

Good that he’s feeling better. But I don’t want him to die.

He’s going to make a final charge and die

The man can barely stand on his own, so I think fighting is pretty much out of the question. Really interested in seeing what a character who has always relied first and foremost on violence is going to do now that this has been taken away from him.

As a good commander (and letting annie stay) Hange or Armin had to tell him to stay in boat, like he s only going to kill himself against zeke if he crossed him

He'll be fine...right? RIGHT?!

he'll probably die in a suicide attack on the monke

I feel like this may be a death-sentence. Levi dying and finally getting the burden of killing Zeke off his chest is a likely/ and good way for his character arc to end.

I just hope he doesn't have a cliche death alongside Zeke.

He'll rest with his comrades soon

He will get more injured, then give a speech to mikasa about letting the man he loved die instead of becoming a monster, then he will die

Watching him makes my anxiety level raised to 100

He's gonna give monkey chan a thousand years of death two finger style

Please just let him rest, he's tired, I'm tired, we're all tired ffs

  YELENA IS HOLDING FAST TO HER BELIEF IN THE EUTHANASIA PLAN AS THE ONLY WAY TO PEACEFULLY END THE CONFLICT. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ZEKE’S PLAN IN HINDSIGHT? 1,620 responses

While the plurality of fans acknowledge Zeke’s plan is better than Eren’s (at 48.2%), only 7.7% say they agree in hindsight, and 5.8% always agreed with Zeke, for a combined 13.5%.  This makes a total of 61.7% who would vote for it over Eren’s plan today.  Interestingly, when Zeke’s plan was first revealed in 114, 76% voted for his plan when given the choice between that and rumbling the world.  So after seeing the rumbling, the support for Zeke’s plan as an alternative has actually dropped.

I get it, Yelena’s something of an ideologue but the fact that she still thinks euthanasia is the way to go is sad

I originally thought forced euthanization was disgusting and now I’m hindsight it’s still disgusting and solves nothing.

I still hate it. The lesser evil doesn't mean it's an optimal solution. Would've kept Kiyomi's plan by sacrificing Historia and only attacking the military forces to keep them at bay.

Thinking with logic only, Zeke had a good plan, but if we put emotions and moral in to play, it's just horrible. I don't support it, not even now.

It's a terrible plan. Eren's plan is evil AF, but it's not stupid. Zeke's plan it's stupid. Imagine throwing your entire nation under the bus because your dad didn't hug you? Zeke's a loser.

Maybe so in this messed up world, but then again no. Both plans are awful, the answer to solving this question was to stop hatred in the first place and find a way to have a conversation with everyone. Clearing the air, stopping the rumors and fake news regarding Eldians being devils, etc.

Both plans are shit. 50 year plan + a partial Rumbling (in other words probably Armin's choice) is the most logical plan.

Denying children being born is denying a human being to grow and live their own live, and experience the world. I never accepted Zeke's plan and never will.

Depends whether you were born in Paradis or outside of Paradis.

Eren's plan is better. It ensures Eldians can survive and continue to grow. Zeke's plan just makes them die out. Me no likey.

50 year plan gang 50 year plan gang

Both plan suck.. But everything fair in love and war so...   The winner was the one who right

There has to be some third option we/they just can't think of that doesn't involve genociding the entire planet *or enslaving another young woman (Historia in this case)

Zeke's plan was the lesser evil OF THESE TWO (Rumbling and Euthanasia). They should have found a third, peaceful option that doesn't kill anyone off.

“Evil is evil, Stregobor. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  JEAN SEEMED RATTLED BY FLOCH’S FINAL WORDS. HOW DO YOU THINK THEY WILL AFFECT JEAN? 1,641 responses

We’ve seen Jean yearn for a peaceful life on Paradis, and Floch has tried to convince him to give in to that desire before.  Did Floch’s dying words do anything to further affect Jean?  About 69% of respondents say that we will see Jean think on them, but he’ll end up staying with his current convictions.  Interestingly, among the 17.8% who think he will change his mind on helping the alliance, 12.9% think he’ll join Eren and actively oppose the alliance, vs. the 4.9% who think he’ll just abandon the mission like Annie.

After 127 no way is Jean leaving the Alliance. However, I think this will affect his resolve and affect whatever discussion they end up having over how to stop Eren.

Dies trying to avenge Mikasa

He was rattled by Floch's dying moments, as he was one of the last survivors from the Survey corps of Erwin's time

He'll single-handedly stop Eren by telling him how cringe his followers are

he's gonna hesitate when he shouldn't have and will die for it

I feel like it's not the words, but the actions--Floch is who Jean could have been if he didn't see past his own self-interest.

Floch died so his homeland could live. His noble death will inspire Jean to fulfill his duty as a soldier of ELDIA, and oppose the alliance. Thus, Floch will have helped Eldia one last time. Even after he died.

He's too coward to do something about it. Jean's arc was all about suppressing his own desires and keep moving forward; he's a slave of his sense of duty.

I smell another sacrifice coming.

I think it's too late for him to change his mind at this point. We're almost at the end. He'll move forward because that's what he promised Marco. He won't be able to look him and his comrades in the eye if he alters his stance.

  WAS ARMIN THE BEST CHOICE AS COMMANDER? 1,639 responses

From Keith to Erwin, to Hange to Armin.  Was that the right step to take in the line of succession?  The majority, at 61.8% believe that Armin is the perfect choice, at least for this particular Eren scenario.  Just over a quarter, at 26.5% are sticking with Marco saying Jean has the potential to lead.  11.7% are wishing Hange stayed in command instead.

I didn't like the way Hange died and how she left the commander role to Armin. He's probably the worst person to take the job, not long ago he was literally trying to kill himself (chapter 126) cause that's how insecure he is.

"I both believe Jean makes a better overall commander than Armin *and* that Hange's choice in this instant was the correct one.

Jean has more of a skill and flair for leadership. He is, as Marco once said, the every man which makes it easier to follow him. With his attitude, he can inspire others to follow his plans even if they do not closely know him. He also has some more confidence in himself. He doesn't have Armin's mind for crazy strategies, but he still can reasonably think of his feet and is willing to take hard decisions and sacrifices as they are needed. If the story was still like it had been earlier in the manga, with a big Survey corps and regular missions, he should be the commander.

People are arguing who ""deserved"" to be the commander between Armin and Jean, when it doesn't fucking matter because there are like 5 people left in ""old"" SC and they are all on a suicide mission. What *does* matter is that everything was pushed on poor Armin yet again, first Erwin was allowed to die and his legacy was put on him and Hange, who never asked for this, now Hange killed themselves too and left Armin to solve this shit by himself. I wish he would call out Levi, because his decision in Serumbowl is what led to this mess, but we'll probably not get that.

Jean shouldve be the commander but it's okay to be armin

Either Hange should've lived or Jean should've been the commander

Armin becoming Commander was probably the highlight of this chapter for me

I thought it was a good death for hange, but also kind of a combo of all of the above choices; their death seemed rushed just to make armin commander. I don’t hate armin, but I don’t think he should be commander, and it feels so much like isayama had NOTHING planned for hange ad commander, which was extremely disappointing. but at least hans is at peace lol

Armin as commander? Really? He has never really led troops in to battle. He is not a logistician or a tactician. He is only a good strategist, but even then he failed to plan for everything that Eren has so far done. Can you imagine him turning into a titan and attempting to direct everyone? He’ll kill them all or put them on fire by waving his arms. I’m so worried for him and for Jean too. Jean is suppose to be the next commander or why else is he even here?

A bit sad we didn’t get much time with her a commander, but she was a GOAT

A "You Tried" commander that was truly ineffective. Erwin should've been kept around.

Each Survey Corps Commander (current or former) all dedicated their hearts to protect humanity. If someone or something threatens their mission and their lives, they do what is necessary to uphold the mission, mainly giving up their lives in order to give time for their comrades to act. Their sacrifices affect their closest allies to the point that they have to carry on their mission by any means necessary.

Felt like a filler commander for Armin wish Hange had gotten to do more and be more successful

1- Armin isn't the new commander of the survey corps because the SC belongs to Paradise island and he & his group betrayed that place .

2- Armin is the new commander of the alliance .

Not sure of making Armin commander the best choice but mmm yeah, Isayama needed them out of the way to make a final Armin/Eren confrontation *sigh*

survey cops commander is the worst position you can find yourself at the moment. I can't even imagine what's on Armin mind right now

Armin does actually make the better leader. The problem in front of them is Eren. Even though he doubts himself right now, Armin has always been able to understand Eren and get through to Eren in a way others (and definitely not Jean) can't. He's also capable of thinking outside of the box in a manner that this situation needs. Though he's only now made commander, throughout the Rumbling arc, we've already seen that his closest friends look to him for leadership/plans. And while he still lacks self-confidence (though, who knows, maybe he'll get a special Levi talk??) a lot of his other leadership flaws (like his limited ability to command and inspire groups) are not relevant now because there isn't huge group of people anymore. There is just a handful of his friends left who already trust in his abilities. He doesn't need to inspire loyalty right now; that has already been built over years.

Narratively speaking the Alliance are the true successors of the SC, not the Jaegerist and the 15th commander is Armin, not Floch.

Hange should've stayed alive.

king jean commander jean ftw

  COULD SOMEONE ELSE HAVE TAKEN CARE OF THE COLOSSALS IN PLACE OF HANGE? 1,621 responses

We’re losing a lot of veterans lately and suddenly.  After Magath and Keith’s sacrifice a few chapters ago, was Hange’s necessary as well?  The vast majority, at just over ¾ say that others could have technically taken the role, but Hange was still the best choice to stay behind, as morale would be drained much more by the commander sending others to their deaths.

A mix between love and hate. With Shadis' death (specially after Nile and Pixis) I thought that Isayama was judt getting rid of a veteran again. But Hange's death at least had her in character, and she was the one who deserved to see her comrades the most.

At first it was nice to see them sacrificing themselves but then I noticed i didn't really care much. It was too sudden and a copypaste of Magath's death

Hange died because the situation called for it. She did what she had to do because of Floch. I feel like the anime will make it much clearer that Hange HAD to die.

Shoulda been Reiner bruh

I think Armin could use his titan, stand on the water and push avery titan that was going to destroy the Angar but anyway

Shadis' death left a bad taste in my mouth since Magath could've handled the deed on his own. Shadis didn't need to die. Hanji too could've sent someone else in her stead; she is (was) the commander, a veteran, she was necessary. Not saying that I would've wanted Jean or Connie to die or anything, but sending one of these two or Mikasa to hold back the titans would've made sense.

  WHAT IS THE TRUTH BEHIND THE SCENE WHERE HANGE MEETS THE DEAD SCOUTS? 1,649 responses

The scene where Hange, after having died, seems to wake up to meet the rest of the deceased Survey Corps members was a scene unlike any we’ve seen before in this manga. Isayama hasn’t shied away from the depressing reality of death before, so what exactly is happening here? 45.9% of respondents think it was strange enough that something real was happening, Paths, afterlife… something. 30.3% don’t buy it being real and think it was a symbolic scene, perhaps to lessen the pain of Hange’s death. 23.8% think it was purely in Hange’s mind, a euphoric experience to lessen the physical shock of death. Whatever it was, it was remarkable.

Purely symbolic, though I don’t mind if it has to do with Paths

The comrades scene its a metaphore of the relief she had sacrificing herself, being useful just like her comrades and friends before her.

Probably Valhalla, would be pretty badass if it was confirmed in the end to actually be Valhalla or something.

THE AOT AFTER LIFE  IS REAL AND MY BBYS LIVE AGAIN 🤧😭

The author was trying to Placate the audience over killing off a popular character

The characters that died may have their happy ending in heaven

The dead comrades have always been watching over the living.

We only see Eldians, it very well could be a connection to Paths. And it seems like the people you go to are people you knew well and had a strong connection with. ALSO I'M HAPPY WE GOT A GLIMPSE OF SASHA and seeing Erwin for most likely the final time is cool too.

Afterlife real. Dead characters keep on living. Shifters go to PATHS, probably. Expect a specific someone to appear :)

Delusions of a naive and idealistic character. Hange saw what Hange wanted to see.

Dunno, but i REALLY hope that was just Isayama softening the blow for Hanji fans and what not, otherwise having a true afterlife would render all deaths and racrifices pointless and would ruin the whole theme of survival the manga has.

Eren may be using PATHS fuckery to comfort Hange in her death.

I believe the final scene did happen as Instructor Keith is seen in the back and Hange should have no knowledge of his death.

I don't think Isayama particularly cares for fan service in any regard (though Annie x Armin might signal a change), so I don't think he'd dedicate that to make Hange's death any less tragic. I think there's something to it.

  NOW THAT WE’VE SEEN THAT IT’S POSSIBLE FOR OUR DEAD FAVORITE CHARACTERS TO STILL HAVE THEIR SOULS, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE REST OF THE STORY? 1,621 responses

If these ghostly figures do make another appearance in the final confrontation, what on earth will they do?! 43.1% say they don’t matter damn it, because they’re not even real. 32.2% think the dead characters might be alive in some kind of afterlife, but it’s just an interesting part of the SnK universe. 18.8% think that PATHS will make its infinite fuckery known once again, and 6% think that those ghosts are going to make a difference standing up to Eren – how is he gonna fight against a million dead guys, huh?

The most interesting part about the data we got was a surge in responses for only this and the previous question. About 300 entries to the poll which only wanted to submit that “It was purely symbolic and Hange did not experience this,” and “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. It was just in Hange’s mind or symbolic.” Now that is curious indeed. For someone who ain’t afraid of ghosts, I’m sensing some real trepidation here!

They likely will not interact with nor affect the coming events, as their roles have already played out.

" Valhalla’s battle-honed residents are there by the will of Odin, who collects them for the perfectly selfish purpose of having them come to his aid in his fated struggle against the wolf Fenrir {Fenir had been previously associated with Eren by fans} during Ragnarok – a battle in which Odin and the einherjar are doomed to die."

Setup for Reiner to converse with his fallen comrades.

Afterlife. Not convinced it's significant in any way, but would love it to be

An afterlife would be completely unnecessary for the story and make things needlessly more complicated for little reason/narrative payoff.

Feels like a set up for an ending where even if everyone dies they can be together in the afterlife

Mobuhan is fucking real

Hange is in heaven, surrounded by everyone who she's fought alongside. She can't help the alliance in any way, but she can watch them win. And they will win.

They are bystanders.

  CARE TO EXPOUND YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS SCENE AND WHAT IT MEANS? 611 responses

Through PATHS the thought of 'Afterlife' is possible. And if it isn't, then it's nice to hallucinate something good while they're dying.

Is hange really dead?

it means ERWIN KNOWS WHAT'S IN THE BASEMENT AYEEEE

IT MEANS ERWIN GETS MORE LINES WOOO

y'know how from the start there's been the idea that the survey corps have been making sacrifices that no one will ever care about? this is a rebuke to that. Hange, like every other survey corps member, is watched over by their own dead and now Hange gets to be a part of the ghost crew that watches over the corps and occasionally appears to freak out the commander. I also tend to dislike the idea that this manga has a perfectly happy afterlife because it cheapens the goal they're fighting for and comes dangerously close to validating Reiner's attempt.

You should have given a choice of this is symbolic. Ya'll should really read more fiction if ya'll think this is really the afterlife ffs

Afterlife makes all the deaths useless and less impactful, hope it's not a thing.

All the Eldians have the ability to “stay” alive after they die thanks to the paths dimension.

All this suffering to get an afterlife?!?

Although I do think that an afterlife could be possible, I don't think it'll affect the story. It may come back during the epilogue, but I can't figure out how Isayama could use it for the main story plot.

Anything is possible, either it's Hange's own hallucinations or something real. Though i would like for it to be smth tangible, (esp since a clue was that Hange didn't know Shadis died but he appeared anyways). idk I'd just like for everyone to be happy and see each other again 😭

Beetroot alive in PATHS and he's gonna kill Eren

Being dead is happier than living in this world, such an uplifting moral Isayama

Both Hange and Erwin thought about their comrades and "saw" them when their role was weighing on them. I don't think I have nothing against it being real, but I like the symbolism. Some things are cooler when I don't overthink.

Perhaps it will be less edgy to see so much death if there is an afterlife in SnK, but use the opportunity well! For me it was a gift to see the veterans again: Moblit caring for Hange, Erwin being in peace, Mike being there after the impact that he gave us…

every time "ghosts" have been shown in attack on titan they've just been visual depictions of the character's mental state.

Everyone who begged to see Erwin in another chapter can finally be at peace

Expansion of what chapter 85 already implied

I don't care, I'm just happy we get to see our babies again.

I think it is some sort of a special place in paths because they are standing on where Hange died, that's really weird if if it's afterlife, if it's afterlife they should be in a paradise or a peaceful place, but no. It's weird if they are all ghosts like almost the survey corps are in that area

I think it means that every dead soldier have meaning and we shouldn't forget them

I think it shows that their deaths weren’t in vain and they are watching over their comrades. It was a truly moving scene.

I think it's symbolic. Honestly with all the discourse around this scene I am not sure if it was even worth it to include.

I don't believe she's dead. We have an unexplained memory shard of her without glasses (ch130) and one of the panels this chp looks like she lost her glasses.

if levi could hurry up and join them that´d be great

If Yams tries to pull a kny I'm gonna rip him a new one. This is bullshit and he should stop before people believe there is an afterlife in aot. This doesn't fit into the story he created for years. But he is willing to kill his own world in hopes to get some readers back from stealing smth from a way more successful manga. It's pathetic.

Im still in doubt if the afterlife scene really happened since erwin is still missing his arm while the others are just fine. I hope its all just in hange's head and that someone from the boat could rescue her.

It might be the Path. Because just like Eren Kruger said, "All Eldians is connected to what we say the coordinate." This maybe a paradise or a heaven that Eren or someone with the founding titan and royal blood can control.

It only serves to dramatize hange's death. No shit, I was crying like hell when I read this scene😭😭 other than that it's just like other deaths we've seen before, only to set a dramatic and brutal tone for a thriller series

The remaining of Hange blood in the floor indicates she/he was already dead,  so no hallucinations in her last moments. Symbolic? Doesn’t sound like isayama. The only symbolic stuff in manga concerns the cult to Ymir. Has to be a connection through paths.

They really gave their hearts to humanity, they were all incredible, and it's really nostalgic to see them in this way

This scene wasn't here for no reason. It just felt different from any other vision we've seen, and I believe it'll come into play later on.

This was Hange's imagination because she saw the dead ones in the same shape she saw them alive last time like Mike and Nanaba. Erwin too(without one hand)

those who died are finally set free

You just died and entered spectator mode

  FAVORITE PIECK MOMENT THIS CHAPTER? 1,601 responses

For a chapter not focused on Pieck plotwise, there sure were a lot of short moments with her.  The two most popular options being her shooting down Hange’s ask for a ride with no hesitation, and vowing to give her comrade’s sacrifices meaning.  A moment of meme and a moment of serious nature, perfectly balanced.

Idk but Pieck is a bad bitch

Pieck sounds like she may turn on everyone in the end but I hope not.

pieck finger = some kind of marleyan erwin smith

Pieck is gonna DIE 😭

Pieck isn't really interesting....and she doesnt do any Import to the others....Just for Reiner maybe

Pieck will sacrifice herself for the sake of her fallen comrades. (that's what I think)

  WHICH “FRINGE” THEORY DO YOU BELIEVE IN? 1,597 responses

Despite the manga racing towards its conclusion crack theorists have had no shortage of new material, most recently with the bizarre amount of focus given to birds and Hange’s warm welcome to the afterlife. We wanted to find out which of these fringe theories have a broader appeal.

Nearly half the fandom is no fun at all, selecting “These theories are all just cope” (49%). For the rest of us “Birds are spies” apparently requires the least amount of tin foil since just over a third of the fandom thinks it has potential (35.4%). “The ghosts are real” (16.7%), Historia’s pregnancy is fake (13.7%) and the “The birds ARE the ghosts” (8.7%) didn’t fare quite as well.

Overall a great chapter. But this whole Theory of there being an afterlife in Attack on Titan is utterly ridiculous and extreme coping.

The afterlife thing was completely garbage and was easily the worst part of the chapter.

I believe that afterlife exists. It has nothing to do with paths, titan powers or religions. It is just afterlife, where souls of dead soldiers may find a peace. The world of SnK was always "cruel but also beautiful". Cruel - because innocent people die, but beautiful - because there is still a hope for happiness for their souls.

the birds...work for the bourgeoisie

I hope it's all symbolism but these "dead people" motive have been weirdly often mentioned in the story. People asking Erwin if he thinks that "dead have no regrets" in season 1. Levi Ova called " No regrets". Erwin asking Levi if he thinks that dead are watching them in S.3. There is also role Valhalla plays in Ragnarok in Mythology...

  WHICH MOMENT OF LEVITY BEFORE THE DOOM OF THIS CHAPTER WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 1,633 responses

THAT face from Mikasa was the highlight for 28.2% of you. I don’t think she’s ever been that stunned. 22.8% loved that one of Hange’s priorities was getting to ride the Cart Titan in the future, and Pieck not having it. 17.6% enjoyed Levi being the butt of a joke even as Hange was about to meet their doom, and 14.5% appreciated Levi throwing his fans a finger bone. Annie talking with Reiner about the good old days earned a laugh for 13.3% of you, and 3.5% liked seeing Levi throw shade at Yelena’s kinks.

the "what the heck" face on mikasa's face  after realising annieés feelings made my day.LOL

Levi x Yelena is cute and soon to be canon

Poor Levi. He cearly is still not recovered but his comment on being forgotten was a nice knock on the fourth wall.

Uh... you feeling okay, Yelena?

"I AM GONNA KILL THE BEAST TITAN"   "Okay grandpa, now let's get you to bed"

  DESCRIBE THE CHAPTER IN ONE WORD 1,065 responses

I get the feeling this chapter was a little upsetting for many. But then again, three over the top five words were the same as last month! Such is the life of an SnK fan. The top five words this time were:

Pain [143] Sad [56] Heartbreaking [29] Emotional [24] Sacrifice [20]

For those of you still thinking this is a cookbook, it's obvious you're making soup for your souls. Tangy, Cheesy, Hot, Chile, and YAMS must be the dish that represents this chapter.

  WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER? 1,634 responses

Are we actually about to see the final confrontation?! I can hardly believe it, but 48.6% of you are goddamn ready for it. 17.9% still want to see Historia’s own POV (what, weren’t you satisfied with that one convoluted flashback?), and 15.5% would like to see some kind of discussion before the alliance launches into an undoubtedly insanely reckless maneuver. Also, Zeke had better come back soon or I’ll forget to put him in the options again!

girl i wanna see eren with the alliance

Next chapter I hope to see Zeke, you didn't put the option

We really really need to see Historia. She's been missing from the narrative for so long, and the flashback crumbs from Eren's memories explained nothing.

Surprises ..!!! More of them...flashback about carl fritz ...zeke ...more about eren ...we wanna more important moments and facts

I'd like to know what happened with Zeke. Is he dead? Is he merged with Eren? Is he still back on paradis? What's going on?

Alright, where is Zeke? I've lost my patience.

  WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 1,492 responses

Reddit maintains the lead this month, with just a few percentage points over Twitter, which takes second. A bit behind Twitter is “In real life”, which goes to show that Attack on Titan fans are total chads with social lives. Stay safe and don’t die though! After real life comes Discord, with 22.3% of the vote. Trailing Discord, in order, is Instagram, Youtube, “I don’t”, Facebook, 4Chan, the wiki, Snapchat, and Steam. Much to my dismay, this question was made multiple choice this month, which MEANS that, in theory, some of you could have ~erroneously~ voted Snapchat. Either that’s the case, or you lot are multiplying far faster than I’d anticipated… I’m going to elect to believe the former on account of not wanting to believe the latter.

  ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER? 497 responses

What the fuck is doing the survey corps

where is that goddamn monke

WHERE IS THE MONKE

snkpolls admins please hold me

Floch with wet hair looks cool.

Glad to see yams isnt afraid to kill characters, I was getting worried.

I have a love/hate relationship with Floch, and while I disagree with the rumbling, his last words got to me and it was sad.

I honestly found Floch's death to be tragic, even though he was a bastard, he still believed he was fighting for Paradis's wellbeing

I laughed when random Floch appeared, but I hate that his actions lead to Hange deciding to sacrifice herself.

Even though the manga it's coming to an end Isayama really gives us details which is interesting in order to understand the storyline but I'd like more action

Even though we didn't see him this chapter, Hanji's sacrifice took me from "Eren must be stopped" to "I WILL strangle Eren to death with my own two hands". Dude's ground-breaking idea of rumbling got Hanji killed and he will pay for that.

Everything about this chapter was just so breathtaking. I Loved this chapter so much it was just amazing. Words can’t even describe how I feel. Only thing I didn’t like was floch shooting the plane. God answering these just makes me wanna cry.

Also Bert mentions! We're finally going to see him soon and have a long-awaited RB-union!

REALLY GLAD I FOUND AOT BEFORE IT ENDS , I wish Annie and armin ends up, and jean and mikasa 👀👀👀 dont judge me please. It really gave more insight on the feelings of the alliance now.

WHY ISAYAMA, WHY?!

Why no Bertholdt :(

Why no one is happy?

I feel like the fandom would've broken if only an Alliance member died, so to make things equal, we lost a Yeagerist and an Alliance member.

EREN IS A VILLAIN

FLOCH DID NOTHING WRONG

Listen. I couldn't stop crying, like UGLY sobs, from the moment Hange says they're gonna "do it" and then they become all "Armin Arlert" and "I hereby name you" and then I was DONE. Buckets of tears, squealing noises, repeating "no no no" while rereading the same panels over and over again. I Loved Hange. I loved them so much. They were THAT kind of weird, they were passionate, smart, funny... I loved them, but I love how they got to choose how to die, and when, and especially knowing their death will be useful for the others. They died fighting brilliantly, and I will love them, and they will inspire me forever. Farewell Hange, have a nice time in the afterlife with all your fallen comrades, knowing you can stand tall and proud among them.

No one can force Annie to stay. But I can't believe everyone's just fine with this. The world is fckin' ending and only by a miracle they can win, there's NO WAY those people are compromised to the gravity of the situation if they're all just "yeah, Annie is a titan and she's out, let's get the other titan too because he's a kid, Pieck I thought you were coming to the ship too?", because it really sounds like they're not even trying at this point. Is this a walk in the park or the destiny of all people in the world?? :/

Levi’s “see you later, Hange” reminds me of Mikasa’s “see you later, Eren” in the first chapter. A foreshadow of Eren’s eventual demise?

There still isn't a third realistic alternative.

Hange sacrifice was the greater good and I hope the alliance makes the most of this chance, For those they have lost. For those they can yet save

Hange knows their time is near and they are correct.

There was no need to kill off Hange, felt forced and rushed

this armin/annie stuff had better go somewhere plotwise after wasting cringy panels on it that could have been dedicated to less rushed interactions between other alliance members. might as well just kill the alliance off at this point and let reiner finally die, since their chapters are such a drop in quality.

This chapter and the previous two are perfect reminders that we're at the point of no return in the final arc. While I want to see some good moments, twists, and any loose ends tied by now (Zeke, WHERE ARE YOU?!!), it's all going to be all doom and gloom from here on out. Whether Eren or the Alliance succeeds depends on how these next chapters turn out; Whoever wins, bloodshed will continue until the Rumbling ends.

I realised Hange probably has huge survivors guilt and that she wanted to die, and wanted to make her old friends proud(who are dead)

They all really cared for Hange a lot and that's sweet.

They should have a concrete plan on how to stop eren if they could

Things are gonna get wild.

Great chapter, and I'm really excited to see how the Alliance and Eren confrontation plays out. This ending has the potential to be absolutely legendary.

Half of the characters have no hope in what they are doing (the "leaders") but do that because "ThEY hAD tO" and another half will makes me sad because they dont care about eren plan really (not speaking about gaby and falco)

Hange could have exited the story in another way, I guess.

Hange's death should have been more dramatic.

Hange's death was handles perfectly and the chapter had it's fair share of humour.

Hange's death was rushed, could've been better handled. Floch's selfless death was the only high point,  and maybe LH being semi-confirmed.

Honestly, I don't hate Hange but I wish she had lived to see the consequences of her betrayal of Paradis, by putting her own feelings and morals over her own people's wellfare; for better or worse, her actions will have huge repercussions on the entire island and she should be there to take responsibility over the inevitable fallout. Even though she never tried to avoid responsibility over her choices, and I genuinely respect her for sacrificing herself over her ideas, it honestly feels to me like death was an easy way out from having to deal with Paradis' fate (SPECIALLY if the Valhalla stuff is real) while leaving Armin to clean up her mess.

Levihan is real

i expected sex on the ship or aruani huge/kiss/touch

Honestly, I'm just following it because I got used to reading a chapter every month, but the story is terrible now. Hange's death only served to confirm that Isayama intends to have a 'final battle' between childhood friends, nothing unexpected.

hope we get more from Jean

Hope we now start going into the final confrontation cause this chapter seemed setup to that.

As I've said before, I'll miss Hange. RIP you absolute legend.

Hopefully we get to see historia

Hoping for more Hanji backstory.

I don’t need a heart to live

I don’t see how this story can have any sort of a happy ending

I dont see a possible ending where all these characters can live the rest of their lives in peace but oh well

This chapter dropped massive death flags on Armin and Pieck. These two aren't going to last. Yelena is probably dead from compartment syndrome next chapter.

This chapter honestly makes me more scared for Levi because I was hoping he would get the kind of ending that Hange got. Now we just have to wait and wonder about how much more pain Isayama is going to put him through.

ZEKE WHEN ?????? I MISS YOU

I’m frustrated with the direction the story is going in. Armin being made commander, Hange dying, Annie being brought back just to confess to Armin and then be sidelined, Mikasa being the one to kill Floch, it all just seems to make little narrative sense. I don’t feel like we’re building to a clever twist, it all feels capricious and random

After comparing Hange’s death in the manga to Erwin’s death in the manga, I can safely say that Hange’s death was better. Hange’s had comedy like her complaining about how hot the CTs were and of course that line she said to Pieck, it was sad with the Levi and Hange moments and the chapter’s conclusion, and it was epic with her killing 3-4 Colossal Titans, getting scorched to death and her dead body falling until she got trampled in the Rumbling. Erwin’s was just epic with bringing the entire Survey Corps going down with him. If Mappa does well with the anime, this will break the internet for sure and this death will be remembered.

bruh my favorite character just fucking died

It was a quick way for removing another veteran. I feel that the vets sacrifice their lives too easily. They see their own existance like it was some rpg game and they were going to go back to life after while. First Magath and Shadis decided to commit heroic suicide, now Hange decided to leave this world "just like that"/ C'mon, people don't give up with their lives so fast..

Oh, and this chapter made me start shipping levihan!

characters stop dying challenge

This and next chapter are the calm before the storm. And once that storm comes, this is going to end up as either a great story or a perfect story. Also, what the heck happened to Zeke? I need answers on that matter.

At this point the only way for this story to end in a satisfying manner is for Eren to kill everyone, successfully finish the Rumbling and save his people.

Aún estoy llorando.

I feel Hange should have been given more space to make a bigger impact as a commander. It’s like, Erwin always made gambles that magically worked out for him in the grand scheme of things (for the most part and in a group with a horrible survival rate like the SC no less) but for whatever reason Hange just stuck their thumb up their butt and twirled the whole time. Sometimes making one character smart results in everyone else only being allowed to have one shared brain cell. Overall I liked Hange a lot but they were done dirty. And blaming Eren for everything? Lol Hange. You can put your clown nose on now.

Overall best leader? Jean. Best leader for this particular set of circumstances? Armin.

I can't wait until the Alliance realize their futile efforts and come face to face with the reality that, Eren has power over the memories of all subjects of Ymir and can control their titan shifting.

Isayama just want to kill everyone,isn't he? In every chapter we've got deaths this is just depressing. Isayama I respect you but I hate you but I respect you but I hate you.

I cried buckets while reading it, so props to Isayama for that! :)

I cried when Floch died and I laughed when Hange died .

I don't have words for that. I am just lucky enough to be able to witness this  work while

Pain. So much pain. Levihan pain. Aruani pain... *cries for a week while preparing self for more tears in the near future*

i just want everyone to be friends again😭

Jean has not been about stopping Eren from the get-go. I think we are up for a MAJOR revelation about his own involvement in Eren’s plans.

Hange should be survived

Hange should've not died in this chapter since we still do not know the clear plan of the alliance. Their death was written in a hurry, not as epic as Erwin.

Hange was my favorite character. But, as much as I am sad to see her go, her last moments were pretty epic, I am looking forward to see how it will affect the rest of the story.

Hange wasn't a good commander no matter how much her fans cry about it. her being a good character is another thing altogether.

My babies Yelena, Pieck, Reiner, Gabi, and Falco deserve the world.

Hange's manner of death, in her own terms fighting to save others, is my favorite so far.

Hanji death was unnecessary and Floch death only made Allience look worse then they already are

0/10 no Zeke

Jean is the only one who undestands eren and Floch

Jean never really supported the Alliance, he will try to reason Eren's plan isn't all that bad.

Jean will see Flochs words as a possible option but i dont see him going through with opposing The Alliance. He made his choice when he joined them.

(THE DEAD SPEAK LMAOOO) I really liked this chapter but it’s still horrible and traumatizing like the 131 (wait actually the 131 is way more horrible 😭)

Amazing art as always.

Amazing yet sad chapter since I respected both hange and falco and to see them die was pretty sad.

ANNIE AND ARMIN FOREVER. I want her to be free to be soft and caring and to have someone who loves and adores her. I love this dynamic and I think it’s a good foil to Eren and Historia

ANNIE IS THE BEST GIRL!

I want Reiner to live on as the clinically depressed sole survivor.

i’m still broken. hange and sasha were my comfort characters✌🏻😭

Idc but your quiz suck

Idk its just i'm pretty sad about hange's death cuz she was one oof my top waifus

One of my favorites ✊😔 rip Hange

One ship. I just want ONE CANON SHIP by the end of this, Isayama. JUST ONE. Is it really too much to ask, man. I've already given you plenty of my tears to sip on so idk what more you want from me...

Only Armin, Mikasa, Levi and Reiner will survive.

OUCH

Please stop making Levi suffer be it a final rest or a peaceful life anything PLEASE

Please, don't let anyone else die :(

Plot wise it was shit, but I love it for the drama

POGGERS

Poor Levi. Everyone important to him was taken away. Also, HANGE GOAT.

Poor Reiner.

rest in peace Hange "nonbinary icon" Zoe

rest in peace king, now is in Eren hand to keep giving meaning to your life

Really was good. Hange went out in a great way.

Surprised Floch didn't end up killing anyone, especially no named engineers, Yelena or Connie.

The way Mikasa shot the grappling hook at Floch’s throat was like how Levi killed an MP by shooting their throat during Uprising. Ackermans can access the battle experience of other Ackermans through Paths – Mikasa learnt that move from Levi.

I would think that this chapter should have gotten into more interactions between Armin and Annie, because i feel as though their relationship should be explored a bit further. Given that we know that both do like each other, it should be seen on how these two handled their possibly last goodbyes.

I'm just gonna let it flow

I'M NEVER GETTING OVER HANJI'S DEATH

Hange is one of the most well-written characters of a manga abounding with them. I love the way they always stayed true to their ideals without wavering, despite all their doubts about their suitability as Commander. Their open-mindedness, humour and love for knowledge make them truly special, and their most quintessential line must be this one from chapter 127: "'Just bringing freedom to this island is enough for me'. Do you think a single one of [the dead Survey Corps] would be so narrow-minded as to say that?" Chills. Very glad they chose Armin as their successor as well before taking down the colossals. They will be missed.

I'm quite curious about Armin's next moves. He is the commander now after all. Also, wondering what Levi is going to do now.

I'm really curious about the weapon that Yelena brought up to the alliance

i get the feeling that annie has had all the closure she needs and she’s gonna die but at least she might pass on her power to gabi ? either way i’ll be devastated to see her go

I HATE it that Hanji had to die, but loved the way she got her heroic moment. It's a love/hate chapter for me.

I have fears of Annie to die

I hope Levi lives just so he can be the most tragic character in AOT.

I hope soon, eren can stop all of this thing

I it wasn’t for the spoilers, Hange’s death would have break my heart.

I just hope Levi found his peace and die, please. He's already lost Hange, please don't make him suffering more.

I just thought it was impressive that this was one of the three moments in the whole story that actually made me ugly cry (Other two were Hannes' death and Serumbowl)

The more i think on Hanges death the more i like/understand it.

The sad looks on Levi and Hanji's faces are enough to say thousands of unspoken words. Nuff said.

Reiner is immortal

reiner looked hot af

This beast of a man, how many hours did he spend nearly drowning with a wounded arm? I got to really care about him even if his ""political"" choice was the worst. I just wanted him to have a dignified end and he had (even if Jean wasn't the one to do it). And the vignette... Perfect. In the end, he really fought as the devil he needed so much, no matter their identity. Relax, honey. Now you're safe from Eren's bullshit.

i miss hanji

I need HISTORIAAAA

I need more PATHS and I smell it coming

...i´m tired.

The Survey Corps never actually fought for humanity prior to the Rumbling, only against it. Hange even states this irony in chapter 89. The "well, the Corps was always fighting for humanity" rationalization is just disingenuous cope that ignores everything that got revealed with the basement and, by extension, the plot itself.

Super based

I really just want to see how this ends already.

I still can't believe Hange died. And to think that Levi's got no one else in his life anymore breaks my heart. I've always think that Levi and Hange should be together until the end. Not shipping them tho. I don't if it's platonic or romantic,but they love and care for each other. And Levi realising that his only friend is going to die and his eyes turn dark like an abyss really makes me feel like broken in half. And that dedicate your heart scene..oh my god I can't. And Hange still got some nerves to joke around at time really made me goes "HANGEEE-SANN!!"༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽

Floch's final moments were sorely needed to remind us just how human he really is. He didn't care about ruling the country or destroying the alliance. All he wanted was for his people and the island to survive, and he felt the alliance was putting that in jeopardy so he did what he thought he had to do.

Isayama keeps killing my favorite characters

I liked the chapter but it felt unnecessary Floch probably should have died before the boat left and Hange was killed off to lighten the cast and make Armin commander.  Hange and Levi probably could have died/stayed in the forest.

R.I.P. in horny titan jail

I like this manga. Very much so ❤

[fxkthatdairy]

Look After Me: Chapter One~ Ethan Dolan

OVERVIEW: (Y/N) Houck holds a special place in many people’s hearts. She doesn’t take shit from anyone, she works hard for her success, and she makes people want to be a better version of themselves when they’re with her. She’s also a crackhead. And Ethan Dolan loves her for it. Growing up, (Y/N) and her older brother was very close. That means that when Kyle decided that he was going to move to LA to pursue his dreams, his 19-year-old sister (Y/N), went along with him. They moved into a small apartment in downtown LA and when Kyle began filming for the twins (Y/N) followed behind them. Through the many days of filming, the group got extremely close. After a few months of living in LA, (Y/N)  meets 22-year-old Zachary Lewis, and they began dating. When she finds out his true identity what does she do? Who does she confide in the most? Does she fall for the man who truly fell in love with her?

Warnings: Angst, Cheating, drug usage, heavy language, fights, mentions of depression, and much more

Collaboration with @dickdowndolan

(Y/N) Houck has always been far different from her brother. She’s abnormally short, juxtaposing greatly to her brother who (much to her annoyance) closely resembles a beanstalk. She’s also never been the typical skinny California girl, she has curves and a tummy that she at times, has a very love-hate relationship with. She would often be described as overwhelmingly sassy, but she knows what she wants and what she wants she gets. It’s this determination that has allowed her to become a big success in the corporate world. (Y/N) Houck created a company that works alongside other businesses to help find the most ethical and sustainable ways to produce products. She’s only 19 and she’s already proving herself to be a boss ass bitch.

But there’s a different side of the youngest Houck sibling, one that rarely anyone ever gets the privilege to see. More times than not, she chooses to be very secluded in how she handles her emotions, she doesn’t always like to share her thoughts or feelings. (Y/N) has always been scared of how people would react if she were to share how she really felt. The only person she has ever been completely vulnerable with about her true mental obstacles is her older brother, Kyle. While her brother was three years her senior, they are often assumed to be fraternal twins based on how close they are. So when Kyle made the big decision to move to Los Angeles and pursue his dreams in photography and videography, she was bound to follow him. She now stands in the middle of the apartment that she shares with her brother, tired from the long journey from Washington to Los Angeles. Kyle had been moving their boxes in from the car while she was supposed to be unpacking them when he notices his sister standing silently, looking around at the view of the city from the window in their new empty living room.

“What’s wrong, Simba?” He questioned using her childhood nickname, an ode to their shared love of the Lion King.

“Nothing, everything is just different is all. I feel like it’s gonna take some adjustment,” she exasperates loudly, taking the box that was in his hands and placing it on the kitchen counter.

“A good different, or bad different?”

“Good different, I just have a feeling,” She said with a smile.

Two weeks later, the two were officially settled into their apartment and it had come to the time that Kyle would start working as a videographer for the Dolan Twins youtube channel. He decided to bring (Y/N) along simply because she had yet to make any friends in LA and he didn’t want her to be alone. So with that in mind, he trudged into his sister’s room at around 6:00am to drag her out of the house to help behind the scenes. The only problem with his plan is that the one thing about his sister that has been consistent since birth is that she is not, nor will she ever be a morning person.

“Come on (Y/N), time to get your lazy ass up,” Kyle roused turning on her bedroom light.

“Fuck off, asshole, 30 more minutes,” comes her voice from under the pile of blankets at the center her bed.

Kyle then lets out a sigh and walks over to the bed, yanking the blanket from her clutch and exposing her to the light of day. In tandem, he also exposes her body to the cold temperature of their apartment because the air conditioning is broken, stuck full blast until maintenance decides to come fix it.

“Knowing you, it’s going to take a whole hour and a half for you to get ready and we need to leave by 8:00 so get up Simba,”

“It’s cold as fuck in here, you’re lucky I’m way to tired to go and whoop your ass, Mufasa,” she says throwing her legs over the side of her bed and standing to stretch out her tired muscles.

“Be ready by 8, we are leaving at 8:05,” she hears following the slamming of her door.

(Y/n) then walked over to the bathroom and looked at her disheveled state in the mirror. She shrugged her shoulders, not caring about her appearance at the moment, and grabbed her toothbrush beginning to brush her teeth. She turned on the shower, setting the water temperature to something that wasn’t extremely hot but also not freezing. She rinsed her mouth off in the sink and then stripped of her pajamas, stepping into the shower. She quickly washed her hair and body, took the time to shave her legs, and got out of the shower. She dried herself off before putting on her undergarments and sliding on a pair of black distressed jeans. She threw on a light grey loose tank top and topped it with a jean jacket. She brushed her hair and straightened it a little and then applied minimal makeup that included a full face, eyeliner, and a nude lip with a glossy finish. Not necessarily minimal, but she made it look natural. By the time she finished getting ready, it was 7:55. She slid on a pair of checkered vans and grabbed her phone as well as her black bookbag with all of her belongings and headed into the living room.

“I’M READY,” she yelled from the couch as her brother exited his bedroom, carrying his giant duffel bag full of filming equipment.

“Okay let’s go then,” he said and they both exited the apartment, making sure to lock it behind them.

An hour later (fuck LA traffic, honestly, the drive was supposed to take 15 minutes) they’re pulling into the twin’s driveway to start filming. Looking out the window she sees an array of expensive cars, and a house that she could never even imagine being able to afford, even with all the success of her new company. But the nice house and fancy cars aren’t what caught her eye. What caught her eye was the two beautiful and identical men standing on the porch smiling and waving at them as Kyle parked the car. Even though the two men appeared to be identical, (Y/N) was able to notice tiny differences between the pair like the slight difference in figure, and the mole on only one of their chins.

Still sitting in the car, Kyle rolls the window down to talk to the pair as he puts the car in park.

“Hey guys, I hope you don’t mind but I brought my sister today, I didn’t want her lonely ass sitting at home all day and I thought she could get some human interactions beside me. (Y/N), meet Ethan and Grayson. Grayson and Ethan, meet (Y/N).” Kyle said,

“Nice to meet you two,” She said while reaching down to grab her bag from the floorboard of the car.

“Nice to meet you as well, I’m Ethan by the way, you’ll learn to tell us apart quickly,’’ he responds with a laugh.

“Good thing I learn quick, I can already tell you guys apart. Grayson has a mole on his chin and the dangly earring that you have a good enough fashion sense to know is a bad idea. It’s not hard,”

“You hurt me (Y/N),” Grayson says, hand clutching over his shirt where his heart is, “you really hurt me.”

“Hey Simba, you mind grabbing the duffel out of the trunk for me?” Kyle hollered over the roof of the car as they both opened their doors to get out.

(Y/N) nodded and grabbed the bag, walking up to face the twins.

“Simba?” Ethan inquires pointing at (Y/N), eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, the Lion King was our favorite growing up,” Kyle answers while secretly bending over to get some mud from the ground. He then quickly grabs (Y/N) from behind starting to sing the starting notes to The Circle Of Life (he’s off-key but no one cares) and smears the mud on (Y/N)’s forehead.

Kyle continues to sing as he runs away from an angry (Y/N). As he gets to the chorus, Ethan catches (Y/N) mid stride, monkey thrusting her ass into the air just like in the opening scene of the movie. Many would say that this is a weird way for a first interaction to unfold, but that’s what makes their dynamic so special. It felt like they had all been friends their whole lives. Their group chemistry was instant and was full of chaotic energy. They were all crackheads, and they each fed off of their group chaos.

Throughout the next couple months they all got closer and closer. They filmed videos of course, but they also began to hangout outside of filming as well. They were all together when (Y/N) met a vlogger named Zach. Ethan and Grayson were skeptical of him because they had previously heard some shady things about him at some of the events they had been to. But Zach and (Y/N) on the other hand, they hit it off instantly. So well that they had agreed to go on a date later that week.

In the beginning, (Y/N) and Zach’s relationship was similar to that of a film worthy love story. (Y/N) fell hard for Zach and he fell for her in return. They were in love, they had the kind of us against the world mindset that people crave to have with another person. Many times, (Y/N) had to prove this mindset. The problem with Zach was that he was a disguised clout chaser. A Logan Paul trying so unbelievably hard to be a David Dobrik. There was a craze in the tabloids suspecting Zach's infidelity, possible drug use, and desire to exploit the success of (Y/N)’s company as well as her friendship with the twins. But regardless, she stuck with him through all of it. He made her feel special and he made her feel wanted. No matter how many times Grayson, Ethan, or Kyle expressed their concern she repeated that to herself, and honestly she believed it too.

She pushed their concerns aside as she was reassured over and over again by Zach that he loved her, that they were meant to be. So many times she would be questioned or told not to when she mentioned going over to the twins or spending the day with her brother.

“I don’t want you hanging out with the twins, baby, they always fill your head with doubts about my feelings for you,” Zach brought up one night as (Y/N) was getting herself ready to head over to the twin’s house to film a video.

“Babe, I can’t stop hanging out with my friends. I just ignore them most of the time when they say anything about you, trust me I know you love me. Now I've got to go so that I won’t be late for the shoot, love you,” she told him real quick and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Zach felt extremely hurt that she just walked away like that, in his mind, her going to the twins house was the equivalent of her not caring about him. So he grabbed a beer from his fridge and downed it.He was pissed, he had been a lot lately. Zach knew that he had been acting up, but he’s pushed himself far past the point of caring. He knew he should have dealt with his issues long ago, but with (Y/N) he had a distraction so he didn’t need to. He knew that he was losing her, so he decided that if he really was going to lose her, she would need to feel the pain that he does.

Overtime, (Y/N) grew her own suspicions aside from just his jealousy. These suspicions led to many fights, but she was determined to make it work. That is, until one night when she was at her lowest and all she wanted was her boyfriend to make it better. She needed him to tell her that everything was going to be okay, that the stress of her company was going to be worth it, she needed him to tell her that despite everything she was hearing, he was there and with her for the right reasons.

Unfortunately, when she walked into his apartment holding the key that he had given her on their one year, she had another thing coming. Opening the door (Y/N) heard the noises that she had thought Zach had reserved for only when the two of them were together. Walking further into the apartment, she saw a sight she would never be able to erase from her mind. There Zach was, fucking his assistant from behind on the kitchen counter, not even stoping when he saw her standing there.

Looking at her dead in the eyes, he said words that, after all they had been through, truly broke her. “Why do you look so shocked, babe? You ignored the tabloids. You knew you were never good enough for me, I just needed the money from your company to get my youtube career to where I wanted it to be. Now that I have what I need from you, I don’t need to pretend to be in love with your clingy ass anymore. I feel free as hell. You can see yourself out right? Leave my key on the counter”

The entire time (Y/N) said nothing. She didn’t know how she had let this happen, how she could believe Zach over the people that have never done anything but be completely honest with her. She ignored the warnings from the people that she loves, the people that she trusts, only to find out that it was all for nothing. She quickly took the key off her keychain and threw it at Zach and his assistant (who was still taking her now ex boyfriends dick up her ass) and swiftly turned around, walking out of his apartment without a single word.

She didn’t know where to go. She didn’t feel like it was safe for her to drive in her current emotional state. That really limited her options on where she could go, but she knew there was only one place that she really wanted to be anyway. So she started walking. The way she moved was almost mechanical. She just kept putting one foot in front of the other while tears were streaming down her face, mixing with the cold rain. It was like the universe just knew how shitty she felt at that moment and just decided that in spite of LA’s predisposition to clear and semi warm nights, it seemed suitable to downpour and reflect how she felt inside.

Despite her tendency to block out her own emotions, what she was feeling at that moment was too strong. (Y/N) felt everything, she felt pain and betrayal and anger and self doubt. Anything that she could feel, she felt in that moment.

So when that same driveway that she and her brother pulled up to only a year and a half ago came into view, she felt some reassurance. It was reassuring to know that despite how much she felt like her life had gone to shit in the past couple hours, she always had Ethan and Grayson.

With that, she pounded on the door of the twins house, she would have called but she left her phone in her car which was still parked in front of Zach’s house. Her only hope was that her pounding on the door would wake one of the twins up.

Little did she know, Ethan and Grayson were inside looking at each other holding baseball bats, ready to call 9-1-1 when they saw her through a crack in their curtains. They swung open the door to see one of their best friends in a state of such heartbreak, and looked at each other silently vowing to never let anything hurt her like this ever again.

With that, the pair rushed her inside and gave her privacy to shower and change out of her wet clothes before they all talked. She gets out of the shower feeling slightly better and sees the clothes they brought in for her on the toilet. Those ridiculous red basketball shorts that E used to wear way too often and a black crewneck. She got dressed and headed out to the living room where the twins were seated on the couch whispering quietly.

“(Y/N), what the hell happened?” Ethan asked as she sat down on the couch looking back and forth between her two friends.

At that, all composure that she gained since she walked into their house was gone. She started to tear up as she tried to explain what happened between sobs.

“I-I’m not good enough, and I’m never gonna be. I probably deserve this. You guys all warned me too. But I didn’t want to listen, I wanted it to work so badly.”

“Who made you feel this way, (Y/N)? What’s going on?” Gray asked furrowing his brows.

“Zach and I broke up,” (Y/N) paused to take a shaky breath, “I went to his apartment because I had a really shit day and I needed him. But when I got there he was fucking his assistant on the kitchen counter. He didn’t even stop when he saw me standing there. It hurts so fucking bad guys, I think he really broke me.”

Both boys took a minute to respond, not surprised in the slightest, their lack of immediate answer was more so that they could reign in their tempers. Ethan is the first to respond, cupping (Y/N)’s face in his large hands and wiping a few falling tears with his thumbs.

“Listen to me,” he demands softly, “this is not your fault, you hear me? The only person to blame here is Zach, he made a choice. He made the wrong choice because he hurt you, but he made that choice. None of this is your fault, you did nothing wrong, this is all on him.” he comforts as he pulls (Y/N) into his chest and sharing another pointed look with Grayson, who’s still making efforts to control his temper.

When he’s finally able to think past his anger, Grayson pulls (Y/N)’s legs onto his lap and exhales loudly as he begins to speak, “We love you so much, (Y/N). I’m so sorry that he did this to you, no one deserves this and especially not you. We’re gonna make sure you’re okay, this isn’t what will break you. You’re so strong, you’re going to be okay, we’ll make sure of it.”

Following Grayson’s words, the three of them sit there in silence just holding each other until they all fall asleep on the couch. (Y/N) curled into Ethan’s chest with her legs sprawled across Gray’s lap, surrounding her in a blanket of support as they drifted to sleep.

They were all peacefully asleep until the next morning when Kyle burst in screaming, “Does someone feel like telling me why the fuck I just got a call saying the car’s been towed?”

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

Hey guys! This series has been in the works for a while 😊. I’m so proud of it and I’m proud of my friend Jamie for helping me write this series. I hope you guys truly enjoy the series and if you would like to be on the tag list let me know 😊 As always if you have any requests or concepts let me know and I love you all. Be safe xoxo

Tags: @graydolan12 @graysavant

[trensu]

Episode 27: The One where I Want to Punch Basically Every Sect Leader in the Face. Repeatedly. With a Chair.

And we start off back in the rain, AKA OUR ENDLESS TEARS

Wwx is like, do you remember our promise?

And lwj flashbacks TO THEIR LANTERN SCENE FROM THE ONE WHERE LWJ FINALLY SEES THE LIGHT

WE GET TO SEE LWJ’S PRECIOUS BABY FACE AS HE FALLS HEAD OVER HEELS IN THAT FLASHBACK

IT HURTS SO GOOD

Wwx: i wished to stand with justice and live without regrets. But tell me now, who’s strong, who’s weaker? Who’s right and who’s wrong?

Lwj: wei ying! 

Oh god, his voice! HE’S DISTRESSED

Wwx: is this the promise we pledged our lives to keep?

THEY BOTH LOOK SO HEARTBROKEN RN

Oh, look, lwj is doing the deathgrip of gay yearning on bichen again. We haven’t seen that in awhile AND I WISH WE WEREN’T SEEING IT NOW

Okay, but for real, how can lwj look so hurt here when the actor is literally doing nothing with his face??

I know i’ve mentioned that before, BUT C’MON, HOW?? HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK??

Wwx: my only regret is that i didn’t stop the jin clan who took living people as bait

I REGRET YOU NOT TAKING DOWN THE JIN CLAN TOO

WE COULD’VE AVOIDED SO MANY PROBLEMS IF WE’D JUST KILL OFF 90% OF THAT CLAN, OMG

And now wwx is all, i missed my chance to protect wen ning before so now i MUST leave to save him

BC WWX IS THE BEST MOST HONORABLE PERSON IN THE WORLD

Oh no

Oh noooo

He’s pulling out his demon flute. We’re gonna get THAT SCENE

Wwx: lan zhan, if i finally have to fight them, i’d prefer to fight with you

Wwx: if i am doomed to die, at least i can be killed by you. That would be worth it.

HE SAYS THAT BC HE TRUSTS VIRTUOUS LWJ TO STOP HIM IF HE REALLY IS IN THE WRONG

AND I AM SCREAMING IN PAIN RN

BC LOOK AT LWJ’S FACE

HE’S LISTENING TO HIS SOULMATE TELL HIM THAT HE WANTS HIS DEATH TO BE AT HIS HAND

Oh god, he’s doing the bichen deathgrip again

He tears his gaze away from wwx and turns to the side TO LET THEM ALL GO PAST

EYES LOWERED AS HIS HEART BREAKS INTO A MILLION PIECES

HE’S CRYING OH GOD HE’S CRYING

THERE ARE TEARS GOING DOWN HIS FACE, OH GOD WHY IS THIS HAPPENING

HE DIDN’T EVEN CRY WHEN HIS HOME GOT BURNED AND HIS FAMILY WAS MISSING AND/OR DYING

And now he drops his umbrella to the ground AS HE TRIES TO DROWN HIMSELF IN THE RAIN

*HYSTERICAL SOBBING*

THEY PACKED ALL THAT HEARTBREAK INTO THE FIRST 6MIN OF THE EPISODE, WTF, SOMEBODY STAB ME

And after all that emotional torture we get Plot Stuff happening

Blah blah wwx at the burial mounds blah blah sect leader banquet blah blah

Ugh, gross, they’re letting the idiot sect leaders talk again

They’re all blah blah wwx is evil blah blah he murders ppl blah blah we hate him blah blah

SHUT UP YOU BUNCH OF WALKING HUMAN-RIGHTS-VIOLATIONS

This whole part here is so difficult to watch. They’re literally just trash-talking my PRECIOUS SUNSHINE BOY

Jc, lwj, and lxc look visibly uncomfortable with what’s going down and they kind of sort of tried to defend wwx but they didn’t present a united front or hold their ground

Instead they let yao and ouyang run their stupid mouths

Anyway

Here’s little itty bitty bits of almost wangxiantics in the middle of this mess

Jgs: yeah, jc, i know wwx is your trusted bro and all but idk if wwx actually respects your authority. Do something about it, maybe

Lwj: *subtly glares at jgs*

And then everyone joins in on dragging wwx’s name through the mud bc apparently that’s the hot new thing in the cultivator world

If you look closely while this is happening, you can see that lwj legit GRINDS HIS TEETH with how much he’s holding back. MY POOR BB HAVING TO SIT THERE AND LISTEN TO EVERYONE DISPARAGE HIS SOULMATE

Jgs: wwx totally doesn’t respect you, jc, my bro. Everyone here heard him say how much he thinks you suck or whatever

Lwj: No I didn’t.

OOOOH, LWJ IS ANGRY AS HELL

HE’S OUTRIGHT GLARING AT JGS 

Jgs: what??

Lwj: i never heard wei ying say that, nor did i see him disrespect clan leader jiang

HANGUANG-JUN I LOVE YOU, LOOK AT YOU DEFENDING THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE, I’M SO PROUD OF YOU 

And ugh, disgusting, jgy steps in to be all “oh, well, wwx said so many awful things that day, who can possibly remember the specifics?”

Lwj visibly swallows here, as if he’s choking back a response, and his lips are all pursed. 

HE’S FURIOUS. HE’S ROILING WITH IMPOTENT ANGER, WHICH IS THE WORST KIND OF ANGER, TBH

That’s all the wangxiantics we get from that terrible awful sect leader banquet

THOSE SECT LEADERS NEED TO GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE

LIKE, A LOT

WITH A CHAIR

OR A TABLE

YOU KNOW WHAT, LET ME JUST TAKE BICHEN AND BEAT THEM ALL WITH IT

OR BETTER, YET, I’LL USE BAXIA. I WON’T EVEN CUT THEM UP. I’LL JUST BEAT THEM WITH THE BROAD PART

*ANGRY YELLING*

Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute! 

This isn’t a wangxiantic

But it is an EPIC MOMENT that should be commemorated.

Because here we get…

*drum roll*

MIANMIAN BEING A BOSS

Jz: blah blah wwx kills our people indiscriminately blah blah

Mm: not indiscriminately

Mm: indiscriminate is not accurate

And everyone around her is like, confused and offended because they’re assholes

Mm: in this specific case, if the overseers did abuse the Wen prisoners and kill wen ning, then what wwx did was not “killing indiscriminately”

Ouyang: nah, the overseers said they never abused/killed anyone

Mm: OF COURSE THEY’D FUCKING SAY THAT. THEY DON’T WANT TO FACE PUNISHMENT, YOU IDIOT

(okay, she didn’t call him an idiot outright or swear, but it was totally there in her tone of voice and also ouyang is an idiot so there)

Mm: you all think you’re so smart and voice your opinions so loudly

Mm: I SECEDE FROM THIS BULLSHIT. FUCK THE JIN CLAN AND YOUR STUPID CLAN POLITICS

And she throws down her jin robes and mARCHES RIGHT OUT OF THAT SHITHOLE WITH HER HEAD HELD HIGH

MIANMIAN PLEASE MARRY ME

Lwj watches her do that and two seconds later follows her out bC HE RECOGNIZES BADASSERY WHEN HE SEES IT (and also she defended the love of his life)

And that badass moment ends

But the banquet of idiots keeps going

The jin clan needs to learn how to shut the fuck up

God, they just go on and on and on

Why are they torturing me like this

OH WAIT, WE’RE OUTSIDE THE BANQUET HALL NOW

We see lwj and mm standing together on a terrace, talking to each other

BUT WE DON’T GET TO HEAR WHAT THEY SAY TO EACH OTHER AND THAT HAUNTS ME TO THIS DAY

WHAT DID THEY SAY

TELL MEEEEEEE

Oh, side note to let you all know this direct quote from nmj - “that girl really has a backbone.”

Okay nmj, i’m slightly less angry at you now. I won’t try to beat you with bichen or a table or a chair.

(but now i kinda wish mm would join the nie clan. I think she’d do well there and also i want to see her carry a gigantic saber)

We get some chitchat with the Official Bros™ but idc let’s move on 

(tho i do appreciate the look nmj gives jgy, like, HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME lolol)

Ooooh, now we’re getting lan fam time

ANGRY lan fam time, uh oh.

Lqr: lwj, have you regretted it? I didn’t punish you when you broke into the Forbidden Chamber bc i thought you’d self-reflect 

Lqr: you shouldn’t have gone to qiongqi way and let wwx go. Should you make one mistake after another?

And lwj is kneeling in front of him this whole time with a blank face

Lqr: what’s the use of getting you to memorize the Great Big Book of Lan Fam Rules?? Tell me, what is rule 52?

Lwj: No association with evil

He answers immediately and without any inflection to his voice.

Lqr: did you forget what happened to your father???

AND WE FINALLY GET A REACTION HERE

Lwj practically gasps and lifts his gaze to meet his uncle head-on

Lwj: my mother, she…!

Lqr: hold your tongue!

And just like that, lwj shuts down again; expression flat and gaze lowered

GOD, THIS CLAN HAS HURT HIM SO MUCH THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE

I MEAN, THEY MUST’VE, FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO JUST DISCONNECT LIKE THAT

THAT IS NOT THE BEHAVIOR OF A NORMAL WELL-ADJUSTED PERSON

Basically the entire lan clan needs to go to therapy, like, STAT

Oh, i just noticed, lwj has his fists clenched at his sides. He’s clenching them hard, too. I think they’re trembling a bit, actually…

Lqr: i’ve been taking care of you since you were a kid; you’re like my son.i was strict bc i wanted you to stick to the right path and avoid your father’s tragedy

Lqr: that’s what i wanted to say to you. I hope you choose the right path. You may leave.

Lwj still bows respectfully before taking his leave

And i’m sure y’all are wondering, hey trensu, why did you make us endure that angry lan fam time that hurt us deep in our soul?? That wasn’t wangxiantic at all!

That’s where you're wrong, my friends!

It’s actually SUPER wangxiantic bc lqr kept drawing parallels to lwj’s dad the practically whole time

You know, the dad that married their mother who murdered some guy and had the whole world turn against her. 

(Sound familiar?)

The same mother that dad loved with his entire being and did what he could to keep her safe from the ramifications of her actions? By marrying her? And hiding her in the cloud recesses?

YEAH, HE’S EQUATING WANGXIAN WITH LWJ’S PARENTS’ TRAGIC ROMANCE

Bc, you know, that’s a totally hetero comparison to make lol

Oh, now we get to see our favorite Disaster Het be less of a disaster

We’re not going into detail here bc we’re not here for hetero shenanigans, yuck (actually, i’m apparently weak to Pining Idiots of all kinds bc this whole jzx/jyl scene is giving me tender feelings)

BUT

I do want to add that OMG FOR REAL LWJ AND JZX HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR LOVE LIVES, IT’S FANTASTIC

I NEED 10 MILLION FICS OF THEM COMMISERATING OVER THEIR SHARED DISASTER-NESS

Also, how the HELL did jzx end up being the one who was able to express his intentions clearly? He was all “please don’t go to the burial mounds, stay here with me so i can protect you from all who would want to hurt you”

DAMN IT LWJ, IF YOU’D JUST SAY THAT TO WWX, HE’S UNDERSTAND WHAT’S GOING ON. 

YOU CAN’T JUST BE ALL “COME TO GUSU” WITH NO EXPLANATION

Jzx accomplished this before you did, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED.

Huh, okay, i guess i did go into a bit of detail with that hetero nonsense. Oh well.

Now we’re at the burial mounds again with wwx

AND WE SEE A-YUAN PROPERLY FOR THE FIRST TIMEEEEE!!

ANY A-YUAN MOMENT IS BY DEFAULT A WANGXIANTIC, GUYS, TRUST ME.

AAHHHH, WE SEE A-YUAN DO THAT LEG-GRABBY THING HE DOES!!!

HE’S SO CUTE. TOO ADORABLE.

I LOVE YOU A-YUAN

Lol, wwx is all if you don’t let go i’ll plant you like a turnip

And a-yuan plops himself down in the dirt like YOUR THREATS DON’T WORK ON ME, OLD MAN, I LIKE BEING IN THE DIRT

Then he asks wwx for 3 elder brothers and 2 elder sisters, awwww. He thinks wwx can grow them in the garden (like cabbage patch kids!!!)

Plot stuff happens

Blah blah wwx and wq share moment blah blah jc shows up blah blah

Lol

Jc sees that glowing talisman door thing and is like THAT SIGN WON’T STOP ME BC I CAN’T READ

And then whips it down with zidian

Now we get some feelings-laden Yunmeng bros time

A-yuan shows up and leg-grabs jc and it’s ADORABLE

But jc yells at him bc he’s a JERK

Wwx scolds jc and then is a Dad to a-yuan: don’t put your hand in your mouth, you were just touching dirt!

Awww, we get to see jc fight back a smile at this! HE WANTS TO BE AN UNCLE, I JUST KNOW IT.

Plot plot plot stuff happens

More plot stuff happens

And the episode ends with us still in the burial mounds with the yunmeng bros

And you know what, i’m just gonna focus on our BAMF mianmian moment bc quite frankly the rest of the episode either had me in tears of anguish or spitting mad. There was no inbetween. 

I’m gonna end up having blood pressure problems at this rate.

I’m too poor young to have blood pressure problems.

The Jin clan better pay for any medical bills I get because of them, I'm just saying

Return to Masterpost

[rosethornewrites]

On Writing

Feel free to send me asks about my Miraculous Ladybug fics. I am on hiatus from the fandom right now, but you never know if I’ll get inspired by an ask and decide I’m ready to come back.

This is a meta discussing kind of the behind the scenes thoughts I had while writing “Catch a Falling Star,” my first fic in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom.

This fic obviously turned into a series of fics that ultimately doesn’t have an Adrienette endgame if you’re reading “Love Language.” But I didn’t know it was going in that direction at the time. 

Mostly my goal was to explore some of the more complex emotional fallout of some events in season 3 up to the episode “Ladybug.” As someone who faced bullying at various points as a child and who has suffered from abuse, I guess I was kind of underwhelmed with how the show was handling such a complex issue; it is, after all, a kids’ show, so oversimplification is expected.

So really this fic was a bit meta in the first place? So I’m doing a meta of a meta.  A lot of people wrote similar fics, so mine was a bit derivative, tbh. But I had reasons for the writing choices.

To start with, I had the song “Catch a Falling Star” (I love this version) stuck in my head while I was writing this fic, because to me Marinette was a falling star.

We all know there’s a balcony trope with either platonic or romantic Marichat in the fandom. Chat Noir regularly visiting Marinette for chatting and such, likely based on the couple episodes he’s been there (notably “Glaciator” and “Weredad”), and so I decided to have Chat come upon a crying Marinette, overwhelmed by anxiety and, basically, trauma.

The obvious decision was to put it in Chat/Adrien’s POV. There’s very slight canon divergence, but not enough to actually influence canon later in the series (until Love Language). Of course, that non-influence on canon could be completely yote by s4, we’ll see. Largely I wanted to see Adrien’s stance on ignoring Lila challenged.

Now, Marinette is not neutral in this. The series pretty well establishes her as someone with anxiety who catastrophizes everything. So she’s seeing things through that lens and having a bit of a breakdown as a result. This is not how I see canon and not an attempt to salt Alya or Nino or the class. It’s simply Marinette’s anxiety lying to her and causing her distress.

As someone who has generalized anxiety disorder, I kind of drew upon my experiences. My boss wants to talk to me? Catastrophizing immediately to the point of panic attack that I’m gonna be fired. Mom calls at an odd time or texts ‘call me’? Someone died, omg. It is a thing and being in the midst of puberty makes it all worse.

So Marinette’s interpretation of events is over the top as a result, and that’s intentional because she’s having a mental health crisis and her brain is lying to her. She’s also seeing Adrien more critically, again because her brain is making her question every relationship she has. Anxiety does this.

I also wanted to address a big issue that isn’t discussed in the series: the sexual harassment Adrien faces on a daily basis that’s so normalized he seems to see it as something to endure, not what it is. Interestingly, it starts to get addressed a bit in the series with the Felix episode and LB punching him in the face for it (which didn’t air until later bc of the messed up episode airing order), but Adrien’s victimization isn’t really addressed yet.

Another fandom trope is Marinette leaving Françoise Dupont to remove herself from the situation out of desperation. I decided to have her bring that up as an option, in part to help Adrien see how badly this is impacting her and how it could remove her from his life, but also as a way she has of trying to keep herself from being akumatized: she has a modicum of control if she chooses to exercise it, a way out.

Overall, the dialog in this piece is painful, as conversations around mental health and breakdowns tend to be. 

I guess I kind of have a trope in my own writing where I tend to explore breakdowns, which is probably influenced by the ones I’ve had in my own life due to external factors, my anxiety, and my double depression.

In the end, it’s too late to change canon, as the events of “Ladybug” happen the next day regardless.

And because the song I mentioned before was in my head and influenced the writing of it, including bringing in references, I went ahead and used it as the title, and later used lyrics from it to title later ones in the series.

I hope you enjoyed reading my little meta on my thought process while writing “Catch a Falling Star.”

[xiolaperry]

The Piano - Chapter 2

Notes: My Camp NaNoWriMo Project for April 2020.  A Rumbelling of the 1993 movie ‘The Piano’. Has 14 chapters, all are written. I’ll post one every few days. Some dialogue is taken directly from the film and from ‘Once Upon a Time’. No copyright infringement intended - I’m just having fun. The film is gorgeous, if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend that you watch it.

Summary:  Belle French and her daughter arrive in New Zealand to an arranged marriage with Gaston LeGume.  Gaston shows little interest in her or her piano and books. However, Mr. Gold is fascinated…

Rating: E (for smut, dark subject matter and violence in future chapters) 

Also available on AO3

---

Things were not progressing the way Gaston had pictured in his head.

“You have a good many boxes and trunks. I'd like to know what's in them. How about this one,” he asked, pointing at a box.

Belle gestured to the writing on the side: Crockery and Pots.

“Oh. Yes. Pots.” Gaston wiped at his forehead with an embroidered handkerchief. “And this? This is huge. What's in it? A bed frame or something?” He hit the crate with his fist for emphasis. The piano inside produced a reverberating echo from being struck. Belle spread her arms across the top protectively.

Tilly spoke to her step-father for the first time. “It's my mother's piano.”

“A piano. And these trunks?” He rapped against the side of the closest one with his axe. Belle flinched.

“Those are books.”

Gaston turned away. “Gold. Tell the men to carry the boxes and suitcases.” Gold spoke to the group and gave them instructions. The Maori divided up the cargo.

Belle took the small notepad and pencil from the silver case she wore around her neck. She wrote some brief words on the paper. She brought it to Gaston, Tilly following close behind.

“The piano? The books?” he read aloud.

“No. They can't come now.” He crumpled the note.

“They must!” Tilly was her mother's voice. She knew what these things meant to her. “She wants them to come.”

“I understand. But there aren't enough of us to carry everything.” He looked at Belle. “TOO HEAVY,” he added in a louder tone, enunciating the words.

Belle felt the first stirrings of fear. She hadn't been scared when she realized she was pregnant. She hadn't been frightened when her father told her of the arranged marriage, or during the storm at sea. But this was too much. She wrote another note. He had to understand. “I NEED them. Please.”

“You'd rather have them than your kitchenware or your clothing?”

Belle signed to Tilly. “We can't leave the piano or the books. I don't care about the rest.”

Gaston stood straighter, assuming an air of authority. “We cannot waste time discussing this.” He began a prepared speech. “I'm pleased you've arrived safely-”

“Mother wants to know if we can come back for them...”

Gaston's eyes widened. Had a child interrupted him? He ignored her and continued to speak to Belle. “I would like to apologize for the unavoidable delay that led to your spending the night on the beach-”

As he spoke Belle signed, her fingers flying like angry bees.

“Can we return for them after they have delivered the other things? She must have them.”

Gaston's mouth hung open. Interrupted again?

Gold was impressed. He had never seen Gaston control his temper so well. This just kept getting more interesting.

One of the Maori, Kamira, noticed his distress and found it hilarious. He laughed, and brought Granny over to enjoy the scene. Gaston didn't understand what they were saying, but he never took laughter (other than his own) as a good sign.

“The matter is closed. The trunks and piano will remain here. Prepare yourselves for a difficult journey. The mud is very deep in places.”

Gaston clenched his jaw and walked away. He could not believe two females challenged him. Two small females, at that. The piano and books were unneeded. His authority as a man and head of the house must stand. What an odd girl. Choosing books and a piano over clothes and household goods? Over useful things? It made no sense.

“What do you think of her?” he asked Gold. “Odd, isn't she? She'll learn who’s boss.”

“She looks tired. It was a long voyage, with a major disappointment at the end.”

“Oh, she'll get over it. What does a woman need books for anyway?” he replied, not understanding the implication that he was the disappointment. “I'll go on ahead and lead the way. Have them bring up the rear.”

Boxes and valises collected, the party set their backs to the ocean and walked toward the cliffs. Gaston did not speak to Belle, nor did he look at her. He strode ahead, confident they would follow. What other option did they have?

Belle had no choice. Straightening her spine, she took Tilly’s hand. She did not look back. She told herself she wouldn't.

However, after climbing the hill they reached a point on the cliff where there was a sudden view down onto the beach. The mist from the ocean gave her piano and books a surreal haze. They were forlorn, stark against the pale sand. It was almost more than Belle could bear, seeing them abandoned and alone, and she could not look away.

Gold saw the depth of emotion in her eyes. There was more to this than just a woman insisting on her own way. It was important. But what could he do? He couldn't very well carry the piano on his back. Even the trunks of books would be too much for him with his leg. Sympathetic, he waited a few minutes and then cleared his throat.

Belle took a deep breath. She could do this. But she would return and retrieve these pieces of her life. The sound of the crashing waves receded behind them.

---

Ferns and moss abounded in the humid climate. A jumble of trees, vines, leaves and roots passed before her eyes. Through it all she heard the confident voice of Mr. Gold. Gaston might think he was the leader, but it was obvious who was in charge.

Adrenaline and residual anger, the only things keeping her going during the first half of the journey, had worn off. Now she was weary to her bones. Exhaustion kept her curious nature in check. Her overwhelming impression of this new land was mud. It stained her skirts and sucked at her boots. Tilly, resilient as children are, tromped along with good humor. She was happy to be off the ship, with a change of scenery after the monotony of the ocean. Granny noticed her enthusiasm and pointed things out to her, giving her their names: the enormous kauri trees, harakeke plants covered in korimako birds, and edible white flowered maikaika lilies. Belle was glad that at least her daughter was enjoying herself.

As he whacked at the underbrush, Gaston's good humor returned. He reassured himself that Belle was beautiful. This was important for a man as handsome as he. He had assumed she would be biddable, full of gratitude that a man like him would want to marry her despite her muteness and an illegitimate child. He would be firm but patient, and their relationship would grow in time.

When it began to rain, Belle despaired of ever reaching her new home. Her dress, soaked from the storm, grew heavier. Would they march forever in circles, trapped in an infinite forest from Tilly's stories?

At last, they arrived at a large clearing with a wooden house. Gaston was proud of what he had built. He had fought back the bush using a slash and burn technique. He envisioned manicured lawns and gardens, land transformed and subdued to his will. All Belle saw was a barren graveyard of mud. She was too tired to care.

Gaston paid the men. Boxes and suitcases lay in a jumble on the covered porch. Mr. Gold left with Kamira and Granny. The three of them were alone for the first time.

“Here are the bedrooms,” he said, opening the doors. “Tomorrow I will show you my property. Please make yourselves at home. I have a few chores to tend to, excuse me.” He left them to poke around for themselves.

Belle put their things in the smaller room. She would share a bed with Tilly. She was not ready to share one with a stranger and was grateful it did not seem that he would insist she do so. He might not be the prince from a fairy-tale, but at least for the moment he was not the villain. They slipped off their muddy clothes and collapsed into the bed.

[diyunho]

The Joker x Reader - “Ghost” Part 2

Bane’s wife is a mystery to everyone, including her husband. Ghost also happens to be The Joker’s little obsession, not that she ever pays attention to him. Maybe that’s why The King of Gotham should stop messing around: when you push too much, you might get more than you bargained for.

The Joker and his girlfriend left about 15 minutes ago; Kara was in a bad shape and you offered to drive her car back tomorrow. You have no idea how she made it to your house after the events at the club. You could tell J was fuming and for once he seemed to care about what happened to his woman: maybe it was a little wakeup call The King of Gotham needed. Hard to tell when it comes to these matters due to his spectacular personality.

One thing’s for sure though: after his arrival Kara couldn’t stop crying and Ghost knew why. The Joker’s girlfriend merely escaped assault and him giving a damn about the ordeal made her overemotional: it was the first time he showed some real interest outside the bedroom; he held her hand all the way to the car and didn’t even mind a kiss before she got in.

“You’re awfully quiet,” your husband points out. “You’ve been staring out the windows at the empty parking lot since they left. Everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah…I’m fine,” you turn only to see him signal for you.

Bane is not stupid; he can tell you’re distracted and he can guess the reason. As soon as you straddle his lap he rests his forehead on yours, choosing to dig a bit dipper without sugar coating his objective.

“Are you thinking about that day?”

You take such a strenuous breath there’s no need for a verbal confirmation.

“Wanna talk about it?”

You are aware of the meaning:  your spouse is not asking for details, he’s just bringing it up in case you want to share your feelings regarding Kara’s unfortunate experience.

You caress his bald head and sigh, prepared to describe the facts.

Bane never mentioned anything about the first time you’ve met simply because he always assumed he understood what he saw five years ago. The truth is he didn’t.

“When…when you found me…” you gulp and he distinguishes the struggle.

“Hey,” your husband whispers. “That’s not why I brought it up. You don’t have to re-live the past; I was trying to hint that if you want to discuss…”

He twists a strand of your white hair around his finger while you interrupt:

“When you found me behind the truck, that guy wasn’t trying to rape me; he was trying to kill me.”

Bane’s not wearing his mask and you can read the conflicting emotions written all over his face.

“Vee was my ex,” you continue and pause in order to gather your thoughts. “When I learned he was involved in human trafficking, I urged him to quit. The money was great and he refused so I planned to disappear and help some girls flee in the process. I was very careful yet he still perceived my intentions and when you bumped into us… he was trying to finish me so I won’t be any trouble for his boss and their line of business.”

“Shit…” HB mumbles, hating that his Ghost looks upset.

“I wasn’t defending myself from a rapist, I was fighting for my life. What do you think about that, hm?” you throw the question at him and his reply doesn’t fail:

“That whatever- his-name-was-your-ex had it coming. You can’t kill a Goddess! A man is lucky enough to encounter one and if he fucks up, then he signs up for the bitter consequences.”

A few moments of complete silence, then Bane hears his favorite words:

“I love you,” Y/N pecks the thin scars across his nose and decides to turn the gloomy night into a more accommodating situation. “We were having lots of fun when the unexpected guest barged in; we should stick to the original schedule and reprise our activity.”

“Agree,” Bane squeezes you in his strong arms tighter. “A tiny Ghost might be already in here,” he softly rubs your tummy.

“Or a handsome little brute,” you giggle and he has to underline:

“However, it doesn’t hurt to keep practicing.”

“U-hum,” you wink and he likes the smile forming on your lips, infinitely better than having his wife distressed about an incident that almost ended her existence.

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

5 Years Ago

Bane was done loading the supplies he wanted in his truck, lingering at the spot chosen for that evening’s transaction. It was consistently a random place where everyone that wanted to buy or sell could get together and exchange merchandise; under the radar of course, since the negotiations were less than legal and the individuals present could have easily be enlisted on FBI’s most wanted list.

A lot of turmoil and movement at the campsite, but he still detected a woman’s scream; he carefully listened when it happened again. Bane circled his truck and walked between the vehicles stationed there until his heavy steps abruptly halted: there was a lady trying to get from under a limp body collapsed on top of hers, still holding the rock she used in order to defend herself.  

You crawled from under Vee and froze when you noticed Bane glaring at you. Y/N recognized the masked man: he was starting to gain a certain reputation, not that it was his purpose; he only stuck to his agenda and didn’t give a damn about anything else.

Your future spouse believed that one of the imbeciles tried to sample the merchandise and got more than he could chew; he also knew they didn’t like the girls to rebel and the price paid if they did.

That feral look in your eyes reminded him of the same fire that fueled his veins every time he attempted to get out of the accursed Pit; made him take a decision he never regretted: instead of alerting the others and score a nice bonus for cooperation, Bane gave you a choice.

“If you want to survive, come with me.”

You hesitated: was he toying with you before sounding the alarm?! The pile of muscles indifferently distanced from the scene and you got on your feet, stumbling from the aftermath of almost being assassinated by your former boyfriend. Vee was out cold and you dropped the rock by his feet, not bothering to check if he was dead.

You followed Bane to his truck and he gestured for you to hop in the back; it was difficult to fit in between the boxes yet you managed anyway. He covered everything with the tarp and advised while sealing the way out:

“Stay put!”

It was a nerve wracking couple of hours: Bane drove away immediately and you had no clue about what will occur next. Where was he taking you anyway?

**********  

He pried the door and Y/N strolled inside when she realized he was keeping it opened for her. “This is a gated, private property; we’re right outside Gotham, north of Willow Creek. You should lay low: by know they must have identified the guy and they might be searching for the responsible party.”

He was thinking you were “one of the girls” and you didn’t correct him.

“I had no clue I’ll find myself in this mess,” you skeptically brought it up. “I should go to my apartment and pack suitcases.”

“Bad idea,” the distorted voice huffed. “You should disappear, it’s safer. Those are not the type of people you want to cross!”

You nervously played with the hem of your torn dress and Bane added:

“There are clean clothes in the bedroom; you can use one of my t-shirts. I’ll bring some items your size tomorrow.”

“You’re not staying?!” you inquired, perplexed.

“Nope, I’m busy. Give yourself a tour; I’m positive you can cope with my absence.”

He saw the doubt and muttered:

“You’re not a prisoner; you can leave. Close the gates if you do. If I were you, I would linger on the premises.”

That’s all he said and left a very confused Y/N in the middle of the living room. You wished to ask why he was aiding a total stranger, but you figured it was dumb to do so: Bane seemed like the type of man that didn’t do things unless he felt like it. Period.

You curiously inspected the house, marveled that it was neat and organized: four bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, the spacious living room, another bathroom and the kitchen downstairs. The dust settled on the counters indicated the hideout wasn’t used very often; the decorations were minimal, mostly functional, basic furniture.

You were grateful when you opened the fridge and found some food that was still eatable: the precooked kind but you weren’t picky at that point. After warming up a container in the microwave, Y/N took a sit at the table; with the crazy events that spiraled out of control she didn’t have time to reflect about her current predicament.

It hit as you were munching on your ravioli: how the hell did you end up there?! A sudden, unbearable sense of isolation washed all over you, the numbness that protected you from the initial shock gradually dissipating in thin air.

You had no plan. None whatsoever.

Was it better to go with the flow until you could outline a strategy aimed to get you out of the deep whole you accidentally sunk in? Maybe…

So you did.

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

Next morning, Bane popped at the residence as promised; at 10:12 am he discovered a hyper Y/N tidying up the kitchen: after a sleepless night and six cups of coffee, she was pretty much invincible. You were wearing one of his military print t-shirts: it was big and he was somehow amused to see you swim in the garment.

“I brought you clothes, shoes and food,” Bane grumbled and arranged boxes on the chair closer to you. “I estimated on the size.”

“Thank you,” the sincerity in your voice proved you meant it. “Thank you for helping me.”

“U-hum,” he intensely gazed at you and maybe because you weren’t in your best shape you misinterpreted his demeanor: was your savior expecting some sort of reward? Since you didn’t have much to offer at that time, Bane probably wanted sex as compensation for his services. If he would have taken what he wanted by force, you reckoned it wouldn’t have been pleasant, not with a man his size; not putting up a fight could have made it at least bearable.  

Your logic was way off though: as soon as you took your t-shirt off he came near, picked it from the floor and dressed you back himself.

“You don’t have to do that,” he emphasized and saw how embarrassed you were. “Do you know how to load guns?” Bane switched the dialogue without making it awkward.

“Not really…”

“I’ll show you; I have a project coming up and you can assist.”

“OK,” you were fast to accept as it was an easy way to repay him.

“Besides cracking someone’s skull with a rock, do you know how to defend yourself?” the interrogation continued.

”If I have to.”

“Comes in handy,” he muffled the words beyond the mask and promptly took it off so he can enjoy the coffee too.

It was the first time you saw Bane minus the breathing device; definitely not what you imagined: he was good-looking. HB had a few thin scars across his nose and a thicker one above the upper lip that added a certain flair to his wholesomeness. 

He caught you staring and misjudged:

“What?” he growled, pouring hot liquid in a mug. “Is the view not up to your standards?”

Y/N has always been a direct person, that’s why she described exactly what was in her mind:

“I was actually thinking that you’re handsome.”

One of Bane’s eyebrows went high and he huffed at the candid remark:

“Hm… … I’ve been called worse.”

You bit on your cheek and waited for him to finish his coffee in silence, but he had more to say.

“You should change your appearance; it’s safer if they’re searching around for the runaway girl that dared retaliate.”

You nodded a yes, wondering how you could accomplish such task. He wasn’t wrong: it would have evidently aided if they were indeed hunting for you.

“I know somebody,” Bane insinuated the path of action. “I can bring Zorina here and she can work her magic; the woman’s a pro.”

“Sure,” you welcomed his proposal and instantly blurred out: “I have money stashed at my apartment; it’s a hefty sum, all cash. I’ll have to retrieve it then I will be able to reimburse you for everything you’re doing for me.”

He snorted, entertained at your passionate tirade:

“Reimbursed!” Bane repeated and slammed the cup on the counter, preparing to bail. “Don’t worry about that; they might have the condo under surveillance or maybe they already raided the rooms and took your money.”

“I hope not…” you frowned, swiftly tense at his warning.

“Wait for Zorina,” the suggestion alleviated your anxiety a bit. “I’ll text her and she can be here in one hour. I am going out of town in the morning; I will return on the 27th,” he grabbed his mask from the table. “If you have an emergency, call the number I uploaded as an emergency contact,” Bane handed you a brand new cell phone.

“Will you be the one answering?” Y/N asked.

“Yes,” he confirmed and noticed how relieved you seemed at his affirmation.

Bane came back after 10 days, on the 27th as scheduled. You were outside on the porch and he stopped in his tracks when you emerged from behind the wood pillars.

“How do I look like?” you presented the new Y/N to the stunned man instead of a conventional greeting: your hair was completely white, shaved on the left side and the fresh skull tattoo inked on the exposed skin completed the ensemble quite beautifully. The dark red eyeshadow and black leather suit scored extra points with your future husband.

Bane was a straightforward person and didn’t utter words unless he meant them, yet the unpredicted reply still made you smile:

“Like a Goddess.”

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

For the next six months you helped with whatever was necessary: it kept you busy and while you understood everything was a test, you were able to form your own opinions too.

Bane wasn’t a mindless brute: he was intelligent, outspoken and articulate; the crew didn’t question his decisions not necessarily due to his physical appearance that indicated he could level anyone to the ground with one punch, but because they respected him.

You blindly plunged into an unfamiliar environment: in the great scheme of things, your ex Vee has invariably been a pawn struggling to find his way up to the top. Weren’t you the same now? Another small piece of the puzzle trying to figure out where it belongs?  

You weren’t positive so you kept your distance from the team members and never really talk to them; Y/N only did what she was told and stayed away from social interactions. After your disappointing past experiences, one could have said you didn’t like people. Why bother?

Even Bane was probably going to send you on your way soon: he kept on coming to the house more often and your best speculation was that he was getting ready to tell you to vacate the property. Which was fair; you couldn’t rely on his hospitality forever. And for some reason it made you sad.

It was true that Bane dropped by more often: from barely visiting the hideout once a month before your arrival, he multiplied his visits to 3-4 times a week. Under the pretext of checking up on his protégé and give her assignments, of course. It had nothing to do with how much he liked seeing your face light up every time he was around.

One night you fell asleep in front of the fireplace: it was cozy to pile up blankets and watch the longs burn until they turned into ashes. You woke up around 2 in the morning and stretched, surprised to see Bane passed out on the couch a couple of feet away. You didn’t hear him sneak in and assumed he had a motive for being there: to finally tell you he wanted the residence evacuated.

You rolled over and got on your knees, carefully placing two more logs on top of the dying fire.

“Add more,” the deep tone made you jump. “It’s getting chilly.”

“Hi,” you tilted your head to look at him. “I didn’t mean to awake you,” you apologized and did as requested.

“You didn’t,” Bane rubbed his eyes, totally used with short power naps instead of dozing off for hours.

You delayed more conversation, but it had to be addressed although you dreaded the subject; maybe he was expecting you to get the hint so you gathered the courage to speak up:  

“I was debating… I should…e-hem…” you fakely coughed, “… find a new establishment…”

“Don’t you wanna stay?” he cut you off.

“I do,” you admitted, “but it’s not fair to take advantage of…”

Bane’s laughter at the statement made you halt your small presentation; it was his strategy of disguising how discouraged he was at your arbitrary idea.

“I doubt I’m the type that can be taken advantage of,” he got on his elbow and you abandoned the warmth of the fireplace in order to sit down by him on the sofa. “You don’t have to go anywhere…unless you wish to,” he gave you choices once more.

You glared at each other for a few seconds and then you demanded:

“Can you please take your mask off?”

“Why?”

“I want to kiss you.”

Bane unsnapped the leather straps without a second invitation: God knows he seldom dreamed about it without paying attention to what it truly meant.

Your lips touched and the intimacy made him slowly pull you in his arms; it seemed natural that the woman he was in love with belonged there.

“My name is Y/N,” you suddenly moaned in between kisses and Bane paused, eager to mention:

“For your own safety I suggest to never disclose it to another living soul. It’s better if you don’t exist; a ghost doesn’t have a past or present thus can never be seized.”

“I like the notion of being a Ghost,” you intertwined your fingers with his. “And you have to call me something; the rest of the world also.”

“Sounds like you got yourself a deal,” Bane grinned and instantly cautioned: “I also have to bring up to your attention that I’ve never slept with a Goddess before.”

Your mouth got close to his ear and you whispered:

“I’ve never slept with a Handsome Brute but I believe we’ll manage.”

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

Today, 1:13 am

Your cell phone keeps on vibrating on the nightstand; attempting to ignore the insufferable noise might wake up Bane: you exhausted your husband last night and he has to recharge. You’ll probably need his services by morning time so… might as well make an effort for his sake.

Great, it’s The Joker.

“Hello?” you keep your voice down.

“I was thinking,” the insomniac King of Gotham gets straight to the core of the issue without apologizing for the late call. “Next time Bane’s out of town and you don’t accompany him, I should take you out to dinner; then we can get some stuff out of our system.”

Is he for reals?!

“I have a better proposal!” you hiss, irritated. “Next time Bane’s out of town without me, you’ll take your girlfriend out to dinner and then you can get whatever you want out of your system with her!! I’ll wait for my husband and then when he comes home he’ll know how to take care of my system!! GOT IT??!!” you hang up and J is displeased at your behavior:

“How fucking rude!” he puffs, cuddling next to Kara; she’s snoozing after her misfortune. 

“Who’s that?” your spouse groans.

“Uggghh,” you snuggle to his chest, aggravated by J’s crap.

“Idiot…” HB wraps both naked bodies tighter in the fluffy cover since he guessed the name; your reaction is enough clue.

Ghost pecks his shoulder and gradually relaxes, 100% convinced of the only truth in her life: if she ends up with nothing again, as long as he’s there she will still have everything.

Part 1: diyunho(.)tumblr(.)com/post/187322128171/the-joker-x-reader-ghost-part-1

Also read: MASTERLIST

diyunho(.)tumblr(.)com/post/153664676321/joker-x-reader-masterlist

You can also follow me on AO3 and Wattpad under the same blog name: DiYunho.

[jq37]

i know you posted your thoughts on the big arguing scene in “we need to talk about pete” but i was wondering if you were going to post a full breakdown? that episode was a lot and i love hearing your thoughts on eps. ignore this if you have done a breakdown and i’m dumb and just missed it lol

**spoilers for the war of bugs and rats and we need to talk about pete**

What’s up denizens of Magic NYC? Now, I unfortunately live in normal NYC where I have to pay bills and stuff so I’ve been MIA with recaps for the past few eps but, no sweat. We’re gonna do a double feature of the above two eps and then I’ll group in the last battle episode with the upcoming episode. So lets catch up on what’s been going on in The Unsleeping City There’s a LOT to get through so vámanos y'all.

First up, we have our big bug fight in Queens, which Sophie enters with a camelback full of box wine because Emily is Emily.

“I’ve heard of gentrification but this is crazy!”

Brennan enjoys making those gross, chittering, bug noises way too much.

Have we talked about Pete’s cowboy hat? Because, for real, what is up with Pete’s cowboy hat? It seems absolutely apropos of nothing. Was he just like, “Sick,” and he decided to wear it everywhere? That seems to be how he makes all of his decisions.

“Butthole 2: Electric Boogaloo.”

Emily clocks the cat *immediately*. Like to the point where I’m almost thinking, “Did this cat exist before Emily mentioned looking for one?” And I want to say yes because La Gran Gata seems very fleshed out, specific, and intentional. But folks, we are living in a post-Avanash world so idk what to think. (Edit: The cat does have a mini now that I’ve gotten to that but idk, that insert shot could have been shot post ep so like, who knows?)

Anyway, Emily’s entire mission objective immediately becomes saving this cat she’s vaguely aware of.  

“5E you crazy.”

The Cast, Knowing Emily just rolled a 25 and still has a 1d8 Bless in Her Back Pocket if She Needs It: Brennan, Just Ask.

The horror on Emily’s face when she realizes that she just called an attack on the cat cocoon.

So Emily goes off on a very Emily side quest to rescue a random cat but happens to unlock a very cool NPC–La Gran Gata–who is like the spirit of all the bodega cats out there. Sophie immediately calls upon the entirety of her limited Spanish skills to try and make friends with the cat, and succeeds.

The, “To arms, to arms my brothers!” thing kills me every time. Are all rats just Like That? Is that what they’re like when they’re out and about too?

Kingston rolling a nat 20 to literally walk across the store is wild.

Oh also, Pete failed a wild magic surge roll which just lets him fly. So far, those wild magic surges have really been working out for him.

Anyway, Bug Boss Becky turns Ricky into a “buff-ass” dog.

Zac playing dog-Ricky with almost exactly the same self-awareness (or lack thereof) as normal-Ricky is so funny. He’s an Akita and I was expecting Dalmatian but that makes sense too. Ricky, the very good boy, attacks Becky and–as a Sentinel–stops her in her tracks.

Emily does a ton of damage and Brennan, about to describe her attack, is like, “Are you still drunk?” Emily shuts down the opportunity to look cooler and is like, “I am a messy, drunk bitch. Describe that.” Emily isn’t here to be cool. Emily is here to roleplay.

I had never heard the word brindled before now and Brennan uses it to describe two separate animals in this ep.

Siobhan rolls a nat 20 to dispel magic on Ricky which is objectively good but also I would have loved for him to be a dog a little longer. Also, this moment makes me really, really want to get some backstory on Misty. Like, clearly there are some serious Fae Shenanigans going on with her and I need specifics yesterday.

Also, Ricky comes back with pointier ears and wolfier senses and I’m just picturing Channing Tatum in Jupiter Ascending.

Before I forget, Sophie, Pete, and Misty yoink magical items from the magic bodega within the bodega La Gran Gata opened up. Sophie’s is a magic ring that amps up her punches. Misty took a mirror and Pete took a grill (like for your teeth). Not sure what those do yet.

The fact that this whole fight wasn’t under the Umbral Arcana and there are people out there that remember is a little concerning for me. I can’t quite tell if it’s the sort of thing that will come back or more of a warning of what can happen if the U.A. goes down again.

Post-fight, Sophie asks La Gran Gata for mismatched David Bowie eyes like the cat has. Siobahn goes, “That’s what you’re gonna ask? You drunk bitch.” But Sophie has her wish granted. I’m sure that won’t raise any questions with people who have known her her entire life. 

“She’s gonna fuck that cat.”

So the fight’s over and they realize that the Key to the City is missing which I can’t imagine is a good thing.

This brings us to the RP ep, We Need to Talk About Pete, which picks up directly where the previous ep ended.

Ally and Emily go for the exact same joke of getting Guinness’s post-fight. Kingston–as a medical professional, Vox Populi, and sanest adult of this troupe–loudly objects (smacking the beers out of Pete’s hands multiple times) and wants to know what the hell is going on with the bugs they just fought.

Sidenote: Sophie took a level in Warlock with La Gran Gata as her patron because of *course* she did. I wonder if this was the plan from the beginning or if Emily was watching all her friends spellcasting and started getting the jitters from magic user withdrawal.

Murph’s “What?” face when Emily says, “I’ll be waiting, but not in an impatient, desperate way,” is gold.

They search the bodega and find a thing of 1000 Hour Energy and Kugrash gives it to Ricky over Pete’s objections. They also find Holy Grail Laundry Detergent (Kingston pays for it), The Grill I mentioned earlier (Kingston hates this), and this bagel. 

All the magic users show up. Alejandro wants an explanation pronto and everyone points a finger at Pete who explains everything in his typical, nonchalant, vague, kinda spaced out way which Alejandro is not digging at all. He starts to go off on the enormity of the situation and Pete starts dropping acid.

I’m gonna stop here for a sec to talk about how Ally is playing Pete. There are moments when I feel like Ally is doing something as a comedian for a bit. And there’s kind of a sense of, is this funny? Obviously. But what are the in game implications of this move? Like the running joke of Pete constantly being high on something is funny, out of game. But,  in game, it’s massively concerning. And I’m really curious about where Ally is choosing to draw the line between doing the funny thing and doing the prudent thing. I almost said the in-character thing but Ally made a character so consistently bonkers that whatever he does could plausibly be the in-character thing. Pete is kind of a massive disaster.

Anyway, Alejandro drives home the point that Pete’s actions have consequences and have caused actual deaths at this point. Pete’s magic is internally going wonky as he gets more distressed (I really wanted to see a wild magic surge fail here but alas). But he’s still outwardly like a 4 on the giving a damn scale when the situation is a 13 out of 10. Pete is only half listening to this because he’s halfway out the door, smoking. Alejandro plans with Kingston to discuss Pete later.

Misty, always sowing seeds of chaos, suggests Alejandro stock up on Juul pods before they stop selling them completely. Kingston hates this (this is basically his mood for the episode).  

Outside, Pete gets a text from Priya which ends with them planning a meet up for later after leaving her on read for a while. Pete dips without saying anything to anyone but Kingston who ignores him (and also Sophie who Emily hilariously guilts Ally into including out of character). Dipping on the conversation about how to fix YOUR mess isn’t the wisest move but Pete isn’t the wisest guy.  

In the meantime, Ricky does the Twilight Bark to summon a dalmatian (yes!) to help him find the stolen key to the city. Kugrash turns into a busted ass dalmatian who has trouble keeping up.

Ricky doesn’t have the plate mail armor that usually makes a Paladin so unstealthy but he is so hot as to have the same lack of stealthiness which is one of my favorite adaptations of the game for this setting. Anyway, Ricky does the superhero thing of running through the city, helping everyone with a problem along the way, and loses the key in the Financial District which smells like death (feels about right).

Siobahn playing Misty as, “Oh, I can’t believe I didn’t realize it was Emma Lazarus,” when, in reality, she was the first person who made the connection was great. S/o to ppl who separate player and character knowledge. Misty partied w/ Emma of course because she partied with every historical figure that’s passed through NYC since she showed up.

Post adventure, people need to go to their day jobs. Misty has a +10 to performance but rolling a 3 is rolling a 3. It’s not her best work. Later, her assistant brings her holly, silver, and assorted other stuff which sounds like Fae BS if I’ve ever heard it. Misty cuts her off before she can elaborate more. I know we’re getting a secret spilling episode next time so I’m really hoping we get some Misty lore because she is being frustratingly cagey. She talks so much but says so little that means anything.

Kugrash sneaks into his son David’s house (while Emily learns a rat fact she clearly didn’t want to know) and Murph  and Brennan tag team go for the proverbial emotional jugular.

Murph rolls a nat 20 on his investigate and so he gets a lot of his old files and puts together that Robert is Robert Moses–a famous historical figure in NY who I actually heard about for the first time very recently. Or maybe I should say infamous. He did a lot with NY infrastructure–especially highways–(Emily connects this to the Highway Hex immediately) and he wasn’t exactly the warm and fuzzy type. His bread and butter was working the system. There’s a Pulitzer winning book called The Power Broker about how he was able to amass power and influence. I don’t know enough about NY history to run my mouth off about the guy but the little I do know is in character with his T.U.S. incarnation. Also, just FYI, irl this dude died in the 80s. So, you know. That’s interesting.

Brennan, I guess: Why invent new bad guys when history is full of terrible people I just have to give magic to?

Brennan, continuing his tradition of letting people get emotionally destroyed by nat 20s, has Murph find a crushing letter from David to Kug which was never mailed.

Note: So, as I was writing this, my video timed out right at the line, “I don’t expect this letter to find you before my funeral,” which is kinda good bc idk if this is what I need at 1 AM. Anyway, back to the pain.

The letter reveals that David has devoted his life to stopping crooks like him (Kug) and that he’s mostly upset about how his leaving has affected the younger, more fragile Wally.

“I leave the letter because I’ll remember it.” Yeah I bet you will.

It looks like Kug is gonna confront Wally next ep which I am now even more excited to see.

So let’s move onto the SECOND big gut-punch of the episode. Kingston goes down to the station to give a statement about the Santa Incident. He sees a shit elemental in a lineup which isn’t super relevant to the main events but I can’t not mention something like that.

Anyway, guess what? Kingston’s ex (Liz) isn’t dead! She’s an attorney for the justice system of The Unsleeping City and she’s pissed the hell off. During their interview, he stops the tape recorder to cuss out Kingston for going on a “date” with Misty and for getting her involved in all the magical junk which means she has to do things like fingerprint shit elementals instead of being on track to be D.A. like she originally was. The way she described it made it sound like she was press ganged into it which seems like it shouldn’t be how this works, you know? Is there no blue pill option here? Also, not to be all grass is greener but I actually am a lawyer in NY (closer to Kug’s job, minus the crime) and I would swap with Liz in a heartbeat.

The fact that anything Kingston says as Vox is per se admissible is a cool detail. 

Sophie fights an old man (Jackson) in a CVS and joins a monastery which sounds like a shitpost but it isn’t. With La Gran Gata’s blessing she is now a member of the Order of the Concrete Fist.

I saw the Staten Island joke coming the second Brennan started talking but it was still hysterical when it landed.

At the same time, Pete is getting knuckle tats because, sure. And he also goes to see Priya who I am baffled was with him for any length of time. Maybe it’s the artist thing?

Also, Sophie keeps postponing her meeting with Mario which is concerning to me. The story is still happening when you’re not interacting with it. Brennan specifically said when she texted him that she got no response which doesn’t make me feel good about what’s going on with him.

Ricky has three super jacked, fratty firefighter bros, all named John who are like woke as hell. I wish I could follow the dude around for a day because every single facet of his life is wild.

Well, this episode promised we were gonna talk about Pete so let’s talk about Pete.

The gang, sans Pete, meet up with the magical powers that be to discus the destruction the newest Vox his leaving in his wake.

Sidenote, wild that Sophie has been magic for like 15 minutes and got to go to this meeting.

Alejandro wants to know what the plan is for if Pete’s powers go off the rails again. Kingston, who has clearly seen Old Yeller, offers the most drastic solution immediately: if it comes to it, we take him out. (Cut to Ally’s “Yikes” face). Kug, Sophie, and Ricky push back on that.

Misty, hilariously (and also suspiciously), is mainly concerned about NY because she needs theater to keep happening. This woman is chaotic something and I’m not convinced it’s chaotic good yet.

Anyway, I already did my big write-up on this part of the episode, but I’ll say it again: Kingston is right. He’s harsh but he’s right. This is some Phoenix Force BS that’s happening and do you know how that arc ends (the OG one, not the million other Phoenix Sagas that have happened since)? It ends with Jean Grey killing herself so she doesn’t lose control and eat another planet. Ricky is too dangerous for his own good and he doesn’t seem to have the emotional maturity to care (or at least to care at the correct level). Like, he was a drug dealer when this started which is already not ideal. He caused a huge mess and then just bounced without trying to help fix it. He thought that a week was enough time for human casualties to be water under the bridge. Frankly, not considering the nuclear option and just having to figure out if killing him is something the group is willing to do on the fly would be the more irresponsible option.

And not including Pete in the discussion would bother me more if he hadn’t openly blown off every serious discussion people have tried to have with him so far. If he’s not going to take things seriously, it makes sense they don’t invite him to the serious discussions.

The version of this story where Pete accidentally gets a bunch of people killed, finds out what he did, cries about it for a full day, and then finds out they’re talking about possibly killing him is a story where Pete is more sympathetic imo. But still, finding out that people talked about killing you under any circumstances has got to be rough.

IMO, the order of things that should be done right now are (1) putting magical training wheels on Pete, (2a) getting Pete trained or his powers transferred if it’s possible/he wants out, (2b) either way, getting Pete into therapy (like, he needed therapy before he got magic. now it’s just a matter of life and death–besides just his own), (3) talking to Pete again about the stakes and telling him point blank but not in while heated that there’s the possibility of a scenario where his powers go out of control and you have to understand that at that point it’s a matter of saving as many lives as possible. Like, Kingston can say, with conviction, “If I go rogue, you should do the same to me.” They’re in the same boat. Kingston’s just been rowing longer. Well, similar boats anyway. I imagine the Vox Populi powers are less inherently chaotic. And maybe the knowledge that a nuclear option is on the table would make Pete not want the job or want him to have his powers muted or something. Cool. Then you have that discussion at that point. Just, these are the conversations that need to happen. And maybe his own mortality will be the thing that helps get Pete’s head in the game. 

What jewel did Ale take out of his pocket during this conversation? Taking note of that. (Juul, not jewel. Duh. Thx thethief )

Pete gets in touch w/ Alejandro’s granddaughters who tell him that Alejandro’s still pretty pissed (which is surprising to Pete but like, bro. People died). Then, Robert shows up to sweet talk Pete and show him the video (that he somehow has) of Kingston talking at the Pete Meeting. When I was watching this the first time I was like, “How long before this blows up in their face–oh, almost immediately. Cool.”

He takes Pete to his vampire nightclub and hits him with Pete’s own “I didn’t create the demand” line that you just know Brennan put a pin in to hit Pete with that Uno Reverse card.

Robert tries to get Pete to summon Nod and then just does it forcibly with some kind of blood magic when Pete is hesitant. Pete wild magic surges, kills a bunch of vamps, and Nod (super injured by being in the waking world) teleports them both to the subway.

The group (including Alejandro) meets them there so they can catch the L train to Nod but Epona shows up. And you already know from Fantasy High that Brennan is on the ACAB train (or is that AFCAB?). Epona is now wearing a crooked badge–crooked badge for a crooked cop. She wants Nod. No can do. The gang gets ready to–to quote Mr. Cubby-make some bacon while Alejandro tries to cast a spell to summon a train to Nod (the place not the person).

So I’ll see y’all next time (whenever that is) for some subway fighting and some backstory unlocking! 

[xbaepsae]

to the hilt

“In your mind, you run through a list of different scenarios and outcomes of tonight. Every one of them ends with Jimin at the end of your gun barrel, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun before that.”

[jimin x reader]

genre: criminal/assassin!au, angst

word count: 4.7k

a/n: so, this is a reupload! i just loved this fic too much not to post it again. i did add some things, but the plot hasn’t changed (nor has the ending). if it’s your first time reading it, i hope you enjoy! xoxo

There were many times when you questioned why you decided to choose this profession.

Not that you didn’t like killing people, for a good reason of course, but it was draining and left you without much of a personal life. You didn’t mind that, though; relationships and people were a hassle anyway. Besides, you were good at your job—the best in your division, in fact. Your skills are impeccable. So, you aren’t surprised when you get a phone call at six o’clock on a Saturday morning from your boss, Kim Namjoon. This is a normal occurrence; Namjoon always tended to call you at the most inconvenient hours, ordering you to do something.

You pick it up, sleep still heavily weighing your eyes and voice. “Hello?”

“Y/n?”

“What?”

“I need you to come in as soon as you can.” You groan but tell him that you’ll be at the office in twenty.

You arrive feeling much better than you did earlier, but still tired from being woken up so damn early. A part of you was used to the random calls, but you still hated it. Swiping your ID at the front doors, you walk into the lobby of your supposed building; but after being in this occupation for a while now, you knew that this scene was simply a façade.

Walking to the elevators, you step inside and press the button for the ground floor. After a few minutes, the doors part to reveal a dimly lit passageway. You leave the elevators and walk to where you know Namjoon would be. You vividly remember your first time walking into this space; you were surprised, and a bit terrified, to find something so well hidden in your city. If people knew about this place, who knows what they would say.

“Y/n,” Namjoon greets you the moment he sees you, a coffee in his left hand. He’s standing at a table in the middle of the room, papers scattered all around him.

“Please tell me you have a good reason for dragging me out of bed at this ungodly hour,” you say before taking a seat.

He cracks a smile, “Always.”

Namjoon moves to stand in front of you, picking up a folder. He stares at you for a moment before handing it over. You take it immediately, scanning the contents inside. As you look at each page in the folder, you don’t show any emotion—you don’t want your boss to catch a thing you’re feeling, not that you’re feeling much at all.

“So… what happened with this one?” you finally ask after looking through everything.

“Obviously, as you can tell from the folder, we don’t have much of a record on the guy… but we have some accounts—mostly those who’ve worked with him before and past lovers,” your boss explains. “But if someone ever hands us a case, it doesn’t really matter what the specifics are. We just do it.”

You nod because it was the truth—the details are worthless. If Namjoon received anything from anyone and handed it to you, you did it without question. “What exactly is it?”

You’re asking about the mission; what does he want you to do.

“They want him dead.”

Figures. That’s usually what they hire Namjoon and his people to do. You are used to it by now. After finding this detail out, you don’t question anything else and open the folder again. Looking at the small photo paper clipped to the first paper, you stare at the name neatly typed underneath the photo and smile a bit internally.

Park Jimin, you think to yourself, you’re mine.

***

The way that the club smelled made you want to gag.

All you have to do was take a good look around. The huge masses of people—young and old—grinding their sweaty bodies, mixed with the alcohol and lust that hung like an overcast in the air, was disgusting. There wasn’t even anything sexy or sophisticated about the place to begin with. Everything looked cheap—from the rotting walls, to the booths with no cushions. You are almost positive there was nowhere safe to sit. But then again, you assume that’s why people actually came here; not because they wanted a great experience, but because everything was as cheap as it got.

You are a bit surprised that no one has decided to call the cops yet on this dump, or why the cops never bothered to press charges to the place; there currently has to be multiple health code violations. Also, everything that happened here was downright illegal. Then again, it’s not like you really care anyway. You are on a mission—find whoever this Park Jimin guy is and kill him. The task should be easier done than said, especially if he came to a place like this.

With this particular case, and like most cases that Namjoon gave you, you weren’t given a definitive timeline to have the deed done. This was a good and bad thing; good, because you had more time to work with the situation, but bad because you had no idea when you’d finish. Normally, most of your jobs are a few days at most. The longest case you were given lasted a month, but that was because you had to get close to the individual. But with this one, you hoped things could be done tonight.

Honestly, you are tired. All you really want to do right now is go home, drink a glass of your favorite wine, and then go to sleep. But no, you’re here—surrounded by idiots.

To help you run into Jimin, Namjoon tracked his top ten location’s—including the place he lived. But it wasn’t your style to completely ambush the guy; you wanted to meet him by accident. Thus, you donned on your slinkiest black dress and came here. But of course, you didn’t forget your sleek gun, well concealed in your clutch.

You continue to walk deeper into the club until you reach the bar. There are no signs of Jimin anywhere and you hope that you chose the right night to show up. Taking a seat, you wave the bartender over and order a basic rum and coke.

“Here you go,” the bartender smiles, “I’m Yoongi, by the way.”

You flash your widest smile, “Y/n.”

For the next few minutes that it takes you to finish your drink, an easy conversation forms between you and Yoongi. You smile and laugh at everything he says, the entire situation acting as pure entertainment for you.

“Don’t you have other customers to attend to?” you ask, realizing that he’s been in front of you a little too long.

“There are other bartenders you know.”

You raise a brow, “Is there?”

“Of course,” he smiles, “I’d rather attend to you all night, if you don’t mind of course.”

You return the smile, feeling flattered that Yoongi seems to like you so much. The two of you jump into another conversation and he tries to get you to order another drink, which you attempt to decline as best as you can. You planned on being sober tonight. “I don’t think I can drink anymore, honestly.”

“Come on,” he moves a glass towards you, “just drink it.”

But your shake your head, “I’m good, Yoongi.”

“It’s on the house—” Yoongi begins to say, but suddenly stops when he lifts his eyes to stare directly behind you. Instantly, you feel something change and a strong aura fills the air around you.

“If the girl says she’s good, she’s good man.”

You can feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up at the voice; it wasn’t the deepest voice you’ve ever heard, but he spoke in a slow tone that was both sexy and terrifying. For a moment, you can only look at Yoongi’s face—the way his lips tighten up and eyes narrow. His whole demeanor changes, and long gone is the flirty guy you were just having an amusing conversation with.

“Chill, dude,” Yoongi says, backing up a step. “Y/n and I were just talking.”

Behind you, you can hear the man scoff and take a few steps, “It didn’t look like that to me.”

He takes a few more steps until he circles around to your right, leaning with one arm against the bar countertop. As your eyes focus on him under the dim lights, your lips part slightly at what you see. He is adorned in all black, tight fitting clothes that accentuates his lean but muscular physique. The sleeves of his button up are rolled up past his elbows, revealing veiny arms and silver ring clad hands. You take in the rest of him, from his tousled dark hair to his rather pump lips, and you’re speechless. You only look away when he catches you staring for a moment too long.

“It didn’t look like y/n was enjoying your company much,” he begins again, and hearing your name leave his lips makes you shiver. “She looks uninterested.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“I know a lady in distress when I see one.” Just like you did moments before, he gives your body a once over. However, unlike your reaction, he’s bold and smirks when his eyes reach your own. He even stretches out his hand, “The name’s Jimin.”

You momentarily tense; this guy was Park Jimin—the guy you’re supposed to kill?

He looks a bit different from his photo; but as you move to your eyes back to stare a little more at him, you realize that he’s definitely matured since the picture was taken. Damn Namjoon for not getting an updated photo of him. And you aren’t sure why, but you place your hand into his. Immediately, he brings your hand up to his lips and presses a gentle kiss on the back. You blush instantly; not expecting for him to do that at all. During this entire moment, from your peripheral vision, you notice Yoongi make a face and then walk away.

“Guess he wasn’t that interested in you,” Jimin says, a gorgeous smile lighting his face.

You shrug, “I think he was just trying to pass time.”

“Or get a little action.”

“That too.”

“So, what brings you to this quaint, little place?” he asks you, taking a seat on the barstool beside you.

You laugh a little, “I’m not sure if I’d call this club quaint, but I’m just passing through. You?”

“I drop by every so often to see what’s new,” Jimin begins, “and you’re definitely the prettiest little thing I’ve seen in a long time.”

Just as you’re about to become putty from his smooth words, you remember who you are and what you’re here for. Instead, you smile and play along. “Really?”

He nods, leaning in, “Definitely.”

“I’m sure you’ve seen prettier girls, Jimin.”

“Not a chance,” he moves even closer, only a few inches away from you now.

And you find yourself leaning in the slightest bit, eyes looking into his. You try to figure out what’s going on in his head, you’ve always been pretty good at reading people, but all you notice is how dark his chocolate irises are becoming. 

In your mind, you run through a list of different scenarios and outcomes of tonight. Every one of them ends with Jimin at the end of your gun barrel, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun before that. He was hot, and you can’t remember the last time you’ve been fucked; and you can already tell that sex with Jimin would be amazing. And just as you’re about to make a suggestion to him, it seems like he reads your mind because suddenly, his lips are on yours.

The kiss is hot, burning your lips, but you want more; you need more. So you lift your lips off of his and trail your lips against his jaw to whisper a few words into his ear. You can feel him smirk against your hair and before you can kiss each other again, Jimin is walking you both out of the club and hailing down a cab.

***

Sunlight streams through the window as you open your eyes, looking around the unfamiliar room.

You move your eyes over to the space next to you, seeing a peacefully sleeping Jimin, and everything from last night becomes fresh in your memory. Biting your lower lip, remembering the way his rough hands felt against your skin—and how he whispered the most seductive words as you reached your high—causes a small smile to form along your lips.

Last night was definitely one of the best sexual experiences you’ve had, probably ever. You can barely recall how many times you came undone, and the way your body aches is the most delicious pain. But you think about Namjoon and your job, and you shake the excessive thoughts away.

What a waste, you think, staring at his handsome face. If you weren’t on a mission to kill him, you would definitely consider spending another night with Park Jimin.

You get out of bed and slip your clothes back on. You move quietly, careful not to wake Jimin up. You grab your clutch, discarded onto the floor, feeling the cool metal of a gun through the thin fabric. And as you turn around, ready to whip out your weapon and shoot, you realize that he’s awake. Your eyes widen, and you tightly hold your clutch close to your chest.

“Where are you going?” His voice is deep from sleep.

And suddenly, you don’t know what to do. “I was… I was leaving.”

“Why?” When you don’t say anything, Jimin kneels on the bed and grabs your hand. He pulls you back to the place beside him. “Stay.”

And before you can argue, or pull out your gun, he kisses you and begins to peel your dress back off your body. Immediately, his hands latch onto your breast and you moan from the sensitivity you’re still feeling from last night.

“Jimin,” you say, already feeling wetness pooling at your core, “please.”

He smirks at your neediness, which you hope is distracting enough. And you get your answer as Jimin pulls your underwear down your legs. As he begins to slide a condom on, you lay back onto the bed and realize that the time is just not right yet.

You’ll get the job done, soon.

***

“How’s the case with Park Jimin going?”

You’re back in that dimly lit ground floor, sitting before your boss. “Good, so far.”

During all of your missions, you always had a mid-point checkup with Namjoon—unless, you managed to get the job done within a few days. Normally, your checkups were quick and he would dismiss you within half an hour. But today, you’ve been sitting in front of him for nearly twice as long and he hasn’t even spared you a single glance. From the moment you arrived, he ordered you to take a seat and started pacing back and forth in front of you. Also, normally, you never feel this anxious around him; you two know each other well and it’s never been like that.

But you can feel that something is off today.

“Y/n,” Namjoon finally looks up at you, “it’s been nearly two months since I gave you his folder.”

Internally, you’re feeling sheepish; foolish that Namjoon is talking to you like you don’t know how to do your job. But you do—you know how to do your job damn well… it’s just that it’s been difficult. You voice this thought to your boss.

“It’s just talking me a little longer this time,” you tell him.

“And why is that?”

You furrow your brows, “Park Jimin is… distracting.”

And you aren’t lying. The last two months that you’ve been around him, he never leaves you with a single opportunity to put a gun to his head. It’s frustrating that you don’t know how to get around him. Just when you think that you can finally move onto the next case, he gives you that look—one filled with lust and sinful promises—and you can’t say no.

“Do I need to assign this to someone else?” Namjoon says. “Perhaps to Jeon Jeongguk?”

“Hell no,” you immediately say. “There’s no way I’m going to let that little punk get the satisfaction.”

Jeongguk was also in your division, and an absolute pain in the ass. Granted, he wasn’t half bad at this criminal-assassin stuff but got way too cocky about himself. You could barely stand to be in the same room as him for more than a few minutes; and if he were to receive your case, it’d be embarrassing.

Your boss laughs, “Good. You are the best, after all.”

“I’ll get this done, Namjoon,” you promise. “Just give me more time.”

Thankfully, he nods and says you can leave now. You breathe a sigh of relief and walk to the elevator doors. You make it five steps before Namjoon calls out your name. Turning around, you ask what he needs.

“I don’t typically give you a time limit with these things, I trust you,” he says, “but I ask that you get this done as soon as you can. I have other files I need you to get on.”

You tell him that you understand and get out of there as fast as you can. Once you’re in the elevator, you bang your head against the metal wall. And once you step out into the lobby, your phone begins to vibrate in your pocket. Pulling it out, you see a string of new text messages from Jimin.

07:36 PM | Jimin: are we still meeting for dinner?

07:36 PM | Jimin: my place?

07:37 PM | Jimin: actually, i’ll just come to yours lol

07:38 PM | Jimin: i’ll be there in 10

You don’t reply, choosing to pocket your phone instead. Walking out of the building and down the few blocks to your apartment, you suddenly feel a lot of pressure to get all of this over and done with. What is wrong with you, y/n?

This whole thing with Park Jimin has become excessive. Yes, the sex was mind blowing but Namjoon was right—there are more cases to be dealt with. You can’t be dealing with this one forever. So, as you near your apartment, noticing Jimin’s car parked right outside, you decide that tonight’s the night. You’re just going to get it over with.

You take the stairs up to the second floor of the complex and push your door open. Jimin makes himself known to you instantly and captures your lips in a kiss. You instinctively respond, closing the door behind you. And as the two of you move further into the hall, he backs you up against a wall and smiles against your lips, “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” you lift your lips off of his with a final peck. “Hungry?”

You try to act as normal as possible, just so he doesn’t think something is off about you. And thankfully, he doesn’t seem to. “I’m starving.”

Kicking off your shoes, you walk into your little kitchen and notice that Jimin has already set up everything for dinner—plates, utensils, drinks, and food. You turn around to give him a confused look and he simply laughs. “I thought we were going to cook together?”

He shrugs, “Couldn’t help myself.”

“Well… thanks,” a smile slowly grows onto your face.

The two of you quickly take a seat on your island barstools and dig into the food. As you take the first bite, your eyes widen with surprise—it’s delicious. You voice this thought out loud to Jimin, feeling really impressed that he made really good food.

“I learned from my mom, so you should thank her,” he tells you, to which you laugh.

“I’d love to,” you say without thinking. And instantly you regret it, tensing up. God, y/n why’d you say that. You’re implying that you’d like to meet his mom. Idiot. “She taught you well.”

“Next time, I’ll make you another dish that she taught me.”

You look down at your food for a brief moment, suddenly feeling sick to your stomach, before looking back at Jimin with a smile, “Sure.”

Jimin finishes eating before you do and tells you that he brought over a movie for you two to watch. And as he goes to set it up on your TV, you finish the food and clean up a bit. While you do the dishes, you suddenly feel his arms circle around your waist. You’re startled at first, before you ease into his embrace.

“I thought you were going to put on the movie?”

He leans his head against the curve of where your neck meets your shoulder. “I already did.”

You laugh, “Okay, well, you can go ahead and sit down. I’ll be there in a minute.”

But Jimin doesn’t move, and only seems to be holding you tighter. “Y/n… can I tell you something?”

“What?” you ask, rinsing a dish and putting in on the rack. He’s quite for a moment and you figure that whatever he had to say, isn’t that important. And then he moves his lips close to you ear.

“I love you.”

You freeze. You stop breathing.

“What?” You shut the water and immediately turn around to face him. Lifting his face up with your hand, you stare into his eyes and feel tears threatening to spill. He can’t love you. Why does he love you? If only he knew why you even crossed paths with him in the first place at all—you’re going to kill him. You’re a killer. Someone like Park Jimin cannot love someone like you.

“I love you,” he repeats his words, bringing a hand up to caress your face.

“Why?”

“I know that we’ve only known each other for a short time, but these last few weeks with you have been the best weeks of my life. I love you, y/n,” he says, and you let a single tear fall. Jimin wipes your tear away, eyes searching yours. “Please say you love me too.”

You shut your eyes tightly, sighing, “Jimin…”

“Please,” he begs, pulling you into a kiss, “please.”

He kisses you harder, pulling your bodies together. You feel yourself giving in, losing yourself in him. Jimin pulls his lips away from yours after a moment, before moving to press a kiss along every plane of your face—your cheeks, nose, forehead, and eyes. He begs you again to say those three little words back to him, and you don’t know what comes over you… but you do, and it changes everything.

“I love you, too.”

***

You’re a fool. An absolute fool.

Another month has gone by and Park Jimin is still alive. But not only is he alive, you can’t imagine your life without him anymore. It’s a scenario you never anticipated to happen when you formulated your plan in that club so long ago.

That simple love confession from him has turned your whole life upside down. Now, you don’t want to complete your mission anymore. You physically can’t bear to think about putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger—you just can’t. It’s absolutely ridiculous and if Namjoon could see you, he would be so disappointed. But you haven’t bothered to pick up any of this phone calls in the last two weeks. The thought of talking to him is too much.

You know that you can’t avoid him forever; eventually, you have to answer his call. A part of you believes that you can just get away with this, but Kim Namjoon isn’t an idiot and he knows where you live. However, you have been thinking about ways to get out of this situation. You’ve thought about running away with Jimin. That should be easy, right? The two of you could just leave and never look back.

“What are you thinking about?” Jimin interrupts your thoughts.

“Nothing,” you smile, pressing a kiss against his lips.

It was nearly noon already, but neither of you have bothered to leave his bed yet. Your main reason is that it’s just easier to pretend everything’s okay here; you two can just be Jimin and y/n. “It can’t be nothing if you look so stressed.”

You move to straddle his hips, keeping him from saying anything else. “I’m fine.”

This strategy seems to distract him enough, and he suddenly places his hands on your bare thighs. He rubs from your knees, up to the edges of your underwear. “If you say so, my love.”

And you let yourself forget everything as you kiss him again.

***

You wake up when you realize that the spot beside you is empty.

Never has Jimin woken up before you. You’re always the first one up—you had to when you were still on that mission to kill him. But this particular morning, you’re alone in bed and his apartment is dead quiet.

Concern gnaws at your insides and you call out his name, wondering where the hell he could be. Before you get out of bed to go look for him, you reach into the bedside drawer next to you and pull out the gun you still kept around. For a moment you wonder if Namjoon got tired of waiting for you to complete this mission and sent someone over. But before you can think more about that, you hear someone enter the room and you shove the gun underneath you pillow.

You look towards the intruder and nearly collapse from what you see. “Jimin?”

There at the door, with a gun in his hand, is the man who confessed his love for you. He’s still dressed in the clothes he fell asleep in last night—a simple white tee and boxers—but the expression on his face is anything but familiar.

“You’re awake,” he says, walking closer to the bed.

“What are you doing?” You stare at him, confused.

The gun spins once, and then twice in his hand. “What does it look like, love?”

You rack your brain for an answer to this confusing image before you, but you come up with nothing. Why does he have a gun? Where did he get that from? In your internal debate, you watch as Jimin steps closer and closer to you.

“Why are you doing this?” you ask, but he doesn’t say anything. “How long have you been planning this?”

“Don’t think you’re the only one with secrets, y/n.”

Your heart stops—is he talking about your mission? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jimin merely laughs, but the sound emanating from his mouth is cynical and borderline demonic, “Cute. Are we playing the lying game now? Oh wait—we’ve been playing it since that night in the club.”

“You knew who I was?” you hiss, mentally kicking yourself.

“I’ve always known,” he cocks his head to the side, running a hand through his dark hair that has grown considerably long in the months you’ve known him. “This game we’ve been playing, y/n, has been fun… but I think it’s time to end it. What do you think?”

“Who the hell are you?” you ask, wondering where is the Jimin you’ve come to feel so much for.

“Who the hell are you?” he retorts and then says, “ten.”

As Jimin begins to count backwards, he reaches eight and you pull out your own gun from underneath your pillow. “I should’ve pulled the trigger that morning.”

You aim straight at Jimin, and he does the same to you.

He frowns, “But you didn’t, did you? Seven.”

“I was beginning to fall for you,” you say, brushing your messy hair back.

“That was your first mistake… six.”

A sigh leaves your lips, “Tell me Jimin, did you ever care about me?”

“Five… of course I did, y/n,” he looks into your eyes and you see emotions swirling in them, “I meant it when I told you that I loved you. Every word.”

“So, let’s stop then,” you try to reason with him, “I didn’t go through with my mission because I’m in love with you.”

Jimin doesn’t look away from your eyes, “You know we can’t do that… three.”

“And why is that?” You can feel your heart squeeze tightly in your chest.

“Because this is who we are, my love: killers.”

And then all you can hear is his soft voice whisper one before a gunshot goes off.

[theeverbloomingdarkness]

Marluxia in KH3- UPDATED

Here it is folks. Everything about Marluxia/thoughts in KH3 under the cut. Get ready.

***Spoilers. SPOILERs. Spoilers everywhere. Whole game spoilers***

ALL RIGHT. To Begin, I’m going to go through all of Marluxia’s lines. After that I will go into my personal opinions and such. This is going to be a hot mess of a post but I hope everything is understandable:

“Missing someone?”

“She’s such a precious gift. Allow me to assist you in getting her back.”

“Has-beens?” Now why would you say that?

“My name is Marluxia, and yes, that is correct.”

“How interesting it is to see you again, Sora.”

“A shame you’ve no memory of me, because I remember you exceedingly well. Although… It’s /those/ memories I’d soon erase.”

* This one is interesting only because I found it confusing I couldn’t tell if he was talking about himself or Sora. Second opinions?

“Nor should you. Nor will you ever, for that matter.”

“Now, if you’ll permit me, I’ve come to ask a favor.”

“Please hear what I have to say.”

“I’m sure you’ve noticed… Well, perhaps not. But you should know that maiden with you, Rapunzel, is the very light of this world. I would see you guard her from its dark horrors.”

“All the Organization seeks is balance.”

*Is this what you sought/seek though? Unfortunately KH3 did not give the Marluxia answers that I was hoping for. We still have no idea what Marluxia was ever seeking/ no idea what he ever wanted. Motivations remain unknown.

“You must understand, our ultimate objective is not to clash with the light. We seek to complement it.”

“Use that keyblade… To keep Rapunzel safe.”

“Oh dear… He’s run off with the crown and forgotten you.”

“Forget Flynn Ryder.”

“You know where you belong, and it’s not with him. Now…”

“Show some decorum. The girl has found her dear mother. You should let them be.”

“Because Rapunzel is far too important. Atop her tower, she must remain out of sight, and live out her days with Mother Gothel.”

“That is /exactly/ what it’s like.”

“Rapunzel’s hair holds the powerful magic of healing. And yes, Mother Gothel wants it for herself. As do others.”

“And, if Mother Gothel’s actions will protect Rapunzel, preserve her… then she is doing the Organization a favor.”

“Let’s say she’s keeping Rapunzel on the shelf for us. An extra pawn in case you fail to find the remaining guardians of light and we have occasion to call on other hearts of light instead. A new seven hearts to fill out the ranks.”

“Yes. Seven who inherited the princess’ light after their role was fulfilled.”

“Hmph. I just knew you would go and make a scene.”

“Very well, then it’s lights out for you.”

“You always were such a sound sleeper.”

* An odd line for Marluxia to make. Could be referring to Sora’s year in the pod that he learned about or DDD, seeing as all the black coats were indeed there at the end

“Fallen to darkness… We can’t allow her near our pure light now. Her presence would only cast a pall over it.”

****With the Rapunzel world there is the obvious similarity to what happened at Castle Oblivion with Namine and that she was too useful/important for Marluxia’s plans to release and was therefore kept imprisoned as a means of making her do what they told her to. 

Marluxia also seems to display that, once again I say, he operates under a very ‘for the greater good’ mindset.

Like I stated earlier, it is unclear if Marluxia himself is/was seeking the “balance” he mentioned. It’s possible, but there are reasons for and against this that come into play later, and by that I mean amnesia. 

-----

“So, why are you back?”

“Xehanort doesn’t care about you or me. To him, we’re nothing but empty husks. The old Organization was the same. Xehanort needs thirteen vessels to hold his essence.”

*This is a biggie, because even though I wouldn’t say it’s perfectly clear-- It’s saying Marluxia knew/knows what the old Organization was planning. This could be a reason for his plan to overthrow Xemnas, but OF COURSE they still didn’t tell us exactly why Marluxia started the rebellion or what his plans/motivations are. Marluxia is woke here. He knows what Xehanort’s plan is, now and then, and he’s telling Larxene for the first time.

ANOTHER THING they didn’t bother to tell us is why the hell Marluxia went along with Xehanort for this entire game.

“Saix brought Vexen on board. They must be planning to use replicas.”

“Vexen’s latest replicas are no mere puppets.. The Riku replica we used in Castle Oblivion was just a prototype. The next replica, the one crafted from Sora’s memories, was real enough to join our ranks.”

*He remembers Xion? Plothole detected?

“And Vexen claims the new ones will be human in every way. If he ever finishes them.”

“Oh… so /now/ it all comes back to me. *Laughs* Yes… My heart is remembering how to feel. And now, I am on the cusp of reclaiming my identity… My purpose for being…”

*********Amnesia confirmed? Marluxia didn’t remember his past (possibly) but at this fading moment, his memories start to come back, thus leading him to “remember how to feel”. He’s so close to remembering who he was and “his purpose for being”. Which is theorized/implied to be resurrecting/finding Strelitzia, his little sister.

Although I say amnesia confirmed, the confusing part about this is that when Xemnas is like, you four have a bigger purpose because of your big secret that you’re all ancient keyblade wielders-- I can’t tell if they’re like ‘How does he know?’ or surprised because WTF is he talking about, ancient keyblade legacy? Marluxia in particular just narrows his eyes. It could be his way of showing suspicion/surprise or it could be because Xemnas just spouted out his secret.

But this directly contradicts the Marluxia Amnesia moment when he’s fading away and says his memories are returning.

(Xemnas claims that the four of them have a special purpose, yet we never hear or see anything about that at all for the rest of the game -___- I guess the Norts were defeated before they could get to it? I wish I knew what their special purpose was supposed to be.)

Curse this series for being so unclear.

“Thanks to you, Sora.”

Marluxia had a real, positive laugh. And a real smile at the end. I never thought I’d see the day. Great moments. Likely overlooked by many, but to me I’m like, wow. Just think about everything about his character up until this point. He’s one of the most emotionless members of all the Org. I joke about him being dead inside or stone cold because of this, but he finally got to feel something when his memories came back to him, remembered feeling.

In the past games it was explained that even though Nobodies don’t have hearts, they have their memories and remember the feelings, but Marluxia with amnesia wouldn’t remember anything, no feelings at all- Couldn’t remember a time he ever felt anger, joy, or sadness.

And upon death he finally got to start remembering some things about his past and felt emotions- And to add tragedy into the mix, is starting to remember his “purpose for being” which has got to be about being Union Leader and Strelitzia’s murder, and his desire to find her and bring her back.

HOWEVER, rather than amnesia, it could be purely that he forgot how to feel specifically rather than forgot all his memories- and even though he remembered his past he didn’t care anymore/feel anything toward it because of the disconnect with his past self as Lauriam/not remembering how to feel.

HOWEVER, against the amnesia theory is that if Marluxia had amnesia, how would he and Larxene remember each other? Larxene is the one who says she was just along for the ride with him, and it seems like they remember their past together. I could be wrong though, maybe she is just referring to their time in the Org. specifically and they got along so well naturally because of their past even though neither remembers. But if Marluxia lost his memory and Larxene didn’t, you’d think she’d fill him in, unless she lost her memories too, which we got no indication of except MAYBE her reaction when Xemnas says they are ancient keyblade wielders. Unclear reactions in that scene, could go either way.

--------

***BIG THING. You can actually miss two cutscenes in the Final World if you don’t investigate every star, and one of them is theorized to be Strelitzia. It is only Namine’s star and this star who get their own cutscenes”

*Nameless star: Strelitzia?

Upon Sora asking if someone’s coming for her/to save her, she says:

“I cannot be certain. His heart’s been changed beyond recognition—his heart replaced with another’s.

“But, were he to regain his old self again, he would be distressed by my absence. So I choose to wait here, where he can find me.”

Sora asks what their name is so he can tell that person where she is if he ever comes across them, so the star floats up to Sora’s ear and whispers a name we cannot hear and says, “Our secret.”

It is thought that she must have said Lauriam if this is indeed Strelitzia, because if she said Marluxia you’d think Sora would FUCKING MENTION IT THE NEXT TIME HE SEES MAR. 

Also, like I said, you can miss this scene entirely (because I did lol as well as the Namine one). Because it’s an optional scene, naturally it isn’t going to be brought up again in the main story, so the thinking here is that she did not say Marluxia because Sora would have said something, therefore she would have had to say Lauriam. Further evidence of this being Strelitzia is that when asked if Heartless or Nobodies did this to her she says no, it was a somebody.

***MY GRIEVANCES:

- Marluxia’s COM actions remain unexplained. We do not know why he did the rebellion or what his motivations were, although now we can say that it is likely he probably knew about the vessel plan during that time.

- Marluxia’s boss fight got totally shafted. I AM glad that Lord of the Castle played, but I still wish the fight had been more MORE. Each of the characters only had like 3-4 moves they did. Marluxia and Larxene’s team attacks were cool though. I realize that this game/saga was about all the actual Xehanorts and BBS trio and yada yada so I knew Marluxia wouldn’t be at the forefront of anything too big or involved or have a big later game boss fight compared to the actual Norts.

- Why. Why. Why???? WHY? Why did Marluxia go along with Xehanort? They NEVER give an answer to this. Larxene does, but we don’t get anything about Marluxia in this game at all. It doesn’t make any sense for Marluxia’s character. Larxene and he even straight up talks about their rebellion and Larx is like want to do it again? Marluxia doesn’t answer because the scene continues on but we never go back to Marluxia after this.

The plot was all wrapped up pretty nicely, and then there’s THIS. 

This is what grinds my gears about Marluxia in KH3 the most. It never made sense why he would go along with being Nort and it still doesn’t make sense why he would. They didn’t even bother to try coming up with a reason.

Solution: It should have been Marluxia and Vexen who teamed up instead of Demyx. I mentioned this in my read more post where I talked about what a legend Vexen is. It would have solved the above problem and been believable, would have had a great dynamic between Marluxia and Vexen because of their past together and Vexen’s hatred, as well as the fact that Vexen himself is now a hypocrite rebel type :P And considering how easy it was for Vexen and Demyx to just leave without any consequences, why the fuck wouldn’t Marluxia?

The game doesn’t supply any answers. Honestly I think Nomura just wanted Marluxia to be be involved in the fight, and that’s the reason for this writing choice. And that’s it. 

The ONLY maybe acceptable reason for why Marluxia went along with it is because Xehanort had too strong an influence over him and he couldn’t. This is supported by Streltizia’s star(?) saying that “His heart’s been changed beyond recognition-- his heart replaced with another’s. But were he to regain his old self again he would be distressed by my absence”  

She’s saying that he’s not himself, and this also further supports the amnesia theory and him not remembering her.

((Reading the Secret Reports. The mystery girl can be either Skuld, Ava, or Strelitzia . I don’t think it’s Strelitzia however for obvious reasons. IE I think she is the Nameless Star/is ‘dead’. Also Xigbar has her apparently because she went with him when Ansem the Wise released her. 

Secret reports also confirm that Young Xehanort appeared to and took Vexen with him in Radiant Garden and that from the very beginning Vexen was planning betrayal/wanted to atone. He did it to gain easier access to his old replica stuff.) Secret reports also reveal that one of the Dandelion Leaders is a fake, a “virus”, IE Blaine 95%, and is attempting to allow the Five of them to escape into another worldline. AKA how Marluxia got to our time most likely. ALSO the report states that the girl remembers four friends and a keyblade. Strelitzia DOESN’T have friends/ has no four friends!

The mystery girl is either Ava or Skuld. Though it seems odd it would be Ava due to what Xigbar said in the epilogue about her not joining them, but I won’t write it off. This means Mystery Girl cannot be the Nameless Star btw because she is alive and was released/is said to be with Xigbar. Could be Skuld due to fact Xigbar says Blaine/Virus planned to send the five Union Leaders into a different world line, so Ventus, Lauriam, and Skuld wound up in ours.

Due to mystery girl (Skuld?) having amnesia and Ventus having amnesia, it makes sense for the Amnesia theory to hold true for Marluxia as well, since they all traveled to the future by the same means AKA something Blaine did.

Also want to point out that Nameless Star floats up and whispers in Sora’s ear like Marluxia does in KH2 data fight, which could be nothing, but it is an interesting similarity.

- THE FUTURE. A new chess board with Seven evil pieces, five being the old union leaders and xigbar (no ava), leaving two open spots. I REALLY HOPE they don’t throw Marluxia into yet another Organization baddie team.

Marluxia, Larx, Lux, and Demyx are almost certainly going to be involved in the next installment, particularly Marluxia as the old Union Leaders are returned and with Xigbar, and mainly the fact that Marluxia still has to bring Strelitzia back.

We’ll see what the future brings (In ten years), but that’s my thinking. The next installment seems heavily based on the MoM and the story/characters of Union X, so I think Marluxia has to be hugely involved because he is the most involved out of the four of them.

Pieces: Unicorn, Goat, Leopard, Snake, Heart with wings, Bear, and what seems to be a Fox(?)

In summary: We didn’t get any solid answers about Marluxia. We did get some small things, but they contradict each other, so it’s all unknown.

((I hope I didn’t forget a point somewhere but if so I will update the post))

[junionigiri]

Ruby Red and Caramel Ch 3: Dark Chocolate Truffles

Chapter Summary: Late nights and late nights.

Relationship(s): Bakugou Katsuki/Yaoyorozu Momo; background Hagakure Tooru/Sato Rikido; background Kendo Itsuka/Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu

Rating: T

Warnings/Notes: after internally debating with myself where to cut the chapter because there’re so many words i cut it right in the middle of a scene ahhh wth. I hope this isn’t... too awkward T_T

as always, also available on AO3 (JuniRiceBall) and FFNet (Juni Onigiri)!

Momo makes it to Ward Five as planned, with a sharp gleam in her eye, a skip in her step, and a determined swing of her ponytail. Kendo Itsuka is already there with all the charts in front of her, ready to do rounds with her. She’s in the middle of an animated discussion over the phone though, so she patiently waits for her to finish.

“Mmhm. Mmhm.” She glosses over the charts in front of her as she intently listens to the other end of the conversation. “No… Tetsu, that’s... Don’t panic, okay? It’s just potassium, you just have to--” She catches Momo’s eye, gives her a lopsided grin. “No, Tetsu, the patient isn’t going to die from that, okay? Listen, so Yaoyorozu’s here, I have to discuss a ton of cases with her, so maybe ask Shiozaki for help if you’re not sure? No, she isn’t going to send you to hell. Not today. Hopefully.”

Momo stifles a giggle when she hears Tetsutetsu’s distressed voice clearly through Kendo’s phone: “Kendo you know she’ll kill me for this!!! Please I’m stupid and you’re smart and you’re the nicest one I know help me help me help--”

Kendo giggles. “Fine. I’ll help you, and you’ll buy me dinner, okay?” She bites her lower lip and has to pull the phone a couple of inches off her ear from Tetsutetsu’s overexcited yelling. “Okay. I’ll text you. Bye.”

The redhead finally hangs up the call and gives Momo an apologetic grin. “Yeah, sorry about that Yaoyorozu… you know how Tetsu gets sometimes.”

Momo nods in understanding. “You do know him best, Kendo-san.” The shine of her teal eyes, how her finger twirled ‘round her vermilion hair, and how she can’t stop smiling doesn’t escape her.

The other girl snorts and slaps her on the arm playfully. “Hey, what’s with that look? Are you… teasing me?”

“Oh, not at all!”

“Yes you are! This is so out of character for you, Ms. Prim-and-Proper. Since when have you acted like a charm school delinquent, huh?”

“I only calmly regarded how… radiant you seemed speaking with Tetsutetsu-san, that’s all!”

“Whatever, Yaoyorozu,” the redhead counters playfully. “Is this a takes-one-to-know-one kind of thing? You’re the one who’s ridiculously perky these past couple of weeks, you know.”

“... I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Momo begins, putting her nose up in the air haughtily. Isn’t it unfair how Kendo easily changes the subject of scrutiny from herself to Momo? They were talking about her obvious affection for Tetsutetsu, and now… “And we aren’t talking about me, we’re talking about--”

Kendo’s gaze is a little too investigatory, and she finds herself avoiding her gaze altogether. “We can tell, you know. Smiling all the time? Literally bouncing when you’re talking to anyone and everyone? Humming Mariah Carey’s Emotions, on loop?”

Momo sputters, “It’s a good song!”

“Yeah. Honenuki tells me that he and Todoroki have that song stuck in their heads for an entire week now ‘cause of you.”

Oh. So that explains the pained look on Honenuki-san’s face whenever Momo comes in. Has she really been humming that song all the time? But it’s a good song, a classic. Anyone can fight her on that.

“Whatever it is… you got it bad, girl.” Kendo ignores how Momo’s ponytail starts twitching tensely as the accusation comes forth. “Even Best Jeanist asked me if I knew why you’re acting strangely.”

Momo freezes and starts to fret. She thinks she did a good job of separating her silly, dreamy adolescent feelings from her work facade, but apparently she hasn’t, if their infamous training officer has noticed a change in her. “Dr. Hakamata noticed something? Oh, did he comment on how I lack confidence again? Or maybe he wants to give me more duties, because I’m not doing very well?”

The redhead gives her an odd look. “No, of course not Yaoyorozu! Actually, it’s the opposite. He likes how you’re suddenly so… bright and positive and decisive.”

Momo can’t keep her surprise hidden. She feels her ponytail twitch upward happily. Kendo notices and stifles a giggle.

“He actually asked me if anything good happened to you. Like, if you won the lottery or something. But I’m sure it isn’t the lottery, since I’m sure you have like a pile of inherited gold doubloons hidden somewhere in your room--”

She most certainly does not have gold doubloons in her room. She isn’t a pirate or a dragon with a hoarding complex. But Momo has invested in gold before. She chooses not to clarify that point for her.

“--whatever it is, he says you should keep it up. Aren’t you glad, Yaoyorozu? Best Jeanist practically gave you his blessing to keep seeing this mystery person of yours~”

Momo can’t keep her face from flushing when she sputters, “That’s not--Dr. Hakamata doesn’t know about--”

“About what? Or… whomst?” The neurologist gives her a little eyebrow-wiggle of her own. “You’re thinking of a specific face in your head now, aren’t you?”

“No-one! Really, Kendo-san!” She’s relieved that Kendo doesn’t have a mind-reading quirk, because the face of a certain blonde cafe owner that flashed out of nowhere in her traitorous mind would be misinterpreted as cold, hard evidence of her outrageous claims. “I think we should start discussing these cases, please? We have a long day ahead of us!”

“Mhm.” Kendo shrugs and says nothing more about the subject. The mischievous grin on the other doctor’s face doesn’t go away, though, and Momo knows that she isn’t off the hook. “So about Mr. S in room 504-A…”

Kendo starts to discuss the new referrals eloquently and seriously. With a laser-precision focus, Momo pushes all the silly love-struck soundtracks and explosives to the back of her mind.

 *

 Momo is correct. It ends up being a long day. And even though she doesn’t have night duty that day, the evening rush is over by the time she finishes everything and steps out of the hospital. As is her habit for the past couple of weeks, she looks both ways and crosses the street and quietly peeps through the windows of the NTG Cafe.

The lights are dimmed. The little wooden signage that hangs at the glass door reads Closed. Momo sees Kaminari at the far end of the cafe, rearranging the last of the tables and chairs and then disappearing at the back.

She sighs. Of course she didn’t make it. It’s eleven in the evening on a busy weeknight, and people should be going home to rest by this hour. They all have a full day ahead of them tomorrow.

Well--it’s not so bad. As a direct result of her being so ‘bright and positive and decisive,’ as Kendo-san eloquently put it, for the past few days she was able to finish work earlier and to make it minutes before the cafe closed. And because of that, she has been able to see Bakugou-san more frequently. So she’s only a little down when she decides that it’s all right that she isn’t seeing him tonight, for once, and decides to go home to her apartment.

As she turns around to leave though, the door chime sounds behind her. “Hey. Ponytail,” a familiar rumble calls out to her, sending a shiver down her spine.

She turns around, trademark ponytail swishing behind her. “I have a name, Bakugou-san.”

Despite her stern response, she can’t stop the smile breaking into her face.

Bakugou has that unbearable smirk on his pretty mouth when he looks at her up and down, as he usually does when they meet. He doesn’t have his apron on anymore, and Momo is treated to the sight of him, lean and mean in a tight-enough black collared shirt and jeans. His arms are crossed, showing off those strong arms of his, the sleeves of his shirt struggling to contain them, and she’s so sure that if she leapt into him right now he’d be able to…

Momo internally reprimands herself for still not being used to this sight after 2 weeks of exposure

“Whatever. You comin’ in?” His gruff voice interrupts her unladylike ogling. She snaps up to attention to look at him curiously.

“But it’s past closing time already…”

The blonde shrugs. “Never stopped you and your bottomless-pit-of-a-stomach before, Brainy.”

By this time she’s almost completely immune to his natural predilection for profanities, even those targeted towards her. She hopes she isn’t bouncing her way inside when she obliges.

Bakugou leads the way to their usual spot near the counter, orders her to sit down, and disappears out back. Kaminari, already clad in his casual clothes, ambles his way up to her with his backpack, evidently ready to go home. He greets her with a wiggle of two short blonde brows. “Hey, doc~ You’re here a little later than usual. How’s the hospital?”

“Oh, busy. But nothing that I can’t handle. Thank you for asking, Kaminari-san!”

“Aren’t you bright and bouncy, Yaomomo! Man, you have no idea how starved I am for a pretty face--it’s just me and Baku-boss the entire day, and I’m just about to lose hope in the human race…”

She giggles. It’s always hard to keep one’s composure around the jocular Kaminari-san, but she tries her best. “Oh, I can only imagine. And the cafe has been busy lately, right? But you seem to be doing a good job.”

“Thanks! You’re the only one who thinks that!” He makes a face, hears Bakugou coming out from the back again, and exaggerates the said face. “Did you hear what Dr. Yaomomo said, Baku-boss? She said I was doing a good job! You should give me a raise--”

“Didn’t hear a fuckin’ thing,” he grumbles as he places the tray on their table. “But, I should give you a fuckin’ deduction for what you did to the fuckin’ toilet, Pika-shit. Thanks for remindin’ me.”

“Whey. This is abuse,” he sighs dramatically amidst Momo’s giggles. And then, a look of concern on his face. “But hey, you’re going home soon, right, Baku-boss? I mean… you know we can’t keep Dr. Yaomomo for too long here…”

The odd, careful tone in his voice doesn’t go past Momo unnoticed. Bakugou doesn’t look up to meet his gaze. “Yeah it’s fine.”

“You sure?” Strangely insistent and gentle to the point of being parental, Kaminari leers comically close to his boss’s face and narrows his empty eyes. “We got a full day tomorrow, boss, and it’s way past your bedtime--”

“Fuckin’--what are you, my mom?! I said it’s fine!” He shoves the shorter blonde’s face away with one strong hand, making the latter yelp and discharge a few shocks from his head. “Now get the fuck outta here. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Okay~ You two take care, I guess.” The concern in his face is completely gone, making Momo wonder if she was just imagining things. Kaminari salutes her with his usual silly grin and double thumbs-up. “Y’all have fun now! Good night!”

“Good night, Kaminari-san,” says Momo, with a gentle wave of the hand. When he disappears, she shifts her attention to Bakugou, who has already grumpily fallen into his seat across from her. “Is… this really okay, Bakugou-san? He seems worried for you…”

“Tch,” he begins, as grumpy as is the norm. “Don’t mind that dopey fucker, a’ight? I told you it’s fine.”

She stares at him quietly. There are circles dimming the undersides of his eyes, and a very subtle droop in his shoulders as he sets the plates in front of her. But his eyes are fully awake and alert, and when he reaches over to grab her hand and push the cutleries in her palm, as always, his hands are as strong and fiery hot as they’ve ever been.

“W… well… if you say so,” she relents. Maybe she’s looking too much into it. It is late, after all. Anyone would look tired by this time. She turns her attention to the food in front of her instead, and feels herself brightening up considerably. “Oh, Bakugou-san, it’s beautiful…”

Discs of vibrant, rainbow pasta are layered up with filling. From the light, stimulating fragrance emanating from it, Momo can only guess there’s fish, shellfish mousse, and vegetables blended and cooked perfectly within. The piece is plated artfully and tastefully on a wide plate. She feels all her senses activate her hunger centers, but also feels terrible at the prospect of cutting the dish open and ruining the aesthetic.

But the feeling doesn’t last long when she takes the first bite of the meal. “Oh my… Bakugou-san…!!!”

The cafe owner snorts at her first reaction, which is to moan a little too suggestively and stomp her feet in an undignified manner. “You like that, Ponytail?” he says teasingly.

She can’t believe how good it tastes. Before she can stop herself and regulate her excitement, the praises escapes her mouth. “All the layers are exquisite! The cacciucco, the shellfish mousse, and the broccoli work so well together! And unexpectedly, the pasta balances the flavours neatly! Everything is just elegantly done!”

There’s no way that he didn’t spend hours making the dish. Either that, or he’s an actual demon in the kitchen. It won’t take a lot to convince Momo of that anymore. “You know it,” Bakugou says easily, with a self-satisfied smirk. “When have I ever given you anything that ain’t cooked to fuckin’ perfection, Ponytail?”

Never is the only answer to that question. But Momo doesn’t tell him that, because she’s perpetually worried about how big his ego is getting and how unhelpful she is in that regard.

Which reminds her… She puts down her fork, making Bakugou raise an eyebrow that she even dared to stop in the middle--really, does this man think of her as nothing but as eating machine?--and delicately pats her mouth with a napkin. “It’s delicious, as always, Bakugou-san,” she begins, when he looks like he’s about to sit up and loudly demand an explanation from her. “But I’d like to pace myself, for one. Also, I want to show you how I appreciate the meals and company you’ve given me so far…”

The mild confusion in Bakugou doesn’t go away, and grows and grows when Momo shifts in her seat to rifle through her handbag and to push a slim box into the blonde’s hands.

“The fuck is this, Ponytail?”

His odd reaction catches her off-guard. “It’s a gift, Bakugou-san.”

“It ain’t my fuckin’ birthday or anything like that, Brainy.”

“I know it isn’t,” Momo tells him humorously. Although, come to think of it, she doesn’t know when his birthday is. She takes a mental note to somehow wheedle out that information from him later. “It’s simply something to show my appreciation for you. You’ve made me these marvelous things, and I don’t think I’ve done enough to do anything for you in return…”

His face remains skeptical as he opens the package. “Memento Truffles, huh?” he says flatly. The look in his eyes is unreadable. Momo doesn’t want to think that he’s unimpressed or insulted, but the way his eyebrow raises, she isn’t sure what to think.

“Do… you not like them?” she asks carefully. She hopes her ponytail isn’t deflating too much. She’s glad that she didn’t tell him about how she has had to beg her mother to contact one of her dearest friends in Belgium to purchase and have them delivered via priority mail within the past week.

Unaware of her inner turmoil, Bakugou pops one casually in his mouth. “Hm. They’re not bad, I guess,” he says thoughtfully mid-chew.

“Not bad…??” Momo begins, affronted beyond reason. “Jacques Memoir, one of the top ten chocolatiers in the world, handcrafted these! When you bite into them, you ought to feel as if you’re simultaneously remembering all the nice chocolates you've ever eaten! Dark chocolate that is neither too sweet nor too bitter, the insides of which are soft and whipped, but do not immediately melt… toppings of Hungarian paprika, violets, wild flennel that give an unexpected punch of flavor… the pleasing, classic aesthetic that ties them altogether… is merely not bad for you, Bakugou-san?”

He listens to her affronted monologue with a self-satisfied smirk. “Yeah. I could do it better.”  

The girl sputters indignantly. Bakugou almost chokes laughing at her mid-swallow. “Y-you think you can do better than one of the top ten chocolatiers in the world?!”

“Nah. I know so.” The self-satisfied smirk on his face tells Momo that he isn’t even joking and it just blows her mind how highly he thinks of himself. “What, you think I’m talkin’ shit?”

She scoffs. “You’re simply unbelievable, Bakugou-san.”

“Don’t I know it.” She only rolls her eyes at that, and he laughs again. Ugh, she should really hate it, but she can’t stop her stupid mouth from smiling when she hears it. “Anyways, this is too much for me, Ponytail. Come on. Eat.”

“Hm? Oh, but these are for you, and you only... I have to repay you somehow, for--”

He actually growls and widens his eyes like a wild animal at that remark. “I ain’t fuckin’ cookin’ you all these great meals so you could pay me for it. What do you think of me, haa? If I wanted to, I’d be chargin’ you a fortune from day one.”

Momo pauses and feels her heart squeeze. Did she just… insult him somehow? Was her gift too much, too soon? “That’s… not my intention at all,” she says quietly. “I’m sorry if the gift is too much, Bakugou-san. I’ll take note next time.”

He snorts and puts the truffles down between them. A silence envelops them, with Momo half-heartedly poking through the rest of the dish, and Bakugou staring right at her with searching ruby eyes.

“If you want to give me a gift that bad, Ponytail--”

She snaps her head a little too quickly to look at him.

A mischievous glint is in his eyes. They look challenging, somehow. “Make me something.”

She blinks. “Um… I can’t cook, Bakugou-san…”

He sneers at her. “You know, somehow I guessed that.” Momo pouts at him, but cannot contest the point any further. “But that’s not what I fucking meant.”

She tilts her head curiously at him. “So… make something? Oh, like a collage or a papier-mache? Oh, I’d love to, I have so many ideas--”

“No! You fuckin’ nerd!” Momo hates how easy it is to make him laugh at her expense. “I meant, make me something with your fuckin’ quirk! Geez, and I thought you were supposed to be a genius…”

“Oh,” she says with a little humph. Really, he should have started with that. She wouldn’t call herself a genius, but she isn’t usually this… daft. “Well, I suppose I can make you something… what would you like?”

“Fuckin’ anything. Sky’s the limit. Come on.”

“That’s the point, Bakugou-san. If you won’t be specific, it’ll be hard for me to think up of something you would like…”

“Fine,” he says gruffly. “Make me… something that’ll remind me of you when I look at it.”

How… how could you say that so nonchalantly, Bakugou-san? With that rumble in your voice, that roguish glint in your eyes, that devil-may-care smile? Momo feels herself blushing from her neck to her scalp, and dares not open her mouth lest another undignified sound escapes from it.

Also, there’s nothing specific about his request! What is she supposed to make? She straightens her mind, forms an image in her head, breaks down the components of the object and wills it to form over her chest.

The object materializes in between her breasts; for modesty’s sake she turns around, and to her relief she senses the explosive barista turning away of his own accord. When it’s fully formed, she takes it and places it gingerly on the desk.

Bakugou shifts his gaze to the object. A smile is on his face as he slurs out, “Now that’s more like it, Ponytail.”

Matryoshka dolls are one of the first things she’s learned to make as a child, and one of her favourite things to create. She remembers telling Bakugou about it, when they talked about quirks during one of their dinners in the past week. “This isn’t like one of the dolls I’m used to making though,” she explains as she watches him open the dolls with interest, one by one. “Instead of the usual babushka designs that I tend to make, the dolls are dressed in explosive-themed dresses. Because you’re the human incarnate of a bomb.”  

“I can see that,” he says, amused. The grenades look real in his hands, oddly, like they would explode into blossoms of light in his explosive grasp. “Looks like you were thinkin’ of me when you made it, huh Ponytail?”

She tries her best to say, “Yes,” without blushing further.

“Well… they’re the best grenade dolls made of fat I’ve ever seen, Dr. Ponytail. Good job.”

She stares him down in annoyance and playfully moves to snatch the dolls away from his grasp. With another obnoxious laugh, he keeps it away from her reach, stands up, and walks to the counter.

“There. Now everyone who walks in the cafe can stare at your fat and see how nice it fuckin’ looks,” he tells her with a victory smirk. “This belongs here now. No takebacks.”

Speechless, Momo can only nod weakly at him.

The night ends as it usually does, with Momo crossing the street to her home and Bakugou watching her until she reaches the lobby. She looks back at him and gives him a small wave of the hand.

Tonight is a little different, though, because for once, he waves back--no hesitations, no pretenses. He walks back to the cafe, lights shutting behind him, and Momo is absolutely stunned.

She can’t stop the smile forming on her lips, or stop the impulse to hug herself and roll around her bed like a teenaged girl when she makes it up to her condo unit.

 *

 Perhaps it was the next day during a short lull in her busy workday when Momo receives a phone call from an old friend.

“Hey, Dr. Momo! So you’re alive after all!”

Momo smiles down at the phone. “Satou-san! Oh, it has been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It is. You haven’t been visiting us for sometime now. I feel like you’ve been having an affair with a different cafe!” Chef Satou Rikido uses his best hurt voice, but it’s still playful and makes Momo giggle.

“Stop, please,” Momo says lightly. She keeps her mouth decidedly shut about his accusation of having an affair with a different cafe. “But you are right, Satou-san. I haven’t been visiting for some time now… I really should, shouldn’t I?”

Satou hums from the other end. “Well, I sure hope you do, doc. I actually called to ask if you were going to make it on Friday.”

Momo blinks once, and then rapidly when realization dawns on her. “Oh my… Friday is that night already?”

The chef makes an affirmative noise. “Yep! Satou’s Coffees and Cakes Farewell Party! All of our patrons and favorite customers are welcome! And you really are one of our favourites--you know, Hagakure’s sad that you haven’t been going, and she’s going to throw a tantrum if you don’t show up on Friday…”

“Oh! Of course I’ll be there, Satou-san!” She stares at the calendar on the office wall--good, she doesn’t have to stay the night then. “You can count on me! Please, tell Tooru-san and Koda-san to save some of the chiffon cake for me!”

“That’s great! I’m glad, Dr. Momo. We gotta see you before we leave for Paris, eh?”

“... We?” asks Momo curiously. As far as she knows, Satou is going to Paris by himself for further training as a patissier.

“That’s about it! I’ll see you Friday, then!”

Not knowing the meaning of the cryptic message, Momo shrugs and makes it through the work day, until the rest of the week passes by in its usual blur and it’s already Friday. She finished a little later than she’d like, but she needs to show up to Satou’s.

With a bottle of rose champagne, she enters the familiar, homey interiors of Satou’s Coffees and Cakes.

The bell hanging over the door announces her arrival. She sees the party already beginning at one of the reserved areas of the restaurant. About twenty people are already there, passing bottles and hors d’oeuvres around.

She makes her way inside--at the center of the room, a commotion is already going on, and seeing the character involved, she quickly understands why.

“Satou Rikido!!! The star patissier of the Musutafu Culinary Academy’s deplorable class A!” Monoma Neito, of Monoma’s Boulangerie et Patisserie, is dramatically wailing as he always does. He’s got a half-filled glass of wine in one hand, and a half-empty bottle of fine Cabernet Sauvignon in the other. His face is already flushed pink, likely from the alcohol. “Again! I prove my superiority to you!!! All that you’re going to learn in Paris, I already know like the back of my hand!”

A cacophony of drunken hoots and boos and sneers emanate from the crowd. Satou, however, only looks mildly amused at his declaration. “I know, Monoma. No-one’s as good as you when it comes to French cuisine.”

More boos. Momo recognizes Sero Hanta’s voice from the crowd, “No way! Team Satou all the way, baby!!! Monoma, your orange chiffon cake sucks!”

“Silence, you plebe!” Monoma makes a grandiose gesture--some of his wine spills in the process--and again points one finger at Satou. “Listen here, Satou! Our rivalry is only put on hold! Once you train abroad and come back, you’ll have no further excuses! I’ll be able to prove once and for all that Monoma’s makes better pastries! So you better come back, and--”

His tirade is cut short when Satou laughs and takes him in a surprise bear hug that takes all the air out of him. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll miss you too, buddy! It’ll be lonely baking without you yelling across the street!”

The crowd goes aaaaw!!!, and the suddenly speechless and blushing Monoma can only freeze and bristle like a confused cat before awkwardly returning the hug.

Momo covers her mouth at how cute the scene is. While it was stressful to watch the first time she saw it, she’s going to miss the noisy rivalry between Monoma and Satou. Her visits at Monoma’s will surely be quieter for the next few years…

A glass of sparkling wine is under her nose in the next moment. Blinking, she turns to see a floating pink-and-purple dress next to her, accompanied by a cute voice. “Dr. Yaomomo!!! You finally made it!”  

“Hagakure-san!” They hug each other warmly. Momo takes the glass from her. “I apologize for being late! It got really busy at work.”  

“We guessed as much! But I’m happy that one of the world’s best neurosurgeons made it to our little party!”

“No, not at all,” Momo begins weakly, but trails off when Satou spots them and comes up to them. “Oh, Satou-san, congratulations!”

“Thanks! Wow, you really made it, Dr. Momo!” He gives her a bear hug, which also knocks the wind out of her, and takes the bottle of champagne from her. “This sure is fancy, doc. This for us?”

“Of course! Apart from saying goodbye, we have plenty to celebrate… after all, you’re going to work with one of the top chefs of Paris! It’s a big deal!”

Satou laughs heartily. “I can think of other important things that deserves a fancy drink such as this.”

Momo blinks curiously at him and looks at Hagakure, who also appears confused, judging by how her sleeves are shrugging. But before she can ask what he means, Satou is already calling everyone’s attention by tapping his wine glass with one strong finger. “Everyone! May I have your attention please!”

The people in the room simultaneously turn quiet and turn to stare at them. As they give their attention to Satou, Momo takes the opportunity to scan the faces in the crowd. Sero Hanta, one of the nurses from Hosu Gen’s pediatrics ward, is standing next to Aoyama Yuuga from ICU. Some of Monoma’s staff, namely assistant pastry chefs Kinoko Komori and Tsuburaba Kosei, are both trying to steady their obviously inebriated boss. Their occasional part-timer, Rin Hiryuu is also there, quietly standing next to a frowning man with a camera. She’s able to recognize Tsunotori Pony, the prominent businesswoman from Texas who invested in both Satou’s and Monoma’s, looking on with mild interest.

Both Kirishimas are also there. She sees Mina pausing mid-chortle to listen to the announcement. And under Kirishima Eijirou’s arm is an obviously disgruntled and partially uncomfortable…

“... Bakugou-san?” she whispers out loud.

The explosive man is at the other end of the room, surely out of earshot, but looks up at her bewildered whisper. When red eyes meet black ones, his mood visibly shifts. That trademark devilish grin of his makes it to his mouth and catches her off guard.

Momo tries not to look to happy at this unexpected meeting, and busies herself by drinking her wine a little too quickly.

When the room has completely quieted down, Satou begins to speak. “First of all, thank you for coming to my humble little gathering… tonight, as you know, is the last time that I’ll have all of you here to eat my food as customers and friends!”

Momo hears the audience make a variety of sad sounds, especially Hagakure beside her, who starts sniffling. But she can’t concentrate, not when Bakugou is staring at her like that…

“... well, at least the last time until I get back in three or so years,” Satou adds with a laugh. “I’d like to thank you all for coming to celebrate with me. It truly has been a pleasure serving you all for the past five years--”

… and her, staring back at Bakugou like that. Perhaps. It’s his fault. Momo hasn’t ever seen him wear anything other than his work clothes. And to suddenly appear before her without warning, wearing a black button-down shirt, with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up, showing off his nice arm--and those dark jeans, different from the looser, mildly distressed ones he wears to work--

“--and I’ll never forget all of your support and… sheesh, I’m not really good at these speeches.” Satou cuts his speech short, to a comical effect, and raises his glass amidst chortles from the audience. “Cheers!”

“Cheers!” Momo almost misses the cue, and attempts to take a sip from her glass, only to find herself drinking empty air.

Bakugou notices. He looks like he’s about to burst from laughter. She gives him a stern look, but again tries her best not to smile too much.

Ah, but it’s a little hard. She might have drunk her wine a little too quickly after all. And on an empty stomach too. She’s light-headed and bubbly and teetering on the edge of embarrassing. She focuses away from his piercing gaze and back to the man of the hour.

“But that’s not all I want to celebrate.” Satou begins again. “I also want to celebrate my co-workers for being with me for the past five years--Hagakure-san! Koda-kun! Come up here, won’t ya?”

Hagakure stammers next to Momo. She’s able to catch the server’s meek ‘what’s going on?’ before the smaller woman bounces her way next to Satou. Koda, the quieter server, doesn’t look as confused when he walks up to the chef, but looks quite nervous all the same.

“So as many of you know, Koda-kun won’t be in the restaurant business for very long,” Satou says, patting the large man on the back. “He’s finally about to finish his Veterinary Medicine degree, like he’s always wanted to! Everyone, say Congratulations, Dr. Koda!”

“Congratulations, Dr. Koda!” everyone chants, to which the anxious animal doctor signs his thanks frantically.

“Now… as for Hagakure Tooru-san.” Satou turns to her with a playful smile. “You haven’t told any of us your plans after Satou’s closes down tomorrow, right?”

Hagakure falters. If Momo could see her face, she’s sure that she has a sad smile on her face then. “Th… that’s because I don’t have any plans at all, Satou-san--I mean, this is my first and only job, and I really like it very much, and--”

There’s a break in her voice, and Momo is sure that she’s trying her hardest not to cry. The audience makes a simultaneous sad aaaaw. Satou pats her on the back with a large hand and looks at her warmly. “Then… if it’s okay with you, Hagakure… I have a proposal for you.”

It happens very quickly--one moment she’s looking up at him, confused and speechless, and in the next moment she’s looking slightly downward when he falls on one knee in front of her, and everyone else.

“Uwa~~???!” She cries comically, as suddenly Koda brings a violin out of nowhere, playing a touching rendition of Love Me Like You Do. Someone flips a switch somewhere, and rose petals suddenly float from the ceiling, all around the invisible girl who’s mesmerized beyond words.

“Hagakure Tooru,” Satou attempts, as he holds up a little velvet box in his large hands, presenting it in front of the girl and her incomprehensible sobbing, “We’ve known each other for the past five years… you changed my life for the better… so if you would do me the honor of going to Paris with me, as man and--”

She screeches excitedly and practically throws herself at Satou. “Yes! I will, Satou-san! I will! Yes!!!”

“Let him ask the frickin’ question, Hagakure!” Someone yells from the audience, amidst all the clapping and cheering.

“Shut up! I’m getting married!!! And going to PARIS!!!” Hagakure retorts loudly, much to everyone’s laughter. She’s literally beaming, she’s so happy she’s covering the entire room in flashes of light, and the party has to continue cheering and drinking their wines with their eyes closed.

Momo feels tears stinging her eyes--she isn’t sure if it’s her overwhelming happiness for the happy couple, or if it’s all the light getting into her eyes. It doesn’t last very long, but the flashes are enough to make her dizzy. As her eyes are closed, she feels a familiar warm hand enclose around hers, and in the next moment she’s being dragged to somewhere else.

She opens her eyes when cold air hits the bare skin of her shoulders. The first thing she sees is the night sky and the bright full moon calmly glowing within the darkness. The stars that are visible against the city lights are few and far in between, but still they glow brightly and beautifully, unaware of the mess of life below them.

“Fuckin’ finally.” The rumble creeps up to her ear and crawls right into her thumping chest. “I got you where I want you.”

She smiles as quietly as her heart will allow her. “Good evening to you too, Bakugou-san.”

His blonde hair glows ethereally under the scant light of the sky. He’s close to her, close enough that she sees the shadow of his lashes on his cheeks. “Yeah. Good evening or whatever, Dr. Ponytail.”

“I didn’t know you were invited as well.” She takes two careful steps backward, increasing the distance between them. She doesn’t know why she wants to, why it suddenly feels so dangerous to have Bakugou close to her. “And I didn’t know that you were close to Kirishima-san, as well--”

“Yeah. Diabetes invited a lot of other cafe owners. You've seen that other blonde psycho," he says, pointing his thumb at the cacophony inside. "And Shitty-Hair’s a guy from my high school. Still fuckin’ clingy after all these years…”

No remorse at all for the terrible nicknames he’s given everyone. Momo gives him another stern look, and he leers right back at her. “Really, Bakugou-san. Is it so difficult for you to call people by their given names? You know, come to think of it… I’ve never heard you call me by my actual name since we met!”

“So?”

“So… do you just have terrible manners, or a terrible memory for names?”

“Definitely the first one,” Bakugou replies brashly. “My memory’s awesome, thank you very much.”

Momo humphs. “I highly doubt that. I’m willing to bet that you call people by those terrible nicknames based on appearances because remembering things is something you’re bad at. And you don’t want to admit it, because you hate being bad at something. I’m willing to wager that you can’t even remember what you had for breakfast.”

“French toast and OJ,” he answers easily. And then, with that dangerous grin on his face, continues. “Try again… Yaoyorozu Momo.”

Oh… no.

She feels herself freeze under his searing hot gaze. Her mouth moves, but all she’s able to manage is a meek bite of the lower lip.

“What? Why you lookin’ at me like that… Momo?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous. Just the mention of her own name in his voice, and already it does things to her insides that are hard to describe. She fights to keep her gaze steady, her mouth in a straight, unaffected line. She knows it isn’t working, because he’s smiling and sauntering closer and closer, and she isn’t moving away.

Please, Momo, get a hold of yourself--

“You heard me.” She’s flustered, and he knows she is, and he isn’t stopping. “You’re starin’ at me like…”  

That smile, that awful, awful, smile. Momo struggles for a witty remark. “Like what, Bakugou-san?” is all she’s able to manage, in a voice that’s too breathy for her own.

“Katsuki.”

She blinks.

“If you’re gonna whine about using names, I’m gonna call you Momo from now on,” he tells her--tells her, not asks, as a man like him is wont to do. “But you gotta call me Katsuki in return. Aight?”

“All right,” she says. She straightens herself, looks at him right in the eye. “Katsuki-san.”

He clicks his tongue. “Fuck no, what am I, your fuckin’ supervisor? Try again.”

She giggles. “I apologize. Then… Katsuki.”

He smiles. “That’s more like it.”

He’s standing close to her still--one more step forward, and he’d have her cornered against one of the tables out in the garden. He’d be so close, if he pushed her just a little bit, she’d fall over it. And he’d have to catch her in those arms, he’d have to lift her up and over the table, wedge himself between her legs, and then he’d be close enough to crush his lips against hers, and--

And whatever it is, Momo would let him, would let him get his hands all over her hair, her bare skin, her face--

No, Momo, have mercy on yourself oh my god! She takes another step around the table, distancing herself away from the man and his heady scent. Too much, Momo, too much. Calm down.

Surely he isn’t like that… She’s sure he’s different, this Bakugou Katsuki. They’re merely friends, one of them a little more inebriated than the other, perhaps. Their odd relationship is the reverse of many poor experiences with men she's had in the past, where she's treated as nothing more as an object of their desire.

And now here she is, thirsting for him in her mind, rather shamelessly and one-sidedly at that. She reprimands herself for her debauched thoughts, again, and clears her throat for some clarity.  

A quiet falls over them in the next moment. There’s a bottle of wine on the garden table next to them, with two glasses. A nice, benign set-up, between friends who like to talk and eat and drink together. She gestures for them to sit down, and he obliges.

“I suppose since there’s wine, it’s only logical for us to drink it,” she tells him as she moves to pour into two glasses. Before she is able to fill his, he stops her with one hand.

“I don’t drink. Don’t fuckin’ force me to,” he says sharply.

“Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.” So it really is just her with alcohol to blame for any form of candour. She puts the wine aside and leaves him with an empty glass.

“But if you want to drink, I ain’t stoppin’ ya from getting shitfaced,” he continues. He cradles his head against one hand and stares at her with interest. “Don’t make me carry you home though. I ain’t a princess carriage or anything.”

She sticks her nose up in the air. “I know my limits.”

“If you say so… Momo.”

[shtish]

Just do the whole 1 through 35 of the dnd asks, you know you want to

@alextblue​ said: “For the DnD ask: 1, 2, 31, 32, 33″

So you’re both getting what you want, let’s get into this thing! I’ll put it under a readmore, because holy shit will this thing get long.

1. A favorite character you have playedIf I really have to choose… I loved playing Thora Snowfoot, my 11ft tall, draft horse-based centaur. Started out as a life cleric, but in the end killed her goddess and became one herself. (Long story short, the original goddess was basically lying to part of her worshippers and also causing the world to die, so Thora and the rest of her party decided to put a stop to it, and succeeded!) Although I’ve also recently enjoyed playing Bottle-O-Wine, a grumpy Kobold who has a drinking problem and a giant rivalry with another party member. Also Margret, the escaped biological experiment (dragonborn but reflavored) and a bardlock whose idea of being smooth when teleporting into a room she shouldn’t be in is saying “I was looking for the toilet?” before teleporting out again.

2. Your favorite character that someone else has playedEmmmmm… I think Tizen would be my favorite. Also from the Thora campaign (which was called Sever btw), but he was a very edgy warlock, whose patron was Thora’s goddess in her not-lying form. We called his race Fiends, basically a fancy way of saying “satyr” (minus the horny connotations… Well technically he had horns BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN)

3. Your favorite side questOkay, so this wasn’t technically a side quest in the traditional sense, but it was one of the most emotional moments from the Sever campaign to me. You need to know a bit of background about Thora for this: Thora became a cleric of Epona because of her mentor Rotlaus, an elderly centaur who saved her after she pissed off a moose. The animal broke her hind leg, and if it hadn’t been for Rotlaus stepping in and scaring it off she would have died. He then introduced her to Epona, and she learned pretty much everything from him. This was all fine and dandy, until the mindflayer invasion happened, and we all needed to storm a castle to get to the next barrier. We made the mistake of storming the wrong one, and Rotlaus died a horrible death while our party was teleported to safety. But what we did not know, was that the Stillborn God (god of death) gave Rotlaus the choice to return as a revenant, and to go around the country killing people to create a mindless undead army. Thora learned about someone killing entire villages, and heard murmurs of this killer being Rotlaus. She tried to contact him through Sending, which worked, but not well enough to actually have a long conversation. So she went to him on her own, to understand what had happened. It was at this point she learned he was a revenant, and she could not get him to stop murdering whoever was around to create this army. She left very distressed and feeling super guilty, and Rotlaus took his army to the city of Aesengaard. Thora swore to herself that come what may, she would find the way to fix this, asking her goddess for help. Epona went “No can do, he’s the Stillborn God’s property now”, and Thora got more determined to Fix This Shit.Fast forward to a few months later, when she learns that Epona is also Shub Niggorath, who used to be a powehungry Alhun named Glyoc. Thora gets very fucked up about this because she’s spent almost all of her life serving a lie, loses most of her magical power, and has to realize that she is her own power. Goddess or no goddess, Thora is the one that protected her friends, not Epona. She undergoes a ritual with the help of her friends (fucking emotional moment as well, as they have to give their favorite memories of Thora to help her stay grounded and herself and UGH MY HEART), which ends in her ascending to fucking godhood on her own.-This is where the favorite side quest comes in. Because Thora goes back to Aesengaard. Back to the army of shadows, back to her revenant mentor, and stands before them all. And she offers them a choice. Because they were murdered where they stood, and raised again to become an army to fight an enemy without getting a chance to say no. Because Rotlaus was given a choice with strings attached that he did not fully understand. Because he would never have gone around murdering people if he had had a proper choice. Because it was not fair. She could now offer them the choice. No strings attached. If they wanted to continue and fight, they could. If they wanted to go home, they could. No conditions. No fine print. “Under whose authority?” asks her mentor.”Mine.” Thora lifts her staff, and brings it down on the ground. A wave of energy comes off of her, weaving through the crowd of silent shadows, rippling outward through the ruins of Aesengaard.Nothing stirs. Until something does. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a shimmer of color come back into the form of a shade. And slowly, flesh starts to knit together. Some figures hesitate, but then they too begin to materialize. Clothes are torn, but visible. Hair flutters in the soft breeze, and feet shuffle on the floor. She is surrounded by a crowd of breathing, living people. There is no divine presence here. It’s just her, and them. An army of former shadows. Who have a choice now. And then someone collapses. And another. And another. They stop breathing and close their eyes, and simply fall to the ground. Her heart stops in her chest as she looks at what is happening around her. Has she done something wrong? Is Shub behind this? Did she make a mistake?And then she looks at their faces. They are peaceful. And as Rotlaus sinks to the ground, he looks up and smiles at her. His old smile. The one she hasn’t seen in a long time.”Thank you…”-Thora Snowfoot lifts her staff and brings it down on the ground again, harder. The earth begins to rumble as the buildings of the abandoned city begin to collapse into fissures that pull apart all around her. The bodies fall too. A perfect 200 foot circle of rubble forms around her, finally bringing the dead to rest. She lifts her head, smiles, and sends a message to her home.There is peace in Aesengaard.

4. Your current campaignThe newest one we’re playing and planning on keeping going long term is called Four Color Engine, but we’re also playing one called Happy Trails (which is underwater, pirate-ish, and definitely dark in many places). Another friend of mine is also running one placed in the MtG universe, which is also great fun.

5. Favorite NPCI think that spot goes to Tezzeret in the Kaladesh campaign (the MtG one). In that campaign, we had a joke session where we would NOT deal with the boss, due to some of our players being out. So the rest of us decided we’d use magic to pretend to send him a letter from Tezzeret’s future self, so he would allow our super powerful allies to join us in a dinner at his place. He gets the letter, kiiind of believes it due to our swashbuckler’s mad forgery skills, and casts commune with planes… And promptly loses his entire memory because the spell misfires. We took him in, then some random vampire ripped his arm off, and my first character gets to the scene first and frantically tries to stop the bleeding. Later that evening, she brings him a cup of tea and they have a long talk about how you can change for the better, even if you have done terrible things. This later turned into her becoming his secretary, them fleeing from the cops, and eventually settling in a cottage with goats on another plane… Only to promptly get targeted by an assassin and having to find Tezzeret new legs due to assassin-removal. /The shenanigans of Suki and Tezzeret caused him to shift from evil to neutral, and I really love that development. He’s great in our campaign.

6. Favorite death (monster, player character, NPC, etc)The best death was Shub Niggorath’s (lying goddess from Sever). Bitch cast invulnerability on herself when she was almost down, but Thora ripped it away with a dispel magic. AND THEN WE MURDERED HER WITH THE HELP OF THE COMPUTER PROGRAM RUNNING THE WORLD!!! Very satisfying to finally murder that one and save the entire world to boot.

7. Your favorite downtime activityGetting to know my party members and the NPCs around us is definitely my favorite thing to do. ^^

8. Your favorite fight/encounterHmmmmm… We had a very funny one with a wizard called Tavorlin the Passable, who was a fan of our party and gave us all nicknames. That was a fun one. I also really like ones where I can work around the encounter and turn it into not-a-fight. The one with the monster that Giggle and Bubbles had would qualify as well. We chose to talk to it instead, and Giggle even wrestled it for fun.

9. Your favorite thing about D&DI think my all time favorite thing is exploring the relationships between characters, and seeing them grow and overcome obstacles.

10. Your favorite enemy and the enemy you hate the mostMy most hated enemy… Anything that can kill me or my party with no save. My favorite ones would probably be the ones that I don’t need to kill to win.

11. How often do you play and how often would you ideally like to play?Depends on the campaign. We’ve got one currently going once every week, and a bunch of others that happen whenever there is time. I’d love to play twice a week though, or even more often, but alas. University is a thing.

12. Your in game inside jokes/memes/catchphrases and where they came fromThere’s a bunch of them, but the one that was written on my door due to poor timing is the following:Tezzeret: -struggles to put coat on due to having lost an arm-Suki: “Do you need a hand- I mean help?” There’s also the “[X] happens. “Tizen squints”My friend who plays Tizen tends to squint suspiciously a lot. So now when someone squints at something that happens, we say “Tizen stop possessing them”.

13. Introduce your current partyLet’s introduce the Happy Trails one, since that’s what I’m playing every week!1. Jack. The Pirate captain of the ship we all sail on. 16 years old, somehow the owner of a ship, dumbass who finds everything cool and does not take the responsibility as captain very seriously. He’s damn good at stabbing shit though, and tends to find everything his crew does just fine. Very chaotic neutral.2. N’chastacha Atsee (me). A piebald Yuan Ti Fighter/Pugilist, who takes pride in her position as Quartermaster. Speaks with long “s”, uses the rigging to grapple and throw her enemies overboard, and defends the NPC crew fiercely (although she might hang people from the rigging for a night if they offend her, so it’s best to tread cautiously). Probably one of the more responsible people on the ship, and does not seem to have a whole bunch of humor. Used to date a princess, but only learned about her ex’s identity recently. Probably lawful neutral in alignment.3. Paranoia (played by @creepygoblin). A Tiefling Rogue with tight leather pants and a very heavy French accent. Most likely to use weird ritualistic sacrifice or sell people into slavery with Jack, and has given the captain drugs and too much alcohol on multiple occasions. But hey, she’s very good at what she does. Alignment wise she’s some sort of evil, but I can’t quite remember what. 4. Theo. Our Triton Ranger, who used to be a whaler. He’s a bit racist towards Knotsmen, but otherwise one of the more stable people on the ship. He is up for adventure, as long as he does not need to leave his best mate Otto behind. Very good at shooting harpoons and setting chocolate factories on fire. No clue what his alignment is, but I think Neutral.5. Otto Kuchenheim. The ship’s cook, human Emergent/Physician, and with a very boisterous laugh that is used about every other sentence. Also the host to a weird creature that telepathically yells “REAP BREAK SOW” every time it gets out and rips our enemies apart. Which happens when Otto gets too fearful, generally. It’s a bit touch and go with him, but hey, he’s part of the crew now, and the thing hasn’t taken an arm from anyone of the crew… yet. Some sort of Neutral as well I think.

14. Introduce any other parties you have played in or DM-edThat will take forever tbh… I’ll introduce the Sever one, since that is over now and probably the most fun. 1. Thora Snowfoot, Clan of Blacksock (me). Life Cleric Goddess, originally worshipping the Goddess of Life, Epona, before learning she and Shub Niggorath were the same and deciding to become her own god. Snowfoot centaur, a bit on the serious side, but fiercely loyal and protective over those she considers close. She spent most of her life with her family, but had to leave them on their treks due to a bad hind leg. This is when she got roped into trying to stop first a Mindflayer invasion, and then a Beholder invasion, and then ultimately saving the world from Shub Niggorath. She spent that time keeping the group together, making sure her friends survived the fights with her healing, and make sure to not give up on the world. It was never an option to flee and leave it to die.2. Aelin Naïlo Xylia and Fayre. Played by @alextblue. Aelin was a Hideling (homebrew race) Ranger/Druid, with Fayre the white panther as her beast companion. Aelin lost her family when she was very young to a big abberation they tried to slay, and spent most of her life around the small village of Sigrholm in Sever, borrowing books from the library and carrying out some hunting for the villagers on occasion. Arguably the most “childlike” in her enthusiasm about many things, but also the one that ended up imprisoning Cthulhu in a vault that she controls. She also managed to get her feet turned into hands over the course of the campaign. In the end, took the role of goddess of nature, and started a giantass wildlife sanctuary.3. Rin Velvetmane. Rogue Trickster Cleric Falabella-based centaur. She got kicked out of the community that she lived in under the mountains, and found her way to the surface very angry, distrustful, and only moments away from stabbing people’s kneecaps. A pro at hiding for at least 33, and later learned she used to be a mountain elemental who joined a pact to reincarnate continuously to attempt to save the world from the corruption Shub Niggorath brought to it. This also led to us discovering that Rin used to be Aelin’s mother, a plot point that we then all refused to further investigate because it was Hella Weird. Rin ended up usurping the god of death by forcing him to take on her form through evoking duplicity on him, and basically turning him into herself permanently. She still visits her parents, and actually told them (almost) all about what happened. They’re supportive of her, but she has left out that she now rules death itself.4. Tizen. The vampire goatman of Eldritch Warlock-ness. He’s part of the Fiend race (homebrew), which was cursed by Shub Niggorath to have infertile females, and males that could only mate with humans. The race is bound to her so tightly, that there is an entire organization of warlocks that have her as their patron, called the Favored. Tizen is part of this group, however unwillingly, and is highly suspicious of many things. He is sarcastic, a touch arrogant, but also came to care for the world throughout the whole “saving it” business. When Thora died, he chose to take curses upon himself to save her, and had to be turned into a vampire in order to not lose his mind and become a monster. In the end, he killed the creature who had ruined the lives of many Fiends, took her realm for his own, and became the shadow ruler of the city of Kvidbelgr. What kind of a god he is is unknown, though we all refer to him as the god of sass.

15. Do you have snacks during game times? Fuck yeah, snacks are the best. We have all kinds, although we do try to make sure there are low-sugar options since one of us has to watch that. Hummus and carrots are usually there, along with chips and chocolate.

16. Do you play online or in person? Which do you prefer?In person all the way. Although since we all go to an international university, and some have graduated/dropped out, and the rest is graduating in a few weeks, it’s highly likely we’ll have to move to online. But in person is the best, there are so many ques that you miss when you play online. I have a character called Ink-And-Blade and he communicates through message and not much else. We have a list of the words he spoke out loud. It’s 22 over 3 multiple hour sessions. Ink is impossible to translate satisfactory to online, because so much of his communication is non-verbal.

17. What are some house rules that your group has?Ummmm… The rule of cool is one we employ every now and then. I don’t think we have strict ones, we tend to go with the very Barbossa attitude of “The PB and DMG are more like guidelines anyway”, plus our DM is always homebrewing things and changing the rules around. So I suppose our house rule is that if you can justify it, you can try.

18. Does your party keep any pets?Hmm… Familiars I guess. And we recently picked up a Cambriman who doesn’t really do too much. He’s kinda sentient, but not the brightest. He keeps calling everyone his “prisoner”, even though he’s tiny and made of soft flubbery goop. He’s cute.

19. Do you or your party have any dice superstitions?Oh hell yes. Some of us are worse then others, but I’ve had dice roll consistently below 10 and switched over for the session. A friend of mine has a dice jail that she puts bad rollers into (for the duration of a session). We all tend to switch dice around if they keep rolling low.

20. How did you get into D&D? How long have you been playing?I wanted to play DnD for a long time, but I did not have the right people around me so my first exposure to it was through podcasts. The first one was something called TableTop RPG, though I can’t currently find it. After that I got roped into actual DnD at my university, about 2.5 years ago, when the gaming society held an introductory event. I played for a bit with a very old school DM in 3.5, which was hard and confusing, and then fell into Sever with my friends, which was a 5e game. So I’ve been playing for 2.5 years, and I will not stop any time soon.

21. Have you ever regretted something your character has done?Oof… Well, yes, I very much regret taking the luck feat after I forced a boss to reroll a nat 20, which rolled up as another nat 20, and then attempted to reroll a nat 1, which came up as ANOTHER nat 1. I regretted that a lot. Other than that… Hmmm… In character, I think Margret really regrets teleporting into a dragon’s room. OH, WAITSo Bottle-O-Wine the kobold was very angry at a party member, and threw him into the harbor. Then, as he was running away, he accidentally set the crowd on the rest of the party. He didn’t realize the crowd became a mob of racists who wanted to murder them all. The party got away luckily, and Bottle has since apologized. For the first time in his life. So yeah, that was regrettable, if very fun for us all OoC.

22. What color was your first dragon?I think the first ones I ever had to deal with were two green and red hatchlings, who were playing with coins. My character spoke draconic at the time, so it did not end in bloodshed but instead with me polishing the coins and being led to their parents, who were metallic dragons. Because adoption.

23. Do you use premade modules or original campaigns? I mean, most of what I’ve played has been homebrew, although I am attempting to run the Tomb of Annihilation, and we played a bit of Curse of Strahd. But I think I love homebrew the most.

24. How much planning/preparation do you do for a game?Depends. I do think out my character’s backstory and develop it further between sessions, but sometimes I do small RPs with my DM pre-session to get a feel for my character a bit more.

For DMs

25. What have your players done that you never could have planned for?My players decided to go shopping when I had not prepared any type of store due to it being a small oneshot. They then decided to try and steal a dress, which the shopkeep nat20 noticed, the tried to flirt her way out of it only to learn the shopkeep was a gay elf who had the hots for the dragonborn fighter. They got the dress by paying him “in natura” with the Dragonborn taking his shirt off and playing a little tune on his lute. He got pulled into the backroom and had a lovely few hours, came out with a sparkly costume, and it had the table in stitches. Me included.

26. What was your favorite scene to write and show your charactersI haven’t written that many scenes myself yet, but I had great fun portraying an Eyewitness who had been locked up for 100 years, and who just couldn’t wait to get out. She was slightly… well, she talked to floating lights and really really REALLY wanted to go see the world. She made a deal with the adventurers that if they could wait a day, she would let them take the treasure she was watching over for free, since her contract would be over at that point. I pretended my hands were eyestalks for that one and portrayed her body with my head. That was a good time.Another good one was when I had Gnoll NPCs who attacked the party with wild laughter, acting out the motions while screeching at the top of my lungs was fun. Freaked my table out pretty well too. :P

27. Do you allow homebrew content?Hell yeah, I love homebrew. I try to keep it balanced though, but I am all for coming up with your own stuff.

28. How often do you use NPCs in a party?Not that often? I started it up in the ToA, but I haven’t gotten to actively use the guide yet.

29. Do you prefer RP heavy sessions or combat sessions? RP heavy sessions definitely. Combat can be fun to run, but I much prefer atmosphere over crunching numbers. Although describing finishing moves is really good.

30. Are your players diplomatic or murder hobos?Most of mine are diplomatic, I think the closest I got to a murder hobo was the flirting bard who tried to undress everyone. So actually, all of them prefer not to fight.

For Players

31. What is your favorite class? Favorite race?I honestly loooooove the beast races. All of them. Class-wise I love me a caster, although monks are also good. I haven’t played every single class yet, so I’m still seeing whether there is one I truly dislike.

32. What role do you like to play the most? (Tank/healer/etc?)Healer. But tank is also fun.

33. How do you write your backstory, or do you even write a backstory?I write backstories for every character I’ve got. How they come about varies, sometimes it’s the idea that comes first and then build a character around it, and sometimes it’s “I want to play this” and I continue from there. I generally come up with it myself, but I have rolled up a backstory with Xanathar’s guide as well. The importance of the backstory depends on what kind of campaign I’m playing though. One of my DMs is really fucking good at making backstory matter in-game, whereas others I’ve played with didn’t work it in that well.

34. Do you tend pick weapons/spells for being useful or for flavor?A mix of both. Margret used to chase a thief around, so her pre-party spells are very much useful for this purpose, but fit in with her backstory as well. Thora has all her spells, but she picked whatever was most useful for the situations they were going to be in.

35. How much roleplay do you like to do?ALL. OF. IT.

[romcomathon2016]

Trainwreck (USA, 2015)

Predictions: We had both seen this film already and remembered it as being decent, especially for a Judd Apatow situation.

Plot: Amy Schumer is an emotionally constipated alcoholic who writes for a men's magazine and sleeps with a lot of dudes, including John Cena. One day, she is assigned to write about Dr. Bill Hader, a sports surgeon who has operated on many famous knees and whose best friend seems to be LeBron James. How nice for him.

Despite Amy Schumer's unwillingness to have any emotions about men -- due to her monogamy-hating father's constant weird messaging about love -- she and Dr. Bill Hader hit it off, and before she knows it, she is sleeping over at his home. THE HORROR. Long story short, they begin dating. It is Amy Schumer's first relationship as a human person, so, like most college freshmen, she is a trainwreck.

Meanwhile, there is a subplot with her sister Brie Larson, who has a #conventional lifestyle, which Amy Schumer has always disdained. Also, their dad is in a nursing home, and midway through this movie, he dies. This is sad, except tbh, their dad is not great. Amy Schumer literally gives a eulogy that is like, "LOL Dad was so racist, but boy did we all love him." ...Did we?

Anyway, this unhinges Amy Schumer (who was very close to her dad) further, as you might imagine, and she gets in a fight with Brie Larson. She is also kind of mad at Dr. Bill Hader, just because he's there. (Also, he did choose post-funeral to tell her that he loves her for the first time, which is...weird. Not the timing we'd have suggested.) Her whole life is kind of falling apart, so of course it's a great time for her to attend a fancy event for Dr. Bill Hader's work. And then she gets a call from her very demanding editor and has to leave in the middle of his speech. So of course, they get into a big all-night fight, ostensibly about this event but really just about Amy Schumer's personality.

Unfortunately, the next morning, Dr. Bill Hader is supposed to operate on Amar'e Stoudemire's wildly valuable knee. He is, of course, far too sleep-deprived and distressed to do any such thing. They reschedule the surgery, and he and Amy Schumer break up and don't talk for a while. Amy Schumer falls fully off the career cliff, accidentally almost sleeping with a 16-year-old intern (she did not know he was 16) and losing her job. Yikes.

On the bright side, this + losing Dr. Bill Hader seems to be the wakeup call Amy Schumer needs. She decides to make up with Brie Larson and generally get her life together. She gives up drinking and weed; she gets Vanity Fair to publish her Dr. Bill Hader article (which her other boss passed on); some time passes. How much time, we're not sure, but long enough that Amar'e Stoudemire has recovered from knee surgery and is playing for the Knicks again.

Dr. Bill Hader (whose friends have also scolded him in the interim for...some sort of emotional issue that is much less clear than Amy Schumer's) is at the Knicks game, enjoying his handiwork, when afterward, one of the cheerleaders calls him back to the court unexpectedly. Who should be there but Amy Schumer, doing an impromptu love-declaration dance routine with all the Knicks cheerleaders. (This is a callback to how Amy Schumer previously hated happiness, basically, and Dr. Bill Hader was like, ummmm, maybe I'd like to date someone who doesn't hate happiness. Which...fair.)

Anyway, they get back together. Amy Schumer wants to put herself out there more and not be a monster! That's good, we suppose. Personal growth is good.

Best Scene: The scene where Amy Schumer and Dr. Bill Hader first meet is pretty funny. He calls her out on having zero black friends, and she tries to pretend -- with absolutely no success -- that she knows things about sports. #relatable #except we would never pretend

Worst Scene: Honestly, Judd Apatow in general has really exhausted our tolerance for jokes about weird sex. You know? The first couple weird sex scenes he did, we laughed. But that was like...ten years ago. We could really take a pass on this scene with Amy Schumer having weird sex with the teenaged intern. We already saw her having so much weird sex with John Cena. Which was funny, but not funny enough that we needed more.

Best Line: Our personal favorite bit was probably in the aforementioned Best Scene, when Amy Schumer was listing imaginary sports teams such as "the Orlando...Blooms." But honestly, there's a lot of good dialogue in this movie. We remember seeing it back when it came out and being surprised by how funny LeBron James was. More on that in a sec.

Worst Line: Oh, god. Amy Schumer's unfortunate father said so many things we could have done without. It's like, look, we've all been there. Our parents have said offensive things. We still love them. But we didn't need to also live through Amy Schumer's offensive dad for so much of this movie.

Highlights of the Watching Experience: Kat seemed to remember this movie slightly better than Alex did. Reminiscing about the funny famous basketball player in it, she was 90% sure that that was LeBron James. However, 90% was not sure enough to prevent this conversation from happening while we were finding the movie on Amazon: "It is LeBron, right?" "I...do not know." "I'm pretty sure." "Hmmm. Is LeBron the one who opened up that school in Cleveland?" "Yyyyes." "Was it Kobe?" "Nnnno. I know one of them is good and one of them is bad. I think Kobe is the bad one." "I think Kobe is the bad one too."

How Many POC in the Film: LeBron James. Amar'e Stoudemire. Randall Park, a coworker of Amy Schumer's. Leslie Jones, yelling at Amy Schumer on the subway. Many, many basketball players and cheerleaders that we did not know.

Alternate Scenes: The heart of this romcom, the Amy Schumer/Dr. Bill Hader relationship, is perfectly fine and sometimes charming. We would not change anything about it -- well, actually we would change a lot of Amy Schumer's choices, tbh, but then there wouldn’t be much plot left. As with many romcoms, we might shave off some subplot? We felt like all of the Brie-Larson-ing and John-Cena-ing prior to her meeting Dr. Bill Hader could have been, like, ten minutes shorter.

Was the Poster Better or Worse than the Film: Worse. The poster makes it look like Amy Schumer is a clinical alcoholic and Bill Hader is her long-suffering sponsor. Whereas, in the film, Amy Schumer is just the "fun" kind of alcoholic, or so Judd Apatow would have us believe.

(But really, we do want to clarify: Amy Schumer doesn't seem to actually need professional help...? It's hard to say. She's not, like, drunk at work. She doesn't seem to drink that much in the middle bit of the film. But she is apparently drinking enough that, when she decides to gets her life together, cutting out alcohol is basically her first move. We're not here to judge. You can make your own assessment of Amy Schumer's alcohol...situation.)

Score: 8 out of 10 sportsball smooches. We love sports. The Cincinnati Thunder-Wizards are also our favorite team…! *cough*

Ranking: 29, out of the 155 movies we’ve seen so far.