#especially for the sake of KP

[defness]

Mienes but Furry

[wanderinginksplot-writes]

One-Shot: Rebels!Rex x Arachnophobic!Reader

Rebels-era Captain Rex x arachnophobic!gn!reader

Word Count: 3,600

Warnings: Arachnophobia, fear, suspicion of treason, blaster threats, spider death

---

It was shockingly easy to trade away a patrol shift. 

Granted, not everyone loved patrols. Especially when the weather was slated to be poor or if you were assigned an overnight patrol. Fortunately, you were willing to do anything else. Kitchen work, ammunitions inventory, latrine duty… you weren’t picky. 

And there was always someone willing to negotiate for a trade. 

It probably helped that Chopper Base was so small. For all you knew, it was the only permanent Rebellion base, and you saw the same faces every day. That was bad for a variety of reasons, both personally and for the sake of the Rebellion, but it meant you knew exactly where to go when you wanted to work out a trade. 

Which was why you were extra confused when Captain Rex walked up to you in the mess hall, knocked twice on the surface of your table, and jerked his chin toward the door. “C’mon, patrol time.” 

You stared at him, aghast. The mess hall was spotless, thanks to your hours of hard work the night before. All of that had been done specifically because you had traded shifts with Pynsu, who was supposed to be on patrol with the captain that night. 

“No, I had KP last night,” you countered shakily. “Pynsu is on patrol tonight. We traded.” 

Captain Rex gave you the single most unimpressed look you had ever seen a human wear. “I’ve memorized every rule, protocol, and procedure the Rebels have come up with. None of them say anything about trading away a duty you were assigned. Let’s go.” 

You would have loved to argue further, but there were two major problems. First, as a captain, Rex outranked you and almost everyone else who consistently worked on Chopper Base. Second, he had already walked away. You had no choice but to dump your tray and awkwardly trot along after him. 

The captain didn’t make it easy to catch up and you were breathing heavily by the time you were trailing at his heels. His pace was brisk, and catching your breath took forever. Still, you had the time since you were apparently starting your patrol on the far side of the base that evening. 

Despite your burning lungs, you didn’t ask Captain Rex to slow down. How could you? He was the most well-known person on Chopper Base, and easily the most highly respected these days. 

His status as a war hero from the days of the Clone Wars was a mark in his favor. He had been a captain then, just as he was now, and he had served alongside some of the most famous Jedi generals. Though the accelerated aging built into clone genes was clearly starting to affect him, Rex was still tough and strong, his tactical skills easily on par with the best Rebel strategists. He was, in short, a living legend.

And, at this particular moment, you were impressed by his cardiovascular health and the fact that he wasn’t even breathing heavy after speed-walking up a hill.

When you reached the makeshift fence of border spikes driven into the ground, you slowed and stopped, trying not to openly clutch at your side. Fortunately, Captain Rex stopped in the same place so you didn’t seem to be giving up entirely. 

The moon was bright overhead, giving excellent visibility of the hills and strange rock outcroppings that surrounded Chopper Base. It was close to the perfect spot for a base - on enough of a hill that you could easily see anyone attempting to sneak up from the surrounding area, but nestled deep enough that you weren’t immediately apparent to anyone who may fly overhead. And no one flew overhead. 

But you cursed the bright moon and the clear view of the surrounding areas for the same reason you didn’t think Chopper Base was the perfect solution many of the Rebellion had believed it to be: the spiders. 

The instant you had gotten close enough to hear the hum of the border spikes, you could see the lurking gray blobs of the spiders and feel the vibrations of their ever-shifting legs hitting the ground. The creatures bobbed back and forth outside of the fence, and you weren’t sure whether they were waiting for an opening or trying to hypnotize you into leaving the safety of the fenced-in base. 

Either way, you dropped your gaze and tried not to shudder.

“Nice night.” 

The bland, almost laughable comment was the first thing either of you had said since you left the mess hall, and you turned to stare openly at Captain Rex. 

You supposed that, if you took the night at face value and ignored the hulking arachnids lurking nearby, it was a nice night. Between the spiders and the bats that occasionally swooped past overhead, the bugs were well under control. The nighttime temperature was almost perfect, and you had already noted the brightness of the moon. If you weren’t terrified, it would have been almost serene. 

“Yeah.”

If the captain was bothered by the shortness of your answer, he didn’t say anything about it. You stood in companionable silence, Rex scanning the surrounding perimeter while you kept your eyes fixed on the ground just outside of the border spikes. 

“You know something I don’t?”

Rex’s question came as another surprise, largely due to the fact that you had been standing guard in silence for almost ten minutes. 

“Sorry?” you asked, trying to focus. By this point, Captain Rex wasn’t going to think you were a true asset to the Rebellion, but you could manage to sound like a halfway intelligent person. Probably. 

He nodded at the ground. Specifically, the section you had been watching. “Looks like you’re expecting an attack from underground. Something I should know about?” 

You forced a laugh, though it held a hint of a shudder. You could hear one of the spider’s jaws clicking even from where you were standing. But you pushed away the awareness of your crawling skin and pulled your gaze upward. And when making direct eye contact with a spider made you want to gasp, you tipped your head further back until you were staring up at the sky. 

“Closer,” Rex commented. “At least you’ll be the first to notice if the Empire launches a ship against us. Want to try one last time?” 

In fact, you didn’t want to, but you let your eyes drift down once more. You were focusing intently on the foreground, as if you were trying to count the dust particles in the air. It didn’t work as well as you’d hoped, and your attention was soon captured by one of the spiders. 

You shuddered, and it was only luck that the captain had turned to look in the other direction when you did. You weren’t ashamed of your arachnophobia, per se… except when you were being particular arachnophobic in front of a living legend and war hero. 

It didn’t help your confidence that Rex was still an extremely handsome man.

“I don’t want to believe you’re a traitor.” 

The statement was calm and quiet, enough so that you didn’t immediately react. For a strange moment, you actually thought he had been talking to himself. But there was a new, terrible tension in the air and you could sense how still he was standing behind you. 

You glanced back over your shoulder at him. He was standing as casually as he had been when you had first arrived at the location, but you noticed for the first time that he had a set of dual blaster pistols strapped to his hips. Rex’s hands weren’t quite touching the grips of those pistols, but they were within easy grabbing distance of the weapons.

Suddenly, you got the feeling they weren’t just for protection from spiders or Imperial infiltrators.

You turned around slowly to face him, easing your hands upward and out to your sides. Whatever was going on, you didn’t want to do anything that would lead to a blaster wound. Or worse.

“Why do you always trade shifts?” Rex asked. Now that you were looking directly at him, you could see the bleeding sharp focus in his dark eyes. 

“I don’t like patrol duty,” you explained.

Rex’s hands dipped lower, drifting close to his blasters. “And it’s just a coincidence that the shifts you trade for end up with you cleaning the comms room alone overnight?” 

“Yes?” 

As soon as you heard the uncertainty in your own voice, you winced. It wasn’t a lie - it really was a coincidence. You had just… never thought about that before. Yes, you were often alone in the comms room, but that was because you were usually there in the small hours of the morning. Droids were left to observe the comms systems if there wasn’t an active Imperial presence in any nearby system. 

“I don’t believe you.” Faster than you would have thought possible, the blasters were in Rex’s hands, both aimed at you. 

“Captain… Rex, please,” you started, but were interrupted by a loud chittering sound behind you. Every part of your body was within the perimeter of the base, but your back was toward the spikes of the fence. The reminder of the giant spiders scuttling around, unobserved in the dark, made you shiver and take an instinctive step forward. 

One of Rex’s hands lifted and the other lowered a fraction. “Stay still. I don’t want to put a bolt through that pretty head, but I will if you force me to.” 

If you weren’t freezing with cold terror, you would have been ridiculously flattered by him saying that you had a pretty head. 

“I’m not a traitor,” you repeated, forcing your thoughts away from the inanity of pretty heads and back to reality of making sure yours continued operating without a blaster bolt through it. “There’s an explanation for all of this. I don’t like patrol duty. Usually, the shifts people want to trade are scheduled to last overnight. And it’s easiest to clean the comms room when only droids are inside.”

“Really?” he asked skeptically. “Because here’s what it looks like from the outside: First, you trade away the only shifts where you have to work with another person. No one to question your motives. Second, you always work at night, and those shifts are all across the base. That gives you time and privacy to gather information. Third, you’re in the comms room at least twice every week. Plenty of chances to make transmissions to the Empire.” 

“That’s not- It- I’m not a spy!” you stammered, outraged, but unable to refute any of what Rex had said. Yes, you had the opportunity to spy, but that didn’t mean you had actually done it. 

“Then explain it to me,” Rex challenged. “Explain why you’ve only worked one other patrol shift and you spent the entire thing refusing to speak with your partner.”

“I’m arachnophobic!” It burst out of you, but you weren’t upset about that. Obviously, you hadn’t earned the captain’s respect. Far from it, if he was accusing you of being a traitor to the Rebellion. It didn’t actually matter if he knew you were terrified of the spiders outside of the base. 

Rex didn’t say anything. More importantly, the blasters didn’t waver from their places aimed at your head and heart. You let more of an explanation pour from you: “I hate spiders. I don’t go on patrol duty because I would be too focused on them to notice if Palpatine himself was standing outside of the fence. It’s best for everyone if I stay inside the base and away from here.”

“Arachnophobic, eh?” Rex mused. He sounded thoughtful, but you were nervous when the blasters didn’t change position at all. “We’ll see about that.” 

“Wh-?” 

Before you could finish asking the shortest question you had, Rex had holstered one blaster and motioned you closer to the border spikes. You took a single step backward, skin crawling. Rex kept you in his sights as he walked in a wide circle around you. He ended up at the border, then used his free hand to wave between the spikes. 

You watched in confusion, then in horror as one of the massive spiders scented prey and started toward you.

Rex pulled his arm back in, seemingly satisfied. He motioned at you with the blaster he was still holding. “Go on.” 

This would be a stupid way to die, you thought, verging on desperate tears. “No. If you’re going to kill me, kill me. Don’t feed me to that thing.”

“I’m not going to kill you,” he explained patiently. “I’m going to test whether you’re really that scared of the spiders. If you are, I’ll believe you. If you aren’t… well, we’ll need enough of you to have a trial and figure out what intel you’ve passed along to the Empire.”

With that ominous statement, he waved you forward again. You weren’t sure exactly how you were walking, since everything below your neck was currently numb, but you found yourself at the very edge of the base’s border. The fence spikes hummed to your left and right sides, not nearly as far in front of you as you would prefer. 

The spider eyed you sharply. Since Rex was safe again and further away from the wall, it had clearly decided on different prey. 

It moved closer in an erratic, skittering sort of movement, clearly intended to be something you couldn’t anticipate. However, you were watching it with an intense focus borne of incredible fear. It had ended up hypnotizing you after all, but not because of any innate ability it had. 

You were still inside the border fence - that was what you kept telling yourself. It was fine, the spider couldn’t actually reach you. Never mind that it towered over you as it got closer and closer. Never mind that you could see something dripping from the fangs it was baring at you. Never mind that you were making eye contact with it and found only fascination and a bone-deep hunger staring back at you…

With the fear and adrenaline flooding your system, you were hyper-aware of everything going on around you. There was a whirr and a soft beep from behind you, but it was so much less threatening than the approaching arachnid that you discarded it immediately. The spider’s steps made the ground tremble under your feet, making the weakness in your knees even more pronounced. 

You could feel its breath. Surely that was impossible… wasn’t it? It was close, far too close by then. Close enough that you could see the walls of its tall body expanding and contracting at regular intervals. You swore you could feel the air playing across your face…

“Okay, you can step back now.” 

The sound of Rex’s voice should have been a relief, but you were far too focused on the massive predator in front of you to worry about minor things like human speech. 

“Step back.” Rex’s voice was more urgent then, but it wasn’t enough to force you into motion. “Come on, get away from there.” 

The assurance was nice, but it was helpless against the icy fear that had overtaken your entire body. The chill was deep enough that you didn’t flinch in the slightest when a strong arm looped around your stomach and started applying steady pressure. 

When you were far enough from the border fence - ‘far enough’ meaning that you and spider wouldn’t touch, even if you both extended a limb - you took such a rasping breath that you realized you hadn’t done so in far too long. The moment you did, it was as if your body shifted from prey mode into a sudden awareness of how afraid you had been. 

Your lungs burned as you took in deep, shuddering breaths. Every limb was shaking, and you couldn’t have gripped anything smaller than a canteen at that moment - tested when Rex handed you his canteen. Instead of drinking from it, however, you opted to sink slowly down to the ground. Your knees simply wouldn’t hold you anymore. 

“Easy, easy,” Rex soothed, squatting beside you as you braced your elbows against your thighs and tried to collect yourself. His hand rested heavy between your shoulder blades, a warm and soothing weight that reminded you to breathe. 

You were shaking, feeling hollow with the slow recede of adrenaline. Still, you managed to pant out the most important question: "Is… it… gone?" 

Rex looked up and you followed his gaze. The spider was still just outside the fence and - as if it were infuriated by your attention - reared up and clawed for you, jaws clattering. 

You hadn't seen Rex draw his blaster, but two loud reports sounded beside you, matching the almost instant holes bored into the spider. It shrieked once, then collapsed slowly onto its side. You shuddered again as you watched its legs curl beneath it. 

"Gone now," Rex told you. "Keep breathing and you'll be just fine in a minute." 

If you kept looking at the spider, you would never be able to focus. You turned your back to the dead arachnid, scooting further away from the fence as you did. Rex gave you an inscrutable look as you did, likely because the movement put you closer to him. 

But you couldn't see anything with your face buried in your hands. Without the visual reminders of everything that had just happened, you felt yourself calming. 

"Did I pass?" 

Despite the palms in front of your lips and the way the words had been aimed at your own lap, Rex heard you. When he answered, there was a tightness in his voice that worried you until you realized that it was laughter. 

"Yeah, you passed." There was a pause, then he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to put you through that. We can't take the chance that the Empire knows about this place." 

"I understand." It felt ridiculous to say since you were still trembling like a leaf, but you did get why they would think you were suspicious. "I really am scared of spiders." 

"No kidding," Rex said, clearly trying not to laugh again. "I've never seen anyone's pulse that high when they were standing still. Between that and the adrenaline spike, I think we should get you back to base." 

"We're… on patrol…" you said slowly. You let your hands lower away from your face, carefully not looking at the spider's body. “We can’t just leave.” 

“Are you going to be able to focus on anything other than the spiders?” 

You grimaced. “They are the most immediate threat.” 

Rex stood, reaching an arm down toward you. “Doesn’t matter if we leave. This is an extra guard shift. All the normal guard shifts are filled. I wanted to make sure we didn’t leave a gap in security if you had been a traitor and decided to fight back.” 

You stared at his hand, wondering dimly if that scenario had been meant for the possibility of him killing you or you killing him. Knowing Rex and his reputation for preparedness, he had probably been covering his bases for either. 

His hand was warm and large, and you had no sooner taken it than he pulled you to your feet. Your knees trembled dangerously, but you managed to keep yourself upright. “I think I want to go back to the base. I- I’m not going to do much good out here.” 

“Let’s go back, then,” Rex agreed, turning toward the buildings of the base. He wasn’t touching you, but you could feel warmth at the small of your back, as if he were hovering in case you started to stumble. 

“I do help the Rebellion,” you told him. It was abrupt after the two of you had been walking in silence for so long, but you felt the need to tell him that. “Maybe I avoid patrols, but I help out in other ways. Cleaning, helping in the kitchen, maintaining the weapons.” 

“I know, mesh’la,” he assured you. “You touch every part of this base’s operations other than guard duties. That’s what first drew our attention.” 

“Our?” you repeated, stomach sinking again. “Who else thinks I’m a traitor?” 

“My brothers and I are responsible for the security of this base,” Rex said steadily, redirecting from outright accusations of treachery. “”We noticed that you were everywhere, but always alone. That’s a warning sign for someone who isn’t who they claim to be. It all makes sense now, but you have to admit that it looked suspicious.” 

“I know it did,” you admitted freely. A horrible thought struck you and your voice was tense as you asked, “I don’t have to do this again with Wolffe and Gregor, do I?” 

Rex chuckled lowly, shaking his head. “No, you don’t. I’ll tell them what I learned and clear any suspicion from your name. I might accompany you on your next few shifts, but everything else is fine.” 

You frowned. “So you still think there’s a possibility that I’m passing information to the Empire?” 

“No, I don’t,” Rex denied, eyes kind as he glanced over at you. “But I don’t like the idea of you being alone all the time. That isolation isn’t good for anyone, especially with the stress of fighting the Imps. If I’m around, you’re always welcome to spend time with me. I lived with Wolffe and Gregor for longer than any being should ever have to. I could use some good company for a change.”

With some effort, you kept your expression smooth and your breathing steady. You didn’t want to presume anything, but it seemed like Rex might be… flirting with you. 

You smiled at him, heart stuttering when he smiled back. “I’d like that.”

---

Author's Note - Welcome to my experience watching those episodes of Rebels as someone with arachnophobia. It was… not a good time. This is my first time writing Rebels-era Rex, so please let me know if you have thoughts or advice for next time!

Thank you for reading!

[absolutebl]

I just finished Triage and was pretty impressed with the plot. Altho I mostly love love-centered BLs/QLs, it made me realize I really like plot-heavy ones (especially action/thriller/mystery) if they're done well. Can you look through what I've seen and let me know if I'm missing any good ones?

Ones I thought succeeded to varying extents: Triage, Not Me, Manner of Death, 3 Will Be Free, The Eclipse, Pit Babe, The Sign

Ones I thought fell short plot-wise (but still kinda appreciated for trying): KinnPorsche, Playboyy, Laws of Attraction

(And I've seen others with actiony/mystery plots but I consider the romantic plot to be more dominant so I don't think of them the same way: Long Time No See, Candy Colored Paradox, Kiseki Dear to Me, Never Let Me Go etc...hope that makes my ask clearer....)

Thanks! Appreciate you!

I live for this shit!

Plot heavy (driven) BL/QL

(external motivation)

Liked:

Triage *

Not Me *

Manner of Death *

3 Will Be Free *

The Eclipse

Pit Babe

The Sign

The ones I put an * by are ones that I barely consider BL because they are so very plot heavy.

It's Okay:

KinnPorsche

Playboyy

Laws of Attraction

Also seen, but more romance

Long Time No See

Candy Colored Paradox

Kiseki Dear to Me

Never Let Me Go

Hum, difficult, because I see very little difference between Pit Babe and KP and Kiseki. So I'm gonna spitball a bunch of BL that edges into gay romantic suspense (or in some cases horror / PNR) and see if any hit. These will mostly be Thailand, only Taiwan also dabbles in this sub-genre, and rarely (because of the expense).

He's Coming to Me

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Your Soul (similar team as Triage so def worth trying, it's PNR tho)

Great Men Academy (an odd pick but I think it might work for you)

HIStory 3: Trapped (the first one I thought of after reading your ask)

Golden Blood

To Sir, With Love (more of a soap opera)

Because of You

Ghost Host Ghost House (more horror than suspense)

Chinese stuff:

My Esports Genius Brother (it's WILD)

Word of Honor (censored)

The Untamed (censored)

Guardian (censored)

SCI Mysteries (censored)

Advance Bravely (censored)

Legend of Long Yang: Rebirth

This is one of the few times I'll rec this because this is kinda China's BL speciality and one of the many reasons the censorship is so annoying. Their product is quality... sigh. Bummer it also has to be evil.

Not as much suspense + action but stil external motivation + complex plot (earned romantic threads)

AKA Korea can play, too.

Color Rush

Until We Meet Again

Love For Love's Sake

I Feel You Linger in the Air

La Pluie

Unintentional Love Story

Tinted With You

Vice Versa

My Dear Gangster Oppa

DNA Says Love You

Be My Favorite

Stay By My Side

Two Worlds

The End Of The World, With You AKA Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu

First Love Again

Twins

Oh! My Sunshine Night

Cupid's Last Wish

Absolute Zero

So Much In Love (PULP warning)

(These tend to be my personal favorite style of BL. Although some are much less successful than others, in order with best ones at the top.)

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 16

Kipperlilly Copperkettle and the World's Smallest Violin

Welcome back to Fantasy High where everyone’s graduating with A pluses and we’re *finally* figuring out what the hell Kipperlilly’s deal is! 

But, before we get to that, we have some loose ends to tie up. You’ll remember that the Bad Kids just demolished the Last Stand Exam and dropped Gavin Pundle off at the Council of Chosen office in Bastion City. It’s the day before Spring Break so hypothetically they should be relaxing–they don’t have a Spring Break project like everyone else because of the Last Stand–but these are the Bad Kids. They don’t get breaks. 

First order of business when they get back to Elmville is to check the crystal they left recording at the crime scene. They see a massive figure--14 to 15 feet--wearing a hood approaching Buddy with their back to the camera. The stones behind Buddy glow with Ankarna-style light so they check to see if Bakur is escaping the gem he’s trapped in. He isn't but Riz using his spy tie can tell it's def something Ankarna related based on the magical mDNA he's clocking. Based on the footfalls, it seems like something big and humanoid (though not like a tabaxi or dragonborn with their digitigrade feet. Giant is def on the table though).

The figure moves closer to Buddy and Kristen thinks they’re about to slap the symbol on Buddy’s chest but Buddy’s body spasms and blood spatters as his organs seem to crush. He jolts awake with a pained roar and then says in his southern drawl, "Dang, y'all. I worship a nameless god of rage." The figure kneels over Buddy and they both vanish. 

So, yeah. Good call setting up some CCTV. 

Fig right away speculates that maybe all the Rat Grinders died and were brought back to life in that way. Maybe in the Mountains of Chaos, Fabian adds. Kristen points out that KP has been angry since Freshman Year and they all finally get around to digging into the file that Riz stole. Has she always been a follower of Ankarna or was she scouted at some point because of how insanely aggro she is?

Everyone piles on buffs to Riz’s already stupid Investigation score so he gets a 32. I’m going to bullets to organize all of this info:

Her Freshman and Sophomore Year accomplishments are pretty meh. She was doing quests but pretty low level, easy ones

We find out the reason KP hates Riz so much and it’s his tragic backstory. In a meeting at the top of Sophomore Year, they see KP complaining that it’s so unfair that Kalvaxus killed Riz’s dad. She’s too suburban and normal and she hasn’t been able to find any sordid secrets in her lineage that would make for good plot hooks essentially. Her parents went to *Mumple* for Cassandra’s sake! Over the course of Sophomore year she started having rage outbursts. and saying that kids with tragic backstories had an unfair advantage in adventuring and their grades should reflect that. 

She talks about how much she loves her party. The way she speaks, she's def the leader (which we kinda already assumed from the vibes). She seems especially fond of Lucy and says that she's the only one who sort of "gets it". Apparently, KP came up with the name "High 5 Heroes" and Lucy was supportive of that because it meant a lot to KP. Rat Grinders was a name that Ivy and Oisin came up with (they're the other pair of besties in the group which checks out because they were the ones hanging out and playing beer pong together). Ruben voted for the change to piss off KP and Mary Ann voted for it as well and refused to elaborate (on brand). 

In her Junior Year she gets even more unhinged. She talks about wanting to straight up murder Kristen. She thinks Kristen is going for President as a joke and won't even do the job when she's elected. And she he hates Fig for boxing her out from confronting Kristen.   

There's a note that, for Spring Break, they're going to the Mountains of Chaos for the second time. The last time they went was a week or two after Spring Break last year, right before Lucy died. They had a school chaperone because it was too high an adventure for their abilities in the school’s view and no prizes for guessing who that was: Jace Stardiamond. 

As we kind of already know, KP has been gathering Bad Kid info via Jawbone--specifically, stuff about the Prompocalypse/Kalvaxus fight and the Yes! Stuff. These questions are coming Sophomore Year, post the first Mountains of Chaos trip. 

With a dirty 20 Insight, Fig sees that, starting at the end of Soph Year, there's a change in KP's language where it goes from, "I don't think X is fair"/"I think they get special treatment" to just straight up, "I hate them."

The group wonders if Jace is the mastermind here and scoped out which of the students were susceptible to rage poisoning or if maybe he died during that mountain trip and got taken over just as much as everyone else. As far as they know, he was super chill prior to this. 

They take a brief detour to razz Fabian about The Incident in his dance class with some excellent puns and then another brief detour to IRL razz Murph because he makes the grave mistake of saying the phrase, “honor the cock.” And then, Kristen has a brain blast. She wonders if maybe the difference between someone who gets a crystal put in them and comes back as a rage person (eg: Buddy) vs someone who is left in limbo like Yolanda and Lucy is that you get a choice and you can either come back full of rage or refuse and stay dead with the mark on your chest. Brennan doesn't even make Ally roll for it, Kristen just gets it in one. And everyone realizes it makes sense. Yolanda was super principled and Lucy always stuck to her guns according to Ruben. [Note: This also offers a potential reason that Ivy wasn't shocked to see Lucky at the party–maybe she thought she finally took Ankarna’s deal.]

Another list of info just to keep things neat:

They check the tape from the Coliseum and see that there's a ten minute gap between the Bad Kids leaving and the figure coming to rez Buddy so that’s a bit of a timeline established (assuming no chronomancy BS I suppose). 

They also get the thing about digitigrade feet I mentioned earlier at this point but I just thought it fit better with the other tape stuff above. 

Ruben has deleted most of his social media presence from a little bit before last year but they can see from photos where he's tagged with his friends that the emo thing started after spring break of Sophomore Year, confirming what we assumed from his old Yearbook photo. Before that his vibe was more soft rock/folk pop (based on the musician they reffed who I've never heard of but just Googled--Jack Johnson). 

The Bad Kids think they might have to waste yet another Spring Break, this time chasing the Rat Grinders into the Mountains of Chaos, but before that, they have in-town business and downtime to attend to. 

Everyone's parents and guardians are so happy and proud of them for their Last Stand victory. 

Sklonda asks Riz if there's anything she can help with and he asks if she can look into Bobby Dawn. She says  Bobby used to go to Aguefort (info that has come up before according to Brennan though I don't remember it) and asks if Fig knows he's teaching there. It seems like a non sequitur until she reveals (via Emily figuring it out at the table with very impressive swiftness) that Bobby Dawn was at the center of Sandra Lynn's sordid past! For those of y’all who don’t remember, we learned in Sophomore Year that Sandra Lynn joined a party when she was young as a replacement member. There was a married couple in the group who were older and more powerful than her. She fell in love with one of them and when it all came out, she was kicked out and slandered (even though it takes two minimum to tango, as we all know). She was basically blacklisted from adventuring after that which is why she joined the rangers. Well, now we know who that couple was: Bobby and Pamela Dawn! 

Which, ugh what an upgrade Jawbone and honestly even Gilear are from Bobby Dawn.

(Also, as an aside, we learn Pamela is the chief paladin of the church of Sol which, como se dice, yikes. That whole pantheon needs better reps. Tracker is doing all the heavy lifting herself.)

Gavin checks in to say that the Council of Chosen is looking into things but the body is missing. The Bad Kids, who already knew this, share their footage because they have to do EVERYTHING around here. Gavin also lets them know that they’re completely free from academic requirements other than filling out a teacher eval and attending graduation (which is odd considering they aren’t graduating but Aguefort is a weird school and Brennan never went to trad high school so shrug–we’ll see if that’s just a weird Aguefort thing or a something suspicious).

Back to Riz and Sklonda, he asks his mom if she's ever heard of Eugenia Shadow and she tells him that she's a granddaughter of one of the founders of the Society of Shadows (which was named after their last name--it's literal AND a metaphor. She offers to drive him to the cemetery in Ashgrove which is about 90 minutes away. 

Wilma and Digby are exuberant as always about Gorgug's success. They’ve finally fixed up the Hangvan for him and give him the keys. He thanks them and then asks about why Frosty Fair picked their tree as the new event site. They think it's just because they're heavily in the Frosty Fair circuit and also someone (who we know is Ruben) vouched for them. But they mention that the FF reps had a lot of questions about their tree including whether the tree was a Root Warden. They don't have a Druid or Ranger who would know but Kristen gets a Nat 20 (and Cass is a sylvan goddess so it checks out that she would know some stuff about trees). 

A Root Warden is a tree that is so magical that it's a little more alive  than a normal tree (without fully being a treant) and has an Int of like 1 or 2 instead of zero. So it's basically the big, old tree that guards the other trees in the area and tells them when to have their guards up and protects them from general bad mojo. Brennan calls it a sentinel. The Thistlespring tree is the Root Warden for the trees in all of Elmville county.  Gorgug rolls too low to tell if the tree is corrupted but his parents do tell them that the people who came by to check on the tree dropped something into the roots with eye droppers that was absorbed. Everyone is worried about rage pollen, especially since it’s the middle of spring. And once he’s looped in, Riz can see on a map that Loam Farm is significantly outside the tree network that Thislespring tree is a part of. It seems clear that they were trying to make sure they were not only operating within the network but poisoning its very heart. 

Fabian gets a proud message from his dad now that they’re synced up with infernal/material plane communication. Gilear asks Fabian about baby clothes so, naturally, he burns them all. He also gets another 20k gold allowance because his life is full of intense highs and lows and that’s about it. 

Kristen’s parents text her to ask her to make sure Bucky is going to his classes. Suspicious! She agrees to check up on him. 

Aelwyn has accepted the job at Leviathan so she starts coming by the mansion again since there's a door/portal to the library which saves her the spell slot. Adaine tells her she can just come back home if she wants and Sandra Lynn agrees. Aelwyn asks if all her cats can come and everyone says yes, even if it means kicking out Kristen (which is a joke…mostly lol). So yay, Aelwyn is back in the bunk beds baybee! And during the month of my birth irl and in canon. Ty Brennan. Kristen tries to verbally spar with her because she knows Aelwyn is uncomfortable with people being too openly nice to her but Aelwyn accidentally claps back too hard and sends Kristen running back to her room near tears. Sorry, K! She’s working on her people skills! Fig of course has her President’s back and gives Aelwyn a wet willy which majorly grosses her out but she doesn’t sling any retaliatory spells. Progress! 

Gorthalax makes sure that Fig knows he’s always a resource for any help with anything infernal. Meanwhile, Adaine has a couple of spells she wants to cast. She makes a Simulacrum of Kristen, to make it confusing for anyone who wants to go after Kristen. It’s a clone of her with half her HP which is slightly British and slightly straight. She casts Legend Lore on Kipperlilly and gets no info which means she’s a basic ass bitch. (Riz, in comparison, does get a ping but it’s for being the 5th person to summon the Night Yorb so he is keen to do better than that). Finally, she casts Scry on Kipperlilly and doesn't get anything because she has Nondetection casted on her. She realizes that all of the Rat Grinders do at all times which is 18 third level spells a day which is crazy. Clearly, they’re scared. 

Graveyard time! On Saturday, they head to Ashgrove and find the grave of Eugenia Shadow who died at the age of 111. Adaine swaps to Ethereal Vision to try and find her but Riz (with his Blindsense) is the one who finds her (she’s carefully ducking behind Adaine to dodge her line of sight). Eugenia is annoyed to have two students find her in one year but very happy to drink, smoke, and do drugs with the Bad Kids(just go with it). 

Despite being dead, Eugenia knows a lot about stuff that's going on and congratulates them on passing their Last Stand. Riz asks her about what "the Rogue teacher found her" re: Kipperlilly means and Eugenia says that KP somehow found out that she was dead (despite the fact that as far as Shadow knows, the only records of her death exists in Aguefort’s office) and showed up at the grave with a rented backhoe, threatening to dig her up unless she showed basically. Which, yes, is grave desecration and messed up but is it any more messed up than the concept of a rogue in general? Like, I hate KP as much as the next person but this feels like normal rogue behavior. As Eugenia says in this very scene, rogues do crimes! Anyway, Eugenia reiterates something we already knew about Kipperlilly:  that she's obsessed with technicalities and loopholes. We learn for a fact that she's a Mastermind Rogue and Eugenia says that she's a lot like Riz but walking a darker path. 

As they're speculating how KP could have gotten into Aguefort's office (via Jace maybe?) Mazey comes up since she's acting principal and Eugenia reminds them that Aguefort is not a normal school with normal positions. Things are set up so that whoever is VP has to follow whatever the Principal says no matter what since Kalvaxus is supposed to be in that position as a prisoner. Equally importantly, Aguefort is more than a school. It's a hotbed of very important magical threads that Aguefort had going and they'll unravel without someone at the helm. That fact and the fact that killing her would mean chaos and not a simple transfer of power to another party is probably the only reason no one has tried to assassinate her yet. At his friends’ urging, Fabian texts Mazey to hang out, to help keep an eye on her. 

Eugenia tells them to keep their guards up and that she expects to see all of them in Rogue classes next year. She gives Riz an eval form and Fig asks about a Landscaping Company that KP contacted (which I think must be in cut footage because this is the first time it comes up in the ep. Eugenia says that the name of the company is Loam Landscaping which gives everyone pause for obvious reasons. 

Speaking of the Loams, they're on the same death clock as Lucy since it's been a while since they died and Adaine wonders if they can Plane Shift to where they are if they can figure out where that is. Brennan says that the vibe is that Yolanda and Lucy are probably with Cassandra, wherever Cass is. 

Downtime before Spring Break!

Fabian is up first. 

He rolls a 27 for Popularity. People are hoping he's gonna keep up lofi study nights over the summer and they're so psyched that his birthday is the same day as the election (the 31st). Adaine realizes that THIS must be the bday party/election victory she keeps having visions about and tells him he has to do it. For his second track, he asks Mazey out on an official date to Krom's Diner. She says yes and, on a 20, we get a very sweet scene where Fabian has a nice normal date with a genuinely nice, down to earth person.

Even though she's not supposed to play favorites, she tells him that Kristen's basically demolishing Kipperlilly in the election so far (which she is impressed by because she didn't think Kristen was going to take it seriously). She also lets them know that technically any place (including a big house party perhaps) can be a polling place as long as someone from the school admin is present (which could potentially be Mazey or Riz). 

Mazey gives him a goodnight kiss (getting his kisses in!) and we move on to his third roll which he uses to try and mend fences with Kristen for Gertie’s sake. He offers her any satisfaction she wants from an apology to combat and she chooses combat. With a 30 to her 16, he handily defeats her and she considers her honor satisfied. They'll chill now. And he even gives her some tips on flirting with Kristen. Trying to make sure his girl gets her kisses in too I see. 

Corsica and Terpsicore find him to give him eval forms. (Also, on a Nat 20, Fig steals RIz's eval and changes his one negative comment about her doing drugs with her students into a positive one because of course Fig loves her).  He just barely gets his Owlbears roll with a bardic and that's his last roll. 

Adaine is up next. She uses a portent to get a 29 on mystery to learn about the Astral Plane and figures out that when a god is dead in the Astral Plane there's still some level of intelligence, like how a mortal can die but then have Speak With Dead cast on them and answer questions. She also finds some weird linguistic trickery in a passage about how where gods die, where they go, and where they're borne--not born, borne as in carried. Imagine the laws of the universe hinging on a pun. Wild. They wonder if that's what Bakur was trying to do/if the proper location would have been the Mountains of Chaos.

Brennan also says she gets some interesting stuff about the Mountains of Chaos and its history and is left with the question of, "When Ankarna was said to have 'died' in the Red Waste, what does that mean?" Adaine decides to roll to learn some spells to help her party survive in the Astral Plane if they need to go and on a 29 spell she learns one new spell of each level. She also talks to her teacher (Tiberia Runsetaff) who, in addition to giving her an eval to do, says she's been talking to Aguefort (Chronomancy) and when she mentioned that she was having problem getting supplies for wizarding, Ayda left her a geocache. Runestaff gives Adaine the coordinates and she texts Fig so they can go together because she assumes Ayda left stuff for both of them.

Next, she wants to roll Relationships and throws an ice cream party for the whole manor which everyone really enjoys. She chats with Sandra Lynn who tells her that the Mountains of Chaos have been nuts lately and social animals like wolves have been killing members of their own packs as of the last few weeks. That sounds very rage-y to Adaine so she tells Sandra Lynn everything they know (except for the Bobby Dawn stuff so Fig can be the one to break the news). 

Adaine asks if Sandra Lynn will take them to the mountains since she knows the area so well from work and Sandra Lynn says they might have to sign some liability waivers but she's down as long as her bosses are down. They also have a very sweet conversation where Adaine says she’s very grateful to them for taking her in and she admits that she's not very good at being a kid. Sandra Lynn says that she's always available for any conversations that Adaine wanted to have with a mom and couldn't (on account of her mom being a raging bitch and also being chased by the Vands of course). Adaine thinks she's about to give her a talk on periods and dashes away, much to Sandra Lynn's bafflement. 

Fig does her evals for her teachers including Lucilla who is weeping over her not remembering her name and just calling her "Attractive bard teacher", Porter who is irked to be sharing a sheet with Zara, and Zara who wants to see Fig because she send her a flap of flayed skin with writing on it (the contract from Bill). Valid concern. 

Adaine wraps up her downtime by rolling to Scry on Jace and gives him a 1 to make sure he fails. She sees him sitting quietly working in his office where he's Fantasy Googling the Complicated Women podcast. Adaine doesn't see what else he's working on with a low Luck roll but on a 17 Perception, she sees that he's starting to sweat in his toasty office. He takes off his scarf and, as he does, she catches a glimpse of him in the mirror, revealing a deep ragged scar in his chest. He looks at the scar and, for a moment, his eyes flash red. 

Detention

Kipperlilly for All Of That

Girl are you KIDDING ME?

“Oh boo hoo. Riz is so lucky. School is so easy for him because he has a dead dad to avenge. Some people have all the luck.”

Man, kick rocks. And she was like that *before* she got involved with Ankarna. 

Also, sidenote, it’s not even like Riz ended up killing Kalvaxus because of his tragic backstory. He didn’t even know there was a connection going in. He just wanted to find his missing babysitter and the other missing girls! You’re a Mastermind Rogue. You want a plot hook? Nancy Drew it up, bitch!   

You want Kristen dead? You want her DEAD? You’re jealous of Riz who lives in a household where sometimes you have to eat your cereal with water because there’s not enough milk to go around? Truly, get a grip.

Honor Roll

Kristen for Making a Clutch Connection

This should really go to Ally but yeah. What a great leap figuring out that staying dead is an option and that’s most likely what happened to Yolanda and Lucy. 

This very likely explains a longstanding loose end from much earlier in the season. Ivy didn’t look shocked to see “Lucy” (Fig in disguise) at the party even though we know she was dead. With this new info, it seems likely that Ivy assumed that Lucy had finally given in and come back as a rage acolyte. 

Anyway, baller connection and she got there before I did. I love it when Brennan is so impressed he doesn't even ask for an Insight roll. 

Random Thoughts

Here is a super useful timeline of events Re: the Ratgrinders by @ratgrinders. 

I’ve seen a lot of people assume that the RG’s died in the Mountains of Chaos but I’m not convinced that happened. Because that was way before Lucy died and we know that once she died, she refused to come back as a rage person. And we know you can take a rage crystal without having to die first. That happened in the mall fight with the wizards. If they TPK’d there and Ankara offered to bring them back, then they would have come back without Lucy because she would have said no.

Here’s my current theory: They went to the mountains with Jace. They either stumbled into information about Ankarna or were led there by Jace if he’s proper evil and not just taken over. They were offered a deal and everyone went for it but Lucy. KP really wanted Lucy to join them–esp cause she considered Lucy her best friend. She tried to strong arm her into it (maybe even forging her god change form) and, when she stuck to her guns, she organized everyone to kill Lucy, forcing her into a position where she’d have to say yes to Ankarna in order to stay alive. In KP’s head, Lucy would do this and maybe be annoyed for a bit but in the end see it was for the best and forgive her–maybe even thank her. But she miscalculated the strength of Lucy’s conviction and voila. Dead Lucy. 

Edit: Wanted to come back and edit to note that it is of course possible that in the mountains everyone died except for Lucy and that's when they took the Ankarna deal, but even if that's the case, the rest of the theory would proceed as written. I was mainly thinking that while what we saw with Buddy is a strong possibility it's not the only possibility. If they died then they're a bit more sympathetic because self preservation is an understandable motivator and taking the deal doesn't make them craven--it just makes Lucy and Yolanda extremely principled. However if they just took the deal because it was offered to them then that's more eyebrow raising. Even though I'm skeptical, I'm kinda hoping their hands were forced because I think that's more interesting and we've had straight up petty power grabbing already from Penelope. But anyway, just being thorough.

"Flash of Stupidity” is so funny. 

It's not surprising that Ivy and Oisin are one of the pairs of besties in the RG's--they were introduced playing beer pong together--but I'm super curious about what their dynamic is. And ditto for Lucy and KP. Was it like a high strung one/chilled out one kind of thing? I really wish the Bad Kids had been a bit nosier about their whole deal.

Do we think KP maybe wanted to make sure the BK's died in the last stand alongside Buddy and Pundle so they'd all come back as rage people? Maybe that crossbow bolt was laced with some rage mojo?

KP being mad at Riz for trying to pickpocket Jawbone of her file when (1) she’s literally a rogue as well and (2) she pickpocketed Kristen and Buddy of their revivify diamonds is insane. 

I love Lou committing to the bit of being appalled at the thought of half-siblings via Gilear because I know he knows that every time he explodes it becomes even funnier which means it’s more likely to happen but he can’t stop because he’s Committed To The Bit. Classic Lou. 

Wizards casting Legend Lore on themselves as the in-universe equivalent of Googling yourself. 

I love the detail that Mazey’s family lives in a Labyrinth in the Red Wastes. 

Kinda bummed we didn’t get to do more with the Relationship track so the special ability never came up and Brennan had to just reveal it (it can reduce stress but also increase it). 

I am so stressed about the bylaws and also Bucky. They keep coming up and then falling off of everyones’ plates and we’re running out of runway here. 

Adaine really said, “You didn’t just kill your parents? Skill issue.” She really is Aelwyn’s sister. 

The VP has to do anything the Principal says, right? And Mazey is the Principal, right? There’s gotta be a way to exploit that, especially now that Fabian is in her good graces.

When did Aelwyn get FIVE MORE CATS?

Answered and Partially Answered Questions

Last week I made as thorough a list as I could about what info we were missing and I wanted to note the answers we got this week. 

1) Why the move to Loam Farm for Frosty Faire? (The Thistlespring tree is a Rootwarden) 

2) How is Jace involved? Why is he manipulating Ruben? (We know Jace went w/ them on the trip but that's not a full answer) 

3) What were the exact circumstances behind Lucy’s death? Who was able to put the rune on both of their bodies and what exactly was the goal there? (We know the mark is from getting a rage crystal but rejecting it but we don't officially know who did it or what the goal was though you know my guess.) 

4) How did KP find the rogue teacher? (Threatened to dig up her grave. Info that she was dead was only in Aguefort's office so maybe got that from Jace?) 

5) Also what’s her damage? Why is she obsessed with Riz? What are her anger issues about? (She's a petty basic bitch) 

6) Why wasn’t Ivy surprised to see Fig in disguise as Lucy who was at the time fully dead? (Most likely because she thought she finally chose rage zombie resurrection) 

7) What’s up with the party vision that Adaine has now had at least twice? (We know this is election night and Fabian's bday now) 

8) What made the Rat Grinders become the Rat Grinders when they started as the High Five Heroes? (We know it was a vote led by Ivy and Oisin and joined by Ruben and Mary Ann but not the why behind it) 

9) Where exactly is Cass right now? (We still don't know for sure but it seemed like a realm within Ankarna’s dead body which is prob in the Astral Plane. We do know Lucy and Yolanda are prob with her as of this ep.)

As an aside, we still don’t know how Oblivati Mori was broken to write Ankarna’s name before the Bad Kids found it but is it possible that the person who wrote it was Ankarna herself? Because Ankarna is still “dead” right now, right? Because she’s been active all the same. Oblivati Mori disallows others from speaking your name but does it disallow the god themselves from speaking or writing their name if mortals find them somehow? Kind of a stretch but I’m wondering if there’s enough wiggle room there to make something happen, especially since this episode Brennan said that gods retain some intelligence even when they’re dead on Adaine’s high roll. I dunno, just spitballing. 

(Also, I don’t remember where I saw this but remember how Aelwyn said KP is randomly loaded? The previous best guess on that was money from Oisin–the boy who was just gonna give Adaine diamonds–but is it possible that she’s spending the embezzled Frosty Fair money? We don’t know much much it was so hard to say if it was enough to be funding whatever this is. But wanted to throw that out there since we’re tying loose ends as much as we can.)

Anyway, can’t wait for next episode which I’ve been told will be more than THREE HOURS LONG and Brennan said in the AP that it’s gonna be a doozy. Excited, trepid, and preemptively bracing for another long haul review. See you then!

[istanchan]

**** dff spoilers + mention of SA

Is it wrong of me to hate people make edits with zero media literacy. Like for dead friend episode 7, why are people making romantic edits of JJ and Barcode???

I know it’s just a show so technically it’s not real, and JJ and Code are attractive, BUT CODES CHARACTER WAS LITERALLY GETTING SA’d??? I couldn’t even watch the scene fully, it just made me feel so bad for Non.

I know I say this as someone who lived for Vegas Pete but I’d like to defend myself by saying that technically they had sex with consent. And also going back to media literacy that show was set within an almost alternative universe. The events happening weren’t really meant to reflect how things happen in real life. It was mafia show for Christs sake. Shows like KP I like to call escapist shows. They allow you to forget about the real world.

But in dff, the show is set in a modern day universe. The events happening in the show are crazy but they reflect the issues and struggles teens go through every day. Even the killing plot, it’s just believable that enough that you know what it could happen in real life. (Maybe)

I think Code and JJ’s scene especially reveals how easy it is for a person in power to manipulate others. Their scenes shed a lot of light on SA in a school setting specifically.

[mysteriouslytransparentwitch]

I do not agree with you. If he does, he will be blamed for moving this far just for two hours of play. If he doesn't, he is also blamed. This is absolute nonsense and you all know it very well. Especially since he had specified last year for the men's world cup that if the team went to the final, he would not go to Qatar. These attacks are just for the sake of attacking. Ridiculous. If the Queen of Spain goes there, what does Charles do ? He is the king after all.

It’s more than that anon, this was very bad planned. Kp apparently always knew he wouldn’t be attending, then why allow all this mess?, why only stick with tweets of support and not even have the decency to organize a visit to a pub to watch the match with the people or something similar? Now a video with Charlotte? I know he did the same last year, but at the end he is sending the wrong message that only girls support the women’s team. And he should have released such video when the tournament started not at the end and expose her to the criticism too.

And this has been a long PR problem, since last year, people were calling him out when he only attended the final for the Euro’s women but he went to 3 or 4 matches for men’s. So, the blacklash now is just the continuation for not waking up.

There were lots of ways to avoid this, but they didn’t care. The Qatar situation was different because of the human rights’ POV, but that didn’t stopped a lot of people joining to the tournament, and now just silence for the woman and making lots of excuses.

And even when I’m not a Charles’ fan, I don’t think we need to put him on the ‘where is he’ situation, because the blacklash is because William is the PRESIDENT of the FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, not Charles, not Anne. Sure I know W is damned if he goes and damned if he doesn’t but people know that attending a match is part of his duty

==

[queersouthasian]

Uk one comment which often makes my blood boil till date is that one saying "yes kinnporse is definately changed bls/y series (sarcastic), it just shows how lgbtq people like me just have sex", the idea that queer stories cannot have queer characters fuck around and have toxicity because apparantly that's not representation is so ridiculously infuriating, i love how people blamed shows like bad buddy for "fanservice" cause it had no sexuality labels (even tough it was made sure that pran and ink are gay whereas pat and pa had a oh moment, and that goes for a lot of bls)and again there were many kisses as if the idea of casual intimacy and just queer characters existing isn't enough. I am tired of people pretending that queer representation is a one way road and everything else is just fetish for straight women, just cause it's a BL. Then when these people like a bl show SUDDENLY it's not a BL it's "queer media". The idea that a character cannot be queer or is just fanservice or even queerbaiting if they don't label themselves even if they had showed their sense of interest a million times puts especially young queer people under pressure to find a label for themselves. The idea is so toxic and so lowkey homophobic. Queer characters can just fuck around and kill eachother and that too would be representation, there can be toxic and healthy queer characters. Characters like porse, vee, pat, fahlan(fahlanruk), rain(he has showed interest in women before, and btw his realisation of how he likes payu was so well done, he realised he likes men through payu and he is still a bi man, doesn't change anything) etc are bisexual characters and THEY SPECIFICALLY DO NOT NEED TO SAY THAT FOR THEM TO BE "BI". Also the criticism was mainly towards KP concert, like wow, heteros have thousands of songs for them, specifically gendered but we cannot have this concert cause it's "hyoersexualised" why i don't see anyone say that about hetero shows?? I don't see people dissmiss kdramas then why bls?? Some of y'all need to reflect on your perspectives for fuck's sake.

[writingbaddie]

Weirdly specific and unrelated asks to know someone well:

🌸 1. chipotle order?

🌸 2. thoughts on veganism?

🌸 3. a specific color that gives you the ick?

🌸 4. mythical creature you think/believe is real?

🌸 5. favorite form of potato?

🌸 6. do you use a watch?

🌸 7. what animal do you look forward to seeing when you visit an aquarium?

🌸 8. do you change into specific clothes for the house when you get home?

🌸 9. do you have a skincare routine (and how

many steps is it)?

🌸 10. on a plane, do you ask for apple or orange juice?

🌸 11. anything from your childhood you've held on to?

🌸 12. brand of haircare/bodycare/skincare that you trust 100%?

🌸 13. first thing you're doing in the purge?

🌸 14. do you think you're dehydrated?

🌸 15. rank the methods of death: freezing, burning, drowning

🌸 16. thoughts on mint chocolate chip?

🌸 17. an anxious compulsion you do everyday?

🌸 18. your boba/tea order?

🌸 19. the veggie you dislike the most?

🌸 20. favorite disney princess movie?

🌸 21. a number that weirds you out?

🌸 22. do you have an emotional support water bottle?

🌸 23. do you wear jewelry?

🌸 24. which do you find yourself using, american or british english?

🌸 25. would you say you have good taste in music?

🌸 26. how's your spice tolerance?

🌸 27. what's your favorite or go-to outfit?

🌸 28. last meal on earth?

🌸 29. preferred pasta noodle?

🌸 30. ask me anything!

The reblog made me do this- xD, anyway, I brought you some tea (if you don't like tea then pretend it's coffee, and if you don't like coffee either then...idk. It could be juice maybe?), since I know that's gonna take a while to answer! 🌼

+ Add tags to help people find your post

Why THANK YOU for le tea. I happen to be an avid tea drinker (Black tea, 5 sugars and French vanilla creamer) Anywho, onto these asks: 1. Steak and cheese quesadilla with chips and queso blanco.

2. I think it's a nice lifestyle, but personally not for me. I'm a meat eater 100%.

3. Not many colors, but I suppose neon blue. Especially on neon signs. It's so bright but dark it assaults my eyeballs.

4. Hm...possibly ghosts and demons. Spirits in general.

5. Potato chips!

6. Yes, it's a fitness watch too! It helps track my calories, heart rate, and steps.

7. Octopi/squids! Squishy, sloshy, tentacle bois!

8. Sometimes, other times I'll flop on my bed in my work clothes.

9. I do! (Though I am shit at being consistent with it) It is 3-4 steps.

10. Apple, though I've never been on a plane that offers orange juice just yet.

11. For your sake, I'll give the lighthearted answer. I have a bunch of plushies from my childhood, including a stuffed beanie baby lamb named Lamby, who I used to say goodnight to as a kid before going to bed.

12. Not really, tbh. I do like Urea Cream. it helped my KP and ashiness.

13. Locking my house the fuck down and arming myself. Sorry it ain't as fun as raiding 7/11, but I'm a black woman. We ain't scurrying the streets with the crazies.

14. Considering how little water I unfortunately consume, along with my high-mobility job and the recent hot, sunny weather, most likely.

15. Based purely on length of time, I'll say: Drowning, Freezing, Burning.

16. I prefer other flavors, but it's one of my favorites!

17. Overapologize for everything, even things that aren't my fault (working on this in counseling)

18. Brown sugar boba milk tea (I don't regularly order boba, so I don't know if this is proper boba terminology)

19. Honestly, I'm not a veggie girl in general, but I hate zucchini. I've despised it ever since I tried it.

20. Princess and the Frog, all the fuckin' way.

21. Those super-high numbers like Googol and Googolplex. Just the magnitude of them is so interesting but existentially terrifying at the same time.

22. Considering how little I drink water, no.

23. I used to, but I'm a tad too lazy to accessorize now.

24. American, mainly because I was raised by a New Yorker and a Jamaican New Yorker.

25. Good and eclectic taste, yes.

26. For a Jamaican, not really. More than your average white Midwesterner, but not enough for my ancestors.

27. Lol, scrubs. No, like, nursing scrubs. I work in a daycare, I'm sorry. I would say my favorite outfit is this black dress with white embroidery. I call it my prairie dress because it's so pretty and modest, so I don't feel self conscious.

28. Bacon cheeseburger with fries and fried chicken on the side with red velvet cake as dessert and Sprite for my drink.

29. Fettuccine or shells.

30. Which word would you use if you could only use one for the rest of your life?

[staysinvegas]

Alright I'm breaking my hiatus for this acc for this one post. The whole Build situation is really really shitty. Given the fact that I don't know any of them personally and I'm not God, I don't know who's right and who's wrong. Maybe it's wrong on both their parts I don't know. I will not be taking any sides. All I want to say is, please don't drag the other boc actors into this. Don't go commenting on Bible's posts asking him if he supports Build. Don't go to Tong or Apo's accounts to look for "evidence". Please don't turn toxic and hateful towards them because I'm sure all of us are mature enough to understand how sensitive an issue this already is without the fans aggravating it. Please also understand how difficult it must be for the other actors, especially Bible, right now. Although he isn't directly involved, we all know how their names have been so closely associated for the past couple of years. Also, having to build up that kind of chemistry with a brand new person all over again must be a tough process for Bible so he can work on new projects.

Let's just hope boc learns how to actually manage their employees and handle situations like these in the future. Let's also pray whoever was at fault gets the punishment they deserve. I know it's hard to go through this turmoil as a fandom but I believe we can do this. I repeat, let's NOT TURN TOXIC towards the other actors or even towards each other.

As far as kp or vegaspete go, they're fictional characters. Do not associate them with the actors portraying them. Also, for the sake of your own mental well-being, do not let parasocial relationships take up more of your life than they should.

Please stay kind towards each other. I love this show and this cast and this fandom and I'd hate to see the magic get ruined 💜

[wickedmoonlite]

KinnPorsche Rewatch 2023

Reminder: as we go into heavier topics in KP (dub-con/non-con, toxic behaviors, etc.), I will not be doing deep dives. I’m planning on taking this just below surface value as these are literally thoughts I have in the moment as I’m watching. Thank you.

Episode 8 Random Thoughts

I like that this episode opens and KP have spent the night together. It just shows a little bit of relationship growth.

Gotta scramble, P. Get those clothes on.

"My legs are still shaking." Jesus.

✨Bread✨ I was yelling at my tv the first time I watched this scene lmao.

The scene where they're going through to the bedroom and they're just destroying everything is so good. And the window push, and the lick, good lord.

P said "I need to treat my man and show him that I'm cereal, help me goddess of Hum Bar."

But where did they put their fancier clothing??? Did they just leave it in that random café bathroom?

I enjoy how hard P is working to make their day memorable. Date days like that are so fun, especially at the beginning of a relationship. And they are worth so much more the longer you're together.

The day was perfect though, P. K is happy, you should be too.

THANK YOU FOR GIVING HIM A PHONE, FUCK.

Creepy Tawan is creepy.

Also, I dislike Tawan so much. But like, I also understand why he is the way he is?

Because they definitely wouldn't have heard the water splash lmao. But the underwater kiss is so good.

That fucking drawing. I lose it every time.

Calling Kinn slutty and promiscuous like you weren't fucking women in the back of a bar Porsche??

Oh Pete. So innocent. Those are hickeys, my man. KP be fucking.

Hmm. I never noticed that Kim and Chay end up standing on what is essentially a chessboard? (I'm watching on my computer instead of my tv right now so things are a bit closer)

Once again, Kim gives in to Chay and listens to his song. He really is trying his damnedest to not give in to the feelings but can't help the little looks he gives Chay. Ugh. Just give in to the love, man. Dumbass.

Then the look at the end like, fuck I'm screwed. This boy is getting to me.

There's basically nothing in that fridge but water and 4 eggs.

I love how Tankhun kicks Porsche out his own damn self rather than having Pete, Arm, or Pol do it.

Idk, if my TV came on randomly and the light started flickering like that after watching a horror movie/show, I'd probably freak out too.

I don't get why Kinn doesn't just tell Porsche the whole truth (I mean, yeah, plot device, but fuuuuuck). Like, for fuck's sake, just tell him Tawan is still alive. Get it out in the open rather than keeping it secret. You're supposed to love and trust each other, right? Damn.

See. Things ended up coming out anyway. jUST TELL PORSCHE THE TRUTH, GOT DAMN.

I always need more KimChay but I shall never get it :') Anyway, Episode 9 next!

[fic-history]

Fanfic 101: What on Earth am I Reading?

If you’re reading this post, you’re probably wondering what this “fan fiction” business is, and I don’t blame you for not knowing! Fanfiction, which will henceforth be referred to as fanfic or fic for sake of brevity, is not a traditionally public-facing practice. As defined by the Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, fanfiction is “fiction that uses characters or a fictional universe originally created by a professional author or for a television show, movie, etc”. Essentially, it’s when a fan of a certain piece of media writes a story using the world and characters from said media. 

Now that you’ve read that, you might be thinking “That’s a really broad definition, KP,” and you’d be absolutely right. Any TV show, movie, or book you can think of probably has a fan following (also known as a fandom), and as such probably has some fanfiction written about it. As much fanfiction as there is, online archives like FF.net and Archive of Our Own (AO3) use tagging systems that make it easy to find a specific kind of story from nearly any fandom, from BBC Sherlock smut to Jane and Mr. Darcy working in a coffee shop in 1993.

In his 1992 book Textual Poachers, Henry Jenkins classifies the 10 ways that an author may write fanfiction of a TV show or other piece of media:

Recontextualization: Fans often write short vignettes (“missing scenes”) which fill in the gaps in the broadcast [or other kind of] material and provide additional explanations for the character’s conduct; these stories focus on off-screen actions and discussions that motivate perplexing on-screen behavior.

Expanding the Series Timeline: Primary texts often provide hints or suggestions about the characters’ backgrounds not fully explored within the episodes. Fan writers take such tantalizing tidbits as openings for their own stories, writing about events preceding the series’ opening [or after the series has ended].

Refocalization: While much of fan fiction still centers on the series protagonists, some writers shift attention away from the programs’ central figures and onto secondary characters, often women and minorities, who receive limited screen time.

Moral Realignment: Some fan stories invert or question the moral universe of the primary text, taking the villains and transforming them into the protagonists of their own narratives.

Genre Shifting: Fans often choose to read the series within alternative generic traditions.

Cross Overs: [These] stories blur the boundaries between different texts.

Character Dislocation: [In these stories,] characters are removed from their original situations and given alternate names and identities.

Personalization: Fan writers also work to efface the gap that separates the realm of their own experience and the fictional space of their favorite programs. "Mary Sue" stories, which fit idealized images of the writers as young, pretty, intelligent recruits aboard the Enterprise, the TARDIS, or the Liberator, constitute one of the most disputed subgenres of fan fiction.

Emotional Intensification: Because fan reading practices place such an importance on issues of character motivation and psychology, fans often emphasize moments of narrative crisis. Fans relish episodes where relationships are examined, especially those where characters respond in a caring fashion to the psychological problems, professional turning points, personality conflicts, and physical hurts of other major characters. 

Eroticization: Fan writers, freed of the restraints of network censors, often want to explore the erotic dimensions of characters’ lives. Their stories transform the relatively chaste, though often suggestive, world of popular television into an erogenous zone of sexual experimentation.

Funny GIFs aside, not only does fanfiction cover almost every fandom you can think of, but almost every scenario too! Please let me know if you have any questions, or if there’s anything you think I forgot to add!

Happy reading,

-KP

[stoookes]

Just read the latest chapter of Omegaverse and goddamn that was one hell of a ride! 😳😳

Firstly, I loved that Stu and Ali's friend group grew closer! Stu really deserved to stop pretending for Kevin's sake, and be among people who liked and accepted him for how he was. Also, kudos to Ali for persisting with Stu!

I loved the whole scene with England finally introducing an omega to the squad, but instead of announcing who it is, like BCCI with VK, they kept it secret like NZC with Tim. Ngl I thought it would be Joe, but it being Jos threw me completely, I never saw that coming! Stuart protecting Jos (yay!) and the J2 feels are already jumping out, I hope my baby Josephs atleast escape the angst? 🥺 Nothing but good things for them please 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

The Stu and Kevin confrontation was chef's kiss and then Brinn! Ahhhh that was quite possibly my favourite part of not just this chapter, but also the entire fic (okay second favourite, VK's introduction edges this out by a tiiiiny margin bc I can't resist cute baby fiery omega 🥹) I just adore Stuart and Steven's relationship, the way Stu trusts that Finny won't mind him being omega. They're so cute together 🥰

And then the last part of the chapter! Ugh I hate Kevin so much, and the dub con really made me shudder and feel so bad for Stu, being forced into such a rotten situation 😭 well done with the writing here! 😁 And then Kevin finding out Stu's secret 😭😭😭😭 please tell me he's gonna be fine?? jimmy do something, ali do something, author do something, someone do something I can't bear Stu being put through more shit please no no no no no no you can't do that to him please 😭

Can't wait for the next chapter, I'm dying to find out how the situation with Kevin resolves itself, and I'm also really eager for you to explore Brinn further. And can't wait for VK to properly show up too!

Lovely chapter, love your writing and excited for more! 💖❤️💗

ahaha - just a little bit of a rollercoaster 😂

Ali always knew Stuart was a good egg under the surface, pretending to fit in with Kevin and co for some reason. He's so grateful when Stuart opts to start spending time with them rather than Kevin and so proud when he stands up for Stevie 🥰

You just know the hiding was Ali's idea. ECB definetly wanted to make a big thing of it like BCCI did but Ali will be incredibly aware of how VK was treated/seen when he was announced. He wouldn't want that on a young player (especially one like Jos who is already having a hard time with feeling like they're good enough) so pushed HARD for the omega to be announced but stay anonymous.

It's so interesting because I was worried the Brinn would feel a bit shoe-horned in considering this is the first chapter Steve is even mentioned, but it does just work because Brinny just works 🥰 Stuart just knows; no one has ever treated him like Steve does. He can do odd things for an alpha and Steve just accepts it, accepts him. Not even Freddie did that.

Kevin certainly knows what he was and there is very little he won't do to get it 😓 It's another scene I'm glad doesn't feel forced because I obviously knew where it needed to get to, but I guess we've already established KP as a very cut throat character, so this vein of revenge on Stuart feels very natural. Don't think even he thought he was going to get this reveal though!

I'm not sure you want the author to do something... It was me who put Stui in this predicament in the first place 😅

Chp7 is already in the works because of how it flows on from this one, so hopefully the wait isn't too long for an update! Thanks again for your lovely comment and for reading - so glad you're still enjoying it 🥹

[sourcreamlobsterr]

Unpopular opinion: the Kinnporsche World Tour is making me uncomfortable.

Hear me out. I absolutely love KP - the chemistry MileApo have is insane. Their friendship and trust in each other is one of the reasons this show has become so popular. They never go over the top with skinship and exaggerated flirting for press (which most other BL actors do way too much of).

But in the World Tour, we see them kissing on the stage for the sake of… fanservice? Honestly, that (and the other actors making out, too) made me cringe. Of course, the cast is aware of how many people ship them IRL. Mile even got a lot of hate online after he was spotted with a girl, with people getting angry that he was cheating on Apo. Netizens have a heavily parasocial relationship with the cast, and this tour is just adding fuel to the fire. Making them strip down and perform erotic dances, actors making out on stage, singing and dancing (most of them aren’t great performers btw) is so weird. They’re actors, how is this their job? Especially since they all said that the preparation was hard, for days, and for something like this. If they’re enjoying this, wouldn’t it be better to upload it to YouTube bit by bit before season 2? With the thirsty KP fans, they could monetise off of that and it’d be way less tiring.

I really don’t see how the World Tour is feasible, since they’re going to be at it for months in other locations. What about the international venues? Most of the cast isn’t fluent in English. I hope BOC comes to their senses and give the actors a break… maybe shoot the second season, yknow, much more productive and money making.

What do you guys think?

[yeetlegay]

Hi, so you finally got me to read your Pretty Woman AU, which means you pulled me back into reading fanfiction for the first time ever since a very unfortunate dabbling in Wattpad territory at the age of 15. And I didn’t think I would like it that much, to be honest, because I’ve only ever seen snippets of Pretty Woman and because I’m not usually into stuff that horny. But excuse me, how is this so beautiful and perfect and addictive??? I can now get in line with all the other people begging for the new chapter on a daily basis.

I mean, even though you keep saying you forget about the plot all the time, it’s still there and it’s wonderful and already the idea is brilliant. Like I said, I have never seen the entirety of Pretty Woman, but I love how you weave KinnPorsche and that movie together so seamlessly while somehow staying true to both?

And I know this is a minor detail to most people, but I personally can’t stand spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes etc. in stories, so I love that somehow you manage to make less of them (= partically zero, even the questionable ones I wasn’t sure about) than a huge amount of professionally published books I’ve read. Thank you for that. Also, I just generally love your style of writing and your tone, it’s a pure delight to read.

That said, I will now go hide in a corner, anxiously await the new chapter and hope you’re having a great day (and that it’s no longer ruined because of the coffee spill).

P.S.: One question, though. Could you maybe explain to me how exactly Kinn’s penthouse is laid out and where everything is inside it? I keep getting confused because my brain is weird and then rooms and furniture end up on the opposite sides of where I expected them to be.

Oh god not Wattpad! 😂 That place is abysmal, I’m so sorry for whatever horrors you stumbled across. But WOW wtf this is????? Incredible???? Not to sound cheesy but I really am honored that you gave fanfic another shot with FL&H, that absolutely blows my mind. I hope you check out some more KP fics too—there’s tons of goodies in there if you’re interested! (I’m very far behind on my TBR but I’d rec anything in my bookmarks for a start!)

Pretty Woman has always been such a comfort watch for me honestly. I first saw it when I was like 8, which in hindsight was too young lol, but it’s just one of those movies that’ll always be a timeless classic imo. It’s one of the greats to come out of the 90s romance boom and I’m just really gassed that Kinnporsche happens to translate so well to that setup. It was shockingly easy to outline and find all the ways to sync up the story/character beats, and I love including little Easter eggs from both stories (like Porsche’s “then stop calling me” moment in ep 5, and Chan teaching Porsche self-defense instead of table manners, and obv the piano scene lol).

I’m kind of the same about grammar/punctuation hang-ups just because of the field I work in, but I try really hard to get over it with fanfic because it’s free and made with love, you know? And besides, I’ve read manuscripts from some brilliant authors who cannot spell or use commas right to save their lives lol, so I’m pretty used to looking past the little things for the sake of the story. Thank god for copy editors tbh. But I’m glad you haven’t spotted a lot of typos! I don’t really copy edit other than skimming it after I post so there’s always a good chance I’ve missed something really egregious lol.

As for Kinn’s penthouse suite, I just sketched this out on my phone so it’s not super accurate dimension-wise lol but below is what I picture in my head. (If you see anything in early chapters that contradicts this…no you didn’t 😉)

The north- and east-facing walls are complete glass, and probably have some kind of shades/curtains that come down when you hit the button, but as we all know Kinn and Porsche are exhibitionists and want to make sure the entire city sees them fucking, especially the banks. 😌

Hope that helps! So glad you’re liking the fic, and an update is coming soon, I promise! Chapter 9 is officially the longest one yet fml 😩

[surrealsunday]

You know my fav thing about Big is that even though he was a jealous jerk to Porsche in the beginning, once he realized that KP were actually together, he started to give Porsche the respect Kinns partner should deserve whether he actually liked him or not. He gave his life for Porsche because he knew Kinn would be devastated otherwise. We always know when our love is unrequited and if we stick around it’s because we’ve accepted it and we devote ourselves to the one we love whether we get anything in return or not. It’s just so selfless which means that it was purely love on his side. I just have so much respect for the character now. I kinda feel bad that I suspected him at one point and I’m honestly sad he’s gone. I was struck by his character from the beginning and Nodt did such an amazing job.

You really just came into my inbox and left me with feels like this, hunh??? I love and hate you for it 😭

I’m not sure if you’re the same anon who was chatting about Big with me HERE but like I’d said there, yeah he was annoying in the beginning of the series, but even his actions towards Porsche back then made sense (even without taking into account him being in love with Kinn). Of course he would hate Porsche - you couldn’t really blame him for it either (just point out he was being especially dickish about it 😂). But then you factor in him being in love with Kinn and it really is gutting in retrospect. Like... taking a bullet for Kinn, being tossed aside like he was nothing, assigned to Kim who treated him like dirt, and all of this while he’s watching this thing play out between Kinn and Porsche and 100% recognizing what’s happening. Good lord... that is some epic behind the scenes angst happening right there. 

“He started to give Porsche the respect Kinns partner should deserve whether he actually liked him or not” ... I actually hadn’t thought about it in those terms and that sentence just ruined my life (in the best way 🥹). There was that moment in ep 8 when Ken is saying that Kinn was in his rooms punishing Porsche and while Ken (dumbass) looked delighted, Big just looked like this... 

And while I had never been onboard with the Big-is-the-mole theory (don’t feel bad about thinking that way though, I think a lot of people did and I think the show wanted you to suspect him), it was one of the only times I doubted myself. Because there was definitely something going on inside Big’s head and it wasn’t ‘haha, Kinn’s punishing Porsche, serves that disrespectful little fucker right’ alongside Ken. In retrospect, it makes much more sense that he knew what was going on between Kinn and Porsche. And his behaviour had changed. 

With all that said, lorrrrrdddd did I not expect him to throw himself in front of a bullet for Porsche - all for Kinn’s sake. That was a beautiful and heartbreaking choice for the show to make. I love it a lot. We didn’t get a lot of Big (in a show jam packed with lots of interesting characters), so it’s pretty impressive they managed to give him the depth they did in these few effective ways. 

I know it’s too much to ask because there is just a whole lot of shit going down plot-wise at the moment, but damn do I wish they would acknowledge his death next ep. 

[ablazenqueen]

Tagged by the lovely @dribs-and-drabbles!

~ Reveal your watch & rewatch drama list ~

Currently Watching (listed alphabetically):

2moons2: It’s been kinda meh so far, the main couple bores me, 50/50 chance I’ll drop it.

Beyond Evil: (Not a BL.) I mean, it’s a murder mystery. What more can I say? I am, of course, obsessed.

Carmilla: This one’s very different than every other show on this list - it’s Western, it’s a web series, and it stars a primarily female cast (and an nb character!) and a lesbian couple. It’s so good, I absolutely love it! I binged the first season in a night and just barely started on the second.

Colour Rush 2: Just started this one but it seems like they’re exploring the world and its inherent crimes rather than the romance, which is something I’d wished they’d done at the time of the first season, so I’m cautiously intrigued.

Kinnporsche: Admittedly… I haven’t been too happy with this one the past two eps? I’ve fallen a tiny bit out of love. That said, the acting in KP is, as always, absolutely spectacular, as is the cinematography and fight choreography. Maybe the next few episodes will change my mind.

My Secret Love: I really don’t know what to make of this show. The principal shipping her students and blackmailing them into making shipping content is incredibly uncomfortable, especially because it’s played off as a joke. But other than that… dare I say I’m kind of enjoying this show? The secret relationship side couple is by far my favourite part, I’m not necessarily sold on the other pairings yet but I don’t actively dislike them yet either though so there’s that. We’ll see.

Old Fashion Cupcake: I can’t explain why I’m so in love with the first two eps of this show. Something about the dynamic between the leads, the quick and sharp dialogue, the fact that not a single interaction feels without purpose, the fact that they’re both so instantaneously likeable? I’m super excited for more, the teaser for this week looks like A Lot.

The Gifted: Just started this one early this week and I haven’t had much free time so I’m not very far in but I’m absolutely loving it so far! Intriguing plot, good suspense, loveable characters, I’m pumped!

Triage: Okay, listen… I try to be careful with declaring whether a show is worth watching or not until it’s done airing but this show has yet to fall short of perfect and it’s written and directing by the folks who did Manner Of Death (tied with Bad Buddy for my all-time favourite BL). So… let’s just say that if it continues as it’s been going and sticks the landing, my two-way tie for favourite BL is going to become a three-way tie. I could rave about this show for days. The characters, the plot, the mystery, the pacing, the main and side couple, both of which are very loveable (a rarity in BLs), the friendships, the way that every single little thing turns out to be important. Currently, I could not recommend this show enough. I put this list alphabetically for simplicity’s sake but this show is currently my favourite on the list.

Rewatching:

I just introduced one of my best friends to BL dramas so we watched (rewatched, in my case) Semantic Error together. I’ve also rewatched what’s out for Triage three times with various friends, if that counts.

Looking Forward To:

Gap the series. Vice Versa. And… admittedly not much else as far as upcoming shows go. Which is probably not a bad thing, I have a to-watch list a mile long. I plan on starting Kamisama no Ekohiiki and First Kill soon. (Also I’ve heard that they might be adapting another novel by the author of Manner of Death and Triage, which has me foaming at the mouth.)

Tagging: @soulfalleninbuttland @arisprite @mygeekcorner