#even being good isnt enough to save you

[witchlenore]

I'm going to have to block the ai tag in every way I can, as a creative who has always dreamed about being able to actually work selling my art I just find it all heartbreaking and I've had at least two panic attacks about the way ai is being sent after our art, our writing, our narration, our very appearances, and I just can't do it ok? I am already barely making it from day to day.

[puppyeared]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[hecksupremechips]

Shinjiham is cute when it’s romantic but tbh I think i vastly prefer the idea of them being best friends instead. Like, neither of them really saw it coming and weren’t really looking to get another best friend (Shinji has Akihiko, Kotone has Junpei and Yukari respectively) but it happens anyway. Kotone takes a liking to Shinji much faster than she does anyone else and I’d say a big reason is just the fact that he’s so reserved that it allows Kotone to do most of the talking while he just listens and they love this arrangement cuz Kotone doesn’t get to talk about her own interests very much. Though I think some of her needs to talk to Shinji stems from this insecurity that he isn’t happy in the group and she has this people pleasing problem and wants everyone to be happy so she makes a much bigger effort to talk to Shinji. And it’s very unfortunate because Shinji intentionally acts cold and distant because he doesn’t want to form any attachments because he wants to die soon, but aaaaaaaagh dammit this girl just keeps talking to him and being sweet and encouraging him to engage in his interests and share them with the others and he just can’t seem to say no when she’s got those damn puppy eyes. And Kotone is just able to get him out of his shell by being persistent but not in an overwhelming way, she’s very cheerful and supportive of him. And Shinji is able to offer her support by encouraging her to talk about herself and by making sure she’s taking care of herself. They just click really well and make such a positive dent in each other’s lives and it’s all about basic acts of kindness going a long way you know?

[lord-squiggletits]

The thing about TFA is that I think it’s a pretty good Transformers cartoon, it’s fun and has interesting spins on the usual premises of TF. But I honestly don’t think it’s as deep as a lot of the fandom likes to act as it is.

Like, sure, in the show we have a few glimpses of Cybertron under Autobot rule and get inklings that this isn’t a pure and wholesome society. Except we literally don’t get anything besides that-- glimpses. All of the backstory that actually reveals the ~problematic~ and ~revolutionary~ things of the TFA continuity takes place solely in extra materials. And even if you could convince me that this is a valid way of telling a story (spoilers: NO because I shouldn’t have to buy multiple separate pieces of merchandise, half of which is shown via Word of God/meta texts and not actual story content, to be able to understand a single story), it honestly doesn’t make a difference. None of the extra material that shows the dark/gritty parts of TFA shows up in the cartoon itself.

It doesn’t matter that the flying twins were experimented on while on the verge of death because they sure don’t act like it matters. It doesn’t matter that the Decepticons apparently used to be enslaved as war machines, because the show sure as hell doesn’t give them any deeper characterization than “we’re gonna take over Cybertron because we’re the Decepticons raaaaawwwwrrr!” And it doesn’t even matter that Optimus Prime, one of the main characters of the show, is literally a high-ranking military officer of a regime that brainwashes/experiments on civilians, because as far as the story is concerned his biggest problems are 1. Trying to get his crew to listen to him 2. Fighting Decepticons 3. Putting up with his annoying superiors after he got kicked out of the Elite Guard. (Note that just because he didn’t make it in the Elite Guard doesn’t mean he’s not still important: Prime is one of the highest ranks the military has, and Optimus was given freaking Omega Supreme, a top secret war weapon/artifact, as his ship.)

The story is trying to pose itself as something deeper and more serious, but ultimately fails because those deeper/serious things are barely covered in the show or delegated to side materials.

Am I saying TFA is a terrible show that has no good ideas at all? Am I saying that people who like TFA are dumb and should watch another show? Not at all. I’m just saying that I think the fandom opinions of TFA as a show honestly overhypes it compared to the actual content of the show itself. Forget about the dark and gritty backstory, the vast majority of TFA is spent on human villains and random skirmishes on Earth instead of the actual interesting part, the Autobot/Decepticon war and the state of Cybertron!

If you want a TF continuity that has great lore (and doesn’t require you to watch a cartoon, read a book, find a bunch of old interviews, read a comic, and listen to a script reading at a con), IDW1 and IDW2 are both right there waiting for you. Especially IDW2, which is written as a single continuous story and not as the chaotic decade-and-a-half long mess that is IDW1.

[hauntingblue]

I loved this movie about nami and her ex situationship reconciling and also anti capitalism

[bhaalble]

Back on my Wyll script doctor because I was talking about it with a friend. Specifically imagining a version of Wyll's big Character Choice that felt like it had some actual teeth.

Imagine a world where instead of a cartoon evil hot lady Mizora and Wyll's relationship actually had some complexity to it and like. some genuine push and pull which gives him temptation to stay. I just keep thinking about this 17 year old who his whole life wanted more than anything to be a hero, who got his chance to do something heroic and selfless and save the city from certain doom, and his reward is getting kicked out because he did it the "wrong way".

Imagine if instead of forcing his silence, Mizora instead comforted him. How unbelievably cruel of your father! Well...since you've nowhere else to go, why not stick with me? We make a pretty good team, as it turns out, and I can get you a whole list of monsters who need killing. Plenty of devils and demons loose in your world targetting all sorts of innocents. Our interests can keep aligning, and you get a place to sleep when you need it.

Wyll makes his peace with it, because he has nothing and no one. And Mizora's not GOOD maybe, not by Ulder Ravengard's definition. But she's fun. She delights in his growth. And she does certainly keep direct him at greater evils, devils who really do need killing. And if she spies on his every waking moment, well, she worries. If she sends him after the occasional innocent, well, she had people who she has to answer to as well. She's a devil, how much can he fault her for her nature? She's always seemed like she knew where the line was...

Karlach (and the player) express their doubts, of course, but for act one at least he's defensive. Yes, she punished him and he hates it and its miserable but....he was in breach of contract! She's NEVER gone outside its bounds, she's always stuck very closely to their agreement. Wyll, who wants so badly to trust others and believe everyone has the chance for good, can't find it in him to believe the worst even of a devil.

And Mizora is FOND of Wyll, loves him even in her way. As a cherished pet, as a trusted tool, as a best-laid plan. Never enough to choose his own well-being over her own agenda, never enough to see him as his own person. He's her little project, the long shot noble brat she gambled on when Tiamat decided to get too big for her britches. And it paid off! Wyll always pays off, currying her all the favor from Zariel she so desperately craves. And who are you, or anyone, to come between them? She's treated him well. As she's quick to remind him, she wanted him when no one else did, aided him while the rest of his city slept snug in their beds. And if Ulder Ravengard didn't want a son with a whiff of infernal, then do you REALLY think he'd want you with lovely horns and Avernus in your blood?

You discover his father's been taken. Beyond igniting a lot of old feelings, it brings up a question of succession. Of course, Florrick isnt giving up on him, but if not...there aren't currently any likely candidates to take over the Flaming Fists. Not trustworthy ones. Florrick will take the position, but everyone knows in the back of his mind Ulder never really stopped planning for it to be Wyll. With the city in chaos and a cult army on the rise, they may need an answer sooner rather than later. Wyll feels the call of the Gate, but knows just as well that Mizora wouldn't want him to return in such an official capacity.

For the first time ever the leash starts to chafe in a way he can't keep pushing through.

Act 2 rolls around. Mizora sends up the Warlock signal. After potentially some encouragement from the player, Wyll (NOT THE PLAYER. I DONT KNOW WHY ITS THE PLAYER IN THE GAME ITS WEIRD) hesitantly proposes that maybe, if he does this....they can do a renegotiation of his contract. Not break it, he assures her quickly! Just....reopen the terms, take a looks at the agreement. Maybe discuss an exit ramp? After all....I mean, neither of us truly thought I'd be doing this forever, did we?

Based on Mizora's reaction. Yeah she did.

But fine. She agrees. And Wyll's not mad that it turns out you're rescuing her, not a nameless "operative" for Zariel. He would've done that on his own had she asked. Its the fact that she apparently didn't feel like being honest, that she let him fret and worry about potentially handing Zariel back some runaway for basically no reason. Its the fact that she came here to check in on the cult that abducted his FATHER just to see if Zariel could make any use of them. And its the fact that she seems surprised and annoyed that ANY of this bothers him.

All this builds, of course, to the final confrontation. The basic elements are the same. Mizora outside the coronation (this time needling at Wyll, "I'll be at camp if you're not too high and mighty to consort with the likes of me anymore"), Ulder tadpoled and fighting it. Mizora makes her offer. I can end the contract now, and you're free to go running after daddy (who won't want you btw! not like I do!). You'll lose all your powers, all my aid, all those juicy quests to chase down the greatest monsters in the hells. Take on your father's job and settle in for a life of misery and compromise and only doing as much good as the nobles will let you. Or: pledge yourself to me, eternally. I'll give you a boatload of new powers and eternal life to boot, so long as you serve as my sword and shield.

From there I think three endings branch out, and with it three classes for Wyll. If he stays with Mizora, accepts a relationship where he will never be an equal or a free agent in exchange for the affirmation he wants so badly from his father, he remains a Warlock, with some juiced stats and extra spell slots, along with shiny new gear. If he pledges to follow in his father's footsteps, he instead becomes an Oath of Devotion paladin, pledging himself in service to Tyr, if with a sense of doomed finality. The Blade of Frontiers is officially retired, and along with it any identity he has outside of being his father's son. Or the third path, break the contract without taking his father's role. He will look for his father, yes, but whether or not you find him he's going back to his roots, travelling around to do some good in the world (as the Blade of Frontiers) or kicking ass in the Hells with Karlach (as the Blade of Avernus). In this timeline he becomes a fighter, with a default preference for Eldritch Knight.

What's important: if he breaks his contract then Mizora is NOT hanging around camp. She will leave in a fury, accidentally bound by her own word to withdraw her influence completely if he breaks his contract. She may still approach the player some night to sleep with the player, framed for high approval/romanced players and her trying to take something back from Wyll. But Wyll will have to learn how to define himself without her breathing down his neck, without keeping her happy dominating his every thought. Its nervewracking, and even lonesome at times...but its freedom. And, perhaps, that's worth a little bit of lonesomeness.

[qwimchii]

hi qwim! i was thinking, i always see ghost fics where he isnt used to physical touch or being taken care of, but what if it was the other way around... could you write ghost with an s/o that doesnt know how to react to him taking care of her? also, to be a bit more specific, could it be pretty angsty but hurt/comfort? thank you darling!!

𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 — 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘺

𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘹 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵!𝘧𝘦𝘮!𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 — 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘢 <3 𝘸𝘤 — 2.6k

𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦 — 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧, 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵

𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴/𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘴 — 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵/𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵?? 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 ><

note: thank you for the request!! i had fun writing thissss :)

you had been trudged through the muddy sludge for two hours. with a clenched jaw, wind lashing at your face, every step felt like a brief battle against the lacerating rain that drenched you to the bone.

“rendezvous point 0.8 klicks away,” Ghost shouted over the roaring wind, looking just as downtrodden and soaked as you. the rain almost swept his words away, but you clutched onto them for dear life as you gave him a curt nod, unsure if he could even see it through the downpour that blurred your vision.

it was loud. everything was loud as you just continued to trudge. every step. a silent battle.

a silent battle, you reminded yourself, stifling a yelp when you knee buckled beneath you. knee plunging into the mud, you heaved yourself back up with a practiced mechanic stiffness. but when you didn’t move, not even a morsel, a quiet panic brewed in your throat.

“the fuck’s goin’ on sergeant?” Ghost shouted, exasperated when he noticed you a good few strides away from him now. a dangerous distance in such low level lighting—you could barely make out the outline of his body through the downpour.

a slither of relief ran down your spine when the gleam of his white mask grew bigger in the distance, like its own ghostly bobbing head. then, the rest of his drenched navy uniform materialized beneath the floating head.

“can’t move,” you rasped, voice weak no matter how hard you tried to force it through your lungs. to make it sound stronger. it was only defeated under the torrent of the wind.

whether he could hear you or not you couldn’t tell, because he was hooking a strong arm beneath you and hoisting you like you from the mud like you were nothing.

“save your strength,” you gritted out into his ear, teeth chattering as shivers wracked you. but he didn’t let go, instead strung you up over his shoulders so his arm was hooked around the back of your knees. on reflex, you looped beneath his opposite arm, latching yourself onto him as he continued through the mud—exactly like how you’d been trained to do.

you almost worried you didn’t have the strength to hold on, though you spurred a vicious iron chant in your mind.

every step. silent battle.

sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, and right now it wasn’t proving to be effective because your teeth were chattering so hard that your ears were beginning to ache. you fought against the droop of your eyelids with a passion, half-afraid of the training that had been ingrained into you.

don’t fall asleep because you’re really fuckin’ cold, your commanding officer had said, you may never wake up.

though the longer you fought, and the longer Ghost walked, the longer your resolve waned.

“sleepy,” you almost cried into his ear, hoping it was enough to get your message across. from the way Ghost stiffened beneath you, you thought it may have landed a blow.

he suddenly turned heel and changed trajectory from the rendezvous point, head on a swivel as the both of you disappeared between a thicket of bushes, away from the muddy river bank you had been tracking along.

“Ghost—” you wanted to scold him for straying from the mission, but the chatter of your teeth cleaved through your sentence.

you felt his hand tighten on the back of your knee, fingertips digging into the pants of your uniform.

“don’t you dare fuckin’ sleep on me,” he barked, loud enough for you to hear over the torrential downpour and violent wind that swayed his body from side to side. with a low curse, he fought it, steadying on between another thicket of trees.

the further you both strayed from the river bank, the more a fit of anxiety tightened in your stomach. how would you find your way back? the rendezvous point was less than a klick away and you were dragging Ghost down like this.

you cursed. you were dragging him down.

“awake?” he shouted, almost directly into your ear, and you mumbled a weak yes, watching a big, gray form looming through the mist.

a cliff, you realized once you reached it as Ghost edged along the jagged rock. following along its surface, you saw a small and dark opening between two low rocks and you tugged on his shirt.

immediately, he ducked down, sliding you off his shoulder and carefully placing you down on your feet. your toes touched the muddy ground, and when your heels made contact in the wet sludge, your knees buckled with the slightest pressure.

Ghost heaved you up, an arm tight around your waist as he pulled you through the mouth of the cave, squeezing between rocks to reach its drier insides. with a low noise of impatience, he hooked his arm beneath your knees and carried you further into the dark cave.

without the roaring rush of rain and the battering winds, your ears ached from the deafening silence of the cave, sealed off from most of external weather. the glare of the storm seeped into the space, but with every step Ghost took from the entrance, it dipped you further into pitched darkness.

when it was so dark you couldn’t see a thing, only hear his low breaths by your ear and the way your teeth clacked with shivers, he set you down on the ground.

you shivered against a rock, drenched to the bone and eyes searching the quiet darkness for signs of danger before a flicker of light caught your attention.

then, it exploded with a hiss, the red glare of the flare spilling over Ghost’s mask and the tight surrounding cave. your surroundings suddenly revealed to you, nothing but sheer rock and dirt around and beneath you, you let yourself lax back into the rock, eyelids drooping, then finally shutting.

“quit,” Ghost grunted, gripping your jaw so your eyes fluttered open, looking up to see his face just mere inches from your own.

then, he leaned back and unclasped the ivory outer layer and peeled off his balaclava, wrenching it free of water and ruffling a hand through his wet hair. you had seen Ghost’s face before—in so much more detail than the low lighting of this space, his brown eyes flickering red from the flare, but it was a comfort to actually see him nonetheless.

you startled when he began unclasping his vest too, fumbling with buckles to throw that down on the cave floor. hooking his fingers beneath his windbreaker, he tugged that over his head, pulling off his under armor shirt with it. the bare muscles of his torso clenched with the movements, and you stared at him, eyes half-lidded.

“what are you doing?” you rasped, stiffening when he started fidgeting with your vest too.

“tryin’ to get you warm,” he gritted out, and with all your strength, you pushed his hands away.

“m’fine,” you insisted, a cold twist in your stomach leaving you nauseous.

“oi,” he said, gripping your chin to look at him, “don’t be doin’ this again.”

you scowled at him. “do what again?”

“m’gonna take care ‘a you, alright?”

he reached around the back of your vest and unclasped it, pulling you into his chest and tugging it off despite your low protests.

“stop,” you commanded, though it came out weak when his fingers came to the hem of your pullover.

you were satisfied when he complied with your command, but you couldn’t say the same when he pressed his face to the crook of your neck, cold but solid against you. 

“c’mon, baby.”

the sweet word made you screw your eyes shut. when he stayed there, pressed right against you, you snuck a hand up to the back of his head, smoothing over the buzz on the back of his neck.

the feeling wasn’t unfamiliar to you—long nights when your lieutenant didn’t sleep and you didn’t either. long nights when he curled up in your bed, not uttering a word as you wrapped your arms around him, sleepy and warm and strong beneath your sheets. it felt right holding him flush to you at night.

it felt stranger in the day. at work. it felt stranger when it was the other way around, his arms around you, clutching you tight to him.

“m’fine,” you whispered, spidering a finger down his wet, bare back. his skin was freezing to the touch.

“c’mon baby,” he repeated, softer this time as his cold lips turned to rest against your temple. 

you rubbed a hand over his skin, willing it to warm. when it didn’t, a panic rose in you, and you leaned back to let him tug your clothes up your torso and off your head. clad in nothing but a bra, you felt so much colder in the damp, chilly cave air, shivers and shakes wracking you. you watched him twist the water from your clothes, amazed at how he didn’t even shiver, as still and strong as always, though you noticed the slight shake in his hands as he put down your clothes.

“cold,” you admitted, biting down to keep the clatters from wracking your teeth.

“i know,” he said, rough and throaty as he slid over to you and unbuckled your belt, tugging you free of your pants. 

you rubbed over your legs, skin tingling against your palms as you tried to knead life back into them before another wave of fatigue hit you like a daze. you were barely cognizant of Ghost kicking off his own pants to the ground somewhere, gripping your chin and saying something.

but your ears were muffled and you felt far away, confused and hazy and just so cold and wanting to sleep.

soon, you felt a body by your own, Ghost’s arms snaking around your waist and speaking low against your ear.

“wake up,” he commanded, pinching the fat of your stomach so that you squirmed with discomfort, eyes fluttering open.

you swatted at his hand, and that seemed to satisfy him because released you. he pulled you into his lap, rubbing up and down your thighs, waist, arms, back. it was warmer in his embrace—his skin still cold but warmer than the frigid air around you. 

you nuzzled closer to him, tangling so you could get almost every inch of his bare skin against your own. cheek pressed against his chest, you tried to stop your shivering and failed miserably.

the frustrated noise from the back of his throat sounded broken and panicked as he hooked his legs around the back of your thighs, arms reaching up around your back so that you were caged into him, almost fully enveloped in the embrace. he laid down on his back, edging over so you were lodged between two rocks, blocking your bodies from the slithers of wind that found their way through the cave.

it left you feeling fuzzy and warmer. so warm that your head perked up when the shivering ceased, eyes wide-open as you came further to your senses.

“better?” he asked, and you nodded, rubbing your arms up and down his biceps, the thick muscle flexing beneath your touch.

“you’re cold,” you mumbled, and he craned his neck to you, kissing your upper lip with a softness.

“thought you were gonna sleep on me sergeant,” he whispered, and you just shook your head, grumbling never beneath your breath before he was kissing you again. harder this time.

you crept a hand into his hair, pulling so his head thudded against the ground. 

“stop,” you scolded, uneasy of his affectionate advances.

his dark eyes gleamed in the red flare. you brushed your fingers over his cheek, observing the dark bags beneath his eyes and the lack of color in his face. lips almost a pale blue.

this time, you stooped down to kiss them, swallowing them with a neediness, willing them to return to that coral pink of his full lips. he hummed into the kiss, fingertips digging into your back and your chest smushed against his from the tight hold.

then, his hand slid down your back, digging into the curve of your ass as he squeezed it.

you yelped into the kiss and pulled back.

“not here,” you hissed, irritated when he just pulled you back down to him, pressing little kisses all over your face.

“need you warm love,” he said, words hushed as his hand crept down to the back of your thigh.

“i am,” you insisted, lax against him because you were no longer quivering incessantly.

he paused, hand sliding back up between your shoulder blades and another pressing the back of your head to his chest.

“hate it when i touch you that much?”

you screwed your eyes shut. when the lieutenant had first started showing up to your door at night, it was unprompted. a mistake. a coincidence maybe. when he crawled into your bed and kissed you, it felt more intentional then. when he touched you so intimately, you didn’t even know what was happening. your body, on autopilot, wanting everything and nothing at the same time.

but then again, it was you stripping yourself of your fatigues and letting him tangle with you in the sheets. it was you begging him to fuck you. begging him to let you come all over his cock, his hands gripping tight at your hips, body warm and flush and so much hot skin pressed against yours it made your head spin.

it was overstimulating, and some nights, you would push him away after sex, denying the care he offered you. denying the affection you craved. the vacant look in his eyes made you regret it every time.

hate it when i touch you that much?

what he said that, you knew it was a joke. there was a hint of truth in it that you wanted to ignore. maybe it was the cold. maybe it was the exhaustion of the neverending mission that wrung your lips open. truth poured out of them.

“no,” you said, brushing your fingers over his chest. “i like it.”

“that right?” he asked, hands lazy as they kneaded at your back.

“yeah,” you whispered, nuzzling into his warmth. he was heating up, the shared skin contact of your bodies raising your temperature so there was a fuzzy pleasurable feeling beneath your skin. tingling and sending shivers down your spine. but not the cold kind.

“you never let me take care ‘a you,” he grumbled back, hands stilling against your back.

“i’m lettin’ you now, aren’t i?” you shot back, and you could practically feel the smug smirk twisting his lips in the dark. you confirmed your suspicions when you looked up past his jaw to see him staring up at the ceiling, a wry smile on his lips.

“gonna let me take care ‘a you when we get back home?”

home. it was a strange word to use for the base, but you knew what he meant nonetheless. home meant in your bed on base. home meant Simon in your bed on base.

“maybe,” you hummed, letting your eyes close, listening to the distant woosh of rain and wind from outside the safety of the cave. “wait out the storm first.”

“course,” he said, voice gruff as he craned his neck to press a sloppy kiss to your forehead. “just don’t go dyin’ on me now.”

you smiled. “i’m just sleeping, lieutenant.”

“i’ll make sure of it, sergeant,” he returned, hands sliding down to squeeze your ass.

you let Simon take care of you, more hushed words against your ear coaxing you to sleep, promising he’d be right there when you woke, promising he’d be right with you when you got back home, promising he’d be right there when you finally clambered into bed after the long week. home.

home in his arms.

taglist: @ivybeeloved @babygirl-riley

[mitsies]

i just read "intrinsic warmth" and it was sooo good ( YOU AHVE AMAZING TASTE). pls give us more gojo recs ao3 or tumblr.

gojo + ao3:

UPDATED

+ intrinsic warmth: my favourite fic of all time. like genuinely. insane writing, fucking amazing in every sense of the term. 2nd time recommending this! reader's character is so sick BUT updates real slow (which isnt a bad thing!! good things take time!!) so i wouldn't read if you aren't patient // 90k words, 13 chapters, incomplete

+ ripverse: not really a series, more like a compilation of fics! it's got a lot of angst and the one titled 'interlude' contains smut i think so beware, and it's also a lovetriangle/poly-but-geto-goes-crazy-so-not-poly moment // 55k words, 8 pieces

+ the witches' brew: super cute fluff! reader owns a cafe, gojo is a regular, it's all around adorable // 2 chapters, 11k words, completed

+ all that is solid melts into air: arranged marriage trope! i haven't read but @/aanobrain loves this one // 7k words, 1 chapter, complete

+ cake batter: established relationship w/ dad!gojo & megumi <33 not much to say, just short n sweet, i am such a sucker for dad gojo so its no surprise there's one of these on the list.. // 2k words, 1 chapter, complete

+ best of luck: initial concept is really unique!! confessions, slight angst, takes place at the beginning/middle-ish of s1 i think? so cute loved this &lt;;3 // 5k words, 1 chapter, complete

+ afternoon tea(se): gojo torturing megumi. classic !! so so cute love the banter // 1.7k words, 1 chapter, complete

+ my apologies, gordon ramsay: god i hate this man. jk. reader is a teacher and a functional human being; gojo is not. loved! // 8k words, 1 chapter, complete

+ a name known only to paper: platonic, angst- beautifully written, such a unique idea. reader is gojo's older sibling. // 3k words, 1 chapter, complete

gojo + tumblr:

+ untitled by @/augustinewrites: actually idk if there's a title and if i just can't find it but... this is so so cute love me a lil drunkass gojo hes so cute and the author writes him so well i am a huge fan LMFAO just check out their whole masterlist if u havent alr!!

+ i could fall asleep or stare in your eyes (you're right by my side) by @/seoafin: hurt/comfort !!! lovely, this author's writing style is so so good i eat this shit UPP

+ growing pains by @/seoafin: another lovely work by this author!! im pretty sure they also wrote ripverse (on the ao3 part) as well? parental gojo again!

+ close combat by @aanobrain: honestly it's taking everything in me to not link all of art's gojo fics so i'm limiting myself to my fav 3, and this is one: love the reader's personality, so so much and NO im not biased bc i helped write it....

+ family photo by @aanobrain: fifteen THOUSAND words of pure mastery. the motifs, techniques, all make an intricate storyline even better- wonderful characterisation and i cannot express enough how amazing this is

+ 10:15 AM by @aanobrain: short n silly. this one makes me giggle. i requested it in return for an aki fic i wrote which is how u know its good. ok bye done w aanobrain art now i dont even know them who is this

+ quiet game drabble by @/moonbeamwritings: so so cute looooove silent treatment fics bc theyre always so silly n this is characterised so well !!

+ no good, very bad date by @sixosix: again i am fighting my demons to not rec all of six's gojo fics........ THIS ONE IS MY FAV THO!!! so so fluffy so sooo fluffy i thrw up in my mouth (in a good way)

+ fan letters by @sixosix: FLUSTERED GOJO............. i was hissing and squirming and [REDACTED] wjen i read this for the first time. short n so so sweet

+ formation b! by @earthtooz: oh god another place where i want to give u the whole masterlist... go check it out if u havent alr but this is a classic i LOOOVE my sillies !! teacher gojo based on that one ending cutscene w megumi its so so sweet

+ untitled by @earthtooz: ok again idk if there is a title i am finding all of these fics bc theyre saved in my drafts but.... THIS IS SO CUTE!! if i were to give it a name i'd call it 'gojo being awhore but only for u'

+ untitled by @/od4saku: hmmmmmmmmm this is cute!!!!! kinda a character study i liked it ;)

okay so... this is as far as ima go because i have been staring at this man's face and name for way longer than is probably healthy!! but if u want more recs i'm sure i can find some because i'm actually insane!! hope i could help !

[kienansidhe]

i like how the nimona movie like. emotionally it feels like a sequel to the comic. like obvis its the same core characters and a lot of similar events so its not literally 1000 years after the events of the comic, but like tonally, thematically, it feels like it.

i liked the way the comic was a bit darker, both in terms of the characters moral complexity and in the way the ending was sadder, still hopeful but more the world isnt ready yet, theres hope for change but we arent quite there yet, nimona cant come back yet, shes still an outsider and cant live with her friends in the open even tho she knows they love her. its more the world as it is now.

i was a little frustrated at first at the way everyone is much less morally complex in the movie, theres a lot more clear cut none of the good guys ever did anything wrong rlly, it felt a bit sanitized (not rlly surprising given. you know. cost of being made by a big studio. but still disappointing). but at the same time theres some different themes being explored, and then the overall throughline is more hopeful.

i like how by making ballister both a man of color and more strongly emphasizing his background of poverty and how hard he had to work to make it as a knight, the way he is much less aware of the structural problems of society and tries to cling for awhile to oh its just the director who is the problem, it rlly gets into the model minority myth, the way you grow up being fed this lie that you arent being oppressed, that you just need to work harder, to prove to your oppressors that you arent lazy or lesser, both for yourself and for others like you. ballister in the comics already knows the system is broken, his quest is not to clear his name in the eyes of a flawed legal system, hes floundering but he knows the government is rotten. movie ballister is more naive, has to be guided to see that this is bigger than his own problem of being framed.

i like how nimona gets to be a hero in this story. the comic was a story of one person seeing the humanity in a monster, in a nimona who is much more angry and bitter and lashes out much harder. both stories have the theme of being saved by a single connection, by someone seeing you, acknowledging your personhood, but the comic sort of ends there. maybe someday the rest of society will understand, but they dont yet. maybe in another thousand years.

and then you get the movie, where nimona is softer (emotionally maybe bc of the comic thousand figurative years ago), but also sadder, less bitter and more despondent. its been another thousand years and she still isnt accepted. but things are different this time. nimona has enough hope that ballisters love and acceptance makes her want to save people, to change their perception of her. and she DOES everyone sees her as a hero she gets little kids making we love nimona drawings and its like ahhhhh this is the fulfillment of the promise at the end of the comic it feels SO good it feels like closure it feels like hope i love it so much!

[spectrumgarden]

Becaise I'm tired of seeing this happen to other bloggers & also frequently myself:

If someone talks about being unable to do something without assistance due to a disability, and how that influences their life, how that dependency on others is scary and can be exploited etc. And your only response is "I experience this except I end up doing the thing by myself because no one helps me". and then they tell you "hey, you deserve to get support for this when you need it. but this is actually not the same as my experience because if i do not get help i absolutely can not get it done by myself. Like I'm fully unable to do this." And your response is to get mad / accuse them of trying to be "divisive" / telling them they're dismissing your struggles / blaming them for your feelings about this response essentially / calling them ableist for literally just pointing out the fact that there is a difference between these situations / etc, then you are the problem.

Just for a minute try to imagine what it's like. That you can not do something without assistance. Let's say you absolutely can not drive a car even if your life depended on it. You completely rely on being driven around. You can not do anything that requites a car without another person being physically there the entire time and holding the steering wheel. And tons of people see you talk about that and join in with "yeah I also can't drive in theory, but I still do it because I have to because my life depends on it". That does not feel good. That is a constant reminder that hey! Other people can totally do this even though its hard! If your support vanishes you can not do this thing your life depends on no matter how hard you try! The voices of people who actually experience the same thing as you get drowned out in the flood of these "I totally get it"s from people who do in fact, not totally get it. Because In reality, one of you is sitting behind a wheel and the other isnt and Never Will.

Acknowledging differences is not the enemy. We are not arguing about emotions here. We are literally begging people to see that two physical realities are different. And no matter how often we say that you still deserve support and that we acknowledge that things are hard and exhausting for you and sometimes even dangerous, that isnt enough for you? Every time I try to get one of these people to see reason I tell them: I know this is hard for you. I know this is exhausting for you. I acknowledge your reality. But that's not what they want to hear. So, what more do you want? For me to lay down and say "yeah actually we experience totally the same things" and then watch as the healthcare system out to save every penny tries to dismantle my support system because well, if I try really hard I'll probably get it done myself?

[podcastingproficiency]

I cant even imagine what it must have been like for Terry jr to see his step daughter team up with Willy Mother Fucking Stampler. Oh my god.

You have all these memories of being a teen, hating your stepdad, willing to do anything to have things go back to the way they were before you met Ron Stampler. You have all these memories of a horrible man who kidnapped you and your friends, made you so afraid that as soon as you heard he was still alive, you knew you’d kill him with your own two hands if you had to. You have all these memories of all the horrible ways you’ve changed, all the things you can never take back.

And then. You meet your soon to be step-daughter, Teressa Marlowe; A bright, kind, wonderful young woman who turns herself inside-out over how much she loathes you. How much you’ve ruined her life. Everything good in the world, you’ve soiled. You’ve taken it from her.

They say that girl, your Scary Marlowe, enabled the worst man you’ve ever met to murder someone. You see her on the screen. You wind the security footage back a hundred times, try to tell yourself it isnt her thats not Scary. You see yourself in a tower. You wind it back a hundred times, try to tell yourself that its still him that monster is still your dad.

…We all believe what we have to. We all do what we can. We’re never where we should be when we need to be there the most.

Being Terry jr, locked back up- having failed as the only person who could have done anything to rise against Willy- while a moment that will change your step-daughter forever unfolded. While the man who ruined your childhood takes control of hers. While the one thing you wanted to protect her from comes creeping in through the floorboards, through the cracks in the walls, from the sky and the seas and the air until there might be nothing good in the world left to save.

Rewind the video one more time. The resolution just isnt high enough to know for sure. Maybe you’ll believe yourself this time.

[calcium-chan]

DRAWMEGLE DUMP FROM LIKEFORVER AGO

drawmegle was this weird little website that was like omegle, except for drawing and nominally fewer nazis?? tho at launch that was a bit of an issue lol (idk the creator went on vacation right after advertising or something? oops). i got sucked into it for like a day or two and ended up drawing a bunch of stuff. ive lost some of it because there was this weird glitch that just deleted my drawings before i could save them or anything. OH WELL. thats also the reason some of these are slightly unfinished. im also going to be cropping most of these to just my side, exceptions where its funny, or the other persons art was nice or whatever. just know that these almost all had people on the other side who were also drawing their own thing. also of note, i wont be posting these in order of creation, its mostly arbitrary tbh

this first one is of haru from dorohedodo. i had just finished reading the manga about a month or so prior, and i really loved this character a lot. disregard the amogus or whatever. dorohedoro is really cool and its really special to me now. not a fan of the anime adaption but what the fuck else is new (im sorry if you like the anime, i just didnt like the style very much). Q hayashida is brilliant, and she clearly just really loves women like a lot, thank you miss Q!

next is this silly drawing of knives chau. scott pilgrim takes off had just aired, and i was slightly enamored with knives for a bit, i kin the scott pilgrim girl fucking sue me. i also drew kim, but the drawing deleted and this was the last save i had WAHOOOOOO its so fucking over. scott pilgrim takes off was obviously really really good in my opinion, and its like the perfect way to adapt an original work in my mind. uh shout outs knives or whatever.

oops shitty cowboy bebop drawing. i like this one well enough for how goofy it is. jets fucking face still kinda gets me. i love bebop a ton, but i dont think ive ever drawn the characters despite that. theyre actually a ton of fun to draw, like their shapes are all super varied and they have distinct style about them. very good cast of characters. i didnt even realize or mean to, but i kinda gave spike a fucking granny face, oops

uuuuhthese pissing dogs are really funny, they were fun to draw, and seeing peoples reactions to this one in particular was cool. having even a little bit of ability to draw on sites like this where randos are looking at your work as youre drawing it is always kind of an ego boost. like none of these drawings are really that great, but for the medium im happy with them, and having people show up and go "woah" was always really flattering and it was fun watching the other people draw and interacting with them in some limited capacity.

ggggundam bullshit. i left the other persons side this time because i thought it was kinda funny. i had been rewatching the early part of turn A gundam, and it really reminded me how fucking cool that series is? loran is like top 10 gender non conforming mech pilots (there are a surprising amount honestly). and it always kinda takes me off guard when i watch any gundam because they were just so forward thinking in a nominally "boy" coded genre. shoutouts the fucking gundam staff frfr.

@oretal joined me for these next two!

a lot of the shit in the second drawing is probably totally incomprehensible to like anyone outside of a select group. were both have that like, 3ds era nintendo brain parasite, so a lot of these are just weird obscure game characters or memes, or just straight up OCs. most of these are actually oretals little characters which have kind of entered that inside joke canon of being so ubiquitous between the two of us (and honestly i assume oretals friend group at large) that i kinda forget "glasses girl" isnt a well known character. many such cases. thank you oretal for drawing silly shit with me! i really like your drawing of james and your madotsuki yapping about blunt rotations to uboa. very cool

uuuh quick fire round of stuff i dont like how i drew but want to post anyways. the first one is my irl husband, aki from chainsaw man. i love him a lot, kinda hate this drawing tho, i think it was the first one i did? the second one is basil from omori, im a big fan of little blorbos who peep the horror, and basil is no exception. my friend got me the little vinyl figure of him for my birthday so i end up thinking about him a lot and i doodle him every now and then. very good design. the last one is kiruko from heavenly delusion. i did not have much hype going into the show after my middling feelings on summertime rendering (they were both in the news for being on disney+ for absolutely no reason). i dont remember what got me to watch it, but by the time episode 2 ended i was stuck in big time. i ended up binging the whole series in like one night and it was such a good time. the prototypical calcium show is probably somewhere between heavenly delusion and made in abyss. its a rough watch at times, but if you have this specific brainrot, its probably one of the best in its league tbh.

second to last is this drawing of vriska homestuck. i kept the other side because it was really pretty. im genuinely quite pleased witht his drawing, its not perfect but for what it is i find it visually appealing enough to like it. vriskas design is probably the best in homestuck, at least to me. its been a long time since ive read through homestuck proper, but something about these little shits sticks with you pretty much forever. actual fucking deadly brain parasites you get from dunking your head underwater in an infested pool, dead within days.

OOPS ALL KUMI CHAN! it had to be alien nine, it could only be alien nine. i love alien nine more than i love any of my blood relatives. kumi is literally me, i love this stupid fucking series so much you have no idea.

[blkkizzat]

one pet peeve i have about certain anime/manga is the lost potential of a manga-ka not properly developing/exploring the world and characters they created.

after gege finishes this bullshit i want someone to buy them out and remake the jjk anime. ideally (spoilers): season 1 & 2

make jjk 0 the start of the series and yuta the main character (as was originally planned).

flesh out the student relationships that year with yuta, maki, inumaki and panda more

inumaki backstory (apparently he is from a sorcerer family too)

fleshout inumaki feelings/struggles with not being able to speak actual words

laying foundation for future maki/mai resolution later in series and the treatment of non-cursed energy users by zenin family. brief mentions of toji and perhaps megumi.

more history of how jujutsu society works as there's a whole hierarchy alluded to we never find out about and also would help on how they are in or have ties to the government which is revealed later in shibuya arc.

more confrontation between gojo and geto. theres 10 whole entire years between geto's defection and jjk 0. these two were practically inseparable (whether you see them as soul-besties or lovers) and theres an active bounty on geto. there had to be more passing moments, tension and smaller battles/struggles there.

show adoptive family relationship between geto, nanako and mimiko.

in fact theres a whole unexplored dichotomy between geto's mentorship to his sorcerer family he made from his followers and the found family of jujutsu high under gojo.

yuta struggling more with the guilt/burden of rika and mastering his ct

okay then finally we can have 'night parade of a hundred demons' and that resolution.

season 3 - hidden inventory arc

honestly this arc was pretty solid and can stay mostly the same but could be expanded by 3-4 episodes

show more of the dynamic between geto, gojo and shoko give us some more history/backstory of shoko.

give us an episode with haribara. like yes its sad he died but we didnt no anything about him really for it to be as impactful as it should have been as its literally the reason nanami stayed on to be a jujutsu sorcerer and what finally made geto snap.

give more backstory on gojo's family and expectations of him and how him being "othered" as the most powerful makes him more disconnected from people

something a bit more substantial to show even through gojo and geto were super close gojo couldn't emotionally empathize enough to see how much geto actually was struggling and the fact he failed him there

also see yuki interact with the rest of them more as she literally popped up out of the blue

movie break before season 4 for toji backstory movie

season 4 - the actual first season of jjk

i know yuji isnt the brightest crayon in the box but you'd think he'd actually go to the high school library/raid gojo's family library for ancient text/info on the actual curse living inside him. we should learn more of sukuna in this way, hell you could even rope in his old occult club for this.

more of sukuna mocking yuji. we see sukuna show interest in megumi which is good foreshadowing but we have nothing to hint of their actual relationship connection. i don't think sukuna would just be silent i think he would be mocking yuji internally alot.

sukuna should take over yuji's body temporarily due to their vow and we should have an early intoduction to uraume.

can we develop junpei more? he can have the same fate eventually but i feel like he should have joined jjk high briefly (still being manipulated on the side by mahito) before turning on yuji and this also is a good parallel to yuta story of how not everyone can be saved/converted.

introduce ino and show his and nanami relationship. how nanami struggles with it after haibara death

an episode or two just seeing the kyoto students interact and develop more of the relationship between mechamaru and miwa.

more information on how/why megumi sister got cursed. i assume megumi looses his shit later bc his sister is the only family he had that he gave a damn about but we need to see some more flashback scenes with them. i gotta be honest idgaf about her at this point and we certainly didnt see enough for megumi to completely lose the will to live or be as suicidal summoning mahoraga at every inconvenience lol.

season 5 - shibuya arc

things here would have made a lot more sense/felt better if things earlier were developed more as i mentioned so i dont think there needs to be a ton of changes.

we DO need to see how inumaki lost his arm because its so confusing he all of a sudden doesn't have one.

in all honesty zombie!toji should have been able to sense jogo if we are running with the theory he is programmed in that state to fight the strongest. sure megumi may have more potential than jogo but same could be said for dagon then. there was really no need for jogo show up at that point just to leave two minutes later.

nanami not dying to jogo/mahito. i appreciate how they did it and isolated i dont hate it tbh. its fitting although sad af. however choso's death and the subsequent power up yuji gets invalidates nanami's death/power up. Power ups from deaths are fine but it happening twice in pivotal moments is lazy writing. Nanami's death subsequently isn't as meaningful and choso's death (as his bro it is going to hit harder regardless). plus killing sukuna is way more substantial than than mahito.

given what happens later it also would have probably been good for megumi to realize thats his daddy back from the dead. maybe he realizes as toji's offing himself due to tid bits/things gojo or others have revealed to him in the past. but theres no other good time to do this before he becomes sukuna's vessel.

season 6 - culling games & gojo's release

explain in a less convoluted way idk how they are going to do this for anime cause i read the manga and bitch im STILL confused??

honestly though id say keep nanami alive tho just so he can meet higaruma because we need nanami + higaruma scenes they would fr be gojo and geto level besties istg.

would like a bit more on noritoshi kamo backstory and he seems to have this twisted fondness for his "children" so to speak so a bit more on that creepy mofo.

season 7 - prep for sukuna fight & sukuna gojo's fight

we skipped MONTHS here. wtf!? we need to see:

choso and yuji relationship

choso mourning yuki and realizing he probably wont be able to keep her promise as he has to protect yuji

yuji's training

maybe see more of sukuna's past

gojo reflection thoughts on all tf that has happened and his mental state.

season 8 - post gojo, current fight with sukuna

if nanami has to die he can go out fighting sukuna.

thats really all i have so far. the previous changes would make choso's death make more sense and although i hate it, it would serve its purpose more than an earlier nanami death.

thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[diahire]

Anyways I wrote this post on my private blog but decided I'll share it with the whole fandom and add a few more thoughts to really throw salt about this down on the salt pile with the rest of the Villain fans. (This post isn't for the hero stans, I'm not here to argue with you guys, if you like the ending good for you! I wish that could be me!) I thought about it all night and tbh its literally the worst outcome for the entire manga imo? Because it doesn't feel like the resolution everyone was fighting for can be reached now, or as if Hori's gonna just gloss over it the same way and pretend its a happy ending. (Sorry if I sound like a hater, I sung his praises and trusted him so much so excuse me if my trust has been completely shattered with this) This post sums up a lot of my feelings on the last chapter Surrounding AFO and stuff like that, which was actually satisfying. But oh my lord, everything else is one of the most bitter let downs I've ever seen in any piece of media ever. I'd like to believe the fan theories that this isn't it for the LoV are true but tbh I refuse to be fooled by Hori again so at this point I'm actually fairly positive that the league is dead save for Mr Compress who, I guess, will just be spending the rest of his life ass-cheekless and in jail. (Unless we're meant to think Compress has been executed or is going to be. Who knows. Wouldn't be surprised at this point.)

Like I mentioned, I think the whole "Give Shigaraki back. His friends are waiting for him" thing was alluding to the fate of the League. It would explain why we haven't seen them again. Why Ochaco was the only one shown to be lifted into the helicopter to the hospital even though Himiko should have been right there with her. I made a post about it back then saying how worried I was that they didn't show or even mention Himiko at that point. Well, yeah, my fears of the worst I think were confirmed there. Like the reality here seems to be that Hori literally directly pulled a bury your gays on her. Like ?? I think its probably also safe to say Spinner is likely already dead. We've seen or heard nothing from him since he went down either. Due to Shigaraki's final words I want to think maybe he's not but at the same time I can't imagine him being the sole survivor. Unfortunately, this means Dabi is likely already dead as well. I'm low key taking a little bit of spiteful satisfaction in the fact that if Dabi has died his last words were telling his family to fuck off and honestly, good for him. Its like he said. This was all lip service and saving face and why did it have to go so far / take so long for anyone to even try? Why did he have to burn himself to death for his family to give him the bare minimum of acknowledgement? He spent his entire childhood literally crying and begging for it and being harshly rejected because the moment his dad found out he was disabled he pulled the rug out from under him and decided his existance was pointless. He spent the entire battle desperately trying to get his father to recognize him and talk to him and see that he wasn't a worthless son and could have done so much had he not done epic ableism to him (which, yeah we agreed this was correct within the narrative, omg!) and all Endeavor did was avoid him until he was backed into a corner and couldn't ignore / avoid him anymore, which is at large why Dabi was so badly injured in the first place. This isnt a W for the heroes or for Endeavor anymore. Once again our great hero drove his literal disabled abuse victim son to death in a desperate attempt to receive some type of validation from him. The easiest thing in the world for Endeavor to have ever give him and the one thing he really wanted was once again withheld from him until it was too late. A fucking "Sorry I didn't come to Sekoto Peak :(" isn't good enough anymore. Like I say this as someone who isn't even an Endeavor hater, the opposite, that just isn't good enough anymore. I mean, wow, Himiko and Shigaraki both essentially "sacrificed" themselves for the purity of people who actually didn't really care about them and actually just failed them one last time in the grand scheme of things so I just don't see how I'm suppose to really feel like its a satisfying outcome for them. We can't let our little centrist heroes get blood on their hands, what a crappy cliche way to end their stories. The tragic, outcast, well intentioned extremist lefty "villains" self destruct so the designated, privileged "good guys" don't need to feel any guilt or real consequences for their deaths or weight of the things they were trying to achieve. (Even though they are undeniably responsible!) Ugh, genuinely its so gut wrenching that all Shigaraki wanted in his last moments was for Spinner to know that he died trying. Like I'm sorry but they weren't "saved" as they should have been and as Hori had been suggesting to this entire time. I understand every one of them was shown to have achieved some morbid, tragic sense of peace before they died but I just hate that's all they got. Himiko and Shigaraki let themselves die ultimately because people said some nice words to them and did the bare minimum for them that no hero would ever do before. How far they had to go to get the bare minimum out of some fucking kids no less, not even actual licensed heroes, bruh like. Yeah, such a win for the heroes... /s.

I think a lot people miss the fact that the reason the LoV wanted to "destroy" the world was to create a better one, and this has a lot of tragic impact when characters like Spinner are canonly being murdered and mutilated in literal hate crimes to such an extent Spinner was unable to leave his house back in his home village without being attacked. But of course this is fine cause Shoji moved to the big city and is going to become a licensed hero one day so that'll def end all racism toward mutant presenting quirks, no flaws in that logic at all, why didn't Spinner just think of that himself. /s

I mean this is really just a salty rant because I know other people have articulated, I think, better than me, why this ending sucks ass, sends a crappy message, shits all over the whole narrative of Izuku and his friends becoming "The worlds greatest heroes" and overall feels to be out of the left field, and honestly is just a lazy and bitter cop-out with all the build up surrounding it and the fact that it absolutely DOESN'T tackle or resolve any of the social issues that the series has done nothing but make commentary on and that the LoV were all tragic victims to, which is why they took up the fight with the heroes in the first place. (Aka, government dogs, literally we've learned all of Hero society basically exists as a distraction and a shitty band aide for the oppression and demonization of people with quirks by governments who refused to actually adapt to the society of the supernatural and instead continued to systematically oppress people who were considered to fall outside of the social norm which is now more rigid than ever because society becoming supernatural should have REMOVED all said oppressive "norms" but instead it heightened them because people in power won't/wouldn't let go of what they considered "normal" no matter how outdated and defunct that "normal" was. ) Anyway, yeah, no the status quo has been upheld and the rebellious minorities who fought so hard to end their oppression have been killed and will surely be forgotten as little more than crazy terrorists. Huzza, the day is saved! /s

Idk man. I suppose we can hope that the UA kids put measures in place to try and correct hero society through taking on board the villains pain and their rightful and just complaints moving forward but IMO that feels unrealistic now because now they're dead. The war is won, history is written by the victors and it will be much more convenient to everyone WHO ARE STILL IN CHARGE (The UA kids are still kids who are still in school mind you, they have no real say or power in anything.) to just continue as normal as if we weren't given a clear idea that as long as hero society exists things will not improve for Meta-humans and their rights and the unfair prejudices against people and their quirks so... Yay.

But hehe funny super hero manga, yay the villains were defeated and the day was saved, the rain stopped, the sun is shining and the birds are singing! -powerpuff girls animated heart -

[lexithwrites]

some gang rivals to lovers bartylus headcanons because im hyperfixating on barty rn and need to let this out:

some nsfw under the cut, they'll be in italics (everything is SSC)

the crouch family are quite new money because barty crouch sr brought back their original family business after his 'passive' father stopped it

barty is still getting used to being the son of a gang leader and having this insane respoinsibility but he lowkey loves it

he can drive nice bikes, go to clubs and bars and spend his money on drinking and weed as much as he wants

he stays away from harder drugs as his dad 'tests the product' so to speak

the crouch's product is drugs mainly so barty is usually always on jobs for his dad because the old man is rarely sober enough to do it

he has a switch blade on him at all times tucked into his shoe

the only reason he hasn't left the business is because of his mother and younger sister, they're his world

angelica crouch is five years younger than barty and starting to go out partying as well and he lowkey hates it and follows her to make sure shes safe, they get into constant arguments over this but she knows her brother is protecting her at all times

his mother is quite weak as she was born with muscular dystrophy and even though she was a sahm barty raised his sister just as much as she did

she also had barty young, 19, so they grew up together

barty's family has a lot of 'agreements' with other gangs and companies that shuttle their product discreetly but one family they don't talk to or have deals with is the black family

the crouch and black feud has been an ongoing thing for generations — pollux black and barty's grandfather almost killed each other before making a peace agreement to just stay away from one another

regulus black, the youngest member of his family, has always been shielded as his older brother and older cousins are the more aggressive ones in the family that help their parents

he tends to just spend their money and party instead of being apart of the violence or meet ups, but sometimes sirius takes him along to get him used to it

one of these meet ups ends with barty helping them as he was walking by when the hand over (the black family usually smuggle weapons as well as drugs) went wrong and the buyers tried it on with reg, barty shot them without thinking

regulus thinks he's a bit of a prick but he did save his life so he thanks him and sirius explains that as good as it was that he was there, he cannot talk to him as it goes against their agreement in the family

but then barty starts showing up where regulus is (his college, parties, pubs, his morning run etc) and even though they bicker as barty is a flirt and regulus 'isnt interested' things start to take a turn

one night regulus goes clubbing without his friends or sirius and tries to find barty himself at one of his father's clubs and some creepy guys start being weird around him and he's trying to leave but they follow him and then who tf appears from the shadows? barty

his knuckles are bloody and bruised by the time he's done and regulus insists he come back to his to try and clean him up, barty is a good fighter but those guys were twice his weight so he got hit kinda bad, and barty is reluctant but agrees

reg's bodyguards arent snitches but you know they're giving each other 'oop' looks when they see the crouch heir wandering into the apartment

reg cleans barty up and tells him to shower and then he sees how many fucking tattoos this guy has and maybe reg is turned on, maybe...

and he's trying so hard not to flirt with him or touch him but its REALLY hard okay barty is tall and hot and he's also protective as shit?

but then barty is sat on the kitchen counter in just his boxers and some short ass shorts that he borrowed from regulus and regulus is standing between his legs because they're bickering and god reg wants to touch his thighs because they're RIGHT THERE and barty knows he's staring so he just kisses him

reg instinctively slaps him and barty's like 'do it again'

they fuck like three times that night and god is it good

barty seems dominant and reg isnt into that but turns out barty is submissive but he has issues with bottoming from past relationships

so reg blows him and hes whimpering and choking himself and biting his bruised fucking knuckles to stop moaning so loud but reg is so good it hurts

and then reg rides him into the bed and chokes him and slaps him and barty is the happiest guy on the planet

plus hes really good at eating pussy so regulus gets him to do that a couple times

regulus has only been with two people before this because he doesn't wanna drag innocent people into his families life but barty is more violent than him so he doesnt care,,,,plus he makes him cum SO much its insane and he's never finished with anyone else before

his thighs are shaking every time they switch positions and the FLITH barty whispers into his ear when they fuck because he can be a little dominant sometimes when he's riled up enough and reg is just grinning the entire time because this boy might be his new favourite toy to play with

they smoke on the balcony together after one of the rounds and talk about how much they hate their families but they're staying for a few chosen people and it sucks but its how they were raised

the morning after barty has to leave but reg is like look i know we shouldnt but i wanna do that again and barty is like literally text me anytime of day and i'll be on my knees for you and reg is like bet

so they start up a lil fwb behind their families backs and they're sneaky about it but sirius and angelica get too close to catching them

this is basically all i've got so far but come on,,,,you see the vision

[joshusten]

bitter melon (guy/honey, redacted audios)

Honey got stood up on a date and Guy tried to save their night.

(pre-relationship, hurt/comfort, jealousy (hohohoho), slight misunderstanding, conflict between characters, making up, fluff) 4.6k+ words [ao3 link] [masterlist]

[cw/notes: insecurities, self-depreciating thoughts and a lil breakdown im sorry honey has some issues over here (projecting moment?), NOT PROOFREAD as always LMAOO 

ALSO sadly guy isnt as silly (maybe really ooc) as he is most of the fic because he has Internal Conflict + i tried to make honey’s outfit and appearance as ambiguous as possible but i’m not sure how well i did with that ;---; so just keep that in mind! Idk how to feel about this fic ! i love it and i hate it LMAO]

"Oooh, what's got you all dressed up, roomie?"

It was the weekend—Kayla had just been picked up by her boyfriend, which had Guy realizing he and his favorite roommate had the place all to themselves for a few hours. As far as he recalled, he was off from work, and they hadn’t mentioned any errands to him for today. Perfect!

Guy had a bounce in his step as he arrived by the entrance to the room at the leftmost side of their shared apartment. He rapidly knocked at the door with a giddy “Hello?”, eagerly waiting for the response that he knew would always come. 

Hm, which game should they play this time? Smash was always an option but he wouldn’t mind trying something new with them. They could even watch some random YouTube documentary again like they did last time. Or maybe he can finally muster up the courage to ask them if they want to hang out somewhere outside the apartment that isn’t for laundry or groceries. 

He smiled to himself. Yeah, I’d like that. They can go to that new arcade that opened up nearby!

Before Guy can daydream more of sharing smiles in photo booths and frustratingly rigged crane games, the door opens to reveal the subject of his reverie, clad in clothing and accessories flashier than what they would typically wear. He got a whiff of a pleasant fragrance too and he realized that they must have put on a perfume of some kind.

Woah. 

They looked…amazing. They've always looked amazing. He had thought that about his grumpy companion even before the pair got close. But, seeing them in anything other than their usual casualwear or pajamas was definitely a surprise. 

The teasing amount of skin they had exposed didn’t go unnoticed by him, as well.

His roommate, by all means, was no prude. They even had their fair share of comebacks more vulgar than his flirts when they banter (Those particular interactions definitely do not keep him up at night, blushing and wide-eyed while he stares at the ceiling. Nope. Never.) This side of them, however, was something he’d never seen before until now. This side of how they present themselves with such boldness was new and he didn’t mind it at all.

The outfit looked good on them. Too good. A seductive dark top that very much complemented the tone of their skin, unbuttoned dangerously low enough to reveal the expanse of their collarbone that was adorned by a simple necklace. 

Their shoes gave them more height too, slightly towering over Guy more than they already did before and forcing him to tilt his head up a little for their eyes to meet. The dizzying scent of their cologne paired with those pants that hugged their figure just right had his mind reeling. It was mortifying—how they had him in such a daze so easily.

Fuck. 

Guy gulped nervously.

“You going out tonight with friends o–or something?” he frantically adds, suddenly aware of how much he was probably staring amidst his very appropriate train of thought about the person before him. Admittedly, the man was a little bummed that his plans to take them out first (Platonically, of course. How else would it be?) were off the table, though his interest had been piqued by what they were up to being dressed like that.

"Oh, uhm, no. I mean, yeah? Kinda? I'm…" They looked hesitant and a little…embarrassed? Well if it's something they don't want to share then he didn’t mind. Despite how much of a menace he is (with his roommate never failing to lovingly remind him of this), Guy wouldn’t want to force anything out of them, especially if it got them so uncharacteristically timid. He tends to forget such social cues, but he actively tries to improve and avoid being so pushy.

As he was about to reassure them that it was okay to not respond, they replied with a bashfulness that was unlikely of them, “I’m…going on a date.”

 A date? With someone else? Romantically? He felt his grip on the door frame tighten, and a sharp pang shot through his heart, silencing his buzzing mind for a split second before managing to fake a curious smile.

“Oh? Who are they? Do I know them?” He liked to think he inquired them out of politeness, like a nosey friend pestering someone about their crush, but the thought of his roommate being alone with someone for the night leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He had the need to asses this person, and determine if they really were worthy of their time—of them—for reasons he isn’t really sure of, it just felt like instinct.

Guy internally cringed. What the fuck does that mean? Why the hell is he thinking like this? Protective! He’s being protective, of course. Any friend would want to protect their friend with things like these! A love life is a huge factor in someone’s happiness after all, right? So he, as a friend, can definitely be wary if someone could be a potential risk of heartbreak for their friend.

Okay, if he thinks of the word ‘friend’ one more time he might actually lose it.

He needed a cold shower. Yeah! He just needs a nice cold shower to shock his brain and stop the weirdest fucking thoughts from ever forming, especially thoughts concerning his roommate that’s currently driving him crazy in every way possible.

“Ah, no, I don’t think so. He’s from my class.” They shrugged, looking to the side awkwardly. “I dont know, he just asked me out yesterday and I figured, ‘Why not?’”

Guy hands began to twitch involuntarily as his roommate smiled at themself, oblivious to the spiral that he was having. "My friends kept on saying I should try letting loose and going out more so I guess it’s about time.” 

“Oh, uh, hope you enjoy, then.” God, he feels light-headed.

“Well, isn’t this a first. What, no witty remark? No innuendo about me finally ‘getting some’?” Guy fought the urge to grimace. Somehow those jokes would do nothing but sour his mood even more instead.

“Hey,” The man started, struggling to keep his voice steady. “Can’t I wish a friend good luck on their date?” Friend. The word felt worse and worse the more it festered in his mind. Yeah, that’s what they were. What they’ll ever be. Nothing more. 

“Pfft, whatever, man.” The smirk grew wider on their lips. They seem really excited and he shamefully thinks it might make him vomit at how eager they are for this date. He should support them, right? Guy can see how his roommate tends to keep to themself most of the time, especially when Kayla’s with them. So seeing them go out of their comfort zone should have been a relief. He should be happy for them.

Whenever Guy was with them, being happy was easy. So why was he having such a hard time now?

Their grin dropped when they glanced at their watch with widened eyes. “Oh shit, I think I need to go.”

They opened their bedroom door and lifted up their arms from the side in a way to reveal more of what they were wearing. “How do I look?” 

Yup, feeling dizzy again. Remember to breathe, Guy.

“Uh, yeah, y–you look great! Really.” Guy put on a strained smile. “Have fun, just don’t miss me too much, though. Might be unbecoming for your date.” He prays to god they don’t notice how his voice wavered at the end.

They rolled their eyes with a familiar chuckle that usually follows whenever he makes a joke, “Pfft, whatever.” 

Waving him goodbye as they rush to the exit. “Don’t wait for me when you’re gonna eat dinner, by the way. I might be home late!” One last look on their watch had them walking faster. “Okaygottacatchthebusnowbye–!”

 He heard the gentle click of the door shutting and the apartment felt lonelier than what he’s used to.

— 

Tap, tap, tap.

“In old legends, tales long forgotten, the sea is often said to be unkind. 

The sea’s temper is short, and his rage is felt through the angry swells of the water that eat sailors alive. His strength is tremendous, taking down the tallest of mountains and sinking whole countries with his surging claws. But most of all, his cruel waves do not discriminate, drowning both the wicked and the innocent altogether. He cares not for the last breath he takes from their lungs to fill with salt and water and death. 

Despite his hostility, the sea yearns for the moon. 

Whenever the moon came down to greet him like an old, treasured friend, the waters still. All is tranquil when the sky and the sea meet. The sea breeze is calm as the children play by the shore. The people were grateful, for the sea had fallen for the beauty in the sky.

But all good things never last.

The sea became selfish. He loathes the time when the moon eventually ascends to the abode of angels, their home. He loathes the loneliness that becomes of him when he can no longer feel the warmth of their glow. His loathing turns into wallowing in sorrow until he decides that he has had enough.

His calm waves suddenly grow with the intent to seize, to take, to keep the jewel of the night for himself. His desire for them to stay overflowed into his foolish actions that had done nothing but have the moon be victim to the harshness he had reserved for men.

The moon wept, and the sea received their tears. He had hurt them. He had hurt them in his act of love. They returned to the skies, burdened to carry the melancholy of a broken heart and the sea remains, afraid to cause more harm.

The moon never came down again.

His attempts to reconnect bear no fruit. A different kind of madness consumed him, wrapping around his very soul like how guilt wraps around the sinners. It’s God’s punishment, he deems, for his covetous ways. To chase for the sky but never touch the clouds, to stretch up to the heavens but never high enough. 

He had realized that they could not be attained. 

They will not come back for him.

Yet he continues to reach high above, hoping for the blessing of a god birthed by pity. To push his tides to the limit for a chance to be in the moon’s presence once more until the end of time.

It is all but a myth, ancient words that the people of the present cannot truly decipher, but all its messages share the same sentiment;

The sea is…”

“Hm.”

Tap, tap, tap.

“The sea is mysterious?”

“No, no, no…”

Tap, tap, tap.

“The sea is prideful?”

“Ugh, that doesn’t sound right either.”

Tap, tap, tap.

“The sea is spiteful?

Vitriolic?

Rancorous?”

The living room which was once filled with the constant stream of clicking laptop keys came to an abrupt halt. I give up. This whole ‘running away from your issues’ thing really isn’t working.

That same irritating pain still persisted. It was becoming less of an annoyance and more of a discomfort, aching to the point that Guy started to rub his chest a few times in an attempt to soothe it. What is up with me today? Even after the cold shower that he was sure would solve his current predicament, the feeling of unease still lingered. 

He figured he might as well do the writing exercises that his professor had assigned a few days ago to distract himself yet it was of no help at all. In fact, it was just fueling the fire of these messy emotions that he had been feeling. His tired eyes closed, fingers circling his throbbing temples, as he racked his mind for something that would best fit the final line. I swear to god it’s at the tip of my tongue!

His mind snapped out of focus after hearing the noise of the door suddenly opening. He managed to haphazardly type a word to try out before it could escape his mind so that he could finally finish this troubling assignment that had opened more problems he had meant to solve. 

The sound of heavy footsteps reached his ears and they burned, knowing full well who had just barged in. Speak of the devil. His roommate finally returned along with the sinking feeling in his ribs. They had gotten back from their date. Guy made sure to put on his most convincing smile. 

“Hey, roomie! Back already? How was it?”

“Uh, yeah, hi.” They didn’t bother to look at him, ignoring his eager questions while they hastily set down the small bag they brought. Guy sees them navigate through the kitchen to fill up a glass of water and hungrily gulp it down. “I-is Kayla here?”

He frowned, shifting his body to face where they were in the kitchen. “Uh, no. She texted me that she was staying over with her boyfriend. Why?”

“Thank god.” 

“Yeah, I know right? So, uh, how’s the date?”

No response came again, His roommate was seemingly distracted by whatever they were scrolling through on their phone but it was clear that they were purposely ignoring him.

“He-ey! I asked how the date was. Did something happen?” They were as timid as they were before. And like before, the unease in his gut grew.

“U-uhm, it was fine.” The man heard them murmur. Why were they so secretive? They seemed frazzled and they were doing that thing where they touched their cheeks to cover their face whenever they got warm because they were…flustered. Are they–? On that date, did they–? Did something happen like that between them and their date?

Unnoticed by his roommate, Guy’s eyes widened. The pain in his chest returned tenfold. This should’ve been a good thing. That means they had a great time. Why is he mad? Why does he get that sinking feeling? Why does he feel so spiteful about it?

“What, no juicy details? Oh, I get it. You’re keeping secrets from me! Not a kiss-and-tell typa person now, are we?”

Maybe it was stupid of him to prod, especially about the one thing that set this rollercoaster of confusing emotions in the first place. But he needs to know. What did they do? How was it? Did they like it— being with him instead of Guy?

They continued to ignore his lighthearted interrogations and Guy knew that he should’ve just dropped it at this point but something in him snapped all of a sudden. He isn’t sure if the agitation that built up had got to him but he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out his next words—harsher than intended.

“Hey, I'm not the selfish one over here who left me all alone inside at a weekend while they got to actually enjoy the night in some fancy restaurant or something. C’mon, spill!” 

The lightness in his tone never left. In fact, to anyone else, it would’ve sounded like his usual playful nagging Both of them, however, noticed the shift in the direction of their conversation. (Since when was he one to provoke someone?) He’ll blame it on being in the heat of the moment for now. They understand he was just curious like that, right? All he was sure of was that he needed to know what happened. Why is he mad? Stop being mad. They didn’t do anything wrong.

He noticed their flinch far too late.

“I got stood up, Guy. Was that what you wanted to hear? Because, god forbid, I get to actually go out and do shit for myself!” The acidity of the way they said his name sent chills up to his spine. Their voice was eerily still, its coldness made Guy’s blood freeze. “Because I’m such a selfish asshole to enjoy things for once, right?”

“Oh.” 

Oh fuck. He fucked up.

“Yeah, oh,” A dry chuckle left their quivering lips. “Can’t believe I fucking thought he would actually show up. Thought somebody wasn’t fucking around with me for once and I–” They abruptly stood up. The harsh scrape of the chair puts the whole room into an uncomfortable silence.

They weren’t flustered from the date, they were embarrassed. Humiliated. They had probably been waiting for that douchebag to show up only to receive false hope and pitying glances. And he just had to add insult to injury by being when he clearly should’ve just listened, should’ve stopped, should’ve comforted them. He can finally see the tears that began to stream down their face.

“It’s whatever. I’ll be in my room.” 

“Fuck, I–I’m sorry. I didn’t know that he–”

But they had already slammed their bedroom door with a force that shook the place. Guy stayed sitting on the couch, all alone once more. Great, you just had to be a dick because of your stupid fucking…feelings about the thought of them spending their time with someone else! 

He’s pathetic.

Here he was brooding over his roommate going out on a date only for whoever that moron was to throw away the fucking chance to spend time with them. But maybe he’s the bigger moron in this case. The guilt seeped into his bones and he felt them ache. What is going on with him? He was supposed to be there for them. To be a decent friend. But now, he just ruined their already shitty night more.

Truly pathetic.

His eyes darted to the last line he had typed on his laptop and he held his breath.

"The sea is a jealous being."

The lump in his throat became harder to swallow. He needs to make it up to them.

—

This is stupid. This is fucking stupid.

They should have never gone with it. They should have never accepted that asshole’s offer in the first place. 

The faint sounds of an old TV series played from their phone, which had long been abandoned within patterned sheets, accompanied the figure that was currently trembling under the blankets. Stuttering, hiccuped gasps filled the room with a suffocating gloom. They think their hoarse throat couldn’t handle another broken sob to let out, having already cried every single last drop of their wallow out hours ago, their hot cheeks sticky from its tears. 

It wasn’t like this was the first time something involving relationships didn’t work out with them. They were used to it. They should be used to it—being left out, avoided, and unwanted. (It’s just a stupid date, it wasn’t even meant to be serious. Why are you making it a big deal? Why are you so affected?)

Why are they so affected by this? What made them think they were all-so-suddenly desirable to someone? Why did they even think they had a shot at all this lovey-dovey shit in the first place? 

Stupid, stupid, stupid. They’re shit with expressing their emotions and even shittier with dealing with them. Their outburst a while ago was a testament to that, shouting at Guy when he didn’t know any better. Maybe everything tonight was doomed from the start, then. They should’ve expected the hurt. Heartbreak was far from being a stranger to them at this point.

A tired groan came out of them again. 

Tired. They’re so tired.

Hungry rumbles erupted from their stomach. Damn it. Thanks to their ‘date’, they weren’t able to eat. Fuck it. Waiting out until Guy’s in bed and sneaking out of their room to eat would probably be the best option. For now, they stay bundled in their bed—thoughts spiraling, head pounding, eyes swollen, and a heavy heart waiting for its pieces to be picked up again.

Then they’ll sleep it off like always. And then they’ll confront him about it, play it off like it’s another bad day so he’ll stop worrying because they know he will. Everything’s back to normal— they’ll apologize for the overreaction, he’ll joke about it and everybody goes on with their lives again.

Yeah. That could work.

Knock, knock! 

“Hello?”

What the–? Ugh. For the love of–

“Hello? Roomie? You there?”

When they wanted to confront the roommate that they snapped at, they didn’t mean right now!

“What do you want, Guy?” 

“Can you come out, please? It’s…important.” 

They finally stood up from their blanket cocoon, hastily wiping the tears from their eyes to try and ‘shoo’ their roommate away. The door swung open, ready to put on their whole grumpy facade again. “Guy, I’m not really in the mood for–”

“Good evening, prestige customer! Your dinner awaits.”

What.

“Wha-- How did– When did you–?” Not giving any mind to Guy’s abominable impersonation of a British accent nor the messy scrawls of black ink on paper that vaguely resembles a mustache taped to his mouth, their eyes wander around the living room, confused and curious. 

The atmosphere was completely different from the bleak apartment they had been enduring for months. Multicolored lights that they usually use for the holidays hung around the area, providing the dim room with enough light to give a dreamy ambiance. The small foldable table set they had for eating was moved to the middle, covered in what they remembered to be Guy’s freshly cleaned checkered blanket that they had just picked up from the laundry when they were doing errands. 

On the table were some scented candles in mismatched glass containers, and two servings of a dish they couldn’t recognize. They even noticed faint jazzy music playing in the background to imitate the mood of a pretentiously lavish restaurant.

Overall, the decor clashed together horribly, yet despite that, they’d never seen the apartment so charming. The improvised set-up looks endearingly…cozy. 

“Come, let me guide you to your table,” Guy, err, the waiter, dressed in a white longsleeved button-up and apron, led them to the center, pulling out a chair and tucking the napkin he had around the collar of their shirt. The man directed their attention to the ceramics containing what seemed to be their dinner this evening.

“Our main course that the chef has prepared for tonight is a creative twist of a classic European dish composed of a rich tomato-based sauce paired with a unique and innovative pasta shell shape, garnished with traditional Italian herbs and spices.” “Guy, that’s a bowl of SpagetthiOs with some dried basil sprinkled on top,”

“Shush! Don’t ruin the immersion. And I am not Guy! I’m a waiter! Ahem!” The totally legitimate server who is not their roommate coughed very un-fakely, before composing himself in a more very real professional stance (then again, that might actually be real, seeing that he also serves the tables at Max’s when he’s not out delivering). 

“I believe your date has returned. A very dashing fellow if I do say so myself, consider yourself lucky!” Guy suddenly ducked down out of view (though they could very much see him all the same) removing the mustache and button-up to reveal a shirt with a tacky tuxedo print on it. 

He stood up, fixed a few strands of his hair that stuck up from his sudden movement, and looked at the person in front of him with a beaming expression. 

“Hey, honey! Just got back from the restroom. Wow! The food looks amazing!”

All ‘Honey’ could do was stare dumbfoundedly before covering their smiling mouth with a trembling hand. A small chuckle became a bemused giggle until eventually they were full-on belly-laughing.

“H-Honey? Really? Where did you even get that from? And what the hell are you w-wearing?” Their voice shook, unable to contain any semblance of composure. This whole situation felt like it was pulled straight from a rom-com. 

Guy laughed with them as he sat down to his side of the table. “Oh, so you like it? The nickname…came to me naturally. Feel like it suits you a lot, seeing how sweet you are to me, right?”

 Honey, huh? They wouldn’t mind him calling them that. 

“Also, I don’t know what you’re talking about! I think I look the most classy I’ll ever be!”

“Well, I’m underdressed then.” Their laughter had died down, slowly processing everything going on, well, it made them want to cry. All of this, for them? It’s too much trouble to go through.

“Nah, you’re fine! And besides, you look pretty all the time—which by the way, is absolutely not fair! I’m supposed to be the hot roommate here!” He declared with a mock offended tone as he sassily put his hands on his hips. Honey hoped he wouldn’t notice how their cheeks burned at how casually he called them ‘pretty’, like it was second nature.

“Then again, I wouldn’t mind if you underdress some more, ehh–”

It was his comfortingly familiar lewd quips, something they didn’t realize they missed hearing, yet why did their eyes water instead? The sobs that they weren’t aware they had been keeping in broke their dam again. Their cheeks must’ve grown tired from their crying all night, but this time, these weren’t tears for some dickhead that ditched them. 

The abrupt stop of laughter and panicked sputtering from Guy after hearing their croaky sniveling would have had Honey laughing if they weren’t already struggling to breathe from their convulsive crying. “Oh, fuck! Uh, okay, sorry! I’m sorry! Bad timing! I shouldn’t have joked–”

“No, no, Guy, I’m sorry I–” They let out a shaky breath. “Wh–why did you go through all the trouble for me? I-I snapped at you and I don’t–,” hands wildly gestured around their surroundings. “–deserve all of this! I don’t– I’m so sorry I–”

“Hey, no, don’t apologize. You deserve this, okay? If someone like Kayla gets to share a night with her boyfriend then you, out of all people, deserve to spend your weekend having a great time and I won’t let some jerk ruin that for you,” He looked at Honey in the eyes with a sincerity that involuntarily made them shiver.

It’s not often that Guy was this serious with them. It was only reserved for moments when it was late at night and their teasing and gossip turned into deeper talks about anything and everything. They forgot how intense the look in his pretty eyes could get, how it felt like he saw through them, through their very being.

“I’m…one of those jerks, too. I really shouldn’t have said those words to you. You’re not selfish or an asshole. Your date was the asshole for not showing up and that’s a reflection on him rather than yourself. I just sprouted out those stupid things because I was just…bitter that you had your own plans when I really didn’t have the right to be.” Among other things. He decided not to bring up the other messy emotional stuff in his head. It’s not what they need to hear right now. “I’m really sorry for pushing you. I…really hope that you can forgive me but I would understand if you won’t.”

“I forgive you, Guy. Thank you for… for all of this. It really means a lot.”

They shared a tender smile as they continued their chatting with their dinner. By the time they cleaned the dishes and put everything back in its original place, the pair plopped down on the soft cushions of their sofa. Guy shifted himself into a better position to face Honey.

“I’m surprisingly still not sleepy. What else do you wanna do for tonight?”

“Hm…Smash?”

“Honey! How scandalous! Take me out to dinner first! Oh, well technically, I already did, so I guess your wish is my command after all—Ow!”

“I meant the game, you freak!” --- THIS FIC TOOK SOOOOO LONG i was so close to giving it up BUT WE'RE HERE EYYYY also this was suppose to have a bonus scene but ehhhh idk where i was going with it rlly rlly hope you enjoyed ;--; i'm still not rlly happy with how i wrote this but there are some parts that i rlly like so i decided to post it HAHAHAHA feel free to give me feedback :DD and have a nc day/night!!