#i mean we got them yo leave at half time last season in their own stadium

[daniel-munthe-agger]

Away end almost empty. Absolute joke

[father-time-and-baby-new-year]

happy 200! i’m so glad to see your blog grow, it’s one of my favorites and i adore all your writing. i’ve never cried so much and i love the kind of unsettling feeling you write in your fics, it’s perfect in the category of yandere and dark content. in particular, i loved your drabble about shigaraki mourning over a dead reader and i’ve reread that one too many times to count haha! as for asks for headcannons and drabbles, it would be amazing to see that with bully!eren especially since he was such an awful person to the reader. i’d love to see him suffer honestly, but if you don’t want to write it, that’s completely fine! once again, i’m so proud of you for hitting 200! that’s such a huge milestone and hopefully, there will be many more in the future! :)

SYNOPSIS: bully!Eren has to navigate the world without you.

Pairing: Bully!Eren x Fem!Reader

A/N: I can't even explain in words how much I CHEESED at this message like my grin was ear to ear. can't explain how many times I read this. It singlehandedly made my day anon, and to repay you for my happiness....here is some angst. this is a slightly different route than the shiggy one but I hope it still suits you <3

TW: mentions of death, past dubcon/noncon, mentions of trauma, bullying, alcohol addiction, drunk driving, abusive behavior, revenge porn, nonconsensual photography/videography, mentions of infidelity, angst, so much of angst, violent behavior

WC: 2.5k

It's not like Eren had been doing a lot of soul-searching. He's not delusional enough to label his half-assed epiphany of "maybe I'm a shitty person" as soul searching.

It's just the conversation with his very sick mother burned holes through the back of his mind. Carla had asked about you and why you don't come by the house anymore. How she missed baking with you in the kitchen, and how you sweetly smiled whenever you would see soft creamy peaks form in the meringue.

Eren felt like he was swallowing needles as he assured his mother with false truths, that nothing was going on and distance between childhood friends is natural, and if it means so much--ok ok he'll bring you over.

He stays until he sees her chest slowly rising and falling into a gentle asleep. He touches the tip of his ears, unsurprised by how hot it was.

Eren, when you tell a lie, the tips of your ears turn red.

You're not at school the next day. Or the day after that. Or the day after that.

Guilt is not an emotion he feels often but the events of the past weekend replay in his mind. It was just a dumb party that Floch threw, and he was surprised to find you cornered by a trio of thee dunderheads. Like a distorted fairytale, he swept you away from the bad guys like a knight in shining armor, to only shove you in an empty room and demand compensation for playing hero.

Fuck, with that big mouth, you would think that you'd know how to suck cock.

Use your tongue stupid slut. If you use teeth, I'll shove this dick in your ass without any prep.

No, I don't care, you're taking all of it.

There's a video on his camera roll. How could he not record it? You're sobbing, mascara running down your cheeks, looking so beautiful and ruined with jizz smeared at the corner of your mouth. He was brutally fucking your mouth, making you take all of his length.

Breathe through your nose dumb whore. Or else you're gonna run out of air.

You were pleading with whatever garbled sounds you were constricted into producing.

Breathe through your fucking nose. This is for your sake. Otherwise, I don't mind face fucking your lifeless body. You'd be more useful that way anyways.

Eren is conflicted with muting the video because he can't stand to hear himself like that. But he didn't want to miss out on your pitiful whines.

He remembers the distraught expression on your face when he was finally done with you. He tucked himself inside, and sneered, "I've got a girl coming here. Get lost." You looked so fucking distraught. Why? All he did was make you suck his dick. He didn't even fuck you.

He should have. Eren thinks grimly when he stares at your empty desk on the first day you didn't show up to school. He's gotten off to the video more than enough times than he can count over the weekend, and he was aching to see your pretty face twisted into a terrorized expression when he flipped up your skirt to grope your ass.

Kindly, Eren decides he'd allow you to have a rest day. But the second day, Eren pays a visit to your house finding it dark and locked, like no one was home and hadn't been there for a while.

On the third day, you're declared missing.

Your incompetent workaholic mother who finally came home and decided to give a damn reported you missing to the authorities who had scratched their heads because as far as they knew, the pivotal 72 hours were up.

Paradis was surrounded by forests. No one wanted to say it, but they were all thinking it. If you got lost in there, chances are you wouldn't make it out.

Eren wasn't always this admired and fawned over. He had his fair share of behavioral issues that frightened people (not you though, not then at least, not when you were children, and you still came back every day to play).

But when he channeled that anger into sports, there was somewhat of a star in the making, especially for some small-town boy. He was becoming extremely popular, and that's nice and all, but at the end of the day, he has a mother whose health was taking a sharp decline. He was constantly under stress, stress that he took out on you.

Where did his favorite stress-ball go?

It's all fucking surreal. Having detectives in the school. Not that there were many students to question (because christ, did you even have any friends after Eren turned everyone against you?).

Eren was questioned. He can't help but mirthfully chuckle. Maybe this was your grand plan, maybe you were able to finally sort out a mountain of evidence against him. If you were going to fuck him over, didn't you want to see it happen with your own two eyes?

The dark-haired boy wishes that was true. If you had gotten your revenge, would you be here? No, revenge isn't the right word. If you got any justice for what he made you suffer, would you come back?

Hi, I'm Detective Hange. I would like to ask you some questions today. You're Eren Yeager, right?

Yes, that's me.

How do you know ___?

We were childhood friends. We're uh, we're not as close anymore.

When was the last time you saw her?

Friday night at Floch's party-

-Floch Forster right? There were a number of kids there from your school.

Yeah. It was a big party. She uh, doesn't usually come to parties but she was there that night.

You were the last person to be seen with her. Other kids have said that they saw you and her entering a room together, and then only her leaving the said room.

[Sigh] Yeah we sorta...hooked up.

I thought you said you guys weren't close anymore.

You can be not close to someone and still hook up with them.

But you guys were close once right?

Yeah. Once.

The dark-haired boy asks if he was under any suspicion. The detective waves their hand in a dismissive gesture, “If her diary tells us anything, it’s only that she really liked you.”

Were detectives even allowed to divulge that sort of information? Eren doesn’t know but the stray detail that they offered off-handedly made him feel like he was swallowing needles.

At that point, Eren honestly still doesn't believe you're gone. You had a habit of running away, even when you were little kids, but you always came back.

Still, he participates in the search parties with a renewed vigor, even going alone in the forest with a flashlight on most nights.

And he's just so fucking tired. The darkest crevice of his mind almost wishes you were dead because this ignorance was just agony. Almost. Because he still clings to the feeling that one day, he’ll stroll into class and find you in your seat in the back of the class, looking out the window like some cliche shojo manga protagonist.

There are folders and folders on his phone. Albums. The most recent one is dedicated to your crying face as you were choking on his dick. Earlier albums are composed of creepshots of your panties, of that obscene o-face, of your skirt flipped up and your ass cheeks, pictures of your cleavage, videos of you thrashing as he dunked your head into toilets like a villainous middle school bully.

Pictures of your neck covered in hickeys, your naked breasts, ass cheeks striped with red after getting spanked, your leaking cunt, just endless and endless media dedicated to pieces and pieces of your body like you were never a whole person.

The earliest ones though tell a different tale, from off-guards to your drooling face as you napped in the middle of the day.

He has a favorite picture. Your eyes are watery from the cold, snowflakes stuck between lashes, nose and cheeks flushed red, and you're smiling. Smiling right to the camera. Right at him.

"Eren, are you taking a picture?" You asked, bouncing in place, giddy that it was finally snowing.

"Not of you, shut up. Get out of the way." His voice is gruff but not harsh.

You laughed and jumped into frame anyway, and the bright streetlamp behind you made you seem like you were wearing a halo.

He wishes he had more pictures of you being...yourself. Because now your crying face displayed over countless pixels haunt him. But like a fucking degenerate, he still jerks off to all the nudes he coerced from you. Sometimes he cries when he's jerking off which is probably the most pathetic thing he's ever done. This is what you've reduced him to.

He hates the sound of his own voice.

Breathe through your fucking nose. This is for your sake. Otherwise, I don't mind face fucking your lifeless body. You'd be more useful that way anyways.

Eren goes through the motions of life without really feeling like he's in the moment. Seasons change and time flies. His mother dies, and his withdrawn father dies a year later. He proposes to Mikasa because it's something he was always supposed to do. She loves him unconditionally, so even when he doesn't put any effort into the relationship but proposes, she says yes hoping he'll change and be a good husband.

He doesn't go to his parents' funerals because they're already dead. What's the point. He doesn't visit the candlelight vigils in your honor either. After tearing his ACL again and a somewhat traumatic injury, he kisses his pro-football career goodbye. To be totally honest, he's relieved. Because he had gotten quite bored, and maybe he was looking for excuses to quit the entire time. It's not like you'd be cheering on the bleachers anyways.

Mikasa has an affair, more out of a desire to see her fiancé feel something for her as opposed to any burning lust. But when she asks him if he's ever cared at all, with tears springing out of her eyes, he's just calmly drinking his fifth of whisky.

The dark-haired man doesn't even look up, "Let's break up."

"Is this about her, huh? Fucking get over it already Eren. She's GONE. And you have some big fucking audacity moping about her death like you weren't making her cry in the bathroom stalls every fucking day you piece of shit."

"Get out."

"You know what, I bet she killed herse-"

SMASH

The dark-haired woman doesn't finish her rant because the whiskey bottle smashes on the wall next to her head, sending glass everywhere and staining the carpet amber. She's unharmed, knowing it wasn't Eren's intention to hit her but Jesus Christ, what a monster.

She packs her bags and leaves the town like she should have a long time ago. All her friends had left years before and she stayed behind because that's where Eren was. She thanks her lucky stars that they didn't marry.

It's funny because he had always imagined himself being the first to move out of their small town, but he's the one staying. He can't leave this place. feels too tethered to ever leave. Every diner and liquor store is saturated with memories of you. He remembers buying cigarettes and exhaling the smoke to your face to piss you off in empty parking lots.

Maybe he stays in case you'll come back.

Eren's days consist of alcohol-fueled hazes. He doesn't know how his liver is still functioning. He doesn't know he's still alive after crashing his car into a tree when he was drunk out of his mind. He was on his way to get some more vodka.

He barely recognizes himself in the mirror anymore, not that he looks at himself much. His hair is long, nestled around his shoulder because he couldn't be bothered to cut it, dark circles under viridian eyes, and a perpetual stubble on his jaw.

His parents had left quite a sizable inheritance so there's no need to work but he's good with his hands. Likes crafting up birdhouses and cabinets, and occasionally does odd jobs around the neighborhood, never charging the elderly.

He's under the sink, tinkering with a wrench against the pipes when he hears the old lady coo at him.

"We're so lucky to have you Eren. I'm surprised a handsome young man like yourself doesn't have a special lady. The girls must be lining up at your door!"

The dark-haired man winces, and offers no comment, knowing that that the older lady was susceptible to long tangents.

"You know, we're getting a new neighbor." Eren grunts as a response. "They're young, I've heard. Isn't that exciting? Oh my, Eren! I think they're gonna be living in the house right next to yours..."

He tunes out the rest of the conversation because doesn't really care. He just hopes his new neighbors are quiet.

It's Sunday noon when obnoxious noises of moving trucks and people wake him up from his deep slumber. Eren's annoyed to wake up despite the fact he's probably been sleeping over 15 hours. He oscillates between getting too much sleep and getting none, his sleeping habits completely dependent on his dreams.

His nightmares are too visceral, visions of your corpse asking him if he'd enjoyed hollowing your soul with his teeth.

His dreams are achingly sweet. You in your prom gown, shining so iridescently like diamonds were sewn into the silk. He's dancing with you, holding you close, and then after you guys go to your favorite diner and gorge on burgers and milkshakes.

There's a peal of distinctly feminine laughter that stirs up Eren's senses. He's so pathetic, was the mere sound of a woman laughing getting him excited?

He sighs. He thinks of the whore he's frequently visited because of her resemblance to you. Hair color, skin color, face shape--with enough alcohol, he could really convince the person beneath him, was you. Maybe it's time to give her a call, but she's gotten so fucking needy and he hated how her voice didn't match yours.

The green-eyed man peers from the lace curtains, irritated by the brats playing on his lawn. A full family next door? Great, just what he needs.

The friendly knock on his door breaks him out of his daze. He contemplates whether he should answer but on the second more muted knock, he lets his feet guide him.

He turns the knob.

And Eren Yeager completely shatters.

Because it's you isn't it? You're the person standing in front of him? He can hear what you're saying but he doesn't really register it, soaking in the cadence of a voice he had long forgotten because all he had were pleading whimpers and frenzied moans stored on his cell.

He's shaking. Is he dreaming? He's dreaming, right? He knows it's you. You're older, far more beautiful than he's ever seen you. You have a different hairstyle, wearing clothes he would have mocked you for, and there's this joyfulness within you that makes you glow.

There's a mess of emotions electrifying in the pits of his stomach from euphoria, anger, and dread. He could feel his skin growing clammy like he was about to vomit at any second.

"Hey, are you all right?"

Doe eyes full of concern peer up at him. He voices out the syllables of your name like a desperate prayer.

You tilt your head to the side, "How do you know my name?"

[osakunt]

Could you do a fluff with a hint of angst Iwaizumi oneshot where he’s dating a 3rd year from Karasuno who’s the girl’s soccer captain and she’s close with the volleyball team so when Karasuno beats Seijoh, she comforts Iwaizumi and tells him she loves him despite Daichi having a crush on her?

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

➟ 𝗜𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘇𝘂𝗺𝗶 𝘅 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗿����𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

➟ 𝗢𝗳𝗰 𝗶 𝗰𝗮𝗻. 𝗻𝗴𝗹 𝗶 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗹𝗺𝗮𝗼 𝗜 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱. 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆, 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘀 ♡

➟ 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗼𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

“(Y/N)!!!!!” Tanaka’s voice alerts the team that you had arrived to the gym. Suga runs your way jumping in you excited to see you after a week of you not showing up to the gym due to soccer practice and games taking up time after school.

Laughing along with him you wrestle him off you and Daichi approaches you and gives you a hand to help you up from the floor. “How’s your practice ? Heard that the you girls won three games last week. Talk about starting the season with a kick” his dad jokes make you cringe but laugh at his effort to going the extra mile with being nice.

“You doing anything on Tuesday ? We play Seijoh and-” As soon as you hear the school name you interrupt Daichi telling him all about your plan for that day. “ I heard !n I was actually going to go. I let the girls have the day off of practice so I’ll be able to go. I can cheer for you guys and all.” You say not me ruining your boyfriend and giving Daichi hope that you reciprocated his feelings for you.

“You’re just going because your boyfriend plays for Seijoh !! Don’t even try to be slick, ya hear !” Tanaka points at you and shouts like a bad mad making you blush. “Shut it baldy !!! I’ll always support you guys ni matter what”

“Did I hear that right ? Your….boyfriend plays for Seijoh ?” Daichi’s voice cracks a little at the word boyfriend but he finishes up with words trying to play off the hurt. “Oh yea, you guys know ‘im” you smile really hard waiting for one of the boys to say Hajime’s name.

“Is it that bastard Oikawa ?” Kageyama scowls

“The tall one with eyes who looks like he’s smoked for days” Nishinoya shouts out talking about Matsukawa.

“Hanamaki ?” Asashi whispers not too sure of his answer

“NOOOO IT’S IWAIZUMU” Hinata jumps up and down trying to get the rest of the guys attention

“He’s right. It’s the ace.” Suga backs up the younger boys answer. Daichi getting affirmation of who it was he deflated a little but smiles continuing to pretend like everything was alright. Looking at your watch you see the time and remember you had to meet up with Hajime. “Fuck- guys I’ll see y’all later, I have to go. I’ll be at the game Tuesday though. I have a good feeling you guys will win.” You wave at the team with a smile speed walking to the exit.

Getting to where you were to meet up with Hajime he receives you with a hug and kiss to your forehead. “Hey,doll. How was practice ?” “Good thanks, yours ?” “Shitty-kawa had the nerve to start bitching about something’s but it was good too”

You both walk towards your home. Practice let out late for you and Hajime didn’t want you walking home alone so he made for to walk you even if you said you’d walk with Hinata who lived close to where you lived. “What did I tell you ? That the boys volleyball team would be let out even more late than you. I can’t take the chances ,love” He reaches for your hand squeezing it lightly.

Once getting yo your house, Iwa hugs and kisses you plus greets your mom who opened the door for you. “Thanks for walking her home,hon” your mother hugs your boyfriend happy to know that you were in good hands with him. “ ah don’t worry about it. Coupon have her walking all alone at the hour.” He hugs back content with his actions. ▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

Tuesday Afternoon

The crowd for Seijoh was loud. There was no doubt that they wanted them to win. In the other side was the crowd supporting Karauno, which was much smaller and where you were seated with one of your defenses on the team. “You think they can take this W ?” “Yea they’ve worked hard and have practiced twice as much. Not only that but they have Daichi leading them. They’ll be fine” you respond glancing at her with full seriousness.

“If you say so capt’n” the short haired girl sighs hoping your instincts were right.

The game starts and things start to get interesting. When the game you saw Karasuno ready to take the set your voice is was the other heard. “Oh shit - Oh shit…OH SHIITTTT” you get up from your seat and cheer watching the ball kiss the courts floor. You were happy to see that the boys you were good friends with won but also felt a sting with seeing Iwa and the others cry silently while they thank the people who came out to support.

Your heart squeezes seeing this and you just had to reach out and get to your boyfriend before anything. You could only imagine the hurt he felt after a loss of a game and how devastated he is at the moment.

“I’ll be back” you grab your belongings and let the smaller girl beside you know. “Wait where ya goin’ !!! I thought we were going to get buns after this ?!” “We are !! Give me a few minutes and I’ll meet you at the gym exit!” You yell half way gone. “Capt’n my ass. (Y/n) you just wanna see your Iwaizumi.” She grumbles really wanting that meat bun.

Making your own way to the outside of the locker room where the Karasuno boys were - you smile at them congratulating them with hugs and high- fives happy to know that their hard work paid off. “You guys did amazing here out there. And Daichi *chefs kiss* beautiful” you butter yo the captain making him blush. “Thank you for coming out (y/n) it means a lot to all of us” Asahi bends over in front of you making Yh shake your head “please no no no. It’s not a problem at all. I’m happy to come out and support you all when I can” you finish up congratulating them and say your byes then make your way to where Iwaizumi would probably be.

Getting told by Mattsun that Iwaizumi was still in the locker room you tell him if he could give you boyfriend a message. “Tell him I’ll be at the front. I’ll be waiting for him there wih another teammate of mine, thanks” “of course I will. How can I say no to such a cute face” Mattsun bends to your height and begins to pinch your cheeks teasingly without realizing that Iwa was making his way out the locker room.

“Ahem - mind telling me why you’re touching her cheeks ?”

“Cause Iwa, they’re soft~ oh wait yours are too” Matsukawa reaches for Iwaizumi’s cheeks but he dodges them quickly.

“Ah you’re no fun. I’ll see you tomorrow, till next time my dear (y/n) ~” the male continues to tease and sing song as he takes his leave.

Walking to where you teammate was you could feel the sad aura radiating off Iwa. Stopping to turn to him you express your arms which he gladly accepts and pulls you close to him, burying his face into your black club jacket. “You probably think I’m a loser now” he grumbles letting out a sigh.

“No, you big baby. I think you did everything you had and deserves kisses” you jut your lips up waiting for him to pull back and meet your lips with his. “You’re just sayin’ that cause you’re my girlfriend” his grin around your waist tightens. “Hajime,baby - My cute ace and cry baby. I’m saying this because you really did do everything in your power to win. You and the team. Things just didn’t go as planned wnd that’s okay”

Pulling back from the embrace he smiles and leans in to kiss your lips content with knowing that even if he lost, you’d be there to help him stay standing or even help him stand up. “I love you, Messi” with a short laugh at his joke you pull him in to you once again “I love you too”

As you two had your moment the Karasuno boys came out walking to get in the bus. The corner of his eye is what got Daichi’s attention. Seeing you hugged up with someone other than him made him sigh deeply hurt that you had been taken. “Cheer up captain. I know you like her but please don’t let this kill your spirit” Tanaka smacks Daichi’s back pushing him forward. “I should’ve ask her out sooner” Daichi whispers for only Tanaka to hear but the the other chaotic players heard - Suga and Nishinoya come in hugging Daichi trying to cheer him up with Tanaka.

Though you weren’t with him, he’d always cheer for your happiness, no matter what. Daichi was just that person to wish the best to anyone who was grand to him.

▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

[razorblade180]

More Actor AU

The previous one <-

Ruby:Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful- *pie to the face* Ahhhh! Nora!

Nora:HAHAHAHAHA! I couldn’t resist!

xxxx

Yang:Do you think she thinks less of me?

Jaune:You and Ruby are sisters. You may fight but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care.

Yang:Yeah, Ruby...

Jaune:.....Wait are you talking about Blake?

Yang:*caught of guard* Uhhhhh

Jaune:Because why would she think less of you for choosing to act like a first responder?

.......

Ren:*outside* He has a point!

Director:Stick to the script!

xxxx

Raven:Does she have it?

Qrow:You’re going to have be a little bit more specific.

Raven:*slams hand and leans* Does. Salem. Have. The Tape?

Qrow:Tape?

Raven:Yeah the sex tape, it was in the vault.

Qrow:Whaaat? Who’s on it?

Raven:*smirks* Who isn’t on it?

Qrow:Oh shit....*downs whiskey* Tai is gonna kill me!

xxxxx

Apathy:*roaming*

Ruby:Quick, the door!

Weiss:*shakes it* They’re locked!

Yang:Let me-*trips up stairs* agh! My face!

Weiss:Yang! *snickering* Oh gods, are...are you okay?

Yang:Uuuuugggghh. Imma just lie here. Guess we die. *raise head*

Weiss:Uh oh, bloody nose. Time out.

Apathy:*shuffling backwards*

Blake:*on the ground* Imagine, asking grimm just to leave?

xxxxx

Nora:Psst camera man. Pan to Penny.

Penny:*getting make up done* Yo!

Nora:Ready to die a second time!?

Penny:Hell yeah! Gonna make the people cry twice! *puts in red contacts*

xxxxx

Cinder:*chokes Raven* I’m taking what’s mine.

Raven:Last time I checked your name isn’t Tai. So get your hands off my throat. *looks off set*

Tai:*face palming*

Yang:*red* Mom!!

Raven:Someone was thinking it.

xxxxx

Fiona:*reading lines*

Robyn:She’s very focused right now. I think she’s nervous. *grabs megaphone* Cameras go live in five minutes.

Fiona:*tearing up*

Robyn:No wait! I was lying! Please dry those tears!

Fiona:Stop stressing me out! I’m new here.

Robyn:*hugging her* Ssssshhh I’ll rehearse with you.

xxxxx

[Volume 3]

Blake:*getting first aid*

Adam:*staring at camera* Funny thing about Blake Belladonna, she hates reshoots.

Blake:Do not...

Adam:She hates them so much in fact that she’ll do whatever it takes make the first take an absolute masterpiece. Blake Belladonna however also does about half of her stunts. Good stunts too. All those flips and hand to hand, that’s just her being cool. *puts hands together* I’ve worked with her since day one. I’m in most of those actions scenes. So let me tell how insane this girl is.

Blake:Oh geez...

Adam:Ten minute ago, we’re just shooting the scene where her character and my character are fighting. The plan was I “backhand” her and she falls on the ground. Now we’re not perfect. We’ve accidentally grazed each other before. But when I tell you Blake literally just sat there and watched as my hand swung at her....

Blake:Man, I don’t know what happened! *snorting* I knew it was coming, but then the next minute I had no time to go with it.

Adam:Now normally, a sane person would yell cut, but not Blake. I’m looking at her shocked as she’s staring back mouthing “roll with it.” And against judgment, I did.

Blake:It doesn’t get more authentic than that! Plus it only stung.

Yang:Until we finished the scene! We look at you and this red mark is appearing and you’re like “yeah, Adam knocked the hell out of me.”

Adam:And now I feel bad!

Blake:Nah man, perfect scene. Way to improvise.

Yang:Blake Belladonna everyone.

xxxx

Fennec: *dies*

Corsac: Corsac no!!!

Ilia:Wait, your Corsac.

Corsac:Shit, really? Damn, read the long lines all volume.

Ilia:W..wait...*smiling* d..did switch roles? Has no caught that?

Blake:N...no? *looks around* We didn’t right?

Sun:*containg laughter* Please...please tell me we haven’t mixed the roles all season? You audition for...?

Corsec:Fennec. I’m playing Fennec right? *snickering*

Blake:I...uh..how’d we-

Corsec:I’m just fucking with you.

Blake:Oh my god! Dude, I thought we messed up so much shit! My heart!

Crew:*laughing*

Blake:Y’all are jerks. I type the credits don’t scare me like that!

xxxxx

Ghira:*tears cloak off*

Tyrian and Salem: Dayuuuuuum! Look at that man!

Ghira:Pfft, god damn it. You ruined my roar! Hahaha.

xxxxx

Director:Alright Jaune. So in this scene you punch the wall because you just learned about Salem being immortal. Remember to hit hard enough get a good bang for the mic, but we don’t want you breaking your hand or anything.

Jaune:Got it!

Director:And action!

Jaune:*cracks wall*

Everyone:......

Jaune:......

Nora:Welp, he didn’t say anything about breaking the wall.

xxxxxx

Cinder:*holding sister* Diva in the building yall. Introducing mini me.

Ember:I get paid!

Cinder:Yeah you do!

Everyone:(The resemblance is uncanny.)

xxxxxx

Interviewer: Has it feel to work with distinguished talents like Tyrian.

Mercury:There isn’t a moment that man lets me rest. I could have one scene and that guy is offset staring at me and shimming or wearing a prop just throw me off-he’s doing it now! *smiles*

Tyrian:*in Salem’s costume* I don’t know what you mean Mercury? Are you...*props leg up* distracted?

Mercury:Serious doesn’t exist with that man on set.

xxxxx

Interview:Adam, how’s it feel to be the most hated character.

Adam:It’s hilarious. I go the store to get a coffee and the cashier is doing a double take as they stare at me wearing a shirt with Pumpkin Pete on it. Before they process who I am exactly I’m just like, “please tell me you have pumpkin spice?” And their perception is ruined immediately.

Interviewer:Ever get hate at events.

Adam:Oh it’s a game now! Not by my choice. This was Yang’s idea.

Yang:*pokes in* Y’all talking about the game where I make people upset? *sits in his lap* excuse me.

Adam:Against my will...*snickers* anytime I go to a convention with Yang, she enters the room from the opposite door and let the people gather to her while haters gather to me.

Yang:By the time I reach him I see about a dozen people glaring at him while my fans are following me until I get where I need to go. Right before I do, I walk up to Adam as if I didn’t know he’d be there, then jump into his arms happily. Everyone shuts up. They don’t know how to cope.

Adam:That’s with almost any hero in this show. I’m minding my own business and then they cling to me for shock value. Yang and Blake are the worst though.

Yang:I’ve sat in his lap like I am now at a Q&A before because people booed when he showed up. The beef isn’t real people! My arm is fine!

xxxxx

Jaune:*staring at Pyrrha’s statue*.....

*foot steps approach*

Jaune:*looks left* !?

Pyrrha:*holding flowers* A tragedy, this person’s death. You knew them?

Jaune:I...y...no. Just heard of her.

Pyrrha:Really? Cool. Reall strong person. Her people were heartbroken when she chose Beacon. But it was the place she dreamed of. Ashamed she died. Gone, never to be seen.

Jaune:She may be gone, but I know she had no regrets. Pyrrha was a huntress through and through, and I believe she fought like one until the end.

Pyrrha:*nods* Yeah, I think so too. *containg joy*

.........

Pyrrha:This isn’t the real scene by the way.

Jaune:I was about to say! Like, what the hell is happening!? I read the script and missed this part!

Pyrrha:Hahahaha! Good improvising. *claps* way to roll with the nonsense. I can’t believe you said no though! That’s how you get haunted.

Jaune:*laughing* I thought I was! Ghost Pyrrha walking with flowers saying “oh you know her?” I thought I did until you showed up!

Ren:We just shoot random scenes of you talking to Pyrrha and never address it. Jaune is just crazy now.

Pyrrha:I’m down for that!

Director:No! Well....no! Stop trying to get more lines!

Pyrrha:Awww.

xxxxxx

Ozpin:You know originally I brought my kid here so we can bond and he was like “awesome!”

Cameraman pans over to Oscar and Penny sitting on a bench eating together, laughing.

Ozpin:*smirking* I was played, but I respect it.

xxxxxx

[Volume 6]

Jaune:*walks up to Ruby* Promise that you’ll meet us there.

Ruby:I promise. *smiles*

..... *both lean in*

Ruby:......*kisses him*

Everyone:!?!?

Nora:Woah! Cut!

Ruby:Huh? What’s up?

Nora:There’s no kiss!

Ruby:Really? Feels like a kiss should be here. Huh, my bad. Thought it was written in.

xxxxxx

Ruby:*posed up in chair* They had to cut out me kissing Jaune. That’s fine, still kissed him.

xxxxxx

Nora:All I’m saying is maybe I should get a kiss with him.

Director:Nora, just ask him out on your own time.

Nora:Pffft what? Me, into Jaune? No..... I just think it would make good narrative sense.

Director:How!?

Nora:......*walks away* It just would!

[tundrainafrica]

Do you think levihan is canon?

I’m guessing you’re not asking about my overall opinion on 139, so I’ll just leave it here as a Levihan opinion. I could probably do another rant about my overall opinion of the ending but probs another time.  

And I have been meaning to make this meta for a while and I kinda wanted to wait for the last chapter cause for some crazy reason, I was a clown hoping that Levihan would just suddenly happen? Like maybe in the paths, she walks to him or something 

But woop. We have to search again for the crumbs like we’re on some scavenger hunt. 

And you know what? I like it this way. Thank you Yams for not butchering your characters over one ship. Thank you for portraying so realistically what romance between two mature adults with responsibilities is actually supposed to look like. 

So yeah, before we go into it, I did go around asking about other ships and I realized, maybe we have been using the word ‘canon’ incorrectly. Or so, that’s the first thing I thought. 

I had a conversation with my sister a few days back (who hates Levihan if it isn’t obvious), and she used to be an avid Klaroline shipper back in the day (The Vampire Diaries), and she explained that a the fandom actually don’t see Klaroline as a canon couple even if they were teased throughout the show (fucked, kissed and everything in between) since it isn’t end game. 

So to lay out my terms here and just be incredibly clear about it. I consider Levihan canon, but I do not consider them end game because they obviously aren’t, 132 happened and Hange didn’t come back.. 

So what do i mean by canon? 

There are lots of nuances here to consider when we call them canon. 

For one, fandoms wait for the couple to be ‘official’ kiss and all. Other fandoms wait for the end before they say it, because no matter how many times two characters fuck, kiss and declare their undying love, if they don’t commit, if they don’t make it to the end, then it’s not canon. 

When I say Levihan is canon, I clearly mean,  even if they didn’t end up together, they probably could have still been in a relationship, they probably could have still been in love. They probably actually held a stronger and much more nuanced bond than whatever main couple we watch in some sappy romantic drama. 

And maybe they actually did fall in love behind closed doors? Maybe they meta-ed their own relationship together and maybe they’ve discussed it and maybe they were aware. ( have a meta about it here)

But here’s the thing, we’ll never know, because in Season 4, after A LOT of the development of their relationship could have been implied, Levi and Hange were separated from each other so we actually didn’t get a lot of scenes of them closely together until 115, 126 etc. 

And here is the part where people call me delusional? Because people who invalidate our ship like to do that.

Because yes.. They’re just ultra mega besties. 

AND I GET SO FRUSTRATED AT THIS TAKE. LIKE SINCE WHEN HAS ROMANCE EVER RUINED FRIENDSHIPS?

It doesn’t make any sense??? Like I have no idea how people are having relationships when the first they think when they get into a relationship is “I don’t wanna ruin this friendship,” 

I get confessing and rejecting can ruin a relationship but getting into a relationship? How does that ruin a friendship. 

I’m sorry I know that is such a trope but like yo, half the time when people ask about me and my boyfriend (who started of as bestfriends) WE GOT INTO THIS RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE WE WANTED TO BE ‘BESTIES’ IN OTHER DIMENSIONS AS WELL. 

AND WE WANTED TO BE SUPER ULTRA MEGA BESTIES (lovers in short). 

It is inevitable that you will be best friends with your partner. Yo, if your partner aint one of your besties or one of your most trusted confidants, you might wanna... you know, reevaluate your relationship???

There are so many layers to love than just kiss kiss smooch a

Like, I’m incredibly choosy with romance ships like if people noticed, I only ever have written this much for Levihan. 

And one main reason for this really is because writers have a tendency of messing with a story, doing things that don’t make sense so the couple that is slated to get together, actually ends up together.

And the development never seemed natural half the time? Because some writers are just obsessed with making their pair happen. And what do they do after? They put them into so much drama which makes me question the overall health of the relationship.

nd I dunno, media is probably messing with this perspective of love by saying obviously problematic relationships are canon. So yeah even if he punched his girlfriend ONCE, and even if she cheated on him ONCE, they probably still loved each other so they’re canon lmao.

And call me a puritan here or something but there are certain things people do in a relationship and when it happens I will just sit there and say, that ain’t love, do you guys even love each other? 

And sorry I’m probably that asshole friend who would probably hate your toxic partner and will probably just tell you I’m not showing up to your wedding if I don’t like your partner.

I will not condone cheating AT ALL. I personally do not want to consider ‘canon’ any relationship where two people cheat on each other. I personally do not wanna consider ‘canon’ a relationship that thrives on miscommunication issues either because I dunno if I just got into the wrong relationship or something? But like at the age of 24, we actually talk stuff out 

Like woah, there are couples who don’t talk things out? Like what do you do when you’re stuck with each other 24/7? NOt TALK? 

I will consider canon any ship that runs on implicit trust, this belief that they should be constantly there with each other. Because that’s what love is. That’s what a relationship is and I’m gonna live my whole life believing that these are the only things that make up love for me. 

Love is trust. Love is a strong bond. Love is just two people giving and taking and sacrificing for each other. And Love is this commitment to make something work with the other person. 

And if it isn’t any of the things above, ‘sorry for invalidating’ but it ain’t love and by extension, it ain’t canon for me.  

Tbh, I think that’s the reason Levihan has been incredibly uneventful relationship wise actually made it so much for me that I thought they were pretty much canon. I still have issues with how Eremika was pulled off even if they were blatantly canon and had more than enough blatant crumbs. 

Because sure Eren and Mikasa did love each other but I guess their relationship was just so problematic since the start that even I was like ‘do you guys really love each other?’ half the time and I was constantly thinking about Mikasa’s mental health there like yo, why you so obsessed with him. There’s literally a Jean there who would probably treat you 124543x better,  

But for Levi and Hange we had parallels with Eremika. And we had crumbs

With putting his crumbs for Levihan, from the airplane, unrequited titan love, let’s live together, Hange’s longing face and the Levi’s dedicate your heart and the fact that HANGE NEVER LEFT HIS SIDE UNTIL THEY DIED, come on, I don’t know what people aren’t seeing. 

But the point is, (Okay understandable since Levi and Hange are older), Personally I just believe Levi and Hange approached their relationship more like mature adults than hormonal teenagers. Like so sorry, they decided to approach their relationship like adults instead of some teenager who bird poops on any guy who tries to cheat on Mikasa. 

Here’s the thing, Hange probably never would have complained like Eren. I honestly believe it was totally in character for her to just look down on him longingly from the paths. And I personally believed Levi had approached their relationship with a kind of acceptance like ‘ ay yo, we’re too busy for this but maybe after the war?’ that’s why even towards the end, the only way he lets himself be reminded of her was through watching the airplane and thinking of her. *fudge I’m tearing up* 

I guess the fact that they really approached this relationship and this bond like how they’re characters were supposed to, the fact that they threw everything away for the sake of the war. Yet the fact that we saw ALL THIS CRUMBS that there could have been something more if they just weren’t captain and commander in the middle of the war, just makes this so fucking canon to me. 

I would probably be speculative if we just had 115? Or maybe just 126? Or maybe just 132? But the thing is, the crumbs never stopped coming. There were so many things Yams could have CHOSEN not to do. But he did everything so deliberately from ‘let’s live together’ to ‘unrequited love’ to the Eremika parallels. 

Did he have to draw that airplane in the air and Levi making eye contact with Onyakopon? Okay I wonder why he did that? Cause really what connects Levi to Onyakopon? WHAT PLANE SCENE CONNECTS LEVI TO ONYAKOPON? 

I dunno man, but really at this point, this is so canon. Like sure Eremika takes the cake for most blatantly canon. 

But given the terms I’ve stated above for what I believe romance, love, relationships and canon is for me. 

Levihan is canon and it probably is the most canon relationship for me. Because the blatant lack of drama in the portrayal of their relationship for me just proves, Levi and Hange were very sure about their relationship with the other, I could probably say they were the two surest people in love in the whole damn show. 

THEY JUST COULDN’T GET TOGETHER BECAUSE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. (WHICH MAKES THEM ALL THE MORE ADMIRABLE ANYWAY)

So thanks for reading and sorry about this major ass rant. 

[b612sunsets]

Ahhh I’m happy to see someone else loving The Devil Judge - it truly is amazing 😭😭🖤✨ I love Yo-Han and Ga-on’s relationship I swear let them be destructive together!

I hate waiting for new episodes so please tell me one of your theories, it can be about anything! 🥰

Right?! I love it so much, it's really good to have our lilttle fam getting bigger, can't wait until it airs on Netflix, we will have even more people going crazy about it in here! (at least I hope it will become a Netflix series after the show ends like Beyon Evil - another love of mine) and yes, lawful husbands can be destructive together but only to the bad people pls 🥺

It's tough waiting for new episodes every weekend and at the same time I wish for it not to end so soon. It hasn't finished but I already want Jisung and Jinyoung in a second season or working together in another drama. Their chemistry on screen is too good to stop there

About the theories, there's a few I saw on reddit/twitter and I make my own based on it and after watching every episode, but I think it's too early to talk about them. However, since you requested it, there's some that come to mind as interesting enough to mention.

The fire and the story behind it narrated by Yohan

1- Some people think Yohan did start the fire because he found out about the dirty politicians real intentions and decided to destroy them all in the same place before Isaac could donate the money bc he is "a devil" and capable of that since he was a kid as told by the priest with the school incident and the nanny with the maid and dog thing. side note: not for pranking some kids who bullied him because that's all it seems like, right? But in terms of observing, thinking strategically and being one step ahead when needing to punish the whole classroom who wronged him even as young as he was and feeling satisfied while watching the result and staying out of it. A type of mentality probably encouraged by Isaac and the books he gave him to read, unlike a regular kid who would just fight back or endure it. And we still have to see if it really was Yohan that contributed to the maid's death or if it was something/someone else and the nanny thinks it was him.

They think that Elijah even saw him in front of the door right before the fire started and smiled at him instead of smiling at her parents, like she did in the gates of the cathedral in the previous scene, so that's why she hates him so much now because she can remember seeing him as the responsible for it. But Yohan didn't intend to kill/hurt Isaac and the rest of the family, thinking he could save them or something, and felt guilty that he couldn't do so. Some even said that Yohan delayed too much in trying to save them after entering the church and seeing Elijah getting her legs hurt, that it may have been shock but why would he remember everything and everyone so clearly if he was in shock?

It's a good theory but I have my own remarks: why wouldn't he tell Isaac about the politicians himself if he knew the dirty about them then? They had a close relationship and Isaac gave him books about punishment and everything, it wasn't like Isaac was too naive and wouldn't believe his half-brother. He wouldn't have donated if Yohan told him. "Oh he was being the devil and finding a way to punish them instead of just letting is slide and not donating" still, Yohan wouldn't risk Isaac and Elijah with such a dangerous plan if he could avoid having Isaac and Elijah at all in the destruction scene by telling Isaac about it. It could have been shock and Yohan wanting to look and commit to mind everyone's face in that day responsible for hurting his niece and not caring about anyone else but themselves, pushing him away and delaying his attempt to get to them in time, leaving Isaac and the family behind (after they almost donated them their money) and things like that. So he can avenge them now, like he did in the school with the kids. That's why as soon as he could, he canceled the donation in the most easy way by saying his brother wasn't sane enough to make that decision before dying.

There's also the theories about Isaac being the insane/evil one, which wouldn't surprise me because I've considered it since episode 3 but at the same time I'll not be touching that topic now and I don't know if I ever will unless proven otherwise in some other episode

2- The other theory I have and saw people discussing (the one I'm most inclined to believe because I'm Yohan biased but again it's too soon to be sure) is that the story Yohan narrated is mostly if not completely true and he experiences extreme guilt for not coming back and saving Isaac when the church collapsed on him, as seen in the character introduction by tvN translated in this tweet that we now know it's about Isaac:

The last words Yohan said to Isaac was that he was going to come back for him, so he experiences nightmares like the flashbacks we saw in episode 1 and that's why we don't see any scene of Isaac in the middle of the church after the fire staring at Yohan or during the fire and turning to stare directly at Yohan when he narrates it. Because they're dreams and his guilty conscience and he remembers them when looking at Gaon. The flashback of Yohan kneeling down and touching Isaac with Elijah's bear close to him could be after he got Elijah out from there and he went back to put the bear next to him kinda like a "Sorry for not coming back in time", a reassurance that his daughter for whom he died for is safe and will always stay with him, a "Goodbye". He wouldn't just let Isaac's body lying there, he would go back even if it was too late.

Another thing is that when Yohan is showing Gaon his scar after telling the story, there's a book fallen at his feet. I think it was the thing that fell when Yohan standed up from the table and choked Gaon (trying hard not to comment on that choking scene as a 🔥 Gahan moment for our delight and imagination bc that's not the point right now lol)

This is the book:

And the first page of this book says "Never again will a single story be told as though it's the only one." - John Berger

I searched about it and it can mean that never again will a story be told as if it's the only one that matters. It could also mean that never again will a story be so encompassing of the elements it tackles that no other story need be written about these elements. A story has many perspectives that cannot be understood by just a single viewpoint. Isn't that what this kdrama is all about?

One of the translations of what Yohan said after Gaon left was:

But there's also another version:

The meaning of what he said changes a bit depending on which translation is more accurate, more so when we add the book quote to the equation.

Kim Gaon and his connection to Kang Yohan

People think Gaon could be Isaac's relative in some way or just a look alike (I think it's just a look alike to contribute to Yohan's obsession/curiosity and their proximity from the start, that's why no one really comments on it, not even Gaon when he sees Isaac's picture). Dear God, let them not be related because it would make shipping our lawful husbands really strange, to say the least.

What I'd like to say and almost everyone is forgetting is that in the tvN character introduction we already have Gaon's past and know he wasn't always a goody two shoes, the man was a juvenile delinquent and can even fight (the rebellious phase he said he made the tattoo in episode 3?). He too sought revenge for his parents when he was 16 because they committed suicide after losing their money and being deceived by multi-level con artists posing as social service workers. But the teacher and Soohyun were able to hold him back.

Yohan's father could be one of the reasons for their death. He was a loan shark and might have lend them money after they lost it all and it caused them to have a great debt, that's why Yohan did a thorough research on Gaon and was interested in him (not only because he resembled his half-brother). They shared one enemy in common and maybe even a place (churches, Yohan's father tended to confess his sins in a church when his debtors killed themselves). Or Yohan might have researched about him at the time he knew Gaon was chosen to be the associate judge sitting on his left side instead of way before, because it's important to Yohan to know who he is dealing with and the dirty of their past if they have any. And then Yohan discovered everything and saw his picture and resemblance to Isaac.

The thing is: they have the same distrust/repulsion of powerful people who deceive the world and had a painful loss because of that. Both of them think they have the other exactly where they want but they get more confused about what it is that they really want from the other and get closer (as said in the summary of episode 5 that tvN released) while figuring it out. They will come to an understanding and probably join forces at some point. We saw it in the end of episode 4, the scene of episode 5 when Gaon says he can understand Yohan's pain but can't trust him if he doesn't tell him everything and then Yohan says Gaon needs to decide if he will get in his way or stay by his side. Gaon might go back to his rebellious days and stay with Yohan to seek revenge together while distancing himself from Soohyun and Jungho who prevented him from doing so

And that's about it! Thank you for your ask and hope my answer is satisfying enough! 💙 The hardest but also most awesome part is having to wait to see.

[mamahersh]

The Road to Hell (is Paved with Good Intentions)

“Season 8 was well underway, and the server’s first conflict is bubbling just under the surface. But BDoubleO can’t worry about that right now because he has an Etho to find so they can work on the Horse Course together. However when Xisuma calls a surprise server meeting on behalf of EvilXisuma, BDubs gets his answers about where Etho’s been in the worst way possible.”

(CW: angst, blood, gore) <--- later chapters, this one’s clean.

Welcome to my first attempt at Ethoslab angst! I wanted an nHo-centric fic with a heavy dose of Etho angst. I have nowhere else to post this, and fair warning I am terrible at characterizations, so everyone will probably be a bit OOC to some extent; but for sure EvilX will be very OOC in how evil he is in this one. The Rating for the later chapters is a solid M, so be warned about that. If y’all have suggestions or feedback, feel free to come and say hi! P.S. I got my inspiration for this fic from this fic over here! Give them some love too.

Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7

Chapter 1 (below the cut)

BDoubleO was worried. 

Now, it wasn’t often he worried, particularly about Etho. Especially after the shenanigans from Season 5 with the nHo, and their many years of collaboration after that, he was well aware that Etho had a habit of disappearing for weeks on end. Even when he was supposed to be helping with a bit of collaboration work like the Horse Course, he was infamous for suddenly disappearing for a week, and coming back acting like nothing had happened. But even still, Etho usually left a note, or told someone about where he was going so they at least knew when to approximately expect him to show back up. This time though, Etho hadn’t even left Iskall a note, and so far this season he had made sure to at least leave a note for Iskall since they were sharing a base. (BDoubleO had asked Iskall 3 days after the last time he had seen Etho to ask if he knew where Etho was. Iskall didn’t know, though he had seen him 2 days previously puttering around their shared base as normal.) He had asked around the other Hermits, seeing if anyone had heard anything. The only one that had seen anything was Beef, who had said he had seen Etho lurking on the edges of his territory heading toward the top of BDubs’ mountain with a spyglass about a day and a half ago. Doc had mentioned that while he hadn’t seen Etho recently, he had heard that Etho had been busy in talks with Xisuma and Evil Xisuma over something. However, when BDubs questioned Xisuma, he said he hadn’t seen Etho since the last major server meeting. (It was always disconcerting when Hermits’ stories didn’t match up, as that usually meant there were shenanigans afoot. But BDubs couldn’t figure out why there would be shenanigans afoot, because this was just Etho.)

A whinny from Lulu beneath him startled BDubs out of his worries. Looking around he realized that they were already staring up at Xisuma’s lighthouse and general base area. Why were they there you might ask? (A theoretical from a theoretical, truly meta of him, aha) WELL, Xisuma had sent out a message to the server that everyone should come and gather at his base for an important something. BDubs was confused, and very concerned, that Xisuma was insisting on the meeting being in person. After all, any news could be dispensed through the Server messages, and all their bases were known, so boards could be placed at bases for Hermits to see as they came in and out. Meeting in person was never technically necessary, though it made it generally easier to talk with each other since they didn’t have to type everything out. The point stood however, that unless it was an emergency, Xisuma never called a general Hermit assembly outside of their regularly scheduled monthly meetings. 

Looking around, BDubs was able to see that Beef was already there, along with most of the Boatem Crew, and surprisingly enough, the Horsehead Farms guys were there as well. Of course, Doc was on his way, and last he heard, the Big Eye crew was following up behind him since they both had been busy when the announcement had gone out. The rest of the server would be on their way because of how far out they were. (Part of BDubs wondered if those who were coming in later were the lucky ones. The rest of him wondered why he was so filled with anxiety and so certain this meeting was only going to be terrible.) Deciding nothing good would come of dwelling on the negatives, he made his way over to where Beef (who was looking more unrecognizable by the day as the alien contamination overtook him) was standing alone, seemingly keeping his eye out for someone or something.

“Hey Beef!” BDubs called out, smiling and waving as he approached. Beef looked over at the sudden shouting of his name, and instantly relaxed as he saw BDubs approaching. “Hey BDubs!” he called back, something alien layered under his normal voice. (It spoke of void and distant stars, though Tango had recently been saying it reminded him more of sulfur and brimstone). “You know anything about why Xisuma’s called this meetup?” asked Beef before BDubs could ask the question himself.

“Not a clue,” BDubs replied, allowing his concern to show through as he stood ill-at-ease beside his friend. “He just announced he had something he wanted to show or talk to us about I guess, though I can’t imagine what it could be about.” Well, BDubs had a guess or two, but none of them were generally pleasant topics of conversation, outside of some surprise announcement for the next server update to 1.18.

“Darn, I was hoping you would have heard something…” said Beef, his own unease easy to read. BDubs shrugged, looking around at the other groups of players standing outside the Lighthouse. It looked like even in the short time they had been greeting each other, the other Big Eyed Crew had arrived on his tailwind. An awkward pause settled between the two of them, both having been so tied up in their own shenanigans to really know what the other had been up to. BDubs debated bringing up the obvious, but it seemed like one of those things you don’t necessarily bring up. But then again… 

“Yo Beef,” said BDubs, turning to look at Beef again. Beef startled out of his momentary reverie. “You’ve been looking pretty, uh… green recently. How’s that been treating you?”

For a moment Beef looked almost confused, before he seemed to connect the dots and snorted. “Oh yeah, it’s been treating me great, as you can see.” They both chuckled a bit at his sarcasm before he continued. “But in all seriousness, I hadn’t really been noticing it. I mean, I definitely notice that people have been giving me a wider berth this season, which hasn’t been great for business since I have a great idea for selling specialty cat food I can make on my alien ship. I haven’t personally noticed too many changes outside my appearance thus far however.” After a moment Beef said, “So how about you? How have Keralis and Tango been treating you this season?”

BDubs chuckled. “Would you believe it if I told you it’s been going great? I have a mountain already, and we have a small bay town we’re building up to serve as a shopping district for our Big Eye Crew. Plus, we got Tango to actually make his eyes big, so it’s a win all around! Though I’ve been noticing more Derpcoin sneaking into our shops…” 

“Hey now, what’s wrong with Derpcoin?!” exclaimed Beef, looking vaguely offended. BDubs was startled by this, completely not expecting such an outburst from Beef of all people.

“I mean, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with it, it’s just I have no idea what the conversion rate is on the stuff, so I don’t know what people are paying in my shop for the items they’re buying,” replied BDubs. “Plus, there’s nowhere to use it.”

“But there is a place to use it! You could use it at EX’s Evil Emporium. Plus, with more people signing up for Derpcoin, it seems like a lucrative market to sell in,” countered Beef, a strange gleam in his eyes. “EX was nice enough to give me an in into his Derpcoin shopping district, so I’ll have a storefront through the Evil Emporium.” 

"Evil Emporium huh?" BDubs made a considering noise. "Heard a little bit about it back when EX was doing a little sales pitch in our neck of the woods. Seems pretty fishy to me, but if you think it's a trustworthy establishment, I'll definitely give it a second look."

"Attention everyone!" called out Xisuma, suddenly standing in the center of the gathered Hermits. "Your attention please!" BDubs looked over to where X was waving everyone over. He noticed that X seemed abnormally forward, though that could be attributed to his paranoia. Afterall, X wasn’t one to cause problems! Sure he had been trying to get people on board with this Evil Emporium thing pretty hard, but X couldn’t hurt a fly even on a good day, so BDubs wondered if this wasn’t about Derpcoin.

He had been hearing from the other Big-Eyed crew that tensions between Boatem and the Derpcoin empire had been slowly escalating over the last week or so. Plus he had been hearing about more of the unaffiliated Hermits beginning to create close ties with EX’s brand, embracing Derpcoin as their main currency even! On the other hand, he’d been hearing from some of the Boatem people about how they were getting sick and tired of finding Derpcoin in their shops, and seemingly some people were beginning to refuse to pay for items with diamonds… There was a mess brewing for sure in the background this season, it just seemed like an issue that could wait till the next monthly meeting is all.

With a jolt, BDubs was brought back to the present as Doc bumped him in the shoulder. “How are you doing BDubs? Looking pretty lost in thought there, big guy.” 

“Well, doing pretty good if you must ask!” BDubs puffed up with the compliment on his height, despite knowing it was more than likely meant in a sarcastic manner. Between Doc and Etho, BDubs never really could catch a break. “You just get here then?”

Doc let out a rumbly hum in agreement. “Yesss, though I have no idea why Xisuma called the meeting. Know anything?”

BDubs and Beef both shook their heads. “We’re in the dark as much as you are, it seems,” replied Beef, moving towards the other Hermits to try and get their little group to walk and talk.

“I have a theory though!” continued BDubs, leaning in to act somewhat more conspiratorially. Doc leaned in a bit more than he needed to, getting a friendly bump on the head from Beef. “See, I’m sure you’ve both heard a bit more than I have about Boatem vs the Evil Emporium. I think things might be heating up enough between the two that X might be forced to intervene soon.” BDubs rubbed the back of his neck. “Admittedly, it still seems like the kind of thing that he would bring up in the monthly meeting instead of an impromptu meeting like this.”

“Looks like we don’t have to wait long to find out in any case.” Beef gestured at the surrounding Hermits and Xisuma himself still standing at the center looking official as usual. (Though BDubs thought he looked a little dazed, but he shoved the thought aside.)

“Thank you everyone for taking time out for this meeting!” called out Xisuma, his face still disconcertingly empty. “I’ve called you together today because EX had a stream he wanted us all to watch, and I agree it is most imperative we all watch it together.”

BDubs did not like the sound of this one bit. “What’s the stream about?” called Joe from the opposite side of the crowd.

“Yeah, why’s it so important we all have to watch it?” asked Cleo from beside him. BDubs realized that those two had had to travel across the entire continent to come to the meeting, and Joe was still renouncing wings, so taking long trips was a distinct hassle. At the very least, it was far more time consuming than everyone else’s trips had been, minus potentially XB and Hypno’s trip.

Xisuma seemed to stand there taking it silently, which was not necessarily outside of the usual, but his response certainly was. “With that out of the way, I’ll get the screen set up, and then we can watch EX’s stream!” ‘That was strange,’ thought BDubs as he looked around the circle of bewildered Hermits. Normally X would try to answer questions, or at least let them know things precisely before he did them. It was incredibly out of character that he would just ignore Joe and Cleo like that… Particularly Joe and Cleo if BDubs was to be brutally honest. Those three had been closer than three peas in a pod since Season 2, and Joe and X had known each other pretty well since almost the start of Season 1. To have those two brushed off by Xisuma struck a wrong chord.

BDubs was pulled back to the present as Xisuma rapidly typed into his communicator, and a holographic screen projected just beyond the circle of Hermits behind where Cub was standing. Almost as one, the Hermits turned to look at it, curiosity overpowering any potential feelings of lingering confusion and discomfort.

Xisuma’s expression was blank as the large screen buzzed to life in front of them. However, BDubs’ watched as he seemed to come back to himself just as the static on the screen cleared and the assembled hermits gasped in disbelief and horror.

‘Well,’ thought BDubs to himself, dread rising like a wave about to swallow him whole. ‘Now we know where Etho went.’ For there on the screen, looking the worst BDubs had ever seen him, was a restrained Etho beside a seemingly gleeful EvilXisuma.

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

I decided to watch the Walker pilot so you don’t have to. #2

Because I don’t love myself enough, I guess. Let’s continue.

Recap in case you missed the first part: it’s boring, Jared acts like he stumbled on the set and never heard about it before, Texan law enforcement must wear very pristine shirts and cowboy hats or they will die, I guess, the cinematography wants to be good but I’m not sure it knows how to do it.

The last thing I mentioned in the first post was Jared doing a thing with his mouth but I think you need to see it. It’s basically the extent of Jared’s acting in this show. I had nothing against you, man, I swear. I even got your autograph once. I’m not a hater. I’m just looking at him...

THE TITLE CARD! I had paused the episode riiight before the title card. You have to witness it in all its embarrassing glory

Whose idea was it??

Some shots of the city of Austin. Walker and Martinez (Mexican Lady Cop) are having lunch. She says she’s heard about him, he asks what she’s learnt, she says, I textuallty quote, “I hear you are the edge of the coin”. Again, we are not allowed to have any kind of slight metaphor without the dialogue slapping us in the face with it.

“Not head or tail, just... your way” Jared didn’t even come up with the metaphor in that interview, it was in the script. Unless he came up with that line, which isn’t even a good line.

She basically tells him not to get in the way of her career. Being a Mexican-American cop is hard! Such deep commentary.

They start discussing the case, which I had already forgotten about. The cop who was slightly assaulted and won’t talk about it. “Maybe whatever was in that truck spooked him enough to abandon his oath” maybe it was a monster. god I wish it was a monster so that’d mean I’m watching Supernatural and Jensen is in it. The “oath” thing is kinda icky, like they want to remind us that being a cop is a noble path. It is in some places under some conditions. But we’re talking about Generic American conditions.

He’s like “let’s use the traffic cams to see if we can see something” and he slips right into his Sam tone. Admittedly that’s a Sam kind of thing to say.

It was day, and now it’s night. Walker house. He arrives when his family have already started dinner. Except the daughter isn’t there, she’s out with a friend. “Isabel, some Mexican girl” Walker’s father calls the friend. “Mexican American, dad” the gay brother corrects him, a deep and interesting commentary on ethnicity in the United States, we’re weeping with emotion.

Walker apparently isn’t happy that his mother has enrolled his daughter in a Catholic school, his father snaps back at him. We don’t care. We’re not emotionally invested in any of this.

There’s some awkward dialogue because he mentions the daughter playing basketball, but she’s switched to soccer. Wow, it’s like she’s become an entirely different person in those eleven months he was undercover! Can you believe? Apparently she used to play soccer before, she’s come back to it. Whoa. She’s an utterly unrecognizable person now, it’s going to be so hard for Walker to get to know her again from scratch. Can you believe?

Then he gets a call. He needs to pick up the daughter from the police station. He does some Jared awkward faces and leaves.

The daughter (Stella) was at a party and was arrested for possession. I miss when possession meant demonic possession. Dramatic music plays. She’s there with the Mexican American friend, whose parents arrive and he starts a speech on how they should get to know each other better. It is so not the right context to start making friends. “Epic first meeting” Isabel says. “I’m so sorry, this is so embarrassing” Stella says. “For who?” Walker quips, like a normal person does.

He’s like, let’s go, and the girls hug, which is the only believable expression of affection I’ve seen so far in the episode. Can’t the story be about Stella and Isabel?

Father-daughter conversation in the truck. Apparently we have emotional moments in cars, which we have never seen on television before.

He asks what she was thinking, she’s like, duh what do people use drugs for. She calls him out for disappearing completely. She mentions how it was bad enough that they didn’t have mom. He says “we both got to stop acting like she’s gonna come back and put us right” which makes absolutely zero sense. It’s like someone wrote it on a note for how to develop the characters and they just decided to slap it into the script of the pilot. Remember these people haven’t seen each other for eleven months, he left shortly after his wife died. They didn’t have the time to process the grief together, why is he even saying that line here?

Meanwhile Martinez get home and we meet her boyfriend, a very cute Black man. They’re cute. Why can’t the story be about them?

He asks her about Walker, she says he’s a mess. Oh god. She says he was a Marine, “signed after 9/11”. Holy shit. He’s a Marine who signed up after asdfghjkl can’t you feel the Manly Trauma here????

He’s a Marine who signed up to fight Muslims after 9/11 and now has a dead wife, he’s exactly the kind of male lead character we need right now.

She says she’s trying to figure him out. Her boyfriend is like “dude stop thinking about that guy, he’s not at home trying to figure you out” and she replies “oh I’m pretty sure he thinks he knows everything about me already”.

This is the first scene that hasn’t felt bad so far.

Meanwhile Jared and his brother go to a bar. It’s very ~Texas Aesthetic~, and they’re wearing cowboy hats, of course. You are not allowed to go to a bar without a cowboy hat in Texas. “The brothers Walker” the flannel-shirt-clad bartender says, coming with drinks. Jensen Ackles makes a face somewhere in the mountains.

The brother goes to call his partner and the bartender starts chatting with Walker. She has a conversation with Jared’s awkward faces and she’s like, I guess you left because I couldn’t answer your questions about what happened yo your wife. This is how people converse in real life.

She asks him if he’s alright and he doesn’t answer, instead is like “let’s have a dance”. He doesn’t say he’s fine, but I think it still counts as a I’m Fine Lie Moment #2 because that’s what it is in spirit.

I know you’re bored, I’m bored.

They dance in the Texan bar, I’m distracted by the pool tables and wish this was Supernatural so we’d see Jensen Ackles play pool.

Obviously the dance is interrupted by work - a text from Ramirez who says she’s got something, “office 8am?” so he leaves because he has to wake up early. I’m not kidding.

I was kind of warmed over by Ramirez and her cute boyfriend and by the bar who was kind of nice as a location, when the next scene at the office immediately starts with Ramirez saying “My mom wouldn’t let me play with dolls when I was a kid, so Iearned about cars instead”. I die a little inside. It’s the second time she’s referred to her mother wanting a son...? So she’s badass because she wasn’t raised to be feminine...? Ew.

So they have this lead thanks to her knowledge of cars. They go investigate. I’m bored.

I shouldn’t have said I was bored, because Walker destroys my boredom by having Jared pick up a cross and start talking to “JC” sarcastically asking him for guidance about his kids going to the Catholic school. “Can you stop” Ramirez says, along with all of us.

By the way they’re in a workshop run by an ex-convict who employs former criminals to make figurines (like that cross). I got a bad feeling about this. Former criminal in cop shows is always code for current criminal.

The investigation leads to two guys who work in the store - “oh I know you,” one immediately says when he spots Walker, “you’re the ranger with the dead wife”. Walker is like, what did you say. And the guy is like oh I heard the story of a ranger’s wife biting a bullet near the border, guess you couldn’t protect her uh~~~

They exchange more provocations - Walker calls him some lowlife something and the guy goes to punch him and Walker beats him up. Violently. I’m uncomfortable. We’re supposed to think he’s exaggerating here but... he does get very violent and should not be a cop. Period.

They go to Ramirez’ house because he cut his hand. Her boyfriend is like “baby there’s a dude bleeding on your couch” I want a season of him, exclusively him.

She scolds Walker. Not because he beat up a guy with more force than needed, but because he acted stupid and that’s bad for her career. I’m uncomfortable.

Also, what’s bad is that they’re supposed to work *together*. He says he has his own way of doing things. Yikes yikes yikes.

She says that her theory is that they put them together because he always break the rules. Apparently she read up his cases and he always break the rules. The main character of the show is a cop who break the rules in half the cases he works. Yikes yikes yikes but also did I mention yikes?

No, wait, he acknowledges that he “bends” the rules, like that’s better! Yikes!

More bad dialogue, then Stella’s school calls him. She hasn’t been at school.

He goes to ask Isabel’s mother, who reveals they haven’t their papers yet, so any criminal activity would mean deportation. He talks about it with Ramirez and mentions that his brother who’s a DA could get in contact with the Feds to speed up the papers. Are we supposed to be like “oh what a good guy”? The thing is just creepy to me.

Well, at least Ramirez says something about it, or actually quotes her mother who used to say that the law doesn’t protect us. That’s why she ~burned bridges~ with her family! Apparently because she became a cop.

Ow. Her mother is not speaking to her because for her, her daughter being a cop is like a betrayal. But for her it’s a way to set things right! We’re supposed to think her mother is exaggerated. #notallcops #individualgoodcopscanchangethesystemfromtheinsideforsuredefinitely

Meanwhile their investigation continues. Remember the cross Walker randomly picked up to mock the concept of Jesus? Ramirez stole it. And now they find out there’s heroin in it. Alright... obviously the business that was supposed to rehabilitate former criminals is a cover for cartel drug dealing. What were we expecting. I’m tired.

Ramirez decides to work the case alone and sends Walker to look for his daughter. “I was that kid once, I always wanted to be found”. The impression you get from the scene is that Walker had forgotten about his daughter missing lol. Ramirez insists he goes. I’m uncomfortable with how many times people put on cowboy hats. Someone should count. We’re only 30 minutes in and it feels like it’s happened 80 times.

Alright, a break now! My laptop’s ventilation is running like crazy, VLC and long tumblr drafts are a bad combination. Or maybe it’s just my laptop being allergic to this show.

[violetren]

My first theory for volume 9 while the second half of volume 8 is fresh in my mind!

Volume 9 is gonna be the therapy season, but in the most traumatic you'll need different therapy afterwards kind of way. Instead of paying a therapist they're all just be bargaining with the universe like "yo I've had this trauma for a while, and I'm feeling pretty done with it. Here you take it back and uhhh I'll take a new guilt complex. Maybe a fear of falling? IDK, fuck me up bro."

The foreshadow-y Alice in Wonderland-esque fairy tale Oscar told to himself/Oz while in captivity is my guide post here.

Aaaand this is gonna get long so! 10 ideas of shit that's gonna go down next volume beneath the readmore, each one about 1-2 paragraphs each.

In the fairy tale the girl runs away from her problems into a new land, but because she never learned from her problems they just followed after her. Yeah? So first--second? First discounting the volume therapy theme theory.

FIRST BIG THEORY: The girl from the fairy tale was real, and she used the Spear of Creation. And like Weiss and the crew, she was fucking smart about her wording. She offered up materials that'd last even after someone else inevitably used the staff. IDK what materials she woulda used. Maybe there's a story about a missing continent we just haven't heard of yet? Maybe the Brother of Light's pool, since Salem seens to have claimed the Brother of Darkness's one but no sign of BoL's these days. Maybe there is a reason the land beyond Menagerie is so uninhabitable beyond desert + grimm? idk. Point is, it's a thing that happened, and since Ambrosius can't destroy/directly kill she's still in her wonderland. For themes sake I'm gonna call her Alice from here on out.

So Alice made a pocket dimension to flee from her problems from.

SECOND BIG THEORY: Her problems were relic related. She needed to hide em, and hide herself from Salem. Tbh I'm not sure how into this one I am. Maybe she had other shit going and some version of Oz was like "hey you don't want to be here, I have some property that I don't want to be here, lets make this happen!" THE POINT IS, the little pocket realities the relics are in, are aalllllll places in her pocket reality. When the team said "hey Ambrosius just make the middle ground into one of these type places" that's what he did, cause that's how he do. What better way to make sure it works like those places than to be kinda connected to em?

THIRD BIG THEORY: Ambrosius was buds with Alice once upon a time, but knew staying in her pocket world ultimately drove her crazy. He knew his middle ground worked like the pocket dimensions because it touched em or something, so he gave a vague ass warning not to fall, because he knew where they'd fall to.

Back to the fairy tale. It's implied Alice was never able to leave/give up her wonderland because she never learned from her mistakes.

FOURTH BIG THEORY VERSION 1: RWBY + Jaune can't figure their way back to reality until they adress a major personal issue and break out of whatever cycle it's got them in. This one I feel is shaky because they all have such different issues and are in very different places with each of them, trying to do one big arc on em would be too much of a mess. Plus it doesn't account for saving any of the many civilians that may have survived the fall.

FOURTH BIG THEORY VERSION 2: nobody can leave until Alice either leaves, dies, OR is convinced to let them go. As we're following good kind people this means we watch the kids try to give someone else therapy that THEY need. RWBY+J work through their shit through variations & combinations of witnessing mirrors of their struggles in Alice/other wonderland inhabitants, and just having time and space to slow down and breathe whether they want it or not.

FIFTH BIG THEORY: Alice is the "antagonist" of the underworld because she is the obstacle to overcome.

What about Neo you may be asking. Well I want her to let go of the revenge schtick, or at least redirect it back onto Cinder thus calling a truce with Ruby. However it's more than likely she's gonna be on team keep Alice as an obstacle at least as long as it takes to kill Ruby, and so Neo will be the "real" Antagonist™ within wonderland.

SIXTH BIG THEORY: Neo because of her unwavering determination to enact revenge is gonna die this volume. She'll be the comparison against which RWBY+J will be measured. As they grow and get closer to leaving she'll become more wrapped up with whatever strange classic wonderland logic this pocket universe has. Potentially depending on how things go with helping Alice, Neo may just end up trading spots with her, and end up trapped while everyone else goes back. But dead or trapped, I have a sad feeling this could be our last volume with Neo. My only hope of her surviving at this point is that she like Emerald switches sides, and in doing so joins Winter as a Cinder foil. While Neo grows and lets go of revenge and thus survives, Cinder stays dedicated to her own desires for revenge and other self serving instincts ringing her own death toll for either the end of the volume, or maybe somewhere in vol.10.

SEVENTH BIG THEORY: Ruby is gonna be grieving and maybe even getting full on angry about being expected to fix everything just because she's the optimistic one. She shouldn't have to deal with this brand and advanced level of childhood stealing just because she wanted to do what was right and won(lost) a genetic lottery for magic powers type anger. Jaune is going to have SO MUCH GUILT to work through, mostly the survivors kind. The bees will be experiencing couples therapy, they've both been pretty solid about individual growth leading up to this, Underworld will be them learning what it means to them to be partners now that they are so different to who they were. Weiss is different. Weiss is at first gonna feel like she's there just because it was a way to really shove all the other Schnee's into their therapy arcs and gave RBY+J neutral presence to rely on. Weiss is gonna go in the most stable of the bunch. But then, slow boil style, she'll start to realise how fucked up basically her whole life has been, especially upon realising that her "good years" with her new family have been spent getting sucked into being the last line of defense against the apocalypse, but will be too busy helping the others, so at the end of the volume when everyone else is actually doing pretty good and refreshed for the fight against Salem she'll only just be beginning her breakdown.

EIGHTH BIG THEORY: All this therapy shit is gonna be mirrored back on Remnant by the others grieving the percieved loss of the hearts of the team. Both sides of these story are gonna deal with some heavy shit, but the Remnant side is gonna be the depressed side, at least as long as it takes for Oz to tell them maybe the other's aren't dead leading to desperate attempts to get the staff OR the make desperate attempts to get the relics back anyways and inadvertently find out from Ambrosius what is up. But anyways. Winter is gonna be dealing with survivors guilt and the loss of both her little sisters (friends are great but Penny was little sister zoned and it's a hill I am prepared to die on. good sisterly relationships are friendships too). Nora is gonna be doing her self discovery thing. Ren is gonna be building on his end of vol.8 developments. Oscar will continue his grappling with the merge stuff. Qrow and Willow might get forced into AA. Whitely is gonna learn his own definition of being a Schnee instead of what his dad taught him.

NINTH BIG THEORY (OR FOURTH VERSION 3): The other way they get out is QORN obtain and use the staff to bring them home, potentially by trading enemy lives for them.

BONUS CONSPIRACY THEORY: QORN if presented with needing to trade for their loved ones & lost civilians have a lightbulb moment and decide hey why not trap Salem in a pocket universe since that is a thing Ambrosius can make? Like, if this bitch hasn't budged on her not learning to appreaciate life and humanity or whatever (which I'n pretty sure is the other way to break her curse instead of stopping remnant from turning) then she's a prime candidate for shoving into a personal reality that you can only escape if you can face your problems long enough to break the cycle they have you in. It'd be really fucked up but I think it might actually be possible to run the place using her as her own material component. Like kill her over and over and redistribute the energy to make the pocket world, but because god given power + Ambrosius can't actually destroy she just reforms anyways. MIght take a few hundred thousand deaths but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Or use the BoD oasis/grimm pools to make a world that mirrored the one she chose to live in on Remnant really make it hard for her to break that cycle....

Anyways.

TENTH BIG THEORY: Working on the idea that the relics are actually hidden in secret protected pockets of the underworld RWBY+J are gonna have a secondary quest of trying to get the relics from this side, and either finding a new place to hide them ages away from their vault doors. If you wanna make it a FOURTH VERSION 4, they're specifically gonna seek out the sword of destruction (HOLY VORPAL BLADE ALLUSIONS BATMAN) either with the intent of cutting their way out underworld--ahem wonderland--or with the assumption that someone is inevitably gonna have to open the vault door, because that's just how things be these days and they'll be able to cross to Vacuo from there.

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep10: Kaiba Embarrasses Himself on International Television Again

We start off this duel by teasing us into believing that this is a part of a theme park:

The Kaiba theme park is a weird mix of actual horrorscapes and animal crossing cutesy stuff...you can really tell what parts were Mokuba and what parts were Seto in this park.

But Leon takes it well, just kinda standing there as he’s done this entire arc--being a general forgettable nice boy who just...doesn’t do anything. Like he gets up, he plays cards, he sits down. Having him on top of a rock with melodramatic Little Mermaid waves crashing at his feet is laughably the opposite of Leon’s whole vibe.

Leon just seems like the type that listens to coffee shop ambient Youtube videos when he wants to amp himself up. This kid appears to attend a private school...somewhere...I think, and just went to a dueling competition in his school outfit because he literally doesn’t have a style of his own hanging in his closet.

Like Yugi wears his school outfit, but he does that ironically, to off-set the amount of makeup and hair spray he has in his hair. Leon wears the school outfit maybe because he admires Yugi so much, but is like “time for my rogue bow I wear in my hair. That’ll scare my competition.” He completely missed the point of the 00′s alt school outfit scene.

I do way too much art to not see the imagery. I feel like this is half my job, and playing “where’s the hidden Freudian meaning?” is half the fun of going to any art museum.

(read more under the cut)

Anyway, Seto got tired of no one paying any attention to him, so he stepped out of his 14-monitor mancave, he very quickly pulled his Dragon outfit out of the (dirty) laundry, flicked a couple sea crabs out of his pockets, spritzed it with Febreeze and called it “good enough.”

Like, is it just me, or has dragon jacket greyed out a tad from last season? Like it’s starting to get a little...worn? Like what funk is coming off of Seto Kaiba right now?

Also notice that he brought his giant stash of cards to the duel. He’s going to put on this show as if he’s not going to pull out the giant stash of cards. But like...he’s going to pull out the giant stash of cards. Like Hell boring ass Leon is going to play his deck of Candyland characters again.

Leon is declared a winner on Technicality and it’s like.

Damn Seto, for reals?

So congrats, Leon, you did literally nothing, again, and yet you mystifyingly  persist on this show. Clearly you aren‘t going to grow a second head out of that ponytail like professor Quirrel in the last act of this arc.

That’s when Yugi’s hazy memory recalls something from the Before Times of “that time period before I was possessed by a needy ghost that eats up 3/4 of my memories and time.”

So Schroeder is Atari. Neat.

Also, this makes Zigfrieds outfits a hell ton more endearing when you realize he’s this Willy Wonka game company owner making toys for children. Kinda makes you wonder why Seto’s such a stick up the ass in comparison when it’s like--dude Kaiba, maybe you could learn a thing or two about whimsy. It could really help out your inconsistent park.

Anyway, Kaiba quickly realized who hacked the park and so, understandably, he asked Zigried to leave, which...backfired?

Y’all card culture is a lot. Everyone in the audience covered their faces in shame because they were so embarrassed by Seto Kaiba and I’m like...not sure why? Because he didn’t do a duel? Against this guy who snuck into his tourney not unlike Rex and Weevil? This asshole?

Recall that the last time Seto played a guy who had a fake name it was Marik freakin Ishtar and he killed a LOT of people (actually, it was Alister, pretending to be Pegasus, but he also killed a lot of people so that still tracks). Card culture can’t seem to learn from their mistakes, although Seto clearly sees the problem with dueling a professional hacker in a digital card game on a hologram that may or may not be able to murder you. At least its not a magic.

And so, tired of being humiliated on television, Seto decides to bust out the dueling gloves (well, not those gloves. You know what I meant) and use the equipment he BROUGHT WITH HIM and clearly never intended not to use in the first place.

(I hope you enjoy this dutch angle that wasn’t quite dutch enough, so it just looks like they’re lounging)

Roland patiently walks over from...somewhere? I don’t know where Roland comes from whenever he pops up, but he waltzed over to hold onto this suitcase as if that’s a formal part of his job.

I say this so often but like...I don’t know what Roland’s job is. He’s like a valet/butler/duel referee/duel cheerleader/CEO/and I will spend the rest of this series trying to understand it. Part of me is like...could Roland be a temp worker at an agency who just gets rehired for a different Kaiba Corp job every couple of weeks?

That weird ass fourthKaiba, I will never understand Roland.

Just one letter away from being a Zigfriend, Kaiba. Just one letter away. I know this because I misspell friend a LOT.

Zigfreind? Zigfriend? Damn it, both of them look the freakin same to me, this sucks! Why can’t I spell friend without autocorrect!?

Just the amount these two fight when Seto clearly barely even remembers who this guy even is.

Leon shows up in the seats, pretending that he’s totally cool about winning on a technicality right after Zigfried went on a rant about how shameful, irredeemable, and mortally embarrassing winning on technicalities are.

He seems to take it pretty well, smiling, sitting next to Rebecca, and then dissolving right into the background because this kid’s whole deal is being way too nice to exist on this show.

Y’all we just had that art meme where people were redrawing that “How to draw manga face” and guys...that’s what our anime used to look like.

I mean look at that uncomfortable chin there, that tapers in for some reason. Those eyes melting off of her face. The lack of any 3d sense. This was an anime ideal for a very, very long time.

Anyway, the “how to draw manga face” is a perfect masterpiece and never needs to change. (But it is fun to make fun of it although I guess the person that drew it was actually a kid, which makes sense from a publishing perspective to have a kid make a book about how to draw stuff for kids.)

We see a little flashback of Schroeder and why he hates Seto Kaiba, and can I just say, I kind of love this little outfit. Kind of a shame that it’s stuffed into a flashback.

Which is when we found out that Zigfried thinks Seto Kaiba did a plagiarism.

Which is hilarious because it was Gozaburo Kaiba who was plagiarizing Seto, so like...who did it first?

OK guys. Lets talk about this.

APPARENTLY, there was some sort of contest to work with Pegasus...kind of like an architecture contest (which is a thing, when a city is doing a big project, they send out a call, and big firms will compete to see who builds it) and I GOTTA know what Pegasus’ theme was.

Like did he say to all the little rich kid geniuses “I would like something that makes my cards ALIVE, can you do that?” Then when Pegasus got a hell ton of holograms and was he like “But ALIVE--it makes it alive, right boy?” And when he was shaking the hands of each stupid kid was he like “So if I hypothetically put my dead wife on a card and slapped it into the machine--could she EXIST. Like...enough? I just need her to legally exist is all, and not like..literally of course...but enough literally to be a sin against God, can you do that?”

I just want to know if Willy Wonka Wonderkid Von Schroeder had any idea he was creating a resurrection chamber for a dark wizard. Like he has no idea that he dodged getting his business bought straight from under him and his soul shoved into a card. And it’s not like Schroeder was going to abduct Yugi’s Grandpa and ensure that Yugi would be there to save him down the road. Like I’m pretty sure Schroeder would have been sacrificed waaay before that whole island contest even went down.

Zigfried got so freakin lucky. I can’t believe he’s mad. But then again...

...the man swims in milk pools so like...maybe his logic center is busted? Maybe he wanted to die in a horrific murder island? I don't know what Zigfried is into, but I do know that because Zigfried doesn’t have millennium rod powers linking him to the millennium eye--so would it have mattered? There’s destiny reasons that Pegasus chose Kaiba.

Course...we never found out where the scales ended up, have we? We think it’s Shadi, but have we seen Shadi bust those out since Season Zero?

Man that would be a good plot twist that will absolutely not happen.

Yo, make horse guy into a dark wizard, show, I dare you!

Anyway, that’s all for now, but if you want to read from the beginning, here’s the link:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[coldcocoamilk]

hey y'all lousy Levihan lovers - I got a new laptop, which means I can finally write comfortably again. we know what that means - a new fic.

as always, this fic is available on archive of our own at this link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32169334/chapters/79707976

Title: I Went to College and All I Got Was This Lousy Degree

Summary: At the start of Hange's senior year, she's told that she must tutor the ill-tempered Levi Ackerman in Biology if he wants to graduate and keep his baseball scholarship. From that point forward, she does everything she can to keep it strictly business with Levi - until they keep running into each other, everywhere. It takes a little time and some self-discovery, but eventually, she finds herself falling for that baseball boy in the midst of her college career.

chapter 1 under the cut :)

1580.

The numbers were bold against her computer screen and seemed to be burning permanently into her retinas. What was that, like, two questions? It wasn’t fair.

“What did you get this time, honey?”

She turned the laptop to face her mother, who frowned. “It’s a ten point increase, at least.”

“I wanted a perfect score,” Hange moaned. “I hate the College Board. This is some crap.”

“Well, that’s three out of three. You’ve still done better than anyone I’ve ever seen,” her mother reassured her. “Can I take these cups?”

Hange looked over her desk at the array of cups, old bowls, and soiled paper plates. “Yeah, but I want the orange one. I’ll help you bring all this down – sorry about the mess.”

“You’ve been studying hard,” her mom reassured her. “I just don’t want any roaches to be drawn in.”

The warmth from the soapy dish water was soothing on her aching hands. Ever since eight that morning, Hange had been either typing, writing, or highlighting, and when her hands weren’t in use, her eyes flew across text resulting in the typical tension headache she felt directly behind her eyes. Now that it was six, and dinner was almost ready? Done. She was done. Hange thought that senior year would be the worst year for her, but so far, junior year was setting the bar pretty high with the combination of exams, state testing, entrance exams, and college applications.

“Leave the water in the sink. I made you some veggies,” her mom told her.

Perhaps it was weird, but one of the few things that Hange enjoyed out of her mom’s cooking was vegetables. Everything else was either too bland or too salty, too mushy or nearly burnt, but her vegetables were always well seasoned and just cooked right. Going vegetarian had been easy for Hange, especially since it was pretty much all she ate at home anyways.

“Are you going to Nanaba’s after dinner still?” Her mom asked as they ate their dinner together.

“Yeah, I’ll probably sleep there tonight, if you don’t mind,” Hange replied between forkfuls of carrots. “By the way, when does dad come back?”

“Wednesday morning, so you’ll have to take the truck into school, okay? And that’s fine, just check in with me at some point. Go ahead and take the truck tonight, too.”

“Yup, gotcha,” Hange replied, finishing her plate. “Thank you for the food – I really like that new sauce you’re using.”

Her mom beamed, a rare sight for her tired face. “I used balsamic dressing in it! I knew it’d be good.”

Hange grabbed her bag from the bottom of the stairs on her way up. It was way too hefty for her plans tonight, and besides, she really didn’t need her calc II book at Nanaba’s, anyways. She packed the usual: laptop, jeans, cute shirt, a long skirt, cardigan, flats, and some pajamas. Her deodorant and perfume got haphazardly thrown in there too, along with an extra hair tie and her chargers. On last thought, Hange reached for a couple of suspiciously heavy balled-up sock pairs, throwing them in there too. Nanaba would appreciate that.

The truck keys were on the counter next to Hange’s wallet, and she clipped them onto her belt loop on the way out. Everyone in the house had ended up with her trusty carabiner trick: can’t lose your keys if they’re always attached to your pants. Her logic was that if you lose your pants somehow, you’ve got more issues than your keys.

“See ya mom!” Hange called out to the house. Her mom’s jazz music was already audible from the bedroom, and the dishes from dinner sat soaking in the sink. It was always much more laid back when her dad was out on a business trip, and a nice treat in comparison to his uptight antics.

Dusk in southern California during April was always nice – it wasn’t chilly enough to warrant a decent coat, but it was warm enough that you could get away with a dress. Sure, the daytime was utter hell, but at night, her dad’s hoodie on the passenger side of the bench seat in his truck was a welcome blanket on her lap as she drove to Nanaba’s house just fifteen minutes away.

Nanaba had been Hange’s best friend since the sixth grade, and they weren’t planning on changing that any time soon. Once upon a chilly November evening, school had just let out and they sat waiting for their parents to pick them up. Fifteen minutes passed, then half an hour, then a full hour – somehow, the two had ended up being “those kids.” You know the type. Mom fell asleep or lost track of time, child has to try their hardest to remember the house phone number, mom freaks out and arrives in a panic. In that span of an hour, the two started an inseparable bond over Pokémon Sapphire on Hange’s Gameboy Advance.

Hange let herself in with the key under the mat, making her way quietly through the house and up the stairs to Nanaba’s room. She found her with a clear plastic bonnet on her head, cross-legged at the head of the bed on her laptop, and the room reeked of chemicals. “Yo,” she announced herself, dropping her bookbag on the bed and flopping down on it. “That time of the month again?”

“You make it sound like I’ve got my period,” Nanaba complained. “What score did you get?”

“A fifteen eighty,” Hange replied. “You?”

“Fifteen thirty,” Nanaba beamed. “My highest yet!”

“Yooooo!” Hange shot up. “I’m proud of you! That’s, what, a seventy-point improvement? You studied!”

“I took your advice and had my dad buy me that SAT prep book you kept talking about. It really did work, thank you so much,” Nanaba gushed. “I feel like I can finally relax, just a little. Next weeks is finals, but in a couple hours, it’ll be Sunday, which means I’m not studying for a whole twenty-four hours.”

Hange flopped back down on the bed. “Preach. You feel like going out tonight?”

Nanaba leaned against the headboard of her bed, the plastic cap on her head crinkling against the wall. “Nah, I don’t think anything is happening. Besides, I’m doing my hair. I need you to help me touch up the sides again.”

“All right,” Hange replied. “How long do you have left?”

“Ten minutes,” Nanaba closed her laptop and stretched before swinging her legs off the side of the bed. “We’re not going out tonight, but I do have a bottle, if you wanna.”

“I brought shooters!” Hange shot back up, immediately digging through her bag and extracting the balled-up socks. “Some different ones this time, for us to try. What did you get this time?”

Nanaba walked across the room and opened her closet, pulling a bottle of liquor out from a box labelled WINTER. “Eddy orange this time. Haven’t tried it yet, but I thought we’ve abused the lemon enough.” Glass clinked as she pulled out two shot glasses: one shaped like a miniature beaker, and a normal one that simply said BOOBS.

“Beautiful,” Hange grinned. “Today we’re trying… uhh… UV Blue, Jägermeister, and this weird peanut butter whiskey stuff.”

“Did you shoplift again?” Nanaba gave her a glance. “You know, it’s one thing to buy with a fake. It’s another to shoplift entirely.”

“Does it count as shoplifting if your parents don’t drink but keep getting gifted weird alcohol gift baskets from my dad’s customers so it all just ends up sitting in the liquor cabinet for years anyways?”

“God, your dad’s job is weird.”

“Yeah, I know.”

[katsuflossy]

The Guys With A Jamaican S/0

Pairings: Bakugo Katsuki x reader, Todoroki Shoto x reader, Shinso Hitoshi x reader

TW: A whole lot of obscenities, suggestive themes, a threateningly good time

A/n: AYYEEE A WEH MI SEH. My cousin decided to challenge me to make a Jamaican reader and so I delivered (poorly cause I only come to this in a sleepy state) but there’s little to no rep for di island gyals so Imma give some love. Hope you like it biddies!💖

P.S. all characters are in their 3rd year meaning they are 18.

💥 You were an international transfer student in the support course

💥He busted through the doors screaming about someone messed up the wiring for his arm cannon.

💥 He just kept going and going and going until you couldn’t take it anymore.

💥 “ALL MIGHTION PEACE, BREDDA BILL PAN E SHOUTING NUH!” (1)

💥 Man was shook. One, because he did not understand a word you had said and two, what language did you even utter because it wasn’t complete English and three, did you just scream at him.

💥 Regardless, you took the cannons and fixed them. He noticed the Jamaican flag on top of your work station.

💥 Soon you’re telling him about your country and how proud you are to be a yaadie (what Jamaicans refer to themselves)

💥 He loves teasing you just so he can hear what you’re going to say—bc he in love with da accent☺️

💥 “My yute, if yuh tap revv off mi ear dem ma guh box yuh cross yuh head side.” (2)

💥”Big head bwoy, weh di bumboclaat yuh lef mi alone man.” He’s just so interested in the language.

💥 Give him some ackee and salt fish with fried dumpling. You got him under a spell now.

💥 IN LOVE with Jamaican food. He demolishes some jerk chicken, peppa shrimp, Rasta pasta, the list goes on. All because you guys were competing on who’s curry was better 🤦🏾‍♀️.

💥 Have a crate of beef patty and coco bread? Half of that is for him now. Some spice bun and cheese? Break that like five loaves and two fishes. Because everything’s being shared now.

💥 You’re not allowed to go to ANY party/dance/fete etc. without him because you act all the way up.

💥Shenseea comes on? He gives you one look and presses you against his front.

💥 Doesn’t stop you for whining and grinding but you ain’t going on your headtop around him. You start to go on your knees, head pressing against the ground; he snatches you before you could balance on your neck and stands you straight up.

💥 “For fuck sakes (Y/n) you don’t listen!” “Kastuki, mi a bad gyal, mi neva ago listen.”4 

💥 Basically with your mouth and his attitude, it’s UA’s most catastrophic couple™️.

(1)  “Oh my God, bro chill on the shouting!”

(2) “ My guy, if you don’t stop talking my ears off I’m going to slap you.”

(3) “Big head boy, why the hell you don’t leave me alone, man.”

(4) “Kastuki, I’m a bad (unruly, untameable) girl, I’m never going to listen.”

🧊 Total culture shock when he saw you. And then a second aftershock when he heard you SPEAK.

🧊 Just kept staring at you ever since you transferred into the class.

🧊 Then your mouth 🤦🏾‍♀️ had a mind of its own. You turned to him, got all up in his face and said “Big man, why ya pree me so hard? Neva seen a nigga before?” (5)

🧊 He was flabbergasted. Eyes wide, unable to say anything until he physically cooled himself down. Then he gon ask you to repeat ‘cause did he understand a word you said? No.

🧊 But he loves the accent. And by love I mean love.

🧊He asks you to talk to him in patois (“pat-wah”) more so the thing you say is “Guh suck yuh madda.” He just smile, nodding as he continued what he was doing. 💀 this was so rude.

🧊 You call Aizawa “Don” and All Might “Brogad” (6)

🧊 You flirt with him in patois and sometimes he’ll try to decipher what you’re saying.

🧊“Babes.” He looks up from his work and at you. “Yes?” “Yuh know seh mi love you like cook food.”

🧊 The gears in Todoroki’s head are working hard for this one. Unexpectedly, he frowns. “But not all food is cooked. Like sushi...I thought you loved sushi? So you don’t love me?”

🧊 His sad, puppy dog eyes had you rushing to console him, telling him it was just a regular saying and that Jamaicans just love homecooked meals.

🧊Speaking of food. He’s never going to touch cold soba again after having some pigtail with rice and peas, gravy touching every inch of the dish.

🧊He’ll sit at the kitchen, tapping his foot, very happy about whatever you’re making.

🧊 He’s observant too and will bring any and everything to shorten the time it takes for the food to get on his plate.

🧊 “Hey Sho, can you pass the—“ He got the curry seasoning already in his hand, offering it to you. “—um thanks?”

🧊He’ll be on your back as you’re cheffing it up, reggae music blasting through the area.

🧊 It’s a good life for Shoto.

(5) “Big man, why are you staring at me so hard? Never seen a nigga before?”

(6) Brogad is a highly respected “bro”.

(7) “Go suck your mother.” (basic insult in Jamaica. Would not recommend saying it to an actual Jamaican? It will not end well for you.)

(7) “You know I love you like cooked food.”

🔮 He met you in his extra secret place he goes to smoke.

🔮All he sees is some black girl lighting her blunt and wondering “how tf did she find this place?”

🔮 He was about to leave, pissed off that he has to find a new place to blow some air until you offered him your own blunt.

🔮 Very cautious about taking a hit because yo shit may have been laced but after that puff? Nigga went to another galaxy.

🔮 “How the fuck yo shit so strong?” “An mek you gwan chat pan mi? Naw, come link me if you want a spliff or two.” (8)

🔮 So it was a smoking buddies-to-lovers trope. He’ll come over to your dorm everyday until his high ass admits he likes you— and your high ass did the same.

🔮Alkaline is his top artist now. You’ll catch him vibing to “Juggernaut” or “Just the Style” on a daily.

🔮 He’s gotten use to you whining everywhere. He’ll sit, reading a book while you’re bumping and grinding to some soca or dancehall.

🔮 Although completely unphased, he’ll smack your ass as you’re throwing it back on him jokingly.

🔮 After you and Shinso became a couple, group smoke sessions were never the same.

🔮 ANY Kranium song comes on; the place will get steamy.

🔮 “Last Night” starts to play while you, Shinso, Kaminari, and Sero were going through that oui’d.

🔮 Next thing they know, you’re straddling Shinso’s hips, giving him that waistline like it’s carnival. He’s whining back; your bodies grinding against each other as his hands palms your ass.

🔮 Meanwhile Sero and Kaminari smoking the last blunt, ready to leave because they already know what’s gonna go down.

🔮 Sero: “They don’t see us?”

🔮 Kaminari: 🤷🏼

🔮Sero: “You see me?”

🔮 Kaminari: “Yes I see you. You see me?”

🔮Sero: “Hell yeah I see you. Both of us looking like two big Barneys we see each other.”

🔮 They just packed it up and left so they don’t have to see anything too drastic.

(8) “So you can tell on me? Naw, talk to me if you want a blunt or two.”

[justauthoring]

No Reason To (43/50)

Prompt: “And I guess… when it comes down to it, I trust you.”

A/N: next part will be the last part of season 6A! which im very excited for because i cannot wait for stiles and y/n to reunite so i can get back into writing them together lol! nonethless, i hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Send me a little comment in the ask section or leave it below on what you thought of this chapter. As usual, I hope you all enjoyed!

AGAIN, remember if you’d like me to continue this series, just leave a little comment or an ask letting me know. I will NOT continue the series if no one wants me to.

Please don’t plagiarize my work!

Pairing: Stiles x McCall!Reader

Based off of: Teen Wolf 06x07 & 06x08

Honestly, you figured Scott should let Malia tear Theo apart.

If anyone deserved it, it was him. Him more than anyone else. After all he’d done, to you, to her, to the rest of the pack... If you had claws, you’d tear him apart yourself.

But of course, Scott, no matter what, isn’t heartless. No matter what anyones done. And before Malia can do any real damage to Theo, him and Liam are rushing forward to pull her back and try to her calm her down. One look at her tells you she’s angry, more angry then you’d thought, not that you blame her. Like at all. Her eyes are blazing bright blue, her claws are still out, and she lets out a growl to even that of Scott.

“Slow down, okay?” Scott orders, voice firm but soft; understanding. Never tearing his gaze away from Malia, he attempts to assure her; “he’s going back in the ground.” 

Good.

“You can’t!” Liam argues almost instantly, voice pitching in panic. It pulls your gaze on him with a blink, for the first time processing that it was Liam who had pulled Theo up from the ground in the first place. It was Liam who brought him back despite everything he’d done.

“And why the hell not?” You cut in, stepping forward from the spot you’d been cowering in. You hadn’t, until this point, had the courage to really make yourself known. Regrettably, Theo still had that kind of power over you. But, at the possibility of Theo not rotting away his life in hell like you’d thought, you couldn’t keep quiet anymore. 

You step past Scott, meeting Liam directly in the eye with a harden look of your own, arms crossed over your chest with a scowl. “He deserves to rot there for eternity,” you spit, anger overcoming the fear and terror you’d felt only moments ago. You even dare to glance Theo’s way, his eyes already on your own as you glare at him.

“He remembers Stiles.”

I remember Stiles.

“Y/N remembers Stiles.” Malia growls, speaking aloud exactly what you’d thought. “Scott remembers Stiles. Lydia and I remember Stiles.”

Inhaling deeply, Liam shakes his head; “the Dread Doctors knew all about the Wild Hunt. He can help us.”

“Or he could kill us.” Scott reminds.

Rolling your eyes, you scoff; “which he’s already tried.”

“Correction,” Theo cuts in, causing your eyes to snap to him sharply. “I only ever tried to kill Scott.”

Scoffing, you spin round to him. “You should be rewarded,” you huff, shaking your head.

“He’s my responsibility,” Liam interrupts before Theo can respond to you. “Noshiko gave me the sword.” he raises said sword, gesturing it to you all.

“It’s so awkward when mom and dad fight,” Theo sighs.

“Shut up.”

You’re not surprised that you, Malia and Scott all yell it at the same time.

“You all are right,” Hayden eases, stepping in beside Liam to defuse the tension. “If Theo tries anything, we’ll send him back to the Skinwalkers. But for right now...--”

“He goes back now,” Scott interrupts, without question.

“Except Liam’s the one with the sword,” Theo reminds.

“Shut up!”

Scott steps back, pulling Liam with him. And you, not wanting to even look at Theo for another second easily follow the two, stepping into the living room. Almost instantly, Liam turns around to face the both of you, expression pleading as he shakes his head; “do you not trust me?”

“I don’t trust him,” Scott corrects, “do you?”

“No,” Liam answers instantly, “but I think we can use him.”

“Remember who he is.” Scott tries to explain, his hands falling out before him, stressed. “He got into your head and you tried to kill me.”

“And when that didn’t work, he did kill you,” you add, meeting Scott’s eyes before quirking a brow over at Liam. “And Tracy, and Josh, and his sister.”

“But this might be our only chance to get Stiles back.”

“Can’t we just try to find somebody that we at least trust?”

Biting your lip, you shake your head. “I think we’re getting close,” you whisper, turning to your brother for affirmation before turning back to Liam. “I really think we are.”

Shuffling on his feet, Liam shakes his head. “This might be a mistake,” he admits, “but you don’t know that yet. And you,” he turns to Scott, “made mistakes when you were learning to be an Alpha.”

Frowning over at Scott, you sigh.

“Yeah,” he breathes, “I made a lot. But we don’t have time for mistakes. I... I can’t lose Stiles.”

You blink at the desperation in your brothers voice, your lips parting in shock. You’d known that Scott cared, that he wanted Stiles back just as badly as you (especially when he started to believe you)... but this was the first time he really seemed to want it just as badly as you. To a point where he felt like he was going to go crazy if he didn’t find Stiles. It was exactly how you felt, and honestly, it felt nice to know you weren’t alone.

That you weren’t the only one who couldn’t lose Stiles.

“So we should try anything we can to save him. Right?”

Scott turns to you, his expression reading help. To help give him an answer. He wants you to tell him what to do. But the truth is, you have no idea either, You don’t want Theo back just as much as him, maybe even more. But, even if you felt like you are getting closer to Stiles, there’s no actual guarantee that you are... and Liam was right. There was a possibility Theo is the one that could bring Stiles back -- as ironic as that is.

But he played you all like a fiddle, and you didn’t trust him enough (or at all) to know he wouldn’t again.

Shaking your head, you sigh, your expression reading: I don’t know.

He sighs, and the two of you seem to just share an unspoken conversation. Then, turning to Liam, Scott’s shoulders fall; “convince me.”

-

“You... You understand, right?”

With ease, Scott nods. As if there was no doubt that he did. “Yeah, yeah. Of course I understand.”

You glance back towards the kitchen, eyeing Theo for a moment who simply just stands there, under the close eye of Hayden and Liam. The latter two were working on the final touches of the plan. But you couldn’t really seem to focus on them, “I just..,” and you pause, turning back to Scott as you meet his eyes. You words leave you with a shaky exhale, struggling to find the words. “I can’t be near him. Not yet at least.”

Scott steps towards you, setting his hand on your arm comfortingly. “It’s okay, Y/N. Go do what you have to do.” Then, he smiles, bright eyed. “You were right. You’ve gotten closer to finding Stiles then any of us.”

Biting your lip, you glance down at your feet, shifting slightly, before slowly glancing back up at Scott. “You think?”

And again, without a doubt, he nods. “I know.”

“Okay,” you nod, inhaling deeply with a newfound confidence. You meet your brother’s eyes with certainty, mimicking him and smiling up at him. “You do what you can and I... I’ll do what I can. And... we’ll get him back.”

“Sounds perfect to me.”

-

“Yeah, Lyds, i’ll be right there.”

“You sure? I don’t mean--”

“It’s fine,” you assure with a smile, even if Lydia can’t see it. Fixing the sleeve of your shirt, you pause before making your way out the door. “I don’t mind.”

“Okay,” Lydia breathes, and you can almost picture the relief in her eyes. “I’ll see you in a few.”

“See you in a few.”

With that, you pull your phone away from your face, hanging up the call with Lydia before shoving your phone in your back pocket. You glance around your room once more to make sure you’re not forgetting anything, before finally making your way towards your bedroom door, moving to pull it open. But just as your hand is hovering over the doorknob, it suddenly is pushed open from the other side, you having to stumble back to avoid being hit by the edge of your own door.

A gasp of surprise leaves your lips, brows furrowing in confusion before your gaze flickers up to meet Isaac’s familiar blue ones.

“Jesus, Isaac!” You breathe, setting a hand against your chest to calm your suddenly racing heart. “You nearly hit me with the door. Not to mention, scared me half to death.”

Isaac doesn’t really react. All he simply does is invite himself into your room, shutting the door behind him. You watch the action with a blink, stunned and questioning if you’d really just witnessed what you think you did. Turning around only to find Isaac sitting on your bed, you realize, yes. Yes, you had.

“Just invite yourself in then, I guess.”

“Where are you going?”

Your brows furrow, “to Lydia’s.” You explain, before adding with a tilt of your head, “not that it’s any of your business.”

“I’m your boyfriend, aren’t I?”

“No.”

“We never officially broke up.” Isaac reminds and when you think about it, he’s right.

“Well,” you mumble, “it was implied.”

Isaac stands up then, and there’s something about his posture that feels off. You feel your body react almost on instinct, muscles tensing at the look in his eyes. He seems angry, for what you’re not sure, and the way he stalks over to you makes you take a step back, curling into yourself.

And you hate it, cowering like that. You felt like you were far past that point in your life, but looking up at Isaac now and meeting his eyes feels like meeting your father’s eyes. The eyes that you still saw even when you tried to pretend you were stronger and braver then that. And you suddenly feel like a little girl again, defenseless, scared, helpless. Even if you know you shouldn’t. Even if you knew you had the means to hurt Isaac if he ever tried hurting you, you felt scared. Immensely so.

Maybe, part of it, had to do with this instinct, this feeling, that this was so unlike Isaac. That the Isaac you knew and loved, had never, ever treated you like he was and had been. That you knew, deep down, something was wrong. And unbelievably so.

Isaac steps forward, grasping your arm in his own and squeezing similarly to how he had in the library that day. Except, for some reason, you don’t have the strength to force him away like you did last time. “Does this have to do with Stiles?” Isaac asks, voice low, raspy. 

“No,” you lie, swallowing thickly. 

His grip tightens, squeezing painfully.

“N-No, I swear,” you stammer, “it doesn’t.”

What is wrong with you?

What are you doing?

Why are letting him treat you like this?

You are better then this.

Isaac leans forward, his grip easing just a bit but not enough for you to pull his arm away. He uses his other hand to pull you closer, hand falling on your waist and tugging. You fall against him with a gasp, your head instinctively tilting as he moves to press a harsh kiss against your neck. Your lips part as he nips harshly, it pinching slightly as your hand falls over his own in response. 

He finally lets go, hands moving to the hem of your shirt, moving to pull it off.

You pull away instantly, breath halting as you step back. You hesitate on meeting his gaze, unsure, before finally you blink up at him, licking your lips. “I’m... I’m sorry, it’s just... I promised Lydia i’d be there soon and i’m already late, so--”

“Go,” Isaac cuts in with a shrug, “I’ll see you when you’re back.”

You nod, potentially rushing out of your own room a little too quick, practically running down the steps. You don’t stop until you’re in your car, leaning against the steering wheel with heavy breaths, trying to calm your racing heart. You were confused, beyond so and hurt. But mainly, you were disappointed in yourself. Disappointed in the fact that you hadn’t even tried to fight for yourself at all.

But you couldn’t. Not after everything. Not after seeing your father in his eyes, or rather, not after just seeing Isaac and knowing, just by instinct, that you cared for him. Deeply and beyond so. And even if it made absolutely no sense for Isaac to treat you that way, because it felt wrong and weird and unlike anything you’d ever experienced with him before, it was Isaac.

And you loved him.

-

“You know that kid, the dead kid from Canaan?”

Pausing at Lydia’s words, you slowly nod, unsure of what direction she’s taking this conversation in.

“Okay,” Lydia nods, shifting in her seat as she meets your eyes firmly. “His mother conjured him,” she continues as you nod, remembering. “To fill the void she felt after the Wild Hunt passed through Canaan.”

“Okay,” you say slowly, nodding, your eyes narrowing as you try to understand what Lydia’s trying to get at. “And?”

“What if Sheriff Stilinski is filling a void?”

Your eyes light up with realization, instantly understanding her meaning. “With Claudia.”

“Yes!” Lydia exclaims, voice eager at your understanding. She probably thought her reasoning was crazy, but after the things you’ve witnessed, you’d probably be the one person to truly believe her. “I mean, so many things don’t make sense.”

You nod, “she had a fatal disease, but then she’s fine.”

“You said she said her Jeep was stolen twenty years ago,” Lydia clarifies, to which you nod, “but it’s Stiles’.”

Pausing in thought, you think of that wall, that day with Claudia. “You should’ve seen the look on her face when I peeled that wallpaper.” You add, turning to Lydia with wide eyes and a shake of your head. “She was more than angry. I think... I think she was scared. Like she was protecting a secret.”

Lydia’s nods, before pausing, faltering. “What... What if Sheriff Stilinski needs this, though? What if... What if this is his way of coping?”

Shaking your head, you swallow thickly. “What if Claudia being here is preventing him from remembering Stiles?”

“Y/N,” Lydia calls gently, meeting your eyes directly. “If Claudia isn’t real, you don’t want to be the one to tell him.”

“But... who will?”

Lydia sighs, shaking her head.

Then, a thought occurs to you. “Lydia?”

“Yeah?”

“What if Isaac is my void?”

She blinks at that, confused. “You think Isaac’s dead?”

“I don’t think he’s dead,” you shake your head. “No. I just... i’m sure that i’m in love with Stiles. And it feels like... It feels like I have for a long time. And there’s these memories, memories that aren’t clear, but feel so real. Of me... me and Stiles being... together.”

“Okay,” she whispers, “but what about Isaac?”

“Isaac... feels wrong.” You mumble, biting your lip. “I mean, when i’m with him, it feels wrong. Every time I look at him, I feel like it should be Stiles there instead. And... And every time he finds out i’m trying to find Stiles or if I bring him up, he gets... he gets so angry.”

Your eyes fall shut as you think about what had happened before, before you left.

Lydia frowns, “is that why there’s a bruise the size of a hand print on your arm?”

You blink, glancing down at your arm. You hadn’t even realized Isaac had left a mark. Slowly raising your other hand to touch your arm, the tips of your fingers ghost across your skin, frowning. 

“It’s why I was late.” You whisper, avoiding Lydia’s gaze.

“Did he hurt you, Y/N?”

It’s clear Lydia’s concerned. You don’t even have to look at her to know that. But Isaac isn’t the main problem right now, and you don’t want her concerned or telling Scott and having him worry about you.

“No,” you interrupt, “not a lot, at least. It was just a small fight.”

Lydia frowns at you.

“And I was just thinking,” you shrug, “maybe i’m way off.”

“Maybe not,” Lydia assures, smiling softly at you. “It’s not completely unreasonable.”

Nodding slowly, you swallow thickly. “Yeah. I guess.”

-

Walking past Stilinski, your steps are slow as you walk into the room. Your eyes wander around you carefully, eyeing everything you possibly can until you’re completely inside. It’s cold and barren, and it feels wrong for this room to be so empty.

So... lifeless.

One look at Sheriff and you know he agrees.

“You knew about this, didn’t you?”

Swallowing thickly at his words, you nod.

“God,” Stilinski breathes, voice pitching in distress. “It was on the blueprints! It was here when we moved it. I--That was eighteen years ago.”

A burst of cold air rushes past you the second Stilinski finishes speaking. It catches your attention instantly, and it’s almost as if your feet move on their own as you slowly turn, turning around to the wall behind you. Your eyes widen, sniffling when you see a bed. A bed you recognize as Stiles’. A bed you swear you’ve spent nights on before. With him. In his arms...

You take a step forward, and then you catch sight of something out of the corner of your eye. Turning your head to the right, your lips part at the sight of a cork board and clear white board. And as you continue to circle, you lower your eyes and find a table with a single chair. It fits. It feels right. Feels like exactly how Stiles would’ve left it before he was taken. It feels like it’s still there.

“Y/N?”

But then, you blink, and it’s gone.

“What is it?”

You spin around, panicking when it’s all gone. When the rooms empty again.

Lifeless.

“Nothing.”

“I don’t understand how you knew this was here,” Stilinski exclaims, shaking his head. “If you want to discuss the possibility... that I had a son... “ He pauses, and your heart wells with hope again at his words. “I’m listening.”

-

“So, wa-wait a sec. This woman, ‘Lenore’, she conjured up her dead son?”

Biting your lip, you nod. “She was the only one left.” You explain, voice soft, words choked. “Lydia thinks... I believe she had to fill a void. So, she filled it with her son.”

“And you... you saw this kid?” He doubts.

“We all did,” you remind, “he was real. He was there. Right in front of me.” Hesitating a moment, you pause, swallowing thickly. “But...--”

“But what?”

“She was there when everybody was taken. She saw it happen. But she didn’t wanna believe it.” Meeting his eyes, you sigh, “she wanted to believe in her son.”

Eyes narrowing, Stilinski pauses; “what are you trying to say?” And he pauses before speaking, stammering over his words as he gestures behind him at the shut door. “You think Claudia is not real?” He scoffs and you avoid his gaze, inhaling sharply. “You think I made up some phantom wife?”

“You’re afraid to remember him,” you whisper.

“She’s a flesh and blood woman,” Stilinski argues, voice pitching. “She’s real. Everything else here is just... is just speculation. Conjecture. It’s just--it’s a theory based on a...on a ghost town.”

His words echo, drifting in the silence. You’re not sure how to respond, not at all. Because what you said was true, he was afraid to remember him and you didn’t know how to convince him otherwise. You’ve tried time and time again, and it’s always backfired in your face.

Gaze lowering, you blink as something catches your eyes. It’s a chair, placed directly behind Stilinski. On it, is a lacrosse jersey similar to the one your brother has. Only, this one has the number ‘twenty-four’ and the last name ‘Stilinski’.

Lips parting, you step past Stilinski, making your way over to the chair. You feel your eyes water, your hands shake as you reach for the jersey. But yet, a soft, sad smile curls onto your lips at the sight of it, a gasp leaving your lips when you physically are able to touch the jersey. You can actually grab it, feeling the material between your fingers and hold it close.

So that’s what you do; you pull it off the chair and towards yourself. You grip the jersey tightly in your own fingers, a soft gasp leaving your lips as you press your face against it, a tear falling down your cheek as you breathe in. And you swear, you can smell Stiles. Can remember the touch and feel of him when you hold the jersey close.

You spin, turning to Stilinski with hope. However, just by looking at him, you can tell, he doesn’t see the jersey.

And just like that, it disappears. But you can still feel it in your hands. It’s... It’s still there.

“You don’t see anything.”

“I see a deeply disturbed young woman.”

Inhaling sharply, you ignore his words. “You’re afraid to remember him because you’re afraid of what it means.”

Inhaling sharply, Stilinski shakes his head; “why do you care so much if I remember him?”

Sniffling, you whisper; “because you loved him.”

Lowering your hands, you hold the jersey in your right hand, throwing it towards Stilinski. The sound of whipping from the movement echoes in your mind, and you blink as it leaves your hands and Stilinski catches it. Holding it in his own hands as he stares down at it in disbelief.

-

“You’re going to bite Stiles?”

Meeting your eyes, Scott swallows thickly. “To get him through the rift.”

Then, moving, he walks over to the table, where it’s all mapped out. “It’s the only way,” he explains to you, breath halting as he nods, as if to assure himself of the fact.

“Just to clarify,” Peter speaks up, causing you to roll your eyes. It was bad enough you had to deal the with re-occuring existence of Theo, but add Peter to the equation? You were sure you were going to go crazy before you ever managed to get Stiles back. “Are you planning on biting everyone in the train station?”

Though, regrettably, he did have a valid point.

“With Stiles back, he’ll be able to help us figure out a plan.” 

“He’s good at that,” Malia assures, causing you to smile gently.

“So,” Peter continues, your smile fading. “The plan is to get Stiles to come up with a plan.”

Malia’s smile falls, and she rolls her eyes, “you can shut up now.”

“Malia,” Peter calls, making his way over to her. “Look around. We’re the only ones left in Beacon Hills. If they take us, Lydia will be the only one left to haunt the place.” 

Turning to Lydia, you sigh, setting your hand over her own in a offer of comfort.

“That’s why i’m the only person that’s going in.” Scott explains, causing you to blink over at him in surprise.

“What, Scott--”

“Liam and Hayden will stay here with Mason,” he cuts in, sending you a sharp look. “As long as somebody is left in Beacon Hills, the Wild Hunt can’t move on.”

“I like your plan, Scott. I really do,” Peter assures mockingly. “Especially the part about turning Stiles. But it can’t work.”

“How do you know?”

“Logic,” he offers, “life experience.” He shrugs, then turns to Liam, as if reaching out for the boy to understand his point. “Liam, what are the odds he’ll get taken? What if Stiles isn’t there? What if there’s no Beacon Hills for you to come back to?”

“You got a better idea?”

“Yeah,” Peter nods, “it’s called ‘run like hell’. So, leave in five?”

Malia steps towards Peter, and you turn to Scott. “I hate to admit it, Scott, but what if he’s right?” You ask, setting your hand over his own to bring his attention on you. Meeting his eyes sharply, you sigh. “I mean, there’s no guarantee any of this will work. And I can’t lose you too.”

“It’ll be fine,” Scott assures softly, taking your hand in his own. “I promise.”

“--I didn’t promise you I’d help commit suicide.”

Scott turns away from you, turning to Peter as you huff, shaking your head. “If you can’t help us,” Scott calls, “we’ll find it ourselves.”

“Scott,” Peter calls, “I admit that you have a flair for beating the odds. But, this? You don’t walk away from.” He shuffles back, moving towards the door. “You run.” And with that, he leaves.

Inhaling sharply, you swallow thickly.

-

“When you were here before, how long until the Ghost Riders showed up?

“A couple minutes.”

Inhaling sharply, you sigh; “that’s reassuring.”

“What’s a rift supposed to look like?” Malia questions, two steps behind Scott.

“If it’s a tear in the fabric of our world,” Lydia starts, “theoretically it could look like anything from a microscopic black hole to a free-floating Einstein-Rosen bridge.”

Tilting your head, you slow to a stop, meeting Lydia’s eyes. “That’s reassuring.”

She simply just shakes her head at you, the four of you forming a circle, before you all seem to just glance upwards. The same idea popping into your heads at the possibility of it being... 

“I really hope it’s not up there.”

Sighing, Scott shakes his head. “Let’s split up.”

You all follow without fault, walking in separate locations. Only problem is, like the others, you don’t really have the slightest clue what you’re looking for. Like, at all. And all you really see around you just trees and bushes and grass and really, just... green.

“Hey!” Scott calls, pulling your attention on him with a blink. “Over there!”

It’s a tunnel. To what you assume leading down, into the sewers.

“Well then,” you mumble, crossing your arms over your chest. “The rift’s not above us...”

“It’s below.”

-

“I can’t see a thing.”

“Phone flashlights aren’t really the best then, I guess.”

Lydia simply just shakes her head at your tease.

“It’s gotta be down here,” Scott cuts, stepping past you to take the lead. “Somewhere.”

Scott and Lydia turn left at a passage way, and you notice Malia moving right. So, instinctively, you move to follow her, only she makes it about a half step before she walks into something invisible which knocks her back harshly. You rush to catch her, wrapping your arms around her whilst trying to keep your own balance so you both don’t go tumbling to the ground.

Turning around to both Lydia and Malia, you huff; “found it!”

Lydia steps forward as Scott helps you pull Malia up to her feet. She stops directly in front of the barrier, pausing for a moment before mumbling; “it’s remarkably similar.”

“To what?”

“To the Einstein-Rosen bridge.”

-

“He followed our scent.”

“I followed your desperation.”

Scott takes a step forward, to which you’re quick to follow, eyeing Mr. Douglas carefully before you.

“We’re all in a tough spot,” he continues after a moment, “desperate to get inside and save everyone and hoping to find a way to stop this army of the dead. We all want the same thing.”

Inhaling deeply, Lydia rolls her eyes. “He has a point.”

“If he doesn’t kill anyone.”

“Else,” Scott corrects, “if he doesn’t kill anyone else.”

Mr. Douglas shakes his head; “all that matters right now is getting through the rift.”

“Then,” you speak up finally, gesturing to the pole in Malia’s hands; she holds it up for you. “You’re out of luck.”

“The rift burns anything that tries to pass through it,” Lydia explains, glare stern.

“Perhaps not everything.”

Your eyes widen when Parrish walks up behind him, transformed into the Hell-Hound. He lets out a sharp growl at the four of her, eyes shining green, fangs out. Inhaling sharply, you turn to the others, shaking your head.

Lydia takes a step forward, “Jordan.”

She tries to reach out to him, but it doesn’t work.

“If the Hell Hound can open the rift,” Mr. Douglas begins. “we all go together.”

“You’re the bad guy,” Malia reminds incredulously, “i’m pretty sure helping you is a bad idea.”

Mr. Douglas rolls his eyes. “Good guy. Bad guy. When has anything ever been so black and white?”

“World War two.”

Blinking at the new voice, you find yourself stunned as Liam comes running beside you all, out of breath. He slows to a stop next to Scott and you, turning to face you both. “He’s a Nazi,” Liam adds, expression reading warning. His words cause you to blink in surprise, turning to face Mr. Douglas in disbelief. “He wants the Hunt for himself. He wants his own supernatural army.”

With that, Mr. Douglas lets out a sigh, letting go of the rolled up whip, and flipping it out in what you assume to be threatening.

“We’re not letting you through that rift.”

“‘Not letting me’?” He repeats, “I see. You still think you have a say in the matter.”

He cracks his whip, and you stumble back as Scott pushes you behind him, to avoid being it as he’s cracked with the whip. You blink as he does, managing to gain your balance as Scott’s eyes shift, glowing red, and he lets out a roar, directed exactly at Mr. Douglas.

Just as Scott lunges forward, Mr. Douglas cracks his whip. In the next second, a hand is wrapping around your wrist and pulling you out of harms way. You blink over at Liam, offering him a small nod of thanks before turning back to the others. You meet Lydia’s eyes, before nodding at her when it’s safe and helping her over to where you are. Malia does it next, falling in front of you three as you all turn to face Scott.

Mr. Douglas continues to crack his whip, flipping it towards Scott but he manages to slip past, running over to where the rest of you are.

However, Mr. Douglas doesn’t relent.

In German, he calls for Parrish, who, regrettably, easily follows his command, letting out a growl as he simply walks past you, moving towards where the rift is. You blink, surprised despite all you’d been told when he simply grips onto the invisible force, pulling it in half... somehow.

“Parrish, stop!” 

Scott is ignored and when he tries to rush forward, Mr. Douglas simply cracks his whip, which gives Parrish the time to open the rift. Completely. As the former steps towards the open rift, Parrish turns to the five of you, letting out a load roar that is clearly directed at the five of you.

But then Mr. Douglas calls something in German, something you clearly don’t understand and Parrish backs off. Moving to follow him into the rift. Once it’s safe, Malia calls out and you all rush forward. But you’re a second too late because the rift already shuts before you can get through.

“No,” you whisper, shaking your head.

And then, in the next second, two Ghost Riders are walking through.

-

“Liam, take Y/N and Lydia to the bunker!”

“What!” You exclaim, eyes widening in disbelief at Scott’s words. “No, I can--”

Liam doesn’t let you finish. He wraps his hand around your wrist and pulls you back with Lydia and him, the former helping guide you back as well. You try to fight them, but as you glance back, managing just a quick glance at Scott, you know he’s just trying to protect you. You and Lydia and Liam of course, as well. 

And honestly, you don’t know if you can help. Or if you’d just get yourself killed, or worse, taken.

Liam keeps pulling you until the three of you fall against a wall, stumbling over because of how fast you’d been running. You chance a glance back the way you came, relieved that it didn’t seem like any of the Ghost Riders had managed to follow the three of you.

“That roar wasn’t promising.”

“Well,” you speak up, swallowing thickly. “They rarely are.”

Lydia nods, “keep going. Keep going.”

However the three of you only make it a few more steps before you come to a halting step at the sight of a Ghost Rider, directly in front of you. Instantly, you step in front of Lydia and Liam, pushing them behind you as you hold your arms up next to you. You swallow thickly in fear when the Ghost Rider raises it’s gun, pointing it directly at your head.

Yet, he never shoots. He cocks his gun before pulling it back.

“What’s happening?” Liam whispers, panicked.

“I don’t know,” Lydia calls, shaking her head.

“Just stay behind me,” you warn, glancing back at the two of them quickly, nodding at them. “Follow me.” You take a step forward then, slow, making sure to keep both Liam and Lydia tucked behind you as you try to keep as much distance from you and the Ghost Rider as possible.

It just watches you all, never doing anything. It feels like it’s eyes never leave your own.

Then, at the opposite end of the hallway, you stop.

“It’s afraid of you,” Liam breathes, “one of you... Both-Both of you.”

Turning to meet Lydia’s gaze, you swallow thickly.

You seem to share the same look. A passage of understanding. Even if both of you don’t truly understand.

-

Your eyes fall shut as the call reaches the dial tone once more. Your head falling to your hands as the automated computed messages speaks again. It’s driving you crazy.

It makes you feel like you’re going crazy.

But Scott won’t stop trying to call mom. He hasn’t stopped for a while now. And you couldn’t handle it anymore. Not anymore. You couldn’t handle any of this. You were done with it all. 

Your mom... your mom had been taken.

“Stop calling her!” You burst out, shocking everyone, including Scott as he moves to call Melissa one more time. Your eyes snap to his from the other end of the table, eyes sharp as everyone turns to look at you in surprise. You’re normally the calm one. The composed one. But right now, it felt as if you might explode, especially if you had to listen to your mother’s cell go to the dial tone one more time.

“She’s not going to answer,” you add, voice sharp and loud as you meet Scott in the eye directly, shaking your head. “She’s gone.”

And Scott just stares back at you, eyes watery, lips left parted, not sure what to say or do. He’s defeated. Just like you.

Malia steps forward then, steps slow and careful, eyes soft. “She’s gone,” she nods at you, taking a seat next to Scott, “but she’s still alive.”

Biting your lip, you force back the tears that threaten to fall, glancing down at your hands.

Liam hesitates a moment before speaking, and you know his gaze is on you. “What do we do now?”

“We hide from them,” Malia starts, shaking her head.

“What about Lydia?” Liam reminds, standing up. “The Ghost Rider was afraid of her.” You watch him walk past you, over to her, before he takes a seat next to you, meeting your eyes. “And you, Y/N. He was afraid of you too.”

You just shake your head.

“It wasn’t fear,” Lydia explains, taking a seat at the table as well. Directly in front of you. “It was... almost like reverence.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Scott says simply. “The rift is gone. We’re the only ones left in Beacon Hills.”

There’s a knock on your door. Your eyes flicker up, watching as Stilinski slowly steps in, eyeing all of you carefully before moving to stand in front of you. He inhales sharply, and something about the look in his eyes, and the look he sends you specifically, catches your attention. Causes you to step up, focus completely on him.

“I have a son.”

Lips parting, you blink.

“His name is Mieczysław Stilinski. But we call him Stiles... I remember.”

Blinking, you swallow thickly, eyes lowering to your hands. 

“When Stiles was a kid, he couldn’t say his first name. Not sure why. It pretty much rolls off the tip of the tongue. But, uh... the closest he could get was ‘mischief’. His mother called him that until...” He pauses then, and you understand why.

“I remember when, uh... when Stiles first got his Jeep.” He gestures to you, meeting your eyes as you smile lightly, nodding. “It belonged to his mother. She wanted him to have it. The first time when he took a spin behind the wheel, he-he went straight into a ditch. I gave him his first roll of duct tape that day.” Letting out a light chuckle, you nod. “He was always getting into trouble. But he always had a good heart. Always.

“We’re here tonight because my goofball son decided to drag Scott, his greatest friend in the world, into the woods to see a dead body.”

You turn to look at Scott, noticing the tears in his eyes as he shakes his head at Stilinski. “How did you remember?”

He takes a step forward, “it started with Stiles’ jersey,” he glances over at you and you nod. “Then I found the red string for his crime board. Finally, his whole room came back and all the memories.” He pauses, solemn, and your brows furrow when he focuses in on you. “And Y/N?”

Sitting forward, you nod; “yeah?”

He reaches into his back pocket, pulling something out. Your eyes narrow in confusion when he pulls out a box, flipping the lid open before pulling out a necklace. A small, simple silver chained necklace with a small Lily flower pendant. You blink as Stilinski offers it to you, taking it gently and slowly in your hands. You glance down at it, your eyes watering, before glancing back up at Stilinski in question.

“It was meant for you,” he explains softly, “I think Stiles was going to give it to you before...”

Lips parting, you glance back down at the necklace, sniffling lightly.

“After I found that,” Stilinski continues. “The strangest thing happened.”

“What?”

“I swear I saw him. It’s like... something opened, right there in the middle of the room. Just for a moment. And then it was gone.”

Turning to Scott, it’s clear you know what he’s thinking.

“A rift.”

Malia shakes her head; “I thought there was only one rift. We saw it disappear.”

“You remembered Stiles,” Scott explains, gesturing over to Noah. “And then a new rift was created.”

“If the Sheriff can do it--”

“Maybe we can,” you finish, nodding over at Lydia.

“But that rift closed,” Liam reminds, shaking his head.

“Then we’ll open it again.”

“How?”

Scott leans forward, hope flooding his gaze. “By remembering Stiles. We have to remember everything.”

-

Part 44?

Tag List: @potterheadbbc - @sunsetblake - @mythicalamphitrite - @loverofwaytoomanythings618 - @minuteandahalf - @mnk - @gazebros - @colie87 - @quilliamfears - @quellum - @pessimisticbullshit - @kaylinfayezink - @maiabiovillage - @tr1chst3r - @arkcangel - @quirkytwinkles - @thegirlwhoimagined - @noones-girl1980 - @illumminated - @fairchild345 - @all-will-be-well-love - @animemes-trash - @starryrevelations - @literallyhelpme - @theskytraveler - @jinandtion1c - @ilovemymoose - @bibliophilesquared - @stilessarcasmqueen - @mersuperwholocked-lowlife - @newtsshelbys - @wyattgoleft - @pancakefancake - @saturno-in-the-night - @pizzamelon7384 - @riskregretting - @mdgrdians - @ravenclawnerdfromnarnia - @franchisefan14 - @lovingpeterparker - @audreysduvxl - @kararanae23 - @alioop3818 - @a-gir1-has-n0-name - @andyl394 - @sclestial - @jayymocha - @2ptonpt - @itsfangirlmendes- @deafeningmusicdetective - @alex–awesome–22 - @nicholerodz  - @kellbell44- @serrahruby - @agentmarvel13 - @egg-in-a-spork - @nickigv - @vxidnik - @marvelousgab - @emmaleighrose- @danielag1969 - @digicharr - @shantayok - @cherry3bombshell - @thatprofessionalfangirl - @itsjaynebird - @grippleback-galaxy - @dafukbish - @randomfanfictiontime - @unicorn-sparkles123 - @sammyrenae68 - @myfanficlibrarium - @liveforthenight130318- @booknymph02 - @smileyouresopretty - @fionnthebandersnacc- @voidsarahh - @kal-pal - @darlingimmafangirl - @burningmusicmarchi - @celacaveremo - @maolhy71706 - @supernatural-kinda-girl - @wherever-life-takes-us - @natalien-92 - @letmebeyoursforever - @lonelyforeverlina - @parkerschurros - @seninjakitey - @runway-to-my-aid - @weirdowithnobeardo - @missleahlin - @your-typical-giggle - @wandascarlett - @multifandxm353 - @moonliightbabes - @lemontenciulek - @smokingperfume - @where-art-thau-romeo - @1teen1dream - @standing-onthe-edge - @moresimsforme - @used-avocado - @hotel-colson - @lovingchildperson​ - @10minutesofscreentime​

[storydays]

Season 1, ep 6,p1

-The Next Day-

You were humming happily, brushing Neo's fur as he groaned happily."Feels good huh, Neo?" You laugh as he looked at you and flopped onto his back, exposing his belly for you to brush. "Ha! Okay, point taken." Suddenly your radio playing music turned into something unexpected. "Good morning, citizens of Republic City. This is Amon. I hope you all enjoyed last night's pro-bending match because it will be the last.' You turned to the radio, your body frozen in fear as the man continued to talk.

"It's time for this city to stop worshiping bending athletes as if they were heroes. I am calling on the council to shut down the bending arena and cancel the finals or else there will be severe consequences." With that ominous message, the radio went dead. You jumped when Neo nudged your arm in concern. Sighing shakily, you smiled even though it didn't reach your (e/c) eyes. "I'm okay, but how do you feel about taking a swim?"

*At City Hall*

You walked in with your Uncle Tenzin and immediately took your seats, Tenzin placing a hand on your shoulder in comfort. "Here we go." You whispered.

*20 minutes later*

The door made a loud bang sound as the Avatar and your teammates walked in. Your Uncle stood up, addressing her. "Korra, you shouldn't be here! This is a closed meeting." "As the Avatar and a pro-bending player, I have a right to be heard. You can't cancel the finals." she stated, walking closer. "I know winning the championship means a lot to you, but as far as I'm concerned, we need to shut the arena down." the Airbending master stood his ground.

"What about the rest of you?" demanded the Avatar. "Tarrlok, surely there's no way your backing down from Amon, are you?" "Actually, Tenzin and I agree for once." "The council is unanimous--we're closing the arena." "No!" Mako cried. "You can't!" agreed Bolin. "(Y/N), what about you? Out of everyone here, pro-bending means the most to you." Korra tried desperately. You looked at her, with a mix of emotions. "Yes, but it'd be selfish of me to want the arena open for my own needs. Part of our job is to protect the innocent, Korra." She turned to Tarrlok, confusion clear in her face.

"I thought you of all people would take a stand against Amon." He glanced at you quickly before turning his attention to the blue eyed girl in front of you. "While I am committed to bringing that lunatic to justice, I will not put innocent lives in danger at stake just so you and your friends can play a game." At that point, Mako had enough. "Pro-bending might only be a game to you, but think of what it means to the city. Right now, the arena is the one place where benders and non-benders can gather in once place to watch benders--" "Beat each other up..in peace! It's an inspiration to everyone!" You couldn't help but laugh at the Earthbender.

"I appreciate your naive idealism, but you're ignoring the reality of the situation." Tarrlok replied coolly. "The reality is: if you close the arena, you let Amon win!" Korra tried once more. "I'm sorry, but the decision has been made. This meeting is adjourned." Before he could bang the hammer, a wire came out of no where and snapped the wooden hammer in half. Everyone watched mesmerized as Lin pulled it back to her suit.

She raised an eyebrow before speaking. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with the Avatar." "You do?" "You do?" "Yeah, you do?" You, Tarrlok and Korra wondered. "I expected this kind of cut and run response from Tenzin, but the rest of you?" You cough to cover your laugh at Lin's jab at your Uncle. "Come on, show a little more backbone. It's time the benders of this city displayed some strength and unity against these equalists." Her green eyes peered at you in particular.

"We must prevent the conflict between benders and non-benders from escalating to into an all-war! The council is not changing its position, Lin." "Now just a moment, Tenzin. Let us hear what our esteemed Chief of Police has in mind." Your Uncle tossed his hands up, as Lin began to talk. "If you keep the arena open, my metal benders and I will provide extra security during the championship match." "As will I." Everyone turned to you in shock.

"But (Y/N)--" Mako started as you held up a hand. "Right now, the lives of the benders are more important than a championship. Korra will take my place, and I will be in the crowd to jump in if needed." Lin looked at you with a hint of pride, and while Tenzin felt pride for you as well, the fear of you being hurt was stronger. "There's no one better to deal with Chi-blockers. Our armor is impervious to their attacks."

"Are you saying that you will be personally responsibility for the safety of the spectators in the arena?" Tarrlok sneered. "I guarantee it." Your Aunt said firmly. "It is hard to argue with Chief Beifong's track record. If she and (Y/N) are confident her elite officers can protect the arena, then she has my vote. I am changing my vote--who is with me?" The Earth, Fire and Southern Water Tribe representatives raised their hands and Tenzin knew he was defeated.

"The arena stays open. Good luck in the finals." Your teammates cheered, while you sent them a weary smile. "And good luck to you, Chief Beifong and (Y/N)." With that you waked off, your hair swishing behind you. Your teammates, Aunt and Uncle watched as you left. Korra turned to the woman next to her. "Thank you--" "I didn't do it just for you. I also did it for (Y/N), he's been different for a while, and I think this will help him."

"A word, please, Lin." The woman followed out of ear shot, but was unaware of you meditating in the rafters. "Tarrlok is playing you, and I don't want to see you (Y/N) get hurt." "I know what I'm doing, and the risks that come with it. As for (Y/N), he's stronger than you give him credit for, he's not that same child he once was." "In that case, I'm going to be by your sides during the match."

You peeked an eye at his figure, waiting for his response, "It's for (Y/N) and Korra. I want to make sure they're safe." "Do what you want. It's not like I've ever been able to stop you before." With that she stalked off, ignoring Korra as she tried to approach the woman. Korra turned to your Uncle with an annoyed look. "What is her problem? Even when she's on my side, she's against me." "I've known Lin since we were children; she's always been challenging."

"What did your father do to make her hate the Avatar so much?" "My father and Lin got along famously...I'm afraid her issues are with me." Korra seemed to have a light bulb moment. "Wait a second, it all makes sense. You and Beifong, Beifong and you....you two were a couple!" You sputtered a laugh, as your uncle replied. "What? How...where'd you get that idea?" "Ha! Your wife." Korra smirked as your Uncle muttered.

"Criminy! I'll have to have a word with her.." "So, Pema stole you from Beifong? I'm surprised our 'esteemed Chief of Police' didn't throw her in jail." Korra mused, looking at Tenzin as he looked back wistfully. "Oh she tried. Anyway, Pema didn't steal me. Lin and I had been growing apart for some time; we both had different goals in life--why am I telling you this?" he sputtered.

Your curious (e/c) eyes glowed slightly in the dark from your hiding spot, as you watched their interaction. "It all happened a long time ago, and we've moved past it." "Apparently Beifong hasn't." Your Uncle clenched his fists. "What do you...? Of course she has. Anyway, this isn't any of your business." He began storming away and Korra could't resist calling out, "See you at home, Mister Heartbreaker!" she laughed, before yelping as you appeared out of nowhere.

"Gah! We should put a bell around your neck, (Y/N)." You chuckle at her. "Sorry, Korra, but you should be more aware of your surroundings. And that is what we're going to work on when we're waterbending." You started to walk away with your hands clapsed behind your back when Korra wondered, "(Y/N), how come you train with the airbenders and I when you're a waterbender?" 'Finally.' You turned towards the girl with a giant smirk on your face. "Well, now you're asking the right questions, Korra. But I'm hungry! Let's go find something to eat! Your treat!"

Your laughter echoed in the halls as Korra chased after you, demanding an answer.

*The next morning*

You opened your eyes to see your Aunt Pema holding a plate of food in offering in front of you. Her green eyes sparkled with motherly concern and love. "Be safe tonight, (Y/N)." She said, sitting next to you before you fell in peaceful silence.

*That night*

You pulled your hair into a high ponytail, similar to Korra's hairstyle, before tightening your armor Aunt Lin gave you for your 18th birthday. "All clear, Chief. " an officer called to her, her intimidating presence powering over yours. She made hand signals before turning her attention to the approaching Airbender behind you. "How is the security sweep going?" "Fine." the Earthbender said dryly."They checked under the stands?"

"Yes, Uncle." "And you have enough officers to cover all points of entry?" With a irritated sigh, she turned to him. "I have the skies, the bay, and every nook and cranny of this place covered. Now leave me alone and let me do my job." You rolled your eyes, and walked away from the bickering adults in search of your tiny companion. "Nevermore! Where are yo--"  Suddenly the (f/c) dragon appeared with a bone in her mouth.

"Ah! Nevermore what is in your mouth?" You yelped, trying to take it out of her mouth. It was comical: you the oh so stotic (Y/N) fighting with a baby dragon. She thought it was a game of tug a war and you were sorely losing. A soft giggle in the corner caught your attention and you looked towards a grinning Asami as she came out of the corner.

"Relax (Y/N), it's a vegan chicken bone. I know how you feel about how much meat she eats." You smiled in relief that your pet hadn't take an actual bone from somewhere else. "Heh, thanks Asami." She then pursed her lips and studied you for a moment while you were chanting silently in your head for her not to say anything about your almost full on confession.

"So, (Y/N) about what you said the other day,--" "What do you mean? I say a lot of stuff the other days." You tilted your head, making you look like a polar bear pup. Nevermore looked at you with a look that screamed, "Tell her the TRUTH," You turned away from the girl, with a hand cupping your ear, "Huh, what's that Aunt Lin? You need to talk to me?" You turned to the unimpressed girl with a grin. "Sorry, Asami; They're calling me, so I gotta--bye!" You left as quick as your feet carried you away.

The dragon looked at Asami who looked at her and they both laughed at your silliness when really Asami wanted to talk to you.

*20 minutes later*

"The anticipation is palpable as we are just moments away from the championship match. Will the Wolfbats' ferocity help them repeat as champs or will the under dog Fire Ferrets serve up a surprising bowl of smack down soup?" You scoff next to your Aunt and Uncle who looked at you curiously, "It isn't a surprise if he says it." You said sassily making them chuckle at you.

"Introducing the challengers, the Future Industries Fire Ferrets!" The crowd went wild as Bolin started doing some silly poses. "Oh it seems the Avatar is filling in for (Y/N) today! But where is the young Councilman?" wondered the MC as your fans began booing and calling for you. Lin smirked and elbowed you from where you crossed your arms. "Seems like someone's got himself a fan club."

Even though you were part Bumi, you were also part Lotus. She was a shy and reserved thing. That's a part of her personality that you got as well. You chuckled bashfully. "Nah, they just like having me for bets." You looked closer at the Ferrets, noting Korra was rolling her eyes at Mako. Nevermore chirped from your shoulder, and you snicker.

"You said it, girl." Pabu started chirping from the ring making Nevermore fly up and breath fire onto Bolin's Earth disk making the crowd cheer in wonder. "And their opponents! The WHite Falls Wolf Bats!" Said team started howling and cheering while you rolled your eyes at their dramatic entrance.

You held your arm out for the baby dragon to land on like a hawk. "Isn't the leader of the Wolf Bats your ex?" Tenzin asked while Lin sent him the stink eye. "Yes Uncle he is. Jerk." You sniffed in disdain. "The champs and challengers face off at the starting line and here we go!" Your left eye twitched as your ex tried to get Korra with some dirty trick.  "Tahno tries to clean the Avatar's clock with some dirty water-boxing. Ming shakes off Mako's attack and returns the favor."

Mako and Korra were both knocked into second and Bolin was soon knocked back after making you wince. "Ahh, maybe I should've made Korra be on guard duty." You face palmed at the girl as your aunt laughed slightly at your misery.

Nevermore chirped from where she was perched on your shoulder, making you bark a laugh.

"Hush Nevermore or no meat for you for a week."

You got a nip on the ear for that.

"Ow!"

[connorswhisk]

mistletoe ain’t all it’s cracked up to be

Summary: This holiday season, Bitty's devised a plan: stick mistletoe over every doorframe in the Haus.

This is fine. As long as Ransom makes sure not to walk into a room with Holster under any circumstances, it's fine.

Ugh. He hates this stupid plant.

also on my ao3

“Ok, you lost me,” Holster says. “Why haven’t you done this before?”

Bitty huffs, clearly none too happy about being interrupted. “I don’t know why you don’t want to hear about the new cookie recipe my Mama found, especially considering you’ll end up eating half of them, Adam, but fine. I didn’t put up mistletoe frog year because I wasn’t living in the Haus yet, and I didn’t put it up last year because I waited too long and the Stop ’N Shop ran out.”

“Wait, wait,” Ransom cuts in. “Murder Stop ’N Shop or Smelly Stop ’N Shop?”

Bitty sighs and gives him a Look, but Ransom just shrugs. It’s an important question.

“Murder Stop ’N Shop, who do you think I am? I don’t want my mistletoe stinkin’ like the LAX team’s locker room.”

(“Nice,” Holster says, nodding sagely. Ransom elbows him.)

“Anyway,” Bitty says. “I went ahead and got there early this month.” He lifts a sprig triumphantly. “And here we are. Pick me up.”

Holster crouches, grabs Bitty around the middle, and holds him up to the front doorframe.

(Ransom tries not to stare at the strip of skin showing as Holster’s sweatshirt rides up. It takes a lot of effort.)

“That should do it,” Bitty says once he’s back on the ground. “Thanks, y’all. I’m gonna go get baking, now.”

And he heads off to the kitchen.

“Got any plans?” Ransom asks. 

Holster shrugs. “Annie’s?”

“Sure.”

They start for the door at the same time, and then Holster flings out an arm and Ransom stops. 

“Oh,” he says, looking up at the cheerily green plant hanging narrowly close to directly above their heads. “Right.”

Holster steps through first, and after a beat, so does Ransom.

Holster’s smiling, eyes crinkling at the corners underneath his glasses. “With the amount of time we spend walking through doorways together, it’s bound to happen eventually,” he jokes. 

Ransom snorts. “You wish,” he chirps back.

What he doesn’t say is, That’s what I’m afraid of.

— — — 

It’s not like Ransom’s never kissed Holster before. They’re on a hockey team, they throw a lot of kegsters, large quantities of alcohol are consumed, it isn’t difficult to do the math. But those occasional drunken make-outs are just that: drunken make-outs. They don’t mean anything, not in the way Ransom wishes they could. They’re sloppy, and quick, and they taste like tub juice, and Holster seems to always end up spilling his beer on either himself, the floor, or Ransom, and they’re pointless, just a bit of fun, and…

And from what Ransom can remember of them, really fucking hot. When your best friend is a 6’6 Adonis with killer abs and eyes bluer than the Pacific ocean, that’s kind of unavoidable. It’s also why Ransom’s so terrified of all this mistletoe.

Kegster kisses don’t have to count, and they don’t. But under the mistletoe? A time-honored, over-done, clichéd holiday tradition? Odds are, if they get stuck under there, they won’t be drunk. And while Ransom knows that Holster will have no problem kissing him and then having a laugh about it, Ransom’s not sure how well his brain’s going to process the inevitable. 

He’s in love with Adam Birkholtz, and there’s really nothing to be done about it. Ransom can’t ever tell him because it’ll ruin their carefully cultivated bromance, their fucking co-captaincy, kick everything out of sync, throw a wrench into the coral reef and eff it up entirely. Holster isn’t going to return his feelings, and Ransom still can’t come to terms with that fact.

He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to do that.

— — — 

“Yo, you want me to bring you back some latkes after break, right?”

Ransom scoffs. “Dude, is that even a question? Of course. You’re sure your dad won’t mind?” he tacks on as an afterthought.

Holster rolls his eyes, panting a little with the effort of bench-pressing the weight across his chest. “Are you kidding me? My dad like, gets off on cooking for other people. We can’t take him to potlucks because he ends up bringing a whole buffet.”

Ransom laughs. “Nice. I’ll make sure to get my auntie to bake you some of her ginger snaps.”

Holster sets the barbell back on the hooks and sits up, grinning widely, a drop of sweat trickling its way down from his temple. “Don’t tell Bitty, but Auntie Oluransi’s ginger snaps are probably better than his.”

Ransom says, “Careful he doesn’t hear you say that, or you’ll be banned from pie-eating for a month,” and then, “Spot me?”

“Duh,” Holster says, and they trade places.

Ransom’s just about to start lifting when Holster whispers, “Dude, check it.”

Ransom pushes himself up on his elbows and glances over at where Holster’s looking. Nursey and Dex are standing in the weight room doorway, staring up at the mistletoe Bitty had stuck to the top the week before. Nursey’s eyebrows are raised and Dex’s face is starting to redden. Chowder’s standing by, looking unsure of what to do. Ransom knows they’ve got about ten seconds before the yelling starts. 

“I mean,” Holster says, shaking his head as Dex shouts out an, Are you kidding me, Nursey?!?! “You’d think they’d realize that they don’t actually have to kiss. It’s just mistletoe.”

“Right,” Ransom says, lying back down to start lifting. “Just mistletoe.”

And then he starts thinking that even if he and Holster ended up in that situation, Holster might not even want to kiss him. He might just walk away.

Ransom isn’t sure which is the better alternative.

— — — 

He ends up getting screwed with Jada Forrester, who usually sits near him when he’s studying in the library. Ransom’s not actually that into her - sure, she’s nice, and she’s pretty cute, and she does this thing when she’s concentrating super hard where she bites down on her lip a lot, but he’s never really considered asking her out. Holster must have gotten the sense that Ransom’s more into her than he really is. 

Jada’s wearing this red Christmas dress that looks real nice on her, and she’s got a string of tinsel in her hair, and sparkly gold eyeshadow, and glitter all over her face. Ransom feels a little underdressed in his knitted sweater with the ice skates and hockey pucks on it, but his date doesn’t seem to mind, so he tries not to worry about it too much.

“This is fun,” Jada yells over the music, some bass-heavy remix of “Sleigh Ride” that’s making Ransom’s head buzz.

“Yeah,” he shouts back. “Do you want to get a drink?”

Jada nods, grabs Ransom by the hand, and pulls him over to the kitchen where the alcohol is.

“I never know what to get,” she says, staring at the table. 

“Mmm,” Ransom hums, not really paying attention. He’s just noticed Holster and Pauline Fishbein making out in the hallway. It isn’t a super heartening sight.

It’s not like Holster hasn’t had his fair share of girlfriends and hookups. It’s not like Ransom hasn’t had his, either. They’re open about it with each other, give each other dating advice and consolation after bad breakups, like any friends do. It’s normal. It’s casual. It’s not a big deal.

It’s just that this is the first year that Ransom has known how he feels about Holster. And now it seems like maybe it was all a big deal, after all.

“You like him.”

Ransom nearly jumps out of his skin. “What?”

Jada hands him a snowflake-patterned solo cup of beer and takes a sip of her own. “Adam.” She nods towards the hall. “You’re into him, aren’t you?”

Ransom stares down into his drink. “Would you believe me if I said no?”

“Not really. It’s a little obvious,” Jada says, shrugging.

Ransom’s pulse quickens. “Oh,” he says, and takes a long drink of beer. God, this is awkward. “I hadn’t realized.”

“I mean, anytime I saw you in the library, he was with you,” she continues. “And half the time you were leaning on his shoulder while you worked.”

“Uh - “ Ransom is pretty sure that half of said shoulder-leaning was automatic, that he did it without thinking because he knew that Holster would let him. The realization isn’t exactly helping his case.

“It’s ok,” Jada says, nodding. “I don’t mind. I’m guessing he doesn’t know, since he set us up.”

“No.” Ransom swallows. “He doesn’t know. I don’t know how to tell him.” He looks up at Jada. “You’re not pissed off?”

“No way, dude,” she says, eyes getting big and shaking her head. “I’m honestly just here for a good time. I’m not really looking for a hook-up or a relationship or anything.”

“Oh. Ok.”

She rolls her eyes. “Man, lighten up. How likely is it that Adam’s gonna keep seeing this girl after this party?”

Ransom shrugs. “It depends. Sometimes he goes out with them afterwards, sometimes not.”

“Ok,” Jada says. “So there’s a pretty good chance he won’t. And, bro, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I wouldn’t be surprised if he returned the feelings.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not!” she exclaims. “Seriously. Even if he isn’t into you, he’s still your best friend. I don’t think he’ll freak out if you tell him.”

“Right,” Ransom says, taking another, smaller sip. “Ok.”

Jada drains the rest of her cup. “Whatever, forget I said anything if you want. Let’s keep dancing.”

Ransom finishes off his beer, too. “Yeah, let’s keep dancing.”

They’re leaving the kitchen when Jada suddenly stops. 

Ransom frowns. “What’s up?”

“Huh,” Jada says, looking up. “Mistletoe. I didn’t even notice it when we came in.”

“Oh,” Ransom says. “Oh, yeah, our teammate put them up. I kind of forgot about them.” He looks at her. “Um. You don’t want to…?”

Jada raises an eyebrow. “Shut up,” she says, gives him a quick peck on the cheek, and drags him back out to the living room. 

Ransom spends the rest of the night drinking and dancing with Jada. He doesn’t catch sight of Holster and Pauline Fishbein again, and he doesn’t think much about it until he goes up to the attic at three in the morning and finds them in Holster’s bunk, asleep. 

He doesn’t do anything, just turns out the light and stares into the dark for what feels like hours before finally drifting off.

— — — 

Ransom manages to be in the kitchen by two. Bitty’s already in there of course, way too chipper for the morning/afternoon after Winter Screw, or any Kegster, for that matter. 

“Morning, Ransom!” 

Ransom winces. “Bits. Loud.”

Bitty rolls his eyes. “Oh, whatever. Not my fault you got drunk last night.”

Ransom’s about to fire something back when Bitty shoves a plate of scrambled eggs and a mug of his coffee in his hands, effectively shutting him up.

“I love you,” he says, and Bitty hums and goes back to whatever it is he’s doing at the counter.

Ransom sits down and mindlessly scrolls through his Twitter feed, shoving his face with eggs and trying to wake his brain up. He doesn’t really have much to do today, but he absolutely hates being hungover, even a little bit, so the sooner he gets out of this stage of post-Kegster blues, the better.

“Yo, are those eggs?” 

Ransom glances behind him. Holster’s alone. Pauline must have left.

Good.

“Here you go,” Bitty says, swooping in and giving Holster his own plate and mug. “And that’s the last of it, so if you want more, you can make it yourself.”

“Nice.” Holster sits next to Ransom, knocks shoulders with him casually, and digs in.

“Have fun last night?” Ransom asks. 

Holster shrugs, mouth full. He swallows. “Yeah, it was all right.”

Ransom looks back down at his phone. “Ok.”

“How’d things work out with Jada?”

“We just hung out,” Ransom says. “Nothing really happened.”

Holster frowns. “Oh. Shit, did I fuck up this year?”

“No,” Ransom says quickly. “It’s fine. I still had a nice time, we just…we didn’t end up doing anything.”

Holster’s quiet for a second before he nods. “Yeah, ok. Sorry, bro, I thought you were into her.”

Ransom shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

Holster smiles. Ransom’s chest hurts.

“Hey,” he starts to say, though he has no idea how he’s going to finish. “I - “

He’s interrupted by Bitty blasting Beyoncé through the Bluetooth speaker, making them both wince. Nursey (who’s apparently been passed out on the couch this whole time) groans loudly, and Bitty calls, “Sorry, but it’s about time the rest of y’all got up!”

“You think Jack would let him get away with that if he were still captain?” Holster mutters. 

“Dude,” Ransom says. “I think Jack would let Bitty get away with anything. That man is whipped.”

Holster snorts and knocks his shoulder against Ransom’s again. Ransom grins.

— — —

“What time is your flight?” 

It’s an hour later, and they’re sitting on Holster’s bunk watching random episodes of 30 Rock. Ransom may not always get the hype, but he does enjoy watching it with Holster a lot, even if he’s not always paying attention. It’s been a pastime of their’s since at least sophomore year.

“Ugh.” Holster groans. “It’s at nine.”

Ransom shrugs. “Being at the airport at night is kinda fun.”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s just, y’know. Kegster.”

“Right,” Ransom says, smirking. “This is why I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Shut up.” Holster watches Liz Lemon cram a sandwich down her throat, and then he says, “I’d totally wolf my Teamster sub for you, bro.”

“Dude, I still don’t really understand what that means,” Ransom says. “But thanks. And I guess I’d do the same for you?”

Holster grins and holds out his fist. “Fuck yeah, bro.”

Ransom taps it with his own. “Fuck yeah.”

And their hands don’t really stop touching even after they fist bump, but Ransom doesn’t freak out about it, he totally doesn’t freak out about it. Nope. Not at all.

It’s not like it’s never happened before.

— — — 

“So. Latkes?” Ransom asks.

“Chyeah,” Holster says. “Latkes. Ginger snaps?”

“Ginger snaps,” Ransom agrees.

They’re in the living room. Holster’s about to leave for the airport. Ransom had offered to go with him and see him off there, but Holster’d told him he didn’t want to put him through the holiday season blitz a day earlier than Ransom has to, which, fair.

The Haus is uncharacteristically quiet. Everyone else seems to be packing to go home, too.  Ransom hasn’t even started yet, and the fact is grating at the back of his mind, but he hasn’t packed because he spent the whole day with Holster, so it’s justified.

“Well,” Holster says, adjusting the straps of his backpack and stepping backwards onto the porch, roller bag in hand. “See you in the New Year, yeah?”

“Right. See you then.”

Ransom hugs him, long and tight and full, and when he leans back, Holster whistles and says, “Hey. Mistletoe.”

Ransom freezes. No. No way. Absolutely not.

He looks up, and that stupid green plant is smiling cheerily down at him, white berries glimmering, and Ransom silently and fiercely curses it, tradition, Bitty, the holiday season, and all plants in general because why is this happening this is not supposed to happen.

“Oh,” he says, barely able to hear himself over the rush in his ears. “Yep. Haha.”

God damn it, he’s spent all this time making absolutely sure not to walk through any doorways at the same time as Holster, always on the lookout for any mistletoe, Bitty’s or otherwise, and now, on the last day that it could possibly happen, he forgets. 

Of course.

“Well.” Ransom clears his throat. “Well, we don’t have to - “

“You don’t want to?”

Ransom stops. Blinks. Holster doesn’t look embarrassed, or upset, or - or anything really. He’s just sort of looking at Ransom, shrugging. “I mean, why not, right?”

Fuck. Holster’s just standing here in his Falconers cap and his Samwell hoodie and that same stupid pair of sweatpants that he’s always wearing, and he’s about to leave for the airport to go home for two weeks, and Ransom is not going to kiss him, he isn’t, he can’t - 

“Right,” Ransom says. “Why not.”

Shit. 

Holster’s eyebrows knit together. “Hey, I mean, it’s totally cool if you don’t want to. We don’t have to kiss.”

“I…” 

Holster breaks eye contact with him. “It’s fine, bro. I mean, I was halfway joking anyway - “

Ransom kisses him. It’s quick and messy and a little bit wet (gross), and it’s also really, really nice.

“Oh,” Holster says once Ransom leans back. “Ok then.”

“I’ll see you next year,” Ransom says. “Next year.”

“Yeah,” Holster mutters, blinking. His cheeks are dusted a rosy pink color, and Ransom can’t be sure if it’s from the cold or what. “Yeah, yeah.”

Ransom holds out a fist. Holster seems to shake himself awake. He grins and bumps it.

“Have a good time, bro,” he says.

“Have a good time,” Ransom repeats. He’s still not totally sure what just happened.

“Say hi to your sisters for me!” Holster calls out as he’s getting into his car. 

“Say hi to yours!” Ransom calls back, and once Holster’s gone, he shuts the door, slides down the wall, and just sits. 

He doesn’t know what’s going to happen now, but he does know that this is gonna be one hell of a New Year.

[millennialfangirl]

Take My Hand (take my whole life too) - a Daisy/Daniel post S7 oneshot

Fandom: Agents of Shield

Pairing: Daisy x Daniel

Rating: G

Word Count: 3033

Author’s Note: Here’s a little post season 7 oneshot. Just some ideas I had for how the series could end for our lovely ship. I’m sure the next episode it will get ‘Jossed’. 

Take my hand (Take my whole life too)

Daisy found herself alone, sipping on the last of her champagne. Sounds of laughter fill the backyard where the small reception is taking place. She’s filled with happiness for May and Coulson, but as she stares across the patio, eyes lingering on Sousa as he plays with little Diana Fitz-Simmons, she can’t help but feel a deep well of sadness. May and Coulson have known each other for two decades, and they’ve just now settled down and committed to a life with one another. It makes her hurt for all the missteps and loneliness that her pseudo-parents took to get here. 

 It makes her hurt for herself, and the man she’s just starting to realize means more to her than she’s comfortable with. 

 The sliding of a chair brings her out of her melancholic reverie, and a warm hand settles on her shoulder. Without thinking, she leans her cheek on it as she continues to stare out across the party.

 “Do you want to talk about it?” Coulson prods. 

 Taking in a deep breath, Daisy exhales her sigh. She doesn’t want to dampen his night, but she knows he won’t settle until she’s given him something. 

 “It took so long for you to get your happy ending.” 

 That’s all she says, and she thinks it’s enough to convey all the things she’s feeling. 

 Coulson follows her gaze, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on her shoulder. He has easily put two and two together over the past few months as he’s watched Daisy stumble and dance herself around Agent Sousa. 

 “You’re wondering if it’s worth it?”

 She nods, a hand reaching up for his to pull it down with hers as she turns her body to face him. He’s so happy right now, which should be answer enough to her concerns. The burdened weight of years of sacrifice have lifted from his face and posture, replaced with soft laugh lines and warm eyes. A mist settles over her eyes when she remembers that she had lost him once upon a time before traveling to the past, and fixing that one wrong that cut deeper than all the others. He was flesh and bone once again, and he was happily married with a gold band on his finger. He’ll be able to grow old with May instead of having to watch her die one day. 

 “Happiness seems tenuous at best. Our life takes it away so often, why risk it after so many years of not getting to this place?”

 “I get it, I do,” he admits. He takes a swig from his bottled beer and sets it back on the table. His fingers fiddle with the bottle wrapper as he gathers his thoughts. 

 “We took a long time, and yeah, sometimes I wished we hadn’t. I wish we’d figured things out sooner, but I have to believe that it gave us the foundation we need to make it last, that otherwise we would have started something we couldn’t finish.”

 “You know more than anyone what I’ve lost. I know what you’ve lost. I don’t know if I can survive losing someone else.”

 The smallest tear squeezes out as she admits her fears. Coulson wipes it away immediately, and then tucks a few stray hairs behind her ear. 

 “You can survive anything. You’ve always been capable of so much more than you know. It’s the very reason you deserve your own happiness. I know you’ll get it one day, because there’s no one that deserves it more than you...except maybe a displaced WWII veteran,” he pauses with a soft chuckle as he glances back at the dark-haired man shuffling a toddler around on his feet.

 Mirth fills his eyes as he returns his gaze to Daisy, her face burning red while she pointedly stares at the ground. 

 “And when you do, you’ll know. The bones will be good, and the time will be right. Every couple is different. Your happy ending might be a lot closer than you think.”

 Daisy scoffs.

 “Nice. Subtle.” 

 Coulson gives her that dad look. 

 “People arrive, so we celebrate, and people leave us, so we grieve. We do what we can with the time in between,” he pauses and gives her a knowing look. “For a sentient chronicom, Enoch understood the crux of humanity. Life can’t be just the things we lose.”

 “I’ll try to keep an open mind,” she begrudgingly acquiesces. 

 He looks mollified as he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. She’s reminded of how lucky she is to have him back in her life, to have someone who cares enough about her wellbeing to have this conversation. As they sip their drinks under the night sky, she thinks back on their first night of freedom at the rundown motel after Hydra was exposed. Even then, with half of a chocolate bar, he was trying to take care of her. Not for the first time, she wonders what her life would have been like, and what choices she would have made if she had had a father figure like Coulson in her life all along. Would she have chosen people like Myles and Ward?

 She does know that Daniel’s unlike anyone she’s met before, and she doesn’t just think it’s because he’s a man out of time. There’s a goodness and steadfastness that is woven through him like the suits he still insists on wearing. Somewhere in there is a joke about how girls fall in love with men like their fathers. There are a lot of differences between Daniel and Coulson. There are also a few similarities. Apparently Daniel is the original Agent Suit, and apparently he also likes to take care of her. After going through countless time loops that proved over and over the type of man Sousa is, she’s doing her best to accept the help, and maybe let down her defenses a little bit. But accepting help is one thing, and jumping heart first into a relationship is another. They’ve barely been able to catch their breath since defeating the chronicoms, much less have any time to see if their feelings were more than surface level. 

 A small wrapped box is placed in front of her on the table, bringing her out of her conflicting thoughts.

 “I got something for the new Director. Something every Director of a super top-secret spy organization should have,” he finishes with a grin, looking so much like the adorable nerd he is. 

 “Um...this is your wedding day. I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be the one giving you a gift.” 

 Coulson merely shrugs. Daisy starts pulling the string on the wrapping paper.

 “It’s also the first day of my life as a civilian.”

 She can’t help but laugh as the dark blue paper falls revealing a simple wooden box.

 “I don’t think you’ll ever be just a civilian.”

 Her wide grin drops from her face when she sees the familiar keys nestled in the now opened box. She looks up at Coulson with wide eyes, words of refusal already in her mouth.

 “No, I--” but he doesn’t let her finish. 

 “Yes. It’s time to pass the torch. She deserves to keep going on adventures, not sit in my garage,” he insists, closing his hand over hers, folding the keys into her palm. 

 ****

 She watches as Coulson steps in, lifting Diana into his arms, swinging her around in a half waltz. Daniel laughs with his hands on his hips in mock anger. Daisy looks away before she gets caught staring, and instead looks to her phone for a distraction. She flips through her photo album, gazing at candids from the small ceremony. Eventually she lands on the infamous picture of Daniel in an alley from literal decades ago. 

 “Looks like I could use a new dance partner.”

 In an instant her phone is fumbling out of her hands, falling hard on the patio underfoot. Her face burns red with embarrassment as her brain tries to catch up to what he said. She blindly reaches for the phone while looking up at him.

 “Dance partner?”

 And she wants to slap herself in the face for her lack of finesse.

 Daniel leans down a bit, holding his hand out for her to take.

 “Let me try that again. May I have this dance?”

 And Daisy doesn’t think she’s ever felt a rush of butterflies quite like that before. No one has ever asked her to dance with them. There weren’t many school dances she actually went to, and all the boys she’s been with before...well dancing wasn’t their style, at least not the kind with soft music and romantic lighting. She’d had a lot of experience with thumping bass, dark rooms, and wandering hands. 

 She likes to pride herself on the growth she’s made, the woman she’s become. She wears her independence like a badge of honor, but in that moment staring at Sousa’s hand, she feels young and completely smitten. 

 Unprepared. Unprepared is what she is, but it can’t be that different from sparring, right? She’s nothing if not ready for a challenge.

 Sousa takes the hand she places in his, and a large grin spreads across his face. It takes her breath away. 

 “I don’t exactly know how to do this,” she admits, embarrassed. 

 “Do what? Dance? No way.”

 Daisy nervously places her hand on his shoulder like she’d seen in the movies, while their fingers spread and squeeze into a firm hold with each other. He feels solid under her touch.

 “True story.”

 “Well, we’ll just have to fix that. Just follow my feet. When I step back with one foot, follow it with your opposite. When I step to the side, just go with me. When I step forward, you step back.”

 “So it is like fighting,” she mumbles mostly to herself. 

 “Hmm?”

 “Nothing.”

 And it’s not so bad after the first couple of awkward shuffles. Eventually they find a rhythm, and Daisy’s surprised to find she’s enjoying the moment. She stops staring at their feet long enough to relax and watch the people around them, her people. She’s lost in thought while staring at Mack and Yo-Yo swaying to the music, arms wrapped tightly together.

 Sousa clears his throat. “It was a beautiful wedding.” 

 “Long overdue, and exactly what they deserve.”

 “You really love them.”

 “More than anything. They’re my family.”

 “You’re lucky to have them. And they’re lucky to have you.”

 “I’m so sorry, Sousa. You must feel so alone,” she responds guiltily.

 “I don’t feel so alone. Not right now. It’s hard to feel alone when I’m dancing with a real-life superhero.”

 “If I’m a superhero, it’s only because of people like you.”

 “People like me?”

 “People who save people like me, who follow us into the dark, and pull us back out. People who roll with the punches and have good hearts. Solid people.”

 “If I didn’t know any better Director Johnson, I’d say you were still trying to sweet-talk me into the Co-Director position.” 

 “That works too.”

 Sousa looks at her skeptically before Daisy continues.

 “So, what do you say? Ready to accept the position?” 

 With that, he is distracted. He chews on his lip in thought.

 “You know I want nothing more than to help you, help SHIELD...It’s just hard for me to imagine being that useful in the 21st century. I’m so behind on modern technology and culture. I worry that I’ll be more of a burden.”

 Daisy’s hackles raise at his blatant disregard for his worth. 

 “You think you’d be a burden? You’re a brilliant detective and strategist. You’re the guy that figured out Hydra’s involvement in SHIELD before anyone else, and was willing to give his life to stop them. You’re the guy that saved me from Nathaniel Malick. You’re the guy who took every time loop in stride and helped me break that time loop. You’re the guy that I…”

 Daisy stops herself mid-sentence, almost saying something that she can’t take back. Something she’s too afraid to voice. Sousa looks down at her, hanging on her every word as she pauses. She shakes her head as if to clear it of her runaway thoughts. She decides to go with a much more palatable truth.

 “You’re the guy I trust to have my back,” she finishes with a gulp. 

 For a moment she thinks she’s gone too far. He’s staring at her intently like he’s trying to crack a code or needle an interrogation suspect. After what feels like an eternity, he finally speaks up. 

 “Well, Director Johnson, how can I say no to that vote of confidence.”

 She releases a nervous laugh. “You can’t. That’s the point,” she says with a satisfied smile.  

 “No, I suppose not,” he says with a twinkle in his eye that she has become increasingly fond of. 

 They settle into a comfortable silence as a new song comes on. Neither one of them make to leave the makeshift dance floor, so they drift into the opening tunes of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” 

 It’s soft and whimsical, and Daisy can’t help but let her mind wander to the man in front of her. He makes her feel things she doesn’t remember feeling before, not even with Lincoln. She’s hyper aware of how perfectly their hands fit together, and the gentle touch of his fingers on her waist. She has to physically stop herself from leaning forward and resting her head on his shoulder, to seek out the comfort she remembers from the barn. She wonders if he would follow her lips willingly just like he had in the time loop.

 She thinks he might always look like he stepped out of a classic, black and white, Hollywood film. 

 As if he can read her thoughts, he pulls her a little closer, their arms wrapping around each other a bit more than what’s expected of two colleagues or platonic friends, but not quite as intimate as Mack and Yo-yo. She can’t stop the next words out of her mouth, because they’re simply true and pure. 

 “This is nice.”

 Because it is. It’s so nice, and she’s still struggling to accept that she deserves to feel something this good. 

 With a knowing smile, he hums in agreement before gently turning her out, guiding her into a slow spin. When she steps back into his arms, neither one hesitates in drawing in a bit closer. The world is spinning around them, but he’s her only focal point. His kind eyes with slight crinkles, the touch of gray around his temples, the mole just below his Adam’s apple...the softness of his lips.

 “You look beautiful tonight.” 

 And if that doesn’t take her breath away. When was the last time someone called her beautiful? She’s heard plenty of other adjectives: strong, stubborn, leader...destroyer. She wants to be all those things, and beautiful too. 

 “Thank you,” she responds quietly, not quite capable of meeting his eyes.

 Then he says her name softly, prompting her to look up. The way he says, “Daisy,” instead of Agent Johnson, the way he’s asking for the answer to a question he doesn’t even know...she’s sure she knows the question.

 It probably sounds a lot like, “Why does this feel so right? Why do your arms feel like home? Would it be alright if I kissed you?”

 And her answer would be, “Because your favorite people are people like me. Because you’ve held me close before. Please, kiss me again.”

 She never told him about the time loops. She never wanted to take away his free will. But right now she’s ready to tell him everything. She’s ready for a kiss that can never be erased. 

 An alarm starts blaring from her wristwatch, and the two of them jump apart. She can see several other members of their team all stop what they’re doing and look to their phones and smartwatches. 

 Daisy knows the night is over and duty calls. She’s surprised the whole wedding wasn’t interrupted, but she can’t help but feel angry nonetheless. 

 “Want to catch a ride with me?” she asks the suddenly sullen looking man out of time.

 His face lights up with a smile, and he gestures to her to walk in front of him. 

 “After you, Director.”

 She can feel his eyes on her as they make their way to the tables where she picks up the keys to Lola along with her belongings. It doesn’t feel like he’s leering. It feels protective and comforting, just like someone who’s got her back. 

 Coulson hugs her tightly, and May wishes them luck as they head out to chase down their next mission. It should feel sad, leaving them behind, but it somehow feels right. They’re her family. They’ll always be there for her, but now it’s time for her to lead, and she has one hell of a right hand to help her out.

 As they make their way to the parked car, red and shiny in the moonlight, Sousa can’t help but ask, “What’s an 0-8-4?” 

 He must have taken a moment to read the alert sent to his phone.

 “It’s an object of unknown origin. Probably alien. Think you can handle it?” she asks, and she can’t help but feel a thrill of excitement for the unknown.

 “I’ve traveled 70 years into the future, I don’t think much will surprise me now.”

 At that, she laughs out loud as she slides into the car.

 “You might be right. Alright, last chance. Sure you want in?”

 “Positive. I’m where I need to be.”

 The way he looks into her eyes when he says it lets her know he means so much more than just the next mission. 

 “That’s good to hear. Now buckle up, I just might surprise you now.”

 “I’m counting on it,” he says with an excited grin.

  Daisy can feel his stare, even as they rise above the trees, Lola taking flight. Without looking at him, she takes his hand in her own. 

 If her cheeks turn red and her heart beats harder, well at least Coulson’s not there to notice it.