#i think it's just so confusing to navigate that. where is the fucking line. where is the balance. how do you achieve it?

[mainfaggot]

existence is so inherently selfish isn't it...?

[evilminji]

I woke up to this thought? And it made me smile~

Wrong way Au?

It's EASY to fly from point A to point B. Linear. Just on long, no traffic, straight line. And if you get lost? Go higher! There you are! But "normal" reporter families with Totally Human genetics can't exactly DO that.

Plus? It's part of the whole Americana thing!

Childhood.

Gotta do a road trip, see weird road side attractions, camp and hike a bit. Go somewhere other then the farm for once. Soooo~ everyone into the car! Yes, you too, Kon.

And don't look at Lois, kids. She hates this idea as much as you do. But it's for Dad. So we're doing it. Get in the car. Some times loving people means "suuuure, honey! I TOTALLY want to sit in an uncomfortable car for hours for your nostalgic dream trip!", so get comfy.

Problem is? He either can't navigate for SHIT (unlikely) or this patch of nowhere? Possibly haunted? Cursed? Fuckey. Very, very Reality Fuckey. Far more likely, honestly. They THINK that was the a same barn the passed four times now... but it looks... wrong? Off. Worse each time, in ways that are hard to place.

Where the FUCK are they Clark?

According to the GPS?

Here.

(You are Here. You are Here. You are He-)

Oh, THAT'S not cursed! She fucking KNEW they shouldn't have left the city. FUCK the countryside. She likes ONE(1) small town and it's where her in-laws live, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! If they die, she swear to GOD-!!!

Then Jon points to colorful tents up the road. A mix of the kind you buy at big box stores and Ren fairs. Balloons. What the fuuuuuck? "Fenton Family Reunion"?

Was... was that THERE a second ago?

Clark's very deliberate Not Too Tight Grip Of Panic ™ on the steering wheel? Confirms that No Honey, it was not. Kon points out? That eventually they ARE going to run out of gas. They should stop.

Words can not express how little the Kents want to do that. They have KIDS to protect. This feels "magical fuckery" to them. AKA? One of the few things Kryptonians very much CAN NOT handle.

And luck getting ahold of anybody back there kids? No? Emergency lines too?

Fuck ™.

Okay! Guess we're stopping! Stay behind us.

They park.

There are campers and trucks, modified tanks and trackers. A few horses grazing side by side with an honest to God moose and two mules. A Llama. Someone's anchored a dirigible. A boat with spindly chicken footed legs, like it's the house of baba yaga's sea faring love child. The name Fenton is slapped on everything. Peoples faces.

Grinning.

Everything grinning.

As they get closer, the racket gets louder. Crashes and smashes. Roaring laughter. Explosions. The screech of metal failing and the whine of energy overclocked. Fatty meats cooking. Spices from around the globe. Radios and instruments, at least one of which violently cuts off in a smash.

They pass an almost violently balloon choked arch, into chaos.

Grinning giants, everywhere. Every color, every shade, every race imaginable. The spectrum of humanity laid bare. Made large. Grinning, Grinning, Grinning. Crashing into each other, against, through. Smashing and laughing, as everything breaks around them. Titans.

Darting underfoot, children. Fast with wild eyes. Mad grins and fae laughs. Wives and husband's, partners and friends, dancing in and out of the chaos. Just as destructive. Perhaps MORE so. Grabbing meals from grills, laughing and joking, tossing children into the fray, all as they effortless hold conversations of their own.

Like a Dionysian revelry, all madness and joy.

Then they are noticed.

"Cousin!"

One of them booms. Locking eyes on Clark. He doesn't even have time to move, doesn't realize until too late, in all the chaos, that the man meant HIM. A running start is followed by a brutal, full body, flying tackle. Clark is taken skidding to the ground and into a headlock.

"LETS WRASTLE~!!"

He watches in helpless confusion as, with high-pitched war cries, a pair of twins jump Jon. They are wearing war paint. Krypto already taken out by a glowing green dog, now confused and wrestling off to the side. Lois has whipped out her tazer. Kon between her and who ever comes next.

By the time he wrestle his "cousin" off of him, he's lost sight of them both.

Dives into the fray.

Magic be damned, that's his FAMILY!

It... It's the most fun he's had in years. That any of them have. He finds Lois in a breathless, screaming, debate/fistfight with her new best friend. Samantha "call me Sam Or ELSE" Manson-Fouley-Fenton. Kon is in the mud pit, wrestling other teenagers in some sort of battle Royale. Jon? Has become king of the ferals. The other parents are impressed.

His years of Damian wrangling finally paying dividends, apparently.

By the time Clark FINALLY tracks down Krypto, there is already crowd and it apparently six heel turns deep into the WWE Grand Saga of the Fenton Pet's League. Krypto, what the hell. No. No you may NOT "form one last alliance against my sworn wrestling enemy, to prove the true meaning of Christmas!" It's the middle of SUMMER!

Clark... Clark is so tired.

He's also a Fenton now. Yes, he KNOWS that's not how anything works. YOU try explaining that! He's on the call list and card list. It's like the Addams family out here! They just... just DECIDED him and his family were related! They've apparently DONE THAT BEFORE!

They leave with directions, fudge, more leftovers then anyone could possibly eat, and a massive new extended family. One that honestly? The Justice League SHOULD have known about. The sheer destructive chaos they get up too? EVERYONE should be aware of them. It seems impossible NOT to be! But? According to THEM, it's a "family thing". Reality tries to ignore them for "it's own sanity"? What???

So yeah.... no more road trips.

How was YOUR weekend?

@hdgnj @legitimatesatanspawn @nerdpoe @the-witchhunter @lolottes @babbling-babull @dcxdpdabbles @hypewinter @mutable-manifestation

[sunnebeam]

"i was hoping i wouldn't have to resort to this."

A 'PERKS OF BEING A HOUSEHUSBAND' DRABBLE.

pairing: min yoongi x reader

plot: the (mis)adventures of retired gangster min yoongi as he leaves behind the life of the mafia and navigates the way of the househusband.

warnings: the way of the househusband au, marriage au, crack, domesticity, yoongi unintentionally scares people

masterlist + disclaimers.

note: go on tell me d-day!yoongi isn't tatsu I DARE YOU 😤 btw u don't need to watch the way of the househusband before reading this, but i swear u won't regret it if u do lol it's so funny (and it gives great visuals for this fic!). anyways, enjoy!! i'd love to hear ur thoughts so drop by my askbox and let's chat :)

Water drips down his neck as he washes his face. Droplets fall down his tattooed back, tracing the meticulous lines and bold colors that contrast his pale skin.

After rinsing and drying off, he dons on his outfit for the day – a fitted, white, short-sleeved shirt that shows off the intricate tattoos on both his arms and some black sweatpants – and puts on his signature apron – a beige, cotton apron with a drawing of his brown poodle on the front. Said poodle is staring at him from the bathroom door as he takes one last look at the mirror.

An old, bumpy scar runs down his right eye.

"Perfect," he says to himself before heading to the kitchen with his dog following right behind.

Min Yoongi never used to wake up this early. But these days, he wakes up bright and early at six o'clock because he has an important assignment.

"What do you think, Holly? Too big?"

The poodle barks in response, and taking its opinion into consideration, Yoongi adjusts his gimbap slices accordingly, making them a tad bit smaller and just the perfect size for your lunchbox.

"Shit!"

The door to your shared bedroom opens and you run out, already dressed in your corporate attire. You run to the kitchen where your husband is and get a huge glass of water.

"I'm late!" you screech, all while gulping down the whole glass.

"But you still have a few hours," he points out in confusion.

"I forgot I have an early meeting!" you explain in a hurry, putting on your heels before giving your husband a big smooch on the lips and blowing Holly a kiss. "Sorry, Yoonie! I'll see you later!"

And you're out the door.

Yoongi blinks for a few moments before shaking his head. He's chuckling in amusement at your mishap, but if any outsider hears his laughter, it just sounds a bit manic.

"Well, looks like it's just you and me, Holly."

Holly barks.

"Huh? What was that?"

Holly barks.

Yoongi stares at the poodle, then at your Hello Kitty lunchbox he meticulously prepared, then back at the poodle.

"She forgot her lunchbox?"

Holly barks.

"Fuck."

Yoongi snaps into action, securing the lunchbox and putting it inside a Hello Kitty cloth bag before running out the door with his cute apron still on. He mounts his bicycle and speeds towards your office – which, if he was driving a car, would have broken numerous traffic regulations but luckily he isn't a stranger to breaking a law or two.

He's almost to your office. He's halfway there.

But unfortunately, there's a bit of a situation.

"What's your occupation, sir?"

The two police officers stare at him hesitantly after flagging him down for pedalling too fast with his bicycle. They're debating on giving him a ticket but then Yoongi answers.

"Househusband."

They stare at him.

"What?"

Yoongi sighs. At this rate, he won't be able to catch you before you clock in.

"Wait a second," one of the officers says, eyeing the tattoos peeking out from Yoongi's shirt and the big scar on his eye. "Are you..."

They stare at the name on the ticket. Min Yoongi.

"...Agust D?"

No way, the other officer thinks. There's a rumor about an infamous gangster called Agust D who used to slaughter his enemies with his own two hands. This guy can't be him. Right? Right?!

They hold a breath when Yoongi reaches into his pocket.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this," he murmurs.

"Wait, sir. There's no need for violence—"

"Here," Yoongi shuts them up by thrusting one of his most precious possessions.

A gift card for discounts at the local grocery store.

The police officers stare at the gift card, bewildered.

"As much as it pains me to let go of this," Yoongi continues, "take it. Now, I have to go."

And he pedals away, leaving behind one gift card and two very confused cops.

COPYRIGHT 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[kiame-sama]

Drag Me to Hell- (Yandere!Alastor x Chubby!Reader) pt. 3

Warnings; spoilers for episode 5 of Hazbin Hotel, yandere relationship, yandere temper, yandere behavior, toxic relationship, Alastor is not fond of disobedience, don't make deals with demons,

~~~~~~~~

"Good talk, chum!"

Alastor hummed as he moved towards the shadows, leaving behind a shaking and terrified Husker. There were many words that could be used to describe Alastor and none were more fitting than terrifying.

None knew this better than you.

"Husker," you started, emerging from where you had been waiting down the hall, "are you okay?"

The hellcat tried to pull himself together quickly and brush you off, but his shaking betrayed how truly afraid he was. When Alastor wanted to put terror into others, he didn't need to work very hard to accomplish his goal.

"Why the Hell d'you care? You're his fuckin' favorite, the fuck you know about it?"

You knew he was lashing out to protect himself, but the words almost managed to make you flinch. Luckily for the both of you, you didn't and you kept a level head. If he had seen... Still, you wanted to try and comfort the fellow lost soul ensnared by your eternal captor.

"Husker, listen to me."

Something about your firm tone made the demon pause, an almost confused and unsettled expression on his face. It was rare that you became so serious and pleading with anyone, let alone tried to actually talk to anyone for extended periods of time. Something about your tone made him want to take whatever you were going to say seriously.

"You may think you know the limits of his patience but you don't. I know them. I have seen more than you know and have been by his side for longer than you may expect. I can never share these things. I can never tell anyone what I have heard and seen. Those memories are not my secrets to share. But I can tell you some of the terms of my contact, and I hope you understand and take heed."

You were choosing your words carefully, knowing that you could only say so much before the fine-print of your contract with Alastor silenced you. Parroting one of the key lines of your contract even as you navigated your way through the red-tape and fine print. Alastor made sure to create a rather finely crafted contract to outline your deal with him and you had plenty of time to read over it again and again.

"Expected and Required are the same thing. I am expected to remain by Alastor's side until he doesn't want me to be. I am expected to do what is asked of me by Alastor and no one else. I am expected to keep what I see and hear a secret unless Alastor wishes for me to speak on the matter. I am expected to remember the primary terms of every contract I have seen. And I have to say, Husker, I know better than anyone what chains can bind some overlords."

Husker seemed confused for a moment before his eyes flashed with recognition before shifting to curiosity. You could only hope that he gathered the information you wanted to give him without having directly said it.

"You were there for my deal, weren't you?"

"I cannot say. Those are not my secrets to share."

"But where were you? I thought it was just me an' him. Unless... Hells, you're his microphone, aren't you?"

"I am expected to be by his side until he doesn't want me to be."

"You've been around long enough to see my deal, you must have seen so many other deals too. Why do you stay with him? Ain't there any kind of freedom to your deal?"

"My deal was made to keep me safe from other demons. It... Evolved into what it is now. I stay safe and in return I do as my deal says, no questions. That is what I agreed to. Look, Husker, all I am saying is your leash could be tighter, your chains could be heavier, and you could have far less freedoms than you have now. Don't squander it over someone like Mimzy."

"I just know she is bad news! But he won't listen."

"I know she is bad news too and I admit, I hate her. Every time she shows up she uses him and thinks she has some kind of control over him because he lets her get away with this nonsense."

You sighed and tried to smile at Husker, feeling the wry and strained grin become more of a grimace. It was true that you strongly disliked the woman that only appeared when she needed help and you knew she didn't like you either. Mimzy had obvious feelings for Alastor and she hated the fact that you were close to him when she so desperately wanted to be in your place.

"Husker, I can't say I like you- he doesn't like competition of any kind- but I don't want you killed or hurt. You are a better person than you claim to be and we both know it. Just know that though he doesn't like your tone, he does hear you and your concerns."

"Listen, (y/n), maybe if we talk to Charlie about your deal, she can-"

You sharply stood from where you had been kneeling by his side, already knowing where the conversation was going and not wanting either of you to get hurt by the blowback. If Husker finished his sentence, odds are Alastor would not hesitate to rip his soul to shreds for daring to try and break the deal you had. There was no way you were going to let such a thing happen and that meant you had to make it clear to Husker as well.

"No. I am happy with my deal. I would never say anything to the contrary or try to get out of my deal with Alastor. Besides, I have seen too much and know too much for him to ever let me go peacefully. That level of blood and retribution is far too high a price. Don't suggest it again, Husker, or we will both be in trouble for it. Please, just trust me to-"

The way your voice died in your throat with a slight choke let the demon know you said as much as you could. Though there was more you wished to say, you could feel your own leash tighten in a clear warning and you knew then he had been listening. Odds are, Alastor had been listening to the whole thing and he was not pleased with your attempts to get around his gag order. It was also clear to you that Alastor was likely testing you by letting Husker get as far as he did in his questioning.

A chill ran down your back and you saw your fellow demon's eyes widen as he stared behind you. The clawed hand of the Radio Demon rest on your shoulder, his head leaning over so you could barely see his threatening grin in your peripheral view. You could feel his shadows crawling over your skin and around you as he casually asserted control over both you and Husker.

"Now, now. Whatever could you two possibly be discussing? It wouldn't happen to be about the rules you know you can't discuss, right?"

"Of course not, Alastor. We both know that they aren't my secrets to share even if I wanted to, which I don't. I am simply informing him from one damned soul to another that trying to rile you is a bad idea."

A soft growl could be heard from Alastor and you could feel the slight brush of his antlers against your head as his annoyance grew. As far as you knew, you hadn't said anything to upset him and you had not breached the terms of your contract. But the way his hand tightened on your shoulder told you Alastor was unhappy about something and you were terrified what that would mean for Husker.

"I have told you what to call me many times now, (y/n). I do not appreciate your continued failure to heed my instruction."

It then dawned on you why Alastor was irritated and in some ways it was ridiculous to you. He was upset because you called him Alastor and not a pet name as he had requested. Honestly, you had forgotten entirely about something so trivial, but you also knew Alastor was a stickler for details.

"Dear, I feel there is a time and place for terms of endearment and they have no place in serious discussion."

"That is for me to decide and you to obey. Do not presume such things again, Sugar. Now, what is this about you hating Mimzy?"

"She is only here to try and use you, we all know that. I don't like her casual attempts at controlling you and I know she dislikes me as well."

"I don't care what she thinks of you, it is not her decision if I keep you with me or not. Now, I would hope you know better than to question me, because I doubt you want to spend another half a decade locked away again. Do I make myself clear, Honey?"

"... Yes, Darling."

Alastor was quick to disappear once more into shadow, leaving both you and Husker to stare at one another in silence. You both knew he likely didn't go far and that he was always watching whatever it was you chose to do. With this constant observation in mind, you did your best to keep your actions to a minimum and to keep any backlash from hurting Husker.

"We both know what our place is. It would be best that we don't question it. I'm truly sorry for the pain you feel, Husker, but we made our choices. Be happy your choice gives you some kind of freedom."

[rosyhoneydew]

Stolen Moment

Written for @bucktommypositivityweek | Week 2, Day 2: Scenes from a firetruck | content includes a steamy makeout scene, mild adult themes

I wrote two entries for today! If hurt/comfort is more your vibe it's here -> I'll Cover You

They’re being reckless.

Tommy’s not sure how exactly Evan has this effect on him. He was raised to be strait-laced. Not a toe out of line. And he was, for forty-odd years. Then Chim showed up at Harbor asking for ‘a lift’ with a guy whose eyes were fixed on Tommy’s in unwavering determination and before he could blink he was navigating a stolen helo through a tropical storm.

He’s not even on shift today. Paulsen texted earlier to let him know that they’d been called to a scene earlier with the 118 and he’d felt so much indignation at the idea of his coworkers spending the day with his boyfriend when it had been hours since he’d last gotten to see him, talk to him, kiss him.

He hadn’t meant to start all of this. He just wanted to see Evan, say hi, maybe chat with the team a bit, but something about Evan just gets him going.

When Tommy sauntered in, AirPods in hand as if Evan was in the habit of bringing them to work and ‘just forgot,’ he’d seen his boyfriend methodically wrapping up the hose, alone between a ladder truck and a medic. His eyes had dragged over the length of Evan’s body and that was it.

Now he’s licking at the hinge of Evan’s jaw. Sucking at the soft spot just behind his ear. His right hand’s got a strong grip on the curls at the back of his head, and his left slips under the leather belt at his waist just enough to pull Evan closer, closer.

Evan’s breathing heavily. He’d gone from surprised to confused to surprised for a different reason and wound up a little shell-shocked. When they’d parted from their kiss Evan’s eyes were already blown out, his lips were puffy and soft, and Tommy’d had to look away and mouth at his neck just to maintain some level of composure.

Evan’s hands are all over him, like he can’t figure out where to grab. They run up Tommy’s back, clutch at his hair, sneak down to his hips, and, once, brashly, palm at his ass.

There’s a moment when Tommy’s still got his face buried in the crook of his neck that he hears footsteps a little too close. Evan tenses for a moment, stock-still before the footsteps recede much quicker than they came.

You’re going to get us in trouble. Evan had said with a breathy laugh.

Tommy’s already in trouble. He thinks he’s been in trouble from the second Evan held out his hand and thanked him for his help that first night. Sincerity shining in his eyes.

Tommy lifts his mouth back to Evan’s lips, licks in slow, letting the pace simmer a bit. He drags his hands back up Evan’s body, feeling the whole way. He presses into his nipples with his thumb, makes slow circles just to feel Evan squirm and gasp out shit.

They can’t actually fuck here, no matter how tempting the thought of bending over and bracing his hands on the truck for his boyfriend's dick is, so he plays nice. He brings his hands up to Evan’s face, kisses around his cheeks, his forehead, his nose, just to make him laugh, then pulls back enough to let them both breathe.

Evan looks at him for a moment, taking stock.

“Fuck,” he groans and drops his head back to the truck behind him. Tommy winces at the thunk it makes, both laughing a little.

“What time are you home?” Tommy asks, voice thicker than he means.

“8,” Evan responds. “10 more hours.”

Christ.

Tommy nods, puts a little more space between them to release more of the tension.

“Keep your phone on you,” he says.

Evan groans.

This could be fun.

[mariaofdoranelle]

Look at Us Now - ch. 21

I had to break the chapter in two for length reasons, so the scape room scene I posted is next chapter. But I added some smut with what I secretly hoped would happen in QoS to make up for it. Have fun!

Warnings: language, NSFW, hypoglycemia

Words: 3,7k

“And what’s the only bird you can’t eat?” Rowan’s voice boomed over the feeble sounds of the nature surrounding him.

“Monkey!” One of his students replied, the one who looked paler than usual even under the night sky. Too many years working here made it easy to tell who could faint soon, so Rowan made a mental note to keep an eye on this one if he didn’t ask to go to the ambulance stationed nearby. The instructors were in a rotation of sorts, but these kids have been here for more than thirty hours nonstop. It’d be odd if someone didn’t faint.

Before he could reply, Cairn, the other instructor, emptied the kid’s water bottle on his face, consequently leaving him thirsty for the next few hours. Not exactly what Rowan would do to someone who’s showing signs of hypoglycemia.

In his line of work, you’d think it’s hard to tell if the instructor is teaching how to survive in harsh conditions, or if he just enjoys being cruel. It’s not. And from Cairn’s reputation, Rowan might even think he was holding back.

“Tell me, what’s the only bird you can eat?” He repeated himself, wanting to see if someone wasn’t tired enough to confuse birds with mammals.

“P-penguin.” Nothing more than a mutter.

“A what?” Rowan shouted. “I can’t hear you with all these leaves ruffling.”

“A PENGUIN,” multiple people answered this time.

“Finally! Now twenty on the floor. Thirty for Stutter Boy.”

About five push-ups in, the kid he was keeping an eye on fell on the grass. Cairn was on his way towards him when Rowan stopped him.

“Lieutenant!” He called, trotting his way. “Can you prepare the sounds? I’ve got this one.”

The next class would be about every sound they needed to know—nature, gunshots, spotting an enemy. Rowan usually liked teaching this one, but he didn’t trust Cairn with the babysitting part of the job.

Maybe Fenrys and Lorcan were right. Maybe Rowan did go soft after Maisie.

“Hey, dickhead! Are you with me?” He kneeled by the side of the collapsed kid, bending down a little to see his face.

He blinked and moved to get up. Way too feeble, way too slow. Rowan joisted him up and draped one of his arms across his shoulder.

When he realized they were going away from the class and towards the ambulance, the boy said, “I’m alright, sir, but thanks.”

“It wasn’t a question.” Rowan rolled his eyes, never loosening his grip. While some kids came up with every excuse under the sun to take a break, some others refused to leave the training field even when their bodies were begging to. “You wanna get back there? You’ll faint before you even finish the push-ups. Fucking genius—are you sure you went to college?”

He snickered a yes, sir and let Rowan lead him to the area where the ambulance was stationed.

The Doranelle Air Force’s property is far more extensive than what they actually use, which means that the training facility disposes of a small woodsy area that resembles the forest well enough to hold some classes. Rowan might be working in the middle of the night, but Lorcan wouldn’t send him to a boot camp in the middle of nowhere, he wasn’t that much of a jackass.

Being friends with the boss never gave him any special treatment, though. What lets him get away with most night classes is his high rank. As much as Rowan loved teaching amidst nature and showing how to navigate in such conditions, he’d rather spend the evening with his little girl. And now Aelin too, the reminder left a fluttery feeling in his stomach.

“Thank you, sir.” The boy disentangled himself from his grip when the ambulance became visible.

Rowan cocked an eyebrow at the kid. They usually tried to look good for him after the doctor, not the other way around. “Are you feeling better all of a sudden?”

“I’m trying, sir.” He swayed while trying to stand up, but still managed a lazy, shameless grin only a boy in his early twenties could muster. “The guys said there’s a different doctor in the ambulance today. And that she’s extra hot.”

“Oh, did they?” Rowan’s muscles went rigid, his head tilted while he glared at the recruit. “I was gonna give you a break, but if you’re not too tired to hound the doctor, maybe you should go for a run.”

“W-what?” The newbie’s eyes went wide with his instructor’s sudden change of demeanor, his mouth hanging open.

“You’re waiting for dicks to fall outta the sky? RUN!”

And run he did, in a zigzag and swaying more than anything, but the boy ran for his life. His steps over the humid grass were the only sound, other than the insects buzzing and trees creaking in the wind, which was why Aelin jumping from the ambulance was so clear.

She ran towards the recruit instead of Rowan, and the boy only stopped running when Rowan gave him permission to, as he should. He granted it immediately, though, since he didn’t want one of Aelin’s lectures about being too hard on the trainees.

Despite her offers to help, the kid managed to stumble to the ambulance on his own. The reminder of why he did it, that he didn’t want to ‘look bad’ in front of Aelin, sent his blood boiling—

“Captain Whitethorn,” she chastised with her disappointed mom voice, then lowered it so no one would hear her talk like this with someone who outranks her, “I am so angry at you right now. There’s a good chance this kid—my patient—has low blood sugar, and you send him running alone at night? Gods!” She threw her arms up and walked away from him, to the ambulance.

It was all right.

Ten minutes later, he had her pressed against the ambulance, one arm caging her in on the side that didn’t face the training field.

“And how’s the class?” she asked, her hand on his chest.

A fine was about to slip from his lips when he remembered the boys were commenting on Aelin. Hell, maybe even a girl or two. Then, Rowan remembered he was going to kill all of them. “You’re about to get a lot more patients.”

Snorting, she slapped his chest, but her hand went back to its initial position on it. It was just then that Rowan noticed Aelin’s idle fingers playing with the name tape on his uniform.

He gave it a pointed look. “You like it?”

She tilted her head, a silent way to tell she wasn’t following.

“I can make that happen, if you wanna wear a ‘Whitethorn’ in your uniform too.”

Aelin didn’t say anything, just wore a smile too big for her face, and damn him if he didn’t feel that smile everywhere. His heart, his stomach, his cock. Everywhere.

Rowan was using every willpower he had to not kiss her right now.

It was supposed to be a surprise, her popping up in his class like this. Manning an ambulance in the middle of the night to aid a bunch of newbies isn’t exactly a desirable task for the medical personnel, it was easy for Aelin to assume this for one night. And her plans to surprise him here were going perfectly well, until Lorcan found out and called him to his office.

Apparently, Rowan has a history of improper sexual conduct with Aelin at work that sends his boss on edge whenever she’s near him.

He might not be able to touch her now, but Lorcan didn’t say anything about flirting with her.

“You came in the ambulance, right? That means you left your car at home?”

“I drove to the hospital, then the sergeant drove me here. Why?”

“Because…” Rowan trailed a finger on the collar of her uniform. “You won’t need a car after this, when I take you home. Or tomorrow, when I take you out.”

Because working until the early hours meant they were dismissed from work tomorrow, and Maisie was taken care of with Sellene until they had to pick her up from school. As much as he loved having family time, Rowan would be damned if he let a child-free day go by.

Aelin’s breath hitched, her eyes darkening. “I thought you’d want to stay in.”

“I always want to stay in with you.” Rowan licked his lips, hers were so fucking close. He felt this pull, as if Aelin had tied an invisible lasso around him, luring him further each second his eyes were on her. “But I haven’t taken you out yet, and I really want to do that too.”

“Oh my God, you asshole,” Aelin breathed, her little bubble of desire popped. “You have never, ever, taken me out on a proper date.” The gape in her mouth turned into a cackle, but she still swatted his arm. “You’ve fucked me in every single posi—“

“I know.”

“We have a five-year-old together, Rowan.” Aelin’s tone was full of mock-indignation, but he didn’t feel as playful as she did right now.

“I know,” he repeated with a tight chest. When Rowan said he hadn’t taken Aelin out yet, he didn’t realize he hadn’t ever done that. They’ve gone out, yes, but never as a proper date. And this was one more thing to his ever-growing list of things he fucked up by not doing. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” he said, with a deeper meaning than what he let on.

Aelin had a bright grin on, clueless to the guilt weighing on the back of his mind. “You better.”

˜˜

They arrived at his house at dawn, when another ambulance and team of instructors took over the same trainees.

He replayed every moment with Aelin on the way home, while she dozed on the passenger side. He stayed at the ambulance with “the trainees” (i.e., Aelin) longer than usual, but not enough Cairn could make a reasonable complaint. And Sergeant Allsbrook, the driver, definitely saw them flirting by the side of that ambulance, but Rowan’s touches were barely bordering the line between proper and not.

He’s not the type to worry about such things, but he couldn’t help it this time.

The trip through memory lane Lorcan dragged him to today wasn’t pleasant, and it weighed on his mind. Theirs is just one of the many sex scandals inside the Air Force—they happen every time, regardless of sexuality, age or rank. It never made anyone forget about his, though.

Rowan never minded it. It was such a scandal back then, the drill instructor’s suicidal affair with the Brigadier’s niece that led to imprisonment and a baby. Still, he wore the whispers surrounding him like an insignia on his uniform because he’d never feel ashamed of his own family.

But being a female officer, Rowan knows what happened five years ago impacted Aelin’s reputation differently than his.

She always played it cool and said she didn’t care, and he believed her, but still—

He banged his head against the steering wheel with a low groan, which made the car horn despite his efforts to keep it quiet.

Aelin jumped on her seat with the honk, her hand flying to her chest as she was brutally woken from her nap.

“I’m sorry.” Rowan kissed her cheek, his self-reproach making his throat even thicker because he was planning to carry her to bed.

She lazily shook her head and said, “S’alright. The drive’s over anyway.” Aelin pulled his lips to hers, but before he could deepen the kiss, she pulled away with a wrinkled nose.

“You stink.”

Rowan tried to keep a straight face at the sight of her mock-disgust and sleepy eyes, but couldn’t contain a snort.

“It’s almost as if I was training forty people in the mud,” he said, releasing her only to flick her nose.

“I’m only hearing excuses.” She undid her seatbelt and squinted her eyes at him. “What I want to hear is the shower running, or…”

“Or?” He raised an eyebrow, not bothering to hide his smirk.

Aelin crossed her arms. “You don’t even even want to hear it, Officer.”

Unable to restrain himself, Rowan smacked another kiss on her—this one she didn’t protest—and ran to the shower.

If Aelin wasn’t used to his state after work, it’s because he usually showers there, before coming home. But she was with him today, and she looked so tired after their shift Rowan just wanted to take her home with him.

In the bathroom, he was even faster than usual. If military training made his showers quick, Aelin waiting for him in his bedroom was even more effective.

Not quick enough, given the way she knocked on the door.

“I’m almost done!” Rowan called, but it didn’t stop Aelin from opening it.

“Pity,” she said by the threshold, with her head tilted and body fully naked. “I was going to join you.”

His mind short-circuited, like it always did whenever Aelin took her clothes off.

Her smirk grew, like it always did whenever Rowan looked dumbstruck because of her.

“I can’t believe you’re letting a tub this big go unused,” she said while making her way to him.

Rowan didn’t have the heart to tell her he couldn’t even remember the last time he laid in that bathtub. It just came with the house.

Still, nothing was keeping Aelin from her tub bath. Not even the expired bath bombs she found in the back of his cabinet.

“You have to admit how nice it is,” she said after everything was ready and they were tangled together in it.

Rowan would never say it out loud and ruin the experience for her, but the only thing about this bath that undeniably appealed to him was the naked lady on his lap.

She sat straighter, looking around with a frown. “Where’s the body wash?”

Without a comment, Rowan outstretched his arm and grabbed it for her. He wouldn’t point it out and be a jerk, but it was the only bottle there.

“Not the shampoo.” She pointed at the bun that kept her hair dry. “The body wash.”

“That’s it.” Gods, he felt like such an ass to point out the obvious. Felt like… menlucidate? Mensplain? Elide taught it to Lorcan and Lorcan taught it to him. Rowan watched out for it ever since, and he wouldn’t stay on the subject if Aelin weren’t the one pressing on it. He pointed at the label. “It’s for the head… and shoulders. It’s both.” His finger trailed down to the description. “It’s 7 in 1.”

Aelin blinked one, three, too many times. Her mouth opened. And closed. When her chest and shoulders began to tremble, she clamped her mouth shut, biting the inside of her lip. But then she opened her mouth to speak, and it was like opening a dam. Her laughter boomed inside his bathroom, its sound ricocheting on the dull tiles as Rowan soaked it up into his every pore. She leaned into him after a moment, and he supported Aelin’s shaking body as he felt her wheeze against his neck.

He squeezed her waist and murmured, “What was that about?”

With no small amount of amusement, Aelin gave him a long explanation on why his soap not only didn’t work as a body wash, but was actually bad for the skin. She even bothered to read all the seven functions in tiny letters and, indeed, all of them were related to the hair and scalp.

“You’re telling me I bought a 7 in 1 soap… and not one of the seven functions is soap?”

Aelin shook her head and planted a kiss on his cheek. “You silly Buzzard.”

She put a little product on her hand, but Rowan stopped her with a hand to her wrist. “I thought it was bad for your skin?”

He could still find something else for her, even if it were Maisie’s baby soap. Rowan himself might be lacking in this department, but he followed Aelin’s every rule on how to take care of their daughter’s skin and hair.

After gently pulling her wrists free, she scrubbed her arms and shoulders. “Just this once won’t hurt.”

“Alright, then.” He dropped some shampoo on his palms as well, softly rubbing it over Aelin’s sides and tugging her closer with both hands on her ass.

With both arms loose around his shoulders, she gave him a lazy kiss, her tongue teasing his with slow strokes that didn’t match the pace of his heartbeat.

He broke the kiss. “Which soap do you like?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Oh, but he would. Rowan frowned.

Her head tilted as she chuckled. “I mean it. I can bring one for myself.”

Well, that wasn’t an option. If anything, he could just go to one of the frilly shops at the mall he always mocked and get some lavender somethings for when she’s here.

Things with Aelin had been so easy lately, it was in moments like this that Rowan got the painful reminder that this was a trial test of sorts. And if she decided she’s actually better off without him, he just hoped to survive the crash. And in the meantime he’d be the most reliable, supportive partner because Aelin might think he deserves this second chance, but Rowan has yet to believe it himself.

“Hey.” She smoothed the crease between his eyebrows with her thumb. “Where’d you go?”

Rowan swallowed, his eyes fixed on her. “I love you.”

She leaned closer, stroking his cheek with a smile. “I love you too.”

He didn’t object as she dumped some of the shampoo into his short hair. Rowan closed his eyes as she scrubbed his scalp, melting away the tension in his shoulders. He didn’t even fight the goosebumps, just surrendered to Aelin’s fingers.

“You’re no better than a house cat,” she said, massaging his head. He let out a low noise in his throat that might very well have been a purr.

She pushed down on his shoulders, beckoning him to dunk under the water. When Rowan surfaced, he sat down straighter and pulled her for a kiss.

Aelin was soft and sweet as she opened her mouth to let him in, melting into his embrace. But then the mood shifted, her kiss as hungry as the fingers that traveled down his torso.

“I thought…” Rowan had to restart his brain as she shifted on his lap, teasing his cock. “You’re not tired?”

They hadn’t slept at all in the last 24 hours, so he wasn’t expecting—

“A quickie?” His mouth on her neck made her whimper, her voice faltering before she asked, “Please?”

“So polite,” he murmured and moved down to her wet breasts, giving them attention with either his mouth or hands, making Aelin quiver under his touch.

Since they were alone in the house, her loud moan when his mouth closed around her nipple was a small luxury for both of them. Aelin for letting loose, Rowan for what those sounds evoked in him.

He tangled his fingers in her hair to bring her mouth to his, and she didn’t protest at his damp fingers on her safely dry hair. Rowan groped the outline of her frame until his hand landed on the apex between her thighs, his fingers finding their way in her body blindly.

However, Aelin stopped him, increasing the distance between their hips as she broke their kiss, maintaining her face a breath away from his.

She grabbed his cock, handling it with such certainty one might think she was holding her favorite sex toy. Aelin gave it one, two pumps under water before guiding his tip to her entrance.

When she was about to sink down on him, she froze.

“Um.” Aelin cleared her throat, giving their hips a pointed look. “Do you mind if I…?”

“You don’t have to ask, baby,” Was all the warning Rowan gave before snapping his hips up, water sloshing out of the bathtub while she held onto him.

Aelin’s moan was long and the most delicious sound to hear, and she only needed a moment to adjust before riding him like a dream.

She held on tight to him, the roll of her hips and consequent whimpers were intoxicating, and Rowan could very easily lose his mind with the pressure of her walls squeezing his cock in. The water from the bath was already cold, but it didn’t stop the heat spreading under his skin, or the tension coiling in his already taut muscles.

Not used to the passive role Aelin put him in, Rowan held on to the side of the tub and thrust from underneath her, making her cry out from the added pressure.

“Fuck,” she panted, “Rowan—”

He turned her face to his by the roots of her hair. “Say my name again.”

A troublesome glint flickered in her eyes. “Fuck me like that again.”

And that he did, pounding his hips up with abandon while she took him with an arched back like the good girl she was. The sight of it alone was maddening. Water sloshing everywhere from Aelin’s hungry rhythm, her breasts bouncing as she did it, and her face contorted with pleasure.

Aelin’s hand disappeared underwater, between their hips, around the time Rowan noticed his own building pleasure was becoming too much. He swatted her hand away and replaced it with his own, rubbing her clit with slow circles.

He didn’t stop when Aelin’s hips stuttered, nor when her walls spasmed around him. Rowan could barely comprehend the strangled noises she let out before falling apart on top of him, because he was the one being pushed over the edge now. His tension snapping was the last warning he got before emptying himself inside of Aelin, and his body dissolved into pleasure while he pulled her for a hug.

“We’ve been in this tub for so long, I’m probably just a big wrinkle by now.” She held up one hand to make her point.

Rowan chuckled, took that hand and kissed each wrinkled fingertip. “We should go to bed.”

“I hope you didn’t plan a brunch date. I think I’ll be dead by brunch time,” Aelin said while detangling herself from him, reaching for her towel.

Rowan followed her, a funny feeling in his stomach while he watched her get ready to bed. With him. “We can do anything you want.”

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[citronverveine]

about multishipping and hualian

first of all: this post isn’t directed to anyone in particular, i just want to put my thoughts down on here because the way i multiship in tgcf is kind of different from the way i multiship in other media.

so the thing is, i have ships where hualian are not together, but. it’s always with "hualian endgame" in mind. i can’t see either of them permanently in another relationship.

i like the thought of feng xin pining on xie lian as a teenager, because he admired him so much. maybe he made it known, maybe not (probably not, imo, for all the respect he had for him), maybe he wasn’t even aware of it. i just love thinking of him having to navigate confusing feelings towards xie lian, the person he swore to follow and protect anyway. his friend. the blurred lines of how close he should be or not! i just love it.

i like the thought of junlian because it is fucked up. i once saw someone say that people who ship junlian "need to reread the book". and i was just like. do you think i ship junlian because they’re in love? because i want them to live happily ever after with each other? i ship them because it’s so fucking angsty, because i love to imagine jun wu breaking xie lian mentally so much that xie lian can only turn to him for comfort (like he did when bwx hugged and comforted him in book 4). the pain is the gain, it’s the angst that i love. but of course they are not fit for each other in a healthy way. of course they can’t be happy (at least not xie lian) together.

i like the thought of huaxuan being each other’s only companion in misery. he xuan hating hua cheng but simultaneously admiring him. hua cheng taking his anger and frustration out on he xuan. do i think it’s canon? no, but i like imagining it.

i think those are the only ships i have that separate hualian, but like. the point is that the relationships can’t work. hualian will always need and want each other. they can’t be fulfilled and happy without each other in my eyes.

[skiiyoomin]

I was wondering if you could write a saiki & reader oneshot fic with a reader who has DID & C-PTSD and paranoid tendencies? I understand that that might be a bit too hard to write but just in case I got some recorces that might be handy, here is the link to DID listing from my own copy of the newest version of the DSM https://www.dropbox.com/sh/htaraej65e34tg9/AADBATmelRQFUBfTMxaJ3W6wa?dl=0 as well as this website that has a lot of good info on it https://did-research.org/ and this page I found that has a brief overview of C-PTSD https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24881-cptsd-complex-ptsd but I also recommend quickly reading thru the different types of flashbacks (shouldn't be that hard to find info on)

The main idea is that because of the mix dissociation,switching,paranoia, different types of flashbacks etc that the readers thoughts are very fucking confusing to saiki (feel free to use this premise for any kind of plot you want just try not to make it overly angsty is all I ask, well as un-angsty as you can get with C-PTSD anyways lol) I just wanna see more y/n / reader inserts that I can actually relate to but the saiki K fandom is so small

Can be platonic or romantic

Hi!! So sorry for the late reply, I researched as much as I could so if theres anything remotely wrong or different please tell me! Ngl, im not very sure i like how it turned out, nevertheless I hope you enjoy :))

Also i totally get that its hard finding stuff for saiki k which is the reason why i write for it in the first place, they totally deserve more recognition!! Feel free to send more requests in the future!!

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Content: somewhat angsty but not really, i tried to be as vague as possible so as not to trigger anyone, reader suffers from trauma, DID, CPTSD, swearing, fluffy ending? slightly oc saiki

Summary: Saiki was used to listening to many types of thoughts, and at one point, nothing he heard surprised him. However when you came around, he was beyond confused. What sparks as a little curiosity might turn into something more.

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧���ﾟ:

ღNo matter what

He was used to it, or at least that's what he used to tell himself. Throughout the years he had heard all sorts of thoughts, at one point, he learned to tune them out when need be, having listened in on weird enough ideas that now don't surprise him anymore.

When you came in the picture, he was...baffled, to say the least. Confusing wasn't even close of a word to express how he felt. Your thought process was anything but simple. At times it'd be a fuzzy mess almost as if you lost part of your memory, other times, you'd think as if you were a completely different person, contradicting many of your previous thoughts. But what disturbed him most was the series of traumatic thoughts that would cross your mind. Flashbacks he realized in that moment.

In the beginning he felt annoyed, as per usual. Often times, he'd find you in class with a dazed expression, which to be frank, he had seen enough times to not give it a second thought. But then his attention would be caught when your mind would wander and you'd start thinking in a very unusual way. They were so unlike the person you presented to be, so much so that Saiki was left perplexed and in need to understand exactly what was going on.

The more it happened the more worried he'd be. There were days where you acted a certain way, and other days where you acted completely different. He could tell you weren't being fake trying to act differently for attention, after all, your thoughts lined up with the you acted and the things you said. Rather, it was the abrupt changes in your behaviour that had him thinking for far longer than he normally would.

Along the way, he also picked up how you'd flinch if you were in sudden physical contact, the way your shoulders would tense and the way your heart beat would speed up. Saiki wasn't stupid of course, he was aware that all of this was caused by some form of trauma.

He knew not to pry, yet his heart strings pulled everytime he saw you having a bad moment. So he began to follow you, in disguise of course, and even if he seemed like a stalker, he couldn't help it. Eventually he began to connect the dots, your reactions, behaviors, everything. It made sense now.

Unconciously, his words began to soften around you, his touch became gentler, he looked out for you in ways he had never done so with others. You began to notice but in no way did you mind, if anything, Saiki was someone you took great comfort in. What started of small slowly grew into something neither of you expected.

Of course, that didn't make it any less hard for either of you. Like right now. You were laying in Saikis bed, your head resting on his shoulder as you watched a movie, when suddenly a specific scene had triggered an anxiety attack. Your mind was racing through flashbacks of the many disturbing events you had gone through. Saiki was up almost immediately, having read your mind and sensed your reaction.

His touch was soft, his hands cupping your face so gently you'd think he was scared to break you, which he was. He was in no way someone who could comfort others easily. Nevertheless he tried his best. He attempted to lower your heart rate, rubbing small circles against your back as his other hand held the back of your head. No words were needed, they never were. He had, in a way, been there for you, way before you two even became a thing, so none of this was a surprise for either of you.

That didn't ease the guilt in your heart any less. You always felt bad. You knew Saiki could read you, literally. And well, it wasn't pretty. Countless times you had attempted to push him away, yet he never budged.

"'m sorry" you mumbled against his shoulder as your rested your head on it.

He cupped your face in his hands, pulling you to look at him.

`I won't let you push me away. The things you went through won't make me see you any differently, because to me you'll still be someone I cherish'

Your eyes welled up as you looked him deep in the eyes, finding nothing but love for you. Still cupping your face, he ran his thumbs under your eyes, wiping the tears away. He leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead.

'I love you'

"No matter what?"

`No matter what'

[variousqueerthings]

Regency England. Bit more black than they show in the movies.

it's "thin ice," which is personally the episode to me that cements some of this season's (perhaps some of this era's?) ethos. it's also the one that people often bring up about twelve-as-the-doctor, and I do appreciate it. I've had critique of twelve's writing throughout most of s8 and a faaair bit of s9, and I think the twelve that people fondly remember is mainly s10 (with a dash of s9 and a few choice scenes in s8 -- it's not all bad) but I am happy that capaldi was able to give the doctor real nuance bit by bit until we got to this point and can sort of feed that back down the line, even though I'm not convinced that the beginning of writing him knew what it was doing entirely

also this episode has a really big fish in it. and the fish... is people! (sort of, it's an animal, but animals are people!)

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 10/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 7/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 7/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 6/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 7/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 8/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 8/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 10/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 7/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 7/10

FULL RATING: 77/100 (if I can count….)

imagine if we'd had this the whole time...

OBJECTIFICATION: Bill wears this really cute regency fit, the Doctor's swaggering about in a top hat he then gives to a homeless kid, looks upon looks

PLOT-POINT: Bill and the Doctor unexpectedly land in the past (no doubt because the Tardis doesn't want to end things just yet), and she navigates everything from being Black to the Doctor's morality. it's a very clear trajectory from episode one (the wonder, but with some personal sadness), episode two (the danger, but with the feeling of doing good) -- in episode three, Bill realises that things aren't so clearcut, and that the Doctor is, despite being her professor, a bit of an enigma to her

it's not as big of a Thing as back with Rose in s1 or Clara in s8, where they were both really wondering whether the Doctor wasn't a bit fucking unhinged (I'd say Martha as well, but her unhinged Doctor flavour was... unique RIP), but it's a bit of that

of course the Doctor has had their own character growth by now so is sort of more able to not fall to pieces on the whole + isn't the kind to seemingly ignore suffering for the sake of the bigger picture, which I don't think would have been on with Bill at all. yes the Doctor speaks about the bigger picture, but it's about protecting the kids

also I think Bill witnessing the Doctor standing up for her was good for her belief in him, as well as her own worth

COMPLEXITY: it's quite a simple plot. a child just fully dies relatively early on, and I don't know why that's shocking but it just is. I think because the plot is on the whole a tad on the sillier side, but then the villain is truly vile, and the the heart is very much in the right place (what if orphan kids were people! what if big fish trapped in the Thames was people!) so it becomes very Doctor Who

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: there's not technically much Big plot advancement, but Bill and the Doctor feel like they advance a lot in their understandings and trust of one another

at the end of it there's a bit of spooky banging on the door, and it's the Master we know this. knowing it's the Master makes me wonder a bit about how the various hints work out. I need to rewatch the bits where the Master is properly revealed, because yes they're bored and frustrated, but how do they really feel about the Doctor seemingly ignoring them/moving on at this point. banging on the door and all that, but that feels more for effect. idk what I'm saying here, it's not actually critique, I think I'm just wondering about a fic from the Master's perspective while locked up

COMPANIONS MATTER: yeah Bill is both emotionally and practically important in this! it's been more than a week so some of the details are hazy, but she definitely Participates. I think a little less on her own steam than in some others, but definitely doing some Stuff

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: as far as I remember there's nothing egregious in this episode beyond the fact that the Doctor takes charge most of the time and there aren't any really distinguishable single-episode characters who carry some of that side of things. there's the bad guy and the kids, and youknow... hypocritical perhaps, considering how often I've felt like this era has had kids who were kind of superfluous to plot and often unfortunately not good actors, but I'd have liked to have seen more of these kids beyond the Idea of them, if that makes any sense

they're introduced very strongly with the pick-pocketing and the death and finding out where they live, but for the main gist they fall a bit on the wayside

maybe this is the wrong point to be talking about that -- my point is, if the episode had been able to make the kids make more choices in the plot, then the Doctor could have been leading it slightly less

it's not a big thing, it's just a thing

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: the Doctor's been to the frost fair a few times, which is very funny to me and gets a mention. otherwise this isn't much of a referencing episode, and that's fine

“SEXINESS”: can we cross this one off the list for good? (almost, but there's ooone episode I just wanna talk about... well, and then I don't remember if it gets really bad near the end, it's a bit of a risk, as much as I'm so into Gomez!Master, sometimes she does still get the bad dialogue + with the sexism Type that they write the first doctor as at the end of the season... we'll see...)

INTERNAL WORLD: it's the frost fair of 1814. there's circus. there's orphans. there's an evil rich man. there's the Thames. there's the big fish under the Thames. I mean, what more do you need tbh

POLITICS: this is the episode that's famous for the Doctor punching a racist in the face. I cannot say if anyone would have preferred it to be Bill or for it to not have happened at all or... personally I think it's pretty great and of course feels a bit like a direct answer to critique no doubt gotten for some of Martha-in-the-past episodes, where the Doctor never stood up for her and she never really had her worries/fears taken seriously

in this episode you've got a very similar beginning (stepping out of the Tardis and getting nervous because it is 1814), the Doctor allaying those fears in a way that I think was pretty acknowledging of them, while also giving us Black people 1814, as youknow... there were Black people in 1814. including one of the single-episode main characters, so it's not just background characters and Bill

and then the Doctor loses his cool because of racism, which is both admirable and unhelpful to their situation, as it does get them captured. but youknow. you wanted the Doctor to stand up for Martha and this feels like a long time coming -- I don't think it needed to be subtle, I think a bit in-your-face was very needed. now the question ofc is whether we think Ryan and Yaz in chibnall!era are able to continue that... I don't remember

and the next question of course is whether the fifteenth Doctor adds even more layers to the story as a Black character (Ncuti Gatwa at least has said that he thinks so, which is exciting). as a whole though, it's interesting watching this from the perspective of where we are now. Freema Agyeman as Martha shouldered a lot of weight and while I think her character was fantastic and her arc was interesting and nuanced, we know they didn't (and the fandom certainly didn't) give proper space for her to be a Black woman and also just... didn't give her space, in various ways -- however one might have seen it, gracious read is that they "wanted her to be like any other (white) companion, without being singled out," or "they were afraid of writing race," or or or... we know it can be done better (and that if Martha were to come back, say, right now.............) Bill was a very different character to Martha, and after her Ryan joined the team, and since then Rose (Noble), and the fifteenth Doctor are now a part of a much bigger, more exciting (or maybe I should say less depressing) analysis of writing Black characters on Doctor Who, which will only grow as the character roster grows

and the thing is, this season isn't just "important because we need to support Black characters in scifi" in the sense that it's badly written and we're kiiind of gritting our teeth through it, it's... it's quite good. it's not perfect, and I think others could give a much more in-depth analysis of that than I can (specifically in terms of race), but as a trajectory both for writing Black women, for writing marginalised main characters generally, for writing queerness -- which is more my wheelhouse to critique and I do -- for writing the twelfth Doctor's character arc, for the end of this particular era of the show... I think it deserves that kudos. sometimes. someone's gotta punch a racist in the face. and a Black woman can know that her white buddy has got her back. and the two of you can save a big fish and a bunch of homeless orphans and get said racist eaten (or drowned, I forget if the fish got him)

that's good political theory

I want to also note the orphan kids. I mentioned I wish they'd been more fleshed out after the first act/been more heavily involved in the plot, so that the ending really pinpointed how it wasn't just good because homeless kids is... bad... but specifically also from a character standpoint. this especially because one of them died at the beginning, and I feel like it didn't quite sit through the rest of the story -- that being said ofc, the ending is neat. good on you Bill for getting this through and confirming it happened

FULL RATING: 77/100 (if I can count….)

I feel like I did a good summary in the above point. solid stuff. big fish

Just realised "thin ice" obviously also refers to someone who is metaphorically on thin ice- we talking the Doctor taking Bill out even though he's not supposed to? the Doctor and Bill's relationship having a tense moment? the Doctor generally getting "bored" and needing to do something? perhaps and yes, and also ooh big fish

[super-hero-confessions]

Billy Butcher is a genuinely worse person than Homelander and this is plain to see when you actually read the comics.

Homelander actually feels disgusted with himself when he does bad things. And he only does them because he's been led to believe he was horrible without actually having done any of the shit he's blackmailed for in the photos and videos. Including what happened to Becky.

If it's not clear. It was Black Noir, a clone of Homelander, who put on his costume, did those terrible things and enjoyed them, and then took pictures and videos to frame Homelander. Noir was the one to rape Becky, but Homelander got the blame.

And the very few things we actually see Homelander do show us how much revulsion he feels from doing them, to the point where he throws up and has a visceral reaction, like he doesn't actually want to and isn't used to it. Asking himself "what have I done?".

That's far from a spoiler at this point, these comics have been out in full, for several years now. I'm not gonna pull punches or be dishonest about it like some people confessing weird out of context bullshit either.

In contrast.

Butcher kills all of his friends, excuse me. All of the people he used and lied to and made believe he was actually their friend, with no remorse or second thought. Or at least tries to.

Kimiko. Frenchie. MM. Even Vas (Love Sausage). All of them die by Billy's hands. For no other reason beyond.

"They're supes."

Despite the fact that this is after he discovered he was wrong about Homelander the whole fucking time.

Down to trying to kill MM's momma. Down to killing Janine's fucking mother in front of her so that she witnesses it. And then makes sure MM knows that for Billy, he "ain't got no mates".

Hughie is the only one to survive because after killing the others, Butcher threatens to kill Starlight and says he won't stop unless Hughie stops him.

There's no question here. Butcher was always the bigger monster. He just didn't have the power to be as bad as Homelander could be. Potentially.

Potentially. And that is a huge fucking key word.

Barring the fact that Homelander never actually met that potential or even wanted it. Noir was the actual monster, using Billy to confuse him into believing he had, so he would try. Just so the clone could swoop in kill him.

Imagine that.

And there are still people deranged enough to think there's any kind of contest on who's worse between Billy and Homelander?

Fuck's sake, this guy immediately kills a fucking premie baby instead of trying to pacify it because it's terrified out of its mind and has powers it can't control. With a lamp.

I love the show, I love the portrayals and the jobs done by the actors. I think it does a great job touching on the important topics and themes in the comics while connecting it to current events. I do hope it has a different ending. But one thing's clear.

While the characters are fundamentally the same at their cores. They made Billy softer and sweeter while they made Homelander harder and more ruthless in order to make the dynamic more mainstream and less controversial. Which is honestly a bit disappointing.

It also makes me a little worried because if they don't find a way to navigate that well, it may mean they've messed up the finish line before we could ever reach it. They could definitely go for something more comic accurate or even include Billy killing Ryan and just not caring anymore as per typical Butcher fashion, but given that they've already chickened out on some of the more intense stuff, I can't say it's high in the hopes factor.

And a happy ending doesn't exactly feel appropriate either.

But who knows, maybe the set up is there specifically to make everything hurt that much more in the end if or when Billy betrays everyone.

And this is coming from someone who is ecstatic to see Homelander go on a chaotic rampage of blood, death, and destruction. Bring it the fuck on you goddamn chaos cockteases.

But yeah, no. It's no contest. Billy is a far worse character than Homelander in the comics, and he has the potential to get a lot worse in the show. He's not there yet, but it's pretty clear he actively wants to be and it's grating him that he isn't yet.

Guess it'll be interesting to see if that comes to fruition or if there's even some crazy twist that shows us Homelander isn't as bad as people think.

[slocumjoe]

If you were to rate the Fo4 companions from most to least favourite how would you rate them?

I can't list them in order, because I have too many feelings on them....and also, I love them all! It's just...there's such a Rollercoaster of quality of writing, of character concept, of VA performance, of actual attention and care given to the meat-and-potatoes aspects...

Like, I can say I have a favorite (Danse) and a least favorite (Piper) and a dude in the middle who I give not a crap about (Deacon), but I still like these characters??? They're fun! Its just, I like my idea of them more than what's actually there.

So, uhhhh

RORY TALKS ABOUT THE COMPANIONS 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

this is basically a long-post of a bunch of mini-essays, so grab a snack or nice bev and get cozy

Cait, to me, is a prime example of "this character sounds better on paper". I've already complained about her three greatest flaws; being bloated, being mishandled, and being a very confused character. If I were to describe Cait, it would be that she's a troubled young woman who was traumatized all her life, but understands that it's effected her heavily and wants to work past it and better herself.

In game, she's...an Irish Girl. She talks about drinking and fucking and fighting. If not that, she's detailing her absolutely horrific life. It gives me tonal whiplash. I feel like they were too busy adding things on rather than fleshing her out. I mean, really...what is the significance of the Tough Irish Girl type in the wasteland, where everyone acts that way? Is Cait an example of your average wastelander, someone whos supposed to show the daily life in this world? Well...no, that can't be it, she's put away from others, an outsider who doesn't fit in whatever circumstances she finds herself in. She doesn't belong with raiders, she doesn't fit into the average civilian life. So, is she about ostracization and how even after being nuked, there still is a society to ostracize people? That is brought up in text, but that's not at all Cait's thing, that concept is with Hancock.

I travel with Cait to quickly get her affinity up to speedrun her "recovery" (see the Cait breakdown to learn my thoughts on That Fucking Chair) because I want her to get better...but I don't like traveling with her that much. It's not just that she often disagrees with my usual choices, she's just rather flat. I don't get the impression that the writers really considered her psychology, what she stood for, what someone should or could take away from her.

But I like her conceptually. There's a lot of fun and emotional catharsis to be had with a traumatized character like her, someone who has to navigate life after escaping her bad situations, and not knowing what to do with the survival instincts she had to cultivate, but no longer needs.

Codsworth is inoffensive to me, and I like sassy but polite characters. I find them refreshing in settings like Fallout. I had more fun imagining his lines as thinly-veiled bitching than sincerity, though. I think he's fine, just simple. Simple is best, sometimes. I wouldn't trust Beth to give the indentured servitude robot an even remotely palatable story, given how they handled the synths and their whole thing...

But Codsworth, I like having him around. He's the lemon water to the black coffee, sugary soda, whiskey, and occasional cups of tar. He's needed at a palette cleanser.

Curie should have been a main plot companion, argue with the wall. She's a Ms. Nanny who becomes a synth, which are functionally human beings. She has a lot of narrative potential, being an example and counterargument for many different things.

Unfortunately, she's kept mostly a secret, being the most hidden companion, and she's left as a simple French maid fantasy. I'm not even sure why they bothered to make her a doctor. It has nothing to do with how she's actually handled and presented. Curie's more often blushing than meaningfully interacting with the world. She talks to Amari, she becomes a synth, and the rest of her story is just her going KYAA~ at the SS. I wish they gave her some edge, some weirdness. I like my version where she's this slightly pretentious, condescending, incredibly old-seeming entity that clearly doesnt come from around here.

Danse...my boy. My boy. I adore him. You don't need me to explain why. And you don't need me to explain why his incomplete writing infuriates me.

I've said before he's very similar to Hancock, and since I have something else I want to discuss about with Johnny down in this, I'll use Danse's slot to discuss it, very quickly.

Danse and Hancock are remarkably similar people and characters, even there is parts that drift or parallel in their differences.

Substance dependency (Hancock does chems, Danse is a canonical alcoholic)

They both struggled to find their footing and place in the world, and hate the people they were in their act 1's (Hancock's takes place during his founding of Goodneighbor, Danse's after BB)

They're fiercely loyal and protective of 'their people', even if it can take a LOT for them to consider someone 'their people'

Both are suicidal and identity plays a huge part (Hancock pretends to be someone he isn't, Danse is desperate to be the person he thought he was this whole time/hates that he isn't who he thought he was)

Both of these characters are two sides of the same coin. It's just that Danse's upbringing led him to believe in authority and control being the best way to help and take care of the wasteland, Hancock's upbringing (filled with corrupt authority and control) led him to believe in an egalitarian, we-all-lift mindset where the people have the power, he's just the guy who people talk to about any issues. It's somewhat implied that Cutler was similar to Hancock, judging by Danse's few lines about Cutler.

So uuuhhh Todd where the fuck is the last 2 arcs for danse and last arc for hancock? todd? todd where the fu

As said above, Deacon is nothing to me. I like him. I don't care about him much. I think he's fun to play with, but the moment you start getting into his backstory/angst, I slide right the fuck off.

Okay, the Barb thing. Dead wife. Fucking boring story, done to death. At the point I met Deacon, I had already met Mac, Nick, knew of Longfellow and his deal. So it was like "JESUS they really dont know any other reason for a dude to be sad, do they." But the thing that keeps me from caring about Deacon is that no one can agree if Barb is real. If that actually happened.

...his backstory is supposed to inform his character. Why is Deacon doing this? Because of his backstory. If his backstory isn't real, we know nothing about Deacon, and he is, functionally, not a character. Why does Deacon lie if Barb didnt happen? Dunno. He just...does. Why is Deacon helping synths? Uhh...we needed an RR companion? Deacon's character rides or dies on Barb. If she's real, then the rest of him makes sense. She's the windex and towel to the cloudy glass house that is the rest of him. If she isn't, Deacon...doesn't matter, in any meaningful way. He's a guy in the RR who lies about everything, which means you can't care about him. Because there is nothing to care about, because it's all bullshit.

So, that's my thoughts on Deacon, in-canon. I don't know what his deal is or if his proposed deal is genuine, so I can't click with him. But in my own canon, Barb is real, so my Deacon ken-doll does appeal to me. But in Fallout 4, in text, I regard him the same as I do Tom Bombadil. To give you an idea of how flimsy Deacon is in text, a prevailing fan theory from around 2017-18 was that Deacon was Mrs. Rosa's son. Mrs. Rosa was a pre-war neighbor. Her son was a kid. The fact that Deacon is so weird and fluid and almost omniscient isn't a plus for me, it isn't a point of fascination. It's a puzzle that I know doesn't have a finished product, so I leave and go hang out with Danse, who can't speak if he isn't being absurdly blunt.

Gage is a character that deserved a better DLC. The more I think about Nuka World the more I kinda wish it was just Gage and the handmade rifle, instead the map...but that's about Nuka World. Gage himself could have easily been a swing and a miss and fall face-first into the dirt, but he's a surprisingly well-written character? There are layers of psychology with him. You can look at an action or opinion he has, and map it to something that happened to him. You can literally unravel why he does what he does, is who he is. His writers had a concept for him, and they worked backwards to understand why he would become that way.

What really sells him is his VA. Rolston put his whole pussy into that performance. Gage has so many lines that would be utter cringe if not full-assed. The "That vault suit makes your ass look great" line comes to mind...i've seen modded followers with similar lines, and jesus christ i want to pepper spray some of them. It helps that Gage has multiple faucets to his personality. It also helps that he is intentionally distinct from the other raiders, and occasionally doesn't associate with them, himself. It gives him standards and principles, which help give him shape and dimension. Good character. He isn't my favorite, that's Danse, but he's up there.

Hancock is such a waste of a character and it boggles me no one else seems to think so.

He starts on a bad note because his core reason for existing, is Beth wanted a historical figure reference. There's a reason he gives you a history lesson about John Hancock, it's so everyone knows exaclty what Johnny Ghoulie is a reference to. It's not even so much a reference, because it is a direct mimicking. I cannot stand the moments in 4 where something exists because the team learned a fun historical trivia fact, and wanted to pepper in that they did research. I've already bitched about their love of this with the Railroad at some point on this blog.

I genuinely wouldn't mind Hancock if he wasn't pulling so limp-dickedly. It's specifically the contrivance of explaining why this dude is called John Hancock, in John Hancock's clothing. It's okay if they pull from history and allude to it, But Hancock is just...some history stuff tacked on, with no real thought or care. The clothing, the name, the catchphrase. I feel like this is Disney's Hamilton on Ice.

But moving away from that...what is the point of Hancock?

Is his character about drug use and addiction? NOPE, only Cait's addiction is noteworthy. Okay...idenity issues, since he's larping? Not really. It could be, but that's not at all of interest to the story/writing itself. The Hancock thing is an aesthetic, not a trait. So, don't have that either. Is his character about leadership, in any capacity? Kinda, I guess. He briefly mentions insecurities and guilt about it a few times. But if I said "Hancock's story is about leadership", most people would raise an eyebrow and ask why. Not because it's...wrong, it's just not prominent enough to say that's his story, definitively.

So...what is the point of him? What should I take away from Hancock? Duty to the people? Preston does that, and does it better/more explicitly. Regret about past actions? Mac does that. Protecting the people from political corruption? Piper's thing (AND WE'LL GET TO FUCKING PIPER.) What is there to Hancock that isn't done by another companion? It isn't his depression because ALL these bitches be suicidal. What is unique to Hancock? Pretending to be someone else? Deacon. Drugs? Cait. Trying to figure out who you are, removed from the expections that come with having been someone else? Nick. Leadership, and the failures of it? Danse. Struggling to navigate the world in a new, different body, as a new person, functionally? Curie.

The only thing I can think of is mentioned only twice, and is immediately brushed off; the questionable nature of your leader being buddy-buddy with you, and acting like 'one of the bros' even as they hold power over you and have resources you don't. Parasocial government, if you will. It's brought up by Finn and Bobby No-Nose and is shut down/forgotten.

So...the only thing unique to Hancock, and it's regulated to, like, 3 individual throw-away lines. 2 of which you can miss.

Great.

Again, I like him. I just like him when I'm writing him, and can actually have him work through his shit and concepts. But as he stands, he's just...hey, y'know John Hancock? New Vegas also pulled from history, but New Vegas had shit to say about it. There was debating. There was actual philosophy and politics. There wasn't some dude named Caesar who was just...hanging out. What does Fallout 4 say about John Hancock?

Here's something you can say about Hancock; Hancock owned slaves. He inherited them from his uncle, Thomas Hancock. He later freed them due to terms in Thomas' will. But the guy Fallout 4 meagerly puts up as a figure of freedom and independence, and duty to fellow man, was a slave owner, and had slave owning family.

So, what does that mean for our Hancock? Who looked up to this guy, mantled him, and this guy is, in some way, a perversion of his own ideals.

And our Hancock's favorite quote is from Lincoln. Who started the Civil War. Did Lincoln own slaves? Contested, i couldn't find any clear answers. But Hancock mantles a slave owner, using a quote from the president that would try to outlaw slavery, while pushing for freedom and independence and anarchist rhetoric.

Is that the best you can do with Hancock? No. But it's an example.

MacCready, I've compared to a can of Campbell's soup. He's simple, he's decently-done. He's not Codsworth's lemon water but he isn't Cait's tar. I often struggle to write MacCready because he's so simple. There's not much there, he isn't a complex character. He's not even a complex person. And I like that! I like that the grumpy mercenary is a normal guy, who's just going through the motions and has simple desires. His type is often tar and I'm happy to see that subverted.

Its just that his lack of complexity means there's not much to say about him that you don't already know. He's accessible, which is a good thing. Most people don't want to drink tar, but if you're reaching for a fun beverage, you're not often reaching for water, either.

I think the best thing about MacCready is how excellent he is as a romance option. I think he's the strongest romantic choice in the game, period, largely due to him being a simple guy. I would go for MacCready IRL, because he's a good dad, he has good work ethic, and he's emotionally available and isn't afraid to talk feelings, without being a clusterfuck of issues. I love Danse, but you have to talk him out of suicide before you do anything, and he himself will admit that there's going to be a lot of issues simply because he doesn't know what he's doing or what he wants out of his new life.

You don't get that with MacCready. He knows what he wants and who he is and what he cares about. He's such a solid romantic interest, and there's incredible fic potential with the Sole Survivor and MacCready both as soon-to-be grieving parents.

On the flipside, I can't understand people who romance Nick and think its all sunshine and roses. Mini-rant, but /rad-roche (i think thats their user?) has the right idea, with Nick being a hot mess of unresolved issues who is never not projecting or in denial. Nick is not fit for a romantic relationship, not in the state you see him in game. Especially not before Far Harbor. Especially if you don't get the good ending of Far Harbor. I know, bisexual women, I'm sorry. He's got more shit than Danse and Hancock combined. I write romantic Nick prompts as if this isn't the case, but make no mistake. Me giving yall what you want is not me under the impression that this is a good idea.

Anyway. Nick himself.

Dead wife. Booo. I've already complained about his dumbass quest, which i really dislike for all its contrivances. Also, I find him mismatched with the world around him, and I wish there was more attention paid to that. He's a stock character playing out in real life (in Fallout 4's real life, that is). He's a 40's noir flick detective. This character does not belong in a post-apocalypse. This is an urban setting character. Fallout is not urban.

But that doesn't mean he can't exist! I just wish they went more ham with it. I mean, how does a detective function in a lawless wasteland, full of secrets simply because there's so few people see shit happening, know what goes down? It's an information blackout, out there, and a detective is all about information. Nick deserved to be let loose and go full camp on it all. Instead, we got 2 piddly little piss stains of "mystery" side quests. With someone as clashing as Nick, you really need to either sand down the edges to make him fit, or make the fact he's so weird part of the Thing. Nick is played incredibly straight, and given that that man is clearly lgbtq+, i find that almost a waste. Let this man be deranged. This is why Far Harbor is best Nick. He's holding together in the base game, but i don't want him holding together. I want him to suffer. I want him to monolog like Hamlet before driving a cane into someone's forehead.

Now, as for Piper...

Oh, Piper.

You were doomed.

You were so fucking doomed.

I've written about Piper and her shitty paper multiple times, so if you want a refresher, go to my blog > pinned post > meta section, and find the Piper posts. My peer review of The Synthetic Truth will be your best look into what I think of Piper.

The thing is, if you removed her awfully done journalism aspect, I'd like her base form! When she isn't going on and on about shit that's either wrong, baseless, or presumptuous, she's sassy, she's community-orianted, she's mischievous, she's kinda sardonic. She has a sugar problem. She's a burnt out 20 year old with a parentification issue. There's a lot to like here! The problem is they set up the journalism, fuck it up, and then veer hard-right and crash into the "I'm raising a kid when I'm not even an adult either" thing, where it had no build up or time to unfold naturally.

In my own little world, Piper's journalism fuckups are addressed and have consequences. I don't want her smoothed out and perfect, I want her glaring flaws to be intentional and acknowledged. And that just doesn't happen in text.

Ive also got a ramble on my thoughts on Preston. I've said before I don't like his voice acting most of the time, and I actually got a lot of pushback?? But the people who disagreed didnt...disagree...they just pointed out that John Gentry had a gnarly recording circumstance. I think it was that his first takes weren't supposed to be the final product, because he wasn't really intended to be the VA? Something like that, I forget. Point is, I said John Gentry obviously had a rough time in the booth, and wasn't given a fair shot, and people went "No, his voice acting is good! John Gentry just had a rough time with his line recording and wasn't given a fair shot!"

M-ma'am. Thats...what I said.

If it makes anyone feel better, I don't like the majority of the voice acting in this game...a lot of it is very 'modded skyrim character.' Remember the Skyrim Romance Mod? Thats what most of it sounds like to me. Remember Mrs. Peabody? Holy shit. Do not let anyone involved in that cook ever again. I also have personal beef with Nate. The male VA for the SS...someone, somewhere, made a bunch of choices. It was the wrong one, frequently. (The only good male SS line i can think of is the one romancing Danse. Has some texture to it. It's shy and cute, very good)

As for Preston himself, love him, love my paragon good-guy characters. He's such a sweetheart but he's down for bloodshed. I adore those kinds of characters, those "do no harm, take no shit" types. He's treated as a fluffball by fanon (when not suffering racist ass takes or absolute disregard), but Preston has got some lovely edges to him. If you go through his dialogue page and his approvals, you'll find he can be hard at times. There are moments he approves of 'asshole' choices, which is very fun. I love this dude.

Anyway hot take. IF HE WAS WHITE, ALL OF THESE BITCHES WOULD LIKE HIM. YEAH. I SAID IT. He'd be a depressed white man who's buff and kind and snarky, and you Danse girlies, you Nick girlies, you Deacon girlies, all of them would love him too. He is tailor made for standom but nooo, he isn't #FFFFFF so I guess he's doomed to stupid ass settlement jokes.

Yall lack taste. Hawk puhtoo.

SPEAKING OF AWFUL FUCKING TASTE, LEAVE MY BABY X6-88 ALONE.

X6-88 is so unappreciated. Grotesquely so, by both Bethesda and fans.

X6-88, I've said many times, is a spoiled rich man's cat who sits all poised and hisses if you so much as look at it if you're below a certain tax bracket. He's fussy and egotistical and snippy and dislikes bugs, children, water, heights, and generally anything above ground. He gushes over Danse and thinks he's the coolest. He'll let you kill the Institute if you're Railroad or Minutemen and have high affinity with him. He'll brag about getting to travel with you with his courser buddies. He's a fucking dork.

X6-88 is a nerd/prep who could be goth if left in a Hot Topic to run wild, but until then, he's in a suit for his private school and he's going to sit on HIS bench at recess and snipe at the rival school children with his friends and then he goes home and complains that his english eacher failed him on his Roman history test for writing it in perfect Latin. That is X6-88.

If you don't like X6-88 we cannot be friends. Fuckiung look at him. He's such a little shit. He's perfect.

[septima-severa]

Chapter 3 excerpt from Thrawn x reader continuation

I'm currently having a field day with a siege of Naporar. The reader of course escapes, but gets separated from their daughter. I have borrowed the character of Sacher from labelma's fic The Foxes Hunt the Hounds that I have enjoyed immensely. She was so kind to inform me that it might as well be canon that Che'ri later joined Ufsa family to work with Samakro.

We are now in the part where Thrawn sent reader away to keep her safe, but he couldn't know that the Chiss space is riddled with Grysks.

I still haven't read the Ascendancy series and I'm regretting it a big time. I'm missing a lot of crucial information, especially when my next stop will be Borika's sky-walker ranch on Ool. Maybe I will fill it in a post-production stage, I don't know.

Just a reminder - regrettably, this fic won't be posted in full for another few months. Bear with me.

If you dared to think that the situation had been really bad planetside, whatever was waiting for you at the orbit sobered you up quickly. “What the actual fuck?!” you exclaimed in Basic, forgetting yourself momentarily. Somehow, you managed making the pilot laugh, nonetheless.

“And here I thought that swearing was only Ivant’s quality. Seems I’ve been wrong about that assumption!” she said cheerfully. Then she went all businesslike again. “I can see the Silvercrest there,” she mumbled more to herself, attempting to hail the ship she pointed out and – presumably – her superior over the communications platform of the corvette. “The cargo is aboard, Admiral,” she said, sending it out as an encrypted message.

You stole a confused glance towards her, interrupted only by a blaring alarm.

Senior Captain Sacher cursed. “Enemy ship approaching!” She immediately punched it, getting out of the way of a large battlecruiser locking on their position. The force of it pushed you both into the seats, and you prayed that Zieykre and Nuru were alright down there. Not hearing any thumping aside from a startled cry coming from downstairs wasn’t very reassuring, either.

“Can we get out of here?”

“They’re running a blockade, so…”

“Can we get out of the gravitational well at least?”

“Not really,” Sacher gritted her teeth, watching the swarm of ships of various sizes blocking your potential escape route. “And we’re not anywhere near to the established hyperspace line.”

“A blind jump, then?”

“Unless you have a navigator hidden somewhere, no.”

“Let me try.”

She fixed you with a stare screaming disbelief. “WHAT? NO! Admiral would kill me if something happened to you!”

“Do you have any other orders than keeping me alive? Because that’s not going to happen if we stay here,” you snapped.

“To save your neck!” she looked exasperated. Staring you down, her eyes looked like throwing daggers at an insubordinate officer – which, admittedly, you kind of were in this situation. “Fine! Just don’t kill us in collision.” She then quickly started giving you a quick course about how to handle the unfamiliar spacecraft. “The sensory deprivation helmet is behind you,” she added as an afterthought.

Instead of losing precious time by reaching for it, you proceeded to execute a microjump, checking the coordinates of your current position on the console. You just wanted to get behind them –

The hyperdrive whined, abused by the command while still under the pull of Naporar. Nevertheless, it obeyed, and in just milliseconds, you reappeared in a safe distance from the blockade. And more importantly – outside of it.

You let out a breath you had been holding.

“Who the fuck are you?” Sacher’s eyes widened in disbelief.

---

Oh, fuck the physics.

[anisaanisa]

Limerence: The Masterpost ☆

I couldn't miss the opportunity for another canon-flavoured masterpost, so here I go again with Limerence. This collection is a prequel to Homecoming, so if you're not ready to say goodbye, by all means, carry on! The structure remains: above the cut lies links, and below lurks a prompt breakdown where I attempt to justify everything that just happened. Onward!

Tumblr: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Read it on AO3 ▶ Previous Masterposts: Homecoming〡Evermore

This is your rest stop. Beyond the Keep Reading banner are many words and manga caps for those with a vested interest in Inuyasha headcanons/meta/anecdotes. Snacks applicable!

The Personal Bit ☆

ALRIGHT, masks off besties. Are they your OTP? Cause they’re my OTP too, and we should consider bursting into flames about it together (ɔ◔‿◔)ɔ ♥

I didn't think I’d participate with writing this year, until about a week before the event, when I was frying-panned with some notions. As a fellow bearer of the curse, it started with a seedling of Kagome looking out for Inuyasha in the modern era, whether she realised it or not and even if, logically, she knew better, and snowballed from there. So, I blasted through each prompt with the intention of keeping them short, and after a survey back, each chapter grew deceptively longer, and I thought: why not add a stair [100 words] to Kagome's case for each day?

This particular canon universe is approached thusly: the prompt is the starting point, and the characters do the rest. I don't control the narrative, the narrative controls me, type thing. Hence, chapters are plot-negative, and times skips are abundant. Anyway. Enough waxing!

Note: I am working with the Viz English translation of the Inuyasha manga with some anime filler for seasoning, and the timeframe for the 3-year separation falls loosely between 1998-2001.

Final Note: Limerence spoilers start here.

Prompt Breakdown ☆

Day 1: Love Language(s)

Summary: Kagome's been distracted. Or, I hc that Kagome spent a good amount of time away with the fairies (and trying to catch up with school) when she first got back. Thoughts and Feels:

Love Language(s) were coined in 1992; the likelihood of them being such a commonly adopted phrase/ideology was as slim as Kagome knowing what her friends were going on about. They're a relatively new conception of navigating romance, but that doesn't mean buzzwords didn't make it into those teen mags we remember so well, though! Point for fuck it we ball!

For better or worse, friends are gonna be a tad nosy, and Kagome’s definitely were. Consistently and without fail:

Chapter 23, Volume 3, Mask of Flesh ☆

—and how else to feel her “snapping back into the room” in 100 words, if not when confronted with mathematics?

Chapter 411, Volume 42, The Kind One ☆

Fun Fact: There is a small high chance I spent the most time on this one overall because trying to spin a tale in 100 words is wild.

Day 2: Possession

Summary: Kagome acts on impulse. Or, I hc that uncanny resemblances might ruin a girl's day out. Thoughts and Feels:

Okay, yeah, okay, technically the baseball cap didn't happen in the manga. But this is why filler episodes are good for the ecosystem, or something.

Shock can have a lot of side effects. Confusion, agitation, complete and utter lack of personal or road safety (to name a few), and in Kagome's case here, shoving Inuyasha-shaped familiarity under her nose when she least expected it had her acting up, because not only has the well been sealed off for X time, she was used to him acting up whenever he stepped foot in the modern era:

Chapter 392, Volume 40, A Peaceful Meal ☆

Her friends still care, though! Cause that's what friends are for! As wild of a creature as Kagome can be, they're aware of her “struggles” with her health, and are oddly used to her odd ways:

Chapter 35, Volume 4, A Little Imp ☆

Fun Fact: I rewrote that last line, like, 7 times. The free writing tag is actually fake news.

Day 3: Safe

Summary: Kagome's has a nightmare. Or, I hc that a brave face doesn't do much when she's at her most vulnerable. Thoughts and Feels:

If you've ever had nightmares/night terrors/sleep paralysis, you'll know how, well, terrifying they can be. Lucid states between sleep and wakefulness has a nasty way of warping perceptions, and with everything Kagome witnessed, her dreamscapes had to be vivid, especially after her stint in the jewel, where reality and fantasy blurred real bad, and what's worse, it taunted her about it:

Chapter 554, Volume 56, High School Life ☆

To further that point, Inuyasha gets brutal - beheadings, graphic slaughterings (sometimes at the hands of an MC eheh), you know, justgirlythings - and therefore toned down for television, as anime adaptations often are. Kagome was 15, and while she did that, it would leave a mark. Trauma, guys. We're talking about trauma now.

If the reference was caught during her tiny tale: the scene with Mama H being shook to fuck over her baby glowing is anime-only, but I really dig the idea that she knew something was up with Kagome from Day 0, really aided in reasoning why she was so okay with her daughter doing all that, thank you for understanding. Another point for filler!

Fun Fact: I…barely remember writing this one, actually, truly, read it back a week later like: don't know her. I love her like any proud mother, though!

Day 4: Modern

Summary: Kagome asks a question she doesn’t like the answer to. Or, I hc that curiosity killed the cat. Thoughts and Feels:

The trickiest one, in terms of setting. I spent too much time looking into the availability and flavours of historical records in Tokyo (particularly 2000ish, bc digital archives weren't that hot then) and came to the conclusion that while yes, it was possible for her to gain access to [something], no, it wasn't very likely she'd come across any death records, (specifically Koseki) for her friends, with the added bonus that family names are notably lacking until 1868. But take Kagome's resourcefulness + Japan's love for paperwork, and it led me here – to some kinda fake archive with fake books and fake names that could potentially be somebody that she used to know. And while I try my best to be respectful of the people and the setting I'm writing within, I asked myself bluntly, if I really gave a fuck about being accurate in this regard/fictional setting, and the answer was also: no. There isn't a Sunset Shrine either, so a fictional National Archives with The Right Documents there shall be.

Of all the Fuedal-Inuyasha characters, I feel like Sango is the one that would have Done Something to leave a mark, somewhere written on paper. You know...Badass Women For Agriculture Union [codeword for demon slaying], something. Yeah, Miroku was a holy man, but we're not talking about history right now, we're talking about Herstory.

And finally, that moment. The one where Kagome almost cracked and unleashed self-inflicted rage on some guy, cause time didn't cease to exist for them. The thing about Kagome, apart from her being an all round great character, is that she isn't tame, nor timid, and certainly no shrinking violet. But where she's brash and loud and (sometimes) quick to anger, she's also kind. And reasonable, and at the core, a wonderful person, and that duality is what makes her so lovable, relatable, and fun to write. Lookit her:

Chapter 175, Volume 185, Where They First Met ☆

Fun Fact: I really wanted to point out that Kagome was supposed to be in her high school uniform, but writing restriction said naur. Irrelevant. Also, this is my favourite chapter. Weird, right? Haha?

Day 5: Heat

Summary: Kagome hears a bump in the night. Or, I hc that stranger things have occurred than a random bout of sleepwalking while living with PTID (Post Traumatic Isekai Disorder). Thoughts and Feels:

There was a small blip in time where this chapter skewed Mature. Explicit, even. Something about imagining a certain someone in a compromising position, but then the wind changed direction, and I went for literal heat. Japanese summers are stifling, and heat...is hot. Ace card, go!

Lunar charts and such: they don't add up when you compare two points in time, 500 years apart. But there could still be some peculiar celestial moon stuff that led a sleep-deprived Kagome to have a gander at the moon, especially when it's new.

Chapter 140, Volume 15, The Other Side of the Well ☆

Inuyasha had a brilliant way of turning up when she least expected him, or staying away when she wanted to see him the most. There are little things that happen, like an open window or remnants of a dream that might stay with her upon waking, to lead her to think-maybe it was him?

Chapter 287, Volume 29, Mimisenri ☆

BEHIND THE SCENES REVEAL: Kagome was the one who opened her door and tried to feed the cat, but it didn't work, because sleepwalkers are silly. Easter Eggy Subtext: Buyo is the catalyst, but Kagome is the key. Think about it.

Chapter 494, Volume 50, Two Worlds ☆

Day 6: Courting

Summary: Kagome tries her best. Or, I hc that Kagome gives it the old college effort, a la jewel illusion. Thoughts and Feels:

Kagome's family want the best for her. Kagome's friends are boy-crazy hen-peckers. Hojo is cute, and has always shown an interest in Kagome. Therefore: it would be wild to assume she didn't at least say yes, once, to going out with him, even if she knew it really wasn't going to go anywhere:

Chapter 140, Volume 15, The Other Side of the Well ☆

Sometimes you have to do things to understand how much you don't want to do that thing. At this point in time, Kagome's coming up for graduation, she's spent almost 3 years dealing with everything that happened to her, and she's not a complete tool. However, the mind wanders, especially when you'd rather someone else's company:

Chapter 69, Volume 8, Sensing Presences ☆

She's going to give the modern era one last shot – because while romance isn't everything, it can be part of something – before throwing in the towel and saying fuck it, I tried. And as Kagome's will Kagome, she'd want to make an effort for the sake of others:

Chapter 35, Volume 4, A Little Imp ☆

Fun Fact: This chapter (and the next) ended up floating around 1.5K at first draft. I'd like to formally apologise to the words lost in transit, you will be missed.

Day 7: Smile

Summary: Kagome comes home. Or, I hc that Kagome finally puts her wants, needs and feelings first, and those might suspiciously man-shaped. Thoughts and Feels:

Yeahyeah, the “I never thought I'd write this”, we've all seen it. But it's true! Never thought I'd write a chapter retelling, and this one is that fact's poster child. They aren't my bag (to read or to write) but the ending was there all along, obviously:

Chapter 494, Volume 50, Two Worlds ☆

The right wish, the wrong wish, a selfish wish, a selfless wish – as many Isekai's go, wish fulfilment is a huge part of the narrative (not just for Kagome, but so many of the characters) but she, unlike others, had a huge weight on her shoulders about making the right one that I wanted to tease out that moment where she gets it:

Awfully familiar cap is familiar, Chapter 558, Volume 56, Tomorrow ☆

Are you sure you're supposed to be there, Miss Thing? Life doesn't end just because you finished a job, or have to feel beholden to a sense of home. Home can be anywhere! Home can be a person! You can do it, bestie. Do it for her! Her is you! Go Kagome!

Chapter 79, The Fruits of Evil ☆

She made her dreams – from acing school, to making her family proud, to seeing Inuyasha again – a reality. There's really nothing more I can say about that, it's all there. She chose herself! And that included him! Ain't that neat!

Fun Fact: In Japanese, Inuyasha calls her a baka. In the scanlation, he calls her an idiot. In the English sub/dub, he calls her an idiot. In the Viz translation (the one I refer to most) he calls her a fool. Imho, in English, he says idiot, cause Inuyasha has zero respect and carries that no-finesse kind of rizz. Bless him.

Bonus Fun Fact: Chapters like this are why I'm such a flaming monster about writing advice being a tool, not a rule. Those last two lines, without the use of But and And at the beginning, would not carry the same weight and timing I wanted to achieve, therefore, you can pry them as sentence starters out of my cold, dead hands.

The End.

Weehee! This could have been way longer (you're thinking how, I'm thinking I'm proud of how restrained I was) but alas, we've reached the end. Thanks again to @inukag-week for hosting the event of all time! I love them sooo much. Sososo much, they're the best little guys 🎉

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, click here to send me an ask! I love not shutting up about them 🛸

ttyl bbs 🤸

[frogs-in3-hills]

11, 12, 18, 21 for the turtle asks! :)

my answer to the voice acting one got really long, so. oops adding a readmore

11. Favorite turtle (iteration specific)?

maaan this is a tough question. i think i’ve said before that my Top Favorite Turtle of All Time switches between all the 03 kids, but it’s usually Mikey or Raph. right now I think Raph is my favorite. His 03 characterization is so compelling, he just tugs at my heartstrings in a lot of different ways. I love that he starts at his lowest point early in the show and then we get to see him gradually learn to navigate his feelings and connect with the people around him. He's doing his best to figure out his place in the world, he feels like a very real depiction of what it's like being a neurodivergent teen (okay I know I'm projecting now but also I'm right). The sibling angst can hit a little close to home sometimes but I also look at him and think "oh that kid is gonna be okay. he's just figuring it out." Yknow??

Other incarnations that are very dear to me: ‘87 Raphael, bmvtmnt Mikey, 90s movies/07 Leo, and Rise Raph

ask game

12. Favorite turtle across all iterations?

It’s Mikey is anyone surprised. Like. That’s my funny little guy!!

I think he brings something new to the table with every incarnation. Like, the rest of the boys feel like they mostly have the same core traits across iterations, but I get the sense that most Mikeys are different from each other on a more fundamental level. They all have different ways of thinking and flaws and I find them all to be very compelling and entertaining to watch :]

Raph is a close second though! Again, who is surprised qwq

18. Did any of their voice actors really stand out to you?

Ahh omg I'm actually so glad you asked this one anon. I pay a lot of attention to the voice acting so just going in loose chronological order:

Obviously Rob Paulsen is a fucking gem who brought Raphael to life and p much singlehandedly made '12 Donnie likeable (sorry the writers did all that to you buddy). But man I don't see enough love for Barry Gordon as Donatello! He brings such a particular vibe to the character that's so endlessly endearing I just think it's funny that he's kinda the meanest one but he sounds like the littlest fucking guy ever

Michael Sinterniklaas as Leo is so fucking charming I just. Holds him gently. I like how confused he sounds all the time. I like his little laugh he does in the scene where they're playing with the hose. I like his "it's okay!" line in The Ultimate Ninja. I like that he's going for grinditude. I like him so bad ToT And Sam Riegel as Donny is wild because I think he sometimes has the weirdest line reads--not in a bad way, just like, why did you say it like that. I'm forever obsessed with him.

Rewatching 2007 movie was so wild I could barely focus with how many voices I recognized in there. Sarah Michelle Gellar as April was really fun. With Mako as Splinter okay I may as well just cry myself to sleep

Greg Cipes and Ashley Johnson characters are literally their own ship dynamic like whatever that is I don't care they invented it

The entire Rise cast is sooo good I adore every one of them the comedy just legitimately would not work without them. Not a bad line read in that whole show tbh. I'm particularly fond of Josh Brener as Donnie for that autistic-ass delivery. Also cannot stress enough how great Ayo Edebiri and Zelda Williams are too like the entire cast just has such a good vibe

21. Give one character a hug?

I MEAN. It's hard to choose they all deserve a hug!! But I am not much of a hugger and neither are a lot of the characters who need the most hugs. So I think... Rise Mikey or Alopex maybe? I think that they would give very good hugs.

[charkyzombicorn]

Here’s a thought I had. An au where Shanks goes around giving Buggy’s snail number out to people. The reasons? 1. To be an asshole because it’s funny. 2. Maybe it will help Buggy with his issues somehow?

Luffy gets the number and while he does somehow memorize instantly, it never occurs to him to use it, although he did teach his brothers about the super cool number Shanks left.

Yassop leaves Brachina the number, but it’s Usopp who actually uses it years later, trying to find his dad so Yassop will come home and help Brachina.

Instead he gets a very confused clown pirate, wondering how this little boy got his number.

Buggy is so fucking annoyed. His snail phone is exhausted from being called so much. He wants to rest but children keep calling him in the phone and then saying the most gut-wrenching stories with the same tone they would use to comment on the sky being blue.

First it was Luffy, who said his name, that he was going to be king of the pirates (Brat) and that he had two new brothers and he wanted to tell everyone because he finally wasn't alone (and No it didn't remind Buggy of himself before Shanks and the Oro Jackson, Fuck Off).

Then it was Usopp who declared himself the bravest warrior of the sea because he didn't shed a single tear when his mother died, and hasn't since and now he's super strong because he has to do odd jobs to feed himself now. So Buggy, clown that he is, decided to visit - only for that douche Kuro to stop him by starting shit and almost sinking his ship. Buggy wanted to punch his glasses into his face but he was fighting for his right to visit some random snotnosed brat that got his number. So he left.

Then some brat named Ace called him, and asked what he would think if the pirate king had a son. So Buggy was completely honest, because that was a very strange and very specific question and he was still tired from helping patch the ship. "Roger did have kids - two of em', got one in a treasure chest and the other from a dumpster. But of course he gave the first kid his life's treasure and the second kid a mop. If he had a third kid I'd just hope they were born on neutral ground so they could see to their own future and not the one that asshat forced on them. Now Where Do You Kids Keep Getting My Number". But the line was silent, and a few seconds later went dead.

Then he got Another call from Another child, this one called Sabo. He said he knew Buggy was a pirate, said he could be a choreboy, a navigator and a fighter on Buggy's crew for the small price of Getting Him Out Of Goa. Buggy said he didn't want a toddler on his ship, "Sabo" insisted that he was 15 (not even a chance), and he could pay Buggy - 50 thousand for a spot on his ship. Buggy was definitely one for bribery, but he accepted such a low offer because the kid seemed desperate and people have good reasons to need to leave a place like Goa. So he shipped off, made it to port the next day and then promptly shattered himself into bits when he saw the celestial dragon ship in the distance. Then a blonde brat with neat clothes, a rucksack and a purposefully mean-looking glare said he was Sabo and that he wouldn't give the money until he was on the ship.

Buggy told him to go fuck himself, they were hiding the ship and praying the celestial dragon left without calling a buster call. Then his snail rang. Again. He ordered his crew hide the ship nearer the mountain before picking up the phone. It was Luffy again. "Listen, Luffy, calling me twice a week to tell me about your--" Luffy was crying.

"There was a fire. Sabo's gone. Ace hasn't woken up since the fire. What do I do? I can't lose my brother's they're all I have--" Buggy got the snail phone smacked out of his hand by a metal pipe and he yelped while Sabo was already curled around it with both hands on the receiver like it could break.

"Luffy?" And the mean face was gone, and he was definitely 10-ish. "Luffy, what happened to Ace--"

"SABO!!!!" The snail yelled so loud Buggy could tell its throat hurt. "You're with Shanks' mystery friend! You're okay! You need to come back, I went into the fire and so did Ace and Ace got hurt protecting me and we need you back I'm sorry if I'm why you left--"

The blonde kid was crying. Buggy wasn't known for his skill with children, so he just stood there. "Okay - I'm coming home, okay? I'm not leaving, I promise. Just - just watch over Ace until I get there, okay?"

"Yeah!"

Sabo hung up the the phone and looked back up at Buggy. "Change of plans." He said, after trying and failing to wipe his tears.

"Oh no shit." Buggy mocked. "Go home, kid."

Sabo nodded, but then hesitated. "You know Shanks, right?"

Buggy couldn't help the sneer - not that he wanted to.

"Shanks gave his arm to save my little brother's life. I owe him a debt, but. Thank you for helping a stranger." He put his little hand out as if Buggy wanted to shake sticky toddler hands.

Buggy flicked him. "You're just lucky Luffy's my biggest fan, or you'd be scrubbing the floors, brat."

[georgiapeach30513]

But love can hurt. Love can be confusing. So no, I don’t agree with your take on that. ///

Okay. Didn’t know that was a direct quote to the movie. I was just stating that if someone in general thought “love” is fucked up then they don’t know real love and it seems this character apparently must have been hurt and felt that love equates to pain based on something.

Real Love is patient, love is kind, love doesn’t boast, so again if you feel love is confusing and hurts then you’ve never experienced real love, I’m not saying that you loving someone can’t lead to pain or frustration but love the core of what love is doesn’t cause direct pain and confusion. Like dating someone and they treat you like shit, obviously that’s not love, but many believe it is and then when the relationship ends they go “love” sucks, well that wasn’t love so technically love doesn’t suck, you’ve just never experienced real love.

Like couples who think because they fight all the time means they love each other……nah. Yes you argue with those you love but some people just don’t realize they fight all the time because they have no business being together.

When you see people in actual love you feel and sense it, doesn’t mean their relationship is perfect, no one’s is, but they move and act and treat each other differently than most couples.

Maybe I just see things differently than majority of the population. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Take care.

I think in general when people say love is fucked up, they are looking at it as the things that have happened in their life. Even with family love can be fucked up. Love is such a difficult and also easy thing to do. Because loving someone is also trusting that they love you. And unfortunately you can carry what someone else did to you onto someone else. All the while this is when you thought it was love (I do agree with that part, too often people say they love us and it is a lie). And while your feelings could have been true that’s why it hurts. It doesn’t matter their feelings. If you love someone you know, and when that love isn’t reciprocated it hurts. And that is a fucked up relationship.

But you’re correct love is patient and kind. But the confusing part is navigating others feelings. Especially if you’ve been wronged in the past. And I do agree that there are too many people/instances that excuse shitty behavior and claim it’s love, and that is what’s not love. But the situation itself is fucked up. Because too often people abuse others love for them. But if you felt love for them, that is love for you, regardless of how they felt. It’s just a one sided love.

Not all relationships or love is cookie cutter. There’s so many nuances with love. Love is ever changing and moving, but the core of it is the same. That’s where you’re talking about. The pure basic core of love. But with life experiences, with different situations, with other people that love changes. This is where the lines get blurred on what true love is. Where “love” can get excused for bad behavior/abuse/cheating. I think we all can agree a cheater isn’t cheating out of love. They took the love someone had for them for granted. And some people do that because they think love is truly unconditional. Very rarely is love unconditional.