#it should still be a meaningful sacrifice even if he gets it back

[seagreenstardust]

What’s the consensus on whether or not Eri can restore OFA too? She gave Mirio his quirk back but he was born with it so I’m not sure reversing Izuku would result in getting OFA again. Then again OFA came back to him in heroes rising for inexplicable reasons too so maybe? And it’s not like OFA didn’t become a part of him.

[atinystraynstay]

Late Night Cravings - Lee Jihoon

Synopsis: It's a Friday night, and your hard-working boyfriend has locked himself in this recording studio once again. Jihoon felt guilty for the nights separated from you, whereas you would do anything to watch his fantasies become a reality.

Pairing: Lee Jihoon x fem. reader

Genre: Angst - Jihoon feeling guilty, fluff, established relationship, soft smut - MINORS DNI

Contains: dirty talk, fingering (f. receiving), dom!Jihoon, unprotected sex (wrap it up, my friends!!), squirting, creampie

Word Count: 3.5k

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Jihoon let out a frustrated groan. His fingers drove through his hair, frustrated beyond belief at the song-writing process. It wasn't like him to get stuck like this, but here he was - unable to form even words.

He glanced towards the clock and grimaced at the sight of it being close to 2am. He was hoping to have been out of here around 9pm, so he could have made it to your apartment by 10pm. Jihoon was under pressure from the company to get a new demo to them by Sunday. Yet, here he was on a Friday night, barely making progress. He should be with you instead.

When you guys together, you knew that the relationship would require a lot of work. You weren't dating any guy, after all. Music was Woozi's passion in life. You wanted to encourage him to pursue every project that screamed for his attention and the ones he got the most excited about. Even if it meant that he had to cancel plans or you went days without seeing each other, you would do it for you.

That's the part that made Woozi feel the most guilty. You made all these sacrifices for him, sacrificing your own needs to allow him to pursue his goals made him feel lousy. Aren't relationships supposed to be about equality? How can you give that to him when his career doesn't allow him to make such sacrifices? There was very little wiggle room for him when there were constant deadlines and meetings.

Maybe the reason why Jihoon put so much pressure on himself was because this was his first, genuine relationship. He's had flings with people here and there, but they weren't meaningful to him. You, on the other hand, meant everything and so much more. He wanted to make things right with you.

There was a gentle knock on the door. Who could that be?

"Come in," Jihoon called out. He made sure to hit save on his computer on what progress he has made. Even if it was minimal, he would be devastated if it all vanished suddenly. It might be someone from the company who wanted to talk logistics, which can be a length conversations anyways.

The door slowly pushed open. He leaned over his chair to see who it was.

"Surprise?" You called out.

His eyes grew wide at the sight of you. You had your hair pulled back into a high ponytail and were wearing sweats. Yet to him, you looked like you were ready to walk the runway. He picked up on the scent of take-out coming into the room. He glanced down to see your hands holding a white plastic bag. Though he glanced at the clock to see it was 2:07am. You should be asleep.

"Is now a bad time?" You frowned.

He quickly shook his head before spinning his chair around, so he could easily push himself up. He was just absolutely speechless that you knew that he needed a distraction. Realistically, he needed you.

"It's never a bad time, darling." His heart swelled just seeing you in front of him. How did he get so lucky?

You relaxed as you watched Jihoon cross the room to get to you. Jihoon never was the type of person to let height stand in the way of things, but he always found it adorable how you still had to look up at him.

Once he stood in front of you, he cupped your face. You couldn't help but giggle as he tried looking down at you with a stern look. Yet, to you, he was the least intimidating person. His eyebrows were slightly scrunched together as he gazed down at you. His thumbs running over the soft skin of your cheek made you weak in the knees.

'I just thought you'd be asleep right now, sweet girl. You know I don't like it when you're up too late or you're waiting for me." "I know, but I just couldn't get comfortable without you in bed. And then I figured you haven't eaten so I thought maybe food might help you while coming to see you would help me."

Jihoon's heart broke at your statement. He wanted desperately to be the man you deserve, the one that is punctual and not forgetful. There were too many times he could count when he felt like he had let you down. Tonight is an example of that.

"I truly don't deserve you," he sighed." His forehead found yours. You watched as his eyes fluttered shut, as he was just taking a moment to feel you so close to him after what felt like centuries apart. "How can I ever make it up to you, angel? How can I repay you for being so damn understanding?"

Your hands moved up to gently rest on his. Your fingertips were caressing against his strong hands which caused his eyes to open. The sight alone caused his heart to melt. You were looking up at him like he was made out of the stars. And to you, he was.

"I just want to be around you, Jihoon. That's all I need."

Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. He removed his hands from your face, so one hand could hold onto your hip. With his free hand, he took the takeout and put it in the mini-fridge. The mini fridge was closer to the front of the studio, right by the couch. He never liked bringing food over towards his equipment, in the case something spilled. He wasn't a fan of messes.

This time is an exception.

With ease, Jihoon lifted you up in his arms. Jihoon could never produce something as beautiful as the sound of your laughter.

His hands were resting underneath you which allowed you to wrap your legs around his waist and arms around his neck. You let out a gasp in surprise before breaking out into a fit of laughter.His arms flexed underneath you, wanting to ensure you that he'd never drop you which caused you to stop the laughter and blush.

He couldn't help but smirk at your now shy reaction. "Oh darling, what's wrong? Something on your mind?" Jihoon walked the two of you over to the leather chair in front of his mixing board. You bit your lip gently, shaking your head. You were honestly just speechless by his strength.

"Tell me, darlin'. What are you missing the most?" He asked as he sat down on the chair. It was the perfect position that already allowed you to straddle him. You got yourself situated, not missing the throaty groan that escaped him.

But he wasn't about to allow you to have the upper hand.

"Have you missed the way my arms feel around you?" As he spoke, his hands started caressing your back. The feeling of the warmth of his hand sent shivers throughout your body in the best way possible.

Slowly, his hands began moving from your back towards your sides. He let his hands run up and down, his fingertips just grazing along your side. It sent goosebumps throughout your body even just feeling his touch through your clothing. He knew all the little ways to make your brain go fuzzy.

His eyes were trained on you, waiting for a response. He couldn't help but smirk as he watched you nod your head gently, your eyes bouncing from his to his wondering hands.

"Or have you missed the way that my fingers split your pussy open? How your tight walls will squeeze around them when you're on the brink of an orgasm? Or do you want to leave my cock to the stretching of your pussy, hmm?"

Your jaw dropped at his words, at the quick 180 he took. He kept one hand on your hip, ensuring you wouldn't go squirming away from him. His other hand moved down your thigh, resting high up. You could feel yourself getting wet with anticipation.

"Because I know I've missed the way you scream for me. I've missed the way your back arches and eyes roll whenever you squirt for me."

Jihoon couldn't ignore the little whimper that left your lips. It caused him to snicker as the hand on your thigh moved up to play with the drawstring of your sweatpants. It was tied in a pretty little bow. Jihoon always loved how fiercely independent you are. It was admittedly one of the millions of reasons why Jihoon fell for you.

Reason a million and one was how easily he could make you crumble, how wrapped around his finger you were. It was a mutual love.

"I've been neglecting you a bit too long, haven't I?" he pouted slightly. "Let me make it up to you, angel."

Without further hesitation after receiving a nod from your head, Jihoon undid the bow before dipping past the waistband of the sweatpants. He shivered with excitement at the feeling of your warm ski underneath his fingertips.

Much to his surprise, he didn't feel a second layer underneath. He looked up at you with an eyebrow raised. Immediately, you knew what he was wondering about.

"Like I said, I missed you in bed."

That was enough for Jihoon to take action. With your legs already straddling his waist, he knew you were in the perfect position for his wandering fingers. His index and pointer fingers gently ran up and down your slit. He bit his lip at the feeling of how wet you already were for him.

He couldn't keep his precious baby waiting any longer. His two fingers slipped into your warm, wet pussy. His eyes fluttered shut so you couldn't see the rolling of his eyes at the feeling of how tight, how inviting you were from his. Your own head rolled back slightly, hips pushing towards his as you craved for more.

"I should really punish you for being so impatient right now when I'm giving you what you want," he murmured. His hand moved up to hold your chin, making your head tilt back to look into his eyes. "But I like too much knowing you need me as badly as I need you right now."

And he did need you. You could feel his boner growing harder against your thigh, twitching almost to be freed. You wanted so desperately to touch him, to provide him some relief as well, but you weren't sure you were allowed.

Not when it seemed that Jihoon was adamant about providing you pleasure first. His fingers began to thrust in and out of your pussy. Your juices were coating his fingers as they were pushed all the way.

Jihoon took a moment to admire you in this state. Your chest was starting to rise and fall, just as soft whimpers and moans were leaving your lips. The feeling of your warm pussy clenching onto his fingers just enhanced how beautiful you are. All for him.

His fingers began to curl towards your g-spot which made you gasp. His tongue was poking out of his mouth slightly, a sign of determination you've grown so accustomed to. He also didn't let your clit go unoccupied as his thumb was rubbing fast circles into the bundle of nerves. Jihoon has always been talented with his fingers.

"Is that what you've been missing?" Jihoon asked teasingly.

You shook your head quickly as you made sure to look into his eyes. His fingers were grazing against you g-spot, sure. And you were on the brink of facing your first orgasm, but it's not what you wanted.

Not when it felt like you were being suffocated by the layers you were wearing, or how they were beginning to stick slightly to your skin from the sweat. You wanted to experience a closeness to him you've been craving for one too many nights.

He slowed down your fingers, curious as to what was going on in your mind. His head also tilted, an eyebrow raised as you studied you for a moment. "No? Oh, baby. Use your big girl words."

"I need your cock in me. I want to cum with you in me and to feel you cum in me. I need you to fuck me so hard that I can't move afterwards. Please," you begged him.

Now, who was he to deny you? Especially when you asked so sweetly.

Jihoon's fingers stilled in you as he gazed up into your eyes. You were whimpering, hips subconsciously grinding against his fingers. God, how did he get so lucky? He could see the lust swirling in your eyes.

"Take off your sweatpants baby then mine. I'll give you what you really need."

The moment his fingers slipped out of your sweatpants, you immediately were tugging off your sweatpants. He chuckled at your eagerness. He took the opportunity to slip his fingers into his mouth. He groaned at the taste of your pussy on his fingers. He's missed the taste of you.

Feeling eyes on him, he looked to see you staring at him. Your mouth was slightly open as you watched him suck on his fingers, suck you off his fingers. He was so beautiful.

"Sweet like sugar," he murmured. He moved his fingers out, a soft 'pop'' sound echoing in the room. Due to your heightened awareness, it sounded like a booming stereo. You were just so hyper fixated on him, and could anyone blame you? He was the love of your life.

With your sweatpants now pooled on the ground, you did as Jihoon asked. He lifted his hips up slightly so you could pull off his own grey sweatpants, allowing them to join yours on the floor. Much to your surprise, Jihoon also went without boxer briefs. His cock, once freed, slapped up against his stomach and stood at attention for you.

"You know, I've missed you just as much, angel." His hands reached out to you, pulling you back into his lap. You straddled him once again. This time, you felt his cock brushing against you which sent a shiver of excitement down your spine. Finally, you had him right where you wanted him most.

Leaning forward, you began pressing tiny kisses along the side of his face. His cheeks heated up at the intimate gesture in such a heated moment. You always wanted to remind Jihoon just how loved he is, all of him.

His thumbs caressed your hipbones as he guided you to hover over his cock. "Give me the go-ahead, y/n, baby. I'm ready whenever you are."

Your hands moved to gently rest on his shoulders. Slowly, you ceased your kisses against his skin to be able to pull back and look down at the place where you two would connect. His pre-cum was coating the tip of his cock, which was throbbing and bright red. Jihoon has always been thicker than other guys you've been with. It made your mouth salivate, want to put him in your mouth and suck him dry. But you couldn't deprive yourself of the feeling of his cock in your pussy.

"Please, baby. Don't want any longer. Let go."

That's all he needed to hear. His hands now gripped your fingers, creating small indents in your flesh. He let you sink down onto his cock, sending the two of you groaning at the sensation of being filled with each other.

Before your hips could get to work on riding him, Jihoon took action first. He began thrusting his hips upwards almost instantaneously. He wanted to make sure that you could feel all of him, every inch. You moaned as he stretched you out in ways your own hands or any sex toy could. It was as if he was made for you.

"Is this what you've missed?" he huffed slightly as one particular thrust filled you completely. It made you choke on air at the feeling of him all the way up nearly by your cervix. Holy fuck.

You nodded your head as your forehead soon rested on his. Your eyelashes rested against your cheeks, lips hovering above his. He noticed how flushed your skin has become as you became overtaken by the pleasure and euphoria.

Jihoon grunted lowly as his hips fell into a fast, steady tempo. Just what you liked. His mind and body felt fuzzy yet electrified as the feeling of your pussy, of your body so close to his.

Your juices were starting to coat his bare thighs. The sound of skin smacking against skin, and how wet you were bounced off the walls. It was the most beautiful symphony.

Jihoon could feel his cock pulsate, the familiar burning in his stomach. He didn't want to end what he felt like was just getting started. But you were right there with him, the feeling almost becoming too much for you. Your stomach was tightening, threatening to spill.

"J-Jihoon," you whimpered out. You felt like it was too soon. You wanted to stay inn this moment as long as possible. It felt like if you released too soon, you would be ruining this beautiful moment.

You weren't even aware of the tears that were glossing your eyes. Jihoon looked directly into your hearts. Cooing lightly at the sight of your eyes, he shook his head. "Don't worry, angel. I'm right here with you. You can let go," he promised you. This time, he was the one pressing kisses into your skin.

Jihoon made sure his hips picked up momentum. He was going deeper and harder. The tip of his cock grazing against your g-spot which sent you spiraling. That's all you need to let go.

One of your hands gripped onto his shoulder. The other rested on the back of his head. Jihoon always loved the feeling of your fingers in his hair. It brought him so much comfort and pleasure.

On one particular thrust, you lost it. You cried out in ecstasy as your vision went white, almost as if you had been catapulted into the stars. Your back arched gently, as Jihoon ensured his arms were wrapped around you to support you.

Jihoon's eyes widened as he felt you squirt. Hard. All over himself, you, and the leather seat beneath the two of you. Holy fuck. That was the hottest thing he's ever witnessed.

Your body began to tremble, burying your face into his shoulder. Your fingernails were running along his scalp as if you were trying to bring yourself down to reality while simultaneously comforting him. For what? He wasn't sure. However, his heart was swelling with love at the sentiment. You always placed him before yourself.

Soft whimpers were leaving your lips as Jihoon was still thrusting. He cooed into your ear, kissing the shell of it gently. "I know, angel. I know. Be patient with me. I'm almost there."

All you could do was nod your head. You tried lifting your hips to help bring Jihoon closer to the edge, but he had it under control. The feeling of your trembling body against his, as well as the memory and evidence of your orgasm clouding his mind, helped bring him to the edge. He let out a loud groan as he thrusted one last time before spilling his cum into you.

Another whimper left your lips. You always loved the feeling of feeling so full of Lee Jihoon, both during and after sex. His white seed painted your walls, but some already spilling and dropping onto the leather seat.

This was the one type of mess Jihoon could tolerate.

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Jihoon's fingers were typing away at the speed of light. Words that became lyrics that turned into verses flooded his mind. He was trying his hardest to get it all scribbled down, so he could at least give something to the company on Sunday.

"Finally," he spoke under his breath. His voice was deeper, exhaustion evident. He had finally put something together.

And better yet, he could spend tomorrow solely focused on you. He smiled seeing the words on his work computer, ready to be shared and for feedback.

He glanced up at the clock once again. 5:12am. After ensuring the work had been saved to his computer, he was satisfied. Now he could return to his priorities.

Spinning in the chair, he was greeted by the sight of you. You were wearing a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt Jihoon leaves around. I mean, the man is known to spend days locked away from the rest of the world, so keeping a spare change of clothes was essential to his survival. And much to your happiness, you were able to be wrapped up in clothes that smelled just like him.

The sight of you curled up on the couch, hunkering underneath a blanket made him feel so soft. He felt protective over you, knowing he was the only person who could provide you all the finer things in life but also humbled that you chose him. You just were delicate, the whole universe in his eyes.

"Come on, pretty baby. Let's go home."

[fumifooms]

Firefly Wedding is so…

It’s so

It’s them. It’s "It’s just a firefly, they’re meant to die soon. Why should I care about the sick, or the poor?"

It’s "I was purposely trying to scare you and push you away to see how far you were willing to go with your act, how desperate you were to play with my feelings as if I was a fool, but it didn’t work."

It’s "I know you’re just using me but now I care. Please keep using me. I need you to need me."

It’s choosing to give her her freedom anyways. Because your love is no longer all about you, no longer selfish. Because this love isn’t just a shallow balm to soothe your complexes anymore.

It’s being betrayed, finally facing the lies and no longer pretending you both don’t know that this is a farce, but desperately wanting to keep it going anyways. It’s "I should hate you now. Why don’t I? Hey, tell me we’ll go through with the plan, tell me you’ll marry me after all. Otherwise, why am I still here? Why don’t I want to leave? You act like you don’t need me but I still need you."

Like that’s so revolutionary for a yandere story. The self-delusion is strong, denial that things have changed despite it being impossible to truly believe, BUT HE STAYS. It’s no longer selfish 😭😭

"I don’t care about you anymore, I won’t help you. Get yourself killed for all I care." <- Jumps to her rescue 3 milliseconds later when she almost falls down a ladder/roof. It happens twice. The ‘lying and trying to emotionally distance yourself from something to protect yourself and not get hurt’ defense mechanism is blatant and it’s failing really bad.

It’s "My sense of duty and goals to have accomplished something useful in my short life are making me do this, but I do want you to stay with me." The yandere stuff here gets turned on its head because what he says is empty where it matters and meaningful where it matters. It’s knowing that if Satoko asks him not to kill anyone he won’t, but knowing that he won’t give up on her no matter what, even if she’s unattainable, even if she’s sickly, even if she pushes him away like just before. It’s so thinly veiled for "I’m determined to see my goal through, but that’s not what I want. If you just so happen to take me away and I don’t try to run away hard enough then we can elope and be free. I want to have an excuse to leave with you. Please give up on marrying me. Please don’t. I want that, but I can’t."

It’s "If I didn’t burn brightly in my short firefly life, then what was the point?"

Except that burning brightly doesn’t have to mean making big achievements, or being useful to your family.

It can be living happily, living for the ones you love, fighting for them. It can be worth to risk it for things that actually matter to you.

It’s giving your heart to someone, figuratively and literally. To lend it to them even if it might get used or battered, for as long as it beats to use your body to protect them, even if you have to sacrifice yourself. A love that burns bright into a bonfire before they both turn to ashes. Unwise but wholehearted.

It’s despite even that, needing grandiose gestures to be able to trust that this is real. It’s needing external cues that prove it to feel safe in their love existing, other people to confirm that he’s not crazy, that this is happening and this is how they both feel. Their love has been fake, both being a warped love and being a lie, only being out of necessity or because the other was the only one willing to offer it to them, offering comfort, safety, support and care. And showing that they care is the most loving of all. It’s despite everything falling back into old habits that "Oh if she was miserably worried for me then that means she’s not indifferent to me! That’s good!" And then once again being taken aback by her, by her earnestness and by her will. Because oh, no, this goes deeper than that. She cares. It’s love.

It’s opening your heart up to love, and both being punished and rewarded for it.

But most of all it’s

And it being the most loving thing he’d ever heard

Firefly Wedding is so…

And yet it’s also

The complicated and hurtful nature of love and the joy and light it brings are two sides of the same coin, because that’s what inevitably happens when you care about something. But caring about a firefly isn’t a waste even however short lived it is, or how hard the loss will inevitably hit you. Isn’t their light just such a wonder to witness?

[yuri-is-online]

Can we hear your thoughts on Leona! Yutu?

Since Leona died fighting the Phantom, Yutu obviously wouldn't have met him, and I'm wondering about your ideas between what Leona became after NRC, how the loss of Yuu affected him, Leona's death, and Yutu's opinion of him before and after meeting him. I had an errant idea of Leona having Died a Hero's Death and then when Yutu meets him it's like, "THIS is the guy my parent was willing to spend the rest of their life with???"

Anyway yeah. As a Leona Simp, I would much appreciate anything you write.

Does he like cats... you know I have always sort of seen Leona has having a petty rivalry with Grim because he thinks he should be the King Cat, so the image of Leona! Yutu lying in a field with a bunch of cats is sort of a perfect contrast. I like it: Leona! Yutu absolutely loves cats and they love him.

notes: they/them used for Yuu, for context on the fyuuture kid au can be found here and here. You can find even more stuff for it on my masterlist under the series section.

Leona and and his position in the kingdom's line of succession... Based off my understanding of what we see in the Tashmina event I think the Savanna would prioritize protecting their royal family over a lot, something that pissed Leona off. He went to fight the King of Beast's phantom because he saw it as a problem he made and that he needed to take responsibility for sure, but also because he had no faith in his brother to do anything meaningful about it. I want to say that his brother wanted to enshrine Leona as a hero for his sacrifice, but that this decision was very unpopular with his advisors so he was buried in the Elephant Graveyard without much fanfare. He is an extremely popular figure with the hyenas, as is Ruggie. They see him as restoring the Kingdom's honor in a way by defeating the false king, something no other country in the apocalypse can claim, but things are still rough since they can't rely on tourism anymore and the blot has been making the weather really unpredictable, leading to bad harvests and starving people.

If Yuu was Leona's... losing them wouldn't have a noticeable affect on him but it was a massively crushing blow. We know he hates his unique magic because turning things to sand is a curse in the Savanna, but did it really have to be his own family this time? The family he got in spite of himself, the one fucking person who chose him no matter how much he snapped at them and tried to convince them to see him for what he was; a worthless dead end that would only hurt them. And what's worse is he knows that whoever took them had his brother's cooperation.

"Couldn't let me have this one fucking thing could you?" He's laughing as he says it and not even the irritation in his sister in law's eyes makes him back down. "Stuff it. I ain't stupid enough for whatever line you got fed and I don't care about your justifications. You're gonna have to live with this one on your own, Falena. Just like I have to."

He refuses to talk to his other family after that. No matter who is asking or making demands, taking Yuu and Yutu away from him is just one step too far. His brother probably thought that Yuu would be allowed to come home and that's why he let them go, but that's not exactly an excuse Leona would be willing to accept from anyone, let alone the supposed leader of a state. He almost feels relived when the blot phantoms start wreaking things, Leona might just want to sleep until you come to wake him up again but fighting things gives him an excuse to get his mind off things. Dying is a relief, he doesn't have to deal with Idia's whining or living without you any longer than he already has. His only regret is that he had to take Ruggie with him.

I really love this fanart and head cannon fima11 had of Leona's hair being light when he was born, and the color getting darker as he grows, so the idea of something similar happening with Leona! Yutu when he's born is really sweet. Leona's hair sort of resembles a mane, it'd be cute if Leona! Yutu's did the same. And genetics are already so weird I don't think any earth doctors would like too much of it.

Leona! Yutu is a sleepy boy. His hobby is napping and his favorite place in the whole wide world is his bed. He has a bad habit of laying face first in his pillows because he snores pretty loudly and he doesn't want to wake anyone up, which sort of makes him look like he has passed out as opposed to just settled down for a good snooze.

Because he is being raised by a single parent in the human world and not a bunch of gossipy servants hired by emotionally neglectful royalty, Yutu is significantly less entitled than Leona is. He has good sense with his money and can work hard, he just has a bit of a problem with resting bitch face that leaves people thinking he is rude. And to be fair? If someone is testing his patience then he really can be. Apple didn't fall far from the tree, Yutu is absolutely brutal when people test his patience.

Yuu's memories of Leona don't exactly help with his perceived behavior problems, they recall Leona's catty personality and how rude he could be, but that he was so remarkably clever and so very strong, that they were in awe of him sometimes. I think they would mention that he struggled with depression due to a difficult upbringing and feel a need to make sure Yutu felt appreciated and like he could do anything he set his mind to, no matter who he was born as. Yutu just takes that to mean that being a bitch runs in the family and he fully intends to ride that excuse to the bank.

It's a nice thought but Yutu feels a bit conflicted by it. He has no doubt that Yuu will always love and support him, but other people? Yuu might be able to ignore what their neighbors say about them but Yutu can hear them loud and clear. They think Yuu's amnesia is an act, and that he's a weirdo freak. Not to mention they don't have any money so even if he wanted to be a doctor or something like that going to school would be a bit of a pain, even with his grades. He finds school to be boring, and even when he gets bullied by one of the coaches in to taking up a sport because of how strong he is it doesn't help much.

I could see him being very into space and astronomy because he feels like he doesn't belong in your world. He knows a lot of downright stupid stuff about UFO sightings and aliens even though he doesn't believe in them. He is SO DISAPPOINTED when Twisted Wonderland turns out to have no conspiracy theories to talk about, can't think the moon landing was faked if you never had one after all. If the world wasn't literally ending he would be pushing for the Sunset Savanna to win the space race, c'mon guys it is in our name everything the light touches totally expands to the stars-

Like the other beastmen Yutus he maintains his instincts, even in your world. He is extremely territorial about his things and especially your home. Like Cater! Yutu, he has strong feelings of nostalgia for your world, but unlike him it has nothing to do with the monsters or hardships. Lions just tend to stay in the same place for a long time so moving to entirely different world and ecosystem makes him feel weird, even if he prefers his beastfolk body to his human one.

Gets put in Savanaclaw by the mirror. He might like space but his preferred type of argument is rearranging someone's dental work before asking them to explain themselves. He'd be terrible at defending a thesis.

Leona! Yutu's place in the Sunset Savanna hierarchy is tricky. I think, as Yutu is his brother's child, Falena would want some sort of relationship with him as he does clearly love his brother. What makes that hard is that as far as the government is concerned, Leona is dead and that's the end of his part of the family line. Acknowledging that he had a son could further destabilize the already tense political situation in the Savanna since Leona's sacrifice is already a point of conflict between the royal family and a portion of their people. While Crewel has no problem telling Yutu about his father since he has a right to know, the fact that he is technically a prince is completely hidden from him for a long time.

We haven't really played with this idea yet, but I sort of like Leona having a ghost that hangs around his grave sometimes. Idia arranges for Yutu to go there on a day he thinks he'll be hanging around and while Yutu doesn't get to talk to his father he does get to see him and the look of pride in his eyes when the grumpy lion realizes who he is. Leona gets to pass on and be with Yuu while Yutu gets a lesson from his cousin about the concept of the great Kings living on in the sky and how the past lives on in him. Because while Cheka understand his dad's concerns like hell is he not going to meet his favorite cousin. His enthusiasm is really exhausting to Yutu, he appreciates the fact that someone has nice things to say about his dad but he isn't too sure how much he trusts this guy.

Oh right one more thing, I don't want to say each of the Savanaclaw boys would pass their magic on to their Yutu's so if we ever get around to Jack he won't, but Leona should pass on King's Roar to his kid. Causing a drought might be considered a curse but I want to say Leona! Yutu wears it with pride. He loves his roar and that despite all the effort put in to erasing Leona from existence he still lives in him. His head is fit to wear the crown, no matter what anyone says.

Leona clocks what Yutu is the instant he steps out of the portal. It's all in the kid's scent and what runes he used to make the jump. He takes some time to think about what it could mean and comes to a few conclusions. Firstly, if he has a kid with you then he will always have some sort of relationship with you, no not in the yandere possessive way (mostly), he just knows enough about himself and his wants to know that having a kid would not be something he did by accident. If he did that at some point in the future it would be because you were going to stay with him forever and he actually believed that. Something that clearly did not get to happen because of how protective Yutu is of his parent.

Yutu was a bit confused if he should go about interacting with his dad or even ask about him so you can imagine his surprise when he stops by Ramshackle to see Leona half asleep on the couch.

"Oh sorry Yuu isn't here-"

"I know." Leona doesn't even open his eyes, and is he seriously wearing his shoes on the couch? Yuu would kill him for that it's so unsanitary.

"Um. Ok I'll just leave you be the-"

"Why'd you travel back in time?" Oh Leona's eyes are open now and there is something about that stare that's nailing Yutu to his spot and tempting his tail between his legs. His dad must notice because he laughs and shakes his head. "Seriously? If that's all it takes to scare you shitless we really are fucked."

Leona doesn't outright say he knows he's his dad, but Yutu gathers that's probably the case from the difference in his attitude around him compared to everyone else. There's a degree of coldness and severity to Leona when he's giving orders that really isn't present when he's talking to him about overblots or his theories about who is responsible for the bad future. He's almost playful about it, like he is messing with a cub. Which Yutu supposes that he is but still, he doesn't like being treated like a kid. Something he very much regrets telling Leona because holy shit his dad is strong just like Yuu said he was.

I think Leona would make him play chess against him a lot. You can learn a lot about a person by playing chess with them, and since it's something Leona really likes to do he would enjoy sharing it with his son. I think he would also get a kick out of seeing Yutu get really competitive with him about it. Maybe there is some lion in this kid after all.

Leona also makes a subtle effort to teach him about how the court of the Sunset Savanna works. I think Leona would sort of enjoy the fact that his kid didn't grow up as royalty just because it meant he was free of the pressures that he had, but hate everything else he learned about Yutu's childhood. It inspires him to think a bit deeper about how he is going to address this when Yutu is born in this timeline, though he is admittedly lacking on solutions beyond refusing to die this time. He must have been really far gone to even consider making a heroic sacrifice that's not like him at all.

He does get the appeal of his father sort of? Sure he's lazy, but he is extremely intelligent and clearly a lot more knowledgeable about literally everything than Yutu thought he was. When they're working together he sees a very impressive person and reliable leader. When he sees Leona interact with you he has questions. Why do you let him pick fights with you so often? Yutu can tell he's making heart eyes at how you fight back but that's because he's a beatman himself so he can read his body language. And he's not crazy about how he orders you around because if his father is a Prince... wouldn't that mean by marrying him you would also be royalty? He is so confused...

Meanwhile Leona isn't rushing things just because he knows you return his feelings at some point. He wants you to choose to be with him of your own free will, wants the feeling that comes with knowing you did that and he is willing to play the game to get that. Every milestone he reaches is so much sweeter for knowing that he got you on his efforts alone, crappy attitude and all.

The reveal to Yuu, much like the reveal to Yutu is extremely mundane. Leona invites you to spend the night with him sometime after you get together and he asks you while you're curled up on his chest and he's holding you just a bit too tight (not because he's afraid you'll run, not at all) how you would feel if you could never go home.

"A little upset." Because you had resigned yourself to the possibility a long time ago now. There's a chance you're only in Twisted Wonderland because you died in your world anyway, might as well be grateful you're still kicking. "And if you stayed and things went bad here, would you still be alright with that?" You don't hesitate at all to his surprise. "I think I'd be safe if I was with you." Well he really hates to prove you wrong but you still deserve to know.

Leona is weirdly quiet in his anger. He roars sure, but that's to exert control. When he's mad he just gets smug and says a lot of hurtful stuff. He leaves the screaming to Yuu, and I could see a Yuu that got with Leona only to learn they didn't get to spend the rest of their life with him doing a lot of screaming. Preventing the apocalypse is a team effort now but first Yutu and Leona are getting scolded for not letting Yuu in on the secret sooner. Leona is down bad horrendous and Yutu wants to die, he hates making you mad.

If I had to make a list of characters I would trust to find a solution to an apocalypse, Leona would actually be pretty close to the top. He is going to bitch about it the entire way, but if he were given the facts before things went too sideways, I think he would be able to make a good plan to set them straight. And there is no way anyone is going to tell him that he managed to have something as precious to him as Yuu taken away from him and not have him do something about it. He'll swallow his pride and take his licks when he has to, but not on this. Never on this, whoever thought he'd just roll over and die is going to shatter in his hands and be like dust on the wind. He really hopes they have enough sense to be prepared....

[tizzyizzy]

More Reasons Izzy's Death Doesn't Work

Assuming you're not writing grimdark where the point is that no one is safe, it can be tricky to pull off killing a sympathetic character in a satisfying way. S2 does not nail the landing. Here are a trio of types of character deaths, and why Izzy's doesn't end up succeeding any any of them.

The Tragic Death

A tragic death, first and foremost, Bad. The audience should be sad, the framing is sad. This death is meant to raise the stakes, or deal an emotional blow to the other characters. If the major villain does it, it makes them seem more menacing, and makes the audience hate them even more. This often occurs in the "dark moment" before the third act, and is part of the protagonist's internal struggle under the weight of their mission. Their death helps the goal seem impossible to reach. If it happens at the climax, the death shows the costs of victory.

Is Izzy's death a tragic death? It's true he's shot by the main villain at the climax but...no. Ricky wasn't defeated; he's still out there. The main couple don't actually intend to pursue him, and are instead settling in to a happy life. Most importantly, Izzy's death was nowhere near sad enough to function as a tragic death. Sure, there was some sadness in his death scene, but the funeral scene was incredible short and almost offensive in its lack of emotional impact. If anything, Izzy's death seems to have cleared up Ed's emotional issues instead of burdening him with despair.

The Final Redemption

This is a classic for redeemed villains and cynical antiheroes. In these deaths, the character marks the end of their character arc by making some final sacrifice for the greater good or their new friends. Their death has meaning for the dead character, the plot, and those they sacrificed themselves to protect.

Izzy's cause of death is more or less random. He just happens to be the one holding the knife to the villain's back.

You could say Izzy's final words are his final redemption, with him giving a final apology. This could work, but unfortunately, not with Ed. At least not how it was handled here.

Izzy had already completed his character arc of accepting Ed retiring and supporting Stede and Ed's relationship. Worse, any of Izzy's wrongs against Ed pale in comparison to Ed's wrongs against Izzy, especially in S2. It doesn't help that Ed had an entire arc of him failing to come even slightly close to making up for what he did. So instead of being glad that Izzy apologized to Ed on his deathbed, we're baffled Izzy is apologizing to the man who forced him to eat his own toes, shot off his leg, and drove him to suicide.

And his dying words fall on deaf ears, since Ed just up and leaves his "family" immediately.

The Good Death

Everyone has to die sometime. A good death is a scene where a character dies, usually due to some sort of natural cause, at peace. This may mean they're surrounded by family and friends, or doing what they love to do most. The point is that, while death is inevitable, to die well is still a happy ending.

Izzy's death isn't peaceful, and following a sneaky plan from Stede isn't what he loves to do most. Worst of all, he isn't surrounded by family. Sure, a some people say he is, but watch the scene again. The reason Roach doesn't even attempt to help Izzy is not only because Izzy is a goner (for some reason). He is also giving Ed space to be with Izzy semi-privately.

Everyone who Izzy developed relationships with is standing back in favor of Ed, who he has just barely started to get along with again. You can't even get a good look at the faces and reactions of some of the characters who had the most meaningful interactions with Izzy.

You could say it's a good death because he is with Ed, but the plot has simply failed to build this up as something satisfying. In fact, focusing on Ed is sort of tragic in and of itself. If this is Izzy's ideal happy ending, it suggests he was obsessed with Ed to the point he'd rather die giving advice and closure to Ed (who will ignore his advice) than be close to the people who actually helped him heal and find peace.

Conclusion

Writing this actually helped clarify, I think, why the death didn't work, but might seem to be doing something on the surface.

There are all sort of bits from each of these meaningful types of deaths. Izzy's speech to Ricky seems like a statement that could seem like part of a brave, dramatic confrontation or last stand, but the actual killing blow falls out of nowhere, without drama. There is tale of revenge that the leads have no interest in pursuing. Izzy's apology is supposed to be a capstone to his development with Ed, but Izzy's supposed corruption of Ed was so downplayed compared to Ed's brutal abuse of Izzy that him apologizing felt more offensive than cathartic. We're supposed to feel like Izzy finally got to die happy after a long life, but Izzy's life just seemed to be starting after healing from his trauma, with his life snatched away just when he was beginning to explore its possibilities.

This is the danger of relying on tropes without understanding the underlying reason why they work. It's why you can't say, "Izzy is a mentor figure, actually, so he should die for Ed's development" on the day you're shooting the scene.

[thecagedsong]

So one take on TOTK’s ending I’ve seen quite a bit of is the idea that it deprived all dramatic weight from Zelda’s sacrifice and that she should have suffered the consequences of her choice (I.e. stay a dragon forever or come back as a dragon human hybrid). This strikes me as a shallow reading of the text and another example of how some people think punishment (or in this case “dying for a cause”) is the only viable ending for someone who made the choice Zelda made. It really rubs me the wrong way given all the development and tragedy she faced in both games. What are your thoughts?

There is something beautiful and tragic and meaningful about the stories etched upon our skin by powers beyond our control. I don't think the people that wish for Amputee Link or Dragon Zelda think that 'dying for a cause' is the only reward for sacrifice. It comes from the truth that most of us don't get to recover from the consequences of our actions the way characters in a story can. Which I absolutely get (one of my earliest fics was written to call out anime fanservice). To escape with no scars or signs that anything awful happened can feel unrealistic or like cheating in a world where we must bear the consequences of our actions. But is that really what happened?

First off is the Doyalist framework the story has to exist within. This is a video game for a major franchise that, while they are excellent at re-writing and ignoring their own canon, still needs to be available for future stories to be told through it. After all the emphasis botw placed on the 'goddess bloodline', if they were to kill Zelda, or even render her sterile, that puts a huge shadow over any future games they could make. You don't kill Harry in the Order of the Phoenix. The stories of Hyrule are far from over, even if this would be a satisfying end point for the timeline. Heck, there's no guarantee Link's not going to wake up in his underwear in a damp cave a third time, tbh. That's the reality of why Zelda had to return to her old body.

But does that mean that totk is a bad story? Does it render Zelda's sacrifices meaningless? Do these sacrifices only have meaning if she came back visibly changed?

I don't think so. Because the sacrifice was never about her body, it was always about her sense of self. "To become an immortal dragon is to lose ones' self" was the sacrifice that was demanded and that Zelda offered.

Guess what? She did have to leave Link to face Ganondorf without her. Zelda did lose all sense of herself for uncountable years. Zelda's memories, her sense of self, was stripped away from her and scattered across all of Hyrule.

It was only because Link loved her enough to collect the pieces of who Zelda was, only because he was able to understand them through the gift of Rauru's arm, and only because both Sonia and Rauru consigned themselves to living as spirits for as long as Zelda was a dragon, that Zelda's sense of self was returned.

It may feel like cheating, or maybe unearned, that Zelda got her body and sense of self back with no visible changes. But how many times have other people stepped in to help shoulder the consequences of your actions? How many times did your parents step in when you made a mistake, to give you another chance?

You ever leave the fridge open as a kid, and accidentally spoil all your food? In a family where money is tight, Mom and Dad might have to sacrifice eating full meals for a while so that their children can eat. That sacrifice is a form of love. If the neighbor hears about it (thin walls) and brings over some casseroles they took from their food stores, that took a few hours to make, does that diminish the parent's sacrifice for their kids? The consequences of that sacrifice, going hungry, have gone away because someone else stepped in.

The mistake was Rauru and Sonia's, letting Ganondorf in and not being strong enough to stop him. The sacrifice was Zelda's, her mind/memories/self. The intercessors are Rauru, Sonia, and Link, unwilling to let Zelda bear the full weight of her sacrifice.

Yes, we live in a world where we often do not get to walk away from the consequences of our sacrifices/choices unscathed. But we also live in a world where, every once and a while, we do get to walk away with only internal changes. Almost always because other people were willing to sacrifice too. Your parents? your siblings? Your friends? Your god?

Zelda's hylian body is a reflection of the sense of self she regained. Of her agency as a character instead of as a mindless dragon/a living sacred site. Zelda's character arc ends with her accepting the sacrifice demanded of her by reclaiming her responsibility towards the people of her Hyrule, taking up the mantle of power and leadership once again. The fact that other people step in to blunt the weight of that sacrifice does not degrade how Zelda changed to get there or what she went through.

It's actually the conclusion of Rauru, Sonia's, and Link's arcs that they also sacrificed to support Zelda. Her arc pulls all the others to their conclusions. Zelda is the narrative gravity of totk. I can't call that bad writing.

[avelera]

I think the term, “flaws” as a necessity for writing well-rounded fictional characters is often misunderstood. It can lead to new writers thinking these flaws should be in a laundry list alongside their OCs hobbies, eye color, and favorite food.

All of the above traits shouldn’t exist in a vacuum. They all need to serve the story in some way, usually by illustrating plot, character, or themes in a way that enhances the story.

Saying a character’s flaw is that they’re “clumsy” isn’t really a flaw unless this trait stands between them and what they want in a meaningful way. Being clumsy is an obstacle for a dancer, or for a teenager who will be socially judged and derided in a meaningful way to the story. Even still, it’s a somewhat shallow and overused flaw.

What got me thinking about this is the fanfic characters I tend to enjoy writing are flawed people. The more flawed, the better.

I struggled to write Nicky and Joe in The Old Guard because they don’t really have any flaws. They’re never stupid, or selfish, or awkward, or mean. I couldn’t really write them until I wrote a story where the plot is that one of them gets returned by amnesia to his pre-character development Crusader self, back when he was prejudiced, quick to anger, and provincial in his world view. Then I had somewhere to go with them.

By contrast, Newt and Hermann from Pacific Rim are riddled with flaws, and it made them not only popular characters, but a blast to write. They’re rude, loud, snarky, selfish, self-involved, self-important, arrogant, and mean. They’re also both sincerely trying to save the world and willing to sacrifice themselves to do it if necessary. It makes them a wonderful mass of contradictions and it makes them feel like real people.

And recently I wrote about my desire to write Dream and Hob from Sandman as more like their comic selves, with all the rough edges and taciturn misanthropy and selfishness and rudeness that implies. I don’t want to write perfect people.

I saw a post that imagined Hob as passionate about returning artifacts stolen by the English to their country of origin. It was a very sweet post and fun, don’t get me wrong. But as a perverse creature, my first thought was, “Ok, but what if he wasn’t? What if he, as a former bandit and soldier for the Crown, wasn’t in favor of the artifacts being returned? What if he was the opposite?”

Now to be clear, I think it’s more in character for the brief glimpse of the Teacher Hob we see for him to be more worldly, more in favor of repatriation. I genuinely think that take is probably more accurate to the character.

That’s not the point.

The point is that I think one way to avoid creating these sort of perfect shiny soft characters with all the rough edges sawed off is to ask, “Ok but what if they didn’t do the right thing here?”

What if they don’t have perfect, up to date progressive political views on all possible topics? What if they weren’t always altruistic? What if they don’t always say just the right thing to their lover when that person is feeling down? What if they have moments where they’re stupid, selfish, insensitive, prejudiced, rude, awkward, or off-putting?

Personally, I think that’s how you get more interesting characters, who are more like real people and, more importantly, have room to grow or sometimes not grow in a way that better serves your story.

[lestappenforever]

Heyyy!! I just wanted to drop some thoughts on Charles Ferrari contract because it seems very fishy atm.

This entire assumption of a 50 mil extension till 2029 is going off of one (1) rumour spread by one (1) Italian source so already there should be some alarm bells. Plus, it is highly unlikely that Charles would sign it since even the rumours are saying that there is an agreement but nothing is on paper. And there may well be an agreement like this but it is highly likely that Charles will sit on it as long as possible and most likely until mid season which gives Ferrari enough time to demonstrate improvement. We know that especially in the latter parts of the season Charles has been increasingly disillusioned with Ferrari that stems from a combination of things that Ferrari and Fred are trying to publicly alter so it would suite Charles and his needs but as another anon here pointed out, Ferrari is Ferrari and the core issues don’t just lie with a shitty car this season but are actually embedded in the structure of the team and Ferrari as an organisation.

That being said, there is regardless no way that Charles would sign anything now because it makes very little sense; he has already been able to get lot just by putting pressure on Ferrari and casting doubt over his position with them post-2024, including getting a car developed around him and questioning if Carlos should continue with Ferrari as a second driver. It’s also been mentioned multiple times that he has said that his possible extension will depend on the car next year and it’s development and it is way too early to tell anything meaningful. Also this is basically the same rumour that circulated post-Monza and nothing came from it so it may be that an agreement doesn’t even exist although I am more inclined to think that there is an agreement but Charles won’t sign anything until much later on once he his confidence in Ferrari and being able to win a WDC with them is restored.

This second theory would explain why people related to Ferrari and Ferrari officials have Ben taking part in excessive public pandering for the past couple of weeks. There is much being said about how amazing Charles is and comparing him to Michael etcetc but that just seems like publicly trying to convince him and as they have done before, create public pressure and expectation for him to sign the extension. It may be that, just as the rumours post-Brazil, that these rumours were also intentionally spread for this same reason.

On thé other side is rbr and I really don’t think that all of the things that we have picked up on are suddenly void just because of these rumours. It is almost a certainty that charles and rbr went back into negotiating or at least having informal talks (hence the shift of the teams attitude towards Charles) about a possible future with rbr. For rbr, they don’t lose anything by trying to sign Charles. If they get him that’s great if they don’t then that’s fine because they have a considerably large talent pool to pick and choose from so they only have to gain in pursuing Charles. Obviously there may well be worries about dealing with two number one drivers but I think after Charles show in Singapore and Abu Dhabi they would be certain that he would be able to make sacrifices for the team, it would be a case of getting max on the same agenda but since we haven’t seen max be put into a similar position in a long time because of rbrs dominance, we can’t really say how he would act. Two number one drivers is a risk but as we have said before if any team potentially would and could do it, it would be rbr.

I am willing to bet that the moment pre-season testing starts, rbr will start to court Charles again and farming lestappen content because once more, they have nothing to lose, if nothing comes of it then they will still have massive engagement because as we are increasingly seeing: lestappen sells. Also, we should wait for the FIA prize giving ceremony on Friday because we are bound to get some interesting content. The devil works fast but Christian Horner works faster so let’s see.

Anon, I love you. I'm not even going to add anything to this because I agree with every single thing you've said, and there's nothing you haven't covered in this ask.

I just want to point out this particular part, because it is absolutely true:

The devil works fast but Christian Horner works faster so let’s see.

Only time will tell how this saga will actually end, and I'm personally very excited to see where it goes.

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful thoughts! ❤️

[iri-2]

I Love You Like That

Rating: Not Rated Category: F/F Fandom: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse) Relationships: Mother Miranda/Reader Characters: Mother Miranda, Alcina Dimitresu, Bela Dimitrescu, Cassandra Dimitrescu, Daniela Dimitrescu, Donna Beneviento, Angie, Eva

Miranda's dishes remain delicious as always, making you set aside the exorbitant prices demanded by the merchant who calls himself the Duke. Unlike other villagers, he doesn't fear Miranda's presence; he only cares about whether he's making enough lei. When he sees you beside Miranda, there seems to be something meaningful in his money-grubbing smile. You swear he continued to watch you both with amusement as you left.

This village is truly peculiar.

After lunch, Miranda quickly locks herself up in the laboratory. You have noticed this a long time ago. When she first joined The Connections, every time she finished lunch, she was always the first to return to the laboratory. You simply thought she was passionate about the research. But this time, her pace as she walks into the laboratory is not as steady as before. There is a hint of unease mixed in, as if she is running away from something. Is that you make her feel uncomfortable?

Miranda hides in her laboratory. Her frequent interactions with you have left her enthralled. As she sits at the dining table, once again gazing at you, the icy woman within her suddenly awakens, telling her to stay away from you. Her feelings for you would only interfere with her achieving her goal. She should rule over this village with authority, not allowing outsiders in or villagers out, just like her inner self. Many things that have happened recently are unfamiliar to her, yet they bring back the Miranda from over a hundred years ago, a time when she was mortal yet content. She knows that without Eva, she will never truly experience complete happiness, but when you speak to her softly, when you gaze at her eagerly, when you touch her gently, even the coldest ice can melt. This sensation unsettles the Mother Miranda, prompting her to avoid you. She doesn't allow it, she prohibits it.

You walk quietly down the road, contemplating your relationship with Miranda. Despite her refusal, she still considers you her friend. Well, friend is an appropriate term, isn't it?

Although you can't shake off the feeling that your presence is something strange for this village, you're not confined by that feeling and decide to interact with the villagers, maybe they'll get used to your presence. You simply hope so. But things run counter to your wish, as you pass by the houses, you are like a repulsive magnetic pole, the villagers within a few meters stiffen their movements, which is hard to ignore.

It's like an invisible hand pressing the mute button. Until someone breaks the silence.

As you pass by the statue in the center of the village, a girl peeks out from between the iron gates and gently calls out to you. "Miss, are you from the outside?" she asks in a hushed voice.

"Yes?" you nod.

"How are you still able to be out on the streets?" the girl asks anxiously.

"Sorry, what?" you ask, bewildered.

"Mother Miranda should have sacrificed you, if the rumors I heard are true. And I saw her buying a lot of things from the Duke, preparing for it." Her voice lowers even more.

"Mother Miranda? You mean my Miranda, no, I mean my colleague Miranda?" You blurt out something embarrassing.

The girl doesn't realize your little mistake, she glances outside quickly, making sure there's no one else, then pulls you inside. "Some say it's not auspicious for Mother Miranda to bring outsiders into the village, someone must've offended the Black God here. You must be a sacrifice to it." The girl says nervously.

Your brain is filled with confusion. "Wait, I don't understand. First, you also call Miranda 'Mother'? As they address it in the cloister? Second, who's this 'Black God' and why am I a sacrifice? I was brought here just for vacation," you feel like you're in some kind of cult story and decide to make a joke, and you emphasize the word "brought".

"You don't know? She's our priestess, she preaches to us, blesses our lives," the girl looks at you incredulously.

"Am I dreaming, or am I having some hallucination? If I remember correctly, Miranda is a scientist, who came to my organization for research." The girl's expression is extremely serious, no hint of joking, and you start to feel uncertain about what to say next, "She did bring me here in some unusual way. But what you're talking about, being a priestess or something, she never told me about it."

"Everything that was offered as a sacrifice never appeared again after entering the fields, but you come out of there unharmed," the girl's face holds a bit of hope. But hope for what? "I heard there are traces of lycans at the village border, it's her defense for the village, but it's also trapped us inside... If you can walk around freely, maybe we can..."

The gate behind you creaks open, and an old man with a shotgun slung over his shoulder steps in. "Elena! What are you doing?" then he looks at you, angry and sort of scared, "The outsider? Did you bring her into our yard? What if anyone else or Mother Miranda sees what you’ve done..."

"But father, she might be the hope we..." Elena is immediately cut off by her father's stern voice, "Go back to your room." Elena looks at you, her lips trembling, then turns and runs into the house. Her father stares at you, his hand gripping the shotgun strap tighter, poised as if to raise the barrel any second, "Outsider, you're not welcome here. Leave."

"I... I'll leave right away, just calm down." You almost make a gesture of surrender and leave their yard, closing the gate behind you.

It's not normal if you don't feel a wave of anger. You did nothing wrong. You shouldn't be treated like this. Miranda clearly still hides a lot from you. What did that girl Elena mean by her words?

"What did she tell you?" Miranda looks out the window. She has her back to you, hands gripping the window sill.

You recount Elena's words to her in detail. The air around Miranda suddenly chills, and you don't know why she looks taller. Instead of defending herself, she asks you, "Do you believe those nonsensical words?"  

Do you?

"Do you believe I brought you here as a sacrifice to the Black God?" she questions again.

"She said they've always been isolated, and from what I saw, it seems to be true. Perhaps that's the only explanation for why this village seems so peculiar." Did you respond directly?

Her knuckles turn white. "I haven't told you the truth. Originally I have a better way to tell you this, but it seems impossible now."

"Better than your fluctuating attitude. Listen, Miranda, I don't know why you were still willing to bring me to your hometown, and tell me about Eva after rejecting me, maybe because we seem to be good colleagues and friends. " When you mention "friends", Miranda's body seems to shrink abruptly. You walk towards her, hand attempting to touch her shoulder.

"You know, I've been preventing some irreversible things from happening all along." She thinks about how you have unwittingly stepped into her shattered, insane life and found yourself sinking deeper into this bottomless quagmire.

"I don't care who you are, I just hope you'll reveal your true self to me."

"As you wish." You see the fabric behind her cardigan tear, and black feathers protrude from the cracks, covering her beige cloth in an instant.

"Miranda..." Your hand freeze in mid-air. "This is the truth." Miranda's voice carries a steel-like coldness. " Yes, I am the priestess of this village, I am their Mother Miranda."

"The portraits I saw in some places, the goddess with black wings..." Images of the the details you once skimmed over in the village flash in your mind. That is Miranda...

Her figure almost blends into the dark night outside, only the faint lights in the room outline her, letting you know she is still there. But her words want to push you far away, "I’ve controlled the village for a long time. Those who resisted me were dealt with by myself. They were all nothing but my lab subjects, only useful for sacrificing themselves for my Eva." You can hear her gritting her teeth. "You’ve seen Moreau and Heisenberg, they were all subjects I once wanted to use as vessels for my Eva, along with Dimitrescu and Beneviento. I bestowed various abilities upon them, making them my assistants, and appointed them as the Four Lords to help me manage this village. And I joined The Connections just to find a way to resurrect my daughter. I don't expect ANYTHING unnecessary to happen." Her voice intentionally becomes cruel, coming from behind the dark feathers.

"So, you're saying I'm a burden to you." Your voice decreases, but you don't think it is due to the revelation that this woman is kind of the ruler of this place.

"You ARE my burden!" Miranda sounds fierce, her words are like sharp spikes, ready to shoot from the jet black feather clothes at any moment. "And I'm going to deal with it."

Her harsh words are her thorny shield, a way to protect her love for Eva, her only love. No one can understand her feeling of spending a lifetime trying to retrieve her daughter. She needs to block out her other feelings. She has to become ruthless to control the villagers, she must eliminate other thoughts in order to focus solely on her research. She rarely leaves the village, maintaining her sacred image within this small rural settlement. In her interactions with the outside world, with you, she remains to be high and mighty, making things difficult for you at every turn. In her inner world, there are only she and Eva, and everyone else is a blur. Once she thought you were just one of them. After enduring various forms of intolerable behaviors from her, you still chose to stay in the laboratory, assisting her in research. Miranda won't admit that she enjoys seeing you meticulously conducting experiments, she won't admit that she enjoys your company.

She suddenly turns towards you, her ten wings as black as the night, obscuring everything.

You don't know where you wake up, but it's not Miranda's warm bed. The only thing you can tell from the exquisite wine rack nearby is that it's a wine cellar.

Someone opens the door, and the light that streams in makes you squint. The person's footsteps are silent, as if gliding in. A woman's voice rings out, "Our guest is awake."

"Let me see her!" Another woman enters. As you adjust to the light, you open your eyes to find two women in gothic dresses and hooded cloaks standing before you.

"Who are you? What is this place? And where is Miranda?" You panic.

"Don't be nervous, we won't harm you, I suppose," the woman with dark hair says in a playful tone.

"Cass, isn't this the woman Uncle Karl mentioned, the one who makes Miranda unsettling?" The other woman with red hair seems excited.

"Really? I thought Mother Miranda had maintained her calm priestess demeanor for decades. How do you manage that?" Cass, the dark-haired woman, asks you curiously.

You have no idea what kind of situation you've gotten yourself into. A while ago, you were working in the lab, and now you're trapped in a strange wine cellar, surrounded by two women dressed more archaically than the villagers. What's even more confusing is about her—Miranda. You never doubted her true identity, not even questioning how she brought you to the village. Have you been too deeply immersed in her rejection, lost in her ambivalent behavior? Now everything that's happening requires you to understand and digest. You don't believe she really kidnapped you and offered you to some 'Black God'. You are convinced of Miranda's unusual identity. Oh, how you wish this was an illusion. But deep down, you hope some of her behaviors are real.

"So Miranda dumped me here and left you two to watch over me?" You can only accept the reality temporarily.

"In fact, it's not like that," the redhead says. "Mother said she was entertaining Donna and Angie when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Mother Miranda was standing there, not as calm and collected as when she usually comes for discussions but rather agitated. And she had someone unconscious with her, who seems to be you."

"She never used to bring the heretics herself, you're probably the first one she brought here in her arms," the dark-haired woman chuckles. "And you don’t look like a heretic."

"She didn't even give Mother any instructions. She just pushed you onto Mother and said, 'Alcina, take care of her,' then vanished. That left Mother quite puzzled, so she ended up locking you in the wine cellar as usual." The redhead vividly describes the scene, as if she were there herself.

"How did you manage to make the stone-hearted priestess flustered, outsider?" The dark-haired woman leans in to observe you. You vaguely feel she's not entirely mortal either.

"Cassandra! Daniela! Why are you still here? Mother told you to behave and not run around when we have guests," a blonde woman enters.

"Bela, do you know she's the one who made Mother Miranda so different?" Daniela's big smile still hangs on her face.

"I do. Mother just discussed how to deal with her with Donna. In fact, they were also at a loss." Bela replies.

"Wait, can I say something?" You can't help but speak up, "I know Miranda is your priestess, but from what you just described, she didn't intentionally abandon me here, is that right?" Warmth floods your heart, along with a chuckle, even though they're still shrouded in unpredictable facts.

"That's right. Mother decided to let you stay in our castle until Mother Miranda returns to decide what to do with you," Bela says.

"Um, since this is a castle, can I not stay in the wine cellar? Can I sleep in a fancier place, like the living room floor?"

You are led into the foyer by the sisters. When they levitate, you feel like your eyeballs are about to pop out. "Come on, startled little thing," Daniela tugs at your arm. Sitting on the sofa in the foyer are two ladies. One has a towering figure you've never imagined, dressed in a white silk gown with a wide-brimmed black hat. Bela tells you she's their mother, Lady Dimitriscu. The other lady is in mourning attire, veiled in black, with only her ears and hands exposed. You're informed she's Lady Beneviento, accompanied by a doll named Angie. When you decide not to be surprised by anything today, the doll speaks up."The Bird Lady’s favorite!"

You see Lady Beneviento gesture to quiet Angie down.

"You truly are a miracle. No one has ever elicited such a reaction from Mother Miranda in all the years since she lost her daughter," Lady Dimitriscu speaks as she sizes you up.

"How many years has Eva been gone from her?" you ask sorrowfully, knowing how much Miranda loves her daughter.

"It's been a century. When I first met her, she wasn't as distant as she became in the following decades. Perhaps it was because her hope for Eva's resurrection was greatest at that time. But after countless failures, she became more and more indifferent, sometimes even cruel. Besides accepting volunteers, she would tie the heretics to the operating table and complete her experiment, which was when the rumors of lycans began. For those decades, her life was only about preaching and experimentation, and nothing else could move her." Lady Dimitriscu tells you with grief. "You're the first."

You cannot imagine how much pain Miranda has gone through. The Spanish flu took away her only love, causing her to isolate herself for a hundred years. You finally fully understand her various ambiguous behaviors before. There's something pulling her true self, restraining her, forcing her to suppress her emotions and desires. Who could treat her like this? Only herself.

You get lost in your thoughts for a while until Angie sharply calls your name, which brings you back to reality. You see Lady Beneviento gesturing something to her doll, then Angie speaks with a soothing voice, "Miranda has helped us a lot, and I'm grateful for that. I'm willing to do something for her. But in recent years, she's become increasingly reluctant to appear in public eye, you know, she's almost like Donna now." Angie's voice suddenly becomes sharp at the end of her statement.

"With her help, I have three daughters, Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela. That's the happiest thing for me. I hope she can find her happiness too, just hoping the process isn't so painful. I'm looking forward to sharing the joy of raising daughters with her." Lady Dimitriscu smiles, but her eyes look bitter at the three girls teasing around Lady Beneviento and Angie, one slightly reserved, one ready to quarrel with Angie and start a chase, and one teasing her sisters.

"In any case, we really enjoy our lives," Lady Dimitriscu concludes. Bela can't stop her sisters and Angie from quickly leaving to play, so she awkwardly sits beside Lady Beneviento, letting go of Cassandra's cloak in her hand. Lady Dimitriscu shares a lot about their experiences with Miranda.

"I didn't know about these things before. I was attracted to her, even confessed my feelings to her, and then she rejected me." You tell them about your laboratory life with Miranda.

"Perhaps you are the new variable in Miranda's experiment," a deep, slightly hoarse voice comes from behind the black veil.

At this moment, the three wind-like women return to the living room, all saying in unison, "Miranda is at the door!" They've watched her hesitating to knock on the door for several minutes.

You realize you have to say something to her now. You really hope Miranda can find her true self. It's something you can do.

You open the door and see her standing there in a subdued manner, her hands twisted together uncomfortably.

"Hey, this doesn't look like you're the village's priestess!" you step forward and gently place your hand on hers. Miranda looks up, surprised to see you opening the door. There's a hint of panic in her blue eyes, "Oh." Then she seems to try to calm herself down. She releases her hand, letting yours slip away naturally. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

You come a bit closer to her, "No." "Even if I tell you my true identity, the things I've done, including abducting you." Miranda tries to bury her unease in the pebbles on the ground. "No, Miranda. You don't need to be flawless," your hands cover her cold cheeks, making her look up, meeting your eyes, "I know I can't completely understand your pain, but you're allowed to have other feelings. You've just kidnapped yourself, thinking your love for little Eva should be everything. But accepting others' feelings for you doesn't change anything, my dear. You're the village's priestess, people should love and respect you, not fear you. The wooden goat would prefer neighbors who play and laugh with it, rather than being lonely in a solemn shrine. It would also want to see the world outside the mountain." You see waves in her eyes. "Allowing yourself to be whole won't stop you from finding Eva. If Eva wakes up and sees her mother is so different from the last time she saw her, will she feel strange and sad?" "I...never thought about these things." She closes her eyes, feeling your thumb brushing away her tears.

"It's okay, Miranda. You can try, so the villagers won't be afraid, and the Four Lords can find their friend Miranda, rather than having a chilling superior-subordinate relationship."

"What about you?" Miranda asks softly.

"Me? I'll do my best to help you achieve your wish, to have Eva by your side again."

"I have a simpler wish." You've hardly ever seen Miranda smile like this. She puts her hand on the nape of your neck, pulling you towards her, planting a gentle kiss on your lips.

"Hey, Miranda." You tuck a strand of her dark hair behind her ear.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know crows are actually colorful in the eyes of other birds?"

"What?"

"Didn't the Megamycete tell you?" you chuckle, embracing her.

[snapscube]

hihihi ok. so i’m in my last of us fixation mode and i’m being extra silly about it but i NEED to know what’s ur current opinion on the last of us hbo?? also i logged onto tumblr and saw a lot of rly good points defending joel’s final choice and i remember during the last of us pt1 playthrough u had differing opinions so i wonder if u think the show’s differences affect that at all? btw i LOVE ur stuff and cannot wait until u do last of us pt 2 wehehehehe!!! anyway besides all that i just want u to know that u are one of the things in my life that makes it easier to get up in the morning

I still feel exactly the same about the final events as I always have! The show didn't change it for me, and actually being able to remove myself from being in control of the situation in the game and actually just watch the events play out in show format solidified that further. The connection I have to Joel as a player when I play the game really helps me understand his perspective more and stomach the goal a bit more easily, but without that immediate intimacy it puts into perspective for me how kinda monstrous the whole thing is from every angle. Obviously I don't ever lose that sympathy for him, and I never stop understanding why, because the whole point of the conflict is that no one is in the right. Ultimately I think the damning thing for every single person involved is that they removed Ellie's agency from the equation, and I still stand by that. They all should have talked to her. They should have told her the truth. All she wants is for her immunity to matter, and I believe that they may have been surprised at the lengths she's willing to go in order to make a difference, whether it's ultimately the right call or not.

I don't know what arguments you've seen exactly in defense of Joel's choice, but personally I don't really agree with one I see a lot and I'd expect will pop up again now that the show is over, which is the whole "well who's to say a vaccine would have worked anyway?????" angle. I think, while reasonable from a meta standpoint, completely ignores the intended framing of the story in order to more conveniently justify a protagonist that the story through its entire runtime is trying to tell you is a little bit of a piece of shit. It's pretty clear and safe to assume that the ultimate intent here is that... yes, the vaccine WOULD have worked. Maybe not in the sweeping way they hoped, but Ellie's sacrifice absolutely would have done something. The whole moral dilemma of the situation really does not make any sense unless you give them that as fact imo.

So then, assuming that is true, you have to wrestle with the idea that Joel is willing to take down the entirety of humanity for Ellie. And not really for Ellie, because none of this is what Ellie wanted. The game AND the show QUITE LITERALLY SPELL OUT for us that Ellie really really really does not want to go back to Jackson without finishing what they started, regardless of the cost. Joel's reasons for saving Ellie, while understandable, are ultimately selfish and rooted in his own trauma and having just seen the light at the end of his grieving over Sarah. Again, incredibly sympathetic, but it's selfish. I know we like to joke as much, but Ellie IS NOT his daughter. They share a similar bond after everything they go through, but by the end of the game you can already feel Ellie pulling away from that notion because she's starting to realize Joel doesn't have the same commitment to the idea of her immunity being meaningful as she does, they're only a few miles away and he's already asking her to give up and go back to Jackson with him.

Then, of course, I think what ultimately damns Joel in my eyes on a poetic/storytelling level is his decision to lie to Ellie after it's all over. That's the nail in the coffin for me. It would be one thing if he said "they were going to kill you on that operating table without even telling you what was going on and I couldn't let them do that", but instead he lies to her to make sure she's still able to see him as the father he desperately wants to be again. It doesn't change anything. He tells her her worst fear has come to pass: her immunity, this unexplainable thing that has taken so many of her loved ones from her, is completely useless. Not only that, but now even more people are dead. Including Marlene, who's known her since birth. The only thing his lie changes is the fact that he's responsible for it all.

Anyway, part of what I love most about The Last of Us Part II is how it follows up on these threads and you may be pleased to know that I actually just started streaming the game last night after the HBO finale premiered cause I was so pumped up I couldn't wait any longer haha. So you'll be seeing VODs for that soon :)

[goodshipskypirate]

I had to think about it. Garl coming back, that is.

I'm excited, I'm happy. I wrote an entire essay on how unfair it was that the normal, regular guy gets to bite it when he wanted more than anything to be the best he could be precisely because he was "average." And there was nothing "average" about him; Garl had the biggest heart, an endless determination, and a sparkling charisma to carry him and his friends (and my heart) to the end. Too Good For This Sinful Earth, this man embodied. So it stood to reason he died.

And it was emotional and I was screaming and yelling because it was so unfair, even if Garl was at peace from day one, because he's unflappable and forgiving. It was bittersweet, that a man who impacted so many, got to be the one to die so young. It also felt tragic, as if Garl ultimately knew he was not exceptional, always knowing his place was as a support character, even if his very function and being proved otherwise, so he gets to die as one, satisfied that he's done his duty.

I wanted him to live all the way through the end and was just so fucking MAD about it. Oh, because he wasn't a Solstice Warrior or a soul-in-a-glass-jar or a robot ninja, he gets to die? The "regular one?" Even though he tried so damn hard to be an asset. He wasn't even trying to one-up anyone, he's just good at raising hope, but the point was that he trained and trained and trained so he could be a secondary help, knowing when to step away. By all rights, he shouldn't have died! He tried so damn hard when the cards were stacked the most against him! Yeah, I was mad!

Turns out the game knew that and pulled a fast one on me, because here he is, alive and well. Sea of Stars understood that The Normal One should not have been the one to die just because he's the most vulnerable and comparatively bland to the rest of the main party; it's because he soared beyond what most people expected of him that the narrative allowed his return, because of all people, he deserved to return.

And yet, here I was screaming, "But that means his death was cheap."

I don't like Cheap Deaths. I don't like characters being revived after they've performed a heroic sacrifice or died suddenly or whatever was deemed necessary for the sake of the plot. I'm not saying all deaths worked (either because they're just bad emotional manipulators, the death made no narrative sense, etc etc.) and as unfair as I felt for Garl's passing, I can't say it didn't do its job: utterly devastating me, even if I saw the hints coming. The dead should stay dead, especially if you have a meaning behind it. Their memories should carry on to the rest of the cast and give them the drive to save the world and/or be better people. Bringing someone back after all the tears and character journey to get to that , it's just fucking cheap. I hate it. When a character stays dead and it's meaningful, they should stay DEAD. It drives me nuts if they're revived because then it didn't mean SHIT. Graaaaagh! I don't like cheap deaths, it's literally one of my least favorite types of stories!

And I spent pretty much all of last night wondering if I felt the same about Garl's revival before realizing, ya know? I actually don't care. Because I think him returning to the mortal coil so he could have a second chance is infinitely better than letting him be. Because, again, Sea of Stars demonstrated that his short life was cut way too short and they agreed. So they allowed you to fix it.

And that's also the beauty of video games, because even if you still disagree and Garl should remain dead, you actually can! Reviving him is optional. Nothing is stopping you from going back to the Fleshmancer's castle and defeating the last boss, ignoring the Chronophage in the process. Like that option is there if people would rather choose that path. I think in different circumstances, I might have considered that my ending.

It's also freakin' brilliant because this hinged on Resh'an being an absolute, smart ass, stone cold manipulative bastard of the highest order. He knew this was going to happen and altered time in such a way that this legit was foreshadowed all the way back during the post-Dweller of Strife battle. It's another example of the kind of cosmic games and unlimited powers he and his ex possesses, a recurrence of the greater Saboverse and their direct involvement in it. There's a lot to be said on how poorly or not some of the story is affected within its own bubble because of Resh'an and Aephorul's actions, but as a greater scope, it's significant by a huge margin! And there has been a mountain of foreshadowing to get to this point, they didn't pull this shit out of a hat and called it a day.

So yeah, for once, I will embrace the Cheap Death plot. Garl deserves the world, after all. And maybe this time, he can admit that he doesn't need to think of himself as a secondary backup. He never needed to be. He was always equal in Zale and Valere's eyes.

[sunbeamah]

JJK au I can't bring myself to write in full. The events of the anime are tweaked, but they happened many hundreds of years ago, and yeah! it's a little long for a drabble but pls enjoy!

-

"I understand." Yuuji said, nodding slowly. Megumi frowned. He'd expected an outburst- yelling, crying, maybe even a fist or two flying at him.

This was not how he thought his husband would react to his sacrifice at all.

"Yuuji." He demanded. "What-"

"Megumi..." Yuuji said, his dry and cracked lips twisting into the smallest smile Megumi had ever seen from him. "Can you do something for me?"

Megumi panted, glancing back out at the battlefield before them. Who knows how much longer their forces could hold Sukuna off? He needed to do it. He needed to go out there and do it now. The words were on the tip of his tongue, and his fingers twitched, prepared to form fists.

And yet, he waited. Because his husband needed something for him, and when Megumi married him he promised to be a provider for Yuuji, first and foremost.

"What is it?" He asked.

Yuuji leaned forward instead of saying anything, and Megumi met him halfway. A final kiss. Even in the end, Yuuji was always thinking about him first. He remembered his whispered words in their marriage bed- remembered them as the first meaningful things he said that he did not have to recite over and over again to get right.

'If I should die, whether in a year or in a moment, whether in battle or in this very bed-- I want kissing your lips to be the last thing I do.'

Perhaps it wouldn't be the very last thing. No- the very last thing Megumi would do in this world, would be loving Yuuji. Right after killing the King of Curses, and avenging his possessed sister, whose heart still beat, but whose life had ended the second a curse had taken her over.

The kiss was bittersweet. He was sure all the sweetness came from Yuuji, himself. So he tried to pour in his passion, his love, his life force itself into the kiss, to make up for all the bitterness he'd tainted it with.

He got it all back in full.

"Tell Kugisaki and the others, that I'm sorry." He said when he pulled away. Megumi felt something within him, akin to a cord on a biwa, pull taught. "I won't make be able to cook them their victory feast after all."

The cord snapped.

"Yuuji--"

"I love you, Megumi." Yuuji said. Megumi's eyes widened. The last thing he saw was Yuuji's smile become wide and brilliant like it usually was, as a tear fell from one of his golden brown eyes.

He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head- and the image was taken away, replaced with darkness.

When he came to, hours later, it was to a red-eyed and frowning Kugisaki.

They met eyes, and no words were needed between them.

She helped him to his feet, and he sprinted towards the battlefield-

Only to find a wasteland in its place.

All the greenery from the grasses and trees and scattered bushes had been wiped out. The blue water of the river was nowhere to be seen. The redness of blood and purple of curse-bile was gone as if it had never existed. Everything around was grey or brown. Ash or dirt.

Not even the bodies remained.

"Gojo." He didn't bother with an honorific- didn't even think to. "What happened? Where's- Where's Yuuji?"

Gojo didn't answer. Didn't even turn to look at him.

"Oi." He said, his shaky breathing speeding up. "Oi, Gojo."

He walked around to force Gojo to face him- but he wasn't expecting what he found.

"Tsumiki?"

".. Megumi." She said weakly, reaching out to him. He immediately pulled her into an embrace, supporting her full weight and taking her out of Gojo's arms.

"How are you alive? Sister, I.." There was a gentle pressure against his arms, and he released Tsumiki just slightly when he realised it was her trying to pull back.

She took a moment to prepare herself to speak.

"I think.. I met.. Your husband." She said. "Th-the one.. You told me about..."

Megumi gasped. He had spoken to her while she was bedridden, but all their healers told him she wouldn't be able to understand him if she could hear him at all. For years he'd never said a word to his sister. Yuuji had been the one to speak to her, instead, and to convince him to do so as well. 'I know they say she cannot hear us,' he'd said. 'But if she could, well then she should know what she has to look forward to.'

"Yuuji." He said. "You met him- where is he?"

Tsumiki smiled sadly.

No...

"No." He hissed, ignoring the stinging in his eyes and snapping in his heart. "No, you cannot- he would not-"

"Megumi.."

"No! You cannot tell me my husband is dead! You cannot be saved, and alive, and back with me, just to tell me my husband is gone. You were- you two were supposed to be the ones to survive!"

"Megumi--"

"Give her to me." Gojo said.

"No, she is my sister-"

"She needs care. You need something else right now."

"You don't know what I need-"

"On the contrary, I believe I know exactly what you need." Gojo looked him in the eye, and it struck Megumi that he was no longer wearing his mask. The pain and grief in his sky-coloured eyes reminded Megumi of the end of a simpler time and beginning of a more complicated one. When he clutched to himself the body of a monk-dressed assassin he'd just killed and cried like it was his own family member who'd died.

Perhaps it had been.

"Yuuji is gone." He said, and Megumi made an inhuman sound of anger. "And you need to understand that. So go out there and look, and destroy what has not already been destroyed, and do what you will not in front of us. And when you return, we will be here."

Tsumiki reached out for Gojo, and he took her into his arms carefully, before walking off of the deserted field.

Megumi turned back, and did exactly that.

He scoured the entire decimated land for anything that survived.

And when that didn't work he followed the slow-burning fires and found only stray weapons and armour. And when that ended he followed the river as far as its reddened water went, finding only dead horses and useless tools. He kept following the river, long after it had turned blue one more- and found a tree that hadn't been there before.

It was bright and large, stretching well into the sky as if it were something that could cross realms. And though it was the end of winter, when all the snow and ice had melted to leave nothing beneath- this tree was flowering.

The blossoms were a familiar pink.

Megumi fell to his knees at the base of this great tree- and wept. He screamed his pain into the air it breathed, and claws the ground where its roots lay. Why did this happen to Yuuji? Why did he think Megumi could accept this? Could live with this pain? It was killing him. It would kill him.

Why, why, why?

It felt like days had passed by the time he rose to his feet once more. He had not slept, had not eaten, and had not stopped etching his grief into the world before him.

The tree was gone.

He stumbled back along the river, until he found the rotting horses. He followed the burned and blackened stumps of trees, until he found the destroyed once-battlefield. He walked until he reached the small war-tent illuminated by a much smaller fire.

And when he arrived there, he collapsed. Into the arms of his sister, his best friend, his mentor. But not into the arms of the one he craved to see the most. He wasn't surprised. But it hurt all the same.

Zenin Yuuji, his husband, his love, his life itself- was gone.

Megumi died years later, though he wished it was seconds. He fathered no heirs, and was only married once. His mentor attended his funeral. As did his sister. And his best friend. And the Clan he hated. And the family he did not.

They prayed for him to be reunited with his husband in death. He had prayed for this as well.

-

But he didn't expect it to happen like this.

"Excuse me." A woman said, trying to get past him. He moved on autopilot, unblocking the automatic doors of the konbini and putting an end to the alarm that sounded every time the door opened.

He payed none of it any mind. He couldn't-- not when Yuuji was right in front of him for the first time in hundreds of years.

He was across the street, walking casually. He wore a yellow hoodie, blue jeans and red runners, he had a pair of earphones with a cord in his ears, and much shorter hair than he did the last time Megumi had seen him. But it was the same pink and brown colour, and his eyes were the same gold and his lips were the same shape and it was him- it was Yuuji.

Despite being all the way across the street, Megumi took a step forward and opened his mouth, wanting to say something, anything that would get those golden eyes to rest on him once again.

But before he could, another figure was stepping up beside Yuuji, throwing an arm around his shoulders and ruffling his hair, blocking his view of his husband.

Pink hair, red eyes and dark birthmarks in places where black tattoos used to be.

Sukuna.

Megumi clenched his fists, cursing his powerlessness. If only he could still summon his trump card. He sighed.

Even if he could, he wouldn't. It would put Yuuji in danger. He just needed to wait for the walking light to come on, cross the street and then- and then he could look into the eyes of his husband once more.

He tapped his foot impatiently. When the red light for the oncoming cars went on, Megumi crossed without waiting.

Gojo remembered. He was a schoolteacher now, and his husband remembered, too. Nobara remembered. Maki remembered. Even his own father remembered, and he'd been drunk half the time in his old life.

There was no way Yuuji would be the one exception. There's no way fate can be that cruel. Sure, Sukuna was there, too, but Yuuji had always been forgiving. Maybe in this new life- maybe, maybe, maybe-

He caught up to Yuuji and Sukuna quick. They were stopped outside of a pachinko, of course they were, and talking to each other amicably. Megumi reached forward-

And his hand was slapped away.

"Welcome home, my boys."

A woman just shorter than Sukuna rested her hands on their shoulders. His view was blocked by the brothers'.

"Aren't you s'posed to say that when we actually come home? This is a cesspit."

"Shut up Suku-nii, you wish you could live here." His Yuuji said, voice as beautiful as the day he met him. Megumi's throat tightened. He wanted to reach out again-

But his hand wouldn't move.

"No fighting, boys. Go upstairs and wait for Mummy in there, please."

"Yeah, yeah." Sukuna said, dragging Yuuji inside.

And Megumi was powerless to stop them from leaving- as he came face to face with the woman with close-eyed smile, black hair and stitching across the forehead.

"Hello, Zenin-sama." She said, smile morphing into a sickening grin. "Do you- remember me?"

[carnelianwings]

Since @orchids-skyflame asked me over on Twitter which version of the AsuCaga kiss in Seed I prefer more, I figured I'd just write the Massive Wall of Text here, because the post I was writing in Notes on my phone was getting crazy long, to the point where I'm pretty sure it's more than 4 screen shots.

As a refresher, this is a(n unsubbed) clip someone posted of the original version off of the original DVD release of Seed, and this is the same scene, but from the remaster. The dialogue for both versions is the same, but it's the animation that's different, and I think it leads to some changes in how the scene comes across, and I think it's worth discussing.

But if you're not here for a Massive Wall of Text (that will include discussion of AsuCaga into Seed Destiny and Seed Freedom) and just want the short version, the answer is the original, even if AsuCaga kissing with the Earth in the background makes for a very pretty and romantic picture.

(Long answer behind the cut, in writing about this scene I kind of just ran off on an entire tangent about them so, uhhh, take it as you will? XD)

The biggest difference between the two versions is what Athrun does is the opposite - in the original, he pulls Cagalli into his arms before telling her he's glad they met, whereas the remaster has him moving towards her and surprising/flustering her with the hug. And watching both back to back, I realized I came away with two very different sets of feelings from each version.

In the remaster, with Athrun going to Cagalli and hugging her, it puts a greater emphasis on his vow to protect her. He's moving towards her, to cover and shield her, and with the Earth behind both of them as they're kissing, it's putting this idea that Athrun is going into this final battle to protect Cagalli and the Earth. And while that does align with his character and nature as a protector first and foremost, it doesn't match his mindset at that time, and it's something that I think the original scene does a better job of.

With the original, there's a vulnerability to Athrun's body language pulling Cagalli towards him that mirrors his mental/emotional vulnerability in that moment - he has to open his arms (thus metaphorically opening himself up) to pull her in and hold her close. Up until the moment he was shot by his father, he'd believed that his own life had value and meaning to his father, that he was more than a tool, that he was doing something meaningful by fighting to protect PLANT in the service of its military. That his father, like him, was fighting to prevent another Bloody Valentine, and if Athrun had to sacrifice himself in the process, so be it. But GENESIS changed all of that, and it made Athrun realize his father was so lost in his anger and need for revenge that he could no longer see reason, let alone stop and listen to his last remaining family, his own son (who arguably, as a father, Patrick would be hoping to create a better future for) reach out to him to say "Hey, maybe killing all the Naturals isn't the answer here".

And in the process, Athrun's left adrift, separated by his father due to the massive difference in their ideals - despite having a new cause to fight for, it still doesn't help him deal with his inner turmoil in finding he no longer believes in the cause he risked his life for, and, by extension, his connection to his father. What hope is there for him, then, if he can't even talk his own father down from believing and spreading the idea that genocide is the answer? He hasn't given much thought to what comes after - after all, why should he if there's no reason he'd live to see tomorrow - but at the very least in joining the Clyne Faction and the Three Ships Alliance he can protect the people he cares about and stop both sides from destroying each other in an all-out war of mutual destruction.

So here he is, getting ready to sortie into what's shaping up to be the final battle, and he's ready to sacrifice himself here if it means he can stop his father from ending all life on Earth as they know it (and simultaneously make up for it). And here comes Cagalli, telling him she's going out there this time too, because she "doesn't want him to die". And it's not even a general "I don't want more people to die (because I've had enough people I care about die)", it's a very specific "I'm going out there, to make sure you don't die ... and to make sure Kira, who's maybe my little brother (read: my last surviving blood family member) doesn't die either", with an unspoken "because both of you are so important to me I'm willing to risk my life to make sure both of you come back from this battle alive" attached to it.

And Athrun's surprised, because this entire time, he's been told "You're a soldier, if you die fighting to protect PLANT, if you die in battle carrying out your duty as a soldier, your sacrifice will be worth it to make sure PLANT stays safe for another day, so it's okay to throw your life away for this." And it's Cagalli who's reminding him (again) that here's someone who sees value in him continuing to live, someone who desperately wants him to keep living, because she genuinely and sincerely cares about and loves him as an individual, at least as much, if not arguably more than her last surviving family member. And in him pulling her into his arms, it's like he's taking those feelings and accepting and cherishing them, holding them close to him - his heart, really - because in doing so, she gave him a purpose and meaning and something to live for at a time when he felt like he had nothing.

And this sets the stage for the later scene inside GENESIS' reactor room, where she tells him it's a bigger battle to keep living instead of sacrificing himself there like that (so won't he take her hand, her offer of salvation, by hopping in the Rouge with her so they can escape together). And I'm sure it's here that he's decided (if he hadn't before when he kissed her) that he'd live (and die) for her, because more than any other person in his life, she's the one person who most consistently tells him to live, and to keep living no matter what, because he's as important to her as what's left of her family.

And it also feeds into his desperation in Seed Destiny - he really didn't want to go back to ZAFT, but as Alex Dino he had no power, and power is what he needed because between Cagalli's arranged marriage to Yuna and the world spiraling into war again, he felt powerless to stop anything and again, lost his sense of purpose. But at the same time, Cagalli did too, and it's not until the end, when she's sending off the Archangel and they, again, hold each other before a final battle, that there's this wordless exchange. They're both building a better future that has a place for both of them to be together, side by side. And like before, it's him initiating the hug by taking her into his arms, but this time it's the opposite; this time it's him saying "I know you're no longer wearing my ring, but it's okay, we don't need to rush, I still cherish and love you despite everything that's happened." And her hugging him back despite her initial hesitation (because she's the one who took the ring off in the first place as to say she's breaking up with him) is her response - even if she has to (publicly) let him go for now, he's still important to her, she still holds onto him in her heart as tightly as he holds her in his.

So is it any surprise, then, when the chips are (arguably) down, it's Cagalli that Athrun thinks of? That she is his mental (and emotional) shield, to the point that she's enough to turn the tide of the duel in his favor? That despite saying upon their first meeting that he'd kill anyone who tries to steal the Aegis from him, he willingly cedes control of both the Amazing Z'Gok and the Infinite Justice Type II to Cagalli, a less skilled pilot, for her to control them remotely? And when he finally taps into his inner strength to decisively win the duel, it's her colors that come bursting out of his Seed break animation as he's telling Shura that true strength isn't in combat prowess but the will to live (something that Cagalli's taught and reminded Athrun of time and time again)?

On the flip side, the remaster mostly has Cagalli present as a passive participant in the scene - Athrun surprises her with the hug, he's the one who makes the move to kiss her and it's not until near the end as the camera pans back that she kisses him back. It's set up to emphasize Athrun's half of the promise. The original still has her surprised by the hug, but the kiss? That was mutual. She meets him in the middle, and it makes her an active participant in that scene, on par with her Action Girl status up until that point. And it puts her on equal importance, that her vow of protection - despite being the less skilled pilot out of the two of them - is just as important as his, that to Athrun, her determination and desire to protect him is equal to his determination and desire to protect her.

And that desire is what drives her to keep trying her hand at diplomacy and politics even when she's (quite frankly) terrible at it in the beginning of Seed Destiny, because she's been out-maneuvered by people who don't agree with her world view that Naturals and Coordinators can live in harmony (because what they don't realize is that "Alex Dino" is as much her strength as she is his). And in the end, when she ultimately starts getting results (in large part thanks to Durandal conveniently killing off the Seirans and their political allies), it's in service of creating an Orb where Athrun also has a place next to her, not in disguise, but out in the open as himself.

And it's a real pity that Seed Freedom doesn't give Cagalli the opportunity to tap into her Seed mode, because despite the time they spend (physically) apart he's as much a part of her life as she is a part of his, and it would've been nice to have seen it represented on screen with his colors bursting out of her Seed break animation.

So all in all, I like the original version better, because I think it ties better into their future relationship and reflects their situations better.

[raayllum]

At the Same Time

So I was thinking about S4, specifically two of the three main arcs, as Ezran’s speech in 4x03 sets the stage, thematically, for the entire season. It’s not hard to see how it connects to how Janai has to deal with lingering human vs elf sentiments or in her impatient brother who refuses to see the wisdom in Ezran’s ideology. It’s also not hard to see how it connects to Callum’s feelings towards Rayla, given that, “We have to acknowledge the weight of the pain and loss, but open up our eyes and allow ourselves to hope and maybe forgive and love again.” 

However, I was thinking about my post in which I claim the Soren-Claudia reunion scene in 4x07 and the two cakes Janaya scene in 4x08 operate as a Mouthpiece for what Rayllum isn’t saying overtly to one another (for more reason than one) and realizes that applies doubly in Janai and Amaya’s case not necessarily for Callum, but also for Rayla.

Because we can view Ezran’s speech as it is straightforwardly, and it is very thematically rich. But if we connect it further to Ezran and Janai’s similarities throughout the season, something a little bit deeper takes shape.

Which is to say: how you maintain two forces and desires that seem utterly opposing? Just have 

Two Cakes

Amaya argues that Janai’s two paths are not mutually exclusive to each other. Unlike what Karim believes, Amaya posits that Janai should, “Forget Karim: this is not about him. What life do you want?” Forget about the nerves and anxieties in your heart or even about pleasing people (even her as Janai’s fiancee) to determine what does Janai want. She wants her love but also to follow what she feels is her duty, and Amaya reaffirms that Janai can have both. She does not have to sacrifice one for the other (even if it means risking her life in the following episode in order to hold onto the crown).

Janai’s views these two paths and desires as things that cannot be reconciled at first. This is why when she turns to Amaya after the fight in 4x09 and states the future will be beautiful while looking at her future, it’s meaningful and full circle. But the tribunal verdict also proves that while Janai is determined to at first reconcile justice and compassion, she is also aware that having both her place as queen and her place at Amaya’s side will be difficult - not impossible - to likewise reconcile.

This mirrors what Ezran says in his speech about having to acknowledge the weigh of the pain and loss, but to also push forward. To not forget how you have suffered, but to not let yourself be defined by it as well. To realize that pain and love are not mutually exclusive, but largely two sides of the same coin, and you cannot lose sight of either if you want to move forward in a way that will actually heal you. You cannot move forward through denial, but you also cannot move forward if you do not acknowledge your grief. 

On the one hand, we do see this with Callum’s side of Rayla and Callum’s reconciliation (part 1) arc this season. But I think if we keep this idea of opposition in mind, we get a peek into why the 4x09 scene exists for Rayla, after everything. 

In one of the few scenes where she gets to talk about her own feelings, we know Rayla has come to realize or reaffirm that her paranoia and mission to kill Viren made her “risk losing the best thing she ever had: [Callum].” She’s spent the season dealing with the fallout, whether it’s Callum being almost unable to look at her, not wanting to speak with her, still having walls up and not discussing their relationship even as he begins to heavily thaw throughout 4x06-4x08. 

Then rather than paranoia, Rayla is confronted with absolute proof, when she also knows Viren’s plans are deadly and dangerous and would put Callum in the most absolute danger possible (re: Aaravos’ possession). Still, she holds back. She lingers.

Are these two paths, two desires, her mission and the love of her life, doomed to be mutually exclusive, or to have the former tear apart the latter? Can she go after him and still have Callum’s love? 

And Callum, through his own journey that I wanna talk more about, says (in spite of everything), “Yes.”

She can have two cakes (even if it hurts).

[cygnusmori]

Good Omens S2 thoughts ahead, beware of spoilers

It's been already two days since I binge watched the season in one go, and I wanna share some thoughts. However, they aren't positive, if you're looking for praise you won't like this.

I won't talk about the big bad end or Aziraphale, I think there's already enough posts covering the issue and explaining Aziraphale, or theorizing about Metatron, or that Crowley wasn't in the right either.

I wanna talk about him.

For many, it seems like he was the only positive sweet thing about that ending, and that this was his redemption arc.

But I digrees.

See, I've always been fan of Gabriel, and I always thought he was a nuanced character, I don't think Gabriel is anywhere near of perfection. I like him with his flaws, I think he's funny, ignorant, mean at times, and has that alienating "non human" feeling. He did bad things, but I never saw him as an evil big bad force, I never thought he was a villain. He was on the opposing side of our protagonists, which is different.

But that's the S1, let's talk about S2 and why I'm disappointed.

Maybe just showing that he isn't all evil a didn't want to try to destroy the world is enough of a development for most. But not for me, because we didn't see this development.

I'm grateful that he wasn't shown as an evil edgelord compulsive serial abuser? Yeah. Thanks.

But for most of the season, we didn't see Gabriel, we saw Jim. This amnesiac, empty, thoughtless person. I loved him, we all love him, I know! He's sweet, cute, empathetic, dumb, and apologized for something he didn't know he did.

But he didn't have any actual meaningful "eye-opening" experiences with the ineffables. He didn't have like, let's say an attempt at bonding or friendship, or getting to know and discover earth. Everyone theorized and was eager to have Gabriel discovering the wonders of earth and humanity, realizing is worth saving.

And what did we go? ...A flashback in the last episode that lasted less than, what, 6 minutes? Where he just enjoys the same song that Beelzebub. Everything about their relationship is left as just guess work, there's not even a fraction of growth like the ineffables had.

But not just that, is that it was mostly told. Not shown.

We didn't see Gabriel having any actual feelings, or conflicts, or problems, or worries. Nothing.

We're shown he could sacrifice himself to save the humans and trying to avoid the problems he was causing, which is sweet and beautiful! I love him! But that's still Jim...Would Gabriel do it? I wanna say yes, I wanna believe that he would! But that's the problem. we don't really know because we just got about less than 10 minutes of the actual Gabriel.

He remained as this silly amnesiac character for the first 5 episodes. And then on the last 20 minutes he got his memories back, and what did he do, after being protected and cared by Aziraphale and Crowley?

Nothing. There wasn't an exchange of words, there wasn't a "They helped me". There was nothing, there wasn't any explanation for why he actually seeked Aziraphale, besides that little implication made by Metatron that maybe Gabriel thought Aziraphale should be the next leader (which, let me add, could be a lie).

I, even as a fan of Gabe, feel like he had barely anything to offer. No much more relevant bits of his personality than what we already knew. I still thought he was super funny and loveable as Jim, but yeah...not growth. Especially between Aziraphale and him, after all...they knew each other for ages, Aziraphale thought he was awful but also that he would protect him, and this amnesiac Gabriel was eager to apologize and help, where are the follow ups of that?

I get it, he's a side character.

But this season he's a Plot Device.

What about these "lucid moments" where he spoke with the voice of God? Or those "It hurts to remember!"? They meant nothing? They weren't clues, he was just so ready to drop everything?

And as an audience I have to accept he really changed that much, he really didn't care about falling or losing his over 6000 years job. That's so...empty.

I didn't see any eye-opening, or mind-changer experience for him. We saw he's capable of love and respect and selfless actions, I guess, but that's just the most bare minimum, and one that I already always believed, so there's not excitement for me at all.

I think maybe I feel like this because I always thought he wasn't evil, but all of the reasoning for him not being evil, barely got touched. I mean the responsability maniac, the workaholic tendencies, the extreme obedience, the stress, the emotional familiarity with other archangels, the fear of falling... he had none of these things, he apparently changed in four years. That's it. "He's changed, and doesn't care about being the leader! And now he's singing a love song and disappearing happily on the sunset!" is not the direction I expected.

They just left, without consequences besides stepping down of their ranks? Gabriel's memories loss wasn't even a punishment. He had no real consequences for anything and that hurts me, because those are needed for a character to learn and progress. He got rewarded for loving freely, but that love wasn't even actually shown (no, cheesy and super sappy pet names aren't a relationship development)

I'm just sad...or more like devastated about almost everything in this S2. I guess I can just enjoy the fact that him being just a random dude and not worse than the devil himself is my consolation prize. And even with that I was left feeling like I don't have any reason to be in the fandom.

That said, those are just my thoughts. You can disagree and think this season was wonderfully done on every aspect, that's what opinions are.

[positivelybeastly]

Tell me why Simon’s upcoming marvel verse tpb (releasing between xforce 49 and 50) decided to highlight that issue (the one where Hank kisses Simon) out of all the possible issues that actually like. Are meaningful for him as a character and his supporting cast not just the one where he gets gay kissed by a guy who proceedes to dress up in his clothes, his girlfriend wonders if she would be better off getting back with his brother, and the guy who kissed him calls him a chickenplucker before he dips. Like it’s not really an important Simon issue, probably not even the best Hank/simon friendship issue but it kind of feels like they’re saying getting gay kissed by Hank is at least the fourth most important thing ever to happen to Simon, possibly more so than the whole evil and robot brothers thing

I do not understand I feel like the goof kiss is something that can very easily be interpreted as homophobic since essentially it’s saying “what if two men kissed would that be wacky or what”. Why would you bring that up again. Unless…? (Bi Hank real?)

"C'maaaaaan, you aren't still dwelling on that ol' gag, are you? It was for fun! You don't think Bugs Bunny has feelings for other fellas, do you? Just a little harmless horsing around, between two old buddies who hadn't seen each other in a while, on account of one of them being dead! We all get a little excited when that happens, don't we?

. . . Okay, so maybe that doesn't happen to you guys so often, but when it happens here, that's a - very common reaction. Nothing gay about it. And it's not like there's anything wrong with being gay, or bi, or any of that, either! I'm just not. Capiche?"

So, this is one of those things where it's like - I'm 99% certain this is just a weird coincidence, or that this was picked by a staffer with a sense of humour, or something, BUT.

There's the 1%.

There's the one 1% that has to check, and, hey, what happens if you Google Wonder Man Beast?

NOW.

I WILLL ADMIT THAT PERHAPS THERE IS SOME SEARCH ENGINE SKEWING GOING ON.

BUT.

THAT IS FAN ART OF GAY HANK AND SIMON ON ROW ONE, PEOPLE.

The cover for the issue with the kiss is row two!

The kiss itself is row three!

Like, full disclosure, I have absolutely Googled 'Wonder Man Beast kiss before', to get the panel to talk about my thoughts on Hank's sexuality before, so maybe there's some stuff going on, but, friends, Google 'Wonder Man Beast' and tell me what YOU see, because I am curious.

But for real, let's talk about this TPB.

Read this product description.

"Learn more about Wonder Man, the energy-powered Avenger who doubles as a movie star, before and after the release of the Disney+ series!

Few heroes in the Marvel-Verse are more wondrous than Wonder Man and none is a bigger draw at the box office! Get to know Simon Williams, the world’s greatest Avenger-turned-movie star, beginning with his momentous debut - in which he is gifted amazing power, but must defeat Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in exchange! Will he go bad, or make a heroic sacrifice? Don’t count Wonder Man out just yet!

Soon he’s back, breaking into Hollywood and tussling with heavyweights like the Sandman and the Abomination! But who needs enemies when you can have a best friend like Hank McCoy, the bouncing, blue-furred Beast? Prepare to discover why Simon and Hank are the greatest double act in Avengers history!"

I should remind you, this is not the Beast and Wonder Man book, that is a SEPARATE collection. A separate collection with art that has been HALVED to make THIS collection's cover, I know that Nick Bradshaw art anywhere.

But let's also talk about the issue selection!

"Avengers (1963) #9" - makes sense! His very first appearance, his villain turn, his death. You HAVE to include the origin issue, it's the law. 5/5, perfect choice if you want to know what Simon is.

"Wonder Man (1986) #1" - first issue of his first solo series! Absolutely makes sense, fun little one-off thing that shows how Simon is adjusting after his hero turn, shows off his personality, self-contained, beautiful. 5/5, excellent choice.

"West Coast Avengers (1985) #25" - fun little story showing off his movie career and his up and down relationship with fame! And it doesn't rely too much on other continuity, you can just pick it up and go and have fun, even if the other Avengers parts might confuse you a bit. 4/5, good choice, a bit of a deep cut.

"Avengers (1998) #14" - awright, let's pull this one up and have a look. What is this issue actually about?

Our cover.

Hmm. Well, they seem like good friends!

Aw, cute! I love when comics break the fourth wall like this, I wonder what they have in store for us.

Oh! A . . . two page spread of, Hank . . . shouting, "Hi honey, I'm home!"

Looking a little demented, there, Hank, you okay?

. . . Hank? You . . . okay there?

. . . Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

You - got him flowers, Hank?

H-Hank, you're . . . wearing, Simon's, old . . . safari jacket . . ?

So, there IS some Simon only stuff in here, which is good, and catches you up on some of the events of his other solo series, which is good! This is good Simon content! Okay, cool!

O-Oh.

Chickenplucker?

FUCKING WHAT.

Okay, we need to check another website, there's NO WAY.

THAT is the issue you chose?

THAT ONE?

Not A+X #12?

No, wait, shit, we're trying to beat the allegations.

Um. Um. What about, what about that one Avengers Annual?

SHIT, ABORT, ABORT.

Uncanny Avengers #28! That's good, wholesome fun, right?

FUCK. FUCK, FUCK ME, GODDAMN IT.

What about - what about Wonder Man vol. 2 #6? That's safe, right?

And at this point, the poor Marvel staffer gave up and said, FUCK IT, THE GAY KISS IS LESS GAY THAN THE REST OF THIS SHIT.

Like, come the fuck on, now.

But no, that's the reason why that issue is in there.

Because it's somehow less gay than every other interaction they've had.

I have no idea if it's intentional, but how has every single writer since 1981 managed to write these two like tender hearted lovers? Why does Simon at his most asshole in Wonder Man vol. 2 act like Hank is his personal damsel in distress and smile more at him than he does his girlfriends? It's not impossible to write male friendships in a non-gay way, it really isn't, and yet.

You keep.

Managing.

To make it like this.

Hank McCoy is bisexual and in love with Simon Williams. Whether he, or the writers, have realised it, THAT is the story they have managed to tell. Maybe one day they'll catch up.

Maybe one day soon, if they're smart.