#like i’m ngl i was kind of taken in by the theories at first as well but now i’m like.. it’s just not possible

[fingertipsmp3]

I wonder if Taylor knows she’s releasing Speak Now TV tomorrow

[its-raining-brellies]

IM WATCHING THE TRAILWR

it came out at like 4am my time which is really sad so i’ve only just seen it…

First it has them walking in the mansion? Is that their mansion? Their mansion is in disrepair!!!!!!!

This is Reginald’s speech from the fucking bank robbery sequence?????? REGINALD’S SPEECH FROM THE BANK ROBBERY SEQUENCE????? S1E1??? Circular structure?????? CIRCULAR NARRATIVW??? I love a circular narrative i pricked my ears like a terrier when I noticed that 😂

Wait one second

“Hargreeves’ home for wayward boys”

It’s not any academy, it’s an orphanage????? Who are the orphans? Is this designed to have Five in it? I’ve read whump fics where Five gets kidnapped and taken to an evil orphanage run by Reggie. Canon,???

Ohhh a subway station. Interesting. I love some good train imagery I do

Viktor and Five collab huzzah!!! Or is that Ben sitting at the bar? Is this non-time travelling Ben as was seen in the s3 finale?

OH WE FINALLY GET TO MEET CLAIRE GO US

What did Ben do to get himself in prison?

WHO is that woman by the piñata and why is it not Lila?

LUTHEE IS GOING TO SPACE AGAIN… oh God, that’s going to be really difficult for him due to the general trauma of being left on the moon. :(

this is the bad photo that Luther took btw:

allison looks so cool 👌 the hair and shoes and coat are awesome. also I like Five’s design this season- it’s better than the godawful side part at least!

So we have Five and Allison walking together first. That makes sense, they’re obviously the ones who make decisions and do sensible things for the most part, Allison’s character change in s3 notwithstanding. Followed then by Lila and Viktor. Idk if there is any significance to that.

When they’re walking, you can see Five, Allison, Lila, Viktor and Ben. Not anybody else. 🤔 Intriguing! Where are Klaus and Diego!

The shouting getting in the van is so in character I love them

“HELL YES LETS GO KILL THIS BITCHHHH” “This is a rescue mission.” And Klaus has a paper bag. Why does Klaus have a paper bag?

EVIL REGINALD DRONES CANON??? :( that seems boring ngl can’t have them fighting evil drones!

WAit. Lila is looking at this train map. The station is empty. AHAT IF THE TRAIN IS THE TELEVATOR?????? It’s certainly not just a train, they’ve all been on it alone and it does something very interesting. I want to know about the train. Televator is a solid theory I think.

Allison and Luther walking up to a mansion… I feel this has something to do with Claire. Maybe Claire or Ray is in the mansion and Luther is for emotional support?

Is that Ben that Viktor’s beating up ???? Viktor beating someone up is in and of itself very novel. What’s going on with that?

oooh Diego and Five? Five would win no doubt. I’ve not seen any of his powers this trailer though… which is curious.

Oh who are these dancing people? Maybe this is Gene and Jean Thibideau.

I can’t see them clearly sadly. I’ll have a look on Netflix rather than Youtube, see if I can identify them, but can’t take screenshots on Netflix.

Is that Five and Lila in the apocalypse? God, I would quite like to see Five have a mental breakdown over being once again in the apocalypse. Tbh I would quite like to see Five have a mental breakdown full stop. If they put him there and don’t have him crumble I’m gonna be annoyed.

Woman in a burger shop producing guns? Agnes Rofa?

WAIT A FUCKING SECOND. Lila is absolutely sobbing into Five’s shoulder. What happened? Did her and Diego’s child die? Did Diego die? Do I need to get annoyed at Five being kind to an out-of-character extent? I MUST KNOW ALL. Either way, between this and the apocalypse moment I’m glad to see some Five/Lila bonding time.

OH NO REGGIE PUT THEM I. A MACHINE AGAIN. DONT PUT THE BRELLIES IN A MACHINE THATS AN AWFUL PLAN TJATLL HURT TBEM

Is this a Hargreeves family Christmas I see going on?

GUYS ITS OKAY FIVE TELEPORTED. it’s okay. Five teleported. Is he in the paradox-proof room? Commission origin story? Well, that shot is promising, as Five Commission origin story is soemthing I’m itching to hear.

Dare I ask why Santa has guns?

Is that a child’s arm with an Umbrella Academy tattoo? Is it Five? Are there new children again? EXPLINNNN PLEASE

Klaus running a séance. Is he going to be a scam fortune teller person? That would be so cool, he’d thrive doing that.

The car sans Viktor and everybody looking horrified. What does that mean for Viktor? Is he the one who dies? It would make the most sense I fear.

Okay between Luther in a ball pit and Diego by the piñata, there’s definitely a child’s birthday party that happens. Claire’s? Or Diego and Lila’s child’s? We will find out. I look forward to it in either case, that will doubtless be very entertaining.

Whose hands are those making the sinister looking deal?

Why are Viktor’s powers gold now? They were blue.

Is that Jean Thibideau that Luther’s throwing through a window?

I think this last sequence is just showing them all using their powers.

I gotta say I’m disappointed that there aren’t any moments that made me giggle like there were in the other trailers. :/. Is this season gonna be unfunny?

Also I’m annoyed that Five seems to be sticking with his much calmer s3 personality rather than being his usual unhinged self that we know and love.

[class1akids]

Chapter 355 Leaks First Reactions

Ah, it seems to be happening way too fast and AFO seems pretty weak. So this could be wrapped up before a chance for a Todo-combo (? insert sad bunny face)…It would be hilarious if AFO went down before friggin’ Spinner...

Endeavor has hit rock bottom, when even Hawks loses faith in him. But I guess it’s a father moment. Kind of. Sort of. Let’s hope something more satisfying will come still. 

I’m glad for Jirou getting a nice highlight, but I honestly wish it was something more rewarding than her quirk being randomly exactly what is needed without any foresight, training, planning. It’s just... [cool (?) / ok].  Still, props to her for overcoming her fear - we haven’t seen her being this kind of badass since USJ, and back then I thought she’d be one of the powerhouse girl fighters. Also, finally one of the girls gets a gritty fight with the male classmate assisting. 

(Also, note how Hawks calls Tokoyami “Tsukoyomi” the whole time - and even as “Hero”. Finally.)

Jirou’s injury looks bad right now, but prosthetics are a thing... Still, if Jirou would need to retire due to injury, at least she’s the one student with a solid route to an alternative career; one she seems to love equally. 

If HK is taking the bullet train to the end, I guess next chapter, Endeavor could have yet another “do it for them” kind of moment, where he finds strength in his family in his thoughts and wraps this up (which I guess would boost ShigAFO and make him the endgame boss)... I really hope not - because I feel like Endeavor definitely shouldn’t be able to win this fight. Not after running away from Touya, and also narratively it’s unsatisfying for him to get a win here. He’s old gen, in Kamino he didn’t stand his ground for 2 minutes - so why would he be able to do that and win now? I need more than “wishing energy”. 

I guess Tokoyami still hasn’t attacked - but like... Tokoyami is my precious bird boy and everything... but him beating AFO would feel pretty random too. 

So, I’m kind of hoping that some kind of twist happens - along the lines of @redphlox theory maybe (though why Eri’s mom would have the same power as Eri and still be shocked with her quirk awakening to the point of abandoning her and why AFO wouldn’t have used her power if he had it all this time are all questions I have). Ngl, Jirou’s big heroic moment turning into a random AFO power-up would truly suck for her character. But definitely better than AFO being taken out in 3 chapters by a bunch of (side-ish) characters with flimsy narrative links to him. Although maybe that’s the narrative point? AFO being beaten by the random extras he’s always looked down on? Could be...

Anyways - after a first audacious win, we are at the point in the overall fight where the villains could start to get the upper hand and everything should look hopeless and on the verge of collapsing for the heroes, just like last time. But then instead of scraping to a bloody draw - the change of mindset, saving the villains, turning the LoV into allies could be the key to a different outcome. I’m still hoping for that direction even though right now it looks like maybe it won’t happen. 

It would be truly unsatisfying if the adults’ / old gen’s plans just worked with a hiccup here and there and then it would be all just wrapped up. So yeah - fingers crossed for a big surprise turn. 

(I think even then, the kids would be fine - I have faith that Hawks/Endeavor would manage to at least make sure that Tokoyami and Jirou got out alive).

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1 - Live Thoughts + Reactions

I wrote all of my thoughts and feelings in a notebook down and copied them here in case anyone is interested in my thoughts and feelings on S4 so far. It’s taken me a while because 1) the season is LONG AS FUCK, 2) I’ve been ill and 3) I’ve been at work, so… anyway, here it is!

SPOILERS BELOW FOR SEASON 4 VOLUME 1 (MEANING EPISODES 1-7)!

Episode 1 - The Hellfire Club

Oh damn, that opening 8-10 minutes though :O They made it look like Eleven straight up slaughtered all the other “numbers” (the kids at the lab) as well as all the orderlies 

My theory at this point: Eleven was possessed by Vecna and he killed the kids/orderlies through her

It showed Will painting and I was like “oh that’s so for Mike” even though it didn’t show what it was exactly

I love Eleven, Will and Jonathan being siblings

“We’re all time travelers if you think about it”

Her visual aid for her school project was Hopper and the cabin :’)

Eleven saying Joyce enjoys her new job (seems that she’s a telemarketer???) and it showing Joyce just shouting “PRICK” down the phone

JONATHAN IS A FUCKING STONER

Let’s be honest, “California Dreamin’” may be the obvious music choice for this but it’s the perfect song so I ain’t mad

NO BUT I CAN’T BELIEVE THE BABIES ARE IN HIGH SCHOOL I FEEL OLD

Eleven saying she’s good at maths but “grammar is getting good also” kind of just proves that no, it’s not XD

NO BUT WHY ARE THEY BULLYING ELEVEN WHAT THE FUCK >:(

Not Dustin getting Suzie to change his Latin grade :’)

*looking at Jesus statue* “... I will repent later” LMFAO

STEVE AND ROBIN BESTIES CAN I GET A FUCK YEAH

As soon as they mentioned Vickie, I was like “that’s Amybeth McNulty’s character” and “SO SHE IS ROBIN’S LOVE INTEREST”

“You ask out a girl, she says no - big deal. Nothing happens. Maybe your ego’s a little bruised.But I ask out the wrong girl, and BAM! I’m a town pariah” - OOF TRUE

BOOBIES! B O O B I E S! BOOOOOBIES!

“I like boobies, you like boobies... Vickie likes boobies” - I WAS WEEPING WITH LAUGHTER

Nah but I ship Robin and Vickie already ngl

Max seems so depressed, which I wasn’t actually expecting. It makes sense given that she saw Billy (her stepbrother) die in front of her, but at the very end of ST3 (which was 3 months after his death), she and Lucas were laughing and joking around and teasing Dustin over the Never Ending Story thing, so I guess I’m still kind of surprised

I was trying to figure out why Jason Carver, the basketball captain, seemed familiar... turns out it’s because he was Chris Dollanganger in Flowers in the Attic in 2014... aka the guy who slept with his sister 

My first impression of Jason is that he seems cute but like he’s probably gonna be a douche

Max wasn’t happy at all watching Lucas play :(

Is... Is Jason seriously using the mall disaster AND Barb AND Hopper to pep up the team/game???

“You’ve been on the bench all year” OOP

Me: *sees a box* // also me: WHAT’S IN THE BOX?!?!

A Russian Doll??? That’s all that was in that big ass box??? A creepy Russian doll?!?

The presentations El/Will are doing at school are on heroes... :( HOPPER IS ELEVEN’S HERO I’M CRYING-

NOT THAT GIRL TRYING TO PLAY FOOTSIE WITH WILL 💀 HE’S GAY HON HE AIN’T INTO IT

No but STOP BEING FUCKING MEAN TO ELEVEN WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS LITTLE BLONDE BITCH’S PROBLEM

Also, Will’s presentation board was on Alan Turing... 👀

Oh Max went straight up full on depressed emo :(

Chrissy came out of the counselor’s office looking super upset... interesting

Max says that her mom is drinking and working 2 jobs, also Billy’s dad has fucked off and left them... On the one hand, that’s actually good because Billy’s dad kind of came off as an abusive dick bag. On the other, this poor family is broken :(

The counselor really said “it’s okay to not be okay”, she really used that line

“Maybe you should find something you care about too” - LUCAS SHUT UP BRO

“It’s like you’re not even here” “a ghost or something” - she’s literally depressed dude

Max and Lucas broke up?!?! Bad time for LuMax fans...

Oh no, she’s taking pills as well

A  theory I had was Chrissy the cheerleader was pregnant because Max sees her being sick in the bathroom, she was upset coming out of the office, she’s in a relationship with Jason... IDK

WAAAAIIIIT WHO THE FUCK IS THAT WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT WITH THE GNARLY ASS FEET

Not people trying to say D&D is the devil’s game and a cult

I won’t lie though, the Hellfire Club kinda scares me

So Eddie keeps flunking his senior year, am I right?

I love that Joyce and Murray are still in touch, that’s nice

WAIT NOT MURRAY STRIPPING

Joyce: *looking at the doll* Jesus... she has nipples // Murray: *sliding into the bath* *cheering and whooping* — I’M-

So... Jonathan thinks Nancy isn’t coming for spring break, but she was hoping to go but hadn’t told him?

Okay so it seems that Jancy still really love each other but they’re not communicating and it’s driving them further apart :/ 

Nahhhh, newspaper dude (Fred) is fucking WEIRD. He gives me a weird creepy rich preppy boy incel vibe

WHY DOES NO ONE WANT TO PLAY FUCKIN DND >:( I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY DND BUT NO ONE WANTS TO FUCKIN PLAY IT WITH ME

Now why is Chrissy wandering into the woods???

... why is there a clock in a tree???

NOT THE SPIDERS FUCK THIS SHOW I HATE FUCKING SPIDERS 

Oooooohhhh okay, it’s a vision, that makes sense

Eddie and Chrissy in the woods together... he was straight up selling her weed I think

No but they seem cute, they apparently knew each other when they were younger and they had a nice little scene together

“...Do you have anything stronger?” - at this point, because I was convinced she was up the duff, I was like, “is she trying to get super high or terminate a pregnancy???”

Not El getting an F :( I couldn’t see what subject the paper was on but I think it was Math?? Meaning she was lying to Mike about being good at math as well as having friends and her grammar getting better

NO, STOP BULLYING EL I’M BEING FUCKIN SERIOUS NOT THE DIARAMA 

THESE FUCKING HIGH SCHOOL ASSHOLES MAN

El is still missing her powers but she seemed to forget because she tried to use them on Angela and just ended up looking weird 

Ooooh Angela’s in trouble :D Good on El for not saying “nothing happened”

“We’ll fix it together” - Will is such a good brother to El, oh my god

Okay but did Joyce REALLY need to drop a fucking bucket on the doll from a tree?!?

We already knew this but HOP IS ALIVE

Not Steve dating high schoolers after he’s graduated

TAMMY THOMPSON??? THE MUPPET SINGER??? THE GIRL WHO WANTS TO BE ALL NASHVILLE AND SHIT???

Steve: “Told you... muppet” // Robin: “Okay, she does sound like a muppet” - THEIR FRIENDSHIP URGH I LOVE THEM

VICKIE AGREEING WITH ROBIN I’M-

Vickie: “Totally sounds like Kermit” // Robin: “I was thinking more like Miss Piggy” - I FUCKING CAN’T

“I used to think she sounded good ‘cause I had this massive crush--” OOP ROBIN CAREFUL YOU NEARLY OUTED YOURSELF THERE

Brenda (girl Steve is with): “Wow, she sounds AMAZING, doesn’t she??” // Steve: O_o

Robin, sweetie, you have always been able to do better than Tammy Thompson, gurl

No but the Tammy Thompson thing is ten times funnier after reading the Rebel Robin book that’s set before S3 XD

ERICA YESSSS QUEEN JOIN THE NERD CLUB

Erica wearing the America flag is an iconic moment... “You can’t spell America without Erica” in-fucking-deed

Damn, Erica did NOT come to play around

Oh no, Lucas is playing in the final game but Mike and Dustin aren’t there to see it because they’re playing D&D, and Max didn’t show :( 

MAX WAS LISTENING ON THE RADIO THOUGH ASDFGHJKL;

I just know Will would have been in the Hellfire Club and living his best life

Dustin and Erica team up for the win!

Jason missed bUT LUCAS SCORED THE WINNING BASKET JUST AS ERICA ROLLED A 20, SINCLAIR SIBLING EXCELLENCE

Max seeing Eddie and Chrissy... O_O

Is Special K cocaine or...?

Is Vecna making her see things again???

NOT THE MOUTH STITCHED TOGETHER WHAT IS WITH TV/MOVIES THIS YEAR AND STITCHING MOUTHS TOGETHER????

Is Vecna trying to possess Chrissy or...? Like, playing mind games with her to weaken her? Because in reality she’s standing in Eddie’s trailer just staring/blinking but in her head she’s seeing everything else???

NOT THE NIGHT KING LOOKING MOTHERFUCKER

SHE LEVITATING NOW 

WHAT THE FUCK HER LIMBS JUST TWISTED AND HER EYES LEAKED BLOOD WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING FUCK

NAH MAN THIS IS FUCKING HORROR I’M NOT OKAY

Episode 2 - Vecna’s Curse

I knew Hopper was still alive because he was in trailers etc, but it’s interesting to see how he somehow survived

Ah hell, they all gonna think Eddie fucking killed Chrissy now

So... IS Chrissy dead? She’s not gonna rise as a zombie or some shit?

I feel like Will is excited to give Mike the painting but Mike is only gonna have eyes for El.... :/

No but why does Mike look like a fuck boi in that outfit?

I have no idea why I don’t like Mike anymore, I like Finn but Mike kind of irritates me and I don’t know why

“Just this painting I’ve been working on” - GIVE IT TO HIM WILL.

Why is it so awkward :(

Also Nancy didn’t show up to California for Jonathan :(

Argyle hugging Mike though lmao

“I heard a lot about your sister” - LMAO

I’m just convinced Will is in love with Mike :O

MURRAY IS IN CALIFORNIA TOO

“But I’m having this problem where it’s like, I should stop talking. I have said everything I need to say. But then I guess I get nervous, and the words keep spilling out, and it’s like my brain is moving faster than my mouth, or... or rather my... my mouth is moving faster than my brain. And it’s like I’m digging this hole for myself, and I want to stop digging, I’m trying to stop, but I can’t. And I’m doing it right now, aren’t I?” - Robin is a fucking MOOD I LOVE HER

Not Lucas drinking and being hungover, you’re like 15 dude

This town truly IS fuckin cursed, jesus christ

Dustin: Mike and me, no one was nice to us - no one except Eddie // Max: Okay, I mean, they said the same shit about Ted Bundy. Yeah, he’s like a super nice guy but then he’s murdering women on the weekends. // Dustin: So you’re saying Eddie is like Ted Bundy???

Oh no, not the Russians! 👎

“the elephant” - NO, I wish it was a real elephant THAT MASK IS FUCKED

Poor Will third-wheeling :(

Not El lying about having friends and partying

Ewwww Mike put some damn socks on ffs

Oh no not Angela turning up

Not the basketball team using Benny’s to drink and party tho >:(

Jason has got some anger issues like holy shit

Not Dustin and Max using the video store computer as their base of operations though

Fred was really sitting there dunking on Jonathan and I’m not here for it

FRED KILLED SOMEONE?!? IN A CAR CRASH????

Ooop, Fred’s about to get posessed, I can tell

JONATHAN GOT INTO THE SAME COLLEGE AS ARGYLE 

.. but he hasn’t told Nancy :/ TELL HER DUDE!

I feel like Jancy are about to break up tbh

“Got me stressed and it ain’t even my girlfriend” - lmao I like Argyle

Oh no not Angela interrupting the date :(

WHY DIDN’T MIKE AND WILL HELP HER IMMEDIATELY AS SOON AS THE BULLYING PRANK STARTED-

NOT THE DUDE FUCKING FILMING IT

At least Mike tried to get them to turn the music off I guess?

NOT THEM THROWING THE MILKSHAKE ON ELEVEN I’M SO FUCKING ANGRY

How do these Russians know Hopper has a trust fund for Eleven? But also it has $40,000 in it??? Damn, Hop

Who the hell is this “Enzo” dude???

What the fuck is Kamchatka? They said “hell”??

NOT CHRISSY’S BODY LOOKING LIKE SOMETHING PUT A DAMN HORROR FILM

Lucas pretending he only knows about D&D because of Erica >:(

“LET’S GO HUNT SOME FREAKS! FOR CHRISSY!” - I can promise you that she wouldn’t want that, my dude

Steve: Someone has to attend to the customers // Robin: Especially if they’re babes, right? *winks* - LMFAO

Robin is a certified GENIUS, of course she found Rick through the video store computer

No but if anything happens to that trailer park dog, I will be suing Netflix

Yes for Nancy telling the uncle’s side of the story!

Oh I just know Fred about to die

Victor Creel, hey?... sounds like lore time!

So apparently Victor Creel lost his mind, killed whole family, took their eyes/cut them out... and he’s in an asylum. Interesting

Kamchatka is basically a Russian concentration camp?

It’s the prison guard who sent the package to Joyce?!?

“I’ve been a total third wheel all day, it’s been miserable, so sorry if I wasn’t smiling” - poor Will :( I’m sick of seeing him third-wheeled by Mike and Eleven tbh, like if they want to date then fine, but stop third-wheeling literally anyone around you

Basically since S3, Mike has been kind of a shit friend to Will and he’s still a shit friend

Poor Eleven :( I wanna punch the kids who did this to her

I need Eleven to actually beat them up, especially Angela

OH SHIT, ELEVEN SMACKED THAT BITCH IN THE FACE WITH A ROLLER SKATING SHOE

Angela fucking deserved that lmfao, fuck that ratched raggedy ass bitch

No but Eleven has been SUPER violent this season, even without powers??

I SCREAMED WHEN EDDIE POPPED OUT BEHIND STEVE HOLY FUCK I LITERALLY DID SCREAM

Robin and Eddie were in band together???

Dustin: I swear on my mother // literally the entirety of the rest of the gang: yeah, we swear on Dustin’s mother -- LMAO

So... did Fred get in a car accident that killed someone, and he ran away instead of getting help, and then someone died? Is that what happened?

I DID NOT NEED TO RESEE CHRISSY’S BONES SNAPPING OR HER EYES POPPING AWAY

.... yeaaaaah, Hawkins is definitely fucking cursed, my god

This season is just one big fucking horror film, holy shit

So... is Vecna Victor Creel or is Victor another victim?

Oop Fred levitating, not again-

NOT THE LIMBS AGAIN NO NO NO

Sooo... Vecna is in the upside down world, right? Not ours?

Episode 3 - The Monster and the Superhero

... Now we’re in Nevada??? We’ve got Hawkins, California, Russia, and now Nevada??? We sure are travelling this season

OH IT’S DR OWENS, THAT DUDE FROM S2

“Everything that’s happened in Hawkins has been due to Brenner’s little pet” - NOOOO NOT THEM BLAMING ELEVEN

No but that makes ZERO fucking sense, the thing with Victor Creel was in the 50s??? And Eleven was born in the 70s I think???

LMFAO I GOT NO FUCKING SYMPATHY FOR ANGELA FUCK THAT BITCH

JONATHAN IS FUCKING HIGH MAN

Yeah, I don’t think Jonathan and Argyle were helping with the situation tbh

Jonathan waving, “Hi Murray!” :D

“...Why? What’s going on?” Oh, he’s fucking baked like a cake

Mike: She didn’t look fine -- oh fuck you, Michael

DEMOBATS NOW??? DEMODOGS AND DEMOGORGONS AND MIND FLAYERS AND RATS WEREN’T E-FUCKING-NOUGH

Not the fuck boi basketball team -__-

NOT LUCAS HELPING THEM

NOT FRED’S BODY FUCKING HELL I’M HAVING NIGHTMARES FOR WEEKS NOW I CAN TELL

Oop Nancy about to team up with the Dustin-Max-Steve-Robin gang

Mike put eggos out for Eleven at breakfast :(

El thinking she doesn’t belong anywhere kind of broke my heart, I won’t lie

On the one hand, I get where El is coming from, Mike seems super aversed to saying he loves her... on the other hand, these kids are like 15??? They’re fucking kids???

Not the police arresting El :( All she did was slap a bitch smh

Jonathan and Will being protective brothers of El is GOD tier content and I wish we had more of it

The guard is actually helping Hopper... but for a price of course

“Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike” - God, Robin is so smart

Robin: I don’t have a license // Steve: Why don’t you have a license? // Robin: I’m poor. -- LMFAO MOOD

Max: I can drive! // Steve, clearly thinking about waking up in S2 in the car whilst Max was driving: NO. NEVER AGAIN. ANYBODY BUT YOU

RO-NANCY RIGHTS I’M HOLLERING

I ship Robin with both Nancy and Vickie, she has two hands after all <3

Steve: ALWAYS THE GODDAMN BABYSITTER - and you’re always amazing at it, bby <3

Ohhhh there was some DARK shit going on in Hawkins when Vecna was choosing his next target; “I’ll tell them I slipped again” as a woman puts make up on over a bruise, “I can’t say no, he’ll leave me” as two teens get it on... jesus 

NOT VECNA TARGETING PATRICK, ONE OF THE BASKETBALL BROS

Not Lucas lying again and being all anti-DND, smh you’re better than this Lucas

JASON IS AWFUL FUCK

They can’t seriously arrest Eleven just for smacking a bullying bitch?!

You know, I think El is a little too honest with some of her answers, and yet she’s not admitting that Angela was torturing her

NOT EL BEING SENT TO JUVIE?!?!

Murray being the worst airplane seat neighbour tho

Nahhhh Airplane food looks fucking NASTY, I’m glad I haven’t used a plane in like 20 years 💀

How’s Hop supposed to get away if he’s got a broken leg though???

NOT THE LEG BREAKING SCENE

“I don’t really have a filter or a strong grasp of social cues” - Robin is giving off that autistic vibe this season and I’m here for it

Do NOT tell me Steve has still got a thing for Nancy for fuck sake

Also, said it before, I’ll say it again: STEVE HASN’T TOLD ANYONE ROBIN IS GAY. He knows if he told people, it would upset her and lead to people harming her because it’s the 80s and Hawkins is homophobic. He could have because Dustin thinks he’s a coward/refusing to ask Robin out, and Nancy thinks he’s dating Robin, but he hasn’t. It’s a super low bar but given how Steve USED to be... we love to see the character development.

Lucas coming through and radioing Dustin to warn him

Max: Lucas you’re so behind it’s ridiculous - LMFAO

NO LUCAS DO NOT TELL THEM FUCKING SHIT I SWEAR

OH NOW WHAT THE FUCK-

Dr Owens again??? And they’ve taken El?

Murray and Joyce arriving in Alaska: “OH GOD, THIS IS SPRING???” LMFAO

Oh god, was Hopper trying to force his broken leg out of the cuff???

Is Nancy seriously jealous of Robin, thinking she’s dating Steve???

“ELVIS CLONED BY ALIENS” - LMFAO I NEED TO SHOW THAT HEADLINE TO MY MUM

Robin is a fucking genius for pointing out that ofc conspiracy theorists would have been the ones to document Victor Creel / Vecna

ROBIN CALLING NANCY A GENIUS??? <3

Robin: “We leave them alone for TWO HOURS 🙄”

So both Chrissy and Fred were seeing Ms Kelly... is he targeting kids in counselling? Is she working for him??? Or is he just using her and she’s totally unaware of any of this???

Of course they could make the rollerskate incident go away...

Wait, did Lucas misdirect the team to Hopper’s cabin?!?

YES, Lucas, leave the frat boys!

A way to bring Eleven’s powers back??? How??? But if it fails, she’ll never see her friends again???

So symptoms pre-Vecna-trance are headaches, nightmares, past trauma... MAX HAS HAD THOSE SYMPTOMS TOO :O

Noooo she heard Vecna’s voice????

AND THE TICKING CLOCK IN THE WALL???

If ANYTHING happens to Max, I’m sueing Netflix for emotional damage

Episode 4 - Dear Billy

So Eleven wrote a note to Mike but NOT her adoptive family???

Stop showing the twisted eyeless bodies, I’M-

They’ve got less than 24 hours to save Max??? No, Ma-am-

It took me a while to realise but is Jason’s name a Friday the 13th homage?

Not Jason stopping Erica from shutting her own front door and Erica calling Jason and Lucas boyfriends

Robin teasing Nancy over her Tom Cruise poster lol

Also Robin geeking out over Nancy’s stuff is so cute

Robin: *sees blouse* Please tell me you’re joking -- no but sAME

“It was you guys who saved me” - AND BOB! DON’T FORGET BOB, WILL

Max wrote a letter to Billy

SHE WROTE ALL OF THEM GOODBYE LETTERS, EVEN STEVE

“the armpit that is Mike’s basement” - LMAO 

Max threatening to prosecute Steve if he stops her XD

Robin struggling to walk in high heels and hating her blouse/skirt is a fat ass mood lmfao

“This bra is pinching my boobs” - SHE’S WEARING NANCY’S BRA???

Ladies, is it gay to share bras with other women? XD

Robin spitting straight up facts and bullshit to get the asylum to let them see Victor Creel

“My boobs hurt” “may I call you Anthony?” -- LITERAL TEARS

“Because nobody takes girls seriously in this field, they just don’t. We don’t look the part or whatever” - DAMN SHE ON FIRE

NO BUT THAT ACTUALLY WORKED

Robin and Nancy’s little secret Low-Five was ADORABLE

As soon as Yuri said bears got into cockpit, I knew he was joking XD

Is he seriously going to handcount $40,000

Russians in this show are either plain evil or pretty chill lol

Hopper blowing up the tool shed and stealing a snow plough is icon behaviour

“Things got batteries in it?” “... I’m not even answering that question” LMFAO

The scene between Max and her mom :(

NO NOT THE VISION

WAIT SO HER MOM WASN’T EVEN THERE SMH

Oh, Robin slipped up with the name of the professor :O

No but why am I so nervous about this omg

Why are these prisoners in fucking jail cells though

OH NO NO NO HIS EYES ARE GONE, HIS EYES ARE STITCHED, HOLY FUCKING FUCK

No, Will, you haven’t been a total jerk???

“Hawkins is not the same without you” - damn straight, Mike, maybe fuckin act like it

WILL BRINGING THE PAINTING

OH SHIT THAT’S NOT ARGYLE

“Oh my god, why’s that guy holding a gun?” “DRIVE!”

Hopper’s going round with no shoes on, how’s he not got freaking frostbite

OH YURI YOU DOUBLECROSSING LITTLE DICK HOLE

HE’S TURNING JOYCE AND MURRAY AND THE GUARD IN?!?

HE DRUGGED THE COFFEE FUCK

I KNEW IT COULDN’T BE THAT SMOOTH, FUCK THIS SHOW MAN

The cemetery... to see Billy, I assume

How is Max so chill about being close to death, omg

Creel: “Survived? Is that what you call this?” = ... Ooof.

FLASHBACK LORE TIME

So to sum up the bullet points I wrote in my book: Victor, his wife Virginia and their two kids - son Henry, daughter Alice. NOT THE SPIDERS AGAIN. Demon using a wheelchair??? What was up with the baby crib on fire??? Cursed home, town AND family. Killed wife first, so he tried to save kids; not the baby burning to death in his vision; both kids died?

So with his whole family dead, he tried to join them by gouging his eyes out and OH MY GOD NOPE NOPE NOPE NIGHTMARE FUEL

This season is so fucking dark omg

Interesting to note: all he said about Henry was he was a sensitive child and that Henry was in a coma for a week before dying, but the flashbacks show more Victor/Wife/Alice than Henry... hmmmm

Ooop Ronance have been caught

Max reading her letter to Billy had me crying

I’m still not sure how I feel about Billy because he kind of redeemed himself at the end of the last season, but also he was definitely abusive to Max... I feel sorry more for Max’s sake I think

“We could’ve become good friends like a real brother and sister” “maybe we could try again”

“for a while I tried to be happy... normal”

“love your shitty little sister, Max” - oh I was crying BAD

TELL ME MAX WON’T DIE PLEASE

NO NOT HER GOING INTO A TRANCE

IT’S NOT REALLY BILLY, RUN MAX

So music is the key/lifeline...

Also it makes sense that Robin, someone who’s in band and who’s said her ears are “little geniuses” was the one to figure that out

“It took me six months longer to walk than all the other babies” OMG ROBIN SAME I THINK???

All the people Vecna killed are in the upside-down-mindscape-place just rotting

Noooo he’s levitating Max

Max hearing the music and thinking about Lucas/Eleven/her friends :’( and it snapping her back/helping her

“Running Up That Hill” about to top the charts again, I can tell 👀

Max is okay thank fUCK

Me, seeing the credits: ROBERT ENGLUND??? FREDDY KRUEGER DUDE??? (he played Creel)

Nahhh not me crying over this episode

Again, Max’s storyline feels like a metaphor for depression/suicice/recovery and it made me emotional

Episode 5 - The Nina Project

“We’ve gotta get him to St Mary’s” “I don’t think a prayer is gonna help” “I MEANT THE HOSPITAL”

Who the fuck is Nina

Argyle: *panicking over dead dude in his van* // everyone else: GET OFF THE ROAD

Oh no they found Eleven’s note to Mike… why’d that idiot throw it away anyway, boyfriend of the year huh 🙄

I’m not sure if I trust Dr Owens or not tbh

Massive door in the middle of the desert is hardly conspicuous tho

Ohhhh Nina is a machine

DR BRENNER?!? That dude’s still alive???

Eleven rightfully running away from him, 🤦 also, not the “papa” “daughter” comment

Yeah no I don’t trust this plan of theirs to get her powers back, it might work but they’ll make her their puppet again

Wait were they using a mace on Hopper?!?

The gang all asleep :’)

Dustin fell asleep on “Max Watch”

Ted: Could try sticking together at a different house for a change — LMFAO HE’S RIGHT THO

Max and Holly having a crayon morning is so adorable though

Not Dustin scaring Holly by telling her about Freddy Krueger 💀

Max using drawings to show what she saw, just like Will has in the past

It’s the Creel house?!?

DID THEY RESHAVE ELEVEN’S HAIR? After she’s spent like 3 years growing it out?!?

(I’m aware MBB didn’t shave her head again, it’s probably something like a bald wig cap or whatever)

She’s clearly having a vision about being back in the rainbow room so maybe… ?

JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER??? VOLTURI CAUIS I THINK??? YOUNG GRINDELWALD??? (I knew he was in it but I still got excited seeing him)

Yeah no this is a vision

Argyle panicking/flipping out is a mood

Will talking about how scary it is to open up to it if they don’t like the truth… he’s totally gay for Mike, I’m sorry-

The number was in the pen???

Everyone calling Joyce, Hopper’s “woman”

Hopper fought in a war… Vietnam? And he’s talking about how a bunch of guys he fought with went sterile or something because of the chemical agents??? “crooked spines, eyes popped out” - like Vecna victims, holy fuck

Hopper talking about Sarah :( And then also talking about El and Joyce :’(

“Everyone I love I hurt” - HOPPER STOP

Hopper saying he wasn’t cursed, he is the curse T_T

I’m not being funny but at this point I don’t trust any of the cops, agents, special forces, doctors etc.

Chrissy’s funeral :/

Ohh Patrick’s having visions now

NOT THE DND = CULT SHIT AGAIN

Steve: (at the Creel house) ...yeah, that’s not creepy

Robin just chucking a brick through the window of the door though

Dustin to Steve: Do you need to be told everything? You’re not a child.

Nahhh but why they all dunking on Steve :(

Murray fighting only kids in karate though lmfao

Tiny Eleven T_T

Oh the switching between current and baby El though

So the Nina project is named after an opera I think?

Sooo they’ve basically put Eleven in a giant sensory tank?

The only hacker they know... is Suzie

Come on, someone help Eddie :/

Dustin’s British Sherlock accent XD

NO NOT SPIDERS IN JARS AND ON STEVE I’M FUCKIN DONE

“Platonic with a capital P” :D

Bless Steve, he’s trying so hard

The chess set in the Creel house kind of looks like the chess set in the Rainbow Room

So there’s a “002″... What about “001″?

It’s honestly just depressing seeing all these kids aged like 3-18 with shaved heads and going “me me me” wanting to impress Brenner

WTF WHY ARE HER HANDS SO BLOODY

“She’s going into arrest” - SO FUCKING PULL HER OUT THEN JESUS H CHRIST

Not Murray doing a whole Kung Fu monologue T-T

Oof the plane fight scene though, Murray actually beat the shit out of Yuri omg

Oh no, the plane’s gonna crash?!?

Vecna’s in the Creel house but “on the other side”...

Steve is just so fucking done and I don’t blame him “we won’t be able to see if we turn out our flashlights???”

Robin: It’s an attic... of course it’s an attic

Eddie paddling on the boat to try and escape the basketball guys

Not Jason swimming to the boat???

Ooh the upside down transition from House to Vecna

Oooh he’s got Patrick!

And yep, NOT THE TWISTING/EYES THING AGAIN HOLY FU-

Eleven smacked Brenner, like he deserves

Wait, so they DID shave her head???

RIP Eleven’s hair

HER POWERS ARE BACK???

... Nevermind.

Noo not her going with him, not the “papa” “daughter” crap again >:(

Episode 6 - The Dive

Will Jason believe Eddie is innocent now or...?

“Eddie’s a vessel for Satan” - ... nevermind

DID VECNA JUST KILL A FISH

Now who the fuck they torturing- oh wait it’s the agent from the California house

Why is Brenner comparing El to a stroke victim? I mean I get his analogy but also the hell??

I feel so bad for El, guys, I wanna hug her - just let her live a normal life ffs

The gang don’t even know Eddie had to run :(

Noooo not them all blaming Eddie T__T Poor Eddie

Argyle: I can’t feel my butt

THAT KID FIRING AN ARROW AT MIKE LMFAO YOU GO TINY LUNATIC CHILD

What IS this place? Suzie lives HERE???

Argyle has a thing for Eden???

You know, when they said that Suzie comes from a super religious Mormon family... this wasn’t exactly how I imagined them

Welp, at least Joyce and Murray are still alive

LMAO they tied Yuri up

Murray mocking him XD

LMAO at them threatening to leave him to freeze to death/get eaten by animals-

“This is it, American, I hope you’re ready”- FOR WHAT?!

For...a meal? Is it poisoned??? Fattening them up???

Ohhh fattening them up for a fight (with a demogorgon?)

OH SHIT THEY ARE DESCRIBING A DEMOGORGON

Hop: So enjoy, boys. This is your last meal -- DAMN

Not Jamie Campbell Bower jumpscaring me AGAIN

“You remind me of someone I used to know”...001? Brenner said he didn’t exist but the orderly JCB is playing was with him...

THEORY: THE ORDERLY IS 001

Another Theory: 001 IS HENRY CREEL

Okay but why exactly is he telling Eleven all of this? What is he hoping to gain from this? I’m getting bad vibes from it

No but Steve saying he made Skull Rock a popular make out spot is so funny

Lucas said that Patrick was abused - Vecna is definitely targeting those with something in their lives haunting/traumatising them

Robin calling birds beautiful 

Is Robin really trying to get Steve and Nancy back together? -_-

I still ship Robin and Nancy tho lmao

They’re “officially” friends :)

Hawkins getting mad at the police, fuck the police

Jason gatecrashing the town meeting with his cronies

Ohhhh he’s telling them it’s satan/cults/sacrifices and that Eddie is leading them, blaming all bad things on a cult

Erica: THAT’S BULLSHIT! THE HELLFIRE ISN’T A CULT, IT’S A CLUB FOR NERDS - YESSS ERICA

Mike, Dustin and Lucas’ parents seeing their kids in the club “cult” photo: O__o

That one dude leaving the town hall truly didn’t waste time, he went straight away

So they’ve told Suzie it’s a video game console...?

She knows Dustin’s birthday to the exact day/exactly how long it is until then 💀

Oh her dad took her computer away because she’s dating an agnostic

Erica: Yeah, no, they lied to you - lmao

Now why is Karen calling the cops on their kids???

Surge of energy = Vecna attacks

Steve: Cursed? No, he’s fine. Just mental.

Dustin: I was right, Skull Rock IS North! // Steve: ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW???

Oh, it’s the compass/magnet/field thing!

“So either there’s some super big magnet here, or--” “There’s a gate!”

“I say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor... which, if I’m totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea. But, ah, the Shire... The Shire is burning” - HE’S SO NERDY, THE LOTR REFERENCE ASDFGHJKL; I LOVE IT

Dustin’s excited bouncing XD

Steve: What is Mordor?!? - LMFAO

Damn, these number-kids straight up beating each other to win this game

So 002 is the big bad bully of the group - I’m assuming he’s the oldest (since 001 is “a myth”) and most developed powers-wise

Oh, Eleven kicked 002′s ASS

Murray: Oh Jesus // Yuri: Hey, not in a church

Joyce: You’re gonna be Murray... // Murray: And I’m gonna be Yuri -- OMG

Oh, a prison brawl! All so Hop could pick the guard’s pockets and get a fuel and lighter

“My ribs are broken, don’t make me laugh” LOL

Oh they snuck into Suzie’s Dad’s office

“Holy sh- HECK!” LOL

Jonathan: What’s the internet? // Suzie: Don’t worry, it’s just gonna change the world

Damn, Suzy’s parents got a lot of kids

Mike: Can you print this? // Suzy: No, my skills end at IP Geolocation -- LMFAO

ARE ARGYLE AND EDEN GETTING FUCKING STONED TOGETHER

Is the gate in the lake???

Dustin: Who put her (Nancy) in charge? // Robin: I did -- ICONIC

Steve done with being a babysitter lmfao

WTF WHO’S SCREAMING IN THE LAB- THE ORDERLY??? WHY THEY DOING THAT TO JCB ORDERLY

Why are they bullying her in the Rainbow Room??? 002 super nasty

Ohhh it’s the thing from the opening

I NEED to know what happened 

“I killed them, Papa, I killed them all” - Jesus Christ

“Wonky with a Waaaah” - LOL

NO STEVE DO NOT RISK YOUR LIFE BRO

Not Robin smirking at Nancy looking at Steve stripping lmfao (same tho nancy)

Lucas: Urgh, since when did Steve get so hairy??? / Dustin: Right? I keep telling him he needs to tame that jungle but he claims the ladies dig it -- AND STEVE IS RIGHT, LET MEN BE HAIRY

Max going “let me see it” and taking the binoculars followed by the silence... SAME

Steve’s not even THAT hairy????

Dustin: You guys realise there’s a gate down there....it’s technically a watergate” - NOT THE PUNS

You know, I’m not sure Steve needed to be shirtless but... not complaining. Also, it would have made more sense to strip ALL his clothes, no?

Damn, how long can Steve hold his breath for

HE FOUND THE GATE GOOD FOR STEVE

NO NOT THE TENTACLE FOLLOWING HIM UP

Steve jumpscared me coming out of the water lol

JESUS IT DRAGGED HIM UNDER

NOT STEVE AND NOT IN THE UPSIDE DOWN

IF HE DIES THEN I AM ACTUALLY FUCKING SUING NETFLIX

Nancy jumped in after him :O

AND ROBIN TOO YES

AND EDDIE OMFG YES YES YES

DEMOBATS HOLY FUUUUCK

HE BEING STRANGLED AND ATTACKED

NOOOO YOU CANNOT END THE EPISODE THERE FUCK OFF FUCK RIGHT OFF

Episode 7 - The Massacre at Hawkins Lab

IF STEVE DIES I FUCKING SWEAR-

Yesss RoNancEddie to the rescue!

STEVE STRAIGHT UP PULLED THAT BAT APART JESUS IM FUCKING WET

“Only took like a pound of flesh” I’m-

Omg Steve ACTUALLY winning a fight???

Robin: Great... More running -- SAME

The episode title… 👀 also it’s 1hr40???

Who’s really the worst here - Americans or Russians? They’re both torturing people so 🤷🏻‍♀️

“Cause you missed your daddy-daughter time” - OOF YEP HE REALLY CAME FOR BRENNER LIKE THAT

At least Dr Owens feels bad and says she’s traumatised/frightened… ?

“You talk of monsters and superheroes… that’s the stuff of myth and fairytales” - I mean, she literally had superpowers and fights monsters, my dude

I want to know what happened during the massacre but also I’m sad, leave Eleven alone :(

I have to appreciate how bad the whole gang are at lying lmao they can’t get their stories straight even sitting next to each other

Erica calling them out for lying XD

Questioning them one at a time and they go for Max first when she isn’t even in the Hellfire Club :/

Is Steve going to stay shirtless because… I mean… I’m not complaining

Robin rambling when Steve collapsed and was losing blood 😂

Steve’s “Robin… I kinda wanna punch you” as she was rambling and saying shit about how he can tell her “shut up I wanna punch you” if she starts rambling 😂 Besties

I think Steve and Nancy were both enjoying her treating him a little bit too much… 👀

Steve: I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades — 😂

Nancy: And a revolver // Steve: you almost shot me with one // Nancy: you almost deserved it — is this show really trying to push them back together I’m-

Not Eddie throwing Steve a shirt “for your modesty, dude” 😂😭

NO BUT HIS CHEST IS STILL SHOWING

“It must be hardwired into us to reject our fathers” - OOF

“That monster is part of something that wants to kill El” 😭

“Maybe I can still help El - even if it’s the last thing I do” — BRB IM CRYING

Murray pretending to be Yuri is comedy gold lmfao 🤣 he got the annoying “I’m joking” mannerisms down tho

“Anymore headaches? Nausea?” - VECNA SYMPTOMS ALL OVER AGAIN, and this is BEFORE, this is in the rainbow room???

Not a lesson about rules for the kids…

Eleven got a concussion from 002 and the others???

002: She must have fallen. You’ve seen her, Papa, she’s clumsy, stupid” - NAHHH KILL HIM

“Collar him” - the fUCK?!

Does the collar subdue their powe- IT ELECTROCUTES THEM?!?!

Oh shit Brenner keeps turning it up 😭

Eddie comparing Steve to Ozzy Osbourne 😂😂😂

DUSTIN WORSHIPS STEVE OMG OMG OMG

“These ladies came straight in after you” - of course, he’s worth it :3

Not Eddie also trying to set Steve and Nancy back up??? Saying it’s true love??? No thank you?!

Robin: “okay, second on my list of least favourite things: earthquakes! I’m unsteady on my feet as it is” - LOL

“Here’s the deal, either you tell me what’s happening - or I tell Dustin what I found under your bed” - WAIT WHAT DID ERICA FIND UNDER LUCAS’ BED-

Erica raised an essential question: who opened the gate? El opened one, the Russians opened another… who opened the water gate?

Also why does Vecna kill people? For what purpose?

He’s making a powerful psychic connection with each kill… enough to make more gates…

So Demogorgon = foot soldier, Vecna is 5 star general to mind flayer??? Who can open gates and shit???

“Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler” — OMFG

No but did Nancy REALLY think her guns from the normal world are in the upside down-

“There’s a six year old in the house, I know where I keep my guns” - I guess at least she’s careful but still…???? Maybe don’t keep guns in the house with a 6 year old running about

Her study cards from S1, the wallpaper, stuff she threw out…

November 6 1983… when Will went missing in Season 1! 🤔

So they’re not in the present, they’re in the past??? The upside down past???

Just like Will found a way to speak through the lights, the teens do too!

Ohhh Eddie knows SOS / Morse Code - it’s just pure luck that one of the gang in Mike’s house also knows morse code 💀

“Hey, remember when I said they wouldn’t be stupid enough to go through Watergate? I overestimated them” — LMFAO

“…and you have many screws loose” - I laughed more than I probably should have

JOYCE SEEING HOPPER

Not the other numbers glaring at El 🤨

Wait so 002 is in the infirmary but when he’s out, the numbers are going to kill El and “papa” will let it happen?!! “He wants it to happen” — yIKES

Not being funny but the Jamie Campbell Bower orderly giving me the bad vibes. “You must do exactly as I say” - ummmm???

No but did the lab security/CCTV not see him give her the damn keycard?!?

Not the kids stealing Holly’s toy to communicate with Steve/Robin/Nancy/Eddie 😭

Robin calling Dustin a “genius child”

There’s a gate at every murder site… so 1) Eddie’s trailer, 2) the road where Fred was killed, 3) the lake?

Steve (about Dustin): Jesus Christ, this kid’s got to get his ego in check — LMFAO

No but I kinda hate the current Hawkins police, especially Officer Callahan 💀

The upside down transitions are super cool omg

Nooo the demobat saw them 😶

Okay so now we’re on the day of the massacre… oof let’s go

Okay so 011 was colouring in that opening in E1, and I went back after this episode to see if you can see her colouring in the opening of E1 and there’s not focus on it obviously but yes, she’s in the background/briefly seen colouring!

The orderly said “still hurting her” — they hurt her before? Is this to do with Vecna choosing traumatised victims?

Nahhh Jamie Campbell Bower STILL jump scaring me 😭

He mentions lab vents that lead to the woods… is this how she escaped in season 1?

Wait, why would Brenner put a tracker inside the orderly???

“What if I made it go away? You help me, I help you” - OOF

Aaaand back to Hop and the Russians

DEMOGORGON TIME

Not Hop getting the fire and fuel ready… only for it to not work 💀

Dmitri(Enzo guy?): tElL mE tHaT’S nOt oUt oF fLuId

WHY DOES THE DEMOGORGON STILL MANAGE TO JUMPSCARE ME ARE YOU SERIOUS-

YESSS HE GOT THE FLAME LIT

Oh shIT THAT DEMOGORGON TOOK THE GUY’S FUKIN HEAD CLEAN OFF

THAT FIRE WONT LAST FOREVER THO WILL IT LETS BE HONEST

Joyce got the doors open!!!

Oh shIT ITS STRONG AND MANAGED TO STOP THE DOOR CLOSING WHAT THE FUCK-

HOPPER THROWING A SPEAR DOWN ITS THROAT JESUS CHRIST

The Jopper reunion 😭❤️ they hugged I’m-

Wait, isn’t the Upside Down air toxic??? How are the four of them still fucking alive???

Oh thank got it’s just Dustin on the other side, I thought the agents would be there in Eddie’s trailer

Eleven really pulled the tracker out of the orderly’s leg like she did that piece of mind flayer that was in her leg in S3

…oh, I don’t like the way the orderly suddenly just looked evil, like he was smirking almost

“Who knew something so small could cause so much trouble” — UMMMM 🚩🚩🚩🚩

THE ORDERLY HAS POWERS, HES FUCKING 001, I FUCKING KNEW IT

HES THE ONE WHO KILLED THEM ALL, I’M-

Eddie: Those stains are… I don’t know what those stains are — UMMM?!? O_o

OMG THE PHYSICS OF THE ROPE THROUGH THE GATE THATS SO COOL

The climbing up to sliding down is super cool omg that kinda looks like fun

NO NANCY FELL INTO A VOID/TRANCE ARE YOU SERIOUS

NOT BARB’S DEAD CORPSE

THE POOL FILLING WITH BLOOD

OOP massacre flashback time again

YEP, 001 really killed them all

All of the bodies look like Vecna’s victims’ bodies… is 001 also Vecna???

SOMEONE PLAY SOME DAMN MUSIC FOR NANCY

“How was old, dumb, blind Victor? Did he miss me?” - OH FUCK I HAVE CHILLS

WAIT WAIT WAIT… JCB’s Orderly = 001 = Henry Creel = Vecna???? DAMN

NOT THE BLACK WIDOW NEST FUCK THIS

NOT HIM WORSHIPPING SPIDERS, HES FUCKED, that’s immediately a sign he’s evil beyond help

So all the numbers at the lab - including 011 - are copies of 001/Henry Creel/Vecna???

So Eleven got blood on her outfit from being thrashed about on the floor, NOT from murdering other kids

He tried to kill her/twist her limbs/made her eyes bleed… Vecna victim signs AGAIN

ELEVEN SENT HIM TO THE UPSIDE DOWN JESUS

HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT

SHOWING HIM TURNING INTO VECNA IM-

So just to make sure I’ve got it right: Henry Creel (Victor’s son) didn’t die, he was the original (001) with natural born powers, he killed his family/did some weird spider-and-Satan worship, the doctors at Hawkins lab said he died but in actuality used him to create copies (002, Eleven etc), he ended up massacring the entire lab/including the children, he thought Eleven was going to join him but she was disgusted so he tried to kill her, but she’s so powerful that she sent him to the Upside Down where he became Vecna???

THATS WHERE VOL 1 ENDS ASDFGHJKL NETFLIX WHY IM DESPERATE

Overall, I love this season so far! I have a few continuity issues/gripes but other than that, I’m living for it! I love the horror turn this season has taken, it’s definitely a lot darker than the last three series I think. I think I need to see the last two episodes before I pass judgement though!

[heartslobbf]

let’s talk about perfuma. imo, she’s one of the best characters in the show despite being underdeveloped, and i wanna explain why. she could’ve been extremely average, just some lanky flower girl that doesn’t believe in violence and loves everyone, but she is so much more than that (and it pisses me off that y’all reduce her to that).

in her introductory episode, perfuma is clearly in denial about the horde almost destroying plumeria. she doesn’t want to acknowledge the problem, wants someone else to take care of it for her. she’s scared of change, and that is because change makes you vulnerable. if things always stay the same, there’s a whole lot less danger and uncertainty, and therefore you’re safe. secure. perfuma’s kingdom is dying and she can’t bear to accept it because it is unknown to her. it’s putting her in a position where she is no longer secure. this fear of vulnerability can also be seen at the beginning of 1x10 when the princess alliance falls apart and she literally says ‘being together makes us vulnerable.’

the thing is, perfuma isn’t wrong. look at her choice of words. she says that being together makes them vulnerable, not weak. here, she kind of has the words mixed up, but we see that by s5 she has come to understand the difference. that’s what’s so great about perfuma, her motivation to do better, her hunger for self-improvement. it’s why she’s such an important part of catra’s redemption, actually, because she embodies the kind person catra is or wants to be.

let me explain: perfuma is an angry, impatient, short-tempered character. we are shown this again and again with her passive aggression to others and how easily mermista can annoy her with trivial things (sitting in her seat in the war room, for example). catra is also an angry, impatient character, but perfuma works every day to manage those emotions. she knows she needs them, she uses them as a tool (calling catra out, for example, is a time they were practically pivotal for getting her point across) but she also acknowledges they can hurt the people she loves. we know she does a meditation ritual each morning and we see in 4x02 how quickly she can unravel without it. she wants to be better. she puts the work in. that is such a valuable lesson for a character like catra who has always felt she’s just not good enough, she’s always going to be this angry and unlovable and no one can do anything about it.

so, 4x02. it’s a brilliant episode for perfuma’s character, really, and the first proper development we’ve had since 1x04. we see her anger, her impatience, but we also see her self-doubt. her belief that she’s inadequate, ‘just a flower girl.’ this is also when we get introduced to her little mantra that becomes a bit of a motif later on, ‘i can do this.’ we know perfuma doesn’t wholeheartedly believe this, but she says it anyway because she wants to. perfuma wants to be better. she will do whatever she can to be her best self, whether that be actually conquering her gripes with cacti or realising there’s a loophole with the roots (love that conflict resolution by the way, another good deconstruction of hero bs by spop).

this episode is also significant because it comes back to perfuma’s fear of change, of vulnerability. she’s thrown into a situation she doesn’t want to be in, one she feels miserably unprepared for, and she hasn’t done the one thing that puts her at her best beforehand, but she pulls through in the end because she is surrounded by people that support her, that listened to her and consoled her when she was vulnerable. 4x02 teaches perfuma the power of self-worth and the power of true, mutual, unconditional love, which can only come with vulnerability.

and this is where her character gets really interesting, in my humble opinion. ngl, one of the reasons i love perfuma so much is because she’s a pisces and i am too. i’m not gonna go astrology hoe on you rn, i’m just using this to demonstrate the part of her character that teaches others. pisces, if you don’t know, love to play therapist. we like to help the people around us with whatever strifes they may have because we think we’re fucking great at it. perfuma actually is.

you know how i said perfuma learns the importance of self-belief and vulnerability? yeah, she teaches both of those lessons to other characters in s5. like i said, perfuma is a character who values self-betterment and also happens to be a pisces, so when she sees scorpia, riddled with so much self-doubt and such low self-esteem, her immediate response is just i’m gonna teach that bitch how to love herself. and she does!

i’ve seen some people say they don’t like scorfuma because it seemed as though the writers just decided to ‘fix’ all of scorpia’s problems by giving her a girlfriend. that’s very dumb, first of all because they aren’t even together by the end of the show, they’re just interested in one another. second, the whole point of she-ra is that we’re stronger together. scorpia doesn’t go through growth in s5 because a girl likes her, she goes through growth because someone is showing her support and love for the first time in her life and that empowers her. you know, the worth that scorpia finds in herself doesn’t hinge on perfuma, like it did with catra. it’s about her as an individual, and perfuma so clearly makes it about that when her big lesson revolves around singing. scorpia loves singing. perfuma tells her she should do it because she enjoys it, a sentiment you’d never hear in the horde, and when scorpia does sing, she is actively rejecting the people who did make all her self-worth hinge on them catra. she’s doing something for herself, because she enjoys it, because it makes her happy, because she can.

it’s that same mantra: i can do this, i can do this. i really love how this was brought back from 4x02, how perfuma repurposed something that taught her such a valuable lesson for someone else. perfuma and scorpia are great foil characters actually, both constantly underestimated and thought of as weak by their groups, but some of the strongest characters in the show due to their deep value of love and self. i can do this, and i know i can because you believe in me, because i believe in myself. it’s brought back again in 5x10, when the last thing perfuma says before scorpia breaks the beam is ‘i know you can [pull through]’. she tells catra she believes in scorpia. it’s that belief, that support from other people that empowers the self to believe it too. we are stronger together, you know??

anyways, onto vulnerability. return to the fright zone is in my top ten episodes of the whole fucking show and you might think that’s a bit weird but i don’t. 5x10 encompasses so many important themes of spop so well and tells them with scorfuma and spinnetossa, our two side lesbian couples. this is significant since perfuma literally draws a parallel between her and catra at the end of the episode, and catradora and spinnetossa have always been significant to one another. i’m gonna say it, perfuma is the reason catra is finally able to confess to adora in 5x13. i’ve already talked about how important perfuma is to catra’s motivation to improve, but she literally makes catra rethink everything about strength and vulnerability, two words catra has a lot of feelings about.

catra fears vulnerability. we know this. she has such a deep love for those important to her but is never able to articulate it because she worries she’ll be taken advantage of, shot down, laughed at, whatever. all of this stems from the abuse she suffered at shadow weaver’s hands and her attachment issues, and it’s also why catra pretends to hate scorpia’s very open displays of affection and love: she sees it as weak because she has been taught to, but it’s all she ever really wanted to be.

we also know perfuma used to fear vulnerability. she doesn’t any more. the entirety of the episode leading up to her and catra’s heart-to-heart is her being vulnerable, putting herself in a position where she’s in danger but believing it’s worth it. and it is. despite what everyone said to her, perfuma is right: it was worth it. she got through to scorpia, even if it was only for a moment. she literally spells it out to us and catra with one of the best lines in the whole show: it’s hard, keeping your heart open. it makes you vulnerable, but it doesn’t make you weak, and i have to believe it’s worth it.

back in 1x10, perfuma was right: being together makes you vulnerable. horde prime tries to use people’s relationships against them, that’s literally the plot of save the cat, the point of pitting catra and adora against one another. he sees them as weak, just like shadow weaver deems adora’s feelings for catra ‘confusing’, just like light hope insisted adora was a danger to her friends as long as she was around them. they were all wrong. yes, they’re vulnerable. perfuma acknowledges that vulnerability puts you in danger, that it’s difficult to do that, but she knows it doesn’t make you weak. weakness vs strength is a big conflict in 5x10 literally introduced to us with netossa’s theories on everyone’s weaknesses in the first few minutes.

like perfuma says, friendship isn’t a weakness. it’s her greatest strength. her belief in love is literally what saves her and adora’s lives, it’s what saves everyone who got chipped, glimmer, bow. belief in love, both of others and yourself, is what saves adora in her dying moments. perfuma summarises she-ra’s entire fucking message to us repeatedly in 5x10 and she tells it to catra because catra is the one who will do the most with it. that glance at adora, it’s obvious what it means. perfuma is telling catra she should be open with adora about her feelings because you have to believe it’s worth it.

you won’t get anywhere waiting for other people to make the move. she-ra couldn’t heal plumeria’s lands, so plumeria had to fight their own battle alongside her no matter how much they felt unable to. the rebellion couldn’t move mara’s ship, so perfuma had to despite thinking she wasn’t strong enough. the reason they always win in the end is because they have each other, they have love and support and people motivating them to do better. just like perfuma motivates herself to do better.

it’s the mantra. i can do this. i can be vulnerable and still win, because i have love. and it’s hard, it’s so fucking hard to be vulnerable when you’ve feared it all your life and you’re so angry, so hurt, but you have to believe it’s worth it. and it is. it is, it is, it is, love is stronger than anything and being vulnerable for the people you love is the only way you can ever get what you want from them. perfuma as a character embodies that, having learnt it herself, and teaches the lesson to one of the characters who needs it the most.

adora is dying, and catra loves her, and she knows she does, and she just has to believe. adora is dying, and she loves catra, and she knows she does, but she doesn’t believe. not until catra teaches her too, in that moment, to realise they were all wrong, light hope, shadow weaver, horde prime. adora doesn’t need to let go, she needs to hold on and believe she will be pulled back up by the girl she loves. she needs to believe she deserves it. that it’s worth it.

and it is.

[iamnmbr3]

I know you're not happy with the show but making things up is really damaging your reputation. The show is not a failure; it's the biggest launch of any disney+ show so far with the highest ratings. The first trailer has so many views because it's 7 months old, compared to the first episode being out a week and a half. The CGI doesn't look like it was done by a two year old (seriously lmao??). The tesseract looks dull because it powers down once in the TVA. Stop pretending Loki was mind controlled when Marvel confirmed in his character bio that he was emotionally influenced by the scepter. Bucky was mind controlled. Selvig and Hawkeye were mind controlled. Loki was influenced like Banner and the others were by the sceptre when they were around it on the helicarrier. Please consider that care has been taken to make Loki more multifaceted in this show, not OOC - he's just got more emotion and character to him now and feels to me and a lot of others, more like a living, breathing person who is struggling in the immediate aftermath of being shown the most traumatic recap of his life. I'm really sorry you're not happy with him, but his emotional core and inner heartbreak is being treated with love and respect by the show.

Hahahahahahahahhaha oh my god anon this was a funny read. Ngl usually when ppl come clowning in my inbox with incoherent rants I just delete it. But this was some quality clowning. This was just too funny to not share with everyone. So I’m gonna go line by line here.

“I know you're not happy with the show but making things up is really damaging your reputation.”

I’m gonna be real with you anon. This makes me sad because I will never write anything this funny. This made me laugh out loud. My reputation? My reputation?!?! I run a blog on Tumblr dot com. No reputation can recover from that. Also as to making things up? Uh. Where??? Just because you don’t like what I have to say doesn’t mean it’s made up. However with that kind of attitude I think you have a bright future ahead of you working in PR for the GOP. They love people who talk like you.

“The show is not a failure; it's the biggest launch of any disney+ show so far with the highest ratings.”

Ok I literally just talked about that HERE. But let me add a few more points here for your convenience. First of all, Disney+ hasn’t actually been doing that great. In fact Disney’s stock recently fell precisely because Diseny+ has underperformed. It missed growth expectations and none of the shows have attracted that big of an audience. Loki had MASSIVELY more interest than either WandaVision or TFATWS and yet it only drew 890K households for the premier - just barely more than either of those shows got. There haven’t been any numbers released for the episodes after the premier but given how boring and unfunny and uninteresting the premier was, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of viewers, especially more casual ones, didn’t come back for more.

“The first trailer has so many views because it's 7 months old, compared to the first episode being out a week and a half.”

Incorrect. Trailers get most of their views in the first week, and the vast majority in the first 2 weeks. Indeed, they get the most engagement in the first DAY usually and then it starts slowing. The early trailer that got 18 million views got most of that very quickly and then has grown extremely slowly ever since. The more recent trailers are not tracking to get anywhere near than engagement. Why? Because interest is dropping. Now maybe people just aren’t as interested in the trailers because they’re just happy to watch the actual show now or because they loved the first trailers so much that they decided to watch the show just based on that and didn't want to spoil themselves watching later trailers. Who knows. I certainly have my theories though.

"The CGI doesn't look like it was done by a two year old (seriously lmao??)."

Actually I said the posters looked like they were done by a 2 year old. Most of the CGI looks like cheap made-for-tv effects done by an underpaid and under qualified adult. But go off I guess. Also don’t even try to defend those badly photoshopped posters to me. I have eyes. I could argue with you but a picture is worth a thousand words. And just. Look at this thing! This is real. It’s so bad but it’s real. Who wants this?

"Stop pretending Loki was mind controlled when Marvel confirmed in his character bio that he was emotionally influenced by the scepter.Bucky was mind controlled. Selvig and Hawkeye were mind controlled. Loki was influenced like Banner and the others were by the sceptre when they were around it on the helicarrier"

That’s mind control lmao. The scepter was magically influencing his mind. Do you think emotions come from our feet or something?! (And that’s not even getting into the torture and conditioning he underwent or the fact that the Other had his claws in Loki’s mind and was hurting and threatening him in addition to the mind control). Also why do you think it’s appropriate to come on my blog like this and make these sorts of demands? This is my fandom blog that I run for fun. I can engage however I want. You need to learn to cope with that. If you enjoy the show that’s great. Go enjoy it. Don’t tell other people what to think. That’s not appropriate, reasonable, or healthy. If you find yourself truly unable to cope with strangers having different opinions from you about a tv show based on a comic book I definitely suggest you seek help from a professional.

"Please consider that care has been taken to make Loki more multifaceted in this show, not OOC - he's just got more emotion and character to him now and feels to me and a lot of others, more like a living, breathing person who is struggling in the immediate aftermath of being shown the most traumatic recap of his life."

I don’t see any evidence at all of care being put into the show. The writing and storytelling is incredibly sloppy. It gets even the most basic things wrong - like Loki’s speaking style or the fact that he wasn’t young in the 70s or that he speaks the Allspeak not English or his skin tone or hair length or the fact that Jotun!Loki should’ve had ridges on his skin. The head writer and story creator also is openly disdainful of Loki and talks about how he’s a “shithead” and “proper and pompous” and how he needs to be put in a situation where he has to stop “blaming” Odin and Thor for all his problems. He shows no understanding of Loki’s character or care for it. Maybe care was put into the show and they just messed up but I don’t see evidence of that. There’s certainly no way you could know that for a fact unless you are involved in the production in which case you are a biased source who has an ulterior motive for silencing critics of the show.

Also TV!Loki doesn’t feel like a real person to me at all. He feels like a caricature. He doesn’t act like Loki or do or say the things he would or even stand like he would. Look how Loki behaved when being interrogated by Natasha or when being berated by Odin. Loki is someone who puts on a performance as a sword and a shield. TV!Loki is a stupid clown.

"I'm really sorry you're not happy with him, but his emotional core and inner heartbreak is being treated with love and respect by the show."

No it’s not. It’s being turned into a punchline. The “humor” in the show derives entirely from invalidating Loki’s feelings and retconning his motivations and humiliating and mocking and denigrating him and turning him into a literal punching bag. The show robs the character of all dignity and seriousness and makes a mockery of him and the fans he meant so much to. And for what? The humor isn’t even funny.

[sarahjtv]

BNHA Chapter 310 Spoiler Thoughts: “The First and Second Holders”

Some fan translations are out and it’s time to flex some thoughts out again!  I couldn’t do them last night because I didn’t have all the scan images with me and I didn’t want to jump the gun with only text descriptions.  Anyway, this was mainly an exposition chapter that properly introduces us to the second and third OFA Holders, especially the 2nd and what his relationship to the 1st is.  This might not be as long as others “Spoiler Thoughts” I’ve written, but let’s see:

First off, we have a colored cover page by Horikoshi-sensei himself!  It’s a solo page featuring Vigilante Deku and he looks badass!  Deku looks ready to kick ass and take names.  And, his Mid-Gauntlet is colored red like a lot of us thought and it adds to the theory that Melissa Shield did create it like she did with Deku’s Full-Gauntlet back in Two Heroes.

The chapter starts in a dark and rainy night.  A large woman (she’s like maybe 10ft tall; she’s taller than All Might who I think is 7ft) with a mutant-type quirk who’s getting attacked by some civilians because they think she’s a villain.  Deku jumps in to stop the attacks and the woman explains that she was just trying to go to one of the evacuation centers at a hero school.  Deku is kind enough to give her her umbrella back and reassure her that things will be ok.  

I gotta say that this whole situation is scarily close to real life right now.  I don’t like getting too political, but we live in a scary world where discrimination is, unfortunately, alive and well...  If you are a POC, you can be attacked from anywhere with the only reason being that “you’re a danger because of the skin you were born with”. It’s horrific, it’s disgusting, and it’s been around for a long time.  Even in the BNHA universe, there used to be cults solely dedicated to discriminating against mutant-type people (we learned this back in the My Villain Academia Arc).  So, like in the real world, this problem has risen again.  Thankfully, there are people like Deku and All Might who are more than willing to help someone in need regardless of who they are.  BNHA hits too close to home sometimes.  

Anyway, going back to the BNHA story.  Before All Might leaves to help the woman in his Batmobile, he hands Deku some Pork Katsu in a cute bento box wrapped in a bunny cloth!  Deku is visibly happy and thanks All Might for the meal.  This is so cute!  I’m so glad to see that All Might is making sure that Deku is being properly taken care of.  Boy needs to eat if he’s going to save the world.  I’m also glad that Deku can still show signs of happiness despite, well, everything.  I swear, if All Might doesn’t legally adopt Deku as his son by the time this series is over, I’m going to jump into this manga and force him to sign those documents myself. 

The next panel shows Deku standing on what looks like Tokyo’s famous Sky Tree (or Sky Egg if we’re going off what Vigilantes showed us).  He’s back to talking to the OFA Holders like they’re angels on his shoulders.  Banjo talks about how it’s like the world’s reverted back in time when things were worse and Deku responds that if he doesn’t use all of OFA’s power, he’ll never be able to defeat Shigaraki and AFO.  I know we’re in the final act, so Deku’s gotta get to 100% fast if he wants to win this war.  Last we checked, he was at 45%, but he might be at a higher percentage now since he’s unlocked En’s Smokescreen.  Also, Deku’s looking more and more like Batman each chapter and I gotta say that it really suits him.

Back to the Vestige Dream back when Deku was still in a coma after the war.  The 1st Holder begs the 2nd and 3rd to corporate with him so that they can provide their power to Deku.  The 1st calls the 2nd and 3rd “My Heroes” which causes some awkward silence lol.  Neither one is responding, so Banjo breaks the silence by suggesting that Deku learn everyone’s Quirks so that he’ll get used to them once he starts using them.  We learn why the 2nd and 3rd are the 1st’s heroes soon, but it’s actually a good idea for Deku to learn about all these different Quirks while he’s sleeping so that he’ll get a good idea on how to execute them when he wakes up.  It’s kind of a way of training for Deku just without actually using the Quirks themselves.  

The 3rd Holder (the one with the spiky ponytail and headband) starts to talk.  He says that the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd came from the “Harshest era of history”.  It was a time where AFO ruled all and peaked in power and control.  He was going to take over the whole world if the first 3 Holders didn’t step in to stop him.  My guess is that after AFO was defeated for the first time, society started to calm down and become more or less the world we knew before the War Arc.  So, things weren’t as bad during the 4th Holder’s era and so forth.  This would explain why Shinomori was able to hide in the forest for so long without being detected.  

And now the big part of the chapter: the 2nd Holder.  Who does in fact look A LOT like Bakugo.  Big difference is that he has a massive scar across his face.  I am aware of the whole “time travel” theory that people have going on with Bakugo and this dude, but I’m not on that train.  Instead, I think that the 2nd Holder is one of Bakugo’s ancestors.  Like, a really, really-great-grandfather.  Horikoshi doesn’t just design his characters for no reason.  The fact that the 2nd user looks so much like Bakugo, has a costume similar to Bakugo’s, and that future panels in this chapter straight up parallel that iconic scene with young Bakugo and Deku in the river only add fuel to this fire.  Unless Horikoshi says otherwise, this is the theory I’m sticking to: this “Ancestor” theory.

And we know of the 1st user’s real name now too, which is Yoichi!  If Horikoshi is keeping up with the “numbers in names” theme, then I’m positive that Yochi has the kanji for “One” somewhere in it.  And, if we’re going to believe AFO at all, then that means that the 1st user’s full name is Yoichi Shigaraki.  We don’t know AFO’s full name yet.  But, again, AFO could be lying with his last name, so I’m taking this one with a grain of salt.

Back to the 2nd Holder, he tells Yoichi that a lot of lives were sacrificed in order to stop AFO back then.  He believes that there is only victory or defeat in battle; that there’s no hope of saving their archenemy.  He has doubt about putting his faith in Deku because of this.  Given how the 3rd Holder still has his back turned too, I’m lead to believe that he also thinks Deku is crazy for wanting to save Shigaraki.  I don’t exactly blame them.  Really, none of us know if Deku will be successful in saving Shigaraki.  He might have to kill him in the end.  I think they should offer Deku help, but I don’t blame them for being at least a little skeptical.  

But, Yoichi reminds the 2nd and 3rd users that they saved Yoichi back when AFO locked him up to die.  They found Yoichi with the intention to kill him it seems, but the 2nd Holder showed sympathy for Yoichi and lent him a helping hand despite Yoichi being AFO’s little brother.  This is the parallel panel I was talking about.  Yoichi is kneeling down on the floor and the 2nd user is standing up extending his hand to help Yoichi.  I don’t even need to look back in the manga to know what inspired this.  Hell, I don’t even need to tell you!  We all know what Horikoshi was doing when he drew and wrote this.

Yoichi convinces him that he should believe in Deku as Yoichi does think Deku will save the day.  If the 2nd user didn’t extend his hand to help Yoichi, OFA wouldn’t have begun.  I think that the trust between these two is ultimately the reason why the 2nd user finally agreed to help Deku; the same with the 3rd user too.  And, kind of a tangent, but I really like how Horikoshi draws Yoichi and the 2nd user’s hands as they’re reaching for each other.  Horikoshi has always been really good with drawing hands like they’re facial expressions (something my ass could never do 😭) and this one shows kindness and empathy.  It’s almost like what would’ve happened if Bakugo accepted Deku’s hand for help when they were young instead of letting his pride and ego get in the way.  Oh, the parallels! 

Finally, the 2nd user speaks in present day telling Deku that they’re going full speed ahead now.  My guess is that Deku’s going to have to improve on OFA and the rest of his Quirks quickly in order to find and beat the LoV.  We are in the Final Act after all.  The chapter ends at a good place if we want to switch to the UA kids, which is honestly what I’m hoping for.  Again, I love Deku and his Vigilante adventures, but I miss the rest of the kids.  The new BNHA Exhibition in Japan apparently has a giant drawing of the main class, All Might, Aizawa, and Shinso in his new hero costume!  Which tells me that 1. Shinso probably took Deku’s place in the class for the time being, and 2. We’re definitely going to see the other kids again.  I’m hoping soon.  But, I wouldn’t be surprised if Horikoshi decided to continue focusing on Deku’s Vigilanteism and have him practice with he 2nd and 3rd Holder’s Quirks now that they’re working with him.  We’ll just have to see.

So, that’s it!  Solid chapter overall.  I’m glad we finally got to see the 3rd and 2nd Holder’s faces.  I think the “Kirishima is the 3rd Holder” theroy has been debunked at this point, but I’m still on the “2nd Holder is Bakugo’s ancestor” train.  The similarities and parallels are too strong for me to deny it.  Horikoshi-sensei, please confirm or deny soon 🙏.  We are getting break next week for Golden Week BTW!  All of Shonen Jump is actually, so no One Piece or JJK either (I’m not sure about Jump+, so we might still be getting some Spy X Family for example).  So, basically all our favorite mangakas are getting a well-deserved break as they should!  I hope they enjoy their vacation!  Waiting’s going to suck tho, I’m ngl about that...  Oh well, I’m willing to take the sacrifice if it means having healthy mangka.  Thankfully, we still have the anime and the new exhibition to tide us over until then.

Edit: OR NOT SINCE THE EXHIBITION IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED BECAUSE OF A CERTAIN PANDEMIC GOING NUTS IN JAPAN AFTER ONLY BEING OPEN FOR 2 DAYS 😭 

Edit: I went back to re-read the chapter and I completely missed the date for the next chapter (chapter 311) which is set to release on May 9th!  So, we’re actually getting a 2 week break instead.  Damn...  Sucks for us, but it’s good for mangaka to get breaks when they can especially considering their absolutely insane schedule.

Me reading this chapter:

[katnissmellarkkk]

Alrightttt, I’m on a roll so we’re going onto chappy five 🥳🥳🥳😎😎

I know the movies made the Capitol — re: basically only Effie and maybe Caesar — have those ridiculous made up accents but .... I actually feel like the description of the Capitol accent in the book is supposed to be like the Kardashians or Paris Hilton’s voice. 🤷🏼‍♀️

“Why do these people speak in such a high pitch? Why do their jaws barely open when they talk? Why do the ends of their sentences go up as if they're asking a question? Odd vowels, clipped words, and always a hiss on the letter s. no wonder it's impossible not to mimic them.” Like this is a pretty good description of how Kim Kardashian and her sisters talk. And Suzzy C did say she was inspired by the juxtaposition between war news footage and ridiculous reality television shows so... I think my theory of the Capitol all talking like they’re on the Real Housewives of LA is pretty valid.

Just imagine Paris Hilton as Effie and Nicole Richie as one of her preps

Lolololol this whole section of waxing is reminding me to go get my legs waxed 😭😭😭 straight up calling me out here, Suzanne

I like how Katniss says her stylist “apparently has no interest in seeing her until the prep team has addressed obvious problems.” Like you can tell from her narration she was expecting to feel the same was about Cinna that she does about Effie and her prep team.

The “gritty loam that takes off dirt and three layers of skin” is probably just a strong exfoliator 😭😭😭 my girl knows nothing about quality skincare 🤧🤧 someone build a Panem Sephora

She mentioned them waxing her underarms.... girl, did you have hairy armpits before this? Idk why this revelation is new to me

“Grease her down!” Just sounds wrong 😅😅😅😅 I need to stop being annoying omg I’m like a twelve year old

Hmm it’s funny to me that Katniss refers to Octavia as plump. You’d think in a place like the Capitol body image and weight would be very important. Unless it’s like back in the old, old days when being overweight was a sign of wealth. Which would make more sense so this was an unnecessary thought process curtesy of Samantha

Katniss faking a smile and thanking her prep team shows she does know how to play the game and fake it better than she says.

So ... okay, hear me out, I’m not trying to get over the top or make this into something it’s not but ... the whole stylists / Cinna coming into the room and staring at her naked is a little weird. Especially considering Cinna isn’t Lenny Kravitz who’s like a bit older than her but actually like a twenty-something year old dude.

But okay, here’s the thing I was getting at ... Cinna’s one of the best people in this series and you can’t deny that. Even if you find him boring, he’s still one of Katniss’ closest people. Also he’s probably gay. But like ... what about the other stylists? I don’t wanna be that person who makes everything more than it is, but like, this scene just sounds like a perfect opportunity for some Capitol creep to assault a teenager idk I’m probably making a mountain out of a molehill just ignore Samantha okay.

That’s nice that he complimented her mama though 🥰🥰🥰

So Katniss calls District Twelve the least desirable district but ... doesn’t District Eleven suck too? Like she also later says District Twelve is the smallest and the poorest but doesn’t she also say Rue is worse off than her and Prim? Make up your mind, Suz.

Cinna claims he asked for District Twelve but did he really get an option? 😅 If it’s his first year and Katniss claims the newbies get them anyway 🤷🏼‍♀️ Samantha is once again, reading too much into this.

Awww, Katniss is thinking about how long it would take for her to assemble this fancy meal at home 🤧🤧🤧 it would take her days and the Capitol just has the necessary resources at their disposal and they just takes it for granted. And yes, I’m aware this is supposed to be calling all us readers out who take so much for granted I know. We’re the Capitol.

“How would I spend the hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by?” It’s honestly so sad but so vital to her character that Katniss has zero hobbies or real free time. Her life is about surviving. She doesn’t get to live or enjoy very much of her time. She dedicates everything to keeping Prim — and her mother — alive, sacrificing everything a teenage girl should be doing. Sacrificing even the things the other girls in her world get to do. She mentions the merchant girls and the Seam girls who are more experienced romantically and sexually and socially than her. Because she doesn’t get to be a kid or innocent or even happy, in order to focus on her and her family’s survival. And the things she does enjoy, like spending time with Gale or dancing with Prim (mentioned in Mockingjay) she downplays in case they’re taken away, because nothing good is secure in her eyes. 🥺🥺🥺

Okay but what did Katniss’ facial expression give away that Cinna knew exactly what she was thinking? Or is she just less emotionless than she and Haymitch both claim? Ironically I think they’re the only people who call her emotionless which can easily be chalked up to their self-hate and terrible self-esteems.

Katniss is so afraid they’re gonna make her be naked for the parade 😭. Honestly though they’re children that’s so creepy that they’re even allowed to make 15/16/17 year olds be naked in a parade. I mean I know they kill kids every year but isn’t there like child pornography laws in Panem? 😭

“You’re not afraid of fire, are you, Katniss?” Is so foreshadowing 😭😂😅😎 Caesar Flickerman’s voice “Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire!”

Honestly though Cinna is smart to make Katniss recognizable in the arena by leaving her with simple makeup. I know and the sky is blue we all know this already beating the dead horses until the farmer comes home.

“It crosses my mind that Cinna's calm and normal demeanor masks a complete madman.” It’s true though 😅😅😅😭😭 he was always a rebel. I actually think he may have asked for District Twelve after Katniss volunteered, because he saw the potential in her. Poor Peeta. Baby, I’m rooting you for even if no one else is.

Also I always found it a bit .... curious? That Peeta had a female stylist and Katniss had a male one? Not just because of the required nudity, you’d just think men would do better as a boy’s stylist and a woman would make a better girl’s stylist. So yes, my whole Cinna was interested in District Twelve because Katniss seemed like a good symbol for a rebellion idea seems very plausible.

I know I know I know I read wayyy too much into this stuff sometimes a cigarette 🚬 is just a cigarette 🚬

Katniss being relieved when Peeta shows up 😭😭😭 because even if she won’t admit it and even if she won’t let herself trust him, she still sees him unconsciously and completely against her will as a comfort because they’re in this thing together in a way, even if they’re supposed to try and kill each other

And honestly, it’s such a like... relatable feeling? To feel alone and nervous and uptight and then someone who you recognize — even if you maybe aren’t even friends with but you at least know — shows up and you just instantly feel less alone. I’m totally looking at this through shipper goggles and I’m not even ashamed you all knew who’s blogging you were reading ight? 😂🤣🤷🏼‍♀️

“He should know about fire, being a baker's son and all.” And he’s gonna learn a lot more about it when he falls in love — for real, falls in love, not a childhood infatuation — with the girl on fire. 🥰🥰🥰

But also, I love this particular line on a reread because it totally is an indicator towards their future. Like Peeta knows about fire, he’s experienced with how to handle it, and later on, he becomes the only person who truly comes to understand Katniss, who represents fire, in a way that no one else could ever imagine.

Hmmm, Katniss’ point of view here, talking about how Portia and Peeta’s team seem all giddy and air-headed and it’s only Cinna who seems reserved makes me rethink my previous imaginings of Peeta’s stylist. Maybe she’s just a Capitolite idiot and nothing like Cinna. And my baby got a raw deal here then too. Good thing Haymitch loves him more. Just kidding 😅😅😅

But also I wanna know why Cinna is hesitant to accept congratulations for his and Portia’s idea? Wasn’t he at least lowkey excited about it when he pitched it a page ago?

Their horses are coal black 🐴 😅. I like that they went the whole nine yards with the theme. Nothing but the best for the kids on Death Row.

Aww Katniss asking Peeta what he thinks about being set on fire is so sweet and pure for some reason. I just find their commodore here cute ok

“I'll rip off your cape if you'll rip off mine” this is literally their first friend type of interaction and it’s so pure y’all leave me be I’m emotional for them

🙃 Also lowkey reminds me of “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Everyone look away ok I’m sorry

Peeta’s shady/annoyed Haymitch comment and Katniss’ joke at his expense 🤣🤣😂🤣😂😂🥲🥲☺️🥲🥲 they’re bonding it’s so presh

“And suddenly we're both laughing.” I hope they laugh a lot together post-canon 🥲🥲🥲. If they can make the other laugh during their terrible circumstances, then they can make the other laugh anywhere. 🤧 Except in Thirteen because he’s hijacked and she’s certifiable and they’re both so used and abused and 🥺🥺🥺🥺

Okay I have to say, Suzanne Collins really builds up a lot for certain events and then just like grazes over the actual action of said event? Like she builds towards the tribute parade but then kind of rushes through off the actual event itself? It’s a common theme in her writing. And I don’t like it at all ngl.

Oh wait she doesn’t actually rush the parade events the paragraph before just looked like she was about to I jumped the gun 🤣😂🤭 but what I said is still completely true for many events in these books sorry not sorry

I’m definitely reading too much into it but the fact that District One — the favorite of the Capitol — gets snow white horses and District Twelve gets coal black horsies kind of ... seems to imply something .... 🤭

Cinna just lets out a sigh of relief “it worked” like ... way to fill your tributes with hope, dude. “Yeah, you’re totally safe, don’t be scared-OH THANK GOD THAT WORKED I wasn’t actually sure you wouldn’t blow up.” But actually this answers my previous inquiry about why he seemed hesitant I guess he wasn’t even sure this wouldn’t burn them up that’s nice 🤭🙃

It’s a literal trial by fire *cue drum hit* 🥁 aww, I just cracked myself up 😭

“Then he gently tucks a hand under my chin. "Remember, heads high. Smiles. They're going to love you!" This is caught halfway between being very Capitol-y and very father-brotherly and idk which way to take it but it’s kind of cute 🤭

“For the first time, I look at him and realize that ablaze with the fake flames, he is dazzling.” This is such a significant line because Katniss isn’t saying Peeta is technically good looking (like when Haymitch said they were decently attractive) or someone else thinks he’s good looking (i.e Gale, her mother and lowkey Finnick) but she’s saying she herself thinks he’s attractive. Girl, your crush is showing.

"I think he said for us to hold hands," says Peeta.” I’m sure Cinna actually did say that but this just seems like a very good opportunity for Peeta to hold the hand of the girl he has a massive crush on. 😭😭😭

Okay Cinna gave a thumbs up so he actually was saying that but can you imagine Peeta’s excitement right now?

I mean, yeahhhh, there’s the certain death looming over him too but like live in the moment, babe. 🥰😘🤗👌🏻

I like that Katniss says the crowd is at first like 😳😳😳 before they start cheering like they’re thinking “what are these backwoods, hillbilly kids doing this year?”

“At first, I'm frozen, but then I catch sight of us on a large television screen and am floored by how breathtaking we look. In the deepening twilight, the firelight illuminates our faces” okay they both have to be pretty naturally attractive people objectively, because you illuminate my face without much makeup and no one is gonna be cheering.

“Remember, heads high. Smiles. They're going to love you! I hear Cinna's voice in my head. I lift my chin a bit higher, put on my most winning smile, and wave with my free hand.” I wonder what the true difference is for Katniss between Cinna and Effie saying this to her? Maybe it’s that Effie is just outright mean to her sometimes whereas Cinna shows her nothing but kindness from the start and expresses sympathy and understanding? It’s probably that he’s already earning her trust versus Effie who’s just cruel I’m not over her comments on the train ok

“I'm glad now I have Peeta to clutch for balance, he is so steady, solid as a rock.” Right from the start, Katniss refers to Peeta as solid and steady. Idk, I feel like this is something that the movies really misses along the way. Katniss wasn’t always strong or confident at all and Peeta, at least publicly, exuded those qualities pretty well. Samantha’s complaining again ™️ 💁🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

Also this is just outright foreshadowing how Peeta will eventually become her rock. Or that he will be soon painted a rock ... pick and choose which way you wanna go with this. 🤷🏼‍♀️💁🏼‍♀️😅🤣

“As I gain confidence, I actually blow a few kisses to the crowd.” Okay, see I feel like Peeta really gives Katniss confidence in herself. If he’d been there in District Thirteen and they’d done propos together, she probably would have been a thousand times better.

But also this makes me think Katniss actually has it in her to be a charismatic, confident, alluring celebrity. She just chooses not to. 🤗🤗🤗

But this also reminds me of “She has no idea the effect she can have” okay imma move on and stop focusing on every little detail

I say that every chapter 🤧😅

“The pounding music, the cheers, the admiration work their way into my blood, and I can't suppress my excitement.” Say whatever you want, Katniss is still such a girl underneath it all. She gets excited over people liking her and cheering her on. And I know it’s because it increases her chances of getting sponsors but still

Honestly Peeta trying to showcase Katniss and let her take the spotlight is so selfless and indicative of his ultimate plan to help her win but also ... I can see how Katniss would believe it’s too good to be true and he’s messing with her. That he’s just playing the game to earn her trust, get her guard down and manipulate her later.

See, Peeta is actually framed at the start like the typical, standard YA love interest turned villain. In majority of YA books, at this point the boy is kind and sweet and helpful to the girl until she trusts him completely and then he turns on her and uses everything she gave him to destroy her. But the difference is, Katniss refuses to truly trust him and she is guessing his game incorrectly at every step. And then it’s revealed that it was never a game and he truly isn’t messing with her and everything he’s done that’s seem too good to be true and not even remotely plausible has actually been genuine and heartfelt and that, my friends, is why Peeta is above all other YA love interests. Because Everlark is actually the foil to many of the cliches. That was a long speech over some incoherent thoughts I’m so sorry if you suffered through that.

“It's not until we enter the City Circle that I realize I must have completely stopped the circulation in Peeta's hand. That's how tightly I've been holding it.” Awww he is her rock 😭🤧🥺

"No, don't let go of me," he says. The firelight flickers off his blue eyes. "Please. I might fall out of this thing." Okay this part is so cute and so blatantly setting Peeta up as her main love interest omg 😅 this isn’t the least bit subtle or disguised. But first off, the fact that Katniss is also Peeta’s stability here too 😭😭😭 and second of all, she takes time to notice his blue eyes against the firelight? She was attracted to him from the very start, y’all. That’s indisputable. 👌🏻😎🤧

“It's not really fair to present us as a team and then lock us into the arena to kill each other.” I agree with you, baby, it’s not fair at all. But you two take care of that situation nicely. Or not. Y’all do start a dang war. 🤭🤭🙃🙃

It’s rather ... ironic that it’s District Twelve’s chariot of them all that is pulled up and stopped directly in front of President Snow’s mansion. I know it’s a book, certain details like this are definitively contrived, I know get over it. 🤦🏼‍♀️💁🏼‍♀️

So uh. Snow is a small thin man? Why do I suddenly imagine Danny Devito as Snow 😅😅😅😅🤣🤣🤣🤣 y’all know he’d kill the role

“The darker it becomes, the more difficult it is to take your eyes off our flickering.” Okay, this is such a great line and it’s so significant to the rest of the series? The fact that Katniss — and Peeta, let’s not forget our boy — became symbols of the revolution. Like this line is deep if you think about it. The worse things in Panem got, the more the civilians looked towards Katniss and Peeta for hope 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥰🥰🥰🥰

Omg now after Songbirds and Snakes, we know the national anthem. I’m sorry, babies, that you have to endure that I’ll get you out of there 🙉🙉🙉

I feel like in part, the Capitol camera crew — Cressida, Pollux .... Pollux’s brother... is that you here???? — put so much attention on District Twelve because it would create some resentment and competition between them and the careers 🤭🤗

“I notice a lot of the other tributes are shooting us dirty looks, which confirms what I've suspected, we've literally outshone them all.” Insert Gretchen Wieners “I can’t help that I’m popular!” 😅😅😅😅😅

“I realize I'm still glued to Peeta and force my stiff fingers to open. We both massage our hands.” — they were hanging on so tight 😭😭😭😭

“Thanks for keeping hold of me.” He’s so sweet ☺️☺️☺️ I love him even if he’s kind of an idiot sometimes but so is Katniss so let’s not point fingers

“I'm sure they didn't notice anything but you. [...] And then he gives me a smile that seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness” Omg I know Katniss views this as him trying to manipulate her but the fact that he’s actually just admitting the way he’s felt for years is so 😭😭😭😭 if only you’d spit it out sooner, Bready

“he gives me a smile that seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me.” She literally has a crush on her fellow tribute and her first line of defense is to decide he out to get her for making her feel this way 🤣😭🙃

“The more likable he is, the more deadly he is.” The more my crush grows, the more deadly he becomes. I know I’m reading this with shipper goggles but guess what? I’m unashamed. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ who feels guilty for reading this book with an Everlark bias not this girl right here 🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️🙋🏼‍♀️

“I stand on tiptoe and kiss his cheek. Right on his bruise.” Okay first off, she says cheek here but according to a chapter ago, she claimed the mark was on his jaw... so in other words, she’s incredibly short. If a medium height guy has a bruise on his jaw and she has to stand on her tip toe to reach it... well... hashtag LittleKatniss

And second off.... can you even imagine how Peeta must feel. He genuinely complimented her here, the girl he has had a crush on forever, and she responds by kissing his cheek. He was probably really happy at this moment. And also this probably played further into his buying into her false display in the arena. That here we have her clutching his hand, smiling and laughing with him and kissing his cheek. Idk what I was trying to say necessarily but I made myself sad wow way to go me 🥺🥺🥺🥺🤧🤧🤧

Anyways! Those are my very over the top and too detailed thoughts! Hope you enjoyed if you read this! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳😎😎😎😎😎😎😎🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[hongism]

NO BC UR SO RIGHT ABT NOT CHOOSING BASED OFF OF WHO’S UR BIAS. like my biases are san and hongjoong, but the way you write ateez as charaters 😩 i think i’ve changed my mind abt yunho? i went back and looked at the character profiles and smth abt his quote seems very stifling and almost condescending. i’m thinking mingi or yeosang are the safer options. mingi’s still learning the ropes as he’s from the newest region, which makes me think he’s more sincere? but yunho’s been guiding him.. - siren

HEH i really try my best to not stick with typical depictions of ateez as characters and kinda try to branch out a lil and give my character qualities that aren’t always rainbows and sunshine and this fic is no exception to that :3 that’s an interesting take on yunho indeed heh i wonder how many other people get that vibe from him as well 🧐

IDK IM JUST GETTING INTERESTING VIBES FROM YUNHO NOW 😐😐 also sorry for always sending multiple messages :(( i always see people sending super long ones but idk how to get past this 250 limit ;; also omg i see so many points for sabotage?? “Choi San is a loyal prince, and an even more dedicated brother despite having his chance at the throne taken from him.” THAT SMELLS LIKE HES GONNA TAKE THE THRONE FROM JONGHO AND IF JONGHO DIES I WILL CRY IN THE CLUB. i am way too into theorizing omg - siren

PLS DONT APOLOGIZE IT’S OKAY I LOVE IT :( i really don’t know how people send super long ones either ngl im trapped in the 250 limit too so im unfortunately in the same boat and don’t know how they do it 😭 but truly truly i dont mind multiple messages it’s v much okay with me <3 what’s fun and harsh about this fic is really in the synopsis ‘In the deadly game for the crown, who will sit upon the throne of blood and thorns?’ it leaves a lot to think about for sure for sure ! i love theorizing too PLS HIT ME WITH IT ALL

OK LAST ONE AAA JONGHO IS STEALING MY HEART AGAIN?? ugg i cant tell if my theory with jongho and san is farfetched BC THEY SEEM TO HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP KIND OF MAYBE. im currently using my english class skills to figure out how reliable of a narrator you are in those intros HAHA anyway idk jongho atm is.. not the best at writing letters LOL hes obv going the more logical approach and its not great to talk abt previous feuds or be kinda passive abt ur brother BUT HE MEANS WELL I THINK - siren

HAHAH PLSSSS you’re too cute 😭 i can say nothing as to how reliable i’ve been so we’ll have to wait and see how the first part unfolds 😎 JONGHO IS A SWEET BEAN I PROMISE MAYBE A LITTLE AWKWARD AT FIRST </3

[cognacdelights]

I’m convinced a major character is dying in s3 but considering how the writers seem to fear ever killing anyone (I.E: Sarah somehow surviving s2, Big John being alive?? and John B getting his leg torn up by a gator in disgusting muddy swamp water and not dying of an infection) they prob won’t. Also Jiara is likely going to happen and Pope will be gaslit for having negative feelings about it.

i genuinely think sarah is going to die or it’s going to be some kind of permanent exit so that madelyn can go off and do her big projects tbh — that’s my theory. and possibly it could be to do with her s2 injury? like she could die of an infection or sepsis or something in the wound? idk or some vampire diaries elena coma bullshit

and yep. 100% agree about pope having his feelings gaslit by kiara based on how they’ve taken her character in s2. kiara went from sarcastic and dry humour to literal toxicity and gaslighting between the first and second season. ngl, i agree with her parents and have will happily pack her bags for boarding school

[kimberly-spirits13]

Right Hand Man (Loyal to the End) (Full Series)

Pairing: Damian Wayne x reader

Synopsis: You were like Talia’s daughter. The only thing was that you weren’t and instead, you had grown up in the foster care system and at a young age were taken by and personally trained by Talia. Along the way, you meet Damian and the two of you start to work side by side and eventually, after some time become closer and closer. However, when disaster in the league strikes, you face balancing an old, forgotten life as a normal child and the burden of right hand to the demon heir.

Note: I know that this is long and that there are a good number of time skips, but I didn’t want to make this into a series and just wanted it as a long fic because .... well because I can lol

Also, I didn’t want to have Damian so young in this so just go with it. I’m thinking maybe early 15 or almost 16 at the most. Idk I just don’t like writing for young Dami.

Warnings: mentions of murder, blood, brief mentions of torture but not for long, almost dying, sadness, trying to find your place?, pit madness, this entire series had some angst ngl

Word Count: 21151

        Growing up was a lot different for you than anyone else. For the first part of your life, you grew up in a perfect little family with a stable living condition and happy atmosphere. What happened later was easy to explain in all theory. There was a drunk driver and it didn’t end to well for your parents. With no remaining family, you were thrown into the foster care system and rotated around homes until finally one day, a strange woman came in with a smiley demeanor and was walking around the orphanage that you were in looking around when her eyes landed on you. You stared before she approached you. During your time in the system, you met tons of different people. Most were good, but some were bad. Those bad people had two different personalities around different people and you recognized it easily. This time however, it was different. You knew she was bad, but not anything that you were really scared of.

        “You’re not who you say you are.” You whispered to her softly.

        She smiled in a way telling you were right. A few months after that encounter, she came back again. This time however, you were going with her. She took you to a hotel room after a short and quiet drive. That was when she finally started talking.

        “My name is Talia, you will address me as such.” She said, “I’m going to take you to a place far away from here where you will train to become one of the most lethal of your kind.” “I expect only obedience. If I do not get this, you will be punished. Now, do you understand?”

        “Yes Talia.” You replied carefully.

        “What is your preferred name?” Talia asked.

“Y/N.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        From then on, you were trained and taught with the best tutors alive. Not that they wanted to without a bit of persuasion and after your lessons, along with Damian’s, Talia’s birth son, they mysteriously disappeared. You knew what happened to them however. It was pretty easy to guess even for the most stupid person. Besides, you had to kill one yourself in the past.

        You were a quiet person and took well to Talia. She saw you as one of her own. That was high praise coming from someone who wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone at a wrong glance. Your training came from her and only the top members of the League. Anyone else was seen as too easy or below even your own level of skill. That’s how it always was. You always avoided too much conversation with Damian when you were young and merely tolerated him for the most part. You saw him as a begrudging equal in power and standing. You were liked more secretly since you weren’t one to be overly proud or bold in talking about where you stood. In fact, the most you did was command and fight. You saw no point in boasting on positions of power. It was a useless waste of time and a means to get yourself killed.

        On days you got time off, even if It was for a few minutes, you were always found in the quietest parts of the base. Whether that was your room or any kind of gardens, you would be found there. Talia always knew where you were because of this.

        “I expect you are prepared for the next mission Y/N?” She asked walking to you one morning after training.

        “As always Talia.” You said standing to greet her.

        She sat down with you for only a little bit and the conversation was brief.

        “I’ve noticed you’ve been lost in thought recently.” She noted, “What matter is this over?”

        You were shocked. It wasn’t everyday Talia showed any kind of emotion like this. Maybe tiny, tiny gestures after successful missions that you had led, but not much other than that.

        “I’ve just been thinking of the success of my upcoming mission. I need to know that these certain recruits are not going to jeopardize the mission. While they aren’t new, I have an instinct they will prove unfit for this kind of work.”

        “I understand. Measures will be taken if they prove useless.” Talia assured, “All concerns aside, you are needed prepared and ready. If not, the roll of leader will be given elsewhere.”  

        “You should not concern yourself with me, I will be fully capable of leading a squad myself.” You stood, “it is time for me to leave however.”

        The mission was going fine until now. You were right about the recruits. When they messed up, you immediately jumped into action killing who they missed. In this process, you were drenched in rain water and blood. No one had ever seen you this furious. This is why you were leader, you were the only one that knew what to do in times of stress and how to punish those who wronged the goal of the missions.

        “You fools!” You shouted in the ship, “You had the perfect chance and did not take it! Your assignments were simple for a reason and you almost jeopardized the entire assignment over a bit of rain!” “I have finished missions nearly dead and you incompetent idiots couldn’t kill four people.” “When we get back to the base, you should be expecting punishment accordingly.”

        The rest of the ride was dead silent but for your second in command and yourself discussing matters of the mission in a different language. It wasn’t a long flight and by the time you were back, you were still soaked. Brushing a piece of wet hair that was just now starting to curl once more, you approached Talia, who was being trailed closely by Damian who almost stepped back by the look you had on your face.

        “What happened?” Talia demanded glaring for a quick second at the questionable recruits.

        “The mission was almost jeopardized by the recruits that I raised concern about. They put unnecessary risks onto the table and missed the simple instructions they were assigned.” You narrowed your eyes some, “I took care of what they couldn’t.” “The mission was successful.”

        “Very well. Hit the showers and meet me in the briefing room in 40 minutes.” Talia said.

        “Understood.” You walked passed her and Damian, only stopping to acknowledge him for a few seconds, “Damian.” You said nodding.

        “Y/N.” You were the only one that could address him as his first name besides Talia and The Demon Head and you were the only one he’d use a first name for.

        You continued down the hallway and a few more before making into another sector of the building that you stayed. Those in high ranking had their own bathrooms such as you and Talia. It was seen as a sign of respect and designation from the rest. You walked into your bedroom, smaller as they tended to be and grabbed your change of clothes. This is what you normally wore around the complex if you weren’t going on missions. It was as simple as a black suit with straps for weapons and a place for your swords. Other than that, it was nothing special. It was against code to wear any kind of sleep wear outside of your room.

_______________________________________________________________________

        While on your way back from the briefing room, you decided to take a detour to the roof tops where you stayed sometimes. The view was incredible at night and the stars shown brighter than you’d seen anywhere else. There was a cool breeze up there and the occasional glimpse of the nightly patrol off in the distance. You were alone for most of the time and became captive to your own thoughts running wild. That didn’t mean you didn’t hear the footsteps behind you though.

        “What brings you to the roof?” You asked to the figure not even turning around.          

        You knew it was Damian just by how he walked. It typically took a few minutes for the two of you to drop your guard, even in the slightest, however it was the only time you could.

        “I wanted some fresh air and figured you’d be here. I am pleased to find that I was not incorrect in my thinking.” He replied sitting next to you.

        “I’m flattered.”

        The sarcastic tone of your comment led a smirk onto Damian’s face.

        “You looked abnormally angry after today’s assignment.” He commented, “I was surprised to see you so...”

        “Covered head to toe in blood and rain?”

        “Precisely.”

        “Well, that would not have happened if there was not a reason for it to. By all means, sometimes, I expect there to be mistakes. I also expect there to be repercussions. But if you cannot even finish off the simplest of tasks, you are by all means an absolute incompetent fool.” “I could have done that as a young child.”

        “I noticed you seemed to be less than pleased when recruits were assigned on Monday.” Damian said, “I presumed it was something to do with those individuals.”

        “Correct.”

        There was some silence between the two of you. Some night up on the rooftops, there were no conversations. You two acknowledged each other’s presence and continued on your way, minding your own business, and ultimately being comfortable in each other’s company. However, tonight you had something else in mind.

        “Has Talia been acting strangely more... emotional? In a positive way I think.” You asked him, “I thought it might have just been me, but with some more conversation with her earlier this morning, I suspect something must be wrong.”

        “I have noticed that. I am sure that there is nothing too terribly wrong to fear. Grandfather has had no change in his demeanor... That said, he is more seasoned to conflict.” Damian remarked, “You do get more information on matters on occasion with your status.”

        “I know, that’s why I’m concerned.” “I don’t want to be caught in the middle of some war or whatever the case may be. Besides, I have my real assignment which is watching over you. I don’t need anything getting in the way of why I’m supposedly really here.”          

        “You are aware that your “only job” isn’t just to be my protector or however my mother worded when we were young children. You’re also one of most commanding and powerful people I’ve ever met. Your position was well placed in your hands and it is well taken care of by you.” Damian commented.

        “High praise coming from the grandson of The Demon Head.” You almost let a smile slip onto your face at what he said.

        “I don’t remember a day where you weren’t there in some way.” He said, “Whether that was to scold me for being too proud of my bloodline or just making sarcastic remarks about anything you could.” He smirked, “Not that I didn’t fire back.”

        “Mhmm. Talia, as much as she doesn’t want to admit it was extremely amused when I used to talk like that to you. Although, she denies it every time now.” You thought back to the days when you and Damian used to bicker about everything. You were always secretly the more serious one no matter how much he wanted to keep that up. For you, there was no family line to fall back on. You only had your reputation and especially here, that was easy and dangerous to damage.

        “What do you think is going on?” He asked, “If there is anything wrong, one of us, if not both will know within the next few weeks at most.”

        “I don’t really know. I think that it might be something internal. The Demon Head and Talia might be about to sweep the lower and middle ranks for traitors or those less competent. They might even take the upper ranks. Just watch your back.”

        “As always.”

        You looked back out at the view looking at the mountain tops, inspecting each and every one that you could see. The snow gleamed in pale moonlight and every once in a while, you’d possibly see a shooting star go by. When training wasn’t underway and most everyone was asleep, the compound was one of the most peaceful places you’d ever been. You caught yourself yawning and suddenly a wave of exhaust washed over you.

        “How long has it been since you slept properly?” Damian asked noticing right away your shift in demeanor.

        “Maybe four days at best. It was just the mission preparations. I’ll be fine, besides, training for me in the morning is not until later. I’ll have time to sleep longer.” You stood back up, “I am going to head back to my room now. However, I do expect to see you at sparring tomorrow?”

        “I will be there.”

        With that, you hopped down the roof top and left back for your room. You knew he’d follow shortly after you, it was customary for him to after some alone time. That always helped with anything he was dealing with since he rarely ever got it. That’s the unspoken worst part about being in the positions you two were in. There was never any time to yourselves.

End Post

_______________________________________________________________________

Second Start Part

        You walked around the squad that you were assigned to watch over this morning. It was an easy viewing as you picked out each mistake that was made by the fighters. The objective of this time was to make improvements in skills where needed in the time that you were waiting for Damian to arrive for sparing. Now that you were older, the two of you trained outside almost to set an example for the rest of the members in lower ranks. It was almost a shaming method as well. Look at these two teenagers, they are years ahead of you in skill and training.

        A few minutes of this routine had passed. You were getting tired of no action yourself. Damian must have been attending to some private matters since he was never late. Talia made sure of that for one part. Eventually, the mood shifted into something even more serious and focused and you knew that he had entered the training grounds.

        “How kind of you to finally show up.” You said drawing your sword.

        “I had previous arrangements to attend to.” Damian returned taking his own sword in hand.

        “An eventful morning for the demon.”

        “Indeed, it was General.”

        You could tell that there were eyes on you the entire time that the two of you were training. It wasn’t uncommon but for the longest time, it took a while to get used to in the start of this newer training environment. Eventually you did get very accustomed to it and started playing harder. It was important to look like you really had the best training and grasp of what you were doing. Otherwise you were a bigger target. That was something you didn’t want under any circumstances. Damian didn’t mind. Instead, he seemed to like the challenge you presented. It wasn’t often in the field he ever got any sort of action like this. It was pretty typical for take downs to be easy, child’s play really. At least, that’s what he liked to think of it.

        For what started feeling like hours, you and Damian trained along with the rest of the recruits. It was sweltering hot outside. The sun’s heat beat down on everyone there without any sign of stopping. The cloudless sky offered no shelter from the rays either. You finally defeated Damian for the last time. Your fights would go until the other slipped up and then they’d start over until you both new that it was time to leave.

        “You haven’t heard anything about strange happenings or something of concern of late have you?” You asked entering the building.

        “No, I didn’t. Today was a common briefing of training and education. I anticipate you will have a meeting with mother at a later time over the same subjects.” Damian replied as the two of you turned into a different hallway heading to the cafeteria, “Mother was acting strange this morning however. I do not know if it has to do with our shared concerns.”

        You didn’t say anything, instead you just nodded before the two of you entered the giant room that everyone sat and ate in. There were different rooms situated inside for different ranks but mostly everyone sat together. It was difficult to escape the people which was something that was meant to be established but for the top players. They stuck together. That’s another reason why you and Damian were so close.

        “I want you to sit with me today instead of with the other group.” Damian said as the two of you took what you wanted for lunch and walked to where he and his mother always sat and ate. Talia was to be late today because of matters she was handling by herself. You two sat in silence for some time.

        “The recruits seemed ... mostly normal for the decent part of today.” You said, “In other words, there have been no red flags of anything internal. I walked around the entirety of the grounds to check.”

        “Maybe Mother and Grandfather are planning something that will just be sudden.” Damian pondered out loud, “We most likely won’t have to worry about it.”

        “It will probably affect me more than you.” You commented, “I’m pretty certain that you’d be safer when it came to some mass elimination scheme.”

        “You should be confident in your place among the League.”

        “I am, I just know that things can change at the random.” “That’s what makes it exciting around here.” “You know, other than the constant threat of being killed.”

        Damian spared you a smirk at the comment but nothing else. You saw it and knew he understood for some part.

        “Where is your next mission?” He asked.

        “It’s to Italy.” “I should only be gone for two, maybe three days at most.” “It’s basic kill a diplomat here, a politician there kind of mission before you ask.”

        Damian cocked a brow, “How did you know I’d ask?”         “You always do al Ghul.”

        “That is the one part of your training and job that I envy.”

        “And that is?” You asked.

        “You get to go and actually do things outside of the League’s headquarters and fight.” He answered simply.

        “Don’t let your mother hear that.” You chuckled only a bit to yourself.

        It was only in times like these or even just only on the roof tops that you’d ever let yourself crack a smile or make anything close to a joke. It was the only time you’d actually be even a sliver of yourself around someone. That is, whatever of yourself was left from all of these years spent here. You thought that what you did was important. It kept your branch of the League together even. Assigned to watch over Damian and be his right hand, that is what you defined yourself by. It was always position to you. Whether you liked it or not, this wasn’t the place to be friendly or all that different from the rest besides in skill and ruthlessness.

        “We’d better get to our class.” You said breaking the silence that came between you two.

        Damian stood up followed by you and the two of you headed to your tutoring session. It wasn’t long before this was over, in fact today was probably the last you’d see your teacher alive.

_______________________________________________________________________

        The tutor seemed to know just as well as you and Damian that this was their last day probably seeing the light of day. The room that the two of you were seated in was a well- lit room with only a table and large chalk board. You could practically feel the nervous energy that your tutor was radiating today. It got worse and worse every day leading up to it. You almost wanted to feel bad for him but you didn’t. That’s where you sometimes come to question the League. It was always taught in some lessons that it was human nature to be compassionate and not disassociate from others. People were supposed to need and feel for each other. You didn’t though. The League made sure of that very quickly.

        The lesson was quick, you didn’t really care much about what the tutor was saying. It was mainly just an overview of what you and Damian had learned. You two exchanged looks at the end of the session before walking out of the room. Talia was there with another recruit. You knew what the other was there to do when he walked into the room you were just in, you didn’t know however why Talia was there.

        “Y/N, I need to speak with you about your upcoming mission.” She said.

        You nodded goodbye to Damian before leaving with Talia.

        “I trust that your lessons were more than suitable?” She asked.

        “Correct, they were of desirable level.” You replied walking by her side.

        “Good. Now about this mission.” Talia turned a corner and into a room before shutting the door behind you, “This isn’t just another simple mission.” “The diplomats that you’re targeting will have highly trained security teams. You must choose the right moment to strike which I’d like to think you might be able to do from your training. Make sure there is as little of security as possible. After you accomplish stage one, move your squad onto stage two of killing the others and then return as soon as possible.” “Any questions? This should be standard by now.”

        “Understood.” You nodded.

“In addition, with the success of your past few missions, it has been decided that you will be elevated into a newer status of High General. Still by the same title, you have more tasks and control over your own squads. I do expect that you will handle this well. You start after your mission with the same schedule. However, you will be training more in the middle ranks.”

“Thank you, I am honored.” You said sincerely before cocking a brow, “However, I must ask since it has been troubling me for the past few days. Is there anything that I should be expecting that will happen? Are there any sweeping of the ranks that I should know about?”

        “I see that you must have picked up on something.” Talia said, “This is confidential information. I am only sharing this with you because of your status and position. There have been concerns raised of an attack from outer forces. We have not figured out which ones yet, you should not concern yourself with that yet. However, the only thing besides your mission and daily tasks you should be concerned with, is the safety of my son, the heir to the League. There is no true telling information on what will happen so keep on your highest guard.”

        “Yes Talia.”

        There was a pause that filled the room. You knew that there was something else.

        “General. That is the position you have been given. That is not however your only job.” Talia started, “Your main, most important job is to be my son’s second hand. If something were to ever happen to myself or The Demon Head, I fully expect you to stay with Damian over everything. Do not make me regret my decision in picking you off the ground of that orphanage.”

        “My loyalties are well placed Talia. I stay with him until death just as I was assigned from the start of this all. As High General, as the Demon’s second, you have my word.”

Eventually, you left. The rest of the day was ahead of you and tomorrow, you’d be suiting up for Italy. Ready to leave the League even for a mission, you were antsy the rest of the day. Not enough for notice as usual though. Damian knew however. He could tell that your game was a bit off since this morning. He could tell that you were either anticipating more than what you gave off, or you were preparing yourself for this next mission a bit too much.

_______________________________________________________________________

        That night he confronted you as the two of you sat on the rooftop.

        “You were off of your game today Y/N.” Damian said almost catching you off guard.

        “So, I was.”

        “What caused this rarity?”

        “I am just ready to start my mission. I have a brewing feeling that it should go over very well.” You answered, “That is what Talia wanted to discuss with me earlier today.”

        “It was just this and nothing else?” Damian cocked his brow suspiciously.

        “Correct.” You reassured, “There was nothing else besides talk of schooling. She did inform me that I will be taking the High General position which was gratifying.”

        “You have my congratulations Y/N.” He commended.

        “And you have my appreciation Damian.”

        “The only thing that I did pick up from the conversation wasn’t... much. Just keep on your highest guard.”

        You didn’t bother saying anything else. Watching the stars and then the clouds float by every now and again was enough. It was easy to just stay up there and do nothing. There was no schedule besides having to get at least some sleep that night. There were no recruits training out in the heat. And best of all, it was silent and cool outside. This was the best time and always would be a place of your favorite memories from life.

        “So, do you have any plans of changing your squad?” Damian asked.

        “In what way? My squad is perfectly formed. There shouldn’t be any issues within it. Not unless you’re insinuating that you want to join al Ghul.” You smirked.    

        “No, not at all. I’d rather not be taking orders from my right hand.” He shot back.

        “And I’d rather not be giving orders to one of the most stubborn people I know.”

        “Very funny L/N.”

        “Oh, so we’re on last name status. I must have said something to upset the young Demon.” You poked fun at him as you typically did.

        “You’d like to think you could.”

        “Anyways, regarding your question. I will not be adding or eliminating anyone from my squad unless I find someone in the lower ranks more suitable that can and will advance faster. Nevertheless, I am not actively looking for any new blood as some might call it.”

        “I understand.” Damian stood up to leave, “Will I see you before your mission tomorrow?”

        “Most definitely during breakfast. My team and I are leaving for Italy right after that though.” You answered jumping down from the roof top and onto the pavement below before walking inside, and down a hall until you eventually split from Damian to go to your room.

End

_______________________________________________________________________

Part Three Start

        You boarded the jet that was to take you to Italy. Looking back at Damian, the two of you exchanged quick nods and you headed into the cockpit. After a few minutes, the flight had taken off and you were on your way to Italy. As always you had promised to return with a song. It was something that he could have that wasn’t assigned or approved of by his mother. You understood that well. Sitting back, you sighed just a bit and got your mind into the game.

Damian’s POV:

        It wasn’t a rare thing for you to leave on missions. You did every month or so. It was just that things seemed to be even more of a task around the compound. Training’s vigor was more noticeable. Classes were more boring. The food and company were terrible. The list went on and on when you left. It did improve greatly when you came back most of the time however. The rare nights that you got back and were injured were some of the scariest. You took the worst blows for your team. It was what made you the best leader he’d ever met.

        On the nights that Damian saw you being taken to the infirmary practically bleeding out stayed in his nightmares from day one. Talia would try and make him leave since she knew that he typically reacted strongly to it no matter how hard he tried to hide it. He’d worry all night about you until you were back on the training field. The one night he lost it was when you almost died. It was so bad they had to use the pit. He could hear you screaming and knew that you would have rather died. It was a way that the league would torture you. If you messed up, they’d put you in front of a film showing all of your mistakes. After that, you would be nearly dead once they tried to bleed you out and thrown into the pit by yourself. The next day when no one was looking, he pulled you into a massive hug. It’s never been discussed since.

        Now he was alone training. His sparring partner was in Italy on a mission without him. It was too quiet in the room now. Damian’s thoughts ran wild as he imagined what might happen while you were in Italy. He knew that there was something that you knew about this turmoil in the league that you were hiding. He suspected that it was on his mother’s demands. Besides, if it was a serious danger, you would say something. At least, he thought you would.

        Looking up at the clock that was hanging high on the wall, he was taken from his thoughts be the time. Damian picked up his bag and left for his class that he would be late for if he didn’t rush. Talia would never approve of that. Throughout the rest of the day, he was distracted by the thought of your absence. Though, he’d never admit it. Sitting on the rooftop alone was strange. He almost expected you to join him at any moment preferring the comfortable silence and ease that came with you during these times. He found no point in staying much longer since he couldn’t relax and eventually headed to bed early.

Your POV:

        It was night time in Italy. You had scouted the convention and knew all of the points that the targets could get in and out. Going over the plan one last time with your team, you had the map of the building on the desk between everyone.

        “Beta, you take target two, make sure that no one of importance leaves alive.” You had explained, “Regroup at the jet once you’ve finished your task. If you’re not back by the end of the hour, find your own transportation to the compound.” “Is everyone clear on the objective?”

        The group nodded, “Yes General.”

“Good, we will not be having the issues that were with last mission’s assigned team.”

You folded the map and put it into a compartment in your belt before leaving with the rest of the team and splitting up into groups. This mission was going to be easy in all regards. You had entered the dressing room of your target. The rest of the squad was taking care of the security on the outside. Breaking communication was the most important aspect of the starting phase. This way no one would know if anything was going on. You watched the security team of the foreign diplomat. They were in formation even here. Their weapons were advanced but nothing you wouldn’t be able to handle. The song of an American movie played in the background on their phone. You knew it was something from a Disney musical.

“Tightrope!” You thought remembering that you’d never gotten the chance to relay the song to Damian, “Hopefully the timing of the song isn’t ill placed with everything going on behind the curtains.” “Focus Y/N, you’re on a mission, not at a concert.”

Without a moment’s notice, you hit the signal button on your communicator and then threw in a poison dart into all of the guards. There was a sudden clamor as men started dropping. You smirked some seeing the substance work before coming behind the diplomat and ending him with an injection of a stronger substance sure to end him before giving one more dose of a different chemical to insure the death of all.

You saw that your team was finished and packed back up with the team before heading out.

“Report.” You demanded once getting to the jet on the coms.

“Mission was successful, heading to meet up now.” The squads confirmed.

“Well done to all sides.”

Careful to remember the song, you played it on repeat in your mind as you boarded the jet and took off. Ultimately, you were glad to be sleeping in your own bed tonight if you had the chance to sleep after reports were made to Talia and that the team was competent. You wanted to groan thinking about not sleeping tonight. You were bone tired but knew that the show must go on. Otherwise you’d be severely punished. No sleep was better than the pit.

Upon arrival, Talia met you at the landing pad as usual.

“Report.” She said with a better demeanor seeing you not covered head to toe in blood and rain.

“The mission was a success. All parties were taken out without alerting anyone with the approved weapon of choice.” “No intervention from myself was needed.” You said giving a very, very brief rundown before you’d have to relay the entire mission to her later.

“Good. Report to your rooms. General, I expect you in the briefing room in forty minutes.”

“Yes Talia.”

You saw that Damian was coming from down the hallway. He was later than usual but none the less, you were glad to see him. Even if you’d never admit it.

Damian’s POV:

        Damian ran down the hallway upon seeing the jet land. He knew to slow down when the hall would become populated and he’d be exposed so he did. However, the moment that no one was around, he was running again. Damian heard his mother and slowed to a walking pace, taking back his proper stance and commanding look.

        “Yes Talia.” He heard you say before you walked past her and towards him.

        He was glad to see you ... not drenched in blood. From your blood or someone else’s for that matter. You almost glistened in the moon light as you did on the roof tops. Though, he’d never seen you in mission gear like this for some reason. You looked like the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

        “Damian.” You nodded walking to him.

        “Y/N. I am pleased to see you not covered in blood and rain.” He commented smirking just a bit.

        “Very funny demon. The feeling is mutual.” You replied.

        He turned and watched you walk down the hall before going to the roof tops after talking with Talia. Damian knew that you wouldn’t be joining him tonight, however he was ready whenever you did.

_______________________________________________________________________

        That day almost never came. With what you had taken on with the new rank, you were always busy well into the night. Damian hated it. You almost hated it too. You loved the nights on the rooftop. Slowly, you tried to get back on better sleep but tonight you just wanted the stars and the mountains. That was it.

        Over the past few weeks, you had hardly had any time to talk. Even during training for some part was spent with recruits instead of him. You both hated it. For the first time it felt like you were away from a mission but still there. Damian thought that you were too busy for him most of the time so he just didn’t make the attempt to talk to you. You thought that he was going for space for a while so you didn’t push anything. Eventually, you were sick of it though and decided to head to the roof.

        You climbed to the top noticing that Damian was already there. Carefully, you sat next to him, legs hanging off the side of the structure.

        “I assumed you would not come tonight.” He commented.

        “I do not blame you. I’ve been ... extremely busy as of late with this new roll.” You sighed laying down on the roof.

        He didn’t say anything for a little while and just enjoyed being able to relax in a place other than maybe his chamber. You enjoyed the silence for a while before he did finally say something.

        “Did you come back with a song?” Damian asked glancing at you some.

        “As always.” “And do you still want to hear it?”

        “Of course.” He rolled his eyes some at your answer.        

        You started with the song ditching the higher notes as to not be too loud. He knew you could hit them and he knew that you dodged them. He’d heard you before as Talia wanted you to be able to sing for some unknown reason. When you weren’t training as a child or in schooling, you were doing that with a professor. The two of you sat there for a while just admiring the view.

        “I should be going off to bed now.” You said, “I have a lingering feeling tomorrow will be long.”

        “I understand.” Damian stood with you and headed for his bedroom.

        “I expect to see you at afternoon training tomorrow? I don’t have as many responsibilities tomorrow.”

        Damian almost smiled, “Of course.”

        You headed to your room and plopped into the bed. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. No matter how much you couldn’t wait to see Damian more, something told you not to get your hopes up. Before being totally consumed by your thoughts, you drifted to sleep.

End

_______________________________________________________________________

Part Four Start

        The sun shinned brightly overhead in the cloudless sky. It was a warm day, nothing unbearable however. A light breeze flew through the training ground as all seemed unusually calm. Everyone was focused on their training. You and Damian were well underway in sparring. You were on your highest guard. The ease of today was not going to throw you off your game. Trusting your instincts, you kept an eye out for anything that was off balance.

        “The only thing besides your mission and daily tasks you should be concerned with, is the safety of my son, the heir to the League. There is no true telling information on what will happen so keep on your highest guard.” You thought about Talia’s words from a few weeks ago, repeating them in your mind, “General. That is the position you have been given. That is not however your only job. Your main, most important job is to be my son’s second hand. If something were to ever happen to myself or The Demon Head, I fully expect you to stay with Damian over everything. Do not make me regret my decision in picking you off the ground of that orphanage.”

        “Is something on your mind?” Damian asked saying the last part softly enough so no one else would hear, “You’re more intense than usual today.”

        “I am fine.” You answered knocking him to the ground before he kicked you down getting the upper hand.

        “You don’t seem it General.”

        You cocked a brow before getting in position to knock him off. The sound of something flying quickly for you caught your attention though. With wide eyes, you saw an arrow. Looking around there were hundreds. Going into a more intense version of a mission mindset, you rolled over taking Damian under you, moving in time as to not be hit by the arrow.

        “Get behind me.” You demanded standing up.

        “Get behind you?” Damian was in disbelief at the look on your face.

        “That’s an order!” You quickly took the man coming for you down, stabbing him in his lower abdomen region before pulling your sword out and killing another assailant, blood splattering on your face much to Damian’s shock.

        Damian looked to where his mother and grandfather was and stopped seeing his grandfather bleeding out on the floor. You saw this too. Kicking into high gear, the words of Talia played faster and louder in your mind taking over all of your thoughts. Everyone not in proper league attire was now a target and threat. You had your route in mind and took it.

        “Fallen is the Ra’s al Ghul.” You said quietly in respect, “I stay till the end.”

        Damian had seen you fight aggressively before. It was amazing to watch. This time though, there was a sense of something that he couldn’t quite pick up. Watching you, he saw you must have planned for this countless numbers of times.

        You nodded at Talia who returned the signal before taking the bow and arrows of the man you just killed and shooting it at anyone who dared to come close, “Follow me.” You ordered

        Running in front of Damian, you took the heavier side of the arrows. You were both in your armor which wouldn’t be susceptible to arrows that easily, you just weren’t taking the chance of it failing though. Once you were out of arrows, you threw the extras at anyone who was in your way. Damian would have found that amusing if you weren’t so serious.

        You ran through the hallway and then down another. Damian didn’t know where you were going but from what he was seeing, it was to the pit. Once you were down the stairs and then hall that would take you to the pit, you stopped and looked around before opening up a hidden door in the wall’s decorative moulding.

        “H-how did you-“

        “No time for questions, get in.” You hissed pulling him in by his wrist before shutting the door      

        You pulled him into another room down the long and confusing hallway maze that was built to get people lost in case they followed this far.

        “Don’t lose me al Ghul.” You commanded running into the middle of the maze before heading out of another secret passage.

        “That’s not the plan General.”

        Once entering the last room, Damian saw the jet that was in the middle of a new room that you’d come into.

        “What is this place?” He asked once you were both in the jet waiting for Talia, “And why don’t I know about it and you do?”

        There was an envelope that was a note from Talia to Bruce incase she died. It was to tell him about you and Damian. Apparently, there was something in there that would convince him that you two were legit. Though, you never asked. When it came to Talia and the birth of Damian, you didn’t ask questions.

        “Answer me Y/N!” he demanded once you didn’t answer as you were busy at the controls.

        “Do not raise your voice at me.” You said in a deep, ominous tone making him blink a few times, “Talia and I knew that one day there might be a time that the compound would be taken over or just attacked. We knew that the league depended on your survival. It was important to have a place that I could take you in case something did happen.” “If she doesn’t show in 10 minutes or we are attacked between that time, I am expected to fly to Gotham City and take you to your father.”

        “You will take me to the Batman?” He almost stated instead of asking.

        “Who else?” You remarked rolling your eyes a bit.

_______________________________________________________________________

        The ten minutes had passed and Talia was flying the jet to Gotham. No one spoke for the first half of the flight. There was too much to think about for conversation. Damian sat in the back as you and Talia took to flying the jet. Night was falling upon the oncoming city. Talia had already contacted Bruce and you were expected shortly.

        “I do not know when I will see you next.” Talia said addressing the both of you, “Stay with Bruce until I come back.”

        In a dialect Damian didn’t understand, Talia spoke to you, “General, I will send updates on occasion. You know your mission.”

        “Yes Talia.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You and Damian entered the building behind Talia. She was in front of him while you were behind. Damian knew that this was for a reason but he knew better than to say anything. The three of you headed into an elevator and then up a few floors. Talia was determined to be there before Bruce and have the two of you hidden away. Placing you two behind the curtain you stayed silent.

        “You’ve got blood on your jawline.” Damian commented very quietly.

        You looked at him for a second before trying to rub as much of it off as possible before braiding your hair over the spot so that it wouldn’t be seen. There was no reason to cause any more concern than what there would be. The two of you exchanged glances upon hearing Bruce’s voice. You heard Talia talk about her scans and Damian. Bruce obviously didn’t know that he existed. Knowing that that would bother Damian, you placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder for a second before the curtain was pulled back.

        “This is your son, Damian and his right hand, Y/N L/N.” Talia said leaving Bruce shocked, “She is not your daughter, I found her in an orphanage when she was a small child. She is however a high general and will not leave Damian’s side.” Talia more demanded than informed the last part.

        Damian walked to his father, “The great Batman... I imagined you taller.”

        You almost rolled your eyes at that one, typical Damian.

        More discussion between Talia and Bruce took place before Damian told her goodbye a last time. She turned to you not really expecting anything but a nod. Instead you repeated what you said on the training field.

        “Fallen is the Ra’s al Ghul.” “I stay till the end.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        Bruce wasn’t much of a talker, you didn’t mind until getting into the Batmoblie. That was going to be a bit more awkward.

        “I’m taking you two back to the manor. I expect you to act civil while I’m on patrol.”

        You nodded thinking Damian might possibly do the same.

        “I’ll drive.” He instead said.

        You tried not to facepalm, instead pinching the bridge of your nose for a second.

        “No.” Batman replied.

        “I know how!” He insisted.

        “I don’t care.”

        Damian got into the front seat with you in the back. You didn’t mind sitting back there if it wasn’t for the constant glares you were getting from Bruce at times. He didn’t trust you and you didn’t blame him. Maybe giving your title and position wasn’t a great idea on Talia’s part. You just weren’t sure anymore. After the entire talk of not killing and rules in the house, you just wanted to arrive and were beyond relived when you finally did. Damian of course asked the more condescending questions once he was in the cave. You found the tech impressive whether it was small or not compared to what you thought. It was very... on brand as some might say. You also didn’t mind just having the one Butler. It made you feel better just be able to be a bit normal and do things yourself.

        Before Bruce was about to get back into the Batmobile you stopped him.

        “I have direct orders from Talia to give this to you.” You passed him the envelope.

        “Thank you.” He raised a brow, “I trust that you are loyal to your position?”

        “I am not high general anymore.” You said making Bruce pause, “Not until or if I return to the league. My only mission now is protecting Damian. Where he goes, I go. Where he stays, I stay. Where he might die, I am prepared and expected to take his place. I am loyal to that.” “It has been this way since I was brought to the league and will stay this way for the rest of our lives.”

        “I respect that.”

        When Bruce left, Alfred took you and Damian up to your rooms. Alfred said little but did reply a “Yes Master Bruce.” Into a comm that he had in his ear. The rooms were right next to each other which was nice. You suspected that was on purpose. Maybe Bruce was going to respect your position. You only had your suit to sleep in. It was a bit ... bloody though. You cursed under your breath in Arabic looking in the mirror and seeing it. That must have been what you were getting looks for besides the intense glares you were given back. You were about to wash your face even if it was just with water and hand soap, as much as that made you cringe, before a knock at your door stopped you.

        You walked to the bedroom door and opened the door revealing Alfred.

        “For tonight, I have only this set of nightclothes from Miss. Barbra Gordon, a family friend. Tomorrow I shall have new clothes for you in a suitable fashion.” He passed you the neatly folded stack of clothes, “There are toiletries in the bathroom under the faucet.”

        “Thank you. It is greatly appreciated.” You said taking the stack from him.

        “You are welcome.” He paused, “If you would prefer, I may be able to arrange a trip with Miss. Gordon and Miss. Brown. They are both heavily involved with the family.” “I have also already informed the young Master Damian that there are three others here. Master Dick, the oldest, Master Jason, and Master Tim. I expect the best behavior from all of them.”

        You knew what he meant by that which was intentional and nodded at his words.

        “That would be suitable.”

        Alfred wished you a goodnight you shut the door, before taking a shower and properly washing your face. The clothes that you were now in were very comfortable. You knew that they were second used but you were used to it. Right now, they reminded you of the nightclothes you wore when you were young and still moving from house to house. You never had proper attire until the league and then even then, that was far from normal. Only on some missions would you wear “normal clothes”.

        Once you were out of the shower, you had gotten into bed. The gold necklace from your parents that Talia had let you keep was still on. You didn’t really want to take it off tonight. While Damian had you, you only really had the necklace as a kind of good luck charm no matter how cliché that might sound to some. Before you could actually get into bed, there was a knock.  You didn’t really know who to expect at this point but weren’t surprised to see Damian.

        “Damian...” You stepped aside to let him inside.

        “L/N, I must address something with you.” He said, “You kept a secret from me. Something that could have ended my life.” “Why?”

        “I gave my word I would.” You answered honestly, “Talia told me-“

        “I don’t care what my mother told you.” He raised his voice some, “You’ve known that this might happen for weeks and didn’t say a word. Grandfather could still be alive if you had said something.”

        “It was on my word, of course I wasn’t going to say anything demon.” You were upset with him now.

        “I don’t care about that! What if something had happened more? You and I both know that the league is probably in shambles right now and you did nothing!”

        “I did everything I was supposed to Damian!” You said making him step back, “What you saw was years of training. Ra’s al Ghul wouldn’t be saved by my words. He knew. Talia knew. I knew that something was wrong. When I told you to keep on your highest guard, I meant it. I said nothing because if I did we’d be in a worse situation now. I take my commands, I take them and I follow through with them. I was not the second hand of your grandfather. I am your second hand. If I was anything different, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You may question as much as you want, however do not dare question my loyalties or actions.”

        “When Talia picked me off of that floor of the orphanage, I gave her my word I’d follow through with anything she told me. I’ve been trained for the worst. I’ve been trained to die for you. So, don’t ever think that you even have any right to judge what I’m doing.” You glared at him waiting for him to speak.

        “Y/N I didn’t know-“

        “Just leave. I don’t want to continue this conversation anymore. If it is still a concern to you, we’ll talk in the morning.”

        You watched him leave and shut the door behind him before falling back onto the bed and passing out from the sudden wave of exhaustion washing over you. No one knew what tomorrow would bring. The only thing you knew was that it was coming like a train ready to run you right over if you weren’t careful.

End

_______________________________________________________________________

Part Five Start

        You woke without an alarm with the 4am birds. It was a sound that you weren’t used to. Typically, you’d head down to one of the indoor training rooms and join Damian. It wasn’t unusual for one of you to be a few moments late but after that you’d get breakfast. This time though, you didn’t want to see Damian. You went instead out to the gardens. Instead of really working out or training, you decided that the best thing to do was just sit and meditate.

        Walking down the hallway some the opposite way of where you were going, you saw that Damian’s door was open. Wanting, to avoid him, you went out one of the side doors. He would be in the cave training for the most of what you could tell. You walked outside greeted by the morning air. It was cool outside and the birds had stopped chirping for the most part. You walked towards the sounds of the fountains along the cobblestone path. The trees and shrubs were cut perfectly in different shapes and animals in some areas. You smiled walking through it all, the moon being the only light.

        Once at the fountain, you sat down. There wasn’t really anything you were focusing on. Everything just swirled around in your mind. With no indication or signs on what was going to happen, the only thing you felt like you could do was keep on the tightrope that you had been thrown onto. The start of it all was a blurry and foggy mess. The end however, was even worse. You had no idea where this new life was going to take you or Damian. It was easier when you had an idea. That didn’t make it better.

        You were consumed in your thoughts for the longest time before getting up and walking around more. This was the longest you’d been alone to wander freely like this since God knows when. It was nice but was eventually interrupted. You turned upon sensing that someone was there. Carefully, you reached for your dagger but didn’t pull it out yet.

        “Miss Y/N, breakfast has been prepared. Miss. Gordon will be here soon to take you to the shopping mall.” Alfred said, “I hope you are not about to pull a weapon on me. I will warn you, I don’t fancy being attacked.”

        “N-no. It’s just...” You slacked a bit.

        “Training. I understand.” Alfred gave you a reassuring look, “You seem to be adjusting better than Master Damian even on your first day here.”

        “That’s because I wasn’t born in the league. This is just like some distant home to me. I was in the foster care system until Talia got me.” “I also got to go on more missions outside of the compound.” You informed the older man.

        “I see.” He sighed, “Well, I hope that you will eventually find some sort of comfort here.”

        “Thank you.”

        It was strange hearing words of good wishes. Not that you hadn’t heard them before, it was just that it was rare and typically in a secret kind of code for lack of a better term. No one dared give well wishes directly, only in little ways. You and Damian did that the most out of anyone you’d ever met. It was just normal in that sense.

        The walk back inside was quiet. Alfred informed you of a few other details that you’d need during your stay. Most had to do with the boys. He said that they would be behaved but that they can get a bit... rowdy. It was just in their nature. You understood and told yourself to expect it. Walking inside you prepared for the worst. What you did get though was a very sleep deprived looking teenage boy, a tall man who was almost zombified, you knew that was Bruce, a very chirpy young adult male with bright blue eyes, and a tall red headed girl rolling her eyes at the younger man.

        “Master Dick, Master Tim, Miss. Gordon, this is Miss Y/N. She came with Damian last night and will be staying in the manor now.” Alfred said introducing you.

        Tim looked up, “Hi Y/N.” He then proceeded to down his cup of coffee.

        “Um, hello.” You replied. It was unusual to see someone like that but you also related to his actions deeply. You thought it was kind of funny anyways.

        “Hey, I’m Dick. So, did you get here last night?” He asked smiling and said the last part quietly, “You’ll have to excuse Timmy over there, he’s a bit tired from a case he’s working on. Just wait, he’ll eventually fall asleep somewhere for a day.”

        “Yes.” You shrugged, “And I understand where Drake is coming from.”

        That made Dick chuckle, “You seem to be less temperamental than Damian.”

        Barbra hit him with her elbow some, “Really Dick?” She looked at you, “Sorry about him, he gets excited about new people.”

        “I am only the temperamental type when I need to be. Other than that, I find it partially unwise to try and scare everyone with anger. Silence works just as well for me.” You sat down at the table with breakfast.

        The meal looked like something out of heaven. It smelled fresh and looked like whoever prepared it had been doing this for a while. You took the first bite, and after that you devoured the entire meal. You then remembered that Barbra was taking you shopping and started worrying about what was going to happen.

        “So, Y/N.” She said seeing you drift off into your own thoughts, “I was thinking that it might be best if we go to the smaller shopping center first. That way you might not feel so uncomfortable there. They’ve got some things I think you might like.”

        “That sounds suitable.” You answered, “Um, I have seen the more recent fashions from previous missions, however, I’m hoping that there are still stores that carry items of reasonable value instead of ... absurdly over the top garments.” “Avant-garde if you will.”

        “Oh yes, you’ll have plenty of options.” She laughed some at the concerned look on your face, “But I agree that some people do wear some very over the top things.”

        You nodded in an understanding way noting her tone. In these cases, she probably means that the clothes are normal and what you have seen is just avant-garde clothing worn by the rich to turn heads. While you had walked by the mall countless numbers of times on missions, and even inside, there was nothing that really caught your interest. Besides, missions were never for shopping you had the job of staying on task at all times.

        “Oh, and I invited Steph but she had previous arrangements so it will just be the two of us today.” Barbra said.

        “Very well.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You and Barbra made your way inside of the mall. It was deemed best if she was the one to drive everywhere since Alfred and the limo would draw unwanted attention. Bruce did still have to figure out how he was going to break yours and Damian’s arrival to the press. He’d probably just pull another adoption stunt in your mind. It wasn’t rare and at this point, the media just accepted that he has an obsession with it.

        The two of you made it through the parking lot and into the building, you on high alert the entire time.         “You’re tense.” Barbra commented, “I can practically feel the tension coming off of you.”

        “Unfamiliar settings may lead to all too familiar circumstances and fallouts. I find it most wise to keep on guard in a place like this. It’s open to any assortments of attacks. With the right variables, a disaster could strike at any given moment.” You replied back looking around overwhelmed at the options of stores not noticing Barbra giving an understanding yet concerned look, “I uh- where do we start?”

        “I have some suggestions. Although, I think the first store that we should try is something with a bit of variety so that you might be able to find something that you like.” She said.

        “I think I might have something in mind. Maybe something a bit dark, classical, refined, but also something that might be able to be turned down to a more casual piece.” You listed some features you were interested in with an almost inquisitive look only to meet Barbra’s eyes which portrayed an almost warm and kind look.

        “I think I know just the place.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You and Barbra walked around the shopping mall sipping on coffee from the Starbucks and eating some of the pastries.

        “These are not too bad.” You commented speaking about the treats, “I must admit, I have never had anything quite like this before.” “It tastes...”

        “Commercial?” Barbra asked laughing some making you shrug in agreement, “There are better places we might go some time. I just figured this would be suitable for the time being.”

        “Well the decision wasn’t ill placed.”

        “Oh, we should try this store up here. Steph and I are always finding some good items here.” She commented leading you into another store.

        At this point you had almost lost track of everywhere you’d been. It was like navigating a more organized jungle. This time however, the animals were people and there was no North Star nor moss to guide your way.

        “You were talking about more classic. This place has some clothes I think you might really like.”    

        Walking in, there were rows of all sorts of clothes including fitted and paper bag pants, pencil skirts, turtle necks in some places, tweed jackets, blazers, sweatshirts, hoodies, and almost anything you could have desired. You gawked at the sight and started wandering off on your own to explore the vast new area you had found. Slowly, you took what you thought looked best and gained an eventual plethora of clothing articles before heading off into the dressing room with Barbra in close pursuit.

        “What do you think about this?” You asked stepping out in an outfit you had put together from the clothes you’d picked.

        “I like it. I like it a lot. I do think though, that we might be able to add some jewelry to spice it up a bit.” She replied, “Change back and then we can go jewelry hunting.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        Once outside of the dressing room, you and Barbra checked out and went into the jewelry store that was down the hall and across the walk way on the second floor which you were already on. You headed inside and were immediately drawn to some plated jewelry. It was simple and elegant, just what you were looking for.

        “These look nice.” You gestured to some, your own ring on your finger flashing some in the light. It was an ever so slightly worn gold ring that you wore on your right ring finger. On it had intricate braided designs and a symbol that represented an eternal bond or promise.      

        “I didn’t notice you had a ring already, it’s very beautiful. You were allowed to keep it?” Barbra questioned pointing it out.

        “Thank you. But no, actually, I’ve had this ring, and smaller versions of this ring as I grew up. They were given to Damian and I when we were young. It is a symbol of promise. I’m his right hand, I go where he goes, and stay where he stays. Think of it as a contract of sorts, or maybe even a wedding ring. It’s just a daily reminder of my place.” You explained.

        “Interesting. Was there anything you did keep or was this is?” She asked.

        “I um.” You fiddled with something around your neck, “A necklace from my parents. It’s a moon and stars, the only thing I have from before the league really. The piece was the only thing I could keep.”

        She didn’t ask any more questions, instead opting for the task of browsing for jewelry. You picked out a few pieces, some with jewels and others just plated and empty. Barbra picked up a black watch to throw into the mix saying that it goes well with everything. You didn’t really doubt her. There was no reason to thus far. Once you left the store though, the two of you started to notice shopping’s effects and how the pastries and coffee had worn off.

        “I’d say we try the restaurant down the block. It’s got some really great options and I think you might really like the burgers there.”

        “It sounds like a decent plan.”

______________________________________________________________________________

        You and Barbra walked inside of the place. Inside there were booths and tables along with a bar and waiting area. It was the run of the mill nicer business which thankfully, quickly got you seated. With drinks and even food ordered, there was a silence. It was kind of uncomfortable and awkward, you weren’t the greatest with social skills and starting conversations with new people. Damian wasn’t either which made it so easy to be around him. Well, at least when you weren’t fighting. You sighed thinking about it.

        “You’ve got that look on your face.” Barbra noted making you snap out of your thoughts.

        “Look?”

        “I know that you have just arrived and have much on your mind, however, you have that “boy issue” look plastered all over your face.” “Did something happen between you and Damian?”

        You weighed your options. Typically, these things worked themselves out. Damian wouldn’t be able to be rid of you unless he killed you and that would breach one of the highest codes of honor in the league. Typically though, these arguments were stupid or at least simpler like too many missions or being hurt on the field. This time, his grandfather had died as a result.

        You huffed some and took a deep breath, “Damian and I were in an argument last night because of my mission. I have been assigned since day one a location and route that would take him to Gotham in case something like what did happen, happened. For years, I’ve trained for this like some prepare for Armageddon. However, Ra’s al Ghul died in the battle. He blames himself mostly but also claims I have some part in it. Although, I think he might have changed that outlook since the fight last night.”

        Barbra looked shocked at what you told her, “Ra’s al Ghul is dead?”

        “Correct.” You answered grimly, “Heavy arrow fire took him.” “And, you don’t have to give your condolences, I know of what has happened at his hands and how that is viewed.”

        She nodded, “So you and Damian have just been avoiding each other all morning hoping that this all blows over?”

        “Precisely.” You sighed, “I for one know that this might never be worked out if there isn’t a final confrontation on the matter at hand however, I’m not quite sure how to approach that.”

        “Well from what I’ve seen, it might be best to just be straight forward with him. Letting this drag on and on isn’t going to solve anything whatsoever.”

        “I would have to agree with you Gordon. You have my appreciation.”

        “It’s no problem.” She smiled some.

        “I do have one concern and the only reason I’m mentioning it is because I trust my instincts and they tell me you can be trusted.” You said.

        “That is?”

        “How, how are we supposed to adjust to a different culture, life, policies, and circumstances in a matter of a few weeks. I mean I assume that Bruce will introduce us to the public and then with the blink of an eye, we’ll be out in public being swarmed by the media. I worry about Damian’s more impulsive and temperamental behavior with the newer surroundings and how he will cope. I think it will be difficult for the both of us to start abiding to certain ... rules if you know what I mean.”

        Barbra didn’t comment for a few seconds and instead took what you were saying all in.

        “I cannot say that I understand your position. I can say though, that I think that you of all people are more than capable of doing this. From what I have seen, you know what is best for the two of you and will stick to those beliefs, you’ve got the mindset of a fighter and strategist. Whether it be training or even turning away from some of it, I think you will find a way to adjust. And I know that it’s hard to trust people at first. That part I understand, however if you need anything, Alfred and I are always there.” She explained carefully almost washing away all of your fears.

        “Thank you.”

______________________________________________________________________________

        You and Barbra were back at the manor now. Alfred had taken your new clothes for cleaning and you had your new room decorations and jewelry to put into place. You didn’t get many things seeing as the room already decently matched what you felt most comfortable with, however you were not going to protest against a few touches of your own.

        Once upstairs, you closed the door and got your new record player set up. Picking one that looked the most suitable and got to work making things as you pleased. You hadn’t noticed how much the time had passed before there was a knock at your door. You turned the music off and opened it to reveal Alfred with an assortment of clothes on hangers and another stack of freshly pressed and folded clothes.

        “I have your new garments ready to be put away.” He informed you.

        “Thank you, I can put them away myself.”

        “It is no problem Miss. L/N.” He handed you the clothes, “Dinner shall be ready at 6pm sharp.”

        “I understand.”

        Once he had left, you closed the door only and started putting items away only for another knock to interrupt you once more.

        “Yes?” You opened the door again, “Oh... hello demon.”

        “General- L/N, I wanted to talk to you about last night.” He said almost sheepishly.

        “Very well. You may enter.” You closed the door behind him, not wanting anyone else to hear the conversation.

        “I must apologize, my actions of last night were impulsive and guided by misjudgment from the events that have taken place prior to now.” Damian sat at your bed as you were still putting away clothes in the closet, “I stepped out of my place questioning your choices because I did not know under the circumstances they were made.” “You did nothing wrong.”

        “I accept your apology Damian.” You said making him almost sigh in relief, “I understand where the outburst came from.” “As cheesy as it might sound, I have thought over what happened last night.” You went and sat down at the end of the bed and looked him in the eyes, “The only thing we can really do now is stick together. We have no one else here that knows about where we came from and the worst choice we can make for ourselves in splitting apart. Especially over a recent quarrel or smaller dispute.”

        “I agree.”

        There was a small passing of silence, “Just promise me that you will try everything you can to make adjusting as easy as it can be on yourself. It will be a challenge, but you don’t have to do it alone. We’re both in the same boat on this one Damian.”

        “I promise, just as you have done so many other times before.”

        There was a small ringing from the phone you had gotten at the mall.

        “That means it is time for dinner.” You got up and turned off the alarm quickly before walking towards the door, “After supper I expect to see you for some sparring?”

        “I will be there.”

______________________________________________________________________________

        You and Damian were sitting next to each other at the dinner table. It was awkward and quite for some time, no one really wanting to bring any conversation up.

        “So how did you feel about Gotham Y/N?” Bruce asked you trying to start some sort of conversation.

        “It was fine.” You replied, “it’s comparable to a darker version of Chicago with a hint of New York.”         “When did you go to either one of those cities?” Dick asked inhaling his food.

        “I went to Chicago on a mission a year ago and New York three years ago.” You replied, “It was only for two nights at maximum.” “The people are strange though.”

        Your comment made everyone either smirk or chuckle which lightened the mood a bit. You could tell that Damian was uncomfortable in this newer situation however. He wasn’t one for talking to those if he wasn’t bragging about something. You never commented on it while he was doing it, only glaring some to get your message across to him. He’d typically get to a stopping place but on the rare occasions he wouldn’t, you’d actively end the conversation or bite your tongue to keep from saying anything regretful.

        “I took Y/N to that joint near the mall you told me to go to Bruce. It was good.” Barbra commented.

        “Agreed.” You responded, “We also picked up a great plethora of items from the shopping center. Thank you for letting me go. It is greatly appreciated.”

        “You are most welcome Y/N.” Bruce replied with a look of approval showing on his face, “And Damian, because you have opted not to go out with one of the boys, Alfred has had a selection of items delivered to the manor. They should have arrived already.”

        “Yes, they did father.” Damian said quickly, giving you a slight glance.

Damian’s POV:

        You seemed to be adjusting well. It was typical of you to take what you understood of your circumstances and adapt so quickly. You were just like that. He’d always admired it but right now, it was strange seeing you as the best adapted like you were. The strange distant feeling of seeing you not in armor or commanding a squad got to Damian. New surroundings like this were uncomfortable and unpredictable. He watched you fake your every move like it was nothing, the way that you carefully examined everything around you intrigued him. Then again, you were doing too well. He knew you were covering something. Old habits, old nightmares along as new ones, new yet familiar styles in the way you dressed, he saw your walls hold higher, most of the ones you “dropped” were mere props in the way you played. You’d always said life was a game or a gamble anyways, you just had to know how to play it.

        The conversations at the table were forced. At the Leauge, typically there were either no conversations, or they were over missions and training. Though, it’s not like he really enjoyed any of it to begin with. He reached over just enough so that no one would noticed and lightly tapped your leg.

        “most forced conversation I’ve had.” He tapped in a shorter way of speech than typical with Morse code.

        “same.” You answered back quickly, “wonder how long we’ll be here.”

        “hours.”

        “very funny demon.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Your POV:

        Damian was right, it did feel like hours. You didn’t really know when it was alright to leave, so you stayed until Bruce left. He was sitting at the head of the table, so he was in control of when you could leave. At least, that was how it was when you were raised in the foster care system. Damian left when you did and you both got suited up for sparring. You two met up outside of your own rooms when you were done, swords, daggers, and armor in all. If someone wasn’t familiar with the situation, they would have thought you were coming from a dress up party or cosplaying in some sense. That would have been insulting to you if you didn’t care about keeping your cover.

        “Woah there kiddoes, where are you two heading dressed like that?” Dick asked coming down the hallway.

        “Daily sparring.” You answered sharply.

        “With all of that?” Steph chose to comment as well.

        “Correct.” You continued, “They are merely swords and a few items of weaponry, nothing that should be too out of the ordinary seeing as you have the regular superhumans or even super heroes coming in and out regularly.”

        Dick nodded and let you two through after Steph got him to stop pestering you two with questions. You and Damian exchanged looks of distaste in regards to your interaction. Rolling your eyes, you continued, eventually making it to the cave. Once on the mat, you started training. There was no conversation at first. There didn’t need to be. You’d always thought that if there was no room for conversation, there was no need to squeeze it in. If conversation wanted to add more space, it would naturally.

        “So, how are you?” You asked, “Adjusting wise.”

        Damian looked around some before responding to make sure no one was there, “I am doing as well as I can be. I find that we are being underworked in responsibilities however. It’s boring here.” “You seem to be adjusting well.”

        “In standards of not beheading the shrubbery,” You smirked at the glare he gave you, “I’m... just testing the waters at this point.” “It feels strange not having a squad to command, I don’t like it that much but it is what it is.”

        You didn’t reveal everything or really anything close to the most. What you were supposed to do anyways? It’s not like you were going to reveal all of your struggles in one training session. You weren’t ready or willing to do that anytime soon. Deep down though, everything felt wrong. Not having your position anymore was just the surface of your issues. The constant urge to pull yourself back into your old habits was overwhelming. At a strange noise, you found yourself reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. When someone tried to talk to you, you immediately put even more walls up trying to figure out what they wanted to really know. You needed action and something to focus on besides keeping up some imagine like you always did. At night or in the moments you were alone, the constant shadow of your former self was there to greet you like a figment of your worst flashbacks. You knew exactly what was wrong, you just didn’t know how to express it because of the quantity in which your problems amounted in. So, for now, you’d keep it to yourself.

        “Understandable.” He said pinning you down to the mat.

        You went to flip him over and then stopped in mid motion where he didn’t hesitate to take you down before standing up.

        “That was far below your own expectations for yourself in combat Y/N.” He said offering a hand up.

        You felt your fight or flight mode kick in the moment everything happened thinking back to the arrows falling from the sky. Taking a deep breath, you reminded yourself of where you were. There were no arrows flying. No screaming from those around you. You looked around to reassure yourself before hearing someone come up silently from behind you.

        “Hey love birds.” Dick said loudly walking up behind you.

        You felt him go for a pat on the back. Clearly, he was just being stupid for the time being but you could control what you did. Taking the man by the wrist, you used all of your force and some of his own weight against him to slam him over you onto the mat. The rush of adrenaline faded when you saw who it was laying on the mat groaning in pain.

        “Holy shit.” He mumbled.

        Damian’s jaw dropped to the floor seeing you pull something like that. You snapped out of your temporary trance and immediately extended your hand to help him up.

        “M-my apologies. I mistook you for someo-“

        He stopped you, “No it’s fine. Should’ve known not to do anything too sudden like that.” Dick looked at you for a second, “You put up a fight Y/N. Although, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a high general.”

        You sighed some at the comment, “Thank you. I must be leaving now.”

        The two watched you swiftly head up the stairs. You made sure to travel through the manor as quietly and quickly as possible. The last thing you needed was for anyone to try to touch or talk to you. Once you made it to your bedroom, you immediately grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the shower. A hot shower was the only thing you thought would help. At least, that’s what you were hoping.

End

_______________________________________________________________________

Start of Part Six

        It was three days later since you had mistakenly slammed Dick into the mats. You and Damian hadn’t talked about it at all seeing as you were trying to avoid the topic like the plague. Darkness had settled over the manor. Bruce and the rest were just back from their patrols and you were just getting ready for yours. It was unofficial at least. Today would have been your turn for the 2:30 am shift of patrol at the league. You couldn’t sleep at all with the thought of your responsibilities running through your mind. 20 minutes had passed of you battling yourself on the aspect of going out. It would be unnecessary, Mr. Wayne has the best security money could buy or make. You thought it through over and over again. What if an alarm didn’t trip off when an intruder came in? What if the manor was attacked and nothing happened to prevent it. With these thoughts overpowering the logic you tried to introduce, you got up and changed into your suit.

        Exiting from your window, you went on top of the manor. The roof was pretty massive seeing as this was a mansion. You looked up seeing the stars and thinking back to what it looked like at the compound. The biggest difference here was seeing the lights from the city in the distance and pine trees instead of endless mountains. You jumped from different points, quietly landing on others. As you did this, you scanned the area and moved on if you didn’t see anything strange.

In the Manor:

        “It looks like she’s patrolling the area.” Bruce said sitting back in his chair in front of the computers that were installed in the cave, “I don’t like it.”

        “Master Bruce, Miss. Y/N is merely practicing habit. Leave the child be.” Alfred said as he cleaned up his first aid tools from tonight’s patrol.

        “She could be plotting something. Getting intel, either way, she’s triggering my alarms.” Bruce responded.

        “Master Bruce! Enough of that.” Alfred raised his voice in disapproval, “This isn’t a normal household as you might have gathered. Everyone here deals with trauma differently. As a child when you picked up strange habits after ... your own set of traumas, I did nothing to stop you of such actions. I knew you’d grow out of it.”

        “I guess you’re right.” Bruce muttered.

        “Nothing new Master Bruce.” Alfred remarked walking into the other part of the cave.

        Bruce eventually left, turning the system off. He knew Alfred was right and even though he wanted to, he knew that there was no ill intent in your actions.

_______________________________________________________________________

        Back outside, you were still well underway in your patrol. You had only thirty minutes left and then you would be able to return to your bedroom. Everything was silent but for the crickets and occasional fire fly here and there. You marveled at their beauty once you figured out what they were. That was strange to see for the first time. Other than that, the only other sound was a new pair of footsteps coming from behind. You knew who it was without turning around.      

        “I thought I would find you here.” Damian said.

        “Well, I guess you thought right then Damian.” You replied perched on the side of the manor.

        “I assume this patrol is stemming from previous habits of yours?”

        “One might say that.” You gave him a side glance seeing that he was coming to sit by you, “Old habit.”

        “Closer to, a sign that you really aren’t taking this move well and are actually covering it up for the sake of reputation and your own personal expectations you have set for yourself.” Damian commented making you roll your eyes some.

        “Wow, caught red handed.” “In all actuality, you’re correct on many levels.” “I just needed something ... normal for a change.”

        “I understand.” He said shortly, “I heard father talking about a gala. Something to parade us around to the rich snobs and media as an introduction. I do not look forward to it.”

        “That sounds like one of the worst ideas I have heard in quite a long time.” You huffed, “And that’s saying quite a lot.”

        He chuckled but after that, everything fell back into silence. You carefully looked out over the grounds before being startled by the vibration and alarm of your phone.

        “Looks like my patrol has ended.” You said turning off the alarm, “I shall return inside. Care to join me?”

        “I will.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        From there, sleep was impossible to come by. You were plagued by nightmares which you never had before. It was probably since you weren’t constantly focusing on training or a mission you had convinced yourself. What you needed was something to focus on and that was what you got. You didn’t rely on coffee like Drake since you never had it to begin with at the league. For the first few days, no one noticed anything. That was what you had planned, however it was of course Damian who raised the first alarm. You were in the library catching up on some studies for ancient history and astronomy. The sunlight was streaming in golden beams through the windows and you were sitting at one of the tables wrapped up in one of the long jackets that you had gotten. Damian walked in to see you hunched over one of the books with your hair in a messy bun.

        “Y/N?” He asked quietly as to not scare you.

        “Mhmm?” You hummed in response giving him a quick glance of acknowledgement, flipping the page to a star map.

        “With all due respect, you seem tired as of late. When was the last time you slept?” He questioned sitting next to you examining the pile of books you had pulled.

        “Last night?”

        “But did you actually sleep an entire night last night? That is the real question.”

        “Why are you concerned on the hours of sleep I got Wayne?” You asked in return.

        He didn’t answer. The truth was that he was worried more than he’d care to admit. He knew that you had terrible dreams like he did, neither of you cared to talk about them at all. The memories of mornings where you’d come for training with dark circles and eyes flooded his conscious. Those days you were scarier and had less patience, though he’d never blame you for it since he understood the feeling for some part.

        “You never answered my question.” You said pulling him from his thoughts.

        “I-I... no reason, I was just making sure my right hand was in stable mind.”

        “Well, I am fine.” You glared at him for the comment, “I’m perfectly stable demon.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        That was a few days ago. You kept the exhaustion hidden well, especially considering you were in a house full of detectives. That didn’t mean you didn’t feel it though. You were bone tired and almost lagged along. Focus became harder to maintain and you felt yourself drifting on and off into sleep. Now you were in the training room running a simulation. It was an easier one you had to admit, but nothing enough to give anything away. Your moves weren’t sloppy, just not as pristine as typical. You also didn’t notice Damian walk inside of the cave to watch you. Rubbing your temple as you finished, you grabbed your water bottle and splashed some of the cold liquid on your face to wake you up. You turned around and were startled by Damian.

        “My apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said reaching to grab your arms to keep you from hitting him from habit.

        “It’s fine.” You replied, “I just didn’t realize you were there.”

        “You never drop your guard like that. I think it’s time for you to sleep L/N.” He said, “I know you haven’t been getting any.”

        “I insist that I am fine.” You went to grab your duffle bag off of the floor with the intention of showering in the cave showers near the back. Standing up was the issue. With the worst light headed feeling you’d had in years you fell back down.

        “Y/N!” Damian grabbed you before you had totally hit the floor, “That makes it final, I’m making you sleep.”

        You mumbled an argument before totally passing out. There was no way of avoiding the obvious of you being passed out as he took you to your room.

        “Damian, what happened to Y/N?” Bruce asked alarmed standing up to see you completely out. Bruce wasn’t fazed by much, however, he wasn’t ready for that at all.

        “Lack of sleep.” Damian said shortly, “I think I know why.”

        Alfred followed him up the stairs explaining that he’d need to make sure you were okay other than not sleeping. He was sure that after a good night’s rest or so, you’d be fine. Damian knew though, that that was asking a lot from you no matter how simple it might be.

_______________________________________________________________________

        You awoke suddenly in your bedroom only to be surrounded by darkness and the light, delicate streams of moonlight shining dimly across the objects inside. You felt someone taking hold of your hand and immediately looked to see that it was Damian. Next to you, he was sitting in a chair with his head resting on the side of the bed and his hand around yours. With the shift in motion that you had caused, Damian awoke.

        “What are you doing?” You asked, a blush creeping across your face.

        “Oh- I,” He let go of your hand and rubbed the back of his neck, “I knew you needed to sleep and I also knew that you wouldn’t unless there was someone with you.” “I just didn’t think you’d want me to be in the be-“

        “I-I understand.” You replied, “Thank you.”

        “I will leave now.” He got up.

        “Damian I ... you were right about the sleeping bit. I actually wouldn’t mind if you stayed.”

        “I see.” He sat back down in the chair.

        “Damian, I’ve known you since we were three, you can sleep in the bed.” “If you’d prefer, there’s an extra quilt you could use in the closet.”

        “Are you sure?” He asked standing back up.

        “Positive.”

        Damian retrieved the quilt from your closet and returned quietly getting on the bed. You stayed under the original bedding and he slept on top of it. There was a distance that was kept between you two since it would be strange for you to be any closer. You were just close friends and nothing more. Although, that thought made you a bit upset. When you did finally awaken however, you were startled to see that you were tangled in the covers laying as close as possible to him. Damian’s arms were draped over you holding you tightly and neither of you cared to talk about it.

        That did however start a routine of going into each other’s rooms for sleeping. You didn’t classify it as a romantic or intimate thing. It was saved for whenever either of you had dreams terrible enough that you didn’t want to be alone anymore. At night, you might have been awakened by Damian coming into your room and getting into the bed only for you to keep close to him or it would be the other way around.

End

_______________________________________________________________________

Start of Part Seven

From the day that you had collapsed, it had been a week. You could tell that the few weeks you had been at the manor had done some good with trust between all parties. Even Bruce was becoming more and more tolerable. You had met Brown who was exceedingly excited to meet you seeing as there would be another girl to level the boys when Batwoman wasn’t around. You and Damian both had started your mandatory six months of training before you could patrol which was going off very well on your end. And now, you were sitting in the living room scrolling through your phone as Damian sat next to you pretty much doing the same. There was suddenly the looming of another presence in the room which caused the two of you to look up.

“I have to inform you two of a gala that I am holding to raise funds for the Gotham City Orphanage. I’m introducing the two of you then to the public, Y/N, I will not be formally adopting you at your own request but you will be included as a family friend.” Bruce explained, “The gala is Friday, starting at 6:30pm. Clothing arrangements will be made and if you have any questions, you may ask one of the boys, Alfred, the girls, or myself at any time.”

Damian merely nodded and watched you fiddle with a golden chain around your neck. He had seen it before but had never questioned it. You always seemed to avoid showing it off at all. When Bruce left though, he asked you about it.

“Is that a new necklace?” He questioned.

“Uh, it’s from my mother and father.” You answered, “Talia let me keep it. I don’t really know why though. It’s kind of like my good luck charm as strange and naïve as that might seem to you.” You pulled from under your shirt to revel a gold chain with a diamond crescent moon and star pendent, “I don’t remember it well, however, I just remember my parents giving to me. The engraving on the back is a bit corny.”

You flipped the pendent over to show a small message relaying that they loved you to the moon and stars. You rolled your eyes a bit at the message but didn’t deny it made you feel closer to them in some way.

“It is very beautiful.” He commented, “You never wore it out. I hardly remember seeing you with it at all.”

“That’s because I always wore it under my suit. I didn’t want it to be stolen under any costs.”

“I’d be surprised of any fool tried.” Damian said making you chuckle.

“I wouldn’t, however I just wouldn’t want to be the one that stole something from me.”

After some time, you had gotten up to make arrangements for shopping with Brown and Gordon. It was important to have their input on what you decided to wear since they have been to galas before and you have not. This time, you were going to a different mall with higher end stores. This was where they swore you would find an outfit to wear. You didn’t doubt them, however you were dubious of whether or not you’d like anything truly.

_______________________________________________________________________

You were sitting at the vanity that was in your bathroom getting ready for the gala along with Brown and Gordon who were at the sink doing their own makeup. You didn’t want to wear any makeup, instead under their request opting for only some mascara. Even with that, you felt entirely different. Stephanie offered to do your eyeshadow but you declined seeing as you didn’t want to look ten years older than you already were. You told her that maybe next time you’d consider but today you just wanted to get a feel for how things worked as well as be as comfortable as possible. She understood what you meant.

_______________________________________________________________________

        You and Damian didn’t leave each other side the entire night. Bruce introduced the two of you to everyone there and the prospect of talking to all the people was exhausting and by the end of the night, you were getting anxious to leave. Damian noticed you fiddling with your ring and looking for the nearest exit. That’s when Bruce brought you and Damian over to another man covered head to toe in garments that you thoughts to be more than your entire life over two times. The man smiled at the three of you walking over and loudly greeted your party. You smiled some and shook his hand, introducing yourself but not before getting a strong whiff of something that smelled like the drug they used to use on you in the league. Looking panicked, you searched for either an exit or a bathroom.

        “It was lovely to meet you, excuse me.” You said quickly making your escape to the bathroom and into a stall where you immediately started throwing up.

        Damian came in after you quickly knowing that he wasn’t technically supposed to be in there. He locked the bathroom door and went to your stall before knocking.

        “Y/N.. are you in need of assistance?” He asked.

        There wasn’t an answer from your end, instead he just heard faint sniffling which caused him to pick the lock of the stall and come inside. He hugged you from behind and held your hair back if you were sick again, the whole time knowing what caused your reaction. Bruce would have to not invite this person again if you were ever coming to a gala again.

        “I’m sorry... I just can’t-“

        “N/N, you don’t have to apologize, you had no idea or preparation for what happened.” Damian said braiding your hair back, “I’ll get you into the car without anyone seeing and you can go to sleep.”

        You mumbled an agreement and Damian texted Bruce that he was getting Pennyworth to bring the car to the back. Damian picked you up bridal style and carried you outside and into the backseat where you laid your head in his lap the entire ride. When you got showered and asleep, he stayed since he knew that you’d be having terrible nightmares all night.

_______________________________________________________________________

        You woke up the next morning with sunlight streaming in through the curtains in one of your oversized nightshirts that you had gotten with Gordon instead of some dress and heals. Damian was next to you already awake running his fingers through your hair. He immediately stopped when you awoke and sat up.

        “How did you sleep last night?” He asked, “After everything I mean.”

        “Fine... thank you.” You answered huddling under the covers some like you were almost trying to hide, “About last night, I don’t know what came over me. It was a mistake.”

        “You don’t have to take responsibility for this one Y/N. I remember what happened at the league and I know for certain that you do. No one else found out about what happened, I know you take those kinds of things hard.”

        “I appreciate it a lot Damian.” You didn’t really know what to say next but Damian started again.

        “Y/N, I want you to tell me when something like that is happening. We’re meant to protect each other, not just you to me. I c-care about you more than anyone else, we’ve known each other since we were children. I don’t want anything happening to you for the sake of reputation.”

        “I understand that.” You said still thinking about the last part he said, “I care about you too. I-I wouldn’t want to lose you either of anything like that.”

        At that point you kind of wanted to just disappear. While you were typically a lot better at words than Damian ever was, today it just seemed harder. You glanced at him for a second to see him blushing. Thinking you said too much, you started to climb out of the bed to bolt for the bathroom to take a long shower.

        “Wait, Y/N.” Damian grabbed your wrist, “I have to say this, just from what’s been happening between us recently-“

        “Damian you’re killing me with this. I like you a lot, do you like me?”

        He looked almost embarrassed with the suddenness of your question. While he was getting to that point, he wasn’t expecting you to be so forward to it.

        “I do love you, a lot.” He said.

        “Well damn it demon, kiss me finally!”

        He chuckled some and did what you said, 15 years of shared trauma and memories attached to the few long seconds it happened.

        “I’ve actually been waiting on that for years beloved.” Damian informed you.

        “So, my name is beloved now?” You commented snickering some at his comment

        “It is.” He nodded, “But, do you want to keep this secret for now?”

        “Absolutely. Only if you’re in for it though.”

        “I was actually hoping you’d say that.” Damian answered.

        “Well my love, let the games begin.” You said getting out of bed and walking to get changed and grab coffee.

End

_______________________________________________________________________

Start of Part Eight

        Both you and Damian had now been secretly dating for two months. It was an exhausting game of cat and mouse of either running from his family, or the prying eyes of the press. You had just excepted at this point that this was just going to be a new normal for a long time. There was nothing you could seriously complain about much however. This was all you had wanted for years and if the company of clandestine meetings was going to be a center of attention in this relationship, that was what was going to happen.

        Dates were mainly just tea or coffee on the rooftops late at night for only a short amount of time if it was on patrol, and longer if it was at the manor. Right now, you were sitting in the library, laying in Damian’s lap, both reading your own books. No one but Alfred was in the manor however, you were sure that he knew about you and Damian. Light streamed in through the windows and silence blanketed the room as Damian ran his fingers through your hair, occasionally braiding it. You fiddled with the matching golden ring on your left ring finger some as he did this. This was the most relaxed you had been in years and you wouldn’t trade it for anything.

        He didn’t know this until recently, but the only professor that had ever lived was one that you had. Your voice professor used to braid your hair during warm ups. She was the closest thing that you had ever had to a mother and in return for this, you begged Talia to let her live. You decided not to make it out so that you trusted or cared for her, but rather that she had connections to people that the league could use. With this tactic, Talia actually allowed her to leave but under a life- long oath of secrecy to protect the league. You braid your own hair when you were stressed or anxious but it’s better having someone else do it. Damian only found out when you started braiding and braiding your own hair in the roof tops one night at the league, only to let the piece unravel and start again.

        “Beloved are you going to go on patrol tonight?” He asked breaking the silence.

        “Of course.” You answered, “Is there a reason you asked?”

        “No, I was just checking.”

        “...Damian, how long do you think we’re going to stay a secret? I’m not upset or anything of the sort, it’s just a bit exhausting sometimes.” You questioned, flipping the page of your book.

        “I don’t really know Beloved. How long do you think you’d want to stay like this?” Damian set down his book to give the conversation his attention seeing as this one was important.

        You audibly sighed as he started braiding a portion of your hair, twisting it around and then letting it lose again, “I don’t really know, 3 months at most maybe?”

        “Are you tired of seeing strangers online pine away after me?” He asked smirking.

        You rolled your eyes and jokingly slapped his arm making him laugh, “What about me? I’ve seen plenty of suitors for myself.”

        “Don’t remind me Y/N.”

        “Oh no, I’ll remind you. First there was one that actually messaged me asking if I was single. Oh, another that tweeted asking if I was single. Then, there was another that mailed a love letter to the man-“

        Damian cut you off, putting his hand over your mouth making you laugh. You sat up and sat crisscrossed in his lap facing him, running your fingers through his hair.

        “You didn’t really think you could shut me up that easily did you demon?” You asked quietly.

        “I’d gage you would find a way to get your point across any way you could General.” He kissed the corner of your lips which made you glare at him some before pulling him in for a real kiss.

        “Next time some girl gets a hold of you at a gala though, just make sure not to charm her for me, will you?”

        “Whatever you say.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        Patrol started off boring and uneventful. Nothing exciting was happening but for maybe a few ally level crimes. You and Damian were perched on the rooftops looking down at the city lights and occasional people. Damian had obviously gotten the whole Robin outfit, in his own version of course. You however, took the same style as your past uniform. It was similar in the sense that it was amour and a hood, you still had your knives and compartments, this time though, the color was different. He couldn’t see the look on your face through the mask you were wearing which covered your lower face to your eyes, but he was sure you were bored. He was going to start a conversation when the comms came on with Bruce talking loudly.

        “I need everyone at the Rosehill Apartments on 7th Street! There’s multiple bombs spread throughout the building, civilians are inside.”

        You looked at Damian who nodded at you before you both swung off the building.

        “ETA 2 minutes.” You replied back getting onto your own bike and speeding off towards 7th St. following Damian.

_______________________________________________________________________

        Upon arrival to the building, you could see that everyone else was already inside but for Nightwing who on crowd duty until you two had gotten there.

        “There’s one more bomb in the kitchens. Everyone else is either getting their own or helping the residences escape.”

        You looked around for an entrance that wasn’t in terrible condition. Once you found one you ran towards it at full speed with a bomb on your mind.

        “Stick close, the roof might not be stable anymore.” You said, “If the bomb goes off, I expect you to leave immediately.”

        “Beloved I’m not leaving you if anything happens.” Robin replied running beside you.

        You didn’t reply, instead bursting into the kitchen and jumping over one of the carts in the way of your path. Using the locator on your wrist device, you scanned the room stopping when it got a hit.

        “It’s in the freezer!” You ran over and opened the door into the large room, “Hold this open and make sure it doesn’t close, I’ll disarm the bomb.”

        Damian nodded and did what you said as you went inside and ripped open one of the floorboards to find a massive collecting of wires and buttons connected onto one device. The type of timebomb was one that you had seen plenty of times before in training and when you yourself had used them. Part of training was learning to make one so it wasn’t too terribly difficult to disarm this one. The hard part was getting out.

        “Y/S/H/N!” You heard from behind you as you were about to stand up, “The place is on fire.” Damian called out, “We have to leave!”         You turned around and saw the place ablaze. Damian already had his other mask up over his face so he could breathe when you got out of the freezer. The two of you started running out to find the hallway also up in flames.

        “Don’t come near the kitchens, the whole place is going up in flames.” You said, “Bomb has been disarmed however.”

        “Good, now get out of there.” Batman replied back.

        “Working on that.”

        You and Damian sprinted down the hallway making sure no one else was inside on your way out. Once in the lobby you turned hearing someone screaming from a room nearby.

        “I’ll be right back.” You said turning around locating the person who was a small child.

        “I can’t find my Mommy.” She said sobbing into your arms.

        “I promise you I’ll find her.” You said running back up front, “I’m going to give you to Robin and he’ll take you outside, I’ll find your mommy.”

        You reached the front of the building where Robin was, “Take her, she can’t find her mother, I’m going in after her.”

        “You can’t, the building is going to come down at any minute!” Damian said taking the girl in his arms.

        “I have to check, I can’t let her grow up without parents like I did.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You ran inside not really aware of what was happening outside anymore. Looking around you saw no sign of anyone but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t be buried under something. As you did this, you pulled out the scanner again but this time had it scan for biological creatures instead of machinery. There was nothing at the point where you were. Going farther into the structure was a no go at this point but it was your only option.

        Outside, Damian was trying to find the girl’s mother in the crowd as he mentally cursed himself for allowing you to go inside. He should’ve done more, he could’ve done more but he didn’t. Running to the line of ambulances, he looked for someone that matched the girl’s description of her mother. When he finally found the person, he rushed over just in time for the lady to see her daughter and burst into tears. She hugged her daughter and thanked Damian for bringing her back to her before Damian rushed back to find you.

        “Y/N!” He screamed getting inside catching your attention.

        Further down the hallway you heard Damian yelling for you. You turned around and started headed quickly for him and once he saw you, he announced that they had found the mother outside of the building. The two of you started running for the exit when you looked up hearing a faint beeping. The exit was 50 feet ahead and the closer to it you got, the louder the sound.

        “Damian! There’s a bomb above us, I- I think it’s about to blow.” You said as pieces of wood from the building came down little by little, “5 seconds now!”

        Damian had a look of terror as he picked up the pace. You knew that both of you wouldn’t make it without a little boost so you got behind Damian and launched him out of the way where Nightwing was standing right as the building was coming down. The last thing you heard was a defining thunder and then the screams Damian who was kicking and trying to get away from Nightwing to go back for you.

        “Y/N is still inside you idiot let me go!” He sobbed trying to elbow his oldest brother in the rib.

        The second round of explosions came, only making the structure collapse more, fire raining down.

        “Beloved!” He screeched making Nightwing almost drop him in surprise at what he called you.

        He understood why Damian was fighting so hard now, but that didn’t mean that he could let him go. The rest of the family standing by heard it as well. It would’ve been hard to miss anyways.

        “You can’t go in after her!” Nightwing yelled over the explosion.

        “I have to! She’s the only one I have, I have to go! Let me go!” Damian got lose just as the dust was settling.

        He ran to where he last saw you and started digging, tears filling his eyes so that he couldn’t see. There was no chance you were still alive and if you were, it wouldn’t be for long. That was when he heard you try and move something. He was looking in the wrong place, only a few feet away. When he saw where you were, he lifted the piles of wood and debris off of you to find you badly injured and hardly awake.

        “Beloved stay awake for me okay?” He said lifting you up out of the rubble.

        There was a part of your side where you had gotten impaled. It didn’t look like it hit any vital organs, however, you were bleeding out rapidly.

        He swept the hair out of your face and gently held you to him as he ran for the Batmoblie quickly trailed by everyone else. With you in the backseat, Nightwing front, and Batman driving, you were quickly headed for the cave. Damian wrapped your wounds tightly and held your head up in his lap checking your pulse every few seconds.

        “How is she?” Bruce asked sparing a glance at the back seat.    

        “Unwell, I-I don’t know how she’s still alive.” Damian responded.

        “Enhanced strength from the pit.” You groaned some in pain.

        “What the hell?!” Dick turned around to see you trying to sit up, “Enhanced strength my ass, how many times did you take a dip?”

        That earned a sharp glare from Damian and a reprimand from Bruce. He apologized realizing that he overstepped.

        “Beloved don’t move like that, just stay down.” Damian said gently, “You’ll only hurt yourself more.

        “I work through pain.” You muttered.

        “Funny, I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere.” Dick said.

        Getting to the cave, you don’t remember much, just waves of pain and floating in and out of consciousness. The only part that you really remember was the worst part, but that was later to come when everyone really thought you would die.

End

_______________________________________________________________________

Start of Part Nine:

        After Alfred removed the pipe that was in your stomach you started bleeding heavily. No one was ready for it and the amount of blood made it hard to work. Damian looked over and saw you bleeding out on the table and went into panic mode. He jumped up and started looking through your belt for something.

        “Damian- what are you...” Your eyes went wide as he pulled out a small glass of liquid, “You’re not going to do what I think you will are you?” You groaned.

        Talia had allowed you to have a vile of the pit just in case something happened and you needed to use it on Damian. If it was injected, it would be stronger so you always carried the proper supplies for it.

        “Pennyworth, a moment?” Damian pulled him to the side once you weren’t totally bleeding out, “She’s going to die isn’t she?”

        “Master Damian I- yes, she will die if something else isn’t done. I do not know what can be done.”

        Damian sighed, “We have to inject this into her, where ever the wound is. It’s a vile of the water from the pit. She has it to use for me, but, she needs it now.” “I’ll hold her down.”

        “Why ever would you have to...” Alfred thought about it before a long look came over his face, “I understand. Right away then.”

        Damian walked to you carefully, knowing you had an idea of what was to happen.

        “Dames, please don’t.” You whimpered.

        “Beloved, I know you hate it but it has to be done. I’ll be right here for you the entire time, you won’t be alone this time, I promise.” He said taking your hand in his, “Just let Pennyworth do this quickly and it’ll be over faster.”

        “Damian no!” You started crying, “Please not this, just let me die, please!”

        “Y/N, no you have to just listen to me. I’m right here, the entire time.” Damian said after Alfred put a hand on his shoulder.

        He pulled you to his chest close and held your hand as Alfred injected you with the stuff. Damian knew it would work, he just didn’t really know about what would happen to you after that. The issue of the pit’s madness might not be one here, however no one was entirely sure what an injection of it would do. He knew shortly after though.

        You screamed and cried into his shoulder almost not being able to breathe.

        “Make it stop please!” You begged, “It hurts, please!”

        “Beloved I’m right here.” He said, “I’m not leaving you.” A few minutes had passed and he knew from past experience that you’d be back in just a second. That didn’t make it easier. As you came off of the hallucinations and pain, you were silent. The silence was the worst part. It was like after all of that, you went into autopilot now just trying to figure out where you were and how to get topside. The sudden mental change was all too familiar but instead of waking up alone and in a cavern illuminated by the light of the pit, you woke under florescent lights that had been dimmed and a figure holding you tightly after Alfred had left. Your hands immediately found his hair and with the comfort and familiarity, your heart rate dropped to something normal instead of rushed.

        “Dami?” You blinked a few times, “Is it over yet?”

        “Yes beloved.” He said looking up, eyes puffy with tears in his eyes, “I’m sorry beloved, I just, I can’t... I don’t know what would happen if I didn’t have you with me.”

        “It’s okay Damian. It really is this time.” You sat up clutching your side some, “Doesn’t mean it won’t hurt for a little bit though.”

        “Here, let me help you.” Damian helped walk you upstairs to his room and wash your hair. With the number of wounds you had to have dressed and cleaned, you didn’t need a shower, just the rubble and dirt out of your hair. He pulled up a stool in front of the sink and held your head up and he washed the hair.

        You didn’t really know what to do or say, so instead you just sat back and let him take the lead for once. After drying your hair enough, you went and sat on his bed, him sitting behind you. He took sections of your hair and started braiding them over and over again.

        “I thought I was going to lose you Y/N.” He said, “You’re so stubborn.”

        You scoffed, “You’re one to talk demon.”

        “That is true General.” He remarked, “What you did was truly remarkable though.”         “I had to do it Damian. She was around the same age I was when I was brought to the league.” You said.

        “You should’ve seen the look on the mother’s face when I brought her back. She was so happy to see her.”

        “Well, at least if anything happened, a family would not have been lost tonight.”

        Damian didn’t respond, you knew he couldn’t because while he knew you were right, it pained him to think of you leaving him.

_______________________________________________________________________

        It was a few days later, your wound was healing rapidly probably just to leave a scar and sun was finally shining onto Gotham. Damian was out with the guys not of his own free will though. You were sure that when he got back there would be a ranting session about the dramatics of it all. Alfred had a day off right now and the rest of the family was gone. For the time, it was just you in the large house left alone to roam around as long as you wanted. With that silence and peace however, was an interruption. A knock at the door came and when you went to check, nothing was there but for a parcel sealed in wax addressed to you.

        You looked around knowing it was Talia’s writing and nodded before walking back inside and heading for your bedroom. Once sitting at your desk, you opened it up with the small knife you kept on you. Unraveling the letter that was set atop the actual package, you read it.

General Y/N,

        I send this letter as an update to the league. Nothing has changed as the last one has arrived to your doorstep but for the slow process of filing through recruits once more. The attack was assisted by an inside source which is now being handled as seen fit. As for you, I have heard the news of your recent relationship with my son. I give you my blessing to continue, seeing as I have anticipated this for an extended amount of time. I also write this as a thank you for your recent near sacrifice. You have lived to my expectations dramatically and I see you were the right fit for this position. As such, I have obtained a second vile of the pit and sent it to you as a token of my gratitude.

        Sincerely,

        Talia al Ghul

      You smiled reading the letter before in code writing the important parts down in a leather journal you kept locked in a trick door on the third drawer of your desk. With the actual letter, you burned it in the fireplace which was already going. And with the ashes of the letter, you knew that this was the start of something new. You watched the rest of the letter disappear into the rest of the ashes and then headed outside for a walk in the sun, letting go of all of your issues for even a few moments of serenity.

-

-

Tags-

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[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 12/14 NXT 12/16 NXT UK 12/17 Smackdown 12/18 TLC 12/20 + Main Event 12/17

Raw:

“This Sunday at tlc, it’s gonna be you and me against Nia and Shayna,” Lana says to Asuka, as a quiet ‘woo’ can be heard in the distance.

Lana facing her fears and fighting Nia Jax makes her the bravest person Asuka knows. Rolling. Fucking Asuka. ASUKA. wwe, stop.

Why isn’t Asuka accompanying Lana to the ring?

I like Lana’s gear.

Joe just compared Lana to a mosquito, goodbye.

Oh snap look how fast Lana did that headscissors takedown. We’re witnessing her progression, ladies and gents.

You know, I knew Lana would win this match, I knew exactly how she would win this match, but jfc what a treat watching it myself. 

Nia’s face lmfao.

Shayna wrecking Asuka so she can’t save Lana from her inevitable fate. Still curious on whether or not this beatdown injured her, if she was injured going into the match, or if it was all really just a storyline.

Yikes this is sad.

Man that leg drop onto Lana’s ankle actually looked kinda wicked, ngl.

*distant woo intensifies*

Wow we got real tears from Lana. Points.

Becky and Charlotte have been gone, Alexa hasn’t been on tv, the Raw women’s championship has become a meaningless prop... what a dead period for this roster.

Hi why is this match happening?

I will never not be impressed by Dana’s entrance.

Is Mandy actually hurt? Why did they take her off tv for so long? Is Shayna the resident kayfabe shelver? “Hey this girl is actually injured, have her written off by Shayna” ?? Cuz I know they’re not splitting Dana and Mandy up, and Dana has been on tv every week since Mandy left. Must be genuine.

These 2 are running roughshod over the entire division at this point.

OH SHIT MANDY’S BACK WITH A KENDO STICK

Lmfao the babyfaces are fucking done with Nia and Shayna. Honestly that’s great, I love it when babyfaces band together to stand up to dominant duos. This has been going on long enough. They took out Mandy, took out Lana, were about to take out Dana. Totally fair.

Highlight: Lana getting a clean win over Nia & being taken out so my queen can return

---

NXT:

It’s a funny thing with Toni and Rhea. Toni says she’s the reason Rhea came to nxt, but she’s also the reason I became such a huge fan of Rhea’s. Heard they were having some big TakeOver match and everyone was always praising Toni. So I checked into Blackpool solely to see what the Toni Storm fuss was about, and I left that ppv solely impressed by Rhea Ripley. Then I took particular notice of Rhea in the Royal Rumble a few weeks later, and I’ve been watching NXT UK for her ever since (til she moved). To see her growth has been tremendous, and she’s so young. Such a bright future.

The music to this is great.

Toni says she isn’t scared of Rhea, as if Rhea’s mere theme music didn’t scare the absolute shit out of Toni the week prior lol.

Toni’s not even a terrible promo, but the timing of her blinks could not be worse. Yes, it matters.

I can’t stop laughing at how fucking intensely Shotzi started this interview.

She does pissed off interviews well. I can feel her annoyance.

Really don’t want to see a Candice/Shotzi feud tbh but okay, I’ll try.

aaand there’s the howl. Awful.

Lmfao Rhea called Toni a piece of trash. This is gonna be interesting to see with the alignments reversed.

I don’t remember who won this match, but I’m betting it was Toni. Which is fair tbh. Rhea is probably on the “put some peeps over before moving up to the main roster” path that everyone in the women’s division walks on. They always eat at least one monumental, or a couple meaningful, loss(es).

Oh man that is fucked up. To not only be forced to continue punching/kicking a human (fun fact: the person on the offense takes quite the damage doing so) but to have the defenseless victim bleed out and beg for you to stop. That’s rough.

This was shot really well. That music holy shit, I’m creeped out. It’s like a horror movie.

I see the point. Numbs him to pain and breaks his will, while numbing her to mercy. Ruthless stuff.

Oh are we finally done with Indi’s neck brace? Cool.

I can’t believe wwe invested in this upgraded tank. I still don’t think it’d work on the MR, but points to the boss for shelling out the cash.

Wtf was that stumble and “fall” by Indi lmao.

If Candice was a real bully, she’d distract Shotzi by fucking with her tank at ringside.

Indi does need a mentor, she’s a hell of a lot greener than my mutuals have made it sound. oof.

Shotzi looks like she has no idea how to work with Indi, and Indi looks gassed, confused, and slow as hell.

All Indi knows it going from spot to spot while Shotzi waits around for her to get there.

Lol Indi failed at getting a dirty win. I don’t really care if this is a part of her The Way storyline, what a mess.

The only redeeming part of this piss poor segment was Theory shaking the troll’s head at Shotzi.

I’ll give wwe an extra $9.99 if they let this match have a clean ending.

“[Rhea] was at one point the biggest superstar in the world,” that isn’t even close to being true because Becky Lynch exists, but I’ll let it slide and pretend you said “in nxt”.

Their paths will be so similar to Becky and Charlotte in the future.

Wow what a sequence. That would’ve received an applause on the MR. Traded headlocks for restholds, threw around their strength, then went into a battle of pinfall reversals. Instead of following that with some stalemate, they didn’t take a breath and proceeded to dance with each other and showcase some chemistry before rolling back into a battle of pinfall reversals. The sequence started with a kick by Toni to Rhea’s midsection, and it ends with a kick by Rhea to Toni’s midsection. Peep that match production, good stuff.

My, my, those slaps to Toni’s back. Whew.

Yeah actually it’s really fucking cool that these 2 get to main event nxt together, come to think of it.

They sell well for each other.

Rhea has the best dropkicks, lesbireal.

Holy shit Toni’s headbutts make my own head hurt. God I wish she wouldn’t. Most people put their hands between the heads so no contact can be made, but Toni’s just like “lol fuck it”

This is a great match. This duo works a lot better with these specific alignments. Watching face Toni try to chop down Rhea is not as good as heel Toni being impossibly hard for Rhea to put away.

Women’s matches and never having a clean ending. Name a more iconic duo. Winter of overbooked women’s matches continues.

Like I had guessed Toni was gonna win anyway, but fucking come on.

*Bonus* online exclusive: Toni says playing by the rules got her diddly and squat, but like... she was a champion lol. “It ain’t even Toni time right now, it’s party time.” Alright.

Highlight: Rhea vs Toni minus the ending

---

NXT UK:

I don’t know why we’re getting Isla Dawn vs KLR but anytime I get to see KLR fight, I’m here for it.

Hell even Isla’s song never kicks it out of first gear. Song has so much potential but it never goes to the next level.

Ahhhh my Scottish queen is here.

No, don’t compare Sasha’s basement meteora to the double knees Isla did. That was pitiful.

Anyway, KLR vs any of the 4hw would be fantastic, take my money. Sasha, Bayley, Charlotte, or the woman KLR wanted to face at TO Dublin, Dublin native Becky Lynch.

That back body drop is horrendous as a finisher. It’s like when Becky won her debut match the exploder suplex. Awful lmao. Imagine if KLR lost to a back body drop ffs.

You don’t get to be this frustrated for not being able to beat the champion when you’ve only been fighting for like 3 mins.

Isla’s pisspoor speed going in the corner, and her pisspoor roll off of KLR’s tornado ddt. Shame.

Such a clean transition from a failed pinfall attempt into a submission by KLR, whew.

This whole match was just a flex by KLR lmao.

There was a time where we had Becky Lynch, Bayley, Rhea Ripley and KLR as our champions. Wow, take me back plz.

The background music of this stupid recording is so unnecessarily dramatic, wow.

All for the delivery of a chair. Of a fucking chair. Piper... shut up and handle your shit.

For someone so much larger than the little man, Piper is insanely unintimidating.

Highlight: I got to see KLR wrestle

---

Smackdown:

Bayley does run her mouth a lot. She’s kind of the EST at saying dumb shit that gets her into trouble lmao.

Bianca is so friggin good at interviews and in backstage segments. She hasn’t received much of a chance to do promos in the ring, let alone obviously to a live crowd, but I hope she shines there, too.

Has Liv reverted back to being a dumb blonde, or is it drugs? Stop letting her speak.

Love Riott Squad’s everchanging gear. Wonder who makes it for them.

Billie Kay claims that she’s a ‘seasoned’ ring announcer, and somehow that would not surprise me.

Tamina “get the fuck out of my face until I get a nap and a vat of coffee” Snuka, everyone.

Lmfaooo Tamina fucking chucked Liv across the damn ring. What a good job by Liv.

Ruby is exceptional at running the ropes. She gets a good spring off of it.

Tamina’s hair is always so beautiful, she gets points there.

Dropkick into a faceplant. Billie Kay gets pinned rofl. She’s so bad at wrestling and yet here I am ridiculously entertained.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Carmella’s current persona, but man I wish she’d come out in a cut off tank top, camo pants, high tops and a printed hat.

I mean people are at home cuz covid, but go off.

Aye putting over Sasha. Good heel Mella.

Sasha has held the title for like a whopping 2 months and we’re already marking calendars. Sad.

In kf, Sasha is kind of mentally weak, so I’ll give Mella that. I’m not sure what it’s gonna take to shake that perception, either.

“Who is Sasha Banks if she’s not the Boss? Who is Sasha Banks if she’s not the best? It’s sad because that’s a question that not even Sasha Banks knows the answer too.” So I get that wwe are trying to help Sasha develop and fight off her past demons, but man these women are ripping her a new one. Sasha’s only 29 so she can grow and develop however she wants, but jeeze. Salt, meet the dagger Bayley stuck in Sasha’s back.

I like Mella cuz she knows how to hype her opponent’s accolades and strengths while cutting an immaculate heel promo where she hits them RIGHT where it hurts. She’s a pro. Heels should take notes.

This music is like the Jazz Vibes playlist I always listen to.

She just called Sasha cheap and frantic lmaoooo

Oh damn Sasha be out here looking like MONEY. That girl has style, even if it doesn’t always hit with me, she got style.

oof the crack of that slap to Reggie.

OOF the crack of the bottle shattering over Sasha’s poor back. rip.

Match at TLC should’ve been a champagne match. That entails whatever your mind comes up with; pouring alcohol on your opponent, dumping their head in a bucket of ice, breaking bottles over spines. It don’t matter.

“You don’t see me going around here bragging about how damn good I am,” lmao WHAT. Bayley is equal parts delusional and obnoxiously annoying.

One size heel does not fit all, but I think her version suits her beautifully.

If I were her I’d pick your brain too, but I’d also want a match, cuz people leave matches with you looking as good as humanly possible. Equal parts selfless as well.

She didn’t lie, this was absolutely her putting Bianca on the map on the main roster.

wwe: wants to strap a rocket to Bianca and make her a star. Also fucking wwe: “lol no we’re not gonna show you her full entrance, cry more scrub.” 

Bayley still looks weird without a title.

Bayley mocks Bianca’s entrance and then gets swept onto the apron lmao. Idiot.

Bianca is a lot of flash and showboating, which is great from an entertainment standpoint, but she needs to do a little... less.

Fantastic snap of the hand against the led board. Bayley wrecking Bianca’s arm gonna hinder the flips.

“I’m the ER. I’m BET-TER. haha.” lmao Bayley is such a fucking dork. Got sent into the ring steps for her bravado. Love that there’s always immediate repercussions for Bayley’s arrogance.

Bayley turned midway going down onto Bianca’s knee for that backbreaker, there. Hope she doesn’t have a massive bruise. Looked like it’d leave a massive bruise.

3 things I’ll apparently never get to see again: Bianca’s hair whip, Bianca’s full entrance, and Bianca’s 450 splash. I’m tired.

These stupid fucking squats while Bianca is dangling off the top rope rofl I swear Bayley is something else. Girl knows how to entertain. “Bayley got a bit cute and Bianca made her pay,” story of Bayley’s life.

Beautiful spinebuster by Bianca. At least SOMEONE in the women’s division will use it.

Bit of a miscommunication there it seems. Bayley goes for a B2B, Bianca tries to block it, Bayley drops down to dodge and go for a cradle. She rolls Bianca all the way back, stands up and hesitates before running at Bianca with an elbow - even though Bianca is not in position to receive it - which Bianca counters by rolling Bayley up, but it was super obvious Bianca was just scouting the next spot. Bianca goes to pick her up for a powerbomb but Bayley has to kick out twice to prevent herself from being pinned while Bianca tries to lift her. That entire sequence was super messy.

Then Bianca nearly drops her lifting her all the way up lol. Yikes. Gotta be pretty fluent to pull that off. Not to plug my fav (but I’m totally gonna plug my fav); it’s a move Charlotte does in almost every match against Asuka or Becky, and you gotta be not only built to pull it off, but you need to have impeccable timing to make the transition look smooth. Extra points if you lift them off the mat RIGHT before a 3 (which Charlotte usually does)

Anyway, good match with a messy last 2 sequences. Bayley did what Bayley does best.

Highlight: Bayley vs Bianca

---

TLC:

They really took Eva Marie and Sasha Banks’ characters and meshed them together while keeping Carmella’s obsession for animal print lol.

Really don’t like that gear. That’s a miss, Mikaze.

Beautiful arm drag. Sasha taking the idea of wrestling like a Lucha more seriously? Cuz she should, ain’t nobody else in the MR doing it.

Commentators say the trash talk is continuing, I say Sasha is quietly leading this match with a grimace. Peeped that “hit me”.

Carmella goes to suicide dive through the ropes just for Reggie to catch her, cept she got caught up and started turning in midair. Would’ve hit her neck and shoulder HARD had he not been there. Great catch indeed.

Sasha “rip my back” Banks.

Not to be douchey, but if you have to adjust your gear in the middle of a match and it’s not just to fill time or be used as character work, then you need to redesign your gear.

Sasha’s a great babyface once that bell rings man. I wish she could carry that energy everywhere.

Holy fuck that facebuster. SPIKED her head, oh my god. I have never seen anyone make a facebuster look so impactful. Points if intentional.

Oh the timing of Sasha blocking that superkick from legit connecting. God she’s good.

You know how I know this is a good match? I’m watching some of these near pinfalls and submissions knowing damn well Sasha’s gonna win, yet my anxiety is still spiking thinking Carmella might walk out with the title. I KNOW she doesn’t though lmao. Good sequences, believable offense, great near pinfalls. They work well together (I’m not surprised, Mella and Sasha both work well with almost anyone)

What a fantastic transition into the bank statement. Points.

That match should’ve ended by dq the second Reggie pulled Mella out. 

Sasha could’ve sold that double superkick pinfall attempt a little bit more.

Carmella having a breakdown. What does that mean? That means she’s about to lose this match lmao. There it is, not even 10 seconds later hahaha.

Sasha sells pain so damn well. Good for her. Good defense of her title. Points to Sasha, she’s phenomenal every time she has an actual match. Post-match and she’s already annoyed me though lol. Ugh. Maybe she’ll get it soon enough.

Nice “replay” wwe. Billion dollar company btw.

Billie, drawing a horizontal line is not how you write ‘clairvoyant’. 

“proficient in Japanese” aw Asuka was so excited for a split second lmao.

Oh no, she made a mask to match Asuka’s with a paper plate. Oh no no no. Travesty. 

Ugh I’m so excited. I’ve already seen this and yet I’m excited. Here we are, the whole damn reason I started catching up on everything I basically refused to watch since June 22.

SHE LOOKS LIKE MONEY, WHEW. The queen IS back. She’s so fucking beautiful man.

Love how annoyed Nia looks. This is your comeuppance tbh. Could’ve just faced a measly Lana, but no, you had to play too much.

Really Charlotte shouldn’t be in the tag division, and really she shouldn’t give half of a fuck about Asuka, but we’ll get to that more in the future since this is already nearly 2 months old.

Nia’s doing a great job selling Charlotte’s return, and she’s not even active in the match rn. She does good work.

Bad camera angle on Asuka hitting the ring post.

Asuka getting wrecked lol.

I really despise that the Raw women’s championship was tied up in all of these storylines that have nothing to do with the Raw women’s championship. The Lana crap, the Charlotte crap, the tag teaming in general crap.

In hindsight, I now find it curious that Ric Flair was in the back for this match. Very curious. I swear, if the past 2 real time months weren’t a part of some master plan the Flairs came up with together, I will be SHOCKED.

Charlotte’s fucking crazy for doing those moonsaults to the outside though, for real. I know she was a gymnast and an exceptional cheerleader, but MAN you could not pay me to do fucking blind back flips that high up. Crazy.

She should’ve given us a spear in this match. I wanna go rewatch her work just to see some spears.

Good match. They needed to not focus on destroying Asuka for as long as they did, pacing was off for a little bit there.

Love how Charlotte sticks her tongue out when she bridges up into the figure 8. She’s such an asshole lmao.

If I could’ve changed one thing about that finish, I would’ve had Charlotte bounce off the ropes before hitting Natural Selection. Other than that, it was great.

Charlotte looks good with a title, idk *shrug*

The way Charlotte looked over at Asuka though. I really don’t trust her in hindsight lol.

Like how this Firefly Funhouse is setting the spotlight on Alexa before Bray takes his leave of absence, only wish she hadn’t missed 2-3 wks of tv.

What a fun way of running a video package.

Inferno matches are insane and I’m not sure why anyone would participate in such.

Think it’s smart they’re both leaving their jackets on tbh.

Alright that was cool. The way Fiend called up the flames was fucking cool. It looks amazing aesthetically. They could’ve never done the set quite like this if there had been fans.

WE HAVE STRAPS?! IS FIRE NOT ENOUGH?!? Man. Randy is a fucking trooper.

Guys. Guys excuse me, that strap is on fire, can... can we not, please??

Man is swinging a god damn pick axe at Randy Orton, I--

I hope that wasn’t actually flammable liquid cuz otherwise Randy is now soaked in it, and that’s insanely dangerous. Oh that’s great editing. So it was flammable, but Randy was out of the chair before the fire rushed at him. Also covered the chair in blood. That was cool.

Orton just pull the damn string out of the jacket real quick lol.

Caught Orton’s attempt at an rko with a mandable claw. Points.

Can someone... put him out? Editing trick? Were the flames real? Am I real??

Shouldn’t the bell ring? Match is over, right??

The dummy was kind of obvious ngl. Not to sound like an asshole, but they should’ve made it a bit thicker and more solid lol. Doesn’t really take me out of it though, cuz even though I’m sure it was a stunt double that got lit on fire by the ramp, someone was on fucking fire, and that’s intimidating in itself.

Also the dummy is melting. I’d say they should’ve used pig meat, but I’m sure vegans and animal rights activists would’ve had a field day writing to Snickers about that.

Was a good match, for what it was. I was entertained.

---

*BONUS*

Main Event:

“Nasty Nikki” lol okay.

“The only reason people even know you exist is because you were Alexa Bliss’ best friend,” ouch. Truth is pain.

Ahahahah Lacey has hand sanitizer again. 

Love that submission Lacey jumped into through the ropes, plus an eye rake. Fantastic.

That’s curious. Lacey and Peyton are arguing over the hand sanitizer as Lacey wants to squirt it on Nikki, while Peyton is claiming it’ll get her DQd. Now I’m on Peyton’s side in the sense that it should absolutely be illegal, but Lacey’s done it in a match against Nikki before, sooo ???

I like how Nikki fell trying to get back into the ring before the 10 count. Adds credibility.

Haha Nikki gets the pinfall over Lacey because Peyton was being a nuisance on the outside. Lacey big mad. That’s great.

---

*Smackdown easily shined the brightest in what was a great week of wrestling. Utilized 8 women in 3 different storylines, couldn’t possibly complain about that.

[peachdoxie]

Alright, alright, time to read chapter 9 of Rhythm of War!

Pewter, augmenters, force. That tracks with Mistborn lore.

***

So, the emotional torture of Kaladin Stormblessed continues.

"Instinctively, he searched out the soldiers of Bridge Four."

I crei

"Kaladin opened his eyes as Syl flew up in the form of a miniature Fourth Bridge. She often took the shape of natural things, but this one seemed extra odd. It didn’t belong in the sky. One might argue that Kaladin didn’t either."

That's a big oof right there, with Kaladin implicitly questioning whether he actually should be allowed to ride the winds.

"It happens whenever you run out of Stormlight. As if… you can only keep going while it’s in you."

Sounds kinda like allochemical savantism ngl

Please just give Kaladin some therapy for once.

Teft: "Oh, shut up, Kal."

Me: thank goodness there's someone willing to be blunt with Kaladin so that he slows his depressive spiral.

Reminds me of this moment in the last chapter of Oathbringer:

“It doesn’t get easier, Teft,” he said. “It gets harder, I think, the more you learn about the Words. Fortunately, you do get help. You were mine when I needed it. I’ll be yours.”

Also, yay for Laran swearing the Third Ideal. But now that means there are no unbonded honorspren.

"And the time when Lopen had nearly died a few months back."

EXCUSE ME?????

I hope that has something to do with Dawnshard.

***"

“Why would the tower have a device to suppress the powers of Radiants? It was their home."

Now that's something. Though Navani also thinks it could have suppressed the Fused's powers, so...

“Soulcasters manifested as small unresponsive spren, hovering with their eyes closed. So the Soulcasters did have a captured spren. A Radiant spren, judging by their shape. Intelligent, rather than the more animal-like spren captured to power normal fabrials."

Well that's some fucking lore right there with some implications that I'm really not sure about shoves another piece of evidence to my Sibling theory

"The Soulcaster cache discovered in Aimia earlier in the year had brought an incredible boon to the coalition armies."

Guess we know part of what happens in Dawnshard, then. But also, how the fuck did they get onto Aimia (probably a Windrunner flying them) and also why did Aimia have this cache in the first place? Is this why the Sleepless were guarding the island so strongly? While the Soulcasters are a boon, for sure, I also fear that there was a reason why they were being held there, and that makes me worried. The Sleepless know things and have been watching our heroes for a while.

Yo wtf who left the spanreed ruby for Navani, and how did no one notice it being left? Or was it placed by a spy?

"You are the monster Navani Kholin. You have caused more pain than any living person."

First of all, what the fuck. Second of all, I guess she's in good company marrying Dalinar if she's also a monster who causes pain....

"The honorspren cannot be trusted. Not anymore."

Ho-ley shit. What the FUCK does that mean? Is this a cultural thing, or like...an intrinsic feature of the honorspren? Can we still trust Syl?

Also, what "new kind of fabrial" is the writer talking about?

“Navani couldn’t get any further responses from the mysterious woman or ardent who had written to her.”

Funny, Navani is married to a man who can write, and yet she still assumes that it was a woman or ardent who had written this. Numerically, if all people who can write are weighted equally, she’d be right. But someone this involved in deep lore may not even be human, let alone a woman or ardent. I wonder if this will come back to bite Navani in the ass.

***

“He’d removed his jacket, and the shirt beneath reminded her of when he came to their rooms after sparring. He always wanted to bathe immediately, and she… well, she rarely let him. Not until she was done with him, at least.”

This is what counts as a sex scene in a Branderson book.

“She pulled closer, and couldn’t help imagining it. What he would do if he knew the real her. If he knew all the things she’d actually done.

It wasn’t just about him. What if Pattern knew? Dalinar? Her agents?

They would leave, and her life would become a wasteland. She’d be alone, as she deserved. Because of the truths she hid, her entire life was a lie. Shallan, the one they all knew best, was the fakest mask of them all.“

Oh Shallan. I wonder if part of her Fourth Ideal will be about not just confronting the truth she lives, but about telling others about it.

Huh. So Veil emerged when Shallan was at her most distraught. Veil also said that she didn’t kill Ialai, but does that necessarily mean that one of the others didn’t? There was that one moment when Shallan!Shallan’s “mind began to fuzz” when Veil asked if one of them killed her. Hmm.

And okay, so there’s a fourth persona that Shallan is trying not to create. That persona scares Veil, for whatever reason (wtf). Also, the name “formless/Formless” seems somewhat in parallel with the use of the word “form” by the listeners.

Lmao, Shallan’s basically just listing half of the secret societies on Roshar, and those are only the ones she knows about.

“Those likely made sense to him, as he’d taken battlefield reports on them. The shadowy groups moving at night, on the other hand, were something he couldn’t fight directly. Dealing with them was to be her job.”

Normal Vorin couples: the woman does the ledgers and organizing while the men go do hard labor

Shadolin: Adolin fights the soldiers while Shallan fights the secret societies

“Nalathis. Scadarial. Tal Dain.”

*high pitched shrieking noises*

And Thaidakar. Who- or whatever that is.

***

OKay, so some shit happened in this chapter. Kaladin is falling more and more into a depressive spiral. Navani is getting letters from people unknown telling her to stop making new fabrials (though not with any direct threats). Shallan is still struggling to tell Adolin things.

Can’t wait for next week!

[retvenkos]

Congratulations! Can i please have a 🔥 for Enola Holmes , the Maze runner and Percy Jackson/ Heroes of Olympus ship? Im a girl (17 years old) , bisexual , ENFP and a Gryffindor .I absolutely adore baking/cooking, skateboarding , photography and all kinds of art ( painting, theatre , music etc.).Im also into astrology and love reading about conspiracy theories and urban legends.🍪

I’m an extrovert with a pretty loud laugh , I love going to parties and telling jokes.Im also really protective of my friends and a loyal person ( the mom friend). I always stand by what i believe is right and defend anyone who needs it. Some of the things i dislike are coca cola , chihuahuas and close minded people. Hope thats enough , thank you in advance!🍪

Enola Holmes:

I ship you with Enola Holmes!

first of all, enfp’s are very independent, so you definitely need someone who will give you room to do your own thing while also being supportive and if that isn’t enola, then what is?

she 100% believes in autonomy while also being fairly practical - something that is needed if the two of you are going to be together.

i feel like you have so many interests and are pulled in so many directions, you need someone who can keep up with you as well as catch your eye - and enola holmes has so much going on at all times, it will always be a romp, hanging out with her.

furthermore, enola has probably dabbled in the majority of your interests, so she will either do them with you, try them out, or just watch you (because let’s be real here - enola on a skateboard in a modern au? a disaster waiting to happen). 

i believe wholeheartedly that enola loves your conspiracy theories and urban legends, and who knows? maybe the two of you will set out to prove some of them. sherlock will say the two of you are wasting your time because he doesn’t believe in stuff like that, and while enola may not believe in all of them, she would still listen to you ramble.

enola loves the fire in you - the way you stand up for what you believe in and your utter enthusiasm for life. she’s constantly surrounded by her brothers who are pretty jaded, and she often needs someone to remind her that the future is up to her - that this world can be whatever she makes of it.

enola definitely appreciates your art - she’s probably terrible at it herself, seeing as she doesn’t have much patience - but she loves to look at yours and listen to you ramble about it

and while you both lack a some practicality when it comes to daily struggles like upkeep or what have you, you both work on it together, and it’s something the both of you will remind the other in passing

enola has taken to writing on sticky notes to remember to do things, and you give each other arbitrary rewards for having done those basic tasks.

or, maybe you will do some baking if enola consistently does the dishes and she will buy you film for your camera if you manage to get all the laundry done for the week.

you both are very passionate people, so i imagine there’s always a bit of chaos, but you are both very extroverted, fun-loving people, so it’s never obnoxious (to the two of you, anyway)

i imagine the two of you end up doing a lot of active things - like going on walks or going to strip malls and window shopping. you just like to do things that keep you in forward motion or do things that seem new and exciting.

TMR:

I ship you with Minho!

first of all, both of you are energetic, passionate people. both of you are constantly doing something, searching for a way out of the maze or a way to live just a bit better. the two of you would never give up on finding a way out, and no doubt that means the two of you end up convincing others not to give up, too.

and you both are willing to stand up for what you know is right, or for those people you believe in! you probably both end up advocating for the same person on occasion, and maybe that’s what first makes you both notice the other.

and at the little parties that the gladers have, you and minho are always in the thick of things, laughing and making jokes. it’s a way that the two of you are able to destress and pretend like things are normal.

on a few nights when you can’t sleep, you go out to look at the sky and think about what all of this means - the maze, the grievers, and everything else. you’re mind can go into overdrive, considering all of the different possibilities, but it feels good to have answers, even if they are fabricated.

one night, minho can’t sleep either, and he finds you. the two of you talk late into the night, about everything and everything, and the two of you swap conspiracies and talk about the few memories you have and what they could mean. mostly, both of you just remember fear.

and when you get emotional and your mind starts to race, minho is able to bring you back from the edge. he has a steadiness to him that isn’t found in many other places, and it’s comforting.

and in a modern au, minho would love to skateboard. he’s still a runner, mostly, but he’d go to skateparks with you and you would both be terrible at patching up scrapes and bruises, but you’d both have lots of fun

minho also probably has the best taste in music - he’s especially fond of the kind of music that just embodies teen angst - so the two of you would swap music all the time

ngl, minho probably dislikes chihuahua’s too... yappy dogs aren’t his style.

getting minho into the arts would be a laugh - he’d probably be most keen to photography - but he’d listen to you while you ramble about your art. he wouldn’t understand it, but he’d love that you love it.

i feel like your relationship would be high energy all the time, but you’d get deep talks in between your shenanigans - minho probably isn’t into opening up, so it’s a process.

PJO/HOO:

I ship you with Percy Jackson!

admittedly, i don’t remember much about pjo, so this might be a little rough.

i think percy needs someone with energy - someone who can keep up with him and his killer quests and manage to have fun of them

and we all know that percy is a skater boi so....

when percy learns that you bake and cook! he’s going to make some good food with you, teaching you the art that is blue food. it’s very sweet and the two of you are definitely messy bakers, but it’s more about the experience than the actual food, right?

i also feel like percy would appreciate your painting and photography! i feel like percy has these really emo moments™ that will hit him out of nowhere, and he’d probably experience a lot of those when looking at art. he just has time to look within himself, y’know?

he’d get all the feels from your work and would assure you that even though he’s crying, it’s really good! 

and something i think is important to your relationship is that you can get percy to relax. this man deserves a break, so the fact that you are able to get him to take some quiet, calm moments means everything. furthermore, you’re so observant! you can tell when the weight of the world is resting on his shoulders, and you are able to swoop in and give him a well deserved break.

you’re just like “let. percy. REST.” or that meme where it’s like *person a gets a papercut* person b: gods, hasn’t he been through enough?

and both of you are so loyal, i can just see your relationship working really well. percy deserves a protective significant other, and i 100% believe you could fill those shoes.

also, the fact that camp half-blood is probably the biggest conspiracy theory the world could ever fathom makes your interest in conspiracies all the more funny - you and percy both are trying to constantly prove theories because if chb exists, imagine how many others are real! and annabeth is sobbing because she just wants one (1) day without your shenanigans. 

also, ummm, percy is a slytherin and a slytherin x gryffindor relationship has so much potential for teasing and prank wars don’t @ me

take part in my 2.5k celebration

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 246: Plot Whiplash

Previously on BnHA: Hawks handed Endeavor a copy of Re-Destro’s NYT bestseller and was all “ಠ_ಠ READ THIS!!” He then flew off back to the PLF and was all “hey guys just got back from handing out free copies of Destro’s book to everyone in a 1000-mile radius, which absolutely nobody asked me to do, well anyways you can thank me later” and they were all “SWEET.” Back at the Endeavor HQ, Bakugou got all fired up to BUST SOME HEADS but Endeavor’s sidekicks were all “WAIT FOR THE PLOT YOUNG MAN.” Meanwhile in his office, Endeavor discovered a secret code in the book Hawks gave him, which basically read “HEY WHAT’S UP THE LEAGUE HAS TAKEN OVER THE MLA AND HAS AN ARMY OF 100,000 PEOPLE” and Endeavor was like “!!!!” And then we cut to the League and Toga was all “IN FOUR MONTHS TOMURA IS BLOWING THIS SHIT TO KINGDOM COME” and then the chapter just ended. Sometimes it be like that.

Today on BnHA: Tomura sits down with Ujiko who monologues a bit about Quirk Singularity and then starts some sort of quirk-upgrading process which will apparently take four months to fully set in. And also he’s like “oh btw let me tell you about One for All” so THAT’S A THING NOW, GREAT. We then cut back and forth between Endeavor and Hawks, who both somehow come to the weird conclusion that THE INTERNS ARE OUR ONLY HOPE NOW using logic that is hard to explain on account of THERE ACTUALLY ISN’T ANY LOGIC BEHIND IT, SHHH. But anyway, so Endeavor figures out the rest of Hawks’s message and he knows that Hawks is trying to figure out what the League is up to, and something something that’s why the internships are so important. Like, I get that the Terrible Trio are future legends in the making, but these guys are seriously like “well okay let’s just go ahead and rest all our hopes on them” out of the blue, and Hawks has this big monologue about how “THINGS WON’T GO ACCORDING TO YOUR PLAN, VILLAINS” and okay then!! And then the last two pages are basically just DID SOMEBODY ORDER SOME HYPE with more shit going on than I can possibly sum up so I won’t even try lol. But damn.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.) 

okay guys, I’m feeling kinda under the weather today, but I know this chapter’s gonna be good so lesssssss gooooooo. bring me back to life Horikoshi

(ETA: lol well there sure was a lot happening in this chapter, that’s for sure. my head hurts.)

oooooh it’s a sexy Jump cover celebrating season 4!

I really need the anime team to step up and give Ochako and Tsuyu some more screentime in the Basement Arc since the manga did not do them justice. there’s only like a 20% chance of that happening, which is depressing, but it’s 2019 and the winds are slowly changing, albeit at a geriatric pace. so I’ll allow myself to have some hope. you never know

YEAH SON LOOK AT THIS COLOR SPREAD Y’ALL THIS IS RAD

hello I love everything about this. the colors, the focus on our best girls, Deku’s bizarre-yet-awesome assorted sci-fi accessories (Deku do those headphones let you communicate with space or what), and of course, the five million TVs in the background which for some reason all appear to be from the 70s. all of this to remind us to TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR THE LONG-AWAITED SEASON 4 DEBUT. I will definitely tune in! the first episode is just gonna be the usual half filler/half clip show, but honestly season 3 was so good that I could sit through a whole hour of nothing but highlights and still be thoroughly entertained

anyway let’s move on because there are GAMES AFOOT, and we’re hopefully about to learn which direction this arc will be headed in!

OH SHIT OH FUCK

yep, that’s him. Shigaraki “destruction incarnate” Tomura. I see we’re getting our weekly dose of “just a reminder that WE ARE SCREWED” even earlier than usual this chapter, huh

so does anyone else get a chill up their spine every time Ujiko makes an appearance, or is that just me? like, god. he may honestly be even creepier than AFO. he’s just completely soulless, this guy. he’s got like this Mengele vibe to him (though that may be kinda dicey to compare horrific real-life atrocities to fictional ones in a shounen manga, but I’m just trying to explain why I find him so disturbing) and it really freaks me the hell out, ngl. anyways so him wearing a surgical mask and standing in front of this weird examination chair is pretty much the last thing I need right now. go away Ujiko

so Tomura is all “I want it cuz you promised, so pay up jackass”, and like. fair, though

I really like this new art style Horikoshi’s been using for him since his Awakening. kinda curious how it’s going to translate to the anime, or even to a color spread. but at the very least in black and white it looks siiiiick

smh look at this little punk trying to downplay how insanely freaking overpowered his quirk currently is

okay first of all, “President Baldy” is only alive because you left him alive. and he also had to chop off his own legs to stay that way. like, what kind of argument is this, Tomura? “this power is far from invincible, all my enemies have to do is amputate their own limbs and then they’ll have me right where they want me.” you know what, just go on and destroy the world right now kid. you’re getting greedy now and it could be your undoing

that is a nice parallel between him and Deku there, though. now I’m craving some Symbolic Artwork of them standing back to back each holding out their scarred right arms. maybe with their respective mentors in the background. here at BnHA we prefer our parallels nice and dramatic

sdskfjlaskdj

son of a bitch. I really wish he wouldn’t say that with such utter certainty. “the next conflict will be our last.” cue me flipping through the BnHA table of contents and trying to determine just how far along we actually are here, because this is veering dangerously close to Final Battle signaling, and like, ALREADY?? TOMURA ARE YOU JUST BEING THEATRICAL OR ARE YOU FOR REAL OMG. motherfucking DARK LORD’S LIPS curling into the WICKEDEST FUCKING CRESCENT I’VE EVER SEEN, fuck me

(ETA: it occurs to me on readthrough #2 that “the next conflict will be our last” could be interpreted to mean him and All Might specifically. like, the last conflict between the two of them. and that might very well be true, and would not surprise me at all. shit.)

fjsgk now Ujiko’s talking about research. and quirks!! glkjlkl

fully expecting the camera to cut to some NOUMUS any second now oh my god. also trying not to think about how crazy ominous that fucking chair looks. and how many people this maniac has probably strapped down to it and done god knows what to them. hey Horikoshi you know what, I’ve had just about enough of this dark shit, can we please cut back to my kids now I’m feeling too unsettled. goddammit

anyhow of course we are NOT cutting away, and Ujiko is continuing to talk about quirk evolution, and now segueing into a speech about that quirk singularity thing. -- which he apparently named?? wow

is he actually going to do something to Tomura? holy shit?? this whole time that they’ve been talking about this “power” I’ve just been assuming it was something external, like some other handy dandy villain resource that AFO’s just been sitting on or something. this is not where I expected things to go. didn’t he just get an upgrade??

anyway so here’s a brief summary I just wrote up of The Past Six Months of BnHA:

Deku: [gets a new quirk]

everyone: bruh. Horikoshi really out here giving Deku AFO Powers while Tomura just sits around starving to death on a couch. what the heck

Horikoshi: [powers up Tomura to the point where he can destroy anything just by it being in contact with something that Tomura happens to be touching] [has Tomura use this power to level an entire city]

everyone: -- oh. okay, you know what, never mind --

Horikoshi: [gives Tomura an army of 100,000 people] [also gives him command of 11 extremely lethal and nigh-unstoppable killing machines, just one of which was almost enough to take out the number one hero, LITERALLY THE STRONGEST GUY THE GOOD GUYS CURRENTLY HAVE IN RESERVE]

everyone: okay we’re sorry we get it you can sto --

Horikoshi: APOCALYPSE IN FOUR MONTHS!!!

everyone: WE GET IT WE’RE SORRY PLEASE

Horikoshi: [GIVES TOMURA ANOTHER POWER-UP]

everyone: [curled up in fetal position sobbing]

starting to think the mangaka might be the actual final villain here. hmm

anyway. so I guess we have four months until Tomura ascends to Actual Godhood and proceeds to rain hellfire down upon the world. what are you all gonna do with your four months. I personally have a lot of stuff to binge, but knowing me I’ll probably just waste all my time reading fanfic while youtube videos play in the background which I’m not paying any attention to. what am I doing with my life

oh were we not done hyping him up? there’s more??

(ETA: I got so caught up in the OFA comment I didn’t pay attention to Tomura becoming a beautiful decayed butterfly in this exquisitely creepy panel here. but damn.)

-- HOLD THE FUCK UP. does Tomura know about One for All??? because I was under the impression that AFO hadn’t told him? this would change a lot if he knew this entire time, holy shit?!

aaaaaaaaand exactly one panel later Horikoshi is all “no he didn’t know calm the fuck down” lol

okay then. so he didn’t know, and he’s only just finding out now. well tbh that’s still worthy of a smiling crying emoji face though :’) this is fineeee

shit here we go oh shit

-- WAIT, SO WE’RE JUST CUTTING AWAY FROM THEM? NOW YOU CUT AWAY? YOU GET WITHIN INCHES OF CONFIRMING THE FUCKING ALL FOR ONE FOR ALL THEORY AND THEN IT’S JUST “ANYWAYS HERE’S ENDEAVOR” YOU KNOW WHAT, HORIKOSHI, I --

just. come on dude. AFOFA 2019! let’s make it happen! dammit

sigh, so looks like it’s back to the admittedly-still-epic “Hawks passes down secret information about the villains to Endeavor” plot. I guess we’re not exactly hurting for good plots all around. I may complain but honestly we are spoiled

so Hawks is saying that he actually doesn’t know the specifics of the villains’ plans yet. well shit

apparently his feathers can only pick up sounds from short range, and the villains keep escorting him away whenever they get to talking about the good stuff. well at least that explains that potential plot hole from last week. Hawks’s feathers may have a short range, but Horikoshi’s plot hole caulking gun can fill in leaky plot holes from fucking miles away. amazing

ffffffff

don’t mind me I’m just sitting here fretting about Hawks continuing to be in mortal danger and risking his life to gather information in a race against time against the end of the world. Horikoshi out here piling up stakes like a freaking vampire hunter

but in the meantime, everyone please stop what you’re doing for a moment to look at this absolute unit of a bellhop slash security guard

apologies Lord Vader he was just trying to get to the dining hall. my bad. as you were

and holy shit I hope you enjoyed that light comedic break because two seconds later Re-Destro has dropped in to fixate Hawks with one of those Lightly Menacing Smiles he’s so infamous for. so that’s just fucking great!

HAWKS WATCH OUT FOR YOUR FINGERS

omg. imagine, a showdown between the two stealth murder MVPs of the series, Yotsubashi “Sleeper Hold” Rikiya (yes I did have to look up his real name just now) and Takami “Tag Em And Bag Em” Keigo. true, RD may no longer have legs, but he didn’t need them to choke out our little mouse buddy now did he? anyways speaking of which I just remembered that I fucking hate Re-Destro and I honestly hope Hawks does kill him. it’d be pretty easy to fit him into a bag too. he’s basically just a torso and arms now

oh sure Horikoshi go ahead and spring this on me after all of that ranting why don’t you

by the way does Re-Destro have Robot Legs now, or

looool he does

I will say this for Horikoshi, he knows my weaknesses. more robot limbs please. either badass or memeable ones, either is fine

meanwhile I skipped over this panel of Hawks and Twice being buddies in order to get to the legs, and shame on me for that. let’s go back

Twice is a genuinely good guy and I hope Hawks can tell. I wonder how fake this smile is. I feel like it’d be easy to relax around Twice regardless of how tense you are about your secret spy mission which could go south at any time. anyways this is wholesome

and now we’re cutting back to Endeavor who is taking his sweet time reacting to this whole thing. Endeavor can you fucking chill with the poker face already geez

okay wait, what

are you serious?! I fucking can’t with this lady. “now make sure to throw these children directly into the line of fire! it’s good for them and builds character!” I’m sorry, I thought this was the Hero Public Safety Commission, not the Putting Juveniles Directly Into Harm’s Way Commission?? at least change the acronym to something more appropriate then. Heinous Pathetic Soulless Cowards. just a suggestion. jesus

anyway so for a moment I got confused as to whether this was implying that she’d told Endeavor about Hawks’s undercover mission. but it seems like he’s still unaware. shouldn’t be too long before he puts the pieces together though at this rate

lol in the very next panel, even

meanwhile you’re just sitting on your ass reading a book! FUCKING DO SOMETHING ALREADY, ENDEAVOR

so he’s thinking that the “preparation” part of Hawks’s message is referring to the interns. let me back up a sec and write down the entire message as he’s read it thus far

“four months from now / rising to action / until then / will send / signals / in case / of failure / preparation / numbers”

...read like that, it really does sound like Hawks is advocating to get as many soldiers ready as possible. even if that includes actual children. including Endeavor’s own son. shit. I mean, I get that they don’t have much of a choice, but that’s still so fucked up. sure, we as omniscient readers know that Deku is their one and only hope, but they don’t know that. as far as they know these are just a bunch of teenagers with less than a year’s worth of experience that they’re propping up on the front lines. and the plan is then... what? hope they don’t die too quickly?? fuck

Hawks is out here having an argument with me in his thoughts. you wanna play it like that, Hawks? fine

I don’t know what kind of “but” you can tag on to the end of that paragraph that could possibly win me over, dude, but go for it I guess

and we’re finally cutting back to the kids in question now! with Burnin’ casually trying to crush Kacchan’s hopes and dreams

okay but I love how both Deku and Shouto are like “easy there buddy, we got you” and trying to keep Kacchan from having a fucking aneurysm sob. JUST TRY AND HOIST HIM ONTO SOME DUMB SIDEKICKS, LADY. YOU’VE MADE A POWERFUL ENEMY HERE TODAY

oh shit

oh my god. are we going to get our first actual interaction between the three of them that doesn’t consist of them grumbling annoyed introductions at each other and then running off to fight an old fortune teller omggggg

I love how Deku and Bakugou look weirdly intimidated by him lol. Bakugou where did all that “YOU’RE KIND OF A JERK” confidence go all of a sudden

YESSSSSSS

GODDAMMIT, I’M STILL SO MAD AT YOU GUYS FOR BEING ALL “LET’S JUST MAKE THE CHILDREN DO IT,” BUT DAMMIT THEY KICK ASS THOUGH SO I CAN KINDA SEE YOUR POINT

NOW HAWKS IS METAING ABOUT THEM AHHHHHHH

DAMN STRAIGHT THEY WOULD HAVE. BRING ON TOMURA AND ALL OF HIS STUPID POWER-UPS. WOW I’M WEIRDLY HYPED UP ALL OF A SUDDEN WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME

AND FUCKING LOOK AT THIS TWO-PAGE SPREAD AHHHHHHHHHHH

MOTHERFUCKER [WHIPS OUT PEN AND NOTEBOOK] TIME TO ANALYZE THIS BITCH

so Ochako and Tsuyu did indeed go back to intern with Ryuukyuu again! makes sense, she is a top ten hero after all. who’s that with them, though? almost looks like Yanagi from the hair and the mask, but the costume looks different? hmm

I CAN’T BELIEVE IIDA WENT BACK TO INTERN WITH FUCKING MANUAL AGAIN. THIS GUY IS THE BRAN CEREAL OF HEROES. though I fucking love him though so yeah it’s fine

JIROU AND SHOUJI TEAMING UP WITH GANG FUCKING ORCA AW YISS BOYS THIS IS THE GOOD SHIT LET’S GOOOO

KOUDA AND MANGA TEAMING UP WITH WASH OMG. MANGA IS THE ONLY ONE ON THAT TEAM WHO ACTUALLY FUCKING SPEAKS. IS WASH’S SIDEKICK SOME SORT OF BROOM PERSON OMG

A WHOLE FUCKING ACRE OF KIDS HAVE ALL GANGED UP ON THIS CAVEMAN-LOOKING FELLA I DON’T EVEN RECOGNIZE. WHO ARE YOU. DID YOU CROSS OVER FROM THE FANTASY AU

KIRI BACK WITH FG AND BROUGHT TETSUTETSU ALONG FOR THE RIDE HELLS YEAHHHH

KAMINARI AND SERO WITH KAMUI WOODS AND EDGESHOT I’M HYPERVENTILATING AHHH. AND SHIOZAKI TOO!! I’LL JUST PRETEND I DON’T SEE MINETA THERE IN THE CORNER. MIGHT BE TIME TO DUST OFF THE OLD “CANCELLED” STAMP AGAIN BUT WE’LL SEE HOW THINGS GO

WHO ARE MOMO AND TOKAGE AND MINA AND AOYAMA (WHICH BTW IS THE GREATEST HERO TEAMUP OF ALL TIME HOLY SHIT) TEAMING UP WITH!? TELL US. AND PONY AND MONOMA. GODDAMMIT HORIKOSHI

whew! anyway. they’re all still screwed, but by golly that was nice to have that little invigorating breather of life and hope

LOL OH SHIT THERE’S ANOTHER ONE

okay, SOMEONE TELL ME RIGHT THE FUCK NOW WHAT ALL MIGHT IS LOOKING AT OR I’M GONNA LOSE IT. holy shit. he was researching the past users of OFA, wasn’t he? WHAT DID YOU FIND OH GOD. he’s not just upset, he looks one step shy of fucking crying?? did he learn about what happened to Nana’s son and his family, maybe? shit shit shit

so Yanagi is interning with Kendou then? so who was that with Hadou and Ryuukyuu and the rest. one of Ryuukyuu’s sidekicks?

IS THAT FUYUMI (SPOILERS FUCKING YEAH IT IS) AND WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE SHE’S FUCKING PRAYING OMG. it looks like she’s kneeling at a family altar?? like saying a prayer for someone who is PRESUMED DEAD, maybe?? LIKE MAYBE A LONG LOST TWIN BROTHER OH SHIT OUT OF NOWHERE THE HYPE DON’T STOP!!

AND WHY DOES NAO HAVE HIS HAT OFF AND CLUTCHED TO HIS CHEST LIKE HE’S TELLING SOMEONE BAD NEWS. GOD WHAT THE HELL EVEN ARE ALL OF THESE PLOT THINGS HAPPENING ALL OF A SUDDEN. LIKE I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO LOOK NEXT

KUROGIRI AHHHHHHHH

WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING TO ERI’S HORN!? DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE THIS?? AIZAWA??? HELLO!?!?

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, TEAM OT3. TIME TO FUCKING SUIT UP. APPARENTLY. WELL ALL RIGHT THEN. [JACKET ZIP] [GUN COCKING SOUND EFFECT] LET’S GO PUNCH ‘EM IN THE MOUTH

y’all. this chapter was like plot whiplash. this went in so many different directions and hinted at so many different things that I’m at a complete fucking loss as to what to process first. but I guess the interns are gonna save us all, somehow. lol okay then

[twilightvolt]

Twilight Thoughts (BEASTARS Episode 6)

SPOILER WARNING AS USUAL.

Episode 6:

- Ok, so first we--someone’s dead again.

....o h .

Of course, everyone’s like “Whelp, gotta dip, carnivores. cya.” and Jack be a sad boi. ;w; man, these guys have it hard.

- Then we get introduced to our next main character from the trailers: Juno!

Imma be honest, i was really iffy about her before this because i was hoping her character isn’t what i think it would be. and i’m sure any Persona 4 players who’re watching this show can get what i’m about to say.

.....I hope she’s not like Rise.

For those of you who haven’t played P4, Rise came off as SUPER clingy to the main protagonist. at least in my opinion. i know some say she’s best girl, but no. not for me. that’s Naoto’s title. lmao

I am praying that Juno doesn’t do the same and become clingy towards Legoshi and like, becomes that character that just feels like a shoehorned love interest because y’know, she’s a wolf too. so far, she seems ok. she was being bullied and Legoshi stepped in and played hero for a moment which was great. but her mentioning she was also in drama and also one of his kind just kinda raised a little red flag for me. i dunno.

Also, shoutout to the way he saved her. like “I’m her older brother.” but then she sees her face and he like “D-damn! We look nothing alike!” i’m sorry, i’m ded. lmao

- I was excited to see what the world outside the school was like. i’m the type who likes taking in all the little things and seeing the town be all bright and bustling was just so nice. then i heard Louis be like “Don’t go to the black market.” and i was like “Wh-....b...black market?” O_o

Oh no, things’re gonna get crazy again, aren’t they?

Y’all don’t just tell people not to go somewhere. that’s cartoon talk for “Go there. That’s where the plot is.” lmao

- So they eatin’, gettin’ that W c D o n a l d ’ s , and i’m like “Huh....I want fries now.” and then a little while after the episode, we come home with fries. and i never outwardly asked. it just happened. and i was like “MY FEELINGS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.”

And Legoshi’s just sitting there quietly eating like a third wheel and i’m like “Dude, same.” also, Bill acts very much like one of the popular kids at school that i totally used to have to be in the same classes with and i swear i felt a twinge of old school annoyance resurfacing.

Still, it was fun seeing what the town was like. i’m hoping we get to see it much more in the coming episodes.

- And then they get lost (Thanks, Zoozle Maps. XD) and accidentally end up in where? the black market.

And i was thoroughly traumatized.

I was like, “Oh, it’s an old shopkeeper. probably sells weird trinkets or so-” *Shows his fingers. or lack thereof*

U-uhh....w h a t ?

Like, it’s the black market. i expected it to be weird. but like....not this disturbing.

He was just, like, selling off his LIVING body to the carnivores and i was like “Oh god, that’s horrible.” goodness, i signed up for this, huh?

Then i hear the market theme and hear some sick beats and i’m like “dONTCHU THROW SOME JAMS AT ME AT A TIME LIKE THIS I CAN’T VIBE TO THIS nO-”

And then Bill be like:

And suddenly i wanted to beat him upside the head. thankfully, my boi did that for me. lmao

But for real, i was mad, but like....it’s understandable? like, i hate that i understand enough to not be totally angry with him, but like....he’s a tiger. and ngl, after the bunny blood, i did NOT put it past him to react like this. i just wish he weren’t so....B i l l , y’know? the more he’s on screen, the more i wanna smack him, but i still actually kinda like him enough to see where he might go as a character. cuz he’s not a bad guy, he’s just.....an idiot. it’s weird. XD i’m still holding onto my theory that he killed Tem tho.

Just....man, this is heavy.

And then they cut to right after the last episode where Legoshi and Haru finish their heart to heart moment and then they cut back to him running off through the market street not knowing what these feelings are. like, he genuinely likes her and he can’t stop thinking about her.....but at the same time, he’s uncontrollably drooling?....i dunno man, sounds like you’re just hungry. and that concerns me.

Oh, right, right afterward he gets taken in by the panda from the trailers whom i believe is named Gouhin? but yeah, he ties him up in chains and a muzzle and proceeds to interrogate him about his feelings toward the one he thinks he “likes.” and then shows him a wall of pictures. pictures of carnivores just like him that have tasted meat and couldn’t get over it. to the point where they uhh......yeah, let’s just say i was shook by the things he said. like, that could potentially be what happens to Legoshi and honestly, that’s really sad and i don’t want that to happen. i legit felt a chill when i saw some of those photos. no joke.

Then i guess he takes him to the next room and has a little chat with him. what the conversation was about was basically Gouhin telling Legoshi that his “love” isn’t real and he should cut ties with Haru if he wants to not eat her by accident. but in a way where it sounds like he’s telling him off for it cuz Legoshi was like “That’s not true! we’re friends!” and he basically says that Legoshi’s way of thinking is a childish, flawed mindset. like, d a m n . he verbally smacked him. lmao

Then he starts to leave, but not until Gouhin hands him a copy of bunny porn.

“If you get excited over this, then you’re just a young boy with a fetish for small animals. if not, and you stick with your one rabbit, that’s bad.”

Ok, so if he feels something, then he’s just a weirdo. but if he doesn’t, then he’s in danger of eating her and that’s a BIG problem. huh....kind of a lose lose situation here, don’t you think? ._.’

But yeah, Legoshi runs out thinking to himself about how much he hates this and that he wants to forget everything that just happened. and honestly, this is the point where i kinda felt sad enough to cry. cuz this is an innocent kid that wants to stay connected to someone they believe they love, but then reality just hits them REALLY hard. and they just want to cover their ears and stay unaware about what’s really going on.

All this time, he believed the adults just stayed vegetarian cuz that’s probably what he was taught or maybe what he assumed because of how he was taught. but when you think about it, not everyone can repress their true feelings forever. they’re animals. it’s in their nature.

He keeps trying to tell himself that this is okay. that he won’t hurt her anymore than that first night. but....is that true? can that be true? or is this just some twisted sense of “love” that ends in yet another unfortunate death? things seem to be getting more and more frustrating for him and if i didn’t feel some form of sympathy for him i sure as hell am now.

But....i wanna believe he can overcome those feelings and stay close to her. maybe they won’t be able to be a couple. they might just have to stay friends. but anything to let him be happy, y’know?

The episode ends with him finding Aoba the eagle again. he tells him that he just couldn’t go through with eating that guy’s fingers cuz he thought of his herbivore friends which just made him feel icky about it. and yeah, that’s understandable. birb boi is a good boi....who probably just stuck by Bill cuz he wanted to fit in, but y’know.

This causes Legoshi to cry and yeah, i broke after that. i was highkey imagining an alternate ending where he just runs up to him and hugs him crying in a full on bro moment and i kinda wish that happened cuz honestly that would make me cry a river. for real. i would die.

And i guess that’s that. this episode was quite a wake up call for Legoshi at least. but here’s hoping things look up next episode. see you again!