#sunday and robin have been making me so sad

[minnieposting]

i really love penacony so much

[inkskinned]

we were drunk off mezcal and my dog had his paws crossed like he was fancy and we were giggling about it and i told you that with the sun coming back i can feel my fingers again and you grabbed my wrist and jokingly shook my limp hands while saying i have you i got you and i wanted to tell you i love you in that moment but it's actually just that it's spring and love actually seems like something that i can afford once in a while so long as i'm not overwhelmed by the crushing weight of having to do my laundry

i don't get so sad on sundays anymore and part of that is you but also part of it is that i've been watching a bird melodrama in the tree outside my window - first the robins had the run of it, then the doves. most recently a family of sparrows came through. the sky was pink today like a kiss, and i felt the pastel wrap in a warm piebald snake around my chest and hum herself into my bones

thank god for every person that forgives me for the depressive spirals i go on every winter without-fail like i swear there are absolutes in this world and it's stuff like. stoats go white in winter. the sun comes over the east. when it gets cold all parts of my soul go numb and the light can't pass through my iris without a tattoo gun. how many times can i tell a friend i'm sorry i wasn't talking to you, i truly wasn't talking to anyone

thank god i can feel my skin right now and you hold my weak little hand in your hand and then you flip it over so you can read my palm and you're smiling while you run fingertips over lines and read out my fate like it says here you like a good grillcheese sandwich and admit it you make salads by buying the pre-made spring mix and i have all your astrology shit memorized and i read your horoscope first when i'm checking my own even-though-i-don't-believe-in-it (but just in case) and i want to kiss you just to watch the blush spread in a tulip from under your freckles in that way it does, how you pull back and wrinkle your nose in laughter

thank god but today for the first time in a month i finally texted my friends back and actually made plans to hang out (how's that! barring disaster!) and i let my dog put his big muddy paws on my nice sweater and yeah actually when it's bad i always think i can't do that again. i can't crawl back up that mountain

but the sun touched me on the face this morning and we had a nice long talk about it and i said i gotta go the long way again huh and she nodded and shook back her solarflare hair and looked over to her moon girlfriend and she said you can do it. better things on the horizon.

[steddieas-shegoes]

always you

wanted to wish @rozzieroos a very happy birthday! you've been so supportive of me since the beginning and it makes a world of difference to someone who is always just a bit nervous to share the things they write. i am unfortunately not a very crafty bitch, so i can't return the friendship bracelet favor right now, but i hope this is a nice little sappy gift for ya! sending you big hugs and all my love 💕 - mickala

rated t | 1,324 words | no cw | tags: fluff, established relationship, the most miniscule hurt and almost entirely comfort, boys in love, side platonic stobin stuff but robin isn't technically there

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

Steve always had an adrenaline crash after a visit from Robin. The first time it happened, Eddie was convinced they would have to move to Boston just so Steve could get out of the funk. Luckily, they figured out what to do after a couple of days.

And every time it's happened since, they manage to get him out of it pretty quickly.

But this time seemed worse, and Eddie wasn't sure why.

As far as he could tell, everything about the visit was normal. Robin came for a long weekend, they all went to dinner together the first night, Eddie had to work on Saturday so Steve and Robin had their fun together. Sunday, they all went to brunch together before dropping her off at the airport.

And Steve was fine! That evening he was cooking dinner and dancing to music while Eddie wrote some notes for a campaign he was running with work buddies. They ate together and Eddie did the dishes while Steve went through his nightly routine of locking up.

They even gave each other blowjobs in the shower.

But this morning, as soon as Eddie opened his eyes and smelled the bleach, he knew it was bad.

He sat up and looked out the open bedroom door.

"Fuck."

He got up quickly, throwing on the closest pair of pants he could find, probably Steve's since they felt baggier than his own, and made his way down the hall to the bathroom.

Steve was on his knees, scrubbing the shower like it personally offended him.

"Hey sweetheart, everything okay?" He asked hesitantly.

"Fine," Steve answered, clearly very far from fine.

Eddie sighed and sat on the closed toilet lid. "Stevie, it's okay if you wanna have a sad day. I know it's hard when Robin goes back home. I'm off today so we can just relax in bed if you want."

Eddie would never tell Steve that the reason he was off was because as soon as he knew when Robin was going back home, he'd requested the day off to be here for Steve.

"I don't need a sad day. I'm fine."

"Yeah, that's why you've scrubbed the shower until it's literally sparkling at way too early in the morning," Eddie reached out and covered his shoulder. "It's okay to miss her. I know it's hard."

Steve stopped scrubbing.

Eddie prepared for what was likely to be a very ugly and loud sob.

Steve turned to him with his lips quivering and eyes watery.

"Oh, sweetheart," Eddie said as he got on the floor with Steve and pulled him into his lap. "It's gonna be alright. We're gonna visit her next month, remember?"

"I know," Steve said against his shoulder, voice wobbling like he was still holding back tears. "I just don't wanna keep doing this."

"What?"

"I hate being so far from her. We were supposed to live close enough to see each other every weekend and have sleepovers and now she's in Boston with her girlfriend who is amazing, and I'm here with you and you're amazing, but I miss her. And I know she misses me." Eddie could feel tears soaking his shirt. "And it's stupid that we're so codependent still, and I feel bad that you probably feel like you're not enough."

"Sweetheart, I don't ever feel that way. I've never felt that way. Have I made you feel like I feel that way?" Eddie tightened his grip around Steve.

"No, not really," Steve shrugged. "It's just I know we're a lot. And I know it sometimes probably seems like I need her more than I need you, but I don't."

"Sweetheart, I know that." Eddie kissed the top of his head and smiled. "You're a package deal. I knew that the moment you kissed me in the hospital room. I was getting Steve and his platonic soulmate Robin, or I wasn't getting Steve at all. I know how important she is to you. Don't you think she's important to me too?"

"I guess," Steve shrugged again, sniffling against Eddie's shirt.

"Well, how could she not be? She helped make sure you stayed safe before I was there to protect you. She knows exactly what to do when you have nightmares, taught me everything she could so I could be there for you. She sends me tapes she thinks I'll like when she sends you care packages. She was the second person I ever came out to! "

"Wait, I thought I was the second person you came out to."

"You were the third. She was a practice run when I saw her staring at the young nurse who checked my vitals the day I woke up. She's the one who told me I should tell you," Eddie nudged him away for a moment so he could look down at him. "I wouldn't be on this floor with you five years later if not for her. She's kinda important to me."

"I just hate that I get like this!" Steve finally said. "I hate that this happens every time. It's not fair to you."

"Love, it's okay. I know how to help." Eddie kissed his forehead. "Go ahead and wash your hands and go get back in bed. I'm gonna grab a book and we're gonna cuddle for a bit."

"But-"

"And then!" Eddie continued, louder. "We'll get pizza delivered for lunch even though we shouldn't. We'll call Robin. We'll take a bath. I'll wash your hair. I'll make us that roasted chicken stuff you like for dinner. It'll be perfect."

"Okay."

"And then-"

"There's more?" Eddie could hear the smirk in Steve's voice even though he'd buried his face against his neck again.

"Of course there's more." Eddie poked his side. "And then we're gonna start talking about moving closer to Boston so we can visit her more than three times a year."

"Eds, we can't afford Boston."

"I know. But we can afford New England if we find the right spots. We'll have her send us some ads for places for rent. I can transfer within the company. You're a teacher, you can work anywhere."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It is so easy. Making you happy is the easiest thing I'll ever do."

"But you have to be happy too."

"I will be. You wanna know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I'll still have you. And let's be honest, it's way more likely that one of the New England states is gonna let us get married before fucking Illinois."

Steve chuckled. "Married? Who said anything about getting married?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention? I planned on spending the rest of my life with you."

"I know that, goofball." Steve let out another genuine laugh. "I just didn't think you'd ever wanna actually get the law involved if they ever let us."

"Steven, I don't involve the law, the law involves me."

"I don't think that's how it works, babe," Steve kissed his neck before pulling away. "I think all that sounds nice though."

"Then hop to it, Harrington! We've got a bed to get back into."

Once they settled in their bed, Steve curled into Eddie's side while he opened the book they'd been reading for a week now, he looked up at Eddie with a soft smile.

"I love you a lot, you know?"

"I know, angel. I love you a lot more," Eddie replied, leaning down to kiss his lips softly.

They'd spend the day exactly as Eddie said they would.

They'd find a place only two hours from Robin and move less than a month later.

They'd get married as soon as it was legal for them to do it.

They rescued a dog.

They even adopted twins.

And every single time Steve wanted to see Robin, they packed up the car and went to visit her.

Because Steve had Eddie, and Eddie had Steve, but they both had Robin.

[itsbubbleteataro]

Heloo! :D I saw your request are open so i decided to send one! what would be Sunday's reaction to a Furina!s/o? If that's a tad bit confusing, can you do Sunday's reaction to his s/o performing Sinners Finale (Furina's execution song) and the execution if you're feeling angsty :3 (You dont need to add that part if you dont want to) SORRY FOR MY BAD ENGLISH IM REALLY BAD AT EXPLAINING

can i be 🤸 anon pls :3

-🤸

You bet you can! Sorry 🤸 if it's not as you'd like but I did have a lot of fun writing about it. I kept some elements that I really enjoyed and found some nice music to listen to in the prosess. I had a lot of fun brainstorming in a cafe with some coffee!

Sorry about my posting being all over the place, moving across the country in the next few months will keep one busy! Anyways heads up this will pull at the heart strings,

Without anymore stalling, I present

La Danse du Chagrin

"Long, long ago, on a small planet named La Sec, a tradition old as the aeons persisted. Every 500 years a lottery was to be held. The winner is said to preform a dance so wonderful that the skies themselves weep and bring this dry and starved planet the water it desires"

You've told this story to Sunday as many times as he asked. Every time he seemed more and more enthralled within the sad story.

The very same story you told him when he first found you, one of of his many trips outside of Penacony.

He saw you dancing for the very first time, a style he wasn't familiar with at first. You lived gracefully, going up en point as if it were as easy as breathing.

The two of you met when he went to extend an invitation, to invite you to dance for the dreamscape. You soon became one of the more popular shows to go to when Robin wasn't present.

It was just after one of your shows, you and Sunday were in your dressing room. Him away from the public eye, watching you make yourself perfect before your next performance.

Sunday's always liked that about you, how your always perfect when you dance, as well as when you dress for the day or for the stage.

A bloodhound knocks on the door to the dressing room, prompting Sunday to get up and answer it as you were busy making sure your hair was perfect. Sunday was handed a note, addressed to you. He passed it along, setting it down on your table while he took his seat again.

Carefully you opened it, taking the note in hand and reading it. You bit your lip, keeping as stoic an expression as you could muster.

"Well my dear dove, it seems we have a show to attend in La Sec. I do hope you will come watch me dance, they did personally invite me too"

You said as you stood up, turning to face him. In hand your point shoes. In the other a red tambourine with matching velvet ribbons tied to it. Your dress a silky white with blood red accents.

"By of course my dear, it seems we are to depart?"

You nodded your head and walked side by side with him.

----

Arriving home was just like you expected. Dry, the earth cracked and starved for water. You took Sunday to Palace d'ear. A grand palace with many a room and beautiful gardens made of stones instead of lush greens. Inside tall ceilings with paintings.

Sunday looked at the paintings, filled with beautiful dancers, tales of woe and sorrow. Some of excutions.

The two of you walked on, further and further. You directed Sunday to a stage, and had him sit in the audience, while you went off to speak with an official.

------

It had been about an hour, he noticed a spinning blue sword above the stage, he figured it was just an effect. After all, it is a stage.

He blinked as he looked at you, then, the music started to play.

He watched you dance both your and his favorite solo, La Esmeralda Finale .

Your white dress swirled around you as you danced, your pristine point shoes matching your skin as always. Your hair half up and half down. Sunday always lived watching you dance.

The music ended as you held your final pose. As Sunday stood clap, the blue sword he saw beforehand stopped spinning, and came crashing down with a thunk.

Your dress was stained red, like the bow in your hair.

His eyes, wide in horror. No one had explained the sacrifice to him.

He bolted to the stage when he could, cradling what was left of you as he watched your body turn to little blue droplets and head into the sky.

Your bloodied point shoes, held close to his chest as it started to rain outside.

Oh what a terrible day for rain.

He clutched your beloved shoes close to his heart. He started to sob.

First he was robbed of his sister, now of his beloved? How the world was cruel to him.

He stayed long past the crowd leaving, gathering up your belongings to take them back to his home, your home.

Sunday never went to a ballet again, it wasn't the same.

How he wished he could have watched you keep dancing on for him

[lexirosewrites]

Just thinking about what if Bandaids Steve really did quit his job after the fiasco with Eddie and Wayne and just left town?? Eddie beside himself with worry bc he can't find Steve anywhere and Robin nor anyone at the hospital will tell him where he went. Eddie's just so mad at both himself and Wayne for dropping the ball so badly and costing him the person he thought was going to to be his, but he forgot to let in on the loop. Maybe Eddie eventually tracks him down at his new job and town, and woos him the way he should have in the first place, never letting him doubt his intentions or leaving room for misunderstanding.

Now here's an angstier alternative! Steve goes into a serious drop and case of rejection sickness after the incident with Wayne and ends up in the hospital. Like it's so bad after that and everything else he has been through that there were serious concerns about whether he would make it bc he had no pack or anyone he felt he could lean on. Cue Eddie being called frantically by Robin or Chrissy and him rushing to the hospital to see the consequences of his actions and lack of action. Seeing his love on the cusp of death and giving in bc he doesn't think he has anything left for him. Imagine Eddie's heartbreak and resolve to fix things if Steve would just wake up😈 what are your thoughts and opinions on these painful scenarios? I'd love to know!! Love your work btw, it's one of the things that keep me going lol

a part of me always debated whether to put more heavy angst in “Bandaids” but since i labeled it as one of my cozier reads (yeah, i know it’s still angry, but it’s less angsty than some of the others), i didn’t want to bait and switch everyone with more than the planned miscommunication. trust me, i reeeeaaaallllyyy wanted to make it worse like this. i love the drawn out pain and heart ache that comes with steve feeling like he’s worthless and eddie realizing that he caused that!!! i might even say that i live for that angst because it’s a fucking rush. but i chose peace. it would’ve been so much fun to draw it out and make eddie earn back what he lost by not being upfront though👉👈

(also thank you so much for submitting this because as of saturday night when i normally set my queue, this is the only slick sunday ask i received… and i didn’t want to be all sad and admit that nobody participated this week)

[ladykailitha]

Not All That Glitters is Gold Part 3

Happy New Year to all those that celebrate on Jan 1st! I didn't get as much writing done as I wanted during my break because my son brought home the flu and I've been sick for most of the winter break.

That said, I still have a backlog of at least a dozen chapters spread out among my WIPs.

I will still be posting Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursday just nothing will have a set day. Meaning you might get this story on a Tuesday one week, and Thursday the next. So on and so forth.

In this chapter I get heavily into gender dynamics and how sexuality would work with second genders.

Part 1 Part 2

***

Steve slid into bed with a sigh of relief. His scent permeated the bedding sending out a calming signal to both him and the alpha. He wrapped himself around the alpha and felt as he began to come out of the tranquilizer.

Dillon hummed happily. “You smell good.”

Steve chirped in response, rubbing his nose on Dillon’s scent gland. Again he sighed in relief. The actor’s scent was coming through. Weakly, but it was there. It was a dark woody scent. Like a forest after the rain.

“I’m going to take care of you, alpha,” Steve purred. “Make you feel so good.”

Dillon pounced on him and he laughed. “So eager. Take it slow, you’ve got plenty of time, sweetie.”

Steve ran his fingers up and down Dillon’s spine, causing the man to arch into his touch.

“Does that feel good?”

Dillon nodded, biting his lip.

“You don’t have to keep quiet, alpha,” Steve murmured. “No one is here to hear you but me.”

Dillon hung his head. “You don’t mind if make noise?”

Steve kissed his nose. “Did they make you keep quiet when they forced you to have sex with other alphas?”

He nodded, tears streaming down his face.

“Don’t worry,” Steve said. “You’re safe here. No one knows this address outside of Starcourt Services.”

Dillon closed his eyes and let Steve take care of him.

Over the course of the next three days, Steve found out that Dillon’s guilty pleasure was fruit leather. Not the overly processed kids stuff, but the locally sourced fruit snacks.

Steve practically cheered. It wasn’t protein bars, but it was something. He also found that Dillon would drink the shakes if Steve gave them to him, but wouldn’t chose them on his own.

By the time Dillon’s rut was over, Steve had really gotten to know him and was a little sad to see him go.

He wasn’t even told where Dillon would be going, but he knew it was for the best.

Steve showered and was dressed before Robin came back.

“Thankfully his rut didn’t last too long,” she said pulling up his schedule on his tablet, “you’ll have two days to do whatever before the charity ball for the New Yorker.”

Steve sighed in relief. “Thank god for that. First ruts are so hard.”

Robin nodded. “And it’s so rare for Starcourt to do them at all with the whole legality of it usually being alpha usually being fourteen to seventeen years old when they get their first.”

Steve sighed. “That too.”

Robin got a notification on her phone. When she checked it, she laughed.

“I just got something to absolutely make your day,” she said with a giggle.

Steve raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Tommy’s last rut servicing hit him with a mini-heat. He’s out of the game for the gala.”

Steve winced in sympathy. “Better him than me.”

Robin laughed again. “That’s why you have me, babe. If the alpha has a history of blocker breaking, they have to do a lot to convince me to let you service them. Starcourt has a perfect record of whisking away omegas that have gone into a heat as a side effect of the servicing, but I’m not willing to take that chance with you.”

“And that’s why all the other omegas are jealous you’re my handler,” Steve grinned.

“Damn straight.”

They high-fived.

“So what are your plans for today?” Robin asked, putting away her phone.

“Pedro is coming in today for a final fitting for the tux,” he told her and she added it to his schedule.

“I’ll find out the exact time and get back to you,” she said.

“Then I’m having dinner with Max and Lucas,” Steve continued. “They just got into town this morning and wanted to meet up while they had time.”

“How goes Lucas’s law suit?” Robin asked, adding it to the schedule.

“They think it’s about to burst the NBA wide open,” Steve said with a devilish grin.

She grinned back. “It’s absolutely ridiculous to have six different sports leagues.”

Steve nodded. “Even the division between beta teams is dumb. But they’re working on one problem at a time. Get it down to two and then work on destroying first gender bullshittery.”

Robin nodded. “It’s especially stupid because that’s how it is handled in high school. If schools can handle the raging hormones of presenting athletes then professional teams can handle level headed adults on scent suppressants.”

Steve nodded back. “That’s their argument.”

“Good luck to them.”

“And then I plan on doing some shopping,” Steve finished. “Dillon’s rut depleted my stock more than I would have liked.”

Robin winched. “Well, at least your next servicing isn’t until the end of next week.”

He nodded again. “I’ve been messaging the alpha couple, they seem sweet.”

Robin rolled her eyes. “I am so grateful to be a lesbian to first and secondary genders.”

“There are so many sexualities these days it can make one’s head spin,” he lamented. “Are you an alpha that likes alphas but only alphas of the opposite sex and does that make you straight or gay?”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I simplified it to ‘no dicks’, but I know it’s more nuanced than that for a lot of people.”

Steve scoffed. “Like me?” he huffed, flopping on the sofa and crossing his arms. “Bisexual first gender, but I’ve never been attracted to other omegas, so straight secondary gender. And there are a lot of people that would say I’m not queer because I prefer alphas.”

“Yeah,” Robin said. “And I swear it’s getting worse with non-binary and trans people added to the mix, too. And of course the rest of the queer community is thinking they’re safe from the hoopla, when we all know these ass clowns won’t be happy until they’re back to one man and one woman betas.”

“Which has never been a thing,” Steve grumbled. “It’s ridiculous.”

She tapped her tablet. “Anything else?”

He shook his head. “Just when Pedro is coming and my day is set.”

She shot off a quick text and got an immediate response. “He says at eleven. Is that okay?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, that’ll be fine. Gives me time to shop before dinner.”

“Done and dusted,” she said, putting away her phone and tablet. “We still on for platonic soulmate day tomorrow?”

He grinned up at her. “Always. We’re going to binge movies and eat junk food and lament about our love lives all day.”

“I’ll bring over some wine coolers and stuff to make cocktails,” she said.

He hopped up and gave her kiss on the cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

“Have fun with Max and Lucas,” Robin said. “Give them my love.”

“Will do.”

*

Max looked around the fancy restaurant in awe. “I can’t believe you can just walk into a place like this and you instantly get a table.”

Steve barked out a laugh. “It’s not that easy. They had a cancellation and was able to get us in.”

“I bet they canceled the other reservation to give it to you,” Lucas said.

“Ooh...” Max said. “I bet they did, too. Steve Harrington, omega escort to the stars wants a dinner reservation at our restaurant, lets boot some D-list actor so we can have him instead.”

Steve laughed again. “Really, guys. It’s not like that. I’m not some Lonnie Hansen or Roxie, I’m barely a middle of the road escort as far as how much money I make.”

Max and Lucas shared a glance before they broke out laughing.

“Guys!” Steve protested. “I’m serious. There are other escorts that make way more than me.”

Max raised her eyebrow. “Name five other than Lonnie and Roxie.”

Steve counted them out on his fingers. “There’s Nicole Jawara. Koo Sing Ma. Mirabel Diaz. Uh...” He tapped his third finger. “Um...”

“Admit it,” Lucas said. “You can’t think of any more. And the ones you have named? They’ve all been in the business for longer than you and have had time to be higher paid. You rose through the ranks like a shooting star and everyone knows it.”

Steve blushed. “Yeah, okay. I love doing what I do, though.”

“Which is why we’re fighting the NBA about Lucas’s secondary gender. He should be allowed to play in the national league regardless whether he’s an omega or not,” Max said. “As an alpha I can do whatever the hell I want and only mildly looked down on because I’m a woman. But being a male omega makes it hard to do anything outside nurturing jobs.”

“Which I’ve never got,” Steve growled. “They don’t force female omegas into those jobs, just male ones.”

Lucas sighed. “Add to it being black and I’ve been fighting an uphill battle my whole life.”

Steve nodded sympathetically. “Tell me what else is up with you two. Any chance of bonding on the horizon.”

Max scoffed. “As if. We want to get this suit over with first. Then we’ll talk.”

“What about you?” Lucas asked. “Surely there have been alphas that have offered to buy your contract. You could settle down with one. Adopt pups.”

Steve ducked his head. “I’ve had offers. But as...” he huffed trying to find the right word. “Concubines? Sex toys for when their mates are pregnant or nursing. Not actual relationships.”

Max snorted. “I bet Nancy Wheeler tried.”

“Twice,” Steve agreed. “The only thing that would lure me from my job is falling in love with an alpha. And the chances of that happening are slim to none right now.”

Lucas sighed. “It’s because anyone you do meet is just going to want sex, huh?”

Steve nodded. “It’s really frustrating. But that’s why most of my friends are from before I became an escort. It’s just too hard to trust someone now a days. People wanting to be friends only want it for the perks,” he waved around him, “and not because they actually like me. People who want a ‘romantic’ relationship are one of three categories: only in for the sex. Only in for the sex and all the perks that come with being me. Or they want to shame and control me.”

Max and Lucas share a glance and have the decency to look mildly chastised. Because, yeah they used the perks of Steve’s job on more than one occasion.

Steve sighed. “So have you guys seen the latest superhero movie?” he asked, eager to move on.

Max and Lucas took it as the life line it was and starting chatting about what movies they’ve seen.

*

Steve loved his days were it was just him and Robin sans Starcourt business. Where they could just be two lovable goofballs and talk about their love life.

“Vickie is an omega, Steve,” she whined, ripping into her gallon sized bucket of Red Vines. “She’s not going to want to be with someone who can’t help her during her heats.”

Steve scoffed. “I’ve never had an alpha service my heats, and I’m fine. If she cares about you, she’ll use toys and heat aids. And don’t discount the pleasure of your fingers, babe.”

Robin made a gagging sound. “Don’t talk to me about sex, dingus. I don’t think I can handle it.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “It’s literally my job, Robs. Like you can blow me off all you want, but you know you’re not going to get better advice from someone outside the medical field.”

“I hate it when you’re right,” she sighed.

“So you’ll ask her out this weekend?” Steve pressed.

“Yes, Steve,” Robin said, rolling her eyes “while you’re out there looking gorgeous on the arm of Nancy Wheeler, schmoozing it up with the rich people, I will be putting my heart on the line to ask a really cute girl out on a date.”

He kissed her cheek and stayed in her space. “And then when she says yes and you two are making out on her sofa, spare a thought for your poor single platonic soulmate who was soooo right.”

Robin pushed him away from her. “God, you are such an ass.”

“Yes, but it has been praised by many an alpha,” he teased, “so I love flaunting it.”

Robin threw her Red Vine at him.

He took a huge bite out of it and then grimaced. “I don’t’ know how you can stand eating these things. I think they taste like soap.”

“Just because your tastebuds are out of wack,” Robin said, snatching it away from him and munching on it, “doesn’t mean the rest of us should be forced to eat those tasteless sticks called Twizzlers.”

Steve pouted. “But I like the chocolate ones.”

“Further proof of your lack of taste, dingus,” she said. “It just means that this,” she held up her bucket, “is all mine.”

He just shook his head and grabbed the remote. “It’s a vampire romance, you ready for this?”

“Hell yeah!”

***

Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

The Red Vine vs Twizzler debate was something that me and my best friend argued for years. And yes there was a period of time when Red Vines tasted like soap. They don't anymore, thankfully. But they did.

The TV show they are watching is "The Scholar That Walks By Night" a Korean drama my sister is obsessed with.

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @lexirosewrites @goodolefashionedloverboi @messrs-weasley @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @littlewildflowerkitten @vecnuthy @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @genderless-spoon @yikes-a-bee @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @irregular-child @nburkhardt @apomaro-mellow @yellowdevilkitten @lingeringmirth @rememberthatiloveyou @demolvr @ellietheasexylibrarian @slowandsteddie @mangoinacan13

[dccomicsimagines]

Bruce’s Birthday - Batfamily Imagine

Requested by Anon - Can I get a birthday with Bruce and the batsibling!reader? Batkids mayhem please

***

Cass peered down at Bruce from her place in the rafters. Below was the Gotham Children’s Charity gala. People in fancy, flashy clothes, milling around. She heard the annoying murmurs of gossip and fake personas. 

Bruce’s shoulders held an unfamiliar tension. She tilted her head. His lips pressed together as he made small talk with a few businessmen. She swore she saw a sadness that felt unknown to her. 

“Cass, you promised you wouldn’t hide up here,” Tim said. He juggled a plate of food in one hand as he shuffled on the rafter to her side. Cass took the plate and helped herself to some baked brie.  

“Watching.” She looked back at Bruce who was now moving through the crowd toward Selina, who had just entered in a sparkly red dress. Cass smiled, noting Bruce seemed happier, but the sadness was still there. Hidden, but barely.

“Yeah, it’s quite a bore this year.” Tim swung his legs as he settled down beside her. He took a grape from the plate. “I wondered if we should have set up Two Face to rob the place or something?”

Cass looked at Tim, narrowing her eyes. “Bad joke.” She turned back to Bruce to find him whispering in Selina’s ear. “Bruce is sad.”

Tim followed her gaze. He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“He’s sad. He hides it, but it’s stays.” Cass gave Tim the plate and wrapped her arms around herself. The simple black dress was comfortable, but she missed her pajamas. After discovering how comfortable they were, she would only change out of them after being bribed with the promise of more cozy pjs. She was on her twelfth set now.

“Well, his birthday is coming up. He always gets sad around this time. It’s probably because of (Y/N).” Tim took a bite of the baked brie, groaning at the taste. 

"(Y/N)?" Cass blinked. She remembered Alfred and Dick mentioning you in stories about Dick’s early Robin days. You were Bruce's oldest child. Apparently, you haven't been home in almost seven years.

"Yeah, they used to make a big deal out of it." Tim chuckled. "Dick told me about it. I wanted to try to do what they did, but...I think it will just make him sad that they won't come home."

"Why?" Cass studied Tim, noting how he wouldn't look her in the eye.

Tim pursed his lips. "I don't know why actually. Dick won't talk about it, neither will Alfred. Must have been a big deal though."

Cass looked back at Bruce. He was staring at the far wall, not really seeing anything. She tapped her chin as an idea slowly began to form in her head.

***

Dick was just settling down on his couch with a bowl of popcorn in hand and Barbara next to him when Cass suddenly climbed out from under the coffee table. He almost spilled the popcorn, but Barbara caught it.

"I knew she was there," Barbara laughed, reaching up to close Dick's jaw. She offered popcorn to Cass.

Cass' eyes brightened as she helped herself and sat cross-legged on the coffee table. "Thank you."

Dick's heart calmed. He chuckled to himself. "What brings you here, Cassie? You don't normally come to Bludhaven unannounced?"

Cass tilted her head, studying Dick with a carefulness that made his hair stand on end. "Bruce’s birthday."

"Yes, it’s next Sunday." Barbara sighed, muting the TV when a loud commercial started to play. "Do you need help finding something for Bruce?"

Cass nodded. She suddenly stood up and walked over to the wall. Dick leaned over, frowning slightly when she picked up the picture of you, him, and Bruce. It had been taken a year after Dick arrived in the manor. The three of you were in Alfred's garden, helping him tend it as punishment for breaking yet another vase.

"That's an old picture," Dick said after Cass held it out to him. "I think Bruce probably has that one."

Cass shook her head and pointed to you. You were so young, so bright eyed. Dick missed you so much that his heart shattered into pieces.

"That's (Y/N). You know about them, Cass," Barbara said after Dick couldn't get himself to speak.

"Bruce is sad. Misses (Y/N)." Cass pointed at you again. "We find (Y/N)."

"No, we can't do that. (Y/N) doesn't want to talk to Bruce." Dick swallowed past the lump in his throat.

Barbara eyed Dick curiously. "So you know where they are?"

Dick's eyes widened. He suddenly realized he might as well be in a viper's den. Cass leaned closer, narrowing her eyes.

"Fine, I do. (Y/N) didn't cut me out of their life. Jay probably knows too. I made sure to reintroduce him once he...got better." The blood ran out of Dick’s face as he found his phone was suddenly in Cass's hands.

"Cass, no." Barbara held her hand out for the phone. "I love you want to help Bruce, but what happened between (Y/N) and Bruce is between them."

Cass shook her head. "How long will they hurt each other?" She looked at Dick's phone before carefully handing it to Barbara.

Dick frowned. He wondered if maybe he should intervene? Seven years had been long enough. Eventually it would be too late for you and Bruce.

He tucked his phone back in his pocket. Now wasn’t the time to revisit the past. He wrapped his arm around Barbara’s shoulders.

“Cass, you aren’t staying?” Barbara asked. Dick blinked, finding Cass by the window.

“No, enjoy your night.” She opened it swiftly and leaped out into the night. Dick hummed, turning to share a look with Barbara.

“I should be worried, shouldn’t I?” Dick bit his lip when Barbara shrugged. 

“Everything will be fine. Now Hunk-Wonder, start the movie.” She leaned forward, kissing him. All thoughts of you and Cass left his mind.

***

You paced your office at the D.E.O. “I don’t care what you have to do. Kill the project. We don’t mess with Gotham,” you snapped into your phone. The agent on the other end stammered. “No, cut it off now or I’ll be down there and you don’t want me down there.”

The agent sighed. “Yes, chief.” You hung up the phone, slamming it on your desk. Taking a deep breath, you tried to calm down. 

“Fuck me.” You collapsed in your office chair and spun around to look out your window. It was the Gotham skyline. You snorted. It was missing the smog. Mister Bones thought it was funny to give you a Gotham projection on your fake window. You might have to slip him another exploding cigar again.

Your heart panged, but you pushed it away and turned back to your desk. There were files to look through, memos to send, mission to approve. You rubbed your eyes, wishing you could go home to your apartment. Maybe call the number that person in the bar gave you last weekend? 

However, you shook your head and opened the first file. In the corner of your eye, you noticed the date. A lump formed in your throat, but you swallowed past it and focused on the task at hand.

***

The manor library was quiet. Cass’ eyes were on the door as it swung open and Tim walked in. He was consumed by his tablet.

“Tim,” Cass said as she dropped down from the top shelf of the bookshelf and landed silently behind him. 

Tim flinched, almost dropping his tablet. “Geez, Cass.” He let out a shaky breath, pressing a hand against his chest. 

“Bruce’s birthday is in three days.” She held up three fingers. “We need to get (Y/N) here.”

“You’re still on that, huh?” Tim ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. It’s not a matter we should meddle with. Have you talked to Dick?”

Cass nodded. “He will not help, but I got their number.” She tapped her temple. “We find (Y/N) and bring them here. For Bruce.”

Tim pursed his lips. “Like kidnap them? (Y/N) was pretty much a badass. Even if we get them here, then what?” He reached out and put a hand on Cass’ shoulder. “We can’t make them get along. Do you even know why they fought?”

“No, but it doesn’t matter.” Cass brushed Tim away. “Time is short, life is short. We make this happen because we are family.”

A big sigh escaped Tim. Cass smiled, knowing she won. “Okay, okay. I’ll help, but this was your idea. If this blows up, it’s all your fault,” Tim said, handing Cass his tablet. “Type in their number, let’s see what we can find.”

Cass wanted to dance. She knew this would a birthday Bruce would never forget.

***

You knew something was wrong from the moment you stepped into your apartment. Carefully setting down your keys and bag of takeout on the side table, you pulled out your collapsed baton and flipped it to it’s full length. 

A breeze blew through the window. You raised an eyebrow. “Dick? Jason?” You called, turning the corner to your kitchen quickly only to find no one there. Goosebumps rose on your skin as you heard a creak down in your bedroom. 

You moved silently down the hall. A sharp breath gasped behind you. You spun, aiming the baton to hit the person in the face. “Ouch, my nose,” a boy in a Robin suit said, stumbling back and holding his face.

“Why the fuck are you in my house?” You kicked his feet out from under him and held him down with a foot on his throat. He was young, dark hair. Standard Robin. Racking your brain, you tried to remember what his name was. Dick mentioned him once or twice. “Tim, right?”

“Yeah, nice to meet you.” He gripped your ankle. “Can you get off?”

“You didn’t answer my question.” A soft almost silent thump came from behind you. You raised your hand and caught a fist that shot out of the darkness next to you. “Batgirl?”

“Yes.” She stepped out into the light. You took in her in. She was little, but strong. Her face hidden by her mask completely. “We’re here because of Bruce.”

Your heart skipped a beat. You removed your foot from Tim’s neck and stepped back to eye the new Batgirl. What was her name? Jason mentioned she was the daughter of David Cain. Trained to be the ultimate living weapon, but she chose her own path. Cass? That was what he called her?

She helped Tim up. You threw him a box of tissues for his nose. “What does D...Bruce want?” Your gut twisted at the slip. You made yourself stop calling him Dad years ago. It made it less painful.

“Bruce is sick,” Cass said, tilting her head. The look that Tim gave her left you doubting it. 

“And that has to do with me because?” You turned your back on them and went to grab your food by the door. The two followed you to the kitchen as you got out a plate. After a moment, you grabbed two more. 

“He misses you,” Tim said. His nose made him sound stuffed up. You took out an ice pack from your freezer and handed it to him. He gave you a bloody smile, pressing it to his face. 

“Right.” You opened containers, splitting food among the three plates. Luckily, you always bought more than you could eat. Leftovers were must with the D.E.O demanding schedule.

“He does.” Cass took a seat, pulling off her mask. You paused, noting she looked very much like Lady Shiva. Now it all made sense. “You need to come to him.”

You set plates in front of them. “How did you even find out where I live? Or anything about me for that matter?”

Tim and Cass shared a look. 

“I’m going to kill Dick,” you muttered under your breath. “What do you want to drink?” You dug into your fridge. 

“Thanks,” Tim said as he happily took a can of soda. Cass stayed with water. You joined them with your own drink.

“Thank you for feeding us.” Cass’ voice was so soft. You smiled at her. 

“Well, you are family, I guess.” You watched as Tim happily dug into his plate. “Bruce is always picking up new kids.”

Cass frowned, ignoring the food. “You’re angry.”

You took a bite of your food. “At Bruce, I was. Now I’m just...over it.” You shrugged. “He’s going to be him. Nothing I can do about it.”

“He is stubborn. Runs in the family.” Tim took a sip of his soda, smirking when you glared at him. “Alfred said it, not me.”

Alfred’s name made your heart ache. You needed to call him more often. “Yeah, I see you’ve taken to the role of annoying kid siblings very nicely. Dick must be feeling the karma now.” You laughed. “He’s the worst. Always messing with me.”

“Dick didn’t tell us where you were, we found you on our own.” Cass poked at the food on the plate, wrinkling her nose slightly. “Bruce’s birthday is tomorrow.”

You sighed, pushing your plate away as your stomach soured. “I know.”

“Come.” Cass reached out to touch your hand. 

“It’s not that simple.” You flinched away from her. Tim glanced between the two of you, eyes wide. “Some things you can’t come back from.”

“Why?” Cass tilted her head.

You stood up suddenly, taking your plate to the counter. “He wished I’d never been born. Said I was a mistake. I told him he should have died in the alley with his parents.” You winced at the sharp intakes of breath behind you. “But it’s fine.”

“You’re tired.” Her chair scraped and suddenly she was beside you. “You hurt. Bruce hurts too. It’s time to forgive.”

Your temper flared, but you let out a slow breath to cool it. “Why does it matter so much to you?” 

Cass swallowed hard. “Bruce needs you. He isn’t...whole.” She pressed a hand against her chest. “I know people who have regrets because they let things fester. I don’t want that for our family. Jason has made amends, now you should.”

“Well, Jay always needed Bruce. Even when he was younger.” You pursed your lips. Jason craved Bruce’s attention more than anything. Still did. You remembered being jealous, but it gave you time to pursue your own interests without Bruce noticing. “I don’t care.”

“(Y/N), I know it’s not my place and I just met you today, but you’re basically like my sibling with how much Alfred and Dick talk about you,” Tim said. You turned to look at him. He played with his fork, not meeting your eye. “I lost my mom and dad. I wish every day that I could tell them I love them one last time. Bruce isn’t getting younger and things are getting more dangerous...well, I think you don’t want to regret not reaching out or at least trying, right?” 

You sighed. Cass nudged your arm. You glanced between the two of them. “Fine.” 

Cass smiled, eyes lightening up. “Really?” Tim dropped his fork in surprise.

“I’ll go, but don’t get your hopes up. Bruce is still a stubborn pig.” You rolled your eyes as Cass suddenly hugged you. You blinked at the touch before gently patting her back. Tim hesitated, but you opened your other arm and let him join too. “For what it’s worth, it was nice to meet you two at last either way.”

“Ditto.” Tim grinned. Cass just buried her face deeper into your shoulder.

***

Bruce rolled his eyes at the sound of clattering in the kitchen. “Alfred wouldn’t be happy to find you in here,” he said as he opened the door to find Dick, Tim, Barbara, and Stephanie in the middle of attempting to make breakfast.

Dick and Tim were covered in flour. Barbara was by the stove, frying what looked to be turkey bacon. Steph happily chopped fruit. 

Bruce noticed the swelling around Tim’s nose. He made a note to ask him about it later.

“Alfred asked us to help,” Dick said, pushing Tim away from him. Tim laughed, grabbing a towel to try to clean up. 

“He did?” Bruce raised an eyebrow. 

“Alfred is having tea with a guest out in the garden. He wanted you to join him once you woke up,” Barbara said, rolling her eyes at Dick and Tim. 

“Don’t worry. It’s not Selina.” Steph smirked as she ate a piece of banana. Bruce narrowed his eyes at her, but she just laughed. 

Bruce hummed. “Alright. Barbara, don’t let the boys near the stove.” He walked out with the sound of Dick and Tim’s protests behind him. A rare smile tugged at his lips. 

For the one hundredth time today, he missed you. He imagined you would have been in the kitchen, keeping Dick and Tim out of trouble while baking your special birthday breakfast that only you could make. His heart ached. Why did he push you away when he should have been pulling you close?

Cass was waiting by the doors to the garden. She skipped up to him and kissed his cheek. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” He smiled, frowning at the glee hidden in her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Alfred’s waiting.” She gave him a quick hug and ran off. 

Bruce stepped out into the garden. He walked the path toward the place Alfred always had tea. Laughter reached his ears as he approached. He stopped just before the final corner, listening.

“That cannot be true. You must be pulling my leg,” Alfred said, chuckling in a way Bruce hadn’t heard in a long time. “They can’t have created a Superman musical.”

“Yep, it’s all the hype in NYC right now. Apparently, it got nominated for a few Tonys.” Bruce’s heart stopped. That voice. Could it be? Bruce peeked around the corner. “I think one of the songs goes like ‘Superman, he flies as much as he sings. Superman, he does all the things.’ Honestly, it’s stuck in my head,” you laughed hard. You were older, more mature.  A lump formed in his throat. His little baby grew up.

Alfred shook his head. “Unbelievable what the theater has become.” 

“I’ll get you tickets next time you’re in town,” you said, picking up your tea cup. 

Alfred clicked his tongue, standing up. “I’m happy you are finally home, Mx. (Y/N).” He poured another cup of tea in the third cup on the table. “Now I believe it’s time for me to go in and check on the others.”

“I’ll come with...” You stood up, stopping when you turned to meet Bruce’s eye. Bruce almost ducked back around the corner, but stopped himself. 

Alfred patted your shoulder. “You both have much to discuss.” He walked toward Bruce, leaning over to whisper. “Don’t you dare blow this, Master Bruce. I doubt you’ll get another chance.”

Bruce pursed his lips, watching as Alfred left. He hummed, turning back to you when you took a breath. 

“So...” You shoved your hands in your pockets, rocking on your feet like you used to do when you were a child. Bruce felt a smile tug at his lips. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” He approached you slowly. To your credit, you didn’t move away. “(Y/N)...you’ve grown.”

You snorted. “Yeah, that happens after seven years.” 

“I heard you are pretending to work for Broadway,” Bruce said, raising an eyebrow. The Batman in him wanted to interrogate you. The father in him cursed the Batman in this moment. “But you are actually working for the D.E.O.” 

You chuckled, rolling your eyes as you looked over his head at the manor. “Sure, I am. I should have known that would be the first thing you would say.” Bruce could feel you distancing yourself. 

“I...” Bruce sighed. He pressed a hand over his mouth. “I always mess up with you, don’t I?”

Your eyes widened in slight surprise. “Yeah, you do. I suppose you do it to all of us except maybe the new kids. Tim and Cass seem very nice. Maybe a little too intrusive?”

Bruce blinked. He remembered Cass and Tim went off comms last night. Tim’s bruised nose made more sense. You always aimed for noses. A habit he tried to break you of. “They brought you here, didn’t they?”

“Mostly Cass, but Tim was there too.” You shrugged. “They convinced me to come. Cass wanted me here for your birthday because she said you missed me.” 

He blinked. Of course Cass would have noticed that. “That’s true.” Bruce took a step toward you. “So much. I miss your laugh, your smile, the way you make fun of me at every turn.” His chest was heavy with rare emotion. “You’re my child. I loved you since you were first put in my arms.” A lump formed in his throat. “I was angry and I didn’t mean what I said to you all those years ago. I’ve regretted every day since.”

A cloud covered the sun. Your face disappeared in the shadow. A low hum came from you. Bruce wondered if this was how everyone else felt when he responded with only an indecipherable hum. 

The cloud passed. Bruce saw tears in your eyes as the light revealed your face. “I’m sorry too. What I said in return...unforgiveable.”

Bruce opened his arms. “(Y/N), I’m happy you are home.”

You stared at him for a moment and suddenly you were flying into his arms. Breath left Bruce’s lungs. You were bigger and stronger now. “I love you, Dad.” You whispered softly, hiding your face into his shoulder.

“I love you too, my little cookie monster.” Bruce smirked when you scoffed, pulling away to look him in the eye.

“Don’t ever call me that again, old man.” You narrowed your eyes as Bruce laughed, clapping a hand on your shoulder. 

“Sure.” Bruce led you over to the tea table. “Now I want to hear everything.” You tensed, but Bruce held up his hands. “Nothing you don’t want to tell me and I actually prefer if you don’t tell me about the D.E.O.” 

You snorted. “Wow, you have gotten softer. I thought Dick and Jay were lying.” You took a seat and added sugar to Bruce’s tea. Bruce smiled, realizing you remembered how he took his tea.

“We’ll spar later and then you can see how soft I’ve become.” Bruce studied you. When you were younger, Alfred always claimed you looked a lot like Bruce. Bruce never could see it. He always saw your mother, but now, you were definitely his child and he couldn’t be prouder.

***

Cass tittered, watching you and Bruce from a window on the second floor. The two of you were laughing. Her lips pulled up in a big grin.

“How are they doing?” Tim asked suddenly. Cass jumped a little, narrowing her eyes as he laughed. He stepped up beside her to look out the window too. “I’m getting better at sneaking.”

“Better, but not great.” Cass snorted as Tim gasped. She ignored his protests. Bruce’s shoulders relaxed. His jaw loose, smile lines appeared on his face. She sighed.

“What?” Tim asked once he realized Cass wasn’t listening to him. 

Cass looked at Tim, reaching up to touch his bruised nose. Tim winced. “Bruce is happy now.”

Tim looked out the window. He smirked. “Yeah, I think he is.” Cass wrapped her arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder. Both of them kept their eyes on Bruce and you. The family was finally reunited.

[tabr1-s]

hsr 2.3 rant (disguised as yet another sunday rant) ...... i didn't expect to make one for each penacony update but here we go again

(634 words - my shortest one yet!)

so, on one hand... it could've ended worse. we've regained 70 (or 65?) % of penacony's freedom. huzzah!

still feeling highly iffy about the ipc's involvement but because it was expected i'll let it slide. for now.

the ending was definitely rushed, it definitely had a "we don't concretely know how we want to wrap up this story so we'll just wing it" feel to it, but again... alright. whatever. could've been more robust but i'll also let that slide. the hoyo devs were probably waiting for a throwaway update to focus on other things anyway.

but, content wise, i am absolutely terrified of the implication of Robin reaching out to Jade for help with her brother.

we were shown the whole Bonajade exchange shtick when playing as Firefly (also not Jade deadnaming her but ok). initially i took it as Mainly filler content, with an opportunity to show us a bit more about Firefly. cool, yeah, makes sense. but it did also focus on How the exchange worked, and specifically made mention of what people have/had to pay for their exchanges with Jade. now, again, i thought that was just filler content.

but now that i think back to it, Robin's whole demeanour during the quest (maybe i was just seeing things but she seemed significantly more down/tired than before (due to very obvious reasons. i wonder how she's still standing)), Jade meeting Robin before her second negotiations with Alfalfa, and then the Bonajade exchange getting explained to us randomly... that was most likely foreshadowing for the last scene of 2.3.

which brings me back to, again, feeling Unwell over what Robin could've possibly agreed to with Jade concerning the freedom/future of her brother. (also if he's gonna join the ipc - Wholeheartedly fuck him. my beef with them is stronger than my love/hate towards Sunday.)

i don't even Want to begin thinking about what Robin might've exchanged for Jade's sudden interest in Sunday. and it also all seems very unfair - the lengths Robin would go to for her brother when he on the other hand was fine with outright using her to accomplish his goals (again, without even filling her in on What those goals were. i don't care if it was for his concept of the greater good, i am still pissed at him for completely disregarding her opinions on the matter and the Entirety Of Her Free Will As A Person. unironically my blood pressure spiked when i saw him in that last scene, and it certainly wasn't because i was excited. even writing this down gets my blood boiling.).

point is. if Sunday chooses to forsake Robin's love for him again (not him also being surprised that Robin was the reason why Jade reached out to him - like she literally hugged you and fell from the sky with you after your plans failed. don't act surprised that she's not mad at you. (and if the reason why you're surprised is because you don't trust Jade's intentions with her, then SHOW IT DAMN IT. STAND UP FOR HER)) i am going to be Supremely disappointed in him.

and yes, i know he's a fictional character.

but holy shit. i've never seen such an infuriatingly (and, sadly, realistically) stubborn character before.

and, like in my last rant - the sentiment that 'i would personally strangle him if it wasn't for Robin being sad over his death' remains.

anyway. Robin really needs a break. a long break. and to somehow find a good and reliable support system because her brother is not very reliable on that front.

...if i were to express my opinion on the matter.

[louloulemons-posts]

Oil At The Coffee Shop V

Eddie X Fem!Reader

Summary : Someone new comes to work at the shop and you see Eddie again.

Word Count : 2.7k

Warnings : Not proofread, no use of Y/N, petnames, sad eddie, wayne comforts him, cuteness, fluff, more eddie x reader in this part.

Fic Masterlist

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“Oh uh Hi,” you spoke awkwardly, trying not to stare. “Hi,” he grunted, taking a one step back, then fully retreating to his room. “I uh, I think that’s my cue to leave,” you said to Wayne.

“I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right Honey. Thank you for stopping by and for the treats.”

“Thank you for the tea, it was nice seeing you again Mr Mun-,” he gave you a raised brow, “Wayne.”

“You too Honey, I’ll be sure to stop by the shop soon.” You hummed, bidding the man goodnight and went back to your car, only then noticing Eddies van around the back of the trailer.

Well you had tried to make things better, but could only feel like you’d just made them a whole lot worse.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

His body was screaming, his head was too. He ripped the towel off his body, running to his draws to find clothes. Throwing on a pair of sweatpants he paused in front of the mirror.

They were everywhere. Thick pale marks coated his skin, from his neck to his legs. Completely covered, they hadn’t faded in the last year. He let out a sob.

Falling to the floor he felt arms wrap around him, “It’s okay, Wayne’s got you. Ain’t nobody gonna hurt you again, I got you son, I got you,” the man spoke into his curls.

He didn’t know why he was crying. Maybe because she’d seen his ugliness and her face hadn’t changed. There was no malice. No disgust. Just surprise at him being there.

He’d been so cruel. So horrible. Shouted at her. Hurt her feelings. She just wanted to be kind and he pushed her away. Did that make him a monster too?

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Sunday rolled around, the last sunlight of Summer dancing through the windows. Robin had been right, Steve called her this morning inviting her to a barbecue on Tuesday night. Which she happily accepted.

Opening another box, she emptied out more take away coffee cups and lids, taking the back stock to the storage room. The bell on the door rang, “Sorry we’re closed,” you said, walking to the main shop floor.

You smiled at who you came across, “Max! What are you doing here, it’s your day off!” you playfully scolded. “I have someone I want you to meet, this is El. She’s a friend of mine and is looking for a job.”

“Nice to meet you Honey,” you introduced yourself to the curly haired girl with dark ways. “Wait El? Your Hopper and Joyce’s daughter?” She nodded, a small smile on her face. “It’s nice to finally meet you, so do you have any experience?”

“Uh not really, but I’m a quick learner.”

“She’s a good baker, maybe she could help more with the pastries and cakes. Her and Joyce make the best banana bread,” Max told you.

You noticed how the redhead had decided to wear her glasses today - she wasn’t lying when she said her body needed to rest.

“Well if you’re not busy tomorrow, you’re more than welcome to have a trial morning. Me and Max can show you the ropes.”

“I would really like that.”

“Great I’ll see you both at 8am, now go and enjoy the rest of your day,” you ushered them out of the store, hushing Max when she said she’d stay and help with unloading and restocking.

You had to bake a lot today, things that needed to cool over night and be finished tomorrow. Along with changing up the Weekly Special menu, adding your aunts famous Pecan Pie with Maple Ice-cream.

Tying your hair up, you put on your apron and washed your hands. Preparing to bake cakes, and cookies along with many different fruity turnovers (mainly cherry).

Along with that you made some sandwich fillings, like pesto and put some meets into cook. It was a busy, warm and productive day. You knew Callie would be proud, you knew Scotty and the rest of your family would be too.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

When your alarm went off at 6:30 you whined, not wanting to leave the soft comfort of your bed. Pulling yourself up you headed straight to the bathroom, washing your face, and brushing your teeth.

Sliding on a tighter pair of dark slacks, you tucked in your long sleeved white top, rolling the sleeves to your elbows. Tying your hair up and putting on your work shoes.

Taking a punnet of cherries out of the fridge, you headed down to the shop. Switching on the lights, you headed to the kitchen. The ovens were on straight away and you began finishing off what you began the day before.

Shortly after a knock came at the front door, heading it you were greeted by Max and El. “Morning ladies.”

“Morning,” El spoke in a sing song tone.

“Hm,” Max grunted, you’d learnt she didn’t enjoy an early rise.

You also noticed how she wore her glasses again. “Okay, so Max if you could make a start on getting the chairs down and starting up the coffee machine. I’m going to explain to El and show her the basics.”

The red head nodded, yawning into her hand and walked over to the chairs and tables. “Follow me,” you smiled at El. “So here is the kitchen, Max said you’re good at baking so you may become familiar with it very soon.

“People tend to have fruit and warm drinks in the mornings, so savoury you don’t have to worry about until the afternoon. Where I really need you is the counter - helping Max with taking orders and drinks.”

You picked up a finished tray of cookies, and heading back to the front. “You’ll be shadowing Max for today, mainly writing orders and helping her out with coffees and other hot drinks. I’ll show you how to do the cash too.”

After giving the girl a quick run down of what she had to do she smiled. “I think I can do that,” she spoke, her tone very gentle.

“Good, it’ll be great to have you. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I’m just going to finish up in the back, so you can help Max carry on setting up.”

She nodded and walked to her friend, who was labelling cakes. The pair fell into easy conversation, it was nice to see, the only ‘girlfriend’ you’d had was Diane, but she was an in-law, so you didn’t know if it counted.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Monday and Tuesday went around quickly, El did amazing on her training and started full time later on in the week. She wasn’t lying when she said she was a quick learner.

Her and Max worked great together too, you were a bit scared that they’d stand and chat all day, but they were hard workers. You were now headed to Steve’s for his barbecue.

He had said you’d meet his friends again along with some others. Max and El would be there, along with Lucas. You were looking forward to it, but could only assume that Eddie would be there - your stomach turned at the thought.

You understood why he panicked you really did, his scars weren’t anything to be ashamed off. You knew that, they’re healed wounds, but maybe Eddie was still healing from what caused them.

Pulling up to Steve’s you saw Jonathan’s car, along with Steve’s and Vickies. Eddies van nowhere to be seen. Heading to the door you knocked a few times.

“You made it!” Steve said, as he opened the door and gave you a huge hug. “You knew I was coming!” you laughed, allowing him to lead you inside. “Everyone’s out back, I’ll introduce you.”

The garden was full of new faces and familiar ones. Jonathan waved at you, coming over to greet you. “Hey,” he smiled, giving you a hug. “How’s it going?”

“Good how are you settling in?”

“I’ve jumped right into it so it’s great.”

A voice shouted your name, “Hey Robin.”

She came to you, her fingers linked with Vickies. “I wanted to formally introduce you to my wonderful girlfriend, Vickie.”

“Yeah introduce her before you get over the limit of tipsy,” Steve teased.

“Shut up Dingus,” she said, pinching the boys side. “It’s nice to meet you properly,” you said.

“You too, sorry we couldn’t last time. Bambi legs and all,” she motioned to Robin, which made you chuckled. “Hey Steve who’s this?” a curly haired teen asked.

Steve introduced you, “This is Dustin.”

“Nice to meet you,” you said.

“You’re the one everyone’s been talking about!” he exclaimed.

“Dude don’t make her uncomfortable,” Steve nudged him.

“Sorry,” he said, before turning to his friends and shouting, “Guys come here and meet her!” You face flushed slightly, but you calmed when you saw the familiar faces of Max, El and Lucas.

“Hi guys,” you waved to them. They all greeted you back. There were two more boys with them, one slightly familiar and another you were unsure of. “This is Mike,” El said.

Ah Nancy’s brother. “It’s nice to meet you Mike.”

“And you.”

“And this is my Will,” Jonathan spoke from beside you. “Oh my gosh, no way!” you exclaimed. “You’ve gotten so big!”

“It’s been a while,” he laughed shyly.

“Now all the introductions are done, would you like a beer?” he asked.

“Just the one,” you smiled. “I’m just going to say hi to Nancy and Argyle,I’ll come see you guys in a bit,” you said to the younger teens.

“How’s it going guys.” You say down next to Argyle, smiling at the pair. “Babe! It’s so good to see you again,” the boy gave you a smile, his eyes slightly red. “You too,” you smiled and the thoroughly relaxed boy.

“It’s nice to see you,” Nancy spoke.

“You too, oh my gosh I read your article yesterday. It was so interesting!” You had discovered that Nancy was a journalist for the local newspaper.

Jonathan often took the photos that would appear above her pieces, on the side of his own job. Steve plonked himself besides you, handing you a beer and resting his head on your shoulder.

“How’s Scott?” he asked.

“Good.”

“The kids?”

“Good.”

“Missing them?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” you sighed. Letting your head rest on his own.

“They’ll have to come and visit soon, they could all stay here. I have enough room,” he motioned to the large house. “I’ll tell him next time we talk.”

Steve went to continue talking when you heard more greetings being exchanged. “Munson! My man you made it!” Steve smiled, greeting the boy, you’d been so nervous to see.

Dressed in an old band tee, some jeans, a leather jacket. Your stomach flipped but in a very different way that you didn’t understand. You jumped when someone whispered in your ear, “Did you manage to make up?” Max.

“Well I spoke to Wayne. I need to talk to Eddie,” you told her quietly. She nodded and walked away from you, wrapping her arms around the taller boy. “Hey Red,” he smiled, like actually smiled.

He had deep smile lines near his mouth, dimples that sat perfectly on his cheeks, and slight crinkles by his eyes that you knew would result in crows feet as he got older.

It was beautiful.

Sharing greetings with everyone else, he spoke to you, “Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

“How are you?”

“I’m doing good, you?”

“Good.” You nodded and he hummed. It was awkwardly silent.

“Well let’s start grilling,” Steve broke the tension. “I’ll come help,” you said, walking to the house with the boy. “What the hell was that?” he asked, raising his brow.

“What was what?”

“You and Eddie in the garden. What the hell?”

“It was nothing.” You began putting peppers, onions and tomatoes on skewers to make kebabs.

“Oh my god you like him!” You dropped a piece of pepper. “N-no I don’t!”

“Okay you think he’s cute at least and don’t even deny it I saw how goo-goo eyed you went when he was with Max.”

“Oh my god shush.”

“It’s true then.”

“This conversations done, go start the fire you shit head.”

“Okay okay, but we’re talking about this again.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

You were all sat around together, some people on the ground and others on loungers, all happily munching away on delicious food.

“So you’re running the cafe?” Dustin spoke to you. “Yeah, along with Max and now El.”

Everyone smiled at that, proud of the pair of them. “How come you moved here?” he asked, taking a bite out of his food.

“Oh uh,” you began to speak.

“You don’t have to answer that,” Steve said, giving Dustin a stern look. “No it’s okay, I inherited the shop when my Aunt Callie passed, but I could only move recently.”

“Steve said you used to be a decorator.”

“I did. I decorated the whole store with his help.”

“In one week?”

“Mhm.”

“And now two of our friends work with you?”

“They do.”

“Do we get friend discounts?”

“If I say yes will you stop making me feel like I’m being interrogated by Hop?”

“Sure.”

“Then yes, you can have a friend discount.”

“Wicked.” You chuckled at the boy, he had nerve you’d give him that.

Everyone laughed at the interaction between the pair of you and the evening went on. Helping Steve clear up plates and wrap up leftovers you hear and squeal and a splash followed by, “LUCAS!”

“You coming in?” Steve asked, motioning to the water. “Probably not, might just roll up my jeans and dip my feet.”

“Fair enough,” he shrugged, taking a swig of his beer.

You did just that, sliding off your shoes and socks. Rolling up your jeans a few times, you laughed at the younger kids, currently playing chicken in the water. Max on Lucas’ shoulders and Will on Mikes.

Robin and Vickie were lounging away, smiling at one another. Argyle taking a drag of a cigarette that clearly wasn’t just a cigarette. Dustin and Steve stood in the water chatting. El held onto the side, talking to her big brother and his girlfriend.

Everyone seemed so content.

“Hi,” A voice came from behind you. Turning you head you spoke, “Hi.” It was Eddie, he began to get down next to you. “I um … I was just wondering if we could talk?”

“Yeah of course.”

Meeting the ground next to you, he sat with his knees up to his chest. “Before you say anything, I just want to say I’m sorry,” you said quickly, before he got a word out.

“Y-you’re sorry? What on earth for?”

“Well I didn’t mean to offended you, and then I was rude and then I was just at your home.”

“Sweetheart I was a dick to you. I snapped at you just because I felt insecure. You’ve been nothing, but kind and I’ve taken advantage of that. I can only apologise.”

“You have nothing to apologi-“

“Yes I do, and the trailer. I’m sorry I ran away. I just wasn’t expecting you to get there and um … my scars aren’t the nicest thing to see.”

“There’s nothing wrong with them. They’re pretty fucking cool actually. I noticed your tattoos too. How many do you have?” He seemed taken aback by your reply, “Oh uh, I’ve lost count now, when I remember I’ll let you know.”

“I’m thinking of getting one, right here,” you motioned to a space on your upper forearm. “Oh yeah, what would you get?”

“I’m looking for inspiration.”

“It’s where my first one is,” he said.

“Really?” He nodded, pulling his arm out of his jacket. His shirt was long sleeved so he rolled it up slightly so you could see. It was a demonic looking puppet with a hand controlling it.

“Wow that’s so cool,” you said, gently tracing the line work. You could feel the bumps and dips of scaring as you did so. His breath hitched and you met his gaze. Deep chocolate eyes. “Sorry,” you whispered.

“What does it mean?”

“I don’t know. Just thought it was really fucking metal.” You huffed a laugh at that, “It is, fucking metal.”

“Hey Sweetheart?” He said, rolling down his sleeve and tugging his jacket back on.

“Hm?”

“Do you think we could start over?” he asks. You smiled, introducing yourself to him. “I’m Eddie,” he grinned.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

A/N: 👀👀👀

Thank you so much for reading 🤍

taglist : @corrodedseraphine @flawiette @witchwolflea @emxxblog @plk-18 @vintagehellfire

let me know if you want to be added 🤍

[armored-angel4798]

CW: The relationship starts getting a little toxic. A lot of angst.

“Hey Steve, are you and Eddie going to see the Christmas lights this weekend?” One of his coworkers asked as they were running food for the drive thu.

“We haven’t really talked about it.” Steve answered.

They really hadn’t talked about much of anything. They mostly did exactly what they were doing before just with the “it’s actually a date this time.” Sure they’ve had dinner at a restaurant a few times, sure they’ve watched a movie once or twice, but they didn’t talk. It’s almost Christmas they had been together since June and Steve felt alone in this relationship. Matter of fact, Steve had never felt so alone. He knows that it’s his own fault that he feels alone. He had stopped hanging out with almost everyone except Eddie. Not because Eddie made him, no, he just thought that, maybe, if he spent more time with Eddie then he would love him just a little bit. At least enough to actually show Steve instead of sounding like it pained him to say it and making a face when he heard it from Steve.

“Jake is gonna take me Saturday night, you two should come, we can make it a double date!”

He knows Anna means well and is not trying to rub her perfect relationship in Steve’s face but he couldn’t stop feeling like she was. Maybe, maybe if it was a double date Eddie would say he loved Steve without sad expressions and forced tones.

“Yeah, I’ll ask Eddie if he wants to go and let you know later.”

Eddie agreed, begrudgingly. They were going to meet Anna and Jake at 5 Saturday evening and Steve was excited. What could be more romantic than Christmas lights. Maybe it would help Eddie see him the way Steve sees Eddie.

Steve was buzzing with excitement for all of Saturday. He went to work, had a surprisingly good day, and went home to get ready. He was in his favorite forest green sweater and his best jeans that make his ass pop and he settled in on the couch to wait. He waited, and waited, and waited. He waited long enough that his parents got home from work. He checked his phone. No messages. It was 8pm. He didn’t think it was possible. How? Why? He cried. Right there on the couch. He had never been stood up before. It took everything he had to get off of that couch and go in to work the next morning.

His shift that Sunday was with Robin.

“So, how was the double date last night?”

“It, uh, it didn’t happen.”

“It got called off?”

“Uh… something like that.”

“You were so excited!”

“Yeah, but, uh, we didn’t make it.”

“I would think you’re implying something, Steve, if you didn’t look like someone shot your dog.”

“I’m fine. Really, Robin, we just couldn’t make it.”

Steve wasn’t really sure why he couldn’t bring himself to tell Robin the truth. It was embarrassing, but Robin pretty much knew every embarrassing thing about his life, so that couldn’t be it. He settled on the fact that he really didn’t want Robin to be mad at Eddie. Eddie didn’t have a whole lot of friends and he knows that Robin would always take Steve’s side no matter what. The rest of the shift was spent mindlessly taking orders and bagging food as he thought about whether last night was Eddie’s way of ending their relationship or not. Robin kept giving him sad looks like she knew what he wasn’t telling her. Really, everyone on the crew was giving him sad looks. He should’ve known that it wouldn’t stay a secret. The people he works with are such gossips. He just wanted to go home and cry.

2023 realities How the relationship started.

[wingspiked]

hsr spoilers AND SLIGHT LEAKS ment / - on the aftermath and a certain theory.

after jenna sent me a particular twitter thread - have since gone feral.

i know we are all wondering what happened to sunday after the events of the trailblaze quest. i encourage you all to play through the epilogue (go back to the hallway of the grand theater and you will receive a text from robin) - it essentially confirms that he is not dead, but he is injured and very, very lonely and sad. but what happened to him? robin tells us when she awakens that he is no longer there - nowhere to be found. the implication being that he was either taken away - or more than likely absconded himself in misery to lick his wounds.

i think sunday is having a difficult time facing robin - because while ultimately his goals were not... 'wrong' they were just fundamentally flawed. the intentions were good - the underlying value understandable, but everything else surrounding it not so much. unfortunately - sunday was raised in a cult, raised literally to be this person - he is the charmony dove that was rescued and fell to it's death, but that's to be touched on another day.

anyways - again, what happened to sunday? there is a very plausible theory - that after the events of penacony, sunday is picked up by elio - and becomes a stellaron hunter.

'SAFF WHERE TF DID YOU GET THAT CRACKPOT THEORY FROM?' i'm glad you asked let me tell you!

in dreamflux rift - south of the bygoneville space anchor, there is a trash can in a tiny alcove. next to the trash can - is a poem titled 'death of the crow.'

the fact that it is listed as a mysterious invitation - is extremely important, but we'll circle back to that. the poem reads as follows:

now obviously this is very much an offshoot of edgar allan poe's 'the raven.' this is especially telling for a number of a reasons - as robin is riddled with emily dickinson motif's, and it would make sense that sunday (who is shown to have black wings wrapped around his waist similar to how robin has white) would be related to poe. additionally - while the birds that follow sunday around could've very well been his familiars - it's also possible that they are instead the dreammaster constantly keeping watch on sunday. regardless - he is surrounded by raven / crow and even dove motifs, where robin is very much little white or pure blue birds.

lets break it down bit by bit -

the first two stanzas set up the mention of the 'dying baby dove' - which is a direct correlation to the charmony dove that robin and sunday rescued as children, which lets us know that yes - this poem is almost MOST CERTAINLY about him. that dove obviously had a PROFOUND effect on sunday - who watched it die the second robin left to travel, despite their best efforts.

the third stanza is a bit more interesting. it begins to allude to sunday's warping vision of the world - likely after he became bronze melodia, and he started to see injustice and cruelty and had to make decisions on the behalf of harmony that were not conducive to his ideals. ADDITIONALLY, this stanza brings up "a flame-bathed raven, it's voice rasp that sings" which is MORE THAN LIKELY gopher wood given the following two stanzas.

these are more telling in different ways - because sunday was very much RAISED IN A CULT. he was fed immeasurable propaganda by the dreammaster (who is a halovian with black wings, by the way, when he did possess a form). while sunday is guilty of his actions - i want to circle back to that. this is the man that raised him. he was basically made for this. it's all he knows. anyways.

this line here is a direct representation of sunday switching from xipe's tune to ena - lest we forget that xipe DID absorb ena, so therefore to the halovian siblings, it is simply a different tune, is it not?

there is also the theory that the "flame-bathed raven" could be a direct reference to firefly - who's theme is 'nevermore' and she is incapable of dreaming, but it is more likely the poem is referencing gopher wood.

the next two stanzas mention 'scrying the world's pain' is very much a reference to sunday's overwhelming and misguided compassion - for how can he sit by and do nothing when he witnesses so much of it everyday. his heart 'grew resolute' in the wake of it - and thus he made the choice. sunday would then "ascend the stage" and "strive for divinity" - he draws back the curtain to his "utopia of absolute bliss" - HOWEVER....

" the dream is over, brother. "

the next stanza goes onto describe sunday losing the god's favor - casting him into darkness, and him likely being ready to fall and to die. BUT WHAT I WROTE ALL OF THIS FOR - WHAT I WANT EVERY TO FOCUS ON. IS THE LAST STANZA which i very much believe to be written by destiny's slave himself: elio.

once again - this is described as an invitation. this poem is elio inviting sunday to join the stellaron hunters "here lie the truest dreams, where infinite possibilities lope" "here all your ambitions shall be fulfilled and set aflame" - where else could sunday fulfill his desire for an elimination of worldly strife? where else could he turn but to the stellaron hunter's - who are all immensely powerful beings, with various goals that only elio's future can assist them in fulfilling? he is a PERFECT fit for the stellaron hunters, and a lethal one at that - with immeasurable power that he has barely demonstrated by his own hand.

there is another hint towards this as well - the poem / invitation is written by 'cecil simmes' by this twitter user:

SMALL LEAKS AHEAD!!!!

there is a light cone coming out that features sunday on it, in front of a gramophone. what other stellaron hunter has such a lightcone? well...

it has been suggested that elio utilized these for communication - which leads me to my next point, the description of this leaked light cone:

this lc description could be very well based on sunday heading to join the hunters after receiving the invitation (POTENTIALLY also via gramophone).

also, elio writing the penacony script? yeah.

one more thing to touch base on - we don't really actually know what happens to firefly at the very end. assumedly she's fine (they won't kill a stellaron hunter permanently - at least not yet). with sunday disappearing - i genuinely think it's VERY possible she picked him up and he could be with the hunters, as we speak, or at least healing somewhere since we know he was injured.

anyways! i genuinely, actually, 100% think this to be a VERY possible theory. HSR is known for scattering lore tidbits in the most skewed of places - leaving breadcrumbs for their players to find. i think it's even more possible because sunday's playability is not really in sight anywhere, and it's very likely he will be getting an outfit change for this etc, so we might end up with a unique model in comparison. i am sincerely glad he is alive though, and that we will likely be seeing him in the future. i do think this would be the correct path to take his character - as the stellaron hunters - while morally grey - are not without what could be deemed 'a good cause,' one that - i think - sunday fits in well to. so here is hoping we are right, and his next appearance will be as stellaron hunter: sunday.

credits -

big shout out to @defiedlife for letting me brainrot at you and assisting me with this, and i encourage everyone to read THIS twitter thread, and THIS reddit thread - which are a touch more cohesive than my excited rambling.

[gold-rhine]

Oh hsr... so then why did we spend a WHOLE PATCH with aventurine and his sad tragic backstory where some of it could have been in a character quest so the main plot could be paced better 🫠 I didn't mind learning about aventurine but I was like man are they going to cram everything into 2.2? And it looks like they did. Also what do you think of the pov switching? I'm not sure how it is like necessary 🤔 idk I mean I guess you can play as boothill but not really do anything with him. Maybe some of the plotlines like with sparkle will pay off in 2.3 but that's me being optimistic. I still overall like penacony story better than luofu but hmmm the philosophical ramblings not really going anywhere and there's going to be another IPC character that'll be playable which is oh boy I have no faith in the story writing of her. And firefly was um. A character. I liked her convo with blade! But other than that she was okay. Idk are any of the playable characters other than Robin even from penacony??? I know there's Misha and Gallagher but they're well... you know not exactly with us. I wish they went the hey yeah capitalism sucks direction rather than aww poor Sunday 😔 he just needs a hug 🫂. They were so close in 2.1 with him what happened???

LITERALLY 80% of 2.1 should have been aventurine character quest. like he's fine as a character, tho im not loving how slavery used for his sad backstory, but ignored that hes now doing it to others, but like literally nothing payed off in main quest. why did i have to hear him argue with his ghosts of past and future

i dont mind POV switching as concept, i think not tying us to the MC's view can be good for storytelling, but like, when it actually contributes smth? like in sumeru heist going from different parts of the plan makes sense bc we get to see how plan unfolds. boothill and sparkle literally didnt do anything that mattered tho, so like... we got to hear boothill being hey pardner at dan heng for like 20 minutes and nothing came out of it. they need to get an editor for real....

i have no faith in how they handle IPC at all after this one tbh. can we fucking stop with woobyfied sexy slavers. is it too much to ask

firefly was. a character indeed. like tbh im not loving how they use this "elio script" to just have stellaron hunters do whatever shit is convinient for plot with no logic or inner motivation. like she had zero reason to be here, zero personal goals. like its just cheap. also did she like die?? there was dialogue with raiden where shes like we should do it bc firefly cant go back to real world without dying, so we should honor her. did they like kill her off screen???

but like yeah, 2.0-2.1 AND part of 2.2 was like "capitalism sucks", but then it just goes ACSHUALLY capitalism is just natural order, should poor\weak ppl even have right to decide for themselves???? like what even the fuck

[astronomer-sun]

Guns n Roses ( Boothill x Argenti ) Hsr Angst Fic

“ What a day , isn’t it sugar ? “ Boothill had said looking at Argenti , boothill was leaning onto argenti , as argenti was stroking his fingers through his lovers hair . But this just was too good to be true wasnt it ? no matter the guilt in his body , the down thought on the basis , the fact that anything could happen to his dearest knight . Boothill worried deep down of that so often , he never wanted his dear lover to leave his side , without an eye on him , how can he assure his safety ? Even if his love is a knight .

Argenti looks into his eyes , softly smiling before responding “ truly is , isn’t it ? “ he then , suddenly stopping running his fingers through his hair , adjusting himself in a more formal manner before continuing to say “ I have , something to say my darling , nothing to be good . “

Boothill had looked up , concerned ? Sitting up himself , this brings his worries to rush again , what could it be ? What could he want to tell that won’t me good ?? “ ah , yes , what is it ?” . Argenti sighed before choosing to respond “ you know , as my duties as a knight , I have to go on a more , extended timed duty , my dearest apology , I do mean this , but it’ll be some time away . “

Boothill looked at him absolutely dumbfounded . Some time ? Some time can always mean from weeks to years . How could he go without argenti ? The one he loves so dearly . What if something as before happened , he can’t loose another of who he cherishes . He takes a moment to take it in , before choosing to speak . “ and , how long could that be exactly ?”

Argenti frowns , “ I’m , not exactly sure . A few months at the least .” , Boothill absolutely in denial , no way can’t be so long . No fudging way !!! “ you’re , you’re kidding .. right ?” , “ I’m not . I’m sorry my dear “ Argenti pauses before moving his hand to boothills face , gently rubbing his cheek before continuing of his words . “ i promise you , I’ll be safe , alright ? No need to worry , I’ll come back , all in one piece .”

Boothill sighs in response , there’s nothing he can really do to stop this . It is argentis job after all . “ just , be careful , alright ?” , “ of course .” Argenti smiles at boothill before softly kissing him and getting up to start packing his things he needed , me made sure he’d pack after telling boothill . Boothill tried to be happy for his lover that he was trusted with such a task , but , only sadness and fear the fact he could be gone and never return . Once argenti was packed , he made sure he got a quick start to getting there . “ You’ll be alright , right boothill ?” Argenti had said looking at boothill with a bit of worry , he didn’t want to have to leave Boothill alone for so long . “ yeah , yeah .. I’ll be fine , good luck alright ? Return safe .” Boothill gotta keep profession , he can’t let argenti see how down he was . Argenti smiles in response before once more softly kissing boothill both of his lips and his cheek before waving off goodbye .

TIME SKIP AHAAA

Almost a year by now has passed . Boothill still wasn’t so used to the quiet , it’s been so long without , without his dearest love . Sure he’s had maybe a few visitors to keep him company like Robin or Sunday , but , no one can compare to the company that argenti brought to boothill .

It was then , there was a sound of footsteps approaching the door , could it be !? Boothill surely had thought so quickly , because when he went to open the door , he wasn’t met by his lover ? Instead, by one of argentis co workers ? He looked at the worker confused ? “ is there , something I can help you with ?” He had asked the man , the man didn’t bring any positive approach . Instead , more of negative around him . “ you’re boothill , correct ?�� , “ that’s me .” . The man sighed before continuing the conversation , “ I’m , deeply sorry , but , Argenti . He , didn’t make it , died in a serious battle . “

Boothill was absolutely dumbfounded . He had to be joking right ? There was no way , Argenti , died . That’s absolutely impossible . “ you’re joking ?? This gotta be like a sick joke ?? Haha I get the joke where the fudge is Argent .” The man sighed once more , the usual types of responses . “ no joking here sir . I’m sorry .”

TO BE CONTINUED DUN DUN DUN !!! ( teehee :3 )

[smittywing]

FicBit: Jason Todd/Tim Drake

Spending the weekend at Awesome Con, but first, the Good Stuff.

Previous parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Jason didn’t seek Tim out. But Red Robin signaled for backup two blocks from Jason’s favorite safehouse. (It was upstairs from a bakery and sometimes he fell asleep to the aroma of baking cinnamon rolls.) 

He arrived on scene and counted - well, shit, they were Ra’s guys -  two active, four down, and Red Robin whipping his bo staff back into one’s gut.  The assassin gasped and stumbled back but he didn’t go down. Jason pistol-whipped the other active one and he went down. Red Robin spun and smacked the first assassin across the jaw with his staff.

Belatedly, Jason realized Red Robin was fighting with his non-dominant left hand.  “You okay?” he called, dropping to one knee to start securing the unconscious assassins with zip ties.

“Dislocated elbow,” Tim grunted. “It fucking hurts.”

“Ow,” Jason agreed. “I’ve got a safehouse two blocks from here. You want to drop by and I’ll try to pop you back in place.”

“Yeah. As long as I don’t have to do any grappling.”

“Nah, as long as you can jump a fire escape or two?”

“I'm injured, not unconscious,” Tim said dryly and Jason grinned widely under his mask. 

He didn't exactly have to lead Tim to his safehouse - Tim clearly already knew where he was crashing. But he waited politely while Jason disabled his security measures and sat down at the kitchen table with a pained grunt. 

“You want a shot of anything before I do it?” Jason asked, taking off his helmet and setting it on the counter. Tim’s elbow was just out of position, almost normal except where it most definitely was not. 

“No, just get it over with.” Tim sounded resigned and cranky. 

“You sure?” Jason asked and snapped the joint into place without waiting for an answer. Tim screamed silently, an open mouth and a hissing exhale, and then reached up with his left hand and peeled away his domino. He looked exhausted, which was normal, and a little sad, which was not. At least not since Cannon Fodder had come on the scene. 

Jason opened the fridge and frowned at the contents. He only had three eggs and no bacon, but he could make a frittata with spinach and mushrooms, maybe. He also had three bottles of beer so he snagged two of them and turned to sit one in front of Tim. “Here,” he said. “You deserve this, at least.”

“Thanks.” Tim snapped the lid off with the edge of the brass knuckles built into his glove and stared into the bottle. 

“Is the old man up in your business again?” Jason asked quietly. He and Tim once had a long talk about their respective relationships with Ra’s al Ghul and then never spoke of the topic again. It was more Tim’s choice than Jason’s. Jason would just prefer not to talk. 

“He makes a bid now and then,” Tim finally says and chases the words with a long pull of beer. “Hey, this one is pretty good.”

“I told you, it grows on you,” Jason said. If he had picked a sweeter, milder brew than before, it was because variety was the spice of life, or some shit like that. 

“I like it,” Tim assured him. “So. Um. What was Dick on about last Sunday?”

“Oh, that.” Jason shrugged his jacket off and sat down in the kitchen chair next to Tim. “It's not a big deal.”

Tim raised an eyebrow, Alfred-style, and wrapped his mouth around the neck of the bottle. The color was returning to his lips, which had been pale when he was in pain, and Jason was having a real hard time not watching that. Not wanting that. 

Jason sighed through his teeth. “I was 15 when I died and 18 when I came back and I never really went through puberty. So it never occurred to me that maybe I could possibly like guys.”

“Oh.” Tim’s mouth popped off the bottle. “Oh. Do you think you might?”

Jason shrugged, a little more violently than he intended and tore his gaze away from Tim’s mouth. It didn't help a whole lot because then it landed on Tim’s fingers, which were worrying the edge of the label, and yeah, that was gonna be a problem, too. 

“Don't know,” he said. “Never did before.”

This might have been a lie. 

“Well, have you ever kissed another guy?” Tim asked. 

“I think that would clear things up if I had,” Jason grumbled. “Don't you?”

“Not if it was the wrong guy,” Tim answered easily. “Like, I already knew Bernard and I like him, as a person, but also there's this… I don't know. Chemistry, maybe? Kissing doesn't work with just anyone. If it did, you could just kiss me and you’d have your answer.”

“I couldn't kiss you,” Jason said, his mouth suddenly dry. “You're not even legal.”

“You're not even a legal entity,” Tim retorted and it should have sounded ridiculous but it made Jason grin instead. He sat up and rested his elbows on his knees. 

“Maybe not,” he admitted, “but that means I get to sleep more than an hour every three nights.”

“Yeah, thanks, I needed that reminder,” Tim said and then he leaned in and pressed a soft, closed-lipped kiss to Jason’s mouth. 

Tim was the right guy. 

Jason's body prickled and a hot flush raced up his center. He pressed in and kissed Tim back, a determined, awkward need driving him. Tim wasn't backing off so Jason parted his lips, took a breath, and kissed Tim like he should be kissed, hands coming up to cup Tim’s face, fingertips trailing through Tim’s hair. 

Tim opened his mouth under Jason’s and pressed closer. 

*Yes* Jason’s body sang. *Yes, this.*

He deepened the kiss and moved his hands down, pressing his palms against Tim’s narrow hips and then closing his fingers, hauling Tim tight against him. He bumped up against him and holy fuck, that was Tim’s cock. Tim was hard for him, too. 

With a gasp, Tim pulled away. Jason let go of him reluctantly and watched Tim press a hand to his mouth. 

“I have a boyfriend,” Tim said hollowly. 

“You kissed me,” Jason said, demonstrating his ability to say the exact wrong thing at any given moment. 

“I didn't - I didn't think it would be like that,” Tim said and it's the stupidest thing he's ever said in Jason’s hearing because *of course* it was like that. Jason hadn't had any expectations whatsoever but he realized now that there was no other way it could be. 

“Isn't it like that with Cannon Fodder?” Jason. challenged because. Exact. Wrong. Thing. 

“Yes,” Tim said. “No. It's different with every person. You should know that.”

“Should I?”  Jason wasn't so sure. He’d kissed some women. Had even slept with a few of them. And it was different, okay, but not different like this. 

“I guess you do now,” Tim temporized. He rubbed his lower lip. He still seemed a little shell-shocked. “Does that answer your question?”

“I guess it does,” Jason said evenly. Yeah, Jason liked kissing guys. And he fucking loved kissing Tim. 

“Okay, well. Now you know.”  

Tim stood there, mouth red, eyes so blue, and hair falling over his forehead. He was staring at Jason like he'd never seen him before. 

“I won't tell - “ Not Cannon Fodder, Jason scolded himself. Say his real name. Make him real.

“No, no. I - that's on me,” Tim said quickly. “I’ll tell him. “He’ll be okay with it if I explain the context. He will,” Tim repeated and Jason realized he was trying to convince himself, not Jason. 

“Yeah,” he said. “The context, yeah. It’ll be okay.”

It was not okay. Jason did not want Tim to go and apologize to Bernard. He did not want Bernard to forgive Tim. He wanted Tim to stay right there and step back into his arms, and kiss him again. 

“I have to go,” Tim said. “I - I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

Jason almost said no, just to guilt Replacement into staying there, with him, a little bit longer, but that was so totally off-brand for him. “Of course,” he scoffed. “Don't be stupid. Hey, I learned something new about myself. It's a hell of a lot more fun than returning from the dead. That's a trip.”

“Okay,” Tim said. “Let me know how you're doing, okay? Maybe we can all go out some night.”

Because that's what he wanted, to watch Bernard and Tim holding hands and being cute and being young and in love. Jason didn't watch Tim exit the fire escape window. But he knew by the chill wind that he was gone. 

[witchcraftandburialdirt]

✧ ── 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍.

Tagged By: @mxlevolence and @bells-of-black-sunday (thank you !! ♥

what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have? ━━ Robin is actually an extremely small side character in a story I've been writing and planning yada yada not important ━ But! He was just underdeveloped enough that I was spurred to challenge myself into making something new and unique to other characters. Robin's lore and his story with grief also helped me go through a rather rough time, not so much because I felt our grief was comparable, but because I had to learn and read and educate myself about what was ailing me. Creating Robin and expanding off of his very brief mention and interaction in the story was a lot of fun. I really enjoy characters that let you know what they're all about with just a few moments of dialogue, and I immediately knew what made Robin tick and what I wanted to explore with him. It was a very fun project!

is there anything you don’t like to write? ━━ I'm not particularly a big fan of writing like - in depth torture or anything like that, despite what I say I really cannot observe or write anything that's suffering, it just makes me sad. I don't really dislike writing anything besides that but smut is something that isn't my go to. I do write it but I definitely have to be in a specific mood to write it; it doesn't come as easily to me. Most of the time mine ends up being very poetic because the thought of describing all of that (especially on dash) make's me want to curl in my shell and scream. It's the catholic guilt for me man I can't escape it -

is there anything you really enjoy writing? ━━ In case Robin's personality didn't make it glaringly obvious: I'm a huge fan of psychological horror. I love seeing what can break characters and how they react to trauma - so I guess angst falls into that too! I just really enjoy exploring the human traits that characters have and that - even someone like Robin - is just a person. I enjoy Slice of Life quite a bit too - but only if it has a purpose.

how do you come up with headcanons? ━━ Oh I don't come up with anything my brain just throws ideas at me and I keep the ones that I can refine and sharpen. Robin was extremely underdeveloped when I first began writing him so I had a lot of freedom to bend him whichever way I wanted.

do you write in silence or do you play music?  ━━ I mean ... kinda? It really depends on what I'm writing. I do listen to music when writing fast paced scenes or scenes that are heavily fueled by emotion - but the emotion that envelopes a character entirely so they're not thinking. Most of the time when characters are interacting I play ambiance of whatever environment; even if its literally just liminal empty space with a little bit of wind. It helps me immerse my brain into the characters current experience.

do you plan your replies or wing them? ━━ I don't plan it in the case of sitting down with a pen and paper and crafting an outline; but throughout my day if I'm bored I tend to just wander to writing and think through different scenarios and which I think fit best. I extend it a little in my mind space and then I write it out. After that I refine it and then I read for spelling errors that inevitably makes me add more to it etc etc

do you enjoy shipping?  ━━ Yes! However I am extremely picky when it comes to shipping with Robin and it is also extremely difficult to enter into any sort of meaningful relationship with him wherein he actually cares about his partner in a genuine way. Robin is also a very manipulative individual and this makes any sort of relationship with him a growth off of something inherently wrong. I do not ship often with Robin, but when I do its always fun to see how this new emotion affects him.

what’s your alias/name?  ━━ Egg!

age? ━━ 26

birthday? ━━ May 19th

favorite color? ━━ Jade

favorite song? ━━ I have never once been able to answer this and I still cannot; so instead you'll be getting a few! Both entire albums of Darkside of the Moon and The Wall - I don't care they're one 2 hour long song idk. I have a lot of sentimental value attached to Pink Floyd and although I don't mention them often they sit highhh up there. The other bands I obsess over include: Sleep Token, Ghost, Epica, and Nightwish.

last movie you watched? ━━ Repo! The Genetic Opera ⊂◉‿◉つ

last show you watched? ━━ MLP! I'm watching it with @bells-of-black-sunday

last song you listened to? ━━ All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix

favorite food? ━━ To be honest; I don't have one! I'm not picky at all and I love exploring new dishes. Buttt if I had to pick one of my favorite categories of food then definitely seafood, and especially butterfish! I used to fish for them with my grandmother in the backwoods near my childhood home.

favorite season? ━━ Summer - I love being able to lay out in the fields by my house and plant native wildflowers throughout my area during this time ٩(｡•́‿•̀｡)۶

do you have a Tumblr best friend? ━━ Two! @bells-of-black-sunday (mwah! ♥) and @agonizedembrace (kya - )

Tagging: @agonizedembrace, @deathfxnds, @pitgritted, @steel-and-fire, @dethdvncer, @valhiir, @seekslight, @nameaprice, @manufactoredxbyxdesign, @johnnysslaughter, @burntscars, @fluxjumped, @noctumsilenced, @aquatic-hybrid, @songofsilentechoes, @thegoldentigress, @piltover-sharpshooter, @hook-and-chains, @hemoplagued, @reliving-elegy, @asktheevilstarchild

[salty-dracon]

Honkai Star Rail 2.0 Trailblaze Mission Liveblog

Everything I write includes four things- cool cities, found family, the most horrifying plot points I can possibly squeeze into a story, and angels with dubious intentions. Naturally, I'm PUMPED for Interstellar Fantasy Cool City Vacation with Found Family + Dubious Angels + Player Tears. Liveblog under the readmore to keep people unspoiled.

---

Foreword

This is not my first liveblog rodeo. I've liveblogged plenty of murder mystery games. But I promise to make this an entertaining experience for anyone who wants to read this.

You're probably wondering why everything I write is about killing angels. It's been a running theme in my work ever since high school, where the villain of a superhero story I wrote was a man who built himself metal wings. He was themed around control- if not by breaking bodies, by breaking minds through mind control powers. He was fucked up like that.

And I've written a lot of angels since then (a lot of them just straight up divine beings), most of which in some way have powers that are used to control others, with the protagonists fighting against them to free themselves from control. So yeah, killing angels, whether they're child-kidnapping supervillains, instigators of amatonormative authoritarianism (fellow aroaces this one's for you), or digital gods who have killed millions and would kill millions more for the sake of vengeance against everyone that hurt their human pets- it's basically standard for me at this point. No doubt whatever WIP I write next is going to involve kicking the ass of another angel.

(I didn't keep up with marketing. I have no idea what Robin and Sunday's personalities are like. Going by the trailers, Robin seems like the nice and friendly sibling and Sunday's the less nice one who has to keep her out of trouble.)

Anyway, I keep hearing theories that Firefly and/or Himeko will die, and if that happens, I'll be sad. Firefly is the closest thing Trailblazer has gotten to another girlfriend (the star rail trio are siblings, ride-or-die besties, or a polycule depending on what's funniest at the moment) and Himeko is just right up my alley being a tall, beautiful woman with red hair in a big dress and a black leather coat who beats up enemies with a CIRCULAR SAW. Still, they can't hype Firefly up as Trailblazer's closest thing to a planet BFF and not kill her, right?

Also if this happens I'll laugh, but if Welt dies. Like they're saying it's Himeko but what if.

Other theories I have, for other reasons:

Someone will attempt to steal or acquire the Astral Express, and they will succeed until a later patch.

There will be a quest involving breaking down the Family's supposed hivemind.

Social media will explode with outrage over a specific enemy that felt intentionally kept out of marketing (it's the one with the blue head sitting on a dice box, only briefly visible in certain scenes in the music video).

With Genshin being my first HYV game I was really surprised to see Tingyun die also. Unlike many other gacha games (Epic Seven comes to mind) Genshin has a really clear criteria for which characters are and aren't going to become playable, and those criteria are basically just "be alive and have a reason to aid the Traveler for the foreseeable future" to avoid plot breaking. HSR has proven that that criteria really does not apply, w/ Tingyun, canonically dead, being a potential party member, and Dan Heng having both a 3-star and 5-star version that can be in the same party if the player feels like it. (there has to be someone out there who runs "team plot breaker".)

Also, I have been spoiled on exactly ONE thing due to leaks, and I will say nothing more on that fact.

Begin Quest!

Let's get started squeeeeeee

I'm not sure whether Dan Heng just typed "..." to show that he's around, or because that's actually what he would say if they were all together and they needed to talk.

I'm having flashbacks to FFXIV Endwalker's "You may exhibit a light touch of VIOLENT AETHERIAL SICKNESS".

Oh, that's exciting. Some of the Nameless went on to live here. Tiernan the guard, Legwork the mechanic, and Razalina the surveyor.

I'm imagining the final preparation for this vacation was March zipping all over the Express gathering all of her necessary (unnecessary) things, Dan Heng diligently packing his suitcase neatly and carefully, and Trailblazer filling up a plastic bag until the other two scold them for it and tell them to at least pack a backpack or something so their stuff doesn't get thrown out with the trash. Meanwhile Himeko and Welt have had their suitcases packed for a few days already.

WHATTTT. NOOOOOO. I was really excited for the whole Astral Express family to let loose together. Noooooooo. (I mean if my theory that someone will try to steal the Express is correct, at least he'll have someone to hit with a lance.)

UHHHHHH. WH. WHERE'S THE PLANET. WHY'D WE GET SCLORPED INTO ANOTHER SPACE ENTIRELY. WHY WERE THERE MONADO VISIONS

Acheron: oh god motherfucking dammit how do these fuckheads keep getting in- Come with me.

multiplayer dreaming

Acheron: This is the border between dream and reality, mind and matter...

she's so not impressed with anything the trailblazer does lol

oh look it's everyone we'll meet here.

:/ so looks like the stellaron hunters will actually be crashing the party themselves.

Listen, I don't play that many RPGmaker games or visual novels, but red text is usually a bad and/or scary thing. So am I supposed to take this as bad and/or scary?

"Have you met Acheron before?", "Would you fear losing any of the friends you've made over the course of your journey?", "If you could stay in a dream where you could experience none of this loss forever, would you?", and "If you already knew how the journey would end, in tragedy, would you still trailblaze a path?". Fuck, these questions are hitting. And we're going to witness some kind of tragedy, that much she says.

Black, white, and fleeting red. I'm pretty sure these are the colors in Acheron's splash art. I wonder what that means.

Acheron Casts The Spell: Freshly Chopped Raw Onions.

Wait, so is it a planet, like a round planet, or is it like Asgard from the MCU where it's just a flat plane?

auuuuuuuuuugh front desk troubles i hATE them

aventurine shows up, and himeko and welt just look at each other like "who's this jackass". then himeko expertly deals with the jackass in question. how much experience has she had dealing with ipc assholes if she could verbally square up with two of the stonehearts on a turn of a dime?

I think it's really funny how the marketing keeps saying "listen the IPC aren't bad guys and they aren't unreasonable, they have a reputation to uphold" as though basically the entire Belobog Topaz quest wasn't Himeko, March, and Trailblazer giving a giant middle finger to the IPC for outright lying and manipulating Bronya. And then this guy starts complaining that we wasted ten minutes of his time.

Aventurine: This is Sunday, the most handsome man in Penacony! And that's his sister Robin, the singer renowned across the universe!

Robin: Hehe he called you handsome~

Welt and Himeko: *either heterosexual judgment or just plain confusion*

If you called my OC Grey, the Angel of Illusion and main antagonist of The City of Hands, whose ability is weaving dreams, "handsome", he'd probably just try to ignore you.

Oh, interesting. I sort of assumed that Robin was part of the Family like her brother, but I guess not...

WHICH DAY WAS HE-

There's a hotel in Disney World (World? It's the one in Florida) that looks just like this hotel. But it's supposed to be the super luxury version.

My brain has to do so much of the legwork here (> <) but i'm imagining March and Trailblazer skipping off to their rooms, full of excitement, while Himeko and Welt have a quiet, ominous chat over some drinks.

"Witness the impossible in the realm of dreams, find the legacy of the Watchmaker, Father of Penacony, and thus find the answer to the question 'Why does life slumber?'."

What...? A distress call from one of the Nameless, having arrived relatively recently since both March and Dan Heng were on the Express at the time they received it. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!! MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ARC!!!

Based on my knowledge of Genshin, which will be a lot less useful than I hope it to be, I think most of the factions are remaining quiet because they need the help of the Nameless to clean out whatever's causing their societal issues. Plus, I'm not sure how the Annihilation Gang ties into everything. They can't be the ones who sent the invite, right?

Today I learned that Trailblazer is canonically possibly or possibly not old enough to drink! (There's rum in the Galactic Voyager!) Actually wait, I think I've had this drink before.

Himeko always just sits wherever. And she sits so RADIANTLY.

We might as well be plunging ourselves into VR heaven at this point auuuughhghg i'm so excited

We're visiting the Golden Hour first, so that means we'll be separated from the other three noooooooooo. i mean, "history and culture enjoyer", "atmosphere and people enjoyer", and "shopping enjoyer" match the other three to a tee but :(

March you're so right, this is an intergalactic live-action detective saga.

Okay, let me note this down for foreshadowing reasons. Family feuds, tragic losses, worlds torn apart, espionage situations, rivers running red with blood (acheron lol).

THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE

I don't trust you! :)

(Doesn't TB already have the Preservation's protection? Lance, forward, and all that?)

danger. danger. danger. danger. danger. danger

thabks acheron O_O

Aventurine: How did you make this friend so fast?

Trailblazer: Oh, uh... she called me funny in a dream once?

It will be really funny if Aventurine isn't actually an antagonist here (he's trying to "reclaim" something that's in Penacony, and we all know how bad that went in the case of Belobog) and Acheron is warning us for nothing.

*bass boosted* I think it's really funny how the marketing keeps saying "listen the IPC aren't bad guys"-

I can imagine myself walking into this dream pool while fully-clothed. I keep my socks on, the bottoms of my feet touch the water, my face recoils back like I ate a sour grape. Wet socks are the worst, and I have had my fair share of wet sock troubles. Even stuffed plastic bags into my shoes to avoid them.

Mikhail.

Aventurine: Hey, Ratio, where's that bust of yours?

Every single Dr. Ratio/Aventurine shipper: WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN

... So his endgame is to basically bring Penacony (penal colony) back into the IPC's hands. Or something like that. How is another question entirely.

*stares at trailblazer flying through the air like a ragdoll in dream space* weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

FUCK YEAHHHHHH MIDTOWN MANHATTAN!!! (I should go visit again one of these days...)

ehhh, she's freaking out for no reason, she'll be fine, elio never foresaw a future where she died from falling 100 stories in a dream world- SHE GOT YAMCHA'D!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA

[scene where robin checks on trailblazer who just smashed into bare concrete] my guardian angel and her friend wondering whether they should carry my soul to the afterlife after i drank too many blue raspberry slurpees and passed out behind the 7-11 at 2am

OH THANK GOD DREAM TEXTING SERVICE.

So much of this is just like the Caligula games, I like it.

so today i learned that not only is pom-pom as old as akivili, but he put akivili to task too. also, "broke the train into two pieces"? so is there a second half of the express somewhere??? *soft gasp* can trailblazer finally stop sleeping on the couch

FIREFLY!!! GIRLFRIEND!!!

(this one npc has darker skin than most of the genshin sumeru characters and yes i'm still mad about that)

Thanks, Dad- i mean, man. stranger. with dad vibes

Fun fact about me: The cheat code to designing a male character I will find super cool no matter what atrocities they commit is: brown or red hair, a formal suit, caring dad vibes, and severe mental health issues for which they have very harmful coping strategies. This rarely but sometimes applies to female characters too (makima chainsawman, and a character from a game where the antagonist's file says he likes fireworks). This also applies to Welt. Yes, I do sometimes spend my days wishing I had a better father, how did you know?

Maybe Mikhail is Firefly's brother or something? And she's a local from the Iris family...

this is gorgeous...

going on dates with my girlfriend :)

girlfriend activities :)

girlfriend simulator :)

syrupism??? just sounds like an offshoot of american consumerism to me. like my dad's friend who has a $2m collection of coca cola memorabilia. which is simultaneously the coolest and most cringe thing i've ever heard

can't wait to tell march (my girlfriend) that i have another girlfriend in another server instance

If we go on enough dates with girlfriend we get to hear her tragic backstory.

O_O we're being followed??? *long sigh* okay who is it? rude gambler boy? benedict cumberbatch's sherlock? dad 2? that angel everyone keeps turning into a creepy monster in fanart? a t rex chef?

strong build? silent steps? oh motherfucker it's S A M P O K O S K I

... that is not sampo koski. he always introduces himself with his full name.

oh and he does know who march is, and while march is also my girlfriend, that's not march.

the pepeshi are just moogles. or lalafell.

UM. UM!!!

sampo. sampo what the hell are you doing. is this going to lead us to tatalov

i KNEW IT

i swear some of these trashcan lines were ripped straight from "dog of wisdom"

eris's apple- er, trash can

THERE HE IS! GIANT SAMPO

this is so stupid LOL

i mean i did have a feeling that firefly was lying, i just couldn't figure out how or why. as for how the trash can dream is supposed to symbolize penacony, i'm not sure either.

oh noooooooo i hate walking talking cartoon characters. especially ones that sound like mickey mouse

"innocence kindness, and honesty of a child"? dude, trailblazer murdered cocolia. they have the option to lie all the time. anyway, misha.

no no no no no. i want girlfriend time.

... wait. boss stone. stonehearts? that would make them the ipc, or an expy of them.

a traumatized galactic hero, a bellboy, and a pair of lesbians wake up in a dream world together

DATE DATE DATE DATE DATE

sparkle and aventurine. i guess they have a reason to hate each other

sigonia and avgin. ????

it took me way too long to figure out that "chicken wing boy" was sunday

this entire border section is like a scene 3/4ths of the way through a teenage coming of age movie

MONUMENT VALLEYYYYYYY (you should play it)

the last time i had this much fun with an ingame girlfriend was with kasumi from persona 5 royal. i know a lot of people don't like her because she gets in the way of akeshu action but i couldn't stop smiling every time she appeared on screen, and that's how i feel with firefly. like god, she's just adorable. she's just a treat. ingame protagonist, you'd better treat her well.

firefly is a stowaway suffering from entropy loss syndrome- basically, her perception and actions are slowing down and she's slowly dying on the inside and it's affecting her mentally too. a lot like something from zero escape. she has a dream, and penacony lets her realize it. and she wants to find the watchmaker's legacy.

SELFIE! SELFIE WITH GIRLFRIEND! AAAAAAA

Okay, March found Ratio in the shopping district, Welt's had some weird things happen himself, and it's back to reality for us.

fuck off sampo, i'm going to have an angsty goodbye scene with my girlfriend

yeah i knew you were sparkle. cool transition though

we've entered salvador dali street

"the real dreamscape"... i really have no inkling as to what it might be

OH. Origami bird. That's one of Clockie's friends, and if I'm right that "Boss Stone" is meant to be an expy of the IPC, then that means that the watchmaker themselves lost Mikhail.

THIS SI FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINETHIS IS FINE

THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE

such a cool monster design

hi black swan

MOM DAD BESTIE I MISSED YOUUUUUU

Huh. Black Swan wants to ally with the Trailblazers. In exchange, she wishes to experience memories. The dreamscape is collapsing, potentially exposing a lot of danger as well as the Watchmaker's Legacy. The person who sent the Watchmaker's invite is likely behind the collapse as well. The various factions on board- the Trailblazers, IPC, Family, Masked Fools, the Stellaron Hunters, the Galaxy Rangers, the Garden of Recollection- one of them is the culprit. The IPC is the most obvious, but... where is the Annihilation Gang in all of this?

Okay. Stellaron Hunter Sam is the one Welt saw suspiciously wandering around.

Acheron!!!

Acheron is so angry all of the time. I love her.

FIREFLY!!! At least she's okay! For now!

There she is! Hug girlfrie- OH NO

FIREFLY!!! FIREFLY!!! OH NO OH NO OH NO

OH MY GOD SHE'S DEAD

D,:

Moving on...

Let's see, someone killed a lot of monsters in one strike with a blade slash, and that blade was superheated.

Firefly was betrayed by a companion after tracking down some information about the Watchmaker. That companion, probably Sam since I know he's a boss fight.

oh my god that's a boss fight that's a boss fight

DID ACHERON JUST THROW HER FUCKING KATANA AT HIM-

you, you CAPITALISTIC BITCH

actually, if aventurine was the one behind firefly's murder, which he very well could be- no, no, i'm just not going to entertain that rn

BLACK SWAN WAS THE BETRAYER?! HOLY FUCK

or, they were both trying to save the trailblazer?

Acheron's an Emanator of Nihility? Who gives a shit? I'm friends with an Emanator. Her name's Herta. She has puppets.

wHAT. Do you mean. Ifrit is dead.

... Listen, I thought it was lowkey insane that they'd drop a character design as awesome as Dubra's and then drop absolutely nothing else. I began joking in chat about how badly they'd animate Ifrit's skull. But if he was never actually meant to be an ingame character in the first place, that's crazy.

I mean like, realistically I don't trust any of these people. I really don't trust the IPC since they have a vested interest in reclaiming Penacony. But Acheron stealing her invitation is interesting, since I thought she was the most trustworthy.

Yeah, thanks for putting it mildly, Black Swan. Everyone could be lying. It could be you. It could be me. It could be Mom. It could be Dad. It could NEVER be Bestie.

Okay. Let's go. Let's see the "truth" behind Penacony.

OH NO. OUT OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE TO DIE, I DID NOT EXPECT HER!!!

Hey. Hey what the fuck. What the fuck is happening what. WHAT

oh he is NOT happy about someone disguising herself as his sister

the people here are way too horny for sunday

he's pulling out the capitalized pronouns. in christianity those are the big guns.

Final Thoughts

they told me i wouldn't be ready, and i wasn't. i wasn't even ready for how not ready i was

Also my favorite kind of Big Reveal is when you know something big is going to happen, because it's being foreshadowed (Firefly death) but that completely keeps your mind off the true reveal (Robin death) until it's time, and then the true reveal hits you like an avalanche.

You really can't trust anyone in this hotel. I have a vague idea of who's allied with who, but what they want? I have no clue.

My head hurts.