#this explosion is WAY too dramatic but you guys know i had to right??? for the drama <3

[fudgecake-charlie]

What a beautiful orchestra!

[m0llygunn]

deathbed confessions (eddie munson x fem!reader one-shot)

summary: cold and flu season hits you hard but luckily you have your best friend eddie to take care of you. If the cold medicine makes you admit a few things... eddie sure isn't complaining.

contents: 18+, best friends to lovers, r is dramatically sick with a cold (talks about dying but it's just drama), fluff idk a/n: guys i am so sick help me i had to lay on the bathroom floor after braving a shower because i thought i was gonna die (but also i wrote this so maybe im ok) wc: 4.4k+

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Holy shit, did Halloween come early?” Eddie snickers from the door of your room.

All you can muster up is a low groan and that alone makes you feel like your head is on the brink of explosion. 

“Jesus, you’re really sick, huh?” he says with the huff of a laugh.

You answer with another groan. Yes. You are 'really sick'.

“Can I do something to help?” he replies, the first hint of empathy appearing in his voice.

“Put me out—” you interrupt yourself with a sniffle followed by a phlegmy cough. “—out of my misery.”

You were supposed to be seeing some double feature with Eddie tonight but yesterday, right before bed, you felt the slightest of tickles in your throat. By morning you were the living dead with everything from your big toe to your forehead aching in one way or another. You called Eddie and before you could even mention that you were sick, he knew from your stuffed up voice. 

No matter how many times you told him you’d be fine he was strangely insistent in checking on you at the very least. By the end of the call he’d quickly worn you down and you told him that he has the spare key and he can do whatever he wants but if he gets sick that's his fault— a little mean but arguing was the last thing you felt like doing.

From the time you hung up to now— which has only been a handful of hours, you’ve gotten substantially worse. Earth shatteringly worse. So terribly worse that the simple task of opening your eyes has been too much effort. Your whole body feels like it’s on fire, and your lungs are just begging for salvation. That’s why when Eddie called twenty minutes ago letting you know he was on his way you told him no. It would have been wise if he listened to you but instead he replied ‘too bad’ and abruptly hung up the phone. 

Cut to twenty minutes later he was at your door, letting himself in. He was willingly walking into his very own death sentence. He clearly thought it was more of a joke than anything.

You hear Eddie’s tell-tale gait as he walks further into your room. You assume that he’s standing over your bed, maybe a hand on the back of his neck, maybe a hand on his hip. Mustering the efforts to confirm your suspicions would take too much of your very limited energy so you continuing laying in your bed, not doing as much as opening an eye.

You hear the ruffle of his hair and he definitely is rubbing the back of his neck as he gauges what to do. 

“So…do you want, like, medicine then?” he asks. 

“A gun,” you croak, earning a deep belly laugh from Eddie.

“At least your humour’s still intact, that’s good to know,” he says, sitting down on the edge of your bed.

You try to shuffle over to make room for him, but that effort alone makes you wince.

“Call an ambulance,” you whine, sniffling pathetically. 

“Really?” he asks, a genuine nervousness creeping into his voice. You feel his hand tug at the blanket you’ve cocooned yourself in, revealing your face for him to see. If you were more cognizant maybe you’d care about Eddie seeing you like this, but you’re too far gone to think about that. 

“No,” you answer, nodding your head up and down in contrast to your answer, earning a huff of relief from Eddie. 

The blanket slackens from his pull and the bed dips deeper as he leans in further to get a better look at you. Once again, if you were more cognizant you’d probably rather he didn’t, but you wouldn’t have the will to fight it anyways.

“Did you take anything?” he asks. 

“It’s been a few hours.”

“Did you eat?”

“Yeah, whipped up a quick 4 course meal earlier, michelin approved of course,” you mumble. You contemplate cracking an eye open to see his reaction but you don’t. 

“Right, so no food.” 

“No, surprisingly not that hungry when you’re on your deathbed,” you say, sniffling.

“Tell me you’ve at least had water,” he says and from his tone you know that he already knows the answer. 

“I had water until the bottle was empty, then I decided I’d rather succumb to death than get out of bed,”

“Funny, funny girl,” he says dryly, obviously not impressed by your answers. 

“Tombstone quote,” you say weakly, hoping that Eddie gets what you mean. He laughs softly and you consider that enough of a success. 

You hear the slightest bit of shuffling, not Eddie getting up but more like he’s looking around your room. Whatever state it’s in, you couldn’t even work up the courage to care. 

“Do you want a movie on or something?” he asks, breaking the lull in conversation. 

“Would you do that?” you ask, tilting your face towards him despite not opening your eyes. 

“Oh yeah. I’m giving you the mortally ill special— the deathbed works, if you will,” he says, and you can tell he’s smiling. You do your best to smile back but it’s weak and probably looks more like a grimace. 

You feel shuffling before the bed rises from Eddie standing.

“Okay, so I’m gonna get you medicine first. Then movie, food, and whatever else, deal?”

Your lower lip pouts out appreciatively for the boy you’ve called your best friend for forever now. If you weren’t deathly ill, you’d kiss him.

“Thank you, Eddie,” you whisper, voice getting caught in your throat for an entirely different reason than your cold this time. 

He mumbles back some version of ‘don’t worry about it’ before he’s off, leaving you in the quiet of your room with only your breathing, coughing, and sniffling breaking the silence. It’s barely a few minutes before you hear his footsteps and the edge of your bed dips again. 

“This is what you took right? The cold and flu medicine?”

“Mhm” you hum.

“You have nasal congestion?”

You sniffle loudly and nod.

“Right. Nasal pain, sinus congestion, and sinus pain?”

You hum again, catching onto the fact that he’s reading the symptoms off of the box. 

“Chest congestion?”

Weakly you swat your hand out trying to find Eddie. When you do, you give him the weakest of taps. “Too many questions,” you muster. 

“Well, I know you’re joking about dying but I don’t want to actually kill you,” he says. You hum again.

You hear him fumbling with the cardboard before fumbling with the plastic pill packaging.

“Do you wanna sit up?” he asks.

“I want to die,”

“Well you can’t do that so I’m gonna help you sit up, okay?”

Eddie starts tugging at the blanket and you let your weakened limbs go limp, undoubtedly making the task much harder for him but he doesn’t say anything. Eventually, he pulls you up by your underarms, propping you up against your headboard. 

When you feel his cool hands on your forehead, pushing your hair back and out of your face, you open your eyes for the first time since Eddie got here. 

“There she is,” he laughs lightly, still pushing back the disheveled mess that is your hair.

“Your hands feel nice,” you whisper, focusing on the coolness on your skin. Before you have a chance to really absorb the relief of his hands on your skin, he pulls away, grabbing for the water he had set down on your bedside table. 

“Yeah, you’re really hot,” he replies, passing the water to you.

“Tombstone quote,” you say, catching his eye, making him laugh again. With a shaky hand, you take the water.

“Funny and hot, that’s a killer deal.” He hands you the little cold and flu pill and you place it in your mouth, swallowing it down with small sips of the cold water that feels like ice going down your throat. 

You redirect your gaze to Eddie, “you’re gonna get sick, that’s the real killer here,” you say. 

“I’ll be fine,”

“You don’t want this cold, trust me,” you say, taking another sip of water before holding it out to Eddie. 

“I’ll be fine,” he repeats as he takes the water, putting it back on your bedside table. 

You nod. You appreciate Eddie’s help more than anything. Fending for yourself wasn’t exactly going so well— clearly.

“You had this with your other stuff, do you want it?” he asks, holding up the vicks vapor rub.

When you felt the cold coming on you went to the pharmacy and picked up a few things just in case. The vapor rub was on sale and you bought it on a whim but haven’t tried it yet.

“Do you think it really works?”

“Wayne used to put it on me, I guess it does?”

“Where do you put it?”

“On your chest or back,” he answers, looking at the fine print of the packaging. “Yeah, it says chest, throat, and back.”

You open your mouth to reply but instead feel the creeping up of the tickling in your throat. Turning the other way, you do your best to not cough all over Eddie. Sucking in a deep breath, you only trigger another cough that divulges into one of many coughing attacks that you’ve had today. When you’re finally done, you drop your head to the back of the headboard in defeat. 

“C’mon, let’s try it on your back for now,” he says, putting a hand on your shoulder encouraging you to lean forward. You move how he wants you without protest.

“I’m just gonna lift up your shirt a bit, okay?” he says, you nod but he pauses, fingers just barely slipping under the hem of your shirt.

“Eddie, with the way I’m feeling, you could see me butt ass naked right now and I could not care less,” you say. 

He snorts a laugh before his cool fingers trail up your spine giving you tingles that make you shiver. “Sorry,” he hums but you shake your head. His hand makes contact with your upper back, rubbing the ointment on your skin and it honestly feels incredibly soothing. Whether it’s the rub or the physical contact, you’re not sure, but you’re not questioning it either.

The noise that comes out of you could have been a moan had you not been congested. Instead it comes out like a low, stuffed up groan— not unlike a movie zombie. 

Eddie rubs a few more circles on your back before his hand travels back down your spine. 

“How’s that feel?” he asks, helping you sit back up straight.

“So fucking good and like I need you to rub my back like that again,” you say, resting your head back against the headboard. Maybe you put a little too much conviction in your words but that truly felt amazing.

The room is silent and you blink open your eyes to see Eddie holding the tub of rub in his hands, paused halfway through closing it. It takes a moment for him to look up at you but when he does, he smiles softly.

“What movie do you wanna watch?”

Had you not been distracted by your sickness, you might have noticed the faintness of a blush spreading across the tops of Eddie’s cheeks. Coughing and forcing air back into your lungs takes up every ounce of your consciousness though, so you don’t notice. 

You shrug your shoulder taking a deep breath, “anything, I’ll probably pass out from the medicine anyways,” you reply, turning away again to cough. 

Eddie hums before he’s moving to your dresser opposite your bed, angling the TV for you to see it better. 

“Sixteen Candles, Children of the Corn, Gremlins, Teen Wolf?” he says, listing off the titles of the different tapes you have sprawled next to the vcr. 

“Any.” 

“Gremlins seems kind of relevant,” he says, pulling open the clamshell box.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you ask. Eddie turns to you, smirk spreading across his lips.

“Nothing,” he sings lightly. He turns away from you, pushing the tape into the player and then pressing the combination of buttons to get it working. 

“You better not be implying that I look like a gremlin because—” you interrupt yourself with another cough that quickly divulges into yet another coughing fit— worse than the last. 

With each cough being so strong it makes your head pound. You don’t notice Eddie crossing your room or him settling back on the edge of your bed. You only notice his presence when he’s encouraging you forward, hand rubbing your back again. 

When your coughing finally calms down enough for you to take a good breath, Eddie brings the glass of water up for you to take a sip. You take the cup in your hands, guiding it to your mouth. At the same time, Eddie never fully lets go of the cup, making sure it doesn’t spill. You take a drink, nodding when you’re done and he sets it back down, hand still running up and down your back. 

“It’s probably just the rub working, getting all that nasty stuff out,” he says softly. 

You nod again, letting your head fall to rest on Eddie’s shoulder. It’s probably not the smartest idea to be so close to him because you're pretty much sentencing him to his demise, but with how terrible you feel you’re desperate for anything to make it better— and right now the only thing making anything better is Eddie. 

“The medicine’ll kick in any minute and you’ll feel much better, okay? I’ll go get you something to eat and then I can rub your back some more. How’s that sound?” he says softly, brushing the edge of your face with his chin as he tilts his face downwards towards yours. 

Your lower lip pouts out again and you feel your eyes water behind your closed lids. Maybe you were already hyper emotional from feeling so sick, but Eddie being so sweet is also doing a number on you.

“Sounds really nice,” you whisper, sucking in a breath.

“You’ll be okay,” Eddie whispers, hand switching from rubbing up and down your back to rubbing circles at the top of your back. “I’ll take care of you, I got you.”

Before the tears in your eyes have a chance to breach your waterline, Eddie’s shifting beside you, leaning you back against the headboard with the promise of being quick while he gets you food. Only once he’s gone and you’re left alone in your room do you notice Gremlins has already started playing. Opening your eyes, you spare a few glances at the screen that distract you from your teary eyed state.

As Eddie promised, he was pretty quick in his return. You could hear him the whole time, kitchen utensils clanking and cupboard doors closing. Maybe all concept of time is lost on you right now, but it seemed like barely any time had passed before he was taking slow, careful steps back towards your room.

“Alright— got that soup you like, got crackers, and got you some juice,” Eddie announces as he situates the dishware on your bedside table. “I even made sure not to warm the soup too much so you can eat it right away,” he says.

Eyes closed again, you don’t know what you expected him to do but him manhandling you took you by surprise. A hand slid behind your back and another under your upper thighs, he was sliding you right over on the mattress.

“Just giving myself some space here,” he says absentmindedly as he fixes your blanket around you. He quickly settles in next to you before grabbing the sleeve of crackers and settling them in front of you and grabbing the bowl of soup.

Sitting with his legs stretched out next to yours, you let your head dip to his shoulder again, this time like a silent thank you where you cozy your head against him, not unlike a cat.

“For the record, you’re more like Gizmo,” he says, a tease intruding in his voice.

“Hm?” you hum questioningly.

“You don’t look like a gremlin, you’re cute like Gizmo,” he says.

You sink your face further into the crook of Eddie's shoulder, lip jetting out once more. He’s done nothing more than call you a cute gremlin rather than an evil gremlin, yet you feel yourself turning misty eyed yet again. This time you squeeze your eyes shut, closing them on purpose, hiding your sickness induced emotions.

“Soups gonna get cold,” Eddie says, twisting his neck to look at you again. “C’mon, it’ll be better for you if you eat it warm,” he says, using his free arm to move you.

Once you’re finally propped up again in an appropriate position to eat, you feel Eddie’s hand on your cheek— no doubt becoming aware of your tears.

“You okay?” he asks softly, thumb rubbing under your cheek.

“You’re being so nice to me,” you explain, sniffling back your need to cry.

“Just taking care of you. Want you to feel better,” he replies, keeping his voice quiet. 

“Thank you, Eddie.”

“You don’t gotta thank me, just gotta eat your soup, okay Gizmo?” Eddie says, making you snort out a snotty laugh before sucking it all back in with an apology that he quickly dismisses. 

You take a few breaths, getting your tears under control. Shifting your focus to the soup, Eddie holds the bowl close to you while you slowly feed yourself spoonful after spoonful. 

“Crackers?” Eddie offers.

“Maybe one.”

“How ‘bout two?” he replies, peeling back the plastic and pulling two out for you. You nod softly before taking them from him. 

You feel yourself running out of energy and it’s exasperating that all it took was lifting a spoon to your lips a measly few times. When you let the crackers sit in your lap for too long, Eddie turns to look at you, resting the bowl of soup down in his lap. 

“Y’okay?” he asks.

“Tired,” you answer. 

“Just finish those and you can be done, okay?” he says, meeting your gaze. You shake your head.

“Can’t,” you reply.

“You can,” he says, turning his torso to put the bowl of soup on the table. He turns back around, reaching for the crackers in your hand. “Know you can,” he repeats, bringing the crackers to your lips.

“Eddie—” you try to protest.

“Bite,” he says, cutting you off and nudging the cracker into your mouth. 

You bite, giving into him. It feels weird being hand fed. It’s probably even weirder when two bites in you close your eyes in an effort to conserve your energy. Regardless, Eddie doesn’t say anything besides positive affirmations about how good you’re doing which you really, really appreciate. 

“How about you drink some of this,” he says, reaching for the glass of juice as you chew the last bite of cracker. “Then I’ll help you lay down and I can rub your back s’more?”

“You don’t have to if you wanna go home, you've been here a long time,” you say, swallowing the dryness of the cracker down. 

Eddie lifts the cup of juice to your lips, tipping it back for you to sip at. When you take more than a few drinks, you lift a hand lightly pushing the cup away. Blinking your eyes open you look at Eddie as he returns the cup to sit with the other dishware on your bedside table. 

“I’m serious, Eddie. You can go home if you want,”

“Don’t want to,”

“You’re gonna be— you interrupt yourself with a yawn this time. “—gonna be so sick,” you say groggily.

“Just let me cuddle you, you know you want it,” he says, a teasing tone hinting in his voice. You blink open your eyes again to see a genuine smile as he looks at you—one that shouldn’t be there considering how gross you feel and are sure you look. Despite that, it’s there and you do want cuddles so you nod softly, making a weak, sad attempt at getting closer to Eddie.

Eddie meets your attempt by gently pulling you down the mattress. He maneuvers you to have your head resting on his chest while his arm snakes around you, rubbing circles on your back. With the sleepiness settling in and your cold symptoms dialing back due to the medicine, you can’t help but hum happily. 

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” he says quietly.

It feels beyond good. Good is an understatement. Having him take care of you like this is making you feel mushy and only highlights your feelings for Eddie. In combination with your partially delusionally, sleepy state the only thing on your mind is expressing your feelings, all of them true no matter how far out of it you are at this point. 

“Eddie, if I die, just know that I love you,” you mutter into the fabric of his shirt. 

“That’s just the cold medicine talking,” Eddie laughs softly. You find the energy to shake your head.

“Nuh-uh, love you,” you repeat. “Love you so much.”

It’s faint, maybe he whispered it or maybe it’s the fact that you were slipping into sleep but you heard it. 

“I love you too,” he says quietly. 

As if those words gave you a short lived second life, it had you perking up, desperately needing to clarify just in case he didn’t understand. 

“But Eddie I love you as my best friend but also more than that— I love you so much.”

He leaves you in silence but you don’t have the clear consciousness to overthink it, you just keep talking.

“I don’t even care if you don’t like me like that, I love you Eddie.”

“I love you too. Love you a lot, but I think we should talk about this when you’re not tired and on cold medicine, okay?” he whispers softly. 

As your thoughts start to drift, you focus on the first half of Eddie's sentiment. He loves you— and he loves you a lot. With that on your mind, intermixed with the comforting friction of his hand on your back, you fall into the deepest and most comfortable sleep of your life despite being so sick. Eddie loves you. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Arguably, the best thing that came out of your cold was your confession. It was bound to happen eventually and although it did sort of seem like a deathbed confession at the time, it was genuine— that of which you clarified for Eddie. To your fortune, he also clarified that his reply was true as well. Beyond that, you were still sick and neither of you had done much more than just sharing those little words that one night. So yes, arguably, that's the best thing that came out of your sickly state; however, in your opinion, you think the best thing that happened was that you got Eddie sick too. 

It was less than a day after you started feeling normal again that Eddie was running a fever. He ended up staying at your place for the majority of your sickness but he had left once to get some things for himself. Since he had his stuff here already, you offered for him to stay over at yours while you returned the favor of playing doctor. 

Eddie took on a much different position as a sick person than you did. Undeniably, you both were on the dramatic end of things but while your cynical humour came out during your time being sick, Eddie was much different in how expressed himself.

Normally, a very touchy feely person, his affectionate side heightened tenfold while he was sick. He was all grabby hands, wanting you closer to him. Maybe it was because the two of you had broken the touch barrier while you were sick or maybe Eddie just turned into a touch deprived baby when he was sick, you’ll never know, but you didn’t deny him of the cuddles that you so dearly appreciated while you were under the weather. 

The most interesting part— which shouldn't have came as a surprise, was that not only did he appreciate holding you, but he intensely appreciated you holding him, whether that be hands scratching his head as he rested it on your stomach, or your arms wrapped around him from behind making him the little spoon. Additionally, he was also incredibly affectionate with his words, constantly telling you how grateful he was for you and how much he appreciated you. 

Your favourite confession came late one night, probably at the peak of his sickness. Fairly similar to your deathbed confession, but a moment to remember regardless.

You had just finished helping him eat, similar to how he had done for you, and were cuddling with him, smoothing your hands over his side as he rested his head on your chest. 

The medicine was kicking in, making him drowsy, eyes fluttering shut as he let sleep take him over. He had kept babbling random thoughts but as he got more and more tired he was eventually reduced to heavy breaths. That was, until he titled his face up to yours. You looked down at him, meeting his sleepy eyes.

“I love you,” he said. “Love you so much.”

“Love you too, Eddie,” you replied, smiling.

“But I love you so much,” he said, voice returning to its babbling cadence. “Love you so much I wanna kiss you and love you and—” his babbling started to slowly fade as his head got heavier on your chest. You couldn’t help but laugh softly as your heart swelled.

You smoothed a hand over his face, brushing back his hair as you stared at him with nothing but love for your very, very sick boy. Like you had given him a second wind, his babbling started up again. 

“Wanna marry you. Love you so much wanna marry you,” he said, words slurring.

“Think you’ll have to ask me on a date first, cutie,” you replied quietly, partially under the impression that he was already asleep. 

“I will. Love you so much, I will,” he mumbled and with that, he was out like a light. 

From there, the rest was history. If curious minds were to inquire, you would say that Eddie’s always been very good at keeping his promises, and mindless babbling or not, he meant every word that he confessed in his sickly, drowsy state. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

thank you! <3

[wasabidottie]

shitty movie | Jschlatt

a/n: okay okay so its literally been the longest time ever and ik nobody is dying to know why i havnt been posting so instead of a long-winded explanation here is a lil story about our favorite big man !! ive been liking the idea of like a new ish relationship where they dont really know where its going but they are both just happy to be there. idk. hope you guys enjoy :)

You didn’t intend to stay as long as you did. In fact, you’d been pretty adamant about not spending the night at Schlatt’s place. Not that you didn’t want to, but something about it felt too soon, too intimate. Even after the kiss and the banter, part of you wasn’t ready to cross that line just yet.

But then the beer flowed a little too easily, and Schlatt, despite his usual cocky persona, had suggested putting on a movie. “Something shitty,” he’d said with a sly grin, grabbing the remote and flipping through an endless list of B-movies until you settled on some absurd action flick from the 80s.

Now, the living room lights were dimmed, casting a soft glow over everything. Jambo had claimed the arm of the couch, curled up into a fluffball, while Soup lounged on the floor, too cool for company but not too far from you. Schlatt sat beside you, his arm draped lazily along the back of the couch, fingertips barely grazing your shoulder. The action movie blared in the background, all explosions and cheesy one-liners, but your attention kept drifting back to him—the way he’d glance at you every few minutes, the way his body seemed relaxed, like he’d finally let his guard down.

“Why do these guys always yell when they’re about to punch someone?” you asked, your voice laced with amusement as the hero on-screen let out an overly dramatic war cry.

Schlatt snorted, taking a swig of his beer. “Because they have to let you know how tough they are. It’s a requirement. Didn’t you know?”

You rolled your eyes. “Right, because real tough guys totally yell before every punch.”

“Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” he replied, grinning at you. “I bet if I yelled loud enough, I could scare off any fucker who tried to mess with you”

You shot him a look. “I think you already do that.”

He chuckled, a deep sound that rumbled from his chest. “Yeah, well, maybe I should tone it down. Don’t wanna scare you off.”

You glanced at him from the corner of your eye, noting the almost shy way he said it. For all his bluster, Schlatt had a soft spot underneath that tough exterior, and the more time you spent with him, the more you realized how much he tried to hide it.

“You’re not scaring me off,” you said softly, leaning into him just a little. “I think I’m stuck with you now, remember?”

He grinned, his usual bravado returning as he nudged your shoulder. “Damn right you are.”

As the movie continued, the room grew quieter, and the conversation lulled into comfortable silence. Schlatt stretched, his arm falling more naturally around your shoulders now, pulling you in a little closer. You didn’t resist—didn’t even think to. It felt right, the two of you just sitting there, the warmth of his body seeping into yours.

And then, slowly but surely, the exhaustion from the long day began to catch up with you. You hadn’t realized how tired you were until your eyelids started feeling heavy, the dialogue of the movie turning into background noise, fading into the distance.

You told yourself you’d just rest your eyes for a minute. Just a minute.

Schlatt noticed almost immediately when your head dipped against his shoulder, your body relaxing against his as your breathing evened out. He stiffened at first, unsure of what to do with the sudden proximity. You had said you weren’t staying the night, and he didn’t want to cross any boundaries, but now here you were, practically nestled into him, your face pressed into the crook of his neck.

He glanced down at you, a mixture of amusement and tenderness flickering across his face. “Damn,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. “Tough girl, my ass.”

Part of him wanted to wake you up, remind you that you had said you weren’t going to stay. But the other part— the bigger part—was secretly thrilled that you had fallen asleep like this, completely at ease with him.

With a quiet sigh, Schlatt shifted his position slightly, trying to make both of you more comfortable without waking you. He reached for the remote, turning down the volume of the movie, then grabbed the blanket draped over the back of the couch. Carefully, he tucked it around you, his movements awkward and hesitant, as though he wasn’t quite sure how to handle this kind of tenderness.

As he settled back against the couch, his eyes drifted over to the TV, but his mind was elsewhere. He stared at the screen, but all he could think about was you—how peaceful you looked when you weren’t trying to keep up with his banter, how natural it felt to have you this close.

And, as much as he hated to admit it, how good it felt.

For a guy like Schlatt, emotions were messy and complicated, things to be shoved aside in favor of practicalities. But with you, it was different. He’d never felt this way about anyone before—this strange combination of protectiveness, admiration, and, if he was being honest with himself, something dangerously close to affection.

He sighed again, running a hand through his hair. “I’m in deep, huh?”

Soup meowed from his spot on the floor, blinking lazily at Schlatt before stretching out his paws.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Schlatt muttered, glancing down at you again. “I’m fucked.”

You stirred slightly in your sleep, nuzzling closer to him, and Schlatt’s heart did a weird little flip in his chest. He wasn’t used to this—being soft, being vulnerable. But with you? Maybe it wasn’t so bad.

Carefully, he rested his hand on your arm, his thumb brushing over your skin in a gentle, almost absent-minded gesture. He didn’t want to admit it, but he liked having you here. More than liked it. He wasn’t quite sure what that meant yet, but for now, he was content to just enjoy the moment.

Minutes passed, the movie still playing in the background, but Schlatt hardly paid attention. Instead, he found himself watching you—watching the way your chest rose and fell with each breath, the way your lips parted slightly in sleep, the way your hair fell against his shoulder.

“Cute when you’re quiet, you know that?” he murmured, a soft smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He wasn’t sure if he was talking to you or to himself at this point, but it didn’t matter. You were here, in his arms, and that was enough.

Eventually, his own eyes began to droop, the combination of warmth and exhaustion lulling him into a drowsy haze. He fought it for as long as he could, but eventually, sleep overtook him too.

The next morning, the sun peeked through the blinds, casting a soft glow over the room. You blinked awake, disoriented for a moment as you realized where you were—curled up on Schlatt’s couch, your head still resting on his shoulder.

And he? He was still asleep, his face relaxed and peaceful in a way you’d never seen before. His arm was still wrapped loosely around you, holding you close as if even in sleep, he didn’t want to let go.

You smiled to yourself, feeling a strange sense of warmth settle in your chest. This wasn’t what you’d planned, but as you watched him sleep, you couldn’t bring yourself to regret it.

Not one bit.

[noodlesketchbook]

[1:13 a.m] sort of a part two to this No one had known Bakugo longer than Midoriya has. Ask Midoriya and he’d tell you that if you knew where to look, reading Bakugo was easier than reading an open book. 

Know him long enough, you might just be able to read him the way Midoriya does. Or fight side by side with him through an actual war. That works too.

“So how long do you guys think it’ll take before Bakugo gets his head out of his ass and confesses to [Y/N]?” Uraraka, just as tired as he is of this game, whines next to Midoriya.

“Uraraka, you know we shouldn’t be meddling in the love affairs of our classmates, it’s unbecoming of graduating students!” Iida objects to Midoriya’s right. Hypocrite. He’s watching just as intensely as the rest of them.

“Come on, just look at them!” Uraraka complains with a dramatic wave to where both you and Bakugo sit in the cafeteria, both your backs turned with shoulders pressed together, “I’m not Shoji, but I don’t need dupli-armed eyes to see the tension. They’re running out of time.”

Todoroki, God bless him, slides a slice of cake to placate Uraraka, “Why are you so invested in their relationship? I’ve never seen you so passionate about something since our first sports festival.”

“It’s cause Mina’s holding a betting pool for when they actually get together,” Uraraka justifies her nosey demeanor, “I bet over 2000 yen that they’d get together the week before our finals. I need the money, Todoroki. Neither you nor Iida would understand.”

While Iida scolds Uraraka, Midoriya watches as Bakugo picks up two trays to set away. Ever explosive, he yells at some joke you try poking him with but nonetheless still cleans up your mess for you.

Mina called Midoriya a madman when he bet over ten thousand yen. Asked him if he took a hit to the cranium and if she needed to get Recovery Girl, even. They’ve been dating since their 1-A days? Impossible.

Maybe he’ll treat Uraraka out for mochi when he gets his prize money next week.

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

The Boy With The Thorn In His Side [3]

Steven Grant x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Masterlist • ao3 • want to be tagged?

Series Masterlist

Summary: You squealed as he grabbed you around the waist, shifting the food to his other hand and holding it out so that it didn’t get in the way. He kissed you repeatedly, soft quick pecks on your mouth and cheeks and chin, until you were giggling uncontrollably.

After a date at the cinema you invite Steven back to yours.

A/N: It's been a hot minute. (This chapter was going to be longer, but I ended up splitting it in two.) Also shout out to @hon3yboy and their amazing series Adventure Awaits! (Tiny little reference to it here, sort of.)

Warnings: swearing, typos, kissing, dry humping, please let me know if I've missed a warning.

Word Count: 2002

________________________________

The movie was trash. But you’d known it would be. 

There hadn’t been much on that had appealed, or seemed appropriate. A horror film that was the third in the series (Steven hadn’t seen the first two), a romantic comedy (the trailer had been enough to make you want to rip your ears off), a historical drama (Steven had belittled the accuracy just from the poster, before quickly apologising to you and then grinning when he realised how hard you were laughing.), and an action film. 

You settled on the action film. 

Honestly, you were just happy to see him. 

He’d been a little scattershot, sometimes taking a few days to reply to a message. Not that you minded that much. You could be the same, and you understood the anxiety that came with replying. 

He always apologised profusely and tended to prefer calling you instead of texts. You quickly adapted your communication style, calling or face timing him. Steven didn’t always answer, but he was a lot more consistent with it. And it was always lovely to hear his voice. 

This was technically the fifth date you’d had. (Sixth if you counted the time you’d met him at work with donuts, and seventh if you counted the meal the first time you’d met.)

“The bit with the explosion though,” Steven giggled as you both walked out of the cinema. “I mean, come on? What was that?” 

“What was that?” You laughed. 

“And the dialogue, come on.”

“Terrible.”

“So terrible!”

“Though, the bit where the guy,” you mocked dramatically dying. 

Steven laughed loudly. “The best bit! It was meant to be a comedy right?” 

You giggled. “Oh definitely.”

Both of you paused as you came to the entrance lobby of the cinema. It was getting late, but you didn’t want to say goodbye to him yet. All of your previous dates had been in outside, public areas: restaurants, the Tate Modern, Greenwich Park… The furthest you’d gone is holding hands and snog. Not that that was a problem. You didn’t want to rush anything of course. 

But you’d also happily jump Steven’s bones if he asked. 

“Do you want to come back to my flat for a bit? I know it’s late.” You pulled the skin around your thumbnail nervously. “My flatmates are away for a long weekend at the moment, and there’s a really good place around the corner that does takeaway vegan pizza?” 

Were you talking too quickly? You were probably talking too quickly. But you couldn’t stop. 

“I know it’s Saturday tomorrow, I don’t know if you have work this weekend? You don’t have to stay long, I mean, my flat’s not too far from here, no pressure to or anything.”

It’s only when you finally look up at Steven that you see he’s smiling. It’s a small expression, something he’s trying to hide and not take joy in your nervousness. But he can’t help it. The countless hours he spends fretting over other people’s feelings… it’s just… nice seeing someone trouble over him. 

“That sounds great love,” he takes your hand in his and squeezes lightly as you both head to the door. 

A little heat rises to your face. “How long were you gonna let me flounder there?” 

His grin widens. “Maybe a little longer.”

“Oh, I see.” You squinted your eyes at him, pretending to be offended. 

Steven laughed, kissing your cheek and nuzzling against you for a moment until you broke into a smile. 

.

You picked up the pizzas on the way. Nervousness tiptoed along your skin as you got to your flat. Panickingly trying to remember if you’d left a mess anywhere. 

“So are you working tomorrow?” You asked as you fished around in your bag for your keys. Steven had politely offered to hold the food. 

He shook his head. “No, not in this weekend, bit of a relief actually.”

“Oh, how come?” 

“Might murder Donna if I had to see her straight after today.”

You looked up from your bag. “That bad?” 

“Nah,” he shrugged. “She just annoyed me today. Micromanaging. Badly.”

“Ugh.” You pulled a face and finally found your keys and unlocked the door, holding it open for him. 

He spoke as he walked in. “Knowing I was seeing you later on was the only thing that got me through the day honestly.” 

“Steven, stop,” you pushed him softly in the arm. 

He grinned. “Why?”

“If you keep being so lovely, I’m going to have to kiss you.”

“Oh,” he nodded, pretending to think seriously on the matter. “Okay.” 

You squealed as he grabbed you around the waist, shifting the food to his other hand and holding it out so that it didn’t get in the way. He kissed you repeatedly, soft quick pecks on your mouth and cheeks and chin, until you were giggling uncontrollably. 

He then pressed fully against you, pushing lightly at your lower back as he kissed you deeply and slowly. Opening your lips with his own and sliding his tongue into your mouth. He moaned hungrily as he licked into you as you wrapped your arms around him. 

He smiled at you, a little dopey as he broke the kiss and nuzzled his face into your neck.

“Been waiting to kiss you all day.” He sighed happily. 

You grin. “You could have kissed me earlier. You can kiss me whenever you want.” 

“I’ll have to remember that.” He muttered into your skin.

There was something dark at the very edge of his tone that made you shudder.

“You cold, love?” The way Steven’s eyebrows pinched in concern made you want to just melt into him. 

You shook your head and smiled. “I’m fine.” 

“Hmm.” He gave you a disbelieving look but didn’t press the matter. “As long as you’re sure.” He rubbed your arm with his free hand, trying to warm you up. 

You let him, unsure how to work ‘I’m not actually cold, just your voice makes me break out in goosebumps in a good way sometimes’ into the conversation. 

After managing to find a guest pair of slippers in Steven’s size and a very quick tour of your flat (the living room/kitchen were all one space, and the bathroom - you steered clear of your room) you both settled on the sofa to eat and watch a film. 

“Something we’ve both seen? For some background noise, yeah?” Steven looked through the listings while you shoved a slice of pizza into your mouth and nodded. “Oh! The Mummy!” He glanced at you excitedly, “You’ve seen The Mummy, right?” 

You grinned at his enthusiasm and nodded again. 

“A classic!” He beamed and started the film. 

You had both finished your food by the time the heroes had boarded The Sudan, and Steven’s attention had started to wander well before the boat sank. 

His arm snaked around your shoulders, his fingertips gently stroking your shoulder. You could see him out of the corner of your eye. Watching you more than he was watching the film. 

You pretended not to notice. 

He shuffled closer to you again, making a soft, sighing sound. 

It took you a minute to fight with the smile that threatened to break out onto your face before you leaned back a little into him. 

His fingers on your arm tightened. 

Languidly, he turned his head ever so slightly. His face so close to yours that his nose was nearly touching your cheek. He placed a soft kiss on your jawline. 

“Steven?”

“Hmm.” He didn’t look up, just kissed your skin again. 

“You’re not paying attention to the film.” It was impossible to keep your amusement out of your voice. 

“I know love.” His voice had that same low, dark tone from before. 

You shiver. “I thought you wanted to watch it?” 

“Found something else that captivates my attention.” He muttered, shifting in his seat so that he could turn his body completely towards yours. 

You giggle as he takes your cheek delicately in his warm hand and turns you to face him. 

He kisses you soft and slow. Teasing your bottom lip with smooth swipes of his tongue and breaking the kiss every time you try to deepen it. He leans back, his eyes hooded, watching you for the smallest second. His thumb strokes your cheek before he starts the process all over again. 

You let out a little huff of frustration. “Steven…” 

He kisses you again, pressing his body more firmly into you for a second, tilting your head up and barely licking into your mouth before pulling back. 

“Hmm?” He raises his eyebrow at you and you squirm. He knows exactly what he’s doing. 

“You’re teasing.” You grab hold of the back of his neck and force his mouth against yours. For a second you can feel the small upturn of his lips before he slips his tongue into your mouth and moans. 

He doesn’t pull back this time. 

Instead, he pushes you back until you're flat on the sofa and he’s wormed his way between your legs. His kisses leave you breathless. Giddy, dizzying emotion bubbles up in your chest and threatens to overwhelm your very being. 

You cling onto his shoulders and the curls at the nape of his neck as he kisses you deeper, needing to caress every single part of you and not settling for anything less. One hand slides down to your waist, to just gently rub at your skin over the material of your top. 

Despite being between your legs, and how easy it would be for him to grind down against you, he keeps an inch of space between your bodies where you would most like them to touch. Moving up ever so slightly whenever you buck closer to him. 

You fight with the urge to just hook your legs over the small of his back and pull him closer. You don’t want to rush him or make him feel uncomfortable but the desperate need to have him near, for his body to touch yours (even if it is over clothing) is almost too painful to deny. 

You moan against him as he licks into your mouth, his thumb on your waist just slipping under your top and sparking along your feverish skin. 

“Steven,” you whine between kisses, tugging on his shirt and trying to urge him closer.

There’s a small answering growl from deep within his chest. “Love it when you say my name like that.” He slips his tongue back into your mouth, swallowing down your response. He moves his thumb, circling your bare skin twice before pulling it back and repositioning his fingers over your clothing.

You could almost sob in frustration. Maybe, you could-

Steven breaks the kiss to move down, trailing his lips over your jaw and sucking on your pulse point. 

You gasp and buck up against him instinctively. This time he doesn’t move away. 

Your clit just grazes along the zip of his jeans, the heavy, hard outline of his cock and you whimper. 

Steven’s own accompanying sound is muffled into your neck, his flingers flinch against you and he grabs your hip with a bruising strength. Lightly he grinds down against you, a hardly there pressure as he drags his erection across your core, using a level of force that would be more akin to stroking a feather over skin. 

You moan again, a small sound you try to muffle, and Steven sucks harder on your neck just scraping his teeth along the newly forming bruise. 

You start to speak but Steven shushes you, whispering as he nips at your skin. “You’re getting distracted.” He murmurs, his voice low and like liquid as he echoes your words from earlier. “I thought you wanted to watch the film?” 

He gently turns your head to the side, so that you’re looking towards the television screen, and continues his onslaught on your neck as you gasp and whimper and writhe against him. 

Both of you continue like that for most of the film. 

____________________________________

Thank you for reading!

Taglist: @pleasurebuttonwrites @raven-rk @campingwiththecharmings @alexxavicry @mystinky-butt @cocodiem @oscarisaacsspit @whatthefishh @mbakubabe @solobagginses @romanarose @pimosworld @dumdaradumdaradum @jake-g-lockley @plastichearts @saturn-rings-writes @boredzillenial @lonelyisamyw-0love

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[drefear]

A Warm Home

Bakugo loved you from the moment he met you, but not every story starts and ends with mutual love. 

tw: I don't think there are any, but lmk if there are. 

Bakugou X Reader angst/fluff (happy ending) they/them pronouns, afab reader

I wrote this around 3 years ago, but I still love how cute it is. starts angsty, ends fluffy. hope ya like it. 

_______________________________________________________________________

Bakugou was never a very warm person, he’d always been scary and intimidating to everyone around him.

But not you. No, you weren’t scared of him and that made him instantly like you. You didn’t think you were better than him or anything, it was more that you were just so sweet that you didn’t think anyone was inherently bad or mean. And you were right. He wasn’t naturally rude, he grew to be like that.

Walking in the halls of UA, he’d seen a message pop up from Shitty Hair.

“You gotta tell them sooner or later, Bakubro. Be a man and just say it!”

He scoffed at the message. What did stupid Kirishima know about his feelings? It wasn’t just anybody, this was Bakugou. What if you turned him down and you didn’t want to be his friend anymore? What if you liked someone else?

These dumb emotions rolled around in his head and tortured him.

Suddenly, he felt something warm slip into his hand and squeeze. He turned his face to yell at whoever was doing that until he saw it was you. You with your perfect eyes and smooth skin. You with that look you always had on, where you could face the greatest danger and still turn around with a big smile on your face. You with that magnetic smile.

“I’ve been looking for you all day, where ya been?” You spoke and your voice was like a symphony to his ears, a cascade of music that calmed him instantly.

“Avoiding you, ya brat.” He teased, smiling at you. You feigned hurt for a moment, pretending to be wounded by his words.

“Katsuki! You hurt me, and here I was, about to eat this spicy ramen and share with the one and only Lord Explosion Murder. I guess I’ll just have to suffer in isolation and enjoy this delicious dish all alone.” You flopped your hand across your forehead, dramatizing the idiotic bickering out of playfulness. He grabbed your hand again and chuckled.

“Let’s just go make some ramen.” He looked ahead and pulled you on as you nearly tripped over yourself trying to follow. The laugh you let out made his heart leap, doing somersaults in his chest and he felt at peace with you.

The years went on and he just went to enjoy your presence, always sticking close to your side and moving to protect you. He stood by when you went on your first date, had your first heartbreak, got your first mission, had your first victory, your first loss, everything. He was around for it all, and he couldn't help but admire from the sidelines.

The truth was he was scared to be something you regretted, something that would hurt you and make you upset. What if you two broke up? Bakugou was never good with his emotions, how could he put that on you? You were too perfect for him, with those mismatched outfits you always wore at your sleepovers, and the way you ate your favorite chips in bed without caring about the crumbs you were getting everywhere.

Years went on and on, and eventually someone else had the courage to do what he never did, taking you out and making you laugh and smile the way Katsuki enjoyed to see.

He saw how you were falling head over heels for this guy, and he smiled through it all. You never saw the screaming and raging he did when he was home alone, the raw feeling in his throat from yelling and the soreness of his muscles when he threw things across the room from pure anger. But anger is a secondary emotion, and he was in pain. He knew this because when the anger was gone, tears flowed freely and he’d curl up in his bed to cry.

Even one time when you were hurt on a mission and rushed to the hospital, he was there in an instant. He was there before any of your family, before that boyfriend you cherished so much, before anyone. The doctors spoke to him, because he was your emergency contact. You two were made for each other, he was convinced. Even just a few broken bones and surface level wounds, he was fiercely worried and scared for you.

Another year and you were engaged, the guy proposing after that mission because he was fearful of losing you. Bakugou couldn’t blame him, because he had the same fears. Losing you was his greatest nightmare.

And that’s how he got here. Standing inside of a big, white church on a fall day, watching your family and friends fill one side and the groom’s on the other. Denki strolled up behind Bakugou, who was just staring at the inside of the church, watching the groom greet guests and talk amongst his friends. The other blonde slapped a hand on Bakugou’s shoulder, a wide smile on his face.

“They’ve always been such a cute couple, don’t you think, Bakugou?” Denki’s words made Bakugou feel empty in a way he’d never experienced. Not when you ran into his apartment showing him the ring, not when you had your first argument with your fiance and showed up at his door, not when you had a pregnancy scare for the first time and begged him to get you a test from the store. Nothing compared to the reality of the situation hitting him, tears filling his eyes and breaking his voice as he answered with all of his gathered strength so he didn’t break down.

“Yeah. Stupid Deku’s a lucky guy…” He spoke in a way Denki had never heard, making the electricity hero turn to him in shock.

Bakugou’s eyes met Deku’s and the green haired man waved to his best friend, the rings in Bakugou’s hand almost feeling like a ball and chain. The lump in his throat felt dry and painful as he smiled and waved back.

The sound of the music beginning was a signal to everyone that the ceremony was about to start. Bakugou met with Ochacho and she slipped her hand into his waiting arm, as the best man and maid of honor.

“Ready?” She asked, and Bakugou didn’t even look to her as he answered.

“Don’t fake that smile unless you mean it. Deku might not see how you feel, but I do and pretending you’re happy is so much worse.” His voice echoed in his head. Was he talking to her or himself? She looked down in response.

“I am happy for him, because as long as he’s happy, then I’m ok with it.” She concluded and Bakugou let out a grunt of air. They walked down the aisle and split off, Bakugou standing behind Deku. When he saw you, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. Clenching his jaw, he saw you walk down the aisle and it was like he’d always imagined. You practically floated and your smile was glowing, He couldn’t stop the salty water from slipping down his face, biting the inside of his cheek to not make any sound. You glanced at Bakugou and quirked a brow, knowing that something was wrong.

He just shook his head and forced a smile, the smile he’d given you since you announced your engagement to his childhood rival and best friend. He breathed in deeply and attempted to calm himself, to pull through.

The world went by in a blur. Everything that was said was just drowned out by his inner monologue repeating itself over and over.

“Breathe, Katsuki. She’s happy and he loves her.”

It was only broken by the words that would be the true test of his self control.

“If there is anyone who opposes this union, please speak now or forever hold your peace.” The crowd was silent, and Bakugou’s eyes met yours. Something inside of him was about to break, the way you looked on the altar.

Finally someone spoke. Fear ran through his veins as he touched his lips gently, realizing...

It wasn’t him.

“I object!” Uraraka’s voice made everyone gasp and Deku looked over at her, as she stood behind you. Relief filled Bakugou. A few more seconds of that dreadful silence and he would have crumbled into a ball right there on the altar. 

“I just need to tell you this. Deku, I love you! I always have. I want you to be happy no matter what, so if you decide to continue and marry them, that’s fine, but… I just wanted you to know before you decided.” The church was quiet until you spoke.

“Izuku, go.” Deku’s eyes snapped up at you in pure surprise at your words.

“I know how you felt about Uraraka, and I see the way you two look at each other as if no one else is in the room. Go ahead, I’ll be happy for you both.” You slipped your hand out of Izuku’s and took a step to the side as he stared between you and Ochaco, then taking a few steps to her and taking her hand in his.

He pulled her into a hug, but Bakugou wasn’t even paying attention to them, he was watching you. How you seemed so fine, so content with this. 

As Deku and Cheeks made their way outside and Deku said the reception would still be happening, Bakugou glanced away at Kirishima for a second. His red haired friend mouthed the words ‘do it now!’ and Bakugou felt warm again. The warm was gone in an instant when he looked around and found you missing, but if he knew you as well as he thought he did, Katsuki knew exactly where you’d be.

And he was right. 

In the bathroom, Bakugou strolled in and leaned against the only stall door closed.

“You alright?” He spoke in a soft tone, one he only used for when you were upset and in pain. He heard the lock unclick and as he turned, he saw you step out. Your hands slipped around his waist and he pet your head, both your eyes closed and just embracing each other. His chest was warm against your cheek and you snuggled in closer.

“I’ll always be here to hold you. I promise.” He mumbled before planting a chast kiss to your hair. Tears slipped down his face and you laughed as you glanced up at him.

“Why are you the one crying? I was the one who ruined my own wedding.” You smiled, and sat on the floor, pulling Bakugou’s hand to join you.

“Not really sure,” he avoided your gaze and wiped the tears with his sleeve. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I think so at least. I…” You trailed off and sighed, breathing in deeply before continuing. “Izuku is great, but I think we just aren’t meant for each other. I love someone else.” 

Bakugou’s head snapped to you, shocked. “Who now?” His red eyes were wide as you just giggled. Before he could register it, you had your hands in his blonde locks, pulling yourself closer and just burying your face into his neck. Taking in the caramel scent that always made your knees weak, the always came at the perfect time and comforted you during your hardest moments, you knew you were home.

“I love you, Katsuki.” You whispered to the man in your arms and he was quiet, the feeling of more tears hitting your shoulder as he nuzzled into you. His grip was tight on your body, as if he thought that if he let you go, you’d disappear and vanish into thin air. Or worse, that you’d continue to be out of his reach and he’d have to endure watching you walk away from him over and over again.

“I’m not going anywhere.” You spoke to say exactly what he needed to hear and his body shuddered in relief, all the years of suffering in silence washing away with this one interaction of affection.

“ I love you too, ya brat…” His voice was breathy and broken, straining through his sobs.

And that’s where you two stayed, on the flor of that bathroom in the church on what was supposed to be your wedding day. It was better than a wedding day, it was the day you announced that Bakugou Katsuki was your person, your soulmate, your home.

Bakugou was never a very warm person, but you weren’t scared of him because you were his warmth, and he was your home.

Extra: 

As the two of you walked into the reception party, Bakugou saw his classmates sitting together. Not much of your family showed up, upset the wedding had been cancelled, but everyone else was there. 

You smiled up at Bakugou as he stared back down at you, hand in hand. His whole body was still vibrating from kissing you. As you began to walk forward, he stayed still as a question popped up in his mind.  “Hey.”

“What’s wrong? Cold feet?” You joked, stepping to stand in front of him. 

“How’d you know I’d say it back?” He narrowed his eyes at you and a heat rose to your face. 

“There were two times I ever thought you might like me.” You held up a little peace sign to signify, “Once was when I was walking up to the altar and I saw you crying. Katsuki, you’ve cried maybe five times in front of me. And the second time... was when I saw the way Kirishima was looking at you during the ceremony, right before Ochacco objected...” I mumbled some of the answer, afraid of his reaction. Bakugou just stared in disbelief. 

“Kirishima?” He asked.

“Yeah. He stared at you with almost... pity or sadness, and then he looked almost hopeful when the officiant spoke up. I finally put the pieces together.” 

Bakugou glanced at where Kirishima sat, Mina on his lap as the two drank beer and laughed at something Denki said. His eyes met the red heads and he smirked.  “That idiot.” he spoke and looked around, seeing all of his friends quickly all look over and wave. His smirk grew as he got an idea. 

Within a second, you were dipped in a dramatic pose with him holding you barely a foot above the ground. “I love you.” He said, then kissing you with a fiery passion that could light up the room. Whooping and hollering could be heard all around as his classmates encouraged you two. as he pulled away, he whispered in your ear. 

“You’re mine, and tonight, I’ll prove it.” 

[dramavixen]

are producers the clowns for approving subpar endings or am i the clown for expecting more

**Spoilers for:

Love Like the Galaxy (China, 2022)

The Red Sleeve (South Korea, 2021)

Late as I am to every bandwagon, I at last completed my first watch-through of Love Like the Galaxy a few days ago. For the past couple of weeks, I have done nothing but think about, consume, and breathe this story. At last, a show that was ticking all the boxes! I could tear myself free from this drama slump of mine!

This celebration lasted until I sat down with my parents to observe that thing the producers might call an "ending," but which sparked a frustration in me so severe that it triggered a post-COVID coughing fit, which in turn almost made me throw up. I couldn't comprehend it: was this the same show? Did I accidentally click on a parallel universe version where everyone's intelligence was operating 20% capacity?

Since I'd like to avoid making myself physically ill again, I'm not going to focus too much on how logic abruptly becomes an imaginary concept throughout the last two episodes. At least all that did was make me angry. What I can't accept is that they use that lack of logic to curse our leads with the most careless of reconciliations.

To alleviate my distress, we're going to perform an investigation. A deduction, if you will, of precisely what the ending was lacking, and utilizing a case study of how to conclude a story in both a fitting and compelling manner.

An unresolved misery

In recent years, my tolerance for male leads' misbehavior has plummeted down into the core of the earth. You could say that after years of being brainwashed by media into excusing male characters' questionable actions due to how much they "love" their partners, I'm taking back my common sense. So when faced with Zisheng's killing spree while armed with the knowledge that a "happy ending" was endgame, I anticipated how the writers would close such an abyssal rift in the leads' relationship. And the result was...well, not all that worth it.

If you need a memory refresh or you're reading this without fear of spoilers (godspeed), the conclusion of LLTG sees Shaoshang being kidnapped multiple times by people who she knows don't hold good intentions, but she goes along with them anyway. Don't ask why (the answer is so Zisheng can swoop in to rescue her). Some needlessly dramatic things lead to Shaoshang assuming for a few seconds that Zisheng has died in an explosion. But lo and behold! Here he comes, emerging unscathed from the ordeal. She flies into his arms and forgives him. Then they run off and save China, because it's not a historical C-drama until they do.

By the time we got to the fire/explosion scene, my mental state had already been reduced to a pulp. Therefore, to write this piece, I had to rewatch that part and make sure I was getting all the details right. It shocked me into a second round of holding my head to prevent my brain from ejecting itself as it sought to escape this reality.

(Also, I have to take a moment here to demand justice for He Zhaojun. They leave a pregnant woman on the floor after dragging her out of a fire, while she's having contractions, so they can instead take the time to hold a premature mourning session for Zisheng. Guys, it's not the end of the world if you don't have a brain. But please don't throw away your conscience.)

However the writers did it, it still counts as a happy ending. Such a conclusion should come as a relief, so why do I find it so hard to come to terms with? Let's rewind a tad.

Both Shaoshang and Zisheng grew up under grim circumstances, their identities subjecting them to emotional and social turmoil. But while they share a similar internal struggle, they must deal with it in opposing ways. Shaoshang opens herself up to anyone who shows her true kindness, desperate for someone to accept her for who she is. On the other hand, Zisheng can only isolate himself from everyone, unable to reveal his true self due to both political and personal interests.

Their eventual parting is unavoidable. Shaoshang is moved by Zisheng's unwavering love for her. Can't blame her all that much; just look at him. But the closer she gets, the more Zisheng fears dragging her into his mess of a life, and the more he pulls away. When Zisheng chooses vengeance over love, he's already crossed Shaoshang's bottom line several times by refusing to share his troubles whenever she asked—the irony being that he once scolded her for keeping things to herself.

ZS: If, one day, they really intend to kill you, would you not tell me then, either? Shaoshang, exactly who do you take me for? Why must you always act on your own, and not trust me? SS: It is not that I do not want to trust you. I simply— ZS: You simply do not care about me. After betrothing you, I would frequently think about how great it would be if I could become your confidant and anchor. You could tell me about all of your fears and loneliness. I do not wish to control you. All I hope is that you can be honest with me. But how is it that your heart never warms toward me?

I see that Zisheng is a loyal believer of the "do as I say, not as I do" doctrine.

While it's initially funny to look back on the above scene in context, it's quite sad once you mull over it more. Zisheng's desire to know Shaoshang's troubles is rooted in a concern for her safety that is both emotional and practical in nature. When Shaoshang later applies that same thinking on him, the tables have turned completely. Zisheng is now aware that few situations are simple enough to be resolved just by being honest with someone else. And if the problem is severe enough, doing so may only aggravate it further.

From his perspective, telling Shaoshang would mean ruining her and her family's lives by association. Not to mention, she herself swore that she would stay with him through everything. So if he dies as a result of carrying out his revenge, the possibility of her dying solidifies itself as an inevitability. Leaving her behind is the one method he has to ensure that he alone would suffer the consequences.

Like it or not, it's hard to blame either of them for the end of their relationship. Is Zisheng wrong to keep Shaoshang in the dark? Arguably yes, arguably no. But is Shaoshang justified in her anger about being kept in the dark? Absolutely.

While we can be reasonably upset that post-timeskip Shaoshang possesses none of the outspoken nature of her teenage self, her lingering depression is the most realistic result of everything that happens. She has tried repeatedly to find her place in the world, yet arrives at nothing but failure every time. Not to mention, she suffers from an inferiority complex that intensifies the ache of each and every rejection. She isn't unfamiliar with being abandoned, but Zisheng doing it to her is the final straw that breaks her. The coffin her family was preparing for her didn't go to waste—the moment that Zisheng turned his back on her, he killed a part of her. Meanwhile, Zisheng becomes a corpse with a pulse, someone who only continues to breathe so he can regret what he has done.

When you delve into how much Zisheng hurt Shaoshang and himself, it becomes clear that a Michael Bay explosion shouldn't have been the answer to their problem. After the timeskip, the issue at hand should be less about her forgiving him than it is about each of them needing to redeem parts of themselves that they lost to the circumstances. That's why their interactions at this point are so painful to watch. Every word, every look, every movement brims with love for the other person, but they are both shells of their former selves that cannot move on.

No words for the above; too busy sobbing as they each individually accept that they'll never experience true happiness again.

As a viewer, you know that Shaoshang accepting him at this point would be an objectively bad idea. But it's also hell to watch two people, both overly accustomed to suffering, walk away from the person who brought them the greatest joy in their life. That's the art of tragedy, flourishing before us in a quiet, leaden fog. And they killed it in a bloom of gunpowder, of all things?

The beauty in tragedy

To say that a tragic ending is inherently superior to a happy one would be a pretentious fallacy. At the same time, a forced happy ending will feel unstable enough that the slightest of questions will cast it into doubt. The genre of an ending is irrelevant. It only matters that the ending is the right one.

So should LLTG have ended with the leads parting ways for good? To find the answer, I want to first dig into a successful example of tragedy. For that, let's look to our dearest, our legendary, our precious: The Red Sleeve.

Similar in premise to LLTG, TRS features a female lead with independent thinking and a dream for freedom, faced with a man of high social status who goes about chasing her in a way that flaunts his power. The stakes are higher in TRS since the man in question will one day be king, but the highlight of the show is the same as in LLTG: you bounce back and forth between hoping that she ends up with him and praying to any god that exists that she runs far, far away from him. You can't really win.

One day I'd love to write a thorough analysis on the amazing character that is Sung Deok-Im, but for our current purposes I'll focus on the nature of her ending. TRS is roughly based on history, and a quick Google search when you begin the drama will inform you that our female lead is fated to die at 33 years old—only a few years after she is "promoted" from gungnyeo to Yi San's consort. As a result, you spend much of the drama battling the lurking dread of how her death comes about.

A few months after her young son passes away, Deok-Im falls ill and dies. The unborn child in her womb follows her. Yi San is beside her as Deok-Im slips away, and her dying wish is cruel but fair: should they meet again in another life, she begs Yi San to pass her by. Only then can she choose to live a free life, full of choices, which was all she had wanted until she fell in love with him.

While watching LLTG, my emotions mirrored those I endured through TRS. Both dramas force you to get to know the female lead as someone who wants to be herself, a baffling idea in the face of a society where women's primary identities are those associating them with someone else: daughters, wives, sisters, mothers. Yet she continues to harbor hope that she can control her own life, even as she falls in love with a man whose station will certainly snuff out that possibility. The saving grace in LLTG is that Zisheng is not a part of the royal family, and even then Shaoshang goes through her fair share of frustration. TRS on the other hand...even if you haven't seen it, you can likely guess what happens.

The biggest tragedy in TRS is not that Deok-Im dies young. It's the despair that trickles through every part of you as she transforms from a free-spirited, boisterous young woman into an obedient consort whose every word and movement is straight out of the books of etiquette, who isn't permitted her own feelings or thoughts in the face of the country's interests. History may not share the specifics behind how the consort actually died, but the drama all but tells you that depression played a major role. By the end of the drama, Deok-Im hasn't existed for a while. She dies as Royal Noble Consort Ui.

I wonder what I have gained by being in this place, and what I have lost.

I cry inconsolably whenever I see this expression of acceptance and resignation on her face as she sends off her friends and her former self, knowing full well that she has caged herself into a life of sadness so she can be with the one she loves—a man whose first priority can never be her.

But oh, no; our suffering doesn't end there. Yi San lives on after her, looking after his country while carrying the lingering pain of Deok-Im's death. At one point, he retrieves her belongings and appears stunned by her gungnyeo clothing:

It is so small. Were you always so small? Yet, I loved you.

In Yi San’s memory, Deok-Im was a person of great stature. What she may have lacked in social position, she more than made up for in personality. Her tenacity made her appear so strong that only in hindsight does Yi San understand just how vulnerable she was.

Yi San is also someone to be pitied. When we watch palace dramas, it's easy to say that the king's consorts have it far worse than the king. They fight over a man in order to survive, and arguably their sacrifices are greater in number and magnitude. But it's egregious to host a competition of suffering, and you can't deny that Yi San himself leads an unfortunate life. In the cold isolation of the palace, Deok-Im gives him warmth and company. It's no wonder that he wishes to have her by his side, but he is still willing to let her go when she pushes him away.

Almost every other palace drama would have you turning up your nose at the king or emperor's so-called "love" for one of the women in his harem. TRS leaves no room for such doubt. The throne takes away Yi San's ability to choose, and ultimately his ability to wholeheartedly love someone. Even so, Yi San holds Deok-Im so dear that you might want to blame him for how she ends up, but it's hard. Really, really hard. (For anyone interested and who hasn't already, I highly recommend reading the actual history behind this drama. Dude was so in love that it physically hurts.)

In the final scene, he reunites with Deok-Im in the afterlife. At last, they are together and without all the frills and chains of royalty tying them down.

Many years have passed, and at times, I was not certain myself. Do I truly miss you, or do I simply glorify the past? Now I know. I missed you, and I missed the time that I spent with you. [...] Now I understand that we do not have much time. And we do not have the luxury to wait. So, love me. Please. Love me.

I'm always scared to watch the last episode because I just spend the full hour and a half bawling until I can't breathe. Taking these few screenshots was truly a test of my entire being.

So what makes a good tragedy? Tragedy is not "bad things happen." It's "bad things may have happened, but I wouldn't have chosen any differently." When Deok-Im becomes Yi San's consort, it isn't because he keeps her there. She chooses to stay. She loves the prospect of freedom, but she just loves Yi San more. It's awful, it hurts, and it's perfect.

What could have been

We've taken a slight detour, but have at last arrived back at the topic of: how should LLTG have ended?

If given the choice between Shaoshang and Zisheng being together and them not being together, I would obviously choose the former while beating the latter into a permanent nonexistence. With any degree of empathy, you can't watch two people suffer as Shaoshang and Zisheng do, then turn around and wish for their continued misfortune and loneliness. So although I'll concede that it would have easily made for a fantastic tragedy like TRS, I can't bear to say that it should have been one. But if the writers want to go for the non-obvious happy ending, it still has to follow the progression of things.

The current problem is this: Zisheng abandoned Shaoshang and scorned her trust in him. We're now in a position where Shaoshang has the decisive say in whether the relationship can be revived.

LLTG's primary focus has always been Shaoshang. Though multifaceted, her personality and motivations are pretty straightforward. Each time she suffers is a result of her lack of agency. She had no choice in her parents leaving her as an infant, no choice in her poor upbringing, no choice in agreeing to marry Zisheng. Even when she gave up Lou Yao, was that truly a result of her volition alone? For someone whose greatest enemy is helplessness, what matters most is maintaining her own free will.

Through this lens, each time Shaoshang asks Zisheng if he has something to tell her, not only is she asking him to trust in her as his equal, she wants him to let her decide to stay with him. Zisheng turning her away scars her so deeply because it's the same thing as telling her, "I don't care what you want to do." He's drawing a line while taking away from her the power to choose—the one thing she's told him repeatedly matters to her.

SS: I used to hate you for abandoning me. I hated that you acted on your own. I hated that you would rather leap from a cliff than walk alongside me. I hated that I loved you so truly, whereas you told me lie after lie. It has been five years. It was not easy to let go of all of this. I can no longer give away my heart or trust again. ZS: I am sorry. Regardless of what choice you make, I will respect it. These last few years in the Northwest, not a day went by where I was not filled with remorse. I know you. I knew completely that you feared being abandoned. Yet I still chose to harm you in the way that would hurt you the most. In the first twenty years of my life, I lived in hatred. And for the rest of my life, I will live in remorse. If I could, I would tear my heart from my chest to show you. But I know I no longer have that right.

"A married couple exists as one entity." Such is what the drama emphasizes time and again, but what does that mean? Not that one party is in automatic agreement with the other. It's about learning to reach compromises and understanding what's important to the other person. When you don't give your partner their say in that conversation, then what relationship is there to be had?

That is why Shaoshang's unwavering desire for individual opinion matters even more after entering a relationship, and why she still struggles to come to terms with what Zisheng has done. She doesn't blame him. She doesn't want him to beg for forgiveness. After everything she's been through, she just can't put herself in the same vulnerable position again. And he's learned to fully respect her opinion, which means that he has to let her go.

TRS's ending works for the simple reason that it remains true to the characters and their motivations. The tragedy isn't there to make us sad, it's just where the story was always going to find itself. This is why we as viewers hate the ending, but we wouldn't have wanted it written any other way—to do so would be betraying Deok-Im and Yi San.

But when you look LLTG, it gives you a very weak argument for Shaoshang and Zisheng's reconciliation. In front of you are two people whose love for one another could not run any deeper, yet there are legitimate obstacles to their relationship. Shaoshang needs to relearn trust and feel respected. Zisheng's conflict mimics that of Yi San's; as much as he may regret the past, there is nothing about it that can be changed. That regret is something that has to be addressed. (Of course, in Yi San's case, that was addressed through his death. So maybe not that for Zisheng, if you please.)

I can see where the writers attempt to cure Zisheng's remorse, but come on now. They stage a bizarre speech for him where he denounces his previous actions, like a child being punished by his parents and being forced to write a 200-word essay reflecting on his wrongdoings, and while they're being held in the most asinine hostage situation ever known to man. He seriously proclaims that he should have walked the honorable path instead of opting for vigilante justice.

This entire scene was a nauseating roller coaster, but that last part threw me for a major loop. Sir, the only reason you can say that so shamelessly is because your soon-to-be wife found evidence after you killed the guy. Are you really going to stand there with a straight face as you tell me that you regret how you killed the man who you watched murder your father, and who brought about the horrific deaths of your entire family? There was no other option at the time. Of course you had to kill him. It was as much a personal vendetta as it was political. No one likes what happened after that, but those are consequences that should be dealt with separately. Also, Shaoshang's qualms aren't rooted in you killing the guy, they're rooted in you killing him and then trying to kill yourself, all without taking her desires into consideration.

And just as I was thinking the above, the next thing that happened on-screen: Shaoshang turns to him with an expression that says, ah, so he's learned his lesson! Oh...my goodness.

Hi, ma'am? Question. What exactly is more emotionally persuasive about this weird declaration now than when he laid his heart out that night when you wished one another well and said goodbye? Is it because he almost explodes afterward? In the five years he spent out on the battlefield, was he not always in danger of exploding, or being stabbed, or being tortured to death, etc.? Did he not almost die saving you from falling off a cliff two days prior? Why didn't you waver then, especially since it should remind you of, you know, the other time that he jumped off a cliff?

During the scene where she runs to him after discovering he miraculously is not dead, a severe suspicion came over me that perhaps they inhaled so much smoke that they were no longer thinking straight.

A solid happy ending was clearly a possibility. Even if they wanted to go with the above nonsense, could we not also have had a moment where they admit to one another that while overcoming their pain will be difficult at first, being apart from one another for eternity would be much more painful? That nothing in life is easy, but it will be easier with each other? That that commitment is what makes a married couple a single entity, and they just want to commit to each other? Then they can go off and save China, whatever.

They deserved an ending that had me rejoicing that these two are finally, finally, finally on the same wavelength. It should have been more introspective and more considerate of Shaoshang's hurt and Zisheng's regret. Their psychological wounds are instead dismissed through an absurd monologue in a basement and the arbitrary realization that death is lurking around every corner.

The hilarious part is that in the last two episodes, even the actors are noticeably less enthusiastic. In their performances, I see essences of how I feel when a client requests edits to a design that will make it significantly uglier. You gotta do what you gotta do to pay the bills.

Sigh. I could forever grieve what could have been, but this is still one of my favorite dramas. Characters that feel like real people, relationships that make your heart hurt. Those should be common sense in media but are hard to come by in reality, and I'll continue to appreciate what LLTG gave me.

All I really want from the drama industry is for it to please, for the love of our collective sanities, stop thinking that "happy" endings are a valid shortcut to satiating an audience. Good tragic endings are difficult to write, yes, but good happy endings are not any easier. To underestimate that is to let down the story and characters that were so painstakingly brought to life in the first place.

[solomons-poison]

my mind is going in circles right now

okok whats ur opinion on ex hubby sol and mephisto

i always type sol btw because it’s awkward writing his full name (dk whyy)

with mephisto there would be angst potential, maybe he let his pride get in his way and ended up hurting you along with his pride, he doesnt rlly believe in ‘divorce’ so he’ll try to act like nothing is wrong but inside of him its killing him, hes in denial, disbelief of himself and the whole situation

with sol i cant rlly imagine divorcing him (maybe bc im biased with him) but for the sake of this, there would be so much angst potential like so much, the first human in a very very long time he had deeply loved until it was all shattered by his own hands

jskajskaakao

Ohhhhhhh yes ex-husband angst, it just hurts so good.... (Sol is under the cut, this just got very long lol; also unintentionally wrote this as reader suggesting the divorce, cause both guys seem like ride-or-die with their partners to me and I cant see them bringing it up without good cause...)

Divorcing Mephisto would absolutely be so dramatic and very painful. He's either going to explode on you, yelling and gesturing wildly and maybe even making baseless accusations against you (that he will 100% regret later and you'll never forget what he said). Or he'll suddenly get unnaturally quiet/ignore or avoid you. Even if you need to get documents signed or need to talk about how to break up assets, etc, he avoids you at all costs. The only thing that might turn him around is if people start rumors about you or your relationship (or lack thereof), because he still cares about you and doesn't want your name slandered like that by others.

He'll definitely be in denial for a while, and hurt you that way by saying things like "you don't mean it/want this", "just give it some time and you'll see you're wrong". He absolutely won't listen to you until you have to get a third party involved that he can't ignore, like Diavolo. It is a super messy affair...

There would be so much tension between you two, and if the divorce is for anything other than falling out of love, I can bet there'd be a lot of instances of angry sudden makeout sessions or breakup sex tbh. If you're not careful, you might get stuck in a cycle of hookups/dating again and then sudden breakup.

—

Now, divorcing Solomon... He definitely isn't explosive like Mephisto would be. I can see him being very quiet about the whole ordeal, but the pain and sadness is so evident in his eyes. His smiles afterwards are all strained and forced. Cause you know that you were the light in his life, the color in his world that he had initially lost after becoming immortal.

I think initially, you two would come to an understanding about the divorce, it would be a mutual agreement with little argument or fights. But he will ask for some time to think about things beforehand (meaning time for you to think about it too). And don't get him wrong, he is absolutely upset about the whole ordeal. But it's not your fault that you feel the way you do, you have a right to be happy and he wants to support that. But it's definitely painful to him.

I think even after becoming a full fledged sorcerer, you two would still have a kind of mentor-student relationship since he's so knowledgeable about spells and magic. So during/after the divorce, he may want to stop teaching you because being in close quarters with you is too much to stand. As much as he wants to be by your side, it's so bad for his own mental health and he'll put distance between you two.

—

Like I said, these are kind of focused on reader wanting the divorce, for whatever reasons, just cause I can't really see either Mephisto or Solomon ever wanting to divorce, they'd try everything to make things right again. But if you have thoughts about it going the other way, I'm very interested. Sorry for the word vomit, I've been really into the ex-husband angst vibe recently and it's so bad for me lol

[notallthoseinheadspace]

Some long rambling speculation on the last couple episodes of The Bad Batch below the cut.

(If any of it doesn’t make sense please forgive me, today’s round of chemo fucking flattened me.)

Going off my other post about how I do suspect CX-2 is Tech and Omega is Force-sensitive (I don’t know how to embed it and I’m too tired to figure it out right now, I can edit this when I don’t feel like I could be slipped through a letter slot) I’m caught on how Omega said that last time she escaped she had help. That was Crosshair.

She doesn’t know he missed, but she has to know there’s a chance. Even though his hand was steady after he started meditating with her, that sort of problem doesn’t get fixed overnight. So I’m still wondering if she had a backup tracker on her that wasn’t scanned - or, in a callback to the scene in the mine, she and CX-Tech had a heart-to-heart in the ship. Maybe she knows she has help coming separate from what we the viewers know.

The previews showed Hunter in what looked like a single-person vessel (the one they were in didn’t have a fully glass cockpit? Well, transparisteel. You know what I mean.) which suggests to me that they get into the base and wind up in the base’s fighter craft somehow?

(I’m fully expecting Hunter to do a sacrifice play. I hope he doesn’t succeed. I want the whole Batch together and happy again.)

The Cavalry mentioned in the last episode title seems like it would be a callback to their first appearance in TCW - Wrecker says ‘the cavalry has arrived!’ as he’s stepping off the ship to greet Cody and Rex - which gives me hope that the cavalry in question is not only the reunited Bad Batch but also Rex and Cody coming to their aid.

Another scene I can imagine happening and would love to see: Crosshair taking a shot at CX-2, who falls, helmet dramatically rolling away to reveal a scarred Tech - who, after a long moment of shock and horror, opens his eyes to groan out ‘Crosshair, you missed.’

Presumably the station on Tantiss will be destroyed - by the Zillo beast we saw the shadow of? By Wrecker and Crosshair planting explosives and then detonating them with one of the signature ricocheting shots? (Please not by someone pulling a Hevy. I am tired and everyone has enough trauma, Echo especially.)

Ideally the Batch would be presumed dead and Hemlock and all his research would be destroyed so there’s no reason for the Empire to continue searching them out, and they can retire in peace (although I do see Omega seeking out more training and involvement with Rex’s clone rebellion once she’s older - and I really fucking hope we get a series of that. Echo is my favorite, I would genuinely like to see him onscreen more. Also, we never did have the story behind how Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor wound up in their mobile fishing home. I’m fairly sure it’s horrible and tragic and I want it anyway.)

What they’re going to do with Rampart is baffling me - he doesn’t seem to have realized that his surviving this escapade is entirely reliant on Crosshair’s goodwill. Y’know, the guy he relentlessly dehumanized and never let eat a full meal and seems way too comfortable casually pushing around. (What is the way Crosshair is holding him when he stumbles in the ‘negative’ scene? It would make sense for Cross and Wrecker to be restraining him but it’s so weirdly tender?)

So, in very rambly conclusion, my speculative theories:

- CX-2 aiding Omega and revealed to be Tech

- Callback to the mine cave scene with Omega and Tech talking

- Cavalry is Rex, Cody, Gregor (and possibly Wolffe? Unless they are giving us a Clone Rebellion series and Wolffe joining Rex is covered in that)

- Crosshair’s tremor comes back, but as a positive (doesn’t kill his brother!)

- Deaths include Hemlock and Hunter (I don’t want Hunter to die. I just have a feeling. They’re not going to kill Omega and killing Crosshair at this point in his character arc would just be bad writing. Redemption equals death is a sloppy, lazy trope and it doesn’t work when someone’s already doing the work to redeem themselves. I’m unsure about Wrecker, but I can see him pulling a Hevy to let the others escape.)

- Emerie turning on Hemlock enough to help the children escape but not escaping with them. I have no guesses on Nala Se. TBB has pushed to make her a more sympathetic character, but it also seems like her imprisonment is weakening her a great deal. If I had to guess, she will try to tell Omega what Omega’s mutation is but die before she can finish, setting up Omega to research/train etc in any possible sequels/later appearances.

If this makes no sense blame the Taxol, if I’m right about anything blame the dodgeball.

[pancake-breakfast]

Now that Bluesummers is back on the playing field, I'm a bit scared of what's to come. He better not hurt my precious Livio.

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 11, Chapters 5-6 below.

Chapter 5: Get Ready, Get Set

HAhahahahahaha, Knives is double-D's....

Chronicaaaaaaa!!! I've been waiting to meet her since I heard about her in Stampede! Look at her, sitting there all pretty with her hot tea.

"This kind of problem"? This suggests they've dealt with it before, or at least have taken the possibility of it into consideration.

Well, if fusing with other plants gets around the black hair phenomenon, then Knives should be fine. That's... a... good thing....?

Yeah, I'm beginning to think the dependent Plants are legit trying to overwhelm Knives with their own consciousnesses to sort of save him without killing him. Kind of like what he's doing, except there's a LOT more of them, and they're a LOT less violent.

Uhhhh... did this guy just lob a coin at them and then... die??

LOL, Vash is being way too dramatic about this. You can't tell me that, in all his years on a planet with a decreasing population, he never learned to recognize a dead body.

LOL, random question about clams vs. fish. Where are they getting either of those on this planet? From Plants??

Ohhhh, Zazie. That explains a lot. Zazie's done with Knives right now. And since Zazie's worms, being shredded up by Legato isn't exactly gonna stop them.

I like the little worm halo. You know, so we know it's dead.

LOL, panic and descending chaos. I approve.

LOL, EVERYONE is crying. Worm panic causes tears.

I wonder if Stampede will introduce control worms or if they'll just stick with the extensive spy network.

Dude, Meryl and Milly did a thorough search of the device and didn't realize it has an audio playing function embedded in it??

Wait, he's connected to Legato now?? That's so impractical. What if Legato was still in a coma? Or taking a leak? Or had his mouth full of beef that he was slurping up??

Also, whyyyy does he have a new weird iron maiden puppet thing?? Do I want to know? I feel like I don't want to know.

Man, I get Vash's depression over this. But Livio is here to cheer him on!

Oh, gosh, Livio.... You aren't a monster, my friend. You're just a person.

"That bitch"? Strong words. Does he mean Elandira?

Ah, yeah, he does.

I... do not know if Livio can actually handle Elandira. She's pretty unhandle-able.

Ok, this right here is a good moment for Livio.

LOL, did Vash hurt his hand giving Livio a friendly pat?

Vash is the resident Plant expert here.

DIY explosives. Not concerning at all. Luida looks ready to smack him if he gives the wrong answer here.

Wait, Luida hears the voices of the Plants? What does that mean??

Ohhh, NM, that was Vash speaking.

"Is it possible for something created by humanity to completely break away from their creators?" Let me direct you to Exhibit A: Vash the Stampede, and perhaps more convincing Exhibit B: Millions Knives. Yes, I realize there's room for debate on how much either of them have "broken away," but they definitely have a will that is independent of the will of those who created them.

Ohhh, these are Plant thoughts. That makes them a LOT more significant.

Aww, Vash calling the Plants in the arc "the girls."

How the hell is Vash gonna keep both Knives and Legato in check? That didn't work out so well for him last time.

OMG everything about this. Thank God these two are finally hugging it out. They need this.

Milly telling Vash that Meryl can still get sad. Good on her. Anyone can still get sad. Being able to get sad isn't a sign of weakness.

Ugh, them kissing their fists and then bumping them. This is why people ship these two.

"Who's that helping us? Vash the Stampede, you say? Hmm, sounds familiar, but I just can't place it." Something something social strata. This guy's never been low enough on the totem poles to keep abreast of bounty hunter knowledge.

FYI, the untranslated Japanese across the top here is basically, "What the hell?!" or "What was that?!"

Ohhhh, that stupid-ass military general doesn't look like he's prepared to comply.

The Earth forces are not happy about Knives. Including Chronica.

Aaaand Livio's hunted down Elandira. I'm sure this will go smoothly.

Chapter 6: That Which Can Be Protected

Why do I feel like this volume is gonna end on a major cliffhanger?

Oh, hey! Baby Livio!

That's right! You've protected others before, and you can do it again!

What, you guys just gonna stare at each other all day? I mean, that's not necessarily bad. I'm just asking.

She looks kinda sad.

That... is one giant nail.

Yeah, she's pretty scary. The only thing that gives Livio a chance here is how crazy his regenerative ability is.

How did she know where he would stand so her nail landed in the right spot?

TBH, Elandira doesn't seem to like most people, regardless of gender. Have we met anyone she likes? She tolerates Zazie and Wolfwood, and didn't seem any more positively inclined than that toward any of the other Gung-Ho Guns. She hates Legato. She's dedicated to Knives, but she doesn't seem to like him. He's her boss and is gonna take her to Armageddon. It seems more transactional than anything else.

Ooh, low blow, Elandira. Very in character for her, but... but... I, the reader, don't want to hear people insulting Wolfwood like that.

Mmmmm, this is not a secluded fighting spot. That's... problematic.

"I was going to let you go because we're all going to die anyway." Hahaha, she's such a nihilist. I would have loved to have seen her in a more casual, less murder-ful setting. She would LOVE running her own drag bar, I think.

Hahahaha, all the random civilians being like, "You guys are too rowdy! Get out!" Good for them. Also, they clearly don't know who they're talking to.

Noooooo! Stop hurting my Livio! He needs to be protected, not FILLED WITH GIANT NAILS!!!

Ok, this is interesting. It sounds like some part of her wants to hope, or maybe did hope at some point in time, but the world beat it out of her a long time ago. She sounds... like Livio in the Before Times.

Man, I thought that looked like a nuke, but I didn't want to assume something about this world's tech like that.

How did she get the key for the bomb??

Hey! I recognize that hat!

Awww, of course he was protecting kids! And now these kids are gonna have the kind of trauma one gets from seeing someone who was trying to protect you brutally stabbed through with a bunch of nails.

Aww, Livio's decided kids are cute. Good for him.

They just met him and they're so worried about him! Oh, I think I should probably be worried about him, too, but for some reason I'm not? IDK, I just think he'll pull through.

See? He's fine. And apparently about to try to adopt half a dozen kids.

Oh, they have a mother-type person. Good. Livio's life's a bit dangerous right now to be looking after a bunch of kids. Maybe when things settle down.

He seems hesitant to accept this gift, but he also knows this act of gratitude is important to her.

Hahahaha, this little hat kid is determined. Scared, but determined.

Oh, man. When do you think Livio last felt his heart soar? This is giving me the feels.

Ohhhh shit, it's his old crush! Also, six years my ass.

Hmm, not so cliffhanger after all. Nice.

Archive

Trigun Vol. 1: Covers + 1-3, 4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 || Vol. 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Vol. 1: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 2: Covers + 1, 2-4, 5, 6-7 || Vol. 3: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-7 || Vol. 4: Covers + 1-2, 3-5, 6-7 || Vol. 5: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 6: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 7: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 8: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5 + Bonus || Vol. 9: Covers + 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 || Vol. 10: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-8 || Vol. 11: Covers + 1-2, 3-4

Extra Credit: Trigun Vol. 1: Nebraska vs. Vash's Motivations, Vash's Loneliness, Vash's Depression (pt. 2 of post), Soupy Brains || Vol. 2: Coin Factoids || TriMax Vol. 1: Lina, Vash, and a Haircut || Meryl, Vash, and the Pursuit of Happiness || Vol. 5: Knives, Vash, and Hatred for Humanity || Vol. 6: Coping Series: Wolfwood, Meryl, Vash || Vol. 8: The Uncoordinated Counterattack || Vol. 9: Justice, Punishment, and Mercy, The Tolling of an Iron Bell || Vol. 10: Crucifixion Symbology (pt. 2 of post), Merging of Families, Being Childlike (And Why God Hates Chapel)

[toxinoire]

Just something I thought of.

~~~~~~~

The Government Officials are roaming an open area with the intention of building something there. The people living there are all currently protesting that idea, due to the fact that the area is one of their town's sources of materials. But...

Of course, they don't care.

"Careful not to step foot on the minefield."

"Got it."

"Gosh, will those townsfolk shut up?"

Danny Alforth, the lead official, scoffed. "They're being dramatic." He said as he leaned on a tree.

"Sir the minefield-"

"I know, I'm not gonna step on a mine."

The townsfolk continued to yell, protesting the mere idea of these people to strip off their main and only source of materials for some building.

"They're not gonna listen to us." Said Heather Chandler.

"We still have to try!" Said Heather McNamara.

"The whole town is yelling already! They're still ignoring us." Said Heather Duke.

"Ugh!" Heather McNamara groaned.

"Okay, calm down. I'm sure this situation will be resolved soon." Said Lyvara Diorre, a fellow townsfolk.

"Hope so." Said Heather Duke.

Danny groaned. "Assholes. HEY! I'm doing your town a favor!"

"How the hell is getting rid of our only source of materials a favor!?"

"Yeah! It's not like you give an actual shit about lower class citizens!"

"I'M ABOVE YOU UNDERSTAND?! Know your place, you low life cows!" Danny yelled.

"Sir, you're way too close to the minef-"

"YOU SWINES SHOULD LEARN TO RESPECT ME!"

"I need some water." Said Lyvara as she stepped away. She then contacted...a certain person. "Yo Cami, how you holding up?"

Camille Agerton, from the side with the officials, answered. "He's getting agitated right on time and on position."

"Cool, I'll let her know." Said Lyvara as she opened another contact. "Everything's in place."

Veronica grinned. "Perfect." She went to her balcony and signalled someone sitting on the roof next to the balcony.

Betty nodded and aimed.

She shot a landmine in the minefield with a very silent gun.

Causing the explosion, eventually killing Danny.

"Gotta hand it to you Ronnie, this gun is crazy silent." Said Betty.

"Using air pressure instead gun powder is what did that." Answered Veronica.

Betty chuckled. "Still, this was clean. All that will be released is that he got so agitated that he accidentally stepped on a landmine."

"Exactly. And without him, they can't really proceed with this building idea. As this was simply a decoy inspection."

"Huh?"

"Why do you think we had to get rid of him? From investigation, I found out a lot of things."

"Which are?"

"Danny Alforth. A very self-serving man who burnt down his own home, killing his wife and employees in it. All for insurance money. Of course, no one actually knows that. And now, he plans to strip that town of their only source of materials." Veronica chuckled. "Our friend from the government 'approved' this inspection. It's why we were able to pull this one off."

Betty nodded. "I see."

Veronica smirked.

They've done it again.

~~~~~

Whatcha guys think?

[kitkatopinions]

So this is about Rubys breakdown in S9 E7: I think what was weird to me was how out of nowhere it came. Like Jaune is grieving his friends, Weiss wants Ruby to say smth comforting, and Ruby just goes into her speech...but it seems so disconnected to the event that just happened. The first few sentences just tripped me up because this whole situation HAD nothing to do with Ruby being the leader. I HATE THIS SPEECH. AAAAH.

I think that you're right that there's a big old disconnect, and it makes the whole thing feel worse.

There are some pretty basic fixes that would still leave it feeling meh, but much better than what we got. Like for instance if while Team RWBY were sitting around the table talking about Jaune and the rest of Ruby's team were dismissing him, if Ruby - trying to be calm and work things out but clearly frustrated and going through it still - had started being like "why can't we let Jaune be the leader? He's the one that comes up with plans anyway, why do I have to greenlight stuff for you guys to do anything? Why don't you guys wanna contribute?" That would seem well placed and a good complaint for Ruby to have (she wants things to be a joint effort with her team,) and could lead to the others being like "But we believe in and follow you, we know you'll figure out what to do," which would cement just how much pressure they've put on Ruby and how alone she feels. And then if we still needed what happened with the Paper Pleasers to go down, Ruby - instead of being callously dismissive of the Paper Pleasers humanity - could be more visibly distraught at their 'deaths' because she's the only one in the group iirc that wasn't like "maybe them killing themselves is a good thing uwu Jaune why are you holding them back?" And then when the girls are all comforting Jaune, they could turn to Ruby to get the inspirational speech they clearly wanted and Ruby could start ranting about how none of them actually know how Ascension works and they don't know the Paper Pleasers are gonna be fine so they may have just let more people die. The others could then be like "whoa calm down, that's not how any of us need to be thinking right now" which could then lead to Ruby's explosion.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I 'being like Ironwood?' Is admitting that we're in way over our heads being bad? Am I supposed to be better than that and just come up with perfect solutions all the time?! 'Oh guys, don't worry, Ruby will think of something,' 'we don't even have to worry about what we do, because Ruby will save the day, Ruby inspires us and comforts us and makes sure we're all smiling!' I CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE! This isn't okay, what just happened isn't okay, we're not okay, I'M NOT OKAY!"

Then there can be pushback from the girls, a "what are you talking about, I thought you were fine" from Yang, a "I know things are really bad right now, but we have to focus on getting home and we can't do that by wallowing" from Weiss, maybe a "Ruby I know you're upset, but you're the best of us and we trust you" from Blake, which is the exact opposite of what Ruby would want to hear and that could push her into her "what about me" and angrily yelling at the others and her "we're all so happy for you, by the way" moment with Blake and Yang.

And if someone's about to say "Kitkat, hold up, wouldn't that take too long?" The answer is no actually. This is the supposed main central protagonist having her first real breakdown since crying over Penny's death in V3, the show should be willing to spend time on that to make it as good, dramatic, fleshed out, and deep as possible.

Now, what I would REALLY like is some much bigger fixes, like... Redoing the entire series and making it better, or at least re-doing everything after the start of season six, or at the very least like fourteen thirty-minute eps for this season where Jaune actually didn't time travel, everyone actually got proper focus on their growth, the Cat wasn't evil, Ruby didn't 'ascend,' Ascension was never written as way to make Ruby try to off herself without committing to treating it as important, everything was better explained, the Ever After characters weren't so annoying, and part of the season focused on Team RWBYJ waking up in different acres and having to find each other.... Etc., etc. But, I'd settle for just some minor edits to make Ruby's dialogue hit harder and make more sense.

[direwolfrules]

3 Mandos And A Baby AU: They’re In Love Your Honor

I've been neglecting Ursa and Alrich in this AU, and that's a goddamn crime. They're too adorable together. Clearly, I have sinned.

So, Ursa and Alrich actually do a great job of keeping their relationship from leaking outside of the halls of the Academy. Even within the Academy there are only three people who know for sure that they're dating. We don’t count the Cadet Squad as people by the way, they’re more…sentient headaches.

If you ask the Professors? They're friends. Study-buddies. Alrich is Ursa's pet scholarship student. The heir to Clan Wren certainly isn't dating a boy who's only able to attend the prestigious institution through a scholarship.

Their fellow students only respond with a pointed "this line of questioning treads dangerously close to violating the Honor Code". Translation: "The last time someone tried to gossip about the two of them their speeder blew up and their crush was sent a really embarrassing drawing". The speeder thing was actually totally unrelated, but eh. Ursa's not gonna turn down free fear.

So, news of their relationship finally breaks...I wanna say when they're nineteen? Some big festival, fireworks, picture perfect romantic moment, and both of them have adult minds but their bodies are full of teenage hormones. They kiss. Publicly. Right as a journalist who'd been assigned the second most boring beat in Sundari passes by.

No one expected the front page of Mandalore's biggest gossip rag to be a very dramatic shot of the kiss (Alrich, once he gets over the shock, frames it. It's actually a really nice picture).

Ursa's father? Furious. His heir – his strong, proud, traditionalist heir – dating a New Mando boy? And also, to a lesser extent: his little girl, dating?

Alrich's folks aren't pleased either. Such a close tie to a family that openly borders on indecency with their traditionalist politics? It could actually cost them in the circles of New Mandalorian society that they're trying to ascend.

Bo-Katan's trying to stop Pre from exploding. He's very unhappy that the heir to one of his vassal clans would do this. He had plans for her, cousins and other vassals he was going to introduce her to. Strengthening ties between vassals and interconnecting the members of Death Watch even more is necessary. The more people he can pressure with a single point the better.

When she hears this Bo, once again, questions all her life decisions, and promptly shoves those realizations in the same box as Korkie's parentage.

She manages to calm Pre down and convince him it's all part of a strategy on Ursa's part. If she can get to Alrich she'll have better access to his underclassman mentees, one of which is the dear Duchess's beloved nephew. Access to Korkie means access to the palace, and Ursa's always been very good with explosives.

Pre promptly decides that yes, this is a brilliant plan, and also that he'd come up with it. Bo's so glad for helmets cause if Pre saw how hard she rolled her eyes Bo would be deader than that kid from Clan Priest who got caught chatting up one of the other verde, instead of guarding the cells. (There was no need for anyone to even guard the cells, they were empty, but Pre just likes shooting his finite supply of loyal warriors)

Anyway, back in Sundari things are not looking good for our favorite couple. Some professors have gotten it into their heads that Alrich isn't good enough for Ursa. He's suddenly getting worse marks, his submissions of certain assignments are "disappearing", and the other students are definitely picking up on it. He gets tripped in the halls more often now, and has had his art supplies sabotaged more than once.

No one's done anything to Ursa, they still think she blew up a guy's speeder after all, but an attack on Alrich might as well be an attack on her.

No, Ursa's biggest issue comes in the form of her family. Her father is not happy and keeps trying to arrange matches to traditionalist/Death Watch aligned clans. Ursa tends to shut these matches down by spending the entirety of the arranged date talking about how perfect Alrich is. It's an effective strategy and Ursa takes delight in making things as awkward as possible.

Alrich at one point is visiting his parents, and they're giving him a "what will society think?!" talk. His father's up for a promotion soon, that bump in salary could secure them a place in the upper-mid levels, why doesn't he think of his little siblings? What will the Duchess think of the boy who's mentoring her nephew? He better believe his palace invites are gonna dry up real quick!

As they're ranting Alrich gets a notification on his datapad telling him his next visit to the palace, to discuss Korkie's schooling, has had a minor change. He's now allowed a plus one. (Satine saw the news, sipped her tea, and decided that anyone who doesn't suggest Korkie's insane deserves nice things.)

[twilightofthe]

gonna put my random liveblog reactions for Ahsoka Ep 1 here

okay so the rebels fam are literally some of my favorite star wars characters i've loved and missed them since 2018 and if anything this show will give me them

i am going with zero expectations except a plea, a plea to just not make me hate it lmao idc what happens just let me have fun

just press the start button coward ass come ON

okay i'm startiiiing Now!

oooh they didn't name it interesting

kk cool drums that's neat we like that

whoa was that sabine's helmet in the intro????

OPENING TITLE SCROLL?????

WE REALLY LIKE THAT????????

y'all the new republic's about as stable as a human jenga tower don't u have anything better to do than find thrawn i'm p sure even the imperials didn't like him THAT much they were xenophobes

former jedi knight? HMMMM

why is it always a secret map

also appreciating the OG "let's open up on big ass ship in space" makes you feel small

ok have i heard this new republic(?) captain actor before he seems familiar

bitch literally anyone could have an old jedi clearance code clearance codes were passed around like

yeah he doesn't trust it either

but i feel like he's actually dickish and we're not supposed to like him so

ah yes rebel soldiers and their stupid-ass egg helmets

wait old white bearded guy you ain't obi wan you AIN'T a jedi

his voice sounds familiar too

i have such face blindness lmao

oh whoops that's a darkside saber his friend has!

she kinda looks like Merrin from JFO

Eh probs some kinda Nightsister of sorts

I'm guessing he's some Inquisitor who got forgotten

Hmm we really paralleling ANH with darkside guy slaughtering all the egghelmet guys on a ship xD

Ok his name is Baylan

And hers is Morgan and the intro crawl mentioned her but my memory is shit so I don't quite remember what she was about except vague Thrawn-related reasons

ooooh name drop!

aaaaaAAAAA RIGHT IN THE EMOTIONS NOOO NO THE AHSOKA AND ANAKIN LEITMOTIFF TWILIGHT OF THE APPRENTICE THEME

ok i'm good lol

ohh wait so there IS a title

master and apprentice

alas it seems like the thing i didn't want is gonna happen but we are staying OPEN MINDED we are going to SEE

ok lots of tall pillars in what looks like another fuckin desert lmao

ey there's Snips

something on the ground? That kinda looks Sith-ish but also I have like no clue

hmm did they kinda fix her montrals or not i can't tell

Ehhhhh slightly

eyyyy wait are those the world-between-worlds lines

the statues kinda look like nightsisters but also like old sith statues

mmm caress the whispering pillar

ok indiana jones time to get your ass out of there before the booby trap

what am i saying she's anakin and obi wan's spawn she LIKES this shit

oh hey she made something happen

i feel like all of these pillars should have been turned at once

the force likes teamwork and that kinda thing

but it also kinda echoes maul and ezra's little teamwork exercise lifting those walls in the sith temple that one time

ope she found something

guessing it's the Magic Maul Map

ooh it's one of those bakugon balls or whatever they were we played with as a kid i had one that turned into a dragon

H U Y A N G

SHOW ME MY ROBOBITCH

armor person hello

what's the mask that's not a mando is it

nah i don't think it is

nah

is it a person in armor or a droid i can't tell

oh subs say droids they're droids

you poor bastards curbstomping droids was her high school internship job she is WAY more qualified than you

wasn't quite expecting ahsoka to play whackamole but good for her that sounds fun

oh hell yeah we stan the droids that self destruct xD

waiiiit yeah i forgot she had a B-wing they're cool!

STILL LOVE ME HUYANG

ahsoka there was NO way you didn't wait till the last moment to jump away from that explosion except to be dramatic

"the order doesn't exist anymore" you shush missy we KNOW you know who luke is he's trying his best

ahsoka lbr do you even know what standard jedi protocol is

Fulcruuuuum

DAMN FUCKING RIGHT HUYANG IS FULCRUM HE DESERVES IT

also he looks so good in live action i forgot to mention that!!!!! <3

"T-6" girl u need to name your SHIP anakin would be APPALLED

well if that's the same ship with the darksiders on at least

h3ERA

HERA

HERA HERA HERA

HERA MY BELOVED

wHERES CHOPPER

WHERES CJASON JACEN WHATEVERTHE FUCK

H E RA

oh right this is mary elizabeth winstead oh boy i hope she does well!

i wonder if ewan was there

aNYWAY HERA

ok unpausing sorry had a Moment

General

Ok so the voices aren't quite matching but we'll see

ooooh hera has a patch on her jacket let's go back to that later

"abilities like you" hera kanan told you what darksiders were like inquisitors tried to kill y'all

she has sabines firebird on her jacket

don't mention thrawn around hera she'll just think of ezra ;_;

oh so morgan was thrawn's

EZRA NAME MENTION

GONNA DIE

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ok this is nothing on mary's performance she's doing fine but hera's dialogue doesn't quiiiite seem her? we'll see

oh yeah and rosario's doing better this time more natural

IT’S LOTHAL LOTHAL LIVE ACTION LOTHAAAAAAAAL

ITS BEAUTIFUL SO SO BEAUTIFUL

wait who's speaking

THEY SAID EZRA AGAI

THAT'S FUCKING RYDER

RYDER AZADI HELLO YOU WONDERFUL BASTARD YOU LOOK GREAT

Hi Clancy Brown good to see you do you know you have an evil Devaronian twin who's running around bothering Din Djarin as we speak

well at least sabine still hates politics

my dude ryder you know her tf did she say to make you think she was coming at all lol

WAIT JAI

JAI KELL HELLO EZRA'S EX BOYFRIEND

YOU'RE SO HANDSOME MY BOY ALL GROWN UP WONDERFUL

wait ryderrrr c'mon don't be a dick again you were so well

OH HELLO GWEN STACY SPIDERVERSE VIBES

not quiiiiite liking how sabine grew her gay haircut out in this but still digging the bike fit

also hello Natasha good luck pls treat my dear well i love her greatly!!!

hmmm not sure how much i like other non-OG ghost crew giving themselves Spectre callsigns yes i AM being gatekeepy fuck off

good sabine is running from authorities we do love that

hey her voice kinda matches that's great!

oh i'm liking her acting already

i think

SHE HAS A LOTH CAT ON HER HELMET

that's my GIRL

also it's very interesting how the pilots call each other by their spectre callsigns but address sabine--an ORIGINAL spectre--exclusively by name

lothkitty LOTHCAT

LITHCAT WITH THE FOOOOOFYTAIL AND LITTLE SPINDLE LEGS

im gonna DIE

it's so cute i can't even

also getting Emotions(TM) at ezra's old tower

hmm you think sabine has depression

FUCK OFF WITH THAT SABINE SEES EZRA MUSICAL CALLBACK

oh hey hey it's his original message to theeeeem

wait shit yeah it's the new one just to her

ooh it's eman! i can't see his faaaaace expressions but the voice sounds similar? like it seems like he's tryna match taylor's way of speaking good for him

ok yes but ezra is a jedi show pretty please for me don't go there with sabine

ok ok that's enough complaining from me lmao

ACTUALLY NO WAIT ONE MORE *inhales*

i would prefer sabine and ezra to stay platonic friends. no hate to shippers but i just personally would like them to be friends/siblings, that's what would make me happiest because i like to imagine sabine as a lesbian and also their dynamic as friends/siblings just makes me happy

but shippers are of course still welcome here and if they do become a couple i won't begrudge you your fun :')

ok ok ok ok ok NOW i'm done lmao

back to Best Boy sorry bby you were speaking and i interrupted you <3

oh hey hey he did say sister! i'd like that!!!

but also ezra when tf did you have the time to record those both weren't u a bit busy planning the attack on lothal

oh it's darkside goth girl

nice smoky eye

oh wait fuck she's got a PADAWAN BRAID

heyyyyyy i was RIGHT about the temple statues looking like nightsisters!

but wrong about darkside goth girl being one then tho

well masked emo fucker following bryan or whatever his name is is probs an inquisitor

wait wait wait does MORGAN have gold eyes?

ooooooo

oh no wait darkside apprentice has gold eyes again

ugh okay so we ARE getting force sensitive sabine then

alright fine i'll make my peace with it this episode

even though it makes no SENSE

no no pe not going there we are going to have FUN

aaaaa repeating ezra's final dialogue from the rebels finale ;_;

love the mirroring shots to rebels ep 1 RIGHT DOWN TO SABINE WEARING EZRA'S ORANGE

ahsoka and anakin leitmotiff coming back hmmm

oh wait fuck i think ezra drew those lothcats oof ;_;

ok good good we going back to sabine being the rightful art expert in the gffa take second place and DUNK urself thrawn

ok i get they're tryna make them ex master and apprentice but imma say it. imma SAY IT

ahsoka and sabine give awkward exes vibes

BIG awkward exes vibes

m a s t e r

you both know damn well she's gonna take it anyway or at least try who are y'all even kidding urselves

oooh surprise surprise the darksider are former jedi-associated

oh right his name's baylan not bryan

WHY ARE YOU SURPRISED

oh there's goth darkside girl

if anyone hurts sabine's cat i will kill the entire world and then myself

i swEAR TO GOD

WHY DOES THE SHOW KEEP MAKING AHSOKA AND SABINE SEEM LIKE ANGRY EXES LMAOOOO

COME ON

ahsoka ur being emo so hera is allowed to make a dig at anakin

hera you're trying your best girl lmao

it's always rule of three it seems

kinda gives me that mortis trinity vibe

this reminds me of the time i got one of those 3D puzzles from barnes and noble and i was supposed to take it apart and put it back together and failed utterly

ope she did it!

again if someone even TOUCHES that fucking cat wrong i go full john wick

bitch NO SHOOTING NEAR THE CAT

ope they smashed the map

ahsoka my dude i'm guessing you know where sabine lives why didn't u just go find her lmao

wait does sabine have ezra's green lightsaber i can't tell from the hilt because i'm shit at recognizing hilts

i can't even appreciate the duel because i am admittedly pouting but they are both very pretty at least

sabine how r u not getting ur hair chopped off

oh fuck she got stabbed?

maybe shoulda worn ur mando armor

oh and she's still MOVING

oh nope there she goes

oh wait who's Ray? :(

okay

okay okay okay

dave my dude.........

okay so i am going to take some time like a few minutes or so

and process this sabine thing

like if i cannot find a way to come to fucking terms with it i will not be able to enjoy this series

ik ik that sounds dramatic i'm just

hmm ok five minutes

[pegunicent]

Things Fandoms do to you

So @misstrips and I have a nice little DC/Pokemon AU thing going with a splash of Vagrant Story and today as I was suffering the heat and welding together an after burner for a smaller sized crematory I had the thought of Jason, Roy and Sydney from that cross over ending up in Genshin Land.

You see the thing is Roy grew up in the Titans. The original Titans you know, with Dicky boy. And Short Pants was a feral monster with a smile that made you forget about the blood on his knuckles and the steel in his pixie toed boots. Roy was putting his arrows through people's joints before he could *roll* a joint, and he was there for all the stupid shit a bunch of teenagers with little parental oversight and way too much hero worship for their 'mentors' got into from orgies to war crimes to alien war crime orgies. He was there right at the start when they had to actually *vote* for the worst mentor in the League, before it became Ollie's official unofficial title for all time.

And he was there when Jason became Robin and the feral Dicky grew up and mellowed out and turned all that anger into a more positive 'I'm gonna big brother so hard Bruce chews his face off' direction, because what the Bats have is complicated and messy and a bit incestious at times but Bruce *started out* trying to be Dicky's big brother. Not his father. And then he *adopted* Jason. And none of the assholes ever sat down and actually talked about any of it.

But Jason was a good kid up until the whole thing in Africa. And now he's a feral monster of a vigilante and a half decent guy the rest of the time. Still an overly dramatic theater kid like, living undeadish proof that you can beat a kid to death with a crowbar and a bomb but you can't make him give up the *drama*.

Roy is an old hand with feral Gothamites though. He's got this. Between him and Lian they've got their gun loving muscle man on something of an even keel.

But then there's Sydney.

See Dick and Jay, they're feral. Domesticated species that went off the rails and have to be treated with care and respect until they remember that warm homes and hot baths and regular meals are all good things they can have. Sydney is wild. Sydney was never domesticated. Sydney has to be shown, and convinced, and reassured over and over that living inside walls is safe, that food he didn't gather himself isn't poison, that clothes are actually a requirement for dealing with humans. That humans are worth dealing with. Sydney will probably never *be* domesticated, but in a pinch and with some hard bribery he can fake it long enough for a pokemon tournament, or a trip through town, or even one time a visit to Lian's daycare.

And humans are just smart enough to look at Roy's wicked grin and Jason's bulging muscles and decide this is trouble they don't want to bother with most days, but Sydney tends to evade direct notice. He looks like a kid. He sounds like a kid. If you don't stare into pokemon crimson eyes and realize there's something completely inhuman staring back, you might be forgiven for accepting the evidence that Sydney is a kid.

Which is why when the three of them stumble out of the sudden wormhole in the woods, onto a perfectly picturesque dirt roadway leading to a city straight out of one of Lian's story books, Jason curses and Roy sighs. Because Roy was a Titan and this isn't his first alternate dimension, and Jason's been worse places. They aren't that troubled.

Until the guy with the huge sword and his friend in the eye patch give them the usual once over, stop at Sydney staring at a glowing little roadside statue, and all the alarm bells start ringing. Because they look at Sydney the way people who haven't seen the kid 'squish' Cypher agents, but have heard the horror stories and maybe helped clean up the residues do.

And *that* makes Roy want more explosive arrows.

[thelegendsoferidar]

Chapter 2: Aster  - Shit talking and scheming

I round the corner towards the common room and the chatter of my classmates goes from a dull roar to just a roar. I open the door to see Helen and Urbino standing in the center of a throng being held back from blows. Those two are like oil and fire whenever they’re together it’s an explosion. They both look at me and smile like a shark.

In near unison:

“Aster dear, tell this dumb bimbo I’m prettiest girl in the year.” Helen says.

“Aster dear, tell this dumb slut I’m prettiest girl in the year.” Urbino says.

“Ugh,” I look around the room and spot David. He’s a hot guy no questions, a good friend, and a great out when I’m asked dumb questions like this. “David’s the hottest. Sorry I’m not into girls.” I’m into girls too, most people just assume I’m not.

“Thanks man!”

Both roll their eyes and storm off to their rooms. Taking their lead I make it to my room for some peace and quiet.

My room is pitch dark. I pull back the silver and blue curtains to let in sunbeams that reflect off the marble. Everything in the room, except my desk is just as it was the day I arrived. Dust dances in the light as I rub my eyes. I crash into my plush, standard issue, blue comforter and bury my head in the pillow. another day done I guess. Without looking over I swish my steel wand and tick a day off the calendar.

 It seems that’s the only thing I’ve been able to reliably do since coming here. I sit down to my messy desk and the mana circuit. I was able to get a high-end stone from the market at a steal, he didn’t know what he had and the person he bought it from didn’t either. I pull the sheet with this overlays circuit as close to me as possible so I can drink in the details. I take a deep breath and hold my wand above the pale blue translucence and begin to draw bronze lines. The good part about my complex circuit is that if I mess up I can integrate it into a different overlay.

A knock comes from my door.

“Hey dude, its me.”             “Come in.”             David walks in, as he closes the door behind him I take the opportunity to really look at him. His dark mop flows slightly with the motion. When he turns back from the door his deep blue eyes steal my attention. It gets better too for a human man, a wizard at that, his muscles fill up the uniform well. top and bottom.

I turn back to my circuit so I don’t lose control of my aura.

“What’s up?” I say.

“Kind of bored wanted to gossip about earlier.”

“Yeah, what was all that?”

“They got into the same fight they always do. But that wasn’t what I wanted to talk about.” David takes a dramatic pause.

“Well?”

“The change to Wizardkine.”

I put the mana stone down and look near David. “What change?”

“Dude, were you daydreaming in class again?”

“Maybe, What change?”

“There are only three slots for Display this year.”

“They’ve never done that before.”

“I know, word is something big is happening. People have been seen talking with the headmaster lately.”

“Mhm.”

I complete the circuit overlay for this depth and hold it up to the light. The bronze maze runs exactly as I designed it. This is the second layer I’ve been able to get right. The others have to be salvaged in my redesign, which is okay but the show won’t be as good.  

“That’s a wild idea you have there. I cant imagine anyone else would think of it let alone try.”

the genuine compliment catches me off guard and I look at David and smile. “Thank you. its been a lot of work. I might not be able to finish it in time let alone at all.” I can see I’ve lost control of my aura in the way he looks at me and turn back to the desk.