#we're almost to conflict 2 of 3

[bookwyrminspiration]

i think the edges of my sanity starting to chip away are a sign the fic is going well

[jetii]

Promises Made (pt. 2/3)

Part One | Part Three

Pairing: Crosshair x fem!Reader / Crosshair x Jedi!Reader

Words: 7,387 / 23,314

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only! angst, hurt/comfort, themes of grief/death/mourning, that comes into play a lot in this part, reader is genuinely unfair to Cross here sorry, protective!Crosshair, everyone is bad at feelings, smut in part 3

Summary: Crosshair is back, and you're the only one who still can't seem to forgive him. When you finally have the lead you've been seeking since the extinction of the Jedi, you seize the opportunity to escape the constant turmoil his presence causes you. Of course, Crosshair has other plans.

A/N: Thank you again to everyone for your kind words and support on all my fics, it really means a lot to me! I loved writing the drama in this part, and it was hard to stop, so hopefully it doesn’t drag on too much. Enjoy!

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The moment you enter the cockpit, Crosshair stiffens, staring out of the viewport with wide eyes. The smoggy grey atmosphere of Bracca, pocked with smears of red rust and the glimmer of steel, stares back.

You can practically feel the tension radiating off of him, and you know he’s remembering what happened the last time the two of you were here.

You can see the conflict in his eyes, the way he clenches his jaw and curls his lip. You know he doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to set foot on this planet ever again, and you’re surprised at how guilty you feel. You thought a part of you would relish the pain he was feeling, would be glad to see him squirm.

But you aren’t.

"Are you alright?" you ask. You hadn't meant to, hadn't even realized you were thinking it until the words slip past your lips.

He looks at you, startled, as though he didn't think you'd notice.

"I'm fine," he snarls, and the bite in his words catches you off guard. You recoil, turning back to the control panel.

"We're landing in twenty," you mutter, and that's the end of the conversation.

The rest of the flight is silent, and it's not until the Marauder is descending into the atmosphere that he speaks again.

"What's the plan?" Crosshair asks, standing behind the copilot's chair. You can hear the creak of the leather as he grips the backrest, can feel his eyes on the top of your head.

"There is no plan," you say. You look back up at him, and there's a furrow between his brows. "We're not here for a job."

He blinks, clearly confused. "What?"

"We're landing, and we're meeting my contact." You turn back to the control panel, watching the ship descend through the viewport. “She’ll give us the coordinates, we’ll get what I came for, and then we’ll leave.”

“That easy, huh?” Crosshair scoffs.

“Were you expecting something more thrilling? A daring chase? A firefight?” you tease. He rolls his eyes. “I told you it was just an exchange. There won't be any trouble."

The Marauder touches down, the landing ramp dropping a moment later. You stand, stretching.

"Besides," you say, grabbing your bag, "you've had your fair share of trouble for one lifetime."

He watches you closely as you sling the bag over your shoulder, and when you look up, you catch him staring. You don't understand the intensity in his eyes, or the way his expression seems to shift, the frustration replaced with something softer. He averts his gaze, crossing his arms.

"If you say so," he grumbles, but there's a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

You smirk. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"I don't need protecting."

"Of course you don't, dear." You pat his shoulder as you pass, and he scowls.

He's still glaring when you glance over your shoulder, and you have to hold back a laugh. You don't miss the way the corners of his lips twitch upward as he follows behind, and for a moment, the tension lifts.

It's raining when you exit the ship, and the cold droplets soak through your jacket almost immediately. Crosshair tugs on his helmet as you step out of cover, and you ignore your flash of jealousy as you pull your hood up over your head.

You don't waste time, hurrying toward the abandoned building you're meeting your contact in. Puddles splash under your feet, soaking through your boots, and your clothes cling to your skin. Your hood is doing little to protect you, the water dripping from the edges and onto your face, and you try to focus on anything other than the chill that's settling into your bones.

Crosshair stays a few steps behind, keeping pace. He looms behind you like a shadow. His presence is both comforting and unnerving, and you find yourself constantly checking over your shoulder.

"I hate this place," Crosshair grumbles. The modulator on his helmet makes him sound even more irritated. "Stay close to me."

You turn to see his head on a swivel, his posture stiff, and his hand on the blaster at his side. You can’t help but scoff, and his head snaps towards you.

"What?” he growls.

"Nothing,” you mutter back. “Just nice to know some things haven’t changed.”

“Are you going to be like this the entire time?”

You can hear the annoyance in his tone, the barely concealed frustration, and it makes you smile.

"Probably," you reply, turning down a side street.

Crosshair makes an irritated noise. It only encourages you, putting a spring in your step in an otherwise miserable situation. Maybe it's a good thing he came after all. You can practically hear him grinding his teeth, and it's hard to contain your amusement.

"I don't get it," he mutters.

"Get what?"

"This. You." He gestures vaguely, the hand not on his weapon flapping in your direction. "You're being..."

"Nice?" you suggest, glancing over your shoulder.

"Fucking obnoxious."

You laugh, the sound echoing through the empty alley. Crosshair groans, and you can see his shoulders droop in exasperation. "That's my default setting. You should know that."

"Yeah, well," he says, his voice low and rough, "I forgot."

The admission hangs in the air, and you feel a rush of... something. It's not quite guilt, or sadness, but it's not happy, either. It's an uneasy combination, and you shove the feeling down.

"Maybe I've missed this," you tease. You slow your pace, falling into step beside him. "Maybe I've missed the sound of your voice."

"You're a liar," he replies, but you can hear the humor in his tone.

"What are you talking about?" You feign innocence, but there's a playful lilt to your voice that gives you away. "I'm an honest person."

"An honest pain in the ass."

You snicker. "Maybe I've missed having someone to bother."

"You've never had trouble finding a victim," he quips, and you nudge his arm with your elbow. He pushes back, and it's almost a joke, almost a friendly gesture, and for a moment, you forget why you're even here.

"True," you concede. "But nobody else puts up with me like you do."

His helmet tilts down, and you can feel his gaze on you. You look at him, and it's impossible to see his face, but you swear there's a hint of a smile.

"Yeah," he says, and the word is almost fond. "Lucky me."

"Shut up."

You bump his arm again, and he chuckles, the sound barely audible through the filter on his helmet. It's a tender moment, a brief glimpse of the old Crosshair, the one who would banter and bicker with you for hours, and the sound of his voice pulls you back to a different time. You miss it, more than you thought possible.

"We're here," you say, interrupting the moment. You push the door open, and it swings inward, revealing a stairwell. You glance back at him, motioning him forward. He falls into step behind you, all trace of amusement gone.

"Let's get this over with," he says.

You descend into the building, the stairs creaking beneath your feet. You can see feel the tension rolling off Crosshair in waves, and he reaches over his shoulder to draw his rifle.

"Calm down, would you?" you say, and he bristles.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"You said it yourself," he mutters, scanning the shadows. "I've had my fair share of trouble for a lifetime."

"That's not what I—"

You're interrupted when you reach the bottom of the stairs, and a tan Abednedo steps from the shadows, a blaster pointed in your direction. She lowers the weapon when she sees you, and a small smile crosses her lips.

“Master Jedi. Pleasure to see you again," the Abednedo drawls, holstering her blaster.

"Saaba," you nod. You nudge Crosshair hard with your elbow, and he grunts before slowly lowering his rifle. You can see his fingers flex, as if he's not sure he should put it away, and you hope he listens.

Saaba gives him a once over, the tendrils that frame her mouth twitching. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Crosshair. Cross, this is my friend, Saaba," you explain.

"A pleasure," Crosshair says, his tone dry.

"I'll admit, I'm surprised to see you've brought company." She squints, her large goggles emphasizing how she sizes him up. “And a trooper, no less. I thought they were your enemies now."

Crosshair tenses, and you can feel his anger flare. You reach for him, touching his wrist. He looks at you, and even with his helmet on, you can tell he's glaring. You shake your head, and he sighs, relaxing a little under your touch. 

You hadn't told her about Crosshair, or about the rest of the Batch. It hadn't seemed important, and you weren't sure how she'd react to knowing the man standing beside you had more than once tried to kill you.

"Things change," you say, your tone light. "He's one of the good guys now."

"Well," Saaba hums, "that's a relief. I'd hate to have to kill a friend of yours."

Crosshair shifts his weight, and he takes a step closer. "You could try."

"Easy," you say, giving his arm a squeeze before dropping your hand.

Saaba laughs. "Oh, I like this one."

"Me too," you agree, and you can't help but grin. Crosshair's helmet swivels towards you, and you can imagine the bewildered look on his face. You shrug.

"Anyway," you say, ignoring the way he's staring at you. "Let's get down to business."

"Of course." Saaba smiles. She reaches into her bag, pulling out a small data disk. "The coordinates you need. As promised."

"Thank you."

You reach for the data, but she doesn't let go, pulling you closer.

"Don't get caught." Her voice is low, and her expression is serious.

"You know me."

"Which is exactly why I'm telling you not to get caught," she says. “I told the Guild I was stripping the place for copper, and I need to report back soon, or they’ll send their own crew. But I can’t guarantee they won’t go poking around on their own.”

"Understood."

She lets go, and you step back, putting the disk in your bag. You grab a pouch, holding it out to her. "For your trouble."

She shakes her head, pushing the credits away. “I owed you one.”

You blink. “Are you sure?”

"Just don't let me regret it," she warns, but her tone is soft. You always liked Saaba, even if she could be a bit of a handful. But she was reliable, and she didn't ask questions.

"Never."

You turn, heading towards the stairs, and Crosshair follows. You don't look back, and Saaba doesn't stop you. Once you're back outside, the door swinging shut behind you, you let out a sigh.

"Well, that was easy," Crosshair drawls.

"Don't jinx it," you grumble. You shiver, tugging your soaked jacket tighter around yourself. The rain hasn't stopped, and you're beginning to realize you didn't think the weather through.

There's a rumble of thunder, and Crosshair looks up.

Great, you think, just great.

"You should have brought a coat."

"Shut up."

He laughs, a real, genuine laugh, and the sound warms you. You can't remember the last time you'd heard him laugh like that. It makes you smile, even if he is laughing at your expense.

"It's not over yet," you continue, ignoring the way your stomach flutters. "We still have to find what we're looking for, and get off planet."

"I thought you said it was going to be simple," he teases, his tone smug. It's so strange, to hear his voice sound like that again, and it feels... good.

You huff.

"It should be." You glance around the alley, noting how the rain had driven the locals inside. "It's just the retrieval that might be difficult."

He hums, and the two of you walk in silence. The rain hasn't let up, and by the time you reach the Marauder, your hair is plastered to your face. You push it aside, wringing out the water.

"Now, let's see where we're going," you say, climbing the landing ramp.

You settle in the pilot's seat, Crosshair leaning against the doorframe, and you pull the data disk from your bag. You slide the disk into the control panel, waiting as the computer loads the coordinates.

You frown, leaning forward.

“The coordinates are a few clicks south of here," you say, zooming in. “But we can’t take the Marauder there, the terrain is too rough. We'll have to go on foot.”

"On foot?" Crosshair repeats. "Through the scrapyards?"

You nod. He sighs.

"Great."

"You can stay here if you’re scared."

"I'm not scared."

"Well," you say, grabbing your bag and heading towards the exit, "I'm glad to hear it."

Crosshair grumbles, and when he passes you, he knocks his shoulder into yours. You laugh, shoving him back.

"Come on, you big baby. It's not so bad," you tease, closing the ramp behind the two of you.

He scoffs, and the sound is distorted by the rain and his helmet. 

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

As soon as the Marauder disappears from view, the rain goes from bad to worse. The cold droplets sting your face as you trudge through the mud, and the wind whips at your clothing.

The scrapyard is a dangerous place. Thousands of broken starships litter the area, stacked on top of each other in tall piles. Some of them are old, rusted from years of exposure, while others are relatively new, their hulls dented from the harsh winds. Even though you’re cold and miserable, you’re grateful for Saaba's work. If you’d gone searching yourself, it would’ve taken you years to find what you were looking for.

As you climb over a particularly large piece of debris, you glance at Crosshair. The rain is pouring, and it's put both of you in a sour mood, your prior banter forgotten.

You can feel his eyes on you as he walks behind you, and it makes you nervous.

"I'm not gonna fall," you snap, reaching the top.

"Didn't say you were."

"Then stop looking at me like I'm about to."

"What am I supposed to look at?" he asks, his tone sharp.

You glance around. There's nothing but rain and rust, and the looming shadows of the ships stacked around you. It's an eerie sight, the remains of war and violence, and you feel a chill run down your spine.

"Anything else," you grumble. You slide down the other side, and he's quick to follow.

"How much farther is this thing?"

"I don't know. Not far," you say, but the truth is, you have no idea.

"You're a terrible liar."

"Shut up, Cross."

You push your hair from your face for the thousandth time, and you can’t decide if the rain or the wind is the worst. Both make your clothing cling to your skin, and you're pretty sure you're never going to feel warm again.

"Real mature," he mutters, and you can practically feel the eyeroll. “Are you going to tell me what we’re looking for, or am I going to have to guess?”

“Guessing could be fun,” you tease, trying to distract yourself. But his patience is wearing thin, and you know it as well as you know that yours is fraying too.

"I’m not in the mood for games," he growls back. 

The taught threads of your sanity finally snap, and you stop in your tracks, your patience evaporating like the mist. Crosshair slams into you, and you stumble, barely managing to keep your footing.

"Would you watch where you're going?" he hisses, and you whirl around.

“You didn’t have to come, you know.”

The venom in your voice catches you both off guard. He falls onto his back foot, taking a step away from you. You don't let it stop you. Your anger rises, the floodgates open, and your emotions come pouring out.

“Why are you here, Crosshair?”

The question comes out harsher than you intended, and Crosshair recoils, his head jerking backwards. You can't see his face, but the tension in his frame is clear. You're not sure why you're asking, not sure if you even want an answer, but the words spill from your lips regardless.

He doesn't say anything.

You cross your arms, waiting. The wind howls, the rain hammering down around you, and his silence drags on. He stands there, the rain pinging off his armor, his shoulders hunched.

Finally, he speaks, and the words are strained. 

“I told you. It’s my job to keep an eye on you."

You scoff. "Is that really all?"

"Yes," he says, taking a step closer. "Why else would I be here? Do you think I enjoy freezing my ass off, traipsing around in the mud?"

"No," you reply flatly. "But I don't believe you, either."

Crosshair sighs, and his helmet tilts skyward. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"Something true, for once," you say, stepping into his space. "Because if protecting me is your job, you're fucking awful at it."

He flinches, and the movement is so slight you almost miss it. You regret the words the moment they leave your mouth, but you can't help but double down. You've been holding it back, all this anger and hurt, and the dam breaks.

“I’ve been hurt dozens of times since you left, at least once by your hand." Your voice rises, and he's motionless, his entire body stiff.

Your hands shake, and you clench them into fists, the ache in your knuckles a welcome distraction. He's still staring at the ground, and your temper flares. Something within you snaps.

"You left, and you didn’t come back. And now, what, you show up here, with some bullshit excuse, and act like nothing ever happened?"

"I can't—"

"I don't care," you cut him off, and your voice is cold. "I don't care what you have to say. You had your chance. You should've stayed away."

Crosshair recoils as though he's been slapped, and for a moment, he doesn't move.

You're frozen, too, the weight of the words hanging in the air. You hadn't meant to say it, hadn't meant to say any of it, but you were tired.

Tired of his excuses, of his lies, and his refusal to acknowledge what had happened.

You were tired of hurting.

And in that moment, you didn't care if he knew it.

You can't see his face, but you don't need to. You can feel the tension rolling off him in waves, can feel his rage, and it mirrors your own.

You stand there, staring at each other, your anger a palpable thing, and a part of you is relieved. It's the first real emotion he's shown, the first real indication he's been anything other than indifferent, and you're glad. You wanted a reaction, and you got one.

The thought is quickly quashed when he speaks.

"Maybe I should've," he growls. The pain in his voice underneath the anger takes you by surprise. "Then I wouldn't have to deal with your fucking mess."

His words sting, more than they should, and you hate yourself for it. He's always been good at that, cutting deep with his words, and it's something you'd hoped would change.

You should've known better.

"Well, then," you begin, and your voice is quiet, a contrast to the anger simmering below the surface. "I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you."

You turn, and he grabs your arm, stopping you.

"Don't—"

"Don't what?" you ask, whirling around. You yank your arm from his grasp, and his hand drops.

He doesn't reply. You don't move, the rain pelting the ground around you, and the wind whipping at your clothing. Crosshair doesn't say anything, doesn't try to explain himself, and you can't stop the anger from boiling over again.

"Don't go? Don't leave? Why shouldn't I? Why do you care? It's not like you cared about me when—"

"You don't know what you're talking about," he interrupts sharply.

"No!" you shout. Lightning cracks in the distance, the flash illuminating the metal around you. "You're the one who doesn't know."

"You think I don't know what happened?" His tone is hard, his words clipped. "You think I haven't had to live with that? With knowing what I did to you?"

"Don't you dare." You jab a finger into his chest, and he takes a step back. His shoulders tense, and you can tell he's furious, but you can't stop.

"You don't get to act like that's some big burden you've been carrying around."

"I have!"

"So have I!"

Crosshair is silent, and you can tell he's taken aback by your admission. He shifts, his weight moving from foot to foot, and his hands clench and unclench at his sides. He doesn't say anything, his attention shifting from the ground, to the sky, and back again.

The wind blows, and you shiver. You tug your jacket tighter around yourself as the adrenaline starts to wear off. You don't speak, waiting for him to respond.

"I'm trying," he says after a beat, his tone sharp. "I'm trying, and I don't know what else you want from me."

"Not hard enough," you spit back.

"How the hell am I supposed to—"

"You're not," you interrupt. "Not anymore."

He goes still, his entire body rigid. For a moment, the rain is the only sound, battering against the scrap metal and his helmet. His fists clench, and he shakes his head. He lets out a long, slow breath, and the mist from his vocoder obscures your vision.

"I never thought you would forgive me." His voice is low, barely audible over the howling wind. "I just hoped you wouldn't hate me forever."

Your lips part, but no sound comes out. There's a lump in your throat, and you can't swallow. Your chest aches, and your fingers tingle, and it takes everything in you to remain upright.

"I don't hate you," you say, and your voice is a whisper. "But I wish I did."

The words are painful to admit, and you're not sure what's worse: saying them out loud, or knowing they're true.

His hand lifts, as though he's going to touch your face, and the movement is so gentle, so careful, that it makes you ache. Then, his hand drops, and his fingers curl into a fist, and he lets out a frustrated huff. 

You can see his hand shake, a reminder that the Empire took something from him, too, and you feel a sudden surge of guilt. But you can’t bring yourself to apologize, can't force the words past your lips, and so you just stand there, watching him. 

The silence stretches on, and you can feel the cold steep into your bones, and you’re tired of waiting for Crosshair, so you turn and start to walk away.

You barely take a step when he speaks, and his voice is pained.

“I’m sorry,” he says, barely audible in the wind.

You stop, your feet sinking into the mud, and your breath catches. The apology is so unexpected, so raw, you feel it in your chest.

You want to look at him, but you can't.

You're afraid that if you do, he'll see right through you, and you'll have to acknowledge that despite your best efforts, your anger has faded, replaced by something else.

So you don't look at him. Instead, you stare at the ground, at the way the mud oozes around your boots.

"I'm sorry," he repeats, and his voice cracks. "I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I didn't— I don't expect you to forgive me, but I'm sorry."

He takes a deep breath, and you can hear it, the way his lungs stutter. It catches on something inside of you, and your eyes burn.

"I don't want you to hate me," he says. The words are so soft, so quiet, that you almost miss them. "And I know I deserve it. But don't. Please."

"You should've thought about that before you shot me."

He's quiet, the only sound the rain and the wind, and it's obvious the words hit him hard. A part of you regrets it, regrets being so cruel, but another part, a darker part, wants to hurt him. Wants him to feel the pain you've felt since the day he left.

"I know," he says, and there's a note of resignation in his tone. "And I will regret it every day for the rest of my life."

You turn, and his helmet is pointed at the ground.

“I thought I was doing the right thing, that it was the only thing I could do. But I was wrong, and I made a mistake, and I have to live with that." His voice is low, his words heavy, and the sincerity in his voice catches you off guard. "If I could take it back, I would. In a heartbeat."

You blink, the tears burning the back of your eyes, and you fight the urge to turn away. You swallow hard, the pressure behind your eyes so intense that it hurts, before you ask, "Why are you telling me this?"

He lifts his head to meet your gaze. "Because you deserve to know."

"And what do you deserve?"

"Nothing."

It's immediate, so assured and without hesitation that you nearly stumble back.

"I deserve nothing," he continues, and his tone is so self-loathing, so full of hatred, that it makes your chest tighten. 

Your mouth opens, but the words don’t come, and you can't think. You want to scream, want to shout, want to hit him, to comfort him, to apologize, and it's too much, and you don't know what to do.

His words hang between you, the gravity of the situation dawning on you.

He really believes it.

He truly thinks that he deserves nothing.

That he deserves no forgiveness, no mercy, no sympathy, no second chance.

And as much as you want to be angry, as much as you want to hate him, it hurts to see him like this. To see him so resigned, so accepting, that he's willing to take whatever punishment you deem fit.

Your anger fades, and you can feel the fight draining out of you. You let out a long sigh, and the tension in your frame eases. "Cross—"

"Don't." He raises a hand, cutting you off. "Just...don't."

Your mouth closes. The rain batters the metal around you, the wind whips your hair around your face, and it's impossible to keep the tears from spilling over. They mix with the rain, and you wipe them away.

He lowers his hand. "Come on. Let's keep moving."

Crosshair pushes past you, his shoulder bumping yours. He starts to walk, his strides long and purposeful, and the space where his armor touched your arm tingles.

You hesitate before you follow him, and the rest of the walk is spent in silence. Your boots sink into the mud, and the rain beats against your hood. By the time you reach the coordinates, you're shivering, and the rain has started to sleet.

Your feet slip on the icy ground, and you stumble. Crosshair catches your arm, steadying you. You look up, meeting his gaze through the visor of his helmet, and your heart twists in your chest.

"Thanks," you mumble, pulling away.

He says nothing, turning his attention back to the ruins. The star destroyer is huge, the metal hull jutting up from the mud. The bridge has long since broken away, but the main section remains intact. You make your way to the hull, searching for an entrance.

You can feel him watching you, and you wonder if he's thinking about what you said, if he regrets his words, and your stomach twists.

You shouldn't care, not after everything he's done, but the thought of him thinking he deserves nothing, nothing at all, makes you feel sick. You know he does, and it hurts, because there's a part of you that still cares about him.

A part of you that's always cared.

And no matter how many times he's hurt you, that won't change.

You've wanted nothing more than to put the past behind you, to forget the hurt and the pain and the loss. And here is Crosshair, finally willing to talk, to apologize, and all you've done is push him away.

And despite how angry you are, how hurt, you're tired of fighting. You're tired of running from the past, and tired of letting it define who you are.

You take a deep breath, and then another. It's not too late, you tell yourself.

"Here."

You find a service hatch, and you pull it open, slipping inside. The metal groans as your feet hit the ground, and you narrowly avoid a gap in the floor. The interior of the ship is dark, and the only light comes from the holes in the ceiling. Crosshair follows you, and his rifle scans the room.

"It's clear," he says, lowering the weapon.

"Good," you say, wiping the sleet from your jacket.

You start down the hallway, searching the rooms as you go. The ship is in disarray, the furniture overturned and the walls peppered with blaster fire.

There’s a scorched line carved into a wall, and you wince at the sight, your feet slowing to a stop to examine it. You don't have to touch it to know what happened here, and your eyes burn.

You turn, startled to find Crosshair directly behind you. He stares down at you, his posture stiff. "What is it?"

"I..." You're not sure how to respond. He must sense your hesitation, because his head tilts, and you can feel his eyes on you.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his voice surprisingly soft.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not," he says, and his words take you by surprise.

You cross your arms, looking away. The hallway is dark, and the silence between you stretches on. You're not sure what you expected, but you didn't think he'd call you out. "Cross..."

"No," he repeats, stepping closer. "Don't. Talk to me."

You open your mouth, then close it.

"Talk to me," he says again, more firmly.

Shaking your head, you turn and start walking. He trails behind, the metal creaking beneath his boots, and the sound echoes around the corridor. The hallway splits, and you go right. The lights flicker, the wiring exposed, and the darkness seems to seep in from the edges of your vision.

"It's the burn marks," Crosshair says, after a moment, his voice low.

You stop.

"In the walls," he adds, when you don't respond. "That's why you stopped, isn't it?"

You turn, and he's standing there, his helmet tilted, his posture rigid. He says your name quietly. “What are we really here for?”

You sigh. There isn’t any fight left in you, not now, and you can’t bring yourself to lie. 

“My Master’s body.”

Crosshair inhales sharply, and his shoulders tense. He doesn’t move, and the silence is stifling.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would it have changed anything?"

He pauses, considering. "Maybe," he says, his voice low, "but I still would've helped you."

Your fingers twitch at your side. It's a struggle, but you keep your emotions in check. You're not sure if he's being honest, if he's telling the truth, and the uncertainty makes your stomach twist, tangling with the grief that threatens to swallow you whole.

"I couldn't..." You trail off, your throat tight.

You don't have the energy to lie, and your eyes burn. You want to say it, want to tell him how much it hurts, but the words are lodged in your throat. You're afraid, afraid that once you start, you won't be able to stop, and the fear keeps the truth from spilling out.

The moment stretches on, and his fingers brush your shoulder. It's a simple touch, one that's barely there, and it's so unexpected that it takes you by surprise.

He squeezes gently, and the contact is grounding, comforting, and it feels so good that it makes your chest ache.

"I'm sorry," he says, his voice is thick with emotion.

You turn, and his helmet is tilted downwards. You know he's looking at you, his eyes boring into you with a heaviness you can't decipher.

"I need to find him," you whisper. You hate how vulnerable you sound. His hand tightens on your shoulder, and you swallow. "I need to..."

"We'll find him," he says, and his tone leaves no room for argument.

"Thank you," you manage. The words sound strange coming from your mouth.

He nods, releasing your shoulder. You miss his touch, and you have the urge to reach for him, to take his hand, but you push it down.

"We'll find him," he repeats.

You nod, and the two of you continue down the corridor. The hallway opens up into a larger room, and you glance around, looking for a clue, a sign, anything. But the sleet has left the space dark, blocking the light from the windows.

"There's nothing here," you say, defeated.

"There has to be," Crosshair insists.

You turn to look at him, and his helmet is pointed in your direction. He's staring at you, the intensity of his gaze causing your skin to prickle.

"There's nothing," you repeat.

"We'll keep looking."

"There's nothing, Cross."

"We'll keep looking," he repeats, and the steel in his voice is enough to make you waver.

You shake your head, frustrated, but before you can speak, the ground lurches beneath your feet.

"What the—"

Crosshair's arm wraps around your waist, and he yanks you forward, his grip on your jacket so tight you're sure it's going to rip. The ship groans, and the ground lurches again, and this time, you can hear the sound of metal scraping against metal.

"Shit," you mutter, gripping his shoulders. "The ground, it's—"

"I know."

You look down, and the ground beneath you is shifting. You can see the cracks spreading, and the ship starts to tilt, and you realize the ground isn't the only thing that's changing.

"We need to move," you say.

Crosshair doesn't need to be told twice, and the two of you start toward the hallway. You're not fast enough, though, and the ground shifts violently, the force of the impact sending you flying.

You scream, and Crosshair curses. He lunges, wrapping an arm around your waist, and your body slams into his.

The two of you hit the ground hard, and the impact knocks the wind from your lungs. You roll, and your stomach drops as the ground disappears beneath you. Crosshair grunts, and his hand digs into your hip, holding onto you tightly. The ship tips, and you slide down the slick metal floor, heading straight for the gaping chasm.

You let out a panicked cry, and the world goes sideways as Crosshair grabs onto a railing. You can see the bottom of the ship, hundreds of feet below, and you have a fleeting moment of panic.

Your command of the Force is still shaky, and there's a good chance that the two of you will plummet to your deaths if you try to slow your descent. Your heart is in your throat, but then Crosshair pulls, his grip strong, and he hauls you over the edge. 

Your boots scrape against the ground as he pulls you upwards, and you feel your feet catch on the edge. You gasp, relieved, your fingers digging into his shoulders.

He pulls the two of you onto the platform, and his arms wrap around you, crushing you against his chest.

"Are you hurt?" he pants, his chest heaving.

You shake your head, and you can feel the adrenaline pumping through your veins. You squeeze your eyes shut, clinging to him, and you realize he's trembling.

"I've got you," he says. "It's okay, I've got you."

Crosshair doesn't let go, and his breathing is ragged. Your hands curl around his shoulders, and you lean into him, the contact calming. You can feel his heartbeat, and the rhythm is quick, erratic. You stay like that for a long moment, neither of you moving.

You're not sure who moves first, but his arms relax, and you shift, pulling away. He releases you, his hands sliding to your waist. He's still shaking, and his helmet is tilted downward, his gaze focused on you.

"Are you okay?" you ask, and your voice is a little too high.

He nods. "I'm fine."

Your lips press into a thin line, and he must notice your disbelief, because he lets out a shaky laugh. "I will be," he amends.

You nod, and you can't seem to look away. He's still gripping your waist, and his gloves are slick with rain. You can feel his fingers digging into your skin, and despite the chill, the contact is grounding.

"You saved me," you say, your voice barely a whisper.

"Yeah."

You're not sure what to say. There's a part of you that wants to thank him, a part of you that wants to pull him close and wrap your arms around him and bury your face in his chest. It's a strange feeling, one that you haven't felt in a long time, and you struggle to push it down.

Instead, you say the only thing you can think of. "Thanks."

He shrugs, as though it's no big deal. "It's my job."

"No, it's not."

"Yes," Crosshair starts, his tone firm. You blink, and he's leaning down, his helmet inches from your face. Your heart pounds in your chest, and your fingers curl into his shoulders. His grip tightens on your waist, and you can feel his breath through his vocoder. "It is."

"I—"

"We can argue about this, or we can keep going."

"Right." You nod, pulling away. His grip lingers, and then his hands fall, and you feel cold without them. "I mean, you're right."

You can hear him exhale, and he pushes himself up, holding a hand out to you. 

"I usually am," he says as he hauls you to your feet, and there's a hint of a smile in his voice.

"Asshole," you mutter, pushing past him.

"Brat," he says, following close behind.

You climb through a hole in the floor, and you're surprised to find the hallway intact. You walk cautiously, your senses alert, and your steps are slow. The hallway ends at a door, and the panel is cracked, but the lock still works.

The door slides open, revealing a small, dimly lit room. A window looks out onto the snow, and there's a bed, and a chair, and a desk. You look around, and a lump forms in your throat. The bed is made, the covers neatly tucked. A holoprojector sits on the desk, and a stack of books is piled in the corner.

"This was his quarters," you say.

Crosshair doesn't answer, and the quiet is unnerving. You cross the room, your heart hammering in your chest. You stand beside the bed, and your hands curl into fists. You can feel his presence behind you, but he doesn't speak.

"What do we do now?" you ask, your voice sounding far away to your ears.

"Look for clues," he says. "Anything that could point us to where his body is."

You nod, and the two of you search the room. You're not sure what to expect, and you're not even sure what you're looking for. You pick up a datapad on the bed, but the device is blank.

Crosshair is rummaging through the desk drawers, and you walk over to him. He's looking at an open drawer, head tilted. You peer around him, and your breath catches in your throat.

There's a few pieces of flimsi, and a stylus, and a data card. But what makes your heart skip a beat is the stone. It's small, no bigger than your palm, and the surface is smooth, black with a white streak bisecting it.

"I can't believe he kept it," you say, and your voice cracks.

"Kept what?" Crosshair asks, and you can hear the confusion in his voice.

"The stone. I gave it to him when I was a Padawan."

"Why?"

"I don't know," you admit. "I was always giving him gifts. I used to think they were the only way he'd know I cared about him."

Crosshair looks down at you, and his voice is softer than you've ever heard it. "I'm sure he knew."

"You think so?" you ask, and your eyes burn.

"Yeah."

You nod, trying to hold back the tears that are threatening to spill down your cheeks.

"It's just..." Your voice trails off, and you clear your throat, trying to dislodge the lump that's formed.

"It's okay," he says, his hand resting on your shoulder.

"No, it's not. He's dead, Cross, and I wasn't here. I was supposed to be here, but I wasn't."

"That's not your fault," he says, and his other hand lifts, resting on your opposite shoulder.

"I know, but..."

"You couldn't have done anything."

"But I—"

"Stop." His voice is firm, and his grip on your shoulders tightens.

"Cross..."

"Shut up and listen," he says, and his tone leaves no room for argument. "You did the best you could. You were fighting a war, you were doing what was right."

You nod, but the guilt is overwhelming. You force yourself to look up at him. His hands are still on your shoulders, and his helmet is tilted down, his gaze on you.

"It wasn't your fault," he repeats.

His thumbs press gently against the hollow of your collarbones, and his touch is soothing. You take a shaky breath, and his grip loosens, one hand sliding from your shoulder to your face. His thumb brushes across your cheek, catching a tear. You inhale sharply, and his fingers cup your jaw, and you lean into his touch.

"Thank you," you manage, your voice breaking.

"It's going to be okay," he says. "I promise."

"Cross—"

"I mean it," he says. Crosshair grabs your hand, and you let him manipulate your fingers until only your littlest one remains facing up. He curls his around yours, squeezing gently.

"Promise?"

He nods. "Promise."

Your lips twitch up, and he squeezes your finger again, his grip firm. His other hand cups the back of your head, his fingers threading through your hair, and he pulls you against his chest, holding you tight. You wrap your arms around his torso, burying your face in his chest plate.

You stay like that for a moment, closing your eyes as his fingers run through your hair. You sigh, leaning into him, and you can hear his breathing through his vocoder. His hands are warm, and he's solid, and he smells like leather, and blaster oil, and rain.

"We should keep looking," you say, but you don't want him to let go.

Crosshair hesitates, then nods, his grip on your hair loosening. His hand slides from the back of your head to your jaw, and he tilts your chin up, staring down at you.

"Okay?"

You nod, and his thumb strokes the apple of your cheek. His touch is so soft, and you can feel his gaze on you. He lingers, and you wonder if he's going to say something, but he doesn't. Instead, his fingers tighten on your face, and he leans down.

His forehead presses against yours, and his hands fall away. He exhales, and his breath fans across your lips before he pulls away.

The absence of his touch leaves you cold, and your chest aches, the space between your ribs feeling too tight. You blink, and Crosshair is gone, already walking across the room.

He starts rummaging through the closet, and you shake yourself, clearing your throat. You turn to the desk, and you pick up the stone. Your thumb runs over the surface, feeling its imperfections. 

Suddenly, you gasp. A memory flashes through your mind, one that doesn't belong to you.

"What is it?" Crosshair asks, instantly alert.

"I know where he is."

Taglist: @covert1ntrovert @bruh-myguy-what @huntersnikeheadband @thebadbatchfan @absolfan @winchesters-girl @sukithebean @spicy-clones @arctrooper69 @qvnthesia

[zeawesomebirdie]

Superbat Fake Dating + Identity Porn Rec List

Thanks to @jourquet for asking for this!! I hope you find something here to read!! (And paging @steine-druff as promised!)

These are in no particular order, but generally organised by trope. I tend to read longfic as a general rule, so these recs will reflect that :) the titles contain links to each fic.

Fake Dating

1. A Common Misconception by rotasha; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 91,114 words; 21 chapters; complete

Summary:

When Bruce Wayne comes out, he accidentally becomes the poster child of bisexuality and realizes his lifestyle of sleeping around needs to come to an end. Clark, being the supportive friend that he is, volunteers to pretend to date him for a year.

You know the rest.

This fic has everything that one could want in fake dating: idiots in love, mutual pining, one bed, fake vacations, miscommunication. It also really captures the superbat dynamic of trusting and yes and-ing each other, even when they probably didn't need to be!

(And if you like this fic, any of rotasha's other works are just as good! I've got a few more of them in this list too)

2. over this threshold by orphean; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 59,283 words; 7 chapters; complete

Summary:

'I don't understand how tax evasion relates to you going on a date with, do I need to remind you, Bruce Wayne.'

Clark bit his tongue.

'We're going to get married. It's a tax break, not tax evasion.'

'Are you kidding me.' Lois stared. 'That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.'

———

Bruce asks Clark to marry him for tax reasons. Clark, against his better judgment, agrees.

Exactly what it says on the tin. Some highlights include Bruce buying Clark ridiculously expensive suits, Clark taking forever to tell his mom what's going on, and of course the wedding itself which was just delightful, with speeches from Lois, Alfred, and Dick that had me crying.

3. A Rich Man's Game by malicegreres; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 63,942 words; 13 chapters; complete

Summary:

The editorial staff of the Daily Planet, currently owned by Bruce Wayne, is trying to organize a labor union. Clark can't explain to his coworkers why he can't participate without jeopardizing the campaign—or tell Batman why he's been so cagey around him lately. When Bruce finds out what's been going on, Clark recruits him to resolve his conflict of interest in the only way Clark can think of: by pretending to date him.

This fic is truly glorius. Of all the ways Clark could have solved this problem, he chose the most convoluted. And surprise surprise, it works!

4. mission parameters by shipyrds; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 33,394 words; 6 chapters; complete

Summary:

"Bruce." Clark turns towards him, leaning back against a bank of consoles. "We're not actually going undercover. We don't need an elaborate backstory– if anything, it'll be harder to keep straight. It doesn't have to be complicated." He spreads his hands. "Here's a story: we're members of the same elite fighting force. After years of saving each other's lives in the field, we fell in love. That's it."

Bruce swallows past the almost-truth of it. In Clark's warm smooth radio voice, it sounds plausible. It sounds like something that could happen.

—

Bruce and Clark pretend to be married for diplomatic reasons. When they return to Earth, things are a little different.

Of all the things that normally Bruce says, Clark is the one to insist on a simple coverstory. And of course, from such simple things spirals out a whole entire adventure that doesn't stop just because the mission is over! This fic features a domesticity that neither of them knew they needed until they had it

5. tell all the truth (but tell it slant) by susiecarter [@susiecarter on tumblr]; rated M; no archive warnings apply; 33,007 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

It takes a while for Batman and Superman to work things out, once Clark comes back from the dead. Pretending to date each other in order to explain why Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are in the same place so often? Doesn't help as much as you might think.

*slapping this fic like that one meme with the car* this fic can fit so much miscommunication into it, it's truly delightful to read!! Also, yet another fic where Clark fails to mention what's going on to his mother. And of course the constant worrying about each other without actually expressing it, which is truly such a golden trope when it comes to these two!

I'm adding a cut here because this is already very long and we are still only just starting, so click the read more to see the rest ^.^

6. there ain't no star that shines by amosangius [@amosanguis on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 11,713 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

“I'm not the same person I was back in high school,” Clark says, “and I doubt they all are, either. What would be the point?”

“Oh, Clark,” Bruce is suddenly holding Clark's face with both of his hands, “the point is that I'm going to land us in a helicopter somewhere for all your classmates to see.”

Clark sighs and closes his eyes.

“Say 'yes', Clark,” Bruce orders.

Clark doesn't open his eyes, just says, “Yes, Clark.”

If you thought Bruce buying Clark expensive suits just for their fake dates was excessive, you ain't seen nothing yet!! This fic also features casual bed sharing (and so many references to casual intimacy oh my goodness it's lovely), Bruce Wayne being Rich As Fuck, and Bruce casually being overprotective of Clark in social situations

7. my heart is an open wound by yukla [@yuebings on tumblr]; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 13,367 words; 1 chapter; complete

“—I’ll see you kneel again,” Luthor is hissing, eyes hungry, and Clark is swaying back in discomfort—and as Lois checks their surroundings again, she notices that Wayne is still standing across the room, staring uselessly, as though he believes the sheer force of his murderous gaze would be enough to laser-blast Luthor into oblivion.

Jesus Christ, Lois thinks. I have to do everything around here.

5 times a Daily Planet employee protects Clark Kent, and 1 time Clark Kent protects the Daily Planet.

Or: Clark's coworkers watch as he fake-dates his crush with limited success.

It is probably obvious by now that miscommunication and Bruce's emotions getting in the way of everything are two of my favourite things to read. All of Clark's coworkers are the best, and once again Clark is a self-sacrificing idiot (affectionate)

8. flash in the pan by shipyrds; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 15,951 words; 3 chapters; complete

Summary:

Here’s the thing. Clark does understand. Superman and Batman are fucking. Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are not. Clark can handle this. He keeps parts of his life separate all the time.

It’s possible, Clark thinks, as he glares at a lurid tabloid cover of Bruce’s latest scandalous yacht party in the grocery store checkout aisle, that he can’t handle this.

—

At the Wayne Foundation's annual holiday party, things come to a head.

Okay there is so much I want to say about this fic and yet there are no words that could possibly express just how incredible it is. Bruce coming up with the worst case scenario for literally everything? Check. Clark agreeing to fake date even though he's majorly head over heels and this will likely end in flames? Check. Ma Kent giving the best relationship advice ever? Check. Dick yelling at Bruce when he tries to self sabotage again? Check. Truly one of the best fucking-but-still-pining fics I've ever read!

9. Operation Sponsalia by Brenda [@brendaonao3 on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 13,610 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

"When did you first realize you were in love with me?"

Bruce coughs up his wine.

"I mean, in this...whatever this is," Clark clarifies, blushing to the roots of his hair. "I don't think you're really — I mean, I know this isn't —"

"It's alright." Bruce's voice is raspy, but steady. "I know what you mean."

Clark's glad one of them does.

Or: Bruce and Clark have to fake an engagement for ~reasons — featuring a metric ton of very romantic dates, enough floral arrangements to start a flower shop, SO MANY puns, and Clark finally getting to know the real Bruce. :D

Clark doesn't find out that Bruce said to the press that they had been dating long enough to be teasing enagagements until after it's already been said. Was there a better way to explain why Bruce just happened to help save the Kent family farm? Absolutely. And yet they follow through on it anyway, and I love it for them

10. Sham-pagne by ChrisLeon; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 8,248 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Superman is spotted visiting Wayne Manor, prompting speculation about how exactly he knows Bruce Wayne. To protect their secret identities, they need a plausible explanation and it seems easy enough to go along with the tabloid theory that they’re sleeping together. All they have to do is pretend to be in a relationship until the speculation dies down and then they can break up move on.

Or: Superman fake-dates Bruce Wayne, we all know how this ends.

This one was fascinating to me because instead of Clark and Bruce dating, it's Superman and Bruce dating, and let me just say I'm so incredibly hinged about it!! I think there is so much potential in that particular version of their dynamic, and this fic was such a beautiful exploration of it!

11. Speaking in Code by Mithen; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 7,459 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Clark and Bruce must go undercover at a newlywed resort to try and stop an assassination attempt. Hijinks, UST, and reluctant making out ensue.

First of all, Mithen is a superbat master. Pick any fic of theirs and it will be delightful. Second of all, I could write an entire essay about how much I adore the way they go from irritable about this mission to incredibly enthuasiastic over the course of their two days at the resort, but then we'd be here all day so: if you like banter, one bed, and a case fic this is a brilliant read

12. Kind Truths by Mawiiish [@superbattrash on tumblr]; rated G; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 6,478 words; 1 chapter; complete

Summary:

Bruce needs help with an undercover mission. Clark can never say no to him even though he probably should before he does something stupid. Like tell Bruce he's in love with him.

--

“Why me?” Clark can’t help but ask. He tries his very best to keep his voice level, to not sound as desperate as he feels.

“Because I need someone there to watch my back,” Bruce says, a little exasperated. He really shouldn’t have to explain this to Clark of all people, it’s not like they haven’t been on missions together before.

“I get that, but what about Diana? Shayera?” Anyone who doesn’t have a big fat crush on Bruce would do.

Is it obvious I have a thing for Clark agreeing to fake dating despite his big crush on Bruce? This fic is glorious, and features delights such as Bruce metaphorically putting his foot in his mouth, Clark wanting nothing more than to defend Bruce's honor, and one of the most beautiful confession scenes I've ever had the pleasure of reading

13. where i come from by soetry [@soetrys on tumblr]; E; no archive warnings apply; 52,494 words; 11 chapters; complete

Summary:

Bruce doesn’t have a soulmark, and Clark doesn’t have a soulmark, on an Earth where everyone has a soulmark. Somewhere in there is a simple solution. Somewhere to that solution is an overcomplicated journey. Surely two of the world’s leading superheroes will not take the overcomplicated route?

Surely not?

This one is a little bit of both. The identity porn in this was really well done - Dick is a massive Superman fan, Bruce is unimpressed with both Superman and Clark Kent, and it all goes downhill from there (affectionate). Highlights also include Bruce using a dubiously legal site to crossreference soulmarks, him getting the Superman crest tattooed on his wrist using Kyrptonian tech, and Clark being a self-sacrificing idiot. This is also one of the best soulmate AUs I've ever read!!

Identity Porn

1. Get Over It by rotasha; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 32,378 words; 3 chapters; complete

Summary:

Bruce needs to get over his inconvenient feelings for Superman and he meets an attractive reporter who he thinks can help him do just that. Little does he know...

Of all the identity porn I've read, this is one of the best! Bruce dating Clark to get over Superman is one of the best things ever and this fic really does a good job of their dynamic!

2. Lost Time Without You by rotasha; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 68,792 words; 21 chapters; complete

Summary:

In a universe where your soulmate’s injuries show up on your skin, Bruce is convinced he doesn’t have a soulmate, and Clark is seriously concerned for his soulmate’s well-being.

This was my introduction to soulmate!AUs and oh my goodness it was spectacular! The build up to the reveal of their identities was brilliantly done, and the chance encounters that pepper through the lead up to that point were captivating. This fic also features Bruce being a good parent and I really love that for him

3. the cost of being a good dad by Mawiiish [@superbattrash on tumblr]; rated T; creator chose not to use archive warnings; 95,533 words; 10 chapters; complete

Summary:

Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian are all tired of watching Bruce struggle with the stress of trying to handle the newly formed Justice League. He needs an outlet, he needs to relax, he needs to get out of the house, he needs... he needs to start dating. And what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?

--

“Excuse me, I don’t know who you think I am, but I think there’s been a mistake.”

“Bruce, right?” the guy says, albeit less confidently this time. He looks slightly concerned and if Bruce is not mistaken… a tad embarrassed. “Bruce Wayne? You look just like your pictures.”

“My pictures?” Something finally clicks in Bruce’s mind, and he takes a small step back and plasters a smile on his face as to not rouse suspicion. Stalker. “Ah, of course, I’m sorry but I’m late for an appointment.”

This fic features the batkids catfishing Clark on Bruce's behalf, Bruce being a good parent, and the utter chaos of miscommunication that can only come from these two being idiots! It was a delightful read, and of course the batfam in action is always a joy!

4. ship-to-ship combat by pomeloquat; rated M; no archive warnings apply; 62,737 words; 12/13 chapters; incomplete

Summary:

"Clark. What the hell is this," Lois asks, staring at Clark's Bruceman WIP folder. Clark's first instinct is to fly away, but that would still leave his fic on display for her to see. His second instinct is to blast a hole straight through his laptop screen with his heat vision, which isn't much better.

Clark, in an attempt to make some spare cash, unintentionally stumbles into the world of superhero fanfiction, becomes a prolific writer for Gotham's OTP, and tries his best to fend off rival fans who want him to convert to superbat instead.

Oh my goodness okay. Where to start with this fic. First of all, Clark writing Batman/Bruce Wayne fanfiction is such a brilliant concept. Then add to that the fact that Clark is secretly crushing on Batman at the same time, and the entire comedy of a trainwreck is a delight to witness!

5. I'm Not As Think As You Drunk I Am by Mardiaz173; rated T; no archive warnings apply; 12,920 words; 3 chapters; complete

It was like living in the Twilight Zone. Everyone else believed fervently in Bruce Wayne’s reputation. He was a flirty, stupid, and entitled drunk whose only redeeming quality was his bleeding heart. And yet every time Clark spoke with Wayne, the man was clever, mischievous, and sober with an indecipherable ulterior motive.

And no one believed Clark. Not Lois, not his parents, not even Batman.

Clark insisting upon defending Bruce to everyone much to everyone's dismay is one of my favourite superbat tropes ever, and this fic really does it well! And of course, this fic also features Batman shit talking Bruce, which is always a joy to see!

6. Don't Quote Me by metropolisjournal [@metropolisjournal on tumblr]; rated E; no archive warnings apply; 77,131 words; 20/21 chapters; incomplete

Summary:

Bruce Wayne has weathered scandal before, and Wayne Enterprises can handle another publicity crisis. What Bruce can’t handle is one crashing up against his plans to infiltrate Lex’s estate. Set during Batman v. Superman.

This was the fix-it for Batman vs Superman that I didn't know I needed until I read it. The identity reveal was so incredibly well written, and the whole fic was stupendous from the very first chapter!

And that's all for now! I hope you find something in here to read, may you enjoy!!

[sreegs]

gonna start this post upfront by saying tumblr's fuckin up bad with moderation right now, regarding the wave of trans people being targeted. but i'm not here to discuss that issue, i'm going to talk about the nature of large and small social spaces on the internet

as this post rightly points out, examining our existing social network structure reveals the crux of the problem: we are tenants on someone else's service. extrapolating from that, we're the source of revenue for someone's business. under that model, there is no incentive whatsoever for a social network to apply a "fair" or "just" moderation scheme. their goal is to maximize the number of people using the service and minimize blowback from advertisers regarding "what goes on" on the site

there will not be an alternative social network that gets this right at scale, unless it meets the following criteria:

1. Has ample moderators to thoughtfully deal with user moderation cases

2. Has terms of service that you agree with

3. Has a moderation team that understands how to apply moderation according to the terms of service, and amends it when necessary

4. Does not rely on external income source to pay for the site

Number 1: An ideal social network is one that has numerous, well-treated moderators who are adept at resolving conflict. Under capitalism, this is a non-starter, as moderation is seen as a money sink that just needs to be barely enough to make the site usable.

Number 2: An ideal social network has terms of service you agree with. Unfortunately there's no set of rules everyone will find fair. While this is not a problem for the people who want to use the site, it will inevitably create an outgroup who are pushed away from the site. The obvious bad actors (nazis, terfs, etc) are pretty straightforward, but there are groups that do things you might find "unpleasant" even if you support their right to do it. Inevitably this turns into lines drawn in the sand about how visible should that content be.

Number 3: An ideal social network has moderators who have internalized the terms of service and consistently make decisions based on the TOS. If a situation comes up where there's no clear ruling in the TOS, but users need a moderation decision regarding it, the moderation team must choose how to act and then, potentially, amend the TOS if the case warrants it. Humans, though, are not robots, and no, AI is not the solution here jesus christ. There will always be variance in moderation decisions. And when it comes to amending the TOS, who's the decision maker? The sites' owners? The moderation team? Users as a whole?

Number 4: An ideal social network does not rely on an external income source to pay for the site. The site pays for itself, and its income flow covers the costs necessary with reserves for unexpected situations. Again, under capitalism this is a no-go, because a corporate social network's only goal is to maximize money. Infinite growth, not stasis. A private social network paid by members requires enough paying members to be sustainable, and costs will generally go up over time, not down. A social network that has some lump sum of cash just generating wealth is also unreliable because, first you need a large lump sum to begin with, and that mechanism is tied to the whims of the investment market. And, again, costs of the site will go up, not down.

As you've read through these you're probably reaching the conclusion: making a large-scale social network that is fair and sustainable is very, very difficult, if not impossible with our current culture and economic systems. There might be a scale where you can reach "almost fair" and "barely sustainable", but then you have to cap its growth.

So the "town square" social network is rife with problems and we need to abandon it's model as the ideal network. Should we go small instead? We have a model already for that with message boards and forums. Though they weren't without their problems, they didn't have the scale that exacerbated those problems to crisis levels. Most of the time.

If you're thinking maybe you need a small network like this, free from a corporate owner (like Discord), the tools are out there for you to accomplish it. However, before you try, keep the above points in mind. Even if you're not out to create a large-scale social network, an open network will run away from you. And all of those points above are guidelines for a good online community.

You and your network of 50 friends and friends of friends might all get along together, but every single person you add increases the risk of creating moderation problems. People also change, or simply have episodes of irrational behavior. You need a dedicated team of moderators who are acting coherently for and agreeably to the community.

And you absolutely must keep this in mind: inevitably, as you add more people, someone will do vile shit. CSAM and violence type shit. You have to be prepared to encounter it. You have to have a plan to see and handle that, and the moderators who are part of your moderation team must be prepared to see and handle it too.

There's been a steady trickle of new alternative social networks (or social media networks) popping up, but you cannot expect those to be perfect havens. Tumblr was once the haven for weirdos on the internet. Now it's hostile to its core members. This is not trying to rationalize staying here because "hey, it could be worse". This is just trying to warn you to temper your expectations, especially because new networks that suddenly get a huge influx of new members hit a critical point where many falter, change, or fail.

Examine who's running those networks closely. Think critically about what they're touting as the benefits of those networks. And if you decide to join them, do not, under any case, expect those new homes to be permanent.

[tealvenetianmask]

I rewatched the Helluva Boss trailer today and tried something different. Instead of looking for upcoming details or clues about what might happen, I looked for a narrative. I tried to imagine what the editors were thinking as they chose clips (both visual and audio) to include, and why.

I thought that MAYBE in light of having seen two of the episodes (and weeped over them, and analyzed them into the ground) most heavily featured in the trailer, I might learn something from doing this.

My conclusion is *drumroll* that the clips were chosen to introduce problems. AND NOT TELL US ANY OF THE OUTCOMES SO WE WOULD FUCKING SUFFER. Not too different from a movie trailer really.

So there are four main problems set up. Each of them are set up to make us ask questions.

Villains: Oh, what an array. Cherubs, Dhorks, new John Waters villain, Andrealphus, shadowy figures in hoods, Mammon flipping off the camera, etc. We're given very little information about how any of these confrontations will go. We just know there will be conflict/danger.

2. Blitz vs. self: "you always take from those around you . . ." "do you feel any kind of remorse for what you do?" "I make everyone's lives worse." "I don't want to be this way, not forever." One could argue that we've already seen tremendous growth with that last quote appearing in Apology Tour. I think that if I saw this group of quotes together without the context of the episodes so far, I would have assumed it would come last. But I think it's the beginning of a journey. We haven't heard all of these lines yet. And the ones we haven't heard might get closer to the self-loathing Blitz is dealing with than anything we've seen yet. These lines are telling us about a problem- again, the outcome is left blank. How will Blitz transform once he discovers that he wants to change and starts confronting the truly scary things living inside of him.

3. Stolitz: Okay so ALMOST everything in the trailer that has to do with their relationship is from either The Full Moon or Apology Tour. And in retrospect, it was pretty spoiler heavy. Maybe this is my shipper delulu speaking, but I think the writers/editors were okay with the trailer giving this much away from these two episodes BECAUSE these episodes set up the problems with their relationship and do not reveal the outcome.

The problems are ones we knew existed but have now seen tear them apart: Stolas wanting someone to care and Blitz wanting to be respected, the fact that they both love each other and want to be together but each think they're not wanted. Then there's the cruel as fuck framing where the trailer puts together Blitz looking at Stolas in awe and Stolas smiling as if they're in the same moment, only for us to find out in the actual episode that someone else is making Stolas smile.

Anyway, this is all to say that yes, I think that narratively they will get together at or near the end of the season. The trailer tells us that they both love each other despite the problems that are laid out. The solution IS for them to come back together somehow. And the trailer gives us that split second clip of Blitz defending Stolas to . . . I don't know . . . stop heartbroken shippers from rage quitting the show altogether after Apology Tour.

4. Stolas and Octavia: when it comes to the first two episodes in this group, this one has been visible in the show only through Octavia's absence . . . But if we look at the trailer as setting up problems, the problem is clear. "You never loved mother and you don't love me. You love him." Shit is going to hit the fan. And again, we have no idea what the outcome is going to be.

So conclusions?

Trailers are a cool art-form. They have to be narratively cohesive without giving away any outcomes. They have to make us want to see more. They can scare us but they can't be so depressing that they make us give up.

We didn't get random parts of the upcoming story. We got the earlier parts. At least, the earlier parts of each conflict (likely to be spread out somewhat), but please notice that the trailer has told us VERY LITTLE about Mastermind and Sinsmas.

There's very little reassurance in the trailer. It's supposed to be that way. But we do have hints that stolitz will be okay. Trust.

[queenburd]

The use of color in The Stanley Parable: HD and Ultra Deluxe (with honorable mentions to the Demo)

dedicated to @squuote who needs more TSP analysis to rotate

A little over a year ago, I (only somewhat jokingly) lay out the argument that while The Stanley Parable is notorious in its use of yellow, the color yellow is not actually associated to the Narrator. The color most associated with him, I argued, was red. [1, 2]

I've had plenty of thoughts regarding color and TSP in the interim and I want to go over those thoughts today in as much depth as I can manage. You know, for fun. None of this is to argue about creator intent, but it's a fun way to stretch the critical thinking and literary analysis portions of my brain. It's also super cool if you don't agree with my readings, since the point is to get you thinking about these things and studying them to interpret for yourself.

Anyway let's gooooooo

(note: all images are embedded with a link to the source page I pulled them from. For those on mobile, be careful with your scrolling and tapping!)

Yellow

Okay let's start with the “obvious” one. Yellow is seen as one of the main colors in the game, it's the color of the main office and the primary assets associated with the Parable. We see yellow PRIMARILY in the beginning of the office, before the two doors room. It lines the cubicles and the walls are often interpreted as yellow (eh, they're more of an off-white. They're actually absorbing color from the brown-yellow carpet, and they do the same in the lounge).

It's the color of the Line(TM), it's the color of the cargo lift in the warehouse, and, most strikingly, it's the color of the SKIP Button.

We'll get to you.

Okay, so yellow is a color with conflicting interpretations, which is par for the course for all of them, we're not going TOO insane on color theory and color psychology we will be here ALL DAY and I was an ART student. So let's just look at the most basic reading. Bright, oversaturated yellow is a color that can exhaust the eyes easily. It grabs our attention like a highlighter and burns our retinas.

It can be a color of excitement, but it can also be a color of sickness. I've been thinking about the short story The Yellow Wallpaper the past couple days. Or maybe I've been thinking about it for longer. It's just that I haven't reread it in actual years, but every time I saw someone talk about the wallpaper in TSP, I thought about the story. Here's some passing thoughts on the short story in comparison to TSP. [3]

Sickness, and madness, and beginnings, and infinity. In the end, yellow, to me, is the color of the Parable grabbing the player (and by extension the Narrator) by the nose and saying “let's get moving. We have a story to play. Play the game, and keep playing.” Notable to me is how the SKIP button is almost scathingly yellow in contrast to the room it's in, and as the room gets darker the glow gets more foreboding. The Parable did this. The Narrator might think he made it, but he doesn't control it. Yellow isn't his color, and it never was.

Red

“Stanley walked through the RED. DOOR.”

The use of red in TSP is probably the most interesting and fun to analyze for me. It's used extremely intentionally and it's commonly associated with power, anger, and passion. We see red in the Boss's Office, in the Countdown ending, as the door to the Starry Dome, and a TON in the TSP2 Expo. There's red doors and signs in the Escape Pod Bay.

So I've joked that the color red is the Narrator's color, and while it's still a fun interpretation, it's not one I'm married to. I think it's more accurate to say red symbolizes control. The Zending Door is you letting him control the story. The Countdown screens are him taking control from you. And TSP2 is the Narrator trying to exert control over what the developers have made. It's a response to New Content and to the SKIP button. I have a million trillion thoughts about the TSP2 Expo but I won't get into them here.

Anyway, red feels very obviously to me associated with the Narrator trying to take control, or things only being possible when he has control. I'm thinking about the signs in the Escape Pod Bay telling you that it won't work without him. (I'm thinking about how the same door asset for the Zending is used in the Escape Pod Bay. No. shhh. Staying on topic.) So I don't have much more to say on the matter because I feel like I've tread this ground before. Red is about control, and it is held in direct contrast with blue.

Blue

Oh, blue. Soothing blue, sweet relaxing lounge and ocean paintings and boss's bathroom and blue door that leads to broken textures and an irritable Voice.

If red is the color of control, then blue is the color of rebellion. Small rebellion, sure. Rebellion that means nothing in the scheme of things. Blue is the stepping stone to bigger deviations from the path. I mean, the lounge is only the first step to the right, and you can still get on the “correct” path. The blue door you have to go through repeatedly, you have to make the choice multiple times, for it to lead to the Games ending. The boss's bathroom doesn't GO anywhere until after the epilogue. These are “rebellious choices” in a game where you don't really have a choice, and it's the closest you get to defiance.

I like to make it Stanley's favorite color for obvious reasons.

(Hey, fandom, why you keep associating it with the Curator? The only blue in the Museum is in a couple assets on display.)

Green

I gotta admit, while there's definitely something to green and its use in TSP, a clear meaning for it is eluding me, and I've been thinking about it on and off for a couple days now. It's a fairly infrequent color in TSP as a whole, but it does make an appearance. Besides being the color of plants (such as the ever important fern, the potted plants scattered through the office and the ones in the TSP2 expo, and of course the growth in the SKIP button room), it's also the wallpaper in the Demo, and the same wallpaper is used in the Boss's Office in the Real Person Ending. Thinking further, it also appears in the small room before the stage in the Press Conference Ending, and it's the color of the carpet in the HL2 Office that is found under the Games ending. (It was also brought up by my pal glitch that green is the color of the cursor on Stanley's screen, the first thing you see before gameplay begins. Good catch!)

Thinking about it, it's hard to find a throughline. There's something familiar about the green. Not necessarily safe, but it usually comes before something much bigger. Maybe this is a bit of a stretch, though. Let's say for now green is associated with the familiar in the face of the unfamiliar.

(There's possibly a thesis here about green being associated with gifts and surprises. The Narrator makes the Press Conference ending something that teases but also praises Stanley, the Green Room in the Demo is the space where the Demo is meant to be revealed to you, and that alternate Boss's Office is supposed to, in the Narrator's mind, be the first step to a wonderful story made just for you.)

White

Most people, when they think of white in The Stanley Parable, immediately think of the Museum. And they're right to! It's one of the most prominent environments that uses white. With that in mind, we can't forget the other places it appears, since it's best to keep everything in mind when trying to formulate a meaning for it.

So, other places where white is prominent: We have the out-of-bounds ending, and the Art ending (aka play that Baby game for four hours). We also have a massive part of the TSP2 expo.

Honestly, there is a lot of white in the rest of the office, but it tends to be absorbing the colors of the environment in ways that make it less noticeable. White's really good at that, which means the times where it's by itself as the outstanding color are outliers and feel intentional. So what do these things have in common?

Well, they kind of show the seams of the game? Take this with a grain of salt, but the Museum is designed to show you some of the design process for the game, effectively taking you out of the setting to give you a top-down perspective (hehe, literally in the case of the diorama of the office up to the two doors), and the out-of-bounds ending is a joke about breaking the map, falling out of the world , which can break immersion in other games. The TSP2 Expo is the Narrator showing off all the features for his sequel idea, giving a “sneak peek” of what will be included.

The Art ending doesn't fit with this thesis, but it does involve the... revelation, I suppose, of the “character” of the Essence of Divine Art. What I'm trying to get to is that white is a color of revelation and display.

Gray

Gray is not a color that tends to stand on its own merit in The Stanley Parable, and that in itself is intentional. Gray is used as a texture of “unfinished” things, things the Narrator doesn't want you to look closely at, and would prefer you move past Right Now Right This Second Please.

It's the walls of the Broom Closet, as well as the walls of the maintenance room. It's also the walls of the room right outside the Starry Dome—the hall that leads right to the stairs. (Honorable mention, @chirpbudgie brought up that the desks in the office are gray, which is also an implication of the way Stanley's coworkers seemed to disappear with work unfinished. There is a sense of “wrongness” in how they've all vanished. Nice eye, bud.)

You're not supposed to dwell in these places. Go back to the story, please!

Black

“Blackness, and a rising chill of uncertainty. Was it over?”

Last and least is black, less used as a color in its own right and more a use of shadow. It really stars primarily in the Mind Control Facility, dark rooms with a sense of foreboding. Honestly, what is there to say about black?

Only, I tell a lie. You see quite a lot of black in this game, don't you? After all:

It's the Loading screen.

Blackness is uncertainty, and mystery, like the game tells us, because anything could be hiding in the darkness, and anything could happen when that screen is finished loading. It's white's opposite not just in value but in meaning. You don't know what's going on, you just have to wait and see. Any time you might have an answer, or an ending, here comes that loading screen to wipe the slate clean and say “hey, what haven't you found yet? What haven't you tried? What tricks does this game still have up its sleeve?”

(And now I'm thinking about the Figurines ending, and how the Narrator shouts to stop the loading screen, to go back and stay in the familiar please!! Because the fellow hates uncertainty, really he does. But that's a thesis for another day.)

(We also can't forget that Ultra Deluxe's Setting the Time is also set on a black background, and there's always, to me, a sense of foreboding and uncertainty there too. What happens after this is the game, right? Is this for something? Is this doing anything? Is it changing anything?)

Silver

It's a bucket :)

Okay that's the end of this post. There's probably plenty more to say about this subject, this isn't exhaustive by any means. Color is an incredible tool, and visual storytelling and color interpretation is not in any way a science. As I posted bits of this in my server for extra feedback and examples of color, other folks brought up an entirely different interpretation of the color green. And I didn't even bring up Mariella being dressed in full green!

Anyway I didn't bring up orange because there's only a couple instances of it in the game but its always about unfinished things/assets (Baby game, just a lot of Games ending things) but it also shows up in the TSP2 Expo (Button That Says The Name of the Player Playing The Game (Jim)) for features that uuuuuh. Aren't done. So that's funny.

Like I said, there's almost certainly more to say about color theory and the game, but this thing is hitting 4 pages long and that's not including images oops.

I hope this was a fun read! Some of this stuff has been percolating in my brain for a while and it's good to finally get it on the page. Talk to me about TSP I love this game.

[getinthecar-elizabeth]

Title: Bébé Mbappe?

Pairing: Kylian x wife!reader

Summary: you get a surprise before you and Kylian move to Spain.

NB: This takes place before Kylian's presentation at Madrid.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

The day of departure to Spain was fast approaching. Kylian's friends had thrown him a farewell party. It was rowdy and filled with all types of celebrities, models and social media personalities.

However, the family decided to throw another, more intimate party with close family and friends. Your mother and younger sister would also be there, as this was not only Kylian's farewell but yours as well.

Kylian had gone out in the morning for breakfast with Hakimi and a couple of other friends he hadn't seen in a while. He wanted you to come with him, but you insisted he make the most of the little time he had left with his friends.

You hadn't been feeling like yourself for the past few days. You were more tired than usual. Even Kylian noticed, but you just credited it to the stress of moving. In addition, you were feeling rather nauseous and your breasts were extremely tender and sensitive. They usually felt like this during your period or ovulation, but this time, they were way too sensitive.

While putting away clean laundry, your phone pinged with a notification. You picked it up from the bed and unlocked it. Your eyes bulged when you read the notification. It was from your period calendar app.

The notification read, "Your period is 10 days late."

"10 days?" you thought. The app was not always accurate, sometimes being off by 2 or 3 days, but never 10. Your heart rate increased at the possibility of what this could mean. You went through the calendar and checked the last time you and Kylian were intimate. It was 5 weeks ago, just before he left for Germany for the Euros.

You took a moment to calm yourself down. "Okay, think... Pregnancy test," you snapped your fingers.

You hurried to the bathroom and rummaged through the cabinets, searching for the pregnancy test your mother-in-law had bought for you the previous year. She was convinced you were pregnant and had bought you four tests, only to later realize that you had gotten sick from drinking orange-flavoured soda. You hadn't touched the tests since then. Thankfully, you had only used one test and had three spares.

You took the first test, and it came out positive. You then took another one, and it also came out positive. You sat on the bathroom floor with your hands on your face.

It's not that you were not happy, but right now was not the best time for a baby. With the move to Spain, you planned to focus all your energy on helping Kylian settle in.

You thought about Kylian. How would he take this? You had agreed to wait a little longer before extending your family. And it was your desire for your child to be born in France, your home.

Could you even move over there anymore? Your entire support system was here. With your first baby, you would need all the help you could get. And you knew Kylian wanted to be present for something as big as this. You were conflicted.

"Chérie!" You heard Kylian call for you from the living room.

You quickly got off the floor and hid the tests. You were not going to worry about this for now. You wanted your husband's last moments at home to be memorable.

"Bébé," he called again, this time in the bedroom.

"I'm here amour," you walked out of the bathroom.

"You're doing laundry?" He looked at the clothes on the bed.

"Yeah. I'm almost done."

He pulled you towards him by your hand, and his other one rested on your waist. "Leave it, bébé. I want to spend a bit of time with you before we leave for the party."

The party was going to be held at his mother's house.

"Okay," you gave him a tight-lipped smile.

He noticed the grim look on your face. "Everything okay, amour?" He brought your hand, which he held, to his lips and kissed your knuckles.

"Yeah. It's just that we're getting closer and closer to leaving, and I'm going to miss everyone," you shrugged.

Kylian knew that you were a creature of habit. You liked being in familiar places and around familiar people, and you didn't like going out much. This move was a lot for you, but he was glad that you were going with him. In a whole new country, he needed a sense of familiarity, and you were exactly that, so he understood how you felt.

"It's okay, chérie. This is a big change for us both, and I'm glad you're coming with me," he said as he rested his forehead against yours.

"Yeah, right. Like I'm gonna let you go over there alone and let those Spanish girls steal you. No way," you rolled your eyes but smiled.

He chuckled. "No one could ever steal me from you. You know my heart beats for you alone," he said as he held your palm against his chest so you could feel his heart beating.

'That's about to change,' you thought.

You ordered pizza and watched TV before getting ready for the party. On the way to Fayza's house, Kylian noticed that you seemed distant. He figured you might be feeling a bit sad because it would be the last time you would see a lot of people for a while.

The party went well. You shed a few tears during the speeches. You completely broke down when you saw your mother and sister. You thought it was just the hormones making you more emotional, but then again, you were saying goodbye to everyone you loved, so you guessed it was understandable.

People bought gifts, and although you didn't think it was necessary, you appreciated the gesture.

When you got back home, you were tired, so you left the gifts in the car, intending to bring them in the next morning.

You and Kylian were in bed with the lights off, but you couldn't stop thinking about what you found out earlier.

You turned to face Kylian, who was lying on his stomach. You always envied how comfortably he could sleep like that, while you never could - your stomach would start hurting after a while.

In the midst of the darkness, you blurted out, "I'm pregnant." You held your breath, thinking Kylian was sleeping and probably didn't hear you.

However, he raised his head to look at you in the dark. He then switched on the bedside lamp and sat up against the headboard. You got up and copied his actions.

"Quoi (what)?" He looked at you with wide eyes.

You gulped. "I'm pregnant," you repeated.

Kylian stared unmoving. Shock was evident on his face. This is it; he is going to blow a gasket, you thought.

"Vraiment (really)?" he asked.

You nodded your head. "Oui."

"C'est super (that's great)!" he exclaimed, showering your face with a thousand kisses.

Relief washed over you "You're not upset?" you questioned.

"Why would I be upset, amour? We're having a baby," he laughed. "Are you not happy?" He looked at you, worried.

"Of course, I am. I thought maybe with the move and everything..." you trailed off.

He shrugged, "Well, sure this changes a few things, but we'll figure it out. And I will take good care of you. I'll make sure you have the best doctor in Spain..." he rambled.

"I hear you, but you know I wanted our baby to be born here, in our home country," you reminded him.

"That can be arranged. We have 9 months to figure things out. And we can come back when the time for you to give birth arrives,"

"Okay," you smiled.

"You know what? This calls for a celebration," he sat up on his knees.

"Mon mari, it's late though. We can celebrate tomorrow," you whined.

"Don't worry, we don't need to leave the bed for this kind of celebration," he took off his shirt and threw it somewhere in the room.

"What?" You gave him a confused look.

Kylian wiggled his eyebrows and smirked. Then it clicked.

"Oh no..."

But he pulled you towards him by your legs and you found yourself lying on your back.

"Kylian," you giggled as he pulled off your pyjama pants. "This is exactly how I got pregnant," you stated.

"I know," he said with a grin.

He lowered his body onto yours, planting his forearms on either side of your head. His lips hovered just above yours, and then, he kissed you.

The rest, as they say, is history.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

[lu-is-not-ok]

Timekilling Time Trailer Frame by Frame

That's right. The second trailer for Timekilling Time is out, and I'm gonna go through it frame by fucking frame. I've always done this for story-related teasers and trailers, just not on Tumblr. So, might as well do it here for once.

First thing after the logo of the event:

We see a view of a T Corp street. The visual effect over some of the silhouettes if very interesting, especially considering it's almost completely unseen on the more working-class looking people, while being very extreme on the one person with color. Some sort of visual cue showing how much 'Time' currency everyone owns perhaps?

Judging by the golden accents and clockwork motifs, seems like a T Corp official dealing with one of the workers. The official does mostly match the outfit one of the T Corp collectors we see in Canto 4, so we might be seeing some more intricacies of whatever their job entails in this Intervallo.

The transition between this and the ID showcase is a glitchy effect, interestingly enough.

Project Moon why the fuck is Ryoshu's dialogue so goddamn blurry here? Whatever, we'll get back to that line later. Let's focus on what we can see.

Ryoshu is getting the 00 Identity, and is an Event Reward, meaning you'll be able to get her through grinding the event itself. Also, in case the pattern on the bandana wasn't already a dead give-away, then the name of the identity will be - we're dealing with the Yurodiviye again.

This has. A lot of lore implications. For one, we know from Canto 2 that the Yurodiviye are no longer confined to just District Y, but the fact that this is a confirmation they exist in District T as well means they are far more widespread than we might think.

Also the role they seem to take on is very interesting as well. In Canto 2 we learn of them as being a Syndicate that has connections with a bunch of other Syndicates in District J, but in here it seems like they're more official than that? We're talking straight up detective stuff, with the previous teaser implying the people we'll be working with are actually officially recognised by T Corp. Just what the fuck has Sonya been doing?

First look at event combat. Unsurprisingly, we're in the streets of T Corp. Interestingly, we're fighting the human T Corp Collectors we got to see in Canto 4 but didn't get to fight. Does that imply some sort of inner conflict in T Corp? Like I said above, the previous teaser implied the detective work we're doing is for T Corp's interests, why are we being impeded by other T Corp officials?

Looking at the Skill animation, Ryoshu's Skill 1 is two coins.

Skill 2 looks like maybe three coins?

Skill 3 is definitely three coins, and that is Very Much a Tremor Burst sound effect on the last coin. We got the Tremor baby!

Finally, some readable dialogue! Doesn't give us much, but "Shake down the loaded pigs..." shows us that even in their new role, Yurodiviye still despise the rich and focus on redistributing wealth.

Also, hi Hong Lu! You're here early! We'll get to you in a moment.

Let's talk about Ryoshu's guard, as the trailer very nicely shows us that's what Ryoshu is using.

"...and share the pilfered time with everyone." Yup, just as I said, redistribution of wealth.

Anyway, Ryoshu's guard seems to have a sort of Assist Attack mechanic to it, causing her to follow up with an attack of hers after Hong Lu's own attack. This Defense Assist Attack appears to be two coins, with a Tremor Burst on the second. Already looking very interesting as an ID.

Good lord Project Moon, what is it with the unreadable Ryoshu dialogue?! At least this one is slightly legible. "Pictures? Hmph, fine-snap away. Just make sure to get all the blood splatters." This combined with the post-uptie art showing an overlay of a camera with a shattered lens gives the idea that the Yurodiviye are somewhat well known I think. Enough to warrant taking pictures of.

Aaaand here's man of the hour! A 000 Identity that will be in the Gacha - District 20 Yurodivy Hong Lu. Same faction as Ryoshu, and the fact that we are definitely dealing with a Detective archetype here, again, it brings Yurodiviye's spot in T Corp into question. Are they going to be the people we help out, or are they the bad guys we'll be catching?

There's a lot to unpack here. First - "Hmm... What an amateurish finish... They must've been really pressed for time." - again with the Hong Lu identities utterly unphased by violence! What is the deal with him! The fact that he comments on the murder scene in terms of 'finish', as if judging a piece of art, is extra suspicious considering we've got Ryoshu as the other Identity here. It also has a weird connection to Sign of Roses's Observation Log, where Hong Lu starts describing it as if it's an art piece. Something is going on here.

Next, probably the least important part - new Hong Lu hairstyle! This is the first time we get to see Hong Lu with a low ponytail, as opposed to his usual high ponytails.

Finally, something I'm sure everyone has been talking about since the first teaser we got of this Identity - the marks under his jade eye. That is very clearly a T, again seemingly marking him as connected to T Corp itself in some way. Add to that the uncanny resemblance those marks have to the barcode mark under Alphonso's eye, and we've got one hell of a mystery. What the fuck is his deal!

Another look at event combat. A different area of T Corp + a return of the more robotic looking T Corp collectors. I repeat, why are we fighting T Corp collectors if we're working with T Corp on this case? What the hell happened?

Anyway, Hong Lu's Skill 1 seems to be a two coin, and I believe this is the same animation as in the Ryoshu Defense Skill showcase, meaning we got a potential early peek at its Sin Affinity - Gloom! Doesn't bode well for this Hong Lu story-wise!

Skill 2 is a three coin skill.

"Okay, let's think. How would I do this, if I was the killer? I just have to slowly think it through, and..." Now, this doesn't have to be that deep, but this line combined with the previous one where Hong Lu judges the murder scene as 'amateurish' feels... just the slightest bit sus.

"...Hehe, I suppose I'll find the truth sooner or later, hm?" He's the worst. I love him. Anyway.

CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT SKILL 3?

First, the animation start with Hong Lu spitting out the stick he's had in his mouth, which is followed by a flashy either one or two coin skill with a Tremor Burst, which is then followed by that same eye sparkle effect that signifies SP healing in the Liu Identity and Dieci Identity. SP heal on stagger? SP heal on Tremor Burst? Fuck if I know.

That eye is definitely sparkling. Project Moon please give us eye lore.

Also, the background is very interesting. The visual style and slight transparency makes it feel like a sort of replay of events. Is that what his eye allows him to see? Just straight up visualizing the murder?

And let's not forget the dialogue line. "Hm... let's think about what we should target next." This is. Ominous. Again, we know very little about why Yurodiviye are involved, but judging from Ryoshu's dialogue lines their core motivations haven't changed. What does it mean for them to 'target' something? Are they faking being detectives and just framing people to get their 'Time'? It is notable that the title of Hong Lu's Identity never actually refers to him as a detective or anything of the sort. Just what are they scheming?

Another glitchy transition out of the ID showcase section. Glitches seem to be a recurring theme for this Intervallo.

Anyhow, time for the event enemy showcase!

We got another look at the T Corp collector guy from the ID showcase, not much to say here.

Next up we've got... Oh! That's a Yurodivy! Looks like regardless of the faction we'll be actually working with, we'll be making enemies with everyone! That being said, it's exciting to know we're finally seeing the Yurodiviye in combat, even if it's just a very specific branch of them. The chance for a future Sonya fight or Sonya Rodya ID has risen due to the fact we're seeing this faction in action!

T Corp collector guys from Canto 4, yup, we've seen that earlier as well.

And here we are. In a split second frame. That is the character that Hong Lu's Identity is based on! Not much else to say on this because it's such a quick snippit, but it again puts Yurodiviye's role in the Intervallo's story in the question. If we don't start off working with them, why are they appearing as detective types? If we do start off working with them, what happens to make them turn on us?

Fascinating.

Also, another glitchy transition.

Alright, there's a lot to talk about here. First off, the CG in the background - what the fuck is going on.

Dante and Hong Lu (in his detective garbs) are looking at Meursault in... some Zero Time Dilemma looking ass contraption. Meursault has his arms crossed, the contraption connects to his head, and there's a T Corp logo on it. I honestly have no idea what to do with this information.

Next up - the dialogue line and character sprite silhouette.

"We observed a large-scale, unauthorized temporal leakage phenomenon... which shot you up the progressive Time Tax bracket due to the immense amount of time leak." Uhhhh, I understand what those word mean on their own I guess. My only guess here is that this is the work of Yurodiviye in some way. Looks like Limbus Company is gonna be dealing with the fallour of this temporal leak, whatever that entails.

The character silhouette itself... doesn't give us much. A secretary of some sort? One of the T Corp officials giving us a job? Hard to tell.

Again, a lot to look through.

First we got a view of the whole room the previous CG is taking place in, including office desks and a shitload of clocks everywhere. We're definitely in some sort of T Corp office space, that's for sure.

"Isn't it absolutely brilliant? The very concept of 'killing time'. They're not slowing down or speeding up time; they're eliminating it completely, just entirely yanking it out of circulation." Hmm... Again, hard to say much about this line with its lack of context, but it certainly does seem interesting. All of T Corp stuff we've seen thus far does rely on things like speeding up or slowing down. The TimeTrack upgrade in LobCorp lets you speed up time. The L Corp time loop and the R Corp hatchery compress time so that what takes a long time inside takes less time outside. The Warp Train collects the time of its extremely long travels to sell to T Corp. Straight up deleting time seems very different from what we've seen thus far.

Also, the matter of the silhouette - whoever it is doesn't seem to be the same person as the Yurodivy we see in the split second frame, so whoever this is likely has no connection to Rodya or Sonya.

...This might sound a little out there, but I feel like this would be the perfect opportunity for Project Moon to pull out their own version of Sherlock Holmes. It almost feels like a waste to not include that reference in a detective themed Intervallo.

And now for the biggest surprise of them all from this Trailer - Faust is getting a WAW E.G.O. The name of the E.G.O itself is Everlasting, and the Abnormality it's based on is the Time Duck from the Mirror Dungeon event, also known as the Abnormality that gives the E.G.O Gift Melted Spring.

Not much is known about the Abnormality, as its MD Event primarily connects it to the Duck-Rabbit Illusion, where you have to tell it whether it's a Duck or a Rabbit in your eyes, with the Abnormality fleeing if the answer isn't confident enough.

"How does it appear, my form in your eyes? Perhaps within the clockwork of time the answer lies?" First of all- nice rhymes. Second of all - this is a direct reference to the MD Event, but also very interesting with regards to Faust herself. There's a lot about Faust that shows she lacks self-awareness, with her describing herself as someone who only speaks when asked and doesn't talk much, when in reality she goes on endless tangents without prompting. Add to that the Council of Fausts theory, and it makes the idea of her seeking the opinion of other people with regards to her identity resonate quite intensely.

Also, I'm pretty sure more than enough people have made comparisons between Everlasting Faust and Eileen the Church of Gears leader, but it has to be stated that there definitely are some parallels here. Again, further adds to the Council of Fausts theory, as it would make Everlasting Faust a mirror to Eileen. Eileen, who controls the gears in her head, and Faust, who is controlled by the gears in her head.

Oh, and the E.G.O is Tremor as well. Because why not. At least Faust has a good Tremor Identity already, so it works well.

Putting this here for the woman likers.

Corrosion time. For one, Faust takes on a distinctly bird-like form here. Not sure what exactly this means in the grand scheme of things for the E.G.O's meaning just yet, but it does feel important to note.

"Thus. You cease to move. Trapped in the stopped time. For eternity." ...Hm. There's a few ways this can be interpreted. If we ignore the time-related references and treat them as something only connected to the Abnormality, it gives us the idea of Faust being trapped. Being unable to move on her own, likely due to her extreme ties with Limbus Company and/or the Council of Fausts.

However, adding the time motif into it makes it more interesting. There's a lot of ways one can be 'stuck in time' and unable to move forward. One is a literal time stop Za Warudo style, and another is being trapped in a Time Loop, being unable to make progress due to always being reset and thus ceasing to move for eternity. Both feel relevant to Faust when it comes to what little we've learned of her 'goal' from her original character PV.

There's something Faust is seeking above all else. Some piece of knowledge that is nigh unobtainable. ...But what comes after she reaches it? I think the Corrosion line alludes to exactly that.

If it's a Time Stop scenario, that means that once Faust reaches the unreachable she will just. Stop. There's nothing left for her. She'll be trapped for eternity knowing everything she wished for but being unable to keep moving forward, because there'll no longer be anything for her to move towards.

If it's a Time Loop scenario, that means that Faust's constant push towards the unreachable is an inescapable loop. Once she learns what she wishes, it won't be enough, and she'll just repeat the process again. Stuck in a cycle of reaching everything, coming back to nothing, and reaching for everything anew ad infinitum. No movement made in the process, because she always comes back to square one.

Either way, it doesn't bode well for her.

On another note, the animation fucks severely, and there's another glitchy transition.

Time Georg. Sorry. Actually not sorry.

Seriously though, we get to see another view of T Corp streets, this time with one of the factories in the background and, funnily enough, the fucking Big Ben. We really are in London.

"An average T Corp. citizen has about 20 to 28 hours in a day, but you might also run into people like him; people with plenty time to spare. Because he has so much surplus time, he can afford to condence 40, 50 hours into a single day." Looks like the 'Time' currency doesn't just act as money - you literally can use it to manipulate your time scale. If you're rich, you can do like L Corp Time Loop and make yourself experience more time than everyone around you. It's also notable that the average T Corp citizen can go as low as having less than 24 hours in a day. Guess that explains why people are so desperate that they try to steal 'Time' from each other - their days literally get shorter than more debt they have.

Also, who is this 'him'? Who is this mysterious man with so much ''Time' he can have double his daily hours? I wonder if it's the fully colored man from the first CG of the trailer?

Hey it's the same factory CG from the previous teaser! Nice to know we're still on the track of visiting one.

"And to people with fewer hours in a day... it'll look as though he's moving two, three times faster than them. Someone with that much time could pick their nose in the blink of an eye before anyone even has the chance to catch them in the act." Yup, this explains the visual effect in the first CG. People with a lot of 'Time', who can have more hours in a day than other people, straight up look like they're moving so fast they leave behind after images.

Also, this very much feels like a commentary on how the rich can get away with things just because they're rich. A man rich with 'Time' can get away with unsightly behaviors just because he moves so fast people can't see him do it, just how real life rich people can get away with crimes because they have enough money to not care about fines.

Another glitch transition.

We get to see the iconic CG from the Roadmap, this time in washed out T Corp colors and in all its glory. God I'm excited for seeing more of these goobers.

After we get the logo again, not only do we see the glitch effect, but the music completely cuts out.

What follows is a constantly glitching out text with a background noise that gets louder and more discordant as it goes on.

"Can't wait for what won't come."

"Now is the time for action."

"All those time-killing bastards..."

"I'll..."

Hmmm. Curious and ominous. The presentation of these words does not bode well for the fate of whoever is speaking them, but the content makes me even more interested.

Because... this is Yurodiviye we're talking about. Sonya's whole thing was that he kept reading and learning about theory instead of actually acting until after Rodya commited murder, and even then his personal actions within the group seems confined to establishing connections with other Syndicates and delegating duties to others.

So to have someone who opposes the idea of sitting back and waiting so vehemently in the same Intervallo as Yurodiviye coming back into the spotlight... It is certainly interesting, don't you think?

Alright, that's all for the Trailer! Holy shit I'm excited for this Intervallo.

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Jeff Davis just ruined everything! Everything! Do you know if there's any fix-it fics yet!

AND

Anonymous asked:

Love your page! Can you recommend fix-it fics for the movie?

AND

angelofthetrenchcoats asked:

hii

do you know if there are any tw movie sterek fix it fics yet?

thanks❤️😂

“Take me back.” by Theo4thestars

(1/? I 979 I Not Rated I Sterek)

Stiles finds out Derek is dead. He’s hurt. He finds out Allison is alive. He’s never been more happy. He’s conflicted so he goes home.

we're all burning. by unholyturtle

(2/2 I 2,400 I Explicit I Sterek)

Stiles came home and Derek did not die.

Broken Things (It's Complicated) by PalenDrome (nerdherderette)

(1/1 I 3,880 I General I Sterek)

It's been fifteen years, and Derek still has feelings about that Jeep.

Crawling back to you by ads1008

(1/1 I 10,901 I General i Sterek)

Stiles gets a call from Eli that Derek has died. He runs home in time to be at the funeral where Eli barrels into him crying shaking like he is five years old again after a nightmare. Stiles holds him tight looking up at the pack he walked away from years ago. The ones that hurt him and his family too many times to count. His eyes landed on Scott, who looked sad and sorry. Stiles didn’t care for his pity. Rage boiled in him at just seeing his ex-best friend. The man that almost ruined everything for them 15 years ago but it looks like he already did. Stiles pulled Eli away, handing him off to his dad. Stiles walked over landing a hard punch to Scott’s temple.

“What did you do?” Stiles shouted.

Stiles knew he had to bring back the love of his life and the father of his son, with the help of Lydia and the rest of the gang. Stiles must fight one last demon of his own to bring Derek back. By doing so, secrets of the past fifteen years will be told. His young son, Eli, will know more about himself and his parents than either Stiles or Derek was ready to share.

We'll Take On The World by lookingforatardis

(1/1 I 26,000 I Mature I Sterek)

Derek grew quiet, eyes searching Stiles’ face. “It’s called True Mates.” “Do you think we…” he started, but cut himself off. He wasn’t sure he wanted an answer. “Maybe,” Derek nodded anyway, eyes cast down. Their hands were intertwined on the bed where they sat, and Stiles traced Derek’s knuckles with his fingers. “How would we know?” Derek sighed and leaned over to rest his head against Stiles’ shoulder. “There’s always a sign."

No More Martyr Bullsh*&t by Arieanna

(12/12 I 35,230 I Mature I Sterek)

Thank god someone had the brains to call him. Now he was running through the preserve to that stupid stump, hoping that he gets there before it's too late and he loses his reason for living.

"X" marks the spot by mmspring

(3/3 I 39,796 I General I Sterek)

"Please, bring my nephew back" Stiles stays silent for a second, before clearing his throat and speaking again. "Do you remember that time when you asked if someone in this town could stay dead?" he asks, and waits for the other man to confirm that he, indeed, remembers. "Well, let's hope the answer is still no".

Or

Stiles has to save the day once again, but he doesn't want the recognition for it.

Nothing Ever Stays Dead by Violet_Michelle

(22/22 I 79,189 I Mature I Sterek)

Following Derek’s death, Eli took the Jeep and went to find the only person he thought could get his dad back.

Yoda Said It Best by OKDeanna, thePurebloodPrat

(21/21 I 99,128 I Explicit I Sterek)

Derek Hale knows he as a problem. Contrary to what some might believe, he isn’t stupid. He knows the Jeep has meaning to him, real meaning. The kind of meaning that he doesn’t want to think about, let alone stop and have to analyze. Except… his son keeps pushing him about it, prodding at him, and then before Derek knows it, Stiles is back in Beacon Hills, driving the one thing in the world Derek wishes he never had to set eyes on again. If Derek isn’t careful, he could open himself up to a fall, and that would affect more than just his son but also his own traitorous heart. Because with Stiles back, Derek finally has hope again, and its making him want the things he knows better than to ever crave: a home, a future, a life—love.

One-Sentence Premise: To find the happiness they both crave, a lonely stressed-out single dad and a disillusioned FBI agent must confront their shared past and accept the feelings that have always existed between them.

[ride-thedragon]

NETTLES AND RHAENYRA, CHARACTER FOILS.

Because I'm not an English teacher

So the question is, How is Nettles Rhaenyra's foil?

1. Appearance .

Rhaenyra is a pretty standard Valyrian beauty. Silver locks, purple eyes, quite pretty, later on in life we get the change that she didn't lose the wait after giving birth to her kids and becùase of misogyny, her beauty has faded. Features like her long hair worn in the style of Visenya and so on are also mentioned. It's giving the Realm's delight in a real sense (not the weird sense).

Nettles, on the other hand, is juxtaposed as 'ugly'. She's brown, is skinny, has crooked teeth, a nose scar, and has short hair.

The maesters like to play to damn much, basically. But they are described as almost exact opposites. Short and long hair, skinny and fat, white and brown skin, purple and brown eyes, etc.

The narrative purpose is to ultimately show their different upbringing and places in this society.

2. Status

Rhaenyra is shown to be the princess, heir to the throne and queen throughout the book. No matter what happens with her, the security and privilege she has almost always goes over what other women have. Her only real threat is the men (and book Alicent) who have personal stake in her not ascending her throne. She's also entirely spoilt as princess and heir by her father and more so her uncle.

Nettles, on the other hand, is introduced to us as an orphan from Driftmark. We're told she could've been a thief and a sex worker by the time we met her. She has no name, lands, titles, or family that we are presented with in the narrative and her backstory for better or less is a patchwork of what her life was possibly like on Driftmark.

Unlike Rhaenyra, we don't follow every salacious rumour and really don't know much about her past.

3. Dragons

Rhaenyra’s dragon Syrax was a cradle egg hatched to her, a Targaryen custom. She's also the youngest dragonrider at 7 I believe.

Nettles claims her dragon at no older than 16 years old. He is a wild dragon (a distinction given to hatched Targaryen dragons that haven't been riden and live away from the keep) and slaughters many before she claims him.

4. Virtue

The notion of virtue in asoiaf is extremely complex, especially with these two women and the vastly different backgrounds. But virginity and speculation also develops both their characterizations in the narrative.

Rhaenyra allegedly "sleeps" with Daemon to practise what she wants to do with Criston (she's 15-). In the show, it becomes obvious that she almost sleeps with Daemon and officially sleeps with Criston. Either way, promiscuity and naivety are written into her character. The only point of conflict is who is involved with what happened in these instances less than what happened. Later on her promiscuity is brought up when Ser Harwin Strong is said to be the father of her first three children.

On the other hand, Nettles' sexual promiscuity is given to her in the narrative. The claims of her being a whore or sleeping around with shepherds are claims made by men who don't know what she was doing at that time. Men who made similar claims about Rhaenyra and their involvement in her loss of virtue as well. Where these stories differ is in Maidenpool, where the assumption of promiscuity is given a different voice.

This time, maids are alluding to an inappropriately close relationship between Daemon and Nettles (yet again, he finds himself here).

5. Daemon

Speak of the devil, and he will appear.

His dynamic is important to these women and their place in the narrative. Saving one dooms the other, leaving with one isolated the other. His decisions ultimately affect one while benefiting the other.

The cruellest example of this dynamic is him letting Nettles go after being the reason she is trapped in the narrative and ultimately dooming Rhaenyra by choosing to kill Aemond instead of going back to her.

His dynamic with both was also comparable with gift giving and quality time and even inappropriate relationship he developed with both of them, notably around similar ages. ( Both these relationships have significant power imbalances).

Between them both, his affection to one affects the other detrimentally.

6. Jace

Specifically in reference to his death, it's notable that within the narrative, while Nettles is described as crying by herself in response to his death, Rhaenyra is hardened by it.

Also, as symbols for legitimacy and legacy, Jace is the reason Nettles is recognised as a dragonseed, and Rhaenyra's line is secured as her first born, but in his absence, Nettles is delegitimised and said to be not a dragonseed. Around that time, Rhaenyra is beginning to be questioned by all the men around her as well, whereas before, Jace was a notable voice in decisions.

7. Dragons in the End.

They both meet their 'end' in the narrative with Dragons. Rhaenyra is killed by her brother's dragon Sunfyre burns and eats her, killing her in front of her son.

Nettles, however, escapes the narrative on dragonback, with the stories that follow explicitly explaining how dragon fire protects her and leads her to become a deity for the burned men.

8. Children

In the narrative, Nettles has no children. Children would explicitly be a burden in her described circumstances as a mouth to feed and someone else to care for. Effectively, children would trap Nettles in a cycle of poverty and inability to experience ethe freedom presented in the narrative.

Rhaenyra is expected to have children to secure her legacy and reign. Children, especially sons, would be her greatest benefit to ensure her ascension to the throne. They are her biggest strategy and losses throughout the war because of that reason.

This dynamic carries out to a head with the death decree for Nettles. The possibility that she would have a child by Daemon is a definitive reason that her 'treason' calls for her head. A child would give her a claimant but also be proof of infidelity by Daemon. It would be a slight to Rhaenyra’s pride and grief as she at this point has lost 4 children during the war.

9. Loyalty of men

This is one of the most interesting for me because the disloyalty of men for Rhaenyra meant the loyalty of men to Nettles. When the Mootons decide not to kill her, they are traitors to Rhaenyra. When Daemon lets her leave, he's a traitor to Rhaenyra. When Corlys stands up for both her and Addam, he's treated like a traitor. Furthermore, the Mootons turn to Aegon’s side directly after because they did not obey her for two reasons, Nettles being accused and sentenced without trial, and Rhaenyra wanting them to break guest right.

Within the narrative, at that point, loyalty to Rhaenyra was a sentence on Nettles' life, and loyalty to Nettles was treason to Rhaenyra.

Conclusion.

In other ways, like the impact of their legacy, the symbols of their identity (dragons), other ways that their narratives with Daemon (the stories) play out and so on juxtapose these women against each other in the narrative. Age and innocence in both a meta and narrative sense also play into Nettles being a foil for Rhaenyra’s character. Personally I think the reason ts written that way is for Nettles to cause a Stark difference in behaviour with men like Daemon and the Mootons as well as to show the contrast of what is expected and what is to be done and what actually happens.

Hope this helps 🩷🤎

[fullcoffeemoon-nem]

Timeline Theory

First update: 09-21-23

Second update: 11-14-23

Third update: 05-01-24 (+ S2 Theory link)

Last update: 06-03-24 (+ S2 Theory upload)

——————————————

Hi there!

After another re-watch and the head to pay attention to the small details, perhaps I have reconstructed a possible

Timeline of Helluva Boss

It would be better to define them as hypotheses. First of all, here is an outline of the episodes and their release dates.

I know, I also included the one whose title we know, just for the sake of general overview. The theory for the moment covers 2 seasons out of 4 announced.

Here the synthetic timeline. From the estimate version I have removed the year here, we'll get to the reason.

Here I also report some of my thoughts:

Already from the first episodes there's a strong focus on clocks and time, it is much more striking in Oops, where Asmodeus' clock marks the whole day.

I'm not sure about the year, but also from the analyzes carried out later, 2021 could be the year of the narrative arc that goes from Murder Family to Ozzie's.

(*) The Verosika's tour t-shirt was official and linked to the episode, at the moment I'm undecided on its validity at the year level, althought the date could be very possible.

However, my research started with Seeing Stars because it's the first episode to feature an almost specific date: the 20th of a 30-day month.

In my opinion it could be April chronologically and it's agreed with the information in the subsequent episodes.

The only problem is that the full moon would't coincide with what was marked by Blitz.

Noteworthy:

Blitz's calendar suggests that the full moon that month is the 14th.

Stolas wrote in the Western Energy chat that Blitz was supposed to come that evening and that therefore the full moon was the 20th.

We are certainly either in 2021 or beyond given Moxxie's coin in Seeing Stars.

From the chat we can understand that:

About a month passes between the trio Ozzie's - Queen Bee - The Circus (1 moon)

About 3 months (3 moons) pass between Seeing Stars and Western Energy

Western Energy is placed a week before Oops and among these the week told in Unhappy Campers

From Millie's flyer we know that her and Moxxie's mission ends on Friday July 17th. We know from Blitz that this lasted a week, so it started on Monday 13th July.

According to what Striker says to Crisom, Western Energy should be set around July 11th and Oops around July 18th.

We should be in 2022 though, but in that case July 17th was a Sunday.

In Mammon's magnificent concert Blitz says on the call with Ozzie that it's a weekend.

There are two options:

It could be set on the week parallel (July 21-22th or 28-29th) to the events of Western-Unhappy-Oops.

It could be set on the following month (August).

Here we come to the gap:

(*) The Mammon's official t-shirt is clearly linked to the episode, but the date (2023) and month (October) cause the information to conflict.

So, at this point we have this options:

The official t-shirts are tied exclusively to the release date of the episode.

They are official or at the date level, or at the year level.

They're official and we're actually 2 years removed from Murder Family.

I think it is more canonical to consider a connection with the month of July shown in the episode and maintain the hypothesis.

Seeing Stars -> April

Wester Energy to Oops -> July

Full Moon → September 29th

I'm pretty sure about the Apology Tour

A month of crisis for Blitz seems like the minimum to me and it's also enough for Stolas to enter a phase of rejection.

——————————————

With the LVL UP on April 29th we got a new trailer for the second part of the second season. In addition, we also have a preview of the Stolas and Blitz duet from the next episode.

I dedicated a post for analysis, opinions and spoilers here.

I'm going to integrate the episodes and data into the theory as they come out.

——————————————

In the end, I report here some of the most interesting posts from Blitz and Stolas' Sinstagrams, due to that they're the only two accounts that hide canonical information.

(Thanks @timkontheunsure for the source)

I underlined my opinion, they certainly respect real events but I don't think that in terms of dating they are canonical.

What a mess...

What do you think about it?

Have you noticed any other details that could clarify the mystery? Make me know it and let's solve the mystery together :}

Bye~

[hauntingofhouses]

I was wondering, what do u think Taigen reaction to finding out about Mizu being a woman will be? Although I don’t think he will have a bad reaction I wanted to know what u thought about it?

OOH I like this question because the thoughts on this have been swirling around in my brain for a while and I don't think I ever properly talked about this, outside of maybe this post (which is barely coherent imo). There, I compared Mizu/Taigen to Mizu/Mikio, as well as to the main romantic couple in the movie Yentl. Then from both those comparisons, I tried to speculate on Taigen's reaction to Mizu's gender reveal, based on what would make the most narrative sense.

However, I didn't really analyse Taigen himself in that post, and neither did I ever come up with a concrete conclusion to what his reaction may be. So this ask gives me a good chance to speculate even further and hopefully come up with a proper and more in-depth answer.

Similar to you, anon, I don't think Taigen will have a bad reaction per se, though I guess it depends on what you'd define by bad.

Because this is Taigen we're talking about, I don't think he'd exactly be chill about it. He's very much a drama queen, especially around Mizu, as he's never afraid of stepping on her toes, and thus will vocalise his feelings to her whenever he's feeling them. That, combined with his short temper and his brashness, means that there's almost certainly going to be conflict when he finds out the truth. He will be shocked, and because he's immature, he'll be angry and upset because of this shock. Simply because he doesn't know, and hasn't yet learned, how to deal with his emotions in any other way besides getting angry.

So I think that will definitely be his first instinct. To get upset.

I don't think he'd immediately know why he's upset. Maybe only after a few minutes of angry questioning (think something along the lines of "Why are you telling me this now?!" and "You've been hiding this all this time?!"), he'd finally come up with some tangible cause for his anger.

What would the cause for his anger be then? Well, it could be several things.

Possible Reason #1

He feels "betrayed" because Mizu didn't trust him enough with the truth even after the two have grown close, and after Taigen has put his life on the line for her numerous times.

Possible Reason #2

He feels "cheated" because Mizu is not the man he'd believed she was, thus making it feel like their entire friendship was a sham. This is because the basis for their relationship, in the way he'd related to her, bullied her, envied her, admired her, allied himself with her, and eventually grown attracted to her, had been entirely based off the premise and belief that Mizu is his fellow man, his peer, comrade, and fellow samurai. Thus, discovering that Mizu is not a man would, initially, feel like all of that has been ripped away from him. And this is actually related to the third possible reason.

Possible Reason #3

This is a big one, and the reason everyone, including myself, is putting their bets on: misogyny.

Essentially, Taigen would find out that this whole time, the person he'd been envious of and struggling to beat in every single fight, is not a man, but a woman. And as far as he knows, even if women in feudal Japan could once be warriors (see: the Onna-musha), perceptions have since changed by the time of the Edo period. Furthermore, even if women could fight, men were still expected to be stronger, because men are supposed to protect women.

However, I believe that Taigen's particular flavour of misogyny is a little different, in that he does not view women as "inferior." Because remember, his fiancee was Akemi. This was a woman who took no shits! She was snarky and playful and intelligent, and moreover she was a princess, superior to him in every way, and he knew and respected all of that, and respected her as an individual who could make her own choices. When she'd told him the news of their engagement, Taigen asked her, "He's [your father] sure? You're sure?" And then, when she tried to seduce him in Ep 2, he asked her, "Akemi, are you sure?"

His respect for her is the only reason why Akemi had been so desperate to marry him in the first place. She did not love him, but knew he would be good to her. Because she could not guarantee that any other man would treat her nicely as he would.

Thus, with that being said, I don't think Taigen is some "alpha male dudebro" who thinks women belong in the kitchen etc. Instead, I think Taigen simply believes women are just... different from men. So it's not that women can't or shouldn't fight, it's that they just don't. It's not that women can't or shouldn't be friends with men on equal footing, it's just that they aren't. You get what I'm saying?

It's like, imagine your whole life, you're told, and fully led to believe, that a lamp can't light up. They're just meant to be in your house as decoration. And then suddenly, you find out that your lamp lights up! And you're like, "OMG a lamp is lighting up! How is it doing that?! I thought light only comes from candles and the sun! This can't be right, I thought lamps never light up! Isn't that a fundamental part of their design?"

Now, put aside that this is a pretty bad analogy because it's 1am as I'm writing this and I can't think of a better one atm, but I hope the point comes across, in that this is clear-cut misogyny (I'm comparing women to a piece of furniture here on purpose), but the lucky thing about this particular flavour of misogyny is that it's rooted in ignorance, and is not inherently malicious. It can be, but it isn't necessarily.

Ignorance can be undone through learning and educating oneself. And luckily for us, my friends, educating oneself out of ignorance is the entire point of Taigen's character! He represents the uneducated masses who blindly follow the flow of the fucked up system. This is in contrast to Mizu who has never had a place within the system to begin with, Akemi who has spent her whole life struggling to go against the grain of the system, and Ringo who has always tried to follow the system, but due to his disability, is denied full access to it.

Thus, we've already seen him take the first steps to unlearn his xenophobic and racial prejudice, and we've also seen him start shedding his massive ego and desire for glory, which are both used to mask his own insecurities. If Netflix gives us all 4 planned seasons, then we have 3 more seasons for Taigen to fully grow out these backwards mindsets and finally reach his full potential to become—not a good man—but a great one.

THEREFORE, whatever the reason for his upset at discovering Mizu's gender, I firmly believe that Taigen will get over himself in the end, regardless of whether his anger stemmed from his misogyny, hurt, confusion, or whatever else.

Because Taigen's short temper and emotional immaturity is born from him spending his whole life on the move. Unlike Mizu, who is always alone with her thoughts and meditates constantly to try to cleanse herself of her restless emotions, Taigen is used to surrounding himself with people (see:him in the Shindo Dojo) and ignoring his emotions completely (see:him trying to forget Kohama). Which is why, when he does feel anything, it's overwhelming, and he doesn't know what else to do with it except let it out, usually in an angry outburst. Only when given the proper chance to reflect in Kohama in Ep7, does Taigen finally go through some substantial growth and start feeling remorse over how he'd treated Mizu.

Hence, I suspect something similar will happen when he discovers Mizu's gender, in which he will get upset and shocked and confused first, but then he'll reflect and regret and try to make up for his past behaviour.

And this is what I meant earlier when I said that I don't think he'll 't have a "bad reaction."

Essentially, it is my belief that his reaction will not follow in the footsteps of Mikio's, but instead, directly oppose and subvert that. This is related to the points I referenced in the post I linked above, but also, more importantly, because Taigen and Mikio are narrative foils.

Thus, where Mikio had betrayed Mizu and left her for dead, I believe Taigen will, at the end of the day, remain loyal and continue to fight by her side until the very end.

Because the thing about Taigen, as a person, outside of all the attitudes and prejudices that have been ingrained into him, is his relentless devotion. He gives himself into everything he does, puts in his all, and does not do things halfway. That's what makes him such a good soldier. He does not lead, but follows. He is inherently self-sacrificing and driven by a desire to protect, and we see this in how protective he is of Mizu to the point of enduring torture for her and telling her to use him as a human shield; how his first instinct upon hearing Akemi had been dragged off to get married against her will, is to get up and try to go to her; and how, when hearing the shogunate is in danger, he immediately goes straight to Edo palace to try to warn the shogun, even if it might get him killed in the process.

I could go on about why I think this is what makes him so good for Mizu (because Mizu's arc, especially in Season 1, is literally about accepting help and opening herself up to others) but this post is already atrociously long, so I'll just leave it at that.

So, anon, I hope I answered your question! I'm sorry I can never give short answers though, but I think at this point, it's to be expected from me lol. Thank you for the ask btw! And on that note, my inbox is always open for more 👀

[makima4ever]

Dissonance (3)

tumblr, pLEASE LET <ME WRITE Ghost x M!Reader 1, 2, 2.5, Part 3 TAGLIST: (IF U WANNA BE ADDED JS ASK ME) @originaldeerhottub @br4inr0tzz @gildedkrone . . . You could see someone sitting beside you as you were eating breakfast.. they had slightly blondish hair that was both kept and rather messy, dark spots around their eyes; they wore a black hoodie and grey sweatpants.. You couldn't really tell who it was, as it was all a blur, as fast as it appeared it went.. it left a certain emptiness feeling welling in your stomach like a cup being filled up as it gave you a feeling of unease, as you could remember the warmth of that moment. It was like it was real, almost tangible as the smile.. the light.. the smell of eggs and something.. fruity? It felt way too real yet you didn't complain, being entranced and lost in the sensations alongside the metallic and smooth feel of a fork paired with the feeling of something sweet on your tongue- as you could hear faint sipping noises accompanied by the floral scent of tea from somewhere.. It felt comforting, it was non-threatening unlike the battlefield and constant warring conflicts all about. Your body was moving as you yourself have no autonomy but you didn't care, this felt.. like heaven, something you craved as much as the food smelled, oddly enough. This was something you always dreamed about, after all. The light basking in the room was not too bright, it was rather.. pleasant, than being just a harsh glare. It was like picture perfect lighting in some photos, where it was just.. beautiful. Something you'd want to experience yourself as it accentuated the mood further. You could see that smile of his.. a slight stubble with a small but light smile pursed on his lips as he seemed to be looking at you as well. Locking eyes.. but you couldn't meet that as he seemed to be speaking to you. You could hear his voice but no real distinction, like an echo of the past; it was.. so surreal. It was clear yet so muddy, having clarity but it was just as unclear as a cloudy sky. ' Hey, luv'? I want to tell you something. ' He chimed out softly. His voice.. it was enchanting as it was gentle to your ears, like a quiet symphony, catching your attention almost instantly as you looked up at him- his face blurred by the light as you couldn't register him but looked at the mysterious figure anyways. Breath abated as your eyes seemingly met with his past the eternal light shone down on this moment, as your own smile slowly crept up to your face- " Hey. Wake up, luv. " .. It was a lot more different this time around, you could distinctly hear the British accent this time.. the face was growing muddy and rippled like water as you couldn't focus as the words "Wake up." rung inside your head like an alarm clock.. It was loud and seemed infinite in it's wake. Your brain couldn't register the last word, sounding even more messed up than the rest. . . . ! You suddenly awoke from what a fever dream you had, your eyes snapping open as they were bloodshot, crimson red veined eyes as it darted around- finding no other than the infamous Ghost looming over you with the other members standing by your side, looking down at you patiently as some paced around. Sweat formed at your brows and forehead, dripping down the sides of your head slowly. 'Okay, what the fuck? We're they watching me like vultures?' "Ghost.?" Your voice croaked out on instinct, it was.. was it a reflex? You just happened to say the first thing that came to mind, to which you had no idea where it came from, or where exactly. It just.. appeared, like that dream you had. Certainly odd as he perked up, looking at you with a shift in his demeanor; relaxing his shoulder slightly in a more tense-free stance. There was.. something about his eyes.. "Yes, Immortal?" Ghost replied rather bluntly but as attentive to your condition and words as he listened to what you had to say, if anything. But, there seemed to be something he wanted to hear most of all. There was a small hope- even if it was small, praying that you remembered.

[stripedwolf88]

The Eras Tour: Paris Night 1 (My Thoughts)

ALLLLLLLLRIGHT. So because @bettysgarden12 wanted to know my reactions and thoughts on everything that happened today, I thought I would share with the rest of yous. It's probably not going to be very in depth or analytical so fair warning on that hehe. Also this probably isn't in order of the show because my memory is trash haha.

1.First things first. The lover bodysuit. WHaT iN ThE FRiLly HeLl?!?!? I literally still don't know whether or not I dreamt of seeing that new bodysuit. Definitely, lesbian colors represented there and it was confirmed with the orange blazer she wore for The Man. It was not an accident I'm sure to have the inside be pink too.

(Side note: we all knew that The Archer was going to get cut. It actually makes a lot of sense too. I think we are past Taylor asking us to stay, not that she doesn't still hope us too. It's more like she is fine with blowing everything up now instead of focusing on the worry of messing everything up. At least I hope that is the case. We're here for ya Taylor. You got this.)

2. Second, the Fearless dress. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I also saw that it looks really reminiscent of the original dress she wore for her Fearless tour. It's almost like she is going back to what once was.

3. Third, transitioning right into Red was something. The new Red shirt says "This is not Taylor's Version" when Red is in fact Taylor's again. Some of my moots pointed out that it could be referencing the whole Real Taylor vs Taylor The Brand theory that we as a community have been developing for quite some time. With this thinking, it would mean that the Taylor we are seeing is not someone Taylor claims as her own or something like that. It's not truly her which we all knew already.

4. Fourth, we saw a new intro for Speak Now (now officially just Enchanted since Long Live has been axed.) I don't have much to say on that other than I wasn't surprised that Long Live got cut. This cut also makes sense if we are thinking that Taylor is gonna burn it down. No more reminding about the good times or the "needing" fans to stand by her forever.

5. Fifth, combining folklore and evermore was unexpected but also not? Idk it made sense and to me it just seems like it was easier to combine them since room had to be made for TTPD.

6. Sixth, Rep was Rep. Nothing really changed from what I could tell or remember other than THE FREAKING GLASS CASES SHATTERING!!! YOU BREAK THAT GLASS CLOSET TAYLOR! WHOOP WHOOP!

7. Seventh, 1989 outfit was...something. It's just not my cup of tea visually. I DID NOT notice the lion or tiger(???) charm she had on until someone else pointed it out. Very interesting either way.

8. Eighth, putting TTPD before Midnights was an interesting choice. The whole theory that we still have to meet her at Midnight (credit to my moots for pointing this out again) is supported by this I think.

9. Ninth, the dress for TTPD is amazing!! And so are the other two outfits. The marching band uniform and it's possible reference back to ME! music video? It has me in shambles.

10. Tenth, the performance for Who Afraid of Little Old Me was visually amazing and she sang it beautifully (no surprise there) with such emotion that it was impossible for me to look away. Her levitating across the stage was also freaking awesome!

11. Next the empty cages imagery?? The nurses pulling her away from her lover??? The image of her crouching in the middle of this weird ass place??? That one really kind of freaked me out. It was eerie and heartbreaking in a way I'm not quite able to explain at this moment.

12. I was conflicted about I Can Do It With A Broken Heart both before, during, and after the performance. I had a feeling she was going to perform it and I kind of wanted her to just to hear her sing it live but then not because I knew how the fans were going to react. I really did face-palm when everyone yelled "More!" on the livestream but we all knew they were going to. The transition into ICDIWABH made me want to throw something at the TV but I also did snort on the petulance on Taylor's face for the little act. I really liked the old Hollywood theme for the visuals and the dance. It was pleasing to watch. BY THE WAY....HAVING THE OUTFIT FOR ICDIWABH ECHO HER OUTFITS ON REP IS REALLY SOMETHING. She bamboozled me again.

13. Midniiiiiiights. THE BODYSUIT IS MY FAVORITE ONE OUT OF THE ONES WE HAVE SEEN SO FAR. I'm glad that Mastermind was kept. I didn't think that she would have taken away anything from the Midnights era but if there was I had this weird concern that it would be Mastermind. Thank god my anxiety was unnecessary.

14. The surprise soooooongs~ Paris is a favorite of mine so I'm happy she played it but also of course she did. That was another predictable thing that happened. Her performance of loml was again heartfelt. She seems really happy to sing these new songs and it shows.

15. I am pretty freaking sure that the Bejeweled lights were a LOT more colorful and rainbowy than usual. Was that just me? Please tell me it wasn't just me!

Overall, it is safe to say that I was not prepared for the absolute chaos that today brought.

Taylor, it seems like you're really doing this (I reeeeeally hope that is the case) and I'm so happy for you if that is what is happening. You do you and you show us what's up. I'm looking forward to it. <3

[bookshelfdreams]

(sorry I'm still thinking about 20 y/o children's fantasy book Tintenherz & sequels by Cornelia Funke, please move along)

the mo/staubfinger dynamic is so insane like

you have this guy who is dropped into a wholly unfamiliar environment, literally transported into another dimension and there's only 3 people who even know this happened to him, only 3 in the entire world; and out of these 3, 2 came from the same place as him, sure, but those 2 are also his worst enemies who he has a very violent history with

and then there's mo. the whole situation kinda is his fault, true (at least in staubfinger's mind it is and who could blame him) but he's also the only person on earth who at least sort of knows what happened to him and who probably won't brutalize him

plus they both lost the loves of their respective lives to another world at the same time but that's cool that's just the cherry on top at this point

like are you telling me they didn't form an extremely intense emotional bond forged of lots of conflicting things, of grief and anger and hate and longing. with the only other person in the world who knows what happened, who they do not have to lie to, who they can maybe find the facsimile of comfort with, even though it's painful and weird and probably kinda unhealthy (but then again, the whole situation is fucked)

and! mo clearly also knows that proximity to staubfinger is dangerous, tries to get him out of his life, leaves the city with his young daughter in the middle of the night just to get away from him

(as it will turn out, justifiably, because staubfinger is so homesick and heartbroken, he will sell mo out to the aforementioned enemy eventually)

and that's all before the story even starts!

and then

AND THEN

(yes it gets more intense than that)

staubfinger does eventually make it back home and mo follows soon after because their lives are linked now, the narrative will not let them be apart for too long and it almost kills him but he lives, is reborn as a part of this new world

but you know who does die?

staubfinger.

and mo literally calls him back from the dead, goes into the underworld to rescue him, makes a deal for his life (both their lives) with Death herself, calls him by his name and drags him back into the light

which forges a literal soul bond between them that makes them know each others thoughts, feel each others feelings

and we're supposed to be normal about that

[alcazarofthestars]

Hi, hi! I have a request~ What about Yandere Blade x reader who was a part of astral express? The reader is close friend of Dan Heng, so they are always together because their personality is similar. Like, Blade fall in love with them, but they hate him because he's Dan Heng's enemy. That's it. Anyways, nice to meet you~ :3

Oooo~, so like enemies to lovers or a one sided romance? That's interesting! I really liked this idea so I tried a different writing style, please tell me whether or not you like it! It's nice to meet you too btw!

Summary: After leaving the Luofu due to certain unknown reasons and joining the astral express along with a close friend, [Name] had met a rather mysterious man who called himself Blade. After their encounter, they keep feeling watched... Thankfully their dearest friend, Dan Heng, is always there with them to help! (Takes place after Loufu story quest.)

Warnings: ooc, Yandere, yandere content, stalking, unrequited love, one sided romance, unhealthy obsession, obsession, fighting, bad writing, blood, mc is Stelle, gender of reader is unspecified etc. If any of those scare and/or make you uncomfortable please leave.

Suggested to read in dark mode!

Being a member of the astral express has its own pros and cons even more so since you have the ability to manipulate blood, why don't we go through the pros and cons of being in the astral express crew in [Name]'s point of view?

Pros:

1. You get to travel the galaxy with friends while also going on fun adventures together!

"March, call everyone to come here! We're almost arriving at our next destination!" A cheery voice called out to a light pink haired girl who started joyfully skipping down the astral express' halls with glee. After a while March had come back with two other people one with dark black hair and the other with long grey hair. "Finally," The [HairColor}ette started. "We're nearing our next stop!" They said excitedly while turning to her pink haired friend who shared the same level of excitement as they do while imaginary stars surround the happy duo. Seeing this, the black haired male just sighed while the grey haired girl only hummed in response. "We're only stopping here to get some supplies, remember?" As the male said this, the stars surrounding the duo shattered and fell to the ground. "Really? Aw man, I really wanted to look around..." [Name] pouted as they turn their attention onto their black haired friend. "... Fine, I'll ask Miss Himeko to give us a few days to explore, happy?" He sighed unable to resist his friend's pouting face. "Very, thanks Dan heng!" They said as they hugged him. "Wanna try some of the food there? I heard it's very good!" March chirped happily. "hm... I heard so too. Sure why not." The taller grey haired female responded. "Seriously? You two want to spend the time there?" Their black haired friend deadpanned at them while [Name] went between the two to stop any chance of a conflict. "Ahaha, how about me and Stelle go check out the food while you and [Name] go sight seeing?" March suggested as all the others nodded. "Great! It's settled then! We'll regroup back at our hotel at nine, deal?"

2. Meeting new friends and making new connections while helping others in the process!

The black and [HairColor] duo walked around a historical sight while taking pictures and reading the history of said sight. "Ne ne, Dan heng... Are you hungry yet? We've been walking and looking around for one and a half hour..." They complained to their close companion to which he only hummed in response. "Sure, let's go get something to eat." He said as his dear friend cheered as they took his hand and dragged him at a quick speed. "Hey, calm down. I can walk on my own." He grunted as [Name] finally let go of his hand. "A-ah, right... my bad..." They apologized as Dan heng turned around to dust off some dirt on his shirt, but when he turned around again his dear friend had disappeared from his sight. Meanwhile, [Name] had got distracted by a spiderlily that shouldn't be able to grow on this planet. Intrigued, they went to investigate it only to find a trail of said flowers growing. Curiosity kills the cat they say as when [Name] followed the trail, they found an injured stranger who had many massive wounds all over his body. The unconscious injured stranger had handsome features; like his long silky black hair that fades to red covering one of his eyes, broad shoulders, his ears that both carries an earring one that's shaped like a tassel and the other is shaped like a piercing(?), bandages covering some parts of his body, his strong hands-... 'What am I thinking?! Get it together, [Name]! Stop staring at the stupidly hot stranger and help him!' They thought as they finally stopped gawking at the feature that adorned the injured stranger. 'The nearest hospital or clinic is miles away... But... The hotel we're staying at isn't far! And I think I have some medical supplies in my bag to help him, time to put all those lessons with Miss Himeko to use! Great thinking, [Name]!' They thought happily while trying to carry the stranger.

After a while, they were finally able to get the stranger to their hotel room but to do so they had used an unused long coat and a dark shade of glasses along with a black masker to hide his injuries and disguise him so that [Name] wouldn't get reported by onlookers to the police for kidnapping. Thankfully, by some miracle, it had unexpectedly worked. They placed him on their bed and used some alcohol from their bag to clean his wounds before using their ability to manipulate blood in order to stop more blood from flowing out of his body then patched it up using the stuff she had prepared from her bag and lastly took off his top to place bandages on then placed the blanket on his body. 'I did it! Miss Himeko would be proud!' Happy with their work, [Name] let out a breath that was unintentionally held in due to the stress and sighed before looking at their phone to send Dan heng a message that they're fine and went to explore a bit by themselves while also telling him to meet up at the hotel lobby just as they planned together. Looking back at the stranger, [Name] couldn't help but feel as if they had met/knew him before in the past... (Pls bear with me I don't really know how to bandage a person..)

Not that long after [Name] had gotten very tired to the point they were fighting to keep their eyes open but soon fell asleep while sitting on an armchair that they dragged from under the lamp and moved it beside their bed so they could watch over their patient. Soon, the stranger woke up and the first thing he saw was a gorgeous [HairColor]ette sleeping so peacefully on a chair right next to him. The sight of them made him speechless, breathless even and wonder how such a perfect being exists in this cruel world. He couldn't help but be attracted to the said person who looked like they were blessed by the aeon of beauty herself, expecilly with those features of their's that make you want to keep looking for hours on end. Snapping out of his thoughts he shuffled around the bed to get out but ended up waking up the sleeping beauty (that's what he named you) beside him as they let out a yawn. "Haah... Are you awake...?" They mumbled while stretching their arms up, "Mhm... Do you need anything...?" [Name] asked while offering a smile. "... Where am I? and who are you?" He asked. "Ah, right. Well first of all, we're at a hotel located in St. Freya. Secondly, I'm [Name]. Nice to meet you... uh..." They responded. "Blade, my name." He answered. "Ah! Alright, nice to meet you Blade!" [Name] said as they gave him a closed eye smile to which he only nodded "Likewise." He said while looking at the person that saved him. "That reminds me," They started. "is there anything else you need?" [Name] asked clearly worried about their patient's health and need. "... Why... Why did you save me?" He questioned in a monotone voice, if you didn't know any better than you would've thought he was angry but due to a a friend who is as cold as ice most of the time, you have learnt to read people's expressions and body language to understand a persons true feelings. "A-ah... Well you see, I was traveling with some close friends of mine and we were going sightseeing but I kinda got bored so I went to look around, that's when I found you in a small alley... It wouldn't be kind of me to just ignore you, but since the nearest hospital or clinic was miles away I took you here. I apologize if I did a bad job at cleaning and patching your wounds, I'm not that skilled in these types of stuff... But if you do need anything else just ask me, alright. I need to go out for a while to meet up with some friends, will you be alright here?" What came after their question was nothing but silence that was cut by Blade's answer "... No, I'll be fine." He said with an unsure tone. "... Alright then, please rest while I'm away...!" [Name] said as they took their bag and left from the hotel room door.

"Yes, I'm very sure, March." While looking for her friends in the now crowded lobby she heard the voice of her closest friend, Dan heng. "Hey! You guys! Over here!" [Name] shouted to grab the attention of her dear friends who instantly turned their heads in [Name]'s direction as soon as they heard her voice. "There you are, you idiot!" March angrily said as she ran in [Name]'s direction followed by Dan heng and Stelle who shook her head at March's childish antics. "Whoa there, calm down, March." [Name] sweatdropped. "Do you know how much you scared us? Don't do that again, you hear?!" She said as she lectured [Name]. "Did I really...?" They asked in denial. "Yes, yes you did." Dan heng sighed. "What were you even doing, [Name]?" Stelle asked. "Huh? Oh, I found someone who was injured and helped him." They answered. "Oh. Alright. Wait.... WHAA?!" March exclaimed. "Is he here?" Stelle asked pushing March out of the way affectionately. "Yeah, why?" [Name] responded making Dan heng face palm. "Why didn't you take him to a hospital or clinic?" He sternly asked with a glare that made March snap out of her dazed state. "Ooh girl you're in trouble now...~" She teased making you glare at her to which she sticked out her tongue. "Uhm... Well you see... Uh... the hospital is... too far and I thought he wouldn't make it..." they answered in defeat. Dan heng sighed. "Alright, let me check up on him. You two can go ahead and we'll catch up later." He said to March and Stelle to which they responded with a nod and walked off. "Come on, [Name]. We're going." Dan heng stated as he walked towards the elevator "R-right!" [Name] said before following him, unaware of the pair of eyes that have been staring at their figure for a while leaving the hotel building.

When they arrived at [Name]'s room the stranger was no longer in their bed which made [Name] shocked. "Huh?! Where is he...? I could've sworn I told him to stay here... The wounds wouldn't have healed properly if he walked too much..." The [HairColor]ette panicked. "Hm... It seems that our injured stranger has left a note before leaving." He said pointing out the piece of paper on their bed before picking it up. "H-huh? what does it say?" They asked in curiousity. "It reads; thanks for the jacket, glasses, masker, and help, sleeping beauty. I'll probably visit the astral express in the future to return those, but maybe not. If you're ever in danger call me. -Blade..." A loud silence engulfed the duo. "You... You meet Blade...?" Dan heng broke the silence with his question and wide eyes. "Uhm... Yes? What's wrong...? are you mad...?" [Name] said in worry. "It's-... just-... I'm not mad, just please don't get anywhere near him. He's... dangerous. Alright?"

3. Having a fellow member protect you, even if you aren't aware!

Lately, you have been feeling watched but there wasn't any evidence to your claims. You tried to tell March and Stelle, but they only said "Huh? Really? You sure it isn't just your imagination or something?" and "Maybe it's the angry ghost haunting you for eating my ice cream." You had also thought about telling Himeko and Welt but decided against it afraid that they'll overthink things and make the situation more complicated than it actually is. So as a last resort, you told your best friend for his suggestion and prayed to whatever god that he'll help you out. "And that's it..." You explained to Dan heng who has been listening to you rambling about feeling watched and the chill you feel whenever you leave the astral express for the past hour or so while he sorted out some information on the traditions of different planet that you had collected from your latest solo adventure to a new planet. "Hm... I'm not able to do much, but if it makes you feel better then I'll look out for any watching eyes and unwanted visitors." He hummed. "Really?! You're the best!" [Name] chirped happily. "yes yes, now go to sleep or else you'll be tired for your expedition tomorrow." He ordered which you complied with. Happily skipping down the halls, [Name] has started feeling a bit safer thanks to the previous conversation they had with Dan heng but one thing has been bothering them for a while... "Don't get anywhere near him. He's... dangerous."

On your next exploration trip, Dan heng had advised a plan to help you with your (not so little) little problem the troublesome part is the fact that he didn't give any info or told you about it. As you happily walk around the planet that the astral express had stopped by to gather supplies to find some snacks for March, Stelle, and Pompom while also stocking up on perishables and blankets thanks to Stelle who built a pillow fort during a blackout and accidentally trowing them all away after she was no longer using them since the lights had turned back on. While looking around you had stumbled upon many happy couples out on dates while looking into each others eyes that are full of love, kids happily playing with each other laughing and smiling together as they all ran to hide while playing hide 'n seek, a mother and her son who was helping her carry their groceries as he told her what had happened at school today, and much more. You contently stared at them from afar not noticing the small genuine smile that was appearing on your face, but deep down inside you admit you felt a bit jealous of the happy people spending time with each other wishing you could be like them one day where you don't feel alone. Snapping out of your trance you continue to find what you came here for, the reason you came here in the first place, to help out your mentor, Miss Himeko and your close friends on the astral express. Once again, walking around in search of the items needed, you had started to feel that cold chill and watching eyes once again but when you looked back, there was only two kids playing soccer with each other in the far distance. Brushing off the feeling of being watched as being paranoid, you continued to walk around unbeknownst to you that there was some drama happening not too far from where you were...

"I'm not letting you get anywhere near [Name], and that's final." A familiar stern and serious masculine voice stated, judging by the tone, he must be angry at the person he's talking to. That person being none other than Dan heng. "Is that so?" Another voice chuckled in amusement at his statement. "Do you really think you're strong enough to defeat me? No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to defeat me. I will get them, and you won't stop me, Imbibitor Lunae." The other voice said, knowing well that all he said was true.

Cons:

1.Getting Injured During Missions, Whether It Be A Small or Big Injury

"Ooh! Look over there! Isn't that Mrs. May's purse?" March happily exclaimed while pointing in the direction of a small purse covered in snow. Today [Name], March, and Stelle had gone to look around Belobog as the other members of the astral express went to stock up on supplies once again. While travelling, the group had stumbled across Mrs. May, a very nice elderly lady who lived in a nursing home along with her cats, searching for something. It turns out that one of her pet cats had taken a liking to her purse and would play with it, but then one afternoon the said cat had taken the purse outside without her knowing and returned home without it. Worried, Mrs. May has been searching for it since yesterday without any progress thus she ended up asking the group to search for it. After a few hours of searching all over Belobog, and stopping Stelle from digging through random trashcans on the side of the road, you had found a few signs of the purse such as a strand of light pink silk sticking out in the snow along with some other stuff like money, coins, and a grocery list. "I think it is, at least from the descriptions Mrs. May had given us before we left." [Name] explained as the group went to investigate the purse. "I wonder how it ended up here though... This place is quite far from the nursing home, and I highly doubt a cat would travel this far in this extreme weather..." March voiced out her concern. "I think you're overthinking again, March. It has been days since the purse first went missing, the weather must've been warmer that day." Stelle turned down her thoughts. "Well whatever... As long as we found it it's time to return the purse to Mrs. May now!" March exclaimed. "A-ah... How about you two go first, I'll stay behind for a while. There are some things I want to check out to put in the archives back in the astral express." [Name] explained as the other two nodded their heads at their friends words and turned around towards the direction of where they came from. "Alright then, see ya later, [Name]." Stelle said already walking away. "Bye! Don't forget to call me if anything happens!" March happily said as she too left and tried to catch up with Stelle.

As soon as the duo was no longer in sight, [Name] let out a loud sigh that they were holding in for a while. 'This feels off...' They thought as they started to look around the area for some clues and crouched near a tree to take a short break. 'I swear I felt something off... My mind is playing tricks on me again...' Just as they stood back up, an unexpected force forced them to get blown away into the snow and landed on their hand to stop. 'A... Voidranger...? Wait a minute... What is it doing here?!' [Name] panicked. It's unusual to see a Voidranger in Jarilo VI of all places, after all. Looking at their hand [Name] realized that they were bleeding... sighing then taking out their weapon of choice, [Name] went into a defensive stand. Facing the enemy, [Name] closed their eyes for a second and when they opened them, the Voidranger had already been taken out. Right behind the Voidranger is a familiar figure with long black-ish hair, Blade. "It's you..." [Name] whispered softly, but Blade was still able to hear what they had said but all he gave them was a small nod and said; "If anything happens, just call my name." before disappearing leaving [Name] alone.

2.Getting Lost During An Exploration Trip.

"Aaaaaah....! I hate these types of expedition trips... Why are we even doing this in the first place?!" March groaned as she dragged her feet to follow her fellow comrades who were looking around in some abandoned ruins. "There's some treasures here that we need to retrieve. So just hang in there for a while longer, we're almost there." [Name] explained to their tired friend as March pouted in return. "Well can you please carry my bag? My back is starting to hurt... I mean, why did we even bring these bags in the first place?" March complained yet again as she handed her bag to [Name] who is now carrying it. "And can you believe how-" All of March's words didn't register in [Name]'s mind as everything she says starts to sound like gibberish along with everything else. Soon, [Name] finds themselves zoning out and when they have snapped out of it, they realize that they're now lost. They were in a room with a lot of dust and some... weird purple gas around the room. Looking at their surroundings, [Name] isn't able to find or hear the group. After a while, [Name] had decided to walk around in search of their friends. After a few hours, they were still lost. Hell, it felt like every hallway was the same! Not to mention how [Name] had started to feel dizzy after walking for a while, and this dizziness has not gone away. Frustrated, [Name] plopped themselves down a wall and hugged their legs. "I wish Dan heng was here... or March... or Stelle... or anyone else..." [Name] whispered to no one in particular as they start to sob. "Hic... maybe not Miss Himeko... or Welt... they will definitely be disappointed or tease me..." They tried to calm down. "Alright, [Name]... focus... calm down. What do I do..." they said the theirself and placed a hand on their chin. '... Help... Dan heng... Blade...!' They thought as their vision becomes fuzzy due to their dizziness from before, drowsiness takes over them.

"B-.... Blade...!"

Just as [Name] whispered that, a mysterious figure and fog appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The figure soon became more clear, long black hair that fades to a reddish color, a lean body build, and broad shoulders. Without a doubt, that is the one and only Blade. "You called?" He asked. But unable to keep their eyes open, [Name] had fainted right in front of Blade. "Huh, guess the gas worked better than I thought." Blade mumbled as he crouched down to reach [Name], carefully playing with their hair while enjoying looking at their delicate features. After a while of silence, Blade had placed his hands around [Name]'s body, and slowly picked them up in a princess carry and walked away not noticing the small bag that was left behind.

3.Getting Kidnapped By Your Friend?

When [Name] had woken up, they were no longer in the abandoned ruins that they were in before. Sitting up from the bed, [Name] looked around and realized that they were in an unfamiliar surrounding just as they were about to get up, something was stopping them from doing so. It was a chain on their foot that was locked on both their foot and the bed. Seeing this, [Name] panicked. Not long after, Blade had entered the room. "Blade...?! Great timing! Now come and help me get this chain off my foot-" they said before getting cut off "That won't be necessary. Why would I do that if this is everything I've ever wanted? Having you in my arms, your full attention, your everything!" He exclaimed. "What...? Blade... You're crazy...!" [Name] shrieked as Blade only grinned in response. "Maybe I am. But just know this, I'm only this crazy for you, dear [Name]." He said as [Name] could only widen their eyes in response, afraid of him and his obsession with them.

"You'll be mine, and mine only. Why would you want to separate us?"

END.

Extra HCs:

Whenever you and Blade cuddle he would hug you so tight that you'll barely be able to breath.

You and March would paint each other's nails whenever you have the time.

Himeko can be super strict sometimes when teaching. (Welt having war flashbacks.)

Stelle got scratched by one of Mrs. May's cats

The group was searching for [Name] but only found your small bag and March's bag.

Blade didn't tell Kafka or Silver Wolf cause they would tease the living daylight out of him.

Authors note: I got so lazy at the end... BUT thank God my exams are finished! I'll start accepting requests again. This has been rotting in my drafts since December... I finally finished it!