#< mentioned briefly but i still figured i'd tag for it

[jinxed-ninjago]

fuck it im gonna do it.

Let's discuss the subtleties in the shots of the monastery in Farewell the Sea, because I think it's fascinating how much detail was put into shots we only see for a few seconds at maximum for the sake of showing how much Nya merging with the sea affected everyone.

So the first shot of the monastery we get (that isn't a shot of the entire thing) is the courtyard. There are leaves scattered on the ground, a leaf blowing by in the foreground, and a broom against the dragon statue.

The second shot we get is of this hallway, where the ninja hang pictures of their loved ones. The reason this one's interesting to me is because it feels like nobody's touched Jay and Nya's picture; everything else hanging on the walls is straight and even. The picture of Jay and Nya is crooked and dusty.

The third shot we get is of the kitchen. It's an absolute mess. It looks like nobody's bothered cleaning up in months. Dirty(?) dishes are just stacked everywhere, there are (presumably) empty soda cans all over the place, there's a stack of empty pizza boxes being used for extra garbage storage, it's just a mess.

The fourth shot before we get to the hangar bay is this one of the recreation room. Cole's soda guzzler is on the sofa, there's more garbage just laying around (including under the sofa), there's a game controller on the edge of the sofa, and it looks like nobody's really bothered doing anything seriously there for a while. Let's compare this to shots of the monastery we get in season 11.

When the rec room is being used regularly, yes, it's a total mess, but it feels lived in; additionally, the ninja don't look like they just throw the garbage wherever. Anything that seems to be empty is behind them and out of the way, compared to in Farewell the Sea where it feels like the garbage gets thrown around haphazardly. In addition to this, look at how many pizza boxes there are in the screenshot from Wasted True Potential, then look at the screenshot from Farewell the Sea. If we take the Farewell the Sea screenshot as meant to be implicative of Cole being the most active in the rec room, the team breaking up has either resulted in less pizzas being ordered or Cole's eating disorder from season 8 relapsed (link is an explanation in case it's needed).

Onto this hallway. I couldn't get a good screenshot of the hallway from the same angle, but it is the same hallway. It's not much different when it's being lived in, but how they show it in Farewell the Sea makes it feel empty, especially the specific zoomed out shot I used for this post. Like the rec room, this hallway doesn't feel lived in in Farewell the Sea.

I'm not sure what to say about this, except that in A Rocky Start (the episode I got this screenshot from), the courtyard is incredibly clean because they use it to train and practice fighting. There aren't any leaves, no brooms, it feels lived in because it's clean.

Finally, the kitchen. The dirty bowls aren't stacked on top of each other, the floor is clean, the counters aren't covered in trash, it just feels clean, maybe like they had dinner sometime before Aspheera attacked the monastery, which makes it feel lived in.

Whoever did the design for the monastery in Farewell the Sea did so well making things feel like they haven't been lived in for months. You can feel the effect that Nya merging with the sea has had in 20 seconds. It's honestly heartbreaking.

[stormz369]

☕💖 Can I Get Your Number? ☕💖 Ch 4

Jason Todd x Chubby! Reader (fem)

written with a female reader in mind, first person pov, no use of Y/N, bit of trauma processing, will probably get NSFW later, let me know if there's anything else I should tag this with!

warnings: family discord and dealing with trauma, drugs briefly mentioned, human trafficking briefly mentioned

word count: 1.7k

Chapter Selection

I thought I was a strong, independent woman. I thought I preferred to take care of myself, that I could never be comfortable relying on others. One date with Jason had me strongly questioning those convictions. He bought the books, we had a late lunch/early dinner at the food court, wandered several stores, and talked about everything and nothing. I managed to keep him from buying every little thing I looked at, but we still ended up with several bags - all of which he insisted on carrying. Even with the bags in his hands, he managed to get his pinky wrapped around mine every time my hand was down. It was clingy, and awkward to walk, and it made me giddy. Is this feeling what everyone’s so obsessed with? … I think I get it now.

Jason drove me home that night, insisting that it was getting too dark and he didn't like the idea of me on public transit alone at night. Normally I would fight him on that, but the idea of walking home from the bus stop was doing unpleasant things to my stomach. He parked, and we took several minutes to rearrange the items in our bags.

“... I guess that’s everything.” He seemed a bit disappointed.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think you're right. … Thank you, Jay, this was a lot of fun.”

He smiled softly, nodding. “I had fun too. … Can I … see you again?”

“It's a distinct possibility.” I smirked a bit. “After all, I have yet to pass judgment on your trashy romance novel selection.”

He laughed softly, groaning and rubbing his face. “I already regret suggesting that. Give it back, you can't have it.”

I held my bags away from him, giggling a bit as he pretended to try to steal them. Suddenly there was movement in the corner of my vision, and I saw a silhouette on the roof across the street. “Oh god…”

“What? What's wrong??” Jason pulled back a bit.

“There’s someone on that roof. Which one is that, can you tell?” I peered up, but with the moon behind them I couldn't see any details.

Jason turned to look too, suddenly a bit stoney. “... Looks like Red Robin and Nightwing.”

“... Two of them? Are you sure? I only see one.” He just nodded. “... Fuuuhhhck, what's happening in my stupid neighborhood?”

“Probably nothing. This isn't their patrol territory…. Or … at least, that's what I've heard.”

I raised an eyebrow, staring at him. “You've heard? … What, do they take their cars to you?”

“... Something like that. … Anyway, it's well known, this is Red Hood's part of town.”

“... You don't think they're here for him, do you? I thought they were allied now?”

Jason shook his head a bit. “Probably just trying to spy on him … nosy bitches…”

I giggled a bit at that, but couldn't help the sneaking concern in the back of my mind. If they really were here to spy on Red Hood, that would suggest he was nearby … Did he decide he wanted his shirt back after all, or was something bad happening in the area?

Jason turned to me, a gentle smile on his face. “Hey, don't worry about them. You just get inside where it's safe, ok?”

I nodded, smiling softly. “Ok, but text me when you get home.”

He nodded, chuckling, “will do. And … about seeing each other again, … how about lunch on Tuesday?”

I nodded, grinning. “Sounds good. Good night, Jay.”

“Night, Doll.” I blushed a bit, getting out of the car and into my building. He waited for me to close the door before driving away, and I headed up to my apartment.

I wasn't sure what I'd find upstairs. I hadn't told Red Hood my unit number, but it probably wouldn't be that hard for him to figure out. … Hell, the shirt might have a tracker on it.

I unlocked my door and checked every room. Nothing had moved. My clothes were still in a crumpled heap on my floor, the flannel still peaking out from under my ruined pants. It occurred to me that I had meant to pick up a replacement pair at the mall before heading home. I sat on my knees, trembling a bit as I picked up the shirt. A thorough examination didn't reveal any electronic pieces attached. It was just a normal red flannel.

I held the shirt against my chest, shaking a bit. Everything was fine. I was fine. Red Hood was one of the good guys, even if he did some really terrifying shit. I wasn't a drug dealer or a human trafficker, so he had nothing against me. He was kind to me, even. I was safe. I was safe. I was safe.

My mind slowly drifted away from that night. Thoughts of blood and fear were replaced bit by bit with Jason; his shy little smiles and cheeky grins, the feeling of his finger wrapped around mine, even the smell of his cologne. When I breathed deep I could still smell it; a rich, woody smell, with a bit of lavender, and under that was a base note I couldn't identify. Something sharp and slightly metallic. I sighed softly, deciding not to think too hard about why I was tying the shirt around my waist, and started tidying the apartment. Couldn't put the pile off forever, but I didn't have to start there…

Jason watched her go inside, waiting to make sure no creeps followed her in before the security door locked. Once he was satisfied that she was safe, he drove off, calling Dick. Straight to voicemail. He tried Tim; also straight to voicemail. Annoying, but fine. He knew where they would be headed next.

Unfortunately for them, the drive was not nearly long enough to calm him down. He pulled in to the batcave and sat on the hood of his car to watch the entrance. Eventually the pair rode in, staring at him like he was the grim reaper.

“… Heeeyy Jason! What are you doing here? Don't you have tonight off?” Tim tried to play it cool, taking his bike to its designated parking spot.

“You should be more careful, Tim. She saw you.”

“Whaaaat? I don't know what you're-”

“She. Saw. You. On that rooftop.” Jason growled a bit, clenching his fist. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to reassure her that her neighborhood was not about to be attacked without revealing too much?”

“C'mon Jaybird, we just wanted to check in!” Dick grinned, moving to pinch his cheek. “Baby Jay-Jay's first date! You can't fault us for being excited for you!”

He smacked Dick's hand. “I can and do. Don't do anything like that ever again.”

Dick hissed dramatically, pouting. “You're so mean, Jay. We just wanted to see if it was going well!”

“Stop. Spying. On me.” He growled, giving Tim a pointed glare. The younger man raised both hands in surrender and nodded.

Dick smirked as Jason opened his car door, calling out; “okaaay, but don't forget to report in to the chat. Unless you'd rather Babs check the CCTV footage at the mall for us?”

Jason froze and growled. “… Fuck….” He slammed the door shut and drove away without another word.

BatKids Group Chat:

Jason: It went well. Now everyone STOP stalking me! You're weirding her out! 😡

8:04pm

Cass: Excuse me??

8:06pm

Damian: Grayson and Drake are the only ones interested enough to bother stalking you, maybe you should focus your ire on them and not the whole family?

8:06pm

Babs: We need details, Jay!

8:07pm

Duke: Wait, what??

8:08pm

Dick: Jaybird went on a date today, Duke! Keep up!

8:09pm

Tim: With a normal human-type girl no less!

8:10pm

Damian: How normal can she be? She accepted a date with Todd after you two harassed her.

8:11pm

Cass: 🙃 … Dick, do we need to have a talk? 

8:12pm

Damian: I handled the matter at the coffee shop. (and am still waiting to be thanked, for the record Todd - the date would not have happened if I hadn't stepped in.) … But still, the girl's taste does seem questionable.

8:13pm

Dick: There was nothing to handle! We had it under control! 🙄

8:14pm

Cass: I hate to say it, but Dami does have a point - are we /sure/ she's entirely normal? There's no chance she's an undercover villain or anything?

8:14pm

Tim: Way ahead of you - background check came back clean. She's as normal as any other Gothamite.

8:15pm

Duke: So … absolutely nuts, but probably not too dangerous? 😂

8:16pm

Babs: Don’t listen to them, Jason - she's a very lucky (normal) girl!

8:17pm

Jason: You cannot be serious. You ran a background check???

8:19pm

Steph: What Babs said. Now, make with the details! 🤩

8:20pm

Dick: Of course we did - what kind of big brother would I be if I let you go out with a girl we know nothing about???

8:21pm

Jason: 😑 … This is exactly why I don't usually respond to this thread.

8:30pm

Duke: Details, man!

8:31pm

Steph: Details! Details! Details!

8:32pm

Jason: 😤 … We picked out books for each other.

8:38pm

Dick: Awww, cute!

8:39pm

Babs: … And???

8:40pm

Jason: And … She seemed a bit surprised that I was there at all?

8:43pm

Damian: Pleasantly surprised, or upset?

8:44pm

Jason: … Just … Baffled I think.

8:45pm

Tim: … How many times did you have to reschedule?

8:46pm

Jason: … A few. But I always told her with enough time so that I wouldn't be standing her up! 

8:47pm

Babs: Curious…

8:48pm

Dick: Alright everybody, recon time!

8:48pm

Jason: NO! It is NOT recon time!

8:49pm

Damian: What do we know about this girl?

8:50pm

Babs: On it!

8:50pm

Jason: No, no, NO! Stop!!!

8:51pm

Tim: Too late!

8:52pm

Jason: Uuggghh! I'm muting all of you!

8:53pm

Tim: … NOT IT TO TELL B!

8:55pm

Damian: Not it

8:56pm

Babs: Not it!

8:56pm

Cass: NOT IT!

8:57pm

Steph: Not it!!!

8:58pm

Duke: Not it!

8:58pm

Dick: …. Fuck.

9:03pm

Next ->

Divider by: @saradika 

Taglist (open):

@jawdropforkpop @krys0210 @snowy-violet @superthoughts @wordsfromshona @mystic60 @iwannabealocalcryptid

[just-a-simpel-narrator]

@frustratedpker and @madmachaca

Heyy you two, how are you doing? Hopefully amazing!

You can probably guess by the fact that I'm tagging you, but I have a little question about our favorite photographic reporter on my mind.

I honestly don't know which much it's worth to discuss it but I figured I might as well bring it up

To briefly explain how we got here, I was chatting with my dad a while back and somehow, I don't remember the topic we were talking about or how we got there, he mentioned that the name Stefan is often written with a V (Stevan) in Slavic Countries, which immediately got my way to hyperfixation filled brain racing.

Namely about a certain Headcanon of mine, that I've also seen flying around here on Tumblr (Thinking back at it it may even have been one of your posts!) which consists of Stefan originally stemming from (now Ex) Yugoslavia.

I tried to find some evidence about the whole "Slavic name" thing online but sadly the only one I was able to find was on this Baby name site, so I'm not sure if it's one hundred percent true, but if it were, what/could it mean anything?

I've been playing around with the concept of a possible name change, or maybe even witness protection program, for a while now, even if more for my personal Au than canon.

For example, I used to have the hc that Stefan changed his name to Steven, when he came to Duckburg and even though I no longer use this hc, I still very much like the thought of it

But then again that's 12 years old me speaking, and a whole made up storyline about our favorite duck that I'm not gonna get into now, cause oh boy that thing was wild

But I'm getting of track

I guess what I want to say is, could there possibly be a connection with the whole "Stevan" thing? Personally, likley not. Could Stefan officially have changed his name or be part of a witness protection program? I wouldn't be surprised if so. And should I ever talk about the story/Au I made up when I was twelve?

No sorry, that last one was a joke, I know one day I probably will

Anyways! What do you think?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

[polkadotsocks1993]

What Good Neighbors Do Pt. 2

Modern Osferth x Reader

Warnings: mentions of difficult family situations, mentions of neglect/emotional abuse

This is a continuation of my first drabble posted yesterday. Thank you for the response! I will probably make a whole series.

Note:

First, let me know if you'd like to be included with a tag list. Also, if anyone can figure out how to do that, I would be grateful since I haven't been on tumblr since 2016 🤣.

Reader is from the American South, American Thanksgivings typically look a bit different down here (we eat a LOT).

Also: in this AU, Uhtred and the Boys were all in the British army (to make it applicable to modern situations). There are mentions of Uhtred and Finan cross training with the American army, and that actually happens quite a bit. Just in case that question comes up.

It was your first Thanksgiving away from your family, your first holiday in England. Thanksgiving had always been a special holiday for your family, but this would be the first time in your life that you weren't spending it with them. For you, this would be a very hard week. Even though you'd found a close circle of friends in Osferth and your neighbors, you still missed home terribly.

You thought of how much you missed your family as you sat in the shared back garden with your new neighbors, Osferth, Sihtric, and Finan, as your landlord's wife, Thyra, threw the ball for her dogs and yours.

"You've been quiet, Y/N." Osferth observed. He had a cup of coffee in his hand, a habit you'd started him on when he (more often than not) joins you for dinner.

"I'm sorry, guys. I guess I'm just a little homesick. Thanksgiving is this Thursday, and this is the first year I've never been with them." You explained.

"I hate to hear that." Osferth said, "What does Thanksgiving look like for you?"

"Where do I even start?" You chuckle, "Me, my mom, my grandmother, my sister, and my aunts all spend days cooking all kinds of food and desserts. My dad starts the night before, smoking different kinds of meats. The whole family comes to my grandparents' farm. We play games, we eat, we go see the farm animals. It's a lot of fun, and I'm really sad I have to miss it."

"I thought you only ate turkey on Thanksgiving?" Sihtric asked.

"Not my family. My dad usually makes different kinds of barbecue. Everyone in the family likes something different." You explained.

"I'd pay good money to have barbecue again." Finan said, taking a sip of his tea. During his time in the Army, he'd briefly trained in America with Uhtred.

"Where did you and Uhtred go, Finan?" Y/N asked.

"Kentucky, Texas." Finan said, "Still the best ribs I've ever had."

You laughed, "I'm convinced you would let yourself get kidnapped if there was food involved, Finan. That goes for you too, Osferth."

Osferth chuckled, tussling your hair slightly.

"If it was your food, maybe." Osferth replied.

You blushed; over the last few months, you and Osferth had grown very close, but neither of you seemed to want to be the first to venture outside of just friendship. You flirted constantly, and it was obvious to everyone how you both felt, but neither of you seemed compelled to take the leap.

"What if we had a Thanksgiving?" Came Thyra's question, throwing the ball for your dog, Brownie.

"I, for one, would not say no to more food." Finan said.

"I could make plenty of food. I'm sure it could be really nice." You said.

"I could help you," Osferth offered, "I'm sure it couldn't be too hard."

"I could help, too." Thyra said, coming over to sit with the four of you, "Gisela makes the best chocolate cake."

"Let's do it." You said, "It could be a little Friendsgiving. I think everyone would like it."

Osferth reached out, patting your shoulder lightly. "I think this is going to be a lot of fun."

You smiled at him, he was impossibly optimistic. You hoped you could pull this off.

-------------

When Thanksgiving came around, though, you had never regretted your decision more.

You only had one tiny oven in your flat, and only so much counter space. You were struggling keep up, and you'd run out of refrigerator space the day before.

Osferth and Finan had arrived at your place early that morning, and your stress rolled off of you in waves. Growing up, Thanksgiving was always a shared task, and you'd taken on the brunt of it. Osferth was the only one of the men who knew how to cook, and you'd immediately put him to work.

"What have you made, pray tell?" Finan asked, looking at the various dishes of food scattered everywhere.

"Well, Beocca and Uhtred are making the meat... I'm making mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, rice stuffing, macaroni and cheese, about four different casseroles, deviled eggs..." You trailed off, trying to remember everything Thyra, Gisela, and your other neighbor, Hild, were making. Sihtric and his girlfriend were also bringing a variety of desserts, since his girlfriend was a pastry chef.

"If we run out, I'm going to laugh." Osferth said. He was mixing the dough for the rolls, laughing softly as he tried to find room anywhere in your kitchen. You'd settled on the small table you'd found on the side of the road with Thyra--Finan had helped restore it--and there was barely any room left there.

"To be fair," You said sheepishly, "We usually have a long buffet line for the food, usually in my grandma's living room."

"What does everyone else do while the food cooks?" Osferth asked.

You laughed, taking a shot of whiskey to calm your nerves. "We drink. And play games."

"I like the drinking part." Said Finan, wearing one of your vintage aprons and pouring himself a bit of whiskey.

"Well, to be fair, some of us aren't allowed to drink anymore. Not since Thanksgiving five years ago." You said.

Osferth stopped making the rolls and looked up, "What happened five years ago?"

Osferth knew more about your family than the others, he knew part of the reason you'd chosen to move halfway across the world. He knew where this story was likely headed.

Taking another shot of whiskey to deal with the anxiety rising in your throat, you laughed. "Well, Thanksgiving five years ago is when half my cousins, mostly Aunt Lisa's kids, along with my Uncle Bobby, kind of started a brawl in the front yard. Half of us wound up going to jail."

"To JAIL?" Finan asked, putting yet another casserole in the oven.

"I didn't have to, but my sister did. You'd like my sister, Cassie. But anyway, I suppose my cousin Blake was three sheets to the wind, and I guess he took a swing at Cassie, and all I know is that by the time the deputies showed up, all of them were in the yard." You explained, getting the dish of macaroni and cheese ready.

"Sounds like fun." Finan said.

You shrugged. "It comes with its own problems."

"What do you mean?" Osferth asked.

"My family is big and loud. I love them, and I miss them, but I'm kind of the odd person out. I'm the first one to graduate from college. It's hard, sometimes, feeling like I'm out of place in my own family." You said.

"I know the feeling." Osferth said, a look in his eyes you hadn't seen before, "I've never actually spent a holiday with any family other than my uncle or my mum."

"Wait, what?" You asked.

Osferth shrugged, "My dad and my mum never married. He came around some, when I was little, but it was never consistent. He always gave her money, I guess, but then she got sick, and we moved in with my uncle Leofric. My dad got married, had more kids. His new wife didn't like me. She didn't want me around for holidays, always said that I made them look bad. My sister has always tried to reach out, but I never got to see what a big family holiday was like until I met Uhtred."

You and Finan both stood, mouths agape. As flustered as your family could make you, you'd never been outright excluded.

"My uncle never had a lot of money, growing up, especially after my mum died." Osferth added, "When I joined the Army and spent that first Christmas with Gisela and Uhtred, Gisela had gifts for me. Gisela and Uhtred practically raised me."

"Yes, yes they did." Finan said, trying to lighten the mood. Tears filled your eyes, your heart broken at the realization that the only family Osferth had ever really known was there, on that street. You couldn't help the urge, walking forward and putting your arms around him as tightly as you could.

You couldn't think of anything to say, you just kept your arms around Osferth for longer than necessary, and he didn't push you off. Of course, Osferth never rejected affection from you.

Cutting the tension, Finan cleared his throat.

"As cute as this is, I think we should probably find some tables, as there is more food here than this flat can hold and Y/N has evidently decided to feed the whole neighborhood. I'm going to go see if Beocca or Uhtred have any folding ones." Finan said, taking off the apron and placing it on the hook on the wall.

That left Osferth and you alone, for the first time in nearly a week. You couldn't help but smile as the whiskey warmed you and you turned on some music to help you finish cooking.

"Thank you, for helping me do this." You said, feeling a little more bold than normal.

"I can't say no to you." Osferth chuckled, watching you spin around in sock feet.

"I'm sure you could, if you wanted to." You teased.

"And why would I want to do that? Why say no, when I can watch you dance to some ancient old song?" Osferth teased. You playfully hit his stomach, laughing.

"Don't disrespect Dolly like that!" You exclaimed. He laughed in response, taking your hand and spinning you around.

Truthfully, even though you missed home, you found you'd never felt more at home than you did in your small kitchen, with Osferth.

---------------

As it turned out, there was so much food that tables had to be set up outside. Uhtred and Beocca had outdone themselves with ribs, chicken, roast beef, and ham. Gisela had brought a herring dish and chocolate cake. Thyra had made cabbage, roast vegetables, chicken tikka masala, and several desserts. Hild and Mr. Pyrlig had brought dishes too, and then there was the vast feast you and Osferth had made.

Truthfully, the neighborhood didn't need much of an excuse to get together, as you realized. Watching everyone stand around, talking and laughing, you realized that you'd found a family. You felt an arm sneak around your waist, and you looked around to see Osferth, who had snuck nearly half a tray of deviled eggs.

"I've never had these before, my uncle was not a good cook." He said.

"How many have you had today, Osferth?" You asked.

"I couldn't tell you. Not enough for me to regret it." He replied.

You gave him a playful nudge with your elbow and then went to grab a plate of food, taking a seat in between Osferth and Thyra. There wasn't a lull in conversation, everyone was having a good time and you couldn't help but feel warm watching everyone smile and laugh. Afterwards, you, Osferth, Finan, and Sihtric played with the children while everyone else ate dessert. Gradually, the day turned into night, and you were a bit sad to watch everyone go.

No fighting, no extra stress. As it turned put, everything had been perfect.

-----------

Later that night, in your tiny kitchen, you and Osferth washed and dried what appeared to be an endless pile of dishes, Thyra and Beocca boxing away leftovers to take to everyone in the neighborhood. You truly missed having a dishwasher then, though you didn't mind the company.

"You know, Osferth, you should have invited your uncle." You said, handing him a freshly washed baking dish.

"I would have, but it's a little late for that." Osferth said, drying the dish and putting it aside.

"Why?" You asked.

"He died when I was sixteen." Osferth replied, his voice a little hollow.

"Osferth, I'm so sorry. Could I ask...?" You began.

"How?" Osferth answered, "A roadside bomb in Afghanistan."

"You've been on your own since you were sixteen?" You asked.

Osferth shook his head. "No. I spent a month living with my dad, until his wife decided she couldn't stand the sight of me and kicked me out. Wound up getting sent to a boys' home, until Beocca and Thyra took me in. I had been staying with them while my uncle was deployed, turns out my uncle had named them my guardians in his will."

"Osferth..." You whispered, "I don't even know what to say. I'm so sorry. Why didn't you say anything?"

Osferth chuckled ruefully, wiping his forehead with his elbow. "Everyone else already knew. I don't talk about my family much, no one really wants to ask. I spent the better part of my life being the bastard throw away, as my stepmother used to tell me. Beocca and Thyra, Uhtred and Gisela, Finan, Sihtric...and even you make up for that."

You stopped washing the dishes, turning to look at Osferth. He wasn't very good at hiding his emotions; at least, not around you. You could see the lingering pain in his eyes. You moved to wrap your arms around him, hugging him as tightly as he'd let you. He rested his sharp chin on the top of your head, sighing heavily, as if he were letting go of a breath he didn't realize he held.

"For what it's worth, Osferth, I'm really, really glad you're here." You said, letting go just enough to look up at him. He smiled, placing a chaste kiss to your forehead.

"I'm glad you're here too, Y/N." Osferth replied.

There was a pause for a moment, both of you looking at each other with a vast array of words that you seemed to want to say. However, neither of you spoke, you simply returned to washing dishes.

You couldn't help but release a shaky sigh as your stomach did flips; it seemed that every time you were in Osferth's presence, you felt butterflies. You glanced over toward Osferth and noticed he was looking at you, too, giving a slight smile as he continued to dry the dishes.

You finished the night by watching a Christmas movie, Beocca and Thyra bidding you goodnight before they went upstairs to their own apartment. As you sat next to Osferth, you wished so badly that you could tell him all the things that were in the forefront of your mind.

However, his soft eyes watching the movie said that could wait for another day. He was there, with you, sharing in a favorite tradition.

Someday soon, you would tell him. Tonight, you thought, that it could wait.

------

Thanks for reading everyone!

[xxavengingangelxx]

Somewhere Only We Know (Long Way From Home Series Part 2) sneak peek

Here is a very, very like VERY brief sneak peek. Just remember Val's trials and tribulations aren't over. Stockholm Syndrome and other types of trauma bonding are not love. They're just that: a trauma bond. Trauma rewires the brain so no, some victims are never okay and are not immediately happy when/if separated from their captor. I'd be happy to answer more questions about it (I see a lot in my work :( )

141 notices there's something...particular about Shadow Company's only female operator. @josieguts because they asked to be tagged :)

This is a sequel to my work, Long Way From Home in which Graves captures 141's translator and takes her as his prisoner in a desperate somewhat well-planned idea to keep tabs on 141 after his betrayal. She puts up much more of a fight than he expected.

Read here!

Triggers for Long Way From Home are many. It's a dark fic, so I will post triggers here JIC. MDNI, 18+ TRIGGERS: Implied/attempted suicide, self-harm, torture, brainwashing, physical abuse, mind fuckery, Stockholm syndrome-related mental gymnastics, trauma bonding, mentions of foster care, threatened/implied/referenced rape, EXTREMELY dubious consent, flashbacks of torture, female being drugged. Self-hate in this one :( If I miss, any let me know, please! DARK FIC! Kinda Dead Dove.

Now, Somewhere Only We Know has less of these triggers but still will have some of them. Disclaimer: I don't know what will happen in MW3 but I have the storyline of this new fic more or less figured out. I'm guessing there's a ceasefire between 141 and Shadow Co. due to Konni being the bigger threat.

-

SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW:

“She’s ours, Graves, like she’s always been,” “No, you abandoned her!” Graves roared.

-

You were in a hospital room when you saw Price walking in with a phone held to his ear. He was angry. His body language screamed his emotions. He was on the phone…

With Graves.

Graves’s voice on the other side of the phone was mad…from what you could hear. You didn’t hear the whole conversation but some of it involved you. You heard a few phrases from Graves, all with a more pronounced Southern accent. His accent got more pronounced when he was emotional whether he be feeling angry or sadistic. Where the hell is she? You had no right. She’s my prisoner. You planned this shit and separated us on purpose.

Price put the call on speaker.

“You tell ‘im that you’re safe and that you’re done with ‘im,”

“Val?” Graves’s voice his voice saying your name.

You reached for the phone.

“Nah’uh,” Price pulled the phone away. “Tell him,” Price demanded. “That’s an order.”

You looked at the phone.

And then at Price.

And then at the phone.

“Val,” Graves’s voice told you he was uptight, upset, and on the verge of throwing the phone in his hand through the fucking wall.

When it was clear you weren’t going to tell Graves what Price had ordered.

“She’s ours, Graves, like she’s always been,”

“No, you abandoned her!” Graves roared.

You asked to talk to Graves and were denied. “No,” Price said firmly.

You briefly heard Graves say something about Shepherd.

Price hung up.

-

Now don't judge our 141 boys too roughly. Pretty sure they've never recovered a female soldier from a prisoner situation. :( They're doing the best they know.

[hanzaikyou]

Shogo Suzuki Range Analysis

Hi hello guys, and welcome to "Yuuki Izawa posted a thing that got a whole discord curious". So this post was inspired by this tweet, made by Yuuki Izawa in 2019, boldly claiming Shogo as having a 26 octave range.

If that sounds wild, it is because it is. It is wild. Love him though.

Because of that, I went on a little research-assignment-rabbithole, to figure out exactly how wide Shogo's range is.

The Verdict

Based on evidence I'll present in a minute, Shogo has a proven range of Ab2-C5, roughly two and a bit octaves. His comfortable range seems more aligned with being D3-C5 though.

The Evidence

To prove this, I looked through every single show I had access to featuring the man that he sang in... so primarily Hakumyu (many thanks to the Hakumyu Livejournal for that, ilysm, sorry I'm not more active) and Morimyu, along with a couple of stray musicals I had around that supported evidence, which shall be mentioned if necessary.

Lower Limit (Ab2)

I started by looking for the lower limit, and turned first to Hakumyu for this. I searched through the first Live first, then briefly looked through Kazama-hen and Hijikata-hen. (I don't know the names of songs, as I am not fully familiar with the series yet, but please bare with me.)

My first real evidence with this was actually the Fullmetal Alchemist stage, wherein Shogo sings in the middleish. In that song, he hits a low of E3 in the chorus, giving me a start point to look for.

I then went straight to Hakumyu Live, specifically his solo medley (I believe it is?) that occurs roughly 1h13 in to the show. Aside from being possibly my favourite Hakumyu song (can you blame me), I knew that the verses went quite low off the top of my head, so I checked for them, and they presented me with an D3, still quite stable too.

Skimming through the rest of it, mostly jumping chapters and looking for Shogo, I stumbled across the Demon Tag section of Chizaru's song, beginning at 21 minutes in, which hit the lowest note I'd heard from him at Ab2. He performed spectacularly, but there is somewhat of a wavering in his voice that leads me to think that he's kind of reaching for it, hence belief that it's out of his comfortable range.

Then I went on to Hijikata-hen, and ended up finding the song at 1h05, which is of course part of the medley mentioned earlier. The same stable D5 greeted me, giving me the Official Lower Limit. (Side note, I love the song starting at 1h05 so much, but that's for another post.)

Kazama-hen supported this again, with an Eb5 in the song beginning at 1h16. (Kazama-hen also made me cry. But that's also another post.) At this point, I considered the lower pitch confirmed, and moved on to searching for the higher pitch.

EDIT: As the lovely @liliththunder pointed out to me (and many thanks for that), I missed a song at the 45 minute mark in Kazama-hen that goes lower - primarily centering on the C3 and going as far down as Bb2. Due to this, I'm amending my statement, and simply accepting Ab2 as the lower limit. That being said, I stand by the statement that he's more comfortable above C3 or D3.

Higher Limit (C5)

For the higher limit, I decided to search through Morimyu, mostly because I know exactly where all Shogo's high notes in that are.

I did have, as part of the notes I took when scouring the Fullmetal Alchemist song, the high from that, which turned out to be an Ab4. Admittedly, I didn't think that was quite high enough, but noted it down anyway.

I started by looking through the CD for the specific songs that I knew would give me a guide, and found what I was looking for almost immediately. Verdict (II) from OP1 and Beginning of the End from OP3 were my first points of call for their fairly renowned high notes. Both turned out to have a cap of C5, so I used this as my guide from thereon out.

They would turn out to be the highest I could find though. The other two I checked directly by name were Emotion (the OP1 duet with Ikkei) and In This Lonely Room (or the Couch Song from OP3). These had high notes of A4 and Bb4 respectively.

I then skipped through OP4, looking for every Shogo song and its relevant high note, which supported this idea - every high note in that show is either an A4 or a Bb4 save for one, in the finale, that is a C5.

I will note that these top notes do sound incredibly stable, and I'd be curious as to whether he is capable of going further, but no evidence for anything higher than C5 exists in anything I can get my hands on. If someone with access to Tokyo Ghoul could check, I'd be absolutely open to correction there.

But yes, that is that for now - I got my answers and a fun little research task, and you got whatever this is. I'll be doing Ikkei next, most likely soon, possibly tomorrow depending on how much time I have (and not at all because I want to watch his Tenimyu run again... heh). I thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did.

[david-tennant-wearing-things]

Okay I have thoughts on this one and I actually feel like putting them into sentences, so, without further ado: me actually writing a post without procrastinating indefinitely

My first impression, genuinely, was underwhelmed. I definitely really like it, but it didn't blow my mind like the others. (Maybe all of my anticipatory excitement before seeing it was setting the bar unrealistically high?) Initially, I assumed the designer was Mithridate—partially because I spent the past few weeks really hoping it would be—but mostly because they've designed the previous three embellished jackets and it seemed like a reasonably logical conclusion?

Some things I noticed:

1. Flowers! Mithridate's three previous looks have all been very celestial. The switch to flowers is plausible (or at least still on-theme for the Crowley vibes) but it feels a bit unlikely for them to change gears so suddenly. 2. Shawl collar, which means literally nothing aside from "a tiny bit less Crowley," but it definitely makes it distinct from the others. 2a. Sunglasses, which mean literally nothing aside from "a tiny bit more Crowley" and I think this has more to do with his stylist than anything else. 3. Where are the bugs?? Mithridate has been doing a lot with bugs (to the point that I briefly thought they might've been involved with Andrew Scott's Met Gala look. Alright, fine, Versace. You can have some bugs, too.) 4. Bead placement is a lot more focused to specific areas (lower sleeves, shoulders, lapels, and collar) opposed to Mithridate's usual all-over embellishments. 5. I zoomed in and I could actually identify the types of beads used! (mostly bugle beads) And really, credit for this should go to Shane Anthony Sinclair of Getty Images, not the designer, but on both the BAFTA Kilt and the Olivier suit, I really struggled to be able to identify specific bead shapes. This issue was also present on the suit from the Evening Standard Awards, but to a lesser extent. (if anyone has some super sharp images of any of those, I'd be forever in your debt 🥹) 6. Enter Georgia

Suddenly it all makes sense: Joshua Kane. It doesn't look like Mithridate's work because it's not. Joshua Kane shared this to his instagram story and it's really interesting to see v1! Also the images in the linked post are super sharp, so I'm definitely not complaining

Also want to note that Georgia tagged goodomensprime which also doesn't mean anything, but I still wanted to mention it 🤷

final thoughts: I like it a lot more now that I'm not trying to figure out why Mithridate suddenly changed everything. I also really appreciate the closeups of the beading on Joshua Kane's instagram (despite being a different piece) because I love the detail and I wish he'd post similar shots of David's!

[tactician]

it's time for a reides update!!! this post is going to focus on reides the kingdra's generation 6 adventure!

first of all, you might be wondering why there's no post devoted to the ribbons of generation 5. like i mentioned briefly towards the end of my gen4 post, the gen5 pokemon games have no ribbons in them... not even one for entering the unovan hall of fame! thankfully, this weird lapse in the ribbon trend was relatively short-lived, as ribbons came back in earnest for generation 6! and so the grind continues...!

this generation of the pokemon games includes both the kalos AND hoenn regions. thanks to my friends and our shared memories of playing these games together, i have a whole lot of personal fondness for this generation - so i knew that i'd enjoy this segment of reides' journey. also, since reides hails from emerald version, it meant that he was going to have a bit of a homecoming.

of course, i gotta take a quick moment to mention my other ribbon master posts! they can all be found in��my ribbon master tag or on my neocities blog.

now then, let's get started!!!

luckily, since i got my first file of y to the post-game and never replayed it, i was able to use playthrough from Way Back When in reides' ribbon quest. this saved a whole lot of time, of course! for those who don't know, gen6 of pokemon introduced a somewhat controversial decision. in an attempt to streamline the ribbon page, gamefreak consolidated all of the contest and battle tower ribbons into two fancy plaques. on one hand, this is kind of sad, as it meant that 48(!!!) ribbons were now just... 2. that meant for way less scrolling on the ribbon page. however, on the other hand, it's kind of cool, too, as the contest memory ribbon and the battle memory ribbon are both styled like plaques and are really, really gorgeous.

since reides managed to gather all of the relevant ribbons, he got two shiny gold plaques for his hard work. you can see those plaques in the bottom row of this picture, which i took upon his arrival in kalos.

it's worth noting that, in generations 6 to 8, the golden battle memory ribbon has a requirement of 8 battle tower-related ribbons. in these gens, if you have less than 8 battle tower ribbons, you get a silver plaque instead. a few months ago, however, gamefreak made a FANTASTIC decision and changed the golden battle memory ribbon's requirement to 7 ribbons! this was likely implemented to make up for the now-defunct gen4 wifi servers. it was great news for people who didn't have the means of connecting to the fan servers that i detailed in my gen4 post. regardless, i was still really happy to have the gold plaque at this part of my journey. i didn't regret my decision to take on the world ability ribbon in the slightest... even if the sight of a perfectly normal machamp now makes me tense up out of fear of dealing with a hacked no guard sheer cold user.

anyway, my first order of business was definitely opening up pokemon amie so i could FINALLY play with reides!

i was looking forward to this for such a long time!!! i immediately fed him a bunch of poke puffs and pet him a whole bunch. i would've done this even if i didn't have to do it to get a ribbon - but it turns out that maxing out your pokemon's affection in amie is, in fact, a requirement for one of the gen6 ribbons! namely, you need your pokemon to ADORE you for the best friends ribbon.

there's actually a way to grind for this ribbon so that you can get it pretty quickly! i'd feed reides pokepuffs until he was full, then i'd pet him until he started spawning music notes instead of hearts. at that point, i'd play three rounds of tile puzzle on easy mode so that i could get more pokepuffs, reset his appetite, and get my petting to spawn hearts again. each round of this puzzle game can be completed really quickly, so i figured it was the optimal difficulty for my purposes - but any minigame would definitely work! the tile puzzle game also gives you some cute little pictures of your party as you complete each puzzle, which i thought was a great added bonus! sometimes, additional pokemon would photobomb, too.

for maxing out reides' affection, i got a throne fit for royalty.

i then visited bonnie in lumiose city, where she was chillin over in prism tower. (apparently, she only shows up after you beat lumiose's gym leader - namely, her brother, clemont.) she was impressed with the bond that reides and i shared and we got the best friends ribbon.

we then scuttled on over to the pokemon league, which we challenged in order to get the ribbon for entering kalos' hall of fame. i'm still sad that we couldn't get one in unova, but i digress... maybe someday, be it in a remake or some sort of new adventure set in unova. (since we're going to unova for the upcoming indigo disc dlc, maybe it'll even be there!)

at any rate - i somehow forgot that kalos' league is absolutely amazing! each member of the elite four is so iconic, and they each have BEAUTIFULLY decorated rooms that reflect their respective personal styles very well. i had to take a photo of champion diantha's room; it was just so, so gorgeous. the stained glass flooring reminded me a lot of terapagos' terastal form! the place's aesthetics aside, reides was pretty much able to solo the league on his own... what a champ! even though he did most of the heavy lifting, my whole party (including this random gengar named gaspar that i got wonder traded way back when; he was in my party when i arrived so i decided that he could come along) got kalos champion ribbons.

it was then time to take on one of my favorite little mechanics introduced in the kalos games: super training! while ev training off wild encounters is my usual go-to nowadays, i really like this feature. back in the day, it pretty much introduced me to the concept of ev training, so i feel like it deserves a whole lot of my respect, haha. i had all of the courses unlocked thanks to my training in the past, but i still had to clear all 30 of them with reides. i got to work on that while i was doing some super training of my own - i.e. while i was walking on a treadmill. lmao.

eventually, reides had all 30 of the necessary medals for the training ribbon. i hopped in a cab to go see the character who'd give it to me and learnt that super training is a whole Thing in kalos; the term 's.t. meatheads' had me losing it.

though i put it off for as long as i could, it was finally time to face gen6's battle tower - the battle maison. thankfully, gamefreak realized that they went a little too wild with gen4's six battle tower-related ribbons and i only had to get two battle maison-related ribbons in gen6. the first of these ribbons would be from beating one of the normal battle modes (namely, emerging victorious against the chatelaine at battle #20 of it). the second one was for achieving a streak of 50 on one of the super battle modes, which would require beating the chatelaine at battle #50. i decided to take on the single battle mode for this ribbon master quest, which... may have been quite the choice. it was my first time taking the maison on, and i heard (both from friends and from various posts made by people online) that the single battle mode was the hardest one. you may be wondering why i opted to choose that mode, then. unfortunately, i don't really have an answer for that. I Just Did. HAHA. speaking more seriously, i'm generally more comfortable with battling one-on-one, so i opted to go with what was familiar to me versus what would be easier to me. as it turns out, the first battle maison ribbon (the skillful battler ribbon) was incredibly easy to get on reides. i used the same ol' team of albatross, origin and reides and yoinked it on my very first try. after breezing through it, i had one HELL of an ego. "gen4's tower was way worse," i told myself. "if my team got through that, they can get through anything." I WAS WRONG. AND THIS SMALL CHILD WAS RIGHT.

my streak in the super singles battle mode broke several times in the 30s; more times than ever before!!! my team was being hard-countered. even when i opted to replace reides with persana the suicune (you only need your ribbon master for battle 50; it's fine if you don't have them present in your party for the full streak), we were still having an incredibly hard time. i knew that i couldn't brute force my way through the maison if i wanted to get through gen6 in a timely manner. so i opted to try out a very, very popular little strategy for grinding wins in it.

this strategy involved none other than the cute steel bug known as... durant.

(fair warning: this part of my post is gonna get a little technical!)

wild durants typically have the swarm or hustle abilities. however, truant is available to durants as a hidden ability... and a truant durant is the absolute crux of this strategy.

truant is a strange little ability that makes it impossible for your pokemon to attack consecutively; your truant pokemon can attack on turn one but will then spend the entirety of turn two lazing around. this ability sounds like it'd be absolutely useless on a durant, right? it probably would be... if our awesome little bug didn't learn entrainment at level 44.

entrainment allows your durant to change its target's ability to match its own ability. this isn't permanent, of course - a pokemon who got its ability changed by entrainment gets its ability back to normal once it's switched out, or after the battle ends. but pokemon in the battle maison are very rarely switched out, so... you see where i'm going with this, surely!!!

the truant durant strategy basically relies on outspeeding your opponent and landing entrainment on them so as to pass the traunt ability to them. after doing that, you swap your durant out for another pokemon. it can't just be any pokemon for this strategy to work, though. you'd need one with the move protect, as well as a stats-boosting move, such as dragon dance or shell smash. by using protect on the turns that you expect your opponent to attack on and using your stats-booster on its traunt-afflicted turns, you can safely max out your pokemon's stats and proceed to sweep the entire enemy team. the general pattern is therefore as follows:

your durant uses entrainment, giving the opponent traunt

you swap to your stats-boosting pokemon*

your stats-booster uses protect, avoiding damage from the opponent

your stats-booster uses its stats-boosting move*

repeat 3 and 4 until your stats-boosting pokemon has maxed out stats

SWEEP!

* = your pokemon takes no damage, as it is a traunt turn for your opponent.

please note that this order shifts a bit if your durant gets knocked out on turn one! if it does, you get a free swap *into* a traunt turn, so your stats-boosting pokemon doesn't need to start off with protect and can get right to boostin'.

in order to get a traunt durant, i knew that i'd have to use sweet scent in order to spawn horde encounters. within hordes, pokemon have a small chance of having their hidden ability. however... i also needed that durant to have a speed boosting nature so that it could outspeed whatever enemies it faced. ideally, i wanted a jolly one; one that would have reduced special attack for increased speed. i COULD have simply caught a small army of truant durants, but i was wary of testing my luck like that and decided to test it in another way that was, hopefully, less time consuming. basically... i hatched ralts eggs until i got a jolly one with synchronize. with this ralts leading my party, the pokemon that i encountered had a 50% chance of being jolly natured, themselves - even while the ralts was fainted. i then grabbed my sweet scent user - a cute little spritzee - and got to challenging hordes of durants. after catching 3 truant ones, i finally managed to get my hands on a jolly natured durant with the traunt ability. i named her 'donatella.'

then came the matter of my stats-boosting sweeper pokemon. i went through my boxes and noticed that i had a ton of leftover pokemon from various breeding projects during my y playthrough. (just as this gen opened my eyes to ev training, it also opened by eyes to iv breeding!) i saw that i had an adamant dratini with perfect ivs, as well as its hidden ability. i knew that dragonite's hidden ability, multiscale, would give it some tankiness in the battle maison (it reduces the damage that the pokemon takes when its hp is full), and i also knew that dragonite could learn dragon dance (a move that increases both speed and attack) as well. i decided that it was finally this little dratini's time to shine after spending years and years in my pc. i named her 'venus.'

finally, there was the matter of my third pokemon. using one of my already-trained pokemon was definitely an option, but i saw a LOT of people online talking about how cloysters with the skill link ability can easily hard-counter the super single battle chatelaine's team. to employ strategy, you give your cloyster a focus sash and have it use shell smash on the first turn of the battle. the focus sash keeps your cloyster safe from being ohko'd on that first turn, and, after getting the shell smash buffs, it can outspeed most of the battle chatelaine's team. skill link allows cloyster to land the MAX NUMBER!!!! of hits for multistrike moves, giving its icicle spear attack a whole lot of power - enough power to k.o. the chatelaine's tornadus and thundurus. while the chatelaine's choice scarf-wielding landorus potentially poses a problem (as it may outspeed your cloyster and potentially finish off the last of its hp), you can easily circumvent this by using ice shard on it, instead.

this little strategy works consistently, so i figured i'd raise a skill link cloyster, myself... just to be safe. while trying to hatch a jolly ralts with synchronize, i actually hatched an adamant one with synchronize, too - so i used him for my little shellder hunt. i fished a suitable shellder up from the sea in no time at all and named her 'applause.' here is a picture of my new battle maison warriors, all ready for the training grind:

i ev trained this trio of pokemon by giving them power items (which boost the amount of evs that you get per battle) and by taking on hordes via sweet scent. since i had the same ev build in mind for all three of them AND since gen6 introduced the party-wide exp share, i was able to ev train them all at once. i took out weepinbells on route 19 for attack evs, wingulls on route 8 for speed evs, and hoppips on route 7 for special defense evs. you can make this process SUPER fast if you use a high-levelled pokemon with earthquake or surf, as you can take out all 5 members of the horde with one use of the move!

once everyone was all ev trained, i levelled them up by repeatedly challenging cafe le wow in lumoise city while keeping the party-wide exp share on. it was during this training-fest that reides finally hit level 100, too!

in the end, this was my battle maison team:

donatella the durant (choice scarf) ability: truant nature: jolly evs: 252 atk, 252 speed, 4 sp. defense - entrainment - toxic - x-scissor - iron head

venus the dragonite (lum berry) ability: multiscale nature: adamant evs: 252 atk, 252 speed, 4 sp. defense - earthquake - fire punch - dragon dance - protect

applause the cloyster (focus sash) ability: skill link nature: adamant evs: 252 atk, 252 speed, 4 sp. defense - shell smash - icicle spear - ice shard (for landorus) - protect

this team worked like a dream for the whole maison, and i was able to get my streak of 50 wins on my very first attempt with it.

admittedly, i kept applause the cloyster in my pc until the final battle, during which i swapped donatella the durant out for her and slotted reides in, as well - but i was just so relieved to maintain an unbroken streak. there were a few thorny situations, so i don't think this team is entirely unbeatable or anything of the sort, but i definitely recommend the truant durant strategy if you're struggling with the maison. it felt SOOOO great to finally get through it... i did NOT expect it to be as difficult as it was.

also, in hindsight, i could have likely sped this process up a whole lot more if i followed donatella up with applause the cloyster rather than venus the dragonite. i seriously underestimated skill link; that thing lets icicle spear hit like a TRUCK! furthermore, venus needed to use dragon dance 6 times to max out her attack and speed stats, whereas applause's shell smash would only need 3. so... you know. i do think that dragonite offered better coverage, at the very least, so all's well that ends well, i guess. while it may have taken longer to clear the maison with venus, i'm really happy that i was able to raise her properly. that alone is a huge reward, since i LOVE dragonite. more pals sharing in reides' ribbon master journey is always a good thing, too, right?

once i got those final two ribbons, reides' time in kalos reached its end. before leaving, i randomly decided to raise a kangaskhan, because i remembered how cute mega kangaskhan was and wanted one for myself. (shoutout to my friend, rachel, who traded me a kangaskhan with awesome ivs Way Back When and made it super easy for me to raise one of my own!) i named this new kangaskhan 'chips,' since i was snacking on some really delicious sour cream and onion chips at the time, and decided that she'd accompany reides on his adventure, too. (...along with her little baby, of course. that goes without saying!)

with kalos' ribbons handled, it was time for reides' homecoming! i plopped him back into pokemon bank and then booted up my copy of omega ruby. he was all ready to go home to hoenn. hilariously enough, i didn't have a file in the post-game for omega ruby. if this ribbon master challenge has taught me anything, it's that i have a shocking amount of pokemon games that i drifted from without ever completing. fake fan alert. (I'M KIDDING!!!!!) but, anyway... i only had to wrap up some wild plot cover-legendary-related business and nab my 8th badge, so it wasn't like i had to replay the entire game. i really enjoyed how everything played out, and it was also a treat to meet wallace again. he's one of my fav pokemon characters ever, and his oras redesign is absolutely incredible!

immediately after getting my 8th badge, i slotted reides into my team and rushed on over to the pokemon league. since my alpha sapphire file is currently devoted to my shiny badge quest (which will hopefully be a post of its own, someday!), it was actually my very first time taking on the pokemon league in the oras games. not gonna lie, i had low expectations, as i figured it'd be a simple 1:1 reskin of the rse league rooms - but it kind of took my breath away.

like the kalos league, the revamped hoenn league was utterly gorgeous. i tore through it with my team until we eventually faced the LEGENDARY steven stone. it was reides' first time facing him as a champion, as, in emerald, wallace was champion, instead. since he was a level 5 horsea while the rest of my team faced wallace in emerald, i gave him a shot at a hoenn champion battle and let him take steven on.

once reides single-handedly took down steven, my team entered the hoenn hall of fame. even though reides already had a hall of fame ribbon from hoenn, he actually got a second one for entering the oras one!

after weeping openly at omega ruby's beautiful credits, we then headed to lilycove city. once there, we took a bit of a break from the ribbon grind and paid a visit to the cove lily motel. it turns out that some small indie company called gamefreak had just checked in. i talked to the game director, who was amazed upon seeing reides. since reides was from emerald version, he noted just how far he had come and gave us the time travel award. as lovely as this award is (you can even put it up in your secret base!), it's worth noting that the art featured on it is inexplicably shiny locked?!?! so reides had his normal kingdra colouration in mine! it's still a beautiful award, though, so i edited it for the purposes of this post!

i put the award up in my secret base and focused on a much-anticipated part of reides' ribbon master quest: the hoenn contests (part two)! the contests on oras are similar to the ones in rse - however, instead of giving ribbons for each and every contest win, the oras contests give a brand new ribbon for each *master* contest win. this meant that reides needed to take on the master contests for each of the 5 contest categories (the same ol' cool, beautiful, cute, clever/smart, and tough ones). like i mentioned all the way back in my gen3 post, oras also took the sheen limitation away, so i was finally able to max out reides' contest stats. since his stats were already really good, i didn't have to feed him too many pokeblocks for him to have the perfect contest spread.

i was so proud of him for finally having everything maxed out!! it's truly what he deserves. the contests themselves were also pretty easy. i'm not sure if it was necessary or if having perfect contest stats meant that they hit a cap, but i went and picked up the red, blue, pink, yellow, and green scarves from the pokemon fanclub in slateport and put them on reides just in case. also, while i couldn't use the amazing rest + snore combination of rse fame, i used the double team + secret power one (which i learnt about thanks to this post on the ribbons subreddit). my general strategy was:

turn 1: double team for the 1st pumped-up star.

turn 2: double team for the 2nd pumped-up star.

turn 3: secret power! (big boost thanks to being pumped up!)

turn 4: double team for the 3rd pumped-up star.

turn 5: secret power! (for yet another big boost thanks to being pumped up!)

the audience wasn't too pleased about the repeated double team on turn 2, but that didn't matter, as reides was able to win each and every contest category on his first attempt.

since he got the 5 ribbons for winning each contest category at its master rank, reides also got the contest star ribbon as an added bonus!

this was the last ribbon that i needed in gen6, which meant that reides' time in hoenn had come to an end. after wandering around the region a bit, peeking into various friends' secret bases and seeing the sights... it was time to pack our bags once more and gear up for the next part of reides' adventure.

gen7 has even less ribbons than gen6, but i never thought that the battle maison would end up being such a big challenge in gen6 - so who knows how gen7 will go?! (...i do, actually, because i was slightly evil and grinded out gen7's ribbons before making this post. sorry. i won't spoil it, though.) regardless, i hope you enjoyed reading about reides' gen6 journey!

[fangirl-erdariel]

Ok so I am fully aware of the irony of me posting this in English, but

One thing I have to admit I miss of fandoms before Ao3 and big social media sites was the non-English fandom spaces for fandoms centered around English-language works. Like, okay, fine, it was only ever a few big ones, like Harry Potter and LOTR and the like. Okay, fine, I only got to experience it briefly, by the time I figured out internet and fandoms around eight years ago, Ao3 was already becoming big, becoming the site for fic, and fandom stuff was moving onto the various social media sites. But there were still a few non-English forums and fic sites around; I frequented one for LOTR and read my first LOTR fics there, while my English was still so weak that I struggled with reading English fic. The site still exists, but there's been barely any activity for years, and no new fics. The Harry Potter site I know for a fact existed once although I never used it myself, I can not find at all - I don't know if it's gone down (though that seems likely) or if i'm just stupid and can't find it.

But these days? Tolkien fandom does still have one active fan forum in my first language, but that site doesn't to my knowledge host fanfic or really put much attention on that aspect of the fandom. As far as I know, there isn't an active Tolkien fan community in my first language on tumblr either, and why would there be? Tumblr is predominantly English-language site, and it's hard, I suppose, to have an active fan community here that uses a language other than English but shares a fandom and relevant tags with predominantly English-speaking fans. The only active fandom community I know of on tumblr that primarily uses my first language is centered around a work that was written in said language in the first place.

And as for Ao3 and fanfic? Well, yes, Ao3 has a lot of language options! But how much do people use them? For my first language, for fandoms I care about myself, not a whole lot. For Tolkien fandom in particular, there's 48 works altogether. Most of them are cross-posted on or archived from that old fic site I mentioned previously. More than I'd care to admit are something I wrote and posted when I was like 12 or 13, and much worse of a writer than I am now. I have left them up, I'm not taking them down because it's more effort than it's worth, but they're not something I like to remember or think about, let alone reread. Many of the rest are about ships and characters I don't care about. That is compared to the something like 700 Middle-Earth fics + an assortment of other non-Tolkien fanfics and oc fics + poetry and song parodies the site also had sections for. (Plus the threads in the conversation sections, but like if we're talking about content you might post on Ao3, that's not on the list). And as I said, some of the 48 works on Ao3 are cross-posts of some of the 700ish fics on the language-specific fansites.

The thing with Ao3 is that yes, it allows for posting in other languages than English. Which is great! But at least in my first language, and I would imagine in many other languages as well, it's not something people do much, aside from a couple of fandoms where the source work is in that language, and a few extremely popular fandoms. Even then you have to go out specifically looking for fics in that language, because if you just look at all the fics in the fandom, fic in other languages gets posted so little that in any bigger/more active fandom, it gets quickly drowned by the English works.

Also, even when people write fic in my first language, I can't really find that sort of dedicated fan community, and I don't have anywhere, aside from their Ao3 comments or maybe some private chat between two people, where I can talk to them. I have, in some fandoms where I'm lucky, one friend who speaks the same language I do, and we can toss ideas back and forth and be fans about our fandoms in my first language, in a private chat. Which is fun and I love that person so much!! But two people isn't a community. And I have to admit, that community is something I kind of wish I could have.

Of course there are merits to the English-speaking fandom spaces and the fandom scene on big social medias! I've made so many friends from all over the world on tumblr and on fandom discords! Even if there were dedicated fanfic and fandom communities for the fandoms I'm into that used predominantly my first language, I'd probably still also hang around in English fandom spaces as well, and read and write fic in English, too. But I just- I would like the chance to choose to do that, you know? I'd like to be able to decide that, you know what, right now I feel like reading/writing something in English. But yesterday I read fic in another language, because I felt like it. I'd like to be able to write fic in my first language and have some hope that it might be read by a handful of people, and I'd like to have enough other people writing fic in the same language to be able to read their work and be inspired by the way they use the language when they write! (Because let's be honest, it's kind of hard to write in isolation, coming up with everything on your own, and I'm constantly getting inspired by and taking notes from the way other people whose fics I read write!) As much as I love that one friend of mine, I would like to be able to have a meta/headcanon discussion in my first language with more than one person besides me chiming in. Everything that's good about fandoms and being in fan communities, I'd like to be able to experience in my first language as well as in English.

And I realize I'm part of the problem, too, posting almost exclusively in English and very rarely writing fic in my first language (although I am planning on making a few things for the None English Fest on Ao3). The dominance of English language in fandoms is in part a self-fulfilling prophecy; no one uses other languages, because no one else uses them either, and someone has to be the one to first start actively writing and/or posting in a given language, and maybe other people would then start doing so too. (Although let's be real, I write fic or post any original content so infrequently that I would probably not be able to kickstart a non-English fandom community by myself even if I wanted to.)

I don't have a solution for this. I don't know whether there is a solution. But I wanted to make this post in the hopes of perhaps stirring up some conversation on the topic, at least making people think about this. So, if you have something, anything, to add - feel absolutely free to do so! I would love to hear other people's opinions on this!

(PS if you speak Finnish and you're into any of the fandoms i'm in, feel free to come chat with me! And if you ever write fic in Finnish of one of my fandoms, please link it to me, I wanna read it!!)

[undefeatablesin]

Hello! Hope you're well. I have a mildly silly question, but does Ruza have heterochromia?

I've been staring at your art of her and been puzzling over it.

I figured her reference pics would be best, but while it's true in her Thorn Uniform, her eyes don't looked colored in on her Hunter Garb page, and I figured her eyes both being depicted as the sort of red tint was more of an artistic choice but it could also just actually change, Yharnam does weird stuff to people, and I hope you don't mind me asking you directly.

No such thing as silly questions here, my friend! I don't mind at all, I'm only too glad to answer any questions people might have 💙

But anyways, yes, Ruza does in fact have heterochromia. Her right eye is brown and her left eye is blue. I haven't made any HQ refs of just her face, so its understandable that it might be a bit confusing to puzzle out from just my regular artwork alone or from the really small face scale on my garb ref sheets. The clearest depiction of her heterochromia that I have in my works at the moment is this sketch-but this indeed is the correct colouration for her eyes across all of her designs.

While I'm here though, I'd like to share a little about this design choice; I mentioned this briefly in the tags of another post, but initially I had planned for Ruza to have started with both her eyes being brown, but for the left to have changed to its pale blue hue after becoming tied to the hunter's dream. Individuals are already "marked" by the Great Ones in some fashion in the canon of the game, such as the characters that drop the Oedon Writhe rune after death and like everyone commenting that the Hunter has a specific strange "moonlit" scent. I thought it would be interesting to take that idea a step further by introducing a physical indicator of the hunter's moon-bound state-and given the game's most prevalent theme of eyes, that was ultimately what I felt appropriate to change.

The pale blue of her left eye was, none too surprisingly, therefore meant to evoke the colour of the moon, and it was no accident that the pupil of that eye is depicted as red in some panels and lighting. It was all part of the idea of her connection to the dream and the fact she, as all paleblood hunters are, is presently under the Moon Presence's thrall.

However, I wasn't entirely sure whether to keep this idea, if it blended well with the lore or if it was maybe too on the nose or cliche, so I haven't really canonised it entirely as part of my lore specifically. Even so, heterochromia has become something I feel Ruza would have regardless, so it remains as one of her features across all of her incarnations and still receives these stylistic nods and hints in the comic and such.

[quarks-pussy]

For the ship ask: Data/Geordi, Dax/Worf, and Quark/Odo?

Thanks so much for the ask! Sorry it took so long...

[Here's the post with the questions]

Okay, so, let's do these in order. I'll put it under a cut I think, it's not excessively long but still

Daforge

1: They're amazing. One of the best Star Trek ships of all time and for sure the most wholesome one. They see each other in ways nobody else can - figuratively and literally! Amazing stuff happening here

2:

3: I really like this one but other than that I don't really have any concrete ones.

Dax/Worf

1: Well, here's the awkward thing: I've mentioned this before on this blog but I don't watch linearly and even if I did, I'd be nowhere near their relationship yet. So I haven't actually seen them interact much yet so while I might ship it in the future, I don't do so now. Regardless, I'll try to make educated guesses.

2: "Area man in awe of his awesome wife"

3: Hmmm I know Klingon women toss stuff at their romantic interests. I think Jadzia, knowing this, would occasionally yeet stuff at Worf, too.

Quodo

1: Fucking hell, these two. They were the first Trek pairing I got obsessed with. And like... they're so obsessed with each other. It's amazing! Also, both of them suck. Ten out of ten

2: Heh. I'm about to toss y'all back a decade. Disgusting by Miranda Cosgrove

3: I have a couple, though many have to do with how they do the do (in case you couldn't guess from my url lol) and most of the others are variable/incompatible in that there's different versions of their relationship that I like. But my favourite of those is them having been married since Terok Nor era and not even keeping it secret but most people still don't realise. I've previously briefly talked about it here.

And because this took so long, I'm tagging you to make sure you see it @tea-earl-grey

[alyssaforevermore]

Hounded ↦ Bellamy Blake 9. Unity Day

Synopsis: After being locked away for eight months, Athena Kane alongside 99 other criminals is sent to the ground to find out if it's survivable. The ground was the dream, but who knew it would turn out to be a nightmare?

Show: The 100

Pairings: Bellamy Blake x OC

Warnings: major series spoilers (full series will be covered), use of profanity, descriptions of violence, death, blood and gore, and mentions of drugs and alcohol.

Tags: @mellxander1993 @sweetz1919 @jordangdelacruz

Masterlist

I had waited up late last night, anticipating the inevitable conversation with my parents. Luckily for me, both were too busy on the Ark to bother. Part of me was bitter, considering what today was, but I knew the chaos of Bellamy's information stirred up a lot up there.

Luckily, today was Unity Day and Clarke and Bellamy had both agreed to pause work on the camp and defences until after the ceremony. This meant I had a chance to sleep in for the first time since I'd be locked in Skybox.

When my eyes finally fluttered open, I noticed Octavia staring at me from across the tent.

"Were you watching me sleep?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. Then, I smiled. "You're such a weirdo."

Octavia rolled her eyes, standing from her bed and rushing over to mine. "I found something I thought you'd like." She leaned over, rummaging through her pack and pulling out a long knife, handing it to me with a smile. "Happy Birthday."

My eyes widened. "I can't believe you remembered."

"Of course I did!" Octavia beamed. "You made my birthday in Skybox so special, and we weren't even free at the time. I know it's not much, but I figured it would come in handy."

I felt my eyes swell with tears, though I quickly pushed them back. "Thank you, O. I really appreciate you even remembering."

We hugged briefly, Octavia pulling away with excitement. "We are going to have so much fun tonight. Monty is cooking up some of his famous moonshine."

"At least we get to drink it this time."

"I'll let you get ready for the day," Octavia spoke, heading to the entrance of the tent. "Too bad the moonshine isn't ready yet. I could use it to get through the Unity Day Ceremony."

I laughed as Octavia headed out of the tent. After all those years of participating in the ceremony with Clarke and Wells, I could also use a drink.

...

I made my way to the centre of camp, finding most had gathered around the monitor to watch the early portion of the ceremony. The camera panned to my father for a moment, a sharp pain shooting through my body. Despite lucking out and getting to avoid talking to him, of course I'd still have to see him.

"Missing being up there for this?"

I turned around, Bellamy appearing. "Definitely not."

He raised an eyebrow. "Kane's daughter doesn't like Unity Day?"

"Kane doesn't like Unity Day." I whispered, earning a chuckle. "It's just such an elaborate show, as if we came together peacefully for the good of mankind. The Ark only became the Ark after the thirteenth station was blasted out of the sky."

"You're even more pessimistic than usual."

I rolled my eyes, turning back to the screen. "You're one to talk."

Bellamy let out a sigh, walking away to join the others.

Alone. As Always.

...

- Six Years Earlier -

I sat on the couch of our family's unit, staring at the door. It was nearing midnight, and I had yet to see my parents all day. When I woke up they'd both been gone, my mother being called away for surgery and my father for whatever 'official business' Jaha needed him for today.

My birthday cake sat in the fridge still, awaiting an adult to stick some candles on it and light it for me. Part of me felt guilty for being upset about missing out on candles; I was one of the lucky few who could even afford to have a cake made. I had read in a book once that cakes were tradition for every birthday on Earth.

The sound of a keycard swipe yanked me from my thoughts as I quickly jumped over the couch. The hard metal door swung open, revealing my mother. She looked exhausted, yet somehow still so put together.

Her eyes finally landed on me, her tired eyes widening. "Honey, I am so sorry."

"It's alright, Mom." I lied. "I spent the night watching movies after the Unity Day Ceremony."

She frowned, placing her keycard on the table by the door. "You shouldn't have to watch movies alone on your birthday."

"I'm used to it." My mother winced, her frown only growing. "I haven't touched the cake yet." I added, smiling.

My mother finally smiled. "Let's bust out the candles then!"

"Really?" I asked. "We aren't supposed to have any flames after ten."

"Are you going to tell Jaha?" She asked. I shook my head. "Good. Neither am I."

My mother marched into the kitchen, grabbing the candles from the drawer as I pulled the cake out of the fridge. She placed twelve candles neatly across the cake, lighting them all with a match. Before I could blow out the candles, she placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Sweetheart."

My smile filled out my face as I closed my eyes and made my wish. Then, I opened my eyes, blowing out the candles as the clock struck midnight.

...

"My friends, this is a historic Unity Day." Jaha spoke through the monitor. "Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her. Next year, on the ground."

Cheers erupted on the Ark, but most remained silent down here.

"Right. After we did all the work." Miller groaned. "Somebody shut him up."

"You shut up, Miller. Nobody's forcing you to watch." Raven snapped.

"For ninety-seven years, we have eked out an existence, hoping that someday our descendants would return to Earth." Jaha continued.

"Monty strikes again!" Jasper's voice rang out through the camp. "Call this batch 'Unity Juice'. Who's thirsty?"

Many delinquents rushed over, grabbing makeshift cups while Jasper filled them all. I stayed put, for reasons I didn't even understand, watching the ceremony instead.

"To our sons and daughters on Earth listening to this message, we will see you soon." Jaha carried on. "The first Exodus ship will launch in under sixty hours, carrying you the reinforcements that you need, so stay strong. Help is on the way."

As the words filled my ears, I could feel my heart stop. The first Exodus ship meant the second wouldn't be far behind. How soon until my father was down here? Despite the constant threat, I was getting used to having freedom down here. I definitely wasn't ready for him to bark orders at me again. At least my mother would be down here soon. Hopefully before him.

Children carrying flags danced around the screen for a while, a little girl finally stepping into the centre of their circle.

"Long ago when the Earth was on fire, through space all alone. Then one day, Mir floated by Shenzhen, and they realised life would be better together." The girl spoke. "The other stations saw this, and they wanted to be together, too. When all the stations were formed, they called themselves-"

A loud bang sounded through the radio, the video cutting to static. We all stared at the screen, waiting for the video to come back, but it never did.

...

The sun had gone down, work came and went, and now it was time to have some much needed and deserved fun. As I walked through camp I watched everyone drinking, laughing, singing and playing games. I'd never seen 'unity' like this on the Ark.

My eyes landed on Bellamy, and I felt a familiar sinking feeling in my stomach. I took a deep breath, marching over until I was standing behind him.

"Hey," I spoke, causing him to turn around. "I was a jerk earlier. I'm sorry."

Bellamy eyed me for a moment, before smiling. "Birthday blues, I get it."

My eyes widened. "How did you-"

"Octavia told me a bit ago." Bellamy cut me off. "I can't blame you for hating Unity Day more than most."

"My birthday was always a little overshadowed." I sighed. "I can't complain too much, though. My mother always found a way to make it special, even if it was just before midnight."

Bellamy smiled. "Your mother sounds great."

"Yeah, she's pretty cool." I smiled back.

I watched Clarke approach us, a frown on her face. "The comms are still dead."

"Best Unity Day ever." Bellamy smirked.

"Now you agree with me." I joked.

"Do you guys really think now is a good time to have a party?" Clarke asked, looking around. "The Grounder is still out there."

I shook my head. "Grounders."

"By now, he's made it home. He's probably putting together a lynch mob." Bellamy spoke, causing Clarke to shift her feet. "Relax. I got security covered. Why don't you go get a drink? You look like you could use one."

"I could use more than one."

"So have more than one," Bellamy responded. "Clarke, the Exodus ship carrying your mother comes down here in two days. After that, the party's over. Have some fun while you still can. You deserve it."

Clarke thought for a moment. "Yeah, okay. So do you, by the way. Both of you."

"I'll have my fun when the Gounders get here." Bellamy smirked.

Clarke smiled, laughing slightly. "Alright."

We both watched her disappear into the crowd, Bellamy spinning the apple in his hand. Finally, he turned to me.

"What about you?" He asked. "Shouldn't you be celebrating?"

I shrugged. "I'm not even sure I know how to celebrate."

Bellamy took one final bite of his apple, tossing it to the side. "Come on." He said, marching away.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my shorter legs struggling to keep up.

"First, we get drinks. Then, I will teach you how to celebrate."

I laughed, causing him to stop and look back at me. "You're going to teach me how to celebrate?"

Bellamy smirked. "Trust me, we used to have the best parties on Factory Station."

"Right, I heard about those." I smiled. "I always wished I could go."

"Well, now you pretty much get to."

We reached Jasper, Bellamy asking for drinks. Jasper poured them, eyeing the two of us the entire time.

...

We spent most of the night drinking, talking about our experiences on the Ark and playing different games. Finally, we came across a new group, Clarke among them.

"You're not gonna get this one." Clarke taunted Fox.

Fox smirked. "Yes, I am."

"No, it's not happening."

Fox flipped the metal piece, landing it the cup of moonshine.

Everyone around the table cheered as Clarke admitted defeat, drinking from the cup and spitting the metal piece out.

"What do you know?" A boy spoke. "Her highness can actually party. I like it."

"What are you gonna do when the guards come down here and commandeer Monty's still?" Clarke asked.

"Build another one."

"Right." Clarke laughed, her eyes landing on me. "Athena! Come try."

I shook my head. "I'm alright, thanks."

"Come on, Athena." Bellamy nudged my arm.

I sighed, stepping towards the table. "Alright, what am I supposed to do?"

Clarke explained the rules to me as best as her tipsy self could. I stood across the table from her, aiming my piece of metal towards her cup. I then tossed it, the piece bouncing off the table and landing in her cup.

Clarke stared down at her cup for a moment before looking back up at me with a frown. "I regret asking you to try it."

"Beginner's luck." I threw my hands up, smiling.

Clarke and I battled it out for a bit, her getting distracted before we could break the tie. She placed one of the metal pieces on her nose, struggling to balance it.

"Hey, can we talk?" Finn asked, appearing through the crowd and placing his hand on Clarke's arm.

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

Finn looked around before gesturing for her to follow him.

With Clarke gone I stepped away from the table, realising I had sort of abandoned Bellamy. To my surprise he was still there, the smile on his face bigger than I'd ever seen it before.

"You were totally going to win that game."

My eyes widened, my cheeks warming up. "You think so?"

He nodded. "I'm impressed, Athena."

"It's the birthday spirit, I guess." I laughed, stumbling slightly.

"Woah," Bellamy laughed, grabbing my arms. "You alright?"

I nodded. "I'm a little dizzy. Very tired. Too much birthday."

Bellamy laughed again, helping me regain my balance. "Let's get you to bed, alright?"

"That sounds like a good idea."

Bellamy led me across the camp, stopping just outside of my tent.

"Octavia, are you in there?"

No response.

Bellamy pushed the flap to the side, stepping inside and helping me navigate my way through. I quickly sat on my cot, staring up at Bellamy.

"Alright, try to get some sleep." Bellamy's eyes shifted around the tent. "I'll bring you some water in a bit. Drink it when you wake up."

Bellamy turned to leave, but I quickly grabbed his arm. "Bellamy, wait."

He stopped turning back around to face me. I stood from my bed, the alcohol taking over me and I tossed my arms around him.

"Athena?" He asked.

"Thank you, for everything today." I spoke. "It was the best birthday ever."

I felt Bellamy's arms wrap around me, lingering there for just a few moments before we both pulled away. I stared into his soft brown eyes, and he stared back into mine. For a second, I thought he'd say something more.

Instead, he smiled. "Goodnight, Athena. Happy Birthday."

Bellamy turned to exit the tent, pushing the flap aside to reveal Clarke. Her eyes quickly darted to me behind him, before landing back on his face.

"Hey, I needed to talk to you both."

"Been having fun, Princess?" Bellamy smirked.

Clarke glared. "I'm serious."

"You always are."

"Finn's set up a meeting with the Grounders. I'm leaving to go talk to them."

I stood up, my head spinning. "Like hell you are."

"Do you think that impaling people on spears is code for 'let's be friends'? Have you lost your damn mind?"

Clarke rolled her eyes. "Now you two decide to agree on things?"

"Clarke, we have no idea what else these people are capable of. You could be walking into a trap."

"I think it might be worth a shot." Clarke shrugged. "I mean, we do have to find a way to live with them."

"They'll probably gut you, string you up as a warning."

"Well, that's why I'm here." Clarke said. "I need you guys to follow us, be our backup."

"Does Finn know about this?" Bellamy asked.

Clarke shook her head. "He doesn't need to know."

I eyed Clarke for a few moments, before finally letting out a hearty sigh. "Alright, I'm feeling up for an adventure this evening anyways."

"Good," Clarke nodded. "Bring guns."

While I watched Clarke march away, Bellamy turned to me.

"You should stay here."

I shook my head. "No way, I'm coming with you."

"Athena, you were falling over ten minutes ago."

"And now I'm worried about my friends." I snapped. "Bellamy, We've all been drinking. I'll sober up on the walk there."

"Athena-"

"I can't stay behind while my friends meet with the enemy. I'm coming with you, end of discussion."

"No, not 'end of discussion'," Bellamy glared, folding his arms across his chest. "Who knows what kind of danger we're gonna be walking into out there. I know you always feel like you have to risk yourself for your friends, but not this time. I can't worry about you."

I went to protest, his words finally sinking in and forcing me to stop. He was right. As much as I found arguing with him slightly entertaining, I knew this was one battle I would not be winning.

"Alright," I sighed, slapping my hands against my thighs as I sat down on my coat. "Promise you'll be careful?"

Bellamy nodded. "We'll be back before you know it. Try to get some rest."

Bellamy left the tent, and I knew I would not be getting any sleep that night.

--------

AN: Here we are with chapter nine! I hope you all enjoyed. Please remember to like/reblog and share your thoughts <3

[beatcroc]

[for anyone else, this is @ my original tag complaining that i can't figure out how to get him to sit] @localcoffeeaddict i do love funny gamma car but sigma also already has refs for this!

the e-100 series crouch. they can get pretty low down, but they're very much still putting their entire weight on a relatively small point on their own legs; and i'd say with how their like... ankle wheel thing is positioned, it looks like it actually puts More strain on weird points of their legs/joints. crouching/squatting on your own regular human legs for extended periods of time doesn't feel good either! not to mention with sigma's uneven foot/leg situation specifically it's probably even more uncomfortable. i'm talking 'sitting' as in like chilling resting casual style; i've tried some scribbles about it but nothing's really clicking

funnily enough the perching one is definitely what looks most natural, but the problem is that sigma is Massive and Very Very Heavy and i dont. think thats really going to work with much of the usual scenery that can be Perched Upon. he is going to break it. the other problem with being a big clunky robot and not a regular bird is his legs are Way thicker and you can't get them folded very tightly without it looking wrong. i did also try just putting the legs straight out in front but trust me that looks way dumber and is way more distracting since the other joints only bend Up gfjgfjfkjfg. i also briefly entertained a more 'quadrupedal' style of sitting more akin to like a cat or dog or whatever where it's the flats of the hind leg+also the 'hands' of the arms but it feels really wrong for him just vibewise like some kind of fucked up gorillabeast. i'm trying to avoid leaning into animal vibes with him and if it's gonna be anything it's gotta be the bird. they also have this weird... crossbar thing that their legs attach to which further complicates the 'where the hell is the center of gravity supposed to be for this' issue but frankly if i can get that on the ground along with the feet or ankle-wheels im gonna call it good enough.

currently i think what's gonna need to happen is i give him a specialized ''''''chair'''''', which ultimately just amounts to raised block perpendicular to the ground to prop up the base of his feet just behind the wheels/foot base like in the 'perched' image, while the 'ankle' angles down behind and rests on the ground. which is going to be a pain in the ass to work into any scene where i want him to sit but whatever.

every time i draw sigma i think of this

[hellfiremunsonn]

You Remind Me Of The Babe. Steve Harrington x Reader

You Remind Me Of The babe.

I do not allow my writing to be republished anywhere other than my own blog without my consent

Summary: could you write a fic where steve is a brat tamer and wants you to sit on his face but you’re insecure about it

(REQUESTED)

18 + IF YOU ARE NOT 18 OR OLDER DO NOT READ OR INTERACT WITH MY WRITING. IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR MINORS. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MEDIA YOU CONSUME.

WARNINGS: Porn with a plot?, fem reader, face sitting, orgasm denial, Dom! Steve, brat tamer Steve, reader is a brat, drinking, mentions of alcohol, if there's anything else I forgot to tag, let me know.

Word count: 4312

Two things I knew for sure was that Steve loved when I wore red lipstick, and summery dresses. So today before bounding down the steps of my front porch I made sure to wear my yellow sun dress with my red lipstick tucked away in my bag. He had been teasing and taunting me all week, and I figured I'd give him just a little bit of payback. My old converse with frilly socks that came out just over the tops of my shoes blew in the wind, tickling my ankles as I hopped into the passenger seat of Steves car.

Leaning over he kissed me on the cheek, slowly taking in my appearance. "Well don't you look beautiful today"

"As opposed to every other day?" I joked.

"You look like a bombshell everyday baby" He said sliding his sunglasses back down off the top of his head to his nose, giving me that famous Steve Harrington grin. "Seatbelt" He said tapping my thigh lightly. He waited till my seatbelt was clipped in before driving away from my house. I loved the way he was so protective of me and in such little and subtle ways. He never shied away from showing me off to everyone and making it known that I'm his and I loved every minute of it. Of course that didn't stop me from being a little shit from time to time, I liked to push his buttons and he knows it, because when were alone, he doesn't let me forget who I belong to.

So while sitting next to him in the car still I unclipped my seatbelt, scooting forward to the edge of the seat and pulling down the little visor with the mirror. I pulled the red lipstick out of my bag uncapping it loudly. "Do you have to do that right now?" He said glancing at me briefly.

"Yes" I said slowly and tentatively applied the red lipstick to my lips. Rubbing them together and finishing with a loud smack I smiled at him and leaned back into my seat. Knowing he was watching my every move. He shifted in his seat ever so slightly and I knew my plan was working.

"Seatbelt" He said again and I rolled my eyes in response. "Hey" He said sternly. "Don't roll your eyes at me"

I blushed and looked down at my lap, while slowly putting my seatbelt back on. "Sorry" I said quietly.

"Sorry what?" He asked checking the review mirror and turning down a street.

"Sorry daddy" I said quickly. I loved the pet name he encouraged me to to call him but I still got so embarrassed when I said it out loud. Our relationship wasn't always so heavy in this sort of lifestyle especially outside of the bedroom but it was exciting when it did happen.

"Good girl" He said reaching over to place his hand on my thigh.

"So what's the plan for tonight?" I asked tucking my legs up under me.

"Robin wants to come over with vickie and have like some sort of date night party thing, but it's never an actual party with us as you know. We'll probably get drunk and watch movies like every other time" he smiled.

"Sounds like a perfect Saturday night to me, we should invite Nancy and Johnathan, and maybe Eddie?"

"Eddie isn't dating anyone though" His brows furrowed.

"He's seeing Chrissy remember?"

He nodded in response. "Do you think Chrissy likes hanging with us though? We're not exactly her type of people"

"Baby she's dating Eddie, we're definitely her type of people" I let out a small laugh.

"Yeah I guess you're right" He said smiling at me.

By the time we got to Steves house Vickie and Robin were laying down on the lounge chairs by the pool in his backyard. I called Nancy from Steves phone in his kitchen and then called Eddie next.

Sitting down on the ground near the two girls I  untied my shoes, discarding my socks and dipped my feet into the pool. Listening to the two of them banter back and fourth. Robin could talk a lot, her words spilling out of her mouth faster than her brain could process them, and Vickie was the exact same, it was hard to keep up with them sometimes as they jumped from one thought to the next. The conversation that peaked my interest the most was when they started talking about The Labyrinth, with David Bowie.

"That movie is superior, I mean David Bowie? Covered in glitter, and that hair?" I dramatically fanned myself. "That could get a girl going!"

"You remind me of the babe" Robin said, glancing at me from the side.

"What babe?" I quoted back.

"The babe with the power!" She yelled.

"What power!?" I said leaning up onto my knees.

"The power of voodoo" she wiggled her fingers at me.

"Who do?" I fake questioned, tapping my chin pretending to be deep in thought.

"You do!"

"Do what!?"

"Remind me of the babe!"

"Oh my god the two of you are so annoying" Vickie giggled.

"Yeah but you love us" I stated, sitting back down onto my butt.

"But yeah, the hair thing (Y/N)? We know you have a thing for nice hair, you're literally dating Steve 'The Hair' Harrington  remember?" Vickie teased.

"So you admit that Steve has nice hair?" Robin teased, poking at her sides making vickie lean back into her giggling.

"I mean I'm not blind baby!" Vickie giggled against Robin. Robin smoothed Vickies hair away from her face a little before leaning down to give her a small peck on the lips. "Yeah he does have some magic hair, I'll give him that" Robin said agreeing. "Don't tell Steve I said that though, I can't let his ego get any bigger, it might go to that hair and start increasing in size, and that's something none of us could even begin to prepare for"

A hearty laughed left my chest, making me throw my head back. "God we can't have that can we?" I said between laughs. Our laughing was disrupted by the loud swing of the backyard door and Eddie carrying Chrissy over his shoulder, her legs kicking wildly as she laughed against him. "Eddie!" She yelled still laughing. Eddie shot us a famous grin before flipping Chrissy over and dropping her straight into the pool with a loud splash. She surfaced gasping at the cold water, her bangs clinging to her forehead. "You're going to pay for that Munson!" she yelled holding up her fingers into a 'gun' shape and aiming them at him.

"Baby please, you're gunna shoot me? After all I've done?"

"Any last words Munson?" she asked cocking her fake gun, squinting one eye as if it was going to help her aim.

The three of us on the sidelines, watching intently as the scene before us played out, stifling laughs.

"I LOVED CHRISSY CUNNINGHAM!" he shouted, and with a dramatic bang, he spun, clutched his chest and fell backwards into the pool, this time splashing the three of us on the sidelines. When he surfaced he engulfed Chrissy in his arms and she blushed. We erupted into an applause, whistling and yelling at their performance. Eddie bowed and helped Chrissy out of the pool, joining the rest of us. "We should have known you two would have ended up in the pool, within seconds of being here" I joked, bumping my shoulder into Chrissys.

"I like my girl nice and wet what can I say" Eddie said wiggling his eye brows at me.

"Eddie!" Chrissy yelled, her cheeks glowing red once again.

"I'll get you guys towels" I said shaking my head while getting up to head inside. Steve, Nancy, and Johnathan were all gathered in the kitchen chatting, drinks in hands. Steves eyes lit up when he saw me come in.

"Grabbing towels, Eddie threw Chrissy in the pool again"

"Again?" Nancy said.

"I think it's becoming a tradition" I laughed heading up the stairs and to the linen closet just outside Steves bathroom and grabbed a handful of towels. Clutching the towels to my chest I carefully made my way back down the wooden steps, making sure not to slip or trip. Steve watched me, his eyes soft as I passed the kitchen. I gave him a bashful smile on my way out the back door.

Once outside I put the towels on an empty lounge chair and took two of them, throwing one at Eddie and wrapping the other one around Chrissys shoulders which she took thankfully.

"Why'd you throw mine at me!?" Eddie scoffed.

"Because you're a little shit Munson" I said smiling and returning to my position at the side of the pool. The water cold again as my feet and legs adjusted to the temperature. I inched my dress up higher on my thighs so the sun could get to them better, I could easily just go put on a swim suit, knowing that there was bound to be one I had left here from pool days before, but I really didn't want to get back up again. I tucked my dress in-between my thighs into some make shift shorts so I wouldn't flash anyone in the process. Steve and the rest of the gang finally joined us around the pool, handing drinks to everyone in the process. Steve sat down next to me, handing me a red solo cup. Taking a sip I frowned realizing it was only water.

"Water?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yup" He said popping the 'p' while staring straight ahead, taking a slow sip from his cup.

"Why?"

"Because I said so" He said turning to me with a mischievous smile.

I rolled my eyes laughing but stopped short when his two fingers tapped my cheek hard. I looked around quickly but no one had seemed to notice. "What did I say 'bout rolling your eyes at me?" He said quietly just enough for me to hear, peaking at me over the top of his sunglasses.

Deciding to test the waters I smiled looking down, before rolling my eyes again. Steve stiffened next to me. "Do it one more time and you're in trouble"

My stomach flipped and I shifted back and forth slightly, squishing my thighs together. "Hey Rob?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I see your cup for a second?"

She raised an eyebrow but leaned forward and handed it to me. I glanced into it quickly confirming that Steve really gave only water to me and I glared at him slightly, and while not breaking eye contact I threw back robins drink, wincing as it burned on the way down. "Okay well if I knew you were going to do that I wouldn't have handed it to you" She said leaning back on the lounge chair bringing Vickie back with her. "It's okay, we can share" Vickie said holding her cup up over her head passing it to Robin.

"Sorry Rob, but Steve apparently thinks he can control when I drink or not, he gave me water" I said while reaching over to my cup again tipping it completely upside down so it splattered onto the pavement next to me, the water rolling until it hit the bottom of my dress, soaking the fabric.

"Wow Steve" Robin said laughing into Vickies shoulder.

Getting up I walked towards the shallow end of the pool, stepping down the few steps until it was at my thighs. Deciding to push my luck a little further I reached down to grab the hem of my dress, beginning to lift it up over my head when Steves hands grabbed me, lifting me up and throwing me over his shoulder. "Excuse me while (Y/N) and I have a conversation" He said sternly, continuing to walk with my torso bobbing against his shoulder.

Multiple 'ooooohhhhs' were whispered along with a dramatic fake gag from Robin. Steve continued to carry me away from the group and into the house. "Steve" I huffed. Up the stairs and too his room, he didn't set me down until he shut the door behind him with his foot, turning quickly to lock it. Still ignoring me he roamed his room, throwing the curtains closed, kicking off his shoes and rummaging through his dresser. "Steve" I said again breaking him from whatever trance he was in. His eyes almost black, the rich amber colour of his eyes barely noticeable.

"Sit" he said pouting towards his bed.

I moved quickly, tripping slightly over my own two feet before sitting on the edge of his bed. My dress bunched up against my waist so the wet fabric wouldn't get onto his bed. Finally walking towards me, he leaned forward, his hands at my sides, his nose barely touching mine. "Do we need to go over some rules? How you should be behaving?"

I looked down at my hands, fumbling with my fingers still wrapped around the bottom of my dress. I was nervous, but very aroused. "No" I said softly.

"No?" Steve repeated but it sounded more like a question. "interesting, because last time I checked, good girls behave, and that's what you want to be right? A good girl?"

"I am a good girl" I lied while giving him a small smile. He walked away from me. leaning against his dresser, arms crossed in front of his chest, his biceps gaining in size. I bit my bottom lip and hummed lightly, attempting to hide more of my smile.

"Are you? Because I think you've been bratting all day to me. Which means to me that you need to be punished about it. I think you need to remember who you belong to and how you should be acting, especially in front of company" He tilted his head to the side, watching me intently. "And by the looks of it, you're becoming a needy little whore about it, acting like I can't see you squishing your thighs together, or how your cheeks are flushed"

I rolled my eyes, silently cursing myself for how well Steve could read me. Taking quick strides towards me he slid his hand around my throat, tilting my head to look at him.

"What did I say" He paused tapping my cheek lightly with his other hand. "About rolling your eyes at me?" He slapped me this time. Not hard but enough to shock me a little. Heat pooling between my legs.

"You said not to do it"

"Exactly, and how many times did you do it after I told you not to?" he said squeezing my throat just a little harder.

"U-Um" I furrowed my brow trying to think. I brain wouldn't, no couldn't work when he was this close to me, hand around my throat.

"How many times princess" He repeated.

"Three? Or t-two?" I licked my lips. "I don't remember"

"Awe of course you don't" He cooed, loosening his hand so it was simply just held there, as a warning, as a point. A point to note, that he was the one in charge, in control. "Dumb little baby huh? Needs daddy to remind her to be a good girl, very pathetic" He rubbed his thumb across my cheek and I nodded, looking up at him through my lashes. Glancing down he noticed the wet fabric clutched into my fist. He took it out of my hand, feeling it with his fingers, tutting. "Not to mention trying to strip in front of our friends knowing damn well you don't have a bra on" He traced his fingers along my collar bones, my shoulders, down both of my arms, across my chest, just barely touching the soft skin where my breasts began. Fingers roaming ever so slightly across them, only briefly pausing over each nipple, making them harden under his touch.

"I don't think good girls do that hmm?" He asked, lifting my face up to look at him. His expression was soft, but I knew that hard Dom was hidden just beneath it.

"No" I admitted.

"No they don't" He tapped my cheek a few times before pulling me up by my hands so I was now standing in front of him. He sat at the edge of the bed now, hands on my waist. "Take this off" He said sliding my dress up my thighs and to my stomach, before I reached down myself and lifted the dress up over my head, dropping it to the floor next to me. "Hands behind your back"

My hands swinging behind me, one of them holding onto my wrist, keeping them in place. Turning me with his hands, warm on my skin he pulled me over onto his lap so I was face down with my arms behind my back, ass laying across his thighs. I could feel his erection under me and I squirmed slightly resulting in a loud smack against my ass. A stinging pain under an assumed pink handprint I could already feel forming.  I whimpered agains him, spit from my mouth wetting his thigh.

"Awe poor baby" He said with another slap, softer then the first one. "Don't like being spanked huh? This is what happens when you don't behave princess" another smack. Groaning into him I attempted to roll my hips to the side, waiting for some sort of relief of my stinging ass but his opposite hand held me in place. "Just a few more baby, you can handle it" He encouraged. "If you couldn't you wouldn't have been a brat today" two smacks. Those ones were worse, and part of me hoped they would leave small purple marks so I could think about them later. I could feel tears brimming my eyes but I quickly squinted them closed, trying to keep them from falling down my cheeks and onto Steves jean clad thigh. With a final smack he lifted me back up sitting me down next to him. The sudden movement causing me to open my eyes, and the tears I tried to contain rolled down both my cheeks.

"Awe my poor little love" He said caressing my cheek in his hand. "Scoot up" he instructed with a nod of his head, and with a sniffle I shifted further onto his bed. "Will you behave now?" He said laying down next to me, running his fingers along the band of my underwear. I hummed in response as he trailed his fingers lightly against my skin.

"Yes" I whispered, afraid to speak any louder.

"Will you though?" He asked slipping his hand into my fabric. A breathy moan escaped my mouth. He removed his hand. "Will you, behave" He asked again.

"Yes, I promise, please touch me, I'll be such a good girl, I'm sorry for bratting, but please daddy, please touch me" I begged, fresh tears falling from the desperation I felt between my legs. His hand slid back down sliding between my fold gathering some of my arousal before two of his finger tips began rubbing slow soft circles on my clit. His pace never increased, and it felt like time had suddenly stopped with each rotation of his fingers. "Can I cum?" I asked in preparation, knowing I might forget once that knot in my stomach began to grow.

"Maybe" He said quietly, pressing only slightly harder onto my clit.

"Oh fuck" I moaned. "Faster?" I asked looking at him, his eyes still black. He obliged, circling faster, tightening the knot within me.

"Please" I breathed. He knew I was close, he probably knew before I did.

"Steve, I'm gunna- Fuck" I spat my head dropping back a little further into his pillow. "I'm going to cum" I rushed. And just as that knot was about to untangle and tug at my insides, he stopped, removing his hand completely.

"What the fuck?" I said sitting up.

"Language, or I won't let you cum all week" He threatened. "You can cum later" He ensured. "Come here" he said gesturing for me to sit on him. I sat up and straddle him, leaning down onto his shoulders. "I wanna try something" He said rubbing his hands against my things.

"Oh?"

"So here's what you're going to do okay?"

"Okay?" I said skeptically.

"You're going to take that pretty little pussy of yours, and you're going to sit on my face"

Heat crept up through my body and I looked away knowing my cheeks were as red as they felt. This was something Steve really wanted me to do but I was insecure about it. "What's stopping you" He asked quietly.

"I just... It's weird, I mean it's not weird, I just don't, want to... Crush you?"

He laughed. Squeezing my thighs while he did so. "Baby you won't crush me, and it's not like I haven't had my face there before" He said licking his lips and glancing down between my legs. I bit the inside of my cheek, tilting my head to the side as I thought about it. As much as I knew I was going to cringe about it at first, I really wanted to cum, and Steves mouth on me right now would be an absolute dream.

"Okay"

"Really?"

"Yeah" I said blushing.

He smiled and playfully smacked my thighs with both hands, scooting himself down so he was flat on his back. "Your seat awaits"

I tugged my underwear off and threw them to the side before crawling forward on my knees. I hovered over his face hesitating slightly. He grabbed my thighs harshly and pulled me down to his face, his tongue lapping at my folds and my limbs instantly turned into jelly. "Oh my god" I said leaning forward, one hand against his headboard. I rocked my hips slightly and his nose brushed at my clit and I whimpered.

He shifted so his tongue was now sucking and circling my clit and I could feel that knot being tied again. "Daddy, can I cum?" I asked for the second time tonight. He didn't reply, he only kept his movements quickly, not stopping. "Daddy" I mewled.

And again just as that knot started to untie he stopped completely.

"Fuck" I said smacking my fist against his headboard. "Really?"

He chuckled from beneath me. I moved back so I could look at him. His face shining with my arousal across his mouth and chin. "I told you, that you could cum later"

"When is later?" I pushed.

"Whenever I want it to be" He said smiling, giving my already sore ass a light smack.

I crossed my arms over my chest. A small 'hmmp' leaving my mouth.

"If you keep pouting, I won't let you cum at all today, and I already threatened to not let you cum for a week, do you want that to happen?"

"Nooooo" I whined.

"Then be grateful I got you even close to humming pretty girl" He gave my thigh a quick kiss. "Come here" he said again. I got off of him and tucked myself into his side, laying my head on his chest. He hitched my leg up over him so it was laying across his waist. He smoothed my hair out of my face and rubbed my head for a few minutes.

"You okay?" he asked, coming down from his dominate high.

"My butt hurts, and I want to cum" I complained.

he laughed a little, my head shaking against his chest from the vibrations. "Later, gotta make you suffer a little bit you know?"

"Yeah, yeah" I said smiling into him.

His warm hand slid around to my ass and he rubbed at the pink spots lightly. "Can we have a bath?" I asked.

"Absolutely we can baby"

Removing himself from me to go run the water, but not before giving me a kiss on the head. I listened to him hum a sing I couldn't recognize as he shifted around the bathroom. "Bubbles?" He said emerging with a large pink bottle in his hands.

"Always"

"I don't even know why I asked" He said chuckling to himself. "Always yes to bubbles"

"Alright my princess" he said walking towards me, hands out in front of him so I could grab them. Twisting me so both arms were criss crossed around my chest and we waddled awkwardly towards the bathroom. The water was warm and soothed my butt almost getting rid of the stinging completely. I leaned against Steves chest, his arms wrapped around my shoulders. "I wasn't too rough on you was I?" He asked quietly.

I laughed through my nose. "Baby you didn't even fuck me, you weren't too rough, I'd say it was perfect" I leaned to the side so I could look up at him. His forehead dewy from the steam from the hot water.

Loud laughter and commotion coming from downstairs disrupted the little love bubble we were in. "Guess we gotta go back down and entertain them" Steve sighed.

"They're gunna think we fucked" I said covering my face with my hands.

"Is that so bad?" He said poking my sides making me giggle.

"Yeah, because we didn't"

"Later baby" He reassured.

We got out of the bath drying ourselves off and getting back into clothes. I witched into a pair of shorts and one of Steves shirts seeing as my dress was still wet. Steve hung it on the back of his door so it would dry. Hand in hand we headed back downstairs and into the kitchen for a drink, this time Steve handed me a cup that actually had booze in it this time. I gave him a small smile and we regrouped with the rest of them.

"Finally you guys are back, I was going to start screaming" Robin said loudly clearly a little bit more than tipsy. "You guys are always fucking like rabbits" she said waving her hand in disgust.

"We didn't even fuck Robin" Steve said nonchalantly giving me a knowing smile. I giggled into my cup as Robin rolled her eyes leaning back into Vickie.

[swordboiis]

Ask Box Open

You'e not seeing things folks, I'm really opening it... for a couple days. Under the cut I'll give a more in-depth explanation but the short of it is despite having not emptied the ask box I'm willing to take in some more.

That does not mean anything is happening to the unanswered requests!! Those still come first just wanted to fill up some more.

Kinda unrelated comment here but despite how entertaining the Ranpro play on words is I'll be using a danganronpa character sprite in the future when I tack on images to non-requests. Tbh the inconsistent sizes were bugging me and it's way less effort to grab sprites off the wiki than it is to transfer all my reaction images onto my new device. I am a fickle creature, a change of face was destined to happen some day. 

Dribbling done, underneath is the deeper explanation for anyone who wants it!

So basically my mental state has been kind of dipping lately. Nothing serious but enough to trouble me on a bad day. I wanted to throw myself into writing but since there isn't a ton in the ask box I've been kind of afraid of just having it empty. Scared of having nothing to do, guess that makes me a strange guy~ Filling it up some more is just for peace of mind on my end.

Anyway, that doesn't mean I can step up and be answering daily like I'd hoped. Probably won't be able to reach that point for a very long time let alone keep it up. Some days I still won't have the motivation or energy to get though anything but having stuff in there will be a comfort.

And it's only open for a few days (probably till the 15th) since I don't want it to be too full, my goal is to have it empty by the one year anniversary of starting this blog but we'll see about that when I get there s'pose.

[extorchic]

TOP 5 SK8 Episodes

So I got tagged by @akira-cr to make this list, it took some time but I think I've sorted out my mind, thank you for considering me 😊. Now here comes the list, sorry if it's supposd to be objective, but I'm gonna let my heart out over here (It's gonna be a long post and I'm not gonna cut it ):

NUMBER 5 - Episode 6 - Steamy Mystery Skating?! (A.K.A. The beach episode 🏊‍♂️)

Well this is supposed to be "breather" episode, and it's basically the one that sold the series to me. I like how fun and chill this episode is, although it does (further) foreshadow Reki's insecurity issues. The music is of course SUBLIME! "Seize the Moment" is probably my favorite insert song of all time! (it's been present in Reki's beefs as well, but here it really reflects the fun nature of his character and the show overall). And of coruse, FANSERVICE, not so much in how the boys were in swimsuits (though I gotta admit Reki does look good in them), but on the RENGA interactions!

That hug gave me life! How Langa was worried 24/7 about Reki being injured, at the end when they skated together to escape from the Bantu! I gotta admit that I have some mixed feelings about the implications of Reki being attracted to the faceless girl (I mean, Bi rep is very important too), but I guess my shipping side was just as jelaous as Langa was supposed to be (according to the fans LOL).

NUMBER 4 - Episode 11 - King vs. Nobody (A.K.A. Reki rising! ✨🌺🌞⚙️)

Reki is, without a doubt, my favorite character. He doesn't need to win, he doesn't need to be super flashy while skating, he just needs to be himself. He's been through a lot, many people (including me) have felt tremendously related to him, and seeing him in this episode is just satisfying. With his issues behind, with a promise to skate with Langa after he wins and no longer fearful, Reki rematches against Adam; and the way he does is fantastic! Taking advantage of his creativity, observative skills and mechanical knowledge on skateboarding, he faces up against the main boss and manages to not only endure his violent ways (which were gruelling to see, TBH), but also SOUNDLY HUMILIATE HIM in front of the whole S Community!

Yes, Adam, the "God of S", in the ground covered in mud by a boy almost everyone dissmissed! It was really sunshine through rainfall! I must also add how much I liked to see his renewed relationship with Langa, how much they treasure their company after patching up. I want to elaborate on this in its own post but I personally see that their interactions from this point on are more, I don't know, tender, caring, still playful but not in an entirely comedic way. The way they see each other is also deeper, anyway, it's just what I see.

NUMBER 3 - A DRAW: Episode 8 - The Fated Tournament! and Episode 9 - We Were Special Back Then (A.K.A. The month in which I was in an emotional crisis because of anime sk8t3r b0is 🍎🐍😭🛹❄🍵🌸 )

This is the point in which I got into the show, and the fandom (Yeah, haven't been around for too long). At this point the show wasn't the same, and I realized it when I caught up. Though there were some cool skating scenes in these episodes, the events that caught my attention were outside the road (Yeah, this was no longer just a skateboard anime, it's a whole lot more). Though I had been mainly focusing on Reki and Langa, I really liked having more backstory related to Joe, Cherry, Adam and Tadashi. Seeing how Adam went through a terrible childhood, convoluted teeange years to culminate in an adult with too much power for his own good and a twisted sense of "love", along with some extremely serious psychological issues was very interesting.

I acknowldge him as a complex villain, but that DOES NOT justify what he did to Cherry. This only proves that just because we know his backstory, we don't have to sympathize with him (Adam's just such a terrible person). On the RENGA side, we see Reki avoiding Langa after their rift, and how this affected both. We have Langa's sadness increase scene after scene, as well as his passion for skating dwindling as progressively. Reki on the other hand, just falls deeper and deeper in his depression, but also being unable to stop thinking about Langa, and he ends up going to S to see the latter's match against Joe. It's hard to see whether there's envy, jelaousness, frustration, admiration, pining or fear of being left behind in his mind. It must have been hard for a 17 y/o.

Reki also defends Langa from people speaking behind his back and shouting his name during the race boosts Langa's performance tremendously. This culminates on Reki realizing that the thing he actually wanted was to skate alongside Langa, not on the side, not as support, but together, he just couldn't. There's also the scene which may or may not confirm that Langa's feelings for Reki are more than just friendship! (Felt represented, for reals).

NUMBER 2 - Episode 7 - We Don't Balance Out (A.K.A. This was supposed to be a fun show!😭⛈️💔️)

I wrote a lot about the episodes in the previous spot, but this is the one that flipped the tables, the game-changer, and the one that hit closer home. It is a sad episode, no races there, it's just here for us to see how the circumstances affect the characters. It was hard to see how Reki, who at this point had been nothing but supportive and proud of Langa, starts to see him flying farther from him. Is it jealousness? Dissatisfaction? Is it fear of loneliness? Adbandoment issues? Is it feeling inferior? Frustration? Not being able to improve? Admiration? Care?

And on top of that a broken promise. I just can't imagine how hard is it for a 17 y/o to deal with all of those conflicting issues in his head, as well as the toxic competitive environment on the "S Community". This just came to show that he wasn't just the excitable, goofy sidekick character, he goes deeper than that, and makes him relatable. We also see a deconstruction of the cool, aloof prodigious character in Langa, as he just can't comprehend what's going on with Reki, and he's hurt by it, but still needs to figure out his own ambitions and desries. This leads to the emotional conclusion of the episode (which in turn left me in the aforementioned 4-week-long emotional crisis, thank you)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Episode 12 - Our Infinity! - The race was cool, the Renga hug gave me life and everyone had a happy ending

Episode 5 - Passionate Dancing Night! - Despite the beef between Langa and Adam being cool, we start to see Reki worrying about Langa and opening up to him, further deepening their bond.

Episode 2 - Awesome for the First Time! - There's just something special about sharing something you're passionate about with someone else. Watching Reki teaching Langa the basics of skateboarding was heartwarming

NUMBER 1 - Episode 10 - DAP Not Needing Words

After 4 weeks waiting, the anticipation for this episode was gargantuan. Reki's depression was hitting its lowest point, bordering in self-harm, and hurting others as well. Langa continues to look for Reki after seeing him briefly at the hospital while visiting Shadow and we get to see this loving scene where he watches videos of Reki learining how to skate. After confronting Tadashi and realizing that he loves skating because it's fun, he returns home to find out that Langa had been waiting for him but left shortly before he arrived.

This leads to a heartful reunion, where words can't express their feelings, so they resort to do their thing, to skate, and that's where the feelings flow. This is when Langa tells Reki how he admires him tremendously and Reki understands that Langa'll be there by his side, and leaves his fears behind. With a mutual desire to skate together infinetely and a new dap, they rekindle their bond. People watched this show for different reasons, and though I like the skateboarding aspect because it looks cool, my interest leans more on the relationship aspect, and Reki and Langa's is so deep and intimate, and I liked seeing it grow from zero through different hardships (in other words, in all of the years I've been in a fandom, I had never shipped any other pair like these two, I needed to say that).

So I guess it's time to tag some people:

@pico-sour, @sleebycryptid, @elizabethslee, @itsamole, @kaorucherry, @blueflame97, @trieizieme, @tardiskitten, @lady-pendragon-9

So, if you've read until this point, thank you very much (I know it's not supposed to, but this post is yet again a very long "I love Renga" one, but it's what my heart wanted me to write 😅). I'd love to see people other than the ones I tagged showing their lists 😃