#(red and yellow for clarification's sake)

[applepies-and-starlight]

This reblog probably won't reach as far but one of the thoughts relating to this is like... you ever wonder how Pacifist!Martlet getting Jevil's carousel attack (arguably one of his hardest bullet patterns) was greenlit in 7 years of development? Like, an abnormally hard bullet attack compared most of her attack patterns (second hardest, imo, being her junk toss pattern, which, while annoying, is nowhere near as hard) and it's taken direct inspiration from a secret boss?

Notice how some of Kitsune!Ceroba's attack patterns (specifically the phase 3 opener, where she twirls her staff around and causes fireballs to rain from the sky) need you to memorize the attack instead of observing and reacting, how some of her telegraphs tend to not be clear enough in paths when compared to... say, Asriel? You could argue that Asriel has his bullet barrage attacks in phase 2, but those attacks don't last for too many turns and they're all generally uniform enough to treat them as one very big projectile in most cases

In fact, most of Ceroba's (pre-mother's love) attacks in general very much feel like you need to memorize them, or have a very high skill requirement (i.e. the Cherry Blossom Pile pattern requiring you to make tight movements)

The thing is, most of Yellow's attack patterns tend to have strong openers and not be an easy opener -> ramped up second turn like in base UT (best example: Undyne - pacifist turn 1 starts with 3 up arrows as a tutorial, before upping it with different patterns; Undying puts the 'tutorial' and the first 'true' bullet pattern into the same attack)

I think that's part of the "sans effect" I'm referring to, as Sans himself explicitly states that his opener is completely out of the norm. ("Huh. Always wondered why people never use their strongest attack first.") But because that jumpscare attack was so iconic, it's the kind of fight we remember the most, so it becomes our baseline perception for Undertale's difficulty

Not me making a minor mental essay on how Sans the Skeleton's boss fight (and, by extension, the Deltarune Secret Bosses) and how iconic [they've] become have affected the Undertale community's perception Undertale's overall difficulty, and how that shows in Undertale Yellow

[hex-flareheart]

Hex Reviews Things: A Masterpost

This is long overdue, as I've been meaning to make this, for... checks date literally 10 months. I'm gonna go through the categories I use, what they refer to, and what tags are used for them, and then under a cut I'll go more into what certain specified details mean, mainly relevant to shows, comics, and games.

The Categories

In general, I group the things I review into "Movies", "Shows", "Comics", and "Games". These are mostly self-explanatory, but I'll get into the details hence:

Movies are fairly self-explanatory, and I don't feel any particular need to clarify anything on this.

Shows includes any recurring audiovisual experience that doesn't otherwise fall under the banner of movie, including those that may be associated with other terms first, such as anime.

Comics includes both traditional western comics, manga, and webcomics.

Games includes anything that can conceivably be fit under the umbrella of "video game", whether it's purchasable or not.

Generally everything I review will fall under one of these four categories, but may also be subcategorized in the tags where I feel it's appropriate, such as with notable subcategories (anime under shows, for example) or recurring reviews for works within the same franchise (such as Pokemon).

Each category has its own tag, as well as my overall reviews being tagged alike. The tags for each category can be found on relevant posts, but for convenience, here's the full list:

"hex reviews things" is the general tag for my reviews

"hex reviews movies" is the general tag for movies

"hex reviews shows" is the general tag for shows

"hex reviews comics" is the general tag for comics

"hex reviews games" is the general tag for games

None of these tags are probably surprising.

Next I'll get into some of the general details of how I review things, mostly the auxiliary details I provide at the start of reviews (for everything except movies). For the sake of post length, these'll go under a cut.

The Deets

I have a standard format I try to keep to for the header of reviews; the title, a silly quote relevant to the review, and then a block of information about what I'm reviewing. What exactly is included in this will vary depending on what I'm reviewing, so let's get into specifics:

All Reviews

All reviews will include a line specifying whether or not I recommend what I'm reviewing; this will typically be a yes or no, but may sometimes include a bit of clarification, or sometimes me just screaming. I do color-code these; green and blue are both unambiguous yeses, with the latter being an especially enthusiastic yes, while yellow is used for recommendations that come with a significant asterisk. Orange and red are used for no. There's theoretically a rare and elusive purple, but this may wind up never being seen, as it's hard to get me to be that enthusiastic about something.

This particular detail is the only thing present in the information block for movie reviews, as there's not really a whole lot worth clarifying otherwise.

Shows & Comics

Being explicitly serialized media, these actually have a lot in common, so most of the details to be clarified in the information block are shared between the two.

The big thing for these types of media is Structure. Specifically of the narrative kind. In general, I categorize shows and comics' narrative structure in four ways:

Episodic refers to shows/comics in which individual installments are largely self-contained; outside of the occasional storyline that covers a couple consecutive episodes/issues/strips, these have no overarching narrative structure to speak of. There might be an occasional call-back, there might be some mild changes season-to-season, but there's otherwise no real sense of continuity.

Continuous refers to shows/comics that have a conscious sense of continuity, and have actual overarching narrative storylines, usually built over individual seasons/runs. There might be more episodic-style hijinks thrown into the mix here and there, but the story is mostly continuous and rolling constantly.

Semi-Continuous is a weirder category; this specifically refers to shows and comics that are distinct hybrids between Episodic and Continuous, featuring a large amount of episodic content but also moving the status quo on a semi-regular basis. This is mostly relevant for shows, as a lot of cartoons will often start like this.

Epic is Continuous on steroids. These are shows/comics with one long, continuous story, with a very specific endgame. This isn't just long things (though that is one of the criteria I use), but also things that have one consistent, defined story from start to finish. Continuity is very important.

These of course are not necessarily rigid categories, and often a show or comic will start with one structure and transition into another; as mentioned under Semi-Continuous, this happens a lot with cartoons, which may start as Semi-Continuous and transition later into proper Continuous. I'll usually note if something like this happens.

There are two other relevant things to this: Format and Paid. Format is moreso relevant for comics, but it's generally distinguishing between web media and non-web media. This is also where "Paid" comes in; if it's paid, I'll specify details about it, and if it's not, you'll just see "free". If it's on TV primarily, it counts as paid, even if it's technically available for free via an antenna.

I will also usually specify Length, in whatever format is relevant for the specific work; if it's ongoing, I'll also specify that.

Games

This is where things get more complicated; for games I specify four main things: Genre, Platform, Price, and Length.

Genre is fairly self-explanatory; it's what genre I feel most fits the bill for whatever this game is. Generally I go with whatever the common consensus on that particular game is.

Platform is a bit more nuanced; for this I specify what baseline platforms the game is officially available for. Platforms that are technically available through backwards compatibility are not counted. For PC, I generally try to specify what operating systems the game is available for; if I just specify PC, assume it's only available for Windows. This is unfortunately a very common thing. I will however generally mention if the game runs well on Steam Deck, with a link to the game's ProtonDB page.

Price is exactly what you think it is: what the price for the game is officially, as of when I reviewed it. This is always in USD. I will usually just specify the price, but I may add in other details, such as relevant DLC, or a snide remark about how games shouldn't cost $70. For free games, I will specify whether the game has secondary monetization such as microtransactions, and to what extent they exist.

Finally, Length is just a rough guess at how long a single playthrough will take. This is usually based on my own playtime as of when I wrote the review, assuming I actually kept track properly. Notably, a "single playthrough" constitutes going from the start of the game to the end; I don't include postgame content or replayability in this estimate, but will specify an additional estimate if it's relevant. For roguelikes and similar, this will instead be how long a typical run takes; for continuously-operated games such as MMOs, this will typically be omitted.

The Fancy Number at the End

Final thing to talk about: my final ratings. It bears noting that the numbers I specify should not be taken too seriously. I'm just one guy with some fairly specific preferences; I tend to be very verbose with my reviews precisely because I think my actual outlook on the details is more important and useful than the actual number on the end. Accordingly, the final rating should only be taken as a rough gauge of how I personally feel about the piece of media I'm reviewing.

That said, I do have some mild criteria about how I assign the numbers:

I am theoretically willing to hand out 0's, however this is pretty much reserved for things I loathe with every fiber of my being.

1-2 is, as you'd expect, bottom of the pile. I really don't like this thing.

3-4 is for things I personally dislike, but not strongly enough to outright condemn.

5-6 are average. Usually I have no strong opinion either way, or I have a strong opinion one way that's hampered by a lot of caveats.

7-8 are what I genuinely consider good; 7s are appreciated, 8s are well-liked, but in either case it's not necessarily a strong appreciation. (If it is, I have multiple caveats attached to it.)

9 is for things I really like. Anything that earns a 9 from me is something I have a strong appreciation for, and usually comes with relatively minimal asterisks.

10 is illustrious; if something somehow earns a 10, as far as I care it's one of the greatest things I've ever experienced, no notes. This is not something I hand out lightly, and in fact as of writing I haven't given anything a 10 yet. No, Pizza Tower doesn't count, I've retroactively revoked its 10. Anything that warrants an asterisk (beyond things like trigger warnings) doesn't get a 10. End of story.

As noted, I'm very stringent about handing out 10s, and it is very likely you won't see many at all. Also as noted, don't take these numbers as gospel; they're heavily-generalized statements of my opinion.

Notably, for shows and comics, I may include multiple ratings for different portions of their runs. This will usually be by season or by arc. (For example, for Symphogear you might see me rate by season, with something like an 8, an 8, a 6, an 8, and a 9.)

[mysticalmusicwhispers]

More information:

US EPA overview on nitrogen pollution, EPA overview on acid rain Nitrogen fertilizer impact on soil acidity Nitrous oxide as a greenhouse gas Information on red tides Nitrogen pollution + algae blooms Impacts of nitrogen pollution and the legacy of nitrogen pollution (highly detailed and highly recommended)

Notes:

Most of this post was focused on nitrogen pollution and its effects on aquatic ecosystems and the industries and humans that rely on them. However, nitrogen pollution can take many other forms, and it’s a rather large issue to tackle precisely because of its broad range of effects that range from air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions to soil pollution to water pollution.

In the U.S., most nitrogen pollution that affects aquatic ecosystems is from agriculture and the overuse of fertilizer, and more efficient methods of growing crops are needed to overcome this issue.

However, nitrogen pollution via the air is from burning fossil fuels, which boils down to transportation/driving vehicles, and manufacturing industries.

Edit: someone noted in the comments that nitrogen makes up 78% of our atmosphere and that the pollution is coming from nitrogen compounds like ammonia, nitrates, and nitrous oxides. That is correct and a good clarification to make. 

Earth Day post: 3/?

Other infographics: outdoor cats, ocean acidification, orgs to donate to

Reblogs are greatly appreciated!!! HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Transcript for images below:

Nitrogen pollution is one of the lesser known yet equally problematic forms of pollution.

In nature, nitrogen is an essential nutrient for life. Plants take in nitrogen from the soil. It is then passed up the food chain and distributed to all organisms.

However, when humans let too much nitrogen escape into the environment, it can have disastrous consequences.

Over applying fertilizer, which is very nitrogen-rich, or improperly disposing of manure (feces and urine from either farm animals or pets) deposits excess nitrogen into the environment.

The excess nitrogen eventually flows into streams, rivers, lakes, and even the ocean via rain or runoff. There it promotes the rapid growth of algae and algal blooms.

However, the algae die quickly too, and as the dead algae decay, they use up all the oxygen in the water. Other aquatic life gets choked out, and a dead zone is created.

Two images of algae blooms: one image shows a body of water covered in a bright green-yellow algae bloom; the bloom covers the whole image and not one spot of clear water can be seen. Two ducks are swimming in the middle of the algae bloom. The second image shows several dead fish lying belly up in a dark green algae bloom. The images are captioned “Examples of algae blooms”

Nitrogen pollution leads to:

Loss of biodiversity in ecosystems because of creation of dead zones

Money lost decontaminating drinking water

Tourism losses from algae blooms (not a pretty sight)

Fishing industry losses from dead fish and shellfish

Health problems and disease from toxic algae

Another image of an algae bloom follows. The image is a zoomed out picture of an ocean or sea, and over most of the image is a red algae bloom. The image is captioned: “Famous red tides like the annual algae bloom in. the Gulf Coast kill many fish, shellfish, mammals, and seabirds, and make a lot of seafood.. dangerous to eat.”

Other types of nitrogen pollution contribute to:

acid rain. Nitrous oxide from burning fossil fuels mixes with water and increases precipitation acidity

greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrous oxide has 300 times the effect on atmospheric warming as the same amount of CO2.

soil acidification, which can lead to crop failures. Ammonia fertilizers (which contain nitrogen and hydrogen) are the main cause of soil acidification. groundwater and drinking water contamination. 

Nitrate, another fertilizer compound, can find its way into groundwater and well water.

How to reduce nitrogen pollution:

If you walk a pet, pick up after them (for the sake of the envi- ronment and your neighbors)

Use public transportation when possible, and increase your car’s fuel efficiency

If you have a yard, DO NOT OVERUSE FERTILIZER!

Most of all, use only the necessary amount of anything. Don’t overuse household or lawn chemicals.

As with reducing carbon emissions, much of the change will have to come from industries, companies, and government legislation.

Lastly, spread the word and educate others! As more people become aware of this issue, greater change can happen.

[kimageddon]

A Prince of Dathomir - Chapter 93

-|- Page header by space-b33 -|- Masterlist -|-Prince of Dathomir Masterlist -|- Sins of the Father Masterlist -|- Art Masterlist -|- Check out my : Ko-fi / AO3-|-Prompt Challenges-|- Art Attack Weekly Challenge -|- Join my tag list -|-

Maul x Nightsister OC (Zaiya Valessa) - Slight Canon Divergence - Prince of Dathomir Masterlist

Word count: Approx 3300

Contains/Warnings: Some suggestive content, touching, implications and mentions of previous sexual encounters, nothing explicit.

Chapter Summary: Maul is finally out of the bacta tank! He and Zaiya begin the process of physical therapy.

Notes: Hello my lovely friends! I have been working very hard this last week. I have been writing a lot! It's not been easy but I am trying my hardest. As is so happens, you may have noticed, we are nearing our 100th chapter! There are a few weeks to go, but in preparation, I am going to have another Q&A for our 100th Chapter special. If you have questions or anything you want to send in, leave a comment and let me know your question, I will compile them and put it altogether to post here when the 100th Chapter is posted. Questions about characters, or the story (I won't post spoilers of course), or clarification etc, let me know and I will do my best to answer all of them! (More at the end!)

Invasion - Part 1

Zaiya couldn’t believe it. It had been so long here on Kamino, days had become weeks had become months, and now just over one Galactic standard year had passed. Her mission had been kept secret… but now - now she stood in the pristine lab of Nala Se, standing before the huge tank at the back of the room. Her fists clenched at her side, her jaw set as she stared up at the tank. After over a year of waiting, patience and persistence…

It was finally here. 

Maul was being lifted carefully via an automated process and he was… he was whole. His bare legs extended below the rather clean cut at his waist. They were more developed, muscle-wise from the last time she had looked at them, and as he was laid out along the table, his eyes closed almost serenely, she could examine him a little more closely. 

Though being so close to his naked form made her nervous, and rather warm in the face. His legs seemed fully formed, though a little slender. Not that she got a good look before he was cut, his clothing had always been quite loose. The most striking thing of course was the lack of black tattoos over his red flesh. It was more naked than his actual lack of clothing. Zaiya had his robe nearby, laying it over him for the sake of modesty. She wasn’t sure if such things bothered him, it had not really come up before. 

After a short moment of calm, his eyes snapped open. Yellow and bloodshot, searching for danger. Maul only physically relaxed when his gaze landed on Zaiya herself, his shoulders slumping slightly. 

“Zaiya…” he whispered. 

“I am here, sire,” she replied and squeezed his hand gently. 

“This is not the dreamscape,” he reasoned, slowly sitting up. 

“No, you are awake,” she said.

“Your progress has indeed been remarkable,” Nala Se interrupted. Zaiya had almost forgotten the Kaminoan was even there. Maul whipped his head around to look at her. It was not often that he was awoken, usually only for a few minutes at a time and not completely out of the tank. Zaiya had witnessed the moments, grateful to be there to ease his suspicions in such a place. How he had put up with being in there for so long… he was not usually so patient. She suspected his desire to be whole again was strong enough to allow himself to let go, even if for a short time. 

The moments of old memories had helped, piecing them all back together with him while he slept, sharing her own memories when the time arose. For the moment he glared hard at the Kaminoan, and Zaiya wondered if he had hoped the moment to be more… special? She had, if she were truthful with herself. But there would be time later to talk about how he felt about the situation, when Nala Se was not standing over them. 

“You expected less?” Maul sneered. By the Winged Goddess it was good to hear his voice. His real voice. Her lashes fluttered slightly when he spoke again, but she forced herself to focus. 

“I did not expect anything,” Nala Se replied. She did not seem overly impressed though Zaiya could sense that even the Chief Scientist was pleased with the result. It was a damn miracle really. “I merely interpreted the data as it was presented, my surprise is only due to the projected outcome being surpassed.” Maul stared at her for a few moments, a hard glare in his yellow eyes. Then his gaze slid to Zaiya, and softened at the edges. 

“Then it is done?” he asked. To anyone else it would be impassive, but she knew him enough by now to detect the hope in his voice. 

“Almost, we need to run a few tests, ensure that the growth is stable. There has been no weight on your muscles, and you will need to learn to walk again,” Nala Se replied with the same flat intonation as usual. Maul’s mouth formed a disapproving line. Zaiya knew she should be equally annoyed, but she found she could not be upset when he was right there. Whole. Awake. 

He moved to sit up and realised he was covered in the robe. The Zabrak stilled and she could only assume he had only just realised he had a lower half… or perhaps that he was naked. 

“We will need to test your reflexes--” Nala Se began but Maul flashed her a glare and she was silent. 

“I can take care of that,” Zaiya interjected. She held out her hand for the datapad and gave the long neck a pointed look. You can go now. Nala Se did not look pleased as she stared back at Zaiya for a long moment. Her tiny mouth opened as if to protest and Zaiya just tilted her head forward ever so slightly. 

Another tense minute passed in silence until eventually the stubborn Nightsister won out and Nala Se handed over the pad, excusing herself and saying she would be back soon. 

The door hissed closed and Zaiya secured it with a tap to the control pad. She looked back at Maul who was looking down at his lower half. With trepidation he lifted the fabric to expose one of his legs. Unmarked red flesh. 

Yet flesh it was. 

He let out a breath like he’d been punched in the chest. It took a moment and he rested a hand on his own thigh and squeezed. Likely the feeling was what had his breath shudder. 

“You did it…” he whispered and looked up at her. “They’re real.”

“I merely brought you here, it was your own will that allowed the process to work, sire,” she replied, her mouth feeling dry as she watched him carefully slide to the edge of the table and rest weight upon one leg. He let out a hiss and his teeth grit. 

“Maul!” she gasped. Immediately she could tell he was in pain and darted forward to wrap an arm around his shoulders and support his weight off the ground. 

“This is nothing,” Maul ground out but it was obvious from the way his voice wavered, the pain was intense. His legs had not yet been used, so there would be much for him to adjust to while they were conditioned to physical exertion. She let him lean on her for support, even if he was loathe to do so. 

“I shall have to prepare the ritual for your markings at some point, sire,” she told him, using the topic to distract from the agony of slowly putting his weight on his new legs. 

“...yes…” he managed through grit teeth. 

“Perhaps I should conjure something more modern, would you like a pretty pattern? Or maybe a Krayt dragon on one leg?” she grinned and he shot her a filthy look. He didn’t find it as funny as she did, it seemed.

In their ‘tests’ Maul only managed to hold his weight for thirty seconds before she took control back to help him back to lay down again. She checked the datapad and if she could blush she might have turned hot pink. Maul seemed to notice her flustered state and questioned her with his eyes. 

“It-it seems after the physical tests the muscles should be massaged to reduce swelling and any other issues,” she summarised. It was an important step but… 

“If that is necessary then…” he waved a hand toward her and she bit the inside of her cheek. He acted as though it were no big deal! Well… it wasn’t. It was just a medical procedure, nothing untoward, of course. 

“Of course, sire,” she nodded and shifted to stand further down the table, her gloved hands reaching out but she quickly realised that it was inefficient. She would have to do this properly. 

“Does it really disgust you so…?” Maul asked quietly and looked up at her, her pale brows furrowed. 

“Not at all, I simply do not wish to cause you discomfort.” Not to mention touching him felt a little… intimate, and not for her hands. 

“I am indifferent to pain and discomfort is nothing to me,” he said snidely.

The Nightsister nodded and moved to get the bacta gel, and her own thoughts lingering in her head. Not for her hands. If not her, then who? Who would she dare to trust to touch him so? She could not think of anyone, save his own brothers. And if he accepted this then… then why not her? She set her jaw resolutely and turned back to him, slipping off her gloves in order to apply the gel to his legs from foot to waist. This was going to be… interesting. 

She talked to him calmly during the procedure, informing him of the results on the datapad, of the progress she had with the Troopers, telling him how all the knowledge of their tactics, Republic systems and her own lessons in commanding and training men would be valuable for the future. 

All the while her hands slid over the skin slowly, gently, knowing the bare red skin must be sensitive as it had never been touched before. She could feel the tension in him, the way his jaw clenched and he could not seem to speak. 

“Is it painful, my lord?” she asked softly, seeing his hand clench at his side. 

“N-no, lieutenant, I am fine,” he said through gritted teeth. Her gaze softened, it must be painful, though she could only imagine he was putting on a brave front. By the time he had to turn over she was sure he was losing his cool. The silence permeated with soft grunts as her gel-slick hands slid and gently squeezed along his thigh. His body was so warm, almost hot to the touch compared to her hands. Zaiya had to be careful as she made her way up his hip. 

Now laying on his front he was able to hide his face from her but she could still hear the heavier breaths and see the rise and fall of his back. It was not easy, attempting to be gentle while also ignoring the heat bubbling up within. To feel his bare flesh… he was so vulnerable beneath her, exposed and yet trusting of her to take care of him. It was a heady concoction and she tried to pretend some of the gentle squeezes of his hip and thigh and buttocks were solely for the sake of healing. She tried not to take pleasure in the way she touched him, told herself she was imagining those soft gasps to be anything but pain. The Nightsister was able to stave off her own perversions, ashamed of her own thoughts and tried to guard them so as not to disturb Maul were he to reach out into the Force. She would not be so foolish. He did not derive pleasure from these touches. 

At least… she was sure of it, though it became much harder to believe as her hands gently squeezed his waist, near the scar and a low moan escaped from the crimson zabrak beneath her.

----

Maul was mortified. Did he actually just do that? This was utter agony. Complete torture he had to endure. Clearly she had no idea what she was doing to him. The gentle touch of her hands, his skin was so sensitive, her hands soft and cool and soothing and… absolutely incredible. It took every ounce of his significant discipline to will his body to not respond to the touches. To keep from giving in and squirming under her hands like an idiot. His breathing had already increased and at least his face was turned away so he could rest his head on his forearm and grit his teeth as the waves of pleasure washed over him. 

He had gotten too complacent… The sound that had escaped him was one of unbridled desire. Maul had attempted to keep all his thoughts and wayward ideas pressed down. But a burning part of his mind urged him to give in. To turn back to her and bring her closer, tell her to touch him again, to never let him go and then to return the touches, make her writhe and mewl under his hands the way she did the night before they’d come here. A year or more ago… so very long since he had heard that divine scream of his name from her plush lips. 

“Are you well, sire?” she asked in an almost whisper. It brought him out of his distractedness. Pain he knew. He could handle pain. He could use it… but this? This was an unknown, and these feelings and sensations only ever seemed to come from her. Her hands still lingered at his waist, frozen in place. 

“I’m fine,” he replied raggedly. 

“Do you wish to stop?”

No! Don’t stop! 

“I… believe that is enough for today, Lieutenant,” his voice was husky and he felt a rush from her in the Force before she pulled back. Was she… having a hard time controlling herself too? It made him feel a little better. Was she looking at him with hungry eyes? His Lieutenant was reserved most of the time and she did not often give in to her own wants. But if he could-- no. 

No, he needed to maintain control. If he could master pain, he could master this. A Kaminoan facility was hardly the place to give in and lower his guard. He was in enemy territory here. There were Jedi, and he needed to maintain himself, he could not give in to it. 

Her hands pulled away and it was almost painful… but that was something he knew. Familiar ground, he could handle that. Pulling himself up, back in control, he turned, but took the cloak to cover himself. 

“I have procured you some clothing, sire,” Zaiya spoke from behind him, he turned and she offered him plain black clothing, fitted and flexible, some sort of body glove, but not made for him, he suspected, it was loose in some places… tighter in others. 

“It was the best I could do without drawing attention,” she explained. Maul nodded and took the cloak she had provided, it draped his shoulders and wore it much similar to the over tunic he had previously worn as a Sith apprentice, it eased the frigidity of the sterile and cold room. He knew standing and walking around would have to wait, and having another of those massages was out of the question. Instead he sat and looked at his Lieutenant, who stood dutifully by his side, a strange look on her face he could not decipher. 

“We shall need to begin the next stages,” he said quietly. 

“Yes, I am sure you have plans?’ she asked as the white-haired woman sat beside him, her hands now clean of the gel and re-gloved. She smelled different. Her usual scent and perfume were wonderful as always but the scent of bacta and… humans was far stronger. His brow furrowed. Yes, they needed to begin the next stages. Maul needed his revenge, but Zaiya’s suggestion some time ago of an army… something of his own, power and control over others, it was the Sith way. But he was not a Sith anymore. Was family the answer? To return for Savage and Feral and… then what? Travel? Become idiot tourists? Or… bounty hunters? No, he needed more, a purpose. Revenge was his purpose his whole life, why could it not still be? Revenge on Kenobi. And perhaps…? A shiver of fear ran through him and he dared not follow that thought to its conclusion. For now he would hunt Kenobi, and this time it would be the Jedi who would fall.

----

The physical therapy for Maul was every day so far, and Zaiya was pleased with his progress. It was swift and efficient, like everything else he did. She realised she could no longer put off the inevitable. Soon she would not be able to contact her ARCs through Republic channels, and she began to feel remorse for the moment when she must disappear from their lives. Worry burrowed into her mind and she had to wonder if her absence would impact them negatively. Surely not, one woman in an army of their own brothers? She would hardly be missed. Still, she had prepared something for the moment Maul was able to leave, which would be any time now. 

Alpha had been able to tell something was different, she’d caught him staring at her with narrow suspicious eyes multiple times now, and though he didn’t say anything… he didn’t have to. 

She’d taken to working with her hands, marking runes for practice, running knife training programs or more recently, she had taken to fiddling with Maul’s lightsaber. It was usable though damaged, and she had been taught how it went together through mutual meditation. As a gift in celebration of his recovery, she had made some minor modifications, closing up the main housing and protecting the crystal for one. It still looked like his saber, though there was a blackened metal extension to the hilt, adding length and a better balance, though it still needed a full rebuild in order to be as functional as it once was. The saber was currently hidden in her jacket, ready to present to Maul once she visited him later that evening. 

She had hoped her tinkering with it might let that all too familiar sense of dread ease from her,  but to no avail. She’d felt it before and this time she decided to let Alpha in before it got too strong. 

Security had been increased and when he had questioned her, she’d confessed some of her unease to him. 

“Do you remember how I had the place on alert only minutes before the invasion?” she’d said. Alpha had nodded. 

“How did you know?”

“It’s a weird sensation, a feeling of dread, it had been growing for weeks.”

“So it’s like the Jedi?”

“Not quite though as I understand it, Nightsister magick is similar to the Force.” It wasn’t a lie but she could not really tell him everything. Even though she wanted to. “I’ve had the feeling in the past and now it’s back.”

“Another invasion?” Zaiya shook her head.

“I can’t say. I don’t know the specifics but… something is coming.”

“Helpful.” Alpha snorted, then looked up. “Can you tell the General?” he asked, in reference to Shaak Ti. 

“The Jedi are already suspicious of me, I don’t need further scrutiny. What I do need is for you and your brothers to be safe.” The clone Captain laid a big warm hand on her shoulder.

“If anyone can make sure of that, it’s you,” he chuckled. 

Though Zaiya was less sure about it. She supposed that she could at least get the men ready. The upcoming training session could certainly assist in that, it kept her mind occupied at least. 

“I think you boys will be the ones to decide that,” she replied, “it’s your minds, your skills and your own instincts that will win battles, I can only direct you. I can’t fight for you.”

“I know,” he nodded. “But you know what I mean.” 

“I appreciate it.” 

“Yeah. Well, enough moping, let’s get these boys moving, they can’t win any battles sitting around with their thumbs up their shebs,” Alpha grumbled.

“Eloquent as always, Captain.” He grunted in an amused tone, a smirk on his lips.

Notes: Hello again!

Some of you may realise where this moment falls in the Clone Wars timeline, and the fluff has been fun… *sigh* Oh dear.

Anyway! Maul has his legs back! We made it!!! I wonder what shenanigans they will get up to now he can run around like he used to? Hmmmm… Though he might need the tattoos or else he will feel nakie I think. Poor Maul, he has been through a lot.

As always I love feedback, comments of all kinds! It keeps me going and it's really you guys that help me feel motivated to work harder and push myself to write more. I love you guys, thank you so much! Next week, we get a little preamble with the clones, and the beginning of the Second Invasion of Kamino… How do you think that will go? Until next week my lovelies! <3

----

The List of Tags: (If your name is crossed out then check your settings! Tumblr is not letting me tag you!) @two-black-leviathans @fallenrepublick @eyecandyeoz @ashotofspotchka @sitherin-mxschief @littlepossss @octupus-on-the-moon @justalittletomato @nxctuaryninetythree @mach-opress @mustluvecho @nahoney22 @leotatombs @eloquentmoon @the-chains-are-the-easy-part @maulslittlemeowmeow @misogirl828 @alwayssnivellus @stardustbee @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @bacarasbabe @morganlefaye13

Wanna be notified when I post my next work? Join my tag list

[aueua]

Marona’s Fantastic Tale (2019) AU where the dog lives and others are happier. Idea bounced with @mushrium a few weeks back; details under cut.

Yes, I am aware that hardly anyone knows of this movie (but maybe more’ll know it now due to the streamer albeit even then this is unlikely to be a proper fandom, maybe, maybe not). Doesn’t matter. This now exists for archiving purposes.

First and foremost: Spoilers abound, don’t seek further if you don’t want them by any means - with that said, also good luck if you aren’t aware of what the movie is but I’ll do my best to give some context as necessary. (Post-edit: No clarification. Very sorry.)

See also: The movie is not for everyone but it can be appreciated artistically for its fluidity and variety of styles. There is also a lot of symbolism and the dog narrator is impeccable. I love Nine. I love her, I do.

Okay! Here we go.

Recall the [Lost Dog Sign] that is posted some scenes after Nine (protagonist, dog) left Manole (red and yellow, acrobat entertainer) and she’s picked up by Istvan beloved (Tumblr nose, big guy). Istvan may be driving and potentially distracted; however, he absolutely sees that sign. And it doesn’t quite click, not yet. He’s worried about his mother, his wife, himself, this dog. Dog... Dog! This doesn’t register until he’s arrived at his ill mother’s home. That dog on the wanted sign looks eerily like the one he just picked up... and come to think of it, it did seem well cared for...

So he fudges around, figures out what the number is.

An answer. And with one thing leading to another, Istvan figured that this guy is sincere: He loves this dog much like he does. (But he believed that Manole loved her more, deserved her more, and it isn’t likely he can bring her quite anywhere...) So. They meet up. Guy really is nice, but Istvan can see it - the acrobat’s nerves are a bit shot after all that worrying and desperation to find this dog again. Ana (dog), was it? (There was an inkling that he should call her Sara but Ana is also quite the nice name. It’s fine. And thank goodness, that he did not name her, since goodbyes would be worse.)

They part, and that is that. Istvan checked on his mother, returned to his choking snake of a wife (yellow skin ostritch, black fluff); Manole reobtained his beloved boy (girl, he knows), managed to get a contract that allowed him to work with her in the La Circe (???) troupe thingamabob since it was either them or nothing. Both of these two keep in touch with each other as Istvan is worried and, admittedly, attached to the dog after those moments in the dumps viva la his loneliness. Plus Manole’s a fun personality. He’s considered going to see one of his acts, once, but his wife’s a bit overbearing.

A bit overbearing, as in a time skip occurs and he still had yet to leave her toxic self, nor could he bear to see his mother but still stuck it through.

Come to think of it though. Manole is obviously happy, and so is the dog. He can’t recall a moment with his wife recently where he felt... happy, sincerely. Perhaps in the past, when he’d strum his guitar and skate around - free and without the exhaustion of judgment and micromanagement? He deserved better. There’s just no right timing, though, as he can’t find the motivation to work himself up and tell his wife they need a divorce for both of their own sakes.

And then his wife gave him the ultimatum: Her, or that stupid acrobat with the dog and his mother.

Well, well. Fine. He doesn’t need to pack much, and he doesn’t need to say anything. He’s rearing to go. The wife? Cocky. All until she realized quite quickly that he was serious, dead serious, and she begged and pleaded and smothered herself all over him trying to get him to obey her every whim just like before. That it was a joke, an act, a test to see where he would be really happy but she needed him and who else would indulge her needs and fluff up her ego with the beefcake of a man?

Too bad! He’s gone, but he’s also an incredible mess and it was incredibly short-notice and maybe he should’ve thought things out better, but he’s free. He’s never felt so relieved. It’s quite cold, dark, and alone, but everything seems so much more colorful and bright now but also he really should find a place to say and strangely, his immediate thought is to call up Manole -- but he’s asleep, isn’t he? Or working? He shouldn’t bother him, he should go to his mother. But...

He called. Decided that if he did not get an answer, he would let him know another time (never, really). And nobody picked up. So as he’s ready to drive out, he gets a call: It’s Manole. He picked up, and he heard the groggy-confused voice of an acrobat ringing out with the delightful barks of Ana in the background to give him the image that oh, she must have woken him up, and oh, he’s smiling. They chat for the night. As in. They meet up again, and the two take a quiet stroll out with Ana, and Istvan gets to vent, tell his story. (His little audience is quite expressive too, he noted. Loose red strings of disbelief and high-pitched barking. Dramatic flailing of arms, a growl.)

In the end, they have to rest. Manole and Ana depart (with Manole insisting that they continue their little interactions and that Istvan finally comes to one of his showings, he swore he’d make it worthwhile - Ana agreeing in her little pip), and Istvan is home. A home of memories. Bad, good, but a place that made him nevertheless and he supposed... he should probably go to that therapist Manole recommended. He gave his word that she was fine; she had helped him back then, too, when things were dire.

Solange was her name. And oh, she was understanding - the best, at least for his circumstances. He revealed his feelings, and she helped him through most of it - enough that he was in better shape than before. Enough that he can lift his head high even with his impressive stature. But - he did ask, out of polite curiosity. What was it that made her want to be a therapist?

And it was an easy answer, the way she’d told it. A deadbeat father, a single mother with a cat and her father - her own grandfather. She had been... rebellious, in a sense, and she was a menace to her family. They had financial issues, relationship issues, the works. It was only until they’d discovered the (grand)father dead that things really started to change. Viva la insurance money, they were able to handle most of the debt and loans. She felt more inclined to... help, seeing as how badly-shapen her mother was, mourning and all. And during that - she realized it was something she wanted to pursue wholeheartedly.

Overall, they’re happy. Istvan and Manole eventually get together (after a long amount of time, only when Istvan was ready to open himself up again - easier, when he’d started acting as accompaniment as (a tech) crew and occasional musical act in the streets and they realized how well they clicked). Ana thrives (with a few other secret nicknames that the others gave to her; well. She doesn’t mind.) Solange occasionally helped out in using her artistic skills with some of the advertisements.

They’re all comfortable. They’re living.

That is all.

 SUMMARY:

・[Overall] The canon diverges with Istvan actually noticing and recognizing the missing dog poster Manole put up. Manole and Ana are reunited. Istvan eventually divorces his wife and gets therapy from Solange, and Istvan is later friends (or more than that, ah-heem) with Manole.

・[Manole] Acrobat for that dreamy circus, but with a dog.

・[Ana] Dog! Beloved! Living! Happy! SO Happy. Maybe gets to meet her old litter of siblings again.

・[Istvan] No more toxic wife that tries to control and restrain him with false affections and silly desires built on creating a dumb image! Musical fun time! Also lifts and flexes.

・[Solange] On good terms with mother now! Grandpa is deader than dead but it’s for the better, promise. Insurance money and her mother made her realize she’d wanted to be a therapist. Occasionally does art for Manole’s circus thing.

No I did not proofread this. I do not care. I have self love, and this is, in fact, indulgent.

[naturallytom]

Just an Urban Legend (Tom Holland x reader)

a/n: this is based off of 2 urban legends!! also the reader and tom’s ‘roommate’ is an oc, completely made up bc i couldn’t make harrison their roommate for...reasons you will read (also please read the authors notes at the end fldgkjkf i put them there for a reason!!) 

warnings: mentions of sex, fluff/humor (actually for most of the story), descriptions of murder and gore, angst, horror, suicide mention

_______________________________________________________________________“Come on, Tom. Don’t you wanna know the story? We’re in Virginia.” You whined, your boyfriend shaking his head. 

“It’s scary and you know how I feel about that.” Tom pouted. 

“Please, baby? Can’t I just tell you the story? I just read it and I wanna tell you about it.” You crawled into his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck and giving him puppy eyes. 

“Fine.” He sighed, his hands resting softly on your waist. 

“What’s going on?” Your friend Jack walked in, carrying food. 

“‘M telling Tom the urban legend of the bunnyman.” You grinned, taking a bite of the food Jack brought. 

“Well while we’re in Virginia we might as well hear it.” Jack agreed. “We’ll be headed home to London soon so why not?” 

Tom groaned.

“My point exactly! Okay so, the basically there’s a few versions, but the one I read was this story: a teenager put on a white bunny costume, murdered his entire family, and then hung himself from the bridge.” You read from your phone. 

“Oh lovely.” Tom mumbled, taking a bite of food. 

“Baby it’s just an urban legend.” You reminded him, smoothing his hair back and pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

“I can’t tell if you guys or the story are more disgusting.” Jack muttered. 

“Shut up you love us.” You laughed, Tom pressing a kiss to your cheek. 

“Yeah, course I do. You’re my best friends.” Jack admitted, making you and Tom grin. 

“Can we explore the bridge? See if we can find anything?” You asked, turning back to Tom, who shook his head immediately. 

“Nope. Absolutely not.” Tom insisted, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Pleaseeeeee?” You pleaded, batting your eyelashes. 

“Take Jack with you!” Tom suggested, frowning when Jack shook his head.

“Early night for me, guys. ‘M really tired from the traveling.” Jack explained, you and Tom nodded understandingly. The three of you had done a lot of traveling earlier and you were doing more the next day so you couldn’t fault Jack for wanting to head to sleep early. 

“That’s understandable.” You told him, Tom nodding in agreement. 

“Yeah you head to bed early, mate. We should probably do that too!” He told you, pleading with his eyes. 

“Oh no, you two should go for a little bit. ‘S our last night in this town. Go see that site.” Jack told you, cleaning up from the food the three of you had devoured. “And when you get back, please don’t have sex. Our beds are right next to each other. I will hear you.” 

“We are not that loud.” Tom groaned while you laughed, burying your head in his neck while he ran his hand up and down your back. 

“Yes you are.” Jack replied nearly instantly. “Now go see that bridge. Report back to me if you find anything spooky.” 

“Tommy? You in now?” You asked, cupping his cheeks. 

“Fine.” He gave in, giving you a kiss on your forehead while you cheered. 

“Put your shoes on, I’ll get an uber.” You told him, opening the uber app while Jack went to get ready for bed. “Done! It’ll be here in a few minutes.” 

“Perfect. Can’t wait.” Tom grumbled, sitting up on the bed as you slipped your shoes on. 

“I’ll protect you Tommy.” You mumbled against his cheek, pressing a delicate kiss to the skin. 

“Good, you better.” He muttered as Jack rolled his eyes. 

“Once again, you guys are disgusting.” Jack called from the bathroom of the hotel room. 

“The uber’s here!” You exclaimed excitedly. 

“Have fun! Let me know if there’s anything spooky!” Jack called as you and Tom left the room. 

Climbing into the uber, Tom’s had didn’t leave yours, holding it tightly. Much to Tom’s dismay, the ride to the bridge was short, only a few minutes. 

The two of you hopped out of the car, Tom still clutching your hand tightly. The bridge seemed normal and fairly short. It was beige and at the top were train tracks, while the walls surrounding the entrance to the bridge were covered in vines with vibrant red, yellow, and orange leaves. 

The moonlight provided a small amount of light, though the two of you used your phone flashlights for more light while you explored. 

“If this wasn’t the site of such a gruesome urban legend I’d say it’s pretty.” You whispered, flashlights highlighting the fall colors of the leaves, your eyes focused on the oh so beautiful vines that simultaneously made the whole scene so much more eerie. 

“Not as pretty as you.” Tom replied, his eyes also focused on the sight in front of him. 

“We’re at a supposedly haunted site and you’re flirting?” You turned to look at him, earning an innocent shrug from him. 

“Not my fault you’re so pretty.” Tom told you, smiling softly. 

“C’mon let’s go explore.” You lead him, still holding his hand. “Are you ever gonna let go of my hand?” 

“Nope.” Tom replied smugly. “Gonna hold your hand the whole time we explore.” 

“Is that cause you’re scared?” You teased, nudging him slightly. 

“Yeah. And I like holding your hand.” He replied honestly, squeezing your hand before the two of you wandered into the darkness of the actual tunnel. 

Your flashlights didn’t pick up anything on the walls, no weird writings or drawings. The noise that caught your attention was the sound of leaves crunching and a twig snapping, which came from behind you. 

You and Tom tensed up and slowly turned around, expecting to come face to face with someone in a bunny costume wielding an axe, but instead, you turned around to face nothing but the air. 

“Nothing.” You sighed out, a mixture of relief and disappointment. Part of you wanted to see something, but you were more glad you didn’t. 

“Should we go back now?” Tom asked, earning a nod from you.

“I’ll get another uber.” You replied, pulling your phone out while Tom wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pressing a soft kiss to your temple. “Should be here in a few minutes.” 

“Can’t wait to go back and cuddle, my love.” Tom mumbled against your shoulder. 

“‘M really tired.” You yawned, Tom nodding in agreement as the uber pulled up. 

The two of you hopped in, making sure the driver knew which hotel to go to, before you leaned on Tom’s shoulder for the ride.

Arriving back to your room, you and Tom were ready to pass out. Opening the door, all the lights were off and you could see Jack curled up in the blankets of his bed, sleeping soundly. 

“C’mon, let’s just go to bed.” Tom whispered, the two of you moving quickly and quietly to the bed you were sharing. 

The two of you got comfortable, Tom pressing a kiss to your shoulder. 

“Just an urban legend, love.” He whispered. “Goodnight, lovey.” 

“Yeah. Just an urban legend. Night, bub.” You whispered in response, both of you falling asleep not long after. 

The next morning you woke up Tom shaking you gently but firmly, shakily whispering, ‘get up, love.’

“What’s up, baby?” You asked groggily, facing Tom, who had a look of horror on his face, his eyes glued to the sight on the bed across from you. 

“I don’t think that was just an urban legend.” He whispered shakily. 

“What makes you say th- oh my god.” Your jaw dropped in horror as you took in the sight in front of you. 

Jack’s bed was covered in blood, his throat slit and stomach cut open. In his blood, written on the wall, were simple words that were enough to haunt you for years. 

 ‘Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn the light on?’

_______________________________________________________________________

links to the legends (that i used):

the bunnyman

the roommate 

a/n: for clarification, the legend of the bunnyman does not include him following people back or anything, i just did that for the sake of the story! the ending is really where the roommate legend comes in- i hope u guys enjoyed this & happy halloween!! 

general warning: if you do want to read more about these, be careful!! when i was trying to find good links to the stories i found a lot of stuff that spooked me especially for the bunnyman in images and the roommate had a few variations and other stories that were very disturbing and made me shiver so just be cautious if you do go searching on your own!!

tags: @angelic-holland​  @lilbeatlebear​ @everyday-imfangirling​ @softbaby-tom​

[dreamofcentipedes]

The Wedding of Haruhi Suzumiya

Summary: Suzumiya Haruhi is getting married. Time has gone by so quickly, and yet, all of a sudden, it appears to stop. It seems Kyon can't get a day off, even on his wedding day!

Fandom: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Ship: Kyon/Haruhi

Characters: Kyon, Haruhi, Nagato, Mikuru, Koizumi, Taniguchi, Kunikida, Tsuruya, Kyon’s Little Sister.

Rating: Teen Words: 10,578 Link to AO3

A/N: This is a present for my wonderful friend @harleyquilt’s birthday! I'm glad I introduced you to the series so I could have an excuse to write this fic hahaha. It's written in the style of the novels, so from Kyon's first person POV. 

To anyone who's not Leila, this fic is based on anime-only canon; so that's why characters like Kimidori aren't here since she's not very relevant in the show. Enjoy!

Something was wrong. I felt it in my gut.

Ah, allow me to clarify. It was not the kind of odd feeling one might feel when forced to repeat summer over fifteen thousand times because of the oddly conscientious whims of a typically self-centred high school girl. I won’t force you all through that again – so long as Haruhi doesn’t force me to. Hey, if I suffer, you suffer! That’s the compensation I’ve earned from you, universe, for all my sterling efforts to save you. I may have admitted I enjoy a good deal of what Haruhi forces me into, but stuff like an endless summer is just too much. Today, at least, should be free of the kind of chaotic events that follow Haruhi around like the Duke of Buckingham to King James I of England (and VI of Scotland).

Or so Koizumi says. Which brings me back to the problem at hand. Or that is, the problem of the minute hand. On the clock that stared down at me from the wall like a Great Old One about to nonchalantly crush swarms of insignificant humans underfoot, I saw that there was only half an hour remaining until the ceremony.

“The Agency extends their full gratitude to you for what you’re doing today. If it all goes well, we won’t have to worry about Closed Space appearing for a few months at the very least.” Koizumi brushed some non-existent lint off his light grey suit and patted down his yellow silk tie. Smart and snazzy as always. He better not outshine me at my own wedding.

“I think you have an overly optimistic view on marriage. And on Haruhi, for that matter. Her temper will blow at my first sign of disobedience.”

“You think so? I hoped you’d know your fiancé better than that. To Suzumiya-san, you are an exceptionally important person. It will be hard to dent her good mood after all these years of holding back.”

I didn’t say anything back, but as I adjusted my red tie over my blue suit in an outfit reminiscent of my old High School uniform, I thought about what he said. I hoped he was right, and not for the sake of the world or reality or whatever other annoying stuff he cares about. Haruhi’s smiling face was just a pleasant sight for me to see, that’s all. It’s not like I was marrying her because the Agency wanted me to. I barely even know those guys.

“I’m sure Nagato-san and Asahina-san will also extend you their appreciation at the reception. On behalf of their organisations, that is.”

I had some idea of what he was talking about with that clarification. I did worry about those two, but I had made my decision and didn’t have any regrets. At least where that matter is concerned. Otherwise, there was still that ball of anxiety in my chest wrapped up like a mangled slinky.

Ah, we really did get sidetracked, didn’t we? Yes, this is the odd feeling that was haunting me. Wedding jitters, cold feet, spineless hesitation from the latest generation of worthless men – call it what you like, I could barely keep my hands still as I fussed endlessly over the tightness of my tie. That’s what I hoped it was, anyway, but I had the sinking feeling it was something more than that, and worse, that I knew what it was. I desperately needed someone to talk me, but Haruhi had somehow managed to hijack my own Best Man, so Koizumi served as my substitute. Creepy as he was, he was at least a calm presence. Taniguchi would send me insane.

Of course, I couldn’t tell him I was nervous. It would be a cold day in hell before I admitted weakness in front of him. He was an annoyingly observant guy, though.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

His voice slipped into a more serious tone. I left the mirror alone at that and turned to face him. Watchful brown eyes peeked out from his usual squint.

“Of course I am.” I grumbled.

Koizumi gave a smile that seemed a little sad, then clapped a hand on my shoulder.

“Then see it through.”

With that, he gestured to the door.

“Well, being the joyous occasion that it is for Suzumiya-san, I doubt any strange phenomena will occur. But the job of an esper is never over. I will be patrolling the grounds for anything that seems out of place. I hope you’ll survive without me until then.”

As he was turning the handle, I felt a strange mix of frustration and sadness rise up in me. To any shrinks in the area, I’d like to get this checked out, please. But whatever it was, it made me call out to him: “You’ll be at the ceremony, won’t you?”

His hand let go of the doorknob and he looked at me, surprised.

“You’re a member of the SOS Brigade, after all.” I continued. “If you’re not there, Haruhi would be devastated. Then the world would really be in danger.”

He lowered his eyes and that sad smile crept up again. I decided, compared with this, I’d prefer that sickeningly sweet smile he usually plasters on his face. But before long he turned his eyes back to me with a slightly more jovial expression.

“You may be right. I’ll do my best if you do yours.”

He opened the door and left the room, leaving me alone with my unsatisfactory tie. What’s more, that clock was staring at me again, with only half an hour to go. Hey, cut it out. You’re not my Best Man, are you? Actually, where was my Best Man?

Well, since the wedding was Western-style it was a bit less of a pain to prepare for than Japanese-style weddings, but I still found myself combing my hair in five different directions. Eventually I got tired of it and set off to find my AWOL assistant. As I traversed the corridors, I noticed the legs and torso of someone in a black suit and tie making his way down the stairs. It was silly of me to hope for the best, but instead it was Taniguchi.

“Kyon my man! I’ve been looking for you all over!”

“Well, I was looking for Kunikida. Seen him anywhere?”

“Nope, not even once! What an unreliable guy! It’s not too late to change Best Men, you know.” He gave a grin that made me want to punch him on the nose.

“Really? I’ll let Koizumi know, then.”

Taniguchi looked aghast. “Koizumi? That creepazoid? You’d pick him over me, your constant buddy over three years of high school and four years of university?”

Like radioactive waste, I couldn’t ethically get rid of him. Well, maybe I did have some fun times with him around. It was much more enjoyable to not let him know that, though. When I didn’t respond, he acted hurt.

“Hmph! Well, I can’t see why you’d resign yourself to a lifetime chained to a girl like that anyway!” He raised his hands and shook his head with an insufferably smug expression. “Aah, she has you well and truly whipped, doesn’t she? Forcing you to flush your youth away down the toilet of the marriage bed.”

Ignoring that his metaphor was painfully inconsistent, I just asked him whether he’d gotten a girlfriend yet. He quickly shut up with an expression like Aeschylus must have had when he was mortally wounded by an airborne tortoise.

“Speaking of, Kyon,” he asked me when he had recovered, sidling up to me like a drug dealer in a black-and-white film noir and whispering to me, “You two have…done it, right?”

I pushed his face away from my ear. There was a 20% chance I was blushing. No, 10%. 5% tops! But if any such out-of-character situation was occurring, I didn’t want Taniguchi to see it. He probably did anyway.

“You have!” He laughed. “You totally have! Oh man, oh man, oh man, OH MAN!”

Haruhi and I had been dating since our last year of high school, so I don’t know why he was so surprised. What, did he seriously think the woman who had sexually assaulted Asahina-san on a daily basis was the type to save herself for marriage? This guy was purer than I thought. I placed a hand on his shoulder in sympathy.

“Uh, what’s this about?” Taniguchi brushed it off sheepishly. “So? She’s into some weird stuff, right? Does she make you do dress-up?”

Everything about his tone and expression was cringe-inducing.  Just when I was resigning myself to indulge this overgrown 14 year old with the rudimentals of my sex life as the only alternative to my anxiety, I was saved by a benevolent god called Kunikida.

“Ah, Kyon, I’m so sorry!” He was red-faced and out of breath, rushing down the stairs as fast as he could while carrying about five bags with him. He came to a halt in front of me and dropped them to the ground, panting heavily. It’s a good thing he was wearing black, because otherwise the growing pools of sweat under his armpits might be much more obvious.

“Hmm, look who finally decided to show up!” Taniguchi remarked jealously.

“Taniguchi, zip it. It’s fine, Kunikida. What does she want this time?”

Kunikida returned to a stable condition and raised his head. “She wants to know which ribbon you’d like best.”

I shook my head with the fond exasperation that girl always exerts in me. Yare yare. Isn’t the bride’s appearance supposed to be a surprise for the groom? Nagato might be useless in the fashion department, but couldn’t she rely on Asahina-san and Tsuruya-san’s advice a bit more? Even my sister, another of my comrades she’d hijacked, had started to become fashion conscious. But Haruhi’s never coped with uncertainty too well. I decided I might as well have a look, lest her stress blow a hole in the fabric of the cosmos.

There was a red one, a blue one with black stripes, a purple one, orange with polka dots…I didn’t know why they each needed their own separate bags. But the choice was a pretty easy one for me. It was just too nostalgic.

“Let’s go with yellow.” I told Kunikida.

He nodded with approval. “I thought you’d pick that one. It���s just like the one she wore back at North High. I told her that, but she made me check with you anyway.” He pouted. “Well, I’ll report back then.”

“Oi, Kunikida.”

“Hm?”

“Any more tyrannical demands Haruhi makes of you, refuse them.” Kunikida paled. “Just tell her it’s a direct order from the groom. I’ll take the heat. For now, I need you to help get me ready.”

Kunikida nodded, told me he wouldn’t be long, and disappeared up the stairs. I imagined the chaos that must be happening up there, the hell Haruhi must be putting all her poor bridesmaids and even my Best Man through. I imagined Haruhi in her bridal dress, with that yellow ribbon in her hair…and my stomach knotted again as other thoughts rushed through my head in concert. I felt so dizzy I thought I might fall over. Steadying myself with a strong exhale, I grabbed Taniguchi’s sleeve.

“Move it, Taniguchi. I need a substitute until Kunikida gets back.”

I needed some company, any company, even if just to make sure I didn’t fall over and ruin my meticulously pressed suit. Taniguchi seemed pretty ecstatic about it, though, so I didn’t tell him that last part. We moved into my dressing room.

I was reaching for the comb on the side of my desk when I noticed that accursed clock again. ‘Accursed’. Only then did I begin to realise just how accurate that description truly was.

Because only half an hour remained until the ceremony.

“Hm?”

I stared at the clock, wondering if I misread it. But no, the hands didn’t lie. It wasn’t broken, either: the second hand was happily ticking away, and the minute hand slowly moving with it.

“Hey Kyon, earth to Kyon. You still with us man?”

I turned to the bemused Taniguchi, then looked back at the clock. When I did, I saw something that made that ‘wrong’ feeling that had been ruthlessly assaulting my small intestine level up at least twice, with major boosts to its ATK, DEF, and SPD. Because although the second hand was now ticking down from the top of the clock, the minute hand had returned to exactly half past 2.

Despite all the conversations and activities I had gotten up to since the clock had struck that time, despite all the time that had seemingly passed – somehow, it was still exactly half an hour until I married Haruhi.

I prayed for the sake of my already trembling heart that it was just a broken clock. But when I snatched my phone off the counter, I saw the exact same time glaring at me: 14:30.

I crammed my phone back into my pocket with frustration. Koizumi! No strange phenomena, he said, as though I could trust him. One day that guy’s going to get a career peddling snake oil. Dammit! This was the last thing I needed today! I slammed my hands against the counter and stared at the clock.

“Hey, Kyon, aren’t you gonna – ”

“Shut it, Taniguchi.”

Thankfully, he did. I looked at the clock, allowed a few seconds to pass, looked away, then immediately looked back. The seconds had reset.

I rubbed my sweating temples with my equally clammy hands.

“Taniguchi, I need you to do me a favour.”

“Huh? Sure! You can always count on – ”

“Hold my eyes open for me.”

“Wha?” He was clearly taken aback. “Uh, Kyon, you feeling okay?”

“Groom’s orders.”

He sighed, muttering something about me being as crazy as Haruhi, before I experienced the highly unpleasant sensation of Taniguchi lifting my eyelids up. I stared intently at the clock.

My stinging eyes, desperate to blink, beheld a full minute passing before I told Taniguchi it was enough and rushed to sink my eyes back into peaceful oblivion, like a salaryman collapsing in his bed after a particularly nasty overtime shift. When I opened them again, 2:31 was no more, and 2:30 was back with an insufferable grin on its clock face. Stop looking at me like that, arsehole. I’ll break your hands.

I exhaled. I guess it couldn’t be helped. I knew what I was getting myself into when I proposed to Haruhi, and honestly, at any other time I might look forward to this kind of sci-fi event. But Haruhi, could you really not hold off on the day of our wedding, at the very least?!

No, maybe that’s too hasty. I’ve always been too quick to point the finger at my fiancé in the past, but in my defence, if you’re in a room with a known thief and something goes missing, who else are you going to accuse? But I should stick with what I know: that the moment I take my eyes off the time, it resets to 2:30, with all the events that have happened since then left unchanged.

“Taniguchi, notice anything?”

“Huh? Notice what?” He looked so confused I almost felt sorry for him. “What are you going on about, Kyon?”

So Taniguchi hadn’t realised anything was wrong. He wasn’t looking for anything suspicious, so it makes sense. That, and he’s an idiot. In any case, it saved me a headache-inducing explanation about a problem I hardly understood myself.

Right, there was nothing left for it then.

“Oh, dang! Taniguchi, I forgot my cufflinks!”

“Eh? But you’re wearing them right now…”

“No no no, these are just my temporary cufflinks. Koizumi should be bringing me my real cufflinks – could you ask around if anyone’s seen him?”

“Haah? Temporary cufflinks? Why are you wearing temporary cufflinks?”

“No time to explain, I need them right now. There’s only half an hour to go you know! Think you could be my Best Man for a while?”

Taniguchi perked up at that. “Ah…well…”

“I’m counting on you!” I gave him a thumbs up and sprinted out of the room, leaving a baffled Taniguchi looking this way and that. He’ll play along in the end, he always does. Let it not be said that I haven’t learnt anything during my time in the SOS Brigade. Seven years’ experience of lying through your teeth counts as a transferrable skill, right? I doubt I’ll get to put it on my CV, anyhow.

My mood darkened as the thought crossed through my mind. What, we’re making jokes about this, now? I furrowed my brow as I ran up the stairs. Really, just how irresponsible could I be…

With my eyes fixed on the ground, I didn’t notice the sudden appearance of a wild Kunikida at the top of the stairs. His sudden “Hey, Kyon!” wasn’t enough to stop me from slamming into him. He managed to keep his balance, but my knees hit  landing. First of all, ouch; but much more importantly I hoped my suit wasn’t crumpled.

“Kyon, are you okay? What’s the hurry?”

“Ah…my bad, Kunikida. I just needed to see Nagato and Asahina-san.” I told him, standing up and zealously cleaning my suit legs like a medieval Catholic priest with a supposed segment of the Holy Cross. If Taniguchi could summon Koizumi, and I could get to Nagato and Asahina-san, at least one of them should be able to help me skip to the end of this poorly-timed adventure.

“Eh? But they’re with Suzumiya-san, you know?” He was shaking like a leaf. I was really starting to wonder what kind of torture Haruhi was putting him through.

“That’s fine. Like I said, I can take the heat.”

“Eh? That’s not the problem!” Kunikida objected. “The groom can’t see the bride before the ceremony, it’s bad luck!”

Could I really be having worse luck than I was having now? Actually, wait, this is Haruhi we’re talking about. If she thinks I’ll get bad luck, I probably will. I sighed.

“Could you get them for me, then? It really is urgent.”

Kunikida looked at me with the confused expression I had become so used to as a member of the SOS Brigade.

“Okay, if you say so…”

“Sorry to make you keep walking up and down these stairs.”

Kunikida proceeded at an annoyingly leisurely pace. I wanted to yell at him to get a move on, but when I thought about it, there really wasn’t any need to hurry at all. Time wasn’t moving. Or, it was, but in a way that it wasn’t. Well, I didn’t need an explanation, just a resolution, but I still felt kind of stupid for running all that way and messing up my clothes.

After what felt like a few minutes but what was, in actuality, no time at all, Kunikida reappeared with Nagato in tow. She had on a sleeveless light purple dress with an interesting shading pattern. It suited her pretty well, so I’m sure she had nothing to do with its selection.

“Ah, thanks Kunikida, Nagato.” But something was missing from this picture. “Where’s Asahina-san?”

Kunikida opened his mouth, but Nagato pointed wordlessly up the stairs.

“She’s still upstairs? Why?”

“Leaving Suzumiya Haruhi alone with the girl Tsuruya and your sibling…” Nagato stared at the ground, probably recalibrating. “…Dangerous.”

Couldn’t argue with that. Actually, yes I could. All due respect to our valued members of staff who might fall victim to that tyrannical trio, but I’m first in line for compensation! Move along! Just then, as if as a counter-argument, I heard a high-pitched wail echo from the upper floor followed by a string of indecipherable yelling.

Well, now I knew I was right – far more dangerous than leaving them alone was leaving Asahina-san alone with them! I held back my oncoming migraine and begged Kunikida to go and save her.

“B-but…they’re…I’ll…”

“Groom’s orders!”

I’m pretty sure it’s not a rule that the word of the groom is absolute during his wedding. But for some reason, whenever I said it, it worked, so I wasn’t going to quit now. Kunikida meekly jogged up the stairs, surely getting a pretty good workout by this point.

Well, besides rescuing Asahina-san it also got Kunikida out of the way for me to ask Nagato what exactly was going on.

She stared at me for a few seconds. “It is your wedding.”

Uh, no Nagato – I mean yes, but that’s beside the point. I showed her the time on my phone and gave her a brief rundown of the situation as I understood it.

She stared at me for another few seconds. “You are referring to the chrono-shift?”

I wasn’t exactly thrilled she knew about this already.

“Hey, Nagato, I know you were only sent here to observe, but you have a lot more freedom now, you know? If you notice some strange event going on, could you tell me next time?” It felt weird having to talk to a hyper-intelligent being as though she were a five year old who didn’t understand what was wrong with hoarding crayons from the other kids, but social courtesies weren’t Nagato’s forte.

“I was providing assistance to Suzumiya Haruhi. It was also highly probable you would notice the occurrence of the chrono-shift and seek consultation with me yourself; so it was not considered urgent. Time was not...of the essence.” From the long look she gave from those golden-brown eyes speckled with melancholy, I had the feeling she wasn’t telling the whole truth. But I certainly couldn’t lecture her on that front, so I decided not to drag it out of her. Let’s start with the basics.

“What is a chrono-shift?”

“Chrono-shift. A space-time event wherein a selection of space is held in abstraction from the flow of time. Its marginal presence allows time to pass as normal only while an observer is conscious of its transition, however, as soon as observation ceases, the abstracted time will correct itself. With the exception of these moments of observation, the time within the abstracted space will move differently than the time outside the target area.”

After all these years, I still couldn’t begin to decipher Nagato-ese. Where was Koizumi when you needed him? Even Asahina-san would do. She was the time traveller, after all.

“Do you know how to stop it?” I asked her the far more useful question.

“To reverse the eruption of a chrono-shift, access to technology enabling time travel is required.”

I scratched my head at the thought of more time travel escapades. I really didn’t want to run the risk of getting stabbed on my wedding day like I had on my most memorable trip through time, but whatever we had to do, we needed Asahina-san. I lent my ear to the sounds of muffled calamity still occurring above us.  It appeared Kunikida had gone MIA, so contacting Asahina-san became not just a practical but an ethical obligation.

I told Nagato to follow me as I stomped up the stairs. Haruhi had been behaving herself on this front a lot more since our first year of High School, but I guessed Bridesmaid-Mikuru was just too much for her. Well, it’s not like I wasn’t interested to see it myself…Oi universe, what’s with that judgemental look? I may be a soon-to-be-married man, but if my bride isn’t going to leave her lust at the door then I retain the right to wandering eyes!

However, this internal act of defiance felt somewhat pointless, as it was not the thought of Asahina-san that had set my heart thundering in my chest. Thinking of Haruhi in a bridal gown again made me feel completely dizzy, a warm feeling suffusing all throughout my body like a bacterial infection. Was this really real? Wasn’t this some kind of alternate reality, where the consequences of my actions wouldn’t have the slightest effect on the real world? Ever since our first kiss in Closed Space, I had always felt like Haruhi and I would always remain in more or less the same state, me as reluctant servant and her as diabolical overlord. Well, I supposed our marriage wasn’t going to be too different from that, but even when we started dating four years ago it felt like I had somehow achieved something I had never expected to, even knowing how she felt, even knowing how I felt. Like an alternate reality, I guess. But it was here, in this one.

At least, it was for me. Given what I knew and what she didn’t, it was like we were living in two completely different worlds.

The thick, glutinous knot that had been squeezing my chest came back with a vengeance. I’m sorry, Haruhi. I can’t do right by you. I can’t even wait for the ceremony before seeing you. I want your forgiveness, but I can’t even tell you what I’ve done wrong. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

Kunikida knocked me out of depressive spiral again, this time with a door to my face.

“Eh – Kyon?! You can’t come in here!” Kunikida objected to my crumpled corpse. For some reason, his black tie was wrapped in a bandanna around his head. Is this really the time to kickstart your delinquent lifestyle, Kunikida?!

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhh? Kyon-kun is - !!!” Came Asahina-san’s soft, panicked voice.

“Ohohoh, couldn’t wait for the ceremony, could he? Hey Suzumiya-san, your hubby-to-be’s more of a man than I thought!” That carefree and boisterous tone could only belong to Tsuruya-san.

“KYON-KUN!” And that was…

My sister barrelled out of the room in a pink dress with her finger taking aim at my chest.

“You can’t see the bride before the wedding you know! It’s forbidden! For-bid-den!”

She was driving me back like a bulldozer driven by some Hollywood action hero, giving my chest an extra prod with each syllable.

“It’s important, I have to talk to Asahi- ”

“NO IFS!” She paused for effect. “NO BUTS!”

I hadn’t said either if nor but, but I was sure telling her that would only earn me another piledriver. What happened to the cute sister I had known all those years ago? She’s been spending way too much time with Haruhi. It was a sister-in-law tag team I had come to dread.

“Eh? Kyon-kun wants to see me…um…this isn’t the best the time…” Asahina-san’s dulcet tones rang out from behind the door.

“Asahina-san!” I slipped out from behind my sister’s human wall. “I have something I need to talk to you about! With Nagato.”

“N-Nagato-san is…?” She seemed to have got the hint about what kind of conversation this would be. “U-um…what should I do…?”

“Well, well, what’s this, Kyon-kun?”  The mischievous face of Tsuruya-san in a dark blue, Chinese-style dress emerged from behind the door, intercepting my path. “You want to see Mikuru? Not your lovely bride? Aw man, it’s the day of the wedding and we already have a scandal on our hands! I’d expect nothing less from you, Kyon-kun!”

What exactly was that supposed to mean?! I gave her my best attempt at a stare like the kind a cowboy might have while saying this town wasn’t big enough for the both of them.

“Tsuruya-san, whatever you and Haruhi have been doing to Asahina-san, cut it out now! This is important!”

I started marching towards the door. At that time, I was reminded of the Charge of the Light Brigade and the three hundred Spartans at Thermopylae, but I didn’t let such depressing and realistic examples deter me from my righteous crusade.

“KYON-KUN, YOU CAN’T – Ah!”

Ever the reliable ally, Nagato easily fended off my sister’s hug-attacks with timely swishes of her arm. I charged on past the useless defence of Kunikida towards Tsuruya-san. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Woah woah woah woah woah woah woah, wait a minute!”

Even Tsuruya-san’s spirited defence was insufficient against my determination. I ducked under her arms and passed right on through towards the growing sounds of quite a few panicked noises from Asahina-san. It’s okay, Asahina-san – I’ll do my best not to look!

The open door was in front of me. Asahina-san, to my relief and confusion, was fully dressed in an angelic white gown. But Haruhi…Haruhi was…

“G-G-G-G-GEEEEEEEEET OOOOUUUUUUUUT!”

Her flushing face slammed the door into mine, literally. I dropped to the floor, more from astonishment than the force of the blow. My nose was bleeding for a different reason, too, but don’t tell anyone. What was that?

Hey now, me. Is it really so shocking to see Haruhi half-dressed? You’ve seen her butt naked more than a few times – in fact, you’ve gotten to know that Haruhi very well indeed (oi, wipe that smirk off your face). I hadn’t been expecting it, so there was that, but I think what really did it for me was what she still had on. Just like in my imagination, there was something about seeing her half in her bridal dress that turned me on to a ridiculous degree. I felt the need to stand up and clamp my legs together.

Not long after, following much berating from Tsuruya-san and my sister and muffled shouts from behind the door, Asahina-san eventually eked open the door and crept through, leaving no room for even the slightest peek.

“Um…sorry about that, Kyon-kun…”

“I-it’s fine. Uh, can I ask what you were doing…?”

“Preparing your bride for her wedding night, of course! Wahahaha!” Tsuruya-san tormented me, and I felt like throttling her, just a little bit.

“N-no! It wasn’t like that! Kyon-kun, it really wasn’t like that!” Poor Asahina-san seemed like she was about to cry. It wasn’t even you I saw! I calmed down and gave a reassuring nod to show her I believed her. She exhaled with relief.

“Suzumiya-san couldn’t decide on what dress she wanted to wear…or how she wanted to wear it…so she asked us to help her decide…um…”

“And well, we thought we should have some fun with it! Get revenge for Mikuru’s suffering all those years ago, wahaha!”

“I-it was you who thought that, Tsuruya-san!” Asahina-san desperately objected. As if I could believe Saint Asahina could want revenge for anything. The girl turns her other cheek before someone even slaps her.

Wait, hold on – does this mean my Best Man has seen my bride naked?! I redirected my death-glare from Tsuruya-san to Kunikida. He started waving his hands in front of him as if he was trying to deflect my laser vision.

“I-I didn’t see anything! I tried to stop them, like you said, but Tsuruya-san grabbed me and wrapped my tie around my eyes!” He tugged on the tie now wrapped around his forehead. “They made me help out, but I was totally blind!”

I folded my arms and turned towards Tsuruya-san, who was nodding in confirmation, looking like she was having way too much fun. Satisfied, I gave Kunikida a solemn nod. It made no sense to try to get someone you just blinded to help you, but that kind of thing was just like Tsuruya-san. Then I realised something.

“Wait, it’s thirty minutes before the wedding, and she still hasn’t decided on her dress yet?” I groaned. “Well, it is like her to skim over important stuff like this…”

“Kyon-kun!” My sister scolded me. What now?! “That’s not how it was at all! Haruhi-nee thought really hard about it, but couldn’t decide, so she bought three just in case! She’s thinking about it even now just to make sure she looks as good as possible for your wedding!”

A-aah. That’s really quite sweet, actually.  But Haruhi, please dial down your spending habits after we get married. And come to think of it, why does my sister use sibling honorifics for you when she doesn’t for her biological brother?!

“Suzumiya-san was totally psyched out when you turned up, Kyon-kun.” Tsuruya-san was squashing her cheeks between her hands and swivelling back and forth in adoration. “She was so nervous she couldn’t get out a word! Ah, young love…”

To my knowledge Tsuruya-san was the same age as the rest of us, but in Haruhi’s universe, I knew better than to make hasty assumptions. She could still be a slider/ghost/Mobile Suit Gundam yet. But what she said was kind of interesting. If Haruhi was feeling as anxious as me, maybe this was just a normal feeling after all…

“Well, we better get back to work. Please bring Mikuru back when you’re done with her, Kyon-kun. Only half an hour left to go~!” Tsuruya-san intoned, pulling Kunikida’s tie over his eyes and pushing him through the door, followed by my sister. “Suzumiya-saaaan, we’re coming in!”

Left outside with Asahina-san and Nagato, I prayed for my bride’s wellbeing. Intervention from me was clearly the opposite of what she wanted right now. For someone so bold, she really was easily embarrassed.  

Anyway, we had even bigger fish to fry on a day that was beginning to qualify as a community barbecue for the fishmongers of the world. Leading my co-conspirators away from the door into an empty room, I gave Asahina-san a rundown of the situation.

“I think it’s called a chrono-shift. Nagato told me her understanding of it, but I’d appreciate it if I could hear yours as well.” What do you think? Cooler than admitting I had no idea what she was talking about, right?

“A – a chrono-shift…” Asahina-san performed the same clock-based experiment I had a little while earlier, minus a slave to hold her eyes open. “Oh no…what are we…what are we going to do?!” Her big amber eyes began shaking like a farm animal that had wandered too close to the electric fence. This didn’t look good. On my wedding, of all days - !

“Asahina-san, is it really that big of a problem? Can’t we fix it?”

Asahina-san shook her head. “A chrono-shift is…the time that we’re in is running differently from the time in the rest of the world. It will only run the same when we’re observing the time, on a clock or a phone or a…classified information…” She looked around nervously, only just remembering to censor herself in her panic. “But it will reset as soon as we look away!”

I scratched my head and thought it over. “Then to escape the chrono-shift, can’t we just go to an area where time is moving normally?”

“If it doesn’t cover the entire building then it should be fine…the wedding could still happen that way…but there’s no telling how large the chrono-shift is; sometimes it can cover districts, cities, countries, planets…”

My hand clapped against my forehead in despair. Planets?! You’re kidding. It was tough enough to get this venue, I’m not about to navigate the Martian marriage services!

“Asahina-san, isn’t there something we can do? Nagato said we might be able to, uh, ‘reverse the eruption’ with time travel technology.”

“Yes, but something of that scale…we’d need the classified information of the classified information, right in the heart of the classified information!” Asahina-san’s terrified babble was barely making sense anymore. “My TPDD just isn’t enough…I’m sorry, Kyon-kun…on your wedding day…”

“It’s okay, Asahina-san.” I reassured her. “We don’t know how large the chrono-shift is, do we? There’s still a chance we can get out of it and time can move normally again.” I turned to the silent alien next to me. “Nagato, I’m sorry for always relying on you like this, but do you think you could find Koizumi while Asahina-san and I check the grounds? He might be in my dressing room, if you know where that is.”

I had already sent Taniguchi on Search & Recon, but now I had Nagato at hand, I wasn’t going to rely on a half-trained mutt over a SR-71 reconnaissance jet.

She nodded. “Where should I bring them?”

“Oh, uh, the dressing room is fine.”

She gave another nod, announced she was leaving (a cute courtesy she never used to do), and softly stepped out of the room. Now it was just me and Asahina-san. I fully intended to check the grounds with her, but there was something else I wanted to check with her first.

“It’s okay, Asahina-san. You can stop acting now.”

The trembling Asahina-san froze. “Wha-what?”

I rubbed my hand against the back of my head. “I’ve never told you this, but I’ve met the future you more than a few times. You came back in time again to help me out. You can’t be too far from her in age now, and you look a lot like her…so I figure you must behave a lot like her too, when you’re in private.”

Asahina-san looked at me, agog, like a prey animal sizing up a new invader into its territory, discerning whether it’s a threat. I looked back at her with the gentlest expression I could manage; my usual slumped shoulders and casual demeanour hopefully communicated my very real ease with the whole situation.

Asahina-san brushed her hair a little from her forehead. “I really am nervous, though.” She told me in a mature and familiar voice. When she lifted her face, it was as though the future Asahina-san was standing in her place. “I’m sorry, Kyon-kun. For everything…”

I gave a small smile. I knew I was right. Koizumi suggested something like this to me ages ago, but I never bought the convoluted conspiracy theory that went along with it. It was just a hunch, really. How does the saying go? ‘Takes one to know one’.

“It’s fine, Asahina-san. They were your orders, right? We’ve all been keeping secrets.”

Tears, real tears were brimming at the corners of her eyes. She lifted her finger and brushed them aside.

“Kyon-kun…only you would understand…only you…” Though much more controlled than the ‘younger’ Asahina-san, her voice was still shaky. “I wish…” But whatever it is she was going to say, I never found out. Her sentence trailed off into the past forever. After a tremulous breath, she asked:

“Do you want to know why?”

I shook my head.

“That’s not really important to me. Even if you weren’t being honest with me, everything’s turned out pretty much exactly how I would have wanted it. I can’t blame you for that, Asahina-san. But can I just ask you one thing?”

She breathed in, bringing her emotions under control. “Yes?”

“Were you always the way you are now?”

She offered me a sad smile. “I was never quite the way I presented myself to you. But I was a lot closer to that person I was pretending to be than I am now. I really was young, scared, inexperienced…I just knew what I was doing a little more than I let on.”

I nodded, satisfied.  I was relieved, to tell the truth. I was glad the Asahina-san I knew wasn’t a total fabrication.

“Then, were you really taking your revenge on Haruhi just now?” I asked with a turn of my lip.

“I-I wasn’t!” She pouted, before allowing a smirk and a giggle. “Well…maybe a little. But those are all fond, fond memories to me now.”

Her words reminded me of something. “Oh, Asahina-san, is it alright if I ask you one more thing?”

She looked up at me expectantly.

“What’s your real age?”

She smiled and cutesily brought a finger to her lip.

“Classified information!”

We laughed at the nostalgic scene. I was struck by just how well our friendship had survived this, and above all else, how relieved Asahina-san looked. I wondered whether it would be the same with Haruhi…whether the knot in my chest would unravel if I only found the courage to tell her.

Remembering we had a major problem at hand, the two of us set out on our clock-hunt. As soon as we left the room, Asahina-san morphed back into the shy girl we all knew so well. She may have been discovered by me, but she needed to keep up appearances for the world at large. It was bizarre and a little funny to watch, but at the same time, I was feeling the burden of yet another secret.

We searched a good half of the premises, and everywhere we went, the clocks were the same. The president of North High’s computer society, who Haruhi had somehow blackmailed into coming, eventually allowed us to look at his swanky atomic watch. Unfortunately, even that was subject to the chrono-shift. Let this be a lesson to all you youngsters out there – there are two things money can’t buy you: happiness, and freedom from the relentless flux of space-time.

When we had exhausted the upstairs rooms and were heading back down to the ground floor, I was ambushed outside my dressing room by a wild Taniguchi.

“KYON! Finally! You’re a hard man to find! Come on, I got him, I got him!”

Taniguchi was dragging me into my room by my tie, a privilege I typically reserve for Haruhi, but I forgave him when I saw he was as good as his word. Sitting across from me on a stool and a chair were Nagato and Koizumi.

“Welcome back. I have your ‘real’ cufflinks.” Koizumi sneaked out sardonically from behind his obsequious smile.

“Man, all that fuss for a pair of cufflinks!” Taniguchi was going off. “You know, I thought he was a member of staff! Who goes around cleaning clocks when there’s a wedding on? There’s no way you can make this guy your Best Man, Kyon – ”

“Good work, Taniguchi.” I slapped his back amicably. “Now I need you to find my real tie.”

“EUCH?!” Taniguchi was so shocked he evidently slipped into the memories of his past life as a Munich cobbler. “Why would you need a temporary tie?!”

“Because certain people think it’s okay to tug on the groom’s tie half an hour before his wedding.” I glowered at him.

Taniguchi was downcast in sour defeat, before suddenly, his ears pricked up.

“Eh? Half an hour?”

He looked at the clock. Dammit. A thousand plagues upon my loose tongue. The eyes of all the room were on him, and I wondered how many excuses were being collectively thought up over the duration of those agonising seconds. At least enough to power a small Honda Civic.

“Hmm. Guess I was quicker than I thought!” Taniguchi grinned. “Alright, I’ll find your stupid tie in no time!” He marched off, without me telling him where to find it. I was smart to make friends with such an idiot.

The tension in the room diffused as the time traveller and I stood facing our resident alien and esper.

“Well,” Koizumi motioned to the clock. “It seems we have plenty of time to explain.”

And explain we did. Koizumi had noticed our temporal jam a while ago and had been testing all the clocks Asahina-san and I hadn’t reached. It was then Taniguchi grabbed hold of him and led him in several different wrong directions until Nagato rescued them. From Koizumi’s findings, it seemed the entire venue was caught up in this chrono-shift.

“So what, are we going to have to cancel the wedding?” I moaned. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but I certainly felt something. Something like disappointment meets relief meets confusion meets me throwing my entire emotional computer out the window, I don’t know.

“We needn’t go to such lengths.” Koizumi smiled. “Although it would be easier if that were the case. However, I am not so sure this is a spacial issue at all.”

“Eh?” Asahina-san reacted. “But, Koizumi-kun…a chrono-shift is a space-time phenomenon…”

“Indeed. Perhaps I should clarify. It is a spacial issue, but perhaps not in the way we typically think of space. Rather than a segment of land being affected by this shift, it is my belief that it is merely the space between our skulls.”

An eerie silence permeated the room.

“And those of all the other guests.” Koizumi finished, with serious eyes undermining his easy smile.

“S-so…” Asahina-san began, “Koizumi-kun is saying…the guests are caught up in the chrono-shift, not the venue?”

“Hold on,” I interrupted. “If that’s true, Koizumi, we can never escape the shift. If it’s occurring inside ourselves, we’ll be stuck here forever!”

“So it would seem.” Koizumi bowed his head as he stared at his wringed hands. “Time has frozen within us…rather poetic, don’t you think? But perhaps now is not the time to be waxing lyrical.”

“This theory.” Nagato gave him a blank stare. “Where did you get it from?”

She had been doing this for years now, but it still warmed my heart to see Nagato actually interacting us like a regular person. At least, it typically would if my head wasn’t thumping like Goliath playing the bongos. Time frozen forever? What would that even look like? Would I ever see the night sky again, or catch a train again, or talk to anyone who wasn’t a wedding guest?

Would I ever marry Haruhi?

“It is simply my analysis of Suzumiya-san’s mental state.” Koizumi shrugged. “Working on the assumption that she created this chrono-shift, what purpose do you think it serves?”

I wracked my brains for an answer. Why would Haruhi want to freeze time? On today of all days? The day Koizumi said would make Haruhi so happy the Agency wouldn’t have to worry about any extraordinary phenomena occurring for at least a few months?

“It couldn’t be…”

“Oh? It looks like you’re catching on.”

“You’re telling me that Haruhi…has displaced us in time…”

“Yes…”

“…because she has cold feet?!”

Asahina-san looked at Nagato. Nagato looked at me. I looked at Koizumi.

Koizumi smiled.

“Can’t you relate?”

Well, yes, I could, but…

…

For crying out loud, Haruhi!

Koizumi and Asahina-san were debating whether that necessarily meant the chrono-shift was targeting us individually or whether she just placed it on the venue, but I couldn’t pay attention to any of that nonsense. I was just too mad.

“Oh? Where are you going?” Koizumi asked me as my hand reached for the doorknob.

“To see Haruhi.”

“Oh my. Isn’t it bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding?”

“You’re telling me at this rate, there won’t be a wedding. The entire life I’ve planned with Haruhi will never happen!” Unconsciously, I had raised my voice. Glancing behind my shoulder, I could see the others staring at me in surprise. That didn’t stop me, though.

“I let Haruhi get away with a whole lot…but cancelling our wedding? Fat chance!”

With that, I barged through the door and slammed it behind me. Just you wait, Haruhi. I’m going to give you a real talking-to. I don’t care if I get bad luck. I’d break a thousand mirrors if it meant getting out of this chrono-bullshit. I’m going to marry you in half an hour. I swear it.

Besides, I’d already seen the bride in quite a bit of detail today.

When I reached Haruhi’s floor, I was panting for air. I had ran again, unnecessarily, but I wasn’t going to postpone this any longer. I strode towards the door and fought off the waves of dizziness, the black knot tightening itself inside my chest. Yanking forth my courage, I knocked thrice.

“Ehhh? Who is it?” I heard my sister’s voice ask.

“It’s me. I’m coming in.”

Mass panic shook the other side of the room, and I opened the door as slowly yet confidently as possible. By the time I opened my eyes, Haruhi was facing the curtained window, hastily pulling the zip up on her bodice.

There was a long brunette ponytail before me, held fast by yellow ribbon and streaming over an almost naked back. Beneath that, a shapely white dress exploded into a fluff of silky flares. When she turned towards me, her dress flew like a swan mid-flight. It was – in a word – divine.

It was only the familiar irritation in those caramel brown eyes that reminded me, with comfort, that this really was Haruhi.

Supposedly, this woman was meant to be some kind of deity, and sometimes I really could believe it. It scared the crap out of me just then, just like it had when I woke up this morning in a cold sweat and a sinking feeling warring against a rapidly beating heart. I had felt as though, this was too much for me, or more accurately, like I couldn’t possibly deserve this.

But seeing her cute glare made me remember that this wasn’t a god I was looking at. How could it be? Theorise all you want, Koizumi, but as far as I was concerned, Haruhi was just Haruhi. That was the woman I was marrying, not God, not the potential for auto-evolution or a time-warp or whatever else you want to call her – all that’s unverifiable anyway. As usual, I was the only one in this damn brigade with my head on straight. I believe the evidence before my eyes, and the only thing I knew for sure was that this bold, forceful, chaotic girl was Suzumiya Haruhi, and that when she was with me I felt a certain something fill up my soul. What that something is, I’ll leave to you guys. I’ve got a pretty good idea, though.

While these thoughts were going through my head, absolutely nothing was escaping my mouth. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself, but Haruhi obviously found our staring contest kind of awkward.

“W-well?!” Her furiously blushing face asked. “What is it?!”

Now I was blushing. I did my best to recover my cool and issued a command to all Haruhi’s hanger-ons.

“Everyone out!”

Kunikida gladly took the opportunity and bumped straight into me, before remembering to pull his tie off his eyes and running for freedom. The others were less enthusiastic.

“Haaah? Dumb Kyon, who do you think you are to order me about in my own dressing room? I’m Brigade Leader, you know!” Haruhi objected, snorting like a bull.

“Not you, Haruhi. You stay here.” I turned to Tsuruya-san and my sister. “You two, get out.”

“Hmm?” Tsuruya-san was undeterred, her wicked smile welcoming the challenge. “Can’t you wait until the wedding, Kyon-kun? Or do you want a last piece of young love before the marriage bed sucks it all away?”

“KYON-KUN!” Began my sister, again. “I’M HARUHI-NEE’S BRIDESMAID, AND – ”

“If you don’t get out I’ll tell Mum and Dad who broke the TV!” I threatened her.

My sister deflated like Aeolus’ bag of winds.

“Y-you wouldn’t…ohhh…” Compliantly and resentfully, she traipsed out.  Now only my greatest foe remained. Fortunately, I had a plan.

“Tsuruya-san, please leave. It’s just as you said: I’m going to make love to Haruhi.”

A high-pitched squeal escaped from Haruhi. “Wh-wh-wh-wh-what?! Kyon! What are you saying?!”

“Eh?” Tsuruya-san looked at me as if she didn’t quite understand. “Eh? Eh eh? That was a joke…you’re joking, right? Right?”

I stared her down like I was the protagonist in the sequel to that cowboy movie I mentioned at our last showdown.

“Eh? Eh? Eh eh eh?” Tsuruya-san was colouring red. “Eh? Ah…eh?”

She turned around and walked from the room in a total daze. When I saw the chance, I slammed the door behind her. Tsuruya-san, your bark is so much worse than your bite. I pray for your swift recovery.

Haruhi backed up against the window with her fists out in front of her in what looked like an entirely new martial art.

“B-back off Kyon! We’re going to get married, you know?! There’s no time for that kind of thing…” Her flushed cheeks made her pout extra cute. “Geez, you’re always so needy…”

“That’s you, isn’t it?” I sighed with some affection. Really. Her face had sucked all my righteous anger out of me. Guess I should prepare for my life as a doormat husband. “Relax, Haruhi. That’s not why I’m here.”

I walked up to her and plonked my hands on her shoulders. She squeaked and her big eyes stared up at me with apprehension.

“Haruhi…how are you feeling?”

Her cheeks puffed out as she geared up to vehemently reject the supposition that anything was wrong with her. But just as soon, they deflated, and her face fell with her silence. We’d been in a relationship too long for any of the emotional drama of our teenage years, so we’d been approaching something like honesty. One big hurdle still remained for me, though.

All of a sudden, Haruhi barrelled into my chest and a disorienting warmth rammed through me like a bolt from a ballista. She was clenching my lapels, holding them with all her strength, rubbing her head against my chest, taking in my scent. Shaking.

“Even though I’ve wanted this for so long…”

I pressed my arm against her back and pulled her closer. Oh, Haruhi.

“Even though I’ve wanted this for so long,” her muffled voice repeated. “I’m still scared…”

It’s normal, you know, Haruhi? Cold feet. That’s what I wanted to say.

But then she said something else.

“…Of what you might say…”

My eyes widened. So this wasn’t just cold feet. There was something more to this, something I was completely unaware of: something I hadn’t noticed because I was too busy worrying about my own secrets.

“Haruhi…”

I really was a hopeless man. Very well then, Haruhi, I’ll take responsibility. I’ll tell you what I know you need to hear. It shouldn’t be too hard: it’s the truth, after all.

“No matter what you tell me…no matter what you haven’t told me…there’s no way I could leave you, you know?” I drew us apart just enough so I could look into her puffy red eyes. “First of all, you’ve thoroughly domesticated me. If I went back out there into the big wide world without you, I’d be eaten up in a heartbeat.” She couldn’t help but smile at that, which made me smile too. “And secondly…I’ve seen the world without you in it. I don’t want to go back there.”

I didn’t expect her to understand what I was talking about, since the events of that Christmas had been forgotten by everyone but Nagato and me. Still, it seemed to reassure her. After a little while, she drew in a breath, tried to say something, failed, and, in classic Haruhi style, tried a second time but louder.

“S-so, you don’t blame me?!”

“Huh?” I was completely taken aback.

“You don’t blame me?!” Her expression was intensely earnest, like a dam had exploded within her and she was awash with the power and relief of the flow.

“Why…why would I blame you?” I lifted my hands up in genuine confusion at the bouncing fireball beneath me.

“I mean!” Haruhi turned away from me now and paced back and forth, looking at everything else in the room. “I made you do all these crazy things you didn’t want to, just because you started talking to me…you just wanted a normal high school life, but because I was bored, I dragged you into all of it and…now you’re marrying me, but do you really want that, Kyon? Do you really…” She bit her lip and cautiously, fearfully, dared to look up at me. “…want me?”

I blinked at her, and stayed quiet for longer than was good for her peace of mind. It wasn’t that I had to think about the answer; I was just so shocked. This had been your reason for worrying all this time? This was your reason for stopping time? It was never about her at all. It was just about me…

“Wh-why are you laughing?!” Haruhi’s trembling, embarrassed face was doing its best to be menacing, but nothing would work. I just couldn’t stop laughing. It was so stupid.

“Haruhi,” I made out when I recovered myself, “I do have free will, you know? I’m not just a puppet dancing on your strings.”

“O-of course I know that!” Now she was indignant. “That’s why I was asking – ”

“Haruhi, if I really felt that way, why would I have proposed? Or heck, before that, why would I have even asked you out? Or in the very beginning, why do you think I went to the SOS Brigade after school every day? I could have ditched you anytime I wanted.” A smile crept up my face unwares. I felt truly, truly happy. “But I wouldn’t change anything in these last seven years. Not a bit of it.”

Really, Haruhi, I had realised all this in the first year I met you. For a multi-talent super-genius, you really are dense. Our eyes looked into each other’s for a good minute, and inside her gaze I saw a churning sea of raw feeling, shifting, changing, like a subatomic particle. It was seriously enchanting to look at, and I could have stayed there for the rest of our endless time, but a bear hug from Haruhi knocked me back to the outside world.

“Stupid Kyon…” She muttered. She sounded happy herself – so happy I could hardly picture the gloomy girl who sat in front of me on the first day of High School. Really, how far we’d come.

Or, no, not quite yet.

“…Say it…”

“Hm?”

“Say you’ll marry me!”

“I just said I wouldn’t leave you, didn’t I? And in the first place, isn’t that what the vows are for!?”

“Just say it, Kyon! Do what I tell you to already…”

I chewed on my thoughts. Haruhi had borne herself to me, her whole self, secrets, regrets and all. It was time for me to step up too. Hopefully she would just laugh it off like I had, but whatever might happen, it needed to be said. If I turned back without saying it, I knew I couldn’t forgive myself.

“No.”

“N-no?” Haruhi’s frail voice repeated.

“No. Not yet. First…”

I pulled us apart more urgently this time, and now it was my turn to cling onto her for security as my hands gently squeezed her shoulders. Damn the consequences. This wasn’t anything new. I had the balls to do it before, so I might as well do it now, and if the universe explodes, well, the universe explodes. The universe should get a hobby instead of interfering with my relationship with Haruhi all the time. It’s been third wheeling through our whole relationship, you know? It’s super awkward, and I’m fed up with it.

I said a silent apology to the others, but what happened now was just between me and Haruhi, and no-one else.

“Haruhi, there’s something I need to tell you.”

--

“It would seem the time has come at last.” Koizumi jested, invading my personal space enough for Taniguchi and Kunikida not to hear. “Whatever you did back there, it seems to have worked. Nagato-san hasn’t detected any fluctuations since you reported back to us.”

“Well, don’t jinx it. I’ve been waiting for this long enough.”

In the last twenty minutes, with the help of my male companions including a returning baffled Taniguchi, I had patted down my suit, mastered my hair, and fixed my tie so perfectly that no further fiddling was necessary. As I stood in front of the door to the main hall, waiting for the ceremony preparations to begin, I found my nervousness had disappeared. I was confident – even excited. Koizumi, sly as he was, evidently caught on to this.

“Would I be right in saying the chrono-shift wasn’t the only thing you fixed?”

I couldn’t help but let loose a smile.

“Something like that.”

“Well, I wish you two the utmost happiness.” Koizumi’s face was painted with his usual cheery smile, but I felt a cold stab like the kind a resurrected blue-haired AI might give. I hadn’t forgotten what the other Koizumi had told me in that transformed world.

“Koizumi.” I turned to face him. “I’m glad you’re here.”

The fake smile paused, before settling into a much more genuine one.

“And I am genuinely happy for the two of you. You must believe me when I say that. And not just for the Agency’s sake.” He brought a finger thoughtfully to his chin. “Although, if you’re so glad I’m here, you could have at least made me your Best Man.”

Yare yare. Him too? I gave a good-natured sigh and an exaggerated shrug. “Sorry, I’ve just known Kunikida longer than anyone else. Besides, if you gave a speech you would just start talking about the Anthropic Principle or Schrodinger’s Cat or some other stuff that would send our audience to sleep.”

Koizumi chuckled. “Fair enough. Your wedding, at least, deserves to be a day off from the problems facing the make-up of reality. It really is unfortunate the chrono-shift occurred when it did.”

“No,” I shook my head. “I think it occurred at just the right time.”

“Oh?” Koizumi looked interested, but didn’t follow up.

A brief period of silence ensued as I contemplated the doors. What would happen from here? I would stand at the end of the end of the hall with Kunikida, and wait for Haruhi to emerge from the other side of the room arm-in-arm with her old man and her chaotic quartet of bridesmaids in hot pursuit. Then we would hold each other’s hands before the officiant, say our vows…you know, if the officiant calls me Kyon, I think I’m going to cry.

“Kyon.” Kunikida tapped me on the shoulder. “It’s time.”

I placed my hand on the doorknob with gravitas. Before I was ready to open it, a meaningless thought occurred to me.

“Ah…I hope Haruhi’s washed her face since then. It’d be bad if people thought she’d been crying on her wedding day for the wrong reasons.”

“I’m sure she’s already beaming from ear to ear.” Koizumi assured me. “And I don’t think Suzumiya-san will care much for what her poor guests might think. You might as well be the whole universe to her today; the rest of us will just be specks in the corner of her eye.”

I smirked as I turned the handle.

“Are you kidding me? This is Haruhi we’re talking about, remember? She might love me, but she also loves aliens, time travellers and espers.”

As I stepped through the door, I turned my head back to Koizumi.

“After the ceremony, good luck prising her away from you guys. You’ll have a lot of catching up to do.”

As mine and Kunikida’s footsteps echoed against the polished wooden floor, I heard Koizumi, after a spell of stunned silence, begin to ever-so-weakly tell me to wait. But in the end, it just devolved into a tremendous chuckling. I smiled and fixed my eyes ahead of me.

Haruhi had known me long enough now to tell when I’m being serious. What had worried me was how she would feel about us hiding it from her all these years, but it turned out I was being just as stupid as she was.

Like Haruhi would ever turn up the opportunity to play with aliens, time travellers and espers.

[rexshadaoart]

@andred02 commissioned me to make an artwork of Ash Ketchum (or Satoshi Shudō as he called him) in his Rebirthverse canon.  I’ve done previous requests for him in the past, usually artworks of Ash in Red’s outfits, but this is the first time he asked me to make a unique outfit for him (as well as the first I got paid by him).

The unique outfit was:

A mix of Red and Satoshi update Gen 1 outfit for mid-2000's (2007)

A red sleeveless jacket with a yellow tip on white pocket and edge of jacket. 

A black t-shirt with white short sleeve 

A belt that is same as the classic OS era one 

Dark blue pants

Red and black Generation 1 running shoes with red lighting bolt on white cuff on shoes.

Black fingerless gloves with red cuffs. 

And classic OS hat.

Ah, where to start? It took me a few days to answer that question.  I decided to use the concept art of Red from Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee  as my base for the commissioned design.  But why stop there?  The whole concept art was a model sheet that showcased Red from different angles.  And I haven’t tried a model sheet before.  Plus, a model sheet would be useful as a frame of reference for future artists if they drew this particular incarnation of Ash.

Showcased: 

Colored Model Sheet Ink Outline Model Sheet Pencil Sketch Concept Inspiration

Since Red’s LGPE design was the base, it only seems fitting that I also use references of Ash from the new anime series (it’s not called Sword & Shield for some reason).  The big anime eyes and hairstyle were the biggest influences.  Arms were a pain to draw, so I decided to bother with them on the side and back view.  The shoes were the most creatively challenging aspect of the whole model because Generation I shoes were red and white and thus I had to create the shoes from scratch.  

In addition to the main model, I also made art pieces of Ash’s undershirt and backpack separately for clarification’s sake.  Ash doesn’t wear a red jacket but a red vest, so the undershirt has to have white sleeves.  The backpack was primarily based on Ash’s original backpack but with different colors to better fit with the design.  It took a while to find the right colors.

Overall, I enjoyed making this model piece and I hope to get back in the groove of making artworks more often.

[cards-onthetable]

A long time coming

Both this episode, and this Discussion about it.

We’ve all been on the internet these last several weeks. We’ve all seen the excessive amounts of promotion for this wedding. We’ve all had to spend half our lives staring at the weird white appliqué on Eddie’s dress that looks like something your mom would have ironed on your Girl Scouts uniform when you were 7. I dreaded the fuck out of this episode y’all. I was so sure it was going to be terrible.

SO WAS IT? 👀 let’s play bingo!

Here’s your warning that this is long af. I do not apologize.

Erin and Eddie and the Lying Liar

The episode opens in Erin’s office/conference room with Erin wearing an area rug tied around her neck with a bow. Why isn’t “Erin wears a ridiculous rug with a giant neck bow” on the bingo card?

Erin’s glasses on/off as a tic of Concern count: 36

EDDIE’S IN ERIN’S OFFICE. EVERYTHING IS GROSS. LET’S BEGIN.

Erin takes a fairly accusatory tone with Eddie from the beginning.

Eddie gets OfFeNdEd all “you’re taking the word of a complete stranger over mine?”

GOD WRITERS, can you PLEASE write Eddie as a capable, intelligent professional for once in your lives? Real Eddie/Cop Eddie/Normal Person Eddie wouldn’t play the ~personal relationship~ card like that. I mean sure, Danny and Jamie do that shit all the time, and that’s dumb af too. But the way Eddie does it feels less like a family member asking for a Favor and more like a naive scared little girl expecting Special Treatment. Ew.

“I onLy HaVe oNe SiDe: ThE TrUtH” 🙄

Erin saying the witness was “very convincing” is gross. Everything about this scene is grossss gross gross

So apparently, Erin didn’t know/realize during the initial witness interview that Eddie was the officer in question. I wonder how that conversation (with Eddie) would’ve gone if any other cop walked into her office. Like the whole thing felt so unprofessional on both sides, but especially Erin. Wouldn’t she give any other cop the benefit of the doubt? Question them, sure, but not go into the conversation like she assumes they’re lying. Witnesses change their stories all the time. Ugh this whole storyline is gross

Not to mention why is this happening in EDDIE’S WEDDING EPISODE?! Look I don’t need Eddie’s entire life this week to be dedicated to wedding shit. But ew @ a Work Conflict with a future in-law 9 minutes before her damn wedding.

JAMIE AND EDDIE ARE SITTING ON THE FLOOR AT JAMIE’S COFFEE TABLE for the second week in a row. Nice.

THE LIGHTING IS TERRIBLE ON JAMIE REAGAN’S FACE. Mark it.

Jamie is such a dumbass. “I understand you’re upset, I’m just clarifying she didn’t ACTUALLY call you a liar...” shut up lawyer boy, hasn’t anyone taught you that those technicalities are NOT the way to go?

“I don’t think there’s any upside to splitting hairs about this.” WHO’S SPLITTING HAIRS, MR. CLARIFICATION?

“THIS IS GREAT, WE’RE ABOUT TO GET MARRIED AND I’M JUST NOW FINDING OUT YOU’VE GOT A PROBLEM WITH MY SISTER.” I think this is about where @ontherockswithsalt and I literally keeled over laughing. Mark it.

On the one hand I get what Eddie’s saying about Erin being every woman’s basic nightmare. On the other hand Old Eddie was a boss ass bitch who never would’ve been intimidated/shaken/irritated by the conversation in Erin’s office.

What the fuck is this sweater situation? Eddie it looks like you took some scissors to it and the result was tragic.

Smooth move Jamie. Lol I’m sure most people loved that line “as far as I’m concerned you just described yourself” but 😂😂😂 @ everything.

Jamie and Erin on the courthouse steps. This should be good (read: gross someone get me a puke bucket)

Lol @ this running theme that Frank is nervous af about giving a toast/speech at the damn rehearsal dinner.

Why is Jamie bringing this Eddie thing up to Erin? Eddie vented to him - he’s her fiancé, it’s his sister they’re talking about, of course she’s going to Discuss it with him. But would it ever occur to him that maybe he should just listen and ~support her~ and he doesn’t need to go off and try to Solve Her Problems? 🙄

MAYBE SHE SHOULD FIND A SOFTER LINE OF WORK? Oh fuck me how is that called for, Erin? Eddie’s been a successful cop for years now. She only started having Trouble with her confidence and competence when your idiot dumbass brother fucked her up at a golf course on a Sunday morning.

DON’T BRING ME INTO YOUR FIANCEE’S DRAMAS.... oh my god Erin you started it so like step off.

I LIKE HER JUST FINE. Aren’t the Reagans all about Candor and Honesty? Shouldn’t Erin be having this conversation with Eddie herself if she apparently feels so strongly about it? Dude I’m so mad this is happening in the wedding episode. Or at all.

AND I’LL LIKE HER A HELL OF A LOT MORE WHEN SHE STARTS FIGHTING HER OWN BATTLES ?????? Eddie didn’t ask Jamie to ~fight this battle~ for her and everything is grosssss gross gross.

JAMIE SLEPT ON THE COUCH LAST NIGHT. AYE SOMEONE’S IN THE DOGHOUSE. Also this is about the closest thing we’ve gotten to Actual Confirmation that Jamko lives together/has spent the night together. I’m still convinced he’s never gotten her off in his life though.

Jamie has framed pics of his mom (his Harvard graduation) and Joe on his table. Does he have any pictures of Eddie framed anywhere? 👀🤔

“YoU’Re sTiLL PiSsEd” the Harvard graduate, y’all.

Side note: Jamie’s wearing sweatpants but THE LIGHTING IS TERRIBLE AND THE SWEATPANTS AND SHIRT ARE BOTH DARK COLORED. NO CONTRAST. NOTHING VISIBLE. 0/10 TOTAL WASTE.

Completely on Eddie’s side on this one. Idk about the whole making-Jamie-sleep-on-the-couch thing, but I’d be pissed af too if my fiancé took a private conversation between us as an invitation to go off and ~fight my battles~ without permission and/or without being explicitly asked to do so.

He might be closer to his family than most people are. But Eddie’s about to be his wife (ugh don’t remind me) and she needs to come first now. It’s not his job or his place to take her issues to his family members like that.

“It’s my job to look after you” GOD EW GROSS JAMIE REAGAN. That may be ~true~ but it’s not your job to make decisions for Eddie or treat her like someone who needs to be ~looked after~. It’s your job to treat her as your equal and consult her on (basically everything but especially) matters that directly affect her. It’s your mutual job to look after each other. Just don’t re: this weird paternalistic bullshit mmkay?

There are vegetables all over Jamie’s kitchen. Carrots in one shot, celery and onions and shit in another. RUN, EDDIE. RUN FROM THIS FUTURE OF RABBIT FOOD AND MISERY.

OH MY GOD LOL 4EVER. EDDIE’S IN HER PORSCHE (welcome back bro! Where’ve you been all these years? No, really... where’ve you been?) and she has BINOCULARS like that’s a normal and reasonable thing to do in New York City on a Thursday afternoon.

Anthony’s here? It’s a party!

WITH SNACKS! ANTHONY’S EATING! Mark it.

It’s 4 minutes before her wedding and Eddie’s all “I didn’t know Reagans were Like That!” Oh my god where’s the bingo square for me sinking into ontherockswithsalt’s super soft new couch and dying in misery forever? Mark it.

A SPEECH ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A REAGAN? Mark it.

ANTHONY BEING THE ONE TO DELIVER SAID SPEECH? Shocking. Unexpected. Creative. Why is he so important that he gets this job in this episode by the way?

“Open your eyes a little. Know what you’re getting yourself into.”

WHY IS THIS A LINE THAT ANYBODY IS SAYING TO HER 26 SECONDS BEFORE SHE WALKS DOWN THE AISLE? OH MY GOD EVERYTHING WITH THIS RELATIONSHIP IS SO WRONG IT’S UNBELIEVABLE. HOW CAN ANYONE LEGITIMATELY THINK IT’S A GOOD IDEA FOR THEM TO GET MARRIED?!

Oh imagine that, the dummy lied. Eddie didn’t. Who’s surprised?!

Eddie’s back in Erin’s office. She’s wearing a mustard yellow sweater from Kohl’s (I know because I have the same one yo) and a.... prairie skirt? Interesting choice.

“It turns out I owe you an apology..” A REAGAN? APOLOGIZING? OMG

Aaaaand Eddie’s cutting her off. Fucking typical.

EDDIE’S WHOLE THING HERE IS BULLSHIT.

A few scenes ago she (rightfully, more or less) complained that Erin accused her of lying, now she’s all “oh, not really”

She’s bringing Jamie into it, saying she wouldn’t have whined to him if she didn’t secretly want him to go solve her problems for her. UM WHAT? They’re saying she wouldn’t have a conversation with her fiancé just for the sake of the conversation - there has to be a Goal? Dude I just can’t. This is the icing on the cake of Eddie’s shitty writing all damn season.

Humans are allowed to talk about - even COMPLAIN ABOUT - these things to their significant others. They should be able to do so without fear of outside repercussion or concern that their partner will go off and try to Fix Things in an unwarranted way. But if Eddie only brings her Family Problems to Jamie with the secret agenda that he’ll fix them for her, that’s gross and a huge red flag and blah blah blah. RUN EDDIE WHY ARE YOU MARRYING HIM.

Also gross in general @ Eddie apologizing. Eddie shouldn’t have ~taken things personally~ (but Old Eddie wouldn’t have - this is New Eddie and I don’t blame her for her puppetmaster’s bullshit) but Erin is the one really at fault here.

Minute 51 of a one hour episode meant to feature Eddie’s wedding, and she’s just now wrapping up this ridiculous Conflict with her fiancé’s sister. Sweet. ThE BeSt iS YeT tO CoMe

Danny and Baez

SOMEBODY DIES? Mark it.

BAEZ IS TOO GOOD FOR THIS TRASHCAN SHOW? Mark it. Baez pretending to be Erin is hilarious.

Fuck me I’m only 11 minutes into this thing so far.

Baez pretending to be Erin messing with her glasses is GENIUS HOW DID I MISS THAT THE FIRST TIME I WATCHED. 😂😂😍😍

Can we please get a guest actor on this show who can actually produce tears when they’re supposed to be crying? All this dry eye blubbering is gross. They could get better actors from any high school drama department.

“We’re SoULmAtEs” this girl is like that over-attached girlfriend meme omg.

Baez is the best person left on this ridiculous show. Her thing with the palm print security doors? Genius.

Side note: HOW’S THIS DUMB CONTRAST where Erin is on one set repeating over and over that Eddie is Just A Cop when she’s in Erin’s office. Meanwhile Danny’s over here acting like his sister is the only lawyer in all of New York who can get him the warrants/subpoenas he needs for his investigation. 🤔

They’re arresting her. I don’t care about this storyline anymore but I feel like I should mark the time.

We’re in Erin’s office and like.... did Erin forget to put clothes on today or something? What?

WE DON’T GET SHIRTLESS JAMIE FOR THE LAST 39 YEARS, BUT WE GET TO SEE ERIN’S ENTIRE BARE THIGH? WHERE DO I SUBMIT MY COMPLAINT @ THIS BULLSHITTERY

Now Danny suddenly can’t remember how to talk to express his concerns. What is it about Erin’s office that makes all these ~professionals~ turn into blubbery babies who need their mommy to order their happy meal so they don’t have to talk to the cashier themselves?

Another unbelievably clear surveillance video to just clean this messy case right up. How convenient. I’m bored.

The Best Friends Club

Garrett and Sid walking down the hall, arguing the difference between piece and peace. Bros, it’s “object to this marriage or forever hold your peace” which, can I just raise my hand here and say this better be some damn good foreshadowing

Garrett and Sid are rude af marching in (interrupting) while Frank and Baker are in the middle of a conversation, and can I say there’s no Good Way this whole thing could have started? 

It’s gross for the boys to get all huffy @ the female member of their team having a discussion with Frank, but if it were one of the boys in there, it would be gross for Baker to get all offended and interrupty and seen as Rude and Irrational or whatever. Can we all just act like adults here? Thx.

Now we’re in Garrett’s office and Baker is going to Explain? Oh boy this’ll be terrible.

They’re pulling rank?! I’m a lieutenant, you’re a detective, you’re a civilian. Actually I’m Commissioner Moore.

Listen dudes, I’m sure your dicks are both huge. Shut the fuck up.

Why are Sid and Garrett throwing a fit like this at all? Frank asked to see the presentation and Baker showed it to him. God this is such a dumb contrived conflict why are we here?

“You know what? I don’t think this has anything to do with chain of command. I think this is bruised egos and stepped-on toes.” SAY IT BAKER. Call these clowns on their bullshit.

I need a margarita. @ontherockswithsalt please.

Garrett is in Frank’s office now, with a weird ass smile on his face as he says “it’s TIME for a VICTORY LAP!” Wtf.

“So you’re saying I have to get Gormley and Baker’s sign off before I can set this in motion?” How’s that for ChAiN oF CoMmAnD, Mr. Biggest Dick In The PC’s Office?

And now Garrett’s leaving through the conference room so he doesn’t have to walk past Baker. These dummies are literally so childish it’s ridiculous.

Now the BFFs club is in front of Frank for a Stern Talking To. Oh my god it’s like a parent dealing with a bunch of 6-year-olds. Remember when this show was actually good?

They’re all going to switch jobs for a day. Frank made a diagram. Clearly put lots of thought into it. A+.

Garrett’s complaining that it’s a lot to ask. A lot to ask that these dummies act like professional adults? Agreed.

Gormley doesn’t know what the word “quote” means and/or is not familiar with the New.York.Times. Garrett doesn’t know how to answer phones or log into a computer but he does a damn good Gormley impression, apparently. Baker doesn’t know how to read investigative files? Omg are we all learning something today, kiddos?!

Jamie and Frank have a Heart To Heart.

Oh boy, the Best Friends are together again.

“Our behavior this week, it was embarrassing.” YOU THINK?

The BFFs just had a more emotional, moving Heart To Heart than Jamie and Eddie have had in their lives, so that’s chill.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Jamie and Frank have a Heart To Heart

Jamie’s In Frank’s office after a quick chat with Disgruntled Garrett.

Frank’s joke is ridiculous.

JAMIE’S WEARING KHAKIS. Mark it.

“I have never seen you so unwaveringly certain about what you want.” Well unwavering is right. Jamie’s facial expression hasn’t changed since 2017.

Did Frank just compare Jamie’s feelings towards Eddie to his feelings about the Chevelle? Nice, that’s totally reasonable and not at all gross. Just kidding, it’s gross.

“She doesn’t want to lose herself.”

“Well that makes sense.”

“It does?!”

Omg seriously? Fucking seriously. There’s too much to even delve into here like I could write a whole damn essay about this exchange. But Jamie. For real. It surprises you that Eddie doesn’t want to throw herself headfirst into Being A Reagan? It surprises you that she wants to keep her own identity within your marriage? It surprises you that she doesn’t plan to melt herself into your back pocket and hang out there like a fun toy who parrots back all your opinions and dedicates herself to The Reagan Name above all else? Oh. My god. EDDIE RUN.

Well her brother’s dead....

Eddie has a brother? Oh that’s some nice cool chill information to drop on us randomly 6 years later.

I have Thoughts (maybe he committed suicide or accidentally OD’d back when shit hit the fan with Armin?) but I hate how this is a random throwaway line with such important implications. Have they ever truly talked about Eddie’s dead brother? Does Eddie feel minimized in her grief because her brother didn’t Die A Hero like Joe? EDDIE RUN.

“Don’t make her do all the work adjusting to us. Find ways for us to adjust to her” this is excellent and important advice, truly. Would’ve been nice to have this conversation, idk, 9 months ago?

THE MOMENT WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR

FIRST: THE REHEARSAL DINNER.

Lena’s saying some shit. Cool. Y’all by this point I’m so exhausted @ everything in this shitshow episode, I don’t even care.

“Edit and myself - who have both suffered from my husband’s glaring insufficiency...” oh my god Lena way to read the room.

“THANK YOU FOR LOVING MY DAUGHTER AS MUCH AS I DO.” LOL NEITHER ONE OF THEM SEEMS TO LOVE HER THAT MUCH THOUGH. RUN FOR THE HILLLLLSSSSS EDDIE.

TO JAMM-KO. Oh, my, god, why are we here.

This is some really ridiculous pandering to the fans y’all. Like over the top gross. This show is a just whole ass joke at this point.

But actually LOL @ Erin scolding Danny for telling Sean “would you learn something, numbnuts?”

FRANK’S SPEECH

UGLY FLOOR LAMPS. TWO OF THEM. Mark it. Twice.

Where’s the joke Frank?

“She’s doing the bravest thing I’ve ever seen a cop do... she’s marrying Jamie... and walking down the aisle bY HeRsELf.” 🙄🙄🙄🙄

Can we not commoditize that choice? It shouldn’t need to be a Big Deal.

Eddie is Her Own Woman

And a Lifeforce

But y’all

Lifeforce is a disgusting euphemism for semen, in case you’re unfamiliar with certain Top Quality Fanfics we have available to us in this fandom

So I’m caught somewhere between dying laughing and like, crying forever

Seeing her in action as Jamie’s Life partner

And hopefully as a mother! EW! GROSS! THIS IS NOT THE TIME OR PLACE TO EXPRESS YOUR WISHES FOR SOME NEW GRANDKIDS, FRANCES

That’s a thing that will never not gross me out. Public (or even uninvited private, tbh) expressions of Opinion about someone else’s family planning choices

Y’all this is Eddie’s future father in law telling her “I hope you go have lots of unprotected sex with my son, and potentially shelve your own career goals temporarily or permanently, and go through lots of painful unfortunate Body Changes, because here’s my public request for some more grandkids”

Let it be known if my future in-laws said that at my rehearsal dinner, they’d have a real actual Hurricane to deal with so

MOVING ON THOUGH, UGH. TIME FOR THIS WEDDING.

“SuRe YoU wAnT To gO ThRoUgH wiTh tHiS?!” One, gross, not a funny joke. Two, CAN SOMEONE ASK THAT TO EDDIE A FEW TIMES BECAUSE

“In over two thousand weddings, I’ve only lost three to divorce...” 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

LOL @ all the waving from the altar to the poor dishonored Reagans who have to sit in the pews like some kind of peasants. Is this my first grader’s spring fling school concert?

Side note: does Eddie have any bridesmaids? No? So she’ll just be up there by herself looking like she’s marrying 4 Reagan men? Nice.

I mean if they pulled some throwaway bridesmaids out of their asses I’d be mad, and if Erin and Nicky were her bridesmaids I’d be mad, so really this is a no-win situation here but still, gross.

Oh hey, we’ve solved the mystery of the missing Frank.

Eddie’s had nightmares about tripping while walking down the aisle. That’s her compelling argument for asking Frank to escort her?

WHICH BY THE WAY I AM SO MAD ABOUT. THIS FUCKING REAGAN AFFAIR SHOW. DIDN’T HE JUST TALK ABOUT HOW THE REAGANS NEED TO JOIN EDDIE’S WORLD TOO, NOT JUST SUCK HER INTO THEIRS? OR SOMETHING. I’M IRRITATED.

Here comes the bride. On the organ! Appropriate, to go with the Reagan men’s 1836 morning suit choice. LOL IT’S ALL SO GROSS I CAN’T EVEN DEAL.

Here we go, she’s walking in. We see Jamie’s face. He looks... bored?

Lena crying.

Erin and Nicky looking all happy.

Eddie again. She keeps looking up at Frank and it’s distracting af. Has she looked down the aisle to see her groom even once?

Henry looks 100000 million times more excited than Jamie to be here.

Oh, a nice long shot of Jamie’s weird chin and stoic face. That’s certainly the look of a man who’s about to marry the love of his life.

The LOOK OF LOVE

FADE TO BLACK

AMAZING. I COULD NOT HAVE SCRIPTED IT BETTER MYSELF. OMG BEST TV WEDDING EVER. THANK YOU, BLUE BLOODS, FOR DOING ONE THING RIGHT FOR ONCE AND PUTTING ME OUT OF MY MISERY.

12/10. Beautiful. Moving. Ridiculous. I’m so impressed and in awe. Such a great episode.

WhO’S ReAdY fOr SeAsOn TeN?! See you in September folks.

[digiboat-blog]

Do the people of Karnataka really wish to have a separate flag

New Post has been published on http://digiboat.in/people-karnataka-really-wish-separate-flag/?utm_source=TR&utm_medium=Tumblr+%230&utm_campaign=SNAP%2Bfrom%2BDigiBoat

Do the people of Karnataka really wish to have a separate flag

Do the people of Karnataka really wish to have a separate flag or is the Government of Karnataka playing a card of Flag and Language ahead of elections!

Karnataka is a beautiful state located in South-India and also one of the largest states. It’s also known for the only largest state left with Congress. A state with variety of cultures and with silicon city (India) situated in it is facing problems regarding the state flag and language issues!

At first- What’s all about this state flag?

Karnataka Government has set up a committee to look up for legal options and design a state flag for Karnataka and this is where the whole issue started up with.

Was it really necessary for the state government to setup a committee?

Yes, it had to be done- because the constitution doesn’t say anything about states having their own separate flag and to do so they need to get the consent from the central government which is highly impossible to get back the approval!

A big confusion- does the state already have a flag?

Yes, it does-

The state has its own state flag (but not recognized) which is of yellow and red in color- hoisted on every 1st of November known to be as the ‘Kannada Rajyotsava’ and used for other cultural activities.

So, why is a separate flag required now after 70 Years?

The Tricolor National Flag is the only flag which is recognized by the government and any other state flags are just used for the sake of sentiments of the people to be used during cultural activities. The Indian Constitution doesn’t speak anything about having a separate flag for every separate state. It just looks like anther political game by the government giving it a name of the people sentiments-

Some major questions raised by the National Media Houses and other political parties-

Then why wasn’t it taken up for the past 4 years?

Why is it really that important when the state elections are up ahead this year?

Is the Government on a path to divide people ahead of elections?

These questions are necessary and important as it’s concerned with the sovereignty and integrity of the Union of India. India is a strong and nations only because of the states are a part of it- even if one state shows such an act unacceptable by the Constitution; it may further cause serious threats to the Indian Constitution and also to the Unity of India.

Reply by some of the Congress Government Officials-

The same question when asked by one of the media person’s to a government official about why wasn’t it taken up before- the reply sounded like, why not now?

Any political party is in power for 5 Years and the people have elected them so that they can work for the welfare of the state for 5 Years and so should we stop working on the Year of Elections?

It’s a matter to think about from the side of Government in power, its their governance and when the people wish them to do so- they need to accomplish their wishes keeping in mind the Constitution of India.

Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. Siddaramaiah has to say that- He’s been receiving petitions from the people of various parts of Karnataka and so in keeping the sentiments of people, he’s setup a Committee to look into the Constitution for any provision available in case a state wishes to have its own state flag.

More comments and examples-

The officials from the same party gave an example of America, stating- Every state in U.S has its own flag, so what’s harm in we having a state flag?

Opinion and Clarification about America-

America is a country where states have come together and formed a nation known to be United States of America, but in case of India- the history speaks a total different story and moreover this isn’t US. In U.S, every state has its own symbol and flag but in India all the states have a same Constitution.

A point to be noted-

U.S has a history of states coming together and forming a Union, but in case of India- the states weren’t present before Independence, all were under different kingdoms of known to be as princely States.

For ex- Karnataka was a part of Mysore kingdom and also different parts of Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and so on, which proves to be for demanding a Separate state flag as a move which’s politically motivated. If in such a case of public concern, then the Government should try to re-establish the Mysore State and adopt its flag as the state flag giving it a justification of no political motives intended behind such a move!

The outcome of such a move-

It isn’t just Karnataka but Tamil Nadu too had a problem with Language in the past giving it a fresh air for now to re-start with the same problems causing a threat to the long-known and praised Unity of India. It’s a real threat which everyone feels and for sees coming in the future. Steps to avoid this- such activities shouldn’t be encouraged and that the Supreme Court needs to take a decisive measure to avoid any such language or flag issues to be raised by any state in future.

Why does Jammu & Kashmir have a separate Flag?

Jammu & Kashmir is totally a different issue as it’s backed with a special provision in the Constitution under article 370 which provides a special autonomous status to Jammu & Kashmir. But, unlikely no other state in India has the same provision. This needs to be understood before asking, Jammu and Kashmir has a separate flag and so why can’t we?

It’s been raised several times by the people who I feel are unaware of the complete truth of this article and the special provision provided to this State of Jammu and Kashmir.

The predicted outcome, if state gets a separate flag-

  Every state in India will seek for the same.

A sense of enmity between states will rise- giving a blow to the Unity of India.

Every state will start acting as a separate nation.

The Long known Unity and the Tricolor will lose their importance gradually with time.

Difficult to contain states under a single flag- a race in superiority of language and culture will see a new light.

  Under such drawbacks and threats is it acceptable by the people of India and Karnataka to make a separate official flag where the people of Karnataka already have their own flag used for various cultural events.

Amidst this, it only rests on the people of Karnataka on what they really wish and decide as the Constitution is for the people and for the benefit of the people!

Reference images-

https://www.google.co.in/search?q=government+of+karnataka&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjmz4C61LPVAhWIP48KHcgrBqcQ_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=2w2fB5gENGzpYM:

https://www.google.co.in/search?biw=1366&bih=613&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=karnataka+flag&oq=karnataka+flag&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l4.57361.60441.0.60697.14.14.0.0.0.0.251.1474.0j6j2.8.0….0…1.1.64.psy-ab..6.8.1473…0i67k1.6FHPSsPohD8#imgrc=X8_RnpcF4_n7rM: