#AUGH i miss her like. a whole bunch.

[bigredsartt]

im actually gonna sob bc my friend has a bab party that i was gonna go to but cant anymore bc of stuff but i was gonna make a bear that reminds me of my girlfriend and have her send a voice note of whatever she wanted me to hear and put it in the bear but now i CANT.

[anonzentimes]

Hi!!

What is your opinion on servant/despair nagito?

AUGH! hello autism activating anon thank you from your ask!

Servant I think honestly is pretty well written and doesn't erase any of Nagito's character which I really love. Also he's in like the most bdsm outfit??? ever??? HUH?? it's kind of hilarious tbh.

Mostly, I really enjoy that as a Despair Nagito's beliefs aren't just erased. He's willing to do even more for hope than before, becoming despair himself, whereas before he seemed to have a limit he wouldn't cross. Which is honestly saying something since he thinks murder can be valid in the name of hope beforehand anyways.

I also like the funny detail that he's a servant with a chain on his neck at all times, but no one is really pulling the strings? Like, he's a "servant," to the warriors of hope but truly he has control over the situation. He chooses to stay there, if he truly desired to he could have left. His chain is there, he has the appearance of a servant, but no one is tugging on it, he's the one truly in control. Hopefully that makes sense lmao!!

I also thought that him seeing Komaru being a normal girl and knowing Makoto had hidden hope as a talent thinking she might have hope as well is pretty well written! It definitely makes sense why he'd think that.

Also, as weird as it is I actually really like how he looks as servant. The artwork for his sprites and the fanart I've seen is really awesome honestly!!

I used to think that he was just in Ultra Despair Girls for fan service, which probably a bit, but I do actually really enjoy how they use his role as a contributing antagonist properly. It's mostly expanding upon the idea of him as a Despair that we see in Chapter 0 of Danganronpa 2 with his love and hate obsession with Junko. He wants to be more involved than ever before and has no limit for how far he'll go, he actively will create the despair needed himself for hope to thrive. And that's so cool!!! It's basically pulling him and his beliefs their utmost extreme to explain how someone like him could become a despair, and the best part is that it makes sense! You can understand it given his character. He hates despair, so the only way he'd ever be okay with becoming despair is if it was in the name of hope, and that's exactly what they do!

I also think it's SO funny that out of all of the despairs, he's the most harmless out of them. Like, Sonia burned her own country to the GROUND, Teruteru ate his OWN MOTHER, but Nagito? He was just a servant to some weird terrorist kids, and ultimately was the main contributing factor to hope winning in the end. He brought Komaru so there could be a fair fight with Hope and Despair after all!

I think Mocaca's character after Ultra Despair Girls was kind of treated badly lmao, like, I feel like there was a lot of missed potential but they just threw her to the side because they never planned to do anything with her. However the Idea Nagito's ramblings just made her sick of the world is HILARIOUS though. Kind of Ironic that he saved her in hopes to be a successor to Junko for more hope to win in the end when his contributions led her to becoming nothing.

Also pretty Ironic that he KNEW what Izuru was going to do, and he wanted to see Junko again. But he never did, he died before he got to see what him as a Despair wanted to see. By his own hands nonetheless!!

Nagito as a Despair is really fucking weird with his outfit and all, but I actually really do love him. I really love the outfit, the approach they take to the only way he could become a despair with his beliefs, and his role in the story.

The brainwashing plot is a little clumsy, but I do enjoy that the way they treat brainwashing in the Danganronpa franchise is that the despair video manipulates your emotions. It doesn't overwrite anything, it just adds a desire to cause despair or excuses causing despair more. I think it's a little more realistic than just a whole bunch of teenagers being talked into becoming terrorists anyway.

servant you are iconic mwa <3

[thatoneluckybee]

OKAY PROPAGANDA TIME! @yttd-enjoyerNo pressure for any of these lol, I added a lot because rambling and procrastination. I’m copy-pasting some descriptions from another post of mine. I was trying to look for some with good lore and magic systems, or that had great characters.

Cursed Princess Club: This one is adorable and hilarious. It’s a fantasy and comedy. The Pastel Kingdom has four children. The eldest, Maria, is 18, and so beautiful that forest animals follow her when she sings. The second oldest, Lorena, is 17, and so beautiful that flowers grow where she sleeps. The third child is prince Jamie, who is so beautiful that he is constantly GLOWING (literally.) And his twin sister, Gwendolyn, is the sweetest and perhaps most loved of all! The three sisters are happily engaged to the Plaid Princes. When Gwen meets her soon to be betrothed, though…. he finds her to be really, really, ugly. Gwen has to learn to love herself as she is with the help of a club for cursed princesses (and one prince who wants to change the club name desperately.) It’s hilarious. Someone swallows her fiance whole. Jamie can taste feelings through food and keeps accidentally violating HIPPA. Lorena beats the crap out of a bunch of clowns. Gwen keeps getting mistaken for an evil witch. There’s a really spoiled drunk llama named Laverne. Maria buys merch of her boyfriend’s fanclub. There’s an omniscient clam. It’s a glorious disaster. (Also that was what the screenshots I was losing my mind and spamming last night. I relate to the plaid guy on an eerie level. This one has INCREDIBLE character arcs and parallels and foreshadowing and details and AUGH)

Space Boy: This one is one of my all-time favorites, and I believe it deserves an award for it’s realistic character arcs and characters. I’d be convinced if you told me they were real people. Sci-Fi Romance. (A lot of romance. Not a particular favorite genre of mien it’s just like 70% of all Webtoons.) In the far future, humanity is exploring the furthest reaches of space using the freezing sleep thing (real thing, forgot name.) Amy lives happily on a mining colony in deep space, until her father loses his job, and she and her family are sent away from the colony, and everyone she knows, back to Earth, where she wakes up 30 years later (frozen sleep thing.) Amy is adjusting to life on Earth, the new technology, and trying to come to terms with the fact her best friend is now in her 40s and she’s missed it all in sleep. Amy’s identifying trait is synesthesia: to her, people have flavors to match their personalities! Well, everyone except a strange boy she meets a school, who refuses to speak to her, and doesn’t have a flavor, Oliver. Amy decides that she WILL find this kid’s flavor if it kills her, and manages to get herself roped in the most chaotic mystery involving ancient cults, alien artifacts, unsolved murders, a government conspiracy, and whether or not Oliver is actually who he says he is. It’s so sad but I love it so much and I want to send everyone to therapy. I don’t even like sci-fi usually so this was amazing for me.

Nomads: ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES. The concept is your stereotypical “there were five kingdoms after a war 100 years ago:” the Sun, Sea, Sand, Sky, and Snow kingdoms. To maintain the peace, traveling between the kingdoms is banned for average citizens. You may, however, choose to become a Nomad, and travel for a price: you can never have a permanent home. Lance of the Sea Kingdom REALLY doesn’t want to be a Nomad. However, his little brother Mikah goes missing, and Lance has to find him in one year (once Mikah turns 18 it’ll be impossible to find him.) It’s going well and dandy until some unfortunate circumstances result in him, his new traveling buddy Satra, and a magic talking cat-thing being mistakenly accused of kidnapping a prince. And now they’re wanted bounties. (This comic is HILARIOUS so many shenanigans and I love Satra so much.)

Castle Swimmer: Can’t reveal TOO much of this ‘cause spoilers but it’s a really really good story. It’s a fantasy romance too. In this society of ���Mers” (merfolk), every kingdom has long awaited the day a mysterious, mythicaeing known as the Beacon arrives. He will grant each kingdom’s prophecy, be that granting them fortune or saving their lives. When the Beacon arrives, though, turns out he’s literally just some kid named Kappa who has no idea what he’s doing. Siren is the prince of the shark kingdom. They have a curse that will cause them to suffer and become covered in scars and eventually die. The only way they can break the curse is whenever the Beacon arrives—and Siren, as predicted, will kill him. The only problem is that Siren REALLY doesn’t want to be a murderer, and Kappa REALLY doesn’t want to die, and they both are pining HARD. 

Suitor Armor: This is a romantic fantasy but I like it because it doesn’t feel boiled down to JUST a “will they won’t they.” Fairies and humans have been at war for as long as anyone can remember, with heavy losses on both sides. A Lord rescues a child, a little girl named Lucia, to be his daughter, Kirsi’s, lady-in-waiting until Kirsi marries a nearby king. The only issue? Lucia is a fairy, and she and the Lord must hide that if she wants to live. After they’ve grown up, Kirsi and Lucia go to the nearby kingdom to prepare for the wedding, where Lucia meets their mage’s newest creation: an enchanted, sentient suit of armor named Modeus. And now we’re all aggressivley shipping a tin can with one of the coolest women ever. (And I LOVE the magic system in this… we don’t know everything yet, it’s being revealed as time progresses, but it’s amazing in my humble little opinion.)

Homesick: Recommending this one since you’ve read School Bus Graveyard! It’s almost a “sister series” in that the fanbases overlap lots and the creators have done collabs too! Disclaimer that it’s mature for a reason. It covers a lot of dark topics and is a HORROR FOR A REASON. School Bus Graveyard is incredibly dark, but it sort of eases you in to the terror while Homesick tosses you in like a flailing child. If you do choose to read it I can provide trigger warnings, though it may spoil some plotlines a bit. Rayne (my pfp!) wakes up on a rooftop with no memories at all and meets a boy named Samael, who quickly informs her that it’s the apocalypse. Cannibalistic creatures called murks roam the land, feeding on anything that makes eye contact. Rayne and Samael form a deal to survive, but things get really, REALLY messy when they encounter someone from Samael’s past and get wrapped up in something that might just be worse than the apocalypse. On top of it all, Rayne has noticed some strange things about herself, including terrible headaches that warn her of murks… (It’s so good I love it but good lord it gets dark. I really want to say more about it but the story doesn’t jump right into the main action or plot right away so I CAN’T WITHOUT SPOILING IT SOB.)

Okay limiting myself to six for now sheesh I typed a lot.

[fallenclan]

oooh clangen stories... I have a few but I think the one that sticks out in my mind the most is what happened to my clan, MapleClan. the whole thing was a complete shitshow of a clan, and unfortunately I don't have the save anymore but I do have discord messages of me liveblogging the whole thing to my friends

I think it started when one of the warriors, Barksky, died. he was found as an abandoned kit and died of greencough at the ripe old age of 16 moons ✌️ and then it was just downhill from there

after that my cats started dropping like flies; the moon after Barksky died, two more cats (including the deputy) died, and the leader chose to replace them with. the old deputy. who I demoted because everyone hated her. but at this point I was too invested in what was going on so I just let it happen

one of the cats, Houndspeck, announces she's having kits! great! surprising considering how old she is, but appreciated nonetheless. and then the next moon rolls around and she thinks she'll have. one kit. in that same moon, two warriors died. so now the allegiances look like this.

so now my clan consists of this kit (Fuzzykit ❤️), two guys who hate each others guts, and a bunch of old women. and in the same moon Fuzzykit becomes Fuzzypaw, Houndspeck dies. freshly orphaned and off to school! things are stable for a bit at 7 cats, and then Bogrump brings in an abandoned kit named Palekit. things are starting to look up, Finally

the only two guys in the clan, Juniperstreak & Squirrelfur, have a mutual hatred for each other. and I don't think I can even call it hate, that feels like too light of a word. both of their "dislike/hate" bars were almost maxed out. and yet they had the tiniest sliver of romantic like, for some reason

and then Curlystar loses 2 lives in a row, alongside Crouchpatch and Palepaw being killed by a gang of rogues. 6 cats now! the only young cat left in the clan is Fuzzyleaf. Curlystar loses ANOTHER 2 lives, leaving her with 1 life remaining

allegiances are looking something like this now. Squirrelfur & Juniperstreak in their love-hate relationship, Fuzzyleaf the only warrior, and the remainders of my crew of old women

so. then Curlystar loses her last life to OspreyClan. and now we're at war with them! with 5 cats left, 2 of which are elders! Blacktail goes missing and turns up dead, and then Bogrump & Juniperstreak die of greencough

this leaves the leader, Squirrelstar, and his deputy Fuzzyleaf. the war finally ends, after 30 moons, and Fuzzyleaf brings in a litter of 2 kits (Jetkit & Brookkit). MapleClan's story doesn't end there, but that's the end of the Bad Times™

I still haven't stopped thinking about Squirrelstar & Junipterstreak though.... mutual hate that lessened a little bit towards the end, but they still admired and relied on each other.... augh. toxic yaoi ❤️

I am So sorry about this essay, the saga of MapleClan was. much longer than I remember it being. probably close to 100 moons of struggle that all turned out ok in the end. I think I had around 20 cats the last time I played the MapleClan save, which is the biggest their clan ever got

that's fuckin wild holy shit. i love that squirrelstar was like "i hate your guts so bad. unfortunately if you died i would be inconsolable"

[timelessxmemories]

Live blogging dr2 but very poorly pt1:

hi Hajime, ur great, kisses /p

Nagito is so special to me, baby boy, I love you, you deserve the world, you deserve it all, I want to give you a hug

Just met Gundham, he's so fucking chaotic and I love that for him, also hamsters<3 I used to have a bunch of hamsters as well and I just, aundhddundndhhdhe/pos, I also am kind of relating super fucking hard to him, it's insane

Also met Kazuichi, hehe, his last name is Soda, immediately adoring him

MIKAN SPOTTED. MIKAN SPOTTED. HI BABY GIRL!!!! I MISSED YOU SO SO SO MUCH. She is so fucking augh<3 I want to give her all the hugs and kisses in the whole damn world<333 she could fix me, literally and figuratively

HI IBUKI!!!!! HI!!! HI MY GIRL!!! Aha.. I'm gay. I would totally let her play her guitar and I would sit there cheering her the fuck on because fuck I love her so much

Chicken into cow???? Usami I love you girl, but what

HIYOKO, HIYOKO, HIYOKO. that's it, that's all i had to say

AKANEEEEEE!!!! AKANEE!!!!! MY BITCH!!!!! HIIIII

Hotel future. Love it.

Okay, first person walking, alright, thats, different?

Hi Fuyuhiko, fuckin bastard but in the most affectionate way possible, ur so silly

Mahiru<3333 I want to kiss you all over the face sweet girl, ur amazing

FUCKING UNRELIABLE HAJIME, HAHA, MAHIRU, MY GIRL, CHILL

Nekomaru, my guy, I love you, but please, have some chill, what is it with these characters and having literally no chill whatsoever, don't get me wrong, i love it, BUT HOLY SHIT

"yep." -Nagito

Teruteru, hi my guy, what's up with you, not in a bad way, but, what's up with you. Also, "hello there".

SONIA. SONIA. SONIA. wait nevermind, hah, see what I did there? Sorry, bad pun.

Wait. She didn't have friends???? Aww nooo, my girl,, :(( I'll be ur friend :D

mmm. Not liking Teruteru as much anymore. He's giving me the creeps. Not liking him. Nope. No. Nuh-uh.

I AUDIBLY GASPED. CHIAKI. HI. HI. HI. WE LOVE YOU. WE SEE YOU. WE ADORE YOU. STAY AWAY FROM TERUTERU THO PLEASE.

Pekooooooooooo, Pekooooooooo!!!! I want to give you a hug.

BYAKUYA. MY HUSBAND. MY LOVE. MY BELOVED. MY SWEETHEART. MY BABY. HWHDHSHSSGSGSH. I LOWV YOU SO MUCH WAH. AUGH.

Ding dong Bing bong!!!!!!!

Byakuya stop being impatient.

Hiyoko, I love you, I love your energy

Ah yes, peko, the observant.

And there goes Ibuki being ibuki<33

Kazuichi, please, don't be so laid back, my man, what are you doing

Aaaand teruteru is being weird again. Fuck that guy.

Ibuki this is why I love you

Byakuya, stop calling people names, please

"Small dogs shouldn't bark so loud" BYAKUYA PLEASE

Story time with Byakuya ig

oh music stopped

And creepy music is back

Akane being a whole fucking mood

Music stopped again???

Aaand regular music is back + Ibuki being excitable

Kazuichi you poor soul, you poor poor soul

NOT YOU TOO HIYOKO, PLEASE, STOP BEING SO LAID BACK

"Cretins" I love her.

"Won't be a problem" girl. Girl. Girl girl girl.

Shut the fuck up cunt. (Teruteru)

Aaaand there goes Peko pointing out the obvious<3

"Why don't we just swim home?" GIRL. HOLY SHIT.

Aaaand in comes Mikan with the reasoning. Thank you.

NEKOMARU PLEASE. CHILL TF OUT.

Hi again Usami

Rule follower./aff

*proceeds to recite the rules*

"What if your actions place everyone in danger?" MY MAN COMING BACK FULL FORCE

AN USAMI STRAP??? SQUEEZE TUMMY IT TALKS??? I NEED THIS. RIGHT NOW.

Byakuya, don't call it a waste of time. Shut your mouth you cunt<3/aff

WHY DOES NOBODY LIKE IT??? COME ON.

CHIAKI, VOICE OF REASONING, I LOVE YOU. SHE GETS IT.

NOOOO, USAMIIII DONT CRY MY BABY

Uh oh. Motives

Oh nevermind it's fine

Or is it

Party?

Yes.

TERUTERU. GO TO THE CORNER.

SONIA NO.

Hiyoko why are you so excited about killing a hoop snake

Hajime: There's no way anyone would go swimming!

Literally everyone else: I beg to differ.

Hajime: what

"No danger, nothing tragic, is that really true?" I love you Hajime. You are the only reasonable person ever.

"If so.. am i wrong?" I had faith. Girl. Holy shit.

"The water is too salty" bitch ur too salty

"She's just wrong about so many things" no actually she's right about everything

Sleepy Chiaki<333

THEYRE ALL IN BATHING SUITS HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO PRECIOUS. TO ME.

Fuck you Teruteru.

Ibuki, don't drink the water.

Fuck you Teruteru.

Please punch him Nekomaru.

[iiryebreadii]

OKAY. OKAY. finished totk. more thoughts. Everything is under a cut because 1) spoilers for the end of the game and 2) it got LONG many thoughts head full

I got all the shrines before going to fight ganondorf, and I'm sad to say they did the botw thing and made it so you can only fully upgrade either stamina OR hearts, not both. Finding the shrines was actually made much easier with the lightroots in the depths! I went around and filled out the full map underground and that let me know which shrines I had missed on the surface, and then for the sky islands I used the hero's path to see which ones I hadn't visited yet and then sifted through those until I found them all

Speaking of, THE REWARD FOR GETTING ALL THE SHRINES?? HELLO?? I can't wait to see what people say about that bit of lore cause idk WHAT is going on there. furry link real

going into the depths of the castle to find ganondorf was so nerve wracking lmao, the music did an excellent job of putting me on edge. and the little note about how the sages' powers can't reach you?? excellent, very ominous

Going back to the very beginning of the game, the corridor where you walk with zelda, but this time without her and with it covered in gloom... ough. My experience with the beginning of the game there was basically me just happy screaming about getting to walk around and talk to zelda, and that juxtaposed with the ending, where I'm getting ready to fight the demon king with ramping anxiety, OUGH very cool

my BROS came to HELP i love them. also I keep forgetting that mineru is a sage even though I use her for piggyback rides all the time

REHYDRATED GANONDORF REAL. like I know we saw him in the trailers and memories and stuff but I wasn't sure if we'd get to fight him at full strength you know? I thought they might pull a fast one on us and make the final fight against pee-paw ganon, which would have been kinda lame tbh

Ganondorf does perfect dodges too!! He gets the slow-mo!! thankfully he cannot flurry rush lol. I spent the entire first phase against him with both of use just circling each other and trading occasional blows, felt very cool

the transformation into the demon king was super cool but my favorite part might have been how the health bar just. kept going. nearly off the screen. that was equal parts awesome and hilarious

I saved a bunch of super strong weapons to fight him and what do I end up doing?? Only using the master sword. my WIFE made that sword for me I am damn well gonna use it to kill him. it just never occurred to me to try to use anything else lol. Except arrows with gibdo bones fused on, cause those things do CRAZY damage

MY MAN ATE HIS STONE. OKAY. OKAY. also I LOVE how much he looked like the calamity during his transformation, with the glow-y yellow eyes and misty body. I wonder if he has any memory of being calamity ganon? Maybe the calamity was just excess rage and malice instead of something with more intent. It was obviously intelligent, but how intelligent?

DRAGON FIGHT DRAGON FIGHT DRAGON FIGHT

MY WIFE CAME TO SAVE ME!! I LOVE HER!!! That whole part of the fight was super cinematic and fun, I got legitimately emotional when she dove in to the rescue. All that time I spent sitting on her head and flying around hyrule, who knew I was actually training for the final fight

ZELDAAAA I'm so glad I could undragon you girl I missed youuuu I missed you <3 rauru and sonia are vibing in the afterlife now, which now makes the fact that rauru passed on asap after helping link make sense, he was probably missing his wife :(

pretty wack that they gave link his normal arm back :/ I guess you could argue it got ungoopified by the shrines + the thing with Sonia and Rauru purifying dragon-zelda but it feels weird to me

I guess a counter point to that, without it we wouldn't get to parallel to the beginning with the reaching out to catch zelda. speaking of. REACHING OUT TO CATCH HER. AUGH IM NOT OK. IM NOT OK!!! literally so emotional. I thought reaching her was gonna be a cutscene but nope!! You have to dive to get to her!! makes me wonder what happens if you don't catch her.......but I would never dare experiment. that's my girl.

i am. so glad. she doesn't remember being a dragon for a billion years. hoooo that would be traumatic. I mean ya girl has trauma in spades but at least she doesn't have to deal with the memory of that part. and she was so happy that she got to see hyrule's founding!! She had her own whole adventure :) and at least a good portion of it was pleasant and filled with new friends!! good for her, good for her

post credits scene was pretty neat!! Felt nice to give mineru a little send off, not for me but for zelda. according to the stone monument things, they were pretty close and they hung out in mineru's lab a lot, so it's nice she got to have a proper goodbye to at least one of her friends from the past. And then everyone pledging to work with her to protect hyrule at the end :')

All in all I have had a STUPENDOUS time with this game, it was a fantastic sequel to a fantastic game. I'm probably gonna still play and find the rest of the sage's wills and play with the building mechanic some more, but I'll leave that for a bit later once I've had a chance to really absorb the ending!! I've got an idea for a totk PMV that I'm working on, so that might make an appearance on this blog once it's done 👀 I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later, but I think this will be my last post in this sort of style with the bullet points and such

also goodness gracious nintendo do NOT make another direct sequel these kids have gone through SO much. let zelda and link go take a nap they've earned it

[suchacomet]

do you know if the baseball scenes in a league of their own were done by the actresses or by professionals? i can't find articles about it and i'm kind of curious your opinion as a sports person (sorry, i only know you from your analysis posts about the baseball aspects of the series)

omg i’m flattered you think i’m qualified to answer this question… i’m no professional commentator or even really a super avid baseball fan—the most i follow sports is college softball and then i only watch the championships bc godDAMN do those girls know how to play but godDAMN do i not have time to follow a whole season of pro sports—but i’m happy to share my personal beliefs on this topic, which boil down to: a little bit of both, i think!

in a bunch of interviews the actors have talked about doing baseball training and learning to play baseball as part of their prep for shooting the show (for example this interview which also has the bit where kelly mccormack talks about now much fun she had shooting the bar scene w roberta colindrez ❤️). plus there are, obviously, moments where we see the actors playing—scenes that come to mind are jess’s jump + barehand catch and throw to first, max’s barehand catch in the last episode, and the splits catch that one of the other peaches does at tryouts.

but there’s no way they didn’t use stunt doubles, especially for scenes like the runner mowing down carson at home plate or any of the slides. and honestly, most of the pitches, throws, and hits are probably either stitched-together cuts of multiple takes or cgi to get the ball where it needs to go. from a filmmaking standpoint, it’s just impractical to do anything else—no producer wants to do thirty takes of a pitch until it actually is a strike, no actor wants to worry about hitting to center left vs center right when they should be focusing on staying in character and being present in the scene, no editor wants to sift through hours of takes that are unusable because the ball just isn’t where it’s supposed to be.

there are definitely moments where they spliced together a bad play to make it look like a good one. the best example i can think of is this stop from jess:

obviously i can’t be certain, and it could just be the angle of the shot playing tricks on me, but it wouldn’t surprise me if jess/kelly mccormack overshot her lunge in that first wide shot and missed the ball. i can’t quite put my finger on it but it just doesn’t look like she’s gonna catch the ball to me. they cut quick enough and well enough to the close-up where she does make the catch that the audience really doesn’t notice the cover-up (if there actually is one), so it works.

same with this pitch from max! i don’t see anything wrong with the form necessarily but i highly doubt that exact pitch matches the ball landing perfectly in carson’s glove in the next shot. the angle of the ball traveling in the first shot doesn’t match the one in the second shot. but again, with the editing and the fact that what we’re really focusing on in this shot is their faces, it doesn’t register as being faked

also there’s for sure “errors” in some gameplay—i’m at work so i don’t have the time or ability to get screenshots but i distinctly remember someone walking back from running through first on the inside of the baseline/within bounds and being like AUGH NO THEYRE GONNA TAG YOU OUT but no one reacting, and i’m sure if i really thought about it i could come up with more examples. but having been in an editing room many a time, i get having to sacrifice a little bit of continuity or being 100% error-free in order to prioritize the best performances or the pacing of the scene

i don’t think it takes away from the show at all to do this btw! this is a fictional baseball series, not a baseball game. molding the shape of the game and the plays to serve the narrative and reflect the characters is the name of the game. if i wanted to watch people actually play baseball, i’d turn on an mlb game, you know? the baseball serves the story, not the other way around, and if that means cheating pitches and catches then so be it. it’s all part of filmmaking.

all that being said, i DO think the training the actors did does show in the series! it makes them look confident and natural on the diamond. like look at this still of geena davis from the original movie:

i love this movie. i love this movie so much. but jesus christ that is one of the worst batting forms i’ve ever seen in my life. her elbows aren’t bent enough; her back elbow should be angled higher; the bat should be held at a lower angle; her hands should be tucked much closer to her head/cheek area; her stance is too narrow and she looks so off-balance that a breeze would knock her over; she’s got some weird torque going on in her hips and torso that i can’t figure out but it looks a) uncomfortable b) weak and c) like she’s scared of the ball.

compare that to shirley’s form. i love shirley’s form and her batting prep. she lines herself up properly to the plate. she looks back to check her back elbow is in the right place. she leans back into her stance. it’s still stiff like geena davis, but that comes from shirley’s character, not the actor’s lack of skill/familiarity with the sport. and honestly shirley’s whole at-bat ritual with the tapping and the shirt tug and all not only makes sense for her as a nervous, compulsive character, but is SOOOO accurate to baseball players. i had a routine like that (not as complex but the whole having to do the same thing before every swing is so real)

(you know i gotta include a lupe image here) with the angle here it’s hard to tell whether that pitch is actually a strike, but it doesn’t matter bc she looks confident and capable! in her face she looks like she’s putting force into the pitch and with the leg kick, the glove point, and the follow through, she’s believable as a star pitcher

i think that’s the value of training your actors. i don’t think everyone can be, or even should be a tom cruise-type do-all-their-own-stunts actor. to get an entire team’s worth of actors (multiplied a few times, if you went all out and also trained the minor character and all the extras from the other teams) to a professional ball-playing standard, it would take years of training and millions/billions of dollars that i’d rather the production team use elsewhere to make a compelling narrative with high production value. but having the actors do SOME baseball training really pays off in these moments where we feel like we’re actually seeing these women play ball, even when we really aren’t.

i remember watching the original movie and laughing at the characters’ forms. it broke suspension of disbelief for me and again, even though i love that movie, it’s so clear to me that the way the women look (read: pretty/palatable to a cishet male audience) was more important than making them look like ball players. like i said earlier, geena davis looks like a rookie who’s scared of being hit by the ball, which completely undercuts her whole character. in aloto the show, they look like ball players—they look like fucking stellar professional ball players

(credit to @ropoto and @hikarielizabethbloom for the gorgeous gifs!)

[chupacabrahhh]

*~{ Garden of Golden Deer }~* a Fire Emblem: Three Houses Part 1 drabble

okayyy this is kinda brazy, I've never written fanfic for a video game before but man fe3h really got my imagination juices goin, and it's all thanks to my wonderful Golden Deers Q v Q

[ set during the aftermath of ch5 when Miklan is defeated & you rescue the Lance of Ruin. I recruited Sylvain the previous chapter and he replaces Lorenz in my house. The professor tells her students a story her father Jeralt once told her long ago. ]

~

It was nearing late afternoon, and the end of the Golden Deer’s lesson for the day. Byleth had everyone practicing combat moves they had drafted earlier, the sounds of weapons clashing ringing throughout the training grounds. The professor herself was locked in special dedication with Sylvain, the Sword of the Creator parried against his newly acquired Lance of Ruin. This was the first time he was allowed a feel for the relic in combat, but his clammy grip and furrowed brow gave insight to inner turmoil unlike Byleth had ever seen on her student’s face, especially when wielding a lance with which he was already very proficient.

“Of course he must still feel some type of way over Miklan. I bet he hasn’t laid a hand on the relic that stole his brother’s humanity since the day it was handed over to him. This must be very difficult for him..” she thought empathetically. Next to Claude, Sylvain was her most cocky and skilled student with their weapon of choice. She had never seen him mishandle a lance or without a confident smile on his face, but in front of her now he kept changing grip position and shifting the weight of the Lance of Ruin away from him, his body language screaming that he still wanted nothing to do with the thing. Byleth wished she could ease her student’s troubles, but she didn’t know what to say to comfort him about wielding this Hero’s Relic when she herself still wasn’t all that acquainted with the Sword of the Creator. And her past experience as a mercenary made her nothing if not numb to the taking and end of life, either around her or by her own hand. Suddenly, a memory from years past flickered back into her consciousness from a time when she was very small and had questioned death for the first time, before it became a daily part of her existence.

“Sylvain, that’s enough for today,” she nodded at him with eyes as kind as she could emote, and sheathed her sword. “Everyone, wrap up your sparring and meet me underneath the oak tree outside of the training grounds.”

She turned her back to the sounds of her students exclaiming victories over the others or getting into teasing squabbles. Byleth grabbed her water canteen on the way out and took a few gulps, knowing she would need the hydration for what she planned next. A part of her felt nervous at the coming prospect but an even greater part was assured in the comfort she hoped to bring her Golden Deer. Taking a seat on a large rock underneath the shade of the great tree, Byleth closed her eyes and tried transporting herself years back in her memories of being a small girl in her father’s arms. She could recall the feeling of his fur coat’s neckline as she gripped it, could smell the crisp air of winter’s final gusts as spring made its grand appearance across the land. At this time the mountains were still capped white but the valleys were turning lush and verdant, and buds of the bravest flowers were starting to stand tall, yet withheld the magnificence of their blooms.

Opening her eyes now, she gazed upon seven colorful and expectant faces all looking up at her with mixed expressions, her own little garden she was tasked with tending. Sigh, but the face of their biggest problem plant- er, child, was not among them.

“Claude, get your golden butt over here and sit down with the others. I haven't dismissed you yet.”

“Augh Teach, I was just a few steps away from making it home free, if only you had stayed in your trance a moment longer,” the house leader lamented teasingly but obediently plopped down in the back of the bunch beside Leonie and the Lance of Ruin, which Sylvain had expectantly distanced farthest from him as he sat towards the front of the bunch.

“Professor, are you going to make us meditate because that’s really not my thing and I already promised to meet someone for tea so,” Hilda piped up next and smiled sweetly as she twirled the ends of her pink hair, hoping to be obliged to leave as well.

“No, Hilda, we are not going to meditate and I promise this won’t be long. I’d like to share a quick little story with you all.”

“A story?” Lyisthea spoke next with a twinge of annoyance coloring her tone, but her doe eyes gave away her true excitement.

“Yes, this is a story my father told me back when I was a young child, and it’s stuck with me ever since. As we continue receiving missions that send us onto the battlefield, you’re all going to have to become very acquainted with death, which still might be a difficult or painful concept for you to grasp, understandably.” The mood had shifted from playful to pensive as she brought up death, and the change had caused that prickle of anxiety to return. Lecturing about battle tactics was something she had been forced to get used to by now, impersonal, automatic and well within her wheelhouse, but storytelling with colorful language and emotional sentiment was definitely leagues outside of her comfort zone. She gulped back the fear quickly and cleared her throat to begin, not wanting the silence to stretch any longer than it had.

“This is a story about what becomes of those who die on the battlefield.” Her opening statement grabbed the attention of all her students, with Leonie leaning in the most, obviously setting her expectations high as she hungrily awaited the words of Jeralt. “It was around the end of the Lone moon and I was small enough to be carried by my father but had already seen the handiwork of what he and his fellow mercenaries were hired to do. The image of bodies lying facedown on the land had been imprinted into my mind, and as we walked among the melting snow and coming flowers, I asked him what would become of those who died fighting? Accomplished nobles had grand sendoffs, and villagers were lovingly prepared by the hands of their families, but what was to become of those violent strangers who met their end in a random battlefield? Without missing a beat, he said…”

Byleth took a moment to appreciate the looks on her deer’s faces, with Sylvain’s amber eyes gleaming the brightest of the bunch.

“They become flowers.”

“Flowers!?” Raphael booming incredulous tone contrasted the professor’s soft spokenness.

“Yes, the fighters become flowers. As their blood and life force seeped out of their bodies and into the land, the great exchange was transmuted by the goddess into the most delicate and lovely creation, flowers. What’s more, he explained, was that the soul of each warrior who had taken life as their means of living would spend their next reincarnation as a flower, to learn the lessons of fragility, powerlessness, and surrender. A brief moment in their soul’s journey back to the goddess where they embody what it means to be defenseless. A child could come running along to pick it, a deer grazing and eat it, or at the end of the year it withers to the natural cycle of the seasons, never once harming another soul in its lifetime. He says that is how balance is restored  and how all warriors learn the lesson of gentleness.” Byleth concluded her storytelling with a breath and leaned back with a tiny amused expression watching the unexpected existential and poetic tale turn over in their minds.

Leonie was the first to speak up. “Pardon me, Professor, but I have trouble believing Captain Jeralt the Blade Breaker came up with a story so… uh, flowery.”

“Very perceptive, Leonie, you do know him well. You’re right that that tale didn’t originate from his thoughts. My mother told it to him. But I can assure you he does believe in its message.” Leonie blushed and huffed embarrassedly at being praised by her one-sided rival but nodded once in acknowledgement.

“So Teach, do you believe in that myth? That you and he and all of us will reincarnate as flowers in the next life?” Of course she was expecting that from Claude, a languid smirk on his face as he awaited her answer with interest.

Byleth pondered her inner self for just a moment then nodded slightly. “Yes, I do.”

“Oh, I knew that to be true, Professor! I always noticed that wherever you walk, you always take care to never step on flowers. It’s something I always admired about you..” Marianne was softly glowing with a rare joy then remembered she was in the company of all her classmates and immediately wiped the smile from her face and looked downwards.

Ignatz spoke next, the stars of inspiration lighting his whole body language. “Professor, thank you for sharing such a moving tale! I believe it must be true, as it aligns with all that I believe the goddess values as well! A-and if I may, Professor, I believe that in your next life, you will be a grand and magnificent tree, just like the one we’re all gathered under.”

“Ignatz, so bold! I’m impressed with you!” Sylvain smiled teasingly and ruffled his peer’s olive bowlcut, causing the boy to blush an even deeper shade than his proclamation had him before. “And I have to say, I agree with you. The Professor has to be a majestic and wise tree,” he said, turning his smile towards her. Byleth noticed most of the darkness had left his amber eyes and his inner light was shining through once again, so even though the storytime was a bit embarrassing and uncomfortable, seeing him embody a bit of his old self again made it all worth it, as much as the wonder in the rest of her Golden Deer’s faces. Yes, she felt herself smile genuinely, they were indeed a vibrant garden of individuals.

[since-it-must-be-so]

A Wild Sheep Chase: Chapter 2 of Choujin X!

It's here! I've gushed about the chapter over at my Twitter, but like I said in my previous post, I want to see how the story progresses and keep a log about it. So here it goes!

Background info on Ely Otsuta

So before we delve into Chapter 2 which almost exclusively featured Ely... Let's take note of the new things we learned about Ely:

She's from a rural prefecture. I think she lives in the mountainside specifically since that's where she grows her tomatoes.

She's a greenthumb (we already kinda knew this from the previous chapter but we learn more about her life pre-Choujin X). I understand that even if the soil is infertile, she's able to grow tomatoes so nutritious and plump. So plump, they resemble butts, hence, "bumbums!" It appears she uses advanced equipment for her farming stuff. So yeah, based on these, it's established Ely has a green thumb!

Oh, and it appears that it's clarified that her "Grandpapi" whom she talks about in the 1st chapter is an adoptive grandfather (not biological, hence, maybe in the future we'd know her parents and learn why Ely is special).

It's just me but I get the impression that Ely is being introduced as some sort of "fertility" choujin, since she also dreams of having 9 kids. Haha!

It's kinda weird though why the burning tomato has a face. Was it just from her dream, since after plucking a bumbum - she woke up? Hmm, after some thought, I think the burning tomato with a face is just from her dream.

Ely Wakes Up from Reality

When Ely woke up, she finds herself in the South Yamato prefecture. Okay, so I think this leaning tower of some sort has a significance to the story.

It's featured in every spread with the title "Choujin X" and also in the last chapter. Can you see it? Maybe it has something to do with how the powers are made, like pollution-related or a botched experiment. Dunno. Just my wild speculation.

A Wild Sheep Chase

This is the exciting part. So when Ely wakes up, Chandra Hume offers to "escort" her, but really it appears he wants to kidnap her. And from, *checks the manga* page 10 to 40, we have Ely running away from Chandra until she fell in what looks like a similar area where Tokio and Azuma fought Johnny Kiyoshi Takeyama.

The chase sequence consisting of 30 pages were so fun and I was smiling all the while I was reading! Ely is so cute trying to parkour her way through the buildings (kinda reminds me of Touka?? I miss Touka!). Chandra looks really cool, he seemed to be flying too, using his powers (more on that later)!

But not to be outdone, Ely borrows a "Roller Boy Yay-Yay" which basically is a scooter with something that resembles a driver's wheel. Its literal translation of ローラーBOYイェイ・イェイ -- which, checking Twitter and in Ishida's latest live stream, I think the locals found it hilarious too. Ishida is just unleashing his crazy here, I love it!

After that sequence, we get the tractor and sheep chase. Ah! I love it.. So what happened is that, Chandra and Ely fall off from their Roller Boy Yay-Yay. Ely who just claimed she can outrun Chandra if she were riding a tractor, suddenly found one right in front of her! Then Chandra lands near a gang... or should I say, a flock of sheep-bikers. They're all wearing these Kanji-printed tracksuits and basically look like they're a bunch of delinquents? They even describe themselves as "cryptid bikers"... Cryptid supposedly means mysterious? Idk why the weird choice of words for the translation though.

Funnily, I was just reading Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase (羊をめぐる冒険 --- Hitsuji o meguru bōken or literally An Adventure Surrounding Sheep). I wonder if this scene something to do with this book?

Anyway, Chandra entices the sheep to help hip capture Ely by bribing them with a Docomo flip phone. I don't know why a flip phone - could mean the following: (a) the sheep are so poor, a flip phone is cool; (b) maybe flip phones are a status symbol in that universe; (c) maybe the setting is in the 2000s when the flip phones really were all the rage.

So they all chase Ely, but Chandra suddenly has a car too. Someone on Twitter said it's a Porsche? But I can't tell, though Chandra said his car is a four-wheel drive... Heh? Idk what to do with this info.

As for Ely, she is really good with the tractor as she said. The hilarity of outrunning motorcycles and what could be a Porsche. That tractor prowess! Later on, Chandra and the other sheep figure into an accident with a "safety-loving" truck (oh the irony, lol). Chandra flew off the car and so did his fancy shoes...

Ely didn't exactly come out unscathed. Ishida allocated 4 double spreads for this epic fall. Some of the sheep definitely should have died from that spectacular accident.

At first, Ely was smug about escaping the sheep. But then, I think she was moved by compassion and I think she hurt herself in order to revive the sheep. I just wonder though, how she learned to do that?

Then we get another awesome double spread of her transformation, similar to Tokio's. Augh Ishida-sensei. These are soooo good!!!!

Because of her transformation, the whole area was engulfed with smoked and I think the sheep were effectively revived. It appears Chandra saw all this (while he was regenerating... so we now know choujins or at least smoke choujins like Chandra has regenerative powers), hence he marveled at Ely's newfound power. It was kinda confirmed that Ely was responsible for keeping the casualties to a minimum. Specifically he said Ely possesses: quick judgment, though resolve, persistence... making her a human with the makings of a choujin... while also kinda noting Ely's silliness.

Here we go again with Chandra's "fancy gentleman" facade... Even the way he talks is fancy ("I am well-acquainted with the roads here") but more than that... he's self-important. I talked about my other views on his character on Reddit. I get the impression he's something of a "Choujin supremacist", you know what I mean? So, he wants to kinda recruit Ely into his organization or whatever.

Ely is righteous

So we see that Ely is further introduced as a good character, standing up against Chandra and rejecting his offer to be his pupil or something. Ely was clearly upset about the grandma getting hurt (did she die? I hope she didn't) and made it clear she would never join him. Chandra takes offense at this rejection, especially when Ely said Chandra is worse than a turd.

As Chandra tries to inflict pain on Ely (something about marking her on the face), she recalls her resolve from Chapter 1: drones for farming, a greenhouse, her grandpappy, a mansion, the big dog, paying back the kid for his roller boy yay-yay, the Goldilocks hubbie, nine kids... But just before we can see if she can fight Chandra off...

The most handsome man of all Sui Ishida's works (haha!)

This buff mysterious man with a bandana reminiscent of the Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles seemed to have blown Chandra and Ely (also the cars and motorcycles) away by a mere clap of his hands. It appears even Chandra is afraid of this guy and recognizes him... he leaves the scene using his smoke powers before the guy can do serious damage. I think his power has something to do with wind since there was like a little hint with all the ventilation stuff in the setting.

The guy manages to create a circle of protection around Ely. He tells Ely that Chandra's modus is to target "people with aptitude like Ely". He helpfully mends Ely's punctured hand with his bandana.... And when Ely looks up at his face, what do you know? Haha!

Our girl Ely has a love interest! Haha.

Tokio's Gregor Samsa moment

I've observed from the manga I've read that characters with transformation abilities always, always go through this adjustment period with the power. Gregor Samsa, Peter Parker, our boy Kaneki... Anyway, it seems Tokio doesn't know or can't turn back into a normal-looking person. But the last panel sure is interesting because we have them experiencing this transformation at the same time. Also, since it reminds me of Touka and Ayato's volume cover. I hope they find each other soon though!

Types of Choujins and initial premises on the Power of Choujins

So there are 3 confirmed types so far: Flexi (Johnny), Bestial (our boy Tokio), and Smoke. It seems that pretty boy Hoshi doesn't have a category yet, but like I said I think his has something to do with air or ventilation lol.

We learned that Chandra is a Smoke Choujin, and Ely is now one too and she was may have been somehow infected by Chandra's smoke/fumes. It appears now that there are 2 ways to become a choujin: injection and inhalation. Chandra wonders if Ely was infected with his power... But I'm thinking the infection theory might not be that accurate. After all, it seems Ely has a green thumb.

But, I think as Chandra said, only some people have an aptitude for this. So, Ely and Tokio are examples. I wonder if Azuma also has choujin powers or did it not manifest yet? Is the aptitude inherent or something you can acquire? If so, what does Tokio have that Azuma doesn't, especially since everyone thinks Azuma is "better" than Tokio in all aspects?

We'll find out in Chapter 3 more or less!! I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes! I'd like to hear your thoughts or comments if any :)

[blake-belladonna-defence-force]

I feel kinda bad for flooding you with asks...but like I said I cant help myself, makes me feel better knowing you dont mind though. Anyways how about one of Yang's old signal "buddies" (boy or girl) just openly hitting on Yang and making her a little uncomfortable with everything they say to her, causing Blek to get protective, especially when they start actually touching Yang. (Sorry I just really really really enjoy this headcanon)

Not going to lie, I enjoy this headcanon too.

So have some badass partners, some absolute assholes who can’t take no for an answer and some confident bees 😊

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Why don’t you show me all of that fun you blondes have, eh?”

Yang growled under her breath and tried to shift away from the boy next to her. Jett had always been persistent but this was a new level of stubborn, even for him.

“I said no, Jett.” Yang said simply, brushing past Jett and his team, planning to walk away until she felt a hand circle her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She inhaled deeply and released it. They were in a public place and as a student of Beacon Academy, she knew that she was pretty much a representative of the school. Getting caught in a fight wouldn’t be a good look.

“Jett. You know that I fully capable of kicking your ass several times over.” Yang warned, glaring at him as her eyes shifted to red. “So I recommend that you let me go.”

“You really think that’s possible when his team’s right here?” Laughed one of his teammates. She really couldn’t be bothered to lean the bastard’s name. It’s not like she planned on getting to know any of them after this. “Damn Jett, you were right. Talk about a dumb, blonde bim-“

The sudden sound of metal hitting a brick wall made them all turn their heads.

“I assure you that Yang is still capable of kicking all of your asses several times over, even when you fight as a team.” Blake said quietly, shifting Gambol Shroud and running her fingers along the blade in a very pointed manner before sheathing it as Yang bit back a smirk. “So for your own wellbeing, I recommend that you let her go… Jiff, right?”

“It’s Jett!” He dropped Yang’s wrist and stepped towards Blake. Yang shook her head, knowing that it was going to take a little more than that to intimidate either her or Blake.

“Considering the fact that you’re harassing my partner, I couldn’t care less what your name is.” Blake said with narrowed eyes. “Here’s what’s going to happen; you’re going to apologise and then, you’re going to run away with your tail between your legs as you realise that you’re batting way out of your league.”

“I’d listen to her, Jett.” Yang grinned sharply. “The girl tends to be right most of the time. I mean… I chose her for a reason.” She added, sending Blake a playful wink. She smirked when Blake arched her brows elegantly.

“Really?” Blake asked as she strolled through the group of boys, completely ignoring their protests as she pointedly shoulder checked them. “Because I’m pretty sure you’re the one who’s right most of the time, little miss future valedictorian.”

“Aw, Blake!” Yang said, placing her hand over her heart as the boys looked at each other in confusion. “You’re making me blush! Ugh! I think I feel a swoon coming on!”

“I assure, most beloved, that I will catch each time that you fall!” Blake crowed, just as dramatically as Yang. “For what kind of gentlewoman would I be if I failed to catch such a beautiful and intellectual damsel?”

Yang grinned and allowed herself to fall into Blake arms in an over exaggerated swoon, covering her eyes as Blake effortlessly held her up.

“Hey!” Jett snarled, storming over to them. “We were in the middle of a conversati-Ugh!” He let out a grunt when Yang’s foot collided with his solar plexus.

“And now we’re in the middle of a fight.” Yang smirked. Eh, being a representative was boring. At least she and Blake would be in detention together.

“More like an ass kicking.” Blake laughed, shifting so that she and Yang were back to back between the group of four now very offended boys. “There’s no way that these guys can offer any sort of challenge. Look at them! A bunch of soft whelps. It’ll be like crushing a can of pop.”

“Have I told you that I love it when you’re feisty?” Yang yelled as she ducked under a fist and sent the guy sprawling over her back to be met by Blake’s foot colliding with his chest. She heard the sound of one of Blake’s opponents hitting the ground shortly after. She caught the foot that was aimed at her head and sent a strike to the back of his knee, forcing him to collapse to his knees before kicking him between his shoulder blades. “Because I totally do.”

“You hear that, Jett? She loves it when I’m feisty.”

Yang turned around to see Jett swinging at Blake with his fists as she kept just out reach, a smug expression on her face. Yang quirked an eyebrow. Blake wasn’t striking back. She was toying with him.

“Don’t play with his fragile, little heart, Blake.” Yang called, grinning as she leaned against a nearby pole. “You’re giving the poor boy false hope.”

“Fine. But only for you, sweetheart.” Yang pretended to fan herself as though flattered. Jett did not seem to like this and charged at Blake, who rotated to the side and swept his legs out from under him. As he crashed to the ground, she very calmly pressed her heel into his chest pointedly. “Now… about that very sincere and genuine apology that you’re going to give her…”

“I’m not going t-augh!” He yelled out as Blake dug her heel in slightly. Not enough to do damage but just enough to get her point across. “Okay, I’m sorry! I am really, really sorry!”

“Fine.” Yang shrugged, glowering down at him. “Just don’t ever speak to me again. I won’t be so kind or patient next time.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Thanks for the assist, partner.”

“Oh please.” Blake rolled her eyes, playfully hip checking Yang as she smiled up at her. “You could have taken them without me.”

“Uh, duh. Obviously I could have.” Yang winked cheekily at her friend, draping her arm across her shoulders and pulling her in. “But I’m not going to say no to backup. Besides, it’s not like you were fighting my battles for me. We help each other… like partners should. So thank you, I guess. For not pulling the whole “damsel in distress” card on me.”

“Of course not!” Blake snorted indignantly, her arm curling around Yang’s waist. “You’re capable of taking care of yourself. If you have to fight a battle, then I’m going to fight it with you. Not for you.”

“That’s what being partners is about, I guess.” Yang smiled softly at her friend. “Supporting each other. Working with each other.”

“Yeah.” Blake agreed quietly. “We’re lucky to have a partnership that works well.”

“Yeah.” Yang said softly, affectionately placing her head against Blake’s as the slightly shorter woman, in a rare show of affection that was slowly becoming more frequent around Yang, rested her head on Yang’s shoulder. “We are.”

They didn’t fight each other’s battle for the other.

They didn’t try to stop the other from fighting her own battle.

Instead, when they fought; they fought together. They worked together to achieve a goal and that was why they worked so well together.

It wasn’t one that guarded the other. No. Instead, they supported each other.

[petitprincess1]

Good Evening Ch12 (Escalating)

AO3 Link Summary: Angelo gets a surprise visit at night by someone...who is not at all happy to see him. How rude... Words: 2,479 Warning: Gun violence, blood, and murder I'm so freaking sorry for the wait. I have no excuse other than starting up a new story called My Roommate's a Demonic Deer and laziness. I'm so, so sorry. Hope it's worth the wait. ~~~ Also, during that week, Angelo had been bed-ridden the entire time, going in and out of consciousness, due to the immense pain that he was in. Luckily, he was stable enough to do the more private tasks like using the bathroom and bathing himself, so that was a bit of relief for him. He really needed those moments because he was hardly ever alone.

If he wasn’t being checked up on by Baxter, then Cherri was worried about his well being and talking to him about her terrible job. Sir Pentious would also make sure to keep him up to speed about all the news going on in the world by reading the newspaper...fucking old man. Plus, his sister came by with Fat Nuggets, his little piggy, to cheer him up. Granted, his father and Arackniss also came by...so...yeah. Nothing better than you father and brother still questioning your fucking “decision” of “choosing homosexuality”. Angelo wished Vox just killed him...not really, but he was mad.

Also, Charlie and, surprisingly, Vaggie came over once or twice to just talk to Angelo about anything and just to check up on him. It felt both odd and nice that they were all just talking like nothing changed. As if the mob child wasn’t lying in bed with his arm and leg in a cast, a few broken ribs, bruised up body, busted gums and lip, and getting sick of eating soup.

Angelo knew that everyone, excluding his brother and father, were just looking after him, but it was just a bit much. Although, it did make him feel happy that people did care for him this much...but give him some fucking space...please. If anything, Angelo was lowkey wondering why Alastor had yet to show up. Seemed like he didn’t want to leave his side before, what gives?

Now, the mob-child was watching some Baywatch-like TV show and it was boring as all hell. He groaned as he tried to grab the remote, just for sharp pain to go up his side as he attempted to twist his body, causing his eyes to tear up. He flopped back onto the mattress lightly, sighed, and called out as best as he could, “Pennnnnnn! PENNNNNNNNN!! …...PeEeeEEEeeeeEeEeENNNNnNNN!!!!”

Pentious practically kicked the door open and screeched, “Blimey! Shut the fuck up, you bloody plonker!”

Angelo grinned, “Man, ya really went full British~”

Pentious rolled his eyes and gave a huff as he walked into the room, questioning, “What the hell do you want?”

The mob child whimpered like a sad puppy and reached out pathetically to the remote on the nightstand. Pen raised an eyebrow at him, still clearly pissed at Angie calling out to him like that, and walked over to the nightstand. He grabbed the remote...and then tossed it lightly at Angelo’s head. 

The boy flinched at the impact, even if it was barely enough to even cause pain. He pouted up at Pen, “Hey, what the hell!? I’m injured ‘ere!”

The older man sat down at the edge of the bed and huffed, “Clearly, you’re not too injured to scream at the top of your lungs. ….How are you feeling?”

Angelo couldn’t help but calm down at hearing his tone soften up a bit. He shifted as much as he could, wincing at a sharp pinch at his side, and replied, “Well...I’m doin’ as good as I can be, especially bein’ stuck in bed and, you know, bein’ broken...and all.”

Sir Pentious’ soft look immediately turned into a look of concern and possible pity. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say to try to alleviate the situation, and asked, “Uh…perhaps I can do something to help you? You do look really knackered. Do you want anything? Anything at all?”

Angelo hummed, “Oh, yeah, can ya get me a fairy godmother to heal up my wounds, a hit list of everyone that works for Vox, and a M3? Thanks, sweetie~”

“....Uuuuuuhhhhh,” was Pen’s well-detailed and poetic response. Luckily, Cherri and a short latin man, who gave a warm smile to Pen before looking at Angelo worriedly, came walking in. Not necessarily to “save” him, since Cherri immediately punched Pen’s arm, causing him to let a manly yelp, while her face had a light pinkish red as she glared at him, shouting, “What the hell is wrong with you! Don’t yell at Angelo!”

Pentious glowered, “What’s wrong with me!? I’m not the one punching people randomly, you nutter!”

The short man pushed back his naturally, already slicked back, black hair with silver streak and went over to Angelo quickly. He practically shouted, just to assuage the tension, “So, uh, Anthony, how are you?”

The two looked over at Angelo and the mob child huffed, “I already answered this! When can I just get-augh!”

The three jumped at seeing Anthony grip at his ribs tightly and take a deep shuddering breath as his eyes teared up a bit, shutting his eyes tightly. The man mumbled, “I guess that answers my question.”

He fished some pills out from his pocket and was about to help him take the pills, even about to tell Pen to get some water. However, Angelo just snatched the capsules out of his hand and took them dry. He quickly snapped, “I can take my own pills, dammit!”

Pentious was going to yell again, but the doctor reassured, pushing up his glasses, “It’s alright, querido. He’s been stuck in bed for a whole week.” The long-haired man scoffed, “That doesn’t justify him being rude to you, Baxter. You should be more appreciative, Anthony!”

Angelo was about to yell to stop calling him Anthony, but Cherri clapped her hands and gave a soft sigh, “Alright, things are startin’ to escalate, so why don’t ya two maybe, uh, get the fuck out?”

Pen was going to argue more, but Baxter ended up calmly bringing his boyfriend out of the middle of things by taking his hand. He just didn’t wish to deal with a bunch of shouting. Well...more shouting. Pen eventually just huffed and decided to just go out the door, while carrying the bespectacled man in his arms. It caused a lovely rosy color to hit Baxter’s cheeks.

Cherri gagged at the two and then stared at Angelo, sighing, “So, uh, I guess ya ain’t doin’ that well, huh?”

Angelo shook his head and sat up slowly, wincing at the sharp pains wracking his body. The Australian girl wanted to help, but she knew that would just annoy Angie. He grunted, “I...I know that everyone is jus’ tryin’ ta help, but...god, it makes me feel useless. Not only that, but I bet Vox might send people ta finish the job, especially since I ain’t dead.”

“Did you escape or somethin’?”

“No...he let me go, but ya never just attack a mob boss and get out alive,” Angelo informed, causing him to let out a shuddering breath.

Cherri noticed it getting somber, causing her to change the subject and bring up, “Oh, uh, hey! I heard Alastor’s radio station. He talked about some woman’s husband missing and said that the hotel is doing well. I think it helps that Charlie’s dad is visiting more often, something about a helicopter and...uh...”

She trailed off when she noticed Angelo still looking incredibly distraught. She thought that she may have seen a glimmer of intrigue after mentioning Alastor’s name, but that was all. He barely seemed to pay attention to the status of the hotel. Cherri sighed as she reached into her short’s pocket and handed a folded up note to Angelo. She replied, “I found this letter outside your door way earlier. I think it was like 3 am, I heard some noise...uh...yeah. I’ll just leave it here…”

She placed it on the nightstand near his bed and then told him, “We all want ya to get better, Angie, and maybe even Vox to go through hell. Just...don’t do anything dumb, okay?”

Cherri then got up off of the bed and started walking towards the door, giving one glance over her shoulder at Angelo before leaving out of the room. Angelo sighed as he grabbed the letter, feeling awful for going silent on Cherri. He unfolded the paper and skimmed over the words.

When the mob-child got to the end of the letter, he felt both shocked, questionable, and worried. The letter was written by Alastor, who somehow snuck into Pen’s house, and...he was coming over tonight. ~~~ Angelo was slightly turning in bed, waiting for Alastor to come to the house. Granted, he wasn’t too excited to see what he was bringing back as a meal, but he was sure that he wouldn’t serve humans again. ...Well, he hoped so. It wasn’t like it was too much of a stretch considering what he saw in that gumbo. It still made him feel ill to this day. Plus, it didn’t help since Al seemed very excited.

Angelo just sighed as he placed his back on the pillow and was about to go to sleep, but stopped when he heard footsteps. He lifted his head up a little and groaned, “Hey, Al, can ya give me a hint as ta what yer makin’? I just don-”

He stopped when he saw a shadow in the hall of a woman that definitely didn’t look like Cherri’s. Before he could question, he heard the sound of a gun being cocked and then a revolver being aimed into the room. He saw a woman coming into view, but didn’t pay attention to anything but the shaky gun. Angie started, “Wh-Whoa! Hey, d-don’t do any-”

The woman whisper-shouted, “Shut up, just...shut up! You...You killed him!”

Angelo looked very confused and she sniffled, cheeks and nose a bright red, “Jonathan...he w-worked...a-at your ex-boss’ wareh-house. ...H-He was standing guard la-last week.”

Angelo barely had any memory of who all worked under Val and Vox, but it could have been a possibility. No one knows about the warehouse or that it’s Val’s. He gulped, “H-Hey, I’ve been st-stuck in bed an-”

“I told you-!” She took a deep breath as her finger went towards the trigger, making Angelo feel his heart jump to his throat. He looked around the place as he sat up in bed quite quickly, probably making it harder to believe that he was injured in the first place. 

The woman went on, stepping closer and aiming the gun at his head, “Th-They told m-me...they f-found remains i-in the fu-furnace. Vox said...th-they don’t kn-now if i-it’s his, but...he has-sn’t come back. O-Our kids...a-are so sc-scared...they don’t...th-they just w-want...him…” she trailed off as she placed a hand to her mouth to try to quiet her sobbing, turning away and lowering the revolver.

Angelo was trying to slowly slide out of bed to try and get some kind of weapon. Unfortunately, the gentle thud of his toes hitting the wooden floor. The woman immediately shot up and aimed the gun back at his head. Angie gulped and tried to calm her again, “Listen...I promise ya...I did not kill yer husband, alright? I-I’ve been stuck here. I mean...ya can clearly see that Vox did a number on me...right…?”

He got a bit distracted when he saw Cherri appear behind the woman, opened her eyes widely, and then quickly retreated to possibly find a weapon. Angelo continued, wanting to stall, “So....what’s your n-”

“I’m not telling you my goddamn-”

“Whoa-ho-ho! I’ve clearly come in a bad time!” 

The woman quickly turned around and aimed the gun at the person behind her. Angelo oddly felt relieved at seeing Alastor standing there with his perma-smile, but also had no idea where this was going to go. Al just calmly walked inside and stepped around the lady, humming a little tune. She whimpered, “H-How did you g-get in here!? Wh-Where did you come fr-from!? I...I heard y-your voice...the radio broadcast, right?”

Alastor nodded, walking in-between her and Angelo, “Yes...you’re Traci? The one that lost her husband, I suppose? ...Why are you going to shoot, Anthony?” Traci glared and sniffled, wiping her eyes, “Because he’s the one that killed him!”

Al raised an eyebrow and hummed, “And you know that...how?”

The lady looked around for a few seconds, messing with her hair and the scarf around her neck. She muttered, “I-I-I just kn-now about him g-getting hurt. Cl-Clearly, he ratted o-out to his batshit f-family! His sist-ter is just as f-fucking stupid a-as he is, so-”

“Now, now, no need to go throwing around insults. You’re already aiming a gun at a questionably innocent mad, don’t have to be even more callous,” Alastor chuckled, as if he was just having a normal conversation. It once again reminded Angelo that this man was not sound of mind. Cherri came back with a wooden field hockey stick and was slowly creeping on the lady. Traci started, “But he-”

Al walked closer to her, being calm and collected, “You...don’t know what he did. You’re just accusing him of something. I’m sure that the police are doing whatever they can, but...Traci...no need to get yourself in trouble. Your kids need you, correct? You do have kids, right?”

Traci was almost near sobbing again, causing Cherri to halt in her movements out of guilt, and she nodded. He walked closer, feeling the revolver press to his chest, and calmly asked, “Please, Traci, give the gun. ...We won’t press charges.”

She sniffled and whimpered, trembling where she stood. She let out a loud sob as she handed the gun to Alastor, who took the gun calmly. Angelo let out a breath and noticed that Pen and Baxter joined Cherri. The three looked calmer considering that everything had become quieter.

Alastor backed away from Traci, causing her to just break down and hugged herself. He looked down at the revolver and let out a long hum. Al then gave out quite a cute guilty as he informed, “Traci, don’t you know that when you threaten with a gun, you have to take the safety off! Silly!”

“Wha-” that was all that Traci said as she slowly lifted her head and a bullet went right through her head, causing a bit of blood splatter. Unfortunately, it got mostly onto Cherri and the wall, making the punk scream out in terror and Pen almost throw up. Her scream covered up the sound of Traci’s body falling onto the floor.

Alastor muttered, “I thought it would be messier than that...hmm…” He tossed the gun onto the bed and smiled at Angelo, who just muttered, “Nice shot...I guess…”

“I made grilled venison!”

“Oh...neat.”

[inkedtoast]

TF2 X Male reader || Chapter 1

Warning: Cursing, drinking, mentions of alcohol (and farther along in the series there will be gore)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“She will wear you out livin la vida loca

Alright!

Livin la vida loca

She's livin la vida loca!”

My alarm startles me awake with the loud and overly catchy song that somehow lived past the early 2000’s. I roll over and unlock my phone to turn off the alarm, yawning widely. I stretch my arms, kick off my blanket, and then sit up. I stare out of my bedroom window- which is one out of three windows in my whole apartment- and contemplate if I really wanna go to work today. The reminder of my paycheck and slightly overdue bills tells me that yes I should, so I get up and pull on my work clothes. I pat down my hair and put on my favorite hat. Stuffing my bare essentials into my travel backpack, (water bottle, keys, phone and charger, earbuds and wallet, and some of my drawing supplies), the various fandom pins that litter the front of it click against each other. They clatter louder against each other as I zip up the front pocket and hoist the bag over my shoulders. I start walking to the front door, not bothering with breakfast, when I realize I forgot my glasses. Those are kiindaa important…

    I snatch them off of my nightstand and whisk out the front door and lock it. I jog to the bus stop, hoping I’m just in time. As I run to the bus stop, a couple dogs in someone’s yard start barking at me. I slow down a bit and wave to the dogs. They start leaping at the wire fence, making it creak and groan, trying to get a closer look- or smell, I guess. I start jogging again and get to the bus stop fairly quickly. I squat down next to the bus stop sign and breathe heavily.

    “I’ve been jogging to the bus stop everyday for like a month now, I should be used to this. Augh!”, I pant. I stand up and look down the road both ways. I look to the left and see the bus just turning onto the street. Ah, thank god… I think in relief. I grab my wallet out of my backpack and pull out the correct amount of bus fare. The bus is just a couple blocks away when I hear a shuffle, like someone misstepped on the concrete sidewalk behind me. I turn to look behind me and see that no one is there. Huh…. Okay.

The bus pulls up behind me then and the doors ssttttss open. I turn back to the bus and drop my money into the till. The little machine whirs next to the bus drivers seat as it counts my money and sticks out a ticket for me like a tongue. I grab it and take the farthest seat back as is possible. I’m gonna be here a while…. I pull out my phone and plug in my earbuds. I press play on my favorite playlist, close my eyes and lean my head back. I tap my hands and feet to the songs, and soon I’m doing mini air drums to the songs and doing air riffs. My arms get tired from the waving around and I calm down. About three songs after that, I feel like someone is watching me. I open my eyes and lean my head forward. I pull out an earbud and look at the rest of the bus. 

There's an old lady at the front of the bus with her nose in a Kindle and an older looking guy with a very interesting choice of polo shirt (it's bright green and some kinda golfing reference on it). And of course, the bus driver, Marty, who knows me as a regular. All of them are minding their own business, though. The guy with the green shirt notices me looking around and politely waves and smiles. I return the gesture and go back to my music, sinking down into my seat. Man, what is up with me? Guess I'm just feeling a little off today…

In record time (like an hour) the bus approaches my stop. I pull on the… stop cord thing and Marty waves at me.

"Have a good day, son!", He says as he smiles and opens the bus doors. I throw him some finger guns as I step backwards off of the bus.

"I'll do my best." He laughs and closes the doors as he drives away. I stand there for a second and sigh. Ah boy… work time. I turn face and walk a couple blocks to my place of work. The bright orange, yellow and purple sign announces the business for everyone within 200 feet to see. Big Red's Bar and Inn. The place where any self respecting drunk, bar hopper or cheater ends up. Anyone that comes to visit from another city always gets surprised about this bar. 

A lot of new people say "Oh wow this little city has a bar? Not just a bunch of liquor stores? Wow" or "Oh.. quaint". Yeah it's not glamorous, but we have what we need. TV's, food, pool and foosball tables, lotto machines…. We get by. Honestly, I got lucky with this job. It's basically strictly family owned and run, but one of the girls there knew me from highschool and talked with her mom who runs the place. The two of them tackle every problem that comes up in the bar really easily. Once, Jessica -the one who got me this job- pulled a shotgun out from the counter after one guy wouldn't leave this lady alone. He left really quickly after that. I've never had to hold that thing and I hope I never will. I don't like trusting myself with that kinda thing.

I walk up to the front doors and pull out the establishment keys and fumble for a second before jamming the key in and unlocking the doors. My job is pretty simple and not that glamorous. I open up, clean the place, wait on tables during working hours, keep up stocks and take out the garbage. Basically I'm an errand boy. But it's labor intensive so I get paid pretty well and I'm not complaining. I notice a few things are out of place. A couple of chairs are on the floor instead of the table, a bunch of bottles are missing from the shelf on the wall behind the bar and there's a broken tumbler glass on the counter. 

"I hope that doesn't get taken out of my paycheck,'' I mumble to myself. Maybe Jessica was having a rough night? I shrug and pick the glass up, sweeping the broken bits into the cup from the counter and go dump it into the glass receptacle. 

||hours later||

It's just after happy hour and I am exhausted. A group of college kids who just got in decided to celebrate and pretty much trash that bar… during happy hour. At least wait till after 8 you dipshits. Who drinks at 5pm? Fuckin' morons, that's who… I grump to myself. Jessica comes up to me with a tray of Coors beers. 

"Hey can you take these over? These guys are basically black holes for beer," She sighs. I frown. She seems really damn tired and down. 

"Can I put tequila in them to make 'em pass out, so we can cut them off and get 'em outta here?" I joke. She laughs.

"No, we cannot. We can get in trouble for that. On top of that, why waste good stuff on a bunch of kids?" Jessica pats my shoulder and walks into the back.

"Good point, good point," I nod to myself. I carry the tray of Coors over and place them on coasters. The group of guys cheer when I walk up with their drinks. One of them catches my attention.

"Hey, dude, that girl. She single or what?" The guy who asks looks like some jock right out of a 2008 high school movie. Black spiked hair, traces of acne, wiry but somehow muscular frame. Yeah, no, this guy's a douche. I shrug.

"I dunno. Not my business and not yours either, man." I place the last couple beers down and start walking away. Jock McDouche stands up and grabs my shoulder, making me drop the tray. It clatters to the ground as he stares me dead in the eye.

"What'd you say, punk?". Oh boy…. Here we go… I step away from him and try to defuse the situation. I don't need Red getting on my ass about causing a bar fight.

"Dude, don't try and hit on some girl. Mind your own business and let her do her job. She can kick you out and ban you faster than you can say 'Poughkeepsie'." All of these things are excellent points and a few of the other guys in the group side with me. Despite that, though, Jock McDouche pushes me.

"Why you being so defensive of her? She your girl or something?" 

"No, it's just none of your business. If she wanted it to be your business, you'd know." Right after that, Jessica turns up.

"Something wrong gentlemen?" She's got the bar shotgun on her hip, pointing it right at the crotch of the asshole who started this. His face bleaches and bullets of sweat start rolling down his forehead. He covers his junk with his hand, as though that will stop any bullets that get fired.

"N-no ma'am. Just fooling around, weren't we pal?" He looks at me. I raise an eyebrow. I wait a few seconds before answering just to make him squirm.

"Yeah. Definitely." I turn to Jessica and shake my head to let her know it's not worth it anymore. She uncocks the gun and walks away. I bend down to pick up the tray and walk back behind the counter to put it away. I start reorganizing glasses under the counter and stacking them by height and size due to boredom. I sit behind the counter for another ten minutes before Jock McDouche and his posse decide to pay and leave. As Jock pays for his share of the tab, he glares at me. I stare right back at him, letting him know literally I couldn’t give a shit. He scoffs at me and walks out once him and his buddies are done paying.

“Hey, could you go and take out the trash and recycling?”, Jessica says as she comes up behind me. I nod and set down the glass I was rolling in between my hands. I grab the full bags of garbage and recycling out by their drawstrings and tie them. Walking to the back door through the kitchen, I push it open with my back. As I finish struggling to open the huge dumpsters and dropping in the garbage, I hear a few steps behind me. I’ve heard of this being a signal that someone is trying to mug you. Wait isn’t that just in movies?.... I decide that it can happen in real life and grab a broken bottle and turn to chuck it at the person behind me when I feel a sharp pain in my neck. I raise my hand to my neck and feel something that is clearly a mini tranquilizer dart. I look up and see a female silhouette in a dress. I’m not sure but the outline of her dress is…. Purple?

“At least he tried to defend himself… Definitely gives him points..,” I hear her sigh. I feel woozy in seconds and feel my knees collapsing. I try to throw the bottle at her again and it sadly bounces off of her torso and breaks against the ground. I try to stand up, stumbling like I just finished drinking a whole 40 of tequila. The woman, whose face I can’t see, makes a surprised noise.

“You should be out already. Ah, well, that’s something important to note: needs higher dose of tranq,” She scribbles that down on a notebook as I look at her like she just grew three heads. She grabs my head by my hair and jerks it to the left and jabs the dart gun against my neck, shooting a dart deeply into my skin. I instantly feel 200% more tired and promptly start to give in to the heavy, potent drugs.

“Ahh fffuckk...,” are the last words I hear myself say before fall forward and pass out on the lady’s shoes.

[animeniacss]

6 Years - Hoseok x Reader - Chapter 29 - Flames

Synopsis: 6 years. That’s all it can take to take another look at someone and see that they have completely changed. You were once an eager 20-year-old, with your dreams all in view, and Jung Hoseok at your side to view them with you. However, after a break up the end of your junior year of college, everything seemed different. Now, you’re a recently divorced single mother of two, and your life is nowhere near what you thought it would be. However, after reuniting with Jung Hoseok, you may just be able to capture a little bit of that exciting youth you once knew so long ago.

Feat. BTS Members, Nayeon (TWICE), and Yuna (itzy) 

Genre: Romance, SingleMother!AU, Past Relationship, Drama, Some Depictions of Violence/Domestic Abuse

Length: approx. 5.4k words 

Chapter 29 - Flames 

That night was a blur for you. The first thing that you remember was the shattering of some glass, and the next, you were waking up to a world of white. Muffled noises entered your ears; beeps and what seemed to be frantic conversations. You couldn’t make out any of the voices yet, but you could sort of make out a deep male voice, shouting at whoever was in the room and capable of hearing him.

           “What do you mean you don’t know who did this? There were no security cameras?!”

           “We’re looking into it as we speak, kid. Security cameras take a long time to comb through, and we may have a big window of time. We don’t know exactly when everyone went to bed. We have to wait for one of them to wake up.”

“Then why aren’t you out there looking?!”

“Because I need to speak to…Hey! Get your hands off me, you little punk!” As you tried to focus all your attention on them talking, your eyes finally began to properly adjust to the light. It was then you noticed the figure of a female in white standing beside you. She smiled when she saw your head fall in her direction.

           “Good morning, Miss. Cho.” She said gently. As you began to sit up, you looked straight ahead of you to see the two owners of the shouting voices. Myung-Dae and Tae stood in front of one another. Taehyung had Myung-Dae’s collar in a tight grip, and though both were now looking at you with a mixed bag of concern and relief, those didn’t seem to be the emotions running through the room only moments ago. Taehyung’s hands loosened, and he hurried to your bedside, sitting down and quickly hugging you tightly. You could see how red his eyes were the closer he got to you.

           “Oh my God, thank goodness you’re okay.” He choked out. Without even thinking, you hugged him back just as tightly. “How do you feel?” It was almost like you didn’t even hear his question.

           “The girls?”

           “They were a bit roughed up from inhaling smoke, but overall, they’re just fine. Mom and Dad are in the pediatric wing with them now. I think they’re still asleep.” He looked at the nurse for confirmation, who only offered a gentle nod.      

“Hoseok?” you asked, your lip quivering. Taehyung nodded.

“He’s been in the ICU for the past few hours. He inhaled a lot more smoke than you.”

“Smoke?” you asked. “I don’t even remember what happened? How long have I even been asleep?”

“Almost 24 hours” Taehyung said. You finally looked outside and could see that it was starting to get dark out. “Someone called the fire department saying your apartment was broken into and set on fire. Luckily everyone in the building got out okay.” Your heart was racing as you tried to think back to everything that happened last night. You could barely recall; you were probably in such a rush. Red and orange flames lit up your memory as you took a moment to think back. Slowly, it began to come back, in pieces.

“Get out of here. I’ll get the girls.” Hoseok had said. You both were in your living room, surrounded by flames that were spreading quickly. You remember trying to stop him, but he was practically pushing you towards the door, covering your mouth with his other hand.

“Hoseok-.”

“Just get out!” He said again. When you both reached the door, you could hear people nearby, trying to break it down. You could see the normally golden doorknob had looked as if someone had placed a lighter underneath it and left it there for hours, it was practically red and most likely hot to the touch. The sound of pounding was eminent on the other end as well, and you were instructed to step back so that they could break down the door. You did so, watching the door fall in front of you. There were firemen and other civilians nearby to get you out, and when you turned towards Hoseok, he had already hurried back into the flames, towards the girl’s room.        

The last thing you could remember was being pulled outside before you could follow him.

You felt your head fall onto Taehyung’s shoulder, and he continued to hug you tightly. “I remember bits and pieces.” You said softly. “Hoseok went back in to get the girls when the door fell down. Is that why he’s in critical?”

“He must’ve covered their mouths so he couldn’t hold his own. When you were all out, he practically collapsed.” Taehyung explained. You felt your eyes water. “But everyone is okay. They said you can see the girls in a little while when they wake up.” Knowing that everyone had managed to get out okay made you feel much better than before, and you tried taking a few deep breaths to calm your pounding heart. “I’m just glad you’re all okay.” Nodding, you rubbed your face so that you wouldn’t cry. You knew once you laid eyes on your kids you would burst into tears, and you really didn’t want to spend all day being a sobbing mess. Instead, you glanced back to Myung-Dae, who was fixing the now crumpled collar of his police uniform. You blinked, lifting up your hand and giving Taehyung on the back of the head. “OW! Noona!” Taehyung frowned, rubbing the back of his head, which was now stinging. He had betrayal in his eyes. “What was that for?!”

           “I shouldn’t be waking up to see you assaulting a police officer! Learn your manners and apologize!”

           “But Noona, he started it! He wasn’t giving me any answers!”

           “No excuses, Taehyung. Even Min Ja doesn’t pull that card. Apologize, he’s older than you.”

           “Well I’m sorry that I don’t feel happy to see a police officer who is here instead of trying to find the prick that tried to burn you all alive!” You quickly gripped his ear in between your fingers, and Taehyung gasped. “Ow! Owowowowowwowowoowowwwwww! Nooonaaaaaa!” He pouted.

           “Apologize. Then you can act sad. I won’t accept it otherwise. You know Myung-Dae only wants to help.” Taehyung whimpered, but you weren’t letting up. Taehyung sighed, standing up and looking at Myung-Dae, who had a bit of an amused grin on his face.

           “…I’m sorry, Sir.” He said simply, sounding like a defeated child. Myung-Dae laughed a bit, lifting a hand to Taehyung, who plopped back down at your side.

           “I’m glad to see that overall, you’re doing okay.” He said. “But we need to talk, are you feeling up to it?” He asked. You hesitated a bit but ended up nodding.

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

           Everyone seemed to get wind of what happened. Nayeon was on her way, Seokjin and Jungkook were both at work but had made it a point to rush over as soon as their shifts ended, and Hoseok’s family was on their way from Gwangju. For now, when Hoseok woke up, he was met by three familiar faces. He was still very out of it; his chest was tight and he felt as if he was swimming in a bath of lava. It took him some time to adjust to his surroundings, but when he did, he saw Yoongi, Namjoon, and Jimin. Yoongi and Namjoon had fallen asleep in two of the room chairs, while Jimin was pacing the room. He was the first to see Hoseok sit up, and quickly hurried to the door, shouting for his nurse. Hoseok looked around, seeing that he was hooked up to all kinds of machines that were beeping and buzzing, taking his temperature and giving him medicine through IVs.

           “Who-.” Hoseok suddenly felt a large cough erupt from his chest. It was deep, and it made his entire body shake. It even altered Namjoon and Yoongi awake. Hoseok covered his mouth as he tried desperately to keep himself from passing out from the violent cough that coursed through his body. Once it finally subsided, he let out a deep sigh. “…Who gave me the kidney?” he asked curiously, glancing down his hospital gown to try and locate a scar. He saw Jimin approach the bed once again, and Hoseok could see the panic in his eyes. Hoseok frowned. He was sure to immediately ask about you and the girls, just as worried as you were, but Jimin assured him you were all okay. Hoseok watched the nurse come in and check his vitals on the machines.

           “They said you inhaled a lot of smoke in that apartment. Why did you go back in there? The firemen were there they would’ve done it.” Namjoon asked.

           “I was closer to the girl’s room. I had to go get them.” He said simply. “As long as everyone is okay, I’ll take a bit of smoke in my lungs.” He offered a small smile to try and ease his friend's worries. However, that was the exact opposite of what happened as another violent cough erupted through his body, and he covered his mouth. The nurse quickly steadied him and grabbed some water from the nightstand. Hoseok was quick to take it, using it to moisten his mouth and throat. “Augh. Jeez, that’s brutal…” he choked out once the cough subsided. “How did you guys know about all this?”

           “Well, your mother called me when she found out. I called Namjoon.” Yoongi explained. Hoseok glanced at Jimin, who was now looking at the floor. Hoseok was about to ask what was wrong, but Jimin spoke before he could.

           “They think whoever tried to hurt you guys…is the same guy that set the dance studio on fire.” Hoseok’s eyes widened.

           “The studio? Why?”

           “I have no idea. They’re looking through security cameras now to see what they find. They asked me a whole bunch of questions but I had no idea who could’ve done it.” Hoseok pursed his lips together, trying to see if someone came to mind. Then, he blinked.

           “Does anyone know if I’m stuck eating the dry hospital food? I don’t think it’ll help me too much?” he asked curiously. When he saw the confused looks on his friend's faces, he grinned. “What? Don’t look so upset. I’m fine, the girls are fine. I’ll do what I can to help out when I’m better, but for now can we all at least give a little smile?” Yoongi chuckled.

           “You’re a mad man.” He said, crossing his arms. Hoseok laughed a bit, flinging his blanket off his legs and standing up. His friends watched as he put his hands on his hips in a triumphant pose.

“Now who wants to see if I can breakdance in this hospital gown?”

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

           The cops spent the majority of the day talking to you and Hoseok, as well as examining both the apartment and the dance studio. They were still waiting for something interesting to be found on weeks of security footage, but there was a lot that they had to watch, multiple hours leading up to the event to see if anyone was seen more than once throughout the day. It was a tedious process for the detectives who were already so exhausted. Myung-Dae and Chun-Hei were tasked with going to see Weong-Bin and see what he knew if he knew anything at all. Though he was in prison, the cops knew it was suspicious when a trial on the assault of a controlling ex-husband falls just short of the attempted murder of some of that trial’s key witnesses. They just needed to prove, and they could add attempted murder if they wanted too.

           “You guys keep trying to find the actual arsonist. Call if you need anything.” Myung-Dae said to his team, who all shouted in agreement as he and Chun-Hei headed out of the station and to the penitentiary. “I can’t believe this. I knew he was a control freak but a conspirator to murder?”

           “We don’t even know for sure he has anything to do with it.” Chun-Hei said. “It could simply be a random target. A stalker of one of them, maybe? Someone with a personal vendetta against the family, or even of Weong-Bin.”

           “He has something to do with it. It fits too well. And when I prove it, I’ll bury him under the jail myself.” Myung-Dae hissed, his hands gripping the wheel of the car until his knuckles turned white. Chun-Hei sighed, resting against the back of the seat as the pair continued their trip to the prison in silence. When they arrived, they headed straight for the warden in charge. The warden was in charge of the main officers and escorted them to Officer Song, who was the officer who was mostly involved with watching over Weong-Bin and the other inmates he shared a cell with. Officer Song was pacing one of the halls with another woman officer, both of them chatting together as they idly monitored the noises coming from different cells.

           “Officer Song.” Myung-Dae called out and watched as both officers turned around. “We’d like to talk to you about Cho Weong-Bin.” This conversation alerted In-Ho, who was sitting in his cell reading a book. Looking over to the other side of the room he saw Weong-Bin, who was asleep, peacefully, as if he was on the sandy beaches of Hawaii rocking back and forth on a hammock. In-Ho told himself he no longer wanted to be involved with Weong-Bin’s antics, especially after his stint in the cafeteria a few days ago. He made a suggestion, humored it for a while, but as soon as the mention of Weong-Bin’s kids came up, he was out. However, curiosity did wash over him and he quietly walked to the door, pressing his ear to the door in hopes he could hear a bit more of this conversation.

           “What’s going on?” Officer Song asked curiously.

           “What can you tell me about his whereabouts and his demeanor over the past few days?” He asked curiously.

           “Well, he’s spent a lot of time by himself in the courtyard, the cafeteria. He only socialized with one other inmate, Oh In-Ho, but they haven’t been seen together these past few days.” Song said simply. “And these past few days he seemed a bit more…on edge than usual.” Officer Song blinked. “I just figured it was the trial that was making him antsy.”

           “Right…and you’ve known Weong-Bin even prior to his arrest, right?” Myung-Dae asked curiously. Song nodded. “Okay. So, what’s your stance on his entire situation?” Officer Song chuckled.

           “I don’t think it really matters, honestly. He’s known my wife for some time, but to be honest, I don’t know. Every time I saw him and his wife at our parties they got along well and everything seemed okay. He never struck me as someone to be accused of this sort of thing. But like I said, I was not especially close to him myself so I never knew intimate details about any of their personal life.” Myung-Dae nodded.

           “Has Weong-Bin made any…suspicious calls or contacted anyone odd in the past few days?” Myung-Dae asked. It was then he noticed Officer Song’s shoulders tense just silently, and he raised an eyebrow. “Hm?”

           “Well, I don’t really know. I try to be a bit private with inmates’ conversations and preserve their right to privacy as much as I can. I make sure it’s an appropriate phone call and then I leave them to it.” Myung-Dae and Chun-Hei shared a look between themselves, and it made Officer Song a bit nervous. “I know it’s not a great idea, but-.”

           “It’s not. And we’ll make sure that your head warden hears about your lax attitude towards these scumbags. Now, I’ll need a record of every incoming and outgoing phone call Weong-Bin has made since he entered prison, even the ones from before he was released on bail.” Officer Song looked at the female officer and sighed.

           “It’ll take some time, but-.”

           “I’ll make sure the rest of your duties are cleared.” Myung-Dae said, stepping closer to the Officer. Song was taller than Myung-Dae by a bit, but he felt so small as he watched the middle-aged detective close the gap between them. “I’ll even give you a hint of what to look for. See if he told anyone to try and burn his ex-wife, her boyfriend, and his two young daughters alive.” He saw Officer Song’s eyes widen, and the female cop covered her mouth with her hands, looking to Song with a stunned expression to see what he would say. His face said it all, guilt of his negligence was written all over his face.

           “…Yessir…” He said gently, nodding his head. Myung-Dae nodded, turning on his heels.

           “Let’s go, Chun-Hei. I’m starving.” He huffed. Chun-Hei nodded, following her superior quickly. “Where should we go for lunch?”

           “Well-.” As Chun-Hei began to rattle off some places, Officer Song sank onto his knees, crumpling his hair into his hands tightly as he thought about the last phone call, he let Weong-Bin make.

           Last one! Last one, I swear!

           Now I understand why he was so frantic. He must have been…oh god… Officer Song thought to himself, and just as he finished that thought, he felt as if he was going to throw up.

           In-Ho, meanwhile, smirked to himself as he turned back to Weong-Bin, who was still sleeping on his cot. Walking towards him, he crossed his arms and sighed.

           “I think I’ll try and request a new roommate if it means you spend the rest of your life in here.” He mumbled to himself, before returning to his own spot and sitting down, pulling out his book, and continuing to read.

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

           “How do you feel, baby?” You asked gently, stroking your daughter’s hair as Min Ja rested in one arm while Hyo Bin was in the other.

“My chest hurts.” Min Ja said. “But the nurse said I’ll be coughing a lot and then I’ll be better soon.”

“She’s right.” You said gently. “We’re all going to be okay.”

“It all hurts…” Hyo Bin said softly, whimpering as you held her close, kissing her forehead as you tried to console her.

“I know. You girls are so brave.”

“Is Mr. Hobi okay?” Hyo Bin asked. You nodded.

“He’s sleeping right now, but he’ll be just fine too.” The three of you sat in silence for a moment, before Min Ja spoke up again, looking up at you with wide eyes.

“Why did someone try to set our house on fire, Mommy?” she asked curiously. “Did they want to hurt us? Did we do something bad?”

That was a question that you avoided, though you didn’t want to. You didn’t want to explain to Min Ja what had happened, that, and you didn’t know-how. It was a lot to unpack for a 5-year-old early in the morning. Despite this, however, everything was improving. You were started to feel much better, especially once you knew that Hoseok’s family had arrived. You hadn’t gotten a chance to see him from the night you woke up into the next day, but you knew you would soon. Once you had eaten lunch and gotten some more strength up, you made your way to the pediatric wing. You had seen the girls the previous night, but they were given a lot of medicine and put on some IV’s to help hydrate them and get their strength back up. They may not have inhaled to much smoke, but they were small and frail, so it was a bit more intense on their bodies. However, after a goodnight's sleep and some food, they were up and in the pediatric playroom, playing together along with a few other children. Seokjin and Jungkook had stopped by as well and were actually in there with the girls as well. Min Ja was trying to teach the other kids how to play 007, and since they were a bit older than she was, they were able to get a pretty good grasp on the game. You were standing by the door, just watching them interact with one another happily. It was making you feel much better just seeing the girls laughing and clapping as Seokjin missed his cue and didn’t raise in his hands, sending the circle of kids into a roar of laughter. A smile graced your lips, but your attention was averted when you heard your name being called from the end of the hallway. Turning your head, you saw a familiar face rushing in your direction, and your eyes widened.

           “NAYEON!” You shouted, turning to face her as she raced into your arms. She hugged you tightly and immediately began sobbing into your shoulder, and you weren’t too far behind.

           “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry I haven’t been around I’ve just been so busy! And to see you again in a hospital after you almost died?! I’m so-.”

           “Nayeon please!” you smiled a bit, wiping both your eyes and hers. “It’s okay! I promise it’s okay, just relax. I understand, you’ve been busy and I’ve been super busy too, with everything. Please don’t feel bad.” Nayeon sniffled. “It’s really okay, I’ve had company from my coworkers and Taehyung. I know you’ve been busy.”

           “I was actually just about to call you and ask about the trail and everything when your mother called me and told me everything last night, and I got on the first train this morning.” She sighed. You giggled a bit, hugging her tightly once again. “I’m so sorry.” She said.

           Now I can see what Hobi means when he says I apologize too much. You thought to yourself, chuckling to yourself. The two of you found a seat near the playroom to catch up, taking a seat as both of you made sure to bring each other up to speed on your lives.

           “I’m working towards another promotion, so I’ve been buried in paperwork.” Nayeon said happily. “I’m really excited.”

           “That’s great.” You beamed. “But I’m waiting for the good stuff. Tell me you finally met a guy…” you grinned a bit, and Nayeon gasped, shoving you as you burst into a fit of childlike giggles.

           “Stop that.” She said. “I haven’t met anyone special; you know I would’ve called you already if I had.” Nayeon pouted as you continued to giggle, before allowing her to continue with everything she had been doing in order to hurry up and earn that promotion as quickly as she possibly could. Although it was in a hospital, you were glad that you got to finally see Nayeon after some time and finally enjoy some much-needed girl time with her. Just as the two of you were finishing up, you saw your nurse coming over to you.

           “Miss. Cho?” she smiled. “I know it’s been a lot longer than we would’ve like for all of your tests, but we finally got them back after the backlogs.” You glanced up.

           “That’s alright, I’m sure there are people here who need their test results faster than me.” The nurse smiled. “So, what does it say? Am I going to live?”

           “Well, yes.” She smiled happily. “Both you and the baby are perfectly healthy, despite the fumes that were inhaled.” As you heard the nurse talk, there was a certain word that gripped your attention more than any of the others.

           Baby? What baby? A baby? Whose baby? Your baby?

           “W-wait, wait, wait.” You said quickly, looking up at the nurse with wide eyes. “…Baby?” The nurse blinked.

           “Well yes, the 4-and-a-half-week-old fetus is-.”

           “She’s pregnant?” Nayeon asked curiously, turning to you. “You never told me.”

           “I had no idea.” You said quickly.

           “Haven’t you been experiencing any symptoms?” the nurse asked. “Or missed your period?” You covered your face.

           “Yeah I’ve been nauseous and my sense of smell has been off and…I am late…” you blinked. “I honestly just thought it was the stress. I’m on the pill.”

           “That doesn’t always guarantee 100% prevention of pregnancy.” The nurse said.

           “I know that now…” The nurse seemed to notice your reaction to the news and walked over to take your hands.

           “Shall I take you back to your room? You look pale.”

           “…Y-yes please…” you said. Nayeon helped you to your feet. “Just make sure someone tells Jin and Jungkook so they don’t wonder where I went.” Nayeon nodded, smiling gently as she watched the nurse lead you to your room. She crossed her arms and sighed.

           “Wow…so much has changed.” Nayeon said softly.

           On your walk back to the room, you put a hand on your stomach. You couldn’t believe that this was happening again, it felt as if déjà vu had come up to you and smacked you right across the face. The nurse had explained to you no the walk that they had found it out when they got the sample of the blood test, so this was new information to them just as much as it was for you. When you saw your room approaching, you looked at the nurse.

           “Miss…can I go see how Hoseok is doing?” you asked softly. The nurse was hesitant.

           “I really think you should rest first.” She said. “Maybe afterward…” You frowned a bit, nodding in compliance, though the nurse could sense how badly you wanted to go anyway. “I’ll come back to you in an hour, then we can go.” The nurse smiled happily, taking your hand as she led you to your bed and helping you get settled. She watched you get yourself comfortable, and turned the TV onto a light music channel, hoping the music would help calm your nerves. “…I’m sorry if this is inappropriate, but congratulations regardless. I’ve met the baby’s father in passing, so I’m sure this child will be an absolute angel on earth just like him.” You looked up at the nurse, her gentle smile forcing one to form on your own face.

           “…Thank you. I’m sure it will…” You mumbled, putting a hand on your stomach. The nurse smiled, nodding her head before she excused herself to tend to her other patients while you were left to rest. Once she was gone, you covered your face with your pillow and let out a muffled, yet strained scream of absolutely stress-induced fear. The strain you put on your voice caused you to cough violently, some leftover soot possibly trying to make its way out of your lungs. Quickly, you sat up in bed and grabbed the water left on your bedside, downing it in hopes of calming your body, which was shaking from all of the force you had just put on it in such a short period of time. “…This can’t be happening again…” you gasped, laying back in bed and hoping you would wake up from another dream.

           However, speaking from experience, this never happened when you really wanted it to.

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

           “How is she doing?” Hoseok’s sister, Da-won, asked, looking at her little brother while she sat beside him in bed. Hoseok was sitting up, sipping water his mother had gotten him. His parents had offered to go get the four of them something to eat, allowing the brother and sister to sit and talk, something they so rarely got to do with their schedules being what it is.

           “I haven’t seen her yet.” Hoseok said softly. “I keep asking but they think I should get my strength up first before I see any of them. Which is silly because of Jimin and the others-.” Hoseok coughed into his hands; talking too long did that to him for the time being. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Da-won looking right at him.

           “Take it easy.” She said gently. “Just nod if you have to. Don’t strain your voice, or you won’t be able to testify against the bastard that did this.”

           “I didn’t even see him, Noona.”

           “That’s not the point, Hoseok.” She huffed. Hoseok smiled a bit, shrugging. “Stop being so happy go lucky, too, please. You almost died and all you’ve been doing today is acting like you’re on vacation.”

           “How so?”

           “Asking to play in the pediatrician playroom with the kids? Begging the nurse for some fried chicken and trying to breakdance with an IV in your arm?” Hoseok chuckled a bit as he thought back to all of the shenanigans he had been doing since he woke up this morning. “What’s wrong with you?”          

           “Well when I see the girls again, I don’t want them to be sad. So, if I keep everything up like normal, then they won’t be.” He explained. Da-won sighed, pouting at her brother’s constantly positive attitude. “Trust me, I’m not particularly pleased with all of this either, but the girls don’t need to see that. I’m sure her brother and family are a mess, my friends are panicked, the cops are going nuts. They need someone to be smiling for them, don’t they?” Da-won stared at her little brother, who still continued to smile. “Do you not agree?” he asked curiously. Da-won sighed, nudging him.

           “You’re absolutely crazy.” She said, and both of them giggled. “I hope I find a man who has those same morals.”

           “You will so long as I’m around. Taehyung has taught me how to be protective of my older sister.” Hoseok playfully patted his muscles, which made his sister laugh more. As the duo was chatting, the door to the room opened. When they looked over, they saw their parents standing by the door. Between them, stood you, still slightly waking up from the hour-long nap you had forced yourself to take, down to the last second, you refused to get out of bed. Hoseok fixed himself a bit, sitting on the end of his bed as he saw you rubbing your eyes, continuing to wake up until you finally laid your eyes on him. He smiled a bit as he saw your eyes begin to water. “A-a-aaaaaah! Don’t cry!” He begged, standing up. He wobbled a bit, but Da-won was quick to hop out of her seat and make sure he was steadied as he hurried over to you, rolling the IV along with him. When he got close enough, you were quick to hop into his ever-growing arms and hug him tightly. You could feel his arms tighten around you, his hand latching onto your hair as he stroked it. You couldn’t hold it in anymore. You were able to contain tears when you saw the girls, forcing yourself to be strong for their sake, however, the girls were no longer there. You immediately burst into tears, sobbing into his shoulder. “Don’t cryyyyyy! I was just telling Noona I wouldn’t let you cry.”

           “Then you liiiiiied.” You sobbed, and Hoseok began to laugh, though you could hear his voice crack slightly, either from the soot in his throat or the emotions he was trying to keep subdued for now. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

           “Me too.” He said, continuing to hold you close. “Everything is going to be fine. I promise, okay?” you nodded, sniffling as you continued to sob in his arms. He chewed his lips, glancing up at his parents, who were watching silently with supportive grins on their faces. He really didn’t want to get emotional, he meant what he said about wanting to keep a smile on for your sake. However, even though he was sure to, the lump in his throat was just too strong, and tears streamed along his cheeks and down that ever lingering smile as he held you with all of the strength he could muster.

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

           Once the nurses knew you and the girls were okay two days later, you were able to leave. Hoseok, however, was still much too weak to be released, so he had to stay behind for a little while longer, to make sure that his strength would recover fully. Myung-Dae and Chun-Hei were working diligently to find out who set the fires, and how, if at all, Weong-Bin was tied to this entire conspiracy. When you were released, you and the girls went to stay with Taehyung, who practically kicked and screamed outside of the hospital until you agreed, saying ‘No sister of mine is staying in a hotel, I have extra room!’ over and over again. He was so stubborn. You were slowly getting your strength back, and the girls were getting back to their lives in school and daycare. Hoseok was recovering, and things felt as if they were going back to normal much quicker than you thought they would. However, before you knew it, days collected and became a week. It was the end of the month, and that meant one thing.

           The assault trial against Weong-Bin was officially underway.

Return to Masterlist

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[queertazsecretsanta]

A gift for @gravitaz, created by @dork-empress!

~~

“GREETINGS NEWTON FAMILY!” Minerva announced, flinging the door open. 

“Honey!” Duck said, clutching his hat to catch up from where he was running up the driveway, “I told you to KNOCK!”

“I did!” Minerva said, “and the door did not open, and so I decided to help it along!” She smiled at him, outshining the sun. Or so it seemed to Duck anyway. 

“You are welcome to rob us.” A girl said from the stairs, “Start with Duck’s old dolls--oh, sorry ‘’’action figures.’’’’”

Duck rolled his eyes, and pulled the girl, his sister Jane, into a half-hug, which quickly turned into more of a half-nelson. “Missed you too, Gremlin.”

“Augh!!!” she yelled, flailing like they were kids again, “Abuse! Abuse! Child abuse!”

“Oh please,” Duck said, “You’re not a kid anymore, you can’t use that excuse.”

Jane grumbled. “That’s right!” she said in challenge, “I can fight back!” Jane darted her hands out to tickle Duck’s stomach instead, getting him to let go. “Ha! Jane Newton, Still the Undefeated champion!!”

“Most impressive!” Minerva said, still standing in the doorway and somehow not looking awkward, “Wayne Newton is a most formidable warrior.”

Jane raised her eyebrows. “Wayne, huh?”

Duck scowled at his sister, “Let it go Janey.” 

“I also wish to inform you, Jane Newton,” Minerva continued, “That I have no intention of robbing your house, even Wayne Newton’s action figures.” 

Jane smiled, “Oh, I like this one, Ducky.”

“Nope,” Duck said, shaking his head, “we’re not doing that.”

Jane ignored him and held out her hand to Minerva, “Pleased to meet you in person, Minerva.”

Minerva beamed again. “You as well, Jane Newton. I wonder, are you what people call, ‘a hugger?’” 

Duck could see three whole jokes pass through Jane’s head that she swallowed down. “Yes, I most certainly am--”

Minerva swooped Jane up into one of her classic bone-crushing hugs. Jane groaned as the air left her lungs, while Duck snickered at her pain. He’s been there, though he didn’t regret it. “Alright, honey, let her breathe.”

Minerva let Jane down, who staggered back. “Well. Damn,” Jane said, blinking at the hug. 

Minerva paused, “I hope I was not too forceful, Jane Newton. I’ve learned to ask permission first, but I have been told I have trouble holding in my incredible strength.”

Jane whistled. “Oh, I’m fine. Just fine,” she said, biting her lip. 

“Hey,” Duck shooed her into the house, “My girlfriend, you can’t have her. Stop it.”

Jane chuckled, walking into the hallway, and letting Duck and Minerva properly enter. Duck took off his shoes, Minerva mimicking him. “Forgive me for stalling out here. I was just trying to save you, Mom’s on the warpath, and--”

“Wayne?” they heard a call from the kitchen, “Is that you Wayne?” 

Duck sighed, “Hi Mom,” he said, “Minerva’s here too.” 

“Excellent, come in here and set the table!” His mother called. 

Duck sighed, taking Minerva’s hand and leading her to the kitchen. 

His mother was bouncing about from counter to counter, preparing at least 3 dishes at once. On sight of her son, she thrust a stack of napkins into his hands. “Good to see you too, Mom.”

She doubled back to kiss him on the cheek before dropping her phone onto the pile of napkins. “I’ve pulled up a video on how to fold them, follow it as closely as you can. Jane, check on the vegetables while I mind the turkey, and--oh goodness.” She had finally taken in Minerva. “Oh my deary, you’re much taller than you looked on Skype.”

Minerva took it in stride. “Yes, I am very tall in comparison to most hu--women.” she stopped herself from saying humans, and Duck could only hope his mother and sister overlooked it. “Some people have become intimidated, I’ve noticed, but do not fear. I am here only for peace.” 

Mrs. Newton’s face lit up. “Fear? Oh goodness no, deary. You’re perfect. Can you get the platters I’ve put on the top shelf there? I don’t fully trust my step stool, it’s rather old.”

“Certainly!” Minerva said, easily reaching up to grab it.

Duck smiled, taking the napkins into the dining room. He didn’t know why he worried. He should have known his family would take to Minerva just the same as he did.

He was still folding the first napkin by the time Minerva came in with a beautifully plated asparagus, complete with drizzles of sauce. “Are you having trouble, Wayne Newton?” Minerva asked. 

Duck sighed, “Sorry ‘bout my mom,” he said, “She tends to go all out, and goes a bit overboard in my opinion. I mean, this is a bit much for a simple Candlenights.”

“There is no need to apologize,” Minerva said, “I don’t really know much about your human traditions. What is Candlenights, anyway?”

“A trademark of Big Head Productions LLC,” Duck answered easily. Minerva blinked, as she did when she was trying to figure out if something was a joke or not. “Look, back when she left my dad, Mom had this huge falling out with her church, and felt...weird celebrating Christmas. So we celebrate this like, secular version that’s on this podcast she likes and connects a bunch of different holidays together. Hence the menorah,” he said, nodding at the candle that served as a centerpiece, “And the Thanksgiving turkey and New Years Eve poppers….its just a whole grab bag of winter holidays.”

Minerva nodded, “A brave thing to do, to leave a culture behind that had wronged her, and to start something fresh and new.”

Duck smiled, “‘Brave’ is a...nice way of describing mom,” he said, “She’s a character, for sure. Always liked to do things her own way. It’s funny, when I came out---” he stopped himself, reminding himself he hadn’t actually super had this conversation with his girlfriend yet. Most people already knew once they’d known him long enough, but Minerva didn’t know a lot of human culture or societal norms or...anything. 

“Came out of what?” Minerva asked, the only indication of how long he had stopped talking.

Duck took a breath, and summoned her over to his mother’s picture wall. There were two that were further back than a few years ago, the first of him when he was a baby….and the second of him with Jane when she was a baby. Except he had little pigtails and a yellow dress he’d hated wearing even that far back. “So, this is me,” he pointed at the young child holding up baby Jane. “Or...was me.” She frowned at him, not understanding the significance. “Ho boy, where to start. Um, so, when I was born….people thought I was a girl,” he winced, unsure how to explain western gender standards to an alien. Minerva always referred to herself as she, but he was unsure if that was a translation thing, or if her planet had the same gender norms or what.

“Why did they think that?” Minerva asked, innocently.

“I just…” Duck said, “Sometimes...that happens. People use the markers they have available before kids are old enough to really know themselves, and then...if they got it wrong, then those people---me---are called Trans. Like, transitioning. I’m a trans man.” She nodded. “But uh. Anyway. The point is, when they do the telling, it’s called ‘coming out.’ And...some parents don’t react well to it.” He smirked, “Not Mom though. She was ready to go toe-to-toe to anyone who gave me trouble about it. Gave me the name ‘Wayne’ too….that was quite the ordeal.” 

He frowned, but wasn’t seriously annoyed at the memories of Mrs. Newton being fine with helping to change the gender marker on his ID, but refusing to let him legally change his name to ‘Duck.’ in fairness, he was happy with just having Duck be a nickname now. Wayne Newton was something he and his mother bonded over, so it worked out well, a symbol for just the family.

“Then she is an honorable woman,” Minerva said, getting Duck to smile wider, “and a worthy commander, I must go and help with preparing more dishes to be served. Are you sure you don’t need help with the napkins?”

Duck sighed, mood souring as he turned back to the cloth that refused to fold like in the video. “Give me one more chance before I call it forfeit,” he said. She frowned again, trying to figure out if it was a joke. “I’ll be fine,” he told her, quickly jumping to his toes to kiss her on the cheek, “Go help, before she declares you AWOL.”

Minerva smiled, recognizing that one for a joke. She gave a salute, “Yes, sir!” she said, before marching back into the kitchen.

Duck smiled, watching after her. He gave one last look to the photo on the wall, the only one of him pre-social transition his mom kept up. Even that had come with a long discussion, but Duck wasn’t ashamed of being trans, and besides, the first pictures of Baby Jane were important.

As he heard footsteps, though, he turned his attention back to the napkins. How in the hell was he supposed to just make it look like a swan?!

[invertedeidolon]

The Longest Library #4: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (Or, Eidolon feels their OTHER age just a little too clearly and needs a nap now)

(This is a series in which I attempt to read and review all (or most of) my library of 297 books.)

Rundown: A unicorn gets lost in that thing that happens where you exist in a weird, neverending pocket of time and when you finally leave your room your family is like 'oh my god we haven't seen you in three months! The dog died while you were gone!' except for her she doesn't look like hell because she's a Fucking Unicorn, but she does figure out that literally every other member of her race has gone missing from the world. She travels with a baby-faced magic man and a bitter but not yet broken older woman to find out where the hell everyone is. 5/5, makes me feel ancient and tired but no longer lonely.

So as a reader, almost all of these reviews (more like reflections) are just that: reflections of myself. So I'll be talking a bunch about the things that spoke to me and my soul. It might not necessarily speak to others in the same ways, with the same words, however, my ratings are based on how enjoyable I think others might find them, and I hope that in seeing that something could speak so richly and deeply to me, that others might give it a chance in the hopes that it might speak to them too.

This is a book that speaks in my language. It's a way of describing things that's a step to the left of your average descriptions, but the images they invoke are visceral and heavily textured.

From the very first page:

"She did not look anything like a horned horse, as unicorns are often pictured, being smaller and cloven-hoofed, and possessing that oldest, wildest grace that horses have never had, that deer have only in a shy, thin imitation and goats in dancing mockery"

God damn. God DAMN. Mmm. Tasty.

"The door did not swing open, and the iron bars did not thaw into starlight. But the harpy lifted her wings, and the four sides of the cage fell slowly away and down, like the petals of some great flower waking at night. And out of the wreckage the harpy bloomed, terrible and free, screaming, her hair swinging like a sword. The moon withered and fled."

AUGH. FUCK. YES. FUCK ME UP, PETER. MMM.

"The magic knows what it wants to do, he thought, bouncing as the horse dashed across a creek. But I never know what it knows. Not at the right time, anyway, I'd write a letter, if I knew where it lived."

So, Schmendrick (the baby faced magic man I mentioned before) has the same feelings about his magical talents as I have about my own, magic or no. My own magic comes and it goes. It's incredibly intuitive in nature and almost refuses to yield to order, logic, or ceremony. Same with my art, my writing, or anything that comes from the spirit. Even things like expressing my emotions feel this way. It's there when it's there, and it's not when it's not, and it's not when it's there. It doesn't feel like a part of me at times, despite being the purest description of my own soul when it decides to take form. Like an absent parent that never once hugged you but knows exactly what kind of candy bar you currently like and that you're nervous about your first boyfriend and the way he talks to you sometimes and how lonely things are getting. I grow resentful for it's absence, and have not grown welcoming to it's presence. It's something that needs to be worked on soon. In fact, Molly's sentiments on first seeing the unicorn kind of describe it pretty well:

"And what good is it to me that you're here now? Where were you twenty years ago? Ten years ago? How dare you, how dare you come to me now, when I am this?" With a flap of her hand she summed herself up; barren face, desert eyes, and yellowing heart. "I wish you had never come, why do you come now?"

That has always been a powerful moment that whenever I see it in the movie (and especially having finally gotten to read it in the book), I've come to understand it deeper, and deeper. Only now realizing that I've lost an entire decade of my life to a violently interrupted life and feeling like if my talents weren't stifled by years spent crying, in pain, and not really wishing to be dead but wishing I Weren't, I could be ten years ahead. And only now does it come to me, in fits and starts, when I've been displaced and scattered and turned to half-a-person, not when I called desperately to it, needing something, anything stronger than me, and being given nothing. Why now? I've gone far enough without you. Molly forgives her. I myself become pale with a feeling of unworthiness.

"The rind of the country cracked, and the flesh of it peeled back into gullies and ravines or shriveled into scabby hills."

There's just so much TEXTURE in a lot of these descriptions. I feel like the background artists in the movie could have done something a bit darker and grimier, although the movie did skip over the fact that the land was in a magically induced famine, to technically it wasn't relevant. Although I feel like the land itself being so scarred makes the king and his whole atmosphere come into sharper focus.

"Drinn opened his eyes and gave her an angry look. 'WE earned nothing," He protested. "It was our parents and grandparents whom the witch asked for help, and I'll grant you that they were as much to blame as Haggard, in their way. We would have handled the matter quite differently." And every middle-aged face scowled at every older face.

Boomers.

"The magician stood erect, menacing the attackers with demons, metamorphoses, paralyzing ailments, and secret judo holds. Molly picked up a rock."

Not going to lie, this part made me laugh.

"No hooves could have made these, Molly thought dazedly; the earth had torn itself shrinking from the burden of the Bull. She thought of the unicorn, and her heart paled."

"The Red Bull did not know her, and yet she could feel that it was herself he sought, and no white mare. Fear blew her dark then, and she ran away, while the Bull's raging ignorance filled the sky and spilled over into the valley."

The descriptions of the Bull especially capture just how heavy and menacing and seemingly mindlessly terrifying it is, not just physically (which is very effectively communicated mind you) but psychologically. The unicorn's terror is my own. There's no fear like the root of you realizing the person in front of you is intent on soul-murder, yet wholly ignorant of their own deeds. Being run down and forced to submit, forced to die, and realizing the blind, animal nature of your attacker. It's how they are. Like blaming a wolf for eating cattle. It can't be reasoned with.

"If she would try one more time to escape- but she was the Bull's and not her own. The magician had one glimpse of her, pale and lost between the pale horns, before the wild red shoulders surged across his sight. Then, swaying and sick and beaten, he closed his eyes and let his hopelessness march through him, until something woke somewhere that had wakened in him once before. He cried aloud, for fear and joy.

What words the magic spoke this second time, he never knew surely. They left him like eagles, and he let them go; and when the last one was away, the emptiness rushed back with a thunderclap that threw him on his face. It happened as quickly as that. This time he knew before he picked himself up that the power had been and gone."

You know, doing anything that has to do with having a soul is exactly this exhausting sometimes. I get excited and talk about my interests more energetically than none? I feel like I just shouted it at the top of my lungs and violently shook the person I was talking to by the shoulders. They say I was even toned, quiet even, but I'm out of breath and my heart is in my throat and I feel a little sick in the arms from it.

"For a moment she turned in a circle, staring at her hands, which she held high and useless, close to her breast. She bobbed and shambled like an ape doing a trick, and her face was the silly, bewildered face of a joker's victim. And yet she could make no move that was not beautiful. Her trapped terror was more lovely than any joy that Molly had ever seen, and that was the most terrible thing about it."

*sips the words like fine wine* *inhales through their teeth* MMMmm fuck yeah~

"I am myself still. This body is dying, I can feel it rotting all around me. How can anything that is going to die be real? How can it be truly beautiful?"

See, I have the opposite problem, where I feel like I've been long dead, and people keep digging up my corpse and forcing me to walk on broken, stringy legs, the moist, forgiving soil not even yet dried. I can feel it living all around me. How can anything that is going to live be unreal? How can it be truly horrific? I'm supposed to be a memory by now.

"Prince Lir's face bent toward her: older by five dragons, but handsome and silly still."

I love impactful but unconventional measurements of time and space like this. More of these please. 'You've been gone since seven arguments ago! And you know how slow the old man is to anger.' 'I've aged by three national crises in the span of two weeks, please help.'

"...holding her voice together like the edges of a wound."

*licks the goddamn wine glass like an animal* MMPH

"There was too much to hold, too much ever to use; and still he found himself weeping with the pain of his impossible greed. He thought, or said, or sang, I did not know that I was so empty, to be so full."

"I have been mortal, and some part of me is mortal yet. I am full of tears and hunger and the fear of death, though I cannot weep, and I want nothing, and I cannot die. I am not like the others now, for no unicorn was ever born who could regret, but I do. I regret."

I have been small, and some part of me is small yet. I am full of terror, and hunger of death, though I cannot utter a noise, and I cannot die.

Please read this book.

Have a song that I really like and will likely make an old-fashioned AMV out of it at some point.

4 down 293 to go.

[tfw-no-tennis]

huntoxhunto

we watched 2 whole more eps but we’re abt to vacay so i better recap this biz now before i forget

ok so we finished the zoldyck arc and uhhhh gotta say we werent expecting like any of that to happen lol 

ok ill back up so we start w/killuas mom (i dont think we ever heard her name) confronting gon & co....and canary (i lov her) is not dead which i assumed but thank goodness. 

zoldyck mom was totally using nen. also she is off her rocker gotta say. tho that visor is super cool, albeit confusing - is it connected to a bunch of security cameras or something? how does she see all that shit? 

granpa is wild. his tunic thing that says ‘one kill a day’ or w/e is kinda hilarious, it reminds me of the ‘apple a day keeps the dr away’ saying...a murder a day keeps the....idk away????

i love that killua makes it abundantly clear that he couldve like escaped at any time lol. also tho why didnt he just escape....baby boy just leave 

killua getting all serious and threatening milluki if he messes with gon....my boys got it BAD 

this family has so many communication issues hvbjadkfbjaskdfj nobody is on the same page at all 

the butler guy continued to remind me of kuro one piece this whole time...i was waiting for him to bust out the ridiculous cat claws

oh my GOD wait the flashbacks of EVEN BABIER KILLUA were so precious ;_; he was soooo tiny and cute oh my god. so precious. and canary was also so tiny and cute 

baby killua really just wanted a friend :(((( and canary wanted to be friends w/him but knew that mom zoldyck would kill her if she overstepped like that :( thats so tragic mannnn

also canary is so cool man. her beating up all those guys was epic

ok that whole scene with killua and his dad was like, such a rollercoaster lmao

like....it was all over the place for me...first of all the ambiance was wack, the room lighting was weird and im p sure killuas seat was an electric chair??? and the dad was in a coffin thing..???? like....interesting aesthetic choices all over the place here 

also i see now where killua got his hair and also his catboy tendencies. the zoldyck catboy genes seem to trace back to zoldyck dad, who has kinda scary cat eyes 

also im guessing that the dad is the blood zoldyck and the mom is the one who married in. they sure seem to put a lot of emphasis on like, family legacy or w/e, but the two parents certainty go abt it in different ways 

the whole convo b/w killua and his dad was wild, it totally didnt go where i was expecting it to. his dad was weirdly chill while also being super intense? 

killua happily telling stories abt gon was so sweet....baby boy baby 

and his dad telling him ‘never betray your friends’ was rlly interesting...i wonder what his reasons were for saying that 

cause then he tells killua he can leave, and killua does, but then dad zoldyck tells mom zoldyck (i rlly need to find out their names) that he thinks killua will come back on his own time....inch resting 

i wonder if dad zoldyck made killua promise that bc he was trying to set killua up for failure - as in, he tells killua to never betray his friends, thinking that killua inevitably will & be distraught abt it, and then turn back to the zoldyck family when this happens. idk

also its interesting to me that zoldyck dad wants killua to lead the family someday. like, illumi is right there, hes the oldest and clearly dedicated to being an evil assassin, and he seems p good at it...i wonder why killua is the favorite....the grandpa (i think) did say that killua is Special(tm) which...yes he is a special baby boy i love him. i wanna see more zoldyck family flashbacks/interactions so we can see what led them to this point 

oh lord that reminds me of illumi briefly appearing in the killua flashback and hes just like, suddenly there, wearing some gay ass sweater....like ok dude did you just come back from the Evil Assassin Library or st?????

that reminds me too, ruth tells me that apparently in the manga illumi and hisoka got married or something???? to which i say, thats fucking wild, but also it makes sense, those two are both horrible and disgusting and they absolutely deserve each other hbvajvhsdfjbak peak evil nasty gay rep, i love it. i cant wait to see whatever the fuck the context to that is bc, thats fucking wild

ok back to the plot so like its so wild to me how smoothly everything went hvubsjduhfbjsh like....killuas dad was rlly like ok u can leave and killua just went to the butler house and then canary woke up and was like ok gon & crew lets go to the butler house to see killua, fuck the rules, (and she didnt even get killed for ‘disobedience’ or w/e, or more likely - in most big shounen, she wouldve been attacked by the other evil butlers and gon wouldve had to fight them)

killua Rlly was like fuck this place im leaving my boyfriend and his parents are here to pick me up [puts on gayest outfit he owns and skateboards away] hvbhsjdfbjdkf

i love killuas weird gay preteen fashion so far and i cant wait to see more 

killua telling the butler guy to let him know as SOON as gon gets there cause he wants to see him AS SOON AS HE CAN ;_; bro they r....in love 

of course the butler is trickey tho lmao, any other shounen this wouldve turned into an 8 ep long fight scene sequence where gon has to fight the butlers in order to see killua 

and the of course gon is the same way, gon is like i need to see killua RIGHT NOW take me to him!!! ohhh my god babies

the whole coin game was wild, it was funny when the other butlers got involved too lmao 

when gon was like ‘hey leorio can i see your knife’ i was like OH NO I DONT LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING. and i was right bc OWWWWW baby boy oh my god!!!! but that seems to have solved it even tho thats NOT how swelling works at ALL- 

anyways gon is a cute smart good boy and i also find it funny how killua eventually gets impatient and just busts in on this whole dramatic situation (and the tension immediately deescalates as a result lmao) 

tangent but god its so funny seeing all these butler guys deferring to killua, an actual 12 yr old....i wanna see the hilarious and hijink-filled results of killua being raised as a rich spoiled assassin prince. thats a lethal combo thats gotta result in some wildly skewed perceptions on how things work, especially paired with gon ‘probably eats dirt for fun and sleeps in trees’ freecess 

godddd gon and killuas lil reunion is SOOO cute they were so happy to see each other ;_; bro they are SO cuteeeee augh. two tiny babies

killua being like oh hi also uh kurapika andddd [looks at smudged writing on hand] lorpo 

hvhhbajfbs dont do my man leorio like that killua hes a hardworking father 

the fact that they just like. LEAVE...thats so wild. i cant believe how little fighting this arc had. this all wrapped up SO much faster than i could have ever anticipated lmao 

where the heck was alluka!? i assumed she’d show up here but uhhhh guess not......in the silhouette shot of all the zoldycks she and killua were holding hands ;_; my fucking uwus bro 

we also didnt see the grandma or great grandpa so im guessing theyll appear later 

gon being like fuck it im not using my hunters license til i punch hisoka in the fucking face hvbhahsfbjsk thats hilarious 

also a convenient way to let him have his hunters license but not utilize it til later in the story...its so early for him to have achieved that big chunk of his goal, which just shows that hxh is Not your typical shounen and isnt gonna just be centered around gons quest to become a hunter 

so we finally found out what hisoka said to kurapika....just as i thought, it was st to do w/the phantom troupe. so theres a handy setup for the yorknew city arc later. bam 

hisoka just being like ‘hey meet me in this (presumably) very large city on this date. no i will not tell you where in the city to meet me. bye seeya there’ 

tbf hisoka is very hard to miss 

god when they arrive and kurapika is just like ok well we got killua so im out lol bye everyone....bro hvbjkhgbfjhdksfhjk that felt so abrupt 

and then leorio was like oh yeah same i gotta go study time to take the fantasy MCAT or w/e

AND THEY BOTH LEFT....now gon and killua r chilling but im like oh my god no leorio kurapika come back, we need some (questionable) adult supervision over here 

and like immediately killua is like ok gon do you have money. and of Course gon doesnt have money. so killua is like well you need money and you need to train so you can deck hisoka, so lets go to a fantasy version of an underground fighting ring! this is why kurapika and leorio needed to stay 

tho they probably wouldve just gone along with it 

they did all promise to meet in yorknew city, but thats apparently like 6 months away. are gon and killua rlly gonna spend 6 months at heavens arena

the part where killua draws the diagram demonstrating how much of a n00b gon is....hvbajdkhfbhajskf

AND THEN when he drew himself into the diagram and was like :3c wow im so modest HBJHSKHDFHBJS that was so funny

it was like that post thats like ‘you can tell when a cats pupils change and they just shift into Silly Mode’ thats what killua looked like...catboy

so thats basically it i think, gon and killua are heading to heavens arena to join fight club or whatever. tournament arc time! 

PREDICTION CORNER: 

i doubt this is the last weve seen of the zoldyck family. i mean we havent even met 3 of them, and we barely saw the ones we did meet...idk when theyll come back but i suspect theyll be making some big money moves later on and fucking shit up somehow 

i think maybe illumi or someone will like, spy on killua sometimes to keep track of him. or theyll track him by other means

ill use the prediction corner to reflect on incorrect predictions so heres a few. i rlly thot killua was gonna be more edgy than he is but hes rlly just a good boy huh. like hes a gay baby assassin catboy but hes so cute and good too. he just wants to live his life and hang out with his tiny bf like... omg :’) 

also i thot hisoka held a totally different narrative role lbvahkfjhjjaksfl i thot he was like main villain guy....hes more like an annoying creepy clown dude who (probably) shows up a lot to bother the main cast. we’ll see, but thats what i think of him now

like i thought hisoka would be like p1 dio, where hed be/quickly become a powerful antagonist who would amass a bunch of followers/minions (when actually the only person he seems to hang out w/is illumi, and theyre more like equals than an evil guy/minion dynamic)...or like i thought hisoka would be very well known as a scary evil guy but nope he was just another participant in the hunter exam, albeit a weird freaky one whose rancid vibes everyone seemed to pick up on 

anyways actual predictions, i think hisoka is gonna be at heavens arena, which would be super funny. gon is like im gonna train to beat hisoka and he shows up to do that and hisokas just there like >;) hey

i think if i had to guess, the zoldycks will show up again (in a plot important way) at the end of the yorknew arc/before the greed island arc. i know basically nothing abt any of the arcs but i do know the order they go in so theres that

i do think illumi will show up earlier than the other zoldycks tho, since he seems to be out doing his own thing more than the rest. also we still really havent resolved the whole mind control thing that im still convinced of 

i think nen will finally be introduced/alluded to heavily in this arc...or like, characters will use nen and gon will be like whoa whats that 

i think killua knows what nen is...maybe? it would make sense since im sure all the zoldycks can use it (at least, we saw mom zoldyck use it, probably)

can killua use nen already? that would be pretty funny. i dont think so tho. maybe u learn nen at a certain age. i have no idea what nen is 

also isnt gons nen power the power to like, turn into a really buff version of himself or something. how the fuck does that work 

ok enough nonsense its bedtime zzzzz